How a Personal Story Became a Business Mission: Michele Cochran’s Six Twenty Six

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women In Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women In Motion, we have Michele Cochran, she’s the Owner and Managing Member of Six Twenty Six. Welcome.

Michele Cochran: Thank you.

Lee Kantor: I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Six Twenty Six.

Michele Cochran: Do you ever want to recognize an employee or need some pens with your logo but don’t know where to start? Even a seasoned marketer or history procurement manager, they just don’t have time to waste on sourcing quality items from reputable factories. That’s where we come in. We help find the heart of our client’s brands with promotional products that have soul and substance.

Lee Kantor: Is there a story behind the name?

Michele Cochran: There is. I met my husband on June 26th in 2001, and we were married on June 26th in 2004, and then in June of 2005, I was acquired as an asset and opened my small business and called it Six Twenty Six.

Lee Kantor: What does that mean, acquired as an asset?

Michele Cochran: So, I was an employee of a promotional products distributor and they were acquired, so the new distributor purchased that business based on the assets of sale. And so, the deal for these kinds of businesses is based on retention of sales over a period of time. And so, I was one of the salespeople that was acquired.

Michele Cochran: They had a different business management program, and they called us independent sales partners. So, I didn’t really act as a small business until I left in 2017 and became affiliated with a different marketplace service provider who does more of technology and backend resources, financing of jobs, that I don’t have to leverage our business finances for large projects. It allows us to go for large global projects and not have any kind of financial issues with taking those or delivering those.

Lee Kantor: So, at the previous firm you felt you were an employee. But this new firm said, no, you’re actually your own business. Was that kind of the aha moment where you realized, I guess I am my own business and I better find the right partners?

Michele Cochran: Exactly. I actually had the aha moment in 2016. And then, in 2017, asked to convert to my own business group, and they did not want to practice business that way and that’s why I left.

Lee Kantor: So, when you realized since I’m the one who’s getting the sales, and that’s really an important component of being in business, so I’m going to do this my own way with my own partners, everything’s aligned with my values and not somebody else’s, at that point, was that difficult or was that like a logical next step because you were already almost there anyway?

Michele Cochran: Yes, it was a logical next step for me in the way I wanted to grow my business and my distributorship. I felt like I was disadvantaged throughout that whole decade, 13 years. However, life gets in the way and so there’s a story behind why it took so long. It’s never easy to make a change, but it was definitely the right way for me to move forward in 2017.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned it took a while to make that change, was it out of fear? Was it just out of circumstance? Was it something that you had the feel that you were confident enough to pull this off? I’m sure there was a lot of components in it, but what was kind of the straw that broke the camel’s back that said, look, I have to do this this way. This is the only way this is going to work for me.

Michele Cochran: So, 2005, I opened my small business, but I wasn’t allowed to sort of practice as a small business. And so, having come from another small business that I had joined to be a part owner, but had different values and morals than the partner that I was supposed to be in business with, so that wasn’t the right place for me but that is how I got into this industry.

Michele Cochran: And so, when I was acquired, we had just gotten married. He had a motorcycle accident. We were trying to have a baby, and I had some health issues that caused miscarriages, and then my disease was found, so it took several years for me to be back to normal. And then, my husband was diagnosed with metastasized melanoma in his carotid gland and his neck lymph tree, so we had to deal with cancer for about three years with the remnants of radiation and surgery and issues.

Michele Cochran: He is thankfully still living, beating every odd, so I say we needed him to help me find my way in business and in life, so thankfully, we still have him with us. But that was a big part of why I stayed where I was, because I just couldn’t deal with having a new baby, cancer, my health issues, and making a big change.

Michele Cochran: Some of it was fear. As I mentioned, being disadvantaged, it’s being told no a lot by who you think is a partner, and that does a lot to your ability to grow both professionally and personally. It’s difficult to feel like you’re that number one producer with a lot of power even though you’re not being treated with the grace that you feel like you deserve.

Michele Cochran: So, it was really sincerely the best move I made was to leave that company and find my way as a small business. Doing so, I found the Small Business Development Center, the SBA, and was able to be accredited as a woman-owned business. Prior to, I didn’t operate as a small business, so I wouldn’t have been able to. So, that was one of my goals when I started to really implement some new tools in 2017, 2018, 2019. And then, when 2020 came along, I was ready for COVID because I had peers of small businesses to lean on when our businesses took a plummet and shift.

Michele Cochran: So, it’s really been a great change for me, and it’s helped me personally to find love again in my career pathing, so much so that my son is headed to college and he keeps saying I want to come into your business, I want to come into your business, so that is exciting for me.

Lee Kantor: What an inspirational story and what a gift you’re giving your child, role modeling this behavior and how to deal with hard times and the resilience. Just kudos to you for all that you’ve accomplished. This is an amazing, inspirational story for everyone to hear, and the lessons that you’re sharing are so important for others because life is hard, and a lot of times you benefit from betting on yourself and believing in yourself and the resources become available when you kind of lean into them.

Michele Cochran: Yeah. And the resources are available. You just have to look for them. When you really focus and direct yourself and put your goals down on paper, it starts to really happen. As a sales person, you look at basic numbers. As a business owner, you look deep into where you’re spending your money and what you’re getting out of it. And it’s really a different mindset.

Michele Cochran: For me, it’s so fulfilling because from start to finish, we keep our clients abreast of the production scheduling, anticipated shipping schedules when they can expect delivery. And then after, we follow up with a thank you and plant a tree to offset our carbon footprint since we do most of our business via shipping. And so, we have a little forest going with almost 300 trees, and it’s really fun because we put a little picture to commemorate the project with the tree. And it’s almost like gamification when you go to the site and can pop on the trees and see what the product was.

Lee Kantor: And then, how did that plant a tree idea come about? Was that something you just thought about and you’re like, “Hey, I think we can do that. That’s a fun way of illustrating the impact we’re making”?

Michele Cochran: Yeah. It had been something that I had been thinking about because of our carbon footprint. I ship carbon neutral with UPS whenever possible, or actually all the time on my account. And so, I wanted to do something else to commemorate my client’s programs as well as to do something for the planet. So, we implemented that during COVID in 2020, and it’s been very successful. From my side in closing the job with that kind of thank you, here’s your tree, we appreciate your business, it’s more than just an email. We actually really care.

Lee Kantor: In my business, we call those relationship building moments, and I think that’s a beautiful example of one where you’re taking something that’s real and important to both you and your client, and you’re showing them that you care by doing this action kind of on their behalf. It’s beautiful.

Michele Cochran: Thank you so much. That is actually exactly what we do, is engage, recognize, and commemorate.

Lee Kantor: And you live those values. Some companies have mission statements that are very far from the truth, but it sounds like you really are living the values that you talk about.

Michele Cochran: Absolutely. And it really is showing through. Thank you for recognizing it and how I raised my son. He had his first experience with his first girlfriend breaking up with him, and when he came home, I said, “Oh. Do you want to talk about it?” He goes, “Yeah. I asked her for some feedback.” And I laughed, a 17 year old asking for feedback, it’s so good. That’s from hearing me and my husband in business and communicating. So, he didn’t get all broken up. He heard what she said and was able to walk away feeling fine because he hadn’t done anything wrong, which was a great way for him to end his first relationship. So, I felt really good about that.

Lee Kantor: That’s a testament to your parenting, when your child is mimicking back your words, you may think they’re not hearing you, but they’re grasping the key concepts. And when they say them back to you, you’re like I know that we’ve said those words exactly in here, so I know where he got it from.

Michele Cochran: Yes. And having changed the way I do business has helped me because I have no real frustrations. My business partner is “How can we help you? How can we help you?” My supply chain is carefully vetted, highly valued, and they are really dependable. We guarantee our product.

Michele Cochran: I just had a 250 piece t-shirt order shipped to an event, and they misprinted the back, so we redid the shirts in one day. Next day, aired them to the reception and the client got to keep both sets of shirts for one price, so she was happy about that. But those are the kinds of things that you don’t have relationships with your supply chain. It can be very expensive when things go awry, but if you’re reasonable and you stand behind your work, it all works out in the end.

Lee Kantor: And that’s why it’s so important to partner with people who have similar values, because you don’t want this to be a transactional relationship where they’re just clicking a box on a website and then things get sent to them blindly and then you hope it works out. If it doesn’t, then they’re not answering the phone. It can easily be a commodity business and it’s important to be working with partners that are really watching your back.

Michele Cochran: Absolutely, yes. And now for manufacturers in the States, they are mandated to report on where all of the manufacturing and ingredients are done for every product that they use, even for promotion, not just what they manufacture.

Michele Cochran: So, we had to do a big project for Karsten Manufacturing, which is Ping Golf, and report back from 23 different factories on the PFAS in the products and either a statement that there were none or testing reports back so they had them on file. So, this is new, and all of our factories that we work with will be starting to show those ingredients and those testing documents right on their website, so you can pull them right with the product when you’re quoting to show the client what you’re actually selling.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned when you started you were getting involved with a variety of organizations, what drew you to WBEC-West, and why did you think it was important to become an accredited WBE?

Michele Cochran: So, as a distributor in your industry, it can oftentimes be an island where you don’t have a lot of resources to grasp on. When I was recruited to come into this industry, the woman who owned a distributor in the Midwest was WBENC accredited and was using her woman-owned business accreditation to draw business from companies like American Honda and other manufacturers in their area. And so, I knew about WBENC, and then when I did my small business information and started to be mentored by a gentleman at the SBDC, we talked about minority accreditation and how it could help.

Michele Cochran: And WBEC-West has offered me a community like really no other. The open arms that you receive from everybody in the executive teams down to your peers, it’s really a beautiful community, everybody wants to help other people. I have a couple of fast friends that I value highly that are competitors to me in our industry, but we are so close because there’s plenty of business for everybody out there. And if we all have respect and do our jobs, we get what we’re supposed to get and what we are grasping for. And you don’t have to be cutthroat about it. You can have these lovely relationships with all different kinds of people. And it’s great, it’s offered me a community in the region that I didn’t have to draw on, and I really value that.

Lee Kantor: Now, what have you gotten out of being a graduate of the WBEC-West Platinum Supplier Program?

Michele Cochran: They actually taught me about a capability statement. I had no idea what it was. They taught me how to develop a 30, 60, 15 second pitch, how to prep for a presentation with corporate partners, where the value is in being accredited, and really how to grow professionally and take those next steps to really be a valued supplier to our corporate partners.

Lee Kantor: So, who is your ideal client? Do you have a persona or a profile of what makes an ideal fit client for you?

Michele Cochran: Ideal fit client is really any industry where they have a large amount of employees and/or need to reach a large amount of people. So, my business industries that I am deepest in is in technology as well as manufacturing. And technology is because I was a preferred supplier for a database company in the early 2000, and they were acquired by SAP. And at first, the business that purchased me wouldn’t sign their master supplier contract because they wanted to make some changes, so SAP said I was out because they had vendors in my space. And I kept in touch with a lot of those clients, and then I was back in about six years later. And then, as those clients moved to other tech companies, they brought me with them. So, I’m very deep in tech that way.

Michele Cochran: Also, The Clorox Company is one of my largest accounts. That was simply by going to an exhibit at a trade show in their territory, hitting it off with one of their buyers and just working that account for the past, like, 16 years. It’s been great. And she’s been with Clorox for 33 years now, so it’s been awesome.

Michele Cochran: And then, I have a few new clients thanks to WBEC-West. My largest local client is Salt River Project, one of our largest utilities and the oldest utilities here in Arizona, so I’m really proud to have that. I was also able to be accredited for Arizona State University, which is a huge opportunity, so going on to my second year and I’m hopeful that this will be a big growth year with that account as well.

Lee Kantor: So, if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team, is there a website? Is there a best way to connect?

Michele Cochran: Sure. It’s www.sixtwentysix – all spelled out in the word – .net. And there’s a contact us page, I’m happy to link in anytime. We have a LinkedIn page, we have a Facebook page as well as a few TikTok videos out there. I have to say, I’m not the best at doing my digital marketing, so that will be a goal for me to have that be more consistent this year. And thankfully, because my son is talking about wanting to come into the business, I’ll start him off with that since he’s Gen Z and it’ll be perfect for him.

Lee Kantor: Well, Michele, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Michele Cochran: Thank you, Lee. It was a pleasure.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor, we’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.