Transcript
Speaker: Happy Wednesdays. So while you wait for inquiries to roll in you can turn your expertise into a digital product. Join my 24 hour ai challenge.
Speaker: I learned digital marketing in a week. I'm still learning every day. I then implemented a done-for-you funnel with a simple ad, and I make daily sales passively every day.
Speaker: It's freed up my time and literally changed my life. I'm a different person, and I will never look back, and I want this opportunity for you, too. Check out my link in the show notes.
Speaker: So today i have Sarah, S-A-R-A, in the house. Her IG is handmade by Sarah Kim. Go binge scroll her IG. It will leave you feeling zen. It'll get your creative crafting juices flowing and just make you feel happy.
Speaker: And I love hearing her journey from being a kid to playing with papers. And then she just specialized in handmade paper flowers. I worked a bunch of weddings with her.
Speaker: And she had the honor of partnering with amazing brands like Michaels. Cricut and the Getty Museum. She is so passionate and inspiring to other fellow artists. She has a podcast, she does workshops, she does tutorials, and her creative content is just next level.
Speaker: You are going to love this episode. Enjoy!
Speaker: Welcome to Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. I'm your host Carissa and I've been a Los Angeles wedding photographer for over a decade. I've traveled the world, built my team, and seen it all.
Speaker: I now coach wedding photographers hit 10K a month and build a thriving business. In this podcast, we are going to deep dive into how top wedding creatives get that heck yes from their dream clients. We are not holding back on the struggles of the business and how to push through the noise. Some healthy hustle, mindset shifts, up-leveling your money story,
Speaker: Time hacks because I'm a mom of two, a little bit of woo-woo, and most importantly, self-love and confidence are just a few of the many things we will talk about. I want to give you a genuine thank you for following along my journey.
Speaker: i hope to inspire you every Woo Wednesday so that you say heck yes to listening to this podcast. See you guys soon.
Speaker: Hey everyone, welcome back to Get a Heck Yes. Happy Woo Wednesdays. I have Sarah Kim in the house. I've known you for a long time. um We're veterans. Her company is handmade by Sarah Kim. And I'll do your bio a little bit later. but I guess, Sarah, how are you doing? Say hello to everyone.
Speaker: Hi, everyone. Thank you for having me on here. i feel like it's been a while since I saw you, Carissa. It was, I don't know, how many years have it been? Because it was actually when I was in the wedding industry, and I don't really say that I'm i'm in the wedding industry anymore. Yeah.
Speaker: yeah i I feel like I get this image of us like getting tacos before an event. Yes. With like Jenny, Chloe, man. Yes. With wedding frienders. Yeah. Yeah. And yeah I feel like even for you, but like over the years, like we've just kind of evolved and our business has kind of made some transitions.
Speaker: Yeah. So I'm excited to hear all of the updates on you, but I love your reels and everything that you make. It's so beautiful. But in a nutshell, tell the audience who you are.
Speaker: Yeah, I'm Sarah and I am the founder designer behind Hami by Sarah Kim. um I do now specialize in paper flowers, specifically to paper art.
Speaker: And my business has transitioned, yeah, over... The 15 years that I've been in business now, I did start in the wedding industry. i used to sell bridal accessories that I would design and make.
Speaker: But then I've kind of come around to, I guess, resorting to paper art just after getting married and and after having a kid. i don't know. I don't know why I came back to it, but I started my business with...
Speaker: paper art initially. And then I was like, oh, I can't make money off of paper. So I then I was like, okay, how um how do I get into the wedding industry? Because that's where the money's at. And then now I've kind of took a step back and want to just concentrate on the art behind it. And the idea of like making something out of paper really intrigued me. And that's kind of why i am here doing that now.
Speaker: Yeah, your stuff is insane. So let's bring it back to Sarah Kim, like as a kid, as a child, what were you like? What were your, what was your family dynamics like? And we just want to like get to know you a little bit better.
Speaker: Oh, I was always crafty. And I'm definitely like confident in saying that I always loved making things. um I also really liked making like little dolls. Like I was really creative because, well, and I feel like in our generation, or at least for me, um we didn't have TV. yeah We didn't have, we're like, we didn't really have you know, the devices that we do have now. yeah So with the time that I had, and we we couldn't afford like having nice toys, like my dream was to have a Barbie, like Barbie set of some sort. And like the only Barbie I had was like from McDonald's, like the Happy Meal version.
Speaker: And so I loved making like my own dolls, like out of chopsticks, like and I would like make it out of like paper towels and like napkins and things like that. So I really envisioned myself like really creative from the fact that I didn't have anything to do or have no money and I didn't have money and I didn't have anything to do, you know?
Speaker: And um it's unfortunate that like maybe in the current, you know, age, they you don't have time for that, you know? You're on your phone or you're on, you're entertained by so many other things. But yeah, yeah that's that was like my childhood.
Speaker: I love that. I mean, we live it, we were the last people to grow up, grow up without devices. Internet, yeah. yeah grow up without a phone. um My best friend in childhood, she was Korean and she was really crafty. So ah like her stuff was always like 20 times better than mine. Like origami. um Yeah. She was really good with her hands. um But I'm actually like opposite of you because I look at your stuff and um I'm not like an artist like in that type of way. But are. Yeah, I am with like photos, but it's so different. Like I could I would never think of like the stuff that you come up with or even anything. What's. um
Speaker: I don't know, just like, I just want to get into your brain of like, from crafting, like, what was it like um making these dolls? And then like, what were you like in high school? Like, um were you into all that ah scrapbooking or?
Speaker: Yes, I was totally into scrapbooking and card making was like a huge thing. And even in college, I think I like joined like, okay, so there used to be like a Like those groups that would meet up, like, yeah like um what's it called? Essential oils or whatever. Like they would they would meet up and like, you know, have like a little get together with women. Like they had that with stamps and i was I would go and I would like make friends with random people that was into like scrapbooking basically. Yeah.
Speaker: And um i don like i know it's like so random, but I would actually go to those kind of meetups. and like that's probably how it sparked my interest in like, oh, like I wish I could make cards. I think i even like submitted like like a card design of some sort like way before I even started my business.
Speaker: Wow. um Like in a magazine. I think they had like a little ad in the back of the magazine. And I submitted like my work to them. Oh, did you win? No. no
Speaker: your um did your Was your mom or dad crafty? And like how did they kind of encourage you with the no money? No, they they were not crafty. And it's funny because i I have my mom randomly work for me if I have like some crazy bulk order.
Speaker: And i I don't trust her work. you know I'm like, you're not good at this. Yeah. I usually like make her like maybe prep like things that really don't require much art or creativity. like Just cutting cutting like the tape or something like that. That's hilarious. So I'm your mom. This was a long time ago, but my best friend, like she wanted us to make her favors. um So we did it. And then she had to do them all over again.
Speaker: Just like not up to par. Yeah, I mean, like, I can't trust her with, like, cutting petals or anything like that. That's too advanced for her. But, you know, there's, like, little steps in between that would really help, like, cutting tape, like, at a certain length or something like that, you know? So she would have all that. Or, like, pack it up at the end or something like that.
Speaker: Yeah, you were definitely one of a kind. What were you, like – so scrapbooking in high school, and then how about, like, college years? What was the college years like? I'm actually a music major. So I guess I don't really call that like the same as art, but it's like a different type of art. Just like, you know, and photography is a different type of art from crafting, I guess.
Speaker: Totally. But yeah, I was a music music major. That was kind of like my whole life, like up until out of college. And then um I was teaching music. I was...
Speaker: um Yeah. performing and things like that so that that was kind of like my real job initially and and i did this as a side hustle and then ah it kind of became my full-time job and so now i don't i don't play music at all which is so you you play the violin right Yeah, I was a violin performance major. And yeah, I don't know. my I did really enjoy performing. And maybe that's kind of like how I get my gateway to like being a content creator as an artist rather than just providing like the paper flour that I'm making.
Speaker: But I guess I really I'm really into like, you know, filming it and staging it and like different types of props and stuff like that. And then maybe that comes from like when I used to love performing.
Speaker: Yeah, I just, um I was watching all the all your reels this morning and then, you know, the one where like you you did the shells with like the fig tree. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So it was really well done, but I was reading like all the comments. ah but I was like, um people are like, oh, what can's kind of camera? And you're like, oh, it's great.
Speaker: um But I was like, okay, I want to do the same thing. I was like looking it on Facebook marketplace, but you're definitely inspiration. But what kind of camera do you use? And like, what's your mindset um while filming? Yeah.
Speaker: um i I have a Sony a7C and I do have a really nice lens. It's like the G version of Sony G something, whatever. Yeah. um but I'm sure my lens is like more expensive than my camera. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. I mean, I'm telling you, you're the professional, so you you know all camera but I always use my phone for content creation, so. Oh, yeah, I know. I do too. But I do use my camera for when it gets a little bit more in-depth, I guess, because I do think it – you could tell, obviously, that it's different. Yeah. um And I do have a Sony ZV-E one, I think that's what it's called.
Speaker: And um that one's also a pretty pricey one. And it's like interchangeable lens too. um But yeah, so I do i do use like nicer equipment rather than like my phone.
Speaker: Although like the iPhone sometimes it's amazing, you know, I'm like, oh. Yeah. and But I feel like your content is so good that like you could blow it up into like a movie screen and everything is just like placed perfectly. And like it's just perfect. And you feel like a certain way when you're watching it, like you feel so inspired, but also like very calm and very zen. So I just I love your content.
Speaker: It's incredible. Thank you. Yeah. No, I i do wish that like that's kind of like, I don't know, like my what I could do to set myself apart from like other, you know, crafters, I guess.
Speaker: And I think crafters, like they do kind of it's hard because you have to craft, you have to make your art and then and then have to like learn a whole new art, which is like, you know, shooting and like making it like look nice. I think that's like a whole nother art which is your art, you know, right? Like it's your, you're the photographer and you're the one who like sees behind the camera.
Speaker: And I think that's like a whole nother like world. It's a whole nother brain. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. But I do enjoy it. You're really good at it. Okay, let's talk one more thing about your violin music career before we step into, like, the paper flowers. But, like, what was something, like, you learned or a special experience that, like, sticks out in your brain, um ah important lesson that you learned?
Speaker: I think – um Like it's a pretty obvious one Music, it it's practice. Like practice makes perfect. So I firmly believe in that. Although like...
Speaker: I don't know, this new generation, i do think they are more like, i don't I don't know if they're like the drilling type. Like, you know, like our Asian back in the day, we we went to Kumon, we solved like 100 problems, you know, like it was like practice makes perfect, right?
Speaker: But maybe it's not the case anymore. But I still believe in that, right? Like you you write it over and over and then you learn from it kind of thing. So yeah I think I, I still implement that in my business now. Like I practiced like 10 times on the piano and then like my song gets better. Right. So the same thing, i practice a flower 10 times a day or wherever it gets better.
Speaker: And ah same thing with filming and same thing with taking photos. Like you don't, You don't learn unless you do it 10 times. you know Yeah. A thousand times. Yeah. Yeah. A thousand times.
Speaker: This morning I was thinking about like how how I want to raise my my first daughter. She's really smart, but I'm like, I've learned a lot of shortcuts in like the online world, like digital marketing, but I'm like- I feel like I would want her to still like experience college and like experience a full-time job just to get like that discipline to actually like work those 10 hours a day.
Speaker: Because if you just kind of like take shortcuts, I feel like you could potentially get lazy in life. yeah So that's like the hard work that we had to go through to like build our craft. um I feel like those lessons are just so important.
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Speaker: Yeah, and and it's it is different. This new generation is just not like that, you know? yeah Yeah. Because there's just so many resources and so many tools. Like, we had we didn't have tutorials where we get to learn, like, quickly, you know? Exactly. we had to do it ourselves.
Speaker: Now there's probably, like, you know, tons of tutorials on how to film, how to take photos, how to make flowers or whatever, right? Yeah. But... Yeah. Yeah. It's all too much. Okay. Let's talk about you. Like, um, I know you're all into crafting your whole life, but like getting into like paper flowers or like the wedding industry or the cricket, um, what was like the whole start of it? And then like the whole, like coming into a business, you could talk, say anything that you want.
Speaker: Um, a rich like, so 15 years ago, i was, you know, all all my friends were just getting about to get married or wanting to get married. is So that's kind of where all the DIY started. I mean, I think that's the case for a lot of people. yeah Um, and yeah, I, I, I kind of did it as like a side hustle just because I had enough friends that I had to make,
Speaker: random things for, for their wedding or, you know, for whatever party or something like that. So that's kind of how it all started. And for me, it it really did start from paper because I couldn't afford, you know, anything else. Like, i mean,
Speaker: I eventually got into beading and sewing and things like that, but like that required a lot of, a lot more investing. You know, you have to invest in a sewing machine. You have to invest in better quality like materials, like pearls and rhinestones and things like that. So I did get into that eventually, but originally I started with like making invitations or like just paper related things.
Speaker: I made a lot of um decorations out of paper. that's kind of how, I guess, how I started like crafting as a hobby slash side hustle.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. was it When was it when you felt like, oh, I could turn this into a business? And then I know you do like a whole lot of different things now, like installations and work with the Getty and um all these cool things. But like tell me about the early years.
Speaker: Yeah, I think interned at a wedding blog, and that's kind of how it got me a little bit more serious into, maybe I could quit my job and do this, like whatever this is Yeah, so, um and, you know, i got I got into the wedding industry. That's really what got me um to be able to make money off of it, whatever that was. It wasn't just a side hustle. Like, it was like, oh, I could make real income. Yeah.
Speaker: and turn it into a job. And um yeah, I think, yeah, it's kind of, it's kind of like all over the place. I did, I do think I got lucky at the right time too.
Speaker: And um I also had a very flexible job to begin with because I was teaching music and I was like performing but those are very like flexible hours and I know a lot of people that have like nine to five jobs like can't really explore like their yeah creative outlet the way i was able to and yeah but this was my creative outlet yeah from from music which is weird that because that's that was like my whole life up until then you know I think just like us entrepreneurs, it's really hard to go, would be hard to go back to like a nine to five because yeah we're just like, our bodies just don't work that way. Like yeah I say, it would be like prison for me, which is kind of prison.
Speaker: I'm sure a lot of jobs are good. i have do but I go back and forth every day though. Cause sometimes I'm like, oh, I wish I could have someone just figure everything out for me and I'll just do what they want me to do.
Speaker: so Not having to be the boss, right? like Yeah. We're always like, it's like a test piece. Like what's next? What's the next move? All right. Let's get into hot topic. I loved hearing your story. Thank you for sharing. It's beautiful. What is your hot topic today, Sarah? And why is it so near and dear to your heart?
Speaker: Yeah, i I said that i love creating. And the best part is that I love what I create. And I think that's kind of my hot topic. It's just literally my passion.
Speaker: And that's what drives me to continue. i you do see ah smile on my face while I'm like literally creating. And even if it goes bad, like it's funny, I just posted something about this.
Speaker: um I had a trial and error, like flower that I was working on and it looks so bad and I haven't. And it's been a while, like I've been doing this for 15 years, so I'm pretty good at it. Right. Like most of our time, if I experiment, it comes out pretty good. I'm like, I got this, you know, but Just out of the it looks so terrible. It looked like a kid's work. you know And my husband literally came home. I was like, what do you think? Does it look really that bad?
Speaker: And he was like, no, it looks like looks like our kid made it. was like, ouch, ouch. and so i was like oh oh yeah But that that whole like trial and error and like, like is literally what makes me like go.
Speaker: And yeah, like, it's weird, like small business, small business owners, like, we need to be constantly motivated on our own. We're our own cheerleader. And we're the only ones that are telling us to go to work. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, and um ah yeah. And I think without the passion, whatever passion you you get from what you're doing, like without that, you can't you cat be a successful small business owner, you know?
Speaker: Yeah. I mean, I have a smile um my face when I look at your stuff and I'm looking at like your room in the background and I see like like a mushroom with a pop of bread and like a butterfly and like a nice like little setup. But I feel like your aesthetic is so unique that it could be made into like a specific like anime animation.
Speaker: And it's like you see your stuff and everyone knows it's like stereotypical. Sarah Kim's work because of just like the aesthetic. um And it, it totally like says a story um name, like one of your favorite projects that you worked on installations, clients, anything that you want to share ah proud moment.
Speaker: Yeah. Let's see. i want to say, okay, well, i I have a handful of proud moments, but like my biggest proud moment was I landed a project with MAC, which is like a makeup company.
Speaker: yeah um And yeah, I made like thousands of flowers with them. And I think it was a proud moment because that was the one time that I was able to be firm with my cost and not feel like they're going to haggle with me and I'm going to to give them a cheaper price or whatever. was very like, this is the moment in my career that I can say, I'm worth this much. And if you don't want to pay for it, it's okay. And I think that's such proud moment. Because 10 years, 12 years, up until now, like,
Speaker: twelve years you know like up until now i'm like oh, I don't know if people will still like, you know, if they want, if they think I'm worth this much or if, you know, if my business is going to fail, like, I don't know, like one day nobody's going to want to like buy things from me or something like that. You know, like I'm constantly thinking of those things. Yeah. yeah yeah But that was probably, yeah, that's probably my biggest kind of moment where I was like, this is how much it costs and, you know, take it or leave it kind of thing.
Speaker: Yeah. Oh, yeah. How did they find you? That's amazing. ah They just they reached out to me. it was I felt like, yeah, it was. And i think I've finally come to a point in my, you know, 15 years in business, I don't really need to go out and, like, put myself out there. Like, I'm already out there, you know? Yeah. People reach out to me. Yeah. I'm like, oh, I don't have to go, like, looking for a job, basically.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. We've been around town, right? Yeah, yeah. Like, have ah you know, I have enough of a following. I have enough of a, like, networking where I, yeah, like, there are months that I'm like, i wonder if I'm going to have no business at all in this month, you know?
Speaker: And then out of nowhere, like, yeah, I'll get i'll get a project or I'll get... like some kind of, you know, campaign of some sort. So, yeah. I mean, that's the beauty of like entrepreneurial, like if we're not booking, like we still could create, like I could do like a style shoot or like a shoot with a cute couple that I like, or like you could make something and make a really cool video. And like, you're spending that time and it's like definitely like a percent your passion, but you're actually putting yourself into the world to be like, Hey, look at me yeah showing up for the world. Yeah.
Speaker: I wanted to ask a little bit more about like the hot topic. Um, I feel like a lot of people in life like just – maybe have a nine to five corporate and they're doing stuff just because they feel like they have to.
Speaker: What do you think like instilled, was instilled in you that like you were always like passion driven? it a book? Was it like your mom? Was it a mentor? Was it just innate? um Was it some sort of inspiration, a book? Because I feel like your your life has always been kind of like driven with some sort of like vision or intention mind.
Speaker: i don't I don't know. like i it really does make my whole life, right? like I've always kind of been in a weird creative business of some sort, right? Like coming from music and then coming... And it's really funny because...
Speaker: We come from an Asian background. Our our Asian parents did not, ah were not okay with going through with an art background of some sort, you know, like, they wanted me to play violin, but then they're like, you're gonna become a violinist? No, forget it, you know.
Speaker: But I, I don't know. I don't know what still made me kind of go for it. it really is I think i genuinely enjoy the idea of performing.
Speaker: So i don't know what it is. and I am a very introverted person, though. So I don't like meeting people. i don't like i don't really like going up out there and putting myself out there socially. yeah But if you put me in the spotlight with an instrument or or like my artwork, yeah i like I forget about that and I become a whole new person. So I think maybe I like get driven by that i moment.
Speaker: don't get like a high or something. Yeah. I i mean, i genuinely like And up until like I have to play at a concert or something, like I'm like nervous, you know, I'm nervous like everyone else. But like in the moment I feel, I don't know, it's like a spark of joy. Like I don't know what it is.
Speaker: Same thing with and like teaching. i do teach workshops now um doing paper flowers. And up until I'm like nervous because I have to like speak in front of people. And again, I am introverted, but like,
Speaker: Teaching is different from being an introvert. Yeah. Because i'm I know what I'm talking about. Totally, totally. Yeah. And meeting new people like behind my artwork is is different from meeting new people like just socially. Totally. Yeah.
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Speaker: AfterShoot, I can't thank you enough for giving me back my time to focus on this podcast. Oh yeah, back to the podcast. I didn't start like really networking until recently.
Speaker: um And, you know, that industry event that we went to was probably like, oh, it would go once a year, like once every two years. And we just hang out with the people we knew. Exactly. And we'll go home.
Speaker: We're like, all right, we're done. But I was going to ask you, I think our conversation like 10 years ago, we're talking about like becoming parents at the same time and like postpartum. um What was it like, like running a business and then having you a kid, the postpartum and how did it affect your creativity and affect your business?
Speaker: It was, it was bad. I don't even know how I survived it. I mean, my son's now seven. So, you know, I survived. I'm here. um um want to say the first three, four years. Wow. Wow.
Speaker: It's rough. Yeah. I don't know how you did it. I i think it's just, you just survived, right? out of yeah There's no advice. You just need to go through it. I remember just like going up my stairs and just like crawling in the wall. Like, how did I even make it through the day? Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: I, yeah. I, and I was still really adamant in keeping, My business like floating, right? Like, I don't know how I did it. But I mean, thankfully, like I have a husband that is really supportive. So like that really helped.
Speaker: Like if he wasn't like, if he's like, you know, you need to just concentrate on the kid and not, you know, spend time on your business or whatever, then I probably would have been like, okay, you're right. Because it's so hard.
Speaker: Yeah. But he was very like, you should keep going. Like, if you need if you need time, like, um he was really hands on, you know, while he was toddler years, mean, now too. And and and I think when my son turned like two, he was like, oh should we get like a nanny while you work?
Speaker: Like even a couple hours a day. So whatever, whatever, like that will help support me yeah to still keep my business. Yeah. Oh, love And that was so helpful.
Speaker: Is he, um, is he crafty too? Your husband? No. Is your son crafty? Uh, No. Yeah, it's unfortunate. I know. But my my son does know what I do, right? And he goes around telling his friends that like, or his teacher, he'll be like, oh, my my mom makes flowers and she's um she makes YouTube videos on making flowers or whatever. Like he'll tell out the whole world. he's ah He's an extrovert, which is really funny. Interesting. Yeah. No, I live in a house full of boys because it's my husband and my son now. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, i I came from a house full of women. So it was like my mom, my sister, and then me. So we we really didn't have that many like male figures. And then now I'm in a house full of men. So it is is very different.
Speaker: But oddly enough, they treat me like a princess. Not that I am princess. I was about to say ah because I am. I'm a queen.
Speaker: But like, i think because I was, I came from a house full of women, like I expect things to be very, you know, like that. Like I expect my house to be clean because my house was always clean when I grew up because it was just me and my sister and mom. Right.
Speaker: So, yeah. Yeah, i I think I just have different expectations in my house. So i don't want I don't necessarily want like you know ah husband or a kid that's not going to be okay with me making paper flowers or anything.
Speaker: having opinions on flower related stuff, you know, I want that. So, yeah. My husband always says opposite. Like he's in a household full of women. So it's like, his daughter is me and the dog is a ah girl.
Speaker: Yeah. It's a lot of flowers in our house too. Yeah. Yeah, but you know, I'm, I'm in a house full of men and male and I have a lot of flowers in my house. So it's okay. Yeah, it looks great.
Speaker: I have an interesting question. So um it's kind of related to the wedding pros listening. um Some of us listening, they're like veterans like us, and maybe like they're losing their passion and what they're doing. Yeah.
Speaker: I kind of lost my passion in photography during um yeah the early years of the kids just because it's just so crazy. um i remember like shooting a dragon dance and I was like i was like blank face, like no adrenaline. and you know like I was like dead inside.
Speaker: And was like, maybe this is not my passion. um And then I kind of had to like find myself again or get passionate about it again. um Where do you draw like inspiration, your passion? How do you keep it going? And like, if you are not feeling like it's your passion, how do you maybe like make a change?
Speaker: I have pivoted my business a lot because I did lose passion, you know, and I was bored of it. Like, and to be honest, I was bored of weddings. And that's why I kind of had to take the step back.
Speaker: And I mean, and it's funny, because when I look back, I i still get really like giddy over, you know, wedding trends. And i I'm like, I'm not going to get married again. But I still, you know, keep up to date with wedding trends, because I still love that stuff. Yeah. But At that moment when i I had left or when I made the decision that I wasn't going to concentrate on wedding related stuff, like specifically, um yeah, I kind of had to pivot and find a new creative outlet, but not like super new. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: yeah But I want to say like with that like transition or go on. Yeah, whatever you're saying. Yeah, I wanted to say that like I i do like to take new classes. I like to take on a new hobby, even if it has nothing to do with my business. And i I usually prefer it to not have anything to do with my business so that I could literally have fun, you know.
Speaker: So I actually would take. you know random random hobbies. like I took on sewing for fun and and I didn't want it to be like business related. like I didn't want to make something that I was thinking like, oh, but this would work well in my business. No, I just wanted to make ah apron for myself. like Things like that. like so And I still go through those like kind of moments where i don't have, you know, i am like bored.
Speaker: And then I do have to find like a new creative outlet. is weird because in my whole business is being creative, but I need to find a creative outlet from my creative business. That's funny. Yeah.
Speaker: And recently I took on baking sourdough. And that's like a whole new world, but I love it. And my algorithm changed. And like, so looking at that. Yeah.
Speaker: And looking on Instagram and TikTok and like finding sourdough videos genuinely make me happier. Like, because it's not of my business related you know, intake, like if I am watching other people making paper flowers just to get inspiration, but that doesn't inspire me. It makes me get bored or it makes me like, like be like less motivated. and You know, I'm like, oh, I'm not that good compared to them or whatever. Right.
Speaker: So I literally look for a whole new hobby. And right now that's baking. Yeah. I love that. You're kind of like Martha Stewart, just like a jack of all.
Speaker: I mean, thank you. But yeah, I do think like, um like, I do have like random, you know, like hobbies that I would go through, like go through weird seasons of like random, I don't know, things that I make. But like, that weirdly helps me in my business, though.
Speaker: So like the weird skills that I would think that it wouldn't have nothing to do with paper flowers, it weirdly comes back of like learning something from, oh i mean, not necessarily baking sourdough as of now, but like there are random things that I would learn from a whole new like hobby. And then I could like bring it back to um making paper flowers.
Speaker: Oh, I love that. I have to ask you a ah little bit of sales question because you're not so like into weddings, but you're getting um different campaigns, you said, and you're working with different clients and all different things. And then they're coming at you with...
Speaker: um deliverables that they need and maybe like you don't have examples exactly what they need. How do you price that out for them and package it? And then also like maybe what is your best heck yes technique to get that yes?
Speaker: ah Even I don't know. Like I'm even learning, you know, like yeah i it really does go like case by case, right? Like sometimes I would charge something where I thought like it was going to be a lot. And then after I do the work, I'm like, oh gosh, I got paid nothing doing this, you know? And then sometimes i didn't I didn't do anything and I charged so much and they said, yeah. So I feel like being in the creative world, like pricing is – It's so hard because – Yeah. and
Speaker: But I do always ask for their budget. And so I would always try to work around and feel like what my competitors would ah But like seriously, my projects are all over the place, right? Sometimes I have to do like crafting um tool review.
Speaker: I don't know how to charge that. yeah Yeah. And then sometimes I have to make a whole project. um you know, it that's part of a campaign. But that's like a lot of work because I have to like make, you know, i can't make like a tiny little flower and then call it a like, you know, this is a picture, you know, like I have to make it look like full and like, that's a lot of work. Yeah. So i don't know, like sometimes I guess I have to just pick and choose my battles and I don't know, like go, like I even out at the end, I guess maybe. I don't know. I'm still learning too. yeah Yeah. I feel like even after this, after so many years of like doing this, I'm still like barely figuring out like what I'm charging and what I'm worth and,
Speaker: Yeah. But do ask like Google all the time, like, oh, what do people charge for this or whatever? Oh, interesting. try to gauge from there. Yeah.
Speaker: And um I think my biggest advice would just be be confident with the price you do give out. Yeah. Yeah. yeah you can't go You can't say like, oh, i charge I'm charging like $5,000. And they're like, oh, no, we don't have a budget for that. and you're like, okay, I'll just charge you $500. Like you can't go from $5,000 to $500. And normally would they like kind of disrespect you after that. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. So I almost think you just need to own what what you what you called for. you know You're this Then this is it like you can't I mean, maybe like give them a couple, like a little discount in yeah some way just to keep it right. But like, I think you just need to know yourself.
Speaker: You need to be confident in what you are charging. Wedding pros. I have a new and exciting opportunity for you to make passive income with digital products and courses and affiliate marketing.
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Speaker: I totally agree. Like kind of once you give that power away, it's just like not going to be good. Yeah. and And it can't be that extreme, you know? Yeah. Yeah. and and i think And I think that is what like the experience like of doing this for so long, you kind of know like.
Speaker: This is how much I should get paid no matter what. and then from there, like, you could upcharge, you know, if you think it's appropriate or whatever. Yeah, I like that. One more question before rapid-fire questions, but just tell me, like, your whole vision of Handmade by Sarah Kim, like, in the next – two years because I feel like we talked a lot about like evolution of like our life stages, um the flow of life, keeping our passion.
Speaker: um Tell me like what you have envisioned for your life either in the next year, two years, five years, anything you want to share. I haven't even thought that far, but I guess I my i know I'm going day to day here. um i want to say like my biggest goal for my business, at least, is I really want to This sounds so silly. I really want to be a YouTuber.
Speaker: I just want to be able to make a full-time income out of just being on my YouTube channel yeah and not have to rely on business. I don't want to rely on customers or companies that want to work with me. i i wish I could...
Speaker: yeah, just have enough following on my like crafting channel. It's a crafting channel. I have art vlogs and I have tutorials and behind the scenes. Like I do want to eventually like um get my way into like maybe cooking or baking. Like I said, I love baking now. So like,
Speaker: So I am very in the niche of crafting, but I hope that I can kind of break through in different lifestyle-related content. And i'm I'm nowhere to like make a full-time income out of YouTube, but I believe that you can. you know And I have a lot of competitors that...
Speaker: have a crafting channel and they have a huge following and I know that this is all they do they only make YouTube videos so I guess that it sounds silly when I say it but like I get like that would be my big goal because yeah yeah I don't want to rely on having customers all the time or these companies that I work with like sometimes I don't have companies reaching out to me then I like what do I do during that time you know Yeah. I'm glad they're putting it out in the universe. so
Speaker: So I like that. Yeah. Cool. Okay. Rapid fire questions. Let's see. um What is your best mom time hack?
Speaker: My parenting hack would be, i tell my son that um like I vacuum all of the monsters or ghosts or whatever he thinks is scary because he had to go through phases like,
Speaker: when he turned six or five or whatever. And he'll be like, Oh, I'm too scared of this. Or I'm too scared of that. I'm like, what are you scared of? There's nothing there. And then so my, my saying to him is I vacuumed.
Speaker: Everything is clean. know I never heard of that. Yeah. And he was like, Oh, you're right. You did vacuum all the monsters away. I'm like, exactly. There's nothing here. so That's awesome. That's my random hack. and My kid believes it. you I'm going to use that one. He wrote about me in the classroom.
Speaker: like My superhero is my mom because he va she vacuums all the scary things. That's so sweet. I love that. I'm going to use that. Now, what is your biggest your your best efficiency hack or a time hack?
Speaker: Efficiency ah i I do schedule myself like through the week. I don't schedule myself like up until like maybe less than a month.
Speaker: I don't do anything more than a month, but scheduling. And like, I do treat my job as a nine to five. So I do clock in, clock out kind of thing. wow um I try not to like roam around my house and like go on my bed or whatever. wow unless i Unless I'm really feeling out of you know like out of it. like I really try to like present myself like I would go to work.
Speaker: A real I love that. And then who, because I'm curious, like who inspires you? um like Either podcasts or like YouTubers or what are your top two or three or one? Hmm.
Speaker: i i don't you know i don't know their names specifically, but there are a handful of podcasts that I do listen to that is inspirational. like It's about a lot of small business and like like kind of like influencer, like trying to be a creative online.
Speaker: So there are a handful. i don't even really know them by name though, but um I guess I want to do a little shout out of my podcast too I do have two other ladies that I host a podcast that's about running a small business. It's called Paper Talk.
Speaker: And the other two ladies, they we we all kind of do the same thing. We make paper flowers. Yeah. it's just all three of us coming from different backgrounds and different, like, I don't know, like different things that we struggle with, different things that we have um accomplished.
Speaker: It really does. Yeah. They're, they're, they're the people that are, that like inspire me and like, I get my encouragement from and learn from. So. Yeah. That's awesome. We're, we're, we have a lot more in common than we thought.
Speaker: Yeah. I love podcasters. And where can everyone besides the podcast find you from Instagram? ah You can find me on Instagram at handmadebysarahkim, TikTok, YouTube.
Speaker: And i have my website. It's handmadebysarahkim.com. And it's Sarah without an H in case anybody misspells it. Yay. Thank you, Sarah. This is so fun. Thank you.
Speaker: Thanks for joining me this week on Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. Make sure to follow, subscribe, leave a review, or tell a friend about the show. Take a screenshot and post to IG. Tag me. Also, don't forget to download my free guide on how to become a lead generating machine.
Speaker: See you next time, wedding pros.
