Elisabelle Press on launching a letterpress business from accounting to entrepreneurship

Hello and welcome to the life of an entrepreneur. I'm Jan McCarthy with Entrepreneurial Voice and we are here today broadcasting live from skidrowstudios.com in downtown Los Angeles and we're here every Tuesday at 11 a.m pacific standard time and we're here to talk about business and how to start one and some of the challenges that come along with starting and launching and running a business and some of the wonderful things that come about from being an entrepreneur. We're going to share business tips and just general information and if you have any questions you can call us and the number is 1-800-893-9562. We'd love to hear from you if you have questions for myself or my very special guests that I'm excited to have here today which is Elisabelle Press. Well it's Elisabelle and the name of her company is Elisabelle Press and welcome. I'm so happy to have you here. Thank you so much for having me. So let's get started and let's talk all about how you went about launching a letterpress company. Well that's a big question. Tell me everything. I'll just be silent for the next hour. Sounds good. I guess kind of have to rewind a few years. After I went to school I went to UCLA. And what did you study there? I studied accounting and economics. So something totally different from letterpress and design. And I did what you're supposed to do after school. I got a good job at a firm. I was working as an auditor actually down the street at Deloitte in downtown LA. And I spent four years in a firm and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I had a job and I speak and do interviews and tell people that this is the best place on the planet to work. And yet, like I said, I would go home at night and I just, I wasn't happy. So you felt like a fraud? A little bit. And I didn't feel good about that because I kind of pride myself on, you know, being pretty genuine and wearing my emotions on my sleeve. And that was really hard to put on that face every day and feel good about it. And I was meeting these really wonderful students who, you know, bright eyed and excited about starting their careers. And not that it was a bad place to go work. It just, it wasn't for me. And so I just, I couldn't reconcile that. And when you were growing up, what did you think about that you wanted to do when you grew up? Did you always know that you wanted or always think that you wanted to get involved in something math oriented? So I probably had a lot of career choices as a kid. One reason why I was drawn to accounting, I was just really good at math and science in high school. So I actually started at UCLA as an engineer and then switched to accounting because that was just a little too rough. And I think I made that decision because I was good at math and science, but it wasn't the right one for me again. But accounting came so naturally, I still enjoy it. And so that was a kind of a natural switch from school. But rewind back to being a kid, like I thought I was going to be a good kid. I was like, I'm going to be a good kid. I'm going to be an FBI agent. Well, that's investigative skills. A forensic criminologist was one of my choices as well. So always kind of technical things. But at the same time, I had my dad to look up to. And my dad is an entrepreneur. When he was in his 30s, he started his business when he had four little kids running around. And so I've always just admired him and look up to him. And I've enjoyed seeing him attain a lifestyle where he can be a dad and hang out with us. And if me and my sister who live here in LA need him to come for the weekend, he can work his schedule around and do that. And so in the back of my mind, even though I was pursuing maybe more technical fields, I realized that one day I would love to work for myself. I just wasn't really sure what that would be, how I would do it. And so I started doing that. And even though, like I said, I was pursuing more technical fields, as a kid, my mom had us always doing crafts. I took calligraphy classes. And those are things that I enjoyed doing outside of school. So when I left my accounting firm job, I was looking for something that could marry those two aspects of my life, the creative side, as well as the technical side. And that's a really good point. And that's a really rare quality to have, is to be able to go back and forth. Yeah. So you understood that you had a really great ability to be able to do both and understand, recognizing who you are is a very important part, I think, of being an entrepreneur and knowing what you love and knowing also what you're good at, recognizing that, understanding what your strengths are. I was trying to find what that would be. And when I quit my job, I didn't have a plan. I was just discussing this with my husband recently, that I'm the type of person that once I make a decision, that's the decision. I'm not going to sit on that decision for a year. So I knew I couldn't be there anymore and in Los Angeles at the time. So I literally quit that week. And I knew that I needed to clear my head and get a chance to think about what the next step were before, you know, I just stuck around too long. So I moved back home to Salinas. Well, let me just stop there for just a second, a little pause and say that's another really good quality is to be able to make decisions. Thank you. So that's a really, it's great to be able to do that. It's good. Thank you. If you're, if you're like, should I, shouldn't I, you know, you'll miss the boat. So good for you. Yeah. So I made a very, it was a, it was a well thought out decision. Yeah. So I made a very, it was a, it was a well thought out decision. Yeah. So I made a very, it was a, it was a well thought out decision. But it was very, it seemed to a lot of folks very quick. But I moved home. I couldn't afford my fancy LA lifestyle without my good salary. So I had to get back home. And while I was up there, I took a job at J.Crew, which was one of the most fun jobs I've probably ever had. And it was just such a contrast from being in a very corporate setting to letting people into dressing rooms. But doing that kept gas in my car and just allowed me the space that I needed to think for a few months. And during that time, I went up to San Francisco and I took some classes at a place called the San Francisco Center for the Book. They offer calligraphy classes and book binding courses, as well as letterpress classes. And I immediately fell in love. So I had taken just one class and it was, I can't recall if it was on a Saturday or a Wednesday night, but it was how to, create, I think it was just printing business cards. It was a very simple, a few hour course. And like I said, I fell in love. And so I tried to create my own curriculum for myself from what they were offering. And it took, I want to say like six months to take all of the letterpress courses that they offered. Because they were again, super random, you know, two Wednesday nights or Saturday night here. And I would stay with friends who live in San Francisco and just kind of soaked it all up. And that was my, my alternative to going back to school or going back to art school. I just figured I could take workshops and figure it out. And one of the reasons why I just knew that it was a perfect place for me, the letterpress world, was because I love the challenge and the technical side of printing. You have to be very anal type A personality to enjoy the challenge of that. And some projects are straightforward and others are very challenging. And even though the math is simple, there's still technical aspects involved. But at the same time, on the front end, before you actually print something, you get to flex your creative muscles and think about a project all from scratch. So when I was taking those workshops, all those things were clicking. Like, wow, okay, this could fulfill all of those things that I'm looking for. And after, actually, it was, mid that six months or so of taking those courses, I was talking to my dad and saying, okay, well, what should I do? You know, do I just keep doing this? Do I go to school? Like a lot of people are telling me to. And he, of course, just said, why don't you just do it and figure it out? So I posted an ad on, it's similar to Craigslist for printers, but it's called briarpress.org. And I wrote out the type of press that I wanted. And it was based on kind of learning from the different workshops. And for the first week, I was getting correspondences from people from Atlanta and Baltimore. And I thought, okay, if I want to make this happen, I not only have to purchase it, but figure out how to get it from Baltimore back to California, which was crazy. But then within a week, a gentleman from Napa contacted me and told me that he had what I wanted. And Napa is just a great place to be. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. It's just a few hours away from where I grew up. So it was perfect. I wrote him back immediately and told him, yes, I'll take it. We'll be there in a few days. And we took my dad's truck up, and it fit in the back of a regular pickup truck rather than having to get a big moving truck. And we moved it back home, and it sat in a warehouse for a few months while I was still kind of figuring it out. When I arrived in Napa to purchase it out of this gentleman's barn, he asked, do you know what you're doing? doing? And I said, no. And he advised that I needed to do a little bit more research and come back to him again because I needed tools to actually make the printer work. And I needed my furniture and I needed, I just needed a lot of different things, which I didn't know what they were. I was calling ink paint and just all the wrong terms. And he, so lovely. And he just said, Alyssa, you can never call ink paint. All these things that I was just doing wrong. What a gift. What a gift to be able to find someone who's wise and, and apparently loved, loved the business like you were, were starting to. Yes. So I guess that's how it got started, I suppose. And the beginning of this story was getting my press in Napa and that, and slowly acquiring more tools from him and getting in the warehouse and just kind of playing around and figuring it out. So you kept taking classes, you started kind of experimenting on your own. And when was that moment that you said, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready. Yeah, I did. I think probably it was towards the end of 2011, about to start 2012. I'd been talking about it with friends and family and just telling them I'm starting to do this. And I started creating greeting cards on my own because of course I had no clients, so I had no one to print for. I was just printing for myself. And then someone approached me and said, we want you to design and print our wedding invitations. And I was floored, of course, because, you know, I, at the time I thought it was an excellent printer, but I look back on my early work and I think, wow, I can't believe someone hired me just seeing these few things. But they did. And I am so grateful they did. I, it was, yeah, I guess the winter of 2011, that was the time where I was like, okay, well, this has got to shift from kind of a hobby slash figuring it out to actually turning into a business where I start to think about pricing and timelines and sourcing papers and how that all works. Moved from an experiment, if you will, to a business. So when you got that first order for doing the wedding invitations, that was the moment. So you said yes, and then you figured you would figure it out. And that's one of my favorite mottos is say yes, and then figure out how. Exactly. But at that moment you said, okay, wow, this could be a business. Did you go ahead and take the steps to formalize that? Yes. I had probably already done that prior to the very first, client, just with the advice from my dad going and, you know, getting a DBA and setting up bank accounts so that I would separate, you know, very basic, but separate my money when I was ordering supplies and that kind of thing. Right. Which is another good piece of advice that everyone should know. Yeah. So yes, in that small way, it was formalized. Um, I hadn't really worked out like a proper algorithm yet for my pricing, but I just figured it out for that first job and we made what was okay for me and okay for the client. Um, so that's, that's pretty much about as formal as it was at first. Right. Um, I'm trying to recall. I don't remember if I had a logo at that point or not. That would have been another piece of the formality. Yeah. And, and you made the decision to name it after yourself, Elisabelle Press. Uh, was there ever a thought of what is a catchy name or, uh, anything like that, that led you to make that decision? Um, I do recall having brainstorming sessions probably with my family and my boyfriend at the time, who's now my husband, talking about different names and nothing ever stuck, um, or sounded original. And I, I love my maiden name, Belle. I love that last name. And I knew that one day I would get married and I'd take my husband's name, but I would always want to have a little piece of that with me. So, um, that's one little way to do it. And, um, when you think about different companies, whether they're clothing companies or design studios, a lot of times it just has the person's name on it. And I just thought that was classic. Yeah. Yeah. Now, did you put together, so you, you went out on a limb, you brought, bought this press because obviously you couldn't do your work without doing, without having a press, right? Unless you were doing it all by hand and, and you were taking letter press classes. So you kind of needed the press to be able to do all of that. Um, so you bought the press just, uh, you obviously had a vision at that point and trusted your, yourself. Uh, but did you, and you even went so far as to go ahead and open up a company. I don't know if you, at that moment, you were kind of thinking, well, I can do this on the side and, and this will be fun. And, um, but did you sit down and say, okay, I'm going to put together a, a business plan and, and really see whether this would be a viable business? I did. I don't remember where in the timeline that happened, but I definitely did that exercise and worked on projections. Um, and it was more, kind of for me to figure out what type of services should I be offering as a print shop to make it a viable business. I wasn't setting out to make a million dollars, but I wanted to create a small company that I could enjoy what I do every day, potentially have an employee or two, um, and help support them and live a, live a nice lifestyle. Um, and so by exploring, exploring the different avenues of revenue, that was a good indicator to me of where the business could go. For example, there's in my current business, I do a decent amount of, all of that I do mostly is custom work and some of it is business to business custom work. Other work is, um, for weddings. But when I was first starting, I was exploring the idea of wholesale. And so I had to kind of play in my business plan. And so I had to kind of play in my business plan and think about what I could do. And so I had to kind of play in my business plan and think about what I could do. And so I had to kind of play in my business plan and think about what I could do. Okay. If I'm just going to be me and maybe one other person is wholesale, really the route that I should go down. And so I remember that looking at the plan and kind of drawing those numbers out and thinking, okay, if I want, if I, if I'm trying to accomplish what I'm trying to accomplish and still stay small, I don't think that that's necessarily the correct route for my full focus. Right. Well, I love the thought process that went into doing this. I think it's really important to do it. I think it's really important to do it. I think it's really important to do it. I think it's really important to do it. And, and your passion for this really shines through and you followed your passion and that's, that's so important. Whenever you find something that just really clicks and you, you know, in your heart that this is something that you're kind of meant to do and you're driven to do it. And that's what's going to keep you in the game, that passion and that love for it. Whenever you are struggling and everybody struggles, no matter who you are at some point or another, regardless of who you are, you're going to keep going. And so I think that's really important in terms of how successful you get and you recognize what your strengths were. And you also, the fact that, you know, you're, you're a good decision maker and, and a quick decision maker. That doesn't mean it's not well thought out. It's not like just shooting from the hip and making a decision. It's, it's a very careful, thought out decision that you're able to act quickly though. And that's a, that's a really positive thing to be able to do, as I mentioned. And then, And also just really knowing that you want to be authentic in what it is that you're doing. And that's also important to know. You fortunately grew up with an entrepreneur and you were able to take a lot of that and be able to see how someone can make that work. And I did that too. I mean, I grew up with an entrepreneur and starting a business was maybe not easy, but my dad made it look easy. Right. And the fact that he wasn't, a lot of people are very fearful to start a business. And especially to start a business that it's not like you just discovered the newest, greatest thing. I mean, there's a lot of risk with doing what you're doing. And it also meant that you had to get out and talk to people and work. And you also got to draw on those investigative skills that you wanted to do as being an FBI agent or whatever, where you had to, you have to really understand your customer and have communication skills. So another important part of starting this business. And I love, again, I love the fact that you had someone that you could go to and seek advice and have be mentored in a way. Right. Right. Right. Right.! Right. Right. Right. Right. And from your father. And I love that he supported that. Yes. So that's great. You had your, your sort of your team, your cheerleaders, which is critically important when you're launching this. And, and I'm sure that there were a lot of people who said, oh my gosh, you're quitting this job, this, this perfect job that pays well, that, that you can always rely on and you've got this skill set. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Press. So for anyone who gets the opportunity and needs something printed in this, I'm not trying to do a sales job. I just want to say that Alyssa's company is really the real, real deal. And you should go by and see her studio. And also I want to let our listeners know too, that if you want to call us and ask us any questions, our number is 1-800-893-9562. And we would love to hear from you. So you can give us a call. So now you launched all of this, you got your first order, you were able to draw from your accounting background, which is awesome, amazing, and fantastic that you have that because there's so many people that's kind of like the real missing link. And they don't even know where to go. So I want to let you know that. And I'll see you in the next episode. So that's great that you had, you were able to put together a business plan and really figure out, well, should I go wholesale or should I go mainstream and commercial? So you made that decision. And so now you had one client that you did the, also you had one client where you did the wedding imitations. Did it just snowball from there or how did, what happened after that? I wouldn't call it snowball, maybe a small ball. That was really the start of just kind of word of mouth. I'm trying to remember all the pieces in timeline, but basically I was able to gather more clients by just letting kind of the community of Salinas Monterey Peninsula know that I'm doing this. How did you do that? You obviously had business cards, but did you put together a website or? I did. Oh, good one. I did create a website. And I basically, at the time I was on Facebook and I reached out to my Facebook community. Both my parents grew up in the area that I grew up in. So my family just happens to know a lot of folks. And so my dad told someone that I was working on it, the word kind of spread. And I just, yeah, I just started telling people about it. Thankfully through, either friends or family folks started contacting and saying, Hey, we're getting married or, Hey, we need stationary. And eventually, um, actually my cousin-in-law, who is a photographer in Seattle, in the Seattle area, wedding photographer, she reached out to me and said, Hey, I'm doing this styled shoot, which is very common in the wedding world. Um, folks, a bunch of different vendors will get together and kind of present their best work based on the style of the wedding. And so I just kind of started to have a theme and it will be photographed and either presented to be published in a magazine or on a blog. And so she reached out to me and said, we're doing this photo shoot and it's an elopement. Would you be willing to contribute something? And so I designed, um, elopement announcements and a few other paper goods for the shoot. And that was kind of the moment where it became not just a local Monterey, Carmel Salinas thing. It was a chance for me to have my work displayed elsewhere on a more national stage. It sounds silly to say, but, but it's true. Um, so it was published on a website called, I think it was Green Wedding Shoes, which is a popular wedding blog and that, and another styled shoot, a photographer that I met when I was working at J.Crew, her name is Mireille Carmichael, and I was helping her pick out an outfit. I think it was, for some sort of wedding event. And we'd started talking about the fact that she's a wedding photographer and she's just getting started. And I was like, oh my goodness, I'm a letterpress printer. I'm just getting started. And we exchanged information. And a few months after that, she pulled together a styled shoot and I contributed to that. And that was put up on Style Me Pretty, which is another popular wedding blog. And between the two of those, I was able to then catch traction on a more national level. And, um, I think that's the great thing about my job. Um, yes, I get to work with people who are local and that's super fun to have them come into my studio and talk about their project or their wedding, but I don't have to be in person with everyone. Sometimes I Skype, sometimes we talk over the phone. And so those two wedding blog posts just, I wouldn't say they went viral, but it's very popular for people who are getting married to troll the websites and get ideas. And try and find resources of places where they can get this. Exactly. And helping to get your name out there and spread the word. So those were two essentially free ways that I was able to get my name out there, um, in the wedding world that helps me catch traction. Well, one of the things that, I mean, I mean, with family, they have to help, they should help. Uh, but I love the fact that a lot of people think, well, um, I have to go to all these networking events and I have to make sure that I pass out my card to as many people. And I let people know about, you know, I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that. And I'm going to do that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. of we're both starting out and we're trying to get our business going. And when she saw an opportunity that could help you, she reached out. And I'm sure that had anything like that happened, an opportunity for you that you saw for her, you would have reached out as well. And I love that kind of synergy. And that's what I think people can focus on more in trying to build relationships with people rather than just by the numbers trying to, you know, just throw it out there and meet as many people as they can. So that's great. So it started to build and you're building your business in your hometown and it's going great and moving forward. And did you say, my gosh, I'm an entrepreneur and or did you? Yeah, I definitely felt excited about that. I remember one summer. It must have been the summer of 2012. I hired an intern. A student reached out to me because I was in the local paper and he was about to head out for his first year at RISD. And so he reached out to me and wanted to work for me for the summer, which kind of blew my mind. And I said, of course you can. And so that was I think that was a moment like, wow, someone I'm telling someone what to do. That feels like. A boss. And had you been in that role before when you worked with the accounting firm? No, I definitely had never been a manager. I was on a team of I would say I was on a team of equals. We were recruited for the different areas on the West Coast and we had coordinators who would help us. But I wouldn't say that I was necessarily a boss. So this was kind of. A new thing for me and still is. Who did you go to and say, all right, what am I supposed to do? This was probably my dad. That's great. Yeah. So eventually, obviously, you just started your your business really just a couple of years ago. And. That's three years ago. Yeah. So three years ago. And now you're living here and you have your business here in Los Angeles. You moved here and starting all over again. Or you obviously have some clients that are not local, but it's like starting all over again when you. Yes. So I relocate. I moved back to L.A. last fall. So just about a year ago when I got married and it did feel like my first year of business again, just because now I had a physical space that I was paying rent for. It's like not everybody gets to do that do over and like, oh, this is what I learned from the first. Year and I can apply it to this year. Yeah. So, you know, just having a physical space that people can actually come visit without it being it's more of a business. It's a commercial space. So that is a very exciting step. And the market in L.A. is just it's bigger. I'm lucky enough to be downtown adjacent and there's just a lot of exciting things going on in downtown L.A. And the more folks you meet, the more projects that you learn, like someone starting this cool business or. They're doing this exciting project and they need collateral or they need business cards. And so I just get to learn about and meet a lot of really interesting people on the business side from the wedding side. The market, again, is a lot larger. I still work with people from all over the country and a little bit of all over the world remotely, just via Skype or over email. But I now get to meet with more brides in person. And I'm a person, which is really fun. They'll come to the studio with their planner or with their mom or their fiance and we'll get to feel papers and look at colors and go through that whole process, which makes it a lot more personal. So that's definitely helped my wedding business grow. Yeah, just being in L.A. is a totally different experience than being back home. I still do have clients back home in Monterey that I know I go home and see my family. I try to make it back there as often as I can, especially now that I have new twin nephews. Oh, fun. Congratulations. Thank you. So I try to make it back there as often as I can. And I'll, you know, do like a little tour of meetings or go visit clients in Big Sur to make it so that, you know, I'm getting as much face time as I can. Because I think one day my husband and I would like to go back home. And I want to keep those relationships fresh, as fresh as I can. Yeah. And that's just good business, too. So what are your methods of marketing? You obviously do Instagram because we did that right before the show started. Yes, we just Instagram together. And Facebook. So what else? You have a website. I have a website. And I actually had an intern for the spring and part of the summer, and I just hired her to help keep my website up. So I have someone kind of keeping tabs on that at all times now. Our blog will be putting our content a lot more often. And I just want to make sure that we're all in the same boat. And I think keeping that fresh is just a great way to keep your marketing going. Because if I have other things sending people to the website, and if it was stagnant, there'd be really no point to it. Right. Point to all of the marketing and everything. So that's one important area. Instagram is something that I've been trying to be better about doing because it's fun. And then I work with a few different wedding blogs. Whether it's... I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. I don't even know what I'm doing. different blogs to help drive, I guess, just drive traffic to my website and drive traffic to what we're doing in the marketing or in the wedding world. As far as business to business marketing, I don't do much of that currently. It's more of just really genuine relationship building and being sort of living downtown and getting to know folks and whether that's running into them when you're getting coffee or dinner and just genuinely staying in touch and finding out what people are up to. That's kind of how I do. I feel silly even calling it marketing because it's just relationship building, but that is one way that I'm able to market myself. But that's a real, that is an important part of marketing, is really building relationships. Relationship building and it doesn't, even though it comes under that umbrella, it doesn't have to be, like there are a lot of things that come under the umbrella of selling too, but that doesn't mean that it has to be icky. That's the more important kind of marketing. And then we're very fortunate in this day and age to be able to get our name out there in a much bigger way than in the past. But that's really great. I remember talking about the website. Did you do your website yourself? Or did you hire someone? I did hire someone, but I'm finding, I'm learning from lots of folks that if you hire someone, sometimes it doesn't always work out. Yeah, this is true. Because schedules get busy and whatnot. So I actually ended up just creating my own website. I built it off of a Squarespace platform, which is brilliant. Yeah. Squarespace, like is so easy. And I don't know anything about coding or that kind of stuff. That is different. It's very daunting and scary to me, but you don't have to know anything about that to do a Squarespace website. So that's what mine is built off of. If there is anything complicated, I probably would have Googled it to find a little bit of code, but it's nothing crazy. Well, I love that you said that because, you know, sometimes that's a big fear factor for a lot of people and the fact that, oh my gosh, it'll cost me so much money to do the website. And they're all different kinds of websites. Depending on what you want, but your website is a beautiful website. Thank you. And there are avenues these days, just like for self-publishing or things like that. There are avenues these days that allow you to do a lot of things that maybe in the past you wouldn't have been able to. And so not to let that freak you out. Yeah. To anyone who wants to create a website for their business, it's the best spot to go. Yeah. And they make you look like a pro, I think. Um, what I probably should have asked this in the, in the beginning, but it seems like you have this on your website from what I remember. Uh, what are the three words that you would use to describe your company? Oh, um, I would probably say client serving. Um, because when, can I extrapolate on that? Yeah. Yeah. Um, one thing that I love most about what I, what I do is that because I am client serving and creating a good experience for my clients, I get to get a small window into what they're up to. And I think that that's something I got to experience when I was an accountant. As an auditor, I would go to different clients and get to see what they do and then leave. Um, and I love that as a printer, you also get to do that. You get to jump into someone's wedding and be a part of that for a moment and make a friend, or I get to meet. Another entrepreneur and learn about their new project because I'm helping them with their business plan collateral, or I get to, you know, work with a new restaurant and help print their menus. Um, so I love that. I guess the word is client serving and I love that about it. Um, it's something that keeps me going. Um, I would say creative because yes, at the end of the day, we are creating an end product, you know, a paper good, a business card, a notebook. Um, but there's the front end that where you have to design something and we are creating ideas. So we're creative. Um, and that can be, you know, something that I'll sit down for hours and I'll be like, Oh, I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. And that can be something that I can think about and draw or design, or it literally could be in a split second. And I think, Oh my gosh, I'll be in the shower. Like, okay, we got to do that. Or this is what it's going to look like. And it will come more like a light. You know, most, uh, fresh ideas do come from the shower. Yes. Very fresh. Um, so yeah. Client, client, uh, client serving, creative and creative. Gosh, I'll give you a hint if, if I remember correctly, but, um, just the fact that you are kind of merging something, uh, that is old fashioned by using a letter press by, by using something that has been around for forever and merging it with something that is so present. Right. Well, I love that there's history baked into what we do. So, um, I guess historical seems like such a daunting big word, but, um, yeah, I like that. Even though we are creating something current and maybe it's a fresh new design, the way it's implemented is from 1919. And so I think that that's really a wonderful, it's a nice marriage of old and new. Yeah. Yeah. No, I love that. It's very authentic and original. Yeah. I love that. It's very authentic and original and, and, uh, all of that. So, uh, the other thing that I, I always like to talk about business lessons. And so what valuable piece of advice do you feel like you received that really helped you that maybe you'd want to pass on to others? Hmm. Um, is there anything that stands out? This is, this is probably a piece of advice that, um, I keep getting, or I'm constantly reminded of, um, but really to trust my instincts, trust your instincts, trust what you're thinking. Um, because when you, at least in my experience, when you have a business and you tell people, I do this thing, someone, everyone has an opinion and I have to stop myself from doing it to others. Cause I, you know, I hear someone does something and I'm like, oh gosh, you should totally do that. Like, let me do that. And I'm like, I'm like, I'm going to put you in touch with these folks, which is, you know, a nice gesture, but, um, that's could not be the direction that they want to take their business. And so I always have to remember for myself when I hear ideas from others, um, some of them I take with a grain of salt and others of them I let kind of simmer, but really just to trust my instincts and have to go back to what it is I'm trying to accomplish. Um, I'm not trying to create this huge, huge brand. Um, that's, you know, we're going to be in every store across the country. Um, I'm trying to be more of a local print shop that does have some national presence, but, um, we're local. And so I have to remember that as I get different pieces of advice from different people, just to trust, trust what it is. That's so true. And I like what you said too, about that. Not only you listen to it, some you discard, some you simmer. Um, and I think that's a really good point. I think that's a really good point. Um, but you come back to what, what your original mission is, I guess, you know, and really what is it that you're trying to, um, accomplish. Right. And that's really, really important. Um, what is, what is, what do you think has been the greatest, um, and it doesn't have to be, I mean, it could be something that happened yesterday. So it's, it's not that I'm trying to take you into this deep place, but like, is there something that's taken you to this deep place? Um, and I think that's a really good point. Um, I think that's stands out as though, wow, this, that was a real struggle. And I'm so, uh, I'm so glad I figured it out. What, what are, what is there something that you really struggle with or have struggled with? Well, one event in particular, um, when I was a baby business, uh, just like six to eight months in when I started, I'm remembering all these things. I had a grand opening party at the back from just the community. And people kept telling me, you should, you should definitely try to wholesale these items, even though I had kind of thought it's probably not the best idea, but I just, I kept hearing it like you take these cards and wholesale them. You should go to a gift show. And so I did. And, um, it was probably the best and the worst experience of my business because it forced me to make my business better and quicker. You know, in a very short period of time, I had to up my game with my collateral. I created a, uh, like a look book. Um, I had to create a more robust collection and, um, I had to create a booth and all those great things. Right. Um, and in the end I determined that that is not what I wanted to do. And I, you know, I made this beautiful booth, this beautiful look book, this beautiful, beautiful collection, but I didn't think about the fact that I was the only person at the point, that point who could produce them. I created a collection that probably had 15 colors, which is bananas, because if you're trying to do a reorder or something, maybe their order has 10 colors in it. And that's silly. I didn't think that through, but I just thought I wanted to look good. Um, so without getting too much into it, um, like I said, it was the best and worst thing for my business. Because I became a better business because of it, but it was really, they were tough lessons to learn. And so early on, I was such, like I said, a baby business. There were other people at the San Francisco gift show that I met and they were like, oh, how old is your company? And I said, six months. And they were like, are you crazy? Yes. But, um, so yes, I learned a lot. Well, sometimes you really do have to step outside that box and just experiment and try things and see what works. Yeah. And see how they fit. And, and sometimes you discard them. And I, I also really can appreciate what you're saying that it, it, it made you be a better company. It made you, it also solidified what your, like you said, your first instinct was. Um, it, it, it also identified what your capabilities are because had you gotten thousands of orders, you wouldn't, it might've been, you know, it might've been, it might've been, it might've been, it might've been, it might've been very difficult to fulfill those. You would have had to bring on people. You would have had to train them. And, and it sounds like it also takes away from what your core value is of, uh, one of your core values of, of really connecting with that customer, whether it's on Skype or on the phone or in person, you have a real desire to be able to truly connect to the customer that's receiving your product. Right. And, and not that wholesale is completely, out of the picture, but on the large scale, if that's all that my business was about, I couldn't do that. Right. Right. So it, it really helped, helped you recognize again, what was important to you about building your brand and what you stood for as well. So is there something that you're most proud of with your business that you've done? Um, this might sound silly, but I'm proud of the fact that been able to grow a little bit and by being able to grow required me letting go. So it's being kind of proud of my own personal growth. I'm first born very type A. And, um, so I've had to learn to pass on a lot of duties. So I was going to say, when you say growing, you mean having to bring on other people that can, um, help. Exactly. And, um, also then flexing my managerial skills, uh, and managing other folks to do what I used to do and to teach them, show them how to do it. Um, that person in particular is my sister. I get to work with my sister every day, which is so rad. I love it. And, um, so yeah, I'm really, I guess I'm proud of the fact that I've, been able to do that because I think three or four years ago, that would have been really hard, but by letting go a bit, therefore my company's been able to grow. Like you see almost immediate results of that by freeing up, freeing up my time to do another proposal, write back to an email quicker, call someone back. Um, if I have help, yeah, I can do more. Well, those are important points that you bring up, uh, because one of the, when you look at the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, look at the differences between men and women, and this is not absolute, but it is more typical is that, uh, women are, men grow their companies faster generally than women do because they're not afraid to delegate and bring on more people. And, and for women, typically they have that mentality that they have to do it all and, and they have a hard time letting go. And, and, uh, and so I'm, that's such a big step and I'm, I can see where that would be something that you would be very, very proud of. Now that brings to mind, you are working with your sister and for people who work with family, what advice do you have? Because, you know, growing up, unless you were really absolutely abnormal, I'm sure you had your share of sisterly squabbles or whatever. So how do you define that line between during working hours, she's working for you and after hours, she's your sister, right? Um, well, Audra, I hope this is okay that I'm talking about this, but she is eight years younger than me. So I will say, and this is kind of funny, I guess she's used to being, she's a baby. Right. She's used to being bossed around. Okay. Yeah. I can, I can see. I mean, I know what you're saying is so that, that dynamic already comes naturally to us. Not that I just boss her around all the time, but, um, it's a natural part of our, dynamic or her with our other sisters too. Um, and especially with you being the oldest. Yeah. It just, it kind of works like that. But there are a lot of families that work together and it takes, it's just, there's a, there's a certain challenge that comes with that. So, um, Audra is an extremely hard worker. And so, because I see that in her, it's okay for me. Like, even if mistakes are made or if we're behind schedule or if we're ahead of schedule, whatever it is, I know that she's working her heart out. And so therefore, whatever is happening is okay. I'm able to have grace for whatever the situation might be. As far as boundaries, um, we are having so much fun there every day. So it's definitely not, okay, this is work time and we're serious and we just listen to NPR and that's it. We don't talk to each other. Um, we're having a great time. We're talking, you know, our lives as she's printing and I'm cutting or vice versa. Um, but I think when we're not working, we try to not talk about work. We then focus on real life, you know, if we're out to dinner or just hanging out at my house on the weekend. Um, I, I do like to draw a line in our personal life, unless we need to talk about something real quick. I'll, I'll try to say, Hey, can we talk about tomorrow or, what time will you be there? But it won't be integrated into our whole evening or afternoon. Yeah. No, I think that's great. And I appreciate you sharing that with us. And I don't think that was, that was bad to say. Older sisters are typically a little bit bossier. Yeah, we are. I can't help it. I know I was, I was one too. Um, is there someone who inspires you? Um, I would say from a business perspective, my dad always has, as I've mentioned before. Um, and he's, he inspires me and he's also my mentor, but as far as a figure who inspires me in the letterpress world, I didn't mention this part of my story, but, um, when I was at UCLA, I was, I was in a sorority called Delta Gamma and there were old DGs who weren't at school at the same time as me. They were a few years older and they came and row walked one day, which is they came to Monday night dinner and made an announcement. And they said, hi, we're starting this company and it's called Sugar Paper and it's a letterpress company. And my eyes got big and wow, that sounds really cool. And they were looking for someone to, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, they were looking for someone to like work the desk or the counter at their little shop near Century City Mall, their very first spot. And I already had a job, so I didn't apply. But since that moment, I've always watched what they're doing and their company inspires me. Um, they're also located in Los Angeles and they're just doing wonderful, wonderful things and watching them grow. I think they're probably 11 years old at this point as a company. And it's, it's, it's very exciting to see where they are. Um, my objectives are very different from them, but I just, I love seeing what they create, seeing who they collaborate with and, um, seeing them go from a little shop in Century City to now they have, um, I believe it is one storefront still in Brentwood and then they have a production warehouse. So I, I just love seeing what they do. Yeah. That's, that's such an important point that you made. And I, I didn't even think about it in terms of asking you who inspired you, but I do think it's a great idea to look at other companies that are similar to yours, not to copy them, uh, but to draw inspiration from them and to help to model yourself after them in what they've, what they are already doing that is succeeding, um, that is being successful. And of course you always have to think about how you can differentiate yourself from them as well, um, and find your own voice and find your own, um, your own style. And, and, and there's plenty of business for all of us, you know? So, so I think that's great that you brought that up. I love that you brought that up. And, uh, it's a really important thing for everybody to, uh, to do, to look at what, what are they doing good and, and how can I model myself after that? So, and be inspired by that. Uh, what, what, uh, as we're getting ready to close the show, but I'd love to know, I'd love to know what, what your ideas for the future are. So, well, um, I guess my ideas for the future probably involve my business and my life with my husband. Um, long-term I'd love to move home. Um, committing to that statement and it's out there for the world. Yeah. And it doesn't have to be tomorrow, but you know, in the next few years, I'd love to start a family up there. And so for my business, that means it's coming with me. Um, but I would, I would still love to be able to have my business as I start a family. That's, um, one of the reasons which I didn't talk about earlier, but why I started a business like this, because I knew that whether, I at one point in the business life had a brick and mortar kind of like I do now, uh, a few years from then, maybe it could be in my garage while I had kids running around. Um, I like that it can be a fluid business and it doesn't have to only be in one form. Um, so I think for the next few years, I'm going to enjoy growing and serving clients as I can being in downtown LA again, it's just really exciting and it's an exciting time to be here. And I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to enjoy that. Um, and I'd love to continue serving brides as I do. Um, but one day I think I'd like to then turn a corner and be able to start a family and have this, not necessarily as a fun hobby, but just be able to scale it down a little bit. Well, one of the reasons that entrepreneurs do want to start a business is so that they can have that flexibility. And that's a really important thing to know and, and, and observe and, and, and honor. Uh, I want to make sure that I'm not going to be the only one who's going to give your website out too. Uh, so if you would tell everyone how to reach you, your website, my website is a little, a little, elissabellepress.com and it's Alyssa with an I. Okay. Can you spell it? Yes. A-L-I-S-S-A-B-E-L-L-P-R-E-S-S.com. Cool. So if anybody wants to reach you, they can, they can do that. Uh, thanks so much for being on the show. I really loved hearing you tell us about your story. Your journey and, and, uh, some of your ups and some of your downs and, and, and how you spend your life as an entrepreneur. Thank you. Thanks. This was very fun.