0:45

Welcome to Measure Twice. Cut Once

0:47

the podcast about life and business

0:49

lessons. From a quilter's point of view, I

0:52

grew up making quilts alongside my

0:54

mom in the very traditional methods,

0:56

cutting with scissors and cardboard templates,

0:59

sewing without the benefit of squaring up.

1:01

And then of course, hand quilting. Fast

1:04

forward a few years. In these days, I

1:06

can be found behind my long arm, Stella,

1:09

either quilting or teaching the art of quilting

1:11

entirely. Freehand. Quilting

1:13

has become my livelihood and it

1:15

is still my joy. So

1:18

measure twice, cut once will bring you stories

1:20

from my experiences, lessons learned,

1:23

and crafting journeys from other makers as

1:25

well. Today I'll be chatting with Carly

1:27

Brush and Lydia Kao, and they're

1:29

both representing the e-commerce platform,

1:32

Whatnot. This

1:34

episode is sponsored by whatnot. Whatnot

1:37

is a community marketplace where you can buy,

1:39

sell. Go live and geek

1:41

out with collectors and other like-minded people.

1:44

For quilters and crafters, it's the perfect

1:46

venue to offer the things you create or

1:48

curate. The process is simple.

1:51

You apply and get approved. You add items

1:53

for sale. You go live and talk about

1:55

them. You close the sale.

1:57

Without leaving the comforts of home, you can

1:59

chat in real time with interested customers

2:01

and connect with shoppers all over the world

2:04

for buyers. It's an incredible resource

2:06

for the things that interest you, the unusual,

2:09

the out of print, perhaps even the exact

2:11

fabric you need just a little bit of

2:13

to finish that one quilt. For

2:16

a $15 credit toward your first purchase

2:18

use the link in the show notes to join or

2:20

go to whatnot.info

2:23

forward slash stitched by susan that's

2:25

whatnot.info forward slash

2:27

stitched by susan and now onto

2:30

pins and needles with a quick tip for all you

2:32

sharp quilters out there.

2:35

Despite my very best intentions, it

2:37

seems like my stash of fabrics

2:39

always is growing and not

2:41

decreasing, so I have

2:43

to really take an honest look every so

2:45

often at the fabrics that I have and

2:48

determine whether, in fact, I do want to

2:50

keep them and keep creating with them, or

2:52

whether it's time to pass them on.

2:55

For me, this tends to be approximately

2:57

annual. And so it's often in the springtime

2:59

when I'm motivated to be going through things

3:01

and fresh starts and all of that. I

3:03

try to evaluate fabrics and think, do

3:06

I not love this anymore? In which case,

3:08

absolutely let it go. Or maybe

3:10

I have loved it and maybe I've already

3:12

used it in one or two or three quilts, and

3:14

I'm ready to let someone else deal with the last

3:17

half yard or yard of it, and again,

3:19

move on to some fresh new fabrics.

3:22

So I encourage you, look at your fabrics,

3:24

really honestly. Decide what

3:26

you are. In fact, still in love with,

3:28

still want to use, still excited about

3:31

and what you're not and could maybe pass

3:33

on to someone else. I'll

3:36

be joined today by Carly Brush

3:38

and Lydia Kao. They

3:40

are representing whatnot, which is

3:42

a community marketplace all wrapped up in

3:44

an app. They're both so excited

3:46

to be building the quilting and sewing category

3:49

of whatnot, and it's growing at

3:51

a tremendous rate. It's been designed

3:53

to serve small business owners with. And

3:56

convenience, and really it's a virtual

3:58

storefront for small businesses and individuals.

4:01

You'll hear some really creative ways that crafters

4:04

are getting involved. Carly

4:06

and Lydia weren't able to join at the same time,

4:08

so this conversation will be in two parts

4:10

and you'll get to hear both of their stories and perspectives.

4:14

So let's meet Carly now. Welcome,

4:16

Carly, to the podcast!

4:19

Thank you so much for having me. It's

4:21

great to be here.

4:21

I'm pretty excited about this. Just

4:24

giving our listeners a really brief introduction.

4:26

You're here representing whatnot.

4:28

Why don't you give them a little definition of that

4:30

and what it is that you do within that

4:32

organization?

4:34

of course. So Whatnot is the largest

4:37

social e-commerce platform in the United

4:39

States. Uh, we're only three years old, but we're

4:41

the fastest growing marketplace in the United States

4:44

for the past three years. Uh, we connect

4:46

buyers and sellers through livestream shopping,

4:48

uh, across many categories. Um, our

4:51

newest of which is quilting and sewing,

4:53

um, which we featured you, um,

4:55

last week. Um, and it's been, uh,

4:57

really exciting getting to know this community.

5:00

Yes, yes indeed. So, because this

5:02

won't be aired for some weeks, um, the episode

5:04

that I was featured in was in February of 2023,

5:08

so I didn't realize actually that that

5:10

category was brand new. Maybe give

5:12

us a smattering of some of the categories

5:14

that you offer. I know they, they are very, very

5:17

broad.

5:19

Yeah, we started in collectibles, uh,

5:21

actually, so Funko pops Pokemon

5:23

cards. Uh, we've since branched

5:25

into fashion, uh, sneakers

5:27

are a big category for us. And then arts and hand

5:30

made goods is a category that is

5:32

a few months old, uh, you know, depending on when this

5:34

airs. Um, but quilting

5:37

and sewing is our first category that we're going really,

5:39

really deep in, in arts and handmade because

5:41

whatnot, our whole strategy has been about

5:44

enthusiasts um, and as I'm sure

5:46

you know, quilters are an extremely

5:48

enthusiastic bunch.

5:50

Yes, we are I

5:53

kind of see that, you know, when you rattle off your

5:55

phrase, you know, whatnot is the fastest growing e-commerce

5:58

platform, maybe break that down

6:00

a little more for some of us who don't typically

6:03

shop in that sort of format. Like,

6:05

what does that look like in practical terms?

6:07

How would we do that?

6:09

Yeah. So, you know, I'll admit, when I first joined

6:11

whatnot, I was a little nervous about the concept

6:13

of live streaming. But it's, you know, it's about as

6:15

scary as the conversation we're having right now,

6:17

which is, video conversation. It's not

6:20

scary at all. Um, so

6:22

it's, it's really more like

6:24

being in person. And I think during the pandemic,

6:26

you know, A lot of crafters had

6:28

been meeting in person. A

6:30

lot of commerce and crafting happens in person,

6:33

um, or on static marketplaces. And we bring

6:35

the magic and excitement

6:37

of being in person. Now, obviously it's

6:39

remote, um, it's for more like a Zoom, if you're

6:41

familiar with that, or a Facebook Live. Um,

6:44

but we combine that with commerce and so we

6:46

have built in shopping tools so that you can

6:48

connect with your consumers or your

6:50

fans or your students,

6:53

in real time, with, you know, commerce

6:55

tools, uh, like auction and,

6:57

purchasing quilts.

6:59

Yes. It was a real education,

7:02

honestly, for me joining because coming into it, I

7:04

was one of those who didn't really know what

7:06

it was all about. When I think of, you know, shopping

7:09

online, I guess I still think of

7:11

the shopping channels on tv, and

7:13

it's a little bit like that. In that, you're

7:15

in front of a camera and you get to talk about whatever

7:17

item it is that you're offering, but

7:20

as you said, it's so much less intimidating.

7:22

You know, there's just humans on the other end of

7:24

the screen and it's a pretty casual

7:26

conversation. So since

7:28

I was featured as a quilter, and I'll come

7:30

back to that again in a moment, but since that time,

7:33

I've taken the time to get onto whatnot

7:35

a few times and tune into other

7:37

people's live sessions to

7:40

kind of get, uh, you know, a flavor

7:42

for what's being offered and. how

7:44

people are doing this on camera. And like

7:46

you said, it's just super casual. You just

7:48

get on and you talk about the thing that

7:50

you're enthusiastic about. So you mentioned,

7:53

sneakers are a big one. I

7:55

would not have known that, but it really makes

7:57

sense because, you know, teenagers that I know

7:59

are all into that. Right? So

8:01

that remains one of your best categories.

8:06

It's definitely, uh, one of the, one of the more popular

8:08

ones. Um, and it's hard to tell because,

8:10

you know, everyone has a personalized feed.

8:12

And so when I follow sneakers, because,

8:15

you know, I, I like to buy sneakers for my children

8:17

mostly. Um, but you know, on

8:19

my feed all over the front page is, is the

8:21

sneakers. So, uh, it's definitely a popular

8:23

category. Um, but you know, we're really excited

8:25

about the growth we've seen in the arts

8:27

and handmade as well, especially over the last

8:29

month and even, you know, the last few, few.

8:32

So that's interesting to note then whatever

8:35

your interests are, much like other

8:37

social platforms, right? Whatever your interests

8:39

are and what you follow and watch and look into

8:42

and, and look for, that's what

8:44

you're going to get fed. So for we quilters,

8:46

you know, if we're interested in acquiring

8:48

fabric or notions or

8:50

vintage sewing supplies, right?

8:52

Mm-hmm. whatnot is going to feed us more

8:55

of the things that we look.

8:58

Exactly, and we're always working on refining

9:00

our algorithm so that recommendation

9:03

engine should be getting better and better over time

9:05

as well.

9:06

Fantastic. So referring

9:08

just a little bit to my experience, again,

9:10

I was new to this and a little bit unsure

9:13

of what to expect, but I tried to dive

9:15

in. Um, we'll be talking with Lydia

9:17

a little later in the podcast and she was very gracious

9:20

and coached me a great deal. But

9:22

what it entailed for me was

9:24

things like uploading photographs

9:26

of some of the things I was offering. So

9:28

in my case, that was fabric yardage.

9:31

I have some bolts. What

9:33

I call quilt backings, multiple yards of

9:35

things. So it involved taking photographs,

9:37

giving a little description of that and attaching

9:39

a price and a weight to it for the purposes

9:42

of shipping. So then from the purchaser's

9:45

point of view, they can see that price

9:47

that I'm offering. Um, shipping

9:49

is charged to them sort of on the spot and

9:51

that whole online transaction

9:53

I found to be absolutely seamless.

9:56

So do you have any, um, reassurances

9:59

that you want to give either buyers or

10:01

sellers regarding that? Like what are some of

10:03

your security features and what is some of the ease

10:05

that you've built into that process?

10:08

Yeah. I think, like you said, and I don't

10:11

know how much time you've spent on other platforms,

10:13

you know, trying to engage in commerce. I've

10:15

spent a lot of time kind of on, on Facebook and Instagram

10:17

and people are trying to dach their supplies

10:20

there, and it's been,

10:22

it's chaotic, you know? I mean, you upload a million pictures,

10:24

people are commenting. Um, you have to

10:27

invoice everyone. We don't like, you don't have to do any of. You

10:30

click buy and you have bought it because you

10:32

already uploaded your credit card information. It's one of

10:34

the easiest, uh, places to buy anything.

10:36

Um, because it's also, it's also quick and built

10:38

in shipping is calculated automatically.

10:41

Um, you don't have to enter your credit card or your address every

10:43

time you do it once. Um, and then

10:45

you're good to go as a buyer. Um, and

10:47

as a seller, you,

10:49

we do encourage everyone to take photos

10:51

of everything that they're offering, but if you

10:53

wanna, you know, Upload,

10:56

you know, a thousand items that without a photo,

10:58

you can do that too. Um, and you

11:00

could get through, you know, a thousand items in an hour

11:03

to really get things, you know, if you wanted

11:05

to move items quickly. It's a really great place for that as

11:07

well.

11:08

Okay. And I could certainly see that with

11:10

certain types of products. Right.

11:12

You know, in my case it was fabric, so

11:14

I not only photographed it, but I photographed

11:16

each kind of swatch with a ruler beside

11:19

it to give an idea of scale. Yeah. You know, if

11:21

you were talking sneakers, for example, because

11:23

we referred to that, you would just give the size

11:25

and it wouldn't be as critical to show it in a,

11:28

in a picture in terms of sizing. Um,

11:31

I also offered on my show,

11:33

um, and I say show that's a little too fancy

11:36

of a word, just the period of time that I was

11:38

live, the offered a

11:40

little live stream. That's right. The stream. I

11:43

offered a couple of finished quilts, and

11:45

that's something I don't honestly typically

11:47

sell because there's not an easy way

11:49

to do that. A quilt is large. It's

11:51

hard to sort of show the

11:54

details of it and how big it is and what

11:56

it feels like and. I typically

11:58

don't, I just give my quilts away, but I thought, hey,

12:01

for the purposes of trying, so I

12:03

offered four of them and, and I sold one

12:05

and that was amazing. So I took the time

12:07

during my live stream. That was one of my focuses

12:10

then was to talk about quilting,

12:12

kind of as an industry and, and what

12:14

are the points of interest in a quilt? What are the

12:16

things that you look for? What makes a quality

12:19

quilt? Those sorts of things. So it was semi

12:21

educational, but that's just my flavor.

12:23

Some of the ones that I've watched, are very

12:26

much geared toward collectors. So then it's,

12:28

what are the things that are desirable or

12:30

that are rare? So there's all these

12:32

different angles you can come at. Whatever

12:35

your shtick is, that's what you can bring to

12:37

it.

12:39

Yeah, definitely. And I think what's really cool

12:41

in our cool thing and sewing category even is that

12:44

everyone has such a variety of. Of inventory.

12:47

Um, you have people selling vintage,

12:49

uh, you have people selling new off the bolt, like

12:51

you are, you have people selling finished quilts. Uh,

12:53

we have a woman who sells, uh, vintage

12:55

kimono silks. Um, and that's,

12:57

you know, extremely rare and unusual. You wouldn't necessarily

13:00

find that, you know, just anywhere. Um,

13:02

and that's, you know, I, I love, what I love about

13:04

whatnot is not just the live element.

13:06

If you can actually see. What you're

13:09

buying in real time and ask questions

13:11

about it and have the person show it from a different

13:13

angle, you know, which is why the pictures are slightly

13:15

less important because the video

13:17

element is so important, is so prevalent.

13:20

Um, but also just that discovery of

13:22

it being really fun to

13:24

find things, um, and not know what

13:26

you're gonna find when you turn on a

13:27

stream. Yes, so true.

13:30

And you know that that video.

13:33

Is really important. I feel like

13:35

in the ones that I've been joining in the last few days,

13:38

you know, you get on them and there's, there's conversation.

13:40

There's like a, a li a real time

13:42

feed going on of people chatting and asking

13:44

questions and even greeting other people in the

13:46

group. Cuz you're likely to find the same

13:48

people right, with the same interests

13:51

in the groups that you're in. So it really

13:53

is a kind of happy hour a little.

13:57

Yeah. And I think that's what makes it so

13:59

special is that it's not commerce. It's

14:01

not just commerce and it's not just

14:03

community. It's the combination

14:06

of commerce and community that I think is just so much

14:08

better than, you know, each one individually.

14:10

It's the sum of the part is actually greater than,

14:13

um, I agree. The combination.

14:15

I agree. Agree. So, you know, we've

14:17

kind of talked. what

14:20

this might look like for individuals, right? How

14:22

the process works, but thinking of

14:24

it also from a business standpoint.

14:27

Um, how, how

14:29

could one use this to grow their

14:31

visibility or their reach in

14:33

their business? I mean, some of it seems obvious,

14:35

but, but would you just touch on some of those points?

14:38

Like how could you apply this to your

14:40

small business in order to, to.

14:42

Yeah, of course. So I think

14:44

one of the great things about us is that because

14:46

we're building the community, people keep coming

14:48

back. If you buy something in month one,

14:51

our, our retention is extremely high for

14:53

people that become a part of the community. And

14:55

so if you participate as a seller,

14:58

uh, you will be discovered, not just by. the

15:00

people who already follow you on Instagram or

15:02

are in your neighborhood and come into your physical

15:05

store, you're gonna discover new customers,

15:07

uh, from around the country and, you know,

15:09

eventually around the world. Um,

15:11

and that's really unique. Um,

15:14

Now to participate, it's really easy. You just

15:16

go online and sign up and you

15:18

know, like you said, upload your items and press

15:20

play. Um, and of course, you know, you wanna

15:22

try to find the right times to go

15:25

live, um, and, you know, connect with people in the community.

15:27

But once you kind of get into that community, it's a great

15:29

way to grow your business. And we

15:31

at what not are thinking and

15:33

investing frankly, in the demand

15:35

side as well. So we are doing marketing

15:38

on your behalf, essentially. Um,

15:40

that, and you don't, you don't have to pay for.

15:43

Yes. And you certainly, you know, did that for me

15:45

in my live appearance. And

15:47

you know, as I mentioned, Lydia too was just, was

15:49

coached me so much. But in

15:51

truth it was a very, um, self-explanatory

15:54

process. Once you open the app, it says,

15:56

you know, sign up here and add your

15:58

banking information there. There's a ton of

16:00

instructional videos even so

16:03

you touched on earlier something that I found

16:05

quite remarkable, which was the

16:08

fact that you've got the. Process

16:10

built in. So I experienced

16:12

it from a seller's point of view, right?

16:15

So I did my livestream, you know, sold my

16:17

yardage of fabric and my one quilt, and

16:19

after my livestream ended,

16:21

I literally could open that one event

16:24

and view. All the transactions

16:26

that happened, everything was sort

16:28

of batched. So, you know, make,

16:30

create labels for sending out the postage,

16:33

uh, all the prices that were charged

16:35

to the people, but I didn't have to do any of that.

16:37

And you touched on that, and I think it's so, so

16:40

important to know that if

16:42

you have felt overwhelmed trying to sell

16:44

on other platforms, right, because the backend

16:46

is very unwieldy, you know, and

16:48

it's up to you to follow through in a timely

16:51

fashion. All of that thinking

16:53

process on my part was taken out of it and was

16:55

done by whatnot. So I found it super

16:58

easy to like the very next day, I

17:00

printed all those labels. I boxed up all

17:02

my things, I dropped them all in the mail,

17:04

and it was done, and all that

17:07

backend work is done for me.

17:09

I love that. That's

17:11

awesome. That's exactly what we like to. Oh,

17:14

good. So, you know, I

17:16

have not yet been a seller, but I would

17:18

imagine because you have that, that standard

17:21

and, and that's what you're going for, that the experience

17:23

is similar for a seller. You said, you

17:25

know, as, or sorry, as a buyer, you

17:27

mentioned that as a buyer you press, you know, buy

17:30

and it's done. Um, maybe

17:33

touch on, and my, my mind's kind

17:35

of running here and running back through the experience

17:37

that I had and the different questions I even

17:39

had about it. One of the things I

17:41

did not feature, Holding

17:44

an auction so you can

17:46

enter items that are for sale and you can

17:48

choose whether you want to put a, buy it now,

17:50

price on it, or whether you want

17:52

to auction it. Give us an idea of what an

17:54

auctioned item looks like.

17:57

It's really very similar. It's, you know, kind

17:59

of the item itself could be,

18:02

you know, the same items. And I think really the question

18:04

is, do you wanna kind. Take

18:06

your chances, uh, you know, with, you know, not

18:08

necessarily knowing about, you know, what, what price

18:11

you're gonna get. Um, generally, you know, you'd start

18:13

an auction. An auction lower than what

18:15

you might set it at for buy it now. But a

18:17

lot of times it ends up going for more than

18:19

what you think you thought you might sell it for. Because

18:21

people get really excited in the heat of the moment

18:23

and it becomes, you know, like, not

18:26

a fight. A very friendly fight, a friendly competition.

18:29

a very friendly competition. Uh,

18:31

cuz you know people, you know, people like to win. Yes.

18:33

Um, and also, you know, I think it's nice to

18:35

also, because you're seeing other people bidding you,

18:37

you see that the item actually is desirable,

18:40

um, because you know, five other people

18:42

are actively going for it and you're like, oh, well maybe

18:44

I actually. I actually really want this. Um,

18:46

and it kind of, it, it makes it, I think just like

18:48

a really exciting, uh, way to

18:51

shop. Um, now, you know, not

18:53

every item is by is auctioned

18:55

versus by it. Now we like to have a com, a combination.

18:57

Um, but it really creates kind of an

18:59

exciting, exciting element to the, to

19:01

the show. So all the fun of attending

19:03

an auction without the cold

19:05

wind. I grew up kind of in, you

19:08

know, farming country where auctions were fairly

19:10

common, and I can remember standing out,

19:12

on a Saturday afternoon in frigid,

19:14

biting cold listening to the auctioneer.

19:16

So this is all of the fun without any of this

19:19

discomfort.

19:21

Yeah. And anyone can be an auctioneer.

19:23

And the auction is built into the platform,

19:25

so you don't need to be a yelling. Uh,

19:28

Like, like an old style auctioneer would be

19:31

Too true. But I tell you what, if you are

19:33

a person that loves chatting,

19:35

right? If you are a person that

19:37

can talk about your item and talk it up and

19:39

tell all its selling points, like that is the

19:41

platform for you for sure. Okay.

19:45

One more question. Yes. Then about the process.

19:47

Another thing that I did do was have

19:49

a giveaway and I was astonished

19:52

too at how easy that is

19:55

cuz likewise, I've done that on other platforms

19:57

and my backend involves, collecting

19:59

all the people that have entered and randomizing

20:02

the draw. And that's a bit of a process and

20:04

usually requires other apps

20:06

to bring in. Whereas in

20:08

whatnot, it was super easy. It was

20:10

as easy as choosing "giveaway" for

20:12

a specific item and then

20:14

picking a time and just push this button, push

20:16

that button. It did the randomizing, like

20:20

is that, do a lot of people do that? Is

20:22

that a feature that you found lots

20:25

of people enjoy? Yes. I sure like that one. Yeah,

20:28

we, we ver we always encourage everyone

20:30

to do it. Um, it's a great way. So what you

20:33

probably didn't realize is that when people click to enter the giveaway,

20:35

they automatically follow you. And so

20:37

it's a great way for sellers to build

20:40

their community of people who follow them.

20:43

Um, and then also, you know, what we've seen in

20:45

some, in some of the. Very popular

20:47

shows. It's the way to give back to the community and say, you know,

20:49

I really thank you for supporting me as

20:51

a seller. I wanna give back to, to the buyers,

20:53

um, and people. One,

20:56

one seller, uh, actually in the quilting and sewing

20:58

category has been buying things from

21:00

other sellers and then using them as her giveaways.

21:02

So, because she wants to both support other sellers

21:04

and then also give back to the community of.

21:07

That's awesome. So she's really great

21:09

paying forward then. Great. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

21:12

Yeah. And that's really common because of the

21:14

community element. People really, you

21:16

know, make friends, um, and actually, you

21:18

know, become friends, you know, even outside of whatnot

21:21

from, from participating in, in the platform.

21:23

Yes, yes. I could see that. I could

21:25

see that. I just, you know, my mind

21:27

again is just racing, seeing all these kind

21:29

of possibilities for whatever

21:32

your, you know, niche, your corner

21:34

of the quilting and sewing industry is. There's

21:36

a place for you in this, and you have something

21:38

to offer, and there's people

21:40

out there who want what you've got. So it's a great

21:43

place to show it off.

21:46

Definitely. I couldn't have said it better.

21:49

Perfect. I wonder, Carly,

21:51

if you have some stories of,

21:53

you know, you did mention this category is kind

21:55

of young and up and coming, but do you have some good

21:57

success stories to tell people that have

22:00

had unexpected, um, you

22:02

know, followers, results, sales growth,

22:04

whatever the thing is?

22:07

That's a great question. Let me think for one

22:09

minute. I,

22:15

you know, I think one of the things that's been really interesting

22:18

is we had a lot of, we, we reached out

22:20

about a month ago to sellers in our other categories

22:22

and said, Hey, you know, we launched quilting and sewing.

22:24

You know, if you happen to be a quilter or

22:27

a sewist, you know, come on over and,

22:29

and sell. Um, and just

22:31

the, like, the outpouring of enthusiasm was. So

22:34

unexpected, um, people

22:36

who, you know, are thrifts or

22:38

you know, are up cyclers and they're like, you know, I,

22:40

I didn't realize there were people like me

22:43

on, on whatnot who are interested in this.

22:46

Um, you know, I came in for, you know, vintage

22:48

decor or something else, but like, here's actually

22:50

my people. Um, and

22:52

it's been. That's been really great to

22:54

see. Um, I've gotten a lot of emails from seller

22:57

saying, you know, I wasn't so sure I didn't, you

22:59

know, know if quilting and sewing,

23:01

you know, within whatnot was gonna be successful,

23:03

but I had an awesome show and I can't wait to do it again.

23:06

Um, or, oh, that's awesome. You know, more items

23:09

to sell.

23:11

I think for myself, I found that to be true.

23:13

You know, it was unexpectedly easier

23:16

to do than I thought it would be. Right. So

23:18

then that is encouraging going forward, that

23:20

first time, it took me some time

23:22

to take my photographs and get them uploaded. But the

23:24

more I did, you know, six or eight or 10

23:27

into it, I was getting a lot faster. Right.

23:29

And it comes easier every time, so.

23:31

Yep. That's good.

23:32

My personal favorite thing that we've done is I,

23:34

uh, I had one of our sellers make a what-not

23:36

logo, quilt. Um, and she did it with, uh, applique

23:39

and paper piecing and it's

23:41

beautiful. Um,

23:44

so just like she actually live streamed

23:46

the making of the quilts and people were, you know,

23:48

asking her questions and she was teaching things.

23:50

Um, and, you know, kind of. Not

23:53

just about commerce, but also about, you know, that

23:55

educational

23:55

component. Mm-hmm. I love that. So

23:58

who gets to hang that quilt

24:00

in their office?

24:02

I think it might be hanging right behind me. Uh,

24:04

soon. It's in the mail. Oh, Now

24:07

we're gonna, we're gonna use it for booth decor

24:09

at, uh, upcoming quilt

24:10

shows. Awesome. Oh,

24:13

I never even thought about that. So are you going

24:15

to be vending at quilt shows? or

24:18

what's that gonna look like?

24:19

We hope to be, uh, it's part of our longer

24:21

term plan, uh, this year.

24:23

Okay. Okay. So,

24:26

yeah. Oh, there's a captive audience there, let

24:28

me tell you. That's awesome. Yeah.

24:31

We, we aim to be the, quilt

24:33

show online,

24:35

and I think you're well on your way. And,

24:37

and I guess I did have in, in among my

24:40

questions, um, And

24:43

you've kind of answered it, but maybe you have a fuller

24:45

answer to give me, what has made

24:47

you so invested in this quilting

24:50

category when you do have so many others to offer.

24:52

And it would seem to me, you know, from the outside

24:54

looking in that, collectibles

24:56

or, sports cards or things like that

24:59

might be more in demand. What has

25:01

gotten you so invested in this quilting and sewing

25:03

category?

25:04

Yeah, I think, you know, one of the things that we always say

25:06

is it's, it's, AND not OR. Um,

25:09

and so I think we can really

25:11

successfully serve the sports

25:14

cards and the collectible communities and also

25:17

build a community around

25:19

quilting and sewing. And because we have that personalization

25:21

in the app, when you come in, we

25:23

show you what you want and we build the community

25:25

that you are interested in. And

25:28

I think the reason quilting and sewing

25:30

is one that we're extremely excited about is.

25:33

It really has a lot of the same elements

25:35

that we've seen make other categories

25:38

successful. I mean, you don't think about fabric

25:40

as being a collectible, but it is definitely

25:42

something that people collect, um,

25:45

and are extremely enthusiastic about.

25:47

And I think, you know, just it's a little different

25:49

because, you know, you're enthusiastic about a craft

25:51

versus about, you know, a collectible.

25:53

Um, but it actually is really, uh, the

25:56

par, it's, there are a lot of parallels there.

25:58

Certainly. Well, Carly,

26:00

before we go, I wonder if you've got

26:02

a small nugget of wisdom

26:04

that you wanna share with our listeners, and it can

26:06

have to do with the platform of whatnot

26:09

and the, and the commerce of buying and selling,

26:11

or it can be about life or entrepreneurship

26:13

or anything you like.

26:16

Yeah, I think for me, you know, I've, I,

26:19

I've always been of the mind

26:21

that work should be fun. Um, and I

26:23

think that is really why I joined or whatnot,

26:25

you know, in my interview process, you know, I was excited

26:27

about the company. The company's doing really well. It's growing

26:29

really quickly. It's an interesting space.

26:31

But, you know, at the end of the day, it sounded like fun.

26:34

And it's been really fun. And I think that the

26:36

same goes for our sellers. If,

26:39

if this is fun for you and you know,

26:41

it should be because it's you're doing, building

26:43

a business around something that you love, um,

26:46

then whatnot is the place for you. Um, and

26:48

if, if it's not fun, then, you know, maybe it's not

26:50

for you. But I, I really think that this

26:52

is a great place where you can have

26:55

both have fun and also build a business.

26:57

Work should be fun words to live by.

27:00

Thanks so much for joining me, Carly. It's been a pleasure.

27:04

Thank

27:04

you so much. It was great to see you.

27:11

Well, hey Lydia, and welcome to the podcast.

27:15

Thank you so much for having me. Very excited

27:17

to be on. Um, I know you talked to

27:19

my colleague Carly before, so happy

27:22

to also be part of the process,

27:24

So tell us, Lydia, what is your position

27:26

in whatnot? What are you responsible for?

27:29

great question. Um, so

27:31

I help kickstart kind of emerging

27:33

initiatives on the app. Um, so

27:35

I've worked broadly across many categories,

27:38

um, including, you know, crystals

27:40

and gems, um, dolls,

27:43

plush. die cast car

27:45

is kind of a whole bunch of things. Um, but

27:47

super excited to be helping Carly really

27:50

kickstart, uh, arts and handmade. It's a

27:52

huge priority for the company. We really

27:54

wanna be, you know, the place where people

27:56

can be both selling,

27:58

buying, and also interacting and,

28:00

and having that community aspect. Um,

28:02

so I am currently helping out

28:04

with that.

28:06

Awesome. Well, I'm glad that you

28:08

touched on the different categories.

28:10

Enlisted a few cuz this is the thing

28:13

that I didn't grasp when I

28:15

first was introduced to whatnot, and maybe

28:17

my listeners don't know yet either

28:19

how broad it really

28:21

is. So whatever your interests

28:23

are, I mean, most of the people listening probably

28:26

are quilters, but they may have many other interests

28:28

too. And there is something for

28:31

everyone.

28:33

Yeah, absolutely. I'm also helping

28:35

to look at knitting and crochet, which is kind

28:37

of similar to quilting and sewing in the space,

28:39

but also very different clientele. Um,

28:42

so, so yeah, absolutely. We're building

28:44

out arts and handmade even further. Uh,

28:46

we have art artists, printers, we

28:49

have potters. Um, so lots of

28:51

different types of, of genres in there.

28:54

for sure. So I did ask

28:56

Carly, and I'm gonna ask you this one too, because

28:58

it's so interesting to hear your take on it. You

29:01

know, the, the quilting and sewing is a newer,

29:03

um, segment of

29:05

whatnot. What is, what is causing

29:08

you to be so invested in that? Is it just because

29:10

you see the potential of growth in that

29:12

category? Why is, why is that so important

29:14

to you over some of the others that you might be investing

29:16

your.

29:18

Yeah, great question. I think

29:21

our reasoning for why going after

29:23

and trying to, to kind of bring in a lot

29:25

of quilters and sowers is that we

29:27

see it such a strong community. We see

29:29

that the people that do quilt and do

29:31

so, they are doing that for a lifetime.

29:34

So it's not, um, a type of fad

29:36

or trend that might die out. It's really a community

29:38

that has been so strong and has been built

29:41

over many, many years. Um,

29:43

and the whole idea here is to really

29:45

bond. Users, um,

29:47

are users with their favorite hobbies

29:49

and interests. And so I think that

29:52

the reason, um, quilting and sewing is so

29:54

exciting to us is there is

29:56

such a strong community there. There are people that

29:58

have been, you know, collecting fabrics over

30:00

the last 20, 30, 40 years.

30:02

Um, so we're really excited to give them

30:04

the platform to actually show their

30:07

interests, expand their interests, and trade and buy.

30:10

I think you're absolutely right about that.

30:12

Like the community mindedness.

30:14

That community feeling already exists.

30:17

You're just tapping into it and you're

30:19

giving them the opportunity to see how you

30:22

can add to their

30:24

ability to experience community. Um,

30:27

you mentioned just a moment ago, you know, people have

30:29

been curating, that's what we call it. It's not hoarding.

30:31

They've been curating fabrics for 20,

30:33

30, 40 years. And the truth

30:35

of it is a lot of us do that. We

30:38

accumulate fabric more quickly than we use

30:40

it. And there comes a time when we want

30:42

to share or we wanna get on to new fabrics

30:44

or new projects, and we call this D dashing.

30:47

I just think this is the optimal

30:49

place to be doing that because you

30:52

can literally get on a livestream

30:54

and you can show what it is you have. You

30:56

can handle it and feel it and touch it. And

30:59

I do think this is so remarkable. All

31:01

other platforms that I've looked at, you

31:03

know, a picture on a screen doesn't

31:05

say very much.

31:08

Totally. Yeah. I think the, the

31:10

d dashing piece has been so fun to learn

31:12

about because my mom's a quilter. Um,

31:14

you know, I'm just currently learning how to sew,

31:17

but I was able to go to the Manhattan

31:19

Modern Quilting Guild meeting. This past

31:22

month and there was a whole table

31:24

of people de dashing their fabric. And

31:26

there was like Pokemon fabric. There was

31:28

flower, floral fabric. There

31:30

was, you know, browns

31:33

and greens and blues. And it was just amazing

31:35

because people could grab those scraps and

31:37

they might only need a certain, like small piece for

31:39

their quilt, but it was really a community

31:41

where you could collaborate and you could share,

31:43

um, and help each other finish

31:45

their final

31:46

product. Absolutely. I've

31:48

known people who are,

31:51

well, let's back up a little bit. Fabric

31:54

lines are released, kind of like clothing

31:56

lines, you know, new ones come out every so many

31:58

months and they are printed and

32:00

then there's no more printing of them. So

32:03

they're, they are, you know, sort of out of stock

32:05

or out of print. Fabrics or maybe

32:07

a better likeness would be books. And

32:10

so you get people who are wanting

32:12

to finish a project and they're short just

32:14

a little bit of one of those fabrics and you can't

32:16

buy them at stores. That is one

32:18

of the things that platforms like whatnot, are so

32:21

good at, is bringing together

32:23

the person who's looking for it, with

32:25

a person who's got it for sale.

32:27

Right. And it's remarkable to make those

32:29

kind of finds. Yeah,

32:31

I've talked with, um, some of our top buyers

32:34

in the quilting and sewing space and sort

32:36

of asked, you know, uh, we love

32:38

how we love to see you purchase, what are you buying

32:40

and, and why? Um, and majority

32:43

of them are saying, these are rare fabrics that,

32:45

you know, I live in Iowa or

32:47

in Ohio and I can't find

32:49

these types of fabrics that my local quil.

32:52

Stores or fabric stores, and this

32:54

is so exciting. And then I think the other

32:56

piece that I love about whatnot is just

32:59

what people do with what they purchase. So,

33:01

you know, we had a toy drive this last

33:03

December where all of the items that were

33:05

purchased were went to children in need. Um,

33:08

similarly, I talked to a top buyer. and

33:10

all of the fabric she purchases. She

33:13

goes and she sews dresses for an

33:15

orphanage in Tanzania and is able to

33:17

actually send those pieces over. So I

33:19

think what's great about, you know, whatnot

33:21

versus you think of these big tech giants

33:23

and you think, oh, you know, like Amazon

33:26

or these other companies are taking out

33:28

small businesses. We are trying to

33:30

do the opposite. We're trying to propel small businesses

33:32

and get people to. you know, be

33:34

able to make a living without having

33:36

to have the expense of a brick and mortar store necessarily.

33:39

And then on the buyer side, giving them the

33:42

opportunity to purchase items, hopefully

33:44

at deals where then they can use, um,

33:46

you know, this fabric or these yarns

33:48

or, or whatever it is to make their own

33:50

creations. So it really excites me.

33:53

I love working here. Um, I, I think that the

33:55

mission really aligns with what I wanna do personally,

33:57

is just like, help more people.

33:59

Um, Actually be able to grow

34:02

businesses in America and hopefully

34:04

abroad soon. We actually launched in the uk,

34:06

um, a couple months ago and are hoping to expand,

34:09

um, more internationally.

34:11

That all sounds very exciting. I

34:14

love the word you used, propel.

34:17

I think that captures it. Exactly, because there

34:19

is an opportunity there, even if you,

34:21

you know, as the buyer or the seller, but particularly

34:24

as the seller, if you don't have the know-how

34:26

to get out there and sell your stuff

34:28

or list it or deal with postage

34:30

or invoicing, right.

34:33

Whatnot, does all those things for

34:35

you. It's a great welcoming platform

34:37

and it, it is really, is easy to use. It's

34:39

very step by step. There's tons

34:41

of instructional videos, which I went through.

34:43

You know, it doesn't come easily to me necessarily.

34:47

To use technology. So I was a great Guinea

34:49

pig when I did my livestream and you coached me

34:51

through quite a few things and I got

34:53

to see firsthand how really straightforward

34:55

it is. Um, Carly commented

34:58

a little bit too, but I'm gonna ask you as well,

35:00

what are some of the things you've done on purpose

35:03

to make that process streamlined

35:05

and easy, particularly from the

35:07

point of view of sellers.

35:09

of course. Yeah. So we have a,

35:11

an entire team, um, you know,

35:14

that focuses on the operations of the company

35:16

at trying to make our platform very accessible.

35:19

Um, so there's a couple things we do from the start to really

35:21

try to help, um, sellers come

35:24

on and, and use our platform to the full

35:26

benefit. Um, just speaking to like

35:28

the last piece a little bit more is, The

35:30

other part of starting a business is that it's really

35:32

scary. So the more resources

35:34

we can provide and the easier we can make it, the

35:37

more that me as a seller will feel confident

35:39

and comfortable trying out the platform,

35:41

testing out, feeling comfortable, even failing

35:44

at times to be able to build a successful

35:46

business. Um, so from the start, we

35:48

have a group onboarding session.

35:50

This is done by a live, whatnot employee.

35:53

Trained in all aspects of the platform.

35:56

Um, so one of my colleagues or myself

35:58

generally do an onboarding of individuals

36:00

who are interested in a specific category. Um,

36:03

we'll give them a run through of here's how

36:05

to, uh, first sign onto the app.

36:08

Here is how to upload an individual

36:10

item to be sold. Here's how to go

36:12

live. Recommendations on going live,

36:14

have an interesting show, you know, do giveaways

36:17

to gain followers, that kind of stuff. And

36:19

then we also usually leave time for

36:22

q and a at the end. Um, additionally

36:24

we have a whole what not Creator Academy, which

36:26

Susan, I showed you where it. breaks

36:28

out all these individual videos on,

36:31

you know, how to run a giveaway,

36:33

how to set up an item for auction,

36:36

how to print out your labels after,

36:38

uh, you're done with your show. Those types of smaller

36:41

videos. We also have a

36:43

seller help center, which is like a

36:45

Zendesk almost. Any question

36:47

you ask, you can put in the search bar. Let's say

36:49

you wanna know what the taxes are

36:51

or how to get your, you know, forms

36:53

at the end of the. you can Google that

36:56

and it shows right up. And then lastly,

36:58

if you find that, you know, within

37:00

our creator academy, within our seller help center,

37:02

you still have questions that are unanswered. We

37:05

have an entire dedicated seller support

37:07

team and buyer support team. So as

37:09

a seller you can say, oh, you

37:11

know, I'm not sure how to use this feature, or Can

37:13

someone help me with, um, getting an insured label?

37:15

Something like that. And we have someone that responds,

37:18

you know, within a couple. Giving

37:20

you personal one-to-one care. Uh, so

37:22

that's really exciting. We're so focused on

37:24

making the sellers have a good experience.

37:26

Um, so we have a whole team dedicated

37:28

to specifically support sellers. We

37:31

also have a team that is dedicated

37:33

to support buyers. So we have a whole buyer

37:35

website. We have buyer support.

37:37

Um, and the goal here is to really make

37:39

it as easy as possible to

37:42

use the platform and, um, to,

37:44

to continue to foster this environment of

37:46

community

37:48

I think you've done a great job of that. I've

37:50

been a seller so far. I have not yet been a buyer,

37:52

although there will come a day. But as

37:55

a seller, I found it to be, extremely

37:57

easy. Once I had my, my profile,

38:00

if you will set up, and my items loaded. The

38:02

process of doing the livestream

38:04

and then particularly the process of

38:06

the follow up, was so easy,

38:09

and I appreciated that because that is sometimes

38:11

the part that you dread. You think, oh gosh, I've

38:13

gotta do all the invoicing and I've gotta check on the shipping,

38:15

and how do I know what the rates are and et cetera, et cetera,

38:17

et cetera. And so much of that

38:20

you have built right into the app and

38:22

it is just done seamlessly for you. I

38:24

found it incredibly easy to

38:26

work with.

38:28

Oh, I'm so glad, cuz I know it was your first

38:30

time, uh, last week and so I'm

38:32

really glad that it went well. And you sold

38:34

the most beautiful quilt, um,

38:37

the tequila sunrise, I believe it was.

38:39

Yes. Yes, it was

38:40

gorgeous. Oh, it's such a gorgeous piece.

38:43

It was very fun. I wondered

38:45

if you have a couple of success

38:47

stories. Carly gave me one or two as well

38:49

of people who have kind of been pleasantly

38:51

surprised whether a buyer or a seller,

38:54

but I guess I'm kind of thinking of sellers, people

38:56

who have, gotten into this exploring

38:58

what could this do for my business? And

39:00

maybe they've unexpectedly found a real

39:02

niche or found that they like being on

39:05

camera. You know? What are some success stories

39:07

you have.

39:09

Yeah, I mean, there is such a wealth of

39:11

these stories that it's hard for me to

39:13

pick, you know, one or two. I,

39:16

I had one seller that I worked with who actually,

39:18

um, she's autistic

39:20

and she has a lot of trouble kind

39:23

of communicating with people. She says, you know,

39:25

I'm a little antisocial. I'm not sure how this is gonna

39:27

work. And she tried it out and there

39:29

was something about even, you

39:31

know, she feels that she's very shy and introverted

39:33

being in front of a camera and seeing such

39:36

positive comments. Come

39:38

in during her live stream of, you know, oh,

39:40

I love your product, or, this is so great. It really

39:42

had her open up. And she said she was able to

39:44

connect with her users much

39:46

more than she actually can in real life,

39:48

because she had the security of, you

39:51

know, I'm alone in my room and I'm on

39:53

camera and I can turn it off whenever. But

39:55

I have these people cheering me on and actually

39:58

liking my products. I loved that. Um,

40:00

that is really interesting. I can kind

40:02

of see that. Yeah. There's that little bit of distance

40:04

that the camera gives you. Yeah.

40:07

Good for her. Good for her. For braving that.

40:10

A lot of these stories almost make me emotional. I just

40:12

think it's, it's pretty amazing. I have an another

40:15

seller, she's partially blind, um,

40:17

and she told me she's, I, I can't drive.

40:19

And so, you know, her husband works during the

40:21

day and she felt kind of depressed

40:24

a lot. Like, I can't, you know, Actually

40:27

enjoy my day. I can't go meet my friends. And

40:29

she met this community on whatnot and

40:31

she had, you know, all of these new

40:33

connections of people across the country

40:36

that they would join her streams every week

40:38

and bid on her items. And she actually

40:40

celebrated her birthday on whatnot a couple weeks ago

40:42

and she said, oh, it's the best because now I don't have

40:44

to leave the home to actually hang

40:47

out with my friends. Like I have this group of people.

40:49

that are great and she's, I think, doing an in-person

40:51

meetup with them, um, in the next month. So

40:54

those are sort of the emotional stories that I love.

40:56

I think on the business side of how

40:58

this can propel a business. I have,

41:01

you know, multitudes of sellers that

41:03

came on thinking it was a side gig

41:05

and they saw the potential of whatnot

41:07

and they quit their job and now they're

41:10

saying, I work my own hours. So much

41:12

more fun. I get to

41:14

sell things I'm passionate about and that

41:16

I'm an expert in versus working a nine

41:18

to five that you might care nothing about. Um,

41:21

and that they're actually able to spend more time with

41:23

family because they can sell

41:25

right from home. So rather than, you know,

41:27

spending that 30 minutes or an hour commuting

41:29

each day, they're going live each day from

41:32

the comfort of their own home, dropping their packages

41:34

off at U S P and, and get to, you

41:36

know, make dinner at night. So there's,

41:38

there's plenty of sellers that have done that as.

41:41

It is certainly offers the ultimate in

41:43

customization, you know, in terms of your schedule

41:45

because you absolutely get to decide

41:48

when it is that you do your live streams or your

41:50

giveaways or whatever, and you

41:53

know it, part of it's your own convenience and

41:55

part of it also is knowing your

41:57

ideal customer and when they're shopping

41:59

and you can accommodate that

42:01

so, so,

42:04

Yep, absolutely. So we, we've had

42:06

sellers. I mean, starting a business can always

42:08

be difficult. So we've had sellers that said,

42:10

oh, I started, you know, selling at 7:00 PM

42:12

changed it to 3:00 PM Um, and additionally

42:15

we've had sellers that said, I invested

42:17

$10,000 in my business. Like, and

42:20

the goal here was that I was gonna get the best product,

42:22

or I was gonna do the most giveaways to bring on

42:24

loyal, a loyal. Similar to any

42:27

brick and mortar store and actually be able to grow

42:29

their business from there. So I think this

42:31

gives people the opportunity to really take risks

42:33

with the comfort and security of knowing that,

42:35

you know, we are a platform that isn't predatory,

42:38

that doesn't, you know, skim

42:40

off the top when they list items

42:42

or we don't charge for people to go live. So we're

42:44

really giving them more, um, accessibility

42:46

to actually make their business what they want

42:49

it to.

42:49

Absolutely. So what

42:51

would you say are some of the things, you've

42:53

touched on some of them, but what are some of the things that

42:56

a small business can gain? You've

42:58

mentioned followers, um, you've mentioned

43:00

sales, you've mentioned, uh, freedom of schedule,

43:03

but what might it do for them in terms of, you

43:05

know, visibility or making them have

43:07

worldwide access?

43:10

Yeah, absolutely. So I can

43:12

think of the example of, we have a,

43:14

um, quilting and fabric store

43:17

that I believe is based out of Ohio,

43:19

and she gets, you know, 20

43:22

to 30 clients a day, let's say in

43:24

her quilting store. Being able

43:26

to diversify the way she sells

43:28

by selling on whatnot gives her an entirely

43:31

new clientele that wouldn't be able to drive

43:33

to her location in store. And they may

43:35

not find her Facebook or Instagram

43:37

page naturally and know to shop online.

43:40

So I think that whatnot for

43:42

there are people that, their sole businesses

43:44

and whatnot, there are also plenty of people who diversify

43:47

their business. By adding whatnot

43:49

as a stream of revenue. Um, and

43:51

so there are, you know, hundreds

43:53

of thousands of people on our platform

43:55

that are purchasing every day that live

43:58

globally. Mm-hmm. And the way that this works is,

44:01

is sellers can actually reach a broader

44:03

community easily by selling on whatnot.

44:05

Um, similar to Instagram or,

44:07

or Facebook. People can set up their

44:09

profiles, they can gain followers,

44:11

and the followers are not, One

44:14

when they go live. Um, and

44:16

then two, when they also list items. So

44:18

if you're a company or a business

44:20

that is doing limited drops, you can actually

44:22

post and people can say, oh my gosh, you

44:25

know, the fabric is already, I'm so excited

44:27

to buy it and see it right then and there. Um,

44:29

so I think it's visibility is

44:31

really increased when you join whatnot. Mm-hmm.

44:34

and also the community aspect. on

44:38

Instagram. You know, you've post

44:40

and people might comment in, but you don't usually

44:42

connect with them as much as a platform

44:44

like whatnot where you're streaming live and there's a real

44:46

face behind it and people comment

44:48

in and and can ask questions and you can answer

44:51

in real time. I think that's pretty unique

44:53

to the platform as well.

44:54

I think so too. Real time is a key, right?

44:57

So, you know, we're all about interaction on

44:59

all the platforms and the more interaction, the better

45:01

and the better the platform rewards

45:03

you, but whatnot is the first one I've

45:05

seen that has that sort of instant, um,

45:08

communication. I chimed into one,

45:10

I can't remember now if it was this morning or last night. I think

45:12

it was last night. And I tuned into

45:14

a live stream. And you know, as soon as I got there,

45:16

someone recognized me from elsewhere,

45:19

on the worldwide web. And they were like, oh, hey,

45:21

there's Stitched by Susan. And so we got chatting

45:23

between the two of us, like, where else

45:25

do you get that? Just, you know,

45:27

and I'm just in the evening sitting with my coffee

45:29

in hand and my feet up and having a chance

45:31

to chat with someone else who has the same interest

45:34

that I do. It was so fun.

45:36

Absolutely. I love that

45:39

So before we go, I always

45:41

ask my guests, do you have

45:43

some nugget that you wanna share? A little

45:45

gem of wisdom, and it can have to do with

45:47

building a business or your app, but

45:50

it can also be just about life in general.

45:52

Something that you would like to leave with us.

45:56

Wow, that's a great question. I

45:58

feel like I have learned so much from

46:01

other sellers and, and people in my

46:03

life that I, I don't even know if I'm equipped

46:05

to give advice, but I would say, um,

46:08

on the creation side, being

46:10

part of the arts and handmade community, the

46:13

most amazing thing I've seen is what

46:15

people can really create. So I, I think

46:17

a lot of your audience are creators, and

46:19

I think my one piece of advice, or one

46:21

nugget to them would be to keep creating

46:23

and to keep sharing what they create because

46:25

I think it makes the world a little bit better. Um,

46:28

and, and I love to see just what. Beautiful

46:31

pieces come out of people's

46:33

own creativity. Um, so I'm really grateful

46:35

to have met you through, through working at whatnot

46:37

and to be able to see all of these other

46:40

artisans work. Um, it's

46:42

it's been really special.

46:43

It's pretty rewarding, isn't it? Yes.

46:46

Well, thanks absolutely a bunch, Lydia, for joining

46:48

me. I appreciate it. And certainly thank you too

46:50

for all your personal help as I was dabbling

46:53

in your app and learning my way around too. I sure

46:55

appreciated.

46:56

Oh, well Susan, you were a joy to work with.

46:59

I hope you come onto whatnot again soon.

47:01

Um, but I had such a pleasure getting to know you

47:03

and your husband, and I thought you did an

47:05

amazing, amazing show. So also

47:08

for anyone that, um, you know, is checking

47:10

out whatnot as a result of this, They can look up

47:12

your own personal page and watch

47:14

your entire show from last week.

47:16

Absolutely they can. But certainly I will

47:18

put in the notes, um, an invitation

47:20

to join thenot app and an offer for

47:23

some shopping credit. Is

47:25

there a place that people like what not.com,

47:27

is there anywhere else that they ought to be going to

47:29

find out more about the app?

47:32

So, um, on the seller side you

47:34

can look at what knot.com/seller.

47:37

That gives a lot of details on what our sellers

47:39

do. Um, and then of course,

47:41

if you're interested in applying, you should just reach out

47:43

to Susan. She can refer you, um,

47:45

or you can apply directly on the website as

47:48

a buyer. Definitely check out the

47:50

website. You get $15 of free credit

47:52

from Susan, which is enough

47:54

to buy a pretty penny of things. Yes.

47:56

It's, um, so, so just recommend kind of playing

47:58

around with the app and also giving

48:01

feedback. So if there's things you like, things you don't like, we'll

48:03

be looking at the comments to understand how

48:05

we can better serve this community.

48:07

I think I have found that to be really unique

48:10

in talking with you and Carly and just working

48:12

with your team on the app.

48:14

You are so incredibly responsive

48:16

and I like that and appreciate it

48:19

very much.

48:20

I'm so glad, Susan. Well have a wonderful rest

48:22

of your week and of course if there's anything I can

48:24

do for you, just give me a ring.

48:27

All right. Thanks so much for joining me, Lydia, and we'll

48:29

talk to you again soon.

48:31

Okay. Talk to you soon.

48:33

Thanks so much my friend for tuning in. I

48:35

hope you've enjoyed this peak into the world of

48:37

online commerce, and I hope you'll give

48:39

it a try for yourself. You can

48:41

check it out at whatnot.info/stitched

48:45

by Susan. That invitation includes

48:47

a $15 credit toward your first purchase,

48:50

so take advantage of that as you get acquainted

48:52

with the. If you have

48:54

friends who you think would enjoy this podcast,

48:56

would you take a moment and share it with them? You

48:59

can share this particular episode or

49:01

all episodes and easy choices of

49:03

where to listen. That can all be found

49:05

at podcast dot stitched by susan.com.

49:09

I'm Susan Smith, and until next time,

49:11

mayor Sorrows be patched and

49:14

your joys be quilted.