101 – Mom Makers – Baby Products and Beyond – with Sharon Chai and Julie Steward

Announcer: 00:00
Welcome to Elaine's Kitchen Table. This is where we share tips about business and parenting. Being a mom of three, CEO of the award winning company Easy Daysies, speaker and educator, you're going to learn the tips and secrets of successful and incredible people. Elaine wants you to be inspired, challenged and motivated, and that person you want your kids to grow up to be. This is real talk for real life.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 00:24
Hi, welcome to Elaine's Kitchen Table where we talk about how to create better how to create better family how to create better health, how to create better business, and how to create better self. And our episode today is focusing on mom makers - women who not only thought of an idea but made it into something, made it into a product, made it into a successful business. Both my guests today have a passion for creating organic eco friendly baby products. And they are both dear friends to me so I cannot wait to share them with you. Sharon Chai. She's a mom of two and she's a passionate entrepreneur. She's the founder and owner of product line and company called Bamboobino. And it's an award winning nationally recognized children's brand. Her gorgeous bamboo baby products are found in hundreds of stores across North America, including Chapters and London Drugs. And this mama she has a passion for helping and connecting other women entrepreneurs, which I just love.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 01:24
And Julie Steward. She's a mom of four. And she also has a huge passion for entrepreneurship. In 2011, she invented a baby teething mitten and started a baby teething business called Mitteez. And in January 2018, she launched her business and today her products are in many high end boutiques, as well as large retailers like London Drugs, Pharmasave and Bye Bye Baby. Now, I just am so excited to have them. So let's just move right on and start the show.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 01:55
I cannot think of a more incredible group of ladies to have with me today to feature on our Mom Maker series. And I just gushed about them. And I don't want to wait any further. So let's let's have these beautiful ladies say hello. Julie can you say hi and Sharon, can you say hello?

Julie Steward: 02:16
Hi, everyone.

Sharon Chai: 02:18
Hi everyone.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 02:21
Okay, I would love if I could have another baby, I would because of what these two ladies have created. And I'm going to ask each of them to share a little bit about their story. And the beautiful thing is you can find their contacts and their website on our on our show notes so you can dig even further into their stories. But Julie, I would love for you to start. Tell us a little bit about how you created Mitteez.

Julie Steward: 02:54
Okay, well thanks Elaine, I really appreciate this opportunity. And you know, I love any opportunity to be connected with you, you're one of my favorite people. So I have four children. And in 2011 is when I had my fourth child, and all of them went through the teething experience very poorly. So I've had the opportunity to see what kind of products are out there and in the baby teething industry and so on. And that's when I came up with the idea to make something safe, that busy moms can give their babies to teeth on they're not constantly dropping to the ground. And that's when I invented something called a baby teething mitten that they wear on their hands. And so that's basically where it all started. And that is a patented and trademarked and an award winning product today. And it's moved forward from that. And now we currently have four innovative baby teething products, which are eco friendly and safe. And again, don't drop to the ground. So that's when it started.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 03:53
I love love. Love that. I love that right? Because especially when you have four children, you can't be running around picking up toys that fall from their hands before it touches the ground. As much as a mom can be a superhero. You can't be at all places at once. I love your creations so much. Love your story, Julie. Thank you. Sharon Chai, please share how you created Bamboobino. I love love, love your products so much.

Sharon Chai: 04:24
Well, I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur since I was a teenager. And in, you know, very early on, I knew that I wanted to create something, to sell something that I had created. And so when I became a mom, and I had two young children, I had discovered bamboo fabric and when I discovered all its wonderful qualities. So soft, absorbent, sustainable, hypoallergenic. I thought I just have to share this amazing fiber with as many families as I can. And that was my goal. And I came up with four basic products. Basically, it was just based on whatever fabric was available at a time because bamboo fabric wasn't common. And I went to a few stores and every store that I went to enthusiastically ordered a lot faster than I thought. Some stores even sold my samples, so I didn't have any samples left. And to this end, I became an ambassador of sorts for bamboo in the baby industry. And that was fueled by numerous features in the media and to this day that has snowballed to us being to selling to hundreds of retailers, including London Drugs and Chapters Indigo here in in Canada.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 05:55
Love, love, love, love, and I love your products because I know that I have the honor to use some of them as not a baby but a mom.

Sharon Chai: 06:05
It's not just for babies.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 06:08
That is very, very cool. Some of my favorite things, it makes me just feel very pampered when I use even your hair wrap. When I'm drying my hair after a shower. Love it so much. And ladies, I have to ask How long have you been in business? Julie, Sharon?

Julie Steward: 06:27
Well I launched officially January 2018. So that's when I was actually selling and in stores.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 06:36
Awesome.

Sharon Chai: 06:37
And we delivered our first orders in May of 2007. So it's been 13 years.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 06:44
That's brilliant. Congratulations, ladies. So awesome. And I know whether you've been in it for over 10 years, or under five years, or under two years, we all learn so many things in manufacturing. And I'm also a product creator and I have done so many mistakes in the learning about manufacturing. But I would love to, for each of us to share with our listeners right now who are thinking about product creating, or are product creators right now, can you think of three things that you can share? That they should know? Before creating a product? What is something they should do? Does someone want to start?

Julie Steward: 07:33
Yeah, I can. I can start on that when I've had a lot of trials and errors through my process. But I think that's really important actually, in order to make sure that you end up with a successful brand. The number one thing if you've got a great idea, keep it to yourself, and be very careful who you share it with. And when you do go get a prototype, make sure that you have things legally protected. And make sure you get prototypes and do the safety testing before you do any kind of mass production. Because if it's not safety tested, then you could have a real issue, especially with importing.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 08:11
Absolutely. Thank you. So great points, keep it to yourself until you're ready to share, protected by trademarking or are different avenues of protecting your product, and then do the prototyping and test those prototypes for safety before mass production. Great Ones, how about you Sharon?

Sharon Chai: 08:35
Really good points, Julie. For me, most of my products are made in Canada, and ranging from those made by my manufacturer, and to some that I actually make by myself. And manufacturing has many challenges locally. But I think the benefits outweigh the cost because it's easier to keep an eye on quality control. And but the thing is, it's a lot of work because it doesn't arrive ready to ship. And a lot goes into prepping a product to be ready for shelf display. So my tip would be just to get help with the little things because there's many, many, many little things. If you're a maker, you'll just know how much work goes into something. And especially when you're starting out, you're doing everything yourself. And later on, you can outsource things but even when you're doing everything yourself, you still need time to do your, you're probably doing your own marketing your own accounting, bookkeeping, and so on. So my advice would be just to get help with the little things because they eat up so much time. They're not hard, but you know, they do take up a lot of time, and you can be creative. And if you can't afford it, there are always people who will help. For example, I live near a high school where students are required to have volunteer hours to graduate They need the hours and the work experience. And I need the help. And it's also nice to have the company. So I've had student volunteers for the last couple of years until COVID happened. And in turn, I have mentored students. And I just love talking to them about business, school, work and themselves. And at the same time, they're helping my company, and they're learning so much as well.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 10:24
That's awesome. Love that love that, especially but getting help with the little things. Because yes, all those little things fill up your day, and can take up a lot of time when you need to be doing something else. Great tips, and I love the getting students, right, whether it's high school level, and there's also colleges and universities that are seeking small businesses to work with and for especially like marketing, because they need a real business to their projects for it. And you know, why not? have them look at your social media? Have them? Take a look at your Facebook?

Sharon Chai: 11:06
Sorry, I was just gonna say that there is a shortage of places that they can go to to achieve to fulfill their hours. So they have opened it up to businesses, not just volunteer organizations and charities. They're desperate looking for businesses to have their students work and get experience.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 11:29
Absolutely. So great tip. So if you're listening, and you're looking for some help, and you never thought of it, reach out to that local college, near your house or a college in your city. And just let them know that you your company, your business is open to taking on some student interns. And why not? And that's a great reminder. Thank you, Sharon.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 11:53
So ladies, I know that in our journeys, we have learned a lot and I would love for you to share a risk that you took. And in your product, life story that was a mistake. You absolutely could look at and point to and say yep, there was one. And this is what happened. And this is what I learned from it. Because you know, we are stronger together. And when I started Easy Daysies I felt so alone. And I thought I am absolutely crazy in doing this. I had three kids under five and never created a product in my life, never took a business course. In fact, I was a school teacher. And I was so grateful and count it a blessing when some complete stranger reached out to me on Facebook, who started a woman's group of women product inventors, and it was American. And she invited me to be a part of it. And it was just such a great space of feeling safe and oh my goodness, I'm not alone in doing this. And so I would love for you ladies to to pick one. If you only have one mistake, that's great. We'd be honored to hear it. One risk that you took. I've often been told that I'm too nice and I'm going to be taken advantage of and, and so many times, unfortunately, that same person who tells me that does exactly that and in business and I'm just blown away. And you know, I still am very trusting. But I have learned a lot of lessons like trusting my gut and not be swayed by my heart and emotions of helping another possible partnership when they aren't being upfront and honest. So yes, trusting my gut, I should have gone with my gut on many of those occasions. Sharon, do you want to start? Is there some risk that you took and it just was a mistake and you learn from it?

Sharon Chai: 14:07
So I reached out to a large retailer to carry Bamboobino, and I didn't do my homework. I didn't know what they required or what it was like to deal with them. And so when we started the conversation with the buyer, there was a few things that they had required of me that I had no idea. And there was, there was quite a few major things like insurance and French translation, for example. And, you know, being fairly new in the business, I didn't have all these things set up yet. And, and so I'm so guilty of letting things fizzle by not following up. So when I was having to look into all these requirements, I think I just sort of got really overwhelmed and let the conversation die out. And instead of getting help from them as well, because I think, you know, a lot, I've learned now that many big retailers will help out small businesses, if you're, if you're needing help. And I just thought I just needed to check all these boxes, or else, they're not going to want to deal with me. And so I, you know, not surprisingly, I lost that account. And that's happened a few times with smaller stores as well, not as much now, but yes, it is important to follow up and it is important to, to keep the conversation going. If you're running into some, some roadblocks.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 16:28
I think that's an excellent reminder of not being ashamed or embarrassed that you have a small business. Ladies who are listening, gentlemen who are listening. You know, it can go a long way, like just be honest and share and instead of thinking, Oh, the doors are closed, because I can't do those things, because I'm not that large corporation that can do all those things. And you're absolutely right, Sharon, there are businesses that large companies will say, you know what, I can do something to help or, okay, well, what will work and those are the companies you want to work with, right? The ones that will try and figure it out, and will want to be your partner. And it's okay to lose partnerships that aren't they just weren't meant to be. And that's okay. So great, great reminder. Thank you for that. Sharon. Julie. How about you honey. Was there a mistake or a risk you took?

Julie Steward: 17:20
Hahaha, yeah, well said. For sure. There has been lots and I think one of the biggest things with me with Mitteez is trust. And I'm very much like both of you. We are very trustworthy and people and you. I mean, I think it's a beautiful quality because you have to be able to trust people. And if you're working or about to engage with a company that the trust is broken, then that is a warning sign to leave. Because in this industry, there's a lot of untrusting businesses and manufacturers and lots of people. So mine was I actually trusted my IP lawyer and didn't do my own homework and how things were to progress. So when I invented Mitteez, and that was the teething mitten. We did all my products are patented, and I started in the US. And that's usually when you patent something you should I would recommend going in the bigger countries and I didn't think demographically, like do your research with that. And the IP lawyer said she had filed the patent. And at this time I was the first person who ever invented this particular product. And the delays that went on is what had resulted to a lot of the issues. So I trusted her and trusted her got a letter that said everything was filed. And then she had disappeared. And a year couldn't track her down. And then finally found out through the company she had worked with which is a very big law firm. So don't just assume because it's a big law firm in Vancouver. And I had to start all over again. So that that really set me back. And there was a lot of people out in the industry that had beat me to the market and one of the biggest ones is in China. And that was my own manufacturer behind my back delayed me and delayed me so they could get their product out on the marketplace.

Julie Steward: 19:18
So it happens, be prepared for it. I'm not the only person that infringement I actually just had another huge company, almost copy our name. And I had to deal with that as well. And I think my one tip with this, especially for small businesses, don't engage in a big lawsuit because your money is not going to be well spent there. Get a lawyer, send out a letter and Sharon, you've gone through something very similar with a cease and desist letter and hopefully that will do the trick, right? Because there is a lot of good people in the industry. And if we all work together, it's a better place right? So that's probably one of my biggest issues there.

Julie Steward: 20:06
And you know, what, don't grow too fast. So because of this competition issue, I was so focused and getting out there as fast as I could and getting more products out there as fast. And then you're too diversified. You have to be very careful. So right now with COVID is, you know, it's been a terrible thing for everybody in our world. It's really given I think, a lot of us time to reflect, sit back, relook at things rebrand or redo your business plan. So it's been a positive for me in that aspect. So I hope I hope that helps listeners.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 20:48
Yes, it can be scary as a product inventor. And it's always so heartbreaking when you see someone copy your product, because I see that for Easy Daysies too. And it just makes me want to throw up. And people are bold. And it's crazy. And, you know, I like my trademark board is the one with a tree in the middle. And I've seen someone else create that board with the tree in the middle and the same curve. And now it's like, wow, people are so bold, and like even in Canada, someone else I because you know when you're in it for a long time in this, although I launched my first product two days after my third baby was born, and she just turned 12. But I didn't officially incorporate until 2011. So Easy Daysies has been around for a long time and the blessing of it being in a lot of media and on television a lot, people know that Easy Daysies has been around. And so people write to me or send me some link and say, Oh my gosh, look at this product, like totally copied you. And it just breaks my heart because it's like, absolutely, totally copied Easy Daysies. But what you said is right, like don't waste money on on big lawsuits. And yes, you can send a cease and desist. But sometimes I don't even do that. Because there are so many copycats now and I just have to overlook it. And one distributor told me, you know, Elaine, your product is copyable. But you just the winner is the one who's first on the shelf, right? And he said, Yeah, I just have to take it as a compliment when that happens. But it still makes me no nauseous and it breaks my heart. How do people sleep at night? Yes. Just don't waste your money on, I mean, I'm talking as a small business owner. And but yes, there are ways to shut it down.

Julie Steward: 22:51
Yeah, and I just want to say, because I you know, China has a history of infringing, they've actually really pulled their weight up. And I currently work with one of my products that are made there with an amazing factory who I really trust. So there, you just have trust, there you go. It comes to making sure you have proper legal documentation and trusting and maybe even get on a plane when we can and go to where you know, the country is where the manufacturing is. I mean, you're so blessed Sharon, to be able to do most of your stuff or all your stuff here in Canada. And I wish I could do that. But unfortunately, the food grade safe silicone, the factories are overseas, right? So we do what we can.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 23:38
And it's tricky. And you know, I've manufactured in Canada when I first started, and I do manufacture offshore now and in Canada. And one huge blessing out of COVID is I have found Canadian manufacturing. And you know, this is probably the first time I'm saying it out loud.

Julie Steward: 23:56
Congratulations!

Elaine Tan Comeau: 23:57
Thank you and yes, so, yeah, it's crazy, but very glad to. And it is all tricky.

Sharon Chai: 24:07
It is really nice to be able to say made in Canada.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 24:15
So, since we're talking about manufacturing, I would love for you to give one tip ladies on manufacturing. So like if we could think of one big tip we could share to someone who's listening who is a product maker/creator, what and they're looking to outsource or find a place to make their product. What is one tip you have?

Julie Steward: 24:43
It's hard just to say one tip. It depends. I think if you're local, and you can be able to go to that manufacturer and see and control what's going on. That's a different story. If you have to go outsource and you go overseas. There is something called Alibaba, which is a trade assurance company that I highly recommend, because then you can do a little bit more of the quality control and they have inspectors. So get an inspection, especially on that first product and make sure you get product samples and that they're tested first. And I think I said that earlier, that's probably my biggest tip with manufacturing. Because if it's not safety compliant, you can't sell it.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 25:23
Absolutely. And to be aware of where you're selling it. So you get the right test, right? Are you selling in Europe, and you have to get the CE logo or you're in North America. So you want to make sure you're getting the right tests for where you are selling it at the end. How about you Sharon, is there one tip that you could share about manufacturing?

Sharon Chai: 25:44
I think for me, since I manufacture a lot locally, I think it's just trying to find as many local suppliers as possible. Like, even if they are getting it from offshore, it's really just, it just feels good to know that you are supporting local businesses, because like our labels, our binding, our care and content tags, so many things, from people that are just in town, our sticker manufacturer just kind of bought up by someone, but it's still in Edmonton. And you know, the practical plus side of that is when when import and export rules change, and then prices change or exchange rates change, for example, then you're fairly, I wouldn't say completely immune but somewhat immune to that. Because I have to say, I've had to switch a lot of some of my suppliers from the US to Canada, or, you know, or try to switch from China to here. And I did that early on, because it was just less of a headache, first of all to deal with a local supplier. And even if they're getting their stuff from offshore, they're the ones having to deal with the customs duties, the freight, you know, logistics, all that kind of stuff. And so especially during this time, during COVID, and also because of the political climates and things going on changing these trade agreements. I'm just so happy that I can drive down to my label maker and see Bamboobino on their machines and pick up from them and see them and talk to them face to face. And it's just great, because, you know, you build relationships.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 27:36
Absolutely, supporting local when you can for sure. Yeah. And you're absolutely blessed with that. And I remember when I first started Easy Daysies and I did do it all off our kitchen table. I'd order the Uline boxes from Uline.ca. And then I my husband would print the inserts, I would fold those plastic boxes, insert paper, my magnets were manufactured in Toronto, and it was crazy and was very expensive, because magnets aren't a cheap resource. And then of course, and then I moved on to create the board, which has the metal sheet inside, made those in North America, incredibly expensive. And so I did have to go offshore. And if I could share a tip when I first made them offshore, and I did go the Alibaba route. My tip, if I could share if you were to create a product. When I first tried it one thing I did, and it was different for everybody. But one thing I did was I made all the different pieces at different factories so that not one company was making the whole entire product. Smart. And so at that point, then I got all those separate parts shipped to me and then we would, I had a company here that assembled them in in British Columbia. And so that kept it from being quote unquote, copied.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 29:09
However I did years ago, I think like six years ago, a fellow mom entrepreneur friend, forwarded me a picture of a screencapture and it was a factory in China, who was selling my boards with Easy Daysies on it and I was blown away. And that was the only thing we made bad I guess because it was doing very well they were selling it it's about just the pork. But I did I did for it a cease and desist right away and they did shut it down right away. And so yeah, but that was my tip. I just made them in separate, different company, different factories. But yes, that's many years and many lessons for sure. Ladies and you are both incredible and the super fantastic moms and friends and, and just beautiful women and I would love for you to share it, that's off the top of my head, there is no wrong answer. I would love as we wrap up here, if you could share one tip, that means like, just like in a sentence, not a paragraph, like the first thing that comes to the top of your mind, as a tip to help create better self like that means self improvement, self love, self care, sharing, what is your first thing that comes to your mind for self care, self love.

Sharon Chai: 30:35
For self care, um, you know, I know everyone talks about, you know, having a wine or putting your feet up with a cup of tea, but for me is just doing whatever it takes, even if self care means working. Because like, I would still work on my birthday, because I know I'm going out for dinner with my family. But I know I'll have a better time if I just got this work out of the out of the way. Right. And, and, and it's also just peace of mind. Yeah, peace of mind. And, and self care is really just, I think, also being mindful of what you do in your downtime. Because, you know, when you think about, if you're, if you're, if you've got hobbies, like online shopping, or playing video games, or chatting with friends, but you also have exercise and paint or whatever. There's a podcast that I listened to sometimes. She's more than a podcaster. She's also an exercise guru. Her name is Chalene Johnson. And I remember listening to a tip she had on how to get your mojo back. And she said, with your hobbies, do the 80/20 rule. So 80% of your hobbies should be things that lifts you up. So for me, it would be exercising, skating, painting, creating, sowing for myself not for work, reading a book or learning a language. And then 20% of your hobbies can be the mindless, pure, mindless enjoyment of it. So shopping online chatting going on social media, and watching TV. So I thought that was great, because I think sometimes our downtime is just that. But you don't really feel refreshed after that, right? You don't feel like you know, you've you've taken care of yourself. So that would be my tip.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 32:41
That's a great tip. Yeah, cuz sometimes you could do a downtime thing that just makes you more lethargic and not inspired and just more tired.

Julie Steward: 32:55
Mine's hugging my dog now. Sharon, I agree with you. It's two things, I have to have my things accomplished. And then I feel really good at the end of the day. And I think the one tip for me is because I'm a busy mom and I love to cook is to go out and have sushi and have someone just serve me and I can eat what I want and drink what I want and not worry. Right? That's my self gratification.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 33:27
So I can I come eat with you?

Julie Steward: 33:29
Yes, we have a great great Japanese restaurant here. One of the best actually, believe it or not. Gotta come to the island.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 33:38
I am gonna come visit you and we're gonna go to this restaurant.

Julie Steward: 33:41
It's called Nori, Nori Sushi. It's fabulous.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 33:45
Excellent. Nori Sushi. Okay, we're gonna do this. We're gonna do that. For sure. We can do a podcast together live about food.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 33:57
I love food. And I love Chalene Johnson, saying her name wrong. Yeah, it's my dream to one day have her on my podcast. I love her podcast too. And her son, the podcasts they have together as well. Love them. Okay, top tip for family.

Sharon Chai: 34:22
I think I mentioned this earlier. But I think we weren't recording the time. But for family, just acknowledging, no family's perfect. I love the quote that says, "children will ask for love in the most unloving way". And admittedly, that's been the case in my family quite often. And it's okay to ask for help and to not be ashamed to seek counseling. I still think there's a stigma getting professional help. And but really seeing a therapist should be just as normal as seeing a family doctor.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 35:00
Absolutely. I think mental health is highly important. Because it dictates your physical health, it dictates your social health, it dictates so much of every part of your body if your mental health is not checked, and so great reminder. And I love that quote, right and it's so true. And even when I was a school teacher, it was the kids that stood out because of something they ridiculously did. And you just want to love them because you know, there's a lot of pain behind something that they did that they didn't mean to be disrespectful or hurt someone but they, it's a cry for some love. For sure. Never an excuse to misbehave. But it's definitely for us as adults to remember that there's much love needed there for sure. Family, Julie, one tip.

Julie Steward: 35:59
Hug, always hug, always hug your loved ones every single day. And that's been something big with our family that we do, no matter what age because my children go from the ages of nine to 21.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 36:12
I love, I would take that hug absolutely love that. Hug Hug Hug. I'm going to share a tip too, a tip of mine is to listen with your whole face. That means if your kids are coming to you or coming home to not have your face in a screen, as much as we are so like it's almost a part of our body now these devices, but to look and listen with our whole face, and that means our eyes are on our kids, our ears, our smiles, and just all of it are listening with our whole face. And I asked her one last tip and that was for business ladies. So one business tip that you can just throw out there and say, Hey, if you're not listening to anything else, we just said, listen to this, what would that be?

Julie Steward: 37:04
Social media influencers. Huge.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 37:09
Awesome, okay, that means find them or use them?

Julie Steward: 37:13
Find them and get them You do not have to pay for social media influencers. Do your research find someone on Instagram that you like their photography, send them product, that is how you build a brand. One person tells another person and another person tells another person.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 37:28
Love that love that so much? And you know, they say 87% of females look to social media before they make a purchase? And you know, and onto social media influencers. You don't have to look for those with a million followers, the more effective ones are the ones with less than five, like 7000 5000 because those are real engagements they are they're so interested in what they share, and real engagement. And that's what I have learned. Yeah, great. Great tip there. Sharon Chai, one business tip.

Sharon Chai: 38:06
Focus on what you can control rather than what you can't. So focus on whether it's your website as opposed to selling products on another website, a third party website. Focus on you know, your your emotions, not focus on not sorry not being emotional, I should say. Don't get obsessed with your competitors, your customers. And I'll share a couple of books that I would recommend that I've read this year which I thought were really helpful. One is Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. And the other is The One Thing by Gary Keller and this is an excellent read if single tasking is your goal.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 39:00
Beautiful, great books. I just read those as well. And I say read very loosely. I'm so sorry. Audiobook listened. Yeah. I also have a love for books. Yes, and do not stop learning. Right. Do not stop learning. And even when you hear it here as though you heard it for the first time because that is probably an excellent time to be reminded. And I love the books that you just recommended very much. Yes, focus on that one thing and focus on the things that you can control. Don't waste your energy and your time on useless things that you, I mean. And the fact that you can't make those changes into those the competitor, focus on improving your product. Focus on an awesome feedback that you get and criticisms too. I'm talking about good and bad feedback, be grateful for them and talk about how you know learn from them and move forward from there. Julie and Sharon, I adore you both so much and I'm so grateful for your time and for your wisdom and your beautiful hearts that you shared today. So ladies, Julie, Sharon, if our listener wants to find you right now Julie, where can they go?

Julie Steward: 40:26
@Mitteez, Facebook, Instagram. Online is www.mitteez.com. Thank you.

Elaine Tan Comeau: 40:38
Sharon. Where would they go to find you?

Sharon Chai: 40:43
@Bamboobino everything. So they can find me @Bamboobino everything. So I'm on Facebook on Instagram, Pinterest, and my website is www.bamboobino.com

Elaine Tan Comeau: 41:07
Perfect and we have this all on our show notes. And please do follow these ladies on their social media you will just fall in love with their photos they're just gorgeous photos and just I just adore these ladies so much. So for now we are going to sign off and say goodbye and I want to thank you as our listeners and you are just incredible and I'm so grateful for you. And you know we are stronger together and we are in this together. You are not alone and we are learning as we go and it could be a well it is a bumpy road right being an entrepreneur and if you are a product inventor or creator, we wish you all the best because that is awesome that you took that bold leap to go for it. And that's one thing I hugely another huge thing I respect but Sharon and Julie so much. So ladies, we're gonna say bye and we will catch everybody later! Bye.