Lisa graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2005 with a degree in English. But there was a problem, her passion was for art and design.
Unsure about what career to pursue, Lisa made what she considers to be the best decision of her life. She applied to a design school in San Francisco and dropped everything to attend. She earned a degree in Visual Communications and for the following 9 years worked as a visual merchandiser, eventually landing as a corporate visual merchandising manager.
Although Lisa loved her work, she wanted to start a business of her own. It was at this point, she seriously started to entertain an idea that she’d had in her late 20’s – selling her mother’s candied pecans.
The inspiration came after making the candied nuts for friends who raved about them and encouraged her to start a business.
Finally, at 32, she was ready. Black Bow Sweets is now 3 years old and growing rapidly with an expanded product line and distribution across the US.
Business Building InsightsGet used to and become comfortable with change.
No matter how afraid you are of not succeeding, go ahead and try.
Research is an important step to starting a business.
Spread the word about your new business to families and friends.
Get out into the public eye through community and non-profit events.
It’s up to you to get people excited about your product.
Getting positive feedback boosts you up and provides momentum to keep going.
Communication with customers is a solid form of customer service. One way to do this is to let a customer know the progress of their order and then to followup afterwards to get feedback on their purchase.
Write thank you notes to customers. Let them know you appreciate how they have helped a small business grow.

Resources Mentionedhttps://dailygreatness.co/ (The Daily Greatness Journal )– A unique series of lifestyle journals, courses and content for health, fitness, business, personal growth.
https://evernote.com/ (Evernote )–  Keep your life organized.
Podcast Episodes Referencedhttp://giftbizunwrapped.com/giftbizunwrapped100/ (Top Take Aways from 100 Episodes of Gift Biz Unwrapped)
http://giftbizunwrapped.com/stevedotto/ (Evernote Power! Get Super Productive with Steve Dotto)
Contact Linkshttp://www.blackbowsweets.com (Website)
https://www.facebook.com/blackbowsweets/ (Facebook)
https://www.instagram.com/blackbowsweets/ (Instagram)
https://twitter.com/blackbowsweets (Twitter)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wojciklisa/ (LinkedIn)
Gift Biz ResourcesJoin our https://www.facebook.com/groups/GiftBizBreeze/ (FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community)Take the https://quiz.leadquizzes.com/q/Ky85Vd (Gift Biz Quiz)Where are you in your business building journey? You may be further along than you think. Take https://quiz.leadquizzes.com/q/Ky85Vd (this quiz) to find out. At the end, you’ll have access to a free download to help you along. P.S. This is not a quiz where your result gets published to social media. It’s for your eyes only :o)
The http://www.giftbizunwrapped.com/makersmba (Makers MBA) ProgramFeel the pride and satisfaction of turning your passion into a profitable business. Become a member of the http://giftbizunwrapped.com/makersmba (Makers MBA) program and access valuable videos, worksheets, and guides and connect with a community of gift biz builders just like you. It’s time to get moving on your dream. Get started today!
If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in http://www.giftbizunwrapped.com/ApplePodcasts (Apple Podcasts) or http://www.giftbizunwrapped.com/GooglePodcasts (Google Podcasts). That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue