1 00:00:00,060 --> 00:00:03,330 Gift biz unwrapped episode 324. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:05,400 I Had so many people asking where did I get them? 3 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:06,420 How could they get one? 4 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:08,460 And that was that light bulb moment. 5 00:00:08,490 --> 00:00:08,940 And I said, 6 00:00:08,940 --> 00:00:12,380 okay, let's do this Attention. 7 00:00:12,410 --> 00:00:13,550 Gifters bakers, 8 00:00:13,550 --> 00:00:17,210 crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun. 9 00:00:17,450 --> 00:00:20,900 Whether you have an established business or looking to start one. 10 00:00:20,900 --> 00:00:23,570 Now you are in the right place. 11 00:00:23,810 --> 00:00:26,180 This is gift to biz unwrapped, 12 00:00:26,420 --> 00:00:30,020 helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business. 13 00:00:30,290 --> 00:00:31,640 Join us for an episode, 14 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:33,860 packed full of invaluable guidance, 15 00:00:34,010 --> 00:00:36,860 resources, and the support you need to grow. 16 00:00:36,860 --> 00:00:40,730 Your gift biz here is your host gift biz gal, 17 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:42,110 Sue moon Heights. 18 00:00:44,570 --> 00:00:46,730 I'm thrilled that you're joining me for this episode. 19 00:00:46,730 --> 00:00:52,010 Today, this past weekend I attended our community fine arts festival. 20 00:00:52,490 --> 00:00:56,000 This is a juried show attracting artisans from all over the 21 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,970 world, even some international entries. 22 00:00:59,060 --> 00:01:00,740 And it's really honestly, 23 00:01:00,740 --> 00:01:04,070 one of my favorite shows of the whole year to go 24 00:01:04,070 --> 00:01:05,300 to as an attendee. 25 00:01:05,900 --> 00:01:07,790 But I wasn't sure what to expect. 26 00:01:08,270 --> 00:01:09,740 Would attendance be down? 27 00:01:10,100 --> 00:01:14,210 Would there be fewer booths because there's residual fear of traveling? 28 00:01:14,420 --> 00:01:15,500 I just didn't know. 29 00:01:16,190 --> 00:01:21,920 Well, I'm happy to report we're back normal as the days 30 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:23,180 of old normal can be. 31 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,240 At least that's the report from my neck of the woods, 32 00:01:26,330 --> 00:01:27,440 north of Chicago. 33 00:01:28,070 --> 00:01:31,040 I want to remind you that doing events like craft shows 34 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:35,540 and farmer's markets offers great photo and posting opportunities for social 35 00:01:35,540 --> 00:01:39,200 media. We talked about this in one of our tips and 36 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:42,710 talk episodes in the podcast just a couple of weeks ago. 37 00:01:43,220 --> 00:01:46,400 And I bring this up because you've told me you're discouraged. 38 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:48,800 When you don't see any of the time and effort you 39 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:50,210 put into social media, 40 00:01:50,450 --> 00:01:52,580 moving the needle on your sales. 41 00:01:53,090 --> 00:01:55,400 So given the time we're in right now, 42 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:58,940 take this as a changing point to do something different, 43 00:01:59,630 --> 00:02:03,410 putting in more time posting in the same way isn't going 44 00:02:03,410 --> 00:02:05,240 to magically bring you results. 45 00:02:05,570 --> 00:02:08,870 You need to change the way you're posting and what you're 46 00:02:08,870 --> 00:02:11,840 posting. You don't need to put in more work. 47 00:02:11,870 --> 00:02:14,060 You need to put in the right work. 48 00:02:14,510 --> 00:02:15,890 That's when things will change. 49 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:17,990 If you need some help with this, 50 00:02:18,050 --> 00:02:21,470 I've got you covered with the content for maker's program. 51 00:02:22,130 --> 00:02:25,550 Content for makers will enlighten you as to why your social 52 00:02:25,550 --> 00:02:28,520 media activities aren't converting into sales. 53 00:02:29,060 --> 00:02:32,330 It will also show you how to put less time in 54 00:02:32,330 --> 00:02:36,080 and start seeing activity that will increase your sales. 55 00:02:36,620 --> 00:02:39,650 Just imagine a day where you know exactly what to post 56 00:02:39,710 --> 00:02:42,290 and to get it done in five minutes or less, 57 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,920 then you can spend your time interacting with potential customers, 58 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,250 deepening relationships with those you already know too. 59 00:02:49,820 --> 00:02:51,980 And it builds upon itself naturally. 60 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:54,440 Yes, this is possible. 61 00:02:55,130 --> 00:03:00,130 Content for makers includes a step-by-step strategy to formulating your unique 62 00:03:00,130 --> 00:03:03,550 plan based on your business and your products. 63 00:03:04,270 --> 00:03:09,250 Then you'll have 375 social media prompts over a full year 64 00:03:09,250 --> 00:03:10,120 of ideas. 65 00:03:10,570 --> 00:03:16,360 Along with the 375 prompts come 375 image suggestions. 66 00:03:16,570 --> 00:03:18,790 So you're not left hanging on the creative. 67 00:03:19,420 --> 00:03:23,020 These prompts and image suggestions can be used for all platforms 68 00:03:23,110 --> 00:03:25,690 and all types of posting images, 69 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:27,550 streaming reels, 70 00:03:27,910 --> 00:03:29,410 even email direction, 71 00:03:30,100 --> 00:03:33,130 but that's not all posts aren't going to work. 72 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:35,140 If the right people aren't seeing them. 73 00:03:35,650 --> 00:03:38,440 So you'll also receive a video and a worksheet on how 74 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:40,870 to choose and use hashtags. 75 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:43,600 This is a way to attract the right people who will 76 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:44,860 become your customers. 77 00:03:45,250 --> 00:03:47,260 Most people are doing this wrong. 78 00:03:48,130 --> 00:03:50,350 There's more to content for makers to, 79 00:03:50,740 --> 00:03:51,940 to see all the details. 80 00:03:52,030 --> 00:03:53,800 Just jump over to gift biz, 81 00:03:53,860 --> 00:03:57,940 unwrapped.com forward slash content for makers. 82 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:01,450 But honestly at only $27, 83 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:01,990 it's a, 84 00:04:01,990 --> 00:04:06,640 no-brainer why carry on posting as you've been doing all along 85 00:04:06,790 --> 00:04:08,350 expecting different results. 86 00:04:08,830 --> 00:04:12,430 Sign up for content for makers now and see the transformation 87 00:04:12,430 --> 00:04:17,530 of your posting experience change before your very eyes gift biz 88 00:04:17,530 --> 00:04:18,580 on wrap.com 89 00:04:18,610 --> 00:04:23,440 forward slash content for makers ready and waiting for your immediate 90 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:24,970 access. Right now, 91 00:04:25,780 --> 00:04:26,770 our guests today, 92 00:04:26,770 --> 00:04:28,780 I originally met at the Chicago, 93 00:04:28,810 --> 00:04:31,720 one of a kind show several years back now. 94 00:04:31,990 --> 00:04:34,450 So I got to see her in action before I got 95 00:04:34,450 --> 00:04:36,280 to know her on a more personal level. 96 00:04:36,850 --> 00:04:38,740 And let me tell you my friend, 97 00:04:38,740 --> 00:04:42,460 Debbie and I spent a lot of time in her booth 98 00:04:43,180 --> 00:04:44,050 since then, 99 00:04:44,110 --> 00:04:47,320 she's been an exhibitor at the at-home craft and gift show, 100 00:04:47,650 --> 00:04:51,040 and also reports to be back on the road at face-to-face 101 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,970 shows. So that just reconfirms what I was talking about at 102 00:04:54,970 --> 00:04:56,470 the top of this podcast, 103 00:04:57,340 --> 00:04:59,650 you're going to love Sue's origin story, 104 00:05:00,220 --> 00:05:03,250 a business that started through a laundry mishap, 105 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:06,820 even more you'll hear her growth plan, 106 00:05:07,270 --> 00:05:10,600 her wins and struggles and things that have kept her in 107 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:14,050 the small business game for over 25 years. 108 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:22,350 Let's get to our conversation right now today. 109 00:05:22,410 --> 00:05:26,160 I am so excited to introduce you to Sue burns of 110 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:27,510 Baba Zuzu. 111 00:05:27,810 --> 00:05:30,960 Sue started her craft 26 years ago, 112 00:05:31,110 --> 00:05:33,060 due to a laundry error. 113 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:37,800 You heard me write a laundry error retreat reduced sous beloved 114 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,200 sweaters to a pile of carnage. 115 00:05:40,620 --> 00:05:43,890 What would've brought most to tears became a light bulb moment 116 00:05:43,890 --> 00:05:45,300 for Sue blending, 117 00:05:45,300 --> 00:05:47,940 her graphic design with her sewing skills. 118 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:53,160 She refashioned the sweaters into new wearables and launched Baba Zuzu. 119 00:05:53,610 --> 00:05:55,860 The grant has grown into hats, 120 00:05:55,950 --> 00:05:58,220 mittens scarves bags, 121 00:05:58,460 --> 00:06:03,740 and more for men and women all made from post-consumer woolens. 122 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:08,120 The last 25 plus years have been a whirlwind of growth, 123 00:06:08,150 --> 00:06:09,650 excitement, challenges, 124 00:06:09,650 --> 00:06:13,880 and brilliant ideas that have tested Sue's patients as well as 125 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:15,230 rewarded her efforts. 126 00:06:15,530 --> 00:06:18,320 Sue says she's grateful for the learning curves that are part 127 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,290 of the journey as an artist and an entrepreneur. 128 00:06:21,620 --> 00:06:25,100 And today we get to talk to her Sue, 129 00:06:25,130 --> 00:06:27,620 welcome to the gift biz on wrapped podcast. 130 00:06:27,910 --> 00:06:29,290 Hi, thank you for having me. 131 00:06:29,290 --> 00:06:30,850 I'm excited to share our story Today. 132 00:06:31,330 --> 00:06:34,720 I know it's such an original creative way you got into 133 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:35,380 your business. 134 00:06:35,380 --> 00:06:38,080 So I can't wait to share it with everybody as well. 135 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:39,340 Plus you already know, 136 00:06:39,340 --> 00:06:40,570 I love your products. 137 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:41,950 I do know that. 138 00:06:41,950 --> 00:06:42,520 Thank you. 139 00:06:42,700 --> 00:06:44,320 But before we go any further, 140 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,500 I want to have you introduce yourself in what's become a 141 00:06:47,500 --> 00:06:48,610 more creative, 142 00:06:48,610 --> 00:06:50,410 traditional way here on the show. 143 00:06:50,710 --> 00:06:53,950 And that is through a motivational candle to share with us 144 00:06:53,950 --> 00:06:55,900 what your candle would look like by color. 145 00:06:55,900 --> 00:06:56,530 And quote, 146 00:06:57,230 --> 00:06:58,360 Color is hard. 147 00:06:58,510 --> 00:07:01,270 I would say to narrow down to one color simply because 148 00:07:01,270 --> 00:07:04,150 I work with color all day long and I really am 149 00:07:04,150 --> 00:07:05,620 sort of forced to use everything. 150 00:07:05,620 --> 00:07:07,060 It doesn't mean I love them all, 151 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,240 but I do find that I gravitate toward the warmer fall 152 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:13,180 tones. So I would have a color that would kind of 153 00:07:13,210 --> 00:07:14,230 roll through, 154 00:07:14,290 --> 00:07:18,130 say olive greens and chest temp Browns and some deep oranges 155 00:07:18,130 --> 00:07:19,120 and golden yellows. 156 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:20,710 But if I had to choose one, 157 00:07:20,740 --> 00:07:22,030 I would go of green. 158 00:07:22,390 --> 00:07:23,110 And I don't know why, 159 00:07:23,140 --> 00:07:26,110 but I just really am fond of olive green. 160 00:07:26,530 --> 00:07:29,410 Do you feel like your favorite color will change over the 161 00:07:29,410 --> 00:07:30,460 course of years? 162 00:07:30,940 --> 00:07:33,610 No, because I've been doing this so long and that still 163 00:07:33,610 --> 00:07:34,540 is what speaks to me. 164 00:07:34,540 --> 00:07:35,380 The loudest, 165 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:38,650 I will say the one that I really can not resonate 166 00:07:38,650 --> 00:07:41,710 with ever is Navy blue and I don't know why, 167 00:07:42,130 --> 00:07:44,560 but we sell an awful lot of it throughout our product 168 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,020 lines. So I really do embrace all of the colors. 169 00:07:47,110 --> 00:07:48,790 They just don't all go home with me. 170 00:07:49,390 --> 00:07:50,470 That's a good way of saying it. 171 00:07:50,470 --> 00:07:51,610 And that's so interesting. 172 00:07:51,610 --> 00:07:54,880 So because I never wear Navy or any shade of blue, 173 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,340 really, maybe an Aqua from time to time. 174 00:07:57,610 --> 00:07:59,020 But I also am not a blue girl. 175 00:07:59,020 --> 00:08:00,220 I'm a total black girl, 176 00:08:00,220 --> 00:08:00,820 for sure. 177 00:08:00,850 --> 00:08:01,810 But anyway, 178 00:08:01,810 --> 00:08:02,560 so that's interesting. 179 00:08:03,130 --> 00:08:04,150 There were wardrobe, 180 00:08:04,180 --> 00:08:06,850 I would say black is just practical and easy. 181 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:08,530 Yes, I agree. 182 00:08:08,950 --> 00:08:11,740 Okay. So we've got your really warm, 183 00:08:11,740 --> 00:08:16,090 toned otomy color candle and what would be the sane on 184 00:08:16,090 --> 00:08:16,570 the candle? 185 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:18,940 Okay. So this is a favorite. 186 00:08:19,030 --> 00:08:20,530 If you shoot for the moon, 187 00:08:20,710 --> 00:08:21,640 even if you miss, 188 00:08:21,670 --> 00:08:23,740 you'll still be among the stars, 189 00:08:24,810 --> 00:08:25,380 love it. 190 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:26,640 And what does that mean to you? 191 00:08:27,620 --> 00:08:29,150 It means to go for it, 192 00:08:29,150 --> 00:08:30,050 go all the way. 193 00:08:30,410 --> 00:08:31,640 And even if you don't get, 194 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:35,090 as far as you think you've still gone somewhere, 195 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,420 it was worth the while and wherever you've landed, 196 00:08:38,420 --> 00:08:40,820 there was some merit for being in there in that moment, 197 00:08:40,820 --> 00:08:42,170 in that place for you. 198 00:08:42,170 --> 00:08:44,120 So that's What I take from that. 199 00:08:44,390 --> 00:08:47,330 So taking the chance and shooting for the moon, 200 00:08:47,810 --> 00:08:48,560 you gotta, 201 00:08:48,740 --> 00:08:49,850 yeah. I love that. 202 00:08:50,300 --> 00:08:52,070 The big fear I have with people, 203 00:08:52,070 --> 00:08:56,100 especially within this community of makers is someone who thinks and 204 00:08:56,100 --> 00:08:59,010 thinks and thinks about starting a business and just never does 205 00:08:59,010 --> 00:09:02,730 because they're afraid they're standing in their own way. 206 00:09:03,030 --> 00:09:05,340 And so your quote reminds me of that. 207 00:09:05,970 --> 00:09:08,090 That's very drew and I would have to say, 208 00:09:08,150 --> 00:09:10,490 even throughout the progress of business, 209 00:09:10,490 --> 00:09:11,360 growing a business, 210 00:09:11,420 --> 00:09:12,170 each product, 211 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:13,520 each time you try a product, 212 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:14,570 you're back in the saddle. 213 00:09:14,570 --> 00:09:17,510 Again, you're still shooting for the moon with that one product 214 00:09:17,540 --> 00:09:19,340 that may or may not be well received. 215 00:09:19,340 --> 00:09:21,950 And it still is putting yourself out there and hoping that 216 00:09:21,950 --> 00:09:25,760 it is successful and the other people also gravitate toward it. 217 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,420 So even every day in everything we do, 218 00:09:29,630 --> 00:09:31,850 I think that this little quote still applies. 219 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:33,410 I would agree with you. 220 00:09:33,740 --> 00:09:35,780 I'm going to ask you a question a little bit later 221 00:09:35,780 --> 00:09:37,820 because it'll then be in more context, 222 00:09:37,820 --> 00:09:39,980 but I'm going to prepare you for it now of what 223 00:09:39,980 --> 00:09:42,590 product did you put out there that didn't work, 224 00:09:42,650 --> 00:09:43,730 but we're going to do that later. 225 00:09:43,730 --> 00:09:47,390 So that's a little teaser for me and everyone who's listening. 226 00:09:47,390 --> 00:09:50,480 Cause you probably already know your answer might be more than 227 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:51,500 one. Okay. 228 00:09:51,500 --> 00:09:52,400 Well that's okay too. 229 00:09:53,060 --> 00:09:53,270 All right. 230 00:09:53,270 --> 00:09:56,750 So I shared with everybody the start of your business, 231 00:09:56,750 --> 00:09:58,910 but tell us the story a little bit more in your 232 00:09:58,910 --> 00:09:59,750 own words, 233 00:10:00,170 --> 00:10:03,920 the light bulb moment of your sweaters that were now like 234 00:10:04,130 --> 00:10:05,480 the size for a doll. 235 00:10:05,660 --> 00:10:09,710 Right? So my husband who was being helpful and chipping in 236 00:10:09,710 --> 00:10:12,080 to help with the laundry happened to scoop up all of 237 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:14,210 my wool sweaters and throw them in with a normal load 238 00:10:14,210 --> 00:10:14,630 of laundry. 239 00:10:14,630 --> 00:10:15,920 Like we all have done. 240 00:10:16,190 --> 00:10:18,470 However, it wasn't one favorite sweater. 241 00:10:18,470 --> 00:10:19,730 It was a lot. 242 00:10:20,150 --> 00:10:21,740 And of course they come out exactly. 243 00:10:21,740 --> 00:10:22,340 Like you said, 244 00:10:22,340 --> 00:10:24,560 Dallas thighs when nine years ago, 245 00:10:24,590 --> 00:10:27,260 our daughters were then three and six. 246 00:10:27,290 --> 00:10:28,040 So tiny. 247 00:10:28,070 --> 00:10:29,570 I grew up behind a sewing machine, 248 00:10:29,570 --> 00:10:34,580 literally. And graphic design was my background throughout college and a 249 00:10:34,580 --> 00:10:35,690 short stint with that. 250 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:38,030 So I kind of blended the two. 251 00:10:38,030 --> 00:10:39,950 I took my graphic design, 252 00:10:39,950 --> 00:10:41,000 my visual skills, 253 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,270 my sewing skills and the concept of the fact that they 254 00:10:44,270 --> 00:10:45,830 were little and looked like they'll fit little kids, 255 00:10:45,830 --> 00:10:47,030 but they're never quite right. 256 00:10:47,330 --> 00:10:49,700 I started to think if I just dismantled them and made 257 00:10:49,700 --> 00:10:50,900 the sleeves a little shorter, 258 00:10:50,900 --> 00:10:51,920 the fit would be better. 259 00:10:52,250 --> 00:10:53,870 Then I got to thinking that sleep, 260 00:10:53,900 --> 00:10:55,640 didn't have to go back on that sweater. 261 00:10:55,970 --> 00:10:59,480 And that's where our blend of color pattern and texture started. 262 00:11:00,020 --> 00:11:03,230 So it was really an evolution just to trial error. 263 00:11:03,410 --> 00:11:04,730 Absolutely. Yes. 264 00:11:04,730 --> 00:11:07,190 And the creations I made for our young daughters, 265 00:11:07,190 --> 00:11:09,890 then I did not plan to start a business with. 266 00:11:10,190 --> 00:11:13,310 It was merely to salvage what was ruined. 267 00:11:13,730 --> 00:11:15,800 And I had so many people asking where did I get 268 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:17,060 them? How could they get one? 269 00:11:17,330 --> 00:11:19,070 And that was that light bulb moment. 270 00:11:19,100 --> 00:11:19,550 And I said, 271 00:11:19,550 --> 00:11:20,960 okay, there's a calling. 272 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:22,130 Let's do this. 273 00:11:22,550 --> 00:11:24,200 Okay. So story check, 274 00:11:24,380 --> 00:11:27,980 you took that pile of sweaters after a few tears were 275 00:11:27,980 --> 00:11:28,970 probably shed, 276 00:11:29,180 --> 00:11:30,530 maybe some words spoken. 277 00:11:30,530 --> 00:11:31,160 I don't know. 278 00:11:31,550 --> 00:11:32,270 It's been so long. 279 00:11:32,270 --> 00:11:33,920 Yeah. So then you thought, 280 00:11:33,950 --> 00:11:34,430 well, you know, 281 00:11:34,430 --> 00:11:35,420 he didn't do it on purpose, 282 00:11:35,420 --> 00:11:37,010 but still the result is the same, 283 00:11:37,010 --> 00:11:38,570 all your sweaters that you liked. 284 00:11:38,570 --> 00:11:40,070 Right. So then you thought, 285 00:11:40,070 --> 00:11:43,040 okay, well they are the size that could fit my daughters. 286 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:44,990 So let me see what I can do with them. 287 00:11:45,230 --> 00:11:47,300 That's when you got to making, 288 00:11:47,450 --> 00:11:49,670 piecing things together that would work, 289 00:11:50,030 --> 00:11:52,010 then people were asking you for them, 290 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:56,260 which is because you were getting product validation before you were 291 00:11:56,260 --> 00:11:58,390 even thinking about any type of a business. 292 00:11:58,390 --> 00:12:00,610 And clearly nobody was doing this before. 293 00:12:01,650 --> 00:12:02,250 That's right. 294 00:12:02,370 --> 00:12:05,040 Yes. And that's just exactly where we started. 295 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,440 So I had so many people asking and I thought, 296 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:09,570 okay, well I think we have something here, 297 00:12:09,570 --> 00:12:11,280 a children's line naturally. 298 00:12:11,700 --> 00:12:13,380 And that's what I started with. 299 00:12:13,410 --> 00:12:16,650 And then that very first year that I was out marketing, 300 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:18,750 these children's creations, 301 00:12:19,050 --> 00:12:22,410 I had so many adult women saying I would wear something 302 00:12:22,410 --> 00:12:22,890 like that. 303 00:12:22,890 --> 00:12:24,720 I don't have young children or grandchildren, 304 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:26,190 but I would wear that. 305 00:12:26,550 --> 00:12:27,390 And I thought, 306 00:12:27,390 --> 00:12:30,630 okay, now I have a really big audience, 307 00:12:30,700 --> 00:12:32,700 an even bigger calling right now. 308 00:12:33,030 --> 00:12:36,900 However, what I'm shrinking now has to be supersized. 309 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:39,480 Right? That's right. 310 00:12:39,540 --> 00:12:41,280 That was my first hurdle maybe. 311 00:12:41,850 --> 00:12:42,450 Oh my gosh. 312 00:12:42,540 --> 00:12:45,330 So before we get too far along and I know you've 313 00:12:45,330 --> 00:12:46,590 been in business for quite a while, 314 00:12:46,590 --> 00:12:49,020 so let's see how far back memory goes. 315 00:12:49,020 --> 00:12:50,040 Okay. Okay. 316 00:12:50,430 --> 00:12:53,040 When you decided you were going to start your business, 317 00:12:53,070 --> 00:12:57,030 did you see people interested in the product and it started 318 00:12:57,330 --> 00:12:59,010 promoting the idea for you? 319 00:12:59,070 --> 00:13:01,110 Or did someone come up and say to you, 320 00:13:01,140 --> 00:13:02,940 man, you should start a business. 321 00:13:03,210 --> 00:13:04,350 I would buy this from you. 322 00:13:05,100 --> 00:13:08,070 No, it really was people asking for it. 323 00:13:08,100 --> 00:13:09,840 And then kind of putting that together, 324 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:10,740 like, okay. 325 00:13:10,740 --> 00:13:13,170 There appears to be a market for this. 326 00:13:13,530 --> 00:13:16,200 And I really liked what I had created. 327 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,380 So I was all gung-ho to go ahead and chase That. 328 00:13:19,710 --> 00:13:21,480 So go for it and see what happens. 329 00:13:22,050 --> 00:13:22,590 That's right. 330 00:13:22,620 --> 00:13:25,320 Okay. And so then what was the very first step you 331 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:26,790 did? So we've talked about, 332 00:13:26,790 --> 00:13:28,620 okay, so now the concept is here, 333 00:13:28,650 --> 00:13:32,820 people are interested and then you started talking about how now 334 00:13:32,820 --> 00:13:33,720 it wasn't just children, 335 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:34,380 it was adults, 336 00:13:34,410 --> 00:13:37,680 but what did you actually do in that very beginning time 337 00:13:37,680 --> 00:13:38,850 to get your business started? 338 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:41,130 So a couple of things. 339 00:13:41,130 --> 00:13:42,420 So with my business, 340 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:43,650 I started my business. 341 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:46,590 It didn't take a lot of startup money or space. 342 00:13:46,590 --> 00:13:49,950 So I started in my home in my basement and I 343 00:13:49,950 --> 00:13:53,430 just needed a sewing machine and I needed to buy used 344 00:13:53,430 --> 00:13:54,420 sweaters. Right. 345 00:13:55,020 --> 00:13:57,120 So that was pretty easy to do. 346 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:58,620 I didn't have to go out and get a loan and 347 00:13:58,620 --> 00:14:01,920 set up a building and buy a lot of equipment and 348 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:02,880 hire people on. 349 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:04,020 So I started, 350 00:14:04,020 --> 00:14:06,450 it was just me with a little bit of equipment just 351 00:14:06,450 --> 00:14:10,020 shopping. And it started to grow kind of quickly in that 352 00:14:10,020 --> 00:14:11,040 first year of the children's, 353 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:11,790 like I said, 354 00:14:11,910 --> 00:14:15,120 morphing that into women's one of the first things I did 355 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,390 that kind of validated the fact that I was going into 356 00:14:18,390 --> 00:14:21,600 business was that I was approached by a rep. 357 00:14:21,750 --> 00:14:24,330 So a sales rep out of Chicago. 358 00:14:24,690 --> 00:14:26,460 And that was the first thing that made me feel like 359 00:14:26,460 --> 00:14:27,600 I was really like, 360 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:28,290 this was real. 361 00:14:28,620 --> 00:14:33,540 So that was my real connection with selling to a retail 362 00:14:33,540 --> 00:14:34,740 stores in boutiques. 363 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:38,370 Okay. And so where did this rep see your things? 364 00:14:38,370 --> 00:14:43,000 Were you doing shows already that first year I was Doing 365 00:14:43,530 --> 00:14:45,330 shows? However, 366 00:14:45,330 --> 00:14:48,990 it was somebody locally that had a boutique that thought that 367 00:14:48,990 --> 00:14:50,880 my product was really, 368 00:14:51,350 --> 00:14:54,110 and she thought this person would be a great rep for 369 00:14:54,110 --> 00:14:55,160 what I was producing. 370 00:14:55,340 --> 00:14:57,050 So it was a connection. 371 00:14:57,550 --> 00:14:58,750 So in the beginning, 372 00:14:58,780 --> 00:15:01,870 were you always thinking that you wanted to sell wholesale and 373 00:15:01,870 --> 00:15:04,480 have people stock your product in their shop? 374 00:15:04,900 --> 00:15:05,890 No, I really didn't. 375 00:15:05,950 --> 00:15:09,790 I probably didn't even know that that was a thing I 376 00:15:09,790 --> 00:15:13,090 was direct to consumer because the consumer approached me first. 377 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:15,790 As soon as that notion was put in my head, 378 00:15:15,910 --> 00:15:19,240 my world got a little bigger and at the end we 379 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:21,220 kind of just never stopped at the wholesale, 380 00:15:21,220 --> 00:15:21,400 you know, 381 00:15:21,670 --> 00:15:23,830 that became really a focus for us. 382 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:26,800 So you did make a switch at some point then from 383 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:28,570 direct to consumer too wholesale, 384 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,120 We really did to the point where, 385 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:31,330 you know, 386 00:15:31,330 --> 00:15:35,440 we blended the two types of marketing for quite some time, 387 00:15:35,890 --> 00:15:38,830 but we fell away from the direct to consumer just because 388 00:15:38,830 --> 00:15:40,190 our wholesale business girl lie. 389 00:15:40,210 --> 00:15:42,910 And we were plugging ourselves into a lot of venues over 390 00:15:42,910 --> 00:15:43,360 the years. 391 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,120 We started to really push ourselves in that way. 392 00:15:46,180 --> 00:15:49,120 And I just feel like it really validated us as a 393 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:50,950 business. However, 394 00:15:51,070 --> 00:15:54,400 we've morphed back into a lot of retail again, 395 00:15:54,550 --> 00:15:58,510 and we're back to blending both worlds and it's been good 396 00:15:58,510 --> 00:15:58,960 for us. 397 00:15:59,620 --> 00:15:59,890 All right. 398 00:15:59,890 --> 00:16:03,040 So it sounds like over the course of the 25 or 399 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:07,030 more years or so that the sales channel has changed, 400 00:16:07,030 --> 00:16:08,920 like first it was retail, 401 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:10,450 then it went more to wholesale. 402 00:16:10,450 --> 00:16:11,350 You were blending, 403 00:16:11,350 --> 00:16:13,030 then now you're back to retail. 404 00:16:13,330 --> 00:16:15,790 So you've just kind of gone with what the signs are 405 00:16:15,790 --> 00:16:18,670 that feel right for the business based on where you're getting 406 00:16:18,670 --> 00:16:22,240 the business and probably also what feels right in terms of 407 00:16:22,270 --> 00:16:24,040 combining it with your production, 408 00:16:24,070 --> 00:16:26,740 whether you want to travel all of those things. 409 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:28,300 Would that be a correct statement? 410 00:16:28,900 --> 00:16:31,090 Yeah. They're all big considerations. 411 00:16:31,090 --> 00:16:31,360 You know, 412 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:34,720 when you span almost three decades and business things change, 413 00:16:35,020 --> 00:16:36,160 you have to roll with that. 414 00:16:36,310 --> 00:16:39,340 So we've made those adaptions along the way, 415 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:43,990 according to where those markets have maybe slimmed out or new 416 00:16:43,990 --> 00:16:46,120 opportunities. Like when we started, 417 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,280 there was no worldwide web. 418 00:16:48,910 --> 00:16:53,560 And so we've just kind of plugged ourselves into places where 419 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:54,610 we've needed to. 420 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:58,720 And in the end we feel like there's merit to all 421 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:00,010 of these venues. 422 00:17:00,340 --> 00:17:01,300 For instance, 423 00:17:01,390 --> 00:17:03,100 my wholesale stores. 424 00:17:03,190 --> 00:17:05,980 So many people know who we are because they found us 425 00:17:05,980 --> 00:17:06,670 in his store. 426 00:17:07,030 --> 00:17:09,640 I can't deny that that's a great way for us to 427 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:10,810 continue to do business. 428 00:17:10,930 --> 00:17:13,900 And we continue to nurture those accounts and grow that area 429 00:17:13,900 --> 00:17:14,650 of our business. 430 00:17:15,010 --> 00:17:17,410 However, there are lots of places, 431 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,740 little corners of the world that there aren't stores that carry 432 00:17:20,740 --> 00:17:23,890 us and people have heard of us or their friends wearing 433 00:17:23,890 --> 00:17:26,410 us, but they can't get it down the street so we 434 00:17:26,410 --> 00:17:30,520 can become available to people in other ways when we cannot 435 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:31,720 be in your backyard. 436 00:17:32,410 --> 00:17:32,920 Yeah. I mean, 437 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:35,260 that's the huge benefit that exists today. 438 00:17:35,260 --> 00:17:35,800 I'd say, 439 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:37,090 because you've got the web, 440 00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:39,940 you can still go out to shows and you can still 441 00:17:39,940 --> 00:17:43,030 do wholesale and all of them somewhat play into each other 442 00:17:43,030 --> 00:17:44,050 and help each other. 443 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:46,240 It's not just a one and only, 444 00:17:46,870 --> 00:17:47,140 all right. 445 00:17:47,170 --> 00:17:49,470 So I meant to ask you this way in beginning, 446 00:17:49,470 --> 00:17:50,430 and I have to ask you this, 447 00:17:50,430 --> 00:17:52,740 cause I don't think I ever heard this from you, 448 00:17:53,010 --> 00:17:54,750 but where did the name come from? 449 00:17:54,750 --> 00:17:56,280 It is so creative. 450 00:17:56,750 --> 00:17:59,150 Ha that is always a question. 451 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:04,610 Zuzu is my nickname for SU and Baba is for the 452 00:18:04,610 --> 00:18:08,510 wool because everything we make is from reclaimed woolens. 453 00:18:08,870 --> 00:18:12,410 So it always is part of our conversation, 454 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:13,220 which is great. 455 00:18:13,220 --> 00:18:15,170 I don't think that we really thought that would be, 456 00:18:15,170 --> 00:18:17,000 but it doesn't matter if we're at a show or someone 457 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,270 walks into my little retail store here off the beaten path 458 00:18:20,270 --> 00:18:21,680 or you and I are talking, 459 00:18:21,980 --> 00:18:24,890 it's always part of our conversation and it's pretty neat. 460 00:18:25,340 --> 00:18:26,300 Yeah. It's very cool. 461 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:26,690 All right. 462 00:18:26,690 --> 00:18:29,750 So I think to help our listeners and for them to 463 00:18:29,750 --> 00:18:32,090 get as much out of the conversation as possible, 464 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:34,250 let's talk about two different things. 465 00:18:34,250 --> 00:18:36,500 Let's talk about the retail side first, 466 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:40,220 and then let's talk a little bit about wholesale and then 467 00:18:40,220 --> 00:18:42,260 I have a couple of just random questions for you. 468 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:42,920 All right. 469 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:43,970 So direct to consumer. 470 00:18:43,970 --> 00:18:46,370 So that was what you started with way back when, 471 00:18:46,370 --> 00:18:47,840 before there was website, 472 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:51,260 before you even knew about wholesale and the potential of getting 473 00:18:51,350 --> 00:18:53,900 your pieces into local boutiques, 474 00:18:53,900 --> 00:18:54,620 bigger, small, 475 00:18:54,860 --> 00:18:56,450 how did you start selling way? 476 00:18:56,450 --> 00:18:57,230 In the beginning, 477 00:18:57,830 --> 00:19:00,680 We would do a lot of holiday markets. 478 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:02,570 A lot of like junior lewd shows, 479 00:19:02,570 --> 00:19:07,100 holiday markets at a point art fairs, 480 00:19:07,550 --> 00:19:08,390 that sort of thing, 481 00:19:08,390 --> 00:19:10,220 because we are an art full product. 482 00:19:10,700 --> 00:19:13,760 So that's really how we started. 483 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:16,910 And that's kind of all that was available in terms of 484 00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:19,880 being direct to our consumer being right in their space. 485 00:19:20,450 --> 00:19:24,350 Did you have a good feel for who your consumer was? 486 00:19:24,380 --> 00:19:26,870 So in terms of being able to select the right shows 487 00:19:26,870 --> 00:19:28,670 or was there some trial there? 488 00:19:29,630 --> 00:19:30,740 I don't think so. 489 00:19:30,860 --> 00:19:33,500 Well, I think that we had a product that was so 490 00:19:33,500 --> 00:19:35,540 unique that people gravitated toward it. 491 00:19:35,570 --> 00:19:38,300 I feel like we had success no matter where we went, 492 00:19:38,300 --> 00:19:43,850 because we were pretty eye-popping we were artful in handmade. 493 00:19:43,860 --> 00:19:46,790 So certainly our price reflected that. 494 00:19:46,790 --> 00:19:49,130 So that might've been one thing we had to keep in 495 00:19:49,130 --> 00:19:51,830 mind is the types of shows we were doing. 496 00:19:51,830 --> 00:19:54,530 What was the consumer that would be strolling the show. 497 00:19:55,190 --> 00:19:56,090 Right. For sure. 498 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:59,360 And so how has the evolution of the shows gone over 499 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:00,380 the course of this whole time? 500 00:20:01,310 --> 00:20:06,530 Well, we still do a lot of holiday and art fairs. 501 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:09,380 It just kind of depends on what our schedule is. 502 00:20:09,380 --> 00:20:10,040 Like. I mean, 503 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:13,070 we really pack it in we're a fourth quarter business. 504 00:20:13,430 --> 00:20:16,460 We start in January making our product to sit on a 505 00:20:16,460 --> 00:20:20,060 shelf for a good eight to nine months and then rolling 506 00:20:20,060 --> 00:20:23,180 it out in the next three months is pretty challenging. 507 00:20:23,630 --> 00:20:25,370 So while we're in our busy, 508 00:20:25,370 --> 00:20:29,600 busy time of stacking our stores and maybe restocking our stores, 509 00:20:29,690 --> 00:20:32,300 it's also the time that we're doing those markets that are 510 00:20:32,510 --> 00:20:35,840 travel. So I sometimes don't know how we do it, 511 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:37,110 but somehow we do. 512 00:20:37,790 --> 00:20:41,360 Yeah. So how many shows a year do you do approximately? 513 00:20:41,780 --> 00:20:44,090 Gosh, I'm looking at my chalkboard here. 514 00:20:44,090 --> 00:20:45,230 I still do a chalkboard. 515 00:20:45,470 --> 00:20:46,490 Don't look at last year. 516 00:20:46,490 --> 00:20:46,880 It was just, 517 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:48,320 let's looking at this year. 518 00:20:49,210 --> 00:20:50,110 This is current. 519 00:20:51,250 --> 00:20:51,970 No. And they asked her, 520 00:20:51,970 --> 00:20:53,410 we packed some into honestly, 521 00:20:53,410 --> 00:20:54,130 so, oh, 522 00:20:54,220 --> 00:20:58,210 I'm looking at 10 that are pretty local with the exception 523 00:20:58,270 --> 00:21:01,330 of a few that are out of state. 524 00:21:01,870 --> 00:21:05,410 So those are those art fairs and a few of the 525 00:21:05,410 --> 00:21:06,520 holiday shows there. 526 00:21:06,790 --> 00:21:07,900 In addition to that, 527 00:21:07,930 --> 00:21:10,030 we do the wholesale trade shows. 528 00:21:10,330 --> 00:21:13,270 So typically we would be in New York for the New 529 00:21:13,270 --> 00:21:15,250 York now and give show twice a year. 530 00:21:15,250 --> 00:21:18,280 That would be January and again, 531 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:20,830 August we also do the Philadelphia used to be the buyer's 532 00:21:20,830 --> 00:21:22,260 market of American craft. 533 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:24,460 Now all these shows have changed names so many times. 534 00:21:24,460 --> 00:21:26,890 And so recently American handcrafted. 535 00:21:26,950 --> 00:21:30,220 So that's the Philly show that's always in February. 536 00:21:30,670 --> 00:21:33,490 And then we've always done the American craft council, 537 00:21:33,490 --> 00:21:34,630 Baltimore show, 538 00:21:34,690 --> 00:21:36,430 which also lines up with that. 539 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:38,470 So essentially the month of February, 540 00:21:38,500 --> 00:21:40,840 we go to the east coast and we stay out there 541 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:42,550 for a month and we do all of those shows. 542 00:21:43,380 --> 00:21:45,570 You are one travel donkey, 543 00:21:45,630 --> 00:21:46,230 For sure. 544 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:50,070 Yeah. You could say so it's part of it. 545 00:21:50,070 --> 00:21:50,580 And you know, 546 00:21:50,580 --> 00:21:53,670 we enjoy that as much as we enjoy staying right here 547 00:21:53,670 --> 00:21:54,600 and creating. 548 00:21:55,110 --> 00:21:58,140 So, so your year is made out of going to the 549 00:21:58,140 --> 00:22:01,650 shows. Then when the shows aren't in progress, 550 00:22:01,650 --> 00:22:03,720 you're really producing and creating, 551 00:22:04,020 --> 00:22:06,780 but then the real big sales thrust is at the end 552 00:22:06,780 --> 00:22:08,850 of the year and of third and fourth quarter. 553 00:22:09,750 --> 00:22:10,830 You're absolutely right. 554 00:22:10,930 --> 00:22:14,070 Yes. Talk a little bit about the shows in terms of 555 00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:17,040 tips or things that you've seen work best in your booth. 556 00:22:17,670 --> 00:22:20,150 Well, I Obviously your presentations, 557 00:22:20,150 --> 00:22:26,010 so your booth design is really important and I think accessibility 558 00:22:26,010 --> 00:22:28,020 to your product for us, 559 00:22:28,260 --> 00:22:30,060 everything has to be able to be touched, 560 00:22:30,090 --> 00:22:32,310 maybe try it on a mirror, 561 00:22:32,310 --> 00:22:34,800 like making it easy for people to fall in love with 562 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:35,610 what you do. 563 00:22:35,670 --> 00:22:38,040 Half of that is being able to touch it and maybe 564 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:38,760 try it on. 565 00:22:39,210 --> 00:22:41,850 So I think those two things are really important. 566 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:43,650 I love my customer base. 567 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:45,870 I absolutely love interaction with my customers. 568 00:22:45,870 --> 00:22:48,930 So I just love the platform of being able to talk 569 00:22:48,930 --> 00:22:50,340 directly to my customers. 570 00:22:50,700 --> 00:22:53,940 So I think attitude and just some confidence, 571 00:22:53,940 --> 00:22:56,190 which I wouldn't say I had in the very beginning for 572 00:22:56,190 --> 00:22:57,330 anybody. Who's just starting. 573 00:22:57,330 --> 00:23:00,780 It's hard to put yourself out there and hope that everybody 574 00:23:00,780 --> 00:23:02,760 receives you as well as you want them to. 575 00:23:02,850 --> 00:23:03,990 Probably they will. 576 00:23:04,350 --> 00:23:05,400 But in the beginning, 577 00:23:05,580 --> 00:23:07,200 it's a hard place to throw yourself, 578 00:23:07,530 --> 00:23:08,580 but don't let that scare you. 579 00:23:08,910 --> 00:23:09,550 No, no, 580 00:23:09,550 --> 00:23:10,080 no. Well, 581 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:13,590 I will tell you that it's very apparent that you enjoy 582 00:23:13,710 --> 00:23:15,720 people. You enjoy talking, 583 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:17,850 sharing what I'll say, 584 00:23:17,850 --> 00:23:18,480 quote, unquote, 585 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:19,470 working your booth. 586 00:23:19,770 --> 00:23:22,050 You're not showing up as if it's your job. 587 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:23,940 You're showing up that you really enjoy it. 588 00:23:23,970 --> 00:23:26,490 But I'm also going to say for people who have a 589 00:23:26,490 --> 00:23:27,660 product like yours, 590 00:23:27,660 --> 00:23:28,920 where you're talking about, 591 00:23:28,950 --> 00:23:30,300 like they have to make a selection, 592 00:23:30,300 --> 00:23:31,620 they want to try it on. 593 00:23:31,650 --> 00:23:33,330 They want to see how it would fit. 594 00:23:33,420 --> 00:23:34,770 Mirrors are really important, 595 00:23:34,770 --> 00:23:35,370 as you said, 596 00:23:35,370 --> 00:23:36,780 because you can see that it fits, 597 00:23:36,780 --> 00:23:38,220 but you want to see how you look in it. 598 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:41,580 Why I was starting to talk about all of that is 599 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:44,880 it makes someone who feels like they are an, 600 00:23:45,620 --> 00:23:47,210 and that it would be harder to talk. 601 00:23:47,270 --> 00:23:50,360 It gives you something to talk about because with you you'll 602 00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:51,350 say, well, 603 00:23:51,350 --> 00:23:54,710 you gravitating more to the autumn colors or do you like 604 00:23:54,710 --> 00:23:55,400 bright colors? 605 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:56,600 Or do you like more of the black, 606 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:57,620 white, gray blend? 607 00:23:57,650 --> 00:24:00,200 Like you're talking about a product which makes it so much 608 00:24:00,230 --> 00:24:01,610 easier to interact with them. 609 00:24:02,550 --> 00:24:03,460 Yeah, I would agree. 610 00:24:03,460 --> 00:24:06,640 And I think also now you're taking the focus off from 611 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:08,290 you and you're putting it onto the customer. 612 00:24:08,290 --> 00:24:10,270 Like what color do you like? 613 00:24:10,330 --> 00:24:12,430 Or we have five hit styles here, 614 00:24:12,430 --> 00:24:14,140 which one speaks to you? 615 00:24:14,530 --> 00:24:16,840 What are you looking for in a hat for fit? 616 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:18,580 Or this is a really feminine style. 617 00:24:18,580 --> 00:24:19,930 This one's a little sportier. 618 00:24:19,930 --> 00:24:24,280 Like suddenly you can get the customer talking about themselves and 619 00:24:24,340 --> 00:24:26,980 you can take that information and apply it to your sales 620 00:24:26,980 --> 00:24:30,340 technique in which product you would sell to that person. 621 00:24:30,890 --> 00:24:34,750 Right. Is there anything that you've learned over time and working 622 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:36,160 in your booth, 623 00:24:36,190 --> 00:24:38,110 that would be a key tip. 624 00:24:38,140 --> 00:24:42,910 Like I'm thinking signage or something about displays or how much 625 00:24:42,940 --> 00:24:44,470 inventory you have are like, 626 00:24:44,500 --> 00:24:48,160 are there any tips in that arena again, 627 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,820 We've been at it so long and we've changed so much, 628 00:24:52,270 --> 00:24:52,630 I guess, 629 00:24:52,630 --> 00:24:55,420 because some things don't work as well as others, 630 00:24:55,420 --> 00:24:56,080 but yeah, 631 00:24:56,090 --> 00:24:57,400 signage is really important. 632 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:00,340 There were periods of time where we didn't have signage or 633 00:25:00,340 --> 00:25:04,840 we didn't have good signage And signage with what the product 634 00:25:04,870 --> 00:25:06,880 is or pricing. 635 00:25:06,970 --> 00:25:08,950 Or when you say signage, 636 00:25:08,950 --> 00:25:09,850 what are you thinking there? 637 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,330 I guess I'm talking about our brand because after a while 638 00:25:13,690 --> 00:25:16,660 we did become a brand and people knew our name. 639 00:25:16,780 --> 00:25:18,940 And so we felt it was really important. 640 00:25:19,390 --> 00:25:22,180 If someone were walking down an aisle that from a distance, 641 00:25:22,270 --> 00:25:24,220 they could see our logo and our name. 642 00:25:24,430 --> 00:25:26,320 So that became important to us. 643 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,200 Oh, To make that very visible within the booth, 644 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:29,890 you mean? 645 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:33,580 Yes. So a customer who is familiar with your brand and 646 00:25:33,580 --> 00:25:36,220 maybe your logo and your name sees that and says, 647 00:25:36,250 --> 00:25:36,670 oh my gosh, 648 00:25:36,700 --> 00:25:37,270 they're with their friend. 649 00:25:37,300 --> 00:25:37,720 Oh my gosh, 650 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,360 those bounces that we got to go down there or here's 651 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:41,110 the thing I'll tell you, 652 00:25:41,110 --> 00:25:42,040 like, not booth, 653 00:25:42,070 --> 00:25:42,670 but like I said, 654 00:25:42,670 --> 00:25:43,600 we have a retail store. 655 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:45,700 We're off the beaten path here where we are in Northern 656 00:25:45,700 --> 00:25:49,030 Michigan. And we have some of the pure Michigan signs that 657 00:25:49,030 --> 00:25:50,050 are out on our highway, 658 00:25:50,050 --> 00:25:51,940 beautiful and 22 corridor. 659 00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:54,970 And it's a directional sign that tells you where we are. 660 00:25:55,430 --> 00:25:56,920 Lots of people will go by that sign. 661 00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:57,430 And they're like, 662 00:25:57,460 --> 00:25:57,880 oh honey, 663 00:25:57,880 --> 00:25:58,510 there's that? 664 00:25:58,570 --> 00:26:00,550 Barboza that had I bought in Des Moines, 665 00:26:00,550 --> 00:26:02,230 Iowa, they're up the road here. 666 00:26:02,740 --> 00:26:03,460 No idea. 667 00:26:03,490 --> 00:26:06,610 Or we get people who pass our sign and go, 668 00:26:06,970 --> 00:26:08,290 what is that? 669 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:10,720 We have got to go find Out because the name is 670 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:11,100 so new, 671 00:26:11,100 --> 00:26:12,190 unique. Yeah. 672 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:13,150 And whether, 673 00:26:13,150 --> 00:26:14,200 you know it or not, 674 00:26:14,260 --> 00:26:16,870 whether you know the name and you can connect with that 675 00:26:16,870 --> 00:26:17,830 or you don't, 676 00:26:17,830 --> 00:26:20,440 and they're curious about who you are because of your name. 677 00:26:20,860 --> 00:26:22,510 I think that's been important for us, 678 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:23,440 the signage. 679 00:26:24,010 --> 00:26:26,080 And then as far as you were asking, 680 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:28,870 maybe about like signage for styles or pricing, 681 00:26:28,870 --> 00:26:31,000 we always do pricing because you know what, 682 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:32,980 when you're busy and you have 30 people on your booth 683 00:26:32,980 --> 00:26:33,580 or whatever, 684 00:26:33,670 --> 00:26:35,260 nobody wants to wait to ask. 685 00:26:35,350 --> 00:26:37,900 So we try to make things like that, 686 00:26:37,900 --> 00:26:38,620 a parent. 687 00:26:39,100 --> 00:26:42,070 And then I feel like I do want to interact with 688 00:26:42,070 --> 00:26:42,760 my customers. 689 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:47,430 Maybe we leave a little bit of things to question like 690 00:26:47,730 --> 00:26:48,420 the hat styles. 691 00:26:48,450 --> 00:26:51,510 I expect to engage with my customer all the time. 692 00:26:51,810 --> 00:26:55,530 So if there are some questions laughed or because I haven't 693 00:26:55,830 --> 00:26:57,510 put signage or something, 694 00:26:57,510 --> 00:27:00,750 like, I think it's important to have the interaction with the 695 00:27:00,750 --> 00:27:04,280 customer. So do you intentionally leave a little bit of something 696 00:27:04,310 --> 00:27:06,320 out so that they'll talk with you? 697 00:27:06,980 --> 00:27:08,960 I don't know that I leave anything out, 698 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:11,630 but maybe our product does take some explaining. 699 00:27:11,630 --> 00:27:15,590 So we have like a half dozen hat styles. 700 00:27:15,590 --> 00:27:18,620 We have three different types of mittens down to different types 701 00:27:18,620 --> 00:27:19,610 of fingerless gloves. 702 00:27:19,610 --> 00:27:20,210 We have, 703 00:27:20,690 --> 00:27:21,350 I don't know, 704 00:27:21,410 --> 00:27:23,270 a half dozen different scars. 705 00:27:23,690 --> 00:27:27,320 I feel like they all take some explaining and you've maybe 706 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:28,730 you got well mittens or mittens. 707 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:30,830 Well, there are things that are different. 708 00:27:30,830 --> 00:27:34,010 Maybe about our mittens are two types of fingerless gloves. 709 00:27:34,070 --> 00:27:37,310 And I couldn't put all that into written words. 710 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:38,720 I feel like it takes some explaining. 711 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:40,580 And the other thing is demonstrating. 712 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,850 There were some of our products that I can sell hand 713 00:27:43,850 --> 00:27:47,240 over fist all day long because I put it on. 714 00:27:47,660 --> 00:27:49,130 And I think you have to be willing to do that. 715 00:27:49,610 --> 00:27:50,930 I was going to get to that. 716 00:27:51,020 --> 00:27:54,260 I'm so glad you said that because you always are wearing 717 00:27:54,260 --> 00:27:55,100 something of yours. 718 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:57,170 Yes. And you know, 719 00:27:57,170 --> 00:27:57,500 I mean, 720 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:00,200 that's tough because if I made an indoor venue, 721 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:01,820 I can't because we're outdoor, 722 00:28:02,270 --> 00:28:05,060 but I will take anything and put it on. 723 00:28:05,330 --> 00:28:07,790 If I'm at an art show and it's 90 degrees out, 724 00:28:07,820 --> 00:28:11,240 I will put a hoodie scar fun because somebody's asking about 725 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,130 it. And all I have to do is show how it 726 00:28:13,130 --> 00:28:15,380 works and I'd probably have a customer. 727 00:28:16,270 --> 00:28:17,300 Yeah. I think that's true. 728 00:28:17,390 --> 00:28:18,020 But demonstrate, 729 00:28:18,020 --> 00:28:18,200 I mean, 730 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,270 that's almost signage in and of itself, 731 00:28:20,300 --> 00:28:20,540 you know, 732 00:28:20,540 --> 00:28:22,490 actually wearing the product. 733 00:28:23,030 --> 00:28:25,550 Yes. The thing like a website, 734 00:28:25,550 --> 00:28:28,310 you don't have the opportunity to do what I was just 735 00:28:28,370 --> 00:28:31,880 explaining. So when you're in that place and space where you 736 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:32,810 can do that, 737 00:28:32,900 --> 00:28:34,130 you had to take advantage of that. 738 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,660 I agree with you totally let's stick with direct to consumer 739 00:28:38,660 --> 00:28:39,560 for a second. 740 00:28:39,860 --> 00:28:43,880 What happened when you had an opportunity now to go online, 741 00:28:47,150 --> 00:28:48,470 enter in the game, 742 00:28:48,470 --> 00:28:50,270 changing worldwide web. 743 00:28:50,780 --> 00:28:53,540 Sue's going to share with us how she integrated this into 744 00:28:53,540 --> 00:28:54,380 our business, 745 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:57,200 right after a quick break to hear from our sponsor. 746 00:28:58,100 --> 00:29:02,480 Yes. It's possible increase your sales without adding a single customer. 747 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,170 How you ask by offering personalization with your products, 748 00:29:06,410 --> 00:29:09,560 rapid cake box with a ribbon saying happy 30th birthday, 749 00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:13,010 Annie, or at a special message and date to wedding or 750 00:29:13,010 --> 00:29:15,470 party favors for an extra meaningful touch. 751 00:29:15,590 --> 00:29:18,860 Where else can you get customization with a creatively spelled name 752 00:29:18,860 --> 00:29:19,790 or find packaging? 753 00:29:19,790 --> 00:29:22,250 That includes a saying whose meaning is known to a select 754 00:29:22,250 --> 00:29:24,950 to not only are customers willing to pay for these special 755 00:29:24,950 --> 00:29:28,130 touches. They'll tell their friends and word will spread about your 756 00:29:28,130 --> 00:29:29,420 company and products. 757 00:29:29,660 --> 00:29:33,020 You can create personalized ribbons and labels in seconds, 758 00:29:33,110 --> 00:29:36,410 make just one or thousands without waiting weeks or having to 759 00:29:36,410 --> 00:29:39,680 spend money to order yards and yards print words in any 760 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:40,670 language or font, 761 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:41,650 add logos, 762 00:29:41,740 --> 00:29:43,510 images, even photos, 763 00:29:43,750 --> 00:29:46,720 perfect for branding or adding ingredient and flavor labels. 764 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:48,430 To, for more information, 765 00:29:48,430 --> 00:29:50,530 go to the ribbon print company.com 766 00:29:51,370 --> 00:29:52,360 in the beginning, 767 00:29:52,510 --> 00:29:54,600 our Wholesalers, 768 00:29:54,690 --> 00:29:58,470 our stores that we sold to were especially unhappy about that. 769 00:29:58,470 --> 00:30:02,100 It was a really challenging transition. 770 00:30:02,430 --> 00:30:03,540 And as you can imagine, 771 00:30:03,540 --> 00:30:07,140 because it's been really tough for the retail industry to go 772 00:30:07,140 --> 00:30:09,180 to battle with online sales. 773 00:30:09,180 --> 00:30:12,480 So it was tough for us to kind of mollycoddle our 774 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:15,990 customers and go into this new way of selling though. 775 00:30:16,170 --> 00:30:17,100 We absolutely had to, 776 00:30:17,100 --> 00:30:19,710 we could not ignore that there's a customer over here. 777 00:30:19,710 --> 00:30:22,500 And we had to be part of this evolution and this 778 00:30:22,500 --> 00:30:25,500 new way that our old way was still so important to 779 00:30:25,500 --> 00:30:28,260 us. So the first thing that we did was we put 780 00:30:28,260 --> 00:30:30,570 our website on our hang tags one year, 781 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:31,890 that year that we had a website. 782 00:30:32,250 --> 00:30:36,780 And I remember some of our stores were really pretty outraged 783 00:30:36,810 --> 00:30:37,590 and oh, 784 00:30:37,590 --> 00:30:38,700 they would come back to me and they'd say, 785 00:30:38,910 --> 00:30:40,860 I'm going to tell you right now that the second we 786 00:30:40,860 --> 00:30:41,670 get your product in, 787 00:30:41,700 --> 00:30:44,190 we cut that part of your hang tag off right away. 788 00:30:44,550 --> 00:30:47,070 So I knew it was a tough road, 789 00:30:47,190 --> 00:30:50,730 but it also was a new time for everyone. 790 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:53,310 So in that period of time, 791 00:30:53,340 --> 00:30:55,710 and there was all this resistance here, 792 00:30:55,710 --> 00:30:57,300 we are fast forward now, 793 00:30:57,330 --> 00:30:59,220 15 years or 20 years. 794 00:30:59,250 --> 00:31:01,740 And there isn't anybody in the world that wouldn't have a 795 00:31:01,740 --> 00:31:02,910 product without a website. 796 00:31:03,270 --> 00:31:06,300 Right. It was kind of some rough water there. 797 00:31:06,330 --> 00:31:06,780 Yeah. I mean, 798 00:31:06,780 --> 00:31:07,430 you could see, 799 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:07,800 I mean, 800 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:10,860 there are definitely feeling that it's threatening their ability to sell 801 00:31:10,860 --> 00:31:11,790 your product too. 802 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:14,910 But I would imagine like once they actually got going, 803 00:31:14,910 --> 00:31:16,260 I mean your product, 804 00:31:16,350 --> 00:31:19,830 because they're all one of a kind for the most part 805 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:22,230 and every one of them is just a little bit different. 806 00:31:22,260 --> 00:31:25,140 There is such an advantage of picking out that exact one 807 00:31:25,140 --> 00:31:26,850 that you want in person. 808 00:31:27,690 --> 00:31:29,100 And that was our selling point. 809 00:31:29,100 --> 00:31:31,380 That's what our kind of rebuttal was. 810 00:31:31,410 --> 00:31:33,630 Look, I understand your frustration, 811 00:31:33,750 --> 00:31:36,630 but I will tell you that the 12 pair of mittens 812 00:31:36,630 --> 00:31:41,640 that are coming to your store September 15th are the only 813 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:42,990 12 pair that looked like that. 814 00:31:43,380 --> 00:31:46,530 So I think that smooth things over a little bit for 815 00:31:46,530 --> 00:31:49,860 us and other people didn't have the same luxury, 816 00:31:50,310 --> 00:31:53,400 but it piece some and not so much of those. 817 00:31:53,550 --> 00:31:55,200 And then time softened that. 818 00:31:55,740 --> 00:31:56,550 Yeah. And you're right. 819 00:31:56,550 --> 00:31:59,040 Time did soften that and now we're all used to it. 820 00:31:59,040 --> 00:31:59,250 I mean, 821 00:31:59,250 --> 00:32:00,330 it's just accepted, 822 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:03,540 but it's a good example of the way business changes and 823 00:32:03,540 --> 00:32:06,390 evolves and you have to accommodate and adjust with it, 824 00:32:06,390 --> 00:32:07,080 I guess I'd say. 825 00:32:07,860 --> 00:32:09,000 Yes. All right. 826 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:13,860 So you have also been an exhibitor at the at-home craft 827 00:32:13,860 --> 00:32:14,760 and gift show. 828 00:32:15,270 --> 00:32:15,810 That's right. 829 00:32:16,290 --> 00:32:20,100 So this whole new segment of opportunity, 830 00:32:20,100 --> 00:32:21,630 and I'm actually calling this too. 831 00:32:21,630 --> 00:32:22,200 I don't know if you, 832 00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:23,310 and I've had this conversation, 833 00:32:23,310 --> 00:32:23,970 maybe we have, 834 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:28,230 but I'm really feeling like these virtual shows are a category 835 00:32:28,230 --> 00:32:29,130 unto themselves. 836 00:32:29,130 --> 00:32:32,190 So there obviously it's a direct to consumer. 837 00:32:32,190 --> 00:32:37,890 So it would either be instead of going into someone's store 838 00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:41,390 or going to a show or online, 839 00:32:41,390 --> 00:32:44,690 like I'm looking at this as not just an option as 840 00:32:44,690 --> 00:32:46,310 a different version of a craft show, 841 00:32:46,340 --> 00:32:49,250 I'm looking at it as something entirely different. 842 00:32:49,490 --> 00:32:52,070 I'd love for you to share with us your experience. 843 00:32:52,070 --> 00:32:53,180 You were in the December show, 844 00:32:53,180 --> 00:32:53,930 the holiday show, 845 00:32:53,930 --> 00:32:56,660 cause you already told us you're a seasonal product with all 846 00:32:56,660 --> 00:32:57,440 of that wall. 847 00:32:59,150 --> 00:33:01,520 And it would be great to hear because you've had a 848 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:04,790 lot of experience with all different types of shows. 849 00:33:04,940 --> 00:33:07,970 So share with us a little bit about what happened for 850 00:33:07,970 --> 00:33:09,080 you at the at-home show. 851 00:33:09,490 --> 00:33:13,510 Okay. So the highlight of that show for us was the 852 00:33:13,510 --> 00:33:16,660 fact that there was a live portion of the show. 853 00:33:16,990 --> 00:33:19,630 So I'll just have to back up a little bit to 854 00:33:19,690 --> 00:33:23,410 COVID and what that did to us as far as shows, 855 00:33:23,410 --> 00:33:24,550 which is no surprise, 856 00:33:24,550 --> 00:33:28,480 they were all canceled and immediately some of the art fairs 857 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:29,320 that we would do, 858 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:34,000 and especially all of our wholesale shows started to offer virtual 859 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:36,550 shows, which we thought was a great, 860 00:33:36,790 --> 00:33:37,060 I mean, 861 00:33:37,060 --> 00:33:37,870 what are we going to do? 862 00:33:37,900 --> 00:33:38,680 It's all there is. 863 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:43,450 And one of the venues for a wholesale virtual show, 864 00:33:43,750 --> 00:33:45,730 they have been in the tech, 865 00:33:45,790 --> 00:33:46,210 I guess, 866 00:33:46,210 --> 00:33:48,670 tech, digital marketing for quite some time. 867 00:33:49,060 --> 00:33:51,700 And I was sure they would have a live portion of 868 00:33:51,700 --> 00:33:52,150 the show. 869 00:33:52,180 --> 00:33:53,770 I was so disappointed when they didn't, 870 00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:58,690 all of those shows have yielded little to no results. 871 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:02,500 And I was so excited about the at-home show because of 872 00:34:02,500 --> 00:34:03,760 that live portion. 873 00:34:04,270 --> 00:34:06,940 And it just felt like all the things I've been talking 874 00:34:06,940 --> 00:34:11,380 about about being able to interact with our customer became available. 875 00:34:11,380 --> 00:34:14,440 Again, even though we had to be remote, 876 00:34:14,650 --> 00:34:16,150 we could be in touch with people. 877 00:34:16,450 --> 00:34:18,910 So I had people call during the show. 878 00:34:18,910 --> 00:34:20,350 They came into our booth, 879 00:34:20,380 --> 00:34:21,610 virtually came in. 880 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:23,410 So they're live on my screen. 881 00:34:23,710 --> 00:34:25,210 They bought my product for years. 882 00:34:25,210 --> 00:34:26,410 They were from out east, 883 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:27,880 but they've never met me. 884 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:30,160 They've never been to a show that I've been at now, 885 00:34:30,190 --> 00:34:32,950 suddenly somebody who knows me because they bought my product maybe 886 00:34:32,950 --> 00:34:35,350 at a store and they're loyal to my product. 887 00:34:35,350 --> 00:34:35,710 They love it. 888 00:34:35,710 --> 00:34:37,000 They bought it off my website. 889 00:34:37,030 --> 00:34:39,490 They were so delighted to be able to meet me as 890 00:34:39,490 --> 00:34:42,280 if we were standing in my 10 by 10 booth somewhere. 891 00:34:42,670 --> 00:34:47,470 I think that that is such a valuable tool to any 892 00:34:47,470 --> 00:34:51,850 digital marketing and digital shows that will happen or virtual shows 893 00:34:51,850 --> 00:34:52,570 that will happen. 894 00:34:53,020 --> 00:34:55,540 That live portion is just it's essential. 895 00:34:55,720 --> 00:34:56,890 Yeah. It's really key. 896 00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:00,400 It was so fun with you and your product specifically too, 897 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:03,940 because of course I did my share shopping and we could 898 00:35:03,940 --> 00:35:05,680 go through and I could say, 899 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:07,000 oh, for my son. 900 00:35:07,390 --> 00:35:08,950 And then you could ask me, 901 00:35:08,950 --> 00:35:10,180 and then you could show me, 902 00:35:10,180 --> 00:35:12,970 like you just held up because remember, 903 00:35:13,060 --> 00:35:15,150 and I'm talking to people who are listening now, 904 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:16,360 not used to obviously, 905 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,030 but all of Sue's products look different. 906 00:35:19,270 --> 00:35:20,980 You can hold up then Sue, 907 00:35:20,980 --> 00:35:21,580 like, okay, 908 00:35:21,580 --> 00:35:24,220 well, do you think he'd like this pair and you show 909 00:35:24,220 --> 00:35:27,310 me the left and the right hand glove or this pair, 910 00:35:27,370 --> 00:35:28,600 right. Left-hand glove. 911 00:35:28,930 --> 00:35:29,590 And then I'd say, 912 00:35:29,620 --> 00:35:30,790 oh, I like the ones on the right. 913 00:35:30,790 --> 00:35:31,150 And you say, 914 00:35:31,150 --> 00:35:31,810 okay, so olden, 915 00:35:31,820 --> 00:35:34,060 you would start making me my pile of things. 916 00:35:34,660 --> 00:35:38,340 Yes. So it was a really experience, 917 00:35:38,340 --> 00:35:38,550 you know, 918 00:35:38,550 --> 00:35:41,250 how we talk about how retail shops now it's all about 919 00:35:41,250 --> 00:35:46,380 experience. This was kind of like being in an online retail 920 00:35:46,380 --> 00:35:48,000 shop combined, 921 00:35:48,030 --> 00:35:49,920 because I was looking at you, 922 00:35:49,950 --> 00:35:52,200 you were showing me pieces that were available. 923 00:35:52,230 --> 00:35:54,750 I was making decisions was kind of like that. 924 00:35:54,750 --> 00:35:56,610 Okay. You were putting them at the checkout counter. 925 00:35:56,660 --> 00:35:57,110 For me. 926 00:35:57,770 --> 00:36:00,560 It really Was the closest thing to being in a store 927 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:02,300 or a booth for me as well. 928 00:36:02,630 --> 00:36:03,770 It just really, 929 00:36:03,770 --> 00:36:05,990 really did emulate that experience. 930 00:36:06,410 --> 00:36:08,930 Wonderful. And I know you're going to be there this coming 931 00:36:08,930 --> 00:36:09,410 year too. 932 00:36:09,410 --> 00:36:10,520 Right? The holiday show. 933 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:12,410 I am yes. 934 00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:13,430 One more time. 935 00:36:13,430 --> 00:36:17,090 So anyone who wants to see Sue's things it's going to 936 00:36:17,090 --> 00:36:18,050 be end of November, 937 00:36:18,050 --> 00:36:19,490 December, you'll definitely want to come. 938 00:36:19,490 --> 00:36:21,650 That's the at home craft and gift show. 939 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:23,180 We're looking forward to it. 940 00:36:23,210 --> 00:36:26,120 Yeah. We've already talked a lot on the podcast about that 941 00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:27,980 show. So we're not going to go into more of that. 942 00:36:27,980 --> 00:36:30,290 Now. I want to continue on with your story because I 943 00:36:30,290 --> 00:36:32,810 see my list of questions and I see the time going 944 00:36:32,810 --> 00:36:36,470 by. So let's talk a little bit just to address your 945 00:36:36,470 --> 00:36:38,390 wholesale portion of the business. 946 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:41,510 So at what point did that enter in, 947 00:36:41,630 --> 00:36:44,720 if you were thinking number of years in, 948 00:36:44,780 --> 00:36:46,760 when did you start selling wholesale? 949 00:36:47,390 --> 00:36:49,490 So Probably two years in, 950 00:36:49,610 --> 00:36:51,470 we hooked up with that rep out of Chicago, 951 00:36:51,500 --> 00:36:52,820 as I explained to you. 952 00:36:53,210 --> 00:36:56,240 And then we had a friend in a local store, 953 00:36:56,570 --> 00:36:59,900 he had a gift store and he attended what was then, 954 00:36:59,900 --> 00:37:00,380 as I said, 955 00:37:00,380 --> 00:37:02,750 the buyer's market of American craft in Philadelphia, 956 00:37:03,140 --> 00:37:06,110 which was all handcrafted American made products. 957 00:37:06,470 --> 00:37:08,450 And we thought that would be a good fit for us. 958 00:37:08,660 --> 00:37:11,510 So we put that on our list. 959 00:37:11,810 --> 00:37:13,100 I guess we juried in, 960 00:37:13,100 --> 00:37:15,740 we got into that show and I always say that show 961 00:37:15,740 --> 00:37:17,960 was the gateway to wholesale business for us. 962 00:37:17,990 --> 00:37:19,790 We just had immediate success. 963 00:37:20,210 --> 00:37:23,270 All of the top galleries in the country attended that show. 964 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:25,790 And it was, 965 00:37:26,060 --> 00:37:26,840 oh my gosh, 966 00:37:26,930 --> 00:37:28,790 those were the days like they say, 967 00:37:29,330 --> 00:37:29,870 I mean, 968 00:37:29,930 --> 00:37:32,000 it was shoulder to shoulder buyers, 969 00:37:32,390 --> 00:37:36,500 the enthusiasm and our product was just so fresh and do, 970 00:37:36,500 --> 00:37:37,790 and there was nothing like it. 971 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:38,630 Like I said, 972 00:37:38,720 --> 00:37:41,720 our success out of the starting gate was pretty immediate. 973 00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:42,770 We were lucky for that. 974 00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:43,700 You know, 975 00:37:43,730 --> 00:37:46,100 we continued there for years and then we started to add 976 00:37:46,100 --> 00:37:48,290 things like the New York now. 977 00:37:48,290 --> 00:37:51,560 And we would be in their American made handcrafted section. 978 00:37:51,830 --> 00:37:56,870 And we just grew into other formats or venues that catered 979 00:37:56,870 --> 00:38:00,770 to that as we grew our production About any adjustments you 980 00:38:00,770 --> 00:38:03,770 had to make in the business to accommodate wholesale, 981 00:38:04,130 --> 00:38:06,500 like pricing or production, 982 00:38:06,630 --> 00:38:10,580 anything on that end because We started with our children's wear. 983 00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:12,140 And then we almost, 984 00:38:12,140 --> 00:38:14,480 at the time that we morphed into the adult, 985 00:38:15,110 --> 00:38:17,930 we had started off with our connection in Chicago and we 986 00:38:17,930 --> 00:38:20,270 had our wholesale pricing we started with right away. 987 00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:22,520 So I think that that's always hard though. 988 00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:25,280 I think that pricing your own product is very hard. 989 00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:27,470 I think you get scared of pricing yourself out of the 990 00:38:27,470 --> 00:38:29,090 market. You want your cut yourself. 991 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:29,630 We deal with it. 992 00:38:29,630 --> 00:38:31,580 Even still today we go, 993 00:38:31,730 --> 00:38:33,550 how much can you sell a pair of mittens for? 994 00:38:33,580 --> 00:38:36,490 So the price of polar tech going up like crazy, 995 00:38:36,550 --> 00:38:37,210 our liner, 996 00:38:37,720 --> 00:38:38,380 you know, 997 00:38:38,380 --> 00:38:41,320 that labor is always going up. 998 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:43,390 We have employees that have been here for a good long 999 00:38:43,390 --> 00:38:45,400 time. We have to reward them for that. 1000 00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:48,040 So I would say pricing is always really hard, 1001 00:38:48,220 --> 00:38:50,290 especially when you have to jump your price for the same 1002 00:38:50,290 --> 00:38:52,150 product that gets tough. 1003 00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:53,110 I'm not the only one. 1004 00:38:53,110 --> 00:38:53,410 I mean, 1005 00:38:53,410 --> 00:38:55,870 everybody has to do that. 1006 00:38:56,320 --> 00:38:58,690 I think that's a hard place in wholesale, 1007 00:38:59,170 --> 00:39:00,220 but again, 1008 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:03,340 the number of years we've been at it where you get 1009 00:39:03,340 --> 00:39:05,200 wiser and you do what you have to do. 1010 00:39:05,910 --> 00:39:06,540 Yeah. You know, 1011 00:39:06,540 --> 00:39:08,880 it sounds like you didn't have too much of a struggle 1012 00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:11,850 cause you were instilled a little bit product development because you 1013 00:39:11,850 --> 00:39:13,950 were also now creating an adult line, 1014 00:39:14,300 --> 00:39:15,300 correct me if I'm wrong, 1015 00:39:15,300 --> 00:39:18,870 but you weren't having as much of a comparison to past 1016 00:39:18,870 --> 00:39:22,920 products because you didn't have a full established line of adult 1017 00:39:22,950 --> 00:39:24,600 yet you were still in the develop, 1018 00:39:24,690 --> 00:39:26,430 right. You're exactly right. 1019 00:39:26,550 --> 00:39:27,570 Yes. Yeah. 1020 00:39:27,810 --> 00:39:29,190 But it's something that I think everyone, 1021 00:39:29,220 --> 00:39:33,840 if you're thinking about eventually your interest is doing wholesale because 1022 00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:34,290 some people, 1023 00:39:34,290 --> 00:39:34,770 it isn't, 1024 00:39:34,770 --> 00:39:35,160 you know, 1025 00:39:35,490 --> 00:39:36,720 it's a whole different animal. 1026 00:39:36,720 --> 00:39:38,430 It's a whole different way of running business. 1027 00:39:38,490 --> 00:39:42,330 It puts different pressures on different areas of the business. 1028 00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:42,570 You know, 1029 00:39:42,570 --> 00:39:43,830 employees with production. 1030 00:39:43,830 --> 00:39:44,850 If you're running a lot, 1031 00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:46,290 the pricing is different. 1032 00:39:46,380 --> 00:39:47,550 It's just a different animal. 1033 00:39:47,820 --> 00:39:50,370 You can do one or the other or both. 1034 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:52,320 There's lots of options there. 1035 00:39:52,740 --> 00:39:53,730 Yeah. You know, 1036 00:39:53,730 --> 00:39:55,830 we wouldn't dream of omitting either. 1037 00:39:56,190 --> 00:39:59,040 I just think that we see value in all of the 1038 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:00,840 ways that we market and sell our products. 1039 00:40:01,460 --> 00:40:02,220 That's good input, 1040 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:03,120 really good. 1041 00:40:03,420 --> 00:40:06,210 But having that plan and thinking about that and considering those 1042 00:40:06,210 --> 00:40:07,500 different avenues upfront, 1043 00:40:07,590 --> 00:40:09,330 and then you don't get caught with pricing. 1044 00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:11,250 Like if you price too low, 1045 00:40:11,250 --> 00:40:12,480 direct to consumer, 1046 00:40:12,600 --> 00:40:14,790 and then you have a wholesale opportunity, 1047 00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:16,950 then your pricing is going to be way off. 1048 00:40:16,980 --> 00:40:18,600 If you didn't plan for it initially. 1049 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:23,460 Yes. And obviously you don't want to undercut your retailers. 1050 00:40:23,460 --> 00:40:25,680 And I know some people make the mistake of doing that. 1051 00:40:25,710 --> 00:40:26,970 Maybe some people starting out. 1052 00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:29,400 So it is really important to set your price so that 1053 00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:31,020 if you expect to get into wholesale, 1054 00:40:31,020 --> 00:40:32,880 you have the buffer to do that. 1055 00:40:32,910 --> 00:40:36,840 Right. The other thing I would say that's really important with 1056 00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:39,630 wholesale business is on-time delivery. 1057 00:40:40,020 --> 00:40:43,200 We just have never not delivered on time. 1058 00:40:43,380 --> 00:40:43,680 I mean, 1059 00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:45,390 you will burn a bridge so fast. 1060 00:40:45,390 --> 00:40:45,780 I mean, 1061 00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:47,880 you are better off saying you can't have those for three 1062 00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:50,160 months, then you can have at one month from now and 1063 00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:50,880 not until the ring. 1064 00:40:51,510 --> 00:40:54,810 So be really fair to yourself about what you will promise. 1065 00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:56,850 And if you can deliver that promise, 1066 00:40:57,180 --> 00:40:59,070 that's Really good input for sure. 1067 00:40:59,430 --> 00:41:02,100 So what role does social media play in your business? 1068 00:41:02,970 --> 00:41:06,630 So I would say a lot and I am not a 1069 00:41:06,630 --> 00:41:08,550 big social media fan. 1070 00:41:09,660 --> 00:41:12,030 Like the tone of your voice when you said that. 1071 00:41:12,750 --> 00:41:13,560 Well, You know why? 1072 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:16,350 Because I feel like it's a big time consumer and I 1073 00:41:16,350 --> 00:41:17,700 don't have that kind of time. 1074 00:41:17,700 --> 00:41:22,110 So honestly I pay someone to do mine and it's not 1075 00:41:22,110 --> 00:41:26,370 inexpensive, but I feel like we cannot live without it for 1076 00:41:26,370 --> 00:41:26,970 a while. 1077 00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:29,130 This is why I said that the way I said it 1078 00:41:29,640 --> 00:41:30,450 for the longest time, 1079 00:41:30,450 --> 00:41:32,910 I feel like we spend money and there's no way to 1080 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:34,430 what it does for us. 1081 00:41:34,670 --> 00:41:37,250 So what that you get likes or do you know what 1082 00:41:37,250 --> 00:41:37,670 I mean? 1083 00:41:37,670 --> 00:41:39,890 So what that you have followers, 1084 00:41:40,160 --> 00:41:41,990 does it transfer to dollars? 1085 00:41:41,990 --> 00:41:45,110 And it is really hard to say that it does or 1086 00:41:45,110 --> 00:41:47,480 doesn't. So for me, 1087 00:41:47,660 --> 00:41:50,600 the girl that I use or the marketing team that I 1088 00:41:50,600 --> 00:41:53,810 use, she does a lot more than that for us. 1089 00:41:54,140 --> 00:41:57,590 So not only does she post on our Instagram and Facebook 1090 00:41:57,590 --> 00:41:58,520 is what we use. 1091 00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:01,250 Not only does she does our post three times a week, 1092 00:42:01,460 --> 00:42:04,790 she actually comes and chooses the product. 1093 00:42:04,970 --> 00:42:06,320 She finds models, 1094 00:42:06,380 --> 00:42:09,290 she styles shots in the models. 1095 00:42:09,350 --> 00:42:11,990 And so if it were me and I were directing my 1096 00:42:11,990 --> 00:42:13,520 own social marketing, 1097 00:42:13,940 --> 00:42:16,850 I would be the girl in every shot because where am 1098 00:42:16,850 --> 00:42:18,500 I going to get a model every three days? 1099 00:42:18,530 --> 00:42:20,630 And I would be in front of the red barn, 1100 00:42:20,630 --> 00:42:22,340 outside of my facility. 1101 00:42:22,700 --> 00:42:26,660 So I just felt like even if it didn't turn into 1102 00:42:26,660 --> 00:42:27,920 direct dollars, 1103 00:42:28,250 --> 00:42:30,020 I was getting something over here. 1104 00:42:30,020 --> 00:42:32,300 And then I had this beautiful photo library that I could 1105 00:42:32,300 --> 00:42:33,770 use for lots of other marketing. 1106 00:42:33,770 --> 00:42:35,660 So I feel like I had to make it work for 1107 00:42:35,660 --> 00:42:38,600 me in more ways than just what we know to be 1108 00:42:38,780 --> 00:42:40,580 Facebook and Instagram postings. 1109 00:42:40,910 --> 00:42:42,320 And then last year, 1110 00:42:42,650 --> 00:42:45,110 again, with all of our crazy changes, 1111 00:42:45,350 --> 00:42:50,930 I had her do a Facebook advertising campaign for us that 1112 00:42:50,930 --> 00:42:52,400 was super successful. 1113 00:42:52,850 --> 00:42:55,070 And if you want to details for me, 1114 00:42:55,070 --> 00:42:57,230 I couldn't tell you because I don't understand all of that, 1115 00:42:57,770 --> 00:43:00,950 but I feel better about social marketing than I used to 1116 00:43:00,980 --> 00:43:02,390 in terms of money spent. 1117 00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:04,850 So I'm more of a believer, 1118 00:43:04,850 --> 00:43:07,130 but I think it's hard to throw money at that and 1119 00:43:07,130 --> 00:43:10,070 feel okay about it in terms of what will come back 1120 00:43:10,070 --> 00:43:11,300 at you for that. 1121 00:43:11,740 --> 00:43:13,390 Well, when you start doing ads, 1122 00:43:13,390 --> 00:43:15,580 then you're able to measure much better. 1123 00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:19,210 Correct? I think it's the evolution of social overall too, 1124 00:43:19,210 --> 00:43:21,520 because social initially was free. 1125 00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:21,910 You know, 1126 00:43:21,910 --> 00:43:23,080 all you did was post. 1127 00:43:23,080 --> 00:43:26,800 You could get a lot of attention for nothing and all 1128 00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:28,240 of that has now changed. 1129 00:43:28,300 --> 00:43:30,010 And so now you have to do ads, 1130 00:43:30,370 --> 00:43:32,230 but before social media, 1131 00:43:32,290 --> 00:43:36,220 we would put money in promoting through newspapers years, 1132 00:43:36,220 --> 00:43:37,510 talking about outdoor, 1133 00:43:37,510 --> 00:43:39,580 that you do all different types of things. 1134 00:43:39,580 --> 00:43:41,650 So it's just another version of that. 1135 00:43:41,650 --> 00:43:43,660 And once you spend start doing ads, 1136 00:43:43,690 --> 00:43:44,860 then you can track. 1137 00:43:45,190 --> 00:43:46,630 And like you, 1138 00:43:46,660 --> 00:43:49,060 I see success with Facebook ads and you know, 1139 00:43:49,060 --> 00:43:50,800 and I just look at it as it's just a different 1140 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:51,820 way to promote your business. 1141 00:43:51,820 --> 00:43:55,270 You've got to get people out there seeing what you're doing 1142 00:43:55,270 --> 00:43:57,460 before they can even think of making a purchase, 1143 00:43:57,790 --> 00:43:59,380 whether it's driving them to your website, 1144 00:43:59,470 --> 00:44:02,290 driving them to a show you're going to be at selling 1145 00:44:02,290 --> 00:44:03,940 directly through the platforms, 1146 00:44:03,970 --> 00:44:04,690 all of that. 1147 00:44:05,230 --> 00:44:09,070 Yeah. In the last year we switched over to the Shopify 1148 00:44:09,190 --> 00:44:10,360 website platform. 1149 00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:16,780 My favorite there's So much information behind the scenes there about 1150 00:44:16,780 --> 00:44:20,260 where your sales are coming from and or your visitors on 1151 00:44:20,260 --> 00:44:20,890 your site. 1152 00:44:20,920 --> 00:44:21,730 And so again, 1153 00:44:21,730 --> 00:44:25,660 we were able to track our Facebook or Instagram sales or 1154 00:44:25,690 --> 00:44:26,830 website visitors, 1155 00:44:26,860 --> 00:44:30,970 and I felt more comfortable about throwing money at it when 1156 00:44:30,990 --> 00:44:33,600 I could really see what it was doing for us. 1157 00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:34,820 Right. I mean, 1158 00:44:34,850 --> 00:44:36,410 this has been a common challenge, 1159 00:44:36,440 --> 00:44:39,860 even through the huge brands that spend millions and millions of 1160 00:44:39,860 --> 00:44:40,610 dollars, you know, 1161 00:44:40,610 --> 00:44:43,460 and people trying to justify their positions in the beginning, 1162 00:44:43,700 --> 00:44:45,830 when there'd be social media departments, 1163 00:44:46,130 --> 00:44:46,430 it's like, 1164 00:44:46,430 --> 00:44:48,050 okay, we're spending all this money. 1165 00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:49,700 We've hired you, 1166 00:44:49,730 --> 00:44:50,960 you're spending weeks. 1167 00:44:50,990 --> 00:44:52,400 How do we track it back? 1168 00:44:52,430 --> 00:44:55,220 Like what portion of the sales is attributable to that? 1169 00:44:55,610 --> 00:44:56,300 And I mean, 1170 00:44:56,300 --> 00:44:57,560 it continues to be a challenge. 1171 00:44:57,560 --> 00:45:00,560 So I agree with you you're right on with your assessment 1172 00:45:00,590 --> 00:45:01,100 with that. 1173 00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:03,860 Yeah. I'm happy to be a little bit on the other 1174 00:45:03,860 --> 00:45:05,600 side of it because yeah. 1175 00:45:05,630 --> 00:45:08,600 You heard me start out with the hesitation and yeah, 1176 00:45:08,930 --> 00:45:09,530 No, it was cute. 1177 00:45:09,530 --> 00:45:11,090 I had to call it out cause it was just so 1178 00:45:11,090 --> 00:45:12,950 cute. It was fun. 1179 00:45:13,170 --> 00:45:13,730 I mean, 1180 00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:15,830 when The girl that we work with, 1181 00:45:15,830 --> 00:45:16,820 when we approached her, 1182 00:45:16,820 --> 00:45:18,020 I just said flat out, 1183 00:45:18,020 --> 00:45:18,470 I was like, 1184 00:45:18,500 --> 00:45:20,210 I just have to tell you hands down. 1185 00:45:20,540 --> 00:45:22,070 I am a skeptic, 1186 00:45:22,100 --> 00:45:24,020 but here I am sell me Well. 1187 00:45:24,020 --> 00:45:25,040 And she clearly did that. 1188 00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:25,790 So that's awesome. 1189 00:45:26,090 --> 00:45:26,420 All right. 1190 00:45:26,450 --> 00:45:30,080 We have to approach this one other question that we were 1191 00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:31,310 talking about earlier, 1192 00:45:31,640 --> 00:45:34,580 I'm dying to know and one or two or whatever you 1193 00:45:34,580 --> 00:45:35,780 want to respond to this, 1194 00:45:36,080 --> 00:45:38,720 let's talk about one of the products that you put out 1195 00:45:38,720 --> 00:45:40,100 in the market that you saw, 1196 00:45:40,130 --> 00:45:42,080 just wasn't going to get traction. 1197 00:45:42,290 --> 00:45:43,790 Give us one of those stories. 1198 00:45:44,450 --> 00:45:47,030 Okay. So I probably did this, 1199 00:45:47,050 --> 00:45:47,780 not once, 1200 00:45:47,780 --> 00:45:48,470 not twice, 1201 00:45:48,470 --> 00:45:51,530 but three times a spring line. 1202 00:45:52,100 --> 00:45:53,480 So we're all winter. 1203 00:45:53,570 --> 00:45:54,770 And I actually, 1204 00:45:54,770 --> 00:45:55,130 I mean, 1205 00:45:55,310 --> 00:45:57,350 yesterday I had a phone call from somebody. 1206 00:45:57,350 --> 00:45:58,880 Do we make a spring jacket? 1207 00:45:59,390 --> 00:46:03,680 And I tried it three different ways and failure, 1208 00:46:03,710 --> 00:46:05,030 failure, failure. 1209 00:46:05,270 --> 00:46:06,590 So, you know, 1210 00:46:06,590 --> 00:46:10,100 I just couldn't find things that would resonate with what we 1211 00:46:10,130 --> 00:46:11,030 are known for, 1212 00:46:11,240 --> 00:46:12,050 which is wool, 1213 00:46:12,110 --> 00:46:13,550 winter, and recycled. 1214 00:46:13,880 --> 00:46:16,250 And I tried recycled kimonos. 1215 00:46:16,670 --> 00:46:21,470 I tried recycled upholstery sample fabrics. 1216 00:46:21,890 --> 00:46:24,050 It just didn't resonate with our customer. 1217 00:46:24,050 --> 00:46:24,380 I mean, 1218 00:46:24,380 --> 00:46:26,900 it was a flop every single time. 1219 00:46:26,990 --> 00:46:27,980 And I, 1220 00:46:27,980 --> 00:46:31,670 at this point and not really unhappy about that, 1221 00:46:31,700 --> 00:46:34,730 I'm thrilled because I never have to say yes to that 1222 00:46:34,730 --> 00:46:36,470 again. Right. 1223 00:46:36,470 --> 00:46:38,120 You could ask me all day long to do is bring 1224 00:46:38,120 --> 00:46:40,280 nine. And I would tell you no with ease. 1225 00:46:40,370 --> 00:46:42,260 So I'm happy to be in that place. 1226 00:46:42,380 --> 00:46:46,490 And that's sometimes what failure or little non successes that's sometimes 1227 00:46:46,490 --> 00:46:49,070 what they're for is to get you back on track or 1228 00:46:49,130 --> 00:46:51,500 I'm happy to say I tried it and I don't have 1229 00:46:51,500 --> 00:46:52,220 to go there again. 1230 00:46:52,370 --> 00:46:56,480 Yeah, strategically it would make sense if there is a hole 1231 00:46:56,480 --> 00:46:59,510 in your year of selling and you could fill it with 1232 00:46:59,510 --> 00:47:01,880 a product with your existing audience, 1233 00:47:02,090 --> 00:47:03,500 why would you not try and do that? 1234 00:47:03,770 --> 00:47:05,390 Absolutely. If people had loved it, 1235 00:47:05,390 --> 00:47:06,290 if they had eaten it up, 1236 00:47:06,410 --> 00:47:07,910 I would be so happy to be turning. 1237 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:08,360 I say, 1238 00:47:08,360 --> 00:47:09,110 I wouldn't be happy though. 1239 00:47:09,110 --> 00:47:10,880 I didn't love doing it as much as I love what 1240 00:47:10,880 --> 00:47:11,300 we do, 1241 00:47:11,510 --> 00:47:12,320 but I would do it, 1242 00:47:12,650 --> 00:47:14,000 but you're absolutely right. 1243 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:16,490 I would do it if people were clamoring for it. 1244 00:47:17,150 --> 00:47:17,540 But now, 1245 00:47:17,540 --> 00:47:17,990 you know, 1246 00:47:17,990 --> 00:47:18,350 I mean, 1247 00:47:18,410 --> 00:47:21,500 people are very clear in what you offer, 1248 00:47:21,560 --> 00:47:24,020 right? There's no question about what you offer. 1249 00:47:24,290 --> 00:47:25,850 And if you had a spring line, 1250 00:47:25,850 --> 00:47:28,340 it would a little bit dilute the brand that you have 1251 00:47:28,340 --> 00:47:29,620 now, You know, 1252 00:47:29,620 --> 00:47:30,580 and honestly it did. 1253 00:47:30,580 --> 00:47:31,900 It took us away from that. 1254 00:47:31,960 --> 00:47:32,830 And you know, 1255 00:47:32,830 --> 00:47:36,040 in hindsight it wasn't the best direction for us to go 1256 00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:37,510 in. But like I said, 1257 00:47:37,660 --> 00:47:39,940 we had to try it more than once. 1258 00:47:40,410 --> 00:47:43,440 And the results not working was probably the best thing for 1259 00:47:43,440 --> 00:47:44,190 you. As you said, 1260 00:47:44,190 --> 00:47:45,060 you tried it now. 1261 00:47:45,060 --> 00:47:47,310 You can be very clear that that is not a direction 1262 00:47:47,310 --> 00:47:47,880 for you. 1263 00:47:48,180 --> 00:47:49,680 So now you can be true, 1264 00:47:49,680 --> 00:47:51,180 solid, streamlined, 1265 00:47:51,180 --> 00:47:52,680 focused on what you're doing. 1266 00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:57,150 Absolutely recognizing exactly what time of the year is for sales. 1267 00:47:57,210 --> 00:47:59,580 What time of the year is for more production. 1268 00:47:59,880 --> 00:48:02,760 What time of the year is going out to trade shows 1269 00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:05,460 to get your product into the stores in time for your 1270 00:48:05,460 --> 00:48:06,180 sales period? 1271 00:48:06,180 --> 00:48:08,070 Like all of that is so clean and clear. 1272 00:48:08,610 --> 00:48:08,950 Yeah. Yeah. 1273 00:48:08,970 --> 00:48:09,720 You're right. 1274 00:48:09,750 --> 00:48:12,210 The breakdown of how you put that as exactly how we 1275 00:48:12,210 --> 00:48:14,430 break down our time in a calendar year. 1276 00:48:14,430 --> 00:48:15,330 So yes. 1277 00:48:15,720 --> 00:48:17,010 Beautiful. Wonderful. 1278 00:48:17,340 --> 00:48:20,760 So give us peek into what you think the future holds 1279 00:48:20,760 --> 00:48:21,240 for you. 1280 00:48:21,960 --> 00:48:23,400 Oh boy, 1281 00:48:23,550 --> 00:48:24,780 It's not a spring line. 1282 00:48:24,780 --> 00:48:25,380 I can tell you that. 1283 00:48:26,880 --> 00:48:28,830 I think just Expanding our markets, 1284 00:48:28,860 --> 00:48:33,240 I feel like we have a pretty good product line size, 1285 00:48:33,270 --> 00:48:34,830 so almost 50 products. 1286 00:48:35,160 --> 00:48:38,820 And I would like to see us in more markets and 1287 00:48:38,820 --> 00:48:44,550 I'm not really sure with the wholesale industry is pretty challenging 1288 00:48:44,550 --> 00:48:45,210 right now, 1289 00:48:45,270 --> 00:48:46,950 as far as growing into that. 1290 00:48:47,280 --> 00:48:49,020 Not sure how to do that, 1291 00:48:49,200 --> 00:48:52,470 but I know that in our digital marketing and sales will 1292 00:48:52,470 --> 00:48:56,430 continue. We put into place some new tools last year that 1293 00:48:56,430 --> 00:48:57,660 were really successful for us. 1294 00:48:57,660 --> 00:49:00,390 I'm excited to see those take off and drive more website 1295 00:49:00,390 --> 00:49:01,410 traffic to us. 1296 00:49:01,440 --> 00:49:02,160 If you recall, 1297 00:49:02,160 --> 00:49:03,540 the Bernie Sanders mittens. 1298 00:49:04,770 --> 00:49:08,130 Yep. That Thing did wonders for us. 1299 00:49:08,190 --> 00:49:09,960 Paperwork, Googling sweater mittens, 1300 00:49:09,960 --> 00:49:14,160 and our girl that monitors our website does our SEO does 1301 00:49:14,160 --> 00:49:14,850 a great job. 1302 00:49:15,270 --> 00:49:18,030 And she has us out there front and center and people 1303 00:49:18,030 --> 00:49:20,910 landed on our site and I'm telling you our sales in 1304 00:49:20,910 --> 00:49:25,020 January and February and half of March were like December all 1305 00:49:25,020 --> 00:49:25,830 over again. 1306 00:49:26,310 --> 00:49:28,080 And I know that's where they stemmed from. 1307 00:49:28,080 --> 00:49:29,880 So we grew our audience. 1308 00:49:30,180 --> 00:49:31,260 Most of those contacts, 1309 00:49:31,290 --> 00:49:32,310 they were first-time buyers. 1310 00:49:32,310 --> 00:49:34,500 And four days later we were shipping to them again. 1311 00:49:34,500 --> 00:49:35,460 And seven days later, 1312 00:49:35,460 --> 00:49:36,570 they be taking another shipment. 1313 00:49:36,930 --> 00:49:42,290 So I love expanding our customer base and getting our product 1314 00:49:42,300 --> 00:49:43,080 out there further. 1315 00:49:43,320 --> 00:49:45,960 We probably don't have any new products this year. 1316 00:49:45,960 --> 00:49:47,610 We had a couple of pieces last year that we didn't 1317 00:49:47,610 --> 00:49:49,470 get a chance to throw out there. 1318 00:49:49,470 --> 00:49:52,050 So they're a little bit new to our customer base this 1319 00:49:52,050 --> 00:49:54,750 year. It's tough for us to come up with completely new 1320 00:49:54,750 --> 00:49:58,800 product. When we are breaking down the post-consumer sweaters that we 1321 00:49:58,800 --> 00:50:01,410 use, we have a lot of limitations. 1322 00:50:01,410 --> 00:50:05,040 So we're cutting around arm holes and side scenes. 1323 00:50:05,040 --> 00:50:08,100 And it's not like yards of fabric on a roll. 1324 00:50:08,100 --> 00:50:09,270 The sky's not the limit. 1325 00:50:09,510 --> 00:50:12,750 So when we kind of tool a way to break down 1326 00:50:12,750 --> 00:50:14,550 those sweaters into our new product, 1327 00:50:14,700 --> 00:50:17,580 it takes a lot to get that product or that process 1328 00:50:17,580 --> 00:50:18,300 into place. 1329 00:50:18,690 --> 00:50:21,120 So completely new product is tough for us. 1330 00:50:21,120 --> 00:50:23,250 We try to come out with one or two things a 1331 00:50:23,250 --> 00:50:27,090 year. We hardly retire anything every, 1332 00:50:27,260 --> 00:50:30,770 and then something is slow and we'll take it off from 1333 00:50:30,770 --> 00:50:32,090 our list of things. 1334 00:50:32,090 --> 00:50:34,820 But then our line grows pretty big and it's kind of 1335 00:50:34,820 --> 00:50:38,570 hard to continue to make an all of our color ways 1336 00:50:38,570 --> 00:50:39,580 and right. 1337 00:50:39,700 --> 00:50:40,270 No, I mean, 1338 00:50:40,300 --> 00:50:42,430 what I'm hearing from you is you're staying in your lane. 1339 00:50:42,790 --> 00:50:42,970 You know, 1340 00:50:42,970 --> 00:50:44,140 you know what you offer, 1341 00:50:44,830 --> 00:50:47,380 couple of style variations are fine. 1342 00:50:47,740 --> 00:50:50,590 Still every single piece is unique unto itself. 1343 00:50:50,620 --> 00:50:54,100 Anyway, even if it's the same basic pattern of how the 1344 00:50:54,100 --> 00:50:55,300 size is and everything. 1345 00:50:55,300 --> 00:50:58,660 So you almost have a built in uniqueness. 1346 00:50:58,990 --> 00:51:00,400 Every single piece is different. 1347 00:51:00,670 --> 00:51:01,960 Yeah. I mean coffee, 1348 00:51:01,960 --> 00:51:03,730 cause we want to stay fresh with our customers. 1349 00:51:04,270 --> 00:51:05,890 However, there are things like, 1350 00:51:05,920 --> 00:51:07,150 okay, so they are fingerless gloves, 1351 00:51:07,150 --> 00:51:09,400 which is our number one seller alongside of our mittens. 1352 00:51:09,940 --> 00:51:11,140 People will come into our store and say, 1353 00:51:11,170 --> 00:51:11,530 oh my gosh, 1354 00:51:11,530 --> 00:51:12,970 I'm buying my sips pair of these. 1355 00:51:12,970 --> 00:51:13,420 And we feel like, 1356 00:51:13,450 --> 00:51:15,620 oh, we need to offer a different styles. 1357 00:51:15,620 --> 00:51:16,120 So we do, 1358 00:51:16,120 --> 00:51:17,140 we have a second style. 1359 00:51:17,140 --> 00:51:18,430 But with other things it's tough. 1360 00:51:18,460 --> 00:51:19,090 Like our mittens, 1361 00:51:19,090 --> 00:51:21,280 you can't add a second thumb and call it a new 1362 00:51:21,280 --> 00:51:24,940 style, but we've done little things like we offer our classic. 1363 00:51:24,940 --> 00:51:29,710 Woman's now with the option of a buckskin Palm for driving. 1364 00:51:30,130 --> 00:51:33,160 And that's another thing a lot of our customers ask for 1365 00:51:33,160 --> 00:51:34,600 something. And when we hear it enough, 1366 00:51:34,630 --> 00:51:36,790 we know it's go time to maybe try something or it 1367 00:51:36,790 --> 00:51:37,900 spawns a new idea. 1368 00:51:37,930 --> 00:51:40,870 So we get a lot of our ideas from customers that 1369 00:51:40,870 --> 00:51:41,440 we run with. 1370 00:51:41,440 --> 00:51:42,550 And that is one of them. 1371 00:51:43,060 --> 00:51:45,280 The other thing is we have a nice little men's line. 1372 00:51:45,610 --> 00:51:46,870 Guys were coming in all the time. 1373 00:51:46,870 --> 00:51:47,620 What about us? 1374 00:51:47,620 --> 00:51:47,950 And we're like, 1375 00:51:47,950 --> 00:51:48,700 what about them? 1376 00:51:48,700 --> 00:51:53,080 Why don't we do so we can make some small, 1377 00:51:53,080 --> 00:51:53,560 like you said, 1378 00:51:53,560 --> 00:51:56,440 adjustments to some of our products to expand our line without 1379 00:51:56,500 --> 00:51:58,270 it being too much of a challenge, 1380 00:51:58,300 --> 00:52:01,090 Right? You're staying true to the product and what people know 1381 00:52:01,090 --> 00:52:01,840 you for. 1382 00:52:01,930 --> 00:52:05,290 You're just making some adjustments within the whole product range. 1383 00:52:05,560 --> 00:52:07,000 Correct. And you know, 1384 00:52:07,090 --> 00:52:09,190 I would say over the course of our time, 1385 00:52:09,760 --> 00:52:11,350 our practice has just gotten better, 1386 00:52:11,380 --> 00:52:13,090 more better made. 1387 00:52:13,300 --> 00:52:16,600 And our quality is just really top notch. 1388 00:52:16,660 --> 00:52:19,360 And not that we didn't always sell a good product, 1389 00:52:19,360 --> 00:52:22,450 but we're always looking for ways to tweak the quality and 1390 00:52:22,450 --> 00:52:22,840 the fit. 1391 00:52:23,260 --> 00:52:24,760 So even little things like that, 1392 00:52:24,760 --> 00:52:27,130 little changes that don't make it a completely new product, 1393 00:52:27,130 --> 00:52:28,840 we feel we've made it a better product. 1394 00:52:29,500 --> 00:52:32,170 Well, I can endorse the product quality for sure. 1395 00:52:32,800 --> 00:52:33,490 Thank you. 1396 00:52:33,790 --> 00:52:36,310 If people who are listening want to go check out your 1397 00:52:36,310 --> 00:52:37,720 products, where would you send them? 1398 00:52:38,380 --> 00:52:41,710 So we are@babazuzu.com 1399 00:52:42,220 --> 00:52:49,720 and that's B a B a Z U Z u.com. 1400 00:52:50,170 --> 00:52:52,810 You can check in with us right here and ask if 1401 00:52:52,810 --> 00:52:55,450 there's somebody who sells our product in your backyard. 1402 00:52:55,870 --> 00:52:57,640 We had to do a little zip code check here, 1403 00:52:57,640 --> 00:52:58,960 but we're having to do that for you. 1404 00:52:59,500 --> 00:53:01,780 We also have an Amazon store and an Etsy store, 1405 00:53:01,870 --> 00:53:04,750 so you can find us there under as well. 1406 00:53:06,160 --> 00:53:06,610 Well, Sue, 1407 00:53:06,640 --> 00:53:07,540 thank you so much. 1408 00:53:07,540 --> 00:53:09,730 I really appreciate you being on the show, 1409 00:53:09,850 --> 00:53:12,460 pulling back the curtain a little bit and letting us see 1410 00:53:12,460 --> 00:53:15,520 what goes on at Baba Zuzu from start to where you 1411 00:53:15,520 --> 00:53:16,180 are now. 1412 00:53:16,540 --> 00:53:17,710 That's the opportunity. 1413 00:53:21,010 --> 00:53:21,640 Good stuff. 1414 00:53:21,670 --> 00:53:25,000 Yes. I talk in my makers MBA program about, 1415 00:53:25,260 --> 00:53:28,350 you need to make sure that your product and business practices 1416 00:53:28,380 --> 00:53:32,850 stay relevant with the times Sue's leadership and direction of the 1417 00:53:32,850 --> 00:53:38,130 bapa Zuzu brand is a perfect demonstration of this next week. 1418 00:53:38,340 --> 00:53:40,320 I'm taking you to the movies, 1419 00:53:40,710 --> 00:53:43,500 think the Sundance channel and HBO, 1420 00:53:44,010 --> 00:53:46,140 any ideas on what the topic is. 1421 00:53:46,590 --> 00:53:47,100 Find out. 1422 00:53:47,100 --> 00:53:48,420 First thing Monday morning, 1423 00:53:48,450 --> 00:53:50,100 when this episode goes live, 1424 00:53:50,970 --> 00:53:52,320 I'm also curious, 1425 00:53:52,590 --> 00:53:55,530 how do you like my Thursday tips and talk segment? 1426 00:53:56,070 --> 00:53:58,590 I can't believe that they've been earring for over four months 1427 00:53:58,590 --> 00:53:59,940 already. Gosh, 1428 00:53:59,940 --> 00:54:04,080 does time fly by comments on this topics that you'd like 1429 00:54:04,080 --> 00:54:07,890 me to cover DME over on Instagram at gift biz on 1430 00:54:07,890 --> 00:54:09,330 wrapped with your thoughts? 1431 00:54:10,140 --> 00:54:12,420 And if you're feeling generous today, 1432 00:54:12,540 --> 00:54:17,310 a review over on apple podcasts would be amazing doing that 1433 00:54:17,310 --> 00:54:19,500 helps the show get seen by more makers. 1434 00:54:19,560 --> 00:54:21,300 So it's a great way to pay it forward. 1435 00:54:21,750 --> 00:54:24,480 Did you see the new layout in the apple podcast app? 1436 00:54:24,660 --> 00:54:26,280 It's entirely different. 1437 00:54:26,730 --> 00:54:30,750 The subscribe button is now gone and what you do instead 1438 00:54:30,750 --> 00:54:32,280 is follow a show. 1439 00:54:32,760 --> 00:54:35,490 You do that by tapping the check mark that's right up 1440 00:54:35,520 --> 00:54:37,140 on the right-hand side at the top. 1441 00:54:37,860 --> 00:54:41,310 Just something new to get used to and now be safe 1442 00:54:41,310 --> 00:54:41,880 and well. 1443 00:54:42,000 --> 00:54:44,340 And I'll see you again next week on the gift biz 1444 00:54:44,370 --> 00:54:45,360 unwrapped podcasts. 1445 00:54:47,150 --> 00:54:49,790 I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook 1446 00:54:49,790 --> 00:54:52,340 group called gift is breeze. 1447 00:54:52,700 --> 00:54:56,510 It's a place where we all gather and our community to 1448 00:54:56,510 --> 00:54:57,770 support each other. 1449 00:54:58,190 --> 00:55:00,350 Got a really fun post in there. 1450 00:55:00,350 --> 00:55:01,730 That's my favorite of the week. 1451 00:55:01,730 --> 00:55:04,610 I have to say where I invite all of you to 1452 00:55:04,610 --> 00:55:07,730 share what you're doing to show pictures of your product, 1453 00:55:07,880 --> 00:55:11,150 to show what you're working on for the week to get 1454 00:55:11,150 --> 00:55:14,090 reaction from other people and just for fun, 1455 00:55:14,090 --> 00:55:17,690 because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody 1456 00:55:17,690 --> 00:55:22,220 in the community is making my favorite post every single week, 1457 00:55:22,250 --> 00:55:23,630 without doubt. 1458 00:55:24,320 --> 00:55:27,920 Wait, what aren't you part of the group already, 1459 00:55:28,580 --> 00:55:31,970 if not make sure to jump over to Facebook and search 1460 00:55:31,970 --> 00:55:35,450 for the group gift biz breeze don't delay. 1461 00:55:35,930 --> 00:55:39,110 Come join us in gift biz breeze today.