This week in the guest chair we have Ashley Reynolds, Founder of Cloth & Paper. After Ashley left her corporate finance job of 9 years, she decided to take a chance on herself. She started designing planner inserts from scratch with no previous background or education in graphic design. Shortly after, a stationery business blossomed and the line grew to offer leather planners, luxury pens, and more quintessential styles. Today Cloth & Paper is a brand with over 40 employees, over 130K Instagram followers, and thousands of passionate customers.  In this episode she shares: How she discovered a gap in her niche and built her business around filling it Her journey from creating her first planner on Microsoft Word to becoming a high-end, sought-after brand How her organic approach to marketing supported the growth of her business & so much more Highlights Include: 4:15 Transitioning to entrepreneurship 9:35 Authenticity in marketing 16:55 The manufacturing process 20:39 Maintaining low margins 25:54 Mastering the hiring process 28:43 Navigating competitors 32:01 Creating a product line 34:06 Tips for entrepreneurs Check out episode 393 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube  Links mentioned in this episode Cloth and Paper Website: https://www.clothandpaper.com/ Cloth and Paper Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cloth_and_paper/  Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rss AnnouncementsJoin our Facebook Community If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook Guest Social Media InfoCloth and Paper Instagram- @Cloth_and_Paper Ashley’s Instagram: @ashley_reynolds_ar  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.