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Space Coast Podcast Network
Business Elite Brevard Edition: The Future of Networking and Business in a Digitized Age
Discover the power of virtual connections as we unravel the secrets to thriving in a digitized business world with social media guru Kim Dickerson and marketing maven Sascha Lee. This episode takes you behind the chamber doors, revealing how networking and community support fuel business growth. Tap into their journey from the Cocoa Beach Chamber of Commerce to the vast landscape of online marketing, and be inspired by their success stories that highlight the vital role of relationships and resourcefulness in the business arena.
Get ready to transform your website's traffic into treasure, because we're not just generating clicks—we're converting them! I'll take you through the ins and outs of creating a user-friendly experience that doesn't just attract customers but keeps them coming back for more. Plus, we'll delve into the local business community's spirit of mentorship, showcasing how collaboration and regular chamber events can elevate your professional game.
Strap in for a techno-centric ride as we navigate the waves of the metaverse, discussing how this new realm offers untapped potential for entrepreneurs. From virtual real estate to networking with introverts, this episode is your gateway to understanding the digital shift that's redefining society. Join us and embrace the challenge of keeping pace with technology, ensuring your business is not just surviving, but thriving in the age of innovation.
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Hello, this is Business Elite. For Vard Edition, I'm Nico Lehmann, and for Jesse Hall, and today we have two lovely ladies, kim Dickerson and Sasha Lee. Welcome, ladies.
Speaker 1:Hello.
Speaker 2:You are a Viera social media. That's your business. You also do the blog of Viera Mom and Sasha. You are the chamber of Cocoa Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm the director of marketing and communications for the chamber.
Speaker 2:Awesome. So I'm here kind of like, I guess, a newbie when it comes to business, and so I'm super excited to learn what you guys have to say about social media, and I need more understanding about the chamber. Like, can you explain to me, as someone who has no clue, what do you guys do there?
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course, and honestly, a few years ago I had no clue also, and I had to learn. But the chamber is essentially a space where businesses can connect and collaborate. We offer opportunities for marketing, for promotion, for engaging in important causes that affect the community, and we just try to be a leader in the business space. Yeah, it sounds like a great resource.
Speaker 2:Who funds the chambers? Is that funded through?
Speaker 1:the county. We are a non-profit, a private, so we don't get any government funding. It's all funded by our members and investors.
Speaker 2:Okay, so you guys all get together and plan things events mainly, we do a lot of events.
Speaker 1:Yes, either educational opportunities, networking opportunities or just simply updates on the economy or the government. We do state advocacy trips, we have a young professionals group where we offer career development resources. So we do a lot of different things. That's great.
Speaker 2:And Kim, you're involved in the chamber too, right?
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I can definitely vouch for all of those resources that they provide, because I've definitely flourished from all of them. And we're talking about funding. I was about to chime in and go oh, it's funded by Cheryl Clark.
Speaker 1:That's true, cheryl is the funnel.
Speaker 3:Yeah, she's a shark, she's the sales and she brings in everybody and I'll tell you, I always say this last year she made me $12,000 just referring me to clients that had nothing to do with the chamber, so that woman is she's a wonderful friend and a great resource as much as she is a shark. She does it for. You know, when you're in sales, you're filling pain points, and that's what she does. She brings people together, and that's what you guys do at the chamber.
Speaker 2:That is super cool. So if you're a small business in the area, you should definitely join. Or is it a membership? Is it just a club?
Speaker 1:It's a membership-based community and I would definitely recommend that. It's a great way to get your foot in the door, to get known. You know people do business with people they like, and so that's a great way to get to know everyone in your community and represent yourself as an authority in your space.
Speaker 2:Oh cool, and you touched on the economy. How is the economy doing?
Speaker 1:Well, I cannot tell you, but we do have an event coming up called State of the Economy, where we'll have an economist speaking on the past year in the economy updates from post-COVID. So it should be really interesting and that is on March 7th Cool. And it's all targeted towards this county alone, Brevard County. He might touch on Florida and nationally as well.
Speaker 2:Okay, and Kim you were talking about social media, yeah and really quick to note on that.
Speaker 3:I attended last year and the state of events are really my favorite. I learned a lot last year at the State of the Economy. I still think about a lot of the things he talked about and I'm definitely going to be there.
Speaker 2:What are some of the points that you get from there?
Speaker 3:He had a lot of numbers that aren't in my head right now that he was able to explain to us. He also talked about from a marketing standpoint. He would talk about when he wrote his thesis and how he learned how to put how to market that and how it gave him speaking opportunities and it helped further his career. Outside of just the stuff that he was teaching us about economy, you learn a lot and I wish I could note some of the facts that I said I was thinking about all year. But it really was informative and you do leave with a lot when you go to the state of events. They do state of the school, state of the economy, so it's really nice when they can bring in an expert to give you insight into something that you're always wondering about.
Speaker 2:And then you're always getting ideas from those points that he left and that sort of drives, whatever you're doing on social media.
Speaker 3:And then I can talk to my clients and I see more informed. So that's something that the Chamber provides too.
Speaker 2:It's just knowledge about our.
Speaker 3:Kimmy, I learned about the port and stuff. We're the biggest importer of salt on the East Coast and it's not even for table salt, it's for road salt, because they need it on the East Coast for when we have the snowstorm. So that's why it has to be imported here when I think nationally it's like Texas or somebody does all that. Where's Morton salt?
Speaker 2:I don't know why wouldn't they do it up in New York, where it actually snows?
Speaker 3:Because they explain this and I wish I could recall things better. But it's something about the trucks that are here that take them up 95 so they can hit the whole East.
Speaker 2:Coast because, we're at the bottom.
Speaker 3:I mean you could do New York too, but I think it's a more direct route coming into Florida maybe I'm assuming I can't remember that part.
Speaker 2:I mean, I'm not too well versed on our coast, but maybe there's no ports and the largest importer of timber, just all kinds of fun facts that you never know.
Speaker 3:But then as I'm a marketing agency and I go oh well, if we're importing timber, then it gets your mind going, and so, I'm sure, other businesses, I think a little different than most people.
Speaker 2:No, I mean, that's great.
Speaker 3:It's my ADHD, I think. But yeah, no, you learn. I think the chamber is invaluable if you take advantage of what it offers you, like you can't just join and then all of a sudden you're going to get all these clients and all these connections.
Speaker 2:No, you have to go up and do the work. How much is a membership?
Speaker 1:It is 365 for the base level.
Speaker 2:Dollar day. That's how she got that.
Speaker 3:That's how she got me. I can do it.
Speaker 1:And we have several levels depending on your level of engagement or how you want to present yourself.
Speaker 2:Oh, really Like, if you level up, does that give you an opportunity to be one of the experts?
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely. We have, like, our top investors, which is our chairman's club and our trustees, and so they definitely have more of an influence because they're more involved with the chamber.
Speaker 2:Okay, and are you guys seeing like a lot of women there? I mean I'm sure it's mixed gender.
Speaker 3:Yeah, can I speak on that a little bit, because I'm loving it, because they started this women's series last year and we had our inaugural year with all the events, and now we're coming around for our second ones and it's one of the things I'm proud of and I feel like I've been a part of it. Jody's definitely been leading it, and so have you, sasha, but I just love the girl boss power that the Cocoa Beach Chamber has, because before that you had to go to we Venture or a women's only group, and I feel very strongly and passionately that women need to be in men's dominated groups and the chamber is one of those spaces that you can do that.
Speaker 3:Okay and it's and I just think that that's super important for female business leaders to not just be in the female bubble Right, thrive outside of it too, because until we can cross that right, you know, I just think that's super important right and Unofficially, but I believe the chambers employees were mostly women for a very long time, so that's wonderful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean they are actually right, yeah, yeah, no, no critiques to the old men out there, but it's less intimidating when, when you're welcomed by one of your own right, kim, can you tell us how important marketing is and and what your strategies are behind what you do there?
Speaker 3:Oh, strategies my favorite word. That's the creative part about it, right, because people come to me and the biggest thing is they're saying, oh, I heard that it's this. This is the answer. You post it this time. Yeah, post this many times. You have to use this number of hashtags and the truth is all that is bullshit.
Speaker 3:I think it's all bullshit. There's no rules. It's just like life You're given tools and the strategy that you use. So here's the best example. People talk about the time of day to post. Yeah, yes, that is a tool in your toolbox, but it's not always this big elaborate equation Like, if you're targeting new moms, post it to am because they're up feeding their babies, they're alone, you can, you know, you can be there for them, you can support them in marketing, like that's everything.
Speaker 3:Yeah so that is a strategy. But if you're not but not every time you're targeting somebody does that time come into place? 6 am Is a great time because simply that's when everybody wakes up and Most people are checking your phone, checking into things. You're laying there, you can actually engage, you know, 10 am Is good too, because people just got done checking into work, but they're trying to sneak on their phone. They're not gonna really engage.
Speaker 3:You know at 2 o'clock, you know they're at lunch, you know they finished their works and now they have a little bit more time to engage. 8 pm Is awesome. Kids just went to bed. When you think about it like that, you're using time as a strategy, but there's no real answer.
Speaker 2:So when people are like oh, the algorithm changed on this platform, you got to adjust.
Speaker 3:So when you, when you follow patterns, you can kind of predict how it's gonna change, and every time it's changing, it's just programming. They're making the program better and they're just trying to release that programming. It's not if you're always trying to trick the algorithm and go, oh, I found my way around the algorithm, you're not learning the algorithm and then you're not gonna grow. It's like if you're fighting the waves, you're never gonna catch it to surf. So you have to be there and know how they're coming in and what. What the purpose of them changing. It is right when, when you think about why did this change? It's to make it more user-friendly for us. Usually, okay, I mean, they're trying to put. You know, reels started on Instagram and then they had to implement it onto facebook. There was a lot of glitches and it was really annoying at first, but it's because it was a new program that they were implementing on a. Can you imagine adding something to facebook? No, and having it hit so many accounts? So the algorithm is just programming.
Speaker 3:It's if and then that's all algorithm means if you do this, then this happens.
Speaker 2:Interesting.
Speaker 3:So if you can work with that, then you can give it the if yeah, does that make sense so? If you don't fight it and you can just learn it.
Speaker 2:Your business will thrive. So you think like being consistent and having your own pattern is more important than the new trend of algorithm right.
Speaker 3:And being consistent doesn't mean every single day, it just means being consistent and coming back. So if you were there two times, you know, if you go to the gym and you go every single day, yeah, you're gonna get more results, but then you're gonna have an off week, but you just go once or twice to keep yourself in that consistency right.
Speaker 3:Right, it's the same thing with posting, and some weeks you're gonna have some big events where you have more relevant things to post, and other weeks you don't. You know you always want to bring valuable content but, yeah, totally, and it. Once you do that, once you take the vanity out of it and the the viral post because I have posted reached half a million, but that didn't bring me one client. I have posted have reached a hundred, with two comments and two saves, and it's brought me Thousands of dollars. So what is your goal on social media? Like when you can step away from the vanity of being insta famous and you can take, especially when you're managing your business on social media, then you can start accomplishing your goals and developing strategy.
Speaker 2:Okay, so when you girls came in here, you poked her about goals. Can we talk about goals?
Speaker 1:What should our goals?
Speaker 2:be like Uh, or how should we set?
Speaker 3:them. Um, so people will come to me all the time. I need people coming through that door. Uh-huh, I'm like, well, I'm the wrong person to talk to, because there's no metric on social media that measures that Right. How in the world am I going to measure that Right? What I can measure is website traffic. I can measure calls, I can. I can, I can measure messages. So if you tell me what your goal is, um, what are you trying to sell? Where does that sell happen? Does it happen on social media? Because there are instagram shops. You know where you can click on the picture and shop.
Speaker 3:That is the only time I can measure that conversion. If not, I'm sending them to your website and now your website is selling them. What I did was Direct traffic to your website so that there's people there shopping. Now, is your website set up To do that? You know, I have meetings with my clients and I'll say, okay, they landed on that page. Now, what happened? Some, some clients I have access to those analytics, some I don't, you know. And then you look at the page they land on and you say it does this need to be more user friendly? How do I guide them through the buying process on the website? Okay, so social media didn't actually sell it, it just got them there. But if they get to the space and it's like you know, if you get to the restaurant and it's really dirty and grimy, but the pictures on social media were pretty.
Speaker 3:It's not social media's fault, right? And then I'm not saying businesses are like that, but that's just a clear cut example, right? So the website cannot be a dirty, grimy place. It's hard to shop with no buttons. It has to be optimized and right. You've got to keep them moving forward.
Speaker 2:Okay cool. Um, who are some of the leaders in our town as far as who you're seeing that are thriving, or who You're seeing come through the chamber, that, um yeah, there are just leaders that we should all kind of be Looking into. Does anybody come to mind?
Speaker 1:Um, we have a ton of great businesses in this community. Um, a lot of people at the forefront of technology and innovation. Um, I, I can't give one specific person. I don't want to be biased, but we have so many Important people around here that really want to see this community grow. Okay so it's an array yeah, it's an array all different industries, all different goals that they have for this area.
Speaker 3:So and everybody really supports each other, and I think that's what it is. It's when one of us has a goal, we all yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I I'm huge on collaboration. I don't think anyone can do anything by themselves and um, it's kind of wasted effort if you try to, because there are so many great and talented people that you can collaborate with.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely Very cool. And how, how fun do you guys meet? Is it a monthly thing, is it? I know you guys were talking about workshops too.
Speaker 3:Um so well, the chamber, let's see they do a monthly luncheon. And then she, she leads the young professionals group in the Rise and grind now right. And um, so that meets once a month. There's different groups within it. Like, the women's group is a quarterly event. That was talking about that. They started so in the state of this quarterly. So there's different pillars of events and they have different frequencies. There's also leads groups. Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think we have about 15 monthly events and then several signature events, like one time a year, and then a few quarterly events. There's always something happening, yeah. I see people like every week, and if I don't see them for a week, we're like where were you?
Speaker 2:So, and how young do you have to be to be at the young?
Speaker 1:So we try not to discriminate, but we recommend under 40.
Speaker 3:There's a lot of old people. There are a lot of old people that are crashing. Yeah, because you can still come.
Speaker 1:We need mentors as well. We need professionals who are? Experienced that want to teach the younger professionals. So, yeah, it's just a space for growth essentially.
Speaker 2:Very nice. Yeah, I think some people just need that boost.
Speaker 3:Right yeah, there's people of all ages. That's why I was joking. I'll still come when I turn 40 in the years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we joke, because our president, jimmy Lane, just turned 41 and so I told him his memberships revoked, that's hilarious.
Speaker 2:No, but you're right, we do need mentorships. Super cool. Yeah, I think sometimes it's intimidating for a young business to, I guess, mingle, and I don't think a lot of people know how to do that. I mean, I've been here back in Brevard for two years now and I've got a couple of small businesses myself, but I haven't tapped into any resources. On the other hand, I have a friend, Lena, who taps into all of them, lena. Graves. No, Lena Lopez. She does barrier Island interior design.
Speaker 3:Oh, I know Lena Lopez too. Yes, I love her, I see her in everything.
Speaker 2:She's wonderful, she's thriving. She's doing the social media right. Love her.
Speaker 3:She's going to the events and she's very sweet too, and always supportive, Anytime I see her or anything. I feel bad that that wasn't the first Lena that came out of my mouth.
Speaker 2:Well, no, I mean yeah, no, but I think she's totally doing it right and I admire her and I'm happy that you guys are here, because I had no idea. You know, I just see what she's doing and I did go to the we Venture event with her, which was eyeopening. You know who knew there was so many?
Speaker 3:So were you at the cocktail table? She pulled me over and found me, and that's what I mean. And she pulled because I couldn't find my friends, and we were all three at that. Was that? Was that you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we have met each other. I thought so. I was like you look so familiar. Yeah, because I was like I lost, I think it was the other, but at that point they had boosted us up so bad that I was like and then how he came on and we were all like, yeah, oh and yeah, we're gonna have more space this year.
Speaker 3:I hear this in the room.
Speaker 2:We got a little tight yeah.
Speaker 3:Remember in the, in the, in the banquet room, how tight it was. I was just thinking about how, how wind up we were and how they shoved us in it was so funny right. It was so much fun. It was so successful, do you? They hired to. The goal was to hire one coach. They are two coaches for we Venture to help small businesses from that event. So let's do it again this year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, are they planning that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, we already. We already started marketing. I'm out there, we got, we got. If you want to sponsor, call them up. We're going to be promoting you. It's my job to do that and I know I'll do it right. So go ahead and sponsor we Venture I mean not we've it's Wine, Women and Shoes yes, through we Venture.
Speaker 3:Right. What does it benefit? It benefits we Venture. So they Wine Women. Shoes is a national event and then they you can the college through we Venture hosts it so that they can get the non profit, so they can raise money for the coaches to help the college, so different people can host it. Interesting.
Speaker 2:In that detail.
Speaker 3:I'm not. I don't want to like fudge up and say the wrong thing because I don't know exactly if you have to be a university to do it maybe, or who does it, but I know we Venture is is hosting it and it's been a hugely successful event for them and it's brought I think it's brought a lot of people. There's not very many business oriented events that can bring the community together, because not only was I seeing like my business friends at that event, but I was seeing like my housewife friends my school mom friends, my, you know like everybody was at that event, so that's what I thought was super cool about it.
Speaker 2:What other events are like that, because this is one of the one and only events that I caught wind of. Are there more like that? Out there when all of the community comes together, or just like or I mean like if you're not a member, you're allowed to go to that.
Speaker 3:There's lots we have. There's lots of galas, like. So each of the chambers will have a gala there's. I'm going to the AF gala this weekend. Like gala, you get to wear a gown.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's like crom again, girl. So we're going to start going out.
Speaker 3:I'm going to take you to all these things seriously seriously. And yeah, and then there's okay. So what were the other events I was seeing? We have the chambers, then there's the we venture events. There's also over Amelia farms has an awesome gala. They're they're a farm and they do a casino night. It's my.
Speaker 3:I don't want to say this because I have so many friends and galas, but it might be one of my favorite just because, like you, get to gamble. And then Amy last year won the title. Like my best friend, she beat all the boys at the poker table and all year she gets the belt. She gets all year and then she gets to give it to the winner next year at the gala.
Speaker 1:That's like a wrestling belt.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was like that's my friend.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you guys make business fun. Yeah, is what.
Speaker 3:I'm hearing because business is hard.
Speaker 2:How can you get through it without your friends? I haven't been able to. You know like, and so it's nice to know that there's a community here in our community doing this stuff, because, yeah, business is daunting and if you're creative like me, that's where your brain's at and you don't have that left side. So you need support and you need resources to get.
Speaker 3:That's why Sasha's pranking me all the time.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about that on air.
Speaker 3:So no, but it is. It's nice to have that friendship, especially when somebody can really know what you're going through, because in this world I feel like you know my husband doesn't want me to like lean on him for work so much, or you know your kids. I shouldn't say doesn't want to, because you so you don't want to do it. I don't want to take that home all the time you know, and then my friends are like shut up, kim.
Speaker 3:like we're talking about like fun stuff, like you know what I mean? Yes, and it's really nice to have a space to unload and people that can understand that.
Speaker 2:I agree with that completely. Like it's yeah, it's not that you you don't want your husband's opinion, but like it doesn't belong there. You know you're trying to be your own woman, your own business. You don't want to bring that home and same with your friends like that's like a completely separate thing, you know until you come home and you're like honey.
Speaker 3:I need your help. Why aren't you helping I?
Speaker 1:need to turn it on and off when I need it. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:No, I get it. It's impossible, but it is really nice. It's like it's like many therapists like it, yeah, just being able to vent and have somebody hear you. And thank you for doing that for me, sasha, anytime.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Or giving you, like, ideas that you never thought of before yeah, inspiring each other. Absolutely.
Speaker 1:And I think with like the newer generation, it's important that they're aligned with a cause rather than just trying to make money, and so the Chamber offers opportunities to align yourself with specific causes that are important to your business. Oh, that's very interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and it makes sense. You have to be altruistic, right? You have to put yourself out there. If you give, you get back.
Speaker 3:Very cool. It's very true. There's a lot of opportunity because a lot of the nonprofits come in there for support and then you just don't even realize they just need you to stand up and you can be a part of a lot of organizations that way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, get your name out there. You guys also mentioned technology and the digital age. How is that playing into our businesses here at Brevard?
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, it's 100% what played into my business. I have a Bachelor of Science in retail marketing and when I was a freshman in college, just when Facebook was invented, my friends like are you on the Facebook?
Speaker 2:Because I think we call it the Facebook, and I was like the what?
Speaker 3:Because I was like, oh, my space I never could like ironically, it was too complicated. I couldn't do it. Now I can build websites and do all the things I loved my space, but I couldn't do it and I was just, and I was that person that was like who's on social media? Live your real life.
Speaker 2:It's so ironic. Well, that wasn't even a term, and now, yeah, it's really crazy, you get a 180.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, and anyway, that's. I have a different perspective. Like it's all business, right, yeah, like I'm still not obsessed with it, but anyway. So technology I graduated and I worked for Komodo Group for 10 years in marketing, product placement, merchandising, field coordinating. We did. I was in department stores, so I would work. I was liaison between buyers and account executives. Oh how fun. So, yeah, it was a really fun job and I learned a lot. So technology came and killed the department store, and so it really did.
Speaker 3:I remember when BB closed and all of the stores that we thought were like, do you remember that year? It was like everything, one by one, was just like closing and department stores started re-strategizing. Right, there's no wrong or right answer, it's what's happening and how do we get that pain point to our client? So they would have. They started putting restaurants in department stores. They started putting beauty salons in department stores because they realized the shopping was the afterthought. They had to have a resource to bring people to the department store, something they had to do like get their hair done or go out to eat, and then you're walking through. Oh, that's a cute dress, it's convenient. Yeah, because that's what Amazon was selling convenience, oh gosh, so they had to become convenient, absolutely.
Speaker 1:So, technology.
Speaker 3:So then I started my own Etsy business on the side, because just for my own outlet it wasn't anything fun.
Speaker 2:It's what we do.
Speaker 3:I was just like maybe something I don't know will buy my product, and I can be. You know, I always wanted to be a fashion designer when I grew up and wanted to accomplish that dream. So then I had to navigate this new technology of a website and how to put it on Etsy and all these things and to learn it. So as long as you can. Technology's coming and it's changing all the rules.
Speaker 2:It really is. It changes all the rules and you can turn a blind eye, to your detriment right, Absolutely, and that's what's happening to a lot of the older generation.
Speaker 3:They just turned their and now they're drowning.
Speaker 2:It's off but it's like they're not selling newspapers. Everything is now on your phone, and if you're not with it, you're not there.
Speaker 3:So in my world it's the technology changes that bring the clients to me, because I'm filling that pain point of helping them navigate it and understand it. So, to answer your question in this very long-winded way technology it influences my product every day, to the point where Facebook and Instagram change every day. My product when I started didn't include reels, but guess what? My pricing hasn't changed, but now it has to include reels. Interesting, I mean, maybe I should change that pricing, but it's just the lesson I'm learning. But it is hard to navigate all those products when changing it.
Speaker 2:What is your product?
Speaker 3:So my core package I sell it would be I manage Facebook, instagram, google Business and we provide five hours of graphic design every month to a client. We try to be a little all-a-cart marketing department so that way. And then sometimes I'll do website updates, depending if I can access it too, because I don't want my clients to have to spend thousands of dollars to update a photo when I can do that easily for them. So if I can do it, I do it for them.
Speaker 2:I love how you call it a product, even though it's very not tangible.
Speaker 3:I'm a product developer at heart and I started this because my husband said through that other business I'd develop this product or whatever. That was more valuable than sewing for five days to make $50. And it was like I mean it just.
Speaker 2:That's where I'm at right now.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I learned that I'm an artist too, Like those things I keep for myself now and I don't sell them, like I love content creation because I can sell it, because I don't love it.
Speaker 2:I mean I love it, I love, love love it, but you don't want to keep it, it's not?
Speaker 3:my passion, Like when I'm sewing. That's my real passion. And when you take it and you turn it into a product. It's not yours anymore. You have to.
Speaker 1:I think I segwayed on the thought there.
Speaker 3:but the point is no, I get it my product. The reason I called a product is because my product developed it. I started with a newsletter. Somebody needed a newsletter and they heard I had a blog and they're like oh, I need a newsletter.
Speaker 3:So I developed the newsletter and then they needed this and that, so I listened to what everybody needed, like the five hours of graphic design. I added that in because it validated my service more, so that they were getting more value from me. But I couldn't market them online and then walk into their stores and see this word printed flyer for this big event that I made. Look so cool online. And no, no, no, no, no, let me, please, let me do that for you. So it was a need they needed that oh, and then.
Speaker 2:So you pivot and yeah, so when you fill needs.
Speaker 3:You're selling, but you're filling needs. You're not like. That's how. That's what they taught us at Nordstrom.
Speaker 3:Oh, I love that when somebody comes in for something, you need to make them leave with two products, not one, and not because you're selling them more, but because you made them realize they needed something. They're getting ready to go on a cruise and they came to you because they needed a pair of flip flops. So you're having a conversation with them. Oh, what are you going to do on the formal night? What formal night? Yeah, oh girl, you don't have your dress and your shoes. You just saved her life.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, you're not trying to upsell them, you're trying to fill in the. That's what I'm trying to do at your social media Like.
Speaker 3:I don't want to make this product and say here you need this, You're, you're, you need ice. Your water's warm? No, you need to go, my water's warm, where's the ice? Right, and then I have it.
Speaker 1:And you're like.
Speaker 1:I got the ice for you, and that's where the whole strategy comes in. I was a personal trainer for a long time and if someone came to me saying I want to lose weight, I wouldn't just say, OK, go like work out for an hour. I would you go through and you're like, well, what's your current lifestyle? What are you eating? How can you eat better? What? What's your time allowed for? And there's so many elements to how you can help someone else be successful that they don't know, and that's why they're coming to you. So going over that initial strategy review is so important to say, hey, you know what? I see that you're also kind of lacking in this area, which is going to affect your results, in what you really want. So you have to piece it together for them and everybody's different right.
Speaker 2:Everybody has different needs. Are you guys seeing the older crowd at all try to get into this digital age or are they just totally falling?
Speaker 3:off. Those are my best clients. They're the ones that know they need to be there. They're not being vain about it, they just need it done. It's an opportunity cost and I can do it better than they can, so you know what I mean. That's really my best client and those are the people I'm here to help. Another reason I started my business is I had a family friend in Richmond, virginia. She owns a dance studio for like 40 years Maybe I might have the years wrong, but a long time and she came to me one time on a family vacation where we met up with them and she made me promise not to tell anybody. But she was very upset and she was ready to retire. But she felt like these other dance dudes were coming in and stealing all her business because they could do social media. But she is the experienced, I mean she's the best, right.
Speaker 2:But you can be the best.
Speaker 3:And nobody knows it, because if a tree falls, it doesn't make a sound.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because you're exactly like you can be the best.
Speaker 3:But if you're not out there and you're not, and I wanted to help the expert, the people that have been crushing business. They're so smart, they're so successful and now they have to quit because they didn't embrace technology on the people. You're to save them, yeah.
Speaker 1:I have those friends. They have amazing businesses, but they are like anti-technology and you're not going to grow if you don't put yourself out there.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:That's just the age we're living in. Digital spaces are basically your portfolio your tool. Right, that's right how else are you gonna see them? A newspaper nobody's opening.
Speaker 3:This is the perfect time to segue into what the metaverse is right so like okay so I so, even with my branding, what you're talking about, this digital space I took it all the way to my branding, like in my letters there's palm and I and I picked the tan like an office paint color on purpose green like palm leaves. I also think it looks like money, so I think that's good. Yeah, it's because when we get to the meta, so the metaverse is like you know, when you're on a video chat with somebody, yeah, and as soon as it's over, you feel like lonely and you're like I miss them. Yeah, there's like a because you were just with them yeah, you were in a digital space with them.
Speaker 3:You were there. So the metaverse is when we're gonna be able to feel it, see it, touch it. That's what the oculus is and the gloves. So in the future, your business, when you go into, you're gonna go into their website, you're gonna like walk into their digital space. What do you mean? You're gonna be able to touch it.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's why they already have gloves they already have gloves with the oculus, but then, but then you're just touching air it's.
Speaker 3:It's still touching your sensory. Oh my god, that's blowing my mind yeah. I mean you're already there. You've already been on a video chat, hung up and felt like you missed the person. Yeah, in the metaverse. You just couldn't feel it yet. That's crazy. And then you put Ocus in, you're in a space, so in the future you're gonna go to people's websites. I feel like this is all my prediction now gonna go walk into their office, so my branding was already designed for it.
Speaker 3:So I'm ready. You're already gonna recognize my office when you walk in it.
Speaker 2:What do you mean you?
Speaker 3:already like, created the like. If you look at my branding, it's like palm leaves, it's tan, it looks like an office.
Speaker 1:I designed it like office plants, and that's why I picked it. I was living in 2016, I literally have been my own world over.
Speaker 3:Here we might know we have a. We bought an island. Unfortunately, it didn't work out like in the metaverse. Like I own a house in an island, we can't get to it right now because of whatever crypto stuff is going on, but it's so cool when you embrace it and you see where it's going and you embrace technology.
Speaker 2:It's not scary, it's just crazy because is it like the Sims? Is it like yeah, basically, basically yeah, so I'm gonna take you networking in the digital area.
Speaker 3:We're gonna go networking in.
Speaker 2:I think, I need a hangout with you.
Speaker 3:No, but what's funny is when I started my business. I lived in Boca Raton and we were getting ready to move here, so I didn't wait to get here. I started my social media accounts and I knew everybody here before I got here and I was so funny because I really think you know where this is. I'm like I do online, like I know that online, I know that I was in this digital space all by myself. I just don't think I realized it at the time yeah.
Speaker 1:No, we all have to catch up. If we ever don't hear from Kim, she's lost in her.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah no, but it's so funny. I used to be that person, like I said. That was like oh, who goes on social media more than once a week like, live your freaking life and post a picture, get out of there and here I am like oh yeah, here you are.
Speaker 2:You might not get me on text.
Speaker 3:You might not get me on the phone, but you DM me, right?
Speaker 2:so do you see it going that way with the VR glasses and how how much time?
Speaker 3:I think all the people that can see it that are like those crypto people yeah, all see it, like we're all like, yes, tomorrow, tomorrow. But then like we look around and we're like I want to spit will, but it's it's when the world embraces it and when technology really can catch it up, when technology can solve the pain problems like how can you like we have crypto right like my son's rich with crypto right now and you know all this stuff, but like, how do we spend it?
Speaker 3:like we got to have people out there making NFTs so we can buy things like and I like you know it's, it will happen.
Speaker 2:It's just when so you think that the technology has to catch up the way that now we all carry a little computer in our hands. It has to be easy.
Speaker 3:I always say like if you went back to our great, great great grandparents who like found it America. Just go back that far and the way they were living their lives. And we're like look at this dishwasher like it would scare the shit out of them, like yeah, yeah, like women would know what to do with themselves like, oh my gosh, it would, just it would.
Speaker 3:So you can't think about like the technology is happening right in front of us, like your life's already over. You have to embrace it, because your your tombstone. The year's not there yet. This is still the era you live in wow so it's like embrace the technology because it isn't scary, it's just different. Yeah, yeah, it is so, it's so. I like I can't stand people, especially of older generations, that are like in my day and I'm like still your day. Yeah, like yeah your time, like you're still here.
Speaker 2:My grandfather had way so much influence on me, like and those were his after years apparently like, come on, get over it right once you sort of put your foot on the ground and say, no, this is the way it is, then you know you, you're just kind of lost side of, because you're still living in the era yeah yeah, don't check out, just check into the digital.
Speaker 2:Go, get on the metaverse right oh my gosh, you guys have been so I'm like my head is spinning with like, is there anything else we should touch on that? I did not ask because maybe, like I don't know what to ask, like I feel like this was. I love this because it was this ADHD conversation like we were just talking about everything at the same time but yeah, I mean I could.
Speaker 3:Oh, I'm going to be speaking at the Cocoa Beach Chamber in April. Okay, about hashtags, yeah, yeah, what else we gonna?
Speaker 1:rise and grind. April 4th, it's a Thursday. At Romelia farms there's gonna be.
Speaker 3:Come on out, there will be, go there. May we're even like working at promotions for me and Sasha gonna be like Cowboys on a horse or something that's right, I'm gonna be the horse or like goat yoga, that's for a joke. I do go yoga and in.
Speaker 1:March we have a networking for introverts which could help.
Speaker 2:I love how you guys are really getting down in the niche there because I didn't know that was happening.
Speaker 3:I love it. Am I allowed to?
Speaker 1:come. Yeah, it's a rise event like.
Speaker 3:That's like, if you see how extrovert I am, that's it interpreted my husband yeah, bring your husband. Yeah, yeah, okay, okay, yeah, that's how I can get away with it every it's lit by some IT people, so it's perfect, oh yeah, that is perfect roll IT. I should not have guessed. Can you clip that out?
Speaker 1:alliance I'm a sponsor.
Speaker 3:I really gotta stop guessing on this, yeah oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:Okay, we all business, men and women, we all have to start hanging out with these two. I'm so glad that I would say what a talk to you guys, because now I we're not working. Yeah, get up and go and we're going more, because I can't just stay on my little island by myself and think that my business is gonna grow. So thank you, ladies, for being here and thank you for all the information, and thank you for what now?
Speaker 3:and thank you for what you do, because what you just said I mean interrupted, but with your other, you know, with your other podcast, local celebrity, you're bringing that voice to so many people yeah, I love that you're not on your own island.
Speaker 2:You're in the digital space out there in the metaverse.
Speaker 3:I just need a little, some little tips and guides and see you're over here in this metaverse now doing yeah, yeah, outside of my wheelhouse.
Speaker 2:Like again. Like business is not my forte, but you know, like I said before, when you're scared of something, you need to just jump into it and step out of your comfort and you guys are so friendly and it makes it not intimidating, it makes it fun. So thank you guys thank you guys yes, absolutely, this was fun over now Barbara Walker.
