Shownotes
Motivational Quote
Business Inspiration
The trigger that got Sarah into the hamper business [4:13]
Candle Flickering Moments
As a start up … how do you handle a $30M order? [6:18]Business Building Insight
Identifying that corporate business was the key to success [8:10] Highlights of why her business was attractive for a sale [12:40] Where business owners get stuck [14:46] Big tip to increasing sales – we can all do this! [17:22]Success Trait
Her positive mindset … just like her yellow candle! That’s what she’s all about.Productivity/Lifestyle Tool
Hear about Time Blocking [26:14] Asana – The easiest way for teams to track their work and get results. BaseCamp – A web-based project management tool.Valuable Book
The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferris
FREE Cheat Sheet
How to Attract Lucrative Corporate Clients and Triple Your Sales InstantlyContact Links
Website Facebook Twitter LinkedIn InstagramIf you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
Gift biz on wrapped episode 58 In just one day that
Speaker:that article came out,
Speaker:it was worth $16,000.
Speaker:Hi, this is John Lee 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 and welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:Whether you own a brick and mortar store sell online or
Speaker:just getting started,
Speaker:you'll discover a new insight to gain traction and to grow
Speaker:your business.
Speaker:And today we have joining us Sarah Cross of cross success
Speaker:coaching at just 24 years old,
Speaker:Sarah successfully built and sold a million dollar business.
Speaker:It started from her kitchen table and grew to become a
Speaker:national corporate gift hamper service.
Speaker:That was formally recognized as a finalist in the prestigious Australian
Speaker:Telstra business women's awards with the rapid expansion of Sarah's rags
Speaker:to riches business.
Speaker:She built systems and procedures to enable sales and marketing success.
Speaker:She also mastered the art of outsourcing to fulfill the demands
Speaker:of a highly seasonal operation.
Speaker:Following the success of her startup business and using her heart
Speaker:wisdom and expert insights.
Speaker:She's now a business mindset.
Speaker:Coach Sarah runs,
Speaker:training workshops,
Speaker:poaching programs,
Speaker:and retreats.
Speaker:She helps women transform their own enterprise and learn how to
Speaker:accelerate their own very important financially successful rewarding businesses all the
Speaker:way from Australia.
Speaker:Welcome, and thank you for joining us,
Speaker:Sarah. Thank you for having me.
Speaker:It's nighttime for me and morning for you as we're talking,
Speaker:It is we're on opposite sides.
Speaker:That way of the world.
Speaker:Exactly. Well,
Speaker:our listeners know,
Speaker:we like to start the conversation around the life of a
Speaker:motivational candle.
Speaker:This gives us a little bit more insight into you in
Speaker:an indirect way.
Speaker:Are you ready to light it up?
Speaker:Okay. All right.
Speaker:So describe to us what your motivational candle would look like.
Speaker:What color is it and what would the quote be on
Speaker:your candle?
Speaker:I, candle is an yellow candle,
Speaker:which to me reflects happiness and positivity.
Speaker:My motivational quote,
Speaker:go confidently in the direction of your dreams live,
Speaker:the life you have imagined.
Speaker:And how have you applied this to your life?
Speaker:I think I've always pursued my dream.
Speaker:So when I started the business at 24,
Speaker:I throw in my full-time job and set out to pursue
Speaker:a dream of actually being a small business owner.
Speaker:And I took up part-time work in order to support myself,
Speaker:to get my business to a point where I was drawing
Speaker:an income and I kept persisting and remaining positive throughout that
Speaker:whole process to really go in the direction of my dreams
Speaker:and leave that life that I had always pictured myself as
Speaker:a small business owner,
Speaker:A young girl,
Speaker:you were thinking I am going to be in business for
Speaker:myself one way or another.
Speaker:Yes, I knew I had to make it work.
Speaker:I knew that I just wasn't cut out to work in
Speaker:a nine to five job.
Speaker:I'd been raised by parents that each had their own small
Speaker:businesses. And I guess my family background has always been about
Speaker:pursuing your dreams and doing something that brings you that ultimate
Speaker:happiness. Wow.
Speaker:I've got to say,
Speaker:I knew that I connected with you right in the beginning.
Speaker:And now I know why,
Speaker:because my candle color would be yellow as well.
Speaker:And not many people choose yellow.
Speaker:Surprisingly. Yeah.
Speaker:It's a happy color.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:yellow and red are the two food stimulant colors.
Speaker:I'm not sure if you knew that.
Speaker:That's why I make tunnels.
Speaker:So that apparently that meant so much the fifth,
Speaker:because both the colors,
Speaker:yellow and red stimulate your appetite,
Speaker:but yellow to me just always reflects her happiness and rightness
Speaker:and positivity In your voice.
Speaker:That's for sure.
Speaker:Yeah. Let's talk about Camper business.
Speaker:And how did you decide that that was what you were
Speaker:going to go into?
Speaker:The turning point was knowing that I wanted to have my
Speaker:own business,
Speaker:but it was just a matter of diving into finding out
Speaker:what industry and what nature of business I wanted to have.
Speaker:And it was really triggered by at the time receiving a
Speaker:very sort of out of date,
Speaker:sort of old style cane basket that was filled with items
Speaker:that were filled with preserves and marmalade and the idea of
Speaker:tin Patay and things that I just would never eat or
Speaker:enjoy. And that's what got me thinking if that's the standard
Speaker:of what is out there at the moment,
Speaker:I think I can do better than that.
Speaker:I think I can create something that would satisfy a bigger
Speaker:market. And I mean,
Speaker:I was only 24 years old and I just,
Speaker:I knew I,
Speaker:as I mentioned,
Speaker:I wanted to follow that dream of having my own small
Speaker:business. And I had a background in corporate catering.
Speaker:So I did see that the corporates had very big budgets
Speaker:to spend on themselves on,
Speaker:on rewarding and incentives.
Speaker:And I guess that's what got me thinking that I could
Speaker:build a creative and exciting corporate gift basket business.
Speaker:That's really interesting.
Speaker:Cause you're merging two things together.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you saw that there was an opportunity in the market because
Speaker:you got this basket that didn't really thrill you that much.
Speaker:So you saw an opening there and then you merged that
Speaker:with your knowledge through the catering business,
Speaker:you've got connections,
Speaker:you knew the industry.
Speaker:So you were able to see really quickly how identifying a
Speaker:need on one end and you already having some skills on
Speaker:another end could merge together to form a business.
Speaker:That's really interesting.
Speaker:Yeah. So I had the inspiration possibly it was a little
Speaker:naive entering into the business world,
Speaker:but extremely enthusiastic.
Speaker:So I think passion really drives that commitment.
Speaker:Use the handsome,
Speaker:I guess I just couldn't kind of put it out.
Speaker:Like I just knew I had to face it.
Speaker:So what happened then?
Speaker:So you had the idea where did it go from there?
Speaker:I try.
Speaker:So I started the business in August,
Speaker:so I actually knew that I had the Christmas period to
Speaker:really target that's.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I knew that it was,
Speaker:it was going to be a busy time for me and
Speaker:a massive turning point.
Speaker:And I guess the biggest weeding that I had was that
Speaker:first Christmas that I had started the business,
Speaker:I landed a $30,000
Speaker:corporate gift order.
Speaker:Wow. So there was 800 paces and I was working out
Speaker:of my two-bedroom apartment.
Speaker:Oh, my word,
Speaker:How did you ever handle that?
Speaker:It Was not.
Speaker:I cold in the trips.
Speaker:I got on the phone to my mum and I asked
Speaker:the help.
Speaker:I look back now and think it was crazy.
Speaker:I did everything probably made all the mistakes then and there,
Speaker:but the order was fulfilled.
Speaker:The client was happy.
Speaker:I stole them in the people's apartments.
Speaker:I had a house that I was able to use because
Speaker:storage was clearly an issue.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you said a little while ago,
Speaker:ignorance is bliss or whatever.
Speaker:I think that's really good though,
Speaker:because in this situation,
Speaker:had you heard that,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:you might be set up and having to do an 800
Speaker:piece order.
Speaker:That might've been just enough for you to back up a
Speaker:little bit,
Speaker:but instead,
Speaker:and I think I make the point for all of our
Speaker:listeners is move forward and get that business and figure out
Speaker:the solutions afterwards.
Speaker:Don't let yourself out of fear.
Speaker:Stop keeping.
Speaker:Absolutely. There was no way I was going to say no.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I was literally picking my jaw up off the ground as
Speaker:I took the order,
Speaker:but I knew that I had something to fulfill and I
Speaker:knew that it was a massive win for my business.
Speaker:And that's what really set me off in the direction of
Speaker:pursuing the corporate gift basket target audience that were my market.
Speaker:Then Business then progressed to the point where it was a
Speaker:saleable business.
Speaker:The essential ingredient was tapping into the sort of high season
Speaker:and low season of Christmas.
Speaker:Things were very quiet.
Speaker:So I guess I knew that I needed to have,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:they, you know,
Speaker:they do say 60% of yearly profits are just made in
Speaker:one month of the year.
Speaker:That's how intensely busy this type of business can be.
Speaker:So I knew that if it was going to work to
Speaker:make it a year round business with getting that consistent monthly
Speaker:cashflow in,
Speaker:I had to approach industries that would sell high ticket items
Speaker:like cars and houses that would actually reward their clients with
Speaker:client appreciation gifts.
Speaker:So things like closing gifts for property sales and handover gifts
Speaker:for the cars for prestige car dealerships.
Speaker:So you really strategically decided I'm going to need the business
Speaker:that will level off some of that big holiday business.
Speaker:So you'll have business throughout the year because that's how you
Speaker:support employees too.
Speaker:Exactly. When you start to expand.
Speaker:And as I went to three different warehouses,
Speaker:so over the course of my 10 years,
Speaker:because I kept on outgrowing the space.
Speaker:So to meet the demand of that and having all the
Speaker:fixed costs that I needed to cover,
Speaker:I knew that I needed that consistency each month.
Speaker:I couldn't rely just upon the Christmas,
Speaker:tried only to survive until the next Christmas.
Speaker:Right, Right.
Speaker:Let's stick with the hamper business just for a minute.
Speaker:Can you talk to us about something you wished you would
Speaker:have known before you got started maybe a Rocky time that
Speaker:you had to,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:there were problems you had to figure out,
Speaker:just some type of advice for any of our listeners who
Speaker:might find themselves in that situation.
Speaker:I think it comes down to the struggles,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:everything's great at the Christmas time of the cause.
Speaker:It's so highly seasonal and you come off such a high
Speaker:after Christmas and in the January,
Speaker:particularly with the corporates,
Speaker:it's a very quiet time.
Speaker:So it's being able to strategically market and continue being consistent
Speaker:with your marketing each and every month to continually keep on
Speaker:growing your business.
Speaker:And that was something that was very significant at the sale
Speaker:time of my business was that I had had such steady
Speaker:growth. So I think that,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:those times when there are much quite a low season times,
Speaker:it's always about coming up with some incentives to win new
Speaker:clients, you know,
Speaker:to actually get around.
Speaker:Because I think particularly in this industry,
Speaker:cashflow is in a major,
Speaker:major problem that I hear Now,
Speaker:were you always looking and growing the business with the intent
Speaker:to sell it?
Speaker:At some point?
Speaker:I think I was,
Speaker:I actually knew that I wanted to sort of build up
Speaker:something and then,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the time that I was ready to sell the business,
Speaker:I had a great offer that did come through.
Speaker:And it was almost a bit like that $30,000
Speaker:first order.
Speaker:It was too good to refuse,
Speaker:but I actually did know along the way that I needed
Speaker:to put systems in place,
Speaker:I needed processes.
Speaker:I needed something that I knew that I could hand over,
Speaker:whether it be to my staff so that I could take
Speaker:a vacation and I could leave the business,
Speaker:which again,
Speaker:I do find a lot of people do struggle with because
Speaker:they simply haven't had a holiday for a number of years
Speaker:because they're working in the business continuously.
Speaker:Right. And you're talking about the systems and processes,
Speaker:which is going to lead into what we're going to talk
Speaker:about in the future.
Speaker:But that was pretty much what you're calling the saving grace
Speaker:for you.
Speaker:Yes, I believe so having those out and in a procedures
Speaker:manual and having a good,
Speaker:good sort of systems in place,
Speaker:just ensures that the quality control is there so that I
Speaker:could actually not always have to be working in the business.
Speaker:I could actually work on the growth of the business.
Speaker:Right. Right.
Speaker:Well, gift biz listeners.
Speaker:I just want to underline a little bit of what Sarah
Speaker:said here now.
Speaker:And I think it's really significant whether you're looking at growing
Speaker:your business for a future sale or not,
Speaker:and that is the systems and processes that you put in,
Speaker:allow people to be able to continue running your,
Speaker:and it might not.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:vacations, Oh my gosh.
Speaker:We all know,
Speaker:no we made them,
Speaker:but what if there's an emergency in the family or heaven
Speaker:forbid you break your leg or,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:something happens where you can't be in the business.
Speaker:You want that insurance or bench strength,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:that the business can continue going for a medium amount of
Speaker:time, not just like a week,
Speaker:just in case.
Speaker:And that also sets Sarah up for a saleable business,
Speaker:because if you're looking to sell a business,
Speaker:those systems and processes add so much value,
Speaker:and I'd say,
Speaker:Sarah differentiate you from possibly other businesses.
Speaker:Another buyer might be looking at that could tip someone over
Speaker:the edge into your field because you've got all the systems
Speaker:already set up.
Speaker:Exactly. And I think that that probably really came home to
Speaker:roost when the purchase of made the business,
Speaker:that was a passing comment that they felt that they could
Speaker:step into my role and that they were very confident with
Speaker:the staff in place and with the systems in place that
Speaker:they could actually basically take the bull and run with it.
Speaker:Right. You know,
Speaker:not a huge learning curve for them and a potential dip
Speaker:in revenue that was kind of stabilized given the system and
Speaker:processes. The other thing that you talk about that I'm sure
Speaker:made your business very attractive is that there was more of
Speaker:an even revenue stream.
Speaker:It wasn't so up and down like a hamper business could
Speaker:be Well,
Speaker:yes. Thinking with many gift basket owners,
Speaker:that is one of the biggest challenges that they face running
Speaker:a highly seasonal business.
Speaker:How do you land lucrative client accounts during the times that
Speaker:it's not Christmas?
Speaker:How do you keep your cashflow consistent so that you can
Speaker:sleep at night?
Speaker:Right. Exactly.
Speaker:Well, let's wrap this portion up,
Speaker:Sarah, and I just want to remind listeners in case you
Speaker:didn't catch it.
Speaker:When I was doing the intro,
Speaker:Sarah sold her business for over a million dollars.
Speaker:So she knows of what she speaks.
Speaker:So you sell the business now,
Speaker:what are you going to do with yourself?
Speaker:Oh, sorry.
Speaker:That was probably something,
Speaker:I guess in the early stages I had young children,
Speaker:I was enjoying being a,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:a mother taking care of my family.
Speaker:And I think I stepped into mentoring and helping others because
Speaker:I guess,
Speaker:because I had sort of learnt so much actually in the
Speaker:trenches, you know,
Speaker:I had actually worked in the business and seen and done
Speaker:so much.
Speaker:So I wanted to be able to pass that on.
Speaker:So how did you start forming that business?
Speaker:I was actually approached by,
Speaker:I local give Tampa business who were having some problems with
Speaker:their cashflow and which market to target.
Speaker:And it kind of just sort of naturally evolved from there.
Speaker:So how long have you been in the coaching business?
Speaker:A couple of years now,
Speaker:What overall,
Speaker:if you could give us two or maybe three things,
Speaker:where do you think people are getting stuck?
Speaker:Most? I think that sometimes they get in their own way.
Speaker:Which sounds interesting.
Speaker:Yeah. I actually find that sometimes it's just more of a
Speaker:mindset. A lot of people have a fear of approaching corporates
Speaker:too, to be able to go through,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and there is a sales process that I take my coaching
Speaker:clients through that is a formula that wins them business.
Speaker:But I think a lot of the times they kind of
Speaker:stumble over,
Speaker:picking up the phone and getting in their own way.
Speaker:They've maybe attach themselves a bit too much to the outcome.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:if someone was to reject them,
Speaker:there are very ideal industries that really love gift basket,
Speaker:but they actually are looking for suppliers.
Speaker:And it's just simply a matter of connecting up those dots.
Speaker:And as you mentioned,
Speaker:the cashflow is the common struggle.
Speaker:That is sort of something,
Speaker:a highly faced,
Speaker:no business to overcome.
Speaker:There are plenty a challenge around that.
Speaker:I really would say just from my own experience on both
Speaker:sides when I've consulted other businesses,
Speaker:as well as when I was selling to other businesses,
Speaker:the individual consumer and a corporate contact are very different animals.
Speaker:I don't mean to say call people animals,
Speaker:but you understand what I mean?
Speaker:But in many ways,
Speaker:working with someone in corporate is much easier.
Speaker:They have goals to meet,
Speaker:they have processes,
Speaker:they aren't gonna be as concerned and nitpicky in most cases
Speaker:as an individual consumer could.
Speaker:And I think that's the beauty is that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:when we're talking volume orders,
Speaker:I had one client orders through that.
Speaker:I managed was a national client loyalty program with gift rewards.
Speaker:So it was worth $150,000.
Speaker:And that was one single client account that I managed that
Speaker:relationship with.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:if you looked at having to get that money back by
Speaker:dealing with individual consumers,
Speaker:you would actually have a lot of work on your hands.
Speaker:Never get there without a lot of people because those are
Speaker:individual phone calls,
Speaker:individual custom baskets,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:Yeah. So hopefully we're convincing some listeners that based on the
Speaker:industry they're in,
Speaker:if they're nervous or anxious about corporate,
Speaker:maybe we're getting them to rethink this a little bit.
Speaker:It's such a lucrative market,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and it's such a profitable business to be in.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it's so creative and it's such a happy feel,
Speaker:good business.
Speaker:That's why I did it.
Speaker:And that's why I loved it so much.
Speaker:Well, let me get some more insight from you then into
Speaker:the business and maybe you'll draw on actually being in the
Speaker:business. And also now that you're consulting,
Speaker:what types of promotions or events or what types of things
Speaker:do you see today that move the needle for people in
Speaker:terms of bringing in new sales?
Speaker:One really big win for me was profiling the business.
Speaker:I was into a national business women's awards and I was
Speaker:able to be recognized as a finalist throughout all of Australia
Speaker:and through that.
Speaker:So I was invited to be featured in a number of
Speaker:business magazines,
Speaker:national newspaper features with stories about the success in the business.
Speaker:And in just one day that that article came out,
Speaker:it was worth $16,000
Speaker:just from people reading that article free advertising.
Speaker:I, you know,
Speaker:starting out,
Speaker:I didn't have a huge budget.
Speaker:So I was able to really profile and brand the business
Speaker:by getting a lot of activity in the media by being
Speaker:part of these.
Speaker:And it was a fantastic experience to do as well.
Speaker:Did you initiate the profile and the business or did someone
Speaker:else do that for you?
Speaker:No, I did that.
Speaker:Okay. So I am so glad you bring this up because
Speaker:I think we overall is women.
Speaker:Aren't really good at tooting our own horn or getting out
Speaker:there and talking about our successes.
Speaker:And I think in a little bit,
Speaker:you have to do it a little bit carefully because you
Speaker:can't come across as obnoxiously confident,
Speaker:I guess I would say,
Speaker:but there is nothing wrong with submitting your name or calling
Speaker:the press for articles or entering into awards or anything like
Speaker:that. And you just heard what it did for Sarah.
Speaker:That is a great opportunity.
Speaker:And I'll tell you,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:a lot of local papers too,
Speaker:are looking for stories.
Speaker:If they don't know you,
Speaker:they're not going to be able to profile you.
Speaker:So there's nothing wrong with reaching out right in your community
Speaker:and getting some PR Women in particular in business.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:there's so many of them now in Australia,
Speaker:for instance,
Speaker:that are actually setting up these businesses,
Speaker:they've had a change of career they've left the corporate world,
Speaker:and it does provide you with a lot of confidence to
Speaker:go through and transition into being recognized for doing something that
Speaker:you might've worked really hard for to get recognition is actually
Speaker:something I think most humans do strive for,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:to be appreciated,
Speaker:which is exactly what this business is all about.
Speaker:It's all about being rewarded and appreciated.
Speaker:And that is a reflection in the business as well on
Speaker:all levels.
Speaker:That's exactly right.
Speaker:And then you can put that on your website.
Speaker:Everybody, we talk about the about us page and credibility on
Speaker:websites, et cetera.
Speaker:You can put all of that on your website to show
Speaker:that you're getting the awards,
Speaker:which separates you from other people.
Speaker:And it makes people feel comfortable and confident that you are
Speaker:a legitimate business,
Speaker:especially if you do a lot of your business online.
Speaker:Exactly. I totally agree with that.
Speaker:Look on the customer service end.
Speaker:Are there any insights that you would have again from both,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:now consulting clients as well as when you had customers directly,
Speaker:what types of advice would you give us in terms of
Speaker:how to handle customers In terms of handling customers?
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:everyone is unique.
Speaker:I was reading on LinkedIn.
Speaker:Actually they say that 69% of client supply relationships made on
Speaker:the decision that they actually like working with you.
Speaker:So that it's a based on the relationship.
Speaker:It's not always necessarily weighted towards your product.
Speaker:And obviously that plays the part on the product and the
Speaker:service that you provide,
Speaker:but the relationship that you build and everyone is very unique.
Speaker:I think that was sort of something that I actually really
Speaker:loved was nurturing those relationships with my corporate clients and maintaining
Speaker:my staff and the morale as I had a little long-term
Speaker:staff members that work for me.
Speaker:So I think that making each individual meeting what their needs
Speaker:are, and,
Speaker:and I think like what you mentioned earlier about corporates being
Speaker:a lot easier to work with,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:they, they're busy people,
Speaker:they have a task,
Speaker:they want you to be able to meet the task and
Speaker:fulfill. And once all that happens,
Speaker:they love you and you've made them look great and everyone's
Speaker:happy. And the feedback's fantastic.
Speaker:And you testimonials that coming in,
Speaker:that was a formula that I sort of stuck with was
Speaker:making sure that all their needs were met and fulfillment of
Speaker:the orders was the most,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:most critical element to maintaining and keeping a really great relationship
Speaker:with your corporate clients Word.
Speaker:You're going to follow through on what you say.
Speaker:If you say it's going to be done at a certain
Speaker:time, it is done at a certain time.
Speaker:And also I think with corporate,
Speaker:it's your responsibility to make your contact look great.
Speaker:Exactly, exactly.
Speaker:And with as much ease for them as possible so that
Speaker:they can do all their other tasks.
Speaker:Yes, yes.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:transporting across to now or who my gift industry,
Speaker:coaching clients,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:predominantly. So they all tend to be just fantastic women to
Speaker:work with.
Speaker:They've all about building up their own gift,
Speaker:where business with aspiring dreams,
Speaker:but at the same time,
Speaker:they're also busy moms looking after young families,
Speaker:the demands of children,
Speaker:raising children.
Speaker:And I think it's important to remind them that they are
Speaker:doing a really great job wearing many hats and juggling so
Speaker:many daily responsibilities.
Speaker:Not everybody needs to be growing a million dollar business either.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:that's one of the things that's nice about going into business
Speaker:for yourself,
Speaker:a quarter of that,
Speaker:or even less could be what you need and what you
Speaker:want because you balance lifestyle against income against being able to
Speaker:be with your children,
Speaker:all of that together.
Speaker:So success is very unique to every single person.
Speaker:Absolutely. I mean,
Speaker:obviously, you know,
Speaker:the money part is the,
Speaker:is a fantastic reward because it does obviously provide you with
Speaker:the benefits of lifestyle.
Speaker:It makes it,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:allows you more choices.
Speaker:But the beauty of working for yourself is that flexibility that
Speaker:you mentioned,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:around family,
Speaker:around children and when it's time for the school vacation and
Speaker:school breaks that you can actually work the hours that are
Speaker:going to fit in around you,
Speaker:your family responsibilities as well,
Speaker:Or, and through all of that inter weaves the whole idea
Speaker:of relationships,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we were talking about earlier,
Speaker:so really important.
Speaker:Okay, Sarah,
Speaker:I'm going to move on now into our reflection section.
Speaker:This is a look at you in different specific things that
Speaker:you're doing in the course of the day that make you
Speaker:successful. We've talked a little bit about the fact that you
Speaker:knew you were going to be an entrepreneur away from when
Speaker:you were A girl,
Speaker:but what other traits Do you think you have besides that
Speaker:positive yellow candle and optimism and all of that?
Speaker:What else is innately inside you that's helped you to be
Speaker:successful? Well,
Speaker:I guess,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the positive mind fit is probably the biggest thing followed with
Speaker:just a,
Speaker:a dream,
Speaker:just with the desire to,
Speaker:to pursue that dream.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:just that,
Speaker:that burning sort of drive that I actually had recognized that
Speaker:I wanted to be my own boss and that I wanted
Speaker:to have my own business.
Speaker:And look,
Speaker:there was certainly a lot of,
Speaker:I experienced challenging times,
Speaker:that's where having a positive mindset and having a end goal
Speaker:in your mind that you can kind of tell yourself,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:what you want to believe.
Speaker:And there were challenging times with running a big business.
Speaker:And I also was managing an auto immune disease.
Speaker:So there was certainly days that I just felt like I
Speaker:just couldn't get out of bed.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I couldn't get dressed,
Speaker:but I just always believed that having that strong minded,
Speaker:positive mindset and having those goals and wanting that lifestyle for
Speaker:your family,
Speaker:they're the biggest drivers in getting you to succeed,
Speaker:getting you to reach those goals that you said wonderful.
Speaker:So you jumped right,
Speaker:Right in here with a little bit of a health issue
Speaker:there. Right.
Speaker:And I know,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:all of us,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:when we're younger,
Speaker:we think,
Speaker:Oh, not me.
Speaker:Nothing's going to happen.
Speaker:Right. Do you care to share any more?
Speaker:You're not on the personal end necessarily,
Speaker:but how did you overcome that and continue to be able
Speaker:to grow your business and just dive through with that?
Speaker:Because I was hit with,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:quite a,
Speaker:quite a serious illness,
Speaker:I was really probably really sort of propelled the processes and
Speaker:systems. You know,
Speaker:I need that the staff had to basically step up on
Speaker:days that I wasn't well enough to be working.
Speaker:And so I actually knew that I needed to build a
Speaker:really sustainable business and I needed to also be able to
Speaker:outsource, you know,
Speaker:I needed to be able to recognize that I couldn't do
Speaker:everything. And we,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I actually did a lot of outsourcing of labor in order
Speaker:to continually grow the business.
Speaker:But I also had to look after my own health as
Speaker:well. Sure.
Speaker:I'm going to move on now just for time purposes,
Speaker:what tool do you use regularly in your daily life,
Speaker:either business or personal so that you stay productive or you
Speaker:create some type of balance?
Speaker:Well, I'm a really big one for riding out daily to
Speaker:do lists the,
Speaker:I have actually quite extensive to do lists and I've sort
Speaker:of done that for a long time.
Speaker:I find that it's better to get it out of my
Speaker:head onto paper so I can sort of prioritize what surgeon,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:what can wait.
Speaker:There's many great tools that I,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I do use a Sana and Basecamp to,
Speaker:it's a team management tool.
Speaker:When you're working on projects,
Speaker:you can share with other team members that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:one great tool that I think anyone can apply.
Speaker:It doesn't have to be a software tool is working in
Speaker:time blocks.
Speaker:I just find that I'm sort of someone to get easily
Speaker:distracted with,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:nowadays, you know,
Speaker:Sue with all the social media notifications and Facebook and SMS
Speaker:messages and phone calls,
Speaker:what you do working in the time blocks.
Speaker:It's a sign of working two hour blocks of time,
Speaker:which you dedicate it towards completing a single important task.
Speaker:And I found that you can really increase your productivity and
Speaker:feel accomplished when you do work in those blocks.
Speaker:So it's a matter of actually really sort of focusing in
Speaker:and working on those in order to feel accomplished at the
Speaker:end of the day,
Speaker:Time-blocking you take a specific task,
Speaker:you dedicate a certain amount of time to it.
Speaker:And by golly,
Speaker:it's gotta be done by that time.
Speaker:So you're really focused.
Speaker:Yeah. And you do actually feel then that you've been very
Speaker:productive because I know that it's so easy to get distracted
Speaker:and sort of stop jumping around doing all sorts of different
Speaker:things. People are sort of,
Speaker:like I mentioned on the social media checking emails and then
Speaker:going back and writing up,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:some content and,
Speaker:and packing an order and they sort of,
Speaker:they haven't actually really achieved a great deal that day.
Speaker:Right. Exactly.
Speaker:I totally agree.
Speaker:The other thing I really like about what you said is
Speaker:writing down to do lists,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it's not any electronic checklist or anything.
Speaker:There's some satisfaction between scratching off that one item as you
Speaker:go down.
Speaker:There's something about just the tactical ability to do that.
Speaker:That's awesome.
Speaker:A click on a computer just doesn't do it.
Speaker:I agree.
Speaker:I'm a bit of a old school pen and paper.
Speaker:The end-result is the most important thing,
Speaker:I guess,
Speaker:is what I'm trying to say that.
Speaker:Absolutely. All right.
Speaker:Have you read a book lately that you think our listeners
Speaker:could find value in?
Speaker:Yes. I have the book that I love is called the
Speaker:four hour workweek and it's written by Tim Ferris.
Speaker:He's an American guy and it's all about being highly productive,
Speaker:outsourcing tasks that you can train others to complete.
Speaker:And ultimately it frees you up to do more of the
Speaker:things that you do like doing.
Speaker:And that you're really good at.
Speaker:I've read that book too,
Speaker:but I think it's a little bit crazy to think that
Speaker:you could possibly work only four hours.
Speaker:I know many people who would really only want to work
Speaker:four hours a week.
Speaker:Oh, right,
Speaker:right. But he has some great ideas in there.
Speaker:I haven't read it for a while,
Speaker:but I remember I really,
Speaker:When you sort of need someone to do the,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:the background work or the admin work or knowing that you
Speaker:can tap into,
Speaker:there's so many avenues for resources and,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:for outsourcing so that you can do all the,
Speaker:more of the things that you do,
Speaker:like he goes off and learns a new language or he
Speaker:goes off and does.
Speaker:So I think it's boxing or he does something that's not
Speaker:even work-related because he'd simply outsourced his entire business.
Speaker:Yeah. It's a great book.
Speaker:So 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 and you can get an audio
Speaker:book just like the four hour work week for free.
Speaker:All you need to do is go to gift biz,
Speaker:book.com and make a selection of that book or any other
Speaker:book you'd like,
Speaker:again, that's gift biz,
Speaker:book.com. Okay.
Speaker:Sarah, I would like you now to dare to dream.
Speaker:I want 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 obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside your box?
Speaker:Oh, inside my book,
Speaker:there's many magical things.
Speaker:I would probably say that inside I've built a,
Speaker:a global giftware coaching business.
Speaker:I'm guest speaking around the world at industry events and workshops,
Speaker:and I'm traveling to lovely overseas locations,
Speaker:hosting business retreats,
Speaker:or gift giftware businesses,
Speaker:and just continuing to help grow thriving enterprises.
Speaker:That sounds wonderful.
Speaker:And it sounds like it's just building up what you've already
Speaker:started. So the seed has already been planted.
Speaker:Yes, I think so.
Speaker:It's a slow,
Speaker:it's a slow burn.
Speaker:And I think that it's definitely w you know,
Speaker:where I can see myself going and something that I know
Speaker:that would really bring me a lot of fulfillment and happiness,
Speaker:being able to continue to help other gift basket gift,
Speaker:where business owners to build that dream life and build that
Speaker:dream business Sounds spectacular.
Speaker:But you do know what that means.
Speaker:A lot of hours flying around.
Speaker:Yeah. That I I'm an avid TRIBE.
Speaker:Hello. Wonderful.
Speaker:Well, good.
Speaker:I will see you in the States soon then.
Speaker:Could our listeners best get in touch with you on the
Speaker:show notes page?
Speaker:We'll have the website and Facebook page has all the links,
Speaker:but if there was one place that you would direct everyone
Speaker:who's audio right now to go to,
Speaker:where would that be?
Speaker:Okay. K.
Speaker:So I actually have a free cheat sheet to give away
Speaker:to your listeners today.
Speaker:A little gift,
Speaker:wonderful. It's a free cheat sheet about how to attract lucrative
Speaker:corporate clients and triple your sales instantly.
Speaker:They can get that freebie@wwwdotsarahjcross.com
Speaker:forward slash get freebie,
Speaker:get freebie,
Speaker:but that's just only available.
Speaker:It'll be up for a little while.
Speaker:If they want to logo on and going there,
Speaker:they can actually download their free teaching to getting,
Speaker:learning how the,
Speaker:some, some steps to start landing for lucrative corporate account.
Speaker:Well, it is May 10th,
Speaker:2016, everybody.
Speaker:So if you're listening within month,
Speaker:several months from now,
Speaker:maybe it's still up,
Speaker:but don't delay because you heard that Sarah says she'll take
Speaker:it down at some point.
Speaker:So this free cheat sheet is available@sarahjcross.com
Speaker:forward slash get freebie.
Speaker:And if you're listening after it's already been taken down,
Speaker:I would just jump over to this show.
Speaker:Note page,
Speaker:go onto our website,
Speaker:because my guess is she'll have some other things in the
Speaker:offerings as well.
Speaker:At that point.
Speaker:I've got both of us.
Speaker:Yeah. Sarah,
Speaker:thank you so much.
Speaker:This has been really interesting and you've brought up some points
Speaker:that I don't think we've talked about.
Speaker:So I really appreciate the insights.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:your story about growing and selling a million dollar business right
Speaker:in your twenties is spectacular.
Speaker:I talk often about making sure that people who are taking
Speaker:courses or doing anything online,
Speaker:work with someone who really knows because they've done it not
Speaker:because they've learned from a book and you are certainly one
Speaker:who has done it,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:of what you speak and coach,
Speaker:and it has been an absolute pleasure having you on the
Speaker:podcast today.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:May your candle always burn bright,
Speaker:Fantastic to be here,
Speaker:learn how to work smarter while developing and growing your business.
Speaker:Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business
Speaker:and life.
Speaker:It's our gift to you and available@giftbizonrap.com
Speaker:slash tools.
Speaker:Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for the
Speaker:next episode.
Speaker:Today's show is sponsored by the ribbon print company,
Speaker:looking for a new income source for your gift business.
Speaker:Customization is more popular now than ever granted products with your
Speaker:logo or pin to happy birthday.
Speaker:Jessica driven to add to again,
Speaker:right at checkout,
Speaker:it's all done right in your shop or cross studio in
Speaker:seconds. Check out the ribbon company.com
Speaker:for more information after you listened to the show,
Speaker:if you like what you're hearing,
Speaker:make sure to jump over and subscribe to the show on
Speaker:iTunes. That way you'll automatically get the newest episodes when they
Speaker:go. And thank you to those who have already left a
Speaker:rating by subscribing rating and reviewing help to increase the visibility.
Speaker:It's a great way to help others with their entrepreneurial journey
