MG-Alt-Logo.png

Hi.

Welcome to
Making Good, the podcast for small businesses who want to make a big impact.

I’m so glad you’re here!

84: The Power of Local with Sarah Frost

84: The Power of Local with Sarah Frost

Lauren Tilden  

Hi, Sarah, welcome to the podcast.

Sarah Frost  

Hi Lauren, thank you so much for having me.

Lauren Tilden  

I'm so excited about this conversation, I would love for you to give an introduction to yourself and kind of the evolution of your journey to get to Making Local, which is your new initiative. But I know you have a background as a maker, which a lot of listeners will relate to. So we'd love to hear a little bit about what you're doing and what brought you to here now.

Sarah Frost  

Yeah, so my name is Sarah and I have always been doing something with my hands, whether it's knitting all through college or making wedding invitations, I did that for about 10 years on the side. I've always been doing stuff that's not my day job. And that sort of evolved into me making making macrame and selling that as collectanea shop and doing a bunch of markets and all this stuff. And I loved it. And then I was like, Ah, maybe I don't love macrame as much as I did last year. And it doesn't really make sense as a small business owner or maker to keep changing up what it is you're doing. I mean, to some extent, yes, absolutely. But if you're going to be a maker, like be a maker and stick to it, and develop your brand and build your business, and I'm not really good at doing that. What I realized along the way is that I loved connecting with other makers and small businesses and I loved hyping up other makers and small businesses way more than I liked running my own. And so that's where Making Local sort of came out of was like, how do we make local, more attainable, more sustainable? How do we make shopping from other local businesses and makers? more noticeable? Like how do we develop that initiative, that lifestyle change from shoppers, to sort of point them back to all these incredible humans that I've met along the way making just insanely cool and high quality products?

Lauren Tilden  

Yeah, I'm so excited about what you're doing. Because I feel like it's, it is really needed and are kind of like high tech, very corporate world. It's become so easy to just like order things online from Amazon and have it delivered and not know anything about where it came from, how it was made, where it was made, you know, the values of the specific business that we're shopping from, like, we just kind of like stopped having any of that information in for the sake of convenience. So I love that you are like you understand people want that convenience. And so you're kind of looking to bring the convenience factor into helping people find and connect with local businesses. So, so awesome. 

Sarah Frost  

I was talking to I was like polling my Instagram followers, which is not a huge following. And that's totally fine. I was trying to get a gauge for what the hurdles were for people shopping local, like, why is it that you're not shopping locally? Like if you know that you can buy handmade jewelry? And it's dope? Why are you like, why are you still buying jewelry at Target or whatever. And they were like, well, I can't go look at a bunch of different types of jewelry all at one time, or I can't find you know, housewares all in one place by different people. And so that's where the idea of this like directory this resource came from, that's searchable, filterable, you can filter by your values, you can filter by what product you're looking for, you can search directly for a business name, there's tons of different ways to use it. And ultimately, the shopping always goes back to the makers, small business themselves.

Lauren Tilden  

I feel like it's just solving so many problems in one, in one fell swoop. So obviously, we have listeners of the podcast are probably almost all small business owners, a lot of them product based business owners. But we're also all consumers in some way. And so I would love for you to just talk a little bit about Making Local, like, how does it work? How does it serve me as a maker? And how does it serve me as a consumer? Like how would I use it in each of those cases?

Sarah Frost  

A great question. From the maker small business standpoint, you're getting new eyes on your website or your Instagram or your product, whatever that is. You're gonna get new eyeballs there that are going to be looking for exactly what it is you're selling. If you're a candle maker and somebody types in I want candles, It's going to pull up the you know X amount of candle makers that are on this directory and they can, maybe pick the one that's located closest to them or that they think has the right value aspect that they're looking for. Maybe it's a BIPOC maker or an LGBTQI maker or something. So from from the small business standpoint, you're getting a whole new audience that would otherwise not be able to find you. 

And from the shopper standpoint, you have a way of shopping for exactly what it is you're looking for. With the filters that you want to have on it, like are you looking for in AAPI business maker who sells jewelry? Guess what, you'll find those. Are you looking for somebody who's specifically located in Edmonds, Washington, or Seattle or Portland, you can find those small shops that are going to be in that city near you, where you're taking a weekend trip. So it's, it's very customizable to what your needs are. So if you're looking for something specific, you can literally find the keywords that fit what you're looking for. And it'll pull something up.

Lauren Tilden  

Love.  Yeah. And I feel like I've tried to do this a lot in the past. And what it normally looks like is me googling like, Seattle based candle maker or black owned clothing companies like it's, there's really not a great place to go for this. 

Sarah Frost  

And you don't know necessarily what the quality is, I think one of the things that is nice about the Making Local directory that I'm aiming for is a curated marketplace. So not everybody and their mom is going to be able to be on there. And I don't mean that from an exclusionary standpoint, I just mean, all the products on there are going to be quality goods, either I've seen the products or I've been in the shop, or it's somehow vetted. Like, you can go to Etsy, and you can shop for all those things in. Yeah, but anybody can be on Etsy. They'll pay a fee for it. But you can sell whatever you want there and people will buy it. I really wanted to keep Making Local, curated so that it was a more trustworthy resource, if that makes sense.

Lauren Tilden  

Totally, yeah. Vetted is a great word for it. 

Sarah Frost  

Vetted, great word.

Lauren Tilden  

So we've talked about like, here's this awesome solution to people wanting to shop local. If we're backing up a little bit, and maybe there's someone listening, who hears people talk a lot about shopping local, and like support local businesses, but maybe hasn't done quite into like the why of it. Yeah. Why should we all be considering and maybe even prioritizing shopping local? 

Sarah Frost  

Ah, so good. One of the things I was reading in an article online, I don't remember where I read it, but it was written by the Better Business Bureau and the statistic was something like $100. If you spend $100, locally, $68 of that stays in the community versus when you shop and spend $100, not locally, only $48 of that stays in the community. So I think just if we're talking money, spend your money where you want to make change. If you're going to shop locally, what is that 20 more dollars out of 120% more stays in the community, when you shop locally, that's huge. And that's because small businesses tend to support their local community more, they tend to give back to the community more. And they're paying local people a living wage in the community. So that's, I mean, that's, that, to me is like, so incredible. It's a huge change, and also is more sustainable from a save the planet standpoint. Most small businesses are more conscious of eco friendly packaging or reusable materials. They're more conscious of sustainably sourced ethically sourced products, you're gonna get a higher quality product most likely, and it's going to be better for the environment overall and long term.

Lauren Tilden  

The first one you mentioned. Like the the the money going into the community. It's easy to sort of like condense how important matters but yeah, it's like it's paying people to have jobs. It's those people who are, I mean, let me back up. I feel like one thing we talk a lot about on this podcast is the ripple effect. So the tiny um, act of you choosing to buy your candle from Particle Goods, let's say who's an incredible Seattle based candle maker from them, instead of like mass market producer online is that she's a local maker, she's paying her staff locally. Those people get to earn wages and like are paid fairly. And they like have families and lives to support. So like that the impact of making a purchase. It's you can really, if you want to trace, like every step of the ripple, and that that decision, so yeah, I love, I love everything you're saying.

Sarah Frost  

1,000%. And I'm like, London, the owner of Particle Goods, I know that she sources things locally, as often as she can. So she in turn is turning around and also supporting not only local agencies, but also other local businesses. And like, there you go, you're just you're, you're turning that ripple to infinity. I mean, it's amazing.

Lauren Tilden  

Yeah, it's really amazing. So let's say we've convinced people to shop local at least more often. Yeah.  What are some ways or like parts of your life that people can think about? Shopping? Or spending locally? So we've used a couple of examples of like, different makers, but what are some different, like, let's broaden our definition of local, like, how are the ways that it could be shopping local?

Sarah Frost  

I think some of my biggest hurdles are things like technology, like I'm never gonna be able to find a piece of tech neurological equipment. I sound so old, I'm not going to be able to find a piece of equipment that's like handmade. But if I could find a local shop to go into and support them, then I can bring my reusable bag, and I can purchase directly from somebody who is paying people locally. right things to think about are things that you use every day, like how, where do you get laundry soap? Do you get it at your local grocery store or from some giant company? Or do you get it from maybe a local boutique who's working with a maker who's in the area? Changing how we make decisions to buy things, I think is even more important than doing the actual buying. Maybe not more important, but equally important. 

Lauren Tilden  

That's a good point.

Sarah Frost  

I haven't been to a restaurant that was like a chain restaurant in years, okay, that's probably not true. That's fine. I, I try really hard to prioritize going to a food truck or going to a local restaurant, or a local coffee shop, rather than the chain restaurants or whatever that are all over the world. Because those businesses are going to be fine. They're gonna be around for a long time. They don't need my $20. But the local coffee shop that's around the corner from me definitely does because they, they're paying their employees well, and hey, those employees know my name when I walk in, and they know my order. And like, that's so much more special than going and through a drive thru where nobody cares.

Lauren Tilden  

Mm hmm. Yeah. I think that's one of the, I mean, yes, there are all these awesome reasons to shop local and to shop small but, and like they're good for the world. It's making a positive impact. You can feel good about that. But the experience a lot of the time I'm shopping from a small business and or a local business is also like, way better. Like there's a personal touch, they know your name, they might write you a thank you note when they send your order, if it's a maker, and note to all makers listening, like I totally would encourage you to just add that extra personal touch. Because it really makes a difference, right? You notice, it stands apart.

Sarah Frost  

You know a robot did not make your order.

Lauren Tilden  

No, like a person with a name who like put the sticker on it and like sign their name like, yeah, it just feels good to be like, oh, there's a human on the other end of this transaction.

Sarah Frost  

Yes, for sure. I think of it like the TV show Cheers too, you know, like, hey, Norm, I'm like Everybody knows. That's such, we just, we're not used to that anymore. We're used to that. Hi, welcome in how are you doing today and it's like you don't care who I am. I love that I can go into some of my immediate vicinity locations in Boffo where I live. And they 1,000% know who I am, like most of the staff I can tell when there's somebody new, I haven't met you yet, what's your name?

Lauren Tilden  

Who are you? What are you doing in my coffee shop?

Sarah Frost  

Yeah. Oh, you don't know my order yet? I'm just kidding. I used to work in a coffee shop. And you know, the regulars as you call them. Like, they're so fun. Like, you get to learn about their family, you get to learn about their life, you get to hear what they're doing. And in turn, they hear you. And I think that's just a really special connection that, especially after 2020, that I think we're missing a lot of. And I think that's one of the things that we miss out on a little bit with all the digital communications we do now too, both miss out on and experience in differently maybe is a better way of putting that. Because I've also made a lot of connections with people online from interacting with something that they've posted or said or a product that they've made or whatever, that maybe ordinarily I wouldn't have met. So I guess that can go both ways.

Lauren Tilden  

Yeah, the word that's coming to mind, just with a couple of different things I've heard you say is intention. I feel like with shopping small with shopping local, really, all we're asking you to do is to like for a second before you make the purchase, before you go to the website that you're used to going to or, you know, into the big box retailer, like just say to yourself, is there a way that I could like support a smaller local business with this purchase? instead? Sometimes the answer might be no, sometimes there are gonna be like costume locations. Like we definitely acknowledge that a lot of times shopping small or shopping local is more expensive, because of a lot of reasons. And so sometimes for a lot of us, like it's not a decision that we can make all the time to support the smaller local business. 

And like, I know, I speak for Sarah and I like we're not here to shame you about that at all. Yeah, I just want to come out with that. Because like, sometimes I think this can be like a shamy topic. Like, we're not here to do that at all. We're just asking you to, like apply that extra bit of intention to your shopping decisions. And if it's possible, like, might it be worth spending a little bit extra money or waiting an extra day to get it or whatever? If that's possible, if that's like, not a hardship for you, like, consider doing that.

Sarah Frost  

Absolutely. I think I even wrote that down on my piece of paper when I was going over some things I was like, It's the intention like you said, it's the decision making process. Like where can we make those small changes because they have a really big impact? And it's not knowing all the time like good luck finding a pair of shoes that's handmade I mean, like yeah, they exist, but it's not like he can't pair a running shoe you know what I mean? Like there there are certain things that that's just not possible for or just not feasible for but with the things that are those are choices that you can make and and really make count and I think that that's so great. Like one of my favorite examples is like jewelry and mugs like I never need to buy a mass produced mug again in my life because there are so many cool mugs out there. Like I do not need more mugs, but I regularly enjoy being able to make that uh you know make that a small business purchase. Yeah.

Lauren Tilden  

And it just like it feels good to like look around your home or like the possessions that you have or like you say like the laundry soap you use. And to be like oh like you know this , I bought this from a small local business or small business or local business, whatever it is, who like really  put a lot of thought and care into the materials that they use and what it's made of and the process of making it and you know, I can just feel good about it and like, so. It just feels good to like kind of observe those items in your home I guess I would say and I know from having seen a lot of zoom footage of your home Sarah, you're a very good like, I guess supporter of small and local businesses yourself. 

Sarah Frost  

Yeah, connoisseur.

Lauren Tilden  

We've alluded to this a little bit, which is like, sometimes it costs more to shop local shop small, right? So let's talk about, are there ways that we can support small and local businesses without actually buying from them?

Sarah Frost  

Yes, I think one of the best ways to do this, that is probably the least utilized is leaving a review, say you bought something from somebody two years ago. And it's like your favorite t shirt in the whole world, like, go snap a photo, upload it to their website, or their social media, or whatever, or tag them in it. And leave a review, I think that can be so powerful for spreading the word about a quality product are a really fantastic small business. Like, I'm probably, I need to be telling myself this more often too, because I don't remember last time I left a review, but it can be a really powerful tool. I mean, people, especially in this digital day and age are reliant on other people's feedback too, to vet if something is worth investing in or worth purchasing, or if that restaurant is worth going to. So leaving a review can be really powerful. Also, Instagram, social media, go follow them, go share their work, you know, tag them in something or, you know, show off your new mug, and tag that maker, or when you visit a small business, like take a picture outside and tag them, because it brings awareness to to that business and that you like it. And those are both free.

Lauren Tilden  

Yeah, yeah. And I think I just want to like, call attention to the fact that if anyone's listening, and I know a lot of people are listening, if you're listening, and you are like, a small business owner who makes things or even has a service, and you can think of one of those instances where someone took a picture of your product or like unsolicited went on Instagram stories and said, You know, I just worked with Sara as the photographer, she was incredible. Like, she made me feel so comfortable and beautiful. And like, I love the photos or someone out of nowhere, like bought a bunch of your stuff at a market. And like when they got home, they took a photo that's like up everything they got and was like, I'm so excited about these new things I got from local CardMaker, Lauren, whatever it is, for me, a lot of times it's people who listen to this podcast, and they'll like, tag me on Instagram and say, I've been listening to this podcast, this is what I like about it, you should check it out. 

Like these things feel so good when someone takes the time to do for you. Yeah. But I think and they're not hard, they're really not hard to do. No, I just want to encourage all of us to channel, that feeling of how good it feels when someone does it for you. And just realize, you can create that for people like every day of their life by just, you know, appreciate or it could be like go around your house. And if you see something small or handmade that you bought, it doesn't have to be yesterday, it could be like two years ago. Like that's a perfectly appropriate moment to admire it and give that person some credit. And, you know, attention, hopefully, so yeah, just wanted to play to that like, feeling like I know, we can all relate to that, like how good it feels when people express their appreciation without us asking them. 

Sarah Frost  

Yeah, well, and that can make all the difference for the business owner to right just like mentally or emotionally like maybe they're having a crap day. And you know, they're not feeling the love. They're brought up in that moment. Maybe they're like ahh taxes, great. And then somebody posts something and they're like, Oh, my goodness, I love that. So it's all made this fits so great with my plans that like totally changes, attitudes. And I think we all need a little bit more positive reinforcement these days.

Lauren Tilden  

Yeah. Well, I'm really glad you said that. I feel like that segues perfectly to the next topic that I wanted to dig into with you, which is like business mindset. Something you and I have talked about a lot together. And yeah, you just made the point of like how sometimes it's the most simple gesture that can like completely flip the switch on your mindset and your energy and make you feel completely differently about what you're doing as a small business owners. So, I just would love I know that I've shared on the podcast a lot about my own mindset journeys and like ongoing. I don't know contending with mindset. But what is your take on this? Why is mindset important and relevant in your small business journey? 

Sarah Frost  

I think mindset can be absolutely life changing. I, so, Lenin, from Particle Goods is one of my dear friends. And we sort of accidentally coined this term, for me, called surprisingly a upbeat. And sort of my general mindset, I'm typically surprisingly upbeat, but doesn't make me an optimist, that I'm still very much a realist. But I, even when things aren't super great, there's always something to find in it, but to be upbeat about. And for me, that came from a place of, of making. 

For most of my life, I made a lot of excuses. And I didn't make any change to my lifestyles, because I was making excuses. And I realized that, hey, that's not super productive, and be that it was all in the way that I was thinking about it. Like my responses to every situation, in small business, and life and family and whatever, was because of the way I was looking at it, it was because of the angle I was coming from it was because of that mindset, that it was just like, oh, everything is terrible, and I can't do it. And I was like, well, that's nuts. Like, what if it wasn't that way? What if all these things that I was making excuses weren't real? Or maybe they are real? But what if, what if they're not overcome? Like, what if they are overcomeable, and then it becomes a position of an, then you come at it from an angle of possibility, rather than an angle of impossibility. And that just felt amazing. I was like, Oh, well, if this is just something that I've put in my own way, that means I can get rid of it. Or that means I can work towards something or that means I can change the way I'm thinking about that. And all of those things became a lot more manageable, a lot more achievable. 

With this small business right now I have a full time job, I'm, I totally have a day job, I work 40 hours a week doing that. And then there's the side project. And so one of the things that I'm not super great at is setting deadlines for myself that I have to stick to. And that's okay, because I will get done when I need to get done when it gets done. And that permission that I've given myself, because otherwise, I would be stressed and overwhelmed. And ultimately, that's not going to make me better at what I'm doing. And not everyone has that luxury and not and that doesn't apply to everything. But for me, that's how it's working right now.

Lauren Tilden  

Yeah. Well, I we were just chatting a bit earlier, before we hit record about like, getting things done, essentially. And we were looking at like a list of stuff that you were working on Sarah and you, It was like I was like, Oh my gosh, look at all these things you got done. And we were able to, like have that approach to it. Where like, there were some things you didn't so it's just this perfect example of mindset. Like you can look at a list that has 80% of the stuff checked off it and say, oh my gosh, I didn't get everything done. Like what a failure. Like, yeah, what was the point of doing anything? Where you could look at that same list and be like, Whoa, like, look at all the shit we got done. Like that's, you know, so. And it's the same list of stuff that either got done or didn't like, nothing changed, except the way that you decide to think about it. Yeah. So I love, I love this. And I feel like mindset just it's so easy to underestimate how like, ridiculously influential it is over how we feel and how we act. But it really is everything.

Sarah Frost  

Well, and I feel like too, we're so conditioned to look at an unfinished to do list and think that we're failing. Or we're so conditioned to say, Oh, well, I didn't I didn't get XYZ done. You know, shame on me. And it's like, you know what, no, you did something today. You did it girl, guy, whomever, you did it and I think we get so conditioned to be so hard on ourselves. And it's like, no, give yourself permission to look at something and call it a win. Even if it's not perfect, even if it's not 100% done, even if it's not exactly the way you thought it was gonna turn out. You did it. 

Lauren Tilden  

Yeah. Yeah. And something I remind myself of a lot is done is better than perfect. Yeah, like another way of saying that is perfect is the enemy of the good. Which is just like, if I'm aiming for perfect and only celebrating and, like giving myself any credit when something is perfect. Generally, what that means is I just don't do things, or I do them a lot slower or I like...

Sarah Frost  

You and me both. 

Lauren Tilden  

Yeah, keep at it over and over and over and over again, like tweaking, refining, and like not actually making progress. So I just want to encourage anyone who relates to this, like perfectionism is for me, this perfectionism has probably been like my number one hurdle when it comes to comes to mindset and business and just like, being willing to be like 80%, good, like, be solid B quality, B paper, if you think about it, there could still be a lot of like, really great useful content on there.

Totally. And like, once you finish that paper, you can go on to write the next paper, which might be an A, so you just have to, like, kind of create stuff and like, keep moving. And that has been my big mindset thing. Do you have any other specific mindset challenges, Sara, that you would share about, like kind of your experience with them?

Sarah Frost  

I think we get into comparison a lot. Yeah, like I was okay. I was making a macrame before this. And one of the things that when I first started getting into it, I was making all this macrame, I was like, Oh, this looks like everyone else is macrametic. Why would somebody buy it from me? Like, what's the point? And I realized when I went to go try and take photos of it, that it didn't go with any of the stuff in my house. I was like, well shoot, if I'm not even gonna buy it, and I'm not gonna hang it up on my walls. Why am I making it? And that mindset shift there was like, what's my alternate point of view? Like, what is it about the thing that I'm making that maybe 1000 other people have made? What about my point of view, my experiences, my style, my whatever makes that product or service unique? You know, there's hundreds of people 1000s of people making macrame in Washington, why would they buy my macrame? And it was because my point of view is different than theirs.

I switched and started doing a very like mid century style Macrame, which wasn't as common. And I'm using this as an example because most people when they think of Macrame is very specific type of thing pops in their mind. We, you know, go back to London again, with the candles like, what is it? There's a bazillion places to buy candles, What is it about those candles, that perspective that makes it unique, and it's where she's coming from. So I think the other mindset that's especially for makers and small business owners, is that your point of view is unique, and that's your superpower. So take it and run with it and celebrate it and develop it and embrace it. Because that's what's really going to change how you think about your work, which is going to change how your work is and people are going to be excited about it and buy it because it is your point of view.

Lauren Tilden  

Yeah, I love this idea of just kind of like leaning into your unique point of view or your unique style. I think it's something we can apply to, like not just the actual products we create, but like everything in our businesses. Yeah. Something I see a lot of comparison with is like social media, for example, like oh, so and so said you have to post 10 stories a day and three feed posts, so you can two reels and so like that's what I have to do. Well know if that doesn't feel good to you if that's like overstimulating or you just don't enjoy creating that type of content. Like that energy is not going to translate into something that people like react to that well to so I think you have permission from Sarah, and also to like, really do your business your way and lean into what feels right and aligned with you. And that's really what's gonna pay off the best is just like letting yourself do it your way.

Sarah Frost  

Yeah, totally. 

Lauren Tilden  

One other thing I think we sometimes overlook as small business owners is that we have expenses as business owners, right. So if you are a maker, you probably have supplies that you use, if like your macrame you have the string and the wood, and whatever, I don't do macrame as you can tell. Like me, like I have a greeting card business. So I buy paper and envelopes, and I used to print things myself, now I use a local printer, packaging supplies, like all sorts of different business cards, lots of physical materials, and then also services. So people who I work with to help get stuff done and my business. These are all opportunities to, to think about shopping small and shopping local. And a lot of times we just don't really apply that same thinking to our business. So how would you? What advice do you have for people to approach championing local businesses as a business, not just a consumer?

Sarah Frost  

Yeah, I think one of the things you mentioned already was like getting things printed locally. Like as much as you can go support your local print shop, or your local package packaging maker. Like there are places that print and die cut boxes for, you know, whatever, for necklaces, or anything, you can get a lot of those things locally. And they're not necessarily more expensive than getting it from some huge nationwide manufacturer manufacturer. The other thing would be like, I know you do this at Station Seven is if you're a small business, support other small businesses by selling their product wholesale, while retail, but my wholesale, that can make a massive difference for other small businesses. And then lastly, lastly, I'm sure there's a gazillion more, more ways and more reasons, but packaging, like sustainable tissue, and all that. Like there's some big companies doing really amazing things. And then I hope more small businesses start doing that also. But if you can find something that's sustainably made, even if it's not local, that's still a huge way of continuing that proponent of all the small business things.

Lauren Tilden  

It just brings us back to kind of this thread that has carried throughout this conversation, which is about intention. So you know, maybe there isn't a tissue paper or like a eco friendly tissue paper supplier, locally, but like how, what is another way that you could apply some intention and some of your values to that purchase? And yeah, like you say, choosing a sustainable and eco friendly supplier who's whose work values you align with, like, that would be another great option, even if it is a big company or something that's not local or whatever. There are so many ways to just apply intention to your business decision making.

Sarah Frost  

Yeah, oh, I just thought of another way, another way, partnering with other small businesses. So maybe you do something where you feature small business that you love on your social media, or maybe you do some sort of seasonal box, subscription box or something where you you connect with other small businesses and put together this one box that is sent out with those items all together. That'd be another.

Lauren Tilden  

Yeah, I mean, I think it's really just all about creative thinking and also putting yourself in other people's shoes, right? Like when would feel good as a business if someone did this for you, like go do that for other people? Yeah, and that's a pretty good surefire way to you know, be showing some level of support for a small local or just do good business. So okay, this I feel like we've sort of spent our entire conversation answering but how do you approach doing good through your small business?

Sarah Frost  

I am your small business hype girl like me and you need a little shout out like I'm your girl and I will do the hyping. And that's I mean, I want to bring connection and community to the small, I mean, the small business community already is a thing, but I want to connect more people to it. And I think that that  just does a ton of good. It does a ton of good for the shopper as it does a ton of good for the makers and small business owners and restaurants and event hosts. That sounds like I'm tooting my own horn, and maybe I am. That just, it like brings me so much joy to be able to do that.

Lauren Tilden  

That it's totally rewarding. I mean, yeah, and I think I love asking this question on the podcast, because it is asking people to toot their own horn, like, what are you doing? It's good for the world. But the thing about having a business that has like some sort of social good or mission, or values orientation is like, you can really stand behind that, right? It's like, it's not just buy my products, because I have the best business ever. It's like, buy my products, because I genuinely believe and know that through your support of my business, like the world is somehow in some small way becoming better. So I love this. I love that answer. And I love asking that question. What is one small business that you admire?

Sarah Frost  

Well, we've already talked about her a couple of times. But my dear friend, London makes incredible scent based goods, she makes primarily candles, but she makes a ton of other stuff. Her company is called Particle Goods. I know that you know her also. But we have been she, she was actually my boss. Many, many moons ago when we worked at Paper Source. And I just totally respect the way that she does business. I think she is growing and scaling in such an honorable way. And she sticks to her values and has since the beginning. And I think that that's so important. So yes, she's my friend. But the way she does business, she also gives back to the community every quarter, she does a percentage of her sales to a local like community program. She changes it up, but so she does a lot of good with her business. She's has incredible products, and I just think she's doing everything. Even though it's hard. She's doing it the hard way because it's better.

Lauren Tilden  

Yeah, yeah. Great recommendation. I totally cosign that one, we carry her products at Station Seven. They're huge sellers. But like, more importantly, they are just things that things to buy that are beautiful, but also, like actively doing good and through buying them. So yeah, great suggestion. Sarah. What is one book you would recommend?

Sarah Frost  

So I was thinking about this and I don't know. I feel like somebody has to have already said this. But um, Untamed by Glennon Doyle has been pretty magical for me of late. I don't know if you're familiar.

Lauren Tilden  

I know. I am familiar. I haven't read it though. And it has been recommended, I think on this podcast, maybe once. Okay. It still didn't make me read it.

Sarah Frost  

Talking about mindset, I think I think that Well, first off, Glennon Doyle just has a way with words. And she's an excellent storyteller. She's just she's very clear. It's not a hard read, but it makes you stop and think and without feeling achy. Like it's all. She talks about hard things, but makes it approachable enough that you're like, oh, yeah, okay, that's doable, or Oh, wow, I hadn't thought of it that way before. And sort of gives you a little spiel on mindset, like a mindset shift. Yeah, and I loved it. I totally think it's awesome and empowering and a great book. Perfect.

Lauren Tilden  

Okay, before we, before I end recording, I want to make sure that we talked to all of the makers in the room in the proverbial room. You should join this directory like this if you have a local as I'm like small, alright, really business. This directory is something that I think you should really consider joining. There's no reason not to. It's really easy to join. But Sarah, do you want to share a little bit about how to do that and when where to direct people and I will also link this in the show notes, but Sarah is gonna walk you through how it's done and how easy it is.

Sarah Frost  

Yeah, so if you go to makinglocal.com You can either click on directory on the top of the page or just type in makinglocal.com/directory. And that's going to take you to the hub. And if you're a maker or a small business owner, food, wine, whatever owner that's basically a small local shop of some sort, you're going to click Add Entry. And it takes probably two, three minutes. And you'll just type in your, your name your business and upload and logo. And that's it. And then you click apply or send, I think is what it says. And it comes to me for basically filtering to make sure that I don't have like weird bots signing up, because nobody wants that. But yeah, it takes like three minutes, you just go to making local.com/directory and click Add Entry.

Lauren Tilden  

Amazing, amazing. Everyone go do it. By the time this episode airs, I will have done it for myself, I think you should do it. Sara's gonna be putting a ton of work into promoting it to consumers. So this is just a great kind of no brainer way of getting more eyes on your business, which is what we're all wanting. So definitely go do that. And again, it's making local.com/directory and then add entry or I will also link that in the show notes. Sarah, where can everyone connect with you and learn more about your work online?

Sarah Frost  

Yeah, I'm mostly on Instagram. So Instagram is @makinglocal so either there or the website and I would love to chat I'm on there probably more than I should be.

Lauren Tilden  

We all are. Well, Sara, thank you so much for having this conversation with me and like just letting me geek out and pick your brain about all things small business. I love what you're doing. I think you're such a great example of like, following your interests and like really pursuing what lights you up and what you're most passionate about in a way that I feel like we can all kind of learn from so love watching you develop making local and really excited for everyone to listen to this episode and join the directory.

Sarah Frost  

Thank you so much for having me. You know I always love chatting about all things small business and I have loved chatting about other things with you like mindset all the time. I can do it all day long. 

Lauren Tilden  

So well we'll have to do it again.

115: Showing Your Face, Perfectionism, and Finding the Time [Marketing Q&A]

86: Influencer Marketing for Small Businesses with Charmaine Charmant