Tag: Advertising

Episode 102 – Natalie Hume, Quick Draw Caricatures

Join us in the latest episode as Natalie Hume, the Owner and Manager of Quick Draw Caricatures, takes us on a captivating journey of entrepreneurship. From the inception of her business in 2017 to becoming a sought-after caricature artist, Natalie shares insights into the challenges and triumphs of running a caricature booth. Discover how she and her team hit the road, traveling across the continent to leave a mark at county and state fairs. Learn about the artistry, the hustle, and the joy of bringing smiles to countless faces through her unique talent. Tune in for a colorful exploration of Natalie’s entrepreneurial adventure in the world of caricatures and fairs.

You can learn more about Natalie and Quick Draw Caricatures at www.qdcaricatures.com

Welcome to Small Business Marketing Then and Now a conversation with small business owners on how they marketed the launch of their business the evolution since then and how they have pivoted during this COVID-19. Brought to you by profit master business solutions more leads more sales and more revenue for your smaller medium sized business click find newrevenue.com to learn more now here’s your host Howard Wolpoff welcome back to small business marketing then and now I’m Howard Wolpoff your host again this is brought to you by prophet master business solutions and for today’s conversation we are going to get into discussion about arts about connecting with people about having great times and situations with friends and family and people you’re close with and just being out and having an adventure and at all wrapped up in a business that we’re going to discuss that’s it’s not a brick and mortar but actually travels around the country and even throughout Canada in working at state fairs big huge events and interacting with people through the art of caricature now you may have had a caricature done I think you all know what it is and have seen lots of them but it really is an amazing opportunity for an artist to take someone’s form and expand on it and create personality to this wonderful drawing that they can keep as a keepsake and leave with and sure many hang on their wall and look at for years to come so I’m very excited for this conversation today with Natalie Hume from quick draw caricatures and it it’s not just about building a business but it’s really building a life of adventure touring around the continent so Natalie welcome to our conversation today thank you I am very excited about this it’s been a long time since I’ve had a character done but I see so many of them and I’ve seen your work and it’s really incredible of how you really are capturing the not just the image but the essence of someone in a very brief moment of interacting with them and then immediately putting it down onto paper yeah it’s exactly that it’s more media stranger and kind of figuring out their personality in 5 minutes or less and drawing it as quick as you can and it’s amazing the results that turn out from that so let me let me start by asking you how did you get involved in the world of caricatures there was a company that came to my high school when I was 16 and they were looking for artists they could hey almost nothing and teach them how to draw caricatures and basically like you get paid you learn caricature and then you draw them all summer so I really was intrigued by this because they did a demonstration in my class and I thought it was phenomenal so I applied and they hired me and with some training but mostly I would say 90% was practiced and application and I worked for them for 10 years obviously they liked what they saw in your talents and gave you that opportunity and really enjoyed you growing with them as you took this as a skill and really created as your own talent and art form I didn’t even go to art school because I kept working for them every year and I was like I don’t need art school I can just draw caricatures and get good at something and get paid instead of paying school so I moved up in their leadership supervisor assistant manager and eventually I was getting paid year round and I was working seasonally so it was great but eventually you grow out of positions so eventually I left and I think that experience gave you the opportunity to see how to run the business part of the characters not just the drawing part of the characters and that really led you to start your own business and lead you to where you are today exactly I mean not only did I with that job that I basically got you know art classes and working with all these different illustrators who draw caricatures it was like preschool and then also when they made me a manager they taught me all of this incredible knowledge about how to run a business and how to create relationships with other businesses because we were contractors so it was just like wow I’ve I felt like I had gone to college and earned 2° but I got paid gone to college gone to art school gone to Business School it was quite in a on the job experience that that you received so tell us a little bit more about how you actually then started your own business I met uh my husband um and he was also a character artist but he was working in fairs I was working in theme parks which are very different atmospheres to work in theme parks are way more structured you pay a flat rent you have to have you know you know there’s actual employees involved where you have to have people you know people hired and there’s you know hourly wages and benefits and healthcare and things like that where fares work more of a freelance contractor 1099 setup where it’s more like Wild West because everyone’s an adult everyone’s working professional who are trying to make a cash on the quick cash and better money actually and fares because when the fair comes to town uh is there for two weeks or less and then it’s gone and then it goes to the next city so it takes excitement with it so I met him and I was so jealous of the kind of money he was making in Paris because I was making a straight salary struggling as a young adult and I was like the money you make is so amazing just drawing characters and he didn’t have to do anything else just draw but he knew that I was already running a business for someone and that I had a lot of experience and management and people management so he asked me if I would run our own caricature outfit that does fares picking my experience at theme parks and his experience of working fairs and knowing what they’re like and kind of bringing them together because he had zero management skills and I had 0 fair skills we kind of needed each other well it’s good we can make partnerships like that that take off obviously took off in different ways more than just the business part so you formulate the business you’re getting yourself sent how is it that you were able to get your first placements out of Fair so yeah he came to me and said so funny it’s like somebody told me that you can set up and be a marketplace vendor in Salem MA during Halloween I was like I don’t know if there is a fair he’s like Nah somebody told me it’s really good OK so it took just that small conversation and then hours of research finding what was he talking about and he said if you can figure this out we should do this and lots of phone calls lots of Google searches I only found a Facebook group that was a marketplace of New England and I messaged like 3 different people on that Facebook group asking how can you vend in Salem finally I just talked to the right person and they set me up with some paperwork and I felt like that took so long defined this because it wasn’t like a well-known thing it wasn’t like you could just find the website to become a marketplace vendor in Salem mass so we actually got there to Salem and it was the absolute worst fed up you could imagine like we were in an alleyway with tons of other vendors but no one was coming down there and I had just quit my job I was freaking out so I go to the street over where there’s other vendors in the marketplace and it is like bustling full of people and I’m like why aren’t we over there how can I get over the like one street over instead of this alley so I talked to this guy who’s selling T-shirts and he’s like I’m actually in charge of this setup I said hey how can I get where you guys are he’s like just be here at 6:00 AM tomorrow and first come first serve for a spot you just have to pay X amount dollars more to be over here and I was like I gave them the cash and I was like I’ll be here in the morning so I hustled we hustled our way to get the first spot there in the morning the best spot and it was just like unbelievable the lines we had we had a line for 8 hours and that is the line a mob of people that’s outstanding yeah and what a great learning experience in your first experimental opportunity to be a part of a fair but also what a great results in coming to that afterwards as well weird because I had just let go of security you know a constant paycheck every other week I just let it go and I was like I can’t not make money here so I was talking to whoever I could to make it better no and that’s one of the best things because you there are so many people who you come across on a regular basis that have their own experiences that have their own business strategies that you’re able to gain from their knowledge just by sparking up a conversation and creating a bond in a relationship yeah it was so helpful to do that because then we stayed in touch another year with the vendor and we were able to come back again and do it and have a great location there and we still do this today you know it’s six years later we’re still doing this like hustling thing where we just sort of like we don’t like this spot let’s talk to somebody I look communication relationships go a very long way in a relationship situation like you have with these fares and also seniority the more you come the more people know you the more you are showing the strength of what you can accomplish the better opportunity there is for you ohm absolutely it we even learned that if we’re in a certain state the same people who run the County Fair also work for the state board who runs the State Fair so that has also helped us getting to know those people and just being friendly with them and they remember you when it came time to the State Fair application because they’re like we know quick draw they’re great this their setups good and that that has helped us before as well that’s it’s obviously been a fantastic part of your growth and going back to this event in Salem this was really the first of many what was your next steps at that point to then try to grow this business and get you some more opportunities well for me personally I wanted to come into this business as a 5050 partner because I wasn’t married to my husband yet I wanted to protect myself so I was like so focused on finding events that we could do the next weekend and the next weekend and the next weekend or if there was fairs so I was with all my computer for hours just researching calling people messaging people on I would find their Facebooks if I had does the try to get in as soon as I could so I could make money so I could start growing the business get better tents better displays pay for the events because you have to pay for them ahead of time so it’s like I wanted to be in it 5050 so I just started filling our calendar with whatever I can find like garlic festivals and weekend fireman’s Saint Patrick’s Day parade just whatever I mean to keep us working to keep us drawing to build a revenue stream because we had you know just what we had made previous show so a lot of being on the road is hustling and creating those relationships and making those calls and trying to just book anything and everything onto your calendar are there are there events that stand out more than the others for whether it’s a positive or negative experience um uh yes uh I will start with a positive there is an event that we still do six years later it was one of the 1st events we did in Florida in North Florida and we still do it today because it’s at the like county fairgrounds and it is a Scottish it’s the Scottish games and it’s one day from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM but we’ve been going there for so long now we have so many return customers it’s just amazing and we are so busy I like we can’t telling ourselves you know if it ever kind of slows down well we can stop doing this it’s only gotten better like and we still do it because we have a great rapport there we know where our spot is every time we know all the other vendors and people come out there it’s a big event for one day and we absolutely love it it’s we get to dress up and we get to watch the Scottish games and completely slammed the whole time I absolutely love that event excellent and I’m so happy I’m we’ve never given it up because it’s compared to our other big name fares we do it seems so small and so little you know like not pro but I can’t I can’t give it up now because I’m just like attached to it it’s very personal you do have that relationship within bond with it yeah how about on the other side um so we were at an event in South Florida and we were approached by an event coordinator and they said I’ve got an arts and craft show coming up in December um if you guys would like to be a part of it and where we’re like yeah I could see December is a slow time for us this was maybe our second year ever of doing events and they said it’s only you know $250 to then for the weekend it’s and they’ll probably be 10,000 people there like I was pretty good you know for just a couple days and such a small fee and we just gave it a shot it was in South Florida and we sign up and attend and there was nobody there the advertisements were horrible there were these tiny little yard signs on the street like the like 8 1/2 by 11 signs so tiny and we’re like dude this is not going to be good we set up there and all the other vendors are so green you can tell they’re green you know um and you can tell um they’re so green and they’re so eager to be a part of this event and we were like we knew better you just think this wasn’t going anywhere and we didn’t I think we made $15.00 that whole weekend that that that would definitely be on the on the negative side for sure that’s for a lot of effort and traveling in and housing and all that it’s there’s a lot of expense that goes into these events and not have any type of return is definitely disappointing ohm yeah I think we act up and left halfway through the day second day yes cut your losses get back on the road get this yeah next time they even said you know next weekend we have an event we can let you bend there for free um I’d rather be at home doing nothing yeah that makes sense so you’ve obviously though found places that you do much better than that events and really grown it’s to a full calendar traveling around the country throughout the year now you also figured out a way to uh to do business in Canada how did that get started all my husbands I always tell people that this business is all his idea and I’m just the person he looks at me like I want to do this can you help me so he gets ideas all the time so he’s had been talking about Canada I don’t know he’s like It’s like where’s the one place people aren’t working I don’t know the Canada I was like you’re right no one works in Canada because it’s another country ohm in 2020 when no one was doing anything we were applying to all the largest fares in Canada we could find and we got in to one of them which was the biggest in Canada and it took a lot of research and I lefty lawyer fee the first time to process work visas because one I like to sleep at night and two crossing the border with a lot of equipment umm they like to ask a lot of questions there was no way I was going to cross the border as a port rest and work so getting work visas was a huge learning process and I still have to pay a lawyer for assistance but not for them to fully do it but I still pay lawyer fees but mainly it’s because they’re experts in this field and I am just an artist um and so it calms me down to be able to say hey I need you to look over all of this paperwork and give me the green so I feel confident well it obviously has worked out well for you because you you’re in a number of different places in Canada over the course of the year yes we are now in five Canadian events and two of them we have doubled our staff because we are so popular there um and it’s just overwhelming because I don’t know what I’ve heard is there’s not a company like us in Canada where we bring multiple artists with us there might be 1 caricature artist set up but one caricature artist cannot possibly serve the lines that we get where it’s 20 people deep for hours you just physically can’t so we provide this service where we bring six or more of our bodies with us who we’ve known for years and who are all great at this we bring a whole gang of character artists up to Canada and we can serve you know hundreds of people a night or more I mean gosh Steven hundred 800 people a night or more and we can do that because we bring the amount of artists we do with us and I can only see it getting better there because in the United states you can go to any fair and be like ohh let’s go to the caricature artist you know it’s very common here to see those around where in Canada they might have seen one at a fair back in the day or a couple years ago but to see it consistently and consistently now has only benefited us because we have such we’re getting such a loyalty in those Canadian shows which makes the expenses worth it because it is very expensive to go over the border as a business um but it’s worth it 100% so it definitely adds to the adventure that you’re on having these great experiences in Canada and growing what you have throughout the United states what do you see as the direction of your company over the next couple of years I definitely see us more leveling out because for the last few years we have been growing and growing and growing and growing and growing and it’s amazing one it’s so cool to see loyalty from the affairs loyalty from the customers the excitement and the caricature artist community about us because people ask to work for us all the time I get messages multiple times a week saying hey I’d love to work with you however I think having to tell people have to put you on a wait list to work with me because we just don’t possibly have the room to hire all of these artists because we don’t like to pack our tents full of artists like where you a tent is meant for six we will not act more than that in there because it’s uncomfortable for the guests and it’s crowded so I really CSS leveling out more because it’s been a lot on me and my husband to have our business grow so fast so quickly and you got to like keep up with all the new all the paperwork all the new tax things you have to do buying new equipment and buying more trucks to drive around the country seeing anything like that but we just want to level out a little more for sure where we just stop growing for a while and kind of ride this out and make changes so we don’t have to spend as much maybe on broken equipment or replacing things or buying new displays I also see us uh maybe even trimming some of the fat as well so there’s some events we do where you know maybe that profit margin isn’t as great as it really is because of maybe sales versus cost or the maybe it’s not long enough of this there to really get the return we need on it or is it kind of far away from the main route that’s something we’re talking about too is we go all over the country so things kind of have to make sense we can’t be in New York when week and then all the way in Portland OR then that’s just impossible so we need to kind of figure out a more fluid way to get to these events where we’re not killing ourselves driving 16 hours to make it there the next day which we both do one once a year it’s crazy I also see as a as beneficial drawing caricatures as to me in a few years I also see myself unavailable to draw full time like I do one thing my husband tells me is he’s like you do 3 jobs your character artist you’re a bookkeeper and you’re the manager of everything else it’s like yeah so I also see myself taking more on the business owner role and unfortunately less of the hands on artist role even though that’s where I get most of my happiness is drawing but it doesn’t have to be like if I’m at an event I will be out there every day drawing every day if I in the loud and by saying I’m allowed but I’ve been told take a day off all the time so I think some changes are going to be happening in the next few years where I myself am not drawing as much but more taking on things like at a regular pace instead of the cram it all into one night pace because you got to get this done like I do every year with 1099 I get these done in 24 hours which UM it’s looking like I’ll do be doing it again this year well it looks like every day is an experience with what you do in in obviously at least three different ways and it’s really incredible what you’ve built overall but let me ask this just in general what makes a good caricature likeness it has to look like the person and also it has to be fun in some way and by that it can be funny it can be cute it can be um extreme but if it doesn’t look like them then all of that effort is for nothing because that’s what they want the bottom line they want it to look like then like the worst thing I could hear is it doesn’t look like me hate because that’s my goal it’s like I want you to be like hey that’s Howard you know you don’t want to say that’s Howard’s wife and some guy like you don’t want to hear that so I want to if it doesn’t look like them all your efforts of making it exaggerated or funny or cute or worthless well it really does sum up a really unique and interesting business that you are in and one that people get joy from but may not even realize the concept of this it’s a business it’s not just someone putting a drawing on a piece of paper it really wanted an art form and 2:00 to be able to travel around the country the continents to do this really takes a lot of management and implementation and it’s it is pretty clear that your business is on the rise and continue will continue to rise and then have a lot more successes in the future so Natalie thank you so much for joining us and sharing your story and your journey with us thank you thank you so much for taking the time today too and thank you all for joining us as well I hope you’ve had a character done if not I suggest the next time you go to a fair you do so and specifically if quick draw is there to do it because it really is a lot of fun it really adds to the event and lets you take the event home with you in one way but really take a different level of your spirit home with you as well and it’s just great to see these types of businesses all over the place you can come up with any type of idea and create a business and be successful at it if you know how to hustle and if you know how to really keep building and taking advantage of opportunities which quick draw seems to have done very well so go out have a great rest of today and we will see you next time this has been small business marketing then and now brought to you by profit master business solutions marketing strategy for the small business owner to learn more click findnewrevenue.com

Episode One Hundred – Dawn Archer, Dawn To Dusk Catering

This episode is a cause for celebration as we have reached number 100! 100 Small business owners sharing their marketing journeys as they have built their businesses.  We are incredibly excited to share small business owner one hundred with you.


Dawn Archer has been on her own journey, personally ad professionally.  From teaching friends to cook, she took her passion for cooking and created her own catering business, Dawn To Dusk Catering, in Jacksonville, Florida.


She discusses her businesses beginnings while sharing her passion for food, good nutrition and wonderful experiences.  She also shares some of her many talents, which include being an award winning dancer and choreographer and a recent pageant champion, naming her Jacksonville Senior Diva for 2023.


To learn more about Dawn and her thriving catering business, please click www.dawntoduskcater.com.

Welcome to Small Business Marketing Then and Now a conversation with small business owners on how they marketed the launch of their business the evolution since then and how they have pivoted during this COVID-19. Brought to you by Profit Master Business Solutions more leads more sales and more revenue for your smaller medium sized business click find newrevenue.com to learn more now here’s your host Howard Wolpoff welcome back to small business marketing then and now I’m Howard Wolpoff your host and again this is brought to you by Profit Master Business Solutions and today our conversation is going to be about catering now catering is a major part of any events that you’re planning food is important to many people for nutrition it’s important for keeping people healthy but it’s also part of the ambiance of an event and having the right person to create that ambience to create that menu and to present it for your guests is extremely important for having that right person really knows what people like and provide you with options of what opportunities there are to put onto the table and to serve your guests it’s very key part to the success of the event that you’re planning and I’m very excited about the guests that we have on today uh she is a caterer here in the Jacksonville FL area her name is Dawn Archer from Dawn To Dusk Catering and Dawn welcome to our conversation today hi Howard I’m so excited to be here today well I’m again very excited to have you on and to learn a lot more about you and your journey as a business owner and as a caterer because catering really is a again when you’re planning an events food is important people come to weddings and large scale events and the food is something that going to be talking about afterwards and something they’re going to enjoy during the event itself and something about the it’s about that presentation that the event is making so your role is very important in the all the different planning stages but the success of any type of event yeah absolutely so it’s exciting to learn about the behind the scenes part from someone who does these events who plans these events and I’m also really excited to share your journey with the audience that we have and why don’t we start there at the beginning so what was it that made you decide to go in and create a catering business in 2013 I relocated to Jacksonville so I’ve been always have a passion about food and cooking I’m such a foodie but now I finally have the opportunity to cook so I did a lot of cooking for my family for my kids and I love to share food my neighbors my friend they all love my food so much so I started to help them do their parties and one day my neighbor asked me ohh I have a friend she wants to learn how to cook can you teach her I said ohh I loved you so I started to teach cooking teach cooking class them my students they appreciate my personality so much so they suggest hey why don’t you start a catering business I said ohh I don’t know a lot about catering but you know what I just Google I learn and I made a plan I did it I started I finally started my catering business I really I’m so glad I did that well it’s key that you have that excitement and passion about your business and a lot of energy into all that you do to put into creating the food for creating these events so you definitely found and it’s fun to hear someone talk about someone finding their passion and being able to create into a business that that that brings them joy on a daily basis yes because catering or cooking it’s a is labor intensive work but I love it because I’ve been always a very creative person I think cooking doing the presentation it’s a kind of art it’s a way I express myself and you you’re really correct in saying that because the way food represents it on a plate really can be very artistic then I guess the science and thought process into the ingredients you’re using to create a dish every chef has their own creative style that goes into the ingredients and I’m sure you have your own personal touches that go along with that as well right exactly it really show your personality so I always try to use the best ingredients I always test the recipe try to make it better and I think that my food is my clients always just describe my food is so awesome it’s like it’s not like OK after you eat the food you forget the flavor and they always remember that so Chris memorable special moment for them well that’s very important to create that memorable experience because that also is part of your branding that goes along with growing your business and getting the notoriety that you want to get your name out there to make sure that your business keeps on growing now when you started this business so you again you had not had an experience being a chef and really care business before what were you doing is to start letting people know that you were open for business and looking for clients in the first year I started my business I did some very traditional marketing advertising for my business I build a website then I invest some advertising in different kinds of platforms pay advertising to some wedding wear the knots or some service platforms then after that I started to build my the base of my clients after a while I started to see the conversion rate I think it’s pretty low but at that time I have to because I know nobody in the market I I’m still I’m I was still in the beginning to establish my business but then at 2020 COVID hit so that’s that give me the reason to change my strategy because all the when news all the big events shut down that I had to think about what I should do what I what I’m going to continue this business so during the COVID because of the I remember in the first half year all the restaurants shut down people has to stay at home so I started to do family meal then I put Facebook ads to my neighborhood to the groups or doing Facebook personal last personalized ads so the people leave close to me they come to my place pick up your dinner your lunch so I was very happy I did that for the community a lot of people order food for their neighbors has COVID patients or they pick up the food for the college kids uh for once you started to get back to normal so I thought I thought about my strategy again so I think the key for a small business is you evaluate your strategy all the time and make the adjustment like an old saying say small boat it’s easy to turn around compared to The Titanic it does make a lot of sense and you started a business in a time where you had to make lots of different types of evaluations because you and everyone else was not expecting what 2020 became with COVID and the shutdowns and you were did a very good pivot in trying to do these personalized meals for individuals or families but how sustainable was that as a as a business model as you were viewing it during that time was that something you could have easily continued on doing or was important to for any number of reasons to focus more on event yeah pivot is a very interesting word because you know I love dancing there is a dance move called pivot is I just step forward at your turn around so I did a lot of that in my business I remember in the end of twenty 20s things started to open up so people can now they can go out to eat restaurants most restaurants have the curbside deliver I remember yeah so I don’t think people really need me to do that much home meals then I started to do smaller size events at people’s home at their backyard at their big kitchen because it’s so much easier for both for me and my clients at that time the venue they still need you some vaccine certificate or you have to fill out a bunch of forms of information so we just do the events at people’s house people’s home that is so much easier and then I continued this this model until now and I love to do the intimate smaller gatherings I think it’s more high end more profitable and easy to for me to operate my business but yeah the same time I still to the bigger events too but that’s not like in the beginning of my business OK I try to do 100 people event 200 people event so yeah it just you have the different emphasize and I have to sense that planning on your end for a 200 person event is very different than planning on a 70 person event yes so much to you know caring the biggest challenge is it’s not like you cook for four people six people for 10 people that’s 200 people how can you make the schedule keep all the food ready keep them safe keep them fresh keep them warm that’s a really big challenge and it’s really can be the difference in a successful event or a non-successful event if the food is not kept the right way you want everything to be warm when it’s being brought out to each and everyone’s plate so it’s it really takes a lot of business management in addition to the knowledge of the ingredients and what tastes right and how to create a recipe and implement a recipe when putting together any size of that whether it’s 70 or 200 to make sure that the client is getting what they’re asking for so true yeah talking about the marketing and I did a lot of we said organic marketing on the traditional yeah I made a lot of media appearance magazine interviews so that’s helped me to promote my business too for example I was I’ve been in the local TV shows four or five times actually this morning I just came I just came back from another live show and also I sponsored some local events I have some loyal clients all my social media like Facebook I keep doing I tried to make my contents interesting because I actually I noticed some business our Facebook page they post and nobody likes or one or two but I think some of my post is really people really love the content of what I put over there and that’s one of the challenges with Facebook really has they had its moments for businesses where you’re getting the likes and people following but it’s very hard for business to get people to really interact with their content so it really does say a lot about you with the relationship you’ve created with those following you and your business that that you’re getting a response so it’s part of the challenges of social media where people have their favorite places that they go Facebook definitely has faded in comparison to the instagrams of the tick tocks and how people absorb their social media and what places that they’re spending more time on so it’s good that you’re getting some results and obviously business from its them from the work you’ve been putting in yeah I think I’m doing pretty good on Facebook but Instagram I’m going to do more on my Instagram the reason was my targeted audience I outer group of people because most of my clients are retired the families or people celebrate their special day special moments but most of most of my clients are in the older age group that’s why Facebook because Instagram and more generation I think yeah it’s definitely evolved and yes older people are probably more on Facebook than others but they are finding their way to some other platforms but it’s good that you’re having that as a as a resource for you now obviously your business has grown since that COVID. And the things you learned from it and the what type of events are you mostly catering these days yeah all kinds of special moment all the milestones in their life anniversary party small weddings retirement party birthday party yeah I feel I’m always celebrating something so I feel I feel so lucky I can be part of it and make their special moment even more memorable and that’s very important to be that people have the right people to hire to make these moments special and obviously finding you to be part of these celebrations is been a big part of them enjoying marking that accomplishment and bringing friends in to celebrate with them so when you are developing this type of business like for example you were on TV this morning what kind of responses are you getting and how are people responding to you when they’ve seen you on a TV set we’re like that cooking with the with the with the show hosts I think they feel more excited when they work with me the ohh this is a celebrity shape shift uh so I think that that’s as some interesting thing to my profile you know I also joined like you know the miss senior Jacksonville pageant yeah it’s July 29th and I will the be senior diva yeah that’s interesting title I kind of like diva yeah and I’m glad you brought that up I wanted to jump into that as well having a relationship with the community seems to be a major part of how you’re marketing your business and that type of local networking so getting involved in the local organization and being a contestant in a in a beauty pageant really catering to your target audience at the moment was a great decision on your end and obviously even more so where you were you won you were named the miss Jacksonville diva it’s on the uh the age bracket that that that you were contested in and you got some nice notoriety on the local media and obviously as a great accolades from people that that follow you on Facebook as well to celebrate with you yeah I was on the Morning News because uh I my platform for this pageant is promote home cooking nutritional eating habits I think that’s really a combined and bound with the food industry the catering and I actually I want to share my resource share some of my cooking skills with the community and us so two years ago I actually sponsored the local dancing with the stars I was one of the cater to provide the food for the whole event that that’s a charity fundraising event too so I tried to be get more involved with the community giving back to our community to which Is a great way for business to market itself but also connecting with types of events that connect with you so obviously you mentioned before as a passion you also have is dance and that’s a connector for you do what to appreciate the talents of others in in in dancing and get your name out for your business in that community yes Peter several dance events in the ballroom dance competition dance a show you know because as a dancer myself I tried to keep you know good shape so I know how dancers they what kind of diet is good for dancers for athletic people and yeah that’s why I try to promote the nutritional eating habits for me it took me several years to get better understanding about nutrition all the eating habits really affect your overall lifestyle yeah everything and that has more defined you as an expert in this industry because you are able to relate to different people and the needs that they have because yes food is not just fuel it’s either that or some people eating as a hobby but it’s really there there’s nutritional needs that your body has that you want to make sure that you’re feeding it the right ingredients for what you’re trying to accomplish runners need the different types of nutrition then weight lifters do and dancers with that with that cardio focus of what they’re doing and the specific needs of the movement of their body and the and the forms that they are creating in in doing so it’s important for them to have the right physical shape to be able to make that that lasting impression with every move yeah exactly also there is a trend for people adapting different diets you know vegan vegetarian gluten free keto in my house I have two sons still stay with me one is a meat eater another one is vegan I cook for those two kids all the time they have the completely opposite diet so I really know I learned a lot and how to cater different diet restrictions yeah I think that’s very important for the catering business it’s it really is and really I think as you brand yourself in different ways and make sure that your name is getting out there having those types of knowledge and experience to get out there because I’m sure that you’ll have some set menu for what you’re creating for an event and then they’ll come back saying well we have these two people that are vegetarian and this person that has this special diet so I’m sure that you are fielding questions on a regular basis of how to adjust and adapt for individuals as opposed to the large scale number that you were contracted to create for yes yeah totally agree how challenging is that in the in the master planning for an event I think my uh there’s one unique uniqueness of uh my catering cooking is I can cook everything so I 100% customize your menu there’s no limit so just let me know what’s your name what’s your diet restriction what you want and I will customize the menu for you so a lot of my clients are really impressed because a lot of caterers or restaurants they only has a set menu a fixed one OK you can just choose 123 but I have a general menu too but because of my background I can cook Asian food I can cook western food I can cook Latin American food anything and I’ve combined them to like word cuisine so that’s very interesting and I try to have something that is not easy to find in a restaurant if people can order in a restaurant why they come to me it’s a very good point it’s good vision for what you see the your business to be and what you want it to be so within that thought where do you see your business going over the next few years and actually I I’m I’ve been thinking about this question in the past several months it’s like what we call it how you scale your business I think the challenge or difficulty for small business is expand your business how can you expand to this I’m still thinking about that so my goal is I’m trying to develop some special food product that’s because I can only cook for one event one day sure that makes sense yeah I winna do something like more like I can serve more people and there are lots of grand and I can put something in the white space in the market but that’s my secret I cannot share clear enough so if people have an events if they have a nutritional needs that they’re trying to address if they have any questions for a chef and they want to get in contact with you what’s the best way for people to find you they can go to my website dontyouthatscatter.com and send me a message or e-mail me even contact me on Facebook Instagram yeah I think my website will be the best way to contact well I sense that people will definitely have an interest in learning more about the opportunities you offer within catering and for their events and really just don’t I appreciate you coming on and sharing your story and sharing your journey on building your business and sharing your passions of dance and cooking and I’m very excited to see where your path goes in the future so thank you so much for joining us oh it’s such a pleasure chatting with you thank you and thank you all for joining us as well it’s great when someone finds their passion and goes after it and creates a business that brings joy to people bring is a major part of people celebrations and that’s what dawn has done in creating her business and the way it’s grown she’s been able to connect with even more people and bring more happiness to them and some really great food in the process so definitely click on her website to learn more about dawn and her catering opportunities go out have a great rest of today and we will see you next time this has been small business marketing then and now brought to you by profit master business solutions marketing strategy for the small business owner to learn more

Episode Ninety Nine – James Harrell, James The Printer

Our latest small business owner has build his business around relationships and the concept of concierge printing.

James Harrell has created a one stop shop for printing and marketing needs, providing quick and simple solutions to the time-consuming tasks related to design, print procurement and mailing.  He discusses his business journey and how he has heavily leaned on networking, particularly in BNI, to grow.

To learn more, click https://www.jamestheprinter.com/.

Episode Ninety Eight – Donna Mancini, Donna Mancini Interiors & Flooring

Our latest episode is a great journey story of business growth and vision and our guest is Donna Mancini of Donna Mancini Interiors and Flooring


In this conversation we learn how Donna has not just developed one business but multiple businesses that connect with each other that help the customer find answers and receive great design and even better implementation into their homes for all the wonderful concepts that they  discuss with her.  She shares her marketing path that has aided in the growth of all of her businesses.


To learn more, please click https://donnamanciniinteriorsandflooring.com/


As always, this podcast is brought to you by Profit Master Business Solutions, implementing measured marketing for small businesses while calming the chaos and creating the confidence and competence to exceed expectations.

Click www.profitmasterbusinesssolutions.com.

Episode Ninety Seven – Alexander Hall, Dispute Defense Consulting

Lorem ipsumOur guest for this episode has quite the backstory.



Alexander Hall of Dispute Defense Consulting has 16 years of fraud-related experience – 10 of those years were spent operating as a high-level fraudster.  For the last six year, including the last three as the owner of his business, he has been helping to protect businesses as a consultant on the development and refinement of holistic in-house fraud prevention that are woven between all operations and at every touch point across their customer experience journey.



In this episode, Alexander shares his journey as a fraudster and how he has taken these talents to help businesses address the target areas that he would have and make sure that are not losing revenue.  She shares how he has developed his business and the challenges he faced getting hired, even with all of his acquired knowledge and abilities.



To learn more, please click https://disputedefenseconsulting.com/



As always, this podcast is brought to you by Profit Master Business Solutions, implementing measured marketing for small businesses while calming the chaos and creating the confidence and competence to exceed expectations.

Click www.profitmasterbusinesssolutions.com.



You can find your host, Howard Wolpoff, at:

 

www.profitmasterbusinesssolutions.com

 

Twitter – https://twitter.com/hwolpoff

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/hwolpoff/

TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@hwolpoff

 

Thank you for listening! 

Episode Ninety Six – Vinki Loomba, Loomba Investment Group

For our newest episode, we are thrilled to have Vinki Loomba, an expert in the real estate investment industry. She is the founder and CEO of the Loomba Investment Group and they  specialize in providing multifamily and commercial real estate investment opportunities to private equity firms, family offices, and accredited investors.

 

Her company has an impressive track record of helping investors achieve their financial goals through strategic real estate investments.  She enjoys educating existing and potential investors and helps them explore a great avenue of Building Wealth through commercial Investing, using their funds in self-directed IRAs, 401(k), and other tax-deferred alternatives.

 

Throughout this episode, we will dive into her journey into the world of real estate investment, and explore how she has built her business.

 

To learn more, please click https://loombainvest.com/

 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Profit Master Business Solutions, implementing measured marketing for small businesses while calming the chaos and creating the confidence and competence to exceed expectations.

Click www.profitmasterbusinesssolutions.com.



Episode Ninety Five – Lindsay Sawyer, Captivating Cleanliness

In this podcast episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with a local house cleaning company about their experiences in the industry. The owner, Lindsay Sawyer of Captivating Cleanliness, shared valuable insights into what it takes to run a successful small business in this competitive field.

 

We learned about the importance of building strong relationships with clients and maintaining open communication channels to ensure their satisfaction. Lindsey emphasized the value of offering personalized services that cater to the specific needs of each client, the challenges of managing a team of employees and maintaining quality control, as well as the importance of investing in ongoing training and development for their staff.

 

Overall, this podcast provided a fascinating glimpse into the world of small business ownership and the unique challenges and rewards of running a house cleaning company. We gained valuable insights into the importance of customer service, team management, and continual improvement in the pursuit of success.

 

To learn more, please click https://www.captivatingcleanliness.com/.

 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Profit Master Business Solutions, implementing measured marketing for small businesses while calming the chaos and creating the confidence and competence to exceed expectations.

Click www.profitmasterbusinesssolutions.com.

Episode Ninety Four – Jeremy Ben-Israel, Ascentropy Business Solutions

How great would it feel to find hidden money in your business?

 

Now we are not talking about magic, but there are ways to find where you are overspending and even get some of that money back while not spending it moving forward.

 

That’s exactly what our next guest does.  Jeremy Ben-Israel of Ascentropy Business Solutions.  As leading expert in cost containment, Jeremy works with businesses to reduce key business expenses, generate cash, and boost working capital and profits.  Even more so, he is able to do this with total transparency, contingency based, and at no risk and no costs to the business owner!

 

He shares his own business ownership journey and how he has used the lessons he learned from corporate America to find these hidden opportunities.

 

To learn more, please click https://ascentropy.com/.

 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Profit Master Business Solutions, implementing measured marketing for small businesses while calming the chaos and creating the confidence and competence to exceed expectations.

Click www.profitmasterbusinesssolutions.com.

Episode Ninety Three – Jackie Potter, J Potter Health

Your mental health is incredibly important but often ignored by you and the ones who care about you.

Perhaps many of you can relate.  And the challenges that you may be experiencing is very familiar to our latest guest, Jackie Potter of JPotter Health. She is a wellness certified and healer certified life coach who specializes in stress, anxiety, and panic.

Using her story, her research, and her wellness education, she helps others navigate and find ease from their anxiety with compassion and empathy. developing comprehensive programs to provide personal assistance to those challenged with stress and anxiety. She shares her journey as a business owner prospecting for clients and making the connections necessary to see her business grow and flourish.

To learn more, please click https://www.jpotterhealth.com/.

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Profit Master Business Solutions, implementing measured marketing for small businesses while calming the chaos and creating the confidence and competence to exceed expectations.
 
Click www.profitmasterbusinesssolutions.com.

 

Episode Ninety Two – Siddiqi Ray, SOUL Ray Portrait / Siddiqi Ray International

People just want to be seen.  They want someone to just see them and love them and know them.  That’s all people want……..

 

This is just one of the great concepts shared by our next guest on Small Business Marketing – Then & Now, Siddiqi Ray, SOUL Ray Portrait and Siddiqi Ray International.  Her career has taken her around the world as a photographer, documenting history and experiencing life through the incredible interactions she has had and the relationships she has developed with her individual subjects.

 

She takes each individual through a process that really turns the light on and allows people to look open and welcome, having dropped their mask and showing their true self in each photo.

 

Siddiqi shares her journey as a photographer, business owner and becoming a positive influence on so many peoples lives.  

 

To learn more about Siddiqi, please click siddiqiray.com or find her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/siddiqiray..

 

As always, this podcast is brought to you by Profit Master Business Solutions, implementing measured marketing for small businesses while calming the chaos and creating the confidence and competence to exceed expectations.

Click www.profitmasterbusinesssolutions.com.