Renée Joslyn runs an online and offline business called Freakin’ Flamingo. I welcome her to Websites for Small Biz, as she agreed to answer my inquisitive questions about her business, her website and her use of social media.

1) How long have you had your own business? How did you get started? What do you sell?

Which time? :-) I always felt that I was meant to work for myself, doing things that I enjoy and am passionate about. So, whenever someone said to me, “Renée, you’re so good at (fill in the blank)!” I would think, “Aha! Maybe that’s what I was meant to do!”

Pre-Internet, I had a small party-planning business in the 1980’s, aimed at working women. I tried advertising in one of those local business coupon books that you get in the mail. I also sent out Christmas cards to random people in the telephone book whose addresses were in the neighborhoods I wanted to work in. An artist friend designed business cards for me: Renée the Party Planner, with these wonderful balloons in the graphic. To save money, I had them printed in black and white and hand-colored the balloons in red, yellow, and teal markers.

In the 1990’s when a graphical internet – that is, websites – became available to average people, I had two different businesses: an online Irish bakery (pretty funny for a Jewish girl in Miami, huh?), and an online antiques business specializing in Depression glass. There was no Blogger or WordPress and I had to actually write my own code. These were all while I also worked full-time as a legal secretary.

Ultimately, I gave them up because it was very difficult to get the word out about a fledgling business if you had no money for traditional advertising. Internet business was uncharted territory and usenet groups became places for unsavory people to hang out. Early “social media” (MySpace, Facebook) was strictly for teenagers and college kids.

I started up Freakin’ Flamingo just this year, although the seeds for it began last year, when I began canning in earnest. Freakin’ Flamingo makes micro-batch jams, marmalades, and the occasional sauce and pickle, with a South Florida / Caribbean twist. Sometimes, it’s just twisted, like my Cabana Collection: jams that taste like cocktails – Blueberry Mojito, Piña Colada, and Strawberry Daiquiri. I source mostly local, but always in-season, fruit, and allow myself creative inspiration to come up with new combinations and flavors that tease the imagination.

For instance, it’s mango season here. I made a Mango Chipotle BBQ Sauce (very different from the recipe posted on Flamingo Musings), which has since sold out, as well as 2 different mango jams: Thai Mango Jam infused with lemongrass, lime, and ginger; and Pineapple Mango Mint. And for the first time, I made sugar-free versions of the jams, using xylitol, a natural sugar substitute extracted from tree bark. I swear! Tree bark. But when they’re gone, they’re gone. Maybe I’ll make them again next season. Maybe not. We’ll see if there’s a demand, and if I’m in the mood. The August mango cultivars are due anytime now, and I’ll decide then what I want to make with those.

That’s the whole philosophy behind Freakin’ Flamingo. You just never know what you’ll find, and the selection will change all the time.

2) How long have you been blogging? Did you blog before you started your business?

You know, I had to go look up the answer to that question, and it surprised me! My very first blog post was on August 30, 2006. Coincidentally, August 2008 is when I first started mentioning food. So, the answer to the second part of that question is, very definitely, yes.

Granted, my blogging was pretty sporadic for the first couple of years, and I didn’t start out as a food blogger – that evolved from hanging out with a bunch of food bloggers on Twitter.

But the blog is an extension of me. It reflects my style, my attitude, my background, and my interests. It’s not just a collection of recipes – I might share memories, a backstory, or even my thought process behind the food. And I don’t just write about jam or recipes using my jam. Although the blog is now an addition to the business, it’s not just a running commercial for the business.

3) Do you sell both online and in person? Do you use an online shopping cart? Do you like the one you use?

I began solely online, but also sold in person to a few people who know me personally, as well. I now sell in person at a local farmers market, about twice a month, in addition to online, but I’ve begun integrating the two by starting up a newsletter.

On the website, I use the WordPress online shopping cart widget. It works well, but it’s very basic and doesn’t really have the flexibility I’d like, to be able to differentiate shipping methods (parcel post vs. priority mail vs. UPS). If there’s an order that requires special handling, I have to do that manually and send a PayPal invoice. Likewise, it’s been known to mysteriously “hold back” product from the inventory, even if there are no open or unfinished orders. According to my site designer, Zen Cart and the others don’t seem to play well with with my site.

4) What are ways that you have done networking? Online or in-person?

Both. In fact, the two frequently intertwine. I’m very active online and established personal relationships with many people, both locally and all over the world, long before I started up Freakin’ Flamingo.

I attend at least a couple of food bloggers conferences every year, where I solidify some of those relationships “in real life” and make new connections, as well. This past spring I provided small sample jars of my jams for the “swag bags” at one of the conferences.

I attend events hosted by other local bloggers, and hand out my business cards when appropriate.

A Toronto canner I respect asked to publish one of my recipes in her new book about canning in North America (and yes, the publisher paid me), as a result of becoming acquainted in a monthly blog canning challenge called “Can Jam” last year.

I organize the annual Miami Area National Food Bloggers Bake Sale benefiting Share Our Strength – a charity I support very strongly – and not only bake, but also sell my jams at the sale, donating all the proceeds, and donate a Freakin’ Flamingo gift collection as a raffle prize. This one is an excellent example of both online and in-person networking. I involve a number of other local bloggers in the bake sale, several of whom also write for publications such as New Times and Edible South Florida. Edible South Florida now occasionally tweets about me when I’m at the farmers market. A couple of the writers have asked to write about me and my business. The Education coordinator of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (the location hosting the bake sale), not only purchased some of my jams and baked goods at the sale, but asked me to teach a canning class this coming December, as well as possibly a baking class next year.

5) What are some of the social media networks you use, and which do you find the most advantageous?

I am on Twitter, and have 3 Facebook pages (personal, Flamingo Musings blog, and Freakin’ Flamingo business). I’m also on Linked-In (though I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to be doing with it), and now on Google + (which I assume is Google’s answer to Facebook). I’ll be investigating Pinterest soon, as that seems to be up and coming.

By far, Twitter has been the most advantageous to me. I can honestly say that, if it weren’t for Twitter, Freakin’ Flamingo would most likely not exist. It’s where I have developed the most “personal” relationships with people all over the world. I’ve received incredible support, advice, and encouragement from people I met on Twitter.

I think in business these days, you have to have a Facebook presence, and it’s very useful for when you need more than 140 characters to express yourself. But aside from “sharing” entries on the blog fan page and the business fan page with my personal account, I generally keep the personal page separate. I think I’m a little more self-conscious on Facebook than I am on Twitter.

The funny thing is, when I began blogging and then tweeting, I had every intention of staying anonymous. I used to cringe whenever someone used my real name when they addressed me in a comment or tweeted me. I relaxed about that after awhile, when I realized that it was because they were treating me like a real person and took personal interest in me. In fact, I had to laugh when someone referred to me in one of her own blog posts, recently, as “…one of my favorite imaginary friends on the internet…”

Which leads me to two points that I’m absolutely firm on when it comes to social media:

First, it is above all things, social. People want to interact with you on a personal level and socialize. You’ve got to put yourself out there as a real live person. People want to sympathize, relate, offer advice, and celebrate with you. They want to commiserate if you’re having a lousy day, and cheer if you’ve scored a coup. They want to laugh with you and cry with you. If all you tweet is advertising or links, I won’t follow you. I’m not interested in having your ads clutter up my Twitter stream. If you and I are friendly and you tweet about something I find interesting, I’ll re-tweet you. I have to want to give you that boost.

Second, all my social media accounts and on- and offline materials use the same avatar or a variation of it. I think it’s really important to have a consistent “brand” identity, whether it’s personal or business. If you’re consistent, people remember you and think of you, even in completely unrelated situations. I can’t tell you how many people have tweeted me and messaged me about seeing flamingos at the zoo, on objects, in articles or in videos, and they thought about me. Or how many times I’ve met people (some of whom I’ve never had any interaction with) at conferences, etc. and they say, “ Oh, you’re RJ Flamingo! I was looking forward to meeting you!” How does that pay off? A woman approached me at the farmers market last week and asked me if I’m the same flamingo that’s on Twitter. She recognized my avatar and came over, because I’m someone she’s already familiar with.

That’s what I love about social media. People are already comfortable about working with you because they feel like they “know” you.

6) What are some of your favorite recipes?

Some of my very favorite recipes are for holidays or special occasions, like my challah or the Tiramisu Cream Puffs I baked for my mother’s 90th birthday party.

Then there’s my husband’s favorite, my Brisket. Another real winner is the Hummus Pizza. Seriously. Hot hummus. You have to try this: Hummus Pizza.

Renée, thank you so much! And by the way, we are big fans of xylitol (it is actually reported to be good for your teeth). She welcomes you to sign up for her newsletter.

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