075. Rachel Heckmann: Running a Profitable Online Shop

Running a product shop comes with its own learning curves from purchasing inventory to managing cash flow. In this episode Rachel Heckmann owner of the Rachel Allene Shop joins us to discuss her own ups and downs in learning to navigate online shop ownership.

It was such a joy to hear Rachel’s story and we covered a lot of ground in this conversation: from quitting her day job without a plan to staying profitable in an economic downturn to navigating different seasons of business and motherhood.

For all of you who want to do work you love while also showing up as the wife and mom you want to be, Rachel’s story is a must-listen!

WILDFLOWER SHOWNOTES : shannaskidmore.com/rachel-heckmann

📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Text RACHELALLENE to 844-551-8745 for 12% off your first purchase!
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Transcript

Rachel (00:00):

Typically I'm very hard on myself and I don't accept anything but excellence in everything. And last year I just had to say my best is my best and that will be my excellence and that's all I can do. I know that it won't always be this hard to get work done and I know I won't be this mentally fatigued and it'll be easier one day I will have more space for creativity in another year. This isn't like, oh, I didn't do as good this year, then it's over. I'm quitting. It's done. We're over that. I can have a year where I pull back a little bit and I maybe don't release as many products, but that doesn't mean I'm a failure or it's over.

Shanna (00:46):

You are listening to Consider the Wildflowers the podcast. Episode 75. Running a profitable online product shop comes with its own learning curves from purchasing inventory to managing cashflow. In this episode, Rachel Heckman, owner of the Rachel Aileen Shop joins us to discuss her own ups and downs in learning to navigate online shop ownership. It was such a joy to hear Rachel's story and we covered a lot of ground in this conversation from quitting her day job without a plan to staying profitable in an economic downturn to navigating different seasons of business and motherhood. For all of you who want to do work you love while also showing up as the wife and mom and friend and sister, you want to be, Rachel's story is a must listen. If you dig professional bios, here goes. Rachel Aileen is a mom of three wife and online shop owner.

(01:32):

She is a big believer in finding joy in the small things and loves to encourage others to look for the good. Her online shop showcases a range of hand lettered and hand-drawn products that are intentionally created to spark joy, encourage hearts and help women focus on truth. Through her products and online presence. She hopes to connect with women and help them feel seen, loved, valued, and welcomed. When she's not slinging snacks for her three kids or working on her business, you can typically find her with a random gluten-free treat. She's whipped up in a good book, a Bravo TV show or a load of laundry that needs to be folded. She loves hosting gatherings in her home, spending time with loved ones and being outdoors. Okay, formal introductions over. Let's dive in. Hey, it's Shanna and this is Consider the Wildflowers, the podcast. For the past 15 plus years, I've had the honor to hear thousands of stories from entrepreneurs around the world.

(02:19):

As a former Fortune 100 financial advisor turned business consultant, I have a unique opportunity to see the real behind the highlight reel. I'm talking profit and loss statements, unpaid taxes, moments of burnout, and those of utter victory or as my husband says, the content everyone is wondering but not many are talking about. And now I'm bringing these private conversations to you. Hear the untold stories of how industry leaders, founders, and up and coming entrepreneurs got their start, the experiences that shaped them and the journey to building the brands they have to today. Stories that will inspire and reignite encourage to redefine success and build a life and business on your own terms. Welcome Wildflower. I'm so glad you're here. Hi Rachel. Welcome to the show. Hi, this is going to be so fun. And I was just wondering, do you have any nicknames?

Rachel (03:04):

I do. I do have a nickname actually, that's funny you ask. My nickname is Skip and it was given to me when I was like five years old by my dad, so I skipped everywhere. I think it started out as Skippy and then it became Skip, and now anyone who knows me from my childhood still calls me that, so most people still call me Skip.

Shanna (03:25):

What the makes is so happy and I dunno why. I was just like, I wonder if Rachel has any nicknames.

Rachel (03:32):

Yeah, I do. It's funny. That's such a random question, but yeah, and a lot of people call me that

Shanna (03:39):

Skip and that's such a good nickname.

Rachel (03:41):

I love it. Actually, I didn't love it when I was walking the aisles of Target when I was 14 and my mom would say Skip. But now if someone from my childhood calls me Rachel, I'm like, why are you calling me Rachel? That's not how it works with you.

Shanna (03:58):

Yeah, skip is my name.

Rachel (04:00):

Yeah, it's really fun.

Shanna (04:02):

Okay, that's so fun. I wonder what our kiddos nicknames that stick will be. I

Rachel (04:08):

Know my husband is actually gives our kids the weirdest nicknames. They're just very random. So our third is, his name is Silas, and right now his nickname is cio. So I don't know what nicknames will stick for our kids either, but they all have a very weird nickname.

Shanna (04:26):

That's fun. And your parents live across the street from you?

Rachel (04:29):

They do.

Shanna (04:30):

This is a whole Have you lived in your hometown

Rachel (04:34):

Always? Yeah, not always. I moved away for a little bit in college and then I came back not intending to stay, but then I did end up staying and then I met my husband and then we've just stayed and we actually really love living

Shanna (04:46):

Here. And is he from there too?

Rachel (04:49):

No, he is from Southern. I live in California, so he's from Southern California and we live in northern

Shanna (04:54):

California, but he was just there living for a while. He

Rachel (04:57):

Came for college. There's a university where we live, so he came for college and then we met through a campus group at college.

Shanna (05:06):

How do I not know all these things? Hey Rachel, welcome to the show. It's like we've never met. Rachel and I are friends and I'm so pumped for this because I feel like we've gotten to hang out, but literally when was the last time? I don't even remember the last time we were together

Rachel (05:23):

In Tennessee at your final,

Shanna (05:27):

Was that the 1 20 19 November when I cried and ran out the door? Yes. Yeah, that was an emotional moment. It

Rachel (05:34):

Was.

Shanna (05:35):

Okay, well this is fun. I am back. Okay, so if you are new to the Shanna sphere in 2020, I took a year off my business and that's a whole conversation for another time, but at the time it was like, no, we're done, done, we're done, done, done, done. So what Rachel's referring, we were at this conference in 2019, it was my very last event. It was my last thing before and sick. It was like a final chapter of your favorite book. It was such an emotional and I couldn't at that moment I just ran out. I just ran out and left everybody in the conference room, all these people watching me from the stage and I was just like, bye, we all love. I don't even know what happened. It

Rachel (06:23):

Was very sweet. It was a very emotional human moment.

Shanna (06:27):

It was so much emotion. I think I just didn't want to have that breakdown in front of that would be a true ugly cry.

Rachel (06:33):

Yeah, you did great. You rebounded,

Shanna (06:37):

But now I'm back and it's all good and

Rachel (06:38):

I'm so happy are I remember begging you at that conference of You can't be done. You really can't be done Shannon. And you were like, no, I am. And I always knew that you just couldn't, I couldn't do business. I couldn't be in the business world without you, and so I'm so glad you're back.

Shanna (06:55):

Thanks, Rachel. It's funny, we talked right before the show and then we're going to get into Rachel's story, not Jannis, how I needed that year off. And a lot of people before I left said, can't you just take a year long sabbatical? Which is what it ended up being, but was like, no, I needed to know that I could be done and look into other things and other options and just be done for the freedom to know that I don't want to be done. Yeah, isn't that interesting?

Rachel (07:26):

It is. I was proud of you.

Shanna (07:30):

Thank you. But man, we have some stories we could tell now coming back and how much the industry is different and all that, but let's not talk about me, Rachel, let's talk about you.

Rachel (07:38):

Okay.

Shanna (07:39):

Okay. Tell everybody what you do now and how long you've had your business and then I want to kind of just roll back the tape to how this all got started. What were you doing before and all that?

Rachel (07:51):

Okay. I'm not exactly sure when this will air, so maybe when this airs. I will be in business for nine years because February of 2024 will be nine years, but I didn't start my business. Most people start their business. I just quit a job and said I'm starting a business. So I didn't really have a business started before I quit making money somewhere else and I was pretty fresh out of college, so I got married really young and then I just took this random job after college just because we were young and we needed money and then I always had interest in photography and that was what I thought I would do in the beginning. So we had friends who were wedding photographers, so I would second shoot with them sometimes and I just kind of was trying to figure out what I liked, so I thought I wanted to do maybe product photography, and then I took this online calligraphy course and I was like, okay, I think I'm going to do photography and I'm going to do lettering, make cards and prints.

(08:51):

So I quit my job at the Chamber of Commerce, which is where I was working, and I was just the front desk person and then I was like, I'm starting a business. And then it morphed from there. I don't do photography anymore. I did photography for a very short amount of time and I moved more towards calligraphy and then I moved towards making products, which is now what I do. So I have an online product shop. There's so many other things I did from start to where I am now, but the main thing I do now is my online product shop. I design all the products by hand and my goal is through my products to just empower and uplift people. I want to point them towards truth. A lot of the products that I make are cups or coffee mugs, and for me, my coffee is a daily routine and I think for a lot of people it is. So I want to have products that people are reaching for daily and it's pointing them towards truth or contentment or hope or joy to get their day started off. I know it's simple and small, but I really do think that if you start your day grounded in truth, and I hate to say positivity, but in thinking, approaching the day in a way that looks for the good. It does change your day, it changes your mood, it changes how you parent, it changes how you do business. And so that's my goal through my products.

Shanna (10:23):

I love that. Did you ever second guess wanting to have a business or how was that? Just so sure of I'm going to turn this into business.

Rachel (10:32):

I think it's kind of been in my blood. I mean, when I was a little girl, I would play office all day long and anytime my grandparents would come to visit, I would set up a hotel and everything was like that when I was a kid. I mean, I wanted to go to the office supply store when I got extra money to buy receipt books.

Shanna (10:56):

That's fantastic.

Rachel (10:57):

Yeah, so I think it's just kind of in my blood.

Shanna (11:01):

I can just see little skip in the office Max. Yeah.

Rachel (11:05):

Yes. Oh yeah. And back then in my day, I'm not that old, but it was like the receipt books where, I don't even know what it was called, but it had that sheet that you would put in between the white and the yellow page, and so it would transfer the ink. What

Shanna (11:21):

Were those called? Those were fantastic.

Rachel (11:22):

Yes. I loved it calculators that you'd click the button and then it would print out the receipt.

(11:31):

That was my favorite thing in the world. So I do think it is kind of just been in my blood. I love to report to myself if that makes sense. I don't know if that makes me selfish or I respect authority. I can respect authority, but I don't like to have someone else dictate how I spend my time. So owning my own business was always loved. I was always a really good worker, but I never loved having jobs in high school. I babysat. That was my main job. And now looking back, I think part of that was I didn't want someone to tell me that I had work all day Saturday. I wanted to pick who I was babysitting for and when I was babysitting them.

Shanna (12:14):

Yeah. So tell me about those early days, figuring out your offers, figuring out your pricing, figuring out how to sell your product. I mean, how did you get started?

Rachel (12:26):

Yeah, it was a different time with social media for sure. I feel like I got started in the golden age of Instagram when you would just gain a thousand followers in a day. I would just post a pretty calligraphy picture and gained tons of followers. So I

Shanna (12:43):

Do feel like this is like 20 15, 20 16.

Rachel (12:46):

So I do feel like that helped me build my audience in the beginning and I just feel like I was really scrappy. I never gave up. If I created a product and it didn't sell, then it was like, okay, well that's not what people want. So what do people want? And I just viewed all my failures as market research, so I just started to pay attention to what was selling. Even if it was three then that was more than the thing that wasn't selling. I wasn't getting orders every single day or custom orders every single day, but I was trying to pay attention to what people were asking for and pricing wise, obviously in the beginning under priced myself, but I was also just beginning, so I was happy to make any money at that point. As time went on, I then crunched the numbers more, got smarter about that, kind of created my own calculation of if I'm going to spend this much on a product, I need to at least triple that for the price.

(13:45):

That kind of was my calculation of my design time and all that. And then over time, I've just kind of crunched the numbers with how much effort I put into it. And also as I don't really consider myself an artist, but as a creative, somewhat geared person, the time I spend in perfecting my craft is included in my pricing. I have over the years gotten better at designing things. And so that is calculated into how much I want to be able to make. And me now I'm a mom of three, the business has to be worth it for me. Every time I'm working, I'm away from my kids and I don't want it to be taking, I don't want the business to take away from our family. So if it's going to take away from our family, say me being away from my kids and either paying for childcare or something, what I'm doing for the business needs to be worth it enough, if that makes sense. That makes sense. That also comes into my pricing and what I want to get from the business, if that makes sense.

Shanna (14:53):

That makes total sense. I wrote down and I was wondering, in the beginning days, did you have a number that you're like, this is how much would be worth it or I need to replace, provide this much for my family. Did you have that in place from the beginning or do you feel like that really came more so later as you became a mom when it's like now I'm seeing that time away from my family needs to be compensated to

Rachel (15:22):

Be. Yeah. I think it was more once we started having kids, my husband, I do feel like I was blessed where in the beginning stages I didn't have to bring this much home. His salary covered all of our living expenses and what we needed. So my business was like, just get what you can. And that I think allowed me freedom to try all sorts of things. Everything that I made just went back into the business for several years and I know not everyone has that possibility to do that or ability to make that happen. They have to be able to make a salary. So I know that that is a blessing that I was able to do that. And I feel like that served me in the beginning where I could just constantly put the money back into the business. I wasn't going into debt or anything. I was just making money and putting it back to take courses and learn about business or get better at my craft or buy a new type of product that I wanted to try out to see if it would sell. So I do feel like that in the beginning there wasn't necessarily like I need this type of salary. It was more grow the business. It was more the goal.

Shanna (16:31):

Yeah. Okay. What do you feel would you say, looking back as the business grew, what would you say went well? What were some things that maybe didn't go well and just lessons learned as you got further along in business?

Rachel (16:47):

I think things that went well, I think I have built a community that isn't just here to click purchase, which is great that they do and I need them to. But I also feel like I never wanted to build a business without heart and without connecting to my customers. And so I feel like one thing that I've done well and continues to be prominent in my business is connecting with my audience. I think that they feel like they have a personal relationship with me, which has always been my goal, and I feel that way towards them. There are people who purchase and I know their name when I see their order come through and I recognize, oh, they love to order stickers, there are people that I know who they are, and I think that that has always served me well, that I've made the humans important in my business.

(17:47):

Obviously other things have gone well. I've made products that sell, but to me it matters more the impact and I think that has gone well. The impact of being able to influence people's daily lives on a daily basis. They use that one mug that reminds them about hope when they're going through their mom going through chemotherapy or something like that. I've heard stories like that over and over and to me that has been my greatest win of the business. Something that I think has not gone well. I am not the best at communication with my team or planning ahead. I am in retail and I should be planning holiday products for 2024 right now. That's where retail's at. I don't even have my Valentine's Day products in my hands yet. So part of that is I had to baby nine months ago and last year, I call it my gap year.

(18:47):

I definitely pulled back a little bit last year, so I think that's part of it, but I am not super great at planning ahead. My ideas come to me. My best ideas always come to me last minute and I'll tell my team, I have one team member, I shouldn't say I just have my assistant who does all our packaging and inventory management and other things, customer service, but sometimes she'll see stuff on Instagram and she'll be like, oh, that's great. I didn't know we were releasing that product today, or I didn't know you were running a sale this weekend. That's really good to know. So sometimes I'm just really last minute and that I would love to get better at, but I also feel like I don't work enough right now, and so most of my things are last minute, but I try to remember one day all my kids will be in school and it won't be like this.

Shanna (19:36):

Yeah, yeah. That's so interesting. I have learned about myself. I tend to work last minute too. I get my best creative ideas, but yeah, it's like thinner. How tired do I want to be to try to execute this last minute idea? I think what's made me better at planning ahead. Yes,

Rachel (19:54):

The stress that comes with it.

Shanna (19:55):

Yeah. How have you seen the business grow over time? Looking back, did you see any major turning points in your business? Were things really caught on or any big shifts or changes?

Rachel (20:11):

There's been a few times specifically once I transitioned to strict product shop and I've done a few other things, like I've done coaching and selling digital resources, but then as I had more kids, I just pared down to just the product shop and I feel like the big turning points in the product shop that I saw, the first one was I believe in the fall of 2018, and it was my first born, I was 1-year-old and I don't know really what clicked, but I did a fall product launch in that August of 2018 and it just exploded back then. For me, it exploded and I just feel like that was the first turning point of my shop of people expect the fall product launch, the holiday product launch, they expect these launches, they know they have to shop quickly because sometimes things sell out quickly.

(21:05):

I just feel like that really was the turning point for people knowing how to purchase from me, if that makes sense. And then 2020 was a really big year. I don't know. Everyone was at home and I don't know if it was that or people really championed small businesses in 2020, but that was a really big year for me and it was really fun. It was electric and exciting and I tried some new products that year. I got into glassware more than just a big seller in the beginning was mugs, which I know is so silly to build a business off mugs. I still think it's very silly. But then in 2020 I started, I think it was 2020, maybe it was 2021, the end of 2020, early 2021, I started selling glassware, canned glasses and drinking glasses and those exploded as well. I feel like that was another turning point was when I brought in a new style of product that had more drawings on them. So before it was mugs with quotes and inspiring things and the glassware was more with flowers on them or different drawings, if that makes sense. And that really took off. So then I kind of shifted more towards those products, and so those I feel like are too big when I'm looking back, like turning points of, wow, okay, I wasn't expecting this, but let's run with it.

Shanna (22:26):

I found your little mugs for hallow or they were glasses. The glasses with the ghosts on them.

Rachel (22:33):

Oh yeah.

Shanna (22:34):

I'm so obsessed with those. They're so cute.

Rachel (22:36):

Oh, thanks. Thank you,

Shanna (22:38):

Rachel. It's fun. Has there ever been a point where it sounds like you're really in tune with your audience and creating things they enjoy and things you enjoy. Has there ever been a time in your business where you felt that connection was off, they're not resonating with the product or something felt off, or do you feel like it's been pretty steady growth?

Rachel (23:03):

No, I do actually, to be totally frank, this previous year, 2023 was definitely a harder year. And I don't know, I think there's a lot of factors that went into it. I think part of it is I had a baby in April and I dunno, two to three kids is just, it didn't feel hard. It just my margin and my ability to work went down a lot. I have no margin in my days anymore. Every minute is filled. I heard someone has told me several times that the most stressed out moms are moms of three kids. And I resonate with that I think because maybe by the time you have four kids, you have older kids, I don't know why, but they say,

Shanna (23:49):

Or you're done, you're just like, this is fine.

Rachel (23:52):

Three is the most stressful. I think you have three. When my third was born, we had a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old. And so it's like those are still pretty young ages. So I don't know if it was that transition to a family of five, which is, it is just a lot. It's just really tiring and prices for everything have increased for my business. And then as collectively as the world, everyone's prices have increased, and so I think

Shanna (24:21):

Your product goods cost more for you to make. Yes.

Rachel (24:24):

So I'm having to pay more to make everything and everyone else is paying more for groceries and gas and whatnot. And so I think

Shanna (24:33):

Perfect storm.

Rachel (24:34):

Yeah, sales went down and it was hard. I think I have felt like, am I doing something wrong or is this just the economy? And I think as I've talked to other business owners and as I've talked to people who have been in business longer than me, this is pretty common. It's very rare that every year you grow bigger. There are years where it ebbs and flows and every small business owner that I've talked to this last year was slower for them too. And so I think it is economy, I think it is my margin and my creativity

(25:09):

Decreased a little bit, which is I mentioned earlier I kind of called last year, my gap year, I took some pressure off myself. I did what I could do and I let that be enough, and that is something that I've just had to be okay with. Typically I'm very hard on myself and I don't accept anything but excellence in everything. And last year I just had to say my best is my best and that will be my excellence, and that's all I can do. I know that it won't always be this hard to get work done, and I know I won't be this mentally fatigued and it'll be easier one day I will have more space for creativity in another year. This isn't like, oh, I didn't do as good this year, then it's over. I'm quitting. It's done. We're over that. I can have a year where I pull back a little bit and I maybe don't release as many products, but that doesn't mean I'm a failure or it's over.

Shanna (26:13):

Yeah. That's so good. Thank you for sharing that.

Rachel (26:16):

Oh, thanks.

Shanna (26:17):

And I'm also interested, Rachel, only because I know you and your story and a little more, and because your business grew in the heyday of Instagram, how you have found to shift and stay connected with your audience as your main, what I think was your main marketing platform shifted and changed.

Rachel (26:45):

Yeah, that's another thing. I do feel like Instagram has changed a lot and as much as I've tried to keep up with it all, I've also had to accept that in that area too. I'm doing my best and I'm learning about it. I'm learning how to do my best, but I don't expect, it's never going to be what it was back in 2016, and that's okay. I've accepted that and that's fine. So that has helped me just, I mean, I definitely still focus on my email list and a new thing for shop owners. I'm doing text message marketing, so I think I've just had to try everything else. TikTok is definitely something I should probably be on as a shop owner. Everyone's like, yeah, you just blow up on TikTok. I don't have the margin for that in my life right now. Maybe one day I will, I just don't right now.

(27:39):

And so I've gotten to the place of, I am a mom of three running a business with an assistant, one assistant, and there's only so much I can do, so I'm going to show up the best that I can and that has to be enough right now. So with Instagram, anytime I open up about like, oh my gosh, Instagram is so different. This is so hard. Are my people still out there? I always get so many replies or so many comments, and so I do feel like my audience is still there. They might not find my content as easily, not showed to them as fast, but I do feel like they're still there and that I'm grateful for. I think that they, because I spent time building that heart connection that they want to be involved because they love me as a person. That sounds so cocky, but they want to be involved in my life, not just buying from

Shanna (28:43):

Me. Yeah, you built a relationship brand.

Rachel (28:47):

Yeah.

Shanna (28:47):

I love it. And I also wanted to kind of talk a little bit about the money side, just hearing, I love how you use the word margin and I think about there is a time money connection, money provides more freedom in our time or less time, maybe affects the margin we're making with our money. And I would be interested in these transitions when things are going great and your big fall launch and then in this previous season where I was just like my family this season of life, I need more time. I would love to hear just kind of talk about your relationship with money maybe as you were growing up before you started your business now, what do you feel like has come naturally as far as money or running a business and what would you say has been a struggle?

Rachel (29:40):

Well, money is probably the most toxic relationship I have in my life. I'm just kidding. I don't like money, Shannon. I do not. This is why you're in my life because I've never liked, money has always been very stressful for me. I never grew up, we were not poor, so it was never a stressful thing for me. But once I am in charge of the money, it is stressful for me and I prefer to just avoid it, to avoid it altogether. Thankfully, I married someone who is not like that, so he has helped me to really know where my money goes because if he's like, well, if you know where your money's going and we know what it's being spent on, then you can make a plan with it. If you just never look at it, that's really not going to do anything for you and you're just always going to be stressed out about it. So I feel like I'm still on my money journey of figuring out how to do it well in personal life and in business, but as the business owner, I have to be somewhat involved in it. I can't just be no eyes on it,

Shanna (30:41):

Especially because Rachel, you're buying inventory, which is a big expense before you ever see the money for that inventory. I feel like shop products and shops are, that's the hardest.

Rachel (30:55):

It is really hard

Shanna (30:56):

Thing to get.

Rachel (30:58):

Yeah, because it often is the sales determine how much then I can buy for the next launch, which determines how much I can buy for the next launch. So it is definitely, it's a tricky balance and dance to figure out where is the money going and where is it coming from and where are we spending it on because postage is also really expensive, so how much do we charge for shipping? But if you charge too much for shipping, then people aren't going to purchase because I don't want to pay for shipping either. Everybody's used to Amazon Prime, so it is complicated to run a product shop and have a profit margin. I do feel like that's really tough and I think people don't realize that because I'm not buying 3000 units from China, that's not what I'm buying. I'm buying much smaller units and they're being produced in the United States, so it's different and it is hard to figure out those profit margins and to figure out how do I price it so that it is going to sell, but I'm also making a profit from it because if I'm going to do this, I want it to support my family.

(31:58):

So it's tricky. I would not say I'm an expert on it. I feel like every year I have to learn more and then the economy determines how prices are always shifting too. The post office is always raising the rates, so I am still learning, but I think I'm at a point in my life, I've been alive long enough that I've learned something. My husband said to me when we were really poor when we first got married, and he was like, money always comes and goes. It is always coming in and it's always going out, and I don't know why, but that simple truth has brought me peace of if you're in a tough spot, it's probably not always going to be like that. And so you have to just be smart in those moments and trust that money will come and money will go, and it's not this thing to just let it have this really severe hold on your life because it's coming in, it's going at all times and it's not something that should be controlling everything about your life.

Shanna (32:59):

Yeah, that's so good. So good. Would you say that in these seasons, particularly last year where you had a baby, you're slowing down a little bit, have there been financial goals that you've set or this is how much I feel like I'm going to contribute that have helped you release the pressure to just do more?

Rachel (33:23):

I think once, if Joel and I sit down and talk about budgeting, which I hate to do, but I have to once, if we sit down and we're like, okay, you need to bring in this much for the month, that helps me have way more attainable goals of like, okay, I'm going to run this sale and I want to sell $1,200 worth of product. That really helps me because then I definitely, a downfall of mine is like I always want more. So even if I had a launch and it went really well, I am typically always a little disappointed because I'm always wanting more than what happened. And so I think if I run a sale and I'm seeing all these orders come in and it's like, okay, that's great, that's great, that's great. Okay, but how many more can we get? How many more can we get that it kind of creates this dissatisfaction of like, well, it's just never really meeting my expectations, but if I have these attainable goals of, okay, this weekend I want to bring in 50 orders, that's my goal.

(34:24):

That helps me market differently. It helps me see, okay, this many orders came in when I sent this type of email that worked, so how can I send one more of that type of email and how can I tweak it a little bit more to gain the other 50% that I need? And that really I think is where the sweet spot is for me of setting a realistic goal or if we want to take our kids to Disneyland, like, all right, I'm going to create this new product and 50% of the sales are going to go towards that trip that we want to do. That's really fun for me because then it's like this business is actually creating things for our life. It's not just this money in money out, money in, money out, sell the products, put the money back in, so there's more meaning to it, I think.

Shanna (35:10):

Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I feel the exact same way. That's why I love setting financial goals and not even just a numbers goal like self at units, but yeah, just knowing I want to contribute this much towards this trip or to our household or it gives me a lot of freedom. So that's

Rachel (35:29):

How I was.

Shanna (35:30):

It

Rachel (35:30):

Was because then once you get there, you can be like, I did so good. I'm done. I don't have to.

Shanna (35:35):

And you can feel done puzzle feel, and so I love that idea of smaller attainable this weekend I want to do this. Of course, I always set a big goal for the year for sales, but it's like, I really love the idea of this weekend I want to do this, or this month I'm contributing this. I think that's cool to hear how that works for you and your brain. You might have already said this with what your husband told you a few years ago, but I do want to ask, what would you say is the best thing you have learned about money?

Rachel (36:06):

I think that is probably what I would say. That money comes and goes, and I don't know why, but that that simple statement brings me peace. I do get stressed about money, and so when I realized that, I'm like, it's always coming and going. You just have to know where it's going and figure out if it's going the right places.

Shanna (36:26):

Yeah, I love that. We've already talked about this a little bit, but I want to ask the question just in case there's anything you want to add. How have you seen your business shift in different seasons of life?

Rachel (36:38):

Yeah. I think becoming a mom obviously was the biggest shift, but I think becoming a mom of multiples has been bigger shift of like, okay, when I had my first, I worked every single day. Every time he napped, I was working. I didn't really need work hours because he took multiple naps a day or he was taking a three hour nap every day. So I had plenty of work hours and I had lots of options that I could do for my business. I was blogging then and I had so many things I could do. Then once I had a second kid, it was like, okay, I have to have work hours, and when she's napping, he no longer naps because he's three now. So I didn't have downtime every day to work. So I think that has been the biggest shift of becoming a mom and figuring out when do I work and what am I going to focus on?

(37:30):

The farther I've gotten in business, the less I'm doing now at this point in my business, almost nine years, I'm doing the least I've done in years past and I've accepted that. I've accepted that this is the season I'm in. I have chosen to have three kids up until now and I don't. This is what we've chosen for our family, and this is what I'm going to do for my business. This is our goals for my business and what it's going to contribute to our family in several years. I'm sure I will be able to work more and I'll be able to add more things back to my business that I love to do and that I'm passionate about, but this is what I'm doing right now, and it's just the shop. And so I think that big transition happened more in 2020 when my daughter was born, and that was hard for me.

(38:17):

It felt like failure because I just hard on myself and I don't like it when I have to cut things out, but I've just accepted that this is such a small season of my life of having young kids, and I don't want to have regrets with that. And so for me personally, this is no judgment on anyone who works and has young kids. I want to make that clear, but for me, that shift of work is like, okay, I'm just working less right now. I'm in a season where I'm working less, and that is hard for me, and I think it's like I am a woman of faith, so God is very big in my business, and I think it's a lesson that I need to learn that my worth is not determined by how much I'm working and how much my business is growing, that it's like I've needed to pull back to realize that who I am is enough regardless of what I'm doing in my life. And so I think it's something I've needed to do. I've needed to shift a little bit in the business and find that balance between being ambitious and having big goals, but also being at peace and content and grateful for what it's at right now.

Shanna (39:27):

Yeah, I love it. Thank you for sharing that. On that same note, in a world that asks us to do everything really well, and maybe you're like me, sounds like you're in your head about you should be able to do everything well. How have you been able to find harmony or how are you actively trying to find harmony between work and life? Are there any specific things you put in place that have helped you, or especially as a mom of three now?

Rachel (40:00):

Yeah, I think I've mean to not sound like a broken record, I'm just doing less in every area. So I feel like when we had one kid, we would have people over for dinner twice a week, and now we just don't have that in our life anymore. I can do one night a week, I can do something, especially on the weekdays. We have a kid in school now. It's just different. I can't give as much outside my family. I feel like that's one thing and I have to be really planned. My days are very planned every day I have a to-do list for my life, not just the business. It's like empty the dishwasher, make the beds, sweep the floor, go to Target, do this errand for business. Just everything is very more regimented now. I don't have a lot of flexibility in my life.

(40:54):

The weekends, it's like that's when the chores happen, that's when the grocery shopping happens. That's when the meal planning happens. So I think that's one thing that I've had to really more focus on of I have to not let things go, if that makes sense. I can't just like, I'm not going to go grocery shopping this weekend, but that means we don't have lunch for Knox on Monday for school. I have to do those things now. And that has been hard for me, but I think I'm getting more into my routine of like, okay, this is the stuff that has to happen on the weekends. This is what has to happen during the week. And that has, I think, helped me find more harmony, and I've just gotten more used to every day that has to be done. There's laundry that has to be done every day. There's chores that have to be done every day, and now that I'm more in that routine, I think that's helpful. But after I had my third baby, it was like, okay, this is different.

Shanna (41:44):

I

Rachel (41:44):

Can't just chill out every night. So that's probably my biggest lesson, I think is finding harmony is just being on top of things,

Shanna (41:56):

And I think it's so healthy. You've said this a lot, recognizing everything is a season and how you want to show up in that season. So

Rachel (42:07):

Good. Yeah, absolutely.

Shanna (42:08):

Rachel, this is so fun. I want to do kind of a quick fire round. These are just fun. Okay, first one, what is one thing you would be embarrassed that people knew?

Rachel (42:20):

Oh gosh. Okay. The first thing that comes to mind is I'm a big Bravo TV fan. And not only that, well, I love The Housewives one specific, and then I listen to a podcast about someone who recaps the episodes, which is on my, it's my thing I'll do today because I just watched the episode last night, and then I'll listen to his podcast today and it brings me so much joy, insane amount of joy

Shanna (42:52):

That makes me so happy.

Rachel (42:54):

It's slightly embarrassing, but it's very entertaining and I love

Shanna (42:57):

It. And also it's probably, it's not heavy. It's light. Oh, yeah, yeah.

Rachel (43:04):

It's just funny. So they're just so insanely dramatic and it's just wonderful to watch other people's drama. Oh

Shanna (43:16):

Man. That's awesome. Okay. Any regrets or wish you could do over moments

Rachel (43:21):

In business or just in life?

Shanna (43:23):

Either way.

Rachel (43:24):

Okay, I'll go business. I feel like when I started onboarding team members and I had to train them, they mostly have done packaging and customer support for me. My most recent one, now the one I have right now, she's been with me the longest. When I started with her, I was really intense with her because I had had many previous assistants who never quite did it how I wanted them to do it, and then I don't like to correct people, so I wanted to get it right the first time, so then I wouldn't have to correct it. But then I went way too intense with her and it started things out very rough. We've talked about this, so she hears this, she'll probably laugh, but I was so intense with her of like, this is what you need to do and this is how fast you should package orders. And I was really intense with her and it started our working relationship off rough and caused me a lot of stress. And so I wish I could do that over because I think I just went too hard with her. But we have since figured it all out and she's wonderful.

Shanna (44:24):

Yeah, I think that is, I'm so glad that you brought that up because I think it's really hard to figure out that dynamic.

Rachel (44:32):

Oh my gosh, it's so hard. The manager role, it's not my skillset.

Shanna (44:35):

Yeah, it's like you don't want to feel taken advantage of, so you want to be kind of seen as the boss, but you don't want to be seen as the boss. You want to be seen as the friend. It's just such a weird, weird,

Rachel (44:46):

At the beginning I was like, you can watch shows while you're packaging. It's totally fine. And then things would get messed up a lot, and I was like, okay, but then now I don't want to correct. I don't like to correct people. So I was like, with this new one, Tristan, I'm going to just give her all my expectations on day one. And then that was too intense, so I've definitely learned from it.

Shanna (45:09):

Yeah, trial and error.

Rachel (45:11):

Yes.

Shanna (45:12):

All right. Tell us about a big win or pinch me moment.

Rachel (45:16):

Do you know Peloton at all?

Shanna (45:18):

Yes.

Rachel (45:19):

Okay. Well, I have a Peloton and I love my Peloton, and there's one specific instructor, Emma Lovewell, who I adore, and she like a plant lady. And so once I started making my canned glasses, I made one with Monstera leaves wrapped around it, and my sister actually gave me an idea. She was like, you should send one to Emma. And so I emailed her team and they sent me her address, and then she shared it on her Instagram story, and it was definitely a pinch me moment. Celebr,

Shanna (45:46):

You said, this is so celebrity,

Rachel (45:48):

Which she's not really a celebrity, but she kind of is in my world, so it felt really That's awesome. And I made her a calligraphy print that says, her tagline is Live, learn love. Well, and so I made her that print and she never tags me, but I often, it's at her desk and I see her pictures with it at her desk, and so that feels like I'm influencing her life even though she doesn't really probably remember who I am, but I am there with her.

Shanna (46:14):

That's awesome. Now she'll know. Okay. Best advice or just really good advice that you have received?

Rachel (46:22):

I think that for everything there is a season, and for better or worse, the good times always end and the hard times always end, and I think that has always brought me comfort in hard times and helped me appreciate the good times on a deeper level to be more present when things are easy and wonderful and precious, to really just revel in that. And then when things are really hard to remember, this too shall pass, and this season will not be forever. You will not feel this way every single day of your life, and that I think is something I fall both remembering those two things. I fall back on a lot.

Shanna (47:01):

Yeah. I love it. Okay, last quick fire and then we'll send it off. What are you working on now or one resource that you would like to share?

Rachel (47:10):

Plus, you heard me say my Valentine's Day products aren't even here yet, but I'm not working on those anymore. They're done. They're just in production. Probably by the time this releases, I will either be releasing, it'll probably be around the time my spring products release, which is one of my favorite product launches. I love flowers and I love Spring. I hate winter, so that would be one thing that we'll be working on soon. That's like in the next couple of weeks I'll be starting to design all those products.

Shanna (47:38):

So exciting. Spring will be here before we know it.

Rachel (47:41):

I know I can't wait.

Shanna (47:44):

Okay, let's send it off. Send

Rachel (47:46):

It off. Thanks so much for having me. This is delightful.

Shanna (47:49):

It's been so fun. Nine years. Looking back, nine years when you quit your job, didn't have another job, what would you tell yourself when you're like, Hey, I'm going to turn this into a business. What would you tell yourself on day one?

Rachel (48:05):

That failure is a sign of progress and that you to not be afraid of things failing or feeling like it's failing, that you're always moving forward even with failure because you're learning from it and you're learning like, oh, that didn't work. Okay. People don't want that. And to not let failure stop you from moving forward that when things aren't working, that doesn't mean it's time to quit. It just mean it's time to try something newer to pivot

Shanna (48:34):

And

Rachel (48:35):

To remember that, to just keep going. Just don't give up. Going

Shanna (48:39):

So good. Yes. Failure I think is something we talk about a lot and say these things to, but for someone who is a perfectionist internally and in all the ways, really, but I will just know I'll always be harder on myself than anyone could be on me.

Rachel (48:57):

Absolutely. 100%

Shanna (48:58):

Failure is tough, and it's hard to just let that be like, okay, let's learn from this. I'm like, that really sounds good, but it does not feel good. Yeah. This is good. Rachel, thank you for hanging out.

Rachel (49:12):

Thank you for having me. Me this delight.

Shanna (49:15):

I miss you too. I love your products. I hope you know that, and I love that they exude joy and peace and comfort and the mission that you've shared several times. It's just to think about that when you're drinking your coffee or getting up in the morning and having a glass of water and using your products. I truly see that your mission is being lived out, so thanks for the good you're putting in the world.

Rachel (49:44):

Thanks. I appreciate you. Thanks for the good you're putting into the world.

Shanna (49:51):

Hey, wildflower, you just finished another episode of Consider the Wildflowers, the podcast. Head over to consider the wildflowers podcast.com for show notes, resource links, and to learn how you can connect with Rachel. One final thought for today from Art Buchwald, whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got. As always, thank you for listening. I'll see you next time.