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Jeff Randolph of EAG introduces us to Yext, something every retail business needs to use for keeping customers and prospects up to date on store hours and location information. Then, Jeff talks with Joy Broils, a former attorney who now owns and operates Hustle & Ground, an innovative seller of gift boxes full of locally sourced goodies to surprise and delight your friends and customers.
Transcript
Jeff Randolph:
Welcome to the Small Business Miracles Podcast. Hi there. I’m Jeff Randolph. The Small Business Miracles Podcast is brought to you by EAG Advertising & Marketing. Yes, we are going to talk about marketing, but we’re also here to celebrate entrepreneurs. We have marketing news and advice business owners can use to keep moving forward. You want tips you can use right now? Let’s get started.
Location listings. If you have a business with a physical address that customers could walk into, we need to talk about your location listings. Location listings are all the places online where directional information about your business, like your name, your address, your phone, your web address, your business hours, all of those things live. You don’t control all of those. You control your own social media accounts, and your own website. And you control your Google Business listing if you’ve claimed that. Also, you should definitely claim that. But there are a lot of places online that harvest your information one time, and at one point in time, and then pre-populate a listing for you like Yelp, and TripAdvisor, and Amazon, and Alexa, and Bing, and Yellow Pages, and Foursquare, and Uber. And the list literally goes on and on for 200 plus names. If you don’t actively manage those listings, they will get out-of-date over time.
I can tell you there is no faster way to a bad online review than having someone drive a hundred miles because some website said you were open. And when that customer pulls up with a rented trailer that they’ve rented just to get your product, and you’re closed, that is the fastest path to a bad online review. So, we manage those listings for our clients with a product called Yext, Y-E-X-T, Yext. There are a few others out there, but I’ll just talk about Yext today. Manage all of those listings from one place, and sync them across the internet so they’re never out-of-date. No angry customers, at least no angry customers for that reason. This can also help you be found online because that’s good search information that’s out there. And if it’s all the same, that gives a lot of confidence out there. So Google likes to see that as well.
It’s not cost prohibitive, so a reasonable price for that service. Depending on the level of package that you get, you can also monitor and respond to your online reviews right from there. So that’s Y-E-X-T, yext.com, and that’s a marketing tip. Welcome. We’ve got a special guest for us here today for our featured podcast. It’s Joy Broils with Hustle & Ground. Welcome to the podcast.
Joy Broils:
Thank you so much, Jeff.
Jeff Randolph:
So tell us. You have an interesting background that gets you into your entrepreneur spirit. Tell me about where you come from, and what brings you to today.
Joy Broils:
That’s such a great question. So in my professional career, I actually was an attorney. That’s what I first did. And I went to law school in Georgia, and practiced in Atlanta. And I loved it for a little while, and it was hard. I was a transactional attorney, so my schedule was dependent on what closings we had, what hotel we were buying, or something like that. And so I didn’t really have control over my schedule. And I met my husband in Atlanta. And so when we moved here, he’s actually from north of the river. So we moved here, and I made that decision when we wanted to start a family that I really wanted to be there for my family. And I knew being a transactional attorney, I wasn’t going to be able to.
Jeff Randolph:
Mm-hmm.
Joy Broils:
And so I stayed home. About two months into staying home, I started my own eBay business because I said, “I don’t know if I can do this,” because our daughter, she was a great baby, and slept. And I thought, “Okay, I got to figure this out.” And then stayed home. We now have three kids, and stayed home with them until they were all in elementary school. And then I had that desire to get back out into the workforce. And so I worked with different companies. And then recently in January, I actually started my own company. And the idea for Hustle & Ground came from a car accident. It’s a little bit of a weird way to start a company, but I was in a car accident in the fall, and I knew I had whiplash immediately.
What I didn’t realize is a couple weeks after, I wasn’t recognizing people. And so I went in to get an evaluation, and found out that I had a double concussion. I had frontal lobe, and vestibular concussion. And I remember the doctor saying, “We think you’re going to get better, but you have to slow down to two hours of work a day.”
Jeff Randolph:
Wow.
Joy Broils:
I know. I don’t even know what that looks like.
Jeff Randolph:
And to tell that to somebody with an entrepreneur spirit, oh yeah, that’s interesting. Okay.
Joy Broils:
And to think about it from even an attorney mindset, we billed in six minute increments.
Jeff Randolph:
Mm-hmm.
Joy Broils:
We billed all the time. I would’ve billed probably a half an hour driving in here for the interview because it was like, “Oh yeah, I think about this, and this.” And so that was really hard for me to think about slowing down to two hours of work a day. And my eyes and my brain weren’t communicating very well. So it wasn’t like I could be on my phone all the time. I couldn’t be on the computer all the time. I couldn’t be watching TV. So I really had to figure out how to be comfortable in that space that I wasn’t used to. And I remember, there were a lot of times I couldn’t go to events because I was so tired from concussion treatment, and that was hard too. I like to support people. When I say I’m going to be there, I’m going to be there. I remember so many times saying, “I can’t do this.” It’s getting used to that new reality was hard yeah.
Jeff Randolph:
Already with that entrepreneur spirit, and showing up with an eBay business first, where you just can’t stop that thing that’s talking to you the entire time in your brain saying, “You should do this. There’s opportunity here. You should definitely pay attention to this,” and then to be able to fight through it, and start this business.
Joy Broils:
Yeah.
Jeff Randolph:
So give us the overview of the Hustle & Ground. What’s the all of those things?
Joy Broils:
So it is such a cool company, and it keeps evolving because, so I started it in January. I really started selling in May. So a lot of the time in between was spent developing a product, and just getting everything formed. And what was so important to me is I don’t want people to stop hustling.
Jeff Randolph:
Mm-hmm.
Joy Broils:
I don’t stop hustling. As an entrepreneur, you have to have that hustle, right?
Jeff Randolph:
Right. Right.
Joy Broils:
But what I have learned, especially with this recovery from the concussion was you have to take that time. You have to take that break, and I always call it a pause. And so it’s the hustle part, but then it’s also the ground. It is the making sure that you are taking your time, that you are taking those breaks, taking that pause. Sometimes even a lot of people will pause walking outside barefoot. You probably don’t want to do that right now because it’s colder.
Jeff Randolph:
It’s a little chilly.
Joy Broils:
Yeah.
Jeff Randolph:
That’s right.
Joy Broils:
But it’s that connecting with nature, and it’s just all about finding what your pause is. We’re all so individual that we don’t pause the same way.
Jeff Randolph:
100%.
Joy Broils:
Right?
Jeff Randolph:
Yeah. Yeah.
Joy Broils:
And I didn’t know what I like to do to pause. So I’m still on my journey. I love talking to people about their pause because it’s so different for everyone. Some people they like to skateboard, or hike, or some people like to read. I hear a lot of wine when we do vendor events. We do do coffee raffles, and we ask people how they like to pause. And that’s one of the things. The reason we ask that question is so that we can connect with our clients, and make sure that we’re offering products that will help them with their pause.
Jeff Randolph:
So let’s paint word pictures in somebody’s mind for a second. If somebody is getting a Hustle Focus Box, or a Pause Focus Box, give us an unboxing experience. What are they taking a look at?
Joy Broils:
Oh my gosh. So many different things. But I’ll give you an example. So right now I have a Hostess Box for the holidays.
Jeff Randolph:
Okay.
Joy Broils:
And the first thing that I do, I love when people open up that box, and that lid opens up, their eyes just light up because they have all of these cool products inside. And they just pick everything up one at a time. And so the Hostess Box, it has appetizer kits from Crackerology, and it has Showcase sweets, candies, and it has Maps Coffee. And downtown Lenexa has single serve, a pour over. They call it Easy Brew. And then it also has sugar or a salt from Divine Sugars. And I have a friend who’s a professional chef, and she comes along with that sugar or salt, and makes a recipe.
Jeff Randolph:
Oh, yeah. Okay.
Joy Broils:
So some people like to pause by cooking, and this gives them a new. One of the recipes is for cherry wood smoked salt, and Brenda created a recipe for homemade hummus.
Jeff Randolph:
Cool. Okay.
Joy Broils:
That’s so much fun, right?
Jeff Randolph:
Yeah. Oh, for sure.
Joy Broils:
You’re making your own food. And then it also has popcorn from Popculture.
Jeff Randolph:
Mm-hmm.
Joy Broils:
It has pretzels from PJ Snacks, and everything. I always tell people, “Whenever you buy a box for me, you didn’t just support my business.”
Jeff Randolph:
Oh, yeah. It’s all of these independent business [inaudible 00:10:23].
Joy Broils:
Right? All of these small businesses in Kansas City.
Jeff Randolph:
I love the love fest for small businesses. This is a good thing.
Joy Broils:
Yes. If we don’t support our small businesses, we end up with big box and strip malls. Not that that’s …
Jeff Randolph:
There’s a place for that. Sure.
Joy Broils:
Yes. But we have to have those. There are so many small businesses in Kansas City that are doing really cool things, and I’m trying to find them all.
Jeff Randolph:
If I can support small businesses by getting a bourbon flavored brown sugar, I think I’m going to say yes to that.
Joy Broils:
Yes.
Jeff Randolph:
That’s a good thing.
Joy Broils:
Yes.
Jeff Randolph:
So with as many different subscription box places out there, how do you stand apart? How do you stand out?
Joy Broils:
So I do have a subscription box, but these are actually individual.
Jeff Randolph:
Individual boxes, correct?
Joy Broils:
Yes. So that’s what I love. You can buy 50 of them.
Jeff Randolph:
Yes.
Joy Broils:
How do I stand out?
Jeff Randolph:
Yeah, because there are a ton of subscription boxes. There are some one-time purchase things. What is that unique selling proposition that is just you?
Joy Broils:
Supporting local, and each box is curated with a wellbeing standpoint in mind.
Jeff Randolph:
There’s perspective there.
Joy Broils:
There is.
Jeff Randolph:
And the hustle part, or the grounded part, the pause part?
Joy Broils:
Yes. Everything is curated. So I think about, “Okay, if I am the person who receives this, this is what I want to experience. I want to try different ways to pause. Maybe I am scared of cooking.” A lot of people don’t feel comfortable in the kitchen, so this is a great way to try that. And if it doesn’t work, if you don’t connect with that, that’s okay. But that’s one of the ways that I stand out as a company is, and I come up with all these different boxes. So I have college boxes. I know we were talking about that.
Jeff Randolph:
The new launch of a college box coming up. What’s in the college box?
Joy Broils:
Oh my gosh, there’s three of them. And I have to say, so I worked with the CAPS program, and these kids were incredible. I said, “Okay, I want you to put together a box that you would want to get in college. And I want you to make sure it’s local, and decide what theme.” And I had 10 different presentations that were so incredible. And when I was asking the kids, I said, “Well, what was the most fun, and what was the hardest part of this project?” Because when I gave them the project, I said, “This is real world project. This isn’t the fluff project. These are going out.”
Jeff Randolph:
This is actual real. Yes.
Joy Broils:
Yeah.
Jeff Randolph:
This is not an exercise.
Joy Broils:
Yes, exactly. And they said the answer was the same for both, finding the local businesses.
Jeff Randolph:
Oh, wow.
Joy Broils:
And that was the most fun, but also the most difficult. And I thought that’s something that we all have to be more mindful of is really making our purchases intentionally, making sure that we are supporting a small business if it’s possible, with whatever you’re purchasing. You want to be able to do that.
Jeff Randolph:
The idea of asking students what they want to get in their college box, that’s great, what we would call marketing research. Ask the end user what they want to get in that box. That’s inspired.
Joy Broils:
Because I could say what I would put in there, but it’s been a minute.
Jeff Randolph:
They have a different set of likes and dislikes now compared to when I was there, for sure.
Joy Broils:
Yes. So we have three college boxes. We have the Bulk Box, which is hard to say, but I absolutely love that box. It is themed on fitness and health. We have the Home Away from Home Box, which is not themed on health. It has chocolate covered Oreos in it.
Jeff Randolph:
Comfort.
Joy Broils:
It is, yes. If you are studying for finals, you really want some chocolate covered Oreos.
Jeff Randolph:
Yeah.
Joy Broils:
Yeah. And then we have a Focus Box, which is some self-care, and some food.
Jeff Randolph:
Thinking about the marketing of your business, is there any wishlist you have for marketing that, “Man, I would really love to be able to do X.”
Joy Broils:
Oh my gosh. I will tell you what I would love to be able to expand.
Jeff Randolph:
Mm-hmm.
Joy Broils:
That’s a great question. So I’ve been working with corporate clients on their holiday boxes. It is so much fun because I can come into corporate clients, and say, “Okay, here are your options. What would you like?” And each client has different ideas.
Jeff Randolph:
Yeah.
Joy Broils:
Some of them want to do all self-care. Some of them want to mix, and some of them want to just do food. And it is so fun to watch them create their boxes, and then they hand it off to me, and say, “Go.” And I put it all together, and deliver it with a smile.
Jeff Randolph:
And how differently they might define what that is based on, if that’s for their employees, or whether that’s for their customers. That’s an interesting mix for them.
Joy Broils:
Yes. And they can do boxes for their employees. Especially we have mental health month is coming up in the spring, and there’s so much. We have to make sure that we’re taking care of our employees, and that they feel that they belong.
Jeff Randolph:
100%.
Joy Broils:
Yeah.
Jeff Randolph:
And at this time of year especially.
Joy Broils:
Yes. Yes.
Jeff Randolph:
Well, let’s get into the mind of the small business owner for a second, because you’ve definitely got that entrepreneurial spirit and bug that can’t even keep you in bed to recover. If you’re thinking about other small business owners in the area, some of the ones that you’ve collaborated with, what advice would you give to a small business owner?
Joy Broils:
Keep going.
Jeff Randolph:
Just keep it going.
Joy Broils:
Keep going. I had not started my business during the pandemic, and I give so much props to these small businesses that were in the pandemic, and arrived through it, because it was the pandemic, and the shutdown. Then it was trying to find employees to work, and it was the supply chain, and-
Jeff Randolph:
Exactly.
Joy Broils:
… you were still trying to find employees who want to work, and now it’s inflation. And you keep getting knocked from almost a blind side, and just keep going, just yeah.
Jeff Randolph:
All of the punches, just keep on rolling right through them.
Joy Broils:
Yeah, because we need you.
Jeff Randolph:
Yeah.
Joy Broils:
We as a city, Kansas City is one of the best entrepreneurial cities. We need you as small businesses to keep going.
Jeff Randolph:
I don’t know that there’s a better transition point to go right into the lightning round on that question. Here’s how the lightning round works. The lightning round is, there are no wrong answers in the lightning round. So that’s positive.
Joy Broils:
Okay. Good.
Jeff Randolph:
Yeah, lightning round, short answer, soundbite answer, one or two word answers, just something brief. And if we find an answer that we have to dive into, we will definitely dive into that answer. And we will explore that.
Joy Broils:
That sounds good.
Jeff Randolph:
So let me think about, how about if you were to do a collaboration with any brand in the world, what is your dream collab?
Joy Broils:
Oh my gosh. Well, okay. So I’m going to say I have. One of the things we haven’t talked about is I have a bag that I designed, and is manufactured in the United States, which I’m so proud of. I would love to collab with a really cool company for that bag.
Jeff Randolph:
Any?
Joy Broils:
Oh, I don’t have any.
Jeff Randolph:
This is a blank check question. I can introduce you to-
Joy Broils:
Oh my gosh.
Jeff Randolph:
… any of the space billionaires, anything you want to do.
Joy Broils:
Right? Oh, man. Oh, I don’t know. That’s a hard question.
Jeff Randolph:
It’s like when Oprah sits down, and says, “What are the Favorite Things?” And they’re like, “Oh, I’m going to put a car in that bag, maybe just keys.” I don’t know.
Joy Broils:
Okay. So I would love to be on Oprah’s Favorite Things list. I think that would be so cool.
Jeff Randolph:
Yes. That would be a great list to be on.
Joy Broils:
Yes.
Jeff Randolph:
That solves marketing issues.
Joy Broils:
Right?
Jeff Randolph:
It may cause some other ones, but yes, that would be a good one.
Joy Broils:
This bag is so cool. I have to just tell you a minute about it. So it is a small to mid-size duffle. It is divided in the middle, but you don’t have to have it divided. So it has a toggle closure that if you want to divide it, pull the toggle closure. If you need it, as long as it is, let the toggle closure release, and then you have a whole bag. But the reason I designed it is because I can never find anything in my bag.
Jeff Randolph:
Oh, yeah.
Joy Broils:
Backpack, it doesn’t matter what I’m carrying. I know it’s in there. I just don’t know where it’s.
Jeff Randolph:
I’ve seen the struggle. I’ve seen the struggle before.
Joy Broils:
Exactly. And so, I went through four prototype designs. Finally came to the one that is the one, and it’s being manufactured in Iowa, which I’m so excited about. Yeah. Yeah.
Jeff Randolph:
Super cool.
Joy Broils:
So Oprah’s Favorite Things.
Jeff Randolph:
Oprah’s Favorite Things is definitely the list, if you could be on the Oprah’s Favorite Things.
Joy Broils:
That would be awesome. Yes.
Jeff Randolph:
How about? Let’s see. Which businesses, which brands inspire you the most?
Joy Broils:
That’s a good question too. This is going to be a long lightning round with a lot of thought.
Jeff Randolph:
And that’s okay. Lightning is so subjective.
Joy Broils:
Oh, I was going to say, “I don’t know.” The ones that inspire me the most, and they’re not necessarily going to be directly in my field, but the ones that are run by really strong women.
Jeff Randolph:
Okay. Mm-hmm.
Joy Broils:
Honest Company is. I like Goop.
Jeff Randolph:
Okay. Yeah.
Joy Broils:
Those, you have women who people may have thought, “Oh, you’re an actor, and you don’t know what you’re doing.” I love that they said, “Yeah, I do.”
Jeff Randolph:
“Yeah, I know enough about this, and I’ve got a thought. I’ve got a perspective, and I’m going to talk about it.”
Joy Broils:
And they push through.
Jeff Randolph:
Yeah.
Joy Broils:
I think that is sometimes when people look at me, and they’re like, “Oh, you’re an attorney.” I don’t practice anymore.
Jeff Randolph:
Right. Right.
Joy Broils:
I’m an entrepreneur, and I’ve got this. And so I look at those companies, and I think those are the ones, the ones that people started where it wasn’t their professional life, and then they started it, I think those are the ones that inspire me the most.
Jeff Randolph:
Your background is all …
Joy Broils:
All over.
Jeff Randolph:
… legal, and attorney stuff, so your training is that way. Do you ever find yourself thinking like an attorney, and not like an entrepreneur?
Joy Broils:
Mm-hmm.
Jeff Randolph:
What are those times? Is that a …
Joy Broils:
I can’t do this in the box, because I don’t want to. I don’t have an alcohol license, so you will never see alcohol in my box because I already know I’m not going to get in trouble.
Jeff Randolph:
You know better.
Joy Broils:
Yes.
Jeff Randolph:
You know the consequences. You know you can’t do it.
Joy Broils:
Yes. That doesn’t mean that I won’t partner with somebody here in Kansas City, because we’ve got some great companies that do some really cool things, and they have liquor licenses.
Jeff Randolph:
Interesting.
Joy Broils:
So we may partner together.
Jeff Randolph:
All right. I may close on this question for the lightning round. What do you want your future customers to know about you?
Joy Broils:
I want them to know that I spend every day thinking about what will make their lives better.
Jeff Randolph:
Oh.
Joy Broils:
And I want them to find that wellbeing, make sure that they’re feeling okay. And if they’re not, I want them to take that time to really figure out their pause.
Jeff Randolph:
Man, I’m already thinking about my pause. What is your go-to pause?
Joy Broils:
Oh, gosh. So I’m still on my journey to find it. What I like to do, I love to cook, but not if I’m under this pressure of, I have three kids, and a husband. And my kids are 17 to 12. And the younger two are boys. So you can imagine in my house. It’s like, “We’re hungry now.” I don’t like to cook when it’s, “How fast are we eating,” And they’re all standing there. I like to cook when I have that time, that relaxation to just figure out, “Oh, what recipe am I going to try today?”
Jeff Randolph:
Mm-hmm.
Joy Broils:
Yeah. I like to hike. And then I’m just, I’m really talking to people to see what their pause is, and see, “Is this something that I might like to do?”
Jeff Randolph:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Your cooking components inside the pause boxes definitely speak to me. If I can walk down a grocery store, or farmer’s market, and just take a look around, and go, “Ooh, I’m going to make,” and everything starts to come together. And that’s the creative outlet. It’s a relaxation.
Joy Broils:
Yes.
Jeff Randolph:
It’s a wonderful thing. All of that speaks to me. It’s good to know that someone is out there looking for items that I will care about.
Joy Broils:
Right? Exactly. And that’s one of the reasons we talk to our clients so much is because we want to know what they like. That’s important, and yeah.
Jeff Randolph:
It’s the whole marketing concept. Ask people what they want, and give it to them.
Joy Broils:
Right?
Jeff Randolph:
Well played Joy. Well played. All right. The website is hustleandground.com. Joy, thanks for being with me today.
Joy Broils:
Thank you so much, Jeff. This was fun.
Jeff Randolph:
Good times. That is our show. Thanks for listening to the Small Business Miracles Podcast. I’d like to thank my guest this week. Joy, thank you for being here so much. We really appreciate that. Remember to subscribe. Leave us a five star rating and review. Drop us a line on the website at eagadv.com if you have some thoughts. And until then, we’ll be out here helping entrepreneurs with another small business miracle.