Gift biz unwrapped episode 22 People are buying you.
Speaker:Hi, this is John Lee,
Speaker:Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to the gifted 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.
Speaker:Hi there.
Speaker:I'm Sue.
Speaker:Welcome to the Gift biz unwrapped podcast,
Speaker:whether you own a brick and mortar store sell online or
Speaker:are just getting started,
Speaker:you'll discover a new insight to gain traction and to grow
Speaker:your business.
Speaker:Today, I'm joined by Lana Horton of make a memory.
Speaker:Lana is 69 and she looks back and wonders where her
Speaker:time went.
Speaker:She has two children in businesses of their own and four
Speaker:wonderful grandchildren.
Speaker:Lana started her business at 23,
Speaker:with $2,000.
Speaker:It was an all-inclusive bridal shop and became the largest store
Speaker:in Ohio.
Speaker:And the only one to carry exclusive designs from Paris.
Speaker:She sold the store with a large profit when she decided
Speaker:to move to California,
Speaker:stay at home and raise her children.
Speaker:But that didn't last long.
Speaker:She then started punch connection and invented a tool that was
Speaker:patented. That business led to infomercials with the first show selling
Speaker:250,000 kits in one airing over the next 10 years,
Speaker:Lana sold products on QVC,
Speaker:HSN, and lifetime.
Speaker:Then she retired wanting to spend time with her grandchildren and
Speaker:as little ones always do,
Speaker:they began to grow up and Lana again,
Speaker:found herself with time to spare.
Speaker:She talked with her daughter about a new business idea she
Speaker:had, and that is how make a memory was born.
Speaker:They are now in their fourth year of this family business
Speaker:and she says they quote,
Speaker:work together like oil.
Speaker:Welcome to the show,
Speaker:Lana. Well,
Speaker:thank you very much.
Speaker:Do that sounded pretty good.
Speaker:I didn't realize that was me.
Speaker:That's all.
Speaker:What I would love for you to do right now is
Speaker:tell everybody what make a memory is all about.
Speaker:Well, make a memory is just that make a memory is
Speaker:a memory animal that we sell to little cheer girls from
Speaker:five to 12 years old.
Speaker:They love everything.
Speaker:They love bows.
Speaker:They love animals.
Speaker:They love earrings.
Speaker:And so what I did is I invented stuffed animal and
Speaker:they're 20 inches tall and they are a small mini me.
Speaker:We're going to get into Your whole story.
Speaker:As we move on here,
Speaker:our listeners know we like to align the conversation around the
Speaker:life of a motivational candle.
Speaker:The light shines on you while you share your stories and
Speaker:experiences. So Lana shall we light it up?
Speaker:Let's light up.
Speaker:Perfect. Tell us what color is your candle?
Speaker:My candle of course would be yellow.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:Why yellow?
Speaker:Well, yellow is happiness.
Speaker:Yellow brings you light.
Speaker:It brings you happiness and it brings you a glow within
Speaker:yourself. And that's me.
Speaker:That's my personality.
Speaker:I'm just a yellow person.
Speaker:I'll give you a little secret.
Speaker:That's my favorite color too Shakers.
Speaker:And the doers were yellow.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:And what quote is on your candle?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I debated on quotes because there's a couple that I use.
Speaker:And I think probably my favorite quote is by Harry Truman.
Speaker:I say it to my children all the time.
Speaker:And it's,
Speaker:he says,
Speaker:it's amazing what you can accomplish.
Speaker:If you did not care who gets the credit,
Speaker:I just live by that because you don't have to be
Speaker:a me person to get something across English.
Speaker:Right? You can take your ego out and just go for
Speaker:the goal.
Speaker:And do you know how much further you're going to go?
Speaker:Yeah, you're right.
Speaker:It's looking at that at the end of that line.
Speaker:And that's how I've always lived.
Speaker:I know what I did old Harry and I had that
Speaker:in common.
Speaker:Wonderful. And I think that to have that,
Speaker:you have to be very self-confident if you know these people
Speaker:who continually need reinforcement and reinforcement,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:they're doing a good job and they take credit because it
Speaker:was their work.
Speaker:I'm not sure that in this entrepreneurial world of ours,
Speaker:those people will go.
Speaker:As far as someone with the attitude that you're talking about
Speaker:here today,
Speaker:I call them attaboys and I don't need them in my
Speaker:life. I don't have time for them.
Speaker:I don't need to tap them on the back and say,
Speaker:oh, you know,
Speaker:you've just done so well today.
Speaker:I like the ones that know where they're coming from,
Speaker:know what they want and go for it.
Speaker:Let's go back To the beginning of your journey.
Speaker:But the beginning of your journey with make a memory,
Speaker:because I have to say,
Speaker:I've known you for a few years now.
Speaker:And I had no idea of all the detail of your
Speaker:past. We've talked some about these things,
Speaker:but there's a lot going on before you got to make
Speaker:a memory.
Speaker:Well, There's a lot of years in there too,
Speaker:before I got to make a memory.
Speaker:So home with the grandchildren,
Speaker:and then all of a sudden they start getting involved in
Speaker:all their various things and get social and all of that.
Speaker:And tell us how this idea came to you about what
Speaker:make a memory is and how the whole company got established.
Speaker:Well, my daughter's company is fundraisers.
Speaker:And so her main person that she works with are the
Speaker:pop Warners and the All-American football players and so on and
Speaker:so forth.
Speaker:Well, to be able to get into those establishments,
Speaker:you kind of have to have a little door open.
Speaker:And of course they love her.
Speaker:She's been in business for 14,
Speaker:15 years and she stays very busy,
Speaker:but I saw an avenue where I could go in and
Speaker:give them something that they don't get.
Speaker:And what that is is these little girls at the end
Speaker:of their season,
Speaker:which they cheer for 10 games.
Speaker:And then at the end of the season,
Speaker:they have what they call a cheer off.
Speaker:And the cheer off only out of maybe 2000 children become
Speaker:the winners.
Speaker:And then they're the ones.
Speaker:Of course,
Speaker:they get the trophies.
Speaker:Well, we have all these little girls that are going home
Speaker:with nothing in their hands and they've had all of their
Speaker:curls and all of their uniforms.
Speaker:And so I decided they each needed something to make a
Speaker:memory. And so that's how it was born.
Speaker:And so to make a memory,
Speaker:I knew I was dealing with a lot of the same
Speaker:girls. I would get a new set every year because so
Speaker:many would graduate,
Speaker:but then we always would have new ones that would coming
Speaker:in. And so I've found my largest tool for working was
Speaker:just listening,
Speaker:listening to what the girls wanted,
Speaker:listening to the excitement of,
Speaker:oh my goodness.
Speaker:I can hardly hold her.
Speaker:And they would hug them.
Speaker:And the mothers would say,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we're hanging this on the wall and I don't get it
Speaker:dirty. Or I would see them playing catch with them back
Speaker:and forth.
Speaker:So I started out with three animals because I felt that
Speaker:I could control this.
Speaker:Now I want you to remember that I started this four
Speaker:years ago.
Speaker:Every year we have doubled and the animals are now costing
Speaker:$29 a piece.
Speaker:And I'm now selling over 3000 of them.
Speaker:So within this amount of time,
Speaker:which is 11 shows,
Speaker:and it's about six weeks as you do the math a
Speaker:little bit,
Speaker:you can see,
Speaker:I sometimes make as much as a person does this working
Speaker:all year.
Speaker:And the best part is I'm working with my family.
Speaker:We go together,
Speaker:we set up together,
Speaker:breakdown together.
Speaker:We all do the math,
Speaker:my grandson.
Speaker:He is in charge of doing all of the dollar control
Speaker:of how much is something is costing us.
Speaker:And what is our percentage and what are we doing for
Speaker:this show?
Speaker:Then I also found out as the children would come,
Speaker:they would say,
Speaker:oh, mom,
Speaker:I've got the Panda and I've got the bear and I've
Speaker:got the dog.
Speaker:And so I knew that I would retire them.
Speaker:So now the people know that after two years something gets
Speaker:retired. So if you're going to get it,
Speaker:and I say on their flyer,
Speaker:this is going to be retired this year.
Speaker:If you want it,
Speaker:get it.
Speaker:Now, now probably one of my largest expenses,
Speaker:which was one of my daughter's best ideas is we have
Speaker:what they call a large meeting for all of the cities.
Speaker:When you do pop Warner up,
Speaker:these are leaks and these are cities.
Speaker:I take a sample and give it to free to every
Speaker:single city.
Speaker:And I put their names.
Speaker:I put their colors and that Sue,
Speaker:this is when you have been a lifesaver for me,
Speaker:because one of the things I added two years ago was
Speaker:I added that I could put their on these bears.
Speaker:Now what child in the world doesn't once something with their
Speaker:name on it,
Speaker:what mother in the world doesn't when something personalized with the
Speaker:child's name and the date and what they did,
Speaker:and the only way they can go and get their names
Speaker:on it,
Speaker:if they presale.
Speaker:Gotcha. There's a couple of things that I want to point
Speaker:out here that are really interesting.
Speaker:First off you talk about that.
Speaker:You make a salary that could be an annual salary for
Speaker:someone only in a short amount of time,
Speaker:given the planning stages,
Speaker:getting the orders and then producing everything.
Speaker:How long is your business really op every year I will
Speaker:start on skirts now,
Speaker:which is we're in August.
Speaker:And then I will run August,
Speaker:September and October.
Speaker:I have to have everything ready to go.
Speaker:I would say probably three months out of the year,
Speaker:I'm giving you my undivided attention.
Speaker:So three months in you're making pretty much an annual salary.
Speaker:And then you've got a bunch of time.
Speaker:I know you just go off down to Mexico or do
Speaker:some other fun things.
Speaker:So, Well,
Speaker:I, I own two condos down in Mexico and I got
Speaker:them because I love the ocean.
Speaker:And I wanted somewhere where I could just kick back and
Speaker:go out in the boat and the ocean and all that.
Speaker:Well, they've turned out that everyone loves them so much that
Speaker:they are now rentals.
Speaker:So whenever they're open,
Speaker:I go back and scoop up my little bit of paradise.
Speaker:But that too has turned into something that is a moneymaker.
Speaker:You have to remember that when a person reaches a certain
Speaker:age and they go on social security,
Speaker:that their whole life changes.
Speaker:It's like all of a sudden you wake up and your
Speaker:whole life has changed.
Speaker:And so I learned that I had to reinvent myself.
Speaker:If I wanted to live the lifestyle,
Speaker:I had to come up and depend on myself again.
Speaker:Now, did I have it planned before I retired?
Speaker:Absolutely. But even though I had that planned,
Speaker:let's face it.
Speaker:I like to spend money.
Speaker:I like nice things.
Speaker:And so to get those things so security and I were
Speaker:just not cutting it.
Speaker:So I had to go back and do a little bit,
Speaker:but you know,
Speaker:it's really a work of love.
Speaker:I absolutely totally love what I'm doing.
Speaker:And because I've stayed in the craft world,
Speaker:most craft people,
Speaker:they don't know how to sell.
Speaker:They put all of their love and they put all of
Speaker:that time into an item and they don't take the time
Speaker:that it's taken to make it.
Speaker:They don't take the time of how much it's cost them,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:to put it on.
Speaker:And that's what a craft person is.
Speaker:And they usually cannot sell anything.
Speaker:If you go to a craft show,
Speaker:oh my goodness,
Speaker:what they're charging for something that should be $50.
Speaker:You're going to pick it up for 10 and $11 because
Speaker:of their self-worth.
Speaker:They think,
Speaker:oh, I made that by hand.
Speaker:It's not worth anything.
Speaker:This is A really good point.
Speaker:Liner and gift biz listeners.
Speaker:If any of you are in the craft industry,
Speaker:take heat of what Lana is saying,
Speaker:because what she's talking about is number one,
Speaker:she's able to integrate really a lifestyle business since it's only
Speaker:several months of the year.
Speaker:And by applying business sense,
Speaker:such as how to price your product.
Speaker:A couple of other things that I want to point out
Speaker:that you've talked about Lana,
Speaker:but by doing some specific things,
Speaker:she's been able to continue to grow her business year after
Speaker:year from what is in essence,
Speaker:starting out as a craft,
Speaker:which some of you might be doing right this very minute.
Speaker:The two things that she was talking about,
Speaker:number one is,
Speaker:do you remember when she was just talking about how she
Speaker:shows the bears or the animals and retires them at some
Speaker:point every couple years,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:every year,
Speaker:some animal retires.
Speaker:So that particular style is only around for a certain amount
Speaker:of time.
Speaker:When you do things like that,
Speaker:that create exclusivity.
Speaker:People will buy those up because if they don't get them,
Speaker:they're gone.
Speaker:And then,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:all of us want what we can't have.
Speaker:Right? Absolutely.
Speaker:So that's one thing.
Speaker:And the other thing you were doing is by sending samples
Speaker:prior to the villages,
Speaker:you're getting people to register in their mind.
Speaker:Oh, the time is coming up and getting a sense of
Speaker:anticipation of the events and then being able to place the
Speaker:order. So a couple of good points for those of you
Speaker:who are thinking about where you can take the crafts that
Speaker:you're making and what you can do to take it to
Speaker:the next level.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I have found with my business,
Speaker:with my bears,
Speaker:I not only have a bear,
Speaker:but I make that bear into something that is tangible to
Speaker:them. For instance,
Speaker:every cheerleader has to have a bone in their hair.
Speaker:They have to.
Speaker:Now they have to have that bow all through practice.
Speaker:Anytime they go to practice,
Speaker:they have to have some kind of bow in their hair.
Speaker:So when they're practicing,
Speaker:they know how to go and do their twist and their
Speaker:turns with the boat.
Speaker:So they get a cheer boat.
Speaker:The cheer bow matches their uniforms to a tee.
Speaker:And then under the bear's neck is another cheer bow.
Speaker:So they're already on the clip.
Speaker:All they have to do is clip it off the bear,
Speaker:put it on their head and they have a cheer bow.
Speaker:So not only are they getting an animal,
Speaker:they're getting something that's tangible that they can use.
Speaker:So then we come down further and what does every little
Speaker:girl love earrings?
Speaker:So now I put every year a different set of earrings.
Speaker:And so they might get a set of pompoms one year.
Speaker:Now this year,
Speaker:they're getting a cheerleader doing this splits,
Speaker:but I make them that they can take them off and
Speaker:they can wear them.
Speaker:So this is another thing where they're $29 is going,
Speaker:gee, I'm not just buying a stuffed animal.
Speaker:I'm getting a pair of earrings that my daughter is going
Speaker:to love.
Speaker:Then when I get down to the skirt,
Speaker:that waist,
Speaker:I put a headband on a sequent headband.
Speaker:Now I had to raise my prices this year.
Speaker:Everyone knows that not everything has gone up.
Speaker:And my rule of thumb is if it goes up a
Speaker:dollar, I have to go up $2.
Speaker:So I have to give them something back.
Speaker:So this year I'm giving them a headband.
Speaker:Well, every little girl loves sequent headbands.
Speaker:So I make a deal where I'm cutting 3000 headbands.
Speaker:So I get for 30 or 40 cents a piece.
Speaker:But on the other hand,
Speaker:I have raised my prices $2 and they're still getting something
Speaker:more. So this has been a really good selling point.
Speaker:It's not just an animal when you break it down and
Speaker:you put the cost to it,
Speaker:my heavens,
Speaker:what type of price are they getting for it?
Speaker:You've Just now described how these animals look.
Speaker:They're absolutely gorgeous.
Speaker:And I am going to get a photo of one and
Speaker:put it on the show notes page.
Speaker:So when you get back to your computers,
Speaker:anyone who's listening while they're jogging,
Speaker:walking their dog,
Speaker:whatever, go back to your computer and go to gift a
Speaker:biz unwrapped at Tom Lana's,
Speaker:show notes page,
Speaker:and I'll have a picture posted for you of one of
Speaker:these bears or whichever animal picture she gives me.
Speaker:I'm not sure.
Speaker:Well, I will tell you the hot animal this year is
Speaker:the Husky.
Speaker:Everybody's wanting the escape.
Speaker:Oh. And when that happens,
Speaker:when I was talking a pre-orders of course fear the amount
Speaker:that I do,
Speaker:the reason I push pre-orders is there is no way that
Speaker:day I can get the amount of animals out that I
Speaker:need to make.
Speaker:So on pre-orders I set them up all week and I
Speaker:have their name on them.
Speaker:I have them in their boxes.
Speaker:Everybody's lined up.
Speaker:I don't have anyone prepay.
Speaker:So they're bringing their money with them.
Speaker:The reason I do that is I also have bracelets and
Speaker:I have necklaces and I have things that they might want
Speaker:to add on where if they've already pre-ordered and paid,
Speaker:they're going to take their animal and they're going to leave.
Speaker:But why I have their credit card out,
Speaker:they might see something else they want to add on.
Speaker:That's A good strategy.
Speaker:That's a really good strategy.
Speaker:Add-ons is that extra money that you don't plan on?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:and they're just exactly that they're an add on.
Speaker:And so if I can take my ticket from a $29,
Speaker:which is what I budget on and I can bring it
Speaker:up to $35,
Speaker:then I'm starting to make some extra money.
Speaker:What I call ad-ons.
Speaker:It's just kind of the cream off the top.
Speaker:Sure. Lana,
Speaker:I'm going to take this in a little bit of a
Speaker:different direction.
Speaker:Now we're talking about all these things that you've done and
Speaker:all of them have been so great for growing your business,
Speaker:but there had to be a point along the way,
Speaker:when there was a rough spot,
Speaker:something caused trouble and you had to figure out a way
Speaker:and struggle and overcome to be able to continue going on
Speaker:this path.
Speaker:An entrepreneurial journey is never a smooth road.
Speaker:Can you bring us to one of those times,
Speaker:tell us something that's happened and how you overcame the situation?
Speaker:Well, you know,
Speaker:I think the largest thing that happened to me and it
Speaker:went straight to the heart because as I said,
Speaker:crafters do things out of love.
Speaker:And I had invented the punch connection,
Speaker:which is a punch needle.
Speaker:And I'm sure if anyone is into my age,
Speaker:they will remember it because it was a rage.
Speaker:And I put it on one of the first infomercials.
Speaker:Now I had a patent on it.
Speaker:I knew no one could knock me off.
Speaker:I know it.
Speaker:I had not a doubt in my mind.
Speaker:Well, within three days they had another person on television that
Speaker:looked very similar to me.
Speaker:She had needles that were similar and I was crushed.
Speaker:I thought,
Speaker:how could they do that?
Speaker:Well, you know what?
Speaker:A patent is only as good as that piece of paper.
Speaker:I thought I was so covered.
Speaker:I paid all of that money.
Speaker:I was so far down.
Speaker:And what I learned out of that is pick yourself up,
Speaker:keep going forward.
Speaker:People are buying you.
Speaker:They're buying what you have,
Speaker:they're buying your personality.
Speaker:And if you're able to make that contact with them,
Speaker:which I had the advantage of being able to do it
Speaker:on television,
Speaker:forget about what anyone else is doing and keep going forward.
Speaker:When I had the bridal shop,
Speaker:I opened it with $2,000.
Speaker:Anyone in their right mind,
Speaker:after the first year would have gone under,
Speaker:I was too stupid not to realize that I should have
Speaker:closed the doors and I just kept going.
Speaker:So don't let anything stop.
Speaker:You don't go.
Speaker:And because of that first little hitch in the road,
Speaker:make yourself close the doors,
Speaker:just look at what it was and then keep going forward
Speaker:with it.
Speaker:You'll make it,
Speaker:you'll make it work.
Speaker:I have made every single endeavor pay for itself.
Speaker:And then some,
Speaker:and it's not so much the taller,
Speaker:but do you know what it is to have the pride,
Speaker:to know that my children all worked for themselves.
Speaker:If they're going to make a mistake,
Speaker:then no one else to blame,
Speaker:but themselves,
Speaker:if they're going to have the pride,
Speaker:they're going to be able to look and say,
Speaker:I did this.
Speaker:I think the biggest thing that I have accomplished in this
Speaker:world is making my replacement in this world worthwhile.
Speaker:And my children are amazing.
Speaker:So might be corny,
Speaker:but that's how I believe.
Speaker:Yeah, but You make a good point here in that.
Speaker:A lot of people feel like,
Speaker:okay, my business is going to be perfect.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:before you start out and reality hits and everyone who is
Speaker:successful, kind of gives the appearance that it's been easy and
Speaker:they could do.
Speaker:And now it's just been a smooth road and here they
Speaker:are. But for people to know that there are going to
Speaker:be struggles,
Speaker:there are going to be times when you go to bed
Speaker:at night and say,
Speaker:why did I start this?
Speaker:But you get up the next morning re-energized and you figure
Speaker:out how to overcome.
Speaker:That's why so many businesses fail because people just go to
Speaker:the wayside.
Speaker:They don't fight through their challenges.
Speaker:Absolutely. And that's the big story that you're presenting.
Speaker:Well, you know what I think is always so funny.
Speaker:So as people will say to me,
Speaker:oh, you're so lucky.
Speaker:You can choose your own hours.
Speaker:You can go and do what you want to do.
Speaker:And I'm thinking,
Speaker:oh yeah.
Speaker:Would you like me to tell you how many nights I've
Speaker:set up all night?
Speaker:There is no such thing as a 40 hour week when
Speaker:you own your own business becomes your life.
Speaker:But I love it.
Speaker:I call my own shots and I would suggest everyone try
Speaker:it. It's wonderful on The customer service end.
Speaker:What do you do to make your customers feel unique and
Speaker:valued? I talked to them.
Speaker:I make them feel they are a special friend.
Speaker:So how Do you do that?
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I know that you are selling mostly at the cheer competitions.
Speaker:So people are probably hovering around the table.
Speaker:They're looking at everything and you probably have a lineup because
Speaker:there's the pre-orders and people are looking.
Speaker:And how are you able to focus on just that person?
Speaker:I don't know if you guys can all hear,
Speaker:but we have a huge thunderstorm going on here right now.
Speaker:So if you hear some big bolts,
Speaker:then you're going to know what it is.
Speaker:I haven't like slipped off my feet or something,
Speaker:but, but you also will do multiple shows in a week.
Speaker:So you have different people within the,
Speaker:make a memory business,
Speaker:which are your family members going off to different shows.
Speaker:Right? So how do you do that at the table?
Speaker:When there's a number of people there,
Speaker:how do you make each person feel like you're taking the
Speaker:time for them and still then making sure the other people
Speaker:don't feel ignored?
Speaker:One thing we do not work tables.
Speaker:Anyone in the family do not work tables.
Speaker:So when we bring in our crew,
Speaker:which of course,
Speaker:again, it's like family,
Speaker:they all have their positions.
Speaker:We have someone that just does prayers.
Speaker:We have someone that is selling to people that have not
Speaker:pre-ordered. Then for instance,
Speaker:if I'm at a show,
Speaker:the most shows you're going to have,
Speaker:that will accept as three.
Speaker:So I'll take one.
Speaker:My daughter will take one and my grandson will take one.
Speaker:And what we do is I work the line because the
Speaker:line sometimes can be as long as 40 people and I'll
Speaker:go up and down the line and thank them for coming.
Speaker:And it'll just be a few more minutes.
Speaker:And gee,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:your colors are there and oh,
Speaker:they love to know who is the person that makes all
Speaker:these things.
Speaker:They love it.
Speaker:They love to go and give you a hug.
Speaker:And thank you so much for making these for my daughter.
Speaker:And I love it back.
Speaker:I love it back because I know I'm giving something that
Speaker:they want.
Speaker:My daughter does the same thing and she's much more well-known
Speaker:than I am because they see her not only through the
Speaker:bears, but they see her delivering all the fundraisers.
Speaker:And she's working with these people sometimes two and three times.
Speaker:And then they're amazed by my grandson.
Speaker:The women love him.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:if they want a different skirt or they want something different
Speaker:on it,
Speaker:we'll do it.
Speaker:If they want it come hell or high water,
Speaker:we will make it.
Speaker:If the little girl has lost her bow,
Speaker:am I going to charge her $3 for another bow?
Speaker:Absolutely not.
Speaker:I'm going to say here,
Speaker:darling, let me put another one on.
Speaker:And there you go.
Speaker:And they are happy.
Speaker:The mother is happy and she's going to go back and
Speaker:tell five of her best friends.
Speaker:What wonderful people we are that we did not even charge
Speaker:them for another bow.
Speaker:That type Of conversation is priceless.
Speaker:Oh, it's a selling point.
Speaker:It's what should you do?
Speaker:And that's why I say I'm a yellow candle.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:One thing I want Everybody to take note of is a
Speaker:little bit different way of working a table at a trade
Speaker:show or at a booth there's positions.
Speaker:I think I heard you talk about three pre-orders then people
Speaker:who are doing new sales and then you or your daughter
Speaker:or your grandson working the line.
Speaker:So everyone's feeling like they're being recognized.
Speaker:They're important.
Speaker:And I think when you do that,
Speaker:people understand that there are other people who need to be
Speaker:helped as well.
Speaker:People just don't want to feel ignored.
Speaker:No, because the worst thing that can happen is they walk
Speaker:away. Exactly.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:if you just even go and give them a nod or
Speaker:say, I'm working a trade show that I'm selling a product
Speaker:for my daughter and she is trying to get the leagues
Speaker:in. And so she and I will work it together and
Speaker:we might be having three or four cookies and different things.
Speaker:I always,
Speaker:and she does the same thing.
Speaker:We'll divide the booth.
Speaker:And we always acknowledge,
Speaker:even though we're speaking,
Speaker:we always have that eye out to the outside where I
Speaker:give them a nod of the head or I,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:give them a little wave of the hand or something that
Speaker:they know they're part of it.
Speaker:Oh, do you have a great school too?
Speaker:Hey, come on in and listen to this because you guys
Speaker:are gonna love this.
Speaker:This is a no brainer.
Speaker:That type of thing.
Speaker:Yeah. That keeps them there.
Speaker:Absolutely. And we are always the largest and the busiest booth,
Speaker:no matter where we go,
Speaker:That's a sense of pride.
Speaker:It's a long time to get there a long time to
Speaker:get there.
Speaker:Darn. You're going to have to work really hard.
Speaker:Then I do.
Speaker:By the time we're out.
Speaker:That's when you know you're 69.
Speaker:I come home and my daughter's up in the morning just
Speaker:going and I'm laying in bed thinking,
Speaker:oh, I might be dead today.
Speaker:Love the damn candle out.
Speaker:It's gone.
Speaker:Oh gosh.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:we're going to roll into the reflection section.
Speaker:Now I think I already know the answer to this,
Speaker:but what is one natural trait you have that has helped
Speaker:you to succeed?
Speaker:My Laughter,
Speaker:I see laughter in everything.
Speaker:I love people and I love to be surrounded by people
Speaker:that have joy and I don't have time in my life
Speaker:for downers.
Speaker:And so probably the thing that has made me succeed the
Speaker:most is my outgoing personality.
Speaker:Laughter and your outgoing personality.
Speaker:And sometimes It's fake,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:sometimes I'm so tired that I think,
Speaker:oh gosh,
Speaker:I can't talk to another person,
Speaker:but you know what?
Speaker:Yeah. Put that smile on your face.
Speaker:You go back out there and they never know.
Speaker:Right. And you've got to do it because they deserve that
Speaker:type of interaction.
Speaker:Just like the very first person of the day does.
Speaker:Absolutely. And you never know,
Speaker:they might be your largest order.
Speaker:Yeah. You just don't know that.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:what tool do you use regularly to help you keep productive
Speaker:or to create some type of balance in your life Vacations.
Speaker:I make sure that I take time out to just get
Speaker:away. For instance,
Speaker:the family just came back from having a week,
Speaker:all inclusive vacation.
Speaker:Now I'm getting ready to leave,
Speaker:to go back home,
Speaker:to see my girlfriends back in Ohio.
Speaker:I make myself get away and there's things on my bucket
Speaker:list I want to do.
Speaker:I haven't done everything yet.
Speaker:And I Would say at any age,
Speaker:I mean you have to take the time to get away
Speaker:because if you don't,
Speaker:you're going to totally burn yourself out.
Speaker:Absolutely. You'll burn out so fast that you'll get to the
Speaker:point that you hate what you're doing.
Speaker:And once that happens,
Speaker:it's time to say.
Speaker:I also think that to put a little bit of distance,
Speaker:you know how when you go on vacation,
Speaker:it takes like a day or two just to get everything
Speaker:out of your mind or as much as you can.
Speaker:But many times when you create that distance,
Speaker:that's when your new ideas come up.
Speaker:Oh my Heavens.
Speaker:Yes. When you clear your mind,
Speaker:you just blank it out.
Speaker:You would be surprised now.
Speaker:Not necessarily why I'm there,
Speaker:but as the week wears on and I know up my
Speaker:blue Hawaiian is just about drank its last drink here.
Speaker:Then my brain starts clicking over.
Speaker:Yeah. Then I'm thinking,
Speaker:oh, I've got to go home and I've got to do
Speaker:this and this and this.
Speaker:And if I add that it's like a recharge.
Speaker:It's like charging your battery back in.
Speaker:That's what vacations do for me.
Speaker:They give me a chance to come all the way down
Speaker:and then I go all the way back.
Speaker:And by the time I hit the ground off that airplane,
Speaker:I'm running again.
Speaker:Sounds Great.
Speaker:What book have you read lately that you think our listeners
Speaker:would find value In my favorite book and I have probably
Speaker:read it four times as the Alchemist and the Alchemist is
Speaker:a book.
Speaker:I think everyone should read.
Speaker:It was written by a pallet Cole.
Speaker:It's been translated.
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:into 27 or 28 different languages around the world.
Speaker:It's kind of a fable of how he reaches his goals.
Speaker:You can put yourself into every single thing that he's doing
Speaker:and think,
Speaker:well, gee,
Speaker:if I would have done that different,
Speaker:maybe this goal would have happened or that goal.
Speaker:So if anyone wants to read a book,
Speaker:that's not a self-help book.
Speaker:It's not a gee.
Speaker:If you do these 10 steps,
Speaker:this is an actual book that you become part of.
Speaker:And so it's just a wonderful book.
Speaker:It sounds like it you've never read it.
Speaker:No I'm going to have to check it out.
Speaker:It's a very small book.
Speaker:I've read it over and over.
Speaker:Both of my children ever edit my grandchildren have read it.
Speaker:We discuss it.
Speaker:He was a brilliant author.
Speaker:Just brilliant Gift biz listeners,
Speaker:just as you're listening to the podcast today,
Speaker:you can also listen to audio books with ease.
Speaker:I've teamed up with audible for you to get a free
Speaker:audio book.
Speaker:Just like the one that Lon is recommending.
Speaker:All you need to do is go to gift biz,
Speaker:book.com and make a selection.
Speaker:That's gift biz,
Speaker:book.com. Okay.
Speaker:Lana, our time is starting to wind down and we are
Speaker:coming to my favorite question of all,
Speaker:which is the dare to dream question.
Speaker:I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:This is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable Heights
Speaker:that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift.
Speaker:Open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside?
Speaker:Okay. I'm going to open this box very,
Speaker:very slowly because this gift means so much to me.
Speaker:And my gift is health.
Speaker:If I can just have my health,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I'm going on 70.
Speaker:I have been very,
Speaker:very active and knock on wood.
Speaker:My health is fine,
Speaker:but I,
Speaker:more than anything in the world want to keep my health.
Speaker:I want to stay active.
Speaker:I want to do my exercises.
Speaker:I want to watch my weight.
Speaker:I want to stay healthy.
Speaker:That's what I want.
Speaker:Well, You know what I like about your gift?
Speaker:What's that for the majority of time you have control over
Speaker:a lot of those elements.
Speaker:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker:And I just want to stay healthy.
Speaker:I just,
Speaker:without help,
Speaker:what do you have That old saying?
Speaker:If you don't have health,
Speaker:you don't have anything.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:And boy,
Speaker:I'm not giving mine up.
Speaker:Love that.
Speaker:So give biz listeners,
Speaker:remember you can jump over to our show notes page and
Speaker:you'll see a lot of detail of the conversation that we've
Speaker:had here.
Speaker:Also I'll have a picture of that adorable bear or the
Speaker:Husky or whoever you're going to send me a picture of.
Speaker:I'm not sure I'll get Somebody out to you.
Speaker:All of that will be over on the show notes page
Speaker:and you can find that at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com. Thank you so much Lana for taking your time today
Speaker:in sharing all this valuable information with us,
Speaker:it's truly been a gift and may your candle always burn
Speaker:bright And you have a great great day today.
Speaker:You too Learn how to work smarter while developing and growing
Speaker:your business.
Speaker:Download our guide called twenty-five free tools to enhance your business
Speaker:and life.
Speaker:It's our gift to you and available at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrap.com/tools. Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for
Speaker:the next day episode.
Speaker:Would you like to be on the show or do you
Speaker:know someone who can provide valuable insight from their experiences?
Speaker:If so,
Speaker:we'd love to hear from you.
Speaker:All you need to do is submit a form for consideration.
Speaker:You can access the form at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash yes that's gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash G U E S T today's show is
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