Making It in The Toy Industry
How do I bring my toy ideas to life? How can I pitch my toy concept to top toy companies like Hasbro, Mattel, or Goliath Games? What does it cost to make a prototype, and where can I get one made? Are there toy manufacturing options outside of China?
These are just a few of the questions that will be answered on this weekly podcast, Making It In The Toy Industry. In addition to mini toy masterclasses, and step-by-step guides, each episode is designed to help you take immediate action toward developing, presenting, licensing, and producing your next big toy or game idea.
Learn how to find the right factory, negotiate manufacturing costs, and use successful sales techniques to get your product noticed by major toy companies.
Meet Your Host
Azhelle Wade, aka The Toy Coach, has been in the toy industry since 2010. With 3 toy patents, multiple toy awards, and a track record of managing multi-million-dollar toy lines for companies like Toys R Us, Party City, Madame Alexander, and Creative Kids, Azhelle brings passionate and enthusiastic toy industry expertise to every episode.
Join thousands of toy creators and entrepreneurs who are making their toy dreams real with Making It In The Toy Industry!
Making It in The Toy Industry
S6E04 | 5 Foundations Your Toy Company Needs BEFORE Integrating AI (Custom GPTs, Automations & More)
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So I finally convinced you that you can’t ignore AI… and you’re ready to implement it in your toy business. Go you. Love that for you. 👏🏾
But before you go trying to haphazardly plug AI into every little task, you need to build your AI foundation.
Your AI foundation is a series of files, records, strategy, and frameworks that you as a business use on a day-to-day basis. You may already have it documented somewhere, living in your head, or is just something your team knows how to execute.
In today’s episode, I’m breaking down exactly:
- What you need to document
- How to pull that information together
- What you’re actually going to use it for
- And how to use it to benefit your process TODAY.
I’m also sharing a tool I made that will help you build this foundation a whole lot faster.
I know I say this all the time, but… DO NOT miss this episode!
Key Moments:
- 01:00 – Why you cannot layer AI on top of messy data and undocumented processes
- 02:00 – Foundation #1: Your Golden Data (sales data, product list, customer profile)
- 11:00 – The brand voice problem that makes AI sound generic (and how to fix it)
- 14:00 – Foundation #3: Your tech stack audit
- 17:00 – Foundation #4: SOPs (yes, you must have them)
- 21:00 – Foundation #5: Folder structure + the “Chief Operations Officer” prompt
Mentioned in This Episode:
- AI Blueprint
thetoycoach.com/ai - Toy Coach Showcase
https://learn.thetoycoach.com/showcase - Connect With Me
If you’re ready to implement AI into your business and you want it done for you, email me at: info@thetoycoach.com
About My NEW Podcast Art:
The podcast art for Season 6 of Making It In The Toy Industry features product illustrations of toys and games I helped guide in Toy Creators Academy and TCA Accelerator. Tap the brand name below to check them out!
Playcor by Courtney Smithee
9 to 5 Warriors by Brandon Braswell
Catoms by Kieche O'Connell
The Lunch Room by EAP Toys and Games founder, Chrissy Fagerholt