Creativity for Wellness – with Shannon Reed, Mockingbird Makes

Creativity for Wellness – with Shannon Reed, Mockingbird Makes

Vicki Weinberg (00:00:08):

Welcome to the, bring your product ideas to life podcast, practical advice, and inspiration to help you create and sell your own physical products. Here is your host Vicki Weinberg Shannon Reed. re connects people with their often outsourced Creativity by bringing their ideas to life in fiber art form. She also teaches them to do this for themselves and hold safe spaces to allow our creativity, to support our wellness. So, hi Shannon. Thank you so much for being here.

Shannon Reed (00:00:38):

Thank you. Thank you for having me. I am delighted to be here today.

Vicki Weinberg (00:00:42):

Well, I'm delighted that you're here, so let's start off. I've given obviously given her a bit of an introduction to you, but be fantastic. If you could expand on that, introduce yourself and also talk a bit about your business and what you sell. Please.

Shannon Reed (00:00:56):

Thank you. My business is Mockingbird Makes and it is about handcrafts and I crochet and I knit and I made pom-poms and I bring people's ideas to knife. That's what I'm doing now. But the way it came about was as a means to support my own mental health. So often we put aside playful things and our adulthood, we think that's what an adult being an adult is just to put aside things that we might have been doing in our childhood. And when I went into therapy, my therapist asked me if there are any thing that I enjoy doing when I was younger and I did enjoy being very creative.

Shannon Reed (00:01:38):

I just never thought it was a productive thing to do. And I never thought I was in a good job at it. And so those are two criteria that I thought one needed to be creative. And so when she suggested that I picked up knitting and I'm really, really found that it really helped me. It was something that I could expand on from my childhood and, and also crochet and so on. And it gave me 'cause. I had young children at the time. It gave me a sense of, of a physical output, physical accomplishment that I could see in front of me, the process of learning and challenging myself was really a rewarding.

Shannon Reed (00:02:24):

And it was also something that didn't have anything to do with the corporate world or anything like that. It was solely my thing and it, it was something that I could do with my hand so that I didn't have to set up. I didn't have to have an easel app or paints out that it would dry out if they didn't put them on the sorts of things. All this criteria was met and I was like beta rashes. It became very, very meditative. And then I discovered that I was quite good at it. This was a place where I could filter where I could channel my

perfectionist and being able to use it. Then I had to have an excuse for making, cause once again, that productivity measurement was still in my mind.

Shannon Reed (00:03:08):

So I started gifting them. People's birthdays. It was, it could be Crafts, it could be whatever it was, gifting came along and, and the feedback was so wonderful. And then someone suggested it. I started selling them and then I sold a few things, but the turning point was to become a bread, to become a business with win. A friend of mine, set up a gender neutral clothing company and needed in the colors of her life that she was producing for a big launch. And so, yes, and we went ahead and did that and decided that that was when I should have an a and I should have a company and I should have an Instagram account.

Shannon Reed (00:03:52):

You know, those things that make you an official, whatever that is, I'm a logo and so on and on. And that was the mission that I accomplished in a very short time, because I had a deadline I had to get it done. So it was a very good for me to get into the mode of a better done than perfect. That was, that was really helpful for me having that short deadline. I just feel a lot of confidence, confidence coming out of the corporate world and going into the child, becoming a mum and raising children. And it didn't really think that I could go back into that world. So this was a beautiful way for me to start building my life again, in my, on my own terms and in my own way.

Shannon Reed (00:04:36):

And as an, as an aside, too, that the production and the creation, the following, my intuition, getting feedback from customers, Ideas from customers to turn in to reality. I also discovered the process of creativity and how beneficial that could be for others. And so outside of my product business, I do a lot of Wellness Work as well, which is very, very rewarding. But now I make the spoke. Mostly I do have an Etsy account where I can, which is what I sell my ready made items, but working for the focus on my greatest joy, because it links into a allowing others to reclaim their own creativity, even if they don't make for themselves, they can have an idea go from an idea into reality.

Shannon Reed (00:05:36):

And so they are, Creativity is channeled is, is brought to life. I know that that's something that you're very passionate about. The seeing ideas come to life like that. And, and it's, we have that in common being a, with its doing it ourselves or, or seeing them come through from one person to another, it was really rewarding. So the spoke is my main way that I work and which has its own challenges. Then, then being able to formally set it up, how much stock I need for certain thing and, And, and being able to measure the profit margins down to the nth degree. So I worked very intuitively and, and slowly building up my profit margins and slowly building up that side of it.

Shannon Reed (00:06:19):

First of all, has been in the work and secondly has come the feasibility. And that's because I'm in the very privileged position of being in a partnership where I have another income. So I don't want anyone to take this as a Oh well, that's what I need to do now, if you're starting up from scratch with no support and so on. So I

interrupted you though, as a kid going on.

Vicki Weinberg (00:06:42):

Oh no. So I need to make sure I was going to say with the pricing, I guess some of it is, yeah, I guess it's an intuition, but also some of it it's obviously experienced because you are, I guess in the longer you are doing that, you can kind of judge more of, okay, well, my materials for this project will cost this and it will take me this amount of time. I'm sure that makes people wherever they have a set pricing model or not often undercharging at the beginning, because it's so easy to underestimate your time and you know what it's going to take to complete the project. So I'll say I agree that I'm sure that a lot of what you do is in tuition, but I think that's probably built on your experience as well, because remind me, Shannon, how long have you been doing this for now?

Shannon Reed (00:07:21):

Had to schedule your birthday in October or November of last year. Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg (00:07:26):

So obviously you've got all of that experience to draw from. And where are you do in the space from the start of it? Or did you start right from day one? Okay.

Shannon Reed (00:07:36):

Well actually for me, bespoke felt like lower risk because I, while my individual purchasing products of material might be higher because I am not buying them bulk a, the risk of do they want it is much lower. So that's how I started was I will make you what you want rather than me knowing what is wanted out there. And so that's where the intuitive meets experience is that I didn't do. And I didn't research Ryther there's business, which is a viable option from the beginning.

Shannon Reed (00:08:19):

And I don't like to say that because I get embarrassed about saying that, but it was such a drive that I wanted to be able to do this, but that's how I approached. It was how can I give you what you want? And then if that popular I can. So I think in the first couple of, of early years were really like market research and really gathering consumer insights and a life that could come forward way. If you wanted to give to an analogy to it, me, I was just following my knows that there we go, we can, we can call that what it is.

Vicki Weinberg (00:09:02):

As you mentioned, you have some off the shelf items as well, and all of the off the shelf side items kind of, so what am I trying to say? Hey, if you have, you used your knowledge of what people are buying bespoke is a kind of dictate what the off the shelf items are.

Shannon Reed (00:09:17):

Yeah. Yes, that's right. So it is things that are popular now that I know that a regular buyers are at different times of year or whenever they might be, it will make sure that I have a bit of stock Inn of those so that they are ready to go for people. Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg (00:09:33):

Yep. And how do you balance that? So creating your stock that's on your Etsy store, one is available sort of year round versus the bespoke. How do you manage that and hard in terms of your time?

Shannon Reed (00:09:45):

It's, it's not a science at all. It's very much an art. It's very much, you know, I'm still have children at home. I still have to juggle different things. And so I'm mostly led by my orders. And then when I get a gap, I will look at my stock and see what I need. And this was a lot of stock that I had even on my Etsy, because I haven't got round to doing the text for it and doing the copy and then doing the photos for us as well. So there's not, you know, this

is the tool rolling. It's a little rolling, it's all going on. And I did spend a lot of time not wanting to stop things because I couldn't do it properly or completely.

Shannon Reed (00:10:27):

And I've taken that requirement's away from myself and a lot and have gone look, my, you know, my branding is not, high-end my photograph and not all really great and so on, but it's what can I do? What can I put out there too? And what can I manage? What can we manage? What is enough for me? So it always coming from my boundaries and what works for me and allowing that to be the leader of my business, rather than it's, it's a balance, but rather than the market as such.

Vicki Weinberg (00:11:06):

Yeah. And this is an element in there. So it sounds like there possibly is an element of what you enjoy as well, because I'm getting from speaking to you, I kind of feel that the bespoke work is what you love. So I, it kind of make sense to me that you're business is led by That because that's the word that you truly enjoy it. So yeah, that does make, that does make total sense.

Shannon Reed (00:11:25):

I think it is very much I loved. So there's the, there is a phrase that I came across recently, which I know that I'd do called shop blocking, where as you talk about something that's really, really exciting, and then people have no way to go and buy it. And then often happens with me. 'cause I am so excited about something that I just want to share it with people. And then I haven't still, haven't got a link or is it, you know, and my I've got too many orders on or something or something. And so having, I'm getting better at having processes, I'm getting better at thinking through it and thinking in advance and having strategy and having planning in place.

Shannon Reed (00:12:08):

But it it's, it's not as exciting as meeting someone who goes, Oh, I love what you did there. Do you think we

could do this and this? And so I'm at the moment. One of my favorite things is to make yogis we're on, we're on podcast. You can see, but the Vicki, you can see behind me once sitting on my shelf and these have been, I started off as like yogis for which has really been amazing for me to understand how much representation matters and the fact that black skinned yoga do you have not been seen in this form before to a great extent was really, really powerful.

Shannon Reed (00:12:53):

So, so being able to create something that has really emotive and beautiful and, and really life affirming for people is because of my greatest gift, that would be my greatest gifts. How wonderful is, or is that to be able to do that. And so when I think of making 20 unicorns and putting them on Etsy to be sold as a, as a transactional thing, it doesn't have as much thrill for me. I mean, it's a unicorn, so how can it not have a thrill? You know, when the first time I got to a direct payment into my bank account that said, rainbow unicorn, I thought, well, look, I've made it.

Shannon Reed (00:13:35):

This is at this time I've made my life, Oh, this is what I wanted to be doing, but there is a difference. And sometimes I, I can do it a little bit of, not so much of the smartest thing, buy, for example, shop blocking, whereas not having my stuff ready, but I would rather have the connection with the people that I'm doing it with. So I have to balance that, that, that correctly, I have a strong drive to connect with people and be working with them, but I also need to have a production line to a certain extent, have things that are, have, you know, I've read them to go and so on.

Shannon Reed (00:14:17):

So I get better and better at that with more experience. I don't want to cut it off that connection. That's what the whole, that's a whole thing about what I'm doing is about and, and just working on how to make that more profitable. So I can continue to do that and, and keep, keep the business going, has been a lot of what I worked on last year, which was really successful, which has been really good.

Vicki Weinberg (00:14:40):

Right. Yeah. And I saw the yogis on your website actually. And I thought they were lovely. 'cause I've never seen anything so unique. And like you said, there are also really representative as, as well, which I haven't, which I don't know that I've seen before in many, if any hands crafted products, I just thought they were really unusual and yeah. And I could totally see why it's lovely to create products where people can see themselves in them. And what was the inspiration for that is if you don't mind me asking.

Shannon Reed (00:15:10):

And it was a direct request from Donna Noble, who is a leading yoga teacher in the country at the moment. And she is leading the way and equality and inclusion and all sorts of diversity in terms of body size and shape. And yoga is for everybody. And, and she said, she saw one of the other figurines, so that I've made,

I've made some statues and some goddess figurines and, and, and so on for a beautiful work for the people. And she thought like, I be like a Yogi. And so I made one from her and she, and she shared it and we went from there.

Shannon Reed (00:15:52):

And then you would have been made, have seen a few, I'm talking about picture of the yoga for that lots of different yogis in one place. Those are all future orders that people have got, Oh, well, I usually wear gray when I'm saying, and can I have a pink yoga mat or, and I have, I have my hair down. Can I have my hair long or short or Apple, you know? And then it went on from there. And to even, I, I Business women with her sunglasses and in a mobile phone and Her, Oh, what is the brand anyway, who a designer handbag, which was very, you know, it was a very clear to see what its design at was and her high heels shoes.

Shannon Reed (00:16:33):

I mean, you know, this is me getting a bit silly on it, but I loved it, making it look at this and like showing my boys look at what I've made. I've made a tiny pair of high heel shoes I went to go,

Vicki Weinberg (00:16:46):

Okay, that's really good. And why not get to Sally with that as well? I mean, Y you know, it's fine that it should be fine, and this is maybe a personal, what was it personal? Because I crocheted as well as myself. I'm self-taught so do you actually, as you, you are not following a pattern by the sounds of it as well. You're sort of designing your own pieces, is that right?

Shannon Reed (00:17:06):

Well, I will look at Perry. I will look at patterns all the time. I will look at patterns from here and I'll look at patterns from here and I'll go back to hear and pull it out. The pieces that I need. So know, I, this is not just me, but there are some times there are some times when I have enough space and I have enough calm around me. And the time was just right on the moon, isn't the right place or whatever it is going on. I don't know. I would like to put it, I would like to bottle these times, but I haven't been able to get where I can sit down. And I think it's, from my experience, I can sit down and I can go, okay, the next row needs to be like this, the next row needs to be like this.

Shannon Reed (00:17:46):

Yes. That shaped is good. Yeah. And it, and then it flows. So there are times that I do that when I'm in flow and I'm in flow and at night to be able to do that on purpose much more, but, you know, experience will bring that as well.

Vicki Weinberg (00:18:03):

Yeah. Thank you. So thank you for explaining that. I was just really curious, because I've never seen patterns for a lot of the things that you create. So I was just wondering where that came from, but taking bits

and lots of places totally makes sense. So let's talk a little bit about how you manage these bespoke or does, so what's the process when someone contacts you and says, I'd like you to make something for me, how does that work?

Shannon Reed (00:18:25):

Yeah, a year ago or 18 months ago, I'd probably wouldn't have been able to articulate it, but I have, because as I said, I am becoming more process focused and that's not just for me to be efficient, but it's also for the customer to have as little time answering questions from me as possible, because in the beginning I would be like, Oh, and what about this? And then come back later at all, but I forgot this. What about this? So now I have, I take my time before I go back to someone to think through all of the things that they will need to choose about the item or think about or, and so on and try and simplify those questions down as much as possible, because this is my perfectionist coming, and I would want to get it right for them.

Shannon Reed (00:19:12):

But most, not most, sometimes I just didn't know that people with too many questions. So I'm aware of time to do that. So the quick, so the email comes in, I would like to do this. And then I came back with some ideas, have I understood you correctly? This is what I'd done in the path. What do you like out of these? And then it, it will, depending on what time of the year it is, or if it's coming closer to Christmas, I will say, this is my turn around time. I'm going to put you in a holding pattern right now. If you have to hold your place, here's my deposit. Please, please pay this deposit to hold your place.

Shannon Reed (00:19:54):

And then we will come. I will come back to you when I am really to all of your materials for U, and we will sign off on that and do that when it, less than that, I'm not so rigid with my, my timings and so on. So I'm looking at the process and then I will, so we will agree and practice in theory, what are the components are, I will quote on, on that and taking the positive, then we'll order the materials if I don't already have them in stock. So there's a bit of turnaround time then if necessary, once those materials that in a lockdown process is to then show them by some screen video or, or, or photograph And as natural light as possible, which has, can be when you have to affect her on screens and so on.

Shannon Reed (00:20:50):

I'm what we've got. A and just say, here we go, it's arrived. Cause I like to people to keep a part of the process as well. Yeah. This was the stage I'm at. We are here. And, and, and I'm thinking about this for you, and this is what they I've had these ideas in the meantime, what do you think? And so on. And then half way through, we might do a quick little update and, Oh, here we go. And then, and then in, in, in the process, so I finished

takes out is for them, send them through or wait until like, by posting them out and then send in photos that I can use if they wanted to talk about it. And so on what I used to love doing, of course, when we're not in a locked down as a meeting up with people so they can get their hands on the wool and the yarn and see the colors and light and have a whole table covered.

Shannon Reed (00:21:44):

This is a bit exciting whole table covered with the yarn and then pick and choose to put them together. And that is as a lovely process that I missed doing with people. It all makes it part of the plot, probably a lot of the game for me, but of course the, you know, doing it this way means less time, but it's just quicker for me to get these focuses down. So the swings and roundabouts.

Vicki Weinberg (00:22:11):

Yeah. And it does sound like you've adapted really well when you have really good process in place. I think it's really lovely to be about the check-out with people. 'cause, there's nothing worse in order to win something on site at the C and then two or three weeks goes by and you haven't had a thing and you think you can have, they got my aunt's or is it coming? And so I think its really nice. And especially because your work's bespoke, I guess it's so personal to people as well. Well, if it works for them or whatever it is for gifts. Yeah. So I think that's really nice that you've built that into your process.

Shannon Reed (00:22:40):

Hm. Now it's very important for me. It may be just a little girl in me. He would like to have recognition who knows, but then she has a way that it works really well. I imagined myself as the customer, whenever I can imagine myself with the customer and I'm putting my trust, especially with the folks it's like, Oh, have my ideas have translated. Is that we agree on them? Is that what it's going to be looking like? Well, when I, and then also it's not an unfair thing or a decent amount of money. I want to know that if I want to have the feeling of excitement that something is coming so that joy and knowing that someone is thinking about me than it is considering that keeping me on my mind, all of those things.

Shannon Reed (00:23:25):

I, I, I, I want to give to my customer's that this is a relationship and the way that we're having no, not to put anybody out, but you know, it's, it is, it, is that the communication, that is the relationship of thoughts for that short period of time. That is that, that they are held what the idea's are held, that they are, that they, that the love in the camp is going into it. That's really important to me, for them to know that.

Vicki Weinberg (00:23:55):

Yeah. And also as a maker, I know this probably isn't your primary motivation, but also as a maker, I guess it's nice to have that check-in in before you get to the end and someone goes, Oh actually that was the wrong shade of green or where, you know, whatever the thing is that. Right.

Shannon Reed (00:24:10):

And it, it certainly allows that to happen at that. It allows for that too, too, to, to add in the adjustments or actually I'm glad she got in touch because I was thinking we haven't talked about the shoes yet and what would it be okay to do this? Oh yeah. Well, I hadn't started that yet. So yes, that's fine. We can do that. You

know, anything we can come on up.

Vicki Weinberg (00:24:32):

So, and I know this is probably like a, how long of a piece of string question, but generally how long does it take you to create a bespoke order in terms of the actual making the time?

Shannon Reed (00:24:45):

If yeah, it can be, it can be a lot of hours. I made a beautiful, this is an octopus, a woman. I made one for a very dear customer friend and I wanted it to be special. And I did lots of the reading and I took my time and really allowed that process to unfold and to let Ursula tell me what she wanted to be, which I was so grateful to have the trust of my client to do that. And I didn't count how many hours that was because it was quite a lot, but I, I, and now that, that as content CPD, so that continued professional development for me experienced building and, and so on.

Shannon Reed (00:25:35):

So that was quite a few hours if I was trying to make the Yogi Yogi over the weekend clearly, you know, be on pointing too. But Yogi this to think beside me is a M I, I basic stile where people could choose their color and then they get a colored clothing and color Matt and hair style. And so on would be under for hours for, for that, from the start to finish. Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg (00:26:05):

Okay. Thank you. I was just very curious and I will make sure that there are links to your website and your Etsy store in the show notes. People can actually go and have a look at Your yogis and all of your other products as well right now. So, okay. So your, so your bespoke products when you're website and your off the shelf products, weren't at to see if I got that right?

Shannon Reed (00:26:25):

My bespoke products have ID on Instagram or emailing me. So it's by email and ideas for what you might like are all on my Instagram account. So ideas of what has been made before are all There. My, there are some stuff on my website that that's not a shopping website. We do you do. You need to actually email me and get in touch with me if you want something bespoke. Whereas all of my ready-made stuff is on Etsy that you don't need to interact with me at all. You can just buy it. And I do have one Yogi on, on there at the moment, but anyone can message me as well as through my Etsy site to, to, to say, Oh, that's all this and how are we going to do something else?

Shannon Reed (00:27:15):

So, yeah.

Vicki Weinberg (00:27:16):

Perfect. And your website I'm of course, cause I've always taken a look at your website, also talks about some other services you offer. So you, should we just talk about those briefly and how and what you do and how it kind of connects with, with this side of the business?

Shannon Reed (00:27:31):

Oh, I would love to, cause I'm very passionate about Creativity for Wellness and how Creativity can support our mental health. And I think it's when we had our first lockdown, the data that came back with the two things that people most took up and the time to support the child's with exercise and Creativity, and they did might not have counted how many loaves of bread was made. But anyway, exercise to see a devotee, we'll definitely be in there as one of the highest things. And I think it speaks a lot to us that our health is really important and they are both part of our health. So my, the way that I do that, as I speak often, whenever I can about the benefits of Wellness, that Creativity brain and I host women's events for called Creative Conversations, which is the combination of a women's listening to circle where we get to listen and connect with each other in a very, very safe container.

Shannon Reed (00:28:35):

So I've been a facilitator for, I tried to do as a facilitator maybe 20 years ago. Now, gosh, it's a lot of the year is to say, and I've continued facilitating. So that's a theme that has run through, even though I was in the corporate world as an innovation and creativity facilitator for corporates to come up with ideas and implement really big, bold new ideas. The, the thread of creativity has come through and I'm still facilitating and holding safe spaces for the people in safe spaces that are needed for new ideas to come up, which is what I was doing pre children.

Shannon Reed (00:29:17):

And then my corporate career holding incredibly safe spaces because new ideas can be very vulnerable. And now I hold spaces that are very, very safe emotionally and very, very nurturing and nourishing for women and with the intention of them having connection to themselves and to each other, that power is incredibly powerful

and also a space to create. Now the creating is not compulsory. You can just come and be and share and joy in the meditation, enjoy the Shedd conversation and enjoy that gratitude practice.

Shannon Reed (00:29:59):

And, and, and so on the practices that I do when it, but it isn't, you are invited to bring something along, especially something that you have abandoned such as, maybe from childhood, or maybe even recently at an abandoned project that you can read pick up because that's a powerful message to ourselves. We are reclaiming and, and no longer abandoning ourselves. And using that Creativity when we work with are hand in a non-urgent way, we are giving signals to our body that we have faith. And so our nervous system can switch from fight or flight to rest and digest.

Shannon Reed (00:30:39):

And right now we are in a crisis in the UK that is ongoing and has become from acute to chronic. So we need to consciously Work very, very hard to reduce our nervous systems out of the stress and to come to allow us to have the resilience, to carry on with what we've got to face in the future. So this has helped, this is basic health right now. It used to be like a lovely thing to compliment to really, really have that. This is now we really need to step into doing this consciously to make sure we are looking after ourselves. So my women's group to do that in that way.

Shannon Reed (00:31:20):

And then I host a free small business huddle, which is on every Thursday, it's free on zoom. It's only for, for 45 minutes. The group is very, very welcoming and beautifully kind and generous and warm. And we are, well, we have businesses. It's a place of business is to raise it to the place of business is to take them off and off, to drop their shoulders, to come in and say, this has been really hard this week. And to really have that as another safe space to be, and we connect beautifully. And this month, I'm not sure when this is going out. If it's still January, we are hosting an event called find your January joy for 31 businesses, one business for each day, giving away or making special offers for all of our followers.

Shannon Reed (00:32:11):

One per day, from a business per day, as a way to spread some joy in the month. And that's the network keeps me saying that it would have been doing it from the beginning of the first lockdown. It's a weekly thing where we checked in with each other and then there was a beautiful, beautiful space. So that has been really, really important to me. And I also mentioned to you before we started, I think about my Creativity for Wellness it's to Life, which is a place where I share my platform with black voices, with women in business who can have some more air time. And we talk about what Creativity means to them and that's just a delight.

Shannon Reed (00:32:53):

So it's absolutely delightful. Umm, so that's all that I can think about it at the moment in terms of my other things. Oh and I'm yes. And speaking and hosting Creativity for Wellness, things like tomorrow evening, I am working and hosting a WWI evening. I worked with the WUI quite a lot at a reduced rate to speak for them and to support their women on Creativity for Wellness on zoom calls and so on. So yeah, I love it. Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg (00:33:27):

Now I can tell that Shannon and like, so, so I can say, you know, everyone else can't see you, but I know you back and say you're beaming and you get really lit up, which was lovely to see. And you say that that's all, I mean, you're doing an incredible amount and so needed for the context. So we're recording in January of 2021 and this will go out a bit later. And I know that I have listeners who are in a business Shannon, so we will make sure that we get links to all of, all of this in the show notes, because I'm sure they'll be people listening who, you know, really loved the sound of what you do and perhaps, you know, need a bit of what it is you're offering or the safe spaces. So are your groups for crew, for creative business owners? Is, are you open to all business owners or creative businesses?

Shannon Reed (00:34:08):

Absolutely. Every business I know. Oh

Vicki Weinberg (00:34:10):

Wow. Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah. I'm able to do a new one week, right?

Shannon Reed (00:34:16):

So he used to please come and you know, when times are tough and when the kids were home and if they are not whatever, but pajamas a Welcome Jin as Welcome children are welcomed. That's the criteria. It was Welcome. Yeah. It it's just that I was just a place where we can step off the treadmill for a moment and know that we are not alone and no, that we are all human. And it's quite really, especially on speaking specifically about a small business huddle and what I find this really lovely as people come along and that's seen Instagram accounts and have seen these people and then they get to meet the people in person and they go, Oh, you are not as far away from me as I thought, or your not as different from me or this, you know, you're just like me as well.

Shannon Reed (00:35:10):

And I can do that too. And all you struggle with thinking that too. Oh my goodness. That's amazing. And it just a wonderful lip color and an amazing confidence builder or for other businesses to work together. And that way that they are unspoken support, but is there is really, is really, really amazing.

Vicki Weinberg (00:35:31):

Yes. Yeah. And we have, yeah. I mean I'm a bit, I'm a huge fan of networking and connection and yeah, I think for all of the reasons you said that it was just so good for our well-being, especially now when we are also isolated to just connect them. We mentioned before we spoke to, but just seeing you on my zoom screened today is just to give me such a boost to see someone and have a conversation. So I think everything you're doing is amazing. I we'll be sure that it's all linked up in the show notes so people can find you. And do you have time for one final question before we finish? All right. Okay. So why we'd love to know Shannon, what are your number? One piece of advice would be for someone else is looking to start a product business and perhaps specifically a creative product business, as well as that your speciality.

Shannon Reed (00:36:17):

I think, I think this is not very original ideas here, but I think that's really powerful and that's knowing your why, and being really, really honest about why you want to do it and not dismissing it. So not dismissing, I can very easily dismiss that. I could have very easily dismissed that my wife was starting. My business was just because I wanted to keep making, I could have dismissed that and gone. That's not a good enough, excuse me. That Y has kicked me going through the four years of not necessarily making a lot of money, not necessarily, you know, in the beginning, even having a good profit margins or anything else like that.

Shannon Reed (00:37:07):

But it has brought me to the places that I want to go to. And I did it at the end of last year. I thought of not making any more and stepping on to the coaching and wellness side of things. And then I worked at one day heartbroken, but that idea, and it is still one thing to make it. I was still wanting to make it. So I still make room for that. Also using that as a way to get out into the world, to build my confidence, to build my network, to build my world. And so one thing that I'm doing outside of, or as Shannon Reed as opposed to a Mockingbird Makes is that I am delivering monthly sessions on an energy healing, forgiveness technique called PO upon a pano, which is the Hawaiian practice.

Shannon Reed (00:38:02):

And that is as part of TAMU Thomas, who is that the three 60, she is running a year long course called sovereign. And I'm once a month, I am supporting her women by doing that part of it. And without being and doing, and this is to follow your heart, follow your heart and trust that what you want is OK. And that you don't know what's going to come from it, but nothing will come from it if you don't do it with it. Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg (00:38:32):

I think that's great advice. Thank you so much are as well. And also, I mean, I can tell you that this whole conversation, how much do you love making? So it makes total sense to me that you would still carry on making the facts. I mean, I I've only met you an hour ago and if you were to tell me that you were going to start making some more of a doubt, I would be shocked 'cause I can see how much it means to you. So yeah, I think that's, I think that's fantastic advice and it's yeah, it was evident that you're, that you're doing that. So thank you so, so much for all of that you share today and for all of that, you're all doing, and we'll be sure, as I said, to have links to absolutely everything in the show notes so that people can come and find you, and then what's the best social media channels, get you on it.

Vicki Weinberg (00:39:12):

If someone's listened to this and they think, Oh, well, I'd love to go and find out more about Shannon. Where, where should they head to?

Shannon Reed (00:39:17):

Yup. He was straight to Mockingbird_Makes on Instagram Mockingbird, sorry. Yes. Mockingbird_makes on Instagram and I'm very interactive there. So my Dean's are open for customers and other small business creators alike. I love sharing my, my tips and ideas. I had someone come and ask me about this January events that we're doing and was really happy to share all the tricks and so on. And that we've done too much, not tricks, but you know, all the tips of making it, making it worse, which was really, that really loves me.

Shannon Reed (00:39:57):

So yeah, I love being there.

Vicki Weinberg (00:40:01):

Well, thank you so much, Shannon. And thank you for, for all you shared it and for all of that, you do.

Shannon Reed (00:40:06):

Thank you. Thank you very much for having me on this. I'm loving what you're doing. I think that your services in your resources and your support here for small businesses is a fabulous and really, really valuable idea in offering. So thank you. Thank you very much.

Vicki Weinberg (00:40:24):

Thank you. It was really kind of you. Thank you. Hi, thank you so much for listening as always, absolutely love to know what you thought of this episode. Please. Do you remember to rate and review the show and also most importantly, subscribes, so you don't miss out on any future episodes. And as a reminder, I release a new episode every single Friday. So take care and look forward to speaking to you again, then.