Shownotes
Business Inspiration
Being a “foodie” was the initial inspiration behind Gratitude Goodies. [4:30] The original idea and the reason for change. [5:43]Candle Flickering Moments
The drama behind purchasing another gift basket business [27:10]Business Building Insights
Advice on being homebased and getting started in business. [7:43] The business plan discussion including budgets and social media plans. [8:44] Networking is the most important business building activity Diane does. [10:59] Why and how she moved out of her house to a production facility. [15:02] A full description of Diane’s staff and the responsibility breakout. [18:34] All about staying focused on the core business. [22:22] The importance of systems and her basket “build list.” [23:22] The Shock and Awe Experience. [30:30]Success Trait
Tenacity and sticking to the plan is most important. “Do what’s right, even when it hurts.” [32:23]Productivity/Lifestyle Tool
iMovie – It’s never been easier to make videos. Just choose the clips you want to use. Insert titles, add effects, and create a full soundtrack with powerful tools that are as simple as drag and drop.Valuable Book
E-Myth Mastery by Michael E. Gerber Gratitude Marketing by Michael F. Sciortino
Contact Links
Website Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedInIf 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
Gift biz unwrapped episode 81.
Speaker:You never saw two people move so fast to save the
Speaker:chocolate. Hi,
Speaker:this is John Lee Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to the gift of biz unwrapped,
Speaker:and now it's time to light it up.
Speaker:Welcome to gift biz on wrapped your source for industry specific
Speaker:insights and advice to develop and grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host,
Speaker:Sue Mona height.
Speaker:Hi there.
Speaker:I'm Sue and welcome back to the gift biz unwrapped podcast,
Speaker:whether you own a brick and mortar shop 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 have joining us,
Speaker:Diane Campbell.
Speaker:Diane is the CEO of gratitude goodies,
Speaker:LLC. She has always had a passion for food and creativity.
Speaker:And back in 2008,
Speaker:she recognized that a core value was missing in corporations all
Speaker:across America and that core value insane.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:So she focused on the concept of building stronger relationships within
Speaker:businesses by expressing gratitude through delicious or make gift baskets.
Speaker:What started as a home-based business today operates out of a
Speaker:1500 square foot facility.
Speaker:Gratitude goodies LLC has been providing meaningful ways to say thank
Speaker:you to clients in Atlanta and across the nation.
Speaker:For the last eight years,
Speaker:Diane is married to Dan and has been married for 27
Speaker:years. So that's a huge accomplishment right there.
Speaker:They have three daughters,
Speaker:two grandchildren,
Speaker:and a dog named nugget,
Speaker:Diana enjoys cooking,
Speaker:travel quilting,
Speaker:and sharing her business knowledge with other entrepreneurs.
Speaker:And for that,
Speaker:I am so happy to have you welcome to the show.
Speaker:Diane, thanks So much,
Speaker:Sue. I'm so grateful to be here.
Speaker:I like to start off right away with the tradition that
Speaker:we've created here on gift biz on unwrapped.
Speaker:And that is by having you share a little bit more
Speaker:about yourself through the description of a motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you were to describe your perfect candle,
Speaker:what color would it be and what would be the quote
Speaker:on your candle?
Speaker:There is not a problem with that at all.
Speaker:My favorite color has always been purple.
Speaker:So I'm going to go with a purple or lavender color
Speaker:candle with the scent of lavender.
Speaker:And I'm going to wrap that with a beautiful Sage green
Speaker:bow. And the reason I do those two together is the
Speaker:green bow represents my company,
Speaker:but I also have just a love for the fall season
Speaker:and the Juul tones of fall,
Speaker:the beautiful Tuscany,
Speaker:yellows and oranges,
Speaker:and the green is the basis of all of that.
Speaker:It reminds me of nature and things like that.
Speaker:So if I had to put a quote on there,
Speaker:that is a challenge for me,
Speaker:I would say that Proverbs three,
Speaker:five, and six,
Speaker:I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me is
Speaker:my quote,
Speaker:but I have others as well,
Speaker:but you Want to go with that one?
Speaker:That's your main one.
Speaker:You've got to go with That one.
Speaker:There's a funnier one that I have that I just can't
Speaker:ever seem to get out of my head.
Speaker:Now you've peaked their curiosity.
Speaker:So you have to tell us that one too,
Speaker:Could interject a New York accent here.
Speaker:When I say this,
Speaker:this is coming from my uncle,
Speaker:Pete. And I'll tell you what it means to me after
Speaker:I say it.
Speaker:It's just simply,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:everything, you know,
Speaker:nothing. So it kind of tells me to be humble and
Speaker:to always be open to learning new things.
Speaker:I agree.
Speaker:Do you ever meet anybody who thinks they know?
Speaker:Absolutely. It's a little irritating to,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:someone knows everything,
Speaker:but it's unfortunate too,
Speaker:because they don't know what they're missing.
Speaker:Exactly. And this quote,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:everything, you know,
Speaker:nothing. Encapsulizes that whole thought process in one quote.
Speaker:So way to go,
Speaker:uncle Pete,
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:I agree with you totally.
Speaker:And a good thing for us all to remember just,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we always should be learning.
Speaker:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:And the world is always changing.
Speaker:So if you think you knew everything yesterday,
Speaker:maybe you did,
Speaker:but you probably don't today.
Speaker:Think again.
Speaker:Yes. Yeah,
Speaker:absolutely. All right.
Speaker:I want to start back in the beginning.
Speaker:Diane, talk to us about how you decided to go into
Speaker:a gift basket business,
Speaker:a little more depth than what we did in the intro
Speaker:and just your thinking of why this was the right business.
Speaker:And talk to us a little bit about how it all
Speaker:developed. Well,
Speaker:as I said in the intro,
Speaker:I am a foodie and there's no greater pleasure for me
Speaker:than if you could walk with me through Chelsea market in
Speaker:New York city,
Speaker:you'd be seeing on both sides of the aisle,
Speaker:beautiful displays of produce,
Speaker:just gorgeous red peppers and green broccoli.
Speaker:And then you smell coffee,
Speaker:all those things that come together,
Speaker:just the motivate me.
Speaker:And I love to be able to put the idea of
Speaker:food in pictures,
Speaker:just eating it.
Speaker:But food is my favorite dish.
Speaker:So, you know,
Speaker:when I'm walking through these places,
Speaker:I get so inspired and I want to photograph them.
Speaker:So that is just the nature of it.
Speaker:I love how food brings people together.
Speaker:It's cultural,
Speaker:it's emotional,
Speaker:it's all of that combined into one thing.
Speaker:Wonderful. And so how did that evolve into gourmet gift Baskets?
Speaker:I worked in a couple different places.
Speaker:Pruett design company.
Speaker:I worked there and I've always been around food,
Speaker:working in a bakery in one of the grocery stores here
Speaker:as well.
Speaker:I'm half Italian.
Speaker:So that should explain A lot there.
Speaker:So Wanting to be around food,
Speaker:I got this idea that I wanted to marry the foodie
Speaker:part of me with the creativity part of me and that
Speaker:entrepreneurial itch was always kind of there.
Speaker:So originally my was to partner with local artisans where I
Speaker:could find them and bring those into a gift basket that
Speaker:we could sell to corporations across America.
Speaker:What I found very quickly was artisans,
Speaker:or at least the ones that I was encountering are not
Speaker:capable of doing the high volume that I wanted to do.
Speaker:If I came to them and I said,
Speaker:I need 500 pieces of this.
Speaker:I would see their eyes just kind of glaze over and
Speaker:say what?
Speaker:So a lot of them were more interested in maybe selling
Speaker:those things at crafts fairs or just adding some extra income
Speaker:to their family's income.
Speaker:You found a challenge within just the local artisans.
Speaker:I would imagine that the shelf life might've also been an
Speaker:issue. Absolutely.
Speaker:That is the shelf.
Speaker:Life is a big issue in gift basket design.
Speaker:We did find some artisans that we liked and could partner
Speaker:with. We found a chocolate tier that was just amazing.
Speaker:And we found some other local vendors as well that knew
Speaker:at cutoff wholesale and they could talk shelf life.
Speaker:So we do partner with them,
Speaker:especially on our Georgia theme baskets.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:I want to challenge you to go back,
Speaker:not where you are today,
Speaker:but to go back in the beginning when you were,
Speaker:I believe you said out of your base,
Speaker:Yes. 800 square feet of space.
Speaker:My size to get started in,
Speaker:I have to say,
Speaker:think back to yourself at that time.
Speaker:Is there any pieces of advice or any guidance you would
Speaker:give someone who's considering starting any type of business?
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:gift baskets as an industry traditionally do start out of a
Speaker:home and then grow and leave the house.
Speaker:But any advice for anybody starting out of their home?
Speaker:Well, I would say,
Speaker:definitely use the tax advantage if you're in your home,
Speaker:use that tax advantage for having a home-based business,
Speaker:but make sure you have a business plan,
Speaker:make sure you have your financials all in order before you
Speaker:launch out into the big wide world.
Speaker:And we did when we did that.
Speaker:But to make sure you have all those things,
Speaker:all the legalities of a business in all your ducks in
Speaker:a row,
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:If you could see me now,
Speaker:I could be on my knees bowing to you because I
Speaker:am such a proponent of that as well.
Speaker:So many people will start a business and just go off
Speaker:the cuff and they have the idea.
Speaker:And then by next week they're trying to open their business
Speaker:and it just doesn't,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:not for the long haul,
Speaker:it doesn't work that way.
Speaker:So talking about the business plan,
Speaker:I'm really,
Speaker:really glad you brought it up.
Speaker:If you were to just talk about couple of crucial elements,
Speaker:that should be part of that plan.
Speaker:What would you say?
Speaker:Setting a budget?
Speaker:Definitely. You know,
Speaker:and here's the thing to springboard off of that business plan.
Speaker:If you're not good at that,
Speaker:find someone who is,
Speaker:I've been blessed to have a business manager work alongside of
Speaker:me. Her name is Marianne and she loves to make the
Speaker:paperclip stand up straight.
Speaker:She is a math Wiz.
Speaker:She likes to call me the entrepreneur,
Speaker:the balloon that is floating in the air and she is
Speaker:led weight that pulls me back down.
Speaker:So you have to have that kind of push pull relationship
Speaker:with someone in your business.
Speaker:You have to be accountable to a person that has a
Speaker:business mindset while you're over here,
Speaker:busy creating this,
Speaker:that, and the other that other person is going to be
Speaker:saying to you,
Speaker:well, how are we going to pay for that?
Speaker:And that's where that balance comes in.
Speaker:Okay. So part of the business plan,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you've got your budget.
Speaker:What else would you suggest is in there?
Speaker:I would suggest big thing in most businesses today,
Speaker:especially small businesses is to have a social media presence.
Speaker:I would definitely look into what that means for your business,
Speaker:because it's such a crucial piece in my business today,
Speaker:and it can consume you 40 hours a week if you
Speaker:want it to.
Speaker:And it's important for that,
Speaker:but make sure you understand how to push your social media
Speaker:out. What is search engine optimization?
Speaker:How do you analyze the data that's coming in?
Speaker:If you're gone viral,
Speaker:do you want to pay for your social media marketing?
Speaker:Do you want to hire someone to do that?
Speaker:All of those questions are very important if you're pushing a
Speaker:business out there,
Speaker:especially if it's an online business like ours tend to be
Speaker:Okay. So we've talked about for a business plan,
Speaker:definitely have a budget.
Speaker:I'm a pay as you go girl all the way,
Speaker:but depending on what your situation is,
Speaker:make sure you account for all of your dollars,
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:And then social media presence,
Speaker:or I guess I'd expand that also,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:in a full marketing plan,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:just because you start a business and you're open for business,
Speaker:doesn't mean that everyone knows about you.
Speaker:So you need to have a way to be sending out
Speaker:the word that you're open for business.
Speaker:So a couple of great points here.
Speaker:Awesome. So,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:Sue, I want to mention the most important thing I do
Speaker:is network.
Speaker:I am out four or five days a week,
Speaker:networking in groups in my chamber in networking groups that have
Speaker:20 or more that are accountable to each other.
Speaker:It's accountability,
Speaker:networking. No one holds my seat and my close category group.
Speaker:So networking has been the real key in driving my business
Speaker:forward. Wonderful.
Speaker:So a combination of the two,
Speaker:or would you put networking on the top?
Speaker:Networking for me is the top top of the list.
Speaker:Okay. So let's talk about this a little bit because I
Speaker:find this as a big topic when I'm scoping or doing
Speaker:any type of live streaming.
Speaker:People want me to continue talking in this?
Speaker:I think a lot of people are really uncomfortable with the
Speaker:whole networking realm,
Speaker:getting up,
Speaker:going first,
Speaker:all the very first meeting where you may not know anybody.
Speaker:And then the 32nd speech,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:all of that,
Speaker:any advice on those things,
Speaker:how do you integrate in if you've never networked before?
Speaker:Well, that's a great question.
Speaker:And one of the ways that I do it and have
Speaker:done it is to join a Toastmasters group.
Speaker:Now, I don't know if most listeners know what that is,
Speaker:but Toastmasters is a group where you go to develop your
Speaker:speaking skills.
Speaker:And while you're there,
Speaker:you're also working on your leadership development skills.
Speaker:So between those two that has really helped me because you're
Speaker:doing your 32nd infomercials or your one minute infomercials,
Speaker:and then you'll have opportunities now.
Speaker:And again,
Speaker:to do either a six,
Speaker:seven or 10 minute presentation on what you do.
Speaker:And that's where you get into the more meat of your
Speaker:business to communicate that to others,
Speaker:you'll have a chance to dig a little deeper,
Speaker:but if you're not willing to get out there and network,
Speaker:this is going to sound a little harsh,
Speaker:but you need to get over that.
Speaker:The biggest thing I think about networking gift,
Speaker:business nurse,
Speaker:and those of you who are concerned about that is being
Speaker:your authentic self.
Speaker:And I hate to use that word kind of because it's
Speaker:getting so overused authentic,
Speaker:but the point is really true.
Speaker:You just need to go out and show the world who
Speaker:you are good,
Speaker:bad, and ugly,
Speaker:nervous, not nervous.
Speaker:Being able to perfect your skills through Toastmasters.
Speaker:Like Diana's saying really helps with your confidence and your presence,
Speaker:but it is true getting out there and showing yourself,
Speaker:especially when you're starting and you're a young business,
Speaker:you are the brand of your business and people will fall
Speaker:in love with you,
Speaker:what you see as faults and all the only way to
Speaker:show yourself is to get out there in person.
Speaker:So I do agree with you that harsh get over it
Speaker:and talk thing.
Speaker:Nobody's going to be as passionate about your business as you
Speaker:are. And no one's going to see the vision or communicate
Speaker:that vision for your business as you do.
Speaker:So even if you stumble over your tongue,
Speaker:which I do all the time,
Speaker:you're not going to get over that Sue,
Speaker:unless you get out there and do it sitting at home,
Speaker:worrying about it,
Speaker:it's not going to help.
Speaker:It's true.
Speaker:And the other thing that I try to tell people here
Speaker:too, is you think you're way more important than other people
Speaker:are looking at you.
Speaker:Like, if you say something wrong,
Speaker:it's not like,
Speaker:Oh, we'll never do business with that person ever.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:people aren't that tuned into you.
Speaker:They want to be tuned into what you're saying and the
Speaker:value that they can receive from your business,
Speaker:Right? Do people actually want to help you grow your business,
Speaker:especially other small business owners,
Speaker:but you need to communicate what you do to those business
Speaker:owners so they can help you.
Speaker:So let's close up this little networking portion now,
Speaker:but this was really,
Speaker:really valuable.
Speaker:I want to continue on with the growth of your business.
Speaker:So you were out your basement,
Speaker:clearly growing the business.
Speaker:What was the trigger point where you decided,
Speaker:okay, I need to move this business from the house to
Speaker:a facility.
Speaker:How did that happen?
Speaker:I would say it was more of a 18 Wheeler.
Speaker:When you have an 18 Wheeler backing up to your house
Speaker:to deliver products,
Speaker:and then you have four or five delivery drivers backing up
Speaker:to your garage,
Speaker:loading up and delivering things through the holiday season.
Speaker:It kind of gets a bit overwhelming.
Speaker:So the 18 Wheeler was the clue that I didn't want
Speaker:this to be in my home.
Speaker:And I found for me personally,
Speaker:there was no separation,
Speaker:no boundaries between the downstairs business and the upstairs family.
Speaker:So I wanted to create that boundary and I want it
Speaker:to be perceived as a real business.
Speaker:Now, for me,
Speaker:that was important.
Speaker:It may not be important for another type of business,
Speaker:say in a different industry,
Speaker:but for me,
Speaker:and since we were focused on corporate clients,
Speaker:I wanted to be perceived and have clients come visit us
Speaker:here at the shop instead of in a coffee shop,
Speaker:for instance,
Speaker:because when they come here to the shop,
Speaker:it's very much a show and tell,
Speaker:and they're actually in awe of everything that we do.
Speaker:And so what were the first steps that you took to
Speaker:find a location?
Speaker:Walk us through a little of that.
Speaker:Well, I drove around,
Speaker:I'm always looking,
Speaker:Oh, wait,
Speaker:I'm even looking now for a larger space to grow into,
Speaker:but you have to be out in the community and asking
Speaker:people, driving through strip malls or where you perceive you want
Speaker:to be for us.
Speaker:It's not a retail storefront.
Speaker:It's more of a production facility that we can receive guests
Speaker:to. And it's very nicely decorated inside here.
Speaker:And it's definitely perceived as a production facility.
Speaker:And the other real big caveat we had to have was
Speaker:air conditioning.
Speaker:Because since we're doing a lot of chocolate gift baskets here,
Speaker:we wanted to make sure and we had to have air
Speaker:conditioning to make sure they remained sheltered.
Speaker:Perfect. And I want to point out something to everybody that
Speaker:Diane was talking about.
Speaker:She started with looking at who her customer was and she
Speaker:had a defined customer within her industry gift baskets.
Speaker:You could say,
Speaker:Oh, well,
Speaker:everyone could use a gift basket.
Speaker:She's not doing that.
Speaker:She's saying specifically,
Speaker:we're going after the corporate business.
Speaker:So it's also different products that you're going to purchase.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:knowing your avatar then controls every decision that you make within
Speaker:your business because so true.
Speaker:Yeah. You know,
Speaker:you know how to market cause your information,
Speaker:even in social media posts or networking meetings is going to
Speaker:be talking to that group as well as product purchasing all
Speaker:the way through.
Speaker:So I really,
Speaker:really am thrilled that you brought up the fact.
Speaker:And the first thing you talked about is who your customer
Speaker:is, even when you're looking at where your facility is going
Speaker:to be.
Speaker:Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker:Cause it a gift,
Speaker:like you said,
Speaker:a gift basket business can run through the calendar year on
Speaker:every holiday,
Speaker:but we are focused primarily almost 90% on the corporate client.
Speaker:So that may be a little harder to get,
Speaker:but we start with small businesses,
Speaker:but ultimately we're looking for those larger companies that you may
Speaker:see on every street corner in America that are appreciating their
Speaker:clients, valuing their employees and saying thank you every single day.
Speaker:Talk to us a little bit about how your production is
Speaker:working. Do you have people in there helping with gift baskets
Speaker:at this point?
Speaker:Yes. We have four people that are consistently here at gratitude
Speaker:goodies to our production part-time and each of them,
Speaker:they kind of have a personal skill set that we lean
Speaker:to when we need it.
Speaker:For instance,
Speaker:my daughter works here,
Speaker:she's 20 and Chelsea can do production.
Speaker:She can do QuickBooks and she can also do photography work.
Speaker:She has a beautiful camera and she takes pictures of other
Speaker:things that interest her.
Speaker:So we engage her into shooting our photos here in house.
Speaker:The other person,
Speaker:Emily is our lead designer and production worker.
Speaker:She is focused on making the flow of our baskets go
Speaker:smoothly and she can almost always oversee what's going on with
Speaker:another production worker,
Speaker:say a temporary that we bring in.
Speaker:And then there's Marion.
Speaker:Marion is the business manager and she is primarily an in-house
Speaker:person. She does all the buying and we function like partners,
Speaker:but I'm a hundred percent owner.
Speaker:She pays the bills.
Speaker:She takes care of the taxes.
Speaker:She deals with all the legalities of things,
Speaker:which I personally is not my strong suit,
Speaker:but I'm so grateful that she's here.
Speaker:And I am the face of the business.
Speaker:Like most business owners should be the face of their business.
Speaker:I'm the one who's out networking and communicating what we do
Speaker:with other business owners and seeking more,
Speaker:leads, more referrals in any way I can get it.
Speaker:And I'm also in charge of the social media part,
Speaker:which we do.
Speaker:I movies through here.
Speaker:I shoot movies of our videos of me inside the facility.
Speaker:And you might find me tasting some chocolates that we have
Speaker:or sipping some hot cocoa mix that we're promoting any of
Speaker:those things.
Speaker:That was such a great run through in terms of how
Speaker:you're breaking everything up and the responsibilities.
Speaker:And I have found even through my own experience,
Speaker:having people be in charge of certain segments is really helpful.
Speaker:And having that very clearly defined Diane,
Speaker:I'm going to ask you a question.
Speaker:I have never asked any of our guests yet the podcast.
Speaker:So get ready.
Speaker:I hope I have everyone's attention here.
Speaker:Tell us how tasks changed when you started.
Speaker:You were probably the only person I'm quite sure you didn't
Speaker:start with four people.
Speaker:How did the evolution and the division of tasks evolve over
Speaker:time? And if you would,
Speaker:so many people I know are so afraid to release responsibilities
Speaker:to people.
Speaker:So any insights on how that worked out for you in
Speaker:terms of handing over responsibilities for different portions of the business?
Speaker:Well, you know,
Speaker:that's another great question.
Speaker:And as the business grows,
Speaker:you can't keep all the plates spinning.
Speaker:So when I met Marriott Marian and I go a couple
Speaker:of years back,
Speaker:we met in church and we kinda got away from each
Speaker:other because of the church,
Speaker:things changed and we met again and she said,
Speaker:what are you doing?
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:well, I'm starting this business and I'm going to take a
Speaker:QuickBooks class.
Speaker:So this is kind of divine intervention.
Speaker:She said to me,
Speaker:what are you doing that for?
Speaker:I can do that for you.
Speaker:So she was looking for something to do,
Speaker:which is a blessing for me because QuickBooks is something I'm
Speaker:continually learning.
Speaker:I'm right there with you.
Speaker:Oh yes.
Speaker:She and I,
Speaker:like I said,
Speaker:function as partners,
Speaker:but she allows me to do the creative side and the
Speaker:sales side,
Speaker:which she dislikes.
Speaker:And I allow her to do all the business side,
Speaker:which I dislike,
Speaker:but we kind of meet in the middle on creativity.
Speaker:So as the business grew,
Speaker:the mission and the vision for the company has to be
Speaker:United in where you want to go.
Speaker:So when you're focused on corporate clients or any business that
Speaker:is focused on one thing is always going to get pulled
Speaker:in a million other different directions.
Speaker:And I used to say to Marian shouldn't we do Valentine's
Speaker:day or shouldn't we do mother's day or shouldn't we do
Speaker:this, that or the other.
Speaker:And she says,
Speaker:well, we could do that.
Speaker:But our main focus is going to be on corporate.
Speaker:And I agree with that.
Speaker:And so I use her to stay accountable,
Speaker:to stay on track,
Speaker:Staying true to your core vision and your core product.
Speaker:Yeah. When we bring in production workers,
Speaker:we had to really evaluate what is the best use of
Speaker:my time Diane's time and what is the best use of
Speaker:Marion's time.
Speaker:So when we put that together,
Speaker:it's not necessarily always building the basket.
Speaker:What we have done here at gratitude goodies is we use
Speaker:QuickBooks manufacturing software to create kind of a build list.
Speaker:And when we do that,
Speaker:it allows a production worker to open a binder,
Speaker:take out the basket,
Speaker:let's call it a chocolate basket,
Speaker:take out the chocolate basket.
Speaker:And it has the parts list there.
Speaker:And on the parts list,
Speaker:it tells you to pull this basket off the shelf,
Speaker:put this much tread inside of it,
Speaker:take product a,
Speaker:B, and C and place it here,
Speaker:here, and here we shot pictures of the build process.
Speaker:So if you could think,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you've been in some franchise restaurants where they have a plate
Speaker:for instance,
Speaker:and on the plate,
Speaker:the meat goes here and the potatoes go up here and
Speaker:the vegetables go over there.
Speaker:And every single time the plate comes out the same way
Speaker:Building processes for your business really helps you.
Speaker:Scale helps you grow.
Speaker:And I,
Speaker:and it,
Speaker:and there's no specific time.
Speaker:I think when it's time to start doing that,
Speaker:if you are in a business where you have a situation,
Speaker:or maybe it is gift baskets,
Speaker:maybe to another type of a business where there is some
Speaker:type of a production process,
Speaker:starting to document it earlier is way easier than going back
Speaker:later and trying to build all of that information in the
Speaker:other thing,
Speaker:I'm sure you're doing Diane is your build process.
Speaker:As you call it,
Speaker:the format is consistent.
Speaker:So regardless of which basket it is,
Speaker:it's the same type of concept.
Speaker:It's different information,
Speaker:but it's the same type of concept.
Speaker:So when one of your people who are creating the baskets
Speaker:are on the production floor,
Speaker:can then virtually do any basket that you make,
Speaker:including new designs that come in,
Speaker:even if they've never seen them before.
Speaker:Exactly. And Marianne and myself,
Speaker:we're the ones that do the designing.
Speaker:We shop all of the food shows and we're bringing in
Speaker:the products based on what we know our customers are looking
Speaker:for. Be it a price point,
Speaker:a sweet spot for a price point or a certain combination
Speaker:of products that typically sell well.
Speaker:So when we bringing these products,
Speaker:we are designing them with that price point in mind.
Speaker:And we want to be able to have a temporary worker,
Speaker:for instance,
Speaker:come in,
Speaker:open the book and pull these certain items from this shelf
Speaker:and have it come out consistent every time when you don't
Speaker:have those systems in place,
Speaker:then your business,
Speaker:it loses some value.
Speaker:I think if I want to sell this business in X
Speaker:amount of years,
Speaker:then having those systems is where the value is.
Speaker:In my opinion,
Speaker:Absolutely agree with you there.
Speaker:Yeah. Let's move on to a different topic.
Speaker:One of the fallacies and when people are listening and anybody
Speaker:who really hasn't started a business yet,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we bring people on and all of this sounds so easy.
Speaker:Like it's just,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:she started in the basement,
Speaker:she got business,
Speaker:it grew,
Speaker:she found a location.
Speaker:She has someone helping her.
Speaker:Now she has these systems and it sounds all great.
Speaker:But what you always get to see is the results and
Speaker:the good things that have happened.
Speaker:Let's just totally debunk that right now.
Speaker:Right? That's not reality.
Speaker:Kick that one to the curb.
Speaker:Absolutely. So let's get real here.
Speaker:Talk to us about something that was a struggle in this
Speaker:path of growth that you've experienced.
Speaker:The season of growth is a struggle.
Speaker:You grow and then you plateau or you have a struggle
Speaker:and then you grow some more and then you struggle.
Speaker:What they don't see is when you say blood,
Speaker:sweat, and tears,
Speaker:we literally have done that in our business here.
Speaker:About four years ago,
Speaker:we purchased a basket company that was closing.
Speaker:So in the two week time span,
Speaker:they had to vacate their space.
Speaker:They had 4,000
Speaker:square feet of space and they were a 20 year old
Speaker:company, but they didn't disassemble any of the industrial shelving that
Speaker:was in that shop.
Speaker:We had to do that.
Speaker:So in two weeks we had to get financing,
Speaker:disassemble that whole business,
Speaker:which was a 4,000
Speaker:square feet of industrial shelving,
Speaker:which is very heavy.
Speaker:It was very high and it was very hot in there
Speaker:because they had turned the AC off.
Speaker:And this is in the summer in Georgia,
Speaker:in August,
Speaker:I'm climbing these shelves with a saws all and a screwdriver
Speaker:electric battery operated screwdriver,
Speaker:this assembling shelves.
Speaker:Oh man,
Speaker:over and over again.
Speaker:So that was in Atlanta about 35 miles South of us.
Speaker:So this went on for two whole weeks that we were
Speaker:moving stuff.
Speaker:It's physical,
Speaker:it's demanding.
Speaker:And though let's talk about when the air conditioning breaks in
Speaker:your facility and you have chocolate,
Speaker:what do you do then?
Speaker:Well, you never saw two people move so fast to save
Speaker:the chocolate and the AC couldn't be repaired for another week.
Speaker:So we cleared out our shelves in a span of an
Speaker:hour and a half,
Speaker:loaded them into air conditioning cars and drove them to Marion's
Speaker:house where we unloaded it quickly because it's 85,
Speaker:90 degrees outside.
Speaker:And we're just sweating bullets trying to preserve the chocolate.
Speaker:That is what you don't see,
Speaker:what everybody sees is the duck that is just sailing across
Speaker:the water.
Speaker:They look elegant and graceful,
Speaker:but there's a whole lot of blood,
Speaker:sweat, and tears underneath all that.
Speaker:Absolutely. And you have to be resourceful.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:that was a very creative solution because you had to act
Speaker:then in there,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:there's no time to wait.
Speaker:Exactly. No thinking about it.
Speaker:It just got to act.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:that is pretty much,
Speaker:we are very resourceful here in how we call it.
Speaker:We are masters of creating jigs for things,
Speaker:things that make other things work easier.
Speaker:How we measure our ribbon,
Speaker:how we put the ribbon on a spool,
Speaker:all those things we create jigs and devices that help make
Speaker:our jobs easier here at the shop.
Speaker:So gift biz listeners,
Speaker:if you're business already,
Speaker:or if you're considering it,
Speaker:just know that that is part of the journey.
Speaker:And don't think,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I could tell you time after time on my end as
Speaker:well. It can be so frustrating.
Speaker:It's like,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:why did I do this?
Speaker:But accepting the fact that it's part of being in business
Speaker:for yourself,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:there's so many pros,
Speaker:but there are going to be times when it is very
Speaker:challenging and just,
Speaker:it doesn't mean you've done anything wrong.
Speaker:You just have to figure out how to move forward and
Speaker:get things done.
Speaker:It's just the way it is.
Speaker:Would you agree that entrepreneurs work 80 hours so they don't
Speaker:have to work 40?
Speaker:Yeah, got it.
Speaker:That I would go with that,
Speaker:but I would also say,
Speaker:I don't mind putting in 80 hours because I love my
Speaker:business. I'd much rather be doing that than working 40 hours
Speaker:in something that I really didn't like,
Speaker:or wasn't challenging me.
Speaker:It's so true because I just love what we do here.
Speaker:Because at the end of the day,
Speaker:when the gift is delivered,
Speaker:we like to call it the shock and awe experience.
Speaker:We come through the door with a gift and the recipients
Speaker:are usually shocked.
Speaker:They kind of look around and say,
Speaker:is that for me?
Speaker:And they say,
Speaker:wow, somebody thought of me.
Speaker:And then when they open up the sentiment card,
Speaker:it's like,
Speaker:Oh, they really thought of me.
Speaker:So it takes gratitude to a new level and it takes
Speaker:the business relationship from a business relationship to an emotional relationship.
Speaker:And that's where it really just speaks to me when you're
Speaker:able to say,
Speaker:thank you for that business relationship.
Speaker:And they come back and call you again,
Speaker:because you said,
Speaker:thank you.
Speaker:And that's a really cool thing.
Speaker:Absolutely. And that drives to your mission for the gift baskets
Speaker:overall. I mean,
Speaker:you're not in the business of gift baskets,
Speaker:you're in the business of corporate client retention,
Speaker:appreciation and growing sales for your businesses.
Speaker:Not that you are a gift basket company and I'm sure
Speaker:that's how you speak when you're networking and everywhere else.
Speaker:Yes. Well,
Speaker:because we're gratitude goodies,
Speaker:it encapsulates what we do in two words.
Speaker:And so we want to help businesses express gratitude to their
Speaker:clients, to their coworkers,
Speaker:to their employees and to those referral sources,
Speaker:all of that,
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:we're going to move now Diane,
Speaker:into our reflection section.
Speaker:This is a look at you and how you have been
Speaker:successful and grown along the way.
Speaker:Is there a trait that you call on regularly that maybe
Speaker:some of our listeners will also recognize in themselves?
Speaker:So it'll kind of ground them for something that they're looking
Speaker:at doing in the future,
Speaker:but is there a natural trait that you have that you
Speaker:think has helped you to be successful?
Speaker:Well, I have to say that we're very tenacious here.
Speaker:We stick to it and we stick to the plan.
Speaker:We work very hard.
Speaker:Christmas time is pretty rough in our industry.
Speaker:So it's not unusual for us to be on our feet
Speaker:all day long,
Speaker:but we do what it takes to get the job done.
Speaker:And our motto here at gratitude,
Speaker:goodness, is to do what's right.
Speaker:Even when it hurts,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:sometimes it really hurts to do what's right.
Speaker:But that's what we do here at gratitude goodies.
Speaker:We like to make every penny scream and we measure everything.
Speaker:Even if it's ribbon to Springfield,
Speaker:to the paperclips are counted here,
Speaker:the twist ties,
Speaker:we know everything and how it boils down to the penny.
Speaker:So we count everything that we do here.
Speaker:So sticking to the plan,
Speaker:staying focused,
Speaker:driving forward and not getting distracted is really important.
Speaker:Not going off your path,
Speaker:you're supposed to be going on vacation and you're headed East,
Speaker:don't turn off a fun road that it's going the other
Speaker:direction. You're never going to get to where you're planning to
Speaker:go. So really important and so easy to do very easy.
Speaker:Yeah. What tool do you use regularly to keep productive or
Speaker:to create balance in the hours after ADL?
Speaker:Well, I have to say that one of the things that
Speaker:has really changed my life and it's also helped me to
Speaker:be able to talk in front of a camera is my
Speaker:iPad. And this was introduced to me through a guy I
Speaker:met in one of the networking groups and he taught me
Speaker:how to create movies on my iPad.
Speaker:And I did this with just a $5 app and the
Speaker:app is just called I movie.
Speaker:So if you have an iPad or an iPhone,
Speaker:you could do this with your business.
Speaker:My first movie,
Speaker:I totally messed it up.
Speaker:I held it the wrong way and you should be holding
Speaker:your iPad horizontally to get the best picture.
Speaker:So I've used this to communicate what we do here at
Speaker:gratitude goodies.
Speaker:They see our baskets,
Speaker:they'd see me talking to people.
Speaker:They see me interaction with other clients.
Speaker:And so I pushed that out onto iTunes with some key
Speaker:words and that's a social media thing and it goes viral.
Speaker:So, and that ends up on my blogs.
Speaker:It ends up on LinkedIn.
Speaker:It ends up on Facebook.
Speaker:We use it a lot,
Speaker:Check out I movie.
Speaker:And I love the fact that you talked about creating a
Speaker:single piece of content and then sharing it out in multiple
Speaker:ways. Not everybody,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and a couple of people might see the same thing,
Speaker:but everyone has their favorite social media sites.
Speaker:So producing ones and putting it out on multiple channels is
Speaker:key. Yeah.
Speaker:Diane, is there a book that you've read lately that you
Speaker:think our listeners could find value?
Speaker:Well, I have to say that my favorite business book has
Speaker:to be E-Myth mastery by Michael Gerber.
Speaker:And he talks in there.
Speaker:It's kind of a story,
Speaker:how he takes a young female entrepreneur and takes her through
Speaker:all the different processes of developing a business.
Speaker:And she also communicates in there,
Speaker:the struggles that she's had.
Speaker:And when I read this book,
Speaker:I was like,
Speaker:Oh my God,
Speaker:they're in my brain.
Speaker:So, and it was such,
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:Michael Gerber has a way of communicating that resonated with me.
Speaker:So that was my business book.
Speaker:And most recently I picked up this little book called gratitude
Speaker:marketing, and it kind of speaks to what we do here
Speaker:at gratitude goodies.
Speaker:Basically, it's how to create clients for life.
Speaker:And it's just simple secrets that you can use to keep
Speaker:those relationships strong in your business.
Speaker:I love that book as well.
Speaker:Wonderful. We'll give his listeners just as you're listening to the
Speaker:podcast today,
Speaker:you can also listen to audio books with ease.
Speaker:I've teamed up with audible for you to be able to
Speaker:get an audio book.
Speaker:I know E-Myth mastery is on audible.
Speaker:I'm not sure about gratitude marketing,
Speaker:but you can get a book for free if you haven't
Speaker:done so already,
Speaker:all you need to do is go to gift his book.com
Speaker:and make a selection.
Speaker:Okay, Diane,
Speaker:at this point,
Speaker:I would like to invite you to dare to dream.
Speaker:I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:So this is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable
Speaker:Heights that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside your box?
Speaker:Oh, wow.
Speaker:I love this question because it involves food.
Speaker:Of course,
Speaker:Yes. You've got to be consistent.
Speaker:Well, You know,
Speaker:that's who I am.
Speaker:So what I want to do is to be able to
Speaker:travel to Italy and cook my way through Italy with my
Speaker:husband. Oh,
Speaker:would gosh,
Speaker:darn it.
Speaker:I was going to ask if I could join you.
Speaker:You absolutely can on the second trip.
Speaker:Okay. On the first trip,
Speaker:I want to make pasta and I want to just be
Speaker:with him in Tuscany and all these beautiful places and be
Speaker:able to cook together.
Speaker:That to me is a dream come true.
Speaker:And that means that my business is just super successful and
Speaker:we could do that in Italy.
Speaker:And then the next year we can go to France and
Speaker:do it there.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:super. So what year is the Italy trip scheduled for 2018.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:It's marked on the calendar.
Speaker:Now you got 365 days to choose from for your takeoff
Speaker:to your trip.
Speaker:Yeah. I actually have a travel agent working on that now
Speaker:for us.
Speaker:Super love hearing that.
Speaker:So if you were to tell us one single place that
Speaker:anyone who's listening wants to learn more about gratitude,
Speaker:goodies, or connect up with you,
Speaker:what would that single place?
Speaker:The best place to reach me is by email.
Speaker:And that is Diane,
Speaker:D I a N e@gratitudegoodies.com.
Speaker:Or you can go to our website at gratitude,
Speaker:goodies.com and check us out there.
Speaker:Perfect. And as most of know,
Speaker:if you've been listening to me for a while,
Speaker:we'll have other places of contact for Diane on the show
Speaker:notes page.
Speaker:So you just need to jump over to gift biz on
Speaker:rap.com forward slash gratitude goodies.
Speaker:And you'll see all of that information.
Speaker:Diane, thank you so much.
Speaker:I really appreciate your taking the time today and sharing all
Speaker:of this information.
Speaker:I love that we started digging into networking at the top,
Speaker:talking about that,
Speaker:talking about your journey with gratitude goodies,
Speaker:and I know you're just going to continue providing those shock
Speaker:and awe experiences for years to come.
Speaker:And who knows,
Speaker:who knows what you'll be bringing back from Italy after that
Speaker:trip? Yeah,
Speaker:a good recipes.
Speaker:I hope there you go.
Speaker:And may your candle always burn bright?
Speaker:Where are you in your business building journey,
Speaker:whether you're just starting out or already running a business and
Speaker:you want to know your set up for success.
Speaker:Find out by taking the gift biz quiz,
Speaker:access the quiz from your computer at bit dot L Y
Speaker:slash gift biz quiz or from your phone like texting gift
Speaker:biz quiz to four four,
Speaker:two, two,
Speaker:two. Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for
Speaker:the 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 grant your products,
Speaker:have your logo or print a happy birthday,
Speaker:Jessica bourbon to add to a gift,
Speaker:right? A checkout it's all done right in your shop or
Speaker:across video in second check print company.com
Speaker:for more information after you listen to the show,
Speaker:if you like what you're hearing,
Speaker:make sure to jump over and subscribe to the show on
Speaker:iTunes. That way you'll automatically get the newest episodes when they
Speaker:go live.
Speaker:And thank you to those who have already left a rating
Speaker:by subscribing rating and reviewing help to increase the visibility on
Speaker:ground. It's a great way to pay it forward,
