Shownotes
Business Building Insights
- Things change all the time. Be flexible.
- If you have doubts just push them aside and do what your heart is set to.
- Trying to focus on too much at once leads to confusion and lack of progress.
- When you decide on a business name, make sure to get the domain and all social media platforms right away.
- Make your booth a draw for people to come and look.
- Don’t force what you’re selling. Ask customers if they have questions and then let them look around.
Resources Mentioned
J.S. Andersen BooksContact Links
Website Instagram LinkedInGift Biz Resources
Join our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community
If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you.
Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
Hi there.
Speaker:You're listening to gift biz on rapt episode 203 if you
Speaker:have doubts,
Speaker:you just need to push them aside and just do what
Speaker:you have your heart set to just do it At Tinton,
Speaker:gifters, bakers,
Speaker:crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun whether you
Speaker:have an established business or looking to start one now you
Speaker:are in the right place.
Speaker:This is give to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources and the support you need to grow your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal,
Speaker:Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there,
Speaker:it's Sue and thank you So much for sharing some of
Speaker:your time with me today.
Speaker:I want to start out by reading a review from Mary
Speaker:Scott's mom.
Speaker:She says this is a premier maker podcast.
Speaker:Her reviews a little bit long,
Speaker:so I'm going to shorten it up,
Speaker:but you'll get the just of it.
Speaker:She says,
Speaker:I find this to be such a well organized and skillfully
Speaker:arranged podcast and it's hard to find others in this genre.
Speaker:To compare.
Speaker:Sue has a format that makes it easy for a new
Speaker:listener to feel welcomed to join in and can easily follow
Speaker:along. Her music intro is lighthearted.
Speaker:Her consistent format keeps me focusing where I really need to
Speaker:focus. Her questions are great and she really digs in.
Speaker:It's not just a conversation between two strangers over the airwaves.
Speaker:I love Sue's clear,
Speaker:concise voice.
Speaker:She is the smart,
Speaker:friendly, savvy girl next door.
Speaker:Also the ads are short and sweet and she doesn't over
Speaker:promote herself.
Speaker:Keep up the good work.
Speaker:Sue, I look forward to every podcast.
Speaker:Mary, thank you so much.
Speaker:I really appreciate that and no,
Speaker:sometimes it feels a little bit funny to share reviews but
Speaker:I know it's fun when you get your review read on
Speaker:air. If you're interested in doing that,
Speaker:I would so appreciate you going over rating the show and
Speaker:honest rating and then if you wanted to give a review
Speaker:like Mary just did that would be great.
Speaker:It's possible that yours will be one that I select to
Speaker:share on air.
Speaker:If you listen to podcasts regularly,
Speaker:you probably hear hosts suggesting that you do this for them.
Speaker:The reason we ask for rating and reviews is it helps
Speaker:get more people to be able to know about the show.
Speaker:Our podcast goes up in the iTunes rankings so people can
Speaker:find it and of course every podcast isn't for everybody,
Speaker:but I for 1:00 AM looking for people who are gifters,
Speaker:bakers, crafters and makers so we can spread the word and
Speaker:all the goodness that my guests bring here.
Speaker:Now, today's show,
Speaker:this is really significant because I'm changing it up today.
Speaker:As you might've noticed in the title,
Speaker:we are going to be doing an on air coaching call
Speaker:and I have a few of these coming up in the
Speaker:near future.
Speaker:I've been asked by some people why I'm not doing on-air
Speaker:coaching calls and quite honestly I never really thought about doing
Speaker:them before,
Speaker:but peers have been suggesting it to me as well as
Speaker:some of our listeners.
Speaker:So here we go.
Speaker:Our first on air coaching call.
Speaker:My guest today is Jeanette Anderson.
Speaker:Jeanette is a talented and multi-passionate creator.
Speaker:She's already the author of five books,
Speaker:but she also has skills in photography,
Speaker:a talent with designing soft good products and is considering motivational
Speaker:speaking. This is a common challenge for creative women.
Speaker:When it comes down to starting a business,
Speaker:there are so many options.
Speaker:How do you possibly twos?
Speaker:It becomes confusing and leads to lots of activity with little
Speaker:result because there's too much going on at one time.
Speaker:Additionally, customers are confused because they can't clearly define what you
Speaker:do. In our call,
Speaker:Danette narrows in on a product grouping that is cohesive and
Speaker:clear. We work through ideas on name recognition and branding and
Speaker:now it's going to be time to test the market.
Speaker:We walked through steps on how to work through this phase.
Speaker:Jeanette leaves our call with a focus plan that she's excited
Speaker:about and dare I say,
Speaker:I think the denim blues is going to be a huge
Speaker:hit. Let's jump over right now and hear from Jeanette
Hey Jeanette,
Speaker:how are you doing this morning?
Speaker:I'm doing awesome.
Speaker:How are you?
Speaker:I'm great and I am so excited to dive into your
Speaker:business, learn what you're all about and see if we can
Speaker:get you moving forward in a big,
Speaker:comfortable and exciting way.
Speaker:How does that sound?
Speaker:Wonderful. I'm excited.
Speaker:I am too.
Speaker:Before we do,
Speaker:I like to keep a lot of the listeners anticipating and
Speaker:getting to know our guests in a little bit of a
Speaker:different way.
Speaker:And I know you've listened to the podcast before so you
Speaker:know that I do this and we're going to continue this
Speaker:through our Ani or coaching calls too.
Speaker:So if you were to describe yourself by way of a
Speaker:motivational candle,
Speaker:what color would your candle be and what would be the
Speaker:quote on your candle?
Speaker:I would be harvest colors and my quote would be just
Speaker:do it.
Speaker:And what does that mean to you right now in your
Speaker:life? It's like a self motivation.
Speaker:If you have doubts,
Speaker:you just need to push them aside and just do what
Speaker:you have your heart set to just do it,
Speaker:just do it.
Speaker:And don't let yourself get in your own way,
Speaker:which is so often what I see people doing,
Speaker:Oh, I'm my worst enemy.
Speaker:You know what truth is?
Speaker:We all are at some point in our life.
Speaker:Yes. All right,
Speaker:so let's start with learning a little bit more about you,
Speaker:what your journey has been up to this point,
Speaker:and then the business that you're putting together.
Speaker:Give us a little grounding here.
Speaker:Well, I'm a person who likes to achieve something.
Speaker:I set my mind to,
Speaker:when I was a freshmen in my English class,
Speaker:we had to write down some goals and of course there's
Speaker:always the lose 10 pounds.
Speaker:That's a back and forth thing.
Speaker:But my other one was to write a book.
Speaker:So Ian,
Speaker:years later I wrote a book and I rewrote it a
Speaker:few times and I finally got it published.
Speaker:And so now I have five books out hoping to get
Speaker:a couple more books out this year.
Speaker:I'm not a self publisher,
Speaker:I have a publishing company and I've always liked making things
Speaker:and always wanted to help people.
Speaker:So my dream is,
Speaker:is to get what I think is kind of creative on
Speaker:my craft items and get it out there for people to
Speaker:buy and what Beautiful.
Speaker:Okay. Well we can't discount this book because the fact alone
Speaker:that you have five books and that you have been accountable
Speaker:to a publisher shows that you follow through with what you
Speaker:just talked about with your candle.
Speaker:Just do it.
Speaker:Yes. So the first thing that this says to me is
Speaker:that if you know and feel comfortable in what you should
Speaker:be doing,
Speaker:there is no question that you're going to get it done.
Speaker:Yeah. Until I set my own self barriers in front of
Speaker:me, because my problem is,
Speaker:is I have so many,
Speaker:not always crazy,
Speaker:but so many ideas I want to do.
Speaker:It's hard to narrow down,
Speaker:to stick with one thing.
Speaker:It's like I'm not bragging,
Speaker:but I'm a Jill of all trades.
Speaker:I can do a lot of things,
Speaker:but I'm not a perfectionist at one.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:not saying that I'm not good,
Speaker:but I can,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I can't go cut people's hair,
Speaker:but I've dyed my hair.
Speaker:I've rolled and gave myself perms.
Speaker:I can just do things,
Speaker:but I'm not professional at it,
Speaker:I guess.
Speaker:Well, and I think that of all things with makers becomes
Speaker:a challenge because we can do so many things and we're
Speaker:creative and we think about then more things to do and
Speaker:then we get to the point where it sounds like you
Speaker:are, which is,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:just, Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Okay. There's so many things.
Speaker:Which one do I actually do?
Speaker:Yes. Okay,
Speaker:so there's a lot of good here.
Speaker:A lot of good going on here.
Speaker:Get back to your book for half a second and just
Speaker:give a plug.
Speaker:What are the topics and tell us some titles or how
Speaker:they could,
Speaker:people could find books if they want to know about your
Speaker:book. Oh,
Speaker:Okay. Instead of my full name,
Speaker:I use the initials,
Speaker:J S Anderson.
Speaker:My John rhe varies.
Speaker:I have it young adult book out there.
Speaker:It's kind of historical fiction.
Speaker:It's based in the town that I grew up in,
Speaker:so it's got some history of big foot and underground tunnels.
Speaker:I won't go more into it.
Speaker:So people want to get it.
Speaker:It's called hidden secrets.
Speaker:I'm working on book two,
Speaker:which is secrets revealed,
Speaker:but it's kind of like a Nancy drew type,
Speaker:the girl,
Speaker:the Geist get in the wrong place at the wrong time,
Speaker:trying to find what's causing her nightmares and find out her
Speaker:parents have a link to it.
Speaker:And my other ones are kind of like chick novellas.
Speaker:Okay. Right.
Speaker:Good. I just,
Speaker:since we've talked about it and so many people are curious
Speaker:about writing a book,
Speaker:maybe have thought of writing book,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:I just wanted to get that out there for everybody.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:And honestly it says a lot about you and what you
Speaker:can do as you're moving forward.
Speaker:So as we move into the real topic now,
Speaker:which is your crafts,
Speaker:share a little bit about the types of things that you've
Speaker:already done.
Speaker:I've made and sold crazy quilts and I recycle jeans and
Speaker:shirts and I use bandanas.
Speaker:And so I had to come up with a business name.
Speaker:Oh, years ago when I lived in a different state and
Speaker:I choose denim blues cause I just liked it and it
Speaker:fits with what I do.
Speaker:So the products that you've sold in the past,
Speaker:I don't know if this is where you're going to go
Speaker:for the future,
Speaker:but where what you've sold in the past are the quilts
Speaker:and the pillows and bandanas and all of that kind of
Speaker:goes together with the whole denim concept for sure.
Speaker:Yes. How have you been selling those?
Speaker:I went to craft shows and gave him his gifts and
Speaker:that's about it.
Speaker:But I've had people really like them and I mean the
Speaker:rough, you don't have to worry if their stains on it
Speaker:cause they're crazy quilts.
Speaker:That's what I like about it too because you don't have
Speaker:to be a perfectionist and making sure,
Speaker:I mean there's gorgeous quilts out there and people spend a
Speaker:lot of time on it where they do the different designs
Speaker:and stuff,
Speaker:which I'm working on the site on that too.
Speaker:But this one's crazy.
Speaker:I can lay out the pieces anyway I want.
Speaker:Okay. And who were you finding was buying the quilts?
Speaker:Give me an idea of the person who's buying from you.
Speaker:Actually it's been a long time since I've sold one.
Speaker:The last one I sold,
Speaker:he was a gentleman when I was at a show for
Speaker:his wife because he liked it.
Speaker:He was attracted to it.
Speaker:But so it sounds like you haven't had a lot of
Speaker:history recently and now you're in a new area too.
Speaker:Yes. Have you sold any of your crazy quilts or gifts
Speaker:or anything like that or bandanas or all of that?
Speaker:The pillows in your new location where you are right now?
Speaker:No, cause I haven't really been working on it.
Speaker:I've been writing instead,
Speaker:but I just want to kind of get a balance and
Speaker:I want to start sewing again and getting my stuff out
Speaker:there and I have lots of other ideas of what to
Speaker:do and make besides quilts and pillows.
Speaker:Okay. What are some of these other ideas?
Speaker:Oh, I have my design,
Speaker:I mean my logo and business name on shirts and I
Speaker:have a couple of their inspirational or motivational quotes I want
Speaker:to put on like t-shirts or bags like just do it
Speaker:is one of them.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:You might not be able to,
Speaker:that might be trademarked though.
Speaker:You'd have to check on that.
Speaker:True. But close.
Speaker:That is totally an aside.
Speaker:If you were to think about the business that you're trying
Speaker:to build,
Speaker:forget the product right now,
Speaker:but the business,
Speaker:how do you see it fitting in your life with other
Speaker:that you have going on?
Speaker:Like what's the goal for a business?
Speaker:You were just mentioning balance.
Speaker:Yes. That's hard for me to do is balance my life.
Speaker:Oh me too.
Speaker:I'm right with you.
Speaker:My goal is when I start getting orders and I would
Speaker:like to get,
Speaker:hire some help.
Speaker:So are you looking at this to ultimately be the full
Speaker:time thing you do?
Speaker:Because I know you also have other jobs right now,
Speaker:at least one other job,
Speaker:but are you looking for this?
Speaker:Whatever you're doing with your craft to bring in the whole
Speaker:income, to support the family,
Speaker:bring in a portion,
Speaker:working full time,
Speaker:working part time.
Speaker:What is your vision?
Speaker:It might be a hard one right off the start.
Speaker:I would like to get it going so I can make
Speaker:a pretty good business and get out of debt.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:and you in your minds,
Speaker:I know I'm not asking you the amount right now.
Speaker:You know what that dollar figure could look like for you?
Speaker:Yes. I'm not expecting a lot,
Speaker:but I want something that I know quote,
Speaker:just a general amount that I know for sure.
Speaker:I'm going to be making $2,000
Speaker:a month set on my business.
Speaker:Okay, perfect.
Speaker:So that helps a lot because that helps us understand where
Speaker:you're trying to go,
Speaker:at least initially because things can always change.
Speaker:I've seen businesses and my business isn't today what I started
Speaker:with, but this is a way to go.
Speaker:In $2,000
Speaker:a month is a hundred percent achievable.
Speaker:Awesome. That's exciting cause that should not be difficult for you
Speaker:to accomplish at all.
Speaker:Like I said,
Speaker:it's important to have kind of a stake in the ground
Speaker:of where you're going now when you get there,
Speaker:maybe you'll decide you were going to want to be doing
Speaker:differently. Maybe that goal is all you ever want to your
Speaker:point about balance.
Speaker:So that's perfect and I appreciate you giving us some details
Speaker:with that.
Speaker:Going back to your product,
Speaker:so we've talked about this line of denim blues,
Speaker:which is currently the business name,
Speaker:the crazy quilts,
Speaker:bandanas, all of that falls pretty much into the same theme
Speaker:when you get into shirt and bags,
Speaker:that type of thing.
Speaker:Would you see it falling under the same umbrella?
Speaker:Probably not because things are changing all the time,
Speaker:so you have to be flexible.
Speaker:I hope I'm answering this right and go with the flow
Speaker:of what people want.
Speaker:So even one little change in your project can make a
Speaker:big difference with what people want.
Speaker:Okay. Is that what you asked?
Speaker:I'm sorry.
Speaker:Yeah, no,
Speaker:I'm just trying to get a feel for all the different
Speaker:areas. Are there any other things that you've been thinking about
Speaker:in terms of creating?
Speaker:I wouldn't mind being a motivational speaker.
Speaker:Okay. Yeah,
Speaker:you are all over the board.
Speaker:You've got a ton of stuff.
Speaker:I know I've been through a lot in my life and
Speaker:I think a lot of people wouldn't quite under stand.
Speaker:That's why I'm thinking of making a personal or not a
Speaker:biography, but just so people understand maybe different things I've been
Speaker:through and would like to help people know that Hey,
Speaker:you're not,
Speaker:just because you might feel like a failure you aren't because
Speaker:anybody can do anything.
Speaker:It might take longer,
Speaker:which gets frustrating cause I know people that say can write
Speaker:a book,
Speaker:they get a contract and now they are going around to
Speaker:different States and talking about their book and how it can
Speaker:help other people.
Speaker:Yes. I have some books out there but I'm like,
Speaker:I'm not traveling around.
Speaker:I'm not doing this,
Speaker:but there's different gaps in different ways.
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:Sure. Okay.
Speaker:On the product side.
Speaker:Are there any other products you were thinking of?
Speaker:I just want to try and lay out the whole perspective
Speaker:right now.
Speaker:Yes. In fact,
Speaker:little like handwash Tel holders that go on the side of
Speaker:your sink because a lot of times if you put them
Speaker:over the faucet or over the divider in your kitchen sink,
Speaker:it gets wet,
Speaker:it gets dirty,
Speaker:it falls in.
Speaker:Sometimes it gets caught in the disposal,
Speaker:but if you have a little suction little holder on the
Speaker:side, then it's easy just to grab and hang it back
Speaker:up. Okay.
Speaker:You're a photographer too,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:Does that play in here or,
Speaker:I want to put all of it on the table before
Speaker:we start talking.
Speaker:Yes, I'm a nature fanatic.
Speaker:I love taking nature pictures and I've done wedding receptions.
Speaker:I've done senior high school pictures.
Speaker:Yeah, I like doing that too.
Speaker:Is there anything else you can think of?
Speaker:Right. The second,
Speaker:I just have lots of ideas I want to do and
Speaker:make and so,
Speaker:but based on what I have right now,
Speaker:photography books and sewing.
Speaker:So I see four.
Speaker:So your books are going,
Speaker:you're doing that already,
Speaker:right? So that's a given that stays on the table.
Speaker:That's a given for sure.
Speaker:And then you've got this whole crafting area and the under
Speaker:practing or creating,
Speaker:let's say you've got different things.
Speaker:You've got quilts,
Speaker:you've got the shirts,
Speaker:motivational quotes,
Speaker:they hand wash,
Speaker:towel holder type concept.
Speaker:So that's all bundled as one thing.
Speaker:And then you also have thought about motivational speaking and you've
Speaker:also thought about and dabbled in all these too.
Speaker:I understand that.
Speaker:And also photography.
Speaker:So given that books is already there,
Speaker:it's already happening,
Speaker:you're already successful.
Speaker:That's happening.
Speaker:All of these other three.
Speaker:So the more crafting end speaking and photography,
Speaker:which one excites you the most?
Speaker:It depends on mood.
Speaker:Seriously. Probably the crafting and photography kind of balance.
Speaker:Okay. I know I need to see which one is more,
Speaker:don't I?
Speaker:I'd go for the crafting.
Speaker:Okay. I'm glad you said at first those two because I
Speaker:think in terms of reaching your financial goals,
Speaker:either of these could do it for you.
Speaker:Probably I'm not as good in the photography,
Speaker:John rhe so I'm not going to claim to be,
Speaker:but just in terms of being able to get jobs and
Speaker:all of that,
Speaker:but I would suggest you focus on one and that's where
Speaker:initially the challenge comes.
Speaker:Is there so many ideas and so I'm not saying you,
Speaker:you might be someone who's doing this,
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:but you'll go dabble in one thing for a little bit
Speaker:and then you'll go dabble in another thing for a little
Speaker:bit and nothing ever starts to get traction because you're all
Speaker:over the place.
Speaker:Yes. Okay,
Speaker:so that resonates with you.
Speaker:That sounds like you.
Speaker:So you're saying that that sounds like you.
Speaker:Yes, I have too much and it's hard to stay focused
Speaker:and balance of,
Speaker:I need to write it down.
Speaker:Okay. This day on Monday,
Speaker:I'm just going to do craps.
Speaker:Tuesday, I'll work on photography Wednesday,
Speaker:back to grafts,
Speaker:Thursday, Friday,
Speaker:work on my books.
Speaker:Okay. Bingo thing.
Speaker:Naming names.
Speaker:Yeah. But the hardest part is,
Speaker:is to actually sit down and write down my goals in
Speaker:the daytimer,
Speaker:which is right here and I should do that.
Speaker:Okay. Well and I also think you're trying to do too
Speaker:many things at once.
Speaker:Yes. So none of it is ever really going to start
Speaker:wheels to the road and moving forward because you're bringing so
Speaker:many things up,
Speaker:little bit at a time.
Speaker:I would suggest to you that you want to focus now
Speaker:the books again,
Speaker:like we said,
Speaker:and we'll,
Speaker:this is the last time we'll say this on the call,
Speaker:but that's there.
Speaker:That's happening.
Speaker:Cause you're already in it.
Speaker:But my suggestion to you then is to decide that it's
Speaker:just going to be one other thing,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:And can we go with the idea that it's going to
Speaker:be the crafting?
Speaker:Yes. Do you agree with that?
Speaker:Yes. Okay.
Speaker:So then what I would do now,
Speaker:photography, hello,
Speaker:you're going to be wanting to take photos of all of
Speaker:the beautiful things that you're making.
Speaker:So you're still,
Speaker:it's great that you already have that skill because you're going
Speaker:to be able to use it if you jumpstart all of
Speaker:your crafting and start really seriously monetizing that.
Speaker:And it doesn't mean that someday you don't do more photography
Speaker:for events and it doesn't mean that someday you don't do
Speaker:motivational speaking.
Speaker:It just means for right now focus on one thing.
Speaker:How does that feel to you?
Speaker:It feels wonderful.
Speaker:Okay, so that's my very,
Speaker:very first suggestion and we're going to go with this on
Speaker:the call.
Speaker:You might decide later as you think back to what we've
Speaker:talked about that no,
Speaker:you want to take the photography edge,
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:But for now we're going to talk about the creative and
Speaker:the crafting where you have a ton of experience already by
Speaker:the way.
Speaker:So let's just focus then on that.
Speaker:So you've got your crazy quilt,
Speaker:your bandanas and all the other products that go in line
Speaker:with all of that.
Speaker:Yes. If you were to whittle that down just a little
Speaker:bit, what do you like the most there?
Speaker:I liked doing the crazy quilt takes more time,
Speaker:but I just liked doing them.
Speaker:Okay. And the pillows,
Speaker:I see the crazy quilt,
Speaker:bandanas and pillows all kind of together.
Speaker:Okay. Yeah.
Speaker:And are the pillows also,
Speaker:cause those are the first ones you talked about under denim
Speaker:blues, are they all under that theme?
Speaker:They're all using that material,
Speaker:are that style and feel?
Speaker:Yep, the front part is just different designs of the denim
Speaker:and the back is a bandana.
Speaker:Perfect. Perfect.
Speaker:Because that all plays into your company name of denim blues.
Speaker:Yup. So again,
Speaker:I'm whittling this down and saying only focus now on that.
Speaker:Okay. Okay.
Speaker:And I know you're not selling,
Speaker:I know you're not in a situation where you're doing that
Speaker:right now.
Speaker:Do you have any inventory?
Speaker:Currently I have one crazy quilt.
Speaker:It's a small like lap quilts,
Speaker:like a maybe a playmat quilt that you'd lay your baby
Speaker:on, on the floor or one to cover half your body
Speaker:if you're on the couch.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:And any bandanas or pillows or any of that?
Speaker:Yeah, I have a couple of pillows that are done too.
Speaker:Okay. So the first thing that I think you would want
Speaker:to do is look at your products and have a few
Speaker:samples that you can start testing.
Speaker:You can start seeing who in the market is interested,
Speaker:what the price points are,
Speaker:that kind of thing.
Speaker:So I think the first thing is to have some inventory
Speaker:and if they're not,
Speaker:if they're used already and they're not photo worthy anymore because
Speaker:you've been using them,
Speaker:maybe that's fine.
Speaker:But I would start taking some photos just so you have
Speaker:them ready because we're going to go into another angle here
Speaker:in a second of photos of your products.
Speaker:And maybe that means you have to make a few,
Speaker:which I don't think is a bad thing to have to
Speaker:make some.
Speaker:Right. I take a picture of everything I make,
Speaker:so I have photos of what I made years ago.
Speaker:I have a little notebook full of them.
Speaker:Okay. And you feel good about the quality of the photos?
Speaker:Yeah, some of them are.
Speaker:Okay. Okay.
Speaker:So I would go back and look at those.
Speaker:And then also,
Speaker:I don't know how you did your photography,
Speaker:but if they are just pictures of the actual quilt or
Speaker:pillow or if they're in a lifestyle layout vignette,
Speaker:you know like maybe a throw over a couch.
Speaker:I have both.
Speaker:Okay. You have both.
Speaker:Perfect. So you might have all those visuals already,
Speaker:so that's wonderful because the first thing you're going to be
Speaker:wanting to do is get out there and show some of
Speaker:this and to start to attract an audience who are interested
Speaker:in your product.
Speaker:So let's put that aside for a second and let's talk
Speaker:about denim.
Speaker:Blues, denim,
Speaker:blues. Do you have that business trademarked?
Speaker:Yes, I have it licensed in Idaho,
Speaker:the text And everything.
Speaker:So you have a formal company already set up for it?
Speaker:Yes. Perfect.
Speaker:Okay. And let's talk about where that name shows up online.
Speaker:Well, actually I have my own little Facebook page.
Speaker:It's denim blues,
Speaker:I think that was taken.
Speaker:So I had to put the 13 byte denim blues 13
Speaker:and I actually bought a.com.
Speaker:I think it's the denim blues.com
Speaker:and then I got a free denim blues.org
Speaker:I just Need to get the website set up with my
Speaker:items on it.
Speaker:Okay, so the website is the denim blues,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:The company name is denim blues.
Speaker:The website is denim blues.com
Speaker:the Facebook page that you currently have,
Speaker:denim blues,
Speaker:is that set up as a business page under your personal
Speaker:account or is it set up as a separate Facebook?
Speaker:It's underneath my account.
Speaker:Perfect. That's exactly how it should be set up.
Speaker:I've jumped over there and looked and a lot of what
Speaker:you have on there right now is your photography.
Speaker:Yeah, I did have a thing on there with my quilts
Speaker:and stuff,
Speaker:but I don't know why I deleted it cause I was
Speaker:switching back and forth.
Speaker:So what do you think about starting a Facebook page that
Speaker:matches your website?
Speaker:The denim blues.
Speaker:Okay. Because honestly,
Speaker:when I went to denim blues,
Speaker:I didn't know what you did.
Speaker:Like if I already hadn't been talking to you,
Speaker:I wouldn't have known what that was.
Speaker:And I think not to confuse people having a website and
Speaker:you're so smart to have that website because you can make
Speaker:it into whatever you want and I don't know that we'll
Speaker:get to that right the second here.
Speaker:Yeah cause I just looked it up in a service still
Speaker:available so I need to look into that unless I type
Speaker:something wrong.
Speaker:The denim blues.
Speaker:Yeah. Dot com okay.
Speaker:Or if you want to change it but,
Speaker:but I think what you want to do,
Speaker:and this is through all your entities,
Speaker:if you like that name,
Speaker:the denim blues and I think it's cool denim blues.
Speaker:I saw what's very confusing.
Speaker:There was a bunch of people all over with some version
Speaker:of that.
Speaker:I didn't know if some of them were you or not
Speaker:you, but the denim blues stays true.
Speaker:It's kind of like one of mine though.
Speaker:Ribbon print company.
Speaker:Right. Okay.
Speaker:So put the in front of it.
Speaker:Okay. Unless there's something else that you want,
Speaker:do a little research and pick something that you can get
Speaker:as the.com
Speaker:even though you can do all these other extensions.
Speaker:Let's face it,
Speaker:everyone goes for.com
Speaker:first so if they know your name,
Speaker:they're going to want to enter that in as.com
Speaker:and you want them to find you there.
Speaker:So whatever you do,
Speaker:I would for sure if you haven't grabbed that,
Speaker:grab it like right today just in case you don't have
Speaker:it and if it's available,
Speaker:cause I think that's a cool name,
Speaker:the denim blues or anything,
Speaker:there's a lot of play you can do off of that.
Speaker:Okay. And then also grab all the social media sites.
Speaker:So make sure that those are all available.
Speaker:Facebook, Instagram,
Speaker:Twitter, even if you're not using them,
Speaker:just get them all because then you'll own them under your
Speaker:umbrella. Okay.
Speaker:Okay. That's a really easy,
Speaker:doable thing you can have done by later today.
Speaker:And if you can't get all of it with the denim
Speaker:blues, consider a different name.
Speaker:Okay. Okay.
Speaker:So that's the first thing.
Speaker:So then you have a very clear identity.
Speaker:I know there's nothing on there yet,
Speaker:but you're getting yourself set up.
Speaker:The other thing then for that I would consider and you
Speaker:can still keep other denim blues page maybe that someday will
Speaker:turn into your photography page cause that's more of what it
Speaker:is right now.
Speaker:Anyway. Yeah,
Speaker:I could always add my cool spec on there.
Speaker:But denim blues doesn't sound anything like photography though.
Speaker:So yeah.
Speaker:What the image re you have on there right now says
Speaker:nothing. If what I would do if it's a business page
Speaker:is keep it very clean.
Speaker:It's either photography or it's quilts or you're not just quilt.
Speaker:I get that,
Speaker:but I would have it one or the other not to
Speaker:confuse people.
Speaker:Okay. So if it's the denim blues,
Speaker:then that's what you put on there.
Speaker:None of the photography stuff,
Speaker:unless you're doing a craft show and you've got the mountains
Speaker:in the background and that's beautiful,
Speaker:or you incorporate one of your products into those beautiful images
Speaker:into the scenery.
Speaker:Oh, okay.
Speaker:Maybe like a rolling Creek or something and there's a pillow
Speaker:on a rock next to a rolling Creek.
Speaker:That would be awesome.
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:Things like that.
Speaker:Cool. Yeah.
Speaker:This could be an angle for you too,
Speaker:is that all of your imagery has that natural background that
Speaker:would separate you from a lot of other people and it
Speaker:plays in with denim.
Speaker:Do you have the more rustic yet feminine?
Speaker:Like it depends what each piece looks like yet feminine.
Speaker:But I'm thinking the first thing you want to do is
Speaker:become very clear on what your brand looks like.
Speaker:And we might be defining it here.
Speaker:I'm really liking it,
Speaker:but I'm really liking it here.
Speaker:Okay. Alright,
Speaker:so do all of that and then we got to get
Speaker:to testing the products.
Speaker:First you're setting your imagery.
Speaker:Once you have your Facebook page,
Speaker:then you start getting people to like it,
Speaker:right? When you start putting things up there,
Speaker:some of it might be your old pictures coming back just
Speaker:so you start attracting an audience and people start to get
Speaker:to know what you're about and what the denim blues means.
Speaker:Yeah. You can have the company name denim blues,
Speaker:but always reference it as the denim blues so that they
Speaker:know how to get to your website.
Speaker:Awesome. Okay.
Speaker:I will change that right now too.
Speaker:And you can always change your company name too,
Speaker:but if you've already trademarked it or something,
Speaker:you might just want to leave it.
Speaker:We'll just leave that kind of tidbit on the side for
Speaker:now. But then the next thing you want to do is
Speaker:get in front of an audience with your product.
Speaker:And I suggest the best way to do that as craft
Speaker:shows. Okay.
Speaker:Which means you would need to make some product.
Speaker:Yes. And what you'd be doing there is getting a feel
Speaker:for people's reaction to the products to different styles,
Speaker:different sizes,
Speaker:price points.
Speaker:Okay. Because you don't want to make a lot of just
Speaker:assume what your audience is going to want.
Speaker:Invest. So Sozo March,
Speaker:put things on a website,
Speaker:you know all of that to find that they're not moving,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:So one of the easiest ways is to find a local
Speaker:craft show.
Speaker:Not sure what you have in your area,
Speaker:but you could research some of that and just get out
Speaker:in front of people with your product and see what happens.
Speaker:Okay. Okay.
Speaker:And you've done craft shows before,
Speaker:so it sounds like you know what that's all about.
Speaker:How do you feel about that?
Speaker:Sounds good.
Speaker:Is it kind of exciting?
Speaker:Yeah, my visual as a booth and I would have to
Speaker:have my own booth unless I got a big one to
Speaker:share with others,
Speaker:but I want it kind of a cozy,
Speaker:so you have like a little chair and then you have
Speaker:maybe a little books shelf stand right there with books and
Speaker:of course my books.
Speaker:And then you have a blanket thrown over the chair that
Speaker:you're leaning up against and maybe over something else too,
Speaker:or on the table with some books on it.
Speaker:So it's kind of doing both.
Speaker:Make it a homey,
Speaker:is that the right word?
Speaker:Yeah, homey environment.
Speaker:Yeah. I absolutely see that.
Speaker:And by adding your books and it helps you not have
Speaker:to make as much product because you don't want a booth
Speaker:to have just two quilts in it.
Speaker:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker:But again,
Speaker:you can be creating that same environment that we were just
Speaker:talking about in your photography.
Speaker:You could duplicate in some way in your booth.
Speaker:Yeah, put a couple of pictures that I've taken in the
Speaker:back to add to it,
Speaker:so yeah,
Speaker:just kind of make it a comfy feel that draws people
Speaker:to come and look.
Speaker:Now I have question.
Speaker:If I have a couple quilts there to sell,
Speaker:I should have a notebook there with the quilts that I've
Speaker:made and then like an order form.
Speaker:The sizes kind of vary depending on the size of the
Speaker:bandanas that I buy and then people can start doing an
Speaker:order list and maybe what colors they want or what theme
Speaker:if they want to camouflage or girls Z or masculine or
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:Yep. You can definitely do that.
Speaker:Couple of ideas that come up with that is you want
Speaker:to make something small in the booth that you're going to
Speaker:have your books because you want to try and recoup your
Speaker:costs for a show first.
Speaker:Right. If you can.
Speaker:There's a lot of other reasons and a lot of other
Speaker:things you're doing right now at this discovery mode in a
Speaker:craft show so you can sell the books cause people are
Speaker:getting to know who you are as the artist behind the
Speaker:denim blues.
Speaker:We got to start saying it that way,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:But you want to make something smaller that's easy to purchase
Speaker:that is in line with your brand.
Speaker:Maybe their little baby pillows that are just cute decorative things.
Speaker:Not baby meaning for a baby necessarily,
Speaker:but like you know how you've seen like five by five
Speaker:pillows or I don't know what it is,
Speaker:but something that's kind of easy.
Speaker:You can whip up really fast and people could buy from
Speaker:you right at the booth and some bigger pillows,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:whatever. It depends when the show is how much you can
Speaker:make beforehand,
Speaker:but don't go over crazy.
Speaker:Making things for the first show and then yes,
Speaker:quilts that you can make to order,
Speaker:but also a few quilts there that people can buy.
Speaker:Let's say you bring five quilts or four quilts,
Speaker:something like that.
Speaker:Don't sell out of all of them because you want one
Speaker:there for other people to come up to the booth to
Speaker:see in person.
Speaker:So if you bring in five,
Speaker:you're only going to sell for Got it.
Speaker:And then yes,
Speaker:have custom and then you're going to want to sign somewhere
Speaker:or something that shows make in your colors in your style
Speaker:or you know,
Speaker:however you'd want to do that.
but here's the thing,
Speaker:here's the thing about this show is you're trying to get
Speaker:a feel for how people are reacting to your product and
Speaker:your messaging.
Speaker:Uh huh.
Speaker:So you're trying to see if this idea of a booth,
Speaker:which sounds spectacular,
Speaker:is helping to draw people in.
Speaker:And then when they're in,
Speaker:you want to observe what they're doing with the quilts and
Speaker:listen to them.
Speaker:So if they come in,
Speaker:you say,
Speaker:hi, how are you doing today?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:here's what we do.
Speaker:And then you're letting them just browse,
Speaker:eavesdrop, okay to hear what they,
Speaker:Oh, this would look really,
Speaker:really cute in my daughter's room.
Speaker:Or Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I love this color.
Speaker:This would be so good for my teenage daughter.
Speaker:Like there's so much you can learn from just responses that
Speaker:they're giving even if they're not buying.
Speaker:Okay. And those responses help direct you in terms of other
Speaker:things to add to your product.
Speaker:Wording you can use when you're putting together like a promotional
Speaker:brochure or something.
Speaker:Someone might come into the booth and say,
Speaker:I love this style.
Speaker:I haven't been able to find this anywhere for so long
Speaker:and I used to have something similar to this as a
Speaker:child. So what could you do with that kind of a
Speaker:thought in terms of graphics or Facebook posts or anything like
Speaker:that. So as much as you want to style and cover
Speaker:costs, right now,
Speaker:what you're trying to do is understand your customer.
Speaker:Yes. And let's say this is not going to happen,
Speaker:but let's say worst case,
Speaker:no one's buying anything.
Speaker:Then you want to try and get into conversations.
Speaker:What do you think about this?
Speaker:If you were to purchase this,
Speaker:who would you use it for?
Speaker:If someone looks at something and walks away,
Speaker:it kind of depends on the interaction.
Speaker:And how you feel about it,
Speaker:but you want to try and understand why people aren't buying
Speaker:it. Yeah.
Speaker:Is it the price point?
Speaker:There's so much gold in doing that that a lot of
Speaker:people I know go to craft shows and they're discouraged cause
Speaker:they walk away because they've only made a hundred dollars after
Speaker:covering their cost.
Speaker:Have you just sat behind a table on your cell phone
Speaker:hoping people are going to buy And people are going to
Speaker:just kind of look and walk on by you?
Speaker:You need to switch around positions.
Speaker:You need to stand up and be social and just greet
Speaker:people. The best thing to do is not force what you're
Speaker:selling down the customer's throat.
Speaker:You need to ask them if they're looking for anything specific.
Speaker:Are you there for a good time?
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:don't get too personal,
Speaker:but just if you hear what they're talking about and say,
Speaker:Oh I wasn't is dropping,
Speaker:but you said you'd like to go surfing.
Speaker:I've never surfed,
Speaker:but I love to boat.
Speaker:Oh, that's why I don't know.
Speaker:Something could come up about,
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:Well. That's why I love these quilts because They keep you
Speaker:warm anyway.
Speaker:Exactly. Then you play off what's in front of you and
Speaker:what's happening.
Speaker:So you've got it just by what you just said.
Speaker:You got it.
Speaker:You've got it down for sure.
Speaker:And so what you're doing here also,
Speaker:and I'm probably don't have to say this,
Speaker:but I want to make sure to make this portion complete.
Speaker:Also you want to have a good feel for how much
Speaker:each product costs you to make for your pricing.
Speaker:Right? So the materials,
Speaker:the labor cost in terms of hours you need to know
Speaker:too. And then of course margin.
Speaker:We're not going to go into the whole pricing thing right
Speaker:now because of the time,
Speaker:but you want to have a good feel for that because
Speaker:you don't want to go in and let's say a quilt
Speaker:costs you,
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:$35 to make depending on the size,
Speaker:maybe more.
Speaker:I have no idea.
Speaker:I used to be a quilter,
Speaker:but I'm not now,
Speaker:but let's just call it 35 okay.
Speaker:But it took you three hours to make and your time
Speaker:is X.
Speaker:Are you selling it for $40 you're not making any money.
Speaker:So the thing you don't want to do is price low,
Speaker:have people buy,
Speaker:but buy at a price you could never sustain and never
Speaker:get you to your 2000 a month.
Speaker:So you want to think through a little bit of your
Speaker:pricing. Do you want to come to the craft show with
Speaker:pricing that you're feeling really comfortable with?
Speaker:Okay. Okay.
Speaker:So I know that you are a little bit limited in
Speaker:time and we're circling around to when we're going to have
Speaker:to jump off.
Speaker:I know,
Speaker:but I think we've accomplished a lot here because we've talked
Speaker:about the first thing being the denim blues.com
Speaker:yes, I love it.
Speaker:That site,
Speaker:social media sites,
Speaker:if you have to change the name to something different,
Speaker:whatever, and then start putting imagery up all about that.
Speaker:Okay. And I love the idea of your branding being the
Speaker:natural background,
Speaker:like the natural life and streams and mountains or whatever,
Speaker:where you can just to have that feel is so awesome.
Speaker:If you can do that because then also people when they
Speaker:see imagery like that are going to know it to you.
Speaker:Yeah. So that will be great.
Speaker:And then making some product and preparing for first show in
Speaker:your new area and start testing the waters and seeing what's
Speaker:going on.
Speaker:Not with every single product you could possibly make,
Speaker:but with crazy quilts,
Speaker:bandanas and pillows.
Speaker:Awesome. And seeing that.
Speaker:So now as you think back to the top of what
Speaker:we were talking about,
Speaker:when you say Monday you're working on your book,
Speaker:Tuesday you're working on the quilts Wednesday,
Speaker:like whatever,
Speaker:right? The book is a given that has to fit into
Speaker:your week,
Speaker:but now where there's other openings for your time,
Speaker:it's all about just this,
Speaker:the denim blues,
Speaker:looking at a craft show,
Speaker:preparing all the things that you need for that,
Speaker:the booth,
Speaker:the book samples,
Speaker:all of that.
Speaker:So it's all driving to the same project,
Speaker:which is getting to a craft show and understanding what happens
Speaker:there. Cool.
Speaker:How does that feel?
Speaker:Feels awesome.
Speaker:Good. I'm excited about it.
Speaker:I want to do it.
Speaker:Cool. Let's get this partner up.
Speaker:So by working towards a specific,
Speaker:very clear goal,
Speaker:you're going to move forward and you're going to quote unquote,
Speaker:to use your terms again.
Speaker:Just do it,
Speaker:but you're going to get learning and then from that learning
Speaker:you'll know what to do for your next step.
Speaker:Okay. Okay.
Speaker:Awesome. Wonderful.
Speaker:Any questions?
Speaker:No, I think you covered everything.
Speaker:Wonderful. Well,
Speaker:this is fun.
Speaker:I am really excited because as I was looking at your
Speaker:other page,
Speaker:just the denim blues page and all those pictures,
Speaker:I'm waiting to see what you put together and the images
Speaker:that you put up because I know they're going to be
Speaker:beautiful. Awesome.
Speaker:Really excited about that.
Speaker:Well, thank you.
Speaker:You've got your vision,
Speaker:you've got your next steps,
Speaker:you've got a plan,
Speaker:and of course that'll tweak as you learn more,
Speaker:do more,
Speaker:know more,
Speaker:but I'm really excited for you,
Speaker:Jeanette. Cool.
Speaker:Well, thank you very much and I will keep you updated.
Speaker:Thank you so much for being on the show today.
Speaker:I appreciate it.
Speaker:Best of luck to you and stay in touch.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:thank you.
Speaker:Bye bye.
Speaker:Bye. I really honestly am so excited to see where Jeanette
Speaker:takes this on the show notes page.
Speaker:I'm going to put as many social media site as I
Speaker:have at the time this airs,
Speaker:but you might see that some of those are still placeholders
Speaker:because as we were talking,
Speaker:she's going to grab those sites and then fill them in
Speaker:as they become relevant to her business and now she gets
Speaker:going with them including the website.
Speaker:So if some of those look blank,
Speaker:right? If you're listening to this,
Speaker:right as we're airing,
Speaker:that will be why.
Speaker:Let me know what you think of these coaching calls.
Speaker:As I mentioned,
Speaker:there are a few more already coming up and I really
Speaker:would love feedback from you in terms of whether this is
Speaker:something you think that I should continue,
Speaker:whether it's helping you,
Speaker:giving you also ideas of things that you can do for
Speaker:your business and just overall how are you feeling about them
Speaker:to do that?
Speaker:Probably the best way would be to email me SU at
Speaker:gift biz unwrapped or of course you can leave a comment
Speaker:in your review if you so choose to do an iTunes
Speaker:review for the show.
Speaker:Coming up next week I have a guest and a topic
Speaker:that I have gotten a lot of requests for.
Speaker:I'm not going to tell you you are going to have
Speaker:to wait until next week and see that will be coming
Speaker:up live Monday morning on gift biz on wrapped.
Speaker:See then this podcast is made possible.
Speaker:Thanks to the support of the ribbon print company.
Speaker:Create custom ribbons right in your store or craft studio in
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