Shownotes
Rebekah’s Cake Design Story
Moving to the states and discovering her love of baking [3:52] Getting paid was the turning point [6:25] First action steps to being a true business [7:15] Approaching the magazine with a dream in mind [22:26]Candle Flickering Moments
The effects of turning your hobby into a business [13:55] Business growth and pricing implications [14:47]Business Building Insights
The power of an accountability partner [8:07] Surrounding yourself with people already doing what you want to do [10:44] Connecting with local competitors is a PLUS [11:37] Proper pricing is not comparing your price to others [15:52] Defining highly specialized products [17:23] Dress for success – your website is your online presence [19:11] Social media influence on sales [20:40] Advice on your approach if you want to be published [25:52] Meeting with clients as a homebased biz [31:29] Industry specific networking [32:51]Productivity/Lifestyle Tool
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Transcripts
You're listening to gift biz unwrapped episode 124.
Speaker:It was the moment that I was offered money to make
Speaker:a cake that I realized that this was a business.
Speaker:Hi, this is John Lee Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to gifted biz unwrapped,
Speaker:and now it's time to light it.
Speaker:Welcome to gift bears on wrapped your source for industry specific
Speaker:insights and advice to develop and grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host Sue Mona height.
Speaker:Hi there.
Speaker:It's Sue and welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:If you are a gifter Baker,
Speaker:crafter or maker,
Speaker:and you own your own brick and mortar shop sell online
Speaker:or are just getting started,
Speaker:you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your
Speaker:business. And today I have joining us,
Speaker:Rebecca Wilbur,
Speaker:Rebecca is the editor of America cake decorating magazine,
Speaker:and she owns her own business called Rebecca Naomi cake design.
Speaker:Her greatest professional achievement as a cake decorator is creating a
Speaker:14 tier cake for the wedding of Kristin Jarvis West.
Speaker:Kristen was the chief of staff to Michelle Obama and both
Speaker:the first lady and the first daughter were in attendance and
Speaker:enjoyed a piece of Rebecca's masterpiece.
Speaker:Rebecca is also a trained musician and has taught both piano
Speaker:and saxophone shortly.
Speaker:We'll Hear how she made that leap to become a cake
Speaker:artist. Welcome to the show,
Speaker:Rebecca. Hi,
Speaker:thanks for having me on the show.
Speaker:So it's great to be here.
Speaker:So very excited to talk to you.
Speaker:Fabulous. And I like to start off our conversation in a
Speaker:little bit of an untraditional way,
Speaker:and that is by having you describe yourself through a motivational
Speaker:candle. So if you were to pick a color that you
Speaker:just always have gravitated to,
Speaker:and some type of a quote or a motto or something
Speaker:that leads how you feel about life in general,
Speaker:I guess I'll say,
Speaker:what would your candle look like?
Speaker:What would be the color and what would be the quote?
Speaker:So I have always gravitated to the color blue and a
Speaker:lot of my cake they're actually blue.
Speaker:So, or I would say the ones that have been very
Speaker:successful for me,
Speaker:I've been blue.
Speaker:So I think my candle would be blue.
Speaker:It, it sort of feels harmonious to me calming and that
Speaker:the creative space that I'm in when I'm taking decorating.
Speaker:So definitely it would be blue.
Speaker:And in terms of a quote,
Speaker:I guess,
Speaker:a motto that I've lived by is that you don't wait
Speaker:for opportunity.
Speaker:You create your own opportunity.
Speaker:Love that.
Speaker:Yeah, that's the motto of my cake decorating career.
Speaker:Those when I was a hobbyist and when I turned it
Speaker:into a business,
Speaker:We're so fortunate.
Speaker:Now we live in a time when we don't have to
Speaker:sit back and wait for someone to discover us.
Speaker:If we just are brave enough,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:get that courage going and present ourselves out there.
Speaker:We can form our own path.
Speaker:We don't have to sit back.
Speaker:Like we all felt it used to be that you had
Speaker:to wait to be discovered,
Speaker:and you're just sitting there back crossing your fingers and you
Speaker:had no control.
Speaker:So I think that quote is really,
Speaker:really great for this day and age.
Speaker:So, and it also leads us perfectly into what I want
Speaker:to talk about first,
Speaker:which is what led you into baking and cake decorating?
Speaker:Well, I've always,
Speaker:and I think a lot of artists feel the same way.
Speaker:Creativity is something that is part of our core being.
Speaker:So no matter what we do in my,
Speaker:or what career path we choose,
Speaker:we are always gravitating towards creative art and as a means
Speaker:of expression.
Speaker:And it's almost like a need rather than something that we
Speaker:choose to do.
Speaker:It's something that we absolutely have to do.
Speaker:So basically to cut a very,
Speaker:very long story short when I moved to the States in
Speaker:my early twenties,
Speaker:from the UK,
Speaker:and I had emigrated here to get married,
Speaker:I was unable to work for a period of time because
Speaker:I didn't have the visa to be able to pursue any
Speaker:sort of career.
Speaker:I was fortunate.
Speaker:I was on Cape Cod at the time,
Speaker:and I was living with my inmost because my husband and
Speaker:I had not yet gotten to the point of me getting
Speaker:a job or even a driver's license.
Speaker:And I had a lot of sort of very lonely days.
Speaker:And I ended up baking as a means to pass the
Speaker:time. And I loved it.
Speaker:I was very passionate about it,
Speaker:and I really enjoyed sharing some of the recipes that I
Speaker:had from back home with my new family.
Speaker:And then when we,
Speaker:obviously we moved out and I did have a job,
Speaker:but when my daughter was born again,
Speaker:I took some time away from my career,
Speaker:which at the time was,
Speaker:I was a resume writer for the us air force.
Speaker:And I just started baking again.
Speaker:And I think it was when I made her first birthday
Speaker:cake that I sort of really started to look at cake
Speaker:decorating as an art form.
Speaker:And I enjoyed making artistic cakes and seeing that as a
Speaker:creative Avenue.
Speaker:So you saw that this was something you really enjoyed spending
Speaker:your time doing.
Speaker:At what point then did you think?
Speaker:Well, I can actually start making money on this too.
Speaker:It was a very slow progression.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I think a lot of business owners have the same story
Speaker:in a way,
Speaker:especially in the creative fields,
Speaker:you do something and you realize you're good at it.
Speaker:You realize that you enjoy it.
Speaker:I think basically what happened was as time went on and
Speaker:I was making more and more cakes,
Speaker:I would have friends that would come up to me and
Speaker:say, Hey,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:my son's turning three next month.
Speaker:Would you be able to make a cake for the birthday
Speaker:party? And I started making cakes for friends and family.
Speaker:I wasn't charging them at the time.
Speaker:I was still looking at this as a hobby.
Speaker:And it was the moment that I was offered money to
Speaker:make a cake.
Speaker:But I realized that this was a business.
Speaker:It was always something I envisioned I could do from home.
Speaker:Something I could make my own hours with.
Speaker:I could set my own schedule.
Speaker:I could be my own boss.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:those are always things that had appeal to me.
Speaker:And so it was kind of a natural fit,
Speaker:really. So was it one of your friends who had said
Speaker:I'll even pay you for it?
Speaker:Yeah. Friends started to want to pay me because I was
Speaker:doing more and more elaborate cakes Cause they wanted to come
Speaker:back to you again and again,
Speaker:I didn't realize the amount of effort that went into making
Speaker:those creations.
Speaker:So they started offering to pay me and looking back,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:obviously back then,
Speaker:I wasn't really expecting a huge amount of money and things
Speaker:have changed in that respect.
Speaker:Sure. It was the mentality of realizing that I was creating
Speaker:a product that could be sold.
Speaker:So assigning a dollar value to your gift,
Speaker:to your talent does that.
Speaker:So what types of things,
Speaker:Things did you need to do now?
Speaker:You've identified that all right,
Speaker:the blinkers went on,
Speaker:this could be a business,
Speaker:not just even accepting money,
Speaker:but like a real true business.
Speaker:What types of steps did you take then to actually turn
Speaker:it from being a hobby,
Speaker:even a hobby where people were paying you a little bit
Speaker:on the side to being a real business,
Speaker:what steps did you need to take to do that?
Speaker:There were an awful lot of steps that were taken in
Speaker:over the course of many years.
Speaker:And it was sort of like you learn as you go
Speaker:along. Initially in the beginning,
Speaker:I realized that I needed to have a presence.
Speaker:People needed to be able to find the outside of my
Speaker:circle of friends.
Speaker:So of course I did cultivate word of mouth relationships,
Speaker:but I needed a brand.
Speaker:So I looked into branding myself,
Speaker:naming my business.
Speaker:There's a kind of initial steps.
Speaker:And then of course,
Speaker:looking at the legal aspects surrounding having a home-based bakery,
Speaker:it was doing an awful lot of research and trying to
Speaker:connect with people online that were in similar situations.
Speaker:To me,
Speaker:I'm seeing what the stories were to gain perspective and see
Speaker:what my next steps could be.
Speaker:You joined some type of a group with other bakers who
Speaker:were all over the country or something like that.
Speaker:Online. I actually conveniently had a friend who was in the
Speaker:UK, who I'd gone to school with,
Speaker:who was following a very similar journey to me.
Speaker:She was also a cake decorator and she was looking to
Speaker:start a business.
Speaker:And I was sort of looking at her and being motivated
Speaker:by what she was doing.
Speaker:And I think it brought out the competitive aspect in me
Speaker:because it stopped me from just sort of plodding along on
Speaker:this journey to sort of getting focused and setting myself goals.
Speaker:And I saw that she had joined various cake decorating groups
Speaker:where people were sharing it by sharing their work.
Speaker:And I followed suit and did the same thing.
Speaker:I saw her brand,
Speaker:her business,
Speaker:she designed a logo.
Speaker:She had a great name.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:all of these things were sort of like a blueprint or
Speaker:a map for me to be,
Speaker:to implement those things myself.
Speaker:Yeah. And I think having an accountability partner like that,
Speaker:you don't want to fall short.
Speaker:I'm sure it probably helped prompt you to keep going to
Speaker:not only showing you the path,
Speaker:but okay.
Speaker:If she's doing it,
Speaker:I can do it.
Speaker:Definitely. I do recall I was sitting at home in my
Speaker:basement and I recently,
Speaker:I think that weekend done a couple of cakes for some
Speaker:friends. And I had a Facebook page because everyone in this
Speaker:industry has a Facebook page.
Speaker:Even if you're not a business,
Speaker:even if you're a hobbyist,
Speaker:you want to be able to share your work with others.
Speaker:It's a badge of honor.
Speaker:It's something you take great pride over.
Speaker:And she had a Facebook page and I was looking at
Speaker:her page and seeing she had 400 likes and people were
Speaker:studying to review her business.
Speaker:And I remember thinking,
Speaker:well, I need to step this up,
Speaker:Nothing wrong with that.
Speaker:Right? A little bit of a push there.
Speaker:Yeah. A push,
Speaker:a competitive push.
Speaker:But those things motivated me,
Speaker:not out of a sense of wanting to be better than
Speaker:her, but making me realize exactly what you said.
Speaker:If she can do this,
Speaker:I can do this and forging ahead and making myself meet
Speaker:these goals that I was creating for myself on a daily
Speaker:basis. And you know,
Speaker:there's nothing that says we have to do this alone.
Speaker:I was hearing the other day and I believe this,
Speaker:that pretty much everything has been created already,
Speaker:unless you're going to be making the brand new version of
Speaker:iPhone or something like drones or,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:whatever it is.
Speaker:But a lot of the things that we're doing have been
Speaker:done before.
Speaker:So we don't have to reinvent the wheel.
Speaker:And I love that.
Speaker:You talk about the fact that you went out and searched
Speaker:for people who have either already done it or are doing
Speaker:it already.
Speaker:It makes things so much easier and it's not cheating.
Speaker:Would you agree,
Speaker:Rebecca? It's not cheating.
Speaker:Oh, it's not cheating.
Speaker:A lot of the people that are in,
Speaker:I call it a community because I feel like I'm part
Speaker:of a community of cake decorators.
Speaker:And a lot of us are business owners.
Speaker:But one thing I found is people are very willing to
Speaker:share. They're willing to share their experiences good and bad to
Speaker:help others that are coming up to avoid making those mistakes.
Speaker:And there are a lot of mistakes that businesses make.
Speaker:And they're always willing to offer advice,
Speaker:Especially a business like yours too,
Speaker:because it's mostly local.
Speaker:There's no way you're going to be carrying a 14 to
Speaker:your cake through the mail,
Speaker:sending it through the mail or something,
Speaker:right. To a point to a point.
Speaker:But so the point being that you're really not competing with
Speaker:a lot of the people that are in there,
Speaker:your community,
Speaker:if you're in different areas of the country,
Speaker:Yes, we're not competing and funny that you mentioned that I'm
Speaker:actually very connected with the local bakers that are in my
Speaker:immediate vicinity and those that are what we would traditionally call
Speaker:competitors. Because I see them as a network.
Speaker:We're a network of people that are all trying to do
Speaker:something similar.
Speaker:And honestly,
Speaker:I always have that.
Speaker:You build each other up and you do that by supporting
Speaker:one another.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:I think in terms of my competition locally,
Speaker:I friended them because if I am not able to do
Speaker:an order or to make a cake and I'm able to
Speaker:give them this bit,
Speaker:then they're also able to do the same thing for me.
Speaker:We're able to refer people to one another and also,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I'm a small business.
Speaker:If I'm not able to make the cake,
Speaker:then what happens to the client?
Speaker:And I've been fortunate.
Speaker:There's only been one instance in the last five years where
Speaker:I've been unable to fulfill an order,
Speaker:but I actually came down with a very bad flu a
Speaker:few years ago and I was scheduled to do a wedding
Speaker:cake and I was unable to make it.
Speaker:And I was able to reach out to this network of
Speaker:bakers and ask them to pick up the order for me
Speaker:last minute and to take that pressure away from the ride.
Speaker:So I think networking locally is extremely important for the growth,
Speaker:the business.
Speaker:I Love that you brought that up too,
Speaker:because I think there is enough business for everybody.
Speaker:And your point about how you were able to,
Speaker:even though you weren't able to service that wedding cake,
Speaker:you were able to call upon your local community to help
Speaker:is servicing the customer.
Speaker:And in the end,
Speaker:that's the most important thing.
Speaker:And would you say then that that person would still come
Speaker:back to you probably first.
Speaker:So you're not really losing the business Long term.
Speaker:Yes. And ultimately,
Speaker:even if the customer doesn't come back,
Speaker:I still got an excellent review and I was able to
Speaker:satisfy the needs of that customer and they weren't very happy.
Speaker:And ultimately that's what my business should be about.
Speaker:Absolutely. So you referenced a little bit back that the journey
Speaker:and building and growing a business is not without its struggles.
Speaker:Can you tell us something that was really,
Speaker:really challenging as you were building and growing and what you
Speaker:did about the situation?
Speaker:There's a lot of things.
Speaker:I think in relation to me being a creative individual,
Speaker:when you turn a hobby into a business,
Speaker:you change your hobby because your meeting the needs of a
Speaker:client, you no longer just doing things for the joy of
Speaker:doing that.
Speaker:And that was a challenge because at first I got an
Speaker:awful lot of satisfaction from creating birthday cakes and celebration cake.
Speaker:But after you've made 15,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:Disney, frozen cakes and dream of you start to lose the
Speaker:motivation and it becomes almost you resent to in a way
Speaker:that's something that's difficult to get past.
Speaker:And I eventually had evolved my business,
Speaker:but I was able to do more creative projects,
Speaker:but it certainly took time to do that.
Speaker:So I think that's one of the obstacles for sure.
Speaker:And secondly,
Speaker:I would say it's about another problem with the growth in
Speaker:terms of pricing,
Speaker:when you start out,
Speaker:most people vastly undervalue themselves and undercharge,
Speaker:Oh, you are so right.
Speaker:Yes. It's a huge problem.
Speaker:Not just for your own business,
Speaker:but for other businesses as well,
Speaker:because you bring down the market value,
Speaker:especially in your area.
Speaker:And that creates problems for others in the industry.
Speaker:This is a good point and give biz listeners.
Speaker:I want you to really think about this in relationship to
Speaker:what you're doing,
Speaker:because I think in the beginning,
Speaker:we'll have a tendency to say,
Speaker:well, we're just learning.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:we're just learning this business part of it because everybody here,
Speaker:who's listening,
Speaker:probably isn't an expert at their craft.
Speaker:You're actually making,
Speaker:if it's baking,
Speaker:if it's creating jewelry,
Speaker:whatever it is.
Speaker:But you kind of forget about when you start transitioning over
Speaker:in the beginning to selling that the value of your time,
Speaker:the value of all your products,
Speaker:the fact that you need margin.
Speaker:And it is so much harder to increase your prices later
Speaker:than the command,
Speaker:the correct price in the beginning.
Speaker:I do think people undervalue themselves and also one common mistake
Speaker:that people particularly in my industry make.
Speaker:I'm not sure if it's the same for other industries,
Speaker:but they seek advice and they will ask others,
Speaker:well, what do you charge?
Speaker:And they're looking at it the wrong way,
Speaker:because there are so many different factors at play and location.
Speaker:What clients,
Speaker:your targeting,
Speaker:et cetera,
Speaker:the cost of ingredients in your area or the cost of
Speaker:products in your area.
Speaker:So they're looking at others as a model rather than looking
Speaker:at themselves and saying,
Speaker:okay, what does it actually cost me to make this product?
Speaker:What should a healthy profit margin be?
Speaker:And then compiling a price list from that?
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:So I think people don't have the experience to self-analyze and
Speaker:figure out what their pricing structure should be.
Speaker:And so what would you say to somebody?
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you obviously can't be so out of whack with the norm,
Speaker:right? You have to be somewhat within a certain range.
Speaker:I think it depends,
Speaker:obviously for me,
Speaker:I did do some market research.
Speaker:I called around other bakeries to see what the average price
Speaker:was for an eight inch cake,
Speaker:et cetera,
Speaker:or a three tier wedding cake.
Speaker:But ultimately,
Speaker:as I grew my business,
Speaker:I came to realize that I was creating very highly specialized
Speaker:product and I stopped comparing myself to others.
Speaker:So I think it depends on the product you're creating on
Speaker:your journey,
Speaker:but certainly in the beginning you would want to establish yourself
Speaker:competitively with those around you.
Speaker:So explain to us a little bit what you were just
Speaker:talking about in terms of a highly specialized product.
Speaker:What does that mean?
Speaker:Well, I guess the way that I look at it is
Speaker:I give you an analogy of the fashion industry.
Speaker:You have people that you have even stores,
Speaker:chains that create great clothes and you know,
Speaker:they fit the need.
Speaker:And then you have the high end hope couture,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:designers that are creating custom,
Speaker:one of a kind,
Speaker:very highly specialized pieces that people are willing to pay more
Speaker:money for.
Speaker:And that's kind of how I see myself in relation to
Speaker:this industry.
Speaker:The cakes that I make are very,
Speaker:I think,
Speaker:very highly specialized.
Speaker:They take a lot of time.
Speaker:The techniques so far advanced the ingredients are very high quality.
Speaker:It's a bespoke service and a bespoke product.
Speaker:I would also think that as you've developed your business and
Speaker:the clientele that you now have such as doing the wedding
Speaker:cake for Kristin,
Speaker:right? And now the connection with the Obama family,
Speaker:just through that,
Speaker:that you're able to command a little bit of a higher
Speaker:price because a bride is able to say,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:you're not going to believe this.
Speaker:I got my wedding cake from the same person who makes
Speaker:so-and-so. And so,
Speaker:and when your reputation gets bigger,
Speaker:your brand gets more known.
Speaker:Then you can also come in The higher price that way.
Speaker:Definitely. You're not just selling your product anymore than you're selling
Speaker:yourself. Why would anyone buy a pair of Jimmy Choos?
Speaker:It's a great product,
Speaker:but you also want to just own a pair of Jimmy
Speaker:Choos. I think it's the same kind of crossover analogy to
Speaker:where I hope to grow my business and that my name
Speaker:has value to it has a dollar value attached to it
Speaker:in a sense Which all goes back to the brand then
Speaker:to, yes,
Speaker:your brand.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:very clear on your brand,
Speaker:the audience that you're looking at approaching right from the beginning
Speaker:so that you can start making headway right away in terms
Speaker:of your reputation.
Speaker:Yeah. In the industry,
Speaker:a lot of people will ask me,
Speaker:how do you get high on wedding clients?
Speaker:And I'll go to their website and their websites culprit in
Speaker:cute birthday cakes.
Speaker:And I'll say,
Speaker:well, you really have to dress for the job you want.
Speaker:If you want to make high-end wedding cakes.
Speaker:And someone goes to your website and they're not seeing high
Speaker:end wedding cakes,
Speaker:they're not going to book those things.
Speaker:So you really have to represent a product that you want
Speaker:to create.
Speaker:Even if you don't have that clientele at the moment,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:there are things that you can do to brand yourself.
Speaker:She captured those clients.
Speaker:And that goes through with exactly what you're saying.
Speaker:You want to dress the part you want all your social
Speaker:platforms to look the same.
Speaker:It has to be the same vibe going through everything.
Speaker:So your website,
Speaker:your social media sites,
Speaker:when people see you in person,
Speaker:all of it has to be the same because if people
Speaker:see that it looks different than a level of trust goes
Speaker:down. So something for all of us to always be remembering
Speaker:is that we're having the same feel in the same touch.
Speaker:And that goes with colors and wording and everything throughout every
Speaker:touch point,
Speaker:including answering the phone,
Speaker:taking orders,
Speaker:the whole thing,
Speaker:every touch point along the way.
Speaker:So what would you say,
Speaker:and we're still with your business,
Speaker:cause I want to get onto the magazine in a second,
Speaker:but is there something that you're doing that you see really
Speaker:helps move the needle in terms of bringing in business?
Speaker:Well, I definitely use social media a lot uncertainly.
Speaker:I think that this,
Speaker:this, this now social media marketing and advertising,
Speaker:anything, just having a,
Speaker:is extremely important to the growth of your business.
Speaker:For me working with brides and the majority of rides that
Speaker:I'm dealing with are millennials.
Speaker:And this generation has a different approach to how they be
Speaker:businesses. They immediately gravitate to social media and they want to
Speaker:be able to talk with you via social media.
Speaker:They don't necessarily want to pick up the phone to establish
Speaker:first contact.
Speaker:They might look up your business via Instagram,
Speaker:or they may look up your business via Facebook.
Speaker:So I definitely think social media is one area that I've
Speaker:optimized to grow my business.
Speaker:And are you saying Facebook and Instagram,
Speaker:your strongest platform?
Speaker:Definitely. Facebook is my strongest platform.
Speaker:And I would say in the last year,
Speaker:Instagram has definitely grown exponentially.
Speaker:So I'm reaching a lot more clients through Instagram and Facebook.
Speaker:Now what about Pinterest?
Speaker:Pinterest? A little bit.
Speaker:It's funny.
Speaker:I will get contact from other bakers via Pinterest where a
Speaker:bride has seen one of my cakes on Pinterest and taken
Speaker:a picture of it to a Baker.
Speaker:And then they'll source it back to me and they'll call
Speaker:me or they'll message me and say,
Speaker:Hey, my bride has fallen in love with this design.
Speaker:Can we do a version,
Speaker:all that?
Speaker:Or can we use it et cetera?
Speaker:So the interest has definitely been a tool for me to
Speaker:connect with the industry,
Speaker:but not so much with brides specifically.
Speaker:Interesting. Okay.
Speaker:Well, you know,
Speaker:the business comes from all different places,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:Let's talk now about how you got involved with the magazine.
Speaker:How did that all start out?
Speaker:Well, I had been a cake decorator,
Speaker:a cake artist in the community for several years and I
Speaker:had reached out to American cake decorating magazine in that time
Speaker:to offer,
Speaker:to make tutorials for them or to write editorial pieces.
Speaker:And over the course of a few years,
Speaker:I had sort of established a relationship with them as a
Speaker:contributor. Of course,
Speaker:the reason I did that was because it was always a
Speaker:bucket list thing for me to be published.
Speaker:And I think it is for a lot of businesses.
Speaker:It's sort of like,
Speaker:you feel like you've made it when you've been published.
Speaker:So I got in touch with the magazine and the editor
Speaker:at the time was a lady called Susan Schultz and asked
Speaker:her if she'd be interested in featuring some of my work.
Speaker:And it kind of grew from there and you did one
Speaker:project and that went really well.
Speaker:And then you were offered another opportunity and it grew and
Speaker:grew and grew.
Speaker:So that's how I became involved with the magazine.
Speaker:And what's your position now with the magazine?
Speaker:I'm the managing editor of the magazine now.
Speaker:That's pretty cool.
Speaker:Yeah. I love the job Back to the quote on your
Speaker:candle is you didn't sit back and wait and hope that
Speaker:someone would approach you.
Speaker:You approach them.
Speaker:Yes. I had wanted this.
Speaker:Like I said,
Speaker:it was a bucket list thing.
Speaker:It was a goal,
Speaker:a life goal to be published.
Speaker:And I just did some research and found the appropriate contact.
Speaker:And of course it's nerve wracking because you are terrified of
Speaker:being rejected.
Speaker:Sure. And this is something I take into consideration.
Speaker:Now when people contact me for publication features,
Speaker:if they aren't quite where they need to be for publication,
Speaker:we'll always work with them and give them advice on what
Speaker:they can do to reach that level.
Speaker:I'm pretty involved in helping people to achieve those dreams and
Speaker:facilitate those life goals.
Speaker:Once you then were published,
Speaker:did you see a change in the way people would approach
Speaker:you a difference in the quality there or the pricing you
Speaker:could offer that kind of thing.
Speaker:So what you were anticipating would happen,
Speaker:did it actually happen?
Speaker:Yes, it did.
Speaker:Especially when I was published in bridal magazines,
Speaker:bridal publications,
Speaker:it sort of validated my business and I was able to
Speaker:use that as promotional tools on my website and online,
Speaker:and also to include those images in my portfolio,
Speaker:which were impressive to brides and also validated my price point
Speaker:And so important.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you are doing upper end cakes obviously,
Speaker:and not only is it the price that they're spending,
Speaker:just the money that they're putting out,
Speaker:but it's the event like you can't redo a wedding cake.
Speaker:If your wedding cake doesn't taste good or isn't pretty,
Speaker:you have to land at each and every time because an
Speaker:event is a one-time event.
Speaker:So having that credibility in terms of who you've done cakes
Speaker:for in the past,
Speaker:and then being written up,
Speaker:I'm sure number one allows you to get the price points
Speaker:that you do and also get to more business because people
Speaker:want to go with someone that they know has the credentials
Speaker:plain and easy.
Speaker:If someone is listening right now and thinking,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I never thought about that before.
Speaker:This is something that I should be doing.
Speaker:They first need to find out who it is that they
Speaker:should be making contact with.
Speaker:But then what do you say?
Speaker:What's the approach In terms of publication?
Speaker:They usually will message me.
Speaker:And a lot of the messages are sort of the saying,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I would love to be featured in the magazine and they
Speaker:usually will send me some pictures of their cakes,
Speaker:but I would suggest to anyone who's interested in doing this
Speaker:as first find the appropriate person that you need to send
Speaker:your information,
Speaker:to make sure that you address them by name in the
Speaker:email, make sure that your email is clean and concise and
Speaker:free of typographical errors and include links to your website,
Speaker:your social media platforms,
Speaker:and some really good images of your takes that have been
Speaker:previously unpublished or not featured anywhere.
Speaker:And let's say,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:a popular blog or something like that.
Speaker:So you're looking for unique photos then For sure,
Speaker:Certainly photographs that have not been previously published.
Speaker:And are you getting a lot of requests?
Speaker:Yes. I get a lot of requests.
Speaker:I probably get anywhere between 10 and 50 a week of
Speaker:people who don't want to be featured in the magazine in
Speaker:some capacity.
Speaker:So it's a lot of contributors or potential contributors.
Speaker:And a lot of obviously there's a lot of very,
Speaker:very talented people in the industry.
Speaker:So that's exciting.
Speaker:How do you choose?
Speaker:I try to include as many people as possible.
Speaker:We feature between 50 and 70 contributors and every single issue
Speaker:and we've published six issues a year.
Speaker:So if we are not able to feature them in print,
Speaker:I will try to feature them online.
Speaker:I will try to feature them in our newsletter.
Speaker:So I'm always trying to find a way to be able
Speaker:to give them the exposure that they're looking for.
Speaker:Giving back to the industry.
Speaker:That's wonderful.
Speaker:Jumping back just one more time now,
Speaker:back to the cake business,
Speaker:cause I want to make sure that we bring this in
Speaker:customer service with your business.
Speaker:What types of special things do you do?
Speaker:I would suggest that the more pricey the product,
Speaker:the higher level of customer service you would probably need to
Speaker:have, what types of things do you do so that people
Speaker:will want to come back to you again,
Speaker:in order again,
Speaker:apart from the fact that the product has to be fabulous?
Speaker:Well, I invested quite a lot of money in my marketing
Speaker:products. So for example,
Speaker:I don't just have a business card.
Speaker:I have a brochure and I usually take these with me
Speaker:to networking events,
Speaker:or I don't do that many cake shows anymore,
Speaker:but I've done a couple and I will take some to
Speaker:the cake show.
Speaker:And I've invested in marketing products for cake shows,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:nice backdrops,
Speaker:clean downers.
Speaker:All of my products are branded.
Speaker:And so like you said,
Speaker:there's cohesion and athlete aspect of my business.
Speaker:And it's still pretty much just me.
Speaker:I don't have a huge team of people,
Speaker:but obviously in terms of dealing with clients,
Speaker:it's about being very responsive and having a professional tone to
Speaker:every thing that you do,
Speaker:whether it's an email,
Speaker:even if it's a message by a Facebook,
Speaker:you're not talking to a friend here,
Speaker:you're talking to a potential client.
Speaker:So even though the platform itself is informal,
Speaker:your approach to that client should not be good point.
Speaker:And that's something you need to remember.
Speaker:Yeah. And are you seeing people are reaching out to you
Speaker:now in all different ways,
Speaker:email, Facebook messages,
Speaker:all different types of things?
Speaker:Yes, definitely.
Speaker:And particularly with Facebook,
Speaker:I mean my business,
Speaker:I will get messages at two o'clock in the morning at
Speaker:five o'clock in the morning.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it sounds insane,
Speaker:but you know,
Speaker:if you're abroad and you're planning a wedding and you happen
Speaker:to cross someone's Facebook page and you get excited,
Speaker:you're going to reach out to,
Speaker:so I will usually get requests at odd times and odd
Speaker:hours, particularly on the weekends.
Speaker:And I would say that if you are not equipped to
Speaker:work during the weekend or those odd hours,
Speaker:which we're not make sure that you have a response set
Speaker:up so that your client is not just left in the
Speaker:dark, they know that you will be getting back to them
Speaker:within a certain timeframe and make sure that you do that
Speaker:and you follow up with them.
Speaker:So it's important to plan for those things.
Speaker:Absolutely. So what do you do if you get a Facebook
Speaker:message at two o'clock on Saturday morning?
Speaker:So if I get a message at two o'clock in the
Speaker:morning, obviously I'm not going to be online,
Speaker:but I have my messaging in Facebook set up to send
Speaker:out an automatic response.
Speaker:It actually has my logo and branding on it.
Speaker:It's very polite and it will help them that I will
Speaker:reach out to them if it's Saturday,
Speaker:it would be on Monday.
Speaker:And then as soon as I can on Monday,
Speaker:I will reach out to them again personally and try to
Speaker:establish contact so that I can talk to them over the
Speaker:phone. Cause I do not like to conduct all my business
Speaker:by email or via message.
Speaker:I would like to have a phone phone conversation with my
Speaker:clients so that I can get to know them and we
Speaker:can establish a rapport and a relationship straight away.
Speaker:It feels more personable to me to be able to do
Speaker:that. It's important to me.
Speaker:Right. Right.
Speaker:And using that example that we were just talking about,
Speaker:they know then even just,
Speaker:if it's an automatic response that there's been some action on
Speaker:your end,
Speaker:do you know,
Speaker:they're just not putting a message out into this abyss,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:but they've heard something back.
Speaker:And so that I think would appease people and clearly everyone
Speaker:understands not being around on Sundays.
Speaker:Right. In terms of meeting with clients,
Speaker:because obviously it's a challenge,
Speaker:especially if you have a home business to meet with clients,
Speaker:my home is not equipped to host clients and I conduct
Speaker:my business from the home in terms of,
Speaker:I make cakes here.
Speaker:So it's not clean and spotless 24 hours a day.
Speaker:It's clean of course,
Speaker:but there's usually baking going on and it's a little haphazard
Speaker:to host clients in that type of environment.
Speaker:And so I have an established relationship with a beautiful bed
Speaker:and breakfast that is within close proximity of my business.
Speaker:And I hope tastings there usually once or twice a month
Speaker:throughout the summer.
Speaker:And then let's say once,
Speaker:every couple of months throughout the winter time,
Speaker:and I book clients at time slots to meet me at
Speaker:that in breakfast,
Speaker:it provides a professional atmosphere,
Speaker:professional setting to conduct the tasting.
Speaker:And it allows me to be able to more adequately manage
Speaker:those clients and group them together so that I'm not throwing
Speaker:time away here.
Speaker:And they're booking one client one weekend,
Speaker:one client another week.
Speaker:I can bake all of my samples and meet with the
Speaker:clients in one day.
Speaker:Right. Perfect.
Speaker:And that sounds a beautiful setup Because it also sounds right
Speaker:in line with your upscale branding.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you're not meeting at a coffee shop either you're meeting in
Speaker:a nice setting.
Speaker:So that sounds great.
Speaker:What you were talking a little bit earlier about networking events.
Speaker:What are you doing in that regard?
Speaker:I'm involved quite heavily in a group here in Virginia corporate,
Speaker:Virginia wedding and event network.
Speaker:And it's a V awe and I'm a member.
Speaker:It's a paid membership and it's a very broad network of
Speaker:wedding professionals.
Speaker:It's not cake specific,
Speaker:but I'm able to connect with professionals across all aspects of
Speaker:this industry.
Speaker:And it's been a great resource for me.
Speaker:So I've very much enjoyed being a part of that group.
Speaker:So professional networks within your industry versus a chamber of commerce
Speaker:or something like that.
Speaker:Yeah. I mean,
Speaker:we have local meetups or restaurants.
Speaker:We'll do a business card exchanges and I've been able to
Speaker:participate in things like styled shoots by the Virginia wedding and
Speaker:event network.
Speaker:So Rebecca,
Speaker:let's talk a little bit about how you work your normal
Speaker:day, your baking at home and your in a very similar
Speaker:situation that I hear all the time is the more business
Speaker:you get in,
Speaker:the more you're making work for yourself.
Speaker:You're the one making the cakes.
Speaker:You've decided that you want to keep it for the most
Speaker:part, a one woman show,
Speaker:which is wonderful.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we're so lucky to be able to have that choice bigger
Speaker:is not always better in terms of more volume.
Speaker:You're also doing the magazines.
Speaker:You've got a couple of things going on now.
Speaker:Is there something that you could share that a tool or
Speaker:something that you're using all the time that keeps everything like,
Speaker:I guess I would say it just keeps you in control.
Speaker:Yeah. I mean,
Speaker:I'm all about time-saving and streamlining things.
Speaker:So in terms of managing my business,
Speaker:I have a schedule.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it sounds like a simple tool,
Speaker:but it's very effective.
Speaker:I know what my daily tasks are.
Speaker:I knew what my weekly tasks are.
Speaker:I know what my monthly tasks are and I implement software.
Speaker:Certainly that's able to help me to manage that.
Speaker:What are you using for social media?
Speaker:I use hoot suite because I'm able to operate different platforms
Speaker:simultaneously. It's a great tool for being able to look at
Speaker:your analytics and see where you're resonating and what clients you're
Speaker:reaching and how effective your marketing strategies are.
Speaker:And in terms of my home life,
Speaker:I have a SharePoint system set up.
Speaker:So this is something unfortunate.
Speaker:My husband works in it and he's able to design new
Speaker:things. So he created a system for me that helps me
Speaker:to manage both of my businesses And that's called a SharePoint
Speaker:system. So that's something that's unique to you that you have
Speaker:yourself. It's a database that he created for me to be
Speaker:able to manage all of my clients.
Speaker:I can auto generate emails.
Speaker:I can auto generate invoicing.
Speaker:It's linked to my PayPal account.
Speaker:It's sort of all about streamlining my business operations.
Speaker:And then what do you do to stay up to date
Speaker:with your industry?
Speaker:I think I already know since you're involved with the magazine,
Speaker:but is there something that you do in addition to all
Speaker:the articles and all of the information that goes through the
Speaker:magazine so that you stay current within your industry?
Speaker:Yeah, I think what happens,
Speaker:it operates two ways.
Speaker:In some ways we are creating the new trends,
Speaker:because like I said,
Speaker:it kind of puts us down from the top.
Speaker:And a lot of the things that I do because they're
Speaker:so custom,
Speaker:it's dictated by the bride and certainly things that are trending
Speaker:within the fashion industry and within the wedding industry,
Speaker:I do a lot of research myself.
Speaker:I'm always looking on interests and trying to be abreast of
Speaker:the latest trends.
Speaker:And it's really important to do that.
Speaker:Research yourself as well,
Speaker:I would say,
Speaker:and make sure that you are meeting the needs of the
Speaker:client. One thing that I like to do is I like
Speaker:to look at Pantone Pantone website for the course of the
Speaker:year. It helps me to know what the upcoming trending pallets
Speaker:are. And I'll usually create cake displays that are obviously boom
Speaker:and size,
Speaker:but they allow me to take photographs of those peaks and
Speaker:then use them for promotion marketing when I want to reach
Speaker:2018 and 2019 18 brides.
Speaker:So I'm always looking in search.
Speaker:Yeah. All right.
Speaker:Great. And then,
Speaker:is there any advice if someone is in a spot that
Speaker:you were in way back when,
Speaker:or some of these new people who are coming in and,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:want to get recognized within your magazine?
Speaker:Is there any advice you'd give to someone who's just starting
Speaker:out? They're just getting on their way.
Speaker:They maybe not haven't taken the first step yet.
Speaker:They've been thinking about it,
Speaker:but they just haven't gotten started yet.
Speaker:Okay. If you're thinking about starting a business and you're a
Speaker:hobbyist and you're quite good at your craft and you're at
Speaker:that point where you think,
Speaker:okay, I could turn this into a business.
Speaker:I would say one thing that I did that facilitated me
Speaker:to be able to do that easily was investing in a
Speaker:good camera.
Speaker:It's something that people don't really think of,
Speaker:but it's something that you can easily do.
Speaker:And honestly,
Speaker:I always tell people that when I invested in a good
Speaker:quality camera,
Speaker:it transformed my business because ultimately you're selling a product.
Speaker:But at the end of the day,
Speaker:all you're left with is an image of that product.
Speaker:And being able to capture great images of your product will
Speaker:grow your business and help you reach new clients.
Speaker:And you can use those to promote your business,
Speaker:to create a website,
Speaker:to get published,
Speaker:to do all of those things.
Speaker:It really comes back to being able to capture good images
Speaker:of your work and data people will say to me,
Speaker:well, I could hire tography it.
Speaker:Well, you could hire a photographer,
Speaker:but that's a big business expense.
Speaker:And can you honestly hire a photographer to every single time
Speaker:you make any product?
Speaker:Every single time you make a UK?
Speaker:I certainly can't.
Speaker:And being able to,
Speaker:I guess,
Speaker:take control of my own marketing has given me a huge
Speaker:amount of freedom.
Speaker:So now every single time I create a cake,
Speaker:I can capture the images of the cake and I can
Speaker:use those images to create additional revenue streams.
Speaker:So I can,
Speaker:this is more specific to my industry,
Speaker:but I can create tutorials for example,
Speaker:that I could sell.
Speaker:So I'm not just selling the cake,
Speaker:I'm selling how I make the cake and I'm using the
Speaker:images to promote my business,
Speaker:to future clients.
Speaker:Then I'm using the images to grow my website and I'm
Speaker:blogging about what I've done.
Speaker:So I'm bringing in an audience through blogging.
Speaker:So I guess having a good,
Speaker:camera's a good staff.
Speaker:It sounds like it's a really basic step,
Speaker:but when you go through and you start defining why it
Speaker:really comes to life,
Speaker:really make sense.
Speaker:And the whole idea that you're presenting I think is so
Speaker:important too,
Speaker:in a really great idea in terms of being able to
Speaker:show people how it's done,
Speaker:because then you can take the pictures step by step by
Speaker:step. And like you're saying,
Speaker:building something that you can sell that you're not having to
Speaker:make over and over again,
Speaker:because once you've got that dyed tutorial,
Speaker:video, whatever format it comes in,
Speaker:once that's done,
Speaker:you can sell it over and over again.
Speaker:Yeah. And we're a super,
Speaker:super visual industry.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:if you will work in the creative arts field,
Speaker:it's a visual industry.
Speaker:And if you're passionate about cake decorating,
Speaker:you're passionate about card making.
Speaker:It's not a far stretch to become passionate about photography.
Speaker:Believe me to be creative with,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:What type of a camera are you using right now?
Speaker:When I first started,
Speaker:I got a basic entry-level DSLR camera and it costs me
Speaker:$350. I bought it on eBay and it was a package
Speaker:deal. And I knew nothing about photography.
Speaker:And with that camera,
Speaker:I managed to be published and buy bridal magazines by shooting
Speaker:my own work.
Speaker:I had that camera for a couple of years and I
Speaker:actually gifted it to a friend in the industry.
Speaker:She is a wedding planner and she was always investing a
Speaker:ton of money in doing very expensive style shoot.
Speaker:And I would say to her,
Speaker:look, take this camera.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:every time that you're out and about and see things that
Speaker:are inspirational to you,
Speaker:and you think you could cook something quick together to expand
Speaker:your portfolio,
Speaker:you have a camera that you're able to do that with
Speaker:on a small scale.
Speaker:And then I ended up purchasing a much higher end camera.
Speaker:So the one I've got now is professional level.
Speaker:It costs me two or $3,000,
Speaker:but I was able to offset that cost against my business.
Speaker:And it's a tool that I use on a weekly basis.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:Are you willing to share what camera you're using?
Speaker:It's a Nikon D 800,
Speaker:I think.
Speaker:And I have a 50 millimeter prime and that's pretty much
Speaker:all I use.
Speaker:I take that camera with me everywhere.
Speaker:Like, so it's been a fantastic tool for growing my business.
Speaker:Great information.
Speaker:I appreciate your sharing that with us now,
Speaker:Rebecca, I'm going to ask you to dare to dream.
Speaker:I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:So this is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable
Speaker:Heights that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside your box?
Speaker:I'd love to own my own magazine.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:at the moment I'm an editor and I have a lot
Speaker:of freedom and I love the magazine I work for,
Speaker:but I think it's always been kind of a dream of
Speaker:mine to own my own magazine.
Speaker:So I'd love to do that.
Speaker:Yeah. You sound like a woman who likes to take controls.
Speaker:I get that.
Speaker:Yeah. It's difficult sometimes because especially if you work with somebody
Speaker:else, you have these creative patients and you just can't implement
Speaker:them. So it can be an obstacle at times,
Speaker:especially if you're very highly creative,
Speaker:but in terms of my cake business,
Speaker:I like exactly where I'm at with my cake business.
Speaker:People always think that you have to keep moving forward and
Speaker:progressing. And it's like,
Speaker:Oh, well,
Speaker:don't, you wish you had a store from isn't that the
Speaker:ultimate goal.
Speaker:And no,
Speaker:it's not your business.
Speaker:Exactly what you choose it to be.
Speaker:And you should never feel pressured to take it to that
Speaker:next step.
Speaker:If you're happy with where you're at,
Speaker:I'm perfectly happy with making one or two cakes a month.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:they're big cakes.
Speaker:I make a good profit on every single item that I
Speaker:make. I'm very happy with my work environment and I'm happy
Speaker:to continue doing that.
Speaker:That works for me.
Speaker:You're so,
Speaker:so right.
Speaker:Nothing is saying that you need to get bigger and Oh
Speaker:my gosh,
Speaker:a brick and mortar shop comes with a whole new level
Speaker:of not just challenges but skills,
Speaker:because then you're going to have to have employees.
Speaker:The costs are higher to totally different ball games.
Speaker:So I really,
Speaker:really am thrilled that you bring that up.
Speaker:That you're happy,
Speaker:right. Where you're at.
Speaker:You're appreciating where you're at.
Speaker:I know you have at least one young child at home,
Speaker:so it fits your lifestyle right now.
Speaker:And who's to say down the road,
Speaker:you might want it to be different.
Speaker:Maybe, maybe not,
Speaker:but you're right.
Speaker:You control everything when you're in business for yourself.
Speaker:So I'm glad you bring it up that way,
Speaker:that you're happy.
Speaker:And that makes me thrilled that you're just happy and content
Speaker:right there.
Speaker:Yeah. I hear from a lot of people,
Speaker:obviously our magazine publishes a business column and we have a
Speaker:business column list that deals specifically with cake businesses.
Speaker:And a lot of people get into business.
Speaker:And quite often,
Speaker:a lot of people regret going into business.
Speaker:They worry about what do I do next?
Speaker:And ultimately if you choose to get into business,
Speaker:you can choose to get out of business and you don't
Speaker:have to give up your passion for your craft or your
Speaker:hobby by saying,
Speaker:okay, maybe being a business work for me Or only a
Speaker:certain level of business,
Speaker:like you were saying in the very beginning,
Speaker:when you flip it over to be in a business,
Speaker:it changes your hobby changes.
Speaker:Yes, it does change.
Speaker:And even for me going and doing high-end wedding cakes,
Speaker:I know in the beginning I said,
Speaker:I was doing,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:20 frozen cakes and it wasn't fulfilling for me or inspiring
Speaker:in a sense that feeling does sort of go with you.
Speaker:Even when you change to doing,
Speaker:for me,
Speaker:high-end wedding cakes,
Speaker:there's still a certain amount of repetition there.
Speaker:There's still a certain amount of relinquishing creative control.
Speaker:And so I do things for myself on the side.
Speaker:I like to create cakes for myself and I still consider
Speaker:it to be part of the business because I'm using those
Speaker:Gates as marketing tools.
Speaker:I'm always using them as marketing tools as a way to
Speaker:promote myself and also as a way to continually improve my
Speaker:skills and stay sharp.
Speaker:If someone wants to see some of the things that you're
Speaker:doing, where's the best place for them to go a website
Speaker:or Facebook page.
Speaker:Yeah. I update my website very regularly and it's www dot
Speaker:Rebecca Naomi Kik,
Speaker:design.com. And I have a Facebook page again,
Speaker:facebook.com forward slash Rebecca baby kick design.
Speaker:And I update my Facebook fairly regularly.
Speaker:I post content quite frequently and I update my site continuously.
Speaker:Perfect, perfect.
Speaker:And give biz listeners,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:there's a show notes page.
Speaker:So we'll have all of that information there waiting for you.
Speaker:If for some reason you don't have the time to capture
Speaker:it today.
Speaker:Okay. Rebecca,
Speaker:as we finish up here,
Speaker:I just want to make the point that generosity is when
Speaker:you light someone else's candle with the flame of your own.
Speaker:And that's what you've been doing here in terms of sharing
Speaker:with us,
Speaker:your journey,
Speaker:the combination of the magazine with your business,
Speaker:the honesty you don't really want to grow any bigger right
Speaker:now, everything is sitting really perfect.
Speaker:The way you have everything established.
Speaker:All of these things are so helpful for our listeners just
Speaker:to understand,
Speaker:relate to their situation and so that they can make their
Speaker:decisions as they move forward.
Speaker:So I appreciate so much all of that information.
Speaker:And Rebecca,
Speaker:my wish for you is that someday you get your very
Speaker:own magazine prompted by you.
Speaker:Cause you're a go getter obviously.
Speaker:And may your candle always burned bright.
Speaker:Thank you very much.
you're welcome.
Speaker:Where are you in your business building journey,
Speaker:whether you're just starting out or already running a business and
Speaker:you want to know your setup for success.
Speaker:Find out by taking the gift biz quiz,
Speaker:access the quiz from your computer at Vic dot L Y
Speaker:slash gift biz quiz or from your phone by texting gift
Speaker:biz quiz to four four two,
Speaker:two, two.
Speaker:Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for the
Speaker:next episode.
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Speaker:for more information after you listened to the show,
Speaker:if you like what you're hearing,
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Speaker:visibility of this round.
Speaker:It's a great way to pay it forward,
