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Gift biz unwrapped episode 294.
Speaker:I think sometimes you don't know if it's the right choice
Speaker:until you try it.
Speaker:Attention. Gifters bakers,
Speaker: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 unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode,
Speaker:packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources, and the support you need to grow.
Speaker:Your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there.
Speaker:Sue. Guess what?
Speaker:Next week is the at home craft and gift show.
Speaker:This is a virtual event.
Speaker:So you can attend from the comfort of your cozy couch
Speaker:shop in our vendor village next Sunday afternoon.
Speaker:So that's December six.
Speaker:And during that time,
Speaker:you can meet the makers of the fabulous products that are
Speaker:being displayed.
Speaker:You can place custom orders,
Speaker:pick your own special,
Speaker:one of a kind piece or ask questions of the artisans
Speaker:from 12 to four Eastern standard time.
Speaker:After that vendor village will be open the entire month of
Speaker:December. So you can pop in any time to complete your
Speaker:holiday shopping list to grab your free ticket to the at
Speaker:home craft and gift show.
Speaker:Just jump over to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash at home ticket.
Speaker:You're going to find beautiful handmade products,
Speaker:holiday designs,
Speaker:and special,
Speaker:unique gifts that are sure to put a smile on the
Speaker:faces of those.
Speaker:You love to grab your free ticket again,
Speaker:gift biz unwrapped.com
Speaker:forward slash at home ticket.
Speaker:I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Speaker:Are you recovered from your food coma?
Speaker:It was just my husband and me this year.
Speaker:We were supposed to go out to Colorado a couple of
Speaker:weeks ago and have an early Thanksgiving with the children because
Speaker:we thought that was a really smart thing to do to
Speaker:avoid the rush and the holiday traveling crowds.
Speaker:But given that there was a huge surge of cases in
Speaker:Denver, we decided to be adults about it and cancel the
Speaker:trip behind the scenes though.
Speaker:I was crying,
Speaker:kicking, and screaming.
Speaker:I miss my kids.
Speaker:I know I'm not alone.
Speaker:A lot of you are also encountering similar tough decisions and
Speaker:my heart goes out to you for that.
Speaker:So on my end,
Speaker:I adjusted my mindset.
Speaker:I recognized all that I have to be thankful for,
Speaker:even though this has been an unbelievable year and there was
Speaker:a Thanksgiving feast to be had.
Speaker:We had all the traditional dishes and watched it's a wonderful
Speaker:life because that's also a family of ours and it put
Speaker:me completely in the Christmas spirit and now being cyber Monday,
Speaker:it is full throttle to the finish line for holiday promotions,
Speaker:gift purchasing and wrapping,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:balancing between business tasks and personal holiday activities with all this
Speaker:going on.
Speaker:I want to remind you that a short time back episode
Speaker:two 88,
Speaker:we talked specifically about how to manage stress during this time.
Speaker:I want us all to be energized and joyful in the
Speaker:weeks ahead.
Speaker:So the beauty of the season doesn't pass us by look,
Speaker:we're all so busy ensuring that our customers get everything they
Speaker:need to enjoy the most wonderful time of the year.
Speaker:And I want you to have the same.
Speaker:So if you're feeling the pressure Mount,
Speaker:go back and listen to that episode,
Speaker:let's move on to today.
Speaker:You're going to hear about the development of Katherine's business,
Speaker:how and why she switched and adjusted her products and customer
Speaker:focus. Over the years,
Speaker:she's always watching,
Speaker:listening and applying what's going on around her to ensure she's
Speaker:on the cutting edge and enriching her life with her business.
Speaker:In other words,
Speaker:making sure what she spends time on in her business fuels
Speaker:her spirit to being in perfect alignment is key to her
Speaker:success. You know what I say,
Speaker:our businesses should be part of our life.
Speaker:They shouldn't take over our life.
Speaker:I also really enjoyed our conversation about Pinterest.
Speaker:We just started talking about this platform on the show.
Speaker:It seems like Facebook and Instagram dominate our minds,
Speaker:but Pinterest may be something to pay more attention to as
Speaker:you develop your plans for 2021,
Speaker:I think I've said enough at this point.
Speaker:Let's get into the show Today.
Speaker:I am so excited to introduce you to Katherine Tatum.
Speaker:Katherine is the owner and designer of classic legacy custom gifts.
Speaker:Her business has always been in her home through the years,
Speaker:and Catherine has employed many women to create and help manage
Speaker:her growing enterprise.
Speaker:The classic legacy wholesale line has been shown in major gift
Speaker:showrooms in New York,
Speaker:Los Angeles,
Speaker:Atlanta and Dallas.
Speaker:And this is where major hotels,
Speaker:museums, and luxury retailers discovered classic legacy.
Speaker:After being chosen to design gifts for the new Orleans tricentennial,
Speaker:she added a retail Shopify store to her website.
Speaker:The newest collection includes handmade oyster shell dishes,
Speaker:the blue and white ICAT oyster shell dish is currently featured
Speaker:in the Thomas Jefferson Monticello catalog and website.
Speaker:All of this comes from the fact that Katherine loves The
Speaker:challenge of learning and designing Catherine,
Speaker:welcome to the gift biz on wrapped podcast.
Speaker:Thank You.
Speaker:So I'm so glad to be here.
Speaker:I Am so excited that you're here too,
Speaker:and we've known each other for a long time,
Speaker:but I don't know the beginning of your business story.
Speaker:So I'm excited to get into that.
Speaker:But first we are going to start off by getting to
Speaker:know you in a little bit of a different way,
Speaker:and that is through a motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you were to create a candle that speaks exactly
Speaker:who you are,
Speaker:what would the candle look like by color and quote,
Speaker:Catherine, That is a great question.
Speaker:And my favorite colors are blue and white.
Speaker:I've always loved blue and white.
Speaker:I collect blue and white gifts and decor.
Speaker:So the candle would be blue and white.
Speaker:And I also love chinoiserie,
Speaker:which is the Chinese influence.
Speaker:So that would be the color of the candle.
Speaker:And the quote is a quote that I have loved for
Speaker:a long time.
Speaker:It's a happy memory is a joy forever.
Speaker:And when I create gifts many times,
Speaker:I think,
Speaker:where are these going to end up?
Speaker:Who is going to have them?
Speaker:And basically when I create gifts,
Speaker:I want it to bring joy,
Speaker:whether it's a Christmas present or a birthday present or anniversary
Speaker:present. So that would be my,
Speaker:yeah, I love it.
Speaker:And I think that sentiment is something that we all can
Speaker:really relate to because regardless of what we make,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we're all makers here,
Speaker:but we want to share the love of what we've made
Speaker:and the product that we've created to bring someone else joy.
Speaker:So it's the same thing,
Speaker:but I've really kind of never thought about it as it's
Speaker:a joy that creates a memory that then is a joy
Speaker:forever. So I really liked that.
Speaker:I don't even know when Periscope came out,
Speaker:but that was when you and I met.
Speaker:So what would you say seven,
Speaker:eight years ago?
Speaker:Yes, I think we met perhaps through Kim Garst and some
Speaker:of those events and Periscope didn't last a long time,
Speaker:but I am always on the lookout for new technology to
Speaker:be able to improve my business and stuff.
Speaker:I liked Periscope Pros and cons to it,
Speaker:but if you remember,
Speaker:we were in that challenge together where we had to be
Speaker:on Periscope every single day.
Speaker:Do you remember that On video and On video?
Speaker:Yeah. And then you got all these people from all over
Speaker:the world who almost weren't ever even your potential customer who
Speaker:would pop on.
Speaker:Right? It was crazy.
Speaker:It was like the wild West.
Speaker:I think it made me more comfortable being on video is
Speaker:the biggest thing that it helped me with.
Speaker:Yeah. I agree with you there too.
Speaker:And we're going to get into this because I am so
Speaker:impressed with what you're doing on social with your lives and
Speaker:all that.
Speaker:But before we get there,
Speaker:take us back to the beginning and tell me too,
Speaker:cause I don't know.
Speaker:How did you get started in your business?
Speaker:As a young mother?
Speaker:I had taught first grade before I became a mother and
Speaker:I wanted to stay at home,
Speaker:but I had always enjoyed being creative and making things.
Speaker:And I thought,
Speaker:what can I do to add a little income to our
Speaker:family? And I started with hair accessories and hair bows for
Speaker:little girls.
Speaker:And that just became a big business because it was BoomTown
Speaker:in the eighties of hair bows for not only little girls,
Speaker:but for women.
Speaker:I bought ribbon from lots of places in New York.
Speaker:I called on department stores.
Speaker:I called on small businesses and I did hair accessories for
Speaker:little girls.
Speaker:And then I had a rep and he said,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:these tortoise shell hair accessories.
Speaker:And they were embellished with silver.
Speaker:He said,
Speaker:I think if you did that,
Speaker:that, that would be a good thing.
Speaker:And so I thought,
Speaker:well, I'll figure out how to import the French hair accessories.
Speaker:And I did that.
Speaker:And then I figured out where to buy the findings and
Speaker:I learned how to do plating or had people help me
Speaker:do plating of the findings.
Speaker:And I embellished the tortoise shell hair accessories like that.
Speaker:And then from there that rep was associated with the showroom
Speaker:in Atlanta and he recommended a showroom to me.
Speaker:So it was just like one step after another.
Speaker:So I thought one time when I was on an airplane,
Speaker:they had these magazines that had,
Speaker:it was basically like a small catalog and there were one
Speaker:charms in the back of that catalog.
Speaker:And because I had figured out where to buy the findings,
Speaker:I thought I know where to get all these pieces.
Speaker:I thought I'll do one charms,
Speaker:add that.
Speaker:And it was completely different from what I had started out
Speaker:originally, but they were,
Speaker:I'll just say they paid for my daughter's wedding.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:there's just like huge.
Speaker:So you went to the wine charms from the barrettes,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:And like I said,
Speaker:it was completely different,
Speaker:but it was because I went to New York.
Speaker:I sourced findings at trade shows.
Speaker:I love how one thing led to another led to another
Speaker:led to another.
Speaker:Were you doing that because you weren't feeling like there was
Speaker:enough potential at one point or because there was a new
Speaker:opportunity or why did you make some of these series of
Speaker:changes before you landed on what you're doing now?
Speaker:I think a lot of it has to do with being
Speaker:creative and wanting to do something different,
Speaker:but the hair accessories,
Speaker:we're a smaller market as far as like children's stores.
Speaker:I just wanted to expand my reach.
Speaker:I guess That was your entrance point into having your own
Speaker:company learning all of that.
Speaker:Yeah. Yes.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I learned how to do barcodes.
Speaker:I learned how to do a lot of things with that.
Speaker:And so when I was at market that just opened up
Speaker:a whole,
Speaker:I got into not only clothing stores,
Speaker:but gift stores.
Speaker:And when I started doing the wine charms,
Speaker:then I met wineries and they said,
Speaker:well, can you do a bottle stopper?
Speaker:Can you do a wine carrier?
Speaker:Can you do a cooler,
Speaker:can you do other one accessories?
Speaker:And I always said yes,
Speaker:But did you then wind down the other products when you
Speaker:switched to something else?
Speaker:Or how did that progression go?
Speaker:Actually, yes I did.
Speaker:But some of the stores that I originally sold to don't
Speaker:exist anymore,
Speaker:but I have sold to one store for over 30 years.
Speaker:That's a children's store.
Speaker:So I'm actually still doing hair accessories for only for one
Speaker:store Because you have to cause you feel indebted to them.
Speaker:Cause that's what we do.
Speaker:Right? So you're at the wine charms and the wineries we're
Speaker:looking for more.
Speaker:So you're listening to input from different people.
Speaker:Cause you were saying you were listening from your buyer and
Speaker:now you're listening from your customers and having them help direct
Speaker:you in which way to go.
Speaker:But how did you know if it was the right choice?
Speaker:I think sometimes you don't know if it's the right choice
Speaker:until you try it.
Speaker:But I mean,
Speaker:there's been lots of times where I've thought,
Speaker:what do I do next?
Speaker:And I've always just been open to reading and looking at
Speaker:magazines, going to art museums,
Speaker:keeping up with trends and from the wineries that led to
Speaker:doing a lot of custom gifts,
Speaker:the wineries in hotels,
Speaker:because at first my line was an open line and that
Speaker:just means that if I did wine terms,
Speaker:they would be for anybody.
Speaker:But then I created a custom charm that had the name
Speaker:of the winery on the charm or the name of the
Speaker:hotel. I've just learned to ask a lot of questions too.
Speaker:Like the person that did my plating for the findings,
Speaker:I'd say,
Speaker:do you know anybody that can create custom artwork for me
Speaker:or something like that.
Speaker:So I just learned to ask a lot of quick.
Speaker:So if you were to define for us what your range
Speaker:of offerings is today,
Speaker:what would you say apart from the hair bows?
Speaker:What I concentrate mainly on are custom gifts and also the
Speaker:newest collection is the oyster shell jewelry dishes.
Speaker:And that is also another completely different thing than I was
Speaker:doing that came about because I've learned that people like handmade
Speaker:things that they cannot find in the major department stores or
Speaker:big box stores.
Speaker:The type of people that I sell to are high-end luxury
Speaker:accounts or individuals.
Speaker:And I just thought,
Speaker:I'm going to try it.
Speaker:I'm going to learn how to do this.
Speaker:And I use real orchard shells.
Speaker:I use designs that are then applied to the orchard shells
Speaker:and everything is gilded in gold leaf on the sides in
Speaker:the back.
Speaker:So the orchard shells are really my biggest current collection,
Speaker:But all of this is still focused on a limited audience,
Speaker:if you will being hotels,
Speaker:museums, luxury retailers,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:But now because of COVID,
Speaker:those businesses are either closed or very limited.
Speaker:Actually. Now what I'm concentrating on is the retail side of
Speaker:my business.
Speaker:And that started,
Speaker:as you mentioned in your introduction when I was chosen to
Speaker:do gifts for the new Orleans tricentennial.
Speaker:So when was that?
Speaker:That was three years.
Speaker:Okay. But because of that,
Speaker:I learned how to do Shopify and I like selling to
Speaker:individuals. When you say retail,
Speaker:you're not talking wholesale,
Speaker:you're talking your own site and selling directly one-on-one to consumer.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:Okay. So let's take both of those.
Speaker:So before that,
Speaker:and the thing that I really like,
Speaker:and the reason I keep asking you these questions is I
Speaker:see you as being very zeroed in on your products.
Speaker:It's all customization.
Speaker:It's all.
Speaker:Well, like you said,
Speaker:hotel, museum,
Speaker:luxury retailers,
Speaker:they're customized around the entertaining industry.
Speaker:I feel tourist.
Speaker:Would that be right?
Speaker:Yes. Okay.
Speaker:So Did you intentionally go after that Margaret or did you
Speaker:just identify as things went on and as you kept listening
Speaker:to people that this is where your product fits Best?
Speaker:I think it's that I decided that's where my product fit
Speaker:best. Some of the accounts that I sell to or have
Speaker:sold to in the past are the Biltmore,
Speaker:the Waldorf Astoria,
Speaker:the hotel Del Coronado.
Speaker:And I live in the Memphis area.
Speaker:I sell to Elvis Presley enterprises and the Peabody hotel.
Speaker:But just this week I got a call from a new
Speaker:store that opened and it's called feelin Memphis.
Speaker:And they're all about Memphis,
Speaker:but they want to do their own logo on things.
Speaker:That's the kind of people I like to work with.
Speaker:When you were niching down to that audience,
Speaker:were you ever concerned that there wouldn't be enough business there?
Speaker:No, not really because I mean,
Speaker:it's not only that audience,
Speaker:it could.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:like, this is an example of someone that found me and
Speaker:I think they found me through Pinterest.
Speaker:I'm not sure,
Speaker:but they're a technology company.
Speaker:And they said,
Speaker:we want gifts because we treat our top performers in our
Speaker:company to a trip to Spain.
Speaker:And this year we can't go to Spain,
Speaker:but we want to give them something anyway.
Speaker:And they said,
Speaker:do you think you could do a bottle stopper that had
Speaker:our logo on one side?
Speaker:And I wish I was in Spain on the other side.
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:sure. I mean,
Speaker:I thought that was a great idea.
Speaker:So that's not a hotel,
Speaker:a museum or a winery,
Speaker:but it's someone that needs custom gifts.
Speaker:And it's a perfect example.
Speaker:And the reason I kept asking you about that is I
Speaker:think it's really important that we all define who our audience
Speaker:is. Not that everybody could have our product,
Speaker:right. I mean,
Speaker:clearly everybody could use your product,
Speaker:but you're targeting down to a specific group of people.
Speaker:And I think we all find it a little bit nerve
Speaker:wracking when we consider doing that because it's like,
Speaker:but wait,
Speaker:wait, wait,
Speaker:wait. Like,
Speaker:there's going to be other people I want to sell to.
Speaker:But what you just said is a perfect example.
Speaker:They're still going to find you your core focus and where
Speaker:you're going to get your business stays laser focused if you
Speaker:will, but other people will still find you.
Speaker:And you're not going to say,
Speaker:Oh, well,
Speaker:no, you're not my target customer.
Speaker:So No,
Speaker:I think people will find you.
Speaker:And I get recommendations for people from other businesses.
Speaker:And when it's custom,
Speaker:when it's unique,
Speaker:I find that the reorders are great because they can't get
Speaker:that from anybody else.
Speaker:It's not like they're going to find another vendor that can
Speaker:do that.
Speaker:Do you have to make custom molds and such for some
Speaker:of the products I have done that,
Speaker:but most of the time I use a setting that is
Speaker:then basically it has a photographic image in the setting,
Speaker:Nancy Namel.
Speaker:So it's not a pewter mold,
Speaker:but I've done both.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:Makes sense.
Speaker:And then do you save that quote unquote file.
Speaker:I don't know anything about your production,
Speaker:but then you save it.
Speaker:So it's easy just to pull it back up again when
Speaker:you have a repeat order.
Speaker:Yes. And the thing about using the process and that way
Speaker:it's easy to enlarge it or make it smaller.
Speaker:And if it's a mold,
Speaker:it's one size and that's it.
Speaker:Oh, good point.
Speaker:So the advantage of being able to resize it as it
Speaker:can go on different products,
Speaker:then yes.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So share with me because this I know is a big
Speaker:thing to a lot of our listeners right now,
Speaker:a website,
Speaker:many people here before COVID hit,
Speaker:we're a little bit different than you,
Speaker:but very similar.
Speaker:There were out at craft shows.
Speaker:So face-to-face with our customers.
Speaker:Some of them very intense craft show exhibitors where every single
Speaker:week I did a show possibly in different States all over,
Speaker:so serious.
Speaker:And then to have all of that get pulled out from
Speaker:under our feet.
Speaker:What option do you have go online?
Speaker:Right? So there's been this whole year.
Speaker:The challenge of,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:a website,
Speaker:what platform?
Speaker:What do I put up?
Speaker:How do I do it?
Speaker:Oh, it's tack and mind you,
Speaker:most people that gravitate to in-person shows it's because they love
Speaker:being with people.
Speaker:They don't love being behind a computer at a desk.
Speaker:Right. So share with us a little bit about how you
Speaker:got your website up.
Speaker:You already saw the need.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:there really was no choice and it made sense to do
Speaker:because of the tricentennial,
Speaker:but why did you choose Shopify?
Speaker:And what was your thinking and selection process?
Speaker:I already had a website and it was based on WordPress
Speaker:and I still actually have that.
Speaker:And then I write a blog and I showcased product through
Speaker:that, but I did not have a retail,
Speaker:a way that people could buy directly.
Speaker:And I just did a little research and it just seemed
Speaker:like Shopify was easy to use.
Speaker:And I am so glad that I chose that because it
Speaker:also integrates with so many other platforms so easily.
Speaker:It generates the shipping labels,
Speaker:the packing list.
Speaker:It just,
Speaker:it's very easy and it's easy to add many different photographs
Speaker:for each product and also integrates with Pinterest.
Speaker:And Pinterest is my new go-to platform.
Speaker:I just love it.
Speaker:Ooh, we're going to talk about that again Later,
Speaker:too. I want to finish with websites,
Speaker:but I definitely want to talk about Pinterest.
Speaker:So I am a huge advocate of Shopify too.
Speaker:So you're speaking my language,
Speaker:Catherine and I like you.
Speaker:My ribbon print company business is on a Shopify site and
Speaker:gift biz on wrapped is all on a WordPress site.
Speaker:So I'm intimately familiar with platforms and I think they serve
Speaker:different purposes.
Speaker:I actually like both of them,
Speaker:but WordPress is definitely more cumbersome and more complicated.
Speaker:And I think Shopify with all the apps and integrations,
Speaker:as you're talking about,
Speaker:you couldn't do anything and get up and running,
Speaker:look differently.
Speaker:Have all different types of customizations to your website pretty easily.
Speaker:Yes. And actually it's a sub-domain of my main website.
Speaker:Oh, it links over.
Speaker:Yes. It's all under one website.
Speaker:Someone comes to the website that they can look at in
Speaker:the show notes,
Speaker:gift, biz listeners,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:there's always show notes page.
Speaker:It will go to your WordPress site.
Speaker:And then if they're interested in purchasing,
Speaker:it will link over to Shopify.
Speaker:Yes. On the front page of the website,
Speaker:there's a shop now button and it's easy to find the
Speaker:shopping section.
Speaker:It pops you over there.
Speaker:Okay. All right.
Speaker:And so did you set up everything yourself in Shopify?
Speaker:I did.
Speaker:Yay. Good for you.
Speaker:My son-in-law is a computer web person,
Speaker:so I do have some help.
Speaker:He's not that familiar with Shopify,
Speaker:but I do have someone that I can ask for help.
Speaker:And that's important.
Speaker:What would you say to someone who's just starting to look
Speaker:at a website,
Speaker:building their website out like that.
Speaker:Do you have any recommendations for them?
Speaker:We'll get Katherine's recommendation about website development,
Speaker:right after this quick break to hear from our sponsor.
Speaker:Yes. It's possible.
Speaker:Increase your sales without adding a single customer.
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Speaker:I would definitely choose Shopify.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:they have an option for a blog within Shopify and I
Speaker:already had a blog somewhere else.
Speaker:So I didn't want to use that part of it.
Speaker:And there's tons of,
Speaker:they have a YouTube channel,
Speaker:can watch videos for training.
Speaker:There's just a lot of help available for that.
Speaker:If you're interested in checking out Shopify,
Speaker:go over to my website,
Speaker:gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped, and click on the tools tab.
Speaker:And there you'll see a Shopify link that will give you
Speaker:a 14 day free trial.
Speaker:If you're just starting off with your website or making changes,
Speaker:like I've heard a lot of people right now making changes
Speaker:because one of their sites just isn't either giving them now
Speaker:what they need because they've built up their business or it's
Speaker:just too cumbersome and too hard to work through.
Speaker:So you were still obviously doing communication with other people who
Speaker:you're already doing business with,
Speaker:but now that we're shut down,
Speaker:we weren't able to be out at shows as much.
Speaker:And you had your Shopify store up and running.
Speaker:What did you see happen?
Speaker:I saw that people were still buying gifts,
Speaker:Surprise, surprise,
Speaker:Having birthdays and still,
Speaker:but there was a time where I don't know,
Speaker:March and April very slow.
Speaker:During that time.
Speaker:One of the things I did was I told myself I
Speaker:was going to try to learn more about Google analytics,
Speaker:Pinterest advertising.
Speaker:And I didn't reach out to any of the retailers that
Speaker:I sell to because they were just having a hard time
Speaker:in many of them were closed,
Speaker:but I used that time to educate myself to basically how
Speaker:to reach individual buyers and learn more about Google analytics and
Speaker:Pinterest advertising.
Speaker:Okay. And so Pinterest makes sense because you have a lot
Speaker:of blog articles and it's great to put blog articles on
Speaker:Pinterest. So you were already on Pinterest and active on the
Speaker:account at that point.
Speaker:Yes. I've been on Pinterest since about 2007 or something,
Speaker:but it's changed a lot recently.
Speaker:And I used to just pin things from my blog articles,
Speaker:but I actually don't do that too much anymore.
Speaker:I pin things from Shopify and that will go directly to
Speaker:someone being able to buy it And blog articles up on
Speaker:Pinterest. And then also just direct product purchasing photos up on
Speaker:Pinterest, both,
Speaker:Both, but I'm concentrating more on direct product photos.
Speaker:And I'm also creating a landing page for those products.
Speaker:Like for instance,
Speaker:the worst,
Speaker:your shell dishes.
Speaker:I have several products that show them on a little easel,
Speaker:online mantle of my fireplace and like how to decorate for
Speaker:Christmas. But if they go to that landing page,
Speaker:they'll not only be able to buy the product,
Speaker:but to learn a little bit more about how they're handmade
Speaker:and kind of different options.
Speaker:And if they don't want to buy it right away,
Speaker:I offered them a free book and therefore I'm able to
Speaker:get their email address,
Speaker:then be able to get them in my funnel and be
Speaker:able to communicate with them further down the line.
Speaker:So that's really what I'm doing more Pinterest is making sure
Speaker:that it either goes to a product where they can buy
Speaker:it or to a landing page that is going to educate
Speaker:and give them a free gift if they are not ready
Speaker:to buy.
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:that's genius.
Speaker:And so if I understood you correctly,
Speaker:it all starts with a lifestyle type photo.
Speaker:Yes. I've found that the lifestyle photos work the best and
Speaker:some of the views on Pinterest are in the thousands.
Speaker:And I've also discovered that video,
Speaker:you can do videos on Pinterest.
Speaker:Now one time,
Speaker:about two months ago in the middle of the summer,
Speaker:I turned my dining room into a Thanksgiving table.
Speaker:I showed people how to decorate for Thanksgiving,
Speaker:and this was all for Pinterest,
Speaker:but taking pictures of the dining room table.
Speaker:And I showed the steps of making arrangement for the dining
Speaker:room table and at the base of this arrangement where or
Speaker:shell dishes.
Speaker:And so it's federal ways of just getting your product in,
Speaker:but also how it can educate or entertain or inform someone
Speaker:that so that they can do something similar in their house.
Speaker:Perfectly examples,
Speaker:both the lifestyle photo,
Speaker:leading to what you're talking about with additional information,
Speaker:free download or right away a direct purchase.
Speaker:And then also what you're talking about here now with the
Speaker:designing the table layout,
Speaker:where you also giving a freebie of how to do it
Speaker:in written form,
Speaker:or was that just a video?
Speaker:It was just a video.
Speaker:Okay. I should have written a blog post about that.
Speaker:I haven't done it yet,
Speaker:but I did several different lifestyle things.
Speaker:I did one for Thanksgiving.
Speaker:Then I switched everything.
Speaker:I did one for Christmas.
Speaker:And then somehow I found out that you can order peonies
Speaker:from Alaska in August.
Speaker:And I love peonies,
Speaker:but at the time they weren't blooming and I thought I'll
Speaker:do one with PMs.
Speaker:So you're ready for the spring.
Speaker:Right. So I have all this spring stuff,
Speaker:So smart.
Speaker:And all you had to do is change out the tablescapes.
Speaker:Right. And you had everything ready to go and you're kind
Speaker:of in the zone of filming,
Speaker:Right? I mean,
Speaker:I got out my best China and my silver,
Speaker:my crystal.
Speaker:And I thought,
Speaker:if I'm going to do this,
Speaker:I'm going to do several things.
Speaker:Yeah. Too bad.
Speaker:You couldn't have invited people over for a pet,
Speaker:right? Not this year.
Speaker:I know I would have been invited,
Speaker:but since we can't come,
Speaker:I know that's why you didn't invite me.
Speaker:Right. But I love these examples because it's a way of
Speaker:being able to direct people to your product without feeling salesy,
Speaker:because that's what we're always worried about.
Speaker:Well, when you do it in that way,
Speaker:you make it really fun.
Speaker:You're adding additional value.
Speaker:And by the way,
Speaker:here's the product.
Speaker:If you're interested in having one for yourself.
Speaker:Right. I think people love lifestyle.
Speaker:Absolutely. So Pinterest is your major social media platform.
Speaker:Yes. It drives the most traffic to my website by far.
Speaker:And it's just a search engine.
Speaker:Pinterest went public in the past six months and they've really
Speaker:changed a lot from where they were when I first began.
Speaker:But I think a lot of major players are on Pinterest
Speaker:now. Absolutely.
Speaker:And give biz listeners,
Speaker:if you have never considered Pinterest before,
Speaker:go back.
Speaker:I'm not exactly sure what episode it is.
Speaker:I'll put it in the show notes,
Speaker:but we talked with Kate all and she told us exactly
Speaker:how to set up your account,
Speaker:how to use Pinterest.
Speaker:It's one of our best listened to shows.
Speaker:So definitely reference back and consider this platform.
Speaker:I think this is what Katherine is saying now is great
Speaker:confirmation that everything that Kate was saying is right on.
Speaker:We keep hearing it.
Speaker:But I also know Catherine,
Speaker:you're pretty active on Instagram.
Speaker:So what are you doing over there?
Speaker:What are you doing over there?
Speaker:I do.
Speaker:Well, I try to do Instagram.
Speaker:I started to say every day,
Speaker:but it doesn't happen every day.
Speaker:You're good though.
Speaker:I keep her following.
Speaker:I try to do lifestyle photographs there as well.
Speaker:And when I go to an account like I did in
Speaker:Memphis this week,
Speaker:I take a picture of where I am.
Speaker:Well, Pinterest stays on for a long time and Instagram.
Speaker:You just have to keep feeding it.
Speaker:It doesn't last for me as long time.
Speaker:Are you doing images in your feed?
Speaker:And then also I see you in stories all the time.
Speaker:So you're doing both Stories can get the most viewers for
Speaker:me, but I still do both.
Speaker:Yeah. That's what I'm seeing too now is you want to
Speaker:post and you can also post and then send a post
Speaker:to your story.
Speaker:But most often the people who see the stories are the
Speaker:people who already are following you.
Speaker:So you're able to build a deeper relationship with people who
Speaker:are already following you on Instagram,
Speaker:although, and I'm wondering if you've done this.
Speaker:I am just now playing around with it is adding more
Speaker:hashtags and kind of hiding those hashtags behind an image to
Speaker:get more people,
Speaker:to see my stories who may not also be following me
Speaker:on my account yet.
Speaker:Are you doing that already?
Speaker:I do that.
Speaker:I keep the hashtags in my notes,
Speaker:on my phone in a folder.
Speaker:So I have hashtags related to different things.
Speaker:And the other thing that helps a lot and I don't
Speaker:do it as often as I should,
Speaker:but it's going to other accounts and commenting I've found that
Speaker:that works.
Speaker:I mean the hotel Del Coronado,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:if I comment on their posts,
Speaker:it seems like the next day they're looking at my posts.
Speaker:So I think it is social it's being friendly.
Speaker:So what you're suggesting then is to go to someone who
Speaker:you would want to be a customer,
Speaker:or is already a customer and genuinely commenting,
Speaker:right? Like interacting with them in a genuine way,
Speaker:not to go to 7,000
Speaker:million accounts and comment on two pictures because you want followers.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Not that kind of thing.
Speaker:Genuine. Yeah.
Speaker:And I think if I'm following along with the real value
Speaker:of that is it keeps you top of mind if they're
Speaker:getting low on stock or they've never used you before then,
Speaker:they're you and seeing what's available.
Speaker:So that would be the reasoning behind doing that.
Speaker:How much time of day do you spend on social media?
Speaker:Honestly, I don't know.
Speaker:Probably about 30 or 45 minutes.
Speaker:So not long at all.
Speaker:I don't ever sit down and spend that time all in
Speaker:one stretch,
Speaker:but like to get the pictures done for Pinterest,
Speaker:I use Canda and I tend to probably do two or
Speaker:three hours at a time,
Speaker:but that might take care of everything for a month.
Speaker:Right. And I also use tailwind to schedule,
Speaker:which is a Pinterest scheduling tool.
Speaker:Right, right.
Speaker:Yeah. Let's switch gears a little bit.
Speaker:You sound so buttoned up.
Speaker:So in control and I would love to just get reality
Speaker:out here that it's not always going the right way.
Speaker:Can you share with us something that's happened in your business?
Speaker:That was a real challenge for you?
Speaker:I think that it's so important to realize that there are
Speaker:hard times for everybody,
Speaker:even the most top people that have had hard times that
Speaker:they've had to overcome.
Speaker:When we moved to Memphis,
Speaker:my husband had started a company that didn't turn out.
Speaker:Right. And he got a new job and I thought,
Speaker:well, that's the end of my business because I started in
Speaker:Alabama. You're thinking you have to go back to teaching,
Speaker:right. Yeah.
Speaker:Which I didn't want to do,
Speaker:but it really just opened the door to a bigger metropolitan
Speaker:area, maybe new people.
Speaker:And then another challenging time was the showroom that I was
Speaker:in, in Atlanta closed.
Speaker:And I was like,
Speaker:what am I going to do now?
Speaker:But I got in another showroom.
Speaker:And then in Dallas,
Speaker:the same thing happened this stroke.
Speaker:Remember that I was in closed now.
Speaker:I'm so glad that I'm not dependent on a showroom.
Speaker:I'm really glad that e-commerce side of my businesses built up
Speaker:and the website.
Speaker:So sometimes things are a blessing in disguise that happened.
Speaker:Yeah. It just doesn't feel like it when you're in the
Speaker:middle. Cause you don't know what next you're going to do.
Speaker:Exactly. But you just have to keep on going.
Speaker:Yeah. Keep on going.
Speaker:And then I'm sure there were some things that you tried
Speaker:that didn't work,
Speaker:but you keep trying then other things until you find something,
Speaker:not only that works,
Speaker:but that fits your lifestyle and how you want to be
Speaker:running your business.
Speaker:Right. Because you just explained to us how you're using social
Speaker:media. I know people who are on social media for eight
Speaker:hours a day and they just say,
Speaker:if I don't do this,
Speaker:my business is going to go away and they don't look
Speaker:at another way.
Speaker:Cause they're so busy doing what they're doing on social media
Speaker:and it's exhausting them.
Speaker:Yeah. If I have product to ship,
Speaker:I can't spend that much time on social media,
Speaker:but I do enjoy learning.
Speaker:And I just think that's important too.
Speaker:Yeah. I guess the point with all of that too.
Speaker:I think Catherine,
Speaker:tell me what you think is there are a lot of
Speaker:different ways to get to an end goal.
Speaker:Your end goal is selling your product,
Speaker:which let's face it.
Speaker:That's why we're in business to sell our products and to
Speaker:make money.
Speaker:There are a lot of different ways to get there.
Speaker:I interviewed probably about six months ago.
Speaker:They aren't on social media at all.
Speaker:They don't even have an account there,
Speaker:Rick and mortar shop.
Speaker:Now they might now after COVID.
Speaker:So maybe it's been a year,
Speaker:but they've been doing just fine and growing at a huge
Speaker:rate that whole time,
Speaker:not even having accounts there you're,
Speaker:you're showing or you've narrowed in your audience.
Speaker:You have certain platforms that are your priorities.
Speaker:Most people say Facebook and Instagram,
Speaker:but like we just started our Pinterest account for gift biz
Speaker:on wrapped.
Speaker:So ours is starting to gain traction now,
Speaker:but there's lots of different ways to do this Instagram stories.
Speaker:Are you doing any IETV?
Speaker:I have done a GTV.
Speaker:Not a lot recently,
Speaker:but yes,
Speaker:I have done that.
Speaker:You are a great example of a tester.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you get on stories and talk about when you're on the
Speaker:farm and your family's place and just chat.
Speaker:And so people get to really know who you are behind
Speaker:the scenes.
Speaker:Are you ever uncomfortable doing that?
Speaker:I've gotten more and more comfortable,
Speaker:but yes,
Speaker:I am somewhat uncomfortable for a long time.
Speaker:I didn't want people to know.
Speaker:I had a business in my home.
Speaker:I had a thing about that.
Speaker:I didn't want to tell people that that's where my business
Speaker:was, but now a lot of people have their business in
Speaker:their home.
Speaker:It's also changed even over the last,
Speaker:maybe not 10 years,
Speaker:but five,
Speaker:six years now it's become much more Acceptable.
Speaker:And so I have a large storage area.
Speaker:I have a room dedicated to my office.
Speaker:I don't show my husband a lot.
Speaker:I think I'm a little bit more private than some people,
Speaker:as far as being,
Speaker:have their family,
Speaker:I tend to stick to be more business things.
Speaker:So you have your limits,
Speaker:but you share a little bit of family,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:And I think everyone has to decide for themselves what's right
Speaker:there. Right.
Speaker:Okay. I think it would be really interesting for people to
Speaker:understand what your mindset is when you're met with something you
Speaker:don't know how to do.
Speaker:Do you Google for answers?
Speaker:How do you figure things out?
Speaker:Where do you go for your resources?
Speaker:I guess I would say,
Speaker:cause I don't know,
Speaker:making that oyster shell dish,
Speaker:when you were explaining that a few minutes ago sounded really
Speaker:intimidating. I do use Google.
Speaker:I use YouTube and I ask people questions.
Speaker:One of the examples is the guy that does the plating
Speaker:for me.
Speaker:He works with a lot of other companies and I'm like,
Speaker:do you know where I can find a tiger charm or
Speaker:just something that somebody else is looking for?
Speaker:And he'll go,
Speaker:well, you should call X,
Speaker:Y, Z he'll look five different companies.
Speaker:And then sometimes like if I'm trying to find a certain
Speaker:bead or a certain ribbon or a certain color or something
Speaker:and I'll call the resource that I usually use and they
Speaker:said, no,
Speaker:we don't have that.
Speaker:And I'll just say,
Speaker:do you know anyone else that I can call?
Speaker:And a lot of times people are up into that if
Speaker:they don't have it,
Speaker:they're glad to share who might,
Speaker:I think Google and YouTube.
Speaker:And then I come back to Pinterest again,
Speaker:Pinterest again is a engine.
Speaker:And it's a lot of times you can find tutorials and
Speaker:things like that on there.
Speaker:Yeah. I'm learning that more and more.
Speaker:You clearly know way more about Pinterest than I do,
Speaker:but I'm learning.
Speaker:I really want to emphasize what you just said,
Speaker:which was,
Speaker:it's not just your vendors or suppliers or potentially even customers
Speaker:that you're close with who only know what they do.
Speaker:They also have a network of people.
Speaker:So just like how LinkedIn will work.
Speaker:Right. So I love what you're saying there,
Speaker:where if they might not know asking that extended question,
Speaker:do you know anybody else who might?
Speaker:So that's wonderful.
Speaker:And speaking of that,
Speaker:what about LinkedIn?
Speaker:Where does that sit in your land of opportunity?
Speaker:I have used LinkedIn for quite some time and I'm on
Speaker:the pro plan or whatever.
Speaker:And I probably post there,
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:six times a month or something like that.
Speaker:And I should probably do it more.
Speaker:But I think to have a completed profile is very important.
Speaker:I don't even know how many contexts,
Speaker:it just says over 500,
Speaker:but I think a lot of people,
Speaker:when they're looking for the name,
Speaker:Catherine Tatum,
Speaker:it goes to LinkedIn and you should definitely have,
Speaker:or I've found for me having a complete profile with lots
Speaker:of photographs and I even write articles on LinkedIn.
Speaker:And basically they're just my blog posts that I turned into
Speaker:an article for LinkedIn Upload it natively to LinkedIn instead of
Speaker:linking it back to you.
Speaker:Yes. Having it native it's important.
Speaker:I think having a lot of information on LinkedIn is good.
Speaker:Well, and I would imagine based on who your customer is,
Speaker:that that could be a huge opportunity for you.
Speaker:If you were targeting a certain museum or certain hotel in
Speaker:a city that you were going to just to see who
Speaker:the contacts are.
Speaker:Yes. And on the pro thing.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:if you look up a certain corporation,
Speaker:they'll have all the people that are associated with that corporation
Speaker:on LinkedIn.
Speaker:It's a really good way to figure out who you need
Speaker:to ask for.
Speaker:Because if you just call up a hotel and you don't
Speaker:know who you want to talk to,
Speaker:you don't get very many.
Speaker:You don't get very far I'm sure.
Speaker:But if there are a connection through somebody else you already
Speaker:know that also helps.
Speaker:Right. Do you have some type of a structure?
Speaker:So you remember,
Speaker:okay, I'm going to post six times on LinkedIn.
Speaker:I'm going to do four stories a week.
Speaker:I'm going to have post on Pinterest.
Speaker:Do you have like a whole big calendar method?
Speaker:I'll be honest.
Speaker:No, I don't.
Speaker:Okay. I want you to be honest because we all are
Speaker:learning from each other how to do these things.
Speaker:Okay. So you just like,
Speaker:remember, Oh,
Speaker:I need to do it.
Speaker:Or you'd create an article and you say,
Speaker:okay, well,
Speaker:every time I create an article,
Speaker:I'm going to adjust it a little bit,
Speaker:upload it to LinkedIn.
Speaker:You have a system then when You do that.
Speaker:Got It.
Speaker:So how has business changed for you?
Speaker:You would say over these last 30 years.
Speaker:Oh my goodness.
Speaker:It's changed so much.
Speaker:The entrance of the internet was one,
Speaker:right? I mean,
Speaker:used to have a fax machine.
Speaker:I don't have a fax machine anymore.
Speaker:I just thought I don't need to pay for another phone
Speaker:line for that.
Speaker:Is it better now?
Speaker:Is business better or just the system?
Speaker:I think the systems are much better.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I use Infusionsoft as my contact information and I tag people
Speaker:every time someone buys a product,
Speaker:they get a tag on my CRM,
Speaker:my contact.
Speaker:Right. Which is done automatically with,
Speaker:through Shopify.
Speaker:Yeah. We are doing the same.
Speaker:Yeah. And so I just feel like 30 years ago,
Speaker:I didn't have those systems in place.
Speaker:And now I have a whole group of people that just
Speaker:bought orchard shells or a whole group of people that are
Speaker:hotel people.
Speaker:And I can email them really specific email information that is
Speaker:beneficial to them.
Speaker:And it's,
Speaker:well, I wouldn't email the Wurster shell buyers information about hotels.
Speaker:Right. You can really send them emails that then specifically apply
Speaker:to what their concerns and their interests are.
Speaker:Yes. I mean,
Speaker:30 years ago I literally traveled to New York or traveled
Speaker:to places to find vendors.
Speaker:And now it's so easy to find somebody via Google.
Speaker:And I also have found that initially,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:people would say,
Speaker:well, the opening order is a thousand dollars and I'd go
Speaker:gold. And I did it,
Speaker:but now I've learned to say,
Speaker:okay, I want to buy just a sample.
Speaker:And many times vendors are open to that,
Speaker:but you want to see the quality of the work?
Speaker:Well, I think you can also do it because all you
Speaker:need to do is show your list of customers or where
Speaker:things are placed or all of that.
Speaker:And they definitely would want to be providing product to you.
Speaker:Yeah. What do you see as you move forward?
Speaker:I'm afraid.
Speaker:You're going to say,
Speaker:I'm quite sure that oyster shell dish is sticking around.
Speaker:Yeah. Yes.
Speaker:Actually I'm working on spring designs.
Speaker:I've learned that my customers buy almost a year in advance.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:they're currently planning many of them for 2021 Christmas.
Speaker:No, this is your more corporate clients.
Speaker:Yes. Now you're juggling because you have your direct to consumer
Speaker:clients too now.
Speaker:Right? I don't think anybody knows what's coming as far as
Speaker:our world,
Speaker:but it's true.
Speaker:I want to stay on the positive side.
Speaker:I want to keep learning and I want to be able
Speaker:to create gifts that bring people joy,
Speaker:kind of go back to my thing about a happy memory
Speaker:as a joy forever.
Speaker:Absolutely love it.
Speaker:Where can our listeners go and see more about you online?
Speaker:I bet.
Speaker:I know,
Speaker:but you tell them Go to classic legacy.com.
Speaker:Okay. And is your Pinterest account the same?
Speaker:Yes, It is beautiful.
Speaker:And I just became a verified Pinterest merchant.
Speaker:So that means that when you see my products,
Speaker:you can also see the price.
Speaker:It took a while to do that.
Speaker:That's cool.
Speaker:Okay. Give his listeners so you need to go and take
Speaker:a look at classic legacy.
Speaker:It'll be interesting,
Speaker:especially those of you who are looking at setting up a
Speaker:Shopify account.
Speaker:Don't just go to the first part,
Speaker:but click on the shop now button,
Speaker:and then you'll be able to go and See what she
Speaker:set up on that.
Speaker:And that could be interesting and help you as you're making
Speaker:your choices.
Speaker:So Catherine,
Speaker:it has been a joy having you on.
Speaker:I loved hearing more about classic legacy and I wish you
Speaker:much success in the future.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:So many excellent business takeaways that Catherine reinforced for us,
Speaker:but it all starts with being clear on who your customer
Speaker:is. Catherine defines hers as high end luxury accounts or individuals
Speaker:and everything spins off of that.
Speaker:If she didn't have this clear customer focus,
Speaker:her activity would have been haphazard and probably resulted in lower
Speaker:performance. Instead she is right on with her messaging and her
Speaker:products that hit the Mark for her customers.
Speaker:It's really worth figuring this out right now,
Speaker:no matter where you are on your business journey next week,
Speaker:I'm lighting it up.
Speaker:Sue style,
Speaker:brilliant yellow candles will be the highlighted product.
Speaker:And we're going to get an inside.
Speaker:Look at a young business.
Speaker:That's all ready,
Speaker:glowing. Thanks so much for spending time here with me today.
Speaker:If you'd like to show support for the podcast,
Speaker:please leave a rating and review.
Speaker:That means so much and helps the show get seen by
Speaker:more makers.
Speaker:It's a great way to pay it forward and for now
Speaker:be safe and well.
Speaker:And I'll see you next week on the gift biz unwrapped
Speaker:Cast. I want to make sure you're familiar with my free
Speaker:Facebook group called gift is breeze.
Speaker:It's a place where we all gather and our community to
Speaker:support each other.
Speaker: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 to show pictures of your product,
Speaker:to show what you're working on for the week to get
Speaker:reaction from other people and just for fun,
Speaker:because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody
Speaker:in the community is making my favorite posts every single week,
Speaker:without doubt.
Speaker:Wait, what,
Speaker:aren't you part of the group already,
Speaker:if not make sure to jump over to Facebook and search
Speaker:for the group gift biz breeze don't delay.