Hi there.
Speaker:It's Sue.
Speaker:And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.
Speaker:These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and
Speaker:things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.
Speaker:If you'd like to submit a topic,
Speaker:DME over on Instagram at gift biz unwrapped,
Speaker:gosh, this year I've rolled out a number of new opportunities
Speaker:for you here.
Speaker:There are the bashes where you have a chance to showcase
Speaker:your business to this entire listening audience.
Speaker:There's the new owl app.
Speaker:When you have a quick question where you'd like my input,
Speaker:and now I'm excited to bring you gift biz boosts.
Speaker:Think of these as free strategy sessions,
Speaker:leaving you with a clear action plan to boost you forward.
Speaker:Whether you're at the beginning of your business journey and need
Speaker:concrete steps on how to start,
Speaker:or you've been doing this for a while and could use
Speaker:a fresh approach.
Speaker:These boosts are for you you'll know,
Speaker:a podcast is a boost.
Speaker:If you see that word in the title,
Speaker:want to get your own free boost.
Speaker:I'm taking these on a first come first serve basis.
Speaker:Head over to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash boost and sign up for your session today.
Speaker:I really enjoy cooking.
Speaker:It's a skill learned through hours in the kitchen with my
Speaker:dear dad,
Speaker:who was a very talented gourmet chef,
Speaker:although not by profession,
Speaker:just one of his many hobbies.
Speaker:And lucky for me,
Speaker:this love has been passed down to my kids too,
Speaker:who are great chefs in their own,
Speaker:right? But I've noticed that our approaches to creating meals is
Speaker:very different.
Speaker:David and Nicole do it one way and I do it
Speaker:entirely another.
Speaker:Here's where our approaches differ.
Speaker:I do things completely by the book I find and follow
Speaker:the recipes.
Speaker:Exactly, which serves me well in baking where you have to
Speaker:be precise,
Speaker:but not necessarily when getting dinner on the table.
Speaker:Although I know I could substitute out one product for another
Speaker:rarely do I do so it just never occurs to me
Speaker:to experiment like that,
Speaker:except in a pinch.
Speaker:When I have no choice,
Speaker:contrast this with my kids,
Speaker:they're adventurous and try new things all the time.
Speaker:Both of them have a flare for spice combinations and all
Speaker:sorts of ethnic foods that I'm just now learning about.
Speaker:Maybe it's a generation thing,
Speaker:but I admire their curiosity and experimentation in the kitchen.
Speaker:I'm sure there've been some less than successful attempts,
Speaker:but every creation I've had has been delicious.
Speaker:Honestly, it's making me rethink my approach to cooking and opening
Speaker:my mind to new ideas for my own cooking experiments.
Speaker:Someone better warned my husband to watch out in my business.
Speaker:I take a much different path.
Speaker:I don't go only by the book,
Speaker:but look,
Speaker:to provide new ways to serve my community.
Speaker:To help you realize your goals through new creative means.
Speaker:This podcast is an example of that.
Speaker:I started the gift biz bashes,
Speaker:and now the gift biz boosts.
Speaker:I've also put together the resource guide that breaks down and
Speaker:directs you to podcast episodes.
Speaker:That would be of the most interest to you based on
Speaker:where you are right now or what you need to be
Speaker:focusing on at this moment,
Speaker:by the way,
Speaker:this resource guide is free and you can find it@giftbizonwraps.com
Speaker:forward slash topics.
Speaker:To my knowledge,
Speaker:nobody else in the podcasting space has created something like it.
Speaker:And I've already heard from you that it's a huge help.
Speaker:So let's swing this whole cooking thing around to you.
Speaker:If you think about your approach to product development,
Speaker:where do you fall?
Speaker:Do you stick with what standard and proven or do you
Speaker:venture off and test new things just to see what happens.
Speaker:I'm going to give you a second to ponder this.
Speaker:Well, there's nothing wrong with either approach.
Speaker:I'm going to suggest that the greater opportunity for your business
Speaker:lies in going past the tried and true and expanding to
Speaker:create something truly new and unique.
Speaker:The trick is to do something your audience wants and needs,
Speaker:or it's something that solves a common problem.
Speaker:Lots of people can relate to.
Speaker:And you might say,
Speaker:there's really nothing else that can be done with soaps or
Speaker:candles that all the stitches and uses for knitted items has
Speaker:been created or that every single flavor and variation of that
Speaker:is already out there.
Speaker:And I'll challenge you on that.
Speaker:If you think toothpaste just is what it is.
Speaker:Let me tell you,
Speaker:I just purchased something new from a company called bite they're
Speaker:little caplets that look kind of like tic Tacs that turn
Speaker:into toothpaste when mixed with water.
Speaker:Brilliant. I can't wait to try them out.
Speaker:I'm thinking they're going to be great for traveling and it's
Speaker:going to be less plastic filling up the landfills to something
Speaker:I care about.
Speaker:What about taxis in the past?
Speaker:You would think that there's really no option except for limos
Speaker:enter Lyft and Uber has taken this a step further with
Speaker:Uber eats and even has a spinoff concept with Instacart.
Speaker:Let's see.
Speaker:Let me think of one more example.
Speaker:Oh, how about an alternative to car dealerships?
Speaker:Have you heard about the Carvana car vending machines who would
Speaker:have thought you buy a car online and go pick it
Speaker:up without spending hours in a dealership office and you get
Speaker:to avoid the paperwork nightmare.
Speaker:All of these are outside of the box,
Speaker:examples of a known product or service,
Speaker:but done in an entirely different way.
Speaker:I challenge you here and now to think about what you
Speaker:make in a different way to consider what tweaks you could
Speaker:try. That would be original yet familiar,
Speaker:a spinoff of what's already known,
Speaker:but with a twist.
Speaker:Now, I don't think that you'll land on the answer immediately.
Speaker:It will take observation thought and an open mind and my
Speaker:goal with the show today,
Speaker:and this challenge that I'm presenting you is only to give
Speaker:this concept to you.
Speaker:So your mind can go to work on it.
Speaker:Be the maker who moves past what already exists to make
Speaker:something intriguing and fascinating.
Speaker:Go back and review the few examples I stated here and
Speaker:observe what's around you because I know you're going to find
Speaker:more and just think if you take this approach and apply
Speaker:it to your product,
Speaker:what could be possible?
Speaker:That's a wrap.
Speaker:I'm a get to the point kind of girl.
Speaker:And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream
Speaker:of yours,
Speaker:share your handmade products with us.
Speaker:We want them and they bring us both so much happiness.
Speaker:That's a wrap.
Speaker:I'm a get to the point kind of girl.
Speaker:And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream
Speaker:of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.