Shownotes
The Bear Creek Design and Felting Story
A product description. [4:00] Teresa gives the basics of how a sculpture is made. [5:10] All about the live birthday lamb. [6:00] The start of teaching classes and then kits. [8:51] and [25:29] and [26:20] Email communication for customer retention. [22:23]Candle Flickering Moments
A discussion about trying to do everything yourself. [15:33] A classroom challenge and what she’d do different next time. [27:11]Business Building Insights
Providing proof of concept [7:47] Selling online – Ebay versus Etsy [18:29] Online video classes. [11:40] Considering virtual assistants. [17:00] Etsy promotion through Google Ads. [19:12] What about trade shows? [20:50]Success Trait
Teresa’s determination to reach her goals has been key to building her business. [28:50]Productivity/Lifestyle Tool
Ultimate WordPress Help [12:17] The Bullet Journal [29:32]Recommended Reading and Listening
Virtual Freedom by Chris Ducker
The Total Money Makeover by Thomas Nelson
Contact Links
Website Facebook Instagram Twitter EtsyIf 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
This is Gift Biz Unwrapped,
Speaker:episode 96.
Speaker:They all have a character or personality that I just love
Speaker:to see when people look at them and a smile comes
Speaker:on their face.
Speaker:Hi, this is John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur On Fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to Gift Biz Unwrapped.
Speaker:And now it's time to light it up.
Speaker:Welcome to Gift Biz Unwrapped,
Speaker:your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop and
Speaker:grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host,
Speaker:Sue Mohe.
Speaker:Before we get into the show,
Speaker:I have a question for you.
Speaker:Do you know that you should be out networking but you
Speaker:just can't get yourself to do it because it's scary?
Speaker:Are you afraid that you might walk into the room and
Speaker:not know anybody or that you're gonna freeze when you get
Speaker:up to do that infamous elevator speech where you talk about
Speaker:yourself and your business?
Speaker:Well, I'm here to tell you that it doesn't need to
Speaker:be scary.
Speaker:If you know what to do,
Speaker:help you with this,
Speaker:I would like to offer you a coffee chat for the
Speaker:price of buying me a cup of coffee.
Speaker:We can sit down and I'll tell you everything that I
Speaker:know about networking and how I have personally built two multi
Speaker:businesses primarily through networking.
Speaker:To learn more about this opportunity,
Speaker:just go over to bitly slash network ninja.
Speaker:That's bt.ly
Speaker:network ninja.
Speaker:And now let's move on to the show.
Speaker:Hi there,
Speaker:it's Sue and welcome to the Gift Biz Unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:Whether you own a brick and mortar shop,
Speaker:sell online,
Speaker:or are just getting started,
Speaker:you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your
Speaker:business. And today we have joining us,
Speaker:Teresa Curley of Bear Creek Design.
Speaker:And Felting Bear Creek runs through the pasture of Jeff and
Speaker:Teresa's property in North Dakota.
Speaker:They raise sheep,
Speaker:cattle, and chickens.
Speaker:It's the sheep from her property that provide the wool for
Speaker:Teresa's business,
Speaker:bear Creek design and felting.
Speaker:Teresa's been selling her one-of-a-kind needle felted art online since 2006.
Speaker:Two years later,
Speaker:she opened her Etsy shop and as her business continues to
Speaker:evolve, Teresa has designed several beginner and advanced needle felting kits
Speaker:so others can learn her techniques and enjoy her craft as
Speaker:well. Welcome to the show,
Speaker:Teresa. Thank you.
Speaker:I'm excited to be here,
Speaker:Loving that you are here.
Speaker:And we're gonna just dive right into your motivational candle.
Speaker:As our listeners know,
Speaker:we like to get to know our guests in a little
Speaker:bit of a different way,
Speaker:and learning about your candle is a wonderful way for us
Speaker:to do that.
Speaker:So if you were to describe your ideal motivational candle,
Speaker:what color would it be and what would be the quote?
Speaker:The color of my candle would be green.
Speaker:I like natural colors like brown and greens.
Speaker:The quote would be,
Speaker:be the reason someone smiles today.
Speaker:My sculptures that I make,
Speaker:they all have a character or personality that I just love
Speaker:to see when people look at them and a smile comes
Speaker:on their face.
Speaker:Beautiful. And I think as crafters,
Speaker:that's such a great satisfaction that when you get a response
Speaker:like that,
Speaker:a happy smile,
Speaker:people come up and say,
Speaker:oh, that's so beautiful.
Speaker:Or just make someone happy.
Speaker:I think that's the reason deep down for all of us
Speaker:who are creators,
Speaker:why we do this in the first place.
Speaker:Yes, I definitely agree.
Speaker:Gift business listeners,
Speaker:I saw Teresa's booth at the the Chicago one Ofa kind
Speaker:show and her product is so adorable.
Speaker:I'm gonna have you describe it first there.
Speaker:Before we get into exactly how your story started,
Speaker:just give us a little description of your product.
Speaker:Okay. I make a needle felted sculptures.
Speaker:They're made out of a hundred percent wool from our sheep.
Speaker:They're solid wool all the way through.
Speaker:I make whimsical characters as snowman and realistic animals such as
Speaker:elk and elephants and giraffe,
Speaker:they all have their own personality.
Speaker:Even the realistic sculptures have a grin or a look about
Speaker:them that will make you smile.
Speaker:I also have designed needle felting kits.
Speaker:They have the wool from our sheep inside them.
Speaker:They have instructions with pictures and everything that you need to
Speaker:complete these projects.
Speaker:And they're all designed with the beginner in mind.
Speaker:So if you've never heard of felting before,
Speaker:you would be able to complete the projects.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So that gives you a little bit of an idea,
Speaker:but you're gonna have to go over and look at these
Speaker:and we'll talk about websites and all of that later because
Speaker:they are so cute.
Speaker:And Teresa,
Speaker:it's interesting to me that you call them sculptures.
Speaker:Yes. Initially I thought of them as,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:they're little cute stuffed animals,
Speaker:but there's a lot of detail in them.
Speaker:Explain where you got the sculpture as a description.
Speaker:A lot of people do look at them and think that
Speaker:they're, they're like a stuffed animal,
Speaker:but they're actually a sculpture.
Speaker:And that I start with just wool roving,
Speaker:just a fluff of roving.
Speaker:And I stab it with the felting needle.
Speaker:And as you stab it with the felting needle,
Speaker:it pulls the wool into itself and it makes it harder
Speaker:and harder.
Speaker:So once you have a basic shape,
Speaker:then you just keep adding wool and poking it on with
Speaker:a felting needle.
Speaker:And so you are sculpting your way out.
Speaker:And I just look at pictures of live animals or I
Speaker:get some of the ideas out of my own imagination.
Speaker:Now I'm not very familiar with this craft,
Speaker:but is this your own technique?
Speaker:Is this a technique you've created?
Speaker:No, it isn't.
Speaker:It's very popular right now actually.
Speaker:There's a lot of people doing it.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:but not like you.
Speaker:Alright, So take us back.
Speaker:How did you decide to get into this in the first
Speaker:place? Well,
Speaker:it all,
Speaker:it came about slowly.
Speaker:I've always been a stay-at-home mom,
Speaker:homeschooling my,
Speaker:my children and my husband has had to work overtime and
Speaker:extra jobs to provide for the family.
Speaker:And so I always was looking for a way to earn
Speaker:an extra income.
Speaker:I wasn't sure what that was going to be.
Speaker:And the way it came about is there's many events leading
Speaker:up to it and they all just come together perfectly.
Speaker:My daughter,
Speaker:when she was seven years old,
Speaker:was interested in learning how to knit when my kids are
Speaker:interested in something like that and like homeschooling,
Speaker:I like to just jump in and and help them and
Speaker:anyway I can.
Speaker:So we learned how to knit together.
Speaker:We began knitting.
Speaker:Even the boys were knitting.
Speaker:We were really excited about what we were making.
Speaker:And then we kind of got excited about wool yarn and
Speaker:how and the whole process of spinning it ourselves and we
Speaker:thought that would be fun.
Speaker:We looked into it a little bit and on my daughter's
Speaker:eighth birthday she asked for a lamb and secretly I kind
Speaker:of wanted some sheep myself.
Speaker:So she maybe knew that,
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:But she ended up getting two lambs and I got two
Speaker:lambs as well.
Speaker:And that was the beginning,
Speaker:that's where it all started.
Speaker:We started to look into what we were going to do
Speaker:with their wool.
Speaker:We picked a Romney breed that is known for their quality
Speaker:wool. And we joined a local group that calls themselves a
Speaker:wooly women.
Speaker:They used to raise sheep or they'd still raise sheep and
Speaker:they do things with their wool such as spinning thine,
Speaker:you name it,
Speaker:anything you can do with wool.
Speaker:And we joined this group and the first time we were
Speaker:there I was learning how to spin the wool into yarn
Speaker:and my daughter was shown how the needle felt.
Speaker:And when she went to bed that night when we got
Speaker:home, I picked up the needles and started playing and I
Speaker:stayed up till three in the morning making a sheep.
Speaker:After that,
Speaker:we would go demonstrate,
Speaker:we would spin and with the wooly women at local events
Speaker:and people were interested in purchasing the things that I had
Speaker:made. And so I just started to think,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I was amazed that they wanted to purchase them and it
Speaker:was kind of exciting.
Speaker:I'd always known somewhere in the back of my mind that
Speaker:selling online was the only way I was going to possibly
Speaker:make money where we are,
Speaker:we're located on a farm 30 miles from any small town.
Speaker:So it makes it difficult to have like a store or
Speaker:anything like that.
Speaker:So I kind of knew online was where I had to
Speaker:go. So I started looking into eBay is where I began.
Speaker:I put some of my sculptures on eBay and we were
Speaker:all excited to watch the,
Speaker:the bids come in and were amazed at how much that
Speaker:they would bring.
Speaker:And eventually I found out about Etsy and in 2008 I
Speaker:opened an exi shop and I sold my sculptures there.
Speaker:I sold wool roving to other needle filters in my shop.
Speaker:I was asked locally for local four H groups and things
Speaker:to teach classes on needle felting.
Speaker:And so I started doing that and then my customers and
Speaker:and on Etsy or on social media began to show an
Speaker:interest in learning how I do what I do.
Speaker:And so I thought,
Speaker:well maybe I could take these classes and put them into
Speaker:a kit,
Speaker:write some instructions and pictures and be able to help people
Speaker:learn it all across the country.
Speaker:That's when I started with a bear kit and I've moved
Speaker:up to 13 kits I have now of different levels.
Speaker:There is beginner and then advanced beginner as well.
Speaker:You Have just walked through the evolution of a business in
Speaker:such a fabulous way.
Speaker:And it's so interesting because really what you're saying is you
Speaker:really didn't have an end goal in mind.
Speaker:It's just one step led to another,
Speaker:led to another.
Speaker:It was your daughter being interested in lambs and then you
Speaker:doing it more of just a home craft.
Speaker:And then you went local,
Speaker:saw people were interested in what you were doing and would
Speaker:actually buy it.
Speaker:Right. So you were checking to ensure that there was a
Speaker:market there,
Speaker:but you weren't even looking for that at that time.
Speaker:Then it jumps over to eBay,
Speaker:Etsy, then it jumps to classes and then it jumps to
Speaker:kids just one step after another.
Speaker:And I wanna just underscore this gift as listeners,
Speaker:you may not know exactly where you're going,
Speaker:but being open to the opportunities along the way is exactly
Speaker:what Teresa did.
Speaker:And honestly,
Speaker:this isn't something you would've been able to do even probably
Speaker:15, certainly 20 years ago because the online presence wasn't even
Speaker:available yet.
Speaker:So how fortunate are we to be able to live here
Speaker:now? I know it.
Speaker:It all happened at the perfect time,
Speaker:so Absolutely.
Speaker:So all right,
Speaker:so now you're online selling kits.
Speaker:I know you're also out at shows.
Speaker:Is there anything more we should know about the business kind
Speaker:of as a whole before we move on?
Speaker:I do online classes as well.
Speaker:That is something I started a couple years ago.
Speaker:I'm trying to get into more of the difficult things where
Speaker:I could show in movies how to do things.
Speaker:That's been one of the things I've done recently.
Speaker:Do you Charge for those classes?
Speaker:I do.
Speaker:Okay, wonderful.
Speaker:And that's,
Speaker:that's so nice because you can do it right from home.
Speaker:Do you still have children at home that you're still homeschooling?
Speaker:I do.
Speaker:I have two.
Speaker:They're 14 and 16 years old.
Speaker:Okay, so this is something you can still be at home
Speaker:watching them because those teenagers can be trouble.
Speaker:Definitely. And still progress your business online.
Speaker:That's fabulous.
Speaker:Talk to us a little bit more about the online classes.
Speaker:How are you producing those and getting them up and just
Speaker:give us a little feel for how that all got started
Speaker:and how it's evolved.
Speaker:Well it started because there's a lot of things that you
Speaker:can't put into the kids and that's why the kids are
Speaker:mainly beginner.
Speaker:They're easy,
Speaker:most anybody can do them.
Speaker:Where there is interest out there in learning like more techniques
Speaker:like the details that I get in the animals and how
Speaker:to do them.
Speaker:And so I knew it had to be movies of me
Speaker:actually doing it to show them.
Speaker:And so I put together the videos myself and I attempted
Speaker:to to organize it into classes and get it on my
Speaker:website. But I,
Speaker:in the end had to ask for extra help from ultimate
Speaker:WordPress help is where I've gotten my help for that.
Speaker:And they've put that together for me.
Speaker:Tell me what that is.
Speaker:I'm not familiar with that Ultimate WordPress help.
Speaker:What is that?
Speaker:She calls herself a site savior.
Speaker:So if you don't like a business like mine where you
Speaker:want to do what you do and you don't wanna waste
Speaker:your time working on your website and all the technicalities that
Speaker:are involved,
Speaker:I have a year,
Speaker:I go by yearly annual membership and she's there for any
Speaker:trouble. I have,
Speaker:something's not working right on on my website.
Speaker:She's there within minutes usually to help me.
Speaker:And she also will do website design and like theme changes
Speaker:and site customizations and technical fixes where you don't wanna waste
Speaker:your time.
Speaker:We're for up until that point I was spending hours watching
Speaker:videos and trying to do it all myself.
Speaker:And this is just,
Speaker:yeah, it has helped me quite a bit.
Speaker:I think it's something that we all struggle with as entrepreneurs
Speaker:is that we wanna be able to do everything ourself.
Speaker:And a lot of people will get to a point like
Speaker:you, I guess were with videos that you knew you wanted
Speaker:to accomplish something and you got to a certain point cuz
Speaker:all your videos were already filmed.
Speaker:Right? It was just a matter of getting them up to
Speaker:the site and how that would all work.
Speaker:So many people run into those types of barriers and then
Speaker:I'll just stop.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:they'll just be like,
Speaker:it's too hard.
Speaker:Or they'll put it aside and not run through it.
Speaker:And what I really like about what you're talking about Teresa,
Speaker:is you reached out for help at some point you're trading
Speaker:time for money.
Speaker:You could be creating more kits and more videos in the
Speaker:time that you're spending trying to figure it out.
Speaker:So you reached out,
Speaker:got help and I'm sure that's been a lifesaver,
Speaker:not just for the videos,
Speaker:but anything else with your website now?
Speaker:Yes, definitely a lifesaver.
Speaker:And she's got like life rafts on her all over her
Speaker:website. So I mean it it is,
Speaker:it's a lifesaver.
Speaker:I couldn't do it.
Speaker:I mean I maybe could,
Speaker:but it would take me way more time and waste my
Speaker:time. Exactly.
Speaker:Yeah. Better off in their hands,
Speaker:they can do a better job.
Speaker:Well And you know,
Speaker:you get that done right and then you can move on.
Speaker:Like I said to other things,
Speaker:making new kits,
Speaker:whatever it is that is a profit generating activity,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you're the talent,
Speaker:you're the person behind it versus trying to figure out all
Speaker:the website stuff.
Speaker:Exactly. I love that you brought that up in gift as
Speaker:listeners think about that.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:are you trying to build something and you're stuck in one
Speaker:portion, maybe it's time to reach,
Speaker:reach out and get some expert help instead of trying to
Speaker:get it through and get the solution done that may or
Speaker:may not work and then you have to repeat it over
Speaker:and over again.
Speaker:So yes,
Speaker:you're spending a little bit of money as you're growing your
Speaker:business or building whatever you're doing,
Speaker:but in the end it can be worth it cuz it's
Speaker:done. Right.
Speaker:And you can be focusing on other stuff to advance your
Speaker:business further faster.
Speaker:Okay. Teresa,
Speaker:tell us about a challenging time along the way.
Speaker:Something that you really struggled with over and above now the
Speaker:videos, but something else that was a hurdle that could possibly
Speaker:stop people but you know,
Speaker:you were able to jump over and make it work.
Speaker:So trying to do everything myself has been my biggest struggle.
Speaker:There's a lot of things behind the scenes that have to
Speaker:go on,
Speaker:such as assembling the kits and dying the wool and spinning
Speaker:and felting and just keeping track of the social media and
Speaker:while preparing meals for my family and the homeschooling and designing
Speaker:kits. And then there's the sheep and lambing time and just
Speaker:keeping track of inventory has been a challenge.
Speaker:And just keeping the house clean and laundry,
Speaker:trying to balance it all has been the biggest.
Speaker:And wanting to do it all myself and thinking I'm the
Speaker:only one that can do it.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:I'm already exhausted by you,
Speaker:what you just said.
Speaker:So what are you doing?
Speaker:How are you tackling it all in a way where you
Speaker:can stay sane?
Speaker:My family is helping out.
Speaker:I'm letting go of certain things,
Speaker:training them to,
Speaker:to help me.
Speaker:My husband has been very supportive and willing to learn things.
Speaker:He's taking over the dying of the wool when he has
Speaker:time. He helps me with the shipping generally just going down
Speaker:there and taking care of that.
Speaker:I haven't let go of putting the kids together yet.
Speaker:And my daughter,
Speaker:when she was home,
Speaker:she's gone to college now,
Speaker:but she used to cook all our meals,
Speaker:which was amazing.
Speaker:Now I've turned to freezer meals that I do like once
Speaker:and then there were good for two weeks.
Speaker:That's a good tip though.
Speaker:But the boys help and my husband and then along with
Speaker:the ultimate WordPress help has been another big thing.
Speaker:So I've been listening to a book by Chris Ducker,
Speaker:virtual Freedom that's been putting the idea of virtual assistance into
Speaker:my head,
Speaker:but I'm not exactly sure yet.
Speaker:I'm halfway through the book so I don't know exactly where
Speaker:they can help me,
Speaker:but it's kind of exciting to think that they maybe could.
Speaker:Well I think they could.
Speaker:And while,
Speaker:since you've mentioned the book,
Speaker:I follow Chris Ducker too.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:he has a whole virtual assistant staffing company and I have
Speaker:used virtual assistants before.
Speaker:So mostly from the Philippines,
Speaker:which is where he is.
Speaker:If you have tasks that are routine that don't need someone
Speaker:right there on the premises and it's something that someone could
Speaker:follow step by step by step,
Speaker:it's definitely something to look into,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:down the road.
Speaker:Not now necessarily,
Speaker:but down the road.
Speaker:So I'm just gonna jump right in here and remind Gift
Speaker:Biz listeners,
Speaker:just like you're listening to us here today.
Speaker:You can also listen to audiobooks like Virtual Freedom really easily.
Speaker:I've teamed up with Audible and if you haven't already,
Speaker:you can jump over to gift biz book.com
Speaker:and make a selection for a book for free on me.
Speaker:I wanna jump back now to your story.
Speaker:You ha now have experience on eBay and Etsy.
Speaker:What would you say about either of those in contrast with
Speaker:each other or one that you feel is better serving you?
Speaker:Or just any feedback here because I know both of these
Speaker:sites would be of interest to our listeners.
Speaker:Well, eBay was definitely exciting as far as watching the bids
Speaker:come in as a family.
Speaker:We, we just thought that was thrilling and just the potential
Speaker:to see them go up maybe than higher than what you
Speaker:would charge.
Speaker:Where Etsy is just a constant presence where now that I
Speaker:have customers that come back and they want to know where
Speaker:I am,
Speaker:they want to be able to find me at all times
Speaker:and that's where the Etsy shop has really been good.
Speaker:Are you using them both right now?
Speaker:I am,
Speaker:no, I'm using Etsy.
Speaker:Okay. And my website.
Speaker:Okay. And why did you decide to eliminate eBay?
Speaker:I'm comfortable with Etsy and how it works and I put
Speaker:them on there and I'm done.
Speaker:My shop is always open,
Speaker:always set up.
Speaker:Are you doing any Etsy ads?
Speaker:I have been doing Google ads through Etsy.
Speaker:Through Etsy's platform.
Speaker:Yes. Can you explain a little bit how that works?
Speaker:You would just put in how much you would like to
Speaker:spend per day and it goes out in the Google ads.
Speaker:You pick which products you would want to have advertised and
Speaker:you're supposed to give it a month.
Speaker:It'll take that long to get a good response to the
Speaker:ads. And I have seen a good,
Speaker:and I started that before Christmas and I've been really happy
Speaker:with how it's turned out.
Speaker:That's great input.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:And it's,
Speaker:and it sounds like it's pretty clear cut and easy.
Speaker:You give them the specifics about what you need for your
Speaker:business, probably target market a little bit,
Speaker:that type of thing and then they just take it away
Speaker:from there.
Speaker:Yes. And the build,
Speaker:I mean it's just subtracted from your Etsy account so you
Speaker:hardly even notice,
Speaker:you know that you're being charged because you're having the extra
Speaker:income as well.
Speaker:Sure. And that'll build over time.
Speaker:I mean if you're already seeing results then you hit the
Speaker:right target and it'll just keep growing and building.
Speaker:Yes. All right.
Speaker:And give biz listeners also remember you need to invest in
Speaker:your business.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you can't just put a website up and expect people to
Speaker:come find you.
Speaker:Once you've got your website up,
Speaker:the next step is you have to tell people that you're
Speaker:there. So Etsy's a great platform for that as Teresa's just
Speaker:described. Okay.
Speaker:So we've talked a little bit about your promotion in terms
Speaker:of online.
Speaker:Let's talk about the shows.
Speaker:Sure. What do you look for in a show?
Speaker:Because for you now,
Speaker:you were here in Chicago,
Speaker:so you had some travel and all that.
Speaker:How do you determine what shows you'll go to?
Speaker:Well we've tried several shows,
Speaker:local shows and we've done fiber festivals farther away from here.
Speaker:And overall the one of a kind show where it's focusing
Speaker:on art has been our best show.
Speaker:We get the most people see our products,
Speaker:we get to interact with the most people.
Speaker:It's probably a lot of money to invest for us,
Speaker:but it's definitely been worthwhile.
Speaker:The fiber festivals that I've gone to,
Speaker:it seems like the people are,
Speaker:they've already into knitting and they don't want another craft to
Speaker:add to their pile of crafts.
Speaker:Yeah, I just haven't done as well at as those,
Speaker:as I have at the,
Speaker:at the art kinds.
Speaker:Like one of a kind show.
Speaker:Well and the one of a kind is perfectly timed too,
Speaker:cuz it's right before Christmas.
Speaker:Yes it is.
Speaker:Perfect. You're picking up some sales directly that way too.
Speaker:Are you focusing on one side of the business more than
Speaker:another, like selling the sculptures versus selling the kits?
Speaker:I don't know that I'm focused either way.
Speaker:The nice thing at the one of a kind show is
Speaker:the different price points that my sculptures run a little higher
Speaker:where the kits are like around 20,
Speaker:$30. And so I sell a lot of kits there and
Speaker:I also sell a lot of snowmen,
Speaker:which are around the $60 price range.
Speaker:And then,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the higher price range on my sculptures.
Speaker:So it all evens out.
Speaker:And then once you attract someone in as a customer,
Speaker:how do you stay in touch with them or continue communicating
Speaker:with them?
Speaker:Or I guess I should start with do you I do.
Speaker:I send out an email newsletter at least once a month,
Speaker:sometimes twice.
Speaker:I interact with them on social media.
Speaker:I'm active on Pinterest and Facebook and Instagram and I recognize
Speaker:a lot of them on there as well.
Speaker:Okay. And what types of things do you put in your
Speaker:newsletters? I put the new things that I'm making,
Speaker:I often share works in progress.
Speaker:So there's a lot of people that are following or interested
Speaker:in what I do and they wanna know how I am
Speaker:making these sculptures.
Speaker:And so I try to have what they look like when
Speaker:they're beginning and then I'll just show the steps.
Speaker:I share that on social media.
Speaker:And then I always put a,
Speaker:a blog post together and share that in the newsletters.
Speaker:I share where I am doing classes,
Speaker:anything new that I've made and,
Speaker:and new kits that are coming.
Speaker:And I also do giveaways.
Speaker:Oh, wonderful.
Speaker:And talk to us a little more about the giveaways.
Speaker:Every Once in a while I do a,
Speaker:a snowman giveaway,
Speaker:one of my sculptures the snowman or I give away kits.
Speaker:And is that then a way for you to attract more
Speaker:people to your email list Or You're just doing it to
Speaker:recognize people who are already on the email list?
Speaker:Exactly, yes.
Speaker:To to reward them for to,
Speaker:for following me and and staying in touch.
Speaker:And I would imagine too that when someone gets a kit
Speaker:maybe for the first time and they start trying it,
Speaker:that's a really vulnerable part of your customer onboarding,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:because you want them to be successful with that first kit
Speaker:so that they'll buy more.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you don't want them to get to a point where they're
Speaker:challenged with something and then they just put it aside and
Speaker:forget about it.
Speaker:Your emails allow them,
Speaker:number one,
Speaker:they're reminded of you when they get the email and then
Speaker:tips and seeing how progression goes with,
Speaker:with a kit.
Speaker:Maybe it's not the one that they have but you know,
Speaker:similar type thing could reinforce the process if for some reason
Speaker:they were struggling with something.
Speaker:Yes. I also put together posts quite often about different techniques
Speaker:that I use and so it's like in detail how the
Speaker:mistakes I've made or what you can do if you make
Speaker:a mistake or,
Speaker:and I also include those in the newsletters to try and
Speaker:help them if they're trying to progress in their needle felting.
Speaker:Do you have a customer story that you could pull out
Speaker:in terms of fun customer experience with them using your product?
Speaker:I teach classes and it's,
Speaker:and my sheep,
Speaker:it's like a little fluffy sheep with curly bull on it
Speaker:and that has been my favorite class to teach and they're
Speaker:always so amazed that they actually made it and it actually
Speaker:looks like a sheep that and it's just fun to,
Speaker:it's fun to hear them exclaiming over and talking to it
Speaker:as they're making it and just exclaiming how cute it is
Speaker:and yeah,
Speaker:that, that really makes me happy.
Speaker:Oh, that's so cute.
Speaker:They're talked to it as they're,
Speaker:as they're remaking it.
Speaker:Yes. I have to admit I do it too.
Speaker:Well if you've given 'em their personality in their face,
Speaker:you, you can't help it.
Speaker:That's true.
Speaker:Explain a little bit about how the classes started.
Speaker:So you had the idea and now you're doing the physical
Speaker:classes, are they right in your area all the time?
Speaker:Usually in my community,
Speaker:yes. And so where's the location?
Speaker:I just go where they want me.
Speaker:So like groups that will have me come to their town
Speaker:and I'll do that.
Speaker:I would like to have people come here,
Speaker:I just don't have the space yet or I haven't found
Speaker:a space.
Speaker:Also throwing around ideas of retreats,
Speaker:felting retreats because there's been interest from all over the country
Speaker:and learning how to needle felt from me and I don't
Speaker:know when I'm ever gonna get to their state.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:a retreat would be excellent way.
Speaker:Talk a little bit about what you've learned in terms of
Speaker:doing successful classes,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:how you sign people up and then actually the course of
Speaker:the class,
Speaker:like the course of the time that people are in there,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and how you teach them to do this.
Speaker:What can you share with us on that?
Speaker:Well I've learned a lot in like when people are interested
Speaker:in purchasing my kits,
Speaker:I can tell them exactly how long it takes,
Speaker:like a beginner or I learned things from teaching them how
Speaker:to go back and rewrite some of the things in my
Speaker:kits because I realize what they're struggling with and I've learned
Speaker:a lot that way just to be there when they're doing
Speaker:it and see what maybe they don't understand or what I
Speaker:need to explain better.
Speaker:It's been very valuable in writing out the instructions for the
Speaker:kids for me.
Speaker:Right, so you're getting insight from them cuz you're actually watching
Speaker:them try and do what you've put together.
Speaker:Yes. See where they get stuck.
Speaker:Yeah. Customer research I guess you could call it.
Speaker:Yes. So Have you had any issues in the class where
Speaker:someone's just been really challenged and not able to do something
Speaker:or any struggles in the classroom environment?
Speaker:Well there was a time where I was asked to do
Speaker:it at a,
Speaker:a nursing home and I was excited to do that because
Speaker:I thought,
Speaker:well I would love that when someday when I'm in a
Speaker:nursing home.
Speaker:And yeah,
Speaker:but the struggle there was it takes a lot of physical
Speaker:energy to keep stabbing the wool with the needle and I
Speaker:never realized that they would get tired.
Speaker:Ah. And so I had 19 people and I ended up
Speaker:making 19 sheep that night.
Speaker:Oh because,
Speaker:because they kept looking at,
Speaker:can you do it?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:because they were tired and they didn't wanna do it and,
Speaker:and I,
Speaker:and I didn't,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I wanted them to have fun so I tried to go
Speaker:around and,
Speaker:and yeah,
Speaker:I pretty much made 19 sheep.
Speaker:That could be a good dual thing if someone's in a
Speaker:senior home and has a relative,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:like a buddy system because I'm sure they adore those sheep
Speaker:now. You know,
Speaker:having them all,
Speaker:They were pleased with how they turned out.
Speaker:They were happy.
Speaker:I bet they had the expert making them Well and they,
Speaker:and it was like at bedtime even it was like at
Speaker:late in the evening and some of 'em were falling asleep
Speaker:and if I were to do that all over again,
Speaker:I think I would make it easier or I would have
Speaker:stuff done before I got there.
Speaker:Or like you said,
Speaker:have helpers for each of them.
Speaker:That would definitely be the way to go.
Speaker:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker:But I could see where they would just cherish them cuz
Speaker:they're so cute gift as listeners,
Speaker:you have to look at them To Theresa,
Speaker:we're gonna merge now into our reflection section and talk a
Speaker:little bit more about you as a person and how you've
Speaker:been successful.
Speaker:Is there a natural trait that you call upon as you're
Speaker:going through your business day?
Speaker:I would say just determination.
Speaker:I'm pretty determined.
Speaker:Once I decide I wanna do something,
Speaker:I stick with it until it's done.
Speaker:Certainly the trait of a successful entrepreneur,
Speaker:finding a resource as we were talking about with WordPress earlier,
Speaker:doing, you know,
Speaker:whatever you need to do to be able to move the
Speaker:ball forward.
Speaker:And is there,
Speaker:besides your pre-cooking two weeks of meals,
Speaker:is there any other tool or some other trick that you
Speaker:have to try and keep balance in your life?
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you are more challenged because you are working right out of
Speaker:home, you're homeschooling,
Speaker:you've got the animals to take care of.
Speaker:Is there anything that helps you balance all of this?
Speaker:Well, that's still a work in progress,
Speaker:but lately I've started a bullet journal,
Speaker:I don't know if you're familiar with them,
Speaker:but day planners and things that are already made up have
Speaker:not worked for me.
Speaker:And so a bullet journal,
Speaker:I am putting my calendar in there,
Speaker:I draw it in there.
Speaker:The way I want each page is blank for me to
Speaker:put down anything that I need in there.
Speaker:So if I have a blog post idea every day,
Speaker:I'll put the date and I'll put what I wanna accomplish.
Speaker:If I have a kit idea,
Speaker:I, it's my books right there.
Speaker:I keep track of books that I'm reading and you know,
Speaker:favorites and homeschool ideas.
Speaker:It's in this bullet journal.
Speaker:Beautiful. And gift as listeners,
Speaker:if you don't know what a bullet journal is,
Speaker:I only ran into them in terms of the concept probably
Speaker:like six months ago or so.
Speaker:And they are so popular they were sold out.
Speaker:But the bullet journal,
Speaker:just like what Teresa's describing isn't all structured for you already,
Speaker:but it is,
Speaker:do you have,
Speaker:do you have like colors and designs and all of that
Speaker:since you're artsy in your journal as well?
Speaker:I do because I,
Speaker:it's kind of a stress reliever.
Speaker:I kind of look forward to being able to write in
Speaker:there because it's just something different.
Speaker:I like to make it pretty,
Speaker:so yes.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:So it's a structure of being able to create your day.
Speaker:And they do have physical journals that go along with it.
Speaker:It's a real thing,
Speaker:it's just not a concept.
Speaker:It's a real thing.
Speaker:And I'll link to the bullet journal,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:an article or something like that in the show notes so
Speaker:you can see what we're talking about.
Speaker:Okay. We have talked about the virtual freedom book.
Speaker:Is there anything else you wanna add in terms of any
Speaker:other books that you are reading or have read or listened
Speaker:to that you think our listeners could find value in?
Speaker:Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey has pretty much changed our
Speaker:lives as a family,
Speaker:especially with this income that's been increasing every year.
Speaker:And just being able to manage our money wisely has been
Speaker:wonderful and changed our lives.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:Teresa, at this point I want to invite you to Dare
Speaker:to Dream.
Speaker:I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:So this is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable
Speaker:heights that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside your box?
Speaker:Well, there's two things in my box.
Speaker:First would be that our family would be financially secure enough
Speaker:to be able to give back,
Speaker:like give to people in need to volunteer in our community
Speaker:and church where now we don't feel like we have the
Speaker:time. We're still working on debt,
Speaker:we're still in the growing process where I would just love
Speaker:to see that we're able to take the time to volunteer
Speaker:and that would just bring us so much joy.
Speaker:The second is a little more selfish.
Speaker:I would like to get my business out of my house.
Speaker:It's, it's taken over my whole house.
Speaker:There's wool everywhere.
Speaker:I'm taking up half the basement,
Speaker:move the family room over.
Speaker:Kids are sitting right in front of the TV just to
Speaker:have space to put my kids together and for all the
Speaker:wool and things that I need.
Speaker:I would just like a studio space that was separate so
Speaker:that I could have my house back.
Speaker:And I would like it to be where people could come
Speaker:and we could have classes.
Speaker:It would be big enough so that I could teach others.
Speaker:And there's so many that would love to come to my
Speaker:farm and see the sheep and that would be part of
Speaker:coming and and learning from me.
Speaker:That would be awesome.
Speaker:Yeah, It would be a whole experience,
Speaker:right? Yes,
Speaker:Yes. I love that.
Speaker:And I,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:one of the reasons I like asking this question is I
Speaker:like putting people's goals and dreams out in the environment because
Speaker:something tells me with the whole secret thing and power of
Speaker:attraction, that it helps people get what they're dreaming of.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:it just seems like you're walking that path right into exactly
Speaker:what you want.
Speaker:You've got all the services you wanna provide,
Speaker:it's just you need that physical place.
Speaker:Yes, It's very exciting.
Speaker:Gift Biz listeners,
Speaker:you know that there's gonna be a show notes page and
Speaker:on that page will be all the information,
Speaker:contact to Teresa's website,
Speaker:social media sites,
Speaker:all of that.
Speaker:You have to go look at these sculptures.
Speaker:They're so cute.
Speaker:If you need a smile in your day,
Speaker:like Teresa was talking about way in the beginning,
Speaker:all you need to do is go on the website and
Speaker:look at these adorable little animals.
Speaker:Theresa, for people who are not near a computer right now,
Speaker:maybe on their phones or walking their dogs at the gym,
Speaker:straightening stock in their shop,
Speaker:something like that,
Speaker:what would be the single best place for someone to go
Speaker:and connect up with you online?
Speaker:Bear Creek felting.com
Speaker:is my website.
Speaker:From there you can find my Etsy shop.
Speaker:You can find my Facebook,
Speaker:Etsy, Instagram,
Speaker:a Pinterest.
Speaker:You can also find pictures of my sheep and our farm
Speaker:life, as well as all of my sculptures that I've made
Speaker:and information on Neil Felting.
Speaker:Perfect. Well,
Speaker:I have to tell you,
Speaker:Teresa, I live in the suburbs of Chicago,
Speaker:but I swear in my past life,
Speaker:I grew up on a farm because I always like not
Speaker:being in the city,
Speaker:but being more out nature,
Speaker:animals, all of that.
Speaker:So your life to me sounds absolutely fabulous.
Speaker:And I love the fact that you have the opportunity in
Speaker:this day to be able to make these adorable creations and
Speaker:sell them online and make a whole business for yourself and
Speaker:your story about being able to go step by step by
Speaker:step and just one thing led to another,
Speaker:led to another,
Speaker:and the dreams that you have for your future.
Speaker:There is no question in my mind that all of those
Speaker:things are gonna happen.
Speaker:Thank you again so much for joining me today.
Speaker:And may your candle always burn bright.
Speaker:Thank you,
Speaker:I enjoyed it.
Speaker:Where are you in your business building journey?
Speaker:Whether you're just starting out or already running a business and
Speaker:you wanna know your setup for success,
Speaker:find out by taking the gift biz quiz,
Speaker:access the quiz from your computer at bit ly slash gift
Speaker:biz quiz or from your phone by texting Gift Biz quiz
Speaker:to 44 2 22.
Speaker:Thanks for listening and Be sure to join us for the
Speaker:next episode.
Speaker:Today's show is sponsored by the Ribbon Print Company,
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