610. “After 7 years, I know it’s time to do things differently to reach the next level, but I don’t know where to start!” | Coaching Session

I do need to, like, step into the CEO, my CEO era of life, because there I think there's some. It's something innately bred in specifically women who feel like we have to apologize for our success a lot.

Hi, I'm Jacqueline Snyder and this is the Product Boss podcast. I've helped launch and grow thousands of product based businesses, even one of my own. And over the last 20 years, I've seen behind the scenes of businesses just like yours. Whether they are makers, manufacturers, artists, or food and beverage businesses. I have spent so many hours studying it all. I've discovered what makes them successful, what mistakes they could have avoided, how did they turn their ideas into a successful business, and what are the strategies that they have used to make more sales and be discovered by more customers. And this is what this show is all about. Whether you're just starting out or you're looking to become a million dollar product boss, I'm here to give you the permission to chase your dreams no matter how big or small. All you need is the right mindset, a little courage, strategy and support, and you too can be the next million dollar product boss. Let's do this. Hey. Hey, Product boss. We are back with another coaching session for you. Today I am chatting with Jen of Scenery Bags, who handmade bags and accessories created out of retired theatrical materials. Okay, so now I've known Jen for years as her and my husband actually went to college together. They're both in theater. Jen used to be a stage manager and I just absolutely love her and her products. In fact, the way that I met Jen was through a product that she had gifted to my husband. And then he was like, hey, do you want this little bag? And I was like, yeah, this is so cool. And then ended up working with her one on one some years ago. And now she's a student, she's a listener of the podcast, and she's inside of my inner circle mastermind, and I'm so honored to be on this journey with her. Okay, so when she started this business, it was actually as a maternity leave project and it turned into a viral sensation over the summer and ended up quickly becoming a full time, very real job for Jen. And she was not expecting it, but it was super exciting. Now, Jen has been in this business now for seven years and she actually just signed a lease on her first big office space. She wants to continue growing her business, but she knows that she actually has to do something different now to truly level up and become that million dollar business that I know she's absolutely going to be, but she doesn't know what that is just yet, which is exactly what we're going to figure out today. Now, real quick, if you haven't done this already, would you mind following the show? All you have to do is go. We used to say subscribe back in my day, but now we say follow. So every listen the show, make sure you click that follow button. I want to make sure that your podcast app is getting all of the downloads of the show so that you can listen wherever you are. And if you haven't done so already, I am absolutely loving and so appreciative of those of you that have left a review for the podcast. It is just so incredible to see the feedback makes me know that I'm on the right track. I really get to see. Hey, this is helpful. That's helpful. And so I can keep giving you all of this amazing content and education twice a week, every week. Okay, so let's dive in to this coaching call with Jen. Jen, I'm so excited to coach you today. I think. I mean, we've worked together one on one some years back. You're in the inner circle mastermind. I knew you before we ever worked together where. And we can get into that story. But my husband one day came home with one of your bags and was like, what is this? So tell me a little bit more about scenery bags.

I was a Broadway stage manager, and then when I had my youngest, I started this company where we take Broadway sets after they close and upcycle them into bags and accessories. And when a Broadway show closes, unless it's going to tour or they're going to rent it, they throw everything away. So when I saw that happening, I was like, please, just give me your stuff. I'll make things. And Scenerybags was born, and 10% of our proceeds are donated to the Theater Development Fund to introduce students to theater.

So good. And that's why. And if any of you don't know, my husband's a Broadway actor. Slash actor. You guys went to college together. USC fight on. And so I think, yeah, you. You were talking about this the other day where you had given him an Oklahoma set bag because he had done Oklahoma at usc. And so I remember him coming home with this, like, black bag. And I was like, what is this? And then I've also been a fan of yours and followed you for years because we would just kind of cross, you know, you'd be at, like, Broadway events, Broadway Con. Like, you're just always everywhere, and then sort of watching you grow and the big names that were wearing your bags, the Tonys, and just kind of everything you did and the impact that you had. So for everyone to kind of get an idea around this, it's imagine those huge curtains or huge sets and backdrops. So I remember, I think you must have done it on social media, like a big, like a photo or something of like them rolling out the fabric. Because this is not, you know, five yard pieces of fabric. This is how. How big are the pieces of fabric that you're working with?

And they're usually like 20ft by 30, 40 to 50ft, depending. Yeah. And. And when we started, I would oftentimes like, roll in with my, like, with Hutton as a baby in like a, like ergo, baby carrier. Like, show up and I'm like, hey, I'm here to pick up the drop and then like drag it down 42nd street into an Uber and take it to a UPS and then have to like cut it outside because it was too big. You can't ship anything that's over like 165 pounds. So, like the big black velour drops, like the big heavy curtains, I'd have to cut down into smaller pieces on like the sidewalks of New York and then ship in pieces. Everything's laundered, everything's clean.

I was gonna say, don't worry. Yeah, you have a whole cleaning process, which is a whole other thing. I mean, we can't even watch wash comforters in our washing machine, let alone.

Well, the. Actually, the great thing about what we do or that benefits us in the cleaning process is that we can cut everything down before we clean it. So that helped us immensely because if we were cleaning cold drops, that would be hard.

What you're sharing about New York, though, just reminds me of my time in New York too. Because if you lived in New York City and you've had to do anything there, you know? Right. Like, I remember there was no Target. And how we got. I remember going to a home goods, like at 100, I don't know, it was like 110th or 118th and we were like walking with furniture on our back. Just the things you do in New York.

It's so real. Like if you got toilet paper in the morning, you're carrying toilet paper with you the rest of the day until.

You come the whole day. I remember going to like. I think we were at like a Tony's party and my husband's agent came and he had a backpack with him the whole time because it's like, no, you're on the go for the entire day once you leave your house and you need somewhere to put it so we could get into New York stories. But let's actually dive into coaching you because I know that's why you're here. You are. I mean, you've had this business for seven years.

Seven years today.

Oh, Happy anniversary.

Thank you. I know, like, this is so fitting.

It's perfect. July 15th is when we're recording. So happy anniversary. So I know you've done like a lot of work on your business, but where are you right now and where do you want to go with the business?

What a great question. We are. It's so interesting. My youngest starts kindergarten in August in a month. And so it was kind of always part of my like, business plan model that like, when the boys are both in school full time, like, that's when we can really ramp things. Things up. Because I feel like I've been kind of just like chased by the boulder that is scenery bag since we launched, like in the most amazing way that I'm so grateful for. We, I launched this as a maternity leave project. It went super viral, became a full time, very real job very quickly. And we've just like, I've been barely keeping the hamster wheel going, like, because there's, there's been a lot of demand and our, all of our customers are amazing and incredibly loyal. So that's been very exciting. And now I just signed a lease on our first office space because we've very much grown out of my home office. So we're moving furniture in this week and then we're moving in in August. It's our first real overhead we've ever had. So we're, we've been growing and scaling every year except for 2022, which is when I had to move our manufacturing out of Florida here to Houston because everything's made in America. But moving everything to Houston was very, very expensive and we lost a lot of our launches that year. Like, we just, it didn't happen like Florida stopped producing, so we had to move out. But other than that, like, we've been growing steadily every year. We're trying to scale. I mean, we are scaling, but I'm like meeting that. Scaling has been a learning curve for sure. And I definitely feel like we're rocking out on some IKEA furniture, to use one of your metaphors, you know, Like, I. Which is why I joined the Mastermind. Like, I love Multi Stream machine. For everyone listening. It is worth every penny. It is worth its weight in gold. It is business school. It has helped me immensely. And so now we're taking just the next steps of really making sure that we're setting a good foundation because I would love for us to scale a lot. We started doing wholesale for the first time this last year, which has been amazing. It was something that I avoided for a really long time because we can make such a limited amount of everything we do. And so it makes things a little bit more challenging to move in that direction. But now that we have them, like, this is great. Why didn't we do this earlier? So lots, lots of learning is happening, hiring is happening, laying new foundations is happening. Now that we're like moving into a real office space. So that's where we are with those things.

So where would you like to be? Like, how can a strategy session help you?

Where we like to be? Well, I mean, I would like for us to just be like second nature of show clothes as it comes to us, like as far as the back end of things, which is we're starting to become that, which is really exciting that I don't have to do a lot of legwork anymore. Stuff that people reach out to us because they know who we are and what we do and we're the only ones that do this. And outward facing, I think that it's just about getting in front of more people. We've never paid for any advertising before ever, which is amazing that we haven't needed to. We have organic people who love us and talk about us a lot. But like maybe we have an affiliates program.

Maybe we.

There's lots of different avenues that we have not reached or tapped at all. But one of. I have questions written down for you. Can I just be a nerd and go that way? Question one for Jacqueline. I have wonderful people in my life who have given me great advice over the years, but as we grow, they are very risk averse. Can you coach me on what risks are normal, safe, worth it and which are not for a product based business? How do I know I'm taking a good risk?

So what would a risk be con. What are you considering a risk? Because we all have different risks and risk tolerance.

This is true. I mean, risk number one is an office. So there's that. I've already signed the lease, so I jumped on that one. I really think it's going to be life changing because we need the space and my ADHD has destroyed this one and I just feel like I need better systems around me and more people around me. The next one is we've never taken any money. We're very privileged that we've never had to. And we're not in a place where we need to. Now I can see, like, cash flows low in, you know, the J months through the summer. We need to ramp up a lot for holiday. And I remember you saying in our retreat that, like, that's normal. And it was really nice to hear. Cause I'd never heard that before. And so I don't know how to go back to the people in my life who are like, that's not financially sound like, you should not be doing that. You're risking, you're jeopardizing your company. Because I, of course, don't want to do anything that's going to jeopardize my company. But I also, I don't know, like, what risks are normal and what risks are not normal.

Okay, great questions. Okay, so, you know, I just actually had this conversation last week with the woman who leads my team because from a product perspective. Well, okay, let's actually step it back from an individual perspective. A person who has a family, we all have different risk tolerance, right? So there's the Dave Ramsey world where people are like, cash, you know, cash is king. Like, I'm gonna, you know, I paid off my house and I have no mortgage, and this, that and the other. But if we actually look at the most wealthy people in the world, they do not have their houses paid off. I'm not saying not to do it, but, but Dave Ramsey wants, you know, he was coming and coaching people in a world where people were overspending over, leveraging, living above their means. And so in order to get them to spend within their means, spending cash that they had, like he has his envelope method. And not having a mortgage, but not having a mortgage on houses that these people have not, you know, a couple hundred thousand dollars, half million dollar houses versus if you look at people who are millionaires, billionaires, they have leverage, right? They have, they know that having a mortgage and having more time to make money outside. So whether they're, you know, investing in the stock market that has a return, they have their salaries, they might have investment properties, whatever it is, they don't want their. They don't want their cash all tied up in a home asset because your home is not necessarily an asset. Okay? So not that I'm a money expert, but I don't love debt personally. And because I could get into trouble with debt and I feel scared that I'll never be able to pull myself out of debt. Okay, so I'm going to reflect that back to you. So my goal is when I started to make money was that I could make enough money that I could pay down my debt monthly. That was the goal. So I would only spend what I had and then. But I put on a credit card because I get points and I could, you know, travel or I get cash back and all that. Now in product businesses it's very different. And I know you're talking about what we had discussed where let's say in the fashion industry there are literally you would try and make enough sales that you could actually get a factor. So what a factor is, is they are a company that loans money to. It was in the fashion industry, I'm not sure about other companies. And I remember we used to have to had made like $120,000 for a factor to even consider us. And what they do, depending on like the deal you get, they take 5% of sales. But let's say you're selling wholesale, you would get the orders wholesale. They would, it's almost like a credit bureau check. They would run the stores through like their own version of a bureau and make a decision whether that person was a risk or they would pay their bills. Because we know if we sell wholesale sometimes like you'll go into production, you'll be ready to ship and you can't sell like they don't, you can't charge their car. They're not paying for things. So that would be one thing that they would do where they would almost like credit check your companies that you're selling to to make sure that they're not going to screw you out of money. The second thing they would do is they would front money for production. So they'll take 5% to then give you money to go into production so that you can fulfill those orders. Because if you know about wholesale, we don't get paid until either the day you ship or if you're working with bigger companies like Nordstrom's, Macy's, that kind of thing, they don't. And bigger companies, they might even have like a net 10, net 30, net 90, net 90 and net 30 mean they're not paying you till 30 days after they receive goods or 90 days after they receive goods. Product based businesses, our money is tied up in cash. Our money is tied up in product so that cash flow is not there. So factors were kind of like the original version because we couldn't pay our manufacturers and credit cards. You know, there's like different places that we couldn't pay with credit card. Like, they needed cash as well. So I just want you to know that since the beginning of time, if just imagine a big company, like a really, really, really big company, they. They are not spending. They're not like, cash in, cash out. So, like, I have a $10 million production order. I've got $10 million in cash I'm putting into production. They have ways that they're leveraging their money. So if you got a $400,000 order from a department store to have $400,000 in cash to put into product, to go into manufacturing and then not get paid, like, six months from now is not real. It's not in our business. If we sell air, like, if we're coaches and we're selling air and we don't have production and stuff like that, then it's a little bit different. So I want product people to know that we do need to leverage cash flow. The intention is not that you go into debt and keep going into debt and keep going into debt and you can't pull yourself out. The intention is that you know that the money will be returned on the other end or that if you set certain things up, that you will work your way towards it. So I talked to my team member about this, where I was like, look, we're leveraging cash. We have this. We have a line of credit, for example, we have a line of credit four times like this, four times that we need the cash flow so that we know that when we get to our busier selling season, we can then fill the bucket back up. Does that make sense?

It totally does. And I. And that's what I figured. And where we're at right now, I mean, we're not in a place where we need to take out money, but, you know, we're in the lean part of the year. We're going into Q4, which is we're, like, doing lots of purchase orders right now, building up lots of our inventory. So we're ready for Q4 and holiday. I think I just wanted you to say it out loud so I can direct people to this podcast.

You're like, go center. Well, that's the thing, though. Like, so you're in a lean. You're in a lean time. So to have cash flow saved from busier times, like, right, you have to make it through the years and you're in a lean time, and then you have to put money into product. But then what money do you have to keep running the business until, like, you hit your busier months? So I Think what's best is that you all, if you're looking into leveraging, you have a credit card, you could get a line of credit, you can get grants, you can get loans. I think what's an important thing is that when we think about leveraging money, we get it in the times where we don't really need it. So when you have times that you're doing better, that's when you want to actually go in and ask for it. Because your statements show that, right? So if you don't need it or you do need it, but let's just say as you move forward and you're getting into your busy seasons and you've got like month over month over month of like, you know, 25, 30,000, $40,000 months, that would be a great time to also, if you need to do it now, do it now. But that would be a great time to do it because you don't have to use it, you can sit on it. And then when you do need it, at least you know that like you don't have to take your own personal money out, you don't have to go drain your own personal account. So the business has that. Does that make sense? Second thing about your space, because I know it's scary, I want you to think about this and you've all heard like, I've moved into my dream house, which I had this dream of like I want this house. And then I was like, oh my God, I have to pay the bills on this house. And so what I want you to think about and this is, it's like one, we have to push to our edges, right? When we push out to our growth edges, when we keep expanding and expanding into a place that like makes us really uncomfortable, that is when we start to see the change. That is when we start like there's that fire under our booty and we start to make changes, we start to think, I gotta level up to this next version of me, I gotta level up. So whether it was the first time you invested in a program, like you invested in a multi stream machine, you're like, oh my gosh, like, do I do this? Do I not do this? And then if it was uncomfortable, that's good because then you're like, I want to go, you have this pursuit of I'm going to make my money back or when you worked one on one with me or you joined the mastermind, let's talk about the space. So what I want you to do, and this is what my own coach did with Me is I want you to think back to a time where you felt the same way. Usually that these are patterns that repeat our feelings. So for me, when I first took my first apartment and it was $1,800, I was like, how am I going to pay $1,800 or $900? We lived in New York City on the Upper west side. It was like $5,000, right. Every single time we made this choice to live somewhere and. And I was like, how are we going to pay our rent or our mortgage ongoing. It made me so scared. But I, I was scared to start, figured it out and then it was a no brainer. It was easy. And so I'm at that position again. I just have to go back and think, okay, I've felt like this in the past. So for you, Jen, I just want you to think to yourself, when was another time you felt this way in your body? The fear, the scare of the unknown. And then I want you to think through how you got through it.

I mean, it was really like when I started Scenery Max, because it was. I just planned on starting as a maternity leave, like hobby project and going back to stage management. And then all of a sudden it was like a much bigger company than I ever envisioned, which I'm forever grateful for. Like, I accidentally created my dream job, but it was the same kind of feeling of like, oh my gosh, now I am accountable for this thing I put out into the universe. And then because I love this thing I put out into the universe so much, then I'm going to work really hard to shepherd it the best I can. And I feel like every time I come to these crossroads, it's like a re galvanizing of that same feeling that I'm like, I love what I put out in the universe. I'm so proud of what we're making. I'm so proud of what we're doing. It's everything that I love all like bundled into one company. And so like holding on to that, like, you know, it just kind of feeds the vision. It's scary every time. It's super scary. But it also, like, the fire is there. Like, I know, I just. It's a gut feeling that I'm like, okay, I know we can do this. I really believe in this company that we, we can continue to grow from here.

So keep holding and checking in with your gut. Right, that gut feeling. Because if you're intuitive to that or you're aware of your gut feeling, then you'll know your gut when it Feels off or it feels right. And you might be like, oh, you know, they say the same feeling in your body of fear is also excitement. So you might just say like, I'm excited, I'm excited, I'm excited. Right? Instead of I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared. It's the same processes within our body. We did this when we were ziplining. It's like we got to the top. We're excited, we're excited. So you just want to like, repeat that and just check in and say, all right, this is that feeling. I've had this feeling before. Why am I having this feeling? Okay, let me prove to my brain another time that I had this feeling and got through it. And not only got through it, look at where I am now. And so as Marie Forlea says, everything is figureoutable. So you'll get this space and it will probably be the best thing. And I'll probably talk to you in like a couple months. You'll be like, oh my God, I love here. I love that I can go to work and then come home to my kids and I have my room back and my space and all the things. And then, you know, if and when we have to cross the point that another choice has to be made, then we'll figure it out, you know?

Yeah, agreed.

So Jen started off asking about risks and what's normal and not normal. But did you see what I did there? I asked the question back to her about what she considered a normal versus not normal risk, which led us down this deeper path of diving into why in leaner times, you may need to start looking to leverage. Leverage cash. Right. Use leveraging the is what people do in business. And then even further into that. At what point do you actually start to grow? I think so many times we're afraid of leveraging cash using credit cards, taking out lines of credit, getting loans or even grants, which you can always consider because I think that the world in general now is not the world. There is a certain level of people saying, you know, debt free, debt free. And while if that is what you want to do in your own personal life, I love that. But in product based businesses, businesses, it's just not as possible. Okay. At some point you need more cash to grow and we need to leverage cash for that. So I just want to make sure that you catch that here. So it's okay to leverage cash during leaner times in your business? Right? Times you may need your cash flow, but it's tied up in inventory or raw Goods. And so you may need to have extra cash to keep the business running to order more products until they can get shipped out and bought. Right. Until you get to your busier months.

Months.

So I want you to think about this in a different way and not be afraid of it, but know that these are big boss business moves. Now, some of you might be saying, okay, but, Jacqueline, that makes me super uncomfortable to even think about doing that. And I totally get it because I've been in your position. But what you heard me tell Jen, and the same goes for you, is that the only way to see change is to push our boundaries of growth and comfort, whatever that boundary looks like for you. Now, I want you to do it all responsibly, but I need you to know that it's also totally normal. Okay? So now let's dig a little bit deeper into our systems. Okay, what's your next question?

My next question is the first time we're really having overhead. It's ecofault, exciting and terrifying. What are systems we can bring in to help us scale, automate, and streamline, which is vague without specifics. I know, but that's another thing I'm looking at. Like, we move fulfillment over. We still don't have, like, any inventory tracking software. Like, we. Everything's on Shopify. We use Shopify and, like, Excel spreadsheets, which I know we can automate in a better way. And so, like, really trying to, like, like, work on our inventory tracking work on. We do. When we do, like, a wholesale order, like, we'll pull everything and, like, put it on Shopify and then, like, make it zero. I know there are better ways to do that. And just, like, just trying to figure out, like, what we can streamline, what we can automate so that we, even though we're a team of three, like, we can do the work of 300. Like, how do we, like, optimize all of our time?

Okay, so you do not have to be at the office when your team comes. So I just wanted to give you that part to understand at the level of business you are. Okay, because you're a CEO, your business is making multi six figures. You can be whenever you want to be at your office. Just because, like, I'm right now out of my house, even though I have an office as well, because it's summer, my kids are home. I'm just like, I'm gonna bring my computer back. It's a laptop, except it's a huge desktop. So when you, you know, in the beginning, you're Gonna establish standard operating procedures. You're gonna establish something with them. The goal of people who work for you is that they can work for you without you being there to manage them. Because if they know their job role and they know standard operating procedures, if they know KPIs, which is key performance indicators, if they know all the things they're supposed to fulfill, the same way that you can work with people virtually, these people should be able to do it as well. So whether they have keys, whatever it is, you'll want to set times. You come in at this time, you leave at that time. You want to look at employee laws for Texas. California is different. Like, I remember I was in a retail shop and the manager kept bugging. It was like a Brayton barrel. And the manager kept bugging the lady helping us. Got to go. You got to go. And I was like, california employee laws, huh? Because like you have to, they have to take a 15 minute break every X hours. They have to take a lunch. They're not allowed to work through it. But what you'll want to do is you'll want to just establish the timing that they're okay coming in and working. And you'll have the idea of expectations, things that are getting done. It is probably a bit of a bigger conversation than here, but the idea will be, I think that you should do standup meetings. So you said they're coming on Mondays. So let's say On Mondays at 10am Every Monday, everybody meets, including your virtual people on Zoom. And you have a standup call, right? You're talking about the things happening, the big projects. People are telling you where they're at with projects and you're checking in once a week with them. Then whether there's like time tracking software, there's that it depends on what their roles are. And then you'll clearly see these are your roles, these are the expectations, this is the outcome that I want. And then you'll track it, right? You'll make sure that they're doing what they do whether you're there or not. And I keep saying that because I just want you to know you don't have to be there to manage them in the beginning. You might be there to train them. And I just want you to know if your kid gets sick or you want to go to a Pilates class in the middle of the day or like go get coffee with a friend, like people will eventually be working for you to rep, to replicate and duplicate and basically clone you, right? So that you, Jen, don't have to do it all anymore. So I want to give you permission to release always having to be and do and then to get systems automated and stuff like that again. You can go back, I would say go into the Facebook group, ask them, ask your mastermind. But really to talk about inventory, let's just start with that. You and anyone that makes stuff and sells them as the making person, whether you're a maker or manufacturer, you are the manufacturer. I don't care what word you use, but you're manufacturing a good or a product. So Scenery bags has a manufacturing arm. So let's say you can get a hundred bags in black and a hundred bags in red and a hundred whatever. So that is your overall total product. That will be the inventory that the company holds. Then you Jen, for scenery bags, the online store will place an order. So online store will place an order against the manufacturing and pull bags that it's quote unquote buying or setting aside for your e comm store only. So not all 100 bags are available on the E comm site. But maybe you're saying I'm going to take 20 of them and those 20 will come back, come onto the website. So now the inventory is separate. There's 80 left in inventory. 20 are being sold. So if you get low and you want to place another order against you as a manufacturer, you can pull another 10, another 20, whatever it is. But that way the 80 that are left over, that's your open to sell to your wholesale vendors. So you have 80 left of a red bag and then you could be like, we have 80 and then you sell 30 of those. Now you have 50 left, right? And everyone's. We have this pool that doesn't get touched. Like because let's say your e commerce store, all of a sudden you sell five tomorrow, but those five were accounted for by a retailer. You're screwed, right?

Totally. You just blew my mind as far as like, because we always, we've just been like counting. Well, I think because we didn't have a wholesale arm. So like, you know, for the first six years of Scenery we've just been like, all inventory goes straight onto the website. And that's where it lives forever. And we've still oversold that way because we just weren't accounting for like shipping errors and that kind of thing as much as we did too. And now, you know, now we do a better job of that. But introducing this wholesale arm has made things far more complicated because I'm, I'm always borrowing against the website rather than having like an outside pool to, like, buy from. And I need to go back into multi string machine and, like, watch those. The inventory ones. I know you recommend, like, software for it and that kind of thing.

Yeah, we have in that software that we recommend in there is, like, for raw goods tracking. So, like, let's say you're like, I have 200 yards of this red fabric and 45 zippers. And then it'll kind of tell you, okay, you could make X amount of these bags. And then you can also have trigger points like, I need to reorder zippers, I need to reorder labels, or. And then this is, like, the recipe. This is how many bits go in, and there's lots of different versions of it. So that's the raw goods to product inventory tracking. And then there's that. And then you can keep it simple. You can literally create a spreadsheet where you have all the styles listed. One of your assistants can do it. As you get it organized, count it in, check it out. Then you could put it in a spreadsheet if you want. And that could be as simple as that. So every time there's an order, there's one person responsible for going in and deducting the amount from that. We.

I mean, a lot. A lot of times. I mean, before, when we were working together, when we first started, like, everything sold out in, like, five seconds. And I needed to raise my prices. You were right, as usual, and I did. Until other things are selling out slower, which is, like, scary but good. And then we had our first, like, bag since we raised our prices. Sell out in an hour. Just this last one with Sweeney Todd, which was very exciting because for, like, a J month, having a launch sell out quickly was, like, a very big deal. So.

And at a higher price.

At a. And at a higher price, which.

Did you change your marketing messaging at all? Because I know when we were together at the retreat, we were talking about, like, positioning, but did you. Was that. Did you change anything or it just happened?

We hadn't changed anything. It was just like, you know, luck of the draw is the wrong way to put it. But, like, we can say our number one bestseller is our pouches, but it depends on the show. Like, when it's a wicked pouch, it's gonna sell. When it's a pouch from a less popular show, it's not the pouch that sells. It's the show that sells. So getting stuff from the new revival of Sweeney Todd that just closed that starred, like, Josh Groban and Ann Lee Ashburn that was super popular, and so that sold. And thankfully we have even more from that show, like, coming our way soon, which is great. But that, like, I was very, very worried. Being in, like, the lean months and having, like, the higher price point is just, like, a slower sell overall in general. But that was very heartening to see that. Like, okay, if we get a show that people really care about enough, it's. It's still going to move. But we are, you know, like, once we move everything in, which is, like, my big hurdle or process right now, like, focus is, like, just getting into the new space. And then I have a team. I'm flying my team out for the very first time. My, like, New York and North Carolina team out so that we'll all be in one space for the first time. Then that's where we're going to kind of brainstorm elevating and adding, like, whimsy and character to some, like, collectible pieces that can, you know, bear a price point and kind of elevate the brand to where it needs to be. Because our margins are hard, hard to meet because we're made in America and we try to do things as sustainably as we can. And that makes things really expensive. And people don't always like that, even though they want to feel good about their purchase. It's like. And I get it. I totally get it. But so we're like, we're. We're trying to navigate. We're working on a new bag that may, like, doesn't have a zipper because we use the same zippers as Claire V. They're really, really nice, and I love them, but they're expensive. So if we can make a version that doesn't have a zipper, like, maybe that puts us at a price point that's an easier, like, entry level for, like, the. So the new pouch might be a lower price point pouch, and we will just do less of them so we can save the fabric to make more other stuff. But I loved our conversation we had before about just kind of, like, elevate, like, tapping into, like, Kate Spade and Claire V and these brands that are really good at, like, imbuing whimsy into products that we've always tried to do a little bit, like, to hearken back to what it's from without being like, too on the nose, which, as a theater fan, I like, because some of the theater merch stuff is, like, airy on the nose. And I kind of like that our stuff is like, if, you know, you know. But, you know, we can. We can still afford to be a little bit more whimsical and like just add a little bit more character to, to our pieces so they stand out in the crowd a little bit more.

I'm excited, I'm excited to see where you go with it. This sort of like revamp. It'll be really good. So when it comes to effectively managing a team and running a business, especially at the multi six figure level, you need to have the correct systems in place. And while managing a team can be stressful and a lot of work, trust me, I know it doesn't have to be when you have the right systems in place. Listen, this is back to that thing of like pushing our boundaries and growing, right? And so as I always say, you can't build your business on a cracked foundation. And that's definitely the case at every level of business. So once you know your systems are solid, then you can dive into them by automating them. Take some of the workload off of you and your team and guess what? You're going to hate that I'm going to say this, but at every level, your systems are going to break again. Every time you level up, systems are going to break and that's going to be a time where you have to go back in, rebuild the foundations and get to that next level. So we're going to dive deeper into this topic, including my recommendations and how you can ensure that your systems are built to grow. And a lot of this is also inside of multi stream machine. So let's take a look at how Jen can position her products to give her brand a more elevated feel. Happy holidays. Okay, don't think. Jacqueline, what are you talking about? It's still warm outside. I know, but guess what? We want to get you uber prepared for this holiday season because what we want is that you can get consistent sales, right? Have steady growth and keep growing your business beyond always having to offer a discount during the holiday season to drive sales. So if you want to get prepared while it's still warm outside, you can jump in and grab 101 content ideas beyond the Holiday Discount. And it is a bundle of content, prompts, tools, hashtags and templates. And it includes a three month calendar with things to say every every single day from October to December. It is so helpful. So go out, enjoy the sunshine and feel uber prepared for the holiday season when you grab yours. Now just head to holiday contentideas.com do you have any other questions?

Yes. Oh, and it's about price point.

Okay, look at us. It's like, it's like we're flowing perfectly.

We make everything in America and our margins are really tight. I don't feel comfortable charging more for our pouches. Specifically, we need to elevate the brand slightly to match our price point point and get in front of new eyes to help move more product. And ultimately, because I never started this company to, like, make a bajillion dollars. We make bajillion dollars. I'm not going to be sad about it, but, like, that was never the goal. The goal was like, hey, they're throwing away these beautiful pieces of theater memories that scenic artists worked their butts off to make. And they're gorgeous. Like, we can do something about that. And so outwardly, the experiment that a scenery bag has been very successful to me, we're not there yet because I know that we're sitting on four storage units full of drops in costume that we haven't moved through because we're just not in front of enough people getting wholesale arms out there. We just need to move more product because, sadly, there's so much theatrical waste out there. And right now, as I'm sure, like, you and James know, but the world probably is not as aware. Like, turnover on Broadway is crazy fast right now because the audience is post pandemic are just not back. So it just. We're not selling as quickly as we're bringing in. And so in that sense, like, the experiment that is scenery bags for me is not quite there yet because we need to be putting out, we need to be selling a lot more to meet the amount of things we're taking in and trying to be creative with those things. Because anytime someone's entrusted me with their show, I feel like it's my responsibility to, like, make it valuable again. So we've put quotes on things, we've made tote bags. We're coming out with some new styles that people are asking for. And that has worked, but it's just. It's a lot more effort to show, like throwing a Sweeney Sweeney Todd thing or a wicked thing out there that, you know, is going to move, you know, has really been like our bread and butter. But every time we get in front of new eyes, it goes well for us. And so I don't know if we need to, like, look into paid advertising for the first time ever as we reach this new avenue where, like, we really need to. To move more product in order to feel like we can take more in. And there's so much, like, there's shows closing just all the Time.

So let's start with. Let's just back up for a sec. I used to. One of our masterminders from, I think last year, she was a. She sold dog products. So like leashes and collars and harnesses and stuff like that. But her true passion was dog rescue. So she was driving into Mexico rescuing like 50 dogs at a time. She's like, we were stealing stuff from the cartel.

Please be safe.

Exactly. She's like, there was like, there were dogs locked up and the cartel and we like snuck in and like took them. Like, oh my God. Like, you know, and so she had. And she's actually in Texas as well. And she had this responsibility to saving the animals. That was like her first and foremost passion. And she created the product like, exactly like you to have this, the secondary, you're like, oh my gosh, there's so much waste. What can we do with that? You know, it's terrible. And then, oh, okay, we can come out with this. But at the same time, and it's the same way that they say when you like, are on a plane and they like put your oxygen mask on before you put it on your own child sitting next to you. Because you're no use if you're passed out. So you are no use if you're over leveraged, don't have enough storage, running out of cash, say, because you've got product in all of these spaces that's not moving. So the first part for you is really thinking through. You may have to be more specific to what you take or find an alternative way to use the stuff that people don't care about mixed with stuff people care about. So we talked about some of your bags and your pouches and things that have embroidery on them, which is the one that is the bestseller.

I mean, our keychains are our bestseller because they're the lowest price point in popular shows. And then pouches, but that's just like what we make the most of.

But what was the embroidery on one of the patches that it kept selling? It has words on it.

Yeah, we did have like spongebob says best day ever because it's spongebob. But then as far as like drops that weren't selling that we put stuff on, we have. I'm sorry for what I said during tech, which, like people who've done theater know, like tech week is terrible. And then we have nothing for the group, which is specifically for like designers, because that's what you say in a production meeting, which was fun because it was very inside but didn't you have.

Like, take a bow or, like, wasn't there something like the fancier bags?

Yeah, we have a. Oh, we have kinky boots which says say yeah on it, which is really popular.

Okay.

Then we made tote bags that say, I can't. I have rehearsal. And one that says, take the story with you, which is our tagline. We have a to the bride, and we just launched to the groom. Those are really popular, like, standards. So there's things that we've been able to put on the drops that haven't been necessarily popular enough to, like, go by themselves.

Oh, it was the Break a leg one.

Oh, yeah. They're like, our most popular one. Yes. We have Break a Leg and then mared for our dance.

I had to go to your website.

You're like, jen, what are you talking about? Our most recognizable. Our most recognizable bag is Break a Leg because I designed it with a program pocket in the front that can hold your program and keep it safe and that says break a leg on it. And that's the one that everyone brings to shows and takes photos, like, in front of the marquee or in front of the curtain with. So that one, I think, has been the most Instagrammed bag of ours, which is always fun to kind of, like, see where people are taking theater, their bag. And I also love that, like, the purchase of the bag kind of inspires people to go see more theater, which is also fun.

Okay, so what I think for you is another option could be because Break the Leg is that you use the stuff that's not as popular. You put stuff on it that is more popular. So while they may be buying X show that didn't, like, do so well, but it's about the bag and the color, and you take the story with you, and it's a historical piece of material from a historical part of Broadway, but that maybe there's this overcoming a little bit as well that they actually just like the look of it. They know the material it's made out of, but it's less about where the material comes from, and more of it's just reclaimed from Broadway sets. Does that make sense?

Yes. And I have been, like, working to find that audience, and I think wholesale might be our answer, because our Instagram audience and predominantly our website audience, they're like the avid theater fans, and they want a piece of their show. They care very much what show it's from. But I do think that in wholesale venues that are. We end up in a boutique that does all sustainable we're in one now that everything is sustainable, and so our price point does not feel off at all. And they're like, those are the people who be like, oh, this is upcycled theater. How cool. They don't care about the show. They just care, like, the story and the mission. I think we're gonna find those people through our. One of our wholesale arms.

That's where I see you branching out. Even though your Instagram also and social media is still that you can actually branch out into the upcycled world of it all by having. We talked about design and interesting ideas that were using material that's, you know, in fashion, we called it dead stock, meaning, like, it was pro. It was just material that was lying around. We weren't manufacturing and making new fabrics. Like, we found stuff that was there and we used what we had. I actually had a dress line myself called Lily mark that was 50% new product, new fabric, and 50% dead stock. That's, like how I used both. I never really talk about it because I ended up selling my trademark for more than I sold within the dresses. But I did sell some wholesale and stuff like that. With it, you like, this is a way to start. Not. I don't need to water it out. But the true raving fans are going to be the. Like, we know who those are, right? They're the ones that get, like, my husband's name tattooed on their arm. Side note, don't ever let like, so this is what, at stage doors and stuff, some people will be like, can you sign my arm? And then, like, one of our friends, like, he came back and he. And the guy came back and he's like, I got your name tattooed because they took the arm with a signature and went to the tattoo parlor and got it copied. So there is those people and there we love them, and they're a very small fraction of the total world. So from a perspective of, oh, this is a beautiful, cool bag. Oh, wow. It's also made out of theater materials. That's cool. You can do that online as you start to elevate the brand and, like, the design. And like, you said, wholesale, which is something you're like, I wish I started sooner. It'll be less about the stuff spongebob Wicked Situation and more about the bags, the designs, and the material themselves. So I think you're on your way there. I just want you to. You're going to loosen up a little bit on what how you've been doing it, and then thinking about break a leg putting that on stuff that isn't, like, the biggest of shows. And just trying to make, like, lots of. Like, this is when you start to kind of, like, mass manufacture certain shapes of bags in different colors with a saying or something on it. That makes a lot of sense to people. And that's where, like, that break a leg to me reminded me of, like, Kate Spade. When they go all in on a theme. It's like, what would Kate Spade do if she was doing New York Broadway theater? Like, what would the stuff be on the bags? And that's kind of the same idea for you?

Yeah, totally. Like, all of her New York. Her taxicab shoes.

Yeah.

You know, like, things in that. Like, maybe not so pointed, but, like, things in that vein, I think would be really fun for us. And we have.

Even if you've only ever been to one theater show, you know the saying break a leg? Which, by the way, do you know where it comes from?

I.

Do you want to share it? Because people think it's like, oh, God. And break your physical leg.

No, it is not. It came from back in days of yore when they were doing their curtain call, their bows. At the end of the show, they would come forward, they would bow, and then they'd all go upstage, and the curtain would come in. And curtain are called legs. Like, curtain legs are the different sides of the curtain. So the legs would come in, and then they'd fly out again to take an encore bow. And then they'd go up and come in, and every time the cast would have to do an encore bow, the curtain legs would fly in and out. And if your show was, like, an absolute hit, you would break a curtain leg. And that is where the term break leg came from. Because it's mainly like, I hope your show's a hit. I hope that you have to have so many encore bows that you break a curtain leg. So that's why it's also fun to break the leg is on an actual curtain leg. And then we have marred, which is the danced version of that, and that has its own story.

So Those are cool. P.S. those are cool pieces of content to create for not the theatergoers. And then even if you do the break a leg ones you could do, this is the story. You can add a little card in.

Oh, yeah, we have told that story on Social. But I like it in the card. That's cute.

Position that to your buyers. Right. Because this is, like, a piece of information that only us, you know, Broadway people, only, you know, we know because we're in the industry and by we, I'm just a stage door wife. But that's nonetheless, that is part of it.

That is important.

You know, the support outside.

It's true, it's real.

But for you, I think, I think there's things that you're very close to, but they're interesting. And so by sharing these bits, people are like, oh, that's cool. And they have a break a leg bag and then they're walking up to people and did you know why it's called break a leg? And it's an interesting thing. So it's a little bit of that, like bird's eye view, helicopter view that I want you to take to the business. And then it'll start to. It's not going to dilute it, but it'll start to make it a little bit more mass market so that we can sell through the inventory so that we can keep building wholesale. Because you can still sell these things to trendy boutiques. I don't care if they're like a certain amount, they're upcycled. So when people start to understand that that's part of the unique nature of it where it's like, like you get this and no one else, once it's gone, it's gone. No one else is going to have it. You've coveted this piece of whatever, just like custom furniture or, you know, limited drops of things. The Stanley cup does this with limited colors and then it's gone. So it's okay that you run out of product. You just have to position it in that way.

Yes, yes. And I, I've been so close to the product for so long. I also, like, forget its value a lot because if I were like, I used to. I use myself as like my own touchstone of like my ideal client. Cause I'm like, yeah, I would want all of these things. And if it's not something that I don't want, then I don't make it. Because I like, I love upcycled things. I love, like sustainable and give back brands. So it's like, yeah, I would totally shop here and that. So that's been really helpful, like all the way through. And I think, like, continuing to elevate to the things that I would want now versus, like what I wanted seven years ago.

Correct. And you have more money than when you were like younger, like trying to come up on theater. And there's so many things like you're just, you're more sophisticated as a buyer. So what I want you to do is Using the mastermind that you're in because it's all you're in it. Any sort of new product. There's so many amazing people in this group that anything that you have ideas for or like new product, run it by this group because they are not avid theater people. So they will give you a good bit of feedback on design and product. You know, you can also use the multi stream machine group for that, but it's a much bigger group. And so I just, as you're thinking through stuff, bring it to like test it with your product, your theater people, but then also run it against people who just like fashionable purses or bags. And then you can kind of get a good gauge. And you're going to want to kind of keep repeating that process of focus groups or customer input as you're sort of shifting and developing new product lines.

Yes, I love that. Focus groups. It's happening. All right. This is all very helpful. I've been, you know, being a product boss can feel very like isolating and siloing, so opening things up is really nice.

Do you see why sometimes when it comes to getting more eyes on your business and attracting more customers, you need to take a step back and look with a bird's eye view at how you're positioning your product. Jen knew she needed to figure out a way to branch out with her products, but was so close to them that she forgot the most important part of positioning, which is the value of her product, especially for non theater goers. So when you recognize the value of your products and you're able to position them in a way that reflects that value to your audience, you're setting yourself up for potential new customers without having to make massive changes to your visit. So if you're feeling like you're too close to your product, I want you to take a step back, get creative and try to think outside of the box to figure out ways you can reposition your product to expand your reach. I think you know from this call you're on the right track. You know, in your gut, like you're there. And I feel like this is more confirmation than much new stuff. So know that you trust your gut. You've been in this business long enough. You've been in for seven years. You've handled so many different things. And obviously you have me because we're in the group together, so you have me on Voxer and all the other stuff. But I want you to just follow your gut and then start to think. I want you to step into the role of CEO, step into, like, boss level. The way you've gotten things done till now will not be the way that things need to keep going for you to get to that next level. I don't care if you didn't come in here making, wanting to make a gajillion dollars. The possibility of you to think bigger and do it, do it without reasons, excuses, saying, like, oh, I don't want to, but it'd be nice. It's like, no. Like, let's both have impact and make the kind of money that sets your family up for years to come. Like, money that can get passed down, money that can pay for colleges. Like, money that can give back to theater programs. Like, be ambitious and lean in. And there's nothing wrong with that. Because whether or not you're giving back or not, I don't care. Like you are. Like, it would doesn't qualify you more of like, make a lot of money because you're giving back. No, because even if you didn't have a give back business, the ambition to show, improve to your sons, to show your family, to show your friends, to show us all around. Just model the potential to be a woman making this. To be able to support your husband who's in the arts, to support you, all of it. Step in fully and see. This is a fun experiment. I experimented in this way and now let's see where we can take it now. Let's see what kind of impact we can have now. Let's see, you know. Yes. Can we use up these goods and sell them mass market, make money, keep stuff out of the dumps. Right. And go on awesome vacations with my family and donate. You can do all of it.

Yes. I do need to, like, step into the CEO, my CEO era of life. Because there is. I think there's some. It's something innately bred in, specifically women who feel like we have to apologize for our success a lot. And I feel like that is magnified by the fact that my company is reliant upon the generosity of shows, like people to say, yes, you can have this thing and make it into something new. Which I'm so grateful for, the Broadway community being so on board with what we're doing and everything like that. But I feel like I constantly kind of have to apologize and play down what we're doing. But what we're doing is really special and I'm really proud of it.

Be proud of it and be fully embodied into what you're doing. There's no apologies needed. In fact, it's like, watch me do this. And as I model this for you, you too will have a model. Because you and I are about the same age. We didn't necessarily have this modeled for us. And our, you know, my grandma looks at me. She's like, you're working still? I'm like, yes, grandma. You know, like, it's beyond measure of, like, what she can hold in her head. And even if she did not want for this for herself, I know she's proud of me because it wasn't even something that was even anywhere on the road, like, anywhere for her to even consider. Right. The queen could do it. Cause my grandma's English. But, like, it wasn't about, you know, normal people doing amazing, magnificent, incredible things. So keep reminding yourself of that. You're in your boss era, you're in your CEO era. And then ask yourself those questions. Is this what a CEO would do? Like, what kind of decision would they make? And in a. And it'll keep being your guiding light. All right, so if we want to buy from you because they're awesome bags, whether or not we want to upcycle or we're theater fans, how can we buy from you, support you and all the things?

You can go to scenerybags.com, which is our website, or you can follow us at Scenerybags on all the things. We're the same handle on everything, so come find us. We're really fun.

You are really fun. And say hi to Jen. Tell her she did an awesome job on the show. And thank you for letting. Letting me coach you for everyone to hear, because I think we get so much amazing feedback about how helpful it is people are like. I felt like you were talking to me, so I really appreciate you letting us all in behind the scenes on this conversation.

I'm so excited. This is my favorite podcast, so I can't believe I get to be on it.

Thanks, Jen.

Thanks, Jacqueline.

Thank you. Oh, my goodness. Jen is just so incredible. I love her. I know I don't pick favorites here, but I do truly love Jen, and I had such a great, great time digging back into her business and coaching her. Now she's inside of my mastermind, so I get to work with her every day, and we get to see each other in person at the retreats and all the things. But I think really having this time together to dig deep is really the way for Jen to truly step into the next level and really level up as being that boss of her business. Right. What got her here is going to be different than what gets her to that next stage, and I know she's going to do it and crush it. So no matter what stage of business you're in, remember that what got you to this stage will not be what gets you to the next level. You need to be constantly following your gut, which will lead you to some uncomfortable situations. But when you. When you trust your gut, right, you can start to reassess things. Maybe it's about reassessing your systems or continuing to ensure that your product is positioned in the best possible way to make the most of each opportunity that you have. My friends, when you push out of your comfort level, when you push to these outer edges, when you get out uncomfortable, and you're like, I'm going to level up. I'm going to invest in myself. I'm going to start doing things differently. That is when we start to grow. And when you start to grow, your possibilities are endless. If Jen can do it, you can, too. My friend, I believe in you, and I want you to believe in you, too. All right, I'll see you in the next episode.