1 00:00:01,590 --> 00:00:04,080 Gift biz unwrapped episode 48. 2 00:00:04,430 --> 00:00:07,190 This is the single best thing I have done in the 3 00:00:07,190 --> 00:00:08,780 last eight or 10 years. 4 00:00:09,140 --> 00:00:12,800 Hi, this is John Lee Dumas of entrepreneur on fire, 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,320 and you're listening to give to biz unwrapped, 6 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:20,060 and now it's time to light it up. 7 00:00:20,060 --> 00:00:21,590 Welcome to gift biz, 8 00:00:21,710 --> 00:00:25,580 unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop 9 00:00:25,580 --> 00:00:26,690 and grow your business. 10 00:00:27,050 --> 00:00:28,520 And now here's your host, 11 00:00:28,670 --> 00:00:29,720 Sue Monheit. 12 00:00:31,340 --> 00:00:31,790 Hi there. 13 00:00:31,910 --> 00:00:35,300 I'm Sue and welcome to the gift of biz unwrapped podcast. 14 00:00:35,630 --> 00:00:38,510 Whether you own a brick and mortar store sell online or 15 00:00:38,510 --> 00:00:39,950 are just getting started, 16 00:00:40,220 --> 00:00:43,790 you'll discover new insights to gain traction and to grow your 17 00:00:43,790 --> 00:00:47,510 business. And today our guest is Vicki Meyer. 18 00:00:47,660 --> 00:00:51,200 Adrian McGee is the owner of Adrian's boutique, 19 00:00:51,740 --> 00:00:53,180 a retail store in Bueller, 20 00:00:53,180 --> 00:00:55,430 Kansas that has been in business for, 21 00:00:55,460 --> 00:00:56,000 are you ready? 22 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:56,540 You guys, 23 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:58,460 33 years, 24 00:00:58,730 --> 00:01:00,560 that is a huge accomplishment. 25 00:01:01,220 --> 00:01:06,200 Their current product mix is 50% fashion twenty-five percent gift and 26 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,200 25% kitchen and gourmet products. 27 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,960 But Vicki will tell you that they are really in the 28 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:12,920 people business. 29 00:01:13,220 --> 00:01:17,090 Their number one priority is to earn customers' business through exceptional 30 00:01:17,090 --> 00:01:18,170 customer service, 31 00:01:18,500 --> 00:01:22,970 a well-chosen product and a team that is committed to excellence. 32 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:28,040 Additionally, Vicki is passionate about helping other entrepreneurs reach their next 33 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:30,590 level in creating a successful business, 34 00:01:30,740 --> 00:01:32,270 using relationship marketing, 35 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:33,410 email marketing, 36 00:01:33,770 --> 00:01:35,780 and social media marketing. 37 00:01:36,260 --> 00:01:39,980 This is all bundled under a business called remarkable retailer, 38 00:01:40,130 --> 00:01:43,760 which focuses on B2B relationships through a podcast, 39 00:01:43,970 --> 00:01:47,150 weekly Periscopes and individual coaching. 40 00:01:47,540 --> 00:01:48,590 Wow, Vicky, 41 00:01:48,620 --> 00:01:49,790 welcome to the show. 42 00:01:50,150 --> 00:01:51,140 Thank you so much, 43 00:01:51,140 --> 00:01:54,980 Sue. I am a huge fan of yours and we're so 44 00:01:54,980 --> 00:01:57,710 glad to find you now a couple of months ago, 45 00:01:57,710 --> 00:02:01,700 actually, because I just didn't find very many people in the 46 00:02:01,790 --> 00:02:03,950 gift industry using Periscope. 47 00:02:03,950 --> 00:02:05,990 And that's how I originally found you. 48 00:02:05,990 --> 00:02:07,900 And then I became a podcast listener. 49 00:02:07,970 --> 00:02:11,030 I believe I've listened to almost every single one. 50 00:02:11,030 --> 00:02:13,550 And so I've been so impressed with you and I just 51 00:02:13,550 --> 00:02:16,100 feel like we have a lot in common actually. 52 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:17,210 Well, Thank you. 53 00:02:17,210 --> 00:02:17,780 First of all, 54 00:02:17,780 --> 00:02:19,580 for those wonderful comments and you're right. 55 00:02:19,580 --> 00:02:22,070 I think we do have a lot in common and we 56 00:02:22,070 --> 00:02:24,890 certainly share the same space in terms of our customers and 57 00:02:24,890 --> 00:02:26,120 those that we're working with. 58 00:02:26,420 --> 00:02:29,090 Absolutely. So I'm just going to dive right in. 59 00:02:29,090 --> 00:02:30,260 Cause we have just so, 60 00:02:30,260 --> 00:02:33,530 so much to talk about as our listeners know the way 61 00:02:33,530 --> 00:02:36,950 I like to start each conversation is aligning it around the 62 00:02:36,950 --> 00:02:38,810 life of a motivational candle. 63 00:02:38,930 --> 00:02:40,250 So the light shines on you, 64 00:02:40,250 --> 00:02:43,160 Vicky, while you open up and talk to us and share 65 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,890 with us all of your experience and expertise, 66 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:47,330 are you ready to light it up? 67 00:02:47,660 --> 00:02:49,820 Absolutely. I was born ready. 68 00:02:49,850 --> 00:02:51,590 You were born ready, 69 00:02:51,860 --> 00:02:55,970 right? Let's talk about your motivational candle. 70 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,670 If you were to pick one and just create your very 71 00:02:58,670 --> 00:03:01,510 own, what color would It be and what quote would be 72 00:03:01,510 --> 00:03:02,080 on that camera? 73 00:03:02,820 --> 00:03:03,210 Well, you know, 74 00:03:03,210 --> 00:03:05,430 I don't have to go very far from my office here 75 00:03:05,430 --> 00:03:08,550 to find a candle because I have a gift store. 76 00:03:08,670 --> 00:03:12,300 And so the color of my inspirational candle would, 77 00:03:12,300 --> 00:03:13,500 there would be no question. 78 00:03:13,530 --> 00:03:16,890 It would be in the coastal or beach tones of Aqua 79 00:03:16,890 --> 00:03:20,850 blue because like the ocean being in business can be calming 80 00:03:20,850 --> 00:03:21,870 or refreshing. 81 00:03:22,110 --> 00:03:25,710 And at times it can be very challenging and invigorating. 82 00:03:25,860 --> 00:03:29,340 And so that would be the color of my inspirational candle. 83 00:03:29,490 --> 00:03:32,160 Probably be fragranced with the ocean theme too. 84 00:03:32,940 --> 00:03:33,600 There you go. 85 00:03:33,990 --> 00:03:36,180 So, and then as for a quote, 86 00:03:36,210 --> 00:03:39,870 I have a quote that I absolutely love and it is 87 00:03:39,870 --> 00:03:43,260 called luck is when preparation meets opportunity, 88 00:03:43,380 --> 00:03:47,310 this quote is attributed to a Roman philosopher Seneca, 89 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,070 and it reminds us that we make our own luck, 90 00:03:50,220 --> 00:03:53,550 that the difference between lucky and unlucky people is all in 91 00:03:53,550 --> 00:03:55,020 our perspective. 92 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,290 And so I feel like you just have to prepare to 93 00:03:58,290 --> 00:03:58,920 be lucky. 94 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,190 And that's what I try to spend my business week doing. 95 00:04:02,190 --> 00:04:05,160 I prepared to be lucky week by week in our local 96 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,160 business. I love that because a lot of people will see 97 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:09,480 someone who's successful and say, 98 00:04:09,510 --> 00:04:09,990 Oh, well, 99 00:04:09,990 --> 00:04:13,110 they just were lucky luck just happened to fall upon them, 100 00:04:13,170 --> 00:04:16,110 but we have to put ourselves in Luxe path to, 101 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:16,730 you know, 102 00:04:16,730 --> 00:04:19,260 you can't sit behind a door and say, 103 00:04:19,260 --> 00:04:19,800 okay, look, 104 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:20,520 come to me. 105 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:21,810 You have to be out there. 106 00:04:21,840 --> 00:04:25,290 So you're crossing that path when the opportunities come about. 107 00:04:25,590 --> 00:04:27,420 Absolutely. I totally agree. 108 00:04:27,630 --> 00:04:30,810 Okay. So in our pre-conversation Vicki, 109 00:04:30,810 --> 00:04:33,120 we talked about how we're going to handle this and there 110 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:35,130 is a lot to what you were doing. 111 00:04:35,130 --> 00:04:38,280 So I thought what we'd first do is talk about Adrian's 112 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:41,130 boutique and the evolution of that business. 113 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,700 And then later I want to jump over to the remarkable 114 00:04:44,700 --> 00:04:46,710 retailer. So we're kind of going to cut it into two 115 00:04:46,710 --> 00:04:50,280 places so we can get all of your information available for 116 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:51,090 our listeners. 117 00:04:51,090 --> 00:04:56,580 Okay. So let's start back in the whole world of retail. 118 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:00,000 And I know your story begins before Adrian's boutique. 119 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:01,770 So I'm going to let you take it away in terms 120 00:05:01,770 --> 00:05:05,010 of how you got into and were exposed to the whole 121 00:05:05,010 --> 00:05:05,880 business environment. 122 00:05:06,450 --> 00:05:09,540 Well, I would say like so many of your listeners that 123 00:05:09,540 --> 00:05:11,760 I'm an accidental entrepreneur. 124 00:05:11,910 --> 00:05:14,910 I never set out to run a business in a very 125 00:05:14,910 --> 00:05:15,900 small town. 126 00:05:16,170 --> 00:05:18,450 And to do that for over 33 years, 127 00:05:18,570 --> 00:05:19,890 this would never have worked. 128 00:05:19,890 --> 00:05:23,730 Had we done our research and written the business plan ever. 129 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:27,720 I started out way back in the early eighties when the 130 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:29,130 country blue and peach, 131 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,500 it was the little wooden country duck era. 132 00:05:31,530 --> 00:05:35,430 If you remember that my mother-in-law had a small card and 133 00:05:35,430 --> 00:05:38,760 antique shop where I was able to sell my creations. 134 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,270 And at that time I was cross-stitching and I was doing 135 00:05:42,270 --> 00:05:45,060 tole painting and making t-shirt, 136 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:47,850 embellish t-shirts and all of that kind of thing. 137 00:05:48,090 --> 00:05:50,610 I loved helping her and being in the store. 138 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:52,590 And after just a couple of months, 139 00:05:52,590 --> 00:05:55,440 I made my first trip to market and I started bringing 140 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:59,030 in products to supplement what could make and just to make 141 00:05:59,030 --> 00:06:00,170 a long story short. 142 00:06:00,350 --> 00:06:03,500 My husband and I purchased a building across the street from 143 00:06:03,500 --> 00:06:06,830 our original location in about 1985. 144 00:06:07,130 --> 00:06:09,020 We completely gutted it. 145 00:06:09,110 --> 00:06:11,990 And I mean down to only the brick on the front 146 00:06:11,990 --> 00:06:15,050 and the sides of the building and we added onto it. 147 00:06:15,050 --> 00:06:16,940 So now we are a half a block deep. 148 00:06:17,180 --> 00:06:20,210 We wondered how we would ever fill this store. 149 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:23,360 And if you see pictures of our store on our Facebook 150 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:25,640 page, you'll notice that we were able to do that. 151 00:06:27,710 --> 00:06:31,520 And we started filling it with beautiful products that people liked 152 00:06:31,850 --> 00:06:33,050 all along that way, 153 00:06:33,050 --> 00:06:36,740 we were creating relationships with our customers and building a client 154 00:06:36,740 --> 00:06:39,290 base, just one by one by one. 155 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:40,880 So the rest is history. 156 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:42,230 We're an overnight success, 157 00:06:42,290 --> 00:06:44,450 only 33 years in the making. 158 00:06:46,250 --> 00:06:49,060 So If you had any advice for somebody now, 159 00:06:49,060 --> 00:06:49,420 I know. 160 00:06:49,420 --> 00:06:50,410 So it's been a long, 161 00:06:50,410 --> 00:06:53,560 long time since you started this store and clearly there's evolution 162 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:54,130 of the business. 163 00:06:54,130 --> 00:06:54,910 Like you're saying, 164 00:06:54,970 --> 00:06:56,440 but if anyone's listening now, 165 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,950 who's looking at starting in a retail space. 166 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:02,140 Are there any words of wisdom that you would give them? 167 00:07:02,740 --> 00:07:06,370 Absolutely. I would say from the moment your front door opens, 168 00:07:06,370 --> 00:07:06,910 and in fact, 169 00:07:06,910 --> 00:07:08,800 before your front door opens, 170 00:07:09,190 --> 00:07:11,560 you need to be building a client base. 171 00:07:11,620 --> 00:07:13,660 And with today's social media, 172 00:07:13,930 --> 00:07:17,260 six months before you open four months before you open, 173 00:07:17,260 --> 00:07:20,140 you should have a Facebook page out there that you are 174 00:07:20,380 --> 00:07:23,650 teasing your customers with your future customers with. 175 00:07:23,830 --> 00:07:25,720 I will tell you that back in the day, 176 00:07:25,780 --> 00:07:30,640 we started collecting names and addresses on a legal pad, 177 00:07:30,940 --> 00:07:33,580 typing it in on our trusty Selectric, 178 00:07:33,670 --> 00:07:34,720 IBM Selectric, 179 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,330 typewriter, and printing off labels. 180 00:07:37,330 --> 00:07:40,000 And we started mailing our clients. 181 00:07:40,030 --> 00:07:40,450 Thank you. 182 00:07:40,450 --> 00:07:41,860 Cards, postcards, 183 00:07:41,860 --> 00:07:44,290 invitations to events from the very, 184 00:07:44,290 --> 00:07:45,310 very beginning. 185 00:07:45,370 --> 00:07:49,960 And so today's entrepreneur has so many more tools available to 186 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:51,790 them than we did in the beginning. 187 00:07:51,850 --> 00:07:55,330 And I think it's a great time if you're willing to 188 00:07:55,330 --> 00:07:57,820 do the work a great time to start a business. 189 00:07:58,060 --> 00:08:00,370 That's a great idea because you could also, 190 00:08:00,370 --> 00:08:02,320 especially with social media right now, 191 00:08:02,410 --> 00:08:05,650 have them participate in the startup of the business. 192 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:07,480 Even if you're building out the store, 193 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:09,820 like let's say you have your space and you've still got 194 00:08:09,820 --> 00:08:10,480 to get product. 195 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,510 Maybe you have to remodel the whole inside. 196 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:16,900 You could do behind the scene photos of how the store 197 00:08:16,900 --> 00:08:19,930 is coming together and be sending that off to people who 198 00:08:19,930 --> 00:08:21,370 have opted into the list. 199 00:08:21,730 --> 00:08:21,970 You know, 200 00:08:21,970 --> 00:08:25,480 should we paint this cabinet white or cream or black or, 201 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:25,750 you know, 202 00:08:25,750 --> 00:08:29,860 whatever, and have them really become part of the shop before 203 00:08:29,860 --> 00:08:30,760 it even opens? 204 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:35,440 Absolutely. We actually worked with a couple of retailers are for 205 00:08:35,470 --> 00:08:40,210 future retailers from Colorado that drove out here to observe our 206 00:08:40,210 --> 00:08:42,040 store and how it ran for a day. 207 00:08:42,490 --> 00:08:45,700 And we sent them back with some really good ideas of 208 00:08:45,700 --> 00:08:47,740 things they could implement immediately. 209 00:08:47,830 --> 00:08:49,390 Like the day that their store opened, 210 00:08:49,390 --> 00:08:53,350 they already had a client base to help support Really valuable 211 00:08:53,350 --> 00:08:56,580 information. Because when you start up a new business, 212 00:08:56,580 --> 00:08:58,110 particularly retail, 213 00:08:58,110 --> 00:09:00,540 because you have that extra cost of the rent, 214 00:09:00,630 --> 00:09:02,700 you need to be making money right away. 215 00:09:02,850 --> 00:09:03,150 I mean, 216 00:09:03,150 --> 00:09:06,810 it just eases the path as you continue on adding more 217 00:09:06,810 --> 00:09:08,940 inventory and getting the name out. 218 00:09:08,940 --> 00:09:12,060 So getting that jumpstart I could see could be so valuable. 219 00:09:12,060 --> 00:09:13,370 That's great information, 220 00:09:13,380 --> 00:09:14,730 Becky. Thank you. 221 00:09:14,910 --> 00:09:17,520 Is there anything else you would talk about in terms of 222 00:09:17,610 --> 00:09:18,660 new startup, 223 00:09:18,690 --> 00:09:21,660 maybe something that you've learned in terms of setup inside the 224 00:09:21,660 --> 00:09:23,430 store or processes, 225 00:09:23,430 --> 00:09:25,080 anything else along those lines? 226 00:09:25,460 --> 00:09:28,550 Well, I would say that as you're setting up your store, 227 00:09:28,580 --> 00:09:31,070 one of the mistakes we made in the very beginning was 228 00:09:31,070 --> 00:09:33,650 we put our cash wrap on the wrong side of the 229 00:09:33,650 --> 00:09:36,320 store. And when you walk into stores, 230 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,300 you are going to notice as you walk in the front 231 00:09:38,300 --> 00:09:42,260 door, your cash wrap should be probably on the left, 232 00:09:42,260 --> 00:09:44,180 unless your building is just an, 233 00:09:44,210 --> 00:09:45,140 a unique shape. 234 00:09:45,170 --> 00:09:46,490 Sometimes it's in the center. 235 00:09:46,610 --> 00:09:48,800 One thing that we really did wrong at the beginning is 236 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:51,410 we tried to put our cash wrap on the right people, 237 00:09:51,410 --> 00:09:52,180 walk in the door, 238 00:09:52,250 --> 00:09:53,420 they moved to the right. 239 00:09:53,570 --> 00:09:55,460 So if that's where your checkout area is, 240 00:09:55,460 --> 00:09:56,510 they're not shopping there. 241 00:09:56,510 --> 00:09:59,150 And it kind of stops them from shopping. 242 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,610 And someone gave us a great piece of advice. 243 00:10:01,610 --> 00:10:03,650 They walked in another store and they walked into our store 244 00:10:03,650 --> 00:10:04,010 and said, 245 00:10:04,100 --> 00:10:05,930 get that cash wrap moved. 246 00:10:06,590 --> 00:10:07,430 We did that. 247 00:10:07,430 --> 00:10:10,460 And it's been on the left side ever since. 248 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:12,590 And it definitely works that way. 249 00:10:13,260 --> 00:10:15,170 It's on the left side and in the front still. 250 00:10:15,290 --> 00:10:16,490 Yes. Yeah. 251 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:18,380 I've heard even when you go to conferences, 252 00:10:18,380 --> 00:10:19,880 natural human flow, 253 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:22,400 when you walk into the door is to proceed to the 254 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:25,190 right. So that just falls in line with exactly what you're 255 00:10:25,190 --> 00:10:26,570 saying. Yes. 256 00:10:26,570 --> 00:10:27,140 And of course, 257 00:10:27,140 --> 00:10:30,230 this is not true for every single business out there, 258 00:10:30,290 --> 00:10:32,960 but it is true for a lot of businesses. 259 00:10:33,140 --> 00:10:36,680 And as you go looking around and shopping and retail stores, 260 00:10:36,740 --> 00:10:39,110 you're going to find people that are doing it really well. 261 00:10:39,110 --> 00:10:40,670 Definitely follow this rule. 262 00:10:40,970 --> 00:10:42,170 So gift biz listeners, 263 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:45,110 if you are starting and you have a physical presence, 264 00:10:45,530 --> 00:10:48,080 either have someone walk the shop kind of like how Vicki 265 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,410 talked about someone came in and mentioned it from their perspective, 266 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:54,080 but walk the shop even as a customer would do so 267 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,200 you can experience in the mindset of your customer. 268 00:10:57,200 --> 00:10:58,400 Is it comfortable? 269 00:10:58,670 --> 00:11:02,150 Is there good visibility of your different products is the way 270 00:11:02,150 --> 00:11:05,090 you place your product within the shop confusing? 271 00:11:05,090 --> 00:11:07,340 Or is it broken out into different categories? 272 00:11:07,340 --> 00:11:10,040 So people who are coming in for something specific know exactly 273 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:10,640 where to go, 274 00:11:10,700 --> 00:11:13,400 all those types of things in terms of a customer experience 275 00:11:13,430 --> 00:11:14,270 in a shop, 276 00:11:14,330 --> 00:11:15,860 we'll bring people back. 277 00:11:15,890 --> 00:11:18,380 If people walk in and it's confusing to them, 278 00:11:18,380 --> 00:11:20,450 or it's hard to understand, 279 00:11:20,450 --> 00:11:23,540 they can't find the product or they don't know where to 280 00:11:23,540 --> 00:11:24,290 check out. 281 00:11:24,500 --> 00:11:27,200 That could be a reason why people don't come back. 282 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:28,790 So you want to look at that beforehand, 283 00:11:28,790 --> 00:11:31,520 and obviously you can always adjust on the fly. 284 00:11:31,550 --> 00:11:33,950 So something definitely to consider. 285 00:11:34,250 --> 00:11:35,630 Yes, you definitely can. 286 00:11:35,630 --> 00:11:38,120 And we change our setup all the time. 287 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:38,420 I mean, 288 00:11:38,420 --> 00:11:41,510 we're always moving things around and giving things a fresh look, 289 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:42,260 of course, 290 00:11:42,620 --> 00:11:45,470 Because you want people to come in and possibly see something 291 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:47,810 that might've been on the floor the last time they were 292 00:11:47,810 --> 00:11:48,800 there, they just didn't see it. 293 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:50,570 Cause they didn't walk into that section or they weren't in 294 00:11:50,570 --> 00:11:51,020 need of it. 295 00:11:51,020 --> 00:11:53,000 Whatever. Absolutely. 296 00:11:53,290 --> 00:11:55,270 How often do you Change up the floor? 297 00:11:55,650 --> 00:11:57,510 It's really in constant flux. 298 00:11:57,510 --> 00:12:00,660 So w just seasonally, 299 00:12:00,660 --> 00:12:01,350 of course, 300 00:12:01,650 --> 00:12:03,390 but just throughout the year, 301 00:12:03,420 --> 00:12:05,820 we're changing displays all the time. 302 00:12:05,850 --> 00:12:06,090 I mean, 303 00:12:06,090 --> 00:12:06,690 it's something, 304 00:12:06,900 --> 00:12:10,380 we have a girl that really specializes in doing our displays 305 00:12:10,380 --> 00:12:12,660 and decorating and she works three days a week. 306 00:12:12,900 --> 00:12:15,540 So every week she is here doing something fresh, 307 00:12:15,690 --> 00:12:19,230 some of our friends up in Michigan have a great plan 308 00:12:19,230 --> 00:12:21,630 that we've used called move it Monday. 309 00:12:21,810 --> 00:12:22,830 And on Mondays, 310 00:12:22,830 --> 00:12:26,460 every mannequin in their store gets changed with a new outfit. 311 00:12:26,460 --> 00:12:29,760 New jewelry rest of the store also gets changed. 312 00:12:29,790 --> 00:12:32,280 And so it's a way to just freshen things up, 313 00:12:32,310 --> 00:12:35,100 wake things up and redo things after the weekend. 314 00:12:35,100 --> 00:12:37,890 But I love that he called it move at Mondays because 315 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:39,360 it's easy to remember and we think, 316 00:12:39,390 --> 00:12:41,100 Oh, it's Monday it's movement Monday. 317 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:41,790 We need to do, 318 00:12:42,300 --> 00:12:43,310 we need to do some things. 319 00:12:43,410 --> 00:12:46,020 And traffic is normally lighter on Mondays anyway. 320 00:12:46,290 --> 00:12:48,300 Exactly. And the weekends were crazy. 321 00:12:48,300 --> 00:12:49,230 So just like you said, 322 00:12:49,230 --> 00:12:50,070 clean it all up. 323 00:12:50,970 --> 00:12:52,110 Yes, absolutely. 324 00:12:52,140 --> 00:12:54,900 After the rush and hopefully a good sales weekend, 325 00:12:56,310 --> 00:12:57,300 That's what we love. 326 00:12:57,690 --> 00:12:59,280 Absolutely. All right. 327 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:02,460 So let's talk a little bit about something that maybe didn't 328 00:13:02,460 --> 00:13:03,570 go as well for you. 329 00:13:03,750 --> 00:13:06,240 It's so easy when you're a successful business owner, 330 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:08,460 just to talk about all those great things that have happened, 331 00:13:08,490 --> 00:13:09,630 all the successes, 332 00:13:09,660 --> 00:13:12,660 but we learn best when there's something that was challenging. 333 00:13:12,660 --> 00:13:14,190 It didn't work well. 334 00:13:14,340 --> 00:13:16,470 So if you could tell us a story about something like 335 00:13:16,470 --> 00:13:19,260 that, and then what you were able to do to overcome 336 00:13:19,260 --> 00:13:20,070 the situation. 337 00:13:20,340 --> 00:13:24,210 One of our biggest challenges has always been a geographical when 338 00:13:24,390 --> 00:13:26,580 I actually grew up in Los Angeles, 339 00:13:26,610 --> 00:13:29,430 which has quite a bit of population in case you hadn't 340 00:13:29,430 --> 00:13:34,230 noticed. And I married a young man and moved to Kansas. 341 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:39,090 And the population of our entire County is only 64,000 342 00:13:39,090 --> 00:13:42,600 people. Our closest big city is Wichita, 343 00:13:42,630 --> 00:13:44,370 which is about 50 miles away. 344 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:47,850 So we have to be just laser focused on our marketing 345 00:13:47,850 --> 00:13:49,110 to get people in. 346 00:13:49,380 --> 00:13:51,120 So they plan an afternoon, 347 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:53,730 they get in their car and they have to drive here. 348 00:13:53,820 --> 00:13:57,300 So our challenge is just ongoing. 349 00:13:57,510 --> 00:14:01,710 Our number one goal here is to create long-term relationships with 350 00:14:01,710 --> 00:14:02,490 our clients. 351 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:03,420 For us, 352 00:14:03,420 --> 00:14:07,890 it's a non-negotiable standard for our staff members to ask every 353 00:14:07,890 --> 00:14:10,440 single client for their contact information, 354 00:14:10,740 --> 00:14:11,970 including their name, 355 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:13,620 their physical address, 356 00:14:13,620 --> 00:14:15,030 their email address, 357 00:14:15,150 --> 00:14:15,960 and all of that, 358 00:14:15,990 --> 00:14:18,240 which we keep updated in our client base. 359 00:14:18,420 --> 00:14:22,710 I feel like my most valuable asset in my store is 360 00:14:22,710 --> 00:14:24,480 not the building and not the product. 361 00:14:24,510 --> 00:14:26,220 It is our client list. 362 00:14:26,370 --> 00:14:30,180 So we simply cannot have a long-term relationship with our clients 363 00:14:30,260 --> 00:14:32,340 unless we're staying in touch with them. 364 00:14:32,460 --> 00:14:36,810 So if you compare that to dating you couldn't date someone 365 00:14:36,900 --> 00:14:39,540 more than one time without getting their phone number. 366 00:14:39,540 --> 00:14:42,870 And so the same holds true for small businesses. 367 00:14:43,020 --> 00:14:46,800 What most businesses would spend in higher dollar rent, 368 00:14:47,130 --> 00:14:48,720 we pay an advertising. 369 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,680 So we use traditional forms of media, 370 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:53,540 such as television. 371 00:14:53,570 --> 00:14:55,640 We do a seven minute radio show. 372 00:14:55,910 --> 00:14:58,370 Every week we do newspaper ads. 373 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:02,780 We do several catalogs every year we do postcards. 374 00:15:02,780 --> 00:15:06,440 And of course we have all sorts of digital media marketing 375 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:07,100 as well. 376 00:15:07,310 --> 00:15:10,580 And so what we believe in is just that consistency of 377 00:15:10,580 --> 00:15:11,600 weekly emails, 378 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:13,670 multiple daily Facebook posts. 379 00:15:13,700 --> 00:15:16,790 And we also use things like Instagram and Pinterest. 380 00:15:17,410 --> 00:15:23,080 What portion of your overall sales are call-in or online sales 381 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:23,920 versus walk-in? 382 00:15:24,490 --> 00:15:27,400 Most of our sales are walk in, 383 00:15:27,460 --> 00:15:32,680 although we are working on building a more interactive internet site, 384 00:15:32,710 --> 00:15:34,300 so people can shop online. 385 00:15:34,510 --> 00:15:36,160 We have a small presence online, 386 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:38,470 but that is a place that we are working on to 387 00:15:38,470 --> 00:15:39,550 build our business. 388 00:15:39,580 --> 00:15:41,290 But right now it is still walk in. 389 00:15:41,290 --> 00:15:43,390 It's just that they have to make a plan. 390 00:15:43,390 --> 00:15:46,420 They have to drive here and plan to come to the 391 00:15:46,420 --> 00:15:50,200 store. They don't just drive by right out on a highway 392 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:50,920 or anything. 393 00:15:50,980 --> 00:15:52,930 So You're more remote. 394 00:15:52,930 --> 00:15:53,140 I mean, 395 00:15:53,140 --> 00:15:55,780 you're definitely a destination location. 396 00:15:55,810 --> 00:15:58,960 So you're using the social media just to keep yourself top 397 00:15:58,960 --> 00:15:59,530 of mind, 398 00:15:59,770 --> 00:16:02,470 to show people what new products you're getting in, 399 00:16:02,500 --> 00:16:04,960 or to remind them of the reason they need to come 400 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:05,410 and shop. 401 00:16:05,530 --> 00:16:06,910 And it sounds like just by the way, 402 00:16:06,910 --> 00:16:08,050 you're describing the area, 403 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:10,750 people are used to getting in the car and driving quite 404 00:16:10,750 --> 00:16:13,150 a few miles to get different places. 405 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:15,370 Yes, they definitely are. 406 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:17,830 That's just part of living in rural America. 407 00:16:17,890 --> 00:16:20,050 Right. But it is a challenge. 408 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:23,770 I would say that is our biggest challenge on a daily, 409 00:16:23,770 --> 00:16:24,700 weekly basis. 410 00:16:24,730 --> 00:16:27,760 It is getting people to make that choice to come here. 411 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,720 I can tell you that online purchasing is huge in the 412 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:35,350 rural areas because you might have to drive 30 miles to 413 00:16:35,350 --> 00:16:36,190 go get something. 414 00:16:36,190 --> 00:16:39,250 And so it's much easier for them to just do it 415 00:16:39,250 --> 00:16:40,330 online. Right? 416 00:16:40,330 --> 00:16:44,350 And so what we have to offer is a wonderful shopping 417 00:16:44,350 --> 00:16:46,840 experience. It has to be over the top, 418 00:16:46,870 --> 00:16:48,100 every single visit, 419 00:16:48,100 --> 00:16:50,890 every time that door opens To make it worth their while 420 00:16:50,890 --> 00:16:51,550 to come in. 421 00:16:52,180 --> 00:16:55,660 Yes. And it sounds like that online you've already identified as 422 00:16:55,660 --> 00:16:57,560 an area of opportunity for you guys. 423 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:01,480 What type of promotion or what type of events are you 424 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:03,550 finding? Bring in the most people? 425 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:06,190 Well, we do a lot of promotions. 426 00:17:06,220 --> 00:17:08,830 We do a lot of in store events and we do 427 00:17:08,830 --> 00:17:11,290 a lot of big events outside the walls of our store. 428 00:17:11,410 --> 00:17:15,550 I feel like we are in the entertainment business as retailers, 429 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,790 and whether you're a salon owner or a banker or an 430 00:17:18,790 --> 00:17:19,900 insurance agent, 431 00:17:19,930 --> 00:17:23,170 you are in the entertainment business banks around here, 432 00:17:23,170 --> 00:17:25,690 take groups of people on bus tours. 433 00:17:25,750 --> 00:17:28,300 Insurance agents take people to ballgames. 434 00:17:28,330 --> 00:17:28,570 I mean, 435 00:17:28,570 --> 00:17:31,030 we are in the entertainment business. 436 00:17:31,060 --> 00:17:32,950 So we hold spring, 437 00:17:32,950 --> 00:17:34,240 fall holiday, 438 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:35,260 open houses. 439 00:17:35,290 --> 00:17:37,540 We hosted Tahitian beach party. 440 00:17:37,540 --> 00:17:38,440 Every June, 441 00:17:38,530 --> 00:17:39,790 we have trunk shows, 442 00:17:39,820 --> 00:17:40,750 fashion shows, 443 00:17:41,020 --> 00:17:42,520 brunches lunches, 444 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:45,460 dinners. We host groups in our store, 445 00:17:45,490 --> 00:17:47,420 such as PEO groups, 446 00:17:47,420 --> 00:17:48,610 sorority groups, 447 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:49,980 Bible groups, 448 00:17:50,130 --> 00:17:51,750 family reunion groups. 449 00:17:52,020 --> 00:17:54,960 And we make an effort to serve very good food and 450 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:58,620 drinks. We try to capture their email address and tell them 451 00:17:58,620 --> 00:18:01,680 we will email out all the recipes for everything was served. 452 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:04,830 And that just gives us one more chance to give value 453 00:18:04,830 --> 00:18:08,610 to our customers that are coming in as specific promotion that 454 00:18:08,610 --> 00:18:09,000 we've done. 455 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,930 That's a lot of your retailers could do is we have 456 00:18:12,930 --> 00:18:18,180 found a very reasonably priced collapsible market basket or a tote. 457 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:20,520 And we sell them at a very low cost, 458 00:18:20,550 --> 00:18:23,340 like five 99 or six 99. 459 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,520 And then let people fill them up and have 20% off 460 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:28,290 whatever they can fit in their basket. 461 00:18:28,380 --> 00:18:31,590 And we consider this as a win-win promotion. 462 00:18:31,710 --> 00:18:34,350 We hand the baskets to the people as they walk in 463 00:18:34,350 --> 00:18:37,020 the door and we try a little card on the side, 464 00:18:37,020 --> 00:18:38,550 telling them what the promotion is, 465 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:40,410 and they can use that basket to shop. 466 00:18:40,470 --> 00:18:41,610 And then at the end, 467 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,670 they can either choose to buy it and get 20% off 468 00:18:44,700 --> 00:18:47,340 or they can choose to not buy it and not get 469 00:18:47,340 --> 00:18:48,000 the discount, 470 00:18:48,030 --> 00:18:50,340 but they still had fun shopping with it. 471 00:18:50,670 --> 00:18:54,390 Another promotion that we've done is similar in that we've had 472 00:18:54,390 --> 00:18:58,200 a custom bag printed that we call our tote bag Tuesday 473 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,900 bag. And this idea came from our friend, 474 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:03,060 Carol Caplinger up in Overland park, 475 00:19:03,060 --> 00:19:05,970 Kansas. And she's done this successfully. 476 00:19:05,970 --> 00:19:08,490 I think this is either her eighth or ninth year. 477 00:19:08,670 --> 00:19:09,900 It's a cute bag. 478 00:19:09,930 --> 00:19:12,120 And we reprinted every year. 479 00:19:12,120 --> 00:19:13,740 So it's always fresh and new. 480 00:19:13,980 --> 00:19:14,820 There's a cart, 481 00:19:14,850 --> 00:19:18,030 a bottom in it that says you get $5 off a 482 00:19:18,030 --> 00:19:19,560 purchase of 35, 483 00:19:20,010 --> 00:19:24,090 $10 off of a purchase of 60 or $20 off a 484 00:19:24,090 --> 00:19:26,040 purchase of a hundred dollars or more. 485 00:19:26,100 --> 00:19:29,820 And this Tuesdays are generally a slower day in our store. 486 00:19:29,820 --> 00:19:31,440 And this brings ladies in. 487 00:19:31,740 --> 00:19:34,200 Plus these bags are very cute. 488 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:36,270 So when you see them at the grocery store, 489 00:19:36,330 --> 00:19:38,670 you just see them out and about in the community. 490 00:19:38,820 --> 00:19:42,300 Customers can earn a tote with a purchase of $50. 491 00:19:42,630 --> 00:19:44,850 And the other way we use that is we let them 492 00:19:44,850 --> 00:19:48,150 use these totes every time we have a fifth Saturday in 493 00:19:48,150 --> 00:19:48,510 a month. 494 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,360 So those that can't necessarily come on Tuesdays, 495 00:19:51,570 --> 00:19:54,570 get a chance to come in and get that discount every 496 00:19:54,570 --> 00:19:55,860 time there's a fifth Saturday, 497 00:19:55,860 --> 00:19:57,960 which is usually about four times a year. 498 00:19:58,380 --> 00:20:01,020 So that's been a great promotion for us that I think 499 00:20:01,020 --> 00:20:06,110 some of your listeners can easily implement Both very creative too. 500 00:20:06,170 --> 00:20:08,300 I have to jump in and tell you a funny story. 501 00:20:08,420 --> 00:20:10,670 Back in my consulting days, 502 00:20:10,730 --> 00:20:13,460 I was working with a business that was more of a 503 00:20:13,460 --> 00:20:14,750 home improvement company, 504 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,840 and they did something a little bit similar in terms of 505 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:19,310 what you do with the tote, 506 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:21,230 but they were using a Brown bag. 507 00:20:21,470 --> 00:20:23,630 And anything that you could put in the Brown bag when 508 00:20:23,630 --> 00:20:25,910 you got to the register was X percent off. 509 00:20:25,940 --> 00:20:26,900 Let's call it 20. 510 00:20:26,900 --> 00:20:31,370 Okay. There was a customer who came into this store and 511 00:20:31,610 --> 00:20:32,960 if they were bigger items, 512 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,110 they had paper tags with the price on the shelf next 513 00:20:36,110 --> 00:20:36,560 to it. 514 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:39,830 This one guy put in one of the pieces of paper 515 00:20:39,830 --> 00:20:44,480 for a whole garage door and came up to the checkout 516 00:20:44,510 --> 00:20:48,340 and expected to be able to get 20% off the garage 517 00:20:48,370 --> 00:20:50,290 door, including installation. 518 00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:53,560 So doesn't that one either. 519 00:20:54,670 --> 00:20:55,390 Oh my gosh. 520 00:20:55,390 --> 00:20:57,640 That was a little bit challenging for them to work through 521 00:20:57,640 --> 00:20:58,810 it. But it's funny story. 522 00:20:58,810 --> 00:21:01,090 So yeah, 523 00:21:01,150 --> 00:21:02,920 you just never know what comes up, 524 00:21:02,950 --> 00:21:04,150 but thank you for sharing. 525 00:21:04,150 --> 00:21:07,060 I really liked those promotions because they're very creative. 526 00:21:07,060 --> 00:21:07,840 The other thing, 527 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:08,860 gift biz listeners, 528 00:21:08,950 --> 00:21:12,460 did you hear Vicky mentioning when she had an event and 529 00:21:12,460 --> 00:21:15,370 then she gets an email and she sends out the recipes 530 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:17,440 that they had prepared for the event. 531 00:21:17,650 --> 00:21:18,790 That's a great way, 532 00:21:18,790 --> 00:21:20,740 cause it's connected to the event, 533 00:21:20,770 --> 00:21:22,870 but who doesn't want new recipes? 534 00:21:22,900 --> 00:21:26,500 Right? So not only are they collecting the emails because people 535 00:21:26,500 --> 00:21:27,640 are catching on that. 536 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:27,910 You know, 537 00:21:27,910 --> 00:21:30,340 we want emails because we want to be able to communicate 538 00:21:30,340 --> 00:21:31,420 with you back and forth. 539 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:33,790 And people are getting so many emails, 540 00:21:33,820 --> 00:21:36,040 but providing something that's really valuable, 541 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:39,130 such as those recipes is a great way for people to 542 00:21:39,130 --> 00:21:42,010 feel really good about sharing their email with you. 543 00:21:42,340 --> 00:21:44,640 I love that you brought that up Well. 544 00:21:44,790 --> 00:21:46,290 And so I know you, 545 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:49,860 that part of your focus is to work with bakers and 546 00:21:49,890 --> 00:21:51,180 gift businesses. 547 00:21:51,330 --> 00:21:54,450 And one thing that I just feel is so, 548 00:21:54,450 --> 00:21:57,600 so important to is to be a receiver of those recipes 549 00:21:57,600 --> 00:21:58,260 as well. 550 00:21:58,620 --> 00:22:02,730 And we constantly ask our customers to share a favorite family 551 00:22:02,730 --> 00:22:05,100 recipe. And a couple of years ago, 552 00:22:05,100 --> 00:22:08,250 we even printed a 500 page cookbook. 553 00:22:08,370 --> 00:22:12,480 And we have a library of about 700 recipes online that 554 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:14,100 we can always link to. 555 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:17,490 But we're constantly looking for new ones from our customers so 556 00:22:17,490 --> 00:22:20,760 that we can highlight their name in our emails each week. 557 00:22:20,790 --> 00:22:25,260 So it's not just recipes from mixes that we're selling. 558 00:22:25,290 --> 00:22:29,040 We try to get away from just promoting what we're selling 559 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:31,440 and we try to promote our customers. 560 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:34,230 One of the ladies in our community for instance, 561 00:22:34,230 --> 00:22:37,980 has won so many blue ribbons at the Kansas state fair. 562 00:22:37,980 --> 00:22:39,330 You could not even count them. 563 00:22:39,330 --> 00:22:42,780 She could probably wallpaper a room in her home with them. 564 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,380 We have put out several of her blue ribbon, 565 00:22:46,410 --> 00:22:49,560 winning pie recipes on our emails. 566 00:22:49,650 --> 00:22:52,980 And so we're always trying to provide value for our customers 567 00:22:52,980 --> 00:22:54,420 for opening our emails. 568 00:22:54,750 --> 00:22:56,880 And you're also building a real community, 569 00:22:56,940 --> 00:22:59,070 connecting your customers with each other. 570 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,990 So you're starting to build this community that was created under 571 00:23:03,990 --> 00:23:06,270 the umbrella of Adrian's boutique. 572 00:23:07,140 --> 00:23:09,570 And so we've been doing that since the beginning. 573 00:23:09,630 --> 00:23:13,380 We find that relationship marketing is the only way that we're 574 00:23:13,380 --> 00:23:18,030 able to stay in business is building these long-term non salesy 575 00:23:18,060 --> 00:23:20,670 type of relationships with our customers. 576 00:23:20,820 --> 00:23:21,060 You know, 577 00:23:21,060 --> 00:23:23,430 another thing that we do that may be some of your 578 00:23:23,430 --> 00:23:24,540 listeners don't do, 579 00:23:24,540 --> 00:23:27,330 and is one of the best things that we do is 580 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:30,810 we play videos throughout our store to sell products. 581 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,750 And I will tell you that for 2015, 582 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:37,980 seven out of 10 of our best selling SK use were 583 00:23:37,980 --> 00:23:40,440 supported with a video playing all day, 584 00:23:40,470 --> 00:23:41,850 every day in our store. 585 00:23:42,090 --> 00:23:45,090 And there is a reason that bass pro has a video 586 00:23:45,410 --> 00:23:47,270 on the end of almost every aisle, 587 00:23:47,270 --> 00:23:48,740 selling fishing lures. 588 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:50,180 Many of our vendors, 589 00:23:50,180 --> 00:23:53,030 and many of your vendors will have a video or we'll 590 00:23:53,030 --> 00:23:55,640 even make Lin for you to promote their products. 591 00:23:55,730 --> 00:23:58,280 So think of how many times you've been at market walking 592 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:01,340 down an aisle and you'll be stopped by a video playing 593 00:24:01,340 --> 00:24:01,910 in a booth. 594 00:24:02,210 --> 00:24:06,530 Those videos are usually available to retailers as well. 595 00:24:06,530 --> 00:24:07,910 If you just ask for it. 596 00:24:08,090 --> 00:24:10,790 And then something else we do is we link those videos 597 00:24:10,790 --> 00:24:14,030 to our Facebook page on a very regular basis. 598 00:24:14,180 --> 00:24:14,450 You know, 599 00:24:14,450 --> 00:24:17,060 customers love to be entertained while they're in your store. 600 00:24:17,060 --> 00:24:19,640 And the video definitely does that. 601 00:24:20,180 --> 00:24:22,130 Just to give you a little bit more, 602 00:24:22,190 --> 00:24:24,770 I love math and I've done some math on this. 603 00:24:24,830 --> 00:24:27,170 Even figuring the cost of a TV, 604 00:24:27,290 --> 00:24:30,770 it costs you about 22 cents an hour to have a 605 00:24:30,770 --> 00:24:33,170 full-time sales person on your TV, 606 00:24:33,170 --> 00:24:34,340 selling a product all day, 607 00:24:34,340 --> 00:24:35,030 every day, 608 00:24:35,030 --> 00:24:37,970 that's including the cost of the TV. 609 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,290 So I would say if you're listening and you're a vendor 610 00:24:41,300 --> 00:24:43,760 or Europe product developer, 611 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:47,240 make those videos available and make it easy for retailers to 612 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:49,120 get those from you cash. 613 00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:50,890 That is more than just one other tip. 614 00:24:50,890 --> 00:24:52,720 Those are fabulous tips. 615 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:53,830 I really liked them. 616 00:24:53,830 --> 00:24:55,900 And they're all in store specific, 617 00:24:55,900 --> 00:24:57,580 which is spectacular. 618 00:24:57,970 --> 00:24:59,560 And the thing about the videos too, 619 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:01,420 is how many people are really doing that. 620 00:25:01,420 --> 00:25:03,730 So if you're a smaller shop, 621 00:25:03,970 --> 00:25:05,890 there may be another shop right in your community, 622 00:25:05,890 --> 00:25:07,180 that's doing the same thing, 623 00:25:07,540 --> 00:25:09,220 but they don't have video you. 624 00:25:09,220 --> 00:25:10,720 And then by you bringing that in, 625 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:14,530 you're changing up the whole customer experience from someone when they're 626 00:25:14,530 --> 00:25:15,130 coming in your shop. 627 00:25:15,430 --> 00:25:18,970 Absolutely. And I'll just give you a specific example for this. 628 00:25:19,150 --> 00:25:22,960 So we have a company called Goldcrest distributing and they're from 629 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:24,460 Mexico, Missouri. 630 00:25:24,610 --> 00:25:28,000 And I happened to be wandering the garden floor at the 631 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:28,750 Atlanta market. 632 00:25:28,750 --> 00:25:31,450 And they were playing a funny video of a squirrel, 633 00:25:31,540 --> 00:25:33,190 bungee jumping squirrel feeder. 634 00:25:33,490 --> 00:25:34,090 I bought it. 635 00:25:34,090 --> 00:25:37,870 I bought maybe 18 or so of these little bungee jumping 636 00:25:37,870 --> 00:25:38,650 squirrel feeders. 637 00:25:38,890 --> 00:25:41,140 Now, granted you read what our story is. 638 00:25:41,140 --> 00:25:42,130 We're fashion. 639 00:25:42,190 --> 00:25:43,510 We're very Chicky. 640 00:25:43,510 --> 00:25:45,010 We're not a garden center, 641 00:25:45,070 --> 00:25:48,370 but I will tell you that they have made it very 642 00:25:48,370 --> 00:25:52,330 easy for us to sell over 2000 of these bungee jumping 643 00:25:52,330 --> 00:25:55,690 squirrel feeders in our ladies boutique, 644 00:25:56,110 --> 00:25:59,290 that is $29,000, 645 00:25:59,410 --> 00:26:01,000 more than $29,000 646 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,700 at this point for a product that doesn't fit our store's 647 00:26:03,700 --> 00:26:05,890 demographic. It doesn't fit our mix, 648 00:26:06,010 --> 00:26:07,990 but yet this video plays all day, 649 00:26:08,020 --> 00:26:08,650 every day, 650 00:26:08,650 --> 00:26:10,870 it's all the way in the back of our store. 651 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:16,930 And so that's just one example of using a DVD to 652 00:26:16,930 --> 00:26:20,200 sell product that maybe is a little out there on the 653 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:21,400 edge for you, 654 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,880 but it's certainly been profitable for us for now a couple 655 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:25,570 of years. 656 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:27,460 I've got to find out about that. 657 00:26:27,460 --> 00:26:28,810 That sounds very curious. 658 00:26:28,810 --> 00:26:30,040 I'm not going to take the time now, 659 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:32,140 but I'm really interested in what that's all about. 660 00:26:32,830 --> 00:26:35,170 So we'll let everybody kind of figure that out on their 661 00:26:35,170 --> 00:26:37,600 own. But I think the other thing from your story is 662 00:26:37,780 --> 00:26:38,470 because you know, 663 00:26:38,470 --> 00:26:43,000 your, your customers so well that even though that product is 664 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:45,540 of the range of what you normally carry, 665 00:26:45,570 --> 00:26:49,320 it is something that you already knew your customer would be 666 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:49,860 interested in. 667 00:26:50,120 --> 00:26:52,610 Well, it entertained me at market and I thought, 668 00:26:52,790 --> 00:26:53,480 what the heck, 669 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:55,160 I'm going to give that a try. 670 00:26:55,430 --> 00:26:58,940 And it just continues to sell and they have been great. 671 00:26:58,940 --> 00:26:59,210 I mean, 672 00:26:59,210 --> 00:27:02,120 they always make sure that I have an extra DVD just 673 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:04,280 in case something goes wrong with the fine. 674 00:27:04,580 --> 00:27:06,980 They don't want it not playing even one day in our 675 00:27:06,980 --> 00:27:09,080 store. Very interesting. 676 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:09,620 All right. 677 00:27:09,620 --> 00:27:11,420 So I'm going to jump back a little bit, 678 00:27:11,420 --> 00:27:13,730 because about two or three minutes ago, 679 00:27:13,730 --> 00:27:17,990 we were talking about relationship marketing and how important that is, 680 00:27:18,230 --> 00:27:21,770 and that is really the basis behind remarkable retailer. 681 00:27:21,770 --> 00:27:24,140 So I think this could be a good place Vicki for 682 00:27:24,140 --> 00:27:26,060 you to bring that up and talk a little bit about 683 00:27:26,060 --> 00:27:27,290 what that is all about. 684 00:27:27,410 --> 00:27:29,690 Sure. I love to talk about that. 685 00:27:29,900 --> 00:27:32,240 I'm going to kind of start it off by talking about 686 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:33,230 a mastermind group, 687 00:27:33,260 --> 00:27:36,830 which I think is kind of for both the retailer and 688 00:27:36,830 --> 00:27:40,130 what I'm doing is the remarkable retailer website. 689 00:27:40,370 --> 00:27:42,710 I believe in mastermind groups. 690 00:27:42,740 --> 00:27:45,380 And I know you had asked me the question, 691 00:27:45,380 --> 00:27:47,390 what are some of the most important things that we've done 692 00:27:47,390 --> 00:27:49,640 to be successful and to stay successful? 693 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,550 And so this is my number one suggestion, 694 00:27:52,790 --> 00:27:55,100 and that is to form a mastermind group. 695 00:27:55,190 --> 00:27:56,300 And I will tell you, 696 00:27:56,360 --> 00:27:58,850 I would have been out of business years ago, 697 00:27:58,910 --> 00:28:02,060 if it would not have been that I became a part 698 00:28:02,060 --> 00:28:04,190 of several larger buying groups. 699 00:28:04,250 --> 00:28:06,770 Some have hundreds of owners in them. 700 00:28:07,100 --> 00:28:11,870 Then I helped form a smaller group of about 40 stores 701 00:28:11,870 --> 00:28:12,290 in it. 702 00:28:12,650 --> 00:28:15,800 Then we niched it down to a mastermind group of about 703 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:17,030 17 people, 704 00:28:17,390 --> 00:28:19,430 which represent 14 stores. 705 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:24,320 I am in constant contact with and share product ideas. 706 00:28:24,350 --> 00:28:26,960 We work through business challenges together. 707 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:30,680 We meet in person at markets and several times throughout the 708 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:34,700 year with these people in today's economy with the market that 709 00:28:34,700 --> 00:28:36,410 is just changing so fast, 710 00:28:36,650 --> 00:28:41,000 you need more eyeballs out there looking for products, 711 00:28:41,030 --> 00:28:42,230 recommending products, 712 00:28:42,470 --> 00:28:44,210 sharing, marketing ideas. 713 00:28:44,330 --> 00:28:47,360 There's just no need to be a lone ranger in business 714 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:51,860 anymore. Our buying groups are amazing and we get exceptional value 715 00:28:51,860 --> 00:28:52,790 from these groups. 716 00:28:52,850 --> 00:28:55,730 But our mastermind group is where the gold is. 717 00:28:56,090 --> 00:29:00,080 I formally started this group about four years ago. 718 00:29:00,110 --> 00:29:02,780 Although several of us in the group had already been working 719 00:29:02,780 --> 00:29:05,450 together on a little more informal basis. 720 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:09,650 So each member of the group has been handpicked because of 721 00:29:09,650 --> 00:29:11,570 their different knowledge skills, 722 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:13,760 and just all the differences that they have. 723 00:29:13,850 --> 00:29:16,820 We feel like it's the differences in us that make our 724 00:29:16,820 --> 00:29:18,380 groups so powerful. 725 00:29:18,650 --> 00:29:22,130 The age range of the store owners in our group range 726 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:27,950 from 27 to 65 with every decade represented in between. 727 00:29:28,190 --> 00:29:31,670 And this alone helps keeps us on our toes because you 728 00:29:31,670 --> 00:29:35,210 know, 20 and 30 year olds think completely different than those 729 00:29:35,210 --> 00:29:38,360 of us who are more seasoned in retail. 730 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:40,160 So some are single stores, 731 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:42,310 some have locations, 732 00:29:42,430 --> 00:29:47,080 some were chosen because they're extremely knowledgeable about finance or they're 733 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:51,400 extremely knowledgeable about marketing or they're great at displays. 734 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:55,510 Some are really involved in their communities and have brought great 735 00:29:55,510 --> 00:29:58,480 ideas to the group about being involved in the community. 736 00:29:58,540 --> 00:30:01,600 We've got one that does a super job with HR. 737 00:30:01,690 --> 00:30:05,170 And so this in itself has been fabulous. 738 00:30:05,260 --> 00:30:08,650 We have a private face group that is for owners only, 739 00:30:08,740 --> 00:30:12,220 and it is filled with lively conversation on a daily basis. 740 00:30:12,340 --> 00:30:16,420 We insist on participation from every single member. 741 00:30:16,630 --> 00:30:20,050 And of course there's a financial and a time investment that's 742 00:30:20,050 --> 00:30:21,700 required every year. 743 00:30:21,730 --> 00:30:26,200 We hold a two day in-person summit each year where each 744 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:31,030 person is expected to do a well-researched presentation on a specific 745 00:30:31,030 --> 00:30:33,940 topic. And we have a different theme each year. 746 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:39,070 So some subjects that we've tackled have been finance heritage and 747 00:30:39,070 --> 00:30:40,810 passing down a family business, 748 00:30:41,020 --> 00:30:43,030 preparing for emergencies, 749 00:30:43,300 --> 00:30:44,830 using social media, 750 00:30:44,830 --> 00:30:49,390 such as Instagram and Pinterest strategies and systems that you can 751 00:30:49,390 --> 00:30:51,580 put in place pricing for profit. 752 00:30:51,610 --> 00:30:54,190 That was an excellent one that we had last year, 753 00:30:54,340 --> 00:30:58,330 the disc profile and hiring the right team and a great 754 00:30:58,330 --> 00:30:58,750 one too, 755 00:30:58,750 --> 00:31:01,900 was design and layout for catalogs and print media. 756 00:31:01,900 --> 00:31:03,910 So how to lay out your newspaper ads, 757 00:31:04,090 --> 00:31:05,410 how to lay out a brochure, 758 00:31:05,410 --> 00:31:06,730 how to lay out a catalog. 759 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,570 So there's just been all kinds of wealth of knowledge that 760 00:31:10,570 --> 00:31:11,830 has come out of this group. 761 00:31:12,060 --> 00:31:12,900 And you attested. 762 00:31:12,900 --> 00:31:15,420 This is the single biggest thing that you've done for your 763 00:31:15,420 --> 00:31:17,820 business, just to stay in business and to grow. 764 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,580 This is the single best thing I have done in the 765 00:31:20,580 --> 00:31:23,820 last eight or 10 years is to reach out and become 766 00:31:23,820 --> 00:31:27,180 part of these communities of retailers because let's face it, 767 00:31:27,450 --> 00:31:28,200 your family, 768 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:29,910 unless they're involved in the business, 769 00:31:30,030 --> 00:31:32,190 they're not speaking your language, 770 00:31:32,220 --> 00:31:34,140 your friends that you go out to dinner with, 771 00:31:34,380 --> 00:31:37,470 don't want to hear how many boot socks you sold. 772 00:31:37,710 --> 00:31:39,540 They're not interested in that. 773 00:31:39,540 --> 00:31:42,360 And so it's so refreshing to have a group of people 774 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:45,240 that are right on your same page and that are also 775 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:47,220 pushing you to grow, 776 00:31:47,340 --> 00:31:50,760 to get to the next level in business and just the 777 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:53,250 professionalism that's provided in these groups. 778 00:31:53,940 --> 00:31:55,410 Absolutely. And you guys, 779 00:31:55,410 --> 00:31:56,520 when you're listening, 780 00:31:56,670 --> 00:31:58,230 this does not mean that you, 781 00:31:58,260 --> 00:32:00,840 if you're not already part of a group that you can't 782 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:02,130 create one yourself, 783 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:04,830 you can go right in your own community and it doesn't 784 00:32:04,830 --> 00:32:06,060 have to be how Vicky's is. 785 00:32:06,060 --> 00:32:06,960 It sounds like Vicky's, 786 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:08,160 they're all retailers, 787 00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:10,980 they're all in the same area in terms of business, 788 00:32:10,980 --> 00:32:12,120 in the same industry, 789 00:32:12,270 --> 00:32:14,790 but you can go right in your own community. 790 00:32:14,820 --> 00:32:17,280 If there are people that you admire that, 791 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:18,090 you know, 792 00:32:18,090 --> 00:32:20,220 have knowledge that you don't have, 793 00:32:20,250 --> 00:32:22,050 you can form your own groups, 794 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:24,570 even as small as four to six people. 795 00:32:24,750 --> 00:32:28,530 The idea is that everyone brings in a different skill set. 796 00:32:28,590 --> 00:32:32,550 So everyone gets value because everyone gets strengthened by the knowledge 797 00:32:32,580 --> 00:32:33,990 that each other has. 798 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,620 And my only advice would be to really select your people 799 00:32:37,740 --> 00:32:38,910 very carefully. 800 00:32:39,290 --> 00:32:42,890 You get to a point Where you really trust people, 801 00:32:42,890 --> 00:32:44,060 you share numbers, 802 00:32:44,060 --> 00:32:45,320 you share challenges, 803 00:32:45,350 --> 00:32:46,670 all different types of things, 804 00:32:46,670 --> 00:32:49,940 but these types of masterminds are invaluable. 805 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:53,330 And you can set one up for yourself to date. 806 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:55,150 Yes, absolutely. 807 00:32:55,150 --> 00:32:56,590 You can do this today. 808 00:32:56,890 --> 00:32:59,320 You can start with two or three people. 809 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:02,560 One reason ours works so well is we're retailers from all 810 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:03,490 over the country. 811 00:33:03,850 --> 00:33:05,140 None of us are competing. 812 00:33:05,260 --> 00:33:06,070 Like you said, 813 00:33:06,250 --> 00:33:07,450 we share our numbers. 814 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:10,030 We share everything in this group. 815 00:33:10,060 --> 00:33:14,680 And it is so important that you hand choose those people. 816 00:33:14,740 --> 00:33:15,370 And again, 817 00:33:15,370 --> 00:33:18,550 we want to have a long-term relationship with these people as 818 00:33:18,550 --> 00:33:20,020 well. Interestingly enough, 819 00:33:20,050 --> 00:33:22,510 I have my mastermind group meeting tonight. 820 00:33:23,050 --> 00:33:25,480 Awesome. All right. 821 00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:28,600 So let's go through now and let's talk remarkable retailer. 822 00:33:28,930 --> 00:33:29,830 Okay. Well, 823 00:33:29,830 --> 00:33:33,430 for many years I've worked with retailers from around the country, 824 00:33:33,430 --> 00:33:36,250 just helping them grow and expand their business. 825 00:33:36,310 --> 00:33:39,910 Like we've talked about relationship marketing and just to help them 826 00:33:39,910 --> 00:33:43,870 work through other challenges that they face as business owners. 827 00:33:44,110 --> 00:33:45,940 And so about two years ago, 828 00:33:45,940 --> 00:33:49,090 I decided to get out of my comfort zone and put 829 00:33:49,090 --> 00:33:52,330 a name to the B2B side of me that just kept 830 00:33:52,330 --> 00:33:53,800 growing by itself. 831 00:33:53,890 --> 00:33:58,120 I called it remarkable retailers because we're all on that quest 832 00:33:58,120 --> 00:33:59,350 for remarkable. 833 00:33:59,410 --> 00:34:01,510 We want to stand out from the crowd. 834 00:34:01,510 --> 00:34:03,130 We want to be remarkable. 835 00:34:03,250 --> 00:34:06,580 And I wanted people that were on that journey that had 836 00:34:06,580 --> 00:34:09,940 that end goal insight to come along on the journey with 837 00:34:09,940 --> 00:34:14,110 me, people have said that I'm naturally gifted in becoming a 838 00:34:14,140 --> 00:34:15,460 connector of people. 839 00:34:15,460 --> 00:34:16,750 And I think that's true. 840 00:34:16,750 --> 00:34:19,120 I think I've been doing this since junior high. 841 00:34:20,380 --> 00:34:24,940 So I love to introduce business owners to other people that 842 00:34:24,940 --> 00:34:27,760 I think will be mutually beneficial. 843 00:34:27,820 --> 00:34:28,090 You know, 844 00:34:28,090 --> 00:34:32,800 this has been a way to form groups of like-minded entrepreneurs 845 00:34:32,860 --> 00:34:35,950 that are willing to give and take ideas from each other. 846 00:34:35,950 --> 00:34:37,510 And it is so awesome. 847 00:34:37,570 --> 00:34:39,190 I just love it. 848 00:34:39,460 --> 00:34:42,310 So I got an opportunity from TJ Reed, 849 00:34:42,310 --> 00:34:47,170 who is the owner of the fashion advantage specialty retailer magazine. 850 00:34:47,350 --> 00:34:50,620 She asked me to start writing articles on small business in 851 00:34:50,620 --> 00:34:53,320 her magazine about a little over a year ago. 852 00:34:53,470 --> 00:34:54,520 Last summer, 853 00:34:54,550 --> 00:34:57,010 she was struggling with some health issues. 854 00:34:57,100 --> 00:34:59,680 She called and asked me to prepare and give an hour 855 00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:03,010 long workshop at her live event at the wind show, 856 00:35:03,010 --> 00:35:06,160 which is a fashion market out in Las Vegas. 857 00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:08,740 So that was the first time that I actually got up 858 00:35:08,740 --> 00:35:11,800 and did a live presentation for a group of people that 859 00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:12,850 I did not know. 860 00:35:12,850 --> 00:35:13,540 Now, of course, 861 00:35:13,540 --> 00:35:16,450 I've been doing this with our mastermind group for a couple 862 00:35:16,450 --> 00:35:17,800 of years before that, 863 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:20,020 but these were people I really did not know. 864 00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:23,110 And it was a great way to connect with some other 865 00:35:23,110 --> 00:35:25,480 retailers and I just loved it. 866 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:27,280 So I came away from that. 867 00:35:27,340 --> 00:35:31,120 I had started the remarkable retailer podcast. 868 00:35:31,180 --> 00:35:32,770 I love the speaking part, 869 00:35:32,770 --> 00:35:36,550 but, but the technical part doesn't come as easy for me 870 00:35:37,770 --> 00:35:40,080 as Sue and I have discussed earlier, 871 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:41,970 she's a rock star techie, 872 00:35:42,060 --> 00:35:47,060 but I am a wannabe rockstar techie With experience. 873 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:48,140 You just learn it. 874 00:35:50,210 --> 00:35:50,780 But you know, 875 00:35:50,810 --> 00:35:54,710 a very natural fit came when Periscope arrived on the scene 876 00:35:54,770 --> 00:35:59,270 and I started Periscoping last August and I am on, 877 00:35:59,270 --> 00:36:02,660 I think I've done my hundred and 30th episode. 878 00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:06,080 And so I feel like a teacher I teach on Periscope 879 00:36:06,110 --> 00:36:07,220 live every morning, 880 00:36:07,220 --> 00:36:07,730 about eight, 881 00:36:07,730 --> 00:36:09,080 15 central time. 882 00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:14,090 And the topics just generally go to whatever I am needing 883 00:36:14,090 --> 00:36:15,110 to learn myself. 884 00:36:15,110 --> 00:36:17,450 So I'm always preaching to myself. 885 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:19,970 So you can always tell what challenges I'm going through at 886 00:36:19,970 --> 00:36:20,660 that time. 887 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:23,090 What was your topic this morning? 888 00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:29,090 My topic this morning was email marketing because it's so important. 889 00:36:29,090 --> 00:36:32,780 And I hear so many excuses as to why retailers are 890 00:36:32,780 --> 00:36:34,850 not getting that email out the door. 891 00:36:34,970 --> 00:36:36,290 It's so important. 892 00:36:36,290 --> 00:36:39,590 There is no better use of your time than getting people 893 00:36:39,590 --> 00:36:41,090 in the front door of your store. 894 00:36:41,300 --> 00:36:42,980 What's the handle for your Periscope? 895 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:44,570 It's remarkable retailer. 896 00:36:44,690 --> 00:36:48,050 So we've just got this little audience of listeners and they're 897 00:36:48,050 --> 00:36:49,790 from all kinds of businesses. 898 00:36:49,940 --> 00:36:51,200 So they're not all retailers, 899 00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:54,650 but we've got salon owners and some restaurants we've been have 900 00:36:54,660 --> 00:36:57,800 a bug exterminator guy that keeps joining us. 901 00:36:57,860 --> 00:36:58,940 And he's awesome. 902 00:36:59,270 --> 00:37:01,160 So back to the beginning, 903 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:01,520 we said, 904 00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:02,990 we're in the people business, 905 00:37:03,020 --> 00:37:04,490 no matter what you're selling, 906 00:37:04,490 --> 00:37:06,020 you're in the people business. 907 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:07,580 It's been interesting. 908 00:37:07,580 --> 00:37:08,240 It's been good. 909 00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:10,940 And it's been challenging me if you don't do an episode 910 00:37:10,940 --> 00:37:11,450 every day, 911 00:37:11,510 --> 00:37:13,640 they, you fall off the face of the earth. 912 00:37:13,670 --> 00:37:17,330 And so it's been very good for me to be disciplined 913 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:20,810 and be preparing for my Periscopes every single day. 914 00:37:20,930 --> 00:37:23,630 It's been a good challenge and I have absolutely loved it. 915 00:37:24,020 --> 00:37:25,370 Wonderful. All right. 916 00:37:25,370 --> 00:37:27,200 Give biz listeners all of you, 917 00:37:27,260 --> 00:37:30,500 if you are in the retail business or you think that 918 00:37:30,500 --> 00:37:33,860 there's other information as Vicki has been sharing throughout this whole 919 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:36,560 interview, that you want to hear more of eight, 920 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:41,060 15 central time Periscope at remarkable retailer, 921 00:37:41,180 --> 00:37:41,750 be there. 922 00:37:44,420 --> 00:37:47,420 We're going to move on now into our reflection section. 923 00:37:47,450 --> 00:37:49,910 This is a look at you and what's helped you with 924 00:37:49,910 --> 00:37:51,680 your success along the way. 925 00:37:51,830 --> 00:37:54,680 So what natural trait do you have Vicky that you think 926 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:57,050 has helped you to be successful this whole time? 927 00:37:57,650 --> 00:38:00,560 I would say it's because my parents taught me to be 928 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:01,880 a lifelong learner. 929 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,630 I try to invest time into learning something new every single 930 00:38:05,630 --> 00:38:07,010 day. The other thing is, 931 00:38:07,010 --> 00:38:07,790 I'm a talker, 932 00:38:07,790 --> 00:38:08,720 as you can tell, 933 00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:12,500 and I'm naturally able to strike up a conversation with just 934 00:38:12,500 --> 00:38:13,910 about anyone on the planet. 935 00:38:13,970 --> 00:38:15,740 And one of my sisters says it best. 936 00:38:15,740 --> 00:38:16,130 She says, 937 00:38:16,130 --> 00:38:17,060 Mickey can blah, 938 00:38:17,060 --> 00:38:17,660 blah, blah, 939 00:38:17,660 --> 00:38:18,470 with any women. 940 00:38:20,370 --> 00:38:22,370 So important for comradery, 941 00:38:22,370 --> 00:38:23,960 specially in a retail shop, 942 00:38:24,710 --> 00:38:24,860 you know, 943 00:38:24,860 --> 00:38:27,140 making people feel welcome and comfortable, 944 00:38:27,170 --> 00:38:30,830 and that they're special and valued for being in your home. 945 00:38:30,830 --> 00:38:32,360 It's like welcoming someone into your home. 946 00:38:32,630 --> 00:38:32,990 It is. 947 00:38:32,990 --> 00:38:35,030 And I love to find out where people are from. 948 00:38:35,230 --> 00:38:37,090 They do what things they like to do, 949 00:38:37,090 --> 00:38:38,080 where they've traveled, 950 00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:38,800 you name it. 951 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:40,060 I can find all of that. 952 00:38:41,250 --> 00:38:41,610 All right. 953 00:38:41,610 --> 00:38:44,880 And what tool do you use regularly to keep productive or 954 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:47,100 to create some type of balance in your life? 955 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:50,700 Well, so I love tech and I'm a total Apple girl 956 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:52,740 and I love my MacBook pro. 957 00:38:52,740 --> 00:38:53,880 I love my iPad, 958 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:54,810 my iPhone, 959 00:38:55,050 --> 00:38:58,770 and some of my best productivity apps are Evernote, 960 00:38:59,070 --> 00:39:01,320 Dropbox, Wunderlist. 961 00:39:01,350 --> 00:39:02,340 I love audible, 962 00:39:02,340 --> 00:39:03,420 which I know you promote. 963 00:39:03,420 --> 00:39:05,880 And I am such a huge fan of audible and my 964 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:09,000 Google calendar and my task list that I use on Google. 965 00:39:09,240 --> 00:39:09,930 But my friend, 966 00:39:09,930 --> 00:39:13,320 Connie from Texas just introduced me to an app that I 967 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:15,420 think a lot of your listeners will love. 968 00:39:15,630 --> 00:39:17,190 It's called Flipagram. 969 00:39:17,670 --> 00:39:21,870 And it isn't super easy way to make slideshows with music 970 00:39:21,900 --> 00:39:22,800 from your phone. 971 00:39:22,830 --> 00:39:25,950 We've done store tours with this little app and it has 972 00:39:25,950 --> 00:39:26,700 been awesome. 973 00:39:26,700 --> 00:39:29,840 So I think that's something and it's flipped up gram. 974 00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:32,280 Wonderful. We'll have to check that out for sure. 975 00:39:32,490 --> 00:39:34,860 And what book have you read lately that you think our 976 00:39:34,860 --> 00:39:36,270 listeners would find value in? 977 00:39:36,690 --> 00:39:38,940 I love the E-Myth by Michael Gerber, 978 00:39:38,970 --> 00:39:40,320 which I've read twice. 979 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:42,660 I've listened to it on audible several times, 980 00:39:42,660 --> 00:39:45,750 and I feel like it is a must read for every 981 00:39:45,750 --> 00:39:49,590 entrepreneur. And then I love the customer rules by Lee Cockerel 982 00:39:49,590 --> 00:39:51,300 and all of his other books as well. 983 00:39:51,330 --> 00:39:54,090 He's the former EVP of Walt Disney world. 984 00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:55,320 And he's fabulous. 985 00:39:55,740 --> 00:39:57,930 And as you had referenced a little bit earlier, 986 00:39:57,930 --> 00:40:00,330 Vicky, as you're listening to the podcast today, 987 00:40:00,330 --> 00:40:02,910 you can also listen to audio books with ease, 988 00:40:02,940 --> 00:40:05,520 just like the E-Myth and customer rules. 989 00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:07,860 I've teamed up with audible for you to be able to 990 00:40:07,860 --> 00:40:09,810 get an audio book for free. 991 00:40:10,290 --> 00:40:12,180 All you have to do is go to gift biz, 992 00:40:12,180 --> 00:40:14,760 book.com and make a selection. 993 00:40:15,270 --> 00:40:16,210 Okay, done. 994 00:40:17,130 --> 00:40:20,550 We are moving into my favorite part of the interview. 995 00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:23,670 You haven't provided enough value already. 996 00:40:23,670 --> 00:40:27,600 Vicky. We're going to go and see what you are hoping 997 00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:28,740 for for the future. 998 00:40:28,770 --> 00:40:30,780 This is our dare to dream question. 999 00:40:31,230 --> 00:40:33,360 I'd like to present you with a virtual gift. 1000 00:40:33,540 --> 00:40:37,650 It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future. 1001 00:40:37,980 --> 00:40:41,670 This is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable Heights 1002 00:40:41,670 --> 00:40:43,170 that you would wish to obtain. 1003 00:40:43,350 --> 00:40:46,560 Please accept this gift from all of us and open it 1004 00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:47,520 in our presence. 1005 00:40:47,790 --> 00:40:49,320 What is inside your box? 1006 00:40:49,980 --> 00:40:51,600 Well, this is such a great question, 1007 00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:53,700 and I love to hear what everyone says. 1008 00:40:53,910 --> 00:40:54,840 My box. 1009 00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:59,400 This beautiful box would contain the keys to a small home 1010 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:01,470 in the country because I don't want it to take care 1011 00:41:01,470 --> 00:41:02,430 of a big home, 1012 00:41:02,730 --> 00:41:05,520 but it would have a large guest house where I could 1013 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:09,990 host gatherings of small business owners from around the country. 1014 00:41:10,170 --> 00:41:13,230 And what we would do there is to have great speakers, 1015 00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:14,640 offer workshops, 1016 00:41:14,670 --> 00:41:17,610 and have a place to get away from the craziness of 1017 00:41:17,610 --> 00:41:19,320 running a business for a few days. 1018 00:41:19,710 --> 00:41:20,730 I love that. 1019 00:41:22,380 --> 00:41:26,790 I also have a recording studio with super high speed internet 1020 00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:28,470 as, as country girls out here, 1021 00:41:28,470 --> 00:41:30,390 struggle with reliable internet. 1022 00:41:30,420 --> 00:41:34,880 So I could podcast and Periscope with inspiration and encouragement to 1023 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:37,190 other business owners from around the country. 1024 00:41:37,340 --> 00:41:39,260 So that would be my wish and my dream. 1025 00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:40,150 All right. 1026 00:41:40,150 --> 00:41:40,990 And let me guess, 1027 00:41:41,020 --> 00:41:43,300 there's going to be someone managing all the tech for you 1028 00:41:43,300 --> 00:41:43,690 there too. 1029 00:41:49,930 --> 00:41:51,010 I love this and one. 1030 00:41:51,010 --> 00:41:52,900 And once you do have that country home, 1031 00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:54,070 I want to be invited. 1032 00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:56,890 Absolutely. It could be a guest speaker, 1033 00:41:56,890 --> 00:41:57,700 so that would, 1034 00:42:00,010 --> 00:42:01,300 Let's start winding down. 1035 00:42:01,300 --> 00:42:03,910 Now, how can our listeners get in touch with you if 1036 00:42:03,910 --> 00:42:05,380 they want to learn more? 1037 00:42:05,590 --> 00:42:08,230 Number one about Adrian's boutique, 1038 00:42:08,230 --> 00:42:11,770 but also if they want to become involved with remarkable retailer? 1039 00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:15,730 Well, of course they can find me through email Vicki at 1040 00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:17,620 Adrian's boutique.com. 1041 00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:19,570 They can go on our Facebook page. 1042 00:42:19,600 --> 00:42:21,430 We all run under the same thing. 1043 00:42:21,550 --> 00:42:23,680 Our website is Adrian's boutique.com. 1044 00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:25,630 Our Facebook is Adrian's boutique. 1045 00:42:25,690 --> 00:42:28,120 And then over on the remarkable retailer side, 1046 00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:29,170 it's just Vicki, 1047 00:42:29,170 --> 00:42:33,070 V I C K i@remarkableretailer.com. 1048 00:42:33,160 --> 00:42:35,950 They can find us on Periscope on Facebook, 1049 00:42:35,950 --> 00:42:37,300 on Twitter anyway, 1050 00:42:37,330 --> 00:42:39,250 and I'll even give you my phone number here. 1051 00:42:39,250 --> 00:42:44,710 So it is (620) 543-6488. 1052 00:42:44,710 --> 00:42:46,900 I'm always trying to get my 20,000 1053 00:42:46,900 --> 00:42:50,020 words in every day and I love to talk shop. 1054 00:42:50,020 --> 00:42:52,330 And so feel free to give me a call. 1055 00:42:52,330 --> 00:42:53,500 If I'm not available, 1056 00:42:53,500 --> 00:42:56,230 I will call you back just as soon as I possibly 1057 00:42:56,890 --> 00:42:58,510 can. It sounds like there is no excuse. 1058 00:42:58,510 --> 00:43:00,130 If someone wants to get in touch with you, 1059 00:43:00,190 --> 00:43:02,200 they should be able to find you somewhere with all of 1060 00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:03,730 that. I think they can, 1061 00:43:03,730 --> 00:43:06,760 and they can see all of our previous episodes of our 1062 00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:10,900 periscopes@vimeo.com slash Vicky, 1063 00:43:10,930 --> 00:43:14,620 Adrian. So we've thrown a lot of links and phone numbers 1064 00:43:14,620 --> 00:43:17,020 and social media site at all of you. 1065 00:43:17,020 --> 00:43:18,100 But remember, 1066 00:43:18,100 --> 00:43:20,860 you can just jump over to the show notes page and 1067 00:43:20,860 --> 00:43:22,540 I'll have all of that detailed for you. 1068 00:43:22,540 --> 00:43:24,520 So you'll be able to get in touch with Vicky if 1069 00:43:24,520 --> 00:43:27,610 you'd like to in any manner that you wish. 1070 00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:28,660 Okay, Vicky, 1071 00:43:28,690 --> 00:43:32,320 we just have to talk about one more thing and I 1072 00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:36,070 have intentionally had the podcast go live. 1073 00:43:36,070 --> 00:43:37,360 Your specific podcasts, 1074 00:43:37,390 --> 00:43:41,170 go live this week because I believe you have something to 1075 00:43:41,170 --> 00:43:42,070 share with us. 1076 00:43:42,970 --> 00:43:45,760 Well, we were just Adrian's boutique. 1077 00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:49,450 Our retail store was just honored with our county's chamber of 1078 00:43:49,450 --> 00:43:51,130 Commerce's Reno County, 1079 00:43:51,130 --> 00:43:54,610 small business of the year award 2016. 1080 00:43:54,640 --> 00:43:58,420 And it just makes me so incredibly proud of our team 1081 00:43:58,450 --> 00:43:59,140 of ladies, 1082 00:43:59,140 --> 00:44:02,620 who they just bring their best skills and talents to work 1083 00:44:02,620 --> 00:44:04,150 with them every single day. 1084 00:44:04,240 --> 00:44:07,270 And I'm honored to work with them and just all the 1085 00:44:07,270 --> 00:44:10,030 people in our community that have supported us all of these 1086 00:44:10,030 --> 00:44:13,330 years. So that was actually very exciting for us to win 1087 00:44:13,330 --> 00:44:14,890 the small business of the year award. 1088 00:44:14,950 --> 00:44:20,080 We had to keep it secret until after the 29th of 1089 00:44:20,080 --> 00:44:22,330 February. That is so exciting. 1090 00:44:22,330 --> 00:44:27,220 I bet you had a huge celebration and congratulations. 1091 00:44:27,220 --> 00:44:29,260 I can say that on behalf of myself, 1092 00:44:29,260 --> 00:44:33,330 as I'm sure all the listeners to wish you congratulations and 1093 00:44:33,330 --> 00:44:34,260 much continued success, 1094 00:44:34,260 --> 00:44:35,760 and you're going to broadcast that all over now. 1095 00:44:35,760 --> 00:44:37,860 I bet as well. 1096 00:44:37,860 --> 00:44:38,380 You should. 1097 00:44:39,150 --> 00:44:39,810 All right. 1098 00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:41,970 Thank you so much, 1099 00:44:42,060 --> 00:44:43,530 Vicky. Oh my gosh. 1100 00:44:43,560 --> 00:44:47,280 You have provided so much good information. 1101 00:44:47,430 --> 00:44:49,650 We've talked a little longer than we normally do, 1102 00:44:49,650 --> 00:44:52,050 so I hope that's all right for you with your schedule 1103 00:44:52,050 --> 00:44:53,640 today, but I really, 1104 00:44:53,640 --> 00:44:56,100 really appreciate your sharing all of these, 1105 00:44:56,100 --> 00:44:57,720 not only your expertise, 1106 00:44:57,720 --> 00:44:59,190 but some really great, 1107 00:44:59,220 --> 00:45:03,240 great examples that everybody could take back tweak to make it 1108 00:45:03,240 --> 00:45:05,460 work for them and use right away. 1109 00:45:05,460 --> 00:45:06,780 And that is really, 1110 00:45:06,780 --> 00:45:09,870 really so helpful and really what we're trying to accomplish with 1111 00:45:09,870 --> 00:45:10,650 this podcast. 1112 00:45:10,650 --> 00:45:13,020 So thank you so much. 1113 00:45:13,150 --> 00:45:15,660 Absolutely. As we close off, 1114 00:45:15,690 --> 00:45:19,140 I know that I am joined by all my guests, 1115 00:45:19,350 --> 00:45:22,710 wishing that your candle always burns bright. 1116 00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:23,830 Thank you so much. 1117 00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:31,850 Learn how to work smarter while developing and growing your business. 1118 00:45:32,030 --> 00:45:35,570 Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business 1119 00:45:35,570 --> 00:45:36,110 and life. 1120 00:45:36,320 --> 00:45:38,930 It's our gift to you and available at gift biz, 1121 00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:43,370 unwrap.com/tools. Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for 1122 00:45:43,370 --> 00:45:44,360 the next episode. 1123 00:45:46,760 --> 00:45:48,680 Hi, all my gift biz peeps. 1124 00:45:48,740 --> 00:45:51,530 I'm always looking for new guests for the show. 1125 00:45:51,740 --> 00:45:52,730 So if you know, 1126 00:45:52,730 --> 00:45:56,270 somebody who has had an interesting journey in terms of how 1127 00:45:56,270 --> 00:45:58,760 they've identified the business they went into, 1128 00:45:58,910 --> 00:46:00,140 or has been really, 1129 00:46:00,140 --> 00:46:03,650 really successful with a business that's been established for a while, 1130 00:46:03,740 --> 00:46:05,180 I would love to know about it, 1131 00:46:05,390 --> 00:46:09,380 and guess what it might even be you the way to 1132 00:46:09,380 --> 00:46:12,950 let me know is to jump over onto my Instagram account 1133 00:46:13,040 --> 00:46:14,840 at gift biz gal, 1134 00:46:15,290 --> 00:46:16,550 pick a picture that you like, 1135 00:46:16,610 --> 00:46:20,240 and then comment on that photo with the handle of the 1136 00:46:20,240 --> 00:46:22,100 person that you think I should consider. 1137 00:46:22,460 --> 00:46:26,210 Again, go over to my Instagram account at gift biz gal 1138 00:46:26,390 --> 00:46:29,570 comment on a picture with the information and we can all 1139 00:46:29,570 --> 00:46:32,900 look forward to hearing about the exciting experiences, 1140 00:46:33,020 --> 00:46:37,730 journeys, and expertise of our peers here on gift biz on 1141 00:46:37,730 --> 00:46:41,870 raft today's show is sponsored by the ribbon print company, 1142 00:46:42,650 --> 00:46:45,200 looking for a new income source for your gift business. 1143 00:46:45,560 --> 00:46:49,910 Customization is more popular now than ever grantor products of your 1144 00:46:49,910 --> 00:46:51,860 logo or print a happy birthday, 1145 00:46:51,890 --> 00:46:52,640 Jessica bourbon, 1146 00:46:52,700 --> 00:46:53,600 to add to a gift, 1147 00:46:53,690 --> 00:46:54,470 right at checkout, 1148 00:46:55,130 --> 00:46:57,770 it's all done right in your shop or cross studio in 1149 00:46:57,770 --> 00:47:01,310 seconds. 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