Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / 6 Quick Questions with Lisa Stelly, Founder of Fancy Sparkles (part 2)

Transcript

6 Quick Questions with Lisa Stelly, Founder of Fancy Sparkles (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 what you're doing?
• 0:17
  I'm doing what I'm doing because I want to make the baking and decorating world more accessible to people who think that they have no ability to bake or decorate. I want to remove that barrier to entry and get people...
• 0:33
  in the kitchen, decorating things, putting glitter in their drinks and, you know, making things like cake sickles and realizing like, it's not that hard. Like this is an activity that I, I can actually do. Like I don't have to be a professional baker. So really just like demystifying that whole process and making it pretty and fun at the same time. You are speaking my language. You're my kind of woman. Question two, what has been your number one or favorite marketing moment so far?
• 1:04
  probably when I did the Today Show like a month ago, I was featured on this segment called She Made It. Cool. Yeah, I think it was called She Made It. And it was about like female entrepreneurs. And we were not prepared. We were just like not prepared because I don't watch like TV in the morning. Like I'm busy getting my kids ready, but I guess like a lot of people watch like morning shows. Everyone saw it. It was like crazy.
• 1:32
  nuts. Like we never had that many people on our site before. And we like, it was like our highest revenue day on record within like the span of like three hours. It was like nuts. Like they broke our site. And so that was crazy because that was kind of the aha moment for me. Like I need to be out there like talking about this brand because when people know about it,
• 1:53
  they want it and they're interested in it. So that's, you know, that's kind of where I'm spending my time now doing things like that. Oh my God. That is so cool. How exciting. What a thrill. It was so exciting. It was so fun. Question number three is what's your go-to business resource in terms of book, podcast, or newsletter? YouTube.
• 2:14
  I learned everything on YouTube. I learned how to decorate cakes on YouTube. I learned how to put on makeup on YouTube. If I'm like, huh, I just like Google it. And like, I watch YouTube videos. Like it's so educational. You can literally get so many different perspectives on there. But also like, if I want to get smarter, I talk to other people who are smarter than me for sure. Like I have mentors. So having a mentor is really important.
• 2:37
  How do you find a mental side question? There are different like groups that you can get involved in. There's like, you know, maybe start on Facebook. There's probably like entrepreneur groups and then you can meet people through there. There's like all kinds of like entrepreneurial online and in-person groups.
• 2:53
  clubs. And then someone always knows like a friend of a friend. Like I met my mentor through my business partner. So just get out there and like talk. Don't be afraid to like talk to people who are smarter than you. I mean, I meet people at parties sometimes where I'm just like, oh, you do this. Great. Like we should get together and have coffee. Like I want to pick your brain about this. Like you just really have to be proactive, even if you're an introvert, about absorbing information like a sponge. 100%.
• 3:22
  Question number four, how do you win the day? What are your AM or PM rituals and habits that keep you feeling happy and motivated and productive? Wine at night, iced coffee in the morning. You know, it's like, I keep trying to work out like for my mental health or whatever. And it's like, I just cannot stick with it. It's so hard for me, but something I've learned is that like, once you stop, you're,
• 3:46
  instead of like feeling bad, like I haven't worked out in three weeks, like it's okay. You can just go back. You know what I mean? And so just kind of giving yourself that grace. I love treating myself to like really yummy food, like pasta and pizza and like desserts. Like I'm not crazy about that type of stuff. Like I'll just, if I want it, I'll eat it. Right. So like life is too short. I think it's just like those simple moments between like working your butt off and then
• 4:14
  enjoying the fruits of your labor, whatever that looks like for you. For some people, it's being really active, like going to play tennis or doing whatever. For me, it's like, if I've been working like crazy, I want to eat a pizza in bed and binge watch something on Netflix and drink wine. That's my happy place. So I think for me also like spending time with my kids is
• 4:39
  You know, like if I finish everything on my to do list for the day for work, and then I get to make dinner for my kids at night. And then after they go to bed, like have a glass of wine and watch something. That's like the biggest win for me. Like what more could you want than that? Yeah, I feel like we have a lot of similarities. I don't have children, but all the all the other stuff. I'm like, yes, that is me. You're you're describing me. Keep it simple.
• 5:03
  Amen. Question number five is what's the worst money mistake you've made in the business and how much did it cost you? I'll go with hiring a service that we were not ready for. That is one of the main things like do not buy or invest in something that you do not understand.
• 5:26
  There was a platform slash service that caters to, you know,
• 5:34
  optimizing ads and optimizing blah, blah, blah. And it was really expensive and it came really highly recommended. But at the time we didn't have anyone on staff to oversee and manage that relationship. And I signed up when I was the CEO, I signed off on it and I didn't understand it. Someone tried to explain it to me and I was like, I don't get why we need this, but because everybody else wanted it.
• 6:01
  I signed off on it anyway. And that was a mistake because we were not ready for it. It was like trying to drive a Ferrari when you don't even know how to drive, you know, a stick. It was just, it was, we weren't ready for it. And so it ended up being a big waste of money because, you know, it's like one of those things where they start like testing, like, does the blue or red button work better on your site? Like when you're at the level where those tiny little increments matter, like we weren't even near there. You know what I mean? Like,
• 6:30
  We had the money we need to spend way other places. But again, like do not invest in things that you are not ready for. How much are we talking? What's the kind of cost on doing something like that? I mean, several thousand dollars a month at least. Yeah. You know, and we had it for six months. So like probably like close to like 30 or 40 grand probably.
• 6:58
  Oh yeah, that's a lot. That stings. That could have been spent on your content marketer creators. Yeah. It just could have been spent on anything at the time. Like, you know, I could think of a hundred other things that could have been spent on, but again, like you, unless you make these mistakes, you don't learn. Like that was a huge learning experience for me because I was just like, yeah, wow. Like we probably didn't need to go with something like so insane. That's like something that, you know,
• 7:24
  a brand like William Sonoma would do because they're so huge. Like they can afford to play around with all these little tiny AB tests. And it probably makes a big difference for a huge brand. It does because they're making so much money. Even like 1.01% makes a big difference when you're making, you know, several hundred million dollars a year. It's, it makes a huge difference. So yeah, for us, like we were not ready for that. I hear you.
• 7:53
  Question number six, last question. What is just a crazy story, good, bad, or ugly that you can share from the business? This is not that crazy, but it kind of speaks to me as a person. Several years ago, I had a image created by one of our content creators of our, it was an ad for our glittery sugar. And I told her to put it on a mirror and make it look like drugs. I was like, it's like, that's gonna be the tagline is like,
• 8:22
  like sugar high or like, you know, addicted to sugar or something like that. So she made this like, it was like a mirror tray and it was like this glittery sugar, like in a pile. Then she had like a Metro card and a straw. Okay, like-
• 8:37
  Our brand, like we've always been edgy. I'm not really one of those people who's like, like I can take a joke and I understand art, right? Like I'm not saying to do drugs. I'm literally comparing the fact that it's like, I don't know, it was like tongue in cheek. It was like provocative. I thought it was cool.
• 8:55
  And we posted the image. We got like a ton of really good feedback on it. People are like, oh, this is sick. But someone wrote into the Better Business Bureau that like we were promoting drug use and like this is not funny. And like someone like literally took the time to like write in and like they wrote me this whole letter and they were like, we won't take any action because like obviously this is stupid, but like just so you know.
• 9:18
  And we like have the letter framed in our office because we thought it was so funny. And then like every year on the anniversary of when she wrote it, we post the picture on social media, like, you know, second year anniversary when like so-and-so, or we don't say their name, but since we got a letter from the Better Business Bureau about our drug sugar picture. So I don't know if you saw, I don't know if you saw our Valentine's Day collection pictures,
• 9:48
  I was uncomfortable when I was giving the like brief to like all of our employees. I'm like standing there and I'm like talking about like whips and chains and handcuffs and like dildos and all this stuff because the theme was like, baby, you make me melt. And it was like based off of like sex and like different types of sex. And like, if you look at the photos, like there's actually a picture, like a steamy shower picture and it's supposed to be like from the show sex life. Yeah.
• 10:13
  the shower scene. And so like, we have like a dildo that's like pixelated and blurred out in the back and like lube. It's like, there's like ripped open, like condom wrappers. And I'm like, we're selling baking stuff, but that's kind of how I fuse my personality into the brand is like, we've never been scared to, you know, go subversive or provocative because it's just like, come on. It's like 2022. Like people need to have like a little bit of fun. Like not everything needs to be so like,
• 10:39
  you know, straight laced and cutesy. It's just like, we just like, we're just having fun. And like, if you don't like it, then you're probably not our customer anyway. You know, a hundred percent, a hundred percent. Oh my gosh. That is so funny. I'm going to check it out afterwards. Love that for you. Also didn't know that there was a business, a better business bureau and that that was a thing. This is the first time I've heard of that.
• 11:03
  I don't think it holds as much weight as it did like in the 1980s. Oh my God. I just said 1980s instead of 80s. I was born in the 80s.
• 11:12
  Now you have to like clarify as if we, as if we've like crossed the 2080s. But I, yeah, I guess like people used to write in cause there wasn't like Trustpilot, which is like the platform that everyone uses now for like verified reviews and stuff, but like better business bureau with like police businesses. And if you had a great, better business bureau rating, then you were great. But I don't think it's that great because
• 11:38
  I only want to hear from customers who've purchased from us, which is why like Trustpilot is great because it only lets people review who have actually purchased. Better Business Bureau, anybody can write in and say something bad about your business. Like I know a business who's like excellent business and people because they don't like them because they're controversial.
• 11:57
  like constantly right into the Better Business Bureau. So they've got like a one ranking on Better Business Bureau, yet they're like a public company because they're so successful. So to me, like, not that important. A hundred percent. I hear you. They don't have any like power. You know what I mean? Like they're not like the police. They're just sending you a letter. Yeah, like just so you know. Someone complained about you. Stop shaming me. Yeah.
• 12:27
  Oh gosh, that's crazy. Crazy. Lisa, thank you so much for taking the time to come on the show and share all the things about Fancy Sprinkles. I love what you're doing. Sounds like such a fun, cool company to work for. Thank you so much. Thank you. Yeah, it's great. Thank you so much for having me. It was really nice to talk to you.
• 12:51
  Hey, it's June 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.
• 13:16
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 13:38
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show, and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.
• 13:55
  Hey, it's June 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.
• 14:20
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 14:42
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.