If you’re a maker who is cultivating relationships with stores, it can feel discouraging. The fact is, most seeds you sow don’t take root; and most retailers don’t respond to your emails.

The flip side (and the good news) is that if you do steady, thoughtful, consistent outreach to stores -- and if your product stands on its own -- you will get sales.

In previous posts we have said that reaching out to stores is a moment of great potential. This is never truer than when a store gets their first order. It’s an opportunity to start the relationship off right, to shake their hand (figuratively speaking) and tell them how excited you are to be working with them. 

Last Sunday, Marci of the famed store Lula Mae in California, was up until the late hours of the night swapping out Halloween skulls for stuffed bears with reindeer antlers. Like many store owners, Marci is in a mad dash to get things set up and unpacked for the holidays.

As someone who loves working on my own business projects, connecting with advisors, customers, and partners is a huge part of my life. So reaching out to people -- and then following up -- is also essential. 

One question that comes up a lot from makers working to grow wholesale is: How much should I set as my minimum wholesale order? You may well have some great thoughts about this -- so let us know! But we’ve put together what we’ve seen work, and some pros and cons of different approaches -- to hopefully save you some headaches down the road.

A big concern we hear from makers is that "stores only buy from brands that are already well-established." And that can be so frustrating. How can you break into stores, if stores will only buy from makers that are already in a lot of stores?!

By the time you actually email a store, you've invested thousands of hours in everything that went into that email.  You've painstakingly selected the fibers, metals, paper or fabrics that make up your products. You've imagined and sketched and brainstormed to come up with the designs. You've spent hundreds of hours making your products, dozens creating a linesheet, you've invested in Wholesale In a Box, you've composed a heart-felt and personalized email.