Just Go for It with Erin Binns

Erin Binns has been walking with Kirsten most mornings after school drop off. And for a while she was quietly building something on the side. Something colourful. Something joyful. Something she had been putting off for years.

In this episode Kirsten talks to her friend Erin about Percy James, the handmade gifting brand she started when she decided to finally make time for the thing she had always wanted to do. They talk about what it actually takes to give yourself permission to begin, why doing something just for the joy of it is enough of a reason, and what happens when you just go for it.

This one is for anyone who has something they keep saying they will get to someday.

Find out more about Erin:
Percy James Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/percyjames.ca/
Erin's consulting website: https://www.erinbinns.com/ 

Let's connect:
Instagram: @FieldTripMarketing.ca
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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to Field Trip Marketing, the podcast, a podcast which is all about looking at marketing differently. I'm Kirsten, a marketing coach and consultant, the host, and the idea behind this show is simple. Each season I'm gonna pick something worth exploring, and we'll go on a field trip together. Different angles, interesting conversations, and one big question. What does this mean for how you build your business and show up in your marketing? This season our field trip is all about joy, and I think it's gonna change how you see everything. I can't wait to get started. Thank you for being here. Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Field Trip Marketing Podcast. I am so happy that you're joining me today because I actually have a special guest, and it's a guest that I mentioned in episode two of this podcast, where I talk about a friend who shared a story with me about an inn that she had stumbled across on Instagram. And she talked about, you know, how great this inn was doing with their marketing because they'd actually started a snail mail club. So if you don't know her, you're going to love her. So welcome, Erin Benz to the podcast. I'm so glad that you're here with me today.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Thank you for having me. I was I was a of course yes right away when you asked.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Yeah. So those of you that know me pretty well know that Erin and I are very good friends, full disclosure. We walk most mornings together. We were co-hosts of the Gather Society, which we'll probably talk about at some point in this episode or in another episode. And Erin is also an amazing business consultant who specializes in the client experience. And I'm sure she'll weave that into today's episode. But where we're gonna head today is a little bit different because Erin has been building something and sharing what she's been building with me on our morning walks. And I think it's just really interesting and relates a lot to this idea of joy that we've been exploring this season. So to kick things off, I'm gonna ask you a little bit of an icebreaker question, Erin. And you know I love icebreakers. Yeah, I know most people don't love icebreakers, but you know, I'm gonna go with it. So, as I said, the field trip marketing podcast this season is exploring this idea of joy and the relationship between joy and business. And we're gonna get into things, but I am gonna start off with something a little bit smaller with what was your biggest moment of joy or something that made you smile in the last week.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

I was solo parenting for 10 days, which wasn't bringing me much joy. But, you know, my daughter just said to me, she just turned to me and said, like, you're just the best mom ever. And I was like, out of nowhere. And I was like, okay, thanks. Like, you know, and I just thought that was, you know, I work really hard on my relationships also with my kids. Not hard, but like, you know, developing those. And, you know, a lot of times you do a lot of things as a parent that are extremely unthankful. And and I didn't really do anything. It's not like I bought her, you know, a freezy or something and that she was, she just said it randomly. So I think that that was nice that it wasn't prompted or because she got something, you know, as most six-year-olds love to get things, right? So she just said, You're just the best mom ever. And I was like, You're the best kid ever. She's like, Oh, better than Jack. And I was like, No, I'm just, anyways, you get my point. It was just unprompted. I think that's what joy a lot of times is really is unprompted and un and surprised, you know, being surprised. Is that how you would define joy? No, I think it's a part of the of the joy. I like to be surprised. Everybody, some people don't. Some people would rather like go head to head with the saber-toothed tiger than be surprised about something. But I think for joy is is really being seen and heard and doing something that you love that really just like fills a part of you that oftentimes is on the back burner.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Yeah. I think one of the things I've been curious about is actually how do people define joy? And it was something that I mentioned on the same episode, episode two of this podcast of what actually is the difference between joy and joy and happiness. But I love how you've defined it about doing something that you love. And going back to the intro, you know, I've been watching you quietly build something that I think brings you joy. Yeah. And, you know, it is very different from the business consulting work that you do on the corporate side. So let's talk about Percy James. Okay, let's talk about it. Can you tell everyone who is listening what actually is Percy James? I love this name, which I'm gonna ask you about in a second.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

For sure. Percy James is a side project that I have been working on. And I, over the last two and a half, three years, I've been teaching myself to sew. And I have wanted to learn how to sew for as long as I can remember. And I just started teaching myself. I went on YouTube and I found some videos, and I love doing it. And so then people started asking me if they could buy it, and I was like, no, no, no, no, no. And then I started selling it just recently. But I think it's like I'm creating things that I can't find that I love because there's just way too much beige in the world. So everything is lots of color. Right. I think my my tagline is Bye bye beige. Hello, Percy James. Because yeah, it's like I can't find what I'm looking for. Like anything you end up building is out of either you can't out of necessity or because you can't find what you're looking for, how you want it to have happen. So yeah, it's evolved over time. But yeah, everybody's like, can I buy that? Can I buy that? Sure, okay. So that's really where it started. But it's everyday essentials in color, basically, of you know, what you need to go traveling with, or cute tote bags that I'm working on, things like that. Little things that bring you joy, like a beautiful, you know, when you're walking down the street and you're like, oh my God, I said to, I was in line the other day at a networking event, we're getting coffee, and there's this woman behind me, and it was at the downtown. So it was like this woman wasn't part of the networking. And I looked at her, I was like, your outfit is fabulous. Like, it's so good. And it was like this bright blue jumpsuit, corporate jumpsuit, but it was like, if just fit her, I was like, I just have to tell you, like that brought me joy. It was like telling somebody another compliment, but like that jumpsuit, I was like, that's something I would wear, but you don't see it as I'm wearing a black, as I'm wearing a black jumpsuit right now, right? But you just don't see those, oh my god, that's a fabulous piece, or that's a fabulous bag. Where did you get something that's just different?

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Yeah, no, I love that. And I think that it's funny, like often when people wear something bright or with color on, you know, it's so lovely that you actually went up to that woman and shared that compliment. And often people don't share compliments, but I do notice, because I love wearing bright colors too, whenever I wear bright colors, people compliment me. And it's a bit of a conversation like icebreaker going back to the icebreaker thing. But it's it's fascinating. Why do more people not wear color? Or like do people love beige that much? Going back to what you said with what you've been building with Percy James, it's like creating products with color versus like beige goods.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Because also when I looked at like when you look on Etsy or Instagram or something, and like there's you know, listen, what I make is actually not like the shape and stuff is not super unique, right? Right now, because I haven't learned other techniques. It's like a boxy pouch that you put your makeup in when you travel. But every single one in general that I find, it's all very like dusty rose and beige and little florals and this. And I was like, very like Little House on the Prairie, and with like ruffles. And I'm like, this is not, I want like bright bold, like a combination of like Mary Meko Kate meets Kate Spade with Percy James inspired, like all of that around like color blocking and that type of thing, because and finding fun prints, because everything is just kind of boring.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Yeah, yeah. So, but with the name Percy James, where did it actually come from? So it sounds actually like a real person's name, I'm gonna say.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

I know it does. And actually, somebody asked me the other day, was it named after Thomas the Tank? Because there's there's a Percy Anna James that's like, oh my god, my kid was a crazy Thomas fan. No, so I didn't want to have like Aaron Binn's designs or something like that. I obviously wanted something fun, and also again, a lot of other things were just really like Kiki's creations or this, that. I was like, it's all very fine and and but boring, right? So, how this whole thing started, do we want to get into the story as well? Okay, okay. So how did it start? A couple of things came. I'll try and keep it brief, but a couple of things sort of happened in tandem. So one is about two and a half years ago, I went over to the UK for my cousin's 50th birthday. And my cousin is like, I didn't meet her till I was 25, and my other family in the UK till I was 25 years old. So like they just became this like newfound family that I have, and we've been like, you know, best friends. We travel a lot together, and when she was turning 50, I was like, well, of course I'm she's like, we're just gonna do something in London, and I was like, fine by me, I'm I'll be there. And so my aunt and uncle live there. My uncle is my dad's brother, and my dad passed away when I was 19, so we're very close. So, anyways, I'm over in the UK and we're there, and my aunt was an amazing sewer, like these quilts that I have a couple of quilts she's made me, like she's just amazing. And the night I left, she had a brain aneurysm and died. And it was so sad. And I remember saying goodbye to her, like she looked me in the face, like it was just this moment. I didn't know it would be the last moment when I'd see her, but I was at the airport and I was calling my mom and my brother, like, this is what happened. I'm crying in the airport, and then I've been thinking to myself, I'm like, why did I not learn how to sew from her? Like I could have learned so much from her all these years. And then I got home, and I think maybe like a couple weeks later, our pipe in the front that attaches from the city to the house was leaking. And so we had to pull all the stuff from the basement, like just in case. And I thought, well, this is my time to go through all of my hoarding things I've kept from when I was a kid. Because I actually wouldn't consider myself much of a hoarder, but I guess I was a bit of a pack rat. So, anyways, I'm going through all of these like things from high school, my yearbooks, all the stuff. Anyways, I found back when I worked in corporate at the hotel, we would write down our accomplishments from the year. So I'm like, oh, look at this from 2013. It said, like, oh, I made 120% of my quota and this, that, and the other. And then it says on the bottom, I wanna, this is the year I want to learn how to sew.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

I'm like, Wow, that the fact that you actually said that.

SPEAKER_00 11:57

I did. And I wrote it down. I still have the card. I should show, I still have the card. And I was like, two that and it was dated 2013. I was like, okay, enough is enough. So, and I then my mother-in-law had also given me a sewing machine because she had purchased it to learn to sew. But it happened when my father-in-law got really sick and she never even opened the box. So then I have this sewing machine in the basement. I literally went down, went to Fabric Land, got some fabric, and just started to teach myself how to sew. So then, fast forward when somebody's like, Are you gonna sell this? What are you gonna call it? So I called my cousin, I texted her, and I was like, I want to name this a cool name, like partly after your mom. I said, So, like, did she live on a cool street? Like, what was her favorite flower? I was just trying to, you know, come up with these things. And so there wasn't much happening, like bluebells, and she lived on Blythe Street. I'm like, that's not cool. So she said that she grew up in a county or an area of the UK called Percy, Main, Newcastle. And I was like, huh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

I know. Here they're just not so much foggy bottoms worth. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

I know we're gonna think it as a place. I'm sure. So then James is actually my mother-in-law's maiden name. It's my son's middle name, Pete's middle name. So I was like, oh, Percy James together. So that's how I did it. And like the logo is super bright and colorful, and I did it all myself. And so that's how kind of how it stuck.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

So was there like a singular moment where you decided just to go for it? Like the fact that like you have a really busy life, right? Like you're you're a business consultant, you're a mom of two, you're a wife. I know you love to garden, you're teaching me. Like, how do you fit this in? And what was that moment? Like, obviously, you found that card, but like to actually start using the sewing machine and saying, like, I'm actually gonna start sharing this with the world.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

Yeah. Well, I first started doing it and just making gifts for people. I mean, you know, me, I'm pretty good at like managing my schedule and stuff, but I find like I just like this, I strike when the iron's hot and I do a lot when I feel inspired. Like, also, it happens a lot on a Friday night, which is weird. Maybe it's like the end of the week and like the kids are like, just go, you know, watch a movie or whatever, and I'm gonna sew or on the weekends. But even during the week, I just carve out time on like a Friday sometimes to do things. I try not to like distract me from other business goals, which is sometimes easier, like, oh, it's just easier to sew than to go find some new business, right? But it was really at Christmas time, this Christmas. I was, I was like, I better clean out some of these bags that I have, these makeup bags. And I just post on Instagram and I'm like, who does anybody want these? 20 bucks each. I'll put them in the mail for you and just kind of get them out of my house and whatever. So that happened. And then my family was over, and they're like, so like, did you sell all those? Um, I, you know, could you make me my sister-in-law was like, could you make me 20 of them for my upcoming retreat? And I was like, okay. And you know, it had been like a really rough winter, like, you know, perimenopause is happening, like just like the darkness, feeling really down. And I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna go for this. And I don't really care what people think because part of it was my ego of like, oh, but why is she selling crafts when she has this business? You know, like what would people think? Do they think it's like she's doing that because of, you know, businesses and going well? Like, and listen, businesses, you know, the economy is tough and stuff like that. But I just had to not care what people thought, to be honest. I had to put that aside. And as I get older, you know, we we don't care as much what people think. So I sort of just embraced that. And then I got another corporate and another order for 25 of them and custom orders, and then I did my first drop, and now people want more. I'm like, I gotta make more, but hang on. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

This is this is definitely not just a side project. I'm gonna say this could be a bit. It springs ink, yes, it can be bigger for sure. For sure. But it is interesting that question that I think so many of us have that runs through our our minds of what will people think?

SPEAKER_00 16:23

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

For sure, for sure. And I think as women, that's something that often holds us back a lot of like, what are other people gonna think? Well, who cares what they think? So I'm really proud of that.

SPEAKER_00 16:35

And actually, thank you. And and other people actually don't really care, to be honest. I think we you we think they care, but they really don't. They have other things going on in their life, and they're just like, oh, okay, yeah, go for it, you know? Or I'm getting random, like my I made a little Instagram thing now, and I'm like, oh, I'm almost at a hundred followers, and I've only posted a few times. So that's quite fun. And yeah, I am getting a lot of joy out of it. And my most joyful, maybe not the word joyful, maybe that's not the right word, but recently my one of my best friends' dad passed away, and he I've told you this, and and uh, you know, he their house was like I was a staple in their house. Like their house was a second house to me, and their parents went away a lot whenever I did anything bad or drank, or first time I got drunk was at their house, and like all these things. But we were cleaning out uh his condo and he had and he was owned a men's clothing store and he had all these great shirts, like beautiful shirts. And I said to my friend, I was like, What if I make a makeup bag for you? And you know, and so then she called me and she said, Will you make one for all the granddaughters? I said, sure. So I went over and I gave them to her, and they turned out so amazing, and everybody was so touched, and it was just really special to do that for them, which I loved. So maybe there's something in that of repurposing, you know, loved ones' clothing items.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

And yeah, my husband Ben, when his mom passed away, her neighbor actually made a quilt, each for the kids of her clothing. Amazing. And yeah, we we we obviously have it, and you know, it's it's a nice memory because we can remember her wearing those things. Wearing so yeah, the one of uh I will say it it took some time to be able to use it, but you know, I know down the line we're gonna be really grateful that we have something for sure.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

Yeah, for sure. And it was just really like so nice that because the girls didn't really get much of his stuff because it's all men's clothing, right? Like, so it was nice to, and then one of them's like, I remember him wearing this shirt, and so it was really a nice, you know, it was more my pleasure to do it for them that I could do something like that, which was and they turned out so cute and adorable. So that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

I think you also you touched upon something that intrigues me because when you decided to go for it, you did start posting and saying, does anyone want this on Instagram? And I've been I've been thinking a lot about this concept of joyful marketing and like, is that a strategy that would actually work? And I think in a way, just deciding to going for something and not having any pressure behind it is kind of joyful. And it's interesting that people also are attracted to that. And the sales, when you were describing it, they seem easy. Like people are looking for that, they're interacting, and yeah, it's just it's kind of putting me on another field trip, which maybe I'll explore later. But it just like when you are loving what you do, people are attracted to that.

SPEAKER_00 19:53

For sure. Even I will say, even on a side note, my my husband's gone back to Pete's gone back to sketch comedy and he loves sketch comedy, but he has been doing like he has had sold-out shows and all this stuff, which has never happened before, but it's because also he doesn't, he's not attached, he's just doing it for pure fun. And he came back from his business trip that he was on, and he's like, all the executives at the company were asking me about my sketch comedy, not about like work. They were so interested and they want me to do a show in LA next year when I go so they can all come. He goes, but I don't have any attachment to the outcome. Whereas before, when I first met him, he was doing it four nights a week, like not as his real job, thank goodness, but like as just for fun, but like just way more into the community. And he took a hiatus of five years because of you know, life and kids and all that stuff. And now everybody's like, when are you coming back? What's happening? And they're like, he's filling rooms, he's never had a sold-out show. And so it's been quite, quite fun. Also, I think this whole like when you're getting near 50, it's just like you don't care anymore as much as you used to, but it's just doing things that are for fun. And then on the flip side, it's funny how I had so many inquiries for consulting because of this. Because of, well, either maybe it's my energy behind it, but like out of nowhere, like it wasn't like I was in conversations with these people before or what have you. But it's like, oh, yes, of course, that's a great idea, you know?

SPEAKER_01 21:30

So I think like I've talked about this with you on like one of our walks, but like when you're on, people can sense that energy. It's almost like this light is on above your head that isn't visible, but people are like, oh, I like this person. I'm attracted to them. So I think, yeah, like you just described the fact that you were putting this energy out into the world of like, look at what I'm creating. People were attracted to that. Right. And because of it, it translated into Marketing for your other business consulting.

SPEAKER_00 22:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Which is cool. So, what is the one thing that you think more business owners, because we know a lot of entrepreneurs, they're probably listening to this. What do you think they should give themselves permission to do?

SPEAKER_00 22:17

Permission to do either something you've wanted to do for a really long time, or lean into your intuition if something new pops up and you're like, oh yeah, I should take, I would love to take that class. I think we get too into the business that it's like you have to be on all the time or what have you. And people say, I don't have time to do that. I wish I could have hobbies. I'm like, you do have time. If you look at your scrolling on your phone of how long you're on Instagram for.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

Oh, yes. You have to I actually, yeah, I talk about this in episode three. I actually did a survey about this in the relationship I'm seeing around people really craving this offline, this analog life. But then people are saying they don't have time to do it. But I asked them as well, how much time do you spend on your phone? And it's like five plus hours a day. And yes, some of it can be for work, it can be for business purposes, your kids' schedules, all that good stuff. But the other side, you're sitting on your couch at home scrolling. I do it, I know you've done it. We're all in this together. But what if we put down our phone and actually picked up your equivalent of a sewing needle or a sewing machine?

SPEAKER_00 23:33

Right. Yes. And I also think that people just feed off of other people about accepting the norm that it has to be that way. Oh, well, so and so, oh yeah, everybody's so busy. Listen, yes, everybody is busy. Kids' sports have gotten insane and you know, all this, these things. But when you take time for yourself and you you're happier for everybody else. And your kids pick up on it, your partner picks up on it. If you have one, your family picks up on it. And when you're doing things that bring you joy, and maybe that's like just picking up some like watercolor markers. I got these cool markers that I've been drawing in my book, just random things. Also, because I can't find patterns that I really like. I'm like, maybe I just need to make my own pattern, but I'm and I'm like, I'm not a pattern maker, but then I need to take a course on how to make a pattern, you know. Anyways, you go down this rabbit hole. But I think that it's like, it's almost like this martyrish type mentality of like, I don't have time to be joyful.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

Yeah, in that same survey I did, people said they want to, but they don't have time, which we've talked about. But they also said maybe it wasn't a productive use of their time to be doing things like hobbies like this.

SPEAKER_00 24:51

But why do they have to be productive all the time?

SPEAKER_01 24:53

But I actually, yeah, and I actually think that doing hobbies like this, whether it's sewing, picking up watercolor painting, there's someone else we know in our circle who's teaching herself how to do watercolor painting. I actually think that translates into more creativity and inspiration for the business that you're building because the best ideas are outside of the norm. Okay. So marketing often feels heavy, feels a bit sleazy in 2026. So imagine you're on social media. What's a piece of marketing that you would love to see someone do this week that would make you actually stop the scroll? What would you like to see them talking about or doing?

SPEAKER_00 25:40

Just like that reel I sent you about that in doing that snail mail, that made me stop and send it to you. I I posted it. I was like, oh my gosh, they really care about their customers. So it's not that you have to send snail mail, but what is it like another way that you can show your clients how much you appreciate them? However, that shows up for you, or that feels aligned to you. Like maybe gift giving is not your love language. That's fine. But could you stop and send very, you know, poignant voice notes or a text message to past clients, or how could you celebrate their birthday, sending them a birthday card? You know, those connections are lost. And you're it's this whole digital, where's my next client coming from? And uh, you know, I gotta find it. But I'm like, people can go anywhere else. People can go any like that in. They can choose, there's a million inns to choose from, yeah, right? But what's gonna have them go? They want to go back for those scones because they've tried to make those recipes at home and they don't make it as good as the in there. And I think it's really has them staying connected. And who doesn't love getting mail?

SPEAKER_01 26:58

So I think you touch upon something worth you know really thinking about if you're listening to this, is that maybe the marketing that you're doing doesn't always have to be visible, it needs to be meaningful, and maybe that's happening behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_00 27:12

100%. Everything meaningful happens behind the scenes because when it's on social media, oftentimes it's for show. Yeah. Right? And I think all another thing to talk about for marketing is that is oftentimes showing the the in-between. Sure, you might be showing this is what my clients are achieving. Yeah, but how do we work it out to get there?

SPEAKER_01 27:38

Yeah, I I hate those like before and after type approaches because right.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

It's exactly because people can't wrap their head around the after if they're so far deep in the before. They need to know that they can get there in steps. Listen, will there sometimes be a hockey stick moment, like of increase in sales or what have you? Yes, but oftentimes it's building blocks, it's building our network one by one. It's you know, yeah, I could go on and on about that, but I think there is a real sense of like maybe you worked with somebody three years ago, but maybe they hired you three years ago this May, and you can send them a note to be like, oh my God, three years ago this May, we worked together. I'm so happy. How are things going? Like, I would love to hear from you.

SPEAKER_01 28:26

I've been watching see that on marketing. I would say people don't talk about the long-term relationships enough. They talk about like kind of that drastic like, this is what happened, and now this is what's happened.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

But there's no meat in the in-between if that's and then it just falls flat, like a really bad, like when you say meat, I'm thinking of like this nice juicy steak. But people are just like giving this like cold cut sandwich, like reference, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:55

Sadly, that cold cut sandwich sometimes fools people into hiring the wrong businesses, but we won't go there today. No, we won't. The last thing I'm gonna ask you is where can people find you? Where can people find Percy James? Where can they find out about your consulting?

SPEAKER_00 29:09

For sure. So my consulting is aaronbins.com, my Instagram is Aaron Bins, that's for consulting. And then Percy James Instagram is percyjames.ca. And I will be launching my website soon. Yeah, just making a very super simple website. Shout out to Lisa Peterson who helped me build it on Square. She's amazing, and she helped me build that. So just I didn't want anything complicated, right? I just wanted something simple where people could click and buy and go from there. Maybe one day I'll have a Shopify and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_01 29:42

But you don't need it today. I don't need it. It's good enough. Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Erin, for joining me and spending the last half hour together. It's always a pleasure, and I'm sure I will see you soon. For sure. Thank you. And that's a wrap on today's episode. Thank you so much for joining me. Come find me over at fieldtripmarketing.ca or on Instagram at Kirsten J Marketing. I'd love to hear what you thought, and if you have any ideas on where we should take this field trip next. See you next time.