Shownotes
Business Inspiration
A grandmother’s influence and love of sweets and baking paved the way. [6:06] The life changing conversation over a bottle of wine. [8:13] Enter … Sandra’s opinion and a partnership was born [9:04]Candle Flickering Moments
Acquiring a social media posting mindset is a challenge [24:43] Turning an under-performing festival into a business building opportunity [26:01]Business Building Insights
The first actions to take when setting up a business [10:29] Suggestions on finding a commercial kitchen [14:18] All about product development and narrowing in on flavors [17:01] The all important pricing analysis [19:53] Tips on product labeling [22:21] Fear is a Liar! [28:25] Identifying and entering into two surprising and new consumer markets [30:16]Success Trait
Amy leverages her ability to talk to anybody [33:53]Productivity/Lifestyle Tool
Quicken – Budgeting software is the easiest way to manage your money. Trello – Keep track of everything from big picture to minute details.Valuable Book
Screw It Let’s Do It: Lessons In Life by Sir Richard Branson 15 Handpicked Unique Suppliers for Handmade Businesses 2015-2016 by Renae Christine
Contact Links
Website Facebook Instagram TwitterIf you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
Gift biz unwrapped,
Speaker:episode 80.
Speaker:I want this to be a silver bullet.
Speaker:I want this to change my life.
Speaker:Hi, this is John Lee,
Speaker:Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to gifted biz unwrapped.
Speaker:And now it's time to like Welcome to gift bears on
Speaker:wrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop
Speaker:and grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host,
Speaker:Sue Mona height.
Speaker:Hi there.
Speaker:I'm Sue and welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:Whether you own a brick and mortar shop sell online or
Speaker:are just getting started,
Speaker:you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your
Speaker:business. And today I have joining us Amy trout,
Speaker:hues of marshmallow MBA.
Speaker:Marshmallow MBA was born over a bottle of wine when a
Speaker:friend asked her why she wasn't selling her holiday handmade confections
Speaker:after some kitchen burns and several more bottles of wine.
Speaker:Amy launched her business in February of 2016 with her college
Speaker:roommate from Penn state.
Speaker:So for those of you who are listening to the podcast
Speaker:live, that was just earlier this year.
Speaker:Amy invites you to forget everything you think you know about
Speaker:marshmallows. Marshmallow MBA offers more than 75 flavors and are available
Speaker:for shipping.
Speaker:Nationwide products include traditional marshmallows in gourmet flavors,
Speaker:craft marshmallows based on cocktail and liquor flavors,
Speaker:gamers, edge,
Speaker:energy, marshmallows,
Speaker:and athletic edge recovery marshmallows.
Speaker:Amy May very well be the only person who left a
Speaker:consulting career for candy making.
Speaker:Now she's paying back her MBA loans,
Speaker:one dozen marshmallows at a time.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Between them wine and the marshmallows,
Speaker:Amy, you are a girl after my own heart and welcome
Speaker:to the show.
Speaker:Thanks so much for having me Sue and we get that
Speaker:response a lot with the wine and marshmallows.
Speaker:So it's a good combo.
Speaker:Okay. So Amy,
Speaker:I like to start off our conversations by having you describe
Speaker:yourself in a little bit of a creative way.
Speaker:And that is by having you tell us what your ideal
Speaker:motivational candle would look like.
Speaker:So if you would let us know what the color and
Speaker:the quote would be on your motivational candle.
Speaker:Well, when you asked me this in the original interview,
Speaker:prep, that the first thing that struck me as being colorblind,
Speaker:my candle is probably going to be gray.
Speaker:I'm good with that reminds me of a lot of things,
Speaker:but Sandra,
Speaker:my business partner is in charge of all of our color
Speaker:combinations for a very,
Speaker:very good reason.
Speaker:As In get contested with the colors then does she she's
Speaker:Really, if she tells me no,
Speaker:these two don't go together or this color does not look
Speaker:appetizing, I'm like,
Speaker:okay. And that's the trust that comes from a 30 year
Speaker:friendship. My motivational quote actually comes from the priest at my
Speaker:church. I started going back about five years ago and the
Speaker:second sermon I ever heard from him,
Speaker:the theme of the sermon was what would you do if
Speaker:you knew you couldn't fail?
Speaker:And that really hit me like a ton of bricks,
Speaker:because I was at a point where I was really questioning
Speaker:a lot of things that were happening.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I think you hit 40 and you start asking questions.
Speaker:You weren't asking earlier,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:not midlife crisis necessarily,
Speaker:but certainly,
Speaker:Hey, what else can I do?
Speaker:Is this all there is Reba McEntire has that song.
Speaker:Is there life out there?
Speaker:And I think it's a legitimate question,
Speaker:but asking it,
Speaker:framing it in the words,
Speaker:what would you do if you knew you couldn't fail,
Speaker:makes it so much more actionable.
Speaker:It eliminates Those possibility brackets.
Speaker:Somehow we fit ourselves into these little brackets and we can
Speaker:only look at the space in between and your quote,
Speaker:kind of reminding you,
Speaker:you're pulling away those brackets.
Speaker:And literally if you go against that mindset,
Speaker:anything is achievable.
Speaker:What would that be for you?
Speaker:Where is your passion?
Speaker:Right? So where my passion lies even was lying five years
Speaker:ago, I knew I was burned out doing the same thing
Speaker:every day as a government consultant,
Speaker:I took a leap of faith and went to business school.
Speaker:I am math phobic.
Speaker:So when friends and family found out I was going to
Speaker:business school,
Speaker:their first reaction was,
Speaker:are you kidding?
Speaker:Which is very supportive.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:they also asked us the question,
Speaker:our first residency of business school,
Speaker:what do you want this degree to be for you?
Speaker:And I remember very clearly saying,
Speaker:I want this to be a silver bullet.
Speaker:I want this to change my life.
Speaker:Lucky for me,
Speaker:I committed,
Speaker:I committed a hundred percent,
Speaker:some days more than that,
Speaker:accounting. Yeah,
Speaker:the accounting classes,
Speaker:but got through them.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:you get back.
Speaker:What you put in.
Speaker:I say business school was one of the best decisions I've
Speaker:made as an adult.
Speaker:And it allowed me to learn so much more about myself
Speaker:and recognize opportunities that I wouldn't have seen otherwise.
Speaker:And so being able to take my interest in food,
Speaker:food has always been a type of ministry for me.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:that's how I give back to my community.
Speaker:But taking that and looking at a candy in a different
Speaker:way, the whole thing I started,
Speaker:it sounds like from this quote,
Speaker:in terms of what could you do?
Speaker:So it opened up the possibilities of doing something different and
Speaker:doing something for yourself and not staying in a career that
Speaker:might've served you well for a long time.
Speaker:But you knew there was something else that you wanted to
Speaker:do. Absolutely.
Speaker:I'm loving what you talked about in your intro.
Speaker:So I want you to go there.
Speaker:I want to be at that table with you when you
Speaker:were talking with your friend Through,
Speaker:talk through What ha and is this the friend who's now
Speaker:your business partner?
Speaker:It is not.
Speaker:Okay. So tell us how this whole idea came about.
Speaker:So I have made handmade gifts,
Speaker:food gifts for friends and family for 20 years.
Speaker:If not,
Speaker:what about 20 years?
Speaker:Let's not date me entirely.
Speaker:Yeah. And whether it was jams,
Speaker:whether it was candy,
Speaker:cookies, bread,
Speaker:whatever it was,
Speaker:the Christmas baking and Christmas food prep for me was always
Speaker:something I did.
Speaker:It was a great gift because even for picky people,
Speaker:everybody eats a cookie.
Speaker:Now my grandmother,
Speaker:who you need to know is in a lot of ways,
Speaker:my mother,
Speaker:the joke in our family,
Speaker:which I never took as a joke is you are your
Speaker:grandmother's daughter.
Speaker:So our generations are mixed.
Speaker:My grandmother had an incredible sweet tooth.
Speaker:She always had candy around.
Speaker:She used to level off ice cream.
Speaker:No, no,
Speaker:I'm just evening it up.
Speaker:Nice. I like that strategy.
Speaker:Even as she got older,
Speaker:when she lost her appetite for other things,
Speaker:she could always eat candy.
Speaker:She could always eat sweets.
Speaker:And when I would travel to see her at the holidays,
Speaker:I would always bring an extra suitcase.
Speaker:And so,
Speaker:and then we'd put things in the freezer and we put
Speaker:things, you know,
Speaker:we vacuum seal things.
Speaker:So she had it.
Speaker:Then she and my grandfather boat,
Speaker:I lost her two years ago.
Speaker:Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:It's a,
Speaker:it's still painful,
Speaker:but she,
Speaker:marshmallows were a candy,
Speaker:white marshmallows and fudge.
Speaker:I can't make fudge.
Speaker:Fudge is one of those things.
Speaker:I hear you.
Speaker:There's all these easy ways and all these great,
Speaker:no fudge.
Speaker:And I are never going to be friends.
Speaker:If you're making fudge,
Speaker:please keep making it because it's but I'll never forget.
Speaker:The last Christmas I flew out.
Speaker:I didn't make marshmallows that year.
Speaker:And the look on her face devastated me.
Speaker:Oh, you didn't bring marshmallows.
Speaker:Yeah, No,
Speaker:I didn't.
Speaker:Oh no.
Speaker:I bet you followed up with Selma a month later.
Speaker:Or so with some yes.
Speaker:She always,
Speaker:she always got them.
Speaker:So how did the idea,
Speaker:like, let's go to this table where you're sitting with your
Speaker:friend. Was it like this revelation all of a sudden,
Speaker:or how did it happen?
Speaker:We're sitting,
Speaker:we're sitting on the couch,
Speaker:he's finishing up a box from his Hanukkah package.
Speaker:And like we said,
Speaker:we were drinking wine and Keith says to me,
Speaker:I don't know why you're not selling these things.
Speaker:You could be the marshmallow MBA.
Speaker:He even gave you the name he gave us.
Speaker:He gave,
Speaker:he gave me all of this.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So did you pull up a napkin and start writing the
Speaker:plan right then?
Speaker:And there You didn't.
Speaker:I looked at him and I started laughing.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:Oh, ha ha.
Speaker:Isn't that funny?
Speaker:Another bottle of wine.
Speaker:Okay. If you can find somebody that'll buy these things,
Speaker:let's try it.
Speaker:Let's see what happens.
Speaker:And this was just before day.
Speaker:And he did,
Speaker:he found some folks that were interested in buying them.
Speaker:So I made them,
Speaker:we sold them.
Speaker:And then I was talking to Sandra who became my business
Speaker:partner in this.
Speaker:And she's like,
Speaker:well, how hard are they to make?
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:well, I'm not going to tell you they're easy to make.
Speaker:But she said,
Speaker:well, show me.
Speaker:And like me at,
Speaker:at a point where we were looking for something different,
Speaker:then what was going on in our lives.
Speaker:So we went into the kitchen and we tossed up a
Speaker:batch of marshmallows.
Speaker:And she looked at me and said,
Speaker:if you do this,
Speaker:I'm in,
Speaker:Wow. I want to stop you right here for just a
Speaker:second. Amy gift biz listeners,
Speaker:listen to how this idea formed.
Speaker:It was a random moment,
Speaker:nothing to do with business.
Speaker:Amy, did I sit down and say,
Speaker:okay, I want to start a business.
Speaker:What is it going to be?
Speaker:The idea just naturally came about in her normal course of
Speaker:life. I'm going to pretend like normal is always sitting around
Speaker:with wine and marshmallows,
Speaker:but it goes,
Speaker:it goes for me,
Speaker:it works for me.
Speaker:But so I want you guys to all think about that
Speaker:too. If you're out there and you're thinking about,
Speaker:well, what kind of business do I want to do?
Speaker:Or let's say you have a product and you're looking for
Speaker:a name for a product or that kind of thing.
Speaker:Get outside of your regular business environment and be open and
Speaker:receptive to ideas because that's where the best and most creative
Speaker:ideas arise.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So we are now back,
Speaker:you two are getting ready and you've decided,
Speaker:she says,
Speaker:she's in and you are ready to start the business.
Speaker:What happens next?
Speaker:Next thing,
Speaker:we do register the website.
Speaker:So you grabbed your name,
Speaker:you grabbed your domain.
Speaker:We grabbed our domain name.
Speaker:Did you grab a bunch of them or did,
Speaker:was it marshmallow MBA right away?
Speaker:We had marshmallow MBA right away.
Speaker:Now we grabbed a number of extensions on that,
Speaker:but the name we grabbed right away.
Speaker:Perfect. And,
Speaker:huh, funny enough.
Speaker:Nobody else had that name.
Speaker:Lucky for me,
Speaker:people are more creative in their,
Speaker:in their naming.
Speaker:The, I think this is pretty creative.
Speaker:I got to tell you,
Speaker:so you grabbed the domain,
Speaker:grabbed The domain and then did You also go into all
Speaker:of the social media sites and get all that too?
Speaker:Right? We did.
Speaker:Sandra jumped on that right away,
Speaker:fall. Beautiful.
Speaker:Facebook, Twitter,
Speaker:Instagram, Pinterest.
Speaker:Those were the four we grabbed right away.
Speaker:Okay. So heads up everybody,
Speaker:the very first thing you do once,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and you're loving your name,
Speaker:go get all of them.
Speaker:The domain costs a little bit.
Speaker:You can get a domain for under $20.
Speaker:Absolutely. But you can get the year,
Speaker:right? If you're for under $20.
Speaker:Exactly. And all your other social media sites,
Speaker:just go grab them.
Speaker:If you're committed to your name,
Speaker:just do it.
Speaker:You don't even have to fill everything in right away.
Speaker:Just get it.
Speaker:Exactly. And we had placeholders set up for things and then
Speaker:we knew that we were going to be selling online.
Speaker:So the next step for us was looking at,
Speaker:well, what vehicle are we going to use for sales?
Speaker:So investigating Etsy,
Speaker:investigating Amazon,
Speaker:those were the first two that we looked at and then
Speaker:looking at the percentages that they were taking and knowing that
Speaker:we were starting very small.
Speaker:We had no clue truly going into this in terms of
Speaker:the online sales side.
Speaker:We didn't know our audience demand.
Speaker:We just knew,
Speaker:okay. You know,
Speaker:we had some folks buy in February.
Speaker:Let's see what happens going forward and we'll build.
Speaker:So we knew we wanted to limit our costs because working
Speaker:capital is precious.
Speaker:Our model was to go ahead and set up our store
Speaker:on our own website.
Speaker:So are you using a WordPress website or We're using a
Speaker:GoDaddy website?
Speaker:We're doing everything through GoDaddy and they've been very good to
Speaker:us. I use them for my other business as well.
Speaker:I was in it for a long time.
Speaker:Oh, well you have an unfair advantage.
Speaker:No, no,
Speaker:no. This is where I'm going with this.
Speaker:I was in it.
Speaker:That does not mean I am qualified to do web design
Speaker:or any of these other things.
Speaker:So thank God for templates.
Speaker:I guess my other tip trick for new business owners,
Speaker:small business owners use the templates that have been already built
Speaker:and customize them.
Speaker:You can always get more sophisticated later,
Speaker:but get something up first.
Speaker:Exactly. So we stood our website up,
Speaker:it took about a day to get the information we wanted
Speaker:minimal information out there.
Speaker:And that was here are our flavors.
Speaker:Here's how much it costs.
Speaker:Here's how you order.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:I have been waiting to get to this question.
Speaker:So I'm just jumping it in right here.
Speaker:The flavors.
Speaker:How, tell us,
Speaker:well, first off,
Speaker:I'd love to know how you're making.
Speaker:Are you using,
Speaker:are you in a commercial kitchen?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:what are you doing with that?
Speaker:And then I want to get to flavor discovery with a
Speaker:friend and a roommate from college had to be a blast.
Speaker:Oh, great fun.
Speaker:But start,
Speaker:start with how,
Speaker:how what's your production setup look like?
Speaker:So our production setup,
Speaker:we are working out of commercial kitchen space in order to
Speaker:do sales,
Speaker:we do have to be working through certified kitchen space.
Speaker:So we are doing that.
Speaker:Were you,
Speaker:when you were looking for that space,
Speaker:is there any advice or suggestions from what you've just recently
Speaker:learned? Cause this is within the last six months or so
Speaker:at this point,
Speaker:in terms of finding a space,
Speaker:any advice,
Speaker:guidance there,
Speaker:Things one do not automatically go with the first link you
Speaker:find on Google for commercial kitchen space.
Speaker:We deep dove and looked at multiple resources.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it, I know time is the most precious commodity when you
Speaker:own a small business when you own any business,
Speaker:but particularly in a startup situation.
Speaker:So it's often very easy to just click on that first
Speaker:link and say,
Speaker:okay, that's what I'm going to go with because it's the
Speaker:first thing I see.
Speaker:And I don't really have time to do a lot of
Speaker:research. Take the time to do the research.
Speaker:We investigated space through Craigslist.
Speaker:We investigated space through our local chamber of commerce.
Speaker:We also called the state.
Speaker:The department of agriculture has a list.
Speaker:And I think this is every state,
Speaker:but particularly in Pennsylvania,
Speaker:the Commonwealth has a list of certified kitchens and you can
Speaker:give them a zip code and they will tell you if
Speaker:they have kitchen certified space in that zip code or within
Speaker:five miles,
Speaker:10 miles,
Speaker:and they'll help you with that.
Speaker:You just have to be polite on the phone and don't
Speaker:be afraid to pick up the phone.
Speaker:Don't assume that your only resources are online.
Speaker:I think it's really easy for us to do.
Speaker:And so then did you go out and just like,
Speaker:you would look for a space,
Speaker:like a retail shop spaces.
Speaker:Did you go out and then physically walk through all the
Speaker:spaces? Exactly.
Speaker:Yeah, because we wanted to see it in some spaces,
Speaker:we're going to be better suited than others.
Speaker:We don't need demo kitchen space.
Speaker:We don't need ovens.
Speaker:Our manufacturing process requires heat and flat surfaces.
Speaker:The refrigeration of very limited.
Speaker:We do have a selection that we do that uses milk.
Speaker:It's evaporated milk,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:so we're not dealing with a lot of the challenges that
Speaker:a Baker might have or another type of food,
Speaker:product producer.
Speaker:So that made our requirements somewhat easier.
Speaker:The other tip I might offer is if you are looking
Speaker:for kitchen space and you know,
Speaker:restaurant owners,
Speaker:don't be afraid to ask,
Speaker:what do you do with your facilities during off hours?
Speaker:Oh, what a good idea are you willing to rent out
Speaker:that space?
Speaker:Some of them will say no,
Speaker:be prepared for that.
Speaker:But what I like about this community,
Speaker:the food community,
Speaker:collaboration is not foreign and people are very willing to offer
Speaker:support. If you're willing to ask for help.
Speaker:That's something that is such a refreshing change from the environment
Speaker:I spent so much of my life in.
Speaker:Yeah. I'm not afraid to ask the question if you're not
Speaker:afraid to tell me.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:The worst video I'm going to say is no.
Speaker:And then you have,
Speaker:haven't lost ground,
Speaker:but you have huge opportunities to advance if they say yes.
Speaker:Right? Exactly.
Speaker:Okay. And so now the flavors,
Speaker:how do you do that?
Speaker:So flavors come in a lot of different ways.
Speaker:We started out thinking of traditional candy flavors and flavors that
Speaker:infused well into sugar.
Speaker:The great thing about a marshmallow is it will take just
Speaker:about any flavor you can imagine.
Speaker:Sondra definitely focuses on the non booze flavors.
Speaker:Yeah. And I tend to veer a little less family-friendly if
Speaker:that's the best way of putting it,
Speaker:but we will be inspired by,
Speaker:we bet.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:we have an entire line that is based on teas,
Speaker:black teas,
Speaker:green teas,
Speaker:different tea,
Speaker:blends. Those all come from Sondra.
Speaker:That was all out of her great creative brain.
Speaker:So how do you do that?
Speaker:You make a batch,
Speaker:but you make sure you've written down,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the proportions and all of that.
Speaker:And then you taste it and make adjustments and keep writing
Speaker:and adjusting until you land it.
Speaker:Right? Yeah.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:our bourbon marshmallow,
Speaker:which is one of our top five sellers,
Speaker:I'm a bourbon girl.
Speaker:It is my drink of choice.
Speaker:I don't care what time of year it is.
Speaker:But when we first did the bourbon marshmallows,
Speaker:perhaps I got a little heavy handed with them.
Speaker:Perhaps They weren't as firm as a marshmallow.
Speaker:Oh my bourbon.
Speaker:Marshmallow pudding.
Speaker:Yeah. That is because there are different flavor profiles depending on
Speaker:the ingredient that you're using to flavor the marshmallow.
Speaker:So like with bourbon,
Speaker:some is sweeter.
Speaker:Some is dryer,
Speaker:some as a stronger smokey taste,
Speaker:we tested it out with different brands.
Speaker:Oh, what a shame I had to buy multiple bottles of
Speaker:bourbon. We tested it out with different flavors and different brands
Speaker:to be able to see which one worked best because you're
Speaker:talking about a sugar base and that sweet can be,
Speaker:even after you beat Aaron to it,
Speaker:sweet can be a really intense flavor.
Speaker:And I would imagine you're liking bourbon a lot.
Speaker:The intense bourbon flavor may not be best for the audience,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:when you want to extend it beyond.
Speaker:So you have to find that sweet spot too,
Speaker:in terms of how intense to the flavors be.
Speaker:Exactly. And Sandra is more sensitive to that flavor.
Speaker:So she has no problem saying to me,
Speaker:Oh no,
Speaker:that is way too boozy.
Speaker:We also do one.
Speaker:Are you said you liked wine.
Speaker:We have a box wine marshmallow,
Speaker:and we're doing that in a red version and a white
Speaker:version. Oh,
Speaker:that sounds yummy.
Speaker:I like bourbon too,
Speaker:by the way.
Speaker:Oh, good.
Speaker:Well, you know,
Speaker:make sure we have that address and we'll make sure you
Speaker:get that.
Speaker:Okay. All right.
Speaker:Let's move on and talk a little bit more about product
Speaker:development and pricing.
Speaker:How did you decide where your price was?
Speaker:We started out with a pricing model looking at competitive products
Speaker:and we compared our product to a gourmet boxed chocolate,
Speaker:a truffle type of product.
Speaker:And then as we've been modifying our products,
Speaker:pricing changes depending on,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:an add in a,
Speaker:if we're adding a second flavor to the marshmallow,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:if we're adding a special type of coating,
Speaker:but we stay pretty standard in our pricing between 10 and
Speaker:$15 a box.
Speaker:And we sell by the dozen,
Speaker:not by the pound selling marshmallows by the pound is really
Speaker:a losing proposition.
Speaker:Yeah. There's a lot of air in there.
Speaker:There's a lot Of air.
Speaker:That's what we say.
Speaker:Our first ingredient is air.
Speaker:And our second ingredient is sarcasm.
Speaker:I'm kind of getting that vibe here little bit.
Speaker:So you're taking into account the ingredients that you're using.
Speaker:You've marked a spot in pricing land of the truffles,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:like a box of truffles because you're certainly a gourmet product.
Speaker:You're not going to compare yourself with a bag of marshmallows.
Speaker:Obviously. What about time in terms of the amount of production
Speaker:time it takes,
Speaker:does that,
Speaker:is that included in the equation?
Speaker:It is included.
Speaker:So it's going to be any of the raw materials.
Speaker:So the sugar,
Speaker:the gelatin and the flavorings it'll include the packaging.
Speaker:So depending on whether we're packaging in our traditional packaging,
Speaker:which is a candy box,
Speaker:a bag,
Speaker:some tissue,
Speaker:and then we'll also account for if we're doing it for
Speaker:a special event.
Speaker:So we've done a few weddings and we will package those
Speaker:products on gift trays.
Speaker:We'll package them on candy plates with different wrap,
Speaker:different ribbons,
Speaker:that'll change pricing as well.
Speaker:If we have a specific add in to the flavor,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:our traditional bourbon,
Speaker:one of our craft mellows,
Speaker:we've priced that at $12 a box for a dozen,
Speaker:we also do a bourbon bacon,
Speaker:marshmallow, anything that's got bacon in it that automatically is at
Speaker:a premium for us.
Speaker:And that's because of the time,
Speaker:as much as it is for the additional material.
Speaker:So It's materials traditional production time,
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:Exactly. So we have factored in the time as well as
Speaker:the packaging and the raw materials.
Speaker:Okay. So someone who's doing this,
Speaker:let's say they have a product marshmallows chocolate fudge because they
Speaker:can supply you the fudge since you don't make the fudge.
Speaker:Right. How do you start working on labeling specifically with ingredients?
Speaker:What are the rules around that Rules around that?
Speaker:And this is strictly Commonwealth of Pennsylvania rules.
Speaker:So again,
Speaker:state by state,
Speaker:please, if you're in food,
Speaker:make sure you are paying attention to your department of ag
Speaker:rules and not only in your state,
Speaker:but also in your locality.
Speaker:Sometimes there are differences depending on whether the city is licensing
Speaker:and tracking or your municipalities licensing or tracking versus what your
Speaker:state's doing,
Speaker:make sure you're reading,
Speaker:Right? So make sure you're educated and knowledgeable about what your
Speaker:local vicinity requires.
Speaker:Exactly. Exactly.
Speaker:So for us,
Speaker:because of where we are in terms of amount of goods
Speaker:sold, there are limited ingredient description requirements.
Speaker:Now we have them available upon request,
Speaker:but we are not required to list every item in specific
Speaker:detail. Oh,
Speaker:lucky you.
Speaker:Yes, very lucky.
Speaker:And I mean,
Speaker:for us,
Speaker:it's a limited list of ingredients.
Speaker:We're under five ingredients in every flavor,
Speaker:but you know,
Speaker:we listed by percentage within the product now for our energy
Speaker:marshmallows. And you mentioned those at the top.
Speaker:So our gamers edge,
Speaker:energy marshmallows,
Speaker:do you have caffeine and some additional energy products in them.
Speaker:So for those,
Speaker:we include labeling related to the caffeine.
Speaker:The other information that we will include in our labeling is
Speaker:an allergen information statement.
Speaker:Even though our product doesn't contain egg,
Speaker:even though most our products do not contain dairy,
Speaker:none of our products contain soy or nuts because they are
Speaker:handled in a facility where other products may come into contact.
Speaker:We do have a cross-contamination statement on there for folks who
Speaker:are severely,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:who have severe allergies.
Speaker:Yeah. Cause you might assume that you're okay with marshmallows,
Speaker:but you're right.
Speaker:If you're in a commercial kitchen,
Speaker:you don't know who else is working in that space.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:even though it's certainly,
Speaker:health-wise just fine.
Speaker:That's really wise.
Speaker:I appreciate you bringing that up.
Speaker:Very, very important.
Speaker:Let's round this portion of the conversation out Amy,
Speaker:but any specific,
Speaker:additional advice that you can think of for someone who's looking
Speaker:at starting in some type of a consumable product,
Speaker:are there any other learnings that you've had possibly and let's
Speaker:go here?
Speaker:What about something that was really challenging for you as you
Speaker:were starting up,
Speaker:something maybe you weren't expecting or that you saw was more
Speaker:of a struggle to put in place?
Speaker:I think the struggle for us initially and continuing social media
Speaker:is a challenge for me.
Speaker:It may be a generational thing.
Speaker:I don't immediately think that if something happens,
Speaker:that is interesting enough to put on Twitter,
Speaker:I don't immediately think,
Speaker:Oh, that's a beautiful tray of marshmallows.
Speaker:That's a beautiful box of marshmallows.
Speaker:Let me snap a picture of it and put it on
Speaker:Instagram. Social media is my constant constant challenge remembering to do
Speaker:it. So marketing would be the big umbrella there.
Speaker:The other challenge for us is that our products have a
Speaker:shelf life.
Speaker:What is the shelf?
Speaker:Life, the shelf,
Speaker:life on it.
Speaker:According to all of our guidelines minimum of a month.
Speaker:Now I can tell you,
Speaker:we've never had a box of marshmallows last more last a
Speaker:month, but the shelf life on it is a month.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I'm going to tell people they're best eaten within two weeks
Speaker:flavors. Fate,
Speaker:not everyone's keeping them in the same situation that I'm keeping
Speaker:them in.
Speaker:I can vacuum seal when we make our batches,
Speaker:we make them cool them and vacuum seal the slabs,
Speaker:but fully 80% of our products are made to order.
Speaker:We get the order.
Speaker:We send the note back,
Speaker:we received your order and you'll receive it within three to
Speaker:five days.
Speaker:And I Think you need to do that with that kind
Speaker:of a shelf life.
Speaker:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:Now we've had,
Speaker:I think our biggest,
Speaker:I won't call it a setback,
Speaker:but perhaps speed bump that we had recently was a festival
Speaker:that we did,
Speaker:which the anticipated number was around 45,000
Speaker:people. So we prepared for a significant amount of sales over
Speaker:a three-day period.
Speaker:And they had fewer than half that in attendance,
Speaker:fewer than half of their estimated attendance actually was at the
Speaker:event, which left us with a lot of product.
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:what'd you do?
Speaker:We did a couple of things.
Speaker:One, we had a fire sale online and told people,
Speaker:we're offering discounts on our cases of different products.
Speaker:We also made donations.
Speaker:We donated to multiple and multiple youth groups.
Speaker:And then we are lucky enough to have colleagues in the
Speaker:community who have retail outlets,
Speaker:who were like,
Speaker:well, let me put some in the store and see how
Speaker:I can do with these.
Speaker:Let me see if I can resell them in the store.
Speaker:So we discounted and said,
Speaker:let us know what happens.
Speaker:We're open to wholesale purchases,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and we can price at wholesale pricing.
Speaker:If you're interested in keystoning them,
Speaker:we're certainly open to that.
Speaker:But it was,
Speaker:it was an ego blow as much as it was a
Speaker:bit of a financial setback.
Speaker:Again, going back to that idea of working capital and what
Speaker:we had invested both in actual dollars and the time value
Speaker:of dollars in preparation time.
Speaker:But you know,
Speaker:Amy, I mean,
Speaker:it's such a new business yet.
Speaker:Oh my goodness.
Speaker:I find this all the time.
Speaker:Events will over promote attendance.
Speaker:Even if they have attendees who are people who are saying,
Speaker:they're going to come.
Speaker:A lot of people last minute something comes up or,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:they're just not coming.
Speaker:And some of that is living and learning.
Speaker:I Had a trifecta situation here of bad weather for the
Speaker:entire weekend.
Speaker:They had a storm system stall.
Speaker:And then what we're also noticing is with it being an
Speaker:election year,
Speaker:people are not necessarily saying,
Speaker:Oh, I've got all kinds of disposable income.
Speaker:Let me buy gourmet marshmallows with it.
Speaker:$12 for bourbon marshmallows.
Speaker:I would buy all day.
Speaker:But now I want you to pull up and we didn't
Speaker:talk about this.
Speaker:I wasn't recording when we talked about this a little bit
Speaker:earlier, but I want you to pull out that other quote,
Speaker:my affirmation,
Speaker:your affirmation.
Speaker:Let's talk about that right here.
Speaker:Sure. I was on a flight to the West coast,
Speaker:actually out to see my,
Speaker:my grandmother and I was in the only row on the
Speaker:plane with another woman making the same trip.
Speaker:Obviously we were on the only road that had an empty
Speaker:middle seat Love when that happens.
Speaker:Yes. And we were talking about being small business owners.
Speaker:She owned a business at the time.
Speaker:We both went to the same business school at George Washington
Speaker:university. It's amazing.
Speaker:The coincidence is that happened.
Speaker:And I have friends who say,
Speaker:there's no such thing as a coincidence.
Speaker:And she said,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I've been working with my small business for a long time.
Speaker:And she said the best thought that I get in my
Speaker:head every morning and the driver for me and the motivation
Speaker:for me.
Speaker:So I take this from Candace fear is a liar.
Speaker:I think we all have that voice in the back of
Speaker:our head that says to us,
Speaker:what are you thinking?
Speaker:Little girl,
Speaker:you can't do this.
Speaker:This is not something that you can make happen and be
Speaker:successful at.
Speaker:That's not a voice of reason.
Speaker:That's not a voice of support and generosity.
Speaker:It's a voice we need to quit listening to.
Speaker:Absolutely. So give biz listeners fear is a liar.
Speaker:Remember that when you're starting out,
Speaker:when you're looking at doing something and that voice inside you
Speaker:is says,
Speaker:well, how,
Speaker:why is it that you think that you can do don't
Speaker:listen, shut the door on that thinking and move forward.
Speaker:One question before we move on here,
Speaker:that I would love to know what type of feedback have
Speaker:you gotten from the retailers where you were able to place
Speaker:your product.
Speaker:We've gotten good feedback on the gamers edge,
Speaker:marshmallow, and that's our energy marshmallow.
Speaker:And essentially with that,
Speaker:we removed the carbonated water out of an energy drink and
Speaker:then played around a little bit.
Speaker:I'm a caffeine addict.
Speaker:So I like bourbon and I like caffeine.
Speaker:Okay. There are my two vices,
Speaker:but I have friends who can't drink anything carbonated.
Speaker:We were at a Comicon earlier this year and noticed a
Speaker:lot of the folks who are gamers,
Speaker:who are playing board games or online games that are in
Speaker:these tournament's play for five,
Speaker:six, eight,
Speaker:10 hours at a time.
Speaker:And they drink a lot of energy drinks.
Speaker:But if you drink an energy drink at some point in
Speaker:the middle of your eight hour game,
Speaker:you need to get up and use the facilities.
Speaker:I was exactly.
Speaker:I was just thinking that,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:The marshmallow,
Speaker:we take the water out.
Speaker:So the response to that has been really good.
Speaker:We have a couple of comic bookstore owners we've been talking
Speaker:to about that.
Speaker:They got good feedback.
Speaker:We use them actually as a test market group,
Speaker:people who have gaming nights at their store.
Speaker:And so they have repeat business,
Speaker:they were willing to share the product with their customers.
Speaker:And we got good feedback on that in terms of flavor,
Speaker:in terms of the actual energy boost and what the product
Speaker:did with the athlete's edge,
Speaker:marshmallow, which is essentially gamers edge minus the caffeine.
Speaker:My husband is a coach for team and training with the
Speaker:leukemia and lymphoma society and has a lot of friends who
Speaker:were runners.
Speaker:And so marshmallows for runners have been catching on.
Speaker:What we did is we've taken a Brown rice syrup,
Speaker:which is the preferred energy source of a number of performance
Speaker:athletes. We've worked that into our formula.
Speaker:So you're not just getting a straight cane sugar or a
Speaker:corn syrup boost,
Speaker:but this is a longer term complex carbohydrate boost with the
Speaker:Ragnar race that was just completed here last weekend,
Speaker:we met some friends and my sister-in-law there and this is
Speaker:a long relay race.
Speaker:Over two days with teams,
Speaker:she had friends who couldn't eat what was provided at the
Speaker:end of the race,
Speaker:just because they were exhausted.
Speaker:They were like,
Speaker:no, I can't eat pizza.
Speaker:I can't even smell it.
Speaker:I'm just so tired.
Speaker:But they were able to eat the marshmallow cause it has
Speaker:flavor, but it's not a heavy flavor.
Speaker:It's not oily.
Speaker:It's not fatty.
Speaker:It's not something that was going to mess with your stomach
Speaker:if you're tired and because there's protein in it,
Speaker:it's a great recovery tool.
Speaker:Particularly for women.
Speaker:You want the protein,
Speaker:you want a little bit of sugar after you've been in
Speaker:an athletic situation or a gym work.
Speaker:That is so interesting.
Speaker:And I love this story because you took what could be
Speaker:perceived as a failure in terms of not selling all the
Speaker:product and then turning it around and making it a positive
Speaker:because you're putting it in places where people can try it
Speaker:and just counting because you don't want,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you want to minimize your losses,
Speaker:but in the end it can be a huge reward because
Speaker:you're exposing your product to people who might not have seen
Speaker:it just in the normal course of how you'd been doing
Speaker:business before.
Speaker:Exactly. So turning a negative into a positive lemons into lemonade.
Speaker:However you say that,
Speaker:right. Always my strong suit,
Speaker:but we said,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we're not going to let this stop us.
Speaker:And again,
Speaker:to your point,
Speaker:it's a young business.
Speaker:Yeah. And you know,
Speaker:you're always going to be learning,
Speaker:adjusting, making things better.
Speaker:You don't always land it perfectly.
Speaker:The first time you celebrate the wins and then you take
Speaker:those less than wins.
Speaker:I'll just say and figure out how to make them better.
Speaker:Yeah. And if you're not learning,
Speaker:you're not earning.
Speaker:If you're not Learning,
Speaker:you're not earning love it.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:Amy, we're going to circle now into our reflection section.
Speaker:These are just some really quick answers to some questions about
Speaker:how you have made yourself successful.
Speaker:What is one natural trait that you call upon regularly that
Speaker:has helped you with Marsh?
Speaker:I can talk to anybody and I have leveraged that in
Speaker:ways that I didn't for a long time.
Speaker:My preference is frequently not to tell my story,
Speaker:but just to do my work and let the work shine
Speaker:for itself with marshmallow MBA,
Speaker:I've been forced to tell the story and you know,
Speaker:that's okay.
Speaker:Yeah. Just like you're doing here today.
Speaker:Right? Quitting,
Speaker:quitting, you know,
Speaker:stopping, hiding my light under the bushel and just getting out
Speaker:there and talking to people and telling people about the product,
Speaker:telling people about what we're doing.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:we've got nine products in R and D right now,
Speaker:in addition to just the traditional marshmallow.
Speaker:So we've got nowhere to go,
Speaker:but up.
Speaker:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker:Let me continue on here.
Speaker:What tool do you regularly use during your day to help
Speaker:you keep productive and in control of all that's going on
Speaker:as a developing business prayer,
Speaker:there is nothing wrong with that.
Speaker:That's for sure Both are good bookends for small business owners
Speaker:At the same time.
Speaker:Right. But I think if we're talking specific tools,
Speaker:learn Quicken,
Speaker:learn it,
Speaker:live, it,
Speaker:love it.
Speaker:Oh, that's what you're using for your accounting.
Speaker:Yep. For accounting And it's,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:so, so that,
Speaker:why do You use that over some of the other options
Speaker:that are out There because it does interface so easily with
Speaker:so many other products import our bank account statements directly in
Speaker:PayPal interfaces really cleanly as well.
Speaker:That's how we do our invoicing for example.
Speaker:And I use Trello.
Speaker:I don't know if your listeners are familiar with Trello.
Speaker:It's an online time and task management tool.
Speaker:I make lists like a crazy woman and Trello lets me
Speaker:take the crazy lists and put them in some semblance of
Speaker:actionable order Or a book that you've read lately that you
Speaker:think our listeners could find value.
Speaker:I do read,
Speaker:that's a thing from business school.
Speaker:I learned to skim in business school.
Speaker:So I skim a lot of things.
Speaker:Probably the most recent ones.
Speaker:Well screw it.
Speaker:Let's do it.
Speaker:If you haven't read Richard Branson's book and it's short,
Speaker:it's not even 150 pages.
Speaker:Richard, Branson's one of my heroes.
Speaker:I think his life story is fascinating.
Speaker:And what he's been able to do is just amazing.
Speaker:I don't know that I could work for him,
Speaker:but I love to get a day with him.
Speaker:I think that would be great.
Speaker:So he's got a book screw it.
Speaker:Let's do it.
Speaker:That's how he signs off on any project that he funds.
Speaker:And then tactically,
Speaker:there's a really great book called 15 hand-picked unique suppliers for
Speaker:handmade businesses.
Speaker:And it's by a woman named Renee,
Speaker:Christine. She has a lot of online resources as well as
Speaker:this book,
Speaker:which I it's an E publication.
Speaker:So it's available for the Kindle.
Speaker:It was actually free on Amazon,
Speaker:about six weeks ago.
Speaker:This book,
Speaker:her 15,
Speaker:it's 15 on top of 15 on top of 15,
Speaker:on top of 15,
Speaker:there is so much in there.
Speaker:I got more out of that than I've gotten out of
Speaker:the classroom sessions.
Speaker:This is strictly on handmade businesses.
Speaker:So if you're doing crafts,
Speaker:if you are making food products,
Speaker:if you're working on Etsy,
Speaker:she's got a lot of information about that as a resource.
Speaker:And then for me,
Speaker:her packaging resources were fantastic.
Speaker:That sounds so interesting for almost the majority of our listeners
Speaker:here. So excellent.
Speaker:We'll have to check that out.
Speaker:Okay. All right.
Speaker:Gift biz listeners,
Speaker:just as you're listening to the podcast today,
Speaker:you can also pick up audio books.
Speaker:Now. I'm not sure this 15 handpicked is an audio book,
Speaker:but I bet you screw.
Speaker:It led to do it might just be Let's do it
Speaker:is an audio book.
Speaker:Okay. Well,
Speaker:I have teamed up with audible for you to be able
Speaker:to get an audio book,
Speaker:just like screw it.
Speaker:Let's do it.
Speaker:I just like saying that and you can get one for
Speaker:free on me.
Speaker:If you haven't already,
Speaker:all you need to do is go to gift biz,
Speaker:book.com and make a selection.
Speaker:Okay. Now,
Speaker:as all of you know,
Speaker:but if you're new to my podcast,
Speaker:there will be a show notes page accompanying this episode.
Speaker:It will have a lot of the information in terms of
Speaker:direct links to our conversation here.
Speaker:If you're looking for something specific that we were talking about,
Speaker:I'll also have links to Amy's website.
Speaker:So you guys can go look at these delicious,
Speaker:yummy marshmallows,
Speaker:possibly order some,
Speaker:I think I'm going to be doing that social media sites
Speaker:and also the links to these two books.
Speaker:So if you didn't capture them,
Speaker:you're out walking your dog or straightening stock in your shop,
Speaker:something like that.
Speaker:Don't worry.
Speaker:I've got you covered.
Speaker:Just go check out the show notes page.
Speaker:And that of course is at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com. And now Amy,
Speaker:I'd like to invite you to dare 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 Is an email and or phone
Speaker:call. Preferably a phone call from Howard Schultz,
Speaker:the CEO of Starbucks.
Speaker:Ooh. And what is he going to be calling you about?
Speaker:He's going to call me and say,
Speaker:I've heard about marshmallow MBA.
Speaker:I'd like to try your products.
Speaker:We'd like to put them in the stores.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:And then what are you going to say?
Speaker:Sure. Yes,
Speaker:sir. How many zeros are on that check?
Speaker:Okay. Well,
Speaker:I have to tell you one of the things I like
Speaker:about this,
Speaker:and you alluded to it a little bit earlier,
Speaker:when you were saying one of your friends thinks or says
Speaker:that there are no coincidences.
Speaker:I like to do this dare to dream question.
Speaker:Cause I feel like just verbalizing things like this,
Speaker:put it out in the environment and I love your answer,
Speaker:Amy. Cause I could so see your product in Starbucks.
Speaker:I really could.
Speaker:Can we,
Speaker:so can we,
Speaker:and we talk about it on a daily basis.
Speaker:I think about it every time I walk in and order
Speaker:a venti,
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:Well, Starbucks is my choice too.
Speaker:I probably own half the company at this point.
Speaker:So I am right with you with that wish.
Speaker:And I want to give you that box in that present
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:Well, I appreciate it.
Speaker:And being able to put it out in the universe,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:how do you make it more real than that?
Speaker:How do you,
Speaker:how do you put it on the business path?
Speaker:If you don't put it out there?
Speaker:Exactly. You're right.
Speaker:You have to define it first and then attracted in Amy.
Speaker:This has been fabulous.
Speaker:I really appreciate,
Speaker:I know you're a new business,
Speaker:but it's wonderful.
Speaker:Cause to be able to get you right in the start
Speaker:as your company is growing,
Speaker:you sharing all of the things that you have in terms
Speaker:of how to develop a product right from the start has
Speaker:been so valuable.
Speaker:I really appreciate your time.
Speaker:And may your candle always burn bright.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:Thanks for having me.
Speaker:There's some marshmallows.
Speaker:Oh yay.
Speaker:Where are you in your business building journey,
Speaker:whether you're just starting out or already running a business and
Speaker:you want to know your set up for success.
Speaker:Find out by taking the gift biz quiz,
Speaker:access the quiz from your computer at bit dot L Y
Speaker:slash gift biz quiz or from your phone by texting gift
Speaker:biz quiz to four four two,
Speaker:two, two.
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,
Speaker:looking for a new income source for your gift business.
Speaker:Customization is more popular now than ever grant your products of
Speaker:your logo for kinda happy birthday,
Speaker:Jessica bourbon,
Speaker:to add to a gift right at checkout,
Speaker:it's all done right in your shop or across in second
Speaker:check print company.com
Speaker:for more information after you listened to the show,
Speaker:if you like what you're hearing,
Speaker:make sure to jump over and subscribe to the show on
Speaker:iTunes. That way you'll automatically get the newest episodes when they
Speaker:go by and thank you to those.
Speaker:Who've already left a rating by subscribing rating and reviewing help
Speaker:to increase the visibility on ground.
Speaker:It's a great way to pay it forward,
