Gift biz on wrapped episode 39.
Speaker:Hi, this is John Lee Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to the gift gifted biz unwrapped,
Speaker:and now it's time to light it up.
Speaker:Welcome to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop
Speaker:and grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host Sue Monheit.
Speaker:Hi there.
Speaker:I'm Sue and welcome today,
Speaker:Ms. Unwrapped podcast,
Speaker:whether you own a brick and mortar store sell online or
Speaker:are just getting started,
Speaker:you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your
Speaker:business. And today I am thrilled to have with us Anita
Speaker:Hausmann of treasured touch founded in 2009.
Speaker:Treasured touch helps individuals and businesses create unique.
Speaker:One of a kind items that help brand their business or
Speaker:give unique presentation to a gift or a special event.
Speaker:Anita specialty is using custom printed ribbon alone or incorporated into
Speaker:their gifts.
Speaker:This simple touch of ribbon instantly transforms even the plainest of
Speaker:items into something which leaves a lasting impression of wow.
Speaker:Anita lives just outside of Hershey,
Speaker:Pennsylvania also known as chocolate town USA with her husband,
Speaker:son, and daughter,
Speaker:and two spoiled miniature doxins full disclosure here.
Speaker:Anita is one of our star customers over at the ribbon
Speaker:print company.
Speaker:I specifically asked her to come on the podcast to share
Speaker:her experiences with building the business and share her thoughts behind
Speaker:the creativity she has in attracting And working with their customers.
Speaker:So we are all in for a treat and now welcome
Speaker:to the show,
Speaker:Anita. Wow,
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:That's awesome.
Speaker:Is there anything you would like to add to that intro
Speaker:before we get started?
Speaker:No. I think that to hit it all and I'm just
Speaker:really happy to be here.
Speaker:This is just,
Speaker:I'm always glad Sue to join you on whatever platform you're
Speaker:on. And,
Speaker:but really,
Speaker:I know you're passionate about your business and,
Speaker:and I just really glad to be a part.
Speaker:So thank you for having me.
Speaker:Well, I know you have a lot to talk about,
Speaker:and as our listeners know,
Speaker:we like to align the conversation around the life of a
Speaker:motivational candle.
Speaker:The light shines on you while you share those stories and
Speaker:experiences. Great.
Speaker:So I am picturing you Anita,
Speaker:in that brand new studio that you just moved into and
Speaker:you are working on a job that consists of motivational candles,
Speaker:and you got to select your favorite topic for the candles.
Speaker:So what color are they and what is the quote on
Speaker:those candles?
Speaker:Actually, my candle would be the color of Azalea or fuchsia.
Speaker:Most people know it is,
Speaker:it is a rich,
Speaker:vibrant color.
Speaker:That to me is a color of cheerfulness,
Speaker:happiness, and contentment.
Speaker:And I would put on that candle,
Speaker:my motivational quote,
Speaker:that really has been driving me.
Speaker:I got it from Marie Forleo and I believe she quoted
Speaker:it from somebody else.
Speaker:I think Chuck Swindell and it is life is 10% of
Speaker:what happens to me and 90% of how I react to
Speaker:it. And do you think about,
Speaker:and refer to that quote as you go on about your
Speaker:day? I absolutely do.
Speaker:I really have been incorporating that quote into almost every single
Speaker:thing I have been doing since I have heard.
Speaker:It just really makes a complete difference in handling stress or
Speaker:learning to appreciate even the wonderful times that you're spending with
Speaker:family and friends.
Speaker:And it's just really been awesome for me That you say
Speaker:that Anita,
Speaker:because so many people really like quotes and they all have
Speaker:their favorites,
Speaker:but the real value of these quotes is that when we're
Speaker:needing something to make us stronger or give us a different
Speaker:perception on something that we pull it up and use it
Speaker:to help motivate our behaviors.
Speaker:So now I need to,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:I want you to take us back in time to the
Speaker:moment that you first started thinking about a company and forming
Speaker:this company treasured touch.
Speaker:Okay. Well,
Speaker:my story is kind of almost twofold,
Speaker:to be honest with you.
Speaker:I really was not seeking to start a business.
Speaker:My business kind of found me.
Speaker:I was a young mom,
Speaker:stay at home with a child less than a year old
Speaker:and scrapbooking was beginning to start to become popular and I'll
Speaker:date myself here.
Speaker:But the internet really was only found in those of luxury
Speaker:homes or businesses.
Speaker:It really wasn't much of an influence,
Speaker:but the digital world was starting to become more and more
Speaker:part of everyday lives,
Speaker:but certainly not what it's like today.
Speaker:So people were starting to really jump on board to that
Speaker:and like every other mom,
Speaker:I wanted to document my children's stories through pictures,
Speaker:but also I was realizing that the value of family stories
Speaker:were being lost by people no longer writing out handwritten notes
Speaker:and so forth or recipes or whatever.
Speaker:So I began making sure that I collected that stuff for
Speaker:my daughter.
Speaker:And then I of course wanted to be a little bit
Speaker:more creative and make it even more special for.
Speaker:So I would seek out to put imprinting on to these
Speaker:photo albums,
Speaker:personalizing them,
Speaker:and a friend of mine had had the machine.
Speaker:And I was always going to her all the time and
Speaker:asking her to please imprint this album for me.
Speaker:And it turned around that I ended up learning how to
Speaker:put these imprints on to photo albums and began doing it
Speaker:for all of our customers.
Speaker:Well, then folks really started seeing what I was doing.
Speaker:So I acquired the machine and began printing ribbon.
Speaker:And this method is called hot coil stamping.
Speaker:Not many people know about it's kind of a lost art.
Speaker:I believe I began printing ribbons and napkins and then putting
Speaker:special touches on to things.
Speaker:Well, then I was creating a party plan for my daughter
Speaker:and I wanted something really special and unique.
Speaker:And every time I went to go find something,
Speaker:it really just wasn't me.
Speaker:It wasn't what I was looking for.
Speaker:Being a stay at home mom,
Speaker:I was on a limited budget and I didn't have the
Speaker:money to really spend lavishly nor did I want to get
Speaker:locked into buying huge quantities of something that I really was
Speaker:only going to use once and toss.
Speaker:So I began creating things my own way,
Speaker:using just ordinary items that I had available and resources that
Speaker:I had available and started putting my extra touch on just
Speaker:simple things that I already had.
Speaker:And it really started to show my personality and just grow.
Speaker:You Couldn't find what you wanted in the market.
Speaker:So you just created it yourself,
Speaker:mostly at that point for your own personal gifts and events.
Speaker:Exactly. So how did it then at some point start turning
Speaker:into the business of treasured touch?
Speaker:Well, what ended up happening was people would see what I
Speaker:was making and they would come to me and they'd say,
Speaker:wow, where did you get that at?
Speaker:I'd like to find,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I like to buy something similar to that.
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:well, I made it.
Speaker:And they're like,
Speaker:wow, can you make this for me?
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:oh sure,
Speaker:I can do that.
Speaker:So I would do it in between my daughter napping and
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and put something together.
Speaker:And then it started out with her.
Speaker:She kissed her roses and it just kind of grew from
Speaker:there again,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:people started bringing me stuff until finally people are like,
Speaker:okay, what can I do to create something that looks really
Speaker:cool, make it special,
Speaker:personalized for my anniversary party,
Speaker:me or my milestone birthday party.
Speaker:What can I do to make it special?
Speaker:And I'd be like,
Speaker:well, you could do this,
Speaker:this and this.
Speaker:And then just add this,
Speaker:this and this.
Speaker:And then it turned out that people were paying me to
Speaker:do it.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:cause at first I was like,
Speaker:oh, I'll just do it for supplies.
Speaker:But then it was taken up so much time.
Speaker:And I was like,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I really can do this as a business.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I could really actually do something and make a difference.
Speaker:The Realization came that this could actually be a money-making business
Speaker:from there.
Speaker:What were the steps that you started taking to actually develop
Speaker:this into an official company?
Speaker:Well, my first thing that I had to do was just
Speaker:stop trying to create something and all these different areas.
Speaker:Like I would be making florals,
Speaker:I'd be making napkins,
Speaker:I'd be making books.
Speaker:And, you know,
Speaker:I was just kind of making all kinds of unique,
Speaker:different things,
Speaker:but I really needed to sit down and focus on the
Speaker:one thing that truly made a difference and not with the
Speaker:printed ribbon.
Speaker:It was a universal material that I could use.
Speaker:I can personalize it in many different ways and I could
Speaker:add it to so many different things.
Speaker:And every single item that would leave the studio would leave
Speaker:completely unique and customize exactly how they wanted it,
Speaker:not how I wanted it.
Speaker:So this was a great point of differentiation for you because
Speaker:you were able to take a customer's logo or an event
Speaker:or something like that.
Speaker:Anything the customer really wanted added to a ribbon and then
Speaker:make a gift super,
Speaker:super special and very personalized to the event.
Speaker:Since I know you Anita,
Speaker:I'm a little bit privy to some of the accounts that
Speaker:you're running,
Speaker:I'd like you to tell the story.
Speaker:If you would,
Speaker:about the very first customer you had,
Speaker:who turned into a paying customer and really pretty much catapulted
Speaker:you into working with larger organizations?
Speaker:Well, actually what ended up happening was it was after 2013,
Speaker:when the Boston marathon bombing took place.
Speaker:I had a gal who had come to me and said
Speaker:that she was going to be running the Boston marathon in
Speaker:one of the charitable organizations happened to be the Flutie foundation
Speaker:and through a rigorous process.
Speaker:She was selected to be part of the team that ran
Speaker:that race.
Speaker:They wanted some additional charitable presence to show that they were
Speaker:Boston strong and she came to me and she said,
Speaker:Hey, I just need a ribbon.
Speaker:She said to tie on me when I run this race.
Speaker:And I said to her,
Speaker:oh, I can do something better than that.
Speaker:She's like,
Speaker:what do you mean?
Speaker:Did I say,
Speaker:how about we print each individual donor who is sponsoring you
Speaker:to run this race?
Speaker:We print their name onto the ribbon.
Speaker:And we somehow attach that to you that you actually wear
Speaker:that when you run.
Speaker:It's really cool.
Speaker:So we did that.
Speaker:She got donors and sponsors and it was about the time
Speaker:when you were doing the Olympic skater.
Speaker:That was,
Speaker:oh yeah.
Speaker:Our hometown skater.
Speaker:Jason Brown.
Speaker:Yeah. With Jason Brown.
Speaker:And so I had designed a ribbon for the Boston marathon,
Speaker:for the floody foundation,
Speaker:actually designed it to help promote and to get her,
Speaker:to get some additional sponsorship that we were still Boston strong
Speaker:and that we were going to continue promoting that.
Speaker:So we printed four inch ribbon that people hung in their
Speaker:windows and in their office cubicles.
Speaker:And she of course,
Speaker:was still getting the sponsors.
Speaker:We were collecting those names and she says,
Speaker:my gosh,
Speaker:she says,
Speaker:I'm going to have so many ribbons to hang off of
Speaker:me. And we had to come up with a way to
Speaker:creatively tie them on her goal was I think it was
Speaker:like 5,000.
Speaker:I think she raised way over $15,000
Speaker:with not just the ribbons,
Speaker:but to run the race,
Speaker:but the ribbon certainly helped.
Speaker:And we're just a real special touch for her to be
Speaker:able to wear them on race day.
Speaker:And she's a complete it,
Speaker:it was really cool to watch her cross that finish line
Speaker:and see those ribbons attached to her running pack.
Speaker:And it was just really cool.
Speaker:And if I remember correctly,
Speaker:she ran with different colors of ribbon based on the level
Speaker:of sponsorship.
Speaker:So each ribbon was a color based on the level and
Speaker:then also included the sponsor's name.
Speaker:Yes, that is correct.
Speaker:Depending on the dollar amount that they contributed was the color
Speaker:that they picked And tell our listeners,
Speaker:Anita, this super special thing that happened with those ribbons after
Speaker:the race was over and the ribbons had run the race
Speaker:and the Boston marathon.
Speaker:Oh, that's right.
Speaker:They were actually attached to her Fanny pack.
Speaker:So there was quite a few of them.
Speaker:And we took every one of them off of the Fanny
Speaker:pack when they were done,
Speaker:we cut them.
Speaker:And then each individual ribbon was sent to the sponsor with
Speaker:a thank you card and a bumper sticker that we had
Speaker:created saying,
Speaker:thank you for riding Linda's back for the Boston marathon.
Speaker:We included a picture.
Speaker:We were blessed to be able to have a picture of
Speaker:Doug Flutie,
Speaker:actually holding the ribbons.
Speaker:He also participated in the race that day.
Speaker:So it was really cool for the sponsors to actually get
Speaker:a picture of the ribbon,
Speaker:their ribbon being held by Doug Flutie.
Speaker:And also she sent a picture,
Speaker:I think,
Speaker:of the race,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:after she was done with the race,
Speaker:which was really cool.
Speaker:So gift biz listeners.
Speaker:I want you to take note of what Anita actually did
Speaker:here. She didn't just print up one ribbon.
Speaker:She built it into a whole campaign in terms of having
Speaker:the sponsor's names on the ribbon,
Speaker:having it beyond the runner,
Speaker:when the runner was running the Boston marathon,
Speaker:taking pictures with Doug Flutie and then circling back and having
Speaker:something go back to the sponsors in the mail,
Speaker:this type of a full service turnkey campaign sets Anita apart
Speaker:and makes her really unique within her business segment.
Speaker:So think for yourself in your business,
Speaker:what types of projects can you put together that encompass a
Speaker:full campaign like Anita did,
Speaker:this becomes particularly important when you're looking at capturing corporate business.
Speaker:And of course,
Speaker:corporate enterprise sales are the ones that really bring us in
Speaker:a lot of revenue.
Speaker:So think about this and brainstorm what you might be able
Speaker:to do for your businesses along these similar lines.
Speaker:It's also a great PR for you now,
Speaker:Anita, because you can talk about this particular campaign and show
Speaker:pictures and use it as an example as you move forward.
Speaker:Yeah. So do you know,
Speaker:so we also,
Speaker:if you remember,
Speaker:it was the time that I was able to attend the
Speaker:national gift and stationery show.
Speaker:We had that ribbon on display shortly thereafter,
Speaker:and it was just a really great way to talk about
Speaker:what you can do for others through simple ribbon.
Speaker:Yeah. You Are such a pro at putting together these campaigns.
Speaker:I'd love for you to share another one of these campaigns
Speaker:with our listeners.
Speaker:And I think,
Speaker:you know which one I'm talking about.
Speaker:Sure, sure,
Speaker:absolutely. I know it's probably the DUI association of Pennsylvania.
Speaker:Is that the one?
Speaker:Yep. That's the,
Speaker:okay. This is actually something that is very near and dear
Speaker:to me.
Speaker:I do not have anyone,
Speaker:fortunately that has fallen victim to DUI,
Speaker:but certainly have amongst my circle of friends known somebody who
Speaker:has been impacted each year,
Speaker:the Pennsylvania DUI association has a Memorial.
Speaker:So Anita,
Speaker:particularly for our international customers.
Speaker:Can you explain first what the organization does Each year in
Speaker:December, the Pennsylvania DUI association holds a Memorial service for the
Speaker:families and friends that are left behind,
Speaker:who have been affected by impaired driving accidents of some sort.
Speaker:And the DUI association gives each family a brick in their
Speaker:Memorial garden,
Speaker:inscribed with their loved one's name.
Speaker:And along with that,
Speaker:they do a special remembrance ceremony in the garden with a
Speaker:tree that each family can put their loved one's name onto
Speaker:the tree for the month of December is up usually till
Speaker:I think about mid January.
Speaker:This is something that I really enjoy.
Speaker:I don't want to say enjoy doing,
Speaker:but it's something that I can personally give back to the
Speaker:community. I was asked to provide some kind of an ornament,
Speaker:a decorative ornament,
Speaker:and I'm like,
Speaker:well, I can put printed ribbon,
Speaker:let's put the person's name on each individual ribbon and have
Speaker:each family be able to tie that ribbon with their loved
Speaker:one's name onto the tree.
Speaker:And in addition,
Speaker:what we did was we made a Garland that went around
Speaker:the tree,
Speaker:which included over 3000 names since the DUI association has been
Speaker:in existence.
Speaker:We put that individual's name on that Garland.
Speaker:So they would be represented and certainly never forgotten.
Speaker:I know you do this just as a deeply heartfelt give
Speaker:back to your community,
Speaker:but think of what an impact it has on those families
Speaker:just to be having their loved ones remembered.
Speaker:Yeah. Yep.
Speaker:And I'm hoping that I can reach out and do more
Speaker:of that in the community.
Speaker:I think it's just something that people just don't realize how
Speaker:this impacts no poor decisions really impact,
Speaker:but there's a lot of people out there that are hurting.
Speaker:And again,
Speaker:this is just something that we can do to remember these
Speaker:people and know that they're not forgotten.
Speaker:What impact,
Speaker:if any,
Speaker:has this had on your business?
Speaker:We have,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:certainly at every one of these events that we've done,
Speaker:I have been onsite to print ribbons and they get to
Speaker:watch me print last minute,
Speaker:ribbons or print a Garland or something ban or whatever.
Speaker:And through that,
Speaker:that's a conversation starter and people really do appreciate,
Speaker:they love being able to see their name on ribbon and
Speaker:they come up and they say,
Speaker:oh, well,
Speaker:I could do something like this for my business.
Speaker:Can you do that?
Speaker:So from there,
Speaker:I've done apartment associations,
Speaker:we've done some events with that,
Speaker:putting ribbon on balloon tales and helping them to make their
Speaker:event more spectacular.
Speaker:We've done.
Speaker:Of course,
Speaker:the standard party favors.
Speaker:We've done promotional material and gift giving at Christmas time or
Speaker:various small businesses,
Speaker:which is my niche.
Speaker:I really like to try and help small businesses really grow
Speaker:because usually the ones that do not have the working capital
Speaker:to invest in large amounts of marketing from there,
Speaker:I always tell people and I,
Speaker:by the way,
Speaker:my, my business card is printed on printed ribbon.
Speaker:So whenever I am out,
Speaker:I say to people,
Speaker:when they ask me what I do,
Speaker:I let them know that I print custom printed ribbon and
Speaker:I hand them my business card and there they get to
Speaker:actually see,
Speaker:feel, and actually look at the ribbon business card and say,
Speaker:wow, that's really cool.
Speaker:Nine times out of 10,
Speaker:I follow up with them.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:they're back in,
Speaker:we're doing business together.
Speaker:Put those on ribbons for cars.
Speaker:When people buy new cars,
Speaker:like did an engagement,
Speaker:somebody proposed to somebody with an engagement ring,
Speaker:which was kind of cool.
Speaker:So you carry around those printed ribbon business cards with you
Speaker:everywhere and just have them ready when the opportunity presents itself.
Speaker:Right. And being ready and willing to talk about my business
Speaker:and always asking,
Speaker:what can I do for you?
Speaker:Because people don't realize how inexpensive they can brand themselves through
Speaker:a printed ribbon.
Speaker:You're that like,
Speaker:wow, you could do that.
Speaker:I'm like,
Speaker:yeah, you can.
Speaker:That's fabulous.
Speaker:So Anita here,
Speaker:I'm going to switch gears on you a little bit.
Speaker:And I want to talk about some advice that you might
Speaker:have to help people who are just starting out in their
Speaker:business. Is there something you could share based on your knowledge
Speaker:now that could help our listeners prevent having to encounter some
Speaker:of the obstacles that you had to encounter and overcome?
Speaker:And this is something that I'm finally starting to feel comfortable
Speaker:that I'm emerging.
Speaker:And that is that I was really just trying to do
Speaker:it all.
Speaker:I was very blessed with being,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:everything that I was putting out was pleasing other people.
Speaker:And they really,
Speaker:really liked it because it was created by them and for
Speaker:them. But,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it was really hard for me as a mom,
Speaker:with my kids growing up to find that balance where I
Speaker:turned it from a personal hobby to doing it as a
Speaker:revenue source.
Speaker:And now that my kids are getting older and you know,
Speaker:I'm realizing that this is a really what I truly passionately
Speaker:love doing.
Speaker:And I want to be able to continue doing this and
Speaker:helping others.
Speaker:I wasn't really having the systems in place to carry out
Speaker:day-to-day planning in order to make that dream come true over
Speaker:the last probably year and a half.
Speaker:I really have been focusing on fine tuning and eliminating those
Speaker:struggles. One by one in,
Speaker:I have broken down in like five different areas that I
Speaker:really try and target every day.
Speaker:That's interesting.
Speaker:Can you go into a little more detail?
Speaker:Well, one of the systems I've put in place was to
Speaker:teach myself a little bit more about computers and technology,
Speaker:and kind of bring myself up to speed with what is
Speaker:out there that would help me become more productive.
Speaker:And that meant graduating from a standard flip phone to a
Speaker:smartphone, using some of the apps and finding resources that were
Speaker:free since I couldn't really,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:at the time I wasn't really able to afford or,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:either the time or the money to go to expensive classes,
Speaker:but to seek out the people that I knew were successful
Speaker:and basically to ride their coattails and learn and be able
Speaker:to pick out what was working for them,
Speaker:really looking at how could I take something like that and
Speaker:apply it to my business,
Speaker:which is one of the reasons why I love these podcasts
Speaker:is because everybody's story is unique.
Speaker:And there's always something that I can pull from every single
Speaker:story to weave into my own personal business plan.
Speaker:It just keeps pushing me higher and higher.
Speaker:I want to emphasize two things that Anita is talking about
Speaker:here. One of the most important trait of an entrepreneur or
Speaker:somebody who's starting their own business is the ability to be
Speaker:resourceful. And you're listening here to Anita saying that there were
Speaker:lots of things already available to her that all she needed
Speaker:to do was access and decide how to apply to our
Speaker:business. We are so lucky now with the internet,
Speaker:everything is right at our fingertips gift.
Speaker:Biz listeners consider that as you're starting out,
Speaker:if you're in business and you're hitting upon a struggle,
Speaker:the very first thing to do is Google.
Speaker:Look and see who else might have information on this topic
Speaker:that can help you out.
Speaker:The second thing that Anita was talking about is the fact
Speaker:that she looks at people who are already doing what she
Speaker:wants to be doing,
Speaker:and she models after them now understand that doesn't mean that
Speaker:you are totally copying what someone else is doing.
Speaker:You're copying their system or their process,
Speaker:bringing it into your business,
Speaker:adding your own personal touch and going from there.
Speaker:So you may look for example,
Speaker:at the structure of an email or the frequency of emails
Speaker:or the style in which they communicate with people and then
Speaker:relate it back to yourself.
Speaker:You're not copying an email word for word or the supplies
Speaker:also to YouTube videos,
Speaker:webinars, whatever it might be.
Speaker:I know Anita that you are a star at customer service,
Speaker:but can you tell us what types of things you're doing
Speaker:specifically so that you make sure that your customers feel like
Speaker:not only they are one-on-one,
Speaker:you're working specifically for them,
Speaker:but also that you value their business.
Speaker:I asked them what they want.
Speaker:That is something that I,
Speaker:there are people that come to me and they'll be like,
Speaker:I'm not really sure what I want.
Speaker:And I think the best thing to do is to sit
Speaker:down and have a one-on-one heart-to-heart conversation with them to find
Speaker:out what their expectations are,
Speaker:what they envision and gave them and deliver exactly what they
Speaker:want. But when you deliver over deliver with passion.
Speaker:And what I mean by that is that like I just
Speaker:delivered an order just about two hours ago,
Speaker:and they only wanted 18 bows to put on jellies that
Speaker:were being given away to somebody.
Speaker:Well, I put in 25 and decorated a few with some
Speaker:additional things to show them what else they could do with
Speaker:those ribbons.
Speaker:You give me the inspirational quotes.
Speaker:Every time I order something from you.
Speaker:And I have adopted that,
Speaker:put those little quotes inside of the box,
Speaker:as well as write a personal message,
Speaker:because I want them to walk away knowing that they are
Speaker:the most important person to me.
Speaker:They're special too many times.
Speaker:We go to places and you'll walk up to her and
Speaker:you give them the money across the counter and people walk
Speaker:away and you don't feel special.
Speaker:It's almost robotic.
Speaker:And I don't want that.
Speaker:I think we've kind of moved away from that one-on-one personal
Speaker:attention. So that's what I really try and give each.
Speaker:And every person and client that I work with is that
Speaker:one-on-one attention.
Speaker:Another exit point here,
Speaker:listen to how Anita is taking care of her customers and
Speaker:really from an emotional angle,
Speaker:making them feel so important.
Speaker:You guys,
Speaker:this doesn't cost you anything to do.
Speaker:And so,
Speaker:so many people aren't doing it,
Speaker:it's free and it brings you referral business and makes customers
Speaker:want to share the word because you treat them and make
Speaker:them feel so valuable.
Speaker:Right. And you know,
Speaker:even when I purchased stuff kind of similar to my business
Speaker:card, I have a printed ribbon that just says,
Speaker:thank you for what you've done for me today.
Speaker:If there's something I can ever do for you.
Speaker:And I give that out,
Speaker:just kind of like as a random act of kindness,
Speaker:because you never know what kind of a day the person
Speaker:behind the counter is having.
Speaker:It's really nice that the gals that local,
Speaker:McDonald's where I buy my ice coffee.
Speaker:I have said to me,
Speaker:we love when you come in,
Speaker:because you always have a smile and you always have something
Speaker:nice to say,
Speaker:and that's what I want to be branded for.
Speaker:Well, it's coming across loud and clear,
Speaker:right? In this interview to Anita,
Speaker:I want to roll over now into the reflection section.
Speaker:This is a look at you and what's helped you to
Speaker:be successful along the way.
Speaker:What do you think is one natural trait that you have
Speaker:that you've had virtually your whole life that has helped you
Speaker:to succeed?
Speaker:I think the natural trait that I have is the ability
Speaker:to be able to look at something and be able to
Speaker:know what it really takes to make something work.
Speaker:And what I mean by that is that if somebody wants
Speaker:to create same,
Speaker:a centerpiece or something for their party or something,
Speaker:and they show me a picture of something I can take
Speaker:and be able to say,
Speaker:okay, this works this way,
Speaker:this works this way.
Speaker:And together,
Speaker:by combining it,
Speaker:we can make it look completely different and unique,
Speaker:and it will be your personality,
Speaker:not what you see like everybody else has.
Speaker:And what tool do you use that helps you to keep
Speaker:productive during your Workday?
Speaker:The tool that I use.
Speaker:And it's probably a complaint to my husband as well,
Speaker:is that I use my iPhone.
Speaker:He's like,
Speaker:you always have your nose in the iPhone,
Speaker:but you know what?
Speaker:It is actually my command center.
Speaker:So to speak,
Speaker:I use an app to do this.
Speaker:Wait, what is that it's called to do is T O
Speaker:D O I S T.
Speaker:I've not heard of this one.
Speaker:Tell us more.
Speaker:It's it's a task manager,
Speaker:just basically remind yourself or set dates up,
Speaker:kind of,
Speaker:you can sync it to your calendar and then they have
Speaker:an app that goes along with it.
Speaker:It's called do note that kind of it.
Speaker:And if this,
Speaker:then that,
Speaker:those are three of my main apps that I use a
Speaker:lot. If this,
Speaker:then that are recipes that you can create to help you
Speaker:become more productive.
Speaker:And the do note is something that I'm going to create
Speaker:a calendar note or something like that.
Speaker:I will just hit the app and speak it,
Speaker:using my Siri.
Speaker:And it automatically adds it to my calendar without having to
Speaker:do anything else.
Speaker:Like it,
Speaker:Gabs dates and times I use that because it syncs with
Speaker:my Google calendar and I have been known to easily get
Speaker:off track.
Speaker:So those calendar reminders really help me to send reminders when
Speaker:I need,
Speaker:even to the point that it tells me when I have
Speaker:to leave based on the amount of traffic that is in
Speaker:my area at the time it become a gadget gal.
Speaker:Well, it's certainly working for you.
Speaker:Is there a book lately that you've read that you think
Speaker:our listeners could find value in?
Speaker:Honestly, Sue have not really been reading much lately.
Speaker:I did from your first podcast,
Speaker:get audible book that you did the very first,
Speaker:actually the second podcast that you did with gift biz unwrapped.
Speaker:I've been with you since the beginning.
Speaker:And I read that,
Speaker:but I honestly must say that I really see the value
Speaker:in video and the trend in the next couple of years.
Speaker:I think that video is going to play in marketing.
Speaker:So I really kind of been learning things like Periscope and
Speaker:Snapchat. And of course,
Speaker:Instagram, that really seems to be consuming my time.
Speaker:And like you,
Speaker:I kind of sit at night.
Speaker:I don't necessarily get a chance to listen to all the
Speaker:scopes that I really want to,
Speaker:but I'll flip through them as everybody else is watching TV.
Speaker:I'm listening to Periscopes or,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:checking Snapchat or something like that.
Speaker:Well, gift biz listeners,
Speaker:we were talking earlier in this podcast about being resourceful and
Speaker:capturing information that can help you grow your business.
Speaker:Anita's been focusing more on video,
Speaker:but if you are still a book,
Speaker:an audio person,
Speaker:I want you to know that I have teamed up with
Speaker:audible so that you can get a great audio book for
Speaker:free. All you need to do is go to gift biz,
Speaker:book.com and make a selection there.
Speaker:That's gift biz,
Speaker:book.com. And now Anita,
Speaker:I want you to dare to dream.
Speaker:Okay? I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:This is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable Heights
Speaker:that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside What's inside is a huge party.
Speaker:I would love to have the ability to pull all the
Speaker:people together who have been my greatest influencers in my life
Speaker:and who have impacted me somewhere in another,
Speaker:into a room where I can personally say thank you and
Speaker:just really enjoy an evening with them and to say,
Speaker:thank you for all that you do and that you give
Speaker:back to each and every one of us.
Speaker:That Sounds awesome.
Speaker:Do I get to be at that party now?
Speaker:What do you think That's going to be the invitation.
Speaker:I'm going to print it under the image.
Speaker:I'm going to print the invitation on ribbon.
Speaker:It's going to be a rolled out red carpet event.
Speaker:There'll be a rolled out red carpet room.
Speaker:Well, let me just give you my RSVP right now.
Speaker:I would be honored to be there.
Speaker:How can our listeners get in touch with you?
Speaker:Certainly they can find me on Facebook,
Speaker:Instagram, and Twitter using the handle of treasured touch,
Speaker:or they can visit me on my website at treasured touch.
Speaker:That com perfect.
Speaker:And as you guys know,
Speaker:you can capture all of the detailed information over on the
Speaker:show notes page at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com and also Anita,
Speaker:I believe you have a gift for our listeners today.
Speaker:Absolutely. One of the things that I'd like to give to
Speaker:each and every listener is a downloadable strategic plan template.
Speaker:As I was developing my business,
Speaker:I got this template from a guy by the name of
Speaker:Cindy Novak who designed it.
Speaker:I asked her permission if I could share it with you.
Speaker:And she said,
Speaker:absolutely, it's a place where you can actually physically spend time
Speaker:and write down your current goals of what they are for
Speaker:the year.
Speaker:What you'd like your future goals to be three years,
Speaker:five years in 10 years,
Speaker:and then to really record step-by-step how to reach those goals
Speaker:in manageable plans.
Speaker:I adopted this plan back in 2014 and I really have
Speaker:just seen a tremendous amount of growth in myself and in
Speaker:my business to be able to fine tune what's working and
Speaker:what's not working so that I can continue to give value
Speaker:in every single thing that I do for people.
Speaker:That Sounds like a great planning tool.
Speaker:Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Speaker:And I appreciate all that you've shared.
Speaker:You have had just some fabulous stories in terms of campaigns
Speaker:and tools and all different types of things that we can
Speaker:all use as we grow our business.
Speaker:So I appreciate everything particularly the time that you spent with
Speaker:us today,
Speaker:Anita, and may your candle always burns Learn how to work
Speaker:smarter while developing and growing your business.
Speaker:Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business
Speaker:and life.
Speaker:It's our gift to you and available@giftbizonrap.com
Speaker:slash tools.
Speaker:Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for the
Speaker:next episode.
Speaker:Today's show is sponsored by the ribbon print company,
Speaker:looking for a new income source for your gift business.
Speaker:Customization is more popular now than ever granted products of your
Speaker:logo or print a happy birthday,
Speaker:Jessica Gribbon to add to again,
Speaker:right at checkout,
Speaker:it's all done right in your shop or craft studio in
Speaker:seconds. Check out the ribbon print company.com
Speaker:for more information.
Speaker:Would you like to be on the show or do you
Speaker:know someone who can provide valuable insight from their experiences?
Speaker:If so,
Speaker:we'd love to hear from you.
Speaker:All you need to do is submit a form for consideration.
Speaker:You can the form@giftbizonwrapped.com
Speaker:forward slash guest that's gift biz on rap.com