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Hi there.
Speaker:It's Sue.
Speaker:And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.
Speaker:These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and
Speaker:things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.
Speaker:If you'd like to submit a topic,
Speaker:DME over on Instagram at gift biz unwrapped,
Speaker:before we get into the show today,
Speaker:I want to make sure that you know about the newest
Speaker:thing happening over here.
Speaker:It's called the gift biz bash a zoom party that turns
Speaker:into a podcast episode.
Speaker:Several weeks later,
Speaker:the party consists of a short training with Q and a
Speaker:from yours truly.
Speaker:And then an opportunity for you to give a shout out
Speaker:about your business.
Speaker:You can tell us about a promotion you currently have going
Speaker:on or share a collaboration that you're considering so that you
Speaker:can find a perfect partner for the event.
Speaker:A little bit of learning and visibility for your business.
Speaker:What could be better?
Speaker:There is a catch though spots are limited to keep the
Speaker:party to about 45 minutes or so.
Speaker:That means you should grab your spot right away.
Speaker:It's totally free to make sure you're included.
Speaker:Why not do that right now?
Speaker:Pause this episode,
Speaker:go to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash bash to sign up and then come back
Speaker:and listen to the show.
Speaker:I'll see you at the bash.
Speaker:As I'm recording this,
Speaker:there is the most wonderful event happening right outside my window.
Speaker:It's spring,
Speaker:construction time,
Speaker:all around the Robins in the Midwest are out and about
Speaker:building new nests to lay their eggs.
Speaker:We have a front and center view to a set of
Speaker:Robbins who take up residency most years,
Speaker:clearly visible from our kitchen window and just right above our
Speaker:outdoor patio table.
Speaker:One of the downspouts curves ever so slightly at the junction
Speaker:where the downspout meets the wood siding of our house.
Speaker:A familiar pair at this very moment are busy at work,
Speaker:fixing up and making everything perfect for their new little babies
Speaker:of the season.
Speaker:My heart jumped a little bit yesterday.
Speaker:When I looked out my upstairs window and saw a red
Speaker:breasted Robin,
Speaker:which is the daddy looking in at me.
Speaker:Could it be,
Speaker:are they moving back again this year?
Speaker:I never take this gift for granted being able to observe
Speaker:from a distance,
Speaker:the miracles in nature,
Speaker:I could swear to you that he was saying,
Speaker:hi, we're back.
Speaker:And you see,
Speaker:I wasn't sure if they would be besides being missing last
Speaker:spring, the winter winds and snow did a number on their
Speaker:old nest.
Speaker:It was pretty much demolished,
Speaker:nothing left,
Speaker:but a mess of sticks all flattened down with no resemblance
Speaker:of a nest shape at all.
Speaker:Most of the siding of the nest was blown away too.
Speaker:Would they ever come back and rebuild almost from scratch or
Speaker:would they decide now's the time to permanently relocate?
Speaker:Meaning we'd lose our ability to observe at such a close
Speaker:level. I was sad to think we'd miss out on this
Speaker:special viewing.
Speaker:Once I saw the Robyn,
Speaker:I ran down to the kitchen and sure enough,
Speaker:the nest was being built again.
Speaker:I guess the location hasn't lost its value.
Speaker:And this time they're using the Matta down remnants from the
Speaker:previous nest as a foundation,
Speaker:I actually think it's going to make for a more stable,
Speaker:insulated and soft platform for this new home.
Speaker:I can't put into words how special it is to watch
Speaker:the progress,
Speaker:to see the mother Robin,
Speaker:sit on her eggs when the time comes and the father
Speaker:bring the worms to the newly hatched babies.
Speaker:It's a huge topic in our house and puts things in
Speaker:perspective, given all that's happening around the world these days.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:besides just sharing this as a feel,
Speaker:good story,
Speaker:I want to relate it to business.
Speaker:It is tips and talk day after all the rabbits got
Speaker:me thinking about seasons in our business and how easy it
Speaker:would be to just do the same thing over and over
Speaker:again. Especially if you've been in business for several years now.
Speaker:I mean the same holidays roll around similar colors and products
Speaker:are traditional and popular in different seasons.
Speaker:And we'll probably do various promotions for different holidays.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:Here's my question for you because you've done this before perhaps
Speaker:many times,
Speaker:are you continuing with the same old,
Speaker:same old,
Speaker:and is this the best you can?
Speaker:Do you see here's the deal repeating what you've done in
Speaker:the past may or may not be the most lucrative or
Speaker:beneficial thing for growing your sales?
Speaker:I'll be it.
Speaker:It's the easiest plan.
Speaker:Is it possible?
Speaker:Your customers are growing tired of seeing the same messaging and
Speaker:offers. Did your plan even work last year or is it
Speaker:tired, old or a copy of what everyone else is doing
Speaker:with each new season,
Speaker:new opportunities present themselves.
Speaker:And I'm suggesting that instead of going into the default mode
Speaker:of activity from the past,
Speaker:do what my Robbins are doing.
Speaker:They recommitted the nest location,
Speaker:took what was still usable from a past year and did
Speaker:some remodeling to make an even better and more secure nest.
Speaker:Okay. Major side note here,
Speaker:this new version of the nest has much higher sides than
Speaker:any Robin's nest I've ever seen.
Speaker:I'm thinking they kept building up and up because it's been
Speaker:an extremely cold spring.
Speaker:So this way the eggs and the mom will have more
Speaker:protection. That's my theory.
Speaker:Anyway, you know what?
Speaker:I'll put up some photos in my Instagram stories at gift
Speaker:biz on wrapped.
Speaker:So you can see it and watch along with our little
Speaker:Robin journey.
Speaker:Oh, okay.
Speaker:Getting back on topic here.
Speaker:How does the Robin theory apply to you?
Speaker:Well, as each season rolls around again,
Speaker:think back about the promotions that you did from the prior
Speaker:year. What worked well,
Speaker:what still relevant,
Speaker:what could be improved or,
Speaker:and I know this is dramatic,
Speaker:but should the promotion even be repeated at all?
Speaker:Consider my coaching client who has switched her focus from direct
Speaker:to consumer purchases to a corporate initiative while she still has
Speaker:a few father's day gifts as solutions for her new corporate
Speaker:accounts. She's not putting in the time and effort for father's
Speaker:day like she did last year because her business has shifted
Speaker:towards a new target customer.
Speaker:Doing what she did last year would be counterproductive.
Speaker:And quite honestly,
Speaker:confusing changes like this will happen as your business grows and
Speaker:develops the transition into another season.
Speaker:Or you could even say just doing this by calendar quarter
Speaker:is a perfect time to refresh and revise.
Speaker:So you stay in alignment with your current focus or strategy.
Speaker:If you're interested in hearing in more detail,
Speaker:how to analyze your promotions,
Speaker:jump over to episode number 1 37 of this podcast,
Speaker:where I give you a step-by-step system.
Speaker:So your promotions keep getting better and better each and every
Speaker:year. That is it for me today.
Speaker:I'm going back to some Robin watching.
Speaker:That's a wrap.
Speaker:I'm a get to the point kind of girl.
Speaker:And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream
Speaker:of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.
Speaker:We want them,
