Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / Self-Made: 6 Quick Questions with Blume Founder Karen Danudjaja (Part 2)

Transcript

Self-Made: 6 Quick Questions with Blume Founder Karen Danudjaja (Part 2) · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  Welcome back. Here are the six quick questions. So question number one is, what's your why? Why are you doing this every single day?
• 0:18
  It's because I want to love what I do and connect with people on, you know, like a more personal level. So in, you know, commercial real estate, I never felt really connected to the end product or consumer. And with Bloom, I feel like we're really influencing change and how people are like addiction to coffee and how they treat themselves and how they're able to take moments of self care. And that's something that really lights me up and gets me excited to get out of bed.
• 0:45
  I love that. That's so cool. Question number two is what has been your favorite marketing moment so far? I'm super proud of the co-branded product that we did with Sasha Exeter, who's based in Toronto. It was something that led to like a $40,000 sales day and, you know, adding so many people to our email list and into our community. So it was definitely like a labor of love and, and, and that's like a,
• 1:11
  marketing moment that I didn't know what it would be like going into it, but that I was super proud of how it was executed in the end. We need to pause so you can just break down how this came about because this is kind of crazy. Like, was this like a really organic, like meeting of the minds and being like, let's do something together? Or did you pitch Sasha or vice versa? And like, how did this come together? Like, what is the blueprint for this? Well, we had been, you know, with Facebook iOS changes, we had been thinking about how you
• 1:41
  Grow awareness and reach like in a more organic way anyways, like where it's with aligned community. And so Sasha was on this hit like top dream list of influencer that we could work with. And so she shared about the products before. So she had tried them. And so we reached out and just kind of pitched what we were thinking and and it came together really quickly. Like I think we had the paperwork.
• 2:07
  signed at the end of like November, December, 2021. And it was launched by June, 2022. So we just worked so hard together to bring it to life. And with like what supply chain is, it was really, you know, a bit of a special.
• 2:22
  It was definitely a bit of like a special project. And that's why I'm so proud of it because everyone just like really rallied for it. Like from operations to marketing to, you know, our co-branded partner, we just like really dug deep into it. And she did so many, you know, customer surveys on her side about like people wanting something
• 2:41
  that was for beauty, for digestion. And it was like really built by community. So we launched it with a wait list where you could sign up to with an email list to, to basically get early access to the product. And we generated thousands of emails that way, both through her community and our community. And so it led to this really successful launch because
• 3:02
  we had all these emails that were generated from really high intent customers who either loved Bloom, loved the function that we were building for because it was from their suggestions, or loved the influencer, Sasha. And so yeah, it led to a really exciting launch. And Bloom is typically a really seasonal product, so it was also a way for us to... It was also this really exciting way to add interest to
• 3:26
  to summer months when we're typically more fall winter. Oh, that is so cool. So exciting. I have one more question just before I continue. So sorry. I'm the person that always has just one more question.
• 3:38
  When you're working on an influencer partnership like that, is it, hey, let's pay you up front to work together? Or is it a rev share model? Or is it a blend of both in this particular scenario? It really varies from partnership to partnership is what I found. In this case, we wanted it to be, it was our first time doing something like this. We wanted it to be really authentic. So we did like a year long partnership where it was a blend of
• 4:03
  you know, her sharing the products, her story with the product, which was like kind of like a base fee. And then there was also like a revenue participation component for the actual product. So I think it's really important that whoever your partner is, is like incentivized as well.
• 4:20
  and should participate in the upside because their name is on the package and everything like that. So, you know, everyone is like everyone's interests need to be aligned to make a partnership really be successful. So I actually think the revenue share component is really, really important. And it was a way to keep like also the base fees down because we were at the time, you know, bootstrapped and scrappy. We leaned more heavily into the revenue share component than we did in the base fees.
• 4:46
  Yeah, I agree that it's, I think the performance incentive piece of the puzzle is so key to also keep people interested over that long kind of period of time and keep sharing and things like that. Wow, so interesting. Thank you so much for telling me about that. Question number three, back to it. What is your go-to business resource when you think about things like a book that changed your life or a podcast that you listen to often or a newsletter that's packed with the good stuff?
• 5:15
  Well, I love the how I built this. I feel like I'm probably not the first to say that, but that's something that I've listened to since, like since before I started out on this journey and have always found it really inspirational. I think it's like really nice to know that people make it to the end and that's what how I built this does really well. But I also, there's a book called Good to Great that I've recently read that I loved. And it's kind of,
• 5:37
  a playbook on most common mistakes for founders and how you can think about your business to really get scale and get efficiency. So when I was reading that book, I was like, oh man, I definitely do that.
• 5:53
  So it was like, that one's really resonating with me right now. I'm going to link it in the show notes for anyone who wants to check it out. Question number four is how do you win the day? What are your AM or PM rituals and habits that keep you feeling happy and successful and motivated?
• 6:12
  So I obsessively write to-do lists on paper, like no matter what programs come out, like a Santa or whatever, I'm always writing it down on paper. I was just looking. I have a million to-do lists on paper. I was looking around to show you one. And of course there's not one right now. And what I do is like in the morning, I always write like,
• 6:35
  I'll have one from the previous day, but I rewrite it. It's like sort of like intention setting or something like that. And I highlight kind of like the three things that I need to do to feel good. And if those three things are done at the end of the day, then...
• 6:48
  you know, even though there's going to be like 10 other things on that to-do list, it's kind of like I did what I set out to today. So definitely obsessed with the to-do list and the sticky note reminders. Like if I showed you what my office looks like right now, it's just like, you know, like inspirational quotes and to-do list things. And like, so I think like writing things down, like journaling about, about like what your intention is, but also how you feel about it is so important to just getting in the right frame of mind to be,
• 7:17
  productive. And I think today it's so easy to get sucked into like Zoom meetings and Google Meets and all those types of things. And they really take away from, like for me anyways, like they take away from really having time to work, you know, to do like the work that like moves things forward. So yeah.
• 7:36
  I've gotten in the habit of blocking out mornings where I auto deny, like invite requests just to save space in my calendar for, and maybe I just need to go for a walk or like, you know, sit outside with my dog or something like that. But I think it's really important that we don't get into the cycle of like,
• 7:52
  working around the clock constantly. So there's no creative space and the love of the job gets hit because you need to keep all of that energy really high because it's a marathon, not a sprint. I mean, 100%. I felt like last year I was just
• 8:08
  packing in so many calls at any time of the day. I was doing recordings all over the shop. And this year I really switched to be like, I need days that are like clear without these like broken up calls all throughout my days that I can just be creative, create content.
• 8:25
  do what I need to do. And it made such a big difference just scheduling like only certain windows of time when I would take recordings or calls and just kind of like packing them in like sardines back to back and doing like shorter calls as well, like 20 minute calls instead of like half an hour to an hour long calls where you're like, oh, this could have been done in 10 minutes kind of thing.
• 8:47
  Yeah, totally. I think there's a difference between busy and productive and that we, that we all need to kind of like realize what the, what the difference is there. And I'm, I'm trying to do it. It's hard. It's, it's hard to say no, because you, the thing is you want to do these things too. Like you, sometimes you have to say no to things you want to do, but it's, it's like hacking your schedule or hacking or hacking your calendar. And I'm, I'm working on it. Yeah.
• 9:13
  Work in progress. Question number five is what's been the worst money mistake you've made and how much did it cost you? Well, that's a really good question.
• 9:24
  One of the worst money mistakes I had was bringing in a product for a retailer. So it was basically like a retailer had requested a specific product. And so we did it to appease a retailer versus doing it to align with our values and our strategic mission. And in the end, it probably cost us $15,000, $20,000, something like that.
• 9:48
  And maybe, you know, like not enough to tank the business, but enough to be like, why did I, you know, it's, it's like making choices that are short term versus long term. And so I think that it's really easy, like, at least I feel really tempted by low hanging fruit sometimes, you know, to private label or to, you know,
• 10:08
  Things that would like bring money in the door today, but you have to, or what I'm trying to learn is to like really like step back and think about like, what are the things I really need to focus on to reach the end goal? And make sure that all the, because we're so limited on time, because we're so limited on resources, that everything that you do should be tracking towards that versus, you know, all these shiny objects that are along the way.
• 10:31
  So I think that's one that I regret, not just from a financial perspective, but because it shows that was a moment of lack of focus and going for the low-hanging fruit when I need to be like,
• 10:44
  staying focused on kind of what, what we're really trying to build. 100%. Focus is like a real superpower to master. I find like, I actively try and do this every day, but it's still one of those things where I can go off on a tangent and like work on something that I'm like, damn, shouldn't have done that.
• 11:01
  Last question. Question number six, what is just a crazy story you can share from the business, good or bad? Well, I actually started this business with a co-founder. And so this is something that I get asked a lot too, is kind of like, you know, what happened there sort of thing. And a lot of people start with co-founders and, and maybe have different visions. Maybe it works out great. You know, it, it varies so much from time to time. And,
• 11:27
  And so I would just say that like, that's like a choice that needs to be like really carefully considered. I think like in the beginning when we started Bloom as like a side project, it was like a fun thing between friends sort of thing. But just that when you're bringing in investors, partners, you know, even like senior level, like team members, just it's better to go slow and to make sure that all the values, all the visions are aligned.
• 11:55
  then jumping on first opportunities. Like it's better to, some projects aren't going to get done because you don't have people, but to take the time to find the right people, because I think that's something that I could have done better in the past and would just encourage anyone to just be really thoughtful about.
• 12:12
  Yeah, that's a really key point. How does it work in that scenario where two people in a co-founder relationship decide to go different ways? Did you have to buy her out or does she still have equity in the business and just doesn't work on the day to day? So I bought her out in the end. I bought her out in March 2020, which was like right when COVID hit and like the business really shifted. So a bit of a scary time. And I was really lucky, like she, you know, she agreed that, you know,
• 12:41
  It wasn't working and she wanted to pursue her own things and I wanted to pursue my own things. But you hear stories where it's not that way, too. So that's why I say that it's just like better to be thoughtful and like really clear and upfront about what expectations are at the beginning.
• 12:55
  versus, you know, having those uncomfortable conversations later on. 100%. 100%. Karen, thank you so much for taking the time to come on the show today and share your journey with Bloom. It's been so cool talking to you. I'm so excited to see all these new things that are coming up for you this year and what you achieve. Thank you so much for having me. It was such a great chat. I really appreciate it.
• 13:23
  Hey, it's Dune here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 13:48
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• 14:10
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