177: "Have a little bit of 'you time,' and focus on yourself instead of just being all business." Tracey S. Richburg's Creative Journey of Planning, Preparing, and Pivoting

Jen Amos 0:01

Awesome. So give me one second here. Okay, cool. All right. And with that said, I am so excited to introduce Tracy Richburg to hold now the Fords by us bet wealth. And the Rosie network. Tracy, welcome to a whole nother forte.

Unknown Speaker 0:17

Thank you. Thank you for having me. It's nice seeing you again.

Jen Amos 0:20

Yeah, yes. And I have to say, Third time's a charm to get on your calendar. Right. Okay, it's

Unknown Speaker 0:28

happened in the last couple of weeks. But

Jen Amos 0:30

oh, I I believe you I believe you it's, it actually blows my mind that at the time we're recording it's August and July was a jam packed month for me like I it already feels like it's a lifetime ago because of how eventful it was. So I hear you.

Speaker 1 0:50

I totally understand it was like this, the winter and spring went really slow. And it was like summer was just like, bam, bam, bam. And now it's like, get ready to go in the fall already. So

Jen Amos 1:01

I know it's so crazy, which at the time of this recording, or this time that this gets published, it'll be fall, which means when this comes out, it'll, I'm going to freak out because I'd be like, Wow, it's already this episodes out. So I'm gonna say that now, right? So that when it comes out, I'm gonna hear this and remember this conversation, but all right, Tracy. Well, what I want to do first is to warm us up is to ask you a icebreaker question a light hearted icebreaker question. So I have four I have four cards here and I just want you to pick from a number between one and four. What your question will be number two, two. Okay, so two is all right. Here's a very easy question. Are you a coffee or a tea person? And explain t okay, and explain yourself? Why not coffee?

Speaker 1 1:50

I don't know. It's like my mom drinks tea. My mom drinks coffee. My kids drink my dad. Everyone drinks coffee. I don't. I don't know. It's just, I don't even really like the smell of coffee. Like I'll go into Starbucks to get like a like a milkshake or Frappuccino, whatever it's called. And then I smell like coffee for the rest of the day. And I'm like, good. Yeah, I don't know somebody. I was doing a class and somebody wanted to meet up at Starbucks. And I was like,

Jen Amos 2:19

No. I feel like Starbucks is like fast food restaurants in a sense, where if you're in there for too long, you walk out smelling like it.

Unknown Speaker 2:29

Yeah, do you?

Jen Amos 2:32

Yeah. And for like coffee lovers. They love it. But like for everyone else, like you're saying, like, I got tea, and I walked out smelling like coffee.

Speaker 1 2:39

Right? Right. Like my daughter. She'll drink iced coffee and vanilla, mocha. Whatever. I'm like, I don't get just give me a tea, a little bit of sugar.

Jen Amos 2:50

We'll see that. That's good. I mean, I'm, I'm generally more of a coffee person. But he actually right now I'm drinking. I'm drinking tea just because it's good. I know the benefits of it. Like it's good for my voice. And there's just more nutritional value. I heard at least from drinking tea versus coffee. So I get it. And at the same time coffee, it's like this weird addiction that my husband and I have and especially now that like we add milk in our coffee at home, and I've recently learned how to froth milk. And now it's like now it's this bad addiction of like, I'm only drinking coffee just so I could froth the milk. Like I didn't even know what frothing meant until my husband bought the frothing machine to me, you know, like the milk fluffy. And I was like this it's just fun doing that. But anyway, I'm I digress. We're talking about tea here. I do love tea. I especially love like lemon and lavender flavor. And then I like to like add honey sometimes if I if I really need it, like fried throat so yeah, but I

Speaker 1 3:57

got my daughter my daughter one year she got me for Christmas. I think it was it was like everything caramel like caramel candy, calm mood lotion, caramel, whatever. And she had got me some caramel tea. Oh, that is like the absolute best tea I have ever had. And I love that. Just that tea. But yeah, whenever I see I've never heard of that. Yeah, and I forget I forget what the name of it is. But she works at target so I'm sure it was

Jen Amos 4:29

like that. Yeah. So my question for you is do you add milk to your tea or not?

Speaker 1 4:34

No, no, I don't just regular sometimes lemon sugar sometimes honey, but that's about it. I'm just the plain Yeah, tea person. My aunt. She made me tea one time and it had milk in and I was like what is this?

Jen Amos 4:53

Yeah, it's so crazy because I'm not like that either. I mean milk for coffee to me make sense? But right I guess I guess cuz that's how the British do it. The British do it with like, you know, can tea or milk and, you know, block a sugar. Right, right, right. Right, right. I think I've only tried it once. And I just, you know, I just haven't done it since I

Speaker 1 5:13

tried it. I've tried it one, and I did not like it. Not only did I finished it, I think I might have spilled it and been like, oh my gosh, I spilled the tea.

Jen Amos 5:22

Or like, oh, boy, I'm so clumsy.

Unknown Speaker 5:24

I did have to drink it.

Jen Amos 5:26

There you go. I won't tell anyone that that was actually on purpose. Well, this was

Unknown Speaker 5:29

a long, long time ago. But yeah, yeah.

Jen Amos 5:32

I love it. Love it. Well, thanks, Tracy for indulging me in that question. And I learned so much about tea today. Like I didn't even know about Carmel tea. So yeah, I feel like I'm gonna look into that now. I was actually actually the last thing I'll mention as the other day, I was trying to find a substitute for coffee. And I looked into like coffee flavored teas. And it turns out they exist. I don't know if they taste good, but they exist. Yeah, just letting you know, it's out there. It's on Amazon. I haven't ordered it yet. But I hope maybe by the time of this recording comes out. I might give a commentary on it. I don't know yet. We'll find out. I will keep you posted. Posted please. Yes. Yes, ma'am. All right. Well, Tracy I'm so excited to be chatting with you today and to you know, reconnect after a couple of weeks and talk about your business and you know, what you do and, and, and all the fun things that you get to enjoy in that office of yours. But why don't we go ahead and for listeners that are getting to know you for the first time. For our listeners that are getting to know you for the first time. I give us a quick snapshot of you know, what your what your business life looks like.

Speaker 1 6:40

Usually during the week, well, first of all, my business name is resonate art Savannah, and I do resident ornaments, cutting boards, wall hangings, clocks, just just different things. If I see something, I'm going to try to recreate it or I I do like the ocean design. Wow. And I've also done this is a clock I'm working on so it's not complete

Jen Amos 7:11

clocks. That is that almost looks like a plate like how clear it is.

Speaker 1 7:15

Yeah, it's like all shiny and yep, so it has some sanding to do on the back. And then little ring dishes or, you know, yeah, just things that I different things that I think of are feisty. Or, you know, I get ideas, and I'm gonna I'm gonna try anything. You know, I'll try it once. If it doesn't work, then you know, it never happened. But you know, um, but basically, for me, like, just business life, you know, during the week, say like Monday through Thursday, I'm in my office here. Creating, yeah, building an inventory. And then like, during the week, if there's, you know, a few stores, I need to restock. I'll do that during the week. And then usually Friday, Saturdays and Sundays, I'm either doing events, or you know, and that'll be like, either the three day weekend or Saturday, Sunday. But that's basically what I do.

Jen Amos 8:18

What a lifestyle. So I imagine that let's say for example, I go to the farmers market, or, you know, I go to like just a local trade show, like on the street or whatever, you're one of those people that has a booth and has all of your arts and crafts out,

Speaker 1 8:33

I'll have my tip set up my tables. And you know, there's one event that I do, and sometimes I'm there to, you know, 10 o'clock in the morning to nine o'clock at night. So that's a full day. And that's like three days. And there's another one that I do that's usually like, you know, maybe 10 o'clock in the morning to six o'clock at night. So I mean, it makes for a long weekend. But you know, I love being out there. I love, you know, talking to people about what I do people, you know, they'll ask me questions, you know, how do you do this? And how do you do that? And I just like talking to people in you know, and then I mean, I occasionally I get those emails back, where people will buy like a clock or buy something and they'll show me where they hung it and everything and it makes me feel good.

Jen Amos 9:20

I love that. You know, it sounds to me, Tracy that you have a good balance of alone time or like introvert time and extrovert time, like you like I imagine it's I mean, I imagine that a lot of people visit you in your office but like when you go out to the trade shows and the vendor plays vendor events, it's like, you could talk to people for hours and, and I I personally find that to be a skill set, like not everyone can be an ambivert can do both, like some people just prefer to be in front of a computer or kind of keep to themselves and then there's ones who are highly, highly sociable. So I have to say that it is amazing that you have that balance with alone time and and extraversion.

Speaker 1 9:58

I had to like learn are, you know, talking to people because I would, I guess, basically I've just been one to beat him myself, you know, if I'm in that zone, I'm in that zone, and, you know, but be, I guess, being out there and putting myself out there, I just had to learn to, you know, to open up and, you know, I mean, sometimes you go to, you know, different foods or something, and, you know, you kind of get that vibe that maybe the person is not maybe that friendly, or I mean, that, you know, and then you just don't want to interact with that person. But you know, it really helps to engage that person to ask them a question, you know, hey, where are you traveling from? You know, yeah, and then they start talking. And, you know, and a lot of times, they just, I mean, I've had people say, you know, I wasn't gonna buy anything, but you know, you talk this up, and I'm gonna get it. So it just helps to, to engage with the customers just to be there, you know, ask them questions, ask them about them. Because it's not always about what you have to sell. Sometimes just asking them a question about themselves. You know, it's beneficial.

Jen Amos: 11:12

Yeah, yeah. You know, I like that. Because sometimes, even though if I'm out at one of these events, and I'm, like, like, I want to be there, but I'm also like, antisocial. And, you know, it's like, I want to like, watch, I want to look at the booths from afar kind of thing, right? But it's nice to know that, like, vendors, such as yourself, it's like, you're you're focusing on just at the very minimum, just getting to know people, you know, and you're not trying to hard sell, you know, I mean, obviously, that's, to an extent, there's a part of that, but like, for the most part, it sounds like you really just enjoy being out and about and more importantly, you know, you find that you find fulfillment and gratification when people buy your stuff and send you pictures later say, hey, well look where I posted this clock. And I think that's wonderful,

: 11:55

right? It's like a fine line between trying to sell something and then actually engaging the customer in a way where you're not like to pushing your stuff on them. Like I've been to other events in people where they might just be like, sell, sell, sell when I'm just like, it's just like a turn off. Like, I don't even want it now.

Jen Amos: 12:19

But yeah, but you know, seriously, yeah, I think

: 12:22

I when I talk to someone, and you know, and I asked them where they're from, and how long they're here, I generally want to know,

Jen Amos: 12:29

yeah, well, that's wonderful. I think, I think that's great to have like a genuine interest in people. And at the very minimum, it's a way to like exercise your social muscle. And when you are in a in a, when you are in a position to sell it to me, it sounds like it doesn't come off as salesy, because like you already know, it's about educate, like getting to know the customer and educating them on your things and sharing your story about why you made the products to the point where they they sell themselves.

: 13:02

Right, right, right. Yep. And I have I have like, repeat customers that will be like, you know, I saw you last year. Oh, such and I just had to get more stuff. And I'm like, you know that? I mean, it feels good that you know, people number one, they recognize you? Yeah, number two, they're just repeat customers. And they search you out? I guess, you know,

Jen Amos: 13:24

yeah, yeah. That's wonderful. Well, I mean, it's, that's a testament to the quality of your work, and also your customer service, because they value what you do. And they value you as a person that they want to seek you out and want to support a creative such as yourself. And I think that, you know, I think that's beautiful. And clearly, you know, your face is lighting up just talking about kind of a day in the life of Tracy and Ryan just makes me sad. It just makes me happy to see that. Well, good. Yeah, it shows, it shows. I hope our listeners can hear it. And anyone that joins us via YouTube, we'll we'll see. We'll see your energy and excitement for what you do. And, you know, it's interesting, because when we were talking offline, I know that this was not your first business, right? Like in fact, in fact, this kind of came on accident. So tell us a little bit about that story of how you fell into this into your second business.

: 14:20

How I got started was I was doing another business and this was back in 2008. Teen and I was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Jen Amos: 14:33

Oh my goodness try.

: 14:35

I did the you know the treatments and everything and kind of like while you're recovering. You know, I kind of I'm a busy body I like to do I have to be doing something you know, I'm watching videos and I'm seeing this resin on Instagram and I was like that looks kind of interesting to do. There was a Art Center here You're locally and they were doing a class. So I signed up and I took the class, you know, I made my first cutting board, and it was absolutely awful. So I was like, What am I gonna do with this? So, and that was right before 20, you know, COVID and everything locked down. So I was at home, and I had some free time. So you can order my resin or my molds and just, you know, started working. And, you know, I was basically making things for myself, I had a few friends and they were like, you know, can you make me this? Can you make me this? And I was like, Ooh, people are buying these things. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So at that time, you know, I still had the other business. And I was with the Rosie network going through their program. And we had just started in I told you, Beth, I said, you know, I don't know if I should continue, because I don't have this other business anymore. Yeah. And, you know, she kind of, kind of encouraged me, she was like, Well, you know, you can make up a business, and maybe it's a business you might want in the future. I mean, it'll help you with that, you know, and I was like, Well, I am doing this resin. I said, maybe I could make that a legitimate business, you know, I had never thought about going in, you know, jumping in with both feet, to do that as my business. But I said, you know, I think, let's see if I can make this work. So, you know, I went through the program, started over with, you know, did everything over again, that I had did with my other business, but you know, put this business in to the scenario that we were working with. And by the time I got out, or the pilot, by the time, you know, we had graduated from that, you know, I had, you know, slide decks done, I was working out getting my licenses and my insurance, and it was kind of like a jumpstart, were something that might have taken me months to get into, it was kind of like that push in that encouragement that I needed to get me focused on, you know, number one, having something to do having something that was fulfilling for my life, and a way to have this business that was actually making a little bit of money.

Jen Amos: 17:28

Wow, that's, I think that's so awesome. How, you know, it was your first business that was was the reason why you joined only for, for only for that to not work out, but you had this little little hobby on the side really cheap, I could turn it into something. And now who you are, you know, doing like three day weekend events, you know, working for 12 plus hours and having recurring clients, I mean, amazing, amazing to see. So, so much has changed in just the last couple of years since you started.

: 18:02

Right? And you know, and it's not just doing the events, like there are a number of stores locally that I sell my items into. So I just picked up another one, probably two months ago. So it's just wow. It's it's encouraging. And that's kind of what keeps me going, you know, outside of the events, like I decided to take most of August off, because after being in the sun in July in June, it takes so much out of you. And I was like I just need to relax for a little bit before we go into the fall in the Christmas season. And then that'll give me a chance, actually, the next two months, August and September to just kind of take it easy build up my inventory. So I have enough. So then when it comes around to what I'm doing, every weekend, I've had something planned every weekend, then I'm not so much rushing during the week to get my store stocked in sending out orders. And

Unknown Speaker: 19:02

you know, just I don't know, I'm in my regrouping time right now.

Jen Amos: 19:08

Oh, good. Good. Yeah. Well, I'm glad I'm glad to capture you at this time to Yeah, like share, you know, for you to slow down and actually reflect on your journey and, and I commend you for deciding to take a month off. You're like, you know what, summer has been brutal. And it takes a lot out of me and I want to restock. You know, fall season is a whole other season. So August is gonna be my month. Right. I also think that August is typically the hottest month of the year anyway, I feel like places. So I think that was smart of you to just, you know, stay in.

: 19:41

Yeah, I was telling someone I was like, you know, I'm just talking about my schedule. And I was like, well, this weekend I have this next week. I have this two weekends. And I was like, every weekend I had so hollowing and I was like, you know, and they said to me, they were like, You need to slow down you're gonna get sick and I thought about it. And I was like, You know what I've said, I have been going extra hard this whole, you know, spring and summer, I was like, I really need to take some time off because I don't want to be in that position where I can't do it. Yeah, yeah, you know, and then stuff gets backed up. And, you know, so if I'm not making stuff, I don't have stuff to sell. So, yeah, you know, I just didn't want to be in that position. So taking that, that time off to kind of regroup and kind of think about where I want to go. And, you know, just kind of playing a few things out, I think you just need to stop and think instead of just work, work, work, work. Full steam ahead all the time, just taking that time off to have a little bit of you time, have a little bit of you know, just I don't know, just to focus on yourself, I guess, instead of just being all business, I guess. Yeah,

Jen Amos: 20:57

absolutely. Yeah, I think if there's anything I've noticed in a number of the entrepreneurs I've interviewed on the show so far is the importance of knowing when to take a break. And, and recognizing that that is your privilege as an entrepreneur is that you can do that, you know, you can work hard, you can also rest. And I really like how you're giving yourself a month to just regroup, re energize, restock, and all the things because, you know, there, there are people who are led to believe that you have to go 100% All the time. And it does come back to you later down the line, like you think you think you're going fast. And then one, like you said, One day, you're, you're really sick or something throws you off, and you can't work for a while. And I think it's great for you to be proactive on that.

: 21:46

Yeah, and even though I'm taking the next two months off, I'm still working. But just it's not. Right, right. Right, right.

Jen Amos: 21:57

Yeah, well, I think that's very, like, I think that's amazing how you've been able to develop a book of business for yourself, you know, not just these are events that you go to, but also, like, it sounds like brick and mortar businesses that like to order your products. And I'm curious, like, what that process was like, for you? Like, how are you? How are you able to, you know, find these vendors? Was it word of mouth? Or did you pitch to them? Like, I'm curious what that process was like for you to develop those relationships.

: 22:27

A few of them, I have reached out to or, you know, other people who are creatives that, you know, they might say, hey, you know, this place here, you know, they take you know, consignments or, you know, they do this, or they do that, and I've reached out to them to say, Hey, this is what I have, this is what I can offer. And you know, sometimes they have rooms, sometimes they don't, I mean, I've gotten into a few places like that. Sometimes I'll do events and other vendors, they might have stores. So they asked, you know, if you wanted to bring some of your stuff in, I've had people reach out to me, from what they seen on like, my social media or just by word of mouth. So, you know, when I have someone that comes to me and say, hey, you know, I've seen your stuff, or, you know, I've had people when I'm down doing events, and they'll come up to me, you know, I have this store here. And, you know, do you wholesale, or, you know, and I was like Sure do. Not just so it's not you know, doing the events, it's not just about you know, selling, you know, to customers, it's actually selling the other businesses sometimes, too.

Jen Amos: 23:38

Yeah. That's amazing. So it's, it's very, it's a combination of did I lose you or think I lost your video? Can you hear me?

Okay, all good. All. We're editing this. Yeah. So I was saying that it's, it sounds like it's a combination of, of like doing the actual outreach, I mean, it's combination of a number of things like showing up to the vendor events to, you know, word of mouth, to actually, you know, hitting the pavement and, you know, reaching out to these businesses and offering, you know, your your work. And so I like how you that diversify the way that you build your book of business?

: 24:28

Yes, yes. Yes. Yeah. You know, I say, you know, and I tell other vendors, like, there was someone that was just starting out, and they were like, well, how do you find out about these events? And I was like, Girl, a lot of times I find out about them, and it's too late for this year. So I have like a two year calendar and I'll mark it on my calendar for next year. To be on the lookout for when vendor opportunities open For the next year, if I missed it for this previous year, I said, when I do events, I tried to ask people, you know, are there any events that you'd like to do? or what have you done lately? And that kind of gives you a lead? Because, you know, a lot of times you don't know what you don't know. But you have to, like, ask around, ask other people. You know, I've found events just on like Facebook, like local Facebook. And it's, you know, like, the same way I was saying about, you know, getting your items into stores and shops, just, you know, talking to other people in looking up gift shops are looking up, you know, local art and reaching out to them to see if they do take consignment or if they do take local, local items and stuff like that, you know, sometimes they say no, sometimes you'll be surprised. And they might say, yeah, and then, you know,

Jen Amos: 25:52

then, yeah, you're good to go. Yeah, yeah. No, that that makes a lot of sense. And I like, you know, giving yourself that ability to like, or be, be be proactive and keep your options open and cast that wide net in a sense. Right. Right. Right, right. Yeah. Let me pause real quick because I hear I hear a scratchiness in your audio. So I think after the call, can I wonder if it's okay to do this? Can you refresh the page? On your phone? So hopefully, I'm not messing this up for both of us. But let's see if you can just like refresh it. And maybe that'll that'll help.

All right.

: 26:57

Is that better? It sounds better on my end. Yes.

Jen Amos: 27:00

Yeah. Okay, good. And it's still recording. So that totally worked out. Okay. Sure. As you see, this is good for me to know, in the future when I have tech issues like that. So Billy noted,

: 27:11

because I was when we first started, I was like, nobody called nobody called nobody.

Jen Amos: 27:17

Hey, it's all good. And then if it happens again, then if I hear it, now we know what to do. So this is, like, I always like I always don't mind technical issues, because then it helps me like, No, you know, I just I learned nothing. So I just want to make sure that you don't hear it after the fact you're like, oh, no, I sound really choppy. And I wouldn't want to do that to you. So anyway, so thinking,

: 27:38

I kind of heard started sounding like really low. And I was like, I don't know if it's just me or but yeah,

Jen Amos: 27:44

yeah. Yeah. And we'll see, because the good thing about this program is that it downloads files directly from your your device. So supposedly, it makes the audio quality better. So we'll find out we'll see how that plays out. But anyway, let's go ahead and let's go ahead and hop back in. And, okay, so the last thing we left off was about, like casting a wide net for your clientele and being proactive about that. And, and you're talking a little bit, or we're talking a little bit, or we were talking earlier on about how it was truly like the Rosie network that if it wasn't for a shout out to Eva, you know, if it wasn't for her telling you to stick with the program, you wouldn't have come out with this business. And I'm just curious, going back to that experience with the Rosie network. Is there anything else from that experience that you took away that you you feel like is worth sharing to our listeners?

: 28:38

The one thing that the biggest thing for me is just learning that ability to just pivot. Like, you know, something happens, just that quick thinking to find a solution or just to find a different way to go in the direction that you want to go. Yeah, you know, and I had about a week to like, figure out like, you know, man, should I just drop out or should I, you know, so I sent her an email, I explained, I explained the situation to her. Yeah. And I broke it down. And she was like, no, no, you don't have to drop. Stan. Yeah. She was like, you're here. We've already started. You're not going anywhere, basically. So yeah, I really, I'm really thankful for that. Because, you know, being that, you know, when I was in the military, I was a medical lab technician. So I was in that medical field. And then the other business I had was like food and beverage, and this whole art thing was just totally new to me. And I had no idea how to go about it. I mean, I didn't know there was a lot that I didn't know Oh, that while through working with the rosy network and just going through the program and researching how to do it and how to go about it that, you know, I'm thankful for that little push, and I'm thankful for them wanting me to stay? Yeah, um, that kind of, you know, turned up the fire. Yeah, kind of got me going, because I think I was kind of like in a slump for a quick minute. And I was like, you know, you got to get out of this. And you just got to do what you got to do.

Jen Amos: 30:35

So, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, I commend you for persevering because I think in your situation, most people would say, Oh, well, my business didn't work out, you know, thanks for the opportunity. But, you know, I'm out. And, you know, special shout out to you, Beth, and the Rosie network, of course, for like, No, we already locked the doors and throw away the key like, you're, you're

Unknown Speaker: 30:56

over. Right, right. Right.

Jen Amos: 30:58

You know, I didn't go like that. But I, the point is that they they insisted, and it sounds like, it sounds like you're very glad that they did because you weren't like, it is kind of like, I mean, do you ever have those moments where like, man I used to serve in the military, like military and art didn't really go hand in hand. You know, like, people wouldn't think I feel like the average person wouldn't look at you and think, Well, how many years did you serve in the military? You know, like, I would have no idea.

: 31:25

I mean, nothing. I mean, there was, you know, I guess, all through my life, you know, I would go to different craft events, and I would see things. And I would, I would kind of like break it down. And I might go home and make a few, maybe one for my mom, one for me, one for somebody else, or something like that, but I never thought about making it what I do. You know, it was just something that was always like, a hobby for me something to, you know, just to take up time. And, you know, back to when I first started, I ended up taking the class for resin as a way because, you know, like, I was going through radiation treatments. So it was just that way of, you know, partial relaxation. And I think I was having like some memory issues and some cognitive issues and things like that. And while I was working with a resin, I might have a problem. And then I'd have to think fast because, you know, once I mixed up the resin, I have like 20 to 30 minutes to work with it before it said, so if there was an issue, like, Okay, how do I get this to work? Or how do I get that to work? It was like, helping me with my quick thinking, Yeah, my problem solving. And I think that's kind of what kind of kept me going with it. Because, you know, as I'm, you know, working with it and learning about it. And, you know, the little do's and don'ts about it, it kind of helped me all around with like memory and problem solving, like, you know, I'll tell you the story. Um, so last two weekends ago, we were doing an outside event, and it's one of those events where you leave your tents and everything overnight. So, it was a Friday night storm came through, you know, Saturday morning, we were getting ready to go and the one guy sent a picture of my tent and it was like, totally

Jen Amos: 33:28

destroyed. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, I

: 33:30

was like, okay, my stuff and then you know, that thing. I mean, I could have totally freaked out, but I didn't because I knew what happens. But then on the other side, I'm thinking okay, you know, when you get that thinking that comes Okay, let me take this, I might need this. Let me take this extra 10 Let me take this let me take some extra stock. It just allow I think I've gotten better at pre planning. I'm making sure I have like all the supplies that I need. And just that thinking ahead and kind of thinking of what I might need before I might need it. Yeah, so I think it was it was kind of like a self therapy for me. Because it's because a lot could go wrong working with this and trust me.

Jen Amos: 34:22

I believe you

: 34:25

just being a I guess just being able to anticipate problems and having a plan already worked out in advance in case that happens. Yeah, you know, just a lot of quick thinking and I think you know, I I am glad that I got into working with the resin because if I don't know, you know, my outcome with my health might have been a little bit different. If I hadn't I you know, and I'm just I'm thankful for that you know, and people You know, I have like a little bio card. I have my story on there. And everyone's like, you know where you are right now. And I'm like, I'm great. I'm wonderful. You know, that's amazing.

Jen Amos: 35:09

Resin has given me life. Yes, the answer is resin. Right? The cure to life is resin.

: 35:18

Right, right. Yeah, yeah. And I mean, I tell you know, people ask me, and, you know, I've had another customer. And this was a couple of weeks ago with, you know, I always put my card in with myself. And maybe like, an hour or two later, she came up to me, and she was talking to me, and she's like, I had the same tumor. And you were just talking about, you know, we were talking. So it was just, you know, another connection I had with the customer. So,

Jen Amos: 35:46

yeah, I also, I really like how you share your story, you know, you share what you went through, I think that I think that's what really helps with a, like a business's overall brand, especially an independent person, such as yourself to say, Hey, this is my personal story. And this is why I do what I do. You know, like, this is very therapeutic for me, you know, not just keeping my hands busy, but also my mind and then the gratification of, of other people enjoying what I made.

: 36:19

Yeah, I mean, you know, a lot of I mean, I tend to gravitate towards businesses with a backstory. Yeah, with it with an interesting backstory, I guess what I'm trying to say, you know, and, and I think when, like, even when I first started, you know, and I'm trying to do a certain technique, and you can't find anywhere where anybody says, Hey, this is how this is done, you know, they'll show it to you in a quick 15 second video, but you're like, Well, how's that done? So, you know, people spin, me personally, have spent a lot of money trying to do a certain thing. And finally, after about a year, I stumbled upon the secret, and I'm like, why couldn't somebody just tell me that like, hundreds of dollars. That's why when, you know, people, if somebody might be starting out, and they might ask me a question, you know, how do you do this? And how do you do that? I'm like, you know, I tell them, This is how I do it, you know? Yeah. Because I'm like, Hey, I'm just trying to save you some money and months of frustration. This is how it Yeah.

Jen Amos: 37:31

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Well, I think that's wonderful. And, you know, sometimes it's those expensive lessons that stick with us, you know, and, and it's, it's great that you want to impart that wisdom to other people who want to do something similar to you. And so either way, either way, like I hear to me, what I'm hearing from you is that you really enjoy keeping your hands busy and your mind busy. You know, it's like, this is just a way to stay on your feet, or Yeah, think think on your feet and pivot. And to not to not fold. If something as you know, sporadic as your tents going down, because of a story to hold you back. Like, it just seems like you are very present and adaptive in your life. And you get a lot of joy out of doing what you do.

: 38:27

I do I do. And one thing about the whole storm thing is, you know, there was probably four other people or five other people whose tents were just kind of crushed. And it, it was kind of inspiring to me that they were just like, I'll just go to Sam's and get another tip. And I'll be right back.

Jen Amos: 38:46

Yeah.

: 38:49

And we were all set up that day again. And I was like, you know, this is amazing that we're just used to this. And we know this could happen. And here we are back at it again. Yeah, you know, we're either very determined, or very crazy what?

Jen Amos: 39:05

I do both.

Unknown Speaker: 39:07

But I think it's a little bit of both, but yeah,

Jen Amos: 39:10

yeah. Well, I love hearing those stories. Because I think that being self employed, and in your case, like a creative, it's not for the faint of hearts, you know, and, and it's like, but if you're in it enough, like you learn to take things like that circumstances like that, the way the way that I describe it with my husband, my husband actually taught me to look at it this way. So I don't get so emotional. So it's alright, I know how to, I know how to rechannel my emotions better now. But the way that I reframe circumstances is I say, Oh, we have new information. You know, like we have new information. Let's figure out how do we tie this into our original plan? Because our plan is officially changing as of right now.

Unknown Speaker: 39:54

Right and that's, that's good. Yeah, it's just

Jen Amos: 39:57

like going going through the motions like rather than be like, Oh, no. Oh, my plan has failed. It's all over. I'm a failure. Like, it's more like, Okay, we got new information or like, in this case, okay, I'm just gonna go get a new 10 I'll be back, it will continue. I just, I love, I love that attitude, because it's very much like, you're just being present, like you just being present also, like, like you're mentioning earlier, it's like, these things can happen. And it's good to be proactive, it's good to prepare. It's kind of like, you know, this will probably have been edited out by now. But we had a technical issue here for a second. And in the moment, we're able to figure it out. And it's good to have those curveballs being thrown our way. Because it just makes it it just makes us better, you know, to adapt and makes us more present, and do what we really want to do, which is make our customers happy.

: 40:42

Right? Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.

Jen Amos: 40:47

Yeah. Yes. So, so Tracy, I know that when one thing we talked about offline, is that you are a self funded business or especially when you started, you were self funded. But you know, years have gone by, and clearly you keep yourself busy to the point where you are allowing yourself to not go to outdoor events for the next few months. So you can, you know, rejuvenate, restock, and all the things. And so I'm curious for you now, you know, looking at your life today, what is what does sustainability you know, look like for you and your business?

: 41:20

Um, I guess kind of pacing myself with, you know, events and having that ability to have some savings set aside. Outside of that. I would probably say, I forgot the question.

Jen Amos: 41:45

All good. All good. All good. edited. Basically, the question is about sustainability. So in this case, you were kind of answering, like, what does it look for you like financially, for example, like how do you sustain financial stability, for example, and then you're getting into how you are pacing yourself and having savings?

: 42:03

Okay, um, I think one thing about it is just pacing myself with events. And, you know, putting a little bit aside for savings like doing the first part of the year, I was planning like back in November, December, planning out all my events for 2023. And setting a goal for the month. And, you know, and with that goal of how much I wanted to make, I'd also have to keep an account, how much it would cost me to go to these events, how much inventory I would need. I actually started started off by I don't know, I kind of just jump right in. And then I had a business and I guess I was just learning as I went when I first started, you know, yeah, I have, you know, I made this much. Okay, it cost me this much. Let me set this aside. Because I know I have other events coming up. And I know, I'll have to pay for my entrance fee for that. Or if I know, I want to make so many clocks or so many boards, just knowing how much I'll need to make for them. But I think I am in my going into my fourth year. And it's just been a matter of saving for me. Yeah, you know, trying to anticipate how much I'll need or how much inventory I'll need for the month, how much inventory I'll need for the stores and events and things like that, and kind of just planning, you know, right now. When I if I have a very good month, I might order ahead order a lot ahead. And then like right now you can't see it, but outside my door, I have all these boxes stacked up, just waiting, waiting for me to get to but you know, that's, you know, that's an expense I won't have to worry about for the next couple of months, because I have, you know, items that I need to make and get to but I haven't yet but I have them here. Yeah. So I guess you know, just that savings. And I think one thing, like I use square for my business, and they have an auction, like an auto saving type thing. And I've gotten into the habit ever since like last year of setting aside, like 35% of all sales. So I don't even see it. It just goes into the savings account. You know, when I check it, I was like, Well, you know, I have this amount that's saved in there. So it I think that helped me because if I had to do it on my own, I might not have done it.

Jen Amos: 44:42

Oh, yeah. Yeah, I need to sign up for that.

: 44:45

Yeah, it's just it's I like the options where I don't even see it where it's going, you know, I'll see what I have available. And this whole savings thing is out of the way and I don't even have to check it until Yeah, I have until like tax time, or if I have like vendor events that the price your was or something like that, but I just kind of leave it alone.

Jen Amos: 45:08

So yeah, what a pleasant surprise. It's like finding money in your pocket, you're like,

: 45:12

ooh, right, right, right, then I don't even check it, but it's there. And I know it's there, when I need it, it's there. But as for what I'm doing now is just the savings and planning ahead. And, you know, like, even in 2022, I usually take off, you know, January, I don't do any events in January and February for the most part, but that's when I clean, I clean out my whole office. I mean, I take everything out, and just clean everything in it. But if there's something that I haven't used this past year, I'll get rid of it, because I'm probably not going to make it. Like I'll have big ideas of what I'm going to do, and no time to do it. And then if I haven't used it that previous year, I just kind of get rid of it, because it's not going to get done. But just kind of planning ahead. And when I have those good weeks, where I have a lot of energy and I make a lot of stuff, then I just kind of put it in the box or put it on the shelf. And so I have like backstock I guess so there's a lot of stuff, I have backstock on that, when it's time that I need it, I'll have it, you know, because when I make a lot of my stuff, I'd like to let it cure for like two weeks. So even if I make something this week, it's not going to be ready to sell until like, the end of the bog. I mean, the end of August or September. So I got to do that thinking ahead, too. So

Jen Amos: 46:40

yeah, that's, that is a lot of planning. I imagine you have a very full calendar.

Unknown Speaker: 46:46

I do I do.

Jen Amos: 46:49

Are you one of the people who have like, like multiple calendars, and it's like color coded?

Unknown Speaker: 46:54

I do.

Jen Amos: 46:58

Not that I see your calendar, but that's what I'm guessing.

: 47:02

I have my I have my two year planner, and I have it color coded events, events, days, I'm working at my my stores. And I have Yeah, color coding. And then I have my calendar on my phone that has the color coding in it. So

Jen Amos: 47:17

awesome. So when did you decide when did you decide like, Okay, I'm gonna block off August and September like was that like planned in advance? Or was it kind of like you had a moment recently you were like, Okay, I need to take these two months off. I was already planning

: 47:33

on slowing down and taking September off. But after being outside for a total of 456-789-1012 days last month. I was like, I think I'm done. That I think I think I'm not going to sign up for anything. Although I did sign up for a weekend at the end of August. I don't know, I just couldn't stay away. I guess I was like, well, three weeks is enough. Let me tell ya, do an event and then take off three weeks in September and then do an event at the end of the month. So I'm compromising because I can't sit still for too long. Yeah, busy body and I like to be the go go go in. Yeah.

Jen Amos: 48:21

Yeah. Well, I think that's very wise, you know, for you to you know, pay attention to your, your needs and your bandwidth. And, you know, asking yourself, do I want to repeat this for August? Do I want to be out in the sun, especially in August of all months of the year because I feel like August is I just feel like it's always the hottest time of the year. I just, I don't know, it might just be me, but I'm pretty sure it's August. And it's funny because like my my best friend and I were talking recently like, oh, wow, you know, the the weather in August is kind of cool right now. And I said no, no, no, this is just the calm before the storm. It may seem cool, but like just you wait mid August, like what's gonna happen? I just know it. Like don't get your hopes up. It's not fall season yet.

: 49:06

Right. Right. And especially especially in the south, we have like, false false and then we fake summer and you know, whenever it when it starts to cool down. I was like, ah, because it's going to be 100 degrees by the end of the week.

Jen Amos: 49:24

Yeah, exactly. Planning.

: 49:27

Right. And I think you know, every year I've tried to, you know, beat my sales for the previous year. And, you know, I'm graphing and I have this graph that is like, Oh, wow, look how much I did last year as compared to this year. Yeah. And then in June with the heat, I was like, I'm just not going to make it it's it's just not going to get I can't like

Jen Amos: 49:50

you know what, like, I can't do it. Yeah, it's like success doesn't always have to be linear. It's okay. I don't need to keep beating myself every single year and and Again, it's like this, there's this constant, constant theme I'm getting from your story is like allowing yourself to adjust or course correct or, you know, it's okay to take a step couple, step back, a couple of steps back. Because it's like, you know, being self employed like you, you really have the ability to be mindful of your needs and your bandwidth. So I really, I just really like how meticulous and well planned you are also, how you allow yourself to pivot. And I just, it just seems like you have, like you're very self aware is what I'm hearing from your story, like, you know, to listen to yourself and your needs. And I think that it is very common in this type of space to just overwork yourself. And like you said before, like, like, you got it the best time to rest is when you don't need it, because you might, you know, you might actually like when you need it, it might actually take you out. So, you know, I just I just recognize that and hearing your story. And, and I and I'm I imagine that that took time for you to figure out, right? It's not like you always knew that.

: 51:04

No, no, like, even even like, at the beginning of the year, like I set, I set these goals. And then it came to a point where this month, it's just not going to be but you know, look how well you did do. You know, even in despite that, you know, I may not have met that goal. But overall for the year, I'm still ahead. So you know, even you might you might have a goal met, and you might not make that goal, but then you have to reflect on maybe the previous month or the month before. It just kind of puts it in perspective that I mean, sometimes it's the whole pivot thing to me.

Jen Amos: 51:48

Yeah, yeah.

: 51:51

I don't know. And, you know, I saw this shirt, and it just had pivot on it. And it just kind of spoke to me. And I was just like, this goes back to 2021 when I had to just, you know, and I think it's just in my mind now that things change, things change, and you have to, you know, maybe think quickly on your feet to continue on that path or to make another path to reach your goal. Yeah, yeah. So that's just that's kind of what I'm being filmed on now is just that ability to strive ahead. But then also, when you come to obstacles, you can go over them, or you can go around them or under them or whatever. But yeah, you can, you can still reach that goal, but it might not be in the way that you first planned, but it's still possible to get to where you need to be.

Jen Amos: 52:44

Yeah, it's gonna be to think about, like, how the fun and also the nerve wracking part of entrepreneurship is, finding that collaboration with what you're in control of, and then what the external world will throw your way. You know, right, because like, if I think that if, if, if you are naturally and this is me, generally speaking, for some, if someone is generally like, you know, a control freak, or they want to know, every single detail and be in control of everything, this is going to be a hard life, because you're going to get humbled very quickly. And you can either you can either say it realize that it's part of the process, and it's actually a beautiful process, you know, or, you know, you're not going to last in this life very long. So, it's, it's really great to hear, like, how you learn that for yourself and how you allowed yourself to, you know, big, perhaps, pivot, you know, when, when, like, something came up, or even just for yourself, when you kind of knew that it was time to take two months off, for example, and I think that's beautiful.

: 53:49

Yeah, yeah, it's, I had to learn it. Because, you know, there have been times where I've just kind of, you know, shut down, maybe for like, a day or two. And then I have to, you know, pep talk myself, like, get out of this funk here is, you know, it's not doing you any good, you know, come on, think, think about a solution or think about another way to do this or another plan of attack is, you know, and then it might be two o'clock in the middle of the night and I'm just like, Uh huh.

Jen Amos: 54:23

Yeah, yeah.

: 54:24

Let me try and see how this works. You know, so yeah, yeah.

Jen Amos: 54:28

That's wonderful. Yeah, just like actually, just last night, I had this like, I was up late. I mean, I, I've been having a hard time sleeping, sleeping in the last week, but that's a whole conversation for another time. And I've learned to I've learned to embrace it and say, Okay, well, what is this like, night of quietness in silence where no one's bothering me, is showing me right now. It's a time for deep reflection, you know, and so yeah, again, just just really like looking at our circumstances with a different lens and You know, I still think though it is important to, to feel your feelings and if you're going to have those days where you need to shut down for a little bit, and that's totally fine. You know, so long as you know, so long as you know that you can't stay there, you know, like, you just can't stay there. And I think that's just such a great lesson for life as well as like, you just can't, you can't stay in your sorrows or you know, your your circumstances and you got to move forward because that's what life is you got to live it, you know. So, it's great how you give yourself that you have that inner dialogue or that inner cheerleader to, you know, help you get back on your feet, on your feet. I think it's

: 55:37

okay to kind of wallow in it for a little while and just embrace it. But then, you know, after for me after a few days, I'm like, Alright, okay, what are we gonna do now?

Jen Amos: 55:49

I love that.

Unknown Speaker: 55:51

This is not productive. You know, come Yeah, but yeah.

Jen Amos: 55:54

I love that. My, my phrase to myself, once I fully feel my feelings is I'll be like, Okay, I'm

: 56:00

over it. Like, I'm moving on, like, I was. And it's funny, because sometimes my husband would be like, Oh, I thought you were feeling this way. And I was like, Honey, that was like, five minutes ago, like I've moved on. Like, just, you know, just being able to like, feel your feelings and just recognize like, Hey, okay, we it was felt, you know, it was valued. And we were letting it go now, and we're moving on with our lives. Because

: 56:22

Exactly, exactly. Yeah. So yeah,

Jen Amos: 56:25

I can relate to your story in that sense. I'm like, Yeah, I'm over it. That was fine. To go. I'm just so in the past. So when the piano. Yeah, it was so five minutes ago, just wow. Like you're still living in five minutes ago. Like, come on. Right now. Kidding. Yeah, yeah. No, it's funny. But, um, but yeah, you know, Tracy, i Wow. I mean, I really like your story. It's it. To me, it sounds like slow and steady and methodical, while also, you know, leaving room open to pivot. And I want to make sure that, you know, you were able to share everything you want to share about your business, or also any other reflections that you feel is worth sharing with our military community, whether whether or not they become entrepreneurs, I think a lot of what you're sharing, I feel like a lot of them would be understandable, everyone would get like, oh, you know, set a schedule, plan ahead, all the things. But you know, the, the main theme that I got was like, Listen to yourself and know when to take a break and all that. But other than that, is there anything else you want to make sure you mentioned on the show, as we start to wrap up here?

: 57:32

Um, I guess the one other thing that I would say is that if you have questions, it's okay to ask. You know, because I, I've had questions about certain things, and I might look at a book or I might try to find it on the internet, but then, you know, I might still have this question in my head. And inevitably, I always meet someone who I'm talking to, and it was like, That person comes around that the right time, and they're like, magically there to answer my question. Yeah. And I'm like, you know, I might be like, let me run this by you, or what do you think about this, you know, and, you know, just reach out to others, you know, there may be people in your life that have great ideas or that have solutions that you might not even know until you ask?

Jen Amos: 58:23

Yeah, asking you a receive, I think is the old time old time phrase there. If you don't ask the answer is always no, right. Right. Right. Yeah. Those are the two that pop up in my head. I love it. Tracy. I love it. And yeah, I really, I really appreciate you taking the time to hang out with me and share your story and kind of go a little over here. I apologize. But we're almost done. I promise. And yeah, you know, absolutely. And, you know, before we go, I am curious to know, you don't have to have any questions for me. But if you do, do you have any questions for me? Before we go? I don't I don't think so. Okay, and that is totally fine. That's not everyone has a question for me. But anyway, yeah, I, I really appreciate hearing your story. Tracy, I kind of feel like you have a very slow and steady, methodical, while also like gently embracing change in your life. And, you know, I just want to commend you for this business that happened on accident and happen based on pressure, pressure for you to build it. But obviously, here you are four years later, and you're enjoying what you're doing and you constantly challenge yourself to profit more every single year. And it's just, it's just great to take this time to capture your story and hopefully give you a breather in this time and also an opportunity to reflect on your success so far. So I hope that you give yourself time to pat yourself on the back sometimes, you know, because you definitely deserve it.

: 59:54

I try to as as often as I can. But yeah, wonderful. Thank you Babe

Jen Amos: 1:00:00

yeah well Thank you Tracy appreciate your time and to our listeners we hope you got a lot out of this conversation and with that said we'll talk to you in the next episode tune in next time and then give me one second here