043 | Renee Griffith, HeartSwell Co on changing her business name, finding a voice within your brand and why she scraped her product line and started anew

Renee Griffith, the founder of HeartSwell, designs and creates her products using her original hand lettering style, incorporating patterns, colors and textures inspired by her deep love of the ocean and lush landscape where she lives in South Florida. Renee is a TSBC alum who has attended our Paper Camp Conference twice, once when she was starting her business and a second time after she had revised her line and rebranded her company.

On today's episode we're talking about why she changed her business name, how she nurtures relationships with customers and the importance of finding your voice within your product and brand.

ON TODAY'S EPISODE:

• How she got into the world of entrepreneurship and product creation
• The beginnings of her Etsy shop, Perro Paper
• What inspires Renee when she's creating and developing new products
• The catalyst for changing the name of her business from Perro Paper to HeartSwell
• The process of brainstorming new names and how she came to HeartSwell
• Bringing other people into the naming process
• How she handled the rebranding process once she had decided on a name
• How Renee communicated the name change to her customers
• Whether changing the name of her business enhanced her confidence as a business owner
• The steps she took to refine her product line
• How she manages the day-to-day logistics of different sales channels
• An accomplishment in the last year that she is proud of
• The advice she would give to someone just starting out in a product-based business
• What's next for HeartSwell

KEY TAKE-AWAYS:

"It's important to see what you like doing, and see what you want the vibe of your business and your brand to be." - Renee Griffith

"[my new company name] was a combination of what I want my voice and my company to be, which is making people feel very loved and make their hearts swell as cheesy as that is." - Renee Griffith

"I just feel like way more confident with [my new company name] because it's just me. My colors. It's the same colors I have in my home. It's the same colors I wear. It truly is me out on paper." - Renee Griffith

"Keeping that tight color palette for me has enabled me to really keep a cohesive brand." - Renee Griffith

"To have that product recognition is really an important part of growing your business." - Renee Griffith

"It is so important to know the reasoning behind why you're running this business, why you started it to begin with, and why you want to continue doing it, because it does drive your decision-making as an entrepreneur." - Katie Hunt

LINKSWebsite: http://www.heartswellco.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heartswellco

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartswellco/

JOIN THE TSBC FAMILY:

Do you want to scale your business and add new revenue streams? Are you ready to get a handle on your cash flow and tuck money away for retirement?

Maybe you are interested in increasing your visibility and fine-tuning your marketing outreach? Perhaps you have a team that you want to nurture or need help building your team?

Our newest on demand program, Paper Camp+ can help you with all of these things and more. The program includes 5 keynote presentations and 2 panels from a wide range of business experts. You can watch what you need, when you need it most and revisit the videos as often as you'd like.

This course was built for anyone running a product based business, and extends way beyond the paper industry. Enroll at www.tradeshowcamp.com/pcplus!

ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT:

Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!