242 – How Product Creation Evolves from Idea to a Business with Pamela Gort of Blingzy™
Blingzy™ is the clever way to store or bring your bling wherever you go. It’s a unique jewelry carrier solution that is made of a patented combination of materials – a gorgeous fabric on the outside and a special grippy liner on the inside.
It all started just 5 years ago when Pamela lost her job. She decided to make a huge career shift toward giving back in a more personal way. So she founded Simply Sown, a for-purpose, socially conscious business.
Its purpose is to provide flexible sewing income opportunities for women in need. The tagline, “sewing seeds of kindness,” reinforces the ripple effect of women helping women.
She wanted to launch her jewelry carrier invention, Blingzy™, but needed the right someone to sew it.
Fortuitously, she met Sr. Jean and Sr. Sheila from Hope House at a garage sale where they were selling a sewn tote bag. It was a magical meeting and they became Pamela’s first partner.
The run a safe house for trafficked women and four of the women sew Blingzy™.
Business Building Insights
- If you don’t start your engine with why, you won’t get anywhere. When you start with understanding your reason behind your mission, everything else will follow.
- When a business idea comes to mind, think about whether the product can be made affordably and sell at a price that gives you a solid profit margin.
- Always be open to changes and improvements throughout your business. Think of how this can apply to your product design, production and packaging.
- Focus groups are important as you consider the pricing of your product.
- You may feel you have a great product, but make sure there’s a market for it through testing and feedback before moving forward with your plan.
- Demonstrating your product at a craft or trade show helps people understand its value and use.
- Be tangle-free. Get rid of the fears, doubts, self-limiting beliefs and all the stuff that keeps you from being your authentic self.
Resources Mentioned
Contact Links
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Thanks so much! Sue
Transcript
Gift biz unwrapped episode 242 when he saw this product and
Speaker:he heard my vision,
Speaker:he was like,
Speaker:you have to do this At Tintin,
Speaker:gifters, bakers,
Speaker:crafters and makers pursuing your dream can be fun whether you
Speaker:have an established business or looking to start one now you
Speaker:are in the right place.
Speaker:This is give to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources and the support you need to grow your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there Sue,
Speaker:and I'm so glad you're joining me here today.
Speaker:Before I tell you about this show,
Speaker:I want to jump into a past guest spotlight,
Speaker:so this is where we catch up with someone we've talked
Speaker:to before and see what's happening with them now.
Speaker:Today's update is from Carra of Caras vineyard weddings.
Speaker:She was one of my early guests,
Speaker:so somewhere around three years ago or so and a lot
Speaker:has happened since then.
Speaker:At that time,
Speaker:Carra was selling upscale place card holders made out of wine
Speaker:corks primarily for weddings.
Speaker:Today Kara focuses on the same audience with a popular podcast
Speaker:called a wedding planning podcast and has helped tens of thousands
Speaker:of engaged couples streamline and simplify their wedding plans with straightforward
Speaker:down to earth wedding advice.
Speaker:She also has two new product lines,
Speaker:just married holiday ornaments,
Speaker:which allows her to remark it to married couples who became
Speaker:clients while planning their weddings.
Speaker:How smart is that and align of DIY products to help
Speaker:budget savvy couples design their own wedding decor.
Speaker:Congratulations Cara,
Speaker:on your tremendous growth.
Speaker:This is a great example of how you can start and
Speaker:build a business around a single product.
Speaker:Check out episode 74 of gift biz unwrapped.
Speaker:If you'd like to hear more about how Kara got her
Speaker:start and the details behind her journey.
Speaker:Moving on to our show today.
Speaker:I want to start off with a question for you.
Speaker:Throughout your life,
Speaker:have you always been a creator of ideas and take an
Speaker:action on some of those ideas?
Speaker:Maybe you had lemonade stands as a child or created plays
Speaker:and had your parents or anyone who'd watch take in the
Speaker:story as you acted out the scenes perhaps all these years
Speaker:in the back of your mind,
Speaker:you've been rolling around the idea of starting a company around
Speaker:some sort of product and you're on the lookout for just
Speaker:the right thing.
Speaker:If so,
Speaker:then you'll be able to relate perfectly with our guest.
Speaker:Not only has she experienced all these things in one version
Speaker:or another,
Speaker:she's also interested in giving back to empower women in some
Speaker:way. All this has become reality with the company story your
Speaker:about to hear.
Speaker:She's proof that all that glitters can turn into gold.
Speaker:Pleasure to introduce you to Pamela GORT,
Speaker:the creator of bling Z.
Speaker:Blink is the clever way to store or bring your bling
Speaker:wherever you go.
Speaker:It's a unique jewelry carrier solution that is made of a
Speaker:patented combination of materials,
Speaker:a gorgeous fabric on the outside and a special grippy liner
Speaker:on the inside.
Speaker:It all started just five years ago when Pamela lost her
Speaker:job. She decided to make a huge career shift toward giving
Speaker:back in a more personal way.
Speaker:So she founded simply sewn a for purpose socially conscious business.
Speaker:It's purpose is to provide a flexible sewing income opportunities for
Speaker:women in need.
Speaker:The tagline sowing seeds of kindness reinforces the ripple effect of
Speaker:women helping women.
Speaker:She wanted to launch her jewelry carrier invention<inaudible>,
Speaker:but needed the right someone to sew it.
Speaker:Fortuitously, she met sister Jean and sister Sheila from hope house
Speaker:at a garage sale where they were selling a sewn tote
Speaker:bag. It was a magical meeting and Navy became Pamela's first
Speaker:partner. They run a safe house for trafficked women and four
Speaker:of the women,
Speaker:so blink Z.
Speaker:I am sure you're like me.
Speaker:Anxious to hear more about all of the creation of bling.
Speaker:Z. Pamela,
Speaker:welcome to the gift biz on wrapped podcast.
Speaker:Thank you so much Sue.
Speaker:I am extremely excited to be here to talk about what's
Speaker:going on in my life,
Speaker:but most important,
Speaker:I wanted to thank you for the beautiful advice and guidance
Speaker:that you've provided me.
Speaker:I love your podcast and I think any woman who is
Speaker:starting a business as a maker or someone who's already doing
Speaker:it and wants to get a little bit bigger could value
Speaker:everything that you offer on that podcast.
Speaker:I'm so excited.
Speaker:That's so sweet.
Speaker:Pamela, thank you so much for that.
Speaker:I truly mean it.
Speaker:It's been a wonderful addition to my podcast list.
Speaker:Oh, love that so much.
Speaker:Thank you again.
Speaker:So there is so much to you.
Speaker:I'm so excited to dive into your story.
Speaker:But before we do,
Speaker:share with us a little bit more about you as you
Speaker:were describing yourself through a motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you would give us a color and a quote
Speaker:that would be a candle that speaks all about you,
Speaker:Pamela. I would have to say that my candle would be
Speaker:a rainbow and that is because I love the layers of
Speaker:colors, the differences,
Speaker:the depths I am,
Speaker:if you would say a very distractable.
Speaker:So I love lots of things,
Speaker:so I'm always bouncing around like a ping pong ball,
Speaker:which can be a detriment when you're a business owner.
Speaker:And I would say that that candle represents all the different
Speaker:layers of what I have in my life.
Speaker:But mostly if you look at my Blinky business,
Speaker:I started off with five solid colors and now I'm in
Speaker:every color of the rainbow and their prints galore.
Speaker:So there is a color for everyone there.
Speaker:Beautiful. And what about a quote?
Speaker:Oh my quote.
Speaker:So important ladies and gentlemen,
Speaker:makers start with why.
Speaker:If you don't start your engine with Y,
Speaker:you will not get anywhere.
Speaker:So it start with why and the rest will follow.
Speaker:And literally it has for me.
Speaker:Yeah. You know,
Speaker:I think that whole why question brings the depth to what
Speaker:your mission is,
Speaker:right? The purpose and the importance of why you're spending the
Speaker:time, money,
Speaker:commitment, heartbreak.
Speaker:Sometimes with business cause things get frustrating.
Speaker:And if you don't have that deeper level of understanding that
Speaker:you've committed to yourself,
Speaker:that you consciously recognize you're not gonna be able to get
Speaker:through some of those harder times.
Speaker:It's so true.
Speaker:And with my mission to help these women specifically in human
Speaker:trafficking. Well,
Speaker:I've learned so much and I wouldn't have come out with
Speaker:this product.
Speaker:I don't think if I didn't have that extra thing going
Speaker:on with them.
Speaker:Well let's talk about how this all came together then.
Speaker:Can you take it from the top?
Speaker:Where were you in your corporate life?
Speaker:What did you leave to come to create blink Z?
Speaker:I worked in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry and I traveled
Speaker:all over the U S I was literally zigzagging across the
Speaker:country so you could say I was on it.
Speaker:Planes, jets,
Speaker:airplanes, trains,
Speaker:rental cars.
Speaker:I lived my life traveling.
Speaker:That meant a carry bag cause I never checked anything,
Speaker:a briefcase,
Speaker:computer bag and anything that I needed to keep myself comfortable.
Speaker:But that was a constant travel.
Speaker:I left either Monday and came back Thursday or Friday or
Speaker:left Tuesday,
Speaker:came back Saturday.
Speaker:It was a crazy life.
Speaker:Oh man.
Speaker:I lived that life too in my corporate time,
Speaker:so I completely get it.
Speaker:Is this then where you identified the need for something to
Speaker:carry your jewelry while you travel?
Speaker:I would say that's where identified the need.
Speaker:But a product was always in the back of my mind.
Speaker:I started my life as a little entrepreneur.
Speaker:So probably around age seven I had a big bank account.
Speaker:My parents used to borrow money for me.
Speaker:I sold all the vegetables out of our own garden,
Speaker:which is crazy.
Speaker:When I was 14 I started mowing lawns on a sit
Speaker:down lawnmower in a bikini.
Speaker:That's how I got my customers.
Speaker:And when I was 10 I started a library in my
Speaker:neighborhood. Everyone looks at me like that's crazy.
Speaker:So my dad built me this,
Speaker:I called it a Fort,
Speaker:it was a 14 by like a house in the backyard
Speaker:and one summer cause I love to read.
Speaker:I said I wish there was a library close cause my
Speaker:mom didn't drive so we had to hang out or get
Speaker:rides. And I went around the neighborhood with a wagon and
Speaker:I said do you have some books you could lend me?
Speaker:I'm starting a library for the kids in the summer.
Speaker:And it was the coolest thing.
Speaker:So I would have kids come and check out books and
Speaker:it was just really fun and I love doing it and
Speaker:I didn't make any money on that.
Speaker:Maybe I sold them the library card,
Speaker:I'm not really sure,
Speaker:but I always had this inmate and I lived in Canada
Speaker:for a while and the company I worked for got taken
Speaker:over. And so I was coming back to the States and
Speaker:I'd always in the back of my mind had the thought
Speaker:for a product that could help other people to make it
Speaker:and get them off the street or out of bad lives.
Speaker:And it was sort of a gift box that would be
Speaker:painted in an art therapy class.
Speaker:So they would be helped.
Speaker:They would get money for it and it would be a
Speaker:cool creative thing.
Speaker:But the practicality of it that what I wanted to make
Speaker:it out of and everything,
Speaker:it didn't make sense.
Speaker:It was going to be too costly.
Speaker:So I was still,
Speaker:there was something percolating in the back of my mind.
Speaker:There had to be something that could be easily made by
Speaker:people in need and that would serve a huge need out
Speaker:there. And one day I was deciding to buy some more
Speaker:jewelry. My friends were giving me jewelry,
Speaker:I was buying it and loving it.
Speaker:Prior to that I just wore one necklace that my mom
Speaker:had given me a cross and I started wearing all this
Speaker:jewelry. So I'm like,
Speaker:I need to put it in something.
Speaker:So I bought a jewelry roll up and it tangled all
Speaker:my jewelry and I'm like,
Speaker:there has to be something better.
Speaker:So I bought another one and another one.
Speaker:The last one I bought was a $90 beautiful red leather
Speaker:jewelry thing.
Speaker:And it frustrated me to no end.
Speaker:So here I am with six or seven jewelry things and
Speaker:none of them are working.
Speaker:And I'm saying there's got to be a better way.
Speaker:And one day the idea came to me and it was
Speaker:this special material that is now the liner for blink Z.
Speaker:And I knew this was the answer and this is the
Speaker:thing. So I wasn't just building another mousetrap because every jewelry
Speaker:carrier out there was very similar.
Speaker:They might've looked a little different,
Speaker:but it was a similar concept.
Speaker:They had hooks,
Speaker:snaps, zipper pockets,
Speaker:and you'd roll them up or fold them up.
Speaker:But nothing could grip the jewelry and keep it in place.
Speaker:So I knew I was onto building a much better mouse
Speaker:trap, literally outside the box.
Speaker:Have you ever heard Sally Hogshead quote that is different,
Speaker:is better than better?
Speaker:Have you heard that before?
Speaker:Well, it's the pharmaceutical industry's most precious thing to say,
Speaker:we don't want to have a me too drug.
Speaker:We want to have a completely new drug.
Speaker:So that is a great quote.
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:Yeah, and it's so true.
Speaker:Right? And I think give biz listeners,
Speaker:this is for you to consider too with your product is
Speaker:you don't need to copy the same product and be better.
Speaker:That's too hard because you're competing head to head with somebody.
Speaker:But if you do something that's different,
Speaker:Pamela, like exactly what you're saying,
Speaker:like the liner is totally different.
Speaker:It's still a product that everyone can relate to.
Speaker:And understand because it carries your blame,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:But it's different and it makes your path so much easier.
Speaker:And when I actually glued the first one I made and
Speaker:I started carrying my jewelry with me and it worked brilliantly
Speaker:and I'm like,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:this is so cool.
Speaker:Right off the bat,
Speaker:it worked Right off the bat.
Speaker:And then I said,
Speaker:okay, I need to make this look really pretty and be
Speaker:a little different.
Speaker:So I spent many hours walking in the woods with my
Speaker:dogs meditating and all of these ideas just started coming forth
Speaker:to me,
Speaker:how to make it better.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:okay, I really want to do this.
Speaker:And my friends were loving it.
Speaker:So I sowed my first one.
Speaker:I took out my old singer sewing machine and I'm not
Speaker:a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination.
Speaker:So I sewed a very simple template,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:or prototype.
Speaker:And then that's what I used to show the nuns and
Speaker:when I finally met them,
Speaker:and that's a story you're going to want to hear very
Speaker:quickly in a minute.
Speaker:And then they helped me find a woman through their church
Speaker:that literally took me through all the steps a through Z
Speaker:on how to sew this and make it super simple for
Speaker:these women to so Love it.
Speaker:Okay. I definitely want to get to the story.
Speaker:There's so much here I want to talk about.
Speaker:But one other thing that I want to point out,
Speaker:you might have some comments on this too,
Speaker:Pamela, is there may be some of our listeners who have
Speaker:had, like you did,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:you were always creating and innovating,
Speaker:whether it was the library or the idea that you wanted
Speaker:to have a product that had some type of a give
Speaker:back or helped another woman.
Speaker:Right. But you didn't know exactly what it is and you
Speaker:just kind of let it sit inside you and work through
Speaker:you until the actual right solution came out.
Speaker:So I liked that thought and the way this conversation has
Speaker:gone, because there may be people who are listening who are
Speaker:thinking it too,
Speaker:but they just can't get to that place yet.
Speaker:Yes. And I take some time,
Speaker:I think It does.
Speaker:And if you have an idea,
Speaker:look into it,
Speaker:but don't count on it being the idea.
Speaker:It may be a variation of an idea or it may
Speaker:take you in a completely different direction.
Speaker:I know that this other idea I had,
Speaker:which I was just so bent on bringing to the market,
Speaker:but it didn't make sense from a financial perspective and I
Speaker:was excited about it.
Speaker:But when I thought of the idea for blink Z,
Speaker:that's when I realized,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:this is truly the product that can work,
Speaker:that can be affordable to make and also have a nice
Speaker:profit margin and it's so easy to so that anyone,
Speaker:even someone without sewing skills could easily learn to sew.
Speaker:So it could literally help more people make extra income at
Speaker:home And the numbers work better that way.
Speaker:Too much better.
Speaker:Yeah. So you saw that the numbers for this first product,
Speaker:that box wasn't going to work,
Speaker:but you didn't give up on the idea,
Speaker:you just found a different direction to your ultimate goal,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:different product.
Speaker:Yes. And you know what's interesting is I was working a
Speaker:full time job and it was all encompassing.
Speaker:I mean when you're in that industry you are working,
Speaker:working hard and the emails that come once you get off
Speaker:the plane and come during the night,
Speaker:I live on the West coast,
Speaker:the company's on the East coast.
Speaker:Before I even wake up,
Speaker:there's a hundred emails in my inbox.
Speaker:I felt like I was working a 24 seven job and
Speaker:with the traveling that I was doing every week in some
Speaker:weeks I was in three different cities.
Speaker:So you know,
Speaker:my jewelry was getting moved around a lot in that roller
Speaker:bag. Right.
Speaker:And when you're in it,
Speaker:as you know,
Speaker:Sue, you don't think that much about how difficult it is.
Speaker:You just put one foot in front of the other.
Speaker:People will say things like,
Speaker:Oh, that must be so glamorous.
Speaker:You're flying,
Speaker:staying in hotels,
Speaker:eating out.
Speaker:Well, it's not that glamorous.
Speaker:We know you make the best of it.
Speaker:But it wasn't until I left it that I realized,
Speaker:how did I do that week after week after week,
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:But I sure did.
Speaker:Well, I don't know if you were like,
Speaker:I was Pamela.
Speaker:I really liked my corporate job,
Speaker:but I loved my children and I didn't want to miss
Speaker:out on everything and I was also traveling like my husband
Speaker:and I would cross in the airport because he was also
Speaker:traveling. So like I'd be coming in,
Speaker:he'd be going out.
Speaker:We had young kids at home.
Speaker:I mean it was just crazy.
Speaker:But I think as long as you don't hate your job,
Speaker:you don't realize the difference of lifestyle until you're out of
Speaker:it. Just like you're saying.
Speaker:I actually loved my job and I worked in a great
Speaker:part of pharmaceutical industry.
Speaker:I worked in HIV and we literally took a death sentence
Speaker:and turned it into a chronic manageable disease with the drugs.
Speaker:So I felt a lot of satisfaction working in that industry.
Speaker:I wasn't selling a pain pill that was going to addict
Speaker:people or another high blood pressure medication.
Speaker:This was just really significant stuff and it felt great.
Speaker:I was in management for a large part of my career
Speaker:and I loved my teams,
Speaker:but there was always something out there for me to be
Speaker:an entrepreneur,
Speaker:to do it on my own.
Speaker:My dad was an entrepreneur for part of his life.
Speaker:My mom actually made him go back and get a job.
Speaker:And I always heard my mom's words having a job is
Speaker:security. So then how much security did I have when my
Speaker:company said we are downsizing and we don't need you anymore.
Speaker:That wasn't security.
Speaker:So I figured security is what you can control and I
Speaker:can control my own business.
Speaker:Yeah. And I think it was true years back,
Speaker:it was true because people would stay at a company forever,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:And companies would retain employees for a long,
Speaker:long time.
Speaker:Yeah. There were cut back sometimes,
Speaker:but not like it is today.
Speaker:So I think that held true.
Speaker:But that's also a reason why those of us who decided
Speaker:to go into business for ourselves,
Speaker:and I think it's right at this generation right now,
Speaker:have family members who are older who don't get it and
Speaker:don't understand.
Speaker:And it looks really super scary to them because they know
Speaker:just what you're describing from the past.
Speaker:They don't know the new way.
Speaker:But here I want to lead to a question here.
Speaker:How far then in advancement of the bling Z product were
Speaker:you when you lost your job?
Speaker:It was very conceptual.
Speaker:I was using it,
Speaker:but I wasn't really thinking about making it,
Speaker:but I was conceptualizing,
Speaker:well what if I could,
Speaker:and with the amount of work that I had,
Speaker:there was no way I could take time away and do
Speaker:this product.
Speaker:So I think the universe delivered me getting laid off so
Speaker:that now I had a chance because I got a really
Speaker:nice severance package.
Speaker:Now, like you,
Speaker:my former partner and I had taken into beautiful foster daughters
Speaker:and I was never home except on the weekend.
Speaker:And when I was home on the weekend,
Speaker:what was really sad is that my mind wasn't present with
Speaker:the kids.
Speaker:So even though I was playing blocks with my littlest one
Speaker:who was three and a half at the time,
Speaker:and trying to understand my 16 year old teenage daughter,
Speaker:I was not present.
Speaker:So a part of me is very sad that I missed
Speaker:some of those years.
Speaker:But then I just said,
Speaker:okay, this is a great opportunity for me and I have
Speaker:both my girls involved in my business too.
Speaker:My youngest,
Speaker:she could sell anything to anyone and the older one is
Speaker:super organized,
Speaker:so she helps me with inventory.
Speaker:She comes to shows with me and I think she's better
Speaker:than I am at selling the product.
Speaker:So it's really exciting to have them involved and I wish
Speaker:they could be more involved someday.
Speaker:Maybe. Well,
Speaker:and what a great example for you showing them both types
Speaker:of careers,
Speaker:corporate career,
Speaker:where you're on the road working for somebody else,
Speaker:but then now also transitioning to your own business.
Speaker:I think it's a great model.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:I'm thinking you're probably very similar to me.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:me and my kids talk about it with me now that
Speaker:they weren't hurt by me being a working mom,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:they understand it.
Speaker:Although I loved being home for that about four or five
Speaker:years I was home and I loved that as well.
Speaker:So nice.
Speaker:But okay,
Speaker:so we're getting a little off topic here just a little.
Speaker:Let's talk about that meeting you had with sister Jean and
Speaker:sister Sheila.
Speaker:How did that happen?
Speaker:Well, what was really cool was not only did the company
Speaker:gave me a severance package,
Speaker:but they also gave me career coaching.
Speaker:So I went to this guy,
Speaker:he was wonderful and we whiteboard at all these things that
Speaker:I might do next.
Speaker:Do I want to stay in this industry?
Speaker:Do I want to work for Obama and work at the
Speaker:office of AIDS in DC?
Speaker:And I go,
Speaker:no, that's travel.
Speaker:And one of the things was,
Speaker:well I have this product that is super cool.
Speaker:And then there were a couple other things we talked about.
Speaker:Well when he saw this product and he heard my vision,
Speaker:he was like,
Speaker:you have to do this.
Speaker:So I was like,
Speaker:okay, well I'm not going to sew it myself.
Speaker:So how do I find these Sowers?
Speaker:So he said,
Speaker:well, write down all of the organizations you know and start
Speaker:calling. So I was a volunteer for the women's resource center,
Speaker:which is a shelter for domestic violence.
Speaker:And they were the first people that I was going to
Speaker:call. So I'm writing this list one Friday night and I'm
Speaker:putting down all these people and literally putting it out in
Speaker:the universe.
Speaker:The next morning our neighborhood had a garage sale.
Speaker:So you know,
Speaker:you get up really early in the morning,
Speaker:you start putting stuff on your driveway.
Speaker:And I went to my next door neighbor to see what
Speaker:she was putting on her driveway.
Speaker:And there are these two women there who were selling Swiss
Speaker:shard raspberries,
Speaker:beautiful raspberries and these sown tote bags.
Speaker:So I say,
Speaker:ladies, are these your vegetables?
Speaker:Did you sew these bags?
Speaker:And they said,
Speaker:no, our women,
Speaker:so them.
Speaker:And I said,
Speaker:well, who are you?
Speaker:Who are your women and what are you doing in my
Speaker:neighbor's driveway?
Speaker:So they introduced themselves as sister Jane and sister Sheila,
Speaker:and they said,
Speaker:we run a safe house for trafficked women and our ladies.
Speaker:So these bags.
Speaker:So instantly it hit me and I thought,
Speaker:wow, God really works fast because I just put this out,
Speaker:or the universe,
Speaker:whatever you want to call it.
Speaker:I just literally put this out to the universe yesterday and
Speaker:here it is.
Speaker:So we met for coffee.
Speaker:I shared the idea with them.
Speaker:They said,
Speaker:well, we'll ask.
Speaker:And four of the women said yes,
Speaker:they wanted to sew and make some extra income.
Speaker:We had a little breakfast meeting at my house and the
Speaker:rest is history.
Speaker:Probably seven months later we launched blink Z online.
Speaker:And then I went to shows.
Speaker:Uh, shows were really my main way of making the business
Speaker:go. Okay,
Speaker:stop. Sorry.
Speaker:Getting ahead of myself.
Speaker:No, you're not getting ahead at all.
Speaker:But I do have a question for you on bringing on
Speaker:people to,
Speaker:so for you,
Speaker:what type of agreement or arrangements or structure did you put
Speaker:behind that?
Speaker:Yes, I had a little contract and you needed to 10
Speaker:99 them.
Speaker:So they had to fill that paperwork out.
Speaker:I had a contract that they would not share this,
Speaker:that they would be paid by the piece and we had
Speaker:an initial price while they were getting started and they're going
Speaker:to get paid more in the beginning and then a little
Speaker:bit less later,
Speaker:but it's by per piece and that they could,
Speaker:so wherever they were.
Speaker:So at this point they were still in the safe house,
Speaker:so the nuns had set up a little area in the
Speaker:garage for them and they would all go out there in
Speaker:the evenings when they weren't working or doing therapy or whatever
Speaker:they were doing at the safe house to recover their lives.
Speaker:And they had fun out there.
Speaker:Now these women were from Indonesia,
Speaker:Costa Rica,
Speaker:Kenya, and Ethiopia.
Speaker:So they weren't even speaking the same language.
Speaker:And what was so cute about them,
Speaker:they were learning English.
Speaker:So they were interacting.
Speaker:They're still really good friends today.
Speaker:And they were having a little girl time plus they were
Speaker:creating something that made them feel good and they were getting
Speaker:paid for it.
Speaker:So it was kind of a win win for everybody.
Speaker:Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker:And what I loved about it was that the experience they
Speaker:had was more than I had even expected right now that
Speaker:they're all living independently.
Speaker:Actually two of them have moved and I am not able
Speaker:to get the material to them.
Speaker:One has a cataract,
Speaker:so there's one sower left.
Speaker:So I'm in the process of finding more Sowers and this
Speaker:woman sows all the time.
Speaker:She's really good at it and she's able to keep up
Speaker:with my volume at this point in time.
Speaker:But I know as things get bigger,
Speaker:yeah, I'm going to need more sower.
Speaker:So I'm going to find them somehow.
Speaker:You just put that out there in the environment and come
Speaker:back to you.
Speaker:No question about that.
Speaker:But question on this and the reason I'm asking you this,
Speaker:so this might help answer it the best.
Speaker:I mean obviously truthfully,
Speaker:but just how you position it is I think a lot
Speaker:of people who make product are afraid of handing off their
Speaker:product to someone else to do it because of the quality
Speaker:or will they put as much love into a product or
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:all of that that's involved.
Speaker:So how did you make that transition from,
Speaker:okay this is what I'm doing and I get that you
Speaker:weren't a sower,
Speaker:you know you had the prototype,
Speaker:but how did you check the work or,
Speaker:well I have two questions.
Speaker:Let's start with that.
Speaker:How did you check the work to make sure that it
Speaker:was going to match what you needed to command the price
Speaker:that you do?
Speaker:Yes. Well at this point they were all sewing it a
Speaker:little differently and what was nice is that gave it that
Speaker:sort of handmade feel<inaudible> We had the nuns doing was after
Speaker:they sewed it,
Speaker:they would do a quick quality check,
Speaker:cut off any extra threads and things of that nature.
Speaker:But because it was,
Speaker:we gave them great direction,
Speaker:showed them how to sew,
Speaker:it, gave them all the measurements and stuff.
Speaker:Now I didn't quite create a pattern but there was sort
Speaker:of a pattern and because of the ease of making it,
Speaker:it just really worked out brilliantly for them.
Speaker:They all did a beautiful job and I got the fabric.
Speaker:So here's how it worked.
Speaker:I got the fabric,
Speaker:I had it all precut I would put in these plastic
Speaker:bins, the fabric,
Speaker:the liner,
Speaker:the straps and the thread and I gave them instructions to
Speaker:this fabric goes with this liner cause we have different color
Speaker:liners. And then they would sew it after they got done
Speaker:sewing it and they had their own methodology of sewing it.
Speaker:They would either,
Speaker:so one from start to finish or so the straps on
Speaker:first and this part second.
Speaker:So they were allowed to have a little bit of flexibility
Speaker:and I was just so impressed and they were anxious to
Speaker:know, do you like our work?
Speaker:They had this sense of pride,
Speaker:which was really nice.
Speaker:They were so happy when they saw me just beam with
Speaker:all my,
Speaker:gosh, these are beautiful.
Speaker:So initially what I did is I had them practice and
Speaker:so a bunch and then when we figured out that they
Speaker:were doing a great job,
Speaker:then we continued on.
Speaker:So there was a little curve,
Speaker:if you will,
Speaker:to get them up to where they needed to be.
Speaker:But your product made it easier for them to be able
Speaker:to do that pretty quick it sounds like.
Speaker:Yes. You also have a nice personal overlay about the individuality
Speaker:of the product because I believe the Sowers are the people
Speaker:you have on the website.
Speaker:Yes. Right.
Speaker:You have them highlighted as the makers.
Speaker:Yes, I have information about them.
Speaker:And the cool thing is each one comes with a bookmark
Speaker:telling the story of the woman who sewed it.
Speaker:Oh, I love that.
Speaker:Well, and what's crazy is when I'm at a show and
Speaker:women are coming back year after year at this particular show
Speaker:and they're like,
Speaker:I'm so glad you're here.
Speaker:I need presence,
Speaker:I need presence.
Speaker:And I asked them,
Speaker:now I go,
Speaker:what do you guys do with the bookmark?
Speaker:Oh we just throw it away.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:Oh I was hoping you would use it as a bookmark.
Speaker:So I'm kind of rethinking,
Speaker:and this is what I would say to the other makers
Speaker:out there just because you are packaging your product a certain
Speaker:way or using a certain thing,
Speaker:you should be open to changing it to either improving it
Speaker:or deleting it or doing it in a different way that
Speaker:maybe doubling up things.
Speaker:Cause I also have a folded eight and a half by
Speaker:11 piece of paper that has a really cute,
Speaker:how do you use it?
Speaker:It's a caricature that I drew and then had professionally made
Speaker:and then a little information thanking you for purchasing it and
Speaker:what our mission is.
Speaker:And that is added into a cellophane bag,
Speaker:like a wine bag with the blink Z in it.
Speaker:And it's a nice little packaging thing,
Speaker:but there's all different ways to do it.
Speaker:So be open to doing your product a little differently and
Speaker:take some of your feedback from either your customer and or
Speaker:the person who is going to help you make it.
Speaker:So you're thinking of maybe eliminating the bookmarks but still having
Speaker:the story maybe on the other eight and a half by
Speaker:11 or something.
Speaker:Yes. Or just saying if you want to know specifically about
Speaker:our Sowers,
Speaker:go to this Facebook page or website.
Speaker:Well, my 2 cents.
Speaker:I love the idea of being able to know who was
Speaker:the sower behind my exact piece that I bought.
Speaker:I love that idea.
Speaker:So that's my 2 cents.
Speaker:Thank you for that.
Speaker:And then another thing that happened in the early phases of
Speaker:it, one of my really good friends who travels just like
Speaker:I was at the time,
Speaker:she said,
Speaker:I tried to put too much in it and the straps
Speaker:aren't long enough to tie or really difficult to tie.
Speaker:Could you make the straps a little longer?
Speaker:I said,
Speaker:how much you said just an inch.
Speaker:And I said perfect.
Speaker:So I made him an inch longer.
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:Product research.
Speaker:Yeah. Product research.
Speaker:I did focus groups in the beginning too for pricing.
Speaker:So focus groups are really important.
Speaker:Ladies and gentlemen who are makers,
Speaker:I don't want to leave you guys out.
Speaker:The maker men,
Speaker:maker men,
Speaker:okay. Are just makers,
Speaker:all makers,
Speaker:all you makers out there.
Speaker:If you feel like you've got a great product,
Speaker:make sure that there is a market for your product.
Speaker:We all say that.
Speaker:Amen. You can surveys and I did a survey.
Speaker:What is the biggest frustration you have in traveling with your
Speaker:jewelry? And 44% of the women said it was tangling.
Speaker:So my product is the tangle free way to travel.
Speaker:So I knew I had something there.
Speaker:A lot of them said that these travel things were too
Speaker:difficult to use.
Speaker:It took 30 just to pack your Jewelry.
Speaker:Well mine takes literally a minute to pack it.
Speaker:I think you can also see your jewelry with yours too.
Speaker:Cause my other one mine would have been tangling.
Speaker:And then also not being able to see and find like
Speaker:the earrings that I want or the ring I want because
Speaker:they're in the little side pockets,
Speaker:you know?
Speaker:So you have to look in every single one of them
Speaker:to find what you need.
Speaker:Yeah, you unroll it and you can see everything you have
Speaker:and you roll it up.
Speaker:It's super cool.
Speaker:And so it's super easy.
Speaker:And that was a really important one.
Speaker:And then a lot of people said they needed something that
Speaker:was smaller or bigger or whatever.
Speaker:And it's so easy to pack and the tangles don't happen.
Speaker:So that came through a survey that I did,
Speaker:I think it's called survey monkey.
Speaker:So you can easily send that out.
Speaker:You could put it on a Facebook page or you could
Speaker:just send it to your friends.
Speaker:And I had a hundred people answer.
Speaker:So that was good statistics.
Speaker:The other thing you can do too is have a focus
Speaker:group. So sit down with a bunch of your best friends
Speaker:who you think could use whatever product it is.
Speaker:Have a list of questions that you're going to ask,
Speaker:record it or video it and with their permission and have
Speaker:some wine and appetizers.
Speaker:I know all my friends will come if I offer wine
Speaker:and I'm there,
Speaker:let's go.
Speaker:So I did three or four of those.
Speaker:I got a price point.
Speaker:What is the most you'd pay?
Speaker:What do you think I should charge?
Speaker:When would it be too cheap?
Speaker:Or when would it sound too cheap and wow,
Speaker:that was such great information.
Speaker:And did you land your price point right at the beginning?
Speaker:Yes, I did.
Speaker:Beautiful. I've made some adjustments to it when I'm at a
Speaker:show. So if someone,
Speaker:especially around the holidays,
Speaker:if you buy three or more,
Speaker:you get them for 20 each instead of 24 99 Well
Speaker:that makes sense.
Speaker:I didn't know.
Speaker:I was just going to say,
Speaker:we know when you're pricing product,
Speaker:it's good to have some extra margin in there so that
Speaker:you can do promotional offers because if you only put as
Speaker:much margin as you need to make a little bit of
Speaker:money yourself,
Speaker:run your business,
Speaker:all the things we talk about with price,
Speaker:then any time that you're doing any type of a discount,
Speaker:you're breaking into your stable support money.
Speaker:Oh, for sure.
Speaker:So you don't want to do that,
Speaker:so yeah,
Speaker:I'm glad we brought that up too.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:let's talk about the shows.
Speaker:Okay, so you started the business.
Speaker:You have people now making the product.
Speaker:Oh, let me ask you this.
Speaker:What about quotas?
Speaker:You say that you were paying them by the piece.
Speaker:Did you have like a certain amount you wanted them to
Speaker:try and do a week so that you knew what to
Speaker:do on the sales end or how did that work?
Speaker:I was a little loosey goosey on that.
Speaker:What I would do is I would bring the bins to
Speaker:the nuns and then I would say,
Speaker:when do you think you could have these done?
Speaker:And so she would text me and say that the girls
Speaker:said they could get them done by the end of the
Speaker:week or whatever.
Speaker:So it had to be a little bit loose because they
Speaker:did have a lot of activities that they were supposed to
Speaker:participate in as part of their recovery.
Speaker:Now once they were independent living in their own homes,
Speaker:then it was a matter of,
Speaker:Hey, I need this by the end of the week,
Speaker:can you do it?
Speaker:And if they could,
Speaker:then they would get the fabric.
Speaker:So I picked out the fabric and they did the sewing
Speaker:and I put the label on myself.
Speaker:So I wanted to have sort of a role in this
Speaker:too. So I had sort of a creative role in picking
Speaker:the fabrics.
Speaker:And then I had the role of gluing the blink Z
Speaker:label on,
Speaker:which gave me that feeling of finality for each piece that
Speaker:I got to touch each piece and I did my own
Speaker:quality check at that point as well.
Speaker:Yeah, really important.
Speaker:Especially for the beginning ones,
Speaker:you know when you're getting your name established and your brand
Speaker:known. Yes.
Speaker:I've heard some jewelry people who are now getting some people
Speaker:to make the jewelry for them that they do that same
Speaker:type of quality check and maybe they're attaching a little tag
Speaker:onto it,
Speaker:an engraved tag or something that gives them that feeling.
Speaker:Right. But they're still part of this even if they're not
Speaker:making that actual piece from start to finish.
Speaker:Would you in any way say it's a control issue Wanting
Speaker:to do that label at the end?
Speaker:You know the label,
Speaker:I literally struggled.
Speaker:I didn't want to do it cause it takes a lot
Speaker:of time and I have it down to a science and
Speaker:the glue.
Speaker:The fabric gets all over my finger so it is kind
Speaker:of a mess and it's something I really don't want to
Speaker:do. So I looked at having them so it,
Speaker:but the machines that I gave them are not strong enough
Speaker:to go through three layers.
Speaker:It's just more of a technical thing.
Speaker:It'd be a little bit difficult for them to sow it
Speaker:where we want it and it didn't make sense.
Speaker:So if I go though with a manufacturer in the future
Speaker:when my volume increases,
Speaker:then I will definitely have them.
Speaker:So that label on,
Speaker:because they do have the industrial machines,
Speaker:so I'm open to it not controlling that piece.
Speaker:Okay, I got it.
Speaker:I kind of asked just out of curiosity,
Speaker:because where this podcast is concerned,
Speaker:we're going to go through our whole conversation.
Speaker:Then it goes out to editing and I always get kicked
Speaker:back from people because I always have to have it come
Speaker:back to me first and I have to listen through the
Speaker:whole thing.
Speaker:And then I add the intro like you know everything that
Speaker:we do to bring the show together.
Speaker:But I always want to hear it again because I want
Speaker:to know what's going out,
Speaker:what everyone's hearing and people are like,
Speaker:Sue, that takes so long.
Speaker:Why do you do that?
Speaker:Why do you do it?
Speaker:And I guess it's a control thing,
Speaker:but I want to know that it's the quality I want
Speaker:everyone hearing.
Speaker:That was why I asked you.
Speaker:I can totally appreciate that.
Speaker:That is super important for me as well to make sure
Speaker:that that what's out there now I guess I am a
Speaker:control freak around the shows though.
Speaker:I would have to say.
Speaker:Okay, that's a perfect segue.
Speaker:Let's go there.
Speaker:Going to shows or getting customers overall.
Speaker:That is the number one thing I hear you guys questioning
Speaker:all the time.
Speaker:We're going to get Pamela's take on this right after a
Speaker:quick word from our sponsor.
Speaker:This podcast is made possible thanks to the support of the
Speaker:ribbon print company.
Speaker:Create custom ribbons right in your store or craft studio in
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Speaker:print company.com
Speaker:for more information.
Speaker:Yeah, so this product needs to be demonstrated to differentiate it.
Speaker:If I just got it on target shelf for example,
Speaker:people wouldn't really know they'd see jewelry travel carrier,
Speaker:but I don't think they would really get it.
Speaker:Let's say they decided to buy it,
Speaker:they brought it home,
Speaker:they enrolled it and they're like,
Speaker:how does this work?
Speaker:Because they're so used to the other paradigm of hooks,
Speaker:zippers and snaps.
Speaker:Now even with my little instruction sheet,
Speaker:I think it could be confusing and then they might not
Speaker:even go to my video online to see how it works.
Speaker:So then I feel like they wouldn't be able to use
Speaker:it the way it's supposed to be used now.
Speaker:It just takes one demonstration and then people get it.
Speaker:But I felt like having it in a place like on
Speaker:a shelf just wouldn't work.
Speaker:Now I am in a couple of boutiques and these are
Speaker:boutiques where the sales people are walking around helping with the
Speaker:shopping and if someone buys jewelry or is looking for a
Speaker:gift and they'll say,
Speaker:Hey, we have this really cool product and she does really
Speaker:good with it,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:helps people.
Speaker:Do you want to check it out and then they demonstrate
Speaker:it. So I feel that it needs to be demonstrated as
Speaker:a result.
Speaker:That video on my webpage was extremely important,
Speaker:but at a show I'm demonstrating it and people are crowding
Speaker:my booth after I roll the jewelry up in it and
Speaker:I throw it in the air and it circles around like
Speaker:30 feet in the air and I catch it and unroll
Speaker:it and everything is in place.
Speaker:Like I'll say,
Speaker:Hey ladies,
Speaker:do you think this is a tangled mess?
Speaker:Cause it would be if it was any other material and
Speaker:they all go,
Speaker:no, it won't be because of your liner.
Speaker:And then I unroll it.
Speaker:Everything's in place and they all clap and they all say
Speaker:you should be on QVC or shark tank.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:woo. It's so much fun.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:I have to say I love that part.
Speaker:I love it when women crowd the booth and now my
Speaker:daughter does it,
Speaker:but she doesn't throw it as high as that.
Speaker:And so she's really good at selling it.
Speaker:My older daughter.
Speaker:But I have to say that I probably give the best
Speaker:presentation, but she's really getting close.
Speaker:So do you guys both throw it up in the air?
Speaker:She only throws it a little bit because I was a
Speaker:softball pitcher.
Speaker:I played softball.
Speaker:She is not an athlete,
Speaker:so if she threw it in the air,
Speaker:she probably hit herself or somebody else.
Speaker:But that's fun because it's like what is going on in
Speaker:that booth and what is going up in the air there?
Speaker:I mean that's an attractor right to your booth.
Speaker:I would think it is.
Speaker:And if I can also give a little bit of guidance
Speaker:to your makers right now,
Speaker:if you sell at a booth and you just sit in
Speaker:a chair the whole time at the end of the show
Speaker:you said,
Speaker:I didn't sell anything.
Speaker:You have one person to blame and that's you.
Speaker:And I'll just give you an example.
Speaker:One of my first shows was downtown San Diego in this
Speaker:beautiful mall and I was next to a woman with gorgeous
Speaker:photographs and note cards.
Speaker:She was an excellent photographer.
Speaker:Her stuff was beautiful.
Speaker:Her booth was beautiful.
Speaker:She didn't sell anything.
Speaker:And halfway through I said,
Speaker:why don't you go out and try to bring people in,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:to see your stuff.
Speaker:She goes,
Speaker:Oh, I don't like doing that.
Speaker:So would you like to be the person like me who
Speaker:goes out and asks your audience?
Speaker:Like just say,
Speaker:Hey, you know,
Speaker:have you ever seen a blink Z?
Speaker:Would you like to see it?
Speaker:Come on in.
Speaker:I promise I won't bite unless you want me to say
Speaker:things like that.
Speaker:And I'll say something like,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:do you travel?
Speaker:Do you love your jewelry?
Speaker:I will do whatever I can to bring people in.
Speaker:Because if I don't guess what happens?
Speaker:I sell nothing and I'm not helping these women anymore and
Speaker:I'm not able to help these safe houses either.
Speaker:So why am I even doing this?
Speaker:And what really was surprising to me is that she wasn't
Speaker:willing to get the audience in there to see the beautiful
Speaker:stuff that she had.
Speaker:And as a consequence,
Speaker:I sold a lot.
Speaker:She sold nothing.
Speaker:And it's not easy if you're not a good salesperson,
Speaker:but you have to ask yourself,
Speaker:do I want to walk away empty handed or do I
Speaker:want to get some product?
Speaker:So if you just stand there,
Speaker:Oh you know,
Speaker:are you looking for a gift,
Speaker:are you buying something for yourself?
Speaker:You can ask all sorts of questions.
Speaker:You can help them find other gifts to buy in at
Speaker:the show.
Speaker:You can be of service to them and they'll probably say,
Speaker:so what do you have?
Speaker:Well exactly.
Speaker:Or you could even just say,
Speaker:hi, how are you this morning?
Speaker:Or how's the show going for you today?
Speaker:Or anything to start a conversation.
Speaker:Then you can see from there it gets easier for people
Speaker:who are a little shyer.
Speaker:So are you doing trade shows or consumer shows?
Speaker:I guess it's consumer shows that I'm doing.
Speaker:I need to do B to BS too.
Speaker:Yeah. So people are buying right then and there?
Speaker:Oh yes.
Speaker:And they see one for themselves,
Speaker:a gift for a friend at Christmas time.
Speaker:They buy five or 10 and they love it and it's
Speaker:crazy. So like I said,
Speaker:it feels to me like it really needs to be demonstrated
Speaker:and that's why I'm so successful at the shows versus online
Speaker:because online if someone's looking for a jewelry travel thing,
Speaker:they probably end up on Amazon and they probably never get
Speaker:to me.
Speaker:Even if I had amazing search engine optimization,
Speaker:I don't think I would be coming up first.
Speaker:So it's been a struggle for me online and this is
Speaker:something I'm still struggling with so the challenges don't go away.
Speaker:Even if you've done your business for a couple of years,
Speaker:they keep coming and you just have to keep dealing with
Speaker:them. And so your current way of dealing with that,
Speaker:of getting people to know the product and then buying from
Speaker:you online is going out to the shows?
Speaker:Yes. I have a Facebook page and I do some creative
Speaker:stuff there.
Speaker:Not enough,
Speaker:but I do some stuff there and then also I am
Speaker:trying to utilize my email list and grow that by offering
Speaker:something free like maybe a tip book on how to protect
Speaker:your jewelry.
Speaker:Love that.
Speaker:The free is not a discount.
Speaker:Love that.
Speaker:Because when you know your investment in terms of making whatever
Speaker:that's going to be,
Speaker:you have to make it once and then you can be
Speaker:offering it out over and over and over again.
Speaker:So beautiful example,
Speaker:A digital tip book.
Speaker:So that's another thing I think you've mentioned on shows too.
Speaker:You've got to have leads,
Speaker:you've got to grow your list.
Speaker:As somebody once said,
Speaker:your email list is the keys to your kingdom.
Speaker:So if you are selling online,
Speaker:you've got to have a big list.
Speaker:And one way to do it is to give something away
Speaker:free. That is likely a digital product.
Speaker:So if you sell jewelry or a jewelry carrier,
Speaker:maybe you sell tips on how to take care of your
Speaker:jewelry, how to pack your jewelry,
Speaker:how to travel with jewelry.
Speaker:And if you say that,
Speaker:then you might want to say you should check out blink
Speaker:Z. Yeah,
Speaker:absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker:So I'm going to continue with this a little bit.
Speaker:So the last thing people want to do these days is
Speaker:give their email address cause they know exactly what's going to
Speaker:happen. They're going to get emails,
Speaker:they're going to get marketed to.
Speaker:And most people don't know how to do emails well,
Speaker:and all it is is selling their stuff all the time,
Speaker:right? But if you start conditioning people,
Speaker:like I'm sure you are Pamela,
Speaker:of if they're on your list,
Speaker:you're sending them email that might show like the newest things
Speaker:going on with the business.
Speaker:Maybe it's profiling of one of the people who's sewing,
Speaker:maybe it's business tips,
Speaker:all of that.
Speaker:You start conditioning people to be saying,
Speaker:Oh, here's an email from Pamela.
Speaker:I'm going to open it because there's going to be something
Speaker:valuable in there besides just being sold to once again,
Speaker:You're right.
Speaker:And that's so important because we all experience it ourselves.
Speaker:So my emails that come out two or three times a
Speaker:month, so I'm not inundating them.
Speaker:If I get something from someone three times a week,
Speaker:I am unsubscribing right on the spot.
Speaker:I don't care if it's great stuff.
Speaker:So at the end,
Speaker:so I'm providing them with great tips or information or something
Speaker:funny. People love to laugh.
Speaker:And then I say,
Speaker:by the way,
Speaker:if you need a gift or if you're looking for this
Speaker:or looking for that,
Speaker:then I do something there about my product.
Speaker:And usually once a month I'll do some sort of a
Speaker:coupon code or something like that.
Speaker:Yeah. So it's not all the time.
Speaker:I usually try to tell people between 20 and 25% of
Speaker:the time are you really promoting?
Speaker:That's good.
Speaker:Yeah. So one in four,
Speaker:one in five social media also,
Speaker:same way.
Speaker:I'm on Facebook pretty strongly and I know I should be
Speaker:on Instagram and Pinterest,
Speaker:but how much can you do ladies and gentlemen,
Speaker:I'm sitting here saying to myself,
Speaker:there's only so much time in the day.
Speaker:There's only so many things you can do.
Speaker:So sometimes you just have to balance it.
Speaker:So Facebook seems to work pretty well for me.
Speaker:I get some good engagement,
Speaker:I do funny stuff.
Speaker:I try to do positive things,
Speaker:jokes, surveys.
Speaker:There's this cool thing called a fun holidays.
Speaker:So every day of the year is a fun holiday and
Speaker:one was eat an extra dessert day.
Speaker:And people love that one.
Speaker:So I had a picture of this great two desserts standing
Speaker:next to each other.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:so people want to laugh.
Speaker:I have a friend right now who's going through a lot
Speaker:of pain and she said,
Speaker:I just love your Facebook page because it makes me laugh
Speaker:every day.
Speaker:So if you can make your future customers laugh or your
Speaker:current customers laugh and they're going to think of you when
Speaker:they need something,
Speaker:Great advice.
Speaker:And the Facebook pages,
Speaker:bling Z,
Speaker:It's bring my bling,
Speaker:Bring my bling on Facebook and give biz listeners,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:on the show notes page,
Speaker:as always,
Speaker:I'll have all the links,
Speaker:but we should be checking out your page.
Speaker:You'll give us some other ideas for our own audiences for
Speaker:sure. Yes.
Speaker:Yeah. So is there one other tip you can share with
Speaker:us? And I'm thinking specifically of shows once again,
Speaker:because a lot of our listeners are at craft shows or
Speaker:if they listen to me,
Speaker:they know that I tell people to great place to test
Speaker:your product.
Speaker:But is there anything that you learned,
Speaker:maybe you did right and it was really working,
Speaker:or maybe it was something you wish you would have done
Speaker:better? In the beginning when it comes to craft shows,
Speaker:I spent a considerable amount of money on some marketing banners
Speaker:that got people's attention because people were literally walking by my
Speaker:booth if I didn't say something to get them in.
Speaker:Like, how are you?
Speaker:Are you enjoying the show or have you ever heard of
Speaker:a blink Z?
Speaker:So I had these really cool marketing banners that were designed
Speaker:by a marketing person with some great art and pictures and
Speaker:color. So people would be walking by and literally like you
Speaker:would see that they'd be reading my banners so it at
Speaker:least got their attention.
Speaker:And as they walked by a little slower because they were
Speaker:reading them,
Speaker:I could ask,
Speaker:what was it that attracted you to that banner?
Speaker:Oh, well it says human trafficking,
Speaker:or Oh,
Speaker:it says jewelry.
Speaker:And then you could easily continue on a conversation with them.
Speaker:Because of that,
Speaker:you have to have something that attracts them.
Speaker:Either your booth is absolutely gorgeous.
Speaker:And if you're selling jewelry,
Speaker:the jewelry is hanging and there's lights on it and it's
Speaker:really drawing people to you or you have to have something
Speaker:else that draws people to you.
Speaker:Now some people will have candy and chotskies and things like
Speaker:that, but they're just going to grab it and go.
Speaker:And then the other thing too is occasionally at a show,
Speaker:someone doesn't buy.
Speaker:If someone comes to my booth,
Speaker:they're going to buy nine times out of 10 so the
Speaker:ones that don't,
Speaker:I don't want to say anything to them,
Speaker:but then I thought it's a great time to do a
Speaker:little survey.
Speaker:So I go,
Speaker:Hey, you seem to be really interested in my product.
Speaker:I was wondering,
Speaker:was there anything that I could have done or a different
Speaker:color or whatever that would have gotten your business today?
Speaker:And they'll give you an honest answer because they can tell
Speaker:that you're not trying to resell them or sell them again.
Speaker:And usually it's,
Speaker:well I don't travel or I don't have jewelry,
Speaker:or you know,
Speaker:it's just not a good time of the month for me
Speaker:to spend money.
Speaker:And then you know that you did your best to get
Speaker:their business if they needed it.
Speaker:I literally have people that are looking at it going,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:this is so cool.
Speaker:I need one.
Speaker:But then they walk away.
Speaker:So those are the kinds of people that I'll ask that
Speaker:question up.
Speaker:But it gives you great feedback.
Speaker:If they said,
Speaker:Oh, you don't have the color I want,
Speaker:what color would you have purchased?
Speaker:Oh, that's another question I asked.
Speaker:This is cool.
Speaker:I go,
Speaker:they're looking at all my colors and I go,
Speaker:so which one is your favorite color?
Speaker:Which one do you like the best?
Speaker:Which one speaks to you?
Speaker:And then they'll say,
Speaker:Oh, this one,
Speaker:I really like this one.
Speaker:Once they touch it and say,
Speaker:I really like this one,
Speaker:then you have a better chance that they're going to buy
Speaker:that. Yeah.
Speaker:Once you get them to talk to it,
Speaker:there's been some research done.
Speaker:I don't recall exactly what it is,
Speaker:but if you start people interacting with your product like that,
Speaker:you are way far along in the sale.
Speaker:They'll most likely buy.
Speaker:And that's what you're saying you're seeing,
Speaker:right Pamela?
Speaker:Yes, for sure.
Speaker:It's kind of like trying on something in a store.
Speaker:What's the first thing that the sales person says?
Speaker:Can I get a dressing room started for you?
Speaker:If you get a dressing room starter for someone they try
Speaker:it on or they touch it or whatever,
Speaker:they're more likely to buy it than if they didn't touch
Speaker:it or try it on.
Speaker:Well, Oh my gosh,
Speaker:this has been such an interesting progression of a product development.
Speaker:That's so interesting to hear the whole story,
Speaker:how it's happened.
Speaker:I would have loved to have been buying books from you
Speaker:at your little library.
Speaker:You were a little,
Speaker:I could just see pictures of that.
Speaker:That sounds so adorable.
Speaker:So as your looking into the future,
Speaker:what are you seeing for yourself?
Speaker:What's going to come next for you?
Speaker:Wow. Well.
Speaker:Um, I hope that my work in this area,
Speaker:I'm not a human trafficking organization,
Speaker:but because I talk about human trafficking,
Speaker:when I talk about these women,
Speaker:I get to educate more and put it out there for
Speaker:people to be aware.
Speaker:And as a mom of a 12 year old and a
Speaker:25 year old now,
Speaker:it's really important that you watch what your kids are doing
Speaker:and where they are because this stuff is getting bigger and
Speaker:it's in your backyard,
Speaker:it's in your local schools.
Speaker:So if the one thing I can do is help educate
Speaker:and I hope through this that we can end human trafficking.
Speaker:And I think that is my biggest thing is getting people
Speaker:to stop this,
Speaker:to stop buying sex and labor like this.
Speaker:So my dream would be that we end human trafficking and
Speaker:slavery of every kind.
Speaker:And along with that,
Speaker:if I could have play a small role,
Speaker:then I think I would love to be on one of
Speaker:those big home shopping network shows,
Speaker:demonstrating my blings either throwing it up in the air.
Speaker:I mean my customers are saying I should be on those
Speaker:shows. So maybe I should,
Speaker:I mean your product is just made for that.
Speaker:And to your point about,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it needs to be demonstrated.
Speaker:And I think,
Speaker:I mean I watched the video online.
Speaker:I mean it doesn't take that long to demonstrate either though.
Speaker:Not at all.
Speaker:But it's the throwing in the air.
Speaker:That's really good to do it though.
Speaker:Yeah. I don't throw it up on that video.
Speaker:I just shake it now.
Speaker:I literally toss it.
Speaker:I think it's 30 feet in the air.
Speaker:Maybe I'm just overestimating.
Speaker:But I did want to share with you when I came
Speaker:up with the name<inaudible>.
Speaker:Yeah, cause bling,
Speaker:bling Z,
Speaker:lots of blink cause it carries lots of bling.
Speaker:We have fires here in Southern California and a lot of
Speaker:people say,
Speaker:Oh we had our fire and I throw all my jewelry
Speaker:into my backpack and it's a tangled mess and it's been
Speaker:two years and I haven't untangled it.
Speaker:So we had fires here two or three years ago and
Speaker:it was really close to me.
Speaker:So we were in the voluntary evacuation.
Speaker:So I said,
Speaker:you know what,
Speaker:I better get my jewelry packed.
Speaker:So I had all my photos and important papers and stuff
Speaker:and I pack.
Speaker:I have a lot of jewelry.
Speaker:Most of it's costume,
Speaker:but I love my costume jewelry.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:it's not like,
Speaker:but I do have some really nice heirlooms and things of
Speaker:that nature.
Speaker:I packed my heirlooms.
Speaker:They're always packed in a blink Z hidden in my closet.
Speaker:But I packed five blink jerseys in five minutes.
Speaker:Oh no kidding.
Speaker:It was so easy.
Speaker:So if you're moving,
Speaker:let's say you're moving and you just don't know what to
Speaker:do with your jewelry,
Speaker:so it doesn't get all tangled.
Speaker:You need some Linksys.
Speaker:You definitely need a few blings these.
Speaker:Yeah. Not just one obviously.
Speaker:And not just one.
Speaker:And my sister loves to travel with really big stuff,
Speaker:so she has to have two blends.
Speaker:These every time she travels.
Speaker:What I was going to say is I came up with
Speaker:this motto again,
Speaker:all this stuff just floods into your head.
Speaker:So write it all down.
Speaker:My motto is live the bling life.
Speaker:Be tangled free and when I really thought about it,
Speaker:it's not just about the jewelry on the outside,
Speaker:but we are bling on the inside and being tangled.
Speaker:Free means get rid of the fears,
Speaker:the doubts,
Speaker:the self limiting beliefs and all that stuff that keeps you
Speaker:from being your authentic self.
Speaker:And if you have that dream inside of you to be
Speaker:a maker,
Speaker:to do something,
Speaker:build something,
Speaker:create something,
Speaker:make something,
Speaker:go and do it.
Speaker:Be you and the world will love what you bring out
Speaker:because that's what this is all about.
Speaker:This is bringing your best foot forward.
Speaker:One of the things that I do every morning besides my
Speaker:gratitude prayer is I look at this thing called mantra and
Speaker:it's an app that says something different.
Speaker:Every day you just press the button and I'm going to
Speaker:read what today said.
Speaker:It said you are one in 7 billion.
Speaker:Yes, you are one in 7 billion.
Speaker:You are unique,
Speaker:so you've got it,
Speaker:you've got it inside of you and no one else has
Speaker:exactly what you have inside.
Speaker:So live the bling life,
Speaker:be tango free and you'll enjoy every day.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:Now tell me what that was that you read that from.
Speaker:Is it an app or something?
Speaker:So there's two apps I use every day.
Speaker:One is called simple habit and it's a meditation and there's
Speaker:some really great ones in there.
Speaker:They're there as short as five minutes.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:we always heard,
Speaker:Oh you gotta meditate 30 minutes twice a day if you
Speaker:do transcendental meditation and who has time for that?
Speaker:These are five,
Speaker:10 15 minute meditations,
Speaker:your choice.
Speaker:So it's called simple habit.
Speaker:But the one I just read,
Speaker:you I've read from was called mantra and it's free.
Speaker:And every day you just hit this button and up pops,
Speaker:you have to hold onto it and up pops your mantra
Speaker:for the day.
Speaker:So this actually,
Speaker:I said it a little bit wrong,
Speaker:it says I may be one in 7 billion,
Speaker:but I am also one in 7 billion.
Speaker:I am unique.
Speaker:Yep. Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I love that so much.
Speaker:And is that on your phone?
Speaker:It's, I'm like,
Speaker:Oh, so simple habit is one and it does cost.
Speaker:Do you have a 14 day free trial?
Speaker:I love simple habits.
Speaker:I've subscribed to it for a few years and then the
Speaker:other app on my phone is this one called mantra,
Speaker:M. A.
Speaker:N. T.
Speaker:R. A.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Well, besides All of the gifts of all the valuable information
Speaker:you've just shared with us,
Speaker:he wrote two more right at the end.
Speaker:Could I add one thing?
Speaker:Absolutely. I Don't know if you could tell,
Speaker:but I kind of go all over the place.
Speaker:I get very distracted.
Speaker:This has been the biggest challenge for me running a business,
Speaker:so I would just like to say to people out there
Speaker:that you have your cake and your cringe.
Speaker:You have the stuff you love to do,
Speaker:that's your cake.
Speaker:It's like,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I could do this constantly,
Speaker:all day long and I'd be so happy and I'd have
Speaker:all the energy and the cringe is the stuff that,
Speaker:Oh, I hate this.
Speaker:I hate behind the scenes business part.
Speaker:I like being out in front of people,
Speaker:but I don't like doing my inventory.
Speaker:That's why I gave it to my daughter.
Speaker:So if you can get someone to do your cringe and
Speaker:you do your cake,
Speaker:that'll be great.
Speaker:But in the beginning when it's just you,
Speaker:you might have to do it all.
Speaker:So just know that.
Speaker:But also if you do get distracted,
Speaker:I have two tips for you or three tips actually.
Speaker:Remember your why.
Speaker:Why are you doing this?
Speaker:Secondly, put like a time limit on what you're going to
Speaker:do. Say I'm going to spend one hour every day from
Speaker:this time to this time working on my business.
Speaker:And lastly is do it and get it done.
Speaker:Done is better than perfect.
Speaker:So don't let yourself get distracted from what one thing you
Speaker:have chosen to do in that hour.
Speaker:Do that one thing.
Speaker:Love it.
Speaker:And you know what?
Speaker:I would also say,
Speaker:tell me if you agree,
Speaker:cringe first.
Speaker:Otherwise it'll never get done.
Speaker:Get it out of the way.
Speaker:Just do it and then you'll feel so much better.
Speaker:Like one the thing that is most cringe-worthy for you day,
Speaker:just get it out of the way.
Speaker:Right in the beginning.
Speaker:I agree.
Speaker:So read advice.
Speaker:Oh, Oh,
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:I'm so glad you added that in on the end.
Speaker:So Pam,
Speaker:like through this whole conversation,
Speaker:what I kept hearing from you is really,
Speaker:yeah, we went through the tactics and how the product was
Speaker:developed and all of that.
Speaker:But it really all started with what you said in the
Speaker:beginning, which was why you know,
Speaker:and you put the why first always.
Speaker:I mean I can hear it as we're talking and it's
Speaker:the why first and the product second.
Speaker:And I think that's a great message to leave everybody with.
Speaker:And to your point in the beginning,
Speaker:start with why the whole Simon Sinek thing,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:But really important.
Speaker:So I'm going to just make a statement and you can
Speaker:add on to it Pamela.
Speaker:But I think for those of you who are listening,
Speaker:who are selling a product already,
Speaker:or you're thinking about selling a product,
Speaker:really think down through the why.
Speaker:Like what is that why for you?
Speaker:Because it's going to serve you really well as you go
Speaker:forward. What would you add to that,
Speaker:Pamela? Then after that,
Speaker:why outline what steps you need to take and do them
Speaker:one at a time.<inaudible>
Speaker:and to your point,
Speaker:if it doesn't actually bring you to the result the first
Speaker:time, don't change the result.
Speaker:Just change what you're doing to get to that result.
Speaker:Don't give up.
Speaker:Go back to your why,
Speaker:but if you don't have a why,
Speaker:then it's so easy To give up.
Speaker:Yep. If you don't have the why,
Speaker:it's so easy to give up.
Speaker:That's beautiful.
Speaker:Love it.
Speaker:Thank you so,
Speaker:so much.
Speaker:Pamela, you have just delivered the gold here,
Speaker:the gold bling.
Speaker:It has been a joy to be on the show with
Speaker:you. Thank you so much.
Speaker:I really appreciate your time today.
Speaker:Take care.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:So take care.
Speaker:So FYI,
Speaker:I've already ordered a three blinged disease as holiday gifts.
Speaker:Well actually that's not true.
Speaker:One is for me anyway.
Speaker:Pam offers a great point for us all to remember and
Speaker:I want to just pull up that audio one more time
Speaker:so that I can kind of underline and emphasize it for
Speaker:us as we go forward.
Speaker:Being tango free means get rid of the fears,
Speaker:the doubts,
Speaker:the self limiting beliefs and all that stuff that keeps you
Speaker:from being your authentic self.
Speaker:Another way to be tangled free in your business is to
Speaker:have solid plans to sell during the holidays and move out
Speaker:all leftover holiday inventory.
Speaker:Sure, you can reserve March of it for next year,
Speaker:but those are really dollars you could use for growing your
Speaker:business sooner versus later.
Speaker:That's the topic on deck for next week.
Speaker:Meanwhile, as we enter into Thanksgiving this week,
Speaker:I want you to know how very grateful I am for
Speaker:you, the fact that you show up week after week,
Speaker:listen to the shows,
Speaker:leave reviews,
Speaker:and share how this podcast is helping you means the world
Speaker:to me.
Speaker:Enjoy your time with family and friends and I'll be back
Speaker:with you again next Monday.
Speaker:Happy Thanksgiving.
Speaker:I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook
Speaker:group called gift is free.
Speaker:It's a place where we all gather and our community to
Speaker:support each other.
Speaker:We've 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,
Speaker:to show pictures of your product,
Speaker:to show them what you're working on for the week,
Speaker:to get reaction from other people and just for fun because
Speaker:we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody in
Speaker:the community is making.
Speaker:My favorite post every single week without doubt,
Speaker:wait, what aren't you part of the group already?
Speaker:If not,
Speaker:make sure to jump over to Facebook and search for the
Speaker:group gift biz breeze.
Speaker:Don't delay.
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Great episode! I don’t usually listen to Podcasts because they don’t keep my attention, but really enjoyed this one. Great interview style, and the Blingzy woman drew me in with her very present, authentic story that was also quite inspiring!