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Welcome to Make Your Passion Pay, hosted by LuAnn Buechler, a seasoned leader with a master’s degree in Hospitality Administration and a recipient of the TLC Award for Leadership. This podcast is designed for business owners who have left toxic environments to create their own thriving workplaces but find themselves struggling with team building and mindset. Join LuAnn as she shares insights and strategies to help you cultivate joy and a positive mindset in your business and personal life. Drawing from her experience working with renowned leaders like Dr. Ivan Misner, LuAnn guides you in building a supportive community and mastering the art of people management. Each episode offers practical advice and inspiring stories to empower you to transform your work environment into one that reflects your values and passions. Tune in to discover how to lead with joy, foster meaningful connections, and truly make your passion pay.
LuAnn Buechler: Welcome to the Make Your Passion Pay podcast today. So glad to have you listening in with us. On the podcast called Make Your Passion Pay, we talk about the six C's to the playbook.
LuAnn Buechler: in doing just that, turning that which you're passionate about into profit. And those 6 C's are clarity, connection, community.
LuAnn Buechler: Collaboration, creativity, and commitment.
LuAnn Buechler: And I think my guest today will definitely be able to speak to the commitment it's taken her to make a shift from her corporate job into what she's doing now. Welcome, Deanna.
Deanna Krick: Good morning!
LuAnn Buechler: So…
Deanna Krick: Thanks for having me.
LuAnn Buechler: Deanna Crick is the owner of Rusty Nail Custom Creations, a small business specializing in handcrafted, personalized wood and laser-engraved gifts.
LuAnn Buechler: Through Rusty Nail, we focus on creating meaningful pieces that help people celebrate memories, milestones, and the people they love.
LuAnn Buechler: She is also an active BNI member who enjoys building relationships, there's the community, and supporting other local businesses through the power of a network like BNI. And that, my friends, is collaboration. So we got 3 C's easily that we can talk about already.
Deanna Krick: Perfect!
LuAnn Buechler: So, Deanna, I know… oh, and this is C-word too, right? Corporate America. So, I know that you left corporate America recently. Will you share with my audience your story of that transition, why it came about, and yeah, how that was for you?
Deanna Krick: Yeah, sure. So, it was a transition I wasn't expecting, let's just say that. I was with, a big corporation for just over 31 years. I really grew my,
Deanna Krick: myself within the business. They were a great business that loved to, you know.
Deanna Krick: Get people pushed out of their comfort zone, let them grow, let them learn, and kind of build your experiences within those walls.
Deanna Krick: And I had a great career within that company, and you know, in the last few years, our environment and economy has kind of shifted a little, and so they had to do some reducing force.
Deanna Krick: And it was a great… I mean, not great, but it was an op… well, basically, I lost my job, and so moving from there and trying to really define, you know, what it is, what's my next step? Do I want to go back and get into another corporate business?
Deanna Krick: I was in the technology space, I led our data and technology team at the time I left, my company, and
Deanna Krick: Jason, who is my husband and I, over the last few years, have kind of already started dabbling in our woodworking, laser engraving space.
Deanna Krick: And we had said, you know, at 55, I was gonna retire, which would have been in another 5 years from the business I was with.
Deanna Krick: And start our own business, and have that kind of be like our retirement gig, and be able to build this business together, and, you know, kind of have that be something that we love, we're passionate about, we enjoy doing it. It feels good when we make things for folks, and they just love it, you know? So making those meaningful gifts
Deanna Krick: And so when this transition happened,
Deanna Krick: As hard as it was, and as much as it hurt, you know, it's like, life happens, you have to dust yourself off and figure out what's next.
Deanna Krick: And so I took this last year. It's been just over a year now that I'm officially have been done there, and so we really started digging in and trying to figure out, you know, how do we get this business up and running? Because we really kind of had the philosophy of, we got, like, 5 years to figure it out.
Deanna Krick: And so here we are.
LuAnn Buechler: and then it triggered faster, right? So you were kind of pushed out of the nest into really what you want to be doing anyway, right?
Deanna Krick: Yeah, right, and it's funny how life works.
Deanna Krick: You know, so we had been going to some craft shows, and we had a local show here in our hometown, where it's called Riverfest. It's right around the 4th of July, and our main focus on a lot of our gifts are patriotism, faith-based, and then pets, right? Those are kind of our three wheelhouses.
Deanna Krick: And so we had a bunch of patriotic stuff, so we went to this show, in our local Riverfest.
Deanna Krick: And we happened to see a gal that we knew back from when our kids were in high school.
Deanna Krick: Amy… Amy was her name, and so Jason was chit-chatting with her and telling her our experience that, you know, we're both Dow sole business owners, and what we're kind of doing, and what happened with me with my corporate world, and she invited us to this little group called B&I.
Deanna Krick: And I'm like, well, let's check it out, you know? And so that…
LuAnn Buechler: Neither of you have had heard of B&I before that moment.
Deanna Krick: we had not, no, and we were like, well, let's go check it out, you know? So we went to a couple meetings, and we joined, because it was great. You know, they start out with Giver's Game as, like.
Deanna Krick: you know, other business individuals that really, you know, go through the same trials and tribulations as you do. They've gone through what you have to do to get to where they're at. And, so it's been 9 months, I think, now that we've been in the B&I group.
Deanna Krick: And it's just been a blessing. And it really helped us define, especially in our rusty nail space, what it is we want to do, where do we want to focus, and how do we branch out. So that was huge.
Deanna Krick: To start with. And then it just started making connections for me from there.
Deanna Krick: I mean…
LuAnn Buechler: That's an important highlight for people who may be sitting in a J-O-B that they don't like, and thinking the very thing you were thinking, oh, 2, 3, 4, 5 years from now, I'll start a business.
LuAnn Buechler: I want to let those people know that you want to start that plan NOW, while somebody else is giving you a paycheck.
Deanna Krick: Yeah, that would have been nice.
LuAnn Buechler: Yeah, so it's less scary, than happening abruptly, like it sounds like it might have happened for you. Right. And so… and that there's a network out there called B&I that wants to help people grow their businesses.
LuAnn Buechler: It's groups of other professionals who have been helped to grow their business by this supportive network.
LuAnn Buechler: And we want to help the next people that opt in to be an entrepreneur, because that's just what the organization is about. Givers gain, right? We like to help each other. So I want to encourage those people that are sitting in that job, and
LuAnn Buechler: And maybe unsure if it's, stable for the long term.
LuAnn Buechler: That we'd love to meet you and share in helping you start your own business. So those are connections, and I know you're looking at collaborations with other business owners in the community, too.
Deanna Krick: Yep, yep, definitely trying to work through that, and I think what I really struggled with, even once we got into B&I, is, you know, how do I… how do I really want to run this business? What are my goals? And so when I was talking about the connections, you know, I had two connections that have been pivotal for me in this last year.
Deanna Krick: One is you, where we went through and talked about make your passion pay, right?
Deanna Krick: Two, I knew I needed more than just a community-based
Deanna Krick: footprint. I wanted to get out into the web world, online.
Deanna Krick: And actually, there was a visitor at one of our B&I groups that came to one of our weekly meetings, and she said, hey, if you really want to get into, like, Etsy… I was kind of going back and forth, should I do a website, should I do Etsy? I landed with Etsy, but she got me in contact with
Deanna Krick: an Etsy coach, so I… I leaned on you as a business coach, and how do I want to move forward? And this guy I've been chatting with out in Washington, he's just amazing. He's very smart when it comes to the Etsy space, and how, you know, you can
Deanna Krick: partner with other manufacturers that can make some of my products that I don't have the capability to do, and my… my footprint is going to be a lot bigger than just the items that I can actually make. And, so both of those connections have been pivotal, because they've really taught me a lot, and brought me down a whole different path.
LuAnn Buechler: Well, I appreciate that. I heard some words in there, some of our key words, right? I think in working with me, that we got you to clarity. Clarity of what you wanted to represent, what your products would represent, the pets, patriotism, and faith.
LuAnn Buechler: Came out of that conversation.
LuAnn Buechler: Did it build some confidence for you?
Deanna Krick: Oh, absolutely, and I think what really helped, you know, when you're sitting there going, you go from a corporate world that's very structured, you know, you have deadlines, you have to meet this, you gotta do that, you gotta keep the needle moving.
Deanna Krick: When it's just you, and you don't have a team of individuals that you can lean on to be like, okay, we need to delegate, we gotta do this, and it's like, it's kind of…
Deanna Krick: It's all you, right? And so I think the biggest thing I took away from my session with you was not only the clarity of really where I want to focus.
Deanna Krick: But also, how do I get to that 2-year and 5-year? Like, what does that even look like? Which was really scary to kind of honestly dream about it, but at the end of our sessions, it was very, enlightening and exciting, because…
Deanna Krick: You just have… you're like, okay, this is doable, this is actually doable, so…
LuAnn Buechler: this is actually doable, right? And we start, because it can be challenging to dream what does it look like in 2 years, we go all the way out to 10 years. It's easier to make a big, beautiful story and use our imagination, which is a powerful tool that we have, as to what could it look like 10 years from now, and then we chunk it backwards, and all of a sudden.
LuAnn Buechler: This is doable, right? We can do this.
LuAnn Buechler: This is all we gotta do for the next year or so, and boy, I love that you jumped into Etsy, right? And made that leap. So, creativity is in this language as well.
LuAnn Buechler: That you're being creative and open to the possibilities, right? It doesn't have to be products that only you make.
LuAnn Buechler: You have great ideas, you get somebody else to produce them, and you promote them. And… Entrepreneur, right?
Deanna Krick: Yeah, it's been really exciting. One of our items is dog collars and leashes.
Deanna Krick: I get to actually make the design, and I use AI quite often to, you know, make those designs. AI and I have become, like, real BFFs, so I've been using it a lot, right? But I get to own the designs, and then I get the artwork created, and I get it posted on my site, and then when a customer comes along, and they're like, oh my gosh, this is awesome.
Deanna Krick: They purchase it, and then the order goes straight to my manufacturer, and I have a good relationship with them on, you know, because I want to make sure my…
Deanna Krick: customers are being taken care of. You don't want to just go into business with anyone, you know?
LuAnn Buechler: So how did you find your manufacturers? I think that's important, because we both live on relationships and trust.
LuAnn Buechler: So how did you build that?
Deanna Krick: actually, my Etsy coach that I've been working with not only teaches you the ins and outs, the algorithms of Etsy, and how you really can be a strong player in there, he also helps
Deanna Krick: find these different manufacturers. And so, when we first had our conversation, it was like, this is too crazy, because he was already focusing on a pet manufacturer for those different types of things. He's very faith-based, and he just kind of felt like it just made sense.
Deanna Krick: And so he goes out, and he finds the manufacturers that we can… we can utilize.
Deanna Krick: And so he's kind of doing some of that front-end work. So it's that… his relationship with me will probably be ongoing, because he'll continue to help me find those different manufacturers where I have no idea who I would even call to try to start to say, hey, can you make.
LuAnn Buechler: Right?
Deanna Krick: dollars for me.
LuAnn Buechler: Okay, so how'd you find the Etsy coach?
Deanna Krick: Through BNI, there was… we had a.
LuAnn Buechler: This is great point.
Deanna Krick: Dude.
LuAnn Buechler: Told that story.
Deanna Krick: A visitor one day.
Deanna Krick: And she wasn't even the Etsy coach. She had just met him at a conference, and was like, you need to call this guy. And I'm like, I don't know. And I did, and it was just… it was crazy.
LuAnn Buechler: That is beautiful.
Deanna Krick: I…
LuAnn Buechler: I love that. So, so I want a connection to your Etsy coach. I want to get him on.
LuAnn Buechler: the podcast, that would be fabulous. From his perspective, how he can help people start an online business through Etsy, and get them connected, because I'll bet that's another barrier that individuals think about, like.
LuAnn Buechler: I don't want to be the manufacturer.
Deanna Krick: I just…
LuAnn Buechler: I just want to sell the product and share my joy in that product with other people, right?
Deanna Krick: Yeah, for sure.
LuAnn Buechler: I met through the podcast a gentleman who has, I think it's 6 Franchised businesses that are pet-based.
LuAnn Buechler: And not callers.
LuAnn Buechler: So, perhaps we should have a conversation with him, and how do we get you connected to his franchise owners that could have your products in their stores?
Deanna Krick: Right?
LuAnn Buechler: Maybe they don't have stores. Maybe they just could refer to your Etsy page.
LuAnn Buechler: because, like, one of them is… I can't remember the exact name of it, but it's basically a pooper-scooper kind of business, right? One of them, I think, is a mobile dog grooming business.
Deanna Krick: Oh, sure.
LuAnn Buechler: Right? You see where I'm going with this?
Deanna Krick: Yo?
LuAnn Buechler: Yeah, that…
Deanna Krick: Yeah.
LuAnn Buechler: Love this kind of collaboration and connection opportunities that come out when you have a conversation. Another C word!
LuAnn Buechler: So much fun. And so, how are things going today?
Deanna Krick: You know what, they're going pretty good. I really can't complain. My Etsy shop is… going great.
Deanna Krick: I meet with my coach twice a week, and the group. There's a group of individuals like myself. I want to say there's, like, 10 of us. We meet every Monday and Thursday. We talk about how's our, you know, looking at our ads. Are we running the right ads on Etsy? Are we getting the right amount of orders? And I'm averaging, it doesn't feel like a lot, but I'm averaging about 5 orders per day.
Deanna Krick: between all of my items. And, you know, we look on, like, our return on investment from paying for ads and things on Etsy, and you get certain scores. And once you start hitting different thresholds, I have hit my first $3,000 month.
LuAnn Buechler: Mommy!
Deanna Krick: So, which, again, it probably seems like peanuts to some people, but for me, it's like, holy cows, this is totally doable, and it is awesome.
Deanna Krick: So that has been just such a…
LuAnn Buechler: Really?
LuAnn Buechler: You said you've just been out of corporate America for one year.
LuAnn Buechler: When did your Etsy page go live?
Deanna Krick: Oh, well, I was kind of dragging my feet, because it took me a while. I would say it officially went live right after the first of the year, so January.
LuAnn Buechler: So, I want you to stop talking bad about yourself.
Deanna Krick: Yes.
LuAnn Buechler: You were not dragging your feet, you were doing your due diligence, your research, and making sure that you were prepared to go live.
LuAnn Buechler: In less than a year in business.
LuAnn Buechler: You've got your Etsy page up and running, and you've made a $3,000 a month… month. Rate. Revenue a month.
Deanna Krick: Right.
LuAnn Buechler: And I think that's huge, and I want you to celebrate that, because you're winning, my friend. You're winning the game.
Deanna Krick: I do feel like I'm winning, and yeah, I shouldn't… I shouldn't be a… a party pooper about some of that stuff, because it's been, you know, you… you gotta sit back and enjoy it, and not just feel so…
Deanna Krick: discouraged by the little things, right? Everything… nothing's ever going to be perfect. You have to roll with the punches, you have to be able to shift and be agile, right? You know, and just take that next step forward and, you know, think about the future, but not too much where you're overwhelmed by it. Just take those one day at a time.
LuAnn Buechler: Let's talk about that for a second, right? It can become very overwhelming, and that's why we need a community of professionals around us that love and support us, like our BNI network. It sounds like you also have community
LuAnn Buechler: in Etsy. It's more than just an online store.
LuAnn Buechler: or platform, right? Sounds like you've got a community there, too. Would that be true?
Deanna Krick: Absolutely, yeah, because, you know, there's other individuals in the same boat as me, which actually, they're more focused on just the offerings that the other manufacturers can offer. I'm a little unique because I make my own items as well, like…
Deanna Krick: So I have my dog collars that comes through manufacture, but one of my best-selling items is my pet memorial. It's a photo frame, and I engrave the pet's name, it gets cut out of wood, and then we get to put a little nice saying on there, and a little paw print, and…
Deanna Krick: It's a very meaningful gift, you know, and I can include a photo and print it out and have it all ready and packaged when it delivers, and
Deanna Krick: So that's the uniqueness between myself and my other individuals, but it is good to sit and listen with them each week, because I learn from what they're struggling with on their Etsy pages, or what they're winning with, you know? So just…
Deanna Krick: learning.
LuAnn Buechler: I think… I think the point here that I like to emphasize things that are said so people get it, right, is that you don't have to be your own manufacturer, or you can be.
LuAnn Buechler: And you can do a little bit of both, and that's okay, too. Now, I would have assumed Etsy was, I gotta make it all myself.
LuAnn Buechler: So, again, clarity that that's not the case.
LuAnn Buechler: And now I'm wondering if Etsy would be a place for me to be with my iHug movement.
LuAnn Buechler: what do I want to call it?
LuAnn Buechler: t-shirts.
Deanna Krick: Oh, sure.
LuAnn Buechler: You know, the pins, and other things that a manufacturer would make.
Deanna Krick: Hmm.
LuAnn Buechler: Yeah.
LuAnn Buechler: Super cool. Well, we'll have to talk more about that.
Deanna Krick: Yeah, absolutely. It's pretty crazy how unlimited it really is.
LuAnn Buechler: Well, and super important, again, emphasizing the communities that you're a part of, bring you ideas.
LuAnn Buechler: And outside the box, thinking that we get stuck in our own brain, in our own self-doubt, and no, that's not possible, and then you see someone else doing it, and you go, well, if they can do it, so can I, right?
Deanna Krick: Yeah.
LuAnn Buechler: Try to get out of your own space by yourself. I think, to me, that's probably one of the biggest, mistakes that solopreneurs can make.
LuAnn Buechler: In trying to do it all alone.
LuAnn Buechler: Now, you came, you had the support of your husband right away, right?
Deanna Krick: Yeah.
Deanna Krick: fortunate with Jason.
LuAnn Buechler: Yeah.
Deanna Krick: He's there with me at every show, he's…
Deanna Krick: Bringing all my… carrying all my stuff, driving my trailer, and, you know, he's…
LuAnn Buechler: Well…
Deanna Krick: So…
LuAnn Buechler: I happen to know you help him out when he needs some help, too, right? He painted a house with him.
LuAnn Buechler: So, just for the audience, Deanna's husband, also in the B&I chapter, his name is Jason, and he started with a handyman business, so kind of fits with the custom creations in working, and then, ultimately he's switched to painting right now, but he…
LuAnn Buechler: And she will be growing this business together, and still be a retirement plan, right?
Deanna Krick: Absolutely.
LuAnn Buechler: And tell them the fun part of that. What do you call it? What do you want to have on your property?
Deanna Krick: Oh, our ultimate goal is to be able to afford a barnominium, where it's basically part of it is your house, and the rest of it is, like, a big shop.
Deanna Krick: You know, and they're just adorable. And right now, we live in a small Rambler, and our whole house is our shop. Our whole garage is our shop, our garage is our shop. So, yeah, that is definitely on our 10-year plan to be able to get ourselves a sweet little barnominium.
LuAnn Buechler: I love that, I love that. I just have a visual in my head, I've never really looked up what that looks like, but I can imagine it would be lots of fun, and super creative, right?
Deanna Krick: Yup.
LuAnn Buechler: So, if there's a listener out there that knows anything about barnominiums, you can reach out when we post this.
Deanna Krick: Yep.
LuAnn Buechler: We'll make sure that the Etsy page is on the show notes, so you can see the products of Rusty Nails, or Rusty Nail Custom Creations.
LuAnn Buechler: And, Deanna's Facebook page will be in the show notes.
LuAnn Buechler: So you can follow her and reach out to her. Super fun. Super fun. What lessons have you learned? What… give us a lesson that, maybe we can stop someone else from having to learn by giving them information in advance.
Deanna Krick: Oh, gosh. I think my biggest lesson this last year is put myself out there. I thought originally I had to do it all by myself. I mean, yeah, I'm doing a lot of my business stuff, but outside of that, you talk about all of your C's, they're all very important. Find yourself a local networking group.
Deanna Krick: It is so important. I think we would be in a totally different place if we wouldn't have joined BNI.
Deanna Krick: That sounds crazy, but it's true.
Deanna Krick: collaborate with people. You have to find others that, you know, have that same…
Deanna Krick: drive, passion, and just knowledge out there that can share with you. So I think that was our biggest learning, and… and yeah, if… if we wouldn't have seen Amy that day at that little party down in the park.
Deanna Krick: Who knows?
LuAnn Buechler: So this one's a reminder for my B&I family who listens in, because I'm a 22-year-long B&I member, right? Talk to everybody. You meet wherever you are about the network, because there's still
LuAnn Buechler: thousands upon thousands of people who have never heard of B&I. Often those people coming out of a corporate America situation where networking was not important to them.
LuAnn Buechler: When you were in corporate America, typically, unless you're selling for that corporation. And so, interesting, right? And for the corporate people to know that
LuAnn Buechler: There is all kinds of support out in the community, the business community, for you to start your own business. And B&I or another network, I know B&I is international, so I'm confident you can find it, but if not, find some community
LuAnn Buechler: And collaboration that you can create, because you'll need the support.
LuAnn Buechler: Again, you talked about this a little bit earlier, too, and I forgot to highlight it, right? But that accountability piece.
Deanna Krick: Oh, yeah.
LuAnn Buechler: And there's accountability in the B&I organization for how we use that system to grow each other's businesses, but what you mentioned was the accountability for yourself.
LuAnn Buechler: And having a business coach.
LuAnn Buechler: To help you build that structure, and the goals, and where you're going. And the…
LuAnn Buechler: Still to show up, right? And be able to say, I did XYZ.
LuAnn Buechler: Because if we don't have somebody to report into, often we get Laxadaisical, I'll use that word.
Deanna Krick: Absolutely, that is totally true.
Deanna Krick: Huh.
LuAnn Buechler: Yeah, so that accountability piece, we often, you know.
LuAnn Buechler: Think that's a negative word, and oh, we don't want someone micromanaging or over our shoulder, but the reality is, it only makes us better and stronger business professionals and owners.
Deanna Krick: Yeah.
LuAnn Buechler: So, really, I have to ask sometimes, right, if you don't want that accountability, do you really want a business, or are you creating a job for yourself?
LuAnn Buechler: Right?
Deanna Krick: Sure.
LuAnn Buechler: Small business owners, I see it a lot, right? They remain as a solopreneur, and all they've done is created a job for themselves, that sometimes
LuAnn Buechler: Oftentimes is runnin' them.
LuAnn Buechler: not running the business. You seen that?
Deanna Krick: Yup.
LuAnn Buechler: Yeah.
Deanna Krick: Yup.
LuAnn Buechler: Yeah, and so that's… that's the other thing that comes out of the coaching world, and specifically Make Your Passions Pay, and our program. Actually, Deanna participated in a program called Level Up, which you can find on my website.
LuAnn Buechler: Always will be available, and there's a free consultation.
LuAnn Buechler: So just for a conversation, just to connect for a conversation, you can go to luannb.com and click on that free consultation, and it'll take you right to my calendar to book some time.
LuAnn Buechler: And remember to connect with, Deanna. Facebook page will be in the show notes.
LuAnn Buechler: Definitely go to the Etsy shop and see the cool things she has. She made a…
LuAnn Buechler: beautiful ornament for me for Christmas for my sister, that is like a family tree, and had all my sister's grandchildren on it. Like, brought her to tears. It was really awesome.
Deanna Krick: Yeah, those are really fun to make.
LuAnn Buechler: Those personalized gifts that really touch people's hearts, not just…
LuAnn Buechler: you know, going into Hallmark and picking up something off the shelf.
LuAnn Buechler: those personalized… what's your favorite?
LuAnn Buechler: What's your favorite?
Deanna Krick: Oof, I… you know, I really…
Deanna Krick: I think my Pet Memorial stuff is definitely my favorite, just because it's like…
Deanna Krick: it's so hard to lose your pet, right? And there's sometimes I'm sitting here, and I'm printing out pictures, and I'm like… because I just feel so bad for folks, and it's like, if I can just bring a smidge of happiness into a dark time for them, that's all that…
Deanna Krick: I really… really love about it. So, I would say… That would be my fave.
LuAnn Buechler: Sounds like your business brings you joy.
Deanna Krick: It sure does.
LuAnn Buechler: Yeah.
LuAnn Buechler: So, my friends, do what you love in service to people who love what you do. It'll bring joy to your heart and your workplace.
LuAnn Buechler: And, again, would love to talk with you for a free consultation. Deanna, thanks for coming in today and having a conversation with me.
Deanna Krick: Yeah, no problem. I really am… thank you for inviting me, and it's just been a pleasure sitting… it's always a pleasure chatting with you, Luanne.
LuAnn Buechler: Thanks so much! Everybody have a great day, and remember to make your passion pay!
Deanna Krick: Thank you.