← Crickets to Cha-Chings
Crickets to Cha-Chings
194. Steal This Genius Local Business Collab Idea for Etsy from Deanna Seymour
00:37:33
Julie Berninger interviews Deanna Seymour, a creative Etsy seller and founder of The Playhouse. They discuss Deanna's journey from creating custom stuffed monsters to building a successful business through collaboration and community engagement....
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Transcript53 lines
- [00:01]
A
Hi, everyone. Welcome to Cricuts to Cha Chings. I'm Julie Berninger, and I'm here with Deanna Seymour from the Playhouse. She is a fun, creative Etsy seller, and I know she really understands two things that are super important to me and all of us selling on Etsy. One is seasonal strategy, and the second one is collaboration, which not all Etsy sellers are utilizing that today. So we're going to get into how Deanna grew her business through the network and power of partnering with other people. Diana, Deanna, welcome.
- [00:29]
B
Hi. How's it going? Thanks so much for having me.
- [00:32]
A
It's going well over here, and I'm pumped to have you as well. So let's kick it off. Can you start with a quick intro on you?
- [00:38]
B
Yeah, sure. I'm Deanna. I'm the founder of the Playhouse, which is a new business building collective that utilizes networking and collaborations to get more visibility to grow your creative businesses.
- [00:51]
A
So you started out as an Etsy seller. Tell us the history of your shop, when you started it, and what you were selling.
- [00:58]
B
Okay, so this was back in 2004. So we're talking two decades ago. My sister had a baby and I made. Well, she had two babies because she had twins. That was weird. I said that. But I made them each these cute little stuffed monsters. And I just got this idea to create custom ones for people, but I wanted them to fill out like a mad lib, like, you know when you see, like, a missing sign for, like, a cat or dog or something. And so it was called missing monsters. And people had to fill out these little mad libs about how many eyes it had, what colors it was, and where they last saw it. Then I would create the monster and then photograph it somewhere. I live in Richmond, Virginia, somewhere around Richmond. That kind of related to where they last saw it. Like, somebody said they last saw theirs at the beach. And so I went in front of, like, a tanning salon and was like, oh, here's your monster. It was at the tanning salon. I found it. And I would, like, literally call them on the phone because it's funny. It's making me sound like old Grandma. But in 2004, I was okay. I would call them on the phone and be like, hey, I found your monster. And then they would pick it up. So it was so funny because I barely had a website. I used a MySpace, but. And people would, like, you know, at the grocery store, too, back in the olden times, people would, like, cut the bottom of a flyer and you could, like, take A thing. So when I first made a website, I made flyers like that, and people could rip off my website address. And then I was, like, fancy and had a Google form for them to fill out online so that I could go beyond Richmond. But at first, it was, like, all on postcards and all in Richmond, and they could pick up their monsters at a local monster shelter. So I teamed up with, like, a sushi restaurant, a used bookstore, a toy store, and. Oh, a video store. Like a video rental store. Is this making me sound like. This was like. It was called Fan Video Fan. It was, like, a little independent video store in Richmond, and they all agreed to be monster shelters. So when I would call people, I'd say, oh, hey, it's over at, you know, Sticky Rice, the sushi restaurant. You can go pick it up when you. When you're ready. And so that was the beginning of my Etsy journey. And I guess now you're like, wait, well, how did it get on Etsy? Which. The thing that was on Etsy was baby monsters. Because I had all these scraps, and I was like, what am I gonna do with all these scraps? So I started making just little baby monsters with my scraps, and I put those up on Etsy. And I also started going to the thrift store and getting, like, little kid clothes, and I would use my scraps to sew, like, a monster in the pocket or something like that. So missing monsters existed on Etsy, but it wasn't the custom stuff until later, but then it grew. Now my memory is hazy because it was 20 years ago, but Etsy was definitely part of it, but mostly for baby monsters and stuff like that.
- [03:59]
A
Wow. Okay, so first of all, 20 years ago, this blows my mind. It's like, time goes by so fast. Right? So you were part of this OG Movement. I think this was after the teeny Beanie Baby craze and the Beanie Babies and such, but it feels like a nod to something there. And if anyone has not watched the Beanie Baby documentary, it is very worthwhile. Have you seen it?
- [04:23]
B
No, I haven't.
- [04:23]
A
Oh, my goodness. As a business owner, you're just watching how this played out. And I'll just mention this because it reminded me of your story in the Beanie Baby documentary. They talked about how one woman that worked there in marketing, it seemed like she was a more junior employee. She came up with the idea to put the poems on the tags. I don't know if you remember that about the Beanie Babies or if you were part of, like, The Beanie Baby craze. But I was a 90s kid, and Beanie Babies were a huge thing, but the poems were like the whole thing. And you didn't want to rip the tag off because the tag was precious and all that. And now people give them to their kids and their kids rip the tag off. And you're like, no, I saved that forever. But yeah, the Beanie Baby documentary is great, but you with your whole like, monster scavenger hunt thing, you kind of remind me of that, but I'm a little confused on how it works. So was the scavenger hunt the parent would actually go on the hunt, or is it like an older kid or you know, who, like how. Who actually got the. The hunt? And was it like a physical paper or. You hadn't delivered it yet. Right. So it was like, what were they getting?
- [05:22]
B
Oh, okay, good questions. So let's just go to the old school one where they. I mean, I guess it doesn't matter if they filled out the Google form or they filled out a piece of paper, but when they picked up their monster. And I also shipped monsters once I had the website and they did the Google thing. So they would get a little letter and a photo, like a printed photo. Again, I'm sorry, everyone, by the way, I'm 43 years old. I sound like I'm 120. But they would get a printed photograph of their monster wherever it was in Richmond, and a little note from me saying, hey, I found it, you know, at the. At the tanning salon or wherever I found at the library, along with the plush monster, which was more like a pillow kind of, I guess, to like sort of like ugly doll kind of a thing, but, you know, like custom. And so that is what they would either pick up if they were local to me, pick up, or pay for shipping to go to their house, which also, I mean, if the US Postal Service is listening, I don't know if this was allowed or not, but I would go get those free priority boxes and I would turn them inside out because I thought they looked too much like a mailing box, you know, and you can undo them and like redo them and tape it back together. And I would spray paint on the. On the outside, like caution, like monster inside and stuff. So it was, I think, like really, I mean, I was also an art teacher, so it was a little experiential and like creative like that. But so I did the scavenger hunt. Like they. They were missing their monster. They told me what it looked like. And then I was kind of like, the monster finder. Does that make sense?
- [07:01]
A
It does make sense. And I'm also. I'm just, like, blown away because. And this is why I love working with Etsy sellers, because there are just so many really creative people that just find so much joy. Like, one day you woke up and said, I'm gonna do this, and you just made this elaborate world. And I'm sure the parents ate it up. But I don't know, Marketing was probably hard back then. Was it more of, like, a word of mouth thing where, like, one parent would do it and then you'd find out from others, they'd hear about it? Or how did you spread the marketing then?
- [07:26]
B
I mean, I also did a lot of craft shows, so I was also in a group called the Richmond Craft Mafia at that time. And so there were like. I don't know if they still are, but there was, like, craft mafias all over the country, sort of little chapters. And so, I mean, I did craft shows. Like I said, I'm in Virginia, but I did some in Philly, down to North Carolina, D.C. brooklyn was a big one. The renegade. Renegade craft show. And so really just like, doing those and sort of spreading the word. But, yeah, it's kind of funny because there was no Instagram yet. And, yeah, just craft shows, I guess. And I would also sell gift certificates at craft shows, which came with a little envelope kind of explaining the process. It had the paper for them to fill out. So, like, if a fun aunt or uncle was at the craft show and they were like, oh, my God, this is so cool. I'm gonna give it to my niece or nephew. Then they would, like, write out the answers and mail it to me. Like, I remember there was, like, a girl named Chloe. It's, like, crazy now that I remember her name. But she was, like, doing bad bedtimes. And so they ordered, like, a sleepy monster for her. And so it had, like, eyelids that were, like, sleepy and, like, her sleepy monster. Like, I would call and be like, is Chloe home? This is Deanna from Missing Monsters. Like, is Chloe home? And she'd be like, hello. And I'm like, chloe, I found. Or it's like, super sleepy, so you have to, like, do good bedtimes and sleep with it. And it was, like, really fun. I don't know. Now I'm like, oh, my gosh, you guys, should I start this business again? Should I quit my current business?
- [08:54]
A
I'll tell you right now. I feel like this could be huge. I watched the Beanie Baby documentary a year ago. But just another kind of parallel here is that at the beginning, I'm calling the guy Ty. I forget the name of the founder, whatever. But he would only sell the Beanie Babies through independent stores. He refused big chain stores. So. And I remember this growing up, like, we had an aunt that lived in what I felt was a random town in Massachusetts. And we, every time we visited her, we got to go to this tiny store. It was like very small. And that's where we get to the Beanie Babies. And I think that's a genius play. So hearing kind of how you have collect, you, you enmeshed yourself in the community to grow this whole thing. And also just, you know, I'm gonna get into that in a second. But thinking more this strategy of the kids toys, but making them more experiential is still a thing. You can think of Elf on the Shelf and a lot of Etsy sellers. I'm not here to debate the legality of selling Elf on a Shelf trademark stuff or whatever they call it. Elf kits. Fine. I think a lot of us know using that term is probably a no, no. That being said, it's huge right now. And, you know, people like to help facilitate all of that stuff.
- [10:04]
B
You know what else I want to say really quick for marketing this, because as you're talking, I'm like, what else? How did I get the word out? I want to say that I'm real brave. My husband makes fun of me. He always says it would really make my day. Like, I will ask anybody anything. Like, I will just ask. Because I'm just like, what's the worst that could happen? I won radio tickets during the holiday season in Richmond. I love to call in a radio station. I'm actually pretty lucky when it comes to that. And I won tickets, like the Richmond Nutcracker performance. And when I went to pick up my tickets, I gave them a snowman missing monster and was like, happy holidays. Thanks. I can't believe I won. And then they called me and they were like, we want to interview you on the air. This is crazy. This missing monsters thing is so fun. And I was in Richmond magazine twice, RVA magazine, Richmond Parents magazine. Like, I am not scared to send an email and be like, hey, I'm doing this fun thing. Do you want to know about it? And so now thinking back, I'm like, I also think my, you know, gumption of just being like, hey, I did a cool thing. Do you want to talk about it? Got me some press and some stuff. Like that too. So don't be afraid to just, like, reach out to people who. You think, little old me, you know, like, you can, like, get stuck in a bubble where you're like, nobody cares what I'm doing. But I was always like, hey, I'm doing this fun thing. Because the worst that could happen is they just, like, don't email you back or don't call you back. But also, the coolest thing that could happen is that, like, the radio calls you and interviews you, and your best friend's mom records it on cassette tape at her house. It's, like, so old. But anyways, yeah. Being brave. You know what I mean? Putting yourself out there.
- [11:46]
A
Oh, man, that applies to so many things. And I don't think it means you need to be the most socially adept, eloquent person. You just gotta force yourself to do what feels uncomfortable. Because I've noticed people, they like to say, well, I'm an introvert. I don't want to do this. And it's like, okay, you don't want to do it. That's fine. But that is what works. So do the uncomfortable things. And the more you do them, the more you kind of get over it. And you're just like, all right. But that. Yeah, that's smart. Drop it off at a local business. And people love supporting local businesses, local communities. So, okay, so let's talk a little more, because I think even though you know, someone listening is gonna say, well, that was 20 years ago. Okay, the same is the same playbook has been played over time and time again. Like, this could still work. So let's talk about beyond just you dropping off the snowman. Somehow you got a sushi restaurant to agree to be a monster shelter. And I'm guessing what was in it for them is that they brought more traffic in as people went to pick up their orders. Like, yeah, tell me more about, you know, where you got this idea. Was it literally that you didn't want to ship the things? Or were you like, oh, this is more convenient, or this is more fun? Like, what was the reason you did it?
- [12:48]
B
I think it's just. I think I'm cheap. Like, full disclosure, I would love to save on shipping whenever I can. And, like, also, I should talk about how maybe back then I wasn't the best at pricing things. So the first monsters I ever sold were $20 apiece. I think by the end, they were up to 40, which is still, like, pretty darn cheap. I mean, even in 2004, for a fully custom, like, I remember seeing Fao Schwartz did this thing towards the end of me doing missing monsters that was like, your kid draws a monster and they like it. And it was like a hundred dollars. And I was like, oh, I'm an idiot. Like, oh, gosh, I only charge 40. It's just me over here with my sewing machine. So I think it was like a little bit of both. I was like, oh, my gosh, Richmond people won't have to pay for shipping. They could, like, pick it up somewhere. But of course, it was just me in my house. So, like, obviously strangers aren't going to come to my house. And the other thing is, like, I think I don't want to put pressure on people. I think because it was like, so different and kind of quirky, people, like, wanted to be involved. And like you said, like, if you're gonna go pick up your. Your monster at the sushi place, you're probably gonna maybe get sushi for dinner too. Like that I would want to get sushi for dinner if I'm going to pick up my monster. I also started, like little street teams in different cities, which is something I had just remembered right now, but essentially because back then it was like on MySpace, I was like, who wants to help me promote these? And I would say, send them those kits I was talking about or. No, I would send them the postcards and they would just like. It was like guerrilla marketing. You know, they just put them in coffee shops in their town and I put little numbers on them, which is like the, the like, oldest school affiliate program, essentially. And then if that postcard got mailed to me, then I knew somebody in, like, Boston put it in a coffee shop in Boston. I didn't do a ton with that because the whole time too, I was an art teacher. So, like, this was also my side hustle, which I think is also ultimately why it didn't become my full time hustle. There's probably people listening, going like, yeah, when it gets really busy, but not busy enough to pay your bills and you still have to go to your day job, you're like, ah, what do I do? And I think ultimately that was me just being like, oh, probably because they were only $40. Like, I can't keep doing this and work my real job. But yeah, I think I'm off track. Sorry, the adhd.
- [15:10]
A
No, we all, I think we all, we all feel that. Exactly. We feel that in your heart. Exactly what you're saying. I mean, it applies to everything, right? You have to kind of make a choice, like, which One am I going to do? And for whatever reasons you made the choice that you did. And other people, most people will also make that choice. Sometimes people, they're like, no, I'm going to go all in. And I'm always like cheering them on. I'm like, you go for it. But it's, it's, it might not be the right time. It's scary, all that stuff.
- [15:34]
B
Yeah, well, and I think too, I going back to what you were saying, like, why did I pick the monster shelters? Having the monster shelters gave me a little bit of like social clout to see, like, okay, well, Sticky Rice likes her, Video Van likes her. So who's this monster girl? She must be cool. All these places that had been around in Richmond and still are around, like established places in Richmond, okay, they're like into it. Maybe I should be into it. So I think that kind of collaboration can help you. Also, I don't really like the word like authority, but you know, builds your authority. And then like when people say any friend of hers is a friend of mine, like now all of a sudden I'm a friend with all these cool businesses in Richmond, so I must be cool too, right? Wink, wink.
- [16:14]
A
Okay, so that's an age old marketing principle. All of us who are in the online course creator space, we're doing it right. Like if you look at my Instagram, you'll see featured in cnbc, Forbes, and it just, whether or not you're supposed to be doing that, it gives you somewhat of credibility. Well, the person's like, okay, this person was fact checked by cnbc, so they must be more legit. Right? Which is, which is true. When you are featured in press, they look over all of your records, they make sure that you are who you say you are. You have to show them screenshots. It is. And I always feel better when I work with someone that has been featured by the press because I'm like, okay, this person's featured by the press. Similarly, you know, when you're working with other business, they're like, oh, I love that sushi restaurant. Like if they like this monsters thing, then then also I know it's like big and it's just so smart. I don't see enough people doing that today. So I'm just obsessed with this idea and I just hope that people listening think, how could I apply this to my business?
- [17:06]
B
Yeah, well, and also I, it's like all coming back to me. This is so fun. This is like fun for me. I'm like, oh my gosh, Memory lane. I made them a monster. Like, when I approached them to be a monster shelter, part of that was that they would get a monster to display. So there was a sushi monster at the sushi restaurant. There was a thing. So it wasn't just, like, me being like, hey, I need a place for people to pick up a monster. It was more like, I think your restaurant's cool. I come here for trivia night. Can I make you guys a monster? And can people come pick up their monsters here? So I think it's important, too, to not feel like, oh, I just. Like, I'm not valuing my time, or I, like, gave it away for free. Like, it's definitely part of, like. I mean, now we pay for ads and stuff like that. So, like, making them a monster is definitely part of. I don't know. I don't want to say, like, the wooing process, but, like, you know, what's in it for them? Like, you're gonna get this fun monster. And if they had heard about me, it made sense. So I think sometimes we. I love that, like, boundaries are a thing, and we want to get paid for our time, and we don't want to just do stuff for exposure. I love all those things, and I think those are real messages. But also, if you're, like, too tight with it, you can sort of come off like, oh, I don't know. Like, you have to. You have to approach people. You almost have to, like, give before you can ask sort of a thing. I think in relationship building and networking, you can't just go to, like, networking events or approach a business to team up with. And it's just like, hey, I need more customers. Can I do this thing? I want to feed off your authority and, like, build my authority. Like, you have to. It has to be reciprocal. I guess that's what I'm saying.
- [18:43]
A
Oh, my gosh, I love this. And it reminds me. So Cody, my business partner, and I have a client that's a Realtor, and Realtors get this. Realtors are in those local businesses and they're swapping and every. You know, everyone needs a Realtor, and they're always tagging each other on Instagram and all that stuff. But I. As part of the course that this realtor was building that I was helping her with, she was talking about how when. When you have coffee dates as a Realtor, like, for example, a lender really wants to meet a Realtor because they want to refer the realtors clients to their preferred lenders. But after you're an experienced realtor. You already have your lenders, like getting another coffee date. It's like, oh my goodness, I have to. It's more time. You're not going to get anything out of it. So she talks about how a le that blew her mind made a big donation, like a couple hundred dollars. It wasn't like huge, but a big donation to a cause that she had been posting about on social media. And in that case, she's like, oh, like, you know, you just helped me meet my goal for this cause. I'd be more than happy to have coffee with you. And then they end up having coffee. Didn't mean she was going to work with her, but it was like the foot in the door for them to have that conversation, hit it off, and then it resulted in a partnership. So for you it was giving them free product that they think was cool and starting that relationship. So thank you for mentioning that because that, that is an important piece. It doesn't have to be free product, but there's has to be something. And people might not want to jump right into like a win win business transaction without getting into it first with in some other method.
- [20:11]
B
Yeah. And also I will say too, once you get some businesses on board, like it get it got even easier, you know, like, you can approach the next one and be like, hey, I already have sticky rice and video fan. Do you want to do this? Like, I think a bookstore could be cool too. That also like, just like it works like we were saying on the website, works for getting more collaborators or sponsors or like as you do it, like it's real scary the first time, like you were saying introverts and stuff like that and it feels scarier. And then it just gets like easier and easier and you have more like social proof to back up. Like, I'm doing this, this thing, you know?
- [20:46]
A
Oh yeah, 100. Okay, so tell us about, I guess in your perspective just right before you decided to kind of move on from it when you're like, okay, this is a lot of work, all this stuff. Did you ever consider of trying to go the beanie baby route or like trying to like, hey, like, you know, if you did this today, for example, we'd have like a Shopify store and you'd be running ads like, hey, Richmond, get your monster. And you know what I mean? Like, you'd see the ads, it'd be stalking you everywhere. And you're like, oh, I gotta get the monster. Yeah, you know, then I don't know if you had a easy path to See what was next. Okay, I have an Etsy shop. How do I scale this to. To be the next Beanie Babies or whatever?
- [21:21]
B
Yeah. I think I just was like, really? This is the art teacher in me, probably the art school kid. Like, I was really attached to the whole thing. So probably my way forward would have been for it to be really expensive and keep the experience, because I was even, like, I was selling those kits at craft shows. I was, like, showing pictures of. Like, I wasn't. I was just, like, so committed. It's like I'm some character actor. Like, I'm some actor. Like, you know, what is that called when they, like, don't break the role the whole time they're on set? Like, I just was like, this is missing monsters. This is not just, like, they're for sale. And towards the end, I felt pressure from other people to be like, you should bring some to craft shows. And then, like, people can adopt them there. And I'm like, I did it. And it just didn't feel the same. Like, it just wasn't as magical as someone, like, dreaming up a monster and me making it and doing the photo and pretending like I found it. So ultimately, it was just. I probably needed to increase the price and sell less, and I probably could have kept doing it and kept my day job, but at 20 or 40 bucks a pop, like, I did end up hiring someone to help me win holiday season, because I just remember having all these, like, strewn across, like, all these pieces, like, she was my stuffer. Like, stuffer. And, like, sew them closed, and we were just, like, cranking them out, and I was like, oh, my gosh. This is my, like, break from teachings. My holiday break, not my, like, go to my sweatshop now for my holiday break. So I think I just needed to raise the price, to be honest, now that I know more about business, but.
- [22:57]
A
Right.
- [22:57]
B
I was just, like, a young punk who was like, $40 feels, like, a lot.
- [23:03]
A
And even today, I mean, a parent. How much does a parent expect to spend on a toy? Right. Like, it's. It's tough.
- [23:09]
B
Yeah.
- [23:09]
A
And experience. Your experience. Experiences are hard to scale, and the experience is what made it special.
- [23:15]
B
Yeah.
- [23:15]
A
So, yeah, those are all, like, still the still question marks today of that you left to figure out, like, how would I do this? Those are excellent points. I do love you mentioning the seasonal nature of it, too, though. And this is kind of random, but did you see the woman on the news that was famous for the porch pumpkins in Texas?
- [23:32]
B
No.
- [23:32]
A
She, like, runs a Zip code. She made a million dollars revenue in her job. Every year. She decorates people's porches with, like, pumpkins and stuff and makes it look like, super picturesque, like a magazine, a Pinterest image or whatever. But I just love, like, I mean, this is true for all of us. In selling in the Etsy space, there is something special about the holiday season, depending on what you sell. And that's a big time. And I just thought it was kind of cool, her business just tacking on to those seasonal trends. And I tried to think, well, for Etsy sellers, how can we learn from this? Like, what? Because she says she makes a million dollars in, like 30 days. And then the reporter asked her, oh, do you want to do Christmas? And she's like, no, that's my time with my kids. I can't do Christmas. And I'm like, that's such, like, an Etsy seller response too, because we, like, literally don't have the time to do it. And like, with everything else going on in our lives, you know, it's just. It's very difficult. Even though we have these grand Empire dreams, sometimes it can be challenging to execute them year round. And particularly when all this stuff is happening at the time that we're also doing all this stuff for our. Our households. But anyways, when thinking about trying to do take this idea and bring it to Etsy, it reminds me of your monster thing. And I think of like, okay, well, what? You know, you had success 20 years ago with this monster idea. I still think monsters are huge. When I looked in the search data for Halloween, monster kit was like, booming two years in a row. And you just give people, I think it's like a Halloween favor or something, but you give people the little things to make their own monsters. I can see, like, craft kits. You know, I just bought my daughter a whole bunch of craft kits. Make your own stuff. She did her own sewing thing. It was mostly like narwhals and unicorns, but, you know, a monster variety of that could be really cool. And also when I think of trends like the boo. Have you heard of the boo basket trend?
- [25:20]
B
I think, but you say it because I don't want to waste time guessing. So is that where, like, the other moms, like, give wine?
- [25:26]
A
It's like a neighbor's. It's like neighbor's way to recognize neighbors. You might see it as a good thing, like, oh, my neighbor's so thoughtful. You might see it as a bad thing of, like, oh, my gosh, now I have to go get another neighbor this thing and it's like, work on your plate, right? I feel like the first person to introduce it to the neighborhood. Depends. Some people are going to be into it. Some people are going to be like, oh no, here we go. But I think of those trends, like that boo basket thing is here to stay. Could there be a way for someone or you to like take that monster idea? But like, okay, instead of parents buying it for their own kids, could it be a little smaller and it becomes part of this, like whether it's a ghost for like the boo basket or whether it's, you know, something else, like the gift, the neighborly gifting, community gifting thing. Because I think when you talk about how you gave it to local restaurants, I'm like, the giving it to other people kind of chain mail thing seems to help with sales. So anyway, that's my solo queue of like ideas that I had like 12 million ideas when hearing your story. So I don't know what for your. If you wanted to give people advice, like, let's say that either you want to revive it or you. Someone wanted to like take this and turn their thing into what you did. Like what. Do you have any advice that comes to mind based on having lived the experience?
- [26:36]
B
I mean, I honestly, like now my brain is like, I love the idea of like a pass it forward. Um, like you get the kit, but you get two kits. So you make a monster and you give it to someone, but they make a monster and give it to some. Like, but then how would they get a kit? Never mind. I'm not great at logistics. Just I'm an idea lady. But you know what I mean? Like, like how could this like keep going? And also maybe it's not like that hard of a kit. Like maybe you could just get. Maybe it only needs two pieces of felt and something. I don't know.
- [27:09]
A
There's kits, there's like you could, you could sell like if it was a place locally where people could buy them, then you'd have like a monopoly of like, oh, like you get the, the plush thing here.
- [27:20]
B
Like I think in the boob, maybe there's a coupon for a little discount on your next kit to pass it on, keep the monster going.
- [27:26]
A
Or even like, even if it was pre made, you know, it's like, hey, like the ghost is from here. Like the personalized ghost. Because I saw personalized ghosts were doing like really well. And people, you know, they love to put their name on everything, their kids names. So I just feel like there's something here. But then to your point, it's got to work with the economics of it. It's expensive to produce the product.
- [27:45]
B
Yeah, yeah. I just, like. I mean, I'm just all about also, like, the human contact was like, what I loved calling the people and, you know, like, seeing the businesses, like, going to the business. So, like, you know, maybe it's not scalable, but it's very nostalgic, I guess, in terms of, like, before the, like, huge social media boom. But, yeah. Oh, my gosh, you have my wheel spinning now, too. I'm like, okay, cool, we're gonna hang up from this podcast and I'm gonna be like, how can I bring back monsters?
- [28:18]
A
I just love it. I just love it so much. So that's why when I heard your story, and also I think you. Your interest in seasonal stuff. Now, I'm gonna get into this part of the episode here, but Deanna, I found her randomly on a website, and she was promoting. I think it's like a free lead magnet for you, but she was promoting her Anti Hustle Holiday series. And it looked like a summit that many of you listening probably have attended where you might learn something. But this version of it was, like, kind of the opposite, where it was like, oh, let's just talk, like, holiday stuff that is not related to, like, trying to make money, trying to learn a specific tactical skill. So I kind of want you to explain a little more. Like, give me an example of some of the sessions. I just remember, I'm like, I've never seen anything like this. But this lady, she gets. She gets the seasonal thing because this is all. This is perfect, right? And we talk a lot about seasonality here on this podcast and through Gold City Ventures. So tell us, like, what is that Anti Hustle thing?
- [29:13]
B
So the Anti Hustle Holiday series just was born out of me starting a business, an online business. Like, my day job. My job right now is graphic design and helping people with content plans and stuff like that. And so I feel like I just had been to those summits, and I was just like, a little bit overwhelmed with all the lead magnets and all the information and all the things. And I was like, oh, my gosh, I love Christmas. What if I did a summit that we don't have to learn anything? Can we just take a break from all the learning and all the, like, trying new things? And so I message about the first season was all other podcast hosts, which, again, because I'm strategic, was because the following year I wanted to be on more Podcasts. So I was like, let me hit up a bunch of podcast hosts. Get that first. Like, you were saying, like, foot in the door. Like, the lender who donated the money. Like, let's have a conversation, but let's just talk about the holidays. So I feel like, you know, one person shared that they make real eggnog, which I was, like, totally fascinated and a little bit grossed out by, like, real. Like, I was like, oh, my God, she makes it in the summer, and it has to, like, be weird in our fridge for a long time. So that, I mean, like, one person shared about her Christmas in London at her grandma's house and how they made this cardboard house with cotton balls on the roof and there was little presents inside. And, like, we do that in my family now. Like, people just shared holiday traditions. And I was like, oh, my gosh, I think my kids would really like that. So now we made one of those houses and we do that. And somebody else talked about her mom makes cookies from just, like, cake box mix plus whatever. I can't recall right now, but I have made those for my kids at the holidays, and it is really easy. So that episode was just like, her talking about her mom making these cakeys. I feel like she called them, like, cookie. Cookie cakes. And it was just super fun. And I just really love the holidays. But it was a private podcast, so not only did I connect with all those podcast hosts at the time, I had started my business that year, quit teaching, and went all in. I think I had, like a hundred people on my email list back then. And after the Anti Hustle holiday series, the first one, I had, like 200 people on my list. And I was like, oh, my gosh. Okay, this is great. This is better than any of the PDFs I already made and tried to, like, do. And I had, like, a podcast tour for the next year, you know, like, reaching out to them and saying, okay, like, I think it'd be cool to talk about this. Or I had a regular podcast at the time. Like, now come on my podcast and talk about the thing that they're known for, you know, I mean, obviously we all like to share our expertise, but it was a fun way to meet people without having to, like, bog down people with more tips and more. So the whole idea was, over the holidays, just listen to these episodes, take a break from your business, just have fun. And in the new year, follow these people if you like what they had to say.
- [32:02]
A
So, oh, my goodness, I love this. And we have this other membership I was Telling you Beyond, where we help Etsy sellers build their business beyond Etsy. And then the first thing they have to do is get an email list as one of the first things. And it can be very challenging getting your first non customer emails because you need to have a big business, you need leads. And oh, speaking of this, here's Sasha. She's here. She's at our Next. I'm in the middle of a podcast, but it's okay. Sasha is actually the lead of beyond, so I'm going to be interviewing with her next. She's one of our Etsy coaches who talks a lot about the value of Summit. So I love your summit because the idea of it, it's not very different than what's out there. It's just cool. And again, it goes back to create an experience that people will love and then you're going to stand out like the monsters was an experience. This summit is an experience for people. They're used to, like someone throwing 100 different, oh, how to be a sales machine, all this stuff at them. Hey, I want to listen to someone talk about how their grandmother made Christmas cookies and create a new tradition for the family. Like, perfect, that sounds great. It's an alternative to reality tv. I was just looking. There's a new Christina Milan holiday special or something. I'm going to watch it. But hey, maybe I'll listen to this too. And it's, you know, can get my mind off stuff. Okay.
- [33:17]
B
And anyway, like, for businesses, we tend to gravitate towards people we like. Right. Especially like in my area, it's podcast host service providers and like, we are not really listening to people that we don't like. You're not going to keep listening to a podcast if you don't like the person. So it was a fun way for the listeners to listen for 10 minutes and be like, oh, this person sounds fun. Let me see what they have to do with business. So it's like flipping the script like people first, then business instead of like all business.
- [33:44]
A
So obsessed. Okay, well, Dana, we're coming up on time here, but I do want to give you a chance to talk about the Playhouse. So at the conclusion of this episode, thank you for coming. Tell us, like, what is your next move here with Playhouse? And just tell everyone who might be interested about it.
- [33:58]
B
Yeah, I mean, I just created the Playhouse because I've just really been getting into more networking and collaborations. And honestly, like, I am so sick of social media. I'm sick of doing everything exactly the same. Like we're saying like, the summits. Like, it just feels like, what is next? Like, can we invent a new thing that's going to grow our list? Can we invent a new way to collaborate with people? Like, I always think, like one, once upon a time, a webinar didn't exist and then somebody, like, made a, like, invented a webinar. So I really want a space where we can all come together. And it's not really, like, you're not joining, like, my membership. I'm really passionate that it's like our community, all the people together have a voice in what we're doing and all the different events. And I don't know, I'm just like, so excited to see what the new year brings for this really collaborative, fun, experiential place.
- [34:52]
A
And it's not for Etsy sellers. It's for. Well, it could be for them, but it's also for, like, freelancers and graphic designers. So it's going to be a group of people that do different business functions. Right?
- [35:02]
B
And I mean, yes. And I am like, it's funny we talked about the Anti Hustle holiday series, but I want it to be for the whole person entrepreneur. So there are fat liberation body coaches in there because it's really hard to market your business if diet culture's in your head and you feel like you're too fat to make a reel. And everyone's gonna look at you and judge you. Like, there's a person who does meditation because, like, we're all burnt out. You know, someone's gonna do, like, movement events where you can remember to like, my watch reminds me to stand up some days when I'm hyper focused on a website or working. Like, I want people, especially if we're all, like, working by ourselves. And a lot of Etsy owners I know are, like, doing all the things, the bookkeeping, the everything by yourself. It's a great space to get help with the things you're not a genius at. And like, we just did a season 7 love is blind event where we hung out and talked about Love is Blind whoever wanted to come. So it's like people and business owners. It doesn't have to be just like one or the other.
- [36:07]
A
So, okay, I love it. So I think, you know, people listening, they're gonna be people who are gonna get you and they're gonna check that out because they. They're getting it and I love that. So, Deanna, thank you so much for coming on. I'm gonna link to Playhouse below. This has been such a fun episode. And hopefully everyone who's listening can just get their wheels turning. If you take away one thing, can you do something with local businesses in your town? And I know, even for me, the moms group in my town, they asked me if I'd do an Etsy webinar, and I said no. Okay. So I understand. It's harder. It's harder than when you start getting in your real life. You're like, I don't know if I want to do it. So maybe all of us need to be a little brave together and just be like, hey, this is who I am. This is what I love. And we're going to attract people that we didn't even know had similar passions or whatever from it. But I get if you say Etsy.
- [36:53]
B
Like, you're automatically cool. I think, like, if you say you're an Etsy owner, I'm going to be like, oh, my God, you're awesome. I think people are impressed by that. I'm just saying, you're not. Weirdo. Your Etsy rock star.
- [37:02]
A
I'm so impressed by it myself. But then I get it. Like, you want to. Your. Your community, your kids, the other parents. It's like. It's like a whole thing. So I get it. I haven't bridged up myself, but, like, hearing this story for you, you kind of. You're getting me revved up about it. Is there something that I could be doing or other people could be doing with even just like, with local businesses, some. Some type of collaboration, a gifting thing? Wheels are churning. I'm, you know, I'm sure. But anyway, Stan, I'll let you go.
- [37:27]
B
Thank you for having me. Yeah, this was amazing.
- [37:29]
A
This has been a blast. Thank you.