274. Increasing Annual Sales By $1M with a Strategic Licensing Deal

Today’s case study is the business poster child of making lemonade out of lemons, starring the husband/wife duo Michelle Luchese and John Ruggiero who turned a bad wedding ring buying experience into founding Manly Bands, the #1 digital marketplace for men’s wedding jewelry and a multi-million dollar business.  Helping to catapult their brand to #1 are lucrative licensing deals with household brands like Jack Daniels, Jeep, and Fender. In this conversation, we specifically unpack their partnership with the Tolkien Estate —a rare deal that positioned Manly Bands as one of only two brands with official Lord of the Rings licensing rights. Since the launch of their epic Lord of The Rings Collection in 2022, it’s become one of Manly Bands’ top-selling collections, adding over 7,000 new customers and a $1M lift in revenue from 2022 to 2023, with projections to exceed that increase in 2024. From crafting standout pitches to conducting thorough market research and negotiating high-profile licensing deals, follow the data-driven decisions driving Michelle and John’s impressive growth with Manly Bands. View the transcript for this episode at: https://otter.ai/u/sUHr_Qlm61FvEsNFNTnzdfPYcLA?utm_source=copy_url Thank you to our sponsor! Uplevel your healthy habits with Soursop's Cell + Immunity gummies and shakes! Get 20% when you use code 'CEO20' at https://www.soursopnutrition.com/ Connect with Michelle + John: www.manlybands.com Instagram: @manlybands TikTok: @manlybands Heritage Military Campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6kF7funLX8 Iconic business leaders all have their own unique genius. Take this quick 10 question quiz to uncover your specific CEO style advantage: https://ellenyin.com/quiz If you enjoyed today's episode, please: Post a screenshot & key takeaway on your IG story and tag me @missellenyin & @cubicletoceo so we can repost you. Leave a positive review or rating at www.ratethispodcast.com/cubicletoceo Subscribe for new episodes every Monday. Join our C-Suite membership to get bonus episodes! Check out everything our members get at https://ellenyin.com/csuite Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices