Season 2 Finale Episode! This episode has long been requested and it's finally here! It was great to sit down with Zach and help him share his story of growth as a leader and the early struggles he had as a, "punk salesman". Thank you for a wonderful second season!
Produced by the team at Rinard Media
0:01 Khristin (Guest): This doesn't feel like my vision this my vision was way more clear four years ago than I feel like to now I feel just muddy all the time It was just it.
0:11 Khristin (Guest): It's cool.
0:12 Khristin (Guest): It's kind of dark and cold This
0:21 Zach (Host): is ruckus makers a show about entrepreneurs where the mission matters and the status quo isn't an option I am your host Zack Reinhardt and in today's episode We're talking to Kristen Quigley from unique twist jewelry about how she built her massive e-commerce company and the price She had to pay to get there Thanks for being on the show, thanks for being on the podcast Appreciate you being here a lot of people recommended you a lot of people like hey you talked to Kristen so I guess the first thing I wanted to ask is why do you think people would recommend you to to be on a startup podcast in Twin Falls
0:55 Khristin (Guest): Partially because your name is the ruckus makers and I don't fit inside of a little box I like to be out there making ruckus.
1:02 Khristin (Guest): Yeah.
1:03 Zach (Host): Yeah Yeah, so
1:04 Khristin (Guest): I'm I assume that people kind of associate me with stepping outside the box,
1:09 Zach (Host): okay interesting so My impression of you is that that's true.
1:14 Zach (Host): Do you have any examples where where you've just literally said no I don't know.
1:19 Zach (Host): I don't care about those rules.
1:20 Zach (Host): I don't care about doing that and you just did it
1:22 Khristin (Guest): Of course, I mean, I'm not a person that likes to be Like stuck in a square.
1:28 Khristin (Guest): I would I wish everybody Could step outside their box and step outside their zone and live their free-spirited life because that's who I am I mean, I I don't necessarily follow the rules I try to make my own rules and but be kind and giving along the way.
1:45 Zach (Host): Yeah Yeah, so when you make your own rules, what gives you permission to do that?
1:50 Zach (Host): Like
1:50 Khristin (Guest): Oh permission who needs permission?
1:53 Zach (Host): Yeah You know entrepreneurs typically I feel like their risk meters broken.
1:59 Zach (Host): Yeah I would
2:00 Khristin (Guest): I would agree they
2:01 Zach (Host): look at life and they just do whatever they want, right and it usually works.
2:05 Zach (Host): You hope so Yeah, yeah.
2:07 Zach (Host): Okay interesting.
2:08 Zach (Host): Um, so unique twist is your business.
2:10 Zach (Host): Tell us a little about You and how that started and where that came from.
2:15 Khristin (Guest): I mean, which is kind of cool.
2:17 Khristin (Guest): It's just started five years ago Thank goodness for Facebook memories because I just a few days ago saw a post that was like my first Christmas I'm making jewelry and selling jewelry and I had just gotten started kind of with my first little stamping kit and I got like 16 orders for Christmas and I was like ecstatic mind you I worked like full-time had a baby and Fast forward through five years of hard work and not giving up and all of the you know Give it your all Lessons learned mistakes made years.
2:59 Khristin (Guest): I Just completed like my biggest Christmas season ever.
3:03 Khristin (Guest): But it really yeah, it's
3:05 Zach (Host): over though Make
3:08 Khristin (Guest): it I have to make it all yeah,
3:11 Zach (Host): I don't
3:11 Khristin (Guest): know it was I got started with a little stamping kit and Hundreds of shows along the way and hundreds and thousands of miles on my car yeah, cuz I normally go to a lot of Like shows, I don't like
3:28 Zach (Host): trade shows trade shows.
3:29 Zach (Host): Yeah,
3:30 Khristin (Guest): and this year has been much different.
3:31 Khristin (Guest): Obviously.
3:32 Zach (Host): Yeah Yeah,
3:33 Khristin (Guest): how to change my ways.
3:34 Zach (Host): That's crazy.
3:35 Zach (Host): So so Explained to me I'm a guy so you say stamping kit.
3:41 Zach (Host): Yeah, help me understand what that means.
3:43 Khristin (Guest): Oh, I My jewelry is made with pieces of metal and then I use a steel stamp and a hammer and individually stamp each letter On the piece of jewelry Okay,
3:54 Zach (Host): yeah
3:54 Khristin (Guest): So
3:54 Zach (Host): my
3:55 Khristin (Guest): my first stamping kit was like a set of like one set of ABCs in one font and a hammer And that was it
4:02 Zach (Host): you did it yourself like yeah,
4:04 Khristin (Guest): I still do it myself Seriously.
4:06 Khristin (Guest): Yeah.
4:07 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, so what?
4:08 Khristin (Guest): Yeah,
4:09 Zach (Host): that's good.
4:10 Zach (Host): That's crazy to me.
4:10 Zach (Host): I didn't I didn't I assumed you were doing Like more production style, you know, everything
4:17 Khristin (Guest): is still handmade Interesting, yeah, I
4:20 Zach (Host): guess I think like
4:21 Khristin (Guest): kind of the Uniqueness of my line is it's not I haven't gone elsewhere It's still made in Twin Falls, Idaho USA, which
4:30 Zach (Host): is
4:30 Khristin (Guest): not very many people can say that with a jewelry
4:32 Zach (Host): line They might
4:33 Khristin (Guest): design it but then they'll outfit it to another country to get it cheaper and I don't do that.
4:39 Zach (Host): Okay?
4:40 Khristin (Guest): Yeah,
4:40 Zach (Host): interesting. Okay, so you got a stamping kit five years ago But you mentioned you were working full-time had a kid talk about that transition because that's that's rough I've been there Oh absolutely about what was your job?
4:52 Zach (Host): And what did you do?
4:53 Zach (Host): And so
4:53 Khristin (Guest): I was a manager at a dental office here in Kimberly loved my job I had worked with great doctors great team and I just Didn't never I don't want to work for someone else nine-to-five.
5:06 Khristin (Guest): I don't want to clock in and clock out Sure,
5:08 Zach (Host): I
5:09 Khristin (Guest): just wanted to kind of have my own way that I could be there for my family attend the sporting events without letting you know the office down and so I Kept working for the first Year, meaning I would come home after work and make orders work on the weekends going to shows in Boise or Seattle Littler pop-ups that I could get away for a few
5:32 Zach (Host): days
5:33 Khristin (Guest): While still working 40 hours a week the dental office and then once I replaced my income Doing
5:40 Zach (Host): the
5:41 Khristin (Guest): shows and having my little Etsy shop and that kind of thing Then I was able after a year it took me to Replace my income there because
5:49 Zach (Host): I
5:49 Khristin (Guest): didn't want to put the pressure on my husband that hey, bye.
5:53 Khristin (Guest): I'm leaving my job.
5:54 Khristin (Guest): So
5:55 Zach (Host): Pressures
5:56 Khristin (Guest): on you, you know,
5:57 Zach (Host): so how many hours a week were you working during that like?
6:01 Zach (Host): 40 hours at the dentist office and
6:04 Khristin (Guest): I would work until like one or two o
6:05 Khristin (Guest): 'clock in the morning like I would make dinner and get the kids to bed and and then Sit at my dining room table and use my little hammer and stamp away until one or two o'clock in the morning and then get Up at 630 in the morning and do it all over again Because I would also like not just orders.
6:24 Khristin (Guest): I was doing shows at the time So that meaning I would have to take a couple hundred pieces of jewelry to set up at an event You know and Be able to sell my goods
6:33 Zach (Host): So when you go to these shows, would you run out of jewelry along the process and it just was like, oh man I wish I had more.
6:41 Zach (Host): Well, what are you facing throughout that?
6:43 Khristin (Guest): Probably I mean the very first show I did Because I'm I don't know if you've looked at Snarky kind of I Don't know standing on the edge of what people want to say and what they should say and I I'm not like live laugh love kind of person.
7:06 Khristin (Guest): Yeah I'm more of the let's kick ass and you're badass and let's do this and I introduced that at a show locally and then Friday Saturday show so Friday night I sold everything.
7:23 Khristin (Guest): I saw I had to come I still had to have jewelry for Saturday
7:28 Zach (Host): Yeah, but it was
7:29 Khristin (Guest): like my very first time of like I'm just gonna put just a little bit out there and put like badass and do epic shit on some jewelry like obviously everybody wants to kind of Stand outside the little perfect circle and and remind themselves, you know that they are badass and they can do epic shit Yeah,
7:49 Zach (Host): and
7:50 Khristin (Guest): that's kind of where my line started and just kind of grew from there.
7:53 Khristin (Guest): So, you
7:54 Zach (Host): know It's unique to me We had a joke we're talking about your your company that's like man, we think they're making cinnamon rolls like, you know You know,
8:05 Zach (Host): it's like that sounds so great.
8:06 Zach (Host): You should that's an idea But you know I feel like if people would just do the things that they just know is right in their heart like yeah Like for example, like you're not you're not doing your typical jewelry that you'd see.
8:18 Zach (Host): No, it's different.
8:20 Zach (Host): So Where does that stem from?
8:22 Zach (Host): You know one thing that sorry I'll give a little context one thing that we tend to believe as you know at our company is people typically do something because Because of something that happened in the past right or they were limited or someone told them they couldn't or whatnot So, why do you live life?
8:40 Zach (Host): And why do you stamp jewelry with that type of messaging?
8:42 Khristin (Guest): Because I think women need to hear the little tiny reminders all day long That they are badass that they keep going you've got this like you've got a Little tiny reminder around mount around your neck that yeah girl Be the girl that goes for it because you can do it And I mean women are so much different than men they feed off of like affirmations I would just say quite a bit more and so the first night that I Displayed my jewelry.
9:12 Khristin (Guest): I was nervous, you know, because we've been put into this, you know kind of Thought that everything should fit inside the live-laugh love, right?
9:22 Khristin (Guest): Right, like that's how we all just want to live and we just want to laugh and that's everything's
9:27 Zach (Host): happy all the time Yeah,
9:29 Khristin (Guest): we like people don't struggle.
9:31 Khristin (Guest): Well, that's not real life Real life is you have to be reminded to wake up and kick ass and repeat, you know because it's it's true and after that night I just realized and saw women laughing and Loving like every little piece that they picked up and just enjoying Every moment that someone would come to my booth and just oh my gosh, she needs this right now Oh my gosh, my mom needs this.
9:59 Khristin (Guest): She needs to be reminded.
10:00 Khristin (Guest): She can do hard things my sister's going through a struggle right now and she needs this soap so bad like That that fed my fire and just kept me going
10:09 Zach (Host): So you're about bringing out the best in people about bringing out that inner fighter warrior that they believe they can do it
10:15 Khristin (Guest): Because everyone you know gets kind of I mean I've been there stuck in a rut where you're like, what am I doing?
10:21 Khristin (Guest): And I'm sure guys have been there too.
10:22 Khristin (Guest): I don't make men's jewelry, but We all get stuck in a rut where you think that you can't do whatever the hard thing is It's right in front of you when really if you just you know Have a little reminder or it's something that can make you laugh laughter gets you through a lot of things yeah,
10:39 Zach (Host): you
10:39 Khristin (Guest): know
10:39 Zach (Host): no I agree and and would you say that you grew up with like a lot of affirmation or or No,
10:46 Khristin (Guest): absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.
10:47 Khristin (Guest): Like
10:47 Zach (Host): parents. I just encourage you all the time.
10:49 Khristin (Guest): Well, I had a different upbringing I was raised by my grandparents.
10:53 Khristin (Guest): Okay, my and then my grandparents both passed away and when I was younger and I moved in with my aunt and uncle who were because my father had passed away and My grandparents were constantly telling me I can do hard things Constantly reminding me that I can do whatever I want to do We know no matter don't let things hold you back and my aunt and uncle were exactly the same same way they're just still to this day who I they're my parents and so still to this day who I get positive affirmations from you know
11:30 Zach (Host): as
11:30 Khristin (Guest): a Young kid going through hard things you're Everyone spoke so positively to me it made a huge difference in my life.
11:41 Khristin (Guest): Yeah,
11:41 Zach (Host): does that make sense?
11:42 Zach (Host): Yeah No, I I agree with you.
11:43 Zach (Host): I think it's interesting so for me as a kid like I had this mother that would tell me all of the confident things in the world and so I I tend to believe a lot that we can do a lot and I think we need those people in our life to To push us forward.
12:00 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, absolutely.
12:01 Zach (Host): Um, one of the things you said that was interesting to me was You know, you started printing this jewelry that might be a little more edgy Did you get any pushback right I saw Back
12:13 Khristin (Guest): I still get women that walk up and roll their eyes and it's okay.
12:17 Khristin (Guest): I'm not for everybody I don't have to be for everybody I don't
12:20 Zach (Host): I
12:20 Khristin (Guest): don't need you to like me to for me to be confident in myself because I'm comfortable with who I am and I'm comfortable like with my client base is Amazing like I've also had women come up to me though in that same show that drove two hours to come and meet me to tell me like that bracelet that you sent me got me through the darkest days of My life.
12:44 Khristin (Guest): I yeah, I mean makes me emotional because it's it's so cool to Have just that little tiny thing that says like you're stronger than your worst days Makes a huge difference in someone else's life.
12:57 Khristin (Guest): Yeah,
12:57 Zach (Host): you know Yeah, absolutely
12:58 Khristin (Guest): to hug somebody that I've never met and never even talked to but that they Feel so strongly about the piece of jewelry that they've worn, you know,
13:08 Zach (Host): make him smile that day Or that terrible relationship or whatever it might be that that's really cool.
13:15 Zach (Host): That's really special it you know It's it's probably why you're growing so much, you know why people connect and I think that's really cool
13:21 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, and sometimes I feel like even like the snarkier it is the better it is, you know I sometimes push the boundaries
13:29 Zach (Host): of the
13:29 Khristin (Guest): snark but it's I love it and it makes it so more women laugh and more women feel empowered and Just feel good about themselves.
13:38 Khristin (Guest): So
13:38 Zach (Host): do you write all of this?
13:40 Khristin (Guest): Oh, I get them sent to me I get them like if I see somebody walking down the street with like a t-shirt then I'm like, oh my gosh I have to make
13:47 Zach (Host): that into a
13:48 Khristin (Guest): necklace. I totally do like I mean I get them off Pinterest or my husband finds them or friends send them to me.
13:56 Khristin (Guest): You've got to make this into this blah blah blah
13:58 Zach (Host): I was in a songwriting class one time in another a long time ago And and the guy was just talking He's like it's like when you're in those worlds of trying to figure out figure out words all the time It's important to have like an antenna up at all times
14:09 Khristin (Guest): all the time
14:09 Zach (Host): It's like do you never know when you're walking?
14:11 Zach (Host): Yeah through the grocery store and something pops up and it's like, ah, that'd be a great lyric or whatever So I
14:15 Khristin (Guest): love like a lot of people have like the notes in your phone is for you know I got to do this and this and this mine is just filled with Quotes because if I am reading a book or I hear it on a podcast or someone says something then I put it in there To I kind of make this into a necklace.
14:31 Zach (Host): Yeah.
14:32 Zach (Host): Yeah, I Think it's exceptional.
14:35 Zach (Host): It's fun to watch and fun to see you grow and and and so talk a little bit about Where you're at now, so five years ago It was just you you work in 40 hours a week at another job and then you did that for a year Yes, because
14:47 Khristin (Guest): I just wanted to be sure to not put the pressure on my husband to be the sole provider so I Worked twice as hard to make sure that I could replace my income and
14:58 Zach (Host): that was for a year.
14:59 Zach (Host): Yeah Yeah,
15:01 Khristin (Guest): it was a lot but it was worth it And then I quit I quit the dental office and then the next year I did 54 shows in one year.
15:12 Khristin (Guest): So when I
15:12 Zach (Host): really yeah, so more than one a week
15:14 Khristin (Guest): more yeah sometimes I do you know a pop-up here and then a three-day show and then a pop-up on a Tuesday for some a ladies night and then I'd drive to Seattle for three days and I did that to get my name out there and to make spread unique twist around the Pacific Northwest.
15:32 Khristin (Guest): I did
15:32 Zach (Host): shows
15:33 Khristin (Guest): in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada like California literally All
15:40 Zach (Host): over
15:41 Khristin (Guest): that I could anything that I could find I did I never said no if somebody asked me to do a ladies night You bet I'll be there and
15:48 Zach (Host): that would leave those be like 12 people or sometimes It just
15:51 Khristin (Guest): depends like but or it'd be you know, 5,000 people coming through it just depended What it was and what people wanted me to do but that's I mean I had to grow Yeah, and I wanted to grow and keep keep the momentum And I finally closed my Etsy shop and started my own website Which I am NOT a techie person whatsoever, but I couldn't stop until I had My own unique twist jewelry.
16:20 Khristin (Guest): I didn't want to be the oh, you're on Etsy.
16:23 Khristin (Guest): That's cute,
16:23 Zach (Host): right?
16:24 Zach (Host): Yeah, it's very different
16:25 Khristin (Guest): So cute.
16:26 Khristin (Guest): Is that what you do in your spare time?
16:28 Khristin (Guest): You know, I wanted it to be a business I wanted it
16:31 Zach (Host): to
16:31 Khristin (Guest): be successful and and not I mean I still get people when they're like, oh, what do you do?
16:36 Khristin (Guest): I say, oh I make jewelry.
16:38 Khristin (Guest): They're like, oh, that's cute
16:40 Zach (Host): I make a lot,
16:41 Khristin (Guest): but I don't need to explain that to you, you
16:43 Zach (Host): know
16:44 Khristin (Guest): But people are just so funny when they find out that someone has a business that's making something Yeah, you know, they think it's not a real business.
16:54 Khristin (Guest): I mean and not successful.
16:56 Zach (Host): That's how it all starts Yeah, someone picked up a hammer and swung something and made it work, right?
17:00 Zach (Host): Yeah, I think it's interesting
17:01 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, so that I mean going back to that I did the 54 shows in a year and that really pushed my Website to be able to grow and grow and grow and after every city I would be able to look at my website and see like the orders come in afterwards for weeks You'd
17:20 Zach (Host): see the actual hustle.
17:21 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, I'd give so many business cards out or women would take pictures and oh my gosh Can I order this later?
17:28 Khristin (Guest): And so I just really wanted to push that towards my website.
17:31 Khristin (Guest): It grew and grew and grew and Right before Covid happened.
17:38 Khristin (Guest): I had a quite a bit bigger team
17:41 Zach (Host): How many people?
17:41 Khristin (Guest): I had Seven Full-time seven
17:47 Zach (Host): people. Yeah,
17:47 Khristin (Guest): so I actually did trade shows in like Vegas and Dallas, Minneapolis Yeah, this
17:56 Zach (Host): is this is four years into it roughly.
17:58 Zach (Host): Yeah, and you're running how many shows?
18:01 Zach (Host): So I
18:02 Khristin (Guest): kind of changed my gears and did less of the like where retail people come in and shop and moved more to a wholesale Market.
18:11 Zach (Host): Yeah,
18:11 Khristin (Guest): and so I along the way people kind of asked if they could carry that my line in their store and And
18:19 Zach (Host): that's all over the world all over the United States.
18:21 Zach (Host): Yeah
18:21 Khristin (Guest): right now.
18:22 Khristin (Guest): I'm in probably Roughly 1,800 to 2,000 stores across
18:28 Zach (Host): the
18:28 Khristin (Guest): country. Yeah, any
18:29 Zach (Host): big names that people would recognize.
18:31 Khristin (Guest): Um, let's see.
18:33 Khristin (Guest): I've been in Like Nordstrom,
18:39 Zach (Host): okay
18:40 Khristin (Guest): Cabela's has done a little bit a Lot of boutiques and yeah small businesses airports.
18:48 Zach (Host): Sure all
18:48 Khristin (Guest): kinds of things coffee shops
18:50 Zach (Host): What's that been like for you?
18:51 Zach (Host): So Small town coming from a dentist's office, right?
18:55 Zach (Host): Yeah to start a company to then Do a sales contract with Nordstrom, right?
18:59 Khristin (Guest): So confusing and so much paperwork really.
19:02 Zach (Host): Oh my gosh
19:03 Khristin (Guest): It's they they've got so many like sign here and initial here and sign here.
19:07 Khristin (Guest): It's like you're signing your life away Yeah,
19:09 Zach (Host): like
19:09 Khristin (Guest): I'm pretty sure I'm just making jewelry for you, but this is great.
19:11 Khristin (Guest): Thank you and
19:13 Zach (Host): I'm assuming that's pretty overwhelming right a lot of legal jargon and Now I
19:17 Khristin (Guest): for like the last year and a half.
19:20 Khristin (Guest): I've had it I've actually hired had hired a sales manager out of Las Vegas And so that helped me a lot he's been in the business for 50 years or something crazy and he found me actually at a little Retail market.
19:39 Khristin (Guest): Okay, which is kind of cool he said he's never seen anything kind of like this and wanted to kind of give me an opportunity because he had a full I don't know arsenal of people sure and So like a year and a half ago or almost two years ago I guess I went ahead and did a wholesale catalog and that I have I had Probably 300 reps selling my line to all of their clientele, so
20:11 Zach (Host): I'd
20:11 Khristin (Guest): pay them a commission then send the product to the Store that they sold it to pay the Rep that kind of thing, but kovat changed all of that Yeah, and I just was getting to where I wasn't I was kind of like I don't really know how to explain getting Out of who I wanted to be Okay, that makes sense.
20:35 Zach (Host): I
20:35 Khristin (Guest): was growing so huge so quickly that I was Missing like all of my kids basketball games and I'd be gone for a week or two at a time I was on an airplane more than I was in my own bed, you know,
20:51 Zach (Host): sure
20:51 Khristin (Guest): and I didn't like it.
20:52 Khristin (Guest): I Found that it's not that's not the route for me.
20:57 Zach (Host): Sure Did you do anything to step back from that or did kovat just help?
21:01 Zach (Host): no, I
21:01 Khristin (Guest): I mean kovat was a great like reason also because a lot of stores were closing and it was just kind of a the very beginning of kovat was very uncertain I guess and so a lot of Retail stores were closing and which affected me because then their credit cards don't process and they're yeah
21:21 Zach (Host): Yeah And
21:22 Khristin (Guest): so it was kind of a place where I could kind of step back and be like is this the way is this my Vision, this doesn't feel like my vision This my vision was way more clear four years ago than I feel like to now.
21:36 Khristin (Guest): I feel just muddy all the time
21:37 Zach (Host): Yeah, so if you could say your vision Where do you want to be?
21:41 Zach (Host): Where do you want to go?
21:43 Khristin (Guest): I'm doing really good where I'm at Like I'm happy where I'm at.
21:47 Khristin (Guest): I kind of scaled down a little bit and did more Bigger is not always better.
21:53 Khristin (Guest): Yeah I'm glad I did what I did because then I don't have to ever regret not doing it I'm not the kind of person that could be like, oh, I wish I would have done that not good at all Yeah, but now I can kind of look at it as it was a road well Taken and but I'm glad to come back to my roots.
22:15 Zach (Host): Yeah, I you know, it's funny Growth is, you know in small businesses growth and cash flow.
22:21 Zach (Host): That's what they say.
22:22 Zach (Host): Are the killers a small business and and You know looking back at where you've grown from if you could tell yourself one thing.
22:30 Zach (Host): What would you tell yourself?
22:32 Khristin (Guest): Stay true to yourself because the bigger you get the more people want to change you Really?
22:38 Khristin (Guest): Oh, I mean take your line to Asia and have somebody else make it and It doesn't need to be made by you it doesn't need to be made in the United States It can be so much cheaper if we
22:51 Zach (Host): make it somewhere else
22:52 Khristin (Guest): No, that's not
22:53 Zach (Host): you just you're what you wanted out of Twin Falls and and again I'm still shocked.
22:57 Zach (Host): You still make all of that stuff.
22:59 Zach (Host): Like yeah, that's amazing.
23:00 Zach (Host): Yeah, I'd be working so hard
23:01 Khristin (Guest): Oh, it's it's awesome though.
23:03 Khristin (Guest): I have
23:03 Zach (Host): like a really
23:04 Khristin (Guest): good Team, I
23:06 Zach (Host): still have a team
23:07 Khristin (Guest): absolutely because I wouldn't be able to do it without them but I mean for the most part it's It's been Like the last year has been a good eye-opener to know.
23:19 Khristin (Guest): I want to be yeah on the smaller side But the same thing you said business is cash flow and I pride myself on running my business on cash I don't
23:28 Zach (Host): I've
23:28 Khristin (Guest): never taken a loan out never Like to pay my employees or anything.
23:33 Khristin (Guest): I've always
23:33 Zach (Host): really sure
23:34 Khristin (Guest): ever So
23:35 Zach (Host): that was one of my questions when you said you were doing 54 shows
23:37 Khristin (Guest): Those
23:38 Zach (Host): cost money,
23:39 Zach (Host): yeah, and that means you would have had to have you know in that week You would have to have made the jewelry.
23:44 Khristin (Guest): Yeah
23:44 Zach (Host): sold the jewelry collected the money Yeah, purchase the next show and then kept going you did that the whole way
23:49 Khristin (Guest): although the whole way like the big market shows that I would go to or like you I don't know if you've ever been to Vegas where they have the I mean stories of
23:58 Zach (Host): stories of
24:00 Khristin (Guest): Furniture it's anything that you could think of buying so I would be in one of those and those are so expensive Like I mean they range from you know, $3,000 to $18,000.
24:12 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, and that is just it's not you lose the Customer base you're just there with people with it You know clipboard like four of those and two of those and six of those I
24:21 Zach (Host): just buyers.
24:22 Khristin (Guest): Oh, yeah Yeah, and
24:24 Zach (Host): you don't you don't do those anymore.
24:25 Zach (Host): I don't like this as much.
24:26 Zach (Host): No
24:26 Khristin (Guest): No, I mean, I'm glad I did but because I met some really cool people and I Took a leap and realized that it's not the right one.
24:36 Khristin (Guest): Okay,
24:36 Zach (Host): which is
24:37 Khristin (Guest): okay.
24:37 Zach (Host): Do you mind going into that?
24:39 Zach (Host): You know, it's
24:40 Khristin (Guest): just I was Working so hard and work.
24:43 Khristin (Guest): I was gone so much from my family that I Mean, I don't want to FaceTime when my little boys basketball game, you
24:50 Zach (Host): know
24:50 Khristin (Guest): I don't want to miss swimming lessons and miss my friends as birthdays and that's that's not why I started this I started it to have flexibility and and to be there for my family and for my kids and Not to be on an airplane, you
25:07 Zach (Host): know And
25:07 Khristin (Guest): that's where I found myself was literally just gone all the time because I would be at those shows I have to set up for the show I have to be staying in a hotel by myself for you know, a week to ten days No, and I'm not the kind of person that's like I'm good with being by myself But I don't want to be like missing all these things at home That are the reason that I started this business.
25:31 Khristin (Guest): I had to kind of get my focus realigned.
25:34 Zach (Host): Yeah Yeah, I yeah I think that takes a lot of self-awareness and realizing what you want in life to step back from something that's growing so big and So fast, yeah, and you know, like you said bigger is better and to you wasn't and that's interesting It was
25:48 Khristin (Guest): just it's it's kind of dark and cold.
25:51 Khristin (Guest): Really?
25:52 Khristin (Guest): I felt like yeah
25:53 Zach (Host): Is that just is that just because you had less people interaction with like customers and
26:00 Khristin (Guest): Mostly I mean you're just eating takeout every night and you're For me the most important thing to me Outside.
26:10 Khristin (Guest): I mean my my family is the most important thing to me and it's being with them and is the whole reason that I started this and being able to Be home at dinnertime and not miss all the activities and you know be there with my husband to laugh and carry on at home That's the whole reason that I am NOT working a nine-to-five so that I can
26:29 Zach (Host): not work Yeah, exactly.
26:32 Zach (Host): And so
26:32 Khristin (Guest): I Mean it I had to just kind of probably in January of this year Yeah, kind of step back and be like is this really what I want?
26:42 Khristin (Guest): It's not Definitely not.
26:45 Khristin (Guest): I was gone so much and it's just Just not worth it to me.
26:49 Khristin (Guest): I mean I
26:50 Zach (Host): have
26:50 Khristin (Guest): such a great Customer base now like just with my website and that I'm happy.
26:57 Zach (Host): I'm gonna do well And your margins are better direct-to-consumer, right?
27:00 Zach (Host): Oh, you're shipping it versus wholesaling.
27:02 Zach (Host): Absolutely.
27:03 Zach (Host): You'd rather do that.
27:04 Zach (Host): Yeah
27:04 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, absolutely.
27:05 Khristin (Guest): And I'm not a good like I'm not a cattle prodder that makes any sense Like when you the bigger you get the more you're dependent on other things falling into place Where and right now I can just make it ship it That's it.
27:20 Khristin (Guest): Like get the order make the order ship the
27:22 Zach (Host): order
27:22 Khristin (Guest): where before it's like, oh my gosh, you have to wait for All everyone to place their orders then you have to wait for credit cards to get processed And yeah, you know in the retail buying world.
27:34 Khristin (Guest): There are more Scams on credit cards than I've ever known in my life.
27:39 Khristin (Guest): Sure, you know, so let's
27:49 Zach (Host): be honest when you set out to start your business You didn't think you'd have to worry so much about your IT.
27:54 Zach (Host): That's why Simplicit is here Their managed IT solution means you save time money and stress Get back to focusing on your business and let Simplicit take care of the rest visit Simplicit tech.com Owning a business can be stressful and taxing on your mind and body every entrepreneur needs rest Float magic is the Magic Valley's premier float center where you can recharge and rejuvenate book a float today at float magic valley.com Craig Rochelle talks about Complexity is a killer of organizations And I think it's really interesting because what you did is you took a step back and simplified Absolutely, and and I wouldn't be surprised and and hear it now I wouldn't be surprised if if numbers wise you end up doing a lot more away, but life is easier.
28:46 Khristin (Guest): Absolutely I mean already this year.
28:48 Khristin (Guest): I've broke my record from last year.
28:50 Zach (Host): Yeah, and
28:50 Khristin (Guest): that's I mean, that's huge Yeah, I'm not even finished with the year and it's been such a better year Yeah, I've taken vacations with my family.
28:59 Khristin (Guest): I hadn't done that in two years.
29:02 Khristin (Guest): Yeah,
29:02 Zach (Host): we
29:02 Khristin (Guest): hadn't gone anywhere really.
29:04 Zach (Host): Okay
29:04 Khristin (Guest): This year I've gone on week-long vacations and made memories with my family and I've told my husband like at the end of this year this is the most tan I've been because we in five years because I'm actually going outside and Going in the mountains and doing the things we love.
29:20 Zach (Host): I admire that decision.
29:22 Zach (Host): I don't know if I'm there yet Personally I like the growth but but I could easily see, you know there's been times when when you know your phone's ringing and it's a client or a customer and then you have your kid over here and You're just like oh, yeah, that's such a hard decision But I commend you people
29:37 Khristin (Guest): have to understand though to even for you is you're not just a business owner Like
29:42 Zach (Host): people have to
29:43 Khristin (Guest): know let I'm for first and foremost a mother and a wife That's my number one priority and a daughter you know, those are the most important to me is like being there for my family being there for my friends that the Business isn't just who the only thing I am.
30:01 Khristin (Guest): Yeah,
30:02 Zach (Host): just like you're right Yeah, absolutely.
30:04 Khristin (Guest): I answer the phone if my kid is screaming like oh, sorry, like you caught me at a bad time What's up, you know, you just that's
30:11 Zach (Host): all you have
30:11 Khristin (Guest): to be real because yeah,
30:13 Zach (Host): that
30:13 Khristin (Guest): that is I think what has been good for me connecting with my customer base or my in my Stores is I'm just real all the
30:24 Zach (Host): way
30:24 Khristin (Guest): I don't try to put on a facade of I've got this shit together because I
30:29 Zach (Host): don't
30:29 Khristin (Guest): Right,
30:30 Zach (Host): and I think I think that's like the the thing with entrepreneurs that people forget about is they like they look at the big Corporation or they look at the company and they're like, wow, they they know everything like they know what they're doing Yeah, and I've come to the conclusion that no one knows what they're doing and everyone's faking it And I think once people acknowledge that it kind of changes the game Yeah, of course makes it much more approachable and you can do you know, what's in your heart what you believe you can do?
30:54 Zach (Host): And I think it's interesting.
30:56 Khristin (Guest): Oh, absolutely.
30:57 Khristin (Guest): I mean even when I was building my website, I did it all by myself I would all it was probably a hot mess when I first started it, but I haven't really I mean, it's still the same I don't go through changing it because I'm really bad at it But I mean, that's just how I've been the whole time is when you step back and you're not just the business owner You're also like I got to pay the bills.
31:20 Khristin (Guest): I got to pay my rent.
31:21 Khristin (Guest): I got to pay my employees I have to order all the supplies.
31:24 Khristin (Guest): I have to go to the post office I mean, there's so many things that you do as a business owner that I like Just having very many hats to wear.
31:36 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, but people kind of get Nervous about wearing all the different hats.
31:41 Khristin (Guest): Mm-hmm It can be a shit show and people will still support you You know just knowing that you can be honest and be like, you know Hey, you totally dropped the ball on this, but I will send you a free pair of earrings to tell you I am so freaking.
31:54 Khristin (Guest): Sorry, you know and just being honest with your customers because I make Tons of mistakes sure, but owning up to it and not trying to be like, oh it just kidding.
32:05 Khristin (Guest): It's in the mail I don't know why you haven't gotten it.
32:07 Khristin (Guest): Like I totally dropped the ball Your
32:09 Zach (Host): order hasn't been processed Yeah, like
32:13 Khristin (Guest): it's been so good
32:15 Zach (Host): Yeah something I say to our team all the time is people buy from people and if you will just own the mistake own the Issue then like people are a lot more forgiving than you realize And you just just love and serve people and take care of them They'll tell their friends and yes, even when you make mistakes the same And
32:31 Khristin (Guest): that's kind of it's kind of fun when you make a mistake and you're feeling like pretty bad about it But you own up to it that's when I've noticed like not that I try to make mistakes, but my customers will be like She totally rocked this like she took care of me.
32:46 Khristin (Guest): She Sent me a free pair of earrings You guys have to support her because that's a lot of my business is word-of-mouth or social media Yeah is sharing and people tagging me and you know all that
32:57 Zach (Host): kind of stuff.
32:58 Zach (Host): Yeah.
32:58 Zach (Host): Yeah, it's got to be fun To look out and see all of the hope that you're bringing to people, you know Not not on a pride level but it just just on Look at the difference at the ruckus if we could say it that you're making, you know in people's lives How do you not let that go to your head?
33:17 Khristin (Guest): Oh I would just that's a hard question I mean, I don't let it go to my head because I'm that's the reasoning behind it's kind of my why is Putting that out there.
33:31 Khristin (Guest): So then when you when you see it working and see it, you know come full circle It just feeds my fire not necessarily my head but makes me work harder to come up with a neck and a new quote that will just inspire the next person or a new, you know line of Items that will make somebody else feel the fire underneath them.
33:58 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, that makes any sense.
33:59 Zach (Host): Yeah, absolutely So do you do you feel like you want to inspire people to do?
34:04 Zach (Host): Bigger and better things, of course, I mean, you
34:08 Zach (Host): know, you mentioned They have a fire right?
34:10 Zach (Host): Yeah, you believe everyone has a fire.
34:12 Khristin (Guest): Yes.
34:12 Khristin (Guest): Absolutely.
34:13 Khristin (Guest): And I mean when you when you Focus on the negative what's going to be fed the negative when
34:21 Zach (Host): you
34:21 Khristin (Guest): focus on the positive?
34:22 Khristin (Guest): What are you gonna see every day positivity?
34:25 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, but I mean so if you can focus on feeding your fire Just every single day Putting your best foot forward knowing that okay I just I can do this like having positive affirmations all day long.
34:39 Khristin (Guest): You're gonna be more positive by the end of the day Yeah, you know, it's like that.
34:44 Khristin (Guest): There's like an old like native tale where it's like the two wolves like then the grandfather tells this the grandson like You choose which one you feed?
34:55 Zach (Host): Yeah, so
34:55 Khristin (Guest): if you feed the dark the dark wolf, you're gonna feel dark all the time Yeah, or for me if I'm constantly feeding the positive I Feel more positive and I'm not I'm not a dark person.
35:08 Khristin (Guest): I mean have dark days sure,
35:10 Zach (Host): but
35:10 Khristin (Guest): you can't focus on those Yeah,
35:11 Zach (Host): so what do you do to feed that positive side?
35:15 Zach (Host): Cuz like and let me preface this in the entrepreneur world.
35:18 Zach (Host): It is a rollercoaster And and and I thought it would be like months it feel that way but now it stays like a bad meeting Yeah, what do you do to stay balanced,
35:29 Khristin (Guest): oh man,
35:30 Zach (Host): it bounces the right word
35:32 Khristin (Guest): Balance is something I actually that was my you know How everyone chooses a word of the year and and that balance is my word like maybe the last two years Because it's it is a huge balance So balancing this year for me was spending more time with my family Because I feel like my little one is only gonna be little for so long So we're gonna go look for rocks or we're gonna go Swimming for the day like I I for me being an entrepreneur.
36:01 Khristin (Guest): I could work Seven days a week.
36:05 Khristin (Guest): Yeah Fifteen eighteen hours a day and just keep working the
36:10 Zach (Host): mission matters.
36:11 Zach (Host): Yeah.
36:11 Zach (Host): Absolutely.
36:12 Khristin (Guest): Absolutely But I mean learning the balance is I do hot yoga now I never thought I would be a person that does yoga and
36:21 Zach (Host): I
36:21 Khristin (Guest): love it I I mean we I I feel like probably the it's just out.
36:29 Khristin (Guest): I can balance I guess I don't really know.
36:31 Zach (Host): That's the best thing that
36:32 Khristin (Guest): I can come up with is that I'm Balancing spending more time with my family and not just working all the time.
36:37 Zach (Host): That's awesome.
36:38 Zach (Host): That makes sense Yeah, and if I could ask you and you can be as detailed as you want.
36:42 Zach (Host): Sure What does a typical day look like as in as in morning routine slash?
36:50 Zach (Host): Hours worked and family and all that stuff.
36:52 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, so I get up every morning at 630 and then I Have to drink coffee before I can do any of the things Have to and so that I mean Get my little boy up and get ready and we I drop him off at school And then I go straight to work at 830, but I actually don't open my doors until 10 because I just need a little time in the morning by
37:17 Zach (Host): myself. It's just you there.
37:19 Zach (Host): No in the morning
37:20 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, they get there later in the day 930 or 10, but I just need that little bit of time to like, okay This is what I need to do today.
37:28 Khristin (Guest): I'm a I'm better at Knowing exactly what my day looks like or else.
37:33 Khristin (Guest): It just is a shit show.
37:35 Zach (Host): Sure,
37:35 Khristin (Guest): you know, and Totally
37:37 Zach (Host): have to do that.
37:38 Zach (Host): I have to look at my calendar and like what's my day look like?
37:40 Zach (Host): Okay mentally get there,
37:42 Khristin (Guest): right? I Am not a good list maker.
37:45 Khristin (Guest): So I just I'm a visual person I just have to lay everything out what orders need to be done.
37:50 Khristin (Guest): And then I usually work until Like sometimes like 6 or 6 30 or 7 If not, I try to get home a little bit earlier and then do dinner and I'm a very routine person, too I do the same thing in the morning as then every single day and
38:12 Zach (Host): the
38:12 Khristin (Guest): same thing in the evening it by if depending on which day of the week it is I go to hot yoga and then Eat some dinner chill out for just a little while and go to bed.
38:22 Khristin (Guest): I go to bed like it Nine o'clock.
38:25 Khristin (Guest): There
38:26 Zach (Host): you go.
38:26 Zach (Host): Get lots of sleep.
38:28 Zach (Host): Yeah, I have to like sometimes
38:29 Khristin (Guest): don't you feel like you get peopled out?
38:34 Zach (Host): Absolutely, you know
38:34 Khristin (Guest): with just conversation like all the time I
38:38 Zach (Host): am NOT a people person and so if I'm if I'm doing this for eight hours a day I would be exhausted.
38:45 Zach (Host): Yeah, and and so it's interesting You know, I'm
38:49 Khristin (Guest): a totally I love
38:50 Zach (Host): people.
38:50 Khristin (Guest): I'm a people person, but I Also like my husband has been coming.
38:54 Khristin (Guest): I do like the first Friday event downtown And so he'll come and he's like you talk to so many people and it's like well Yeah, cuz he's a mailman and talks to like hardly anybody all day long listens to podcasts all day, but I mean I genuinely care about people and so it's I'm not a Like, oh, did you see the new necklace?
39:15 Khristin (Guest): I made I'm more of how's your little boy?
39:18 Khristin (Guest): Like I'm genuinely
39:19 Zach (Host): want to
39:19 Khristin (Guest): know like how how you guys been?
39:21 Khristin (Guest): What do you guys been up to?
39:23 Khristin (Guest): Did someone so win their basketball game, you know,
39:25 Zach (Host): and I
39:26 Khristin (Guest): think that it's
39:26 Zach (Host): very real
39:27 Khristin (Guest): yeah, and I think that's why I've connected with a lot of customers that have turned into friends because when someone would walk into my booth at a market, I'm not a Do you want to try this hair bearings and how about this one?
39:41 Khristin (Guest): How about this one?
39:42 Khristin (Guest): But this one it's more of like, what are you drinking?
39:45 Khristin (Guest): And what are you guys doing tonight?
39:46 Zach (Host): Where are you going
39:46 Khristin (Guest): to eat?
39:47 Khristin (Guest): You know more real because yes what I appreciate if you spent your hard-earned money with me, of course But I also like want you to be having a good time while you're doing it I don't want to pressure you and yeah,
39:59 Zach (Host): and
39:59 Khristin (Guest): that has worked really well for me.
40:01 Khristin (Guest): Yeah,
40:02 Zach (Host): you're just caring about the person Yeah, just caring about them and I think that's
40:05 Khristin (Guest): why people support it is because I genuinely care about my customers or when I make a mistake or Anything like that
40:12 Zach (Host): so What's next?
40:15 Zach (Host): Do you plan on just like keep coming up with awesome ideas and keep producing or what's going on?
40:21 Khristin (Guest): Yes, I mean I will keep doing this until the day that I'm ready to sell it and that day has no date for that in the future, but I just want to grow and grow and grow until I can Can sell it I mean, that's the ultimate goal.
40:40 Zach (Host): Well, I mean if the goal is your family then yeah, you're achieving that, right?
40:43 Zach (Host): Which is awesome.
40:44 Zach (Host): Yeah, the ultimate
40:45 Khristin (Guest): business goal, I guess would be to sell my business for several million dollars at one point
40:51 Zach (Host): million, I mean It's funny a lot of recent jewelry companies have popped into my brain and and there's a lot of bees in those talks And so I think I think you could do really well I mean,
41:02 Khristin (Guest): there's I I listen to some podcasts of there's a one woman That's on a podcast that owns a jewelry company that also started at her dining room table exactly the same I did and Is now a multi-billion dollar company.
41:17 Khristin (Guest): I mean how how freaking badass is that?
41:19 Khristin (Guest): I mean that's
41:20 Zach (Host): something to look
41:20 Khristin (Guest): up to and something to look forward to I
41:23 Zach (Host): love it I mean, I think that starting on Twin Falls, Idaho.
41:26 Zach (Host): Why not?
41:27 Khristin (Guest): Absolutely, you
41:28 Zach (Host): know what I mean?
41:28 Zach (Host): If you look at a bunch of stories of all these startup companies They they're out of nowhere.
41:33 Zach (Host): I mean you have the big ones that come out of LA or New York, right?
41:36 Zach (Host): Yeah, I don't think The limitations of location and geography even matter.
41:42 Zach (Host): No, I really don't Know
41:44 Khristin (Guest): I don't think so either.
41:45 Khristin (Guest): I mean, it's your shipping, you know, I think the biggest Factor for me is that I'm all handmade Yeah, I mean I even my the metal that I use is cut locally here the I mean I stamp everything here.
42:01 Khristin (Guest): We ship everything here.
42:02 Khristin (Guest): We support local businesses here We eat lunch locally here on our lunch break, you know, it's
42:08 Zach (Host): sure
42:08 Khristin (Guest): I think that's what makes the world go around is just all the little guys supporting each other to Spread the word,
42:17 Khristin (Guest): you know, yeah to one day.
42:18 Khristin (Guest): Maybe I'll be on Shark Tank, you know,
42:20 Zach (Host): I would
42:20 Khristin (Guest): hope yeah
42:23 Zach (Host): So
42:24 Khristin (Guest): good it's addicting but I I mean, yeah
42:28 Zach (Host): Cool well, if there's a One thing you could tell an entrepreneur, you know If if say they're sitting at their dining room table, yeah, and they were just given a stamp kit, right?
42:38 Zach (Host): Yeah, and what would you tell that person and and to encourage them or tell them?
42:42 Zach (Host): No, what would you tell them?
42:44 Khristin (Guest): Keep going like no matter how many people think that you're an idiot and there's already enough of whatever Company, you're trying to start like people connect with people.
42:55 Khristin (Guest): So if you create a business Keep going get yourself out there more get You're gonna have to do a lot of things To grow but I think also giving back is huge You know
43:10 Zach (Host): for
43:10 Khristin (Guest): your business.
43:11 Khristin (Guest): It's it's not about like Making the most money and being the biggest everywhere But having a good heart and giving back to your community is a huge factor in my business.
43:24 Khristin (Guest): I mean Don't give up as cheesy as that sounds like don't give up because so many times you hit an obstacle and You're just done like no, I can't
43:35 Zach (Host): do this
43:35 Khristin (Guest): Yeah,
43:36 Zach (Host): but you know something I've always does whether you think you can or whether you think you can't right you're right You're
43:40 Khristin (Guest): right exactly and that's I think a lot of people like have these great ideas and and they get to one Roadblock, and then they call it quits Like a true entrepreneur is never gonna quit and they're gonna just keep figuring it out along the way or Reach out to the one of your friends that knows the answer.
43:58 Khristin (Guest): Hey, I can't I didn't do all of this by myself it's you know calling my friends and what do you think about this and how can I get through this and Help me come up with a new idea.
44:09 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, that's the most important is you don't have to do it by yourself either You know,
44:15 Zach (Host): yeah,
44:15 Khristin (Guest): so yeah.
44:17 Zach (Host): Well, Chris, I think you're an amazing person.
44:19 Zach (Host): I think I think your story is really cool Talk too much But Give yourself a plug if we want to learn more about you.
44:29 Zach (Host): How do we do it?
44:30 Khristin (Guest): You can follow me on Instagram or Facebook at unique twist jewelry.
44:35 Khristin (Guest): You check out my website at unique twist jewelry calm Or you can come and see my studio downtown to in Falls 152 Main Avenue West.
44:45 Khristin (Guest): Yeah,
44:46 Zach (Host): it's awesome.
44:46 Zach (Host): Thank you I
44:49 Khristin (Guest): Appreciate that.
44:50 Khristin (Guest): Yeah, we I It's kind of a little hard to find but it's just between me Tiara and bull moose bicycle You know grab a beer at Kodo and come over and say hi to me.
45:00 Zach (Host): Perfect.
45:01 Zach (Host): And when are you open?
45:02 Khristin (Guest): I am open Tuesday through Thursday 10 to 5 and Saturdays 9 to 5.
45:07 Zach (Host): Okay.
45:07 Khristin (Guest): Yeah
45:08 Zach (Host): Yeah,
45:10 Khristin (Guest): that's great.
45:10 Khristin (Guest): I mean, I'm there probably I just don't have the door open
45:17 Zach (Host): Awesome well, thank you.
45:18 Zach (Host): Thank you
45:19 Khristin (Guest): so much for having me.
45:20 Khristin (Guest): This has been fun
45:21 Zach (Host): Hey everybody.
45:22 Zach (Host): Thanks for joining us today We want to say thank you to Kristen if you want to give her some support go to unique twist jewelry calm and also guys Remember you have to define what success looks like for you for Kristen that meant choosing her family and for others That might be a revenue goal.
45:37 Zach (Host): But what does success look like for you life is short make a ruckus