Shownotes
BUSINESS BUILDING INSIGHTS
- A business is different than a hobby. Starting gradually on the side gives you the chance to know if it’s something you want to do 24/7.
- Explore different options to growing your business. There shouldn't be just one - that's risky.
- A great way to keep your client list growing is by connecting with other entrepreneurs.
- Stay positive by not comparing yourself to others.
- Talk to everyone. You never know about the next possibility that lies ahead.
- Be essential. Build a void in the community. Figure out a way to stay viable and relevant.
- Consistency goes a long way to ensure people remember you and what your business offers. Share your message every day.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Sweet Sage Bakery A Glass Full of Hope Durham Fair #Cow GramCONTACT LINKS
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You're listening to gift biz unwrapped episode 265 cakes and chocolates
Speaker:were something that I enjoyed doing,
Speaker:but then I saw that there was a market for it.
Speaker:Attention gifters,
Speaker:bakers, crafters and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one
Speaker:now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources, and the support you need to grow your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal,
Speaker:Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there,
Speaker:it's Sue.
Speaker:I'm so happy that you're joining me here today because I
Speaker:have something super special in store for you for the next
Speaker:four weeks.
Speaker:I'm talking with various women who have,
Speaker:dare I say,
Speaker:embraced the challenges of covert 19 and are now not just
Speaker:surviving in their businesses but thriving.
Speaker:I'm hearing people talk about this being the new awakening maybe,
Speaker:but no matter what you believe,
Speaker:I'm seeing positive changes come out of this need to step
Speaker:back and analyze not just ourselves but our businesses.
Speaker:It's exciting to hear that some of these creative ideas initially
Speaker:implemented just to get through,
Speaker:have added so much value that they'll continue long after our
Speaker:new normal becomes routine.
Speaker:My goal over these next four episodes is to prompt you
Speaker:to relook at your ways too.
Speaker:There may be a new idea that you can take on
Speaker:or one sentence that may spark a brand new action that
Speaker:could make your business soar.
Speaker:The common thread through all of these businesses is that the
Speaker:owners were willing to think differently and test their ideas.
Speaker:I want you to do the same.
Speaker:So today,
Speaker:let's envision something.
Speaker:Imagine that this past January,
Speaker:so just a few short months ago,
Speaker:you moved into a brand new retail location.
Speaker:The excitement of planning the colors and designing the space,
Speaker:the anticipation of showing it to new and current customers,
Speaker:the freshness and possibility of it all,
Speaker:and then word of this mysterious virus appears and spreads and
Speaker:things get more and more serious.
Speaker:This is real life to Kim,
Speaker:our guests today.
Speaker:You'll hear how she looked at the situation,
Speaker:took an inventory of what she had available to her and
Speaker:decided that she would make her business essential.
Speaker:Today it is my pleasure to introduce you to Kim Terrell
Speaker:of Kim's cottage confections.
Speaker:Kim started her baking and chocolate making business in the late
Speaker:1990s while working full time as a technical writer for a
Speaker:woman's retail corporation.
Speaker:She began out of her home,
Speaker:then moved to a production location in early 2004 this small
Speaker:production location has grown into a full retail specialty bake shop
Speaker:and confection shop serving greater Connecticut.
Speaker:They are the preferred cake vendor at several wedding and special
Speaker:event venues and caterers.
Speaker:Kim says there's rarely been a weekend without a wedding cake
Speaker:order in over 15 years.
Speaker:Wow, Kim,
Speaker:that's crazy.
Speaker:Welcome to the gift biz on rep podcast.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:So I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker:I'm thrilled that you're here.
Speaker:Seriously. 15 years.
Speaker:Yes. People get married every weekend of the year.
Speaker:We have weddings traditionally on new year's weekend,
Speaker:the weekend before Christmas,
Speaker:that weekend after Christmas,
Speaker:the first weekend in January.
Speaker:It's amazing that people get married 52 weekends of the year.
Speaker:Wow. Well I guess if you really think about it,
Speaker:it's true,
Speaker:right? But then the really cool thing is that you are
Speaker:helping serve and provide the cakes for all those weddings.
Speaker:And certainly it didn't start out that way.
Speaker:So I'm excited to hear the story,
Speaker:but let's just first do what I like to do on
Speaker:the show and that is a little bit of a traditional
Speaker:thing. And I know,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:cause we've talked about the fact that you listened to the
Speaker:show. So first off,
Speaker:thank you for that.
Speaker:You're welcome.
Speaker:But now I'm excited to hear you describe yourself through your
Speaker:own motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you were to tell me the color and the
Speaker:quote that's a candle that really resonates with you,
Speaker:Kim, share what it would be with all of our listeners.
Speaker:So the candle color would just be the most beautiful summer
Speaker:day blue sky.
Speaker:Because even though we're busy and baking and in our kitchen
Speaker:all during the day,
Speaker:my favorite part of the day is just to walk out
Speaker:in the afternoon and look up and see the sky.
Speaker:So beautiful blue on a gorgeous summer day,
Speaker:especially if it's a perfect day for a wedding.
Speaker:It's just there's something so special about a crystal clear blue
Speaker:day. Yeah,
Speaker:I can close my eyes right now and imagine that pure,
Speaker:beautiful blue,
Speaker:like you say Yes.
Speaker:And on this gloomy April day,
Speaker:we're grateful for those blue sky days so loosely.
Speaker:And the quote that's on the candle is you can't go
Speaker:back and change the beginning,
Speaker:but you can start where you are and change the ending.
Speaker:Oh, so you'll always look forward.
Speaker:Don't look Always look forward because if the day didn't start
Speaker:out sunny and bright,
Speaker:but that blue sky,
Speaker:there's always the opportunity that it's going to change to that.
Speaker:And there's always tomorrow.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:And it's something that's controllable.
Speaker:Absolutely. You can't go back.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:so many people will dwell on the past.
Speaker:I wish I would have done this.
Speaker:I wish I would've done that.
Speaker:Why not take the energy and say,
Speaker:okay, yeah,
Speaker:I might've wished I would have done that,
Speaker:but now what can I do?
Speaker:How can I affect that going forward?
Speaker:Exactly. Yeah.
Speaker:Love it.
Speaker:Okay, so now that we just said we don't go back,
Speaker:let's do go back just real quick.
Speaker:Yeah. Quick visit.
Speaker:I like that.
Speaker:And share with us a little bit about how your business
Speaker:got established and I'm really curious,
Speaker:you mentioned you were a technical writer with women's retail.
Speaker:What does that mean?
Speaker:So I was the systems and procedures manager for Ann Taylor
Speaker:back in the day when Ann Taylor was in its hay
Speaker:day and we had stores opening all over the country and
Speaker:I wrote the manuals that got the stores open.
Speaker:So I traveled all over the country to all the new
Speaker:store openings and train the managers on how to use the
Speaker:systems and procedures.
Speaker:And it was very,
Speaker:very exciting in the late eighties early nineties when that was
Speaker:my career.
Speaker:I worked part of the week in Manhattan on 57th street
Speaker:and I would always bring treats in to the office when
Speaker:I went into New York and my boss used to say,
Speaker:you're a great writer,
Speaker:but you're an even better Baker.
Speaker:Interesting. Yes.
Speaker:And I always had it as something that I did as
Speaker:a hobby,
Speaker:but in the retail world,
Speaker:things change and I started baking more and more and decided
Speaker:to give it a go to make it into a business.
Speaker:So were you thinking about it mostly because of the feedback
Speaker:that you were getting then from them?
Speaker:From the outside in or like what was the exact moment
Speaker:or were you thinking about it over time and then all
Speaker:of a sudden you decided to flip the switch?
Speaker:Well, retail is so volatile and things were changing and Taylor
Speaker:had been bought out by a major corporation,
Speaker:so my position was significantly altered and at the same time
Speaker:I was just thinking and doing more and more cakes and
Speaker:more and more chocolates and more and more special orders.
Speaker:And it came to the point where I was very busy
Speaker:trying to establish the business and I was young,
Speaker:newly married,
Speaker:no children.
Speaker:And I look back at it now and can't believe I
Speaker:did it,
Speaker:but I actually left my job to start a business,
Speaker:which now I think,
Speaker:wow, Really?
Speaker:What were you thinking?
Speaker:But I did and put a commercial kitchen right in our
Speaker:home and started the business right that way.
Speaker:Wow. Okay.
Speaker:So I think people are more accustomed to someone making a
Speaker:jump like that now because let's face it,
Speaker:entrepreneurism and having your own business now is looked upon.
Speaker:I'm going to say still.
Speaker:Some people think we're crazy,
Speaker:like we'll just agree with that.
Speaker:Right, but I think back then they really thought we were
Speaker:crazy if you were doing it cause it wasn't as talked
Speaker:about yet.
Speaker:Right. I look back now and I think,
Speaker:how did I even market my business?
Speaker:There was no Facebook,
Speaker:there was no Instagram.
Speaker:You really did rely on someone opening the newspaper and seeing
Speaker:the ad that you placed and the yellow pages were a
Speaker:thing. Yeah,
Speaker:they were.
Speaker:Remember big books.
Speaker:You'd come home and you'd see one at your front door.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:I want to stick with the development of your business just
Speaker:for a minute because I also feel right during this time,
Speaker:there are people who are thinking about,
Speaker:okay, I'm furloughed right now or I'm staying at home for
Speaker:a little bit.
Speaker:Maybe I should be starting something on the side just so
Speaker:I've got another stream of income coming in besides my job.
Speaker:But they're fully intending to coming back.
Speaker:But I think it's on a lot of people's minds right
Speaker:now. And if I understood your story correctly,
Speaker:that is really what you did while you were working at
Speaker:Ann Taylor and thank you for that by the way,
Speaker:cause I was one of your customers.
Speaker:Very good.
Speaker:I'm sure you still have beautiful clothes from Ann Taylor too.
Speaker:They are timeless.
Speaker:They're timeless and they're well-made.
Speaker:So they last and the styles come back again.
Speaker:Right? Sure.
Speaker:I'd have to rethink about the size anymore.
Speaker:That's a whole nother story.
Speaker:Podcasts, different podcasts.
Speaker:But it did sound like you were testing the concept,
Speaker:whether you realize that that was really what you were doing
Speaker:or not on the side while you had your job.
Speaker:Yeah. So I think it's nice for people to know that
Speaker:that is possible.
Speaker:You can be doing two things at once so you don't
Speaker:have to jump in two feet in the water.
Speaker:Maybe you'll swim,
Speaker:maybe you won't do,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you can start building something up gradually on the side.
Speaker:Right. And a business is very different when it's your income
Speaker:versus your hobby.
Speaker:And I think that starting it slowly and maybe doing it
Speaker:on the side gives you the chance to know if this
Speaker:is something that you want to do.
Speaker:24 seven.
Speaker:Good point.
Speaker:So as you were developing,
Speaker:you were saying you were getting requests already.
Speaker:Were you just baking and testing out your skills and as
Speaker:you're saying,
Speaker:testing how you felt about it with the idea of it
Speaker:being a business or,
Speaker:well, talk to me a little bit about that.
Speaker:So I was testing the waters and I really enjoyed what
Speaker:I was doing and I was taking classes.
Speaker:I literally went to a cake decorating a local cake decorating
Speaker:school in the next town was offering classes.
Speaker:I took every class that possible and I really,
Speaker:I did enjoy it and I had always baked,
Speaker:it was always something that was part of my past cookies
Speaker:and cakes and chocolates were something that I enjoyed doing.
Speaker:But then I saw that there was a market for it
Speaker:and that people were interested in ordering cakes that were more
Speaker:than just grocery store cakes.
Speaker:So I explored all the different options for how cakes could
Speaker:be decorated and different formulas and different recipes.
Speaker:And honestly they're the recipes I still use to this day.
Speaker:Well, why not if they work.
Speaker:Absolutely. And actually I think that when people know a flavor
Speaker:that they're envisioning,
Speaker:when they have the cake,
Speaker:they're going to want the same thing from you.
Speaker:Right? Yeah.
Speaker:So there's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker:So you landed it almost in the beginning,
Speaker:so that's very cool.
Speaker:Okay. And so talk us through and then we'll leave the
Speaker:past, then we're going to go out into the future.
Speaker:Okay. But talk me through how you decided and Taylor kind
Speaker:of gave you a little bit of a nudge because they
Speaker:were changing.
Speaker:Right. And it came down to,
Speaker:I had just been shuffled out of one department to another
Speaker:department. I was working for kind of the accounting department.
Speaker:And there was just,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the position that I had had evolved or devolved really into
Speaker:more of an administrative position and I just,
Speaker:as I said,
Speaker:it was the right time just to say,
Speaker:okay, I'm going to give this a shot and see if
Speaker:I can turn this into a business.
Speaker:Okay, so really critical time and this again is going to
Speaker:be good for people who are listening.
Speaker:So I'm excited to hear what you're going to say about
Speaker:this. So you already have experience,
Speaker:you've taken classes,
Speaker:you've tested your product.
Speaker:Were you selling some of your product already?
Speaker:At that point I was renting a kitchen at the Y,
Speaker:WCA. I started out with course experimentation,
Speaker:but I quickly moved into a kitchen at the local Y
Speaker:WCA where I rented a kitchen and did a lot of
Speaker:the product development out of that kitchen.
Speaker:Okay. And so now you no longer have your day job
Speaker:correct. You're going to do this full time.
Speaker:Take me to that place of,
Speaker:was it one day you left,
Speaker:you closed the door on Ann Taylor and then that next
Speaker:Monday or whatever it was,
Speaker:did you just fully ramp up or how did the transition
Speaker:look? Yeah,
Speaker:so we had to build a kitchen Because you were anticipating
Speaker:a lot of business.
Speaker:Yes, I was going to make this my business.
Speaker:This was my focus and my goal.
Speaker:We put a kitchen in the basement of our home.
Speaker:I had a beautiful walkout basement that we put the kitchen
Speaker:in, inspected by the health department and started making cakes but
Speaker:also confections that I took to craft fairs,
Speaker:which is why I'm so attracted to this podcast and everyone
Speaker:in here in the gift biz group because I really loaded
Speaker:my car every Saturday and went to every craft fair home
Speaker:show, anything that I could use to market my business.
Speaker:Okay. So when you talk about getting your name out,
Speaker:that was what you were doing besides a newspaper cause print
Speaker:was still,
Speaker:okay. So we're talking 15 years,
Speaker:so we're still talking early to mid nineties Yeah,
Speaker:like really the mid nineties Okay.
Speaker:So midnight.
Speaker:So print still was a thing Viable.
Speaker:Absolutely. Yellow pages were starting to Peter out.
Speaker:I'd say about that time There was more online listings.
Speaker:The internet was coming into becoming more prevalent and you could
Speaker:list your business online,
Speaker:but there was still no marketing online.
Speaker:Right. And a lot of people didn't even have access yet
Speaker:to computers.
Speaker:Right. I mean we were just starting to get them.
Speaker:Boy it seems so long ago to remember those.
Speaker:I know,
Speaker:I know.
Speaker:But I love what you're saying about craft.
Speaker:So let's talk about this some more.
Speaker:Cause I think people forget that this is a good evolution
Speaker:first starting with people,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:testing things out,
Speaker:getting acceptance or feedback in any way,
Speaker:right? Developing your product and starting to grow it and then
Speaker:face to face I think is so important.
Speaker:So I would move it up every,
Speaker:as I said,
Speaker:every Saturday and I brought chocolate.
Speaker:So we made every,
Speaker:I had every chocolate mold,
Speaker:I made,
Speaker:filled chocolates,
Speaker:truffles, dipped chocolates,
Speaker:dipped pretzels.
Speaker:We dip everything in chocolate.
Speaker:And I also brought just a photo album of my cakes
Speaker:and I would show people who were interested,
Speaker:photos of cakes that we had done and we booked birthday
Speaker:cakes and confirmation and graduation cakes and then it evolved into
Speaker:showers and weddings From the craft table.
Speaker:These tables at the craft shows and let's all remember that
Speaker:your product is very temperamental,
Speaker:like with the weather and all that.
Speaker:Absolutely. I did mostly indoor because I really was concerned about
Speaker:being outdoors in the weather,
Speaker:so I focus mostly on indoor,
Speaker:but I would make connections and network at all of these
Speaker:craft fairs just to keep my client list growing.
Speaker:Right. Okay,
Speaker:so break that down a little bit for us.
Speaker:What do you mean by growing your connections and networking with
Speaker:people? What specifically were you doing?
Speaker:I would talk to other crafters and I would just say
Speaker:what other craft shows are you doing?
Speaker:Where are you finding the biggest traffic for the craft fairs?
Speaker:Exhibitors who do the best job marketing,
Speaker:their craft fairs and just really try to make sure that
Speaker:where I was spending my time was the biggest bang for
Speaker:my buck honestly.
Speaker:And are you still doing shows?
Speaker:Not today,
Speaker:today, but right now.
Speaker:Like is that part of your plan?
Speaker:I wish I could do craft fairs.
Speaker:It's very challenging to have a retail location and take your
Speaker:business on the road because no matter what,
Speaker:you always feel like you're packing up and leaving something behind.
Speaker:Okay. Very good point.
Speaker:And we've not ever talked about this before,
Speaker:but at some point as your business evolves,
Speaker:it makes sense that you would be focused really on one
Speaker:or the other.
Speaker:Yes, I do bridal shows.
Speaker:I do showcase still at wedding shows,
Speaker:so where we do bring our product to a venue or
Speaker:a exhibition hall where perspective brides and grooms come in and
Speaker:see all different aspects of the wedding industry.
Speaker:So that is still a very big piece of my marketing,
Speaker:but not as much craft fairs.
Speaker:Well. And that makes sense because that audience is completely condensed
Speaker:to your customer.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:they're looking for all their services for the wedding.
Speaker:So that makes total sense.
Speaker:And that also I think explains why you have had 15
Speaker:years for weekly wedding cakes.
Speaker:Right? Right.
Speaker:We are out for sure.
Speaker:It seems so obvious,
Speaker:but I think we forget that that's something that you want.
Speaker:You've got to go where people are.
Speaker:Oh you do?
Speaker:Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker:I mean we always say,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:depending on your business,
Speaker:while I want more customers,
Speaker:I want more customers.
Speaker:But you got very specific with weddings and went right where
Speaker:they were and really marketed to them for the result that
Speaker:you have today.
Speaker:Exactly. So share with us if you would,
Speaker:some learnings that you had from craft shows because again,
Speaker:I definitely teach specially when you're starting out that the very
Speaker:best thing you can do is face to face,
Speaker:get interaction understanding with people who are looking at your products,
Speaker:understand what they're attracted to and why they do buy,
Speaker:but also why they don't.
Speaker:What is it?
Speaker:Is your product too big?
Speaker:Is it too colorful?
Speaker:It's just not their style,
Speaker:which is fine by the way.
Speaker:You need to know all those things,
Speaker:the good and the bad.
Speaker:True. So like I always am talking craft shows specially when
Speaker:people are starting out cause that's the way you can be
Speaker:right next to somebody and and have an interaction,
Speaker:a conversation.
Speaker:What from your professional experience have been some of the good
Speaker:things and the bad things about craft shows like warnings for
Speaker:people who are starting to do shows?
Speaker:Well I think you have to go into every craft fair
Speaker:expecting the best,
Speaker:but prepared,
Speaker:really prepared for minimal sales because you're reliant on the mood
Speaker:of the customer of that day and not every craft fair,
Speaker:even year to year is going to have the same result
Speaker:that it did the year before.
Speaker:So I think you have to go in and just be
Speaker:upbeat and positive about what you're bringing to the craft fair
Speaker:and not compare yourself to everyone else at the craft fair
Speaker:or how busy someone looks or,
Speaker:but someone else has set up is better than yours.
Speaker:You just have to be in that moment proud of what
Speaker:you brought that day and just treat every day as a
Speaker:learning experience because not every shopper is there for your product
Speaker:that day,
Speaker:but maybe they're going to recognize a genuine attitude and that
Speaker:you brought a beautiful product they didn't need right then,
Speaker:but they're going to keep you in mind for the next
Speaker:event that they have,
Speaker:that they need that.
Speaker:Right. Well,
Speaker:and Kim,
Speaker:you're so personable.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we've started to get to know each other a little bit
Speaker:more over the past,
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:month or so.
Speaker:You're so personable and friendly and just really comfortable to talk
Speaker:with, and I think that probably carries over to the shows
Speaker:too, even though you're not doing them now,
Speaker:I think you're probably leave the same person back a few
Speaker:years ago,
Speaker:and that plays to the point of you need to interact
Speaker:with people at the shows because they get a real sense
Speaker:of who you are.
Speaker:I remember one show that I was at,
Speaker:it was a really down show and it,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I brought great product.
Speaker:It was probably right around Easter and I thought,
Speaker:Oh it's spring.
Speaker:I brought Easter,
Speaker:I brought some things for dance recitals,
Speaker:ballet shoes,
Speaker:things like this.
Speaker:And I had not had great sales that day and you
Speaker:know it can be a downer cause you're there for a
Speaker:long time.
Speaker:You spent a long time producing and getting ready and a
Speaker:woman stopped at my table and started asking me a lot
Speaker:of questions.
Speaker:Just really,
Speaker:I felt like wow,
Speaker:she's grilling me.
Speaker:What is all this sport?
Speaker:And she turned out to be the owner of a small
Speaker:specialty chocolate store in one of our high end towns,
Speaker:very close to where we are.
Speaker:And she became my greatest customer.
Speaker:She bought all of her product from me.
Speaker:We did her molded chocolates,
Speaker:we did her filled chocolates.
Speaker:It just taught me that you never know what the possibility
Speaker:is. Talk to everyone even though it seemed,
Speaker:I thought she's a competitor.
Speaker:She's asking me what kind of product I use cause she's
Speaker:trying to gain some sort of information and she ended up
Speaker:just wanting to be my customer.
Speaker:That's a good lesson though.
Speaker:You make sure to treat all customers.
Speaker:I don't know that you say equally.
Speaker:Maybe you do,
Speaker:but the other thing is that I always think of is
Speaker:when you're at a craft show people are coming really dressed
Speaker:casual, right?
Speaker:So you have no idea if that person who is wearing
Speaker:a baseball cap and in shorts and a tee shirt is
Speaker:somebody like you're describing,
Speaker:you know who owned some big shop.
Speaker:And I think back to that day and how thank goodness
Speaker:I was personable and the way it started out and the
Speaker:way it ended,
Speaker:we're just again change.
Speaker:You can't go back and change at the beginning,
Speaker:but definitely you could change the ending.
Speaker:Absolutely. Well and it also speaks to the point that a
Speaker:show of any sort,
Speaker:whether it's a local craft show,
Speaker:even a trade show where you're looking to get wholesale customers
Speaker:also, which is really what this ended up being.
Speaker:Right? Right.
Speaker:Absolutely. You only need one great new contact to make the
Speaker:show. Totally worthwhile.
Speaker:Absolutely. Final question for you on craft shows cause I have
Speaker:a lot of other things I want to do about how
Speaker:did you deal with continuity?
Speaker:Like people were at a craft show and came up to
Speaker:your table.
Speaker:How did you ensure that they knew how to get in
Speaker:touch with you when they were ready to buy a product?
Speaker:How did you stay in touch with them or,
Speaker:So I had,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:of course business cards and menus that we would provide for
Speaker:every show and then much better than today.
Speaker:I did reach out to people via email and I did
Speaker:email marketing,
Speaker:which you and I have spoken recently about.
Speaker:I have fallen off email marketing,
Speaker:but I did send a newsletter or at the very least
Speaker:a price list or reminder that new products were coming out
Speaker:or that I'd be at a new show.
Speaker:Here's a list of the show is I'll be at,
Speaker:and actually they were postcards.
Speaker:I used to actually mail postcards.
Speaker:Now that I think I remember making postcards on the computer
Speaker:and hand addressing them and putting them in the mailbox.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:Well, those were the marketing tools of the day.
Speaker:Right? Right.
Speaker:And email,
Speaker:like everyone was talking about it.
Speaker:That was the new thing until social media came around.
Speaker:Right. So I think a lot of people have let email
Speaker:slip they cause they're thinking social media replaces it where really
Speaker:you can use the two in tandem.
Speaker:Absolutely. And direct marketing you are speaking my game because that's
Speaker:what we did,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:specialty, highly targeted at direct marketing and that was a big
Speaker:deal and did serve people well for a long time.
Speaker:Super expensive now.
Speaker:Right? I always put like a 10% coupon or mention this
Speaker:card and get a free cookie,
Speaker:whatever it was.
Speaker:But I do remember the actual physical mailing of postcards.
Speaker:Wonderful. Good learning.
Speaker:Because what you're showing us is the craft show is not
Speaker:for the point in time when you're at the show.
Speaker:You can take information if you've planned,
Speaker:so you have the materials at the table or collecting email
Speaker:addresses now or telling people to follow you on social,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:whatever the method is.
Speaker:But you want to have some type of a method.
Speaker:So that then when people leave,
Speaker:they're going to remember you.
Speaker:There's access back,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:Cause we can't expect them to remember us.
Speaker:We have to remind them there's just too much going on.
Speaker:Right. And there could be 60 other people at that show
Speaker:that they're going to remember.
Speaker:So you want to make sure that you can find a
Speaker:way to contact them at a later date.
Speaker:Agreed. I would also say,
Speaker:I'm just thinking about this now,
Speaker:having your picture as the owner of the business and the
Speaker:one who's at the craft show on literature,
Speaker:I also think could be a good reminder of,
Speaker:Oh, I remember talking with her like it's a trigger instead
Speaker:of just having the company name.
Speaker:Yes. I'm just thinking of that now.
Speaker:That's a very good idea.
Speaker:Just came to mind.
Speaker:Face recognition.
Speaker:Yeah, because then and especially because you're so friendly and comfortable
Speaker:to talk to,
Speaker:I think that plays in your advantage.
Speaker:So that's another way to trigger the memories.
Speaker:Which exact booth it was or table it was,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:so you're in the production,
Speaker:is this true or not?
Speaker:I'm trying to go back.
Speaker:You're still in your basement based on our story,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:Okay. And at what point then did you move to your
Speaker:brick and mortar and turn it into production and a shop
Speaker:or retail shop?
Speaker:This is interesting.
Speaker:We had moved out of our home in one town to
Speaker:two children now and we wanted to move them to a
Speaker:small town.
Speaker:So we moved to a much smaller town with a lot
Speaker:of requirements for health licensing.
Speaker:We had a septic system and not public water and there
Speaker:were a lot of requirements around having a commercial kitchen in
Speaker:your home that the timeline with buying a home and finding
Speaker:the right home to put a kitchen,
Speaker:it just wasn't all melding.
Speaker:So I actually for a time gave up the business to
Speaker:go back to writing.
Speaker:I was a local newspaper reporter and I did some online
Speaker:writing and wasn't doing any baking.
Speaker:And then I noticed one day taking my daughter to preschool,
Speaker:that there was a little,
Speaker:so she was in a Plaza in the back.
Speaker:So picture like driving down two Hills of a driveway and
Speaker:around the back is her preschool and next to the preschool
Speaker:is an empty storefront.
Speaker:No, I could only say what I knew now.
Speaker:If I knew then what I know now,
Speaker:but I actually said,
Speaker:Oh, I could just put my ovens in there and I
Speaker:could just go back to baking wholesale.
Speaker:And I did.
Speaker:I actually,
Speaker:that's when we moved our kids.
Speaker:We moved to this new town and I put my commercial
Speaker:kitchen in the back of a Plaza down two Hills around
Speaker:the back with absolutely no street front signage.
Speaker:But that's okay because you didn't want people to be walking
Speaker:in. You were doing wholesale,
Speaker:right, right.
Speaker:I didn't.
Speaker:And so it worked out.
Speaker:It actually was good.
Speaker:So my daughter went to the preschool next door and when
Speaker:she was done with preschool,
Speaker:she would come and hang out in the bakery until it
Speaker:was time to pick my son up from school.
Speaker:And it really was just a wholesale bakery.
Speaker:I did cakes for restaurants,
Speaker:I did orders.
Speaker:Customers were still ordering from me.
Speaker:So I was filling orders and what was,
Speaker:Oh and I started,
Speaker:I also was doing kids birthday parties.
Speaker:That was how I was going to pay my rent.
Speaker:Well and that makes sense.
Speaker:You've got people who are,
Speaker:cause you clearly had a sign,
Speaker:like people had to know that something was baking there plus
Speaker:it probably smelled great.
Speaker:It smelled amazing when the kids would go by,
Speaker:they're like,
Speaker:it smells like cookies.
Speaker:And I first say I wish I was your daughter.
Speaker:That sounds amazing.
Speaker:So you had a little bit of visibility there that probably
Speaker:didn't pass you up that there were people who were going
Speaker:to know about you and they have children who need cupcakes
Speaker:for birthdays and all that.
Speaker:I mean that's kind of indirect,
Speaker:but I'm sure you got business Correct.
Speaker:I had a captive audience,
Speaker:Absolutely. But I also kind of invented this birthday party model
Speaker:where we would have kids come in and have their birthday
Speaker:party at my shop and it was a two hour party.
Speaker:And we would do crafts and then cupcakes or cookie decorating.
Speaker:And of course this was at a time when people were
Speaker:moving their birthday parties out of their homes and thinking this
Speaker:is great.
Speaker:Someone else has the kids in.
Speaker:They make the mess there,
Speaker:they do everything there and then we go home.
Speaker:And that model worked extremely well until my wedding business and
Speaker:specialty business really picked up and it was hard to have
Speaker:a display room with beautiful cakes and also be offering birthday
Speaker:parties and have the birthday kids feel like they had the
Speaker:run of the space.
Speaker:Right, that makes sense.
Speaker:Yeah. I started to feel that I was doing a disservice
Speaker:to the birthdays because they would have to be after the
Speaker:shop closed and I really started having beautiful things displays that
Speaker:I didn't want to be interfered with by the kids coming
Speaker:to the birthday parties.
Speaker:So let go of that part of it and let the
Speaker:business grow in a different direction.
Speaker:And are you still in that same location now?
Speaker:No, I have moved to the location that I'm at now.
Speaker:I moved.
Speaker:I opened January 8th what like two months before the world
Speaker:fell apart Like January 8th this year.
Speaker:Okay. Was going to be my year.
Speaker:It is still.
Speaker:This is what I wanted to talk to you about,
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Speaker:So I have to share with our listeners here,
Speaker:Kim, if you're over in my private Facebook group,
Speaker:gift biz breeze right now,
Speaker:three times a week,
Speaker:I'm going on really supporting the community.
Speaker:By the way,
Speaker:all of you have probably heard the promo,
Speaker:you'll hear it again at the end of this show about
Speaker:how you can join.
Speaker:But it's a place where anyone who's a maker,
Speaker:whether you're thinking already established or totally successful like him,
Speaker:is we all come and support each other because everyone brings
Speaker:a lot of great information.
Speaker:And another thing we do is on Thursday nights,
Speaker:right now,
Speaker:this isn't going to last forever.
Speaker:I can tell you that.
Speaker:But on Thursday night we're doing zoom calls that anyone can
Speaker:come in and that's less businessy but more just chatting,
Speaker:talking, supporting each other.
Speaker:And of course we all know now on zoom how easy
Speaker:it is to communicate back and forth.
Speaker:And so Kim's jumped on now and has always been participating
Speaker:over in gift biz breeze.
Speaker:Anyway, but we started talking about how you've taken and adjusted
Speaker:your business based on the current situation.
Speaker:Because at the time of this recording,
Speaker:we are still for the most part at home,
Speaker:except now we're starting to see a couple of States starting
Speaker:to open up.
Speaker:So this is,
Speaker:that's when we're recording here.
Speaker:But some of the things that Kim has done to just
Speaker:manage through the situation are so great that I'm like,
Speaker:okay stop talking Kim.
Speaker:I said that to you.
Speaker:I'm like we can't talk about this anymore cause I want
Speaker:to hear about it on the podcast.
Speaker:Will you come on the show?
Speaker:And so that's how this whole thing started.
Speaker:So now that we're getting to this point in time and
Speaker:you've referenced it,
Speaker:I want to dive into that.
Speaker:Okay, so you decide that 2020 is going to be your
Speaker:year, you have a brand new brick and mortar shop.
Speaker:So all the excitement,
Speaker:fear, anxiety,
Speaker:nerves, all of it.
Speaker:Like there's so much I'm sure that goes together.
Speaker:Absolutely right.
Speaker:So before the virus started hitting,
Speaker:like maybe the two weeks you had before we started hearing
Speaker:about it,
Speaker:how was the transition and people coming in like tell us
Speaker:where you were before everything happened.
Speaker:So we spent from October,
Speaker:I would say mid-October to really January,
Speaker:getting this new shop ready.
Speaker:So my mom,
Speaker:my sister,
Speaker:my sister's partner really were instrumental in helping me get the
Speaker:shop ready.
Speaker:We painted,
Speaker:we picked paint,
Speaker:colors, the curtains.
Speaker:We just,
Speaker:everything centered around this new location.
Speaker:My kids were involved.
Speaker:We were so excited.
Speaker:December 28th I closed my former location and moved all the
Speaker:equipment, everything to the new location.
Speaker:It's a little town next door to the town I was
Speaker:in and Oh,
Speaker:we were so excited.
Speaker:Just we couldn't wait to open.
Speaker:So I had a soft opening and that I have a
Speaker:great friend who's a photographer.
Speaker:She came in and she did this big Facebook spread and
Speaker:the next day it just blew up.
Speaker:People were coming in for coffee and muffins.
Speaker:All the things that we had added to our menu in
Speaker:addition to,
Speaker:we were planning this amazing year of specialty cakes,
Speaker:wedding showers.
Speaker:We had baby showers,
Speaker:just everything.
Speaker:I couldn't wait to showcase everything in this new location.
Speaker:We were meeting with brides Saturdays from nine to four we
Speaker:meet with brides who come in and pick their wedding cake
Speaker:and do their tastings and I was so proud to show
Speaker:this new space off and we were just getting in a
Speaker:groove. I have a great team and we were just so
Speaker:excited And I'm going to say that you're just putting a
Speaker:little pause on right,
Speaker:like it's just a little pause temporarily.
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:this is a pause.
Speaker:This is a post on March 13th 14th I was starting
Speaker:to hear about,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the virus and that things were going to start and my
Speaker:events were starting to get postponed.
Speaker:Like we're not going to do it in March.
Speaker:We're thinking we might do it in April.
Speaker:Okay, we'll do it in April.
Speaker:And then on Monday,
Speaker:March 16th our governor in Connecticut said,
Speaker:all restaurants,
Speaker:all venues,
Speaker:all catering,
Speaker:all non-essential businesses are closing at eight o'clock Monday night And
Speaker:even though you were food,
Speaker:which is essential because You were specialty cakes,
Speaker:did you not fit into a central at that time?
Speaker:Then I didn't feel essential.
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:am I essential?
Speaker:I remember my son said to me,
Speaker:are you essential?
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:yes, I am and I'm going to make myself essential.
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:I serve coffee,
Speaker:I serve breakfast.
Speaker:I'm going to fill a void in the community.
Speaker:People have to go somewhere and Dunkin donuts can be essential.
Speaker:I'm going to be essential.
Speaker:I love the power behind what you just said.
Speaker:I don't know if I'm essential,
Speaker:but I'm going to make myself essential.
Speaker:I did.
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:that is my option is I am going to be essential
Speaker:until someone tells me I'm not.
Speaker:And I will say so it's very hard right now because
Speaker:I believe every business is essential.
Speaker:Every business is essential to someone.
Speaker:Every friend that I have that has a small business,
Speaker:everyone that I know is hurting so much because how can
Speaker:you tell a business they're not essential.
Speaker:They're essential to someone.
Speaker:It's so frustrating and it's very challenging to have someone say
Speaker:you have to close your business now,
Speaker:figure out a way to stay viable and stay relevant when
Speaker:we've told you you're not essential and you have to close
Speaker:your doors.
Speaker:So it's hard.
Speaker:I went through a lot of guilt in the beginning,
Speaker:just feeling like,
Speaker:how can I say I'm essential,
Speaker:but the truth is I needed to survive and this was
Speaker:really my only opportunity to support myself.
Speaker:So how did you switch from being the specialty cakes?
Speaker:How did you enhance your business so that you were essential?
Speaker:What did you do?
Speaker:I just expanded my menu to everything that I could think
Speaker:of that people would come in and purchase with their coffee
Speaker:to bring it.
Speaker:They were still working to bring a box of muffins into
Speaker:the office too.
Speaker:I really didn't want to be like a breakfast coffee shop,
Speaker:but I just made sure that I had enough of a
Speaker:variety every day that when people came in to get their
Speaker:coffee, they have to drive by me every day and I
Speaker:wanted to make sure that when they came in they felt
Speaker:like they stopped and it was worth their stop.
Speaker:I got to say like around me,
Speaker:a lot of the drive throughs are open but like Starbucks
Speaker:walk in isn't available right now.
Speaker:Well we put gloves outside our door.
Speaker:We have the demarcations for the six feet apart.
Speaker:We are wearing face masks now.
Speaker:That is the mandate.
Speaker:Now we are wearing face masks.
Speaker:We're in a temperate climate.
Speaker:It's probably like fifties during the day.
Speaker:So I do leave my door open so that no one
Speaker:even has to touch the handle.
Speaker:We have a front door and a rear door so you
Speaker:could essentially make the circle through so you don't have to
Speaker:go back to people waiting in line.
Speaker:If you come in kind of the parking lot is the
Speaker:back and you can go out the front door and walk
Speaker:back around to the parking lot.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:Okay. So you really,
Speaker:you made your environment accommodating to what the rules need to
Speaker:be, kind of like how grocery stores are doing and then
Speaker:you adjusted your menu to fit what people would be buying
Speaker:right now.
Speaker:Yes. So pastries,
Speaker:muffins Do about six kinds of muffins every day.
Speaker:We do scones,
Speaker:we do filled croissants,
Speaker:we do turnovers,
Speaker:great cookies,
Speaker:we always have cupcakes and we've really expanded desserts to go
Speaker:crumb cake.
Speaker:Things that people can pick up and take home and have.
Speaker:I find that people are buying like a dozen things to
Speaker:last them a few days rather than a coffee and a
Speaker:muffin to drive on their way to work.
Speaker:Right. I agree with that.
Speaker:And so now what's happened on the cake side?
Speaker:Well cakes,
Speaker:people are still celebrating and they've just gotten much smaller.
Speaker:We used to do a cake maybe for 20 people would
Speaker:be our average sized cake and now it's down to a
Speaker:cake for six people.
Speaker:But they still want beautiful cakes and beautifully decorated cakes.
Speaker:So we're offering the cakes that we would typically do for
Speaker:a larger party just on a much smaller scale.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:I love how much you've pivoted,
Speaker:but you've stayed in your lane.
Speaker:Well that was important to me.
Speaker:That was the question I asked you first.
Speaker:When I first came on Facebook live,
Speaker:I didn't want to lose my client base that was used
Speaker:to following my Instagram for all of these beautiful desserts.
Speaker:And now I'm posting like a muffin menu and I didn't
Speaker:want my clients to think,
Speaker:Oh, she's abandoned her beautiful cake business for muffins.
Speaker:But I needed to be able to market to both.
Speaker:Well, you're conforming to the situation too,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and I think a lot of it is in the messaging.
Speaker:This is what you're doing temporarily to help serve your customer
Speaker:and you'll be back.
Speaker:Like it's not going away.
Speaker:You still have all the skills and the talent and the
Speaker:knowledge and the clientele.
Speaker:It will be back.
Speaker:But meanwhile,
Speaker:what else can you do?
Speaker:So I'm curious.
Speaker:The people who are walking in right now.
Speaker:Are you seeing a lot of new People?
Speaker:A lot of new people?
Speaker:Yes. A lot of new people who are out for a
Speaker:ride and we're on a main road.
Speaker:So out for a ride have never been here before.
Speaker:This is a great spot.
Speaker:Very positive feedback from people who are coming in that are
Speaker:new customers.
Speaker:That's exciting for you for the future.
Speaker:For sure.
Speaker:So and now I want to get into what is an
Speaker:equally exciting thing.
Speaker:And this is what I don't know as much cause this
Speaker:is when I said stop talking,
Speaker:right? But you are also helping other small businesses in your
Speaker:area right now.
Speaker:So this isn't all just about you and I love the
Speaker:strategy that you've employed.
Speaker:So share with us what else you're doing.
Speaker:So in the beginning,
Speaker:when I moved here in January,
Speaker:the biggest question that I got every day was,
Speaker:Oh are you going to sell bread?
Speaker:Are you going to make bread?
Speaker:Do you have bread?
Speaker:Oh are you going to sell bread?
Speaker:I every day said,
Speaker:I am not a bread Baker.
Speaker:I don't make bread,
Speaker:but I sensed this urgency for,
Speaker:especially as things got closer to where we are right now,
Speaker:just that people really wanted bread.
Speaker:So I reached out to a woman right in my town
Speaker:who has a business in her home who makes the most
Speaker:amazing bread.
Speaker:She also makes scones and muffins and cookies and things like
Speaker:that. So she is a true competitor,
Speaker:but her bread is phenomenal.
Speaker:And I reached out to her and said,
Speaker:Kathy, her name is Kathy Duffy from sweet Sage bakery.
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:Kathy, I'd love to sell your bread.
Speaker:There's a need here and people are really clamoring for bread.
Speaker:And I told her,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I could watch YouTube all weekend and learn to bake bread,
Speaker:but you already bake bread and I'd much rather bring you
Speaker:in and have your bread here.
Speaker:People know her and she's,
Speaker:she's phenomenal.
Speaker:And this bread is a sourdough bread that the starter,
Speaker:she's used for 25 years,
Speaker:but it originated at a French monastery and its origin is
Speaker:over 400 years old.
Speaker:And I thought,
Speaker:this has a history.
Speaker:It's an interesting story.
Speaker:I'm going to bring her bread in.
Speaker:So we now have her three days a week and we
Speaker:sell out all the time.
Speaker:Does she actually come into the store then and do her
Speaker:own transactions?
Speaker:No, she delivers Tuesday,
Speaker:Thursday and Saturday.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:So that's merged.
Speaker:So it's kind of like a wholesale arrangement right now.
Speaker:Yeah, I just have her bread there.
Speaker:I sell it for her.
Speaker:Some people only buy bread,
Speaker:they only come in and buy her bread.
Speaker:But for the most part,
Speaker:people come in,
Speaker:they buy a loaf of bread,
Speaker:they got a cup of coffee,
Speaker:they got a couple of cupcakes.
Speaker:So it's been a great business partnership.
Speaker:Absolutely. And again,
Speaker:you're exposing each other's businesses because she now can promote to
Speaker:her customers that,
Speaker:yeah, I can't,
Speaker:you know how whatever her normal channels are,
Speaker:but they could get it at your shop,
Speaker:which is nice and convenient,
Speaker:which means people are coming in and then there's being exposed
Speaker:to all of what you're offering as well.
Speaker:Right. Well,
Speaker:what was heartbreaking for her is that her main channel of
Speaker:sales during this time is a prominent university.
Speaker:Right. The next town and when the university closed,
Speaker:she lost her whole connection to selling her bread.
Speaker:So it really was a huge upheaval for her.
Speaker:But now we offered her a channel.
Speaker:So it's,
Speaker:it's been a great partnership.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:I mean just,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:helping you virtually have helped her save her business right now.
Speaker:Yeah. And I hope expand it because we're introducing it to
Speaker:so many more people than may have had in the past.
Speaker:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker:And the other thing is,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you could have so easily said,
Speaker:I'm not doing that because then the other people are going
Speaker:to see the other products that she has that are similar.
Speaker:No, when I didn't put my name on it,
Speaker:she brings it in.
Speaker:It's got her name,
Speaker:her everything.
Speaker:There's no mixed advertising at all.
Speaker:Just my heart to hear that you did that for her
Speaker:and I know both of you are going to be rewarded
Speaker:going into the future.
Speaker:So absolutely love that.
Speaker:Do you have plans on carrying that out with other people?
Speaker:I have another great business relationship and actually a friendship with
Speaker:a young girl who started her own business,
Speaker:hand painting,
Speaker:wine glasses,
Speaker:and she started the business,
Speaker:a glass full of hope to raise money.
Speaker:She has the biggest heart,
Speaker:but to raise money for a family to build a home
Speaker:in the Dominican Republic.
Speaker:And she was in high school.
Speaker:She worked for me a few years when she was in
Speaker:high school and she said,
Speaker:Oh, I'm thinking about painting these glasses and I'd like to
Speaker:raise money for this family and Dominican Republic to help them
Speaker:build a home because they're very poor.
Speaker:And she started this business in her home.
Speaker:It's been,
Speaker:I think she just turned 25 so it's probably been 10
Speaker:years and she's really expanded the line.
Speaker:So we're bringing that in.
Speaker:She just delivered an order to me over the weekend and
Speaker:we're setting up a space in the shop for her to
Speaker:showcase her glasses because right now mother's day is coming and
Speaker:graduation will happen in some form.
Speaker:And she has a real talent for putting people's,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:Alma mater or their school on these glasses.
Speaker:She hand paints them and I think that they would just
Speaker:be a really nice addition to what we're showcasing.
Speaker:Yeah, and it blends with your current product.
Speaker:It's not something that's so far off that it's like,
Speaker:well, why is that in here?
Speaker:Like hair bows or something.
Speaker:Right. We'll intermingle it with some of the graduation products that
Speaker:we're showcasing.
Speaker:I get a sense from customer shopping right now that they're
Speaker:looking to do a lot of shopping in one place because
Speaker:there's such an angst going into a big box store,
Speaker:the face mask and the gloves and the six feet apart.
Speaker:That if I can help them find maybe a little more
Speaker:of what they're looking for,
Speaker:where I'm located,
Speaker:that will just make their experience that much better.
Speaker:Absolutely. I'm kind of picturing displays with wine glasses with chocolate
Speaker:inside. Yes.
Speaker:Maybe you could wrap them like as a gift something And
Speaker:we have wine filled chocolate,
Speaker:so, Oh,
Speaker:Oh. It goes right with it.
Speaker:It does.
Speaker:It does.
Speaker:I'm going to have to road trip.
Speaker:I think at some point I'm going to have to stop
Speaker:in. Oh,
Speaker:I'd love that.
Speaker:None of us know exactly when things will start getting back
Speaker:to normal,
Speaker:but I know you're a planner because I'm seeing how strategic
Speaker:you are and you're just taking what comes and and managing
Speaker:through what are you thinking as we move out of this
Speaker:and we're all able to get back out and over time
Speaker:restrictions will change.
Speaker:What are your thoughts for your business in the future?
Speaker:Well, I'm embracing what I'm finding right now and I'm really
Speaker:enjoying the one on one customer interaction as opposed to delivering
Speaker:a cake for 200 people and I only know three of
Speaker:them that I met when we did our initial consultation,
Speaker:so I'm embracing getting to know a lot of new clients
Speaker:and having more one on one interaction.
Speaker:I sadly think it's going to be some time before we're
Speaker:back to gathering together with 200 of our closest friends.
Speaker:I just see weddings really changing and I've been on a
Speaker:lot of webinars and listening to a lot of ways that
Speaker:things are going to be changing,
Speaker:so I'm prepared for my business.
Speaker:Definitely going in a little bit of a different direction.
Speaker:I think for the next a year at least.
Speaker:Well, you're lucky again because of what you've done.
Speaker:You can kind of up a lever in one way in
Speaker:one place and lower it and another like you still got
Speaker:your wedding cake services.
Speaker:So there'll be some of that.
Speaker:But then you also have the walk in which it sounds
Speaker:like you're enjoying equally as much and maybe even more.
Speaker:Right? Well it's,
Speaker:it's definitely challenging every day I'm there at five wondering what
Speaker:am I going to make today?
Speaker:What's going to appeal to customers today?
Speaker:I'm going to start doing more cakes for when people walk
Speaker:in to just grab a cake to go so that it's
Speaker:a special celebration,
Speaker:um, spur of the moment and you can have a beautiful
Speaker:cake. So that's one of my goals,
Speaker:especially with mother's day coming and being prepared for small graduation
Speaker:parties and small intimate weddings that might be happening with 10
Speaker:or 15 people as opposed to something that's on a larger
Speaker:scale. Do you ever do matching cakes that go like let's
Speaker:say two people can't be together,
Speaker:let's say a mother and father and then a daughter,
Speaker:husband, and they've just had a new baby,
Speaker:let's say.
Speaker:Do you ever do like two cakes where they would both
Speaker:get the same cake and they could go on zoom and
Speaker:experience the same cake but in two separate places?
Speaker:That's fantastic.
Speaker:No, but I can see that happening and seeing people enjoying
Speaker:that. Yes.
Speaker:Yeah, Because if you're in the same community,
Speaker:I mean I think it's heartbreaking.
Speaker:Some of the relationships that can't get together.
Speaker:I mean there's so much love and so much to celebrate
Speaker:and zoom is a good thing.
Speaker:But adding to the experiences Our town has in Connecticut,
Speaker:we have the largest agricultural fair in Connecticut.
Speaker:I'm part of the Durham fair and one of the things
Speaker:that I've been a part of to spread some joy to
Speaker:people that are celebrating but that are quarantined at home is
Speaker:our mascot Marigold.
Speaker:The cow is going out and delivering cow grams,
Speaker:which are happy birthday greetings or get well greetings and they're
Speaker:bringing along one of our cupcakes.
Speaker:Oh. As part of their,
Speaker:it's really exciting,
Speaker:so we have done a lot of that and we're getting
Speaker:a nice following from that as well.
Speaker:Oh, that's wonderful.
Speaker:Is that on Facebook anywhere to see?
Speaker:It Is,
Speaker:yeah. It's on the Durham fair page and it's hashtag cow
Speaker:gram. Okay.
Speaker:I'm writing that down because I want to put that in
Speaker:Cal Graham.
Speaker:Love that.
Speaker:Yeah. The Invention of our marketing director,
Speaker:and it's her son who's a junior in high school who
Speaker:is playing the mascot.
Speaker:We've done over a hundred visits.
Speaker:Wow. It gives him something to do,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:He's going to use it for his senior essay getting ready
Speaker:for college.
Speaker:Yeah. Oh,
Speaker:that's great.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:as I continue to hear stories from you,
Speaker:it just reinforces to me that there are so many opportunities.
Speaker:You just have to put your creative hat on and think
Speaker:in a little bit of a different way.
Speaker:Not trying to do more of what we were doing because
Speaker:right now that's,
Speaker:we have some limitations on it,
Speaker:but how can you still stay in your lane,
Speaker:stay known as the confections sweets person,
Speaker:the go to person in your case,
Speaker:but twisted a little bit just for the time being.
Speaker:Yes. I'm very optimistic.
Speaker:I'm excited for you Kim.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:So thank you very much.
Speaker:I so appreciate you coming on sharing your story,
Speaker:sharing some of the twists that you did cause that might
Speaker:spark an idea for someone who's listening.
Speaker:Do you have any final words for people who are just
Speaker:starting out or people who are struggling in this time?
Speaker:Just some words of motivation and inspiration.
Speaker:I think just every day try to do something in your
Speaker:business, something,
Speaker:just try something new,
Speaker:talk to someone about your business,
Speaker:share something.
Speaker:Just really be consistently sharing and talking about your business.
Speaker:I think consistency goes a long way in having people remember
Speaker:who you are and what you're doing and every day a
Speaker:different person might see your business or might see what your
Speaker:offerings are and trigger something for that person or someone who
Speaker:knows someone.
Speaker:You just never know who's listening,
Speaker:so don't give up.
Speaker:Just be consistent and share your message every day.
Speaker:Beautiful. I love it and that's exactly what you've done here.
Speaker:Shared the message and shared some great ideas and what I
Speaker:love about your industry overall is it brings smiles and celebration
Speaker:and happiness to things that are going on in life and
Speaker:we're still all here and celebrating and you're helping us do
Speaker:that. Thank you so much once again,
Speaker:I so appreciate having you on the show.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:This was a great conversation and I appreciate you having me
Speaker:on. Kim is saving her business and along with it,
Speaker:helping others save their businesses too.
Speaker:I get goosebumps thinking about it.
Speaker:I was saying to a friend just the other day that
Speaker:the key to not becoming an emotional victim right now is
Speaker:action and that's exactly what Kim is demonstrating.
Speaker:If I had to pick a part of the conversation that
Speaker:was my favorite,
Speaker:it was about all businesses being essential because they are to
Speaker:someone and how she took action and decided that cottage confections
Speaker:was essential.
Speaker:She made sure of it.
Speaker:Next week we'll be talking with another small business owner and
Speaker:hear how she pivoted to respond to today's world.
Speaker:You don't want to miss it and if you're not part
Speaker:of the breeze yet,
Speaker:you definitely want to join us there.
Speaker:You'll hear more about it right now.
Speaker:Take care,
Speaker:be safe and well and I look forward to us being
Speaker:together again next week.
Speaker:Bye for now.
Speaker:I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook
Speaker:group called gift is breeze.
Speaker:It's a place where we all gather and our community to
Speaker:support each other.
Speaker:Got a really fun post in there.
Speaker:That's my favorite of the week.
Speaker:I have to say where I invite all of you to
Speaker:share what you're doing,
Speaker:to show pictures of your product,
Speaker:to show what you're working on for the week,
Speaker:to get reaction from other people and just for fun because
Speaker:we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody in
Speaker:the community is making.
Speaker:My favorite post every single week without doubt,
Speaker:wait, what aren't you part of the group already?
Speaker:If not,
Speaker:make sure to jump over to Facebook and search for the
Speaker:group gift biz breeze.
Speaker:Don't delay.
