As you may have heard…the best Bob (Bob Iger, that is) is back! In 2022, Disney seemingly decided overnight that they would replace CEO Bob Chapek with Disney’s most beloved leaders (aside from Walt Disney, of course)!

We’re big fans of Iger. His 15-year story as head of Disney is pretty inspiring — from acquiring three major film/production companies to countless box office hits (some of which even broke a few records!) to launching Disney+; it really seems like the man has done it all. 

But more than those accomplishments, Bob Iger was also a great leader who we, as small business owners, can learn a lot from. 

So in today’s blog, we’re going to be recapping our two-part series (listen to part one here) on the leadership lessons found in his book, The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company, and how we can use them in our own businesses. 

Optimism

One of the things Bob Iger is best known for is his optimism, which is also what drives his creative ideas. He says, “Optimism is that even in the face of difficult choices and less than ideal outcomes, an optimistic leader does not yield to pessimism. Simply put, people are not motivated or energized by pessimists.”

But optimism is one of those things that’s easier said than done — putting it into practice is tough! However, having this type of approach to your business can keep it moving forward. 

And while we may be in a recession, staying optimistic can help you stay true to the values that your business is known for. It can draw new people into the mix and attract good talent. 

Even if you’re worried about the future of your business, optimism can keep you going and give you something to look forward to.

Focus

Focus, as Iger explains it, is allocating your time, energy, and resources to the tasks with the highest value. This is basically what we mean when we say, “Don’t get caught up in shiny object syndrome.”

Part of being a good leader is knowing what to do and when. You can’t effectively lead the people around you if you don’t even know what to do with your business. But focus? It can keep things clear for you and for your team and ultimately keep things trucking along. 

Decisiveness

That brings us to our next point — decisiveness. 

You don’t see a lot of businesses progress without making decisions. Lack of decisiveness slows us down, holds up projects, and can cause many revisions. 

But honestly? Not making a decision is still making a decision. You have the choice to either stay where you are or take the risk of moving forward. And Iger reiterates that it’s okay to make mistakes. That failure can better you in the long run. 

If you never get your foot out of the food, you will always be stuck in the house. 

Curiosity

There have been several times when Disney has experienced valleys and low points…and we’re not just talking about when Bob Chapek stepped into the role of CEO. In 2005, when Iger came on as CEO, Disney wasn’t doing too hot at the box office. 

It had been a while since anything groundbreaking came out, but after he stepped in, box office hits came back, and the parks became more enjoyable.

He knew that Disney couldn’t stay where it was if it wanted to continue on. People were getting tired of seeing princesses and only princesses. So what did Iger do? He conducted SEVERAL IP acquisitions (acquiring Pixar in 2009, Marvel and George Lucas’ Lucas Films in 2012, and 21st Century Fox in 2018).

That’s what skyrocketed Disney to the next level. And it’s all because Iger could step out of the four corners of his office and visualize what things were like for his audience. Because when you have curiosity, you promote creativity and foster an environment that innovates. 

Fairness

Being a good leader isn’t just about coming up with good ideas. It’s also about having empathy and compassion for the people who work under you. 

Mistakes are going to happen, but don’t purposely make your employees feel about it. Fear and anxiety are not productive conditions. And just like curiosity breeds innovation, so does reassurance and knowing you have room to make mistakes and improve them. 

Inclusivity

We couldn’t talk about fairness without also talking about inclusivity. In recent years, Disney has become more inclusive by supporting the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as having much more representation for people of color both on and off the screen. (Another reason Chapek wasn’t a big hit: He didn’t speak out against Florida’s Don’t Say Gay bill.)

Bob himself says that a good leader needs to be more than a good leader; they need to also be good. Values drive pretty much everything we do in business, and it’s important that those values also involve being fair and inclusive. 

Thoughtfulness

Part of the reason Bob Iger was so successful in his time as CEO was that he thought everything through with intention. He listened to his audience and made sure that what Disney did as a company reflected what they wanted to see. 

Since his return in 2022, he’s already decided to roll back many things fans complained about — higher prices, no free overnight parking, and TONS more. Because of that, we’re seeing those same fans enjoy their experiences again. 

Are you listening to your audience? Do you know what they want? If not, it may be time to tune in. 

Integrity

If you want to talk about integrity, just look at what happened when Disney replaced Bob Chapek as CEO. Instead of secreting Iger back in and acting like everything was fine, Disney’s teams were open and honest about it.

No one knew that it would happen, and it stunned the internet. But Disney gave their cast members and employees the heads up before telling the media. 

And when they did, they admitted that Chapek’s time at Disney wasn’t successful. They owned up to the fact that he wasn’t the right person to lead Disney during a global pandemic and then some. But Iger was. He had the ability to see long-term, and to deter Disney from potential problems in the future.

And if that doesn’t show you that it’s okay to make mistakes and pivot when you realize you did, we don’t know what will!

More magic for your small business

Don’t forget to subscribe to Pixie Dust & Profits and tune in each week as we share more tips from the Mouse that can help you grow your small business. Be sure to follow us @pixiedustandprofits and sign up for our mailing list to get some fun extras! See ya real soon.

We’ve got a Super Summer Series Surprise for you! For those who have been following along, or those who have just arrived (welcome!!), this summer we’ve been revisiting our favorite Pixie Dust & Profits podcast episodes from seasons past. 

So far, we’ve had such an amazing time listening back to these popular episodes AND giving you updated information from our 2022 perspectives on the topics. This week, though, we’re giving you something a little extra! ✨

When we decided to revisit Episode 020: Balancing Priorities & Surviving in the Day-to-Day, we immediately knew it was going to be different from other Summer Series episodes. We recorded this episode in April 2020, right after the lockdown started. This was deep in shutdown, and we had just begun to see some of the biggest business shifts in history happen right before our eyes. 

Of course, things have changed considerably since COVID first came on the scene, and it might not make sense to look BACK at this episode… so instead, we made a new and improved version of the episode! 

So, let’s discuss what’s happened with Disney since July 2020, and what we can take away from their projects and operations to support our businesses through hard times.

Disney does “new normal” in unexpected ways

On March 15, 2020, Disney closed its magic gates (so very sad) only to reopen them four months later in July of the same year, but with some pretty strict rules in place for returning park guests. 

They began with “soft” launches, each park receiving a different day to reopen with attendance capped and a new reservation service in place for all guests. This service included all areas of the park from attractions, to restaurants, to stores, to modes of park transport. Some of the new major safety measures that were instituted included: 

✅ Temperature checks & required face coverings were mandatory for all visitors and cast members

✅ Magic bands were used whenever possible to facilitate mobile interactions rather than face-to-face (specifically in dining locations). 

✅ An increased use of plexiglass barriers between guests and cast members

✅ Annual passes were no longer available for purchase; only existing annual pass members could renew. 

✅ And the hardest pill to swallow: No parades, fireworks, or character meet-and-greets, and yes, that included character dining. 😭

Despite it all, Disney still remained confident that they could give their guests the same magical experience they’re known for. They even created the “social distancing squad,” a group of friendly cast members trained to enforce safety rules in a fun, energetic way. In all, Disney did a great job “protecting the magic” of the parks in a post-COVID existence. And hey, some form of Disney is always better than no Disney at all! 

Now that it’s been two years since their reopening, Disney has done away with a lot of the stricter guidelines: masks are optional, and parades, fireworks, and character dining and meet-and-greets have all returned. However, there are still some things that remain changed. 

✅ Annual passes are very hard to get, and when you can, the prices have increased from previous years. 

✅ Disney’s reservation system remains in place and is looking like it’s here to stay. You still have to reserve the park you want to visit on the day you plan to. 

✅ You cannot “park hop” until after a certain time of day (2 pm most days, but it may vary). Gone are the days of spontaneity! 

Disney Genie+: Pros and cons

After over a decade, the FastPass system is a thing of the past. Move over and make room for the new kid on the block, Disney Genie+.

Genie+ works a lot like the old method. You purchase the add-on ($20 a person) and have ultimate access to the Lightning Lane on 19 different Disney attractions. But there are limits to this magic, of course. When you choose to use a Lightning Lane on an attraction, you cannot reserve another Lightning Lane spot on a different attraction until you’ve either already completed your previous ride or have waited 2 hours. On top of that, you cannot use Genie+ repeatedly for any of the rides. So, if you plan on riding Haunted Mansion 20 times in one day, be prepared to wait in line for at least 19 of those rides. 

It is interesting that Disney used the time that they were closed to innovate something like their line system. If the parks never closed, would something like Genie+ even exist? We don’t think so! While Disney does address some visitor pain points with this new method, a drawback of the Genie+ system in comparison to the FastPass system is the inability to choose a specific time to return to the attraction, which might leave you racing across the park madder than the Mad Hatter. 

The “new normal” for your small biz 

When we talk about our “new normal,” we’re seeing so many changes. We saw a ton of businesses pivot — especially ones whose services or offers were mostly held in person. We also saw that many people had to decide how to grow their business while kids were at home, family members needed care, and if spouses or partners were laid off.

It was a time of rapid change, and we’re still feeling the ripple effects today. As we navigate a post-COVID world, there are a couple things to take from Disney’s decisions:

☝ Be aware of the current inflation situation. 

Inflation is at a record all-time high, and you need to respond accordingly! Is it time to raise your rates? Do you need to raise your team members’ pay? Remember, what you’re paying yourself right now isn’t what you were paying yourself even a few months ago. If you don’t want to increase rates, how can you decrease your expenses? 

✌ Be flexible – on a whole different level. 

One of the things we’ve realized is that we want to ENJOY more of what’s going on around us. Don’t miss out, be intentional in slowing things down to open yourself up. Some of this means personal expense choices, like diverting savings or not making investments you planned to make. It’s okay to do this! Life is short, make it sweet. 

We want to hear how your priorities have changed in this “new normal”//“post-COVID” world! 

Reach out to us, we love receiving and answering Instagram DM’s! 

If you’re interested: we are currently taking applications for the next Pixie Dust Live event, click here to submit yours today! 

And if you’re planning a trip to Disney soon, and want to understand more about programs like Genie+ before you get there, visit our good friend Wish Upon a Planner® for all the ins and outs you’ll need for your next magical adventure with the Mouse! 🏰🐭

Download the original transcript right here

Text us! 207-203-6769 ✨

We’ve talked about Disney’s pricey offers before when they rolled out their updated annual pass offers, and now we are going to dive in to their brand new hotel, Galactic Starcruiser. Designed like an interstellar cruise ship, guests embark on the starcruiser together for a 2-night excursion. If you peek out the windows, you will see space as if you are a part of a Star Wars mission. 

Want to know how much this two-night experience costs? $5,000+! Our jaws almost hit the floor with that announcement — but we have no doubt that Disney will fill up the experience in no time. Let’s talk about how Disney positioned their audience to buy into this experience, and how you can do the same with your customers.

Literally Out of This World

Disney guarantees an out-of-this-world experience at their one-of-a-kind Galactic Starcruiser hotel, but it’s still going to be a hard sell for many families (and even the biggest Star Wars fans).

Starting at $5,000, many of the activities and inclusions don’t feel super exciting to us, as you can get those similar dining and experiences at the parks. On the other hand, a really cool part of this experience is that you get to be a part of the storyline during this 2-day excursion. Different from the parks or a cruise ship, the cast members are interacting with you as characters from the movies, and you have a part to play during the experience! 

Disney knows this once-in-a-lifetime experience will be in high demand, which is probably why they priced it so high. They released pricing and initial details back in July 2021, with official booking available in early 2022. It’s a top-tier offer for their Star Wars fanatics, who have been anticipating this grand opening. 

It seems to be a one-and-done experience, as it’s the same storyline each time, so Disney will probably have to refresh their experience in the future. It’s an expensive operation for Disney to put on too, but it’s still not an offer that’s been an “easy yes” for us. At some point, we will probably bite the bullet and go experience it for ourselves!

Start Spreading the News

What does Disney’s $5,000 hotel stay have to do with your business? It teaches us a lot about how to sell a high-ticket offer.

When it comes to your audience and business, it’s so important to let them know about the offers you are going to be releasing (or promotions you have coming up) so they can be prepared and ready! (Especially for high-ticket items like booking a weekend at the Galactic Starcruiser.) Our tips? Leak your exciting new offers as early as you can! Make them feel like an insider with all the secret details, and let them know about the price range, too. You want your customers to be financially prepared when the release date comes around. 

Another thing to consider? The actual price point! We’ve talked about pricing with ascension models before, and you may be sick of hearing us talk about it – but they are so important! You’ve got to meet your audience where they are at. This Galactic Starcruiser hotel excursion is definitely for those in a higher income bracket — and that’s a different type of persona that Disney seems to be targeting with their recent shifts. 

But when you think about releasing high-ticket offers or products, think about your customers. You’ll have clients who need lower-cost items and clients who can pay out higher amounts. What are the differences? What are their pain points? What do they want out of a high-ticket experience? That’s going to be the key to really building the hype for them — so pay attention. It’s important to think through your target audience when releasing these types of offers. 

Are You Ready for Takeoff?

Do you think Disney’s Galactic Star cruiser hotel is ridiculous? Or pure genius? Would you go on this experience? We aren’t quite convinced yet! Text your fairy business godmothers at 207-203-6769 and tell us what you think! 

Don’t forget to subscribe to Pixie Dust & Profits and tune in each week, as we share more tips from the Mouse that can help you grow your small business. See ya real soon!

Disney’s 50 Anniversary Celebration was one for the books – and we got to enjoy it more than once! Disney teased all the fun stuff they were going to roll out several months prior to kicking off the actual celebration in October of 2021. Based on how they celebrated their 25th Anniversary, we knew we would be in for a treat (but thankfully not the cake-decorated castle from 1996).

While we will definitely geek out over some of the things Disney did for their 50th Anniversary, we are also going to discuss how you can hype up your products and build fanfare for celebrations and milestones in your own business.

Anticipating the Celebration

Disney went all out leading up to their 50th Anniversary Celebration in October — but the preparation didn’t just start in October. They did quite a bit, including physical updates to the park and castle, teasing merchandise, adding special events and parades, and even creating new fireworks shows at Magic Kingdom and EPCOT.

Two months prior to the celebration’s start, they began showing off all the exclusive merchandise in August, with influencers wearing their gear and getting everyone hyped to purchase it for themselves. They went with a theme different from the standard Walt Disney World logo, branding, and colors to create something completely unique that really signified the 50th Anniversary.

With all of the anticipated events for the 50th Anniversary, Disney needed to find ways to get more people in because they’d been hiding it for so long. Add in everyone’s desire to get back to the parks post-pandemic, and now you have a limited exclusive event opportunity. Disney was even able to increase capacity limits after the height of the pandemic. They also announced they were doing away with Fast Passes and implementing Genie Plus in its place. This new product is great for people who want a more flexible “go-with-the-flow” type of experience at the parks as it gives you suggestions throughout the day, predicts wait times, and much more. (That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its drawbacks, however, but we’ll reserve judgment on that for later.)

For advanced access to lines, you now have to pay an extra $15 per person, per day with a Lightning Pass. Their goal with both of these new tools was to help disperse crowds throughout the parks, making their guests’ experiences the best they could be. The previous launch of their Magic Bands was another product they released to improve the guest experience. We just hope that Genie Plus is a smooth launch, as there have been unfortunate struggles with Disney’s IT in the past! 

With new rides, limited-edition swag, and a brand new once-in-a-lifetime fireworks display, Disney lovers all over the globe couldn’t miss out on their celebration. But these massive changes don’t have to feel totally out of the realm of possibility for you. If you have a celebration coming up or want to create some big fanfare around a new offer or sale, you can pull that off with a few small changes.

Hype Up Your Customers

You can get your customers just as excited and hyped up for your products and launches as people waiting at the gates for Disney’s parks to open. Every milestone and product is worth celebrating — like hitting 10k followers or launching a brand new product. Smaller milestones like completing a certain number of orders on your site in a day or being able to take Fridays off in the summer are also things worth celebrating — and they’re things your audience can likely relate to or aspire to! Your customers will feel a sense of ownership in your success. They’ll feel like a part of it, and when you bring them in for the celebration, they become loyal advocates for your brand and continued success.

Take a look at the smaller touches Disney adds for things like their 50th Anniversary. They released a totally new logo and colors for the 50th Anniversary, but they also release new sub-brands for different seasons throughout the year, like new sweatshirts in the fall. 

In your business, think about how you can make small tweaks that feel custom to the season or specific to your audience — without overhauling everything entirely. 

​​Have you been offering the same products year after year? Maybe it’s time for a brand refresh or for new videos inside our program. Change up the colors, put a small twist on your customers’ favorite product, or perhaps update your content pillars. Ask yourself, does this align with what is going on in the world right now? Repurpose things you already have in your business that work! 

Bring Your Customers Along

As you start to refresh your offers or look at them in a new way, we want you to think about how you can build excitement and anticipation for your customers. Remember that, regardless of how big or small the milestone may be, your customers want to celebrate with you! 

Disney did an incredible job of building hype for their 50th Anniversary Celebration and creating FOMO that any Disney lover couldn’t resist. Consider the big and small ways you can create excitement with your customers by giving your beloved products a new look or launching a brand new offer! You might even consider things like giveaways for a business anniversary, discounts to celebrate milestones, and even freebies or bonuses if you hit a certain goal with a launch.

If you’re not sure which direction you should go or what you should really take a loot at first…. We recommend our Stop Squirrel Syndrome Workbook

Peter Pan knew the path he needed to take — the second star to the right, and straight on till morning! If you’re looking for a clear direction of what to do next in your business, check out our FREE Stop Squirrel Syndrome Workbook. 

It can hurt your business if you’re always chasing the next best “shiny” object you see or celebrating things that aren’t in line with your overall strategy (you don’t want to celebrate reaching a new level in your video game if video games have nothing to do with your brand). 

So, instead unlock this workbook and map out the projects that align with the most important areas of your business — so you’re doing the next right thing for your business and your customers!

Don’t forget to subscribe to Pixie Dust & Profits and tune in each week, as we share more tips from the Mouse that can help you grow your small business.

Be sure to follow us @pixiedustandprofits and text us at 207-203-6769 to ask your business fairy godmothers a question! It really is us who will respond.

See ya real soon.

In August of 2021, Disney announced that they were bringing back their annual pass holder program! Yay! But then… we read the fine print.

Previously, if you planned to go to Disney more than 10 days in one year, it was worth it to have this pass as the annual pass was equivalent in price to a 10 day park ticket. They’ve revamped the program, adding additional tiers where they are charging more for less, taking away perks that were historically included with the annual pass. 

We’re going to discuss the not-so-welcome changes to Disney’s Annual Pass program and better ways that you can unveil unwelcome — and even welcome — changes to your programs and products.

Breaking Down the Annual Pass

Before we dive into the new annual pass program, let’s back up a bit. Annual passes are not for every Disney fan, as you really need to be going to the parks for 10 days, sometimes less if you are taking separate trips, to make it worth your while. In the past, the annual pass holder program has been great for locals and for people who go essentially more than once a year. The other big bonus with annual passes in the past was that it came with perks. You received discounts at certain restaurants, off merchandise throughout the parks, and an included Photopass. 

So what’s new with these reinstated annual passes? There are now four types of non-local passes, two for Florida residents only, and the base prices of all passes have increased significantly. There are also “blackout dates” where you can’t use your pass, specifically high traffic times during the year like spring break and Christmas. We do love the new names and logos on the passes – something we can point out that Disney did right! But Magic Bands and water park access are extra costs, and there’s caps on park reservations, too. They are really pushing their customers to spend more at Disney, offering further incentives for staying on Disney property, like early access to the parks.

The takeaway here is that every business has to take a look at its business model and increase prices at some point. There are labor shortages, the cost of living and manufacturing prices are increasing, we have to consider the impact of the pandemic, and so on. All businesses have to figure out a way to stay profitable. However, we are begrudgingly renewing our annual passes – and it feels like they are “nickel and diming” things with these new passes. 

Before Increasing Prices…

When you are re-evaluating your business’s pricing or offers like Disney just did, you’ve got to take your most loyal customers into consideration. Do you really want them to be the ones taking the hardest hit?

As you’re building your offers, products, sales, and types of promotions think about how they will be perceived from your customer’s point of view. Doubling the price of your program may not increase your revenue because your pool of people who are going to buy into it might shrink drastically. 

Ask yourself: “Why am I increasing the price? What is the justification? Does my target audience change with these price increases?” 

We understand that Disney lost quite a bit of money because of the shutdowns that happened as a result of the pandemic. However, these price increases really ticked off so many of their biggest fans. We’ve heard many people say that Disney is no longer affordable for the average American family; it’s clear their target audience is changing as they are going after a more affluent customer base. 

Before you increase your prices, let your customers know that this is coming down the pipeline and explain why. With a few of our clients, when we had to increase prices due to excessive shipping costs and manufacturing increases, we’d let them know in advance – 30 to 60 day warnings. For the most part, people will understand if you give them a reasonable explanation and increase prices marginally.

Avoid Frustrating Your Fans

Disney definitely bummed out many of their most loyal customers with these changes to their revamped annual passes. While increasing prices is inevitable, no one wants to alienate and frustrate their best customers! We hope you take some of these ideas so you can better reveal changes happening with your products and offers. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to Pixie Dust & Profits and tune in each week, as we share more tips from the Mouse that can help you grow your small business. Be sure to follow us @pixiedustandprofits and check out magic.pixiedustandprofits.com for some free goodies! See ya real soon.

If you had to guess what brought us together several years ago, you would probably say our love of Disney, right? But actually, it was MOSQUITOS! 

More specifically, how Disney manages mosquitos on their property. If you’ve ever taken a trip to Florida, you know it’s pretty much “swampland.” So, why then when we’re at Disney, we rarely ever get bit?

We totally geeked out at how Disney manages this mosquito problem from an operational standpoint! Disney uses data to find pesky “hot spots” and adjusts its actions accordingly. Keep reading and we’ll teach you how to use metrics to make decisions in your business! 

Managing the Pests

Disney manages their mosquitos in a number of ways, but the most impactful way they keep these pesky bugs away is with chicken coops. The cool thing about chickens is they’re actually not prone to viruses like Zika and won’t get sick if they have it. Every day, they check these chickens and do little tests to see if they’ve been diagnosed with Zika or West Nile. If they find that these chickens are contracting viruses, they know there is an uptick of mosquitos in the area so they can implement measures to address it.

Avoiding chemicals to get rid of bugs was something Walt Disney wanted to avoid, as it would away from the safe environment he imagined Disney to be. So, they use a garlic spray because mosquitoes hate garlic! They have an entire task force dedicated to managing the mosquitos, and only treat the areas where the chickens are experiencing more bites, saving time and money! They use metrics and data, probably on some sort of dashboard, to wisely manage and use their resources to keep the mosquitoes away. 

Disney is also constructed in such a way that there is no standing water throughout their property, and slopes help to keep water from pooling. Water flows or has mechanisms to keep it moving so mosquitoes can’t settle and hatch their eggs. Additionally, the landscaping on the property allows for proper drainage, and flowers and herbs planted throughout naturally repel mosquitoes.  

Fight Fires Strategically

If you can’t tell by now, it is so important that you know how to measure various markers in your business. Often we will finish something up and think, I wonder how many people came through this funnel or how many people converted here? The thing is, if you don’t have the tools or the necessary means in place to capture that data, it’s going to be a lot more work later on to try and figure it out on the backend. We’ve been there, done that! 

Conversion rates, traffic to your site, clicks on trip funnels, opened emails – these are all markers to put in place so you can use data to make decisions for your business moving forward. How Disney handles the annoying mosquito population is a lot like tracking your business metrics.

Metrics Challenge

Nicole here! I developed a Metrics Challenge to help business owners like you figure out which metrics matter for your business, and how to use them to make advised and forward-focused decisions! I want to help you move from a place where you are tracking nothing to tracking something, and this really is a step-by-step guide to get you in the door to start thinking about using metrics to make decisions for your business. 

Think through this…If your ads are getting clicks, are they turning into leads? Are people actually putting their email addresses in or purchasing the thing that you sent them to? If they’re not, then that tells you there’s something wrong with the landing page because you’re getting clicks. People are getting there and they’re not moving to the next step. If they are going ahead and opting in, but they’re not buying the second offer, then there’s a problem with something on the second page. See how we are using the data to figure out where the disconnect is?

Diagnostics is really the heart of metrics. You can see where the drop-offs are happening and then understand where you need to focus your efforts, time, money, or hire support. Feeling like something isn’t working isn’t enough! You’ve got to take a look at your metrics, and this Metrics Challenge will help you get started. It’s the non-sexy stuff that honestly can result in the biggest life leaps and bounds in your business.

Use Your Data

Don’t let words like metrics, measurements, KPIs, or any of these words scare you! Disney has managed their mosquito situation by simply tracking its data and taking action when the numbers show an uptick in bites. By implementing markers and tracking data for your business, you will be able to better understand what is or isn’t working so you can optimize and improve your business, making it more profitable! 
Don’t forget to subscribe to Pixie Dust & Profits and tune in each week, as we share more tips from the Mouse that can help you grow your small business. Be sure to follow us @pixiedustandprofits and sign up for our mailing list to get some fun extras! See ya real soon.

You may have found yourself planning a “staycation” over the last few years as a result of COVID restrictions around the globe. Disney, on the other hand, is always adapting – making the most of any environment they find themselves in!

We had the honor of interviewing Diane Barrowsmith of SixCastleCompany to discuss one of Disney’s innovative brand new offers that launches in the summer of 2022. Disney Cruise Lines are famous for enhancing the high seas, but recently they launched a brand new U.K. Staycations with Disney’s Magic at Sea! 

If you’re looking for some magical inspiration to help you pivot and innovate within your business with assets you already have, keep reading!

Disney’s Magic at Sea

Recently, Disney revealed exclusive UK Staycation cruises lasting 2-4 nights that depart from four different ports in the UK, float about at sea and then loop back to port. Previously, Disney only offered longer cruises leaving from the UK, lasting 7-14 days, but they were few and far between with a hefty price tag attached. With these new shorter cruise offerings, they are tapping into a new audience who may have wanted to give a Disney Cruise a shot in the past, but the buy in was too high. 

What’s really interesting is that Disney already offered a slightly similar model with cruises that depart from the U.S., going through the Bahamas. They are shorter trips without a stop at Castaway Cay, which is Disney’s privately owned island, but rather loop back to Port Canaveral in FL. Disney took what was already successful in the states and brought it over to a new audience in the UK!

It was also such an innovative move for Disney to make during the global pandemic. They found a way to make the Disney experience more accessible to their audiences. These UK cruises don’t leave the UK, going from one port and sailing back around, making people feel safe enough to invest in this unique experience. With the lower end price tag and time commitment, they are able to bring in a brand new audience who may not have otherwise been able to afford a Disney cruise. 

The Magic of a Disney Cruise

You may be surprised to hear that we have never actually been on a Disney cruise before! Yes, we know it’s shocking! Even as Vacation Club members who spend quite a bit of time at Disney, their cruises have a pretty big price tag that can be a deterrent, especially for new audiences.

A Disney cruise is typically for someone who’s been to Disney World and knows what to expect. These cruises stand apart from other typical cruise experiences, so there’s a higher price tag that comes along with this level of entertainment and service. Imagine cast members who cut up your kids’ food for you, servers who remember your drink orders, and who make an effort to really get to know your preferences during your voyage. There is a Broadway level of entertainment in the shows they offer, nurseries and kid’s clubs, along with adult only pools. They really provide an amazing balance for families with their wide variety of offerings and accommodations.

Adapt and Pivot Your Current Offers

While the specific details and prices of these exclusive UK cruises have yet to be released (Disney loves keeping us on our toes!), we can learn from how they use their current assets and offers their audiences already love.

Target a new audience

Ask yourself, where’s another audience that lines up with your current audience that you know you already have a base for? Disney took what was already working in the states with shorter cruise experiences and brought it over to the UK to tap into a new audience. Not only did they use an asset that they’ve already got, but they also encourage this new audience to book future Disney experiences without impacting the audience they already have over in the U.S.! For small businesses like your own, take a look at the assets that you have available and all the audiences that you could potentially tap into and how to match those things up. You may need to tweak and repackage your offer to fit this new audience, but you don’t need to start from scratch!

Ascension Models

We’ve talked so many times about ascension models and you may be thinking…Nicole and Yasmine keep on about these models. But it’s because they are so important! Quick refresh – an ascension model is a ladder of different value offerings that grow with the customer. 

Disney does this with their resorts, ticket offers, dining plans, and more. They used this model again to reach people who may have wanted to take a Disney cruise, but the price tag prevented them from doing so. These shorter UK exclusive staycation cruises appealed to a new audience, in hopes that they would taste a bit of the pixie dust magic on this quick Disney experience, leading them to return and try out Disneyland Paris or even make the trip to the states for Disney World or a longer Disney cruise! They bring people in at the bottom of their model, moving up until they become vacation club members like us!

Pivot your offers

When looking at your own products or services, if something’s not selling, it may not be because it’s not a good product. Perhaps you need to look at the environment it’s in, look at your product description page and how it’s being described. Especially if you have something that people might worry about in this COVID world right now, tweak it a little bit, make it sound safer and more trustworthy! 

Shift with the Seas

You don’t have to have it all figured out! Disney hasn’t even released prices and details for these exclusive UK cruises yet, as regulations and protocols are still ever changing in this COVID world. It kind of reminds us that not everything does go to plan that as a small business owner. The ability to shift and adapt as things out of your control come up emphasize that we can’t strive for perfection. Disney is constantly shifting and pivoting so they can keep bringing the magic to their audiences, no matter what the environment around looks like. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to Pixie Dust & Profits and tune in each week, as we share more tips from the Mouse that can help you grow your small business. And be sure to follow Diane @sixcastlecompany!

Have you watched Disney’s show, Behind the Attraction? If not, now you know what you are doing tonight! But seriously, we couldn’t get enough of it. A peek behind Disney’s attractions? Count us in.

This new series on Disney+ tells the iconic stories behind rides at both Disneyland and Disney World. Disney’s ability to reimagine their characters, rides, and movies in new (and profitable) ways is truly amazing. And as Disney lovers, we continue to buy and consume their content through live-action remakes and new movie spin-offs, as they weave together their stories through multiple new mediums. 

Learn how Disney uses their magic to repackage and reinvent their characters and concepts so you can apply the same key principles to your small business.

Pulling Back the Curtain 

Creating happiness is hard work! Disney released their Imagineering Story right when Disney+ came out, taking viewers on a journey to see what it actually took to create, design, and build Disney parks all over the globe – a peek behind the parks’ curtains. Then, they released their newest documentary series, Behind the Attraction, where they share the stories of how various rides and attractions came to be. 

Disney is so smart in how they create something and then use that same intellectual property in a number of ways. At the same time Disney was filming Imagineering, we imagine they were brainstorming various ways they repurpose that content in a different light – and bravo! – We now have Behind the Attraction. 

Disney repurposes engineering ideas the same way they are now repurposing their content. Take Rise of the Resistance. They used the same technology from Tower of Terror to make the “free floating” feeling happen on Rise of the Resistance. If it works, it works! Instead of reinventing the wheel, they recycle what is working…what their customers are loving. And you can do the very same thing in your business. 

The Magic of Reinventions 

It’s not normal to talk about how to rethink something that already exists. As business owners, we’re trained to constantly be coming up with the “next big idea.” But Disney doesn’t listen to that bad advice. Just think: Disney has remade classic movies and characters we all love into new live actions! Lion King, Cinderella, and Cruella to name a few. Some people love them, some not so much, but we are total fans.

Over the years, Disney has also taken several of their attractions and used them as inspiration for new films: Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion. The most successful being Pirates of the Caribbean, where they made a blockbuster movies series from the original ride, and then went back and updated the ride to match the movie!

In your business, think about where you have existing content or an existing product that you could create a spinoff from. Maybe you have an origin story, but perhaps you could share a different path you haven’t yet revealed or divvy it up. Could you take your YouTube video and cut it up to share it on Instagram Stories or on a Live? Ask for yourself: How can you reuse things in different ways?

Also consider how you can look at things from a new perspective: Twenty-five years after 101 Dalmations came out, Disney made a new movie featuring Cruella, revealing her backstory. They did this same thing with Maleficent, and now they have Disney Villains after-hours, a separately ticketed, special nighttime event showcasing some of Disney’s most-loved villains. Who would have thought we would be so in love with even the baddies’ backstories! It’s so complex how they resell us on yet another experience from the same movie characters and concepts. Disney keeps making money, using the same intellectual property and repacking it in so many different mediums.

Leveraging your IP 

Let’s dive into how you can leverage your intellectual property (IP) by recreating and repacking your concepts, ideas, and products. 

Sell the Inverse

For those of you with products, think about selling the inverse of your best-selling product. Take a T-shirt, for example. Hold it up to a black light and do the inverse of it! 

Reapply Frameworks

For service-based businesses, think about how you can take the frameworks you apply to the work you do and put a different spin on it. Here at Pixie Dust & Profits, we teach a similar framework whether our client has a million dollar business or operates a smaller revenue producing business. We can apply the same principles to multiple mediums rather than starting at ground zero, trying to reinvent the wheel.  

Ask for Feedback

Speak to your spouse or friend for some new ideas or feedback on your current offers and see what ideas they have. Take it to a mastermind, or ask other business owners for their feedback! Sometimes, it’s much easier for someone on the outside to see things differently than you. 

Look Through a Different Lens

Go watch Cruella and ask… What would she say about this product? Okay, okay, it may seem like a silly suggestion! But it truly can help you to look through a different lens into your business. 

Use What Your Customer Already Love

Disney is so smart with how they create something and then use that intellectual property in a number of ways. But it’s not just big businesses like Disney that can do this. You can take your ideas and concepts in your business and repackage them in a number of ways! We can’t wait to see what you create next. 

Make sure to subscribe to Pixie Dust & Profits and tune in each week, as we share more tips from the Mouse that can help you grow your small business.

In January, we found ourselves needing to meet with one of our clients in person, and we had another client trip that was also on the other end of Florida in the Panhandle. So one idea that we came up with was doing a Pixie Dust & Profits business intensive, and we actually spent four days in Orlando, close to Disney property, where we sat down with our client and went through her entire business. We did a deep dive into what happened in the past six months and came up with our plan for the next six months and worked in a little bit of Disney magic. 

We discovered a few interesting things that we think you guys would be super interested in learning about.

2 just-for-fun days at Disney? Count us in!

This trip marked the start of our Pixie Dust & Profits podcast, so we could finally start working on this podcast that we had been talking about for at least six months. We had the name of it. We had 12 episodes outlined for it. And we had yet to record a single episode. When you work with as many clients as we do, sometimes their work takes precedence. And if you don’t know, we are both operations strategists working on the back end of a number of teams, which we feel incredibly fortunate to do. We’re the ones coming up with strategies, plans, analyzing numbers and trying to really move things forward so they can grow and scale their businesses. So because of that, as much as we wanted to start this podcast many, many months ago, it took us a little bit of time to get things off the ground, but we did it. We got it done and done is better than early. 

Business strategy with a side of magic

So, let’s start off with the beginning of the trip and what we ended up doing. We met with our one client for that deep dive intensive. And of course it wouldn’t be a Pixie Dust & Profits business intensive if it didn’t actually involve a trip to Disney. So we did our very first after-hours event. Now, we’ve been to Disney quite a bit, we’ve been on all the rides. So why would we spend what was basically an extra hundred dollars to go to an after-hours event? And of course, take our client along with us, right? 

Well, we were working hard during the day, doing this deep strategy work, figuring out the teams that we’re going to be working with, and how to implement a big project we had coming up. Then, at the end of the day at seven o’clock, we would go to this after-hours event. It was dark out. So it wasn’t super crazy hot either. 

There were so few people in Magic Kingdom! It was February. So it was kind of cold actually. And we were all wearing sweaters and pants, which is unheard of in Orlando. And we just had such an enjoyable experience walking around without any heat, without any crowds. You also get free popcorn and ice cream and drinks, and probably a bunch of other things that we can’t remember at this point while you’re walking around the park. So if you fancy getting a Mickey Bar, it is included. And even if it was kind of on the chilly side of things — we are from the North, we were able to handle that ice cream and what was 65 degree temperatures like champs. 

On that trip, we actually did what we like to consider the highlight of our business career: delivering a financial report on the People Mover. You know, we found ourselves trying to take like a little bit of a break to enjoy our Mickey Bars and our sodas. And you know, we thought, “Why not now to talk about financial results?” We had everything prepared. So we walked our client through how we did for the past six months, what our goals were for the next six. And frankly, we wish we could do all business meetings on the People Mover because that would just be such a treat.

The after-hours experience

The thing that we really want to stress here with this after-hours event is that, from a business perspective, Disney got people who have annual passes to pay more money and to come to something they already have access to. That just got us thinking about your business and how you can give little order bumps and one time offers and things for your customers to spend just a little bit more money with you, even if it’s for the same thing that they already have, but with an elevated experience, right? 

What we were paying for was not just to go to Magic Kingdom… we can go to Magic Kingdom any time. We were paying for less crowds walking onto seven doors, mind train, and Peter Pan’s flight. Like when do you do that? You wait 15 minutes in line with the FastPass or you’re waiting an hour to get in. And just to have all the treats our heart desired. It was an amazing evening. It was just low stress. And we actually were able to hit every single ride we wanted to!  And when you compare that to the price of a regular park ticket, I think it’s around $150 for a single day, you get less time in the park, but we were actually able to maximize that and have an enhanced customer experience.

Elevate your offerings (just like Disney!) 

There are ways that you can take your existing offers and add an additional level of experience, a higher touch point and charge more for it. And your customers would be fine with paying for it. One example is if you have a group program. Obviously when someone’s coming into a group program, they’re sharing your time and your expertise with a bunch of other people. Now, if they want your one-on-one advice outside of the weekly or monthly calls that you have, you can charge them a little bit of a premium for that and get them to pay extra for one-on-one access. 

So if you offer a bonus clarity call or a bonus strategy call, you can discount that from your usual price. Because again, they are a customer, but get them to spend an additional hundred, $150 for that hour of your time, which is going to be insanely valuable for them because just like Disney, they’re not competing with everyone else for your time. This can also be something like a Slack channel. If you just want to have access to someone for a month to be able to talk to them or Voxer, if you prefer a voice communication, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a 30 minute call. 

It could also be a bundle of things that you’ve sold in the past, or you have sitting on your hard drive that you use in your own business already — like our Business Bundle ;). Just tweak it up a little bit and make it more of a template. Don’t give them over your customer information, but you can sell these little things. In addition to the regular product that you’re selling, you already have them sold. This is the best opportunity to give them just a little bit more that they actually need and want, and they already have their credit card out. So it’s a perfect win-win for them and for you.

Think about getting your Magic Band. How genius is it for Disney to offer the opportunity to pay $10 more, just $10 to get a custom band?? When we go to the parks, we know those Magic Bands are $25. So this is another opportunity where you can easily sell something. We’re already coming. Now Disney can just send us that one little extra bump and it’s only $10. You can do the same thing — but think about it across 20 clients. You’re charging $10 or $25 for something, and  that adds up very quickly. It’s not necessarily additional time or effort on your part. You just set up the system and it delivers that bonus and that’s extra money you’re raking in every month. 

How can you add this magic to your biz?

We encourage you to look at your business, look at the products and offerings you have. What are ways that you can add a little bit of an extra touch point or a little bit more value to your customer in a really meaningful and intentional way that you can charge more for? 

The best way to do this is to create a Customer Ascension Model, which can show you easily how you kickstart a sale — and continue to sell to customers once you have them in the door. We have a totally free Customer Ascension Model in our Business Bundle. This is the same model we use with all of our clients when mapping out their strategy!

“CUTE EARS!”

Hearing that in your day to day life might make you wonder if the compliment giver has some Hannibal Lecter-esque tendencies… but it’s something that’s totally common to hear when you’re on property, as Disney vacation goers say.

In fact, walking around at Disney World or Disneyland, you’re hard-pressed to find someone who isn’t showing their Disney love in the form of a cute Minnie Ear headband, a funny Disney themed shirt or some sort of other Disney accessory.

Case and point—We’re delving into the entrepreneurial world that Disney has spurred and inspired themselves. It’s called the Small Shops and these shops are by Disney fans like me and you who create shops to sell Disney-inspired gear and accessories to decorate your home, things to wear in the park. And even some things that are really innovative and enhance your overall Disney experience. 

When I (Yasmine) was a kid, I’d go to Disneyland often because I had family in LA. And we’d always go for the day, but I had never experienced the magic of the world until I was an adult. In fact, I was 34, my first trip to Disney World. I spent so much time planning every moment of the trip. And I just remember going on to shop disney.com and looking at all of the cool ears and wishing I can get them all to match all my outfits because of course I was going to try Disney bounding for my first trip there, but the shop doesn’t really ship to Canada and it was going to be really expensive to get five different sets of years to match every single outfit. 

Enter…the Small Shops!

Bows, anyone?

I went to Etsy just to see if anyone had anything or I could find anything that would be an adequate replacement. And my mind was blown. I ended up not only finding a whole bunch of years to choose from but I found a pair of ears that had sparkly, interchangeable bows. So all I had to do was buy five or in my case, 10 different bows, and I could match every single outfit. I was able to Disney bound as all the princesses and have ears to match with only one pair. 

Let’s run! For…fun?

I (Nicole) did a run Disney race. It was my first one and I was really excited about it, but I was more in my head about the running than about the experience of it, because I am not a runner. I trained for months to try and even be able to finish a 10K and the extracurricular side of it didn’t even come to my mind until probably a day or two before we were leaving to go to the race. And it’s a big deal to run a Disney race! Apparently there are costumes, there are tutus, anything you can possibly imagine. And the joke I had made when I first signed up for the star Wars run was that my husband was running on the dark side. He was the rival run. So it’s the dark side versus the light side. He chose the dark side and I chose the light side. 

And if you are a Star Wars fan, you probably know that hope is what the rebellion is built on. So I would use this phrase when I was talking about this run; I’m huffing and puffing with hope because I don’t know if I can actually run a 10 K, right? And so I get there and you know, it’s two 30 in the morning, the race is starting in three hours. And I see all these people wearing amazing outfits that they either made themselves, or they went to Etsy and found. And I was like, man, I really should have gotten a shirt that said huffing and puffing with hope. And I felt so left out and came home. And I immediately went to Etsy to search for “run Disney” to see what’s even available.

Talk about Small Shops! 

There’s a whole industry that supports people who are addicted to running and Disney. It’s amazing how many small shops created all this stuff, probably because they are Disney runners and they went and wanted all these items for themselves. And now you can see, Disney’s kind of copying them in some ways, because when I entered the expo, the first thing you do when you get to run Disney, is you have to go pick up your bib and they have an expo there and it’s just insane how many products they have available to you. 

And they’re specific to the race you’re running too. They have 5K shirts, they have 10 K, they have challenges, they have special metals, commemorative pins, everything possible. And so there’s so many things to buy while you’re there. And that’s all spurred from the fact that these other industries are creating things. They may as well create and upsell it. So we definitely spent a good number of dollars in that little area to commemorate our first run Disney. And now we’ll probably be back because of it! 

I read a lot of stories about parents wanting to save money and shopping in the parks and stopping at Walmart and Target and picking up cute little Elsa costumes and Mickey shirts so they have Disney gear in the parks that they don’t have to spend Disney parks prices for. But now they have so much more choice and they’re stepping beyond the sort of standard Disney licensing products or licensed products. 

They are able to buy from independent sellers that are coming up with the most creative and let’s be real slogans for shirts. They’re coming up with cute costume accessories. If you go on Etsy and you search for Mickey ears right now, you’re going to come up with over 39,000 results. Let that sink in for a second. 39,000 different types of Mickey ears, and Disney has won their shop 10, 15. I know they’re constantly adding things, but it doesn’t compare to the selection that you can find online.

I also think that people making their own and selling them spur Disney to get into this let’s-create-as-many-ears-as-we-can. Let’s have the vault again, where we put some ears away, we bring some new ones out. There are way more, many ears now and styles and options than there were even two or three years ago. When we would go as an adult we didn’t even see people wearing many ears as much as you do now. Now everyone has a different color for every outfit I personally travel with too. 

The innovative products 

I want to take a second to talk about some of the innovative products that they’re coming up with. So did you know that you can actually buy a case to hold your Minnie ears? I don’t know about you, but like I carefully wrapped them in my suitcase. Try to make sure, you know, the bows don’t get smushed, but how cool is it that there’s an actual accessory for those hardcore Disney fans to protect their most valued accessory?

And one of the things I saw with the run Disney stuff is there are people who make things like plaques and things. You can hang on the wall in your house to display all the metals you get, because you know, you do one run Disney, you’ve got to collect all the rest of the metals. So it was just really interesting to see because I never would have thought of that. Like I said,  I’m not a runner. And I don’t have these metals from all these races, but you bring it home. You need to display it somewhere. It’s not going to go in the closet. So now you can get a piece to hang it on and it spurs you to go on more Disney trips. 

There are these really cute wooden Mickey signs that you can basically hook all your magic bands around. You can add four or five, but you really want to fill it up to really make that a display piece in your house. So same thing with the Run Disney medals, you would actually want to go to Disney to get more magic bands to fill that up. So they are coming up with really interesting ways to protect and display your Disney fanaticism, which is so super cool. 

The stylish products

I think it’s also important to talk about how yes, before you could go to Target or Walmart and just get a simple shirt with a Mickey face on it. But now there’s different styles. And I mean, there’s a whole industry of children’s clothing, right? You can have high end children’s clothing where you’ve got these like princess inspired dresses that are still Orlando weather friendly because that is not what the traditional princess dress is. That’s usually a little bit like starchy. The kids don’t really want to wear it all day long, but they do. You can go find some really cute Disney inspired gear from these small shops.

Doing research for this episode, I started getting ads served to me on Facebook for some of these small shops and, you know, things that I would come across were high-end designer-ish brands for kids that were designing Disney inspired gear. So they had like bomber jackets with Mickey ears on the back and they were beautiful and gorgeous. And I just keep thinking as a parent, my daughter would outgrow that in like a month, but it is adorable. And I need that for my trip!

The high-end products

Another super interesting thing with small shops is  yes, they’re creating things for kids, but they’re also expanding the possibility of what adults can buy that are Disney related. So we tease our client about this quite a bit, but she once said to us that when she thinks of adult Disney fans, she thinks of someone wearing a super faded Donald duck shirt from like 20 years ago. And let’s be real… for the longest time, that’s kind of all there was. It was Disney kid’s clothes, but in adult sizes and the small shop industry has been able to create really fun, trendy, really cool shirts that you actually want to wear as a grownup and created this entire market of products for Disney adult fans.

Small shops are getting Disney’s attention

You can buy high-end Disney jewelry with like your favorite quotes on it that are 24 karat gold bracelets. You can buy designer handbags. You know, coaches definitely put out a few Disney bags. Kate spade has too, but some of these Disney’s small shops are actually creating artisan handcrafted leather goods that are Disney inspired as well. So you’re not gonna buy those things for your kids, but as an adult, you might like to splurge on, or dress up your Disney outfit when you’re in the park. So it’s really cool that they basically created an entire market that in a way, Disney was kind of ignoring, had forced Disney to really step up their game. 

Disney came out with so many more ears because they noticed these small shops coming up with super creative and crafty designs in 2017. Disney doubled the amount of merchandise and specifically licensed merchandise that they had in shop disney.com. They noticed that in 2016 retail sales are falling by 6%. People just weren’t spending as much time in malls. And why would they, when they had a plethora of options available to them online at their fingertips? Just not from Disney. They closed a lot of Disney stores all around. Now that’s just really trendy and modern with the clothes that they have. 

They’re kind of bringing back some of the eighties style, early nineties style, and how the shirts are cut. Well, that’s my biggest deal with t-shirts as a woman. And I’m sure most of you can relate. They just aren’t ever cut for our bodies. They’re so square. And they actually make things that fit in, look nicely on all sorts of body types, because everyone loves Disney. And it’s just been great to see that, that transformation, I never bought souvenirs or merchandiser gear and I’ve been to Disney many, many times. And I will say that I didn’t start buying these things until probably the last two to three years, because nothing really ever appealed to me. And now they’re creating these designs that I would actually wear outside of the parks without feeling bad about it, because it’s not a faded Donald duck shirt saying that I’m going crackers or something silly.

Disney steps up their merchandise game

Disney’s actually collaborating with some of these like small shop artisans to bring you more creative and innovative products. I’m a big makeup fan. I spent way too much money at Sephora. And some of the collections I’ve been super jazzed about was ColourPop’s collaboration with Disney for both the designer princess collection and the villains collection. Yes, I bought every single piece. No, I will never wear a purple highlighter, but I really, really wanted that highlighter with Ursula on it. Cause it’s super cool. So they’re actually making it more accessible to get cool Disney things by partnering with brands that have an entirely different audience space and in a way, capitalizing on the nostalgia of Disney. And that has really turned around retail sales for Disney. So we’ve talked a lot about what Disney has done, what small shops have done to change the industry and how it’s impacted Disney. 

So… how can you use this for your own small business?

What we really want to get at here is that you as a small business owner:  can you think about things that you’ve created for yourselves and how you can market that to other people? Because a lot of these products from these Etsy shops really stemmed out of someone who really wanted this for themselves and then realized that there were other people in that predicament too. So for an example, there is a travel planner out there named Magical Miranda, who makes a planner specific to Disney. So it’s got all the different dates in there that you should know about. Like Mickey’s not so scary Halloween party is coming up and after hours events and all sorts of things like that, that is something that you probably thought you needed when you were planning a Disney trip and couldn’t find anywhere. And now she makes an annual planner.

So that way you can buy it and you can use it as a regular planner and just get a little bit of a Disney fied feeling to your day, make a magical day for yourself. But you can also use it to plan those trips that you are going to plan. So that exists because she needed it for herself or for her clients because she a travel agent and then she put that out there for everyone else. So what do you have in your business that you use all the time that you think is so simple and basic, and everyone must do this and how can you get that out to people?

What is uniquely yours?

It’s funny, there are tools and systems that we use every single day that we kind of take for granted. And sometimes it takes someone else just being like, Whoa, that’s a really cool process to understand the potential that exists there because here’s the thing, not everyone works the way that you work. Not everyone thinks the way that you think. So you always have something of value to share. I think it’s just a matter of looking at your business and finding out what’s that thing that’s uniquely yours. It could be inspired by someone else’s system, but format it in a way that works for you. I mean, that’s what all of these small shops have done. It doesn’t have to be a hundred percent original. It just needs your take on it. So we really encourage you to look at your business and find what those opportunities are. In fact, our amazing friend, Christina Scalera, who you may know from our intro is all about finding ways to create digital products in your service-based business so you can bring in passive income. She has a ton of great resources on how you can start to find out what those opportunities are in your business and how to go about creating digital products that you can actually sell. Check out our episode where we talked all about copyrights:

 We also want to encourage you to think about that white space in your industry. What do you have and what can you provide to people who you may not even know that they need? 

You could be sitting on a goldmine and you don’t even know it.