"I love your brand." Those words are earned, by providing excellence over an extended period of time. Brand storytelling is not just about a logo, color scheme, or slogan, but rather the values an...
You've got a product you want to sell online. How do you get more people to convert?While priorities and inclusions for your PDP (Product Display Page) change over time with the evolution of consum...
As our business has grown we’ve faced new challenges. We’ve never really had a mentor or participated in frequent networking events. I’m sure some of our challenges are unique but perhaps many have...
Apparel Production: Outsourcing to Owning the Process
Most people know us for our hard goods-- paddle boards, kayaks, surf boards and utility docks. Did you know we also have a growing line of soft goods? For the past 10 years, we've been going throug...
My first job out of college was in a tough work environment. After giving it about eight months, I had an interview for a new position elsewhere.The interview was going great until their last quest...
Entrepreneurship: A Family Tradition
People often say something is in your blood. As if you were born to do or predestined to have a certain fate. There’s a constant debate about nature vs nurture and how people turn out the way they ...
Our email inboxes are inundated more than ever. We sign up for newsletters to hear from brands we like, claim discounts, wait for promos, or new product drops. Sometimes we don't even know how or ...
$0-$1 MILLION: LESSONS LEARNED
Paddle North started as a side hustle originally intended to be a fun way to make some extra cash on the weekends and maybe a full-time business someday. There’s a more in-depth background store HE...
Automating Your Customer Journey
Scaling a small business is hard work.
We contract manufacture some products in China. Why? Yes, cost-effectiveness. But also so much more. Chinese manufacturers win on cost, speed, AND quality. Yes, their default state and first quote ...
Let's talk about email in 2024. Has it changed? Yes. Does it still have value? Absolutely.Despite email inboxes being inundated with marketing emails more than ever, it continues to be one of our t...
In 2009, I graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth and immediately started working for an engineering consulting firm. When I joined the company, there was just one other employee an...