Honorable and Meaningful Work ft. Kathy Brooks

Kathy Brooks00:00:00 - 00:00:13

Are blocked and the the tires are burning and, there's no transportation. You're walking, but you don't know whether or not if the people are manning those manifestations, you may or may not be able to get through.
Wayne Herring00:00:13 - 00:00:53
Welcome to the Business Builder Way podcast, Where we help business builders grow leadership skills and wisdom and stay grounded through business builder hero stories. So let's get after it. Kathy Brooks, it's great to be with you. And, we we tell these stories to encourage other business builders to keep going and to show that it's worth it to both build a business And to integrate that business with life and with who they are. And we'll be, talking to you and listening to hear your journey and and Stages and friction points and and the good and the bad. And I really appreciate you, showing up big time to share with Business Builder Way Listeners, your story today.
Kathy Brooks00:00:53 - 00:00:58
Oh, thank you so much for having me. I've been looking forward to this. Yeah. Appreciate that.
Wayne Herring00:00:58 - 00:01:26
Me too. Great. So, let's just kinda drop in, and we use the hero's journey as part of the framework for these conversations. And I'd like to start with I and I read your book, and I've I've been following you for a long time. So I know that you've heard a call to business or you you've heard a call to create something, and maybe you didn't know exactly what it was initially. But can we start there? Can we start with the the moment where you this whole journey started for you?
Kathy Brooks00:01:27 - 00:02:17
Yeah. That's great. To say that I didn't know, half 30 of what it was is an understatement when I heard the call. But I think, probably our starting point for 2nd story, in terms of building the business in Haiti was my 1st trip to Haiti. And a lot of people are so profoundly affected, and, when they step onto that beautiful part of that island, and meet the people. So my, one of the experiences, I guess, that is was the hinge point for me was, when I was with some friends and, going through Port au Prince, and, a woman approached us with her baby in her arms and began to talk to the driver who was my friend who spoke Creole. And, they talked for a while. We didn't have any idea what was going on.
Kathy Brooks00:02:17 - 00:03:04
And, afterwards when she walked away, you know, I asked my friend, Sherry. I said, what what was that all about? And she said she approached us asking if we would take her baby, the baby she was carrying in her arms. And it's like I'm like, in what? What in the world? You know? And, and she said she was explained to me that she had 3 more children at home, and, food was scarce. And she, basically, wanted to look after the welfare of her child. And she assumed that because we were white, that we ran an orphanage, that we would take her child. And, and I'm in, you know, sitting in the back seat of this 4 runner thinking, I don't have a grid for this. And, and it's like, Sherry just turned around. It's like she read my mind.
Kathy Brooks00:03:04 - 00:03:48
She looked at me in the eyes. She goes, you need to understand, this woman no more wanted to give her child away than you do. And I I I still feel all of that emotion of that moment that, no woman wants to give her child away, especially due to due to economic, situations that she found herself in. And I I remember thinking, if that was my daughter, you know, what would I want someone to do? And I was like, I would want a job. And Sherry said as as Sherry said, what they really want is jobs. And I was like, well, You know, we can maybe do something about that. I don't know what, but we can do something about that. We have
Kathy Brooks00:03:48 - 00:03:52
a little cottage industry of our family in Georgia
Kathy Brooks00:03:52 - 00:04:07
at the time. And we were making stuff and selling it, and, people were buying it. And it's like, you know, maybe there's something we can do here that would give some women, some mamas, some jobs. So, yeah, that was really the that's when our whole our
Kathy Brooks00:04:07 - 00:04:09
whole world shifted, I guess. Yeah.
Wayne Herring00:04:10 - 00:04:15
And and why why were you in Haiti? Why why had you gone there? What was the reason for being there?
Kathy Brooks00:04:15 - 00:04:59
Yeah. My husband had gone on a mission trip, with the church in our community and then took our son, our 13 year old son at the time. And, this was back in the day before cell phones, for much much Internet, you had to go to a a Internet cafe to get online. It was very scary for all of us. We didn't know what they were getting into. But when they came home, my my son, Taylor, was really, really affected. Sorry. He came home and dismantled his bed, because he wanted to and be in some sort of, like, com communal situation with the teenage boys he had met in Haiti who didn't
Wayne Herring00:04:59 - 00:05:00
Even though he was far away.
Kathy Brooks00:05:01 - 00:05:38
Yeah. And he yeah. From Georgia. And, I knew, like, it was profound, And I wasn't unfamiliar with, people that lived unhoused And people that lived in, you know, addiction or poverty, that wasn't an unfamiliar situation for us at all. But I had a feeling that Haiti was gonna be different for me. And, so it took me a few months. Took me, like, 4 months to decide to go. Also, my daughter was 4 at the time, and I was like, you know, I need to be safe, so she'll be safe.
Kathy Brooks00:05:38 - 00:06:00
I'm like, okay. I think she turned 4 just before I went, like, okay. She can feed herself now, and she can talk. She'll be alright. And she has 5 older brothers, so she's really gonna be okay. So yeah. So I just went with, 3 girlfriends, and, and I think our oldest son went, yeah, with us on that trip. And, yeah, to just kinda see what we could see.
Kathy Brooks00:06:00 - 00:06:07
And, fortunately, we had friends on that side that welcomed us into their their home in Port au Prince. Yeah.
Wayne Herring00:06:08 - 00:06:23
Yes. So so you wanted to go help, and I you're you're just in case people only listen listen this far, You wrote a book, and I love the book. And can you just tell us about the book for a moment in case holding it up. Yeah.
Kathy Brooks00:06:24 - 00:06:24
I had to
Kathy Brooks00:06:24 - 00:06:25
get it all down.
Kathy Brooks00:06:25 - 00:07:45
I realized I really needed to to get it all down. I really needed to get it into words and into print. So, yeah, it's called Painfully Honest, the tale of a recovering helper. And, basically, it's the the journey of, starting out as wanting to be a helper and then realizing that all the ways that my helping was hurting. And I just was not being respectful or asking questions or asking the right questions. Had a lot of preconceived ideas about what helping looked like, And, and also just was part of this whole mission movement that behaved a certain way, And, so it took living there full time. We moved there full time in 2011, And it took, living there on the ground when, that whole us and them wall started to crumble, and, it and we became less part of the mission community and more part of the community of Gwynn Naive, and, changed even the very questions that we, were asking first started asking questions changed what they were, and it, it it it it affected everything. And it wasn't really till then, Wayne, that I knew that we needed to build a company.
Kathy Brooks00:07:45 - 00:07:55
Because I didn't go in thinking I was gonna build a company. I thought we were gonna go in and people had to do this or that so they could sell it. But I never really understood that I was going to build a company there.
Wayne Herring00:07:56 - 00:08:25
And and how did that happen? How did you so and and the other thing I to acknowledge that I heard in your story, which I did read about in the book, is that you already had A little cottage business. You're already creative, and you had found a way to sell some of those things with with your family Mhmm. Where any of this happened in Haiti. Right? So and that was one of the dots that you connected. What what was that? Like, just kinda briefly, what was it that you had created at the And that was at the farm? The the place where
Kathy Brooks00:08:25 - 00:08:58
you farm. Yeah. Yeah. Really, I blame it on my sons because they started building benches. You know when you know we have a farm, you all you have all kinds of scrap wood everywhere. There's you know? And yep. So, they started building benches and asking me to paint them because I I paint, and I'm a creative, person. And so They started building benches, and we were painting them, and then I would, you know, do words on them and make them fun and funky and then paint different pieces of furniture.
Kathy Brooks00:08:58 - 00:09:10
And then at one point, my youngest son, Sam, he started building these big crosses, And, it was kind of eerie looking, like, of a roof, so I started making mosaic, like, folk art out of them.
Wayne Herring00:09:11 - 00:09:11
Uh-huh.
Kathy Brooks00:09:11 - 00:09:33
Those are super popular. But, so yeah. So then we we only live, like, 25 miles from Saint Simons and Jekyll, the Golden Isles of of Georgia. And so we would go there and sell them to the the shops, you know, the high end shop's there. And they just loved us. So, Yeah. We we we branched out and and did, signs. I'm wondering if I have any signs in here.
Kathy Brooks00:09:33 - 00:09:56
I don't think I do. Wooden plaques. The boys would beaver would bring home the the long wood from the sawmill, And the boys would have to cut, chop them, sand them, drill the holes in them, and give you know? So it was a family affair. Nice. We branched out and did a lot of different things along those lines, which is really popular at the time. So Yeah. Yeah. We did that.
Kathy Brooks00:09:57 - 00:09:57
So you
Wayne Herring00:09:57 - 00:10:27
had that experience, and you had the that those those tools already, which helped You identify this opportunity. Like, oh, I might be the one who could help provide jobs, and then you move to Haiti. And there you are in 2011, and there was a moment right there that you were Driving where you maybe it wasn't just 1 discrete moment, but you started to realize like, oh, it's not just about teaching people, but They need a place to sell these things, and I I think we need to create a company is what you said. What what was that like? What was that moment like as you came to that awakening?
Kathy Brooks00:10:27 - 00:11:46
Yeah. So that was a real moment, I'll tell you, because it was a point of decision. I hadn't I didn't consider our our our, cottage industry, a company that I built at all, I realized it was gonna be a very I was gonna change my focus from designing and creating things, from the the focus of the artist's brain into, a company building brain. And I had no background in that. I had no, I had no, skills, I thought. But so I I was really kind of, like, in my quiet time, and I felt like God asking what, well, what do you wanna do? You just need to decide that. And I sat for a minute, and I started imagining a company of people that were like a team that, like, that they knew that they were valuable as a part of this, that it became a a place where people their brilliance and their strengths were brought out and, like, really, like, honed and, like, made better and stronger by being a part of this team. And I started thinking about that, which is very much like building a family, which I realized, oh, this is like doing that.
Kathy Brooks00:11:47 - 00:11:51
I love that. I I You had already
Wayne Herring00:11:51 - 00:11:52
done that. You had some experience in that.
Kathy Brooks00:11:52 - 00:12:20
Had some experience in that, and I felt like it went really well. Still feel like it went really well. And, So I remember I wrote down it's in one of my journals that said, I want to build a company, a company where people thrive to work here. And it was a very much a riding gun. And I know that's a big part of what you talk about, with us business leaders is you've gotta take time. You're gonna need to go analog. You need to get your journal
Kathy Brooks00:12:21 - 00:12:29
Right. Write down the vision. And I just say, amen. That's it's true. It's a big difference. It changes things when you decide
Kathy Brooks00:12:30 - 00:12:32
what you want and you put it down.
Wayne Herring00:12:32 - 00:12:55
So that that was all, kind of more of your Call to build the business and build the company. And and one of the things in the hero's journey is there's often I mean, naturally, we say, me? I'm I'm not sure I can do this. And like you say, I'm a creative. I'm not necessarily a company builder. So we would call that, resistance. Right? What What what pulled you along? What was that like?
Kathy Brooks00:12:55 - 00:13:26
Yeah. Such an another really important piece. So I started listening to podcast. I I listen to every Andy Standy leadership podcast he's made. I could probably, quote many of them back to him. Because I I mean, I was, you know, I was in a foreign country, and I can't read French. So I was really dependent on what I could get online, to learn by. And he just had has so many practical leadership tips in there.
Kathy Brooks00:13:26 - 00:13:29
And then at How I Built This with Guy Raz
Kathy Brooks00:13:29 - 00:13:29
Mhmm.
Kathy Brooks00:13:30 - 00:14:03
Remarkable People. I didn't show my own Remarkable People was even on online in, but I listened to every podcast and every business book I could get hold of. And also realized that, pretty early on that the cap on this company was gonna be me as a leader. And if I didn't take care of my own stuff my own shadowy stuff, that it was gonna really affect more than just me. You know, 45 years of it affecting me and my kids. Okay. That's not good. But, you know, we can live with that.
Kathy Brooks00:14:03 - 00:14:34
But when you start thinking about you've got this whole company of people that are depending on you having your your mindset straight. And you're not working out of your shadow side every day, you know, of fear and guilt and jail. All that. You have to deal with it. Or I felt like I really I I never remember it, and I wrote I wrote it down again in my journal. Okay, god. Let's get serious about this stuff. I need you to come after this stuff, and let's dismantle these things in me that are gonna be the cap over these this company, which is these people's lives.
Kathy Brooks00:14:35 - 00:15:12
And so the stakes were just really high at that point. And, so, which Also, it was just a huge part of leadership. So all the principles that I was, you know, just munching on, feeding myself with we began to, sit at the table together with the leadership team in Haiti. And, we we would listen to to Andy Stanley talk because these are short. They're, like, 15, 20 minutes. And we stop every few minutes for the people that didn't speak English for the translators to translate it. We sometimes got 15 people around the stable. Wow.
Kathy Brooks00:15:12 - 00:15:31
And, and then we would have discussion that we had I think it was, like, Monday lunch or something. We take a whole hour. And anybody could come, but we would discuss these, principles, and it was it was really life changing. And it started to set the tone for the culture that we our company, was gonna have.
Wayne Herring00:15:32 - 00:16:07
Very nice. Right. That can and I can just picture everybody sitting around that table as we describe it. And it I I I know sometimes for people I work with that when they're busy and there's a lot going on, It seems like that time that you spend listening, learning, talking is time that you could have been Marketing or making more journals or or whatever. Was was there resistance at, or what would you say to somebody that Says, well, I'm too busy to do that type of thing.
Kathy Brooks00:16:10 - 00:16:48
I I don't see how any business person is gonna get very far without feeling that drag on on your soul and on your own mental capacity without doing that kind of work, without getting the input we need, the clear thinking, the people that have fought their way there before us and can guide us. I don't know how anyone could keep going very long without that. I I I don't. But, also, you know, like I said, I didn't have a business grace. I was starting from 0. Yeah. And there's still, the times I think, wow. It would have been helpful if I had kinda degree in business.
Kathy Brooks00:16:48 - 00:16:53
Perhaps. I don't know. Maybe I would've never done this had I if I'd had one.
Wayne Herring00:16:53 - 00:17:02
Right. Well, just like Not questioning the prior 45 years of any shadowy stuff as you said because the reality is you're you were in the present, and you're being very present. You were thinking about what
Kathy Brooks00:17:02 - 00:17:04
do I need to do now.
Wayne Herring00:17:04 - 00:17:38
Similarly, maybe maybe it would have been nice to have a business for you, or maybe it would have slowed you down. But either way, you would have just Going forward with taking another step taking another step with with what you have. Yeah. And, and it was so and what I heard in that is that if If a business owner is starting to feel depleted or feel some drag, what you're encouraging them to do is don't just try to push through it, but you have to do something different And when you feel any kind of drag, because probably not gonna get better trying to do more of more go go go. Right?
Kathy Brooks00:17:40 - 00:18:09
Yeah. You said it really well. And that that I mean, I've at first, obviously, like you said, that's our first in in, thought is to just, you know, pedal harder. But, really, what we need to do is get off the bike and and go for a walk in the woods. We need to Listen to some, somebody who's gone before, or has a similar story. Yeah. We need to get back, get our get our brain back on straight. Yeah.
Wayne Herring00:18:10 - 00:18:43
Nice. Well done. And so what what are some of the if you can think about so we talk about building a business. So think about, and you built lots of things and created lots of things, so this, Yep. Kinda makes lots of sense to you. You dig a foundation, pour concrete structure, etcetera. So when you think about Where second story goes is now, and it's, you know, 2022 and you're mentioning 2011 is when you moved there, so 11 years. Like, what what what are some of the pieces that have gotten built along the way to where you're at now?
Kathy Brooks00:18:43 - 00:19:22
Yeah. That's great. I'd say first, you know, in the early days, it was it was identifying, the people with skills, and, like, Benson arrived on the scene with skill. He didn't need to be trained to do anything except, maybe, you know, in the designs that Americans would appreciate. And then other people needed someone to come in and train them. So identifying people skills to make things. And then the next step really was identifying people with skills to administrate things and administrate the company. And that was a hard step for me because that meant I was gonna be talking to people with who'd finished their schooling, who had degrees.
Kathy Brooks00:19:22 - 00:20:06
And I was like, oh, I kinda felt like, am I leaving the the sector of people that live by the dump? You know? They might. But it was like, no. You have to follow people with all different skills to build a company. And so that's when Ariel came on board, and so that was the next step. And then even bringing in, Olivia, to do marketing with the US. So identifying with people with the skill set, and then identifying the people that had the skill set to run to administrate the business, I guess, was the next thing, along the way. And then really getting an understanding of the finances and the books and the cash flow, and that was really hard for me. My brain doesn't, work so well that way.
Kathy Brooks00:20:06 - 00:20:33
And I also truly didn't understand the value of it at first. Till finally and I would be up we had a, an accountant here in the US who would work with me on the phone, and it was always late at night, which is also my brain is gone. Right. Yeah. And and I just couldn't see honestly, couldn't see the value of it. And finally, he said, and Kaye, you love storytelling. And I'm like, yeah. I could just tell them stories about Cristal.
Kathy Brooks00:20:33 - 00:21:23
And then she goes, Well, some people read stories in numbers, and I'm like, oh, why? So your numbers tell So some people, the story of your business. That's why you have to suffer through learning how to work QuickBooks, And that's why we have to get this right. So I think that was the next piece. Fortunately, that period didn't last too long before that got out of my hands and into would much more qualified. But I think it was really important to know how those things work, and how to capture all that information. As you can imagine, working in a country where you you there's no bank cards. Everything is cash, and it's cash in a in a foreign currency to you and to your QuickBooks. So everything has to be translated over and over.
Kathy Brooks00:21:23 - 00:22:25
It's extraordinarily complicated. So, yeah, I think that was the next step. And then, also, I think this is a thing that I think Olivia bringing Olivia in has really helped because and this is something as founders I think it's really hard is to make space for new leaders. And, I mean, this when it's your baby, And you know, and you've always done everything. Mhmm. It's, it takes a lot of grace to, respect some especially someone much younger with less experience coming in and and, and helping, with new ideas. And, really, what Olivia did was help to get the brand off of me and my personality and move it to its own it's own distinct personhood, so to speak. Because the found businesses is all about you.
Kathy Brooks00:22:26 - 00:22:46
But now second story, people don't eat you know, don't know who I am, And I love that, when they don't. Because it used to be it was all my Facebook page, my Instagram, and now it's all second straight. Everything is separate. And, yeah. I think that was another big step for this thing to be able to outlast me too.
Wayne Herring00:22:46 - 00:22:46
Mhmm.
Kathy Brooks00:22:47 - 00:23:06
Yeah. And also just to to create brand, keep us more on trend, and I I tend to be like, let's just use whatever's around us. We'll make this work. You figure it out, and, she helped me understand, like, yeah. And we can, you know, follow the trends a
Kathy Brooks00:23:06 - 00:23:12
little bit more closely, like, diversify a little bit. I'm like, okay. We're gonna spend money off.
Kathy Brooks00:23:12 - 00:23:17
You know? So, that was that been very helpful too.
Wayne Herring00:23:19 - 00:24:10
And so as far as some questions that came up specifically about what you said, What was the progression as far as so now now you have a warehouse in the in the US, and now you have, Adam, who used to work in logistics, and so he he runs the warehouse. And you probably started with A a couple of things that you could sell, and now there's a wider product line. Right? What what is what what are some of the chunks of building the business as it exists now. What like, some of it was understanding pieces, some of it was bringing in leaders and passing it off, some of it was Starting the the beginnings of an, an executive leadership team. Any any other pieces that you can think of along the way?
Kathy Brooks00:24:10 - 00:24:39
Yeah. So so much in terms of administration. So getting the right program to run our whole company by. You know? We didn't have that before. Like, everything was I know everything's on paper. And, so getting an inventory system that worked for us in place, the work both both sides is a was a huge deal. And we had to we had to hire somebody to come in and and teach us that in Haiti. So that was a big chunk of it.
Kathy Brooks00:24:39 - 00:25:16
You know, even just simple something as simple as setting up SKUs for each item, you know, rather than just a name and, yeah. And then finding partners that would order regularly in large quantities of things was been a huge help. Like, people like yourself that was ordered, like, a box of journals. You know or, we have a we have a non another organization that orders, like, 1500 journals a quarter. Nice. Yeah. So things like that that are extremely helpful. And then starting we started our sub club, which has also been tremendously helpful.
Kathy Brooks00:25:16 - 00:25:34
Once a month, we send that out. So, yeah, continuing to develop products and and expanding the market is what you do, you know, to keep growing. Yeah. So so
Wayne Herring00:25:34 - 00:26:04
you mentioned numbers and finances, And and it was hard, but but you dug into it. And I love that how, they they help your expert helped you see that it Something that resonated with you. Like, okay. Story, I get that. Telling stories, I get that. How how do you understand your numbers today? Like, I've observed that, CEOs like you, it's important that they they get the numbers almost like they could put on the back of an envelope or napkin. They they Kinda get it. They they they know what's going on.
Wayne Herring00:26:04 - 00:26:10
If they really need to dig into it, they could. But can you, like, feel it? And do you have a do you have a feel for numbers?
Kathy Brooks00:26:11 - 00:26:45
I do. The the greatest, and I don't I don't have a feel for the whole accounting theory of accounting. I don't I don't get that at all. But, fortunately, I don't have to because other people do, and they do very well. But we we have sales goals every month. Like, the and this was actually we've only done this for 2 years, where we realized, okay. This is this is what we need to operate on. And this is how, historically, the sales have gone month to month, so we're gonna set ourselves those based on the history and then, you know, a 10% increase.
Kathy Brooks00:26:45 - 00:26:58
Now in 2017, 2018, 2018 was our, highest year in sales to date. That was 4 years ago, and we're not gonna meet that this year, because 2018, all the
Kathy Brooks00:26:58 - 00:27:00
all the roads were open. There was gas.
Kathy Brooks00:27:01 - 00:27:28
We had retail stores. We had also a lot of wholesale stores in Haiti too. So it was just booming, and it was booming for everyone. And it was wonderful. And then we, you know, we could see the sun part, you know, behind the clouds. And it was, those were good days. And then into 2018 by the end of 2018, the social unrest had just caused mission trips and all that to stop. So, we hung on as long as we could with those retail had to close them.
Kathy Brooks00:27:28 - 00:27:41
So now how do I fill out the numbers? We have sales goals every month. It is posted, and it's right in front of my desk. I look at it every day. We asked Brandon, hey. That just came through. How are we doing now? Where are we at? We we do that
Kathy Brooks00:27:42 - 00:27:43
you know, in the early part of the month, we
Kathy Brooks00:27:43 - 00:27:46
do it once a week. These days, we're doing it every couple hours.
Wayne Herring00:27:48 - 00:27:55
Right. Right. On 30th. Yeah. Site. You're checking the numbers today to see if you're gonna make the goal?
Kathy Brooks00:27:55 - 00:27:56
Oh, for sure.
Wayne Herring00:27:56 - 00:27:57
Beautiful.
Kathy Brooks00:27:57 - 00:28:05
Oh, absolutely. Did last night and already did this morning, and we are we'll see what happens today.
Wayne Herring00:28:06 - 00:28:19
Yeah. You get a little bit of a push at the end of the month then because of that focus. That's really great. And it it's it's It's a bit of a game, and humans like games. And and we like deadlines, and that's okay.
Kathy Brooks00:28:19 - 00:28:25
Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. So, what you another thing in
Wayne Herring00:28:25 - 00:28:55
the in the hero's journey, which you've been on, is that, inevitably, it's not all roses and sunshine, and there's setbacks. And I I love hearing not because we want people to have hard times, but it's it's We all have hard times. And so when somebody else vulnerability shares things that have been challenging, it I know it helps me. And so can you tell us about what are what have been some of the times where it it wasn't so rosy? It was really hard, and how did you get through those times?
Kathy Brooks00:28:56 - 00:29:03
Yeah. I I'm like you. I do not wanna listen to anybody talk about their business who hasn't had a hard time. I got I got nothing for you.
Kathy Brooks00:29:03 - 00:29:09
That doesn't help me. I'm the same way. So yeah. So yeah. We've
Kathy Brooks00:29:11 - 00:29:39
we've experienced, you know, A lot of hard times, and we are definitely in one right now. I mean, I don't think I've ever thought that it's not gonna work, that we're gonna stop. I don't I don't think I've ever had that moment. I've felt really discouraged, enough thought. This is pitiful. This is so tiny. This isn't really, helping enough people. Like, this is laughable.
Kathy Brooks00:29:40 - 00:30:43
But, you know, I I set my mind to gratitude to what what it is doing, and then that that whole cloud will dissipate pretty quickly. But, gosh. Hard times. Let's see. I think I mean, if people read the book, they'll they'll read about some of the hard times and, you know, scary times when, it could have not been too difficult to to to, up and run. You know? But it never really crossed our minds to do that at that time. And it wasn't until, 2020 that or 20 late 2019 that I realize I needed to give come out of Haiti for a bit and give myself a break, my brain a break. I was on the cortisol that was just constantly flooding my my body was doing me in.
Kathy Brooks00:30:43 - 00:30:45
And I didn't really realize how
Kathy Brooks00:30:45 - 00:30:48
how bad off I was to one of the
Kathy Brooks00:30:48 - 00:30:51
one of my sister one of my girlfriends there
Kathy Brooks00:30:51 - 00:30:54
who colleagues there said, MK, we think you need to take a break.
Kathy Brooks00:30:56 - 00:32:08
Because it's you when you feel the the whole, concern of the welfare of every single person, and when it's so even to get to work when they're the the roads are blocked and the the tires are burning. And, there's no transportation, and you're walking, but you don't know whether or not if the people are manning those manifestations, you may or may not be able to get through. So it's very tricky, and it's dangerous, and, and I was mugged once on my bike while I was there, and, we had a home invasion. And, and that was, you know, a bit rough. And, but we at that in the even in the midst of that, I will say, as hard as those things were. I mean, we were surrounded by such community and, friendships, such deep friendship, with our colleagues and that are, you know, friends and, like, family now. I think those things were the exceptions, not the rule. You know? But as a company, you you really wanna know what what was hard what the what the company has suffered.
Wayne Herring00:32:09 - 00:33:23
Oh, no. I I I think what you're what you're pointing out here is a real gift in that You you said all the cortisol, all the fight or flight, and the fact that I feel you, Kathy, feel Responsible for people that are working for the company, and you're carrying this. I I can appreciate a bit of that as a coach where, The 1st time I ever went to yoga and laid flat on a mat and was quiet for 10 minutes in a room with music, yoga sounds. You know? I I can remember feeling like like things were coming out of me and vision of things that people have shared with me because I get to hear about their life, I get to hear about their business, all those things. So I can I I Really can feel that? And I, again, I think business builders, people doing what you do are So motivated and driven and even said, like, I don't remember the thought occurring. Let's quit. And you're very aware of your thoughts too, which is Cool to watch that you made an people that were listening when they hear. What what was that? You Tell the nobody goes
Kathy Brooks00:33:23 - 00:33:26
I'm in I'm in Enneagram 4 if you follow the Enneagram.
Wayne Herring00:33:26 - 00:33:27
So Got it. Uh-huh.
Kathy Brooks00:33:27 - 00:33:30
Yeah. Well, about that. I can't help it.
Wayne Herring00:33:31 - 00:34:02
Yeah. But but that but that's a your inner challenges and and recognizing it and knowing that you you're going to leave For a while, the being in the midst of what's going on, that happens to business owners all over. And they don't wanna relent, and they don't wanna give up, and they're not that kind of person. So oh, no. I think that's beautiful. Like, we can't separate The leader and what's going on inside them from the business, they very closely connected.
Kathy Brooks00:34:03 - 00:35:13
Yeah. And, yeah, I will say too, Wayne, 2 years or 18 months to 2 years leading up to that day, I woke up every morning with this sense that this has to work without you in it, like, every morning, and it really changed my focus to, again, from creating to building business to, being outside of the business. And so it was really about the leaders there had to be able to do everything that I was doing, to some extent, you know, to to to to some ex as as far as it related to makers and the groups and the culture of the company. So I started pushing everything that came toward me that I could push back to someone, I would. Even I remember one time we had to, get the draw out the room that we were in for for something, some event or, something that was gonna happen. And no one knew how to do that, to to just draw draw the room, the dimensions, and put the windows and the doors in and stuff. And so I was like, I sat 2 2 people down. I said, we're gonna do this together, and you're gonna learn how to do this.
Kathy Brooks00:35:13 - 00:35:18
Because when I'm not here and somebody wants to draw out the sewing room, you're gonna know how to
Kathy Brooks00:35:18 - 00:35:20
do that exactly. You know,
Kathy Brooks00:35:21 - 00:36:12
and had the managers really, I stopped talking to the makers. That was one of the big hard parts because they were all my babies. You know? My they were my sons and daughters. And then when I realized, like, it does no good for me to relate to them, that I need to just so I realized, okay. My the managers are now my babies, you know? And so and eve and even that, then I step back even more, and so Valerie, is the head. And so it was like, I meet with Valerie, Valerie meets with the managers, then the managers meet with the makers. And I had to keep pulling myself back out of the daily part of it, for it for me to be able to step away at that time and things to continue to operate. So I I really kept thinking, am I gonna die? Like, why do I keep getting this message? This has to work without you in it.
Kathy Brooks00:36:12 - 00:36:55
I thought that we would we would live and retire and die in Haiti one day. I had no, I had no preconceived notion that we would move back to the states at some point. So I'm very grateful that I had that heads up, really, to prepare for that. But I think, really, all business owners should probably be doing that anyway. Work yourself out of that position, because you wanna keep pulling people up. And so as soon as someone can take on more, you want to give them more, so that, it can yeah. You can develop, and then you may have another business to start later or something else to do later. But you wanna keep working yourself out of your jobs, I think.
Kathy Brooks00:36:55 - 00:36:57
That's true. Is you would you say that's true?
Wayne Herring00:36:57 - 00:37:20
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Okay. No. That's that's definitely the If you're gonna truly create a business, yes, you you keep but but there's also some people choose To have a small business, and they they always, directly will work with their employees. That's okay too. It's just a a different a different path, a different journey. Yeah.
Kathy Brooks00:37:20 - 00:37:28
I didn't like it at first when people would tell me that early early days. They're like, what's your exit plan? I'm like, dude, I just got here. Can you just give me a minute?
Kathy Brooks00:37:29 - 00:37:35
And I didn't I didn't but I will tell people now that we're gonna start something like, Start with the end in mind. You
Kathy Brooks00:37:36 - 00:37:47
can't imagine that it you're gonna ever think about an exit, but it would be cool to know what shape you wanna have this in when that day does come, so you can start working towards that.
Wayne Herring00:37:48 - 00:38:21
Can can you tell That's now. So you mentioned that there's multiple maker groups, so we might think of that as Almost like little manufacturing facilities producing. Like, you mentioned journal, and I love the journal, and I'm holding it up, Made by Benson and his team. So that's a group. And then the there's Christmas ornaments, Christmas decorations that are coming out, which my wife is very excited about. And we're Yes. And keep thinking we need to get our order in so we don't miss out. So that's that's a group at jewelry, so on and so forth.
Wayne Herring00:38:21 - 00:38:34
How many How how many makers, artisans, employees, if you will, in these groups? And Then in in the in the US, you've got, your team here.
Kathy Brooks00:38:34 - 00:38:35
Yeah.
Wayne Herring00:38:35 - 00:38:37
Go through how it what what it looks like now?
Kathy Brooks00:38:37 - 00:39:07
Yep. So, in the may as far as maker groups, I I should be able to tell you exactly. I'm I'm gonna say 7 different maker groups that are operational in Haiti. And they are all, except for the sewing group and the jewelry group, they are all individually owned by Haitian workers. So they're not staff. They're not employees Got it. Of a second story. And so and they work off-site.
Kathy Brooks00:39:08 - 00:40:10
And and also we have our and this year, we're actually in the process of transferring the ownership of the whole manufacturing part of second story to Haitian ownership as well. So that, they can start to build some wealth and, themselves and in owning the company. It's, You know, great to work for a nonprofit if you, you know, don't have any desire to build wealth or to be able to leave anything to your children because you don't own anything. So we I realized pretty early on, that's not super helpful in emerging economy like. But it is so we are in the process now. We have they're you know, they're working on a retainer right now, but that's that's growing to where, hopefully, in the next 24 months, it will be fully, operational as as a comp you know? I mean, it is a separate company now as far as the ownership of it goes, but it's in a maturing process right now. So, yeah. So the different groups.
Kathy Brooks00:40:10 - 00:40:25
So, yeah, the basket makers, I think that happened. I have a basket right here full of stuff. So this is one of one of the beautiful baskets, But we've got, in that, we've got the round trivets. I I could've prepared for this and had stuff sitting right here.
Wayne Herring00:40:26 - 00:40:28
People to the website, then they can see everything.
Kathy Brooks00:40:29 - 00:41:04
Yeah. For sure. For sure. And then with the leather, the journals, but there's also we have some gorgeous leather totes. And, actually, on Monday, we are going to launch mindful Monday, and all our totes are gonna be on sale. So we would and and we're doing that really to honor Benson because of what he has, been going through these last few weeks, and how he's led his community has been really, really amazing in these really hard days. And we just want to, we wanna boost him. We wanna come back with, a bunch of orders.
Kathy Brooks00:41:04 - 00:41:08
So we have we chose that really to honor honor Benson as a maker.
Wayne Herring00:41:08 - 00:41:10
What what's have you gone through? What
Kathy Brooks00:41:11 - 00:42:07
So the the first time that anyone I know can remember when the manifestations broke out across the country last week, there were actually and there's always, like, people marching, but usually, they're very peaceful. I mean, it may be loud, and they may block the roads and stuff, but This is the 1st time they actually the people actually chose to break into organizations. So, food for the poor was broken into and looted. And then, Caritas, another organization, was looted. The, Digicel, the phone company. Several other businesses were broken into and and, robbed. And people were just running, you know, through the streets with stuff like we've seen here in America too. And so, Benson, on Friday last Friday or the Friday before, we were we've been texting, and then he went silent on me for a while.
Kathy Brooks00:42:07 - 00:42:36
And then he came back, and he said, I'm sorry, MK. I have been very busy. He left me a voice message. He said, we've we put out a call to the people that took stuff from these warehouses that, belong to churches and schools and hospitals, and we told them you must return it. We're we're we're hurting ourselves or hurting our children. And he he had, pile there was piles and piles around his workshop, which is down it's really on beside the dump. I can't I
Kathy Brooks00:42:36 - 00:42:38
I don't wanna describe it any other way, but that is the truth.
Kathy Brooks00:42:38 - 00:42:43
This is the very farthest part of town you would not no one who doesn't live down there will go there.
Kathy Brooks00:42:43 - 00:42:44
Mhmm. Like, in
Kathy Brooks00:42:44 - 00:42:51
the city of Bonnay. So, anyway, peep but a lot of the people that are marching are from that area, because, generally, that suit will march.
Wayne Herring00:42:52 - 00:42:52
Sure.
Kathy Brooks00:42:52 - 00:42:59
So they were bringing desks and chairs and boxes of books and bags and stuff back.
Wayne Herring00:42:59 - 00:43:00
Nice.
Kathy Brooks00:43:00 - 00:43:17
To return back to these organizations. And he was so excited. He was so high, and as he said, I I'm pretty tired. I will I'll get back to you tomorrow. And I said, yeah. You need to get some rest. And at 10 o'clock, I'm, he I think he texted me and said, MK, I still can't rest. People are still bringing things.
Kathy Brooks00:43:17 - 00:43:54
He said many people were too ashamed to bring it in the daylight, and they're bringing it at night. And, and the next day, it was actually on this Haitian news channel. Anyway, he he took such a stand. And we were as we were FaceTiming the next day, and, because he wanted me to see that there were still stuff coming in, and and then he took me into the his his family courtyard and, and showed me his garden. He goes, MK, I want you to see this. And he had all these, fruit trees and vegetables and everything. Now this is a salt flat, so it's very hard to get anything to grow there.
Wayne Herring00:43:54 - 00:43:55
Mhmm.
Kathy Brooks00:43:55 - 00:43:55
And
Kathy Brooks00:43:55 - 00:44:40
I said, Vincent, this is Amazing. And he said, if you want people to of the of Jubilee, if you want people to have a vision of what they can do, you have to show them first. So he is the model for people to have the vision of what their homes can be like. This man is a leader. Like, I've I don't know if I'll ever meet another one like him. He's built a, like, a gazebo area outside of his workshop, and, yeah. I I don't even know how to describe, this, the situation that he's working in, the tense the tension. And, yeah.
Kathy Brooks00:44:41 - 00:44:47
But he is he is determined to see Jubilee thrive.
Wayne Herring00:44:48 - 00:44:48
Yeah.
Kathy Brooks00:44:48 - 00:45:26
And I I asked him the last time I was there because a year ago when I was there in August was the 1st time he told me not to come to Jubilee. I'm like, what do you mean don't come down there? He's like, MK, you can't. He said that, he said, first of all, it puts me at danger if you come. If people see you coming into my workshop, they're gonna think you're bringing money. Yeah. Puts me at danger, and and it puts you at danger. And that broke my heart because I've never been told that before. And he said, well, Vincent, would you consider moving? Would you consider coming up to to our place, which is 2 miles from there, 2 miles up the road.
Kathy Brooks00:45:27 - 00:45:32
And he said, if I leave, then who will show them?
Kathy Brooks00:45:33 - 00:45:34
Who will show them that
Kathy Brooks00:45:34 - 00:45:35
they matter? Who will show them?
Wayne Herring00:45:36 - 00:45:37
Amazing.
Kathy Brooks00:45:37 - 00:45:49
Yeah. And I just because he could. Clearly, he could easily live in a much safer and nicer place in the city even. So he's he's a phenomenal young man. He really
Wayne Herring00:45:51 - 00:46:47
him. You you wrote I think I believe you wrote a whole chapter in your book about him, and I really enjoyed that. And and he and I have connected on Facebook just very briefly, but I you know? And and just had a a quick exchange, thank you, for the journals that he produces. And so then to hear that and to hear about who he is And how he shows up for his community. Thank you. And it's it's what, it's one of the reasons when I so I found about How about you and Second Story Goods, the company, through a man named Tom Backman, who's a client of mine. He has a company called BMIL Technologies in North Carolina, and he had done some work in Haiti because he does Refrigeration equipment and, dehumidification equipment. It does a lot of these things in the between the in the in the tropic zones because of high humidity and the need for refrigeration.
Wayne Herring00:46:47 - 00:47:25
He had a one of your journals that had the, logo Kind of on a patch on the front of it. It was a coffee bag, and he gave me he gave me one of those. He gave me one of those, and I love journals and love writing, Partially for self development and to pay attention to thoughts in my head and create my business and life just like you're talking about. So I love the journal. I I just love the journal. And I said, this is great. Where'd you get these from? And he he said, I got them from this company. There's this lady that Part of this business, and people in Haiti are manufacturing, these journals and other things.
Wayne Herring00:47:25 - 00:47:56
So that was how I got my first one. And and So when I combined the fact that I loved it with the idea that it it this is not charity. This is people have Jobs. And they're they're good at what they do, and they take pride. And now we get to hear about Benson creating this oasis in setting an example for the people in this community. I feel even better about, buying from him and buying from his group. So thank thanks for helping To to pull some of that full circle.
Kathy Brooks00:47:57 - 00:48:03
Mhmm. Yeah. I could I could write a whole book about him. I but more likely, I wish he would write a book. So Well,
Wayne Herring00:48:03 - 00:48:04
he may.
Kathy Brooks00:48:04 - 00:48:06
No. No.
Wayne Herring00:48:06 - 00:48:33
Can can you tell me about, so so that's the Haiti things then, of course, in the US, and we talked about before we started officially, and I'll We can cut some of that in about a distribution center and marketing. And so what what do you, customers of a business like yours are In in Dahl Miller's StoryBrand, he talks about the customer is a hero and you're you're the guide and but but tell me about your customers as heroes. Can you talk about that?
Kathy Brooks00:48:33 - 00:49:05
Yeah. Absolutely. And that's something that it's really helped moving back to the United States because I've gotten to see people face to face And a lot of and a lot of times, and or at least just be more aware of of our customers because, you know, in Haiti, it's all consuming. The you know, that story that part of the story. But, really, what's been just amazing is the people that get it. Like, what you just said. Wait. When you're you're a great example of someone who is Luvs is a quality product.
Kathy Brooks00:49:06 - 00:49:39
They don't wanna pick do a pity buy, but also is really, like, they're like, people like you. Like, you're already turned toward doing good with your purchasing power. And and when you find out about a company like ours, it's like, okay. Good. Thank you. You're helping me get to where I wanna go, which is to do good in the world with my purchasing power. And so, we Martually is the hero of this story. And so, really, our job is education and to tell the stories, but also to make the quality products.
Kathy Brooks00:49:40 - 00:50:11
Our customers when I'm at a pop up stop shop and someone says, tell what what are these angel things? Tell me about that. That looks interesting. And I start telling the story of how we started making those angels and how the women pray for the excuse me. Okay. Praying for orders to come in, and how we do get large orders for those. And and also just even the the broken shards of pottery to me, they all have personalities. I wanna name them all. That's Lucy.
Kathy Brooks00:50:11 - 00:50:42
She's Susie. That's Laura. You know? Can't do that. But I have a you know? There's so much behind that. And to when talking to a customer and realizing, oh, this is who they are. Like, this is this is totally, totally their vibe. They they've this is what their life is about. And we come in as as just a someone who can, you know what? Give them another way to facilitate that, which is they want their purchasing power to do good in the world, like, I think most of us do.
Kathy Brooks00:50:42 - 00:50:56
And but but we also have to buy the stuff that makes sense for our lives, you know, to some extent. You know? Unfortunately, we find somebody like yourself who just really loves to journal. The match may happen right there.
Kathy Brooks00:50:56 - 00:50:56
Yeah.
Kathy Brooks00:50:57 - 00:51:12
So, yeah, our customers are are definitely people that are in different, sector's doing good in the world already. And this is just fits with their lifestyle is what it seems to be. Yeah. Yeah.
Wayne Herring00:51:13 - 00:51:23
So what's next for what is next for 2nd story goods, and how are you working to hit those Sales goals every month and maybe maybe even have a breakthrough and do more.
Kathy Brooks00:51:23 - 00:51:53
Yeah. We would we would like we would really like that. So what we realized we've done unintentionally, really, is our administrative arm our that's not the right word. Anyway, it's really strong. We have, like, a 12 lane highway as far as our capacity to distribute. Adam is probably working at, I'm gonna say 30%. He I mean, he's got a big family, and he does a lot of other things. But, you know, he can do a lot more.
Kathy Brooks00:51:53 - 00:52:37
In our warehouse, we're only using a tiny bit of it. It was it was an, mobile office that we moved on to his property right beside his house. So, you know, we we can have a lot more space in there. So we, we we're also working with a company out of South Africa because Olivia, went there. She one of her college friends is working with women who are really working hard to rebuild their lives, who've been trafficked and exploited in many ways, and they're making some beautiful prod products. And Olivia went and worked with her last year for a month, and I think she's gonna go back for 3 months this year. And, She'll still be working for us, but she'll also help them with marketing and product development. So we're starting to represent them now.
Kathy Brooks00:52:37 - 00:53:44
We're distributing their their goods. Because it's it's very complicated for, like, a store here, a coffee shop to say, oh, I'm gonna order this from this company. If you don't have a warehouse here, It could be 8 to 10 weeks till you get it in, and then there's customs to pay, and there's all this shipping to work out. And so We recognize that that's one of the things that we have. We have Olivia, who is in you know, intense at marketing, and Adam, who's got the logistics to and then Brandon who is also, just, able to keep up with all the books and you're getting the bills paid and all that. So we realized that we can actually serve more maker groups in the world. And we're we're obviously 99% talking about Haiti, but, we're open to more. I met with a little a young woman, who is make just starting out in the Doctor this summer, And she just took my breath away with how well organized she was and her thoughts about the kind of company she wanted to build when she was 16.
Wayne Herring00:53:44 - 00:53:45
Wow.
Kathy Brooks00:53:45 - 00:54:28
And she was doing these crocheted headbands and with such excellence and had already created her own logo on Canva. Like, oh my gosh. Okay. We're good here. But she really wanted to make a space for other women to come in and work And, to grow as an individual, and I'm like, whatever I could do to get behind this child, I am you know, I'm here for this. So I think that that seems to be our bent. And whenever I meet young makers or or, people on the, margins of society that are making that my brain immediately goes to, how can we support? How can we help them grow? So that's probably the the direction will go. And Adam and Olivia have the same mind.
Kathy Brooks00:54:28 - 00:54:29
So yeah.
Wayne Herring00:54:30 - 00:54:44
So it's you you have the distribution. You have a space there. So bring more product in. And and is there a market for it already, or is that do you have to develop the are you still developing the market as well as bringing in more products?
Kathy Brooks00:54:44 - 00:55:29
Yeah. We are still developing the market, and, that I'm I'm not that, I'm just that that's not my expertise, and I'm not that really I know that, Adam and Olivia work are working really hard on getting that wholesale's funnel operating and get the wholesale, the whole system, all the steps so that it's everything is clicking to get people's attention and let them know we're serious about the work we do, and we're here to serve you. So that's a big been a big push this past year. They did a, they did a training with Nest. I don't know if you're familiar with them. Not. Really remarkable group. They work with companies like ours all over the world to help us train.
Kathy Brooks00:55:30 - 00:55:58
And Valerie took the class from Haiti too. He's like, I can't believe it. I'm being I'm sitting in a Zoom call with 6 people. 1's in Paris. 1's in Germany. I mean, you know, it's just learning so much. So, Yeah. We are we do have to create the markets for those, and we're considering, opening a brick and mortar here in our hometown to have, yeah, to have a kind of a home here.
Kathy Brooks00:55:59 - 00:56:02
And I think that would help a lot, obviously, with retail sales.
Wayne Herring00:56:04 - 00:56:21
Sure. Well, that makes sense given your history of having brick in Haiti in the Marriott Hotel that perhaps that would be a a way that you could, directly in one concentrated place have have all your goods on display.
Kathy Brooks00:56:21 - 00:56:27
Yeah. We'd really like to do that. So we're, we're looking at some different buildings right now. And
Wayne Herring00:56:27 - 00:56:31
Journaling and thinking and Right. And reading and
Kathy Brooks00:56:31 - 00:57:30
Yeah. Creating Google Docs. We really love to be a part of creating jobs here too in our area. We have this this big discrepancy between, you know, the we have we have amazing wealth here in the Golden Isles and between Jekyll and sea Sea Island and Saint Simons Island. And then we have a lot of really desperate poverty too. And, So we'd really love to be a part of creating helping small businesses, representing them, and pushing them forward, but also even giving space for some people to work. That, we have a we have a growing homeless people unhoused people group, population here that Adam's been actually meeting once a week, going down and cooking and hanging out with folks. And I've done a little bit of art stuff with some of the women, and we'd love to be able to do something where those people in the population feel really valued and seen and loved.
Kathy Brooks00:57:30 - 00:57:58
And, you know, a lot of them were on their, you know, last quarter of life likely at this specific lifestyle that they're living. And I'm thinking, would it be lovely if they had a sense of great value and joy and meaning in this next stage of life, regardless of what maybe they've experienced before now. So we'd love to be do something like that, and I think that is likely gonna happen because usually when I get
Kathy Brooks00:57:58 - 00:58:00
this kind of feeling about a
Kathy Brooks00:58:00 - 00:58:01
thing we go in that direction.
Kathy Brooks00:58:02 - 00:58:05
It's just safe because of the finances and all that. But yeah.
Wayne Herring00:58:06 - 00:58:53
Yeah. And I and and then so I think I think that's a great place To to take us out is in this place where you are now thinking about the next thing. And when you get these feelings and you get these thoughts, There's more to come. So what I hear, Kathy Brooks, is that you're not done, and there's there's there's more to come To be continued as they say. So we look forward to following your journey. And it's it's really been great to have this conversation with you. There's, It's it's good to hear about what you're doing and to be able to share that, and I I I've wanted I want to do more to get the message out about the quality products your maker groups are producing. And at the same time, there's a whole lot of, practical good stuff That you shared today from the heart that I know will help other people building businesses of all sorts.
Wayne Herring00:58:53 - 00:59:15
So thank you for that. And I'd like to, finish by help Help us with how can we find out more about you and Second Story Goods? How can we take a look at those awesome, Christmas, the the decorations and journals. And you said you you're willing to offer a 10% discount to listeners of the, Podcast. So how do how do we take advantage of those?
Kathy Brooks00:59:15 - 00:59:33
Yeah. Absolutely. Well, first of all, I just wanna say thank you, Wayne, for the work that you do. And I listen to your podcast. I watch your YouTube. I get the messages. And I I hear you, and I'm paying attention. As I'm sure, you know, many, many many other people are, but you probably don't get to hear that from us that often.
Kathy Brooks00:59:33 - 01:00:20
So thank you because it's a I think helping people build businesses is, I mean, there's to me, that's that's a faith based enterprise, you know, because it takes it takes great faith, and you're really just helping other people grow, which is it's a beautiful thing. So thank you for that, and for the way that you champion our company. So second story goods .com is where you can find us, our our retail site. And that's 2nd with a 2, like, the numeral 2. B. Storygoods.com. And, we're 2nd story goods on Instagram as well as Facebook. And, yes, to, for your listeners, if they will put in what did I say? It was
Wayne Herring01:00:21 - 01:00:26
BB camp, b b CAMP as discount code.
Kathy Brooks01:00:27 - 01:00:50
Yeah. That's your that's your code to get your discount on anything and that we don't even that's on your first orders. So and we don't have a closure date for that. We would love to see you guys, come on board and and partner with you. It would be amazing, to hear from you. The, was that anything you asked? Oh, the or the ornaments. Yeah. The Christmas stuff is out.
Kathy Brooks01:00:51 - 01:01:27
I will say that we did sell out of our large standing Christmas tree or trees of the 3 set this week, but we have more on order. And, the metal are just able to get out pretty easily. So we we expect that to come in in a week or two. But yeah. Great. Leather bags on Monday. What would be a huge, huge help is, if people next well, it doesn't have to be money, but next week, if the people were interested in buying a leather tote, that comes from Vincent, that would be a fantastic because next next week, we get, we get a $100 donation for every leather tote we sell.
Wayne Herring01:01:27 - 01:01:35
Okay. Great. So, this podcast may not come out for a while, but I'll make sure that we talk about that, in every way that I can for next week.
Kathy Brooks01:01:35 - 01:01:36
Okay. That's
Wayne Herring01:01:36 - 01:01:47
that's beautiful. And if anybody would like to do wholesale orders, like, like I've done with journals and custom imprints, they can contact, you go to the website and inquire about them as well. Right?
Kathy Brooks01:01:47 - 01:01:57
Yeah. And, yeah, if you wanna and, yes, contact us at second story.com. Just do a direct email, and, we will like, Adam will contact you very quickly and set you email on
Wayne Herring01:01:57 - 01:01:58
us? What?
Kathy Brooks01:01:59 - 01:02:02
Contact us at second story goods.com.
Wayne Herring01:02:02 - 01:02:05
That's the email address. Contact us at 2ndstoryg0ods.com.
Kathy Brooks01:02:10 - 01:02:10
Yes.
Wayne Herring01:02:11 - 01:02:13
Wonderful. Well, thank you so much, Kathy.
Kathy Brooks01:02:13 - 01:02:16
Yeah. Thank you. This was wonderful. Appreciate the questions and your insight.
Wayne Herring01:02:17 - 01:02:18
Yeah. You're welcome.
Kathy Brooks01:02:18 - 01:02:18
Thank you.
Wayne Herring01:02:18 - 01:02:35
Thank you for tuning in to the Business Builder Way podcast. If this episode spoke to you, click that subscribe button and share it with a friend. That's how this message gets out into the world. If it is helpful for us to have a short conversation, I'd love to do that. Send me an email at wayne@businessbuildercamp.com.

00:00 Friend asked to take woman's baby home.

10:27 Realizing shift from artist to company building.

16:10 Business success requires guidance and education.

20:33 Understanding QuickBooks is important for business.

23:19 Questions about warehouse progression and business building.

32:09 Recognizing and empathizing with stress in business.

34:03 Focusing on building business, delegation, and teaching.

39:08 Transferring ownership of manufacturing to Haitian company.

45:51 Connect through mutual contact, learned about company.

52:37 Distributing goods, marketing, logistics, and expansion.

58:06 Encouragement for future and current endeavors.

01:00:51 Large Christmas trees sold out, more on order.

1. What are the foundational principles that guide 2nd Story Goods, as described by Kathy Brooks in the episode?

2. How does Kathy Brooks' personal journey and experiences in Haiti inform the mission and values of 2nd Story Goods?

3. In what ways has Kathy Brooks actively worked towards empowering local artisans and establishing ownership of the manufacturing part of 2nd Story Goods in Haiti?

4. What are the key operational and administrative challenges that Kathy Brooks and her team have faced while expanding 2nd Story Goods? How have they approached addressing these challenges?

5. How does Kathy Brooks balance the emotional and mental responsibilities of leadership while managing a business that seeks to create meaningful and honorable work?

6. What strategies has Kathy Brooks implemented to transition from a hands-on involvement in daily operations to empowering local managers and artisans to take on more responsibilities?

7. What role does Kathy Brooks envision for 2nd Story Goods in supporting small businesses and creating job opportunities, particularly for those facing poverty and homelessness?

8. How has the recent social unrest in Haiti affected the operations and sales of 2nd Story Goods? What strategies have been implemented to adapt to the changing environment?

9. How does 2nd Story Goods align its business strategies with the goal of offering valuable products while also making a positive impact on the community and individuals involved in the production process?

10. What are the future plans and aspirations for 2nd Story Goods, including expanding into new markets, enhancing the retail presence, and fostering sustainable growth while staying true to their mission and values?