Gift biz unwrapped episode 163.
Today's your lucky day.
I'm going to give you a sneak peek into my new
book. Attention gifters bakers,
crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.
Now you are in the right place.
This is gift to biz unwrapped,
helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Join us for an episode,
packed full of invaluable guidance,
resources, and the support you need to grow.
Your gift biz here is your host gift biz gal,
Sue moon Heights maker,
Master find and fix.
What's not working in your small business.
This book has been in my heart for years and truth
be told it's been an outline form.
Also for the last two years,
I decided 2018.
This was the year when I needed to get this done
and get this information out to you.
The idea for this book started many years ago,
actually, when I would be out at trade shows with my
other company,
the ribbon print company,
people would come up to the booth and they would look
at our product and get a demo.
And there would be a couple of reactions if they weren't
going to buy the ribbon print system right at the show,
the first reaction would be,
Oh my gosh,
this is so great.
When I start my business,
I've got to have this product and I'd say,
okay, great.
Well, what business are you starting?
When are you doing it?
What are you doing?
And over and over again,
the result would be well,
I'm just not sure what to do first.
So that would be one reaction.
We get another reaction we'd get would be,
Oh, I love this product.
When my business is making enough money,
I want to get this product.
And so we talked through that a little bit.
Well, what are you doing?
Where are you stuck?
That type of thing.
And that is actually the Genesis of this podcast to really,
but also where I got the initial idea that I wanted
to write a book.
There were so many people specially you,
my dear audience,
gifters bakers,
crafters, and makers who start a business right away and then
get stuck.
The sad thing is you've seen other people who are succeeding
and you're frustrated.
Why is this not working for me?
My goal is to see all of your businesses get started
and then flourish and blossom into everything you dream that they
should be.
And that is the sole purpose behind this book.
So today what I thought I'd do is share with you
a couple of the excerpts from the book.
It won't be out in full until next week,
but for you,
my podcast audience,
I wanted to give you a little sampler.
So here we go.
Introduction. Jen had been looking forward to having coffee with Monica
all week.
It was nothing extra ordinary.
They got together often,
and it was always a special time girl,
time catching up sharing stories about the kids,
the next vacation,
that sort of thing.
She remembers sitting with her cup of vanilla spiced latte and
thinking how lucky she was.
Great friends,
a wonderful husband and two beautiful children.
She was truly blessed with her life until she wasn't.
How did this one,
coffee date change everything for her?
How did she go from being so grateful to now being
anxious, stressed,
and resentful.
She shouldn't really blame Monica.
It's not her fault,
except that it's all her fault in a way,
Jen tries to recollect how it all happened that morning.
They had both dropped off their children at school.
Then they met at their regular high top wooden table near
the window in the local coffee shop.
It was a favorite destination.
And the autumn day was sunny with a slight chill.
A light breeze came through the open window that made the
wind chimes tingled delicately in the background.
Monica noticed Jen scarf and complimented her on it.
It was a beautiful mixture of Sage mustard and tangy perfect
for the season.
And it had an interesting texture design with tassels on the
ends. Oh,
I made this said,
Jen, I've been knitting for years.
It's relaxing and fun.
I even make my own designs so I can try out
new stitches.
Really. Monica reacted in surprise.
How is it?
We've been friends all this time.
And I didn't know that my sister's birthday is in a
few weeks.
Monica continued.
Is there any chance you could make one for her?
I'll pay you.
Of course it will be a fabulous gift.
I just can't think of what else to get her.
And this would be really special.
That was the start.
It was perfect.
Jen loved making her scarves and completely bought into the plan.
Of course,
when the time came,
she didn't accept money from Monica since she was a dear
friend, a few weeks later,
Monica told Jen how much her sister loved her gift.
Have you ever considered starting a knitting business?
I bet a lot of people would be interested in your
scarves. Monica said emphatically that got Jen thinking,
could I actually make money on the side while being home
with the children?
Why not?
As her mind opened up.
She liked the idea more and more.
So she started making scarves and selling them to friends.
It was energizing and exciting.
People were eagerly buying them and things naturally developed.
From there.
She created a company called jazzy Gen-Z.
She built a website and everything.
Jen was excited and proud to be a brand new entrepreneur
who would ever have thought that I'd start a business of
my very own.
Jen remembered the satisfaction and joy in that thought those days
are now long gone.
What started as a wonderful dream is now a disaster.
Jen has spent a lot of money and for what initially
her scarves were selling before she could even finish making them.
Now, sales were dribbling in.
If you could even say that she has not reimbursed her
parents for the money she borrowed to get started.
It's been three years with little to show for it,
except a business card with jazzy Jens on it.
Jen's husband wants her to close down and she feels like
a failure.
Perhaps the worst of this is that she really resents Monica.
If she would never have put that idea of a business
into her head,
none of this would have happened.
Their friendship is now strained and she misses the comradery they
once had.
It's not Monica's fault.
Of course,
Jen has little time for coffee dates these days.
Anyway, she's busy trying to turn this business around.
If she has to shut down,
it will be humiliating and heartbreaking.
Where does she go from here?
Idea development.
It's on my mind.
It all begins with your dream.
Maybe, you know,
you want to start your own business,
but haven't zoomed in on exactly what it is yet.
Or maybe you've thought it through in detail and just need
to get started.
Perhaps you're already on your way.
But if met up with obstacles,
you're struggling to overcome before we go any further,
it's important to review your vision.
You are investing your heart into this dream.
So let's confirm you're reaching for the right star.
By the end of this section,
you'll have the right full colored picture of your dream,
just waiting for you to make it come true.
It gets more and more exciting from there.
Chapter one,
it's a brand new world.
Congratulate. You have opened your mind to the dream of starting
a business from your hobby or craft.
It's such an exciting time because in your mind,
you can create anything,
literally anything that you want.
It's also the place.
Every business starts you're at the same point,
Sheila was before she created brownie brittle,
where Katie was before she created the leaky collection,
where Pam was before she created Tuscany tours.
This is a beautiful and dangerous place to be.
Let me explain it easy at this stage to envision anything
you want.
The view from the outside,
however, is always different than the view from the inside on
the outside.
We can dream of what we'd like the business to be,
and dreams produce the feelings we want to here's where we
can deceive ourselves.
We dream about what we believe.
Things will be like versus understanding the reality of our dream.
This is what happened to Sam.
She loves everything associated with Bohemian style.
A shop on main street was her vision.
So with a small loan,
she started Bohemian bliss and opened her doors.
She had such fun going to market and purchasing her first
pieces of clothing,
jewelry, and gift items.
What joy she took in picking out the perfect dusty Rose
paint for the walls.
That would be the backdrop for her beloved items.
Stylish antique,
crystal chandelier's dropped from the ceilings offering extra ambiance.
It was perfect.
And it truly was in the beginning,
joined her local chamber and quickly became part of the community.
Her customers enjoyed going to visit her to pick up gifts
of all sorts.
Her prices were quite reasonable and her items were unique and
wonderfully quirky.
She definitely had an eye for selecting what her customers wanted.
This sounds like a dream come true.
Doesn't it?
Bohemian bliss closed its doors two years after it opened.
What happened in Sam's case,
her dream did not align with reality.
Sam was miserable in her store.
She never considered that.
She would need to spend so much time in her shop
every single day.
Sometimes nobody would come in for hours and she got bored.
So she'd hang a sign on the door and go to
a yoga class or grab lunch with a friend that didn't
leave a good impression.
When someone came to buy a gift only to find the
shop closed.
Most people don't have time to come back in an hour
as the sign directed.
This only needed to happen.
A couple of times before word got around.
How do you prevent some version of this from happening to
you? As you consider turning your business,
dream into reality,
take the time to live that dream in your mind.
Unlike Sam,
will you be able to handle the responsibilities and commitment that
a shop on main street requires?
Your specifics may be different,
but before you get started and spend time and money at
a reality layer on top of your dream,
confirm to yourself that you are still as much in love
with the idea as you think you are right now,
many are,
and this is not meant to be a deterrent.
If anything,
it will push you to move forward.
It will create excitement and anticipation of what's to come.
This is all very good.
Yeah. All there are 53 chapters in the book,
so it was a real struggle to choose just a few
of them to showcase for you here.
This next one,
I've selected because I think it's a concept that many of
you may not be familiar with.
If you can identify your USP.
No, it's not what you think it is.
You have to listen hun to understand,
but this can be a real game changer for your business.
So let's carry on now.
Competition, peekaboo competition.
We don't get a choice competitors.
They exist when it comes to your competitors,
you get to choose the way you want to react to
them. There are two options.
You can play small by cowering and succumbing to their real
or perceived power,
or you can stare them down and strategize how you will
win. I'll show you next,
where you have the power and how you can make your
competition disappear.
Chapter 14,
finding the hidden treasure being different is better than being better.
When you truly understand this quote by Sally Hogshead,
it leads to magic.
Identifying a unique attribute for your business or product brings strength
to your brand and helps attract your ideal audience.
When you add unique qualities to your business,
people will follow and buy from you because they resonate with
what makes you different.
Your customers will be supportive and more importantly,
loyal in this world of price,
cutting and nondescript brands,
standing out as refreshing and will grab attention.
I call this your unique,
special power.
USP is normally an acronym for a unique selling proposition.
I find that old school and focuses too much on the
selling of your product.
In other words,
pushing your product outwards for an audience to buy a unique,
special power.
It goes the opposite direction.
It attracts people to your product because they connect with your
uniqueness. I'll demonstrate this with one of my favorite examples.
Let me introduce you to Katie Leakey of the leaky collection.
Are you familiar with Zulu grass necklaces?
This jewelry is sourced and made by the OSI women in
the rift Valley of East Africa.
Katie is onto something here.
She actually has two unique,
special powers.
Zulu grass is not found anywhere else in the world.
So beads made from this local grass cannot be replicated.
It makes her product truly one of a kind.
She tells of how a company in China tried to knock
off her name glasses.
The problem was they didn't have Zulu grass.
They only had plastic beads.
So it didn't work.
It's the texture of the beads and how they take color.
That makes Katie's necklaces so beautiful.
The story of the Mussai women making the necklaces is the
second unique,
special power.
These women employ their men too,
for them.
Does that make you smile as much as it does me,
I'm in now all have businesses in a third world country
no less and are standing on their own two feet.
They are embracing change and their future.
There are many ways you can create a USP for your
business. It could be in your product as in Katie's case,
it could be in the location of your shop.
If it's in an historic district or an old ice house
from the late 18 hundreds,
it could be in the unique patterns that are recognizable in
only your brand,
such as Vera Bradley or Lily Pulitzer,
or perhaps in a shape that becomes symbolic to your product
like brightens hearts.
There are an unlimited number of ways.
You can make your company different and stand out.
Story, product,
shape, color,
location, scent.
The options are limitless.
It's well-worth figuring out the unique,
special power that is you as makers.
One of the best things that we can do is get
our product physically face to face in front of our customer.
One of the ways a lot of us do this is
going out to trade Joe's farmer's markets or local craft shows.
There are several chapters in the book addressing this.
I hope you like the one I've selected for you here.
Chapter 41.
It's a party in your,
the host,
whether you take part in a small local craft fair or
a large trade show,
think of your space as your party room,
you are inviting people to your booth,
to talk and get to know you and see your products.
If this party were in your house,
would you leave the door wide,
open and hope that people would come in without being invited?
Would you see them and not greet them once they were
inside? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't.
I'm also certain you wouldn't then disappear into another room and
leave your guests on their own to entertain them themselves.
So why would you do in your booth?
Wait, are you telling me that you don't do that?
Great. Then I'll come to your party any time even.
So I feel the need to go through some of the
common mistakes that people make.
When exhibiting at shows,
it costs them a lot of sales exhibitor.
Don'ts don't sit focused on your phone.
When there are people in your booth,
don't leave your booth unattended with only literature to do the
selling for you.
What if they want to buy?
Don't have a private party in your booth with your friends
and ignore potential customers.
Don't be unresponsive and show how tired you are.
Even at the end of a long day.
Smile, don't start packing up early at the end of the
show, everybody who attends should have the ability to see a
full display.
Exhibitor dues do acknowledge someone's presence with a smile or not.
If you're busy and can't interact with them right away,
do be alert and available.
If you see that someone has a question,
but also let them look at your products in peace.
Do have a smooth checkout process planned in advance.
So you aren't fumbling and wasting time do capture email addresses
for all new customers.
You want to be able to talk with them again,
do engage and listen to what people have to say about
your products.
It's a perfect feedback opportunity.
Let's transition now to best practices for communicating with attendees at
the show.
Here's the way to quote unquote,
work a show.
I call it the exhibitor interactions.
Flo one greeting say hi,
pretty obvious,
right? When people walk by your table,
greet them.
Even if they are just strolling by and not stopping things
like good morning,
or love your sweater or thanks for coming out to see
us today,
we'll all do you are just being friendly and could attract
people to stop and chat with you.
Who normally would have passed you up to one,
one sentence explanation.
When someone approaches your table and you've greeted them,
give a one sentence explanation of what your product is,
make it compelling and include why it stands out.
This is your USP from the find,
the hidden treasure.
Sure. Section your product may not be obvious in terms of
what it does.
Don't leave them guessing.
Tell them three browse and consider.
Let people look around at their leisure without you hounding them
with more,
more information,
be available,
but not hovering.
You've already presented a friendly environment that allows them to ask
you or continue the conversation.
If they want to,
for an open invitation back.
If someone leaves without buying anything,
close the interaction,
leaving room for more,
it could be a statement like enjoy the show.
Thanks for stopping by.
Or I enjoyed talking with you.
Stop back any time you want them to walk away with
a good feeling about being in your booth,
whether it was for 30 seconds or half an hour,
who doesn't love parties make yours.
The one everyone wants to attend.
I started this podcast telling you that it was your lucky
day. Now I want to share with you how you can
continually be Lucky every single day And stay tuned,
because I'm also going to share with you how you can
download my entire book for free daily stuff,
manicures and massages.
I wish I would have had this list of daily truths
about running a business.
When I first started,
it's a combination of advice and concepts that I know to
be true.
They are hard earned lessons discovered through experience.
You will learn them too,
but it's nice to hear them upfront as well.
This first one is something you can take advantage of by
being in the know chapter 44,
lucky you,
some people attract good things over and over again.
They must be naturally lucky.
And that's how they've gotten to where they are today.
Is there a Pang of jealousy when you're watching the morning
news and up pops,
confection creations,
they're a local chocolate shop being highlighted for Valentine's day.
Sure. They're dark,
sea salt.
Truffles are out of this world.
You're happy for them,
but how did they get this opportunity?
Why couldn't that have been you then there's cellie whose luxurious
coconut oil,
body lotion is now on the shelves at whole foods.
You work as hard and your product is just as good,
but you're not in whole foods.
You think they are just so lucky or are they,
here's the problem with luck?
It's a lie and a cop-out,
it's an excuse.
You can conveniently use to explain why you are not progressing
and seeing the progress that others are.
Would you like to start getting lucky too?
It's not as random or mysterious as it might seem.
The trick to being lucky is to put yourself in Luxe
path. Luck will not find you.
If you stay in your home office and hide behind a
computer screen,
hanging out on Facebook,
you need to take chances,
be open and observant for opportunities and take action.
When they,
your path,
you're out to lunch with a friend and you find out
she knows someone in the divisional office of a chain store.
You'd like to be in,
ask her.
If she'll make an introduction,
you are part of a Facebook group.
And there is a discussion on the success you can have
at craft shows.
Engage in that conversation,
ask questions,
connect with others through direct messages or take actions that can
help advance you towards your goal.
The next time you're at the local coffee shop,
be aware of the conversations around you.
Engage in small talk with the people in line with you.
It can be at the most random moment when an opportunity
presents itself,
chat with the person next to you on the plane.
Take interest.
When you meet someone new at a dinner party while doing
final edits for this book,
I took a break and went into a new store,
vintage bliss and company in my neighborhood.
Wouldn't you know,
the owner,
Nancy is a designer and his two co-op locations displayed products
from local artists.
After further discussion,
I have now scheduled my first book signing at queen bee
artisan market in Lake Geneva,
Wisconsin, not bad use of a 30 minute lunch break.
Everyday life events are a breeding ground for spontaneous lucky moments.
Watch for them.
It's in this way that you can take control of your
own luck,
barometer and increase your chances of being the one others refer
to. As lucky there you have it.
Gift biz listeners,
a sampling of my book maker to master find and fix.
What's not working in your small business.
Yes. I told you that you can get your hands on
a copy of this for free.
It will be downloadable for two days only go to gift@bizunwrapped.com
forward slash free book.
And there you'll be able to enter your email so that
I can let you know when it's available.
Again, the free offer is only available for two days.
So don't delay gift biz,
unwrapped.com/free Book.
And if you're listening to this podcast a little bit later,
no worries.
Just jump over to Amazon search for maker to master and
grab your audible copy paperback or Kindle copy today.
Poof, although this book has been a passion project of mine,
I have to tell you it has been challenging,
uncomfortable and exhilarating all at the same time.
I kind of like starting our businesses,
right? Thank you so much for sharing in this journey with
me. I look forward to hearing any comments that you have
on the book and this podcast as well.
You can reach me directly at SU at gift biz,
unwrapped.com, anytime with comments,
thoughts, suggestions,
or just to pop in and say hi,
and of course we'll be back next week with another episode
of gift biz on on-ramp have a good week,
everybody. Bye for now.