Shownotes
Business Inspiration
From the love of handmade ceramics to the love of clothing design [3:53] Street vending sparked the entrepreneural spirit [5:53]Candle Flickering Moments
Overcoming the obstacle of how to turn ideas into reality [26:48]The Project Runway Experience
How the experience began [7:44] How it happened [9:01] Reflections on the interview process [13:07]Business Building Insights
The decision to add retail to her design studio [16:19] The value of doing craft shows [19:03] Tips for success at a craft show [22:57] Two surprising observations for attracting customer [24:34]Success Trait
Marla is outgoing and enjoys being around people. She is also not afraid of hard work and calls herself tenacious. [26:16]Productivity/Lifestyle Tool
TripIt – Organize your travel plans in one place.Valuable Book
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Contact Links
Website (currently being updated) Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter LinkedInIf 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 72.
Speaker:I figured I had nothing to lose.
Speaker:This is John Lee,
Speaker:Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to the gift of biz unwrapped.
Speaker:And now it's time to light it up.
Speaker:Welcome to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop
Speaker:and grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host,
Speaker:Sue Monheit and welcome fifth unwrapped.
Speaker:Whether you own a brick and mortar shop sell online or
Speaker:are just getting started,
Speaker:you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your
Speaker:business. And today I am so honored to have Marla Duran.
Speaker:Joining us.
Speaker:Marla is the owner of Marla Duran her own clothing line
Speaker:of the same name.
Speaker:She started making clothes when her son was an infant,
Speaker:and while she was living in LA,
Speaker:she sold pieces to local children's boutiques in 1981.
Speaker:She moved back East and started selling children's designs to boutiques
Speaker:throughout Philadelphia.
Speaker:Based on this success for line evolved into women's wear as
Speaker:well. She opened her own boutique and design studio in 2001.
Speaker:And today Marla is producing and selling her designs to women
Speaker:around the country through boutiques and frack shows.
Speaker:One of her most memorable experiences was as a contestant in
Speaker:Bravo TV's project runway.
Speaker:And I am sure we're going to get into that story
Speaker:a little bit later,
Speaker:but first welcome to the show.
Speaker:Marla, Thank you.
Speaker:Happy to be here,
Speaker:just to have to tell all of this nerves,
Speaker:that the way I met you was actually at a craft
Speaker:show right here in my hometown.
Speaker:The way I'd like to start out is by having our
Speaker:listeners get to know you Marla in a little bit of
Speaker:a different way in that that is by having you describe
Speaker:your motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you were to have our listeners envision a candle
Speaker:that portrayed you the most,
Speaker:what color would it be and what would be the quote
Speaker:on the candle?
Speaker:Well, for this candle,
Speaker:I see it being an off-white kind of pure.
Speaker:And for me,
Speaker:the scent is important and I really love the scent of
Speaker:tuberose or Jasmine.
Speaker:And my quote would be to believe in myself,
Speaker:which I feel is an ongoing challenge and message to myself
Speaker:because you get that little imposter theory that says,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:why should you be the one doing this or that kind
Speaker:of thing?
Speaker:Or maybe I have an idea and I don't always realize
Speaker:the value behind it.
Speaker:I think I tend to think small and I aspire to
Speaker:think bigger.
Speaker:So you've got the idea,
Speaker:but then something starts to hold you back until you decide,
Speaker:Nope, I'm going to believe in myself and go forward.
Speaker:Exactly. And does it work?
Speaker:Yes. It's an ongoing message to myself that probably,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I just to keep reminding myself,
Speaker:Even when we see successes,
Speaker:you clearly have,
Speaker:there is always that little thing that's saying every point along
Speaker:the way,
Speaker:right. That saying,
Speaker:should I,
Speaker:should I all those little kind of hesitancies,
Speaker:I liked that you point out that it doesn't really ever
Speaker:go away.
Speaker:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker:Yeah. I have to make a lot of decisions on my
Speaker:own because I'm a sole proprietor.
Speaker:There've been times when I've had mentors in my life or
Speaker:just, I talked to people whose opinions I value and I
Speaker:think that's really helpful also for me to overcome some obstacles.
Speaker:Some supporters are people that you'll just run things by that'll
Speaker:help. Yeah.
Speaker:Very important point.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Well, let's jump back away into the beginning.
Speaker:When your son was an infant,
Speaker:what was this love of making clothes?
Speaker:How did that all come about?
Speaker:I like to work with my hands.
Speaker:My first creative endeavor when I was in college was ceramics
Speaker:and I fell in love with making pottery and I had
Speaker:moved to California and I was pregnant and started making some
Speaker:clothing for myself to wear while I was pregnant.
Speaker:And then I started making some baby clothes and I found
Speaker:it easier to stop and start sewing rather than stop and
Speaker:start working with clients ceramics.
Speaker:And I think it was just a medium for me to
Speaker:work with to keep myself busy and be creative and express
Speaker:myself. And it clicked for me.
Speaker:And was it just a feeling there was just that passion,
Speaker:you really,
Speaker:really enjoyed putting pieces of fabric together and making something?
Speaker:Yeah, I think I found some cute fabric at the store
Speaker:and I made some little simple garments and I thought that
Speaker:they were adorable I guess.
Speaker:And I took them to a local boutique and they responded
Speaker:to what I was doing.
Speaker:And so I really think that that was very helpful.
Speaker:Had they not responded?
Speaker:I don't know what might've been,
Speaker:but they responded positively.
Speaker:I should say.
Speaker:I liked the fact that you were already a creator,
Speaker:clearly a creator by nature.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:if you're doing ceramics in college,
Speaker:but then maybe that wasn't exactly what you wanted to do.
Speaker:Longterm. A lot of our listeners are creators.
Speaker:So I would let all of you,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:consider and look in yourself,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:is this the product that you want to be doing?
Speaker:Long-term because you love it so much.
Speaker:Or maybe it's something that you want to branch out.
Speaker:Like Marla did just to see if there are different areas
Speaker:of creativity that would either enhance what you're already doing or
Speaker:would be something you'd want to go into business with in
Speaker:case you're someone who's listening because you're looking at starting a
Speaker:business. So you consciously decided that you were going to walk
Speaker:in and see what boutiques thought about when you were in
Speaker:LA, you know,
Speaker:thought about your designs and all of that.
Speaker:Were you nervous?
Speaker:Walk us through actually what you did there?
Speaker:Well, I want to say back to the ceramics,
Speaker:I was making ceramics and living in Washington,
Speaker:DC, and I was under an apprentice to a Potter,
Speaker:but I was street vending my pottery at that time in
Speaker:Georgetown. And it was a lot of fun on the weekend.
Speaker:I would meet celebrities that came to town and it was
Speaker:just a little way to make some extra money.
Speaker:So I guess I had a entrepreneurial spirit way back when,
Speaker:right from the beginning.
Speaker:Yeah. And then when I started making clothing,
Speaker:I had no idea it would evolve into a business,
Speaker:but with the baby clothes,
Speaker:I guess I don't really remember being nervous.
Speaker:I'm sure I was,
Speaker:but I think I was kind of naive and it was
Speaker:a different time,
Speaker:maybe kind of a,
Speaker:well, my mind,
Speaker:a simple time where I could just go into a boutique
Speaker:and strike up a conversation and make an appointment to show
Speaker:my clothes.
Speaker:But I'll tell you,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it's interesting that you talk about it in that way,
Speaker:because you would think that a lot of time has evolved.
Speaker:And it certainly has because a lot of the big name
Speaker:stores have come up chain stores,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:where no matter what town you go into,
Speaker:you walk into a store that's in your town and then
Speaker:you go across country,
Speaker:walk into the same name store,
Speaker:the setups,
Speaker:the same,
Speaker:the looks the same.
Speaker:The product is the same.
Speaker:There's a trend now going on in Marla.
Speaker:I'm sure you know about it,
Speaker:but I just want to bring it up.
Speaker:So everyone's aware handmade is becoming the big thing.
Speaker:Now, I think we're all over this mass production.
Speaker:I'm going to have an outfit that looks just like my
Speaker:girlfriends. And a lot of people now are going back to
Speaker:what Marla has produced now,
Speaker:all along unique designers,
Speaker:unique trends and clothing and design and fabrics because it's become
Speaker:popular. And also people are really worried right now about the
Speaker:carbon footprint too.
Speaker:You want made in America,
Speaker:you want something unique.
Speaker:So where you say it was the times it's kind of
Speaker:interesting. Cause I think a lot of those times are now
Speaker:coming. Yeah.
Speaker:I also noticed that after my experience on project runway,
Speaker:I think that helped create interest in handmade.
Speaker:A lot of young people started taking an interest in making
Speaker:their own clothing.
Speaker:And since you've Brought that up,
Speaker:let's talk about that.
Speaker:When was That?
Speaker:It aired?
Speaker:I think we shot it in 2005.
Speaker:It was season two.
Speaker:Most of us had not watched the show season one.
Speaker:And I think that we didn't really know what we were
Speaker:getting into.
Speaker:So it shot in 2005 and eroding 2006.
Speaker:So you had already at that point opened your boutique and
Speaker:I want to go back and we'll talk about that in
Speaker:a little bit.
Speaker:We're going to just jump back and forth a little bit,
Speaker:but we might as well go with this since we're talking
Speaker:about it.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:At that time,
Speaker:I would say that I,
Speaker:in the eighties,
Speaker:I started making women's clothing and I had various opportunities come
Speaker:my way.
Speaker:And in the nineties I launched my women's wear line and
Speaker:I had a rep in New York and I was doing
Speaker:trade shows around the country.
Speaker:So there were boutiques carrying my work 2001.
Speaker:I opened my own boutique.
Speaker:And so how did it come to pass that you approached
Speaker:or did you approach them?
Speaker:I didn't really know much about the show.
Speaker:I had a family member encouraged me to get on a
Speaker:mailing list.
Speaker:So I would know when the auditions were.
Speaker:And so I went to New York city with my samples
Speaker:in April of 2005.
Speaker:I figured I had nothing to lose.
Speaker:I stood in line with a lot of people for our
Speaker:interviews and that's how the process began.
Speaker:And so with interview after interview,
Speaker:they'd bring you in you'd show what you had and then,
Speaker:and then it would pass through and,
Speaker:or not.
Speaker:Right. Did you find out right there?
Speaker:No standing in line,
Speaker:they were doing these pre-interviews and then they whittled it down
Speaker:a little bit in that way.
Speaker:And then I did get a face-to-face interview with Tim Gunn
Speaker:and some other people from the show and I showed my
Speaker:line and they told me I was selected to go on
Speaker:to the next round of eliminations.
Speaker:So that was very exciting for me.
Speaker:So what happened after that continue with the story.
Speaker:This is,
Speaker:this is exciting.
Speaker:Now hearing about it.
Speaker:They told me that I had to have a three minute
Speaker:video of myself and I had to have it in Los
Speaker:Angeles in about 48 hours.
Speaker:So that meant that I had to shoot it the next
Speaker:day. So I contacted a friend who had a video equipment
Speaker:and we did a little story about myself in my studio
Speaker:and in my house,
Speaker:I talked a little bit about what I did,
Speaker:what I was doing at the time.
Speaker:And then I sent my video off to Los Angeles.
Speaker:And over the course of the next few weeks,
Speaker:I got calls from the producers and whoever.
Speaker:And I was asked a lot of questions and had to
Speaker:go through series of interviews.
Speaker:I had to kind of dig up some information for them.
Speaker:Then about a week before the show began,
Speaker:I was contacted and told that I was going to be
Speaker:on the season.
Speaker:So it was very exciting and very fast.
Speaker:Wow. That is exciting.
Speaker:And I want to stop the story for just a second
Speaker:right here,
Speaker:because I love the word.
Speaker:You said a little bit earlier,
Speaker:which was,
Speaker:you felt like you had nothing to lose.
Speaker:You really put yourself out there.
Speaker:A lot of people would say,
Speaker:well, yeah,
Speaker:I have a lot to lose because I'm going to feel
Speaker:terrible about myself if I don't get selected,
Speaker:but just took the chance and said,
Speaker:you have nothing to lose.
Speaker:No one needed to know you were doing that.
Speaker:But yourself in a small group of friends,
Speaker:if you elected not to broadcast to family and everybody that
Speaker:you were doing it,
Speaker:but had you not done that you don't know where you
Speaker:would be today,
Speaker:because you said that it's really helped you with your business.
Speaker:Yeah. A couple of things on that whole decision to do
Speaker:the show.
Speaker:First of all,
Speaker:I hadn't watched it before I auditioned.
Speaker:So I think that was helpful because I think had I
Speaker:watched it,
Speaker:I might've been intimidated.
Speaker:And so this way I really didn't know what I was
Speaker:getting into.
Speaker:And the other point I want to make is that when
Speaker:I was standing in line nearer,
Speaker:a lot of people in line with me on,
Speaker:I'll say hundreds,
Speaker:I don't really know.
Speaker:And I remember saying to myself,
Speaker:I know who I am.
Speaker:I know what I do.
Speaker:I know what I've done.
Speaker:And it's not going to really hinge on this experience.
Speaker:Nothing's going to,
Speaker:it's not going to change.
Speaker:It's not going to take anything away from who I am.
Speaker:So it's a good message for everybody,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:no matter where you are and what you're doing,
Speaker:it doesn't take away just,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:one event either accepted or passed over it.
Speaker:Doesn't define you and your business.
Speaker:It's so great Marla that you were saying that already to
Speaker:yourself, you know,
Speaker:before you really knew one way or another.
Speaker:So often we'll say that afterwards.
Speaker:Right. You know,
Speaker:like you want to feel better,
Speaker:so, or someone will say it to you,
Speaker:but that gave you the confidence just to do the very
Speaker:best that you could,
Speaker:your product was your product and it stands and speaks for
Speaker:itself. For sure.
Speaker:And you're also a great representation.
Speaker:We can all hear just by the way you speak,
Speaker:where you helping support people supporting each other in line.
Speaker:Were you guys talking with each other or was everyone in
Speaker:that kind of silent?
Speaker:Well, it was really interesting.
Speaker:I think that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we were all talking and then people from the show were
Speaker:interviewing us in line.
Speaker:We have to fill out forms and they started asking us
Speaker:questions and taking pictures.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:the whole thing starts right off the bat,
Speaker:but I remember filling out some forms and one of the
Speaker:questions were like,
Speaker:what designers do you like,
Speaker:what designers don't like.
Speaker:And as I remember putting Michael Kors down as a designer,
Speaker:that wasn't one of my favorites not to take anything away
Speaker:from him.
Speaker:I think he's really good.
Speaker:But you know,
Speaker:I, I wasn't as drawn to his work as I am
Speaker:some of the other designers.
Speaker:And I didn't realize that he was a judge on the
Speaker:show. I'm sure they love that because they,
Speaker:I think they like anything that's kind of not safe.
Speaker:Yeah. Well,
Speaker:and creativity.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:that is a little bit scary as an artist because you're
Speaker:putting your personal work on display for critique,
Speaker:but creativity and write is very subjective.
Speaker:Some people are going to love it.
Speaker:And some people won't like it as much.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:that's just the way it is.
Speaker:That's the name of the game with creativity.
Speaker:Yeah. And I think also I tend to most admire some
Speaker:of the designers that are a little bit more beat.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I like lots of designers for lots of different reasons,
Speaker:but probably some of my favorites are a little bit quirky.
Speaker:Gotcha. All right.
Speaker:I want to go back a little bit now and talk
Speaker:about when you made the decision to open a boutique and
Speaker:a design studio.
Speaker:I've had a design studio for most of my career out
Speaker:of the home.
Speaker:I always had really great spaces.
Speaker:I've just kind of lucked out,
Speaker:but this particular space I had looked at because there was
Speaker:an area in a town next to mine that starting to
Speaker:kind of blossom,
Speaker:then, you know,
Speaker:had some interesting little businesses opening up.
Speaker:And this one particular space caught my eye,
Speaker:but it was spoken for a national company,
Speaker:a woman who had a company called bluefish,
Speaker:which was opening a store in my area.
Speaker:And so she claimed the space and I met with the
Speaker:landlord and he said,
Speaker:he was sorry,
Speaker:but he couldn't rent it to me.
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:Sometime after they opened,
Speaker:they were having some kind of difficulties and she ended up
Speaker:having to close her business.
Speaker:And I walked in there one day on a whim.
Speaker:And the women working in the store said,
Speaker:well, you know,
Speaker:we're closing the store in about two or three days.
Speaker:And so I immediately went to the landlord and said,
Speaker:I want this space.
Speaker:And I feel,
Speaker:again, that I got really lucky.
Speaker:Here's something that I think our listeners would be curious about
Speaker:clearly starting to work out of your home,
Speaker:where you don't have all the overhead and all of that.
Speaker:And then making that first initial jump to have a space
Speaker:outside adds a lot to your costs.
Speaker:I'm really cautious too.
Speaker:I just want to say that I am extremely cautious in
Speaker:the decisions I make financially with my business,
Speaker:Where you feeling that your business had grown to a certain
Speaker:level, or were you feeling that your business would jump up
Speaker:because you were more visible?
Speaker:What was your thinking of saying,
Speaker:okay, this is a good idea.
Speaker:And I'm really asking you more in line for direction for
Speaker:people who might be considering something like that.
Speaker:Right now,
Speaker:I had a design studio that was pretty inexpensive in a
Speaker:space I liked,
Speaker:but I wasn't crazy about the neighborhood.
Speaker:And I think that I was feeling like it was time
Speaker:for change.
Speaker:And when I saw this neighborhood blossoming in my area,
Speaker:I think I was attracted to being part of a neighborhood.
Speaker:And I was very cautious and I did the numbers and
Speaker:I talked to one of my mentors and I realized that
Speaker:I could take on this responsibility that it was not going
Speaker:to, I mean,
Speaker:barring any terrible unforeseen circumstances that it would be something I
Speaker:could manage.
Speaker:Well, and it sounds like because you were recognizing that it
Speaker:was an up and coming neighborhood.
Speaker:And a lot of people are curious about something new.
Speaker:So if by development,
Speaker:in terms of residents and then also a new partial area
Speaker:with new shops coming up,
Speaker:my guess is that there was a lot of traffic.
Speaker:A lot of people wanted to check it out.
Speaker:Exactly. And I had my wholesale business and I was doing
Speaker:a few craft shows,
Speaker:not that many.
Speaker:And I had a lot of merchandise.
Speaker:And so when I opened the store,
Speaker:I had a lot of stock and I had a sale
Speaker:rack that people love a sale rack.
Speaker:So that was a great thing.
Speaker:And then I started shopping for the store and buying things
Speaker:that I thought were interesting.
Speaker:I had a great experience.
Speaker:I will say that in September was nine 11.
Speaker:And so retail businesses took a bit of a hit,
Speaker:but I always managed in that space.
Speaker:I'm still there today.
Speaker:15 later.
Speaker:That Is a great endorsement for sure.
Speaker:Are there any other tips,
Speaker:if someone is looking to turn now to go into a
Speaker:brick and mortar retail shop,
Speaker:not just a design studio,
Speaker:is there any tips,
Speaker:any suggestions,
Speaker:any advice for them?
Speaker:Well, I want to also add that.
Speaker:Yeah, the it's also my design studio and I don't depend
Speaker:on the retail to make a living.
Speaker:I think that's a whole nother thing onto itself and you
Speaker:really have to just be devoted to retail if you want
Speaker:to survive in a retail climate.
Speaker:So now you are also at craft shows.
Speaker:Talk us through a little bit about how do you decide
Speaker:what shows you're going to do.
Speaker:Give us a little bit of that in terms of how
Speaker:you work a show as well.
Speaker:I started by doing a couple shows in New York city
Speaker:where I developed a very loyal clientele.
Speaker:And for me,
Speaker:the craft shows were just kind of a bit of extra.
Speaker:My wholesale business was what I was focused on.
Speaker:Wholesale started to get a little trickier.
Speaker:Some of the stores were closing and I'd like doing the
Speaker:craft shows because I really liked being in touch with my
Speaker:customers rather than just putting my clothes in boxes and shipping
Speaker:them off.
Speaker:I find that I get a lot of immediate feedback from
Speaker:the women I sell to with craft shows.
Speaker:So I would say that it's been word of mouth from
Speaker:other artists who make recommendations and also customers who make recommendations
Speaker:on what shows they like to go to.
Speaker:And that's helped me decide where I want to apply.
Speaker:And it was really just a process of growing into these
Speaker:craft shows and discovering which ones were the ones that brought
Speaker:in the kind of women I typically sell to.
Speaker:And then there are shows that have prestige and shows that
Speaker:I aspired to be in,
Speaker:that I eventually became part of.
Speaker:And so it's been a process,
Speaker:but now I'm pretty entrenched in the craft show world.
Speaker:It's a lot of fun.
Speaker:Everyone helps each other out.
Speaker:They're intelligent,
Speaker:they're savvy and it's also very social.
Speaker:That's been working.
Speaker:That's Fabulous.
Speaker:How many shows do you do a year?
Speaker:The crashes I do about 15 to 20 shows a year.
Speaker:Wow. That's a lot.
Speaker:It's a lot.
Speaker:Is it concentrated into the summer?
Speaker:No, it's all year round.
Speaker:Actually. One of my favorite shows is in Chicago in December.
Speaker:The one of a Concho.
Speaker:I love that show.
Speaker:Oh, I didn't know you were there.
Speaker:I'll come say hi.
Speaker:It's awesome.
Speaker:They do that shot.
Speaker:It's huge.
Speaker:And it's really not one of a kind,
Speaker:but the people that produce the show are fantastic.
Speaker:Well, any of you who follow me on scope,
Speaker:if I go to one of the kind show in December,
Speaker:which is right around my birthday,
Speaker:by the way.
Speaker:So I love going with my girlfriends drop little hints here
Speaker:and there.
Speaker:Right. But maybe I'll just get Marla on a scope.
Speaker:So we see her in person.
Speaker:You never know.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So let me just clarify,
Speaker:because I wasn't sure as you were talking,
Speaker:I understand post-sale you wanted to do something to enhance that
Speaker:side of the business in terms of something additional.
Speaker:And so the craft shows have been really valuable and I
Speaker:love hearing this,
Speaker:and this is a note for all of us feedback from
Speaker:your customers,
Speaker:what they're liking,
Speaker:what they're using,
Speaker:really a lot of help with the different types of shows
Speaker:that you go to do different shows,
Speaker:serve different purposes.
Speaker:So some might be because you're going to get direct to
Speaker:consumer input.
Speaker:And do you also get visibility for wholesale then from a
Speaker:lot of the shows as well?
Speaker:Some of the shows have a wholesale component.
Speaker:It's primarily retail though.
Speaker:I think that there's probably different areas of the country where
Speaker:women respond to different pieces of my line,
Speaker:but all in all,
Speaker:it's probably a very similar kind of customer that buys my
Speaker:clothing or is attracted to my,
Speaker:Do you bring different pieces then for different shows or different
Speaker:areas of the country?
Speaker:Somewhat. I do.
Speaker:And I also think about the season,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:in the summer I have maybe more short sleeves than in
Speaker:the winter,
Speaker:that kind of thing.
Speaker:Right. All right.
Speaker:Let's just talk really briefly because you are such a professional.
Speaker:Now you have so much experience with craft shows,
Speaker:any suggestions for people in terms of how to work their
Speaker:space. You know,
Speaker:when they're actually there.
Speaker:One of the things that I think serves me well is
Speaker:that I try to really pay attention to the customer and
Speaker:listen to them and look them in the eye.
Speaker:And I never take for granted that they're looking to spend
Speaker:their money on my product and I value that.
Speaker:And so I really try to treat them with respect and
Speaker:make the process of trying on my clothes and find my
Speaker:clothing, a very pleasant experience and professional experience.
Speaker:Wonderful. So a lot of respect for the customer.
Speaker:Yeah. And do you try to capture their information,
Speaker:this isn't business to business?
Speaker:So they're not walking around with business cards.
Speaker:Do you try to do anything to be able to stay
Speaker:in contact with them after they leave your space?
Speaker:I try to get their email addresses and I don't send
Speaker:out a lot of mailings,
Speaker:but I like to do a mailing if I'm coming back
Speaker:to the area.
Speaker:So do you separate the emails then by event where you
Speaker:were captured?
Speaker:Yeah, I have weighted by,
Speaker:by location.
Speaker:Gotcha. And then at every show I meet a few customers
Speaker:that I really hit it off with and I learn a
Speaker:lot about them or I make it information.
Speaker:Net is something I aspire to do.
Speaker:And there's always something exciting that goes on at a show
Speaker:that I take with me.
Speaker:So they energize you.
Speaker:Like they energize me.
Speaker:It sounds like completely.
Speaker:I love craft shows,
Speaker:but I,
Speaker:for my other business do a lot of business to business
Speaker:trade shows and I love interacting with people.
Speaker:That's just the way it is.
Speaker:So it sounds like you're the Same.
Speaker:I do.
Speaker:I feed off the energy from my customers and I also
Speaker:enjoy the time I spend interacting with other artists.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:we learn a lot from each other and I value that.
Speaker:Absolutely well.
Speaker:So that's something else that you get from doing the shows
Speaker:as well.
Speaker:And I also like,
Speaker:I really like what you talk about where you don't automatically
Speaker:assume that people are going to spend the money on your
Speaker:designs and you're very respectful.
Speaker:And you also,
Speaker:because I've been in your space that you're not pushy salesperson
Speaker:either. Don't you hate that when you're at any type of
Speaker:a show,
Speaker:whether it's a craft show or whatever you want to be
Speaker:acknowledging customers and let them know you're seeing them.
Speaker:And you're there to,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you don't want to be sitting in the back on a
Speaker:chair, reading a book and let people just look at your
Speaker:stuff, which so many people do,
Speaker:but you also don't want to be in their face.
Speaker:I noticed that I'm often alone in my booth,
Speaker:but occasionally I hire somebody to help me.
Speaker:And when there two of us in my booth,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:at Highland park,
Speaker:I think when you were in my booth,
Speaker:I find that customers are more willing to approach my booth
Speaker:because maybe they don't feel so.
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:I know.
Speaker:Yeah. They're a little more relaxed when there's two of us
Speaker:in my booth.
Speaker:It's a funny thing.
Speaker:That's interesting.
Speaker:Very interesting.
Speaker:And then the other thing I noticed is that if there's
Speaker:a woman in my booth trying on clothing,
Speaker:it seems to attract other women.
Speaker:Yeah. Interesting points.
Speaker:I'd never thought of before,
Speaker:because sometimes,
Speaker:especially when you're looking at crafts and arts,
Speaker:you want to look at things and things,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:so you don't really want somebody.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I've walked out of shops before where they're being nice.
Speaker:Can I help you today?
Speaker:Are you looking for something special?
Speaker:It's like,
Speaker:okay, acknowledge me.
Speaker:But then let me just look and,
Speaker:and enjoy what I'm looking at.
Speaker:And some people just want to look,
Speaker:they have no intention of spending and I don't mind that
Speaker:at all,
Speaker:but I do want to give women a heads up about
Speaker:what my work is about.
Speaker:I give them a little info and then I back off
Speaker:so that yeah,
Speaker:they have the freedom to look around.
Speaker:And I also like them to feel like I have no
Speaker:expectations. Great advice have not heard that before.
Speaker:Really interesting insight there,
Speaker:Marla, thank you.
Speaker:Sure. I want to spend now over into the reflection section,
Speaker:there's just a couple of questions,
Speaker:just little tips and things like that for our audience to
Speaker:learn from you.
Speaker:What is one natural trait that you call upon regularly that
Speaker:helps you be such a success?
Speaker:Well, I think I'm pretty outgoing.
Speaker:I sincerely enjoy people,
Speaker:but one thing I'd like to say is that I'm not
Speaker:afraid to work hard and I hope I'm not jumping the
Speaker:gun in this comment,
Speaker:but I'm tenacious.
Speaker:I think that is one thing that's really been helpful,
Speaker:Working hard and being tenacious and going for what you want,
Speaker:I think is a quality you have to have as a
Speaker:business owner because you're going to run into obstacles,
Speaker:challenges, and you have to,
Speaker:you have to pull from within.
Speaker:And another thing in making clothing,
Speaker:it's one thing coming up with the design,
Speaker:but then in the process of making them or getting them
Speaker:made, inevitably there's going to be occasional problems or obstacles.
Speaker:And I remember learning early on that kind of business is
Speaker:equates to obstacles.
Speaker:And so you can't let the obstacles get in your way.
Speaker:You have to think of it as a challenge and how
Speaker:you're going to get through the obstacle.
Speaker:Don't let it stop you That advice.
Speaker:Do you have one obstacle you'd be willing to share?
Speaker:Well, I think occasionally one of the things that I bump
Speaker:up against is I have more ideas and not enough resources
Speaker:to create them.
Speaker:And that might mean working with more people.
Speaker:And sometimes it takes me a while to realize what the
Speaker:problem is and how to solve it.
Speaker:So what do you do put your ideas,
Speaker:like in a little idea bank until you have the resources
Speaker:or personal or money or whatever it is to realize those
Speaker:ideas. Yeah.
Speaker:And I think that,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:just maybe I'm wearing my one worker thin because she can't
Speaker:keep up with my ideas and it's occurring to me that,
Speaker:well, maybe I need to kind of reach out and find
Speaker:somebody else to help to pitch in,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:nothing against the first one.
Speaker:She's fantastic,
Speaker:but maybe owe it to myself to allow myself to maybe
Speaker:spend more money,
Speaker:to see where these ideas go.
Speaker:So at first your challenges that you're maybe a little bit
Speaker:resistant to do that,
Speaker:or you're recognizing that you have so many ideas that you're
Speaker:limiting your resources and personnel to the point you just said.
Speaker:Exactly. Yeah.
Speaker:Like sometimes I think I can't always recognize when I'm limiting
Speaker:myself. And what tool do you use regularly during your day
Speaker:to help you keep productive or to attempt at this hard
Speaker:thing of creating balancing?
Speaker:Well, I try to make lists all the time,
Speaker:so I stay on task because I get distracted and paperless.
Speaker:It is actually although more and more,
Speaker:I'm putting notes in my phone,
Speaker:but I like the feel of paper.
Speaker:It's kind of like cloth.
Speaker:Yeah. They're pen and paper lists.
Speaker:So are they lists of things you need to do during
Speaker:the day or lists of,
Speaker:I have the list of the day-to-day things.
Speaker:Maybe like in the morning when I go into my studio,
Speaker:I just make a little list of simple things that I,
Speaker:I know I want to accomplish that day.
Speaker:And so then I can see the progress and then I
Speaker:maybe have a list of things I aspire to just kind
Speaker:of a broader category.
Speaker:It's something that takes more time.
Speaker:Right. And you're on the road a lot.
Speaker:Now, obviously with the shows,
Speaker:is there any app or anything that you're using to keep
Speaker:yourself organized?
Speaker:When you're traveling?
Speaker:I was using an app called TripIt,
Speaker:which would store a travel information.
Speaker:Generally try to put things on my calendar,
Speaker:on my phone.
Speaker:And then I also have a notebook where I keep track
Speaker:of various hotel reservations and things like that.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:It's amazing because there's so much technology now.
Speaker:And so many people answer this question similarly,
Speaker:and that is still the physical pen and paper,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:having that accessible.
Speaker:Yeah. A lot of people say that Because the act of
Speaker:actually physically writing that imprint something in your brain.
Speaker:Yeah. I agree.
Speaker:Have you read a book lately that you think our listeners
Speaker:would find value in?
Speaker:I was thinking about that question.
Speaker:I love to read.
Speaker:I tend to read fiction.
Speaker:I love to hear stories about how people overcome the odds.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:Malcolm Gladwell has written a lot of interesting books.
Speaker:There's sociology books,
Speaker:but I love to hear stories and read stories about how
Speaker:people overcome the odds.
Speaker:But also a book I read that I loved was called
Speaker:a fine balance.
Speaker:And it's about life in India.
Speaker:It made me realize living in the United States,
Speaker:most of us had it really good.
Speaker:The things that we take for granted at our fingertips is
Speaker:amazing. And that in some countries,
Speaker:especially in third world countries,
Speaker:a lot of people don't have the same human rights we
Speaker:do. And it's painful.
Speaker:We have a long way to go in some countries before
Speaker:we can consider ourselves civilized.
Speaker:Anyway, I'm not getting too political here,
Speaker:but No,
Speaker:I think you're right.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I've been fortunate enough to travel to a lot of third
Speaker:world countries.
Speaker:I've been to India,
Speaker:I've been to Africa and you know,
Speaker:you come back and not all of our listeners are from
Speaker:America. In fact,
Speaker:I interviewed Katie leaky who makes those Zulu grass bracelets.
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:That was just a few episodes ago.
Speaker:You guys,
Speaker:and she lives in the rift Valley in Kenya and those
Speaker:bracelets are made by the Mussai women.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:you get an insight into life everywhere else.
Speaker:When you live in America,
Speaker:all of this seems very standard and regular because we've known
Speaker:it since we were young,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:our whole lives really.
Speaker:But I love that you selected this book because I'm makes
Speaker:me interested in reading it too,
Speaker:because you know,
Speaker:it makes us appreciate what we have.
Speaker:And it also makes us appreciate how much further we have
Speaker:to go for all of humanity.
Speaker:Right? Yeah.
Speaker:Something as simple as having like clean water coming out of
Speaker:the tap that we just take for granted,
Speaker:Give biz listeners just as you're listening to the podcast today,
Speaker:you can also listen to audio books and I'm curious,
Speaker:maybe a fine balance is on audio books,
Speaker:but I've teamed up with audible and you can get your
Speaker:first audio book for free.
Speaker:If you haven't done so already on me,
Speaker:all you need to do,
Speaker:go to gift biz,
Speaker:book.com and make a selection of a book you'd like to
Speaker:listen to.
Speaker:That's cool.
Speaker:Yeah. All right,
Speaker:Marla, I'd like to invite you now to dare to dream.
Speaker:I would like to present you with a virtual gift.
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 is inside your box?
Speaker:I would love the gift of working in a creative environment
Speaker:around other creative people.
Speaker:I love to take workshops because the energy,
Speaker:my dream is to maybe work on a day-to-day basis,
Speaker:working in the midst of other creative people.
Speaker:Along with that,
Speaker:I really admire people who go to foreign countries to get
Speaker:the products made and work with local people.
Speaker:And so in my adventure,
Speaker:I would maybe travel to Bali,
Speaker:Vietnam, and work with local people to create some product.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:That goes back to your book because it's kind of like
Speaker:let's lift everybody a little bit higher in this world.
Speaker:If our listeners are interested and they see some of your
Speaker:designs online.
Speaker:Well, I have some things that you can find online if
Speaker:you Google me.
Speaker:But right now my website is being redesigned.
Speaker:So my Facebook page,
Speaker:Marla Duran design has some images.
Speaker:And what can I say?
Speaker:You can email me.
Speaker:And I'll announce when my website is complete.
Speaker:Well, you know what?
Speaker:Your website is going to be on the show notes page
Speaker:it's Marla duran.com.
Speaker:Yes. And the nice thing Marla about these podcasts is people
Speaker:will listen the week that it goes live,
Speaker:but they're on for forever.
Speaker:So people like to go back and listen to other episodes.
Speaker:So there may be someone who's listening a year from now
Speaker:and by then your website should be up maybe even sooner.
Speaker:Exactly. All right.
Speaker:Wonderful. Thank you so much.
Speaker:I really appreciate your joining us today and interesting information in
Speaker:terms of your insights on how to work a craft show
Speaker:booth and how to interact with customers.
Speaker:That's stuff that I haven't heard before.
Speaker:So great information for our listeners and the thing that I
Speaker:really, really liked.
Speaker:And I appreciate you sharing besides your whole story is just
Speaker:the confidence you have as a creator and your willingness to
Speaker:take risks and nothing to lose that your mindset.
Speaker:I really appreciate it.
Speaker:I look forward to seeing you.
Speaker:I might see you at the one of a kind show
Speaker:here in a couple of months.
Speaker:You never know.
Speaker:And I wish for you is always continued success.
Speaker:May your candle always burn bright,
Speaker:Learn how to work smarter while developing and growing your business.
Speaker:Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business
Speaker:in life.
Speaker:It's our gift to and available at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrap.com/tools. Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for
Speaker:the next episode.
