A Peek Inside Coaching at Wholesale In a Box
One-on-one work with makers is the heart of what we do. The conversations, studio visits, and in-depth collaborations with makers are the foundation of how we created and have evolved Wholesale In a Box.
So of course, one-on-one coaching is available as part of our core offering. As you probably know, you can choose to buy Wholesale In a Box (the comprehensive course on wholesale). Or, for just a little bit more, you can also get 90 days of one-on-one wholesale coaching with us. And we have found that for many brands, it’s the highest value part of what we do.
In fact, we hear pretty frequently: “Why do you price your coaching service so low? You could charge a lot more.” In full transparency, there are three reasons that we choose to make coaching a super-affordable option:
It is our favorite part of this work, so we want more people to sign up, not fewer.
Many of the people who need coaching the most, don’t yet have the cash in their business to pay a higher fee.
Your need for coaching isn’t endless. So many times, there are two or three key issues that are holding you back from wholesale growth. By solving them quickly with one-on-one coaching, you can make so much more progress than with the Wholesale In a Box course alone. That means it’s not an endless time investment for us, and it’s a quick transformation for you.
Since it’s an unusual approach to supporting makers, though, we wanted to give you a peek inside what we do with coaching. So that you have a sense of what to expect and decide whether it’s a fit for you.
Our Coaching Philosophy
So much of business "coaching" tells you a single way to do things and tries to shoehorn it into your situation. But the reality is that your business is special. You have a unique set of skills, strengths, experiences -- and you can build on those rather than following a formula. So in general, we aim to provide concise feedback to help you improve what you're working on while helping you express your own style and vision.
Our advice is grounded in our experience working with over 1,000+ makers over the years. So while we won't give you hard-and-fast rules, we will tell you what we've seen work for others and no matter what, how you integrate our feedback is completely up to you. No one knows your business better than you and it's important to go with your gut above all.
How It Works
What you can get help with
Here are a few examples of areas we can support you in:
A review of your materials: Your line sheet and/or website; Email templates; Wholesale Terms.
Questions about your shipping process.
Wholesale pricing conundrums.
An audit of your wholesale ordering process.
How to approach special requests or cryptic responses from shop owners.
Getting clarity on your wholesale strategy.
Discerning the best profile of stores to approach with your line.
How we help
We've really found that email-based coaching can work really nicely for the types of topics we help makers with. We're able to get a lot of rich information in, including recordings, videos, and resources so that you get really comprehensive written answers to your questions.
Depending on what would be most useful for the maker, we’ll either write up our recommendations or record a concise, informal video, sharing our screen and walking through our feedback. From time to time, we’ll do a mockup of a visual element or even rewrite a store outreach email, just so folks can get a more vivid sense of precisely what we’re thinking.
Screen share clip of a custom one-on-one coaching video response.
Timing & Access
Some of our makers get feedback quite frequently (especially as they get started). Other makers just ask a quick question every now and then. It’s completely up to you, but we’re there as much and as often as you need us.
You'll have access to the coaching piece of Wholesale In a Box for 90 days from the time you purchased it — or, you can let us know that you’d like to have it be a different term of 90 days, totally up to you.
About your Coach
Emily Kerr-Finell runs the show at Wholesale In a Box and also does the vast majority of our coaching with makers. She’s a seasoned wholesale strategist with broad experience starting and guiding businesses at a variety of sizes and scales.
Previously, she was Founder & CEO of Liga Masiva, a "global farmers' market" of farmers in Latin America. She has also worked at FMCG, a boutique management consulting firm, was a Business Advisor at the SBA’s Small Business Development Center, and at Greenmarket, NYC’s network of farmers’ markets. Her work has been featured in O: The Oprah Magazine, Forbes, and Entrepreneur Magazine. She has spoken on both making and business at The Hudson River Exchange, Starting Bloc, and The Maker’s Summit. When not working with makers, Emily tries to make it to yoga, explores the Hudson Valley, and makes progress on the shawl she’s been knitting for 3 years.
What people say about coaching with us
“You guys are genius, seriously. Whew, I finally feel like I’m moving forward.” - Miriam of Object Fabricate
“Your coaching is helpful and thorough and actionable” Hannah Burr of Hannah Burr Studio
“Your encouragement gives me the motivation I need. It's hard being a solopreneur and single mom. There aren't a lot of collaborative moments that leave me feeling uplifted. I guess what I'm trying to say is, your coaching left me feeling seen and supported, which is incredibly potent for me right now.” -Laina of Laina Miller Designs“WIAB is the best investment I've made in my business.” - Robyn of Pearl and Ivy
“WIAB has truly changed our family’s life and I am so happy to now have a sustainable business. I appreciate all the advice you have given me and rely on your insight.” - Julie of Spako Clay
“Now I have a plan to get to where I want to go. Your insight was extremely beneficial in helping me overcome moments when I would get stuck overthinking. Thank you for creating a space where I could see myself, I could see my business goals as attainable and I felt supported through the process of learning.” -Christy Roushey of The House of Roushey
“I'm so deeply grateful for Wholesale In a Box and for your incredible support. It has truly transformed my business.” - Elana of Elana Gabrielle
We hope you appreciated seeing more of what the one-on-one coaching looks like here at Wholesale In a Box. We’d love to hear from you if you have questions about this or anything wholesale related! Feel free to leave a comment below or write us at [email protected].