Ep 291: Disney Obsession turned Successful Theme Park Game Business - with Amanda Richardson

Discover how Amanda Richardson turned a fun Disney hobby into a thriving product-based business that’s changing how park-goers experience theme parks. Amanda’s story of building Where In The Park is a masterclass in listening to your audience, pivoting with purpose, and growing with confidence.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Well, hello.
This is Kimberly Brock, and forover 20 years I've been running
my own businesses that have notonly been profitable but
personally fulfilling to me.
So now I'm on a mission to helpother new business owners, just
like you, make money doing whatyou love to.
Now we're gonna have some fun,so let's get started.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Now we're going to have some fun, so let's get
started.
Well, hello, this is Kimberly.
It's episode 291, and I am soglad that you are here today
because you are in for a massivetreat.
I have the one and only AmandaRichardson, with when in the
Park, on the show today.
I'm so excited to share herwith you.
She has been literally a starstudent.
I think she's been in everysingle one of my programs,

(00:47):
including coaching andeverything.
It's been awesome.
I've gotten to know her verywell.
I've watched all of herprogress and I was like Amanda,
you have to be on the show.
I have to share you with theworld.
They make, seek and find gamesfor theme parks.
They're self-paced games thatyou do to appreciate the parks
more and run around, and it'snot just about the rides and the

(01:10):
shows and the churros Y'all.
At theme parks like Disney andother ones, you can be learning
more about the history and justcool things about the park that
you may never have noticed, andthat's what they offer.
It's really neat.
Her whole story is shared todayand you hear how it started in
one way and then it evolved towhere it is today, and you get

(01:34):
to hear how she has just totallylike gained confidence in
herself and her business becauseshe has done the groundwork.
Now, as I said, she's been inall my programs.
She's in GrowGetters and shetalks about how you know she is
honed in on our messaging andand how she's showing up

(01:54):
consistently and what she'ssaying and all that good stuff,
and I'm just so excited for herthat she actually did the work
inside the program and it'spaying off big time.
So you're going to hear all ofthat in here today.
Listen all the way through.
Do not miss anything.
Do not miss a minute.
It's power packed all the wayto the end.
She's giving you advice thatyou can't live without.
That you need to hear and it'sgoing to motivate you and excite

(02:16):
you for your business, whetheryou have a product business or
service business.
Now, real quick, if you're newhere, welcome.
I'm so glad you found thispodcast.
You found this on a great day.
You're going to learn so muchfrom Amanda today and that's why
I had her on the show.
But in the meantime, too, makesure you get all your free
goodies.
If you're new here, scroll downin the show notes.
I've got a 16-step checklist.
If you're starting yourbusiness, I have a free workshop

(02:38):
.
If you're trying to get yourbusiness off the ground and
growing and you're like, how doI do this?
And also if you're starting apodcast, I have resources for
you.
So y'all check everything outbelow, get your hands on it.
Also.
Below is all the informationabout Amanda and when in the
Park and you can click on thoseyou know.
Subscribe to her emails, get onthe list.
You're going to want to,because it's just such a cool
business and you don't want tomiss out on anything that she's

(03:00):
sharing.
So, if you've been listening awhile, thank you so much to all
my loyal listeners, all myGrowGetters, those of you in
Passion to Podcast, and just allof you.
I'm so thankful for you.
And you may know Amanda because, as I said, she's been in all
my programs, so you've probablymet her.
If you've been in one,especially in GrowGetters, you
know who she is.
So she's on all the calls,she's helping other people,

(03:20):
she's doing all this stuff.
That's why I had to have her onthis show.
She is such a shiny example ofwhat it looks like when you
actually have a dream.
You pursue it and you do thework.
You work really hard to becomea really smart and strategic
business owner and do thingsright.
And that's where Amanda istoday.
She's got the confidence, she'sgot the skills, she's got a

(03:41):
great business, and it's soexciting.
So I'm so honored to have youon the show, amanda.
I'm so glad you went on hereand I'm so excited to share
Amanda with all of you.
So y'all have a listen and Ican't wait.
Okay, enjoy.
Well, amanda, I'm so glad youare here today.

(04:07):
This is an awesome day.
I cannot tell you how much Ihave enjoyed getting to know you
and just seeing your growth,and I'm just so excited and
honored to share you with theworld.

Speaker 4 (04:14):
Thank you so much.
I am so excited to be here.
I mean, anytime we get to chatis a good day for me.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
So I am honored to be back on the show from me, so I
am honored to be back on theshow.
Yes, it's awesome, and what Ithink is really cool is that you
are so relatable.
Your story is just like I mean,everyone's business is
different, but your story of howyour business evolves is real,
and I think this is so good forall the new business owners and

(04:43):
even if you're a veteranbusiness owner to hear how a
business evolves.
Things you go through that arehard.
That are good lessons you learn, and Amanda is just a shiny
example of perseverance and justkeeping focused on how can we
do things right, what should beour strategy, what's our
strategy right now?
What do we do?
And I think you're going to getto hear everything.
I want her to share her wholestory.

(05:05):
So we're going to go throughthe timeline of her business
because this will hit home foryou.
All of this will hit home howshe started and what's happened,
and I'm just so excited, amanda, to get to for you to share the
story with everyone.
So, yeah, it's going to beawesome.
So, first of all, we have toknow tell us about your passion
for theme parks.

Speaker 4 (05:25):
We want to hear about that, first and foremost parks

(05:47):
we always have and, um, you know, disneyland is right in our,
our backyard, not too far fromus, and, um, so that's actually
how my husband and I met was atdisneyland, and so, uh, my mom
and I, we lived pretty close tothe parks and that was our our
night, our mommy daughter datenight.
Every friday night after work,we would just go over there, um,

(06:08):
back when you can just show upat any time, and we would go
have dinner, maybe, ride acouple rides and then head home.
So we joined a Facebook group.
Um, this was back in 2013,.

(06:30):
Um, maybe a little bit beforethat.
Uh, we joined a Facebook groupcalled mouse for life.
It is still in existence,there's still thousands of
members, but the organizer wouldput together scavenger hunts
that would be very detailoriented and, and you know, be
black and white pictures allacross the Disneyland Resort,

(06:50):
any Disney property, hotel,parking structure, downtown
Disney, etc.
And you had a hundred pictures,a little over a hundred
pictures, black and white,didn't know which way was up,
and you had eight hours Goodluck, see how many you can find.
And so we were part of thewinning team.
Um, eight or six out of theeight years that they did it.

(07:12):
We were part of the winningteam six out of the eight times
in five years in a row, or fivetime reigning champs, you and
your husband or you and your momyou and your husband yeah.
My husband and I.
We were part of the team everyyear.
My mom had to sit out one year,but other than that it was us,
and then a friend of ours had tohave a minimum of four people.

(07:35):
Okay, got it.
And so we to study.
We would go to the parks everychance that we could and take
pictures of details that wethought might be interesting and
be part of the scavenger hunt.
And then we would have a littlepop quiz you know, where in the
park is this, when in the parkis this?
And then COVID hit and wecouldn't get together.

(07:59):
The same way, the reservationsystem changed, reservation
system changed, and so we hadthat, that fire within us of we
love finding the details and welove that that I know that that
detail is there and nobody elseknows it's there, you know, and
having that deeper appreciationfor the parks.

(08:20):
And now, how do we celebratethat for the parks?
And now, how do we celebratethat?
How do we provide that samefire to other people on their
own schedule?
And so we had thousands ofimages just sitting in our
computer hard drives and wedecided let's do something
similar and having a game thatanybody could take to the park

(08:45):
at any time and find the detailsin the theming of the parks.
So we first started Wearing thePark in late 2021, and we were
creating things that were basedoff of the details.
So we had like coasters, we hadmagnets, we had all kinds of

(09:09):
things that would then come witha card for you to go, take that
card to the park and find thatdetail.
Some of those things kind oftook off.
But in reality people wereproviding the feedback of okay,
that's great, but I just likethe game.
I don't need a coaster.
The game.
I don't need a coaster ofsomething that I don't know
where it is, you know.
And so we're like, okay, well,the game's a lot easier to make

(09:31):
than the coasters, so that works.
But also we can expand thisgame to be whatever it is that
we want it want for it to be.
We can make it as challengingor as simple as we want.
And so that idea really took offfrom listening to our customers

(09:52):
and figuring out who our idealcustomers were.
They weren't just Disneyenthusiasts but they were like
actual Disney people who wantedto find out more about the
history of the parks and findsomething that they hadn't
experienced before, not just akeepsake thing that they could
have at their house.
So it was fine-tuning who ourniche really were and trying to

(10:19):
put ourselves into their shoes.
Um, in in what would be fun forus and what would be fun for
them.
So, um, our, our games haveevolved over time, um, again
based off of feedback that we'vereceived from from customers.
So, um, the gameplay haschanged.

(10:40):
Um, each uh pack has a deck ofcards.
Each card has a detail that isfound in the theming of the park
, and then we have hints,answers and the land.
Previously it was availablewith a scratch off sticker and
now it's with a qr code.
We've changed the, the, the,the context of the play to be

(11:02):
more dynamic.
We can add things or editthings.

Speaker 2 (11:06):
Oh yeah, that's smart with the qr codes.

Speaker 4 (11:08):
That's really smart, yeah yeah, so we now have 18
theme parks under our belts okayand over 60 skews um, because
we have bundles and we havemultiple game packs per park and
it has been so much fun to notonly put these games together

(11:30):
for people but to receive thatfeedback.
I keep going back to thefeedback because it warms my
heart so much when we receivethe feedback of you've changed
my theme park experience foreverin the best of ways.
I now go to the parks lookingfor these images and when I find

(11:53):
that last image that has beenlike bugging me forever I know
where it is, I know where it isand I finally found it I feel
like I just ran a marathon, LikeI have that just elated feeling
and it just warms my heart somuch that, like we made that
happen.
You know, like our seeminglysilly little game changed the

(12:15):
park experience for them forever, and that is such a lasting
feeling for all of us.

Speaker 2 (12:21):
Oh, it's so great, I love hearing it.
So, just to explain for anyonewho has never heard of this,
they don't really understandwhat you're talking about.
About the game you provide.
You sell cards, okay.
They get like a card pack thatis specific to a certain theme
park, so like DisneylandCalifornia or Disney World or
any of the.
You said 16 parks, 18 parks, 18parks, 18 parks, okay.

(12:42):
So, 18 parks, 18 parks, 18parks, okay, so, 18 parks that
you've done this for, and theyhave clues to something you can
find.
So they're a seek and find gameand you're not going to pick up
anything or collect anything.
You're going.
And then what do you do whenyou find it?
Do you take a picture, do you?
What do you do?

Speaker 4 (12:58):
Yeah, so, um, you, you can do a couple of things.
You can take a picture, and wealways encourage that.
You tag us on Instagram orFacebook at we're in the Park,
or you can.
We always love when customerswill send us a picture of a
different detail, like somewherenearby or something like that,
and try and stump us.
That's always fun, but it's justthe satisfaction of finding

(13:21):
that image.
So, in reality, you don't needto do anything once you've found
the image, but it's justfinding out more about it, like
why is that there?
And that curiosity will buildand you can make the game as
laid back or as competitive asyou'd like.
You can stop and start wheneveryou'd like, as you'd like.

(13:47):
You can stop and start wheneveryou'd like.
You can play solo date nightswith your family younger kids,
older kids, you know, reunions,whatever you want to do.
We even have some that will buytwo of the same pack and then
split off into different groupsand make it a competitive
one-to-one match and so you know, you can choose to reveal the
hints and answers if you'd like.

(14:08):
Some, we know, have set a timer.
There's no time limit that weinstill, you know.
But some have said, okay, if Ican't find this in 15 minutes,
I'm going to reveal the land.
I can't find it within fiveminutes of that, I'm going to,
you know, reveal the hint.
And then can't find it withinfive minutes of that, I'm going
to you know, reveal the hint andthen so it's just.

(14:33):
However you decide to play,which is what we love about the
game.
It's not one size fits all.
You can really customize ithowever you'd like, and even
play over months or years if youwanted to.

Speaker 2 (14:40):
Yes, yes, it's so cool.
So I just have to ask too.
I know you had mentioned in thebeginning that you and your
husband would be like oh, let'sfind where in the park this is.
How exactly did you have thatmoment?
Or did you have a moment whenyou were naming the business?
So for anyone out there that istrying to figure out a name
because this can be really hardfor some people other people it
just comes right to them whatwas your story about when you

(15:01):
named it?

Speaker 4 (15:03):
Yeah, so I think it was because we were constantly
saying it.
Y'all were just saying itnaturally.

Speaker 2 (15:09):
Oh, you would say where in the park is that Like,
where Like?
Yeah it's the best name and soy'all would say it.
Yeah, it's fantastic.

Speaker 4 (15:23):
And so we always ask you know, where in the park do
you think this image is?
You know, we try and say thatas much as possible and I think
in the beginning we were like,ok, we want it to be something
that they're naturally going tosay and there's no confusion
Like where in the park you arefinding things in the park right

(15:44):
?
Confusion like we're in thepark, you are finding things in
the park right.
So, as we were saying, our, ourmessaging, and our, our sales
pitch, if you will.
Um, you know.
We say you know each.
Each pack has a deck of cards.
Each card has an image found inthe theming of the park.
The question is where in thepark?
Yeah, it's a double meaning.
It's not only a standalonequestion, but it's also the name

(16:06):
of the game.

Speaker 2 (16:07):
Right.

Speaker 4 (16:09):
And our logo is the, where in the and park are three
separate areas within theDisneyland Resort.
So the fonts are actually where.
If you went to the park rightnow, it would be that same font.
Oh okay, I didn't even realizethat right now.

Speaker 2 (16:24):
It would be that same font.
Oh, okay, I didn't even realizethat.

Speaker 4 (16:28):
Yeah, it's very subtle.

Speaker 2 (16:30):
Yeah, I think park people, park goers and
enthusiasts I love that word,enthusiasts the enthusiasts
would know this.
People that are obsessed withDisney would probably know this
kind of stuff.
But I think that's what's socool, is?
You know, everyone like you andI have joked before like we

(16:51):
love the parks for the rides andthe churros.
Okay, so let's not forget aboutthe churros.
But there is so much more to behad, so much more to learn the
history, and if you really enjoythe parks, there is more to do
than just the rides and the food, and I think that's what's cool
.
That you and Kevin and your mom,Kim, have really done is just
help people see, oh my gosh,there's so much more to it, and
even just like fonts beingdifferent and history of things
and signs and all that, there isjust so much to nerd out on and

(17:13):
I love it, and I think it's socool that there's been stuff.
I mean it's just like in life,there's things that are before
us that we miss and you didn'teven realize that you could be
at a park for four days and youmay be like I've rode, you know,
ridden every ride, but there'sso much more to be seen, so
y'all had that moment.
I'm just trying to go backagain because I want to take
everybody from that moment wheny'all are like, okay, we should

(17:36):
actually start our own businessdoing this, Like what happened,
and you said this is going to bethe name and this is how we're
starting.

Speaker 4 (17:42):
I know it yeah, um, we, I think it was because we
had so many pictures from the umthe, the games that we were
playing before.
Covid, yes, okay thousands ofpictures, thousands of pictures

(18:03):
and it was like okay, well one,what do we do with all these
pictures that they're such agreat archive of the park as it
stands today?
Because we all know theme parkschange every single day.
Yeah, um, and so it's reallyfun to go back and look at.
You know the, the old picturesand stuff, but, um, so you're

(18:24):
really capturing a moment intheme park time, like in theme
park history, and, um, so how dowe honor that?
And so that's why we createdthe, the different.
I call them like keepsakes I'mnot really sure how else to
describe them like the coasters,we made necklaces, we made
earrings of things that you canfind what the images had, the

(18:45):
things of things you can find atthe theme parks.
Um, but again, if people don'tknow where those things are, yes
, they recognized it assomething at a theme park, but
when asked, well, do you knowwhere in the park you can find
this?
They're like I don't know, youknow.

Speaker 2 (19:00):
So we had that shift of we need to turn this into a
full-fledged game and make thatthe focus, not not the
merchandise so you were tryingto do merchandise that had the
cool symbols and things from thepark I don't even know what to
call them and y'all knew whatthey were, but not everyone knew

(19:25):
the history or what was behindthat, the meaning behind it.
They just thought it was coolbecause they're a Disney
enthusiast or a park goer andyou all realize, oh my gosh, and
from the feedback in the verybeginning, maybe it's not the
stuff that matters, it's thatthis is actually really fun to
go and seek and find it and, youknow, scope it out and look at

(19:46):
it and learn more about it.
So you kind of evolved.
And then is this about whereyou and I met.
I'm trying to remember werey'all starting your business and
like, were you trying to get itonline?
And if you did, how did youfirst bring it online?
Did you build your own website?
What'd you do?

Speaker 4 (20:02):
Yeah, so we started off on Etsy, okay.

Speaker 2 (20:05):
Which is great for any of you product sellers.

Speaker 4 (20:07):
It's a good way to start.
Etsy is a fantastic way tostart because you're using their
platform to bring in morepeople.
It's a great spot to work onyour wording, work on your
keywords and your messaging andsee what really jives with

(20:28):
people.
They have the whole messageplatform and everything, so you
can see what's working andwhat's not and really fine tune,
without having to be lockedinto a website.

Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah, so awesome yeah .

Speaker 4 (20:43):
And it's really low cost.
It's like 20 cents per listingand then that auto renews every
three months or so and thenthere's a fee if it sells to
quote unquote restock.
But all in all, if your marginsare such, it is pennies,

(21:06):
literal pennies to have alisting up on Etsy.
So it's a great way to start.
We still have our Etsy shop and, as of this recording, we are
one sale shy of 600 sales.

Speaker 2 (21:17):
Woo, that's awesome.
That's great.
Yeah, that's wonderful.
So you still have your Etsyshop.
So this was in what, 2021, whenyou started on Etsy, and then
were you also building your ownwebsite, kind of in the
background or no, like what wasy'all's plan with that?

Speaker 4 (21:34):
Yeah, so we started a website once we started getting
serious about being in front ofpeople at live events.
Okay, so, we had the squareterminal to process credit cards
and stuff yes, terminal toprocess credit cards and stuff,
yes, yes.
And so we decided okay, well,now is the time to evolve and

(21:55):
have our own website also.
So I love having two modes ofsales.
So you have Etsy and you haveyour own website.
Yes.
And then from Etsy, we wereusing Aweber to collect the
emails and have our email systemgoing, which I remember very

(22:16):
vividly.
When I first started with youand your programs, I was very
adamant of like I don't wantemail, I don't want email.

Speaker 2 (22:25):
You don't want to deal with it, let's collect the
email.
Yeah, just at least collect them.
You don't ever have to send oneright now, but there will be a
time, and so this is a note toeveryone listening no matter how
you start, if you start on Etsy, if you start doing live events
, if you start building your ownwebsite you will need to be
sending people emails.
It's still the best way to getin touch with people.

(22:48):
I know people love social mediaand everything like that.
You just have to know thatemail is still existent.
People still check their email.
You need to still be doing it.
It may not it's not gonna get100% views, but it may get 50%,
40%, 30%, even 20% is way betterthan what social media is
getting you.
So, anyways, just wanted to notethat and also point out what

(23:10):
Amanda did.
So they started with Etsy.
They said, okay, we're gettingmore serious, we're doing live
events, let's start building ourown website.
So we have our own real estateon our own domain, domain name
whereintheparkcom and we havethat.
So I think that's super smart,because Etsy number one is super
simple to get started.

(23:30):
You can get your feet wet andit's just good to like learn how
to start running a businessthat way, and then you can be
saying, okay, am I actuallyserious about this?
Do I want to keep doing this?
And if so, you do want your ownreal estate and you're going to
want to probably either haveboth, like Amanda has done, or
shift over.
But Etsy, it's his own searchengine, so it's its own little

(23:53):
ecosystem and it's so awesomefor looking for gifts.
I don't know if everyone wholistens here shops on Etsy, but
it's amazing.
So, anyways, I always recommendpeople starting that way to get
their feet wet in this.
So, amanda, check plus plus onall that Y'all did great.
And you start building yourwebsite and then you're, as you
said, you're using the littlesquare terminal.
It's the little plug-in thingso that you can plug it into

(24:14):
your phone and take credit cards.
Okay, so you're doing that andyou're working on everything and
we meet and maybe you were inGrowGetters at that time.
And so then what's happening?

Speaker 4 (24:24):
Yeah, so I also just want to add real quick so, etsy,
if you're just starting off onEtsy, it's a great way to make
sure that all of your systemsare in alignment.
So how are you processingshipping?
How are you taking orders?
Does your credit card systemswork, like all of those things
and building your stuff on theback end?
How are you organizing orders?
How are you connecting withpeople after they've placed the

(24:48):
order?
Are you inviting them to nextsteps?
All the things that we talkabout in Growgetters and the
move method you can do on Etsy,and so I highly recommend, if
you are just starting out, tostart on Etsy again, low cost to
entry and making sure all ofyour systems are in place so you
can really fine tune everythingbefore you invest in getting

(25:13):
your own domain name andbuilding your own website and
doing all that tech stuff.
You already have everythingmapped out on the back end.
So just wanted to say I'm soglad that we did it that way.

Speaker 2 (25:25):
Yes, and one more, Sorry not to interrupt
Piggybacking on what you justsaid.
For anyone that's starting onEtsy and you have dreams of
having your own website, goahead and reserve your domain
name.
They're usually like $15 a year.
So get whereinthebarkcom orwhatever you're getting, and
even if you don't or you're notusing it at the moment, have it
because there will be a day youprobably will need it.

(25:46):
Okay, so, yes, so y'all are atthat point.

(26:14):
Yes, okay, we did that oneverything.
So as soon as, like Blue Skycame out as a thing, the social
media platform, we instantlywent in and claimed it.
Is it pictures with text underit?

Speaker 4 (26:18):
and videos.
Is it the same thing?
It pretty much.
It's very similar to threads,um, and like a twitter kind of a
kind of a thing.
Um, it's just another branch,it's like lemonade and all the
things.
So it's like I.

Speaker 2 (26:30):
I just didn't.

Speaker 4 (26:31):
I know it's.
It's already very saturated andso new platforms are coming up
with new social medias, andpeople who are well versed in a
certain platform will move therebecause it's a new way to get
the audience before everybodyelse does so yes, I don't know,
but you reserved it.

Speaker 2 (26:51):
We reserved it.
Maybe I need to be reserving myname on everything.
It's probably too late, okay.
Okay, so you did all that,which was awesome, yeah.

Speaker 4 (27:00):
So we had Square for a number of years and then we
just outgrew.
It is really what it came downto.
So we use the, the squarewebsite, in the square platform
because we were already usingthe square terminal during our
live events and so we thoughtthat's the natural progression

(27:23):
of things and we were reallyfocusing on driving people to
our website and not to our Etsyshop.
Let Etsy algorithm do its thingand driving people to you.
When you are talking about yourbusiness, you direct them to
your website.
So we were doing that at liveevents and all of the things,

(27:43):
and we were using their emailplatforms.
We switched from Aweber toSquare Marketing and that was
helpful for a time and it justgot to the point where we
outgrew it and there were somefeatures that I really wanted to
take things to the next levelthat Square didn't really
support at the plan that we wereon, and so just a couple of

(28:08):
months ago, we switched fromSquare to Shopify.
I love Shopify.

Speaker 2 (28:16):
I'm a Shopify fan.
I do too.

Speaker 4 (28:17):
And in full transparency.
I wish we would have gone withShopify first instead of Square.
You can still have the Squarelittle terminal thing to process
credit cards, have the squarelittle terminal thing to process
credit cards, um, but shopifyhas that as well, and I feel

(28:38):
like square is more for thebrick and mortar who want to
have an online presence, and notfor the e-commerce business who
also does live events, so it'smore tailored to that market.

(28:59):
So, being the fact that we aremostly online, with the
occasional in-person sale,shopify has been fabulous.
There is a high learning curvewith it.
There's a lot of code and stuff, but the support on Shopify has
really been amazing.
So, even if you're notwell-versed in software, code

(29:22):
and stuff like that, there'stemplates and all kinds of free
resources to use the platform.
So it's been awesome.

Speaker 2 (29:29):
I loved it too.
I used them for my online giftboutiques for years and years,
so I'm a big fan and we did evenmonogramming and
personalization worked so wellfor all those they call them
custom options that people cando to configure things for your,
for your products.
So Shopify is great for productsellers.
So maybe even out of the gate,everyone should consider that.

(29:52):
Just jump right into that and,just you know, bite the bullet
and start taking that on becausethe support is really good.
Okay, so y'all startedmigrating to Shopify.

Speaker 4 (30:04):
Yeah, and I think it's really important to know
wherever you're at in yourbusiness.
Know wherever you're at in yourbusiness.
We gained this clarity, thisrealization, because we took
action.
So you don't need to have allof these aha moments before you
take action and it's in theprocess of doing that you're

(30:29):
going to find out what's workingand what's not working.
You're going to, you know,figure out your messaging and
your product photos and all ofthat because you took action and
just put something out there,put something on paper, and then
you can fine tune.
Getting ready to get ready, toget ready is it's going to
overwhelm you.
It just is.

(30:50):
But being proactive, just doingsomething every day and putting
yourself out there, then youcan fine tune and figure out
what's working, what's not, byevaluating your results, as, as
we always talk about.

Speaker 2 (31:07):
So y'all started on Etsy.
You also have your website onyour own domain.
You do local vendor shows.
You travel to other locationsto do shows at other parks, or
what are y'all doing right nowto get exposure for your
business?

Speaker 4 (31:23):
Yeah, so all of the above, we have our website.
Whenever we are at theme parks,which is quite often because
that's where our people are One,two, we are always at the parks
to confirm our images are stillthere, and so whenever we're at
the parks, we're wearingsomething with our logo on it.

(31:43):
Like I know listeners can't seeme right now, but I'm wearing
my sweatshirt that has our logo.
It is massive on oursweatshirts.
We have hats that have ourlogos and when all three of us
on the wear in the park team,when we are all wearing this
same sweatshirt, I cannot tellyou the number of people we walk
by who are looking at oursweatshirts and we've gotten

(32:04):
sales and I always ask likehow'd you, how'd you hear about
us?
And and people have said I justsaw you in the parks with your
sweatshirts.

Speaker 2 (32:13):
What so like you didn't even talk to him and they
just Yep, it's just, it's whatis massive in their face.

Speaker 4 (32:20):
Yeah, and so because they're like, wait a minute,
we're in the park and it sayswe're in the park games to play
at theme parks, and it has atwe're in the park to find us on
all the socials and where in thepark dot com.
So it is right there, they havethree points to check us out.
Because all three of us arewearing something logoed and

(32:41):
yeah, wow and orders.
Just just by what, we didn'thave to say a word because our
website has everything that theyneed to know and we are
directing them.
And even so, like when we wereat the parks last weekend,
people were like where's thepark?
Where's the park?
Because they've seen us eitherbefore or they've heard about us

(33:02):
from somewhere.

Speaker 2 (33:03):
Oh my gosh, You're a celebrity.
You're totally a fan.
We're turning into a celebrity.

Speaker 4 (33:07):
It's nuts.
It's crazy.

Speaker 2 (33:10):
I love it.
Well, I mean, it's just smartbecause I think you're where
your buyers are.
Why not?

Speaker 4 (33:17):
wear it.

Speaker 2 (33:17):
I mean, everyone should have something on, like,
if you're doing a show orsomething, you need to be
advertising your business.
But I think in your situationit's perfect.
So you're at the parks, peoplesee you.
You're checking out the parks,people see you there.
Where are you doing vendorshows and stuff?

Speaker 4 (33:34):
Yeah, so wherever there is an event that is Disney
focused, so the ones that weare at every single year is the
Disney Anna Fan Club or the DFCExpo.
That happens twice a year andthat is local here to Southern
California in the Orange Countyarea.

(33:56):
This time it's in Irvine.
That's on June 1st.
So if you're in the Irvine,california area June 1st come on
down.
And what's it?

Speaker 2 (34:04):
called again, so my listeners know.

Speaker 4 (34:07):
It's the DFC Expo.
If you just go to at where inthe park, you'll have all the
details right there.

Speaker 2 (34:13):
Okay, and they can come by your booth and see.
So it's a Disney Expo that hasbooths that are anything related
to Disney.
Yeah, so what kind of stuff?

Speaker 4 (34:21):
Like oh, there's all kinds of things.
There are people who arereselling things that were at
the park, so like Disney popcornbuckets and pins and all that.
There's a lot of pin trading.
Um.
There are people who are umsmall business owners, like we
are, and they are selling umtheir.
Their things are good friendsum dave and janie lee.

(34:41):
They have um slides like kodakslides that they've taken
pictures around the parks andthey they backlight um they have
a little like little light inthe back.
So it's highlighting thosedetails of the parks too.
There's lounge, fly bags,there's literally everything
under the sun, collector's items, and it's just.

(35:02):
It's so much fun and it happenstwice a year, once in the
spring, once in the fall, sowe're always at that.
Mouse Con is another one, andthat is in Concord, california,
in November and then inBakersfield in January.
And so those two events or Iguess, four events throughout

(35:22):
the year, those are the onesthat we are constantly at.
So people know it'll be likeour third or fourth year, so six
or seven times that we havebeen at this event.
And so by doing that, byfinding an event that really
works for you and your audienceand then consistently showing up
there, I cannot tell you thenumber of times people have

(35:44):
bypassed other booths becausethey want to get to our booth
first and they're like yes,you're back and chances are
because you've been there before.
If you find the spot that worksfor you, you'll be at that same
spot, and so that is reallyimportant, because your ideal
customers will know exactlywhere to find you in the room,

(36:07):
right?
So if you happen to be at adifferent location, that's
totally fine.
They'll find you eventually byworking, working the room.
But if you are at the exactsame spot that you were last
time, they already know where togo and and so to have that,
that next item in the salesfunnel, ready to roll and be

(36:28):
like oh awesome, so glad to seeyou.
How are you doing?
Funnel ready to roll and belike oh awesome, so glad to see
you.
How are you doing?
And connect with them beforethe rest of the room gets there
and they're eagerly excitedabout your product.
They're bringing their friends,it's amazing.

Speaker 2 (36:40):
It's amazing.
I love it.
And just watching you over theyears, I know to just to point
out to all my listeners that youcan try shows that may not be
your target market.
So I wondered if you would justexpand on that a little bit,
because I know you've done a lotof shows and we've all done
shows.
I did them with my productbusinesses and some I was like I

(37:03):
will never be back to have abooth at this show because I
didn't get the right kind ofclientele for what I was selling
.
So I was wondering if you couldtalk about that, so that people
can not be discouraged if theyhead to a show that doesn't work
, but also start puttingthemselves out there so they can
find the right shows.
So, anyways, I wonder if youcould touch on that.

Speaker 4 (37:21):
Absolutely so, in 2023, especially, we spent a lot
of time at more local crafttime at more local craft arts
and crafts fairs.
So not disney related, not themepark related, just just random,
different craft fairs, okay,yeah, and the idea at the

(37:43):
beginning of the year was let'sjust cast a wide net.
Anything that's you know localin the Southern California area,
particularly closer to Disney,let's go there and see what
happens.
So, a lot of those events, weeither did not make our booth

(38:03):
fee back or just barely made ourbooth fee back and certainly
didn't pay for any gas or hotelor meals.
Certainly didn't pay for anygas or hotel or meals.
So very, very, very low salesat these events.
And at first it wasgut-wrenching because you're
like oh, I put so much work intothis.
You know, we made all theinventory.

(38:25):
But at the same time, each eventis a learning opportunity and
if you go in with that, you'relike you know what, if I make a
sale, fantastic, right, that isthe ideal.
Like yes, that is why I'm here.
But also, you are there to makeconnections with people.

(38:46):
And if one person liked you onInstagram, one person liked you
on Instagram, if one personjoined your email list, that is
a win, right?
Did you, you know, make yourbooth feedback?
Maybe not, but did you stillconnect with somebody?
Did you connect with othervendors?
Did you make a connection insome other way.

(39:08):
Like I know, for some of the theevents we didn't even make a
sale but we still connected withother vendors and we've seen
those vendors in at other eventsand we're like hey, I remember
you and it creates a bond andnow we are partnering with them
because our niches are similar,that we can cross promote each

(39:31):
other even though we're not atthose events.
But we met at those events,building the connections with
the other vendors that are there.
If it's a particularly slowevent, go walk around, go talk
with the other other vendors andsay like, hey, have you been at
this event before?
Is it typically this slow?
You know what are the otherdates and times that this event

(39:53):
happens.
Is it typically busier inDecember, you know?
if it's somebody that is asimilar niche to yours.
Talk to them, find out moreinformation what other events
did they go to right that maybeyou haven't found on your radar?
And just get to know people.
But don't be discouraged by thedollar amount you brought in

(40:17):
Right.
So all is not lost.

Speaker 2 (40:19):
if you don't, all is not lost, so just keep going.
But the key is to narrow itdown to the ones that do bring
you the most money.
So that's what y'all do.
So then you started trying todo what Try to get to
Disney-related shows.

Speaker 4 (40:35):
Yeah, so we definitely learned our lesson in
2023.
The money that we spent onvendor shows that did not work
out for us was quite high, butwe told ourselves, okay, that's
just not the one for us andthat's okay.
Right, we gave it a good shot.
Yeah, we still made connections, we still got followers and all

(40:58):
of the things, but it justdidn't turn out to sales and
that was really our end goal.
So we're not going to come backto this one and that's totally
fine.
So we shifted to okay, what arethe ones that did work?
And for us, that was the DFCExpo, that was the Mouse Cons,
and so we're like well, yeah,that makes sense, these are
people who are looking forDisney things.

(41:19):
Yes, so that makes sense for usto be in those areas, in those
rooms, and so now those arepretty much the main ones that
we go to.
Um.
Are those, um, those those twoevents that I mentioned that
happened twice a year, and thenany other ones are to support um

(41:43):
, either some friends of ours ora cause.
So we will be in the San Diegoarea in September for um Bunny
Fest for the San Diego HouseRabbit Society.
We support them every year andso we are a vendor at that event
.
Do we make our money back?
Is it a Disney specific event?

(42:05):
No, but we also have San Diegogames.
So at that event we do bringour Disney games, but we are
promoting the local games duringthose shows.
So it's being able to pivot.
And with each person that comesup to your booth, yes, you have

(42:25):
the sales pitch.
They are self-paced.
You can find games that youplay at theme parks that
highlight the details and thetheming of the park, but it is
their response and is therepetition and getting the
experience and being confidentin what it is that you're saying
.
And that's only going to comewith time, if nothing else.

(42:48):
You are practicing and buildingthat muscle.
What are some of the wordings,the messaging that I can say to
eventually get to my rightpeople?
Right, right, and so you cansay something to somebody and it
just didn't feel right.

(43:10):
You know that didn't reallyresonate with me, right, I'm the
one saying it Right, right,didn't feel right, yeah.
And so you're like okay, howcan I tweak that?
Okay, I'm going to try thiswith the next person, and even
better if it's not your idealniche, because then see what's
landing, what's not landing andfine tune it in yourself before

(43:31):
that right person comes up.
And then it's going to be like,yes, let's go, you're going to
get it.

Speaker 2 (43:35):
Yeah, I love that you're talking about this and
you and I and the people in myprograms and Grow Getters and
stuff.
We talk about this as messaging.
So if y'all hadn't heard thatterm before, it's just all the
wording that you use tocommunicate your brand or about
what you do or the value of youroffer.
Right, and we have to get ourmessaging honed in so that when
we talk to people, we feelconfident, like you said, like

(43:56):
it resonates with us, like wefeel good saying it, we don't
feel like a weirdo.
And then also, it actuallyworks to perk people up because
you can see it, when you saysomething that's effective, you
will see their face go.
Oh yeah, I was thinking aboutthinking about doing that, or my
wife was doing that, or myfriend, or we're going to Disney
this summer or whatever, andyou can see them light up and

(44:17):
and that's what you want andobviously you want it to turn
into some type of lead or sale,hopefully, right, but working on
all your wording is so key toyour business and if you hadn't
thought about that before, Ihope this is an aha moment for
you, because you realize thatwhen you actually have the right
words, you can confidently showup and people will start

(44:37):
following you and hopefullybuying.
So when you were talking aboutthis, it was just reminding me
that when you first came intoGrowGetters and stuff, that you
were talking about your businessin a different way and what you
offer, and I would love it ifyou would share it to people and
how your messaging has evolved,because this is key for
everyone here that yourmessaging can and should it

(44:58):
should evolve, because it's gotto alert the right people what
you do.
So, amanda, will you share usabout your share with us about
your messaging journey?
I guess we could say oh, yeah,yeah.

Speaker 4 (45:09):
So when we first started out, we referred to our
games as scavenger hunts.
I think seek and find wasalways part of the lingo, but
scavenger hunts.

Speaker 2 (45:22):
And we're like yeah, yes, I always thought they were
scavenger.
I think I said theme parkscavenger hunts was how I would
introduce you.

Speaker 4 (45:28):
Yeah.
And then we got the feedback ofokay, so it's for kids.
Or oh, okay, so you hidesomething.
We're like no, no, no.
And we had to backtrack of like, well, no, we don't hide any
things in the parks and no, it'snot just for kids, it's all,
it's for everybody, you know.
And then we it was moreexplaining and that's one of the

(45:50):
things that's really hard aboutour business, but I know a lot
of listeners out there but youhave to educate people first.
Yes, fountain, find a leak, finda you know, a cast member or a

(46:13):
theme park employee who has yoursame name, something you know,
find a princess, something.
Quote, unquote easier that thatis not what we do.
Right, because cool, but that'snot what we do.
We are an elevated game.
That is an experience that willallow you to have a better

(46:33):
appreciation for the parks whenyou're done with it.
I love it, and so we sat with itand if you go back to like our
original wording on our Etsypage and our Square page, it was
scavenger hunt, scavenger hunt,scavenger hunt, and it was a
huge shift of saying it's notjust scavenger hunt, it's not a
scavenger hunt, it's not ascavenger hunt, scavenger hunt,
scavenger hunt and it was a hugeshift of saying it's not just

(46:54):
scavenger hunt, it's not ascavenger hunt, it's not a
scavenger, and we had to say itto each other all the time.
Um, we've also changed thenames of our games in in general
, so we had them as fun packs.
Our, our smaller games, oureight, our eight card games were
fun packs because we werethinking like candy, like the
fun size.

Speaker 2 (47:14):
Yes, yes, yeah.

Speaker 4 (47:15):
Right, we had challenge packs, which was the
bigger games, and so they'relike, ok, so the fun ones are
the easier ones.
Then we're like, well, no, notnecessarily.
You know it's easiness is is issubjective.
How well do you already knowthe park?
And so we're like, okay, somaybe we shouldn't call them fun

(47:36):
size then, or fun fun pack andchallenge pack.
So now we're just mini gamesand we're in the park games.
So there's no um conception ofeasiness or difficulty level,
because it's all personal.
How well do you already knowthe park?

(47:56):
Have you had an eye for detailalready in looking at details?
So we don't put a challengelevel on there anymore or have
the verbiage that can be adifficulty level.
But the biggest change has beenswitching from scavenger hunt
to seek and find games.

(48:18):
Okay, and that's really beenthe biggest change.
And so when we say that theseare self-paced seek and find
experiences, then the light bulbgoes off.

Speaker 2 (48:29):
Yes, this is something different.
Yeah, and it's self-paced.
I'm doing this on my own time.
Yes, off and somethingdifferent.
Yeah, and it's self-paced.
I'm doing this on my own time.
Yes, this is somethingdifferent.
You're like, okay, it's moreclear exactly what it really is.
And I like how you said, likeif it was a scavenger hunt,
that's cool, but that's not whatwe're selling.
So everyone has to think aboutI mean all of you listening you

(48:50):
have to think about what you'reselling.
You have to explain it veryclearly what it actually is.
So people know and you foundthat out by feedback that people
were giving and by your ownlike check going, wait, but
that's not what this is.
Why am I saying scavenger hunt?

(49:10):
This isn't what it is.
So, yeah, so y'all have evolvedthat.
So how has it helped you andyour business by knowing all of
these words and by knowing yourmessaging?

Speaker 4 (49:35):
up consistently when you have the right words.
You convey the messageconsistently in everything that
you do.
So when you're talking about itwith somebody, when you are
showing up on a podcast, whenyou are working on your Facebook
ads or anything else down theline, you are using those same
words and you put those, thosekeywords in your SEO, in your

(49:55):
descriptions of everything.
Um, because you you want it tohave the same tone.
Um, and you don't want there tobe any confusion.
Um, you're still going to havethe people that come up like oh,
you're the scavenger huntpeople and you're like yeah, and
you've got to shift that.

Speaker 2 (50:13):
Like, that takes a while, because they've got that
in their brain and so itbehooves everyone to be doing
this in the beginning, which iswhy, obviously, I teach this,
like in Grow Getters, because Ithink it's so important in the
beginning of your business,because you could have ingrained
in people's heads that you'redoing X, Y, Z and you're not.
You're really doing A, B, C andwe've got to take all this time

(50:34):
.
So, anyways, so some people arestill bringing that up,
scavenger hunt, and you'retrying to shift the narrative.

Speaker 4 (50:41):
Yeah, but it creates a learning opportunity, right?
So by the end of an event,you've heard it like 15 billion
times of like, oh yeah, they'relike scavenger hunts, and then
so you'll, you'll learn, like Iwas mentioning, like, with each
interaction, you will have the,the confidence and the verbiage

(51:02):
to say whatever you need to saynext, to get them on board with
what it is that you do, um, andso we will gently nudge them of
like yeah, these are seek andfind games, like so think of it
like a where's waldo book.
You know, depending on the agegroup, they might not know what
that means, but you know if theyare.

(51:24):
Um, you know if they're like,oh yeah, I know, I know about
where's waldo books, like, okay,so the book is like the theme
park and you are looking for onedetail, you're waldo, and
they're like, oh yeah, okay, andthen then get it like.
This is going to be harder thanjust some find a leaf you know,
right, right, right.

(51:46):
So, um, but yeah, you'll getthose keywords down and then
just repeat it as often as youcan put it everywhere.
Um, so yeah.

Speaker 2 (51:57):
Yeah, yeah, I love these messages that you have
that like taking action willwill help you.
You know, learn and and craftyour, your message and your
business and everything.
You've got to be taking actionto get clarity, because I think
sometimes people want to getready.
Like you said, get ready to getready, to get ready and you
never end up going anywhere,right.

(52:17):
And so I love that.
I love that you say you know,consistently show up.
You've got to be showing up thesame base People are looking
for you.
You're actually building a fanbase.
This is how you're building anaudience and then just working
on that messaging so that it'sclear, so that when you are
showing up consistently, you'resaying consistent words that are
drilled in people's head andthey understand what your brand

(52:39):
is and what your business isabout.
And I think all these thingshave been your key to success
over the years.
Is that right?
I mean, what else, to you, hasbeen the key to being successful
with this business?

Speaker 4 (53:00):
being successful with this business.
I think one of them is I goback to connection and reaching
out to our customers as often asI can, having those touch
points.
So when they first place anorder, I'm immediately I email
them back out and say so.
I have the automation emailsaying like, thank you so much
for your order.
But I personally email them andsay, hey, thank you so much for

(53:24):
your order.
I would love to know, like,while we're getting everything
together, I would love to knowhow you heard about us and when
your next trip to the Disneylandresort will be.
Looking forward to hearing fromyou, amanda.
And so they will oftentimesrespond, because it's a
personalized message, it's notjust an automated message.
Right, right, I'm connecting itwith them.

(53:47):
If they used a specific couponcode, I can tell where they came
from so I can personalize itthat way, and so I have that
touch point there.
I include a handwritten cardwith every single order.
You go, girl, yeah, lookingforward to hearing about you.

(54:09):
We hope you have an amazingtime looking for the details
hidden within Disneyland Park.
We can't wait to hear aboutyour experience.
Tag us on social right.
So I'm inviting them to be partof our community.
That's also part of theautomation.
When we send the trackinginformation.

(54:29):
It says while you're waitingfor your package, if you haven't
already come, join us onInstagram and Facebook at we're
in the Park, so we're invitingthem to that as well, and then
afterward.
So I, I, I put in my my Trelloboard love Trello Um, but I have

(54:50):
it a card for each person and Iput in the details that they
share with me so I'll put in thedate of their order and what
they ordered.
If they express, hey, we'regoing to Disneyland at the end
of the month, okay, great, I'mgoing to write that down and
also calendar it for a coupleweeks after that and then I'll
reach out to them and say, hey,I hope you had an amazing time

(55:14):
at the Disneyland Resort.
I would love to know if you hada chance to play our games
while you were there.
If so, here's how you can shareabout your experience and I
have everything linked with thereview, like where they can go
and leave a review.
We also have a part in our gamepacks themselves when they can

(55:35):
do our survey right there.
So I link that um.
So there's a number of touchpoints um through throughout the
, the journey.
Um, if they say, hey, we'regoing on such and such date and
we also happen to be there, Imake it a point say let's meet
up, we're gonna be at the sameplace.
Let's, let's meet up, we'regoing to be at the same place.

(55:56):
Let's meet up, we would love tosee you in person and make it a
conscious effort to see themwhere they are, especially if
they're playing your games, likethey're actually interacting
with your products.
So I have multiple touch pointsthrough that.
And it is because we'rebuilding that relationship that
they're like okay, this isn'tjust another company, this is

(56:17):
somebody who cares about myexperience.
You know, I always throw insomething if they're like oh,
we're going for such and such orso-and-so's birthday, great,
I'm going to include a birthdaycard.
You know I'm going to includesomething personal and then say,
like you know, for so-and-so'sbirthday, you know how do they
enjoy their experience, orwhatever.
And so any point that I thinkit's Amy Porterfield that says

(56:41):
you know, surprise and delightyour audience.
Any way that you can surpriseand delight your audience, do it
.

Speaker 2 (56:48):
It doesn't cost very much and it's everything to them
yeah it is, and I love hearingyou say all this because, as
you're sitting here talking, I'mthinking this is what is
magical about small businessesis that we have this opportunity
, we have the time, we have thehunger, we want to provide a
good experience, we're trying tobuild a successful business and

(57:09):
we can add special touches thatconsumers cannot get with
larger organizations.
Let's just take, for example,amazon right, can they write you
a handwritten note?
No, because it's all automated.
It's getting shipped to you.
So use your magic.
Everyone has this magicavailable to them the surprise

(57:29):
and delight factor.
I just love it, just the careand touch points that you can
have as a small business ownerright now, especially if you're
new at this stage of business tohandhold, to make people feel
really good about their purchaseand to refer you, because
that's what you want to do, youwant repeat customers and you
want referrals.

(57:49):
And as you were talking, I justwas thinking this is the magic
of a new small business and Idon't even know that I wouldn't
consider you new anymore,necessarily, even though it's
been what?
Three years, two years?
No, four years, four years.
So maybe you're not new, butit's just the magic of a small
business, that you have time.
Your business has evolved andshifted and now I think you feel

(58:10):
that, like confidence, I cansee it in you over these years,
that confidence that you havebuilt from everything from
shifting your product to workingon your messaging, to showing
up in the right places andconstantly evaluating it.
You're like a star student.
Like you're a star student.
You came out of the gate justlike going this is going to work
.
We have something special, weknow it.

(58:31):
You were never braggy, neverarrogant.
I'm not talking about that.
I'm just talking about theknowing that a lot of us have,
as small business owners, thatwe have something special to
offer the world.
We know there are people outthere that would love this and
the puzzle is how do we get infront of them?
What do we say?
Where do we show up?

(58:52):
How do we keep these peoplecoming back?
And you have done all of that.
I've watched you through theyears just getting started
program and then, with you know,grow Getters and then being a
part of my podcasting program,which I'm so excited.
You're part of Passion toPodcast and that's some fun news
that we get to announce is thatyou're actually launching a
podcast soon as a way ofreaching more people.

(59:15):
So tell us about your podcastthat's launching in just a few
weeks at the time of thisrecording.

Speaker 4 (59:22):
And we're so excited this is.
This has been a long timecoming.
It's been in on the back burnerof stewing away on low heat for
for a long time and now we areofficially ready.
And I honestly think if we hadstarted when we first had the
idea, so much would have changed, because we've changed our

(59:43):
messaging, we've changed ourdirection and, like thinking
back to where we were a coupleof years ago, nothing would make
sense today.
Interesting.

Speaker 2 (59:53):
Yeah, it just shows you how to do the work early so
that you can then expand and doall these things.
I think it's so crucial in thebeginning of a business.

Speaker 4 (01:00:01):
Yeah, and so now we're at the point where we have
our foundation down and nowit's how can we show up for our
audience in new ways?
And so the podcast is reallygoing to be a game changer for
us.
I have no doubts about thatbecause, like we talk about all
the time, the life of a podcastis forever, and so we are going

(01:00:27):
to focus on the history behindthe details, so it's going to be
evergreen, and each episode isgoing to be about a different
theme park, so we'll have wherein the disney park, where in the
knots fairy farm park, like allof these different things so
exciting and yeah, so we, we areworking on um, finding

(01:00:50):
different things throughout thepark, the details that we don't
have in our game packs, butfinding out why that's there,
who put it there, what is thehistory and significance of that
specific detail, and so we'llhighlight two to three details
each episode and then we'll havethe pictures and imagery over

(01:01:10):
on our Facebook group that we'recreating for the podcast called
when in the Park Explorers, soyou can be an explorer with us
and provide your own picturesand insight, if you have
anything, because we are acollective unit when it comes to
history and theme parks andthere's so much out there, but a

(01:01:31):
lot of times there's notinformation about the who and
the why, that we have the what,but we don't have the who, the
why.
I love that.
I love that.
That's really cool, yeah.
And so to have that community ofpeople who are just as
passionate about it as you arebut can also add to the
experience with their ownpictures and stories and you

(01:01:54):
know, oh, my dad worked on thislike those are the things that
you're not going to get.
You know it when you're at alive event, you know when, when
you're behind the screen of yourwebsite, so connecting with new
people in a new way.
I am so excited about it.
And, yes, we're going to belaunching very, very soon.

(01:02:15):
We have a couple of episodesrecorded and we're just
fine-tuning some things and thenthey'll be ready for launch.

Speaker 2 (01:02:23):
And the name of the podcast is when in the Park
Podcast.
Perfect.
I just want to make sureeveryone knew that and see the
consistency, everyone theconsistency, the website domain,
the podcast, everything, andthen the when in the Park
Explorers for the Facebook group.
All her links are below, by theway, for everyone listening,
and her podcast will belaunching soon, so I'll update

(01:02:44):
the link to that as soon as it'slive.
But you'll be able to listen toit here very, very soon and
we're super stoked about that.
She's been working on it andall the episodes and that has
been so fun to watch.
And I am cracking up becauseyou're saying you know this has
been stewing for a while on alow heat.
I just like pictured food on astove and you're like it's been
sitting there for two years,it's still there, it's going,

(01:03:06):
and you're like, no, we're doingit now.
And so it's been really cool tosee all the action that you've
been taking recently to be ableto get this thing finally going.
And yours is a little differentbecause you are going to have
two co-hosts right your husbandKevin, your mom Kim, who is an
integral part of your business,which, by the way, as a side
note.
I think this is the coolestthing ever that you and your

(01:03:28):
husband are doing this and thatyour mom is so involved.
I don't know, I'm touched everytime you talk about it and when
I see the pictures online onyour Instagram and all that.
I'm like this relationship thatyou have with your mom is the
cutest thing ever and I justlove it.
And I think it's so cool thatyou can run a business and you
have this sweet and wonderfulmother who is a part of it and
cheering you on all the way andsupporting you.

(01:03:48):
I mean, I've heard you say shewraps packages, wraps packages.
She's shipping stuff for you.
I'm like she gets mom of theyear.
Mother's Day is coming up, soshe needs an amazing, amazing
gift for her time.
I'm sure you do.
You already thank her all thetime I know.
So anyways, she seems amazingand your husband, Kevin, is just
awesome and I love that.
He's a history buff about allof this and it's just been so

(01:04:10):
cool to get to know you and I'veeven got to talk to him a few
times and it's just been awesomeseeing your growth, so anyway.
So your podcast is coming.
We're in the park, it's goingto be launching soon, and what I
plan on doing and I told youthis, I'm going to tell everyone
publicly is that I want to haveyou on again here in some
months, after your podcast is upand rolling, and I want you to
share about how the podcastshifts your business, what

(01:04:32):
happens, how this affects yourbusiness, what happens how this
affects your business, because Ithink this is interesting for
people that are consideringstarting a podcast.
Is there any advice right nowthat you have for anyone just
before you launch?
Just any thoughts for anyoneout there that's got either a
product business or servicebusiness, whatever it is or
thinking about starting apodcast.
Is there anything that you wantto share about that, Any advice
, any lessons or anything,Anything you want to share.

Speaker 4 (01:04:55):
Oh, so, when it comes to the podcast in particular,
we wanted to do a podcastbecause we look at our podcast
player.
For me it's all like businessstuff and some theme parks, but
for my husband it's like alltheme park related stuff.
Um, so the idea of having apodcast, my brain instantly went

(01:05:17):
into imposter syndrome of whodo I think?
I am Like I can't be the levelof so-and-so who's been doing
this for years, who's also ahistory buff, who is like spends
hours and hours and hours onone topic.
I can't do that, and so Iinstantly shut myself down of I

(01:05:40):
don't have time to research allthis.
I'm not them.
There's no way.
And it did take a while to go.
That's great.
That's great that you're notthem, because you're providing
something different.
That's great that you're notthem because you're providing
something different.
And we don't want to bepigeonholed into one certain

(01:06:01):
thing you do, you, right?
What is it that you can provideto your people?
Because that podcast that I'mthinking of, they're not selling
a product, they don't have asmall business, they are just
sharing knowledge.
We are trying to be in front ofour audience and provide value

(01:06:28):
and also invite them in to bepart of our community, and there
, so there is a difference.
There, um, but so, so,isolating those factors and
going it's okay that I'm notthem, thank goodness I'm not
them, right, that that takes ahuge weight off off your

(01:06:49):
shoulders.
Right there of I can do this inthe way that feels comfortable
to me.
However, that looks like theyhave hours and hours and hours
that they're focusing on onetopic.
I'm going to spend five minuteson a topic.
Let's go.
Here's what you need to know.
This is why it's important,this is why we're focusing on it

(01:07:09):
and we're moving on to the nextone, and so it's going to be
two totally different things.
So why am I comparing myself tothem?
You know, so it takes a lot ofself-realization to go okay, I'm
, I'm okay.

Speaker 2 (01:07:30):
I can do this.

Speaker 4 (01:07:31):
I can do it, and that you don't have to have
everything perfect is alsoreally, really important.
You don't need to have all thethings.
You don't need to have the bestmicrophone.
You don't need to have the bestheadphones I don't even have
headphones right now because itdoesn't work with the mic jack.

(01:07:51):
That's going on with my mic,that's okay.
That doesn't mean you can'trecord.

Speaker 2 (01:07:55):
We just got to get it going.
Yeah, we knew we had to do this.
We're not worried about it,right?
I love that.
I think that's such goodsentiment for everyone listening
is that you just have to getmoving, you will gain the
confidence, and everything won'tbe perfect.
I talk about imperfect action.
If y'all been listening for awhile, you know that's like a
huge thing, and it's so truebecause we want to.

(01:08:15):
We want to perfect everything,we want to know that we're the
best one.
We have imposter syndrome.
Their podcast is way better.
We can all say that about ourbusinesses, about our products,
about the way we look, anything,anything we want to say we can
always do that.
But what we have to realize isthat we actually have our own
lane, and to own that and to ownthat lane and focus on that, on

(01:08:37):
what you can do and what you'regood at and I think that's
what's neat about what y'all aredoing is that Kevin, you've
told me he's a buff history buffon this and you are too.
I mean, it sounds like you knowa lot, but he knows a lot more.
Is that what you're doing?

Speaker 4 (01:08:49):
He knows a lot more.
He could be his own tour guide.

Speaker 2 (01:08:56):
Okay, you could be the tour guide, but you're
obsessed with it too and y'allmet there and it's just the
coolest story ever.
I love it so much and it's justso neat to see how much you've
grown.
And I can't even wait to seehow this podcast goes and how
much joy it's going to bring you, because I know how much this
podcast has joy that it'sbrought me and just fulfillment
and the people that it's reached.
I would have never met you if Ihad never done this podcast or
any of the grow getters or anyof the clients that I've had

(01:09:18):
that I adore.
I mean, there's no like badapple.
There's just always thesejoyful human beings that are
just trying to live theirpassion and it's just so, so
wonderful.
So that's why I had to have youon the show, because I'm like I
have to share you witheverybody and that you will
share an honest, you know, takeon what this business has been.

(01:09:39):
It hasn't been all sunshinesand rainbows, has it.
I mean no, no, we've mademistakes, we've had hard times,
right.
I mean it hasn't been perfect.
It's been hard, but you've doneit and you focused on it, and
now you're starting this newventure with your business.
You've got all your wordingdown.

(01:09:59):
It's like every all your ducksare in a row, like everything
now is feels clear, and I thinkthat's.
I think that's why you feelconfident starting the podcast,
cause I think you're so muchmore clear about what you're
offering.
Would you agree with that?

Speaker 4 (01:10:06):
Oh yeah, A hundred percent.
Yeah, like, like I said, if wehad started it a couple of years
ago when we first had the idealike, talk about you know, your
first episodes are usually thosecringe moments and like oh my
gosh if we went back two yearsago and listened to original
episodes, we would be likeeverything has changed the name
of our products, that how wetalk about it, yes, calling

(01:10:29):
ourselves scavenger hunts backthen, like there's so many
different things that havechanged that.
Now we are clear, like you said.
Now we're clear with ourmessaging.

Speaker 2 (01:10:38):
Yeah, we're clear and we're full confident.

Speaker 4 (01:10:44):
And so now we're ready to take it to the next
level.
But it's not about providing apodcast that just goes
gangbusters and goes viral.
I mean same thing with socialmedia.
You don't post a piece ofcontent with like oh, if it
doesn't go viral, then I'vefailed.
There might be some of like Iwant it to do well, but you want
it to have connection.
You want, yes, you something um, entertain or educate or inform

(01:11:10):
in some way.
And that's the point with thepodcast too.
It's about building connectionand reestablishing the authority
, our authority, in the themepark space, and building that
connection about theme parks andhaving that community.
So if it leads to sales,fantastic.
If it goes viral, fantastic.

(01:11:32):
But it's really about justincreasing the awareness that we
exist and getting our name outthere.
That is the sole purpose ofthat.
And, yes, yes, have that goalin mind, it will happen.
Just podcast out there.
You are going to extend yourreach, yes, yes, and so that's

(01:11:52):
that's ultimately what it comesdown to.
And if it happens to do welland lead to sales, then
fantastic.

Speaker 2 (01:11:57):
Right, all the better .
Yeah, no, I agree, I thinkthat's amazing and it's such a
good attitude.
And you know we say we want totake action and go, like y'all
could have taken action and gone, but I think you knew in your
heart like just something wasfeeling heavy.
And it wasn't just that.
You were, you know, maybe alittle scared or whatever.
It was just like somethingdoesn't feel right and I think

(01:12:18):
y'all knew you didn't know whatit was exactly, but by working
through everything I've justwatched you gain that confidence
and clarity on all the wordsyou're saying and the words
you're using on your packagingand what you're calling this and
how you're showing up, and Ijust love it.
It's so awesome to seeno-transcript.

(01:13:03):
You don't know what to say, youdon't feel confident.
Please don't hesitate to reachout, because that's what I'm
here for.
Amanda is a perfect example.
She is like all in but wasdoing it, you know, in a way
where she feels like she couldmake a difference in this world,
and I think it's just sowonderful.
So I'm so proud of you, amanda,I'm so happy to get to know you

(01:13:24):
and just watch your progressand happy for Kevin and your mom
, kim.
I just think the whole thing isjust amazing.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome and I'm so gladyou've been here and we're going
to have you on in a few monthswhen you're feeling ready for
that, and we're going to circleback because we got to update
everybody.
I hear how this podcast goesand how this shifts your

(01:13:46):
business.

Speaker 4 (01:13:47):
Absolutely.
I'm excited.
I can't wait to officiallylaunch and start putting out
quality content.
It's going to be awesome.
It's going to be awesome.

Speaker 2 (01:13:55):
It's going to be amazing.
So well, that is it, I guess,unless there's anything else you
want to share.
And then until next time, and Ican't wait to hear this podcast
, I'm excited.
I'm going to be ready on myApple Podcasts app.
Be ready to listen to it.

Speaker 4 (01:14:09):
Thank you, I can't wait to.
I'll definitely be making ahuge announcement.
Talk about shouting yes, yeah,so people could follow you.

Speaker 2 (01:14:18):
They could follow you on Instagram right now they can
get your Facebook group.
They can get on your email list, because then, if they got on
your email list, you're going tonotify them via email and
they'll know right when youlaunch.
Is that right?

Speaker 4 (01:14:39):
actually our Facebook group is also live where the
park explores.
Okay, so you can go check thatout over on Facebook.
And shocker, just answer threequick questions and we will get
you in and and yeah, so it'severything that that you've
taught us since day one, um, but, but yeah, you'll be notified
there.
Uh, we actually did a little, alittle teaser of like hey guys,

(01:15:01):
we're recording yeah, I knowlike this is actually happening.

Speaker 2 (01:15:04):
We've turned up the heat a little bit.
I'm not simmering exactly.

Speaker 4 (01:15:08):
I know that podcast group has been up for a few
years now, but but you know, we,we're, we're going for it and
it's happening and it's going tobe amazing.
Yeah, um, but yeah, at where inthe park is where you can find
us on all the all the platformsand then our website, where, in
the parkcom um, you can scrolldown and go to our newsletter,

(01:15:29):
you can put your email, um to beon our email list, and we also
have some bonus goodies when yousign up.
So it's terrific.

Speaker 2 (01:15:40):
It's awesome.
Well, I'm so excited for you,amanda, and we will be in touch
very soon.
Thank you so much for beinghere.

Speaker 4 (01:15:48):
Okay, thanks for having me.
Bye.

Speaker 3 (01:15:55):
Now this episode may be over, but our relationship
does not have to end here.
Head on over tokimberlybrockcom and, yes, you
can get more valuableinformation for your journey and
you know what.
You don't need to go throughthis alone.
I would love to help you.
Thank you so much and have agreat day.

(01:16:16):
Bye.