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Speaker 1: Ruby.

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Speaker 2: The views, information, or opinions expressed during this podcast are

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Speaker 2: solely those of the individuals involved and do not represent

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Speaker 2: those of into It QuickBooks or any of its cornerstone

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Speaker 2: brands or employees. This podcast does not constitute financial, legal,

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Speaker 2: or other professional advice or services. No assurance is given

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Speaker 2: that the information is comprehensive, accurate, or free of airs,

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Speaker 2: and the information presented is for general information purposes only.

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Speaker 2: In Twit QuickBooks does not have any responsibility for updating

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Speaker 2: or revising any information presented. Listeners should verify statements before

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Speaker 2: relying on them.

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Speaker 1: Welcome back everyone. This is Mine the Business Small Business

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Speaker 1: success Stories, a podcast brought to you by Intwood QuickBooks

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Speaker 1: and Ruby Studio from iHeartMedia. I'm Jinny's Torrez.

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Speaker 2: And I'm Austin Hankwitz Autin.

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Speaker 1: This has been such a fun season. It's been an

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Speaker 1: incredible ride. But unfortunately, like all the things, they must

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Speaker 1: come to an end.

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Speaker 2: Or maybe a Paul, don't tell me that this is

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Speaker 2: the season finale. I know, I'll tell you what. I

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Speaker 2: had so much fun with that nice Tampa weather. It's

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Speaker 2: cold here in Nashville, it really is.

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Speaker 1: I had so much fun with you discovering new local

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Speaker 1: spots to visit and support, and talking to these incredible

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Speaker 1: small business owners. What was your favorite part about this season?

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Speaker 2: To be honest, I think it was talking with the

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Speaker 2: people like Jeries from episode one, for example, who saw

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Speaker 2: a problem in an existing business and said, I know

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Speaker 2: how to solve this problem. I have the confidence in

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Speaker 2: myself and so they went out on their own. Or

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Speaker 2: another example with Kenzie West, the owner of True Form Fitness.

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Speaker 2: She had this awesome opportunity to buy a business and

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Speaker 2: she went for it. I just I get so inspired

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Speaker 2: by that because as a small business owner and Janis,

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Speaker 2: I'm not a veteran like you, so I still kind

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Speaker 2: of have my insecurities about running a business. But just

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Speaker 2: knowing that people have these brick and mortar locations and

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Speaker 2: people are able to hire all these employees, there's so

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Speaker 2: many cool things. I just get so inspired. I'm so

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Speaker 2: fired up about all the amazing people we've spoken with

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Speaker 2: and being able to hear their stories of going from

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Speaker 2: idea to business execution to real success and scalability. I

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Speaker 2: cannot wait to go back and listen to every single

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Speaker 2: episode of this season again and again.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely. First off, I was in Nashville for the first

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Speaker 1: time thanks to this incredible season, and I got to

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Speaker 1: really be inspired by just all these amazing business owners

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Speaker 1: who when you look at it from the outside, it's

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Speaker 1: almost like, are you really building a whole business around

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Speaker 1: French fries? When we think about the bag Ladies Fry Joint,

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Speaker 1: the fact that Brandon and James Lyttleton's Grandma's French fries

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Speaker 1: were the inspiration and now they've got a thriving business

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Speaker 1: they're talking about potentially like franchising. It's so important for

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Speaker 1: us to remind ourselves that it doesn't have to be

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Speaker 1: this big, audacious idea like you can literally build an

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Speaker 1: incredible business with something as simple as fries.

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Speaker 2: I'll tell you what, there's nothing simple about those fries.

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Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, so good. But getting back to business today,

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Speaker 2: we're going to delve it a little bit deeper to

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Speaker 2: talk specifically about how to push past stagnation.

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Speaker 1: This is such an important topic because we all want

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Speaker 1: our businesses to be steady, right. Stability is the name

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Speaker 1: of the game. But you don't want to be stuck

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Speaker 1: in a rut. You're going to want to make sure

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Speaker 1: that you can expand your business and grow where you

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Speaker 1: can and also push past the plateaus that you may hit.

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Speaker 1: And there are all sorts of ways to do that,

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Speaker 1: one of which is with into It quick Books. It's

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Speaker 1: a full end to end platform that helps you shatter

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Speaker 1: any stagnation and keep your business growing. From managing payroll

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Speaker 1: and access to live experts to time tracking and data reports.

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Speaker 1: It's a great way to not only help you look

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Speaker 1: at the big picture, but also provide the systems to

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Speaker 1: keep it all in check.

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Speaker 2: Avoiding stagnation is key. I cannot agree more In my experience,

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Speaker 2: what I've been able to do is introduce these new

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Speaker 2: digital properties right to introduce the Rich Habits podcast, the

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Speaker 2: Rich Habits newsletters stemmed out of that as well that

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Speaker 2: we introduced another private community. So it's like always being

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Speaker 2: able to then figure out, what are we doing really

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Speaker 2: well right now? How do we double down on what's working,

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Speaker 2: And if we have an idea or get inspired for

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Speaker 2: introducing something else, how do we take that idea and

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Speaker 2: turn it into something that can be successful as well.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, I love taking a look back every year at

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Speaker 1: my business and seeing what income streams worked, which ones

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Speaker 1: felt like things that I'm really excited to continue to

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Speaker 1: grow and maybe which ones felt like more work than

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Speaker 1: they were worth, you know. And so I think that's

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Speaker 1: one of the ways that you can avoid stagnation in

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Speaker 1: your business is not just continuing to do the same thing,

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Speaker 1: but really using data to make some great decisions that

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Speaker 1: will propel you forward for years to come. Now, let's

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Speaker 1: introduce our guests. Camille Alson is the owner of n

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Speaker 1: B Goods, a gender neutral clothing company in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Speaker 1: Camille started her career in the music industry as a manager,

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Speaker 1: and after her apartment in New Jersey flooded during Hurricane Irene,

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Speaker 1: Camille decided to move to Nashville. Without a safety net

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Speaker 1: or a job.

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Speaker 2: Lined up, Camille wanted to break into the music industry

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Speaker 2: as a manager. Her first artist was Brett Eldridge. She

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Speaker 2: worked for his manager and took on managing his day

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Speaker 2: to day and his tour schedule. After experiencing family tragedy

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Speaker 2: and a global pandemic, she left the music industry and

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Speaker 2: worked part time at a bakery in East Nashville. It

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Speaker 2: was there when she was struck by inspiration for a

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Speaker 2: business idea when she noticed one of the storefronts available

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Speaker 2: to lease Camille, thanks so much for joining us on

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Speaker 2: the show.

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Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to be here.

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Speaker 1: We're so excited to be here too. Let's hop right

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Speaker 1: into it. Tell us the origin story of the business.

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Speaker 1: What made you want to start doing this.

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Speaker 4: I think I always had like a very particular sense

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Speaker 4: of style, you know, growing up. I guess at the

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Speaker 4: time they called it, you know, tomboy. Now they call

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Speaker 4: it gender neutral. I've always just liked what I like,

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Speaker 4: and that was very particular about like blanks and fits

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Speaker 4: and things like that. I never thought it would be

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Speaker 4: a part of my life in this way, but when

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Speaker 4: I left my normal job, I started kind of messing

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Speaker 4: around with apparel and accessories and things like that. And

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Speaker 4: if you want the truth, I really have no idea

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Speaker 4: how we ended up where we are right now, but

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Speaker 4: it's going pretty good, so I'll take it.

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Speaker 1: That's pretty typically Aneurin.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, kind of just happens by acting yes, yes, yes,

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Speaker 4: it happened, you know, relatively quickly. You know, we've only

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Speaker 4: been in business for about four years and so things

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Speaker 4: that just moved really fast.

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Speaker 3: But that's where it all started.

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Speaker 2: So we're sitting in this awesome storefront I'm seeing n

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Speaker 2: B Goods written all over the place. What is n

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Speaker 2: B Goods the name orre did it come from? Walk

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Speaker 2: me through the whole story.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's funny.

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Speaker 4: You know, this is probably like one of the most

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Speaker 4: asked questions about the shop. And sometimes I like to

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Speaker 4: keep a little mystery around it, just because it's nothing significant.

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Speaker 4: So the absolute genesis of the business was I bought

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Speaker 4: home embroidery machine and just started customizing things like for

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Speaker 4: friends and for our dogs and like those kind of things.

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Speaker 4: And we live in the Neely's Bend area of Nashville,

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Speaker 4: so it was n B Goods, and I think at

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Speaker 4: some level we thought, like, oh, maybe this neighborhood will

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Speaker 4: be up and coming and it'll like E is tier

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Speaker 4: and we're just a long way away from that, and

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Speaker 4: so it just kind of stuck and it sounds right,

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Speaker 4: And sometimes people don't even think about it, and sometimes

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Speaker 4: people have their own guesses of what they think it is.

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Speaker 3: Like sometimes people think it's not bad goods, very good guys.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, which is the truth. You know, they are

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Speaker 4: not bad goods. So it's taken on a little bit

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Speaker 4: of a life of its own.

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Speaker 2: And I think the name goods right having the name

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Speaker 2: does you guys are a great favorite here because you

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Speaker 2: have so many different things. There's a dog bed over here,

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Speaker 2: I'm saying, a bunch of hats, some cool jackets, some socks.

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Speaker 2: Behind you walk me through sort of the categories of

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Speaker 2: inventory that you all have here in the shop and online.

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Speaker 4: Honestly, the business just started to become an extension of

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Speaker 4: my personality. I literally wear a hat every day, so

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Speaker 4: we still hats. I wear a lot of vintage and

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Speaker 4: upcycled things, so we're able to carry those things. I

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Speaker 4: have five dogs, so we started carrying dog beds. I think,

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Speaker 4: really I want people to connect with me as a

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Speaker 4: real person, as a small business owner. I'm not trying

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Speaker 4: to be like an influencer or anything like that. I'm

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Speaker 4: a real person and if you like my style, you

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Speaker 4: like how I live my life.

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Speaker 3: These are the things that are like naturally a part

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Speaker 3: of that.

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Speaker 1: All right, So what was that first moment for you

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Speaker 1: when you realize, damn, I'm a good entrepreneur.

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Speaker 3: God, I don't know. I don't even know if I've

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Speaker 3: had that moment.

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Speaker 4: To be honest, I'm still you know, I still second

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Speaker 4: guess myself every day.

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Speaker 3: You know, this was never part of the plan. This

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Speaker 3: was never my goal.

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Speaker 4: When I started to be able to hire someone to

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Speaker 4: work at the store so I could focus on the

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Speaker 4: other projects was kind of the first time. It was like, oh,

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Speaker 4: and then I had to figure out payroll and realizing

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Speaker 4: that I needed a different employer ID for that, and

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Speaker 4: those kind of things start to feel like a real business.

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Speaker 1: When you were thinking about how to start adding processes

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Speaker 1: to your business to make that more efficient. What role

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Speaker 1: does into it quick Books play into being able to

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Speaker 1: run your business now that you are thinking about things

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Speaker 1: like payroll and whatnot.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, into it quick Books was actually one of the

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Speaker 4: first things that I was able to start letting go

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Speaker 4: of some responsibility. That was one of the first places

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Speaker 4: I went. I am okay at bookkeeping and accounting and

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Speaker 4: those kind of things, but I really wanted to make

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Speaker 4: sure that I had everything in line, and so that

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Speaker 4: was one of the first things I did. And then subsequently,

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Speaker 4: as soon as I could afford it, hire professional services

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Speaker 4: and they still utilize my into it QuickBooks.

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Speaker 3: That's how we maintain and keep an eye on everything.

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Speaker 2: Fantastic how as hiring employees and just more people to

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Speaker 2: work on this business alongside of you helped you scale.

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Speaker 3: Hiring people. It is the key to scaling this business.

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Speaker 4: As I talked about, a lot of it is about

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Speaker 4: my identity and I think trying to figure out ways

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Speaker 4: where I can keep my touch on the business but

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Speaker 4: allowing other folks to come in and help. A big

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Speaker 4: part of it is really finding people that have a

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Speaker 4: similar mindset and mentality. The people that we have working

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Speaker 4: right now, there's just kind of an unspoken thing that

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Speaker 4: they understand what we're trying to do as a business

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Speaker 4: and they want to bring the customer service and the quality.

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Speaker 4: I can teach anyone how to package up a shipment,

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Speaker 4: but it's more about, oh, how did you fold it,

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Speaker 4: and so when people open the box, it looks good,

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Speaker 4: it feels good, They're excited to open it, you know,

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Speaker 4: those little things. And allowing people to do that and

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Speaker 4: bring their ideas to the table. I think that was

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Speaker 4: one of the things I struggled with in the beginning

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Speaker 4: so much. I just felt like when I would get

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Speaker 4: in my own head, I didn't have a resource. When

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Speaker 4: people have a partner in their business, you kind of

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Speaker 4: have someone to bounce ideas off of. And I was

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Speaker 4: always jealous of my friends that had other partners in

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Speaker 4: their businesses because I felt like it was just me

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Speaker 4: and the minute I was able to bring other people

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Speaker 4: in and get other ideas, it just really helped expand

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Speaker 4: you know what we're doing.

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Speaker 2: I want to linger on that for a little bit longer,

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Speaker 2: this idea of expansion. Walk me through the differences of

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Speaker 2: where your business is today versus where it was in

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Speaker 2: the beginning. Talk to me about the revenue expansion and

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Speaker 2: different number of SKUs. Now you might have maybe numbers

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Speaker 2: of employees, website traffic. Has your website changed it all?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, we started out very bare bones. I never saw

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Speaker 4: this being like a big e comm business. I thought

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Speaker 4: maybe it would be like more of a maker kind

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Speaker 4: of Nashville thing. So we've had a huge shift over

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Speaker 4: the last four years. When we started, we were on

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Speaker 4: one platform that was better for in person sales, and

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Speaker 4: then about two years in I realized that we really

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Speaker 4: needed a stronger e commerce presence, and so we switched platforms,

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Speaker 4: which allowed us to expand in that mindset, and then

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Speaker 4: we just started really expanding what the business actually was.

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Speaker 4: It went from being just a store and an apparel

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Speaker 4: brand to being someone that could fulfill and create things

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Speaker 4: for other businesses. We started out doing like small commissions.

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Speaker 4: We made a hoodie for Nate Bargatzi to were on SNL.

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Speaker 4: We made some touring jackets for an artist that he

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Speaker 4: was wearing it every night of his tour and like

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Speaker 4: then giving it to someone in the crowd.

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Speaker 3: So we started with these small commissions and then.

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Speaker 4: People said, well can you bring that to all of

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Speaker 4: our merchandise or other small businesses in town who were like, man,

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Speaker 4: I just I need to get some hats made and

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Speaker 4: I cannot find someone to do it. And so that

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Speaker 4: on its own has started to develop into one of

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Speaker 4: our main revenue streams.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, let's talk about stagnation, right, That's one of the

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Speaker 1: risks that you run as a business owner. It's like,

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Speaker 1: how do you break out of that plateau. I'm curious

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Speaker 1: if you ever had a situation where you were able

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Speaker 1: to reach an expansion or a scaling goal and then

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Speaker 1: maybe you got stuck, and how did you break through that.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: I can't take much credit for this, but I feel

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Speaker 4: like we were reaching that point at the end of

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Speaker 4: twenty twenty three, and that's when our warehouse got hit

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Speaker 4: by a tornado. Oh, and honestly, I think the universe

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Speaker 4: was just like that was the push. You know, this

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Speaker 4: is the second time in my life a natural disasters

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Speaker 4: impacted me in that way. I hope that it doesn't

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Speaker 4: always take a natural disaster to do that. But there

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Speaker 4: was a lot of things towards the twenty twenty three

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Speaker 4: that we were doing that in my gut knew that

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Speaker 4: like didn't really align with where we wanted to be,

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Speaker 4: and just being reminded that at any moment, without a

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Speaker 4: natural disaster, you can start fresh and change your mind.

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Speaker 4: And so I've actually carried that mindset with me into

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Speaker 4: this year. You know, you can try things and if

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Speaker 4: they're not working, you don't have to stick with them.

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Speaker 4: Nobody's actually paying that much attention. It's all very internal.

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Speaker 4: When things like that happen, it was just a clean

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Speaker 4: slate and it changed the way I thought about how

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Speaker 4: we produce things, you know, how we ship things, and

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Speaker 4: what my role and all of that is. And it

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Speaker 4: really was a very hard reset.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you're just kind of forced to figure it out

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Speaker 1: at that point.

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Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, Yeah, do you mind talking more about that

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Speaker 2: experience with the tornado? I know before the show we

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Speaker 2: were talking about how your warehouse was shut down for

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Speaker 2: like four months or something.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, So we were at an event there was a

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Speaker 4: tornado warning, as often happens here in Nashville. I kind

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Speaker 4: of just didn't think anything of it because we hear

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Speaker 4: it all the time. And I had some buddies who

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Speaker 4: their car was parked up there, and at the end

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Speaker 4: of the night they went back to it and they

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Speaker 4: called me and they said, hey, have you been to

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Speaker 4: your warehouse. I'm like no, and they're like, should probably

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Speaker 4: come up here, And you know, I just thought, oh,

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Speaker 4: it'll be maybe some wind damage or whatever. But it

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Speaker 4: completely ripped the roof off of the back of our warehouse,

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Speaker 4: which was where we had all of our inventory stored

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Speaker 4: all of our equipment. So to walk in and see

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Speaker 4: what we had been building over three years just completely destroyed.

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Speaker 4: You know, I had my moment, you know, I walked

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Speaker 4: back there, had a nice little cry, and then it

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Speaker 4: was kind of like, all right, tomorrow, I gotta get

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Speaker 4: a U haul and get what I can out of here.

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Speaker 4: So you really just go into survival mode at that point.

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Speaker 4: But then once we had everything in storage, it started

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Speaker 4: to be like, Okay, what are we going to do

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Speaker 4: to rebuild, and I wanted to be very intentional about

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Speaker 4: how we did that. I looked at it as an opportunity. Honestly,

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Speaker 4: it was horrible, but at that point there's nothing you

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Speaker 4: can do. I just said, if I'm going to do

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Speaker 4: this again, I'm going to do it exactly the way

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Speaker 4: that I want to do it. And that's what we've

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Speaker 4: been trying to accomplish.

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Speaker 2: Coming up on Mind the Business small business success stories.

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Speaker 4: I never thought I wanted to work for myself, but

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Speaker 4: the freedom I feel with being able to take on

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Speaker 4: jobs that I want and say no to things that

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Speaker 4: I don't, I truly am the happiest.

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Speaker 3: I've ever been in my life.

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Speaker 2: We'll be right back. Welcome back to Mind the Business.

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Speaker 1: So in this industry, how do you define the difference

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Speaker 1: between stability or stagnation, Because there's some business owners that like,

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Speaker 1: you reach a point and you're like, I'm good here,

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Speaker 1: I don't need to do anymore, versus feeling like you

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Speaker 1: do want to accomplish more, but then it's harder and

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Speaker 1: harder to do. So, so what does that look like

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Speaker 1: for you?

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Speaker 4: I think keeping stability from feeling like stagnation is it's

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Speaker 4: definitely a challenge. But for me, it's the creativity and

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Speaker 4: the items that we're doing. If we can know that

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Speaker 4: we can expect a certain amount of sales, a certain

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Speaker 4: amount of traffic, a certain amount of projects to come in,

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Speaker 4: that's stability, But the variation within that is what keeps

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Speaker 4: it from feeling stagnant. So we might have four big

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Speaker 4: projects or clients at a time, but they're all different.

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Speaker 4: You know, we're working with musicians, we're working with comedians,

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Speaker 4: we're working with small business owners. We're still providing the

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Speaker 4: same service, but the components within it are so different

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Speaker 4: that that keeps it from feeling stagnant.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. You never want

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Speaker 1: to get too good at your job as an entrepreneur

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Speaker 1: when you're always taking on those new opportunities to see

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Speaker 1: what else can I add that still feels aligned with

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Speaker 1: the original mission. I think that will help feed that

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Speaker 1: creative bug that keeps you going in the long term.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: I hope that there's never a day where I'm like, oh, yeah,

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Speaker 4: I got this, like, because I definitely every day is

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Speaker 4: a new challenge. I'm looking something up that I've never

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Speaker 4: done before or how to do it, and I don't

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Speaker 4: think that'll ever end.

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Speaker 1: When you look back at the history of your business,

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Speaker 1: can you identify any strategies that you've used to avoid

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Speaker 1: becoming stagnant.

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Speaker 4: I think my biggest strategy for avoiding is to never

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Speaker 4: be satisfied, you know, and not in a way that's

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Speaker 4: like nothing's ever good enough. But I think there's always

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Speaker 4: something that I can do better, that we can do

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Speaker 4: better as a business. There's always a new market to reach,

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Speaker 4: there's a new perspective to look at. My husband and

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Speaker 4: I have this saying between us, we say never peak,

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Speaker 4: you know, like let's enjoy it and let's have fun

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Speaker 4: and we can celebrate a moment.

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Speaker 3: But I think there's always progress to be made.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, something that I like to do is reflect on

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Speaker 2: my own you know, ups and downs, lefts and rights

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Speaker 2: to small business owner. So I'm curious, how have you

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Speaker 2: sort of laid out the groundwork so far this year

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Speaker 2: when it comes to maybe new SKUs, new financial goals,

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Speaker 2: maybe any big challenges that you're working toward achieving, and

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Speaker 2: just like all these big exciting things that come with

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Speaker 2: being a small business owner. As we begin a new

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Speaker 2: year and continue to thrive.

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Speaker 4: Throughout it, Yeah, I think because we've been in such

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Speaker 4: growth stages, this year has really been about finding stability,

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Speaker 4: and the only way that we can do that is

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Speaker 4: for me to be able to focus on business, not

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Speaker 4: in the business, and I think I'm really living that

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Speaker 4: this year, really just trying to make sure that we

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Speaker 4: have a steady source of income so that I can

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Speaker 4: have staff and people that are starting to run the

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Speaker 4: day to day operations of the business a little bit more.

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Speaker 4: So that's been a huge priority. With the custom stuff,

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Speaker 4: you have less planning because it's sort of more up

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Speaker 4: to the client, but on the retail side, being able

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Speaker 4: to really say, Okay, this year, we're going to do

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Speaker 4: three new hats, We're planning on launching some things for

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Speaker 4: the summer, and so those are the kind of things

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Speaker 4: that I like to be able to really have the

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Speaker 4: time to focus on.

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Speaker 2: So for those people who are still working in the

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Speaker 2: business and they want to get to a place where

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Speaker 2: they can work on the business like you are, do

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Speaker 2: you have any actionable insights or tips to give them.

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Speaker 4: I think you just really have to make it a

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Speaker 4: priority to be able to remove yourself. It's so easy

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Speaker 4: to just especially with like our entrepreneurial spirit to just

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Speaker 4: say oh, I'll just do it, like I have to

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Speaker 4: stop myself all the time. I would still be packing

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Speaker 4: orders like if I had it by way, and I

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Speaker 4: still sometimes I'll see an order from a friend and

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Speaker 4: I'm like, oh, I want to pack their order, and

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Speaker 4: that I will still do that sometimes, but to be

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Speaker 4: able to stop and say, you know what, Actually, I'm

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Speaker 4: just going to drop a quick note to the team

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Speaker 4: and say, hey, can you include a note from me?

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Speaker 3: Or I wrote a note, I want to make sure

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Speaker 3: I give it to you before you.

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Speaker 4: Pack you or so letting go of those things that

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Speaker 4: you're used to holding on to as the sole proprietor

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Speaker 4: of a business.

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Speaker 2: I think the letting go part is the hardest. How

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Speaker 2: do you if they're the right people?

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Speaker 4: The truth is, you don't know if they're the right people.

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Speaker 4: I think hiring in this environment and with a business

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Speaker 4: it's this personal is just a lot of trial and error,

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Speaker 4: and I think you have to be okay with number one.

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Speaker 3: I'm very direct.

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Speaker 4: That's one thing that you know, being from the Northeast

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Speaker 4: and being here in Nashville that maybe people aren't so

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Speaker 4: used to. And I want people to have the opportunity

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Speaker 4: to learn and change and grow. But if something's consistently

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Speaker 4: not working, then we just have to be like, hey,

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Speaker 4: you know what, maybe this isn't the right fit for me,

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Speaker 4: right fit for you, and let's move on and no

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Speaker 4: hard feelings. Obviously being compassionate and I want everyone who

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Speaker 4: works at this business to feel like they're a part

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Speaker 4: of the business, but at the same time being honest

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Speaker 4: and realistic about what the needs are.

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Speaker 2: That makes a lot of sense.

440
00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,199
Speaker 1: Knowing what you know now, with all this experience that

441
00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:20,800
Speaker 1: you have as an entrepreneur, what advice would you give

442
00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,720
Speaker 1: to others who are hitting that first plateau and that

443
00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:25,399
Speaker 1: are feeling like they've hit that ceiling.

444
00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,080
Speaker 4: I think when you've hit that first plateau, I think

445
00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:29,600
Speaker 4: there's a couple of things that you have to do

446
00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:31,480
Speaker 4: with in yourself, and you have to be really honest,

447
00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,120
Speaker 4: it's am I hitting this plateau?

448
00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:34,760
Speaker 3: And is it something we can get passed?

449
00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,960
Speaker 4: Or am I really spinning my wheels doing something that

450
00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,320
Speaker 4: doesn't make sense? You know, there's a couple of times

451
00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:43,600
Speaker 4: that we've sort of changed direction, and I think that

452
00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:46,480
Speaker 4: was because I just really thought about is this why

453
00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:47,440
Speaker 4: I started the business?

454
00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:48,720
Speaker 3: Is this what I should be doing?

455
00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:51,320
Speaker 4: And I think being able to be honest with yourself

456
00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:53,359
Speaker 4: and do a little bit of self reflection is really

457
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:56,399
Speaker 4: important because I know other business owners that they feel

458
00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:59,280
Speaker 4: stagnant and maybe it's just not the right fit for

459
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,440
Speaker 4: them as a bit, and it's hard to make that decision.

460
00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:04,679
Speaker 4: But I think you have to be realistic about it.

461
00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, most definitely. I'm curious when it relates to some

462
00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:11,960
Speaker 2: really big projects, what are some of your biggest like, wow,

463
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:13,080
Speaker 2: I did that moments?

464
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:17,080
Speaker 4: I think when we had a garment on SNL. We've

465
00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:19,840
Speaker 4: now had that twice with the same person. Nate Bargetzi.

466
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:23,360
Speaker 4: He's a local, well now he's a national international comedian,

467
00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,240
Speaker 4: but he's from the Nashville area.

468
00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:28,320
Speaker 3: He's super big on supporting local artists.

469
00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:30,520
Speaker 4: His stylist is a friend of mine from when I

470
00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:33,240
Speaker 4: worked in the music industry, and she said, Nate's got

471
00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,040
Speaker 4: this idea, he wants to wear something to represent Nashville

472
00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:38,600
Speaker 4: on SNL. You know, you kind of think, Okay, we'll

473
00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:41,440
Speaker 4: make this, and sometimes they wear it, sometimes they don't.

474
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:43,040
Speaker 4: And I didn't even stay up to watch it the

475
00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:45,080
Speaker 4: first time because I didn't want to get my hopes up.

476
00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,840
Speaker 3: And the next day everyone's like, oh my God, did

477
00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:48,800
Speaker 3: you make that? You know?

478
00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,960
Speaker 4: And so that was the most like outward recognition I

479
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,720
Speaker 4: think that we've ever gotten. But inward, I think just

480
00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:57,159
Speaker 4: being a part of like the Nashville community and going

481
00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,920
Speaker 4: to places and seeing other small business owners and become

482
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,639
Speaker 4: familiar with each other and kind of having a rapport.

483
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,480
Speaker 4: It's like, Okay, yeah, I'm here, I'm here, talk to.

484
00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:08,720
Speaker 2: Me more about the community aspect. I'm just thinking about

485
00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:11,960
Speaker 2: back to this tornado. I cannot imagine experiencing that. How

486
00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,520
Speaker 2: did your community here in Nashville surround you and support

487
00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:16,760
Speaker 2: you as you bounce back from such a natural disaster

488
00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:17,400
Speaker 2: like that.

489
00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,680
Speaker 4: That was one of the most incredible things I've experienced

490
00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:21,560
Speaker 4: in my life.

491
00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:23,400
Speaker 3: We're really big on helping.

492
00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,639
Speaker 4: We've done things where we donate proceeds from our shop

493
00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:29,520
Speaker 4: to other people. Just in my personal life, I definitely

494
00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:32,440
Speaker 4: believe in like paying it forward and helping other people out.

495
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,520
Speaker 4: It is incredibly hard to receive that kind of support

496
00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:38,199
Speaker 4: when you're used to being the one giving it. Immediately

497
00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:41,040
Speaker 4: right after everything happened, a fellow small business owner he

498
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,000
Speaker 4: had been through a fire with his business, and he said,

499
00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:46,199
Speaker 4: we're going to start a GoFundMe and we were like, no,

500
00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:48,840
Speaker 4: let's wait and see what insurance says, and we don't

501
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:50,560
Speaker 4: need to do that. And he said there's going to

502
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:52,919
Speaker 4: be things that you're not expecting and that insurance is

503
00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:54,720
Speaker 4: not going to cover. And he said we're going to

504
00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,359
Speaker 4: do it. And I had to just say okay. And

505
00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:01,840
Speaker 4: then that weekend, whatever inventory we had left that was

506
00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,720
Speaker 4: left in the actual like physical shop that wasn't affected,

507
00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,280
Speaker 4: we had a huge sale. We just had a parking

508
00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:09,000
Speaker 4: lot and I told everyone, I said, I wanted to

509
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,359
Speaker 4: be like a party, like I got a DJ. We

510
00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:15,800
Speaker 4: set up outside and people waited in line for these

511
00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:17,800
Speaker 4: custom bags that we were doing, and we sold out

512
00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:18,560
Speaker 4: in two hours.

513
00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:20,639
Speaker 3: Wow, And it was just really beautiful.

514
00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:22,960
Speaker 4: It's a second time Nashville has been through a tornado,

515
00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:26,520
Speaker 4: and both times the community has really showed up for everybody.

516
00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:27,280
Speaker 2: That's amazing.

517
00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:28,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's fantastic.

518
00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:32,280
Speaker 2: We're four years into this business. Now. What keeps pushing

519
00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:35,280
Speaker 2: you to come back every single day, every single week,

520
00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:37,879
Speaker 2: every single month and grow and be goods? What is

521
00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:38,280
Speaker 2: your why?

522
00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:42,960
Speaker 4: My why is that I truly am the happiest I've

523
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,200
Speaker 4: ever been in my life. I had a wonderful experience

524
00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,640
Speaker 4: working with some really great people working in the music industry.

525
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:52,320
Speaker 4: I never thought I wanted to work for myself, but

526
00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,159
Speaker 4: the freedom I feel with being able to take on

527
00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:59,000
Speaker 4: jobs that I want and say no to things that

528
00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:02,400
Speaker 4: I don't. I used to be very much a people pleaser,

529
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:05,200
Speaker 4: and I'll be honest, I love telling somebody no. Now

530
00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,560
Speaker 4: I read a book called Essentialism that sort of really

531
00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,119
Speaker 4: changed my perspective. That's like, if it's not like a

532
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:14,440
Speaker 4: ninety percent yes, then it's a no. And so being

533
00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,480
Speaker 4: able to make those quick decisions and trust my instincts

534
00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:20,160
Speaker 4: and do things on my terms, it's been very fulfilling.

535
00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,320
Speaker 1: That's amazing what inspires you as far as your designs,

536
00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,000
Speaker 1: because I see there's a nice eclectic mix of what

537
00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:26,919
Speaker 1: you have in the store.

538
00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:27,760
Speaker 3: Yeah.

539
00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:31,040
Speaker 4: So when Inbigauds originally started, my goal for the business

540
00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,520
Speaker 4: was for people who live in Nashville to love it.

541
00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:38,400
Speaker 4: Nashville is a huge town for tourism, and I think

542
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,080
Speaker 4: there's a lot of tropes and things, you know, cowboy

543
00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:44,200
Speaker 4: boots and honky tonks and listen, I love a good

544
00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:46,760
Speaker 4: honky tonk, Like every once in a while you could

545
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:49,480
Speaker 4: catch me on Broadway. But I wanted it to be

546
00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,919
Speaker 4: a brand for people that live here and also for

547
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,520
Speaker 4: people that visit, but to get a more realistic reflection

548
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,680
Speaker 4: of what day to day life in Nashville is. I'm

549
00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:01,280
Speaker 4: also from New Jersey originally, so that heavily inspires a

550
00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:04,400
Speaker 4: lot of my designs. I'm proud to be from New Jersey.

551
00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:06,960
Speaker 4: I love carrying that sort of I call it the

552
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,359
Speaker 4: East Coast attitude. Our tagline is East Coast Attitude, Music

553
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:11,840
Speaker 4: City Charm, you know.

554
00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:13,800
Speaker 3: So it's a meeting of those worlds.

555
00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:15,679
Speaker 4: I feel like we've got a little edge that you

556
00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:20,320
Speaker 4: don't necessarily see a lot in Nashville, and it's important

557
00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:22,200
Speaker 4: for me to convey that that's awesome.

558
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:24,879
Speaker 1: What is your favorite product in the store?

559
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:27,280
Speaker 4: So, like I said, being from New Jersey, there's a

560
00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,040
Speaker 4: couple of things that I've carried with me. One of

561
00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,679
Speaker 4: them is a love for Bruce Springsteen and we have

562
00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:36,960
Speaker 4: a fanaticism. Yeah, and obviously can't just make a Bruce

563
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,280
Speaker 4: Springsteen product. But there was this story that happened a

564
00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:42,040
Speaker 4: couple of years ago where he got in like a

565
00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:44,560
Speaker 4: little bit of trouble for doing a shot of tequila

566
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:46,720
Speaker 4: with some fans, and I think to me that was

567
00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:51,360
Speaker 4: like the personification of why people love him, and so

568
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:53,560
Speaker 4: we took that and put our own little twist on it,

569
00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:56,920
Speaker 4: and it's by far become our most popular product. It's

570
00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:59,359
Speaker 4: a foam trucker hat and it's just got very simple.

571
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,520
Speaker 4: It just says, you know, it States versus Bruce Springsteen.

572
00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,560
Speaker 4: So that was actually the name of the court case

573
00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,439
Speaker 4: because it happened at basically the equivalent of like a

574
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,760
Speaker 4: national park, and so it was actually a federal court case.

575
00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:14,320
Speaker 4: He ended up paying like a five hundred dollars fine

576
00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:16,720
Speaker 4: and that was the end of it. Every person that

577
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,040
Speaker 4: walks in they ask about it. It's got a really

578
00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:21,399
Speaker 4: vintage design to it, and so I think it feels

579
00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:22,320
Speaker 4: like something that's old.

580
00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:24,000
Speaker 3: So they're like, oh, what was this? What did does

581
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:25,960
Speaker 3: this happen in the seventies, And it's like, no, it

582
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:27,120
Speaker 3: just happened a couple of years ago.

583
00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:31,480
Speaker 4: So it's a conversation starter, so people really gravitate towards it.

584
00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:34,520
Speaker 1: It's wild where inspiration comes from an entrepreneurship, you just

585
00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:36,720
Speaker 1: always kind of have to be paying attention because you

586
00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:38,439
Speaker 1: never know where that next park is going to come from.

587
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:40,919
Speaker 4: Yeah, And honestly, where it came from was I was

588
00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:42,560
Speaker 4: flying up to New York to go see him, and

589
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:44,359
Speaker 4: I had heard that he was like making a joke

590
00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,520
Speaker 4: about the situation, and I was like, Oh, just make a.

591
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:48,720
Speaker 3: Hat for myself to wear. That's literally where it started.

592
00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:50,760
Speaker 4: It's probably one of the most basic designs we have

593
00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:52,439
Speaker 4: in the shop, and that's how it always is.

594
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:54,240
Speaker 1: And now the story is enshrined on a hat.

595
00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:56,960
Speaker 4: It's enshrine on a half yeah, and it's made its

596
00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:59,400
Speaker 4: way to Bruce and do they really have one?

597
00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:00,760
Speaker 3: Yeah? He had a wow.

598
00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:04,119
Speaker 4: And I've heard from different people about situations where he

599
00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:05,320
Speaker 4: talks about it and stuff.

600
00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:07,520
Speaker 3: So I feel like that's about as good as it

601
00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:08,520
Speaker 3: gets for a Jersey kid.

602
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:09,359
Speaker 1: I think you've made it.

603
00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:11,520
Speaker 4: I've made it that you talk about like what's going

604
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:13,240
Speaker 4: to make me shut down the business? Like if Bruce

605
00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:15,040
Speaker 4: Breesean walks through that door, we're done.

606
00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:15,560
Speaker 2: I'm good.

607
00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:16,440
Speaker 3: I'm good.

608
00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:17,719
Speaker 1: It's awesome.

609
00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:19,879
Speaker 2: Camille. Thank you so much for joining us on this

610
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:22,679
Speaker 2: episode of Mine the Business Small Business success Stories. I

611
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:24,960
Speaker 2: learned a lot. You are such an inspiration of a

612
00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:27,600
Speaker 2: small business owner and I am so ready to go

613
00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:29,120
Speaker 2: buy everything on your shelf.

614
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:30,160
Speaker 3: Right now, well, let's drop.

615
00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:41,360
Speaker 2: I'll tell you what Denise Camille Alson is an absolute inspiration.

616
00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:44,040
Speaker 2: I'm just so excited we got to sit down and

617
00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:48,280
Speaker 2: learn so much about Kamille's business and her entire story

618
00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:52,760
Speaker 2: of going from idea to now this thriving storefront. What

619
00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:54,720
Speaker 2: if some of your biggest takeaways from our conversation.

620
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:57,959
Speaker 1: I really loved how she tied the importance of following

621
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,280
Speaker 1: your creativity in those moments where you are feeling stagnant

622
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:03,399
Speaker 1: as a business owner. You never want to get too

623
00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:05,960
Speaker 1: good at your job, right, and so she really just

624
00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:09,000
Speaker 1: has an ear to what might be next, and it

625
00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:11,880
Speaker 1: always comes back to the core mission of the business,

626
00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:15,720
Speaker 1: which is just creating really cool merchandise that speaks to

627
00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:19,159
Speaker 1: people and that has this unique touch. And so I

628
00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:20,919
Speaker 1: think that's a great thing for all of us to

629
00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:23,680
Speaker 1: think about, what's that next thing that's going to catapult

630
00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,359
Speaker 1: you as a business owner to a level that you

631
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:27,680
Speaker 1: didn't even imagine you could reach.

632
00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,480
Speaker 2: I completely agree, and I think I've got two takeaways actually,

633
00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:33,199
Speaker 2: the first one being Camille said she started this as

634
00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,760
Speaker 2: sort of this like accessories type business, right because she

635
00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:39,400
Speaker 2: was wearing hats all the time, and so that's something

636
00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:42,120
Speaker 2: that she's really passionate about, really excited about, so why

637
00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:44,720
Speaker 2: not turn a passion into a small business. And the

638
00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:48,240
Speaker 2: second thing that's really important, I believe is after natural

639
00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:51,320
Speaker 2: disaster and tragedy and things like that, do not underestimate

640
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:54,320
Speaker 2: how important it is to have that community alongside of

641
00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:58,680
Speaker 2: you and to really continue to build community alongside other

642
00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:01,400
Speaker 2: small business owners where you live. If it's in your town,

643
00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:04,720
Speaker 2: your neighborhood, maybe just inside your niche online, it doesn't matter.

644
00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:07,600
Speaker 2: But having those supporters that you can always lean on

645
00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:10,480
Speaker 2: and really have that support blanket is I think just

646
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:12,280
Speaker 2: really really important for small business owners.

647
00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,560
Speaker 1: Absolutely, we have learned so much in this episode and

648
00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:18,400
Speaker 1: in this season. I can't believe that it's over. But

649
00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:21,640
Speaker 1: until next time. You can find me on social media

650
00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:23,680
Speaker 1: at Jocto Lenetto podcast.

651
00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:25,920
Speaker 2: And you can find me at Austin Hankwitts. You can

652
00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:29,000
Speaker 2: follow into It QuickBooks on all social media at QuickBooks,

653
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:31,760
Speaker 2: and to get the tools you need to start, run

654
00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:34,720
Speaker 2: and grow your business, head toquickbooks dot com.

655
00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:36,840
Speaker 1: Today and don't forget to follow the show wherever you

656
00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:38,840
Speaker 1: listen to podcasts so you can stay up to date

657
00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:40,440
Speaker 1: on future episodes and seasons.

658
00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:42,520
Speaker 2: We also want to hear from you, so be sure

659
00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:43,959
Speaker 2: to leave a rating and a review.

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Speaker 1: Keep watching the feed for more updates on our next

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Speaker 1: season and when we'll be back with even more episodes.

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Speaker 2: See you next time. Money movement services are provided by

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Speaker 2: Intoit Payments, Inc. Licensed as a money transmitter by the

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Speaker 2: New York State Department of Financial Services.

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Speaker 1: This podcast is a production of iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and

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Speaker 1: Into It QuickBooks. Our executive producer is Molly Sosha, Our

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Speaker 1: supervising producer is Nikiah Swinton, and our writer is Eric Leja.

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Speaker 2: Our head of Push Production is James Foster, and our

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Speaker 2: mixing engineer is Paul Vitulen's of Audiography