We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sunni Hepburn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sunni , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?
Asking for help is so hard for me. I had to learn in the last few years to ask for help and support, during the first year of Covid i had to rely on my social network of friends and family to keep my business alive. The amount of support and business was shocking and appreciated.
Sunni , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I got into the dog treat industry as a concerned and new dog mom. My 3 year old Lab Beauty had a really sensitive stomach, and I couldn’t give her any old treat. I did some research and learned about the benefits of pumpkin, viola an idea is born, “I will make her pumpkin dog biscuits”, She loved them. I started talking to coworkers about my biscuits and I started selling them to coworkers. A friend and I were having a talk and he said to me “you should always have multiple streams of income” I never thought that, my mind was blown and I started Beauty’s Biscuits the next day. Fast forward a few years to 2019, my sister and I were thinking about starting a Podcast to promote our businesses, my dog biscuits and her Books, she’s a writer and is brilliant but blunt. After an audition for the gameshow America Says in Burbank we said down at Denny’s to have lunch, as we waited for our food. My sister told us the story of Anne Delvey – The subject the Netflix Show “Becoming Anna” I said we should talk about stuff like this on a podcast. My sister takes one of her many notebooks out of her bag and my husband says “What is that? Your Book of Lies?” Boom! Our podcast is born Book of Lies Podcast – Hosted my my sister and I We discuss fraud, scams, liars, cheaters, and thieves. That’s how we were blessed to gain out podcast family, friends and supporters. I come from a background of Telephone Sales From Recruiting Recent College Grads, to Selling Websites in Silicon Valley, to Selling eFax and VOIP on Hollywood Blvd. Now I am working from home where I am somehow able to be a Licensed and Active Realtor with eXp Realty, run my Dog Biscuits Brand Beauty’s Biscuits, produce a podcast that generates ad and subscription revenue, and I’ve recently been Elected to my Local School Board as a Trustee.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I would say word of mouth and referrals about my delicious dog treats. Communication is key, I talk to all my customers at pop up events I want to know about their dogs, or whatever they want to share, I have pamphlets and stickers with our social media handles so we can connect on social media and continue to develop a relationship.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Last year I was laid off like many people, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I was also my own investor and the primary breadwinner, so I needed to make sure I was able to continue to pay the bills. I decided to take a leap of faith and work towards my Real Estate License and be my own boss and sell houses, because Selling Sunset made it look so easy. I got a coach passed the exam on the first try, joined a virtual brokerage that’s taking over the industry. I have a listing right around the corner and am working on building a Real Estate Business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beautysbiscuits.com
- Instagram: @beautysbiscuits @therealtor.sunnihepburn @bookofliespodcast
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beautysbiscuits
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunni-hepburn-8545277
- Twitter: @bookofliespod @beautysbiscuits
Image Credits
Sunni Hepburn