390 | How Trump's Tariffs Are Affecting Small Business Owners with Emily Ley, Simplified®

Proof to Product

Today's episode is an important and timely one. It is a conversation about resilience as small business owners and what we can do or how we navigate things when we are backed into a corner by forces outside of our control.

Our guest this week is Emily Ley. She is the founder of Simplified®, a wildly successful brand of planners and organizational tools that many of you know and love. She also happens to be one of our Paper Camp alumni.

You have seen Emily's products in Target, Walmart, Staples, and independent boutiques worldwide. But behind the scenes, like so many product-based business owners, Emily has been navigating massive shifts in things like the global supply chain, rising costs, and now devastating tariffs.

Her company has paid more than $1,170,000 in tariffs since 2017. With the newly announced 150% tariffs as they stand as of recording this today.

She is facing over $1,000,000 more in fees this year alone, and Emily is not staying quiet.

Earlier this month, she filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump Administration, the first legal challenge to these unlawful tariffs, and she's doing it with the support of the New Civil Liberties Alliance. This is a huge moment, not just for her brand, Simplified®, but for every small business owner who relies on international manufacturing to keep their products on the shelves of stores and their teams paid.

In this episode, Emily and I discuss her journey from launching Simplified® in 2008, to finding the right manufacturing partners and, ultimately, becoming an unlikely but powerful advocate in the fight against these trade policies.

We also talk about the emotional toll that this takes, the behind-the-scenes fears and tough decisions, the support from her customers and community, and the risks that were involved in her taking a stand, again, not just for her business, but for all of ours.

Before we dive into today's episode, I want to say that if you are a product-based business owner and you're listening today and you are feeling the weight of these new tariffs, you are not alone. Inside our LABS community, we have been having real, honest conversations about how to navigate this, everything from raising prices to pausing production to exploring new manufacturing options.

If you need support or strategy, or just a sounding board from people who truly understand what you're going through, LABS is here to help. You can learn more at prooftoproduct.com/labs.

You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/390

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