Inside Shark Tank Prep, Making Your Customers OBSESSED & Mom of 5 CEO Routine with Lindsay Mullenger

You were on Shark Tank. That is a crazy experience. You're a founder who's creating this thing that you love, and now you're supposed to go and pitch and know your numbers inside out, upside down and backwards, and stand there so confident.

At the beginning of the process, I was nervous, but when it was go time, like, it's almost like that mindset of, like, I have been given the most wild opportunity to go share this company that I'm obsessed with. You kind of just have to put your binders on and go.

Lindsay, welcome to the earn your happy podcast.

Thank you so much for having me.

I'm really excited to dive into your business. Number one, you have such an awesome story. Number two, you have such an incredible product for people who love giving unique gifts, getting unique gifts, and people who are really just, you know, sentimental, who want to have a beautiful space for keeping their memories. And I just love that this is like a new spin on such a beautiful old tradition that we'll talk about you guys in just a minute. But, Lindsay, I'm really excited to dive in because you have had, like, a pretty wild entrepreneurial journey, and I can't wait to hear where it all started. So, Lindsay, I kind of. I want to go back to the beginning of before you started Petite Keep, which we'll tell you all about in just a minute. But what were you doing, like, the two year period prior to Petite Keep?

That's a great question. So two years prior, I was working in corporate America. Was working in marketing, business development. I was at P and G in Berkshire halfway out of college. So I was really deep in kind of corporate life. And in this Dev, you were in corporate America.

Did you have kids at this time? What was this all looking like?

Yes. So I had two years before I launched Petite Keep. I had one child, one on the way. Really got the idea. Basically two years before PK started, because as we all know, it takes time to launch the company, like, really get into that zero to one mode. So, yeah, I was knee deep in all things, like building a new family, figuring out how to do that with a. With a career, and kind of juggling it all.

Okay, so you started Petite Keep. Let's talk about what that is, because I want people to understand what we're talking about, and then we're going to dig into how this all started.

Okay, great question. So Boutique Keep is a keepsake company. We make keepsake trunks that people personalize for the highest high moments of their life. So weddings, babies, graduation, you know, you name that like, big life milestone. And we probably embroidered a trunk for it. We sell on our website, which, you know, so we're 100% E commerce, but are starting to roll out some in person events and kind of meet our customers where they are.

Okay. I love this because when I got to see your product, I was like, this is so genius because it's a modern spin on, like a keepsake trunk. Like a cedar trunk. My mom had a cedar trunk growing up that she kept in the basement, and it had, like, all of our, you know, baby blankets. It had some photos in there, like all of these different keepsakes. And it was. I remember it being so special because we wouldn't open it all the time, but she'd want to make it, like a thing when we would go and open it. And she would tell us, like, you know, what we were like when we were babies and what we were like when we were wearing this particular outfit and why she wanted to keep it. And I think that a lot of that is missing, you know, in today's family. And I think that it can be something so incredibly special that we not only get to have it now with what you have, a modern spin. And they're beautiful, you guys. They're like these stunning smaller trunks. Or how. How would you describe it? Because I'm not. I'm not putting the right words to this.

No, you said it perfectly. They are. They're truly personalized trunks. So someone comes onto our website and they choose the trunk color, the fabric, color their embroidery, whether it's a saying, a monogram, a name, the font, whether every single piece of it is personalized to the story that it's being created for. Which is. Which is the really special part. I literally stand in our warehouse, like, every day, and I'm like, just in my mind, make. I'm like, where's this drum going to? What's the story for that year? What's the story for that? It's really special.

Wait, that is so special. I feel like I'd want to step in there all the time to see, like, I can't believe that you get to create these moments because that's what they're going to be when they go. When whoever gifts it. It's going to be an incredible moment for them. Whoever gets it is going to be such a special moment for that person. Like, really being able to take the time to personalize something and give it to someone that you really love. I think it's really, really special. And I know that's why you Will, you've already been successful, and you will always be successful. So you guys definitely have to go. And immediately, if you're not already looking at the website while you're on this podcast, go pop over there, because you'll get the feedback, feel of everything that we're about to talk about. So where were you? Have you. Have you always been sentimental? Was this something that you had in your family? Kind of. Tell me the origination of the story.

Absolutely. I, you know, I've always. Family's always been core to me, like the family I grew up in. When my husband and I, we met when we were 19, we always knew we wanted a big family. Family has always been a constant theme in my life. And really, experiences has been the other thing. Like, I crave experiences. And so I think Petite Keep is built off of, like, really, like, the memories that you have and the experiences you have, and they're pieces that go in a trunk, but because you want to recall those experiences and memories. So as far as, like, starting Petite Keep, I'd say those were two constant themes that are just who I am as a person, but definitely an entrepreneurial itch. And so I think when I saw. Long story short, I had my first daughter who was looking for. I was organizing the nursery for my second daughter and could not find anything that felt like a place to drop a couple of keepsakes. I'm, you know, I was looking for function that felt, like, worthy of passing down for generations, and I could not find that. And so talked to some friends across the country. No one had a good solution. And that's really when Petite Keep was born.

Wow. Okay. Just, like, out of your own need of. There's nothing cute.

You're.

We're not buying cedar trunks anymore. Like, ain't nobody doing that.

And you have.

You have five children, so we're certainly not keeping five cedar trunks around. Yeah. So you created it. So tell me a little bit about when you said the entrepreneur itch. What did that look like? Because I want to tell you, who listens to this podcast, this is a lot of people who maybe already have an idea are already entrepreneurs, but we have quite a few people who are either looking for their next thing or listen to this for motivation on potentially leaving their career or getting a side hustle. So I really want you to expand on what that journey actually looked like from corporate America to, oh, I have this little idea.

So it definitely became something I didn't expect in so many ways. I loved my job in corporate America. I feel like I was stretched. I was pushed, I got to work on brands I loved. But there was always something missing about like I think the depth of impact I was making a difference on and I think that's where the entrepreneurial itch came from. So when I launched pk, what I will say is that zero to one phase and I always share this with people who are starting off like that to me was the most challenging. Everyone has different skill sets. But I didn't realize and appreciate in corporate America how I was generally being handed like a concept, a product whatnot to then figure out how to go grow. And that's really what took a lot of the ramp up of from ideation to launch in 2020 for Petite Key. There's something exciting about betting on yourself, right. And I am a risk averse person. But the idea of being able to find that intersection of personal interest and passion alongside fulfilling my, you know, my dreams from a career perspective was really what that journey felt like.

Are you, would you say that you're more of a. It's funny how everybody's, you know, hard part is at different portions of the journey and yours is the beginning. For me the beginning feels quite easy and then the middle like after that feels very challenging. I'm a fast start. I want to start 500 businesses. I have a million ideas. I feel like that's the ideation portion is like my favorite part. So for you, would you say that you are more of a, like are you more integration operations? Like what type of CEO are you or are you more of like the creative visionary? What do you lean heavier towards?

It's locked a little different in each stage of the business and work out what the businesses need. When I launched in 2020, I did it the, the first two years it was just me, myself and I and my husband also like at nights and weekends was helping. So I think then when we started growing a team, we, you know, I think you naturally gravitate towards things that bring you energy and brand and customer definitely bring me energy. Like I'm obsessed with our customer and I'm obsessed with brand. But for example, this year we opened up this brand new warehouse and have been really getting to grow and scale and be in the weeds of operations. And so I think that's just another muscle that I'm learning and really trying to lean into. But as a team has grown, I think that's the other thing that like how has my role changed and evolve is like I now have this leadership team. That's incredible. And that I and so motivated by and learning from every day. And so now it looks a little different, right? On, like, being in the weeds versus not being in the weeds in different parts of the business.

Okay, so tell me about the exact moment that you were like, okay, we're turning this into a real thing. What were the first steps?

Okay, so when I launched in 2020 in February, that was off of about 18 months of R and D. So me just trying to figure out, like, I want a keepsake trunk, but what. You know, I want to personalize it. What does that need to look like? So I literally went to, like, the makers in St. Louis. I went to a sewing room and worked with this lady who sewed some of our first prototypes. And when I use the word bootstrapped, I could not mean it more. Like, this business is so bootstrapped. Like, we launched and made. I don't even know if I've ever broadly shared this, but we launched in my first sale. This person, like, Shopify sale came on. Naturally. I freaked out. And this person emailed in and was like, I wanted to buy two, but it says sold out. Because, like, I had built the website myself, and I didn't have, like, I had just had one. In the quantities they emailed, they got. You emailed. Paige in San Francisco. My very first order, who found us via Instagram. That was, you know, an interesting. So I kind of. It snowballed, right? It was like, sell some. Sell. Sell these trunks and then make them. And because they're all that really helped with. I would say, like, bootstrap. Like, we were able to, like, take the order and then make the order with an artisan here in St. Louis. We made. We sewed everything here in St. Louis. My husband and I built the trunks in our attic, like, and then we would ship it out fast forward to, like, making you say, like, making it a real thing. I think, you know, that first year in business, it was me trying to prove that there was a product market fit. So it was nights and weekends. I was still working job. But we hit six figures that year, and I was like, okay, if we're gonna hit six figures, like, when I'm doing this on the side, like, I need to give this a go. So January 2021 was when I took a step back from my corporate career and said, I'm going full time. Pk. Wow.

Okay. I'm so curious because you guys were working with, like, artisans, and you're doing, like, one trunk here and there. Obviously, you did pretty well your first year, but what Were your margins like, in the beginning? Like, did you know, okay, once we start scaling, these are going to be better, or was it like, really expensive to make the product in the beginning?

So I started the business with $3,000 and I. It was very frugal. I. My parents actually came over and helped pack trunks, like on the weekends and nights, like, they'd help my husband and I pack. And so we called them our shipping department. And I remember they asked me to like, get a table and I was like, we can't afford a folding table. Like, we're like, we're like kneeling on the ground, you know, so very frugal because I. What I didn't want to do is like over commit, you know, I wanted to prove this out. So when I was in that, I think I was so focused on just this product market fit and proving this out, knowing we weren't lopsided because I was able to take that first initial $3,000 and continue to propel the business. That being said, as we've scaled, we've obviously prioritized financial acumen and grown the business in a way that makes sense and is sustainable.

Okay, and what did, what did it look like? How long did it take for you to start catching. I know you caught some momentum in that first year, but when you started to really go, oh, wow, what. And what happened? Was it something? Did someone catch onto it? Was it influencers? Was it just natural? Like, how were you getting out there?

What has been core to us since day one has been influencer marketing art. Influencer partners, our content creator partners are like, I want to give every single one of them a hug in person. They took a bet on us in the early days and they invited us into their deeply personal stories. They shared us with their communities. And I think, you know, for a brand like Petite Keep, it does take that explaining of like, the connection and the why and the meaning behind it, because there is depth to the product. So we continue to lean heavily on influencer marketing as a whole. It's a very core part of our marketing strategy. But that's definitely been what, especially the early days before we did ads, et cetera.

So were you reaching out to them personally or how were you finding your influencers?

I was, yeah, I was reaching out. I was DMing DMing them, you know, saying like, hey, I'd love to send you a trunk. Like, if you love it, I'd be grateful for a share, but, you know, would just love to send you a trunk. So it was in their DMS and sometimes it'd be moved over to email, but it was a very. A lot of times it was very, like, a natural reason too. Like, Katie McFarland, the first year, she was, like, sharing all about keepsakes and how much she loved them. So I was trying to find, like, a reason for being. For the conversation.

Okay, and you were gifting these at first?

Okay, yeah, I was. Exactly.

And then just for people who have products, I know I have a product myself. Like, what was your frequency of gifting that first, like, year? How much product did you kind of put aside to be like, okay, these are going to be gifts for people that we know could potentially fall in love with it and share it? Do you remember?

I wish I could say it was, like, incredibly intentional about the percentage. It was more just like, I'd find someone, I'd offer it to them and if they took it. So we probably did, you know, first year that, like 2020, maybe August to December, we probably gifted like, 15. Okay. Which felt very meaningful for a 300 item and.

Yeah, totally. And.

And frankly, they literally all moved. Like, they were all, like. The way that they talked about it, the way that they all had such an amazing impact, that was huge because I think storytelling, like, they can storytell the brand. So now we're more intentional about it. And even with, like, launches, we'll say, okay, we're Gonna set aside 5% of, like, a volume of a launch for our influencer partners, things like that. Yeah.

Okay. I love this. I think also for. I think you have a really unique special product, so more people are probably willing to share it. But, um, for anyone listening, was there a way that you approached it when you were chatting with them? Like, what did that conversation look like?

So I was very, I mean, like, very friend to friend, you know, sending the dm. If. If they were some, like, very authentic. Myself too, and that, like, if there was someone I had been following along in their journey, being, like, sharing that, offering to share with them. And I think just leading with gratitude is, like, always an important thing. Like, every single influencer has a business, a massive business they've poured their heart into. They are the, like, they are putting themselves out there. And I would like. I just don't take any of that for granted that they're willing to give us a slice of their. The eyes of their. Their audience. Yeah. Okay.

Love that. All right. As your business has grown, how has your role changed? So tell me from kind of like start to where you are now, like, where have things shifted? Kind of want to also know, like, what's been some of the most challenging roles that you've had to take on?

This is a very timely question because this year our team has grown in a big way this year because while the business has grown also, like the way we've managed our supply chain and ops and bringing things in house, like, that has also grown on our team. And it's been learning for me because I am someone that's so connected to like the Weeds. And I love the Weeds. I love the build. Like, I get so much energy from it. But I also have this incredible team. We're a fully female team. There's 15 of us. And I feel so energized by them that I also need to like, take a step back and, you know, so it's been a really. It's been a really good learning. So I'd say my role early days obviously was just, you know, know in like doing cx, building the trunk, sending out the trunk, X, Y and Z, the whole thing. And now there's. While I'm still in the build, we have infrastructure that we've got really strong. Just incredible team members that are leading each one of their. Their channels.

Okay, so for you now, when you say, you know, it's been challenging, you have to kind of step out of it. Is it because you want to be a part of everything? Like, what is the role that you do day to day now? But I also want to know what roles did you right away you had to fill because you were a major bottleneck.

So my first hire was like kind of this like operations like smorgasbord. Okay. Like led cx. They led, you know, some.

When you say cx, what was CX?

Like customers emailing us, asking about like shipping updates, anything customer, like someone emailing us. Okay, so that was my first hire. Ironically, some of my next couple hires were marketing because we are, we're a social first company. So that needed to be the focus area. I love marketing and branding. Like, I shared, but I don't have a design bone in my body. And so I needed to make sure we brought talent onto the team. And so we have like the most amazing marketing team that's. We're doing design in house, brand like everything in house. So really built up our marketing team. And now, really right now we're. This whole year has been, we call it the year of ops and like building out our supply chain in. In the same fashion.

So it sounds like you have opened your own warehouse. So like you vertically integrated, did that like, obviously that has plans to save a lot of money, but in the beginning, how did that feel? Was that scary or did that feel like a clear yes, this is going to be great?

It was literally all the things I, I. So we, there was a lot of reasons why we did this. And we still work with, like, our sewing partners are in Arizona, in Virginia, and we still have, like, partners that were, you know, that are sewing for us and things like that. But the reality was we, you know, customer obsessed always is our number one core value. We talk about it all the time. It is where our North Star needs to be to be able to do that in a customized business. Like, three PLs are really good at, like, sending out product, right? Like repeated product. But we wanted to make sure with this customized core that we were having our stamp on, on that. So that being said, also, I think in the digital social first world, like, being able to create content and like, showcase our product and like, have that on a daily basis is really helpful from a brand perspective.

Oh, my God, yes. Because you can, like, go get in there and really create BTs, like behind the scenes. And yeah, I think that is absolutely huge. That's for anybody listening. Like, most companies do not have their own warehouse. They have three PLs where they are. They're, you know, packed out and sent out. And a lot of times they're not where the founder lives. So you can, like, I feel a little disconnected from mine. It would be absolutely amazing to do that, but it's not, like, monetarily feasible at this moment. But I love that, like, when you get to that place to be able to do that, because I think especially for you, and it should be for every brand, but you have such a personalized brand that just like, adding that extra personal touch is huge. So that's so exciting. That was this year?

Yeah, it was earlier this year. It's been really, it's been really fun. Like, honestly, it's been really special. And just being connected to product like that is very. It infuses in everything we do.

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The heart of my brand. Well, it was absolutely my first daughter's keepsakes. That was why I launched the brand. So she was one at the time. So it was kind of like big first milestones, like first birthday, hospital visit, things like that that I wanted to tuck away. That being said, I have a bridal trunk I've started creating a trunk for. My husband has a trunk that like some stuff lands in from his military career. So there's, there's like several trunks around my house. Not too many, but several that have important pieces to the puzzle.

Okay, so have you ever wanted to like upgrade your trunk when new trunks come out? As the founder, you're like, you know what?

We launched a hot pink trunk this week and I have four girls and I literally was like restraining myself last night from ordering four hot pink trunks.

You're like, okay, so I know it's a keepsake, but we're going to rotate because we have the company so we can better. I know exactly. Okay. Can you share a couple, like just experiences or testimonies or moments that you've been able to give them or see what it's done like in friends or.

Family or anything like that? So one of the things, I mean, this isn't necessarily friends and family and I can share with that, but one of the things that we are obsessed with, that we love getting to share and be a part of is like gender reveals and bridal showers. They're used very often in those situations and our customers are amazing and they send us the pictures, they send us the videos. Like daily we're getting pictures from bridal showers and gender reveals. And that is so wild to see the reactions on people's faces when they open. Because it's, you know, if it's a bride, it's them, you know, kind of like fast forwarding over the years of like maybe it's a new name they're taking or a future that they're thinking about. If it's a gender reveal, it's like, oh my God, having a boy or girl when they open up the trunk. So that has been of lately, like one of the most impactful things.

Oh my God, how fun it's. That would be. So you have such a fun business to follow along. Anybody thinking of starting a business, think of what you want your day to day life to look like. Yeah, exactly. Like, what is it you want to be a part of? Okay, well, we've, we chatted about this, but you are a mom of five. That's insane to also be running a business. So I'm sure that you have help.

Can you kind of break that down for us 100%? It takes a village through and through. So I have five kiddos that are eight and under. The only way that we survive is with a village. So my mom actually recently retired and now has now stepped into doing a lot of, whether it be school pickups or watching our one year old little boy helping us grocery shop. But I would say that like I'm learning in this, in this stage of life just to like relinquish and like and accept that any kind of help because to your point, you know, it, it is a lot like running a business and having five kiddos that feels like, you know, that's a, a lot of little bodies and minds you want to continue to empower and support to your full, you know, your full capacity. Mm.

How do you kind of take care of yourself?

Do you.

Are You. What phase of the business are you in right now? Is it. Is it pretty stressful? Does it feel like you have things on lock? Like, tell me about those different phases? Because obviously we know there's periods where it is like, super intense. It's really hard, you want to quit, like, or it's just, you know, in some cases it might be such fast growth. It's so overwhelming, you don't know how to keep up with it. So what phase are you kind of in right now and how are you managing that personally for yourself?

I'd say it always has felt like a lot because of the growth that we've experienced over the last five years. But what's really special and exciting about right now is being able to share that feeling of excitement and pride and all the things that. The positives that come out of that with a team. Right. And so that versus, like three years ago, you know, sometimes when it's just you in the build, like, I remember how much heavier it felt. So it's become so much bigger than myself, which is exciting in so many ways as far as myself. And like, I'm just, I think movement, movement for me, like, working out and making sure I stay true to that is like my number one. My number one hack. I feel like that to me, is directly related to my mental energy and ability to show up for my family and my business.

Okay, what do you do? What does it look like?

So I'm a big, like, boot camp. So whether it's like fitting it in at 5:30 on my. In the morning on my peloton tread, or there's classes at my gym that I love that are like boot camp style. And then actually this summer, I started taking up Reformer Pilates because after having five kids, I was like, my core needs this. It's tackling. So. So I'm a newbie, like a 100 newbie into that world, but I am excited to continue learning.

I love it. I'm like two months into legree Pilates.

Okay.

Ever of all time. And I was like, I'm such a fitness girly, but I am two months in. And yeah, it is no joke for core. Like, it's.

It's the.

In two months, it's like the strongest my core has ever been. And I've been a weight lifter my whole, like, almost my whole life. So, yeah, it'll help you.

I mean, I literally was. Yeah, it's. It feels like such an investment in myself to do.

Yes.

Like, it feels so. I don't know. I'VE been loving it. It's such a. I get why I get the craze.

You know, I. I feel like whenever I talk to founders, like, really the ones who can feel. I. I feel like. Who feel pretty confident and somewhat balanced, which is obviously a myth, but, like, feel good with what is on their plate. For the most part, they are movers. Like, they're walkers or lifters or all of the above. But it's, like, a priority because I don't know how I would deal with the stress or channel the stress of it without it.

Yeah, I. I can tell, like, if there's a week with. For whatever reason, like, X, Y, and Z, my husband's traveling to work, whatever, like, it just doesn't. There's been several days in a row where it doesn't happen. My stress levels are directly correlated to my movement levels. And so I think that that's. It's a huge thing that, like, is just a. Has to be a line item in the day.

I. I totally agree. We're having this conversation today, literally, at Pilates, talking about how even just, like. Like, if you can do hard things physically, it does translate in your business. It truly, truly does. Like, there's something about understanding that the benefit will always come after the challenge. Like, stay in it, stay in it, stay in it. And it's. It's like, so it runs parallel to entrepreneurship, and I. I love that, being able to see that.

Yeah, I couldn't agree more.

Okay, so you were on Shark Tank as well. That's how I got to know of you through our mutual friend Jamie Kern Lima, and she set this podcast up. She's so amazing. I'm, like, so grateful for her, but I would love to hear, because that is a crazy experience, truly. Like, you're a founder who's creating this thing that you love, and now you're supposed to go and pitch and know your numbers inside out, upside down and backwards, and stand there so confident in something that you're fairly new in at the time. You know, maybe not doing that you're fairly new in, or you've maybe never pitched like that. I want to know all the thoughts, like, when you first got like this, you know, whether it was an invite, I'm not sure how you got on it or how you get on Shark Tank, but I kind of want to know the roller coaster of emotions that got you there and how you prepped for it.

Yes, it was wild. And actually, the filming was a year ago this week, which is. Is bringing back, like, all the Excitement. So I applied actually a couple years ago, like two or three years ago, and made it pretty far in the process and then fell out of the process. Like the pro just didn't make it further. And so really had kind of hung it up on the shelf. It took a lot of time and frankly, a lot of energy away from building the business. So never thought I would do it again. And then fast forward to last summer. I'm. This is going to sound like, almost not real, but I really don't even remember, but I must have, like, applied again, like on abc.com, something like that. A producer called me in July, and I was five weeks postpartum with my fifth child and was like, actually in a place where my team was so amazing and I was, like, gonna take off, you know, a month or two of, like, I hadn't had a mat leave with the last couple children. I was so excited. And Shark Tank reaches out and, you know, I'm a. Of course it's a yes. Like, of course I want through the process. So really doubled down, went through the interview, went through, like, the phone call, went through the application process, filmed a couple, like, audition videos and was accepted. Flew out in September. A lot of people have said something similar to you, like, going up on stage, you know, knowing your numbers, and by all means, like, at the beginning of the process, I was nervous, you know, while before I was out there. But when it was go time, like, it's almost like that mindset of, like, I have been given the most wild opportunity to go share this company that I'm obsessed with with the world, and I just. You kind of just have to put your binders on and, like, and go. So it was. It was a really, really pinch me moment. And on top of that, I've watched every episode because my husband and I are, like, total nerds and have been. So we, like. It felt very full circle.

Wow. So I love that. Did you. Did you visualize or do anything like that before you went on? Like, tell me what your practice and everything looked like.

So funny you should ask that. The day before you fly out there. There's like a dry run that we did via Zoom. And I was so nervous, I, like, actually felt like I was gonna throw.

Up so that I for sure would feel ill for like a month beforehand.

Yeah, I, like, had to, you know, because I also, like, don't have a theater background. Like, I didn't. Like, I'm not used to, like, going up and, like, giving a pitch type thing. Yeah. And I was like, I was absolutely writing affirmations at my desk. Like, I know my numbers. I built this business, like, literally writing out. I can do this. I can do hard things, you know? And then, like, after I wrote those out and, like, had the dry run and went well of, like, giving the pitch, I actually, like, took them to my children. That night, when my girls came home from school, I was like, I just want to show you this. Like, I was so scared today, and, like, this is how I overcame this. And at the time, my daughters were in first and second grade, so, like, my oldest, too, so they were, like, obviously very young. But, like, I think it's fun to bring them into the process, show them that I was scared and that, like, grownups can be scared, too, and figure out how to overcome it.

I love that. Do you feel like you brought your family kind of with you through this? Like, were they really aware of what mom was building?

They are. So much of the process, it's been really special, whether it be, you know, them coming with me to the warehouse to. And, you know, getting to make a padlock and things, like, on the actual flip, like, the early days. Inspiring princess. It's been a. They've been part of the build, for sure.

Do you feel like you notice anything? I know they're young. A lot of them are pretty young, but do you notice anything in them as far as creativity or the way that they talk about what they want to do in the future because of what you do?

I do. I feel like they. They're acutely aware of, like. Like, they're building a business, which then on the flip side, I feel like sometimes I'm like, how do we make sure that expose you to, like, all the professions versus just saying, like, I want to work for petite keep when I grow up. Yeah. So I. I. You know, representation is everything. Like, them being able to see. This is what they see, so this is what they want to see. So. Which is. Which is great. Like, I'm so excited that that's something that they're interested in, but also want to make sure they have all the. In front of them. Okay.

Did you have a moment where you did not know if you were going to be able to continue, or was this just, like, how am I going to keep up with this rocket ship.

On a macro level? No, like, this is, like, there is so much Runway for petite keep. There's so much passion from our entire team. I am so obsessed with it. And I know our customer, like, she continues to show us that there's continued opportunity for growth on a micro level. Like absolutely. Like they're like the low lows are 100% there. Every entrepreneur has them. You know, we, we definitely showcase the high highs a lot more than the low lows because they're more fun to talk about. But that's where resiliency hits in and you remind yourself like why you're doing it and what steps you need to take to overcome it and kind of just taking that deep breath and going back to like grounding yourself on your.

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Sure. I can, I can actually share with you one that happened like last week. The warehouse next ordered ours had a fire and we obviously have a fabric based business and so you know, get a call at 6am Saturday morning. I go meet our property manager at 6:30 and we're literally moving product out because we need to make sure that the integrity remains, you know, absolutely perfect for our customer. So luckily we were able to act fast and we were not like gravely impacted but it was like an out of body experience experience because what I think it reminded me of is like nothing is certain and guaranteed and like in these situations where you feel like you've literally dotted your eyes and crossed your T's, like the most wild thing can come in and, and kind of knock you on your feet. And so I would Say our team is so agile and that's the type of thing that you just have to be in entrepreneurship, in building a business.

There are so many, so many variables. So especially in a product based business, I used to have just like digital based businesses, but that even in digital, like you just, you don't know what's going to happen in history on the day of your launch. You know, you don't know what is. Like, you don't know if technology is going to crash. You don't know. You have no idea. And I think that what you've shared just about you have to be ready to pivot. You have to be ready to say, okay, we can't get stuck here, we can't get stuck on this. Like, we need to create the next step or the next plan. But especially with product, like, I almost can't think about it. You have to just do what you can do and not think about all the variables that can happen. Just be kind of prepared on everything.

Yeah, it's, it's definitely, I will say, like the way we've grown our team has been incredibly intentional and we hire off of our core values. And the reality is I'm surrounded by 14 entrepreneurs and that has been absolutely the reason for our growth and our success because the mindset of every single person on our team and so that's just like one piece of encouragement that I like to share is that I think hiring off of core values and being incredibly intentional about the people you surround yourself with, that is, is probably one of the best things you can do for the business.

What would you say is one of the best lessons that you have gotten either from another entrepreneur or advice from someone on your team? Like, what are some things that really stick with you that you feel like have been really infused into your company?

Focusing on the customer, not competition, is like number one. And we lead with that as a team. So while, you know, there are times where like blinders aren't necessarily like, you need to keep things in mind with like, you'll hear us 99% of the time talking about our customer. And that has been shared with me by mentors before and is something that we have infused into the backbone of this company for sure.

Can I hear about certain ways? Because a lot of people have, I mean a lot of people have customers who are listening this podcast. What are some ways that you really focus on them that you have felt have really just paid off and that you've loved?

Sure. So on a, like, on a, like kind of on a basic Level, our customer experience team, we, it's not like super typical for direct to consumer businesses to have a phone line to have and we like meet our customer where she is. So if she's DMing us on Instagram, we don't move her over. If she's calling us on a phone, we answer the phone. If she's sending us a text message, we send her a text. So kind of on like a very basic level, like, we are always trying to do that, kind of moving up the rung. Another thing we have is the PK promise. And so that means love it or we'll make it right. So we know that people are coming to us in these highly anticipated moments of life. We don't take that for granted. And we want to make sure they walk away like obsessed with their experience so that they come back to pk. And so if there's something wrong with an order, if it's maybe like sometimes someone will get a thread color and they're like, ah, I didn't like that. You know, you make it right. And then the third thing, we actually have a customer brand trip next week. So we're taking six of our top customers to Charleston and.

How fun.

Yeah. So and we're doing like a product lab with them and we're going to, they're going to help design a future print and there's just a lot of celebration to be had around that as well.

That is so exciting. So how do you maximize that as a brand? Are you going to do a lot of social media around that? What is that going to look like?

So, yeah, we, we have such a similar mindset. I. So we, it started off with customer obsessed always like just really living up to our core value and making sure that we treated customers that have, you know, some of our highest loyalty in our program. But we want to lean on our digital social first company. So we very much activate it socially, whether it be like leading up to the trip and taking our entire following along on like our customers, who work, who we're bringing, how we made some decisions, how we planned, we've done that and started to like seed that, whether it be email, Instagram, TikTok, and we're also doing a pop up in Charleston. So there's like, I feel like a revenue component there too. So we really are trying to think about it as a flywheel so that it's living true to our brand, living true to our values, but also like from a business perspective, like, you know, kind of making. Filling out the full pie. Okay.

I love that. What's exciting? Like, what do you see for the future of your brand? Like, do we see other products? Are we just going to really work on growing this one line or what does that look like?

So we definitely feel like there's, there's opportunity in offering other products as far as, like, whether it be higher end products or more opening price point products. So I'm excited for the next few, few months, we will be having a couple products that really round out that assortment coming up. We know sometimes she's looking for even a more elevated option and sometimes she's looking for something that's a bit more of a quick decision. So that's definitely high on her mind. But we're going into Q4, which is like our super bowl, so I feel like our entire team is like, you know, ready to like, jump into the field. And we're excited for the next three months.

I'm so excited for you. In January is going to feel so good. Hopefully I get a little break and everyone can have a break as well. But I know it's also so fun and so exciting too. So because you are coming up on gifting season, which, you guys, this is so exciting because she just made your life so much easier with getting a gift for somebody who you know is sentimental, somebody who you really, you know, just like deeply care about and you want to show them. But you guys have to go to the site. So where can we, where can we learn all about it? Lindsay? And we're also going to put everything in the show notes, you guys. So I'm going to have her tell you, but you can also scroll down.

And click thank you, Lori. So you can find this on petitekeep.com also if you on Instagram, follow us at Petite Keep, there's a lot of fun things happening there. Okay.

You're amazing. I'm so grateful for you and I'm excited for everybody to experience this because it truly is such a special, unique thing. And I'm so glad that you acted on your big dream and that you pulled through throughout all of the challenges. And I just love meeting another entrepreneur who's doing huge things out in the world. So I'm grateful that you came on the show. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Lori. That's such high praise coming from you. Thank you so, so much.

I'm grateful for you. And you guys definitely go and share this with somebody who is interested in going for their big dream or just somebody who maybe you want to, you know, maybe get this gift from and you say, hint, hint, you know. But until next time, everyone earn your hobby. Bye.

Bye.