How would you describe an Ossining Innovates! event?
A place to hear inspiring stories from fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners and be surprised by the gusto with which others are approaching their businesses. You don’t know what to expect, who you’ll meet or what opportunity might arise - except that you’ll learn a lot and have fun doing it. And, I can tell you those opportunities will arise!
What brought you to your OI! Event? What were you looking to get out of coming?
I had started my own business while I was still working my day job and caring for my young son, a juggling act I continue today. As a new entrepreneur, I had a ton of questions and was increasingly feeling pressure that to grow my business I needed to add new product lines. But I wasn’t sure what my customers might want or how I could expand my reach. I wasn’t even sure I had the time and resources to add a new product. Like so many new business owners, I was getting all kinds of “free advice” including suggestions that I needed to open my own retail shop.
My neighbor told me about the Marketing Demystified or Marketing When You’re Spending Your Own Money workshop last January. The timing for this 3-part series felt right. Plus being in the evenings, I could fit it into my schedule. The hands-on workshop focused on customer-centric marketing, that is deeply understanding the needs of our existing customers as a means to refining and expanding our business, our circle of customers and our messaging. They really encouraged us to stay focused and to resist the urge to just add new products when there is still lots of room to grow while still staying very focused on our minimal viable customer base.
It was a message I had heard before when I worked with the woman who helped design my logo: “Your customers will tell you what they want from you.” After the workshop, I left feeling reconnected to my existing customers and relieved that I didn’t need to start adding new products at this time, that there was still plenty of growth if I just stayed focused on my core product.
Then in April, I attended a Meet the Entrepreneur Next Door evening where two business owners with store fronts shared their stories. The two speakers had vastly different businesses and yet their experiences and challenges with a brick and mortar store front were similar. It was a good reminder that I had lots of room to grow before taking on a lease might be a logical next step.
What do you do differently now that you took away from attending OI! events?
I’ve now been to a number of the Ossining Innovates! events and have even brought my husband along. It’s been eye-opening to see how business and people that at first seem so different are grappling with many of the same questions I am. And, that just like me, there are lots of surprises when you own your own business, no matter how many years you’ve been at it. Connecting at the hyper-local level has been really gratifying. Hearing how others just jump in to experiment - like what Chase Harnett is doing with Hudson Oven - is inspiring.
What one thing do you want people to know about your business or nonprofit?
Family is very important to me and therefore I use old, treasured family recipes to bring the sense of family into each product I create. I aim to help make important moments in my customers’ lives even better than they envisioned. Customer convenience and a sense of ease are really important to me. I take pride in knowing my customers well enough that I can add that little something, that one little idea, as a gift from me to them. Recently, one of my customers ordered a “cookie bouquet” for a dear friend who’s family member was just diagnosed with cancer. She told me she just hoped to bring her friend some happy thoughts during her difficult time. I added a card along with the order, just a small touch which really made my customer happy; that I went the extra mile for her without her having to ask.
What one thing do you think people should know about OI!?
Ossining Innovates! helps entrepreneurs and budding entrepreneurs feel supported and connected. It’s a real community of people who are open, willing to share their highs and lows, and who you can trust.
