Becoming an entrepreneur looks different for each person who chooses this path. However, one thing that can help any entrepreneurial project is putting yourself, including your background and your history, into the story and finding a meaningful motivation for your ideas. Keewa Nurulla, today’s podcast guest, is the founder of Kido Chicago, a brick-and-mortar kids’ store that also has an online shop. It started as a store for kids clothing that Keewa designed herself, and then branched out into books and toys. Keewa talks about how her family’s entrepreneurial background going back to Black Wall Street and her history as a Black performance artist shaped her vision. Learn about how she designed her store, the frustrations she has encountered with the photos on product packaging, and the number one piece of advice she received when starting her business.

Is your toy idea begging to see the spotlight? Do you have a game idea swimming around in your imagination? You may be a burgeoning toy inventor! However, if you are ready to fully flesh out your toy idea, brand, and marketing, you may be a toy entrepreneur. What is the difference between these two toy industry tracks?

Today’s guest is Chrissy Fagerholt. She is a graduate of the Toy Creators Academy and already has a successful game out with Goliath and has two more games coming out soon. In today’s episode, Chrissy tells us about making the jump from toy inventor to toy entrepreneur. She explains a bit of her inventing process, how the shift to toy industry entrepreneur happened, and where in the process of inventing a toy she starts to come up with marketing and branding ideas. You will also find out how the Toy Creators Academy helped Chrissy to make the toy industry connections that led her to figure out how to make toy industry entrepreneurship work for her.

The Toy Coach’s entrepreneurial journey didn’t start in toys, but instead it started in fashion. In 2012 Azhelle Wade, aka The Toy Coach created a fashion brand called Costumize Me. What started as a made to order costume company, evolved into a convertible event wear brand with the tag line 1 dress 100 ways to wear. This two part episode series details a toy designer’s entrepreneurial journey in the world of fashion. And because this is The Toy Coach podcast, every lesson learned and mistake made is packaged into a lesson that you can take and apply to your toy journey today.

The Toy Coach’s entrepreneurial journey didn’t start in toys, but instead it started in fashion. In 2012 Azhelle Wade, aka The Toy Coach created a fashion brand called Costumize Me. What started as a made to order costume company, evolved into a convertible event wear brand with the tag line 1 dress 100 ways to wear. This two part episode series details a toy designer’s entrepreneurial journey in the world of fashion. And because this is The Toy Coach podcast, every lesson learned and mistake made is packaged into a lesson that you can take and apply to your toy journey today.

Today’s podcast guest has been called The Godfather of Toys and is a social media icon in the collectors toy space. Jeremey’s journey in toys started at a clothing and toy store called Only Kids in Memphis, Tennessee. In today’s episode Jeremy provides advice on “making it” in the corporate toy world and what it takes to be an entrepreneur. You’ll learn the difference between collectibles both physical and digital, and yep that means we talk about NFTs! The consistent theme in today’s episode is resilience. We explore moments in Jeremy’s past where his resilience helped him move forward and we discuss the relationship between that never-give-up attitude and success.

If you’re at a place in your toy journey where you need a little inspiration to push you forward, listen to this episode. At the end of our conversation Jeremy shares two of the best pieces of advice he received in his career. The first helped him feel empowered when taking on a challenging new role, and the second prepared him for the man he is today. Ready for a little toyspiration from a major leader in the toy space? Tap play and give this episode a listen.

Do you know how to play? It seems like a simple question and your first thought might be, “of course I do!” but many adults today have forgotten how to play. As toy people, we know that play is necessary for the growth and development of children…but what about play in adults? Play is proven to help ease stress and inspire creative problem solving. So what do you do when the stresses of life stop you from playing or worse yet, you forget what play is to you? Well that’s where my guest today might be able to help. This episode offers great insights for entrepreneurs and inventors who are starting to test their products with consumers. This episode is also great for parents and corporate executives who want to infuse more play in their everyday lives.

The Toy Coach is sharing a presentation and step-by-step roadmap on How To Break Into Toys. The lessons taught in today's episode are applicable if you are hoping to be a toy inventor, entrepreneur or find a corporate toy job. In today’s episode you’ll learn two ways to educate yourself in the toy industry from traditional to digital. The Toy Coach shares mindsets that hold aspiring toy people back including the inability to think outside the box when looking for toy companies to work for.

Before you can build the toy business of your dreams, you’ve got to know the history of the toy businesses that came before you. In today’s episode I’ll be sharing insider information directly from the producers of the new History Channel series, The Toys that Built America! This upcoming series dives into the history of toy titans like Hasbro and Mattel, with expert interviews and dramatic reenactments. Plus! If you tune into the series you might catch The Toy Coach teaching you some important toy history.

Every week for the past 100 weeks I have shown up with a new episode designed to help you take another confident step forward in your toy journey. Today I’m sitting down to answer a list of personal and professional questions submitted through my website, instagram, and Facebook. These questions cover everything from my experience as a child actress on Sesame Street, to how I handled a shocking cancer diagnosis at a young age, and even how I go about raising capital for my growing business. After listening you’ll feel more connected and aware of the community that loves this podcast, you’ll know more about the vision behind The Toy Coach, why I do the work I do, and what qualifies me to be your guide.

Finding the courage to pitch your toy or game idea can be challenging, so that’s where important industry events like the one covered in today’s episode come in. Today on The Toy Coach podcast you’ll discover yet another in-person pitch event turned virtual for 2021 because of the pandemic. What we’ll learn in this week’s episode is that there is a huge benefit to going virtual for toy industry pitch events. The Women in Toys Empowerment Day helped connect over 80 women inventors and entrepreneurs to decision makers and professionals in the toy industry. In this episode you’ll learn what this event is, who it’s for, and how you can make the most of the incredible opportunities It creates.

Have you been looking for an overview on all the possible career paths in the toy industry? Wondering what it takes to make it as an inventor or corporate toy person? Well during my chat with the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures I covered just that. And lucky for you, that incredibly valuable talk is now available right here on your favorite podcast.

This conversation, called Meet the experts, was the result of an invitation extended to The Toy Coach to teach what it’s like to have a career in the wonderful world of the toy industry. If you’re curious what it takes to Make It In the Toy Industry, then pop your earbuds in and listen.

Getting publicity for your toy business can seem like a daunting task at first. Imposter syndrome is often the culprit preventing many toy entrepreneurs from getting their name and toy products a well-deserved spotlight. Having been featured on NBC’s Access Daily, interviewed by Marie Forleo, and Amy Porterfield, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to teach you about getting media coverage. by the end of today’s episode, you’ll have to tools you need to start highlighting and pitching your creative business to get major publicity.

Amy Porterfield is an online marketing expert and the host of the top-ranked podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy. Before building a multi-million-dollar digital course business, Amy worked with mega brands like Harley-Davidson and Peak Performance Coach, Tony Robbins, where she oversaw the content team and collaborated on ground-breaking online marketing campaigns.

If the expense of returning to in-person toy trade shows has you a little worried, then there’s a year-round toy trade show platform that you need to know about. In today’s episode we take a behind the scenes look at Toy Fair Everywhere, a year-round, 24/7 virtual trade show that is changing the way the toy entrepreneurs and buyers connect and do business. The platform functions as a product discovery tool for buyers and a wholesale ecommerce site for sellers.

If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about The Toy Coach, and why Azhelle built this podcast then this episode is for you. Today Azhelle shares her story from corporate dream job, to entrepreneurial dream life, with advice on how you can do the same. It all comes down to figuring out the “Puzzle of You” which Azhelle explains with great detail in today’s episode.

After being laid off during the pandemic in 2020, Conor Lewis was bit by the entrepreneurial bug and decided to go for it with his toy product, FORT. Conor put his marketing expertise to use and built an email list of over 80,000 people before launching his Kickstarter campaign. His share focused and gamified marketing campaign helped him build his email list organically. Conor comes on the show today to share his journey of building his list, nurturing his interested customers, and ultimately funding a multi-million-dollar crowdfunding campaign in the first 24 hours.