Transcript:

Speaker: [00:00:00] Hey, small business heroes. Welcome back to “Small Business PR.” I’m so excited because you are about to have a treat because Jacqueline Snyder, my friend, who is the brand maker behind literally thousands of product brands, three of them she told me have been on “Shark Tank,” is here to talk all about how we can use the here and now to get ready for the busiest time of year.

And so how do we use these months where, it’s spring, it’s summer, it’s one of those in-between months, to really make sure that by the time buying season comes, holiday season comes, we are set up. So welcome to the show, Jacqueline.

Speaker 2: Thank you. I’m so glad to be here. I’m just so excited. And yeah,

the results, we were just talking about this ’cause you’re also on my show. the collaboration and synergy between you and I and our students and our members, yeah, it’s just unbelievable the things that these small business owners are creating with press and then knowing how to lead, run, and grow their companies.

So I’m just, I’m really excited to be here.

Speaker: Yeah, that’s why I called you the brand maker So tell us about your mission, what you told me, which was like so beautiful, your mission of why you’re doing this.

Speaker 2: Thank you. I was [00:01:00] raised in this industry in downtown LA.

My parents were first generation Americans and came here and created something from nothing. So it’s really cool sometimes to really be from that background of the American dream is that you can literally build from nothing. And so grew up in the industry downtown LA. And then I had a mom that was so creative and she was a maker and, but she had this belief that she didn’t know enough about business to actually start a business.

So she could make things and she would sell them at markets, but there was this level that she just really couldn’t get out of really her marriage, my, my dad and her, not a good situation. And I’d be like, “Mom, you can leave. You can do this.” And she’s like, “No, I’m a mom and I have no way to make money.”

So one, big transition for me, from the time that I was, I’d say 12, I was like, “I’m gonna learn to make my own money and never be in this situation.” Two, was really encouraged, one, to be an entrepreneur, and two, a creative entrepreneur ’cause, I actually was at a UC and dropped out and I was like, “I’m going to art school” and they’re like, “Great.”

And then three, it I never want a woman especially to ever feel like she does not have [00:02:00] options, that she cannot create her own safety, that she cannot take care of herself or her children. And so it’s so simple, you guys. If you’re listening, money is the easiest thing to make.

It is the most renewable resource. Like it comes in, it goes out if you really believe this. But when you don’t believe that it’s easy to make, it’s like it keeps people really stuck. So I thought, great, I’m going to teach women how to make money by making and selling physical products, ’cause that’s my background.

I’m a fashion designer. I had two of my own brands. I launched 2,000 brands as a one-on-one consultant and over 100,000 students here at The Product Boss. But the biggest thing that I’ve shifted into recently is like a– So women get to make money. What can my global impact be? Not only like each person at a time getting them to six figures or seven figures, but global.

And so my global impact is that I wanna help be the brand maker, be the person behind the scenes of a billion dollars generated worldwide by women-owned product-based businesses. And so that is my like, that is my life’s mission, ’cause can you even imagine– I have [00:03:00] goosebumps saying this. But can you even imagine what’s going to happen when we as women and entrepreneurs are generating a billion dollars worldwide?

It literally will change– It changes governments, it changes communities, it changes legacy, it changes our own families and like what we can create. And things that I always think, bless my grandma, she’s 90, from England, and she’s “So what do you do? Like, why are you always working?” And I’m like, “Grandma, I’m changing the world,”

and so it’s like things that my own grandma could not even imagine that really gets to be our impact on the path that we’re creating now.

Speaker: Yeah. We really are change makers, not only because we’re first generation. I always say we are mold breakers. We are people who abandon the steady, safe path, right?

And do the daring and the impossible. It’s not for the faint of heart. And I also say now in the day of AI and the robots coming for us, having a small physical handmade business, that is literally the thing that separates us.

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Speaker: And so you are literally doing us a favor by having a physical thing that you’ve birthed from your mind into the hands of people.

That is what separates [00:04:00] us. So we need to stay small. We need to shop small and stay human. And so that’s why I love our mission. And I think it’s funny that we’re recording this because right now it is a dark place out there, right? Yeah. Regardless of what you think, it is a tough time and there’s a lot of fear, there’s a lot of uncertainty from globally, from socio politically, from everything.

And so the main narrative is, well, it’s hard. It’s a hard time. And I actually talked about this with you, and you said, “I don’t actually believe that.” And so we’re gonna share not only the mindset, but how do we really get ourselves out of that?

Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely. yes.

If we turn on the internet, if we go on social media, if we check the news, it’s of course. And I actually think, and there’s been studies about this, but humans aren’t supposed to know all of the terrible, no good things that are happening globally. It’s just, it’s sometimes it’s too much for our nervous systems.

And so what I really sometimes, and this is how I coach my students, I’m like, and this is what my life coach Stacy has taught me. She’s like, “Jacqueline, be where your feet are.” So I really get to ground into where am I in this [00:05:00] moment. There are no problems in this moment. My feet are right here in my office.

My kids are at school. Like this, right now, my world is safe and amazing. I’m connecting with you. You’re in New York, like I’m in LA. We’re just like, we’re creating and we’re getting out there. Like we’re supporting small businesses, so everything is great. And I think that the world, my husband always reminds me ’cause I am also a catastro- I’m a recovering catastrophizer.

So my husband’s always, “Jacqueline, we live in one of the safest times in the world. Like we no longer have the bear outside the cave. We have access to medicine. Like we, we can get in our cars.” Like I said, women can make their own money. Like there’s so many opportunities that we have now that really we’re also.

So it’s navigating the information and the inputs that we’re generating so that we can keep our heads down and keep doing what we do. And then speaking about what you said, everyone’s like, “The robots are coming.” Okay, great. So yeah, it will be a sweeping time where industries are letting go of people.

Even creatives. I think about [00:06:00] as a fashion designer the big brands that I used to work for, eventually they can take all of the designs we’ve ever created and throw it into AI and create alternative versions.

like you talk about Perplexity, they could research what’s trending and then potentially even have AI design it. So I’m thinking about all my friends that are still, fashion designers working for companies, creative directors, and there’s going to be a level of more jobs being lost.

But guess what? Making a mug, a necklace, sunglasses, clothing, a painting, creating and making and selling physical products, that’s not gonna go away. Say the robots are gonna come and they can build for us. Cool. But I think that the pendulum swing is still going to be about,

I think about this with lab-grown diamonds. my sister-in-law recently told me that people aren’t willing to pay the value of real diamonds because there’s lab-grown. But humans, we’re pendulums. I’ll bet you in the next several years people are gonna be like, “That’s a real diamond?

Oh [00:07:00] my God.” And then they’re going to want to covet and buy real diamonds. It’s going to go back. It’s the same way that we love old objects now, vintage items, things that are found. And so the thing that I want everyone to know is, people are gonna look for human-made and when anyone’s like, I’m handmade this,” I’m like, apparel fashion has always been handmade.

Maybe there’s a laser that cuts it, and maybe there’s like support, but there’s still human beings’ hands making the product. And so that’s the thing that all of us in the physical product-based world is we still need things around us. We still wanna decorate our homes, wear awesome things, hang things up, eat delicious food, and that we’re gonna be supported by AI to multiply what we can do,

we’re not being replaced. So if anyone out there is, listening to this and they’re like, I’m not sure if I’m gonna lose my job,” great. Let’s build your brand. Let’s build your physical product-based business, because people still need things, and we always will till the end of time.

Speaker: 100%.

it’s about human-made, not even handmade, because those hands can be robots. So for anyone listening that’s “Oh, [00:08:00] it’s too late or it’s too hard,” you are literally what’s keeping us human, so we need you here. so there’s the mindset part, which you’re so good at, right?

Because you’re also a coach for so many people. But let’s talk about the actual strategy. So a lot of times people are just going down their to-do list, and next thing Q4 happens, and then they’re like, “Oh my God, what is happening? I’m not where I am.” So what can we do now in this kind of spring, summer time, to set ourselves up for a really busy Q4?

Even despite the economic downturn, people will still be buying gifts, yes.

Speaker 2: Yes. people are spending money, everyone. let’s get out of the mindset that they’re not. They are. They’re just spending money on what they value. So if you’re just another commodity, if you’re just another, candle that kind of looks Half-assed and homemade.

you’re not gonna stand out, right? You’re not gonna grow. So we really get to work on building brands at this point, really standing out. And I think what you’re doing with press, because to get press means that there’s this presence, that it shows up, it validates the product.

And then what we do here at The Product Class is really help support people build brands. I want you to look like a million-dollar [00:09:00] brand without a million-dollar budget. one thing that I always tell my students is, and I have this program called The Collective, which I’ve created as this environment now.

It’s, no longer just the course, go take the course and hope to God it works for you. I think it’s the culmination of everything I’ve created over the last 20 years in this industry, where it’s custom personalized feedback, like one-on-one feedback, a board of advisors,

you’re coming into the group as, PR, so it’s like, great, would you like an advisor, Gloria, who’s in PR? here’s access to an expert. Curriculum, AI tools, templates, community, live events. everything that a entrepreneur needs to thrive and grow and pivot, I had a student that was on I think it was Good Morning America, and sold out of her sugar cubes.

And she sold out, and because she was in the collective, she was like, “I don’t know what to do. we sold out. Do I cancel all the orders?” And I was like, no. We write them an email. We let them follow along on your journey of ‘Wow, thank you for supporting my small business. It’s gonna take a little bit longer to fulfill them.'”

If she was on her own, she would’ve just [00:10:00] canceled and then lost all that money, but instead she didn’t, and then was able to pivot, grow, and like still fulfill them all and take all the press. So funny. so why I say all this is like in this environment, we really have to think about what you’re saying.

What do you do in your slow months? What do you do in your busy months? And so June tends to be a slower month for retail. Buyers are not buying in June. So what I teach my members in the collective is really this idea of work on your business and in your business.

In the busy season, a lot of times we’re working in the business, helping with fulfillment, helping with production, just like chaos and beautifulness and everything that comes with the holidays. But what do you do in the slow season? And that’s when you work on your business. And June, July, those are really great months.

May is very busy ’cause we’re coming out of Mother’s Day, huge buying season. We’re walking into Father’s Day in June, which isn’t as big, so depending on what products you sell, if it makes sense. Otherwise, June and July, prepping for August, September, October, November, that’s really the [00:11:00] time to do it. So that’s the first part, is like really using the summer to think, “What do I need to work on in this moment so that my business thrives when we get into the busy season?”

Speaker: So good. So what do we need to do? the we need to start making a list, or how do we set ourselves up? Even if we’re like busy and we’re wrangling all the kids and we’re single moms doing it on our own.

Speaker 2: Yeah.I was just telling you, my husband is in New York right now for two weeks, and I’m like, we’re putting on an event for 70 people in two weeks.

I’m like, “Could you have picked a better time or a worse time to, leave me solo with the kids and a puppy?” So one of the first things that I tend to work with my students on is really auditing what their best sellers are, what they’re known for, what products they can be known for. So whether it’s, hero products, like we talked about Sol de Janeiro when they first came out, and it was the bum bum cream and two variations of this body cream.

That’s something where you have a core product, a couple variations, and it’s like, “That’s what I’m known for.” Or if you have a core collection. So apparel, for example, I was a swimwear designer. And so as a [00:12:00] swimwear designer, we knew that we had the bikinis were the styles that sold the most. tie tops, like triangle tops and halter tops were like our bestselling tops, and bottoms were tie side bottoms.

Then we had a couple one pieces and maybe a couple coverups. So we weren’t making sunglasses and hats and all the things that people ever needed to go to the beach. It was, like, very specific. So we really look at what are you known for, we do an audit, and then think seasonality-wise, what is going to be the thing that leads the show in the holidays?

Because you all get to start prepping now. What do you need to order? If you’re doing your own production, what raw goods do you need? What’s your projections for what you wanna sell? If you’re ordering from overseas, you may already have been ordering it, right? So we really start to work on this production timeline that makes sense.

And I know this aligns so much with PR because what I want people to think about is that what’s going to lead the show in the season? you know when there’s like a movie out, and there’s a celebrity, and they’re doing all the night shows, and they’re on Saturday Night Live, and they’re on the morning shows, and like [00:13:00] everywhere you turn that celebrity is doing their press?

It’s the same thing with your product. We don’t wanna sit there thinking like, “Okay, I’m just gonna throw it all at them at the holidays and good luck.” It’s like, no, you know what? I’m launching this brand new, sweater collection, and, the vibe is going to be Milan in the ’70s, and you know what it’s going to be.

So then maybe you’re then pitching and thinking of, you’re, right now you’re planning for, and then you’ll be pitching the sweaters, and that’s the thing that’s gonna anchor your sales into the holidays. So first is really thinking about the products and the seasonal positioning and what you need to do now to prep for it.

Speaker: So good. I think a lot of times we’re like busy, and then we get there, we’re like, “Okay, I’m ready,” but no one else has known about you yet. And I think we underestimate how many times we need to say a message before people really get it.

Because, even with email open rates, you get 20% of people opening it, and that’s high,

Your Instagram gets seen by 10% of your people. So you constantly need to be telling them what you’re doing and so that’s exactly right, is I think a lot of times we’re like, “Oh, we don’t wanna be a bother.” It’s like, then it’s gonna be you or someone else, honey.

Speaker 2: I know. I love to tell people, [00:14:00] I’m like, “Just, they signed up for your email list.

they literally signed up for your email list, so send them the email.” Target will blast people’s inboxes the first week that they sign up just to get them to unsubscribe. I deleted like 50,000 emails last year. I was like, “If they’re not opening the emails, I’m not paying for them. bye-bye,” right?

So the idea there isthey will stay connected to you, and sometimes they’re just in a purge mode, so send the email because they’re asking for it. I think the other thing that everyone needs to think about is more is not more. More is more headache, more confusion, more chaos. More is more SKUs, more raw goods, more things to market.

So when you’re really tight on what you’re known for, I’m wearing her bangles, Yearly Co., Anne of Yearly Co. I supported her in getting from half million dollars to her first million in six months to two million, and she was just on the show after about four to five years since we worked together.

She ended up hitting $11 million a year in revenue with her product. She hired a CEO, and you know how that happened? By not selling necklaces and rings and bracelets and inklets and all the things. It was like you’re known for your bangles, now [00:15:00] be like world-renowned for your bangles. And it was like eight figures through someone who started making jewelry at her workbench with her babies to then now she doesn’t even have to run her company.

She just gets to be creative director. So we all have to really realize that more is just more chaos. A confused customer doesn’t buy. So you get to be non-confused, and then start to prep for what you wanna create in the new season.

Speaker: I love it. I always say riches are in the niches,

That’s what it is. You can’t compete with everyone with a whole line, but if you make one thing and just ride that lane out until you can’t, that’s really the way. And then even for my business, the more that I’ve grown, I’ve actually niched down even more. So what’s the third strategy?

Speaker 2: Okay, so really it’s the auditing. I would also then say coming up with the timeline and the dates. So when are you going to launch it, and what are you gonna launch When you come up with the dates of what it is, “Okay, I’m coming out with my fall collection on this date.

This is what I’m gonna drop.” What we work on every single month inside my program is we call it the sales drive. So what’s the next 30 to 45 days of [00:16:00] sales that you’re gonna create for the next month two months ago we planned for Mother’s Day already. So this month it’s like, are we planning for Father’s Day?

Are we planning to enter into summer? So what’s the launch date? What are you promoting every single week? And also thinking about when you know the star of your show. if I don’t know what you’re selling, I’m not gonna buy from you. So this is going back to what you said, Gloria, about your website, your hero image changes to the product you’re selling.

Your email talks about what you’re selling. I land on your social media, it’s there. I see a press feature, it’s there. It’s literally omni-channel, so no matter where I hit, I’m like, “Oh, she wants me to buy that necklace,” or, “She’s telling me chunky necklaces are in.” And so now I’m like, I know exactly what to buy, when to buy it.

So it really all comes from people being the leader. what I teach is lead, run, grow within my community, and it really starts in leadership. Leadership is you having the vision, and casting the vision all the way out, and then making the decisions so that your company can run really well.

When [00:17:00] it does run, then it grows. And so really at this point in the summer, you get to really vision what you wanna create in the holiday season, and plan now so that when you get there, you’re not scrambling and instead you’re like, “What was the plan that I came up with in June and July? Amazing. Let me just follow the plan.”

Speaker: Yeah. you’re not a Walmart, you’re not catch-all I think we’re all in this season of trimming down and getting to like, why is it that I started? And I think somehow along the way with shiny new object syndrome and looking at what that person does, you start to expand and then everything just gets diluted,

I think now more than ever, we need to know what is your specific point of view. Because it’s not about saying more, it’s about being precise. So I love what you said about that. how can people find you? This has been so helpful. I love how you’re so creative, and then you do the mindset part, but then you have real actionable strategies where people can really go from four to five to six to seven figures.

Speaker 2: Yeah. and I just wanna really jump in really fast, because what I’ve realized is your business will only grow as much as you do. So why I say that, Gloria, and it’s so important, is I know so many people, our listeners, our students, our [00:18:00] members, are asking for the strategy. “Just tell me how.”

But you guys, our businesses are mirror, a reflection, your life coach, your therapist. It’s the thing reflecting back to you the places you’re not willing to grow. And so if you’re afraid to be seen, then you’re not going to be seen. If You have a fear of success, you’re not going to succeed.

If you have a fear of failure, it’s just frozen in paralysis. So I think so much of how I’ve shifted in the strategy is that it’s not only strategy, it’s who you get to be. we get to really work on the mindset and the person doing the doing. Because when you start to elevate what you find to be possible, then I can tell you the strategy and you’re like, “Yes, let’s go.”

Gloria can tell you the strategy, you’re like, “Yes, let’s go.” But if your mind says “No, not me, I’m scared,” and all the things, And so entrepreneurship, we are so lucky and blessed that as entrepreneurs, when you see something, just let it mirror back to you in this container.

“Oh, that’s where I’m getting stuck. That’s where I’m held up. Where else is this showing up in my life?” And then the coolest thing [00:19:00] is that we own our own businesses, so we get to work through it here, and then we get to work through it in our lives. So if you like this kind of, coaching and advice we have an amazing community at The Product Boss.

You can listen to us anywhere you listen to podcasts, The Product Boss, or we’re on YouTube. I’ve been working real hard on my video content, so please come follow the show there. And, if you want support and you’re like, “How can The Product Boss help me?” I’ve got product-based growth strategists available to talk to you, so you can always go to theproductboss.com/bookacall and we can see how we can support you in growing your product-based business.

Speaker: and tell them Gloria sent you. You heard it here.

Speaker 2: Yep. Tell them.

Speaker: You’re awesome. Thank you so much.

And so I love that mission. Thank you for being a real one. You’re amazing. We’re gonna have to have you back. So everyone go check her out, okay? Thank you.

Speaker 2: Thank you.