Shownotes
BUSINESS BUILDING INSIGHTS
- Take those next steps. Keep figuring out what the next thing is because eventually, it will all work.
- Do the show, record the results, and analyze what worked and what didn’t work.
- Naturally sharing with friends and family what you’re up to opens opportunities for business.
- Validate that your product will sell before you build a business around it.
- The display is important because people want to experience touching your products.
- Have a range of price points so people will have options for what they are comfortable buying.
- Having high-priced things positions you as an expert in your field.
- Have multiple avenues to build relationships with people.
How To Find A Profitable Niche
- Create products that are different and unique so you are top of mind.
- Focus your efforts on things that you love doing. Love what you do and make people happy.
- Get ideas from your customers. Listen to what products they want.
- At every show, write down notes about what sells to who and why, what you learned from speaking to your customers, etc.
- Try different ways to sell - in person, at shows, online, via Zoom, and so on, and see what works best for you. You may find your niche in an unexpected place.
- Be flexible - you never know where your next best-selling product or favorite customer will come from!
- Tune in now to get all the signs to look for your profitable niche!
Resources Mentioned
Gail's Contact Links
Website | Facebook | InstagramJoin Our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community
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Transcripts
Gift biz unwrapped episode 320.
Speaker:If I act successful,
Speaker:then maybe that'll help me feel successful.
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 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:Hello. Hello.
Speaker:Thanks for being here with me today,
Speaker:we are entering into a motivating new season in person shows
Speaker:are opening up again and the opportunity to present your product
Speaker:and find new customers in this face to face format is
Speaker:finally here.
Speaker:I want to remind you that doing events like craft shows
Speaker:and farmer's markets offers great photo and posting opportunities for social
Speaker:media. We talked about this in one of our tips and
Speaker:talk episodes in the podcast just a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker:And I bring this up because you've told me you're discouraged.
Speaker:When you don't see any of the time and effort you
Speaker:put into social media,
Speaker:moving the needle on your sales.
Speaker:So given the time we're in right now,
Speaker:take this as a changing point to do something different,
Speaker:putting in more time posting in the same way isn't going
Speaker:to magically bring you results.
Speaker:You need to change the way you're posting and what you're
Speaker:posting. You don't need to put in more work.
Speaker:You need to put in the right work.
Speaker:That's when things will change.
Speaker:If you need some help with this,
Speaker:I've got you covered with the content for maker's program.
Speaker:Content for makers will enlighten you as to why your social
Speaker:media activities aren't converting into sales.
Speaker:It will also show you how to put less time in
Speaker:and start seeing activity that will increase your sales.
Speaker:Just imagine a day where you know exactly what to post
Speaker:and to get it done in five minutes or less,
Speaker:then you can spend your time interacting with potential customers,
Speaker:deepening relationships with those you already know too.
Speaker:And it builds upon itself naturally.
Speaker:Yes, this is possible.
Speaker:Content for makers includes a step-by-step strategy to formulating your unique
Speaker:plan based on your business and your products.
Speaker:Then you'll have 375 social media prompts over a full year
Speaker:of ideas.
Speaker:Along with the 375 prompts come 375 image suggestions.
Speaker:So you're not left hanging on the creative.
Speaker:These prompts and image suggestions can be used for all platforms
Speaker:and all types of posting images,
Speaker:live streaming reels,
Speaker:even email direction,
Speaker:but that's not all posts aren't going to work.
Speaker:If the right people aren't seeing them.
Speaker:So you'll also receive a video and a worksheet on how
Speaker:to choose and use hashtags.
Speaker:This is a way to attract the right people who will
Speaker:become your customers.
Speaker:Most people are doing this wrong.
Speaker:There's more to content for makers too.
Speaker:To see all the details.
Speaker:Just jump over to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash content for makers.
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Speaker:it's a,
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Speaker:forward slash content for makers ready and waiting for your immediate
Speaker:access. Right now,
Speaker:I have something to tell you.
Speaker:I had so much trouble deciding on a title for this
Speaker:episode. Don't worry.
Speaker:We're absolutely talking about identifying your profitable product niche,
Speaker:but as we started our chat,
Speaker:Gail shared with me how her first craft show was a
Speaker:total, just,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:no sales,
Speaker:zero, like the worst of worst possible fears.
Speaker:And I know many of you can relate to this because
Speaker:either you've had that same thing happen or are putting off
Speaker:shows because you're afraid that you won't get any sales and
Speaker:it makes my heart stop because I look at Gail and
Speaker:the success that she's having today.
Speaker:And I think what if she threw in the towel after
Speaker:that first show or the second,
Speaker:because that one was only slightly better.
Speaker:If she had given in to any thoughts that she wasn't
Speaker:cut out for this,
Speaker:she wouldn't be where she is today.
Speaker:So I was tempted to title this episode.
Speaker:Something about overcoming disappointing show results or something like that.
Speaker:But Gail's message is so much more than that.
Speaker:It's about finding the space in your market that was made
Speaker:for you,
Speaker:the perfect product niche,
Speaker:where you can shine and sales come naturally because you have
Speaker:what people want to buy because you see that very first
Speaker:craft show Gail brings up was just a stepping stone to
Speaker:the amazing business she has today.
Speaker:Today, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Gail zona.
Speaker:The founder of G jewels.
Speaker:Gail is an artisan specializing in hand crafted personalized gifts.
Speaker:She works mostly with businesses that use gift giving as part
Speaker:of their client retention program.
Speaker:So think of realtors,
Speaker:mortgage brokers,
Speaker:insurance agents,
Speaker:financial advisors,
Speaker:CPAs, and business,
Speaker:life coaches.
Speaker:These are her best clients.
Speaker:Gail got started in the gift business.
Speaker:A very young age tend to be precise when she made
Speaker:custom mice finger puppets for a local consignment shop.
Speaker:Fast-forward after a career in high tech to 13 years ago,
Speaker:when she started making glass and Sterling jewelry that led to
Speaker:personalized jewelry that eventually led to her current gift business.
Speaker:She says that when she left her high tech executive position
Speaker:four years ago,
Speaker:she didn't look back and it was a great move because
Speaker:she's having a blast.
Speaker:Gail, welcome to the gift biz on wrapped podcasts.
Speaker:Thank you,
Speaker:Sue. It's just a pleasure to be here,
Speaker:chatting about the thing I love the best,
Speaker:my company G jewels.
Speaker:So you're right.
Speaker:I did start at a very,
Speaker:very young age.
Speaker:I don't know if you remember the family circle magazine,
Speaker:but they had a little article in there about how you
Speaker:could make mice finger puppets.
Speaker:And so you made them out of toilet paper tubes curled
Speaker:up and scraps of fill.
Speaker:Well, I happened to have both,
Speaker:so I made a bunch of them.
Speaker:And then my mother's friend said,
Speaker:oh, so cute.
Speaker:And so she found a woman's consignment shop and I put
Speaker:them in there.
Speaker:Well, it wasn't long before I was making customized ones.
Speaker:Oh, could you make a nurse?
Speaker:Could you make a teacher?
Speaker:Could you make a cheerleader?
Speaker:And that's basically what I do today,
Speaker:not my finger puppets,
Speaker:but the idea of making personalized gifts for people to make
Speaker:them happy and to make it meaningful for them.
Speaker:It's amazing to me that I started so long ago doing
Speaker:that, but it's still so true today.
Speaker:Well, and you kind of had it in your blood,
Speaker:apparently from doing something like this at such a young age,
Speaker:that is a wonderful quick rundown of how you got started.
Speaker:And before we go too far along in your journey,
Speaker:I want to jump back and ask you a question that
Speaker:gives us a little bit of a different look inside who
Speaker:you are.
Speaker:And that is by having you describe yourself through a motivational
Speaker:candle. So if you were to share with us what a
Speaker:candle would look like through a color and maybe a quote
Speaker:or a saying that would be on the candle,
Speaker:what would that motivational candle look like for you?
Speaker:Sure. So the color would certainly be awkward.
Speaker:That is absolutely one of my favorite colors.
Speaker:And as I learned in my jewelry business,
Speaker:everybody looks good in Aqua.
Speaker:So it's a color that I use in my logo,
Speaker:even just because I like it so much.
Speaker:And on the candle,
Speaker:it would say proceed as if success is inevitable.
Speaker:That is one of my all-time favorite quotes.
Speaker:And I found it when I was dejected and despondent,
Speaker:bouncing around a staples store,
Speaker:looking at the clearance section,
Speaker:cause I didn't have much money.
Speaker:And I found this mug with that thing on it proceed
Speaker:as if success is inevitable.
Speaker:And I thought,
Speaker:yeah, that's what I should be doing.
Speaker:So I bought the mug,
Speaker:took it home,
Speaker:kept looking at it and I thought,
Speaker:yeah, who else on the outside knows that I'm not successful.
Speaker:I look successful.
Speaker:If I act successful,
Speaker:then maybe that'll help me feel successful.
Speaker:So it was an interesting kind of lesson in stop wallowing
Speaker:in your despondency and despair,
Speaker:but just get out there and make it happen because we
Speaker:all do that.
Speaker:Don't we,
Speaker:we do every entrepreneur is busy worrying about what it looks
Speaker:like and what it feels like.
Speaker:And you need to kind of get through that and keep
Speaker:doing the stuff you're doing.
Speaker:Keep taking those baby steps,
Speaker:keep making those mistakes,
Speaker:keep figuring out what the next thing is because eventually it'll
Speaker:all work.
Speaker:Absolutely. I've heard several spinoffs of this quote too.
Speaker:One is if you couldn't fail,
Speaker:what would you be doing right now?
Speaker:Yeah. Oh,
Speaker:I like that.
Speaker:And it,
Speaker:it really makes you think like,
Speaker:what are your true,
Speaker:I mean like seriously inside your heart desires,
Speaker:where do you want to go?
Speaker:Honestly, a lot of people don't even think about it.
Speaker:They just think,
Speaker:well, I'd rather have a business on my own than always
Speaker:having to depend on my full-time nine to five salary,
Speaker:but they don't really play out the dream.
Speaker:If you will,
Speaker:these questions kind of get you there.
Speaker:Well, that's true.
Speaker:One of the things I've gained my play with myself constantly
Speaker:is by won the lottery.
Speaker:If I had a run chuckle who left me a bunch
Speaker:of money,
Speaker:whatever the situation is,
Speaker:if I had all the money I needed,
Speaker:what would I do?
Speaker:And I'd still be doing exactly what I'm doing.
Speaker:I wouldn't stop.
Speaker:I love what I'm doing.
Speaker:And I love making people happy.
Speaker:I love the fact that I can give people things that
Speaker:are meaningful.
Speaker:The whole personalization thing is a real phenomenon.
Speaker:It really works to make people feel good.
Speaker:So why wouldn't I do that?
Speaker:Right. Well,
Speaker:it doesn't mean that you're done growing and evolving.
Speaker:Right. But it just certainly means that you're successful because you've
Speaker:reached a place where you've wanted to get to and that's
Speaker:fulfilling and energizing and exciting for you to wake up every
Speaker:morning. Right.
Speaker:And that's the goal.
Speaker:That's the goal.
Speaker:I keep telling people I play all day.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:not really,
Speaker:but I kind of feel like I'm playing all day.
Speaker:I've talked to you a couple of times when you've had
Speaker:a bunch of orders that you've had to get out.
Speaker:Yes. But it's good tense.
Speaker:It's what you want,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:The tense,
Speaker:it's a tense that I welcome and I create,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:yeah. I had a very difficult week last week trying to
Speaker:get all my mother's day stuff shipped out.
Speaker:Yeah. I mean it's tense and I'm working late hours,
Speaker:but it's what I want to do.
Speaker:Right. Not like I have a boss telling me I have
Speaker:to stay late and I don't want to,
Speaker:so that's the difference,
Speaker:right, for sure.
Speaker:Okay. So let's talk a little bit more about the development
Speaker:of Juul walls.
Speaker:So you did this on the side for a long time,
Speaker:as you were still in your high tech position.
Speaker:I did.
Speaker:So I started,
Speaker:I've always liked jewelry and I couldn't find jewelry that I
Speaker:wanted to wear that matched my outfit.
Speaker:So I took a class in a glass making and land
Speaker:forking specifically decided to make my own jewelry and it was
Speaker:messing around with that.
Speaker:And then I realized I wanted to make things that I
Speaker:wouldn't necessarily wear on my own because I have a certain
Speaker:style, but I wanted to try different things.
Speaker:So friends and family,
Speaker:oh, you should make this to sell like,
Speaker:okay, fine,
Speaker:whatever. So I started doing that.
Speaker:And then of course I started the whole craft show circuit
Speaker:learned how to do that.
Speaker:Got an opportunity to do some personalized jewelry and realize what
Speaker:a big deal that was.
Speaker:So my hair stylist had two daughters who were cheerleaders.
Speaker:They needed a banquet gift if you're familiar with that whole
Speaker:scene. And so I did that in their school colors and
Speaker:with their school mascot,
Speaker:it was a tiger.
Speaker:And I did a little tiger paw and put IHS Ipswich
Speaker:high school on it.
Speaker:Oh my God,
Speaker:you thought I had made something out of nothing.
Speaker:So this is a thing I said and started doing personalized
Speaker:jewelry for schools and teams.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:it was working on that.
Speaker:But then about that time is when I was looking at
Speaker:what I do after I left high tech,
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:I really need something that's going to scale because I'd like
Speaker:to actually make a real business out of this.
Speaker:So he around by couldn't really make the jewelry thing scale.
Speaker:And a friend of mine said,
Speaker:well, why don't you do corporate gifts?
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:I make jewelry.
Speaker:What do you mean corporate gifts?
Speaker:That's kind of a big leap.
Speaker:Well, the charms led to wine charms.
Speaker:Okay. And that led to a wine stopper.
Speaker:And I'm still doing the glass Nigeria because I was making
Speaker:glass beads.
Speaker:So the handle of the wine stopper where the glass fees
Speaker:and then that led to,
Speaker:well, I can also make a glass handled fork and knife
Speaker:like you would for a cheeseboard.
Speaker:My husband says,
Speaker:well, I can make a cheeseboard for you.
Speaker:Okay. So now we're making cheese boards.
Speaker:Well, it just led to one thing after another.
Speaker:And here I am and the gift business,
Speaker:the funny thing is,
Speaker:as I think back to my executive career,
Speaker:I was in the high-tech.
Speaker:And so when we finished a big software project,
Speaker:we do ship parties,
Speaker:right? We'd ship the software.
Speaker:I was busy doing personalized gifts back then for my whole
Speaker:team. And so the whole personalized gift thing,
Speaker:I think just came naturally because I've been doing it for
Speaker:years. So a good portion of people that I'll talk to
Speaker:will say,
Speaker:yeah, I don't really want to tell my friends and family
Speaker:what I'm doing yet.
Speaker:I'd rather tell them about it when it's on the road
Speaker:and it's being successful.
Speaker:Right. And I try to stop people from thinking that way,
Speaker:because if you don't include your friends and family,
Speaker:as you're developing your business,
Speaker:you're missing a huge opportunity.
Speaker:Number one,
Speaker:to make some initial income from people who will support you.
Speaker:Also people who will be sympathetic.
Speaker:If there are glitches in your system like online sales processes,
Speaker:or even in the product overall,
Speaker:as you're developing and growing.
Speaker:And you had mentioned way in the beginning,
Speaker:when you started making your jewelry,
Speaker:that you were selling to friends and family,
Speaker:what was your thinking there?
Speaker:And how did you start talking about it with them?
Speaker:It's been awhile,
Speaker:but I probably started talking to them just because I'm excited
Speaker:about learning,
Speaker:how to make glass.
Speaker:That was just super cool.
Speaker:And I got whopping encouragement from my buddy,
Speaker:oh, class,
Speaker:you make glass.
Speaker:What does that even mean?
Speaker:And so just through naturally discussing that.
Speaker:So just generally sharing what you were up to you weren't
Speaker:selling products to them.
Speaker:You were just saying,
Speaker:I'm experimenting,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I'm doing something fun on the side.
Speaker:I'm learning how to make things out of glass.
Speaker:Right. Right.
Speaker:And then I would show them either pictures or show them
Speaker:in person,
Speaker:the stuff I was making.
Speaker:And so you get to that natural point where,
Speaker:oh, could you make one of those for me?
Speaker:Sure. And so I made one for prince for this family
Speaker:member, et cetera.
Speaker:And so it wasn't a very big leap when they said,
Speaker:well, you should do this to sell because I'd already had
Speaker:initial success with friends and family.
Speaker:And they were hugely supportive.
Speaker:You get worried as an artist,
Speaker:I'm going to make something.
Speaker:Will anybody like it?
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I'll have to say the very first craft show I went
Speaker:to. I sold nothing.
Speaker:Let's talk about that though.
Speaker:I think that's important because I call this validating your product
Speaker:because you could make something that's beautiful and fun and cute.
Speaker:And people love looking at it,
Speaker:but they would never buy it.
Speaker:That's the hard truth.
Speaker:So you need to validate that your product can sell before
Speaker:you go so far as starting to build a business around
Speaker:it. You don't want to find out later.
Speaker:You want to find out right in the beginning.
Speaker:Well, exactly.
Speaker:So luckily I have my husband with me throughout that whole
Speaker:craft show journey.
Speaker:So let's go to your first show.
Speaker:My very first show,
Speaker:Talk us through the story.
Speaker:Wait, 250 bucks.
Speaker:It was in my hometown.
Speaker:It was out in the street of spring festival.
Speaker:Over Memorial day.
Speaker:I prepped like a mad woman.
Speaker:I had all this stuff.
Speaker:I had a collection.
Speaker:Cause of course I'm doing jewelry.
Speaker:I can't have one a collection that speaks to the fact
Speaker:that I'm an artist the whole bit.
Speaker:Right. I had collateral cards made.
Speaker:I went all in and had bought a tent.
Speaker:It's sounding good.
Speaker:So far Gail.
Speaker:Right. And you know,
Speaker:it was wearable art.
Speaker:Oh, is that cool?
Speaker:So I had little frames.
Speaker:I had my jewelry kind of taped to the frames.
Speaker:Like it was wearable art.
Speaker:Okay. I sold nothing.
Speaker:Now why was that?
Speaker:And this goes to one of the things that I learned
Speaker:to do.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you do the show,
Speaker:you record the results,
Speaker:you analyze it.
Speaker:You figure what worked,
Speaker:what didn't it,
Speaker:move on and do the next one.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you really have to get into that mindset.
Speaker:But I did the show and what I figured out was
Speaker:first people wanted it because it took lots of notes.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:I talked about it with my husband.
Speaker:People wanted jewelry.
Speaker:They didn't want beads.
Speaker:Oh, that's interesting.
Speaker:I was selling beads,
Speaker:but they wanted full jewelry pieces.
Speaker:Oh, so you were selling loose.
Speaker:Speed's not finished product.
Speaker:Right? I was selling beads that were ready to hang on
Speaker:a pendant on a chain,
Speaker:but I did supply the chain.
Speaker:And so how did you find out that that's what they
Speaker:were wanting.
Speaker:Were you talking with them?
Speaker:For sure.
Speaker:You're just talking with people and perfect.
Speaker:Okay. Do you have chains?
Speaker:No, that was my first.
Speaker:Oops. So,
Speaker:okay. People want change then the other thing I found,
Speaker:cause I had them all fixed to the frames.
Speaker:People want to pick up jewelry at a craft show.
Speaker:They want to pick it up touching.
Speaker:It's a big deal so that I learned,
Speaker:all right,
Speaker:next time you need to have a different display.
Speaker:My price points were wrong.
Speaker:Some were too high,
Speaker:some are too low.
Speaker:And what I found over time was that you need a
Speaker:range of price points.
Speaker:People want going to buy the highest thing.
Speaker:Most likely they might buy the lowest,
Speaker:but you know,
Speaker:they're going to buy in that sweet spot,
Speaker:but you've got to have it priced.
Speaker:So that,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:this is all merchandising,
Speaker:right. But you've got to have something priced in the middle.
Speaker:They feel more comfortable buying at that point unless they know
Speaker:you. Yeah.
Speaker:And the other thing that you always want to do,
Speaker:I have to bring this in because we had a podcast
Speaker:just a little while ago,
Speaker:talking about the mindset of purchasing and part of this was
Speaker:priming your price still at a show.
Speaker:You always want higher price things.
Speaker:Then maybe even you think anyone will buy because then it
Speaker:makes your medium priced things.
Speaker:Not the top tier anymore.
Speaker:Exactly. Yeah.
Speaker:So you were already doing that.
Speaker:It sounds like.
Speaker:No, no.
Speaker:I learned that over time,
Speaker:that first show yet it was all priced the same duck.
Speaker:So I learned that over time.
Speaker:And so that's what I ended up doing then was I
Speaker:bumped up my collection prices to be very high priced and
Speaker:people would look at that and I sold them every once
Speaker:in a while,
Speaker:but it was more just,
Speaker:wow, she can do that.
Speaker:I can't afford that,
Speaker:but I'll go buy this medium price thing because the same
Speaker:person made it.
Speaker:Right. That kind Of thing.
Speaker:Would you say that offering some of those higher price and
Speaker:you're not bumping up the price because it's not of that
Speaker:quality. Like you still are being genuine as to what the
Speaker:prices should be,
Speaker:but you're just creating something that is more expensive,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:whatever. But I think it also positions you at a different
Speaker:level as an artisan when you have higher priced things as
Speaker:well. So even if someone buys something a little less expensive,
Speaker:it's that psychological feeling that the specialist of that artisan is
Speaker:higher. Exactly.
Speaker:So it was a friend who kind of turned me onto
Speaker:that because she said,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you should have some less expensive things scale.
Speaker:So people who can't afford the higher price things,
Speaker:but they still like what you do can feel like they
Speaker:have a little part of your art when they buy the
Speaker:lower price.
Speaker:I know.
Speaker:Okay. That makes some sense.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:at first I resisted,
Speaker:I'll have to say,
Speaker:I don't want to sell things for cheap,
Speaker:but that wasn't the point.
Speaker:The point was that people have different price points that they're
Speaker:willing to part with money for.
Speaker:And you need to see if you can acknowledge those price
Speaker:points in your product line.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:that's really all that was.
Speaker:And so I learned how to do that.
Speaker:Yeah. And I would also say,
Speaker:especially at a craft show too,
Speaker:sometimes people are meeting you for the first time.
Speaker:So they're not necessarily willing to invest in a higher priced
Speaker:piece yet they want something kind of entry-level Yes,
Speaker:I would agree.
Speaker:And then do you know if you collect their name and
Speaker:treat them as a customer and over time they might get
Speaker:to the point where they'd like to buy something more expensive
Speaker:from you.
Speaker:So yeah.
Speaker:I learned a little bit of that,
Speaker:but that first craft show.
Speaker:Oh my God.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So this is important.
Speaker:And can I tell you how happy I am?
Speaker:We're going to be able to be at more regular,
Speaker:I guess I want to say normal face-to-face shows again soon
Speaker:I hesitate a little insane that,
Speaker:but it's coming.
Speaker:Like I see all the shows coming,
Speaker:even some of the trade shows are coming back.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we'll probably still be social distancing and things like that.
Speaker:I get it.
Speaker:But this is such valuable conversation,
Speaker:Gail, because I talk with people a lot about doing the
Speaker:shows for exactly what you're saying.
Speaker:Even if you don't sell,
Speaker:you're getting so much feedback that then will help you be
Speaker:better later.
Speaker:But for your experience,
Speaker:what got you to doing the second one?
Speaker:Cause you did the first one,
Speaker:you put down $250 and this was a while ago.
Speaker:This was quite a while ago.
Speaker:Yeah. 250 Is kind of standard or on the sometimes lower
Speaker:end for some of the shows right now.
Speaker:But that was a lot money.
Speaker:And you came out with nothing,
Speaker:not to mention the work of getting your booth set up
Speaker:All the work that I had to buy the tent and
Speaker:the whole thing yet.
Speaker:Yeah. But so What did you say to yourself about this
Speaker:and how did you encourage yourself to do it again?
Speaker:So know I complained to my husband a lot.
Speaker:That was first thing.
Speaker:He was quite supportive,
Speaker:but I think it was more of a,
Speaker:I already had made sales to friends and families.
Speaker:And I already had a lot of people who liked what
Speaker:I did so that wasn't the problem.
Speaker:I concluded.
Speaker:It must be the way that I was trying to sell
Speaker:it. And the price points.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:there were so many things that I really did get right
Speaker:that first time.
Speaker:And I could tell just by the questions that people would
Speaker:ask me or the comments that they would make.
Speaker:So even the second show,
Speaker:I didn't do all that much better,
Speaker:but you know,
Speaker:it took a little while and I learned over time how
Speaker:to make a very nice looking craft with.
Speaker:And in fact,
Speaker:I went from having say $2,000
Speaker:inventory for my craft booth 10 by 10 booth to having
Speaker:$11,000 at retail worth of inventory,
Speaker:because then I had different lines of things and I had
Speaker:all sorts of price points.
Speaker:I had charity jewelry.
Speaker:I started learning that I had to for jewelry.
Speaker:I did best if I organized by color because remember I'm
Speaker:making glass or things about the color.
Speaker:So I had a section for people who like blue,
Speaker:a section for people who liked pink,
Speaker:that made a whopping difference.
Speaker:All these things over time that each time I did a
Speaker:show, I wrote stuff down.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:this is another interesting thing.
Speaker:I would tell people every single craft show I've done,
Speaker:I have all the sheets I wrote down the sale.
Speaker:And I tried to write down a little bit about the
Speaker:person who bought the stuff if I had time.
Speaker:And what I learned early on was that single women tended
Speaker:to buy gifts.
Speaker:Women who were showing up by themselves,
Speaker:I should say it that way,
Speaker:not their marital status,
Speaker:but women who were shopping by themselves or would buy things
Speaker:for other people.
Speaker:And they wanted to spend at the time 50 to $75,
Speaker:if they're buying gifts for someone else,
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:well, it's interesting.
Speaker:So I started to create a line of jewelry specifically for
Speaker:that purpose.
Speaker:And that became my middle tier line.
Speaker:And it was very,
Speaker:very successful.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:that was the original G Jules was my middle tier line
Speaker:of jewelry.
Speaker:And because that was so successful,
Speaker:I decided to name my entire company Juul after that,
Speaker:because that had a sweet spot in my heart.
Speaker:I love the name.
Speaker:It's perfect.
Speaker:It's perfect.
Speaker:So how long were you on the craft show circuit?
Speaker:So I did that.
Speaker:I started in oh eight and I did that until 13.
Speaker:So I guess about four years and then the whole personalized
Speaker:jewelry thing took over and I slowly phased out of the
Speaker:crash. I mean,
Speaker:I probably did the one of a kind jewelry for another
Speaker:couple of years,
Speaker:but then I went exclusively to the personalized jewelry and that
Speaker:was like 13 to say 18.
Speaker:And the gift business is relatively new.
Speaker:I only started that back in the fall of 2018 and
Speaker:was going gangbusters through 19 until the pandemic last year.
Speaker:That may be pivot.
Speaker:And that was an interesting pivot.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:if you talk about what was like,
Speaker:the worst thing happened to you,
Speaker:I had four in-person events cancel on me that Friday after
Speaker:the NBA shut down for that was basically the first half
Speaker:of my year.
Speaker:Okay. Well I decided to go ahead and move my studio,
Speaker:which I had planned anyway over the summer thinking,
Speaker:well, what else am I going to be doing?
Speaker:But then I hate that stupid word pivot,
Speaker:but that's what I did.
Speaker:And I learned that I actually could be very successful selling
Speaker:over zoom calls one-on-one to my realtors,
Speaker:mortgage brokers,
Speaker:et cetera,
Speaker:because I could have all my samples here and,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we could have a nice one-on-one conversation.
Speaker:It wasn't a nasty zoom call with all the postage stamp
Speaker:heads. It was a nice zoom call where we could develop
Speaker:a little bit of a relationship.
Speaker:And as I thought about it,
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:wow, this is really working.
Speaker:This is what I should be doing at least for now.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:this is giving me repeat business.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:these are clients who will order many things over time,
Speaker:not just a one and done kind of a sale Build
Speaker:up to that point.
Speaker:First, I think what would help serve people who are listening
Speaker:to us chatting is share with everybody,
Speaker:the products that you're creating now.
Speaker:Yeah. So I went from making the glass and Sterling silver
Speaker:jewelry to what I'm doing now.
Speaker:I still make the glass,
Speaker:but now it's limited to last handled forks and knives serving
Speaker:pieces. So that's really the only place that a glass shows
Speaker:up in some wine terms that I do.
Speaker:So right now I'm doing,
Speaker:I have a variety of cutting boards,
Speaker:different sizes from small little four inch by eight inch cutting
Speaker:board, a cocktail board.
Speaker:I call it all the way up to a huge oval
Speaker:cutting board with handles that's 15 by 11,
Speaker:which is big spectacular kind of a cutting board.
Speaker:But sweet spot though is the cheeseboard I saw,
Speaker:which is about five by eight,
Speaker:that has a glass handled serving knife that comes with it.
Speaker:The nice thing is that I'm a laser engraver,
Speaker:so I'll personalize that on the front for the client.
Speaker:And then on the back,
Speaker:I personalize it for the professionals.
Speaker:So over the realtor broker insurance agent,
Speaker:whoever. So the client gets a personalized gift for themselves,
Speaker:which of course goes over huge because it has their own
Speaker:name or street address or whatever on it.
Speaker:And then the professional gets a gift that can now be
Speaker:classified as a marketing expense because it has their professional information
Speaker:on it.
Speaker:So it's been a big win-win Right?
Speaker:So, and it plays right into the popularity right now of
Speaker:charcuterie boards too.
Speaker:Right? I mean,
Speaker:so you're combining your product with a very popular cultural item
Speaker:right now.
Speaker:I don't know if I'd call it cultural,
Speaker:but current entertainment,
Speaker:popular item.
Speaker:However you want to say that that's beautiful,
Speaker:but it's all customizable.
Speaker:However you want to do it.
Speaker:So logos words,
Speaker:graphics, all different types of things,
Speaker:even Colors of the boards.
Speaker:I use exotic hardwoods.
Speaker:So there's all sorts of different things.
Speaker:Reds, purples,
Speaker:golds, and everything else in there.
Speaker:And people can customize the boards too.
Speaker:So cutting boards in general are having a moment right now.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:people love wood.
Speaker:I mean that,
Speaker:there's something about it.
Speaker:That's more popular now than it was say 10 years ago.
Speaker:I love what you say.
Speaker:You don't know how long it's going to last,
Speaker:but I'm cashing it and I'll have to tell you that.
Speaker:So For sure.
Speaker:And I think that's an interesting point too,
Speaker:is if there's something going on that seems to be trending
Speaker:and it in any way can attach to something that you're
Speaker:making jump on board,
Speaker:ride the moment with it.
Speaker:And 10 years from now,
Speaker:maybe it won't be the case,
Speaker:but it is right now or five years from now who
Speaker:knows, but ride the trend while you can,
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:Definitely. I mean,
Speaker:two years ago,
Speaker:no one would have been buying masks and look at what
Speaker:happened hopefully a year from now.
Speaker:We won't be anymore either.
Speaker:So we go with that.
Speaker:But so still before the pandemic hit and you had to
Speaker:restructure how you were working with people,
Speaker:where were you going to share your product with people like
Speaker:the realtors and financial advisers,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:How were you initially getting in front of them before you
Speaker:had to go to zoom?
Speaker:Right? That was networking,
Speaker:networking events.
Speaker:Okay. Talk to us about that.
Speaker:Yeah, the BNIs,
Speaker:the various networking groups that you can do locally.
Speaker:And so I had joined some of those.
Speaker:I was starting to show up at those events.
Speaker:Although the interesting thing is a lot of them were evening
Speaker:events, which I detest,
Speaker:I hate evening networking events.
Speaker:So I wasn't really looking forward to doing this.
Speaker:Now I tried a bunch of other things cause I just
Speaker:detest that evening networking so much.
Speaker:So I was doing Facebook has all sorts of things to
Speaker:build that up,
Speaker:hoping to try and reach people in different way.
Speaker:But the zoom things worked for me just because I didn't
Speaker:have to pack all the,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I've got cutting boards that are kind of heavy.
Speaker:So to pack all that stuff up and just try to
Speaker:show up at a coffee shop with somebody,
Speaker:it was not fun.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I was dirt to do it,
Speaker:but I was like,
Speaker:ah, I hope there's a better way.
Speaker:I can figure out how to do this.
Speaker:Initially you were doing networking events where people got to know
Speaker:who you were,
Speaker:what you do and you are absolutely right.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:the types of people that you're looking at are the very
Speaker:people who would be going to these networking events because that's
Speaker:how they're getting business too.
Speaker:Right? So you intercepted them.
Speaker:You like walked right in front of their path to find
Speaker:them, right.
Speaker:So that's just getting to know people like starting relationships.
Speaker:You're not going and selling immediately.
Speaker:You're just starting to build a relationship.
Speaker:And then where you getting on the zoom calls,
Speaker:where you could have all your product behind you and you
Speaker:could talk about what their specific orders could look like.
Speaker:Right? So what I would do is,
Speaker:as I was beating these people in these networking groups,
Speaker:the other cool thing I took advantage of was the virtual
Speaker:background in zoom.
Speaker:And so I could put pictures of my stuff behind me,
Speaker:which figured that out pretty darn fast.
Speaker:Oh, this is great.
Speaker:Well, of course now you're in breakout sessions and people are
Speaker:like, what's behind you.
Speaker:What do you do?
Speaker:There we go.
Speaker:There's a lead in question that I need.
Speaker:So that was working pretty well.
Speaker:And then I'd either get people,
Speaker:Hey, let's do a one-on-one or I get their information that
Speaker:chat and reach out to them later and say,
Speaker:Hey, did you see the thing behind me?
Speaker:Are you interested in finding out a little bit more,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:So that's been pretty easy actually.
Speaker:So is that what sustained you all of the past year?
Speaker:And that's,
Speaker:what's propelling me forward at breakneck pace right now.
Speaker:Yes. Well,
Speaker:yeah, I know you kind of teased me before I pressed
Speaker:record that you have some things to share us about what's
Speaker:going to happen in the future.
Speaker:So I'm really excited about that.
Speaker:But for this last year,
Speaker:when obviously networking events were non-existent in-person existence on zoom,
Speaker:but I know on my side,
Speaker:a lot of people just bagged the zoom networking events.
Speaker:It's kind of like people took a little bit of a
Speaker:hiatus. Did you see that attendance was lower than what you
Speaker:would have normally gotten with your networking events Perhaps,
Speaker:but at the beginning.
Speaker:But what I found is that people have learned how to
Speaker:do them.
Speaker:They've embraced them and they realized that if they want to
Speaker:get in front of people,
Speaker:they're going to have to do that.
Speaker:The other thing that's happening,
Speaker:which I think is very positive,
Speaker:is there a virtual thing springing up now,
Speaker:there are virtual networking groups where no one will ever see
Speaker:each other because people are all over the arts.
Speaker:I live in Massachusetts.
Speaker:There's a virtual one that I'm in,
Speaker:that sets the state of Massachusetts.
Speaker:Okay. We're not a very big state,
Speaker:but still people don't want to drive an hour to go
Speaker:meet people.
Speaker:Right? So this is a group that formed during the pandemic
Speaker:and we will continue to be virtual I'm in another group,
Speaker:a women's networking group that has chapters all over the women's
Speaker:business league.
Speaker:I'll put a word in for them cause they're very good
Speaker:group to join.
Speaker:Has chapters all over the country.
Speaker:They'd started a couple of years ago,
Speaker:they're growing like crazy.
Speaker:They have started a virtual group with the idea that these
Speaker:people will never meet in person,
Speaker:but there's no reason with zoom where you can't have a
Speaker:virtual networking group.
Speaker:So just like the virtual craft events.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:there's some stuff that's happening that I think is definitely for
Speaker:the better,
Speaker:because why spend all that time driving around when you can
Speaker:get on a zoom call and see people?
Speaker:Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker:And let's go ahead and roll with that since you brought
Speaker:it up because that's how our paths crossed it was with
Speaker:the at-home Crafton gift show.
Speaker:So the zoom meetings just for networking and developing relationships and
Speaker:then taking conversations further you saw were really great over zoom.
Speaker:And now also you've been a craft show professional now for
Speaker:quite a while,
Speaker:have a lot of experience with that.
Speaker:And now we've done some online things.
Speaker:So can you share with us a little bit of your
Speaker:experience with that right after this quick break,
Speaker:we'll hear what Gail has to say about virtual shows,
Speaker:specifically the at-home craft and gift show.
Speaker:Yes, it's Possible increase your sales without adding a single customer.
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Speaker:or find packaging?
Speaker:That includes a saying whose meaning is known to a select
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Speaker:Yeah. That's interesting.
Speaker:It very much appeals to me because all my stuff is
Speaker:made to order.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I'm doing personalized things.
Speaker:So if seldom order anything for me that I haven't personalized
Speaker:for you in some way.
Speaker:So for me,
Speaker:that was perfect.
Speaker:Cause I can't really do craft shows anymore because I don't
Speaker:have my laser engraver on site theirs.
Speaker:Right? So for me I thought,
Speaker:oh, this is perfect to do a virtual craft show because
Speaker:people can see this stuff.
Speaker:They see lots of different pictures and examples and then they
Speaker:can order it and we'll take a week or two to
Speaker:get it,
Speaker:but perfect timing.
Speaker:So I've been very excited about participating in those and in
Speaker:finding out more events.
Speaker:Plus there's no reason in the world why I can't participate
Speaker:in an event and sell something I'm in Massachusetts sales center
Speaker:because I'm going to California.
Speaker:So what I just ship it,
Speaker:no big deal.
Speaker:So for me,
Speaker:it was a very interesting opportunity.
Speaker:I'd love to see those things get bigger and bigger and
Speaker:bigger. The odd part though,
Speaker:coming out of a craft show background is you can't see
Speaker:people unless they kind of sign into your booth.
Speaker:So that's been kind of odd.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:yes, if you're at a craft show,
Speaker:sometimes people will pass by your booth and not come in.
Speaker:Right. You can see them looking,
Speaker:but you can see what they look at.
Speaker:You can also see who they are.
Speaker:You can perhaps engage them visually and maybe get them to
Speaker:come in.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you've got these people who hang out and kind of look
Speaker:in, but don't want to engage.
Speaker:But a lot of times you learn how to engage them,
Speaker:but you get a sense of who's at the show.
Speaker:You can't do that yet with a virtual craft show.
Speaker:So that's been a little odd.
Speaker:You don't have a sense of whether there's lots of people,
Speaker:whether looking at your stuff and making faces and walking by,
Speaker:like you see at some real craft shows,
Speaker:right? You can't do that kind of behind the scenes observation,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:or which products that they're naturally going to look at in
Speaker:your booth,
Speaker:at the at-home show,
Speaker:we did have the ability to talk one-on-one with the artisans.
Speaker:And I think that's a little different with the at-home show
Speaker:than other craft shows that I've been seeing.
Speaker:Did you have a lot of people pop on and talk
Speaker:with you and use that functionality?
Speaker:I had a few,
Speaker:they tended to be younger,
Speaker:which was interesting.
Speaker:Oh, that makes sense.
Speaker:I guess.
Speaker:Yeah. They tended to be younger people.
Speaker:They pop in and it was clear there at home,
Speaker:in their pajama type of thing.
Speaker:They were comfortable at home eating and drinking is Kind of
Speaker:funny my way to roll.
Speaker:They're clearly comfortable,
Speaker:which is good.
Speaker:Yeah. We had that.
Speaker:Then I had people that bought stuff that never popped in,
Speaker:which I thought was odd too.
Speaker:But part of it's just learning.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I first started doing craft shows.
Speaker:I didn't know how to do those either.
Speaker:So a little bit of this is learning what works.
Speaker:I would say it's also learning on both ends because not
Speaker:many craft shows have that face-to-face function.
Speaker:And so when it is there,
Speaker:people are still learning how to use it.
Speaker:And I think as these shows continue to go,
Speaker:especially the at-home shows because we're seeing people who went to
Speaker:the holiday.
Speaker:One, some came to the spring one a lot will come
Speaker:back to the next holiday one they'll now know because they'll
Speaker:have had the experience from before.
Speaker:But I got to tell you,
Speaker:like, I think honestly for me,
Speaker:unless I have my makeup on probably,
Speaker:and certainly not,
Speaker:if I'm in my jammies,
Speaker:like I want to go in and just look around myself
Speaker:too. Oh,
Speaker:sure. Sometimes I'd be interested in popping in and sometimes maybe
Speaker:not. So being able to do one or the other is
Speaker:good and now we have where you can just talk,
Speaker:but not show your face too.
Speaker:I liked it because then I had a bunch of people
Speaker:do that or they sign into the chat and do things,
Speaker:but from a technology perspective,
Speaker:because remember that is my background.
Speaker:There ought to be a way where you can watch people's
Speaker:mouse and at least figure out what part of the screen
Speaker:they're engaging in.
Speaker:So you might get a sense of what products are looking
Speaker:at when they're scrolling,
Speaker:because it's just something that,
Speaker:so I prepare the whole screen here or the product through
Speaker:the pictures.
Speaker:If people are glossing over one or more of them,
Speaker:then you at least get a sense of,
Speaker:yeah, I didn't display that correctly,
Speaker:which is what you learn when you're at a real craft
Speaker:shows. We need some technology,
Speaker:some deeper level analysis.
Speaker:Yeah. So we can get a better sense of what's attracting
Speaker:people because that's,
Speaker:what's missing to me.
Speaker:That's really good Feedback,
Speaker:but it sounds like you're a thumbs up for virtual shows.
Speaker:I think about it from this perspective.
Speaker:I didn't have to make a whole bunch of inventory.
Speaker:I didn't have to schlep at somewhere.
Speaker:I didn't have to set up a stupid tent Cause your
Speaker:pieces are heavy too.
Speaker:They Are heavy.
Speaker:And it doesn't even matter what it was.
Speaker:Even with jewelry.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I had stuff all pre-staged on boards,
Speaker:but I still had to schlep it somewhere.
Speaker:I didn't have to take all bunch of packaging with me.
Speaker:I mean all this stuff that you have to do.
Speaker:And plus I could reach people that were far away from
Speaker:me. I did make sales to California.
Speaker:That would never happen.
Speaker:Otherwise to me,
Speaker:that's Huge.
Speaker:Yeah. You haven't heard me maybe talking about this,
Speaker:but I don't look at virtual shows as just a craft
Speaker:show online.
Speaker:I look at it as a completely separate opportunity to be
Speaker:selling because just like you were talking about the value of
Speaker:that face-to-face and maybe just even observing from a distance or
Speaker:what they pick up or the interaction that you have when
Speaker:you really are in person,
Speaker:that's one thing.
Speaker:And then there's also value to these virtual shows.
Speaker:Like you're talking about national audiences,
Speaker:people coming in 24 seven,
Speaker:maybe when you're not even there.
Speaker:So the shows can be a little longer.
Speaker:And I just look at these as not one is a
Speaker:subset of another,
Speaker:but two entirely different types of selling opportunities.
Speaker:Yeah. It's an additional channel.
Speaker:Cause the other thing you think about craft shows.
Speaker:So like we talked about earlier,
Speaker:people may not want to spend big money on something where
Speaker:they see it just once,
Speaker:but in a virtual craft show,
Speaker:you've got the in-person live portion of it,
Speaker:but then the site or the show stays up for a
Speaker:few days.
Speaker:Well that gives you a chance to think about it.
Speaker:Go talk with a friend,
Speaker:go find out if your friend would like that cool thing
Speaker:that you saw in the craft show and talk to your
Speaker:husband, Hey honey,
Speaker:I'd really liked that.
Speaker:Can you get it for me?
Speaker:All that stuff that you can't do with a craft show,
Speaker:that's there for like one day.
Speaker:And even if the crash is there for a weekend,
Speaker:do you really want to physically go back there?
Speaker:Probably not.
Speaker:So I mean,
Speaker:that's what makes it so easy.
Speaker:Yeah. I mean there's pros and cons to both,
Speaker:right? Because a craft show is like going to a retail
Speaker:shop. You see it,
Speaker:you get it,
Speaker:you leave and the value of being able to touch it
Speaker:like you were talking about before and touch it.
Speaker:Yeah. I don't know the exact number,
Speaker:but research verifies that if you can get your product into
Speaker:somebody's hand,
Speaker:the likeliness that they'll buy is so much greater.
Speaker:Oh. Has to be trying things on,
Speaker:just handing it to somebody in.
Speaker:I don't think it will be this summer,
Speaker:but like samples that you could do if you had a
Speaker:consumable product,
Speaker:all of those types of things.
Speaker:So two thumbs up for virtual shows in-person shows all of
Speaker:that. Let's talk some more about your corporate retention programs.
Speaker:What's the language that you use with people,
Speaker:for them to really understand the value of putting a program
Speaker:like this in place.
Speaker:I usually tell people that my gifts are three things.
Speaker:One, they are meaningful.
Speaker:It's not just some something from Amazon.
Speaker:It's something that's custom crafted for an individual or for family.
Speaker:So it's got something about them on it,
Speaker:their initials,
Speaker:a picture of their dog,
Speaker:their street address,
Speaker:something that speaks specifically to them.
Speaker:So there's the meaningful part.
Speaker:The gifts are practical.
Speaker:There's stuff that people will use every day.
Speaker:I'm a big believer in that,
Speaker:but I didn't go into fine art.
Speaker:When I initially started doing artsy stuff because I liked stuff
Speaker:that people use.
Speaker:That's why I went into jewelry because people use it,
Speaker:they wear it.
Speaker:So I'd like stuff that,
Speaker:that people are actually using everyday because then they get more
Speaker:out of it.
Speaker:And the third thing is that it's memorable.
Speaker:So that speaks to the fact that the professional's information is
Speaker:either on the back or the bottom in a discrete location,
Speaker:in a discrete size.
Speaker:So it doesn't scream sales,
Speaker:but it's still there.
Speaker:And so it keeps the professional top of mind.
Speaker:And that usually plays very well into most people's idea of
Speaker:what they should be doing as a retention gift.
Speaker:Yeah. I like that a lot.
Speaker:I just had someone else on another podcast and we were
Speaker:talking about where you should be putting your logo for promotional
Speaker:items. And when you should be leaving it off,
Speaker:no, don't send a Christmas present to somebody with your business
Speaker:logo all over it.
Speaker:It's funny you say this,
Speaker:that I've got a good story about this.
Speaker:So I find that men want to put their logo large
Speaker:on the front.
Speaker:Women tend to take my advice and put a discreetly on
Speaker:the back of the side of the bottom or something.
Speaker:So I had this financial advisor orders,
Speaker:charcuterie boards,
Speaker:which are not cheap gifts for all his clients that last
Speaker:Christmas. And so we were mocking up various ways to display
Speaker:the personalized piece and his professional information.
Speaker:And I did it on the back and a couple of
Speaker:other ways he said,
Speaker:could you show me what it looked like on the front?
Speaker:So I mocked that up.
Speaker:I thought,
Speaker:oh, don't do this.
Speaker:I shot him the picture at all.
Speaker:I really like it there.
Speaker:I thought,
Speaker:oh my God,
Speaker:these people are not going to use this.
Speaker:They are not going to use this gift with your professional
Speaker:stuff all over the front.
Speaker:But I couldn't dissuade him.
Speaker:I tried to be tactful.
Speaker:So I made the guests.
Speaker:I never heard back from him.
Speaker:I don't know if people liked him or didn't,
Speaker:but I just showed it to my husband says,
Speaker:no, one's going to use that.
Speaker:Just Ugh.
Speaker:But yes,
Speaker:the whole point is that.
Speaker:And I try to help my clients with this.
Speaker:How much do I put on things?
Speaker:Like I sell mugs that I've engraved with the personal information
Speaker:on the side.
Speaker:That because they're clear glass mugs,
Speaker:I can engrave anything on the bottom because I have a
Speaker:nice big,
Speaker:wide flat circle to do it on.
Speaker:And so,
Speaker:oh, people want to put all sorts of stuff on the
Speaker:bottom. I said,
Speaker:well, put something that somebody doesn't mind looking at it every
Speaker:day. So for example,
Speaker:if you want to say thank you to a client,
Speaker:say something like,
Speaker:thank you,
Speaker:Gail, or put your name on there.
Speaker:Just they're reminded of you.
Speaker:But I say even better,
Speaker:say something about them.
Speaker:Thank you for being so thoughtful.
Speaker:Thank you for being so easy to work with.
Speaker:Say something like that.
Speaker:That makes them feel good.
Speaker:Every time they take a drink and then they're reminded of
Speaker:you. Yeah.
Speaker:And it makes them want to use it and maybe even
Speaker:use it when they have a friend over,
Speaker:because it's a nice message that you're giving back to them
Speaker:that you're reflecting back on them.
Speaker:Oh, that's frustrating about that one,
Speaker:gentlemen though,
Speaker:it's gotta be so hard.
Speaker:I thought you spending all of this money on my God.
Speaker:Don't do it.
Speaker:You tried.
Speaker:Yeah. You know my husband and I talk about this frequently
Speaker:because he's like,
Speaker:I'm not buying a sweatshirt with someone else's big,
Speaker:huge logo.
Speaker:All I am is a big advertising board for them.
Speaker:Like the most he'll do is like up in the little
Speaker:corner of your chest.
Speaker:You know how you can have that little logo,
Speaker:but some people,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:if you support a cause or a business that you feel
Speaker:very bonded with,
Speaker:then you want to do that.
Speaker:Cause that represents what you are and who you are and
Speaker:what your beliefs are and all that.
Speaker:But it's different having a wine glass with a realtor's logo.
Speaker:Well, right.
Speaker:And so what I do is,
Speaker:so for that,
Speaker:I can put the realtor's logo on the bottom of the
Speaker:stem wine glass,
Speaker:which is,
Speaker:I've been doing that a lot.
Speaker:But I counsel people don't put anything besides your logo in
Speaker:there. I mean that people are okay,
Speaker:looking at a graphic,
Speaker:but you start putting phone numbers on there.
Speaker:No. Right.
Speaker:Good point.
Speaker:And it's not front and center in your face either.
Speaker:It's on the bottom.
Speaker:So I like that.
Speaker:I like that a lot.
Speaker:I've never thought of that.
Speaker:And I never thought of what you're talking about on the
Speaker:back of your boards,
Speaker:either, maybe a little bit in the corner because people can
Speaker:see it if they want to,
Speaker:but it's not like right out there glaring at you.
Speaker:It's like strobe lights.
Speaker:That's the Thing.
Speaker:And then it becomes this big salesy thing because what's happening
Speaker:with my boards.
Speaker:I can't say I plan this,
Speaker:but I found it out from clients is the boards are
Speaker:especially the smaller ones are emphasized and they're so pretty.
Speaker:And that people leave them out on their islands or on
Speaker:their counters.
Speaker:And so they're there all the time.
Speaker:Well now friends come over.
Speaker:Hey, that's cool.
Speaker:Where'd you get that?
Speaker:They flip the thing over.
Speaker:It's got the professionals info,
Speaker:want it,
Speaker:there's the conversation that you want to have happen.
Speaker:So that's what's happening,
Speaker:which is fabulous.
Speaker:Is this your insights that you've been learning over the last
Speaker:couple of weeks?
Speaker:Okay. So talk some more about that.
Speaker:So you have put the board,
Speaker:as we were talking about you getting on zoom and walking
Speaker:down the internet channel with you.
Speaker:Exactly who your clients are,
Speaker:right. You're then now also putting your product in potential new
Speaker:clients pathways through existing clients.
Speaker:Well, right.
Speaker:The other thing that's happening is so with each product,
Speaker:because now I'm making things for other clients.
Speaker:And so I'm basically the software term is OEM.
Speaker:I don't have any of my logos or any of my
Speaker:information on that product that I make.
Speaker:Right. It's got my client's information on there.
Speaker:Right? What I've been doing is putting a little card in
Speaker:the box that says,
Speaker:okay, by the way,
Speaker:real people made this as a picture of my husband and
Speaker:me and Hey,
Speaker:we make this stuff together and we make lots of other
Speaker:cool stuff on our website.
Speaker:Here's a coupon for money off,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:there's a little bio card.
Speaker:I call it.
Speaker:Well now I'm finally starting.
Speaker:I've got enough stuff out there.
Speaker:I'm finally starting to get some gifts back from that.
Speaker:So it's like a double whammy,
Speaker:right? So this person gets a gift from the mortgage broker
Speaker:and they like it so much that they reach out to
Speaker:me and order something for a friend.
Speaker:So that's been pretty cool.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I was starting to get that happening now,
Speaker:which I really like.
Speaker:That's exciting.
Speaker:And you were saying you called us OEM,
Speaker:originally Equipment manufacturer.
Speaker:So that there's a concept in the software world where it's,
Speaker:you're white labeling it.
Speaker:You're putting somebody else's brand on something that you make because
Speaker:it's going out as part of something they do.
Speaker:Right. But then you're including your information in there also,
Speaker:which yeah,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:and you're sharing who it is that you personally made these
Speaker:products. It also helps having forbid there was something that they
Speaker:questioned about the product.
Speaker:Like I know your product,
Speaker:so I know the quality that you provide and all of
Speaker:that. But if something Happened and they know how to talk
Speaker:to exactly.
Speaker:And then with the added benefit that then they can order
Speaker:some more for themselves.
Speaker:They have started,
Speaker:which has been pretty cool.
Speaker:The first one of those I got back was,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I've been doing this for a couple of years,
Speaker:but the first one I got back was maybe a month
Speaker:ago and I was like,
Speaker:woo. It worked.
Speaker:Yeah. That's awesome.
Speaker:And only more to come only more to come.
Speaker:Yeah. Very,
Speaker:very exciting.
Speaker:How are you feeling about as you move forward,
Speaker:your product line,
Speaker:are there any other things ideas swirling around that can enhance
Speaker:what you're already offering?
Speaker:Well, yeah,
Speaker:and I get ideas from my clients all the time,
Speaker:too. The large cutting board idea came from one of my
Speaker:clients. Although that speaks back to what we're talking about before
Speaker:you need to have a higher end item.
Speaker:That's why recently made this oval cutting board,
Speaker:which is fairly expensive,
Speaker:but just a wow factor.
Speaker:But it looks at,
Speaker:oh my God,
Speaker:that's so cool.
Speaker:Then I can't afford that,
Speaker:but here I'll buy this other thing.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:it would be edited into,
Speaker:I do a lot of coasters and slate coasters.
Speaker:I expanded to the glasses.
Speaker:Now this was interesting.
Speaker:This is one of these listen to your customers.
Speaker:Because at first I said,
Speaker:there's no value.
Speaker:Add to me making glasses,
Speaker:any idiot with a laser engraver,
Speaker:sorry for those of you who have laser grabbers,
Speaker:but anyone with a laser and Kramer can buy glasses and
Speaker:a gray bottom,
Speaker:it just,
Speaker:it takes,
Speaker:there's just nothing special about it.
Speaker:But what I found was everybody wants like two glasses or
Speaker:one. And if you go to the big online personalization places,
Speaker:it's hard to get that you have to buy more.
Speaker:So part of what I offer is the whole design service
Speaker:mean you don't need to give me artwork.
Speaker:I'll create it.
Speaker:You tell me what you'd like.
Speaker:So I found that that's a huge deal.
Speaker:And when I started offering first wine glasses and rocks glasses,
Speaker:and now glass coffee mugs,
Speaker:that's just been huge.
Speaker:People like to combine that with the coasters for a nice
Speaker:gift. And it works extremely well.
Speaker:So that was a client idea.
Speaker:I didn't come up with that.
Speaker:But client says,
Speaker:Hey, do you do glass coffee buddies?
Speaker:Hmm. I guess I could.
Speaker:Well, and they extend.
Speaker:Cause there are other things that you do that are not
Speaker:as easy as just etching on the glass,
Speaker:right? Like your wooden boards.
Speaker:They take a while.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we sourced the wood from a local place,
Speaker:but my husband has to cut the slats and surface the
Speaker:boards and the whole nine yards.
Speaker:We build them together.
Speaker:We played him,
Speaker:we finished the sand.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:yeah, they take awhile,
Speaker:but yeah,
Speaker:they're the prettiest thing they make and people love them and
Speaker:they respond to them a lot.
Speaker:But a lot of times they'll like to include,
Speaker:like we do a lot of wedding gifts,
Speaker:they'll take a board and then include like glasses or coasters
Speaker:or something else with that because people want to give you
Speaker:a very nice wedding gift.
Speaker:So they'll kind of fill it out with them.
Speaker:Right. So you're enhancing your sale of the boards because people
Speaker:are now buying the boards.
Speaker:And then also the wine glasses Right.
Speaker:The wineglasses,
Speaker:the rocks glasses.
Speaker:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker:And those really cool charms that you have for your wine
Speaker:glasses, Another customer requests.
Speaker:Can you make wine charms for stemless glasses?
Speaker:Because no one buys stem to glasses anymore.
Speaker:Well, and these Wine terms,
Speaker:aren't lying terms like you would normally think.
Speaker:And so I said,
Speaker:well, somebody must be doing wine charms with stemless glasses.
Speaker:And then,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I researched that,
Speaker:oh yeah,
Speaker:they're all making magnets.
Speaker:Well, I can do a magnet.
Speaker:And it's because I do the glass,
Speaker:I make the glass myself and then I attach it to
Speaker:a magnet and glue it to a magnet.
Speaker:And now it sticks onto your glass,
Speaker:no matter what,
Speaker:which is.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you could use it for stem classes too,
Speaker:but it was a way to,
Speaker:because of my client asked me to do it.
Speaker:She really likes the glass that I make.
Speaker:So she says,
Speaker:I want to do something with the glass and I want
Speaker:to give them wine glasses because every year we go back
Speaker:and give gifts to her same clients every year I have
Speaker:to come up with something new that fits with what we've
Speaker:been doing,
Speaker:which has been interesting.
Speaker:I made it the third year was when we came up
Speaker:with this past year,
Speaker:the wine glass is not charged and I have to figure
Speaker:out now what I'm going to next year for it.
Speaker:But it's been kind of fun because it's a way to
Speaker:kind of make a line of products that,
Speaker:that work together.
Speaker:Yeah. And She is then giving her clients the set that
Speaker:keeps being built upon year over year.
Speaker:Yes. Right.
Speaker:Exactly. That's pretty cool too.
Speaker:Yeah, that's been pretty cool.
Speaker:So it forces me to get very creative about kind of
Speaker:how we can add stuff to the line.
Speaker:So what's coming up lately,
Speaker:I've got a customer,
Speaker:who's a boat owner.
Speaker:And so he wants a bunch of nautical stuff.
Speaker:So I came up with a little cutting board,
Speaker:small one that can go on a boat with a little
Speaker:paring knife.
Speaker:And it's in kind of nautical design with the signal,
Speaker:flat, spelling out the name of the boat,
Speaker:that kind of things.
Speaker:I don't like plastic,
Speaker:but I'm going to add a curl at glasses because the
Speaker:boat owners are going to want them.
Speaker:And so that'll be a set that you can get with
Speaker:a nautical flag,
Speaker:spelling out the name of your boat,
Speaker:and then a curling glasses with the name of your boat
Speaker:on them.
Speaker:Boat owners love that sort of thing.
Speaker:So I mean,
Speaker:that's the next thing.
Speaker:Yeah. And with acrylic,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:that's a need that you would have,
Speaker:right. I Mean,
Speaker:that's a legitimate thing.
Speaker:I don't do the Yeti mugs.
Speaker:I don't do kind of the typical thing.
Speaker:Cause I want to do something that's just different.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:people like the things they make because of Absolutely love it.
Speaker:So talk to me a little bit about how you're planning
Speaker:out the rest your year is going to be starting.
Speaker:Just share with us a little bit of how you're going
Speaker:to ensure that those sales are going to keep coming in
Speaker:for the holiday.
Speaker:Yeah, this is interesting.
Speaker:I think I mentioned to you earlier that I've had a
Speaker:couple of Tiffany is over the last few weeks.
Speaker:So you all know now I started out making jewelry.
Speaker:So I had two requests over the last month wanting to
Speaker:make some,
Speaker:one of a kind jewelry.
Speaker:Another was to make some of my personalized jewelry and I
Speaker:honored most requests,
Speaker:but I thought,
Speaker:I don't really want to do this anymore.
Speaker:This is not my sweet spot.
Speaker:It's not who I am.
Speaker:So I took down the jewelry section of my website.
Speaker:It was a little heartbreaking,
Speaker:but I said,
Speaker:this is just not what I'm doing.
Speaker:Well, that was a little bit uplifting and empowering because all
Speaker:of a sudden,
Speaker:I don't have to focus on that anymore.
Speaker:And in fact,
Speaker:I'm busy redesigning my studio to move the jewelry making piece
Speaker:out so I can make room for some other new things.
Speaker:I want to try like fuse glass using slumped glass.
Speaker:That's where I really want to be,
Speaker:but didn't have any space.
Speaker:Well, if I take the joy part out,
Speaker:I can do the fuse and slumped glass.
Speaker:So that was kind of exciting.
Speaker:The other epiphany I had,
Speaker:I went to an actual face-to-face pop-up market last Saturday,
Speaker:first one I've done in what year and a half now.
Speaker:And I realized that,
Speaker:of course I don't have many things that are kind of
Speaker:cashing carry anymore,
Speaker:but I made a few things and hopes for mother's day.
Speaker:Well, I made one sale and I thought,
Speaker:you know what?
Speaker:I don't do this anymore.
Speaker:I am a B2B customized gift person.
Speaker:That's what I do.
Speaker:That's where I've been hugely successful in the last eight months.
Speaker:And that's what I'm doing.
Speaker:So no more craft shows.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I'll do the virtual ones because that's different,
Speaker:that's made to order,
Speaker:but it was just kind of interesting too,
Speaker:that I took the two things I've been doing for ages
Speaker:and said,
Speaker:I'm not doing those anymore.
Speaker:So the other thing I had to kind of work through,
Speaker:I have probably 11,
Speaker:$12,000 worth of inventory that I use for my personalized joy.
Speaker:I was selling a lot to schools and teams.
Speaker:I'm going to take all of that and go back to
Speaker:those coaches that I've worked with over the past few years
Speaker:and just donate the stuff I have to them here.
Speaker:Use this for gifts,
Speaker:for prizes,
Speaker:for raffles,
Speaker:for fundraising guys,
Speaker:thank you for all your help and support over the years.
Speaker:That made me feel good too.
Speaker:Like I'm done,
Speaker:and this is a good way to end It.
Speaker:Well, I think what you're showing here,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it's gotta be scary a little bit.
Speaker:You're giving up something that you had your heart all into
Speaker:for so long.
Speaker:Right. And I bet good money.
Speaker:Well, okay,
Speaker:well then there's that right?
Speaker:But now look at how you can really focus your attention.
Speaker:It's corporate business,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the different segments of the business,
Speaker:where you've seen success.
Speaker:There's so much more opportunity out there for you like that.
Speaker:And it doesn't mean that you're not still creating other lines.
Speaker:You were just talking about other things that you're doing,
Speaker:but you're doing it within the umbrella that you've now bracketed
Speaker:for yourself.
Speaker:Right? I think the thing that comes out of that,
Speaker:that the point I wanted to make with that is that
Speaker:you can get stretched too thin,
Speaker:very easily.
Speaker:And if you find something that's working then focusing on that
Speaker:is not a bad thing and letting go of things that
Speaker:got you to that is also not a bad thing.
Speaker:You don't have to keep something going forever.
Speaker:And I think that to me is the empowering piece.
Speaker:I can look at where I came from and I can
Speaker:look at how one thing led to another.
Speaker:But I think that going forward,
Speaker:the place where I'm going to be the most successful and
Speaker:the place where I'm actually having a lot of fun,
Speaker:because of course,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I was creative types like to branch out and do different
Speaker:things. That's where I want to focus my efforts and my
Speaker:creative energies.
Speaker:Well, and I think the challenge,
Speaker:probably not for you,
Speaker:because you're very strategic in your thinking and what you're doing,
Speaker:but the challenge could be for someone else in a situation
Speaker:like this is someone coming back and saying,
Speaker:oh, you used to make those.
Speaker:Could you just make me another one?
Speaker:Like as a personal favor,
Speaker:could you just make this one more time for me or
Speaker:something like that.
Speaker:And then you get project creep because then you have to
Speaker:pull out all your equipment again,
Speaker:it's cetera.
Speaker:So you have to,
Speaker:once you make a decision like that,
Speaker:stick with it and not go backwards because it could be
Speaker:so easily to go backwards.
Speaker:That's the thing.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I debated about whether to keep all this jewelry that I
Speaker:had because I have all of this personalized jewelry I had
Speaker:set. So I could go to a show and I'd have
Speaker:pieces that I could easily assemble to create the personalized thing.
Speaker:That's how I designed it.
Speaker:So I could keep that.
Speaker:And then people asked me for it,
Speaker:I'd have it.
Speaker:But I thought it's just going to sit there and I'm
Speaker:not going to get that many requests and would it be
Speaker:so much better for me to donate?
Speaker:And then the thing is I can't go back,
Speaker:right? I mean,
Speaker:it's a little bit of a,
Speaker:Oh, you've put a roadblock in your way now.
Speaker:Yeah. Which I think is I'm doing that a little bit
Speaker:deliberately. I can't go back.
Speaker:Which, because you're right.
Speaker:I'll get sucked into stuff.
Speaker:It's not that it couldn't be profitable,
Speaker:but it's not where I'm going.
Speaker:And I don't think it's my future.
Speaker:Right. Well,
Speaker:and you're dividing your attention then to this way,
Speaker:you can be all in on the vision that you have
Speaker:moving forward.
Speaker:This has been absolutely a fabulous conversation.
Speaker:I already knew it was going to be Gail.
Speaker:A lot of fun.
Speaker:Yes. This has been really wonderful.
Speaker:We've touched on some really,
Speaker:really important points here.
Speaker:Where could people go see gee jewels and all your products
Speaker:that you have.
Speaker:So I have a website www.gjewels.com.
Speaker:So it's Jews and Gail,
Speaker:Jules, J O O L Z.
Speaker:It comes from the fact that I used to make jewelry,
Speaker:right? So G jewels.com.
Speaker:But if you want to see what's really happening,
Speaker:I'm all over Instagram.
Speaker:My handle is G jewels and I'm also on Facebook,
Speaker:but I posted on Instagram many,
Speaker:many times a week and you can see all the stuff
Speaker:that's happening.
Speaker:There's lots and lots of interesting stuff that we haven't even
Speaker:touched on here.
Speaker:So I'm happy to connect on,
Speaker:on Instagram.
Speaker:Perfect. And I will have all of that linked up in
Speaker:the show notes.
Speaker:So easy reference,
Speaker:just jump over to a gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped, find this show and you'll see all the links right
Speaker:there. Ready and waiting for you,
Speaker:Gail. Thank you so,
Speaker:so much for coming on today.
Speaker:It's always fun to talk to you and having you share
Speaker:with everybody here,
Speaker:a little behind the scenes of what's going on with your
Speaker:business has been so enlightening.
Speaker:I really,
Speaker:really appreciate you spending time with me today.
Speaker:Oh, thank you.
Speaker:So it has been a blast Watching for the signs and
Speaker:interpreting what they mean for your next move.
Speaker:A very powerful message.
Speaker:Indeed. This is something you should be doing constantly,
Speaker:whether it's market trends,
Speaker:customer feedback,
Speaker:or that knowing gut,
Speaker:feeling that you're out of alignment with your purpose,
Speaker:pay attention to the signs.
Speaker:This is a reminder that I am taken to heart to.
Speaker:I'm hearing it loud and clear.
Speaker:I've got a great show for you coming up next week.
Speaker:I'll drop you a little breadcrumb.
Speaker:It's about what to do with your website.
Speaker:That will bring you in more organic traffic,
Speaker:organic meaning free more eyeballs on your website means more people
Speaker:seeing your products,
Speaker:which means new sales.
Speaker:Don't miss it as always.
Speaker:Thanks so much for spending time with me today.
Speaker:If you'd like to show support for the podcast,
Speaker:a rating and review would mean so much and helps the
Speaker:show get seen by more makers.
Speaker:So it's a great way to pay it forward to our
Speaker:community. Also make sure to follow the podcast.
Speaker:So episodes automatically download to your phone.
Speaker:That way you don't miss a thing,
Speaker:including my new Thursday tips and talk shows and now be
Speaker:safe and well.
Speaker:And I'll see you again next week on the gift biz
Speaker:on wrapped Cast.
Speaker:I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook
Speaker:group called gift biz 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.
