Episode Notes

“New products are hitting store shelves every two minutes,” says Ann. How are entrepreneurs gaining expertise quickly? By hiring a retail specialist. Ann Anderson, MBA, and founder of Retail Partner Solutions, LLC, gives a brief overview of what we need to know about getting our products on Big-Box retailer store shelves like Walmart, Costco, Lunds & Byerlys, Hy-Vee, Petco, Target, Specialty Stores, to name a few.

If you are rolling out new products in the food and beverage space, consider talking with Ann. Her retail expertise, resources, and strategies could help you accelerate growth. She has a proven record of succeeding across many categories, including launches of kid’s snacks, home essentials, pet products, coffee, ethnic products, and beverages.

Here are some of the questions Ann answers still pertinent in 2022 and 2023:

• What is needed to get your finished product ready for Big-Box Retailers?
• Why not approach Big-Box Retailers yourself?
• When is a good time to hire a retail specialist?

• Do you have your channel strategy worked out?
• What is the priority of your brand from a channel perspective?
• What is the timeline for getting new products on retail shelves?

• What elements do you need to organize?
• Online operates differently; in what ways and what do you need to consider?
• What is involved before and after getting our products on store shelves?

In 2021, when we taped this conversation, I asked Ann about closing the door on corporate employment and planting her feet solidly in business ownership. It is an essential step in succeeding with a new venture after leaving a fulfilling legacy in corporate America. Owning and committing to each part of redesigning your future is exercising bravery. Listen to her answer. DOWNLOAD

U.S. and Global Entrepreneurship in 2021 and 2022

I was curious to learn about 2020 and whether our economy started more businesses than closed. Yes, that is the simple answer. On average, annually about 130,000 U.S. businesses close. In 2020 the number of closings spiked to 200,000, as reported by the Federal Reserve. We won’t know the accurate number until well into 2023.

Use the table below to understand how many new U.S. businesses formed in which month and year. This will give you an idea of business start-up trends. We started 2021 with 134,623 new businesses more than in December 2020. We are ending this year with new business formations up from prior years. The future looks brighter than the prior few years, but who knows what is behind the horizon. I know that with faith and purpose, we can get through anything.  

U.S. New Business Formations

Here, you can look up all kinds of industry-specific data from the U.S. Government Census website. 

Here is a pdf report on how women entrepreneurs and men faired in 2021 and 2022. 

You can read an executive summary from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor here.

NEXT STEP: Challenge yourself and do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below.