283 – Actions to Build Your Online Presence (that Lead to More Sales!) with Ana Bolanos of Limbo Imports Hammocks

Gift biz unwrapped episode 283.

Then I realized,

Oh my gosh.

If I want to sell a hammock,

I have to teach people how to hang a hammock.

Cause otherwise they're going to go crazy Attention.

Gifters bakers,

crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.

Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.

Now you are in the right place.

This is gift to biz unwrapped,

helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.

Join us for an episode,

packed full of invaluable guidance,

resources, and the support you need to grow.

Your gift biz.

Here is your host gift biz gal,

Sue moon Heights.

Hi there,

Sue here and thanks so much for joining in with me

today. We're into fall right now already.

Can you believe it?

I mean,

it's one of my favorite times of the year with the

leaves changing here in Chicago and the crisp fresh air and

everything turns to apples and pumpkins and cinnamon Yom,

but we still have this virus hanging around.

And so I want to do a little check in with

you because let's face it.

We need to be done with this already.

So if you need a pick me up by way of

comradery with other makers,

I want to remind you that there's a ready,

made community waiting for you.

In my Facebook group called gift biz breeze,

we would all welcome you to join us with open yet

for the time being distanced arms,

just go to Facebook search for gift biz,

breeze, and request to join.

You can hear more about what gift biz breeze is all

about at the end of the show.

Meanwhile, lots of goodies in store for you today.

We're going to be talking with Anna.

Who's just been in business for a couple of years,

but is definitely making a statement in her industry.

She shares her initial steps for getting started key action that

she took in the beginning.

They gave her a roadmap for how to proceed and some

excellent, fresh social media tips that may be new to you.

Make sure to stay to the end,

to hear all about that.

Plus bonus,

I give you a little admission myself about something I didn't

realize when I started my first business,

all of that coming your way right now Today,

I am so excited to bring you Ana Bolanos of limbo

imports. Ana was born and raised in El Salvador and had

always been fascinated by artisan made goods and craftsmanship.

She came to the United States when she was 18 and

had always dreamt of owning her own business.

One that could make an impact so true to this vision

on a partnered with a team of artisans to co-design hammock

chairs in a way that preserves my an ancestry yet adds

a modern twist.

Each fair trade hammock is one of a kind and allows

Ana to celebrate history and her home country's tradition.

They're functional pieces that are also beautiful and provide relaxation.

Ana, welcome to the gift biz on red podcasts.

Hi, thank you,

Sue. I'm so excited to be here joining you on your

podcast. I'm really excited too.

So I think I've told you,

because I comment in your feed all the time about how

beautiful your product is,

and I've never really heard your story.

So I can't wait to dive in and talk about it.

Yes. I'm excited to,

to share it with you and everybody yay.

But as you know,

because I know you're an avid listener,

I'm going to start off with a traditional question and that

is the motivational candle.

So if you were to describe a candle that really speaks

to you,

what color would it be and what would be a quote

or some type of sane on that candle?

For sure,

Sue, my candle would be light blue.

Like the ocean,

the ocean,

the beach is my happy place.

As a little kid growing up,

we used to go to the beach all the time in

which is a place that gives me a lot of joy

and peace.

And so the quote on my candle will definitely be something

that is very positive.

It would be follow your dreams.

They know the way it's something that I live by as

an entrepreneur,

I feel like I always need to be very positive.

I need to set goals and be consistent in order to

make them a reality.

I believe that dreams can come true.

And if you work hard,

but you can accomplish them.

So I try to stay true to that and be as

positive as I can going forward.

You feel that that positivity is what helped you continue going?

Like when there might have been times that were frustrating,

which hopefully we'll get into some of those here,

but was it just your positive mental attitude and the vision

that helped you get through?

Yes, because as an entrepreneur,

I know that every day I'm going to be dealing with

difficulties every day.

I need to make a decision or deal with a problem.

That's part of owning a business.

But if I know my goal and I think about what

my dream is and my vision,

that's going to keep me going.

I always had that clear in my mind and try to

push forward.

That's a good point.

And I'll share,

I'll be a little bit honest here.

I'm almost embarrassed to say this,

but I'm going to anyway when I started my businesses,

well, the first one,

particularly when I was learning all about business,

I mean,

I'd been in corporate forever,

but not my own business.

I thought,

you know what,

I'm going to make this business so smooth in terms of

running, how things work and the systems and all of that,

there won't be any problems,

like what a fallacy is that right?

And then a problem would come up and I'd solve it

and I'd be like,

okay, everything's good.

And then another problem would come up.

And it took me quite a while to realize what you

were just saying,

that there are always going to be things that come up,

just recognize it and deal with it.

And actually I was much calmer when I realized that that's

just going to be part of the gig.

It's the way it goes.

Exactly. Exactly.

We just have to understand that that is part of owning

a business and doing something new that nobody has ever done

before or giving it a different perspective because we don't want

to copy what's out there.

Right. We want to be original.

And so that means we're also gonna fail at some things.

And then we just have to pivot and try to go

in a different direction.

Agreed. And also,

I would say some things aren't new to others,

but they're new to us and that's okay too.

You can't know everything.

So you learn,

you meet those challenges.

You have a positive attitude,

like you're saying Ana,

and then you move forward,

then you go on.

Yes, I agree.

Wonderful. So take it from the top for us.

So you come to the States and you're young yet and

share with us then how everything progressed to limbo imports.

Okay. Really for you to be able to understand why I

started my business,

you would need to learn about my history and my past.

Basically I was born in El Salvador and all Salvador is

a smallest country in central America.

So it is a very tiny country.

It went through civil war and there's a lot of poverty.

There's a lot of crime,

but growing up,

Sue, honestly,

I don't remember any of this.

I just remember good things about my country.

People are very warm and welcoming.

We have beautiful beaches.

We have beautiful lakes and the landscape is amazing and the

food is delicious as well.

So I have very,

very fond memories of my country.

I left when I was 18 because I was coming to

university and I was going to pursue a degree.

My parents had also done the same.

Both of them had been able to get college degrees from

universities here in the U S.

And so I was given that opportunity by my parents.

So my idea was to come here for four years,

get a degree and then go back home,

maybe work and multinational company or something like that.

But then after my four years,

then I started dating my now husband.

And he was also studying here abroad in the U S

he was in the technology industry.

So for us,

it was just a no brainer.

It just really made a lot of sense for us to

stay here in the U S just because he could learn

more. And going back to a third world country would mean

that he wouldn't be able to progress or expand his opportunities

as much as he would here in the U S so

that's basically why I ended up staying here.

So what was your degree in then?

So I actually have a business degree,

basically what I do now is an international marketing,

right? So when I did that back in the late nineties,

it was very,

very different.

So I'm really telling you email was the thing that was

just starting.

I mean,

we were just basically using different things that are probably not

relevant anymore.

So I do feel like I have a very solid background

because I have that business degree,

but also I stayed home with my children for many years,

almost 12 years.

Right. So right after I moved into the U S we

stayed here with my husband and then I stayed home simply

because my family and his family,

everybody was in El Salvador.

So it just made sense for me as well,

to stay home with my children.

Cause we have three boys now they're grown,

they're teens.

One is in college already,

but it just made sense at that moment for me to

spend more time with them and care for them.

And so our idea was really to go back.

We always want it to go back.

We always loved El Salvador.

And so as time progress and our children started growing,

we realized that we were very lucky to be here in

the United States,

right. That there's a lot of opportunities.

And our children started making friends.

Then we'd really just made the decision to stay here.

My children they're bilingual.

I really,

really try hard to make sure that they speak as much

Spanish as they can.

And then we always have been traveling back.

My family comes,

they visit.

And I always,

always every year go and been traveling back,

going to El Salvador and to nearby central American countries and

trying to connect with my roots and enjoying things that I

grew up with.

Okay. All right.

So, and I get that when you have children and they

start getting older,

making friends get established in a school,

the roots start developing.

So what plans were when you two were a couple and

newly married,

clearly can change when kids enter the picture.

That totally makes sense.

So we're along the way.

Did you decide,

all right,

now's the time the boys are getting older?

Now's the time I want to start a business,

take us there because I think there are a lot of

people who are listening,

who are still in that thinking stage and haven't decided to

actually do something yet.

So I'd be really curious what the deciding point was for

you to actually do something.

Yeah. So when I started seeing Sue that my children were

growing and they didn't need me as much,

the reason why I went to college was because I wanted

to make an impact.

Somehow I wanted to work.

I really enjoy being productive.

And so I actually started working in a different field with

medical interpreting and just part time and then transitioned into another

opportunity that was given to me.

And it was more of an importing business.

And so when I was there for a few years,

I kind of go back into the business scene and really

started noticing that that was my passion,

right. That I really wanted to start something of my own.

And so that's how I kind of just started thinking about

the options that I had.

And when I started thinking said,

well, I've always,

always been fascinated by hammocks.

And that's something that I grew up with.

And I remember going on vacation back on spring break,

we were at the beach and we were walking around and

looking at this beautiful homes and they just had chairs.

And I just kept thinking,

what if they had a beautiful hammock chair?

They are a beautiful hammock.

Wouldn't that look beautiful?

And that just gave me the idea.

And I said,

Oh my gosh,

people here are missing out on beautiful hammocks.

Like if I could only bring him into the U S

and show them how beautiful the hammocks are.

It's so true on a,

these hammocks.

Aren't the hammocks that you think of,

like anyone who's not seen limbo imports,

they are in all different colors.

The nodding is beautiful.

There are chairs that can hang from,

I guess the ceiling.

It has to have some good,

strong leverage to hang,

but that's an aside,

but these truly are different than what people think of.

If you just think of hammocks and have never been exposed

to what you're doing.

So they're beautiful.

Okay. So you have this idea then what did you do

first? Like you mentioned,

Sue, I mean,

hammocks have been around for centuries.

I did not invent hammocks.

Of course the Mayans invented them centuries ago.

Right. So there's the traditional hammock.

There's all different kinds of hammocks.

If you go down to central America,

you'll find that it is very common for people to have

hammocks in their homes and everything.

So I was like,

okay, I love hammocks,

but I have to be able to adapt them to the

U S market.

So then I went and started doing a lot of research.

I said,

okay, let me see what's out there.

And then that's how I got started basically.

And realized that there was a niche that had not been

addressed maybe.

Right. Because what I realized is that people,

yes, they want to relax,

but they also want to bring something beautiful into their homes.

Right. So not only do you want to have something hanging

there that it's gonna give you hours of relaxation or just

a place where you can lay and chill,

but you can also be confident that it's going to look

beautiful and then it's going to add to the beauty of

your home.

So that's exactly what I set off to do,

right. So I went back since I've been traveling back all

the time,

and I already had a friend who had been working with

a team of artisans.

So that's where my business model is actually something that just

made it so simple and easier for me,

because I did not have to teach the artisans how to

make him they've already been making them for years.

So what I did was we sat down,

we created prototypes and basically we created about six designs.

And I definitely knew what I wanted.

I had a vision.

We, it was just a matter of getting the prototypes made.

And so that's what we did.

So are they made in El Salvador?

Yes. A hundred percent made an El Salvador,

everything from the wood spreader,

the strings,

the cotton canvas and everything is made in El Salvador by

the artists in SU I do have to tell you,

in all honesty,

I am not a crafty person.

I'm sorry to let you down,

but I am creative in a different way.

You're not letting me down.

I mean,

I can't even read my own handwriting sometimes finding you,

but I am creative in a different way.

And so that's why I love your podcast so much.

So honestly,

because when I started to listen to the podcast,

it just gave me ideas and it made me connect to

that creative side.

The handmade business is so unique and I really needed to

be in touch with that part of me where I could

actually transmit that to the customer.

Right. Because a handmade product is so one of a kind,

it's not just to say that,

but it is true,

right? It's special because it's made by hand and there's a

story behind each handmade product.

Absolutely. And that's really interesting too,

because I think there are,

are two different types of people who love handmade products and

decide to have it as a business.

One is the person who starts off being the artist,

they're making the product and they're then needing to share it

with the world.

So they need more of that business knowledge.

You come from the other direction,

you have the business knowledge,

you have the love for the products.

And so you found someone else who had the expertise.

I E the,

all the artisans in El Salvador to give their expertise about

how to design it and make it into what you had

already envisioned.

Exactly. That is so cool.

Okay. So I'm really excited about this,

cause I didn't even know that part.

Okay. So what did you do in terms of forming a

concrete plan?

You had your prototype,

you figured out what the product was going to look like,

maybe the colors and all that at that point to perhaps.

So the thing is that what's beautiful in Latin America or

central America or any country is not,

what's beautiful here.

Right? So being here in the U S for so many

years, kind of gave me that feel,

I understand what's trending.

I go out,

I shop,

I see what people are,

are following or liking,

or just in general,

how people are decorating their homes.

So that really gave me a solid idea of how I

could modify or create our collection.

So we just sketched those designs.

I brought in some prototypes at this point and I'll prototype

it, samples.

Everything that we do is online.

So everything is e-commerce at this point.

And I started trying to see what would happen and,

Oh my gosh.

Like I was just so,

so excited to see all the positive feedback and people starting

to ask for different things and asking questions.

And I just immediately saw how people were just getting excited

and liking the product.

When did limbo import start officially?

So I haven't been in the market for a long time,

So it hasn't even been two years yet.

And then you said you started right online.

Tell us a little bit more behind that,

because I think this will be really interesting for people who

are just thinking,

like we were talking about before haven't taken action yet.

Maybe they can follow through with something that you did.

Because the thing that I really like hearing about what you've

done is you saw immediate interest from the market,

but how did you get the product in front of the

market? So,

because it's so easy nowadays,

there are so many platforms,

Facebook, Instagram,

there are so many ways to sell either on your website

or Etsy or Amazon handmade.

I mean,

those platforms are there and it's so much easier nowadays because

you can just set up a product there and see what

happens and people will start reacting to it.

But social media,

I actually started my Instagram account earlier on,

even before I had my product.

Like, I think I started in February.

My business didn't get started until November,

but I started to post pictures and people were start commenting

and asking.

So right from there,

I already had an audience.

So you started with Instagram,

not Facebook,

then you built up the audience.

So you started having people following you and interested in the

pot act or interested in you before you really even started

selling. Yeah.

Yes, exactly.

Because otherwise it's going to take forever if you were working

on the product and if you're waiting for the product to

arrive and develop it and make all the changes that's going

to take forever and actually customers are interested in that,

right? So you might want to share and be like,

what color do you like the best?

This one or this one,

even as you're creating the products,

people are,

want to find out about the behind the scenes of the

creation. Are all your images still up on your Instagram account?

Those really early ones.

Yes. So you can go back and see them.

They're actually,

some of them are not even mine.

I found them on the internet because I really didn't have

my styles or my designs yet.

So I just started posting a little and started to see

what people were saying or what they were liking.

And then that definitely gave me a clear idea of where

I needed to head what market I was going to be

serving. Honestly,

when I jumped into this,

I wasn't exactly sure who my market would be.

But as I progressed,

I started seeing who wanted my products.

So my products,

I was able to niche down specifically to my ideal customer

And who is that?

So the ideal customer is someone who first of all,

loves to decorate their home because our hammocks are beautiful.

But at the same time,

they also care about self care.

They want to rest.

They want to take time to read a good book or

chat on the phone,

but lay down.

And it's a mix basically of anybody who is into decor,

but also into taking time for themselves.

Okay. So that also helps you then being so clear on

who your ideal customer is.

I'm thinking that helps you with Messaging.

So when you're putting up a photo of a hammock,

you can talk about the benefits of relaxation or meditation or

the beauty of having the hammock within a room and the

qualities, the atmosphere that it brings to the room,

things like that.

Exactly. We focus a lot on the,

not the product itself,

but the benefit it's going to bring and how it's going

to transform your home and the feeling it will create as

you use it.

One of the other things that's very important for the customer

we serve is how it's made it.

Actually, I believe that most of my customers value the craftsmanship

behind the products and the tradition and just the details itself

of how the hammocks are made and where they're made.

Yes. Before I forget,

I have to ask this question.

I want to go back to that.

You were posting before you were actually even selling,

were you messaging in a way that people understood that at

some point they would be available for purchase?

Oh my gosh.

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Yes, but I wasn't exactly sure where I was taking the

business, but I was,

my intention was to start the business.

I need to go back and take a look at that.

Cause it's kind of funny,

but that's my story.

That's how I really got started.

So it's honestly,

it was coming from an authentic place.

I've never tried to copy anyone.

Honestly. I feel that customers can totally feel that.

I don't think there's anybody like me and not that I'm

anything special,

but I'm Latina.

I'm an immigrant.

I am from El Salvador and I've been given all this

opportunities. So I have to be able to use it and

put it into just to give back somehow.

So I think that's completely,

you can visualize that on my posts and on my pictures

and everything.

I try to be as transparent as I can with that.

Well, first off you are special.

So starting with that,

but also I like what you're talking about because you were

kind of warming up the audience and almost building this anticipation

for when the product would be available.

Now I get that.

You didn't know for sure what it was going to look

like yet.

You were taking people on the journey with you as you

were learning and understanding and seeing,

and I don't know that I'm going to go back or

anyone's going to go back and Instagram and look.

So don't worry about that.

Don't spend any time doing that,

but I hope there are some things that don't quite align

or are exactly what you would do now because it's a

progression, but here's a perfect example.

You started building a following.

So now let's talk about,

all right,

you've been going on Instagram,

you've been doing research for the product.

You have some business background.

You had worked at an importing business,

which is,

I think great because it shows that you picked up some

skills and knowledge from a totally different career.

If you will,

that then you could use in your current business.

So let's go now to the point where you have products

ready to sell.

How did that happen?

So once I set up my website too,

I started seeing the traction and I started seeing what people

were gravitating towards.

What was the point where you officially said you were in

business? Was it when the website went live when you had

your first product to sell that people could buy through messenger

on Instagram?

Or what was your position when you had your first sale?

What did you have available?

So the way I started selling honestly,

was through Instagram and posting information about the new product,

say new collection or new product up for sale now.

And people would just immediately go into my website and then

click on it and start looking.

You did have the website up when you quote unquote,

officially opened the doors.

Yeah. So I wanted to make sure that people would go

there and they would find the products I was talking about

in the pictures that I was sharing.

I wanted people to be able to replicate that at home.

So yes,

when I started sending people over to my website was when

I already had my product set up.

Okay. I was just curious.

Cause now a lot of people are putting up pictures and

then saying,

if you're interested,

connect with me in the DMS,

right. That's another way to do it right now.

If you don't have a shop set up yet.

And of course we were talking earlier about Facebook shops and

what that is going to now start being able to offer

everybody. But for you,

it was the website.

And so you started getting sales.

What was it like with that first sale?

Oh my Gosh.

It was so excited.

It's like you've been working so hard towards something and then

that first sale comes in.

It's very,

very exciting,

but that completely validated everything that I had been working for,

you know,

it was just like,

yes, I knew people were going to love this because I

love it.

And so it just a great feeling.

It really just gives you that push and that motivation to

keep going.

Was it somebody who friend,

family, or was it somebody who'd been following you on social

media that you hadn't known before?

I have no idea how they got their soup.

I'm guessing Google search is amazing as well.

When people are trying to find something,

they'll go Google ed,

they'll go on Instagram.

I wish I could tell you how they got there.

I don't know,

but I'm very thankful they did because that absolutely gave me

that excitement and to keep going.

And I knew I had something special.

The reason I was asking you,

I think friends and family as first sales are great because

it allows you to test your systems,

make sure that shopping carts really working,

allow you to produce your shipping labels,

the systems running smoothly credit card processors working and like all

of that.

But when you get the first sale from someone who you

don't know,

which is what you're describing,

it's almost even more exciting because when there's one like that,

there are more to follow.

So it's exciting that your very first one came in that

manner. I love that.

Yes. And so I did have to learn to honestly,

like at the same time,

because I started seeing what people were asking and just like

you mentioned,

people start getting to my website and I started realizing that

they were asking the same question and the same question kept

via direct messages.

I kept having the same people ask the same question.

They were wondering,

how do you hang a hammock chair from the ceiling?

That's my question.

Will you tell us?

Yes. And so,

and then I realized,

Oh my gosh,

if I want to sell a hammock,

I have to teach people how to hang a hammock because

otherwise they're going to go crazy.

Not everybody's husbands are super handy.

Not every villain knows how to hang hammock or do or

build something like that.

But actually I decided to figure this out and the way

you set it up is really from a wood beam,

all ceilings,

most homes have wood beams,

and then you would just find a stud finder.

And then you would locate that beam.

Those beans are fairly strong.

And then you drill exactly at that point,

right on my website,

you'll find that we also carry now the hanging kids.

We want it to be like a one stop shop.

Really? When people like a hammer,

they just also can pick up a hanging kit just to

make it easy for them.

But some people,

they still want to go to the hardware store and put

it together themselves.

So we did create a blog post where we show customers

how to do it.

Whoa, that's skyrocketed immediately.

Sales completely started increasing at that moment because I was also

giving them the knowhow on how to set it up.

Okay. So you saw a real change when that question was

answered. Yes,

because I just started getting it so often then,

then, then I realized I'm not going to be selling unless

I teach people how to use the product.

And I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of other things people

are curious about,

but they don't know how to use it.

And once you show them how it just makes a big

difference for them.

And then they're like,

Oh yes,

I can totally do this.

And I'm a woman.

I can set it up easily.

So anybody can,

is there a weight limit on the hammocks?

Our hammocks are very,

very strong suit.

We have a regular adult size that can hold up to

300 pounds.

And then we also based on the needs of our customers,

basically because I started also seeing an interest for like smaller

hammocks. We created a junior version of our regular size hammock

because a lot of the parents there were going into our

website, one at the hammocks for their daughters or their children's

rooms. And so then we created a smaller version that one

will hold 250 pounds.

So it's slightly smaller,

but it's just this beautiful.

Got it.

And how do you clean it?

So we'll go hammocks.

We make SU also is very important for me to share

this with you and listeners.

There are a hundred percent cotton.

I really,

really want them to be comfortable and as sustainable and as

ecofriendly as possible.

So I definitely stay away from any polyester error,

anything like that.

I really feel that it's just more breathable.

It's more comfortable and it just respects the environment at the

same time.

Everything's biodegradable,

but the way to clean it is you basically just put

it in a little bit of Woolite or just a soft

detergent and you just use a little brush and water and

they're super resistant,

very, very resistant.

Keep in mind Sue that the team that we're working with,

our artisans they've been doing this for years.

They're very,

very good at what they do.

The quality is something that is important for us.

Our target market is one that really values quality.

And so I am very careful with everything and all the

little details that go into making the hammocks and our team

there. They're very good at making sure that they will deliver

the products that we're expecting or because the U S market

is special.

And we want to treat our customers with the best products

available. Right?

How long does a hammock last?

Well, our hammock SU can last for up to five years.

We have a one year warranty just because that's the norm,

but quality wise,

they're so,

so resistant.

And if you take care of them,

they can last for even longer.

I always recommend that you keep them indoors when you're not

using them.

Most people will set them up indoors.

If you keep an endorsed,

like on a covered porch or inside of your home,

they can last for years.

Okay. So I was actually doing a demonstration on Ana.

I've been so tempted to buy one of these for so

long. So these are my questions about a hammock,

but I wanted to just do that by way of example.

And I'm talking to you guys give this listeners,

did you hear what I was doing?

I mean,

these were all selling questions really that I was asking Ana.

And did you hear how she,

like she had answers.

She had details.

All of that information could be turned into posts,

social media posts.

I don't know if you already have them there Ana,

but blog articles,

all different types of things.

And so I wanted to do that by way of a

demonstration for everybody.

Have somebody ask you questions about your products?

What are the things that people wouldn't know you might say?

Well, Dom,

like my product is obvious.

I knit scarves,

but what are some other fashionable ways to where you're the

scarf? How would you clean it?

All different types of things you could do.

So ask other people what the questions would be of your

product. And you might just land on something.

I love the fact Ana that you're talking about.

People didn't know how to hang it because that's my number

one question.

It's like,

Oh, this is going to fall out of the ceiling and

it's not gonna work for me.

And that probably until you put that up,

probably inhibited people from buying,

right. And then for you to see immediate action and response,

meaning sales,

after you had answered that question online for people is a

great lesson for all of us.

Yeah. So absolutely people were more encouraged.

They could actually see themselves hanging it.

And eventually I want to create more videos,

create better images and all that,

but that's work in progress.

Like I said,

I haven't really been in business for not even two years

yet. So I'm so excited to all the different possibilities and

the potential that we have with the product.

Give yourself time.

What up to this point has happened?

That's been frustrating for you or something that was challenging that

you could share with our listeners.

Sure. You know,

Sue, when you're importing a product,

there's a lot of things that can go wrong.

But for the most part is a seamless process.

If you have all the right steps in place.

So importing might take time simply because there's a lot of

documents that will,

you will need to have upfront.

And so not only are you going to be dealing with

exporting from one country,

but also importing here.

So there's sometimes delays with importing and definitely have to refer

to this pandemic because it definitely impacted us greatly because the

airports in El Salvador were shut down.

Actually they're still shut down to this day.

It's been a very long time.

And so those delays are something that impacts because we want

it to have our inventory here for the summertime,

which is our high season.

And that didn't happen.

So I was able to overcome this by letting people preorder.

So I had to go for plan B and it worked,

I was very surprised because people were buying my products and

they knew that there were not going to be delivered the

day that they order them.

So your preorder list where then people kind of first in

line to get the product,

once you had it in stock.

Yes. So people would actually order that they would order the

product and we would just send them a message saying there

is a delay,

but your product will ship shortly.

So our sales did not go down.

Sue. I'm very happy to say that.

And one or two,

maybe a little bit more,

but some canceled simply because they needed it for graduation present

or for a birthday.

And based on the dates,

they just had to cancel.

But 95% of our summer sales were preorders.

So, and people were just,

they knew that they wanted our hammocks.

They were willing to wait.

And I am so,

so thankful for that,

honestly, because I wasn't going to cancel those orders.

The artisans were already making them their income dependent on this.

And so for me,

that's important to make sure that those artisans are also paid

and that they can provide for their families.

And that all that is support.

Okay. I asked that question really because the majority of people

here aren't importing from overseas,

but they're getting parts that for what they make from overseas.

So it's not necessarily the completed product,

but it's one little class or whatever the different components are.

So this could be an idea for you.

I think one of the big challenges is when we reach

a barrier,

it's so easy to just say,

okay, this isn't going to work.

I can't do it.

I'm going to shut down.

I'm going to close Covance,

done me in,

but to find other creative ways of managing a situation at

hand, which is what you did,

which is what all of us can do.

Doesn't mean that when you come to a closed door that

you don't find another way to open it up,

maybe in a different way.

And it might be a way that's even better later.

So this idea of taking orders and then fulfilling them first,

come first server,

ensuring that the orders are actually going to happen when you

do get components or in your point on the product,

backend is one way of handling that.

So I just wanted to bring that up.

So actually Sue and then also have good communication with the

customer in the meantime,

right? Cause you gotta be updating them on the status of

their order because then if you don't communicate from the time

they place their order to the time you ship,

that's when they become anxious.

Right. But if you're telling them,

Hey, our shipment is coming in next week.

It's almost here.

Thank you for your patience.

They'll be fine because if they really want that product,

they'll wait for it.

Right. I agree with you there.

So who encompasses right now?

The people that are part of your group,

like your organization chart,

if you will,

besides state side.

So I know you have your artisans over in El Salvador,

but who's part of your team here on the U S

side. So on the U S side,

Sue, we only have a small warehouse where we fulfill our

orders. Like we don't have a shop,

right. So it's me and I have two people right now

working with product fulfillment,

shipping out orders.

I'm also in a lot shipping orders and then customer service

on our end here.

Okay. I love that because it shows that you don't have

to have a huge team behind you to start and grow

and run a business.

Who's doing your social media.

I am doing my social media right now.

Sue, I'm also learning how to do this as well.

Because like I said,

I do have that marketing background,

but everything changed.

So I am learning as I go.

I'm so thankful that there's so much out there,

different courses and different things that you can enroll in.

It's very accessible.

And honestly,

anybody who has never done it,

I mean,

I'm on the same boat.

I mean,

it's just really a matter of trying and testing and seeing

what works and what doesn't,

That's a good point.

Testing it out,

seeing what works and just because it worked for somebody else

doesn't mean it's going to work for you cause you have

a different audience.

So you've got to test and see what's going to work.

So are you taking all your own pictures too?

I have a friend.

Who's a photographer and she's helping,

she does that for me eventually.

I can totally see me.

I have my vision and eventually I'll try to work a

little more on photography now that I'm more clear on who

my audience is.

So I'm excited to do that going forward.

Well, your pictures are beautiful.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you.

Thinking you had to have somebody doing it.

Not because you couldn't do it,

but they are so beautiful with the hammocks placed in the

rooms and the different colors and all of that.

It's beautiful.

So I have a lot of influencers per se,

contacting me.

And I've had,

I've worked with some of them before for free product.

They'll be willing to take pictures and talk about your product.

So I definitely recommend that option as well.

Some of the photography that I use is generated by giving

out a few samples or product to them in return.

They'll send me a beautiful pictures that I would never be

able to recreate on my own cause they give them their

own spin.

The cost is just the product itself for me,

right? So I've got to make sure you make a contract

though. And that both parties understand what's expected for the free

product. And then the other opportunity that I've seen,

that it's something that I really enjoy is having customers tag

us. Once they receive the product and set it up,

they'll tag us on social media or send emails and send

pictures to us.

I love,

love that because not only do I use it as content,

but I can also use it as social proof for other

people to see how others are incorporating the hammocks into their

homes. Absolutely.

So I have a couple of questions for you.

On the influencer side,

you say that they came to you and approached you.

Did you ever approach any influencers yourself CISE started?

Yes. So I did work with two in one of them

was wonderful.

She was amazing.

And she gave a lot of content to this day.

She still sends me pictures.

She'll redecorate her home for every season and she'll send me

pictures. The other one that I looked for it with,

she just gave me a couple of pictures and I never

heard back from her again.

But it's a matter of learning.

You have to feel connected to the person that you're going

to work with and make sure that you both understand at

that time,

I didn't even know there was a possibility of a creating

a contract,

but you should write it down.

So there's no misunderstanding of what's expected and the timeline that

should be followed.

Right. So it's the details like I'm going to send you

the hammock.

You're going to send me two,

three photos,

you know,

whatever the situation is,

right. It's that type of a contract.

Exactly. So it's a win win,

honestly. Okay.

And then one question also on the customer tagging,

do you have some type of motivation for them to do

that for you?

Or is it just coming naturally?

I actually have a couple of things that I do.

So I put it on my stories often.

I'm like,

Hey, share your pictures.

We want to see what you're doing,

how you're relaxing share,

share. So I do that maybe once a week,

I'll post it on stories.

But what I think is the most effective is that in

my packaging inside,

I have a little insert.

It's a little card,

but it's different.

I have a card with all the product information and like

a thank you note,

but separate from that,

there's a little like a business card kind of little note

saying, Hey,

let's stay connected,

follow us.

Or actually I don't even say follow cause I don't like

people following us.

I honestly feel like they want to be part of a

community. So join our community.

That's my invitation,

honestly, because I really like connecting with my customers.

I love learning how their hammocks transform their homes.

So it comes from an authentic place where I really want

to stay connected with them.

Not only cause they can be customers in the future,

but they're also going to be sharing content and letting other

people know about us.

So going back to that too,

it's just a little card separate from everything else that goes

inside of the box and it says let's stay connected.

Follow this ad limbo imports on Instagram and they'll go,

many of them will do it.

be part of the hammock owner community or want to be

hammock owner or the people who are just following you organically.

And don't get that little card yet.

So you don't incentivize like tag us on social media and

you'll be entered into a monthly drawing sweepstakes or something like

that. You don't do any of that.

It's all organic.

I don't give out free products like that.

I honestly just tell them,

Hey, join our community.

What happens is that when people receive their products,

many of us love getting mail.

I know we order a lot of stuff online.

And so once the customer gets it,

they're so excited.

And if you have that little card,

it just reminds them,

Hey, share posts at that moment.

Sometimes they just need that little reminder and then they'll actually

start doing it and keep in mind as well that my

target market is one that is very comfortable doing it.

Right? So it also depends on who your customer is.

I am fortunate that type of customer we serve is already

on social media Is already on and knows how to use

it. Exactly.

Okay. So let's take a look into the future.

Ana, what do you envision?

Let's just go five years down the road,

things change so fast and look at where you've come in

two years already.

It's crazy,

but what are you seeing as the business grows?

So when I started this business,

I just didn't just want to create a business that makes

money or anything like that.

I really wanted to impact the lives of artisans in El

Salvador. I am very fond of everything,

my culture and my history.

And I'm proud of where I come from.

And if I am able to grow this business,

that means I'm going to be able to offer more employment

opportunities for the artisans.

And so that's what I want to achieve.

And hopefully in five years,

be able to sell more so that I can provide more

employment and empowering opportunities for them.

Beautiful. Where can all of our listeners come and see more

about you?

Where would you send them?

Definitely our website,

limbo imports.com

and then on social and Instagram at limbo On a thank

you so much.

Your story is amazing.

I love your vision for the future of continuing to help

people back in El Salvador and your product is absolutely stunning.

I'm so excited to watch you continue to grow and grow.

And I so appreciate your sharing the story here on the

podcast. Thank you,

Sue. I am so grateful to have been able to join

you. I've been listening to your podcast for a while and

super excited.

Well, we're all going to go over and look at your

hammocks and learn how to hang them.

Yes, absolutely.

I'll see you guys there.

Yeah. Take care.

Limbo imports will definitely be one to watch as Ana continues

to grow her business.

If I had to highlight one point,

we covered as the biggest takeaway,

I think it would be the immediate sales bump on a

saw when she identified a barrier to the sale,

meaning instructing people,

how to hang a hammock.

So extending that to you.

What is the one thing that seems to be preventing the

sale? Is it that your price is higher than others?

Don't knock the price down and lose margin.

I'm not saying that at all,

but explain the value of why your products are worth the

higher price or does your product have health benefits that are

immediately obvious to you,

but not necessarily to your customer by pointing these out,

you show why people should be purchasing from you versus someone

else. Now there are multiple variations on this theme,

but I would really like you to take some time today

and think about what that could mean for you next week,

I'm taking you back to your childhood in a way that's

a teaser.

And you're just going to have to tune in to understand

what I mean.

Thank you as always for being here.

And if you'd like to show support for the podcast,

please leave a rating and review.

That means so much and helps the show get seen by

more makers.

It's a great way to pay it forward and now be

safe and well,

and I'll catch you again next week on the gift biz

unwrapped podcast.

Bye for now.

I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook

group called gift biz breeze.

It's a place where we all gather and our community to

support each other.

Got a really fun post in there.

That's my favorite of the week.

I have to say where I invite all of you to

share what you're doing to show pictures of your product,

to show what you're working on for the week to get

reaction from other people and just for fun,

because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody

in the community is making my favorite post every single week,

without doubt.

Wait, what,

aren't you part of the group already,

if not make sure to jump over to Facebook and search

for the group gift biz breeze don't delay.