Early Forays Into Entrepreneurship

I found Otter Pops in the grocery store today and just had to buy them. The rationale was not just because it's been pretty warm (for the Pacific Northwest) but that those surgary pops also bring back great memories of lifeguarding in Vail, Colorado (obviously a job I did in the summer). While lifeguarding itself is not necessarily entrepreneurial, one of the things we did was purchase boxes upon boxes of Otter Pops to sell to the kids who came to hang out at the pool all day. In short, we'd buy a box of 100 Otter Pops for - let's say - $3.25 - and then sell off the individual Otter Pops for $.25 a piece. In short, netting ourselves a profit of $21.75.

What's not to love about that idea - you have a captive audience who loves frozen sugar on really warm hot days, a low price point, and some really healthy profit margins. Let's just say we sold enough Otter Pops to not only fund an end-of-season staff party but also send the entire staff to an amusement park for the day.

Questions I'm Pondering

I'm reading the Alpha Dogs book - only maybe 40 pages into it - and I've already had to go find a highlighter and a notebook with which to take notes. Here are some of the questions the book is making me think about. Keep in mind that these questions aren't necessarily ground-breaking but they are the type of questions that sometimes slip through the cracks with all the 1001 other things that go into running a business:

1. What is my company's current customer service strategy? I know what it is in my head but it needs to be "vocalized" and written down some place.
1a. What can we do better
1b. What can we do to make life easier for our retailers
1c. Is there anything we can do with regards to customers service that is just head and shouldars above the competition in that regards
1ci. What exactly are our competitors doing/not doing with customer service

2. Is there a 'game-changing' innovation I'm not taking advantage of
2a. What do my competitors do/do not do
2b. What do my retailers want

The answers to these are floating around in my head but I need to spend some time next week committing the ideas into solid written form (preferably as part of the ever-changing business plan and operations manual). And I need to coninue reading...

One other thing I picked up that I really liked - don't be afraid to experiment becuase that's how you learn. There's one idea I've had for a long time that I really need to commit to working on. Actually it just dawned on me that a good friend of mine is currently inbetween work and may be the ideal person to help me work on the idea. I wonder if she'd be interested as she is just the type of person who could do this and do it well. Hmmm...

Oh Glorious Day!

Yes, the stock market dropped 300+ points yesterday and oil has reached an all time high. Some would argue that armaggedon is around the corner and yet...today I am in the world's best mood! Perhaps it's because the sun is shining brightly and it's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend here in the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps it's because I have my new Photoshop CS3 software and am loving it. Or perhaps it's because I'm tapering for a race next weekend and that always has a way of bringing out the highest highs and the lowest lows in my emotional state. What ever the reason, I am happy!

Things with the business are also going well - especially given the state of the economy. I'm still getting in orders and am getting in a few requests for information every day or so which leads me to believe that people are still interested and still purchasing merchandise. Best of all, we are *almost* at the point where the orders I'm getting in monthly are enough to cover our monthly fixed expenses. Let me explain:

For the past two years 70+% of our sales come in third and fourth quarters as retailers make purchases in advance of the holiday season. This means that I typically have very few orders for the first 1/2 - 2/3 of the year so any money made at the end of the previous year starts to get very very tight this time of year. Don't get me wrong, things are still tight and I've had to inject a little personal cash into the business (written as a loan so that when we make the money back I can take it out tax free - or at least that's my understanding of the tax code) but I've noticed that this year the orders we've been getting in on a monthly basis have been inching closer and closer to being able to cover our montly fixed costs. Right now my dream goal is to be able to cover monthly expenses with montly orders so that when the floodgates (hopefully) open in the later part of the year it is "extra" money that doesn't necessarily have to be put towards future monthly fixed costs. We're getting closer to that point...ever closer...

I also started the new business book "Alpha Dogs" the other night (after finishing off the Revolutionary War in 1776. Though am I the only one who didn't remember that the war actually didn't end until 1783? I will be contining my Revolutionary War summer reading through by picking up Founding Brothers today from the library). So far Alpha Dogs is really good even though I haven't actually gotten into the meat of the book yet. Let's just say I'm already dog-earing pages so that I can go back and reread sections later. Once I get a little more into it I'll report back but thus far it's the type of book that makes me really excited to be an entrepreneur and is giving me things to think about in how I run my business.

Hey Big Spender

Turns out I didn't get the job at BIG company. Not that I was really surprised after all this time. In fact I was more surprised by the fact that they even contacted me at all to let me know that I didn't get it. I thought the rule of thumb was when you haven't heard anything from the company in over a month it was pretty much a given that you weren't exactly their top choice for the position.

And I'm feeling...just fine. Really. I was running a bunch of errands this morning - things like picking up my brand new professional photos (so pretty - so very very pretty!) and getting some office supplies and I was thinking about how hard it would be to do all of that and run the business if I was actually also working fulltime. So I'm pretty happy with the end result.

I did end up purchasing a pretty big ticket item for the business shortly after I got the news though so I'm joking that it was my 'feel better spending spree.' What is said item? Photoshop CS3. Yep, close to $700 later I am now the proud owner of the latest in Adobe technology.

I had actually already made up my mind to purchase the software before the BIG company news came in since I use the software to create all my print ads, direct mail, etc. I had been thinking that I could just use the version available at FedEx Kinkos but then realized that the amount of print pieces I need to pull together between now and the end of the year would cost me more to do piece-meal at FedEx then to simply buy the software outright.

Best of all, as I mentioned before, my new professional photos are here so I'm going to go play graphic artist.

Bikini or Bust

I came home from my workspace today and was zoning out infront of the tube for half an hour before getting back to work and saw a promo for a new show on TLC - Bikini or Bust.

Aside from the very obvious play on words, it looks like the jist of the show is following a young and critically successful fashion designer (apparently the bikini is fashion...who knew!) as she struggles to make her business actually work.

(From their press release found on PR Newswire) "Ashley's story is unique yet relatable. As a talented fashion designer who struggles to run her business, this series is really about following your dreams, learning from the mistakes, and leaning on the people in your life for love and support," said Brent Zacky, VP of Programming at TLC. "Each episode will be a great adventure as Ashley works to make it in the fashion world, while juggling all of life's challenges and rewards."

Granted, I wish my business had the problem of being a well-known name in celebrity circles but I thought it might be interesting to check this out a time or two to see what it's all about.

Series premieres July 11th at 10 PM & 10:30 PM ET/PT on TLC

To Add On To Yesterday's Post

Just as an add-on to yesterday's post I want to make it clear that I COMPLETELY blame myself for the tax screwup (and it's only because I'm lucky that it turns out I'm not going to be hit with penalties). I do have a payroll service but they were very clear about what they did and did not cover at the rate I'm paying them so it was up to me to figure out the rest which, it turns out, is as simple as going to the IRS website (who would have guessed it would actually be readable and informative!).

And while I do blame myself, in my mind it's also just one of those lessons I think small business owners learn along the way. For us uber-small businesses working out of our homes/small offices/dining room tables, we don't have the capital to hire the HR director, the on-staff accountant, or any of those other luxuries that bigger companies have. If I did then I would expect those experts I hired to know exactly what was going on and what was due when.

Instead, it's just me and the dogs who, while I love them, aren't really too much help with the tax code or other business issues. But if you would like someone on staff to bark at squirrels then let me tell you there is no one better! That means though that I'm going to miss stuff from time to time as I figure out what needs to get done with each new level of the business. Sometimes my mistakes will cost the company money (cough...cough...the pr firm i hired last year...cough), sometimes some of the experts in my "extended staff" will catch a mistake before I make it (my accountant catching a potential mistake prior to filing taxes last year), and sometimes I'll simply get lucky and the mistake I make won't have any negative ramifications (such as depositing the monthly payroll taxes). My feeling is that I am always going to make mistakes but the important thing is to learn from mistakes past and not remake the same mistakes. That way it frees me up to make new mistakes! :)

Hmm, Who Knew?

Ok, well I'm sure a CPA would know but let's file this blog note under "Lessons Learned."

I'd been fearful to hire employees due to the associated tax and payroll headaches that come along with them. I subsequently found a great payroll service that I can afford who takes care of 95% of the stuff for me. However, in going through my records this morning I realized that the 5% they don't take care of is monthly federal tax deposit I'm required to make. Um yeah, my employee started back in April so that means I've been delinquent on the May and the June payment (due the 15th of each month). Oops!

A frantic call to the payroll service and I'm told to take a check down to my bank with the "yellow deposit coupons you got from your bank" and make the deposit via them. As for the fact that the payment is late, well the IRS may or may not come after me for that.

Turns out that's not quite right. First of all, no yellow deposit coupons from the bank but the bank tells me to go to the library which I do and find no tax deposit coupons who then tells me to go to Office Max which once again I do to find no tax deposit coupons. At wits end and starving because I haven't yet had breakfast (which makes me very very cranky) I finally head home and check out the irs.gov website because can't you just download everything these days?

Turns out that you can't download the form I need (which apparently is a Form 8109) but you can call up the IRS and they will kindly send you the form in 4-6 weeks. At the same time though I also learned that if you estimate your federal payroll taxes to be less than $2500 for the quarter then you can actually simply pay in full when you submit your quarterly payroll tax form (Form 941). So I've ordered up the Form 8109 which will show up in a few weeks and in the meantime have an email into my payroll company to confirm that I can simply pay all the associated payroll taxes at once. I'm hoping that I can but worst comes to worst I can apparently just e-deposit the money owed. Since I am thinking I'll be under the $2500 mark I am happy to report though that I shouldn't get penalized for the fact my payments thus far are late.

Course that's all based on my understanding of the tax law which is, at best, very very shaky. Here's hoping I'm right!

It's pretty much turning into a tax day though since last night my husband and I realized we overpaid our county taxes (oops - but better then underpaid!) so I spent this morning figuring out how we can get a refund (apparently they'll just apply the overpayment to the second half of the year payment so we won't owe anything in October). Ahh - taxes...what fun!

The Website is Underway

I've mentioned before that we're in the process of reworking the website. The old site was so out-of-date that I actually created an interim website to have up there while the new one gets built. I'm really excited about the new site and all the snazzy new features we're going to have (mainly to facilitate getting our retailers the information they need about the products). Have I mentioned how excited I am about it?

But I am having a problem getting the web copy ready to go. It's actually all written and I've had two or three others take a look at it to make their recommendations and catch grammar mistakes. But still, I keep holding onto it unwilling to let it go for fear that once I do I will undoubtably want to change something. Course the beauty of websites is that the copy can be relatively easily changed when/if needed. But at the same time I want to make sure that when the website launches it is simply 110% so I'm weighing every single word, rewriting every single sentace, and wondering if the way I currently have things explained is really clear to someone who is not as intimately familiar with the products as I am. Yes, in short, I'm managing to stress myself out. :)

In other news, I'm thinking of ditching my workspace time today. While there's always things that can be done, I'm not currently under any pressing deadlines and have a small inventory built up so I'm thinking I may enjoy the day at home with my pups and take care of a number of administrative things that have to get done. Even though it's my own business, I do have trouble not going to my workspace when assigned because it gives my week more structure (something I need) and because I am paying for it so I want to make sure to utilize it to the fullest. But I also realize that in another month or so things are going to be well under way for the big Fall buying season so if I can take a day now to chill out a bit I may as well enjoy it.

I Want My Barcode

I'm currently working with a large retailer to be part of their online offering (more on that later) but they needed the products I showed them to have barcodes which, at this time, none of them do. Well, you have to love the internet because I found a really easy and painless way to get barcodes:

www.iwantmybarcode.com

OK - it's not the fanciest site you've ever seen but the story I got from Leroy, the owner of the site who I emailed multiple times as I was very very leary to put down money on this via the internet, was that years ago if you wanted barcodes you had to buy something like 100,000 of them at a time. After several years of this happening someone filed in federal (international?) court saying that it was unfair, the courts agreed, and now many of those people who bought 100,000 barcodes are selling them off piecemeal since it's now legal to buy smaller batches. Trust me when I say I was highly skeptical despite how nice Leroy sounded over email.

However, a little additional internet research of my own verified what he told me and his prices were good - not to mention that I really liked the fact that I could talk to him rather than a form letter that's never answered and trusted that if I had issues I could file claim with PayPal to get my money back.

In the end, I ordered two barcodes and, as promised, they came quickly and easily and I nor the big retailer have had any problem using them so I'm guessing they are legit. So just in case you need barcodes give Leroy a shout.

Ready for Our Closeup

I had another photo shoot with our professional photographer today and yes, that is a real picture that I took from the shoot. Even more impressive - given my technophobe ways, is that I took the picture with my Blackberry and actually figured out how to send it to me and post it here. Really it's nothing short of impressive for me! If you look closely you can see the candy cane strip of one of holiday packages. Nothing like Christmas in June!

I did want a share a little secret someone gave me for getting really stupendous professional photographs.

(Well - the first secret is to get yourself the best photographer you can afford. Yes - it's obvious, but in my industry it's also obvious that a lot of people skimp on photographers and it shows through and makes the products seem less then they really are. If you're going to be doing any type of external marketing - be it email, print, direct mail, brochures, etc - get a great photographer!)

If you want some interesting product shots (outside of the normal shot on the white background), go to a local local paper store (PaperSource is a favorite of mine) and pick up some interesting paper to be used as backdrops in your photos. Yes, your photographer will likely have some backgrounds s/he can use, but some of the paper you can pick up (for $2.50 a sheet) can really make your products pop which doesn't always happen on a plain colored backdrop. We've had incredible success with this method and it's definitely becoming part of our 'signature' look in all our ads, direct mail, and will also play a large role in our upcoming fall tradeshows. It's really amazing the difference using these fun backgrounds make and people are always blown away when I let them in on the secret.

Happy Photos!

What Ever Happened to That Job?

Someone asked me yesterday what happened with the job interview I had with "BIG" company so I thought I'd fill you in (if you even care).

In case you didn't read it - about a month ago I happened upon a job listing that was practically written for me so submitted my resume and ended up with an interview. The interview itself went decently well - some questions I nailed and some definitely could have been answered better - but at the end of the interview I felt that it had gone pretty well and waited with baited breath to find out what the next step of the process would be. After not hearing anything for a week I finally emailed the HR recruiter and she said that a second interview would be the next step but that she'd get back to me in a few weeks. It's now been a few weeks and I haven't yet heard anything back.

In the meantime though, this has been a really good opportunity to take a look at where I am and where it is I want to go and try to determine which road - entrepreneurial or corporate - is the best road for me. As a good friend said in the beginning - having a job opportunity like that really makes you look in the mirror and face what it is you are and what it is you want to do or be. And while at the beginning I was very gung-ho for the job (and I won't lie - it's still a really interesting position b/c I think I could do a tremendous amount with the job) in the intervening time I've become less and less enamored with it.

In a nutshell, I've realized that what really prompted me to drop in a resume is the fact that I'm a little lost without bringing home an income. Right or wrong, in the US much of who you are is determined by what you do for a living and, to a lesser degree, what type of income you make. One of the biggest struggles I've had over the past two years is the fact that I don't make an income. Externally I've definitely had people look at me and think (or tell me) that I don't "really" work and must spend a bunch of time eating bonbons and watching TV. Um, yeah, that's why I work 12+ hour days!

Internally though - and this was/is the bigger issue - I've struggled with the opportunity cost that following my entrepreneurial bend has taken as well as the fact that I don't contribute to the family pot. My husband - god bless him - doesn't see it this way at all and has never once put pressure on me due to the fact that I'm not "paying my way" but it's still odd to not be bringing in an income.

Truthfully, I've gained untold new respect for stay-at-home moms for not only what they do day in and day out but for the fact that in the eyes of society they aren't "wage-earners" so therefore do they deserve the same respect as those who do earn wages. Obviously they do (and a lot more) but many of my mommy friends have mentioned that despite the fact they were accomplished in the workforce prior to leaving to have kids, once they are out of the workforce other people - women especially - treat them as though they don't have a brain in their head. In those cases I'm one step above at the cocktail party because I'm "running my own business" but honestly it's not until I start throwing phrases like COGS and ROI that I actually see them realize that I am an intelligent person who shouldn't be judged by her income - or lack there of.

So the job? Well, if I'm offered a second interview I will followup and go in as I'm a firm believer in always leaving the doors to opportunity open since you never know what will happen. But as it stands I'm really not inclined to take it unless it was truly something that couldn't be passed up. If you'll allow me one more minute - what I found really interesting is that when I told my parents about the opportunity they both felt that I should stay with the business I started as they both believed that it was really starting to gain traction in the marketplace. If you knew my parents you would realize that they would have no qualms telling me that what I'm doing is nuts and to jump on the corporate bandwagon so it was reassuring to see that their reaction was similar to the one I've slowly come to on my own.

Business discoveries while Traveling

I traveled this past weekend for personal reasons but work, as usual, was not far from my mind and I ended up making three very interesting business discoveries.

1. Pink Magazine (http://www.pinkmagazine.com/index.html) is a magazine geared and written towards career women - be it entreprenuerial or working for a corporation. It's an interesting magazine and very well written (though the layout at points bothers me) but it's a refreshing change in the midst of all the other women's magazines which either tell us how to create the most beautiful paper flowers (great, just what my house needs - something else to collect dust) or the 59 secret ways to pleasure your lover (my husband would be happy if I could just keep the dining room table/my office clutter free). I picked up a copy at the airport and think I'll probably drop in a subscription for a year to see what I think long-term.

2. Alpha Dogs: How Your Small Business Can Become the Leader of the Pack (http://www.amazon.com/Alpha-Dogs-Business-become-Leader/dp/0060758678). I actually found this in Pink Magazine as the author of the book (who also writes for Inc. Magazine) contributed an article to Pink. I'm always looking for great new "real life" business books and this one was highly recommended on Amazon so I ordered a copy. I'm really excited because one of the companies they talk about - Dancing Deer Cookies - is one of my favorite businesses to watch. It's mighty impressive in my mind that they've been able to build their cookies into a $9m/year brand! The book should be here by the end of the week so once I get into it I'll report back (though right now I'm immersed in the Revolutionary War as I'm reading 1776 and the Americans are currently losing badly so it may take a while for me to get the war cleaned up before getting to Alpha Dogs).

3. If you are going to sleep the entire trip home then first class is not worth it. I purchased first class tickets for the trip using miles since they were essentially the same number of miles as flying coach. And trust me, I enjoyed every minute of the flight out there on Friday...moving around in the big comfy seats, enjoying the free snacks (wow - food on planes!) and generally enjoying my newfound flight status. On the way back though I fell asleep before the plane even took off and didn't wake up until we were landing so the entire trip was wasted on me. I could have just as easily slept in coach. I didn't even get to enjoy my free glass of wine. Sheesh, what a waste!

Checking In Six Months Later

I'm on my way out of town but wanted to share this great article from the NYTimes in case you've missed it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/business/smallbusiness/12hunt.html?ref=smallbusiness

Six months ago the Times Small Business section highlighted three new businesses with the idea that they would follow up six months and a year later. Today's article is the six month update and, in a way, it's actually nice to hear that they've had as many challenges, cash flow issues, changes in strategy, etc as my little business and probably many of small businesses out there.

It sounds like all of the entrepreneurs featured were overly optimistic of how quickly they were going to build their businesses and I have to admit about being just as guilty. However, I tend to believe that entrepreneurs almost have to be overoptimistic because otherwise the number of challenges you face simply getting to the starting line is enough to push you out of the game before you even start. Besides, it's no fun to sit around and dream about how you're going to start your business and blow through a massive amount of cash...where's the fun in that!

Handing out Medals

My husband deserves a medal for putting up with me...honestly!

Yes, I have my quirks, but the real reason he deserves a medal is for putting up with all the business stuff I throw his way. In addition to his very demanding full-time job he gets to also play the following roles:

1. Therapist to talk me off the cliff's edge those times I'm convinced this business is going to bottom out and fail
2. Creative director since I constantly run all new creative, product, packaging, and marketing ideas past him to get his feedback
3. Strategic leadership to help me figure out the best course of action and plot the future of the company and where we want to take it
4. CFO for all the financal help he provides

But he mostly deserves a medal for the fact that he has never lost faith that this is not only a great idea but that I am also the person to pull it off and it's that type of faith that keeps a person going.

So who in your life - entrepreneurial or otherwise - deserves a medal?

Something to smile about

This is my new favorite commercial - makes me smile every single time I watch it.

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I'm not simply making a reference to the freakishly cold weather here in the Pacific Northwest (as I type this the local news is talking about the amount of snow that has accumulated in the area - yep, snow!) but the fact that the holidays are on my mind.

Why holidays? Because this is the time of year where trade publication editors start asking about what seasonal products we'll be carrying and we have to start doing all the fall tradeshow marketing which will also include seasonal products since our retailers buy all their holiday merchandise in September and October.

In a way it's a little odd to be thinking Christmas (and Valentine's Day!) at the beginning of June. The main thing that's coming up is our half day professional photo shoot next week to get all of our seasonal products photographed and get some new product shots that we'll use in the upcoming tradeshows.

This is all part of my plan to try and bump up the overall external marketing image of the company. We have a web-rockstar working on our new website (hoping to have that up in July), we're pulling together a new interim marketing brochure that will stand in until we have the time to get a brand spanking new professional brochure pulled together in 2009, and I'm trying to upgrade how our booths will look at our big Fall tradeshows so that we truly look like a serious market leader rather than simply a player. It's all about image, right?

And in the meantime, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Online Mentoring

This is one of those "Why Not?" ideas that makes total sense but it never even crossed most people's mind. For entreprenuers there are always a million and one questions that we'd love feedback on. Unfortunately, most of us don't have the resources to build a wide enough network to answer all of those questions or the funds to hire the best and brightest to deal with the issues. So who do we turn to? (my husband is raising his hand high here I'm sure!)

Highlighted in today's Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB121244235415639289-lMyQjAxMDI4MTAyNjQwNDYyWj.html) it appears that there are now online mentoring sites that will help match questioners with experienced mentors to help guide them through a process/question/phase of the business. Best of all, yu can even give back to the process by inputting your information becauses you never know who will view you and your experience as a valuable tool to help them grow and succeed. It seems like a great win-win tool!

Sites that were mentioned in the article if you're interested in checking them out:
MicroMentor.org
GoBigNetwork.com
IdeaCrossing.org
Score.org

On a Lighter Note - Working in Your PJ's

One of the biggest benefits everyone always talks about when I mention I "work from home" is that I can wear whatever I want to work. Or, more accurately, they say "it must be so great to wear your pj's all day." To which I indignantly set them staight that I do not actually work in my pj's.

Only I'm finding that more and more I do. Not my pj's persay...but yesterday I took a shower and two hours later found myself still in my post-shower robe with damp hair since I'd gotten sucked into doing just one thing on the computer which ultimately turned into five or six things. And today I did get up at 6am but threw on an initial set of clothes (grungy clothes that need to be washed) to get me through the first bleary hours before switching out to something more appropriate (aka - clean clothes). I believe I managed to switch into those today around 10:30am and that's only because I had an appt at 11am.

This cannot be a good trend...

Building a Brand or Producing a Product?

I'm supposed to be swimming right now but got stuck in some pretty ugly traffic thanks to a jackknived tracker trailer accident combined with professional baseball traffic. As such, after sitting in the car chugging through my $4+/gallon gas for about 30 minutes without making much headway I decided to turn around.

The upside? Those 30 traffic minutes gave me some time to think about - what else! - the business. I'll warn you upfront that this isn't a fully formed blog thought but more something that's been wrattling around in the back of my head for a few days and I'm hoping by getting it out here it may help clarify my own thoughts at the end of the day.

I'm a firm believer in "the brand." That if you're a small business owner you're not just producing a product (whatever that "product" may be) and sending it out the door but that you're creating an experience that has to permeate every aspect of your business so that from the outside people associate your product and your name with an entire brand experience.

Yeah - it may all sound good - but it's not cheap to create a brand. Right now we're revamping our website to bring it up to par with our brand identity and next year my focus will be on redoing all our print marketing material (I'm trying to use up all existing material this year as I just can't stomach trashing it all from either a financial or environmental standpoint). But for me it's also little stuff like a call today from a retailer who bought some product and one piece of her order didn't turn out the way she wanted. I could have simply said "well, sorry to hear that" since she wasn't looking for a 'freebie' but instead we'll be reimbursing her for that one piece. As I explained to her on the phone, I want to make sure that she's happy with every piece of product she puts out to her customers since it's her brand that's in question then and I understand that she only wants to put her best foot forward (I gotta admit - she was pretty happy!).

Don't get me wrong, we don't have it all figured out by any stretch of the imagination. But as I watch some of the newcomers to my workspace it's interesting to watch those who seem to be solely focused on producing a product versus those who seem to be focused on building a brand. In a way it's like a mini experiment since many of these newcomers are only here for the summer season.

That's the idea...I'll watch how the product vs. brand battle plays out with the summer workers and see if my thoughts that brand should reign supreme actually brings successful results.