Name: Cheryl Sutherland

Location: Toronto, ON

Business: PleaseNotes Goods

What does your business offer? 

PleaseNotes is a line of affirmation-filled goods created to help you increase your confidence so you can maximize your potential and attain the success you desire. Grounded in Personal Growth Principles, our themed guided journals, workshops, and personal growth tools help you reconnect with your personal power, value your gifts and fuel you so you can create clear goals and feel great as you achieve them. The line also includes positive reminders such as mirror decals, affirmation cards, water bottle labels, enamel pins and sticky notes.

PleaseNotes has been featured in InStyle, Huffington Post, Forbes, Stationery Trends, Fox LA, Fast Company, Thrive Global, Brit + CO, Oh So Beautiful Paper and more.

What seasonal products/services are you introducing this holiday season?

Nothing new, just the fan faves for stocking stuffers like the Sticky Notes, Affirmation Cards and Jotter Notebooks.

For more seasonal products from PleaseNotes check out the QuickBooks Holiday Gift Guide

What are some of the challenges you face during the holiday season that you have overcome or are working to overcome?

Shipping is always a big challenge and even more so since COVID. We strive to deliver the products to our customers in a reasonable time frame while keeping it affordable which can be tricky with the volume of holiday traffic. Another new and exciting challenge is stock quantity. We’ve done some growing in the last couple of years which has been great, however, has left us behind the eight ball of them times when it comes to unexpected large orders.

What do you think is the most important thing a business owner needs to do to prepare for the holiday season?  

Have a marketing plan in place to ensure you are putting your products out there with significant time for customers to purchase. It’s also important to make sure you have ordered your additional stock in time for the holiday rush.

How do you keep sane during the holiday season?

Taking time to unplug from technology. I dedicate time daily for myself to journal, spend time with friends or loved ones, enjoy the holiday festivities or even just relax with a good movie and a cup of tea. Also, eggnog and rum. It’s never failed me before, and I don’t think it will never fail me.

What advice can you offer to up-and-coming small business owners during the holiday season? 

Be prepared for the rush and have the support you need to handle the busyness of the season. We can’t do it all alone!

What holiday traditions do you and your family take part in?   

I live away from most of my family so I don’t always see them during the holidays but we make sure to connect on the phone or FaceTime. When I am at home in Calgary, my mom always makes waffles with homemade strawberry sauce. It’s one of my fondest memories, and some thing I look forward to continuing.

What are three things you feel have contributed to your success during the holiday season as a business owner?  

1. Nurturing my customers throughout the year with free goodies like affirmations, quotes and other on-brand communications that just love on them.
2. Being as authentic as possible with clients. People really appreciate open, honest communication and more often than not, they are more likely to come back because of it.
3. Being as proactive as possible about reminding our clients why they want to purchase and purchase early for the Christmas season.

When you’re having a tough day, who or what inspires you to keep going?

As a recovering people pleaser, honestly, it’s the impact that I’m making with people. It does some things for me that reinforces the fact that this business is not about me, it’s about helping people see themselves the way their lives do. My clients are amazing and I’m grateful that this is what I get to do for work.

How do you see QuickBooks helping you during the holiday rush? 

QuickBooks helps me stay organized with income and expenses to know where my business stands. It saves me a ton of rushing around after doing paperwork. My end-of-year is November, and having everything ready for taxes makes life a lot less stressful.

What is your favourite Christmas song and why? 

Jingle Bells – I like the upbeat tune.

How do you decompress after the holiday rush? 

Downtime! Naps, Netflix and the ‘Nog. If I’m able to end up on a Sunny beach, even better!

What are the next big plans you have for your business?

We are working on pivoting the business to market directly to wholesale and corporate clients. We’ve just recently signed a deal to work with TJX Group, and it’s only the first of many big deals.

To learn more about PleaseNotes and support their business, visit their website or check them out on Instagram.