000 – The Story Behind Gift Biz Unwrapped

Welcome! This is Sue Monhait, your host, and I want to welcome you to the first episode of Gift Biz Unwrapped. This will be a little different than future shows in that I want to lay a foundation as to what you can expect moving forward and why the podcast is here in the first place!

The Purpose

The purpose of Gift Biz Unwrapped is to provide insights and actionable strategies to grow your business. At the end of each episode, you will walk away with new ideas, or tools, or processes that you can apply to grow your business.

My Back Story

Let me tell you a little about myself. I come from 15 years working in the corporate environment in sales and marketing consultation. During that time I worked with several hundred smaller retailers as well as some of the big guys. I was in a lead position for the McDonald’s salad rollout way back when, as well as working with companies such as Pizza Hut, Osco/Savon Drug, Kohl’s and more. I’ll tell you a secret that I discovered during that time. The larger businesses have the same challenges that we face every day. Sure, they have more resources at hand … but they also have a lot of politics and procedures. This makes instituting changes a long and tedious process. What seems so obvious in terms of business improvements just doesn’t ever get implemented. Many times one department doesn’t even know what the other is doing. A small/medium business on the other hand, is nimble and quick. You can discover ways to enhance your business and take action immediately. This is a huge advantage for you and that’s where we come in. We’ll bring you these ideas and you can incorporate the ones that are right for your business.

Sue-SpeakBack to my story. There came a time in my corporate life when I became a candidate to run one of our production facilities. That would have meant that I would be in charge of all departments such as finance, sales, hr, production, etc. It was exciting and I was totally motivated to make this change. Then all of a sudden, I stopped in my tracks. My children were going too fast and their childhood was passing to quickly … I was traveling all the time and it just hit me that I really didn’t want to miss out on all that.

I wanted to be a “traditional” mom. If there even is such a thing these days. So I came home and had a heart-to-heart with my husband. He supported me and we created a plan. Two years later, I left a job I loved to stay home with the kids … a job I loved even more!

About 4 years later, the bug was back. What can I say, I love business. David and Nichole were getting older and more independent and I decided I wanted to go back to work . It was my husband who said, “Why don’t you start something yourself?” I thought, ok … for years I’ve been helping other people start and grow their businesses – now I’ll see if I can take my own advice and do it myself.

Today

Fast forward, I’ve now started two successful businesses. My current business is The Ribbon Print Company. We provide custom ribbon printing systems so businesses can offer personalization of products right onsite in their shop or craftroom. I mention this because it is what lead me to creating this podcast.

We do 8-10 trade shows a year at The Ribbon Print Company. I’m also a speaker/teacher at several of these shows. I love it because our booth is always busy and we get to interact with lots of customers and prospects. Inevitably I get into conversations about starting or growing a business. There are questions about set-up, marketing plans, social media strategies, product fulfilment – all sorts of things. These conversations energize me. It’s so funny because many times people who don’t buy a ribbon printer come back to the booth the next year to say “hi” and tell us how their business has progressed. Then we get into more growth conversations. I’ve met and become friends with so many business owners this way.

So thru these shows, what I found is that there is a huge need for sharing of this type of information … over and above what can be done at my booth at a trade show. That, my friends, was the Sue---Trade-Showinspiration for Gift Biz Unwrapped.

About The Gift Biz Unwrapped Podcast

Every week I interview someone who either owns a successful business or provides services to our industry. They share insights, tools, strategies, sources, lots of tangible and valuable information that you can take away and use.

Every Monday morning you will get a new dose of inspiration to jumpstart your week with energy and determination.

So, you may be asking, why a podcast? Why not a newsletter? I have to tell you if you asked me last year if I would be doing a podcast, the answer would have been absolutely not. I already do newsletters and You Tube videos for our customers. But over the last 8 months or so, I’ve fallen in love with podcasts. They integrate so easily into a daily schedule. You can listen while you drive to work, in your shop, while you are walking the dog or at the gym, even when you’re cooking or doing laundry. It is so easy to capture information in this way especially since our lives are so jam-packed already. And … it’s FREE. Valuable content you can access on your schedule, without adding another task that will take time, and at no charge. Our gift to you and almost too good to be true!

So, if you own a gift shop, stationery store or a specialty shop like chocolates or gourmet foods. If you are a crafting artisan and make jewelry, purses, quilts, or clothing. If you sell on Etsy, have a brick and mortar store or are homebased … if you have anything to do with gifting, then you are in the perfect place. It’s a place to learn, grow and prosper together both emotionally (with inspiration and support) and financially since that’s why we’re all in business in the first place.

Sue-in-OfficeOur first two episodes are already up and waiting for you in the Apple Podcasts. Jump on over and subscribe to Gift Biz Unwrapped so you will always know when the next episode is live and waiting for you. We have a fun and unique interview format on the show. I’m not going to tell you what it is tho because I want you to go over and experience it yourself. Then remember to catch us bright and early each Monday morning for a new dose of inspiration.

Thank you so much for joining me here today and I look forward to having you as a listener on Gift Biz Unwrapped.

Transcript
Speaker:

Hi, 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 Unwrapped,

Speaker:

your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop and

Speaker:

grow your business.

Speaker:

And now here's your host,

Speaker:

Sue Monheit.

Speaker:

Hi everyone.

Speaker:

This is Sue Monheit and I wanna welcome you to the

Speaker:

first episode of Gift Biz Unwrapped.

Speaker:

This will be a little bit different than future shows in

Speaker:

that I wanna lay a foundation as to what you can

Speaker:

expect moving forward and why the podcast is here in the

Speaker:

first place.

Speaker:

The purpose of Gift Biz Unwrapped is to provide insights and

Speaker:

actionable strategies to grow your business.

Speaker:

At the end of each episode,

Speaker:

you'll walk away with new ideas or tools or processes that

Speaker:

you can apply to grow your business.

Speaker:

What it will not be is salesy or self-promotional.

Speaker:

I can promise you that.

Speaker:

Lemme tell you a little bit about myself.

Speaker:

I come from 15 years working in the corporate environment in

Speaker:

sales and marketing consultation.

Speaker:

During that time,

Speaker:

I worked with several hundred smaller retailers as well as some

Speaker:

of the big guys.

Speaker:

I was in a lead position for the McDonald's salad rollout

Speaker:

way back when,

Speaker:

as well as working with companies such as Pizza Hut,

Speaker:

oco, save on Drug,

Speaker:

Kohl's, and more.

Speaker:

And I'll tell you a secret that I discovered during that

Speaker:

time, the larger businesses had the same challenges that we face

Speaker:

every day.

Speaker:

Sure, they may have more resources at hand,

Speaker:

but they also have a lot of politics and procedures.

Speaker:

This makes instituting changes a really long and tedious process.

Speaker:

What seems so obvious in terms of business improvement just don't

Speaker:

ever seem to get implemented because of the complication of larger

Speaker:

business structures.

Speaker:

Many times one department doesn't even know what the other is

Speaker:

doing. You've heard that saying often,

Speaker:

I'm sure a small and medium-sized business,

Speaker:

on the other hand,

Speaker:

is nimble and quick.

Speaker:

You can discover ways to enhance your business and then take

Speaker:

action immediately.

Speaker:

This is a huge advantage for you,

Speaker:

and that's where we come in.

Speaker:

We'll bring you these ideas and you can incorporate the ones

Speaker:

that are right for your business.

Speaker:

Back to my story,

Speaker:

there came a time in my corporate life when I became

Speaker:

a candidate to run one of our production facilities.

Speaker:

That would've meant that I would've been in charge of all

Speaker:

the departments such as finance,

Speaker:

sales, hr,

Speaker:

production, all of that.

Speaker:

It was exciting and I was totally motivated to make this

Speaker:

change, and then all of a sudden I stopped in my

Speaker:

tracks. My children were growing too fast and their childhood was

Speaker:

passing too quickly.

Speaker:

I was traveling all the time,

Speaker:

and it just hit me that I really didn't wanna miss

Speaker:

out. I wanted to be a traditional mom,

Speaker:

if there is anything such as that these days.

Speaker:

So I came home and had a heart to heart with

Speaker:

my husband,

Speaker:

and luckily he supported me and we created a plan.

Speaker:

So two years later,

Speaker:

I left a job that I loved to stay home with

Speaker:

my children,

Speaker:

and that was a job that I loved even more.

Speaker:

About four years after that though,

Speaker:

the bug was back.

Speaker:

What can I say?

Speaker:

I love business.

Speaker:

David and Nicole were getting older and more independent,

Speaker:

and I decided that I really was ready to go back

Speaker:

to work.

Speaker:

I think it was my husband who said,

Speaker:

well, why don't you just start something for your yourself?

Speaker:

And I thought,

Speaker:

okay. You know,

Speaker:

for years I've been helping other people start and grow their

Speaker:

business. Now I'll see if I can take my own advice

Speaker:

and do it myself.

Speaker:

Fast forward,

Speaker:

I've now started two successful businesses.

Speaker:

My current business is the Ribbon Print Company.

Speaker:

We provide custom ribbon printing systems so businesses can offer personalization

Speaker:

of products right on site in their shop or their craft

Speaker:

room. I mentioned this because it is what led me to

Speaker:

creating this podcast.

Speaker:

We do between eight and 10 trade shows a year at

Speaker:

the Ribbon Print Company.

Speaker:

I'm also a speaker and teacher at several of these shows,

Speaker:

and I love it because our booth is always really busy

Speaker:

and we get to interact with lots of customers and prospects.

Speaker:

Inevitably, I get into conversations about starting or growing a business.

Speaker:

There are questions about setup,

Speaker:

marketing plans,

Speaker:

social media strategies,

Speaker:

product fulfillment,

Speaker:

all sorts of things.

Speaker:

These conversations energize me.

Speaker:

It's so funny because many times people who don't buy a

Speaker:

Ribbon printer still come back to the booth the following year

Speaker:

to say hi,

Speaker:

and then we talk about how their business has grown and

Speaker:

get into yet another conversation about where they can go from

Speaker:

here. I've met and become friends with so many business owners

Speaker:

this way,

Speaker:

and it absolutely just totally energizes me.

Speaker:

So through these shows,

Speaker:

what I found is that there's a huge need for sharing

Speaker:

this type of information over and above what can be done

Speaker:

at my booth at a trade show,

Speaker:

and that my friends is the inspiration for Gift Biz Unwrapped.

Speaker:

Now, I don't profess to know everything about business,

Speaker:

especially because things change so quickly these days.

Speaker:

That's why our program will be interview based.

Speaker:

Every week,

Speaker:

we'll interview someone who either owns a successful business or provides

Speaker:

services to our end industry.

Speaker:

They will share insights,

Speaker:

tools, strategies,

Speaker:

sources, lots of tangible and valuable information that most importantly,

Speaker:

you can take away and use.

Speaker:

Every Monday,

Speaker:

you'll get a new dose of information to jumpstart your week

Speaker:

with energy and determination.

Speaker:

So you may be asking,

Speaker:

why a podcast?

Speaker:

Why not just a newsletter?

Speaker:

I have to tell you,

Speaker:

if you asked me last year if I'd be doing a

Speaker:

podcast, the answer would've been absolutely not.

Speaker:

I already do newsletters and YouTube videos for our customers,

Speaker:

but over the last eight months or so,

Speaker:

I've fallen in love with podcasts.

Speaker:

They integrate so easily into your daily schedule.

Speaker:

You can listen while you drive to work in your shop

Speaker:

while you're walking your dog or at the gym,

Speaker:

even when you're cooking or doing laundry.

Speaker:

It's so easy to capture information in this way,

Speaker:

especially since our lives are so jam-packed already and dun dun

Speaker:

dun. It's free valuable content you can access on your schedule

Speaker:

without adding another task that will take time and add no

Speaker:

charge, our gift to you and almost too good to be

Speaker:

true. So if you own a gift shop stationary,

Speaker:

store, a specialty shop,

Speaker:

perhaps like chocolates or gourmet foods if you're a crafting artisan

Speaker:

and make jewelry,

Speaker:

purses, quilts,

Speaker:

or clothing.

Speaker:

If you sell on Etsy,

Speaker:

have a brick and mortar store or are home-based,

Speaker:

literally, if you have anything to do with gifting,

Speaker:

then you are in the perfect place.

Speaker:

It's a place to learn,

Speaker:

grow, and prosper together both emotionally through inspiration and support and

Speaker:

financially since that's why we're in business in the first place.

Speaker:

Our first two episodes are already up and waiting for you

Speaker:

in the iTunes store.

Speaker:

Jump on over and subscribe to Gift Biz Unwrapped so you'll

Speaker:

always know when the next episode is live and waiting for

Speaker:

you. We have a fun and unique interview format on this

Speaker:

show, but I'm not gonna tell you what it is here

Speaker:

because I want you to go over and experience it for

Speaker:

yourself. Then remember to catch us bright and early every single

Speaker:

Monday morning for a new dose of inspiration.

Speaker:

Thank you so much for joining me here today,

Speaker:

and I look forward to having you as a listener on

Speaker:

Gift Biz Unwrapped.

Speaker:

Learn how to work smarter while developing and growing your business.

Speaker:

Download our guide called 25 Free Tools to Enhance your business

Speaker:

and life.

Speaker:

It's our gift to you and available@giftbizunwrap.com

Speaker:

slash tools.

Speaker:

Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for the

1 Comment

  1. Mindy Moore on April 24, 2015 at 2:33 pm

    This was fantastic. Sues delivery was stellar and clear. She is very entertaining and informative.
    I hope this can continue.

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