Shownotes
Motivational Quote
Business Inspiration
How Donna captured the special recipe [4:04]A Candle Flickering Moment
A business move that didn’t work out [5:40] Financial requirement for growth and her self-funding the biz [12:18]Business Building Insight
A sign that this was a business to pursue [6:42] Don’t be committed solely to one path [18:09] A review of how her business had to change as she grew [22:53]Successful Promotion & Customer Service
Hear what happened when she was sampling product [19:09] What Donna does to over deliver to her customers [24:10]Success Trait
Tenacity and attention to detailProductivity/Lifestyle Tool
Excel – Powerful charts, graphs, and keyboard shortcuts turn columns of numbers into valuable information, so you can work easier.Valuable Book
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Contact Links
Website Facebook TwitterIf you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
Gift biz on wrapped episode 26.
Speaker:My Boss says you need to go into business.
Speaker:We want those cookies.
Speaker:This is John Lee,
Speaker:Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to the gift of biz unwrapped.
Speaker:And now it's time to light it up.
Speaker:Welcome to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop
Speaker:and grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host,
Speaker:Sue Monheit.
Speaker:Hi there.
Speaker:I'm Sue and welcome to the gift biz on podcast,
Speaker:whether you own a brick and mortar Store sell online or
Speaker:are just getting started,
Speaker:you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your
Speaker:business. Today I have with me,
Speaker:Donna aloof,
Speaker:OHI of royalty cookies.
Speaker:Baking has always been her family's pastime and as a child,
Speaker:Donna watched and baked right alongside her grandmother and great aunts
Speaker:royalty cookies was actually inspired by her grandmother's recipe and has
Speaker:been enjoyed for more than 40 years by family members,
Speaker:neighbors, and friends.
Speaker:And so based on that popularity of these delicious homemade cookies
Speaker:in January of 2010,
Speaker:royalty cookies was created and now Donna gets to share her
Speaker:grandmother's delicious cookies with the entire world.
Speaker:Welcome to the show,
Speaker:Donna, thank you so much.
Speaker:So is there anything you'd like to add to that intro
Speaker:before we get started In the next few days,
Speaker:we are purchasing an existing restaurant Tabitha's bistro,
Speaker:which we'll be adding to royalty cookies.
Speaker:So you'll have the cookies available in the bistro as well,
Speaker:correct? Yes.
Speaker:Oh, fabulous.
Speaker:As our listeners know,
Speaker:we like to align the conversation around the life of a
Speaker:motivational candle.
Speaker:The light shines on you while you share your stories and
Speaker:experiences. So Donna,
Speaker:are you ready to light it up?
Speaker:I certainly am.
Speaker:I'm just picturing your new shop and I'm going to make
Speaker:a little imaginary scene because right next door,
Speaker:there's a candle shop and you walk into that shop and
Speaker:you see all these candles.
Speaker:What color candle would you be most drawn to sky blue
Speaker:and why sky blue?
Speaker:Because to me it's endless.
Speaker:Oh, that's interesting.
Speaker:And what kind of a quote would be on a motivational
Speaker:candle that Skype?
Speaker:No Regrets to me,
Speaker:the most important thing is to try whatever it is is
Speaker:to try no regrets.
Speaker:I think you're right when people are just starting businesses,
Speaker:you can be frozen in fear,
Speaker:not sure that you're going to be able to accomplish what
Speaker:you want to do and that fear can hold you back
Speaker:because everyone thinks that everything you try has to automatically be
Speaker:a success and your quote,
Speaker:no regrets is perfect because if you don't try things,
Speaker:you don't know if they're going to be a success or
Speaker:not. So the worst thing to do is just be frozen
Speaker:and not do anything.
Speaker:Absolutely. That's exactly what I tell my son.
Speaker:The old quote of the first step is the most difficult
Speaker:and it's so true,
Speaker:but once you get past it and then you look back,
Speaker:whether it doesn't work out or whether it does,
Speaker:it gives you inner peace and you say,
Speaker:well, I tried and you can be satisfied or look at
Speaker:it. Just took off and did so well.
Speaker:I'm glad I tried.
Speaker:And in itself it's motivational and it gives you a very
Speaker:fulfilling life journey.
Speaker:I couldn't agree more.
Speaker:Let's go back Donna,
Speaker:to the beginning of your journey with royalty cookies.
Speaker:So you had been making these cookies for a long time
Speaker:and had a lot of positive response to it obviously,
Speaker:but what was it that made you switch and decide that
Speaker:we're not just going to do this just for fun anymore.
Speaker:We're going to turn it into a business.
Speaker:Tell us about that story.
Speaker:How that whole thing evolved.
Speaker:I Started baking as a,
Speaker:as you mentioned in the intro and I was around the
Speaker:age of 12 and I just knew that this was going
Speaker:to be an important thing in my life.
Speaker:I just knew it it's always been there.
Speaker:And I thought someday,
Speaker:I'm going to sell these never know,
Speaker:or when,
Speaker:where, how,
Speaker:but I just knew it was going to happen.
Speaker:My grandmother baked by a handful of this and a handful
Speaker:of that.
Speaker:And I said to her,
Speaker:I need to have this recipe.
Speaker:She said,
Speaker:okay, well bake with me.
Speaker:And I couldn't write down a handful of this and a
Speaker:pinch of that.
Speaker:So she literally did the recipe,
Speaker:putting however many handfuls of flour,
Speaker:sugar, and I'd scoop it out and come to the equivalent
Speaker:of a cup of flour.
Speaker:And I was able to capture the recipe.
Speaker:It was my most favorite recipe out of all the cookies
Speaker:that she made at Christmas time.
Speaker:And when I was older living on my own,
Speaker:I always gave them out as gifts to my friends,
Speaker:neighbors, colleagues,
Speaker:and it just grew from there.
Speaker:People always looked forward to them at Christmas time to fast-forward
Speaker:one of my past jobs here in Florida.
Speaker:This was up in Massachusetts and we transferred down here.
Speaker:My husband and I Florida,
Speaker:about 20 years ago.
Speaker:And my son was about two.
Speaker:I went back to work and again,
Speaker:giving away the cookies and enjoying my job so much.
Speaker:You think things are going along just fine.
Speaker:And suddenly my beloved boss passed away and I lost my
Speaker:job. You're not quite prepared for that.
Speaker:And you said,
Speaker:oh, oh my goodness.
Speaker:It's what do I do?
Speaker:So you frantically look for a quick solution.
Speaker:So I did that.
Speaker:I had the idea in my mind about the cookies,
Speaker:but because I wasn't ready on my terms,
Speaker:I sought employment somewhere else.
Speaker:Unfortunately it was a very hostile environment.
Speaker:It was a type of environment where people were coming and
Speaker:going all the time because people didn't want to stay there.
Speaker:And I too,
Speaker:after a while,
Speaker:maybe two years into it,
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I need to also look for another job.
Speaker:This isn't where I want to be.
Speaker:And one of the colleagues out of the blue said to
Speaker:me, when are you making the cookies again?
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:no, no,
Speaker:no. It's only Christmas time that I do it.
Speaker:It's a lot of work.
Speaker:And then another colleague chimed in and said,
Speaker:well, will you sell me some?
Speaker:And the first one said,
Speaker:I'll buy them too.
Speaker:And I kind of looked because that type of comradery just
Speaker:didn't occur at that place.
Speaker:So it was something that kind of stuck in my head.
Speaker:I came home and was preparing dinner.
Speaker:My husband walked in,
Speaker:he works for Miami-Dade county.
Speaker:And his boss is very prominent in the county government.
Speaker:My husband walked in and said,
Speaker:my boss says,
Speaker:you need to go into business.
Speaker:We want those cookies.
Speaker:It was my aha moment.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:that's exactly what I'm going to do now is the time
Speaker:on my terms.
Speaker:I'm going to create my job instead of look for employment
Speaker:somewhere else.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you had a big sign because at the point where people
Speaker:are willing to pull out their pocket book and pay you
Speaker:it's confirmation of your product,
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:So you had a couple of people in your current position
Speaker:that you were very quickly going to leave.
Speaker:And then also your husband's company laying out some corporate potential
Speaker:for your product that really came to you in that manner.
Speaker:But I just want to point that out for gift biz
Speaker:listeners is that if you start seeing that people are willing
Speaker:to pull out and pay money right away,
Speaker:that's something to pay attention to for sure.
Speaker:Donna, I'm going to ask you real quickly.
Speaker:I'm going to cut in on your story for a second.
Speaker:Is there anything now hindsight that you would recommend or suggest
Speaker:to our listeners,
Speaker:something you might've not known or something where you think maybe
Speaker:you should have started right after your former boss had passed
Speaker:before you went into the other company?
Speaker:Or was it a good thing that you took this journey
Speaker:in the way that you did?
Speaker:Well, I don't want to look back and say,
Speaker:oh, coulda,
Speaker:shoulda woulda because no regrets,
Speaker:no regrets.
Speaker:I really do appreciate everything that I've been through to get
Speaker:me to this point.
Speaker:Just like stories of fairy tales.
Speaker:If I could only do this.
Speaker:And then the whole world changes it does.
Speaker:This is the way my life was supposed to.
Speaker:So, no,
Speaker:I don't want to change it.
Speaker:I learned some very valuable things at the past job.
Speaker:A lot of it,
Speaker:of what not to do,
Speaker:which is just as important as what to do.
Speaker:Very good point.
Speaker:So take any of your more negative experiences and reverse them,
Speaker:correct. You know,
Speaker:here's what I've learned.
Speaker:Shouldn't happen.
Speaker:So now I know what should happen.
Speaker:Correct. And I really appreciate all that.
Speaker:And I think all of those life experiences along with my
Speaker:education has come to this point where I've been very successful.
Speaker:I have to say that baking cookies or,
Speaker:and I'm sure it applies to many other types of businesses,
Speaker:but specifically with me baking cookies at home for family and
Speaker:friends is quite different than manufacturing cookies and selling them commercially.
Speaker:That was one thing that I took very strategically and slowly
Speaker:to make sure that I got it right.
Speaker:One thing that I valued is at the beginning,
Speaker:when people said,
Speaker:Hey, will you sell me?
Speaker:Cookies is when you start having to manufacturer or bake in
Speaker:large quantities,
Speaker:I didn't want anything compromised.
Speaker:I wanted people to say,
Speaker:are these homemade and they're not anymore.
Speaker:We did start out as a home-based business,
Speaker:which is a wonderful tool that they have opportunity here in
Speaker:Broward county is that they have a cottage law,
Speaker:a cottage law allows home-based businesses to start.
Speaker:And when you reach a certain threshold of sales or different
Speaker:things, then you have to move to a commercial facility.
Speaker:So it really gave me a nice opportunity to hone my
Speaker:product, to make sure that nothing was compromised.
Speaker:Now, when I'm out doing sampling and taste testing and so
Speaker:on. And when people buy the cookie and they say,
Speaker:oh, it reminds me of Christmas.
Speaker:It continually reassures me that I'm on the right track.
Speaker:Along with that,
Speaker:you need to make sure that you're in compliance and you
Speaker:have to learn.
Speaker:You have to read,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:all the different types of rules and regulations to make sure
Speaker:that you are in compliance.
Speaker:One of the things that another quote that is important to
Speaker:me is I'm not in a rush to fail.
Speaker:And at the beginning stages,
Speaker:I would say that that is most important is that you
Speaker:learn, you learn it.
Speaker:Well, you look and you make sure that what you're doing
Speaker:is purposeful and you're going to see the benefit.
Speaker:I'd rather make small mistakes cause no,
Speaker:one's perfect rather than big ones.
Speaker:So that's where I'm at right now.
Speaker:And in putting that all into place,
Speaker:I'm seeing steady growth,
Speaker:continual learning.
Speaker:And that's what I want to stress.
Speaker:Most of all is that it's always going to be a
Speaker:steady process.
Speaker:It's never,
Speaker:that you're done.
Speaker:So along the way,
Speaker:though, with this steady process,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you encounter bumps in the road,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it's not always easy,
Speaker:everything doesn't go your way.
Speaker:Can you bring us to a point where you had a
Speaker:particularly difficult challenge and let us know that story and then
Speaker:what you did to overcome that challenge?
Speaker:Well, I Think it's a bump in the road that almost
Speaker:every single business faces all the time.
Speaker:And that is financial.
Speaker:It's funny because when I first started,
Speaker:I was so excited that I sold 10,000
Speaker:and then I said,
Speaker:oh, I can't wait until I get to a hundred dozen.
Speaker:So at each threshold you think that you've reached the next
Speaker:level of financial success or in sales that is going to
Speaker:allow you to be in that wow moment.
Speaker:Like I made it and then you get there and you're
Speaker:like, oh no,
Speaker:I need a bigger mixer.
Speaker:Oh no,
Speaker:I need an oven.
Speaker:Oh no,
Speaker:I need another facility.
Speaker:You know?
Speaker:So those challenges to me,
Speaker:not quite what I was expecting.
Speaker:So it continues to this day to be my biggest struggle.
Speaker:One of the things that I chose to do is to
Speaker:self fund my business.
Speaker:I didn't want to take on investors.
Speaker:I didn't want to put so much money into the business
Speaker:that I would risk my own personal financial security.
Speaker:I wanted to grow without that devastating debt.
Speaker:With that,
Speaker:it's a decision I made many other businesses,
Speaker:make it for their own.
Speaker:Other reasons.
Speaker:The downside is you grow slower and you could get impatient,
Speaker:but once you overcome that next threshold,
Speaker:then I'm excited that,
Speaker:oh, I did it.
Speaker:And the threshold that I'm at right now is I'm purchasing
Speaker:an existing business,
Speaker:a restaurant that has a proven concept that is profitable,
Speaker:but something that will give me now a brick and mortar
Speaker:location of my own,
Speaker:instead of renting a commercial kitchen,
Speaker:it will give me a launch pad to grow without being
Speaker:so heavily in debt every month.
Speaker:Because the revenues from the restaurant will allow me to incorporate
Speaker:royalty cookies and grow it further.
Speaker:That's the path I chose.
Speaker:If it doesn't work out,
Speaker:I can sell the business or even worst case scenario.
Speaker:It's not going to devastate me financially in a way that
Speaker:I'm going to lose my house or anything like that.
Speaker:I always weighed that along.
Speaker:Donna, thank you so much for sharing that story because I
Speaker:think a lot of people don't really that you really can
Speaker:start small without a huge financial investment.
Speaker:And look at what Donna's just done.
Speaker:She's gone from sampling cookies within baking them with her grandmother,
Speaker:knowing in the back of her mind that this is something
Speaker:she would want to do at some point.
Speaker:So you already,
Speaker:probably over the course of all those years were starting to
Speaker:envision what the business could look like.
Speaker:Then you finally decided to jump in not very long ago,
Speaker:2010 out of your kitchen,
Speaker:then you get into a commercial kitchen and now going into
Speaker:a brick and mortar.
Speaker:So gift biz listeners capture that dream.
Speaker:That's something that you want to do.
Speaker:Like Donna was saying slow and steady,
Speaker:but it can happen and you don't need to take out
Speaker:loans. You don't need to have that terribly encumbering feeling of
Speaker:devastation or fear with having heavy financial weight.
Speaker:So really great story,
Speaker:Don. I really,
Speaker:really appreciate your sharing that with us.
Speaker:There's a quote that I'd like to put along with that
Speaker:story. That is,
Speaker:if it's important enough to you,
Speaker:you will find a way,
Speaker:if not,
Speaker:you'll find an excuse.
Speaker:It means that whatever it is that is important enough to
Speaker:you, you will be relentless without just saying,
Speaker:oh, I can't do it.
Speaker:There's going to be roadblocks.
Speaker:There's going to be so many things for example,
Speaker:which is on a very personal note,
Speaker:my son,
Speaker:it took me 10 years to find him relentless research of
Speaker:doctors throughout the country.
Speaker:Not understanding why I wasn't able to have children until I
Speaker:finally, after 10 years found someone to help me.
Speaker:And I was told over and over again,
Speaker:you're too old and at 42 with the right doctor and
Speaker:the right medicine,
Speaker:I have my most wonderful son.
Speaker:So What a wonderful story that is,
Speaker:You just have to keep going.
Speaker:That also speaks to,
Speaker:you have to have passion and commitment to,
Speaker:with whatever you're doing.
Speaker:How often have you heard stories that people say,
Speaker:things can't be done just is not possible.
Speaker:But then you hear someone who was committed to whatever their
Speaker:course was and said,
Speaker:I don't care if people are saying that I'm pulling through
Speaker:because I believe in it.
Speaker:And that's exactly what you did with your business,
Speaker:but also even more exciting with your son,
Speaker:Donna that's fabulous story.
Speaker:Right? Well,
Speaker:that's one thing you're going to find as a small business.
Speaker:People will tell you all the time.
Speaker:No. So when you believe in the product,
Speaker:because you're going to find a way and somebody told me
Speaker:that others are not going to love your product as much
Speaker:as you do.
Speaker:Obviously that's why you're in business because you love your product.
Speaker:So sometimes it could be someone's having a bad day or
Speaker:you don't know why,
Speaker:and you're going to get turned down,
Speaker:but it doesn't mean that you have a bad product because
Speaker:you have a lot of successes on one hand and maybe
Speaker:a few nos on the other.
Speaker:So you have to keep reinventing yourself,
Speaker:looking for avenues and channels.
Speaker:You can't be so committed to only one road.
Speaker:You need to venture out little bits here and there and
Speaker:to develop,
Speaker:let's say one road is getting stronger or wider and busier
Speaker:from another where you want to concentrate on that though.
Speaker:You don't want to entirely let go of the others.
Speaker:And before you know it,
Speaker:you're going to have a full fledged business.
Speaker:It can't just be one course.
Speaker:You can't just look at things with the straight and narrow.
Speaker:It's rare that things are going to happen in a skyrocket
Speaker:sort of fashion,
Speaker:Right? You gotta,
Speaker:you gotta try some things out and then see how it
Speaker:goes and then pursue the things that are working and table
Speaker:the things or just close the things that are not correct.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:Donna, let's move over into talking about some type of a
Speaker:promotion or an event that you've done that has moved the
Speaker:needle. It's like significantly started to increase sales or something that
Speaker:you've done.
Speaker:That's made a significant change in the business.
Speaker:Initially, I volunteered to do a taste testing at one of
Speaker:the local wine and spirits stores.
Speaker:It's, it's a family business throughout Florida.
Speaker:They have a hundred and something locations and they do wine
Speaker:tastings and they invite local businesses to give away their product,
Speaker:to compliment the wine and spirits that they're tasting.
Speaker:And I volunteered to do that.
Speaker:And it was the most wonderful experience because I had never
Speaker:tried giving them a way or seeing the reactions of the
Speaker:masses of how they would react to my product at that
Speaker:tasting. I have to say it was a frenzy at my
Speaker:table. The product is flew out and they wanted to know
Speaker:where to buy it.
Speaker:And of course we were just sampling fortunate leave for me,
Speaker:which was totally unknown to me is that the store had
Speaker:just been renovated.
Speaker:So at the grand opening of this wine tasting,
Speaker:there were all kinds of corporate people there.
Speaker:Some gentlemen came up to me and said,
Speaker:are you sold in our stores?
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:no. And he says,
Speaker:do you want to be?
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:of course not knowing that he was one of the vice-presidents
Speaker:of the store,
Speaker:that's a bomber.
Speaker:So in the next few months,
Speaker:my cookies began to be on the shelf at a very
Speaker:prominent wine and liquor store throughout Florida.
Speaker:We started out with just a one or two locations.
Speaker:I now cover south Florida.
Speaker:I have seven locations.
Speaker:It was just amazing.
Speaker:And to see your product being sold on the shelf and
Speaker:moving and replacing and taking that also as a deep learning
Speaker:opportunity learning in what way?
Speaker:Well learning people's comments,
Speaker:what they like,
Speaker:what they don't like.
Speaker:So customer research,
Speaker:absolutely. It is such free research when you are out sampling
Speaker:because strangers will tell you anything.
Speaker:And particularly kids.
Speaker:My son is the first one to test any flavor.
Speaker:If I don't get the thumbs up,
Speaker:it doesn't go out on the shelf because kids will tell
Speaker:you adults when they don't know you,
Speaker:they will also tell you.
Speaker:And every,
Speaker:you have to take some of the things with a grain
Speaker:of salt,
Speaker:because it could be your competition.
Speaker:But for the most part,
Speaker:if you're getting a vast majority of comments that are being
Speaker:repeated over and over again,
Speaker:then you can take more credence to it.
Speaker:So it's really valuable.
Speaker:One-on-one customer research.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:a lot of times as companies grow,
Speaker:they look at themselves as,
Speaker:oh, I don't need to do that.
Speaker:I can hire someone.
Speaker:And the more removed you are from your customer,
Speaker:you lose that insight.
Speaker:That's probably why undercover boss is so important because you really
Speaker:need to stay true to the core of why you're in
Speaker:business. So One big thing that I want to bring up
Speaker:with the conversation we've just had is the visibility that you've
Speaker:had in the market.
Speaker:You took advantage of being with a company that had a
Speaker:similar audience to you with the wine shop,
Speaker:we'll call them power partners because you're not competing with them,
Speaker:but you have a similar audience to them.
Speaker:And you had no idea what you were going to encounter.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:being able to meet a huge corporate opportunity.
Speaker:Absolutely. And it really put me on a different level.
Speaker:It gave me credibility.
Speaker:It gave me so many things that it took me out
Speaker:of the mom in the kitchen.
Speaker:It put me in the commercial space to start baking.
Speaker:I had to then get UPC codes and product testing and
Speaker:all kinds of things that I hadn't had to do before
Speaker:design a box,
Speaker:design, a logo and all those things.
Speaker:And each step of the way I did it all myself,
Speaker:I even made the prototype of the box.
Speaker:I went to the manufacturer and I told them,
Speaker:this is what I want.
Speaker:You can do it yourself.
Speaker:There are companies out there that will cater to small businesses.
Speaker:Some of the employees will help you on the side.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:at the box company,
Speaker:one of the designers helped me with the colors and so
Speaker:on, and he did what was needed to submit to the
Speaker:company. So,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:he works on the side before,
Speaker:you know it,
Speaker:you, the look and the feel of a big company,
Speaker:even though you're still small,
Speaker:you're still presenting yourself to the public in the way that
Speaker:is going to be helping you to grow Right,
Speaker:is right for your image,
Speaker:a professional image,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:Okay. Donna,
Speaker:on the customer service end,
Speaker:how do you make your customers feel unique and special and
Speaker:valued? I Try to be genuine.
Speaker:I try to under promise and over deliver.
Speaker:I've always met every deadline.
Speaker:I try,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I put little notes on the invoice,
Speaker:thanking them.
Speaker:I give away product samples as little gifts.
Speaker:And in the cases,
Speaker:if there's room maybe credits on their account for future orders,
Speaker:things that aren't expected to know that I'm thinking of them.
Speaker:We're going to flip around a little bit here and move
Speaker:into what I call the reflection section.
Speaker:This is a look at you and what's helped you with
Speaker:your success along the way.
Speaker:And these are brief,
Speaker:really quick answers,
Speaker:just summary type answers.
Speaker:What is the one natural trait that you have that you
Speaker:think has helped you to succeed?
Speaker:Tenacity, The meticulous attention to detail.
Speaker:You keep on the path and you stay very detailed so
Speaker:that you can get the result that you're needing.
Speaker:Correct. Very focused,
Speaker:very focused.
Speaker:Okay. And what tool do you use regularly to keep productive
Speaker:or to help create balance in your life?
Speaker:Well, Technology,
Speaker:my smartphone,
Speaker:my computer,
Speaker:however, I still keep it simple.
Speaker:I try not to make it too complicated.
Speaker:It can be overwhelming.
Speaker:There's so much out there.
Speaker:My husband always reminds me that sales will push you in
Speaker:the correct direction.
Speaker:And technology helps with that to keep everything organized.
Speaker:Is there one program that you use more than others or
Speaker:something else more specific that you could share with our listeners?
Speaker:Probably Excel.
Speaker:I use a lot.
Speaker:That's probably the number one XL.
Speaker:I use it for all sorts of spreadsheets and lists and
Speaker:things to keep myself organized.
Speaker:And what book have you read lately that you think our
Speaker:listeners could find value?
Speaker:The seven habits found it very motivational and very positive,
Speaker:very upbeat.
Speaker:The seven habits of successful people is that by Stephen Covey.
Speaker:That one.
Speaker:Exactly. Yes.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:And give biz listeners just as you're listening to the podcast
Speaker:today, you can also listen to audio books with ease.
Speaker:I've teamed up with audible for you to get an audio
Speaker:book, just like Donna's recommending for free.
Speaker:All you need to do is go to gift biz,
Speaker:book.com and make a selection.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:Donna, I would like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing,
Speaker:unlimited for your future.
Speaker:This is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable Heights
Speaker:that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside A wonderful memory for me?
Speaker:When you bring joy into someone's life can be the smallest
Speaker:thing, no cost,
Speaker:just the smallest thing.
Speaker:It's the most peaceful feeling and something.
Speaker:When you can touch someone else in that way,
Speaker:when you touch their heart,
Speaker:that's what it's all about to me.
Speaker:So it would be a box full of memories that you've
Speaker:given other people and memories that you have captured for yourself.
Speaker:Correct? For example,
Speaker:it could be a hug that you may give someone and
Speaker:they just may need it,
Speaker:but it will give them a nice memory.
Speaker:It could be,
Speaker:anything could be a walk.
Speaker:It could be just a smile or it could be a
Speaker:gift of anything.
Speaker:But when it touches them,
Speaker:when you know it,
Speaker:it reaches them in a way that gives them that peacefulness
Speaker:in their mind.
Speaker:That's what I try to do.
Speaker:That's what I'm all about.
Speaker:It's really actually very profound Donna,
Speaker:because you never know when something that you do,
Speaker:a gesture that you give a smile that you give,
Speaker:like you're saying a hug.
Speaker:You never know when that person really needed it the most.
Speaker:And it's those little things you don't even realize are things
Speaker:that people will remember and hold onto and recall years later,
Speaker:and you don't even know you did it correct.
Speaker:So How can our listeners get in touch with you or
Speaker:purchase these fabulous cookies?
Speaker:They can go to our website,
Speaker:which is royalty cookies.com.
Speaker:And if they want to contact us,
Speaker:we have a contact page and they can send me a
Speaker:note. And there's also a phone number on the contact page
Speaker:And tell us where you're located for anyone.
Speaker:Who's just starting to listen and doesn't know.
Speaker:Maybe they'll be able to jump into your new place.
Speaker:We Are located on south university drive and Davie,
Speaker:Florida, just north of Sterling road.
Speaker:Perfect. Well gift biz listeners.
Speaker:You also know if you jump over to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com, you'll find Donna's show notes page and there I'll have
Speaker:some detail about the conversation we've just had and also all
Speaker:the information on how you can connect with her through social
Speaker:media sites,
Speaker:the website,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:Thank you so much,
Speaker:Donna, for sharing all of this really great insight into the
Speaker:whole world of creating your own business and building royalty cookies.
Speaker:I really appreciate it.
Speaker:And may your candle always burn bright?
Speaker:Thank you,
Speaker:Sue. Thank you so much.
Speaker:Learn how to work smarter while developing and growing your business.
Speaker:Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business
Speaker:and life.
Speaker:It's our gift to you and available at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrap.com/tools. Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for
Speaker:the next episode.
Speaker:Would you like to be on the show or do you
Speaker:know someone who can provide valuable Insight from their experiences?
Speaker:If so,
Speaker:we'd love to hear from you.
Speaker:All you need to do is submit a form for consideration.
Speaker:You can access the form@giftbizonrapt.com
Speaker:forward slash guest that's gift biz on wrap.com
Speaker:forward slash G U E S T today's show is sponsored
Speaker:by the ribbon print company.
Speaker:Looking for a new income source for your gift business.
Speaker:Customization is more popular now than ever your product from your
Speaker:logo or printer.
Speaker:Happy birthday,
Speaker:Jessica driven to add to a gift,
Speaker:right? A checkout it's almost done right in your shop for
Speaker:cross studio in second,
Speaker:check out the ribbon print company.com
