1 00:00:00,990 --> 00:00:04,110 Thank you for joining me today on gift biz unwrapped. 2 00:00:04,350 --> 00:00:06,000 This is episode 88. 3 00:00:06,410 --> 00:00:09,950 It really is about belief in your product and a continued 4 00:00:09,950 --> 00:00:12,350 enthusiasm and just keep pushing it out. 5 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:16,550 Hi, this is John Lee Dumas of entrepreneur on fire, 6 00:00:16,550 --> 00:00:19,100 and you're listening to the gift of biz unwrapped, 7 00:00:19,100 --> 00:00:23,150 and now it's time to light it up. 8 00:00:23,150 --> 00:00:27,500 Welcome to gift bears on wrapped your source for industry specific 9 00:00:27,500 --> 00:00:29,720 insights and advice to develop and grow your business. 10 00:00:30,140 --> 00:00:33,110 And now here's your host Sue Monheit. 11 00:00:34,490 --> 00:00:34,940 Hi there. 12 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:38,570 I'm Sue and welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast. 13 00:00:38,900 --> 00:00:41,930 Whether you own a brick and mortar store sell online or 14 00:00:41,930 --> 00:00:43,400 are just getting started, 15 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,060 you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your 16 00:00:47,060 --> 00:00:51,320 business. And today I have joining us bill and Marianne stank 17 00:00:51,350 --> 00:00:55,370 from cookies in a snap with a background in architecture and 18 00:00:55,370 --> 00:00:59,240 design bill has long had an interest in product design and 19 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,930 innovation cookies in a snap was actually born out of an 20 00:01:02,930 --> 00:01:07,400 inspiring cookie making moment that led to a uniquely new way 21 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,550 to shape and mold cookies bill and his wife, 22 00:01:10,550 --> 00:01:13,100 Maryann are very much amateur bakers, 23 00:01:13,130 --> 00:01:17,720 but creative professionals excited about designing new products to make everyday 24 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:18,650 moments special. 25 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,370 Their goal is to make memories for adults and children engaged 26 00:01:22,370 --> 00:01:25,760 in the creative and fun activity of cookie baking. 27 00:01:26,330 --> 00:01:27,800 Welcome to the show bill. 28 00:01:27,980 --> 00:01:28,460 Good morning. 29 00:01:28,910 --> 00:01:29,660 How are you today? 30 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:30,470 Very good. 31 00:01:30,470 --> 00:01:32,210 And I know you've got Marianne there too. 32 00:01:32,210 --> 00:01:33,950 She may pipe in from time to time, 33 00:01:33,950 --> 00:01:35,990 right? She can say hello this morning. 34 00:01:36,020 --> 00:01:37,310 Okay. Hi Maryanne. 35 00:01:38,090 --> 00:01:41,780 I'm so happy that you two are joining me and it's 36 00:01:41,780 --> 00:01:45,650 perfect. We are actually recording this in early December. 37 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,950 The Christmas trees are coming up and so it's a perfect 38 00:01:48,950 --> 00:01:51,350 time to be talking all about cookies. 39 00:01:51,350 --> 00:01:53,450 So thank you so much for joining me this morning, 40 00:01:54,230 --> 00:01:56,180 The opportunity to tell our story. 41 00:01:56,420 --> 00:01:59,030 Well, I like to start off by having our listeners get 42 00:01:59,030 --> 00:02:00,950 to know you in a little bit of a different way, 43 00:02:00,980 --> 00:02:05,180 and that is by having you describe your ideal motivational candle. 44 00:02:05,210 --> 00:02:07,760 So if you could help us envision what that would look 45 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,520 like, what color is your candle and what would be the 46 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:11,600 quote on your camera? 47 00:02:12,290 --> 00:02:16,430 Well, I've always kind of favored the golden yellow color happens 48 00:02:16,430 --> 00:02:18,200 to be kind of a candle color anyway, 49 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:21,350 but that's been my favorite color my whole life. 50 00:02:21,860 --> 00:02:24,170 And although I don't have a specific quote, 51 00:02:24,170 --> 00:02:26,420 I very much liked the word inspiration. 52 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,300 I try to be inspired by other people and I hope 53 00:02:29,330 --> 00:02:31,070 I inspire them as well. 54 00:02:31,460 --> 00:02:34,340 Perfect. And that's exactly what we're attempting to do here today. 55 00:02:34,340 --> 00:02:36,410 So that falls right in line with our goal. 56 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,070 So I want to go back and talk about, 57 00:02:40,190 --> 00:02:40,610 you know, 58 00:02:40,610 --> 00:02:44,750 I mentioned in the intro that you had a quote unquote 59 00:02:44,930 --> 00:02:47,720 inspiring cookie making moment, 60 00:02:47,780 --> 00:02:50,510 and I want you to tell us exactly what happened. 61 00:02:50,930 --> 00:02:52,940 One day Marianne was baking. 62 00:02:52,970 --> 00:02:57,080 She happened to be making peanut butter cookies and just as 63 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:58,100 I walked by, 64 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:02,200 she pressed a fork in the two different directions that typically 65 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,170 make the waffle pattern on top of peanut butter cookies, 66 00:03:05,500 --> 00:03:08,980 which seems to be a universal way of shaping those cookies. 67 00:03:09,310 --> 00:03:11,680 And it occurred to me that what if they were different 68 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:16,000 shape forks to make different patterns on top of the dough. 69 00:03:16,510 --> 00:03:20,380 And that led to the idea of how could I develop 70 00:03:20,380 --> 00:03:25,840 that? I started doing sketches drawings and the product started to 71 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,490 evolve. And I ended up working with a community college student 72 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:34,330 locally. The North Hampton County community college has what they call 73 00:03:34,330 --> 00:03:35,380 the fab lab. 74 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:38,560 And it has all kinds of tools and equipment, 75 00:03:38,590 --> 00:03:39,580 3d printers, 76 00:03:39,580 --> 00:03:40,090 et cetera, 77 00:03:40,090 --> 00:03:44,230 that any entrepreneur in the area is free to use. 78 00:03:44,380 --> 00:03:48,580 So I started working with this particular student developed two very, 79 00:03:48,580 --> 00:03:51,160 very crude prototype with 3d printing. 80 00:03:51,580 --> 00:03:55,570 Very soon realized I needed to get some professional assistance and 81 00:03:55,870 --> 00:03:57,700 continued with the project from that on, 82 00:03:57,700 --> 00:04:02,430 we hired an industrial designer who has just been fantastic and 83 00:04:02,620 --> 00:04:05,320 ended up getting us to the final product that we now 84 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:06,570 have. Wow. 85 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,840 Okay. So that was a lot of the process and evolution 86 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:12,030 of the product in a very short bit of time. 87 00:04:12,030 --> 00:04:13,920 So I want to break all this down a little bit. 88 00:04:14,250 --> 00:04:19,170 Were you interested in baking or have you spent a lot 89 00:04:19,170 --> 00:04:20,670 of time with Maryann or it was just like, 90 00:04:20,670 --> 00:04:23,340 seriously, you're walking through the kitchen and this idea comes to 91 00:04:23,340 --> 00:04:25,290 you Really over the years, 92 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:28,380 I've always been in a creative line of work having an 93 00:04:28,380 --> 00:04:29,670 architectural background. 94 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,520 And then when I worked on my master's degree, 95 00:04:32,700 --> 00:04:35,040 I finished that up in the year 2000, 96 00:04:35,340 --> 00:04:36,630 that was in marketing. 97 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:40,620 And that led me to be sort of more conscious of, 98 00:04:40,850 --> 00:04:41,820 of products, 99 00:04:41,820 --> 00:04:45,150 whether they're advertised on TV or magazines, 100 00:04:45,570 --> 00:04:47,940 always kind of looking at things with a critical eye. 101 00:04:47,940 --> 00:04:51,960 So I'm always looking for some creative inspiration or ideas, 102 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,120 and I've had many over the years, 103 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,150 but this was one that as we continued to develop, 104 00:04:57,150 --> 00:04:59,700 it seemed to be very practical, 105 00:04:59,700 --> 00:05:00,450 very useful, 106 00:05:00,450 --> 00:05:02,550 and we are getting very good feedback on it. 107 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,880 And I just happened to be walking by as she pressed 108 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:07,860 that torque onto the cookie dough. 109 00:05:07,860 --> 00:05:09,150 Otherwise I might've missed it. 110 00:05:09,780 --> 00:05:15,120 And that got me excited pretty much instantly about developing a 111 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:19,380 product. So did Marianne think you were crazy when she said 112 00:05:19,410 --> 00:05:20,730 you, cause you must've stopped her and said, 113 00:05:20,730 --> 00:05:21,270 wait a minute, 114 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:22,290 what do you like? 115 00:05:22,290 --> 00:05:25,350 You must've had some type of little conversation there when the 116 00:05:25,350 --> 00:05:26,160 idea came to you, 117 00:05:26,490 --> 00:05:27,540 she stepped back. 118 00:05:28,140 --> 00:05:28,680 Cause I was, 119 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:30,150 I was quite excited. 120 00:05:30,510 --> 00:05:30,750 I said, 121 00:05:30,750 --> 00:05:33,030 I got an idea and she, 122 00:05:33,030 --> 00:05:34,380 she knows over the years, 123 00:05:34,530 --> 00:05:38,760 ideas can pop up just about any time from my way 124 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:39,330 of thinking. 125 00:05:39,780 --> 00:05:42,600 I think the important thing for us all to note in 126 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:47,340 your story is that you approach life in a way with 127 00:05:47,340 --> 00:05:49,230 that mindset of looking at things, 128 00:05:49,230 --> 00:05:50,190 observing things, 129 00:05:50,190 --> 00:05:51,120 as you were just mentioning, 130 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:53,640 whether it's on TV or in the course of your life 131 00:05:53,910 --> 00:05:56,790 and thinking of creative extensions of what you're. 132 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,530 And I guess that's because of your degree, 133 00:06:00,530 --> 00:06:03,200 but you also must have a mindset like that because I 134 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:07,160 do know that you've looked at and thought through a number 135 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:09,170 of different types of products. 136 00:06:09,170 --> 00:06:11,390 And this is just the one that looked like it was 137 00:06:11,390 --> 00:06:13,460 the right one to bring into full development. 138 00:06:14,380 --> 00:06:15,040 That's correct. 139 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:16,000 Over the years, 140 00:06:16,090 --> 00:06:17,050 the more I've read, 141 00:06:17,050 --> 00:06:21,190 the more I've read about business and entrepreneurial type people and 142 00:06:21,250 --> 00:06:27,130 product innovation is it's almost a matter of being conscious of 143 00:06:27,310 --> 00:06:30,220 almost any little inconvenience in our own lives. 144 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:33,820 And how can we solve that problem and make things easier 145 00:06:33,850 --> 00:06:37,420 for the general public to solve their particular problems with a 146 00:06:37,420 --> 00:06:38,080 new product. 147 00:06:38,410 --> 00:06:38,620 All right. 148 00:06:38,620 --> 00:06:39,790 So gift biz listeners, 149 00:06:39,790 --> 00:06:42,550 if any of you are thinking, 150 00:06:42,550 --> 00:06:42,760 you know, 151 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:44,440 I want to do something for myself, 152 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:47,830 I want to start something and you're not sure what that 153 00:06:47,830 --> 00:06:50,530 is because I hear from you a lot that you want 154 00:06:50,530 --> 00:06:52,240 to, and you just don't know what it is. 155 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:54,220 This is the type of mindset to get in, 156 00:06:54,220 --> 00:06:58,060 be very observant of your life and your day as you're 157 00:06:58,060 --> 00:06:59,080 going through. 158 00:06:59,410 --> 00:07:02,410 Because if you have that mindset and you're set like that, 159 00:07:02,410 --> 00:07:05,920 just I'm sure bill did not walk through his kitchen thinking 160 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:08,320 I'm going to have the idea of a lifetime right now. 161 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:09,580 It just happened, 162 00:07:09,730 --> 00:07:12,010 but his mind was open to the opportunity. 163 00:07:12,010 --> 00:07:15,730 So a little nugget for you guys to think through starting 164 00:07:15,730 --> 00:07:16,330 right now. 165 00:07:16,570 --> 00:07:19,810 Okay. So you have this idea and you start drawing things 166 00:07:19,810 --> 00:07:23,920 up and you already knew about the resource in your community 167 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:25,600 in terms of the college initially. 168 00:07:26,290 --> 00:07:28,150 Yeah. I'd been aware of that for some years. 169 00:07:28,300 --> 00:07:33,460 There are several entrepreneurial type groups in the Lehigh Valley and 170 00:07:33,460 --> 00:07:38,320 I'd been on some email lists and I had attended various 171 00:07:38,350 --> 00:07:40,930 seminars open to the public, 172 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:43,120 talking about starting businesses, 173 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:44,530 entrepreneurial efforts, 174 00:07:44,770 --> 00:07:48,130 the same community college had offered a six week, 175 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,780 one day a week program on starting your own business licenses, 176 00:07:52,780 --> 00:07:56,650 patents, all those types of information that someone would want to 177 00:07:56,650 --> 00:07:57,460 be aware of. 178 00:07:57,910 --> 00:07:58,480 And you know, 179 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:03,220 these types of resources are mentioned just the same as score, 180 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:04,330 which meets monthly, 181 00:08:04,330 --> 00:08:06,100 which helps business owners as well. 182 00:08:06,250 --> 00:08:06,980 Right. All right. 183 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:09,700 And so that then could take you only so far, 184 00:08:09,730 --> 00:08:12,550 right? So that was good that you were able to work 185 00:08:12,550 --> 00:08:14,410 in progress to a certain point. 186 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:15,850 And then as you were just mentioning, 187 00:08:16,030 --> 00:08:17,740 you needed to bring in some professionals, 188 00:08:17,740 --> 00:08:19,420 talk that through with us a little bit. 189 00:08:20,620 --> 00:08:21,730 Well, oddly enough, 190 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:25,090 the idea happened about four years ago, 191 00:08:25,660 --> 00:08:29,200 once we started realizing the product was something that would become 192 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,460 sort of a modular changeable disc that would snap in place. 193 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:36,070 I came up with the name cookies in a snap and 194 00:08:36,070 --> 00:08:40,270 we actually purchased a URL almost five years ago now, 195 00:08:41,050 --> 00:08:42,190 but the recession hit. 196 00:08:42,190 --> 00:08:44,920 So we just weren't in a position to proceed with the 197 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:49,090 product. But I had talked to the local industrial designer back 198 00:08:49,090 --> 00:08:50,050 at that time, 199 00:08:50,530 --> 00:08:55,120 gave me some estimates on injection molding and his engineering services. 200 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:57,540 And at the time they seemed a bit high for us 201 00:08:57,540 --> 00:08:58,320 to proceed. 202 00:08:58,680 --> 00:08:59,760 But with technology, 203 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,100 so many things are becoming less and less expensive. 204 00:09:02,100 --> 00:09:04,920 So it was actually a little easier to do in the 205 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:05,940 last year or so. 206 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:08,340 But at that time I put it aside, 207 00:09:08,580 --> 00:09:12,270 we had gone to the international houseware show in Chicago one 208 00:09:12,270 --> 00:09:14,130 time. And then after that, 209 00:09:14,130 --> 00:09:16,950 we went a couple other times just to do some research, 210 00:09:16,950 --> 00:09:18,410 see which products are out there, 211 00:09:18,430 --> 00:09:19,950 see if there was anything similar. 212 00:09:20,610 --> 00:09:24,480 And we started learning quite a bit about the housewares business. 213 00:09:25,020 --> 00:09:27,450 And so when I went back to the industrial designer, 214 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:29,010 it's almost two years ago, 215 00:09:29,010 --> 00:09:32,100 January it'll be two years showed him the product, 216 00:09:32,100 --> 00:09:32,790 reviewed it. 217 00:09:33,060 --> 00:09:35,730 There was a characteristic about it that he said, 218 00:09:35,730 --> 00:09:35,970 you know, 219 00:09:35,970 --> 00:09:37,890 if we just made this one change, 220 00:09:38,190 --> 00:09:40,080 I think you'd have a very good product. 221 00:09:40,470 --> 00:09:43,830 And it was almost an inspirational moment for him. 222 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:47,670 And he earned his money right there before I even hired 223 00:09:47,670 --> 00:09:50,070 him. We started working on the product. 224 00:09:50,070 --> 00:09:54,090 We did several 3d prototypes that were solid shapes. 225 00:09:54,090 --> 00:09:56,970 And then we started working with clear plastics, 226 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:57,990 colored tops, 227 00:09:58,050 --> 00:10:00,390 and just refined it from there. 228 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:01,310 Okay. Okay. 229 00:10:01,310 --> 00:10:03,800 And some of our listeners at this point might be thinking, 230 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:04,010 you know, 231 00:10:04,010 --> 00:10:08,780 what type of an investment is there to even get this 232 00:10:08,780 --> 00:10:11,870 started? And I'm not asking you for specific numbers, 233 00:10:11,870 --> 00:10:13,100 but someone was, 234 00:10:13,130 --> 00:10:14,390 had had an idea. 235 00:10:14,390 --> 00:10:14,990 And again, 236 00:10:15,050 --> 00:10:15,920 now yours, 237 00:10:16,010 --> 00:10:17,720 I'm sure it varies by product. 238 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:20,030 Right. But if someone was thinking about that, 239 00:10:20,060 --> 00:10:22,730 what type of dollars just from your experience, 240 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:25,490 do you think you'd need to have available to start putting 241 00:10:25,490 --> 00:10:27,800 together just to the point of a prototype? 242 00:10:28,130 --> 00:10:31,250 Well, I think getting to a prototype depending on your product, 243 00:10:31,250 --> 00:10:31,880 that can be, 244 00:10:32,390 --> 00:10:32,600 I don't know, 245 00:10:32,630 --> 00:10:36,470 let's say a thousand dollars up to several thousand dollars. 246 00:10:36,710 --> 00:10:40,820 I attended a seminar recently given by bucks County community college 247 00:10:40,820 --> 00:10:42,890 entrepreneurial initiative, 248 00:10:42,980 --> 00:10:45,320 which is where I work at bucks County community college. 249 00:10:45,740 --> 00:10:50,330 And the guest speaker indicated that almost all companies that are 250 00:10:50,330 --> 00:10:53,870 started do not have a unique or innovative idea. 251 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:58,010 They started with less than $5,000. 252 00:10:58,580 --> 00:11:02,690 And there's not a high degree of technology. 253 00:11:02,690 --> 00:11:04,910 You're not necessarily writing a new program, 254 00:11:04,910 --> 00:11:05,570 a new app, 255 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:07,700 but many things are quite simple. 256 00:11:07,700 --> 00:11:12,140 And so a lot of ideas can be started quite inexpensively. 257 00:11:12,410 --> 00:11:15,140 When you need to start getting into injection molds, 258 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:17,720 then your expenses are going to start getting higher. 259 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:19,100 But in my case, 260 00:11:19,310 --> 00:11:22,520 part of the difficulty is I have an injection mold to 261 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:23,330 do the lids. 262 00:11:23,540 --> 00:11:25,670 I have an injection mold to do the bodies of the 263 00:11:25,670 --> 00:11:28,430 product. And I have two injection molds, 264 00:11:28,610 --> 00:11:30,950 which make four of the disks each. 265 00:11:31,310 --> 00:11:33,560 So if the product was something simple, 266 00:11:33,740 --> 00:11:36,320 something that snaps on top of a soda can, 267 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,680 or does some type of little kitchen gadget, 268 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:40,820 if it's one mold, 269 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:45,680 it certainly can be reasonably priced compared to the investment that 270 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:48,980 I had to make for basically four different injection molds. 271 00:11:48,980 --> 00:11:49,730 Yeah. Makes sense. 272 00:11:49,730 --> 00:11:51,860 And it occurs to me at this point that we really 273 00:11:51,860 --> 00:11:56,680 haven't described in detail what cookies in a snap actually looks 274 00:11:56,680 --> 00:11:58,570 like. So let's talk about that. 275 00:11:58,570 --> 00:12:00,760 Cause you're talking about the various parts and I can envision 276 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:01,630 that totally, 277 00:12:01,930 --> 00:12:05,170 but just describe a little bit for someone who's listening and 278 00:12:05,170 --> 00:12:06,760 maybe out walking their dog, 279 00:12:06,790 --> 00:12:09,100 they can't get to a computer to real quickly see the 280 00:12:09,100 --> 00:12:12,070 website, but just describe a little bit what the product specifically 281 00:12:12,070 --> 00:12:12,910 is the, 282 00:12:12,910 --> 00:12:15,310 if the complete package with the case and then the inside 283 00:12:15,310 --> 00:12:15,610 and all that. 284 00:12:16,170 --> 00:12:16,620 Okay. Well, 285 00:12:16,620 --> 00:12:19,920 the product started to develop with the idea that you could 286 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:26,370 both cut the shape of around cookie and mold a shape 287 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:27,600 on top of that cookie, 288 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:28,590 a star, 289 00:12:28,680 --> 00:12:29,730 a spiral, 290 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,070 a depressed center to put jelly in, 291 00:12:32,070 --> 00:12:32,610 et cetera. 292 00:12:32,610 --> 00:12:36,930 So the product evolved so that you could in one single 293 00:12:36,930 --> 00:12:40,140 motion pressing down on the dough that you've rolled to a 294 00:12:40,140 --> 00:12:41,190 specific thickness. 295 00:12:41,190 --> 00:12:45,150 And in this particular design it's one quarter inch so that 296 00:12:45,150 --> 00:12:49,920 when you press down with the product it's cutting and shaping 297 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:52,590 and molding all in that one pressing motion. 298 00:12:53,100 --> 00:12:56,820 And the idea was to make the product clear so that 299 00:12:56,820 --> 00:12:57,990 when you're pressing down, 300 00:12:57,990 --> 00:12:59,730 looking down into the product, 301 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:02,970 you can actually see the dose squish up and fill the 302 00:13:02,970 --> 00:13:05,610 mold, which is fun for anyone to do. 303 00:13:05,610 --> 00:13:09,420 And my grandkids particularly like watching that Well. 304 00:13:09,420 --> 00:13:12,060 And the other thing that I think is ingenious is the 305 00:13:12,060 --> 00:13:17,550 container for the different mold is also the handle. 306 00:13:17,550 --> 00:13:18,270 If you will, 307 00:13:18,330 --> 00:13:19,350 of the cookie press, 308 00:13:19,770 --> 00:13:21,600 you snap in the different parts, 309 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:23,790 but they're also stored as one. 310 00:13:23,790 --> 00:13:26,100 So it's all one concise package. 311 00:13:26,340 --> 00:13:29,100 Yes. When we started with the idea that we would hold 312 00:13:29,100 --> 00:13:32,010 something and press down to cut the shape of the cookie 313 00:13:32,370 --> 00:13:36,570 and it could just as easily be square cookies instead of 314 00:13:36,570 --> 00:13:39,330 round. But when we started working with something that you would 315 00:13:39,330 --> 00:13:41,910 hold in your hand to be able to press down on 316 00:13:41,910 --> 00:13:42,570 the dough, 317 00:13:42,990 --> 00:13:46,860 we started to realize that that could become the container for 318 00:13:46,860 --> 00:13:48,060 the disks as well. 319 00:13:48,300 --> 00:13:50,310 So the disk snaps in the bottom, 320 00:13:50,580 --> 00:13:54,720 but when you're finished all the disconnects snap just drop in 321 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:57,390 the top and you put the cap on it and it 322 00:13:57,390 --> 00:14:00,240 stores all the parts in itself. 323 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,390 There's no old box falling apart that you put a rubber 324 00:14:03,390 --> 00:14:07,080 band around or old plastic bag with a variety of small 325 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:08,550 parts and a wire tie, 326 00:14:08,580 --> 00:14:11,160 right? I like what you're talking about here in that, 327 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:14,130 we're really seeing a demonstration of how the product evolved. 328 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,310 You went from prototype and then one thing led to another. 329 00:14:17,310 --> 00:14:18,210 Then the shape, 330 00:14:18,540 --> 00:14:21,180 then the idea of being able to store it all together. 331 00:14:21,450 --> 00:14:26,100 Your concept initially didn't include necessarily all those elements, 332 00:14:26,100 --> 00:14:28,860 but it became the product that it is today. 333 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:30,300 Over a little bit of time, 334 00:14:31,260 --> 00:14:32,040 That's correct. 335 00:14:32,070 --> 00:14:35,160 One of the things that we did identify early on was 336 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,440 could I make this clear, 337 00:14:37,950 --> 00:14:42,270 but the part that everything could store in the product itself, 338 00:14:42,540 --> 00:14:44,610 that was something that evolved over time. 339 00:14:45,060 --> 00:14:47,730 One of the things that many people have in some way, 340 00:14:47,730 --> 00:14:48,480 compared it to, 341 00:14:48,510 --> 00:14:51,560 or at least said that it's much neater than is a 342 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:54,740 cookie press changing a disc and trying to get the dough 343 00:14:54,740 --> 00:14:55,460 in and out. 344 00:14:55,670 --> 00:14:56,930 This is a much cleaner, 345 00:14:56,930 --> 00:14:58,310 simpler to use product. 346 00:14:58,900 --> 00:14:59,380 And again, 347 00:14:59,380 --> 00:15:01,210 I want to just slip in a point that you a 348 00:15:01,210 --> 00:15:03,490 little bit glossed over because you didn't need to, 349 00:15:03,490 --> 00:15:05,440 but I want us to talk about this with our listeners. 350 00:15:05,740 --> 00:15:08,410 You had this idea of cookies in a snap and went 351 00:15:08,410 --> 00:15:10,210 and grabbed the URL right away. 352 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:10,900 That's correct. 353 00:15:10,990 --> 00:15:13,480 Domain names are not expensive. 354 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:13,810 You guys, 355 00:15:13,810 --> 00:15:15,520 all you have to do is go to GoDaddy. 356 00:15:15,550 --> 00:15:18,640 If you have an idea and I'll tell you for this 357 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:21,580 podcast, I wasn't initially sure what I was going to name 358 00:15:21,580 --> 00:15:25,600 it. I think I purchased like 20 different URLs, 359 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,120 20 different ideas because I wanted to make sure that I 360 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:29,740 had them now. 361 00:15:29,770 --> 00:15:31,840 Eventually I zeroed in on one of them. 362 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:34,750 And now since I've released all of the other ones, 363 00:15:34,750 --> 00:15:38,170 but you can buy names even just for a year. 364 00:15:38,740 --> 00:15:40,030 And I would advise you, 365 00:15:40,030 --> 00:15:41,650 if you have a name that you really liked, 366 00:15:41,650 --> 00:15:42,640 just how bill is talking, 367 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:42,820 you know, 368 00:15:42,820 --> 00:15:43,750 this was the name. 369 00:15:43,750 --> 00:15:45,160 It sounded perfect. 370 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,860 And maybe there were two or three or four different ideas, 371 00:15:48,070 --> 00:15:50,590 grab those URLs right away if they're available. 372 00:15:50,590 --> 00:15:52,480 So you don't miss out on them down the road. 373 00:15:52,900 --> 00:15:55,750 One thing I will add to that is if you really 374 00:15:55,750 --> 00:15:58,150 liked the name and you're going to proceed, 375 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:02,650 make sure you put it on automatic renewal because the day 376 00:16:02,650 --> 00:16:05,980 you miss renewing that URL will be gone. 377 00:16:05,980 --> 00:16:07,510 Someone will grab it Good point. 378 00:16:07,810 --> 00:16:10,750 And you always get notices that it's going to automatically renews 379 00:16:10,750 --> 00:16:12,310 too. So that's correct. 380 00:16:12,310 --> 00:16:13,270 Yeah. And I would also, 381 00:16:13,270 --> 00:16:14,830 since we're on this topic, 382 00:16:15,130 --> 00:16:18,430 check out Facebook pages and other things to see if they're 383 00:16:18,430 --> 00:16:21,040 available. If you think you're going to wait a little bit 384 00:16:21,130 --> 00:16:23,530 to your risk of someone taking that, 385 00:16:23,530 --> 00:16:26,170 but it's nice to have something very concise in it and 386 00:16:26,170 --> 00:16:28,000 that they all match each other, 387 00:16:28,300 --> 00:16:32,050 any social media sites as well as your URL. 388 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:33,280 So, okay. 389 00:16:33,340 --> 00:16:34,150 I want to move on now. 390 00:16:34,150 --> 00:16:38,470 So you've got your prototype and then what happens next? 391 00:16:38,530 --> 00:16:40,360 What do you do after you have a prototype? 392 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:41,710 You've pretty much zeroed in on, 393 00:16:42,220 --> 00:16:45,190 Well, we started working with a marketing firm here in the 394 00:16:45,190 --> 00:16:51,340 Lehigh Valley to develop promotional material and our main objective. 395 00:16:51,370 --> 00:16:51,670 I mean, 396 00:16:51,670 --> 00:16:53,590 besides selling on Amazon, 397 00:16:53,620 --> 00:16:53,830 you know, 398 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:56,980 as we get miscellaneous orders and more attention, 399 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:02,710 our goal is primarily to approach the housewares industry and sell 400 00:17:02,710 --> 00:17:05,110 wholesale to retailers, 401 00:17:05,140 --> 00:17:07,510 baking and cooking type stores, 402 00:17:07,810 --> 00:17:08,320 bed bath, 403 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:08,890 and beyond, 404 00:17:08,890 --> 00:17:09,400 et cetera. 405 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,400 So our big push will be when we get to the 406 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:16,540 international house ware show in March of 2017, 407 00:17:16,660 --> 00:17:20,230 we did promote our product pretty widely to friends and relatives 408 00:17:20,740 --> 00:17:22,840 and sold quite a few hundred, 409 00:17:22,870 --> 00:17:24,910 which helped give us some cash, 410 00:17:24,910 --> 00:17:26,830 some seed cash to keep proceeding. 411 00:17:27,340 --> 00:17:28,720 Certainly it was helpful. 412 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:31,810 Although our investment was more than what we did pick up 413 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:33,490 by selling locally, 414 00:17:33,910 --> 00:17:35,440 but we knew that was going to be the case. 415 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:38,110 We just wanted to enlist as much help as we could 416 00:17:38,110 --> 00:17:41,200 and let people get the actual product after we had done 417 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:43,330 a preliminary production run. 418 00:17:43,900 --> 00:17:45,940 And you're also getting feedback on the product. 419 00:17:46,390 --> 00:17:47,710 Exactly. Exactly. 420 00:17:47,950 --> 00:17:50,250 You're talking about the fact that you really made a conscious 421 00:17:50,250 --> 00:17:52,710 Choice of which market you're going after. 422 00:17:52,710 --> 00:17:54,720 You're not going direct to the consumer. 423 00:17:54,870 --> 00:17:57,930 You're going to the stores who will then supply the product. 424 00:17:58,460 --> 00:17:59,960 That'll be our bigger market. 425 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:01,100 Yes. Okay. 426 00:18:01,250 --> 00:18:03,890 So that planning is going on. 427 00:18:04,190 --> 00:18:07,250 How do you actually get this product made? 428 00:18:07,250 --> 00:18:08,240 You've got the prototype. 429 00:18:08,270 --> 00:18:10,820 How does it jump from a prototype to now? 430 00:18:10,820 --> 00:18:15,950 You have something that you can exchange Once we had finalized 431 00:18:16,010 --> 00:18:19,490 and really the last couple of 3d prototypes we printed, 432 00:18:19,490 --> 00:18:23,840 we were making very fine tuning little adjustments, 433 00:18:24,140 --> 00:18:25,460 how thick the dose should be. 434 00:18:25,460 --> 00:18:26,750 Should it be three 16? 435 00:18:26,750 --> 00:18:28,070 Should it be a quarter inch, 436 00:18:28,220 --> 00:18:31,730 the little tabs that the disc snap in and out that 437 00:18:31,730 --> 00:18:33,950 hold it in place or are they too big or are 438 00:18:33,950 --> 00:18:34,850 they too small? 439 00:18:35,060 --> 00:18:38,780 I had told the industrial designer the proceed with the injection 440 00:18:38,780 --> 00:18:42,950 moles. So then the factory ran 20 samples for us, 441 00:18:42,950 --> 00:18:43,700 send them back. 442 00:18:44,270 --> 00:18:47,960 And initially the disks were very hard to snap in. 443 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,180 So we had to modify the injection mold. 444 00:18:50,780 --> 00:18:52,340 The next time they were too loose, 445 00:18:52,700 --> 00:18:54,260 we had to modify the injection mold, 446 00:18:54,290 --> 00:18:56,720 but that was all part of the price they had quoted 447 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:00,380 for me to adjust things until I was satisfied. 448 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:01,760 It worked out really well. 449 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:02,930 They did an excellent job. 450 00:19:03,260 --> 00:19:07,610 I worked through the industrial designer who has connections with factories 451 00:19:07,610 --> 00:19:11,540 that he has worked with for the last 20 years factories 452 00:19:11,540 --> 00:19:13,490 that he trusts that he knows the quality. 453 00:19:13,820 --> 00:19:18,380 And I've heard many stories of people who have hired factories 454 00:19:18,710 --> 00:19:21,800 around the world only to have their product show up and 455 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:22,910 not be acceptable. 456 00:19:23,150 --> 00:19:27,320 My industrial designer receives the product and specs it and I 457 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:29,750 don't pay him until he and I are both happy with 458 00:19:29,750 --> 00:19:30,470 the quality. 459 00:19:30,470 --> 00:19:32,510 So it's not like it left the factory. 460 00:19:32,510 --> 00:19:33,140 You bought it. 461 00:19:33,140 --> 00:19:33,860 It's yours. 462 00:19:34,370 --> 00:19:38,000 Actually, when my first production run came in instead of eight 463 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:38,960 different discs, 464 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,410 he did a quality inspection after he checked about 50 of 465 00:19:42,410 --> 00:19:45,140 them. He found one that had a duplicate Fisk in it. 466 00:19:45,470 --> 00:19:49,370 He checked all of the production run for me at no 467 00:19:49,370 --> 00:19:50,240 additional cost. 468 00:19:50,390 --> 00:19:51,860 He wasn't happy with the factory, 469 00:19:52,100 --> 00:19:54,500 but that was part of the quality control he had promised 470 00:19:54,500 --> 00:19:55,130 in his price. 471 00:19:55,130 --> 00:19:59,090 So I've been very happy working with a single source for 472 00:19:59,090 --> 00:20:00,350 the product and for the designer. 473 00:20:00,410 --> 00:20:01,250 Absolutely. I mean, 474 00:20:01,250 --> 00:20:03,110 it, it costs a little bit more money to go that 475 00:20:03,110 --> 00:20:04,040 route, but you know, 476 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:08,810 you've got proven and known resources in people that he's used 477 00:20:08,810 --> 00:20:10,850 before. And you know, 478 00:20:10,850 --> 00:20:11,480 let's face it. 479 00:20:11,510 --> 00:20:14,840 None of us who have never done a product before know 480 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,240 everything that an industrial designer would Dow. 481 00:20:17,270 --> 00:20:18,290 So I think, 482 00:20:18,290 --> 00:20:19,100 well worth it. 483 00:20:19,700 --> 00:20:23,390 You touched on another point from the entrepreneurial seminar I went 484 00:20:23,390 --> 00:20:25,130 to about a month and a half ago, 485 00:20:25,490 --> 00:20:25,640 you know, 486 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:27,950 that most products are not unique and innovative. 487 00:20:27,980 --> 00:20:30,290 Most investments are pretty small. 488 00:20:30,470 --> 00:20:33,950 The other is that most people actually start a business in 489 00:20:33,950 --> 00:20:37,010 a field that hasn't been their main experience. 490 00:20:37,130 --> 00:20:40,460 I'm making a cookie product for the housewares industry. 491 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:44,390 And my background is more in design and construction of buildings 492 00:20:44,390 --> 00:20:46,400 and renovations on college campuses. 493 00:20:46,990 --> 00:20:48,460 Yeah. Very good Point. 494 00:20:48,460 --> 00:20:51,400 So go with people who have been there before and know 495 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:52,180 what they're doing. 496 00:20:52,750 --> 00:20:56,580 Yes. It's worth the extra expense to get it done. 497 00:20:56,580 --> 00:20:57,840 Right. Okay. 498 00:20:57,840 --> 00:20:59,580 So all of this sounds good. 499 00:20:59,610 --> 00:21:02,280 And so just again, 500 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:03,390 to ground everybody, 501 00:21:03,390 --> 00:21:07,140 how long has the product actually been out and been marketed? 502 00:21:07,710 --> 00:21:09,960 Oh, About three months now. 503 00:21:10,830 --> 00:21:12,210 Okay. So brand new. 504 00:21:12,930 --> 00:21:13,950 So there's a lot, 505 00:21:14,140 --> 00:21:15,660 a lot of future ahead, 506 00:21:15,660 --> 00:21:17,400 which is super exciting. 507 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,090 What struggles have you had to get to this point? 508 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:24,090 Is there any huge challenge that really, 509 00:21:24,090 --> 00:21:27,120 really, you just weren't sure if it was going to work 510 00:21:27,150 --> 00:21:29,100 and how did you then overcome it to get to where 511 00:21:29,100 --> 00:21:29,820 you are today? 512 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,960 Well, the biggest struggle I would say was actually getting our 513 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:38,340 financial resources together because my wife and I were both working 514 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,520 full time and going back to five years, 515 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:43,380 four and a half years to when we first got the 516 00:21:43,930 --> 00:21:47,340 RL and the idea my wife was working for a local 517 00:21:47,340 --> 00:21:49,620 university, the recession hit, 518 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:50,850 she was let go. 519 00:21:50,850 --> 00:21:52,050 After 11 years, 520 00:21:52,110 --> 00:21:55,560 the job I had at that time was dependent on raising 521 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:59,010 money and to do any new construction and renovation and their 522 00:21:59,100 --> 00:22:02,550 fundraising campaign essentially evaporated to nothing. 523 00:22:03,510 --> 00:22:06,570 So the recession was pretty hard on both of us. 524 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:11,370 I happily switched jobs and started working for a local hospital 525 00:22:11,370 --> 00:22:12,810 in their facilities department, 526 00:22:12,930 --> 00:22:14,580 Marianne found another job. 527 00:22:15,150 --> 00:22:17,070 And so when we recovered from that, 528 00:22:17,070 --> 00:22:21,390 we found ourselves now in a better financial position to proceed 529 00:22:21,450 --> 00:22:22,230 with the product. 530 00:22:22,230 --> 00:22:23,400 And we started slowly, 531 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:23,550 you know, 532 00:22:23,550 --> 00:22:26,580 I started working with the industrial designer and once I felt 533 00:22:26,580 --> 00:22:27,690 confident in the product, 534 00:22:28,170 --> 00:22:31,200 then I worked with the local video production company. 535 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:32,760 So we took it step by step. 536 00:22:33,030 --> 00:22:34,380 And the more we did, 537 00:22:34,380 --> 00:22:36,150 the more we were confident in the product, 538 00:22:36,180 --> 00:22:37,980 the more it continued to look good. 539 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:38,850 And after, 540 00:22:39,030 --> 00:22:40,410 well, over two years now, 541 00:22:40,410 --> 00:22:42,000 since the first sketches, 542 00:22:42,090 --> 00:22:42,630 I'm very, 543 00:22:42,630 --> 00:22:43,920 very pleased with the product. 544 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:45,630 I haven't gotten bored with it. 545 00:22:45,630 --> 00:22:47,970 I haven't started to question the quality of it. 546 00:22:48,090 --> 00:22:50,790 And I think that's a very good thing to have. 547 00:22:51,180 --> 00:22:54,390 Okay. So you are still in the introduction stages, 548 00:22:54,750 --> 00:22:59,010 but has there been some event or maybe it's the video 549 00:22:59,010 --> 00:22:59,430 that you have? 550 00:22:59,430 --> 00:23:00,120 I'm not sure. 551 00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:03,210 But what types of things are you seeing that people are 552 00:23:03,210 --> 00:23:04,050 reacting to? 553 00:23:04,050 --> 00:23:07,650 They're seeing the product and it's a positive vibe that's moving 554 00:23:07,650 --> 00:23:08,610 the business forward? 555 00:23:09,030 --> 00:23:11,700 Well, one of the things was last year when we went 556 00:23:11,700 --> 00:23:13,680 to the house ware show in Chicago, 557 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:14,430 in March, 558 00:23:14,730 --> 00:23:16,530 we did have our video finished, 559 00:23:17,070 --> 00:23:20,070 although we didn't have any production samples at the time we, 560 00:23:20,100 --> 00:23:23,550 the video was made using the 3d printed product. 561 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,380 But when we showed various vendors and people in Chicago, 562 00:23:28,590 --> 00:23:29,310 the video, 563 00:23:29,550 --> 00:23:31,050 they were very excited about it. 564 00:23:31,050 --> 00:23:34,680 There is a distributor in Canada who has talked to us 565 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,050 about exclusive distribution rights. 566 00:23:37,410 --> 00:23:40,830 We've been in touch and we will be catching up in 567 00:23:41,070 --> 00:23:42,510 March at the house ware show. 568 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:47,450 Wonderful. And what types of now most of this has been, 569 00:23:47,900 --> 00:23:48,590 as you were saying, 570 00:23:48,590 --> 00:23:49,550 family, friends. 571 00:23:49,550 --> 00:23:52,610 I know you've been to a consumer show recently where you're 572 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:55,070 now exposing people to cookies in a snap. 573 00:23:55,310 --> 00:23:57,560 What type of reaction have you been getting from people? 574 00:23:58,420 --> 00:24:00,460 People have commented primarily. 575 00:24:00,460 --> 00:24:02,620 They liked that it's small and compact. 576 00:24:02,650 --> 00:24:05,980 They liked the main feature is that it's self storing that 577 00:24:05,980 --> 00:24:08,860 all the parts fit within the product itself. 578 00:24:09,340 --> 00:24:13,120 And we started realizing a lot of people were commenting on 579 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:15,220 the comparison to a cookie press. 580 00:24:15,670 --> 00:24:18,310 So that's why I mentioned it earlier in the discussion. 581 00:24:18,790 --> 00:24:22,060 It's something that comes up quite a bit and we have 582 00:24:22,060 --> 00:24:24,310 the potential to create more disk, 583 00:24:24,340 --> 00:24:25,660 dozens, and dozens of disks, 584 00:24:25,660 --> 00:24:26,890 of different design, 585 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:28,450 Christmas sets, 586 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:29,620 animal cookies, 587 00:24:29,620 --> 00:24:34,000 dinosaurs, almost everything in anything for any holiday or event, 588 00:24:34,030 --> 00:24:38,590 we could make disks and sets of different themes and expand 589 00:24:38,590 --> 00:24:43,660 the product to be an entire brand of cookie making Sure 590 00:24:43,660 --> 00:24:45,850 because once you get that first one down, 591 00:24:45,850 --> 00:24:47,560 it becomes easier from there. 592 00:24:48,310 --> 00:24:50,980 Yeah. In terms of themes and then also sizes, 593 00:24:50,980 --> 00:24:53,170 are you looking at now different sizes as well? 594 00:24:53,530 --> 00:24:54,130 That's right. 595 00:24:54,130 --> 00:24:54,670 We can, 596 00:24:54,820 --> 00:24:58,660 I've already talked about cookies in a snap minis cookies in 597 00:24:58,660 --> 00:25:00,340 a snap squared, 598 00:25:00,490 --> 00:25:03,820 which would be almost a cookie that might be shaped similar 599 00:25:03,820 --> 00:25:05,890 to a chessmen cookie. 600 00:25:06,430 --> 00:25:08,770 You'd probably be square rather than rectangular, 601 00:25:08,770 --> 00:25:09,580 but yeah. 602 00:25:09,610 --> 00:25:10,960 Slightly rounded corners. 603 00:25:11,260 --> 00:25:14,290 So the dough comes out very easily Or like shortbread dish 604 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:15,490 type cookie or something. 605 00:25:15,910 --> 00:25:17,010 Yeah. Yeah. 606 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:18,940 Okay. You mentioned shortbread. 607 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,910 The recipes that we have on our website, 608 00:25:22,450 --> 00:25:25,510 we have tested and we continue to try and refine them 609 00:25:25,780 --> 00:25:29,590 because you need a dough mixture that is going to hold 610 00:25:29,590 --> 00:25:31,420 its shape when it's baked. 611 00:25:31,750 --> 00:25:34,720 And that's one of the features of the recipes that we 612 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:35,350 have online. 613 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:40,510 Now that you're saying that I am envisioning a cookbook that 614 00:25:40,510 --> 00:25:44,440 goes along with one of the cookie and a snap themes, 615 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:48,400 maybe it's for children where it's like all compact altogether and 616 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:49,270 you sell as a set. 617 00:25:49,270 --> 00:25:49,750 How about that? 618 00:25:51,220 --> 00:25:52,240 That could be interesting. 619 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:53,230 Yeah. Recipes. 620 00:25:53,230 --> 00:25:53,470 I mean, 621 00:25:53,470 --> 00:25:55,480 it's an automatic extension down the road, 622 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:56,470 your way in the beginning. 623 00:25:56,470 --> 00:26:01,240 I get it real quick question about trademarking or patenting or 624 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:03,400 what do you need to do for a product such as 625 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:08,020 yours? What I've learned early on and reading? 626 00:26:08,020 --> 00:26:11,740 I did online when we were at the international houseware show, 627 00:26:11,830 --> 00:26:15,160 the United States trademark patent office always has a booth there 628 00:26:15,190 --> 00:26:16,930 with plenty of free information. 629 00:26:16,930 --> 00:26:19,930 If you go public with your product early, 630 00:26:20,650 --> 00:26:24,940 you have a year to patent the product, 631 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:26,530 to, to apply for a patent. 632 00:26:26,740 --> 00:26:29,860 But if you work with industrial designers, 633 00:26:29,860 --> 00:26:30,640 marketing firms, 634 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:31,150 et cetera, 635 00:26:31,150 --> 00:26:34,240 and have them sign nondisclosure agreements, 636 00:26:34,510 --> 00:26:35,380 which I did, 637 00:26:36,010 --> 00:26:39,220 you can keep working on it for more than that year. 638 00:26:39,850 --> 00:26:42,100 And you could then file for a patent. 639 00:26:42,100 --> 00:26:46,170 So non-disclosure agreements give you a longer window to work on 640 00:26:46,170 --> 00:26:46,770 your product. 641 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:51,330 They also help protect that information from being distributed or getting 642 00:26:51,330 --> 00:26:53,760 out there early after that, 643 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:55,980 you can apply for a provisional patent, 644 00:26:56,010 --> 00:26:59,610 which we did the patents about 95% complete, 645 00:26:59,850 --> 00:27:03,240 but it gives you a one-year window before you have to 646 00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:04,920 apply for the final patent. 647 00:27:05,010 --> 00:27:08,460 And we did that in January of 2016. 648 00:27:08,850 --> 00:27:12,180 So we will file the final technical patent. 649 00:27:12,180 --> 00:27:13,950 Before January of 17, 650 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:16,200 we also did a search. 651 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:17,490 We did a patent search. 652 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:21,720 We did a trademark search and applied for a trademark cookies 653 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:22,320 and a snap. 654 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:24,530 And that has been granted Wonderful. 655 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:25,760 Congratulations on that. 656 00:27:26,060 --> 00:27:27,770 Your trademark protects your name, 657 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:28,490 the patent. 658 00:27:28,490 --> 00:27:32,000 Does it protect just the design of the disks, 659 00:27:32,030 --> 00:27:34,640 the whole structure? 660 00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:35,570 I mean, 661 00:27:35,570 --> 00:27:37,100 what are you covered within a pack? 662 00:27:38,090 --> 00:27:40,880 Actually, I have two different patents. 663 00:27:40,940 --> 00:27:42,320 We have the provisional patent, 664 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:45,410 which will become the final technical patent. 665 00:27:46,010 --> 00:27:48,110 And we have a design patent. 666 00:27:48,620 --> 00:27:53,930 The design patent protects the actual shape and physical design of 667 00:27:53,930 --> 00:27:54,740 the product, 668 00:27:55,010 --> 00:27:56,330 the technical patent, 669 00:27:56,330 --> 00:27:58,370 or it's actually called a utility patent, 670 00:27:58,610 --> 00:28:01,400 protects the technical features. 671 00:28:01,460 --> 00:28:07,400 The fact that there's a particular engineered component that allows you 672 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,100 to be able to both shape the cookie and cut the 673 00:28:10,100 --> 00:28:14,600 cookie and have different 3d impressions, 674 00:28:15,020 --> 00:28:15,860 raised areas, 675 00:28:15,860 --> 00:28:16,790 depressed areas. 676 00:28:16,790 --> 00:28:19,910 The fact that all that works with one simple press is 677 00:28:19,910 --> 00:28:23,300 kind of the secret sauce of the patent that no one 678 00:28:23,300 --> 00:28:27,110 else had done in terms of cookie making cookie cutters, 679 00:28:27,140 --> 00:28:28,610 cookie shaping products. 680 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:29,240 Got it. 681 00:28:29,300 --> 00:28:31,700 And very smart to get all of that taken care of 682 00:28:31,700 --> 00:28:33,350 and covered at the onset. 683 00:28:34,190 --> 00:28:35,560 Yes. I mean, 684 00:28:35,570 --> 00:28:38,540 there's a certain window of opportunity and if it passes, 685 00:28:38,660 --> 00:28:39,440 you're out of luck. 686 00:28:39,860 --> 00:28:42,200 Also, once you do apply for a patent, 687 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:47,750 you have six months in which to apply for international patents. 688 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:48,980 After that, 689 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:49,820 you're out of luck. 690 00:28:50,180 --> 00:28:52,160 We did apply oddly enough, 691 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:54,110 for a Chinese design patent. 692 00:28:54,650 --> 00:28:57,560 We talked to several people at the international house where show 693 00:28:57,860 --> 00:28:59,000 one of the companies, 694 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:00,530 their product was being copied. 695 00:29:00,530 --> 00:29:02,300 It was being sold on Ali Baba, 696 00:29:03,050 --> 00:29:07,010 but they had the Chinese patent and the Chinese Ali-Baba stopped 697 00:29:07,010 --> 00:29:08,660 selling it from what he told me, 698 00:29:08,900 --> 00:29:11,300 they will ignore American patents and trademarks, 699 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:13,040 but they will respect their own. 700 00:29:13,190 --> 00:29:13,970 So it was, 701 00:29:14,210 --> 00:29:17,720 I'd say a modest fee to get the Chinese patent. 702 00:29:17,990 --> 00:29:19,130 Interesting. Yeah. 703 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:19,790 Good point. 704 00:29:19,850 --> 00:29:20,360 Good point. 705 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:22,790 So then they had to pull the product from Ali-Baba. 706 00:29:23,180 --> 00:29:23,570 They did, 707 00:29:23,690 --> 00:29:25,190 that's a good result then Phil, 708 00:29:25,220 --> 00:29:28,010 I wanted to turn now into our reflection section. 709 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:30,110 This is a look at you in a little bit of 710 00:29:30,110 --> 00:29:30,890 a different way. 711 00:29:30,890 --> 00:29:33,800 And some of the things that you're doing day to day 712 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:35,210 to make you successful, 713 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:37,340 do you have a natural trait, 714 00:29:37,340 --> 00:29:41,030 either you or Marianne that you feel has really helped you 715 00:29:41,110 --> 00:29:41,980 be successful? 716 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:44,920 I'm perpetually optimistic. 717 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:45,400 I mean, 718 00:29:45,430 --> 00:29:48,100 even when I have a bad day or a bad week, 719 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,940 I recover very quickly and I make a list of things 720 00:29:51,940 --> 00:29:54,870 I can do to try and move the project forward Is 721 00:29:54,870 --> 00:29:56,610 recovery just time away. 722 00:29:56,610 --> 00:29:59,520 And then you approach it with a new thought or is 723 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:00,630 there anything else that you do? 724 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:02,340 I do some reading, 725 00:30:02,460 --> 00:30:03,510 I've got a couple of books. 726 00:30:03,510 --> 00:30:05,610 I also save some articles right now. 727 00:30:05,610 --> 00:30:10,140 I subscribe to entrepreneur fast company and Inc magazine. 728 00:30:10,260 --> 00:30:12,060 And as I read them, 729 00:30:12,060 --> 00:30:15,150 I'll underline certain phrases or paragraphs, 730 00:30:16,020 --> 00:30:20,070 maybe every other issue or so I care out a page 731 00:30:20,070 --> 00:30:24,120 that was particularly inspiring about someone who had hit some roadblocks 732 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:26,940 and just kept pushing on and kept moving forward. 733 00:30:26,940 --> 00:30:27,330 And it's, 734 00:30:27,540 --> 00:30:29,520 it's always good to have reminders of that. 735 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:30,960 This doesn't happen overnight. 736 00:30:31,350 --> 00:30:33,150 Overnight. Success is pretty rare, 737 00:30:33,180 --> 00:30:37,020 right? So it's inspiring that word that I mentioned earlier in 738 00:30:37,020 --> 00:30:37,590 the interview, 739 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:41,220 it's inspiring to see others succeeding, 740 00:30:41,430 --> 00:30:43,500 having hit roadblocks and they keep working. 741 00:30:43,620 --> 00:30:45,150 And that's what I keep trying to do. 742 00:30:45,330 --> 00:30:49,290 I see this as a three to five-year window to assess 743 00:30:49,620 --> 00:30:51,210 how successful it's going to be. 744 00:30:51,420 --> 00:30:53,640 I'm not looking at this as six months or a year 745 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:54,360 down the road. 746 00:30:54,570 --> 00:30:55,560 It takes time. 747 00:30:55,770 --> 00:30:58,410 A friend of mine who I graduated college with said, 748 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:01,140 the number one thing to do is just keep pushing it 749 00:31:01,140 --> 00:31:01,590 out there. 750 00:31:01,590 --> 00:31:03,120 So that's my plan. 751 00:31:03,660 --> 00:31:05,670 And we'll see where we are in three or five years. 752 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:06,990 Sounds good. 753 00:31:06,990 --> 00:31:09,060 Well, you didn't rush the development process, 754 00:31:09,060 --> 00:31:10,500 which I think was really wise. 755 00:31:10,860 --> 00:31:11,460 And you know, 756 00:31:11,460 --> 00:31:15,300 you've taken solid steps in terms of covering the concept and 757 00:31:15,300 --> 00:31:16,590 the design and all of that. 758 00:31:16,590 --> 00:31:19,830 And now you're into the marketing promotion stage. 759 00:31:19,830 --> 00:31:20,520 And like you said, 760 00:31:20,550 --> 00:31:23,310 you're going to see and already the initial reactions have been 761 00:31:23,310 --> 00:31:25,200 great. So you continue on, 762 00:31:25,260 --> 00:31:27,900 it's a story that is in the middle of its novel. 763 00:31:27,900 --> 00:31:29,520 I don't know what to say about that. 764 00:31:30,270 --> 00:31:33,810 You mentioned I didn't rush the development process. 765 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:34,530 That's true. 766 00:31:35,100 --> 00:31:38,700 But the initial schedule I had was shorter than the time 767 00:31:38,700 --> 00:31:39,180 it took. 768 00:31:39,210 --> 00:31:40,230 So, Oh, 769 00:31:40,230 --> 00:31:41,220 interesting. Okay. 770 00:31:41,250 --> 00:31:46,770 I found that both in design and construction in other initiatives, 771 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:49,680 you know how long it's going to take me to renovate 772 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:51,060 my kitchen or anything else. 773 00:31:51,510 --> 00:31:53,040 So if anyone out there is thinking, 774 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:54,870 I can get this done in six months, 775 00:31:55,260 --> 00:31:56,430 think more like a year. 776 00:31:56,430 --> 00:31:57,780 If you think he could do it in a year, 777 00:31:57,780 --> 00:31:59,040 it's probably going to take two, 778 00:31:59,820 --> 00:32:00,570 Double it up. 779 00:32:00,690 --> 00:32:03,540 You can always be surprised on the quicker side, 780 00:32:03,540 --> 00:32:04,050 I guess. 781 00:32:05,310 --> 00:32:05,880 That's right. 782 00:32:06,270 --> 00:32:09,180 Do you use a tool or some type of app or 783 00:32:09,180 --> 00:32:11,850 anything that helps you to be productive in your day? 784 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:13,980 I keep a list on my iPhone. 785 00:32:14,100 --> 00:32:15,570 I also carry a pallette, 786 00:32:15,570 --> 00:32:16,500 a little journal, 787 00:32:16,500 --> 00:32:20,100 like a five by eight book with nothing in it except 788 00:32:20,100 --> 00:32:23,880 lines. And I make notes about either ideas or things I 789 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:27,240 wanted to get done or someone I need to call. 790 00:32:27,570 --> 00:32:28,530 And I keep it with me. 791 00:32:28,530 --> 00:32:31,770 I write down most days what I accomplished, 792 00:32:31,830 --> 00:32:34,860 what I did so I can go back and look three, 793 00:32:34,860 --> 00:32:36,270 five, 10 days ago and say, 794 00:32:36,300 --> 00:32:39,290 Oh, there was a note there to call someone or send 795 00:32:39,290 --> 00:32:42,650 an email or an idea for a marketing. 796 00:32:43,870 --> 00:32:45,400 Your point is though you put it down, 797 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:46,660 either on your phone, 798 00:32:46,660 --> 00:32:48,070 maybe the notes app or something. 799 00:32:48,310 --> 00:32:48,820 That's right. 800 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:50,530 Yeah. Or on paper. 801 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:53,710 So you're not just randomly going from one task to another. 802 00:32:53,710 --> 00:32:54,550 You have a plan. 803 00:32:55,090 --> 00:32:58,420 True. I liked the paper because when you're in art and 804 00:32:58,420 --> 00:32:59,530 design school, 805 00:32:59,740 --> 00:33:02,500 they encourage you to sketch and draw and keep notes. 806 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:06,280 So it's kind of a trademark of people in the design 807 00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:07,420 field. I mean, 808 00:33:07,420 --> 00:33:10,030 I know there's all kinds of apps and software and the 809 00:33:10,030 --> 00:33:11,770 computers can do everything, 810 00:33:11,770 --> 00:33:16,090 but the design school still encourage you to draw manually and 811 00:33:16,090 --> 00:33:19,420 sketch. That's a different type of activity when you're trying to, 812 00:33:20,350 --> 00:33:21,550 You'd be surprised bill. 813 00:33:21,550 --> 00:33:24,340 And it might be because most of the people that we 814 00:33:24,340 --> 00:33:26,890 interview are creators in one way or another, 815 00:33:27,100 --> 00:33:28,630 but more often than not, 816 00:33:28,690 --> 00:33:30,490 people are talking about the, 817 00:33:30,500 --> 00:33:31,840 just the hand to paper, 818 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:32,140 you know, 819 00:33:32,140 --> 00:33:37,060 the physical notebook or journal or sticky note tasks or whatever, 820 00:33:37,180 --> 00:33:39,400 more than I would have expected to be quite honest. 821 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:41,890 But I'm glad because that's the way I gravitate to. 822 00:33:41,980 --> 00:33:45,280 I've tried some of these other apps and for some things 823 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:46,150 it serves well, 824 00:33:46,150 --> 00:33:48,370 but just for your list in your to-do and day to 825 00:33:48,370 --> 00:33:50,350 day, I like the pen and paper. 826 00:33:51,050 --> 00:33:52,270 So I'm right with you there. 827 00:33:52,630 --> 00:33:53,830 Yes. It's easy to edit, 828 00:33:53,860 --> 00:33:55,660 cross out at an extra note, 829 00:33:55,690 --> 00:33:58,480 put something in the margin and let it evolve. 830 00:33:59,380 --> 00:34:00,190 Totally agree. 831 00:34:00,340 --> 00:34:02,560 Have you read a book that you think our listeners could 832 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:03,340 find value in? 833 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:05,950 This is going to sound a little odd. 834 00:34:06,010 --> 00:34:06,790 Well, I'll tell, 835 00:34:06,790 --> 00:34:07,930 I'll mention two books. 836 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:08,800 Years ago, 837 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:12,070 someone recommended awaken the giant within, 838 00:34:12,100 --> 00:34:13,210 by Tony Robbins, 839 00:34:13,210 --> 00:34:15,340 which is kind of been my go-to book. 840 00:34:15,370 --> 00:34:17,440 I've read it three or four times. 841 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:19,180 And if I need a little encouragement, 842 00:34:19,180 --> 00:34:20,860 I'll read 20 or 30 pages. 843 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:22,930 But in the recent year, 844 00:34:23,110 --> 00:34:25,000 during the political campaigns, 845 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:25,870 as they were, 846 00:34:25,900 --> 00:34:27,760 someone had mentioned, 847 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:31,150 Trump's the art of the deal and were critical of it 848 00:34:31,180 --> 00:34:32,050 because he, 849 00:34:32,470 --> 00:34:34,450 they almost said he was lying in the book. 850 00:34:34,460 --> 00:34:34,840 So I thought, 851 00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:35,500 well, you know what? 852 00:34:35,500 --> 00:34:37,270 I could find a used copy online, 853 00:34:37,270 --> 00:34:40,090 which I did for like a dollar plus a dollar 99 854 00:34:40,090 --> 00:34:42,550 shipping. I bought the book and I have to admit, 855 00:34:42,570 --> 00:34:43,630 I didn't finish the book, 856 00:34:43,630 --> 00:34:45,520 but I read well over half of it, 857 00:34:45,610 --> 00:34:46,660 he's not lying. 858 00:34:46,660 --> 00:34:48,100 He has a vision. 859 00:34:48,130 --> 00:34:49,450 He's excited about it. 860 00:34:49,630 --> 00:34:51,760 And he's promoting and selling it, 861 00:34:51,850 --> 00:34:53,350 his vision to other people. 862 00:34:53,350 --> 00:34:56,320 And that's what all of us as entrepreneurs have to do. 863 00:34:56,680 --> 00:34:58,570 We have to be excited about our product. 864 00:34:58,570 --> 00:35:00,910 We have to tell people why it's good and that's all 865 00:35:00,910 --> 00:35:01,600 he was doing. 866 00:35:01,810 --> 00:35:05,320 It really is about belief in your product and a continued 867 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:07,630 enthusiasm and just keep pushing it out. 868 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:10,510 And so when you're talking about the art of the deal, 869 00:35:10,510 --> 00:35:11,860 it's not necessarily, 870 00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:14,950 or only shall I say the content of what he was 871 00:35:14,950 --> 00:35:17,500 saying. It was the method and the fact that he was 872 00:35:17,770 --> 00:35:19,780 excited about it and sharing the idea. 873 00:35:19,780 --> 00:35:22,600 It's the whole concept of the book versus the content of 874 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:23,020 the book. 875 00:35:23,770 --> 00:35:24,910 Exactly. All right. 876 00:35:24,910 --> 00:35:27,490 Well, give biz listeners just as you're listening to the podcast 877 00:35:27,490 --> 00:35:30,790 today, you can also listen to audio books with ease. 878 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,490 I've teamed up with audible for you to be able to 879 00:35:33,490 --> 00:35:36,940 get an audio book for free on me. 880 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:38,550 You haven't done so already. 881 00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:41,100 All you need to do is go to gift biz, 882 00:35:41,130 --> 00:35:43,920 book.com and make your selection. 883 00:35:44,310 --> 00:35:47,730 Okay. Bill now is the time when I invite you to 884 00:35:47,730 --> 00:35:48,660 dare to dream. 885 00:35:49,230 --> 00:35:51,420 I'd like to present you with a virtual gift. 886 00:35:51,510 --> 00:35:56,100 It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future. 887 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:59,460 So this is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable 888 00:35:59,460 --> 00:36:01,260 Heights that you would wish to obtain. 889 00:36:01,650 --> 00:36:04,620 Please accept this gift and open it in our presence. 890 00:36:04,890 --> 00:36:06,330 What is inside your box? 891 00:36:07,220 --> 00:36:10,970 The box contains what I'll call a pallet of cookie making 892 00:36:11,030 --> 00:36:13,490 opportunity sets of disks, 893 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:14,810 different size cookies, 894 00:36:14,810 --> 00:36:15,770 different shapes, 895 00:36:16,310 --> 00:36:20,930 and all in a complete package to take care of any 896 00:36:20,930 --> 00:36:22,040 holiday season, 897 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:23,900 birthday, or event, 898 00:36:24,350 --> 00:36:29,450 and make a variety of cookies and flavors for any occasion. 899 00:36:29,630 --> 00:36:32,570 And who has created this palette of all of these different 900 00:36:32,570 --> 00:36:33,680 varieties of cookies. 901 00:36:34,670 --> 00:36:42,170 Well, Marianne and I are working diligently to build a brand 902 00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:48,410 and create that large collection of designs and disks and themes. 903 00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:53,480 Hopefully someday that will include licensed characters and Oh, 904 00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:54,410 that's cool. 905 00:36:56,030 --> 00:36:57,110 Cool. Yeah. 906 00:36:57,110 --> 00:36:57,350 You know, 907 00:36:57,350 --> 00:37:00,050 one of the reasons I do this question is for people 908 00:37:00,050 --> 00:37:00,890 to put out there, 909 00:37:00,890 --> 00:37:04,220 what they're wanting and know you've been talking about it a 910 00:37:04,220 --> 00:37:07,280 little bit through the podcast in terms of what your vision 911 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:09,320 is. It just doesn't stop right here. 912 00:37:09,470 --> 00:37:11,180 You have product line extensions. 913 00:37:11,210 --> 00:37:15,080 And so your dream is just receiving and seeing that come 914 00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:15,920 to reality. 915 00:37:16,430 --> 00:37:18,140 Beautiful. You're exactly right. 916 00:37:18,140 --> 00:37:18,740 And you know, 917 00:37:18,740 --> 00:37:19,100 as it, 918 00:37:19,100 --> 00:37:20,210 as it grows, 919 00:37:20,240 --> 00:37:24,440 we could certainly start having our own brand name of cookie 920 00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:26,060 spatula, cooking pans. 921 00:37:26,060 --> 00:37:26,300 I mean, 922 00:37:26,300 --> 00:37:29,630 it doesn't just have to be the cutting and shaping type 923 00:37:29,630 --> 00:37:31,520 product that we've been discussing. 924 00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:33,350 You never know where it's going to go. 925 00:37:33,350 --> 00:37:34,580 I'm going to have to keep an eye on you. 926 00:37:36,770 --> 00:37:38,150 We're hopeful and optimistic. 927 00:37:38,210 --> 00:37:38,570 Of course, 928 00:37:39,850 --> 00:37:41,150 There in the background. 929 00:37:41,390 --> 00:37:44,330 How many cookies are you making for this holiday season? 930 00:37:44,660 --> 00:37:47,870 Oh, well in about two weeks when my semester will be 931 00:37:47,870 --> 00:37:49,430 over for the fall, 932 00:37:49,850 --> 00:37:55,970 I will be very busily making tons and tons of cookies 933 00:37:55,970 --> 00:37:58,100 to share with family and friends. 934 00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:02,810 And we have in mind to be doing some local craft 935 00:38:02,810 --> 00:38:04,790 shows here in our area. 936 00:38:04,910 --> 00:38:09,860 So we've already have one scheduled for next Saturday and hopefully 937 00:38:09,860 --> 00:38:12,770 we'll be able to spread the word about this product. 938 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:15,290 Wonderful. And where are you in the world? 939 00:38:15,590 --> 00:38:16,400 We're in Allentown, 940 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:19,820 Pennsylvania, which is about 50 miles North of Philadelphia. 941 00:38:19,910 --> 00:38:23,060 Okay. So if anybody is listening from that area and you're 942 00:38:23,060 --> 00:38:24,410 going to a craft show, 943 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:28,940 I want you to specifically look for bill and Marianne's booth. 944 00:38:28,970 --> 00:38:30,350 Cause they might just be there. 945 00:38:30,590 --> 00:38:32,060 Then you're going to go up to them and say, 946 00:38:32,060 --> 00:38:35,390 Hey, I heard you on Sue's podcast. 947 00:38:35,470 --> 00:38:36,010 How about that? 948 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:37,750 That sounds great. 949 00:38:38,260 --> 00:38:40,870 Right? Exactly. 950 00:38:40,870 --> 00:38:42,250 Well, I want people to see it too. 951 00:38:42,250 --> 00:38:43,720 It's an awesome product. 952 00:38:43,750 --> 00:38:44,590 I just love it. 953 00:38:44,590 --> 00:38:45,160 And I, 954 00:38:45,310 --> 00:38:48,640 I actually saw you live at one of the recent shows 955 00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:50,830 and I have cookies in a snap. 956 00:38:50,830 --> 00:38:52,210 It's actually here in my office. 957 00:38:52,210 --> 00:38:54,820 I wanted to save it and leave it here until we 958 00:38:54,820 --> 00:38:55,630 did the podcast, 959 00:38:55,630 --> 00:38:57,340 but I'm going to be using it this holiday season. 960 00:38:57,340 --> 00:38:58,030 That's for sure. 961 00:38:58,540 --> 00:38:59,490 Wonderful. Yep. 962 00:38:59,550 --> 00:39:03,150 Anyone else can see the video@cookiesinasnap.com 963 00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:05,910 while we were at the show a couple of weeks ago, 964 00:39:05,970 --> 00:39:11,250 a retailer also bought 30 of them wholesale for demonstration during 965 00:39:11,250 --> 00:39:12,630 their black Friday period. 966 00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:14,220 Wow. Wonderful. 967 00:39:14,550 --> 00:39:15,810 Okay. Give biz listeners. 968 00:39:15,810 --> 00:39:19,380 You now have heard where you can see more about cookies 969 00:39:19,380 --> 00:39:21,750 in a snap and you also know there's a show notes 970 00:39:21,750 --> 00:39:25,440 page that will give you once again the website and also 971 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:26,940 the social media site. 972 00:39:26,940 --> 00:39:29,790 So if you want to see more versions and more ideas 973 00:39:29,790 --> 00:39:32,010 and everything about cookies in a snap, 974 00:39:32,010 --> 00:39:33,900 you'd go to the show notes page and we'll have all 975 00:39:33,900 --> 00:39:35,010 that there for you, 976 00:39:35,580 --> 00:39:36,720 bill and Maryanne. 977 00:39:36,750 --> 00:39:40,200 Thank you so much for being on the show today. 978 00:39:40,290 --> 00:39:42,480 I know you're so passionate about the product. 979 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:43,470 I was fortunate enough, 980 00:39:43,500 --> 00:39:45,600 as I just said to see you in person, 981 00:39:45,870 --> 00:39:47,700 see the love you have for the product. 982 00:39:47,730 --> 00:39:49,740 It's such an exciting story, 983 00:39:49,860 --> 00:39:52,650 and I really appreciate your jumping on here today when you're 984 00:39:52,650 --> 00:39:54,150 still part of the story. 985 00:39:54,150 --> 00:39:54,330 I mean, 986 00:39:54,330 --> 00:39:58,020 you're still so new and there's so much future yet ahead 987 00:39:58,020 --> 00:39:58,350 of you, 988 00:39:58,350 --> 00:40:00,600 but I'm glad we caught you right at this point in 989 00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:02,910 time, much success for you. 990 00:40:02,910 --> 00:40:06,570 I know cookies in a snap is going to be absolutely 991 00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:09,420 a game changer for the cookie making industry. 992 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:12,060 And may your candles always burn bright. 993 00:40:13,050 --> 00:40:13,860 Thank you very much. 994 00:40:14,220 --> 00:40:19,770 We appreciate your support and staying in touch with Absolutely. 995 00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:22,680 Where are you in your business building journey, 996 00:40:22,950 --> 00:40:25,860 whether you're just starting out or already running a business and 997 00:40:25,860 --> 00:40:27,780 you want to know your setup for success. 998 00:40:28,170 --> 00:40:30,390 Find out by taking the gift biz quiz, 999 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:33,930 access the quiz from your computer at bit dot L Y 1000 00:40:34,110 --> 00:40:38,070 slash gift biz quiz or from your phone like texting gift 1001 00:40:38,070 --> 00:40:39,420 biz quiz to four four, 1002 00:40:39,420 --> 00:40:39,960 two, two, 1003 00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:42,960 two. Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for 1004 00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:43,920 the next episode. 1005 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:48,870 Today's show is sponsored by the ribbon print company, 1006 00:40:49,620 --> 00:40:52,140 looking for a new income source for your gift business. 1007 00:40:52,530 --> 00:40:56,700 Customization is more popular now than ever grant your products of 1008 00:40:56,700 --> 00:40:58,800 your logo or kinda happy birthday, 1009 00:40:58,800 --> 00:40:59,610 Jessica bourbon, 1010 00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:01,410 to add to a gift right at checkout, 1011 00:41:02,100 --> 00:41:04,710 it's all done right in your shop or across video in 1012 00:41:04,710 --> 00:41:08,310 second check out for rebid print company.com 1013 00:41:08,340 --> 00:41:11,820 for more information after you listen to the show, 1014 00:41:11,850 --> 00:41:13,200 if you like what you're hearing, 1015 00:41:13,530 --> 00:41:16,290 make sure to jump over and subscribe to the show on 1016 00:41:16,290 --> 00:41:20,070 iTunes. 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