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Hi there,
Speaker:it's Sue and thanks for joining me for Tips and Talk
Speaker:Day. These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions
Speaker:and things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small
Speaker:business. If you'd like to submit a topic,
Speaker:DM e over on Instagram at Gift Biz Unwrapped.
Speaker:Before we get started,
Speaker:I'm gonna share a secret with you.
Speaker:One of my superpowers is the ability to get an enormous
Speaker:number of tasks and projects done each and every week.
Speaker:I easily meet deadlines,
Speaker:rarely forget to do something,
Speaker:and know at the start of each day what needs priority,
Speaker:attention and action type A personality.
Speaker:Yes, and a follow through on the Kobe assessment,
Speaker:which should have given me the clue,
Speaker:but it wasn't until people started commenting to me that I
Speaker:realized not everyone naturally knows how to do this.
Speaker:It's the biggest single contributor to the growth I always see
Speaker:in my businesses without spending hours and hours working either.
Speaker:It's about focus and doing the right things efficiently.
Speaker:Prompted by all the questions on how I do this,
Speaker:I went about finding a way to help you perform at
Speaker:a higher level too.
Speaker:I analyzed my methods and formalized my process,
Speaker:which is one many of my coaching clients.
Speaker:Now also follow.
Speaker:You can use it too.
Speaker:It's all part of a tool called the Inspired Daily Planner,
Speaker:made specifically for gifters,
Speaker:bakers, crafters and makers.
Speaker:Make no mistake,
Speaker:this is not your ordinary planner.
Speaker:First off,
Speaker:it comes with a video explaining my productivity strategy and the
Speaker:physical planner isn't dated,
Speaker:so you can start using it the second it arrives at
Speaker:your doorstep,
Speaker:and that's not all included for each day is a motivational
Speaker:or business building tip and plenty of space to capture and
Speaker:book in time for to-dos scheduled appointments and all those ideas
Speaker:that are now getting lost.
Speaker:You can watch the video for free and then get your
Speaker:inspired daily planner@giftbizunwrapped.com
Speaker:slash inspired.
Speaker:I recently returned from the Philly Candy Show.
Speaker:This is an event focused on candy makers most specifically Chocolateers.
Speaker:I've been doing this show for,
Speaker:oh gosh,
Speaker:probably about 10 years or so now,
Speaker:if you were to walk into the exhibit hall,
Speaker:you'd see big machines complete with combinations of industrial mixers,
Speaker:coders, and cooling trolleys.
Speaker:I'm quite sure I'm not getting the terms right,
Speaker:but you get the picture.
Speaker:You'd also run into booths selling ingredients and enhancements and all
Speaker:sorts of molds and other chocolate making equipment.
Speaker:Of course,
Speaker:there'd be packaging resources too,
Speaker:like label machines,
Speaker:clear boxes with cavity trays to separate the pieces and of
Speaker:course, this is where we fit in with our ribbon printing
Speaker:machines. It's always so interesting to me to see all the
Speaker:different types of things that each product industry uses.
Speaker:I love these specialty trade shows for just that reason in
Speaker:this case,
Speaker:to get a peak behind the scenes of the world of
Speaker:chocolate. I'm interested,
Speaker:even though I have no need to be a chocolate expert,
Speaker:I'm just an expert chocolate taster.
Speaker:Anyway, a few years back,
Speaker:the board at the Philly Candy Show decided to add business
Speaker:development programs into their course roster.
Speaker:I've had the honor of conducting classes on various topics ever
Speaker:since this year.
Speaker:They also asked me to sit on a panel each morning,
Speaker:very informal,
Speaker:where attendees could ask any questions they'd like.
Speaker:I've never attended these in the past because the questions have
Speaker:always revolved solely around chocolate production.
Speaker:That of course,
Speaker:changed when I was included to talk about the business side
Speaker:of things,
Speaker:but still many questions were about chocolate that provided me with
Speaker:even a deeper level of exposure to the world of a
Speaker:chocolatier. It was fascinating.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:I didn't know that the environment is all important for chocolate.
Speaker:Now, obviously as a consumer,
Speaker:I knew that heat would melt your chocolate bar if you
Speaker:leave it in a hot car or a cake will be
Speaker:a wilted mess if the sun shines down on an outdoor
Speaker:wedding cake for too long.
Speaker:But I didn't know that air from a ceiling vent could
Speaker:completely ruin one side of a tray of chocolate by turning
Speaker:them white,
Speaker:and then the other side could remain totally unaffected.
Speaker:Or the constant opening and closing of a chocolate shop door
Speaker:with customers coming in and out can raise havoc on the
Speaker:product being made that day,
Speaker:even if it's in a designated area in the back,
Speaker:sealed off by a second closed door,
Speaker:chocolate production.
Speaker:Is that sensitive?
Speaker:I didn't know that.
Speaker:The filling of a truffle needs to be a very specific
Speaker:consistency that varies from flavor and ingredients,
Speaker:and if it's not right,
Speaker:it will break apart.
Speaker:Their term is explode when dipped in the coating chocolate.
Speaker:I didn't know that trays and bowls need to be completely
Speaker:cleaned between batches or it affects or potentially ruins the outcome
Speaker:of what comes next.
Speaker:Even if that next batch is of the exact same chocolate,
Speaker:and I didn't know that in an experienced chocolatier making a
Speaker:product that they'd done consistently for years one day may follow
Speaker:the exact steps they always have and they find themselves with
Speaker:a completely worthless production run without an understandable rhyme or reason.
Speaker:Chocolate is that finicky Who knew all these discoveries led me
Speaker:to a whole new appreciation for chocolate.
Speaker:I had no idea of the complexity involved in creating these
Speaker:delicious confections that we love so much.
Speaker:You can be assured that the next time I savor a
Speaker:dark chocolate grand marnet truffle melting in my mouth,
Speaker:I'll stop savor and consciously notice how much I enjoy it
Speaker:because I now do know all it took to provide me
Speaker:with this experience.
Speaker:Okay, now,
Speaker:why am I telling you all this?
Speaker:It's because I could never have gotten to this deeper level
Speaker:of appreciation for chocolate if I hadn't been exposed to the
Speaker:knowledge of how skilled a chocolate maker needs to be to
Speaker:produce their candy.
Speaker:From there,
Speaker:my mind goes to you and your products.
Speaker:Regardless of what you make,
Speaker:there's a skill that you've had to perfect,
Speaker:and there are certain critical production points or special additions that
Speaker:you include that make your creations unique and yours exclusively.
Speaker:There are cooling times,
Speaker:temperature levels,
Speaker:material quality specs,
Speaker:interesting tools of the trade,
Speaker:and I know so much more that you take for granted
Speaker:with your craft because you use them all the time.
Speaker:Yet we know nothing about showing these things to your customers.
Speaker:Things they never have the ability to know or see otherwise
Speaker:adds to their perspective of the value of your products.
Speaker:And the great thing about this is this added value doesn't
Speaker:cost you more in materials or production time.
Speaker:You are already doing it.
Speaker:It's just that your audience doesn't know about it and it's
Speaker:well worth your while to tell them.
Speaker:Share interesting parts of your production in social media posts or
Speaker:reels. Write a blog article about a funny or not so
Speaker:funny at the time story that brought you to a current
Speaker:level of expertise.
Speaker:Talk about these things to booth visitors at craft shows.
Speaker:Even better.
Speaker:Do demos at live person events that always draws a crowd
Speaker:and sparks conversation.
Speaker:Maybe I can best summarize it by saying,
Speaker:don't make in private and sell in public.
Speaker:Show them all stages of how you get your product from
Speaker:start to finish.
Speaker:They'll be intrigued and like what's happening with me with chocolate?
Speaker:They'll have a new found appreciation for your creations,
Speaker:which of course leads to more business and new customers.
Speaker:That's a wrap.
Speaker:I'm a get to the point kind of girl,
Speaker:and this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn.
Speaker:Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.
Speaker:We want them and they bring us both.
