What does it mean to design something a customer will hold in their hands every single day?
Nikki sits down with two founders who built physical products rooted in confidence, clarity, and self-belief, and who both obsess over the experience long after the order ships.
What you'll hear in this episode:
- The story behind the pink metallic envelope, and why Lisa gets unboxing videos from customers who weren't expecting to feel that moved by a mailer.
- Why Cheryl spent years trying to make PleaseNotes a faceless brand, what changed her mind, and how that shift rewired her entire approach to packaging and growth.
- The belly band conversation nobody has in product development; and why what works beautifully in D2C can completely fail when your product hits a retail shelf.
- What Lisa's QR code nudge is actually doing for her customer relationships (hint: it's not a marketing tactic, it's a continuity experience).
- Why Cheryl says your product has to work as an ecosystem, and what that means for founders who are just starting to think beyond their hero product.
If you've ever wondered what separates a product people buy from a product people recommend, press play.
About My Guests:
Cheryl Sutherland is a transformational Confidence and Mindset Speaker, Entrepreneur, and Founder of PleaseNotes, a personal growth brand that creates affirmation-filled goods to inspire clarity, confidence, and creativity. Known as The Confidence Creator, Cheryl helps individuals and organizations unlock bold leadership, resilience, and personal power through the art of mindset mastery. After spending over 10,000 hours studying personal development, coaching, and mindset psychology, she discovered that true leadership begins within. Her work has been featured in Forbes, InStyle, Huffington Post, Fast Company, Thrive Global, and FOX LA. She has partnered with organizations like Salesforce, Freshbooks, CPA Canada, and Quicken Loans to deliver keynotes, panels, and workshops that challenge traditional ideas around leadership, confidence, and self-trust. Cheryl travels internationally from her home base in Toronto, Ontario.
pleasenotes.com
instagram.com/pleasenotesgoods
Clear and Confident Course: cherylsutherland.thrivecart.com/clear-and-confident-course-pleasenotes/
Lisa Simone Richards is the co-founder and CEO of Pearl Spark Pages, a self-belief fueled stationery brand that gives women entrepreneurs a daily dose of self-confidence so they can push past imposter syndrome. After two decades as a publicist helping women-led startups gain visibility, Lisa realized she was facing the very challenge she had coached so many founders through: imposter syndrome. Even with years of experience, she saw how inner dialogue shapes the way we show up in business and in life. Determined to change that narrative, Lisa created the Female Founders Journal to help women entrepreneurs turn self-doubt into bold self-belief. Through beautifully designed paper products, her mission is to help women see themselves the way the world already does: capable and confident.
pearlsparkpages.com
instagram.com/pearlsparkpages
Free 7-day digital preview of the Female Founders Journal: https://pearlsparkpages.lpages.co/free7dayjournal/
Connect with Nikki on Instagram: instagram.com/iamnikkimck
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