Building a Business on Human Connection with Gabriel Luber

0:00Gabriel Luber: The following programming is sponsored by Marc J. Bernstein. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of this station, its management, or Beasley 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, Mark connects entrepreneurs to resources that help to fuel their success.

0:35Gabriel Luber: Founders Forum is a radio show and podcast where entrepreneurs share their journeys, reveal the stories behind their successes, and the lessons they've learned. Join Mark and his guests for a mix of inspiration, valuable insights, and a bit of fun. Now, let's dive in. Good morning, America. How are you? Yeah. 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.

1:15Gabriel Luber: It's exhilarating. And it is also really hard, hard, confusing, disrupting, 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.

1:43Marc Bernstein: Sure. So hello, everybody. My name is Gabriel. I am the co-founder and chief generosity officer of a business called Lancaster Gift Box.

1:53Gabriel Luber: Thank you. I don't have to do your... No, no. I just wanted to say that just so they know who's talking to them.

1:58Marc Bernstein: 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. A 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 in upstate New York at this funky weekend long maker's market. 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.

2:39Marc Bernstein: 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.

2:58Gabriel Luber: So that's the story. How did you experience that? Because you weren't expecting to move. You weren't in a very different place than New York City.

3:07Marc Bernstein: Sure. So I was born and raised in New York City. I had been living up 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 directly from New York City to Lancaster. And so we landed in Lancaster at the beginning of the pandemic and we decided to stay and make our life there. And then 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. We had an online grocery store. People would shop.

3:45Marc Bernstein: 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. So, yeah. So, we made the complete pivot. That was an accident to a certain extent. Yeah. Landing in Lancaster County was the happiest accident. It's the biggest blessing, really. I feel really lucky. I've fallen in love with the area. So many things are special about it. First the woman and then the city. Yeah. I mean, Diana could have been from anywhere. I really hit the jackpot. Yeah, you did. Yeah. But what do I love about Lancaster?

4:26Marc Bernstein: Can I say you married up? Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. Definitely. Definitely. So the wide open spaces, the agriculture, there's a dynamic city, Lancaster City, which is where we have our retail store and where we have our headquarters.

4:44Gabriel Luber: You stole my thunder. I just mentioned to our listeners, this is part of our Lancaster series, actually. And dynamics is exactly the way I described it on the last show. And it's the way I describe it. It's an exciting place to be. If you haven't been there, you need to go.

5:00Marc Bernstein: yeah yeah growing up in New York City you know landing it's a it's a very special small city but the thing that I love the most is the people I I've never been in a place where there like I was saying earlier so many good-hearted people and that's been really really special really you mean New York's not like that no don't get me wrong no I don't get me wrong like I know I'm New Yorkers are actually very nice for the most part and like they got a bad rap no I know that

5:28Gabriel Luber: I've lived in New York, and people are good everywhere. Sometimes the exterior can fool you, though. Yeah. So anyway, Gabriel helped me a lot by introducing him, and I'll just finish his introduction. 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.

6:12Gabriel Luber: Through Lancaster Gift Box, Gabriel helps organizations create memorable experiences that leave clients, employees, and partners feeling genuinely seen, appreciated, and valued. 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. So once you start a business, I always like to say this, well, then it's easy. It's just an easy road to success, right?

6:48Marc Bernstein: No. Oh, I'm wrong about that? No, no. No, that's what they call unicorn. Right, right. No, I understand. Very rare when that's the case. Right, of course.

6:57Gabriel Luber: So tell us about, let's continue on the journey. What happened?

7:03Marc Bernstein: Yeah. Yeah, so for the first two years, we were known as Lancaster Local Provisions, right? We started as a fresh grocery delivery service. So Diana, she runs our business. That's her main lane. She's the president. She's the boss. I work to grow the business and I do our marketing and I've been building our brand and the equity and the awareness. So I was very all in on Lancaster local provisions. But as we got to the end of, so we launched the business July 20th, 2020, at the very beginning of the pandemic. We got some early traction with the fresh grocery. Then gifting really started to take off.

7:50And at the end of 2021, we looked at the numbers.

7:53Marc Bernstein: 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.

8:05Gabriel Luber: You landed one big client, as I recall.

8:07Marc Bernstein: A few big clients. We got really blessed in that way. So we had to make a really tough decision. You know, it was either like this isn't working and we're just going to shut it down or we're going to, 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 pour my blood, sweat and tears into building our brand and relationships and the brand equity. 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 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 so that was one of the i was lucky to be there i happened to

9:05Gabriel Luber: meet you the night before and and ended up at the opening it was 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 are recognized from my time in like my limited time in lancaster everybody came out for it was great

9:20Marc Bernstein: 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

9:45Gabriel Luber: direction if this were july 22nd of 20 2036 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 10 years what would have had to happen for you to say this was the progress, this is where we wanted to be on our journey.

10:05Marc Bernstein: Sure. So I'm just going to go back to the way I was kind of setting it up. So we're going to close our eyes, and we're going to get into a time machine. And now the time machine, it lands, and the doors open. And we step out, and we're in downtown Lancaster City. and the first thing that I notice is that people are not rushing 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've no look I notice that there's a family enjoying a meal together everyone sharing stories and laughing and there's not a single phone on the table so as we continue walking um start to hear really beautiful bird sounds and i noticed that there are small gardens in many of that in the the houses uh around me and i see neighbors you know growing vegetables and helping each other and 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 one percent to feed our neighbors initiative we are donating at least fifty thousand dollars a year to non-profits who are addressing the food insecurity problem in central pennsylvania But the thing that I'm the most proud of is that many relationships have gotten deeper and more meaningful because we exist.

12:20Gabriel Luber: That is great. So first of all, that's the best description of a 10-year vision or a three-year vision or a 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 going to occur and i believe in 10 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 i'll be there and listen and 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 then we're going to get together afterwards and talk about it because I think there are some could be some synergies there so as I mentioned entrepreneurialism is not always a smooth ride and it's time for a quick break so I am going to come back and ask you about what issues have you had to wrestle with so far in regard to the business.

13:33Gabriel Luber: We talked about it offline, so I kind of know where that's going. 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. So with that, let's take a quick commercial break, and we'll be right back on Founders Forum. The Sattel Institute is the leading CEO member organization dedicated to corporate social responsibility. Under the vision and leadership of its founder, entrepreneur and philanthropist Ed Sattel, the Institute brings together CEOs in Philadelphia and other cities to support the nonprofit organizations that do heroic work in our communities.

14:17Gabriel Luber: The Sattel 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 experience 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 Sattel Institute charges no dues or fees. In order to join, member companies simply make a long-term commitment to the nonprofit of their choice.

14:56Gabriel Luber: To find out more about membership and why so many leading companies are now part of the Sattel Institute, visit the organization's website at sattelinstitute.org. Sattel, S-A-T-E-L-L, institute.org. As Ed Sattel says, think we, not just me. We are back on Founders Forum. Welcome back. I'm having a little technology issue here, but we'll be right back. Okay, Gabriel. 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, the internal or external factors that have made the ride a little bumpy and how you've been able to address them.

15:50Marc Bernstein: 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 the 10-year vision that I shared. and I just want to, you would say, you would ask 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?

16:45Marc Bernstein: And we're being inundated with terrifying, a lot of fear, a lot of terrifying dystopian 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 powerful in helping people get more clear on what they want their world to look like in 10 years.

17:22Gabriel Luber: 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.

17:28Marc Bernstein: Cool. So now back to your question about challenges. So we're a bootstrapping startup company. My wife, Diana, we are a woman-owned business. She's the president and the CEO. I like to joke and say I'm a lowly co-founder. She's the boss. But she's the boss and she's my wife. and in and therein lies the rub you know um well traditionally you heard it the other way around

18:01Gabriel Luber: many times where the man's the boss but but this i'm hearing the story more and more often today where yeah 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.

18:19Marc Bernstein: For sure. I mean, she is literally my boss. Right, right. And so what I found interesting is, so yeah, because it's still primarily just me and Diana, we have two part-time employees. We have seasonal help. Of course, we're doing everything. But my main role is to grow the business. 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 need and deserve Diana's immediate attention, she then has to place into 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.

19:05Marc Bernstein: And that has caused a lot of, 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 that difference in urgency and priorities about different parts of what we're working on because, like I say, I keep saying as a bootstrapping startup, it's a never-ending series of decisions and decision fatigue is a real thing 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. So yeah, that's been one of the biggest challenges of working with my wife, who's my business partner, and my life partner.

19:59Gabriel Luber: 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

20:24Marc Bernstein: it starts with she's always right i understand but but that'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. But we use the EOS framework as our, you know, it's how we run our business is we use the framework. And as we've gotten better at using the framework and trying to, you know, create reasonable 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.

21:09Gabriel Luber: You're the one that struggles with boundaries.

21:11Marc Bernstein: Oh, yeah, for sure. There's no boundary for me. Right, right. I have the good fortune. Like I said, our company didn't start as a gift company. It evolved into what it is. But truly my favorite thing in life is to give gifts. Right, right. So it's like my – I can tell.

21:29Gabriel Luber: He brought me some lovely things this morning.

21:33Marc Bernstein: It's all kind of gathered in for me, like my spiritual work that I do, the business. and we're doing, you know, 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 Power Packs Project. They send ingredients, food, and recipes and education home with children from school. These are kids who rely on the breakfast and lunch program, but don't have food to eat on the weekends. And they're feeding around 1 ,800 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.

22:17Marc Bernstein: So I forgot where I was going. EOS. Basically, my answer to your question is getting better at using the EOS framework.

22:29Gabriel Luber: By the way, I just want to interrupt for one second. For people that don't know EOS, there's a book called Traction. Gino Wickman. I assume you've read that. and that's a good starter. That's a primer where you can get that framework. So traction, like Mark said,

22:44Marc Bernstein: for any small business owner, invaluable. 100%, you will get incredible value out of reading it no matter how much you choose to adopt or not adopt. And there is also a lot of great EOS consultants in the Philly area, in central Pennsylvania. We work with an amazing EOS. You do have an EOS coach? Implementary, yep. His name is Bill Stratton.

23:09Gabriel Luber: Okay, nice.

23:10Marc Bernstein: And if anyone wants to learn more about it or wants me to make an introduction to Bill, please connect with me on LinkedIn and 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. I don't go around saying this often. This is more like our, the heart of everything we do. So I recently wrote a purpose and a vision statement. I'm just going to share it. And the first sentence is the main thing. Everything we do at Lancaster Gift Box is about enriching human connection. That's why we exist. And we do this, 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.

24:03Marc Bernstein: 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. So, you know, as put it this way, right? The more that me and Diana, you know, when we're tuned into that, all of the little friction and it all kind of goes away. Dissipates. Yeah.

24:41Gabriel Luber: Nice. So I know that's part of EOS. Always go back to your purpose and your mission and understand what it is you're trying to do and use that as your reference point. So that's wonderful. So you covered some of my last questions. I'm going to 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.

25:05Marc Bernstein: Yeah, 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. Yep. We talked about How to Fall in Love with the Future. Yep. A Time Traveler's Guide to Changing the World by Rob Hopkins. 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.

25:54Gabriel Luber: 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 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. 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.

26:30Gabriel Luber: 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. Members FINRA slash SIPC. The information provided in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as investment advice.

27:16Gabriel Luber: The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of Diversify or DFPG.