Sponsor Message And Show Setup

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The following programming is sponsored by Marc J. Bernstein. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of this station, its management, or Beasly Media Group. Entrepreneur, founder, author and financial advisor, Marc Bernstein helps high-performing business owners turn their visions into reality. At March Forward, Marc and his partners and associates think out of the box to partner with their clients in regards to their visions for their lives, their businesses and their legacies. And through his innovative work with the Forward Focus Forums, Marc connects entrepreneurs to resources that help to fuel their success. Founders’ Forum is a radio show and podcast where entrepreneurs share their journeys, revealing the stories behind their successes, and the lessons they’ve learned. Join Marc and his guests for a mix of inspiration, valuable insights, and a bit of fun! Now, let’s dive in...

Moving Stories And New Beginnings

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in.

Marc Bernstein 0:52

Good morning, America. How are you? Founders Forum is on the move because that's the theme of our show today. It was the theme of the earlier show we recorded today, too. Because it's on my mind because I'm in the middle of a personal move. Just moved our home of 30 of 26 years yesterday. That's a lot of stuff. And it's exciting, it's exhilarating, and it is also really hard. Hard, confusing, disruptional, you know, a lot of things going on. So the voice you just heard is Gabriel, and I will introduce him formally in a minute. But Gabriel, part of your story, your business origin story, which you're going to talk about, has to do with a move. So tell me about that and how you experience the move, that move, and moves in general.

Gabriel Luber 1:43

Sure. So hello everybody. My name is Gabriel. I am the co-founder and chief generosity officer of a business called Lancaster Gift Box.

Marc Bernstein 1:53

Thank you. I don't have to do your thing. No, no, I just wanted to say that just so they know who's talking to them.

Gabriel Luber 1:58

So yeah, we're based, our business is based in Lancaster City, in the heart of Lancaster County. But yeah, so moving. My wife and business partner, Diana, she grew up in Lancaster. I grew up in Queens in New York City. Little different. Very different. Yeah, very different. We met in this is the super short elevator version of the story. We met in 2019, just before the pandemic, uh, in upstate New York at this funky weekend-long makers market. Uh Diana's first entrepreneurial hustle was making jam and preserves with Lancaster Produce. So she was there selling her jam. I was doing marketing for a cool company in the area. Our tents were next to each other. We met, we hit it off, we hung out that summer, the summer of 2019, fell in love, and then the pandemic happened. And we went to stay with Diana's mom, Janet, in Lancaster. And we thought we were going to be there for a few weeks. And we never left.

Marc Bernstein 2:58

So that's the story. How did you experience that, poll? Because you weren't expecting

Pandemic Relocation Sparks A Business

Marc Bernstein 3:03

to move. You weren't, you know, in your in a very different place than New York City.

Gabriel Luber 3:08

Sure. So I was born and raised in New York City. Um I had been living up uh in upstate New York for a bunch of years before I met Diana and landed in Lancaster. So it would have been far more shocking if I had gone sh directly from New York City to Lancaster. And so uh we landed in Lancaster at the beginning of the pandemic, and uh we decided to stay and make our life there. And then we we launched the first version of our business. So our business didn't start as a gift company, it evolved into what it is. It started as a fresh grocery delivery service with all local food. Um we had an online grocery store, people would shop, we delivered to their home, and then Diana started to create gift boxes with these beautiful local products, and people and businesses wanted them a lot more than our fresh grocery service. Uh so yeah, so we made the complete pivot. So it was that was an accident to a certain extent. Yeah, you know, landing in Lancaster County was the happiest accident. Uh it's the biggest blessing, really. I feel really lucky. Uh I've fallen in love with the area. Um so many things are special about it. Yeah. I mean, Diana could have been from anywhere. You know, I I really hit the jackpot. Yeah, you did. Yeah. Um but what do I love about Lancaster? Can I say you married up? Oh yeah. Oh yes. Definitely. Um the the wide open spaces, the agriculture, um, there's a dynamic city, Lancaster City, which is where um we have our retail store and where we have our headquarters.

Marc Bernstein 4:44

Um You stole my thunder. I just mentioned to our listeners this is part of our Lancaster series, actually. Uh-huh. And dynamics is exactly the way I described it on the last show, and it's the way I you describe it. It's a very exciting place to be. If you haven't been there, you need to go.

Gabriel Luber 5:00

Yeah. Yeah. Growing up in New York City, you know, landing, it's a it's a very special small city. Um but the thing that I love the most is the people. Uh I've never been in a place where there are, like I was saying earlier, are so many good-hearted people. Um, and that's been really special. Really, you mean New York's not like that? No, don't get me wrong. I know I'm teasing. New Yorkers are actually very nice for the most part, and like they got a bad rap.

Marc Bernstein 5:27

No, I know that. I live I've lived in New York, and people are good everywhere. You it's just sometimes it's sometimes the exterior can fool you, though. Yeah. So so anyway, Gabriel helped me a lot by introducing him, and I'll just finish his introduction. He's, as he said, co-founder and chief generosity officer of Lancaster Gift Box. It's a Pennsylvania-based company that helps businesses strengthen relationships through thoughtful giving and high-touch client experience systems. Alongside his wife and business partner, as he mentioned, Diana, he champions the idea that generosity is a powerful business strategy and that meaningful human connection remains the ultimate competitive advantage. Uh, through Lancaster Gift Box, Gabriel helps organizations create memorable experiences that leave clients, employees, and partners feeling genuinely seen, appreciated, and valued. It's it's a very, very well-written, thought-out strategy, and it is who they are because I've experienced them. So welcome again, Gabriel. So let's finish the story. So you got to Lancaster, you started the business. Um it's so once you start a business, I always like to say this, it's a it's a kind of well, then it's easy. It's just an easy road to success, right?

Gabriel Luber 6:48

No, that that's that's Oh, I'm wrong about that. No, no, that that that's what they call unicorn. Right, right. No, I understand. Very rare when that's the case. Right, if you're case.

Marc Bernstein 6:58

So tell us about, you know, the the let's continue on the journey. What what happened?

The Pivot From Groceries To Gifting

Gabriel Luber 7:03

Yeah. Yeah. So for for the first two years, we were known as Lancaster Local Provisions, right? We started as a fresh grocery delivery service. Um, so Diana, uh, she runs our business. Um, you know, but that's her main lane. She's the the president, she's the boss. I work to grow the business, um, and I do our marketing and our, you know, I I've been building our brand and the equity and the awareness. So I was very uh I was very all in on Lancaster local provisions. Um but as we we got to the end of so we launched the business July 20th, 2020, at the very beginning of the pandemic. Um we got some early traction with the fresh grocery, then gifting really started to take off. And at the end of 2021, uh we looked at the numbers and we had brought in more money in like six weeks doing our holiday corporate gifting than we had brought in in the 11 months previous doing fresh grocery delivery.

Marc Bernstein 8:05

We landed one big client, as I recall. Right.

Gabriel Luber 8:07

A few yeah a few really a few big clients, you know. We got really blessed in that way. Um so we had to make a really tough decision, you know. We it was either like this isn't working and we just gonna shut it down, or we're gonna, you know, evolve, adapt, and let the business take us where it's supposed to go. So yeah, we made that tough decision. And it was harder for me than Diana, I think, because like I said, like I'd pour my blood, sweat, and tears into building our brand and relationships and the brand equity. Uh, but yeah, and when we decided that we were shutting down fresh grocery and going to be just a gift company and offer gifting services, we knew we needed to change the name so as there there was no confusion. So making, you know, r changing the name, rebranding and relaunching as Lancaster gift box, and we did that in November 2022, is that's when we launched our brick and mortar retail shop in Lancaster City.

Marc Bernstein 9:02

So that was one of the I was lucky to be there. I happened to meet you the night before and and ended up at the opening. It was uh exciting. It was so cool that you you came to the opening. Well, and you had such a great crowd of people there. Many people I recognized from my time in Lancaster, my limited time in Lancaster. Everybody came out for it. It was great.

Gabriel Luber 9:21

Yeah. It was a it was a beautiful, it was a beautiful event. Very happy you were there. Um so yeah, that was one of that was I would say that was the the biggest challenge. That was the like the most clear, like major challenge we had to overcome to get where we are, but there's been a million challenges since then, you know, little and small, uh, but it's heading in the right direction.

A Ten Year Vision For Lancaster

Marc Bernstein 9:46

If this were July 22nd of twenty thirty-six, and you and I are talking, which I'm sure we will be, or we hope to be, and we look back over the last ten years, what would have had to happen for you to say this is this was the progress, this is where we wanted to be on our journey.

Gabriel Luber 10:05

Sure. So I'm just gonna go back to the way I was kind of setting it up. So we're gonna close our eyes and we're gonna get into a time machine. And now the time machine uh it lands and and the doors open, and we step out and we're in downtown Lancaster City. And um the first thing that I notice is that people are not rushing. Uh as I walk past people, they're looking at me in the eye and they're smiling and they're saying hello. You know, I I've no look I notice uh that there's a family enjoying a meal together, um, everyone sharing stories and laughing, and there's not a single phone on the table. So as we continue walking, um I start to hear really beautiful big bird sounds. And I notice that there are small gardens in many of the in the the houses uh uh around me. And I see neighbors, you know, growing vegetables and helping each other and uh working to create a more resilient community together. And then we land at Lancaster gift box. And yes, it's still a world-class gifting destination, but there's also a cafe, there's events and workshops and educational opportunities, there's a maker incubator where we are helping Pennsylvania food entrepreneurs bring their visions to life. Our team, the Lancaster Gift Box team, we share the numbers and we share in the success. And through our 1% to feed our neighbors initiative, we are donating at least $50,000 a year to nonprofits who are addressing the food insecurity problem in central Pennsylvania. But the thing that I am the most proud of is that many relationships have gotten deeper and more meaningful because we exist.

Marc Bernstein 12:21

That is great. So, first of all, that's the best description of a 10-year vision or a three-year vision or five-year vision that we've ever had on the show. And here's why, because the more detailed the the um the more detailed the description of what you want it to be, and the more um emotion that you put into it, which you did a great job of doing, and you've obviously thought about it, the better chance it will happen. So I believe that your vision is gonna occur, and I believe in ten years we'll be talking about this and looking back on this day and saying this occurred. And you'll have to come to another ribbon cutting. Um I'll be there. And listen, and I I'll mention Tim Austin, our previous guest, is in the studio, and he's a he's a community maker. So I'm glad you guys are here together, because and we're gonna get together afterwards and talk about it because I think there are there are some could be some synergies there.

Break And A CSR Spotlight

Marc Bernstein 13:17

So as I mentioned, entrepreneurialism is not always a smooth ride, and it's time for a quick break. So I am go, but I'm gonna come back and ask you about what issues have you had to wrestle with so far in regard to the business. We talked about it offline, so I kind of know where that's going. And and then also in regard to your very descriptive vision, what kind of things might occur along the way and what kind of strengths have you built to deal with that? That's a lot of what we do on Founders Forum, and it's a great way for our listeners to learn from your experiences. Um, with that, let's take a quick commercial break and we'll be right back on Founders Forum.

Announcer 13:57

The Satell Institute is the leading CEO member organization dedicated to Corporate Social Responsibility. Under the vision and leadership of its founder—entrepreneur and philanthropist Ed Satell—the Institute brings together CEOs in Philadelphia and other cities to support the Nonprofit organizations that do heroic work in our communities. The Satell Institute believes that “community is every leader’s business.” SI’s members-only meetings and private CEO conferences give members the opportunity to hear from world-class thought leaders on crucial topics like AI, education, corporate philanthropy and more. In addition, CEO members get the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with their peers— like-minded CEOs who believe in the importance of giving back to the community and who understand the benefits companies get from embracing Corporate Social Responsibility. The Satell Institute charges no dues or fees — in order to join, member companies simply make a long-term commitment to the nonprofit of their choice. To find out more about membership, —and why so many leading companies are now part of the Satell Institute — visit the organization’s web site at satellinstitute.org. As Ed Satell says, “Think WE, not just me.

Marc Bernstein 15:16

We are back on Founders Forum. Welcome back. I'm having a little technology issue here, but we'll be right back. Okay, Gabriel.

Marriage, Priorities, And Startup Friction

Marc Bernstein 15:25

So we're talking about the less smooth parts of the ride of being an entrepreneur, the rockier roads. And tell me a little bit about the kind of things you've had to deal with so far, uh, the internal or external factors that um have made the ride a little bumpy. And you know, and how you've been able to address them.

Gabriel Luber 15:50

Sure, sure. And I will happily answer that question. But before I do that, I just want to go back to right before we broke for commercial, you were talking about um our 10 the 10-year vision that I shared. And I just want to you would you would say you'd asked me to prepare to talk about a book while we were chatting, but I just want to tie this in because it's important, I think. So this book has been incredibly impactful on me. It's called How to Fall in Love with the Future, A Time Traveler's Guide to Changing the World. And it's by Rob Hopkins. And there's a lot of incredible takeaways from this book, but the main takeaway is that if we can't visualize in Technicolor the world that we do want in 10 years, in 20 years, then how could we ever create it? Right? And we're being, you know, inundated with you know terrifying, a lot of fear, a lot of terrifying, dystopian uh futures scenarios. And it can feel like that's inevitable, but it's not. Right. It's not inevitable, right? But it is if we can't imagine what we do want, right? Yep, absolutely. So I'm sharing that because I think this book can be incredibly uh powerful in in helping people get you know more clear on what they want their world to look like in 10 years.

Marc Bernstein 17:22

I've read I've written about this and I've read a lot of books about this, and I haven't heard of that one, so I wrote it down.

Gabriel Luber 17:28

Cool. So now back to your question about challenges. So um we're a we're a bootstrapping startup company. Um uh my wife Diana, uh, we are so we are a woman-owned business. Um she's the president and the CEO. Um I I I like to joke and say I'm a lowly co-founder. Um She's the boss. But she's the boss and she's my wife. And in and therein lies the rub, you know?

Marc Bernstein 17:58

Um well, traditionally you heard it the other way around many times where the man's the boss. But but this I'm hearing this story more and more often today, where women own companies and the husband's involved in the business, but she's the driver of the business. Um and I know driver, we can use that in different because you drive business, but she's the energy behind the business. For sure.

Gabriel Luber 18:19

I mean, she she is literally my boss. Right, right. And so what I found interesting is so yeah, you know, because it's still primarily just me and Diana, we have two part-time employees, we have seasonal help, um, of course, we're doing everything, uh, but my main role is to grow the business. You know, she's running the business, I'm working on growing the business. So, in my world of growing the business, things that are a top priority to me, right, which I think and need and deserve Diana's immediate attention, she then has to place into the, you know, the bigger field of everything the business is addressing on any given day. And often my top priority is not the business's top priority. And that uh that has caused a lot of uh we've gotten, we've come a long way, but it has caused, especially in the early years, a lot of friction. I think that's like there's a lot in what I said, but you know, that you know, difference in in you know urgency and priorities about different parts of what we're working on, because you know, as as like I say, I keep saying as a bootstrapping startup, like you you know, it's a never-ending series of decisions, and decision fatigue is a real thing. Sure. And you have to prioritize, and she's very good at that. And she's always right in the end. It takes me longer to get there often. But so yeah, that's been one of the the the biggest challenges of of working with my my wife who's my business partner and my you know life partner.

Marc Bernstein 19:57

And well, you're not um I'm I appreciate you sharing it because you're not the only one in that situation. First of all, just to be married or to be in a long-term partnership with a person that in and of itself is difficult. And add business priorities on top of that and it compounds it. So I certainly understand that. Have you developed an approach or a process or a system for dealing with that? It starts

EOS Boundaries And Purpose Led Work

Marc Bernstein 20:25

with she's always right, I understand.

Gabriel Luber 20:27

But but it's such a good question. Um so we have, we have. Um so we I don't say that we uh that we run on EOS, the entrepreneurial operating system, but because we're a startup business, it's really built for small to mid-sized businesses. Um but we use the EOS framework as our uh you know, it's how we run our business, is we use the framework. And um as we've gotten better at using the framework and trying to, you know, create reasonable bound boundaries is another big thing between, you know, see we're very different in that way. This is another big challenge. So for me, I'm very passionate about what we're doing.

Marc Bernstein 21:09

You're the one who struggles with boundaries, oh yeah, for sure.

Gabriel Luber 21:12

There's no boundary for me. Like I have the good fortune, like, you know, I like I say I our company didn't start as a gift company. It evolved into what it is. But my truly my favorite thing in life is to give gifts. Right.

Marc Bernstein 21:26

So it's you know, like my I can tell because he brought me some lovely things this morning.

Gabriel Luber 21:32

So it's all it's all kind of gathered in for me, like my my spiritual work that I do, you know, the the business. Uh we're doing uh, you know, we we are using our business as a force for good. So we are, you know, doing a lot of work in the community. This year we're walking alongside PowerPax Project. They um send ingredients, food, and uh recipes and education home with children from school. These are kids who rely on the breakfast. Breakfast and lunch program, but don't have food to eat on the weekends. And they're feeding around 1800 families right now on a weekly basis in this way, sending food home with the kids to bring it to their families who are learning how to cook simple recipes. So I I I don't even I forgot where I where I where I was going. But I want to type the EOS. So basically my answer to your question is you know, getting better at using the EOS framework.

Marc Bernstein 22:29

By the way, I just want to interrupt for one second. For people that don't know EOS, there's a book called Traction, Geno Wickman. I assume you've read that. And that's that's a good starter, that's a primer where you can get that framework.

Gabriel Luber 22:42

Yeah, so traction, uh, like Marc said, uh for any small business owner, invaluable. I 100% it's you will get incredible value out of reading it, no matter how much you choose to adopt or not adopt. Um and there is also a lot of great EOS consultants uh in the in the Philly area, in central Pennsylvania. We work with an amazing EOS um Oh, you do have an EOS coach? Implementer, yep. Uh-huh. His name is Bill Stratton.

Marc Bernstein 23:09

Okay, nice.

Gabriel Luber 23:10

And if anyone wants to learn more about it or wants me to make an introduction to Bill, please uh you know connect with me on LinkedIn and we'll find we'll find a way to do that. But here's one thing that I want to say before the podcast ends. This is like an internal statement. We don't I don't go around saying this often. This is more like our um the heart of everything we do. So we I recently wrote a purpose and a vision statement. I'm just gonna share it. And the the first sentence is the main the main thing. Everything we do at Lancaster Gift Box so is is about enriching human connection. That's why we exist. And we do this, uh we so we work with people and businesses who believe that relationships matter and are looking for a simple and elegant way to show appreciation, to send gifts that are rooted in place. And we do this by handpicking Pennsylvania's finest products and with them creating gift experiences that deepen relationships and make people feel seen and valued. So I'm saying that, but back to that first sentence, right? So we exist to enrich human connection through generosity. Yeah, I mean, that's at the heart of everything we're working on. Um so you know, as as put it this way, right? The more that me and Diana, you know, when we're tuned into that, you know, all of the little friction and all that goes away. It all kind of goes away. Yeah.

Marc Bernstein 24:41

Nice. So per so I know that's I know that's part of EOS. Always go back to your purpose and and your mission and understand what it is you're trying to do and use that as your reference reference point. So that's wonderful. Um, so you covered some of my last questions. I'm gonna I'm gonna leave it to you, Gabriel, because you've had a great agenda. Is there anything else you want to talk about for our remaining two minutes that we have?

Gabriel Luber 25:05

Yeah,

Books That Shape A Better Business

Gabriel Luber 25:06

yeah. So I've already we've talked about a few books already, right? We just talked about Traction by Geno Wickman. We talked about that's like a life-saving book for any small business owner.

Marc Bernstein 25:16

Yep.

Gabriel Luber 25:17

We talked about How to Fall in Love with the Future. Yep. A Time Traveler's Guide to Changing the World by Rob Hopkins. And but the book that has influenced Lancaster gift box, the way we operate the most, is a book called Unreasonable Hospitality. It's written by Will Guidara. The main essence of that book, the main takeaway, is that great organizations, contemporary great organizations, are not only delivering a great service or product, they are also creating intentional moments that people remember, that their people remember.

Marc Bernstein 25:54

Someone else brought up that book recently, and I think you know him, but we're almost out of time. So I'll tell you offline. In fact, we are out of time. So,

Final Thanks And Sign Off

Marc Bernstein 26:03

Gabriel, thanks so much for being here. Tim, thanks for sitting in with us again. Eric, thanks for engineering. Thank you all for listening to Founders Forum, and we'll see you again next week.

Announcer 26:15

Founders Founders’ Forum was brought to you in part, by March Forward, LLC. We partner with entrepreneurs like you to assist in accomplishing your future vision. Your life. Your business. Your legacy. Comprehensive wealth planning that starts with you -- not a product. We hope you enjoyed your time with Founders’ Forum and that you found something of value to take with you throughout your day. Join us again next week for another episode of Founders’ Forum on WWDB 860 AM Philadelphia, or on your favorite podcast streaming service. Securities offered through DFPG Investments, LLC (“DFPG”) Investment Advisory Services offered through Diversify Advisory Services, LLC (“Diversify”). DAS and DFPG are affiliated entities. March is unaffiliated with DAS and DFPG. Member FINRA/SIPC The information provided in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as investment advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of Diversify or DFPG.