Remember when you came up with your latest and greatest toy idea? At any point, did you stop and wonder to yourself, is this really a toy product? If you’ve had an idea or two that you weren’t quite sure fell into the category of toys and games, then today’s episode is going to help you clear that thought process right up. Today’s episode was inspired after about a dozen inquiries I’ve gotten asking to clarify what makes a toy a toy. This episode will walk you through 3 exercises to take your idea through which will help you identify if it’s a toy, game, or kids’ product. Plus, in this episode, I touch on what to do if your idea doesn’t fall into the traditional toy category at all! When you are ready, let’s dive into today’s episode and learn techniques that will help you finally answer the question, “Is my idea a toy product or not?”.

Remember Brexit? Well, back in late January when that the UK left the EU, I reached out to a Toy Safety expert friend of mine and asked, “What is this going to do to our labeling requirements?” The answer was a little when it comes to testing and a lot when it comes to paperwork. Today’s podcast episode is our Toy Safety 102 lesson, and we spend about 90% of this conversation focusing on the cost, complication, and changes in labeling and testing requirements brought about once the UK split from the EU. At the end of the episode, you’ll gain a little bit of perspective around accepting international orders for your product line too soon. If you don’t know anything at all about toy safety, you might want to check out episode number 43, Toy Safety 101.

If you’ve ever looked into attending a toy tradeshow and thought, “Nope. Toy trade shows are for the big toy companies with thousands and thousands of orders at least, they’re not for me.” Well, it’s time to declare that a myth right here and right now my friend. Today’s podcast episode we dive into a review of the ASTRA Marketplace and Academy that takes place every year to connect specialty toy retailers with the manufacturers that make creative, innovative specialty toy products.

You know that feeling when you submit a job application but you’re pretty sure no one is going to see it? Well today, the ever-growing social media platform, TikTok has stepped up to the plate to create a more personal hiring experience that can almost ensure your resume gets seen…at least once. The hashtag TikTok Resumes has almost 300 million views and hopefully the program will return in full force very soon. But until it does, this episode will help you prepare to be an early adopter of the latest revolution in job hunting and recruitment. When you’re ready to learn about the future of the job market, listen in to this episode.