Episode #200: Virginia Lette Interviews Azhelle Wade The Toy Coach
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To celebrate Episode 200 of Making It in The Toy Industry, something special is underway. Joining The Toy Coach, also known as Azhelle Wade, is Virginia Lette, an accomplished Australian radio and television presenter. She is renowned for co-hosting Eclipse Music TV for three years and serving as a Weekend News and Sport Presenter for WIN News Tasmania. Virginia has also hosted over 500 episodes of the Morning Kids Podcast. Beyond her professional achievements, she is a dedicated mother, entrepreneur, and an aspiring toy creator.
Azhelle Wade is thrilled to have her on the show, picking up where the 100th episode left off. They discuss Azhelle's background with Sesame Street and in the toy industry and delve into her motivations for starting the podcast. Azhelle shares her enthusiasm for assisting creators in transforming their ideas into finished products. Virginia poses several unexpected questions, ranging from Azhelle's thoughts on imposter syndrome to addressing sustainability challenges in the industry. This behind-the-scenes glimpse into The Toy Coach's journey offers valuable insights and inspiration.
EPISODE CLIFF NOTES
[03:18] Virginia has interviewed many people in her career, but she's a little nervous in this interview.
[05:49] When does Azhelle sleep? She gets a lot done using tools and repurposing content.
[10:26] We talk about Episode 100 and Azhelle being a child actress on Sesame Street. She's also always been an entrepreneur. She loves potatoes, is allergic to cats and dogs, and was diagnosed with cancer in her late 20s while working at Toys R Us.
[11:53] She's been cancer-free after her surgery.
[13:29] While working, Azhelle discovered that there was a need for information on helping people get started with their toy products.
[14:01] Azhelle realized that she should do a business around her toy knowledge, and she started her podcast about the toy industry.
[15:45] We discuss imposter syndrome. Azhelle didn't really deal with it until she became more public and started putting a price on things.
[18:02] If you feel insecure, remind yourself that it will pass.
[19:05] The real deal is someone who has the knowledge and executes it. She has built an entire business that gets toy creators from point A to point B from start to completion.
[22:02] The most listened to episode of this podcast is Episode 1: Unlocking Your Great Toy Ideas.
[25:03] A common misconception about Azhelle is that she is always happy and bubbly.
[28:02] Azhelle is the most proud of her podcast and the community that it has created.
[31:11] There's so much to learn about creating a business, she'll never run out of things to teach.
[32:07] We talk about the importance of focusing on what works as opposed to moving to the next thing.
[33:32] Azhelle has always dreamed of being a CEO of a toy company. She now has her own business and has discovered the value of living in truth and honesty and being herself.
[36:53] Sustainability can be a challenge. Look at packaging and recycling.
[39:17] Being stuck on growth and revenue over innovation can be frustrating. Profit over quality can be frustrating.
[40:48] Is there room for innovation? At the end of the day, profits need to be made. It's like a revenue hamster wheel that can stifle creativity.
[41:57] We talk about AI and generating concepts.
[42:49] We get personal about things Azhelle wouldn't normally share. We also talk about ghosts.
[45:23] We talk about my 200th Episode wish. Join Toy Creators Academy!
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Virginia Lette on Wikipedia
Connect with Virginia Lette on LinkedIn
Check out the Morning Kids Podcast which Virginia Lette mentioned in this episode.
Episode #100: Special 100th Episode Getting To Know The Toy Coach
Watch Azhelle on Sesame Street dancing to "Do the Spaghetti"
EP #1: Unlocking Your Great Toy Ideas | Making It in The Toy Industry Podcast | Azhelle Wade
This episode is brought to you by www.thetoycoach.com
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EP 200
[00:00:00] Azhelle Wade: You are listening to Making It In The Toy Industry, episode number 200.
[00:00:07] Welcome up to Making It in The Toy Industry, a podcast for inventors and entrepreneurs like you. And now your host, Azhelle Wade. Hey there, toy people. Azhelle Wade here and welcome back to another episode of the Toy Coach Podcast, making it in the Toy Industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by the toy coach.com.
[00:00:29] Our guest today is actually going to flip the script on our normal podcast format, and she's going to be interviewing me. Virginia Lett is a highly experienced Australian media presenter who's worked in radio and television for three decades. And in addition to hosting Eclipse Music TV on the Seven Network for three years, Virginia was known for presenting news, sports, and weather bulletins for numerous major TV networks in every Australian East Coast market.
[00:00:59] And she just [00:01:00] so happens to be a fan of this podcast. After already having a huge career, Virginia actually recently decided to enroll in toy creators Academy. After listening to this podcast, Virginia is hoping to bring a long held toy creators dream to life over the next 12 months and beyond as she develops her product.
[00:01:21] And she's thrilled to have an opportunity to interview me on the show. Welcome to the show, Virginia. Thank you so much for being here. Gosh, this is
[00:01:29] Virginia Lette: a dream come true for me. Thank you so much for this opportunity.
[00:01:32] Azhelle Wade: Oh, stop. And you and Virginia also came, for those of you listening to the show, you need to check out the YouTube video.
[00:01:39] Hopefully it's up by the time you're listening. And you can see in Virginia's background, she has a 200 sign just for the show. It's like gold. There's lights around it. I mean. Thank you. I just moved into a new home. I have, I don't even have a backdrop anymore, but Virginia brought the glitz. So thank you.
[00:01:57] Virginia Lette: Well, you deserve it. 200 [00:02:00] episodes is a huge achievement. I mean, that's something to celebrate.
[00:02:03] Azhelle Wade: So congratulations. Thank you. I know it's, it's too much, but You were telling me before we got started that you also had a podcast and that today would be your 500th episode.
[00:02:16] Virginia Lette: That's right. Yes. I was doing for those two years, uh, a news podcast for little kids.
[00:02:20] Our target demo was four to six years old and it was just a five or six minute podcast every day where we'd dip a toe into the world of news and learn about things around the world. And it was a lot of fun. Yeah. But we, we finished up mid year. Still there though, if you want to have a listen, what's it called?
[00:02:37] It's called
[00:02:38] Azhelle Wade: morning kids. Morning kids. Okay. I'll link it in the show notes.
[00:02:43] Virginia Lette: Sure do. Awesome. It's fun. You can listen back to it retrospective later. There's a lot of chat about animals and colors and feelings and all those sorts of things. It was, it was a real trait to do it.
[00:02:53] Azhelle Wade: Well, thank you for jumping back into your career in media for me, right?
[00:02:58] Because you've been staying at home with [00:03:00] your little one recently. Well, she's a big one now. She was a little one. Yes.
[00:03:04] Virginia Lette: That's right. This is a huge treat for me. It really is. I, in my line of work, I've had the opportunity to interview some wildly famous people and very rarely did I ever get nervous, but I'm, I feel like I'm a little bit starstruck interviewing.
[00:03:19] Oh my gosh, stop it.
[00:03:21] Azhelle Wade: You need to stop.
[00:03:24] Virginia Lette: Seriously. I mean, we listen to you every week on your podcast and we follow you on your social media channels. Some of us, the lucky ones, have even interacted with you through the Toy Creators Academy, and we're constantly fed glimpses of you and the world that you live in, in the same way that we're fed glimpses into the lifestyle of famous celebrities and things like that.
[00:03:47] So, you know, I'm sure there are others, myself included, that feel like we could strike up a conversation with you on the street or invite you over for family dinner on a Sunday night. Yes. And yet you [00:04:00] don't even know most of our names or where we come from or why we're here or what we look like. So that must be wild
[00:04:06] Azhelle Wade: to you.
[00:04:07] Yeah. When, when I first started, it was weird. I didn't expect it at first and I didn't know how to handle it, but now I think it's cool. But at first I was like, what's going on? What's happening?
[00:04:21] Virginia Lette: It's fame. I mean, I find myself, it's fame, you know, people will recognize you because you're just so recognizable and beautiful with your gorgeous hair and everything like that.
[00:04:33] You know, I find myself, I can't look it up. I find myself thinking, Oh, I wonder how Ajell and Christian enjoyed their holiday to Mexico. I wonder what prompted the move with the house or, you know, when does she possibly fit in her salsa dancing glasses? Listening to your podcast always leaves me with this insatiable thirst for more.
[00:04:56] The questions I have, it's crazy. So [00:05:00] today is why I'm so excited to be able to flip that script for your 200th episode today. A listener, a long time admirer of yours gets to grab the mic and interview you. This is the greatest Christmas gift I could ever hope for. So thank
[00:05:14] Azhelle Wade: you. You are making my week right now.
[00:05:18] Thank you. Seriously, a heart
[00:05:21] Virginia Lette: to heart with the accomplished, incredibly talented and influential world toy guru as your weight.
[00:05:32] Azhelle Wade: Thank you. Thank you. I'm bowing. Thank you. All right. Well, can I start? Yes, please. Let's dive in
[00:05:38] Virginia Lette: kind of a weird, isn't it? It's a weird scenario here for you. All right. A very legitimate question to start. When do you sleep? Because I wake up and you're doing stuff and you've done all the stuff while I was sleeping and I tune in and you've posted stuff and it's available.
[00:05:56] I mean, how many hours do you get of sleep a night?
[00:05:59] Azhelle Wade: [00:06:00] I do. I get a reason. Okay. Actually the last. Two nights I haven't been sleeping well, so they don't count, but especially since I've moved to this new house and I'm out in, in New Jersey now, I sleep a lot more. So we'll go to bed around like 11, 12 and wake up around seven.
[00:06:19] But like, depending if I have something to do or if I don't, I might get out of bed at eight, but yeah, it's not that serious. I think. Right? I've
[00:06:30] Virginia Lette: actually taken on one of your mannerisms from listening to so many of your podcasts. Which one? I find myself a lot saying, oof.
[00:06:40] Azhelle Wade: When you go to bed at midnight, I'm like, oof, oof. That was one that came through. I thought you were going to say a hundred percent. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. All right.
[00:06:55] Virginia Lette: So you're looking after yourself though. You get, you are getting
[00:06:58] Azhelle Wade: some sleep. Yeah, I [00:07:00] do. I get sleep. And especially here, it's so quiet.
[00:07:02] I used to live in the city and this is like amazing how quiet it is. Now I get sleep. I think I have the right tools. I have a lot of tools that repurpose things and repost things and people often think that their followers are seeing everything they post and that's just not true. So you just repost things that didn't get a lot of likes and see if it'll get likes later, you know?
[00:07:26] Definitely.
[00:07:27] Virginia Lette: All right. Another legitimate question. It was sort of like, it's very superficial, but it's important. How tall are you? Because when I imagine you in real life, I'm like, is she my height? She looks really petite. I got to know to help with the
[00:07:42] Azhelle Wade: visualization. I'm super tiny. I'm five three after yoga.
[00:07:47] So let me, let me explain that. answer. So my license says I'm 5'3 Here's why. But okay, up until my license said I was 5'3 in the past, like, I don't know, seven years, I was 5'2 [00:08:00] So here's what happened. I got the job at Toys R Us, and one day, while I'm at my dream job, they're like, There's a company here that's going to do a health assessment of everybody for free as part of our health insurance plan.
[00:08:12] They're going to, I know for you, you're in Australia, what you probably have healthcare. We don't have that here. So for us, we were like, Oh my gosh, a free health screening. Yes. So we lined up. And I go, they check my weight, they check everything, they check my height, and they say you're 5'3 and I'm like, no I'm not, I'm 5'2 and they check, double check, they said I'm 5'3 and they said, do you do yoga, and I said yes, and they were like, well, sometimes that happens, and I said, well, I'm 5'3 so I'm tiny, but I'm 5'3 Oh,
[00:08:41] Virginia Lette: that's a beautiful size to be.
[00:08:43] Seeing lots of very famous pop stars and divas. They're all your height, so it makes sense. Just on that yoga thing. I often find myself wondering what people think about when they're doing yoga, because to give you an example, when I'm doing yoga, all I'm thinking about is how badly I need a [00:09:00] pedicure.
[00:09:00] Really?
[00:09:01] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Interesting. I'm looking at my feet. I'm trying really hard to not think about work. So I'm literally thinking about breathing. I had this one amazing yoga teacher who would give you such visualization once. And he, he just helped me get out of my head so much. And it was around the time I was dealing with the cancer.
[00:09:20] And he would just like, His thing was imagine a ball of light and we would imagine it, I think, starting at our feet or something and rolling up to our chest and then like coming out to our arms and that really helped me focus on what I think you're supposed to be focusing on in yoga and just like nothing you're breathing and you're being so sometimes try to do that.
[00:09:41] Virginia Lette: I like that. I like that a lot. You touched on your cancer thing, and I'd like to come back to that shortly. And of course, I do have some really proper business style toy coach questions a little later on as well. Okay. But before we get there, I went back to your 100th episode, which was published two years ago in November 2021.[00:10:00]
[00:10:01] Where the topic was really similar to what we're doing today. I think it was titled getting to know the toy coach. I learned a lot about you there and it started with an amazing audio montage of all of your students and what they've achieved and what they've learned from you, which in itself is the most incredible portfolio of your work, right?
[00:10:21] Oh, thank you. And in that podcast, I feel like we should touch back on it because. Some people wouldn't have listened to it. We'll run through it quickly, but your mom ran a model and talent agency, and you were a child actress on Sesame Street, no less. This is why I've got stars in my eyes. Your mom's entrepreneurial influence inspired you to start up a bunch of kiddie businesses, including selling photos and jewelry and stationery.
[00:10:47] Your business prowess goes way back, lady friend. Way back. Oh yeah. You're allergic to cats and dogs, is something else I learned. Your favorite food is anything potato. Oh my gosh. [00:11:00] Including mac and cheese.
[00:11:01] Azhelle Wade: I can't believe I said that. I love potatoes. Is it too? Yeah. Okay.
[00:11:08] Virginia Lette: Love potatoes. And you took up salsa dancing about 10 years ago after a car accident.
[00:11:13] Uh huh. Yes. Yes. Okay. We're getting deep here. You shared some of the lessons that you learned when you started your first real business and that was Costumize Me. And I know that you've actually done multiple podcast episodes on the lessons that you've learned, going back to, and then you mentioned that you were diagnosed with cancer when you were in your late 20s.
[00:11:36] You were working at Toys R Us and Like anybody with a shock diagnosis like that, you thought that your life was over. Oh, for sure. Yeah. So I'd love to get an update on that if there is one.
[00:11:48] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. I don't have much of an update. I do go back by annually. That can be two things, but I go back every two years.
[00:11:55] That's what that also can mean. Right? Yeah. So I go back every two years and [00:12:00] I've been clear. I'm good so far. So. Pray to God, knock on wood, whatever you believe that I stay okay. So that's my only update. I was really lucky. It was just a simple surgery and a month of recovery. And I had a great job that really supported that.
[00:12:15] And I was good to go with a lot of fear, but I was good to go.
[00:12:20] Virginia Lette: We're all very happy to hear that for sure. Thank you. It was a whole bunch of other super interesting stuff and important things that I won't go back over in detail. But I mean, anybody that wants to, they can go back and listen to episode number 100.
[00:12:33] Right. But you express some of your life goals and what inspires you and what helps you to grow your business, your value system, and what made you start up the podcast, which I think is probably the most thing to rehash at this point in time now that you've hit 200. I'm just curious to know, for those that haven't listened back to your podcasts previously, it was a question that someone posed to your friend that was looking to [00:13:00] start up a toy business that got you thinking, Hey, I can help people with this information, right?
[00:13:05] Yeah,
[00:13:06] Azhelle Wade: it was someone I had just met at a toy industry event. And she was so passionate about this game idea, and then she didn't know what she needed to give me so that I could potentially pitch it to my boss at the time. And I wanted to help her, but I was so busy. I was VP of brand and product. I was super busy and I couldn't really help her.
[00:13:26] And then I remember thinking while I was at work, I wish there was just a blog that I could point her to or a podcast. I could point her to just something to tell her, this is what we need. So time goes on, I was still doing customize me kind of in the background of my full time job. So I would listen to a lot of business podcasts about how to make customized me grow.
[00:13:47] So I was listening to those podcasts and eventually realized that I should maybe be doing a business with all the stuff I already know about the toy industry, instead of trying to do something so separate from what I already spent all my time doing. [00:14:00] That was when I got the idea for the podcast. And I Thought it would be easier to do a podcast than a blog, which I was totally wrong.
[00:14:09] Way, way harder, I think, in my opinion. And yeah, I asked my boss, I said, is it okay if I do this podcast? Because it is about the toy industry. He said, yeah, just don't release any of our secrets. And I was like, don't worry. It's going to be all about how I see the toy industry and what I think people should do.
[00:14:23] Don't you worry. So that's what I did.
[00:14:26] Virginia Lette: Did you find that when you were coming up with content for the podcast that there were any conflicts of interest was it difficult to navigate it in that way?
[00:14:35] Azhelle Wade: No, and I think that was because I came in and brought so much to the most recent company that I was with.
[00:14:42] Like I really came in and built out their system for product development. So that was all stuff I brought with me. And also because I started the podcast so 101, I was teaching things that I'd learned like through school and through my first job. It really wasn't hard because [00:15:00] it was so 101. So it was like, here's how you find a factory.
[00:15:03] Like, here's how you talk to them. Very, very simple. 101
[00:15:07] Virginia Lette: to you. Yeah, exactly. For me, it was 101.
[00:15:14] A question that somebody posed in the 100th episode to you was about imposter syndrome and whether or not you've felt it and how you've dealt with that. I feel like a lot of people that are doing your course and maybe listening to the podcast also feel imposter syndrome from time to time, you know, a lot of them looking to break out of their old careers or moving into an industry that they feel like they have no idea about whatsoever.
[00:15:41] I Yeah, incredibly unsettling. How did you find that?
[00:15:46] Azhelle Wade: I honestly, I didn't deal with imposter syndrome until I felt like people were coming at me until I became so public that people had opinions. That was when I started dealing with it. Before that, I just [00:16:00] So much believed in what I wanted to do that it didn't ever even occur to me to be an imposter because it was just so simple what I was doing and also free, you know, when you're doing something that's free, it's easy to feel like, well, who cares?
[00:16:15] Because I'm doing it for free. And once you start putting a price on things, that's when you start to feel like, Oh, you know, am I really worth this price? Is my product really worth this price? Is my service really worth this price? And then when you start saying things that go against the grain and people start coming at you, that's when you're like, is it worth it?
[00:16:40] Did like, did I just shut down? You know, I've thought, did I just shut down, you know, five or 10 years of career opportunities when I came out with an episode called the ripple effect of racial bias. And I don't know, I feel like the good and bad of. This digital age that we're in is that you can shut it off.
[00:16:57] You feel for me, I feel the insecurity [00:17:00] when I'm reading, you know, certain comments or if I'm reading a certain email, just dealing with those issues digitally. But when I shut it down and I turn it off, that is where I can come back to peace and talk to my husband and my sister and my mom and tell them all about my insecurities and then it.
[00:17:20] Ignore them when they say you're the best thing ever. And then that's my, that's how I work through it. And then ideally, honestly, I get a win from a student or a client or for myself that reaffirms, okay, you are doing something that is needed and worthwhile and you are, should be paid for it. And the amount you were asking for isn't too much.
[00:17:42] And honestly, if it is, they don't have to pay you. You know, if somebody decided to work with you, They value you and you should let them. So I don't know. You just can't give up, I guess. That's the way you deal with it. You just can't give up. And I try to remind myself. When I'm feeling insecure or [00:18:00] when I'm feeling having like a panic attack, like I can't go on this show when I'm so nervous or whatever, I just try to remind myself like this is gonna pass so it can either pass with you doing a great job at this show or it can pass with you like falling apart and not doing it at all.
[00:18:14] So it's gonna pass. Tomorrow is coming. Just like, how do you want to get there?
[00:18:20] Virginia Lette: Even back then, you talked about how technically the definition of imposter is fraud, And you're not intentionally deceiving people, right? You're the real deal and you're armed with the information that people want. You really are.
[00:18:35] Like people come to you because you are the most equipped person to help them develop their idea. And we're all very grateful for that. I'm sure I speak on behalf of everybody who's listening to this podcast, that you are the real deal and people who are moving into the industry, your students. They're also the real deal.
[00:18:55] They shouldn't feel that imposter syndrome. They're giving it a go.
[00:18:59] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. And also [00:19:00] the real deal is somebody who not only has the capability to execute something, but executes it. Beyonce is a great performer and a great singer, but there are plenty of great performers and great singers who are not as big as Beyonce.
[00:19:13] It doesn't mean that she's not the real deal because they're as good as or better than her, but it's like, you have to go for it and offer yourself and. Give the service or give the product and make it readily available. And then you too can be the real deal. I think, I don't know, I get nervous when people say like, you are the real deal.
[00:19:30] Cause it's like, there are other people out there that know plenty more than me. I have them on my podcast. They enrich my students lives and my life all the time. But if you want somebody who's going to be with you through the process and you want to have education that's laid out for you to get from point Idea to point like on the shelf or license.
[00:19:52] I have intentionally built a business to get you there. No one has intentionally built a whole business around [00:20:00] getting you there. And that is what you get with me, correct?
[00:20:04] Virginia Lette: Yeah, I feel like I'd struck gold when I came across your podcast. And like to use a similar analogy, it's like people that go to an art gallery and stand there and, you know, look at a piece of art and go, Oh, well, I could do that.
[00:20:16] Right. I could do that better. Yeah. And then, you know, I think I might've even said that once to my husband, I could do that. Looks like a kindergarten student did it. And he's like, yeah, you're not,
[00:20:27] Azhelle Wade: and you did it,
[00:20:27] Virginia Lette: right. You're not doing it. So
[00:20:30] Azhelle Wade: exactly. There you go. Because there's so much more to it. I mean, like having the information is step one, knowing how to package it so other people can understand it is a teacher's heart, knowing how to market it as a marketer's heart.
[00:20:43] Like there's just, it's a, the real deal, I guess, encompasses all of that. Right. Definitely.
[00:20:51] Virginia Lette: Moving on to some new questions. Now, I've listened to a lot of your podcast episodes. You have an entire library of them, 200 in fact [00:21:00] now. And I think for a lot of people who are just finding you or who will find you in the future, potentially, you might not like to hear this, but they're probably only going to go back and listen to the ones that pique their interest, judging by the title, right?
[00:21:13] Because it's going to be a lot to have to go back and listen to 200 episodes. So, I've compiled a bunch of questions for getting to know the toy coach part two, and I hope that you and your listeners will forgive me if you've actually answered any of these before. They're all new to me, and as we said earlier, there's no harm in revisiting them because As somebody very wise once said, it may have even been you, create once and publish often.
[00:21:39] And that's something I've got up on my wall now too, because the content that you're producing is amazing and it's okay to keep rehashing it for the new people that are coming in or just to refresh people's memories, right? One of the first questions I've got for you is that I'd love to know, what is your most listened to episode?
[00:21:59] Do you [00:22:00] have a
[00:22:00] Azhelle Wade: recommendation? I do. It's, it's the first episode, which I guess just cause when people find it, they go to the first episode, but it's called Unlocking Your Great Toy Ideas. It's a great title to that's up to me, but for anybody that does discover this podcast later, I actually have thought about this.
[00:22:17] So I have the toy coach. com slash playlist is like a PDF that highlights a PDF and a playlist of my top 10 episodes, kind of an order of not top 10, the top 10 episodes that you would need to listen to, to develop an idea. So kind of in order, it's like a good starter pack, like it's your starter pack of episodes.
[00:22:37] That's
[00:22:37] Virginia Lette: perfect because that was actually going to be my next question. Like, would you put together your top 10 most valuable episodes to listen to? So where would people find that list?
[00:22:47] Azhelle Wade: It's the toycoach. com slash playlist. And I do plan to make. Three different playlists. Cause I know, you know, from being in my course in module three, we talk about the different paths in the toy industry, so that playlist [00:23:00] is really for inventors and entrepreneurs, but I feel like we could do a separate, cause there's so many episodes.
[00:23:04] Now we could do a separate playlist for the entrepreneurs, the inventors. We could do a playlist for the executives. So that's coming. Right.
[00:23:12] Virginia Lette: I'm going to be going back and listening to all of those for sure. I do. I find myself the same like going back through and listening to the ones that I've favorited.
[00:23:20] Yeah. And I always get something new out of them. It's
[00:23:24] Azhelle Wade: incredibly valuable. Even when I go to edit episodes, I'm especially like interview episodes, not the ones that I write. I mean, I write them and practice them for so long. So like, I know the information there, but the episodes that I interview people, when I'm editing them, I learn things again.
[00:23:41] I'm like, Oh wow, that was a good point. Like, yeah, they were, yeah, that was good. Yeah.
[00:23:45] Virginia Lette: And a part of the beauty of the episodes that I listened back to is that they seem so timeless as well. They're not aging terribly, which is very helpful for people that want to come in and listen back to them retrospectively from two years ago.[00:24:00]
[00:24:01] Yes.
[00:24:01] Azhelle Wade: That's a huge credit to you. Thank you. Yeah, I try to make, to even if I'm telling you information about right now, I'm also telling you how we got there so you can try to get there yourself later, like if you listen to it later.
[00:24:15] Virginia Lette: I'm wondering on a more personal note, can you recount your first ever pinch me moment in your career where you were like, Whoa, I cannot believe I'm here.
[00:24:25] Azhelle Wade: Yeah, I can. And it was probably Access Daily when like Mario Lopez was like looking and I mean, it was virtual. So it wasn't
[00:24:35] Virginia Lette: I watched it on
[00:24:36] Azhelle Wade: YouTube. Yeah, it was. So that was probably it when he was like looking at me in a virtual setting, whatever. But his dimples were so deep. And I was like, Oh, my God, this is me.
[00:24:46] My moment. Yeah, that was great. That's
[00:24:50] Virginia Lette: very cool. Very, very cool. This might be a bit left field, but what do you think could be a common misperception about you [00:25:00] and how would you write that? Oh, yeah. What's your truth behind that common misperception?
[00:25:07] Azhelle Wade: I think that I, I don't know. I want to say that I'm young, but that's.
[00:25:13] I mean, I don't know. You're young. No, I'm not that young. Like, people think I'm like 20. I'm not that young. Okay. I don't know. What is it? I don't think people would tell me. I think, okay, like a positive or negative one. Let's clarify. Whatever you're willing to share. I mean, okay, so like a common misconception is that like I'm always happy because I'm not.
[00:25:40] And I think people are. off put when they meet me in person, if I'm not in a super like bubbly mentality, especially if they meet me when I'm in the middle of working like a booth or something, I'm definitely a lot more, I think, short than people expect. [00:26:00] So I try really hard to stay present and figure out language that even when delivered in a short tone of voice, Communicates that I care.
[00:26:13] I'm just occupied. I guess that was in a, is that in a negative way? That's in a positive. That's like a positive perception. Yeah.
[00:26:22] Virginia Lette: Yeah. I think that goes back to what we were saying earlier about people feeling like they know you. Yeah. You know, I guess to some extent you have to be high energy when you're doing your podcasts and your interviews.
[00:26:35] You have to be on your game. You have to bring out your A game every week for that. And potentially, we don't know, that could be the only time that you're really flying high, you know? It's to some extent, it's a character. It's a face that you're having to put on for that.
[00:26:50] Azhelle Wade: It's so funny because when we started this recording, as soon as I started the podcast part, I realized like.
[00:26:57] Oh, my voice is different. Did she notice that [00:27:00] I was like, Oh, because we were just talking regularly. And then all of a sudden I started like doing the thing. And then I was like, Oh, did she was like, Oh, I just,
[00:27:11] Virginia Lette: right. In that industry for a very long time, I would normally pick up on that, but I didn't with you.
[00:27:17] Oh, I get that a lot too. Romy, my daughter, Romy, she'll say, Oh, mom, you've got your You've got your radio voice on. Yes, yes, yes. Sound like that in real life. I'm like, yes, I do. Yes.
[00:27:28] Azhelle Wade: I changed. Do I? My husband says the same thing. I'll be, I'll say something to him and he'll be like, why are you using your podcast voice?
[00:27:35] And I'm like, I'm not, it's my regular voice. It's just, I don't
[00:27:41] Virginia Lette: know. So funny. I didn't notice it. I love it. Yeah, it really picks me up. Thank you. You've had so many achievements. Is there one that you're most proud of at this point in time?
[00:27:54] Azhelle Wade: Oh, I don't know. Oh my God, I just did the thing. Oof. [00:28:00] Uh, most proud of?
[00:28:03] Yeah, I don't know. I'm a Virgo. I'm not proud of anything and my best friend, too. I think I'm most proud of the
[00:28:14] Virginia Lette: court would have. Well,
[00:28:16] Azhelle Wade: I mean, yeah, I'd be more proud if I could figure out a sponsorship, like an ongoing sponsorship situation for the course. But you know what? Maybe it, Is the podcast because it has created community, like kind of effortlessly.
[00:28:34] It has helped people that can't afford my services, start businesses. It's connected people with the people from my podcast. So as proud as I am of it, it does not pay my bills, but it is a lovely thing that I'm glad. That people appreciate because I didn't think that it was going to make such a big impact, but it did.
[00:28:59] Virginia Lette: [00:29:00] Enormously. I point so many of my friends in the direction of your podcast, the ones who have no interest in toy creation whatsoever. Yeah. But I, you know, I say to them, this isn't just about creating toys and designing toys. You are going to learn so much about starting a business. You know, there's so much to learn about whatever industry you're wanting to start a business in.
[00:29:23] Oh, my gosh, so much value to be had out of all of your episodes and the people that you've interviewed branding, design, dealing with factories and just people in general. Yeah,
[00:29:36] Azhelle Wade: I know I have some people that used to listen to me in the very beginning who were like, Oh, I want more episodes about the toy industry and I want to do more episodes like specifically just.
[00:29:45] This is how you build a toy, but every week something happens. And I'm like, Oh, I have to talk about this. And then like, I get an idea and I'm like, I have to talk about this and we have to get ready for black Friday and we have to go to this toy trade show. And it's like, I know you want to hear how do you talk to a factory, but [00:30:00] it feels redundant when I know I have so many episodes already about that.
[00:30:04] And this month we need to be going to shy tech, like, you know, so we need to be talking about that, but I like it. I'm really proud of my podcast.
[00:30:12] Virginia Lette: Yes. Yeah. Well, you should be. Thank you. Um, do you get to a point where you're like, Oh God, what am I, like, what content am I going to put in? Like how many, how many more episodes of this podcast can we do or are you just so much there?
[00:30:24] Yeah. You're going to get to
[00:30:26] Azhelle Wade: 500. There. So it's more about editing because I have. The idea list in, I have, it's not Trello, it's Clickup. We use Clickup for project management. I have an idea board that's, I don't even know, probably hundreds of concepts long. I have other ideas that I've started, like scripts I've started.
[00:30:46] I've have people I've invited that are trying to book interviews, but we're booked out. I don't see. They're ever really being a time where I'm like, I don't have anything to talk about. And it's not even just talk because I don't want people to think. I think there is a [00:31:00] misconception that there's all talks a lot.
[00:31:02] She just talks. I'm never going to run out of things to teach. There's so much to learn about creating a playful business, creating a business in the toy industry, dealing with relationships, getting a job in the toy industry. I am not at a loss for ideas. I just need help editing. So
[00:31:19] Virginia Lette: that brings me to my next question.
[00:31:22] Do you have any expansion plans? for the Toy Creators Academy, a new course, or longer term, do you think you might do something like traveling the globe as a keynote speaker or something to that effect?
[00:31:35] Azhelle Wade: Ooh, I have so many ideas for Toy Creators Academy, but it's a scale issue at this point. So throughout the three years I've done TCA, I have introduced various different things.
[00:31:47] I had several memberships, one which you know because you found it, the Toy Creators Club, I think it was called. I had different memberships. I had the virtual pitch event, which is still a thing. There are a couple of other projects, like toy [00:32:00] challenges I used to run. There were things that I was trying that didn't really stick.
[00:32:04] What I've learned in the two years that I was testing all these different things is I really need to focus on what works and I know what works is Toy Creators Academy and the TCA virtual pitch event, and even the the in person event kind of works. We need to tweak some things there, but that works as well.
[00:32:21] So I'm trying to focus on doing those things. Getting enough people into those things so that it can be reinvested into something else. I'm not really at a point where TCA is so overfilled that I'm like, okay, let's do the next thing. I'm just trying to make the pitch events the best, the program, the best and get people licensed and in stores.
[00:32:44] And that's my focus mostly. And then, you know, The side of that is client projects on the side of that. And then I have visions for where the podcast could go. And I have ideas for kind of how I [00:33:00] can help people brand themselves in the toy industry. Cause I am quite good at branding. So it's more like. We have to see.
[00:33:07] It really depends on demand. It depends on the demand, how the demand goes, because if there's not a ton of demand for TCA, then I have to give what people really want. So we have to see.
[00:33:18] Virginia Lette: What about then, do you have any sort of firm career milestones that you'd like to hit in the short and medium term? Or
[00:33:25] Azhelle Wade: long term.
[00:33:26] I always wanted to be the CEO of a toy company before I started my own business. That was always my dream. And then now when I started my own business, I started to realize, like, I don't know why that was my dream. Why? Do you know why? Financial stability. But, but. I don't really know that that aligns with what I want anymore in doing my own business.
[00:33:47] I found a new way to live a new lifestyle. It may not be as lifestyles of the rich and famous, but I get to live in like truth and honesty. And I get to just be [00:34:00] myself and I get to study toys. Like it's a very serious thing. Like people hop on calls with me and they seriously want me to break down the 12 and under market for plush.
[00:34:10] Like they want a serious conversation about. So it's my job, you know, to seriously be invested in, in this call. And I love that you don't get that kind of freedom when you get to those higher levels. I'm in toy company, so it's just not my goal for right now. And it's not my goal, like in the next, I don't know, like two years, I can't think much further than that.
[00:34:33] Virginia Lette: Things keep evolving, don't they? Like, one of the things that you taught me in the course is just to get in and just do it, like in my head, in my toy idea that I have that I'm still wanting to bring to fruition, I want it to be perfect the first time. And that's not working very well for me. It doesn't work.
[00:34:50] No, no, no. Oh, and you know, I feel like I have to sacrifice a lot to just get something out there and then I can keep. Changing it up [00:35:00] and making it better. And as you just said, in your whole career, sometimes life's like that, too. You set out to do something. And then once you're on that path, you realize that what you wanted is not really the end
[00:35:13] Azhelle Wade: goal anymore.
[00:35:14] And it was also, I don't want to say it was easy to get because I never got to CEO, but I did get to VP. And at that point, it was like. Well, how much further do I really have to go? So maybe I don't want to do that right now. Cause that'll be, then I'll finish too fast. I'll be done. I'll be 35. Like, no, I need to like do something else.
[00:35:33] Virginia Lette: Aren't you the CEO? Aren't you the CEO
[00:35:36] Azhelle Wade: of this amazing brand that you've created? It's so different though. And I've been told this too, like, you know, being the CEO of my company, we don't need to talk revenue, but my company versus like a multimillion or billion dollar toy company, totally different conversations.
[00:35:52] You don't do the day to day stuff that I'm doing in my company. You talk big picture, you spend big money, putting together big teams to do big [00:36:00] things. And I am stretching small money to put together smaller teams to do big things. So it's like, that's a different.
[00:36:10] Virginia Lette: A lot of us have
[00:36:10] Azhelle Wade: been there and kinda like, yeah.
[00:36:13] Yeah. It's a different vibe.
[00:36:14] Virginia Lette: But you are, you are young. You say that you, I'm not that young. You are. You really are young. You haven't hit 40 yet. I know that.
[00:36:21] Azhelle Wade: Oh my gosh. Yeah. I'm 35. That's young. That's young. Well, I mean. This is a Zoom filter.
[00:36:30] Virginia Lette: I need to know what that is. Does it come with the hair?
[00:36:33] Azhelle Wade: It's a Zoom filter, it's in your settings.
[00:36:35] He's going to turn that up a little bit.
[00:36:38] Virginia Lette: All right, nice. I'll have a play around with that later. Back to business for a little bit. I'm curious to know, and maybe some of your listeners are too, What do you see is one of the biggest areas of growth in the toy industry? Do you think it's around sustainability or?
[00:36:57] Azhelle Wade: No, no, just because we're [00:37:00] not equipped to really recycle materials as a country, not the industry, we're not really equipped recyclable materials and even to recycle materials. So I actually think. Sustainability is a challenge for most startup toy companies. One day it will be a great opportunity, but I think until it becomes the norm and manufacturing, it's actually a hump that a smaller company has to get over to be able to afford to provide sustainability.
[00:37:26] However, Walmart did have an initiative to have their vendor partner switch to sustainable packaging. I think the year was 2025 was their target year. So there is a need to do it in certain ways, like whether it's your packaging or your product, but it's hard for startups because you don't have the numbers when you're just starting the MOQ, the minimum order quantity numbers.
[00:37:50] Yeah,
[00:37:51] Virginia Lette: it's frustrating, particularly if you like, probably a lot of us set out and want to do something good for the planet and you know, [00:38:00] it's obviously something that your customers would also look on quite favourably, but yeah, tough.
[00:38:06] Azhelle Wade: I would say, like, if you're starting out and you want to do something sustainable, and then you find out that sustainable material is not an option, you should look at things.
[00:38:15] There are recycling programs that you can affiliate your company with and include information about on your packaging so that you can encourage recycling of your products, or even look at Having some sort of a program where every purchase a certain amount of money goes to recycling and developing plants or things.
[00:38:36] So I would just look at how you can financially support the initiative if you can't actually make your product out of recycled goods.
[00:38:44] Virginia Lette: Nice. Gosh, I'm looking ahead. I've got like lists and lists of questions here, but I'm conscious of the fact that we're really going long here. Are we?
[00:38:52] Azhelle Wade: I'm going to narrow it down to three.
[00:38:53] Let me just make sure my husband's not on his way. Okay. Yeah. No, we're good. Okay. Go. I have to pick them up. [00:39:00]
[00:39:00] Virginia Lette: Okay. What is something that really frustrates you about the industry?
[00:39:05] Azhelle Wade: Uh, I mean, you just narrow
[00:39:08] Virginia Lette: it down to one here for the purposes of the podcast
[00:39:11] Azhelle Wade: or just that they're so stuck on increasing revenue and growth, but that's every industry in America, but so stuck on growth and revenue year after year over innovation, sometimes over diversity, sometimes they want to innovate, but the real reason people want to innovate is so they can grow.
[00:39:32] Be the better company and make more revenue and then people just want to stay safe. They're like, want to stay with the price points, the footprints, the product types that work. So that growth is just. I think a hindrance when they're like, wow, how much are we gonna grow next year? What's the profit the next year?
[00:39:49] What is the margin on this? I remember when I first started one company, I won't tell who they had this huge cogs exercise and everybody had to review all of their [00:40:00] products and recos all of their products to reduce the cogs cost of goods of the products to help the company. Have more profit. And so it just becomes like cheaper paper, cheaper plastic.
[00:40:11] How can we pull out this pull out that? And it's just, I don't know, it's gross. It's really what
[00:40:16] Virginia Lette: I'm going to squeeze in a little side question here to then sometimes I think that while so many new products that are coming out to market and so forth are really quite innovative, it also feels like sometimes that yeah, They're not all that innovative, they're just rehashed from old things, you know.
[00:40:33] Where are the opportunities to be innovative? Do you think that the broader toy market is willing and open to really like left field innovative products? Is there room for
[00:40:44] Azhelle Wade: that? I mean, yeah, there is, but I think the problem is bigger than the toy industry. The problem is capitalism because designers would love to make this cool, new, innovative thing.
[00:40:57] And marketers would probably love to promote [00:41:00] that thing. But at the end of the day, somebody's Come in with a projection spreadsheet. Somebody's coming in and saying, this is what sold last year. And then a buyer is looking at what worked last year and then looking at what you're presenting them this year.
[00:41:11] And is saying, um, I don't think so. You know, everybody's. It's just this revenue. We've gotten ourself on this revenue hamster wheel as a country. I mean, I don't know if it's like this in Australia. So there's just this chase to do better than last year, better than last year. And that stifles creativity, like social media stifles creativity from content creators and artists.
[00:41:33] It's just the need to keep producing.
[00:41:36] Virginia Lette: I found your episodes around AI really, really eye opening and I went to mid journey and discord and all those sorts of things after you're listening to your episodes and had a bit of a play around. Do you think maybe that there's an avenue there? For innovation and seeing what will
[00:41:52] Azhelle Wade: work.
[00:41:53] Yeah, what I wonder what I think will happen and I wonder if it's going to happen more is companies will use AI to [00:42:00] generate concepts and then test those renderings to their audiences that they've built up and see how the audience responds before developing the product. I don't know how it'll work because like we don't know who owns what AI creates because it's parsing information from all across the web unless you use a tool like.
[00:42:19] Maybe Adobe Firefly seems to be changing that a little bit, but yeah, I think that's going to be an innovative way to see. Is our consumer base interested in it? Just get them to vote on a photo, you know, like, yeah,
[00:42:30] Virginia Lette: yeah. It's mind boggling really, isn't it? All right. Second last question. Okay. Which one am I going to go for here?
[00:42:37] Eeny, meeny,
[00:42:38] Azhelle Wade: miny,
[00:42:39] Virginia Lette: moe. Something that's happened to you that you wouldn't otherwise share on your podcast? Ooh.
[00:42:48] Azhelle Wade: Oh, I'm, I .
[00:42:50] Virginia Lette: This is, this is one of the questions I'm like, I've gotta interview that girl. On top of that happened to me that I would not
[00:42:55] Azhelle Wade: need to find out more about her. That I would not share so many things.
[00:42:59] [00:43:00] I am not a, I mean, Shem a personal brand, but like, if you've noticed like it's not that personal . Got it. Got it. But um. Okay, let me think of something that's
[00:43:10] Virginia Lette: happened to you in the last few weeks that you would think to share with your listeners.
[00:43:17] Azhelle Wade: Okay. All right. No, no, I got, I got one. So I totally believe in ghosts.
[00:43:29] 100 percent and totally up until like this morning thought my house was haunted. My new house. I was like, oh yeah, we definitely have a ghost. 100 percent here's why and the reason is embarrassing. So I went to the store and I bought some tights because it's winter. Gotta stay warm. So I bought some tights and I brought these tights upstairs and they were still in the package.
[00:43:50] And I was like, I'm going to just put them in my socks drawer and I put them in there. And then my husband comes to bed and I'm like, Hmm, my socks drawer. I'm pretty sure I [00:44:00] closed that, but it's open. Can you close it? So that was like strike number one for there's a ghost. And then, and then he closed it, but I didn't say anything.
[00:44:07] And then the next day I went to get my socks and one of them was missing or my stockings. And then I was like, honey, I think we have a ghost. The more we talked about it, the more he was like, they have to be here somewhere. And I'm like, no, I remember taking them upstairs and I put them in the drawer and one of them is missing.
[00:44:24] And he's like, why would a ghost take your stockings? And I was like, I don't know, maybe they're just like a little poltergeist ghost. And they just want to like, have a good time. And then it's like, Wait a second, that drawer is overfilled. Perhaps it just fell down to the next drawer and it did. So I open up the next drawer and I'm like, Oh, they're right here.
[00:44:45] I don't have a ghost.
[00:44:47] Virginia Lette: Yeah. But see, maybe another ghost put it back. That's also what it's like having kids, by the way. I think it must be a lot of ghosts in my place too, because there's always stuff going missing. [00:45:00] That's it. I
[00:45:01] Azhelle Wade: was like, I don't. I put
[00:45:02] Virginia Lette: it there. I
[00:45:03] Azhelle Wade: put it there. Did you? Did you really? Oh my
[00:45:07] Virginia Lette: gosh.
[00:45:07] All right. Let's. Let's wrap up with, um, another quite random question, but one very relevant to your 200th podcast episode today. And I think we need to know what is your 200th episode or birthday wish when you're blowing out the candles later tonight. Christian and you've got a cake and you're blowing out those candles.
[00:45:30] What wish are you making?
[00:45:32] Azhelle Wade: Oh my gosh. I wish that every does like want to be toy or game inventor listening to my podcast joins Toy Creators Academy. That is my wish. There's power in numbers and together, the more of us that we are together, the bigger impact we can make on this industry and the more retailers and toy companies that I can get to, to come and meet with [00:46:00] us.
[00:46:00] Yeah. So I, I would love more of my listeners to just come, come meet with me for a TCA walkthrough. Cause I offer those meetings. So, yeah, I, I would, is that, is that a good wish? Is that a bad wish? That's
[00:46:17] Virginia Lette: a wonderful wish. Oh, okay. And what can we do to help that? You know, we need to spread the word.
[00:46:22] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. I mean, leave a review, share an episode.
[00:46:26] Either of those things are great. The reviews help me deal with my imposter syndrome. So leave a review to put a smile on my face and share the episode to help my dreams come true. Hooray.
[00:46:39] Virginia Lette: Yes. Happy birthday. Oh, thank you. Amazing. And it's, it's Christmas now too. It's all happening at, uh, at
[00:46:47] Azhelle Wade: once.
[00:46:47] Oh my gosh. Oh, I'm sad it's at, it's over.
[00:46:51] Virginia Lette: Oh, we could do it again.
[00:46:52] Azhelle Wade: Was it good? What? You were wonderful.
[00:46:54] Virginia Lette: Okay, cool. Absolutely incredible. And we learned so much more about you and it's just, it's wonderful to have an [00:47:00] opportunity to ask you some questions and if I'd been able to get in touch with a lot of your listeners before this episode, I would have liked to have asked them what questions they'd like to ask you as
[00:47:09] Azhelle Wade: well.
[00:47:10] So it's so funny because the episode 100, somebody had reached out to me and said, we should interview you because I want to know more about your success as a gel and what you've done in the industry. And so that 100th episode came about because that person at the time gathered questions for me and those were listener questions.
[00:47:30] So we did, we did both ways. 100 was listener questions. 200 was a professional asking me questions. You're a toy media person now, I think.
[00:47:39] Virginia Lette: Right? In my dreams. Thank you so, so much for this opportunity. Honestly, as I said at the very beginning of the episode, the ultimate gift for me to be able to interview you, Aijel. Thank you so much for your time.
[00:47:51] Azhelle Wade: Virginia, thank you so much for offering to do this.
[00:47:54] I've never been interviewed by one of my listeners before. This was really cool. WEll, there you have it toy people. That [00:48:00] is Virginia's interview with me for this week's podcast episode.
[00:48:04] If you loved what we chatted about on today's podcast episode, you can see more@thetoycoach.com slash podcast. If you want to get the links, anything I mentioned in this episode, like Virginia's podcast that she had done a while back, then head over to the toy coach. com forward slash two zero zero. So weird to say not one and if you love this podcast and you haven't already left a review, what are you waiting for? Your reviews mean so much to me and it keeps me motivated to keep coming back week after week, as always. Thank you so much for spending this time with me today. I know your time is valuable and that there are a ton of podcasts out there.
[00:48:39] So it means the world to me that you tune into this one until next week. I'll see you later. Toy people. Thanks for listening to making it in the toy industry podcast with a shell Wade, head over to the toy coach. com for more information, tips, and advice.[00:49:00]
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