370 – BASH – Money Mistakes in Your Handmade Product Business

Let’s talk about areas in your business where you may be spending money on things that aren’t benefiting you.

You may not have considered that various stages of business require different investments.

When you understand what will best serve you at each stage of your growth, you achieve a couple of things:

  • First, you don’t use up available dollars in a scattered way – wasting money if you will.
  • Instead, you spend money in areas that will truly help you grow your handmade business based on where you are in the development and growth cycle.

What’s In This Bash Party?

  • Free Training on money mistakes commonly made at the different stages of a handmade business. This training builds directly on the training in Bash #1 the 5 Gift Biz Growth Stages
  • Q&A with Bash attendees
  • Showcases – attendees share their upcoming events, unique collaborations, and discount promo codes! << Tune in to grab these deals + get ideas for your own business! 

Listen to this Bash episode now to discover the money mistakes you may be making – and what to do instead. Plus, our attendees’ best promotions and upcoming events! 

Resources Mentioned:

Interested in being part of the next Bash Party?

See upcoming Gift Biz Bash parties and grab your spot today! Don’t delay – spaces are limited.

Join Our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community

Become a Member of Gift Biz Breeze

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Thank you so much! Sue

Transcript
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You're listening to gift biz unwrapped episode three 70.

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And yes,

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this is a bash At Tinton gifters bakers,

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crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.

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

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Now you are in the right place.

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This is give to biz unwrapped,

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helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.

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Join us for an episode,

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packed full of invaluable guidance,

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resources, and the support you need to grow.

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Your gift biz.

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Here is your host gift biz gal Sue moon Heights.

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Hi there.

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It's Sue and welcome to our second gift biz bash.

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What bash,

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if you're new here,

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hold tight.

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You'll experience it in just a few minutes.

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As a handmade product baker,

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you create the most beautiful,

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delicious, and life enhancing products.

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I'm so impressed with your talent and you always put a

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smile on my face.

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When I see your newest creations,

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I'm always watching and I'm also always listening.

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Let me back up here for a second.

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In our Facebook group,

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gift biz breeze.

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I asked what you need help with the most right now

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I knew totally surprised me.

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It wasn't an email marketing strategy.

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It wasn't doing video or any number of topics that make

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up a solid growing business.

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Nope. What you're overwhelmingly asking for is help with social media

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posting. You're putting in the time you're posting frequently,

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maybe even every day yet you're discouraged because you aren't seeing

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any of this move the needle for your sales.

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I hear your frustration.

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Some of you have even told me you're at the point

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of throwing in the towel on social media altogether,

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wait, please don't do that.

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Here's the thing.

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Some adjustments are needed.

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That's all you see putting in more time posting in the

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same way.

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Isn't going to magically bring in more sales.

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You need to change the way you're posting and what you're

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posting. You don't need to put in more work.

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You need to put in the right work.

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And that's when things will change.

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So based on all of your comments,

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I've created your solution.

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It's called content for makers and is specially created for handmade

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product makers like you because when you get your posting strategy

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and topics,

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right, everything else falls into place.

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Content for makers will enlighten you as to why your current

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social media activities aren't converting into sales.

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It will also show you how to put in less time

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and start seeing activity that will lead to increased sales.

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Just imagine a day where you know exactly what to post

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and get it done in less than five minutes,

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then you interact with potential clients,

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deepen relationships with those you already know.

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And all of this continues to build upon itself naturally.

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Yes, this is possible.

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Content for makers includes a step-by-step strategy to formulate your unique

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plan based on your business and your products.

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Then you'll get 375 social media prompts.

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So over a full year of ideas,

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along with the 375 prompts come 375 image suggestions.

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So you're not left hanging on the creative.

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These prompts and image suggestions can be used for all platforms

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and all types of posting images,

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live streaming reels,

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even email topics.

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There's more to content for makers too.

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To see all the details,

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jump over to gift biz,

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unwrapped.com forward slash content for makers.

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But honestly at only $27,

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it's a no brainer.

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Plus you only have to buy it once for use year

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after year.

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Why carry on posting as you've been doing all along expecting

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different results,

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sign up for content for makers now and see the transformation

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of your post-it experience change right before your very eyes,

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gift biz,

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unwrapped.com forward slash content for makers ready and waiting for your

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immediate access.

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Right now today's topic is about areas in your business where

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you may be spending money on things that aren't benefiting.

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You. You see various stages of business require different investments.

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When you know what will best serve you at each stage

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of your growth,

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you're doing a couple of things.

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One you're not using up available dollars in a scattered way,

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wasting money.

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If you will.

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And two you're spending money in areas that will truly help

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you grow based on where you are at any given time.

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Sound good.

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Let's dive right in.

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Welcome to our second gift biz bash.

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They are taking off because you don't know what we're doing

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here today.

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I'm going to give a short conversation and talk about what

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I'm seeing as Money,

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mistakes That occur in various parts of your business.

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The very batch I did,

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I talked about the five growth stages that I've defined with

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a handmade product business.

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And today what I want to do is add another layer

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on top of that,

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which is where you should and where you should not be

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spending your money at the different levels because things change over

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time. You know,

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like what you should be spending money on when you're just

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starting is very different than what you should be spending money

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on when you're an established business.

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If you haven't listened to that first one,

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where I talk about the five stages that may also help

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ground you,

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you don't have to stop this podcast and go listen to

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that first,

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but there's more depth behind the stages.

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So it would behoove you to go and listen to that

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if you wanted to.

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And that is episode number 360 8 to go listen to

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it. So it's just a couple episodes back here.

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All right,

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let me go ahead and dive into the money,

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mistakes that I'm seeing at the five different levels of your

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business. The very first level I call is ability.

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Not visibility is ability.

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And this is when somebody is just starting to think about

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starting a business.

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A friend of theirs might have suggested that they get started

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and now it's in their head or someone keeps saying they're

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starting, but hasn't really flipped the switch yet.

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And where I will see people spending money when they no

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longer need to at this stage is learning,

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getting one more class,

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finding out about one more thing,

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doing more research on one more thing that are paid,

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because really what you're doing is acting like you're being productive

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and not getting past that scared point,

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flipping the switch and taking action.

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So when you're in the visibility stage,

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stop spending money on,

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more learning,

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more learning,

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more learning.

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If you want learning free podcasts,

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YouTube videos,

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things like that,

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but just don't put your money there.

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In fact,

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if you're tempted to put that money in a little piggy

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bank, because you're going to want to use it later when

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you actually start your business.

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Okay? So that's the first one phase number two is validation.

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This is the phase that most people forget or don't even

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do because they don't know to do it.

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This is where of all the products that you make you

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narrow in on which products people will actually buy.

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Or if you only have one product,

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like let's say you make candles,

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which sizes shapes styles is your market attracted to because we

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can make anything and we can start a business with anything.

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But if there's no market,

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if there's no receptivity on the other end for people to

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open their wallets,

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you're not going to go anywhere.

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That's why so many businesses fail.

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You just see,

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like I can start my business.

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Well, yeah,

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you can it's if that part's easy,

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but you've got to make sure that it aligns with a

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product that people want.

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And that's what you do during this stage called validation often

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here. And it's just because I don't think it's ever talked

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about you think,

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okay, I'm starting.

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I'm getting going.

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And so what do you mostly do?

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What am I going to name my company?

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Maybe you jumped right away to do an LLC.

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All these things,

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investing in inventory,

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all that kind of money.

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When honestly what you should first do is invest money in

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some shows,

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get in front of some people and test and validate your

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product. So money with yes,

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initial supplies of product,

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but not tons of inventory yet.

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Because what if,

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while you're looking at this,

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you see that nobody likes peppermint,

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but they love the lavender.

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And you've bought all this peppermint stuff already.

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That's a waste of money.

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That's money that you could have used to invest in your

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business somewhere else.

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So again,

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at this validation stage,

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don't rush to start your business.

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This stage doesn't have to take long,

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but put your money in a local farmer's market or craft

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show depending on your product,

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in the display so that everything looks good on your table

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and then go out and run a show and you can

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even run it just under your own name.

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Okay. And you don't have to create your business name yet

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because how many people even right after they've started are like,

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dang, that isn't the name I wanted,

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but they've already registered it.

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So hold off on that for a minute,

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until you do this validation,

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and then you'll move into stage three,

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which I call making it real.

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After you've done your validation,

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you know what products are working and you know that people

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will open their wallets or press those buy buttons.

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You've seen it happen.

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So you can be even more confident that what you're starting

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is going to be good.

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And so this is where you are going to register your

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business. LLC is always my preference,

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but that's another story.

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You'll open a bank account because now you'll know what your

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business name is going to be also.

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So you get your bank account in your business name,

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cause you always want to keep your finances separate and continue

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investing in craft shows because that's the way you're now going

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to be making money to reinvest in your business.

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These are all good things to be doing in this third

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stage that I call make it real.

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What I would not invest in during this stage is continuing

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to buy all of your inventory,

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retail, all the parts and pieces that you need to make

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your products or the ingredients that you need for the bakers

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out there,

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little by little during this stage,

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because you're going to now buy more in bulk,

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start buying wholesale or in larger volume.

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So it's cheaper because you're wasting money.

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If you're still buying retail,

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I've run into people who have been in business for several

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years already,

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and they're still still buying retail,

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but they have the volume of sales not to be.

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And that's just money that you're just throwing out the door.

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So it's at this stage where you turn to wholesale and

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you continue selling.

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I wanted to say in this other stage two,

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you can start your website,

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like start building an Etsy shop if you want.

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Or at minimum of Facebook shops start adding in some sales

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channels besides face-to-face step for upping your game.

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This is now when you've seen that everything's working,

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you've established your business and now you are full in sales

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and marketing.

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An error that I commonly see here is not really locking

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down your pricing structure.

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That includes money for you.

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I don't care if it's a penny per piece.

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I want you to include in your pricing structure,

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a salary for you and some money for your business because

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an Etsy shop costs some money.

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Having to know your own website,

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costs them money,

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going out to networking and marketing costs money.

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And the only way you can afford that is if your

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products by the sale of your products is bringing in money

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over and above how much it costs to make it including

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your production cost.

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But this is a mistake that I'm often seen is people

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aren't including that in their pricing a little bit for them,

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you always think like,

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well, it's my business.

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You know,

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I'll pay myself later.

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Don't I don't care if it's one penny put that line

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item in there.

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So you're thinking about that.

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And by doing so then you have money that you can

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spend on developing your business.

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What should you spend money on it?

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This fourth stage where it makes sense switch from the free

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services that you've been using to paid because they have added

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enhancements that you want.

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Examples of this might be your email service.

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If you have just an email account,

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maybe you switched over to a business account.

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So it's not company name@gmail.com.

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It's your name at the name of your company?

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Dot com much more professional along with a lot of other

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services that business accounts provide.

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I think that costs like $6 a month or something not

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expensive. Another place that I would upgrade is having your own

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website. And when you're up in the game,

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you could be in this stage for several years,

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but start switching over again,

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where it makes sense to do that.

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Another service paid service very,

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very worth it.

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Canva. You can create free images in canvas all day long,

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but if you want to get resources to other photos,

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let's say you're going to do a post and you just

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don't have a photo.

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The photos that are in Canva are amazing and all the

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layouts, et cetera.

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So that's just another example.

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So again,

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in number four,

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the mistake is not pricing yourself properly,

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so that then you're going to have money to invest back

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into the business and pay yourself and then start changing from

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free to paid services where it makes sense and potentially hire

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help. You know,

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is it time to get bookkeeping off your desk or maybe

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it's even shipping.

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You have someone come in and fill the orders when you

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reach a certain level,

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not to do it all yourself,

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because at this stage it's also very probable that you become

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the barrier to growing because you're just trying to do everything

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yourself. And then finally we get to the fifth stage,

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which is keep it coming.

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And this is when you've been in business for a while.

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And I know a couple of people here have been in

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business for 20 years or so even the common mistake I'll

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see at this stage is not investing in growth.

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Do you need to add more employees,

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Kim? I'm just going to use it as an example because

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you are the top left,

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like how I read my zoom grid,

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but you added people to take on delivery because you knew

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that wasn't something that you were going to do.

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And you've added on people now that we're out of,

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COVID like baking and those things.

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You're really a great example at doing things like that,

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investing in things that will help you grow.

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Okay? So that could be people to help you.

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It can also be another sales channel.

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Let's say you have a tea shop and your doing craft

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shows might just be time to add your own website,

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a third avenue of getting business.

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And you might say,

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well, why do I need to do that?

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I'm already online.

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I've got an Etsy channel at T attracts a whole different

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customer than you would attract.

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So you're upgrading the golden nugget for a website is always

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your own.

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Always, always,

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always. It could be in addition to another,

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but always your own.

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Again, that goes just like with email because you own it.

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You can get anything online,

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shut down without cause even cause you don't control it and

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lose all your people.

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So something else to think about what you should be investing

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in at this stage is continued learning.

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As we mark off more and more years in business,

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we kind of feel like we know so much and some

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of the basics and the important things can get lost.

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And some of the new things that come down the road,

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we're so busy in our day to day and what we're

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doing, we're not looking at them.

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I'm not saying that you take on every single new thing

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that you see that is a potential for growing your business,

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but take a look at it and analyze it.

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A big hot one now is tic-tac.

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That is not one I'm choosing,

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but everyone's talking about it.

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So it was a heads up to me like,

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okay, let me think about this.

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Would this fit in?

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Do I elect to do it?

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I'm not just automatically shutting it down,

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but I'm not going all in to everything either.

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So staying on top of things,

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trends, and also thinking about this is the stage where you

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start thinking and putting in place things for your future.

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You know,

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do you want to continue being the front person who runs

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everything all the time?

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Are you thinking maybe someday you were going to sell the

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business here or you can start investing in people or services

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that can help you set up for the future of your

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business. Not meaning tomorrow,

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not meaning in five years,

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but where do you think you're going?

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Where's the path leading to?

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We talked just yesterday.

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I think it was in our VIP group that we have

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with gift biz unwrapped talking about,

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do you have a plan?

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If all of a sudden you need to walk away from

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your business unexpectedly.

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That's something for all of us to think about.

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And particularly in this stage,

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you make sure you have that.

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And some of that might mean spending some money to go

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along with it.

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Okay. So I've shared with each of the five business stages

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now where you should not think about spending money with your,

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in that stage and then what you should be investing in

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in that stage.

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And let me open it up for any questions that anyone

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might have.

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Go ahead,

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Sharon, can you unmute yourself?

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Can we go back just a minute to the wholesale and

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what is it that you need to be able to buy

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wholesale? You need a seller's license to show that you're actually

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reselling your product.

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So it doesn't look like you're just buying at a lower

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price for yourself.

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And the important thing there is that the people who are

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buying from you are paying any applicable taxes.

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And if you don't do it,

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like if you can sometimes buy wholesale and they won't require

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that, but 99% of people will and you are then considered

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a non-taxable account because you are then collecting taxes for that

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product on the other end and not being double taxed,

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which is also another reason not to pay retail,

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you're paying tax.

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You know,

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like I said before,

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it's not necessarily all your products,

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but some of your products,

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you know,

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slowly moving it over where it makes sense.

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Okay. Thank You.

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Any other questions?

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Okay. I see some hands raised where you raising your hand

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for questions,

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Heidi, you have a question.

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What Is LLC?

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LLC stands for limited liability company.

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These are different designations for registering your business.

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So if you do nothing,

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you automatically default to a sole proprietor.

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I always recommend going to an LLC because what an LLC

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does is it puts a barrier between your personal everything and

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your business.

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So let's say something happened.

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You made something and someone sued you because they got hurt.

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When you are a sole proprietor,

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you are at risk of everything you own like your house,

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your car.

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If it was a serious thing,

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an LLC puts a divider right in the middle there,

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the only thing they can take is your business.

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I'm talking about worst case.

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Is this like difference between sole proprietor and corporation?

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Yeah. Corporation is even higher than an LLC.

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And then there's also an escort.

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I'd say the majority of people,

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I always say start off as a sole proprietor,

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especially during the validation stage before you decided for sure.

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And that doesn't sound like you,

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Heidi, but other people who are listening and then jump over

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to an LLC at the first chance.

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That makes sense.

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Just get it done.

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And then you're not going to worry about it.

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It's an annual license that you renew.

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Okay. I wonder if it's called something else in Canada.

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It might be.

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Yeah, it might be to check it out,

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but I'm sure they have something similar.

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So you know what?

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I don't know if you're in any chambers or anything,

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but you could go and just find someone on the legal

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side who can just explain it to you.

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Maybe spend $25,

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$50 to have a consult if need be,

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or just Google it online because you can even register online.

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You don't need a lawyer to do any of this,

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Right? Thank you.

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You're welcome.

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Hi, I've basically have done everything I've needed to,

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to, I have a business name.

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I have a business account.

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I have a business license,

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everything. My problem is,

Speaker:

is I have so many flipping ideas.

Speaker:

It's hard to narrow it down.

Speaker:

So would the best thing to do is just take what

Speaker:

I have done and see what people like the best,

Speaker:

because I want a variety of everything,

Speaker:

but I overblow myself with,

Speaker:

where do I start?

Speaker:

What do I do?

Speaker:

Okay. I have talked about this a lot because it's a

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very common thing.

Speaker:

Jeanette, let me give you just a really quick example.

Speaker:

You walk into a craft show and you see a table

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with people selling candles,

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and then you see another table and it's all knitted items.

Speaker:

And then you got to a table that has candles,

Speaker:

knitted items,

Speaker:

paintings, essential oils.

Speaker:

Who is that person?

Speaker:

What are they an expert in?

Speaker:

They're not really seen as an expert in anything because they're

Speaker:

displaying everything.

Speaker:

Okay. So that kind of is a concept for you to

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think about.

Speaker:

You're definitely in the validation stage.

Speaker:

I have a program that helps walk you through how to

Speaker:

identify your product.

Speaker:

If you're interested in that,

Speaker:

it's called start with confidence.

Speaker:

And I can talk with you about that afterwards,

Speaker:

but it helps you validate so that,

Speaker:

you know,

Speaker:

again, what I was talking about in the beginning,

Speaker:

in this stage,

Speaker:

so you can determine what people will spend money on because

Speaker:

everyone can say,

Speaker:

things are beautiful.

Speaker:

That's easy.

Speaker:

It's opening the pocket book,

Speaker:

then buying something,

Speaker:

any more questions before we move on to the showcases,

Speaker:

okay, I'm loving this part.

Speaker:

So here's what we're going to do.

Speaker:

And for anyone who's listening,

Speaker:

you can also participate in what we call the bashes,

Speaker:

which are actually right now,

Speaker:

we are in a formal zoom party.

Speaker:

These turn into podcasts,

Speaker:

which if you're listening,

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that's what you're hearing now.

Speaker:

But if you'd like to be behind the scenes in one

Speaker:

of these zoom parties,

Speaker:

you can certainly do.

Speaker:

So. The only requirement is that you're a maker,

Speaker:

you're in business in your maker because your big benefit is

Speaker:

the showcases.

Speaker:

You get a chance to talk about your business.

Speaker:

Everyone has like a minute and a half,

Speaker:

and here's what I want you to do.

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Talk about who you are,

Speaker:

the name of your business,

Speaker:

the product,

Speaker:

if it's not already evident and then either one promotion,

Speaker:

one event or one collaboration that you have going on is

Speaker:

the only one of any of those.

Speaker:

And then one point of contact where people can come and

Speaker:

find you short,

Speaker:

concise. If you have a couple of things going on,

Speaker:

like you're at a craft show and you're also looking at

Speaker:

a collaboration or something like that,

Speaker:

come on a couple of bashes.

Speaker:

Let's do one per batch just to keep it nice and

Speaker:

clean and not confuse everybody who's listening because you know how

Speaker:

it is too much information is no information.

Speaker:

It just gets too confusing.

Speaker:

If people are listening to this on the day,

Speaker:

the podcast airs it's May 14th.

Speaker:

So as you're doing your showcases,

Speaker:

remember that that's the point in time will be when everybody's

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going to be listening.

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Okay, good to go.

Speaker:

Okay. I need,

Speaker:

I think I had used start or go last the first

Speaker:

time. So I'm going to have you go first.

Speaker:

This time I planned it.

Speaker:

I planned it that way.

Speaker:

Why Does that not surprise me?

Speaker:

I need other,

Speaker:

are you who are you?

Speaker:

Tell us everything.

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Okay. My name's Anita Houseman.

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I am from the Hershey gifting company located just outside of

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chocolate town,

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USA, Hershey,

Speaker:

PA. We offer personalized gifting and ribbon printing services to help

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remember the special people events or if people are building their

Speaker:

brands to get them to be seen and notice.

Speaker:

And you can find me on my website@thehersheygiftingcompany.com.

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Beautiful. Love it.

Speaker:

Love it.

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Love it.

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Okay, let's go To Heidi.

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You've been very talkative.

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I'm going to let you go.

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Then you got to relax after that.

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All right.

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My name is Heidi and I am a clothing designer for

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my company,

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Heidi and seek boutique.

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I make clothing,

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art and accessories all is handmade in my home studio.

Speaker:

And I have a focus on body positivity,

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mental health awareness,

Speaker:

and women empowerment in my items that I sell.

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You can find me@heidiandseekboutique.com.

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That's my website.

Speaker:

And soon I'll be launching some donation items where portion of

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the sales of certain things will go to a battered women's

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shelter in my area,

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a fund for people who can't afford counseling on their own,

Speaker:

as well as a local charity that provides housing to people

Speaker:

who need to visit loved ones in the hospital.

Speaker:

I love that.

Speaker:

And I want to just point out to everyone.

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Who's listening to these showcases that you too can pick up

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ideas to hear like what other people are promoting,

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how they're integrating other things into their business.

Speaker:

So it's not just them promoting.

Speaker:

It's also to help you not copy what other people are

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doing, but to give you some other ideas of things that

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you could be doing.

Speaker:

And Heidi,

Speaker:

this whole give back is such a big deal right now.

Speaker:

People care about it so much.

Speaker:

I love that you're doing that.

Speaker:

Love it,

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love it.

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So, all right,

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share. And you're up.

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You got to unmute yourself first.

Speaker:

There we go.

Speaker:

I am Sharon Martin and I have a company that is

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kind of a multi-faceted company.

Speaker:

One part of it.

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I have a DBA of sharmarke creations where I do Dreamcatchers

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macrame and other types of wall hangings and a few other

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things. The other part of my business centers around a heart-centered

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awareness portion.

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That's more of a spiritual thing included in that is I

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do sound as because I'm a certified sound therapist and I

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do some essential oils and crystals,

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and you can find me@smartinheart.com.

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Perfect. Love it.

Speaker:

Those sound baths are so intriguing.

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One of these days,

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Sharon, one of these days.

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Yes. Okay.

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Let's Sean,

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why don't you go next?

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Hello. My name is Leshaun Barnes.

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I am the owner of forever Mona Lisa.

Speaker:

I create handmade jewelry.

Speaker:

I am in Charlotte,

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North Carolina,

Speaker:

and I have a promo code for you guys,

Speaker:

which is fast.

Speaker:

If you want to go to my website@forevermonalisa.com

Speaker:

and you can find me on Instagram also at for everyone

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to Lisa and Sue.

Speaker:

Thank you for the support.

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Thank you for purchasing the necklace.

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I love it.

Speaker:

And it's funny because I had my mug this morning from

Speaker:

the makers and bakers Now national Peers.

Speaker:

Yes. Thank you.

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I love my mug.

Speaker:

Thank you for the support.

Speaker:

I love what you're doing.

Speaker:

I'm excited to be a part of this.

Speaker:

Thank you.

Speaker:

I love that you are too.

Speaker:

I was going to wear the necklace,

Speaker:

but it's already packed.

Speaker:

Literally when we're done recording,

Speaker:

I'm like walking out for my son's wedding.

Speaker:

Say that on air.

Speaker:

Alright. Oh,

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you're welcome.

Speaker:

Let's see Jeanette,

Speaker:

why don't you go next?

Speaker:

My business name is denim blues.

Speaker:

I recycle old denims and I make crazy quilts,

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pillows, Christmas,

Speaker:

stockings, purses,

Speaker:

a lot of things.

Speaker:

And I also an author and write books and I just

Speaker:

like to do a lot of things.

Speaker:

So that's why I'm having a hard time narrowing it down

Speaker:

so high.

Speaker:

Yeah, But we can definitely talk more about that.

Speaker:

We can talk about that in the breeze.

Speaker:

Other ways to talk about that too,

Speaker:

because there are ways to add products later.

Speaker:

Like, okay.

Speaker:

That's a whole conversation.

Speaker:

That's for another time,

Speaker:

I have an idea for you.

Speaker:

Okay. Where can people find you?

Speaker:

I have,

Speaker:

well, Facebook go to denim blues.

Speaker:

One, three denim,

Speaker:

blues 13.

Speaker:

All right.

Speaker:

Wonderful Kim.

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You're up?

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Hi, I'm Kim.

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I'm from Kim's cottage confections.

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I have a small bake shop in the center of Connecticut.

Speaker:

And I have been with Sue,

Speaker:

I think,

Speaker:

Ooh, maybe a year and a half,

Speaker:

two years and listened to maker's MBA.

Speaker:

Part of the VIP group.

Speaker:

And I am launching officially my specialty popcorn.

Speaker:

I've come up with a whole plan.

Speaker:

It's going to be in boxes and in bags,

Speaker:

I've registered popcorn culture.

Speaker:

ct.com is my website platform where the purpose is going to

Speaker:

be our back website.

Speaker:

I've already laid out an entire year of popcorn flavors,

Speaker:

popcorn ideas.

Speaker:

I'm going to do.

Speaker:

Tic-tac videos that I'm popping in to share some great ideas

Speaker:

on how you can use popcorn to celebrate all occasions,

Speaker:

because Sue,

Speaker:

you taught me.

Speaker:

I needed to validate a product,

Speaker:

even though I'm a great baker.

Speaker:

And I do a lot of really fun things.

Speaker:

This is a tried and true that people ask me for

Speaker:

everywhere I go.

Speaker:

So we're scaling the business in a different direction.

Speaker:

And this is our new focus.

Speaker:

Love it.

Speaker:

I wish I could like jump in the screen and give

Speaker:

her a hug.

Speaker:

Right. But I will,

Speaker:

when we get to the Philly show,

Speaker:

you got a candy show in September.

Speaker:

Anyone who wants to join us there,

Speaker:

calm Joyce would be your first customer.

Speaker:

No, she won't.

Speaker:

She doesn't like pasta.

Speaker:

I wish you were here.

Speaker:

Was she supposed to be here?

Speaker:

No, she didn't sign up for this one,

Speaker:

but she was on the first one anyway.

Speaker:

All right.

Speaker:

We're going to keep moving on to keep timing going.

Speaker:

Not Iowa.

Speaker:

You're up.

Speaker:

You have to start with where you're calling in from and

Speaker:

it has to be Thanks for inviting me.

Speaker:

This is so great.

Speaker:

All of these women here with the same goals and in

Speaker:

this creative industry,

Speaker:

I am not alone.

Speaker:

I live in the south of France,

Speaker:

even though I have this American accent,

Speaker:

I'm an ex-pat and I do live here.

Speaker:

I've been here for 15 years.

Speaker:

I am a digital illustrator.

Speaker:

So I make drawings that I draw with a computer or

Speaker:

the graphic tablet.

Speaker:

And I'm a blogger.

Speaker:

And I teach people how to make drawings and how to

Speaker:

make things like t-shirts mugs coasters with those drawings.

Speaker:

That is me in a nutshell.

Speaker:

And to find me,

Speaker:

you can find me at paper flow designs,

Speaker:

which is paper,

Speaker:

like the word paper,

Speaker:

and then F L O designs,

Speaker:

plural.com. So gracious to have me on the podcast,

Speaker:

which we had so much fun.

Speaker:

Yes. I was just going to say that too.

Speaker:

You can hear not always story on one of the recent

Speaker:

podcasts. Just go back just a little bit and you'll see

Speaker:

her there.

Speaker:

And yeah,

Speaker:

it's amazing.

Speaker:

And not a,

Speaker:

one of the things that you're doing is demonstrating how it's

Speaker:

not just making the products and in your case,

Speaker:

making the images,

Speaker:

but also adding a level of teaching.

Speaker:

So that's amazing.

Speaker:

It's a great example.

Speaker:

Love it.

Speaker:

Love it.

Speaker:

Okay. Sheila,

Speaker:

your turn girlfriend.

Speaker:

I happy to be here.

Speaker:

Well, let me tell you a little bit about us.

Speaker:

We're from Nashville,

Speaker:

Tennessee, and we are a corporate gifting company,

Speaker:

and we also have a market that we're going to be

Speaker:

opening up in the next few months to showcase some of

Speaker:

our gift baskets,

Speaker:

as well as just some home decor and some gifts you

Speaker:

can follow me on let's do Facebook.

Speaker:

It's heavenly treats for you LLC.

Speaker:

Or we do have an online store,

Speaker:

which has heavenly treats for you.

Speaker:

The number four,

Speaker:

the letter u.com.

Speaker:

But one thing I love about this is just wishing I

Speaker:

had that information that you had given earlier when I started

Speaker:

my business,

Speaker:

because that was some great information to start out with.

Speaker:

So take things,

Speaker:

go with it.

Speaker:

Yes. It's wonderful to watch your business grow.

Speaker:

Also, you can catch us on one of Sue's podcasts.

Speaker:

We got to share our story regarding the guitar case.

Speaker:

So listen to that and you'll know what Ash tag,

Speaker:

follow the Nashville guitars all about.

Speaker:

There you go.

Speaker:

And Sheila,

Speaker:

when you come back to another bash,

Speaker:

we'll talk about what happened to you this year.

Speaker:

Cause that's a good thing to talk about because they all

Speaker:

kind of coordinate with new up and coming things.

Speaker:

You're doing,

Speaker:

I'm thinking,

Speaker:

okay, Susie,

Speaker:

why don't you go next?

Speaker:

I'm Susie Buell.

Speaker:

I'm from Chicago,

Speaker:

Illinois, and I make everything painted.

Speaker:

So basically kind of trying to narrow it down.

Speaker:

I have been doing some porch boards and selling some prints

Speaker:

of my artwork,

Speaker:

but now I'm doing candles that I paint on the containers

Speaker:

and also greeting cards from my paintings and something,

Speaker:

a little unique candle coasters that kind of match the containers

Speaker:

of the candles.

Speaker:

And those are on like ceramic like tiles.

Speaker:

And so pretty much it's functional art that you can use.

Speaker:

And you can find me on flicky Jack designs on Etsy.

Speaker:

Perfect. Okay.

Speaker:

Wonderful Chicago in dealing with our weather.

Speaker:

All right,

Speaker:

let's see.

Speaker:

Rounding it out.

Speaker:

Lilly. I let Ms.

Speaker:

Lee and I in a very early and not so early

Speaker:

stage because I do crochet jewelry and yeah,

Speaker:

I love it.

Speaker:

But the problem is,

Speaker:

I don't know how to make it known to people.

Speaker:

And I have the Etsy show for a long time.

Speaker:

I also have an Instagram account that it's called every little

Speaker:

thing. And that's what I,

Speaker:

you can find me.

Speaker:

I don't have a website yet.

Speaker:

Okay. Well you like what Sheila was just saying,

Speaker:

like, this is a good thing.

Speaker:

Take heed of where to spend money and where not to

Speaker:

spend money initially so that when you find the next step

Speaker:

that you're at,

Speaker:

you'll have funds to be able to do it.

Speaker:

It won't negate your progress or slow you down.

Speaker:

So that's amazing.

Speaker:

And there's lots of ways,

Speaker:

you know,

Speaker:

just keep listening to go into the breeze.

Speaker:

You're already remembered the breeze and listened to the podcasts.

Speaker:

We've got some shows on Etsy already,

Speaker:

since you've already got a shop there and other ways to

Speaker:

start your business.

Speaker:

So it's just a wealth of great information.

Speaker:

And I'm not just saying that because it's my show.

Speaker:

I bring on fabulous guests.

Speaker:

Many of them I've learned so much about cats already.

Speaker:

Good, good,

Speaker:

good, wonderful.

Speaker:

And I might have something coming up for you.

Speaker:

So hold tight on that.

Speaker:

All right.

Speaker:

You guys,

Speaker:

so that's a wrap on the showcases.

Speaker:

Remember if you're interested in participating in getting visibility for your

Speaker:

business, then sign up for an upcoming bash.

Speaker:

I've set the dates already through June and they're all different

Speaker:

times. Like I even have a Saturday one because I know

Speaker:

some of you work nine to five jobs and you'd never

Speaker:

be able to come on here during a weekday.

Speaker:

So I'm trying to extend the opportunities for everybody.

Speaker:

You can even be out of the country.

Speaker:

We have France and Canada represented here today because aren't we

Speaker:

lucky we can sell pretty much anywhere.

Speaker:

And I've got listeners everywhere as well.

Speaker:

Sheila is making a comment that she will offer 10%.

Speaker:

Okay. She's from the south Nashville,

Speaker:

right? 10% for y'all with a promo code of bash.

Speaker:

Okay. So if you're in participating in getting visibility for your

Speaker:

business gift biz,

Speaker:

unwrapped.com forward slash bash is where you'll go.

Speaker:

Okay. And those of you who joined me for the party

Speaker:

today, hold tight.

Speaker:

When I stopped the recording,

Speaker:

we'll chat for a little while afterwards and everyone else who's

Speaker:

listening. Let me know what you're thinking about these bashes.

Speaker:

What value are you getting?

Speaker:

What do you think about it?

Speaker:

Give me some feedback on how it's going.

Speaker:

Okay. From a listener standpoint,

Speaker:

I would love to know,

Speaker:

okay. Everybody take care and I will see you again.

Speaker:

Next time on the gift biz unwrapped podcast.

Speaker:

Before you move on to your next activity today,

Speaker:

make sure to get your name on the list for at

Speaker:

least one gift biz bash.

Speaker:

You can see dates for the upcoming sessions and get signed

Speaker:

up over at gift biz,

Speaker:

unwrapped.com forward slash bash.

Speaker:

And if you're enjoying the podcast and would like to show

Speaker:

support a rating and review is always fabulous because it helps

Speaker:

get the show seen by more makers.

Speaker:

It's a great way to pay it forward.

Speaker:

And there's another way where you can get something tangible in

Speaker:

return for your support to visit my merch shop for a

Speaker:

wide variety of inspirational items like mugs,

Speaker:

journals, water bottles,

Speaker:

and more featuring logos images and quotes to inspire you throughout

Speaker:

your day makes a great gift to,

Speaker:

and we've just added some new products for the season to

Speaker:

the shop.

Speaker:

Turnaround is quick and the quality is top notch,

Speaker:

nothing but the best for you.

Speaker:

Take a look at all the options at gift biz,

Speaker:

unwrapped.com forward slash shop.

Speaker:

All proceeds from these purchases helps go to offset the cost

Speaker:

of producing the show and now be safe and well.

Speaker:

And I'll see you again.

Speaker:

Next time on the gift biz unwrapped podcast.

Speaker:

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

Speaker:

group called gift is breeze.

Speaker:

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

Speaker:

support each other.

Speaker:

Got a really fun post in there.

Speaker:

That's my favorite of the week.

Speaker:

I have to say where I invite all of you to

Speaker:

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

Speaker:

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

Speaker:

reaction from other people and just for fun,

Speaker:

because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody

Speaker:

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

Speaker:

without doubt.

Speaker:

Wait, what,

Speaker:

aren't you part of the group already,

Speaker:

if not make sure to jump over to Facebook and search

Speaker:

for the group gift biz breeze don't delay.

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