Toy Industry Entrepreneur Teaches Newbies How to Get Into the Industry, with Azhelle Wade "The Toy Coach"
11/17/21 • 60 min
With more than 10 years of corporate experience in the toy industry at companies like Toys R Us, Madame Alexander, and Party City, Azhelle Wade is now helping newbies get into the toy industry. During the pandemic, Azhelle left her VP role at a toy company and became an entrepreneur helping toy inventors and entrepreneurs through both her podcast “Making it In the Toy Industry”, consulting, and her online course “Toy Creators Academy.”
Azhelle explains how her degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology helped her get started in the industry. It was, however, her continuous desire to learn as much as possible about all the facets of the industry that led to her now being a thought leader in the field.
Azhelle explains the three different paths you can take to be part of the toy industry and what each involves: corporate career, entrepreneurship, and inventor. She also shares how you can join this industry at every stage, whether you are just starting your career or whether you have had a lot of work experience.
Resources
Contact Info:
Azhelle Wade
Meet the Toy Coach
@thetoycoach (Instagram)
Julie Berman - Host
www.womenwithcooljobs.com
@womencooljobs (Instagram)
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I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.
If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman
Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3
With more than 10 years of corporate experience in the toy industry at companies like Toys R Us, Madame Alexander, and Party City, Azhelle Wade is now helping newbies get into the toy industry. During the pandemic, Azhelle left her VP role at a toy company and became an entrepreneur helping toy inventors and entrepreneurs through both her podcast “Making it In the Toy Industry”, consulting, and her online course “Toy Creators Academy.”
Azhelle explains how her degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology helped her get started in the industry. It was, however, her continuous desire to learn as much as possible about all the facets of the industry that led to her now being a thought leader in the field.
Azhelle explains the three different paths you can take to be part of the toy industry and what each involves: corporate career, entrepreneurship, and inventor. She also shares how you can join this industry at every stage, whether you are just starting your career or whether you have had a lot of work experience.
Resources
Contact Info:
Azhelle Wade
Meet the Toy Coach
@thetoycoach (Instagram)
Julie Berman - Host
www.womenwithcooljobs.com
@womencooljobs (Instagram)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.
If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman
Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3
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Broadcast TV Meteorologist Tells Weather Story by Combining Science and Media Experience, with April Warnecke
April Warnecke is a Broadcast Meteorologist and greenscreen magician for Channel 3TV’s “Good Morning! Arizona”. She won an Emmy during her 16-year span at GMA educating Arizonans on the state’s weather, including the crazy summer monsoon seasons with giant dust storms and flash floods and winters with snow.
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Resources
- National Weather Service
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Contact Info:
April Warnecke
Channel 3TV AZ Family Website -- April's profile
@aprilwarnecke (Instagram)
Julie Berman - Host
www.womenwithcooljobs.com
@womencooljobs (Instagram)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.
If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman
Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3
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Resources
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Contact Info:
Deborah O'Connell
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www.womenwithcooljobs.com
@womencooljobs (Instagram)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I absolutely LOVE being the host and producer of "Women with Cool Jobs", where I interview women who have unique, trailblazing, and innovative careers. It has been such a blessing to share stories of incredible, inspiring women since I started in 2020.
If you have benefitted from this work, or simply appreciate that I do it, please consider buying me a $5 coffee. ☕️
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/julieberman
Thank you so much for supporting me -- whether by sharing an episode with a friend, attending a LIVE WWCJ event in Phoenix, connecting with me on Instagram @womencooljobs or LinkedIn, sending me a note on my website (www.womenwithcooljobs.com), or by buying me a coffee! It all means so much. <3
Women with Cool Jobs - Toy Industry Entrepreneur Teaches Newbies How to Get Into the Industry, with Azhelle Wade "The Toy Coach"
Transcript
I started as a brand manager and then moved up to be the VP of brand and product pretty quickly. It was a smaller company. So I was able to help define some standards and practices and things. So that's why I was able to move up so fast, I got to hire a whole team there. I mean, it was really awesome to have that level of like, like, I don't know, just like, input on what products the brand the company was going to come out with. And then just
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