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#320 The Mindset Shift That 4x'd One Designer's Sales with Alisha Merrick: Otter Voice Meeting Notes

#320 The Mindset Shift That 4x'd One Designer's Sales with Alisha Merrick

Tracy Matthews49min

Alisha Merrick

00:00

Betting on myself and being intuitive about myself was the best thing that I could do and, and learning that you just have to take risks because what else are you doing? And also, that you can't do it without help and so I'm just I'm seeking out help in other ways so that I can be more successful and you know, and continue to grow the business.

Tracy Matthews

00:35

Welcome to Thrive by Design, the podcast for ambitious independent jewelry brands, looking to profit from their products, get ready to make more and sell more doing what you love, without spending every single waking minute doing it. Hey, and if you're a creative fashion or product based business, I want to welcome you to the show. I'll be dropping big tips on launching, growing and scaling your business. So you can spend more of your precious time using your creativity to make money. You ready? All right, let's do this.

Tracy Matthews

01:09

Welcome to the Thrive by Design podcast, Episode 320. Hey there, it's Tracy Matthews, Chief Visionary Officer of Flourish and Thrive Academy and the host of the Thrive by Design podcast here today, I'm super excited to have someone on the show whose story I am guessing is going to resonate with a lot of people out there. Now we've all heard of this little old thing called the starving artist syndrome. And it's a real thing. And sometimes as creatives as makers, as designers, and people in our industry, artists, all the things, we sometimes don't realize that there's this underlying programming that's playing under the radar that is potentially preventing us from being successful.

Tracy Matthews

01:59

It's not a conscious thing. And you're going to really be inspired by the story today. What it looks like is showing up like resenting other people who are successful or telling yourself stories, like I can't make money as an artist or saying things like, I'm not good enough or not talented enough, or that person's already doing that, I can't do that as well, because it's the same thing. I mean, the list goes on and on and on and on and on. And even though you might not be aware that you're actually doing that there is a possibility that if you aren't reaching your goals, and you're doing all these actions, and putting yourself out there that your mind set might be getting in the way of your success. In fact, in my brand new book, The desire brand effect, I have a whole chapter dedicated to mindset, I wrote a case study about the artists that I'm speaking of today, because her transformation and mindset shift, actually is the thing that she holds responsible for her growth, and then layering in getting the support of our momentum program for growth. And so it's exciting.

Tracy Matthews

03:07

And speaking of my book, The desire brand effect, it's coming out in November, and I would love to invite you to join the waitlist and jump on the book launch party train, I'm going to be given away a bunch of extra bonuses for all of you who want to play some free training, I have a ton of resources that are available for anyone who buys the book, as well and so much more. So it's going to be incredible. And I definitely would love to invite you to come play with me because it's going to be fun. And if you happen to be listening to this and you aren't a jewelry designer, I will tell you that this book is highly relevant to anyone who's selling a physical or a handmade product. It doesn't matter if you sell jewelry or something else. Even though the messaging and all the case studies or jewelry designers, it is pretty much the same for any type of product business that requires a brand to survive and thrive.

Tracy Matthews

04:08

And what I mean by that is like we're not talking about selling widgets on Amazon are talking about is building a desire brand that people come back to you every single season. They think about you for gifting they become your best repeat customers and loyal fans and so much more. So that sounds good. Head on over to desire to brand effect calm and get on the waitlist right there. And enjoy. It's gonna be so fun.

Tracy Matthews

04:37

Alright, so my guest today is Alicia Merrick Alicia Merrick art. She is a member of our momentum program over here at flourish and thrive Academy. She's in her second year in the program. And throughout the course of working with us she opened a retail store. She's grown her business from a barely scraping by a side hustle To a six figure retail store, she's hired an employee, and so much more. She's doing awesome. And a lot of this has to do with the way she shifted her mindset. And so I'm really excited to share her story. So let's dive into today's episode.

Tracy Matthews

05:25

One of the things that gets me so excited more than anything is to hear great success stories from our students. And today I have a very special guest on the show today, Alicia Merrick of Alicia Merrick art. Lisa, thank you so much for being here today.

Alisha Merrick

05:41

Thanks for having me, Tracy.

Tracy Matthews

05:43

Yeah, I'm excited to be here, because you're in our momentum program. And we were we always celebrate in our private Slack channel, where my team works, like all the wins of our students. And so I know you were talking to Natasha. And she's like, Oh, my gosh, you have to check out what Alicia has been doing. And Lisa was celebrating you. And we're all celebrating you behind the scenes. And we just had our live event a couple of weeks before we're recording this interview. And I asked you for you to come on and just share some things that are going on in your business and how you did it.

Alisha Merrick

06:16

Yeah, no, I'm happy to thank you so much. It's so fun.

Tracy Matthews

06:19

So before we dive in, I'd love to just like, get a little backstory on you. Like, tell me about your business and kind of your jewelry into your journey. Excuse me. Let me restate that. I just want to kind of get some backstory on you. Tell me a little bit about your business and your journey into jewelry.

Alisha Merrick

06:36

Yep, um, well, so I mean, I did art all through school. And it was kind of the only thing I was interested in. And I planned on doing sort of graphic design when I was in school. And then I took an elective and enamelling when we had to decide our majors and kind of fell in love with the shiny glass fusing to the metal. And so I switched over to that, but it's basically allowed me to, to just do more than jewelry, because I do drawing and painting and but it's all kind of mashed together in my style, which is great. And yeah, I just I started out, doing it part time and just selling on the weekends to farmers markets and little sales. And now Yeah, I have my own shop and I sell out of that. So it's pretty amazing.

Tracy Matthews

07:33

That is so exciting. And I posted some of your rainbow earrings for Pride Month, which I love. They were so cool. It was like a really unique interpretation. And I feel like enamel is like almost a lost art. It was one of my favorite things to do in school. I loved doing that. I mean, I didn't haven't worked with enamel in 25 years. But I had a couple of clients who wanted enamel on rings and stuff like that. And it's such a cool look, especially when it's done really well. So but .

Alisha Merrick

08:01

Yeah, and I mean I I enjoy that about it the fact that like Not a lot of people do it. And so it seems sort of mysterious and special to people because they you know, they're just not used to seeing it a lot. So

Tracy Matthews

08:16

How long does it take for you to make a piece because I know you have to fire it for a while.

Alisha Merrick

08:20

Um, yeah, it's very different from ceramics, like the firing is, is a lot shorter. So when you're firing ceramics, I think it's hours and days, you know, days like thing. And then for enamel it's very quick, it's still an electric firing. But it's just a tabletop kiln that looks kind of like a giant microwave or something and you just load it in and it's just a few minutes. It's like less than five minutes unless you're doing you know, a crazy big thick piece or something. So relatively quick firing, but then you can't really mix your own colors. So you have to fire each color separately. So that adds time.

Tracy Matthews

09:00

Okay, yeah, because I, I'm thinking back like when I made like a couple of enamel pieces, I probably gave them away or something which was necessarily but it seemed like it took so much longer than that. But maybe it was because I was using multiple colors and had to pull it out and put it back in.

Alisha Merrick

09:15

Yeah, yeah. And wait for it to cool in between and all the things. Yeah,pretty sure.

Tracy Matthews

09:20

That's so cool. So you've had amazing sustainable growth over the last couple of years as a solo business owner. So tell me a little bit about what you did to grow your business because a lot has changed since you know we started working together.

Alisha Merrick

09:36

Yeah, a ton has changed. So kind of the big thing for me has been realizing that you can't just be an artist that you have to sort of, you know, do the business side of things. And embarrassingly enough that didn't click for me until like, maybe Five years ago or something, so I was just like, Oh, I just want to be an artist and I don't know what to do. And then I just kept having these epiphanies where, you know, I'd be at the farmers market and I would set up my booth, walk away for a minute to talk to somebody. And then one day, I came back and like, I hated everything about my booth. So I bought new fabric, new tablecloths, got a new, like, made a new logo did all the things.

Alisha Merrick

10:26

And so my whole journey is kind of that way where I just like all of a sudden realize, Oh, I need to do X, Y, or Z to be happy and do you know the next step and to grow and so kind of as I said, Before, I was doing just the farmers markets and I had a booth out at Roche harbor here, which is a like a resort Marina for five or six years, but I didn't enjoy I love in person sales, but I don't enjoy being at the mercy of other people's schedules and like the high intensity or, or just like being able to just sell on a Saturday, I kind of wanted my own space, and I wanted to be able to curate the space entirely and show off more of my work than I could basically schlep into a booth somewhere. Because now I can show my paintings and my jewelry side by side and it's kind of a showstopper to do it that way. So So then I opened a store. Yeah,

Tracy Matthews

11:33

That's awesome. Yeah.

Alisha Merrick

11:37

Yeah, in 2019 I just quit all the markets and the Roche Harbor booth and I got on a waitlist for my current space in town and I rented the space in January of 2020. And I was supposed to open in March. And then I didn't open until June but that's the timeline.

Tracy Matthews

12:02

Yeah, I was curious. Like how did how did having a retail space? Like happen like during the pandemic? Was it just like it were your landlords or anything? Were they graceful with the rent and stuff like that? or?

Alisha Merrick

12:16

Yeah, basically, like I said, he he kind of was like, Oh, the day I opened I had to close like all the retail closed literally the day, that was my kind of opening. And so I went home and I mean, I didn't really cry, but for like, you know, a couple months, I couldn't be open. So it was just, it was sad. But it would have pushed me to do more online stuff, which kind of worked out. And yes, my landlord was graceful, he added my rent onto the end of my lease. So whenever that is, I'll have to just pay it back then. Maybe he'll forget.

Tracy Matthews

12:56

Yeah, he'll forget that's a good way to think about it. Right? Yeah. So you said something earlier when you were talking about you know, it wasn't until about five years ago that you realize if you wanted you couldn't just be an artist if you wanted to make money of this and you slightly putting some words into your mouth? I think that's what you meant.

Alisha Merrick

13:15

Yeah,

Tracy Matthews

13:16

What was the shift that had to happen internally for you to kind of make that adjustment?

Alisha Merrick

13:22

Um, well I mean, I was doing some work on myself because prior to maybe 2018 I was kind of depressed and I'm always lacked confidence and I just I didn't really I see other people doing stuff that was cool and successful, but I just didn't really feel like I could do it. I sort of resented them and was jealous and in whatnot and then, um, and then I just changed my mindset and I basically was like, hang on a second, why, why can't I do it and and so I just started figuring things out you know, I mean, I've always made my own logos and I've always done everything pretty much myself and so I just started kind of tailoring everything the way I wanted it to look, um, and then upgrading stuff slowly as I could afford to in terms of my displays. And I'm just, I mean, I think the big thing was just investing in myself and believing in myself and the more I do it, the more it pays off, so then it sort of is a catalyst for me to do it more and more and more and so I'm, I now I barely have any days where I'm like, Oh, I can't do it. Or, or if I do, I just allow myself to have that day and then I just tackle it in the next day and little bit

Tracy Matthews

15:00

Yeah, so Wow, I think what you just said is really powerful. In fact, right before this I did, I recorded an episode on mental health with a therapist. So I think it's interesting because I know that a lot of people listening to this show probably resonate with what you just said, like, I felt like that was for other people, not for me, or I resented them, or I was jealous of them, or whatever it might be. And that's a hard thing, number one to publicly admit and say, but also, like, I feel like it's when you can shift your mindset and kind of get into a different headspace. So much is available to you so much more is available to you for growth and all of those things. Did you get support or help with the mindset piece, I mean, outside of the mindset, coaching we do and momentum.

Alisha Merrick

15:51

Um, well on a whim, I, my friend lives in Oakland, and she messaged me one day and was like, Hey, you should come visit me and we'll go to this seminar in the city. And I said, great, and I had nothing like I had no idea what I was going to I just wanted to go see her. And so we went to see Abraham Hicks. I like, I can't even really describe the experience, especially because I didn't know what I was going into. Um, it basically just changed my entire life. Because it I just was like, Well, what am I doing, you know, and so, yeah, it just made me realize that I can be or do or have anything that I want. And there's nothing serious going on here. And just to go for it. And I should add, like, with the whole, like, lacking in confidence, and, you know, depressing kind of vibe, like I was working probably two to four part time, like low paying jobs, and doing my art on the side. So not only like it was sort of feeding the whole starving artists thing and the whole, like, I'm poor, and I'm sad and whatever. And so basically, the second that my mind shift, like my mindset shift happened, I quit all my jobs just to do the art because I knew inside that was the only thing that I could ever do and be successful at.

Tracy Matthews

17:29

That is so awesome. That you said that well, first of all, like I love Abraham Hicks, I listened to them.

Alisha Merrick

17:38

Yeah,

Tracy Matthews

17:38

that's like them every morning like oh, my drive to this apartment because I live with Jason but I rent an apartment to work out of so I can stages and stuff like that, and have my own podcast studio and all the things and I've fallen away from like doing a lot of attractive work for a long time. And like I was going through my own internal struggle, and it is really powerful, the more that you can get your energy aligned with what you're trying to create, like everything starts to shift. And it's not that you're trying to squash down things and avoid them. It's just like processing through them. And being open to like, what what's what the real thing going on as well.

Alisha Merrick

18:19

Yeah, and I can't remember what it was like before I signed up I did laying the foundation in 2019 maybe. And, um, I can't remember what it was when I was sort of looking at your program and trying to figure out you know, what I was about and if I should do it and stuff, but I feel like there was some references in there to that until like yoga and to all the things that like helped me to feel better on a daily basis. And so I just I felt more connected to you and to the program. And it made me more comfortable signing up.

Tracy Matthews

18:58

Yeah, well, mindset is a huge part of it. You know, we have a mindset coach Jason Ayers, Jason Ayres who's my partner, but he's like incredible mindset. He's done so much work and he helps people like work through trauma and childhood stories and all the things that kind of hold us back. And I have such a deep belief in mindset with success that I made it a core part of the program because I think that that's like one of the most important parts of being a being able to deal with all the pressure there is to be creative, and then also run a business and do all the things you have to do. Because some days it's hard, like you don't want to I mean, I should ask you this question, but you don't always want to show up and do the stuff you have to do to run the business but the passion for the business can sometimes lead right?

Alisha Merrick

19:44

Right.

Tracy Matthews

19:45

So how do you deal with that, like when on the days that you don't want to do the work

Alisha Merrick

19:51

I'm I'm pretty big procrastinator but then I go through I go through spurts where like all of a sudden Everything will just click one day, and I'll just take a whole bunch of stuff off my list. Um, and so the other thing too is that I am currently wearing most of the hats for my business still. But I, I try to just like I don't know, I try to be more intuitive about what feels good to do at the moment, rather than forcing myself to do the business II thing or do the creative thing. Like, sometimes I can do that. But other times I just have to be like, well, what sounds more fun right now and then go with that.

Tracy Matthews

20:42

Yeah, what's gonna give you the most satisfaction?

Alisha Merrick

20:44

Yeah.

Tracy Matthews

20:44

Like I have to say sometimes, like getting all that business stuff off your plate feels so good. Because you're then oh, it's not hanging over your head anymore. And you love freedom. Right?

Alisha Merrick

20:53

Early. Yeah. Yeah.

Tracy Matthews

20:56

So the holidays are coming up. And we you told us last year that November last year was one of your best months ever. What do you attribute that to?

Alisha Merrick

21:07

Um, well, specifically, I believe it's because for the first time ever, I did an email campaign. Um, and I went back into my records today, because I was trying to figure out what I did, but I basically did uhm, like a Black Friday, Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday kind of trio thing, uhm, where there were different perks offered like this percentage off, but you had to spend that much or, or whatever. And so I mean, by no means was it like a huge, you know, windfall of money or anything. But for me, it was the highest selling montage I had ever had online. So it really opened my eyes to the whole, like, Oh, this does work and things, you know, the people are paying attention online, and that sort of thing. Because prior to that, I hadn't ever done any of that.

Tracy Matthews

22:08

Yeah, that's powerful. It's an interesting thing to test out. I know, a lot of people last year said that one of the things that contribute to their growth online was definitely sending more emails, and they felt comfortable with Yeah, making offers, like how do you know, right? Yeah, yeah. Which is so good. That's awesome. So how to planning and staying focused, kind of move you closer to your goals. And we kind of talked about this a little bit, but how do you avoid distractions when they come up.

Alisha Merrick

22:34

Um, I'm gonna be honest, and I'm gonna say I'm very easily distracted. And I don't have a good method for for keeping on track. But I mean, I have like, I'm kind of, I mean, I'm organized but I'm unorganized in the terms that I have like 20 post it and a planner and like, you know, all the things and somehow I get it all done eventually but i don't i don't have a good method right now I really need to implement something that's going to help me out I'm getting there though. I'm getting there. I have notes from one of the coaching calls about about that problem. So

Tracy Matthews

23:19

Is there anything that you do in particular to focus to get like in the zone or is it just like,

Alisha Merrick

23:27

Uhm, well creatively, if I just come into the studio, even if I don't know what I want to do, I'll just turn the kiln on, so that it's warming up and then I'll just kind of Putz around the studio and like tinker with random stuff. And then I get focused like it's kind of like I need to allow myself the freedom to do nothing and then I can all of a sudden dive in and get productive.

Tracy Matthews

23:56

So in your retail store, is or your studio is do you work out of the mean do you make the jewelry and your art in the studio as well?

Alisha Merrick

24:06

No, my studio is at home. So it's a like newly finished space I think 2018 maybe finished out the space and it's great and it's got like natural lighting and it's amazing and I haven't broken up into little sections like the jewelry section and the painting section and and a little drafting table for illustrating and stuff so it's pretty rad like that. But then yeah, my shop is in town like a block from the ferry so the location is very good. It is a tiny shop. It's like 10 by 10. So I'm not able to have a lot of equipment or tools there. So what I do is I enamel here like I do all the prep and then the enameling and the sort of like filing and sanding and everything here at the home studio. And then I take it to Fern. And there I have like, the ear wire and the chain and the jump rings and the pliers and I can assemble everything when I'm there.

Tracy Matthews

25:12

Okay, that's cool.

Alisha Merrick

25:13

Yeah,

Tracy Matthews

25:14

awesome.

Alisha Merrick

25:14

Yeah,

Tracy Matthews

25:15

I had my first office space was 10 by 10. And I'm sitting here visualizing the size. And literally, we couldn't even fit like three or four people working.

Alisha Merrick

25:25

It's just one person and I trained, I got a new employee on Monday,

Tracy Matthews

25:30

Yay!

Alisha Merrick

25:32

So that I can have time off, but still be at home, like, you know, doing the things and then making money while I'm taking a nap at home. But anyways, at training, her training her was crazy, because it would be like, Okay, I'm gonna move out of here and you come in, you know, we just kept having to, like, do a little dance behind the sales counter, because it's such a tight space, but it's fine.

Tracy Matthews

25:57

I want to come back to hiring the employee in a minute.

Alisha Merrick

26:00

Yeah.

Tracy Matthews

26:01

Because I think that there's a lot there. I know that you said that, when we were talking, or when there was like a little bit of a pre interview process and stuff like that, when you were sharing kind of your story of growth, that a couple of years ago, you're just doing like, $25,000 a year. So how did you get to a place where you felt like confident enough to be able to hire someone.

Alisha Merrick

26:27

Um, what happened was in 2019, I did, um, I was kind of growing tired of the, the little markets that I had been doing since 2016, or no 2012, actually, here on the island. And I did, we had like a ladies group one day where we like, sat down and brainstorm stuff about our businesses. And I literally wrote, I don't want to do any of the things I'm doing right now. I dont have a shop. And that was 2019. And then my friend Aaron Hagen, Reich, and I did a, we did two pop ups, we did one in October, downtown, like within a block of my, my now shop. And we did really well. And then we did want again in December, and did about the same. And so in my mind, I was like, well, we're just renting this space for you know, a few days, and we're making this much money. If I can get a shop in town, I can make money all the time, I can be open as much as I want. And I don't have to just do it on weekends or pop ups or whatever. And so I can increase my income, which will make everything like I can grow my business more. That's kind of what I mean that's the snowball effect that led to getting the shop and needing an employee because I can't create all the things and run the shop.

Tracy Matthews

28:01

Yeah,

Alisha Merrick

28:02

Can't

Tracy Matthews

28:03

How did you make that mindset shift to go from being the maker of the doer of all things to being like you know what I know that I have to invest in myself I'm going to invest in the shop I'm assuming that your sales growth grow I mean, I know that your sales have grown because you told me You've told us that but like there that was probably a contributor to being able to make that investment right so how did you mentally make that leap like letting go of like, in a way control because I know when I hired my first person, it was so scary. I mean, I've been employing people for years now but like

Alisha Merrick

28:36

Yeah, no, I know I'm like man, she's got people doing all the things that's so great. Um, no, I'm still doing most things and I've had kind of temporary employees before where like this summer I had a girl working but she was like a high schooler so she had to go back at the end of August and I knew I wanted to hire someone in a more more full time capacity just because even though it's slowing down and it's not high tourist season, I'm going to need somebody when the holidays come which is pretty quick here. I just I just want somebody that I can have so that I know that the store can be open and that I can be home creating because I mean, it's just more realistic when you consider the fact that I'm not like a regular retail store. Most retails stores don't make anything in their store. They just buy it wholesale and they resell it and I make 75% of the things in my shop and so I just there's no way to do it by myself.

Tracy Matthews

29:50

Yeah, that's it's a lot.

Alisha Merrick

29:52

I was tired. Basically. exhaustion is the mindset shift. Like I just like I can't I can't do it anymore.

Tracy Matthews

30:01

How's that freed you up? Just mean it's it probably allowed you to be more creative I'm guessing

Alisha Merrick

30:06

yeah i mean it's it's crazy to be to have the freedom of like knowing that you can be in the studio or you can even take a nap you know cuz you need naps you do if you're tired and exhausted like you can't just go work in the studio so I can work in the studio I can take a nap but I just know like I trust the person enough to know that they've got the shop and then I don't really have to worry about that on that particular day so um so the it's it's been it's been pretty good because I just have to turn off the like, the fear of me not being there not being in control. Because I know I can't do all the things

Tracy Matthews

30:59

Yeah, I love that you keep bringing up maps because it's my favorite thing.

Alisha Merrick

31:03

Yeah,

Tracy Matthews

31:04

Nothing is like a life's not everyone's a napper and not everyone can do some people feel sick when they wake up from a nap but like it changes my life especially if I get a bad night's sleep because like by noon or two I'm like oh my gosh, just like I need to go to bed right now and 30 minutes changes my life.

Alisha Merrick

31:23

I mean, it's just a real mind blower to be home on one of my days that they're working and literally be taking a nap and then wake up from the nap and look at my phone and I've made two or three or whatever $100 and I'm like okay,yeah.

Tracy Matthews

31:41

that's so cool. I'm so I'm curious like you talked about going from doing these art shows and then opening a retail space in the retail space getting closed down and selling online like how have you what marketing strategies are you leaning in to grow your sales the most? And how do you how do you say like aligned with that? Because I'm curious like what happened, what you've done to like sort of inspire some growth in your business and shift with these changes.

Alisha Merrick

32:15

Yeah, I mean honestly the almost the entire growth in my business aside from my mindset which made it happen in the first place is the fact that I live on this touristy Island out north of Seattle um because well that and I'm in a really great location so I basically I'm a block from the ferry so people that get in line with their cars and then they have an hour to kill they come shopping or whatever so tourism has significantly increased my business and the fact that I can be open all the time because I mean, I was doing sales like I said on Saturday but you know, maybe you're making 300 or $1,000 whereas now I can make that in a day any day of the week because I'm open

Tracy Matthews

33:13

Right.

Alisha Merrick

33:14

So, that's been the biggest thing is just an increase in in person traffic. Um, and then I mean I have like an email list sign up thing which I never really did before. Right on the calendar where they're paying I have that um, and it's a big selling point for people coming in when they realize that I make almost all the things in there like they kind of freak out about it so that's pretty cool. Um, in terms of the online thing I mean, I did like i said i did that promotion last fall I I've done a couple small collection drops this year. And it's just it's it's like this thing that I forget because I'm so focused on the in person business because it's like really been busy like July and August just get rolled just like trying to stay with your head above the water. And now it's like okay, I'm coming down and already this week I'm more inspired to draft the email and you know, I modeled my own jewelry, like you know, just to make the, the emails happen because I have regular sales if I do that, and I have noticed that I just tend to get a little bit distracted by by the shop, sometimes.

Tracy Matthews

34:45

Well, that's so cool to know that you have that every single time like anytime you want to lean into it. And imagine like what's going to happen when your employee you know, is taking over the shop for you and you're just like, doing more marketing or whatever, which is great. It's awesome. I feel like it's awesome to see how how you can kind of bounce this, like offline and online worlds together? Like, how are you handling that, like, besides the signup, like has it been has it helped the online part having the in person show? store?

Alisha Merrick

35:18

For sure, for sure. Um, and you know, it's so funny too, because I was sort of like on the fence about joining for a second year because I felt like, my whole first year, I was just like, kind of overwhelmed with the store and learning how to navigate having a brick and mortar shop, which I had never done before. And so I didn't feel like I was utilizing all the aspects of the program. But then she reminded me like, the most important part is like, the one on one calls, which I did all those and I did the 90 day things, which were amazing. And like, I just feel, she just reminded me about momentum, and like keeping it going. And she had me she prompted me to like write, what do you want for your business next year, like in this coming year, and I hadn't even thought of it. And so, um, I don't know, it just inspired me. Because then I was like, Wait a second, I could just work it for like, three days, and I could be off, I've never like, don't get off. I mean, off is like, you're still working. For me at least. And so then I was like, well, then I could be off. And then I could have studio days, and I could like time block all the things. So.

Tracy Matthews

36:40

So that's really cool. Well, we don't know what you're talking about. We're talking about our momentum program over here, which you remember of, and the person you're speaking about, as Natasha who does the attacking call, like after a certain period of time with our students. So it's so great to hear, because those are all great assets to the program. And I think one of the things that you really hit on there that I think is really powerful. I mean, the one on one, coaching is awesome. But the most important thing is, if you don't really know what you want to create, it's hard to kind of get out of your own way. Because that's kind of what I heard. That's not really what you said, but kind of what you said you're like, well, if I really think about this, what if I work three days? And how can I use that time off to like be more creative? Or? Or take more naps? Or take a day off? Or go on vacation? or whatever it might be? right?

Alisha Merrick

37:34

Exactly.

Tracy Matthews

37:35

Which is so great. So

Alisha Merrick

37:37

That's my number before,

Tracy Matthews

37:39

It's that I'm so proud of you, which is amazing. So I want to kind of come back to hiring this employee, because that's a big step. What did you do to actually prepare and plan to train the person?

Alisha Merrick

37:53

Um, well, I, I wasn't so much worried about how to train the person as I was, how to get the person and hire the person. Yeah, I did have a call in the program about that. And so I learned a lot of things to ask it an interview, and that sort of thing. And I ran the ad in three different places. But then in terms of the training, I have these old wholesale line sheets with all my collection, like the picture and the name. So I gave those to the to the gal and then I had her sign up for my email list so that she could kind of get my backstory in the history of how I got to where I am. And then I kind of just had her study my online work so that she would learn my collection names and then I had her come into the shop. And we just did the big 10 by 10 loop. They're just like this is this and this is this and you know, here's your cheat sheet and i mean it's it's pretty easy because she she just started but she's doing great because she already knew retail and it's such a small space that really all she has to do is is memorize my collection names and that sort of thing. So

Tracy Matthews

39:25

Probably not on the wall. Like do you want that piece?

Alisha Merrick

39:29

Yeah, yeah. So no, and she's excited, which helps. Yeah,

Tracy Matthews

39:35

She loves it. That's, that's moving. So um, we talked about a lot of different things on this interview. For people out there who are kind of in a space to make a big leap and create a big shift or something like that. What what's your recommendation to them to just go for it

Alisha Merrick

40:01

Um, I would say, I mean, this is just for me personally, but betting on myself and being intuitive about myself was the best thing that I could do and, and learning that, like, you just have to take risks, because what else are you? What else are you doing? And also, that you can't do it without help. And so I'm just, I'm seeking out help in other ways so that I can be more successful and, you know, and continue to grow the business. Yeah, yeah,

Tracy Matthews

40:41

you kind of help you've been in our momentum program, which we've referenced a couple times during this episode. We think of that as some sort of support, like, tell me a little bit about your experience in the program.

Alisha Merrick

40:53

Um, well, like I said, in 2019, I dabbled in laying the foundation on and sort of learned about the dream client and the branding stuff, and learn all kinds of words that I didn't know and hadn't used before, that were like, sort of financial and businesses. So now I feel fancy, because because I know more of that stuff. I'm like, an RGA. And like, you know, I didn't even know cost of goods, like, what fixed and what variable were and so now I'm like, learning all this stuff that just makes it click and be more fun. But anyways, um, so before I joined the program, I was sort of in a constant state of overwhelm. And I felt really alone. And kind of lost and just untethered, kind of floating out there, like, ambiguously knowing what I wanted, but not being focused, or knowing how to get it.

Alisha Merrick

41:59

And then I joined it. And which was scary for me, financially, and, you know, emotionally and all the things, but, um, it did help me to feel less overwhelmed having the coaching calls and the guidance. And I think, I think it really helped me with goal setting, because I hadn't done a lot of that previously, so. So now, yeah, I can say, from 2019 to 2020, I doubled my income. And from 2020 to 2021, like the end of this year, I will double that again. So like, it's just, it's blowing my mind to set these goals, and then actually meet them. And like, I kind of just laugh, because it just feels like crazy banana town. I don't know, I don't know how it's happening. I mean, I'm doing the work. I know how it's happening. But it's just, it's crazy.

Tracy Matthews

43:05

Well, if your mind has changed, your belief system has changed about being successful. I mean, that's,

Alisha Merrick

43:11

Yeah,

Tracy Matthews

43:11

that's the root of it. I mean, this all started five years ago, when you walked into that Abraham Hicks center, right,

Alisha Merrick

43:17

Yeah

Tracy Matthews

43:17

You know, belief system, and then showing up for your business and then finding the support. And, you know, they say, when the student is ready, the teacher will come. Not that I'm necessarily the teacher, but like, more that you find the support, right, you know, you find a program, and then you get involved in a coaching.

Alisha Merrick

43:38

Yeah,

Tracy Matthews

43:38

Community, where you get to learn from a lot of different people, which is pretty awesome. And I mean, I'm really happy for you, because if you don't want me to say this, we can cut it later. But like, you're now like, you're on track to do like six figures this year for the first time.

Alisha Merrick

43:51

Yeah,

Tracy Matthews

43:52

Just so exciting.

Alisha Merrick

43:53

Yeah, it's again, like I mean, I can't even I can't even it's, it's just crazy to think about, but I love it. So,

Tracy Matthews

44:02

That's so cool.

Alisha Merrick

44:03

I want to know, I want to do more than that. Like,

Tracy Matthews

44:06

Yeah,let's go for 200 next year.

Alisha Merrick

44:08

Yeah. Well, I basically wrote down on the little piece of paper when I talked to Natasha, like, how many days off I wanted, um, I wanted to net 100k instead of gross and that, like, you know, just a bunch of things like I wanted to hire, I want to hire tech support and like, social media person, and, you know, just getting more help.

Tracy Matthews

44:31

And so it is, and so it will be Yes, yeah. Is there anything that you'd like to share about the program or your business? Before we wrap up this episode?

Alisha Merrick

44:41

I think that my favorite part of the of the program has just really been well, the coaching calls because you can get very specific about who you meet with and what you talk about, and honestly I've never had such a cheerleading section as I have now. Which is it's delightful to have all the coaches and all the people like rooting for your success. Because I think, again, I think because I had like, such low confidence before, it just feels like this big cheering team, like behind me and I and I think about it, you know, more often than I probably say, but I think I think that, that that's kind of the biggest thing for me. And it just has really made me focus on like, doing stuff that I would have never done before and, and getting out of my comfort zone. And then pushing myself to self to do all the scary things all the time.

Alisha Merrick

45:56

Because I get scared of the tiniest little like business thing. And then I just like, put it off until it feels like okay, I can do it. And then I do it. And I'm like, that took me 20 minutes, and I put it off for three months. But But I wouldn't even have known about that thing that I needed to do. Had I not been in the program, I guess is what I'm saying. So I'm very grateful to even know about the things that will help propel me even if they're small little tweaks. I'm on the track, and I have a cheering squad.

Tracy Matthews

46:33

That's amazing. Well, I'm so proud of you and you've done such an awesome job. Where can everyone find you? And if they're in your local area, tell us your stories?

Alisha Merrick

46:41

Yes, well, um, you can take a ferry to the island, and I'm on San Juan Island. It's sort of northwest of Seattle. It's gorgeous here if you want to come and I am just a block away from the ferry and my stores called Fern. Um, and then online. I am at AlishaaMerrickart.com.

Tracy Matthews

47:07

Amazing, Alicia, thank you so much for being here today.

Alisha Merrick

47:11

Thanks so much for having me, Tracy. I enjoyed it.

Tracy Matthews

47:14

Thank you so much for listening to the show today. And if you wouldn't mind, just give Alicia a little bit of love over on social media or send her a note on her website. She was very vulnerable in this episode. And I know it's hard to talk about the things that are deep seated in our psyche, like mindset. So give her a little love, she will love to hear from you.

Tracy Matthews

47:34

And if you haven't done so yet, make sure that you get on the waitlist for the desired brand effect book over at desiredbrandeffect.com. And if you'd like more hand holding and support just like we've been giving Alicia and her business, we'd love to help you scale to multiple six figures. So if you're interested in learning more about how the momentum program can work for you, head on over to flourishthriveacademy.com/strategy and apply for a free strategy audit. This is perfect for ambitious designers who are looking to grow quickly or aggressively as they say, you know, we want to help you scale fast and we want to help you get a big impact and big results.

Tracy Matthews

48:18

First, you got to get your mindset in the right place. And then you got to be willing to lean in and take action. And our goal here is to help you speed up the process of growing your business with tools, templates and resources that help take a lot of the busy work and overwhelm out of the stuff you're doing every single day. So if you're interested in learning more, apply for a free strategy audit head on over to flourishthriveacademy.com/strategy and find out how momentum can help you in your business today.

Tracy Matthews

48:46

All right, thank you so much for listening to the show. This is Tracy Matthews signing off. Until next time.

Tracy Matthews

48:53

Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. It's my mission to help 1000s of creative businesses inside and outside the jewelry space. use their creativity to make money. Make sure that you're subscribed to thrive by design on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and wherever podcasts are playing. And we'd love to hear what you think. Please rate and review the show and if you're inspired, please share this with your friends. Cheers to seeing you flourish and thrive.

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