339 – 5 Fun and Effective Ways to Attract Sales with Sophy Lakshmanan of Miss Paper Craft

Gift biz unwrapped episode 339.

You know,

my coat,

It happens for a reason.

This happened for a reason.

So Attention gifters bakers,

crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.

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

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Join us for an episode,

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Your gift biz.

Here is your host gift biz gal,

Sue moon Heights.

Hi there.

It's Sue and I'm so happy.

You've chosen to spend time with me today.

We're covering a topic that I know causes you a lot

of stress.

It's the single most frequently asked question I get and something

you'll always work to increase no matter how many years you're

in business or how many zeros make up your annual revenue

number before we get into this,

I'd like to ask you a favor.

Think of this as an exchange for all the free content

you have at your fingertips here twice a week with the

podcast. If you haven't done so already in whatever app you

use to listen to the show,

will you please leave a comment in the form of a

review? Just tell me what you've learned from one of these

past episodes,

short and sweet doing this,

help spread the word about this podcast.

And I would be ever so grateful.

Okay. Let's get back to the topic at hand.

What I was referencing that stresses you out is the constant

pursuit for more eyeballs and more prospects,

which of course lead to more sales.

Am I right?

I think we put so much weight on this activity that

we've blown it into this massive mysterious mountain that takes tons

of effort to climb while bringing in new business does take

energy and determination.

What if I told you that it doesn't need to come

with anxiety and it doesn't need to be a strenuous battle

to achieve either.

That's why I've titled this episode.

Five fun ways to attract new customers.

How's that for a mindset switch,

you're going to hear from one of my coaching clients and

the fun opportunities she's grabbed hold of this year to gain

new customers.

Some she directly went after and others came her way without

any effort just by her working her business.

Let's have Sophie tell you all about them.

Today is a great day because we're going to be talking

once again to Sophie.

Lakshmanan Sophie is the face behind miss.

Papercraft a paper quilling store making intricate jewelry,

ornaments, and keepsake dolls.

She quilt as a hobby when she lived in India,

making gifts for family and friends.

And then after moving to the U S she noticed that

paper quilling wasn't widely known here,

and she saw this as an opportunity.

She now shares the paper quilling experience through her jewelry,

DIY craft kits and online classes.

Now, those of you who are regular listeners will remember Sophie

from episode number 313,

which aired last April,

but a lot of opportunities have come her way in a

really short time.

So I wanted to have her back on to share her

newest, exciting experiences.

Hi, Sophie.

Welcome back.

Hi Sue.

Thank you so much for having me again.

I think in that other episode,

we already were referencing that I wanted to have you back

because some things were developing.

So I thought they'd be good for you to get some

experience and then come back and share with us.

But even more Sophie,

you were like an opportunity magnet.

That's my new name for you?

The opportunity magnet.

I like that.

We get new listeners over the course of time.

There may be people listening.

In fact,

I'm pretty sure there are,

who don't know you yet.

So shared just a little bit about how you started your

business and for a full,

more detailed review.

As I said before,

you can go back and reference episode three 13,

but Sophie tell us a little bit.

So I am paper quilling artists,

and I learned paper calling off YouTube when I was looking

for something to do for friends and family,

when it was back in India,

like seven,

eight years ago.

And it was my hobby.

And when I moved to the U S I noticed that

not many people were aware of paper cooling,

and I took that opportunity to turn it into a small

business. And that's what I do now.

That is my small business.

Beautiful. So how long has your business been around?

It's Been a little over two years now.

That's crazy Sophie.

Seriously, where you have come from in such a short time

and our paths crossed.

I'm going to say about six months in maybe or So

maybe a year,

A year.

Okay. Because you joined makers MBA for last year,

but I bring it up only because when you start listening

to Sophie talking about what is possible,

this happened in a really short time.

So opportunity await and you heard it's just from her looking

and learning a craft on YouTube,

and then seeing an opportunity in the market here in the

U S so absolutely love that Sophie.

So share a little bit with us today,

what you're currently doing in terms of how you're selling.

And then we have three specific places where we want to

talk about,

we talked about that already in the pre chat,

but share with everybody a little bit of how you're getting

the word out about your products.

So the first thing which I do is I do local

craft pop-ups.

And when I started my business two years ago,

I started with that idea.

But then for a year,

we were all closed down.

So I had to move and find alternate routes like online,

but I wanted to do pop ups because I want people

to feel the product before they buy,

because not everybody's heard of paper products or paper jewelry,

because I do mostly hearings.

So not everybody's heard of it.

And they can easily think of it as wooden earrings or

clearings. So I want people to feel it and then buy

it, that has more value.

So that was the reason I wanted to do.

Pop-ups now that everything is opening up and I am back

in that space doing a lot of local pop-ups about two

or three a month.

And I get to talk to a lot of people and

I love those conversations.

And the other thing I do is I connect with the

other fellow vendors who are there in those pop-ups.

And they've been like really good friends to me now.

And we chat and we get to know what's happening around

in the town and other opportunities.

Like, I actually got to be on a TV segment.

It was two minutes,

but it was great.

I felt amazing after it.

And I got to be like featured in a magazine.

So through all these connections,

like more of networking,

I would say,

which I'm doing to get the word out.

So that's how I've been going about right now.

Okay. Well,

in a really good point,

starting small,

you know,

not trying to attract everybody right away,

but you like the live event.

So starting with the live event,

and the reason I say it's smaller is it's your local

community, right?

And the value for you and your product obviously is feeling

it and touching it.

And you're so right,

because when I first purchased my earrings from you,

I didn't realize they were going to be so light and

solid out of paper.

And you're just the way you make them.

Like I thought they would be really delicate and easily fall

apart at some point over the course of wearing them.

But that none of that is true.

And you see that the best in person,

yes. Anybody who is looking at doing in-person shows you absolutely

have to go over to Sophie's Instagram account.

It's misunder score paper underscore craft,

right? Sophie.

Yes. And I want you to look at two things there.

Number one,

her booth set up is one of the best I've ever

seen. And Sophie,

you have little products,

you know?

So getting a bold statement.

When people come to your booth out of products that are

really tiny,

you've done that in your packaging and your signage and the

way you lay things out.

So that's what I want you guys to look at with

her, and then also follow her because Sophie,

when you're at the booth,

interacting with people and you put it on your stories,

it's amazing.

Like, so people who can't even go to the show are

also getting the same experience.

Yes. And I do ask them before putting that up,

but it's really nice to see that happy face and capture

that moment when they have that product,

like when they bought it and they like so happy with

it. So I like to capture that.

So I do that.

And then I shared with the others to show that what's

happening. Like,

it shouldn't always be like me telling,

buy, buy,

buy, buy,

buy. I want to show like my customers,

they're happy that they bought it.

And I have had people who just wore the earrings immediately.

And then they're like,

oh, let me wear it.

And then you can take a picture.

Oh, I love that.

And that's also social proof too,

right. That people are buying.

And then that motivates people to buy and potentially people who

are even at the craft show will see it and then

come search out.

You're both even potentially,

but all told.

So everybody who's listening,

go look at Sophie's Instagram account,

scroll down to see the pictures of the booths.

And you won't have to scroll too far because she's been

doing lots of events and then follow her stories and your

videos, all of it,

social media,

your Instagram account is beautiful.

So we're starting with that.

That's a very special treat for everybody who hasn't seen it

yet. But now I want to dive into these three aspects

of experiences that you've had with your business lately that I

think will be really valuable to people who are listening,

because there are new and somewhat unique opportunities for you to

get visibility.

I'm not sure which is my favorite,

but let's start with the co-op spaces.

Okay. So share with us a little bit about your thinking

about potentially doing this,

and then what your first steps were in the evolution from

there Earlier this year,

I knew I was going to take a two month break

and I traveled to India.

So I wasn't physically going to be here,

but I didn't want that to affect my sales for the

two months.

I wanted a space where my products are still showcase and

people can still go by,

even though I'm not literally here,

because until then I was just shipping everything out of my

space at home.

And I didn't have any retail space.

So people couldn't go somewhere to buy it if I wasn't

there and it's all just me in the business.

So I don't have anybody else filling in for me.

So I was looking at retail spaces and that's the time

I came upon a consignment store in my local area.

And what they did was really different because they had like

30, 40 makers come together.

One person took a responsibility and she got 30,

40 people together.

And she showcased all their products in a retail store.

So there was a space where you could go and see

all these small businesses and it doesn't have to be only

on the weekends,

like in a pop-up between them.

And two,

three, it was there always.

So I was looking for such a space and I exactly

came upon that space as I was looking for it.

And that's the reason why I went with the consignment space.

Cause You were looking for some retail outlet,

if I'm right and correct me if I'm wrong,

but you were kind of on a search.

So you were looking to see what was available in your

community because it might've been a wholesale situation might've been consignment

and you found the co-op and that really felt right for

you in terms of your selection.

Yes. True.

Because I was looking for a place to have my products

somewhere, even though I am not there to Sell it.

So whatever form that would take yes.

And the easiest option,

which would come up is a retail space.

And that's where I ended up doing.

So the space that you are in,

is it consignment or do they buy it wholesale and then

they're displaying it for you?

Or how is your current setup?

So my current setup is a consignment basis.

So I go give them my stock and the updated.

And once in a while I go restock them and the

products allowed.

So I go restock them probably once a month.

And that's how it works.

That's basically how consignment works.

The co-op I'm just going to call it an artist.

Co-op I'm not sure if that's what you call it or

not, but with all the different artists and you have your

own specific space within the retail shop.

Right. So every artist and has their own space,

Actually, I don't have a set space.

How it works is she changes up the display every season

or every month because she doesn't want it to be monotonous.

Like always the same thing,

same place.

So she switches things up.

So now that fall is coming up,

if I have more fall related products,

like I go restock them.

She's going to have a separate fall space,

like in the center of the store to attract because that's

what people are looking for.

So she would switch my things up there.

So she would do that.

She mixes things around to make it more interesting.

Like, shouldn't be always the same,

right? No,

for sure.

Because you know how it is,

you can go into a store and if the layout's the

same, you might miss things,

you know,

we're in different areas.

So switching up,

that's just good retail practice overall It's opportunity because the 30,

40 people,

some of them might be in the back.

Some of them might be in the front,

it gives the opportunity to switch things up.

Absolutely makes total sense.

Okay. And so then how does it work?

Does she inventory in the product that you're giving her?

Is that how that works?

We actually do it through Google sheets right now.

I update the inventory on the Google sheets and my end

and I take like a printout of it.

And I give her when I go and she manually checks

it. That it's the same.

So we are on the same page of what I give

her and what she receives.

And then every week she does a weekly update on the

spreadsheet of what's sold.

And in the end of the month,

she gives us a payment.

And at that time she gives us a monthly summary too.

Like what also during the month and how much so.

Okay. And that's one of the things that's nice about these

co-ops too,

because of course,

if a customer is coming in,

they might buy something from you and then something from a

couple of other artisans and those are all KUMed together,

obviously at checkout.

And then they do the divvying out to the different artists

and then reporting back and then reimbursing you for that product

that sold minus their cut or however that works.

Yes. So what would you advise to somebody who's looking at

doing something like this in terms of the agreements that are

made things that you found that work really well or things

that you want to make sure that people look at,

if they're considering doing some type of an artist in color,

I would say first,

make sure there's a contract and you have your terms sorted

out. Like you both on the same page and you have

it written down in the contract and you sign on behalf

of your business,

not on behalf of yourself.

That is one.

And then always be in contact with the person who runs

the space to get a feel of what's moving.

What's not.

And what are the customer's thoughts?

Like they interact more with the customers than you do because

they're there in person.

So I would say always keep in touch with them and

interact with them to see what's happening because I interacted with

her and I got some feedback and we switched things up

and it helped me.

So that is a really good conversation to keep up it.

Shouldn't just be like,

you go put your product there and you forget about it.

Right? And you just kind of expect them to do the

job of selling.

It's really a partnership.

You also have to tell people that your product is there.

So they know it's there.

It shouldn't just be her advertising.

Like we have all these products because she's going to do

it for 30,

40 people together.

But when you tell your product is that you are promoting

your product.

So say that out,

that it's available in a local store in that way,

you are also promoting the store and other local businesses.

So that's also a good point.

Yeah. I mean,

that's a really good point because that's the value of the

co-op. If every single artist and promotes out to their individual

communities to come in and see my products here,

then everyone else's products are going to be shown as well.

So it just compounds on top of itself,

which is beautiful.

Was there any requirement for you to come in and work

at the store?

There is.

And I was waiting to like got vaccinated because it was

an indoor space,

but then yes,

I'm going to get,

by the time the podcast interview airs,

I would be back.

I would be doing once a month,

but yes,

what that is though,

a shift once a month.

And I remember that cause you weren't able to do it

because you were traveling anyway,

and then you came back and,

you know,

et cetera,

et cetera.

But I see that so valuable.

I was in one of the co-ops when I did my

book, I was doing a book signing in one of the

co-ops and it was really fun to see the artisans there

because some of them were doing demos.

And you know,

you got to talk with the maker behind the product,

just like you do at craft shows.

So I really enjoyed the environment.

It feels like,

well, why do I have to work at the store?

Because I'm paying for the spot or whatever the agreement is,

you know?

But it does help you sell product.

Would you agree Sophie?

And when I am actually going to work the store,

I actually want to put out a note saying that,

Hey, I'm going to be working the store.

So if you got,

want to come meet me,

meet the maker,

you can come.

I'm going to be there because it's usually like an pop-ups

is where you can meet,

but you can come meet me at a store too,

and meet other local artisans to Love it.

Okay. And you were referencing a little bit earlier the TV

show that you were on.

So talk about that and then the role that the co-op

space played for that as well.

Yes. So that was literally by chance that happened like within

a span of 48 hours,

which I never expected.

I was going to be doing another show that weekend,

a craft fair that weekend.

And I got to know that this TV host was going

to be there at the event.

And they were going to do a life five minutes segment,

how it happens.

I don't know.

What do you call it?

Like a today show.

So like a live five minute segment showcasing the craft fair

and the makers there.

So I just happened to follow her on Instagram.

And she reached out saying like,

Hey, have you been on the segment before?

Would you be interested in doing it?

And what did you do?

What was your emotional response?

I actually messaged her back.

I'm like,

what is it serious?

I'm freaking out.

I couldn't believe what she asked,

but then I was like,

okay. And then come down.

And then I did speak to you after that.

And I'm like,

does this happen?

And then we went ahead with it and it was only

two minutes.

It went off like blink of a second,

but it was really nice.

I had people reach out to me by email.

They took the time to actually email me saying like,

Hey, I saw you on this segment today morning.

And it was so nice.

So it's like,

okay. People like actually see and they reply and like reach

out by email,

which was so nice to like,

get those emails in the morning.

So it was so good.

It was so crazy.

I remember it too,

because you messaged me and you're like,

oh my gosh,

what do I do?

I said,

well, the first thing you do is say yes,

and then we'll figure the rest out from there.

And then you had concerns cause you didn't want to do

it in your house,

obviously. Exactly.

Oh yes.

That was my next point.

So I didn't want to do it in my house.

And I needed a space to display my booth set up

so they can do the video.

And I ended up doing the co-op space.

What other better space would I get?

So I did it in the co-op space.

So I could promote the co-op to saying that there are

other local vendors and also showcase my products and it's,

it was a really good location.

So it was a win-win for everyone.

Absolutely. Yeah,

because you had a professional space,

you were already in the co-op.

So that made sense.

And you guys did it before shop hours.

So you had the whole space,

we talked a little bit about your points or what you'd

say and that none of it ever goes as planned.

You just have to go with things.

Right. But at least you had some things you knew you

could talk about.

So you weren't just walking in blind,

but share with us the experience of that whole video and

being interviewed on TV,

live TV,

mind you?

Yeah, I was so nervous for that one because she would

be talking to the TV host in the studio,

but I wouldn't hear it.

So she's just looking at the camera and she has the

headphones in are years and she can listen to the conversation

and I can't hear it.

So it was weird for me to be standing there because

I was on the camera.

I didn't know how to react.

It goes so fast.

Doesn't it like an almost in like a whirlwind,

it starts and then all of a sudden it's over.

Yeah. I remember I was being super nervous,

standing there,

looking at the camera,

looking at her.

And then in like two seconds,

everything is over.

It just goes so fast.

Yeah. That's the nature of TV different than maybe some other

types of things that you would do is your link on

your website to the TV Spot.

I'm yet to update it,

but it will be there Soon.

So if you want to see Sophie with her TV spot,

jump over to her website and there'll be a link there

where you can say it.

You did a great job with that.

Sophie. That was wonderful.

You're really good.

As we were talking about before at showing up on social

media and face to camera,

you do the whole thing,

but you also had an opportunity to do a live kind

of a demo.

How do you Quill show,

right? Yes.

So talk about that.

That's been a while now,

hasn't it more on the fun things Sophie's doing to get

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It was probably during Christmas because it was the Christmas skit.

It was right before Christmas.

So I initially started with only your earrings because I love

your rings.

And I wear them on a daily basis and it was

natural for me to start with that.

And then all of a sudden last year I had an

eye, like I've been thinking how to reach more people like

make it more interactive because not everybody wears earrings,

even in women,

not everybody has the year Spears.

So they're like,

oh, I don't have my USP.

So I'm not interested in yearnings.

So I was trying to find a more inclusive way to

have everybody be interested in paper cooling.

And that's when I thought about doing craft kits.

So you don't have to be an expert crafter.

Anybody can do it.

Kids are adults alike,

they can do it.

And it has instructions material.

So you don't need anything extra except for a bottle of

glue. So that's when I started doing the craft kits and

it's so happened.

There's a friend of my husband here who was doing this

Facebook live every week since the pandemic.

And he would do crafts.

He would just look up some random YouTube video.

And he's like,

I'm going to craft.

He is not a craftsperson,

he's a standup comedian.

So he was like,

I'm going to try this.

And he would do more in a comedy way.

Like I'm going to try it.

And you know,

the interaction because he's a standup comedian,

it's going to be like that.

So he would do it.

And we just happened to reach out asking like,

Hey, would you be interested in having me do?

And you're doing the kit.

And he's like,

absolutely let's do it.

And that's how that opportunity came up.

And one thing I loved about that show was he constantly

kept saying,

I'm not a craft person.

I'm no good at cross,

but if I can do this,

anybody can do this So fun.

And I think this was your first time on video doing

instruction. Is that right?

Yes. That was my first time.

And the point,

which you said that if I can do it,

anybody can do it is exactly what I'm wanting to tell

people, because I have a lot of people will tell me

like, no,

this is so difficult.

I can't do it.

I don't have the craft skills.

I don't have the patience to do it,

but when they actually do it,

they're like,

oh, I was so wrong about This.

Honestly, when you get into the quilling,

it's a little bit mesmerizing,

kind of like meditative,

I'd say a little bit.

Yeah. I was doing a lot of the quilling during football

games last year,

because I'm not one to do one thing.

And just sitting even if,

well, except for the really exciting moments you had the snowflake

ornaments. At that point,

I was making tons of snowflake ornaments and quilling.

It was fun.

It was really fun.

So that was a little side tangent.

But back to that live show,

the first thing I want to underscore is you reached out

to them.

So you didn't just wait for an opportunity to come to

you. You used your connections through your husband,

knew he was doing this show and you reached out and

said, Hey,

I'd love to be on your show,

which a lot of people who have shows welcome that because

they can't always find all the guests.

You've just done some of their work for them.

So I'm sure he was really happy and more than willing

to do it.

He was so much willing that he got the message when

he was actually doing a life.

And he replied during the live itself.

Like he let the message in the live and he's like,

yes, let's do it.

Oh, cool.

Very fun.

I didn't know that.

What do you do to prepare for that?

So I went and gave him the kid.

So he has all the supplies and then I basically went

through what I'm going to say because it was my first

time doing it.

So I had to have a run through of how I'm

going to do the instructions and like,

what goes first?

What do I tell and how do we progress towards it?

So I did a mental preview of that by myself.

But even though I did it,

it just went in a different way.

But at least you have a plan like with the TV

spot, you at least have something to build off of.

You're not going in with just a blank slate.

You kind of know what you want to do.

And then you roll from there.

Because as I remember given that he's a comedian,

he also likes to add a little bit of levity to

the whole experience.

And so he was taking longer than he probably needed to

take. Right.

And so at some point he was just going to finish

it and come back and show everybody cause he was goofing

around. That's How the whole community Is.

That's the point.

So did you see any sales of the DIY kits after

that Show?

I did see,

but not as much,

but I did Well in those videos.

Is it YouTube that he was on or just live Facebook

live The YouTube video.

Oh, and I don't think I linked that one too.

I should probably do that.

You could,

and point being is that YouTube video then stays up forever.

So you never know what could happen in the future.

A lot of this will build on itself,

all these different appearances.

Okay. So that was really fun and interesting and exciting and

nerve wracking because it was new.

Right. And then the other one I wanted to really share

with everybody here is very recently,

you had another opportunity and you were kind of going back

and forth as to whether this would be worth your time.

And then you came up with an idea to absolutely make

it worth your time.

And it continued to add to the value of your brand.

So let's talk about that one.

And this is with the vineyard and what you did there,

That he win,

like how I said,

I have my other vendor,

friends who go to different events.

I saw most of them going to this one particular event,

which I was not aware of.

So I reached out to a few of them asking like,

Hey, how did you get into this event?

They're like,

it was just through Instagram,

DMS. And they're like,

just reach out to her and she should be able to

get you in or find something for you there.

So I reached out to the concern person and she told

me she's full on jewelry Wenders.

And she wouldn't be able to include jewelry vendors.

So I was like,

okay, nevermind.

I was like,

next time.

But then she got back saying like,

Hey, I saw your website and all of that.

Would you be interested in doing like a kid's booth,

like a make and take activity?

If that's the case,

I will put you in.

I'm like,

okay, that's a different thing,

but I wasn't sure what I was going to do because

I haven't done a kid's workshop because kids workshop is different

from adults.

It's totally different because kids are kids and it's difficult to

keep their attention span and all of that.

So I was not exactly happy with that idea when she

first told me if I have to be honest,

I wasn't happy with it,

But that was smart.

Sophie. Cause you were balancing,

is this the right thing for me to be doing for

my business,

right. For the time investment,

is it staying on course of my plan?

And is it worth the investment of time and money,

right. That's what you were thinking about at the time.

Exactly. Yes.

So I wasn't really sure,

but then we've had conversations and then I had conversations with

the other winters asking about how's the turnout,

how does it even happen?

Some of them were already there in her previous show.

So all of it put together.

I ended up saying yes and I'm glad I did that.

And as you know,

my coat,

everything happens for a reason.

This happened for a reason.

So Is there something,

I don't know that you're going to share with me here,

I'm kind of feeling like there's something that you're going to

say. Maybe I don't know.

I don't know if you notice or not.

So I did the book and that was just two days

after that TV segment too.

So that also got people coming in to the event and

that was the event.

The TV host was also coming to.

So, you know,

those like all that attraction happening at the same time.

And what happened with the Y said it's a kid's workshop.

I had more adults who are willing to be there and

do, because the kids,

it was a hot day and they just didn't have the

patience to sit down and do anything.

So I had more adults there who are willing to try

it out.

So there was one person who came in and she's like,

I can't do like crafts.

I don't have the patience and I can't do this and

et cetera,

et cetera.

So it's like,

why don't you just give it a try?

Like do two pieces.

If you don't like it,

you don't have to do it.

So she just did two and she's like,

oh, it's not so hard.

I can do this.

And she starts doing it and she completed the craft project

and she's like,

oh wow,

I actually finished this.

And she was so impressed by it.

And then there was another person who exactly came in with

the same conversation.

She's like,

I don't have the patients.

I can't do et cetera,

et cetera.

And before I could say anything back to her,

this other customer,

she's like,

oh no,

I just was talking to her like half an hour ago

saying that I can't do it.

But then see I did it.

So you can also do.

And she had her come in and she made her also

do That.

Well. And also you actually thought through this project though,

and how much time,

you know,

you took into account that it was a show that there

were going to be people who were wanting to go around

different activities that they were doing,

et cetera.

So you also adjusted what the make and take would be.

So it was in a reasonable timeframe that they could accomplish

it. So you kind of set them up for success right?

From the start.

So yeah,

I also made some of the pieces before so that they

can finish the project because when you have a completed project,

it gives you a different level of happiness rather than a

half big project,

half finished.

So I did some of the parts beforehand so they can

finish it faster,

but they also got the experience of trying it out there,

like how to do the cooling life.

Brilliant. And then you had the DIY packs if someone wanted

to buy them.

Yes. That was my other thing.

So once they're like,

oh, I can do this.

They were more willing to buy the kit.

They're like,

okay, I can do this now.

I know what it is.

So that's when I started understanding that even though I have

that kit there,

people don't understand what it does.

Okay. So it's like,

it's dead.

How much ever I want,

I can talk about it,

but they don't understand how it actually works until they actually

do it with their own hands.

So this workshop and doing a little demo and then selling

the craft kit,

his got me into,

I should start doing demos at my regular pop-ups and you

can let the customer do a free trial.

So they know how it works,

like a few pieces.

And then they will be more willing to buy the craft

kits because once you experience it,

you're going to buy it.

But until then you just don't know what it is.

So you are on the fence,

like, do I,

do I not?

Right. So this part I haven't told you.

So that's what I'm planning to do.

Like in my future craft fairs,

I have coming up in the following weeks planned to do

a demo.

Like I sit there and do some cooling.

So when people walk in,

they can also do some cooling and experience how it is

then and there and then buy the product.

Oh, that's beautiful.

Perfect. I was wondering if you were going to integrate that

in and I love to hear how that works too,

with your booth.

What do you thinking of doing,

like having a table kind of up front or off to

the side where you would be doing that?

It depends on the space.

So the ones which I immediately have coming up,

it's like more limited space,

so I can only fit one table in.

So I'm just going to do like half and half,

half my products.

And then like the other end,

I'm going to sit down and do,

and people can be on the other side and try out

a few pieces.

So like that.

I see.

So you're still behind the table.

So if you were actually quilling and helping someone,

you could still interact with people who are looking at buying.

It's a smaller space,

so it could work.

So it's still a trial it's just going to improve as

it goes,

as I learn more.

So yeah.

The thing that I really loved about that make and take

that was so fun was again,

you were taking pictures of people with their completed projects and

you had a model of what the finished product could look

like, but everyone kind of added their own little spin.

So every single one of them was just a little bit

different. Exactly.

Because they're like,

I like what you did,

but then it has to be me.

So I'm going to put a different,

and you know,

those first few pieces,

they tried out,

they added those also into those finished pieces.

So they're like,

I made this,

so I want to add that one too.

So they added it and made it.

Totally. Yeah.

And then you took pictures and posted all of that.

I don't know if those were only in your stories or

if some of those are in the feed now to where

people can come back and look,

but it was really interesting to watch the different takes and

creative spins that people had on their projects.

So I enjoy doing that.

And I was like,

looking back through the course of the day to see what

other people were doing specifically,

you know,

it was very fun.

So I kind of felt like I was included in the

experience, even though I wasn't there.

Yes. The idea of doing the live pictures from the event

to make you feel that you have There right now.

That was amazing.

What is your thinking now?

And I don't know this,

so this is really a question.

What is your thinking now in terms of incorporating additional training

into what you offer online?

So I had a conversation with one customer in one of

the last craft fairs,

which I did.

So it was a very eye-opening conversation for me.

So my kit currently has just instructions for how to do

the basic shapes.

That's it.

And her question was what do I do after that?

Okay. Basic shapes.

And then what does that make,

do I make the yearnings?

Like, what do I make?

I don't know.

So I didn't have an answer for that.

So, and I improvised and I gave her suggestions and I

referred her back to my snowflake tutorial and all of that.

But then that got me thinking into saying like,

maybe I should add something more,

do the kit so they can do a project there,

maybe a greeting card with some flowers on it.

Or I dunno,

that's the first thing,

which came to my mind,

but some of project included in it,

so improve the craft kit.

So they have something to complete immediately because currently it's open-ended

and they could make anything when you can make anything,

you end up doing nothing.

So I want to make something more like a smaller project

in that,

which you can complete.

So you have something to go from Snowflake kit,

you do complete it because you have a snowflake ornament,

right? Yes.

So those are specific kids,

but this one was the basic kid,

which had like all the colors and all the tools.

So it's like Fetty,

open-ended there.

And I like your idea of the card,

a greeting card.

Cause that's so easy and you're not including anything else other

than probably the paper for the car And a little bit

of instructions like I will,

and the instructions that are actually there,

I just have to give them patterns to say like,

you could do a flower like this,

you could do a leaf like that.

So it's just that.

And I also want to add video.

So like a basic video,

like how do you do the shape?

I have the written instructions and I do have the basic

shapes covered in the snowflake kit,

but I want to do like a exclusive,

basic Speedo,

which they can look up to see how it goes.

And you don't make the flowers again in it to say,

this is how you make the flowers,

because I feel like we do have more reach than actual

words, like in a document it's just easier to watch a

video and follow through Well and people learn different ways,

right? And again,

if you put the video up on your own YouTube channel,

that will support people who have already purchased the kit.

But I think it will also be of interest to people

who are just watching,

who then would go buy the kit.

So it works both ways.

I could even see like a little holiday card kit.

Yeah. Like a holiday card or even those holiday tags,

like on the presidency.

But those are even smaller projects that you can finish a

much quicker.

So that's also an idea,

like needs to be a card or a snowflake,

which takes more time.

It could be a tiny gift bag.

Ooh. I love that idea.

Like you could do kits of like five.

I know you can make so many gift tax.

Right. So it's just give them a smaller project and they

finish it and they feel happy and they feel that they

can do it and then go on to the next.

Okay. I'm going to be watching for that.

I'm going to use it this season.

All righty.

All right.

Wonderful. Anything else that I need to know that you want

to share?

You're always full of surprises,

Sophie. So another thing which I'm still debating about it,

but I'm just going to put it out there.

You know how like a lot of influencers out there right

now and they like show other business products and you know,

it's more real than having like a celebrity advertise and things

like that.

So I want to reach out to someone and so answers

so they can try out my earrings because I feel like

that's a different way to reach more people when people see

other people wear hearings,

how it looks.

And especially from influences who they've been following for a while,

it's more likely that they are more interested in,

it gives more visibility.

Right? I think it's a great idea,

Sophie, because your product is so unique and it photographs really

well too,

because your earrings are really colorful and they're bigger.

So I think that's an excellent idea.

Have you already started a target list of influencers that you'd

like to connect with?

I do have some in mind.

Well, I haven't like actually got to it.

I did reach out to one influencer and she was so

nice to like actually walk me through how it works because

I told her like,

Hey, I've been following you for a while and I want

to try this out,

but I don't know how it works.

Please help me.

And she was so good to help me out,

but I need to take it a little bit more further

and reach out to more people.

Wonderful. Well,

that sounds great.

And the first thing is identifying who you feel is a

right fit for you.

You know,

the people who are following them are the people who would

most likely be purchasing from you.

Amazing. Well,

no surprise there that you had something new to say and

you have a lot of things going on too.

Right? So,

you know,

have some grace with yourself,

you know,

you're saying I haven't done that yet.

Well, there's a time for everything.

You are an action taker.

You're just not sitting,

still doing nothing that is for sure.

All in time.

I can't wait for the update of what's happening there.

You will always be kept posted on this.

Yeah. I'll wait for the call.

So guess what?

Or in our VIP calls,

you'll show up one day with some announcements.

I don't know.

Anyway, your story is amazing.

Sophie, you were like a model of how to take a

product that first identify an opportunity,

take a product,

start with it.

Initially analyze.

Cause I remember in the first shows you were seeing some

things you needed to tweak with your product based on what

people were coming to the booth.

So you really have been watching your customer,

interacting with people at shows like you're talking about with your

vendors and opportunities.

Just show up for you.

It's beautiful.

I feel very honored to be watching you as you develop

your business.

It's just fabulous.

Love it so much.

As we close out here,

what would you say to someone who's just starting out?

So like you two years ago,

who's thinking about doing this.

What would you say to someone like that?

About what they should do?

Any advice that you have?

So when you're starting out,

let people know that you're doing it.

Like you're actually having a business and you sell something because

that's something which I didn't do much.

And because of which not many people knew about it and

I was not seeing any interactions and I felt like my

business was going nowhere.

But when you start telling people,

they tell more people and the more you tell people,

it keeps spreading and it's basically networking,

but you start with your family and friends and then you

develop it.

And only when you put a word out there that you're

here, people are going to know you're there.

Otherwise it's just you in your room with your things,

that's It.

But it's a little scary to do that in the beginning.

It Is scary to do that.

But I found that unless you go out and tell you

there, nobody's going to know.

Yeah. It's the only way.

Right. You have to have customers to buy,

to start a business and then you learn from there.

I mean,

you're a perfect example of that.

Yeah. Always sell it.

You're there like judo this business.

Absolutely. Well,

Sophie, thank you so much for coming back on the show,

opening up the curtains of what's going on with the business.

And I am so excited.

I know there's going to be more.

Thanks again for coming on the show.

I really Appreciate it.

Thank you so much for having me again.

You're welcome.

The journey continues.

I know.

And I love it To make sure you caught all five

of these ways to attract sales.

I'll summarize them again for you here.

Exhibiting at pop-up events,

participating in artisan,

co-ops being in the news for Sophie.

It was TV and in print,

running a quilling tutorial as a guest on someone else's Facebook

live and YouTube show and adding make and take activities to

her in-person events.

As you heard,

she's not stopping there given she's already set her sights on

pursuing influencer collaborations as well.

Do you notice that all of these are activities that are

around her product,

but they're not just here's my product.

Here's the price,

buy it.

All of these are approaches to attracting customers that add the

element of fun.

Next week,

we're going back to the books and talking Google analytics.

I'm looking forward to introducing you to someone who's impressed me

with his knowledge on this topic for several years now.

In fact,

I've taken some of his classes,

so I know you'll learn a lot of valuable information to

get your online efforts up to speed.

Thanks for spending time with me today and now be safe

and well.

And I'll see you again.

Next time on the gift biz unwrapped podcast.

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

group called gift is free.

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

support each other.

Got a really fun post in there.

That's my favorite of the week.

I have to say where I invite all of you to

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

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

reaction from other people and just for fun,

because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody

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

without doubt.

Wait, what,

aren't you part of the group already,

if not make sure to jump over Facebook and search for

the group gift biz breeze don't delay.