Bootstrapped by Paddle North
A weekly newsletter that helps you run your small business better.
90 Days of Email: A Recap
2 days ago
·As a part of your email marketing strategy, it's essential to constantly evaluate your most impor...
Hiring
2 days ago
·Each summer, as our demand for seasonal help surges, we at Paddle North gear up for a hiring spre...
Setting Goals for Your Business
9 days ago
·Goal setting has been a key driver in my life and our business. We set monthly and yearly goals a...
DTC Essential Tools
9 days ago
·When building and growing a direct-to-consumer brand, there is an infinite number of tools at you...
Brand Power
9 days ago
·"I love your brand."
Those words are earned, by providing excellence over an extended period of ...
Product Page Essentials
·
You've got a product you want to sell online. How do you get more people to convert?While priorit...
Networking and Mentorship
·
As our business has grown we’ve faced new challenges. We’ve never really had a mentor or particip...
Apparel Production: Outsourcing to Owning the Process
·
Most people know us for our hard goods-- paddle boards, kayaks, surf boards and utility docks. Di...
Integrity in Interviews
·
My first job out of college was in a tough work environment. After giving it about eight months, ...
Entrepreneurship: A Family Tradition
·
People often say something is in your blood. As if you were born to do or predestined to have a c...
Improve Email Open Rates
·
Our email inboxes are inundated more than ever. We sign up for newsletters to hear from brands w...
$0-$1 MILLION: LESSONS LEARNED
·
Paddle North started as a side hustle originally intended to be a fun way to make some extra cash...
Made in China
·
We contract manufacture some products in China.
Why?
Yes, cost-effectiveness.
But also so much mo...
Let's Talk About Email
·
Let's talk about email in 2024. Has it changed? Yes. Does it still have value? Absolutely.Despite...
Matt's Startup Story
·
In 2009, I graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth and immediately started working ...
Focus On Your Business
·
A new idea is a business owner’s enemy.
It walks around in your brain, voraciously consuming your...
On Work Life Balance
·
Finding Balance is an ongoing process.
Growing up, I idolized the hustlers for their work e...
Winning Social Media Content
·
What content performs the best?
There is no-one-size fits all strategy. It depends on the brand, ...
Lego Kits & Business Partners
·
Lego kits seem like a paradox.
My family and business partner like them -- not me though.
I grew...
Lets Talk About Sunglasses
·
We sold $102,200.27 of them in my last report.
About ~73k of that is profit.
3,475 pairs, spread ...
Personalize Your Emails
·
There's a reason why massive companies put so much effort into appearing smaller than they are......
Start a biz on paternity leave?
·
Yes, I started Paddle North during my two-week paternity leave. My wife, Bridget, was supportive ...
Lessons from 141 Trade Shows
·
Paddle North's origins are filled with grit - like the “ pack a truck and dive into trade shows” ...
We Closed Our Mall Stores
·
The Year We Closed The Mall Stores.
From 2016 to 2023, we operated retail stores in four differen...
Enjoy These Articles?
Subscribe to our weekly Bootstrapped Newsletter