May 6, 2021
Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You? Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed with Kristina Shea
The pandemic has given a lot of people pause and a good reason to reevaluate their lives and career paths. Some have been forced into entrepreneurship while others have made the conscious decision to jump in headfirst. Some things to think about if you fall into either category. Product and services pricing. Who is your market? Where do they live online?
About Kristina
Kristina Shea has an eclectic background — from teaching fitness to working in senior corporate roles. She has lead women’s empowerment workshops, organized fundraising events for women’s shelters, and her professional career has spanned graphic design to leading marketing & communication departments.
Kristina Shea is also the owner of K Vision Marketing & Communications — consulting for Fortune 500 Companies, including top banks and financial institutions, and public companies, not-for-profit organizations, and recently — cannabis companies.
K Vision is your Virtual CMO or Chief Marketing Officer, and she is truly global, able to connect with any business in any country — this was the business concept from inception, way before the pandemic. K Vision has always worked with a digital-first approach — building marketing strategies to helps brands stand out — to be seen and heard. She specializes in corporate and women’s lifestyle brands and recently — cannabis marketing. Kristina is an expert at building an integrated marketing approach to deliver stories that will resonate with audiences to deliver business results for the client. You can reach her at www.KVision.ca
And she is not only a marketing whiz, she is a true entrepreneur — launching a new e-commerce brand “BlueSkys Life” for Spring 2021 — a modern inclusive lifestyle wellness brand and education platform. BlueSkys Life will be offering products for Mind, Body and Home with a female focus. And you can follow Kristina @BlueSkysLife on Instagram and FB — or visit the website at BlueSkysLife.com
www.kvision.ca
www.thebusinessofbusinesspodcast.com
Full Transcript Below
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (00:02):
Hello, and welcome to another episode of the business of business podcast. I'm Roy, your host. And, uh, you know, this is the show where we try to bring a wide variety of guests that talk about a lot of diverse topics, trying to help our business people, our entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and, uh, you know, those small businesses out there. And also, you know, we have some effect on some larger businesses. I know it can be a little more difficult to affect change, but, you know, we try to have guests to give you some, uh, some ideas to think about. And then also to try to give you professionals that you can reach out to if you are having some issues. So with the further do we'll get on with it today, we have, uh, an awesome guest. Uh, Kristina Shea has taken time out of her day to be with us.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (00:47):
She has a very, uh, eclectic background from teaching fitness to working, uh, in senior corporate roles. She has led women's empowerment workshops, organized fundraising events for women's shelters, and her professional career has spanned graphic design to leading marketing and communication departments. Uh, Kristina is also the owner of K vision marketing and communications consulting for fortune 500 companies, including top banks and financial institutions, public companies, not for profit organizations and recently cannabis companies. So, uh, Kristina's not only a marketing whiz. She is a true entrepreneur, launching a new e-commerce brand blue skies life in the spring of 2021. It's going to be a modern, inclusive lifestyle wellness brand and education platform. And we'll be offering products for the mind, body and home with a female focus. So Kristina, without further do thank you so much for taking time to meet with us today. We certainly do appreciate it.
Kristina (01:55):
Thank you, Roy. It was an honor to be here and delighted to share my thoughts and have an engaging conversation. Yeah.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Biten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (02:01):
You know, when we, uh, we talked initially, I think what struck me about you? One reason why I was, uh, you know, really wanting to get you on the show is to talk about this entrepreneurial spirit. Um, it's always a struggle, but with this pandemic, you know, there are people who have chosen to be in business. There are people who have fallen into being, you know, into an entrepreneur role. And then there are people, of course, that have kind of been forced into it to, you know, continue to pay the bills. And so, uh, you know, we had an initial conversation. I thought it was great. You know, we can just talk a little bit about, um, you know, getting started some things to think about planning, proformas, the, the whole thing. And, uh, I think the, uh, very first question though, I think is why, you know, especially if we've planned on this, it's kind of the, why are we offering what we offer and whether it's a product or service.
Kristina (02:58):
Yes. I mean, there's so many reasons I'll go back to your first statement about, um, you know, so many people thinking about starting businesses during the pandemic. Um, there's been lots of, um, people that reflecting, I suppose, on their purpose in life and what they're wanting to do. Right. And a lot of people have been unhappy in their careers or, you know, or maybe they've been laid off or having issues, trying to find jobs, which I call the necessity entrepreneur, but also, yeah, but I also do think a big part of it if people is re they're resetting what they want to do in the rest of their life. And they really realize life is very, very short. Um, and they're looking for something different that gives them more fulfillment, um, purpose and, you know, hopefully passionate about what they do. So, but it is really important as you said to understand why you're doing it.
Kristina (03:42):
So I talk a lot about purpose led brands, which we can get to in a minute, but most importantly, when you're starting a business, especially right now, there's, um, there's a lot of interesting sectors you could get into. Um, but I mean, I think you really have to think of pandemic proof. So why is your product or service, um, is it servicing a gap right now or a need right now, especially in the pandemic, you see a lot of PPE companies popping up, um, because of necessity, partly, but also because of the opportunity they see that there wasn't enough and that can also then, you know, grow from there into other aspects. But there's also a lot of, um, people that are looking at doing, you know, home services, which you would think people are saving their money, but they are staying at home and they're, you know, redecorating their homes, they're renovating et cetera.
Kristina (04:27):
So those are really great businesses or anything that's virtual. So as key vision, I'm a virtual CMO. I've been doing that for, I don't know, 10 years plus, and it's always been sort of my emo because I always wanted to accommodate a lifestyle. Um, so in terms of just, you know, putting some freedom and I can work wherever I want, and now people are realizing this more than ever, right. They don't need to necessarily commute to an office. So now they can work remotely, but they can also work remotely for themselves with not too much startup costs in terms of overhead, if they choose to work from home. So there's a really, um, a lot of great, um, reasons why to start right now. Um, there's also, you know, I think right now I think it was the world bank said that there, this is the largest downturn they predict. And you know, the economy since the great depression, which is a little bit scary, but we also know from screen that, um, many businesses thrive, um, startup businesses thrive during the recession because they're very lean and, um, they're, they learn to do a lot with a little bit of money. And what are your thoughts
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (05:35):
Important point to make? Because, um, well, one thing, you know, I, I see a lot of people developing services, especially reaching out to seniors that have been, you know, more concerned about getting out in the general public food delivery, you know, shopping that whole thing. But I think to the point you just mentioned, a lot of people have seen an opportunity that these mid size to larger companies have been so slow to adapt that it's been, it's been an opening for, uh, you know, for an entrepreneur to jump in there who is flexible and can meet the needs of the consumer.
Kristina (06:10):
Exactly. Especially as a small business, when you're starting, you can make decisions much more nimbly quickly. You don't have the layers of bureaucracy and you can see these huge office towers. I mean, they're empty right now. And especially in Toronto, like we're out just side of Toronto. I used to work in the financial district. It's like a ghost town. Andy's hoard your corporation who can't talk. Corporations are, you know, spending thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars on rent and they're locked in leases. And unfortunately some small businesses are obviously before the pandemic are also paying high rent for retail space, but people are learning now e-commerce is a thing. But as you just mentioned, there's a great need for people to look after seniors or help with deliveries or groceries. There's just simple things that they do need help with because they can't go and leave their house because they're a high risk. Um, so there's so many opportunities, but it's also really important to consider. Okay. If you've never started a business before, um, think about, you know, doing a business plan and, and, you know, hurry, but don't hurry too fast that you're going to make mistakes, right?
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (07:10):
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And that's another conversation I know that we had had is, is the front end planning to, you know, sit down and think about that your business goals, uh, because I think the other part is if, if that you want longevity, sometimes, you know, we see startups or new entrepreneurs that kind of outgrow that startup model, and then they get into trouble kind of in that phase too. So the planning, where do you want to go? How are you going to grow? And then also setting real, um, uh, realistic expectations as far as, you know, how you acquire customers, how many you can, how many you can keep, you know, cause a lot of times it's like, well, I'm rolling out this product or service. I have this influx of, you know, maybe 20, 50, a hundred people hired over, but then, you know, the influx kind of goes away and then you're left just sitting there. So again, the planning and the, and setting realistic expectations is so important to sustainability.
Kristina (08:13):
I agree. Totally. So it's, I was comparing it to like a roadmap. So if you got in your car and you didn't know what were doing and you didn't plug a GPS and you've no idea, you're probably never going to get you're going right. Or, or if you're your windshield is incredibly dirty, you can't see where you're going and it's okay to take a detour now and then, but you certainly don't want to veer off the road and crash. Right. So I think that's why it's so important to have milestones just as you would, maybe if you're going on a long road trip, you're going to stop here and you're going to stop there while it's, it's always good to review your plan, but it's also good to really look at those segments while you're planning. So I often talk about the seven PS two, which are the basics in marketing rates.
Kristina (08:51):
So you really obviously want to know what your product is or service you want to think about your pricing. Is it competitive or which kind of market, what kind of demographic are you going after? A lot of people say everybody and I'm like, no, not everybody narrow it. Right? So example, if you're looking after seniors, seniors in a certain area, maybe in a certain income bracket, maybe you're actually targeting the children or the, you know, of the elderly that you're actually going to be, or, or going to be two subsets. And then, you know, just even like looking at, um, where are you, where are you going to do it exactly regional? Um, is it going to be across, you know, borders? Are you going to be e-commerce and open up or are you going to start slow? And you really master you're doing and how are you going to promote it?
Kristina (09:31):
Right. So right now we have a great thing called the internet, right? So we have social media, which is free, although it's a lot of work. So even though it's free, you have to consider the costs involved for either, you know, boosting and advertising. But also maybe you're going to need some people to help you, um, to not right. And, um, I'm trying to remember it, I'm going off process. Right? So process, so your process is really your plan to me. Um, how are you going to go about it? Um, you also, you all have internal processes, but going back to the business plan, why it's so important is I think it's a really good practice just to put it in writing articulate, and then that's when you start to see, okay, maybe there's some gaps here in the way I'm thinking, but also, um, you know, it's also something that maybe right now it's difficult to get funding from bank, but it's something that a bank will ask for if you're looking for funding. Right. So I think that's one of the reasons why it is so important because you might want to raise some capital. Yeah.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (10:26):
Now the other thing I love the, um, the roadmap analogy, because I use that all the time and, uh, you know, people always are like, Oh, well, I want to, you know, here's my destination. I want to get here. I want to go there. But what I try to say also advise people is we really need to give a lot of careful thought to where we are now, because in the same spirit, it's like, okay, I may want to go to Chicago. So I'm going to jump out and go East. Uh, but if I'm in New York, you know, I really need to go West. And so, uh, you know, kind of understanding where we are right now and it it's a truthful evaluation, not a, uh, not where we hope we are or where we like to think we are, but sit down and really, uh, be honest with ourself.
Kristina (11:14):
Yes. And I know as entrepreneurs, we're always permanently optimistic, but sometimes there is always a little bit for practicality and reality check just to be realistic, especially with cashflow. And I love the way you said that because it always makes more, we're going back to brick and mortar when, you know, when you go to the malls and they're trying to find your way, and it says you are here and you're thinking, okay, well, how can I need to find where I am so I can go to the next store or the next vacation I want to mall. And I'm a big thing to think about. And I know it's this big, hairy, scary thing is to think about, okay, well, where am I here? Or where am I now? But also where's my financials right now. Where am I sitting? How much runway do I have?
Kristina (11:50):
And, um, savings, personal savings are to come into play right now, especially in these times. Right? So maybe you're on social security. Maybe you do have AI coming, or maybe you do have a package coming in. If you're very fortunate from the company that maybe perhaps leave you off, or maybe this is just something that's been bubbling. And you're like, okay, I'm the stay at home mom. I'm going to like do something here and make something happen. So think about that runway. Think about, um, really being lean, think about your upfront costs. Um, I think this is more important than ever right now to really manage every penny and even things like e-commerce like if you're, um, ordering, uh, you know, inventory for something, um, well, okay, you might get all excited and you're gonna order this huge order, um, while realize whatever that payment structure is and what you're going to owe.
Kristina (12:34):
And how long do you think it's going to take you to sell it, to make a profit. So always thinking about those practical things, which aren't as fun to think about, but at the end of the day, you wanna make money. Right. So, um, and I think going back to the why to a lot of people, um, they think, okay, it's going to change my lifestyle. Yeah. It's definitely going to change your lifestyle. Maybe, you know, you can work at home and hopefully you'll be able to be more flexible with your time if you have children or you want to travel and things like that, maybe not right now because we can't travel easily. But, um, I think, uh, you know, you really better be passionate about what you do because you're going to be doing a lot of it. So I was running a small business and as an entrepreneur, you're going to have to live and breathe it. Um, so really make sure it's something that you're comfortable with doing. Um, yeah. What do you, what are your thoughts on that?
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (13:22):
You know, it can be the best thing that you can do, but I think this planning phase is kind of where we w we need to work things out because everybody has this, um, uh, the panacea idea that, Oh, I'm going to be able to control my time and do this and do that. And unfortunately it's in the beginning, especially, it's not always that way, but we need to design this. And I like to use the dog example is that, you know, we should be the dog wagging the tail, not the other way and letting the, you know, the business, uh, wag us around so that again, we have to, to plan for that. And, um, I was writing notes, you've settled. So many things I was, uh, wanting to talk about, because if, if this is a side hustle and you have your other job, it's making sure that you have that time because yeah, I mean, it can be fun.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (14:11):
Uh, one, two, three nights a week and, uh, you know, spending your three or four hours working on it. But then all of a sudden, it's like that third week, fifth week, third month, if it's wearing you down and you can't keep it up, because consistency is very important for anything, you know, product, people want to, uh, know that you can deliver our service. They want to know that you're going to be there to answer the phone and be able to work them in, in a reasonable timeframe. So all of that stuff is so important. And then one more thing, the proforma, you know, talking about, you know, being realistic about what does next month look like? Can I add these 20 more customers next month? What are they going to bring in, uh, realistically in revenue? What are my expenses to meet that, uh, you know, just to make sure that this is going to be viable because there's, you know, probably nothing worse than to be passionate, start something up and then realize three months down the road that you just can't make money at it the way that you have it structured.
Kristina (15:14):
Yeah. The cashflow projection is one of the most important things. That's going to be combined with your business plan. Now, obviously you may not make it exactly to where you want to be and you'll have to be realistic. I always say, um, smart goals. So specific, measurable is good, um, actual and, um, realistic. And what's the other, what did I to timing, um, framing on those things. And again, you may not. So don't try to make them too difficult because also you're going to be so discouraged and to be realistic with them. But if you have those benchmarks, those milestones that you've planned out and also looking at your cashflow as a whole, you'll kind of be able to know when, okay, I'm going to be able to buy inventory here, or I'm going to be able to grow and expand with this other service that I'm planning.
Kristina (15:55):
So it is really key or just to pay your bills. Like, um, I really do think that's the most important thing. A lot of people right now are so struggling to pay their rent, um, for retail that is, you know, I don't think anybody could have planned for something like this, but to have a contingency where you have a buffer, you have some, hopefully some reserves. I mean, it's, it's not right now, I think is an exception, but I think you should always try to look at that and mitigate your risks. Um, also look at, um, you know, we were talking about earlier, I don't know if we talked about this, but you know, the different formats, so businesses, are you going to be a sole proprietor and incorporation, or are you going to be a partnership? Right. Um, and we were talking earlier, I think about partnerships and I made this mistake.
Kristina (16:36):
And especially when you're first going to you're gung ho you're excited and maybe your best friend or something, you have this great idea, but you don't share a lot of align. You're not aligned on visions or why you're doing this business, or if you want to exit, or how many, how many hours are you guys each going to put into this? How much money are you each going to put into that? So this is where you come into, um, a lot of problems. Um, it's like a marriage, right? So, um, and it was just as, maybe even harder to leave once you form it. And especially if you're starting to make money at that point.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (17:07):
Yeah. And it's, uh, everybody starts out with the best of intentions and yeah, this is what I'm gonna do want to do. And, you know, everybody's all excited in the line. And then, you know, once the, uh, once you start getting into that grind, then all of a sudden, um, I guess everybody's motivations are who they are, things start coming out. And, um, I will, I will just second that emotion is that be very careful forming business partnerships. There are a lot of ways to form alliances where you can still work together and help each other without having to, uh, because you know, a lot of times people think that failure is the worst thing, but in, to me in partnerships, it's just the opposite being very successful. And then having to figure out how you're going to divide this up, who's going to get what, and that can get very messy.
Kristina (17:59):
Yeah. I call it the sweat equity because some, one partner may not want to put as much effort or time or funds. Right. So it has to be really clear at the beginning and what your objectives are. And I totally agree with that. Um, but that's a pretty important part of the planning process. So if you are planning open a business, definitely evaluate, are you going to be a sole proprietor as a partnership, be very careful with it. Um, but strategic alliances are probably the best way to test a partnership like, so you could work with another person. Maybe they have a different type of service or where they have a similar, but, or whatever, you can promote each other on social media, you can promote each other with services. Um, there's so many great ways to do that. Um, and be creative right now. I think everybody does enough around for everybody. Everybody works together and I think strength is, um, with collaboration, right?
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (18:44):
Yeah. And that's another thing we can't be afraid of. One, if you do partner with somebody about one being more successful, there's enough business for everybody to go around. So, um, you know, you can work really hard at that and kind of test those relationships. I feel, uh, you know, the thing that you brought up was measuring. And so, um, you know, me, I have a more analytical side. So measuring is of huge importance to me from the marketing side, because just like you were saying, social media takes a lot of time, so are you gaining traction? And, and again, this is where realistic comes in is like, are you gaining actual paying customers from that effort? And you have to ask when people call or walk in, however you engage them is always asked, how did you hear about us? What brought you in? Because if you, uh, spending a lot of time on something, that's not bringing you, um, a lot of results, then you may want to reallocate that time. And you know, it kind of
Kristina (19:43):
Exactly. I mean, so, yeah. And a lot of that with data right now is so, um, so I don't mean to interrupt. Sorry. Getting a bit of a connection. Yeah. So, um, data is, is essential right now for running any business, um, especially in e-commerce. So it makes it easy. You can analyze Google analytics, you can see how many people are bouncing, how many paid, what pages they're on. Um, if they're converting and when they're converting or when they're bouncing, maybe there's a problem with just your cart. So you might need to look at your UX, but also social media. Um, maybe, maybe it's not working for you, but maybe you're just not doing it. Right. So do you buy different things where you're actually trying to convert people? Um, but also you don't want to just be sell, sell, sell, and social media have to realize that you're trying to build a community and then you try to sell, or you kind of do a bit of both in tandem, but make sure you're trying to convert people and you're actually driving people to your site.
Kristina (20:31):
I always see a lot of people using it, not so great, cause they're not actually driving them to their site. And maybe in the beginning, they're just trying to gain followers. But after that, you really want to try to convert them and drive them to your site date. And I think one of the biggest mistakes people make in social media is they think, okay, I have like, you know, I don't know, say they 10,000 followers. Oh, that's EA and so great. That's great, but you don't really want to convert them and own your marketing. When I say that you want email lists, you want them on your site. So social media, they could take your page down and then they're gone, right? So own your own marketing. And I think email lists or email campaigns are one of the cheapest things you can do and you can measure it. And then you actually have their, um, you know, their personal information where you can reach them. Unfortunately with social media, you know, if something happened and God forbid your page was shut down, I've seen so many businesses lose that and they've never gone and thought, okay, I really need to build my email list versus building my social media following you need to do both. Right.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (21:24):
Yeah. And that's what the other thing I was gonna say was, uh, about the realistic in that is that we could have, uh, you know, we can make a post and we can get 500 likes and be all excited that we got all this attention. But if those aren't people who have called you up to spend money, it doesn't matter. I would rather get one like of the guy that called me up to do business with me then 500 that, uh, are not. And, uh, just to caveat, I've mentioned this before, but it's worth saying again at this time that, you know, a lot of people promise you all of these social media results and connections out there, but be careful because what they will do are their boiler rooms and other countries that they will sit there and like, and maybe even engage a little bit in, um, on your social media platforms, but in the end they are not your customer. So, uh, some, you know, I know people that have been spent thousands of dollars, you know, for this and it just, uh, backfire. So there's my opinion is we really can't buy a lot. I mean, we can do advertising and things like that to purchase customers. But with, uh, that kind of slight of hand trick, we really can't spend a lot of money. We have to do more, most of that organically.
Kristina (22:42):
Yeah. And I think what you've mentioned though, is so important. It goes back to your planning too, is targeting your customer, right? So a lot of people don't target their customer enough, right? So if a certain demographic, a certain region, so make sure that transcends into all your communication pieces, like your social media, you can target your audiences, make sure they're within, maybe, maybe it's a 50 mile radius that you want to target regionally first, or maybe you want to target your entire state, but make sure it's targeted. If it's not targeted, it's the same as you, you know, if you're having a store, obviously you're not going to service somebody that lives in Alaska if you're in Texas. Right. So, um, so that's very key.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (23:18):
Yeah. Now just actually a good point. I just re wrote down avatar and it's worth the exercise to go through, to figure out, you know, sit down and think about who your customer is. If you don't have any, you know, it's some speculation, but if you do have any, we should know them enough to know, you know, who they are, their age range, you know, uh, income range or what business type again, geographic location, you know, we build this avatar of who our customer is. And then that way it gives us direction when we do our outreach.
Kristina (23:52):
That's a great point. Um, I think I call them personas, but an avatar is a great in their terms. So yeah, like brands like your brand or your business is basically a personality. So you should define what that is, right. And what you want to reflect through the public and what you're going to sell and what you're going to service. But so your brand personality has to be friends with other, other personalities. So, um, you can meet that person personal persona or avatar as you call it. And so just make it like a person. Describe it. Um, is it, you know, as a woman, female, or is it transgender? Like, you know, there's all sorts of what, who's your target audience, what age group, as you said, what, uh, affluent, like if they're a fluent or they're, you know, middle-class or what is there as people that are actually looking for deals, there's lots of people looking for deals right now.
Kristina (24:32):
So maybe it's, you know, you're developing a coupon platform or something like that. Um, and then where the region is, and then how are you going to price it and how are they going to find you? Right. Um, and I think that is part of the marketing strategy, which is also embedded in your, um, that's very, very key to your business plans. So they all go hand in hand. And again, that roadmap going back to that roadmap, how am I going to get from a, to B, to C, to D? So if you had no way you're going, well, you might know you're going, but how am I going to get there? So I might have to stop for gas here. Maybe I need to top up my funds, or maybe I need to just focus on one part of my business to get to the next part. And if you're too scattered, you're never you just going to go in circles. So, um, make sure your objectives, um, really do match and align with where you're going.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (25:20):
Yeah. And it's a crazy thought, but it's, it's not, uh, an intuitive thought, but you can actually have such a fast growth that it can also damage your business, your reputation. There's been a lot of people that have been hurt by that, by overgrowth, by not planning or being able to keep up with it. So always important.
Kristina (25:42):
Yeah. Yeah. And especially like all of a sudden, if you just took off as an e-commerce and all of a sudden you have way too many customers, you don't have enough inventory, people are disappointed. Um, obviously you're gonna have to figure out how you're going to communicate that with your, the public. And so you're trying to, you know, not disappointing. So they'll come back and return. I think that's one of the key things with any customer or client they might buy once, or you might sell your services once, but you want to make sure they come back and are repeat customers, right. And hopefully you can have some passive income or some sort of income, whether it's e-commerce or, you know, there's so many a retainer on the service level, but that is so true. So to have that plan put in place, a lot of times you just, you're not ready because you don't have any of the inventory of the people or resources to do. So it's a good problem to have maybe to be scaling fast, but at the same time, it can really destroy your business, as you said, and your reputation.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (26:30):
Yeah, exactly. And, um, the, the cost of acquisition of customers, of course, that's something that we want to look at is if we put, you know, an ad out there and it cost us X number dollars, it brought in X number of customers. But the real key is that sustainability of those repeat customers, I mean the cost of acquisition, they drive that down so far because if they will, you know, continue to buy from you, that's the best scenario that we can possibly have. Yeah.
Kristina (27:00):
I call that life value. So lifetime value customers. So always you can't predict no everything, but that's really where you want to be able to kind of, you know, they'll be a client or a customer for many years. And maybe, you know, especially if it's a, B to C, maybe it's a product that, you know, that they, they use within their homes and maybe their children become customers to have that brand, whatever it is, especially with the B to C space, like look at Heintz, catchable use out pretty easy, right. A lot of kids were brought up on catch-up, you know, putting on your eggs, your fries or meatloaf or whatever, but, you know, you have fond memories of it, hopefully. Um, and you know, you buy Heinz because it makes you think of that. It's a trusted brand and it makes you have memories and as a child, so you use it in your home. So that's something that I would always tell that story to kind of give people a perspective with what that means, because it's kind of a term that's too technical sometimes for people to get their head wrapped around.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (27:52):
Right. Right. So the other thing I'm gonna, you know, we'll talk a little bit about the negative part of social media for a minute, is that, um, it, Al people always tend to put their best on their, a lot of times, some people will be vulnerable and put in, you know, mistakes or failures. But so as entrepreneurs, we look around at social at other businesses, social media, and think, wow, those guys are really taken off or this or that. And, um, you know, it can, it can be dejecting. So I think it's good to keep in mind that, uh, you know, we need to focus on who we are because we don't always know the backstory of these other companies or entrepreneurs, but then typically, uh, when we see somebody that becomes the, what we term the overnight success, I, I, I don't like to use, I don't really like the use of that word, because I think once you kind of unpack the overnight successes, we always find that it's generally been a long, hard road there for them.
Kristina (28:52):
Exactly. Like there is no overnight success. I think it's very, very rare people. Who've worked really, really hard. You don't see the back story, as you said, where they worked all those nights, when you maybe were out going to restaurants, having a nice dinner, we mean, well, you know, these people are working hard at home every waking hour, basically to get things going and using all their life savings and risk people don't think about that because yes, you are putting a lot of risk in, but, um, and that can be funds and time. Um, and so, yeah. So if you're prepared to do that, um, I think that's really what it is, is yeah. Don't look at social media as a comparison too much. I mean, it's, you can use it as inspiration to try to reframe it that way. But, um, it is, it's hard, I think on a social level too, as well as a business level, but people are really busy.
Kristina (29:35):
I've noticed everybody's busy on LinkedIn. You're like, Oh, what am I supposed to be doing? I should be doing that too. Or I should be doing this, or I should say, maybe you do want to start a podcast, but you're like, Oh my God, I haven't started my podcast yet. I haven't done. So there's so many things to do. And then you get distracted and you away from your focus. So, um, I think that's very key and learning from your mistakes, right? So as you said before, and social media can, you know, take you off track. So off your roadmap. So, you know, maybe you're driving along the road and you know, you see, you know, people who they see, you know, it's awful, but maybe a car accident and they look and they crane and then they get in an accident. Right. So, um, I always kind of, uh, I love the comparison with driving because I think that's really what it is. Keep your lane, keeping your lane and focus where you're going. Don't let the noise distract you too much. There might be some good ideas and stuff and maybe can make some great alliances, but don't compare yourself. That'll be just frustrating. Yeah.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (30:30):
Yeah. And, and I think the car analogy is good is, you know, we want to use the rearview mirror to look at where we've been some things that we can do different or better, but we always need to be driving out the windshield, not, not in the rear end because you know, so many people want to drive in the rearview mirror about, Oh, I made this mistake or this happened, or that happened. And you know, we get wrapped up instead of being proactive. Like, you know, we're on this path, where are we going? What do we need to do next? And, you know, kind of the analogy about the, uh, overnight success, a lot of people think success is just a, um, you know, a line that starts in the bottom left and goes right up. It's not, it starts there, but it is, you know, it is Jagen, and it's usually, uh, a very long, uh, it's a longer time horizon than most people think. It's not,
Kristina (31:19):
You got raised a lot of peaks and valleys. Right. So, yeah, I totally agree with you. Um, yeah, so people have to realize that and, um, don't be envious of others. Um, always be supportive, especially in a time like this, um, and use other people as inspiration if someone's doing well, or you think they're doing well, you know, reach out to them. Maybe you can learn some of their tips tricks, um, or they can tell you some of their mistakes. So you don't make the same. I've I really found that there's a lot of great people out there. You just have to reach out. And if they're not your people, that's okay too. You just move along. But there are so many people that are so happy to lend, you know, an ear, but also give you insights on their own mistakes and how they overcame them or what they learned from it.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (32:01):
Yeah. And I love these conversations like this, where it comes full circle because now we have come right back to the why. And that is that if we choose, if, if we get the opportunity to choose the business that we're in, we need to make sure we get the why. Right. Because then others doesn't mind. Others don't matter. Um, uh, actual the financial, you know, if we make enough money to live, it's not as important to, um, be Y you know, to, to make a ton of money. If we are doing something that we really love, that we really believe in, uh, that's the best reward. I think that you can get,
Kristina (32:40):
I totally agree. It's I call it purpose led brands. So, but it's purpose led for yourself. So you have to decide, and my passionate, for example, but working with seniors or my passionate about starting a company about wellness, or my passionate about, you know, really renovating and making their homes look beautiful, whatever your business is, you have to know why you're doing it and who you're serving and why, what kind of value, what value are you bringing? I think that will make everybody feel good. Like if, you know, you've made someone happy or successful in what they're doing by, you know, servicing them through your business, um, that will give you some fulfillment, but also going back to your why while all of a sudden, if you are a wellness company, for example, and then all of a sudden you have an opportunity to work with another supplier that's maybe cheaper, but they're using, you know, unethical labor, or they're not using, um, you know, natural products.
Kristina (33:27):
And here you are standing for something that's like wellness and you're doing really unsustainable practices and unethical practices. I don't feel that that's not aligning with your why. So always, um, go back to your why. So if you have a new opportunity or you're trying to minimize costs, go back and make sure that that does align because that's where you can lose customers. That's where you're going to go off track. And, um, I think purpose led is what people are really looking for customers these days. Do you want to know that you stand for something?
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (33:55):
Yeah. And when we're purpose led, and when we really think about the, you know, doing things that we're passionate about, the other thing is that we, uh, we don't always want to get boxed into marketing on cost or on dollars, because if you're the low cost provider today, I guarantee you, there's going to be somebody who's going to undercut you or be low cost tomorrow. So we need to think about that marketing message as the value that we provide, because we can, if we're doing things like you said, uh, you know, more purpose-driven sustainability or whatever that need is we can Mark it on value and actually command a higher price for our product or service.
Kristina (34:40):
I think it's much harder to be in a, you know, high volume, low cost business than in being in, you know, uh, I would say a high value business that really delivers on, you know, whether it's ethics, maybe someone wants something that's vegan, or they want really reliable service to deal with their parents who are elderly and they want to be able to trust them. Um, there's a lot of issues right now with elder care, right. People aren't trusting, you know, nursing homes or anything like that. So, I mean, gaining, uh, the customer's trust is really by gaining. So they understand why you're doing your business and what value you're bringing. So I think that is totally, totally key. Yeah.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (35:14):
Yeah. For sure. Well, Kristina, we appreciate you being here today. Uh, before we let you go, a couple of things first off, is it, do you have a tool that you use in your daily life? It could be a tool, a habit, or ritual something, you do that, and it could be professional or personal. That really adds a lot of value that you just couldn't give up.
Kristina (35:35):
Well, I have a few things that I do do. Um, I'd like to schedule my days and it's kind of hard, but I schedule also some me time, because as we said, it's also really, um, as an entrepreneur, it's really hard because you're going to be going, you know, out it for hours, but you're going to need some respite or are you going to just totally burn out. So I always try to schedule an hour a day where I'm doing a workout, a walk, or, you know, whatever that is that will make me, you know, kind of reset and be happy. The other thing is, um, on a purse while it's really a personal thing, but I often, you know, have a journal by my bed. It's not necessarily just because I want to journal about my day it's because I wake up or I start worrying about something and I'm like, Oh my God, am I going to forget that in the morning?
Kristina (36:14):
And then I can't sleep at all and sleep, as we know, is one of the most important things, especially when you're trying to build a business. So I write them down. So then, um, and you know, that kind of adds to my to-do lists the next day. So it keeps me on track. Um, and I can check off what I've done or what I've not done, but at least it gives me some peace of mind. Um, yeah, so that, that's really my tips and tricks. I mean, there's lots of other tools I use too that are more, you know, maybe like apps and so on at time trackers and stuff like that. But that can be, it's just more technical. Yeah,
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (36:41):
No, I think that's important. Uh, and you know, no one opened up a whole new episode because we could talk about this point for hours as well, but, uh, scheduling that time for us, it's important. It's important to reset, to regroup, you know, to not burn out, but it's also very important for that creative part of us. We need that time where we don't really have a lot of stimulation going on to where we can think about what is that next step or that creative advertising campaign. And, uh, you know, there's, again, I mentioned this quite a bit on this show, but there has been a lot of research with kids about, you know, when I was growing up, we went outside and, you know, we played with rocks and sticks and we're imaginative about that. And nowadays kids have so much stimulation that, you know, the, uh, research was showing, we're not giving them enough time to be creative, which, uh, you know, translates to adults too. We can get so busy, uh, with our business that we don't take care of our family and we don't take care of ourselves. So definitely need to, uh, to do that for sure.
Kristina (37:46):
Yes. I agree. And that's, you know, a lot of times when people start a business and so they can have time with their family or live a different, hopefully better lifestyle, but again, yes, you'll be working hard and you're so right about the creative Don is very true when I go for walks. It's usually when things click, or when you hear people calling you that, or they were in the shower and they thought about something. So yeah, it's when you're actually not doing anything about work. Cause usually you're too focused on the task at hand and that's what you're trying to get done or the worries and stresses of the day. But when you can just, you know, even yoga, I'm like when I would go to yoga class, I do it at home now by my fireplace, but hot yoga there. But, uh, yeah, those are the times where, you know, you start rethinking about all sorts of creativity. Um, whether it's something with your business or it's something that you guys, you said you can, um, maybe just transforming your office or something like that, or a partnership, et cetera. So yeah, there's so much, um, importance to that. Exactly.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (38:37):
Yeah. And, uh, you know, for me getting out and taking a 15 minute walk, it's amazing. The clarity that, you know, just happens. It's, it's really good. So anyway, take some time for yourself. Very important. All right, Kristine, if you wouldn't mind, so tell us a little bit about, uh, who your customer is, what you can do for them, how they can reach out and get ahold of you. And also tell us a little bit about this new venture. Uh, that's coming up the spring of 2021.
Kristina (39:05):
Oh, well, thank you. So K vision marketing and media on has been around for about 18 years and I've done everything from marketing strategy to creative campaigns to, um, really just, or even helping with a certain project or, uh, working within their team. Sometimes companies don't have a CML or, you know, a head of marketing or anything like that, or they don't have somebody that's, you know, experienced or maybe not thinking outside of thinking, but outside of the box, I try to get people to not even think there's a box. So sometimes when people are in an organization, you know, they've been used to doing things a certain way. So, um, it's nice to have a different perspective. So I'm the virtual CMOs. So you can reach me at Kristina with a K and my company is K vision. So the letter K and vision.
Kristina (39:47):
So www.kvision.ca. And you can also reach me on LinkedIn, Kristina with a K and a Shea, S H E A like the stadium. So I work all over the world. I work with financial companies. I work with women like women brands, female brands, a lot of wellness. Um, I've also worked with government, um, not for profit. So I do pretty much everything. I started at corporate, but, um, I really love doing, um, lifestyle as well. So that's kind of my, my thing. Um, and I'm available 24 seven pretty much, although I do sleep sometimes. Um, and my, uh, my other venture, which is something that, you know, has been bubbling for quite a while that I've been wanting to do is blue skies life. And I spelled sky with a Y we were talking about purpose led brand because it's very important to me because as working in the financial industry, you know, sometimes you really go back, why am I doing this?
Kristina (40:37):
Um, because maybe you don't agree with a certain message that's being sent out. And, um, I just want him to do something that I was passionate about, which is wellness. And, you know, I've had some personal health journeys, which I won't get into because that's another show in itself. But, um, so I just decided that it was really, there was a gap to me about for women's products, um, and in the wellness space and really education as a whole. So please guys, life is, uh, launching in spring 2021. Um, it'll be an e-commerce and then an education platform will be layered on top of that with a membership. But for now, um, you can reach me on Instagram and Facebook at blue skies life. And again, it's guys is spelled with a Y and you can reach me on LinkedIn and, uh, the URL is www.blue skies, life.com.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Has The Entrepreneurial Bug Bitten You Here Are Some Great Tips To Succeed (41:23):
All right, great. Well, again, thank you so much, uh, reach out to Kristina, see how she can help you and your company appreciate you taking time out of your day to be with us. Uh, this is going to do it for another episode of the business of business podcast. Of course, you can find us at www.hebusinessofbusinesspodcast.com. Uh, we're all on social media as well. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and this will, uh, uh, video of this interview will go up on YouTube as well. So until next time, take care of yourself and take care of each other, please.
www.kvision.ca
www.thebusinessofbusinesspodcast.com