Wholesale can be a huge growth lever for your business, but it can sometimes feel like a secret club you have to get invited to
Here’s the truth: as long as you have a product that sells, you can get started on growing a sustainable product business and boosting your sales whilst remaining in your creative flow right away.
WHERE MY CLIENTS ARE STOCKED
.png)
If you’re fed up of wasting time on socials with little to show for it, constant SEO rabbit holes, and booking expensive trade shows and hoping and praying that they’ll work this time, then I’m so glad you’re here.
Maybe you’ve dabbled with wholesale in the past via a third-party marketplace, but haven’t found it to be particularly repeatable or reliable.
Maybe you’ve reached out to people in the past, but have second-guessed every follow-up, every email, and every decision.
Or maybe you’ve never made any steps towards wholesale, but have thought about it a whole lot because you know it could be a game-changer. As a wholesale expert with nearly 2 decades of experience, I’m here to help.
How we can work together
Six months of bespoke 1:1 mentoring, completely tailored to you, for when you're ready to get serious about growing your wholesale and want someone who knows the industry inside out in your corner.
A full day together in person, working through your wholesale strategy, pricing, systems, or wherever you're stuck, so you walk away with total clarity and a plan you can actually use.
Testimonials
"Therese is very knowledgeable in her field and we have thrived on having her input and advice on all manner of things. Her experience and insights have given us a firmer footing in times when we felt unsure or insecure.
Her guidance has helped us to put in place systems to drill down into the exact numbers and profit margins of all products. She has also helped us to understand our limitations and given us the confidence to invest more in outsourcing work. During our time working together, we have brought on board an accountant and an employee who is now with us 3 days a week. These simple steps are proving invaluable in allowing our business to grow and would not have been possible had we not had Therese's help in first fully understanding the numbers in the business.
Since working together, our business has developed a lot. We have moved to become a Ltd company, we have onboarded between 50-100 stockists, we've had interesting larger projects and collaborations come to fruition and with the guidance of Therese just started work on plans to expand into the US."
UPDATE!!
"Since working with Therese, we have gone from 100 stockists to 1000 stockists in 30 months. And from £80k revenue to £350k This has allowed us to live a life working hard at doing what we enjoy while always ensuring we take time out for holidays with our kids. Making a comfortable living from our business has also allowed us to do important things like buy our own house and put money into retirement funds."
Freya and Jakob - Studio Wald
"Our wholesale has grown 950% since completing Sales Growth Lab last January. During the 10 weeks of the course, we gained 30 new stockists."
Craft business
"Since working with Therese, I have added 9 new stockists in 5 months, adding 4k revenue. This has allowed me to expand my product range."
Stationery business owner.
"Since working with Therese, I have gone from 25 stockists to 77 stockists in five months. Since starting SGL I have increased my wholesale revenue by 15k."
Greetings and stationery business
"Since working with Therese, we have gone from 8 stockists to 65 stockists in 18 months. Adding £22,500 in additional annual revenue into my business. This has allowed us to invest money into attending our first trade shows and growing the wholesale side of our business even further."
Craft business
"Since working with Therese, I have gone from 12 stockists to 72 stockists in 8 months. And this has taken us to a revenue of £70,000 so far for wholesale 2023 compared to £5500 for the same period in 2022."
Ceramics business
"Since working with Therese, I have gone from 4 stockists to over 100 stockists in 3 years. Adding £34,000 in additional annual revenue into my business. This has allowed me to go from starting to pay myself a wage to hiring staff and buying my own flat."
Maddie - Also the Bison
"Working with Therese has been an absolute pleasure and brought the wholesale side of my business on leaps and bounds.
My primary reason for signing up was to prepare for my first-ever trade show in July 2020. I went to the event feeling 100% confident about my products and what I could offer to prospective buyers.
The show was a massive success in terms of taking and orders and I was so pleased that I had all my follow-up email templates all ready to send when I got home. All of this is thanks to Therese's guidance and hard work putting together a programme that works."
Emma - Stitching me softly
Sales Pep Talk
Your weekly sales pep talk to inspire sales and action to keep your wholesale growing.
I set up Small Business Collaborative to help you price your products for profit, and find your way of selling that doesn’t feel icky.
Hej, I’m Therese Oertenblad (Ørtenblad) and, simply put, I help you start and grow your business as a wholesale expert.
With a previous career in sales and buying, I noticed so many small businesses founders having no success at tradeshows. It wasn’t that their products were lacking: it was that they didn’t know how to set up to sell successfully.
They didn't have enough experience to make a return on their investment, and all that money and time was wasted. Without guidance, they were working by pure trial and error, which felt overwhelming and lonely. They ended up overthinking everything and having confidence in nothing, when there was a simple fix!
My mission is to help product-based business owners build a business that supports their life. A business that gives them freedom, space to stay in their creative flow, and the confidence to do work they find meaningful.
.png)
PROUDLY WORKED WITH:
.png)
So, what’s next?
STEP 1
Where are you at?
Whether you’re new to wholesale or a bit of a pro, we start by checking in with what you’re doing. What’s working? And what could work better? Where do you want to go? And at what pace?
STEP 2
The fastest and most impactful way
- that will save you a ton of time
Set the foundations in place instead of learning as you go and expecting your customers to teach you how to sell to them. Let me show you the steps I’ve helped my clients and students take to get stocked by their dream retailers, such as Liberty, Selfridges, John Lewis, and many more.
STEP 3
Time to get selling
It’s time to decide how much time you will spend growing your wholesale. 1 hour a day, 1 day a week, 1 hour a week? With all the knowledge and a system in place, you can grow your wholesale in a limited amount of time. Working on your wholesale may feel scary at first, but I will give you a tried and tested system.
So … where to next?
.png)
Start with a free masterclass that teaches you the steps you need to take to start to wholesale.
.png)
Find out more about growing your wholesale with a whole library of articles over on the blog.
.png)
If you want more support, find out more about how we can work together to get your wholesale on the right track with clarity and accountability.
A line sheet is how you will present your products to retail buyers in a professional way that makes it easy for them to buy from you. Download my template today to create yours in an hour, and get your first stockist this week!
Get my FREE Canva Line Sheet Template
What my clients say
"I got to know Therese and her small business mentoring service on instagram and after we had our initial telephone conversation, I knew Therese would be the perfect mentor for myself and my relatively new creative business.
Therese's retail expertise and wholesale knowledge was exactly what I needed over this past summer. Together we clarified wholesale pricing, planning, pitching to retail but I also appreciated the attention to detail Therese provided, such as bespoke packaging and that extra personalised customer service which is often lost amongst big brands.
Therese, you have been a vital part of my journey and I have gained so much confidence and clarity moving my business forward. Thank you so much!"
- Nina D
"Working with Therese has been an absolute pleasure, she not only knows everything there is to know about wholesale, she's also a great person that personally invests her time in your business.
She's so passionate about small independents and really wants you to do well. I was lacking in confidence when it came to contacting retailers, due to my lack of skill with costing but Therese has supported me, so that I know how to confidently price my products.
I can't recommend her enough and I know i'll definitely be coming back for more advice, when I reach the next level of wholesaling. The course has filled me with so much excitement for the future of my stationery business."
- Clare, Ruby Blue Paper Co
"I can honestly say that without Therese's help, we would have really struggled with our wholesale. As complete newbies, we knew very little about the world of wholesale, and after our sessions, we felt confident that we were prepared for our first trade show.
Therese was friendly, professional, very generous with her time and most importantly very knowledgeable. I would, without a shadow of a doubt, recommend Therese to anyone needing help with their wholesale. Thank you so much!"
- Hazel and Jimmy, The Woodlife Project