Shownotes
BUSINESS BUILDING INSIGHTS
- The universe contains enough for everyone. Don't get discouraged because there's a place for you even in a well populated category.
- Your first thoughts about what your business is going to be will change along the way. Keep going and trust yourself. We all evolve.
- Feedback is what makes your product better. Be open. Listen to the advice of friends and hear what your customers are looking for.
- Take the first step. If you don’t make a move, you won’t have a successful business.
- You can't build a business in a place of desperation.
- Focus on the opportunities all around you. Shift your mindset to the positive. Believe that you can.
- Get in tune with your intuition. Listen and follow it.
- Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. Tap into your connections and seek help. It's the way to grow.
- Believe in the abundance of the universe and find ways to make your brand stand out.
- Incorporate easy ways for people to repurchase your product.
- Your brand is everything. Make sure not to dilute it. Let people know what you stand for and stay aligned to that.
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Gift biz unwrapped episode 253 When you feel like you are
Speaker:struggling that you just don't even know what the heck you're
Speaker:doing or if it's even worth it to keep going,
Speaker:but you gotta keep going and just trust us.
Speaker:Attention gifters,
Speaker:bakers, crafters and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one
Speaker:now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz on,
Speaker:unwrapped, helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources and the support you need to grow your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there And I'm thrilled that you're joining me here today
Speaker:for the show.
Speaker:I wanted to start off by telling you about a project
Speaker:that I've been working on the end of last year that
Speaker:has kind of caught over into this year too.
Speaker:You know how once you dive into something,
Speaker:it starts becoming bigger and bigger.
Speaker:You identify one thing that needs changing and it leads to
Speaker:another and then something else pops up.
Speaker:That's what happened to me.
Speaker:I started with revising some of my blog articles and I
Speaker:also wanted to totally redo my getting acquainted emails.
Speaker:So those are the emails that get sent out to people
Speaker:when they're first joining into our community here.
Speaker:Anyway, from time to time they need a spruce up.
Speaker:There were also freebies that needed to be adjusted.
Speaker:I had an old logo that had changed over time so
Speaker:I hadn't caught all the places where that needed to be
Speaker:adjusted and I had also rebranded a couple of years ago
Speaker:and switched out the tone of the yellow that I'm using.
Speaker:And as you know,
Speaker:I advise you to keep your brand consistent across all platforms.
Speaker:Consistency is really important to developing trust with people who are
Speaker:following you.
Speaker:So I had two shades of yellow out there,
Speaker:absolutely drove me crazy.
Speaker:Everything needed to be fixed.
Speaker:It felt like everywhere I turned there was just another fixed
Speaker:to do and another fixed to do,
Speaker:far be it for me to leave these things out there
Speaker:in the shape that they were now that I knew about
Speaker:them. So consequently I did a whole overhaul and that was
Speaker:not easy.
Speaker:I have to tell you,
Speaker:given that I had broken my wrist on January 1st some
Speaker:of you already know that and so I'm temporarily a lefty
Speaker:trying to type.
Speaker:Pretty interesting.
Speaker:Anyway, I am so happy to say that this whole revamp
Speaker:is now complete.
Speaker:Every article,
Speaker:support material,
Speaker:downloads, everything is spanking new and even my fabulous get acquainted
Speaker:funnel, they're all fresh and inline with the brand and I
Speaker:have to give a shout out here to Abby Herman of
Speaker:right solutions who led the charge on all of this.
Speaker:Now, why do I bring this up for two reasons?
Speaker:One, how are your blog articles,
Speaker:online images,
Speaker:email campaigns?
Speaker:Have you looked lately?
Speaker:Time goes so fast and it's easy just to let these
Speaker:things go,
Speaker:but remember,
Speaker:these are the first things someone sees when they visit your
Speaker:website and maybe your one and only chance to make an
Speaker:impression. The second reason I bring this up is I want
Speaker:you to go check out my site,
Speaker:read a couple of the blog articles,
Speaker:download some of the freebies.
Speaker:There's a lot of value in free information sitting there for
Speaker:you. I'm not going to suggest that you go to a
Speaker:specific one because everyone's in a different place and what will
Speaker:be valuable for you,
Speaker:maybe different from someone else.
Speaker:This is all over@giftbizonrap.com
Speaker:and I hope you do go and check it out.
Speaker:So let's move on and talk about the show.
Speaker:Today. We're going to be chatting about a business owned by
Speaker:three sisters.
Speaker:I met them in person and honestly could have hung out
Speaker:with them all afternoon.
Speaker:You'll hear how ancestry DNA led to the inspiration of their
Speaker:brand. They clearly love what they do,
Speaker:enjoy working together and have identified a spin on their product
Speaker:that sets them apart from others,
Speaker:quote unquote,
Speaker:seemingly making something similar.
Speaker:If you're in any way hesitant about starting your business because
Speaker:you think your market is saturated,
Speaker:these girls have something to tell you today.
Speaker:It is my pleasure to introduce you to Sharita Lucas from
Speaker:dosa naturals.
Speaker:Dosa naturals is all about paying homage to the women who
Speaker:paved the way for Sharita and her two sisters.
Speaker:They were inspired by stories of their great grandmother dosa who
Speaker:was born in Mississippi and had an affinity for Magnolias.
Speaker:Grandma dosa instilled a strong sense of pride and simple beauty
Speaker:and stress,
Speaker:the importance of honoring the outside of your body as well
Speaker:as the inside.
Speaker:Not only did she insist on using natural methods to accentuate
Speaker:her natural beauty,
Speaker:she also understood and advocated for daily skincare practices free of
Speaker:harmful chemicals.
Speaker:She knew that natural was better.
Speaker:Less is more defines the brand today since most of their
Speaker:products contain less than nine powerfully effective ingredients,
Speaker:dosa is also environmentally conscious and catch this,
Speaker:you guys such a smart thing,
Speaker:they pay their customers to ship back their empty containers so
Speaker:they can use them again and again.
Speaker:We're going to hear about that and more very quickly.
Speaker:Sharita welcome to the gift biz on podcast.
Speaker:Hi Sue,
Speaker:how are you Doing great this morning.
Speaker:How are you?
Speaker:I am doing wonderful.
Speaker:There's no snow I love and it's nice and sunny right
Speaker:here in the in Deanna.
Speaker:So I'm having a good morning.
Speaker:So Well for me.
Speaker:I agree with everything you said except I wish there were
Speaker:like two feet of snow on the ground cause that's just
Speaker:what people who have hung out with me for a while
Speaker:know I'm all about the snow.
Speaker:No, I don't know if we can be friends anymore.
Speaker:So I'm sorry.
Speaker:You know how we can you just send it up to
Speaker:me? That's all.
Speaker:If you start seeing it,
Speaker:just go out really hard and just send it over to
Speaker:me in Chicago and we're all good.
Speaker:Okay, I can do that.
Speaker:Okay. So now that I shared with you and some of
Speaker:our listeners who might be first-timers listening to the show a
Speaker:little bit about me,
Speaker:I want to talk more about you and I have a
Speaker:tradition here on the show to have you describe yourself in
Speaker:a different and creative way.
Speaker:And that is through motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you were to envision a candle that just resonate
Speaker:who you are,
Speaker:Sharita what would that candle look like and what would it
Speaker:say? All right,
Speaker:so resonates with me.
Speaker:The color of my candle would be sky blue.
Speaker:I would say blue,
Speaker:but I have to go in a little deeper and say
Speaker:sky blue.
Speaker:And I say sky blue because it reminds me of the
Speaker:color of the sky.
Speaker:And when I look at the sky,
Speaker:I see vastness and I see limitless and I see beauty.
Speaker:So that's the color of my candle.
Speaker:It would be sky blue.
Speaker:And what would be on that candle is believe in the
Speaker:abundance of the universe.
Speaker:And I say that because you know,
Speaker:when I started my business,
Speaker:you know it's not anything completely different,
Speaker:right? There are a lot of skincare companies out there.
Speaker:There are a lot of people out there that claim to
Speaker:have natural products.
Speaker:And I was a little timid and a little afraid in
Speaker:the beginning because how am I going to stand out and
Speaker:can I even compete in the category?
Speaker:But then I read a quote that said,
Speaker:believe in the abundance of the universe.
Speaker:And that spoke to me.
Speaker:It said to me that the universe has a lot out
Speaker:there and there's something for everyone and you can compete in
Speaker:the same category.
Speaker:That's fine.
Speaker:There's enough room in the category for many people.
Speaker:So believe in the abundance in the universe when you're looking
Speaker:at your sky blue candle.
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:it's so true.
Speaker:And we have just set the stage for such a wonderful
Speaker:conversation and I agree with you so much Sharita and I
Speaker:think a lot of people,
Speaker:I'm not going to go into my stories here cause we're
Speaker:gonna talk about your story,
Speaker:but I do encounter a lot of people who feel exactly
Speaker:like what you're talking about,
Speaker:the industry,
Speaker:the area that they want to get into with their product
Speaker:is already so saturated that there's no room for them at
Speaker:all. And then they feel defeated before they've even ever started.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:Before they get out there.
Speaker:Yeah. And I just have to say,
Speaker:so let me start off by telling everybody how we met.
Speaker:Okay. I was at the one of a kind show in
Speaker:Chicago. They do the show twice year and it's all hand
Speaker:makers. So you guys,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I was like in my glory because there are so many
Speaker:beautiful products there.
Speaker:It was getting to be the end of the day.
Speaker:I was exhausted.
Speaker:It was also the end of my birthday weekend and my
Speaker:girlfriend had taken me out for a big weekend,
Speaker:so I was just like,
Speaker:okay, we're going up and down these aisles just a little
Speaker:bit more and then we would go in home and I
Speaker:ran into your booth and your sisters were there and there
Speaker:was just so much fun and so much energy there.
Speaker:And I did still have a couple of gifts that I
Speaker:needed to get and I just went in and I wasn't
Speaker:sure what I was looking for,
Speaker:but it was the energy you guys had,
Speaker:which really attracted me to you guys.
Speaker:And then we started talking and then we started talking flavors
Speaker:and remember like it was really fun and really playful.
Speaker:I left after multiple purchases with a lot of bags in
Speaker:such a great mood.
Speaker:So when you talk about your quote and the abundance and
Speaker:your color to the optimism and the potential,
Speaker:it just oozes from you.
yeah, I had so much fun meeting you too that day.
Speaker:Yeah, that was a lot of fun.
Speaker:You made my day.
Speaker:Oh, well then we did it together.
Speaker:We were segregated that good vibes,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:So then I'm like,
Speaker:okay, I need to know more of their story and one
Speaker:of your sisters and I want to get into who they
Speaker:are as we go.
Speaker:But one of your sisters was starting to say something on
Speaker:next top.
Speaker:I don't want to talk about it.
Speaker:Will you guys be on my podcast?
Speaker:And both your other two sisters pointed to you.
Speaker:They're like,
Speaker:she's our girl.
Speaker:She'll be on it.
Speaker:They're always throwing me under the bus man.
Speaker:Always me.
Speaker:But that's cool.
Speaker:Upfront visibility PR person I guess.
Speaker:And I'm the oldest to the oldest of the three,
Speaker:so that's why we do that too.
Speaker:It's a big sister.
Speaker:I always push out in front.
Speaker:Yeah. Gotcha.
Speaker:Well you can claim the role and you do it admirably
Speaker:already. I know.
Speaker:Ah, But let's go back.
Speaker:Let's now take a step back a little bit.
Speaker:Tell me specifically,
Speaker:maybe a little bit of your background,
Speaker:but how this idea started and then clearly how you decided
Speaker:to get your sisters involved as well.
Speaker:Let's go back into that story a little bit.
Speaker:I was like,
Speaker:I feel like I feel this like doo doo doo doo
Speaker:doo doo doo doo.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:Yeah. Well you know my family,
Speaker:we've always been serial entrepreneurs.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:on my parents we didn't have anything.
Speaker:We grew up in Cabrini green,
Speaker:which is low income housing on the South side of Chicago.
Speaker:And my parents had me when they were 16 and 18
Speaker:years old,
Speaker:so they didn't have much of an education and neither did
Speaker:my grandparents.
Speaker:But my parents always wanted more for us girls.
Speaker:There are three of us.
Speaker:I have two sisters,
Speaker:as you talked about earlier.
Speaker:And my youngest sister decided that she was going to a
Speaker:lingerie company,
Speaker:right. And she called it exotic look lingerie and she was
Speaker:doing that.
Speaker:And so I said all right,
Speaker:well since we're doing lingerie,
Speaker:the natural extension of lingerie is skincare.
Speaker:Cause we were talking about talking to these women as we
Speaker:were introducing this lingerie to them and it just felt like
Speaker:the natural connection,
Speaker:a natural next piece.
Speaker:So we started exotic look natural.
Speaker:Whoa. It's pretty much just me cause my sister wanted to
Speaker:stay on the lingerie side and I was on the natural
Speaker:side and long story short,
Speaker:exotic look,
Speaker:lingerie fell off.
Speaker:It didn't do too well,
Speaker:but I was really into the natural right.
Speaker:That part of me,
Speaker:I had a daughter that was born with a seizure disorder.
Speaker:I learned that one of my core values is authenticity.
Speaker:So I wanted to give people similar to me with similar
Speaker:values and things like that.
Speaker:I wanted to give them a natural skincare alternative.
Speaker:So that's how the business started.
Speaker:Now the name came about during Thanksgiving,
Speaker:which is one of my favorite holidays because it's the one
Speaker:time of the year where I get all of the ridiculously
Speaker:My grandma and my mother made it the one time I
Speaker:get to do that.
Speaker:And as you do at Thanksgiving,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you get together and you reminisce.
Speaker:And at least my family does.
Speaker:And we talk about a lot of different things.
Speaker:And I was introduced to ancestry.com
Speaker:and I was introduced to my second great grandmother whose name
Speaker:was dosa and I thought,
Speaker:Oh my goodness,
Speaker:what an amazing name.
Speaker:And I found out she was from Mississippi and she had
Speaker:an affinity for Chuck Magnolias,
Speaker:which is the Mississippi state flowers.
Speaker:So if you look at my logo,
Speaker:my logo has the Magnolia kind of popping through the,
Speaker:Oh and my company's name is DOSO,
Speaker:which is paying homage to my second great grandmother.
Speaker:And the rest is history.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:So it all came about,
Speaker:it's kind of total family business even over and above your
Speaker:sisters then.
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. I mean cause everybody and of course great grandma dosa
Speaker:as well.
Speaker:But then everybody who was at that Thanksgiving,
Speaker:like it all just came together for everybody.
Speaker:It did.
Speaker:And it was so natural.
Speaker:Yeah, it certainly did.
Speaker:Wow. So what about sister number three?
Speaker:Are we just calling them sister one and two?
Speaker:Are we going to give him some names?
Speaker:Okay. My sister,
Speaker:number two,
Speaker:the middle sister,
Speaker:her name is Charlotte and we are 14 months apart and
Speaker:that's all I'm going to say about that.
Speaker:And my youngest sister,
Speaker:her name is
which again is unique is her name is hydrilla Roseanne.
Speaker:And the story behind that name is my mother knew it
Speaker:was the last child that she was going to have.
Speaker:And again,
Speaker:family, she wanted to pay homage to her other three sisters.
Speaker:So I had an aunt name Audrey and my mother's middle
Speaker:name is Ella.
Speaker:So that's where I Drella came from.
Speaker:And my last two aunts,
Speaker:her other two sisters are Rose and,
Speaker:and so,
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:So they Should just put it all in there.
Speaker:She put it all together.
Speaker:But what a beautiful name.
Speaker:Adrenal Roseanne.
Speaker:That's gorgeous.
Speaker:Yes. So who was the one who had the lingerie company?
Speaker:So that was on Trello.
Speaker:Roseanne. And so how did Charlotte merge into and make it
Speaker:then a threesome?
Speaker:Well what happened was when I started the dosa skincare line,
Speaker:it was a hobby.
Speaker:It was just me talking to some friends and making up
Speaker:some butters every now and again and some mineral thoughts and
Speaker:things like that,
Speaker:and I was doing it on my own in my basement.
Speaker:Did you just totally then abandon exotic look naturals then.
Speaker:Okay. It was rebranded as dosa natural.
Speaker:I rebranded it.
Speaker:Oh, okay.
Speaker:That's my mission kind of change and my sisters,
Speaker:her piece of the business,
Speaker:it just kind of fallen,
Speaker:so I just rebranded it and created something completely new and
Speaker:when I did that,
Speaker:because it took off after that,
Speaker:that's when my sister number two,
Speaker:Charlotte jumped into the fold to help because I needed help.
Speaker:Okay, so this is interesting.
Speaker:Then did you change the composite of the product also?
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:It's been three years in the making,
Speaker:just changing the product itself.
Speaker:A staple of the brand is our body butters and I
Speaker:really don't like to call them body butter Sue because they
Speaker:do have healing powers.
Speaker:It's not like the body butters that you see on Etsy.
Speaker:It's like a luxury body butter that has real healing properties
Speaker:and there are only nine ingredients in it.
Speaker:So over time,
Speaker:yeah, the whole structure,
Speaker:the whole making of that one product,
Speaker:all of that changed when I rebranded the company.
Speaker:Okay, wonderful.
Speaker:And a perfect note for our listeners is the evolution of
Speaker:a product here,
Speaker:right? Because you already had one product,
Speaker:you kind of got your feet wet,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:a little bit in making a pampering product,
Speaker:et cetera,
Speaker:and then it morphed into something deeper and more and stood
Speaker:for something more significant.
Speaker:Right. But you say that it really then took off.
Speaker:How did that happen?
Speaker:And so I want to just go back to that one
Speaker:point too.
Speaker:I mean to your listeners,
Speaker:just to say your first thought about what your business is
Speaker:going to be,
Speaker:it's going to change.
Speaker:Just expect it to change.
Speaker:It's almost like it reminds me of when,
Speaker:when we're young,
Speaker:right? When we're teenagers,
Speaker:we're not the same person that at age 15 that we're
Speaker:going to be at age 18 or at age 21 or
Speaker:even 25 we continue to evolve and even to this day,
Speaker:three years later,
Speaker:my brand is continuing to evolve.
Speaker:So I just wanted to put that in there.
Speaker:Just know that you're not going to have all of the
Speaker:answers, you're not going to,
Speaker:and they're going to be many,
Speaker:many times when you feel like you are struggling that you
Speaker:just don't even know what the heck you're doing or if
Speaker:it's even worth it to keep going.
Speaker:But you got to keep going and just trust yourself and
Speaker:just watch the business evolve and feel comfortable in the evolution
Speaker:of your passion and your business.
Speaker:So I just want that out there.
Speaker:Yeah, and let me expand on that also for a second
Speaker:because a lot of people that I'm working with are just
Speaker:afraid to even start because they feel like they have to
Speaker:land on the exact right thing right from the beginning.
Speaker:So what you just talked about addresses that too.
Speaker:You're not going to land on the perfect product necessarily,
Speaker:like there could be some home runs.
Speaker:Right. But it's probably going to evolve.
Speaker:But the thing is you have to get started.
Speaker:You have to move,
Speaker:and I can tell you my products were crap and I'm
Speaker:just going to say it.
Speaker:When we first started out,
Speaker:they were crap and I had friends and family that would
Speaker:use them,
Speaker:but then they would give me feedback and the feedback is
Speaker:what made the product better.
Speaker:Here's the one thing that's absolutely certain,
Speaker:Sue, if you don't move at all,
Speaker:you will never have a successful business that's guaranteed.
Speaker:Right? But if you start to move,
Speaker:then there are possibilities.
Speaker:Just taking the first step then increases your chances of being
Speaker:a successful entrepreneur.
Speaker:Absolutely. But you got to take the steps you have to.
Speaker:Yes. That was a such a valuable add.
Speaker:Thank you so much for bringing that up.
Speaker:Okay, so let's get back to then.
Speaker:How did you start seeing that it was taking off?
Speaker:You made the switch three years ago,
Speaker:right? Just to ground everybody.
I made the switch.
Speaker:Yeah. Okay.
Speaker:Three years ago or so.
Speaker:So when did you start seeing that traction was really starting
Speaker:to happen and what do you attribute that to?
Speaker:Well, you gotta make sure that you find your tribe,
Speaker:right? So my sisters were there,
Speaker:but we all have different aspects of the business.
Speaker:I am the visionary,
Speaker:I'm the creator.
Speaker:My sister Charlotte is inventoried because I hate doing that type
Speaker:of stuff.
Speaker:Oh my God,
Speaker:the details drive me insane.
Speaker:So she's in charge,
Speaker:she knows how much inventory we have and my husband is
Speaker:in charge of really making sure that we know how much
Speaker:our products cost us to make and what's our profit margin
Speaker:and what our wholesale prices should be.
Speaker:And my youngest sister
All of this came together when I found my chamber,
Speaker:my chamber of the city.
Speaker:And I would advise anyone that's thinking of starting a business
Speaker:to get in touch with their local chamber because there are
Speaker:lots of small business and likeminded people that are trying to
Speaker:do the same things that you can do and you can
Speaker:make some connections there.
Speaker:But the chamber introduced me to a small store owner,
Speaker:a boutique store owner who allowed me to put my products
Speaker:in her store.
Speaker:Right. And when she did that,
Speaker:people started to buy the product and start to comment on
Speaker:them. Right.
Speaker:And then more orders start to come in.
Speaker:And when I knew that I had something special and that
Speaker:I needed to keep going,
Speaker:and not only were people coming in talking about how they
Speaker:love the fragrance of the product,
Speaker:but they were also talking about how their children with eczema.
Speaker:Then they couldn't find any other product for them that,
Speaker:that, that it was actually helping to clear that up for
Speaker:them. They would tell me about how in the winter time
Speaker:their hands were always so dry and chapped and how my
Speaker:products actually helped to calm that down and combat that.
Speaker:And so all of this started to come in.
Speaker:I started to realize that I had something that was a
Speaker:little bit bigger than myself.
Speaker:It was a little bit scary at the time too,
Speaker:but also exciting.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:finding my chamber,
Speaker:getting introduced to this boutique store who gave me an opportunity
Speaker:to put my little products in her store,
Speaker:which introduced me to a whole new target audience that I've
Speaker:probably would not have had access to otherwise is what really
Speaker:catapulted my business.
Speaker:Wonderful. So you were listening to the customer,
Speaker:understanding what they were seeing and you hadn't really identified the
Speaker:therapeutic values yet.
Speaker:No, I didn't.
Speaker:You had put it into the product because you wanted it
Speaker:to all be natural,
Speaker:et cetera,
Speaker:but then this is when you were really like,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:this is doing something way bigger than I even thought as
Speaker:you had said.
Speaker:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:That is exactly what happened.
Speaker:I would love to say that to everyone that's listening that
Speaker:I had a scientist and I spoke to some medical doctors
Speaker:and things and they told me exactly what I needed to
Speaker:put into these products to give it therapeutic advances,
Speaker:but that's not what happened.
Speaker:Again, everything happened with my company.
Speaker:It was pretty much like trial and error first,
Speaker:knowing that I wanted to do this right and then researching
Speaker:and starting to create products and then listening to the advice
Speaker:from friends and relatives and adding a little bit more and
Speaker:then getting the product out there in an environment and listening
Speaker:to what was coming back.
Speaker:I guess when you think about just the natural products and
Speaker:just the elimination of preservatives and additives and things like that,
Speaker:when you think about it in hindsight,
Speaker:yeah, it's going to be better for the skin and it's
Speaker:going to have all of these wonderful benefits and that's exactly
Speaker:how it is.
Speaker:Yeah, well it would make sense that it would,
Speaker:but then for you to hear it is a different thing
Speaker:and Sharita I would say it was probably really good that
Speaker:you didn't have like a really formal marketing plan already set
Speaker:because if you did,
Speaker:and I'm not against planning and strategy,
Speaker:mind you because that's what I teach,
Speaker:but if you would have been so rigid,
Speaker:you may not have been open to what people were telling
Speaker:you. You know,
Speaker:and you might not have evolved as you did because you
Speaker:might've been so like tunnel focused on what you were thinking
Speaker:your plan was instead of listening to customers.
Speaker:Exactly. And to add to that too,
Speaker:it's like I think that oftentimes,
Speaker:you know that additive about paralysis by analysis.
Speaker:That is true for me.
Speaker:I know just for me this,
Speaker:I know how my brain works.
Speaker:I spent 28 years in corporate and I understand bureaucracy and
Speaker:I understand how having too many cooks in the kitchen just
Speaker:further complicates things,
Speaker:right? So in my mind,
Speaker:for me getting from a to Z,
Speaker:all of the detail,
Speaker:I'll let fluff in the middle to me causes me a
Speaker:little bit of anxiety.
Speaker:It's like information overload.
Speaker:It's too much.
Speaker:And so I didn't do a marketing plan and things like
Speaker:that just for that reason.
Speaker:For me it didn't work.
Speaker:Some people are a little bit more rigid and they need
Speaker:that plan.
Speaker:For me,
Speaker:it's just like,
Speaker:let's, I know what I want to do.
Speaker:Let me just get in there and do it.
Speaker:I don't want to add too many cooks.
Speaker:To the kitchen.
Speaker:I didn't want to hear a lot of the islands say
Speaker:preachy people,
Speaker:but I guess I didn't meet that much rigid reality.
Speaker:I don't know if that's the word or not cause I
Speaker:didn't want to slow down my momentum.
Speaker:Right. And I would suggest that that is the huge advantage
Speaker:we have as small businesses.
Speaker:We don't have all that hierarchy that you do in corporate.
Speaker:It doesn't have to pass legal and production and like all
Speaker:these processes,
Speaker:we can all move so much faster and quicker than corporate
Speaker:ever would be able to.
Speaker:Yeah, that's a huge advantage.
Speaker:Yes, It's a huge advantage.
Speaker:But I am thinking you probably had a destination in sight.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you've already defined yourself as a visionary,
Speaker:so although you didn't have a marketing plan per se,
Speaker:can you describe right at that transition point where you were
Speaker:looking at the business to go like what were you looking,
Speaker:if you were to have said,
Speaker:okay, this is why I'm building this as and this is
Speaker:what I see as a win for the business,
Speaker:what would the business then look like?
Speaker:Let me give you a little grounding of why I'm asking
Speaker:this question.
Speaker:One of the things that I ask people all the time
Speaker:when they're making a transition from just,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:making the product as a hobby just for fun to now
Speaker:decide and I want to monetize this and I want to
Speaker:start a business.
Speaker:I'll say,
Speaker:okay, are you looking at doing this part time or maybe
Speaker:part time at first and making it go into full time?
Speaker:Are you looking at being a wholesale?
Speaker:Like all these questions.
Speaker:Not that it's going to stay that way,
Speaker:but as a starting point versus just jumping in and having
Speaker:no idea where it's going to go.
Speaker:What were you thinking about for yourself at the transition point
Speaker:to dose and naturals.
Speaker:Okay. And I want to say to people too that I
Speaker:started dosa,
Speaker:which was originally exotic look natural while I was working in
Speaker:corporate full time.
Speaker:Right? I knew that at some point I wanted to get
Speaker:out of corporate and I knew I couldn't do it right
Speaker:away because my family needed my paycheck.
Speaker:So my exit strategy was to began to find something that
Speaker:I was passionate about,
Speaker:right? And to begin dosa naturals to begin my natural skincare
Speaker:and was kind of like a hobby.
Speaker:I didn't know where it was going to go,
Speaker:but at the point when I found out that I had
Speaker:something larger than myself,
Speaker:then I started to think,
Speaker:all right,
Speaker:so what's next?
Speaker:How do I take dosa to the next level?
Speaker:Is that what you're asking?
Speaker:So, Yeah.
Speaker:And I also liked that you were talking about the fact
Speaker:that you stayed in your corporate.
Speaker:Yes. That stops a lot of people.
Speaker:Yeah. Well,
Speaker:I'm not a fan of people's just decided,
Speaker:okay, I'm gonna quit and start this business.
Speaker:I think that's very risky.
Speaker:And then it makes you look really needy too.
Speaker:Like we feared a craft show in sales.
Speaker:You need those sales because you need to cover medical bills
Speaker:or food or whatever.
Speaker:I'm so glad you said that too,
Speaker:because the other,
Speaker:if you had asked me another phrase,
Speaker:I got a lot of them.
Speaker:It's like you cannot build a business from a place of
Speaker:desperation. You just can't do that because I believe the energy
Speaker:that you give out is what you will get back in,
Speaker:right? So if you're out there and you quit this job
Speaker:and you go out here and you starting this business and
Speaker:you don't have the financial wherewithal to support just your daily
Speaker:basic needs and it's going to cause you a lot of
Speaker:anxiety, right?
Speaker:And people are gonna feel that and it's unnecessary.
Speaker:So my idea,
Speaker:again, and I would say this anyway,
Speaker:cause I got a lot of people to say I can't
Speaker:afford to start a business because I have a full time
Speaker:job. Well to that I say that's just an excuse.
Speaker:You can find ways,
Speaker:anything that you really want to do,
Speaker:you'll find a way to do it.
Speaker:So while I worked in corporate and I didn't have this
Speaker:a desk job,
Speaker:I was a senior partner overseeing teams of technical leaders and
Speaker:experts. So my job was pretty demanding,
Speaker:but I really enjoyed and believed in what I was creating.
Speaker:And to me that gave me just knowing that I had,
Speaker:that made my job just a little bit more bearable because
Speaker:I could see the light at the end of the tunnel
Speaker:and the time that I had was the weekends and the
Speaker:evenings and that's what I used,
Speaker:but it didn't even feel like work.
Speaker:It's just time just disappeared in a gave me it like
Speaker:refueled me.
Speaker:It gave me the energy that I needed to go into
Speaker:this job that I no longer desired to be at.
Speaker:That wasn't really doing anything for me after 28 years.
Speaker:Would you say there were skills that you picked up in
Speaker:your corporate life that you apply to your business now?
Speaker:Absolutely. Absolutely.
Speaker:That's the other thing too.
Speaker:It's like everything that I've done,
Speaker:I feel like everything that I've done in my corporate life
Speaker:has prepared me for what I'm doing now with dosa,
Speaker:I worked for a global advertising agency,
Speaker:so when it comes to designs and copywriting and marketing,
Speaker:all of those skills now I apply to my business.
Speaker:Even though you know I was in technology just being surrounded
Speaker:by these individuals and it's also given me connections and valuable
Speaker:connections that I still tap into today.
Speaker:One of my coworkers at the advertising agency I'd known for
Speaker:a long time created my logo for me.
Speaker:I knew a photographer that I worked with at the advertising
Speaker:agency and through that connection he's taught me how to take
Speaker:great photographs,
Speaker:so I learned skills and I also have valuable connections that
Speaker:I still tap into today.
Speaker:First off,
Speaker:I love that you're talking about the fact that corporate was
Speaker:valuable, so I encourage anyone who's listening,
Speaker:who is working,
Speaker:even if it's part time,
Speaker:whatever other job you have as you're considering what products you
Speaker:make and turning that into a business,
Speaker:what type of opportunities and skills can you take advantage of
Speaker:while you're still working there?
Speaker:That will help you later because the people don't really recognize
Speaker:that all the time.
Speaker:The other thing is,
Speaker:and this varies by business,
Speaker:I understand that,
Speaker:but you have some people who can be testing your products.
Speaker:You can start spreading the word just by sharing your products
Speaker:within your company too.
Speaker:So there's already like a mini market that you can start
Speaker:kind of cultivating there within a business,
Speaker:especially, I've heard this a lot from people who are bakers,
Speaker:they'll start bringing their products in because they're just gonna have
Speaker:some for lunch,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:brownies, let's say whatever.
Speaker:And then they start sharing it with other people and those
Speaker:end up oftentimes being their first customers.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:And those connections to SU though,
Speaker:connections that you can use later on that you can tap
Speaker:into to help you grow your business to again,
Speaker:take advantage of your situation.
Speaker:So I love that look for opportunities.
Speaker:I think we spend too much time on the opposite side
Speaker:of mindfulness where we're focusing so much on what we cannot
Speaker:do instead of focusing on the opportunities that exist all around
Speaker:us. I mean if you shift your mindset then that enables
Speaker:you to see things and from a different vantage point from
Speaker:a different perspective that's more positive that will actually help you
Speaker:as you continue down this journey.
Speaker:Yes. I think mindset is where it's at.
Speaker:For sure.
Speaker:Everyone has different opportunities available to them to like you don't
Speaker:have to be successful based on how someone else was successful.
Speaker:That's What are you surrounded with that you can optimize in
Speaker:terms of relationships,
Speaker:connections, all of that.
Speaker:Just like you were saying.
Speaker:Sharita. I'm loving where we're going with this.
Speaker:This is beautiful.
Speaker:Next I'm going to ask Sharita what she thinks of the
Speaker:law of attraction and you'll hear her answer right after a
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Speaker:do you believe in the law Attraction?
Speaker:I absolutely do,
Speaker:yes. How'd you guess?
Speaker:Okay. I do.
Speaker:I grew up in the culture church.
Speaker:Both of my grandfathers,
Speaker:both sides,
Speaker:maternal and paternal were ministers,
Speaker:so I spent a lot of time in church and I
Speaker:didn't follow my family's religion as much and I really don't
Speaker:know to what I truly believe in.
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:Some people say there's God,
Speaker:there is the universe.
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:but I do believe that there's something out there that's greater
Speaker:than all of us and I do believe that what you
Speaker:put out is exactly what you're going to get back.
Speaker:I do believe that if you go out there with the
Speaker:mindset that you are going to be in service to others,
Speaker:that will come back to you.
Speaker:So yes,
Speaker:the law of attraction app solutely I believe in it.
Speaker:100% Me too.
Speaker:And just your point about focusing on what potential you have
Speaker:and the positive versus the negative.
Speaker:I would encourage anybody who's listening,
Speaker:who's never tried that,
Speaker:just start thinking that way and see what happens.
Speaker:You might be very surprised.
Speaker:Yeah. Or so I tell people,
Speaker:cause I also do cognitive coaching and it's all about understanding
Speaker:why people continue self destructive beliefs and habits and things like
Speaker:that. And it's understanding the why there really helps you sustain
Speaker:it. Change,
Speaker:right. So I would tell anyone,
Speaker:right when we're talking about mindfulness is the next time that
Speaker:you think or you're wondering what you should do when you're
Speaker:in a certain situation that causes you a little anxious and
Speaker:anxiety. I would suggest that you do the opposite of what
Speaker:you would normally do.
Speaker:Do the opposite and see what happens.
Speaker:So if you're having these negative thoughts about your next step,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:because you're so used to doing or reacting to these negative
Speaker:thoughts that you have in a negative way,
Speaker:instead of doing that,
Speaker:do the opposite.
Speaker:Try to shift that mindset to something positive and then do
Speaker:the opposite of that negative action.
Speaker:So not just think it,
Speaker:but take an action,
Speaker:take the opposite action,
Speaker:Take an action.
Speaker:You have to move.
Speaker:You have to move.
Speaker:People are that paralysis by now.
Speaker:Don't think too hard about it.
Speaker:I believe too that especially as women,
Speaker:that we have this great power of intuition.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it is so powerful and most times what we do is
Speaker:we don't activate it.
Speaker:Instead we ignore it and I would challenge women to really
Speaker:get into tune with this gift that we have listened to
Speaker:your intuition and follow it.
Speaker:Believe in yourself.
Speaker:Just believe that you can and then start to take steps.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:I'm not going to sugar coat this doing this businesses.
Speaker:I have many days where I wonder what the heck am
Speaker:I doing and maybe I'm in over my head and maybe
Speaker:it'd just be easier to go out and get a nine
Speaker:to five job.
Speaker:I have those moments too.
Speaker:It's not all roses and flower pedals and things like that,
Speaker:but his incident time heals all of that.
Speaker:If you continue to move,
Speaker:just taking baby steps,
Speaker:not giant leap,
Speaker:just baby steps.
Speaker:If you walk through that pain,
Speaker:if you walk through that negativity,
Speaker:I promise you what's going to be on the other side
Speaker:is going to be something that's been waiting for you that
Speaker:that you need to get to,
Speaker:but you have to take the steps,
Speaker:you have to move.
Speaker:So I cannot stress the importance of that.
Speaker:You have to move.
Speaker:So if you move and you take an action and the
Speaker:action doesn't work,
Speaker:that doesn't mean you're not cut out for it.
Speaker:It means now you analyze what happened,
Speaker:think through and then move another way,
Speaker:right? Because you've learned to.
Speaker:So when you think about taking those steps and things don't
Speaker:work out the way that you've intended them to or the
Speaker:way you want it to,
Speaker:there's a lesson in there because guess what,
Speaker:what you just did,
Speaker:you won't do again.
Speaker:You learn from it.
Speaker:So the next step that you take,
Speaker:you'll apply those learnings and you just continue along that path.
Speaker:And life is about learning.
Speaker:Every time you take a step,
Speaker:you're going to step into some poop every now and again
Speaker:as this is the way it is.
Speaker:Yeah. You know what I like to think about with this
Speaker:too is every time I run into a conflict or a
Speaker:struggle, I know that other people who would get to this
Speaker:point will fall off.
Speaker:Right? So if I'm able to continue on,
Speaker:do it a new way.
Speaker:The group of people that I am competing with,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:is going to get smaller and smaller.
Speaker:That did knock him off the competition.
Speaker:So Yeah,
Speaker:I was hesitant when I even said that word,
Speaker:but nothing else came to me at the moment.
Speaker:Okay. Because I do believe in abundance and that there is
Speaker:something out there for all of us.
Speaker:Yeah. App.
Speaker:But that's the point is when you meet with conflict,
Speaker:don't say I'm not cut out for this or I can't
Speaker:do this.
Speaker:Or those self doubts that you have in the beginning have
Speaker:been proven out.
Speaker:That's not the case.
Speaker:Everybody runs into situations like this,
Speaker:challenges, obstacles that they're going to have to overcome.
Speaker:And so you figure out a way to do it.
Speaker:Let's bring this over to you.
Speaker:Sharita where was there a problem in your business?
Speaker:Share with us some details of how you've had to implement
Speaker:this within dosa.
Speaker:Oh sure.
Speaker:Oh my God.
Speaker:Let me see.
Speaker:Where are you?
Speaker:Where did I even start?
Speaker:Right. Let's do the third one.
Speaker:Well, for me,
Speaker:I've always talked about how I'm the big picture sinker,
Speaker:right? So I know what products I want to make and
Speaker:I know how I want to market those products and I
Speaker:know how I want to have them tie into my brand
Speaker:and I think I understand what my consumers want.
Speaker:But if you ask me things like how much inventory do
Speaker:you have or how much are you spending to make the
Speaker:product? Or what's your margin or what's your wholesale pricing,
Speaker:that type of stuff.
Speaker:I hate that type of stuff.
Speaker:So that's always been the challenge for me in the business.
Speaker:And I recognize that you can really grow if you don't
Speaker:ask for help.
Speaker:If you don't find your tribe,
Speaker:it's not a negative.
Speaker:It's not when you're asking for help,
Speaker:to me it shows drain and not a weakness,
Speaker:so I started to ask people for help.
Speaker:My sister,
Speaker:she can tell you how much product we have.
Speaker:My husband,
Speaker:he can tell you how much it costs or how much
Speaker:we're spending to create that product or what our margins is.
Speaker:My cousin that I just started to tap into can tell
Speaker:you all the details about our social media postings and things
Speaker:like that.
Speaker:So again,
Speaker:to sum that up,
Speaker:it's like there are going to be challenges and you can
Speaker:be everything,
Speaker:but you have to realize what you need help in.
Speaker:Yeah. I don't even want to call it a weaknesses.
Speaker:It's just the areas that you're not as strong in and
Speaker:find people that can help you make those connections through your
Speaker:chamber or through the companies that you're working with or tap
Speaker:into family members to help you overcome some of those challenges.
Speaker:Yeah, I think that's a big deal in people don't want
Speaker:to ask for help because it makes them feel like they're
Speaker:weaker. All goes back to that whole initial idea.
Speaker:Am I even cut out for this?
Speaker:Right. But if you think about it,
Speaker:how could anybody be an expert on everything?
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it's just not even feasible that you would be.
Speaker:And there's this mentality,
Speaker:I think especially when we start out,
Speaker:I'll be curious if you were feeling this way that I'm
Speaker:super woman,
Speaker:I'm just going to do it all until I have the
Speaker:money and I can afford to hire someone else in or
Speaker:whatever because I can do it all.
Speaker:And there's a lot of thinking out there now that's saying,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:why would you spend so much time trying to learn a
Speaker:skill that doesn't come naturally to you versus doubling down on
Speaker:something that number one you love doing that is so natural
Speaker:for you and have somebody else do the other stuff.
Speaker:Absolutely. For sure.
Speaker:And when you said that,
Speaker:it's like,
Speaker:Oh, are you curious as to whether or not I thought
Speaker:I was superwoman?
Speaker:Well, heck yeah.
Speaker:I thought I was superwoman for sure.
Speaker:I'm the oldest of the three sisters.
Speaker:I'm always the person that people come to for all of
Speaker:the answers in corporate.
Speaker:I was a senior partner,
Speaker:I was the person leading other people in this department.
Speaker:So yeah,
Speaker:I thought I was super woman and I could do it
Speaker:and I could have it all and I fell.
Speaker:I fell pretty hard.
Speaker:No, my sisters came over and my little area was just,
Speaker:I have boxes and crap everywhere.
Speaker:My business was failing,
Speaker:my mental health was failing.
Speaker:I'm just going to be completely honest because I was trying
Speaker:to do too much and my business wasn't fun anymore.
Speaker:It felt hard.
Speaker:No, because I was trying to do everything and it wasn't
Speaker:until I was able to start asking for help and those
Speaker:areas that just do not come naturally to me but comes
Speaker:naturally to others.
Speaker:Once I was able to tap into those resources,
Speaker:I was then free to do the things that I do
Speaker:best, which then benefits my business,
Speaker:and now I have the mental space to take it to
Speaker:the next level,
Speaker:to think about what's next.
Speaker:So having that learning and having gone through all of that,
Speaker:what would be the advice for people of when you add
Speaker:on or start asking for help?
Speaker:What's the,
Speaker:not where you get to where you were really risking your
Speaker:health and everything,
Speaker:but what's your advice for someone of where is there a
Speaker:recognizable point where you would add in or just ask for
Speaker:help? Is it right at the beginning?
Speaker:No. So I think that's going to be different for every
Speaker:person. It goes back to trusting your intuition too and being
Speaker:mindful and listening to your body.
Speaker:And that's going to be different because some alts have a
Speaker:higher tolerance than others for certain things and certain aspects of
Speaker:the business.
Speaker:But I think the moment that you realize that you're not
Speaker:enjoying what you're doing anymore,
Speaker:it's probably the moment where you need to do some self
Speaker:reflection and figure out what it is that's causing you this
Speaker:anxious and anxiety.
Speaker:And then once you figure that out,
Speaker:how can you find some offset that,
Speaker:how can you tap into resource?
Speaker:What can you do to help offset that?
Speaker:So, yeah,
Speaker:I guess in short it would be when you feel like
Speaker:you're no longer having fun.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:And that doesn't mean necessarily you even add an employee.
Speaker:No. I mean you might go in just on a project
Speaker:basis, I need help with my website.
Speaker:Like there are some major problems and you hire someone just
Speaker:to work on that problem.
Speaker:Not to be the person who owns your website.
Speaker:No, exactly.
Speaker:So there's little like it can be project oriented one time
Speaker:project or it can be tasks that they do throughout the
Speaker:whole business.
Speaker:Right. So great topic.
Speaker:It's about being creative about where you find your resources.
Speaker:Cause I find resources from all over the place,
Speaker:Including the chamber.
Speaker:I love that you talk about that.
Speaker:The chamber.
Speaker:Yep. To you know,
Speaker:Valparaiso, the city that I live in,
Speaker:if you're looking for someone with special skillsets,
Speaker:like I needed someone to help me with SEO optimization on
Speaker:my website.
Speaker:So what I found out is that there aren't schools and
Speaker:colleges around me and universities where there are students that are
Speaker:learning to do this stuff.
Speaker:And if you reach out to the schools,
Speaker:they will put you in contact with students that can help
Speaker:you with things like SEO optimization,
Speaker:almost nothing.
Speaker:So being creative and looking at different places for resources to
Speaker:help you.
Speaker:Perfect. Okay,
Speaker:I have a couple more questions.
Speaker:I'm looking at our time.
Speaker:I have a couple more questions I absolutely want to get
Speaker:to. I so love this idea of people bringing back their
Speaker:containers. I think of that all the time when I'm throwing
Speaker:away whatever product it is.
Speaker:It's like,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:this is such a waste and bad for the environment and
Speaker:all the other things.
Speaker:Right. How did this idea come about and how does it
Speaker:actually work within your business?
Speaker:Oh sure.
Speaker:So again,
Speaker:the saturate.
Speaker:Yes, the universe.
Speaker:There's an abundance in the universe,
Speaker:but you do have to try to find ways to make
Speaker:your brand stand out.
Speaker:That's just the reality of the business.
Speaker:You have to try to figure out what's most important to
Speaker:your target audience,
Speaker:to your consumers and do in the research about our consumers.
Speaker:Cause I also connected myself with the small business Bureau in
Speaker:Indiana and I would suggest that others do that too.
Speaker:It's a free service.
Speaker:Yes, so I know it's about time too.
Speaker:I can sometimes I run out,
Speaker:but anyway,
Speaker:so my consumers,
Speaker:we're not only concerned about natural skincare products,
Speaker:but they were also concerned about the environment.
Speaker:So in my mind like how do I mesh the two,
Speaker:how do I add that as a staple in my brand
Speaker:and just doing some research on out some of the big
Speaker:brands are doing it like you and a leader is starting
Speaker:to do it too.
Speaker:Add that they have this program,
Speaker:this waste free program and that is what launched this idea
Speaker:for our consumers.
Speaker:Look, once you purchase our products,
Speaker:when they're empty,
Speaker:we pay you,
Speaker:we send you a postage paid shipping label with your order.
Speaker:You just pop that on a box,
Speaker:puts your empty container in it,
Speaker:ship it back to us and we will recycle it for
Speaker:you and you get a 10% discount on your next order.
Speaker:Beautiful. Because what you've done there is then put in a
Speaker:recurring revenue base for you because if people have 10% it's
Speaker:not a coupon.
Speaker:So it's not a natural,
Speaker:just I guess a regular kickback coupon or something.
Speaker:Right. But it's in your system now to do that.
Speaker:Yes. What percent.
Speaker:Okay, so now this might not be fair cause you already
Speaker:talked about the fact that you know my numbers,
Speaker:but what percent just even if it's a gut feel of
Speaker:your customers will actually take you up on that and return
Speaker:the containers.
Speaker:Oh my God.
Speaker:I think that's what most of the customers,
Speaker:I mean even I would even say,
Speaker:I'm not going to say they don't like the products,
Speaker:but they really feel strongly about that.
Speaker:I would say about 80% of our customers.
Speaker:Wow, that's wonderful.
Speaker:And then of that,
Speaker:what percentage do you think reorder?
Speaker:It would be,
Speaker:I would say another 80% because once you send that container
Speaker:back, you're top of mind,
Speaker:right? You're going through this action and it's so easy then
Speaker:for you to just log back onto the website,
Speaker:place your next order.
Speaker:Bada Bing.
Speaker:Bada boom,
Speaker:you done?
Speaker:Yeah. Cause you've got the coupon right there right then.
Speaker:So you might as well use it.
Speaker:You forget,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:Not a coupon.
Speaker:It's like you go online and it's just no shipping.
Speaker:The system knows.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:Okay. Yes.
Speaker:And so do you assign it to their account in the
Speaker:website? Yes.
Speaker:Oh, so it's already sitting there for them Already done.
Speaker:Oh, even better.
Speaker:Yeah. Already done.
Speaker:Ah, what a great idea that is.
Speaker:So, and again,
Speaker:I guess listening to your customer and identifying things that were
Speaker:care about for them and how you could integrate that in
Speaker:on top of your product.
Speaker:Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So we've already established that you sell wholesale because you have
Speaker:some product in at least the one boutique that I know
Speaker:of right now.
Speaker:You also are out at shows because that's how I saw
Speaker:you. And you also sell online?
Speaker:Yes. Okay.
Speaker:How do you feel?
Speaker:So that's a lot of things,
Speaker:right? A lot of different ways.
Speaker:How do you feel that's working for you?
Speaker:Is there one better than another?
Speaker:Or what advice do you have for people who are looking
Speaker:at that same kind of selling model?
Speaker:Yeah, so to me it's at the end of the day
Speaker:it's all about diversification,
Speaker:right? It's like trying to find a way to have revenue
Speaker:streams come in from a lot of different locations,
Speaker:right? There are a lot of people and reaching as many
Speaker:people as you can.
Speaker:A lot of people don't want to go online,
Speaker:so you want to get in again understanding what your consumers
Speaker:want. So in the stores as a sales channel that's working
Speaker:very well for us through wholesale,
Speaker:going out and meeting people face to face is how we
Speaker:continue to increase our audience or our consumers.
Speaker:They get to know about us and we extend our reach
Speaker:that way as well.
Speaker:And then through social media is the next one that we're
Speaker:going to be trying.
Speaker:I just say diversified.
Speaker:Try to get yourself out there and as many sales channels
Speaker:as you possibly can.
Speaker:And this didn't start,
Speaker:I mean three years in the making.
Speaker:For me it was just all online initially and then we
Speaker:opened ourselves up.
Speaker:Well, we got into the store.
Speaker:Then we opened ourselves up to the one of GYN and
Speaker:the trade shows,
Speaker:and next month we'll be at a wholesale event in Atlanta
Speaker:where we will have buyers,
Speaker:well, just be taking orders from buyers.
Speaker:Hopefully we'll get a lot of orders.
Speaker:So it's the evolution of all of that.
Speaker:That one was one,
Speaker:step two was something else.
Speaker:Step three was something else.
Speaker:Right. Well,
Speaker:and as you were talking,
Speaker:you just keep growing and growing and then trying things and
Speaker:then seeing what works,
Speaker:seeing what doesn't,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:I also think that people who see you,
Speaker:like everyone who is a recipient of the products that I
Speaker:bought from you,
Speaker:they're all holiday gifts.
Speaker:Okay. Are going to want to buy more.
Speaker:And they may not be in Chicago.
Speaker:They might not be at a one of a kind show.
Speaker:They might not be at the trade shows because they're not
Speaker:a buyer.
Speaker:And so you have online options for them.
Speaker:Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker:Diversify, diversify.
Speaker:And I will say,
Speaker:and I'm just putting this up as a red flag for
Speaker:anyone who's listening.
Speaker:I have seen many people who sell at craft shows,
Speaker:not have a way for people to repurchase,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:through an online opportunity And then you've lost them And then
Speaker:you've lost them.
Speaker:You know you've gotten your product into their hands like it's
Speaker:there already.
Speaker:So if that's you don't feel bad,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:like just think about it and make some adjustments and put
Speaker:that in play because you're losing dollars.
Speaker:Definitely if you don't have that as part of your overall
Speaker:plan. Absolutely true.
Speaker:As you look out into the future Sharita what are you
Speaker:thinking is coming next?
Speaker:I want to get into some of the larger stores.
Speaker:That's one of the primary objectives and the other two is
Speaker:our customers are asking us if they're able to sell our
Speaker:product. So we're also looking at the possibility of certifying consultants,
Speaker:independent consultants that will sell our products and receive commissions.
Speaker:So that's another Avenue that we're exploring.
Speaker:But I recognize it took a long time to build the
Speaker:brand and I don't want to dilute the brand.
Speaker:So I'm trying to figure out how best to do that,
Speaker:what that framework is going to be.
Speaker:But that's another potential sales channel that we're also investigating.
Speaker:Beautiful. And again,
Speaker:because people are suggesting and asking it,
Speaker:but I love the fact that you really hold the brand
Speaker:and everything that you represent close to you.
Speaker:Hmm, absolutely.
Speaker:You know you don't make the play in return for money
Speaker:and possibly minimize the value of the brand.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:And I asked this question because I want people to understand
Speaker:that there's always an evolution.
Speaker:There's always potential for what's next.
Speaker:I don't know if you feel this way,
Speaker:but even for me,
Speaker:for my businesses,
Speaker:like I get to a certain point and that's where I
Speaker:was dreaming to be and then when I'm there there's more.
Speaker:Yup. There's always more,
Speaker:There's always more.
Speaker:And I love,
Speaker:it's very exciting when you talk about in terms of your
Speaker:more, it's very cool.
Speaker:So, so it's like all you have to do is put
Speaker:yourself out there and if you are staying true to your
Speaker:core values and the essence of who you are,
Speaker:if you are staying true to that,
Speaker:your passion will shine through and you'll start to make connections
Speaker:and all this stuff happens organically.
Speaker:It's not like I'm planning everything step by step day by
Speaker:day, but by virtue of me getting out there talking to
Speaker:people, being front of consumers,
Speaker:listening to what they have to say,
Speaker:the next idea just kind of organically just shows itself.
Speaker:It just happens.
Speaker:The guarantee is that if I don't get out there,
Speaker:if I'm not taking these steps,
Speaker:my business and nothing will happen,
Speaker:that's the guarantee.
Speaker:Right. But I don't know what's next.
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:Until I get out there and actually start taking steps and
Speaker:talking to people.
Speaker:It's really exciting.
Speaker:Yeah, it's really exciting cause that's the unknown.
Speaker:It's like a big mystery.
Speaker:Right. But then the other thing that you're doing is you
Speaker:are listening.
Speaker:You're considering how that would work within your business and then
Speaker:you're doing something with the information.
Speaker:Right. My guess is there have been some ideas that you
Speaker:will say,
Speaker:Nope, doesn't fit with what we want to do.
Speaker:Like you have a filter of what's actually going to work
Speaker:for you and your business and your product.
Speaker:Is that fair to say?
Speaker:Absolutely. The one thing I learned about being an advertising and
Speaker:marketing where your brand is everything,
Speaker:you have to be very,
Speaker:very careful not to dilute that because once you're out there,
Speaker:your consumers,
Speaker:it's really important to them that they understand what you stand
Speaker:for and what you are and they then align themselves to
Speaker:that and you gotta be careful not to drift too far
Speaker:one in one direction or the other.
Speaker:It's really important just to stay true to what your brand
Speaker:is and that's an exercise I would encourage everyone to get
Speaker:involved in as if you're thinking about doing it.
Speaker:What are you doing?
Speaker:What is your brand?
Speaker:What do you stand for?
Speaker:And if you can not,
Speaker:what's your mission statement?
Speaker:And you should be able to write that up and have
Speaker:it in one sentence.
Speaker:If someone asks you,
Speaker:you should be able to in a couple of seconds,
Speaker:be able to blurt out what that mission statement is and
Speaker:let that be your guide.
Speaker:Our brand is family friendly,
Speaker:environmentally friendly and natural.
Speaker:And if someone makes a suggestion about us changing something within
Speaker:our product line,
Speaker:something about the brand that does not stay true to that
Speaker:nine ingredients.
Speaker:That's it.
Speaker:And now too,
Speaker:with the sales thing,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:if we can't make a certain profit margin to that type
Speaker:of stuff goes into that and you check off the list
Speaker:and if it does not meet those criteria,
Speaker:then you can do it.
Speaker:Right? It makes it really easy to make some of these
Speaker:decisions and unfortunately some things that you think,
Speaker:Oh, this would be really fun to do,
Speaker:or you know,
Speaker:it's in my wheelhouse.
Speaker:So it would be so easy and natural if it doesn't
Speaker:align to what your core values are and your product and
Speaker:your branding and all of that.
Speaker:That is where I think people start to sway off,
Speaker:especially makers because a lot of makers can make everything right.
Speaker:And so then you start diluting because you don't stand for
Speaker:anything anymore.
Speaker:Oh, you don't stamp thing.
Speaker:Exactly. Yes.
Speaker:Okay. So when our listeners now have become so super excited
Speaker:and they want to know all about dosa naturals,
Speaker:where would be the single place online that you would send
Speaker:them to learn more about you?
Speaker:They'll send naturals.com
Speaker:Okay. That's pretty easy.
Speaker:Dos, everybody,
Speaker:dosa naturals.com
Speaker:I'm quite sure that leads you everywhere else you would want
Speaker:to go.
Speaker:Right. And one other place,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:if you really,
Speaker:really want to know all things about me,
Speaker:you could also go to Sharita,
Speaker:lucas.com Perfect.
Speaker:And as you all know,
Speaker:there'll be a show notes page.
Speaker:I will have links to all the social media sites,
Speaker:the website again,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:So you can go and check out all the products.
Speaker:But there's one thing you guys can't do unfortunately,
Speaker:which is smell the products and you're just going to have
Speaker:to take it from me.
Speaker:They are amazing.
Speaker:Amazing are.
Speaker:Yes. So in addition to them being really healthy and also
Speaker:therapeutically good for you,
Speaker:they also smell fabulous.
Speaker:And you don't get to know that unless you try the
Speaker:products or they might see people might see you.
Speaker:Right. So Atlanta,
Speaker:Chicago area,
Speaker:how many shows do you do a year right now?
Speaker:Well, we try to do a no more than we do
Speaker:two big ones a year.
Speaker:Okay. Sharita this has been such a fabulous interview and as
Speaker:always, I never know the direction that it's going to take,
Speaker:but I really liked that we did a lot of thought
Speaker:process and mind work and how that overlays on top of
Speaker:a successful business.
Speaker:And I had no idea when I met you.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you're just so bubbly and fun and great to be around.
Speaker:But the depth of the conversation on some of these mindset
Speaker:things can be the difference between a successful business and not.
Speaker:And your perspective on this has been so valuable.
Speaker:Oh, thank you.
Speaker:So hope it helped.
Speaker:I really hope it helped.
Speaker:I'm excited for everyone.
Speaker:Me too.
Speaker:And it's so fun to see people bringing new products to
Speaker:market and we want them all.
Speaker:Yes, we do.
Speaker:In abundance in the universe.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:That's what we are ending on cause that is perfect.
Speaker:Again Sharita thank you so much for coming on the show.
Speaker:Thank you so much Sue for having me.
Speaker:I am quite certain that great grandma dosa is smiling down
Speaker:right now.
Speaker:If you close rise and pretend to breathe in the beauty
Speaker:and the scent of Southern Magnolias,
Speaker:you've captured the brand that these women have created.
Speaker:I just love their energy,
Speaker:their drive and their passion,
Speaker:don't you?
Speaker:We're getting close now to setting our sights on spring.
Speaker:The popular season for weddings.
Speaker:As many of you already know,
Speaker:there's a lot that goes into a wedding.
Speaker:All the services in coordination,
Speaker:not to mention the moneymaking potential.
Speaker:If your product aligns with weddings,
Speaker:that's all we're going to get into next week and I
Speaker:can't wait for us to be back together again then.
Speaker:Bye for now.
Speaker:I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook
Speaker:group called gift is breeze.
Speaker:It's a place where we all gather and our community to
Speaker:support each other.
Speaker:I've got a really fun post in there.
Speaker:That's my favorite of the week.
Speaker:I have to say where I invite all of you to
Speaker:share what you're doing,
Speaker:to show pictures of your product,
Speaker:to show what you're working on for the week,
Speaker:to get reaction from other people and just for fun because
Speaker:we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody in
Speaker:the community is making.
Speaker:My favorite post every single week without doubt,
Speaker:wait, what aren't you part of the group already?
Speaker:If not,
Speaker:make sure to jump over to Facebook and search for the
Speaker:group gift biz breeze.
Speaker:Don't delay.
