I recently went spoke to Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts, co-founders and co-CEOs of The Elf On The Shelf and The Lumistella Company.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Chanda: I was a former middle school teacher with no business or finance experience to speak of. But I had a good idea, personal experience with the product, and a great strategic partner (who also happened to be my sister). So, the learning curve of owning and running a business has been pretty steep, and I’ve been relatively self-taught. But it’s important to go through the journey because it’s what you learn along the way is what prepares you for the next step of your business or your success.
Christa: When I got a degree in communications, it didn’t pay well. So, I took a job in sales at Aramark Uniform Services. These two skill sets helped me land a job as a program host on QVC, where I learned from business owners, entrepreneurs, merchants, buyers, and sophisticated salespeople. I learned a lot of key concepts and how to create and develop a brand, and that was instrumental in helping Chanda and me build our business today.
Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas?
Chanda: We’ve had a unique experience building a business from a childhood story. I think our success comes from creating a business that feels very authentic to me while finding a niche or new spin on that idea. I’ve also been fortunate to find passion in my business by aligning its purpose with my values.
Christa: Our business idea was based on a family tradition that our parents did for us growing up. As adults, we realized other people didn’t have a tradition like ours, and we thought it was important to share. People have thousands of ideas every day; it’s not enough to have a good idea. It’s what you do with it that matters.
Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea?
Chanda: My own personal experience of growing up with an elf, and knowing it was magical, was what spurred the creation of the business. Pressure-testing whether or not your business idea has legs is important and the best way to do that is to start small and “grow where you are planted.” By that I mean, start in smaller circles and learn the lessons you need to know to become successful when you take on larger opportunities. Then, you’ll have the experience of handling it.
Christa: No one was going to see an elf and a book as a business. So, whatever your idea is, you must believe in it more than anyone else. You also have to understand what makes your idea unique and figure out why it needs to be in the market. What is the gap, and how are you filling it? Test your idea, do a prototype, and display it somewhere local where you still have time to tweak your idea. Listen to people when they ask questions. What are they? Are you hearing the same question over and over? If so, you probably have something you need to work on in your messaging.
Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?
Chanda: I think one of the most important things about growing your business is remembering that you can’t be everything to everyone. It’s important to understand how your customers see your business and stay loyal to that. One of our greatest growth pivots came when we recognized that our customers saw us as “the voice” of Santa Claus through The Elf on the Shelf, we launched “The Santaverse” as a way to answer all the questions people have about the North Pole and didn’t just rely on The Elf on the Shelf as our growth lever, but we didn’t step too far outside of what people would want or expect from us.
Christa: I would say the key steps are to start small, be willing to work really hard, and recognize what you need as you grow. You need different skill sets, backgrounds, and understandings. What you need to support two or three people is not what you need to support fifty. It’s hard to make key hires in the beginning, but if you find people who share cultural values and care about the business you’re in, you’ll go far.
Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips?
Chanda: Authenticity and understanding your audience is key. If you believe in what you are selling and you understand why you are selling it, then when you craft the message to the audience, it’s a winning recipe. I see too many marketers not knowing who they are talking to and not taking the time to craft the message the right way for the person(s) they are speaking to, and that always fails.
Christa: People buy from people they like. You need to care for your customers, and you have to approach every interaction as if you are the customer. Start with how you want to be treated and work your way backwards. Define how you want to be treated. If you were your customer, how would you want your experience to look or feel? What would you like to know? And then you work backwards from there, in terms of how you can make it work within the organization.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Chanda: Your job as a leader is to make people feel connected to a bigger purpose and inspired by what you are building together. I believe clarity around vision, mission, purpose, and values is important, and not just for the company but for the team, the project, or even for each individual, so they don’t ever have to ask, “Why?”
Christa: You can’t make people want to follow you. You have to inspire them to do so. In essence, that means you need to understand what the individual in your company needs to be inspired by. It’s all about understanding what motivates people in teams, getting to know your people, and allowing yourself to inspire them. There are so many places that you can draw inspiration from. There’s free advice everywhere from successful business leaders. You can listen to podcasts, audio books, take a business development course, etc. There’s so much to learn.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?
Chanda: I’ve learned a lot over the last 20 years about building and managing teams. And just like raising children, no one’s approach is unilateral, and there will always be challenges. I find that sometimes when I need to see a lot of growth out of an employee, I ask them to tell me who they look up to and why. Then, I ask them to begin emulating that person. Would they talk that way? Act that way? Sometimes, asking an employee to imagine themselves “like” someone they admire leads to self-assessment, self-awareness, and growth that can’t be duplicated with you giving them a list of do’s and don’ts.
Christa: It’s one thing to build a business, but it’s a whole other thing to lead people. It often takes two very different skill sets. You can be the most innovative entrepreneur in the world, but you could be a terrible manager of people. It’s important to develop these different skill sets, as well as recognizing what’s not your greatest strength and hire around it.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Chanda: 1. It’s okay to part ways when your definitions of excellence don’t match. They are not happy, and you aren’t either, so it’s best for everyone to go your separate ways. 2. Your gut is your best guide. It’s the only thing that distinguishes your thoughts and ideas from someone else, and if you listen, your gut is what will authentically set you apart. 3. Keep at it. It’s lonely at the top.
Christa: 1. Hire for where you are going and not for where you are. Doing that helps you focus on the future. 2. Stay curious, it’s so critical nowadays, and make sure to keep learning. 3. Ask great questions and be an active listener to the answers.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Chanda: “You can always do a bad deal with a good person, but you can never do a good deal with a bad person.”
Christa: Mine is from my mentor, Jon Carroll: “Hire for where you are going and not for where you are.”
