Money Matters
Money Matters
The Entrepreneurial Journey: From Passion to Profit
Dreaming of turning your talent or passion into a profitable business? This episode of Money Matters takes you behind the scenes with three successful entrepreneurs who've done exactly that.
SCORE mentor Bob Breaux reveals why so many new businesses fail—and it's not what you might expect. "If it doesn't work on paper, it's not going to work in real life," he explains, emphasizing the critical importance of business planning before risking everything. His practical breakdown of the "six M's" of marketing provides a roadmap any aspiring business owner can follow.
Deidre Detelier shares how she built a 40-year Mary Kay business by prioritizing relationships over transactions. What began with a little suitcase of products evolved into a dedicated home-based storefront with loyal customers spanning decades. Her insights on adapting to technological changes while maintaining personal connections offer valuable lessons for any service-based business.
Hair stylist and salon owner Cody brings a refreshing perspective on authentic entrepreneurship. "It's like 60% how you make them feel and 40% hair," he reveals, explaining how he transformed his creative skill into a thriving business despite naysayers. His candid discussion about navigating licensing requirements, overcoming self-doubt, and building a business during COVID demonstrates the resilience required for entrepreneurial success.
Whether you're considering your first side hustle or ready to scale an existing business, this episode delivers actionable strategies from those who've weathered the entrepreneurial journey successfully. The consensus? Success requires passion, persistence, and people skills—plus the courage to ask for help when needed.
Ready to transform your talent into profit? Subscribe now and join us for more financial insights that help you use the money you have, make the money you need, and save the money you want.
Have an idea for a show or a question for Kim? Send us a text message
Welcome to Money Matters, the podcast that focuses on how to use the money you have, make the money you need and save the money you want – brought to you by Neighbors Federal Credit Union.
The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice.
Welcome to Money Matters, the podcast that focuses on how to use the money you have, make the money you need and save the money you want. Now here is your host, ms Kim.
Speaker 2:Chapman. All right, welcome to another edition of Money Matters and, like you heard them say how to use the money you have, make the money you need and save the money you want. Today, we're going to be talking about entrepreneurship. Do you have an idea, Do you have a passion that maybe you can actually turn into a profit? You don't know how to get started, you don't know what to do, or maybe you've gotten started but you're stuck. Well, today we're going to talk about how to make it a success.
Speaker 2:I've got three phenomenal guests with us. Mr Bob Rowe you've probably seen him before. I mean, he knows everything, he works for SCORE and he's going to be able to tell you how to get started, at least the legal logistics about it. And then I've got some just local, talented, sensational entrepreneurs that have turned their businesses into a success. We've got Ms Deidre Bro. I've known her for what?
Speaker 2:Over 20 years ago, when I started buying a little Mary Kay lipstick, and I tell you I was wowed, because most people sell their Mary Kay what out of a little suitcase, out of a trunk. She turned her whole what was it? A garage into a storefront, and so whatever you need, she's definitely got it. And then we've got Cody how many of you are out there and you can do something. You're creative and you can do a good hairstyle. I probably should have had him meet me in the room before we got started and do a little touch of work. But not only is he a stylist, but he also does those rentals, and so he's going to talk about how, during COVID, rather than sitting around being bored, he turned his business idea into a profit. So welcome, everybody, Welcome.
Speaker 3:Ms Kim Happy to be here.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having us. Absolutely so, mr Barbro. Definitely we're going to start with you. So there are lots of people sitting out there, especially the beginning of the year, that may be that delayed new year's resolution. You know, I want to start a business, I want to work for myself. Where do I get started? I'm talented and that's one of the things I'm always promoting when people come in and they're looking for how can I earn more money. And I think about think about your talents, think about your skills and maybe you can turn it into a business. But obviously that is easier said than done, or is it? You tell us how can you get started?
Speaker 4:started. It's magic. All right, it's easy, it's really easy. No problem at all.
Speaker 4:No, I think the first thing you need to do is, as you said, have an idea. You need to have a dream, but then you've got to do some research and then you've got to make a plan. So people will get so tired of me when talking about the business plan. But if you come looking to borrow money here or anywhere else, what do they want? They want a business plan. And do they need that business plan for what? To see that you've got an executable idea.
Speaker 4:You know, first of all, that you can actually execute the business plan. So many folks just don't want to do the business plan. They think it's a lot of work, that's going to be the easiest thing that you ever do, and so you know you do the business plan. They think that's a lot of work, that's going to be the easiest thing that you ever do. And so you know you need a business plan. You need to research and you need to research. And you need to research before you go out and risk everything, because, as everybody knows, if you're in small business, you've got everything on the line. So are you willing to do that. Do you have what it takes to go into business?
Speaker 2:And if somebody is listening saying business plan, that's exactly where I'm stuck.
Speaker 4:Tell them how you and SCORE might be able to help them with that process. The business plan is not that hard. As I said, that's probably going to be the easiest thing that you ever do. But I understand that because everybody is so afraid it's as if that you were carving. Whatever your ideas and your plan is into stone and it can never be changing. But a business plan is a living document that you can use to get that viewpoint of. Here's my idea, here's my skills, here's how I wanted to put it to work. Now let's put it on paper and determine how it works. If it doesn't work on paper, it's not going to work in real life and it can be daunting and it can be hard. That's why SCORE mentors are there.
Speaker 4:We're all experienced executives. We volunteer, We've been there, We've done that and so we know some of the pitfalls. We've been in the pitfalls. We have been tripped. We haven't had all good successes. I had my first foray into business. I bought a business and it failed in 18 months. That was great. That was better than my college education. I can tell you right now. I learned more from that failure and so two years later I was back in business and started a computer company and started with a business plan. I did not have score I wish I did and learned quite a bit in the next 25 years running this technology company. Technology company that didn't have these types of cameras and these cell phones that we had in 1983 when I got started. So now that there's also video, you can see I'm an old guy. I don't have to tell you that I have been around a while.
Speaker 2:So you mentioned pitfalls. What are some of those pitfalls that are common to a new entrepreneur? And then, what are some of those myths that are having those people just hesitate about putting their foot in the water?
Speaker 4:They don't do a plan, they don't do the research. They take their idea and they run with it and they think they can do. It Might be as an example that I use. You might be an electrician, you're working for the man, so you've got him riding around in his trucks using his tools and you've got the skill to do it and you say, hey, why am I doing this for him when I can do it for myself? And so they quickly might go buy his own tools, get his own equipment. But he doesn't realize that he does know the work of the business. He knows how to do the electrical work, but there's so much more that comes with the business. You've got the accounting, you've got the budget, you've got to have cash flow. You're going to need help. So when you're going to go into management, all of that's going to come from out of nowhere if you haven't planned. So planning is absolutely the key.
Speaker 4:Now, while I've still got the mic, I might suggest it can be super easy to do a business plan if you just use AI, and it could be the worst thing that you've ever done. I have got two or three sitting on my desk that you can tell. All they did was go to AI. And I just told you I'm from the technology world, so I'm not anti-technology. I believe that AI, you know, is a great tool, but it's just that it's not going to think for you. It's a tool, it might be thinking for you later on, but today you can go to it and say, hey, I'm thinking, I want to be an electrician, what do I need? And and write a business plan. You know, do it and I'll give you no specifics and it's not going to ever fly at the bank or with me or anybody else, because I got, as I said, two or three sitting on my table now that I'm viewing and I'm pushing back to them. But you could go to it and say what do I need? And it'll give you a list of things that you need to think about and there's going to be bullet points, so they'll show you where they got that information. Go back and read that information. That's the beginning of your research.
Speaker 4:And then you might say, okay, here are the bullet points, here's what I've gathered from what you've given me and here's what I want to do based on that and put it in and it will help you, just like a score, mentor or others will help you, but it's all in the details. You've got to go in and put in step-by-step, detail by thing. I call it a two-step. The first step is the business plan to make sure we can get to that. Can it, can it happen, can it be successful or not? Once we do that and we decide we're going to go into business, then change it somewhat and we call it a strategic plan. We put more detail on it. If I'm you know what's every step of the way, I'm the electrician I need to. What do I need? Make a list of all the things that I need and then start right where you're going to do that in the basic business plan. Then later on you're going to write job description. I can go on for an hour and a half, two hours.
Speaker 2:We got two other guests I know we're going to let them chime in just a little bit, so I want to switch gears. You know Mary Kay is a well-known name and I imagine it probably comes with its own business plan decided that this was something that you were going to venture out into and tell us a little bit how it has grown into that beautiful space that I saw over 20 years ago. That just kind of wowed me.
Speaker 5:Oh, you're quite right. Mary Kay actually started in 1963 and it started in a basement of a building with an idea and Mary Kay Ash and she took her idea and started her business on a Friday, the 13th.
Speaker 5:So she you know no superstition there, but she does. This business has its plan that if you stick with the plan you can be successful. You have to work your business. It takes time. You can't just jump in and think it's going to happen overnight.
Speaker 5:You have with us, it's a consumable product and so when I was asked 40, over 40 years ago, because I started in October of 1984. So it'd be what that's 41 years coming up, if I'm my math is right I was asked at a party you know this was something that was geared for women and also for men to become consultants and to um, to uh, come into someone's home and to share the products. And when you fell in love with the products and you believed in the products, and then you were shared the opportunity, and then you will ask so tell me more. Well then that's when they gave you the plan and you know the things that that Mary Kay had to offer, whether you wanted to do this part-time or full-time, you know the sky was the limit and I think that's what that's what inspired me, because you could.
Speaker 5:You could come in and you could take your time with it. You didn't have to come in and you know it's a. It's a tier company where you had to recruit all these people, uh, to be higher on the ladder, you know, to be a director, to be, you know, the. I want to say that the person who recruited the most people, the person who sold the most products, you know, you be part of it and still raise your family because it was based. What triggered me, as far as what I fell in love with, was that it's a company based on God first, a family second and careers third, and so and that's what, anything. When you put things in perspective like that, the perfect business plan.
Speaker 5:It's the perfect business plan and success. And so, yeah, you're offered the opportunity to go to all these training seminars where you learn about money management, inventory, recruiting, beauty tips, the product, on and on and on. And it's your choice. If that's what you want to do, you do it. If not, then you still have to take a back seat and say, well, if I'm going to grow this business, I still need to know something about it. You just can't sit there and say, here's my business card, here's a book. No, you still have to know something. So you have to build a business, you know, with the products that you're selling, and I was always told that if you were going to start a business and it was something consumable and the person who bought it liked it and you had it on your shelf, they were coming back for business with you. Um, but I always take pride in uh, you know, building that relationship with my customer, which is where me and Kim come in to play because you remembered me and I thank you for that.
Speaker 5:I take pride in that I really do, Because I think over the years I just didn't. I wasn't making just a customer, I was building a friendship.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. So take us back because I'm sure, like many other Mary Kay consultants, you started out with that little suitcase, you know, selling it on the go. We definitely didn't have all that good AI technology and social media wasn't as big, it wasn't as dominating back then. So tell us, how did you grow it from just that little suitcase, you know, going from door to door selling, to now you have a storefront? When was the change? When did you know that this was going to be something that you needed to grow and expand into your home?
Speaker 5:Well, you're saying that I, literally it was. It was a suitcase and you went door to door and pretty much you know you, you met someone. You showed them the product. If they liked it and loved it like I did, well, then they shared it with their family and friends and then your business grew from that.
Speaker 5:You know you had to get on the phone and make calls, you know, calling that customer, potential customer, saying Hello, my name's Deirdre Detelier, I'm a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. Kim gave me your name and she thinks that you would love, you know, to sample these products and tell us what you think. And so from there, you hope that they would fall in love with it like you did, and would call you because they fell in love with the lipstick or the cleanser or what you know, the perfumes and everything that we had to offer and word of mouth, passing out the business cards I mean it was. You know you did. Your time is how I said it to some other people. You know you got to put the time in. You know it doesn't come overnight. You know you buy your products, you're making some phone calls but then you're not doing anything else. It doesn't work that way.
Speaker 2:So how long had you been, I'm sorry how long had you been in a business before you actually decided to grow that product stash and actually turn? Was it just an extra room? Was it a garage? It was an extra room.
Speaker 5:It always I say in the home that I'm in right now it was an extra room. Was it a garage? It was an extra room. It always I say in the home that I'm in right now it was an extra room. The home I was in prior I actually had a shelf in my kitchen, but I always had product.
Speaker 5:I was always told you couldn't sell anything from an empty cart, and so we were always encouraged to have inventory. You don't have to have inventory, but I chose to because when somebody called me and say, hey, I need a cleanser, do you have one on hand, I would say, oh, yes, I do. And so they would, you know, come to my home and pick it up, or I would deliver, and so, uh. But when I moved into my new home, um, I had an extra room and so I expanded, went into gift basket you know doing gift baskets and things like that but when you make it part of your home, then you get the tax benefits from it as well, and so you're able to take part of your light bill and your and you know your homeowner's insurance and different things like that, because it's part of my home and it's under my roof, and so the tax cut was another great. I want to say that it was a great plus when you have your own business and it's a home business, like Mary Kay.
Speaker 2:And Mr Bob was looking at me like he had something. Did you want to add something to that?
Speaker 4:Yeah, what I'm hearing more than anything else and that's the advisor in me, the mentor in me but what I'm hearing more than anything else from her is that what made her successful. She had the passion. She had passion for the product and then she developed passion for the business because she was just looking at the product. That's what drew you in. So my idea is oh, I have a product or I have a service and you got all this passionate about that, but then you learn to love the business as well, because the business is what's going to sustain you.
Speaker 5:And the second.
Speaker 4:Thing is you had persistence. You're going to get up in the morning in the dark, on the way to the bathroom to get your coffee, and you're going to hit the door. You're going to trip and you just want to get back in bed someday, but you have so much passion for what you're doing, oh absolutely, and the passion was not just for the product, not just for the business, but for being successful and sharing it with other people.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I felt like I was doing a service for others as well, because it was a need and I just loved it. I loved the mingling with my customers who became my friends and naturally, some of them were still family and you have to love what you do and do what you love.
Speaker 4:Three P's Passion, persistence, people.
Speaker 5:That still falls. True, I like that. That's okay, that's still false truth.
Speaker 4:I just threw that at you. I like that.
Speaker 5:That's okay.
Speaker 2:But look, I want to segue because, speaking of need, you know we all need to go, and you know, get dolled up every now and then get our hair done, and so we couldn't do that without the Codys of the world. So, Codys, tell us a little bit about your business and then how you transitioned it even to a bigger profit during COVID.
Speaker 3:So I've been in the world of hairdressing since 2012. So it's been a while now, but it's evolved so much. I had worked for commission salons and during COVID I had a lot of time on my hands. It wasn't a fun, and during that time I was able to sit down and curate this idea that has now been in business for five years and that's my salon suite, Lair Salon. I'm located at Emerson Salon Suites off of Corsi. There's, I want to say, about 20 other businesses in there with similar goals to work for themselves and to be there for their community.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I did not know I would be this far along. I think that profit and making money is great, but just being able to open that door every day is just as amazing, Because not a lot of people in this industry, in the cosmetology world, make it even two years after school. Or maybe they work for a large salon and they get discouraged because of some of the optics in that setting. But I love working for myself. I'm a little bit of a control freak, but I've been able to make money because I believe in what I'm doing and I think my clients see that I trust in myself a whole lot more than I did working for those commission-based salons and I wanted it a lot. This kind of goes back to what we were talking about. You know passion behind what you do. You have to want it more than everyone else.
Speaker 2:So you mentioned there's like that two-year threshold, because there are lots of talented individuals out there that love hair, makeup, beauty, the whole nine yards. But you mentioned a two-year threshold and obviously here it is. You're 10 plus years in the game and you're steady growing. Tell us what it is that you think you did right, but at the same time, what are some things you think you would do over if you had to start all over again?
Speaker 3:things you think you would do over. If you had to start all over again, oh, my goodness, if I could do a few things over. Let's start with that. Okay, I would prepare myself for those lean months. Look at what happened with the snow week we had. Whenever you're self-employed, especially in a service-based industry, your strategic pricing helps you have steady income, but I was not prepared for the snow. If there's an increase in my goods, I might not be prepared for that.
Speaker 3:Thank, God, you don't use eggs right, right, but if I could do a few things over again, it would be preparing for those lean months, making sure that you are aware of your budget, like Mr Bob was talking about. You need to have a plan for those moments and in setting myself up for success with things that self-employed people are sometimes pretty bad at making sure they have health insurance, they're taking care of their business is a success on paper as much as it is in person. And then what I feel I've done over time is create excitement for hair. It's not just about making a beautiful blonde come to life and putting it on Instagram. There's a story behind every single photo.
Speaker 3:A few months back, I made a hardcover lookbook. A few months back, I made a hardcover lookbook and it really is a time capsule of 10 plus years of looks and clients and family and friends, and I'm proud to have stories behind the work that I do. You have to be personal. You can't just have someone sit in a chair and take their money and go home. Clients remember how you make them feel. It's like 60% how you make them feel and 40% hair, and in my line of work I think that's very important to make sure that you're offering a different type of environment, making them feel comfortable. They come back, they're able to refer people to you. I always say I'm the people stylist. My clients can reach me anytime they want. I love to be there for them, show up to events, whether it's a baby shower or a birthday, and I think that's been a huge part of my success being believable and putting in that hard work and it being seen by others.
Speaker 4:Let me have a question for you. Are you in the salon business or are you renting the space, or both?
Speaker 3:So I'm a single owner LLC. I rent a room under my landlord. They have a large space with 20 different rooms.
Speaker 4:It's like micro salons or micro businesses, because it's not just salons, and you rent those spaces yourself.
Speaker 3:I only have one room, so it's just me in one room. It's a 10 by 13 room. It sounds small but, trust me, I make it work. It is exactly the way I've envisioned it and it's the perfect amount of space and it's the perfect amount of space. Now we do have a shared wash house area so we can feel motivated to be social and mobile and not feel constrained to the room. But I'm not renting the spaces for profit or for anything like that. That would be their business angle.
Speaker 4:It's almost like businesses within businesses. Right, that's right, but I didn't know which one you were in, or both?
Speaker 3:Yes, no, I've been asked is the big salon down the pipeline or do I dream of a salon suite? And for right now, we're going to put that on the back burner and focus on my salon suite, which is Lair Salon.
Speaker 2:So you think really being that people person is what has been your success. So you think really being that people person is what has been your success.
Speaker 3:Yes, I feel as if, if I wasn't Cody, I would not have the success on paper at least, like the profit and the clients on the books and everything you know I'll. I'll tell you a little story, and it's not a negative story, but I'll never forget it. I was once told that I would not be a success and that people would only come to me because of my personality, and I'm assuming they were saying maybe I wasn't talented or I didn't have the skill set to do what they did, and it stuck with me for a really long time. You have to believe in what you're doing. You have to not lose part of yourself in what you're doing, because people are showing up for a reason they see who you are and in my world, I want to share everything with them and hopefully give them a wonderful experience, build their confidence and have them come back time and time again. If I believe in myself, maybe they can believe in themselves. They'll have that amazing haircut for that job interview or something of the sort.
Speaker 2:So really have to be authentic. Okay, so, as a stylist, what are the most important things that you think up-and-coming stylists should know to be the success that you are to have that level of success?
Speaker 3:First, it kind of goes back to what I was saying. Your salon owner can't want it more than you do. Your spouse can't want it more than you do. You have to go to bed thinking about it and you have to wake up thinking about it. This can't just be something you daydream about at a red light. It has to be on your mind constantly and there's a good and a bad, you know, way of looking at that.
Speaker 3:I don't want someone to have it consume their entire life. I think that can be negative too. There's burnout, but burnout essentially means you haven't found a system that works for yourself. You need to take time and be with your family or go to church or whatever it is that you want to do. So the stylist or the person seeking employment in cosmetology they need to really be immersed in it. You need to be prepared for your back to hurt. You need to be prepared to miss those fun events with family or friends to build that clientele when you are out of school.
Speaker 3:Yes, you've invested the money, but you kind of start with a clean slate. There's nothing there. You have to want it, you have to go for it. You have to be eager, and if you're not eager, you might not get as far along. I've been around stylists that are happy folding towels and answering a telephone. Well, that wasn't me. I wanted to make money and I wanted to make people happy and I wanted to get somewhere. And if they want to get to the next step, they just have to be willing to put in the work.
Speaker 2:And I'm going to switch back to Deidre. It's been 40 plus years. What do you contribute to your success? And you know you started out saying hey, it was going door to door phone calls. Obviously, we have all this technology now where you can do emails and social media. How have you embraced technology and has it made a difference in terms of your longevity?
Speaker 5:Yes, and no Technology. For those that were not tech savvy and you had to learn it, that was an obstacle. But no technology has made some things easier. It also has brought in negative. You can't not unsee that, because with a business like Mary Kay, we're not supposed you're one of the things in your contract. I'm going to call it bootlegging. On eBay and Amazon and all of these other sites, you're supposed to only get the product from a Mary Kay Beauty consultant. Yet there's people out there who have done that and it goes against your contract, and so the company does step in because it's against your contract. But you've got to use the technology and make it a positive. You know, send out those emails. You can now do your ordering through the website. Consultants have the opportunity to have their own website through the company so that when you hand out that business card, you can punch in my web address and see my profile and say, oh, that's my consultant, that's who I want to do my business with. You know, or you could still choose not to have it, but still call people and send emails. Do your order. Send out the lookbooks. Do your order? Send out the lookbooks. I mean, there's things that have made it really simpler, but there's still some people who choose not to.
Speaker 5:As far as technology is concerned, you've got to embrace the changes from the colors, the fragrances. I mean I've seen a lot of changes through Mary Kay. And when you choose to have an inventory, you know that's another risk. Although you can't sell from an empty wagon, like I said earlier, you can't interchange with people and make sure that there was a need and a want. And why did you order it? Because if you order it and you didn't sell it, then it becomes dead stock. That becomes another problem. So then you either still have to find that person who needs it or you know that becomes part of your profit. You don't want that to happen.
Speaker 5:You can't be discouraged by the change. You have to embrace it. You have to still roll with the punches and you know I want to say it take it and make a positive out of it. You have to. You always have to see the positive. You know, like when somebody calls and they want a specific color and the company discontinued it, you have to say I remember those days. You remember those days. Huh, you know. You have to say oh, I'm so sorry, miss Kim, you know that downtown brown is not with us anymore. It may come back and then you show them the new colors that has taken its place and nine times out of 10, they like the new color.
Speaker 5:But you can't get discouraged with that. You have to know that this is a business that I'm working for and that is my business that I'm working for, and that it's my business, that I'm working for myself, and let your customers know what the changes are so that they can embrace those changes with you. Very fortunate, I'm joyfully and excited to say that I've got customers that have been with me from day one and have stuck with all of those changes, just as I have. You know so, but it's it's a work in progress. It always is. If it would stay the same, it wouldn't be exciting either.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 5:It would. You know who wants the same things in our oatmeal every day. You know I'm like you have to change it up. You know who wants the same things in their oatmeal every day. You know I'm like you have to change it up. You know you have to, but no, mary Kay has always done a beautiful job of staying with the times, because there are other competitions out there, but you want your customers to stay with your competition, you know.
Speaker 2:So having your own business definitely comes with its own challenges. Definitely there are going to be some highs because that's why you do it right and there definitely been some low moments. So I want each of you to tell me about maybe your you know most prideful moment in being your entrepreneur. You know that day when you stepped back and said I did this. You know what was that day like, if you can remember, but also what was maybe one of the greatest obstacles in your many years of business that you had to overcome to basically encourage some of our listeners to say, hey, you're going to have those obstacles. Here's what my story looked like, but I was able to overcome it. So we'll let Cody go first.
Speaker 3:Okay, so one of my proudest moments was seeing my vision come to life. I made a dream board. If anyone knows about this binder, they know what I'm talking about. There's a binder in my salon suite and it was my startup. It was my business plan. Like Mr Bob was talking about Everything from numbers, but also visual elements, to what the wallpaper was going to look like, what the retail shelf was going to look like and it's in your shop, you said you're not bringing it, I know, I know you didn't put it in the shelf.
Speaker 4:once it's done and forgot about it, it's in the salon. I love.
Speaker 3:I love mood boards. I had a meeting at my previous salon this was a while back, several years ago and the mentor came in and had us make dream boards and everyone thought it was kind of silly. But I love, like you know, magazine cutouts, like making a little vision board. Every single thing on that vision board came true a few years later. So one of my proudest moments to go back sorry was seeing everything in real life. It's not just a picture, it's not just an idea, it is in front of me and I was having, you know, like this dopamine effect, when you hit a goal you want to do it again and come out with something new and something exciting. I think if you start small, you can go even bigger one day.
Speaker 2:Sky's the limit.
Speaker 3:You know, salon limit now, I'm sorry, salon limit, Salon suite now, but maybe something larger later, we don't know. But obstacles, let's see. I mean, I was a commissioned stylist. I didn't know anything about the Department of Revenue. I didn't know anything about an occupational license, what website to go on, because there are very random websites out there that want to tell you that you need to submit something, and it might not even be the legitimate website.
Speaker 3:Fortunately for me, I had some friends that were going through a similar process and we were able to cross-check with each other. This is the list we need to go with. We need to do our Secretary of State first and then follow up with this and that and the other. I always tell people the resources are there. You just have to know where to go and find them. Like, if you go to the Department of Revenue office, there's a packet that they can give you with a lot of items you can check off of your list.
Speaker 3:It's not just you sitting at home on YouTube and finding a blog or a Reddit, like, there are offices to help you. It seems a little intimidating whenever you're starting fresh. So I thought that was an obstacle, but it wasn't anything that I couldn't overcome. I had friends to ask for help. A lot of small business owners don't want to ask for help. There's too much pride in what they're doing and they feel like it's a weak thing to ask for help. And I think that it's amazing to ask for help the Like it's a weak thing to ask for help and I think that it's amazing to ask for help.
Speaker 1:The only stupid question is the one that's not asked.
Speaker 3:So I would have preferred, like you know, to be um finished with all of that like in one night, but I was able to do that in time. Make sure all of my eyes were dotted and my t's were crossed.
Speaker 2:Um so so I'm gonna let miss deidre answer. But I know, bob, because that's right up your alley right, getting those eyes dotted and t's crossed. But let's let miss deidre answer real quickly in terms of that, that moment, you know, that proudest moment you may have had and maybe the biggest obstacle. And then we'll kind of wrap up. We'll let Mr Bob talk about those legalities, you know, those different resources and maybe how a mentor can be very beneficial for somebody trying to start up right.
Speaker 5:Um, some of my proudest moments was, uh, sharing the business with other people who decided that they wanted to try the Mary Kay opportunity, just like Cody said. Vision boards, I mean you post on there that you want to become a Red Jacket, you want to become part of Queen of Sales or Queen of Recruiting, and when you do those things and you win the prizes and you get recognition for it, that always seems to be great. But when you help somebody else become successful with it, it also makes you what they call paychecks of the heart. You know it makes you feel good. The obstacles are somewhat in the same line, because some of those same people that you share the opportunity with they find out along the way that, no, this is not for me. You know, and it can be disappointing sometimes, but you know what? My dream is not your dream and my success is not going to be the same as your success, because we all envision something differently.
Speaker 5:You know, along with the changes of the company and you know those different obstacles, even with technology, like you were saying, and just learning the different I want to say the different aspects of a company, you know, you have to wrap your mind around it. You have to. You have to know the rules, you have to know the regulations. You have to fill out the right paperwork. You still have to do the tax reports. You know and file your taxes and reports. You know and file your taxes and you know. Report your sales and your income. You know you just can't not do that. You know when. You know you became a business owner. But oh yeah, some of those proud moments you know and you still. You sit on that and you reminisce because you just never know when somebody else is going to ask you what like what you're asking me, you know what. Why, why are you successful? Why do you love the company so much and love what you do? And it all comes back to you.
Speaker 2:So we got to go to Mr Bob and so you know, tell us about dotting those. I's crossing those T's dotting, i's the paperwork in terms of LLC.
Speaker 4:I want to go back to what Cody said. Okay absolutely Because he said you know so many small businesses hate to ask for help, and that is true and I think part of that is they may ask the wrong people.
Speaker 1:Because if they're, not.
Speaker 4:in business, people are going to be naysayers. You know, when you went into business about 40 years ago, you had a lot of naysayers because of the type of business that it's in. But in your type of business, like I, deal a lot with franchises as well. But it's kind of like that, because you've got competitors in the same organization, I mean, but at the same time they're supportive of you, so you have some people you can go and talk to. When you have an idea. You might not want to do it locally, you might talk to someone that's in Dallas or something where it's the same thing.
Speaker 4:I mean you want to talk to other small business people or people that have been in business they don't have to have been in the salon business, but they understand business and where you are as opposed to somebody just out on the street.
Speaker 5:It was like going back in time, Like you asked, Cody if you would go back in time and change something. One of the things that I always tell people in change, don't worry about what other people think. Don't worry about what other people think. The younger me did at one point Now, how they say that some will, some won't. So what?
Speaker 3:Look, let me tell you, it's always the people that aren't directly involved that have the most to say about what you're doing, isn't?
Speaker 4:that funny? Oh yeah, yeah, oh yeah. And now that we got Facebook, we got millions of people next door.
Speaker 3:I want positive critiques and I want negative critiques too, but going through the beginning stages of your business it's tough like drowning out that noise. It is Because a lot of them are like you're not going to be a success doing this. Why are you doing this?
Speaker 5:But you know, like you said, failure. But without failure there is no success. That's a driver to you too.
Speaker 4:I can hear you brought it up three times.
Speaker 4:Somebody told me because I remember being in high school and talking to the counselor by college and he says you're not college material and I'm like that's why the coach is out in the hall. I'll growl on that one. I want to know what he's doing today. But anyway, that was a driver for me a thousand years ago, yeah. But both of these people, just in everything they're saying, knows their product. They know and have passion beyond what and what you. You know it and maybe don't even know it because you keep saying you sell a product and you don't. You're selling a service, because they can buy that product everywhere. It's good you can, calling yourself a counselor and you obviously you know you sell here but I mean it's not, but that's I sold in the computer business.
Speaker 4:I sold hardware, I sold software and I sold service. It was all packaged as a service. I mean they didn't know, particularly back in those days, what they needed, what a computer could do for them. Okay, but you have to. So when we go back to the very first thing I said is we need to research and we need to plan, and part of that, of course, is the numbers. That's a whole different game. But really understanding what it is that you're selling, and you did it wonderfully when you said you know if people might ask me what, what do you sell in a total computer systems? When you started that business, what did you sell? Well, you would obviously think well, hardware, software, just what I said. No, what I sell is success to small businesses. I help small businesses be more successful through the proper use of technology. Now, what does that mean?
Speaker 4:I sell hardware and software in service but, I understood, as you did, 60% of what you sell is how they feel and only 40% is the skill and the same thing with your product. So you understood that. So when I'm helping someone with a small business plan, I tell them about 80% of it is marketing, because everything and anything and everything and everything we do in the business is marketing, even the invoicing, even taking the money we got to make it easy for the customer. There are six steps under marketing. What is your mission statement? My mission statement was what To sell and to help small businesses be more successful through the proper use of technology. And I do that.
Speaker 4:So what's the second M? Who is our market? Who is our market? What are they? You know where do they live and we're going to meet them where they are. And then the third now that we know what we sell, we understand what we sell, we understand our market. Now we can create the message. What's the message we want to give? Now we know that we have a message that we need to get out. We go to the fourth and we can, we can find the method. Is it going to be? If I do a seminar on social media, I'll fill up the room. I mean it'll fill up the room.
Speaker 4:The first question they ask tell me what you sell and who do you sell it to. And they really can't answer what are you here for? Why do you think social media is even going to work for you if you don't know what you're selling and who you're selling it to? Okay, so then you go the method. Then you have to you know, monetize that. What's your budget you're going to spend? I work with franchises, okay, and I want to tell you the one thing they do more than anybody else is they they market, they spend money on marketing and they make more money than small businesses. We can show the numbers there. So I'm not trying to sell anybody, I'm not trying to convince anybody to go into franchises, but if we've got the statistics and the numbers to prove what they do works, why don't we try to do that more as a small business person?
Speaker 4:And the sixth and last M is manage it. I mean, you know, keep your eye on the money. So you've got this big matrix of ways that you're spending your money for marketing and this one's not working. This one is working. Move that money over here. So try a lot of different things. So six M's is what is your mission, what's your market? What's your message? What's your method? How much money are you going to spend and manage it? Money you're going to spend and manage it.
Speaker 2:So, before we wrap up, tell them how SCORE can help them. Somebody that's sitting out there listening wanting to know I need some help, I need a mentor. Tell them about how SCORE, what SCORE does, and then we'll wrap up and we'll let Cody and Deidre just kind of give out their best pitch and sell to somebody that's sitting on a couch wanting to start a business. And they need that motivation. You two are going to be left with the task of giving that motivation, so go ahead, mr Bob.
Speaker 4:Yeah, well, scoreorg, and of course, with the technology, it knows where you are. You can put SCOREorg slash Baton Rouge, but it's going to know where we are. I don't know the magic in the computer Technology. So we have a national group and tons of resources to start with on that website, tons and tons of sample templates for business plans. But the most important part is we've got workshops.
Speaker 4:I do a simple steps for starting your business a two-hour online seminar on the last Tuesday, the last Tuesday of every month, from two to four. Go to score. Look under workshops and you'll hear a lot of what I've said today, but a little bit more in depth. That is the five series course. So we go into marketing for the next two sessions. We have how to fund your account and how to finance more about financing. So we've got a lot of seminars online and what I suggest is, if you need help, you go, and, particularly if you're starting the business, take that first course that I just told you about. Take that first course business. Take that first course that I just told you about. Take that first course. Then go find a mentor and continue to take courses, but have someone that you can call and lean on and work with as you work. And what are you working toward? Starting a business? No, you're working on the business plan so we can get to the and start the business.
Speaker 2:All right, all right, cody. So what's that motivating statement? What are you going to tell our audience, our listeners?
Speaker 3:How much time we have. It's going to be hard, it's going to be very difficult to stay in that headspace, like being on 100% of the time, being on stage, as I call it. When I'm with my guests, I'm presenting a character, I'm selling a product, I am the product, and it kind of goes back to saying your body will hurt, you're going to sacrifice your weekends, but if you put in that effort, it is going to come back to you 100%. We never learn anything in life when things are perfect 100% of the time. I've never learned something whenever I was having a blast.
Speaker 3:So you're going to go through some difficult times. You're going to doubt yourself tremendously, but it's about waking up and putting those boots on again and going out there and fighting that fight and standing up for yourself and what you want to do, because there's going to be a lot of people that say you can't do it. They could be your partner. They could be your partner, they could be your friend, they could be your competition. Take that as a motivator to get to the next step. I love my journey. I love sharing my journey. It's so awesome to be in this predicament. This is a very full circle moment for me and I would love other people to take that risk or lose the chance.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And before we switch over, how can you be reached if they want to come and have?
Speaker 3:some of that quality service and hair care. So I have lairsaloncom. That's L-A-I-R saloncom. That's how you can find so much more about me. There's the digital look book I was talking about earlier and online booking. I'm located inside Emrys Salon Suites. That is on American Way. It is a side street off of Corsi, so right here in the heart of Baton Rouge, so easy to access, and I look forward to meeting anybody that comes in and has a service with me.
Speaker 2:Awesome, and we're going to give you that final word. Tell us something motivating for our listeners out there and then how they can reach you if they want to be willing to take the plunge, you know if it's your dream, it's your passion.
Speaker 5:You're never going to know until you try. There's never success without failure. And then and I'm like you there's there's many failures and many slow times, but you get up and you keep going. Whether it's a home business, um, whether you're selling something consumable like I was always, you know, was always taught that if you're going to sell something and people want to come back, like you want, you want your people to come back. Like cody says, you got to sell yourself and uh, and it makes you feel good. Don't any, don't let anyone ever steal your joy, you know. It's just. You got to remember that you started this business because you loved it and you want to share that passion with someone else, and I think that's what I've always tried to do. And even though they may have not wanted to start a business, they wanted to come back to your business because of the service that you gave them.
Speaker 2:So how can?
Speaker 5:they reach you. Well, I'm from St James Parish, I live in Gramercy. They can always come to my home. I'm going to give you my website though. That way they can always do that as well. But I live at 171 North Isidore in Gramercy, louisiana. My website is wwwmarykcom slash ddottier, and so where you can go online and you can see all the products, call me Samples to try, but more so. Come over so we can have a cup of coffee and we can start a friendship.
Speaker 2:All right, that's.
Speaker 4:South Louisiana. Start with the coffee.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Love it.
Speaker 2:Thank you to my phenomenal guests. There you have it. If you are on the shelf, if you are thinking about starting a business after listening to this, how can you not make that next move? So, until next time, have a business. After listening to this, how can you not make that next move?
Speaker 4:So until next time, have a great day. After this I'm going to go start another business. I think both.
Speaker 5:Thank you, Kim.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:It's time for Blueprint Building Blocks Small changes that lead to big financial wins. Let's stack up for success.
Speaker 2:Do your research, check out resources like SCORE you heard it right here. The Small Business Administration is also another good resource and, of course, local business development centers. All of these can be really, really helpful. Choose the right business structure, decide if you're going to be a sole proprietorship, an LLC or a partnership what fits you best and again, places like SCORE can help you with that. And then start small, but stay consistent. You don't have to quit your job right away. Test the waters and scale as you grow.
Speaker 1:That's a wrap on today's Blueprint Building Blocks. Stay on track with your financial journey. Subscribe to the Money Matters podcast and visit neighborsfcuorg slash financial wellness for more tools to help you build a strong financial future.
