Shownotes
Motivational Quotes
A Candle Flickering Moment
In her retail business, a customer went on a rant that left Smita wondering why. Hear what she learned from the experience and what happened with that customer. [22:38]Business Growth Insights
As a brick and mortar shop, it’s so important to get involved within your community. [9:11] All about sales funnels [17:20]Success Trait
She’s not afraid of failure. Smita’s motto is sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. [22:07]Productivity/Lifestyle Tool
Evernote – Bring your life’s work together in one digital workspace. Google Calendar – Google Calendar is a time-management web application and mobile app.Valuable Book
The Lean StartUp by Eric Ries
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Transcripts
Gift biz on wrapped episode 12.
Speaker:Hi, this Is John Lee Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to the gift of biz unwrapped,
Speaker:and now it's time to light it.
Speaker:Welcome to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop
Speaker:and grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host,
Speaker:Sue Monheit.
Speaker:Hi, I'm Sue and welcome to the gift 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 am so excited to have Smitta Singh
Speaker:here with us.
Speaker:Smitta is a serial entrepreneur and it has created and sold
Speaker:several successful retail and services businesses.
Speaker:At one point,
Speaker:she was running two businesses while she had two little boys
Speaker:at home,
Speaker:both under the age of five years old.
Speaker:If you can believe that what's her secret automated processes,
Speaker:which is what she now teaches to other women entrepreneurs,
Speaker:Smitta believes that one size does not fit all in business.
Speaker:And she helps identify the holes in your system and creates
Speaker:a strategic plan to automate profit funnels so that you can
Speaker:create a realistic lifestyle business and let's face it.
Speaker:That's why we all have started our own business in the
Speaker:first place.
Speaker:She hosts a podcast called Womenpreneur where her goal is to
Speaker:help women overcome mindset,
Speaker:limitations, to start or grow their business using high growth tools
Speaker:and strategies.
Speaker:She couldn't do any of this though,
Speaker:without the support of her husband,
Speaker:who is also her sounding board,
Speaker:she says she's still a physical book kind of gal.
Speaker:And her dream home must include a two-story library.
Speaker:And I have many friends Smith who would feel the exact
Speaker:same way.
Speaker:Welcome to the show.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:So thank you for having me.
Speaker:Your podcast is amazing.
Speaker:I've been listening to it and it's really valuable for a
Speaker:lot of people out there.
Speaker:So I encourage everybody to just subscribe and keep listening to
Speaker:it. Thank you so much for that before we go on.
Speaker:Is there anything else you'd like to add to your intro?
Speaker:No, I think you've got it all.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I'm really passionate about helping women entrepreneurs and now it's really,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I'm helping people with their sales funnels and their automated funnels
Speaker:and, And it's fun as our listeners know,
Speaker:we align the conversation around the life of a motivational candle.
Speaker:The light shines on you while you share your stories and
Speaker:experiences. So Smitta,
Speaker:shall we light it up?
Speaker:Absolutely. I'm ready.
Speaker:Let's do it.
Speaker:Help us envision the color of your candle.
Speaker:So, you know,
Speaker:I'm a totally a candlelit person.
Speaker:I just love candles and I'll go and I'll buy all.
Speaker:And I think the one go-to candle,
Speaker:like if I'll walk into any gifts shop or,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:like a nice retail store and I'm like,
Speaker:oh, candles.
Speaker:I think the one thing that I go to all the
Speaker:time is yellow.
Speaker:I love the brightness.
Speaker:It just makes me feel happy.
Speaker:For some reason it's a bright sunshiny color.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:And that's what I love to live in Houston.
Speaker:Cause we have sun most of the times I'm like,
Speaker:yes, this is it.
Speaker:Yellow is just a color of life and brightness.
Speaker:And it just gives me a lot of positivity Fabric.
Speaker:So I can hear that in your voice too.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:So we're looking at your yellow candle.
Speaker:What is the motivational quote that's on that candle?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:can I be,
Speaker:can I give you too?
Speaker:Sure. You know,
Speaker:I have so many that I really believe in.
Speaker:One of them to do with work is a Zig Ziglar
Speaker:coat and it says you don't have to be great to
Speaker:start, but you have to start to be great.
Speaker:I think a lot of times people tend to get so
Speaker:bogged down with,
Speaker:oh my gosh,
Speaker:what if this doesn't work?
Speaker:Or what if this happens?
Speaker:Or what if that happens?
Speaker:Or I don't have to resources.
Speaker:I don't know how to do it.
Speaker:I feel like,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:get up there and do it.
Speaker:You'll figure it out or you'll find out that it didn't
Speaker:work, but at least you did it.
Speaker:So that's my first quote.
Speaker:And the other one is by Gandy and it says live
Speaker:as if you were to die tomorrow,
Speaker:learn as if to live forever.
Speaker:I love that one.
Speaker:I love that one too.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:both of these talk about taking action,
Speaker:just getting up and doing what in your heart you want
Speaker:to do and let all of these other ideas that are
Speaker:on the side of you,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:trying to like crimp your style just don't even pay attention.
Speaker:Exactly. And I think that's one of the biggest mindset shifts
Speaker:that a lot of entrepreneurs really need is that get up
Speaker:and take an action.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:everything starts with one dream.
Speaker:You have that one thing and it can take you places.
Speaker:Totally agree.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you and I could have gone so many directions with this
Speaker:interview because you have so many areas of expertise and I'm
Speaker:not sure how much we'll actually hit on within the time
Speaker:allotted. But the first thing I really wanted to focus on
Speaker:with you was this whole concept of where do you put
Speaker:your business?
Speaker:Should you be home-based,
Speaker:should you be in a warehouse?
Speaker:Should you go brick and mortar?
Speaker:And particularly in this day and age,
Speaker:I think people have a little bit of cold feet to
Speaker:think about moving a business outside of the house.
Speaker:So that's where I want to focus really first.
Speaker:What are your thoughts,
Speaker:advice, or disadvantages or advantages of opening a retail shop versus
Speaker:being home-based?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:that's a great question.
Speaker:And I really feel that I can really talk about that
Speaker:because I've it all I have done.
Speaker:Home-based I've done a brick and mortar,
Speaker:actually two brick and mortars,
Speaker:and now I'm online.
Speaker:So I'll go ahead and talk about each one of them.
Speaker:The first thing is the bottom line is it all depends
Speaker:on what your product is.
Speaker:If it's something that you are making yourself and you're selling,
Speaker:versus if you are getting from your vendors and you're going
Speaker:to have,
Speaker:you really need a store for that.
Speaker:So the first thing to decide is what is your product?
Speaker:Now, there are several different ways a product can go.
Speaker:You can have a product and go online with it,
Speaker:or you can have that product and go brick and mortar.
Speaker:Let's talk about a physical location.
Speaker:Some of the very easy advantages that you have is instant
Speaker:gratification. Everybody wants instant gratification.
Speaker:If I'm looking for a certain thing and I'm like,
Speaker:okay, I want it right now.
Speaker:Say for my son and I want a toy.
Speaker:And I've decided that today he wants to play with Legos.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:okay, I'm done with all my Lego pieces.
Speaker:I don't want to wait two days for Amazon to send
Speaker:it to me.
Speaker:I'm not going to order it online.
Speaker:I wanted right away.
Speaker:So we're going to jump into a car and go to
Speaker:our nearest tire store or target or wherever it is and
Speaker:get Lego.
Speaker:Right? So the first thing is definitely instant gratification.
Speaker:You have that upper hand,
Speaker:especially if you're in a community,
Speaker:if you're close to it,
Speaker:you can just get that.
Speaker:The second thing is,
Speaker:if you're a brick and mortar and you are a small
Speaker:business, you have so much advantage.
Speaker:If you get into the community,
Speaker:if you're involved in the community,
Speaker:if you are building your home base with your community and
Speaker:they feel like you're a part of it,
Speaker:you definitely have a huge advantage there because number one,
Speaker:you'll become their go-to store.
Speaker:And number two,
Speaker:people are going to refer you to whoever comes in,
Speaker:somebody's visiting.
Speaker:They'll be like,
Speaker:oh my gosh,
Speaker:you have to go to this store.
Speaker:I still remember when we had our brick and mortar,
Speaker:we had people would drive like 45 minutes just to come
Speaker:to our store because they've heard of us.
Speaker:So, you know,
Speaker:that's one more.
Speaker:And then of course the other thing is that you see
Speaker:your ROI pretty immediately in the sense that,
Speaker:of course your OPEX and CapEx is too high,
Speaker:which, you know,
Speaker:it can be high,
Speaker:which could be if you're not planning properly,
Speaker:which could be a disadvantage.
Speaker:But if you do plan properly,
Speaker:your return investment,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you can see it pretty immediately.
Speaker:And of course you get a lot of exposure having a
Speaker:brick and mortar store.
Speaker:There's a lot of media attention that you can get immediately
Speaker:because a lot of the local channels,
Speaker:they're always looking for something to showcase in their Christmas list
Speaker:or their Easter baskets.
Speaker:So there's definitely lot of things that you could do to
Speaker:gain a lot of instant press In your local area.
Speaker:Before you go on,
Speaker:let's go back just for a second.
Speaker:This whole idea of involvement in the community.
Speaker:What types of things did you do to get exposure?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:tons in the two businesses that I had that were a
Speaker:little bit different.
Speaker:So there were always,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you have to figure out based on the business that you
Speaker:have, but I would say get involved with your chamber of
Speaker:commerce, go to any meetups that are going on.
Speaker:You can have events in your store,
Speaker:in your brick and mortar store,
Speaker:or you could have,
Speaker:if there are community places,
Speaker:parks, you can sponsor events and you don't have to put
Speaker:in a ton of money to sponsor an event,
Speaker:just do events for kids in your store.
Speaker:You can give back,
Speaker:you can have people come into your store.
Speaker:If you have a little bit of space and talk to
Speaker:the community about maybe kids and their schools,
Speaker:if you're a candle shop,
Speaker:maybe you can have somebody come in or maybe you can
Speaker:have a class and show people how to make their own
Speaker:candles. You can give them a little something to take home.
Speaker:So it all depends on which product or which kind of
Speaker:store you have.
Speaker:But I think there are so many things you can do
Speaker:to get involved with the community and really to have a
Speaker:sense of belonging.
Speaker:If a customer can come in and say,
Speaker:you know what?
Speaker:I don't know if I'm going to buy anything today,
Speaker:but I just want to hang out in your store that
Speaker:says so much,
Speaker:right? Because you're on top of their mind.
Speaker:So when they want to buy something,
Speaker:they're going to come to you.
Speaker:Perfect. And I'm just thinking,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the whole trend now too,
Speaker:is to buy local,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:for a long time.
Speaker:And we've all seen this in our areas.
Speaker:These big multi chain businesses have come in and taken up
Speaker:main street,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and that's been happening over the last,
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:20 years or so,
Speaker:but now slowly,
Speaker:we're starting to see that change.
Speaker:I, you know,
Speaker:I can tell you in my neighborhood and a lot of
Speaker:the places that I travel all over the country,
Speaker:I'm always looking at the retail environment.
Speaker:A lot of these smaller businesses are re-establishing themselves.
Speaker:And people are just totally attracted to that because they're supporting
Speaker:the local retailer.
Speaker:And to your whole point Smitta is they know you,
Speaker:you're a local face.
Speaker:You're not this big corporate store being represented in the community.
Speaker:I believe it's a huge advantage.
Speaker:Just the way retail trends are going these days.
Speaker:So these are some of the advantages.
Speaker:What would you say are some cautionary points if you're looking
Speaker:at going into retail?
Speaker:Definitely. I mean,
Speaker:I think there's like everything there's pros and cons,
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:So, you know,
Speaker:the most important thing first of all,
Speaker:is to understand,
Speaker:which is realistic is that you have a very high operating
Speaker:expense and you have a capital expense.
Speaker:So I would definitely say,
Speaker:do your research before you get in and always know that
Speaker:at the end of the day,
Speaker:you never know what's going to happen.
Speaker:So you always have to have a backup plan.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:Hey, if my business goes great,
Speaker:this is what's going to happen.
Speaker:And if it doesn't and this is what's going to happen,
Speaker:let me be prepared for it.
Speaker:So first thing I would say is preparation.
Speaker:The second thing I would say is be ready for those
Speaker:extra expenses that are going to creep in.
Speaker:They are going to creep in,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you won't even believe it there'll be something there'll be maybe
Speaker:an extra shipping that's happening,
Speaker:or maybe you need,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:something immediately.
Speaker:And you're like,
Speaker:okay, wait,
Speaker:I can't wait.
Speaker:I've got to get this done.
Speaker:Or you have to do a big marketing campaign.
Speaker:There will be extra expenses that will creep up,
Speaker:especially if you're doing a brick and mortar.
Speaker:So keep that in mind and keep some as your emergency
Speaker:fund that you can use when you really need it.
Speaker:Good point.
Speaker:Good. I'm just going to jump in here too,
Speaker:cause I'm going to forget if I don't,
Speaker:but I remember,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I've never been a retail shop.
Speaker:I had a warehouse with one company,
Speaker:but I do know that city by city too,
Speaker:there are different expenses and your money gets really tight when
Speaker:you first start out because you have to,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:several months rent,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:all those insurance,
Speaker:all of those different types of things.
Speaker:But I never knew that after the fire code came in,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:there's a fire's license,
Speaker:there's a business license,
Speaker:there's all these crazy little extras that you might not know
Speaker:of. So if you are looking at doing a brick and
Speaker:mortar, it would also be great for you to talk to
Speaker:someone else right in your community who has opened up recently
Speaker:or talk with your city and make sure you know exactly
Speaker:what expenses you're going to be incurred.
Speaker:Yes. And also the other thing is taxes.
Speaker:You have payroll taxes,
Speaker:you have your quarterly taxes,
Speaker:definitely get a good accountant that can keep track of stuff
Speaker:and you're paying it on time because that can really hit
Speaker:you. If you're not on it,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:your sales tax,
Speaker:there is so much.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:so I think really the key to a brick and mortar
Speaker:is Cassius king.
Speaker:Your cash flow is going to either make or break you.
Speaker:So be prepared for it.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you get your three-year plan.
Speaker:And that's why they say a lot of small businesses fail
Speaker:in the first three years because they think that,
Speaker:okay, Hey,
Speaker:I'm doing great sales,
Speaker:but then there's so much catch up.
Speaker:You have to do,
Speaker:you have to do inventory.
Speaker:You have to do,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:all of this stuff.
Speaker:So it's definitely get your plans and get a realistic cashflow
Speaker:path plans.
Speaker:Business plan is great.
Speaker:Business plans tend to change,
Speaker:but a cashflow plan I think,
Speaker:is super important and know that you're going to have those
Speaker:extra expenses,
Speaker:no matter how prepared you think you are,
Speaker:you will have it.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:for me,
Speaker:honestly, some of the ones that really come on top of
Speaker:my mind is during Christmas time,
Speaker:you really need that product in.
Speaker:Right. And what do you do?
Speaker:You do shipping,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:from your vendor and you say,
Speaker:okay, get it to me like in two business days and
Speaker:that's going to cost you X amount of money.
Speaker:So you really don't know what's coming.
Speaker:So be prepared for that.
Speaker:So have your emergency fund.
Speaker:Yeah. And definitely,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:be aware that if you are a brick and mortar and
Speaker:if you don't have an online presence,
Speaker:you get effected by the local economy.
Speaker:So that's definitely one thing you should be aware of and
Speaker:be realistic about.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:Houston, Houston is a huge oil and gas sector.
Speaker:So if oil and gas is not doing great,
Speaker:then of course locally businesses are going to get affected.
Speaker:So know your local economy and be prepared for that.
Speaker:Or I would say,
Speaker:have a plan.
Speaker:So if you are a brick and mortar store,
Speaker:maybe have an online presence that you can maintain and be
Speaker:able to do both.
Speaker:So your risks are all not on one,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:in one plate You're talking about online presence instead of in
Speaker:terms of an ordering platform.
Speaker:I mean a true shopping cart situation online as well.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:I'm thinking at the very least,
Speaker:let's say you just can't pull all of that together,
Speaker:right in the beginning,
Speaker:certainly have an online presence that supports your physical location.
Speaker:If you're going to be a retail shop.
Speaker:And then in terms of what you're talking about,
Speaker:Smitta contingency planning.
Speaker:You can always add on to that,
Speaker:but at least you'll have the base established.
Speaker:Exactly. Absolutely.
Speaker:And you know what,
Speaker:the other thing is that a lot of times small businesses
Speaker:don't know how to use social media.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:there's a lot that you could do to channel social media,
Speaker:into customers that are walking into your store and actually buying.
Speaker:So I think that's another important thing.
Speaker:Don't think that social media is just for either things online
Speaker:or, you know,
Speaker:maybe you're not able to convert it.
Speaker:It's all part of your value,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:value proposition and how you're getting your customer into your store
Speaker:to buy it.
Speaker:So use Facebook,
Speaker:Facebook is huge,
Speaker:definitely for physical products and no matter,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:what kind of presence you have,
Speaker:you could have a brick and mortar or an online or
Speaker:a home pays,
Speaker:definitely use social media in your sales journey to get your
Speaker:customer into your door.
Speaker:Totally agree.
Speaker:So you're walking down the path that we were talking about
Speaker:before this interview a little bit,
Speaker:and you know,
Speaker:here, you're talking about social media in terms of bringing people
Speaker:into the shop,
Speaker:possibly they would buy online.
Speaker:If you have an online platform where you can purchase product,
Speaker:but what do you do with people who are prospects,
Speaker:who either come into the shop or come to your website
Speaker:online? How do you take them down a funnel towards a
Speaker:sale? You know,
Speaker:that's a great question.
Speaker:So first thing is,
Speaker:and of course every kind of business is going to be
Speaker:different. So your online funnel would be different from your brick
Speaker:and mortar funnel.
Speaker:Let's talk about brick and mortar,
Speaker:right? You know what,
Speaker:let's actually back up and just define what a funnel even
Speaker:is just to make sure that we've got all our listeners
Speaker:with us on the same page.
Speaker:Absolutely. A funnel is nothing but the process of taking your
Speaker:customer from your hi,
Speaker:how are you doing welcome to my store too?
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I, you're a customer saying,
Speaker:I love this product too.
Speaker:Here's my money and I want to buy it.
Speaker:So you're basically your touch points from your first introduction that
Speaker:your customer gets to you,
Speaker:to your continuous interaction with them and to your first sale.
Speaker:And don't forget your referrals,
Speaker:your customer for life,
Speaker:because that is what is important.
Speaker:A lot of times,
Speaker:a lot of stores spend a lot of money to bring
Speaker:in new customers,
Speaker:right? Let me do a marketing blitz and let me send
Speaker:out this to get a hundred new customers.
Speaker:That's great,
Speaker:but think about your customer retention,
Speaker:that is more important because the same customer will come in
Speaker:and buy over and over again versus a new customer coming
Speaker:in. So coming back to the point.
Speaker:So your sales funnel is your process of bringing your customer
Speaker:in to getting the first sale and to keeping them as
Speaker:a lifelong customer.
Speaker:Actually, I can give you a quick couple of points that
Speaker:I think you should be aware of when you're building your
Speaker:funnel. You know,
Speaker:first thing is definitely figure out what is your value?
Speaker:What is it that you're giving to your customer?
Speaker:Why would they want to come to you?
Speaker:And when you think about it,
Speaker:think about honestly,
Speaker:the easiest way to do it is like bring a poster
Speaker:board and start making a flow chart,
Speaker:right from your first customer interaction to how do you want
Speaker:them to flow through the process?
Speaker:Think about what is it that people want to come to
Speaker:you for.
Speaker:If you have a candle business,
Speaker:what is it that makes you so different that they would
Speaker:want to come to you?
Speaker:So first find that what is it that you're adding value?
Speaker:And then when you're bringing the customer in,
Speaker:don't forget that this process,
Speaker:this customer funnel,
Speaker:the sales funnel is not about you.
Speaker:It is about your customer.
Speaker:So how does that customer feel when they're walking through that
Speaker:process to say,
Speaker:if you are a candle maker and you have a brick
Speaker:and mortar,
Speaker:and first,
Speaker:how are you going to bring your customer in?
Speaker:And then what kind of customer service are you giving that
Speaker:person? When that customer walks in?
Speaker:Are your people saying,
Speaker:Hey, welcome to so-and-so and thank you very much.
Speaker:Or are they having a conversation with them?
Speaker:Are they finding out if you're buying a candle,
Speaker:what is it for?
Speaker:Maybe it's for something special.
Speaker:And then when they come back next time,
Speaker:Hey, how did that go?
Speaker:So that is all part of your funnel.
Speaker:What is your customer interaction?
Speaker:When they're done with it?
Speaker:Are you doing a follow-up?
Speaker:Maybe you're sending them a newsletter.
Speaker:Are you giving them information?
Speaker:Are you giving them value in that newsletter?
Speaker:And then once they're done,
Speaker:are they coming back?
Speaker:What are you doing for them to come back to that
Speaker:store? There's a whole blueprint that we can go through,
Speaker:but the same thing can be tweaked to online,
Speaker:right? So if you're an online e-commerce store,
Speaker:so out your touch points with your customers and know one
Speaker:basic thing that the sales funnel is not about you.
Speaker:It is only about your customer.
Speaker:So it's not about what makes my life easy.
Speaker:It's all about what you can give to your customer.
Speaker:It's all about your customer.
Speaker:And it's all about making them feel so good about the
Speaker:interaction that they've had,
Speaker:that they want to come back again and they want to
Speaker:tell their friends And you know,
Speaker:and it's every person that's selling,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:that has something of value to give.
Speaker:They all know the best sales come from referrals.
Speaker:It's the best thing,
Speaker:because you have proof that your product is good.
Speaker:So keep that customer retention,
Speaker:I think,
Speaker:is so important.
Speaker:And it's so much easier than going out and finding new
Speaker:customers less expensive.
Speaker:Well, that's Right.
Speaker:And the 80 20 rule,
Speaker:right? Right.
Speaker:80% of your sales come from the 20% customers.
Speaker:Absolutely. Smitta this part of the interview could go on and
Speaker:on. We could probably sit here,
Speaker:chatting the whole day about all of this.
Speaker:I know,
Speaker:but we're going to swing over now to the reflection section.
Speaker:Can you tell us one natural trait that you have that
Speaker:you believe has helped you to be successful?
Speaker:Yes. I am not afraid of failure.
Speaker:I don't take failure as a failure.
Speaker:I really think that whatever you do in your life and
Speaker:if it doesn't work out,
Speaker:there is a reason for it.
Speaker:You're going to learn something from it.
Speaker:And I always say,
Speaker:sometimes you win and sometimes You learn,
Speaker:oh, I like that.
Speaker:Sometimes you win.
Speaker:And sometimes you learn,
Speaker:yes. Does something come to mind right away that you could
Speaker:share with our listeners of a time that you learned?
Speaker:Absolutely. My first actual physical store was a very high customer
Speaker:oriented, you know,
Speaker:service. And I used to have these customers that would come
Speaker:in and it was like really high touch.
Speaker:And I remember there was one point when this person came
Speaker:in and all he could do was just,
Speaker:he just went on a rant.
Speaker:And that was the first time I was on the other
Speaker:side of like a crazy rant.
Speaker:And I was like,
Speaker:oh my God,
Speaker:I was in tears.
Speaker:Literally. I was like,
Speaker:I can't do this anymore.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:what's going on?
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:all of that stuff.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:I came home and,
Speaker:and I thought about it and I was like,
Speaker:oh my gosh.
Speaker:And I just,
Speaker:I'm a very happy person.
Speaker:So I,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:when something negative kind of comes out,
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:I try to figure it out,
Speaker:but I just couldn't figure this out.
Speaker:And after two is when this person came back and he
Speaker:came back and he apologized and I'll tell you the first
Speaker:thing as a customer service tip,
Speaker:when somebody says something to you,
Speaker:don't say anything back,
Speaker:you just hear it out and just say,
Speaker:okay, sure.
Speaker:After two days that guy came back and he said,
Speaker:you know what?
Speaker:I am so sorry that I yelled and screamed.
Speaker:And I was just having a really bad day and a
Speaker:small thing kind of triggered it.
Speaker:And he's like,
Speaker:I'm so sorry.
Speaker:I apologize so much.
Speaker:Tell me what I can do to fix it.
Speaker:Oh, wow.
Speaker:Yeah. I was like,
Speaker:oh my God.
Speaker:And I thought about it.
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:what if I,
Speaker:I stood there and I was mean to him,
Speaker:or I had said something back to that person that would
Speaker:have just escalated the whole situation.
Speaker:Sometimes you think that things are going downhill and you know,
Speaker:what's going on.
Speaker:But really if you just step back and take a moment,
Speaker:you'll realize that everything is not about you and everything is
Speaker:not a failure.
Speaker:There's always a reason.
Speaker:So you can't take things like that,
Speaker:especially in business personally.
Speaker:But listen,
Speaker:try to understand where they're coming from,
Speaker:because it can help you affect your business to provide a
Speaker:better experience.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:if there's something that's falling slightly short in your business,
Speaker:but I think your points made about just let them vent
Speaker:whatever they need to do.
Speaker:Don't try to be defensive or anything.
Speaker:Just let them,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:get it out,
Speaker:whatever it is because they're going to feel better.
Speaker:You probably won't Be exact,
Speaker:but no.
Speaker:And I'm telling you,
Speaker:I've had a retail store and it's really,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we see it.
Speaker:And that was my first ever experience,
Speaker:you know?
Speaker:So I was taken aback.
Speaker:I've seen many since then,
Speaker:but it's amazing how,
Speaker:if you just let it go,
Speaker:how many times they'll come back and they'll apologize and they'll
Speaker:say, oh no,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:don't worry about it.
Speaker:And I'm so sorry.
Speaker:And I did this and you know,
Speaker:all of that stuff,
Speaker:that's definitely one,
Speaker:one tip.
Speaker:And I know this is a little bit different,
Speaker:but I will say if you have employees working for you,
Speaker:and this is,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I'm veering from the natural trait path.
Speaker:But if you have employees working for you,
Speaker:it is so important to train them,
Speaker:even if they're just coming in for the summer and working
Speaker:for you,
Speaker:it is so,
Speaker:so important to train them the right way because they are
Speaker:the face of your business.
Speaker:You mean train them not only on just products and procedures
Speaker:of your shop,
Speaker:but how you want them to be interacting with you.
Speaker:Totally because that's,
Speaker:what's going to build.
Speaker:If they can build a relationship with your customers,
Speaker:you can be in your store.
Speaker:24 7.
Speaker:The purpose of a business is to be able to have
Speaker:the time,
Speaker:the freedom of time and money.
Speaker:And that's,
Speaker:what's important to put the systems and processes in place and
Speaker:train your employees to be that face of your business so
Speaker:that the customers have a relationship with them.
Speaker:And they know that they're talking to the same person when
Speaker:they come in next time.
Speaker:Right. And I think an employee,
Speaker:since they don't own the business,
Speaker:if they're put in a situation like that,
Speaker:won't really know what to do,
Speaker:unless you've given them direction.
Speaker:They don't know that they have free reign to make it
Speaker:right, or what their parameters are.
Speaker:So really,
Speaker:really good piece of advice that you've given us here.
Speaker:What tool do you use regularly to help you stay productive
Speaker:or to create balance in your life?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I'm very basic.
Speaker:I love to do lists and I love the Google calendar.
Speaker:So those are my two.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:my Google calendar is all,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:highlighted out with different colors and my to-do list is my
Speaker:thing. So Your to-do lists,
Speaker:do you,
Speaker:are they online?
Speaker:Are they an app or do you Or ever know totally
Speaker:Evernote and sticky notes?
Speaker:I think those are my two big things.
Speaker:I have sticky notes everywhere in the morning,
Speaker:actually the night before I sit down and I write my
Speaker:top two or three things that I need to finish for
Speaker:sure for the next day.
Speaker:And I put it on a sticky note and I make
Speaker:sure I do it.
Speaker:And then I trashed that sticky note there.
Speaker:Yeah. There's Still,
Speaker:there's something about that physical,
Speaker:that kind of goes along with your books.
Speaker:Yes. I'm telling you there's something that,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it just gives me pleasure.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:yes, it's done.
Speaker:I'm going to throw that away now.
Speaker:Totally. I agree with You there.
Speaker:As I'm staring at all the sticky notes I have right
Speaker:around my computer here,
Speaker:what book have you read lately that you think our listeners
Speaker:could find value in?
Speaker:You Know,
Speaker:that's such a hard question because I read a lot.
Speaker:I would say the one book that really I would recommend
Speaker:everybody read is the lean startup.
Speaker:No matter what business you in,
Speaker:you'll have an online,
Speaker:a home-based a brick and mortar.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you have a product based business.
Speaker:It does not matter.
Speaker:You need to read the lean startup.
Speaker:It's an amazing book that talks about the MVP,
Speaker:the minimum viable product.
Speaker:And I totally believe in it.
Speaker:And I think taking action is way more important than thinking
Speaker:about it.
Speaker:Gift biz listeners,
Speaker:just as you're listening to the podcast today,
Speaker:you can also listen to audio books with ease.
Speaker:I've teamed up with audible for you to be able to
Speaker:get a free audio book,
Speaker:just like Smith is recommending for free.
Speaker:All you need to do is go to gift biz,
Speaker:book.com and make a selection that's gift biz book.
Speaker:That com okay.
Speaker:My favorite section of the interview,
Speaker:the dare to dream question,
Speaker:are you ready?
Speaker:I'm ready.
Speaker:I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:This is your dream or goal of almost unreachable height that
Speaker:you'd wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside?
Speaker:First Of all.
Speaker:So thank you so much for the gift.
Speaker:Cause I love gifts,
Speaker:Parson. You know,
Speaker:sometimes my husband,
Speaker:he is not,
Speaker:he cannot keep a surprise and he's like,
Speaker:wait, I don't know.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:if I should get her this,
Speaker:should I tell her,
Speaker:would she like it?
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:just don't tell me,
Speaker:just do not tell me,
Speaker:just give it to me on that day because no matter
Speaker:what it is,
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:So I'm a totally gift person.
Speaker:So thank you for that.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:this may be really hard to get,
Speaker:but I want time.
Speaker:If I can get time,
Speaker:my kids are growing up too fast at one time to
Speaker:spend with them.
Speaker:I want time to spend with my family.
Speaker:I just,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:time to travel the world.
Speaker:That's one of the things that I also would love to
Speaker:help people with is help women.
Speaker:Entrepreneurs is gain more time because I think that's so important.
Speaker:So since unfortunately time is finite,
Speaker:you've got to figure out how to make time to be
Speaker:able to do what you want to do.
Speaker:What's the most valuable to you?
Speaker:Gives us all some thought I think yes,
Speaker:Absolutely. To ponder.
Speaker:So yes.
Speaker:How can our listeners get in touch with you?
Speaker:They can go to www dot woman,
Speaker:preneur success.com
Speaker:or listen to me on my podcast.
Speaker:It's women preneurs strategies for success.
Speaker:I am also on Twitter.
Speaker:It's the Smith to sing.
Speaker:So, you know,
Speaker:I'm at the Smith S sing I'm on LinkedIn submitter sing
Speaker:and yeah,
Speaker:just shoot me an email it's mid to@womanpreneurssuccess.com.
Speaker:Fabulous. And I would also suggest that all of you go
Speaker:and check out Speedos podcast.
Speaker:You can tell the type of quality of information that she's
Speaker:sharing just by what she's talked about today.
Speaker:So I think you can definitely get quite a bit out
Speaker:of it.
Speaker:So please do that.
Speaker:Thank you,
Speaker:sir. And then I believe just as we gave you a
Speaker:gift, you have something to offer our listeners.
Speaker:I do.
Speaker:Let's see.
Speaker:I love gifts.
Speaker:I'm here to give.
Speaker:So I am from,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:people would have heard,
Speaker:I am,
Speaker:went from a brick and mortar now online,
Speaker:and I know a lot of frustrations and limitations that people
Speaker:can have when they have a physical product that they're trying
Speaker:to sell.
Speaker:So my gift today for all of you gift biz listeners
Speaker:is a free step-by-step guide to build a profitable sales funnel,
Speaker:especially for a physical product.
Speaker:So if you have a physical product and you want to
Speaker:build a sales funnel based on your product and your value,
Speaker:get it at www.womenpreneursuccess.com/gift
Speaker:bears. It's an amazing,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:little ebook that you can find and you can,
Speaker:and it has actionable tips.
Speaker:I'm all about action.
Speaker:So I have to put actionable tips in there so which
Speaker:you can use right away.
Speaker:Wait to see that myself.
Speaker:So gift biz listeners,
Speaker:if you enjoyed the show,
Speaker:be sure to subscribe on iTunes and leave a rating and
Speaker:review. You can see Smith,
Speaker:the show notes page,
Speaker:including all the links she's referenced today and check out other
Speaker:episodes at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com, including that re download,
Speaker:building a profitable sales funnel.
Speaker:Make sure to check that out and thank you so much
Speaker:for that.
Speaker:Absolutely. Thank you so much,
Speaker:Sue for having me Well,
Speaker:thank you for the valuable gift of sharing your journey and
Speaker:insights with us today and may your candle burn bright,
Speaker:Learn how to work smarter while developing and growing your business.
Speaker:Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business
Speaker:in life.
Speaker:It's our gift to you and available@giftbizonrap.com
Speaker:slash tools.
Speaker:Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for the
Speaker:next episode.
Speaker:Would you like to be on the show or do you
Speaker:know someone who can provide valuable insight from their experiences?
Speaker:If so,
Speaker:we'd love to hear from you.
Speaker:All you need to do is submit a form for consideration.
Speaker:You can access the form@giftbizonwrapped.com
Speaker:forward slash guest that's gift biz unwrapped.com
Speaker:forward slash G U E S T today's show is sponsored
Speaker:by the ribbon print company,
Speaker:looking for a new income source for your gift business.
Speaker:Customization is more popular now than ever granted product from your
Speaker:logo or print,
Speaker:a happy birthday,
Speaker:Jessica, to add to a gift,
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Speaker:it's all done right in your shop or custody video in
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