(gentle music) - [Announcer] Additional funding is provided by The Friends of KTWU.

- Welcome back to another episode of "Working Capital".

On today's show, we discuss some of the puzzling pieces to starting a business.

Stay with us as we explore pieces in business.

It's all about business on "Working Capital".

(upbeat music) When life gives us lemons, we know what to make, but when life is More than Lemons, April Lemon hand blows the glasses for our lemonades.

Located in the 120 year old Scott building on the square in Holton, More than Lemons is a venue for local artists, as well as a hot shop for blowing glass.

April, welcome to "Working Capital".

- Thank you.

- So, a great little shop and like it's Holton, a small town living, small town shopping.

I know the square there has really been reinvigorated in the last decade or two.

How did you come up with More than Lemons?

This glass blowing artistic shop in a small town?

- Well, my husband was originally from Holton.

And I was from nearby and I had been working, not my favorite work, whatever, not my favorite job.

And he had suggested that because he had pursued his life's dream that I pursue mine.

And asked what I wanted to do.

So, when I told him I wanted to become a glassblower, we found out that Emporia State actually offers a degree in it.

- Oh wow.

- And so I commuted a thousand miles a week for about five and a half years and got my BFA in glass.

We bought the building I'm in two weeks before I graduated.

The day after I graduated, we started tearing out walls and ceilings 'cause it's 130 year old building.

And there's been a lot of renovations that needed to be done.

We had to jack it up three inches from the basement all the way up to the second floor.

It's 3,200 square feet per floor.

And so it's a lot of space that had been neglected for quite a while.

So, we've completely gutted it.

It brought a lot of, as much of original as we could back to the building and brought it up to date where we now live.

I have my glass blowing studio down below with my art gallery, that features 34 artists.

And then we have three B and B spaces upstairs as well.

- That's fantastic.

I bet it helps a lot actually living where your shop is at.

Just, I mean, do you ever get kind of on a whim, just it's nine o'clock at night, I just have this idea, I have to go make it.

- Not necessarily nine o'clock at night, 'cause I'm not a night person, I'm not a morning person either.

But yeah, some Sundays or whatever, where I decide, I've just gotta create something, whether I'm open and working or not, it's not uncommon to work, throughout the weekend, even when we're closed sometimes late into the evenings, et cetera.

- So you finally get it open, it's your first year.

And I did hear, you had people think from 42 states or so and seven or eight countries.

How did you get the word out there so quickly to get that kind of, that amount of people coming in from bigger cities?

I mean we're not in a major metropolitan area here.

- Right.

We've had a lot of blessings with people who enjoyed our place.

We've had blogs written about us everywhere from New York to California.

We've had the people who've passed through.

We've done had people post about us on TripAdvisor and things like that, Yelp.

We've also, we did brochures for a bit that were at the tourism spots across these, across the state.

So, people would run into our brochures at different points and we've had the second year we were there, I was featured in a national tourism guide from outta Kentucky, which was awesome.

So, that had me listed in a major travel guide.

And so then people came from that, Kansas Sampler has been up and they had featured some stuff about it.

And so that was actually helpful in getting this information out too.

- So at this point, I mean, do you do any active marketing or is it kind of just, it's going enough where you can just worry about the shop and the art and?

- No.

(laughs) So I'm always marketing, we're always marketing.

I have a billboard on 75 Highway.

I've gotten listed in the Travel Kansas Magazine.

So I've got an ad in there.

I've constantly, I'm also involved with a lot of the other organizations in the area, which gets a little more of the word out and because I'm involved in a lot of their activities, et cetera as well, so.

- So, with this kind of business, what are you dealing with?

I know you guys have some aggregates coming in 'cause you have to make stuff.

What's your daily routine look like?

Not just glass blowing, but the actual business side of things.

- The business side of things, I am marketing.

I am accounting.

I am... - Little bit of everything.

- Little bit of everything.

We just got.

We just recently got two employees.

So, I have a one full-time employee and one part-time employee on top of my, in addition to myself, which has been helpful.

It's taken a few of the heavy responsibilities off of me, but yeah, I'm still producing everything as far as what my artwork goes.

A lot of people who come in, they wanna buy my art.

So, you're constantly producing for that.

I'm also have stuff at a few other locations like Onaga Hospital has some of my stuff.

I have some stuff in Leavenworth.

And then we of course travel, so I have to have enough product for that as well.

So, it's busy all the time.

I'm always producing.

I'm always doing paperwork and I'm always, yeah.

- I don't know much about glass blowing, but are there different styles and techniques and what is kind of your favorite?

- There are different styles and techniques.

There are all kinds of different forms of glass blowing from casting, you can hot cast where you're actually ladling in hot glass into mold.

To cold casting where you build a mold and then you put cold glass bring the temperature up and bring it down.

There are different styles of glass blowing as far as blowing itself where from sculptural, which is one of my favorites I love to do.

I love to sculpt anything you can imagine.

There's also technical blowing.

Some people concentrate strictly on bowls or goblets or you things like that.

But yeah, my personal favorite is sculptural and things like I make handle on logs.

And - Okay.

Yeah, I've seen some of that on your website.

Well, time for a short break.

Please stay with us, as we squeeze a little more business advice for More than Lemons.

We'll be right back.

You're watching, "Working Capital".

(upbeat music) Welcome back to the show.

We were just talking about different techniques and styles.

And the cool thing about your shop is you do have other artists that, that can come in and use the space, rent the space.

How does that work?

- I actually, it's all based on a commission base.

So, they bring stuff in.

They don't have to pay anything.

There's no rental.

There's no...

They bring their art in.

We find spaces for it.

And then we do a 60, 40 split.

So, that is helpful to me and that I'm not having to fill the whole space by myself.

It's helpful to them because a lot of times when you're an artist you're creating, but then you have to find trade shows to go to, you have to apply.

You pay a lot of money.

You maybe sell something.

You maybe you don't.

It's three, four days work, just going to do the activity.

So, this gives them a space that they can bring their art.

They can have it shown.

We have a lot of people coming in and out between our B and B and just people on the square.

And people coming in to actually blow glass.

We get a lot of traffic.

So, even if they don't sell something necessarily in what they have featured, then if there's something in that style that the customers are looking for, then we can work with them to get something.

- These glass shop, glass blows in general.

Not a lot of them left.

I mean, is it-- - It's actually pretty new, as far as studio art form goes.

So, the factory glass has been over around for over 2000 years, but studio art glass has only been around since like 1963.

- [Jay] Oh wow.

- So, it started in Toledo, Ohio with Harvey Littleton who created, he decided he wanted to be a glassblower, but he wanted to make what he wanted to make.

So, he actually was the considered to be the grandfather of studio art glass.

One of the artists that I have featured in my gallery is a Vernon Brejcha who is one of the original, first generation original guys that got studio, glass art going.

He had taught glass at KU until he retired.

He had taught at a few other places and yeah, yes.

Stuff in over 50 museums.

He lives in Lawrence and yeah, he's got stuff in my shop.

- Wow.

- She comes down and hangs out periodically, so.

- So, does KU still offer glass blowing?

- No, when he retired, they closed their program.

It's been about 30 years ago now at this point, but he still blows glass occasionally.

He has a shop set up behind his house.

- And I'm sure some people out here seen it before.

They're interested in it.

They like the glass, but of course, making it is, is huge.

And I know you can kind of help people out at More than Lemons.

Get a little bit of a start there.

Tell me about that.

- We like to say, it's the only place where you two can be a glassblower for a day.

(laughs) So, you can actually schedule appointments and come up and do hands on.

If you're over 13 or just get up close and personal, where ages three and up we've had come in where they design something, they physically blow while I shape and get a little glass lesson.

And there's specific items that they can make.

It's not a free for all, but it's really the most up close and impersonal experience you can have in the area at all.

- And there's another pretty cool thing you have.

So in, in case you can't make it up to your shop for these communities that are in interested, maybe having an art festival or anything, you do have a mobile glass blowing trailer.

- We do have a mobile unit.

And so I can actually empty, my furnace is actually a double dragon design for us.

I can turn it off, which is not common for glass furnaces normally, once they're lit, they're lit.

But it has an investor crucible, so we can actually use up the glass, turn it off, load it onto my trailer.

The trailer opens up, raises up to about eight and a half feet above the wheel well and becomes a 15 by 15 foot mobile stage that we can actually put walls on and close up overnight.

And we, with my 300 pound propane tanks, we can blow glass for about three, four days on location.

- Now, some of the festivals who would love this, I know don't have a lot of capital.

Don't have a lots going on.

Is there any programs that can help get you out there?

- The Kansas Creative Arts Industry Commission, I'm actually listed as one of the touring artists for their roster, and they can areas can get grants for up to $6,000 for me to come out and for art enrichment to go to schools and to, for community activities, et cetera.

- That's awesome.

Now, with being able to come up and blow your own glass for a day, I mean, is that something where... You think little kids for birthday party, but even teenagers or high school kids, could you do like a small gathering for four or five, six, 10 people?

- We do that all the time.

We have anywhere from birthday parties to, we sometimes get bachelorette parties, we get business parties, we get team building groups that come up.

We also have like ladies nights or where people office, a lot of times they'll have women will, generally it's women sometimes it's men.

We'll get together after hours and they'll come up and do an after hours thing.

It works kinda of painting parties in that, if it's after hours, it's a private party.

You can even bring beverages if you want, and we blow glasses or pumpkins or whatever, within the range of our list that they wanna make.

- That's awesome.

And I love that you're in Holton.

It's an old square.

It's 20 minutes North Topeka?

It's not too far.

So, it's really becoming a destination there.

So, it's nice having anchors like you and there's great food.

There's a little bit of shopping.

You have a couple, two or three rooms that you can rent out there.

There's also Hotel Josephine.

I mean, it's a really vibrant artistic community there.

So, I'm happy to see that you're right in the flow of things there.

- Thanks.

- It's time for another short break.

When we return, we'll meet Amanda Wilson of A+X Puzzles, and discuss how puzzling entrepreneurship can be.

Stick around, you're watching, "Working Capital".

(upbeat music) Welcome back.

Amanda Wilson noticed a puzzling lack of diversity in games and puzzles while she was pregnant with her twins.

Adric and Xola were born 10 weeks early and Amanda used the 43 days they were in the NICU to design sketches for her first puzzles.

Depicting black and brown children in a positive light, these puzzles provide opportunities for children from diverse backgrounds to see children who look just like them.

Welcome to "Working Capital" Amanda.

- Hi, thank you.

- It's great having you on here.

So, you're no longer in Topeka, but it's nice hearing about businesses from some Topeka born people who are having a great entrepreneurial journey.

Tell me a little bit about though when you were little and the toys you liked and how looking back, you might have even noticed that lack of diversity when you were younger.

- Yeah.

You know, I was just talking to my manufacturing company about this.

When we were younger, we really had like maybe the Bratz dolls, a few like Disney characters and things like that, but nothing really like on this scale.

We are the first to have like cartoon puzzles that represent like diversity.

And that is huge.

So, I'm just kind of jealous of kids these days.

They have so much to choose from versus like when we were growing up.

- And it's great that you're keeping this movement kind of rolling along, 'cause like you say, the Bratz dolls were there for when you were younger, but even 10, 15 years earlier, girls were maybe getting one out of every 30 Barbie dolls were maybe of ethnicity.

- Exactly.

- So, I mean, it's great where they're going, but as I looked around 'cause I did go out and looked at your puzzles and pick them up.

There's not a lot out there still.

So, I mean it's good for this course.

So, go ahead.

And we kind of mentioned this in the intro, but tell us a little bit about your inspiration for A+X Puzzles.

- Yeah, so I was six months pregnant just doing like puzzles around the house and like stuff like that.

And I was building the baby registry and I just didn't find anything that was like diversity and like toys and games or like learning toys.

And that's when I just got the idea, like I'll just make my own.

And I ended up giving birth, 10 weeks early to Adric and Xola.

And while we're in the NICU, just waiting for them to gain weight, that's when I started sketching.

Like I have to preference this with, I am not an artist in that way.

Like these are like stick figure drawings, but I worked with a graphic designer and now you see the proof.

- That's great.

And just because it's something that deals with art, I mean, it takes the entrepreneurial spirit behind to get it started, so.

- [Amanda] Yes.

- So, how did you pull this all together?

I mean, so you get your ideas, you work with the graphic designer, how do you get these to market?

I mean, not just Amazon or selling 'em on eBay, I mean you're in Target, you're in some brick and mortar stores already.

Pretty much right off the bat.

Two, three years in, that's and you've been in there for a while.

So, tell me a little about that journey.

- So that is an interesting journey.

I always tell everyone whether you're an entrepreneur or just like a young professional, you need to be on LinkedIn.

I was on LinkedIn trying to figure out who do I need to talk to at Target just to be in like their black history month display 'cause that's where my mind was.

I reached out to their supplier diversity manager and via LinkedIn, just like a cold like message like, hey, this is my business.

And I set up a call with her, and then nine months later, that's when I got the call from Target that, "Hey, we want you to be in full chain, "which means every store."

So, that was really how it started.

I called myself like a LinkedIn stalker.

And that's just how I did it.

- That's Fantastic.

It's that drive that really helps entrepreneurs start up their businesses.

So fantastic.

What was the biggest obstacle then you faced then, was it the manufacturing providing how many units they needed to get in their store?

I mean, tell me about some of the logistics behind that.

- Well, this is called "Working Capital", right?

So, it was the capital that was the biggest struggle.

You go from an eCommerce business maybe selling like 700 puzzles a month.

And I'm doing all of the distribution too.

You need thousand of puzzles that are being made overseas and have to come into the US on a boat.

So, that was the biggest hurdle was capital.

And something that I started with my manufacturing company was, hey, I am a newer business.

I don't have these years and years behind me of like making hundreds and thousands of dollars.

I need you all to work with me.

And basically when I get paid, you get paid.

So, what they did was they started for smaller businesses like myself, we are not going to charge you for creating this puzzle until you get paid.

And so what that does is help people to really meet their margins.

But also it gives other people a break.

Like the bank is not necessarily trying to loan you, $500,000 if you're only used to making like $25,000 in that year for your business.

So, that was the biggest hurdle.

And I'm very transparent about that.

I've talked on panels for Target about it.

And I will scream that to the top of my lungs until, it's my last day on earth.

Because you just have to ask so you can receive things.

- That's awesome.

Well, hold on there it's time for another short break.

We'll be right back.

You're watching, "Working Capital".

(upbeat music) We're back to add a few more pieces to the entrepreneurial puzzle.

Okay man, that we're talking about capital, that Target kind of invested capital in you.

What else did it take from you?

I mean, were you working a full-time job?

Was it just the kids?

How did you shift to this new business venture?

- So, when the Target thing was coming about, we were in the middle of the pandemic, so this is October.

I mean, we're still in the middle of the pandemic.

But this is October, 2020, and I'm at home with the twins and I was working a full time job and yeah, it was crazy.

I mean, I was working these two things at the same time.

It was an interesting struggle, but I got it done.

Yeah.

I was at home.

- Basically, you were in four jobs, you had your puzzle job, you had your main job and you had two little, little ones at home.

So, I mean... - Yeah.

- What keeps that drive going in you?

Who in your life has inspired you to strive to achieve these kind of things?

- Well, you know both my parents are hard workers.

I've always just seen them work hard and to accomplish the things that they wanted to in life.

So that's really, I think where I just get it from naturally and I've always been like this.

I've always been a hard worker.

I mean, even my first job in high school, I worked at Papa Murphy's.

So, I just never let anything get in my way of accomplishing my goals and my dreams.

So, that's really what it is.

- Okay.

So, you get these puzzle ideas and now you have your graphic design.

How do you come about with the size and the shapes and your packaging?

Did you work with someone with that?

Or, 'cause I mean they're a perfect size for little kids.

You can take it in the car.

I mean, leave it on a bookshelf.

I mean, pretty thought out for as simple as a product is.

Tell me a little bit about the process.

- Target has ideas about like what looks good on their shelves.

So, they gave us like just a few options of what would look the best and what size and things like that.

Because when we first started, we had tray puzzles, which are just flat on a tray board and it, we had printed stories on the backside of that.

So, I had to get really creative.

The boxes are five by five by two.

And so it's just perfect, it's handheld.

Like you can hold it in your hand, you can take it on a road trip or anything like that.

So, that was really the, they gave us like really good guidelines.

So, we just worked within those parameters.

- That's great.

And then you come up with a little story for each scene on the back.

I mean, are you headed anywhere else with these characters?

Are you just thinking puzzles for now?

Are you looking at books?

Are you looking at cartoons?

I mean, you're kind of coming up with a pretty good IP here.

So, what's your future plans with this?

- Yes, the five year plan is to obviously expand into those different mediums.

Of course we would love to bring the characters to life one day.

So, you have to stay tuned for that.

But yeah, that's the plan.

- So, for people following your footsteps.

For new entrepreneurs.

What's the one thing you'd want anyone to kind of know about this journey.

What's the best bit of advice you could give?

- Okay, one thing.

I would just say go after everything with reckless abandon.

Do not let any no, be the final no.

If someone's telling you no, that's 'cause the yes is on the other side.

And to also just add this entrepreneurial journey is not for the faint of heart.

So, you need to make sure that you have some tenacity that's deep inside of you and to not give up.

And don't listen to the naysayers.

- So, I'm still enamored by these little scenes.

I mean, they're great.

How do you come up with your next puzzles?

I mean, where do you find your inspiration for the next piece of artwork?

- Honestly, my kids.

Like they are so funny and I never know what's gonna come out of their mouth.

And I just look at them and I just get inspired by things.

Like race car is inspired by my son.

He's obsessed with cars and trucks and anything that flies or moves.

And then for my daughter, she's in love with dinosaurs.

So that's where I really get like the inspiration from is...

Even before they were born, I just was thinking like, what would they like to do?

Like what would they be like?

So, it's just really based off of my kids.

- That's fantastic.

So, now you've already broken into the market.

How does the rest of toys and educational materials kind of catch up with the diversity 'cause it is important when you're little, before you even know anything else to know that someone that looks like you, you can be that when you get older.

So, how do we help the market become more diverse?

- I think they need to take out a page out of Target's book and put a lot of money behind black creators.

And Target has put, I think $2 billion behind black creators and you can and see when you walk into their stores, you may not know that it's black owned, but if you do a little bit of research about the founders of these companies, you will see a lot of products that are in Target stores are black owned.

As far as like puzzles and games and toys like that, you just have to put your money where your mouth is.

If your company is saying, hey we're putting 40% of these dollars towards, diverse movements, then you actually need to show improve.

You can't just talk about it.

You have to be about it.

'Cause there's people out here with great ideas and we can't see them in mass market, if they're not being funded.

- That's fantastic.

And I'm really happy to hear that Target, one of these larger, a lot of time big box stores get bad raps.

But it seems Target has put in place something really good for those entrepreneurs starting out.

And like you say, especially helping with diversity in the market.

So, thank you so much for being on with us.

I tell you what?

Down the road, when you have a lot of other stuff out and maybe get a cartoon going or something, let's go ahead and have you back on, but we'll have you on in person.

- Hey, let's do it.

- We get you back to Topeka.

So thank you, Amanda.

Appreciate you being on today.

- Thank you.

- Well, that's it for tonight's show.

I'd like to thank April Lemon, from More than Lemons, along with Amanda Wilson of A+X Puzzles for being with us this evening.

As always, if you know of interesting business or management techniques we wanna hear from you.

So, give us a call, drop us an email or send us a letter.

We look forward to hearing from you.

See you next time and thanks for watching.

It's all about business and you've been watching, "Working Capital".

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Additional funding is provided by The Friends of KTWU.