Shownotes
The Mad Soyentist Story
It began one wintery afternoon. [4:13] How they are different from other candle companies. [4:51] The first attempt at making candles was not a pretty sight. [6:06] Erin as a young girl had a business mind and heart. Hear about her first sale. [8:17] Why Julie is using handmade labels. [14:37] Their nerdiness is their brand. [16:10]Candle Flickering Moments
Time – how this affects their life and how it’s managed. [16:35] Being a partnership and having differences of vision in several areas. [18:59] An enlightening conversation and relevation. [21:13]Business Building Insights
Name creation and the value of a memorable name. [10:10] A chance encounter that led to wholesale business. [28:58] Pricing for wholesale. [31:26] Facebook Video Testimonials. [33:41] Advice for newbies. [42:46]Trade/Craft Show Specifics
How they attract people to the Mad Soyentist booth. [12:10] Observations from years of show experience. [13:34] Their craft show display. [27:16] Advice for craft show success. [34:47] How to decide which shows to attend. [37:11] The Survival Kit. [44:13]Valuable Resource
Google Docs – Create, edit, and collaborate with others on documents. Quickbooks – Manage accounting, get invoices paid on time, accept payments & much more. Square – Secure credit card processing to point of sale solutions.Contact Links
FacebookGift Biz Resources
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Where are you in your business building journey? You may be further along than you think. Take this quiz to find out. At the end, you’ll have access to a free download to help you along. P.S. This is not a quiz where your result gets published to social media. It’s for your eyes only :o)The Gift Biz Builder Program
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Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
You're listening to gift biz on rapt episode 148,
Speaker:we are truly a family business and it started by two
Speaker:science teachers.
Speaker:Attention 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 gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode,
Speaker:packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources, and the support you need to grow.
Speaker:Your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal,
Speaker:Sue Mon height.
Speaker:There it Sue.
Speaker:And thank you for joining me again on the gift biz
Speaker:on wrapped podcast today,
Speaker:I have the pleasure of introducing you to Julie Scags of
Speaker:a mad scientist.
Speaker:It all began in January of 2013,
Speaker:when the soil scientist,
Speaker:Derek, and his then nine-year-old daughter,
Speaker:Aaron were looking for a craft project to work on together.
Speaker:They settled on making candles,
Speaker:starting with a kit from hobby lobby.
Speaker:They soon found that they really enjoyed making candles and loved
Speaker:discovering and creating new sense.
Speaker:Being a high school science teacher,
Speaker:the scientist then researched types of soy wax,
Speaker:optimal WIC thickness sense scent throws,
Speaker:and the experimenting began encouraged by the early response.
Speaker:They decided it was time to start marketing their product.
Speaker:The lab of soy stint,
Speaker:Julie, a middle school science teacher developed the name and labels.
Speaker:Julie also started labeling jars,
Speaker:wicks, creating an inventory and selecting their favorite sense.
Speaker:The product debuted in may of 2013 and things really started
Speaker:hopping today.
Speaker:The mad scientist is a true family business.
Speaker:The three work together to create a product customers love.
Speaker:And this is exactly what happens when you get two science
Speaker:teachers together with a creative daughter and voila accompany forms.
Speaker:Welcome to the show,
Speaker:Julie. Hi,
Speaker:thanks for having me.
Speaker:My first question is so apropos.
Speaker:I have to say because all of the listeners are creative
Speaker:types like to have you describe yourself in a different way,
Speaker:and that is through a motivational candle.
Speaker:I'm sure you have no association with those whatsoever.
Speaker:I'm actually glad I listened to a couple of your other
Speaker:podcasts. Cause I thought maybe you had made that up just
Speaker:for me.
Speaker:That's funny.
Speaker:Hey, that could be a good spin.
Speaker:You never know.
Speaker:So if you were to share what your ideal motivational candle
Speaker:would be,
Speaker:what color is it and what would be the quote on
Speaker:your candle?
Speaker:So I gave it just a lot of thought and the
Speaker:glib easy answer would be well,
Speaker:it's one of my candles,
Speaker:of course,
Speaker:but the more I started thinking about it,
Speaker:that really is appropriate for us.
Speaker:I think that the jar containing it is like our family.
Speaker:It's holding us all together.
Speaker:And our candles all are Just the plain soy color.
Speaker:So there's nothing to get in the way of what's going
Speaker:on there.
Speaker:So it's pure,
Speaker:it's pure.
Speaker:And that's what we strive to be.
Speaker:We want our candles to be pure.
Speaker:We want nothing to get in our way of where we
Speaker:can go with this.
Speaker:Beautiful. And what would be the quote on the candle?
Speaker:This is an old one that I found many,
Speaker:many years ago,
Speaker:and I never thought about applying that to this situation until
Speaker:recently. It's you must try to generate happiness within yourself.
Speaker:If you aren't happy in one place,
Speaker:chances are you won't be happy any place.
Speaker:And that's from Chicago Cubs,
Speaker:legend, Ernie banks.
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:Yeah, because you really have to,
Speaker:it's kind of like in the airplane,
Speaker:when they say with the oxygen mask,
Speaker:you have to put it on yourself first,
Speaker:before you can help others.
Speaker:Exactly. So you have to be happy internally first to be
Speaker:able to spread and grow and get bigger.
Speaker:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker:That's where this came from Derek and I were both in
Speaker:a low spot when this project started for us.
Speaker:So finding our own happiness and being able to share it
Speaker:again was amazing for us.
Speaker:Interesting. So this actually came out of more of a challenging
Speaker:time, I guess it sounds like it did.
Speaker:Can you share some of that with us?
Speaker:Sure. It was very early in our relationship and we had
Speaker:both just gone through divorces and it really came from Erin
Speaker:wanting to reconnect with her dad and do some bonding after
Speaker:that time in their life.
Speaker:So she just wanted to spend an afternoon with her dad
Speaker:and that's where this really all came from.
Speaker:And then as we first experimented and tried with those first
Speaker:candles that were not very pretty and shouldn't have ever left
Speaker:the house,
Speaker:he started developing more and more.
Speaker:And then we started giving them as gifts and seeing other
Speaker:people be happy,
Speaker:made us happy in return.
Speaker:Wonderful. And what separates your product from others?
Speaker:What gives people that reaction?
Speaker:Do you find That's a tough one.
Speaker:I think what really draws people in for lack of a
Speaker:better word is our story.
Speaker:The catch that we are truly a family business and it
Speaker:started by two science teachers.
Speaker:We've experimented with putting our candles in different retail areas and
Speaker:things like that.
Speaker:And we found the places that were most successful are either
Speaker:places where we're there to share our story or places where
Speaker:we have a very motivated shop owner who wants to tell
Speaker:and is excited about our product.
Speaker:If you just set it on the shelf,
Speaker:it kind of blends in and looks like any other candle
Speaker:out there.
Speaker:But once you get drawn in and you hear about our
Speaker:family and how we started,
Speaker:they're willing to give us a chance and then they absolutely
Speaker:fall in love with the product.
Speaker:Wonderful. Well,
Speaker:I want to get into some of this because I think
Speaker:a lot of our listeners might be sitting out there saying,
Speaker:okay, well,
Speaker:that sounds good,
Speaker:but what do you do to actually get started?
Speaker:How do you go from a little box that you buy
Speaker:in hobby lobby to actually at some point and not very
Speaker:long thereafter,
Speaker:five months or so have a business going.
Speaker:So let's dive in a little bit more to how this
Speaker:started. So was the afternoon,
Speaker:was it a snowy Chicago afternoon?
Speaker:You got it.
Speaker:Of course it was.
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:Just after winter break.
Speaker:It was sometime in January.
Speaker:I'm guessing probably weren't Luther King weekend.
Speaker:If I remember right.
Speaker:And they just had the time.
Speaker:So they went and did this and I have to tell
Speaker:you those first candles were awful,
Speaker:but that's right.
Speaker:Of course,
Speaker:picture the worst one that you've ever bought in the store
Speaker:and then make it 10 times worse.
Speaker:It didn't look pretty.
Speaker:It didn't smell good.
Speaker:And we knew that that wasn't going to be very much
Speaker:fun. I think we burned those first few and then just
Speaker:throw them away,
Speaker:tried to forget about them.
Speaker:And Derek is a perfectionist.
Speaker:So as soon as he saw that he didn't like what
Speaker:they had created and that this was still just a hobby
Speaker:phase. We weren't supposed to go anywhere with this.
Speaker:He was immediately researching and finding out what would be better.
Speaker:Why did that wax not give them the look that they
Speaker:wanted? How could you make it smell better?
Speaker:How could you get the scent to throw farther in a
Speaker:room and fill up the whole house?
Speaker:So he just kind of started playing.
Speaker:It sounds like instead of doing this project as a fun
Speaker:thing for he and Erin to enjoy for the afternoon and
Speaker:then not seeing a good result,
Speaker:instead of just throwing the whole thing to the side,
Speaker:there must have been something about the process that they enjoyed
Speaker:that. Then he had to go and perfect to get a
Speaker:result that they liked.
Speaker:Exactly. And that's also the science brain that he has.
Speaker:He's not going to be satisfied with something that's not done
Speaker:well. And he wants to find that science to make it
Speaker:better. Got it.
Speaker:So instead of switching,
Speaker:just to another hobby,
Speaker:cause that was the other option,
Speaker:right. You decided to narrow in on candles,
Speaker:which is one of my personal favorites,
Speaker:which is what attracted me to your booth.
Speaker:I saw you just a month or so ago.
Speaker:Right? Right.
Speaker:I love your display.
Speaker:And we're going to get into that a little bit later
Speaker:too. Okay.
Speaker:So he starts researching how to do this and it's still
Speaker:just a hobby now.
Speaker:He wants to perfect it because that's what scientists do I
Speaker:guess. And if you ask him today,
Speaker:it's still just a hobby.
Speaker:Oh it is?
Speaker:Yes. We don't have a business.
Speaker:We have a hobby.
Speaker:Okay. Got it.
Speaker:Well, we'll get to that later because that's one of those
Speaker:struggles that we go through.
Speaker:Right. Okay.
Speaker:We'll call that a business hobby.
Speaker:How about that for now?
Speaker:Perfect. Okay.
Speaker:So we're still in the creation of the business stage.
Speaker:And so he's experimenting and working with the product and testing
Speaker:and is Aaron enjoying that process then right now,
Speaker:too, She's loving it.
Speaker:Erin is as many young people,
Speaker:very motivated by money.
Speaker:So she's already got dollar signs going on.
Speaker:So He was already thinking business at the time.
Speaker:Oh, she is for sure.
Speaker:One of the first places that we set up,
Speaker:any kind of display was in the high school guidance office
Speaker:here at the local high school where not only is Derek
Speaker:teaching there,
Speaker:but Aaron's mom works there also.
Speaker:So they've got a good in with the school.
Speaker:And Erin started setting up two,
Speaker:three candles at a time just to let the secretaries and
Speaker:things see them and she'd come home with that little $5
Speaker:bill in her hand and be so excited.
Speaker:And she thinks at point at nine years old that every
Speaker:penny that we come and bring in is profit.
Speaker:And she's just ready to take over the world.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:And why not exactly to see that kind of affirmation,
Speaker:that something that you've made is something that other people would
Speaker:want is so exciting,
Speaker:especially at that young age.
Speaker:Sure. Help her along.
Speaker:We wanted to build on that excitement.
Speaker:And so we kept going.
Speaker:So that was the response that you were getting,
Speaker:it was from the high school that made you think,
Speaker:okay, well now maybe we should see what would happen if
Speaker:we put a little more professionalism in terms of business behind
Speaker:this From the high school,
Speaker:from giving the candles as gifts over the course of those
Speaker:first few months,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we had mother's day right in there.
Speaker:So we were able to keep both of our moms and
Speaker:aunts and things like that.
Speaker:The guests,
Speaker:I also carried the candles with me when I was out.
Speaker:I had another small business at the time where I was
Speaker:going out and doing either in-home shows or vendor events and
Speaker:things like that.
Speaker:And I started carrying a few of the candles along and
Speaker:that's when things really started to get interesting.
Speaker:Oh, okay.
Speaker:So at that point,
Speaker:let's back up a little bit at that point,
Speaker:you already had the name you'd already made the labels.
Speaker:All of that.
Speaker:Yeah. Some of it kind of came off Right together in
Speaker:there. I knew that I wanted something to do with soy
Speaker:in the name and I wasn't sure how we were going
Speaker:to play that off.
Speaker:We also experimented with using a variety of initials,
Speaker:Derrick and Erin being the primary people involved in it.
Speaker:At the time we tried variations with their names and initials
Speaker:and just none of it was working.
Speaker:I honestly,
Speaker:to this day,
Speaker:don't know where it came from,
Speaker:but mad scientist just popped into my head and it was
Speaker:absolutely perfect.
Speaker:It is perfect.
Speaker:So perfect.
Speaker:I wish I could say there was a lot of thought
Speaker:that went into it and I thought it was so creative
Speaker:and clever.
Speaker:No, it just kind of popped into my head one day
Speaker:and our family loves a good pun.
Speaker:Oh, it worked.
Speaker:Absolutely. And you get it right away.
Speaker:Yeah. One thing I've noticed as we've started expanding and going
Speaker:out and doing shows is it catches people's eye.
Speaker:They see our sign that says mad scientist,
Speaker:and they might not care about candles at all,
Speaker:but they look and they laugh and they chuckle.
Speaker:And that again is bringing that happiness.
Speaker:That's a good point in terms of the response to a
Speaker:name. And I've heard often Julie,
Speaker:that the idea of what the name should be just happens.
Speaker:It just comes up when you're least expecting it when you
Speaker:focus and you really are trying to land it and all
Speaker:those brainstorming sessions,
Speaker:sometimes that's not where it happens.
Speaker:It just comes out of the blue.
Speaker:All of a sudden,
Speaker:just magically appears.
Speaker:And that's exactly how it was for us.
Speaker:So you had the name,
Speaker:we had the name.
Speaker:What did you do about forming a logo and labels?
Speaker:Once we had the name,
Speaker:we knew that science had to be a part of whatever
Speaker:we did.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we're pretty big nerds around here.
Speaker:So the Erlenmeyer flask that's featured on our logo just kind
Speaker:of came and then fitting the words inside of it.
Speaker:And around it were just an easy way for it to
Speaker:fit onto the jars we were using.
Speaker:We knew early on that we wanted to use traditional canning
Speaker:jars and the logo that we created just fit perfectly within
Speaker:that circle.
Speaker:We've carried that science theme out within our display.
Speaker:There are times that we'll carry an Erlenmeyer flask with us
Speaker:and have dry ice going in it.
Speaker:So it looks like it's bubbling.
Speaker:Oh, that's cute.
Speaker:Just a side note.
Speaker:Cause I know I'll forget it later,
Speaker:even though I'm taking some notes over here,
Speaker:but do you have any issues with having dry ice at
Speaker:any shows?
Speaker:Are there ever restrictions?
Speaker:Nobody has ever said anything.
Speaker:We've only done it twice now.
Speaker:Oh, you should do it every time We should.
Speaker:But we find out it's kind of hard to maintain.
Speaker:We're pumping new ice into that flask every five minutes or
Speaker:so. Oh,
Speaker:when we're into one of these really busy shows,
Speaker:it just doesn't pay off.
Speaker:Right. But you know,
Speaker:what would be interesting is if you tried it and maybe
Speaker:it's not every five minutes,
Speaker:maybe once an hour,
Speaker:you do the dry ice show or something,
Speaker:but it'd be interesting to see if sales change.
Speaker:I would love to do that.
Speaker:I'm a person who's always tracking our sales and very competitive
Speaker:with myself.
Speaker:Oh, this is how much we did last year at this
Speaker:event. What can we do this year?
Speaker:And Derek's just laid back and he's like,
Speaker:Oh, it's fun.
Speaker:I, it doesn't matter.
Speaker:I just like the diocese.
Speaker:Well, he can be one to stoke the dry ice then.
Speaker:Exactly. I'd love to hear if you ever do that,
Speaker:what you find You take a show year over year.
Speaker:So it's the same location.
Speaker:Pretty much the same type of people who are coming to
Speaker:a show and then analyze what happens.
Speaker:That'd be super interesting.
Speaker:One thing that we have found in doing this is there
Speaker:are several shows now we've done three times,
Speaker:I think is the most we've done any one given show.
Speaker:There's no way to predict.
Speaker:Well, cause you've also got the weather aspect,
Speaker:Right. And it is so up and down,
Speaker:I'll look at our sales from the previous year and say,
Speaker:Oh, we sold so many of the cinnamon candle.
Speaker:We need to have cinnamon just coming out of our ears
Speaker:and we'll sell to cinnamon the next year.
Speaker:You can't predict what people are going to go for it.
Speaker:Interesting. But then do you also just look at overall volume?
Speaker:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker:And is that pretty stable or growing?
Speaker:It's growing for sure.
Speaker:So that's not as unpredictable.
Speaker:It's just in terms of which sense are the most popular.
Speaker:Correct. And with the huge number of scents we have,
Speaker:I've all.
Speaker:But given up,
Speaker:trying to predict,
Speaker:I just want to make sure we're well-stocked on everything at
Speaker:this point because I never know which one's going to be
Speaker:our next big thing.
Speaker:Right. Interesting.
Speaker:Okay. So labels,
Speaker:how did you go about finding someone to make your labels?
Speaker:Who's doing your labels.
Speaker:Anything you want to share on that?
Speaker:I make them all,
Speaker:Oh, you're hand making the label.
Speaker:We're hand-making everything.
Speaker:Julie, you have a million products.
Speaker:Yes we do.
Speaker:So when we first started out,
Speaker:we noticed that there was a label maker that had that
Speaker:perfect circle size for canning labels.
Speaker:They had an online template.
Speaker:So you could buy their sticker labels,
Speaker:make your design in their computer software and print them out
Speaker:at home.
Speaker:Well, we wanted a two-sided label instead of just having a
Speaker:sticker on the top of the jar.
Speaker:So we abandoned using their sticker labels and we're using craft
Speaker:paper that I purchased.
Speaker:There's just the plain Brown card stock.
Speaker:I print everything on my home,
Speaker:computer down here in the basement.
Speaker:And then we have a giant hole punch and I sit
Speaker:and punch them all out while I'm watching TV at night.
Speaker:Well, that gives You a good reason to watch TV.
Speaker:I'd say It does.
Speaker:I like to have my hands busy while I'm watching TV.
Speaker:So that's perfect.
Speaker:We applied that same template to our business card then.
Speaker:So our business cards are very non-traditional,
Speaker:they're the same round as the top of our labels.
Speaker:So they're not going to get lost in your wallet with
Speaker:all the other business cards.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:I have one sitting right here and carrying out that science
Speaker:theme when we're at a show,
Speaker:those business cards sit in a little Petri dish on our
Speaker:table. So we're keeping true to that science and I love
Speaker:of What you just said there,
Speaker:because everything is falling in line with the same theme.
Speaker:I call it the vibe of the business or the vibe
Speaker:of the brand.
Speaker:You're sticking with the science,
Speaker:through your imagery,
Speaker:through actually the development of the company and your booth display.
Speaker:That's something that we knew very early on.
Speaker:We wanted to hone into our nerdiness and kind of pay
Speaker:tribute to it.
Speaker:And you say it with conviction and pride.
Speaker:Absolutely. We wouldn't be where we are today.
Speaker:Without that.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you call it nerdiness.
Speaker:I think it's cool.
Speaker:Oh, thank you.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So We're referencing a little bit earlier that there was a
Speaker:challenging moment Get into that.
Speaker:So I think for us,
Speaker:our biggest challenges are two-fold time and a common vision.
Speaker:Time is just difficult because we are both working.
Speaker:Full-time still,
Speaker:Derek is teaching still.
Speaker:I've moved out of the classroom and into administration.
Speaker:So I'm an elementary school principal now.
Speaker:Oh, congratulations.
Speaker:Well, thank you either.
Speaker:One of those takes an ungodly amount of time as many
Speaker:people know.
Speaker:And then you throw in the fact that our busiest season
Speaker:for candles is our busiest season at school.
Speaker:Also those months of September,
Speaker:October, November are crazy at school.
Speaker:And then you throw in the fact that Aaron's playing volleyball
Speaker:in those same months.
Speaker:And I just laid out our September,
Speaker:October calendar for 2018.
Speaker:And we have a six week stretch of time where we
Speaker:will do shows every single weekend,
Speaker:plus two nights a week of volleyball plus whatever commitments the
Speaker:two of us have at school.
Speaker:Right? So that becomes a big challenge.
Speaker:There are late nights and crabby people in this house for
Speaker:a good three months.
Speaker:Or do you guys create like a celebration or something when
Speaker:those three months are over,
Speaker:like something to look forward to,
Speaker:like we're going to drive through this.
Speaker:And then here's our,
Speaker:Our celebration is pretty much this winter vacation time period where
Speaker:we do nothing.
Speaker:There's no big hoopla.
Speaker:We have kind of gotten the custom of on Sunday night
Speaker:after a big show.
Speaker:We'll always have a big steak dinner to reward ourselves,
Speaker:but there's no big culminating celebration.
Speaker:Guys, just make sure you're driving through and you love what
Speaker:you're doing,
Speaker:even though it's super busy,
Speaker:you love what you're doing.
Speaker:It's super busy.
Speaker:We get super crabby.
Speaker:We'll be at each other's throat every morning when we're setting
Speaker:up the display.
Speaker:But once those doors open and we start having traffic come
Speaker:through that craft show,
Speaker:all of that is behind us.
Speaker:We have forgotten it personally.
Speaker:And we're just out there having fun with each other and
Speaker:interacting with the customers And you know,
Speaker:any tension,
Speaker:at least when I saw you guys doesn't show at all,
Speaker:I found you guys near the end of that timeframe that
Speaker:you were talking about,
Speaker:right? We were at the holiday.
Speaker:So I don't know,
Speaker:second week of December show,
Speaker:right? So you had had a lot of shows under your
Speaker:belt already,
Speaker:but when I approached your booth,
Speaker:you guys were comfortable fun.
Speaker:Aaron was there,
Speaker:which was really fun to see her too.
Speaker:And true to your word.
Speaker:You talked the story,
Speaker:we keep talking about that story.
Speaker:But before we go onto that common vision,
Speaker:what's the challenge with the common vision.
Speaker:I want this to be more and I am very business-minded
Speaker:and want to look at those marketing aspects and how we
Speaker:can further promote our business and push further.
Speaker:Derek has happy to have this as a hobby that in
Speaker:itself clashes with each other.
Speaker:And that creates its own little stress in there.
Speaker:But then when we look at the bigger vision,
Speaker:I look from the aspect of I'm a woman in my
Speaker:forties, I'm kind of right in that common demographic that tends
Speaker:to be drawn to our product.
Speaker:What would I want in a display?
Speaker:And I have some retail experience in my background.
Speaker:So I want to make our display super user-friendly attractive,
Speaker:draw women into that space and have it more like a
Speaker:boutique or a shop.
Speaker:Derek being the guy who wants everything in alphabetical order.
Speaker:So he can find it easily and just know where things
Speaker:are at the drop of a hat.
Speaker:And it doesn't really matter what it looks like to him.
Speaker:He's just happy if we can get through the shell.
Speaker:Interesting. And so how do you guys work through some of
Speaker:these challenges?
Speaker:Some of the differences I'd love to say,
Speaker:Oh, we communicate and we talk through it,
Speaker:but that's not the case.
Speaker:We get snarky with each other and whatever happens,
Speaker:happens, the display that you saw,
Speaker:it was very much a compromise on what we both,
Speaker:like, you got to see a day where we had those
Speaker:nice straight lines on the risers with all the candles and
Speaker:alphabetical order.
Speaker:But I also had my little table that was featuring certain
Speaker:sense and decorated and a little bit more cute.
Speaker:I remember that was over to the right.
Speaker:Yes. So that's where we are today.
Speaker:I feel like that's taken a step backwards because I had
Speaker:him down to one riser at one point and more of
Speaker:the things featured.
Speaker:But if that's what it's going to take to make us
Speaker:happy and have less of that tension in the morning,
Speaker:I'm okay with it.
Speaker:I don't have to keep a firm hold on.
Speaker:What I wanted.
Speaker:Yeah. It is about compromise.
Speaker:A lot of businesses will have partners and when you're partners
Speaker:and you're also boyfriend,
Speaker:girlfriend or married and a family,
Speaker:there's that other level because you can't walk away from each
Speaker:other. Exactly.
Speaker:It sounds like you're managing.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:the first thing is recognizing,
Speaker:Right. We had a really interesting conversation one night this fall
Speaker:because I get very frustrated that I can't contribute more.
Speaker:I'm doing the labels,
Speaker:I'm finding the shows,
Speaker:but for the longest time he was the one that had
Speaker:the checkbook and was writing out the registrations.
Speaker:And he's the one who knows the science behind the candles
Speaker:business would be nothing without him.
Speaker:I couldn't pick up and do it.
Speaker:So I felt like I'm just the errand girl.
Speaker:And there was a night that I was very frustrated and
Speaker:I kind of just exploded and let that out.
Speaker:And he shot back with,
Speaker:well, I'm just the candle guy and I'm just the heavy
Speaker:lifter. And neither one of us realized how much we felt
Speaker:that the other wasn't appreciating what we were contributing and that
Speaker:we both felt like we were a small part.
Speaker:Interesting. Yeah.
Speaker:It never dawned on me that he was feeling like he
Speaker:wasn't contributing enough because he is the product it's not there
Speaker:without him.
Speaker:And he quickly pointed out,
Speaker:well, without me going out and finding avenues for us to
Speaker:sell our product,
Speaker:he would just have a hobby that was building up around
Speaker:him and he'd have lots of inventory and nowhere to go
Speaker:with it.
Speaker:And so what happened after you guys had that realization about
Speaker:each other's thoughts?
Speaker:Well, one of the things that came out of it is
Speaker:we finally got a joint checking account.
Speaker:So we could both be responsible for business finances and things
Speaker:like that.
Speaker:And is it a separate account just for the business?
Speaker:Yes. Perfect.
Speaker:Yes. And we joke that was a huge step for us
Speaker:because in our personal finances,
Speaker:we both maintain our individual accounts,
Speaker:even though we've lived together for several years now.
Speaker:So we joke about the fact that our only joint account
Speaker:is one for the business,
Speaker:not for the household,
Speaker:But regardless of that,
Speaker:everyone on the personal side can do what works for them.
Speaker:It's so important to have your own business account.
Speaker:That's separate from personal,
Speaker:because that way you don't get yourself into any trouble where
Speaker:you can't pay the mortgage because you just bought in your
Speaker:case, a ton of wax,
Speaker:like you,
Speaker:weren't thinking about the other numbers,
Speaker:right? I am such an advocate for that because you also
Speaker:then know if the business is going to be making money
Speaker:in the end.
Speaker:Exactly. 2017 was the first year that I really tracked those
Speaker:sales because we do,
Speaker:we have a very much a hobby mindset here.
Speaker:And as long as we're buying enough for that next fix,
Speaker:for lack of a better term,
Speaker:we can get that next box of wax or that next
Speaker:scent that we want to try out.
Speaker:We're happy.
Speaker:Anything extra is just that it's a bonus.
Speaker:And so this year I actually took the time to track
Speaker:what we were bringing in.
Speaker:We've always had a pretty good idea of what's going out
Speaker:because we look at the statements and things like that.
Speaker:But once I sat and looked at it,
Speaker:there was more than I thought I was going to surprise
Speaker:this year.
Speaker:Oh, that's good.
Speaker:That means your pricing well,
Speaker:right. Wonderful.
Speaker:I want to point out to our listeners here right now
Speaker:that one of the things that's so nice about turning your
Speaker:hobby into a business is you can do it for your
Speaker:very own reasons like you guys are talking about,
Speaker:you clearly love your jobs at the school.
Speaker:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker:So it's not like you're running away from anything you're layering
Speaker:on your life.
Speaker:Something else that's fulfilling.
Speaker:And to your point,
Speaker:I think you mentioned earlier,
Speaker:the reason that you got into it initially was the relationships
Speaker:between Derek and Aaron and you as well.
Speaker:And this is something that you guys can do as a
Speaker:family. Think about it.
Speaker:Erin being younger than still young.
Speaker:Now she's probably in middle school.
Speaker:She's a freshman in high school this year.
Speaker:Okay. Only have a few years with those type of busy
Speaker:lifestyles. We're This year,
Speaker:she's 14 and far too cool for a family business.
Speaker:Now. So the day you saw her,
Speaker:she was doing some great acting,
Speaker:but she was really unhappy with us for dragging her along.
Speaker:But we point out to her that a,
Speaker:this was your idea.
Speaker:You got us into this,
Speaker:you're going to come along.
Speaker:And B you want certain things in life.
Speaker:And this is how we're supporting those right now.
Speaker:She wants to play club volleyball.
Speaker:And without this,
Speaker:that might be out of our reach.
Speaker:So this little extra income is helping provide for those extras
Speaker:in life that we want.
Speaker:And she's getting some business education and experience too,
Speaker:which maybe not right now,
Speaker:she doesn't understand the advantage of that,
Speaker:but as she moves forward,
Speaker:she will.
Speaker:So you're the point here being people open businesses for lots
Speaker:of different reasons.
Speaker:It isn't only just to make money.
Speaker:And if it is only to make money,
Speaker:when you have challenges and struggles,
Speaker:you'll fall because you don't have a deep enough reason inside.
Speaker:And Julie,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you never know what's going to happen as you move forward.
Speaker:There may be a time when you decide you're done with
Speaker:school and you want to grow this bigger or Julie's away
Speaker:at college and you have more time on your hands to
Speaker:devote to grow it.
Speaker:Who knows Derek might even feel that way.
Speaker:Right? So there's a lot of options I would love if
Speaker:we could get to that point.
Speaker:Honestly, there's more of a freedom in it in owning your
Speaker:own business and having,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it's a lot of responsibility having those challenges on your shoulders
Speaker:day in and day out.
Speaker:But I like the flexibility of being able to set my
Speaker:own schedule and be able to come and go more freely.
Speaker:Absolutely. So you're setting yourself up and you're stable and you
Speaker:enjoy what you're doing now.
Speaker:And maybe that's what you're going to do for the next
Speaker:two or three years.
Speaker:Nothing says you always have to grow bigger.
Speaker:Right? It's kind of like,
Speaker:people are always saying you're not successful unless you're advancing and
Speaker:growing bigger,
Speaker:you're successful if you're doing what you want to be doing
Speaker:at that time.
Speaker:And that's one of the things that we look at each
Speaker:other almost every weekend during that busy season and say,
Speaker:is it worth it?
Speaker:Because the day that it's not worth it anymore,
Speaker:we're done.
Speaker:Yeah. But if it's no longer making us happy,
Speaker:we'll get rid of everything have and move on Or adjust
Speaker:or downsize if you decide whatever you steer the ship when
Speaker:it's your own business.
Speaker:Exactly. All right.
Speaker:So let's talk about the story a little bit more.
Speaker:I do have to say when I came to your booth,
Speaker:what I felt in the display was very much like a
Speaker:lab table.
Speaker:Oh. So it fell in line with the whole science thing.
Speaker:Like it was the lab table with all of the completed
Speaker:projects done,
Speaker:which were all the sense of the candles.
Speaker:That's my impression when I walked in,
Speaker:I'm glad you got that impression because that was unintentional.
Speaker:And I've been thinking in my head,
Speaker:how can I make it more sciency?
Speaker:I'll give up my side table of our compromise.
Speaker:If I can incorporate more science look into.
Speaker:Yeah. Because a boutique almost doesn't,
Speaker:unless you're doing the science of the sense of the candles
Speaker:or something like that.
Speaker:I almost think depending on what you did with the boutique
Speaker:kind of clashes with the science,
Speaker:I really liked that long table to be honest.
Speaker:And I also liked that everything was the same color.
Speaker:It was very clean and pure,
Speaker:like call me.
Speaker:And that's where we're looking at.
Speaker:The one tweak we want to make to our display for
Speaker:2018 is to make those risers black with white lettering instead
Speaker:of that natural wood coloring,
Speaker:because that black will really help the candles pop against it
Speaker:more makes sense.
Speaker:So that's one of our projects for this winter,
Speaker:but not this week.
Speaker:We're on occasion.
Speaker:Yes you are.
Speaker:Absolutely. Let's take a break right here for a word from
Speaker:our sponsor.
Speaker:This podcast is made possible.
Speaker:Thanks to the support of the ribbon print company,
Speaker:create custom ribbons,
Speaker:right in your store or craft studio in seconds,
Speaker:visit the ribbon print company.com
Speaker:for more information.
Speaker:So how do you Share your story?
Speaker:Probably it's just getting out and meeting people and sharing what
Speaker:we have on Facebook.
Speaker:We're not actively marketing.
Speaker:So to speak.
Speaker:We just talk about what we have with friends and relatives.
Speaker:And we've had wonderful people happen into our lives like yourself,
Speaker:sharing our story this way,
Speaker:our very first experience with getting out there and sharing our
Speaker:story was back when I was carrying the candles,
Speaker:along with my other little side business,
Speaker:I was doing a show here in Maringa,
Speaker:where we're based.
Speaker:And I had a woman walk in and start opening all
Speaker:the candles and smelling them all.
Speaker:And I had no idea who she was at the time.
Speaker:And all of a sudden,
Speaker:she bursts out and says,
Speaker:why are you not in my shop?
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:well, what shop is that?
Speaker:And turns out she was a local business owner that we
Speaker:had talked about wanting to reach out to,
Speaker:and just never had the courage to at that early phase.
Speaker:And once we started working with her,
Speaker:she was a huge advocate for us.
Speaker:And I think,
Speaker:and I might be exaggerating,
Speaker:but I feel like every person who walked through the door
Speaker:of her shop was led over to the section where she
Speaker:had our candles.
Speaker:And she told them our,
Speaker:and told them that Derek works right here at the high
Speaker:school. And his little girl started this isn't this cute.
Speaker:And that's really where things started moving for us.
Speaker:She's has continued to be an advocate for us to this
Speaker:day. Her shop is long gone,
Speaker:but she loves to go out and visit other small businesses,
Speaker:especially those that have a kind of a vintage or rustic
Speaker:farmhouse feel to them.
Speaker:And if she walks in and sees that they don't have
Speaker:candles there,
Speaker:she's on the phone with me that evening telling me,
Speaker:you have to go reach out to this person.
Speaker:She's the nicest shop owner.
Speaker:She needs your candles.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:And are you doing that?
Speaker:Yeah. Good for you.
Speaker:We are currently in three stores in the area.
Speaker:One of them is in Rockford and that is one that
Speaker:we got directly from the scenario that I just described to
Speaker:you. Another is in Woodstock and that one is doing business.
Speaker:Side-by-side at craft shows for two years in a row.
Speaker:She finally said,
Speaker:Hey, we opened our own shop your products go great with
Speaker:ours. How do we buy?
Speaker:So we've done that.
Speaker:The third one is very new.
Speaker:We just delivered her first candles to her,
Speaker:gosh, around the 10th of December,
Speaker:even later than that,
Speaker:the weekend before Christmas.
Speaker:And she just saw us at a show,
Speaker:liked the product that I'm very busy right now.
Speaker:I don't have time to talk your busy,
Speaker:but I have a salon and boutique,
Speaker:and I want you in my store.
Speaker:I'll call you Monday.
Speaker:And a lot of times we hear that and never hear
Speaker:back, but sure enough,
Speaker:that Monday morning she was on the phone with me and
Speaker:we got things set up.
Speaker:So she has her first test batch down there in Byron
Speaker:right now.
Speaker:Beautiful. So how did you then figure out how you're going
Speaker:to price your product for the stores?
Speaker:You laugh Because it's hard for us.
Speaker:I feel like we already have such a great price point
Speaker:when we're going out and doing them at shows that when
Speaker:someone sees us as a show,
Speaker:that's the same price they want to offer in their store
Speaker:in order to give that price point.
Speaker:We're not making much in the first place.
Speaker:So then when we offer them wholesale pricing,
Speaker:we're making even less,
Speaker:right? So really when we're selling to that shop owner,
Speaker:it's almost a 50,
Speaker:50 split on the profit that comes out of it.
Speaker:We took our cost into account and we knew that each
Speaker:candle took X amount to make.
Speaker:So we charged them just enough over that to make ourselves
Speaker:feel comfortable and allow them to still,
Speaker:in most cases,
Speaker:almost double what they buy it from us for,
Speaker:to put in their store so that they're making money too.
Speaker:Okay. So that's a good format actually.
Speaker:And then have you ever thought about raising your prices at
Speaker:the shows We have?
Speaker:And it's probably something that I hate to say is coming
Speaker:in 2018,
Speaker:we've been doing this for four years really consistently now,
Speaker:and we've never changed a price at all.
Speaker:So I take that back.
Speaker:Our last show of the year,
Speaker:we changed one of our bundle options and opted a little
Speaker:because we realized that it was killing us.
Speaker:So that one has changed,
Speaker:but we like that nice,
Speaker:easy price point,
Speaker:the four for 20 deal.
Speaker:And you just hand over that Krista $20 bill makes it
Speaker:so easy.
Speaker:Four for 25.
Speaker:Isn't bad either.
Speaker:And that's kind of what we're maybe talking about.
Speaker:Yeah. But we're starting to realize that we can't just give
Speaker:it away if we want to do some of the other
Speaker:things that we have in mind to help us grow,
Speaker:we'll need a little bit extra to do it.
Speaker:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:And you should stand proud of that too.
Speaker:With all that you're doing,
Speaker:you have custom blend your candles,
Speaker:smell Delicious.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:I don't know if you remember the big bag that I
Speaker:walked. Oh my gosh.
Speaker:As did my friend,
Speaker:those are always the most fun days for us when we
Speaker:have people in the booth and they're excited and they're Oh
Speaker:my gosh.
Speaker:Smell this one.
Speaker:No, you got to smell this one.
Speaker:Ooh. Monkey fires.
Speaker:I don't know if I want to smell that one.
Speaker:And just the excitement on people's face is why we do
Speaker:this. Oh,
Speaker:it is so rewarding.
Speaker:Isn't it?
Speaker:I keep joking that I want to hide a camera in
Speaker:the booth and capture some of those.
Speaker:You should.
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:I think people would get mad if all of a sudden
Speaker:these videos are showing up on our Facebook page.
Speaker:You'd have to have people know,
Speaker:right? I'd have to have a,
Speaker:like a little warning sign or something.
Speaker:Or if there's a really good response,
Speaker:then you'd have to get something with them signing approval.
Speaker:No, if you were going to do that,
Speaker:but I don't think most people would care.
Speaker:I hope not.
Speaker:We had a couple of,
Speaker:at one of our last shows that I almost asked.
Speaker:Can I just record you on my phone?
Speaker:You're go Facebook live for a few minutes.
Speaker:But again,
Speaker:it's that fear.
Speaker:Fear is the one thing that has held us back in
Speaker:a number of ways.
Speaker:Well, listen,
Speaker:next time I see you at a show.
Speaker:I give my permission.
Speaker:Oh, fabulous.
Speaker:But the video might be too long because I want to
Speaker:smell everything Well,
Speaker:like you said,
Speaker:we can always edit.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:What have you seen at shows?
Speaker:That would be good advice for people who are doing the
Speaker:local craft shows.
Speaker:What have you learned over the years that could help somebody
Speaker:get farther along,
Speaker:faster, based on your experience.
Speaker:You can't be afraid to talk to people.
Speaker:I walk the show while we're there and I will forever
Speaker:see vendors sitting behind their table on their phone,
Speaker:not interacting with customers.
Speaker:And I'll admit we're guilty of that too.
Speaker:But we kind of have this unwritten family rule.
Speaker:That one person always has to be on their feet so
Speaker:that they're ready.
Speaker:And we try and make that be Erin as much as
Speaker:possible because she's a cute little kid Ugly on their feet,
Speaker:physically, not just sitting.
Speaker:Right. And it's honestly,
Speaker:you've got to interact.
Speaker:That's the biggest thing for me,
Speaker:those blast show we were at,
Speaker:we had great neighbors on either side of us that were
Speaker:willing to interact with Austin,
Speaker:with other vendors,
Speaker:but they weren't doing much to draw people into their space.
Speaker:They talked to people when they came up,
Speaker:but they didn't approach them.
Speaker:They didn't initiate the conversation.
Speaker:They more just answered the questions.
Speaker:Does that make sense?
Speaker:Yeah. I think people get uncomfortable on both ends someone who
Speaker:is the business person,
Speaker:but then also someone who's looking and just strolling and wanting
Speaker:to see things.
Speaker:But I think people get uncomfortable because they think they automatically
Speaker:have to talk about the product.
Speaker:Right. It's a fine line.
Speaker:It's some days I'll just initiate with,
Speaker:Oh, good morning.
Speaker:Are you enjoying the show?
Speaker:Was there anything you're looking for today?
Speaker:I can help point you in the right direction.
Speaker:Other days,
Speaker:I feel like a carnival Barker,
Speaker:just trying to get people to come in and it's all
Speaker:about me and the product.
Speaker:So it's a fine line that you have to walk,
Speaker:which do you find works better?
Speaker:I think you have to connect with them as a person
Speaker:first. You can't start pushing product on someone's throat.
Speaker:If you know anything about them.
Speaker:I agree.
Speaker:I think that's the point I was trying to see if
Speaker:you would agree with,
Speaker:is it doesn't have to be about your booth and your
Speaker:product. It's just an interaction so that they feel comfortable coming
Speaker:in and looking around and then you're not stalking them either.
Speaker:Right? If someone wants to smell every single candle,
Speaker:let them do it themselves.
Speaker:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker:Then not talking all the time,
Speaker:either with them,
Speaker:but knowing that you're there and available.
Speaker:And I think that's the other thing that we've noticed for
Speaker:us personally,
Speaker:is because everything on our display,
Speaker:it looks exactly the same.
Speaker:People can be quick to walk by.
Speaker:They think they know what it is and they don't take
Speaker:the time to walk in and see.
Speaker:But once you get one or two people in there smelling
Speaker:those candles and having fun and laughing,
Speaker:then all of a sudden people just start flocking and they
Speaker:all want to see what the excitement's about.
Speaker:So doing whatever you can to generate that excitement within your
Speaker:space as well.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:And then how do you decide which shows to attend?
Speaker:We originally started out just,
Speaker:Hey, this is one we heard,
Speaker:they're still opening.
Speaker:Let's try it out.
Speaker:And we were floored.
Speaker:We had no idea what to expect from a three-day show
Speaker:in the middle of November.
Speaker:After that,
Speaker:we got pretty good at talking to other vendors around us
Speaker:and finding out what they suggested,
Speaker:What to expect in terms of what happened.
Speaker:There was there too Much traffic,
Speaker:too little traffic.
Speaker:We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of traffic we're overwhelmed
Speaker:by people's response to us.
Speaker:That was our first big show.
Speaker:Oh, That's really too bad.
Speaker:Right? I know shocks.
Speaker:And then we got really excited and thought home,
Speaker:maybe we should do more of these.
Speaker:And that's when we started to talking to the people around
Speaker:us, where do you have success?
Speaker:What shows should we avoid?
Speaker:One thing that we found that was important to us,
Speaker:because we are truly a handmade product,
Speaker:is that we want to be at shows that feature only
Speaker:handmade products.
Speaker:If we go into a show regardless of the size,
Speaker:that is also letting in the direct sales marketing companies,
Speaker:we're automatically seeing a different type of traffic that comes through.
Speaker:And for us in the candle business,
Speaker:it's hard to go up against some of those big,
Speaker:I won't say names,
Speaker:but the big ones that are out there all of the
Speaker:time and have that brand loyalty behind them.
Speaker:Right. But I would say because I'm a candle that I
Speaker:like different versions of all different types of candles.
Speaker:And I also like to support local and smaller businesses.
Speaker:So even though I like Yankee candle,
Speaker:sometimes I love some of the smaller local candles.
Speaker:And I think that's where we're finding our own niche and
Speaker:our own brand loyalty.
Speaker:We've been around long enough.
Speaker:Now that we have people who come to shows and say,
Speaker:we're here because you are here.
Speaker:We wanted to see you.
Speaker:I'm out of my Oak Moss and Amber candle.
Speaker:What can I get,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:Julie, those stories are,
Speaker:when you pull out the phone and say,
Speaker:Hey, can I get just a quick testimonial from you of
Speaker:this? Would you mind?
Speaker:And even if they don't want to be on video,
Speaker:you can at least record it.
Speaker:You can ask them if it's okay if they use your
Speaker:face or not,
Speaker:or just the words,
Speaker:but, Oh my gosh,
Speaker:those are golden.
Speaker:Those in the moment,
Speaker:ones are the ones that I miss.
Speaker:I'm really easy.
Speaker:If someone leaves us positive feedback on Facebook or through our
Speaker:credit card app,
Speaker:those I'm quick to share it's those in the moment face
Speaker:to face ones that I miss.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:And boy,
Speaker:you could get,
Speaker:because now on Facebook too,
Speaker:on your banner,
Speaker:you can put videos up there.
Speaker:Yeah. So you could do just a few videos of people
Speaker:who, I mean,
Speaker:a lot of people who would be willing to do that
Speaker:if they're such a supporter,
Speaker:come to the show,
Speaker:cause you're here.
Speaker:Here's why I love these candles.
Speaker:Now you have me picturing specific people in my head that
Speaker:I want to seek out.
Speaker:Okay, There you go.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:So in this of course,
Speaker:gift biz listeners is an idea for you as well when
Speaker:you're out and about.
Speaker:And someone is sharing that information and supporting your business so
Speaker:much, ask them if you can pull out the phone and
Speaker:just record a quick testimonial,
Speaker:nothing is better than words from others about your business.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:let's move on to tools for productivity or how you're getting
Speaker:everything done or just the way you fit everything in,
Speaker:especially in those three months,
Speaker:what are any tips or tricks you have for us Right
Speaker:now? My biggest best friend is probably Google docs because I
Speaker:can be editing something when I'm on my lunch break at
Speaker:school and Derek,
Speaker:you can see it immediately while he's on his break at
Speaker:his school.
Speaker:Oh, good point.
Speaker:Without emailing things back and forth,
Speaker:we've got that Google account that we both know the password
Speaker:for. And I can update inventory or shoot him an order
Speaker:that's come in or things like that during the day.
Speaker:Or I'm really good at,
Speaker:Hey, could you deliver this tonight?
Speaker:But oops,
Speaker:I forgot the invoice for it.
Speaker:So I'll make the invoice at school and he'll print it
Speaker:at home.
Speaker:Something like that.
Speaker:Perfect. Cause you can do it on your time and then
Speaker:he can receive it on his time.
Speaker:Right. So I think that's the biggest one for us.
Speaker:My next one needs to be some type of book keeping
Speaker:software. And that's what I've been researching over break right now.
Speaker:Oh, So you're looking for a new bookkeeping software,
Speaker:Right. Because right now we don't have any,
Speaker:I've got,
Speaker:just got a spreadsheet in Google that I'm using.
Speaker:And at the end of each show,
Speaker:I will record things like how many of each candle we
Speaker:sold for each cent.
Speaker:So I can track our best sellers throughout the year.
Speaker:I've got our show,
Speaker:total sales in that as well as what it costs for
Speaker:us to enter that show.
Speaker:And that's about the extent of bookkeeping that I'm doing right
Speaker:now. Yeah.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you're going to find when you land it.
Speaker:I personally use QuickBooks for both my businesses,
Speaker:but when you land,
Speaker:whichever one it's going to be,
Speaker:you'll find that life is so much easier And I've used
Speaker:QuickBooks in the past.
Speaker:So that's where I'm leaning right now.
Speaker:Yeah. I've used them always,
Speaker:but I know there's other options out there too.
Speaker:Right? What are you using?
Speaker:Just curious.
Speaker:What are you using to capture?
Speaker:Do you take credit cards,
Speaker:right? We do.
Speaker:We use square.
Speaker:You use square.
Speaker:Okay. When we first started out,
Speaker:we were using the payment processor through QuickBooks,
Speaker:the Intuit payment and at a show talking to another vendor,
Speaker:they had just started using square.
Speaker:We started comparing rates and I moved to that the next
Speaker:weekend. What advice do you have for somebody who's listening and
Speaker:thinking? Ah,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I have a craft that,
Speaker:this sounds interesting what Julie and Derek are doing here.
Speaker:I could possibly do myself too.
Speaker:What would be your advice and the first steps that they
Speaker:should take to get stuck?
Speaker:Make sure you love what you do first of all,
Speaker:because you're going to be doing it a lot.
Speaker:Yeah. So that's where I would start.
Speaker:If you were really looking at this and intending to start
Speaker:a business,
Speaker:which is not where we were,
Speaker:so this is not what we did,
Speaker:but I would say go out there and go to those
Speaker:craft fairs and see what's out there.
Speaker:Is there a market for what you're doing is that market
Speaker:over saturated?
Speaker:There are some craft fairs we go to and every other
Speaker:booth is the painted farmhouse signs that are popular right now.
Speaker:Well, that's great if that's an,
Speaker:a market that can support that,
Speaker:but not all markets well.
Speaker:So I think just finding out and then starting small,
Speaker:go to those craft fairs at your local school or the
Speaker:church basement or all of those kinds of things.
Speaker:Don't feel like you have to commit to the $200 for
Speaker:a weekend entry fees when there's a perfectly good show,
Speaker:just down the road for $50.
Speaker:I think that's really smart because you're also able to test
Speaker:a lot of things.
Speaker:You're able to test receptivity to what your product is.
Speaker:You're also able to test your price point,
Speaker:right? And just your services like you might go and realize,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I don't even have any bags to put my product in
Speaker:when someone makes a sale like such obvious things.
Speaker:Exactly. But it's those little things that all add up and
Speaker:you can do it in a stress free situation when you're
Speaker:not committing a lot of dollars.
Speaker:And you're also doing a smaller venue to start.
Speaker:I think that's excellent advice.
Speaker:We were kind of lucky in that.
Speaker:I had some of those little kinks worked out before we
Speaker:started with the candles because of my previous life with a
Speaker:business about one thing that I found there is you have
Speaker:to have like a little survival kit that you take on
Speaker:the road with you.
Speaker:Not just the things specifically business-related,
Speaker:but take that Advil with you.
Speaker:Cause you know,
Speaker:there's going to be a day with a headache,
Speaker:extra safety pins or tape or string,
Speaker:all of those little things just in like a little tote
Speaker:that you can carry along because inevitably if you don't need
Speaker:it, your neighbor will need it.
Speaker:And it's just nice to have all of those little things
Speaker:right there,
Speaker:handy as you're out on the road.
Speaker:Oh, that's a great point.
Speaker:And if you're needing something that you don't have,
Speaker:make yourself a note and then throw it in your little
Speaker:tote and then it's already there for them Next time out.
Speaker:Exactly. My tote has things like scissors.
Speaker:I have a pair of pliers in there for some reason.
Speaker:I can't even think a lighter Tylenol.
Speaker:Gum is always in there.
Speaker:And then all the extra business things get thrown on top.
Speaker:So that's where our square reader gets thrown in the money,
Speaker:pouch, all of those things.
Speaker:Really interesting,
Speaker:good advice.
Speaker:I never thought of that before Julie,
Speaker:I'd like to invite 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:So I'm going to dream a big,
Speaker:there is enough time in that box that I can dedicate
Speaker:to furthering this business to the point where at least one
Speaker:of us doesn't have to teach anymore because although we love
Speaker:that it would be nice to have some of that independence
Speaker:that I talked about earlier and have the time to devote
Speaker:solely to this and put back into it.
Speaker:Perfect. I love that.
Speaker:And you're marching right down that path right Now.
Speaker:We're working on it.
Speaker:If you want to write,
Speaker:if we want to,
Speaker:if you want Two and when you want to and whichever
Speaker:one of you,
Speaker:it would be so lots of options there for you.
Speaker:And we have so many ideas about other things we can
Speaker:do and branch out and how to continue to grow,
Speaker:but it does come down to that time for us.
Speaker:Sure. And it doesn't mean it needs to be tomorrow.
Speaker:It can be three years From now.
Speaker:We've got some pretty exciting things coming in for 2018.
Speaker:So you'll have to keep an eye on us.
Speaker:Ooh, No,
Speaker:I'm really super curious.
Speaker:So I'm thinking we all could keep an eye out if
Speaker:we watched your Facebook page.
Speaker:Right. Okay.
Speaker:And tell the listeners where they can find you on Facebook.
Speaker:We are@facebook.com,
Speaker:backslash mad scientist,
Speaker:Madsen. Perfect.
Speaker:I love how everything is aligned With you.
Speaker:Well, thank you.
Speaker:Having that past experience,
Speaker:both in retail and owning a small business before that brand
Speaker:identity is something that I recognized was a failing point in
Speaker:a previous experience.
Speaker:So having that and having everything tied together here is very
Speaker:important to me.
Speaker:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker:Well, Julie,
Speaker:thank you so much.
Speaker:I appreciate your taking your downtime.
Speaker:We're winter break to come on and share your story.
Speaker:Absolutely. It's really been Interesting.
Speaker:I know you were first thinking,
Speaker:well, you know,
Speaker:it's a hobby,
Speaker:but it's a business,
Speaker:but it's a hobby,
Speaker:but it's a business it's perfect for our listeners.
Speaker:Wonderful. It's absolutely the best you've shared such great information.
Speaker:Thank you for sharing the story.
Speaker:We are all going to keep our eye on and may
Speaker:your candles always burn bright.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:So This episode is all wrapped up,
Speaker:but fortunately,
Speaker:your gift biz journey continues.
Speaker:Are you eager to learn more?
Speaker:Our gift biz gal has a free download just for you.
Speaker:Head over to gift biz on wrapped.com/twelve
Speaker:steps to get your copy of the 12 steps to starting
Speaker:a profitable gift biz don't delay,
Speaker:head over to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com/twelve steps today,
