Shownotes
Business Building Insights
- A non-disclosure agreement is a must before entering into any type of business relationship with an outside company.
- Finding a co-packer involves a lot of research. It starts with a google search to find those who provide services that match your needs. Then you move on to interviewing and asking a lot of questions to make sure it’s a good fit. It’s important to spend some time on this step to prevent issues down the road.
- Take into consideration your future expansion plans when naming your business.
- People who love your work are your best evangelists as you expand. Many in Sonya’s loyal art following are also interested in Sonya’s Sweet and Spicy.
- Don’t get discouraged when you encounter problems. Keep moving forward and think outside the box.
- Use a craft or trade show as an opportunity to make connections even if you’re not making a lot of sales. Then follow up with people where you see potential sales or collaborations.
Resources Mentioned
Gift Biz Unwrapped Episode 188: “Ask the Question!” with Sonya PazContact Links
Website Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTubeGift Biz Resources
Join our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community
If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you.
Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
Gift biz unwrapped,
Speaker:episode 220 that is pretty much the choice word that everyone
Speaker:uses is I'm so addicted to this stuff At Tinton,
Speaker:gifters, bakers,
Speaker: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 give 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:You too.
Speaker:And thank you once again for joining me on the show
Speaker:and if you're a first time listener,
Speaker:welcome. I'm thrilled that you're here.
Speaker:Before we get into the show,
Speaker:I have a question for you.
Speaker:How'd your day go yesterday?
Speaker:Maybe a crazy question.
Speaker:I know,
Speaker:and yes,
Speaker:you heard me right?
Speaker:If you were to rate yesterday,
Speaker:how much did you get done?
Speaker:How far did you advance toward your goal?
Speaker:Or maybe in your mind you're saying what goal?
Speaker:Many of you have told me you aren't sure whether what
Speaker:you're doing is the right thing for your business.
Speaker:You're confused that you may be focusing on the wrong things
Speaker:and wasting time and money and you compare yourself to others
Speaker:and feel like you're just not keeping up.
Speaker:Sound familiar?
Speaker:Maybe you find that you're busy all day long,
Speaker:but when you finish up,
Speaker:you haven't accomplished much of anything at all.
Speaker:I've been there too until I started working with what I
Speaker:now call the power of purpose.
Speaker:I made a free video for you that explains how to
Speaker:boost your productivity and get results using the power of your
Speaker:purpose. Isn't it time to make all the effort that you
Speaker:put into your business and your life do for you what
Speaker:you've intended.
Speaker:Now full disclosure,
Speaker:this video does lead into showing you my brand new inspired
Speaker:daily planner.
Speaker:But listen,
Speaker:you don't need the inspired planner to get all the advantages
Speaker:out of the power of purpose that I show you in
Speaker:this video.
Speaker:So if you're interested in discovering a new way to work
Speaker:through your days,
Speaker:so your time is intentional and your results are real,
Speaker:I encourage you to go over and watch this video and
Speaker:you can find it at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash planner that's gift biz unwrapped.com
Speaker:forward slash.
Speaker:Planner I am so excited to bring my guests to you
Speaker:today because she is a perfect model of something that I
Speaker:think a lot of us struggle with as a maker.
Speaker:There are so many things that you can make,
Speaker:but how do you decide then,
Speaker:which of all of your talents and skills and is that
Speaker:a thing that you should actually present to the world to
Speaker:sell? To build a company around?
Speaker:Now, best practice is not to show every single thing you
Speaker:have because then you don't really stand for anything.
Speaker:You're very vanilla,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:to any audience.
Speaker:So you pick one product,
Speaker:you really dive into it,
Speaker:you get known for it,
Speaker:and then once you're established and you have a strong company,
Speaker:then you take your reputation of who you are as an
Speaker:artist and you can add to your product line or in
Speaker:this case create an entirely different product line and bring your
Speaker:existing audience along for the ride because they already know you,
Speaker:they already love you and they're going to follow you.
Speaker:You're going to understand this a lot better when I get
Speaker:into introducing the guest and you hearing her story.
Speaker:So without any further ado,
Speaker:let's roll the interview.
Speaker:So today I have a little bit of an extra surprise.
Speaker:I have a repeat guest on,
Speaker:but she's here in a whole new vein.
Speaker:Those of you who have been listening to the show for
Speaker:a while are familiar with Sonia.
Speaker:Pause. She is an artist.
Speaker:We had back in November episode 188 you can hear all
Speaker:about her a mazing art business,
Speaker:but she's merged into a different industry I think I should
Speaker:say. In addition,
Speaker:and I wanted to get her on again because I want
Speaker:you guys to hear all about where the future can go
Speaker:and the different avenues that can happen with your business.
Speaker:So Sonia is a fine artist now turned foodie with Sonia's
Speaker:sweet and spicy.
Speaker:She's known for her vivid,
Speaker:popular pop art paintings and retail products.
Speaker:But in the last couple of years she'd been working on
Speaker:a flavorful new adventure that has caught everyone,
Speaker:including herself by surprise after moving out of the hustle and
Speaker:bustle of the San Jose area,
Speaker:she now lives in the central Valley of California where agriculture
Speaker:is abundant and the flavors are wild.
Speaker:Sonia started canning and preserving foods and is now created a
Speaker:recipe that transforms a super spicy jalapeno into something calmer,
Speaker:something sweet and spicy.
Speaker:She'd taken these candied sweet jalapenos to potlucks and family gatherings
Speaker:and watched it be devoured within seconds and seeing that response.
Speaker:She worked with a food scientist and now sells Sonia's sweetened,
Speaker:spicy direct to individuals,
Speaker:specialty shops and grocery stores.
Speaker:And as Sonia now says,
Speaker:life is always better when you have a little sweet and
Speaker:spice in your life.
Speaker:Welcome back to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:Sonya. Oh my God,
Speaker:that's so great.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:Super having back again.
Speaker:I am Thrilled to be here.
Speaker:I am so excited.
Speaker:And we were talking in the beginning and I said,
Speaker:well, you know,
Speaker:we're not going to go through your candle color again and
Speaker:all that.
Speaker:And you're like,
Speaker:well wait,
Speaker:wait. I already have one.
Speaker:So then I'm thinking,
Speaker:all right,
Speaker:well maybe things have changed.
Speaker:Maybe your perspective has changed and clearly as we go through
Speaker:life, our thoughts and what we're doing changes.
Speaker:So let's do it.
Speaker:Let's once again here,
Speaker:how you were described yourself through a motivational candle,
Speaker:so coloring quote,
Speaker:what would that look like?
Speaker:Well, the color definitely would be,
Speaker:even though jalapenos are green,
Speaker:I think the whole variety of my new logo and brand
Speaker:and everything sort of is an orange,
Speaker:yellow color and it's just,
Speaker:it glows from the inside out And it's all colors of,
Speaker:well green,
Speaker:yellow and orange,
Speaker:right. Colors of fresh produce and all that.
Speaker:Yeah. But I think the candle needs to be very vivid
Speaker:and yellow with orange just to really give it a nice
Speaker:sunny pop.
Speaker:Perfect. There you go.
Speaker:And do you have a new quote or mantra or something
Speaker:that you want to share with us on that candle When
Speaker:things get hot and spicy,
Speaker:just go with it.
Speaker:That can be taken in a lot of different contexts,
Speaker:but this is the good food kind of context.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:So it seems to me from the story that you were
Speaker:moving just for a lifestyle change or just to switch things
Speaker:up. Who knew that this was going to be something that
Speaker:was going to happen in your life?
Speaker:Yeah, like we said,
Speaker:it's certainly was a surprise.
Speaker:And it's so funny cause I don't know if it really
Speaker:should be a surprise because when I started painting again after
Speaker:many, many years in the mid to late nineties I would
Speaker:paint for myself and I would have people saying,
Speaker:Oh wow,
Speaker:I love your art.
Speaker:Can I buy it?
Speaker:Do you do custom orders?
Speaker:Do you do commissions?
Speaker:And all that.
Speaker:And at the time I thought,
Speaker:no, I just kind of doing it for myself and ended
Speaker:up being turning into a giant art business.
Speaker:And so here I am back again,
Speaker:what? 20 years later.
Speaker:So, and creating something I did for myself that I'd like
Speaker:to share with friends and family when we would go to
Speaker:potlucks or dinners or where you bring an appetizer or a
Speaker:progressive neighborhood gathering or what have you.
Speaker:And I started bringing those and people were asking me,
Speaker:Oh my God,
Speaker:where'd you get these?
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:well, I made them Did,
Speaker:where'd you learn how to do that?
Speaker:They didn't expect that out of you for anything,
Speaker:right? No.
Speaker:So I thought,
Speaker:Hmm. I mean the canning process is a very long and
Speaker:tedious process.
Speaker:So you've got to prepare the vegetables and you have to
Speaker:cut them and then you have to cook them and then
Speaker:you have to put them in the sterilized jars and you
Speaker:take to put the jars in a water bath and then
Speaker:you have to take them out.
Speaker:And everything's a timed process and it's very lengthy.
Speaker:But I loved it because I thought,
Speaker:wow, I can take this tomatoes or I can take these
Speaker:peppers or make these preserves and make something that I can
Speaker:make now and consume later.
Speaker:I know we all do that and we buy things at
Speaker:the grocery store in jars or in cans,
Speaker:but when you do it yourself,
Speaker:you're excited when you can eat them or you can share
Speaker:them with other people.
Speaker:And I worked on this recipe.
Speaker:I found just a basic recipe online.
Speaker:I thought,
Speaker:well, this is kind of good because my husband likes the
Speaker:jalapenos that we would get at the taco.
Speaker:Yeah. But those were usually pickled and vinegar.
Speaker:They weren't sweet at all.
Speaker:They were very,
Speaker:very, very spicy and it almost had a oil consistency to
Speaker:it as well.
Speaker:You were just playing around then with different ways of canning,
Speaker:just for yourself,
Speaker:just for fun,
Speaker:just to do so that you'd have the pleasure and the
Speaker:joy of being able to eat foods that you had canned
Speaker:yourself with the freshness and the colors and all of that
Speaker:being the creator that you are.
Speaker:So were you experimenting with jalapenos,
Speaker:tomatoes and all different types of vegetables or were you just
Speaker:focusing on jalapenos because of your husband?
Speaker:My friend Sue,
Speaker:she and I went to high school together and she was
Speaker:telling me one day,
Speaker:Hey, what are you doing this weekend?
Speaker:Oh, I'm going to be pickling bread and butter pickles.
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:Ooh, I want to learn.
Speaker:She goes,
Speaker:come over.
Speaker:So I brought over 20 pounds of these little,
Speaker:they're not the kind of cucumbers that you buy in the
Speaker:grocery store,
Speaker:the waxy kind for salad.
Speaker:These are made specifically for cooking and here in the central
Speaker:Valley you've got people selling these at the farmer's markets and
Speaker:at the specialty,
Speaker:little grocer,
Speaker:some of the small independent markets here,
Speaker:but there was a lady that sells them every summer.
Speaker:She sells them only in 20 pound boxes,
Speaker:so you can't buy three or four pounds.
Speaker:And for the amount of effort it does take to do
Speaker:the canning,
Speaker:that's really nothing.
Speaker:So I bring over this big box of these cucumbers and
Speaker:we're washing them and we're cutting them and learning how to
Speaker:cut them and how thick to cut them and just the
Speaker:whole list goes on and making the brine and cooking them
Speaker:and stirring them and waiting for it to reach a certain
Speaker:temperature. And there's all of these facets and learning how to
Speaker:do that was the law.
Speaker:We were there for hours doing this,
Speaker:but it was interesting and I thought I got home and
Speaker:I started looking online and thinking,
Speaker:gosh, what else could I make?
Speaker:And then joined a couple of these canning and preserving Facebook
Speaker:pages of people from all over the world,
Speaker:but mainly in the United States and the in the Midwest
Speaker:where people do a lot of preserving because we're the winters
Speaker:and they want to prepare food for the off season.
Speaker:Right. Like a bear for our hibernation here.
Speaker:I think two Californians don't really understand that process because of
Speaker:our climate,
Speaker:but out in in the areas where the weather can be
Speaker:a lot colder,
Speaker:you can't just run out for a quick something in the
Speaker:middle of the day if you're having a snow day or
Speaker:whatever. Right.
Speaker:So I started doing some preserves as well because I live
Speaker:in the apricot Capitol of the world,
Speaker:which is Patterson,
Speaker:California. If you drive around,
Speaker:you see nothing but apricot and almond trees all over the
Speaker:place. Well that amazing.
Speaker:Oh it is amazing.
Speaker:I never thought I would being a true San Jose in
Speaker:that I would adopt and really embrace the flavors and the
Speaker:use of the Valley.
Speaker:But I started with the jalapenos.
Speaker:I thought,
Speaker:Hmm, sweet jalapenos.
Speaker:Cause I don't like jalapenos.
Speaker:I mean not raw ones.
Speaker:If they're in a salsa or something,
Speaker:I'm the one that's picking them all out.
Speaker:I don't fancy the raw jalapeno and I don't like the
Speaker:ones that they have restaurants or the toxicity is.
Speaker:So when I found this sweeter jalapeno recipe,
Speaker:I altered it and I added my own spices and added
Speaker:a lot more sugar than the vinegar.
Speaker:And there was just this whole balance of the way that
Speaker:I created this process.
Speaker:And it has to do with the cooking times as well.
Speaker:And it has to do with the amount of sugar along
Speaker:with the vinegars and my little special spice mix that really
Speaker:gives it this,
Speaker:I don't want to say addicting flavor,
Speaker:but that is pretty much the choice where that everyone uses
Speaker:is I'm so addicted to this stuff.
Speaker:Oh, music to your ears,
Speaker:I'm sure.
Speaker:Yeah. So with that said,
Speaker:I just started making and selling little eight ounce jars,
Speaker:but supply and demand did come along.
Speaker:So you saw that family and friends,
Speaker:we know when you go to potlucks,
Speaker:they were just gravitating to it.
Speaker:They were eating,
Speaker:it was gone so quickly.
Speaker:They were saying wonderful things about it.
Speaker:At that point already.
Speaker:Were you thinking,
Speaker:Whoa, maybe I could take this to a bigger level?
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:My husband starts getting all calculating with me.
Speaker:So how many jars do you think it would take to
Speaker:make this many and blah,
Speaker:blah, blah.
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:okay, well it takes roughly four and a half hours to
Speaker:make 48 eight ounce jars and it would take four and
Speaker:a half hours to make 24 16 ounce jar.
Speaker:So doing all the math.
Speaker:And I thought,
Speaker:well let me give this a try.
Speaker:So I rented a commercial kitchen nearby and I just didn't
Speaker:like going there.
Speaker:It was super hot and muggy in there and there was
Speaker:other people around and you had to share resources.
Speaker:There's not a lot of commercial kitchens in the Patterson area.
Speaker:So I just decided that for the effort of the supply
Speaker:and the demand,
Speaker:maybe I'll partner with somebody.
Speaker:So I ended up finding someone who is a co-packer that
Speaker:was able to work with me and I worked with them
Speaker:and we signed agreements and NDAs and I sent money and
Speaker:everything was great.
Speaker:Going along,
Speaker:got sample number one and it was almost there.
Speaker:It wasn't quite got sample number two and it was perfect.
Speaker:So we placed a purchase order to order 50 or 60
Speaker:cases and we're supposed to have received that by mid November
Speaker:of 2018 and time.
Speaker:Went on and on,
Speaker:didn't hear anything,
Speaker:didn't hear anything.
Speaker:Reached out to the guy,
Speaker:said, Oh,
Speaker:having a bit of an issue with the manufacturing equipment.
Speaker:I'll keep you posted.
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:do you think I can get these by Thanksgiving because people
Speaker:are asking and I don't have anything.
Speaker:Well, you probably started Creating some type of a promotional plan
Speaker:and all of that.
Speaker:Right? Absolutely,
Speaker:and got the label designed and per specifications with the nutritional
Speaker:panel and all the necessary things that have to go on.
Speaker:You're making me nervous.
Speaker:I'm getting a stomach ache.
Speaker:Just thinking about this all again happened,
Speaker:so I ended up reaching out to the guy.
Speaker:Here it is,
Speaker:November 1st second,
Speaker:third, fourth,
Speaker:second week in November.
Speaker:I don't hear anything and I reach out and he says,
Speaker:Oh, I'm having issues after 30 something years,
Speaker:I'm having issues with my landlord.
Speaker:I'm so sorry.
Speaker:I'm going to have to keep you posted,
Speaker:and then I heard nothing.
Speaker:Just did a little research,
Speaker:found out the guy had closed his doors.
Speaker:I don't know why.
Speaker:He basically took my 50% deposit my recipe and closed his
Speaker:doors and haven't heard since.
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:did have my attorney send him a note.
Speaker:He never replied.
Speaker:I think a lot of people would think this is it.
Speaker:Okay, I learned a horrible lesson.
Speaker:Boohoo let me go and wallow in my sorrow.
Speaker:But for those who know me know that I'm pretty tenacious
Speaker:and I'm not going to let this thing get me down.
Speaker:So you basically got to dust your knees off and take
Speaker:a deep breath and start researching again.
Speaker:So I started back at square one and found another co-packer
Speaker:who has been amazing.
Speaker:They pick up the phone when I call and they've been
Speaker:in business for decades and they've taught me a lot.
Speaker:Had to alter a little tiny things of my recipe just
Speaker:for scientific food purposes.
Speaker:So I'm thinking that you altered the recipe also because now
Speaker:this other person who you can't find had your recipe.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:that's like the gold of your product.
Speaker:Yeah. And so I look at this as a silver lining
Speaker:is that he didn't tell me certain things about some of
Speaker:the scientific things.
Speaker:There has to be certain pH levels,
Speaker:there has to be a lot of specifics with the product
Speaker:when it's being preserved,
Speaker:when it's being canned in a jar.
Speaker:And I'm not saying that he was doing anything wrong,
Speaker:he just didn't,
Speaker:I don't know if it was his own secret to keep
Speaker:as far as my scientific processes and how we do large
Speaker:scale co-packing,
Speaker:but the new person,
Speaker:the new company that I have partnered with has educated me
Speaker:a lot in regards to all of the FDA and safety
Speaker:standards and what has to really be on the label and
Speaker:what has to be listed as this,
Speaker:that and the other.
Speaker:So it was good In the end.
Speaker:It sounds like even though this was a major road bump
Speaker:in the end,
Speaker:it sounds like you're in a better position than had you
Speaker:stayed with that initial person.
Speaker:I'm wondering if there are any warning signs that you might've
Speaker:seen as you were going through there that you now realize
Speaker:now, but you didn't know then.
Speaker:Is there anything that you can think of that you could
Speaker:share with listeners in terms of if they're getting into a
Speaker:situation like this,
Speaker:something that you should have heated and been cautionary of but
Speaker:you realize it at the time.
Speaker:Oh, in regards to my recipe in the packaging and all
Speaker:that. The whole coordination with the Packard in the beginning,
Speaker:the co-packer and you thought everything was fine and it sounds
Speaker:like from your description you did everything you should,
Speaker:you had an agreement,
Speaker:you had the recipe covered,
Speaker:all of that and still things went wrong.
Speaker:Is there anything you would have done differently?
Speaker:I guess I'd say what that first round,
Speaker:Well, anytime that you work with any type of vendor who
Speaker:is helping you with producing any type of thing,
Speaker:whether it's your label or if it's an actual product or
Speaker:if you have lotions or anything like that where you're relying
Speaker:on, you always should have a nondisclosure agreement and that just
Speaker:keeps supposed to keep everyone honest.
Speaker:Now it's kind of insulting to ask somebody,
Speaker:Hey, do you plan on going out of business in the
Speaker:next six months?
Speaker:You didn't expect that.
Speaker:Yeah, so we did all the right things,
Speaker:but the long of the short of it is that stuff
Speaker:does happen and I've looked at the glass half full,
Speaker:I've looked at it half empty and I'm thinking he probably
Speaker:feels worse about this.
Speaker:That means if what he said was true as having,
Speaker:renting a building for 30 something years and then his landlord
Speaker:wanting to sell the building or whatever the case was,
Speaker:any type of food packaging has large equipment and to move
Speaker:that I can imagine is a ginormous headache because I've moved
Speaker:my businesses several times and it's not a fun thing to
Speaker:do. So I don't know if he felt if he retired,
Speaker:he just cut his losses and just move on.
Speaker:Who knows?
Speaker:He never responded.
Speaker:Well that's the part that's not an excuse.
Speaker:I mean you're very gracious for giving him an out here,
Speaker:but I don't know him,
Speaker:so I'm not,
Speaker:yeah, we're not communicating to you the problem and working it
Speaker:out and figuring something out with you and just being silent,
Speaker:I don't think is that great.
Speaker:But I would probably say something different if it wasn't on
Speaker:the podcast and it's been said,
Speaker:trust me.
Speaker:Yeah, I'm sure.
Speaker:I'm sure.
Speaker:But look,
Speaker:but here is a great example though where it didn't then
Speaker:stop you.
Speaker:Cause you could have said at this point,
Speaker:I'm done.
Speaker:Forget it.
Speaker:It's too much.
Speaker:Now I have money that I've invested for nothing unfortunately.
Speaker:But you didn't take that route.
Speaker:Right. And now you're better off for it as we were
Speaker:just talking about before.
Speaker:So how do you find a co-packer?
Speaker:A lot of research.
Speaker:I mean it wasn't just Googling things,
Speaker:it was finding the right terms to use on Google.
Speaker:What type of people?
Speaker:I mean you find lots of people who do co-packing but
Speaker:they won't touch anything less than 800 cases.
Speaker:There's co-packers all over the country and you have to interview
Speaker:people. You have to ask a lot of questions.
Speaker:There's a lot of working with people and letting know this
Speaker:is my first product,
Speaker:can you work with me?
Speaker:A lot of people are very cut.
Speaker:No, we don't work with anyone other than someone who wants
Speaker:to bulk for Costco or they have specific co-packers that do
Speaker:just that.
Speaker:Or for large scale grocery stores.
Speaker:So finding an independent company that will work with you and
Speaker:help you grow is huge.
Speaker:That was a big one cause I probably talked to,
Speaker:I'm going to say between 15 and 20 before I found
Speaker:the new outfit that I'm working with and I started getting
Speaker:a little discouraged.
Speaker:I thought,
Speaker:Oh for Pete's sake there's gotta be somebody out there.
Speaker:When you do work with them,
Speaker:you sign NDAs and you send them,
Speaker:there's an R and D fee and that can vary.
Speaker:So it depends on what kind of company is and how
Speaker:what your product is.
Speaker:And then you send them a sample of the product and
Speaker:once they receive the product,
Speaker:one of the scientists call me back and she said,
Speaker:Oh my God,
Speaker:this stuff is amazing.
Speaker:Oh wow.
Speaker:So excited that we're going to be able to work with
Speaker:you on this because she goes,
Speaker:I'm practically flicking the jar clean.
Speaker:And I thought,
Speaker:wow, really?
Speaker:And I took that as wow.
Speaker:I mean I don't think it was a lion to impress
Speaker:me or anything.
Speaker:No. Cause she didn't have to say anything.
Speaker:You were already going to do business with her?
Speaker:Yeah. When you send that jar to them,
Speaker:what are they doing?
Speaker:They're analyzing the ingredients and yeah,
Speaker:I had to send them to jars.
Speaker:So one for them to try.
Speaker:They do pH levels on them.
Speaker:I send them the entire ingredient list,
Speaker:the entire processing cooking process.
Speaker:I mean everything is calculated.
Speaker:So every single thing,
Speaker:like there can't be any holes in the direction,
Speaker:right. Everything.
Speaker:And a large of the processing was dependent on how thick
Speaker:the slices are.
Speaker:They can't be too thick,
Speaker:they can't be too thin,
Speaker:they have to be just right.
Speaker:And that is because I've tried it.
Speaker:I used a mandolin slicer for one batch and they came
Speaker:out this sloppy Beaky,
Speaker:wilted kind of jalapeno slices.
Speaker:They didn't turn out good.
Speaker:And then I thought,
Speaker:well, I'm going to try one batch where they're super thick
Speaker:or I even tried them.
Speaker:So I sliced them whole but vertical.
Speaker:So there was a lot of different ways that I tried
Speaker:them. And the one that worked the best was the one
Speaker:where I had them sliced to a specific width and that
Speaker:was the key functioning product.
Speaker:So there was a lot of R and D on my
Speaker:side, but I wanted to see,
Speaker:well what if I did it this way or what if
Speaker:I changed it that way and we're talking hundreds of hours
Speaker:over the stove trying different things,
Speaker:smaller batches,
Speaker:maybe not 20 pounds at a time,
Speaker:but five pounds here just to kind of work out to
Speaker:see how those different types of preparation methods work.
Speaker:So then you finally get the product that you love.
Speaker:It's the perfect way in terms of the slicing and the
Speaker:different ingredients that are in there and all of that.
Speaker:Then you find a co-packer,
Speaker:you send it to them,
Speaker:they do all of their analysis and that analysis also then
Speaker:goes for what's going to be on the label.
Speaker:Yes, in their cooking processes.
Speaker:They have to basically adopt,
Speaker:from what I have done on a very small scale to
Speaker:a larger scale.
Speaker:So they multiply the recipe and they have special ways of
Speaker:cooking, so it's pretty impressive.
Speaker:It's really impressive on what they do and how they do
Speaker:it. And then there's the fun stuff,
Speaker:The fun Stuff which we'll get into right after a word
Speaker:from our sponsor.
Speaker:This podcast is made possible thanks to the support of the
Speaker:ribbon print company.
Speaker:Create custom ribbons right in your store or craft studio in
Speaker:seconds. Visit the ribbon,
Speaker:print company.com
Speaker:for more information.
Speaker:Then there's the fun stuff.
Speaker:Let's pick the jar out and you know it's all the
Speaker:fluff. Well that's the thing you love.
Speaker:I'm sure that part probably came so easy to you.
Speaker:I can only imagine.
Speaker:Yeah, And what kind of jar do I want to spend
Speaker:the money on a fancy jar?
Speaker:Do we just go basic and I decided just to kind
Speaker:of go basic.
Speaker:It's in a Mason style jar.
Speaker:I decided to go with a lug lid versus a two
Speaker:piece for a few different reasons.
Speaker:One, the two piece lid when you're taking out and serving
Speaker:and putting the lid back on,
Speaker:it's in two pieces and it gets to be a bit
Speaker:of a pain.
Speaker:That was great when I was doing it on the small
Speaker:scale, but for the big scale,
Speaker:I think it also gives the impression that,
Speaker:Oh, this is a real product,
Speaker:and I went around and around about it thinking,
Speaker:well, I want people to know it's homemade or it now
Speaker:made with love and all that,
Speaker:but it's just an easier thing when you have one piece
Speaker:lid than a two piece.
Speaker:Sure. Just a side question really quick.
Speaker:Did the one or the two piece lid affect the shelf
Speaker:life? No.
Speaker:It has about an 18 to 24 months shelf life.
Speaker:The process is pretty much the same.
Speaker:I think that a lot of people look at the one-piece
Speaker:lid as being more of a finished product And it's something
Speaker:that you anticipate that you would get from a grocery store
Speaker:too or a nice gourmet shop.
Speaker:Right. There's all those subtle little impressions that are left.
Speaker:People don't even realize as you go along.
Speaker:Yeah. And if I ever wanted to glam it up a
Speaker:bit, either way with either lid,
Speaker:if I wanted to glam it up and put a little
Speaker:fabric swatch on there and put a bow around or whatever,
Speaker:it would still look the same.
Speaker:And then it came down to costs.
Speaker:Well, how much is the two piece lid and how much
Speaker:is the one piece led?
Speaker:And it was going to probably save me,
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:50 or $60 over the whole entire,
Speaker:we're talking a few cents per lead,
Speaker:but when you're starting to get into manufacturing costs,
Speaker:60 70 8,200
Speaker:300 whatever is a lot.
Speaker:You want to save as much as you can so you
Speaker:can keep the price more affordable to the buyers.
Speaker:Okay. And so talk a little bit about how you decided
Speaker:on the name and then the branding and logo creation.
Speaker:Oh, well how many logos did I come up?
Speaker:Because as you know,
Speaker:I create brands for other people as well.
Speaker:So I thought,
Speaker:okay, I have the world here by the throat,
Speaker:but now it's yours.
Speaker:It's probably very easy to do it for everybody else,
Speaker:but all of a sudden into yours,
Speaker:It's mine.
Speaker:And I thought,
Speaker:well I can do,
Speaker:I mean I researched labels and there was funky ones out
Speaker:there with really funky type face.
Speaker:There were really more sophisticated type ones with very European sort
Speaker:of look to it and I thought a lot of sleepless
Speaker:nights, believe it or not.
Speaker:So I just started drafting things up and I probably came
Speaker:up with 20 or 30 about 25 or 30 different sketches,
Speaker:designs and then I thought,
Speaker:well it has to have color in it cause that's who
Speaker:I am.
Speaker:I wanted something that was going to just almost like a
Speaker:wagon wheel that was going to rotate,
Speaker:but I didn't want to use something that looked like it
Speaker:was from Texas or have something that looked so ordinary or
Speaker:so typical.
Speaker:I decided to give it a more of a sophisticated look,
Speaker:but it's fun as well.
Speaker:The duration of the process it took.
Speaker:That was another reason why I glad I found the other
Speaker:co-packer because I don't think I would have really liked,
Speaker:I wouldn't have felt just as good with the label had
Speaker:created months ahead of time.
Speaker:Then to really put the pedal to the metal and to
Speaker:find what I really felt inside that I wanted to do.
Speaker:So that was good.
Speaker:And so once you actually created it and you saw it
Speaker:after all of the other versions,
Speaker:you knew that was the one I knew that was the
Speaker:one. And I'll tell you,
Speaker:as a designer,
Speaker:I'm not the type of person I never ever,
Speaker:I've always trusted my instinct,
Speaker:the designs that I've created for my own companies.
Speaker:I never asked people,
Speaker:what do you think?
Speaker:This one,
Speaker:this one,
Speaker:that one or that one.
Speaker:I just do it because if I like it and I
Speaker:know what caliber of look I'm going for,
Speaker:I am not one of the kinds of people who go
Speaker:and start asking family and friends.
Speaker:Yeah, I'll ask Mark,
Speaker:okay, here's the design I came up with.
Speaker:He goes,
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:It's so you.
Speaker:Yeah. Well,
Speaker:I have to say now maybe,
Speaker:I don't think so,
Speaker:but maybe it's because I knew it was yours already and
Speaker:I love your design and what you already stand for in
Speaker:terms of your pop art.
Speaker:But I could totally relate.
Speaker:Like I almost feel like if I walked through a gourmet
Speaker:shop and I saw it on the shelf,
Speaker:I would take a second glance at it and say,
Speaker:Sonia, pause.
Speaker:Like not even knowing if you had even done it.
Speaker:Did you do that intentionally or is that just because that's
Speaker:your style?
Speaker:Oh, just my style.
Speaker:I wanted something simple,
Speaker:but something that packed a punch and the name.
Speaker:It was a little risky cause I mean I'd come up
Speaker:with a lot of different names and I needed to get
Speaker:moving on that cause in order to get the label created,
Speaker:I needed to have that trademark.
Speaker:I just thought,
Speaker:okay, it's going to be called Sonia sweet and spicy.
Speaker:I'm working at other products too,
Speaker:and those are going to have the same sort of fusion
Speaker:flavor of the sweet and the spice.
Speaker:But I thought that sounds kind of a little risque and
Speaker:I thought it's going to work.
Speaker:And once the name and the logo and the brand all
Speaker:were tied together,
Speaker:it worked.
Speaker:Love it.
Speaker:It's fun.
Speaker:Sounds a little out there,
Speaker:but I don't think so.
Speaker:I think it's perfect.
Speaker:And you gave us a little peek behind the curtain.
Speaker:I think if you remember on the last show you teased
Speaker:about this,
Speaker:what you were doing and now I think you've given us
Speaker:another little glimmer into the future and I could totally see
Speaker:you just continuing to extend this brand.
Speaker:And I think that's an important thing for our listeners to
Speaker:think about too when they're thinking about a name is if
Speaker:you think there's a possibility of adding to whether it's any
Speaker:kind of align,
Speaker:you want to make sure that whatever you name the overall
Speaker:product or business,
Speaker:I'll even say needs to be able to encompass whatever you're
Speaker:thinking for the future too.
Speaker:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:So will you then,
Speaker:this is just a sideline comment,
Speaker:I don't even know,
Speaker:but would you then change and have a different logo for
Speaker:different products?
Speaker:Or you keep that logo,
Speaker:you think I'm going to keep the look and feel and
Speaker:just change the name up on the different products.
Speaker:The label shape will change because some of the other jars
Speaker:that I will select will be smaller.
Speaker:Some of the preserves won't be a 16 ounce,
Speaker:they'll probably be eight ounce or even 10 or maybe nine.
Speaker:Who knows?
Speaker:So there's going to be some feature sets with that.
Speaker:And then of course you have the look of the produce
Speaker:or you have the contents of the jar that you can
Speaker:see at the top and the bottom and around the back.
Speaker:So that'll help in adding a little bit more color to
Speaker:the look and feel of the product.
Speaker:If I have preserves that are made with Apricot's,
Speaker:then that will be an orange.
Speaker:So it'll sort of take on its own look.
Speaker:And those are a lot of things that people don't even
Speaker:think about,
Speaker:but I do because that's my job.
Speaker:Well, that's what you've been doing since forever,
Speaker:which leads me into another question.
Speaker:How does this then being so different in terms of a
Speaker:consumable product,
Speaker:integrate with all of your art and everything else and you
Speaker:were already had a million things going on.
Speaker:I know.
Speaker:How does life look with both of those things happen in
Speaker:or did you put the brakes on something?
Speaker:I put the brakes on a couple little things but I
Speaker:think this has become more exciting and the thing with this
Speaker:was I got a I only for my design clients,
Speaker:I'm keeping what I have,
Speaker:I'm working on right now.
Speaker:I haven't really taken on anyone new because I want to
Speaker:be able to focus the very few hours I have left
Speaker:in the day on Sonia sweet and spicy and that enabled
Speaker:me to get creative with the whole thing of the new
Speaker:looking for the new co-packer.
Speaker:Got me thinking about getting more excited about it cause I
Speaker:was a little beat up from the experience and I decided,
Speaker:okay, I'm going to create a YouTube channel,
Speaker:I'm going to create a YouTube channel and really have a
Speaker:super nice eCommerce website that I do myself and I'm going
Speaker:to work on doing weekly recipes using the product.
Speaker:And so far so good.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:so if anyone's interested in adding to your repertoire of subscribe
Speaker:videos on YouTube,
Speaker:check me out.
Speaker:I bet it's called Sonia.
Speaker:Sweet and spicy.
Speaker:Yes, it's called sweet and spicy kitchen kitchen.
Speaker:Okay. And just because I wanted to,
Speaker:it's done in my kitchen.
Speaker:I wanted it to be super organic,
Speaker:not anything over the top fancy.
Speaker:It's all done by me.
Speaker:My husband helps me a little bit.
Speaker:I mean to very little cause he's not a techno nerd
Speaker:like I am.
Speaker:So he'll help with just getting the light or he'll give
Speaker:a kind of a quick look.
Speaker:You'll have a look,
Speaker:see and make sure.
Speaker:And then he's told to,
Speaker:because I can't have him in the other room.
Speaker:I'm doing the videos.
Speaker:It's all good.
Speaker:So this is perfect that you're talking about YouTube right now
Speaker:because one of my questions was going to be how are
Speaker:you marketing this?
Speaker:And I'm going to ask this double cause I think the
Speaker:answer could potentially be the same.
Speaker:Are you taking some of the people who are already part
Speaker:of your audience and follow you with all of the art
Speaker:and are they coming over now to the sweeten spicy side,
Speaker:The sweet and spicy side?
Speaker:Yes. So I do have a email newsletter that I sent
Speaker:out to my art clients.
Speaker:And so there was an announcement two weeks ago that said,
Speaker:Hey, not only am I still doing art and I'm doing
Speaker:art for you,
Speaker:but I've taken on since I've done the visual of the
Speaker:art and I've done the audio of the podcast.
Speaker:I'm doing the other senses of taste and the love for
Speaker:food into my repertoire of creative things that I've done.
Speaker:I am pleased to announce that I have this product out.
Speaker:So that was really amazing because I invited people to like
Speaker:the Facebook page and then find the people to get on
Speaker:the list for upcoming notifications and events and things like that.
Speaker:I'm not doing a lot of events but just to keep
Speaker:the interest going.
Speaker:Well you never know where it's going to happen in the
Speaker:future either in terms of events and I think that's really
Speaker:smart and this is something that I didn't do and I'm
Speaker:glad to hear that you did.
Speaker:When I started gift biz on wrapped this whole helping makers,
Speaker:I really felt like I should keep the ribbon print company
Speaker:separate because they never asked to learn more about the whole
Speaker:maker thing.
Speaker:Although they do enjoy business tips,
Speaker:how other people have been successful and they're making lots of
Speaker:things with the ribbon printer.
Speaker:So it would have made sense for me to merge them
Speaker:together. But I kept them separate and I think that that
Speaker:was a mistake now.
Speaker:So because then it does cross populate it.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it doesn't mean that you just start mailing them something that
Speaker:they didn't want,
Speaker:but offering it up and sharing the additional things that you're
Speaker:doing is smart.
Speaker:So I think you did it the right way.
Speaker:And I just bring that up for our listeners because I
Speaker:would have done it differently if I were to go back
Speaker:and do it all over again.
Speaker:I would have done it the way you did.
Speaker:Yeah. Cause it's all still part of you.
Speaker:And if they love you for their art,
Speaker:for all of the art,
Speaker:they also love you as the person.
Speaker:So what else are you getting into?
Speaker:It just naturally gravitates over to another venture that you have.
Speaker:Right. And it keeps you current.
Speaker:Yeah, I mean I've had multiple galleries.
Speaker:Oh my goodness.
Speaker:And I'm thinking about the moving part of it all.
Speaker:But I've had multiple galleries from my very first one and
Speaker:we expanded it from that location,
Speaker:ended up at Santana row,
Speaker:which is a fancier outdoor mall here out in San Jose.
Speaker:And then I went to a small shop in Campbell,
Speaker:went to a huge place in Campbell.
Speaker:And just always kept it interesting.
Speaker:Started creating products from matted prints cards to magnets to wearable
Speaker:art, to the watches,
Speaker:large scale paintings.
Speaker:It's always been home furnishings and the whole thing.
Speaker:So I like to keep surprising people,
Speaker:the true collectors and the people who love my artwork.
Speaker:They're your best advertising and they're your best evangelists.
Speaker:Yeah. But this was a big surprise.
Speaker:Like who would expect,
Speaker:yeah, right.
Speaker:Yeah. Cause then I started,
Speaker:we moved and then I started doing the podcast and people
Speaker:said, where do you get the time to do that?
Speaker:And then I said,
Speaker:because it's my way of helping other people in business to
Speaker:know that they're not alone.
Speaker:And here's a resource that you can have that will help
Speaker:you with your small business or your creative business to get
Speaker:questions answered and solutions that can assist with making your business
Speaker:easier. Don't feel discouraged cause we've all been there.
Speaker:But here's a voice to show you that you can and
Speaker:just keep going forward and to think outside the box a
Speaker:little bit.
Speaker:Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker:So then this thing here,
Speaker:truly again,
Speaker:just thought I'm just doing this for myself and uh,
Speaker:no, there you go.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:Absolutely. Even people who don't like jalapenos like these,
Speaker:nothing goes to waste in this because the way I was
Speaker:presenting this out to taking it for dishes to share was
Speaker:I just get a little brick of cream cheese,
Speaker:chop the peppers up,
Speaker:drizzle the juice over it,
Speaker:rake the cream cheese a little bit so the juice gets,
Speaker:gets right in there.
Speaker:Chop the jalapeno sweet and spicy on top of the cream
Speaker:cheese. Have a side bowl of crackers and that's it.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:I want some right now.
Speaker:It's in transit to you right now.
Speaker:And I'm so sorry I didn't get it to you earlier.
Speaker:Darn. Oh yeah.
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:I'm so excited.
Speaker:Okay, so give us a little insight into how the business
Speaker:is developed and where it is right now.
Speaker:The latest update today,
Speaker:the latest update is we were able to order a very
Speaker:small run with our manufacturer and that was 60 cases.
Speaker:I had pre-sold 20 before they even arrived.
Speaker:A lot of those cases went to people who have shops
Speaker:that know me.
Speaker:So Tony and Alba's,
Speaker:I'm going to give Al and Deanna a shout out there
Speaker:with Tony and elbows.
Speaker:They were big fans cause I had gifted them some for
Speaker:Christmas and they own a pizza and pasta and Al said
Speaker:when you get those in,
Speaker:I want some to sell here.
Speaker:So I took some over.
Speaker:He also,
Speaker:he already made a pizza out of them.
Speaker:He's posted it on Instagram,
Speaker:the airport,
Speaker:the San Jose Moneta international airport.
Speaker:I have been selling my products there,
Speaker:my art products for going on 12 years.
Speaker:They're in the discover San Jose store.
Speaker:I gave them a jar.
Speaker:They said this is amazing.
Speaker:They ordered five cases and they're reordering already.
Speaker:There's some specialty gift stores and gift basket people who've already
Speaker:purchased some.
Speaker:Sean who's also been on your show with all the buzz
Speaker:gifts, she's going to start carrying them in her line of
Speaker:gift baskets.
Speaker:So we're working on higher end retailers right now,
Speaker:which I can't tell the names,
Speaker:but I will definitely hopefully have more information on that soon.
Speaker:And the online orders have been just going out the door.
Speaker:You are well on your way.
Speaker:That is awesome.
Speaker:So the product from the co-packer comes to you and you're
Speaker:still handling the fulfillment of the orders.
Speaker:Is that how it works right now?
Speaker:Yeah. Right now.
Speaker:Not for long.
Speaker:I can hear that in your voice already.
Speaker:There's something to be said about packing your own orders and
Speaker:shipping them out with a handwritten little,
Speaker:Hey, thanks a lot,
Speaker:yada yada.
Speaker:But that can only work for so long.
Speaker:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker:But yeah,
Speaker:really excited.
Speaker:So exciting.
Speaker:Yeah. Well the future is definitely bright for you.
Speaker:It's amazing.
Speaker:Like I'm afraid of what's going to happen in the next
Speaker:10 years with you cause you're always creating.
Speaker:Except I do know there's going to be more in the
Speaker:line of sweet and spicy,
Speaker:that's for sure.
Speaker:Oh, definitely.
Speaker:And other fusion flavors.
Speaker:Wonderful. That's so exciting.
Speaker:I know.
Speaker:It is exciting.
Speaker:Yeah, it is.
Speaker:I bet you you just have so many ideas.
Speaker:It's like which one do you do first?
Speaker:Yeah, and I have to get mine cause I'm so excited
Speaker:that I just have to keep grounded.
Speaker:But right now I'm going to let this product percolate a
Speaker:little bit.
Speaker:I want to definitely get some more traction on the YouTube
Speaker:channel. I already had one utuber a foodie YouTuber reach out
Speaker:and say,
Speaker:Hey, I'd love to do a recipe with your peppers.
Speaker:Can you send me a jar?
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:heck yeah,
Speaker:I'd say so that went out yesterday and yeah.
Speaker:Awesome. Well we are only beginning to hear about the sweet
Speaker:and spicy with you for sure that I know.
Speaker:Anyway, I thank you so much.
Speaker:I heard you sharing the story about how this all started.
Speaker:I think you did a solo episode on your podcast about
Speaker:it and it was that morning when I went,
Speaker:came in and I'm like,
Speaker:she needs to come back on the show.
Speaker:And that's when I sent you the email and said,
Speaker:Sonya, let's do this again.
Speaker:Are you up for it?
Speaker:Yeah. I was so thrilled that you heard that episode.
Speaker:It was how to spice up your small business.
Speaker:That was the,
Speaker:I think that was the title of it or something.
Speaker:And I obviously listened to your show,
Speaker:right? I know,
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:I listened to your stew.
Speaker:So there you go.
Speaker:There's that.
Speaker:But I'm so excited and I think this is just a
Speaker:great example of how as an artist,
Speaker:one product can lead to another and it you can cross
Speaker:populate what you do because in the end you're a maker,
Speaker:right? You take something that's out there,
Speaker:you adjusted and you change it and then you see if
Speaker:people like it.
Speaker:And if it does,
Speaker:maybe it's something that you can monetize.
Speaker:And because this is so different from art,
Speaker:I thought it was a great,
Speaker:great example and I can hear the excitement in your voice
Speaker:about it too.
Speaker:Just the possibilities and the future and the things you're thinking
Speaker:about and the fact that you had so recently what we're
Speaker:talking like six months ago,
Speaker:a pretty big obstacle to overcome but didn't stop you.
Speaker:And for the,
Speaker:your amazing listeners is that,
Speaker:and I'm gonna share this on my podcast too,
Speaker:that it was on your show,
Speaker:is that when the going get tough,
Speaker:people tend to just hold it in and just think,
Speaker:well that's just the way it is.
Speaker:No, absolutely not.
Speaker:If first of all,
Speaker:if things come too easy,
Speaker:good friends,
Speaker:that's a good thing Doing it right.
Speaker:If things come too easy then why are other people not
Speaker:doing it?
Speaker:They probably are,
Speaker:but it's when those challenges come up,
Speaker:it kind of clears out the field is the way I
Speaker:look at it.
Speaker:Cause a lot of people will fold up,
Speaker:pack up and go home and say the false thing,
Speaker:I'm not cut out for this.
Speaker:Right, right.
Speaker:They think that.
Speaker:Yeah. Well I'm glad you mentioned that too because I did
Speaker:a women's conference two weeks ago,
Speaker:my first vendor show with the peppers and there were a
Speaker:lot of first time vendors there a lot.
Speaker:And by the end of the day,
Speaker:and it was a long day,
Speaker:they had a lot of speakers.
Speaker:It was really great.
Speaker:It was their first time doing this and it was in
Speaker:Modesto, California and I sold a lot of product.
Speaker:I was happy.
Speaker:I mean I brought a little bit of my art stuff
Speaker:too just to decorate the table a little bit.
Speaker:But so many people were sitting there and they had long
Speaker:faces and I said,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:is this your first show?
Speaker:How are you thinking,
Speaker:Oh, I haven't sold anything,
Speaker:but you need to make context.
Speaker:This is all about building.
Speaker:You may not sell a lot today,
Speaker:but you have to take into consideration that you're making amazing
Speaker:contacts and take those business cards and treat them like gold.
Speaker:And the one lady says,
Speaker:this was a mistake.
Speaker:I shouldn't have done this.
Speaker:I'm never doing this again.
Speaker:I swear and that,
Speaker:and I'm thinking,
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:no, no,
Speaker:no, no,
Speaker:no. Here's my card.
Speaker:I run a podcast.
Speaker:You need to listen to it on how to overcome a
Speaker:lot of fear.
Speaker:And if this is your first show,
Speaker:just look at this as information.
Speaker:Follow up with the people that were interested but don't say
Speaker:you're not going to do this anymore.
Speaker:Because this may not have been the venue for you,
Speaker:but the next one you may sell out.
Speaker:So just try to keep things as an open mind.
Speaker:Try to be as positive and if you're negative at your
Speaker:booth or if you're not engaging with people who,
Speaker:why would they want to stick around anyway?
Speaker:Right. You know,
Speaker:want to talk to cranky retail person.
Speaker:That's True.
Speaker:But there's another thing about trade shows too,
Speaker:or any types of shows that you're doing.
Speaker:I think it's gold.
Speaker:It's kind of like a focus group because if like take
Speaker:your example of that woman.
Speaker:If the product's not selling,
Speaker:it's a great opportunity for her to figure out why it
Speaker:might have nothing to do with actual product.
Speaker:I'm assuming it was a consumable product,
Speaker:right? Or something.
Speaker:It was jewelry.
Speaker:Okay, so jewelry.
Speaker:Okay, so let's just go with jewelry.
Speaker:So it wasn't a consumable product,
Speaker:but why is it not selling?
Speaker:Why are people passing it up?
Speaker:Is it the price?
Speaker:Is it the packaging?
Speaker:Is it her style?
Speaker:Because that's just not what people in your area are using.
Speaker:It doesn't mean that her skill as a jewelry maker doesn't
Speaker:work. It just means that what she was presenting to that
Speaker:market, maybe it was the pricing,
Speaker:who knows what it was,
Speaker:but it's a great place to learn and figure that out.
Speaker:So such great learning can happen at shows.
Speaker:Even if she didn't sell anything,
Speaker:she could be learning.
Speaker:And you do by asking people,
Speaker:talking with them and asking the tough questions,
Speaker:I see you're leaving.
Speaker:Why? You know,
Speaker:why were you not interested?
Speaker:Not everyone's going to say,
Speaker:but some people will or do you see which pieces they
Speaker:pick up and look at and try on?
Speaker:Right. You see where the interest is.
Speaker:There's lots of ways to get the information Right.
Speaker:Anyway, there was people that said,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I was given out little samples and stuff,
Speaker:little Cracker with a cream cheese on it with some of
Speaker:the chopped up peppers and some people said,
Speaker:Oh it smells great.
Speaker:I can't have it cause I have stomach issues.
Speaker:Hey, no problem.
Speaker:One lady bluntly said,
Speaker:yeah, I don't like jalapenos and I want to try it.
Speaker:Hey, that's fine.
Speaker:Didn't you say,
Speaker:well, neither do I.
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:this is definitely not your average jalapeno,
Speaker:but we traded cards and exchange some niceties and stuff like
Speaker:that and I've been doing these type of things and have
Speaker:engaged with the public for so long that I just don't
Speaker:even let any of that type of response or negativity or
Speaker:whatever you want to call it affect me because you know,
Speaker:Hey, it's hard Though.
Speaker:I mean you have to learn to have thick skin.
Speaker:You do And you have to get the fact that when
Speaker:there are down times when things like this happen,
Speaker:like what you had or you know and shared,
Speaker:it does not reflect who you are as a person.
Speaker:That's the whole big thing for everyone to understand.
Speaker:It's just situational.
Speaker:You might need to adjust what you're doing.
Speaker:It has nothing to do with your skill,
Speaker:who you are,
Speaker:the value you have as a person.
Speaker:Right? Because so often we'll equate our success in business with
Speaker:how valuable we are as a human being,
Speaker:which is like the easiest thing,
Speaker:but we do,
Speaker:I guess it's human nature,
Speaker:but just to know that that's not true many times helps.
Speaker:Yeah, and thick skin isn't something that you just adopt one
Speaker:day. You have to filter through it and just muddle through
Speaker:it. Yeah.
Speaker:Well, and you have to hear that other people like you
Speaker:have had these problems.
Speaker:You have come across these obstacles and have overcome them and
Speaker:when you see that other people who you admire have also
Speaker:encountered these things,
Speaker:then when it happens to you,
Speaker:you can say,
Speaker:okay, it's not just me.
Speaker:Other people have this too.
Speaker:I'll find a solution and carry on.
Speaker:Right. Absolutely.
Speaker:Well, Sonia,
Speaker:thank you so,
Speaker:so much for coming on.
Speaker:Again, sharing your story,
Speaker:being honest about how things are going.
Speaker:It's such an exciting venture.
Speaker:I'm thrilled that you're here because now all of our listeners
Speaker:can watch and see what's going on.
Speaker:Definitely. You guys watch that YouTube channel.
Speaker:I'm going to put your podcast in the show notes as
Speaker:well. Oh,
Speaker:thank you.
Speaker:So everyone will be able to follow,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:with the whole show notes page as we always do.
Speaker:So again,
Speaker:thank you so much.
Speaker:I'm going to end with asking you to share with us
Speaker:what you see as the future of Sonia sweet and spicy,
Speaker:10 years down the road.
Speaker:What does this look like?
Speaker:Oh gosh.
Speaker:10 years down the road.
Speaker:You can do five if you want.
Speaker:Oh, five yeah.
Speaker:I would just say it all started with a little sweet
Speaker:and spicy.
Speaker:Now my life is nothing but sweet and spicy.
Speaker:Perfect. A great way to end the show.
Speaker:You're the best.
Speaker:Sonia, thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker:Wonderful. Thank you Sue.
Speaker:I really appreciate it and I again love your show And
Speaker:I'm so honored to have been here today.
Speaker:I am not going to leave you in suspense.
Speaker:I did get the samples that Sonya sent me and Oh
Speaker:my gosh,
Speaker:she used the right word,
Speaker:a dictative.
Speaker:Do yourself a favor.
Speaker:If you ever encounter Sonia's sweet and spicy,
Speaker:pick some up.
Speaker:I served it on crackers with goat cheese and then with
Speaker:it spread right on the top.
Speaker:Super yummy,
Speaker:and if you just have to get your hands on some,
Speaker:jump over to her website and order yourself a jar.
Speaker:The show queued up for next week is another example of
Speaker:somebody who has started a business in one way and as
Speaker:time has gone on,
Speaker:there's been a whole new opportunity presented that has grown from
Speaker:the original business.
Speaker:That's up next week on the gift biz unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:Bye for now.
Speaker: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:Apple podcasts.
Speaker:That way you'll automatically get the newest episodes when they go
Speaker:live, and thank you to those of you who have already
Speaker:left a rating and review.
Speaker:By subscribing,
Speaker:rating, and reviewing you help to increase the visibility of gift
Speaker:biz on wrapped.
Speaker:It's a great way to pay it forward to help others
