Shownotes
Business Building Insights
- The best life is one lived with intention.
- Don’t get stuck in the “do-do.” You don’t have to do everything yourself. As you get proficient, you can start outsourcing.
- Meditation is as important as sleep because it helps you get back to your center.
- Be involved in the community and let people know you’re there for them.
- Pay attention to who you’re serving so you can create a community around that.
- Social Media is a great tool but don’t be its fool.
- Keep a database of your clients so you can communicate with them for future business.
- Invest in a mentor or someone who can help you move the business forward.
Juliet’s Caker’s Chat Challenge
Juliet is graciously offering two iron on Caker’s Chat badges and a discovery session call. The winners will be the first two people who head over to cakerschat.com and sign up for her newsletter. So she knows who you are, I’d suggest you send another email telling her you’re coming from the show. Good luck! I hope you’re one of the first two!Contact Links
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If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you.
Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
Gift biz unwrapped episode 216 it was just too much.
Speaker:It took too much from my body.
Speaker:It took too much time from my family.
Speaker:It was taken up too much space in my world At
Speaker:Tinton, gifters,
Speaker:bakers, crafters and makers pursuing your dream can be fun whether
Speaker:you have an established business or looking to start one.
Speaker:Now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is give 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 your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal,
Speaker:Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there,
Speaker:it's Sue and thanks for Joining me here today.
Speaker:I want to start off with a really important announcement.
Speaker:The doors for makers MBA are about to close again,
Speaker:so if you've been thinking about joining and have been putting
Speaker:it off,
Speaker:let's get your questions answered so you can make the right
Speaker:decision for you.
Speaker:Feel free to email me directly with your questions.
Speaker:sue@sumoheight.com and if you're just joining me here and have no
Speaker:idea what I'm talking about,
Speaker:maker's MBA is my signature business development program for gifters,
Speaker:bakers, crafters and makers.
Speaker:If you've been thinking about starting a business from your hobby
Speaker:or craft and you don't know what to do first,
Speaker:or if you've started an art scene,
Speaker:the results you'd expected,
Speaker:then the program is for you.
Speaker:You'll go from feeling overwhelmed,
Speaker:confused, and discouraged because you're not sure how to move forward
Speaker:to feeling energized and confident as your business starts producing a
Speaker:steady flow of customers and sales.
Speaker:Not only that,
Speaker:you'll know exactly what to do next to keep the dollars
Speaker:flowing. If you want more detail and info on how to
Speaker:join, go to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash join maker's MBA.
Speaker:You'll know that we've already closed.
Speaker:If you see a message to that effect at that link,
Speaker:but no worries.
Speaker:Just drop your name and email and I'll let you know
Speaker:when we open up again and keep listening to this show
Speaker:too, because that will also help you along as you're waiting
Speaker:for the next session.
Speaker:Okay. Who are my bakers out there?
Speaker:The episode this week is especially for you,
Speaker:but Juliette serves up sweet lines like nobody's business for all
Speaker:businesses, from talking about balance to scaling and support,
Speaker:it's an entertaining and educational batch of advice.
Speaker:Any handmade business owner can save her.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Maybe that's a little corny,
Speaker:but I've got to get you prepared for Juliet.
Speaker:You'll understand what I mean right away.
Speaker:Oh, shall we just get started?
Speaker:Glad to do it.
Speaker:Pleasure to introduce you to Juliet Galeo of Cakery chat.
Speaker:Juliet is all too familiar with the love hate relationship many
Speaker:sugar artists have with cocaine.
Speaker:After starting a career in cake decorating 10 years ago while
Speaker:starting a family,
Speaker:she found herself alone,
Speaker:frustrated and unhappy doing the things she loved most.
Speaker:Juliette's love for sugar.
Speaker:Art swelled after competing and winning three consecutive metals.
Speaker:The toll of working from home alone and doing it all
Speaker:herself, however,
Speaker:was depleting the creative,
Speaker:loving and social beam.
Speaker:She truly is after meeting so many Cakery just like her.
Speaker:She wanted everyone to know that they are not alone and
Speaker:has committed to helping those in the sweet community believe in
Speaker:themselves and their dreams.
Speaker:Juliette's weekly Wednesday YouTube show and podcast kickers,
Speaker:chat are filled with wisdom sprinkles to help sugar professionals with
Speaker:everything from mindset marketing and the encouragement needed to compete and
Speaker:stand out in the industry.
Speaker:Juliet, welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker:I am so looking forward to our chat and although this
Speaker:isn't cross Steen and Kay,
Speaker:I have a question for you about candles and I know
Speaker:you know it since you've listened to the show,
Speaker:but I like to have you describe yourself through a motivational
Speaker:candle. So if you were to share with us what color
Speaker:it is and what the quote or motto would be on
Speaker:your candle,
Speaker:what would it look like?
Speaker:So I absolutely love this idea.
Speaker:So Mike handle,
Speaker:I know everybody's probably thinking teal.
Speaker:It has to be teal cause that's our branding.
Speaker:But no,
Speaker:it's actually more of a glowing orange,
Speaker:pink and magenta and red center.
Speaker:Of course it's filled with love.
Speaker:So when you light this candle,
Speaker:I want you to be filled with love and remember that
Speaker:you are enough in front of that candle would say I
Speaker:am enough because love has to start with love in yourself.
Speaker:And of course being the complex being that I am on
Speaker:the other side it would say all you do is do,
Speaker:do, do and that's just a whole bunch of doodoo.
Speaker:Seriously, that's a riot.
Speaker:It really comes from the fact that we try to value
Speaker:ourselves by doing so much and the minute that we have
Speaker:some free time to ourselves will,
Speaker:we don't feel like we're worthy and I don't want you
Speaker:to feel that way.
Speaker:That's a whole bunch of dude who let that premise go
Speaker:live life with intention and know that everything you do either
Speaker:is towards your goal or away from your goal and there
Speaker:is a time for rest and that should be part of
Speaker:your whole plan.
Speaker:You know?
Speaker:I think a lot of us are challenged with that and
Speaker:I'm thinking as you're saying this,
Speaker:it's probably part of just being an entrepreneur and wanting to
Speaker:build something for yourself that like,
Speaker:cause I know I don't think I can sit in a
Speaker:chair and not multitask.
Speaker:I'm not sure I know how to do it.
Speaker:And I know it's important to your point that you should,
Speaker:so I need to work with the doodoo.
Speaker:Apparently It's real.
Speaker:It really is important.
Speaker:I think it's a way,
Speaker:if you acknowledge it and know that it's there,
Speaker:it does take hard work because if that's how you're wired
Speaker:as I am and for many generations,
Speaker:that's how we've been wired to just keep going.
Speaker:The thing is what will happen is you'll burn out and
Speaker:that thing that you love of most will be the thing
Speaker:that you Tate.
Speaker:Yeah. Wisdom.
Speaker:Sure. What do you call them?
Speaker:Wisdom of sprinkles.
Speaker:Wisdom. Sprinkles.
Speaker:But while we're on this point,
Speaker:I don't think I can say this enough and we have
Speaker:talked about it before,
Speaker:but there's a difference between doing,
Speaker:doing, doing and then doing tasks that can actually build your
Speaker:business. And it's important.
Speaker:There always has to be a little bit of both.
Speaker:This is kind of a spin off of the whole working
Speaker:in your business versus on your business theory.
Speaker:But so often we think we're busy because we're doing so
Speaker:much, but then we're not seeing more sales coming in or
Speaker:the phone ringing more or whatever it is because we're so
Speaker:busy working on something.
Speaker:But it's not necessarily something that's leading us to a goal.
Speaker:Absolutely. So we have to be careful with that.
Speaker:We can't get stuck in the do-do.
Speaker:How about that?
Speaker:That's a great one.
Speaker:I like that one too.
Speaker:Don't get stuck in the do-do.
Speaker:I have a five-year-old and a nine year old,
Speaker:so like everything is potty talk in my house.
Speaker:So yeah,
Speaker:that's probably where it came from.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:don't get stuck in that.
Speaker:You don't have to be the one to do everything as
Speaker:an entrepreneur where you think that because it's the beginning.
Speaker:Sure. In the beginning you do have to have your hands
Speaker:and fingers dipped and everything,
Speaker:but as you get proficient in what it is that you
Speaker:do, that excellence,
Speaker:that thing that you can only do and nobody else can,
Speaker:you need to start outsourcing some things and start looking at
Speaker:things from a higher level so that you can move ahead.
Speaker:Otherwise you're going to be stuck working in your business and
Speaker:not on your business and your won't move ahead.
Speaker:You want move ahead and you've limited your business then because
Speaker:there's only so much one person can do And then it'll
Speaker:just build up into resentment and then you're going to be
Speaker:like, you know what?
Speaker:I don't want to do this anymore.
Speaker:Let's move on.
Speaker:Yeah, I know firsthand well.
Speaker:Yeah, and that's okay.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:maybe some of our listeners here,
Speaker:it would be like,
Speaker:gulp that to me.
Speaker:Well guess what?
Speaker:It's okay.
Speaker:You learn and then you make adjustments.
Speaker:And I often have to watch myself because it's so much
Speaker:easier to gravitate to things that are easy and comfortable to
Speaker:do versus the challenging things that often are the things that
Speaker:are going to advance your business forward.
Speaker:It's hard work to rest,
Speaker:relax, and rejuvenate.
Speaker:It is hard work,
Speaker:especially if it's not part of your habits.
Speaker:It's not part of your habit,
Speaker:so if it's not part of your daily habit to rejuvenate,
Speaker:relax, or even meditate,
Speaker:it's just as important as water.
Speaker:It's just as important sleep,
Speaker:and yet even those things fall to the wayside because you're
Speaker:so busy doing,
Speaker:doing, doing,
Speaker:doing. They can't do that.
Speaker:The first thing you do,
Speaker:wake up in the morning,
Speaker:you grab your phone and you see how many likes you
Speaker:have on something.
Speaker:Oh my God,
Speaker:that burns a hole in my heart.
Speaker:Please don't do that to yourself and your mental state.
Speaker:You need to get back into your own center and speak
Speaker:to yourself.
Speaker:Absolutely. All right,
Speaker:well let's practice what we preach and not get stuck here.
Speaker:Yeah, let's this,
Speaker:we could talk the whole time on this,
Speaker:right? Share with us how you got into cake decorating,
Speaker:so the first portion of your sweet career,
Speaker:if you will.
Speaker:Absolutely. I was always some type of artist,
Speaker:crafter type of personality and believe it or not,
Speaker:I went to school for business communication and graphic design.
Speaker:So as a graphic designer,
Speaker:as far as baking those concerns,
Speaker:that was just something we did at home and it was
Speaker:just a Rite of passage in our family.
Speaker:You were ready to be a wife to somebody,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:when you knew how to bake very well.
Speaker:And in my teenage hood,
Speaker:my cookies started to get more complex and one day my
Speaker:mom handed over the mixer to me and said,
Speaker:okay, now you're in charge of the holiday cookies from now
Speaker:on in.
Speaker:And that was like the biggest diploma I could ever get.
Speaker:So you didn't feel like that was work,
Speaker:like she was sending that over to you were happy about
Speaker:it? It was like a status symbol in the family kind
Speaker:of Status symbol.
Speaker:My mom,
Speaker:the perfectionist,
Speaker:I mean she is Mary Poppins reincarnated and she literally gave
Speaker:me the mixture and trusted me with it.
Speaker:And as a matter of fact,
Speaker:I believe she might've said something,
Speaker:you'd do them better anyway.
Speaker:Whoa, huge deal.
Speaker:So I've always done cookies and cookie platters for the holidays,
Speaker:Easter and Christmas.
Speaker:Like that was my thing.
Speaker:That was my therapy from school.
Speaker:I loved it.
Speaker:I loved the monotonous,
Speaker:we used to say tedium is my medium.
Speaker:The tediousness of trying to make each cookies the same.
Speaker:It's therapeutic.
Speaker:I loved it and I still do love it.
Speaker:And then one day my inlaws moved into a new house.
Speaker:I didn't know.
Speaker:What do you give somebody that has everything?
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:you know what?
Speaker:This guy buddy Valastro cake boss has been making cakes on
Speaker:TV. I've been watching challenge on food network all the time.
Speaker:Like that was my pastime,
Speaker:I guess.
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:you know what?
Speaker:They make it look so easy.
Speaker:Let's see.
Speaker:I've never made a cake before,
Speaker:but here I go.
Speaker:But this is how I do it.
Speaker:First head first,
Speaker:and I baked the cake.
Speaker:It was,
Speaker:okay, I'm kind of picky.
Speaker:And then all of a sudden my hands manifested this cake
Speaker:with a house made of rice Krispie treats and the tree.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:how did I do this?
Speaker:I posted it on Facebook.
Speaker:I mean if you look at it now,
Speaker:it's really like what?
Speaker:It's like a little kid do it,
Speaker:but I couldn't believe that I did it,
Speaker:but believe it or not,
Speaker:from that little cake,
Speaker:somebody called me and my second cake was a commissioned cake
Speaker:right away that they asked me to make a cake for
Speaker:an event and then it just went from there.
Speaker:So you know what's cool about your story,
Speaker:Juliette, is you felt it internally,
Speaker:you felt that spark internally and then also you got confirmation
Speaker:when someone saw it on Facebook.
Speaker:So it's like two things coming together at once for a
Speaker:perfect union.
Speaker:It was.
Speaker:It really was.
Speaker:It was really incredible.
Speaker:And I think I was really lucky with that.
Speaker:And social media just started to get hot at that time.
Speaker:I definitely owe it to social media for getting the word
Speaker:out. Question for you.
Speaker:So someone calls you and you saw that you were liking
Speaker:what you were doing,
Speaker:but now I'm sure you weren't expecting someone to call and
Speaker:commission you for work.
Speaker:No way Did you react to that and what did you
Speaker:do about pricing?
Speaker:Cause this isn't even on your radar.
Speaker:Okay. So they called me and of course this was like
Speaker:a family.
Speaker:This is family who asked me to do it and I'm
Speaker:going to be honest with you,
Speaker:it was my second cake that I did.
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:pay me whatever you want.
Speaker:That's okay.
Speaker:That's how you start,
Speaker:right? Yeah,
Speaker:because I didn't know what they were family.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:I've always baked and just gave it away anyway and this
Speaker:is my second cake ever.
Speaker:Are you kidding me?
Speaker:Like I'm sure it took me a week to make the
Speaker:cake like that.
Speaker:Okay. Like that.
Speaker:It's my second cake that's not going to work longterm for
Speaker:sure. Right.
Speaker:It's supposed to be a business thing.
Speaker:It's just,
Speaker:I know it took a lot of work to do and
Speaker:I wasn't really expecting anything.
Speaker:I was just grateful that somebody asked me to make them
Speaker:a cake and they paid me and it was definitely proportionate
Speaker:to what the work asked for.
Speaker:I don't know about how pretty it was,
Speaker:but it was done because it was a tall order.
Speaker:This is my second cake and I made a round sphere
Speaker:ball on a sheet cake and a soccer ball standing,
Speaker:figuring. Now those people in the sugar world know that that's
Speaker:not an easy thing to do.
Speaker:But again,
Speaker:I jump in head first.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Hey, I'm still proud of it.
Speaker:I stand by that cake still today.
Speaker:So where along all of this was it that you said,
Speaker:Oh, how about making this a business?
Speaker:The calls started to come in so then there were more
Speaker:calls. Yeah,
Speaker:I guess it really just happened by happenstance.
Speaker:I was going into graphic design.
Speaker:I had my baby at the time and graphic design was
Speaker:kind of being outsourced with a lot more cheaper overseas designs.
Speaker:Brides weren't spending as much on invitations cause that was kind
Speaker:of for my flow and those fancy invitations were going out
Speaker:the door.
Speaker:And people were going digital.
Speaker:So I'm like,
Speaker:Oh man,
Speaker:like what am I going to do?
Speaker:So my artistic layers,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:were no longer Photoshop.
Speaker:They were layers of fun done and creating figurines and cakes
Speaker:and things like that.
Speaker:So I got another email from another person and they said,
Speaker:Oh, I saw you did such and such as Kate,
Speaker:do you mind doing mine?
Speaker:So I did another kid's cake and then another kid's cake
Speaker:and I couldn't believe figurines that were coming out of my
Speaker:head. It was really an even till today,
Speaker:to be honest.
Speaker:It's kind of like an out of body experience.
Speaker:You're surprised when you see what you've made.
Speaker:I bet you too,
Speaker:when you go back and look at some of your old
Speaker:designs because you have distance from them now that you look
Speaker:and it's like,
Speaker:Whoa, that was pretty good.
Speaker:Look at that,
Speaker:the, I did that.
Speaker:Yes. And the other side of the coin too,
Speaker:I'm like Pat out.
Speaker:I leave those round edges there and I was proud of
Speaker:that. But now you're more critical too.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:Absolutely. But yeah,
Speaker:no Things that I look at.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:you had no training in this whatsoever.
Speaker:And it's like literally manifesting out of your fingers.
Speaker:It is an out of body experience.
Speaker:It's like a trance.
Speaker:You fall into a trance and you turn around.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:who did that?
Speaker:Oh my God,
Speaker:that was me.
Speaker:Oh that's so funny.
Speaker:So your first jobs were people that you knew,
Speaker:friends and family.
Speaker:How long,
Speaker:and this is a perfect demonstration of word of mouth,
Speaker:right? Word of mouth.
Speaker:Social media.
Speaker:Yes. But one thing led to another and you weren't even
Speaker:pushing for that.
Speaker:This just started organically happening.
Speaker:How long would you say it took from people who knew
Speaker:you till you started getting phone calls from people that you
Speaker:didn't know at all you had no connection with other than
Speaker:through somebody else?
Speaker:Like literally in months,
Speaker:like not even months,
Speaker:weeks. Really.
Speaker:My third and fourth cake.
Speaker:Well, cause it happened through social media and the people who
Speaker:were ordering the cakes were still part of a tight community
Speaker:here in New York.
Speaker:So there were part of the Maltese community,
Speaker:which I'm so lucky.
Speaker:I'm married to a gorgeous multisite man,
Speaker:so I guess because they hear my last name is Ghalia
Speaker:that I must be Maltese,
Speaker:but I'm married to one and they just stuck to the
Speaker:community. So I think being into community,
Speaker:being involved with the community,
Speaker:letting people know that you are available there for them.
Speaker:And then people started having babies for cakes.
Speaker:Honestly, a lot of people say that the brides are the
Speaker:moneymakers. I think the kids were the moneymakers for me because
Speaker:at that time I was just kind of just training myself
Speaker:with each cake that came in and I did everything in
Speaker:my power to make sure they were excellent because to me,
Speaker:my clients weren't clients.
Speaker:There were family,
Speaker:so it was really,
Speaker:really important for me to make sure that I give them
Speaker:the top notch business because I was not a shock.
Speaker:To me,
Speaker:a shock.
Speaker:It's a different type of service.
Speaker:It's just a different service Because you're very specialized and customized
Speaker:and personal.
Speaker:Yeah, and personal.
Speaker:Yeah. Versus like a bakery where people are coming in.
Speaker:It's equally as good.
Speaker:It's just a different structure.
Speaker:Absolutely different structure.
Speaker:I was really basically a personal Baker.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:Okay. And the other thing that is interesting about your story,
Speaker:the big term in this day is niching down,
Speaker:become a specialist,
Speaker:become known for something and so you were also a specialist
Speaker:as you started to build.
Speaker:I'm quite sure it didn't stay that way but within the
Speaker:Maltese community,
Speaker:absolutely. So that's another thought.
Speaker:Just gift biz listeners based on your product.
Speaker:If you have something within your groups or whatever to focus
Speaker:on that as a way to build because the closer customers
Speaker:can feel to you and feel like you get them quote
Speaker:unquote the more you are going to be the chosen provider
Speaker:of whatever it is that you sell.
Speaker:Absolutely. I would totally reach out to like mommy groups within
Speaker:a certain neighborhood if you are in that neighborhood,
Speaker:sponsor their baseball teams or something like that.
Speaker:And I really believe staying local with your community,
Speaker:social media,
Speaker:and I've said this a number of times,
Speaker:social media is a great tool,
Speaker:but don't be a fool.
Speaker:Don't think that because you have followers and I don't know
Speaker:where it's her nationally,
Speaker:that those are not the people who are buying from you.
Speaker:You really need to start your family,
Speaker:create your community and really make it a community kitchen type
Speaker:of thing.
Speaker:If that depends again on who you're trying to service.
Speaker:If you're servicing brides who are coming from overseas who are
Speaker:coming for a destination wedding,
Speaker:I get that,
Speaker:but again,
Speaker:pay attention to who you're servicing and make sure you create
Speaker:a community around that.
Speaker:Yes, and social media is a part of the whole,
Speaker:really, It's just a marketing tool.
Speaker:It's one marketing tool And so is this just a fabulous
Speaker:quote that I just pulled out of you or have you
Speaker:already said this or have you heard it elsewhere?
Speaker:Social media is a great tool,
Speaker:but don't be it's fool.
Speaker:I've always said that Greg,
Speaker:social media is a tool.
Speaker:Don't be,
Speaker:it's full.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Well that's going to be a quote that you are going
Speaker:to see on social media with your name under it.
Speaker:Just letting you know right now.
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:Yeah, because People depend on social media and they put their
Speaker:full stock and they communicate with their clients on it.
Speaker:It's not right that they don't own that content.
Speaker:They really need to bring it back home,
Speaker:bring it back home into their newsletters.
Speaker:Make sure you have a database please of your clients.
Speaker:Even if it's a simple Excel sheet.
Speaker:If you don't know what an Excel sheet is,
Speaker:I'm going to break it to in a word sheet.
Speaker:I mean index cards,
Speaker:anything, anything but keeping it all on your whatever,
Speaker:Facebook or your Instagram,
Speaker:I can go on forever.
Speaker:That's a whole other class,
Speaker:a whole other workshop.
Speaker:I'm going to stick with your history,
Speaker:but before we do,
Speaker:you did bring up an important point and give biz listeners
Speaker:at the time we're recording this.
Speaker:This is about a week after Facebook went down for the
Speaker:day. Do you guys remember that?
Speaker:So when this goes live,
Speaker:it'll be like a month ago or I'm not exactly sure
Speaker:when. I swear everyone was up in arms.
Speaker:What's happening?
Speaker:How do I do business?
Speaker:That's the demise of everything.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:everyone totally freaked out.
Speaker:What you're talking about,
Speaker:Juliet, in terms of making sure that you own connection back
Speaker:to your customers is vital.
Speaker:Absolutely. I mean,
Speaker:it is the lifeblood of your business for sure.
Speaker:So any of you guys who had heart stopping moments when
Speaker:that happened,
Speaker:that was a wake up call because that means you need
Speaker:to get things in place.
Speaker:Even your content,
Speaker:especially if I know,
Speaker:and this I think relates across the board with gifters as
Speaker:well, but like sometimes we get so busy in our lives
Speaker:and we post up these beautiful pictures of whatever products we're
Speaker:selling, what have you.
Speaker:Do you still have it somewhere on a hard drive elsewhere
Speaker:other than your Instagram?
Speaker:Yeah. Excellent point.
Speaker:And how are you organizing that stuff?
Speaker:Just remembered like that's just one of the spaces.
Speaker:That's your pinup board,
Speaker:but you got to have it in your filing cabinet.
Speaker:Yeah. Excellent point.
Speaker:So we're back to you and you've done a number of
Speaker:cakes. Now what happens from there?
Speaker:Okay, so I just continually keep on doing cakes and it's
Speaker:fun. I'm growing in my skills and then I had a
Speaker:second baby and thank goodness he was so good.
Speaker:I got back into baking really quick right after that and
Speaker:then I started competing and competing.
Speaker:Really got my sportsmanship out and I said,
Speaker:Ooh, this is fun.
Speaker:Now, did you do that for yourself or to reposition yourself
Speaker:with the in the industry or what was the purpose behind
Speaker:it? I had no idea what I was doing.
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:Oh, this is fun.
Speaker:Let me try it.
Speaker:Oh my God,
Speaker:I'm not good enough to compete.
Speaker:I haven't been through this enough to compete,
Speaker:but listen,
Speaker:you did,
Speaker:right? Yeah,
Speaker:but these are the things that I said to myself and
Speaker:I know so many people out there are saying to themselves,
Speaker:and I competed and I placed gold on my first competition.
Speaker:No way.
Speaker:So like not,
Speaker:I didn't think I was going to win.
Speaker:I wasn't even there with my family.
Speaker:It was of myself,
Speaker:so when they called my name,
Speaker:I was like,
Speaker:huh, Oh my gosh,
Speaker:that's so exciting.
Speaker:I got home and my husband's like,
Speaker:Oh, it's going to be okay.
Speaker:He goes,
Speaker:I want not only wine,
Speaker:you want gold.
Speaker:It was crazy.
Speaker:Crazy. It really wasn't the amount of cakes and competition and
Speaker:I got to learn that there's other people like me,
Speaker:sugar nerds,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:and it just ignited a new thing in me and I
Speaker:didn't know that there was another community out there just like
Speaker:that and I could learn more and there were so many
Speaker:more things I could learn And it was validating.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you then saw that,
Speaker:okay, what my style is recognized in the industry as being
Speaker:good more than good winner status.
Speaker:Yeah. You know,
Speaker:that's a big deal too because a lot of times when
Speaker:we're alone in our K caves or crafting caves,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:we are lost alone in our own thoughts and they may
Speaker:or may not be true and I'm not going to say
Speaker:that this gold medal said I was great at what I
Speaker:did, but it just kind of gave me that little spirit
Speaker:say, yeah,
Speaker:I know what I should stick with this.
Speaker:Hey, they stood up and took notice.
Speaker:Yeah. What was a big deal for me?
Speaker:Because the competitive nature that I am,
Speaker:I will never be satisfied with that.
Speaker:Yeah, I placed gold and this is something I need to
Speaker:work with and appreciate that.
Speaker:Yes, I did win something,
Speaker:but to me the appreciation that I had that I had
Speaker:professionals with a professional eye looking at my work,
Speaker:taking the time out of their lives to look at my
Speaker:work that I did in my tiny kitchen was amazing to
Speaker:me. I was so grateful for that and they gave me
Speaker:notes of what was good and how I can improve for
Speaker:next time and that's what I took into the next competition.
Speaker:Love it.
Speaker:Okay, so you're competing.
Speaker:You went on to win two other metals.
Speaker:I know that from your intro.
Speaker:Yup. After Juliette's gold metal status,
Speaker:things started to change.
Speaker:We'll hear what happens next.
Speaker:Right after a quick word from our sponsor,
Speaker:This podcast is made possible thanks to the support of the
Speaker:ribbon print company.
Speaker:Create custom ribbons right in your store or craft studio in
Speaker:seconds. Visit the ribbon,
Speaker:print company.com
Speaker:for more information So I knew something had to change at
Speaker:home. I live in New York,
Speaker:so I started to get more orders.
Speaker:My work started to get even better by recipes were unbelievable
Speaker:delicious. I used to bake the same way I would bake
Speaker:for my family,
Speaker:not like a bakery.
Speaker:It was all from scratch and the ingredients were all from
Speaker:scratch. Even my font was from scratch.
Speaker:This was unsustainable.
Speaker:If you're going to have a business and actually make a
Speaker:profit, Stay here for a second.
Speaker:Explain that to some people who may not understand why that
Speaker:is. This is a good point.
Speaker:Absolutely. I always say this.
Speaker:If I was going to keep on going with the business,
Speaker:I would have to change a lot of things.
Speaker:Again, I was servicing my customers the same way that I
Speaker:serviced my family,
Speaker:if not better.
Speaker:Everything was homemade,
Speaker:handmade, and it was done all from my hands from washing
Speaker:dishes to getting the inventory.
Speaker:Everything was done by me,
Speaker:solopreneur, and it was just too much.
Speaker:It took too much from my body.
Speaker:It took too much time from my family.
Speaker:He was taken up just too much space in my world.
Speaker:Yes. And then you're also limited because since you can only
Speaker:do so much,
Speaker:it's like putting a lid on the jar of the revenue
Speaker:that you could make.
Speaker:Like there's X amount only.
Speaker:Plus I'm sure if you really looked at the right costs
Speaker:for your cakes,
Speaker:they would be sky high.
Speaker:Correct too.
Speaker:Absolutely correct.
Speaker:So for example,
Speaker:the amount of profit that I should have been making off
Speaker:these cakes were not something that somebody would pay for.
Speaker:So in order for me to actually create a business out
Speaker:of it,
Speaker:you'd have to systemize things and maybe not make the fondant
Speaker:by hand,
Speaker:maybe don't use those kinds of ingredients.
Speaker:Maybe cake is the way to go because some clientele don't
Speaker:have that taste.
Speaker:It's kids not pastry.
Speaker:And I come from a cookie pastry heart.
Speaker:That's where my basis is.
Speaker:So I carry that into my caking because when you have
Speaker:cake, it's a slice of cake and usually have it with
Speaker:food versus when you're having just cookies,
Speaker:you're just taking that one bite and you're almost criticizing.
Speaker:I represented in that one bite.
Speaker:So I make sure that I pack as much love into
Speaker:it, if you will,
Speaker:to make that everlasting tastes or everlasting Mark with you.
Speaker:I carried that on with my cakes and it was just
Speaker:too much.
Speaker:Yeah. In other words,
Speaker:the product was too expensive and it wasn't as profitable as
Speaker:it should have been.
Speaker:In order for me to do that,
Speaker:I would have to systemize things.
Speaker:I hate to say drop my standards,
Speaker:but it would just be a different product.
Speaker:Well yeah.
Speaker:And I'm also thinking that you were attracting a different audience
Speaker:than what your standard was.
Speaker:Cause it sounds to me,
Speaker:correct me if I'm wrong,
Speaker:but it sounds to me if you would have continued,
Speaker:you would have needed to be doing upscale cakes to celebrities
Speaker:who could pay for it or upscale restaurants that had to
Speaker:have specialty cakes and all that because they'll pay thousands and
Speaker:thousands of dollars for those cakes because of the taste.
Speaker:But it sounds like the type of clientele,
Speaker:yes, of course it has to taste wonderful.
Speaker:But they were a lot into your designing talent.
Speaker:Correct. So it was,
Speaker:I hate to say it that way,
Speaker:but maybe it was about the taste of the cake,
Speaker:but it was also about,
Speaker:and maybe more about what it looked like in the impression,
Speaker:the visual impression.
Speaker:Yeah, no apology needed.
Speaker:You're absolutely right.
Speaker:But the thing is that I couldn't let a product out
Speaker:of my kitchen or go through my hands.
Speaker:That wasn't perfect.
Speaker:Cause of course that's my perfectionist in me.
Speaker:So if that product wasn't a hundred percent through with,
Speaker:through, I felt like I couldn't put my name on it.
Speaker:So it helped me back that perfectionism.
Speaker:And that's why I say perfectionism is just perfection is perception.
Speaker:So for that,
Speaker:those months out of my life,
Speaker:those years out of my life,
Speaker:I was holding myself back because I literally could have been
Speaker:making way more money,
Speaker:but I did it because I needed to have that product
Speaker:be a hundred percent through wind,
Speaker:through not even a hundred percent 110% you know,
Speaker:whatever it is,
Speaker:I put so much more effort into it.
Speaker:Yeah. So give business listeners,
Speaker:I want to relate this to everybody.
Speaker:So give biz listeners,
Speaker:this could be for you,
Speaker:making sure that this hand blown glass bead is absolutely positively
Speaker:every single one of them is absolutely perfect or cookie designs,
Speaker:same thing and you should try and stay out of the
Speaker:industry, but gift baskets that the bow that you're putting on,
Speaker:if it isn't absolutely perfect,
Speaker:where every single loop is exactly right,
Speaker:you scrap that bow and start over with a whole nother
Speaker:bow like those are things that cost you money that the
Speaker:client never sees.
Speaker:Now obviously it can't be lopsided like a bow couldn't be
Speaker:lopsided or a glass bead can't be imperfect,
Speaker:but when we go to that styling level That is just
Speaker:taking so much time with perfectionism,
Speaker:it's a good place to self-check because you're losing money in
Speaker:that moment.
Speaker:When you go back and redo and redo and redo.
Speaker:Do, do,
Speaker:do, do.
Speaker:Time is money.
Speaker:And let's say for example,
Speaker:let's go to those bows.
Speaker:Let's say,
Speaker:and this is just an example,
Speaker:I'm not a bowmaker,
Speaker:so I don't know what the lingo is here,
Speaker:but let's say for example,
Speaker:the most perfect bow in the world has eight loops in
Speaker:it, or nine loops in it,
Speaker:and your client couldn't tell if it had five or eight.
Speaker:To be honest,
Speaker:he's happy with two,
Speaker:whatever he's happy with,
Speaker:go for it.
Speaker:If he's happy with the to go with the tube,
Speaker:I know you love the nine Bo nine loop bow.
Speaker:I know that you love that for your satisfaction,
Speaker:but maybe you can tear your stuff and say,
Speaker:Oh, two Lupo is a silver package and a nine loop
Speaker:bull is like a gold package and do it that way.
Speaker:That way you can still do the bows that you love
Speaker:but get paid according to it.
Speaker:Good point.
Speaker:Okay, so the suspense is rising.
Speaker:You're at a crossroads,
Speaker:and so now you've identified this challenge.
Speaker:So what were your options and what did you decide to
Speaker:do about it?
Speaker:I live in New York city.
Speaker:So in New York city we don't have a food cottage
Speaker:law. So I was going to continue with my baking.
Speaker:I would have to open up a studio,
Speaker:which is something I've always dreamt of.
Speaker:Or actually that's the only thing I was thinking is like
Speaker:having a studio.
Speaker:So I'm like,
Speaker:should I open up a studio?
Speaker:Meaning like a commercial kitchen or a bakery or what?
Speaker:It would be a commercial kitchen that you would have to
Speaker:come and see me by appointment because I'm an artist first
Speaker:and foremost.
Speaker:So it wouldn't be something that I would be doing retail
Speaker:on a daily basis.
Speaker:Gotcha. And I have my kids to raise as well.
Speaker:So that would have worked with that.
Speaker:So I was shopping around for that thinking how much time
Speaker:would I need to commit to that because it's another family
Speaker:member, it's another part of your life.
Speaker:So I was in that crossroads.
Speaker:I was still getting pricing and thinking what I should do.
Speaker:And once that summer's Eve,
Speaker:I guess if you will,
Speaker:we were having a barbecue or a gathering with a whole
Speaker:bunch of bakers where we were talking about the baking industry
Speaker:and we were giving each other advice and I was asking
Speaker:people questions as I the curious caker I am,
Speaker:I'm asking people questions and they're like,
Speaker:Oh that's a great question.
Speaker:Everybody's listening in to the questions and stuff like that.
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:you know what?
Speaker:This is such great information.
Speaker:You guys are so full of great information.
Speaker:This should be put out there and shared with everybody,
Speaker:cause I'm sure everybody else has questions just like this.
Speaker:And my friends were like,
Speaker:Oh well then you should put it out there.
Speaker:And funny enough,
Speaker:I don't know how it happened,
Speaker:but we laughed it off.
Speaker:We left it alone a couple of weeks later.
Speaker:Next thing I know,
Speaker:I'm out there helping out another friend who started putting the
Speaker:information there and that's chef Amy,
Speaker:Laura. And we went on Periscope at the time we went
Speaker:on Periscope and next thing you know,
Speaker:we had a whole bunch of followers asking us people that
Speaker:we know,
Speaker:asking her questions.
Speaker:We were talking about networking and it was such a great
Speaker:chat. Was it perfect?
Speaker:No, our papers were flying all over the place and information
Speaker:was awesome because she kind of brought it home of why
Speaker:it's so important to network and what it can do,
Speaker:not only for yourself but for your business.
Speaker:Right. We call it a Cakery chat from the get go.
Speaker:It was just something that happened spontaneously,
Speaker:so just as spontaneously as I was throwing in into the
Speaker:role of being a cake decorator or sugar artist.
Speaker:Here I am being a host of a talk show And
Speaker:once again,
Speaker:did you have that inner feeling like dang,
Speaker:light goes on.
Speaker:This is what I want to do.
Speaker:Well, I love talking to people.
Speaker:I love getting information from people extracting.
Speaker:I've always been good at that.
Speaker:But when my confirmation,
Speaker:when I said,
Speaker:when that ding moment,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:when it said I should keep on going with this is
Speaker:when I saw all the followers,
Speaker:I know the questions and all the emails that Juliet,
Speaker:can you find out how to do this and how to
Speaker:do that.
Speaker:And when I saw that other people needed this community and
Speaker:that we're all alone in our cake cave and this is
Speaker:what I need to drive home and this is so important
Speaker:to me,
Speaker:is that we need to create a community where we love
Speaker:each other or as I like to say,
Speaker:so we can all rise together in the oven like cupcakes.
Speaker:We can absolutely rise together.
Speaker:We don't need to knock each other down.
Speaker:We do not need to blow out somebody else's candle,
Speaker:if you will.
Speaker:All our Kendall's could light and light up the whole universe
Speaker:together. Absolutely.
Speaker:And I think specially because so many people are solo entrepreneurs
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:As they get started,
Speaker:you do feel alone and am I doing this right or
Speaker:am I enough to your candle?
Speaker:And to have other people say,
Speaker:Hey, I felt the same way.
Speaker:I'm going through the same thing.
Speaker:Keep going,
Speaker:here's what you do.
Speaker:Or here's what worked for me.
Speaker:Just having that comradery and we talk about the fact that
Speaker:social media isn't something you should lean on.
Speaker:Totally. Well,
Speaker:social media,
Speaker:like Facebook groups,
Speaker:groups like this are golden.
Speaker:Absolutely. Give his listeners,
Speaker:if you haven't already found some groups that are in your
Speaker:industry specific,
Speaker:I definitely would do so.
Speaker:And I have to put the plug in here for our
Speaker:group gift biz breeze,
Speaker:which is for all gifters bakers,
Speaker:crafters and makers because I think there is a quality to
Speaker:cross breeding,
Speaker:crafting and making as well.
Speaker:Absolutely. So a maker community like mine,
Speaker:but also a community that's industry specific and those two together
Speaker:are perfect.
Speaker:What do you call it?
Speaker:What? You have a saying?
Speaker:You have all these sweet salesman,
Speaker:but what's your buttercream?
Speaker:Oh, spread love.
Speaker:Like buttercream.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:But of course.
Speaker:So are you not baking anymore?
Speaker:Okay. So I would love to bake,
Speaker:but I do it on the holidays and I do it
Speaker:only for family.
Speaker:No. So I get those requests like,
Speaker:Oh Julie,
Speaker:cause my family name is Julie.
Speaker:They don't call me Juliette.
Speaker:Julie, do you think he can make me those peaches?
Speaker:And of course with my family it's never just a dozen
Speaker:peach cookies.
Speaker:It's like a tray.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:sure, sure.
Speaker:Well and you kind of have to,
Speaker:since your mom passed the torch to you Basically.
Speaker:And it would drive me crazy if she did it because
Speaker:none of them are even,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:my OCD goes in there.
Speaker:Minor bite-size anyways.
Speaker:Yeah. So mine are a little bit better,
Speaker:but yes.
Speaker:But you know,
Speaker:I think it's really good that you still have hands on
Speaker:in the craft because then you can continue to relate to
Speaker:the audience apps.
Speaker:Cause if you weren't doing something,
Speaker:if you just went into,
Speaker:and I want to talk about what else you're doing with
Speaker:kickers, chat,
Speaker:but if you weren't still somewhat hands on now you're not
Speaker:monetizing that hands on part,
Speaker:I get it.
Speaker:But you're much more relatable.
Speaker:They feel like you understand them too.
Speaker:Oh absolutely.
Speaker:Well, I'm not the chef master Baker.
Speaker:I'm actually not even trained in my craft.
Speaker:I'm trained by the school of hard knocks if you will,
Speaker:but I'm still in the game and I'm not saying that
Speaker:I have everything figured out,
Speaker:but I'm here to support you in what you do.
Speaker:See, I've been supporting a lot of people in different industries
Speaker:in my career while I've been doing,
Speaker:while I've been went to school,
Speaker:I was supporting so many different industries and other solo preneurs
Speaker:and I watched them work so I know what works and
Speaker:I know what doesn't work.
Speaker:Yes. In the beginning when you have your dream,
Speaker:you are working by yourself.
Speaker:You need to start thinking about having a team outsourcing certain
Speaker:things and when you don't have a support system or you
Speaker:have a support system but they don't know exactly how to
Speaker:support you,
Speaker:sometimes it's important for you to either a get a mentor
Speaker:or hire one and I know money is short,
Speaker:but wouldn't you rather not sit there and reinvent the wheel
Speaker:when somebody has already gone through it and is willing to
Speaker:mentor you through certain things?
Speaker:How much more can you accomplish if somebody said,
Speaker:you know what,
Speaker:why don't you do F steps a,
Speaker:B, and C cause you're so busy looking at the pixels
Speaker:of a picture versus the bigger picture.
Speaker:Again, it goes back to working on your business versus working
Speaker:in your business.
Speaker:Absolutely, and I would dare to say that you end up
Speaker:spending more money that way.
Speaker:It's just little chunks of money over time versus investing in
Speaker:someone who can really help you move the ball forward in
Speaker:a big way.
Speaker:Move the ball forward with somebody or you are going to
Speaker:end up getting hurt while trying to move this ball.
Speaker:That's not going to move anywhere.
Speaker:Right. And then there's the uncertainty,
Speaker:am I actually even doing what I should be doing?
Speaker:Is this the right method?
Speaker:All of that.
Speaker:Just having someone who has had the experience.
Speaker:I totally agree with you Juliet.
Speaker:100% yeah.
Speaker:Okay. Tell us more about Cakery chat and anything else you'd
Speaker:like to add to what you're doing today.
Speaker:Absolutely. Well kickers chat is a online community and right now
Speaker:it's on YouTube.
Speaker:So there's a weekly YouTube show and it's a podcast so
Speaker:you can listen in if in case you're baking or doing
Speaker:crafts. So in case you can't watch.
Speaker:And we help bakers a sweet treat makers build their confidence
Speaker:through self-awareness.
Speaker:And as a result they become more confident to be seen
Speaker:and to be able to profit from their passion and help
Speaker:spread love like buttercream within the tribe.
Speaker:And it all relates as far as their business.
Speaker:So the more they grow and help others grow,
Speaker:they too in their own business can grow and apply certain
Speaker:ideas or thoughts or mindsets,
Speaker:which is a big deal cause a lot of people who
Speaker:become makers or crafters or bakers a lot of times fall
Speaker:into it by accident just like I did.
Speaker:Absolutely. I agree with you.
Speaker:I see them every day.
Speaker:And so both on YouTube and your podcast is Cakery chat.
Speaker:So that's where the people will find you.
Speaker:Absolutely. Okay.
Speaker:And then also of course gift biz listeners on the show
Speaker:notes page,
Speaker:I'll have links to Facebook,
Speaker:Instagram, all those good sites for you to know about.
Speaker:So Juliette,
Speaker:I understand you have some gifts for my audience today.
Speaker:Absolutely. If you're a cake or Baker or a sweet treat
Speaker:maker or any kind of maker creative today for you,
Speaker:I have Cakery chat that isn't because I love you there.
Speaker:I are non for your chef coat and also we can
Speaker:do a discovery session just for you where we can talk
Speaker:about the things that you need and maybe line up where
Speaker:you need to go with your business.
Speaker:Cool. So a discovery session,
Speaker:is that a phone call or how does that work?
Speaker:Absolutely. Can get onto a Skype call or a FaceTime call
Speaker:and kind of discuss where you're at with your goals and
Speaker:where you want to go and maybe I can help you
Speaker:realign that with the tasks you need to do to get
Speaker:there. Oh my gosh,
Speaker:that's so generous,
Speaker:Juliet. I really appreciate it.
Speaker:So there are patches for your chef code and there's the
Speaker:opportunity for the call.
Speaker:So how do people get in contact with you for those?
Speaker:Well, you head over to kickers,
Speaker:chat.com sign up for our newsletter and the first two people
Speaker:to sign up for our newsletters will be eligible to get
Speaker:those chef coat badges and Oh,
Speaker:discovery session call.
Speaker:So two people will be winners.
Speaker:So act fast,
Speaker:can't wait to chat with you.
Speaker:Well Juliet,
Speaker:I don't have a cake here to give you,
Speaker:but they do have a gift for you.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:So this is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable
Speaker:Heights that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What's inside your box?
Speaker:Oh, Sue,
Speaker:thank You so much.
Speaker:This is something I've dreamt about for a very long time.
Speaker:It's a unified front of humans looking to fulfill their dreams.
Speaker:They're filled with love and confidence and a growth mindset and
Speaker:they have tolerance and compassion for one another and we as
Speaker:a unified front,
Speaker:get to make everything grow and fill the universe with more
Speaker:love. Okay.
Speaker:Can I be the first one at that door to get
Speaker:in? That sounds perfect.
Speaker:Can I come share your gift with you?
Speaker:Literally it's for everybody.
Speaker:Love it.
Speaker:Only with more love in this world.
Speaker:Can we create more things without anything else holding us back?
Speaker:Couldn't agree with you more.
Speaker:Thank you so much,
Speaker:Juliet. Your story is so interesting.
Speaker:I know a lot of it is you say,
Speaker:well, I didn't mean to do this,
Speaker:but this happened and I didn't like everything just naturally progressed
Speaker:for you and of course,
Speaker:yes. In the instance of Quakers chat,
Speaker:it was a definite decision because you were at a fork
Speaker:in the road.
Speaker:It's going to be one way or it's going to be
Speaker:the other.
Speaker:And I kind of feel like the universe decided it for
Speaker:you. It's not,
Speaker:you're right.
Speaker:Again, I didn't mean to be a leader in the industry.
Speaker:I was chosen by my tribe,
Speaker:But you were open to the idea you accepted and saw
Speaker:the information and then took action and move forward.
Speaker:And I think a lot of people either don't have their
Speaker:eyes wide open to it or they say,
Speaker:no, no,
Speaker:no, it couldn't be me.
Speaker:That has to go back to self awareness.
Speaker:It's really important self-awareness and listen.
Speaker:So I want to thank you for being a leader of
Speaker:your community,
Speaker:the yummy butter cream and everything sweet community.
Speaker:So I love that and I thank you so much for
Speaker:sharing everything that you have with us today.
Speaker:Thank you,
Speaker:sir. Thank you so much and I love your program and
Speaker:please continue to spread love like buttercream.
Speaker:See what I mean?
Speaker:Juliet is a riot when she expresses herself and aligned her
Speaker:comments right to her industry and it just naturally rolls off
Speaker:her tongue along with such great advice.
Speaker:I do want to reinforce what she talked about when she
Speaker:was discussing what prevented her from growing her business for a
Speaker:while. I know that this is a place where a lot
Speaker:of people get stuck.
Speaker:As a one woman show,
Speaker:you can only do so much.
Speaker:So I want you to think about whether your at that
Speaker:fork in the road like Julia was,
Speaker:and if so,
Speaker:what steps do you need to take to adjust so you're
Speaker:still advancing towards your goals?
Speaker:Maybe one of the things to consider is what we're talking
Speaker:about next week,
Speaker:which is scaling your business online.
Speaker:I look forward to us all being together then and this
Speaker:week. Let's take Juliette's advice.
Speaker:Let's spread love like buttercream.
