0:00

Hi, you're listening to gift biz on rapt episode one Oh

0:04

seven. My customer base became very different,

0:08

very diverse, and that's when things really changed.

0:12

Hi, this is John Lee, Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,

0:15

and you're listening to gifted to biz unwrapped.

0:18

And now it's time to light it up.

0:22

Welcome to gift bears on wrapped your source for industry specific

0:27

insights and advice to develop and grow your business.

0:29

And now here's your host, Sue Mona height.

0:33

Before we get into the show, I have a question for you.

0:36

Do you know that you should be out networking,

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but you just can't get yourself to do it because it's

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scary. Are you afraid that you might walk into the room

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When you get up to do that infamous elevator speech,

0:53

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0:58

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1:25

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1:49

And now let's move on to the show.

1:52

Hi there it's Sue and welcome to the gift biz unwrapped

1:55

podcast, whether you own a brick and mortar store sell online

1:59

or are just getting started, you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your

2:04

business. And today I have the joy of introducing you to

2:08

Lisa<inaudible> of earth sticks and sense.

2:12

Lisa started her business about five years ago by her own

2:16

admission. It was a fluke. She wanted to help out a friend and before she knew

2:20

it, she was launching a website and her very first product

2:25

earth sticks are hand blended essential oils made into a salad

2:29

stick each one with a different purpose.

2:32

These essential oils are nature's way of promoting emotional,

2:35

physical, and spiritual healing by targeting specific body parts and systems

2:41

without the use of chemical additives and toxins today Lisa's line

2:46

has expanded to more than 20 products that are all hand

2:49

made from 100% natural ingredients.

2:53

I am so excited to hear more.

2:56

Lisa, welcome to the show. Thank you,

2:58

Sue. Nice to talk to you. I am so happy that you're joining me today and we

3:03

are jumping right in to talk about your motivational candle.

3:07

I do this because it gives us as creatives a different

3:11

look inside what you're all about. So if you were to describe your candle,

3:15

what color would it be and what would be the quote

3:17

on your candle? My candle would be definitely red.

3:21

I am drawn to red. I think it's a power color.

3:24

It's a strong color to me.

3:27

It represents that strength and passion.

3:31

My quote. I have a lot of quotes,

3:34

but probably when it's, for me specifically,

3:38

it would be from Malcolm Forbes.

3:40

When you cease to dream, you see still live.

3:43

And what I've done with my business is just that you

3:46

have to keep dreaming. You have to keep moving forward and always going to what's,

3:51

right? Yeah. When you see stir dream, you see still live,

3:54

especially as an entrepreneur, because I think the whole idea of inventing and dreaming and

3:59

getting to that next point is ingrained in us as entrepreneurs.

4:03

That's why we started in the first place. Exactly. So let's take this back.

4:08

I want to hear about why starting your business was the

4:11

fluke. So go back and share with us exactly what happened.

4:15

Well, the flu cap and I was actually looking for,

4:18

and I was doing a lot of research on oils and

4:21

I thought, Oh, I'll just start making. So I was looking for something a little extra and even

4:27

going back a little further, my daughter and I have always liked the handmade soaps and

4:34

we were having trouble finding them. So you Were doing this outside just as a hobby.

4:38

Well, I didn't even start him yet. I hadn't even started.

4:41

And, but I was just researching and through my research,

4:45

I've obviously used oils for many years,

4:49

way before they were popular. So I thought I'll combine that I'll make soap and then

4:54

I'll do it for us because that's what we were looking

4:57

for. And we were having a hard time locally finding what

5:00

I was wanting. So through the research,

5:03

then I decided, well, I came across an idea for a perfume because I've

5:09

always thought that the retail type perfume was very strong.

5:12

So I am going to put essential oils.

5:15

I'm going to blend them and I'm going to make them

5:17

solid because then there'll be easier to use.

5:19

Well, turns out that I hated them and I made perfume.

5:23

That's how I started my Facebook page.

5:25

The address is still or since perfume.

5:28

And that was the beginning. So the flute part came in when my best friend was

5:35

suffering with a problem. And I said,

5:37

you really should use oils.

5:39

She said, ah, you know, they're too messy.

5:42

I don't know what to use. I don't know what to put together.

5:44

And I said, well, let me see what I could do. So that was the turning point from using the oils for

5:51

their perfumery value to using them for more of a medicinal

5:55

value so that you and your Already recognized that oils had

6:00

healing properties, even though you weren't using them for perfume.

6:03

Exactly. Got it. Okay. And you know,

6:06

essential oils, anyone that knows anything about them,

6:08

they can be very expensive. And I thought that this is kind of stupid.

6:11

Why am I using these expensive oils?

6:14

Just for smell. There's so much more that they can do because of what

6:18

she needed. That was the first stick.

6:20

I'm literally sitting in my dining room, my blending table at the time.

6:24

And I'm thinking, okay, how am I going to do this for her?

6:27

And I literally looked in the corner.

6:29

There's all these empty sticks that I had bought to make

6:32

the solid perfumes. It was literally a light bulb moment.

6:36

And I thought, why can't I make it for a different purpose?

6:41

And that's what I did. And the first stick was born because of that,

6:45

if it weren't for her and her,

6:47

you know, that conversation with her, it may not have happened that way.

6:51

I don't know. Right. So give his listeners when we were talking about sticks,

6:55

InVision like a chapstick tube,

6:57

it's a little bit different than that, but that gives you a little bit of an idea of

7:00

what we're talking about. Right? Truly it's a bomb is what they are because when

7:05

you add wax becomes a bomb and most essential oils need

7:09

to be diluted and they need to be,

7:12

you know, you don't use them neat or straight.

7:14

So they're already diluted enough that they're safe to use,

7:19

but in the solid form. So it's easier.

7:22

You don't see it on your body. It doesn't run down your face.

7:25

They're convenient. And I never liked the idea of the roller balls because

7:29

even using those for my perfume,

7:31

the oil would still run and you would waste.

7:34

But that was after the fact was after I created the

7:37

first stick for her, that all of that became an advantage.

7:41

It was like, wow, this is really cool.

7:44

Okay. So we need to finish the story with your friend

7:46

because I just feel like we'd be leaving it hanging.

7:48

Okay. So you practice then and figure out something that will

7:51

work to help your friend. Right? How long did that take To figure out that it

7:57

helped her or to figure out how to make it? Did you give her just without the stick part,

8:02

you just gave her the essential oils in whatever form they

8:05

were? Oh no. I made her stick.

8:08

Okay. So you did make her the first step. Okay. So here you are with your stick and you are

8:13

going to hand it over to her. So tell us what happened there That I literally was like,

8:19

okay, you got, gotta try it. And you got to let me know right away.

8:22

And, or as soon as you can,

8:24

and it probably took a week and she got relief from

8:29

the problem that she had. And she said, yeah, it's great.

8:32

So Lisa, you're not sharing your friend's name.

8:34

Are you willing to share with us what she needed a

8:37

solution to? She suffers from psoriasis and the problem was,

8:43

and anyone with psoriasis knows that you don't cure it,

8:47

you treat it. And she suffers from flares.

8:52

And a flare of psoriasis is when the skin gets really

8:56

angry and it turns bright red.

8:59

And it's very inflamed.

9:01

Hers happens to be on her joints,

9:03

which a lot of times it is as she would move

9:06

her elbow or her wrist, the skin would literally crack open.

9:10

So the relief that she needed was to soften that skin

9:14

so that it would not be so prone to cracking and

9:18

also to heal or to keep it softened and healing so

9:22

that if it was cracked, you know, it would heal faster and not become infected,

9:27

like with a secondary infection. Got it.

9:29

Okay. So then she lets you know, that it's working and you must've been like,

9:34

wow, okay. Now I really have something.

9:37

It was like, okay, this is, what do I do with this?

9:40

Yeah, yeah. It's working. And I have a dining room table full of oils and

9:46

a lot of money invested at this point because I had

9:48

purchased a lot of oils, both for the perfume value and for her and I have

9:54

all these empty sticks. So that was the next thing was what do I do?

9:58

And over the course of the next year,

10:02

I spent perfecting the stick,

10:04

perfecting my formula just to make it solid,

10:07

make it last, you know, what is the ratios of oils and the other oils that

10:12

are in there, that kind of thing. Were You already going then towards a business?

10:16

I didn't realize exactly where I was going.

10:18

Not yet. Not, not exactly. I thought it would be kind of neat to make this

10:22

one stick. And then pretty soon someone said,

10:26

you know, I'd like a stick for my face.

10:29

And then every stick that I have I've made because someone

10:33

asked for it or because I saw a need and that's

10:37

what I'm always looking for is what will the next one

10:40

be? I could tell you a story about every single stick,

10:43

Listening to your customers right. And learning.

10:46

Right. And if one person's asking or two people are asking,

10:50

then there's probably 10 or a hundred that are not asking,

10:53

but would really like that. So that's how they've all come about.

10:58

But it stemmed from that first stick.

11:00

And that first formula, there's quite a few things that fell into place that were

11:05

by accident that I didn't know would work when you're developing

11:08

something like this. It takes a lot of time and patience and a lot

11:14

of wasted product because you have to keep doing it until

11:17

you get it right. And just like a commercial research and development business would do

11:21

with a product. It's the same thing. Sure. So you're saying it took about a full year to

11:26

do Oh yes. To make sure that,

11:28

to get the basic stick the way I wanted it.

11:31

All right. Give biz listeners. I know a lot of you listened to the show because

11:35

you're thinking of turning your hobby or your craft into a

11:38

business. And what I'm wanting to point out for you with

11:42

Lisa's story is one thing led to another.

11:46

She tested out her concept by sharing it with her friend,

11:50

seeing that it actually was providing the benefit because all know

11:53

you don't start a business without a solution without reason why

11:56

your consumer's going to want your product. So Lisa got validation that what she was creating was actually

12:02

working and then she listened to other people along the way

12:05

about different types of sticks to create listening to your customers,

12:09

as we all know is so important. So if you have a hobby or a craft,

12:13

what solution does it provide to a potential customer?

12:17

That's the first step in identifying what type of business you

12:20

should start. So wanting to get that out there,

12:23

Lisa now give us the point where you firmly turned the

12:27

corner and said, okay, starting a business,

12:30

putting up a website. The business part was probably after about one year.

12:36

And again, that was somewhat by accident.

12:38

I thought why I need to get these out, to see if people would be interested.

12:43

So my first show that I did,

12:45

they required a tax number. So that started that whole part of it.

12:50

Because then to get a tax number,

12:52

you are a business that's probably the first step.

12:55

You can call yourself a business and have the cards made.

12:57

But until you have a tax number that makes it real.

13:02

That was the first part of that.

13:04

The website came about for a couple more years.

13:07

But because of again,

13:10

probably a lucky accident almost,

13:13

I really didn't know where to sell my sticks because frankly,

13:16

locally where I live, people I know are big fans,

13:20

but yet I'm in middle of Indiana.

13:22

It is not necessarily my best market to sell.

13:26

But the first show was that a local craft show or

13:29

it was like a festival. Okay. And so you were just presenting the sticks just to

13:34

see what type of receptivity you got and also visibility of

13:37

course, but that was the only place people could find you

13:40

was at that show since you didn't have a website yet.

13:44

So after about the first year and a half,

13:47

then I had gotten into an outdoor market,

13:51

new Buffalo, which is wonderful. I consider that my home base and my customer base became

13:57

very different, very diverse.

14:00

And that's when things really changed.

14:02

The location changed. So my customers changed and that's when the website became a

14:08

reality because they wanted a way to get to my products

14:12

without having to go to that market. Or maybe I would never see them again,

14:15

but yet they could still reach me and my products through

14:18

my website. Yeah. Cause that would be the worst.

14:20

If you got a stick and it was really working and

14:22

then you had no way to get more. Exactly. So in this day and age,

14:27

you have to have some sort of internet availability,

14:30

whether it's through your own site or through Pinterest or one

14:34

of those other avenues and even Facebook.

14:36

But I like having a website because I have more control,

14:41

Right? I want to make a point here really fast.

14:44

There are many people I've seen them who will sell their

14:47

products through a social media site,

14:50

like a Facebook or Pinterest or Instagram,

14:52

wherever you want to go. That's fine. But you absolutely,

14:55

I can't recommend this more highly need your own website,

15:01

need your own platform. That is your home base.

15:04

And the reason is if one of these social media sites

15:07

ever goes down, if Facebook decides that they are going to change their algorithm

15:12

or something, yet again, you don't own any of the people who like or follow

15:17

you on any social platforms. You don't own those people.

15:20

You don't have their email addresses.

15:22

So heaven forbid something happens and you can't apart from posting

15:27

on all of those sites and you know, visibility is going down because they're going to more towards paid

15:33

advertisements. You have to have a way that you can keep

15:36

in touch with all of your customers in the best way

15:38

to do that as having your own website,

15:41

where people sign up to be on a newsletter to get

15:43

information from you. Obviously you do have information when people place an order,

15:47

but really, really important.

15:50

So summary of that long soapbox speech is don't rely only

15:54

on your social media sites. Make sure you do just what Lisa did and start a

15:59

website. Even if it's a little bit small in the beginning

16:02

and just the basics have your own home base.

16:05

I agree. Okay. Done with that one.

16:07

Okay. Give us a little idea of the first steps that

16:11

you would advise someone to do when they're starting a website,

16:14

what should they do? Step one, step two, step three.

16:16

I would start by visiting other sites of people that maybe

16:21

do something similar or people that you know,

16:24

that have sites. I really went into it blindly.

16:28

I did talk to a few people and I do recommend

16:30

that. Who does their hosting? Where did they get their domain name?

16:34

And that took weeks. I mean, all of this takes a long time.

16:38

When you see a business, you think it all looks so easy because it's all done.

16:43

But in reality, every little thing has taken me forever.

16:47

What seems like forever because I have no idea what I'm

16:52

doing. I have never taken a business class,

16:55

nothing, no computer classes.

16:57

So I've really had to muddle through all on my own.

17:01

But what you're saying is it's achievable. So people who are in the same situation as you,

17:06

I mean, you have knowledge about a lot of other things experience about

17:09

a lot of other things, but you saw the value.

17:12

And so you're figuring it out. Yep. Exactly.

17:15

With the website, I first have to have your domain name.

17:18

So you buy that from, you know, a service like GoDaddy the service that hosts my website.

17:24

I kept hearing their name, so, okay. I'll go with them.

17:27

And that's what I did, but it took me a full six months from the start

17:33

to the finish to actually have the website go live.

17:36

And it was supposed to be one of these, do it yourself sites,

17:39

which it is. But I mean, I'm not computer illiterate completely,

17:42

but when you nobody knows how to do that,

17:44

because you've never had a reason to do it before.

17:46

It took me a long time. Who are you using your host?

17:49

Shopify. Okay. So you're using Shopify.

17:52

Shopify is a great site too because their SEO,

17:55

their search engine optimization is pretty good.

17:59

So, all right. So the first thing you did,

18:01

would you visited other sites just to get a feel to

18:03

do your research, then you bought your domain name totally important.

18:08

And when you buy your domain name, also check and see if you can get your social media

18:13

platforms in the same name. So check Facebook,

18:16

check Instagram, anywhere that you are thinking of putting a site,

18:19

just so you understand if that's available and if you do

18:23

buy that domain name, go and register accounts on all your social media sites to

18:28

exactly. And then you went through and built your site.

18:31

Yes. Did you do it by yourself? All myself,

18:35

even down to the photography. I mean,

18:37

you use what you have and I can't afford rent or

18:41

use a professional photographer. So, you know,

18:44

I started with a set of photos and I'm in the

18:48

process of changing those. Now you work with what you have and I still consider,

18:54

we all are, I guess, still growing and changing.

18:57

And you know, you change it as you go.

19:00

And so this spring then I'll change more of the pictures

19:04

and it can always improve. The only problem I have with Shopify is I can't insert

19:10

a banner or there's things that you can't do.

19:12

You're somewhat limited when you're using a template,

19:15

but at the same time, everything that you need is there.

19:18

If you want to go on an order, a stick, you can do that.

19:21

And I think it's fairly simple for the customer and I'm

19:24

still learning how to do things on the site,

19:27

but it's just one of those business essentials.

19:29

It's just something you have to have. Yeah. And you know,

19:32

you can always perfect it as you go to update the

19:35

quality of your photos. But if you don't have the site up,

19:38

no one can buy from you so that you can have

19:42

income to afford a photographer. Exactly. It's great advice where you said you started with what

19:47

you could, you built it as you could.

19:49

And I don't think that ever stops. I think we're always getting better adjusting our branding or our

19:55

imagery, all of that as you go.

19:57

So really good advice.

20:00

Thank you for sharing that. You're welcome.

20:02

Let's talk a little bit about how you get customers.

20:07

And we've been talking about shows. Are you do craft shows and festivals?

20:10

Mostly I do. And I do the farmer's market that I had talked about.

20:16

It turned out to be the best place for me.

20:18

And I get people that are traveling,

20:21

people that are vacationing people that are visiting like Michigan for

20:25

the weekend. And they've built for me a wonderful customer base there.

20:30

So that's why I consider that my home base.

20:33

And I'm very lucky that I have that market to go

20:36

to because it brings the people to me instead of me

20:39

necessarily going to them. So it brings them to me.

20:42

They could be from all over the country. I've sold to people in Canada and England and Hawaii,

20:48

and they come from all over. So that is a wonderful situation,

20:52

which it's not like that for everybody. And not every product would even sell at a market like

20:57

that. So I really feel privileged that I've been able to

21:01

do that. And I'll continue that.

21:03

And how many times a year is that one that is

21:06

made October every weekend? My entire summer,

21:09

every weekend is spent at this outdoor market rain or shine

21:14

and what happens. And that's a big thing that I wanted to touch on

21:17

is if somebody has a business or a product or whatever

21:21

they're promoting, it takes an incredible amount of personal time.

21:27

And that is all of my free time,

21:29

goes to my business, all of it.

21:31

And that is a huge commitment that I've made and that

21:34

anyone would have to make if they want it to be successful. But my goal through this market and having a website

21:41

is that if somebody visits from Iowa,

21:45

that they are going to go back to Iowa, they can buy my product.

21:47

They can tell their friends about it and they can buy

21:50

it online. Gotta be in person before you can be online.

21:53

I think somehow so that people are aware of the website

21:57

and what they can order online. That's really interesting.

22:00

I want to stop you here for a second. You've got to see them and sell to them in person

22:05

before they buy from you online.

22:07

Do you have any percentages because I'm sure there are some

22:10

people who just might happen upon your site and purchase.

22:14

Do you have any idea of what percentage that would be

22:16

versus people that you've seen at a show? No idea.

22:19

Would you take a guess? People that would happen on my website?

22:23

Yeah. It just happened to show up on the website and

22:25

buy Not much, maybe 10%.

22:28

And my website is growing since I started it it's been

22:31

nearly three years. In fact,

22:33

it was April when I first began the website didn't go

22:37

live until February ish, January, February.

22:40

Most people are going to it because they've already bought something

22:44

and they're rebuying or because a friend told them about it.

22:48

Got it. But my goal, like I said,

22:50

was to grow the internet part of it.

22:53

So that's regular business and that's easy to do with a

22:57

product that stays the same for folks that do crafts,

23:01

that everything's unique and different.

23:03

It may not work that way so easily,

23:05

or they'd have to start mass producing certain items.

23:09

It's hard for a crafter, but for what I do,

23:12

it's easy because if you're buying a healing stick,

23:15

you can get online and buy another healing stick Or you

23:17

change. And you put things on something like Etsy,

23:20

where it is. One-on-one, it's just, you would use a different platform.

23:23

I don't use that. Yeah, no. Perfect. I mean,

23:26

Shopify is absolutely the right place for you,

23:28

for sure. What do you do in terms of shows?

23:31

The other portion of the year more over the winter,

23:34

The winter I'm busy all the way to Christmas.

23:37

Some are from a school show,

23:40

which is where you and I met to more of a

23:43

bigger show, not just a school show,

23:46

but it's at another location. Like I do journeymen distillery in three Oaks,

23:51

Michigan, which is a great show.

23:53

Or I do some that are promoted,

23:55

like college of DuPage. I just did last weekend and that's run through a promoter.

24:00

So those are larger shows You piece things together then on

24:04

the other part of the year, but you're almost out,

24:06

would this be right to say almost every weekend of the

24:09

whole year, Almost except January and February,

24:12

You take a break and revive finally.

24:15

Well, yeah, that is my, you know,

24:17

I got two weeks at Christmas that I made nothing.

24:20

And then you start back up and I started the beginning

24:23

of January making soap because that's another thing to touch on

24:28

is even though the sticks are my focus,

24:31

they are my main item. When you're at a craft show or a market,

24:35

you can't limit yourself to just one or two items.

24:39

You have to fill a booth, you have to offer as much as possible because someone may

24:44

not be interested in sticks, but they're going to be interested in something else.

24:48

So I've expanded from sticks to other items and the soap.

24:53

Remember going back to the beginning of the story,

24:55

when I first started doing research,

24:58

I was interested in soap. So basically I came back to the soap about three and

25:03

a half years ago and started making it and I made

25:06

it the way I wanted it. I make what I like and that's what I sell.

25:10

Yeah. And the point about the booth that you need to

25:13

have other options in a booth. I mean, especially think about gift biz listeners,

25:17

this product. So it's, I'm going to go back to chapstick because I think that's

25:21

something that we all can relate to. If that's the size of your product,

25:25

there's a lot of booths to fill, even at a smaller craft show.

25:28

Now with a big, large trade shows and you Lisa do a fabulous job at

25:33

booth display. That is initially what attracted me to come over and talk

25:37

with you about your booth in the first place.

25:39

Will you share a little bit about, you know, try to create the visual for all of us of just

25:44

the sticks now, just that one left side of the booth that I saw,

25:48

what would you like to know what it looks like? Yeah. Explain to everybody how it looks.

25:52

I think it better coming from you than me. If you can imagine a six foot table,

25:56

because it's one third of my booth on top of the

25:59

table, I have a small containers and inside each container is

26:04

the stick. So those are my testers and I've put them at two

26:08

levels so that they're easier to see.

26:11

And then above that table is a large sign that has

26:17

each one of the sticks listed with its name and what

26:20

it does made that as large as I can so that

26:23

it's easy to read. It really gets people's attention.

26:26

And it has been that one sign.

26:30

Now the sinus six foot wide by approximately four foot high.

26:35

So it's large. And it really is what will get the attention of most

26:40

people as they go by and they'll start reading.

26:43

And then once they start reading, then they get interested and then they'll try something.

26:46

And one thing leads to another, but I can't stress enough the signage,

26:51

especially if it is a product like mine,

26:54

that is a little bit more involved. I mean, if someone is selling mittens,

26:57

for example, you know, they don't need much description,

27:00

but you do have to display them in a way that people either see it or they understand what you've got,

27:05

whatever that may be. The other thing that I think is great about that sign,

27:08

Lisa is if someone wants to buy one,

27:11

then they look up at the sign and see all of

27:14

the different types of things that each different stick does.

27:16

And it's like, well, wait, now I need that stick. And boy,

27:19

if I'm doing that, I want to try that stick. So you get additional add on just because of that big

27:25

sign. And that's what I did for sure.

27:27

So give biz listeners think about that.

27:29

If you're in the middle of putting together your displays for

27:33

a craft show, we're entering into the season now where farmer's markets and a

27:36

lot of outdoor craft shows are around,

27:39

what can you do to make sure that you're giving people

27:42

who come to your area booth table,

27:44

whatever it is as much information as possible about your product,

27:48

but in a very simplistic and clean way,

27:51

because it can bump up your sales just like Lisa was

27:54

describing with her sign. I just started using that sign about a year ago.

27:59

Did you see a big change once you started huge?

28:01

I can't even probably a hundred percent better sales because of

28:05

it. Wow. But of course I have a product that needs description,

28:09

so not everything does. Oh, good point.

28:12

Yeah. Would you add anything to what I said a minute

28:14

ago? As far as the signage, when I go into a booth,

28:19

if someone is doing a craft show or an artisan show,

28:22

one thing that I think makes a huge difference,

28:26

and I've noticed this as a person walking around other shows

28:30

is to engage the customer saying,

28:34

hello goes a long way.

28:36

I've had a lot of people tell me that they've walked

28:39

an entire show and they've walked through booths and people don't

28:43

even pay any attention to them. They don't even say hello.

28:45

So customer service is a big deal,

28:49

even at a Absolutely.

28:51

It's not the time to be looking at your phone.

28:53

And if a vendor is sitting behind a table on their

28:57

phone, not even looking up when somebody comes into their booth,

29:01

they've probably lost a sale. And that is something that I noticed over and over at

29:06

shows. Even when I'm the customer,

29:08

when I'm going into somebody else's booth something,

29:11

I noticed You want to acknowledge someone and say hi,

29:14

but then there is a point where you can do too

29:17

much. Have you ever been somewhere even like a store or

29:20

something where someone is like on your tail and you can't

29:23

even enjoy looking and thinking and you know,

29:27

so you have to have some type of a balance, but you absolutely should be acknowledging their presence and welcoming,

29:34

as you were saying, I've had customers say to me,

29:36

you were the only one that even said hello.

29:40

Oh, wow. Yeah, I hear it a lot. But that's just advice to other people who are thinking about

29:45

doing shows, who already do shows.

29:47

And I would imagine, I mean, week after week after week,

29:50

you're doing these shows. So I'm thinking that some people get tired or some weeks

29:55

they're more up than other weeks, but correct me if I'm wrong.

29:59

I would imagine that the energy and the excitement and the

30:02

difference of a show is interacting with people.

30:06

Absolutely. They're my potential customers that day,

30:09

but they're also my potential customers in the future.

30:12

Right. And my booth and myself,

30:15

my daughter works with me. We are the representatives.

30:18

It's just us. So we're representing earth sticks and you make that connection or

30:24

relationship. And then that will lead to business later as well.

30:28

Sure. And if you're spending the time there, you might as well be doing it as effectively as you

30:32

possibly can. Exactly. All right,

30:34

Lisa, I want to roll now into our reflection section.

30:37

This is another look at you more,

30:39

you personally versus your business.

30:42

Is there a trait that you call upon so that you

30:45

can continue to go to show after show and produce product

30:49

after product? Probably This would be for anyone who's considering doing such a

30:54

thing, is it never ever ends?

30:57

This is my second full-time job. I'm also a teacher and I teach full time.

31:02

So this is my second full-time job.

31:05

And I would say that the thing that is most important,

31:08

I mean, I just can't, you can't sign up for a show at saying,

31:11

I don't feel like going today, so I'm not going to do it.

31:13

And I'm constantly making things.

31:16

I'm constantly planning for the next show or the next look

31:19

at wherever I'm going to be. So basically you can't be lazy.

31:24

You just can't. And I think the trait is that you have to be

31:29

in constant motion. You know, there's always something to do always.

31:33

And people who don't want to go to their first job

31:37

probably would have trouble with this because it is a lot

31:41

of work. You know, when people say, Oh, it'd be so great to work for yourself.

31:46

And it is, but it is also a lot harder than working for somebody

31:51

else because with them,

31:53

what you do is already established.

31:55

But for yourself, you're always changing. You know,

31:58

you're the CEO and the CFO and the advertising person and

32:03

the financial person. It just never ends.

32:05

And that can be draining. We were having this conversation in next October.

32:10

I probably would sound even a little bit different.

32:13

I don't want to turn people off of doing this kind

32:16

of thing, but it is a lot of work not to mention the

32:19

investment financially as well. Yeah. And I think that's where,

32:22

you know, people can look from the opposite side of the fence and

32:25

look in at a business owner and say, Oh my gosh,

32:28

you haven't made, you can call all the shots.

32:30

You do whatever you want. You don't have to report to anybody.

32:34

But I think that's also a reason why a lot of

32:36

businesses fail is once they actually get into the reality,

32:39

the job, it's not something that they were really considering or possibly cut

32:45

out for. Cause this type of thing is definitely not for everybody.

32:48

But when it is, you love it. Yes. It can work both ways.

32:51

And I also want to point out to you guys, give biz listeners.

32:54

Lisa has another full-time job. So if you have a hobby,

32:58

doesn't mean you have to stop everything else that you're doing.

33:01

You can still make it a business that's on the side.

33:03

Maybe it helps pay for a family spring break vacation.

33:07

Maybe it pays for house improvements that you're doing or things

33:10

like that. It doesn't have to be all or nothing,

33:13

I guess, would be the right way to say it. Especially when you're looking at turning hobbies or crafts into businesses,

33:18

it can, but it doesn't have to be right.

33:21

Okay. Is there a tool or something that you're using,

33:24

you've already talked about Shopify and that's been working really well

33:28

for you. Is there something else that you're using in your business life

33:32

that you would recommend to our listeners As far as an

33:35

online tool, Nine or something that's that you really resource all the time

33:41

that helps you with your business? The only other thing I can think of is square.

33:47

I mean, I use square. Oh, that's Perfect for when you're at the booth.

33:51

Right? Right. When you have to have options,

33:53

most people, I shouldn't say most,

33:56

but many people don't carry cash. I'm one of them.

33:59

And it has been a great resource for me as well

34:02

too, you know, you've gotta be able to collect payment.

34:04

And the more options you offer,

34:07

the more likely that you will sell something.

34:09

Because if I said, I only take cash,

34:11

probably lose half my business. So half of your sales,

34:14

you'd say our credit card. Oh yeah.

34:16

I would've thought more, really close to half,

34:18

maybe even a little less than half, but that's a lot.

34:22

And you don't want to give people a reason to not

34:25

buy from you. Absolutely. That's not free.

34:28

That was another thing that surprised me about really getting into

34:31

this. As far as the website and doing shows,

34:35

it is not free. And people listening that have businesses that are already selling something,

34:39

they already know this, but to be at one of those shows,

34:43

it all looks good because we're all set up. We're all ready to go.

34:45

But to get, there is a lot of work and a lot of expense

34:49

I drive everywhere. I go, I mean, I have to travel everywhere.

34:52

I go, I have to travel. The closest I go is an hour away.

34:56

So you have a lot of expense up front before they

35:00

ever opened that show, you know, to the public.

35:03

Right. And each show is precious. Like you were saying,

35:05

because it's a customer then, but it's also a customer for the future.

35:09

Right. And that's why I do that.

35:11

Yeah. And all of that builds on itself too, because you go to shows,

35:15

you get more customers, a portion of them are going to reorder and then it

35:19

will just continue to build upon itself. And that's one of the ways you see numbers continue to

35:23

grow and you're not always having to go out and reinvent.

35:27

That's another reason for a website, right. You're not having to reinvent and always get in new

35:31

customers. You're going to get repeat business from people who have

35:34

already purchased. Right. Okay. What about a book?

35:37

Is there a book or a TV show or a podcast

35:41

or something that you would refer our listeners to?

35:45

That's been beneficial. I have quite a library of books as far as I

35:50

still like to read in print. When I can to say that I've read something cover to

35:55

cover would be alive because I don't, I'm a flipper,

35:58

you know, I'll flip from one chapter to another, whatever I'm looking for.

36:01

And I have from how to do this,

36:05

how to do that, I would recommend to anybody to go to the library,

36:09

go to the craft section, the business section and just start pulling books off the shelf

36:15

of anything that might apply to you.

36:17

I would not say that there is any one resource that

36:20

way I read probably the majority online.

36:23

So if I have a question, I literally, if I'm thinking about something or how to do it just

36:28

yesterday, this is an example. I am curious about taking one of my products wholesale.

36:34

So I would sell to a wholesaler and then they would

36:36

sell to retail. And what I'm learning about now is how does that process

36:41

work? How do you do that? What are the percentages?

36:45

So you can figure out your wholesale cost to that person.

36:48

And then what would they sell to the retailer?

36:51

I type in the question in Google and I got an

36:54

answer. I found a good source and that's what I read.

36:57

And it answered my question. I probably do that more than anything.

37:01

I agree with you. I mean, library is a great resource and Google,

37:04

I think people really forget about that.

37:07

It's so easy. Just type it in and more than likely your answer is

37:10

going to appear. I bet I do that five times a day.

37:14

I have a question. That's what I type in.

37:17

And I usually get a decent answer.

37:19

So that is the quickest, you know,

37:21

it takes time to go to the library. It takes time to look for books.

37:25

Honestly, I've been a little disappointed. I've gotten books that you can't see until you get them

37:29

not completely. And then they didn't apply to me.

37:32

Right. You know? So I spent a lot of money on supplies like that,

37:36

that maybe I couldn't use. Yeah. Well,

37:38

and that's one of the reasons why we asked the question is, you know,

37:41

is there a book that has been really valuable?

37:43

I wish. Yeah. Well then you got to go back and listen to

37:46

some of the shows because there've been a ton of good

37:49

books that have been recommended and give biz listeners.

37:52

I know you like listening to podcasts because you're listening right

37:55

now. You can also listen to audio books with ease.

37:59

I've teamed up with audible for you to be able to

38:02

listen to an audio book of your choice.

38:05

All you need to do is go to gift. Biz, book.com

38:08

make a selection. And your first book is free on me again.

38:12

That site is gift biz, book.com. Okay.

38:15

Lisa, it is now time for me to invite you to

38:18

dare to dream. I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.

38:21

It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.

38:26

So this is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable

38:30

Heights that you would wish to obtain. Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.

38:35

What is inside your box? I've thought about this actually,

38:39

because you warned me about it and in the box would

38:42

be a stable future with a retirement without financial worry.

38:47

That is my goal to reach that point where I can

38:50

retire. And I don't know that I'll ever really retire,

38:53

but that I can retire and not worry about finances.

38:58

Not worry about being stable,

39:01

not worry about, you know, just no worries.

39:03

That is probably my ultimate goal.

39:07

Both with my business and with my regular profession is to

39:10

have that stability. And so many people don't have that.

39:13

And I think this is another trait as a business person

39:16

is you're looking ahead, you're looking at finances.

39:18

You're looking at stability. All of that.

39:21

I think that goes right along with being a business owner,

39:23

right? Yeah. You know, where will this go?

39:25

I have no idea, but I do think that it will continue.

39:30

You never know what one thing will lead you to.

39:33

So I'm always open to new ideas.

39:37

What am I going to do? Next one thing will lead you to another.

39:40

If you do nothing, then you go nowhere. That's right.

39:43

You're exactly right. All right. Perfect. Now for our listeners.

39:47

And let's say they're not looking at, and don't have access to our show notes page right now.

39:51

What is your website? It is get earth sticks.com.

39:56

Okay, Perfect. So remember this is a Shopify platform.

40:00

If any of you are interested in seeing an example,

40:02

definitely go over and check out Lisa's website.

40:06

And not only that, her sticks, I actually use I'm using the sleep one.

40:10

We talked about that when we were doing a little bit

40:12

of briefing before we started the interview,

40:15

I have a couple of her sticks. They're really interesting and really helpful.

40:18

I am sleeping better. I can attest to it.

40:20

So go on over and check out what that is all

40:24

about. And if you're out walking the dog,

40:26

if you're at the gym and aren't able to do any of that right now,

40:29

remember there is a show notes page. I will have the website there.

40:33

Lots of links to social media points of contact,

40:36

all of that. So that will be over on the show [email protected].

40:41

Lisa, thank you so so much.

40:44

I really appreciate great insight,

40:47

really super idea. And I love the story that it was all a fluke

40:51

and I'll look at what you have going for you right

40:53

now. You just never know. You never know.

40:56

And my wish for you is that the business continues to

40:59

grow and grow. And you reach that point of stability that you're talking about

41:04

and may your candle, Where are you in your business building journey,

41:12

whether you're just starting out or already running a business.

41:15

And you want to know your setup for success.

41:18

Find out by taking the gift biz quiz,

41:20

access the quiz from your computer at Vic dot L Y

41:24

slash gift biz quiz or from your phone by texting gift

41:28

biz quiz to four four two, two, two.

41:30

Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for next

41:33

episode. Today's show is sponsored by the ribbon print company,

41:39

looking for a new income source for your gift business.

41:42

Customization is more popular now than ever render products of your

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for more information after you listened to the show,

42:01

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42:06

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42:14

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42:18

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