Latest / Big Talk About Small Business / Speed to Market: Prototyping Physical Goods Fast with Garrett Peters

Transcript

Speed to Market: Prototyping Physical Goods Fast with Garrett Peters · Big Talk About Small Business

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Look, man, entrepreneurship is a war zone and there's a lot of PTSD, honestly, in entrepreneurship.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_02: And to when you as you flush those things out, it actually helps you process because it's things are moving so fast that you just keep stacking on top and nobody understands you because you're always crazy.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_02: All right, everybody.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to another beautiful, wonderful episode of Big Talk about that small business.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: And of course, my co-host, Marcus Zwag, is not with us today.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: He is off doing, I guess, bigger and better things and uh and just left me here.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: But I mean, I I think that from the audience feedback, they love me more than Mark.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: So this is actually better for our entire business model.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm uh I'm sitting right now in my home.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: As you can see, I got a beautiful, beautiful house.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and no, I don't.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_02: This I'm in a hotel.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_02: I'm at the embassy suite.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: So, but uh I have with us today a wonderful guest, and um, and he's actually been on our show before.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: We have Garrett Peters with Duncan and Stone.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: And Garrett, it's been a while since you've been on the show.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's been probably almost a full year now.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_03: At least, at least, man.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_03: Uh glad to be back.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_03: No, glad to be back.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_03: And it's just me and you, so we can riff without Mark.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we won't get to all these weird, these weird distractions, you know.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_03: I can have to get up and use the restroom.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_03: I had a blast with you guys uh, you know, in the studio probably a year, year and a half ago.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_03: And uh, man, it's a pleasure to be back.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, um, you know, actually, I think it's when you and I actually first met in person, which which is another testament to how fun the show is.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I get to meet so many really cool people, and and and I tell you, like, uh, you know, Mark and I talk about all the time, but and and then this should apply to the listeners too.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_02: But man, entrepreneurship's a pretty lonely, a lonely um um career.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: You know, and we meet each other.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_02: We don't because we do they don't they don't teach us in school, you know, about what it means to take a level of risk or significant amount of risk on a daily basis, and then you're gonna be isolated alone, and everybody tells you no.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_02: And so you you know, you come across all these uh wide variety of things and and you gotta learn constantly evolving.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I know that you've had that experience, Garrett, especially, you know, one thing I want to talk about today, uh, especially in the uh the digital commerce area or or uh in environment and and industry that's going on.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, it continues to rapidly scale up.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we got AI coming in the mix too.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: That's honestly, I don't know that that's necessarily changing too much right now as far as how people are uh you know transacting.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: I would say like I'm talking about like money exchange transacting, but I do think that there's it's it's uh it's adding a significant amount of complexity as to how people are discovering new products and deciding on what they want to buy and then how they're gonna get it.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: And so you're living in the you're living in a major revolution.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: But before we jump into this content, let's tell tell the readers a little bit about uh your company and you and when you got going in it, uh just as a nice reminder.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_03: That's great, man.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_03: So um based here in Northwest Arkansas, uh, which is uh a gem of a place to live, and you know built built kind of a life and uh started my career up here working with different agencies and and Walmart and Sam's world, you know, and kind of got my uh, you know, education, I guess you could say, you know, working with Walmart and Sam's club, selling to them and understanding what retail was and what what what is this uh, you know, how does that process work?
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_03: And worked for some great companies that are based in Northwest Arkansas and very entrepreneurial companies.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that part of being around, you know, founders and starters and dreamers kind of got in me at some at some point along the way.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_03: And uh in 2019, my wife and I, and then two of our best friends started Duncan and Stone Paper Company uh in 2019.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_03: And uh there's which is a bigger, there's a backstory there for sure, but but really it was we saw a gap in the marketplace uh uh online in the online space around keepsake journals and prompted goods.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_03: And and uh we with the help of my found co-founders, not not me, you're not looking at the chief design officer over here, but uh I was a guy that could, I guess, figure stuff out.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_03: But uh man, we just jumped in, you know, created a brand uh from scratch, launched, launched a few products and have been rocking and rolling since we we launched, you know, six plus years ago.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: So and so for clarity, I mean, did you did the Dunking Stone did it launch in the e-commerce world or were you all breaking more?
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_03: It did.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_03: It it launched online.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I think that um, you know, looking back, it's funny, Eric.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_03: Looking back, you know, uh early on, I thought, hey, let's let's start a website, let's sell on Amazon, and then after six months or a year, we're gonna go to the masses.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we're gonna go to Walmart, go to Target, go to wherever.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, the more that we ran an online business, the more that I loved running an online business.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_03: It was like, you know, not knocking our friends, you know, at Walmart and Sam's, but you know, we just really have not uh wanted to pursue going the brick and mortar route.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so so right now our business today looks like 95% is online.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_03: So uh, you know, it's it's Amazon, it's our website, it's Etsy, TikTok shops, and then we do sell, you know, to brick and mortar stores, wholesale, you know, to you know, um more like boutique stores throughout the US, but you know, it's a really small, small uh percent of the business today.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: So on those brick and mortars, is it kind of more of a uh of a pull approach where if somebody approaches you because they found you online or are y'all actually soliciting it?
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_03: We we, you know, it's a little bit of both.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_03: We um stumbled on to a um an online um kind of channel called Fair.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_03: It's spelled F-A-I-R-E.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um, it's it's pretty well known out there.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm sure a lot of your listeners maybe have heard it, but basically, it's great for a brand like us.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_03: So we, you know, we basically it's a channel for us to go sell as a brand to stores that want to buy some baby books or whatever it is that they want to put in their store.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_03: And fair just kind of allows us to sell on that.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_03: And it's actually pretty seamless because it's ties right into our Shopify store.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, it's kind of it's kind of nice that we're not having to go out and find um, you know, brick and mortar stores to sell into.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_03: And it's it allows us to get out there.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I think part of it for us is our brand is continue to grow, it's just awareness.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, if it's some random shop in Jonesboro, Arkansas that wants to, you know, sell Duncan and Stone stuff, that's a access that we get to some shoppers that may have never heard of us, you know.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: So it's like an online wholesale distributor, basically.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it is.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's really cool, actually.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_03: It's it it's it's it's convenient for us, and so you know, it allows us to to do some of that wholesale stuff without having to do much work on it, you know, which is nice.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, you basically they uh a boutique can just make a a larger quantity or so you want to get a hundred bucks and their price goes down because of the volume.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: Fair takes a uh a split of that and you ship it out, all good.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's really cool.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so let's let's dive in a little bit on your e-commerce channels, though.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you mentioned 95% happened on the digital space, uh, and you mentioned Amazon and your and Etsy and then your own um D2C site and D2C representing for those who may not know is direct to consumer.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_02: So your own proprietary uh Duncan and Stone own website.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um what is that um what is the mixture of I guess your sales like between those three?
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_03: Amazon, yeah, it's a great, great question.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that, you know, for to as of today, uh about half our business is on Amazon.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so it makes up makes up a significant chunk.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_03: Uh that percentage has actually gone down over time, which is amazing.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I think the first, if you had asked me this, you know, three years ago, it would have been more like 75%, maybe more.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um and and part of that, part of that was our own doing.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_03: You know, when we first launched back in the day, we launched on Amazon and and you know, had an intentional strategy to kind of build a brand that way.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_03: And for right or wrong, you know, for better or worse, like we we chose that path.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_03: And um, but as we were more and more of our business was on Amazon, it was kind of a a little bit of like a like aha moment for us, uh a scary moment, not scary, that's probably dramatic, but like kind of like uh-oh, you know, too much of our business into is into this one channel where we don't own that engagement with the audience, the shopper, the customer, um, through it, like our DTC channel, um, where we can communicate with them and talk to them and you know, kind of engage with them in more intentional ways.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_03: So we years ago started making, you know, better plans to like move some of that revenue off of Amazon, you know, over time.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_03: It's still a big part of our business, but so probably a quarter of our business is on our own direct to consumer uh website, which is uh which is really good.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_03: And then Etsy is still pretty small for us, you know, 10 10%, and then TikTok shops is you know 10% or so.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_03: Still growing, 10-15%.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_02: So the uh I think the obvious thing, I mean, uh, is that you are probably making more margin on your own D to C.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I mean, I think the the the dream of any e-com platform would be to to grow the D D C as much as possible because it I mean, A, the margins are better, but then you have customer data direct access, right?
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_03: It's true.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, for for yes, and that's the way that we look at it.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_03: So for for customers that are ordering through our website, we're able to email them, commute, text them if they want to sign up for that sort of stuff.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_03: They're now kind of in our you know, ecosystem of sorts.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_03: Um and and that's the idea.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I think that for us, we've we've tried to, you know, we love Amazon, it's fine selling on that channel, but move more and more people to our own kind of world so we can you can segment them, you can talk to them in a more unique way about what they're looking for, um, and kind of own some of that, which I think is it's key, you know, for uh for a brand for an online brand for sure.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, it goes down to your branding story, your your fan base, right?
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, like if you can, you know, and then you can introduce cross-promote different products, um, and actually your fan base wants to hear from you.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_02: And it's, you know, so did you look at Amazon as kind of like um, I mean, I I correct me if I'm wrong, but my thought process is like Amazon's got the uh the audience, right?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, they got a significant amount of people, obviously, that are coming to their site, and so that allows for a brand to really launch out into an ecosystem without spending a fortune on online ads and trying to get customer acquisition.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_02: It's just immediate.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_02: Now you're just playing within their algorithm ecosystem.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_03: 100%, right?
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, is that kind of your model?
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, for sure.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's like we when we first launched, we didn't have the know-how or or really like chops to figure out how to build a DTC business, you know, and and so it's like, hey, let's sell on Amazon.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_03: Like that, that's where most people are shopping anyway.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that, you know, you brought this up a second ago uh about digital commerce.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_03: It's just it's it feels like to me, like the the divide between all these different channels is kind of like eroding over time because it it and I've I've been learning this about Amazon and TikTok shops because there's so much crossover with with some of this stuff.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_03: You know, somebody might they find a new interesting brand on TikTok.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, this is kind of cool.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna go check this out on Amazon now.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_03: And it's just like the how customers are getting to buying stuff and actually making transactions is even now with AI and Chat GPT and all the stuff and buy like it's just like all together now, like mixed around, you know what I'm saying?
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_03: Which is kind of weird and uh and and fun in some way, but like it's it's for us, Amazon has been that kind of uh initial way we can get in front of customers for sure.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I think that that eroding of platforms makes it kind of interesting on your advertising side, right?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_02: How do you right?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, so what's your what's your perspective on that if you see a TikTok?
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_03: Like I mean, I know, I know.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_03: I don't I'm asking this question to like our team and and just trying to learn, like it's just hard to track, you know what I mean?
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_03: Like we we we're doing advertising on on TikTok and TikTok shops and things like that, but you know, how you're I think there's there's gotta be overlap.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_03: I know there's a halo effect that we're seeing on our Amazon business because we're have have done more on TikTok, and so which is which is good.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_03: I think ultimately, like I follow, you know, the one of the dude wipes guys, Sean, Sean Riley, who puts out awesome content.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_03: He's hilarious, but he's he's really smart about it.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_03: Like, if people are gonna buy your stuff, give it to them wherever they're at.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_03: Like if they're at Walmart, if they're at Amazon, if they're on whatever.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_03: Like, let them wherever they're at, get it to them.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, man, I love that.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I want to get more and more into that.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_03: And then, you know, we'll have to manage ads and budgets and all that stuff accordingly.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_03: But uh, as long as people are gonna, you know, buy it, I'm good with that.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: So you know, it reminds me kind of like uh your traditional media, right?
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like your old broadcasts or your old radio, right?
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: Things that we're like obviously, you know, you could a brand could advertise very hyper-local in local newspapers or local radio stations, but then they go to these networks and put them in major nationally published, you know, broadcasting stations, whatever, and just brand and then sound like you go buy wherever you want.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_02: This is just our brand.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_02: And and so you're kind of seeing this actually, like, whereas the I think the digital ecosystem really kind of split that, made it more grandi, but then it's starting to conglomerate to a point where it is a massive traditional media network that you're just kind of branding, you know?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_03: What's gonna be interesting to see is like the consumer trust and like how they and I think about it through a lens of a consumer, and and my wife texts me about a supplement that she was wanting to try with one of our kiddos.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_03: And so it's like even like a new brand that you find out about on TikTok or whatever the channel, and just the process of like research and going, okay, is this legit?
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_03: Who sells this?
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_03: How do you verify it?
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_03: Like the trust that consumers have with, you know, a company or a product or whatever, it's just interesting to see.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_03: You know, like I think that there's there's there's uh you know, if you follow somebody on on Instagram or whatever, and you're like, listen, I whatever this person is telling me they buy, I'm buying it because I trust this person or whatever.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I'm saying?
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_03: Like how quickly that can, you know, you know, in impact decisions.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but if you have no engagement, if you find you're discovering a brand, it's like the process of going through of like, how do I trust that this is right or what I want, and then make that per purchase.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_03: Interesting trend.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm I'm trying to, you know, kind of bringing in the AI discussion on this a little bit.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like if I've you know and I've done this multiple times, just natural behavior.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um I do find out about a brand, or you know, I'm actually on a brand's website, but then I go into Google and I ask it questions and I start using their AI mode, right?
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_02: And and giving me like that confidence, it's a super fast uh research.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_02: But then whenever it's time to buy, I I kind of make a default decision about where I buy normally anyway.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_03: What do you what do you what's their thought process there?
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: Do you go to the website or yeah, usually I like to, I I do like to go honestly as a consumer to go directly to a brand's D, you know, D2C.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, mainly because I trust that they're number one, I trust that they're uh the product is the product, right?
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_02: It's not a third party, it's not you know, something to that effect.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um and typically I um I like to go because I'm actually interested in the brand's other products and I do want to kind of experience that customer service from them.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: Like so a good one is I've been researching some workout equipment in Concept Two, you know, uh is you know, they have the rogue machines and all that kind of stuff.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: I was on Rogue Fitness, found out about the Concept Two, but I go to Concept Two directly because I find out it's a different brand, and I'm looking at their other products, but I'm going to Google and you know, comparing Concept Two versus other products, and I come back to the T2C.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, it's just interesting.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: Like I'm I'm taking additional steps, but it's based upon you know going to the source.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's interesting.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that's a very common because I feel like that's a good, very common customer journey, you know, what you just described.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_03: Which is which is which is to your point earlier about having a legitimate, like your presence, your website, all the it all plays together.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_03: Your reviews, your if you sell on Amazon, this is like early on.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like, well, we have to have a verified website and we have a brand story.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_03: We have like all these things that we want it, uh, because we have competitors that have knocked off our story that are Chinese-based random companies that are like selling stuff that are very similar to Ives.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_03: Like you need to order from us because like we make the product, you know, it's like um it just all those things play together now in the e in the online space.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's interesting because I think the more robotic and algorithmic things become, you know, this is even going this is going across all about every vertical.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you can talk about attorneys, you can talk about accountants, you know, anything that AI is impacting.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_02: But at the end of the day, like people want somebody they trust, right?
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: They want somebody to be held accountable, you know, and so like all these third-party knockoffs, it's like I know it's a fast win, you know, when I look at Walmart versus Amazon.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: Walmart's really made a third-party, you know, aggressive approach in graduating that, but you know, nobody likes that.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: Nobody likes to feel like I got smoked, you know, and that's really what I've a lot of times that I think the third parties are responsible for doing.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, I know that there's some good, legitimate ones out there that are actually you know doing some good stuff, but there's a lot of knockoffs.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: And and if you know, we're just humans, man.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: At the end of the day, the humans are still in control of make of of the money as of right now.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um so I think it's important.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it totally is, man.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_03: And I I, you know, I think the fundamentals of what you just described isn't gonna change as far as like everyone's talking about AI, AI, everything.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_03: And so it's like, which is fine.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_03: I think there's so much we can, it's it's amazing stuff.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um but still to your point, it's like we're still human and what that human interaction, that engagement, you know, we're uh it's just I see it becoming more and more important, especially for for brands and companies to prioritize that, you know.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_03: So if I I mean, I've I I see things through that lens all the time.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_03: And dude, I bought something the other day and it was like I was having so such a difficult time to like get a hold of somebody about the product I was having.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like, what is happening right now?
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_03: Like, this is crazy.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's funny, like when we talk about all this stuff, like like I and I'm I'm a big believer in AI, honestly.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, I met yesterday about my AI company.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_02: I know.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I I see it as an very efficient, it's expedite steps in the in the long process, right?
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_02: Like it, it can, it can really, it it is very powerful from an efficiency standpoint on normal work.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: But you know, I think that like you can really relate to AI and the shopping experience to to the whole telephone robot answering service, right?
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_02: That you go through.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_02: If you're calling your insurance company, my gosh, man, or your or your credit card company to pay a bill.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_02: Like I've I'm I've never been so angry in my life, and I don't even call anymore because it's like, dude, I just want to pay my bill or whatever it is, or ask.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: And I've gone through I don't want to talk to this stupid.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_02: But it's been around for two cents, you know, two decades.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_03: No, it's true.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: It's so true.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_02: Nobody wants that business.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_02: Oh so hey man, uh so speaking on that topic though, on your uh on your distribution strategy for your products, do you see yourself what do you where you're at today?
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: Are you leaning more into the D to C or you looking to maybe pick up additional channels like like an Amazon Etsy and other ones?
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, what are you thinking?
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_03: Man, that's a great question.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_03: I think that um we're still we're still learning as a as a brand what what TikTok as a channel looks like.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_03: It's still fairly new for us um for the most part.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_03: We've been we've been selling on TikTok shops probably for a couple years now, but it's like uh we we actually have strategy in place around growing that channel.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_03: I I feel like jury's still out on that.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_03: You know, let's let's touch base in a year or half, you know, six months from now on that.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_03: But uh I would say for sure our our DTC.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, you know, we've we have seen the most growth through that channel.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and I think it's it's it's feels more um controllable for us in some way of like we know how retention marketing should work and and have systems in place to retain customers and we have the right flows set up on our site and we have the right campaigns and you know there's a model you can we've built out and have seen the success of that over time.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_03: So for us like and that and and that comes into the way we acquire customers and on Google ads and you know campaigns and meta and like the way we're funneling customers into our uh you know to our site but um to me that that feels like the most um I don't know not like safe and sustainable model for us I think that Amazon is going to continue to be a great channel for us but to be honest man I I don't want another Amazon I don't want another like that's just me today of like dude I don't want to have to deal with another sales channel and you know uh competitors and this and that where I'm like I'd rather just build out a baller I wish I could do my whole business on just our our DTC.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_03: Amazing um we're not quite there yet but I think that like for me like the next year or two I think that's going to be more and more where we focus.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_03: You know I think you kind of answered my next question because I was going to ask about Walmart.com right that but I mean you kind of answered it is it mainly because maybe you can add is it because of just the um the time commitment and the learning curve and and all that is that the reason you have not man it it it feels that way honestly and I I I I was joking with you and your team recently about some of this like I mean we don't sell on Walmart.com now maybe maybe we should you know like but I think that and I'm sure it's it's I'm sure it's much easier and and more seamless than I probably have pictured in my mind most likely I'm sure it is but it's like one of those things where I don't want to I don't want to have to deal with that man.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_03: I don't want to have to I want I'm trying to do less complicated things and make my business more simple over time versus more complex.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_02: And it seems to me that it's going to be more complex you know and I'm like yeah I'm out I'm out on that you know it's funny I think uh hopefully somebody at Walmart will listen to this do well yeah because I think that you might be echoing something that a lot of sellers feel you know that Walmart has made a lot of strides in investment to get more sellers from Amazon to Walmart.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_02: You know I mean it I think it's great.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_02: And then maybe a lot of the static is is that simply sellers don't want to add another distribution channel.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's just exhausting like in and you know honestly like these big companies it's hard for them to handhold and do a complete 100% transition to make it super easy for them.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_02: I mean it there's there's a um there's definitely a friction point there.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah for sure for sure I as far as it could be to me it's something that could probably be argued either way.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_03: Honestly like I could I could uh you know probably convince myself to go hard against these other sales channels versus our DTC but you know I man it's just one of those things that for us as a as a you know smaller smaller business smaller team limited resources like it's more of a you know what's the cost what's the cost for us?
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_03: What's the time cost?
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_02: What's the investment like weighing that sort of stuff versus saying okay we have these established channels we can go all in on and continue to grow um so that's that's the kind of the tension in the pool that we feel you know but if you could have a uh a a partner or a company controls you says hey I'm gonna I'm guaranteeing you zero percent lift on your side I can completely set up your entire system at Walmart and seamlessly you'd probably be all about that be all about that a hundred percent it'd be great it's it's really it's really like in every you know this is great for entrepreneurs right like because in every business there's this friction there's this there's I mean like mean the one thing that's more valuable than your money is your time.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_03: Time oh man right as an entrepreneur.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_03: 100% dude I and that's the more and more like I'm six plus years into this now and you know those first few years if I would I would probably been like yes I'm all over this like I'm in like and I think there's you know entrepreneurship like any business goes through life cycles in different you know seasons right and those first few years it was like I'm doing whatever like I had I don't know if I had more energy back then.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know what was going on but like I was just you know you know wheeling and dealing.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_03: Um but I look back at those seasons and I think I actually don't know what was moving the business forward.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know what was actually you know the right decision.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_03: It was just it was chaos it was you know I don't know what I was doing.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_03: Um which during the during that early seasons of starting anything you're it doesn't matter man like you got to go for it and uh and now and now I'm like a little more like not cautious but like just more thoughtful around where do we spend where do I what does this mean for me?
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_03: What does this mean for our time, our energy our efforts um and just being a little more diligent with that.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_02: You know you segue right into my next question which and this one's a good one and I and I'm brother this is definitely a dialogue because I've been trying to figure this one out there is a difference between being the founder entrepreneur business owner um and the CEO of the company you know and so you you were a co-founder right and did did you were you the CEO from the get go man I love this question.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_03: Uh no the the the short answer to that question is no I it's funny man because when I and I think you may have had Ben Cashin on at some point I'm pretty sure Ben Ben good friend of mine and uh you know as he as I I I brought him into our world and and he you know I hired him for a season uh as my personal coach and he set me down and he was like Garrett I had like sales direct I was like the sales director of stuff I don't which was a self-made title hey wouldn't you love to go back there right I'm like I would love to be just sales director I'd make it rain.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_03: But he was like dude you know this is like this is a few years ago he's like man you can't be like you can't be the sales director anymore.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_03: You're the CEO of Dunkin' and Stone and then he kind of worked through this new season that I stepped into I like I don't really know uh what a CEO of Dunkin' and Stone paper company should even do honestly Eric I don't even know um but it's funny because I I laugh and I think it's kind of silly people who know me well are like you're the CEO you're you're what does that even mean you know you sell baby books you know um but I it's it's we are in an interesting season.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_03: So what you bring up is is is fascinating because you know it's this concept like what got you here may not take you where you need to go that to the next step.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_03: And and I have been really thinking and wrestling with that concept for where our business is at today you know like hey I was the I'm the co-founder and quote unquote CEO basically doing all sorts of different things over the years.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_03: But you know it's there's a big question mark around what does that next season look like you know as a business how do you grow um into what you want to become and um I don't know I I'm I'm in the seat currently as kind of the the lead of our business and it's because we have a small team and and and you know uh titles really don't matter for our company but it's it's something that we're really thinking about dude.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_03: I mean honestly because it's it's like well do we need to have a more intentional operator CEO mentality somebody who steps in that isn't a the founder or one of the owners of this thing and brings a unique kind of skill set or you know focus that we don't have.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_03: You know so I think we don't I don't have a strong conviction or opinion about it today but I think there's as we grow as a business I think that it it's it's one of those things that I'm like shoot we probably do need to to reevaluate that you know I love this discussion.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_02: And I think actually I'm getting therapy from you too right now on this because I've been contemplating it myself you know I'm it's it's you know I actually texted Mark yesterday and I said other than the entrepreneur and I'm not talking about a founder a founder can you know a founder you can be a founder for$50 you know you you register a company you know congratulations but if you're an entrepreneur yeah an entrepreneur is is genuine I think entrepreneur is the hardest job in the world and the hardest to find true entrepreneurs the second would be a CEO like a real CEO chief executive officer and you know into this dialogue I think you're like the you you're at this this point that where that CEO role title and responsibility is becoming even more important and it does get bigger with the pressure of the company and that's why I mean honestly that's why you see CEOs getting paid you know tens, twenties million dollars a year dude it's like the the toughest job in an entire organization.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um you know and I do I'm I'm at an inflection point right now with a comp uh one of my companies that are growing that that where it's coming again and I'm the CEO right now but I think that as you get the other executive titles in there that becomes even more important.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_02: Like if you do have a right no you see what I'm saying?
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_03: Definitely see what you're saying.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah and I think it comes down to like the the I mean for us the model we don't feel a ton of you know tension and pressure with it today for our organization the way that we're structured and also the vision for where we want to go you know we have four owners four founders and we don't have this massive and we haven't built with by design we haven't built this like massive organization and executives and we have all this stuff.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's been a lifestyle business I mean truly really what it has been if you boil it down uh which is fine which is great and and I think for us we it up to this point it's allowed us to operate as Garrett's a CEO quote unquote CEO but you know for our team it doesn't really matter a ton for the because we're we're fine with where we are now you have if that vision changed if we're gonna say hey we want to scale we want to be 10 times bigger you know da da da you know build out this or that like okay that that requires a different level of structure and support and maybe a new CEO or an operator or whatever it is you know to go and do that.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_03: And and so these that's the kind of the stage that we're in around what do we want this business to be and where do we need it to go and then what decisions will we have to make to to kind of get to that place.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_02: You know I think that if I could sum up the conversation in a sense of where in the beginning up until a certain stage you know in your case you have four four basically owners which are basically the board of directors without even that that being officially formalized in a sense but so you're all making a collaborative decision but CEO is really the it's the executor of contractual like that's the point person to sign documents to sign bank paperwork you know that you're having this executive order on behalf of the other they're they're entrusting you to sign things in a way right and to make those make those calls um but to your point when it grows past when it gets past a certain point and I really appreciate that you're self-aware and I because I share the same thing am I are you the true CEO and you're willing it sounds like to be like hey you know what I might not want I might not be the person for that.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah and I think that you're for for self-awareness has to grow over time especially for entrepreneurs of you know like the it's it's it's it's not necessarily easy it's simple to kind of conceptualize but it's like man you have to become more and more self-aware and humble in the way that you lead in order to be like hey I might not be the right person for this you know and be okay with that um so um I I think that the first few years I was definitely less self-aware for sure um I can tell you that with confidence um and I think that you know over time like it it's it's so key it's so you know it's one of the most important things I think for sure for for founders and starters and um people willing to to risk it and do different things is is to grow in that definitely skill set.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_02: You know one of the things I find intriguing to me is is I was back at White Spider Days, my previous company I was definitely aware that I was not the CEO at a certain stage and so you know J.S.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_02: Bull was much more competent and capable than and I didn't want it.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_02: You know and I was humble enough to go like that it's not an ego.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like I want this business to be successful.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_02: Now I'm looking at it it's kind of an interesting thing.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_02: So it's you have one of two choices either A, I recognize that I'm not the right person for the job or now I'm kind of going B and I'm probably the right person that needs to take on this responsibility.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's that there's two shifts going on.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_02: It's an interesting dynamic and I think it's encouraging this conversation if you're an entrepreneur or business owner and you're facing this kind of dilemma and you kind of feel lost in it that's very natural because uh and that decision isn't a certain one from the beginning to the end.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_02: Like you always need to be flexible in making that decision.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_02: I think so awesome on the burden of the company right I know I know oh man so good.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_03: Hey an another question I have for you like and this is you know with your experience man I mean I think I I really feel like that the audience is going to be intrigued in this because of you know the whole e-commerce side of things that um what do you wish that you would have known in the beginning from an e-commerce type of business that you would that you would recommend that if somebody is starting up or they're they they they have a business they you know they they don't feel like that they're really making a progress like what is what is the key thing that you think you would you would do or you'd recommend man that's so good I think that I was very naive early on that that you know if you have an idea or for in our in our case you know have a product you know hey we have this I this product we're gonna take we designed it it's amazing like once we're done with that product then we're good like our business should just you know run at that point.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_03: Well you know this this this misconception around the actual work that it takes to build something to like actually acquire customers and have a strategy in place on how people react how are they going to find out about you what happens when they do you know all the digital marketing side like all of these buckets that I was so unaware of and I think that I wish I would have done more like uh got way out ahead of that early on instead of like I think working on a product is great but you know for us it was we needed to we we had to learn the hard way after a few years of like how to build out some of this stuff and uh it's one of those things man where I I don't know if it's just one little thing it's like a million little things that have to work together which I think that for for a lot of for me at the time I was really stressed by that and and still am in some way where when you're starting it just feels like it's the list is exhaustive.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_03: Like I'm never going to be able to do all of these things.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_03: And and that's true in a lot of ways like we're limited but I just had to get over the fact that it can't be just one little thing.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_03: I need to make sure to do all of those little things and that's the beauty of econ is is at once you get those going, the flywheel is a real concept.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_03: I mean that is trick.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_03: And so you have to just go, okay, I'm gonna set up this thing and then once that's going I'll come back to that check but then I'm gonna go to the next thing and then it's like it's just you slowly build that and stack it over time.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_03: Um where I was talking to a friend the other day who's in the e comm space and he's like should I do TikTok shops or should I do Amazon?
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm like you should do them both.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_03: You need to do them both man and you also need to do retention and you need to do this.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_03: And he's like oh shoot you know I think about that I'm like bro you you gotta do it all.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm not saying it's up to you to be the one that figures it all out but like it's gotta be it's gotta be like a collective you know uh they all they have to work they all work together you know and so um I had such a small vision for that early on and and really a limited idea of like of of how to you know how to do it and how it all works together and it's something that grows with time but I think that it's that's my take you know for what it's worth is like you know figure out the right model you know for the product or business or whatever it is and then turn them all on.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like they all got to be going.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah and it's like you can't be and I've seen people do this too like especially on the um well in your one of them right coming from the professional world where strategy planning like overthinking analyzation you know all that stuff on the entrepreneur side like it's better I think just to start like to take the action and then take another action and another one right totally 100% and that's what I was and that's what I told this dude the other day who has a great great business and I'm like you gotta it's it's don't overthink it man you gotta have have the there's so much I wish I I wish if we start our business right now you know you know instead of six six years ago because it's like dude there's so much access there's so much know-how and setting up stuff and it's not that complex anymore.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_03: I mean there's people like brilliant more brilliant people like you out there that have already done stuff that have insight and it's like just go find them and then turn it on and see what happens you know break it just go with it um versus overthinking it and not having anything in place you know it's like well speaking of all that like is there a digital trend marketing a digital marketing trend that you're that Duncan Stone is experimenting with right now that you think that other online businesses should should jump on yeah I think that I'm not gonna tell you I'm just gonna I don't know trade secret trade secret tape trade secret no I think that uh man one of the one of the ones that we've been uh using quite a bit is for our design stuff our design process has changed quite a bit the last couple years uh design design is product product design yeah sorry to clarify product design um where it it's the the process for designing and researching and you know all of that has sped up very quickly you know in today's world which is great I feel like there's so much data and inputs that are out there it's like figuring out the right kind of model for us and this is speaking for my some of my co-founders who are more on the the product design it's just speeding things up you know like we're able to get access and content and things so much faster which is just huge.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um so I I my take is that I there's there's so much potential efficiency out there and you mentioned you know efficiency earlier like man tapping into some of that those AI you know um kind of tools that are out there um and just you know releasing that I think is a is a big trend.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_00: Ready to level up your show podcastvideos.com is the premier podcast recording studio equipped with industry leading technology to save you time and hassle we specialize in marketing and distributing your podcast ensuring it reaches listeners everywhere From eye-catching promos to targeted social media outreach, we help grow your brand and audience.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_00: Visit podcastvideos.com today and let's elevate your podcast game together.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_02: So you're talking about like like putt myself in your shoes, you you're you want to come up with a new book, right?
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_02: Or you want to add another skew to your portfolio, and you're like, previously, like that could have been like a six-month process with like it takes a lot of time internally, but now it's like you can do a scrap ton of research, competitive analysis, like in like in like literally hours.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_02: Then are you talking about even going the next step, like, okay, we found an idea, let's let's develop a sample prototype, yep, prototype.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_03: You nailed it.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's it sped up the process where historically we would have to do way more, you know, just man, it's almost like manual labor and research around, you know, new concept like that.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_03: And and now instead of launching a couple, you know, one or two items in the fall, we're gonna launch maybe four or five because we're able to like have some, they're more relevant.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_03: Like for us, the product design takes quite a bit.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_03: And if we're not capturing a trend that may be happening right now, we're gonna miss it.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_03: Like if we launch a product next year and it's the summer, well, what's like, well, well, shoot, that's that's now gone, you know.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um and for us, it has longer, we have long, pretty long lead times for product, you know, manufacturing and all that stuff.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_03: So it's like, well, shoot, we need to condense, condense the kind of lead times that we have as from a design standpoint, so we can kind of capture some of these trends, launch products and see if they fit and and do them quicker, you know.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_03: So we're we're leaning into that.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's a and that's a major uh uh distinction and value from a startup or a small scrappy business, right?
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_02: That you can see trends get to market quick, right?
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, and I think and that's super cool.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_02: I have we with a few minutes that we have left, Garrett.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_02: I do have um number one, I want to make sure that you explain a little bit more about your what your product is, but from a high level, I have a question related to it.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_02: You you guys are are you're using online and you're selling online in a digital environment with all this crazy noise, a product that is actually the opposite of all that.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it is funny.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I mean, how do you think that it's what what do you see the desire for that stuff, right?
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_02: For people like they're buying a product to disengage actually from where they buy it from.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_03: It's so funny.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I it's no, I feel like this the trend's getting uh stronger and stronger, I feel like.
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_03: And and and from my take, you know, just as a as a dad and as a um uh a guy who spends a lot of time in the digital space, I think the science and the data supports the the need to write, the need to read a book.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_03: Like there's something about the physical, like tangible um, you know, analog that I think is that's never not been around, but I think it's more and more prevalent where um man, it's just something about it.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_03: It's healthy, it's it's right.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I I don't I can't speak all the data and the science behind it, but it definitely the trends seem to be going toward people wanting to incorporate that into their life, you know, in a in a meaningful way.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_03: And and so journaling is not a new concept at all, right?
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_03: But what what we decided to do, um, and kudos to to my co-founders that were really the visionaries behind some of the products, like there's there's something about capturing and writing about your pregnancy and writing that down and keeping that book, or writing down your life story and sharing that with your son or daughter.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_03: Like there's I think that that's that's what we're selling.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, ultimately what we're selling is you know, memory keeping and meaningful moments, right?
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_03: It's like we have very giftable items.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_03: Part of the reason we've probably grown so much is people are looking for gifts online, right?
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I need a gift for my spouse or whatever.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um we want to give them that, you know, we want to give them options for that stuff, right?
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_03: And then ultimately, like we want them to use the products and go spend that time in whatever, you know, space that whatever season of life they're in or whatever it may be.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_03: Um and so I think, man, I don't think it's going away, you know, at all.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_03: Um and and ultimately where we wanted to fit into into that space is like hopefully, you know, well, like very high quality designed physical goods that they can keep and pass on, you know, and and for us, that was a big part of our brand.
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_03: Was we wanted them to be quality and we wanted them to have, you know, um the way they were designed to be something that in 20 years from now you can look back on and open.
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_03: And it's not a cheesy book.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_03: Our stuff's releasing our stuff, it's clean, it's nice, you know, like um, and you know, we just set out to to kind of build some a product mix that people would enjoy, you know.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I can almost like put myself in the shoes of a uh a brand new customer, like you, you know, got your wife, you know, she's just gonna become pregnant, you her birthday's coming up, you're like looking online, you know, typical guy thing, like gift, gift, gift for my wife, you know.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_02: You guys pop up, and then but there's something about like discovering your product, like you, oh, interesting pregnancy journal.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_02: And then you look at it like, oh, well, immediately you're like, this is more meaningful of a gift.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_02: This is me thinking about that person, and then you start looking at the quality of the product, like this thing's designed to last a generation or generations, right?
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so now you're like, man, I'm I'm actually a great giver.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I know.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_03: Dude, I mean, that's and that's part of the psychology.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_03: And what we say is like we want people to to win at the baby showers, you know, and at the at the parties, because you know, it you're you nailed it, man.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you really nailed it.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_03: Like it's it is a gift that you give somebody that says, hey, I care about you.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_03: I I this is meaningful.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I I really want you to have this thing.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_03: And you feel good about that.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_03: Giving a great giving a gift is awesome.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_03: And uh, you know, it's it's we're that's the kind of psychology, and that's the reason we design our products that way, is like, hey, when you feel better about yourself and the the person you get the gift for knows you, you know, care for them and and you know, want to give them that.
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_02: So, all right, to cap it out, man.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_02: Garrett, how do people find Duncan and Stone?
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_03: For sure.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_03: Go to Dunkinandstone.com.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_03: Um, go to our website, uh, you can find us find us there, uh, or wherever you shop, you know, whatever, no big deal.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then yeah, go go check us out.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_03: We have all sorts of stuff, you know.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_03: We've started by selling some, you know, childhood books and pregnancy journals and things like that, and now have we have dog memory, dog, you know, books and travel credibles and dude, it's all sorts of fun stuff, you know, that that you know we've launched over the years, but uh, you know, anniversary journals, legacy journals, whatever it may be.
• 51:41
  SPEAKER_03: So we got all sorts of stuff out there.
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_02: And if there's an entrepreneur out there that would love to sit down with coffee with you or have a quick meeting, can they get a hold of you some way?
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_03: LinkedIn is the easiest way to do it.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, and hit me up on LinkedIn.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_03: Um, message, I would love to connect.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_03: And man, that's I have such a soft spot for people who are you know entrepreneurs or have an idea because we lived it, you know, we lived it for so long and uh would be would be thrilled to connect with anybody that wants to, man.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_02: And I tell you, like it is therapeutic, right, to to talk with somebody else because it just you know it it really helps look, man.
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_02: Entrepreneurship is a war zone, and there's a lot of PTSD, honestly, in entrepreneurship.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_02: And to when you as you flush those things out, it actually helps you process because things are moving so fast that you just keep stacking on top and nobody understands you because you're always crazy, right?
• 52:37
  SPEAKER_02: That's so true.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_03: That's so true.
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh, so good.
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then okay, uh, final question is is when when Walmart Marketplace, if they want to get a hold of you to get your books on, how do they get a part of you?
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_03: It's my cell phone number.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_03: Oh man.
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_03: Hey, as long as that's true, come on, hit me up, baby.
• 53:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's right, man.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_02: All right, audience.
• 53:03
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, thanks for tuning back in.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_02: This has been another fantastic episode of Big Talk About Small Business.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_02: You can find us at Big Talk About Small Business.com.
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_02: And uh make sure you uh leave a comment um and and haze Mark Zweine for failing all of us today.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_02: Every one of us.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_02: Mark Zweine, all of us.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, he did.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_03: He really did.
• 53:25
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks, Eric man.
• 53:26
  SPEAKER_02: Very, very insightful.
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_02: Can't wait to have this one come out.
• 53:29
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna listen to it again for sure.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_03: All right, man.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks so much, Eric.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_03: See ya.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks, buddy.
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_03: Take care.
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Big Talk About Small Business.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_01: If you have any questions or ideas for upcoming shows, be sure to head over to our website, www.bigtalkaboutsmallbusiness.com, and click on the Ask the Host button for the chance to have your questions answered on the show.
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_01: Stay connected with us on LinkedIn at Big Talk About Small Business.
• 54:01
  SPEAKER_01: And be sure to head over to our website to read articles, brought episodes, and ask questions about upcoming shows.