Laura Riches’ Post

"We've diversified our income stream. That's how we insure against rejection." Tara Hankinson recalls standing outside many a bar, crying her eyes out. Yet another traditional bar had said 'no' to her craft beer offering made for-- and by --women. Speaking at her Williamsburg taproom this week, the Talea Beer co-founder recalls the early years of rejection. Since founding their company in 2019, she and her co-founder fortified against employees quitting, a down revenue month, a pandemic, by doing one key thing --Diversifying their income stream. 75% of Talea's revenue comes from the 4 taprooms in the NYC metro area. 25% from wholesale sales. Other stories that can fortify you from rejection in business ↳Win at something else. I'm rabid about a daily hard workout at 6am. ↳Treat rejection as a gift. A learning opportunity ↳Keep in touch with and keep learning about your customer. ↳Build a support network ↳Value the process, not just the outcome ↳Be in nature. Practice mindfulness ↳Be kind to yourself---like I was today by getting away from my desk and going to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden The 7.28 Edition of "What I Did Last Week (and what I'm looking forward to) https://lnkd.in/eBWKEx4B

As an operations professional, driving a business forward requires both big-picture strategic planning and intricate execution. Small discovery projects can often spark a cascade of #valuecreation processes that lead to incremental results.  In the spirit of reflecting and moving forward, here are a few milestones marking small wins at Fair Shot in the past year, significantly expanding our small business's possibilities. Talking about our niche 📣 A perfect blend of coffee brewed with social inclusion is at the core of our mission. We are committed to nurturing a diverse group of customers, including one-off visitors to central London and daily coffee drinkers, and turning them into Fair Shot advocates. We have taken a series of steps, including visual storytelling, new/existing product development, and providing team training, to increase engagement with our customers. These efforts are aimed at achieving our objective of higher engagement levels. The results? With a whopping 11 times growth in sales, our inclusive coffee blend (https://lnkd.in/eXdcF9pj) became the most sought-after product to both home brewers and gift-givers of the season, introducing us to a wider base of social audience one brew at a time (quite literally☕️).  Integrating multi-channel experience 📱 Charities and social enterprises often grapple with delivering exceptional #customerexperiences due to constrained resources, while businesses invest significantly in this area. When most of consumers' daily decisions are made on phones, it is crucial to meet market expectations by delivering a seamless transition between on-site and digital experiences. Since August, we have activated a series of digital transformations, from mobile loyalty rewards, and geolocation prompts to QR code-enabling learning journeys for Fair Shot cafe visitors. A consistent monthly increase in donations is solid evidence that visitors are more engaged along the journey. Connecting with remote supporters🤝 Our location in Covent Garden is easily accessible, but our mission connects us to a wider audience who have supported our #inclusionrevolution. We have now provided our online community with an accessible means of showing their support from anywhere. It's amazing to see how far we've come with such a small operation team expanding our community from Brighton to Wales. We're thrilled to see our community grow and can't wait to see where we'll go next! 📦

Save the date

Go big or go home. We chose the first one for our next event… Haven’t you heard? The word in the streets is that our events are a must-attend. Our events team led by Kayla Drake knows this, and that’s why we hosted our very first "Cocktails & Community” event last week in Austin and had the best time with our friends and customers. The good news is… We’re now hosting another "Cocktails & Community” event for the first time in Chicago. So, if you are a Sales & Revenue Operations Leader. And you’re gonna be in Chicago on January 24th. Go register in the link in our comments now. See you in there? (if you’re not in Chicago, let us know which city should we do next!) #salesevent #salestips

What three words would you use to describe the support? Feedback from angel clients such as these two has been so important in nailing down what I do and how I do it. Can’t express enough gratitude to both Christopher Jaume and Abbie Jaume (née Neilson), as well as the epic extended Cooper King Distillery team for allowing me to part of an incredible milestone moment! “To be fair, I don't think any words fit just how much you have helped us!” A. “Perceptive. Invaluable. Compassionate.” S. If you’re still needing Christmas gifts - https://lnkd.in/ea63eG28 👌 Business Development is not just about shiny new contracts and exciting new products. It’s so important to regularly take stock of what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, and perhaps more importantly, why you’re doing it. I have consultancy spaces open to start in January so if you’re feeling overwhelmed or a little lost in direction, I’m here. What a gorgeous end to 2023! #businessdevelopment #smallbusinesssupport

New blog post on grassgoddessconsulting.com!

I went to a farmer's market last Friday in Polson, Montana and experienced what Donald Miller's StoryBrand theory espouses: humans (especially consumers) run from confusion. The booths that caught and kept my attention were the booths with the fewest items. I looked at most booths and somewhat subconsciously thought, 'I don't have a category for this booth. There's everything from souvenir tee shirts to fresh cherries to hand-carved trinkets. Let's keep moving.' The booths that DID capture and retain my attention were super simple: 1. a gentleman selling local honey. That was it. 2. a gentleman selling a clever beer opener. That was it. 3. a gentleman selling mushrooms. That was it. 4. a lady selling handmade lolly pops. Well, she actually was selling coffee cups, too, but those were tucked kinda outta sight. When my kids spent their 'tourist money' from their grandfather, do you wanna guess the two final contenders? Honey and lolly pops. Wanna guess the eventual winner? Lolly pops. Thanks to my fellow Rustonite, Len Woods, for teaching me more about StoryBrand. I've got a long way to go in becoming a StoryBrand. Here's a picture of my secondborn (aka cutest four year old on the planet) holding one of these fancy lolly pops - unicorn shaped and made with (I assume local?) huckleberry syrup. #storybrand

Stop by Salem's On Centre in the Hill District TODAY at 3 o'clock to find out if YOU were chosen as this month's FREE GRILL and $150 worth of FRESH HALAL MEAT giveaway! PRIZE: The "Summer Fun Package" includes one (1) propane gas grill, grilling accessories, a cooler, $150 worth of fresh meat, and various additional summer fun items. ▪No further entries will be accepted ▪Grill on display is the actual prize ▪Must provide proper identification to verify ▪Winner is responsible for hauling ▪The prize must be accepted as awarded and is not transferable or convertible to cash. This is just one of MANY ways to celebrate Summer with many fun and festive giveaways, events, and activities at Salems Market! 📍1850 Centre Avenue #Pittsburgh Contest rules: Publicity: By participating, entrants agree to allow Salem's Market to use their names, photographs, or other likenesses for promotional purposes without further compensation, except where prohibited by law. Liability Release: By entering, participants release and hold harmless Salem's Market and its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents from all liability for any injuries, loss, or damages of any kind arising from or in connection with the raffle or receipt or use and/or misuse of any prize. Raffle Organizer: The raffle is organized and managed by Salem's Market, located at 1850 Center Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15219. For any queries regarding the raffle, please contact customerservice@salemsmarketcentre.com. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with any social media platforms on which it may be promoted.

Any other businesses really struggle with Jellycat as a company? ... because my gosh the service is shocking!!! If the product itself wasn’t so good and a best seller of ours, we would not be dealing with them. I’ve seen a lot of feedback from how awful the service was at spring fair (and I agree) but over the years they are becoming increasingly difficult to deal with. I have to constantly chase them to ask for order confirmations, invoices and where our order actually is. Then to be told many items are on back order/ not due in for months. We are being disappointed time and time again and always the ones to have to contact them. We received an order last week that we placed at spring fair and only a small amount had arrived… I called to ask where the rest was and some won’t be coming back in until November (why let us order it in the first place) .. .. and some items that are now in stock (£80 worth) we were told we need to make up another order of £320 to make it £400 as this is the new minimum order and they won’t deliver the items until I make up another order … ridiculous!! Back order items from EVERY other company we deal with are always sent out when in stock regardless of the amount of product because it’s not our fault!! Other companies call to update us, apologize and they treat us well. Jellycat are the definition of how NOT to run a company. We’ve been a loyal customer for 10+ years. It’s starting to feel as though we, as a small business aren’t good enough to stock Jellycat because we don’t do £1000+ orders every month. These big corporate companies are getting to big for their boots and the lack of customer care is appalling! As David Middleton said in his recent post ... ‘Be careful how you treat people when your at the top. Because you don’t know who you might need on the way down’ I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds Jellycat to be an awful company to deal with. If anyone knows of any other quality soft toy brands to stock instead (that are suitable from birth) please let me know. #jellycat #customercare #hownottorunabusiness

When I visit my family in Texas, I always make a point to stop at Buc-ee's, Ltd. as we bounce between Austin and Waco. I know, right? Why would I be so crazy about going to a C-Store? Well, it can be summed up in a five-word phrase… Everything. Is. Bigger. In. Texas. From BBQ to Beaver Nuggets, an adorable mascot, and probably the largest wall of soda dispensers you’ve ever seen, Texas based Buc-ee's, Ltd. has truly evolved what it means to be a C-Store and has become a destination in itself. It’s simply massive. So it’s no surprise to see that the chain is attracting a higher share of weekend visits and a greater share of family households compared to its peers, as it has emerged as a favorite destination for families and individuals looking for somewhere to go on their days off. Great work by Samuel Roche and the team! Check out the C-Stores: From Convenient Stops to Go-To Destinations White Paper for more insights and to gain a better understanding of how C-Stores have become Go-to Destinations! Link in the comments below.