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Gift is unwrapped guest,

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episode number 410.

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She's like,

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oh, I love your necklace.

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And I was like,

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really? I made it like you do.

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Cause I wasn't sure.

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She's like,

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you did.

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I want one Attention.

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Gifters Bakers,

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crafters and Makers pursuing your dream can be fun.

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Whether you have an established business or looking to start one

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now you are in the right place.

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This is Gift Biz Unwrapped,

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helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.

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Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,

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resources and the support you need to grow your gift biz.

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Here is your host Gift Biz gal,

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Sue Mohe.

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Hi there,

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it's Sue.

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And I'm so happy that you're joining me here today.

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One of the most fulfilling things I've discovered through starting Gift

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Biz Unwrapped is the warmth,

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comradery, and generosity of the community that we've formed.

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You're so giving and so talented,

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and of course I always want to give back to you

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too, to do something that can make your efforts easier and

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your results greater.

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So I asked you how,

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and you surprised me,

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it wasn't help with an email marketing strategy.

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It wasn't about selling it shows or any other number of

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topics that make up a solid growing business.

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Nope. What you're overwhelmingly asking for is help with social media

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posting. You've been telling me that you're putting in the time

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you're posting frequently and you're discouraged because you aren't seeing any

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of this.

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Move the needle for your sales message received,

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putting in more and more time,

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posting in the same way isn't going to magically bring you

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in the sales you need to change the way you're posting

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and what you're posting.

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You don't need to put in more work.

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You need to put in the right work,

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and that's when you'll see things change.

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And I've created your guide to do just that.

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It's called Content for Makers,

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and it's specially designed for handmade product makers like you.

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Content for Makers will help you understand why your current social

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media activities aren't converting into sales.

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It will also show you how to put in less time

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and start seeing activity through social that will lead to increased

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sales. Just imagine knowing exactly what to post and getting it

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done in just minutes each day.

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That frees up space for you to interact with potential clients,

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deepen relationships with those you already know.

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And all of this continues to build upon itself Naturally,

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yes, this really is possible.

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Content for Makers will accomplish this for you to see all

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the details,

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jump over to gift biz unwraps.com/content

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for Makers.

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But honestly,

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at only $27,

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it's a no-brainer.

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Plus you only have to pay for it once for use

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year after year.

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Why carry on posting as you've been doing all along expecting

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different results?

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Sign up for content for Makers now and see the transformation

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of your posting experience change right before your very eyes.

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Gift biz unwrapped.com/content

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for Makers.

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It's ready and waiting for your immediate access right now.

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I love today's show for so many reasons.

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I ran into Robin's booth at the Chicago one-of-a-kind show last

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December. This is a huge twice a year event at the

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Merchandise Mart with a specific focus on handmade product businesses.

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Besides the fact that I run into really interesting new twists

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unknown products,

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I love seeing so much talent and quality there.

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It continues to reinforce the value of handmade and why it's

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worth your efforts to provide us with your amazing pieces because

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this show is so big.

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Another thing I always observe is the variety of approaches used

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when vendors interact with booth guests.

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Of course,

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I'm looking at it from that angle,

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right? Robin caught my attention for a couple of reasons.

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First, her display drew me in.

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I was curious about her product,

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and when I asked,

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we got into a friendly and enlightening conversation.

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I got just enough information to know that I wanted her

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as a guest on the show.

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That's the way I like to do this when I'm considering

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somebody I don't already know that way.

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Our conversation here in the podcast is genuine.

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I'm asking questions I don't already have the answers to.

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So we're hearing it together.

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You and me.

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I just need enough information to ensure that they're a good

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example for you and it goes from there.

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And gosh am I so glad I met Robin because she

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has a fabulous business development story to share.

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If you're just starting out,

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you'll pick up excellent tips and ideas to incorporate into your

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plans. And for established business owners,

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there's a lot here for you too to reinforce what you're

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already doing or to serve as a reminder of best practices.

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Plus Robin's product is just so fun,

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a twist on two other products you already know combined into

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one. Here's Robin to explain it all.

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Today I'm looking forward to introducing you to Robin Lee Adams.

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Robin Lee Essentials was born out of Robin's desire to create

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her own line of handcrafted ceramic jewelry when she struggled to

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find pieces that were both functional and elegant.

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As an extension to that,

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Robin believes that people should be able to elevate their everyday

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outfits while incorporating the benefits of essential oils into their lives.

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To fill both of these goals,

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Robin Lee Essentials offers pieces that are timeless,

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intentional, and with an artfully polished aesthetic on diffuser jewelry style.

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Do you even know what infuser jewelry style is?

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You'll know after our conversation here.

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Robin, welcome to the Gift Biz Unrepped podcast.

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Hi Sue.

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Thank you so much for having me.

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I'm glad to be here.

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I am so glad that you agreed to come on the

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show too,

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and I can't wait to hear the whole story.

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But before we get into that,

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I'd like to get a little bit of a different idea

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about you through a description of a motivational candle.

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So if you were to close your eyes and think of

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what your most perfect motivational candle would look like that represents

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you, what would it be?

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By color and a quote.

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So for me,

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I would say the quote is,

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I got this,

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the phrase,

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I got this.

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And rather than being a color,

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I really think about the scent,

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which would be a blend of lavender and citrus essential oils,

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which is a blend that I call happy.

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And it's just the perfect combination of calming and also uplifting.

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And then for the color,

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it would be my style is very,

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I really like timeless and elegant with my jewelry as well

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as everyday style.

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So the color would be more of a neutral color,

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but that symbolizes for me a not only timeless look,

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but also sort of a blank canvas,

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metaphorically speaking.

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Just knowing that I can wake up every day with a

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fresh start on life and my business and kind of like

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a blank canvas ready to create the best way I can.

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That's one of the great things about having your own business

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is you're not tied into parameters that someone else is putting

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on you.

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You can do anything that you want and every day's a

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fresh day.

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You're right.

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New start.

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Yeah. So I'll be honest with you,

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until I saw you at the one of a kind show

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in Chicago,

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I didn't even know there was such a thing as diffuser

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jewelry. And I love essential oils.

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I have candles going all the time.

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My favorite thing in the world is candles,

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which is why we do the motivational candle.

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But I had never even run into this as a concept

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before, ever.

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How popular is it and how many people do this type

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of thing integrating sense into jewelry?

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I would say it's becoming more popular for sure.

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And when the way that my jewelry line got started,

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however, was I could not find any essential oil diffuser jewelry

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that met my style needs.

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So I saw a huge gap in the market and I

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wanted to close that gap.

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And I have a background in ceramic art and I know

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that with ceramics,

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if you can dream it,

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you literally can sculpt it,

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which is what,

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I just love that medium.

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And so I started that when I was still a classroom

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teacher. I was a kindergarten teacher and I gifted them to

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my teacher friends.

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They convinced me to do an Etsy shop and then the

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rest is history.

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Oh gosh.

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Okay. So there's a lot there and I'm excited to dive

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into all of that.

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Yeah. So you saw the need in the market.

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So then you went back and you had the skills already,

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right to do ceramics.

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And then what did you do?

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Just play around with different ideas to start creating jewelry that

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you would like and wear personally or talk about way back

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then and what was happening then?

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Yes. I have a very distinct minimalist teacher style.

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One reason because it's just so easy to have kind of

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a capsule wardrobe,

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more minimal everyday style so that I can look professional and

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chic, but also be on the ground teaching young four and

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five year olds how to read and do life basically in

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the kindergarten classroom.

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And I also was introduced to essential oils and was learning

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the benefits of lavender and other calming oils for myself.

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And I thought it would be so neat if I could

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diffuse these oils with some jewelry.

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And I started Searchie for that and I could not find

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any jewelry that didn't feel a little big and bulky so

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to speak.

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And so I knew that ceramics,

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the first base level of it after it's been kiln fired

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is very porous.

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And I know that because I've made ceramic coasters and they

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do a great job with absorbing the moisture from your drink.

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And I thought that perhaps that there could be a way

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to create something a little bit more elegant and chic with

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the jewelry aspect.

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And so it just was a lot of trial and error

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and working my way to figure out what would match with

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a lot of my outfits.

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And it really resonated with a lot of my colleagues.

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And then when I put it out into the world,

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it resonated with a lot of other people that have the

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similar interests and style likes that I have.

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So you knew ceramics,

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but you didn't necessarily know jewelry in terms of creation,

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so you had to work with that too,

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you know,

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and sous and all?

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Yes, definitely.

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I only knew ceramics,

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not jewelry.

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You were making your ceramic pieces and they're so beautiful and

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I agree with you,

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you call it a more of a minimalistic style.

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I mean mean they're simple and light and delicate and smaller,

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which is totally my style as well,

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which is one of the reasons I like them so much.

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So you had those,

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but what were you doing going to like Michael's or somewhere

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just to get beads initially to put your initial pieces together?

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I think that I first looked on Etsy for a little

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delicate chain and connected with some other small shops because I

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love the human side of small businesses.

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And Etsy was,

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I had an Etsy account and it was just nice to

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be able to communicate with other small shops.

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I just started out with necklaces and I got a dainty

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little chain and learned about how to properly add the jump

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rings and the attachments.

264
00:12:42,900 --> 00:12:46,480
But the shining star really was the ceramic piece.

265
00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,400
And so luckily I had that in my back pocket,

266
00:12:49,530 --> 00:12:50,200
so to speak.

267
00:12:51,130 --> 00:12:54,480
So are you saying that you were connecting up with other

268
00:12:54,510 --> 00:12:59,160
Etsy shop owners to then use them as a source for

269
00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:01,280
the chains and the beads and all that you were using?

270
00:13:01,370 --> 00:13:04,520
Or just to connect up with them for business partner type

271
00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,520
purposes? Just for learning and networking I guess I would say.

272
00:13:07,710 --> 00:13:10,200
Yeah, I was mostly on Etsy,

273
00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:14,800
connecting up with them to learn about their product and how

274
00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:17,800
to best use their product for my jewelry.

275
00:13:18,370 --> 00:13:22,520
So sourcing the chains from those small shops just to learn

276
00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:24,600
about what would work best and all of that.

277
00:13:25,340 --> 00:13:29,080
But I do think that networking is such an important piece,

278
00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:30,440
especially when you're getting started.

279
00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,400
And so I did a lot of networking on social media

280
00:13:33,830 --> 00:13:39,040
with other folks that seemed to be entrepreneurial either in my

281
00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:43,360
realm of aromatherapy and wellness and style.

282
00:13:44,190 --> 00:13:47,760
I found things that we had in common and then it

283
00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,600
was nice to be able to network and not feel so

284
00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,600
alone in the entrepreneurial journey.

285
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:55,800
Right, for sure.

286
00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:56,800
So Facebook groups,

287
00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:57,520
things like that.

288
00:13:57,530 --> 00:13:58,160
On social?

289
00:13:58,540 --> 00:14:00,720
For me it was mostly Instagram.

290
00:14:01,230 --> 00:14:02,600
Okay. Yeah,

291
00:14:02,630 --> 00:14:03,320
I started,

292
00:14:03,990 --> 00:14:08,600
I went full-time with Robin Lee Essentials in 2019 and Instagram

293
00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:11,320
was just the app that I was most comfortable with.

294
00:14:11,420 --> 00:14:15,120
And so that's where I really made a lot of connections.

295
00:14:15,500 --> 00:14:16,000
Got it.

296
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,200
And so do you still source from some of those same

297
00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:18,760
people today?

298
00:14:18,830 --> 00:14:20,000
That's a great question.

299
00:14:20,020 --> 00:14:24,040
And I don't at this time just because I've found products

300
00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:26,600
that are a little bit higher quality as I,

301
00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:28,000
from the very first years,

302
00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:29,520
which would've been in 2018.

303
00:14:29,930 --> 00:14:32,360
So there are now though,

304
00:14:32,590 --> 00:14:39,200
I definitely still have the same contacts since early 2021,

305
00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:40,080
late 2020.

306
00:14:40,530 --> 00:14:41,920
So the product has evolved.

307
00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:45,160
So you were using certain supplies as you were creating your

308
00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:46,360
prototypes per se,

309
00:14:46,420 --> 00:14:49,360
and then having people try them and getting the response and

310
00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:52,880
seeing how people liked the jewelry that you were making and

311
00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:53,760
then you advanced from there.

312
00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:55,840
You perfect your systems and your sources from there,

313
00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:56,560
it sounds like.

314
00:14:56,670 --> 00:14:57,520
Yeah, totally.

315
00:14:58,030 --> 00:15:00,960
Okay. So I'm going through all of this.

316
00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:02,600
For anyone who's listening,

317
00:15:02,740 --> 00:15:03,880
who is thinking,

318
00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:05,080
well, how would I do that?

319
00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:06,280
Like I have this idea,

320
00:15:06,510 --> 00:15:07,480
I have some skills,

321
00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:08,360
I'm making something.

322
00:15:08,460 --> 00:15:12,160
But what mostly people see is what they do.

323
00:15:12,380 --> 00:15:13,520
And then they jump in,

324
00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,440
they see somebody who's online who has a really popular performing

325
00:15:17,450 --> 00:15:20,360
website, they don't necessarily see all the in between.

326
00:15:20,490 --> 00:15:23,880
So that's what you're helping me pull out so that people

327
00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:27,360
understand how you can get from point A to a 0.1

328
00:15:27,390 --> 00:15:28,120
a 0.2,

329
00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:28,600
you know,

330
00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:30,520
like the little steps along the way.

331
00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:31,640
Right? Totally.

332
00:15:31,950 --> 00:15:34,640
Yeah. So you showed it to your colleagues.

333
00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:38,360
So I'm thinking your fellow teachers at school and getting feedback

334
00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:38,680
from them,

335
00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:39,600
is that how that worked?

336
00:15:40,180 --> 00:15:42,120
Yes. I actually started,

337
00:15:42,370 --> 00:15:47,360
so I had the idea and then I was pretty determined.

338
00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:48,480
Once I have an idea,

339
00:15:48,670 --> 00:15:51,440
I have to just try it to get it out of

340
00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:51,720
my head.

341
00:15:52,020 --> 00:15:54,320
And so I remember having the idea,

342
00:15:54,830 --> 00:15:57,760
I have my ceramic background because my mom is an artist,

343
00:15:58,100 --> 00:16:02,160
she let me borrow some of her clay and I rolled

344
00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:06,600
it out on the kitchen table and I started to try

345
00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:08,160
and make my own pieces.

346
00:16:08,630 --> 00:16:12,320
I live in a really great arts community in Asheville,

347
00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:13,920
North Carolina.

348
00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:17,440
And there was a place in the river arts district that

349
00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:21,880
will allow you to rent time to fire your pieces in

350
00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:22,680
a kiln.

351
00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:23,840
So I didn't have my own kiln,

352
00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:25,000
I didn't have any of that.

353
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,400
I just had to claim my mom let me borrow.

354
00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:28,240
I did that,

355
00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:29,520
threw it in the kiln.

356
00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:32,200
The first pieces had a lot of things wrong with them.

357
00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:33,240
They did not look good.

358
00:16:33,830 --> 00:16:35,120
I say I'm experienced,

359
00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:39,080
but I mean even making smaller beads and ceramics,

360
00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:40,120
it's a lot to learn.

361
00:16:40,180 --> 00:16:44,200
And there was a really friendly artist in residence at that

362
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:48,400
rental service and I paid her for a little private tutorial

363
00:16:48,580 --> 00:16:50,680
and she just showed me the basics.

364
00:16:51,060 --> 00:16:55,160
And that was one of the most valuable hours of my

365
00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:57,200
business because I learned the basics.

366
00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:59,640
And then from there it was a lot of trial and

367
00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,600
error and I would just rent the kiln space.

368
00:17:02,820 --> 00:17:06,200
And then I finally created one that I really liked.

369
00:17:06,210 --> 00:17:09,040
It was a necklace and I wore it to work.

370
00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:12,800
And then one of my colleagues walked in my classroom at

371
00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,360
seven 30 in the morning and immediately she's like,

372
00:17:15,360 --> 00:17:16,480
oh, I love your necklace.

373
00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:17,040
And I was like,

374
00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:19,760
really? I made it like you do.

375
00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:21,040
Cause I wasn't sure.

376
00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:21,520
She's like,

377
00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:21,960
you did,

378
00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:22,720
I want one.

379
00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:23,880
And that's just kind of,

380
00:17:23,910 --> 00:17:26,640
I feel like it was a little nudge from the universe

381
00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,680
because I was kind of testing it out and just,

382
00:17:29,830 --> 00:17:31,880
I still had a lot of self-doubt,

383
00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:33,000
I guess you could say.

384
00:17:33,220 --> 00:17:34,080
And yeah,

385
00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:36,320
that was the first thing she said to me at seven

386
00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,960
30 in the morning as her and the kids were walking

387
00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:40,360
in, getting ready to start the day.

388
00:17:41,070 --> 00:17:44,520
I love that story when I'm talking with people about starting

389
00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:44,960
their business,

390
00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:46,840
one of the things that I always say is,

391
00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:48,880
you need validation that people,

392
00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:49,880
people want your product.

393
00:17:50,410 --> 00:17:52,360
So it's just like what you described,

394
00:17:52,460 --> 00:17:54,000
you weren't even promoting it.

395
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:55,160
It's not like you were out saying,

396
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:56,400
Hey, I make these necklaces.

397
00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:57,400
Does anyone want them?

398
00:17:57,460 --> 00:18:00,440
One of your fellow teachers saw it and is like,

399
00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:00,880
oh my gosh,

400
00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:01,520
that's beautiful.

401
00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:02,000
I love it.

402
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:02,720
I want one.

403
00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:06,320
These are ways of validating because people are interested in your

404
00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:09,800
product and that is kind of a message to you that,

405
00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:11,560
okay, you should take the next step.

406
00:18:11,740 --> 00:18:12,960
Cuz let's face it,

407
00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:13,440
as a maker,

408
00:18:13,770 --> 00:18:15,160
we all love what we make.

409
00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,040
It's whether other people love it too.

410
00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:19,680
And you've got to validate that product before you throw too

411
00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:21,240
much time or energy into it,

412
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,560
because that's one way to know that you'll be successful with

413
00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:25,760
your business is you move forward.

414
00:18:26,500 --> 00:18:29,080
The other thing that I really like that you talked about,

415
00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:32,040
Robin, is that the first pieces that came out of the

416
00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,560
kilned weren't something that you were necessarily going to be able

417
00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,240
to move forward with and that you had to work to

418
00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:42,040
obtain the skill and any tips or tricks or ways that

419
00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:44,160
you make your beads and your necklaces,

420
00:18:44,300 --> 00:18:46,240
you didn't know that right in the beginning.

421
00:18:46,420 --> 00:18:48,080
And I think that's really important.

422
00:18:48,350 --> 00:18:50,440
I don't know how you feel about this and you can

423
00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:53,120
comment after I'm done saying what I was gonna say right

424
00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:57,400
here, that I think we undervalue the talent and the skills

425
00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:59,440
that we have as makers because we're thinking,

426
00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:00,440
well, we're just making them,

427
00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:03,080
everyone knows how to do these things.

428
00:19:03,340 --> 00:19:06,840
But it's not true to your demonstration of having to learn,

429
00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:07,720
hire somebody,

430
00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:11,560
probably trial and error over the course of time to get

431
00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:13,160
it exactly to where it is today.

432
00:19:14,140 --> 00:19:17,480
And all that needs to be reflected in the pricing and

433
00:19:17,750 --> 00:19:21,760
allowing yourself to accept the fact that you have skills and

434
00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:25,120
your products are superior than just someone who's trying to make

435
00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:25,720
one on the side,

436
00:19:25,740 --> 00:19:26,240
you know,

437
00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:27,120
one off type thing.

438
00:19:27,290 --> 00:19:31,800
Exactly. And I do have trial and errors to this day.

439
00:19:32,930 --> 00:19:33,840
So yeah,

440
00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,200
when I open up the kiln in the morning,

441
00:19:36,790 --> 00:19:39,600
I always have my fingers crossed hoping that they all turned

442
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:40,080
out right.

443
00:19:40,220 --> 00:19:41,160
And honestly,

444
00:19:41,490 --> 00:19:46,080
usually I fire a lot of jewelry pendants at one time,

445
00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,040
and usually there's some that don't work still to this day,

446
00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:50,840
it just happens in ceramics,

447
00:19:50,870 --> 00:19:53,680
it's a little bit because you have to wait,

448
00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:56,560
there's so many firings and it's so hot you have to

449
00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:58,400
wait like basically 24 hours.

450
00:19:58,610 --> 00:20:03,080
So it's definitely a humbling art medium and also a great

451
00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:04,080
teacher and patience.

452
00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:06,080
Interesting. Yeah.

453
00:20:06,410 --> 00:20:11,080
So you anticipate and expect that a certain percentage of what

454
00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:13,640
you fire in a day won't be something that you can

455
00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:14,200
proceed with.

456
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:16,760
It just has to whatever you do with it afterwards,

457
00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:18,240
I don't know if you toss it or use it as

458
00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:20,280
scrap for something else or You know what,

459
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,560
Yeah, occasionally I'll put together a little collection that I call

460
00:20:24,730 --> 00:20:27,040
oopsies and they'll be discounted.

461
00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:31,280
Some people really like to see a little bit of an

462
00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:35,800
imperfect item and it just depends on what stage it was

463
00:20:35,850 --> 00:20:37,080
in the firing process.

464
00:20:38,030 --> 00:20:38,480
I see.

465
00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:39,160
That makes sense.

466
00:20:39,430 --> 00:20:42,480
Okay, so you have people who are interested in your jewelry,

467
00:20:42,580 --> 00:20:45,080
but they're all people at this point who you know,

468
00:20:45,190 --> 00:20:46,640
what did you do after that?

469
00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:51,440
There are a lot of things that I definitely need to

470
00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:53,160
work on as a small business owner,

471
00:20:53,220 --> 00:20:56,680
but one thing that I really feel super confident in is

472
00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:59,880
being very confident and secure in my niche,

473
00:21:00,410 --> 00:21:03,960
my niche customer and ideal client.

474
00:21:04,420 --> 00:21:09,480
And I think that I pictured that customer avatar and then

475
00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:13,080
I marketed and targeted that one and only,

476
00:21:13,870 --> 00:21:17,640
I truly believe that if you market for one,

477
00:21:17,700 --> 00:21:21,920
you will get many sales versus marketing for many,

478
00:21:21,980 --> 00:21:23,560
you will maybe get one sale.

479
00:21:23,660 --> 00:21:26,360
And I would say that reminds me,

480
00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:31,440
I wanted to mention the fact of I had people when

481
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:34,280
I was wearing my necklace the first day and then someone

482
00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:36,240
commented and complimented me.

483
00:21:36,580 --> 00:21:37,400
And yes,

484
00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:39,280
that was validation and that felt great.

485
00:21:39,500 --> 00:21:42,040
And also she was my ideal customer.

486
00:21:42,260 --> 00:21:44,120
Her and I have very similar style,

487
00:21:44,300 --> 00:21:48,720
and so I had something that was missing in my life.

488
00:21:48,970 --> 00:21:52,600
So I was able to kind of utilize myself at first

489
00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,320
as my niche customer and then go from there.

490
00:21:55,450 --> 00:21:59,840
So for anyone who may be thinking of making products and

491
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:02,840
perhaps they wear something and don't get a compliment,

492
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:04,480
that does not mean that it's not good.

493
00:22:04,550 --> 00:22:09,600
That just perhaps means that they have not marketed toward their

494
00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:10,480
niche customer.

495
00:22:10,830 --> 00:22:11,760
That makes sense.

496
00:22:12,150 --> 00:22:16,880
Yeah. And so I definitely don't want that little story of

497
00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:21,560
my luck to be discouraging to anyone because I happen to

498
00:22:21,930 --> 00:22:25,160
my niche customer walked into my classroom on that day,

499
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:29,520
right? And sometimes I think who we believe is our ideal

500
00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:30,520
customer, you know,

501
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,200
is when you start off and you envision,

502
00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:33,160
okay, this is my product,

503
00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:34,600
this is who I'm gonna sell to.

504
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,880
Sometimes it ends up being someone totally different.

505
00:22:38,010 --> 00:22:41,840
So you have to be open-minded and be observing who's actually

506
00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:44,480
gravitate and looking at your pieces and buying your pieces.

507
00:22:44,500 --> 00:22:45,000
You know,

508
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:46,440
craft shows are great with that.

509
00:22:46,710 --> 00:22:48,360
Seeing who comes to the table,

510
00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:49,120
who stops,

511
00:22:49,260 --> 00:22:50,280
who picks things up,

512
00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:53,360
who asks questions might be different than who you initially thought

513
00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:54,120
was your customer.

514
00:22:54,260 --> 00:22:55,760
You landed it right off the bat,

515
00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:56,480
so that was perfect.

516
00:22:57,670 --> 00:23:01,120
Yeah, I would say that that's who I wanted it to

517
00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:01,880
be as well.

518
00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:05,880
And so I think that a way to prevent burnout is

519
00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:09,280
to first put those intentions of who your niche customer is

520
00:23:09,460 --> 00:23:11,880
and they will come.

521
00:23:12,260 --> 00:23:13,960
And then when you're at a craft show,

522
00:23:14,010 --> 00:23:18,120
of course it's way more open because you really can't control

523
00:23:18,190 --> 00:23:20,560
what type of people are coming in and coming out.

524
00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:25,000
However, I think that it's really beneficial and helpful for your

525
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:29,520
business and to prevent burnout if you are remembering your target

526
00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:34,360
customer and your target audience and then being very specific when

527
00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:37,640
you market to that one person and not keeping in the

528
00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:39,080
back of your mind that,

529
00:23:39,290 --> 00:23:43,040
oh, there was somebody that definitely didn't really fall into that

530
00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,880
realm at the craft show I went to.

531
00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:48,360
Should I also make them my target audience?

532
00:23:48,730 --> 00:23:52,880
It really will start to confuse you and could prevent burnout

533
00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:55,640
because you're just trying to create for so many different types

534
00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:57,120
of niche customers.

535
00:23:57,190 --> 00:23:58,520
That's really good advice,

536
00:23:58,520 --> 00:23:59,360
Robin. Yeah,

537
00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:00,720
you get so scattered then.

538
00:24:00,910 --> 00:24:05,080
Yeah, and then you start to subconsciously maybe have some doubt

539
00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:05,880
about your product,

540
00:24:06,020 --> 00:24:08,320
but it's because it's not the product,

541
00:24:08,550 --> 00:24:10,120
it's the scattered mindset.

542
00:24:10,590 --> 00:24:11,840
Yeah, really good.

543
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:13,280
I'm so glad you brought that up.

544
00:24:13,770 --> 00:24:17,160
So how did you get your first customers who weren't your

545
00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:17,800
friends or family?

546
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:19,640
Where did you go from here?

547
00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:20,680
You validated your product,

548
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:21,640
then what happened?

549
00:24:22,270 --> 00:24:26,200
I did a little craft show in,

550
00:24:26,450 --> 00:24:30,480
it was the beginning of summer end of May in downtown

551
00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:35,680
Asheville. And I remember this moment because it's a really great

552
00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:36,400
teaching moment.

553
00:24:36,590 --> 00:24:40,360
I was there with my tent and my friend let me

554
00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:44,000
borrow her tent and it was not waterproof and so it

555
00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:44,920
started raining.

556
00:24:45,410 --> 00:24:49,160
It was so such an eyesore because you've seen my products

557
00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:49,760
in my setup.

558
00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:51,480
It's very elegant and clean.

559
00:24:51,990 --> 00:24:54,360
That's how I wanted my booth to be,

560
00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:55,800
but it didn't work out that way.

561
00:24:55,800 --> 00:25:00,400
So my friend brought a blue old blue tarp that we

562
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,240
threw over the nice pretty white tint that was like breaking

563
00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:05,240
as we Oh no,

564
00:25:05,790 --> 00:25:08,120
I mean it was fine because it's comical.

565
00:25:08,340 --> 00:25:10,040
The storm passed and there was,

566
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:11,760
it was a great turnout and everything.

567
00:25:11,830 --> 00:25:12,640
It's just funny.

568
00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:16,120
It wasn't aesthetically at all Robin Lee essentials,

569
00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:16,800
but that's fine.

570
00:25:16,940 --> 00:25:19,560
But I remember I had a customer come to my booth

571
00:25:19,660 --> 00:25:23,120
and I was really excited that someone came up there to

572
00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:27,360
see my booth and I started explaining how I make the

573
00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:32,360
jewelry and then the customer smiled and walked away and my

574
00:25:32,810 --> 00:25:34,880
partner, he's amazing.

575
00:25:35,650 --> 00:25:36,400
He said,

576
00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:38,720
Robin, three sentences or less,

577
00:25:39,020 --> 00:25:39,520
I'm like,

578
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:40,040
what? What?

579
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:41,680
Just you gotta make it.

580
00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:42,200
He's like,

581
00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:43,440
just like in your classroom,

582
00:25:43,750 --> 00:25:44,760
it's not about you,

583
00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:45,880
it's about the students,

584
00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:47,360
it's about your customers.

585
00:25:47,500 --> 00:25:49,360
And that was a huge light bulb.

586
00:25:49,700 --> 00:25:54,440
And so then I naturally just on the spot had my

587
00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:56,880
elevator pitch when someone approached,

588
00:25:56,910 --> 00:25:58,360
I had engagement with them,

589
00:25:58,830 --> 00:26:00,760
I was showing interest with them.

590
00:26:01,150 --> 00:26:02,680
I told them how it works,

591
00:26:02,740 --> 00:26:03,520
but that's it.

592
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:08,240
Allow them to answer questions if they are still interested and

593
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:08,640
so on.

594
00:26:08,910 --> 00:26:12,280
Then we had just an amazing turnout to where it gave

595
00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:13,520
me the confidence to think,

596
00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:15,440
okay, maybe I can really do this.

597
00:26:15,590 --> 00:26:18,280
I'll start an Etsy shop and we'll see where it goes.

598
00:26:18,550 --> 00:26:19,400
Okay, perfect.

599
00:26:19,780 --> 00:26:22,480
And you then switched on the fly at the show,

600
00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,680
right? Like you stopped talking about everything and how could you,

601
00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:26,600
if you think of a show,

602
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:28,120
all these people coming up,

603
00:26:28,120 --> 00:26:31,280
you know to repeat something longer time after time after time.

604
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:33,480
Shows are exhausting anyway,

605
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:35,240
less saying all of that.

606
00:26:35,250 --> 00:26:36,920
So that's really good advice too,

607
00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:39,720
is just trimming it down to just a couple of things.

608
00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:41,560
They don't need to know everything right away.

609
00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:44,880
Right. And so then you started doing that and saw that

610
00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:45,920
that was working better,

611
00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:47,280
right? Yes.

612
00:26:47,430 --> 00:26:51,240
I learned how to sell my product in person that day

613
00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:52,480
Right away.

614
00:26:53,310 --> 00:26:56,890
Yes. And it's okay that you make mistakes as you're getting

615
00:26:56,890 --> 00:26:58,290
started. You probably will,

616
00:26:58,290 --> 00:27:00,250
right? That's what you learn too.

617
00:27:00,490 --> 00:27:02,410
Like you do what naturally comes to you and then you

618
00:27:02,410 --> 00:27:04,890
revise it based on feedback you're getting from people,

619
00:27:04,890 --> 00:27:05,770
that kind of thing.

620
00:27:06,750 --> 00:27:10,850
Yes. And so I am not sure if your customer audience

621
00:27:10,850 --> 00:27:13,130
is a big base that does in-person shows,

622
00:27:13,230 --> 00:27:14,050
but I would,

623
00:27:14,050 --> 00:27:18,250
the advice I would give for in-person shows is to wear

624
00:27:18,250 --> 00:27:21,370
comfortable clothes and shoes and layers,

625
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:23,090
snacks, water,

626
00:27:23,090 --> 00:27:27,850
bring stuff so that you are comfortable and ready to be

627
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:29,930
engaging with your audience.

628
00:27:30,810 --> 00:27:31,330
Standing up,

629
00:27:31,330 --> 00:27:32,330
talking to them,

630
00:27:32,360 --> 00:27:39,090
making conversation with them and making the experience about your customer

631
00:27:39,230 --> 00:27:42,210
who took the time to walk over to your booth and

632
00:27:42,370 --> 00:27:43,170
chatting with them,

633
00:27:43,170 --> 00:27:44,210
make it about them.

634
00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:48,530
It's nothing personal that they're not really interested in learning your

635
00:27:48,530 --> 00:27:49,890
whole process honestly,

636
00:27:49,890 --> 00:27:54,690
because it could confuse them and confused people do not buy

637
00:27:54,820 --> 00:27:55,330
at all.

638
00:27:55,580 --> 00:27:59,250
So I would say that remember to make it about the

639
00:27:59,450 --> 00:28:00,610
customer. Love that.

640
00:28:00,610 --> 00:28:01,610
Perfect. Yes,

641
00:28:01,610 --> 00:28:02,050
yes, yes.

642
00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:05,330
Okay, so now you're gonna start an Etsy shop.

643
00:28:06,010 --> 00:28:07,730
Talk to us about that experience.

644
00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:14,410
Hear how Robin entered the world of e-commerce right after this

645
00:28:14,410 --> 00:28:16,530
brief break to hear from our sponsor.

646
00:28:17,910 --> 00:28:19,410
Yes, it's possible.

647
00:28:19,930 --> 00:28:22,050
Increase your sales without adding a single customer.

648
00:28:22,270 --> 00:28:26,010
How you ask by offering personalization with your products.

649
00:28:26,120 --> 00:28:29,490
Wrap a cake box with a ribbon saying Happy 30th birthday

650
00:28:29,490 --> 00:28:33,010
Annie. Or add a special message and date to wedding or

651
00:28:33,010 --> 00:28:35,250
party favors for an extra meaningful touch.

652
00:28:35,250 --> 00:28:38,650
Where else can you get customization with a creatively spelled name

653
00:28:38,650 --> 00:28:41,330
or find packaging that includes a saying whose meaning is known

654
00:28:41,330 --> 00:28:42,250
to a select two.

655
00:28:42,270 --> 00:28:45,330
Not only are customers willing to pay for these special touches,

656
00:28:45,330 --> 00:28:48,410
they'll tell their friends and word will spread about your company

657
00:28:48,410 --> 00:28:49,170
and products.

658
00:28:49,510 --> 00:28:52,650
You can create personalized ribbons and labels in seconds.

659
00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,410
Make just one or thousands without waiting weeks or having to

660
00:28:56,410 --> 00:28:58,290
spend money to order yards and yards.

661
00:28:58,290 --> 00:29:00,450
Print words in any language or font.

662
00:29:00,550 --> 00:29:01,450
Add logos,

663
00:29:01,450 --> 00:29:02,970
images, even photos.

664
00:29:03,100 --> 00:29:04,490
Perfect for branding.

665
00:29:04,730 --> 00:29:06,890
We're adding ingredient and flavor labels too.

666
00:29:07,110 --> 00:29:08,250
For more information,

667
00:29:08,250 --> 00:29:10,330
go to the ribbon print company.com.

668
00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:14,770
Yeah, I was on a public school teacher salary and budget.

669
00:29:14,910 --> 00:29:18,370
And so Etsy I think is 20 cents or something to

670
00:29:18,370 --> 00:29:19,370
start a listing.

671
00:29:19,370 --> 00:29:22,890
And so I think that I probably did a lot of

672
00:29:23,270 --> 00:29:27,090
Googling and read some blogs about how to have a successful

673
00:29:27,090 --> 00:29:27,970
Etsy shop.

674
00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:31,410
And I created my listings and did that.

675
00:29:31,410 --> 00:29:37,850
And then I immediately made a social media Instagram for my

676
00:29:37,950 --> 00:29:41,170
business and I did a lot of organic marketing on Instagram.

677
00:29:42,030 --> 00:29:46,280
I treated that marketing the same way that I would treat

678
00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:47,840
an in-person marketing.

679
00:29:48,090 --> 00:29:53,560
So that means truly striking up conversations with people and engaging

680
00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:57,080
and commenting back and remembering that these are all people behind

681
00:29:57,080 --> 00:29:59,120
the telephone sc or cellphone screen.

682
00:29:59,340 --> 00:30:04,040
And I think that building those relationships was really the foundation

683
00:30:04,050 --> 00:30:06,480
to a successful online shop.

684
00:30:06,780 --> 00:30:08,720
And that also trickles down to,

685
00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:12,560
again, what I was saying about engaging with your customers in

686
00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:17,680
person, building that relationship is the foundation to your successful in-person

687
00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:19,120
event. Agreed.

688
00:30:19,250 --> 00:30:21,520
So you did not take the approach.

689
00:30:21,660 --> 00:30:23,840
And there are a lot of people who are gonna cringe

690
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,080
when I say this because this is what happens.

691
00:30:26,230 --> 00:30:29,280
They put an Etsy shop up and then they wait and

692
00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:30,760
they expect someone to be coming.

693
00:30:31,090 --> 00:30:34,800
They've put the descriptions of their product so that there's keywords

694
00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:35,240
in there,

695
00:30:35,380 --> 00:30:35,880
you know,

696
00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:37,400
in the title and in the description.

697
00:30:37,460 --> 00:30:41,120
And then they sit and they wait and this is not

698
00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:41,800
what you did,

699
00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:45,000
right? So you had the Etsy shop up so that there's

700
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:48,960
somewhere online where they can go and conduct the transaction if

701
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:49,280
you will.

702
00:30:49,580 --> 00:30:54,240
But then you used Instagram to communicate one-on-one with people.

703
00:30:54,820 --> 00:30:58,720
Was this through direct messaging or how were you doing that

704
00:30:58,720 --> 00:30:59,440
on Instagram?

705
00:30:59,650 --> 00:31:00,480
It Was through,

706
00:31:00,690 --> 00:31:03,040
if I didn't do a direct message,

707
00:31:03,390 --> 00:31:03,960
I was,

708
00:31:04,090 --> 00:31:05,720
it would've been a person,

709
00:31:06,270 --> 00:31:09,680
a friend that I had been following along and knew them

710
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:10,840
and was commenting.

711
00:31:10,990 --> 00:31:14,280
I definitely don't ever recommend this is,

712
00:31:14,310 --> 00:31:18,200
I think so just not a good tactic to try and

713
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:21,880
send cold dms to people on social media and you're not

714
00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:24,920
even following them and you don't even really pay attention to

715
00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:26,960
their life or what they're doing yet.

716
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,760
You just kinda want something from them that's just No,

717
00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:30,160
no, no.

718
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:32,000
That's like the opposite of what I'm saying.

719
00:31:32,660 --> 00:31:36,280
And I say that because that people do that to me

720
00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:37,880
and I know they do that to a lot of people.

721
00:31:37,930 --> 00:31:41,040
So it's just probably not good practice.

722
00:31:41,830 --> 00:31:44,000
I hate that so much.

723
00:31:44,070 --> 00:31:45,040
Yeah. Or if someone,

724
00:31:45,140 --> 00:31:45,640
you know,

725
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:47,280
the automatic replies people can do,

726
00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:49,920
like when you follow somebody then all of a sudden you

727
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:52,400
get an automatic message and it's all about selling.

728
00:31:52,730 --> 00:31:54,080
So you're saying no,

729
00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:54,840
don't do that.

730
00:31:55,180 --> 00:31:57,920
You would reply to comments that came into you and then

731
00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,720
you'd reach out to people through a direct message.

732
00:32:00,890 --> 00:32:03,880
If there was some type of relationship that had already been

733
00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:08,000
established, you wouldn't just cold direct message Somebody?

734
00:32:08,530 --> 00:32:11,800
No, because I am a very genuine person,

735
00:32:12,090 --> 00:32:16,840
so any of my messages are genuine and my customers are

736
00:32:16,990 --> 00:32:17,960
like my friends.

737
00:32:18,150 --> 00:32:21,080
I mean I have so many repeat buyers and they message

738
00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:22,760
me and tell me why they bought this.

739
00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:26,280
And it's such an honor to have them choosing one of

740
00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:29,280
my pieces to re represent such a special part of their

741
00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:30,920
life or a loved one's life.

742
00:32:31,060 --> 00:32:33,720
And I think that that's because of the relationship.

743
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:34,520
So for example,

744
00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:35,360
on social media,

745
00:32:35,660 --> 00:32:39,880
I'm interested in aroma therapy and so I follow a lot

746
00:32:39,970 --> 00:32:44,680
of women who we have the same style and interest and

747
00:32:44,910 --> 00:32:47,520
I have a lot of customers that are really good at

748
00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:53,200
creating essential oil d i y recipes for having a clean

749
00:32:53,500 --> 00:32:55,840
low talks environment in their home.

750
00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:57,320
And I'm really interested in that,

751
00:32:57,640 --> 00:32:58,440
in those tips.

752
00:32:58,860 --> 00:33:02,880
And so I follow along and learn from them and communicate

753
00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,880
with them and engage with them in their post and their

754
00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:08,600
account. And then if I see that,

755
00:33:08,650 --> 00:33:11,320
oh, maybe this jewelry would be a good fit,

756
00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:13,920
I wonder if they would like to do a,

757
00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:19,400
some sort of collaboration like co-creating a design or something like

758
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:21,400
that, I might reach out and ask about that.

759
00:33:21,770 --> 00:33:23,640
Or just building friendships.

760
00:33:24,180 --> 00:33:27,280
And after the relationship and the friendship is there,

761
00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:31,000
there usually is a sale at some point later on down

762
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,800
the road whether somebody is gifting something or if they're on

763
00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:37,560
my subscriber list and then they see that there happens to

764
00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:40,400
be a surprise flash sale for the subscribers.

765
00:33:40,730 --> 00:33:43,080
It doesn't necessarily happen overnight,

766
00:33:43,580 --> 00:33:47,240
but it's just building that good foundation.

767
00:33:47,390 --> 00:33:49,320
Yeah. So it does take work.

768
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:49,880
And yeah,

769
00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:50,800
the Etsy shop,

770
00:33:51,070 --> 00:33:54,760
I wouldn't have been successful on Etsy if it weren't for

771
00:33:54,780 --> 00:34:00,920
the marketing piece as well and I knew that I soon

772
00:34:01,070 --> 00:34:04,840
wanted to migrate to my own website where I could have

773
00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,960
my own SEO and have more freedom.

774
00:34:08,540 --> 00:34:12,960
But that just took time and saving from my profits and

775
00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:16,120
just whenever I was ready to hire a website designer and

776
00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:17,280
an SEO specialist,

777
00:34:17,390 --> 00:34:17,840
I did.

778
00:34:18,140 --> 00:34:20,720
And then that's what my website is today.

779
00:34:20,830 --> 00:34:22,320
Well your website's beautiful.

780
00:34:22,530 --> 00:34:23,320
Oh thank you.

781
00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:26,480
I'll let them know I was telling you earlier,

782
00:34:26,750 --> 00:34:30,320
I was looking at it and I love your website and

783
00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:31,640
I wanna get to that in a second.

784
00:34:31,640 --> 00:34:34,600
Let me just stay with Etsy for just a minute cuz

785
00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:36,040
whenever I'm talking with someone,

786
00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:37,760
I'm trying to get in the mind of the people who

787
00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:40,720
are listening so that I can ask you the questions they

788
00:34:40,720 --> 00:34:41,960
would want to be asking you.

789
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:46,280
Okay. So you've done a great job describing how social media

790
00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:49,480
integrated and how you led people over and yes,

791
00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:50,160
it takes time,

792
00:34:50,420 --> 00:34:55,080
you establish a relationship and then as any relationship would do,

793
00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:55,920
it builds from there.

794
00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:59,760
Right. Did you do any paid ATS for Etsy at all?

795
00:35:00,750 --> 00:35:02,160
I did not.

796
00:35:02,190 --> 00:35:04,680
I don't think I hesitate because I'm trying to remember.

797
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:05,320
It was so,

798
00:35:05,530 --> 00:35:09,640
so much has happened since I might have done a very,

799
00:35:09,750 --> 00:35:15,240
very small little paid ad and I don't think that it

800
00:35:15,240 --> 00:35:18,920
really got anywhere because I honestly don't remember it.

801
00:35:18,950 --> 00:35:22,720
Okay. So it was definitely organic marketing,

802
00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:23,920
primarily online.

803
00:35:24,220 --> 00:35:25,760
And then getting started,

804
00:35:25,870 --> 00:35:28,880
I definitely did go to a lot of in-person shows in

805
00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:32,960
the beginning because I was marketing myself and I always had

806
00:35:33,270 --> 00:35:38,480
a flyer and a business card with a link to be

807
00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:40,840
able to stay connected with me online.

808
00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:43,160
Whenever I go to an in-person show,

809
00:35:43,430 --> 00:35:47,520
I treat a new subscriber and a new follower as a

810
00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:50,920
sale that's just as good as a sale because now I've

811
00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:54,520
got them and we can continue to build that relationship no

812
00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:56,520
matter where we both are in the world.

813
00:35:57,050 --> 00:35:59,520
So at your shows you have a way to capture email

814
00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:02,200
addresses from people even who are just looking who come up

815
00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:03,800
to your table or your booth and are just looking.

816
00:36:04,380 --> 00:36:08,120
Yes. Currently the easiest way is a QR code so they

817
00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:10,760
can do a QR code and then be there on their

818
00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:15,080
phone. And I have the same for following on social media.

819
00:36:15,510 --> 00:36:18,920
Yeah, Something you just said I really liked and I'd like

820
00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:21,560
to go deeper in and that is that you said when

821
00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:22,960
you were initially starting,

822
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:24,560
you were really marketing yourself,

823
00:36:24,620 --> 00:36:25,480
not your product,

824
00:36:25,580 --> 00:36:26,760
but yourself.

825
00:36:26,990 --> 00:36:28,480
Talk a little bit more about that.

826
00:36:28,750 --> 00:36:32,400
That's a great question and I didn't really even notice that

827
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:33,640
I said myself and not my product.

828
00:36:34,460 --> 00:36:35,520
And I would say that I,

829
00:36:35,770 --> 00:36:37,160
in marketing myself,

830
00:36:37,190 --> 00:36:42,640
just being networking and really caring about the other people that

831
00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:44,520
I am marketing to and with,

832
00:36:44,620 --> 00:36:47,800
and that's a big part of Robin Lee Essentials is the

833
00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:49,840
brand is relationships.

834
00:36:50,420 --> 00:36:53,720
And so when I was marketing myself,

835
00:36:53,870 --> 00:36:56,520
I would be at the craft shows,

836
00:36:56,660 --> 00:36:59,680
but I guess just getting to know the customers.

837
00:36:59,890 --> 00:37:03,240
So I guess I was woven together of marketing myself and

838
00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:03,640
the product,

839
00:37:04,660 --> 00:37:09,640
but I wouldn't say I was selling as much straightforward because

840
00:37:09,910 --> 00:37:13,720
it's really about building that relationship probably sound like a broken

841
00:37:13,720 --> 00:37:16,160
record now with the relationship piece,

842
00:37:16,230 --> 00:37:17,160
it's very important.

843
00:37:17,910 --> 00:37:21,600
I think it's really important because why are people gonna buy

844
00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:24,480
from you versus going to another table that sells jewelry.

845
00:37:24,540 --> 00:37:27,560
Now it might not be ceramic and diffused in jewelry,

846
00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:29,520
but if they're talking with you,

847
00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:31,240
they're enjoying the conversation,

848
00:37:31,540 --> 00:37:32,720
one thing leads to another.

849
00:37:32,720 --> 00:37:35,800
Like you do your first little couple sentences in the beginning,

850
00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:36,320
they look,

851
00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:37,520
they ask other questions,

852
00:37:37,860 --> 00:37:38,960
you start talking,

853
00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:42,280
which is what builds a relationship that brings up the desire

854
00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:45,040
that people would want to buy from you versus walking onto

855
00:37:45,050 --> 00:37:46,040
another table.

856
00:37:46,570 --> 00:37:50,040
So you're selling yourself but you're not selling,

857
00:37:50,430 --> 00:37:51,880
you're just being personable.

858
00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:54,200
And I can hear it comes across in our conversation right

859
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:56,720
now how genuine you are and just by talking,

860
00:37:57,150 --> 00:38:00,800
I know people really start to love you cuz of the

861
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:01,400
person you are.

862
00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:03,160
You're very genuine and authentic.

863
00:38:03,690 --> 00:38:07,200
So I'm quite sure in person chose do really well for

864
00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:08,040
you for that reason.

865
00:38:08,260 --> 00:38:11,040
And also social media as you're developing relationships.

866
00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:14,640
And I think it's just something kind of to emphasize to

867
00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:18,400
everybody listening that it's not just about your product when you're

868
00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:19,800
a maker of the product,

869
00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:21,160
it's also about you.

870
00:38:21,510 --> 00:38:23,800
Yeah, I appreciate those words.

871
00:38:24,020 --> 00:38:28,400
And another little thing I wanna mention is that sometimes I've

872
00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:32,160
been to shows when I was just getting started and learning

873
00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:33,920
which shows work and which don't,

874
00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:38,440
there have definitely been shows where they were not as successful

875
00:38:38,440 --> 00:38:42,440
for me and that is just nothing I ever take personal

876
00:38:42,450 --> 00:38:47,280
because that just means that my ideal clients aren't really that

877
00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:50,160
customer base that that craft show brings in.

878
00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:51,600
Isn't my customer base,

879
00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:55,360
they're just not my customer and there's someone else out there,

880
00:38:55,610 --> 00:39:00,280
my true niche customer that is waiting for me and remembering

881
00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:05,600
that to not take it personal when you're building that relationship

882
00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:06,320
talking to someone,

883
00:39:06,460 --> 00:39:09,760
but then they walk away and they just honestly weren't that

884
00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:11,400
interested because that's definitely gonna happen.

885
00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:16,400
Like your product is not for everyone and that's okay because

886
00:39:16,790 --> 00:39:17,240
I mean,

887
00:39:17,330 --> 00:39:19,760
if you think honestly with yourself,

888
00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:23,120
I mean you don't really like every single thing that's out

889
00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:23,600
there either,

890
00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:28,240
right? So there's always something special for everyone and it's important

891
00:39:28,240 --> 00:39:31,480
to remember that to not take it personal when you are

892
00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:37,000
out there in person marketing and it's really just everything is

893
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,600
just a learning experience and a data point.

894
00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:42,080
You're collecting that information and learning,

895
00:39:42,250 --> 00:39:42,960
oh okay,

896
00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:45,280
that's working or that's not working.

897
00:39:45,630 --> 00:39:49,440
This is just information that I can take and move forward

898
00:39:49,610 --> 00:39:50,760
to succeed forward.

899
00:39:51,350 --> 00:39:54,080
Such good advice because so many people do take it to

900
00:39:54,080 --> 00:39:56,040
heart and they feel it's personal.

901
00:39:56,050 --> 00:39:57,640
So that message is really,

902
00:39:57,640 --> 00:39:58,400
really important.

903
00:39:58,900 --> 00:40:01,440
And the people who are might be interested,

904
00:40:01,550 --> 00:40:04,560
some people might be interested when they come to your booth,

905
00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:07,040
but they're just not in the market for what you're offering

906
00:40:07,040 --> 00:40:07,600
right away.

907
00:40:08,090 --> 00:40:09,800
So that's where the scanning is.

908
00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:11,600
Great. Cuz then they might forget,

909
00:40:11,710 --> 00:40:14,760
they think in the moment they're gonna remember everything you know

910
00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:15,120
about you,

911
00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:16,280
the name of your company,

912
00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:19,000
they take a card or whatever literature you have,

913
00:40:19,100 --> 00:40:21,160
but then over time they might forget,

914
00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:23,280
but this way you're not leaving it in their hands.

915
00:40:23,340 --> 00:40:25,720
You have control over it cuz you can send them emails.

916
00:40:26,070 --> 00:40:27,960
Yeah. Works perfectly.

917
00:40:28,110 --> 00:40:31,080
Okay. So at what point did you decide you were ready

918
00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:32,480
for your own website?

919
00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:33,480
Besides cost?

920
00:40:33,590 --> 00:40:35,360
What were the factors that said,

921
00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:37,600
okay, now's the time for me to make the jump.

922
00:40:37,710 --> 00:40:39,200
I want to have my own site.

923
00:40:39,470 --> 00:40:42,440
That was in 2019 in the summer.

924
00:40:42,820 --> 00:40:47,200
And I think that I had really started to develop a

925
00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:50,800
really loyal customer base and following.

926
00:40:50,980 --> 00:40:55,520
And I wanted to be able to expand some of the

927
00:40:55,520 --> 00:41:02,280
types of my products and offer a more friendly customer experience

928
00:41:02,290 --> 00:41:03,560
on my own website.

929
00:41:03,900 --> 00:41:07,560
And then I definitely had the funds saved and ready to

930
00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:08,600
make that investment.

931
00:41:08,900 --> 00:41:11,000
And so I did it.

932
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:15,320
I reached out to my friend who I really respect as

933
00:41:15,610 --> 00:41:19,880
an SEO specialist and website designer and I knew I wanted

934
00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:24,160
to work with her since the beginning of Robin Lee Essentials.

935
00:41:24,160 --> 00:41:25,400
I just wasn't ready for it yet.

936
00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:26,800
And then as soon as I was,

937
00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:27,800
I reached out to her.

938
00:41:28,210 --> 00:41:30,720
So you were super lucky that you had a contact who

939
00:41:30,720 --> 00:41:32,280
was already a friend who could help you out.

940
00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:33,760
That's amazing.

941
00:41:34,500 --> 00:41:37,040
Yes. Many people don't have that,

942
00:41:37,100 --> 00:41:38,200
but if you don't,

943
00:41:38,330 --> 00:41:42,200
there's ways to find people to help you if necessary.

944
00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:44,240
And a lot of people will try and work on their

945
00:41:44,240 --> 00:41:45,280
own website as well.

946
00:41:45,820 --> 00:41:49,440
And you saw the advantages of having your own website be

947
00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:50,760
what you mentioned seo?

948
00:41:51,420 --> 00:41:53,600
Yes. She's also my friend,

949
00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:55,080
but that is her business.

950
00:41:55,080 --> 00:41:57,000
She's an SEO website designer.

951
00:41:57,020 --> 00:41:58,200
And so a lot of,

952
00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:01,000
if you are looking or curious for a website designer,

953
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:02,680
if you google it in your area,

954
00:42:03,250 --> 00:42:06,040
if they're good because they know how to do seo,

955
00:42:06,040 --> 00:42:09,800
then they will pop up because that's their job.

956
00:42:10,010 --> 00:42:15,240
So I hired her because I was at a place where

957
00:42:15,550 --> 00:42:19,240
I had all of my time really maxed out with creating

958
00:42:19,240 --> 00:42:22,400
the product and marketing the product and I didn't wanna learn

959
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:23,920
something new,

960
00:42:23,960 --> 00:42:30,320
which would've been creating a nice website and good s e

961
00:42:30,320 --> 00:42:34,920
o. And I think that something I continue to learn,

962
00:42:34,980 --> 00:42:37,360
and it was hard for me as someone who is a

963
00:42:37,360 --> 00:42:39,480
maker and I love do-it-yourself projects,

964
00:42:39,500 --> 00:42:44,040
but to learn that really my time is so priceless.

965
00:42:44,780 --> 00:42:48,760
And I am trying to remember that even to this day,

966
00:42:48,760 --> 00:42:50,560
there are tasks that I think to myself,

967
00:42:50,560 --> 00:42:51,760
oh, I can just do it myself.

968
00:42:51,900 --> 00:42:52,560
But really,

969
00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:53,720
yeah, you could,

970
00:42:53,860 --> 00:42:57,040
but also you could hire someone and just have a better,

971
00:42:57,150 --> 00:43:01,440
a less stressful day because my time is something that I

972
00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:02,920
can never gain back.

973
00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:05,080
Money ebbs and flows and comes back,

974
00:43:05,080 --> 00:43:08,880
but the time is gone and trying to remember that.

975
00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:11,520
Right. And they can probably do it in a fifth of

976
00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:14,920
the time that you would get the result you're really looking

977
00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:18,720
for versus you ending up with kind of a haphazard website

978
00:43:18,720 --> 00:43:19,520
that might perform,

979
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:22,280
might not cause it's just not your area of expertise,

980
00:43:22,280 --> 00:43:23,280
right? Yes.

981
00:43:23,350 --> 00:43:25,000
Versus taking the time,

982
00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:26,040
making more product,

983
00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:29,280
attending another show and making the money to be able to

984
00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:29,640
pay her.

985
00:43:30,510 --> 00:43:31,960
Yeah. A funny story,

986
00:43:32,450 --> 00:43:36,840
my website designer is on maternity leave and so I thought

987
00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:40,240
that I could just quickly fix one little photo on the

988
00:43:40,240 --> 00:43:43,400
bottom of my website and I literally just messed that up.

989
00:43:43,980 --> 00:43:48,440
And so I had to find another reference and she was

990
00:43:48,440 --> 00:43:50,840
really great and really quick because it was a quick fix

991
00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:51,520
and it was funny.

992
00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:51,960
She was like,

993
00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:53,720
I'm not sure how this happened or what happened.

994
00:43:53,720 --> 00:43:54,560
And I said,

995
00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:56,160
oh, that was definitely me.

996
00:43:56,190 --> 00:43:57,600
I just thought I could do it myself.

997
00:43:57,600 --> 00:43:58,560
Obviously I can't,

998
00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:00,440
so I gotta pay you to fix it and do it

999
00:44:00,440 --> 00:44:01,760
better. And yeah,

1000
00:44:01,930 --> 00:44:04,440
so it was just a funny little that literally happened this

1001
00:44:04,440 --> 00:44:04,920
past week.

1002
00:44:05,130 --> 00:44:05,840
Oh my gosh,

1003
00:44:05,910 --> 00:44:06,840
that is funny.

1004
00:44:07,300 --> 00:44:09,240
Yes. So I'm still learning too.

1005
00:44:09,240 --> 00:44:11,240
Like lots of times if you think you can do it

1006
00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:14,440
yourself, you might accidentally mess it up and then have to

1007
00:44:14,440 --> 00:44:17,000
pay somebody and then it even takes up more time.

1008
00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:20,400
Right. Well I have one coaching client actually,

1009
00:44:20,500 --> 00:44:23,000
who doesn't market at all.

1010
00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:24,840
She's been in business for,

1011
00:44:24,870 --> 00:44:28,120
gosh, 25,

1012
00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:28,320
28 years,

1013
00:44:28,320 --> 00:44:28,960
something like that.

1014
00:44:29,380 --> 00:44:30,560
But her seo,

1015
00:44:30,560 --> 00:44:34,600
her domain name and her SEO is so on point.

1016
00:44:34,670 --> 00:44:38,480
Yeah. She does nothing else other than rely on her seo

1017
00:44:38,480 --> 00:44:40,560
and she gets orders all the time.

1018
00:44:41,030 --> 00:44:42,160
Yeah, that's amazing.

1019
00:44:42,450 --> 00:44:46,480
So it just shows how important SEO can be if you

1020
00:44:46,480 --> 00:44:47,000
do it right.

1021
00:44:47,580 --> 00:44:51,600
And so what percentage of your business today comes in online

1022
00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:52,600
versus shows?

1023
00:44:53,350 --> 00:44:57,440
I would say that is 85 to 90% online.

1024
00:44:57,900 --> 00:44:59,680
And that's intentional with you?

1025
00:45:00,340 --> 00:45:01,600
Yes, it is.

1026
00:45:02,150 --> 00:45:02,720
I love that.

1027
00:45:02,720 --> 00:45:03,360
And everyone,

1028
00:45:03,360 --> 00:45:03,720
you know,

1029
00:45:03,720 --> 00:45:05,920
that's the nice thing about us owning our own businesses.

1030
00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:07,040
We can decide what we like.

1031
00:45:07,040 --> 00:45:07,440
You know,

1032
00:45:07,440 --> 00:45:10,200
there are a lot of people who just get energized with

1033
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:11,800
going out to shows and you know,

1034
00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:14,960
there are those makers who go every weekend show after show

1035
00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:17,880
after show and travel the world and set up the booth

1036
00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:19,520
and take it down and that's what they love.

1037
00:45:19,620 --> 00:45:21,840
And you are looking at the other side of it,

1038
00:45:21,840 --> 00:45:22,760
which is yes,

1039
00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:24,920
you like that human interaction face-to-face,

1040
00:45:25,180 --> 00:45:29,280
but you also like the stability and less travel being able

1041
00:45:29,280 --> 00:45:30,920
to still get orders online.

1042
00:45:30,970 --> 00:45:32,040
So and you've set your up,

1043
00:45:32,040 --> 00:45:33,440
your business up accordingly.

1044
00:45:33,820 --> 00:45:36,400
Yes, that's always been the intention.

1045
00:45:36,430 --> 00:45:38,840
It's just more sustainable for my lifestyle.

1046
00:45:39,470 --> 00:45:42,520
What advice do you have for someone who is thinking about

1047
00:45:42,520 --> 00:45:45,680
starting and they've just listened to our conversation and they're like,

1048
00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:46,760
yeah, that was so great,

1049
00:45:46,760 --> 00:45:47,720
but it worked for Robin,

1050
00:45:47,780 --> 00:45:49,320
but could it work for me?

1051
00:45:49,510 --> 00:45:52,280
What would you say to someone who's thinking those thoughts?

1052
00:45:52,630 --> 00:45:53,800
I would say that yes,

1053
00:45:53,800 --> 00:45:55,320
it definitely can work for you.

1054
00:45:55,780 --> 00:46:02,240
And to just start and remember that I have had so

1055
00:46:02,240 --> 00:46:05,440
many ups and downs and I put in quotes,

1056
00:46:05,470 --> 00:46:10,520
failures, and it's really about just to continue to learn from

1057
00:46:10,520 --> 00:46:13,320
those failures and mistakes and keep going.

1058
00:46:13,540 --> 00:46:17,280
But you're never gonna know unless you just start and try

1059
00:46:17,280 --> 00:46:21,180
it and you will evolve along the way.

1060
00:46:21,470 --> 00:46:26,620
So start and let go of that fear of failure because

1061
00:46:26,820 --> 00:46:29,700
every successful person fails,

1062
00:46:30,010 --> 00:46:31,740
they just try again.

1063
00:46:32,290 --> 00:46:35,380
They just learn from that and then they try again and

1064
00:46:35,380 --> 00:46:35,820
keep going.

1065
00:46:36,240 --> 00:46:38,420
And we don't see all those failures,

1066
00:46:38,420 --> 00:46:38,780
you know,

1067
00:46:38,780 --> 00:46:40,940
unless you're on a podcast where you talk about things that

1068
00:46:41,100 --> 00:46:41,580
happened, right?

1069
00:46:41,580 --> 00:46:43,140
Yeah. Like that's not what you see.

1070
00:46:43,140 --> 00:46:46,020
You only see what's been successful and what's working for them.

1071
00:46:46,020 --> 00:46:47,540
You don't see all the background parts.

1072
00:46:47,710 --> 00:46:49,260
So very motivating,

1073
00:46:49,260 --> 00:46:51,500
Robin, like you've had some great,

1074
00:46:51,500 --> 00:46:55,460
great just overall concepts that we need to remember.

1075
00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:56,140
You know,

1076
00:46:56,140 --> 00:46:57,980
in terms of not taking it personally,

1077
00:46:58,010 --> 00:46:59,540
what to do at the booth,

1078
00:46:59,770 --> 00:47:03,020
comments about looking at your customer one-on-one,

1079
00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:04,820
not as this big group of people.

1080
00:47:05,080 --> 00:47:05,580
You know,

1081
00:47:05,580 --> 00:47:07,820
all of those are super value as well as a lot

1082
00:47:07,820 --> 00:47:10,020
of the other comments that you've given us along the way.

1083
00:47:10,310 --> 00:47:14,060
So if people wanna go and see your gorgeous jewelry,

1084
00:47:14,060 --> 00:47:15,460
where would you lead them to?

1085
00:47:15,690 --> 00:47:17,340
They can check out my shop,

1086
00:47:17,370 --> 00:47:20,660
that's robin lee essentials.com.

1087
00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:23,820
And I would love to connect on Instagram.

1088
00:47:24,170 --> 00:47:26,820
That's at Robin Lee Essentials.

1089
00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:32,520
And I'm also on TikTok at Robin Lee Essentials and I

1090
00:47:32,870 --> 00:47:36,520
have a little gift for you and your followers.

1091
00:47:36,700 --> 00:47:41,400
You can enter the code podcast and you'll get a 10%

1092
00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:43,520
off coupon off the entire shop.

1093
00:47:43,660 --> 00:47:48,200
And given that the podcast will be available for people for

1094
00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:48,960
years to come,

1095
00:47:48,960 --> 00:47:51,800
do you wanna put a deadline on the 10% or just

1096
00:47:51,800 --> 00:47:52,560
leave it open?

1097
00:47:53,270 --> 00:47:56,040
I currently am leaving it open.

1098
00:47:56,260 --> 00:48:00,480
And if there comes a time where you try it and

1099
00:48:00,480 --> 00:48:01,520
there's something going on,

1100
00:48:01,610 --> 00:48:04,920
there's a contact information spot on the website,

1101
00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:08,040
you can email me and ask me and we'll get that

1102
00:48:08,040 --> 00:48:08,520
sorted out.

1103
00:48:08,940 --> 00:48:09,480
All right,

1104
00:48:09,480 --> 00:48:10,640
wonderful. Robin,

1105
00:48:10,640 --> 00:48:11,560
thank you so much.

1106
00:48:11,590 --> 00:48:12,080
I am,

1107
00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:13,280
like I said in the beginning,

1108
00:48:13,490 --> 00:48:16,280
so happy that you agreed to come on the show today,

1109
00:48:16,430 --> 00:48:17,600
tell your story.

1110
00:48:17,750 --> 00:48:21,000
I had no idea about all of the great tips and

1111
00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:22,520
words of advice that you'd bring.

1112
00:48:22,660 --> 00:48:25,120
But on behalf of all the listeners and myself,

1113
00:48:25,120 --> 00:48:27,760
thank you so much for sharing your story today.

1114
00:48:27,960 --> 00:48:29,720
Thank you so much for having me.

1115
00:48:29,720 --> 00:48:30,760
It's an honor to be here.

1116
00:48:34,020 --> 00:48:39,000
Yes, one very special granddaughter got one of Robin's necklaces for

1117
00:48:39,000 --> 00:48:40,440
Valentine's Day this year.

1118
00:48:41,470 --> 00:48:46,120
I love her simple designs that although she calls them minimalist,

1119
00:48:46,410 --> 00:48:49,360
provide bright sparks of emotion and meaning,

1120
00:48:50,050 --> 00:48:51,120
as did her story.

1121
00:48:51,710 --> 00:48:57,160
A wonderful example of going from an idea to experimentation to

1122
00:48:57,400 --> 00:49:00,800
business. And don't forget about her discount offer.

1123
00:49:01,270 --> 00:49:05,360
Type in the word podcast at checkout for that extra gift

1124
00:49:05,590 --> 00:49:06,360
from Robin.

1125
00:49:08,110 --> 00:49:11,400
I wanna make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook group

1126
00:49:11,400 --> 00:49:13,360
called Gift Biz Breeze.

1127
00:49:13,870 --> 00:49:17,560
It's a place where we all gather and are a community

1128
00:49:17,570 --> 00:49:18,880
to support each other.

1129
00:49:19,270 --> 00:49:22,400
I got a really fun post in there that's my favorite

1130
00:49:22,400 --> 00:49:22,960
of the week,

1131
00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:23,760
I have to say,

1132
00:49:23,880 --> 00:49:27,000
where I invite all of you to share what you're doing

1133
00:49:27,130 --> 00:49:28,600
to show pictures of your product,

1134
00:49:28,810 --> 00:49:31,200
to show what you're working on for the week,

1135
00:49:31,570 --> 00:49:33,560
to get reaction from other people.

1136
00:49:33,860 --> 00:49:35,360
And just for fun,

1137
00:49:35,360 --> 00:49:38,960
because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody

1138
00:49:38,960 --> 00:49:40,520
in the community is making.

1139
00:49:41,050 --> 00:49:43,400
My favorite post every single week.

1140
00:49:43,530 --> 00:49:44,720
Without doubt.

1141
00:49:45,430 --> 00:49:46,440
Wait, what?

1142
00:49:47,150 --> 00:49:48,840
Aren't you part of the group already?

1143
00:49:49,570 --> 00:49:50,200
If not,

1144
00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:53,600
make sure to jump over to Facebook and search for the

1145
00:49:53,600 --> 00:49:55,360
group Gift Biz breeze.

1146
00:49:55,760 --> 00:49:56,640
Don't delay.

1147
00:49:57,070 --> 00:50:00,320
Come join us in Gift Biz Breeze Today.