Megan Martin 0:00
This is talking small business with Kat Schmoyer. And Megan Martin, a podcast for creatives who like to keep it real about what it actually takes to grow an online business.

Kat Schmoyer 0:09
We’re competitors turned to biz besties, who chat daily, and now we’re bringing you into the conversation. Hey, y’all, Kat here, and we are back with another episode of talking small business today. Megan’s back in the hot seat, I just keep putting her in the hot seat. I’m just gonna be like, Megan, it’s your turn again. Here you go. But no. Okay, so last week, in our episode, Megan brought up the new product shop that she and the girls her daughter’s recently launched. And so today, we thought it would be really fun to have a candid conversation around starting a physical product shop. It’s not something that we typically talk a lot about. Because Megan’s the digital products guru. I work a lot with services and digital products on my own. And so physical products is new for both. Well, it’s brand new for me, I don’t have I don’t have physical products, my product is a download. So people go in, like do their own thing to make it physical. And now Megan has a physical product shop. And so we thought it would be fun to talk about kind of the ins and outs of what that looks like for her and getting the shop off the ground. When we recorded this, this it’s been live, what two weeks now? Megan? Yeah, yeah, yeah, two weeks. So when this airs, I think it maybe will be about a month, three weeks a month, something like that when it’ll be out. Either way, very new, on the ground, getting all the details. So Megan, tell us just give us the high points. What is the name of the shop? What are their products tell us more things.

Megan Martin 1:44
Okay, so we launched the shop, it’s called rescind Renee, which I just, I don’t know, I’m not a sentimental person, honestly. But you love really sweet. I do love it because it is my daughter, my oldest daughter’s middle name. So Kennedy, her middle name is Rhys and esslli. My middle daughter her name is her middle name is Renee. So we put them together for recent Rene. And we did that for a purpose because Jeremy and I have been really noodling on the idea of how we can let the girls launch their own business. And I’ll just tell you the quick story of how this came to be but so esley a few months back, she was cutting out paper snowflakes. And she was doing at our kitchen table and I’m sitting there I don’t even know what I was doing. But she was like, Mom, I’m going to sell these paper snowflakes. And I’m like, okay, great. Do it. You know, like, I’m trying to encourage that entrepreneurial spirit in her and she’s like, Mom, here, this one’s $3. And so I’m like, Okay, fine, I’ll pay $3 for this cut out from a six year old. So I pay her $3. And she was like, it was just like, you could see the light bulb go off in her mind that like, I can make money selling these paper snowflakes. You know? And it’s not the first time they thought about making money like they’ve done. They’ve, like wanted to do the lemonade stand type of thing. And like the traditional kid business, you know, but it was just this lightbulb moment of like seeing her like realize she could make something and sell it. And she was like gung ho about this idea when she made her first $3 She was like, Oh, I’m gonna sell these to everyone. And it was like, oh, no, I’m gonna have to explain to her. Just because I paid you $3 For a snowflake doesn’t mean other people are gonna pay for your snowflake. Your pay like your printer papers.

Kat Schmoyer 3:41
Like Kate Spade snowflake, it’s totally so

Megan Martin 3:46
so like I had to gently let her know like, Honey, this might not be a lucrative business idea. This printer paper cuts snowflakes. So anyways, they were kind of noodling. We’re noodling over the summer of what could we do and Jeremy was really trying to push for this ice cream truck idea. And so he actually if you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she’ll tell you she wants to be an ice cream truck driver like she just is like serious about like, it’s never changed in the last couple years. Like she’s gonna be an ice cream truck driver. So he Jeremy really what it was, he wants a golf cart. And so he was like trying to get a golf cart out of this business idea where we were going to we were going to turn the golf cart into an ice cream truck and we were going to have like a freezer on the ice cream truck and we’re gonna drive around our neighborhood and sell ice cream. And honestly, like, I was like, this is really cute, Jeremy but I am not schlepping around ice cream in the middle of the summer in Florida like

Kat Schmoyer 4:50
Florida. Like that’s

Megan Martin 4:53
it sounds absolutely terrible. So it’s like Dave, I know you want to go doing this like That’s really why but he was like, No, it’s not. It’s not that one. I’m like, Yes, it is whatever. But so we really thought like, what can we do? What can we do and esli she’s been making jewelry. Like I have this vintage bead kit where I actually took apart my necklaces from high school and I kept all of these beads for years and years. Like even when we first got married, like these were, this is huge beatbox in our closet, for our hopefully one day, maybe I’ll have a girl baby, you know? And we did and esli loves making jewelry. Like she would always ask me all the time, like Mom, can you bring out the beads, and I would just let her sit at the table by herself. And she would string jewelry and make all these random little designs. And so it just kind of like came to us that this is such a cool idea that we could actually do. And I really love wearing jewelry. So I’m like, I can help her create a product that is actually marketable. You know, that’s not just like a little kid trying to sell lemonade, where it’s cute for a second. And then it’s not really a business, right? And so I thought, okay, I love wearing jewelry. She loves making jewelry. And Kennedy loves like design in general. So I’m like this could actually work. And so I designed a bracelet I like posted on Instagram, and people were like, that is so pretty. Where did you get it and that just sort of like started this concept of, we could really turn this into a business together.

Kat Schmoyer 6:21
They they’re so cute. My orders supposed to arrive like any day and I’m very they’re really cute. So oh, you know, always. Um, okay, so love, like the story in the heart behind it, I feel like, and maybe I’m just I don’t know, but somebody else who’s listening, maybe you have the same thought process I do. I hear like starting a physical product shop and then also looping in an eight year old and a six year old. And I hear like, that sounds a little bit like a nightmare. Like maybe I would hate doing that like, and I love my kids, but like, my kids aren’t six and eight. So maybe when they’re six and eight, I’ll think differently, but I just it feels like a lot. So you are Type B and Miss adaptable. So it’s, you know, obviously going well, but tell us a little bit more about like back end, like what has it been like starting a physical product shop and like jumping into inventory and shipping. And like all of these things.

Megan Martin 7:15
It has been i I’m going to use the word a roller coaster like it has been a whirlwind of a roller coaster, because it’s such a different world than what I do in my business, I work with digital products. And I it’s really interesting to see the yin and the yang of like digital products versus physical products. And so I will say like, digital product businesses are so low risk, so low risk for the Creator, like you can create a digital product. Yes, there’s there’s money involved in like getting some sort of CART platform or you know, video hosting platform or whatever it is like to actually run the logistics of getting your product into the other person’s screen, you know. But when you think about it, the risk associated with starting a digital product business is super low, like you can spend what I’m saying like $100, and start a digital product business, you know, and probably a little bit more if you don’t have like a contract in place and whatnot, but a few $100 tops, and that’s your risk and starting in digital product business. And you can easily cut it off, if it needs to be cut off. You know, like, if something’s not working or not selling or whatever, like, you can stop the flow of money, you can stop using the tool or you know, whatever it is that you want to do, if you’re seeing that, like the risk is not paying off a physical product shop is light years different. Like that’s a big risk to put in to create a physical product shop. And I would say like that was one of my biggest fears of like, you have to spend quite a lot of money to get inventory. Whether that’s actual products made and you are a retailer, or in our case, we had that situation plus supplies and goods in order to hand make the bracelets that we make. And so we had no idea what to expect. And so we were making an investment, hundreds of dollars into an investment of things that actually might not ever sell, you know. Yeah. So that was like the biggest I would say like fear point of starting this business is like is this a bad decision? Are we going to just waste hundreds of dollars of product that nobody’s gonna want? Yeah. And also like, the creation of the actual product is is just so it’s interesting because you do a lot of research online and you’re trying to find you know what other people suggest when you’re I’m talking about when you’re hand making something so we’re hand making these bracelets, right so we had to like also there was the risk of like investing in supplies and products that really didn’t turn out in the end. So we had this whole process of like getting to the bracelet that You see. So it was really interesting. But and I know it sounds really overwhelming to include kids into this. But I would say if you are going to start a business and you’re going to include your kids in it, you almost need to just decide for yourself that this is your business right now, like you are starting a business. And I tell the girls that this is their business, but really, I’m doing a lot of the work. But I’m inviting them into every touchpoint of the work for as much as they can handle. Right. So like we I think we had 110 bracelet orders. When we launched the first week. 110 Bracelets is a lot, it was a lot, it was probably about 10 hours worth of work when you like tally it all up. And I My daughters are in school, like I can’t expect them to sign up for 10 hours of work in one week’s period, right. But they were invited into the process. So esley helped me make bracelets for an hour or two, one day, Kennedy helped me package for an hour one day, and then when they were done, I let them leave the room and like I would continue you know, so it is my business to you know, right now, like I accept and realize that it’s my business, and it’s on me in order to get these things going. Because they say they’re only six and eight. Now, if you’re working with a 12 year old, it might be different. And you might say like, Hey, you started this business, you need to do the work, you know, right, right. Um, but I would say it’s been really, really fun to have the kids involved. And for them, especially like from the launch process, like, this is something that they really feel like is theirs. And I feel like that that has created something that could really be a long lasting memory and legacy for them, you know, to see and to be able to watch it grow over time and know that they were a part of it is such a valuable gift to give them as my children you know,

Kat Schmoyer 11:57
yeah, I love that. What would you say is like a high and a low from like, starting the starting the physical product shop like something you’re like, okay, yes, like great high. And then something you’re like, man that’s like, either a mistake or quote unquote, failure or you know, something you’re like, Okay, this is like low point, we need to like reevaluate what this would look like.

Megan Martin 12:22
Okay, so low point, let’s start with that. I don’t know if I have like a failure story yet. But I would say that I did not expect the amount of work that would be involved in sourcing product or sourcing materials. I honestly just, I didn’t think about it and or either I didn’t think about it, or I just didn’t realize like how much time and effort it takes to source as a physical product shop. And specifically an example is we are about to launch any day now our holiday collection. And so we have this bracelet style, if you go to shop recent Renee calm and look at shimmer stripes, bracelets, those are like our signature bracelet style that we started the shop with. And I knew that I wanted to create a new design for the holiday, like I wanted to add a design with the same beads that we use, but kind of shake it up a little bit and make it a little bit more like sparkly or a little bit more like higher and looking than just the shimmer striped bracelet. So I knew in my mind that I wanted a sparkly bead to go with like our signature bead Look, I am not kidding, when I tell you it took me hours upon hours upon hours to find the bead that we are using in this holiday bracelet like one bead style, that’s it, I searched days, literally I would be on my phone, like while the kids are watching TV. I’m like trying to find a beat and the style that I want. And it’s not just finding the actual goods, you also have to find the goods and a price point that you can’t, that’s not going to price you out of the market, you know, or it’s going to be attainable for your customers. And you also have to find the right size and you have to find and you know, you have to decide you’re going to order from overseas, you’re going to try to find it in the United States. Like that’s where I am right now. And so it was just so much work to find one single beat and I was like wow, I am my eyes were just totally open to that world of running a physical product shop. So that was like quote unquote low not really a low but I just never imagined the amount of work that would come into sourcing.

Kat Schmoyer 14:38
Yeah. So I can’t imagine that at all right at all.

Megan Martin 14:43
And it’s It’s so wild because it’s so different than the work that I do in the digital product world. You know, like I’m spending hours upon hours an hour sourcing something and I don’t even know it might not sell you know, so I’m like yeah, we people like it but I remember it got it came in and my daughter Kennedy and our cousin brenly, they’re the same age we live like right next door to each other. And so brendlin Kennedy were home when the bead came in, and I like, open the box that I like, almost started crying because I spent so many hours finding this bead, and they were beautiful. Like the girls had the best reaction. They were like, Oh, it’s so beautiful. Thank you for this reaction. My gosh, yes. Hi, honestly, is just launching it. Launching, it was a huge hi for us. Again, we talked about in the last last episode about how to market your business when you are multi passionate, and you’re bringing something brand new into the scene. And for us selling jewelry was like light years different than what we do in our business. And so I started sharing that behind the scenes story align on Instagram. And really from like the moment the idea came to be to like building and launching the website, I shared all of that on Instagram. So when it launched, we had so many people in our DMS, like when is this going to launch I want to buy bracelets like the girls were so excited to see this. And then we actually launched we’d like a legitimate business launch, I set up a party for them, just like I would for their birthday. Because I’m like, if your kids launch a business, you need to set up a party for them. You know,

Kat Schmoyer 16:18
you do parties all the time. So I do some excuse for you to my days,

Megan Martin 16:22
birthdays are a big deal for us, like I go overboard and decorating for birthdays for our family. But even us as adults, like it got me thinking like adults should throw themselves a fun party or go out or whatever. Like if you launch something in your business, you really need to stop and celebrate that. Yeah, even if you don’t get a million sales when you launch or whatever it may be like that is a lot of hard work to put a business together or to put an idea together and put it out there into the world. So I’m like we’re throwing a party. And we did this live on Instagram, they didn’t even know that going live was a thing. They were like, so confused that real people are watching us in real time. And we we kept seeing the order notifications coming in on this live video, I think we were live for I don’t know, maybe 30 minutes or something. And so many orders came in during that time period. And it was just so fun to like, we like literally I had to physically swipe the orders up so we could keep being alive. But that was just so exciting for us to see like all of the hard work pay off on day one.

Kat Schmoyer 17:24
I love that. So synopsis men starting a physical product, way different than starting a digital product that is potentially harder in terms of just some of the the nuances that go along with sourcing inventory, shipping, like all of these things for physical products over digital products, would you? And I’m just going to ask it, I feel like I already know what you’re going to say. But I’m going to ask it anyway, for our listeners, would you recommend starting a physical product to our listeners that are either service based on or digital product, they said don’t have like tangible side of their business.

Megan Martin 18:06
I would say first of all, only if you really have a marketable product, like a lot of people teach starting a physical product shop and maybe it works. But I see a lot of educators in the physical world just being like, it doesn’t matter what you sell, you just got to sell something. And I think for me, like that just rubs me the wrong way. Like, don’t sell junk, you know, like, right, sell something that you actually like, and you’re passionate about, you know, and your customers are going to pay you for it. And you’re going to feel better about yourself, I assume. And you’re you’re I mean, yeah, I just I feel like if you really have something that you love, and you’re really passionate about it, whether you make it or it’s just something that you love in general and you want to sell it, I would absolutely encourage you to do that. I will say that one of the ying ying and the yang of physical versus digital is it is a million times easier to want to market your business as a physical product shop. Like I have seen that difference like really strongly in the last month from the leading up to the launch. And now the week after, it is so much easier to market this physical business than it is digital products. Like you literally have to put a lot of forethought into marketing a digital product. And you have to sit down and create content and graphics and all the things and like a physical product that you use and as a part of your everyday life, you can just snap a picture in the moment and put it on line and share that content. It has been so effortless to market this business. So I would say that if you are someone who you know, on the marketing and messaging side of running a business, you struggle with that. But you still want to, you know, have some sort of shop than a physical product shop might be for you because it really is just so much simpler to market a physical product than than a digital digital product.

Kat Schmoyer 20:05
I love it. Super helpful. I’m not I don’t know if I’ll ever be a physical product shop girl. And I love my calendars. Yeah, but I love that, like, they’re sent to you as a digital download. But that’s I think it’s just personalities and all the reasons that you said before, like, you think it’s just it’s weighing those pros and cons of like, what is it about physical product? What is it about digital? Or what is it about a service? And then bottom line of what will make you happy? Like, are you like, genuinely passionate about whatever it is that you’re offering that you’re selling?

Megan Martin 20:40
Yeah, I think for us, too, like, we love the freedom of the digital product world where it’s like, we don’t have inventory, we’re not tied to our time, you know, all the reasons why someone would jump into selling some sort of digital product. But for us, you know, we’ve decided to make this time investment, because our kids are involved. And, and I’ve, I’ve always been somebody who’s dreamed about a physical product shop. So it’s not that far off the beaten path for me. But for us, like for our kids to be involved, like, it’s so difficult to teach kids about digital entrepreneurship, like they just don’t really, my kids at six and eight currently don’t fully understand how do I make money, but I like they don’t see any of it, you know, like they don’t see the product, they don’t see the money coming in. So that’s really difficult for them to understand, but a physical product shop for them to be invited in. Like they can really see how this works from top to bottom. And so I would say if you’re thinking at all I’ve had so many people say like, this is so exciting, this is something that I wanted to do with my kids, like start a business with them. Like, if that’s you, and you’re working with younger kids like I am, it’s probably a good idea to go in the physical product direction, just because they can tangibly see how something can come together, become a product, sell that product package that product, you know, make sure that everything is done the way it needs to be done like that is teaching them hard and good work ethic, you know, right? Right. So yeah, so for us, because we have the freedom with real estate, or we have the freedom from our digital product, income sources. It’s like, yes, we could go to Hawaii and like lay on a beach. Or we could invite our kids into entrepreneurship with us and spend our time doing work that we wouldn’t necessarily have done. Right. Without them, you know? Yeah, yet. For us, it’s sort of like my kids go to, you know, public school. And for me, it’s like, this is almost like my version of homeschooling for them. You know, like, let the I’ll let them go to school and learn their ABCs or whatever. But like at home, I’m going to teach them like their real life skills and to learn entrepreneurship at six and eight like that could change the trajectory of their lives, you know?

Kat Schmoyer 23:03
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I love it. We’ll have to do a whole nother episode where we just talk about like passing entrepreneurship. Down. I feel like that’d be really cool. Maybe we’ll put some put like a question box on our stories, y’all sometime in the future and just get you know, questions from you guys of like, what that looks like in your family and with your kids. And we already do it with our husbands Megan’s down doing it with our kids minor, a little young, three and eight, a little bit young to like, bring them into a short world, but it’s definitely something that I feel like we’re all so passionate about because we love our own businesses. And we love that freedom. So why not show our kids what that can look like? Yeah, love it.

Megan Martin 23:43
Let’s do it. Alright, friends, thank you so much for listening to our candid conversation. I love sharing the story of launching our physical product shop and if you’d love to support the girls in their business, we’d love to have you you can go visit shop, Reese and renee.com I’m sure we’ll link it under this episode. And see some pretty colorful jewelry. But that’s it for today y’all and we cannot wait to catch you in the next conversation.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai