Amanda Hofman, Co-founder & CEO Of Go To Market, Your Go-to Partner For Sustainable, Standout Branded Merchandise
I’m the CEO and Co-Founder of Go To Market, a woman-owned business looking to revolutionize the way the world handles swag. We are kicking aside dusty branded merchandise models to make swag that’s sustainable, flexible, and fashion-forward. We are anti-boring when it comes to design (we’re going beyond putting your logo on everything) and anti-junk when it comes to what we’re printing on (no pens, keychains, or stress balls). At Go To Market, our mission is to create branded swag that builds loyalty, develops community, and increases your bottom line.
When done right, branded merchandise can actually build your business.
What motivated you to become an entrepreneur? Is having your own business something you always wanted?
When I was younger, I didn’t have the career confidence to believe that I could be an Entrepreneur. I went into corporate instead and hated every second of it, but I was happiest when I was running my own projects and able to move at the breakneck pace of my own ideas. Once I gave entrepreneurship a try, there was no turning back. Running my own show suits me perfectly (despite it being way harder than corporate) and I knew going back to corporate wouldn’t work for me.
When I was starting Go To Market, I remembered that in my first company, I always wanted to buy cute branded merchandise for my team. But each time I ordered, I ran into the same roadblocks: committing to just one design, picking out sizes at random, finding a place to warehouse my goods in my NYC apartment, minimum order quantities that were too high, etc. So when I discovered print-on-demand technology in 2019, I realized that entrepreneurs would benefit dramatically from having an alternative to bulk merchandise– especially one that is also high quality and sustainable. That’s where Go To Market was born.
How do you succeed in business without really trying? Aka: What are some of your best hacks and things you automate in your business?
I always say that the only secret to being successful is that there is no secret other than working really hard. Most entrepreneurs have worked tirelessly to get where they are today (despite what you might see on their Instagram feed).
That being said, staying organized is incredibly important to my own success and helps me channel my hard work into productivity and not distraction. Getting Things Done by David Allen and the whole theory of Inbox Zero has changed my life, and the more I adhere to it the more successful I am. It’s all about touching everything once and not using your inbox as a to-do list management system.
If we had to burn all the books in the world, but keep just 3… Which ones should we keep and why?
That’s an easy one, though I don’t want to burn the books!
Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly - I read this book three times through, one after the other after the other. Brown’s writing on shame affects every single part of your life, and opening up my understanding about it helped my personal AND professional life equally. It’s a game-changer. Click here to check out on Amazon.
Getting Things Done by David Allen - The ideas in this book govern my entire work life. Keep to this and you’ll stay clear-headed! Click here to check out on Amazon.
Atomic Habits by James Clear - So many people love this book, and for good reason. My biggest takeaway is that the most successful people aren’t exerting tremendous willpower – they are setting up their environments for success. Before reading this book I thought that some people just had more willpower than others. Click here to check out on Amazon.
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM AND HERE TO VIEW THE WEBSITE
