371 – Collaborating to Host Your Own Handmade Craft Show with Gloria Brown of Ahh-Land Woman Herbals

Gift biz,

unwrapped episode 371 To your guns.

And don't let anyone dash your dreams.

Attention gifters bakers,

crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.

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

Now you are in the right place.

This is gift to biz unwrapped,

helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.

Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,

resources, and the support you need to grow.

Your gift biz.

Here is your host gift biz gal Sue moon Heights.

Hi there.

It's Sue and thanks for joining me here today.

By now,

you're probably familiar with my new bash parties.

If not go back in the lineup and listen to one

of the podcasts that has bash in the title.

I've just added new dates for the program they happen at

all different times,

weekends, evenings,

and day slot,

so that I can commentate everyone's schedule.

Who's interested in being part of a bash.

It's completely free to get new eyes on your business.

What you're always striving for,

right? To see the schedule and sign up for a bash

go-to gift biz,

unwrapped.com forward slash bash.

And if one date has already been filled up,

go try for another.

They're becoming really popular.

Last time.

There was only one open spot left,

super exciting.

Our guest today is Gloria Brown inside the breeze.

We've done a website review for Gloria,

and she's a regular contributor to all the conversations and activities

in this handmade product maker.

Wonderland. I invited Gloria to share her story on the podcast.

For two reasons,

her journey is a perfect illustration of how a business evolves.

We'll get into all the goodness about that directly from her

in a few minutes,

Gloria has also been an early adapter to the world of

collaboration in her case,

finding a partner and creating wellness events.

In-person craft type shows.

If you will,

I'm thinking it might spark an idea for you to Gloria.

It's time to share your story Today.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Gloria Brown.

Gloria is the owner of our land woman herbals.

The name was inspired by her Caribbean roots,

and it's also representative of the all natural organic ingredients used

in her handcrafted skincare products.

They will have you saying,

ah, when you use them,

her products made from organic skincare oils are free from harsh

chemicals, with a special focus on products for mature,

sensitive, or troubled skin.

Gloria received her herbal certification from Trinity college of natural healing.

Her herbal medicine certification from crest Chestnut school of herbal medicine

and her aroma therapist certification from the Pacific Institute of aroma

therapy. I'd say she definitely has the training to back up

her product expertise.

Gloria, welcome to the gift biz on wrapped podcast.

Hi Sue,

thanks so much for having me today.

I am so excited to hear your story,

but before we go there,

we are doing a motivational candle,

which is something that's become a tradition here on the show.

I like to get an inside peek as to who you

are through your description of a perfect motivational candle that suits

you. So Gloria by color,

and a quote,

would you describe for us what your motivational candle would look

like? Well,

my candle would be bright red with gold swirls and it

would smell like a rose to me,

the color red evokes passion and energy.

In fact,

I painted the inside of my front door in this color.

It lifts me and inspires me every time I see it.

In fact,

I have peace and blessings written in Japanese,

in gold leaf on the door panels.

This is my nod to functional way.

I love it.

So literally the inside of your front door of your house

is bright red with the gold on it.

Yes. Wow.

That's cool.

I love that.

Are those words also written then on your candle or do

you have additional words?

Well, I think my candle would say catch the spark.

That would be the quote with a subtitle,

live your dreams to the fullest.

Sometimes our idea that comes from what we see around us

and what we dream.

And so that's why I keep a little pad by my

bedside table so that when I wake up in the morning,

I can jot down ideas that occurred to me during the

evening as well.

I would tell people,

stick to your guns and don't let anyone dash your dreams,

Both of those things.

So important,

man. I can't tell you.

And I do this to this day to still I'll have

a good idea and I'll be like,

okay, I'm not getting up.

It's such a good idea.

I know I'll remember it.

Then what happens gone As the day goes on?

You forget it.

Yeah, just totally gone.

So like,

I need to remember the words that you're saying,

because I just need to do it that way because it's

so sad.

It's fleeting and maybe it'll come back to you again,

but maybe it won't.

Yes. Like you just don't know.

And I agree with you also on your dreams,

like my gosh,

we're going through this life.

Why don't we capture those dreams?

You don't want to be at the end and say,

I wonder what would've happened if I would have tried this

or that or whatever.

Right. Well,

Yeah. So anyone who's listening here,

take it from Gloria.

Don't do that.

Let's just get started.

Go after your dream.

Tell us about you going after your dream.

I think that's a good place to start.

Well, Sue is a kind of a long story.

And so I was part of the corporate America for about

30 years.

I started as a temp at Western electric and I worked

my way up to district manager in loosen technologies.

By the time I retired,

however, I always said to myself that I didn't belong in

that kind of environment.

I think it was the networking at the business conferences and

friendships that I had developed over the years that got me

through. However,

they offered a package.

I couldn't refuse and I left and I'm so glad that

I did.

But before I left the company three friends and I from

at and T formed a business,

we decided as each of us retired,

we would enter the business full time.

I was the first one out and did a lot of

the grunt work.

Initially the focus of the business was to bring wellness services

to corporate women.

It's centered around stress relief,

healthy eating exercise and spa and massage services.

So it was services where you would come in and be

pampered, massage,

do soaks that type of thing.

Right? Actually we intended to take them to a spa where

we brought these outside services to them.

So in our first event,

we invited a naturopath to come and speak about the wellness.

We brought in a chef for the day to prepare healthy

meals for them.

And then they could sign up for various spa treatments for

the rest of the day.

We were off to a good start and we were so

excited about this new adventure,

but then nine 11 happened.

Actually I believe this event took place one month before nine

11. It was,

this was your first event.

This was our first event.

And unfortunately our last event,

women were rethinking their roles in corporate America.

They were concerned about working long hours,

not having healthy diets,

not making self-care a priority in their lives,

but with nine 11 times change families started cocoon thing.

Women were staying home and taking better care of themselves and

their families and were more concerned about their disposable cash.

Unfortunately, slowly,

my friends also dropped out of the business one by one

opportunity lost,

Ah, but something tells me that's not the end of that

story. So I set aside some time to do some thinking

about my next steps.

I had always envisioned opening a bookstore because reading is my

passion, but let me be clear that loving to read and

owning a bookstore are not the same that I did discover.

Okay. That's a good point that we didn't plan to bring

up, but I want to press pause for a second here

because I think this often happens too within our maker businesses,

right? Making soaps is not the same as having a soap

business or designing jewelry is not always the same as having

a jewelry business.

So tell us,

broaden out a little bit more about this.

So having a bookstore is not the same as enjoying reading

books. Talk a little bit more about what that means.

It is not.

In fact,

you don't even get time to read a book just starting

out. You may not have the funds in order to bring

on an employee.

So you're at the store,

maybe nine o'clock in the morning.

You're there opening up the door,

getting the cash register,

ready, straightening up the store dusting.

If you have to making sure that this displays are in

order, et cetera,

et cetera,

you're also the bookkeeper.

And if you have classes like I did,

sometimes I was there till 11 30,

12 o'clock at night because after the class is over,

you've got to tidy up and make sure everything is straight

for the next day.

I was also the bookkeeper.

So I did the books,

but I also had experience in finances.

So that was not a big deal for me,

but it was just something else that I had to do.

Cause you were wearing all the hats at that point,

Every hat you're ordering inventory,

you're dealing with publishers,

you're going to conferences.

If you have the time in somebody to replace you.

So it becomes a little stale after awhile.

You have to make it interesting.

Okay. So where did that lead you?

I mean,

you probably liked it in the beginning,

right? Oh,

I absolutely did.

And then was it just,

it got to be too much over time or like what

happened? Well,

I think in the beginning that it was really,

really good,

but okay.

I had an SBA loan.

I also did a home equity line of credit in order

to build out the lease of the store and get things

up and running.

So those were pressing on me.

I was also in a lease that bumped up my rent

5% every year.

So there were a bunch of things working against me.

I think I was bringing in good money at the time.

However, I was not getting the benefits of that.

Yeah. Because your overhead costs you and do going straight into

brick and mortar.

Your overhead costs were a lot.

So, but I would say what you've described already is true

of any business,

you know,

we start and do all the things,

you know,

you've got all the plates that are running in the air

life, right.

Accounting and shipping and production and everything.

And then you added on top of that having extra financial

responsibilities. Absolutely.

Which some people do.

I mean,

it's no problem,

but so it became very heavy for you.

It sounds like It did.

It was unfortunate.

Even the customers that I see today in the street.

Oh, are you going to open up your store again?

I mean,

they really loved it and it's unfortunate that I could not

continue it,

But you know what?

It just wasn't for you then.

Right? Like that version of the business,

just wasn't the way you wanted to go.

Yes. Okay.

Is that a good summary?

I don't want to put words in your mouth.

No, no,

it absolutely is a good summary.

Okay. I had done all the planning.

I joined a professional organization,

the ABA,

the American booksellers association.

I got assistance putting together a business plan and a book

budget. And at those conferences I met folks who were creating

similar businesses,

who I am still in touch with today.

But each one of us kind of went our own separate

ways as far as our businesses were concerned.

But when I look now back at the budget that I

had set up for the store,

I did not come close.

People don't understand.

I think that when you do a budget,

it needs to be realistic.

And if that number is telling you something,

you really need to take pause and really listen to it.

I think it was like $400,000

in order to get started.

I didn't have anything near that.

However, I took the plunge.

I was going after my dream and I enjoyed it for

six and a half years.

I was there and created good partnerships with the other businesses.

In fact,

some stores and we banded together so that when a new

book came out,

we would work with the publishing house to coordinate book signings.

And so we had a network from Virginia to New Hampshire.

And so we would book an author.

They would start in Virginia and they would move their way

through the different stores,

coming to New Jersey where my store was and then onto

New Hampshire where other students were.

And so it was a great collaboration.

It worked for us,

it worked for the authors and I think it was a

really good collaboration.

Hundreds of books were sold that way.

And the authors and the publishing houses,

they just loved us.

Well, and you had a system set up.

So when a new book came out,

they knew that they could just roll through a system that

was already established and tested.

Yeah. Okay.

So then let's keep going from there.

So you had the bookstore six years and then you take

it away.

Part of my dream was bringing together a love of books,

educational services and programs in the area of alternative help.

And my goal was to help improve the health and wellbeing

of the people in the community.

So while I was growing the business,

which was a bookstore and I called it a wellness center,

I met so many interesting customers and spiritual teachers,

which reawakened my desire to continue my own spiritual journey through

herbs and hands-on healing.

Got it.

So the bookstore kind of a jumping ground for you for

what you're doing now,

Right. Okay.

I'm with you now.

So this desire to create an herbal product line and to

teach and inspire others,

to take care of their health by building their own apothecaries

and learning about the different oils and herbs and how it

can improve their health led me to launch all in women

herbals. Okay.

So I just want to say here that this is a

perfect example of keeping your end goal in mind with you.

It was making sure people were informed and using wellness in

terms of products and knowledge and all of that.

Okay. The bookstore worked for a while and then you saw

that it wasn't going to work instead of changing your end

goal. You just started changing how you were going to get

there. And I think that's a good example for anyone who's

listening. Who's struggling a little bit.

It doesn't mean that your end goal,

your initial idea.

Isn't right.

It's just,

you might need to find another path to get there.

And it sounds Gloria back to your story,

that lots of connections,

lots of learning was done in the bookstore.

So you built upon that as you transitioned into something different.

Absolutely. We did classes and yoga and sat down healing,

astrology and tarot numerology.

We brought in psychics chair,

massage meditation.

And so I met so many wonderful people doing this.

And so now in this business,

I've also created a fair,

which we can talk about a little later that brings together

some of these topics and subjects as well as the crafters

and the makers in the community.

Okay. So you closed down the bookstore and instead of taking,

what was the name of the bookstore And what's called avant

inspirations. Divine inspirations,

Correct. Okay.

Beautiful. And so why didn't you keep that name and instead

elected to create something totally new.

What was your thinking behind that?

I guess it didn't think about keeping the name.

I wanted something new.

Okay. So you wanted to start fresh,

Right? I wanted something new.

Okay. All right.

So for people who are just starting,

like, what were the first things that you did to establish

this business?

Well, I think the most challenging thing was transitioning from running

a brick and mortar to an online business,

selling herbs and products.

And what was important was okay,

what was going to be my niche,

who was I going to serve?

What skills were going to be needed to pursue an herbal

product making business.

And frankly,

I had to go back to school.

Not only was I pursuing a new journey,

but I had to make sure that I was qualified and

knew exactly what I was doing.

Even though these areas are not regulated in the U S

for me,

that that meant finding an international school because their regulations around

products were more stringent than here in the U S and

I wanted to make sure that my products would pass their

testing requirements if I wanted to sell internationally.

Oh, so this was a strategic move for you,

right? In the beginning,

It was,

I needed to know what I needed to know.

And sometimes until you start studying,

you don't know what you don't know.

And I thought that that was important.

I thought that it's also lends itself to credibility in the

topic that you're discussing with your customers and other folks,

other herbalists.

Well, absolutely.

I mean,

you heard what I said in the intro that you definitely

have the training and the knowledge and the expertise to be

talking with huge credibility about the products that you offer.

And I felt that that was really,

really important.

So a hundred percent agree because it sets you apart from

other people who are using herbs or doing some type of

aroma therapy who might not have that degree.

So this does make you different and sets you apart.

But along with that back then,

you know,

like when you were just starting comes the investment.

Yes. And you really think about that before you do it.

But I felt that at finding the best in the business

and learning from the best what's important to me.

And so I set aside some monies,

I did as much research as I could to find the

schools that were the best ones for me at the time.

Got it.

Okay. So you did a period of learning and during that

period of learning,

where you also starting to set up the business or were

they separate phases disconnected,

like first the learning then setting up the business.

Yeah. At first the learning and then setting up the business.

So you were so focused,

so you have three certifications,

if not more Well,

so diplomas or what have you.

And the word certification is a little misleading in order to

be certified,

you have to go to a recognized school.

And so most of them are diplomas or certifications,

but I cannot really call myself a certified herbalist unless I'm

doing clinical work,

which are not Got it.

Okay. But you are certified in the different topics,

meaning you have a heightened level of knowledge than someone who's

just coming out and doing this without a certification.

Correct. Okay.

All right.

So you got your knowledge,

love that now you're moving into the business,

right? Okay.

So I'm curious,

so our land woman herbals,

first off,

I love that.

You're just defining who it's going to be for right away

women. Right.

But that doesn't mean that we don't serve men as well.

No, of course not.

And like,

I think that's also important,

like when you niche down,

because that's the big thing people talk about now,

it doesn't mean that there won't be outliers.

If you will,

who aren't going to also want your product,

but you're talking to a specific group of people who are

your core customers.

And of course,

you're not,

you're not going to say,

oh, you're a man.

I'm sorry.

I won't sell to you.

No, never,

But, so tell me about the name as it relates to

your Caribbean roots.

Well, my dad was Jamaican and my mom's family was from

Trinidad and Bermuda.

So in the household,

even though she was a nurse,

we didn't necessarily ascribe to the conventional medications.

I'll put it that way.

There were other things,

Bush tea or something like that,

that mom would prepare for us that would keep us as

healthy as possible.

I found out about this just recently when I was on

a trip to Brazil,

you know,

you often hear like there's so much medicine available in nature,

and yet I heard it,

I heard it,

but what have I grown up with here in America?

Always just all the medicines that you get at Walgreens or

wherever. Right.

And then we went out into the jungles,

the Bush,

like, I don't know what you call it in Brazil with

a gentleman whose mom was a medical doctor,

but also used only medicines from nature.

And I was like eyeopening,

understanding what these different things did much better than a lot

of our man-made medicines too.

So when you're talking about this,

I totally understand it better now from my experience than if

I was listening to your words before I had that experience,

which I guess is why I decided to pipe in here

saying that because I really didn't understand like the value and

the intensity of healing that natural products can provide.

I think that's the best way for me to say that.

And springtime is a good season because,

well, I keep my yard and my garden as pristine as

I can,

but I allow things to grow.

I don't use pesticides or anything like that.

So I have growing garlic mustard.

I have mug wards.

I have dandelions other assorted herbs that I use in my

medicines as well.

Right now,

the dandelions are coming up.

And so I am preserving them in extra Virgin olive oil.

And in six weeks I will make a dandelion oil.

I have some forsythia that came up.

They're all gone now.

So you have to catch them in the season Unless you

come here to Chicago,

we still have for Cynthia right now.

I'll really,

They're just blooming.

Yeah. Yeah.

Come visit.

I have lung ward growing.

I have later on in the season Manardo,

which has bee balm.

I have also holy Bazell and some others as well as

I have a vegetable garden.

So, so I use what grows in the garden to supplement

some of the products that I have and giving people an

education as well.

I've created a series called glorious backyard where I take people

in roam around the garden and give them little tidbits of

information about each one of the plants there.

You started doing this.

Was it last fall?

Yes. I remember that.

Remember I was doing that blog series.

Yes. Was that when it was,

and that's when we became acquainted and you were showing,

or was it a video challenge?

I forget which,

and you started doing that.

And so what did you do during the winter?

Were you still doing that?

No, I kind of took a hiatus because it's Cold.

Well, unless it's growing to probably less as growing.

Right. So in the winter time it would be about the

barks, the big areas and things like that.

None of which are growing here in my yard.

So I kind of took a hiatus on that.

And are you seeing that you're growing your following from some

of these videos that you're doing?

Yes, I am.

I post them on Instagram as well as on my website

and Facebook.

And so people are following along right now.

I'm creating a series spring into wellness.

I call it where I'm discussing some of these same plants

and inviting people to learn along with me as far as

what good,

therefore, the body systems that they work on.

And at the end,

I also give them a few recipes that they can follow,

like a,

make a tea or a tincture or a SAB or something

like that out of them and the properties that they have

and you know,

how it will make you feel once you've done that.

Okay. All right.

Wonderful. And everyone who's listening,

consult the show notes.

We'll have all the links to Gloria's various sites there,

so you can pick and choose,

which is your favorite and go and follow her and see

what she's up to with all of that.

So we're still developing the business.

You have the name.

How did you decide,

which were the first products that you were going to offer?

Hm, I think that it came from some of the lessons

that I learned in the various courses that I took.

I'm probably from the Chestnut school of herbal medicine making during

that, I don't know how many hundreds of hours that was.

We had various products and projects that we had to do

and final evaluations,

et cetera.

So I probably started off with something very basic and very

simple, which was probably a SAB.

I had also attended some classes in New York at the

open center with some famous herbalists from this area where I

learned or supplemented my learning from the schools that I attended.

So that was really interesting.

And I think we started off with tinctures,

which are made with alcohol.

I don't ingest alcohol.

So my tinctures were made with raw apple cider vinegar,

which will draw out similar properties as the alcohol,

but not all of the properties as the alcohol.

And so that was really interesting.

So we spent a couple of weeks with that particular teacher

and that's how I supplement my learning conferences,

et cetera,

as well as reading.

Yeah. Which also keeps you updated in the field also to

keep the credibility because your brand is linked with your knowledge,

your certifications,

as we talked about before and continuing credibility,

staying updated with everything,

right? What are your full range of offerings?

We'll continue on with Gloria's story right after a quick break

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Well, I range from SAS and lotions and scrubs and spray

room sprays,

bug sprays.

There are also some skincare products,

butters beard oil for men.

At one time,

I had a shaving cream for men.

I kind of discontinued that,

but we'll probably pick that up again.

At one time I had baby products as well that I've

also discontinued,

but we'll pick up in the future.

I wanted to just kind of hone in on just some

basics and like foot scrubs and soaks.

So all pampering products,

but the overlying theme is organic.

Everything, organic,

everything, natural instilling,

all the knowledge that you have in terms of your ingredient,

selection, into the products that you offer.

I think that's absolutely important.

And to understand the difference between a pure oil and an

essential oil,

a carrier oil,

and which ones work best for different types of skin,

et cetera.

Okay. So that just brings up a curiosity in me.

How would I know that if I'm going to the website

and looking at all your products,

Well, some of them will be marked and some of them

will tell you this particular product is for itches Or Rashes

or diaper rash,

or I have one plantation and Juul,

weed SAB,

which is really good for poison Ivy.

So if you read the description,

it should tell you what you like to know,

but they can always pick up the phone and give me

a call.

Oh, there you go.

Personal touch Gloria.

I love it.

So it's more use case,

like what's the advantage and why would you use it versus

you telling everybody about the carriers and all the stuff behind

it? Because then I wouldn't understand all of that.

Anyway, the science wasn't one of my best topics.

I'll tell you that.

Okay. And now how are you selling?

Let's move into that.

How do you sell today?

I'm selling strictly online.

I also sell through various vendor fairs.

In fact,

I have a couple coming up in the next couple of

weeks. I'll be selling at my own fair.

And then two weeks after that,

I'll be selling it to others.

Okay. So,

and this leads us into what sparked my ears right away

without knowing all of this good news,

Gloria, that you've already just told us,

because I told you,

I don't want to know.

I want to hear it on the show,

but like,

what really sparked me was when you started talking about some

of the collaborations that you're doing,

and I think that leads into your own vendor fair.

Right? If I've got the story,

right. So let's talk about that some now.

Well, the word that I chose for my vision board this

year was collaboration.

Even though I've been doing bits and pieces of that,

I wanted to really delve more into collaborating with other folks

with other kinds of businesses.

So I've created a partnership with a fellow herbalist.

She was also a,

she got Sue instructor who worked at my store.

And so we got to be pretty friendly.

We would travel to conferences either in the state or out

of the state together,

attend different classes together.

And so we got to know each other pretty well.

So we created what we call a wellness fair.

And this year will be our third year and the fairs

were a regular part of my bookstore business.

And so I would hold them at least once a quarter.

And I thought that this might be a good addition to

my online business.

We offer rental space to local craft businesses and wellness businesses,

and my partner and I,

we split up the duties.

One of us handles ensuring that there isn't too much duplication

in the kinds of vendors that we bring on board.

The other one handles the finances.

One of us handles the correspondence and the application process.

And we both handle social media and getting the word out

as well as we ask our vendors to help out here

as well,

by sending out the notices and whatnot through their own networks.

And at the end of the event,

we pay the venue and we split the profits so far.

The business has been great.

We get to meet so many interesting entrepreneurs this way and

uncovered unique products.

So how many fears have you put on up to this

point? This won't be your third wall,

Your third one.

And where are you located?

I don't think we ever talked about that.

So if someone wanted to come or find out about your

fairs, where are you and where can they find out more?

I'm the instant Bloomfield,

but the fair this year is going to be in Nutley,

New Jersey.

All right.

So you guys got that.

And then I can thinking on the website,

you have all the information when events are coming near,

Right? So let's talk about this a little bit,

because lots of people could put on events.

We limit ourselves to events that other people are putting on

that we'll have to pay for,

to become involved in why not take a leadership role and

collaborate with somebody else and do just what Gloria is doing

put on an event.

What do you think Gloria?

I think sometimes it's a lot of work.

Yeah. But is it worth it?

Like give us some direction here?

I think it is very worth it.

I think that it affords you an opportunity to meet other

people. It affords you the opportunity to talk directly to your

customers, whether they be new or continuing customers,

they get to ask questions of you.

They get to know you face to face.

They get to trust you.

A lot of them are they'll come up and quiz you

sometimes to see just how much you know,

which is fine.

And I think that the backend,

the fourth is healthy.

It gives us a genuine focus for our business,

increases our visibility,

and it helps to grow our email list,

which I think is extremely important.

And you being the originator of the event,

you got access to all of those emails.

Absolutely. We pop publishes Facebook and Instagram on our personal networks.

We put it in patch and barista net,

and you know,

other places where people will look for events for the weekend.

Gotcha. Maybe something to think about Gloria is just saying,

you know,

get a ticket and exchange to be able to attend the

event. And some places do charge $5,

$10. I'm not even saying you have to charge,

just get the email.

They're more established.

They bring in larger numbers of folks as well as larger

number of vendors,

Mostly in this area.

Most of the fairs are free.

Is it very clear that you and your collaborator,

what's her name,

ADI. Okay.

That you and ADI are the ones who are running the

event. Yeah.

So that gives you an elevated level of expertise to,

and credibility putting on the event.

So another benefit to doing all the work that you're talking

about, you know,

putting in the time and doing the work.

So would you say that now that this is your third

event, it's getting easier because you've done this now several times.

Yes. Finding the venue,

creating this space is really,

really easy.

We have now established a running list of vendors that have

come to previous events.

We blitzed them first to let them know what's going on.

Then we send out notices and Facebook and Instagram to let

other people know here's an event coming up.

These are the kinds of vendors that we're looking for.

If you're interested,

go to this email and someone will interview you because we

want to make sure that there's not too much duplication and

product, And it's the right products,

right. It's got to stay in line with what the theme

of the event is.

Absolutely. So this is the first year that we're opening it

up to craft businesses,

as well as wellness vendors.

ADI wanted to take a stab at that.

We're going to see how that works for us.

Do You still do the overlay of natural?

Yes. Got it.

Interesting. I'll be curious to hear how that goes.

I'll let you know.

Okay. And so people have to be approved to be in

the show.

And then how did you establish in the beginning,

what the costs were going to be to exhibit it?

How did you figure out,

like obviously,

you know,

what the cost of the venue is going to be and

like, but all of that and how many people,

I guess the venue would hold maybe.

Is that how you approach it?

Yes. In this particular case,

we're having it outside.

And so what we did was kind of cordoned off on

a chart.

You know,

how many vendors we can have there as well as looking

at the cost of the venue and then figuring out how

many tables we would have to sell in order to pay

for the building.

And then once that's done everything beyond that is gravy.

Right. Well,

and you also have additional costs.

I'm sure.

Like I'm guessing there may be some insurance costs,

maybe security depending.

I mean,

there's different things I think.

And I don't know if this is like this for you,

Gloria, but I know here,

if you are selling outside of your established area,

you need to get a city permit and license.

Even if it's just for like a short weekend,

even people who are doing like a sidewalk sale,

you don't need to get permission.

Yeah. I think it all depends on who you're working with.

And because this is a lodges parking lot.

We don't have to go through that.

Oh yeah.

Cause it's private property,

I Guess.

Right. But something to think about,

I'm just thinking,

I'm considering people who are listening,

who are like,

ah, ha,

here's an idea.

What we try to stress with our vendors is that they

make sure that they have their own sales license at that

they carry their own insurance as well.

I think that's really important in case something happens because we

are not liable.

And we have them when they sign up,

sign a waiver that says we are not liable and that

the location is not liable,

if anything should happen to them.

And I think that's also a cutoff point of an established

professional business,

especially in your category to someone who's just starting might not

have all of that,

but when they're getting serious,

they absolutely should have all of that.

Right. That's a nice way to filter out people who aren't

quite ready yet.

They will be,

but they just might not be ready at that point.

What other types of things,

you know,

we're not going to go into,

how do you run a show because there's,

I'm sure a lot there and a lot that you could

share, but that's not for this show,

but what are a couple of things that you recall that

you wish you would've done differently?

Like things that were clunky in the beginning or you didn't

know about are any tips for someone who might consider this,

just to give them a little bit of initial guidance,

Right? I think it's understanding your limitations.

What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

And if you're going to collaborate with somebody,

do they enhance what you have,

make sure that it's somebody that you can deal with on

a regular basis.

Sometimes things do not go according to plan.

And so you should also have a backup plan.

If it rains,

what are you going to do?

Are you going to have a rain date or not?

If you need to set your cutoff dates,

if you're going to have it in may,

when do you start planning for it?

You're going to have to visit various venues to see if

the work for you.

Will people work with you?

Do they want a fare on their property or not?

I think those are some of the key issues that we

ran into.

So there was,

there's a lot of legwork associated with it.

And now because of COVID,

there are also different guidelines that buildings might have about the

number of people that can be there.

Are they mask or not mask in this case,

we're having it outside.

So it's not that big of an issue,

but always look into those possibilities.

Things that can interfere with how well your particular event will

go off,

But it's not a reason to not do it either.

You're like,

you've never done it before.

You don't know what to do.

Well, of course,

nobody who starts does,

you know,

you get better as you go.

Right? And I think also like,

it definitely helps to attend some different shows with the idea

of putting your own on in mind,

either as an exhibitor or just watching how they manage shows

so that it gives you different ideas of best practices.

What sat well with you?

What didn't,

what would you have done differently?

That kind of a thing.

But I love the idea of Gloria,

of not doing it alone.

So partnering up with somebody else,

maybe even two other people,

and then seeing what you can put together for yourself,

be the leader.

Absolutely. I think that is always important to stretch yourself.

If you have an idea,

sometimes you can't always find someone who will collaborate with you.

So why not try it yourself,

start out small and see what happens.

Then I think,

you know,

maybe someone who attends the fair,

whereas an exhibitor at the fair will also come in and

speak to you about,

Hey, this is something that I'd like to do in the

future. Perhaps we can do something together.

That's a great idea.

I've also seen not as much at consumer,

but maybe,

and maybe more specialized,

like how you are,

where you're theming a show.

But I see often at more of the wholesale shows like

I do the trade shows that a lot of my support

and actually people who become my customers or other vendors,

there's so much time before a show opens.

And also after a show,

or if you do any planning meetings for them to get

together and get to know each other.

Also, I think they're a wonderful resource,

All sorts of opportunities there.

And it sounds like you're liking the shows.

So for the time being,

they will continue their in your plan,

Right? We like to do them at least twice a year.

So probably in the fall around October or early November,

if it's not too cold,

we'll have another one.

And you know,

perhaps by then it'll be okay to be inside and that

it will afford us.

I think more space,

the venue that we use,

it's really nice,

really welcoming and people enjoyed it the last time.

Wonderful. That's very exciting.

Like I said,

I'm anxious to hear how this continues to evolve.

What else do you see as you look out into the

future for your business?

What other things are on the radar there for you?

Well, I think,

you know,

just growing my business,

I don't want to create too many products.

So I want to have a set number.

I do bring in products now.

And then I do a lot of collaboration with some of

my customers as well.

I love to do special orders.

I'm flexible in my product making.

And so I'm open to making changes.

And so sometimes people will come to me and say,

Hey, I'd like to have this kind of product because I'm

experiencing this kind of issue.

And so I will work with them and because I'm familiar

with the oils for different skin types and the herbal properties

that I'll come up with a good product for them.

I have a customer who regularly gives my products to her

friends who turn around and buy them from me as well

as gift them to their friends and their families.

So, and in fact,

I also put a sample of the product on my website

and kind of trial it out.

And if it works and people buy it and they like

it and they ask for more than I will add it

permanently to my lineup.

And that's what I do at a vendor fairs.

And even online when somebody purchases a product,

I'll put in a couple of samples of other things in

a similar vein for them to try out,

Oh, that's smart.

Do you see that then people will purchase after they've sampled

more of your products?

Yes, they will.

Ooh, good strategy Gloria.

Well, that's in the end.

That's what it is.

Right. Being willing to try might work.

It might not.

And then if it doesn't work,

you try something else,

that's it.

And then I say limited edition.

And if it doesn't work and then it comes off,

This has been amazing.

Gloria. I love the whole story about collaboration.

The ideas of dwell,

just the concept and the idea of taking a leadership role

and trying something like a show for yourself.

And your whole story is really inspiring because it's also like

you've taken from your corporate life to your brick and mortar

shop to what you're doing today.

You've just built one on top of another to get to

where you are very inspiring,

one place online.

Where would you direct people to go to know more about

you and your products?

Well, that would be all in woman,

herbals.com. Perfect.

And again,

all the links are on the show notes page.

You guys.

So just go and check that out there.

Your next show is coming up.

So on behalf of all of us,

Gloria, I want to wish good luck with that show.

And thank you so much for sharing everything today.

Thank you for having me.

This was a lot of fun and I appreciate you inviting

me on,

I love your podcasts.

I listened to them regularly and I learned so much and

it's so helpful how you help and assist small businesses.

Well, and you know how I do that is by having

people like you share your experiences.

So mutual respect,

Gloria, As you have just heard,

there is absolutely no need for you to abandon the idea

of participating in a local craft show.

If there isn't one in your area,

I already know,

since you listened to this podcast,

that you're an action taker.

Why not start a craft show yourself like Gloria has with

her wellness events,

grab a partner,

create an event.

Remember you are in control of your potential,

but you don't have to go it alone before you move

on to your next activity today,

make sure to get your name on the list for at

least one gift biz bash.

You can see dates for the upcoming sessions and get signed

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support a rating and review is always fabulous because it helps

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It's a great way to pay it forward.

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

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Turnaround is quick and the quality is top notch,

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Take a look at all the options at gift biz,

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And I'll see you again.

Next time on the gift biz unwrapped podcast.

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Got a really fun post in there.

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