Gift biz on rapt episode 345.
Speaker:I was very scared,
Speaker:but you know,
Speaker:at that time I was hungry.
Speaker:So I really wanted my business to work more than anything.
Speaker:Attention gifters bakers,
Speaker:crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.
Speaker:Now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode,
Speaker:packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources, and the support you need to grow.
Speaker:Your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal,
Speaker:Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi, it's Sue and welcome to this week's show.
Speaker:As we inch closer and closer to the holiday selling season,
Speaker:I hope you've been putting your plan together for how to
Speaker:capture your fair share of sales.
Speaker:As we've talked about many times only posting your products available
Speaker:for purchase online,
Speaker:isn't going to do it just because you have a website
Speaker:or a social shop set up doing that alone.
Speaker:Doesn't bring in customers.
Speaker:What it is,
Speaker:is an avenue to conduct the final sale,
Speaker:not the attraction and connection necessary to get people to buy
Speaker:and posting on social over and over again about your holiday
Speaker:products available as gifting options.
Speaker:Well, we all know the low percentage of our followers who
Speaker:actually see these messages as a handmade product creator.
Speaker:The fourth quarter holidays are the perfect time to get in
Speaker:front of buyers.
Speaker:Through holiday craft shows and church bizarres entry costs vary,
Speaker:but there are options to fit every budget and holiday shoppers
Speaker:need you as a handmade small business,
Speaker:even more this year with all the supply chain issues we're
Speaker:experiencing. I encourage you to sign up for your local shows
Speaker:and get in front of your soon to be customers because
Speaker:we need you this year more than ever.
Speaker:I talked about this in my recent tips and talk episode,
Speaker:number 34,
Speaker:go back and take a listen to hear how you can
Speaker:both help your business and customers get gifts for the holiday
Speaker:shopping season.
Speaker:We are going to need to depend on you this year.
Speaker:So the time to act is now,
Speaker:today we have the great fortune of talking with a proven
Speaker:professional in business development.
Speaker:You're going to hear her story about starting the business as
Speaker:a side gig while working her nine to five job and
Speaker:attending to three little babies.
Speaker:So for anyone out there who says this,
Speaker:can't be done.
Speaker:Let's rethink that Lisa shares what her life was like,
Speaker:then how she grew and eventually left her corporate job and
Speaker:how she continues to expand on her rock solid business.
Speaker:I can't wait to introduce to her Today.
Speaker:I have Lisa Peyton coming your way.
Speaker:Lisa is the founder and CEO of the personal gift basket
Speaker:company, an artisan gifting business based in the St.
Speaker:Charles Missouri area.
Speaker:Her company is recognized and praised for creating beautifully designed gifts
Speaker:for clients all over the world.
Speaker:Lisa has been on several local television stations,
Speaker:displaying her gift creations and speaking about the power and the
Speaker:benefit of gifting,
Speaker:her creative gift designs have also been featured in many locally
Speaker:printed publications because of her passion and the desire to see
Speaker:others in the gifting industry.
Speaker:Succeed. Lisa created the gifting coat that officially launched in the
Speaker:fall of 2019.
Speaker:She lives in one's film,
Speaker:Missouri with her amazing supportive husband.
Speaker:She's the proud mama to four beautiful grown children and one
Speaker:granddaughter. And of course her lovable chocolate labradoodle,
Speaker:Milo Lisa,
Speaker:welcome to the gift biz on podcast.
Speaker:Hi Sue.
Speaker:Thanks for having me.
Speaker:I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker:We Should have done this a long time ago.
Speaker:I'm A big fan of the show.
Speaker:Ah, thanks.
Speaker:Well, before we get into how we know each other and
Speaker:all of that great stuff.
Speaker:Tell us about your motivational candle.
Speaker:If you were to share with us a little bit more
Speaker:about you on a creative level,
Speaker:what color would your candle be and what would be a
Speaker:quote on that candle?
Speaker:So I think,
Speaker:I think my candle would be a marble candle of a
Speaker:beautiful pale yellow and a beautiful pale blue.
Speaker:And the reason I choose those is because yellow signifies confidence
Speaker:and self-esteem and blue signifies perseverance.
Speaker:And I would put those two together and make a beautiful
Speaker:candle. And the quote that I use is a quote of
Speaker:my own.
Speaker:And it says that you hold attributes and amazing talents that
Speaker:make you valuable to those you do business with.
Speaker:And once you activate that everything you need to build and
Speaker:unforgettable brand is in you,
Speaker:You have already what you need and you just have to
Speaker:activate it.
Speaker:Right? What a message.
Speaker:Well, first off that is so professional.
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:I hope you have it written and framed somewhere at Lisa.
Speaker:I do matter of fact,
Speaker:and I look at it every day.
Speaker:I think so often we give our power away and what
Speaker:could be,
Speaker:we're waiting for others to tell us that it's okay when
Speaker:really we just need to act upon what we believe is
Speaker:right, what we feel like we're driven to do and go
Speaker:from there.
Speaker:Talk to me a little bit about your origin story in
Speaker:your professional career.
Speaker:How did you get started while you're doing something before the
Speaker:personal gift basket?
Speaker:Just give us a little background here.
Speaker:So my background is in the financial industry.
Speaker:I came from a large financial firm and I worked in
Speaker:the social media and marketing department there for 19 years and
Speaker:loved my job,
Speaker:loved what I did.
Speaker:I've worked from home for maybe a little bit under half
Speaker:of the time that I worked there.
Speaker:So it was a very flexible,
Speaker:convenient job,
Speaker:but there was no passion at the end.
Speaker:And I really wanted a way to come out of corporate
Speaker:America. And when my husband and I got pregnant with our
Speaker:last baby,
Speaker:who's now 19,
Speaker:I just decided that it would probably be time.
Speaker:And during that time of transition,
Speaker:my husband also started his own heating and cooling company.
Speaker:So it was a fear of having two entrepreneurs under one
Speaker:roof. And how would that look for us?
Speaker:So there was a lot of fear and holding back on
Speaker:doing things because I wanted,
Speaker:what I felt was stability in a company.
Speaker:And one day we were kind of up,
Speaker:I was breastfeeding.
Speaker:We were up watching TV and probably three in the morning,
Speaker:I'm sure.
Speaker:And I turned to him and I said,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:what, how would it look for both of us to leave?
Speaker:And sure enough,
Speaker:we're looking at TB.
Speaker:There's these two very successful women who had quit both of
Speaker:their jobs and started a gifting company local to me and
Speaker:were doing very well.
Speaker:And my husband was like,
Speaker:I really think that you can do that.
Speaker:You make things so beautiful for our family.
Speaker:When you give gifts,
Speaker:when we entertain,
Speaker:it's just natural for you.
Speaker:Why don't you look into that?
Speaker:And that was the fire that lit the path of starting
Speaker:my own business.
Speaker:Well, you were Lucky to have his immediate support.
Speaker:Some people would be like,
Speaker:whoa, wait,
Speaker:what? But to have that support that had to be just
Speaker:the most fabulous feeling In the world.
Speaker:It was.
Speaker:And he's always been that support for me.
Speaker:It was me who was standing in my own way because
Speaker:he gave me that okay.
Speaker:To do what I wanted to do,
Speaker:but it took me years to finally leave.
Speaker:I didn't leave my full-time job until April of 2015 to
Speaker:be exact.
Speaker:So it took me a long time because every time I
Speaker:was ready to do it,
Speaker:something would happen.
Speaker:And I would always do that if I didn't have this
Speaker:job, how would this look?
Speaker:So I always made these excuses for leaving.
Speaker:And once the gray hair start coming into and I was
Speaker:done, I didn't care.
Speaker:It's like now or never that's right.
Speaker:I didn't care if we ate beans and rice.
Speaker:And that's exactly what I told him is if we got
Speaker:to a point where both of our dreams began to dwindle
Speaker:down and we had to eat beans and rice,
Speaker:what would we do?
Speaker:And he turned to me and he said,
Speaker:we would eat beans and rice.
Speaker:We will be fine.
Speaker:And I think that was it.
Speaker:I went to my boss and I told her,
Speaker:I've scheduled a meeting with her.
Speaker:And as she walked in the room,
Speaker:she looked at my face and she immediately started crying.
Speaker:She, that was done for me to go,
Speaker:oh no,
Speaker:it was an emotional moment For sure.
Speaker:And I can only imagine how many hundreds of people who
Speaker:are listening right now are in that spot.
Speaker:They're doing nine to five thinking.
Speaker:They would rather be doing something else instead.
Speaker:And there is such a thing as doing it on the
Speaker:side too.
Speaker:Like you don't have to go two feet in cold Turkey
Speaker:with a hard cut between a corporate job either where you
Speaker:starting something,
Speaker:as you were building up to take the leap or no.
Speaker:So my company was already started.
Speaker:I was working both my company and working for the financial
Speaker:firm for all those years.
Speaker:And I would work from seven 30 to four.
Speaker:I would get off at four.
Speaker:I would make dinner.
Speaker:And then I would make any gifts that I needed to
Speaker:make that needed to be picked up.
Speaker:And I would then make any type of events that were
Speaker:after hours.
Speaker:I would try to do networking.
Speaker:I would take sick time and leave to do retreats and
Speaker:things like this.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I just made a way over all those years.
Speaker:I did that.
Speaker:And plus I went back to school to get a degree.
Speaker:So I was working full time getting a degree and running
Speaker:a business.
Speaker:It was tough With young children,
Speaker:by the way,
Speaker:With four young babies.
Speaker:Absolutely. Oh my gosh.
Speaker:So when did you actually start the personal gift basket In
Speaker:2002? Like that's what fit into your life for that time?
Speaker:Albeit you sound like you were one busy lady and doing
Speaker:all of those things.
Speaker:So this is what I guess my point that I'm trying
Speaker:to get at,
Speaker:for people who are sitting here at our little coffee table,
Speaker:sharing in this chat with us,
Speaker:Lisa, is that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:if you have a corporate job and you have something that
Speaker:you make and you're wanting to start a business,
Speaker:it's not one or the other,
Speaker:it's not being a nine to five,
Speaker:working for someone else or having your business.
Speaker:You can do both of these,
Speaker:albeit it's not as if you're full-time in your business because
Speaker:you have your other job,
Speaker:you balance it out based on what your life is presenting
Speaker:you and what you're capable of doing at a time.
Speaker:And then it can change over the years.
Speaker:Just like you're showing us here.
Speaker:Absolutely 100% agree with what you just Said too.
Speaker:Do you have any advice for someone who is thinking of
Speaker:going that route?
Speaker:Anything you wish you would have known or something like that,
Speaker:that standard question,
Speaker:right? Absolutely.
Speaker:So, I mean,
Speaker:I feel that I talk to people all the time who
Speaker:are struggling through being a full-time employee for someone else while
Speaker:their dream is kind of on hold,
Speaker:because they're struggling to do both.
Speaker:But what I say is the struggle is so worth it
Speaker:learn to do both.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it can definitely be done and I know it's hard,
Speaker:but when you look back,
Speaker:it really all comes down to that drive of what is
Speaker:important. If your business is just as important as that paycheck,
Speaker:which is what I was dealing with was how important is
Speaker:that every two week paycheck or once a month paycheck happening
Speaker:for me,
Speaker:how does that look?
Speaker:The fear of not knowing how my life is going to
Speaker:look when I leave.
Speaker:So what I did was while I worked,
Speaker:I worked my business just as hard as I worked when
Speaker:I was working for someone else.
Speaker:So I would come home.
Speaker:I would do the things that I needed to do,
Speaker:or I would log off from home,
Speaker:do the things that I needed to do for my family.
Speaker:And then I would work just as hard.
Speaker:I pushed myself just as hard,
Speaker:because if I did not do that,
Speaker:then I became more reliable of relying on the paycheck that
Speaker:I knew I was going to get every two weeks.
Speaker:So I had to almost put fear in myself that,
Speaker:that wasn't certain my businesses.
Speaker:Certainly I had almost switched how I thought things.
Speaker:I had to make sure that I understood that this is
Speaker:going to be what I retire with.
Speaker:This is not that,
Speaker:but this will be.
Speaker:And when I did that,
Speaker:it helped push me to do things a little different to
Speaker:get out and network,
Speaker:even if it was only in the evenings,
Speaker:on my lunch break,
Speaker:at work,
Speaker:to sit out in my car and make phone calls,
Speaker:those types of things.
Speaker:Like those were the things that pushed me to keep going
Speaker:was to know that this is going to be the end.
Speaker:Not that this will be,
Speaker:And we've all learned,
Speaker:unfortunately, either by our own demonstration or others that having a
Speaker:corporate nine to five and working for someone else,
Speaker:isn't a certain thing you can't count on it.
Speaker:Like you could years past,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the world is different.
Speaker:I think the other thing is,
Speaker:and tell me if you felt the same way,
Speaker:Lisa, is that if you're in a job that you might
Speaker:have liked and you've outgrown,
Speaker:or let's say you're not as interested in it,
Speaker:what you're doing on the side and growing on the side
Speaker:with the goals that you just mentioned gives you renewed excitement
Speaker:and energy for your life overall,
Speaker:because you are building something that's really exciting and energizing for
Speaker:you. And your job then is kind of the stepping stone
Speaker:to allow you to go full time then into the other.
Speaker:Absolutely. I totally agree with that.
Speaker:But as far as us,
Speaker:in our personal situation,
Speaker:it came a time as we knew that I was going
Speaker:to leave,
Speaker:I wanted to see how that would look.
Speaker:If I didn't make any money in my business,
Speaker:if my husband just took care of our home and I
Speaker:didn't make any money.
Speaker:So what we did was we took my whole paycheck and
Speaker:we would just put it away.
Speaker:I wouldn't touch it.
Speaker:Like I wouldn't even spend it because I wanted to see
Speaker:how hard things would look for us.
Speaker:And they looked hard for a little bit because my husband
Speaker:was growing his company.
Speaker:I wasn't using our money,
Speaker:but that was the good part.
Speaker:Like I was able to see,
Speaker:even if he got down to this,
Speaker:we could still live.
Speaker:We could still make mean tap and I could still buy
Speaker:inventory if I had to those types of things.
Speaker:Cause we bootstrapped everything.
Speaker:We don't have loans or any of those things.
Speaker:So we bootstrapped.
Speaker:So I wanted to see how that would look for us.
Speaker:And man,
Speaker:that was probably one of the best decisions that I ever
Speaker:did. Yeah.
Speaker:I did the same thing with my businesses.
Speaker:And by the,
Speaker:by not only might it have been feeling tight for a
Speaker:little while,
Speaker:but you saw that you could do it.
Speaker:You could work through it and live through that.
Speaker:But you're also building a security blanket there,
Speaker:if there were emergencies or whatever.
Speaker:So excellent example,
Speaker:I would absolutely tell people to do exactly what you did.
Speaker:So wonderful example,
Speaker:we're only going to stay here for a minute because you
Speaker:have so many good things to offer us besides what we're
Speaker:talking about now,
Speaker:but right in the beginning,
Speaker:how were you getting your first clients Networking?
Speaker:So like I stated earlier was I only could network for
Speaker:any events that were after hours.
Speaker:So anytime there was an after hour event for the chamber
Speaker:or things like that,
Speaker:I would be there.
Speaker:I would show up,
Speaker:I had my business cards.
Speaker:I would always take a gift with me when I went
Speaker:to thank whoever was speaking or whoever was the sponsor of
Speaker:the event.
Speaker:And I would just be present and I would walk into
Speaker:rooms that I'd wouldn't know anyone because I wasn't in the
Speaker:know at that point I was only coming to one or
Speaker:two events a month.
Speaker:And that's how I started getting people.
Speaker:I would just give gifts sometime I would put a coupon
Speaker:in there telling them they could get a percentage off if
Speaker:they ordered a gift for me after they received that gift.
Speaker:But also people that I knew,
Speaker:like my dear friend,
Speaker:she's a speaker.
Speaker:So she started using me to give gifts to the people
Speaker:who invited her to speak at their events.
Speaker:And it kind of went from there.
Speaker:Like someone would get a gift and they would say,
Speaker:oh, I received this gift for,
Speaker:from so-and-so.
Speaker:Is there any way you could do something for me?
Speaker:And it kind of went this way.
Speaker:So website and all that,
Speaker:it was great to have one,
Speaker:but I never really even used my website because my business
Speaker:started through word of mouth.
Speaker:It's So crazy to think that when you started your business,
Speaker:there wasn't even social media yet.
Speaker:Isn't that insane?
Speaker:That is true.
Speaker:I didn't even think about that Because you know,
Speaker:like now we always gravitate to,
Speaker:oh, you want to tell people who you are through Facebook
Speaker:and Instagram and like all of that,
Speaker:not remembering that there was a time before that.
Speaker:And you were saying you were getting all of your business
Speaker:from networking.
Speaker:So now you're still running a successful business.
Speaker:And now you're also coaching other people in the gifting industry.
Speaker:What role does networking play today?
Speaker:Now that we also have social media,
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I still say,
Speaker:and I still stand on the fact of keeping your face
Speaker:in the place.
Speaker:That's the little term that I use when you are out
Speaker:and people recognize you and they see you on a regular
Speaker:basis. It is the best thing ever.
Speaker:I think it,
Speaker:social media,
Speaker:I think we've allowed ourselves to get so behind social media
Speaker:that we're comfortable with not showing our face.
Speaker:And when it's time to speak,
Speaker:when it's time to talk about your business in front of
Speaker:people, we have now kind of shied away from doing that
Speaker:because we've allowed social media to speak for us.
Speaker:And I think always being able to,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the elevator speech type of thing,
Speaker:having something to say,
Speaker:when someone asks,
Speaker:what do you do should always be at the root of
Speaker:your mouth?
Speaker:How can you take their pain point and make it better?
Speaker:I think that is always done better when you're face-to-face with
Speaker:someone. So I,
Speaker:Trump going and networking in your community more than anything.
Speaker:Yeah. So That would be your very first go-to,
Speaker:especially if like someone who's starting off getting business networking,
Speaker:or maybe I would say depending on your product being out
Speaker:face-to-face at craft shows and both.
Speaker:Yeah. Anytime you can get in front of someone,
Speaker:it's always better.
Speaker:I think we're just so comfortable and we see the good
Speaker:and the bad of those social media,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you see how it can,
Speaker:it feels like it's bringing us together,
Speaker:but it really isn't,
Speaker:it's kind of making it so comfortable for us to be
Speaker:a part.
Speaker:And I think especially in business and that's even in personal,
Speaker:when we think about,
Speaker:I think someone always says,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it's one of those things where you feel like it's pulling
Speaker:you, but it's not.
Speaker:And I think we can use that same thing in business.
Speaker:It's doing the same thing.
Speaker:It's making you so uncomfortable to be around people and to
Speaker:share your story.
Speaker:The story is the most important part.
Speaker:I Think it's another,
Speaker:what is it arrow in your quiver,
Speaker:In your quiver yet Versus say net,
Speaker:it replaces all the things we used to do.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:social media doesn't have to replace networking or craft shows or
Speaker:email for that matter because that's a one-on-one extension also.
Speaker:It's just another way.
Speaker:It's another avenue and they can all work together.
Speaker:They can.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:it's funny that you said about no social media.
Speaker:When I started,
Speaker:I remember getting the phone books,
Speaker:like I was happy when the new phone book would come
Speaker:out because I would take the phone book and I would
Speaker:just find people that I wanted to send letter to.
Speaker:It may be a little thing of cookies and I would
Speaker:do it that way.
Speaker:It was like,
Speaker:those were so fun,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:at that point to do and to grow your business,
Speaker:sometimes people would call you back sometime people wouldn't.
Speaker:Yeah. So now your target was more corporate clients.
Speaker:Yes. Not individual consumer.
Speaker:So we need to make that statement there too.
Speaker:Like you have to look at who you're trying to reach
Speaker:as a customer and then figure out where they are.
Speaker:And where does LinkedIn play a role for you?
Speaker:I love LinkedIn.
Speaker:I use it as much as possible.
Speaker:I try to post out there several times a week.
Speaker:I've gotten so much business from LinkedIn.
Speaker:I've learned to connect with people that I want to get
Speaker:into their businesses.
Speaker:And it's worked very effectively Just knowing how professional you are.
Speaker:It's no surprise that LinkedIn is a great platform for you.
Speaker:So let's move over a little bit into the gifting coach.
Speaker:What was it that you were seeing that people were struggling
Speaker:with, that you felt you could come in and help them
Speaker:achieve? Where were the struggle?
Speaker:The gifting coach was birthed from my own experience.
Speaker:When I started my company,
Speaker:I started at a time when the gift basket industry was
Speaker:at its height.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we had several company,
Speaker:brick and mortar companies here in Missouri that were thriving and
Speaker:doing well.
Speaker:And I wanted to be that,
Speaker:but I didn't have a storefront.
Speaker:So I'm like,
Speaker:how would that look for me being at home?
Speaker:And in doing that,
Speaker:and back then,
Speaker:you really couldn't share with people that you were a home-based
Speaker:business because it was taboo.
Speaker:Companies didn't want to work with you if you were home-based.
Speaker:So I wanted to kind of change that philosophy.
Speaker:And so I wanted to create a place.
Speaker:Really my market is for those who are either coming out
Speaker:of corporate America and want to start their business or still
Speaker:working their business and working their full-time job as well.
Speaker:So I want it to be a sounding board for them
Speaker:to encourage them and motivate them to know that they can
Speaker:do it.
Speaker:And they're not alone.
Speaker:When I started my company,
Speaker:I asked a woman who I admire immensely,
Speaker:and we are still friends today.
Speaker:If she could coach me.
Speaker:And at the time she couldn't because she was going through
Speaker:something personal in her life and she was not able to
Speaker:do it,
Speaker:but she always left the door open for me to call
Speaker:her, to email her.
Speaker:And I was able to do that.
Speaker:And I want to be able to now give that to
Speaker:someone because I was given that.
Speaker:And I think without that,
Speaker:I probably wouldn't have been able to do it.
Speaker:Okay. So this is a good point that we haven't really
Speaker:ever talked about here.
Speaker:You reaching out to someone who was ahead of you in
Speaker:your industry already.
Speaker:And were you at all uncomfortable thinking,
Speaker:well, they're not going to want to share what they're doing.
Speaker:Cause I would then be a competitor.
Speaker:Yes. I was very scared.
Speaker:But you know,
Speaker:at that time I was hungry.
Speaker:So I really wanted my business to work more than anything.
Speaker:And for someone to tell me,
Speaker:no, would have just been fine.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I just would have went on to the next thing.
Speaker:I wasn't afraid of someone telling me no.
Speaker:And the same in my business,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I made those calls through that phone book and people would
Speaker:hang up and tell me no all the time.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:well, they can't see me.
Speaker:I just kind of built this idea in my head that
Speaker:it's no love loss.
Speaker:Let's move on to the next.
Speaker:And that's the same way I did it for this was
Speaker:she definitely could have told me,
Speaker:no, she definitely could have not given me the time of
Speaker:day. And she helped me more than she probably ever knows
Speaker:that she did just by allowing me to have a window
Speaker:into what she did.
Speaker:Of course,
Speaker:she shared this with multiple people now over the years.
Speaker:But back then it was a totally different world than what
Speaker:we live in.
Speaker:Now. We didn't have a lot of gifting communities and things
Speaker:like this.
Speaker:We were kind of all on our own doing our own
Speaker:thing. So now you have all these wonderful entrepreneurs out here
Speaker:who are making things happen.
Speaker:And sometimes you can still get isolated and feel like I'm
Speaker:dealing with something and no one else is dealing with.
Speaker:And I want them to know that that's not the case.
Speaker:Right? Well,
Speaker:this is a great example.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I'm just thinking of all the different types of people we
Speaker:have in gift biz breeze,
Speaker:which is my Facebook group.
Speaker:Are you part of That,
Speaker:Lisa? I believe I am.
Speaker:Okay. So,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:if you are making jewelry or pottery or whatever it is,
Speaker:and you have seen somebody,
Speaker:especially even in that group,
Speaker:because we're all together to help each other consider reaching out
Speaker:the worst someone is going to say is no.
Speaker:And I try to get this mentality,
Speaker:Lisa, that think of like,
Speaker:if you love bracelets,
Speaker:you're not only going to buy bracelets from just one maker.
Speaker:Exclusively, probably you might have a favorite,
Speaker:but you like lots of different bracelets.
Speaker:So there's no reason for us to think that,
Speaker:oh my gosh,
Speaker:if someone buys a bracelet from one person they'll never buy
Speaker:from me,
Speaker:that's So true.
Speaker:And so I encourage anybody.
Speaker:Who's listening to us,
Speaker:listen to what Lisa did.
Speaker:She reached out to someone who,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:watching her from afar and asked for some help.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:if nothing else,
Speaker:that's just an honor,
Speaker:oh, you have reached out and asked it whether they say
Speaker:yes or not.
Speaker:And even she wasn't really able to mentor me and I'm
Speaker:using the air quotes,
Speaker:but she wasn't able to do that because it was some
Speaker:personal things going on in her life at the time.
Speaker:But what she did was allowed me to have access to
Speaker:her when I needed it.
Speaker:So it wasn't like she was contacting me and keeping me
Speaker:accountable. But when I had questions,
Speaker:she was there for me when I felt like I was
Speaker:a failure and I was,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:needed someone to kind of outlive me.
Speaker:She was there for me.
Speaker:So even if you don't get the mentor type of relationships,
Speaker:have people who,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:have been where you are and that you're able to ask
Speaker:questions and do those things.
Speaker:And I think most of the people that I know that
Speaker:are in our community are more than willing to do that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and help.
Speaker:I love our community.
Speaker:I think it's a wonderful community,
Speaker:A hundred percent agree with you there.
Speaker:So as you think of some of the people that you've
Speaker:been working with,
Speaker:what are some of the common struggles that they're facing today?
Speaker:Where are they getting hung up?
Speaker:I wanted to pause this discussion for a second to let
Speaker:you know that I recognize you may be feeling overwhelmed right
Speaker:now. I mean,
Speaker:I bring on great guests who are specialists in their fields
Speaker:and we get into fabulous conversations that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:can help grow your business.
Speaker:So after the show,
Speaker:you have all the full intention of grabbing a download,
Speaker:making an adjustment to your website or any other number of
Speaker:ideas that arise as a result of the podcast.
Speaker:But what happens,
Speaker:you get back to all your other activities and the momentum
Speaker:you had gets lost.
Speaker:What you plan to do is forgotten.
Speaker:Then you feel bad because your business is going on as
Speaker:usual without implementing anything that you know,
Speaker:would help grow your business.
Speaker:You're just too busy doing all the things like a robot,
Speaker:moving from one thing to another without thinking,
Speaker:because you have to,
Speaker:I get it.
Speaker:I've been there,
Speaker:but guess what?
Speaker:There is another way since I recognized this exact behavior in
Speaker:my own business,
Speaker:I set out to do something about it.
Speaker:And now what works for me,
Speaker:I'm sharing with you.
Speaker:It's the inspired daily planner made specifically for gifters bakers,
Speaker:crafters and makers,
Speaker:that's you,
Speaker:but it's not your ordinary planner.
Speaker:First off,
Speaker:it comes with a video explaining my productivity strategy,
Speaker:plus it's undated.
Speaker:So you can start using this planner.
Speaker:The second it arrives at your doorstep and that's not all
Speaker:included for each day is a motivational tip and plenty of
Speaker:space for you to write down your intention and then schedule
Speaker:time so that you can actually take action on all those
Speaker:ideas that are now getting lost.
Speaker:It's the perfect solution to truly act and move your business
Speaker:forward. And yes,
Speaker:I'm offering you a special discount to get you started with
Speaker:the inspired program,
Speaker:because it's my greatest joy to see you make progress and
Speaker:grow, go to gift biz on rapt.com
Speaker:forward slash get inspired and enter code sale in all caps
Speaker:to get 40% off of the inspired daily planner.
Speaker:That means for only $21 plus shipping,
Speaker:you'll have a hard copy planner along with my power of
Speaker:purpose video that will set you on the path for true
Speaker:business growth now and into 2022 makes a great gift too.
Speaker:And if you're already using the inspired program,
Speaker:grab a fresh planner with this discount to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrap.com forward slash get inspired and use the code sale.
Speaker:Remember in all caps,
Speaker:this offer won't be available forever.
Speaker:So don't forget to do it right away.
Speaker:Okay. Let's get back to the show.
Speaker:Well, networking,
Speaker:I must say is probably in the top five,
Speaker:the fear of networking,
Speaker:the fear of going into a room and not knowing anyone
Speaker:and having to work the room is one of the questions
Speaker:that I get.
Speaker:The other question is pricing.
Speaker:How do I price my products to make a profit?
Speaker:That's one of the probably number between one and two,
Speaker:I would definitely say is pricing and making a profit to
Speaker:where you can over time.
Speaker:If you want to leave your full-time job.
Speaker:I hear a lot of people saying that they're going and
Speaker:buying things local and putting them in gifts.
Speaker:And unfortunately we can't make a profit that way.
Speaker:When we consistently do that,
Speaker:you mean Going out and buying retail?
Speaker:Yes. Buying retail.
Speaker:Absolutely. And we definitely want to make a profit.
Speaker:That's the whole purpose that we're in business.
Speaker:And I think people shy away from the fear of success.
Speaker:I had someone tell me not too long ago that they're
Speaker:afraid to succeed and I'm using those words.
Speaker:Her words were a little different,
Speaker:but that's what it boiled down to was that she was
Speaker:afraid that if she gets the business,
Speaker:she will grow and she's not ready.
Speaker:So she was afraid of this process of moving forward.
Speaker:So I think those are probably my top three things that
Speaker:I talk to people and encourage people on No,
Speaker:this whole fear of success for a long time.
Speaker:I just didn't understand it because it was like,
Speaker:well, why would someone be afraid of that?
Speaker:And then I started getting it.
Speaker:And especially when you're the one creating the products,
Speaker:because the orders come in now,
Speaker:you've just created more work for yourself because you've got the
Speaker:orders, but this is a gun circling back and kind of
Speaker:merging some things we've talked about together is this is then
Speaker:where you can reach out to people.
Speaker:Who've done it before.
Speaker:Like, this is a great question.
Speaker:How do you manage when you get to the next level?
Speaker:And it can't be just you,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:or I mean,
Speaker:pretty much everything that we encounter,
Speaker:someone else has encountered before us.
Speaker:And we can learn so much from that.
Speaker:Absolutely. There's a quote that I love from a guy named
Speaker:John Allen.
Speaker:And it says that the fear of success can be just
Speaker:as crippling as the fear of failure.
Speaker:You can cripple yourself,
Speaker:you can stunt the growth of your success because you're afraid
Speaker:to succeed.
Speaker:And I think people don't realize that it's just as bad.
Speaker:If I get a call that says,
Speaker:I need a hundred of something,
Speaker:I'm afraid that I can't give that.
Speaker:And what I try to teach us that you have control
Speaker:of everything that you do.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:it's kinda like parenting our children.
Speaker:Sometimes we kind of lose.
Speaker:Who's in control.
Speaker:We're still in control.
Speaker:We're still the parent.
Speaker:And then our businesses,
Speaker:we're still the owners of those companies.
Speaker:We still have control.
Speaker:If someone calls and says,
Speaker:I need a hundred of something,
Speaker:as long as they're not saying they need it in a
Speaker:day, then you have control to tell them when you're able
Speaker:to deliver that,
Speaker:you may lose it.
Speaker:You may not,
Speaker:but you still have that control.
Speaker:And I think people want to over-deliver,
Speaker:which is great.
Speaker:But we want to make sure that we're doing things in
Speaker:order and doing them in a way that's going to help
Speaker:our and not hinder it.
Speaker:Yes, I agree.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:I feel like that's why you test in the beginning with
Speaker:family and friends,
Speaker:you test that orders are going through your website,
Speaker:properly sustain the industry.
Speaker:You're talking about Lisa,
Speaker:that you can put five baskets together and get them delivered
Speaker:where they need to go.
Speaker:So you get like the ground work,
Speaker:like all your systems in place,
Speaker:and then you start building from there.
Speaker:But let's say you had just five baskets.
Speaker:Like I was just saying.
Speaker:And then all of a sudden you get a hundred,
Speaker:if you've thought through,
Speaker:all right,
Speaker:I'm going to get an order for a hundred.
Speaker:Who do I know that can put shred or filler in
Speaker:a basket?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:who do I know that can fill out paperwork?
Speaker:Like in an emergency situation,
Speaker:if you were in that expansive eye mask growth mode,
Speaker:who would be your people that you would call and beg
Speaker:them help you?
Speaker:Right? I mean,
Speaker:at that point,
Speaker:it's all hands on deck And then you would know what
Speaker:your plan would be.
Speaker:And so then you're more confident if you're speaking at a
Speaker:networking event and you say,
Speaker:Hey, to like mid-sized regional offices,
Speaker:whatever it is,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:let's do your employee gifts this year because you're not afraid,
Speaker:oh my gosh,
Speaker:what if I get a hundred?
Speaker:You already know what your plan is going to be.
Speaker:So you're going to speak with more confidence too.
Speaker:Absolutely. The plan is always important And to think about it
Speaker:before you even,
Speaker:I need it.
Speaker:That is true.
Speaker:When I started my business,
Speaker:I always share this too,
Speaker:is that I was literally paying people to take my gifts
Speaker:because I wanted them to be so beautiful and so nice.
Speaker:And then what would happen is a couple of months later,
Speaker:that person that ordered a $50 gift that I spent $75
Speaker:to make it nice for them.
Speaker:They come back and they say,
Speaker:Hey, I want to do that again.
Speaker:I want a $50 gift,
Speaker:but this time,
Speaker:well, I might just want to do it normally.
Speaker:And then,
Speaker:so we end up with this problem that happens because now
Speaker:I'm trying to correct something that I did wrong.
Speaker:So we don't want to do those things.
Speaker:We want to make sure that we're pricing correctly.
Speaker:Everything is priced correctly.
Speaker:And you're giving people a great product that they will come
Speaker:back and want again.
Speaker:But when we do it wrong in the beginning,
Speaker:like I did,
Speaker:then it's kind of hard to self-correct that because people are
Speaker:now saying,
Speaker:wait a minute,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I had a throw in there and a candle and all
Speaker:these high end things.
Speaker:And now this is what I get.
Speaker:But it's like,
Speaker:well, my fault.
Speaker:And you have to kind of go back.
Speaker:And sometimes people don't understand that you don't want to start
Speaker:out that way.
Speaker:Cause it looks so nice.
Speaker:And it looks so inviting to do things that way.
Speaker:And that was my issue that I just wanted to wow
Speaker:people, but I was literally wowing people and paying them to
Speaker:take my gifts.
Speaker:And it hurt me.
Speaker:It was the pricing.
Speaker:What you were charging for the gifts was maybe even less
Speaker:than what you had to pay to make the gift,
Speaker:but then the next time they want to order and you
Speaker:get your pricing,
Speaker:it's so much more expensive.
Speaker:That is so True.
Speaker:So important to get your pricing right up front,
Speaker:regardless of what your product is.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:I'm turning the page here.
Speaker:Lisa, I got a whole new topic for you and you
Speaker:speak to this a lot.
Speaker:When we are at conferences together,
Speaker:I'm listening to you about how your working your publicity and
Speaker:how you're getting on your television stations there locally.
Speaker:Can you share with us a little bit about what you
Speaker:do to make that happen?
Speaker:Sure. So I hired a PR firm to help me with
Speaker:that. And it's probably been the best investment that I've made
Speaker:in my business was to have someone out there doing it
Speaker:for me.
Speaker:Now, is this someone local in your market?
Speaker:It is,
Speaker:it's a PR firm.
Speaker:She's local to our area,
Speaker:but she has clients all over.
Speaker:So it's not just Missouri,
Speaker:but that's what I did.
Speaker:I hired a PR firm and she sends out press releases
Speaker:and information for me to local television and radio shows.
Speaker:That would probably benefit from me being on there.
Speaker:So I've done that now for many years and it's worked
Speaker:very effectively other than COVID.
Speaker:I was able to be on maybe three to four times
Speaker:a year on television and maybe about two to three times
Speaker:a year on radio.
Speaker:Okay. So you had someone actually help you get the placements,
Speaker:which we've talked before in the past about how you can
Speaker:work in,
Speaker:try and do this yourself as well.
Speaker:But then let's talk about when you actually get on the
Speaker:show, how do you prepare for show?
Speaker:So most television or,
Speaker:well, I'll just start with television television.
Speaker:They will send you a little kind of sheet that kind
Speaker:of talks about what we're going to be talking about.
Speaker:You have about three minutes when you're on there.
Speaker:So it takes you longer to set up your table than
Speaker:it does to actually be interviewed.
Speaker:So that's always fun.
Speaker:So it's very quick.
Speaker:Normally we go in with an idea ourselves.
Speaker:So we pitched the idea to the television station.
Speaker:So like for instance,
Speaker:fall time before,
Speaker:Oh, you've even gotten the slot.
Speaker:You go in with the idea of what you'd like to
Speaker:talk about.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:So we pitched this idea to them about fall.
Speaker:So we may say back to school and I'll give an
Speaker:example. So let's talk about gifting that looks great for college
Speaker:care packages,
Speaker:kids going back to school teachers,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:introducing new teachers.
Speaker:So we would then create gifts.
Speaker:I would take a couple of pictures.
Speaker:We would add that to the press release,
Speaker:maybe a video of a interview that I've done in the
Speaker:past. And then we send that to the producer of the
Speaker:television station.
Speaker:And most of the time they'll say,
Speaker:yeah, you know,
Speaker:I think that's a great idea,
Speaker:or we don't have a slot this time,
Speaker:but maybe holiday.
Speaker:We really need some stuff for holiday.
Speaker:So that's kind of how it goes throughout the year.
Speaker:Once we get that,
Speaker:they send us a sheet that asks for our information.
Speaker:As far as what name you want to go by,
Speaker:Lisa with the personal gift basket company,
Speaker:my phone number,
Speaker:how people can get in contact with me.
Speaker:And we send this to them a couple of days before
Speaker:we go on,
Speaker:normally it's live.
Speaker:I've only done one that wasn't live.
Speaker:So when you get there,
Speaker:it's a lot of waiting.
Speaker:You're waiting for the interviewer to come in.
Speaker:And once you get in there,
Speaker:it's about three minutes and you meet the person maybe about
Speaker:two minutes before the session starts.
Speaker:And it's a countdown from their lights,
Speaker:come on and you're ready to go.
Speaker:And it's very quick painless.
Speaker:And I tell people,
Speaker:you don't even have time to be nervous because it's an
Speaker:ongoing conversation.
Speaker:So it's fun and quick.
Speaker:It's so true.
Speaker:And it never goes the way you scripted it,
Speaker:right? Like it's always different from what the plan was.
Speaker:But you just go with the flow.
Speaker:You do go with the flow and never go in there.
Speaker:Empty handed,
Speaker:always take something for them to leave with them.
Speaker:Especially people who have a product always share your product with
Speaker:them. They love it.
Speaker:Yes. I have visuals,
Speaker:visuals help so much and they want that for TV.
Speaker:They just don't need two talking heads.
Speaker:Have you seen business as a direct result of the shows?
Speaker:Yes. One of our biggest clients came from me being on
Speaker:one of our local television stations.
Speaker:She calls a couple of days after and she says,
Speaker:I've been having you on my mind.
Speaker:She was,
Speaker:I was up getting ready to come into work.
Speaker:And I turned on the TV and I saw you talking
Speaker:about corporate gifting.
Speaker:She says,
Speaker:and we were just in a meeting talking about how this
Speaker:is going to look for us gifting and how it's going
Speaker:to look for us.
Speaker:She said,
Speaker:so I'm in the office today,
Speaker:sharing what?
Speaker:The episode,
Speaker:the actual newscast with her team and ended up being one
Speaker:of our biggest accounts.
Speaker:So yeah,
Speaker:it works.
Speaker:When I come back,
Speaker:sometimes I have 2030 messages from people wanting to give companies
Speaker:and individuals,
Speaker:people who need a gift for,
Speaker:I had a lady who saw me on TV and her
Speaker:best friend's dog had passed away.
Speaker:And she was like,
Speaker:I just thought about you.
Speaker:And I want to do a gift for her and make
Speaker:her feel special.
Speaker:So it depends.
Speaker:It just,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:large and small gifts come out of those types of things.
Speaker:And then What do you do post show?
Speaker:So you went in,
Speaker:it was a live show that most of the time they
Speaker:have then a link,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:an online link.
Speaker:Do you do anything on your own for promotion of that
Speaker:spot after you've been live?
Speaker:Oh yeah,
Speaker:I do.
Speaker:I will put them out either on my YouTube or on
Speaker:Instagram or Facebook.
Speaker:Some of them are linked to our website.
Speaker:And normally,
Speaker:even though,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I know you say posts,
Speaker:but even before I'll say,
Speaker:Hey, we're going on channel two at 9:00 AM.
Speaker:Come along with me.
Speaker:And I kind of take my audience along with me.
Speaker:And then we kind of do that same thing after it's
Speaker:so bright,
Speaker:I show me getting ready or I show how we're setting
Speaker:up the table.
Speaker:And then afterwards,
Speaker:of course we kind of walked through the process and then
Speaker:I'll link the video.
Speaker:Yeah. So they've really been along.
Speaker:They get to see the behind the scenes of,
Speaker:as you're setting up before,
Speaker:you're going to go online,
Speaker:then they can see the live.
Speaker:And then you can talk about it afterwards as well.
Speaker:Are you doing that in Instagram stories or Facebook live or
Speaker:Instagram stories?
Speaker:Yes. And you could definitely do it live most of the
Speaker:time. It's me by myself.
Speaker:So I don't have anyone there to do a live for
Speaker:me. If my PR person isn't with me,
Speaker:there's no way for me to set anything up like that.
Speaker:So just doing the Instagram stories has been the best way.
Speaker:That's what I would've thought you were doing,
Speaker:but I just,
Speaker:I didn't want to make any assumptions,
Speaker:Lisa. I needed to hear it from you.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So you've been in business quite a long time.
Speaker:You started at home,
Speaker:you've built yourself up to be a significant player,
Speaker:not only in your market,
Speaker:but also in the industry as a leader.
Speaker:Where do you see yourself taking it from here?
Speaker:Well, Man,
Speaker:my goal SU is to be at a place where I
Speaker:can probably coach.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:that is probably my passion is to eventually let my business
Speaker:run itself and to be able to help other people come
Speaker:into this wonderful industry that I call the gifting industry.
Speaker:That's what I see.
Speaker:I see being able to have a facility where we can
Speaker:rent it out and have meetings and shop in there.
Speaker:And there's a place here called Priscilla's that every time I
Speaker:go there,
Speaker:I'm so inspired by what they built.
Speaker:It's a family owned company and we've been going there as
Speaker:a family for years.
Speaker:And I always say,
Speaker:this is whenever they're going to sell it.
Speaker:I'm going to buy it.
Speaker:So that's my goal is to just be patient and wait
Speaker:for them to sell it and I'll buy it.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:that's my thing is to really kind of let this business
Speaker:run itself and to be a coach and a mentor to
Speaker:others that are coming into the industry.
Speaker:Well, I love that.
Speaker:And it's a huge gift back to the industry for you
Speaker:to share and teach people what you know,
Speaker:and how you've done it and created what you have.
Speaker:So I think that is absolutely fabulous.
Speaker:Where online,
Speaker:could we direct people to go and learn more about you?
Speaker:Oh, Well we have the website,
Speaker:the personal gift,
Speaker:basket.com. I'd love Instagram.
Speaker:So I'm always on Instagram and that's the personal gift basket.
Speaker:And our Facebook of course is the personal gift basket as
Speaker:well. And you can always message me or reach out to
Speaker:me. I would love to talk to you and be of
Speaker:any help that I can.
Speaker:Yeah. Wonderful.
Speaker:Well, this has been so fun and so fabulous.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:we've known each other for,
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:at least 10 years,
Speaker:But I'd never really heard the whole story.
Speaker:I've gotten the advantage of hearing and getting education from you,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:when you're teaching on,
Speaker:but we haven't done this whole story thing.
Speaker:So this has been very,
Speaker:very fun and no surprise.
Speaker:You have had some gems of knowledge to share with us.
Speaker:So thank you so much,
Speaker:Lisa. I really appreciate you.
Speaker:Thank you,
Speaker:Sue. Thanks for having me and I admire you as well.
Speaker:I love your podcast.
Speaker:I love all the things that you're doing for our industry.
Speaker:You have an amazing brand and I love that.
Speaker:I get to call you my friend.
Speaker:Likewise, take care,
Speaker:have a great rest of your day.
Speaker:You too.
Speaker:I knew Lisa would bring the goods and Boyd it she
Speaker:ever. But did you notice we weren't talking a lot about
Speaker:the popular topics of the day.
Speaker:I mean social media and email,
Speaker:of course,
Speaker:Lisa uses these two and they came up in our chat
Speaker:briefly, but Lisa success was built on utilizing other business growth
Speaker:strategies that have proven successful over the years.
Speaker:Ones that are often overlooked today.
Speaker:They may not be what's in the limelight,
Speaker:but they work.
Speaker:Think about it next week.
Speaker:We're going to talk about why Rudolph is such a hit
Speaker:among all the other reindeer brand definition,
Speaker:baby. How do you make your business a Rudolf where everybody
Speaker:notices your glowing nose?
Speaker:Okay? You knew I had to do this didn't you,
Speaker:but we're coming up to the holidays after all.
Speaker:And Christmas is everywhere you turn.
Speaker:Plus that truly is the topic for next week.
Speaker:Thanks so much for spending time with me today.
Speaker:If you'd like to show support for the podcast,
Speaker:leaving a rating and review helps.
Speaker:The show gets seen by more makers as a loyal listener.
Speaker:There are other ways to show support for the podcast to
Speaker:visit our brand new shop for a wide variety of gift
Speaker:biz paraphernalia like mugs,
Speaker:t-shirts water bottles and more featuring logos and quotes to inspire
Speaker:you throughout your day.
Speaker:They make great holiday gifts too.
Speaker:Can be shipped throughout the U S and are available at
Speaker:gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash shop all proceeds,
Speaker:help offset the cost of producing this podcast and now be
Speaker:safe and well.
Speaker:And I'll see you again next week on the gift biz
Speaker:unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook
Speaker:group called gift is free.
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 post every single week,
Speaker:without doubt.
Speaker:Wait, what 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.