How to Turn a Side Hustle Into a Thriving Business with Andee Hart

Kathryn Finney: in. Okay. Andee Hart: Perfect. Kathryn Finney: Welcome back to Build the Damn Thing, the podcast where we help underestimated founders use entrepreneurship to build the life and legacy you deserve. I'm your host, Catherine Finney. Today's guest is Andy Hart, sales strategist, mentor, and host of SheSalesDifferently. Andy went from a Fortune 500 sales exec to full-time founder of Hart Design Co., a candy, I know I was gonna say candy. Kathryn Finney: Today's guest is Andy Hart, sales strategist, mentor, and host of SheSales Differently. Andy went from a Fortune 500 sales exec to a full-time founder. Kathryn Finney: Today's guest is Andy Hart, sales strategist, mentor, and host of SheSalesDifferently. Andy went from a Fortune 500 sales exec to full-time founder of Hart Design Co., a candle brand that turned a kitchen side hustle into a thriving wholesale business. So if you're looking for tips on how to turn your side gig into your main gig, this is the episode for you. Welcome, Andy. It's so great to have you. Andee Hart: Thanks for having me, Catherine. I'm so blessed to be here. Kathryn Finney: So tell me a little bit about your journey. I know that you are relatively new to the entrepreneurial journey and a lot of our listeners are also relatively new. tell us a little bit about how you sort of got into entrepreneurship. Andee Hart: Yeah, so I will say, so I'm about to hit my two year mark. So it's still, it still is relatively new, but entrepreneurship has run in my blood, if you will. Everyone in my family has started a business of some sort, all the way from my grandparents down. So I think it is really just running my family. And I was the one that went. into corporate America. And I'm so thankful for that because it really set a foundation for the skills that I really needed to learn to have. Kathryn Finney: What did you learn from being in corporate America? Andee Hart: I will really say scrappy sales skills. Yeah, I'll also say thick skin. I haven't always had that. I'm probably more sensitive by nature. But when I say thick skin, I mean, I'm inquisitive and I'm a learner. And so when I don't understand something or when someone would Kathryn Finney: And that's crucial in entrepreneurship. Andee Hart: challenge me, I would always dig in and say, well, what do you mean by that? Tell me, you know? And so I remember when I first went into field based sales in my first with my first fortune 500 company and I was paired with a, we were one to one. was my systems consultant. So he was very, very technical and he had been doing this for years. And I was the sales executive and he would challenge me and why did you do that? After we left a sales meeting and I was like, well, what do you mean? He taught me so much about sales, but he was, he would do it in a way though. Sometimes he would, to the average person, it could be intimidating, right? And it would be insulting. But to me, I was like, no, no, no, tell me what you mean. I want to learn. It made me into a much better salesperson than had I just cowered and got my feelings hurt, right? And so I developed that thick skin and we developed such a great working relationship. And through that, I truly believe it made me into the salesperson that I am today. Yeah. Kathryn Finney: What was the number one sales tip you learned that you now apply in entrepreneurship? Andee Hart: Yeah. So I would say from him, it was to have a simple, consistent, repeatable framework that you apply when you're working. I mean, we were negotiating and working very complex, multi-million dollar deals. And so when I say complex, I'm talking, you know, technology deals that, and we're architecting these deals. And so maybe we're not doing that in entrepreneurship. But how that applies is when you are selling something, you have a framework that when you present it and you work through the sales process, it's consistent, it's repeatable, and it won these deals time and time again from how you present it to the customer to the email framework that you use and the sales copy to how you follow up and how you present it in a sales meeting to even, you know, what you do after you, they signed the PO, what's the onboarding process look like? So just having a consistent, simple, repeatable framework. I always just remember that in my head that that is what scales and that is what I have implemented and brought into being an entrepreneur. And it's proven successful as well. Kathryn Finney: get started on the framework. Where do you even start in building your framework? Andee Hart: Yeah, that's a great question. think that Catherine, that's one thing that you can try something, right? And it's not always going to work at the beginning. And this is something that's important to remember because whatever industry you're in as an entrepreneur, whatever business that you're building, whatever you're trying at first, whatever framework you're building, it may not work at first, but here's another great lesson I learned in sales. You can't give up. Right? You may tweak that framework. If you're not getting the results that you want, you may try something different. And so what I always do is you implement a framework, you track the data, right? And so how many email signups are you getting? How many conversions are you getting? And don't change everything at once if you're not getting the results you want, but change one little piece of that framework, one little piece. It could be a lead magnet, right? The lead magnet that you're putting out there and see if that changes. Ooh, that's a great question. I'm putting a lot. It's not. It's not. And so for the newbies out there, what a lead magnet is in very, very simple terms, a lead magnet is a piece of free content that is Kathryn Finney: And what is a lead magnet? It's not a magnet that you put on your refrigerator. Andee Hart: very valuable to your ideal customer that you put out there. It could be on social media. It could be in paid ads on Facebook. It could be to an email list. You could put it out there with, it. I will offer your audience here on the podcast, one of my lead magnets, an ultimate list of sales tools, right? But what happens is when they hit that link, they list their first name and their email address in exchange for that content, that valuable content. And what that does is it builds my email list. And so that is a way to build your leads for your business. And that is why you call it a lead magnet because it is a way to magnetize leads to your business. Kathryn Finney: And it doesn't have to be that grand, right? It can just be a simple list. It could be a one or two page PDF. We're now in the world of chat GPT. So you have AI help to help you generate this lead magnet. But it has to be something that your ideal client customer finds valuable. Andee Hart: No. Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Andee Hart: Yeah! Kathryn Finney: I think in terms of retail, right, people we often think of lead magnets or lost leaders, right, is the thing that gets you in the store. So, you know, your favorite brand of soda is it's 10 cents. It's not I don't think anything's 10 cents anymore, but, you know, it's 10 cents to get you in the door so that you buy the higher price, higher margin things. And so you you're the sell strategist. You are working on multimillion dollar deals. What was the catalyst? Andee Hart: Yes. Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Andee Hart: Hehehehe Andee Hart: All Kathryn Finney: to get you into entrepreneurship. Andee Hart: Yeah. So this was around the pandemic, you know, we're all quarantining at home and I've always loved creating and making beautiful things, crafts, hobbies, you know, and I just one night was like, I'm going to start making candles. Just, yeah, right. I did, I did make that too. Let's be real. But, um, so I started making candles and giving them to friends and family. Cause like I said, we're all, you know, quarantining at home and the feedback. Kathryn Finney: Not sourdough bread like everyone else who likes candles. Yes. Andee Hart: that I received was these are amazing candles. You should start selling them. Well, my sales brain is like, okay, I should. Right. And so I put them at a general store down the street and they just sold like hotcakes. Well, I ended up starting to wholesale them, which for those that don't know, wholesaling is essentially selling them in bulk. to a retailer or a store, a boutique, and then they sell them at retail price. And so it is a way to sell your product in masses and sell them directly to a business, and then they sell them directly to a consumer. And so I set a goal to have, I think this was 2021, to have my candles in four retail shops by the end of that year. And within three, months, I had 120 accounts. And I think people are like, that's amazing. Like, wow. I still had my full time job and I was completely overwhelmed. it was probably more of a headache and problem than anything, but I ended up hiring. My first hire was my sweet next door neighbor that was in high school and she would come over while I was still at my day job. and set up all of the candles for me to come home and pour later that day, like when I got home at night. And then I hired a lady from my church and she ended up working for me full time and was my operations manager until just a few months ago when I actually moved to a new city to be closer to family. And it was just, the Lord just provided through all of that, but we have just continued to expand since then. with more and more retailers. yeah, it's been quite the adventure to say the least. Kathryn Finney: You know, it's interesting you brought up something that has come up quite a bit on the podcast when talking with entrepreneurs who sort of started from a side business, hide hustle, and then grew. And one of the themes has been starting local, meaning Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Kathryn Finney: When you're first getting started, you have this product, you go to your local business, your local boutique, your local, the people who kind of know you, and you put it in that local store, that local brand. And then you see how people sort of respond. And every entrepreneur we've had on Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Kathryn Finney: has done that and it's yielded quite a bit of success. What were the things you learned from starting Loco rather than just putting it on a website and trying to go big right away? Andee Hart: Yes. So one of the things I learned was my branding when I first started was terrible. Just it. Kathryn Finney: How did you learn that? it like the customers said it was bad? The stores said it was bad. Andee Hart: Yeah, so I it was more of a I had a booth. So it was kind of like a consignment type thing, which is different than wholesale. But the lady that worked at the store, she gave me that feedback. So it was really, really helpful. And she said, Hey, the things that the customers are saying is the the branding is not quite what they want. And what we determined she gave me this great feedback. She said, I think If you were, lived in North Carolina at the time and she said, what if you created some North Carolina branded candles? That made all the difference. I changed my labels and made them more upscale and started outsourcing my labels. And then I created an Outer Banks candle. It's to this day, hands down, one of my top sellers. so things like that, when you get feedback and I've always asked for feedback. One of my dream retailers that I pitched, she gave, she never carried my candles, but she gave me some of the most valuable feedback to this day about my labels. And I've since upgraded again. Um, and it was that my labels look cheap and that was hard to hear, but she was a local retailer. And so I, to answer your question, When you get that direct feedback and you're able to interact with your customers, that is gold. That is gold. But you have to have the mindset that this is not about you. This is not personal. This is gold for you to take back and make your product or your business or your offer that much better for your ideal. customer. So you have to have that mindset. Kathryn Finney: You know, in my book, I call it the ugly baby test. You know, everyone thinks their baby is beautiful. I mean, all human babies are beautiful. I'm talking about corporate company babies, but you know, everyone thinks their babies are beautiful, their companies are beautiful, that their product is great. And you really cannot grow and scale as an entrepreneur until you get that feedback, that honest feedback that helps you Andee Hart: Yeah, yeah. Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Kathryn Finney: really turn it to being great. And so how did you have really the confidence to listen? Was this a skill you've always had? Did you have to develop that listening skill? Andee Hart: Yeah. Andee Hart: You know, I think this goes back to the skill that I developed in corporate America that I was talking about early on when I was first out in field sales and my peer was like, why did you do that? And I was like, you know, but I saw that when I dug in and I was like, no, give me feedback. I want that feedback. And it made me so much better that when I dug in and I kept asking that that feedback was gold. And so I took that even like it's kind of it was like subconsciously ingrained in me. And I took that into my entrepreneurship role. I was like and it's I will say it's harder because in this role, these are products that I made with my own two hands. And so it does feel more personal, you know. And it's also a business that I've crafted and put my blood, sweat and tears into. And so it is a lot harder because it is more personal. But when you consciously say, this is not personal, this is actually kindness for them to give me feedback. And for me to take that and to go implement it. and make my product offering even better than doing your business and making and creating a product offering that is better is doing business with excellence. And that is what I want to be about, you know? And so that is just the mindset shift that I've always had. And I think it really goes back to kind of that core lesson that I started to learn early on in corporate America. Kathryn Finney: Yeah, I think feedback as kindness is something that is kind of hard for people to sort of accept, right? But if someone's taking the time out to give you thoughtful, constructive feedback, not negative feedback, but thoughtful, constructive feedback, especially from your customers, I think that's very, important to develop. Andee Hart: yeah. Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Yes, that's key. Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Kathryn Finney: that listening skill and it can be really hard because we don't want to hear that our baby's ugly, right? Or that our baby needs some enhancement, some improvement. And so you are at your local store and now you're starting to get a lot of sales. How do you go from store one to even store number five? Andee Hart: I know. Andee Hart: Yeah. Andee Hart: yeah, this is where the consistency and the not giving up that this comes into play. And this I think is such a crucial lesson for any entrepreneur. And let me interject here and say, I mentioned that everyone in my family is an entrepreneur. And I remember early on in about two years ago, right? When I first started as an entrepreneur and having lunch with my brother. and him sitting across the table from me and saying, Andy, don't give up. Never, never, never give up. And then he kept on going, no, don't ever give up. And I was like, OK, like chill. Now I know what he meant. Because there are days where you're like, ugh, you know. But I also remember back when I first started sending email pitches to retailers. Now some of these retailers, I went Kathryn Finney: Yeah, yeah. Andee Hart: into the store in person, like if they were local or somewhere where I was in person and I would, now if it was a busy Saturday, I would never do this, but if it was on a Tuesday afternoon, it wasn't busy. I would just ask if the owner or the buyer was there and tell them about my products and ask if I could bring by some samples or if I had some, would leave them or leave my card. That is the best way because you can, you know, usually you have a pretty good conversion rate there, but you can't do that with retailers all across America, right? Or whatever country you're in. So I started sending pitch emails and I would just find retailers. have different ways that I find retailers and I would send them a personalized, not a mass cold, you know, email to a hundred retailers, would send them a personalized pitch email and I would identify something specifically about their store that I had found and how my products would be a good fit and a benefit for them, how they would sell well in their store. And for the first month, I really heard crickets. I had to really refine my pitch. But the second month, I think I had like four retailers and then I finally just hit the jackpot on my pitch. And I crafted an email that just made it easy for retailers to do business with me. It made it easy for them to order. And I just was consistent. I sent about 10 to 20 emails a day and that compound effect. just paid off. And so that's really how I got my start, but it takes consistency and it takes not giving up. And what I see is most people, they'll send about 10 emails and then they'll be like, Andy, I haven't gotten any orders. And I'm like, well, how many emails have you sent? 10. Okay. Well, that's why, you know, so. Kathryn Finney: What was it about your emails specifically? Because I think a lot of folks are kind of at that 10 email mark, right? And what was it? What was in that email that made it easy for them to say yes? Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Yep. So I'll give you a couple of, I'll give you three things. So one is the, a lot of people make a mistake of making any, any product or, or offer that you're pitching any kind of sales copy or email. They make it a mistake of making the email about them and their brand. Hey, let me tell you about what I do, what I offer. Naturally as human beings, we about ourselves. And so what I try to do is find something personal about that boutique or that brand and focus on that and make it about them. How my brand would help them, how it would benefit them. And that makes all the difference. The second thing is, is anytime you're talking about your product and how it will benefit them, You don't want to talk about features and that is just a classic sales 101, right? So for example, when I'm talking about a candle, I see this all the time. Candle makers will talk about it's soy wax and a cotton braided wick and blah, blah. And I'm like, no one, no one's buying it because it's a cotton braided wick and soy wax. What they're, why they're buying it is because you know, it's creating a cozy aroma in your home at night with lavender that creates a soft escape while you take a bubble bath. You know? Yeah. So that's the difference. Now that's more of like a direct to consumer, you know, but you can think about how you would articulate that to a retailer. But what they care about is that it's gonna sell. Kathryn Finney: I that, a soft escape. Andee Hart: in their shop. so, you know, that is so number one, making it about them. Number two, not talking about features and then number three, and I alluded this earlier, but making it easy for them to do business with you. So don't make them go hunt down the link or how to order from you. Like have that like very clearly in your email. Don't, you know, if you're following up with them, don't have it down in the email thread like Put it right there. Or if you don't have a line sheet, you don't have to have a line sheet. But just make it very clear and easy. Don't make them hunt for how to order from you. Just make it simple and clear. So yes. Kathryn Finney: Keep it simple, stupid. Like, I mean, it's kiss. Like, keep it very simple. Did you have anyone review your emails before you sent them out? Did you just crafted them yourself? Andee Hart: Yes, I did. like I said, my first emails were obviously not getting the result I wanted. So I would just slowly change a little bit. And that's when I started to get the responses I wanted. And then that's when I was like, OK, now I'm on to something. And that's what I teach now. teach and a lot of my clients are candle makers because they've seen what I've done. And so. teaching them how to find retailers, how to pitch them their candles or, you know, not have other product makers, but now that I've figured out the magic formula, it makes it a lot easier. You can kind of take the guesswork out of it, you know. Kathryn Finney: mean, how do you differentiate yourself in a market like, there's a lot of candles, right, out there. How do you set yourself apart from all the other candle makers? Andee Hart: yeah. Andee Hart: This is such a great question. I used to joke, I still do, but everyone, I wish I had a dollar every time someone was like, the candle market's so saturated. You could say that about any industry really, but also the candle market is growing considerably year over year and the candle market is consumable. So you think about how many candle, I mean, you burn a candle, you're gonna go buy another one, right? But also each of my clients that I talk to, they all have a different niche. Like I have one client, she is very focused on non-toxic oils. mean, she goes to lengths to find the cleanest burning fragrance oils that are plant-based and beeswax. because her husband gets headaches. And so that's her niche. And then I have another client, her husband's in the military. So all of her branding is military based. And so everyone has a different niche and they all sell really well because there's a focus for everyone. I'm very gift based. You know, my candles have, they're reusable. wooden dough bowls that have a bright big bow and gift label on them. And so you can separate yourself by focusing on a very specific niche. And then one of the things that I teach, have a, it's called a five retailers in five days challenge. It's a great way to dip your toe into wholesaling. But on day one, what I teach is creating your one sentence unique selling proposition. So how do you set yourself apart in a crowded market exactly like what you just said? Kathryn Finney: Your one sentence. I think that's really important. Like what makes you unique? What makes your product unique? What makes what's your secret sauce? I think a lot of entrepreneurs and I think I know a lot of entrepreneurs have a lot of anxiety around selling. It's really hard to tell. How does one sort of get around it? Let's say you're a shy person by nature. You're an introvert by nature. Andee Hart: Yeah. Andee Hart: Yeah. Andee Hart: yeah. Kathryn Finney: but you have this awesome candle brand that you are building or maybe your awesome sneaker brand, whatever it is, you're building this incredible product and you need to go into that store like you did. How do you gather the confidence to walk into that store and to pitch your product? Andee Hart: and Andee Hart: Mm. Andee Hart: I love this question. So first let me say this, that no matter who you are, I truly believe that you can be a great salesperson, whether you are very outgoing or you're very introverted. Some of the best salespeople that I have seen are the most introverted salespeople. And I will tell you this, it's because They are genuine and they know how to connect with people. And so I love to just dispel that myth that you have to be loud and gregarious to be a great salesperson because it's just not true. So I truly believe that you can just lean into who God created you to be and your authentic personality. And if you are just genuine and kind and you sell with integrity, then you will be a great salesperson. Now to get the confidence to walk in a store, here's something that I always, I always admit because I've been in sales for 19 years now. And guess what? I still, as many times I've walked in a boardroom with C level executives hundreds of times and run meetings like that. And Even walking into a boutique, I still get a little bit like, you know, so I get it. get it. but this is what I always say and it sounds very simple, but it's so true. 10 seconds of courage. You can do anything with just 10 seconds of courage. And here's the reality. Retailers, boutique owners, or whoever you're pitching your product to, they actually need. Kathryn Finney: Yeah. Andee Hart: what you have to offer. They need you to come in and show them your product. Because when you have a product that offers value, you owe it to them to share about it. They need your product. And the worst thing that can happen, I always think of this, the worst thing that can happen is they say no. And guess what? I have never ever had a retailer that has said no to me when I have walked in their shop. They may have said, hey, send me some products. I'll take a look at it. And it might not have been the right time for them to purchase. And so I always say, sometimes no means not yet because they need to sell through their current inventory and that's normal. Right. But that just means you need to follow up because you need to be top of mind and that is serving your retailer. Well, that's being professional. And so it just takes 10 seconds of courage. for you to walk in and tell them about your product because they actually need to hear about it. And I've had so many retailers that are like, thank you for stopping by. Thank you. So. Kathryn Finney: You know, it's so interesting, you bring up a point. We haven't talked a lot about this in the podcast, this season in particular, but timing. The importance of timing. And in the context of retail, is there a way to find out when is the right time to go into a retailer to sell? Is there certain times of year where retailers are Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Kathryn Finney: buying more, they're looking for more inventory and how do you find that out and how do you time your pitch to the time in which they're buying? Andee Hart: Yeah, what an insightful question. I actually have a really great resource for this. As we were talking about lead magnets, this is probably my number one lead magnet. And it is a wholesale planning, a strategic planner. And that's exactly what it is for. Now it offers some more insight than just timing. But it is a whole calendar. 12 months worth of data, but it gives you insight of when you should be pitching each month and what seasonal products you should be pitching. So for example, you wouldn't realize this, but January is actually a big month for wholesale brands because your retailers are flushed with cash from the holidays. So that's a great month to be pitching. Kathryn Finney: That makes sense. Andee Hart: retailers. Now, a lot of your retailers will be they might be at Atlanta or Dallas market. So those are the big in person retail markets. So you want to know when those markets are and I have those listed on on the calendar because if you go in in the shop or if you send an email while they're away, guess what, you're not going to get a response. And so if you think, you know, I'm going to walk in the store and get the owner or the buyer. They're not going to be there. and, and then if you, if you send, or if you walk in the store and they just got back from market, they will have already done all of their buying. So, you know, it's good to know those dates and know what your retailers are looking for when, and you know, to know, Hey, you want to start pitching your fall items in like, June and July because that's when they're buying, you know, or even earlier, that's when they're buying for the fall and for holiday. If you wait till August, that's too late, right? And so there are several months ahead. So that is what, and I'm happy to send you the link for that if anyone would like that, yeah. Kathryn Finney: Yeah, please. And you also talk, so we covered timing and thank you for sharing that. Cause I think that's something that a lot of new entrepreneurs don't think about is timing the sale, right? Like your sale, particularly when you're in your wholesale and timing it to when your customer is actually buying. But that's also true when you're B2C business, you know, business to cut to the consumer. You, still need to tie it, time it to when they're actually selling, right? You wouldn't sell shorts. Andee Hart: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Kathryn Finney: necessarily in November, because most people are not buying shorts in November unless they're headed out to an amazing vacation. But you time your product to when your customer is buying. Or at least you time your pitch to when your customer is actually interested and most interested in buying it. And so what has been one mistake that you've seen either your clients make or you've made Andee Hart: Right. Kathryn Finney: sort of in developing this sort of wholesale business. Andee Hart: Yeah, I would say probably one of the biggest mistakes is that transition from they are used to selling direct to consumer and now they have to shift, make that shift to wholesale and the timing is so different there. for example, and a lot of time actually I would say usually 100 % of the time you are still selling direct to consumer on your website or even in person somewhere, maybe at markets or pop-up markets or something like that. So you're used to that. Now you have to prepare and make inventory months in advance. And not only prepare and make inventory, but you're talking about product photography, product listings, getting everything. uploaded and enlisted on your website, search engine optimization, all of your marketing materials and have all of that ready for your retailers. Four to six months ahead of when you ever thought you had to have that before you started wholesaling. That's the mistake I see every new wholesaler make and they get to like right now we're in September and they're just starting to think about what am I going to make for the holidays? I've been selling holiday candles for months now and so you're well behind the game. I'm already thinking about my spring candles right now. The the problem there I always joke is that I've been ready for the fall seed like fall like weather since like April. So that's what happens when you become a wholesaler. that's, yeah, that's the biggest mistake, I see, that is made. Kathryn Finney: So it's really understanding the sales cycle and really understanding the calendar and getting ahead of the season, getting ahead of the sales cycle. if you know, December, November, December sort of holiday sort of season, at least here in the U S if you know that is coming up, you really need to have started thinking about it probably in February of. Andee Hart: Yeah. Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Kathryn Finney: the year before or earlier the year in February to really get because to do all, like you said, all the line sheets, the product sheets, all of those things take quite a bit of time to actually do. And then you still need to get it to them several months before. then purchasing decisions are not quick, especially now in the economy that we're in now, people are not especially. Andee Hart: Yeah Andee Hart: Yeah. Kathryn Finney: fellow business owners, they're really thoughtful about the purchases that they're making. So you have to also give them some time. You got to build that in time for them to consider your product and at least be able to choose. then you have to make it. I'm assuming that you, and please correct me if I'm wrong. You don't make the candles from a wholesale perspective until you get the order in, or do you make it before you get the orders in? Andee Hart: Yeah. Andee Hart: So I do keep a decent amount of inventory just because I have been doing it for several years now. So I can plan pretty well. I can plan pretty well of what I'm going to sell year over year. I don't necessarily keep, know, some things I will need to make as they come in and I can make them, you know, pretty quickly. I have people that work for me, but I... I do keep a decent amount of inventory on hand, especially of my best sellers. so yeah, it just kind of varies between what skew we're looking at. Kathryn Finney: How do you figure out how much inventory to keep on hand? Andee Hart: yeah, that's another great question. So I usually look at what I sold this time last year in that SKU. now this is if, yeah, so a SKU is a product variant. So it would be like, for instance, Balsam Fir is one of my best selling holiday candles. And I sell it in a wooden dough bowl. And then I sell a, Kathryn Finney: And the skew is, what is the skew? Just for people who don't know. Andee Hart: point of purchase or travel, four ounce travel tin. Those are the only two vessels that I sell. And so this would be one skew balsam fir and then the doble would be a different skew. So I'll take a look at those two skews and then I'll generally add on a growth number percentage depending on the economy, depending on how much advertising I'm doing. So maybe it's a 10 % year over year growth number. And then that is how much I can see how much I did in September of last year. And that's generally how much inventory I'm going to need this year. Now, there could be some big variants in there if a retailer comes and they need a big order. That's going to be a huge, you know, last year I had a retailer come and they placed a $10,000 order. Well, that's. That's a huge variant that I had to account for. So that threw a wrench in my inventory. So you just have to be flexible in that. But that's how I plan for inventory. Kathryn Finney: And it's a $10,000 wholesale order, right? Which means that retail, was much, yeah, much more. Cause usually for those who don't know wholesale, they purchase it at a lower price than they do. What is called, I think they still use this keystone pricing, whatever the multiple the store needs to make in order for them to make their profit on top of the wholesale. Andee Hart: Wholesale order, yeah, yeah. 20,000. Yeah. Andee Hart: Yes. Andee Hart: Yes. Kathryn Finney: And so one of the questions I know is going to come up as, and I want to make sure I ask this before we wrap up, is about pricing. We just talked about keystone pricing. How do you think about pricing your product when you are heading into the wholesale space? Andee Hart: Mm-hmm. Andee Hart: Oh, so one of, going back to a question earlier question you asked, said another mistake that I often see and that is even when you're first starting out, I see a lot of makers, don't, they, they maybe think that they're never going to go into wholesaling. So they don't consider that upfront. And so, um, not pricing their products for wholesale upfront. And I, I, I'm always nervous of saying this. don't want to like over gender, you know, genderize. That's a word I just made up, but I feel like women tend to under price our products way more than men do because I have quite a few men that I work with as well. Um, the reality is, that I see so many people that I start working with and I'm like, you could charge at least $10 more for. per candle. And what happens is they're going into Walmart or Target or TJ Maxx and they're seeing a $12 candle and they're comparing their product. And I'm like, that's a completely different target market here, right? You're not targeting that customer. And so people are willing to pay more for your candle. And if you charge $12, you're going to stay in hobby mode and you're not going to be able to scale into wholesale and you're just going to burn out. And so, you know, my wooden dough bowls, charge retail are 48 and wholesale is 24. And so you have to be able to make a living and make profit off of this. You're not in this to just have a hobby and to work for free. So you definitely want to consider your cost of goods and you want to evaluate that at least every six months because you have things like tariffs happening. You have your supplies that are potentially increasing. And so you need to reevaluate your cost of goods every six months. And does your pricing still make sense or do you need to raise your pricing to make it make sense for your business? Andee Hart: But that is one of just the biggest challenges that I see going into wholesaling is you've got to make sure that you have the profit margin and that you're always negotiating with your suppliers too to keep your cost of goods down and you're buying in bulk now that you're wholesaling. So your supplies are staying low and you're keeping your profit margins protected. Kathryn Finney: and just charge what you're worth. Andee Hart: Absolutely. That's with anything. Why do we undercharge? We're worth more. Kathryn Finney: worth everything. Andy, thank you so much. This has been incredible. I have learned a lot myself and favorite part of doing the podcast is how much I'm learning and growing as well. Andy proves that you don't have to sell out to sell well. Her journey from corporate queen to candle honcho is all about staying intentional, building boldly and selling with soul. If this Andee Hart: I'm so glad. Yes. Andee Hart: Hahaha! Kathryn Finney: episode lit a fire under you. Subscribe, leave us review and keep building the damn thing with heart. Till we meet again. Kathryn Finney: Thank you.