Want to make products that sell, without wasting your time, money, or sanity figuring everything out on your own? You’re in the right place.
You are either:
An entrepreneur or company who already has a successful business doing something outside the world of products.
You want to grow by adding merch to the mix, but you don’t have time to also become an expert in product development, manufacturing, and sales.
Or, you’re…
A product-based business owner in search of more clarity, less overwhelm, and answers to the questions you can’t find the answers to.
You want tailored, 1:1 business support and access to my entire brain – and the kind of expertise that can only come from someone who’s successfully walked this path themselves.
Back away slowly from the black hole of Google. I got you.
Hire me as your guide, save yourself endless time, money, and struggle, and stop lying awake at night wondering what you’re forgetting to do.
As the founder of Em & Friends, I’ve created or creative-directed over a thousand products that turned our customers into evangelists, led a team of writers and designers, attracted millions of dollars’ worth of global press with a marketing budget of zero, and gained a decade-plus of experience manufacturing domestically and abroad.
Name an experience in this biz, I’ve navigated it—from building a warehouse in another state, to working with thousands of retailers worldwide, to re-sewing 15,000 handles onto an entire shipment of malfunctioning tote bags, to learning what it takes to sell an artist-driven company (twice!).
I’ve had a lot of success—and I also made a lot of exhausting and expensive mistakes along the way. This experience is not uncommon; no matter how smart you are, in the world of making and selling physical goods, the learning curve is steep, and there’s so much to know.
But with me on your team, you won’t have to learn anything the hard way.
Kate Bowler, multi- New York Times bestselling author and host of Everything Happens
“When we decided to launch a product collection, Emily was our first call for help. Without her expert guidance in what to make and how to make it, we would have given up in frustration. Having access to her knowledge and ideas in this process has been a game-changer.”
A handful of the ways I can support you:
Strategic product planning to help make sure you don’t end up with a storage unit full of unsellable (fill in the blank)
Thought partnership for viable, innovative product ideas that’ll make your customers say “I want that!”
Sharing the secrets to finding quality, ethical, fairly priced manufacturers in the US and/or abroad (plus all my resources!)
Guidance for you and/or your team on the specifics of designing and writing for products
Making sure your packaging sells your products and doesn’t accidentally cause them to fail
Expert creative and strategic feedback that’ll uplevel your product design, copywriting, website, and marketing
Insight into what retailers look for, and how it’s different from e-commerce customers
A customized education on any aspect of the product business, from margins to wholesale to fulfillment to creative development
Strategic counseling around selling your creative company
Helping you evaluate your biz and hone in on what’s working and not working (numbers-wise, and you-as-a-person-wise), to create more space and sustainability in your life and business
Cathy Zhang, founder & designer, Easy Sunday Club
“Emily is a thought leader, a mentor, and a nurturer in one rare package. Having gone through different masterminds and coaching programs over the years, it became easier for me to spot those who are great at marketing but whose programs fell short in substance and relevance, versus those who were successful practitioners in the industry and are genuinely driven (and qualified) to help others. To me, Emily is the real deal. She is someone I wish I had in my corner when I first started my product business, but am so grateful to have 7 years later as I navigate my next business and life transition. After one session with her, she helped me find clarity in the areas I was stuck and gain the confidence that I will figure it out. I can't wait to work with her more!”
When you work with me as an ongoing client, you’ll also get access to all the resources I’ve developed for both beginners and folks with established product-based businesses, like:
A vendor agreement for manufacturers that would have saved me tens of thousands of dollars (no joke) in my first few years in business
A detailed, comprehensive manufacturing price request checklist, to ensure you get the exact product you want without wasting time and money
Spreadsheets to help you calculate the true cost of a product
A step-by-step guide to the whole shebang (if this is your first rodeo)
“Hey Emily, why are you doing this?”
It’s really simple: I want to offer the kind of guidance and support I needed when I was building Em & Friends, but didn’t exist. I hired plenty of consultants over the years, but each one specialized in one or two aspects of what I needed to know: how to prepare a wholesale collection and work with retailers, or how to put together a warehouse, or how to exhibit at a trade show. There was nobody I could work with who could help with all of it, from manufacturing to sales, and nobody to learn from who’d actually done the thing I was doing, at the scale I was doing it.
Now I’m that person, and I want to share everything I’ve learned, because I know how isolating, overwhelming, time-consuming, and disheartening it can be when you’re trying to figure out all the facets of business on your own.
When you work with me, I’ll support you in reaching your goals, whatever they are. At the same time, I can also help you clarify exactly what success means to you, and help you discern what you actually want —not just for your business, but for your life— and help you make a plan to get there.
Craig Hetzer, former Publisher, Knock Knock
“Emily quite simply knows a ton about how to make, design, manufacture, market, sell, and distribute gift product. Most importantly, she has the rare ability to step back and critically assess a product from all angles—from concept to design and form, including its effectiveness in communicating and appealing to customers. And, she is not only highly skilled at working with writers, artists, designers, manufacturers, and sales teams, but motivates and cheers them on throughout the process.”
How does it work?
Below are two baseline options. Depending on my schedule, other structures are potentially available; we can work together to come up with a plan that best suits your needs.
A 3-month consulting package, which includes:
One 90-minute onboarding session
Five 60-minute sessions (can be scheduled at any intervals in the 3 months)
Access to all my templates, checklists, and resources
Investment: One payment of $3,800, or 3 payments of $1,350. Limited slots available.
A one-time, 60-minute call, which can also be applied to the 3-month package if you decide you want to keep working together after we meet.
A great option if you just have one or two questions for me. We can cover a lot in an hour!
Investment: $500
All sessions are conducted over Zoom. Camera on or off, your choice.
If you have a different idea about how you’d like to work together, let’s talk about it! Get in touch here.