Nina Nsilo-Swai has always had a passion for helping others and spent a decade doing just that in non-profit organizations across New York City.

After moving to the suburbs with her husband and two sons, Nina combined this passion with her entrepreneurial spirit and formed rahababy®. The goal at rahababy is to bring joy to the daily rituals of parenting and make room for “raha” (joy in Swahili) in homes across the country.

Her first product is the pee-kaboo reusable potty training sticker. These stickers help families make potty training easy and fun.

Now, the parents of boys and girls, and parents of typical children and children with special needs, are reaching out to share their potty training success stories after using the pee-kaboo potty sticker.

Potty training has never been this much fun. As Nina says, “Keep calm and potty on.”

The rahababy Story

A description of the pee-kaboo product. [4:45]

She figured it out with a little help from a friend. [6:15]

The need Nina’s product fulfills. [9:00]

The moment of identification. This is a product that people need! [9:50]

Candle Flickering Moments

Getting product visibility wasn’t as easy as she thought. [18:43]

Discounts and promotions are not what works for pee-kaboo. [23:36]

Business Building Insights

Nina’s first steps in starting her company. [11:21]

The importance of sharing your idea before the product even exists. [13:20]

Developing company and product names. [15:10]

Think about where your product will be placed. This guides your designing. [17:14]

Meet your customers at their point of pain. For Nina it was chat rooms. [20:19], [24:40]

How to price a product when there is nothing comparable out there. [25:52]

A new idea of Instagram use. [28:35]

The importance of staying synergistic as the product line develops. [29:26]

Success Trait

Stick-to-itiveness [31:23]

Productivity/Lifestyle Tool

Work when you work. Parent when you parent. AND whiteboards. [32:38]

Recommended Reading and Listening

The Dip by Seth Godin

 

 

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Starting in 1968, Village Common is a dream three generations in the making and spanning over 40 years.

Ben and Blake create handmade, natural apothecary goods, kindled by their family history.

They bring to us this new installment of family traditions blended together and thereby continue the legacy of the Village Common.

Take a look at their website and specifically their Our Story page and you’ll land upon an entertaining history lesson of mid 1900 retail.

The Village Common

Previous generations of The Village Common. [5:11]

The evolution of The Village Common. [ 7:12]

How they decided on candles. [9:39]

Candle Flickering Moments

How to finance their dream was the most difficult. [24:06]

Getting the word out about the business while staying true to their vision. [24:34]

Business Building Insights

A description of how Ben and Blake made their product different. [11:38]

Determining the product packaging and branding. [13:41]

Why craft or trade shows are important. [16:42]

Getting started and evolving with trade shows. [18:42]

Booth displays and what to aim for. [20:17]

The key to customer retention. Why they buy from you and how better to serve them. [26:40]

All about being on the Oprah’s Favorite Things List. [29:50]

Success Trait

Being a go getter, being motivated and being ambitions. [28:08]

Productivity/Lifestyle Tool

Ben and Blake have found a significant advantage to planning our a full year at a time. [29:45]

Recommended Reading and Listening

My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem

Contact Links

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Calley is the owner of Fat Toad Farm located in Brookfield, Vermont. Fat Toad Farm is a family-run business that produces a Traditional Goat’s Milk Caramel Sauce. Their award-winning sauces are based on the Mexican confection cajeta, and are meticulously hand-stirred to velvety perfection.

Calley has spent the last nine years mastering the art of goat’s milk caramel making, focusing on traditional cooking methods and using a small number of simple, all-natural ingredients.

The result of this process is a rich and creamy, not-too-sweet caramel that delivers an irresistibly complex flavor.

Fat Toad Farm’s mouthwatering goat’s milk caramel sauces are delicious swirled on top of ice cream, mixed into your morning coffee, paired with your favorite cheese, drizzled on fresh fruit or eaten straight out of the jar with a spoon!

The Fat Toad Farm Story

The idea and development of Fat Toad Farm. [4:12]

What is behind their name. [6:00] [27:12]

Understanding the landscape and lifestyle in Brookfield. [7:47]

A lesson in caramel making. [10:00]

Winning Awards! [20:48]

The FedEx Video [22:13]

Candle Flickering Moments

The pros and cons of presenting an entirely new product. [27:53]

Pressure to decrease cook time and add preservatives [28:50]

Business Building Insights

The first phase of a business. [11:00]

Analyzing their product mix why ultimately the dropped goat cheese. [13:25]

Labeling and branding. [16:16]

Reaching out to experts in photography and food safety. [17:02]

Trade show strategy and analysis. [23:33]

Relationships are key. [26:06]

Honoring and committing to an upscale pricing strategy to match their product quality. [29:48]

Success Trait

Uncompromising commitment to product quality and attention to detail. [33:31]

Productivity/Lifestyle Tool

Calley has a serious commitment to quality of life for herself and all their employees. Hear about their 20 minute vacations. [35:50]

Recommended Reading and Listening

Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by Jake Knapp, John Zeratesky and Braden Kowitz

Contact Links

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Brigitte has a fine art and graphic design background and has been in the advertising industry for over twenty years. Astonishingly, within 12 years,

Fabscraps has grown from what started off as a small venture in a loft by 2 sisters, into the largest craft and fabric manufacturer in Africa.

Fabscraps factory employers are predominantly from the Kwa-zulu Natal region, and many are single parents.

Since 2005, Fabscraps has strived to transform the lives of many of these men and women by providing and mentoring career resilient work programs and assisting them in growing within the company.

Today, the Fabscraps collections are as vast and and varied as the people of their rainbow nation. As a result, the brand has become one of the most recognized in South Africa and across the globe.

The Fabscraps Story

What is Fabscraps? [5:23]

The idea started with her sister in their loft. [6:19]

Fabscraps mannequin display at Creativation 2017

Creating the initial collection. [8:52]

Candle Flickering Moments

Failure’s not an option! [14:06]

You would initially think selling out a collection wouldn’t be a problem. [19:30]

A ship carrying their leather albums sank! [24:44]

You have to hear this heartwarming story of what Brigitte’s factory workers did. [26:53]

Business Building Insights

Overcoming fear and what happens when you continually move forward. [11:11]

Learning what your customer wants and adding design twists. [13:07]

Product expansion comes easily when you listen to your customers. [16:01]

The value of changing our product. [18:58]

How to handle the inevitable problems that come up in your business. How to keep your sanity! [21:43]

Success Trait

Brigitte has a strong work ethic and knows also that taking time for family and friends is equally important. [29:49]

Recommended Reading and Listening

You Before Me by Lindsay Paige

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Sheila was laid off from her corporate job in 1992. So at the age of 42 she decided it was time to do what she loved – baking.

Sheila took a treasured family recipe for brownies and launched a little brownie business.

There were many ups and downs over the years, and it wasn’t until 2011 that all the hard work and sacrifices began to pay off.

That was when she created a product called Brownie Brittle.

By the end of that year, they had approximately 200,000 bags of Brownie Brittle on store shelves. Today they have over 30 million bags in stores nationwide as well as internationally.

The Brownie Brittle Story

First … a brownie business after being laid off from her corporate job. [4:54]

The Brownie Brittle idea was realized. [5:43]

The decision to focus solely on Brownie Brittle [7:01]

Sheila shares some financial stats from her big growth year. [16:40]

The cookbook – Butter and Chocolate. [17:48]

Candle Flickering Moments

The struggles of business development and how one major pivot was the answer. [21:17]

Business Building Insights

How Sheila landed the Walt Disney account in her first brownie business. [8:09]

Accepting and working through fulfilling a gigantic order. The next level of production. [11:38]

Getting visibility in box stores and sampling. [15:09]

Advice on getting into box stores. [22:57]

The value of testing your product first in a few stores. [23:48]

Surprise! Sheila found a lot of support from her peers. [25:33]

Success Trait

Being tenacious has helped Sheila drive through all the business development challenges. [26:39]

Productivity/Lifestyle Tool

Sheila divides projects into categories so she can prioritize what’s the most important. [28:16]

Recommended Reading and Listening

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

Sheila G’s Butter and Chocolate – 101 Creative Sweets and Treats Using Brownie Batter

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Wow! 100 episodes and almost two years have passed since the very first Gift Biz Unwrapped podcast went live … it doesn’t seem like that long!

I feel fortunate to have interviewed so many impressive business owners and service providers to our industry. Over time, the audience has become defined as people who are Gifters – Bakers – Crafters – Makers. People who create or sell handmade products and are in the process of, or already have started their own business out of their hobby or craft.

I have learned so much hosting Gift Biz Unwrapped. Actually I pick up something new from each and every interview I do. Thank you to all my past guests. You have helped me produce a show that is giving value and encouragement to many. I have a great lineup ahead too. So do keep listening!

At this milestone, I want to reflect on what’s been presented so far. I think you’ll find it interesting. I did.

3 Common Threads

From my time working trade shows with my business The Ribbon Print Company, and from the answers I get on the show, I have found three common questions and equally similar answers come up time and time again. These are questions that people struggle with as they consider starting their own business. And they are questions that people rethink during the inevitable times when they bump up against challenges as business owners.

I find it fascinating that the answers and solutions are repeated so frequently. Due to this, I put a lot of weight into their credibility and reliability.

I want to start a business but what should it be?

So many creators have the desire to start a money making venture on the side or to replace their full time job. But what should it be? As creators our love and talents may spread across a variety of areas. Here are three Identification Points of how our listeners have figured this out for themselves.

What did you love to do in the carefree days of your childhood?

Donna – Royalty Cookies

Ronda – Cocoa Cabana

What sparks a passion inside of you? What gets your heart beating a little faster?

Mike – Rwanda Bean

Tracy – Icing Smiles

Stacey – Shopping for a Change

Keep your eye out for a single event or moment that gives you the idea of a lifetime.

Claudia – Exclamations! Gifts

Bill – Cookies in a Snap

Amy – Marshmallow MBA

Cathy – Cathy Nolan Art

What do I actually do to get started?

This is another spot where people freeze. They have their idea but it continues to be in their mind and not in their reality. It’s because the idea of taking action becomes overwhelming. How do you actually start? What do you do first?

In each episode, I ask this question. The responses are similar but different. I do this for your benefit. Listen to these people and model their actions.

Kara – Kara’s Vineyard Wedding

Karyn – Little Pink Ladybug

Common success traits of small business owners

This is the honest truth. Not everyone is cut out to be a business owner. This is evidenced by how many businesses open shop online and then the site lays dormant. Or they open in a retail shop only to close within the first year. Do you have what it takes? Consider these traits.

Resourcefulness

Janet – Alden Kennels

Jen – Eby Farms

Teresa – Bear Creek Design

Determination

Tom – Squirrel Away Bird Cafe

Shelley – Luxe Bloom

Dr. Ray – Dr. Ray’s Toffee

Amy – Kuhfs

Love and Ease with People

Eileen – IYQ Tea Room

Lana – Make a Memory

Passion

Marlena – Love that Spice

Alex – Lifegarden Farm

My Conclusions

There are two important things that come out of all new business owners’ journeys.

Nobody knows for sure what their initial idea will morf into when they get started.

Johanna – Johanna Fritz

Cyrissa – Immerse Photography

Keeping your eyes open to new opportunities can result in something grand.

Jenny – Missouri Star Quilt Company

Lisa – Kitcheneez

Where Should You Go From Here?

If you are looking at starting and/or growing your business, here are my recommendations for success.

Take action

Listen to this show for ideas. Talk with other local business owners for advice. Join a local networking group. Google online for ideas and suggestions. Attend a conference and classes. There are so many ways to figure out your next steps. The point is … don’t just think … DO! If you’re super serious, check out my master class called Gift Biz Builder. It goes in depth step by step on how to start and grow your business. It’s truly a resource you can go back to time and again as you work on your business. If we’re not currently accepting new students, jump on the waiting list.

Change your mentality. Failures are directional guides for new learning and improvements.

Julie – Silk Thumb

Regina – RD Alchemy

Tim – Burton Maplewood Farm

When you hit an obstacle, push on.

These are the times when most people stop. If you push forward you are separating yourself from all the others and your road becomes less cluttered. Think of a running race and you are breaking away from the crowd because you’ve jumped over hurtle after hurtle. Others fall, slow down or quit. You continue with less competition and the finish line right ahead of you.

Continued learning is always important.

Even the most successful and profitable businesses continue to invest in education. Systems change, the world changes, to stay relevant you must adjust as well. What worked even 5 years ago doesn’t work as well today. You must keep up.

There you have it. What I think are some very poignent takeaways from the first 100 episodes of Gift Biz Unwrapped. I can’t wait to share more with you.

If you know someone who is thinking of starting a business or who has a great story to tell … maybe it’s you :o) please pass on the information about this show. It’s all about paying it forward!

Much success as your journey starts or continues.

Sue

Contact Links

12 Steps to Starting Your Own Business – FREE GUIDE

The Ribbon Print Company Website

Facebook – The Ribbon Print Company

Facebook – Gift Biz Unwrapped

Facebook Group – Gift Biz Breeze

Instagram – Gift Biz Brand

Instagram – Sue Monhait

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Hailing from the land of Paul Bunyan, wooded trees and lakes for miles, Tena’s big personality + aptly given nickname ‘Tena-talks-a-lot’ sent her searching for more.

After spending some time in the big city with a “big girl job” Tena quickly realized that the cubicle life wasn’t for her. With a little nudge from her husband she founded tena.cious, a social media + graphic design firm, and effectively launched herself as a brand with a career that makes room for all her passions.

Despite starting off as a company of one, Tena has built a team of amazing women who have supplied the resources + woman power for her to pursue a legacy outside of solely running a business. Tena is a social media expert and accomplished speaker + trainer on all things social. Her love of twitter, training and talking + her social rock-stardom has made her known for building connections both online and off.

Her experiences as a mom of three, business owner and leader within her communities makes her a strong advocate of customer focused, loyalty and relationship based sales. Tena believes in creating a strong brand presence for your business and with a heart as big as her personality, her raving fans + the size of her CLIQUE grows daily.

The Tena.cious Story

Tena knew she was meant to do more. [4:40]

Identifying the purpose and defining the need for the business. [5:37]

Getting started and deciding on a physical versus virtual team. [9:53]

Challenging the original idea, the core concept of Tena.cious. [14:05]

Onboarding a client. [23:09]

Candle Flickering Moments

Managing expectations and exactly what is the responsibility of a social media team. [20:43]

Business Building Insights

The first client. [12:26]

Two reasons why you should consider delegating your social media tasks. [15:30]

What is the trigger that tells you it’s time for you to make the switch? [17:10]

What to look for when your recruiting your social media team. [24:47]

How much you should expect to invest. [33:30]

Interruptions and their impact on your productivity. [39:09]

Success Trait

Tena is coachable and always willing to listen to others for advice and comments. [35:19]

Productivity/Lifestyle Tool

Slack – Messaging for teams

Basecamp – Project management system

Recommended Reading and Listening

 One Great Goal: A Guide for Entrepreneurs and Sales Professionals who are ready to live in service and on purpose … One Goal at a Time by Ursula Menches

Contact Links

Website

The Before Conference

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Alex is the owner and farmer of Lifegarden Farm.

He established Lifegarden Farm in 2013 with plans to grow some of the hottest peppers in the world right in the heart of Florida.

History has shown the health benefits of peppers and Alex wants to share them with all of us. Lifegarden Farm’s team nurtures these peppers with love and good intention and pays strict attention to detail in the natural growth and feeding of their crops.

Today, just three years later, they have created a variety of products including over ten specialty handpicked peppers, pepper powder, specialty salts, and pepper tincture.

Alex lives in Lakeland, FL with his four children, Isaac, Allanya, Azlan, and Amelia.

The Lifegarden Farm Story

Alex speaks of the integrity of his product. [5:22]

Alex’s passion came from a series of travels. [6:55]

How and why did Alex choose hot peppers? [8:34]

The opportunity he saw due to the abundance in nature. [12:36]

Candle Flickering Moments

His precious peppers were not selling when he tested them at the farmer’s market! [14:29]

What he did to turn this problem around. [15:44]

Business Building Insights

Can you speak with this much passion about your product? Alex describes his product. [16:50]

The love for a farmer’s market. [19:07]

A health lesson on the value of peppers. [23:52]

Miraculous feedback from two customers. [28:37]

Success Trait

Determination to service as a role model and provide for his family. And confidence. To say “I can” and find a way in every circumstance. [32:10]

Productivity/Lifestyle Tool

Taking 10-15 minutes each morning for “centering time”. [34:16]

Recommended Reading and Listening

Click the button to the left to get a FREE audio book on me!

How to Keep Well and Live Long by T.B. Terry

 

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Mike was born in Rwanda and immigrated to the United States in 2010 where he launched his business.

Rwanda Bean Company supplies specialty coffee products in the U.S. and abroad. In turn, it supports coffee producers by investing profits back to the farms.

The company began as an importer of raw coffee, and has recently started selling its own private label, roasted coffee products to wholesale and retail customers in Maine.

Aside from running the business, Mike is studying for an MBA and enjoys playing soccer, running, and Maine’s microbrews!

The Rwanda Bean Company Story

What Mike discovered when he moved to the United States. [4:21]

Why farmers aren’t seeing a lot of the benefits of coffee bean export. [7:39]

Research was the first step. [8:30]

The objective of Rwanda Bean Company. [9:12]

The first shipment of beans and why Mike decided to roast himself. [18:50]

Why Rwanda coffee beans are so good. This is a point of differentiation for them. [23:02]

Coffee ratings for quality levels. [25:41]

The Maine Start Up Experience

Mike describes the Maine Start Up experience. [14:29]

Being selected in the final 10 and then winning! [17:20]

Business Building Insights

Overcoming doubts as you’re challenged to grow a business. [10:21]

The power of sharing your story. [13:18]

A bonus tip on how non-buyers can still help you. [20:56]

Success Trait

Gaining support from his business partner and the trust and support of the farmers back in Rwanda is what drives Mike to continue on in pursuit of the mission. [28:39]

Recommended Reading and Listening

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

 

Contact Links

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Bear Creek runs through the pasture of Jeff and Teresa Perleberg’s property in North Dakota.

They raise sheep, cattle and chickens.

It’s the sheep from her property that provide the wool for Teresa’s business, Bear Creek Design and Felting.

Teresa has been selling her one of a kind needle felted art online since 2006. Two years later she opened her Etsy shop.

As her business continues to evolve, Teresa has designed several beginner and advanced needle felting kits so others can learn her techniques and enjoy the craft as well.

The Bear Creek Design and Felting Story

A product description. [4:00]

Teresa gives the basics of how a sculpture is made. [5:10]

All about the live birthday lamb. [6:00]

The start of teaching classes and then kits. [8:51] and [25:29] and [26:20]

Email communication for customer retention. [22:23]

Candle Flickering Moments

A discussion about trying to do everything yourself. [15:33]

A classroom challenge and what she’d do different next time. [27:11]

Business Building Insights

Providing proof of concept [7:47]

Selling online – Ebay versus Etsy [18:29]

Online video classes. [11:40]

Considering virtual assistants. [17:00]

Etsy promotion through Google Ads. [19:12]

What about trade shows? [20:50]

Success Trait

Teresa’s determination to reach her goals has been key to building her business. [28:50]

Productivity/Lifestyle Tool

Ultimate WordPress Help [12:17]

The Bullet Journal  [29:32]

Recommended Reading and Listening

Virtual Freedom by Chris Ducker

The Total Money Makeover by Thomas Nelson

 

 

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Etsy