179 – The Brave Leap from Shyness to Living Her Passion with Lisa Wojcik of Black Bow Sweets

 Lisa graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2005 with a degree in English. But there was a problem, her passion was for art and design.

Unsure about what career to pursue, Lisa made what she considers to be the best decision of her life. She applied to a design school in San Francisco and dropped everything to attend. She earned a degree in Visual Communications and for the following 9 years worked as a visual merchandiser, eventually landing as a corporate visual merchandising manager.

Although Lisa loved her work, she wanted to start a business of her own. It was at this point, she seriously started to entertain an idea that she’d had in her late 20’s – selling her mother’s candied pecans.

The inspiration came after making the candied nuts for friends who raved about them and encouraged her to start a business.

Finally, at 32, she was ready. Black Bow Sweets is now 3 years old and growing rapidly with an expanded product line and distribution across the US.

Business Building Insights

• Get used to and become comfortable with change.
• No matter how afraid you are of not succeeding, go ahead and try.
• Research is an important step to starting a business.
• Spread the word about your new business to families and friends.
• Get out into the public eye through community and non-profit events.
• It’s up to you to get people excited about your product.
• Getting positive feedback boosts you up and provides momentum to keep going.
• Communication with customers is a solid form of customer service. One way to do this is to let a customer know the progress of their order and then to followup afterwards to get feedback on their purchase.
• Write thank you notes to customers. Let them know you appreciate how they have helped a small business grow.

Resources Mentioned

The Daily Greatness Journal – A unique series of lifestyle journals, courses and content for health, fitness, business, personal growth.

Evernote –  Keep your life organized.

Podcast Episodes Referenced

Top Take Aways from 100 Episodes of Gift Biz Unwrapped

Evernote Power! Get Super Productive with Steve Dotto

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Thanks! Sue