August 23, 2024 • 15 mins
Curious about how to balance a thriving business and a fulfilling family life? Join us on the Female Founder Show as we host Nicole Leinbach, the brilliant mind behind Retail Minded and the Independent Retailer Conference. Nicole shares her transformative journey from the corporate world to entrepreneurship, highlighting the indispensable role of financial planning and strategic market research. Nicole's insights are tailored especially for aspiring female entrepreneurs, providing actionable advice on understanding market competition and leveraging technology and education to support small businesses.
In our candid conversation, Nicole opens up about the art of intertwining motherhood with entrepreneurial ventures. She reveals how a supportive partner and clear communication have been pivotal in her journey. Nicole also discusses her exciting future plans, which include more travel, writing additional books, and creating impactful content for small businesses. Tune in to discover how Nicole seamlessly blends her professional goals with personal fulfillment, offering a blueprint for a balanced and rewarding lifestyle. Connect with Nicole at RetailMinded.com and on social media under Retail Minded to follow her inspiring journey.
Thank you for tuning in to The Female Founder Show with host and entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick. If you like what you heard, please give us a review and let us know what you think?
Want to hear and see more great content to help you run your business more profitably? Go to ASBN.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Voice Over (00:07):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (00:18):
Hello everyone and welcome to the
Female Founder Show.
Today's guest is the founder ofRetail Minded and the
Independent Retailer Conference.
She's an author, a mother and aprofessor.
She's been recognized globallyas a top 10 retail thought
leader and is highly soughtafter speaker to small business
audiences around the world.
I'm talking about NicoleLeinbach.
(00:39):
Nicole, thank you so much forjoining us.
Nicole Leinbach (00:41):
Thanks for having me.
I'm looking forward to it.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (00:43):
Yes, this will be fun.
Now you were in the corporateworld and you made the
transition, the big leap intostarting your own company.
So can you start there and tellus how you started your
business?
Nicole Leinbach (00:54):
Yeah, you know, I was so fortunate to always
have an idea that I wanted towork within the business of
retail, and so I studied that incollege and very aggressively
pursued a career that took me tocompanies that included Adidas
America, franco Sardo Footwear,and I held some fantastic roles
on national levels and locallevels.
But long story short, I alsoknew that what I was learning
(01:19):
along that path, I should say,is I wanted to bring it into my
own business.
That both gave me time to beflexible for myself and my
family, but also to give back tosmall businesses, because that
was always a passion of mine.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (01:31):
Yeah, so many people get into their own
businesses for those veryreasons.
How did you find thattransition to be from corporate
to your own business?
Nicole Leinbach (01:40):
It was definitely an adjustment.
I mean, the first thing tothink about is budget.
Can you afford to do it?
And you know I was fortunate tobe able to do that.
But that's also when I wasapproached by where I went to
college to become an instructor,and so it did offset at the
time those first few years whereyou're just building back what
your expectation of income mightbe.
(02:00):
So that was always nice, andI'm still a professor there 17
years later.
And you know that was certainlyjust an opportunity to redefine
my daily life and how I wouldplan both my professional world
and personal world and balancebeing an entrepreneur along the
way.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (02:17):
Nice, nice.
Now you're an expert in retail,specifically retail technology,
which is hugely important postCOVID, so can you talk to us
about retail minded and howyou're helping small businesses
with that?
Nicole Leinbach (02:29):
Yes, you know, one of the great things about
technology in general is that itbrings clarity that the human
touch and the human eye alonesimply cannot do to all types of
businesses.
But when we look at retailspecifically, there's moving
inventory, there's logistics ofdelivery.
Certainly, during COVID we all,as consumers, had a more
familiar understanding of thatbecause of delays of shipments
(02:50):
and across the world things arebeing shipped right.
So inventory is managed bytechnology.
But more than just inventory ofsocial media, you have email
connectivity to your customers.
So technology, it's really ahuge driver of commerce, both
brick and mortar as well asonline.
So Retail Minded supports avariety of businesses in mostly
(03:11):
content and education.
So I say that news, educationand support is what defines
retail-minded and our audienceis primarily small business
owners, but our clients areprimarily technology companies
and a variety of other companies.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (03:24):
Okay, cool, Great.
Now what advice would you giveto those women who might be
thinking about starting abusiness?
Nicole Leinbach (03:31):
Such a great question because the first and
foremost thing I would say is gofor it, you know.
But I would also say do yourresearch, take the time to bring
clarity to yourself and whatyou both want to deliver and can
offer and how you're going todo that.
The competition is tough outthere and, as much as we want to
put forth our best effort,sometimes we are also not
recognizing the challenges ofthe marketplace.
(03:53):
So look for the competition ofwho might be your competition
and understand them, so that youcan both compete as well as
learn from them and maybe offersomething different.
You know my unique role ispretty niche, but I will tell
you there's others like me andover the years we've become
advocates and supporters of eachother, but that also comes with
time and respect.
So certainly look out for whatthe competition is, what you can
(04:18):
uniquely offer in this business.
You might create and thenidentify a strategy for three
months, six months, 12 monthsand even five years ahead, so
that you have a strongunderstanding of what you have
to meet in order to reach thosegoals.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (04:32):
Great advice.
Great advice there.
Now you're a mother of four andextremely busy, so how have you
balanced the demands ofentrepreneurship with other
aspects of your life, such asfamily?
Nicole Leinbach (04:43):
You know my, my fiance, is also an entrepreneur
.
We're a blended family, two andtwo together, four kids, three
dogs, and he simply understandswhat it's like to have a role
that is not always traditional.
It's not defined by a nine tofive expectation, if you will,
so that's great, Having afantastic partner.
Number one to me is what'sgoing to be the best thing you
(05:05):
can do as being an entrepreneur,because and if you don't, you
can absolutely do it but for meit's really nice having those
four kids and three dogs, and Itravel quite a bit for business,
so that's great.
But also just communication I'mbeing very clear of, not only
to your children but to yourpartner and even to yourself.
You know, I have a map thatreally is more of a calendar for
(05:27):
our family and they understandOK, mom's out of town this week,
but she's here this week, youknow, and those are just
realities of our world.
But we definitely make it workand I will tell you, I even
recently just brought my 14 yearold daughter on a business trip
and she joined me on stage, andyou know.
So sometimes our out of ways,out of the ordinary experiences
(05:47):
can benefit our kiddos in otherways as well.
They're learning.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (05:50):
Definitely.
Yeah, the support is soimportant from your spouse or
significant other, so I'm gladyou brought that up.
And speaking of the familybalance and your daughter, you
recently wrote a book with yourdaughter, shadow Siblings, so
can you talk to us about thebook and what the process was
like working with your daughter?
Nicole Leinbach (06:09):
Yeah.
So during COVID we had a littleextra time in our hands and
when my son was three years old,he lost all his hair to a
condition called alopecia, whichis it's non-life threatening.
There's really no other sideeffect other than he has no hair
on his body.
He has the most advanced form.
So head to toe, no hairanywhere.
And my daughter, along the way Iwas able to observe held a
(06:30):
really unique role in being asibling to someone with special
needs attention or simply acircumstance that they got a lot
of attention and there's otherkids out there like that.
So together we wrote this bookcalled Shadow Siblings and she
has since spoke at schools andcamps and even via Zooms to
organizations about what it'slike to be a sibling to someone
(06:52):
in that position, what it's liketo be a sibling to someone in
that position, and it's justbeen such a great experience to
both work on the book and talkabout marketing and business and
margin and markup and therealities of operating.
It's not just sell a book, makemoney.
There's a lot of stuff to getthere right.
So she was excited about themessage, but she was also
excited about the business.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (07:10):
Oh, that's great, and the message is
helping other people.
So you're teaching her at ayoung age that you can be
rewarded financially and behelping people at the same time.
That's huge, absolutely yes,yes.
So now we also talked beforethe show about a new project
that you're launching calledRetail Uncensored.
I know there are a lot ofpeople watching today that could
get a lot out of this, so couldyou share with us what that?
Nicole Leinbach (07:34):
Absolutely.
You know, one of the thingsover my expansive career you
know I'm 20 plus years withinthe retail category is learning
Right, I've learned so much andI want to give back, and so a
buddy of mine within theindustry his name is John Lawson
and myself together arelaunching Retail Uncensored,
where it's more or less acoaching program.
It's sort of like a six weeksummer school, if you will, that
(07:56):
keeps continuously growing.
As you pass six weeks you havethe opportunity to do another
six weeks to elevate, and whatwe're doing is we're teaching
the business of retail, becausenowadays you can want to start a
small business within theretail sector and have no idea
where to go.
Of course there's Amazon andEtsy or a brick-and-mortar store
, but what does that really mean?
We talk about the technologyyou need.
Voice Over (08:26):
We talk about the integration of technology that
you need payment category theresponsibilities, even the I
hate to say it the ways not toget scammed when sourcing
inventory.
Nicole Leinbach (08:29):
You know, there's a lot of things that
we've learned over the years andwe've seen people go through
their own struggles, so we'rejust bringing a lot of clarity
with actionable steps so thatthey can apply it to their
businesses and hopefully buildtheir own business that makes
them happy.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (08:43):
Yeah, Now would this help people, whether
it's brick and mortar ore-commerce.
Nicole Leinbach (08:48):
Yes.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (08:48):
All types of retail.
That's great.
Exactly yes.
Nicole Leinbach (08:50):
Because it's really the retail operations
behind the scenes and a lot ofthe base of that goes either
direction, and then we'll haveadvanced experiences that are
more specific.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (09:00):
Okay, and when does this launch?
April 1st, 2023.
So it's coming here soon, verysoon.
Good Well, congratulations onthat.
Thank you In your free time, ifyou have any.
After all of this, you'vecreated the first sexual
wellness trade show that kicksoff in July.
Talk to us about that.
Nicole Leinbach (09:16):
Yeah, I'm really excited about this
because one of the other thingsthat I define myself as a retail
geek and that means I look at alot of data and one of the
things that data keeps tellingus is that the category of
sexual wellness is growing.
It's becoming more mainstream.
You can go to your localWalgreens, sephora, target and
buy various items within whatwould be considered sexual
(09:39):
wellness, and so with that, Istarted to go to a lot of trade
shows and various experiencesthat I didn't feel really
defined the category as best asthey could.
They really pushed themselvesinto different sectors, whether
it's adult novelty or maybe itwas considered alternative
lifestyle, but nobody narrowedin on the wellness of our sexual
(09:59):
health, and so that includeseverything from reproduction to,
you know, lotions, lubricants,health wellness.
Of course, you know there isthe conversation that you know
pleasure products will be there,but it is everything that falls
into this, and we're doing sowith an elevated approach so
that it really supportsconsumers, but beginning on that
(10:21):
B2B side.
So business to business tradeshow that's cool, that's cool.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (10:26):
And you have experience hosting
conferences and trade showsbefore.
Since you're the founder of theIndependent Retailer Conference
, Can you talk to us about thatand who would benefit from going
to that conference?
Nicole Leinbach (10:37):
Yeah, in fact, we just had our most recent one
last week in las vegas.
We hold it on site at asdmarket week, which is another
great trade show.
It's about 40 000 attendee plustrade show, where retailers
source their inventory, whetherthey're selling online or brick
and mortar, and so we'vepartnered with them for about 10
years now and we produce thisconference delivering real-time
(10:58):
education.
The idea is to engage, learnand connect.
We want our attendees to engagewith our speakers, learn from
them and ultimately connect withthe brands that are being
represented there, and these aretypically going to be service
providers, technology-focusedcompanies that are driving the
operations of retail.
So, whether it's online oroffline, those are the types of
companies you can expect.
What is really great about it?
It's very informal.
So, whether it's online oroffline, those are the types of
(11:19):
companies you can expect.
What is really great about it?
It's very informal.
So the word conference cansometimes be misinterpreted as
stuffy or just complex, but it'sactually a very relaxed
environment where we welcomepeople to talk to each other,
learn from each other, and thegoal is really to boost your
business.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (11:36):
Okay, great , I love that.
Now I have a friend starting ane-commerce business and she's
got it off the ground, but shejust it's in a saturated market
but she's got beautiful items tosell.
What do you think she should doto make herself stand out from
the rest?
Nicole Leinbach (11:53):
Well, the first thing I would say is that make
sure that her branding is strong.
So whatever her name is, logoand, of course, all those social
media handles that you shouldcapture and Collectively, make
sure that they mimic each other.
If they vary, it's hard foryour customers to find you
between one spot and the other.
And then make sure you havestrong and consistent
communication.
(12:13):
I always offer the five seedsof communication anytime you're
launching a business.
And to be clear, concise,correct, courteous and courteous
is really just your brand tone,whatever that voice might be,
so someone else who might behumorous depending on the brand
and consistent.
So clear, concise, correct,courteous and consistent across
all of the touch points in whichcustomers engage.
(12:35):
The advantage that most of ushave as business leaders is that
we are also customers ourselves.
So if your own business is notreaching customers and
destination that you as aconsumer are, make sure you're
there as well.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (12:48):
Okay, great advice for anyone starting a
business or any business reallyNow.
Your drive is so impressive andthe fact that you're helping so
many people makes it evenbetter.
What has been your biggestsuccess since starting your own
business?
Nicole Leinbach (13:02):
What a great question.
It's a challenging question,though, because I mean, I would
like to believe that my greatestsuccess is actually my family,
and so in building my business Iknow it's cliche, but like I
get to come home, I get to bringmy you know daughters on
business trips, I get to take myson on experiences that have
been designed more or lessthrough business.
(13:22):
So family is really the reasonwhy I do so much of this.
It allows me to have alifestyle that I prefer, and so
with that, I feel like mybusiness is really.
The reward to it is having alife I love living, and that
comes back to my family.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (13:38):
That is the best answer, for sure.
Now, where do you see yourselfin the next five years?
Nicole Leinbach (13:46):
Oh gosh, I mean , in the next five years the
kiddos will all be out of thehouse Someone's still in college
or whatever they prefer to do.
So I look forward to travelingmore and I always say that
during that timeframe I'd liketo write another book.
I've written a few now, but Ithink my goal would be to write
more books, do stronger contentexperiences and travel the world
.
I've written a few now, but Ithink my goal would be to write
more books, do stronger contentexperiences and travel the world
(14:07):
.
I've been fortunate to go, youknow, australia, amsterdam,
various places speaking, but tobe able to write and travel, you
know, as a result of writing,you hear many times.
So I think that's what I lookforward to just traveling the
world and sharing, you know,hopefully, positive insight that
supports other small businesses.
That's what I look forward tojust traveling the world and
sharing, you know, hopefully,positive insight that supports
other small businesses.
That's fantastic.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (14:27):
Now for those businesses that would like
to get a hold of you.
What is the best way to do that?
Nicole Leinbach (14:32):
So retailmindedcom is our anchor
website and you can find me onTwitter at Retail Minded.
The only exception would beInstagram is Retail Minded World
, and that's a little bit moreof my personal slash
professional life, but I lovesharing, so Okay, great.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (14:46):
Well, nicole, thank you so much for
joining us.
We really appreciate it and wehope to get to talk to you again
soon.
Nicole Leinbach (14:51):
Thank, you for having me.
Voice Over (14:53):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
If you're a female founder andwould like to help other female
founders with your inspiringstory, we would love to hear
from you.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (15:11):
This has been a JBF Business Media
production.
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (00:18):
Hello everyone and welcome to the
Female Founder Show.
Today's guest is the founder ofRetail Minded and the
Independent Retailer Conference.
She's an author, a mother and aprofessor.
She's been recognized globallyas a top 10 retail thought
leader and is highly soughtafter speaker to small business
audiences around the world.
I'm talking about NicoleLeinbach.
(00:39):
Nicole, thank you so much forjoining us.
Nicole Leinbach (00:41):
Thanks for having me.
I'm looking forward to it.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (00:43):
Yes, this will be fun.
Now you were in the corporateworld and you made the
transition, the big leap intostarting your own company.
So can you start there and tellus how you started your
business?
Nicole Leinbach (00:54):
Yeah, you know, I was so fortunate to always
have an idea that I wanted towork within the business of
retail, and so I studied that incollege and very aggressively
pursued a career that took me tocompanies that included Adidas
America, franco Sardo Footwear,and I held some fantastic roles
on national levels and locallevels.
But long story short, I alsoknew that what I was learning
(01:19):
along that path, I should say,is I wanted to bring it into my
own business.
That both gave me time to beflexible for myself and my
family, but also to give back tosmall businesses, because that
was always a passion of mine.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (01:31):
Yeah, so many people get into their own
businesses for those veryreasons.
How did you find thattransition to be from corporate
to your own business?
Nicole Leinbach (01:40):
It was definitely an adjustment.
I mean, the first thing tothink about is budget.
Can you afford to do it?
And you know I was fortunate tobe able to do that.
But that's also when I wasapproached by where I went to
college to become an instructor,and so it did offset at the
time those first few years whereyou're just building back what
your expectation of income mightbe.
(02:00):
So that was always nice, andI'm still a professor there 17
years later.
And you know that was certainlyjust an opportunity to redefine
my daily life and how I wouldplan both my professional world
and personal world and balancebeing an entrepreneur along the
way.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (02:17):
Nice, nice.
Now you're an expert in retail,specifically retail technology,
which is hugely important postCOVID, so can you talk to us
about retail minded and howyou're helping small businesses
with that?
Nicole Leinbach (02:29):
Yes, you know, one of the great things about
technology in general is that itbrings clarity that the human
touch and the human eye alonesimply cannot do to all types of
businesses.
But when we look at retailspecifically, there's moving
inventory, there's logistics ofdelivery.
Certainly, during COVID we all,as consumers, had a more
familiar understanding of thatbecause of delays of shipments
(02:50):
and across the world things arebeing shipped right.
So inventory is managed bytechnology.
But more than just inventory ofsocial media, you have email
connectivity to your customers.
So technology, it's really ahuge driver of commerce, both
brick and mortar as well asonline.
So Retail Minded supports avariety of businesses in mostly
(03:11):
content and education.
So I say that news, educationand support is what defines
retail-minded and our audienceis primarily small business
owners, but our clients areprimarily technology companies
and a variety of other companies.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (03:24):
Okay, cool, Great.
Now what advice would you giveto those women who might be
thinking about starting abusiness?
Nicole Leinbach (03:31):
Such a great question because the first and
foremost thing I would say is gofor it, you know.
But I would also say do yourresearch, take the time to bring
clarity to yourself and whatyou both want to deliver and can
offer and how you're going todo that.
The competition is tough outthere and, as much as we want to
put forth our best effort,sometimes we are also not
recognizing the challenges ofthe marketplace.
(03:53):
So look for the competition ofwho might be your competition
and understand them, so that youcan both compete as well as
learn from them and maybe offersomething different.
You know my unique role ispretty niche, but I will tell
you there's others like me andover the years we've become
advocates and supporters of eachother, but that also comes with
time and respect.
So certainly look out for whatthe competition is, what you can
(04:18):
uniquely offer in this business.
You might create and thenidentify a strategy for three
months, six months, 12 monthsand even five years ahead, so
that you have a strongunderstanding of what you have
to meet in order to reach thosegoals.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (04:32):
Great advice.
Great advice there.
Now you're a mother of four andextremely busy, so how have you
balanced the demands ofentrepreneurship with other
aspects of your life, such asfamily?
Nicole Leinbach (04:43):
You know my, my fiance, is also an entrepreneur
.
We're a blended family, two andtwo together, four kids, three
dogs, and he simply understandswhat it's like to have a role
that is not always traditional.
It's not defined by a nine tofive expectation, if you will,
so that's great, Having afantastic partner.
Number one to me is what'sgoing to be the best thing you
(05:05):
can do as being an entrepreneur,because and if you don't, you
can absolutely do it but for meit's really nice having those
four kids and three dogs, and Itravel quite a bit for business,
so that's great.
But also just communication I'mbeing very clear of, not only
to your children but to yourpartner and even to yourself.
You know, I have a map thatreally is more of a calendar for
(05:27):
our family and they understandOK, mom's out of town this week,
but she's here this week, youknow, and those are just
realities of our world.
But we definitely make it workand I will tell you, I even
recently just brought my 14 yearold daughter on a business trip
and she joined me on stage, andyou know.
So sometimes our out of ways,out of the ordinary experiences
(05:47):
can benefit our kiddos in otherways as well.
They're learning.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (05:50):
Definitely.
Yeah, the support is soimportant from your spouse or
significant other, so I'm gladyou brought that up.
And speaking of the familybalance and your daughter, you
recently wrote a book with yourdaughter, shadow Siblings, so
can you talk to us about thebook and what the process was
like working with your daughter?
Nicole Leinbach (06:09):
Yeah.
So during COVID we had a littleextra time in our hands and
when my son was three years old,he lost all his hair to a
condition called alopecia, whichis it's non-life threatening.
There's really no other sideeffect other than he has no hair
on his body.
He has the most advanced form.
So head to toe, no hairanywhere.
And my daughter, along the way Iwas able to observe held a
(06:30):
really unique role in being asibling to someone with special
needs attention or simply acircumstance that they got a lot
of attention and there's otherkids out there like that.
So together we wrote this bookcalled Shadow Siblings and she
has since spoke at schools andcamps and even via Zooms to
organizations about what it'slike to be a sibling to someone
(06:52):
in that position, what it's liketo be a sibling to someone in
that position, and it's justbeen such a great experience to
both work on the book and talkabout marketing and business and
margin and markup and therealities of operating.
It's not just sell a book, makemoney.
There's a lot of stuff to getthere right.
So she was excited about themessage, but she was also
excited about the business.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (07:10):
Oh, that's great, and the message is
helping other people.
So you're teaching her at ayoung age that you can be
rewarded financially and behelping people at the same time.
That's huge, absolutely yes,yes.
So now we also talked beforethe show about a new project
that you're launching calledRetail Uncensored.
I know there are a lot ofpeople watching today that could
get a lot out of this, so couldyou share with us what that?
Nicole Leinbach (07:34):
Absolutely.
You know, one of the thingsover my expansive career you
know I'm 20 plus years withinthe retail category is learning
Right, I've learned so much andI want to give back, and so a
buddy of mine within theindustry his name is John Lawson
and myself together arelaunching Retail Uncensored,
where it's more or less acoaching program.
It's sort of like a six weeksummer school, if you will, that
(07:56):
keeps continuously growing.
As you pass six weeks you havethe opportunity to do another
six weeks to elevate, and whatwe're doing is we're teaching
the business of retail, becausenowadays you can want to start a
small business within theretail sector and have no idea
where to go.
Of course there's Amazon andEtsy or a brick-and-mortar store
, but what does that really mean?
We talk about the technologyyou need.
Voice Over (08:26):
We talk about the integration of technology that
you need payment category theresponsibilities, even the I
hate to say it the ways not toget scammed when sourcing
inventory.
Nicole Leinbach (08:29):
You know, there's a lot of things that
we've learned over the years andwe've seen people go through
their own struggles, so we'rejust bringing a lot of clarity
with actionable steps so thatthey can apply it to their
businesses and hopefully buildtheir own business that makes
them happy.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (08:43):
Yeah, Now would this help people, whether
it's brick and mortar ore-commerce.
Nicole Leinbach (08:48):
Yes.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (08:48):
All types of retail.
That's great.
Exactly yes.
Nicole Leinbach (08:50):
Because it's really the retail operations
behind the scenes and a lot ofthe base of that goes either
direction, and then we'll haveadvanced experiences that are
more specific.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (09:00):
Okay, and when does this launch?
April 1st, 2023.
So it's coming here soon, verysoon.
Good Well, congratulations onthat.
Thank you In your free time, ifyou have any.
After all of this, you'vecreated the first sexual
wellness trade show that kicksoff in July.
Talk to us about that.
Nicole Leinbach (09:16):
Yeah, I'm really excited about this
because one of the other thingsthat I define myself as a retail
geek and that means I look at alot of data and one of the
things that data keeps tellingus is that the category of
sexual wellness is growing.
It's becoming more mainstream.
You can go to your localWalgreens, sephora, target and
buy various items within whatwould be considered sexual
(09:39):
wellness, and so with that, Istarted to go to a lot of trade
shows and various experiencesthat I didn't feel really
defined the category as best asthey could.
They really pushed themselvesinto different sectors, whether
it's adult novelty or maybe itwas considered alternative
lifestyle, but nobody narrowedin on the wellness of our sexual
(09:59):
health, and so that includeseverything from reproduction to,
you know, lotions, lubricants,health wellness.
Of course, you know there isthe conversation that you know
pleasure products will be there,but it is everything that falls
into this, and we're doing sowith an elevated approach so
that it really supportsconsumers, but beginning on that
(10:21):
B2B side.
So business to business tradeshow that's cool, that's cool.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (10:26):
And you have experience hosting
conferences and trade showsbefore.
Since you're the founder of theIndependent Retailer Conference
, Can you talk to us about thatand who would benefit from going
to that conference?
Nicole Leinbach (10:37):
Yeah, in fact, we just had our most recent one
last week in las vegas.
We hold it on site at asdmarket week, which is another
great trade show.
It's about 40 000 attendee plustrade show, where retailers
source their inventory, whetherthey're selling online or brick
and mortar, and so we'vepartnered with them for about 10
years now and we produce thisconference delivering real-time
(10:58):
education.
The idea is to engage, learnand connect.
We want our attendees to engagewith our speakers, learn from
them and ultimately connect withthe brands that are being
represented there, and these aretypically going to be service
providers, technology-focusedcompanies that are driving the
operations of retail.
So, whether it's online oroffline, those are the types of
companies you can expect.
What is really great about it?
It's very informal.
So, whether it's online oroffline, those are the types of
(11:19):
companies you can expect.
What is really great about it?
It's very informal.
So the word conference cansometimes be misinterpreted as
stuffy or just complex, but it'sactually a very relaxed
environment where we welcomepeople to talk to each other,
learn from each other, and thegoal is really to boost your
business.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (11:36):
Okay, great , I love that.
Now I have a friend starting ane-commerce business and she's
got it off the ground, but shejust it's in a saturated market
but she's got beautiful items tosell.
What do you think she should doto make herself stand out from
the rest?
Nicole Leinbach (11:53):
Well, the first thing I would say is that make
sure that her branding is strong.
So whatever her name is, logoand, of course, all those social
media handles that you shouldcapture and Collectively, make
sure that they mimic each other.
If they vary, it's hard foryour customers to find you
between one spot and the other.
And then make sure you havestrong and consistent
communication.
(12:13):
I always offer the five seedsof communication anytime you're
launching a business.
And to be clear, concise,correct, courteous and courteous
is really just your brand tone,whatever that voice might be,
so someone else who might behumorous depending on the brand
and consistent.
So clear, concise, correct,courteous and consistent across
all of the touch points in whichcustomers engage.
(12:35):
The advantage that most of ushave as business leaders is that
we are also customers ourselves.
So if your own business is notreaching customers and
destination that you as aconsumer are, make sure you're
there as well.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (12:48):
Okay, great advice for anyone starting a
business or any business reallyNow.
Your drive is so impressive andthe fact that you're helping so
many people makes it evenbetter.
What has been your biggestsuccess since starting your own
business?
Nicole Leinbach (13:02):
What a great question.
It's a challenging question,though, because I mean, I would
like to believe that my greatestsuccess is actually my family,
and so in building my business Iknow it's cliche, but like I
get to come home, I get to bringmy you know daughters on
business trips, I get to take myson on experiences that have
been designed more or lessthrough business.
(13:22):
So family is really the reasonwhy I do so much of this.
It allows me to have alifestyle that I prefer, and so
with that, I feel like mybusiness is really.
The reward to it is having alife I love living, and that
comes back to my family.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (13:38):
That is the best answer, for sure.
Now, where do you see yourselfin the next five years?
Nicole Leinbach (13:46):
Oh gosh, I mean , in the next five years the
kiddos will all be out of thehouse Someone's still in college
or whatever they prefer to do.
So I look forward to travelingmore and I always say that
during that timeframe I'd liketo write another book.
I've written a few now, but Ithink my goal would be to write
more books, do stronger contentexperiences and travel the world
.
I've written a few now, but Ithink my goal would be to write
more books, do stronger contentexperiences and travel the world
(14:07):
.
I've been fortunate to go, youknow, australia, amsterdam,
various places speaking, but tobe able to write and travel, you
know, as a result of writing,you hear many times.
So I think that's what I lookforward to just traveling the
world and sharing, you know,hopefully, positive insight that
supports other small businesses.
That's what I look forward tojust traveling the world and
sharing, you know, hopefully,positive insight that supports
other small businesses.
That's fantastic.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (14:27):
Now for those businesses that would like
to get a hold of you.
What is the best way to do that?
Nicole Leinbach (14:32):
So retailmindedcom is our anchor
website and you can find me onTwitter at Retail Minded.
The only exception would beInstagram is Retail Minded World
, and that's a little bit moreof my personal slash
professional life, but I lovesharing, so Okay, great.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (14:46):
Well, nicole, thank you so much for
joining us.
We really appreciate it and wehope to get to talk to you again
soon.
Nicole Leinbach (14:51):
Thank, you for having me.
Voice Over (14:53):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
If you're a female founder andwould like to help other female
founders with your inspiringstory, we would love to hear
from you.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (15:11):
This has been a JBF Business Media
production.
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