The End Of The Year

As usual, I'm rolling into the end of the year like any manufacturer or retailer - feeling bruised, beaten, and otherwise utterly exhausted. I just wrote out a check for my workspace for the month of January and am ecstatic that I'm only paying for 50% of my normal time as I don't have any plans to go into the space more then that this month. I just keep telling myself that I have to get this big Valentine's order finished up (which I'm hoping will be done by the end of the weekend) and get my QuickBooks in order for my meeting with the accountant on the 12th for year-end taxes and then I get the rest of the month off.

Of course I say that now...truthfully even in the four-five days I had at home for Christmas - with no computer, no phone calls, and no workrelated aspects at all - I found I was still thinking about work...a lot! Actually, what I found was that after a day or two I started thinking creatively again about new products, potential new distribution channels, potential new relationships. It's that type of stuff that makes me really excited about the business and I can see the future potential again whereas normally this time of year I'm just so mired in the day-to-day survival.

And so even though I can't wait to have some time off, the truth is that I know I'll be experimenting with new products, and working with the graphic artist to get some new mock packaging drawn up, and sending off samples to potential new relationships. Downtime has never been a strength of mine....

In other news, I took a very quick look at QuickBooks today and it looks like I'm ending the year $400 behind where I was last year. Not too bad for what will hopefully go down as the worst economic year in our lifetimes. Here's hoping for a better economy for everyone in 2010.

Happy New Year - I hope the new year brings all of us hope, creativity, and lots and lots of opportunities.

Ask and ye shall receive

Not to get too 'Oprah' on anyone, but the 'Universe' definitely heard my whining about finances and came to clear up my mess. Literally 10 minutes after I posted the last entry I received a payment indicator from my dropship partner letting me know that they had automatically deposited money into my account. There's nothing like getting emails saying You Have Money. Then today I got a little bit more of the money owed.

The main chunk of the dropship and BIG order payments will arrive in January, but what I've now got is enough to pay the bills that have to be paid with cash - things like my city business license renewal. Thankyou Universe!

I'm trying to finish up loose ends and get ready to leave tomorrow for a few quick days at home with my family to celebrate Christmas. It'll be a quick trip but the good news is I get to really make the most of tomorrow since the airport shuttle is coming to pick me up at 3am. Yes, you read that right - 3am. That means I ought to be full on grumpy...ah, I mean full of Christmas spirit by the time I arrive home.

Merry Christmas!

Really?

Ug, this morning is not off to the way I had hoped. It is wonderful news that I have this Valentine's order but because I wasn't expecting I really don't have the cash available to pay for the necessary raw ingredients. There's nothing more I hate then this feeling that the business bank account is literally scraping bottom. The reason is mainly due to the fact that I've tried to pay cash (or debit) for almost everything I can so that's kept the balance low. And then there's the fact that when cash has been coming in I've been using it to try and pay down the business credit card which was run up when I had to buy in all the packaging and raw ingredients for my BIG holiday orders.

The irony is that I have a bunch of revenue coming in the first two weeks of January from the BIG holiday orders and my dropship orders. The amount is equal to half of what I've made this year. So it's going to pay down the business card totally and put some money in the bank for 2010. In the meantime though, I'm running low on actual cash and have a bunch of expenses that need to be paid for.

And then I read an article like this yesterday in the NYTimes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/fashion/17etsy.html?_r=1&em

I know that these people are the anomoly but really? You're making $140,000 from sales on Etsy? I've been doing this business for almost four years, haven't hit six figures yet, haven't ever given myself a paycheck, and still feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water.

Who knows, it may be because it's the end of the year and I'm just burnt out and tired. But right now all I can say is, really?

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...Take 2

Apparently it's beginning to look a lot like Valentine's Day. I got an order yesterday from BIGGER company for a good amount of Valentine's Day product so now I'm back in my workspace, busy as ever, working on Valentine product while listening to Christmas carols.

I'm really happy the order came through though. It was from the BIGGER company whose holiday order got screwed up so the fact that they placed another order with me makes me believe I didn't completely screw up the relationship. Hopefully this will set me up well for future orders with them. Plus this will be the first time I book revenue of this amount this early in the year. One of my goals has been to stretch out my revenue a little bit more since right now basically 7/8th of it comes in the 4th quarter. If I can get a little going first quarter and perhaps some more in 3rd quarter it will help cashflow substantially.

It's going to be tight to get the order done and all the packaging ordered in with the holidays next week. But I'm fairly confident that even with my 5 day vacation next week I'll have the order ready to ship on or before Jan 8th. Course I may be spending New Years Eve packaging up a storm but such is the life of a small business owner, right?

Do you know what day it is?

I got one retail order today and one wholesale order for my Hanukkah product. It is the fifth night of Hanukkah already, right? Despite that both retailer and consumer wanted the product (I double-checked that they understood how close we were to end of Hanukkah) so I sent them out. Best of all, this means that I got rid of all the Hanukkah products I had on hand!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

The Christmas spirit has hit me in full force. Things started slowing down ever so slightly on Thursday to the point where I found myself with more weekend time to myself then to work. With all that free time I finally found myself hit with the holiday spirit and in desperate need to bake cookies. Lots and lots of cookies.

Normally I've snuck out of town by now and am at home with my family so my mom gets to be in charge of all the baking (which she relegates to me mostly) and the decorating (which she takes care of because I suck at it). We're busy but it puts me in the holiday mood. This year, for a variety of reasons, I'm not heading home until the 23rd. It reminds me of when I was an undergrad and the way our semester was set up I wouldn't finish up finals until the 22nd, rush home, and then try to get in the spirit. This year it's run around and work like crazy and then head home on the 23rd and try to feel "Merry." Not easy to do.

So in addition to lighting the Hanukkah candles on Friday night, I also set up a small tree. It's gaudy but it brings me great joy. It's also fake which I'm not necessarily too fond of but I do have a candle that smells remarkably like pine - and not in fake pine way - so I've been lighting that at night and it helps.

Which brings me to today. I do have some work today but I also have four cookie recipes out in front of me that I'm itching to bake. And I have a brisket recipe for Hanukkah tonight. Ought to be an interesting smell combination in my house this afternoon!

Craft Show & Facebook

The retail craft show was this weekend though I hate to use the word "craft" to describe it. More like 'handmade' show. Craft makes me think 4H fairs and kitchens decorated in country-chic style (just so you know, those two words cannot honestly be put together without laughing). This show was more like super talented folks - mainly late 20's to early 40's who handmake their goods. There was some really cool stuff there but unfortunately my husband had to work (at his real job) and wasn't able to come and walk the show or relieve me so I could walk it. So I'll apologize to our relatives for the fact you won't be getting any really cool handmade stuff for the holidays.

All told, my little company did well at the show. I made about 2x more then I made at the summer show which was made even better by the fact that people were really only buying the $3-$10 items and not anything more expensive. So I did have lots of sales - just at a lower price point but that's not totally unexpected given the economy. I also got lots of great feedback, had an opportunity to 'advertise' my company to tons of folks who appreciate handmade goods, and generally had a great time talking to customers and other vendors.

There is another similar-type show in San Francisco in about two weeks but this was the last show for me for awhile. I do have a friend who's going to check out the SF show though and see if that may be something worthwhile going to next year as I really do enjoy these shows and, at the end of the day, they are so less expensive then my big tradeshows (though also less business too).

Speaking of advertising, I've been advertising on FaceBook for the past month and it's scheduled to continue through the holiday season and so far it seems to be bringing a great number of folks to my site. I've more then doubled the number of people visiting my site on a daily basis (thanks to the wonders of Google Analytics) and have been getting some good retail business as well. Not killer retail business, but good enough that I'm happy with what FaceBook is bringing me. I do have a few other irons in the fire as well including two ads in publications which are more or less hitting newsstands now so I'm hoping to see some more good things come out of those.

I did create a new FaceBook ad for Valentine's Day that will run for the month before V-day. Targeted it to single females who love dogs about how they need to get something for the 'true love of their life.' :)

Things Are Going Well

I haven't looked at QuickBooks lately for more then the minute or two necessary to create invoices and record payments but I think things are going pretty well. We continue to get in a few wholesale orders which just shocks me to no end and we're getting some dropship orders as well as a few retail orders of our own. Plus I'm exhibiting at a big retail show this weekend so I'm excited to see how it turns out. Course I alternate between worrying that I don't have enough stock to bring with me to worrying that I'm bringing too much.

And I still have a list of things I need to do to finish getting ready for the show (just remembered that I need to find my sales slips...where oh where did I put those? Hmm, might be stopping at OfficeMax tomorrow...)

But I am excited. The best thing lately is that I've been getting emails from folks who have ordered retail just raving about my products and customer service. It honestly makes me so happy to hear that what I'm doing is bringing joy to someone. And hopefully this weekend it will bring joy to even more since a portion of each sale this weekend is going directly to a local animal rescue organization.

Gotta get back to work...I'll let you know how it all turns out...

Black Friday Interaction

Retailers must be antsy after a long mediocre year. As a followup to my earlier post regarding a plethera of new last-minute orders, I received an email on Friday wondering where one of those orders was. To set up the story, the order came in on Sunday 19th and I shipped it on Monday 20th via FedEx Ground as this retailer had requested. So the order shipped on Monday from the Pacific Northwest and she wanted to know why it hadn't reached her - in New York - in time for Black Friday.

I explained that, according to the FedEx website which she could have just as easily accessed since I always send tracking numbers after orders have shipped, the package was on it's way and due to arrive on Monday 30th. This retailer then told me that she hoped it would arrive then as she was - hmph! - losing selling time.

Well deario, perhaps you should have placed an order before the 19th or had it shipped via an expedited manner. Then it would have reached you in time to get on your shelves for Black Friday.

I chose to take the diplomatic way out and just didn't respond to her pissyness that the package hadn't gone cross country in four days despite the fact that one of them was a national holiday.

Where did this all come from?

Typically this time of year the last of my wholesale orders are winding down. In fact, if I remember correctly my last wholesale order went out about Nov 20th last year and I think I had one or two reorders the first week of December. As such, I don't have a ton of inventory on hand other then what I anticipate needing for retail orders.

This year is definitely different. I got 7 wholesale orders today. Four of them came in before 11am. My head is spinning with all these new orders that literally came out of the blue. Granted, some of these orders were folks I'd met at previous shows or folks who had seen an ad, but still, to be ordering the Monday before Thanksgiving is really really really late for retailers. The fact that they want the orders to arrive to them by Thanksgiving in time for 'Black Friday' is wishful thinking and I told them such (in my most polite sales voice) unless they are willing to pay several hundred for overnight shipping.

On the one hand I knew that retailers would be ordering later then normal this year but I honestly never expected it to run this late. I've been telling myself for a few weeks now "Just One More Week" in anticipation of what will be the last crazy week and yet every week I get more unexpected orders which pushes the busy period one week further.

I'm not complaining - just really really surprised by how late these orders are coming in. Plus, I checked my books yesterday and realized that the business is $2K behind this time last year. These orders today just pushed me a heck of a lot closer to last year's revenue number. And given the state of economy that's nothing to sneeze at. And when you figure in that the true bulk of this Fall's business won't really be accounted for until 2010 because I have them on Net 45+ terms, that's setting things up for a good first quarter cashflow-wise next year.

I'm even more glad then normal that I outsourced the cooking of the Thanksgiving turkey to a BBQ joint in town! Between the number of orders that have to go out this week (remember - I have little inventory so I have to make all the stuff first, get it packaged, and then get it boxed up) and then preparing for a big retail show next weekend there's just too much going on for me to try and squeeze in manhandling a turkey. I am excited for a little homemade pumpkin cheesecake though! Mmmm!

The Outcome

Everything turned out as well as it possibly could short of having them just send me a check for not giving them product. I talked to the head buyer first thing Thursday morning and she acknowledged that a mistake had been made on their end which resulted in the problem. I simultaniously told her how upset I was that the mistake had happened (not at them, upset that I wasn't able to give them my product for the holidays) and how I really did want to build a strong relationship with them. So she recommended I come up with a few ideas for Valentine's Day/Spring and send it to them. That's now my homework for the weekend to ship it out on Monday and see if I can secure a little early 2010 revenue. Granted, it will make my December much busier then originally anticipated as I'm guessing they'll want the stuff in their distribution centers by end of December and I'm away for 5 days for xmas, but without a whole lot of boutique wholesale orders to fill simultaniously I think it will be a little easier to manage. Besides, worse comes to worse I can just have my husband box up product while I'm away for xmas. Right honey?

Happy Friday to one and all - off to figure out the Thanksgiving menu and accompanying shopping list...

I feel ill

Not in a flu-like way. More like a pit in my stomach.

Today was going so well. BIG order was out on Monday with a few complications but everything seemed to be smoothed out. Other wholesale orders were being shipped out despite the fact I'm frantically making product to keep up with it. Two more going out tomorrow and then 3 next week. And then my wholesale orders are done and I can stop and try to relax before turkey day (hooray for outsourcing the turkey!).

And then 4pm hit and I got an email from BIG company (same company - different division) wanting to know where their order was. Uh, what order? Turns out they faxed over a large order to me mid-October. Except they faxed it to my phone number not my fax number. Not surprisingly, I never got it so I knew nothing about it until today's phone call.

And now I feel sick. They're going to fax it over (to the correct fax number!) tomorrow so I can take a look at it but between the fact that it's a handmade product combined with the fact that the holidays are baring down on us so damn quickly, I'm just not sure any of this PO can realistically be filled. And truthfully I'm not sure I have the energy to fill it. But I hate the idea that I'm leaving $3600 on the table. And hate more the fact that this screwup - someone else's screwup (did you not notice that the fax machine said the message didn't go through?) - may cost me this relationship with this large company.

CRAP!

Lies Small Businesses Tell

Here's a few off the top of my head:

1. Referring to "we," "our", "us" - anything in the plural. It's really "me," "myself", and "I" But the business sounds more legit if you think there's more then one person, doesn't it?

2. Talking about "the staff" - similar to #1 but unless I'm talking about the dogs then "staff" is also "me," "myself," and "I"

3. Talking about our "warehouse" - this one cracked me up today when a shipping company asked about our warehouse. I tried to play it cool but in my mind I'm thinking "you mean my basement which is currently full of boxes waiting for you to come pick them up?"

4. Filling out forms that require you to put in the names of people for all your roles such as sales, marketing, operations, finance, etc. I get sick of filling in myself for every role so I've started to add my dog's names to the roles. The best part is that they now receive direct mail addressed to them. I figure it helps them feel like they have a bigger role in the company.

Lastly, the neighbors think we're nuts. Yesterday we (and by this I mean my husband and I) had a pallet delivered to our house stacked with packing boxes for this big order that has to ship next week. Not something you usually see hanging around someone's house. Then again, one neighbor up the street has ripped up their entire front lawn and taken the porch off their house (we are affectionately calling this house 'Afganistan' in the meanwhile) and the neighbor across the street has taken out part of their driveway and is personally increasing the size of his garage so perhaps the little goings-on over at my house go unnoticed by the neighbors. Unforunately there is a firebug setting arson fires about 30 blocks over so I opted to spend part of last night - in the rain no less - moving the boxes away from the house and into the back just in case the arsonist decided to stroll south.

Wow, I just made my neighborhood sound like there are cars on blocks and drunks in doorways. It's actually a great little neighborhood...even better if the arsonist stays up north (or better yet, gets caught!).

Big order is *almost* ready to go. Looking like it'll be picked up next week. In the meanwhile, wholesale orders have been surprisingly brisk for this time of year. Normally all retail folks have ordered already but this year everyone seems to be waiting until the last minute. Lots of work but I'm not going to complain in this economy. Here's hoping I pull in some retail orders of my own too!

Hello?

I realize blogs are far more interesting if people who 'own' them actually write something from time to time. And I realize that I'm guilty of not doing that. What can I say, it's been busy. Very very busy. The second of the two big orders is slowly getting pulled together. I have 80 more units to make on Tuesday which - figuring that I need 1200 total - shows I've made some decent headway. Then this weekend is going to be a glory of getting all those units packed in their pretty little boxes and ready to go. The labels I was waiting on showed up yesterday so now I can finish the packaging and then last night I finally got around to ordering the shipping boxes I'll need to pack all of this into and those should get here on Tuesday. So I have an exciting few days planned out. A weekend of packaging, Tuesday back in my workspace for production, Wedns finish packaging and get everything into its boxes. My hope is to have every thing ready to go on Wedns when I can officially tell the store it's ready for freight pickup and if luck is on my side they will come by and pick it up either on Thursday or Friday of next week. Then it's out of my hands and I can finally get a good night's sleep. And a margarita (or three).

If you don't have any plans and have a burning desire to do some packaging this weekend feel free to swing on by. I'd love to offer you a place to stay as well but right now the entire guest room and basement is filled with product so I'll have to apologize for being a crappy hostess. Though I am planning to make some individual chocolate mint tortes later today (simply because I'm craving them) so I can offer that instead!

Eleven Easy Ways to Destroy your Business

My dad sent me this link today from the NYTimes - an article about eleven easy ways to destroy your business. Not sure if he thinks I'm making any of the eleven but it was an interesting read nonetheless. I never would have thought that space heaters could pose such a business risk!

http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/eleven-easy-ways-to-destroy-your-company/?emc=eta1

I'm not getting sick...I'm not getting sick

This is not the flu. That is what I'm telling myself over and over again. People are falling like pillars around me to one flu virus or another but I'm refusing to allow myself to get sick. At least until Nov 20th - then I'll consider it. I'm just too busy between now and then to succomb to some stupid virus. Besides, the quarter-sized bruise on my arm where I got my flu shot is my insurance policy right?

So why don't I feel so hot right now?

One Down

Ok, the first order is packed up and ready to go. 2.5weeks of massive, crazy work but it's done. I love the fact that my stuff is handmade but when an order comes in for 800 units and they need it in 2.5weeks I sometimes wish I just imported stuff that was manufactured in some factory in another country. Well, not really...only a little bit.

Now I get to work on the 1200 units that have to get ready to go out the door by mid-November. Technically they need to be ready to go anytime between Nov 10 and Nov 20 but I'm shooting for the earlier of the two as I learned that if the merchandise in in their warehouse by the 19th of any given month then payment will be made in 30 days. If it comes in after the 19th then payment is postponed until 30 days after the first of the following month. Normally a few extra days before payment wouldn't make me fret but given the proximity to the end of the calandar year I'd love to get paid for both orders before the end of the year and get it booked in as revenue for this year. Plus, the sooner I can get these checks the sooner I can pay off the business credit card (thank you tradeshows for that nice little chunk of change). And I ALWAYS feel better when the credit card has a nice zero balance.

Gotta run and go get my husband's birthday cake decked out with candles. Happy Birthday to him!

Happy Birthday To Me...

(actually it's half an hour past my actual birthDAY)...

You know you're getting old when the only reason you're up at midnight on your birthday is because you're working. Even sadder when you do finally close up shop in your workspace and realize you have no one to go get a celebratory drink with because all your friends are asleep since it's a Wedns night.

Speaking of sleep...that's where I'm headed.

A Good Day

I've been working like a banshee lately and today was no exception but today was the first day when I realized that I will make the first deadline associated with one of the two bigger orders. And thankfully the second bigger order deadline has been pushed back about 15 days per the request of the company so that buys me some much needed time. Especially since they uped the order by about 25%.

Still a lot of work to do - some of which will need to be done tonight. But right now I'm basking in the feeling that this first deadline is not insanely out of my reach. Fingers crossed it holds true.

Back in a few...

Love Hate Relationship

Really busy lately trying to get these two bigger orders filled along with a bunch of smaller ones. In the meantime, here's some of the stuff I love/hate right now:

1. My new money tree - strangely enough when I killed the old one the money coming into the business dried up. Now we have a new one and we have cash flowing again. Not flowing rapidly but at least it's flowing (and thankfully more in then out). Granted Q4 is always my busiest but I think that little tree has something to do with it as well.

2. Doggie Daycare - they keep my pups happy and safe while I'm at my workspace for hours on end

3. My workspace friends - they apparently think I'm underfed as today I was given 1/2 a cake (no joke!) and a pint of fresh-made butternut squash soup (that was finished with a drizzle of fennel and toasted pumpkin seeds). Not only do they keep me fed but they always help keep me sane

4. Knitting - I've gotten into it and I love it. It also helps keep me sane. Though I fear I won't have much time for it for the rest of the month

5. Hubby - 'sanity'...enough said

6. Etsy - I'm getting an order here and order there through it but I think I'm more enjoying seeing all the cool things the uber-talented folks on it can and do make. I'm half debating whether this holiday season should be 'all-handmade' gifts for everyone. Never said they had to be handmade by me!

7. Help A Reporter Out (dot) com - Every day or so I find a reporter who is looking for information on a product catagory similar to mine. At the end of the day they may not be interested in my products but it doesn't cost me anything to send an email over to them and see what they think.

Things I'm not so in love with:

1. Working 10+ hours on my feet. My poor leg looks like it has elephantitus. But better to be busy then not busy at all.

It Must Be October

It's not the chill in the air that tells me it's so (though it isn't yet raining here in the Pacific Northwest so everyone's trying to enjoy every last day of sunshine before the rains come in. There's a reason this is the "Emerald City."). It's the fact that all of the sudden business has gone from 0-60 in five seconds flat. In addition to some wholesale orders - fewer than last year but for larger amounts - the two BIGGER orders I've been working on since June finally came through. They of course want all of their products by Nov 1. The reason I'd been working on trying to secure orders with them earlier in the year - even if they didn't take delivery until Nov - was that it's a ton of work on top of what is already a crazy-busy time. I'm learning that those BIGGER orders just don't play that way. Oh well, I'm grateful to have the business.

Speaking of which, did I tell you that I agreed to dropship for a third BIGGER client despite the fact that I hate dropshipping. But I decided that their brand was in line with what I want my brand to be so it could only help. And I honestly didn't think it would turn into too many sales because the last time I did this for a similar type company it really didn't result in orders. I finally gained access to their dropshipping system yesterday and there were already three orders waiting for me. Not sure if those were "test" orders to make sure I'm a legitimate dropshipper or real orders but either way I was pleasently surprised. Hopefully that will just continue as it's a nice little system.

So it's going to be a busy October. Which means maybe my husband and I will get to celebrate our late-October birthdays sometime...oh, mid November.

Happy To Be Home

Almost exactly 5 days after I left, I rolled in last night around midnight very very very tired. I'm really not sure what to say other then that show just couldn't have gone much worse. Here's an example: Normally I pass out over 100 brochures a day at these shows to 'interested' stores. At this show I passed out 61 over the course of 3 days. I wrote more orders my first year at this show - with only two products and only having been in business 5 months - then I did this year. It was horrible. There was just no one there.

The good news is that I have no plans to go back to that show next year. The bad news is I'm questioning how to get the company and brand to where I honestly believed it could go. What is the right strategy? Right now I'm too tired to even think about it.

It's Down...It's Up

Entrepreneurship really is a roller coaster - there's just no other way to explain it. One day you're sitting on your back steps crying over the fact that all of your prospects have disappeared or - in my case - decided that your product isn't the right fit for them. And the next you're wide awake at 11:00pm (unusual for me!) because your mind is going a mile-a-minute trying to absorb all the opportunities that have just been thrown on you. None of them are garuntees by any means, but just like fishing they are nibbles so the hope is you play your cards right and are able to scoop up a keeper...or in this case, some real serious business.

Ironically this tradeshow I've been dreading going to on Thursday (lord, I have so much to do before I leave!) is turning out to be a good thing as I have two meetings set up with potential customers there. One of which is a BIGGER customer so I think the sheer fact that they know they can see me there gives them faith that I can provide them with what they need. Funny how things work out that way.

I sometimes think that being successful as an entrepreneur is less a matter of having that one-of-a-kind idea, and more a matter of having the stomach to deal with the ups and downs. Of course enough of a bank account to absorb the downs helps as well (thankfully mine is not a cost-heavy business in the grand scheme of things). But honestly, I swear it just seems like if you can live again to fight another day then more opportunities roll your way. Some will pan out, some won't, but the hope is that enough will play your way to enable you to fight yet another day and see what new opportunities come along.

Home Sweet Home

While at the tradeshow I talked to one woman who has grown her little company into a company that now has a very strong brand name of it's own but they are also the ones doing private label for a lot of the BIG guys as well. A very smart and very nice woman - about my age - so I was asking her about when her company was smaller. Turns out that she converted part of her garage into a workspace rather than renting space like I do. That, no surprise, got me thinking.

We have a shed in the backyard...it's a biggish shed that right now is taken up 75% with my packing materials and then 25% a mix of yard/lawn care equipment and other miscellanious (like the fake xmas tree I bought a few years ago because it pains me to cut down a living one). I was wondering if I cleaned out the shed of my packaging material could I turn it into a legititmate workspace? I'd have to buy some equipment so the first year it would probably be more expensive to turn it into the workspace then to rent, but over multiple years it would save me upwards of $6500 or more/year and wouldn't limit the hours I could be in there which would provide me with more opportunity for growth in the shortterm.

Of course, other then the cost - which I need to research, including calling in a friend who is a structural engineer to get his thoughts on a few ideas I have, there are a few downsides. The main one being is that then I'm more or less housebound. Right now two times a week I head into my workspace and since it's shared with other people I get to interact with the human race. If I work 100% from home will I find myself turning into a shutin and becoming that woman who adopts 100 cats (ok, I'd rather adopt 100 dogs and would do it if we had the space...perhaps I am that woman already?). Or are there ways to work around becoming a shutin? One idea I had, even before this thought about working 100% from home, was to volunteer at the zoo next summer at their petting zoo program as it seems like a great way for me to get my 'farm' fix for a few hours a week. If I'm working from home then it would also be a great way to get out into the real world and help provide my week with what would likely be some much-needed structure. If I take advantage of opportunities like that and others would the working from home thing be ok from a mental perspective?

Nothing's going to happen before the end of the year, now is just a time to mull over the ideas.

Tradeshow Hangover

Las Vegas, I have realized, is the Disney World for adults. Only with far more opportunities for alcohol and yet an equal chance to blow money. Unfortunately every time I've been there the past three years it's been for work so I've enjoyed little to none of the 'excitment' Vegas has to offer. Don't worry though, because there's nothing like a planeload of drunks coming home from Vegas to really make one appreciate Vegas in all it's glory.

The tradeshow was good. Not great - but a good 'ol solid good. Lots of interest, lots of folks coming by asking really good questions, and a decent amount of orders written. Less then last year but I really got the sense that there would be some good followup orders from people. All in all I was happy with how it went. And now I'm struggling with the post-tradeshow exhuastion that always just wipes me out. I think I spent most of the weekend in some sort of walking coma - a surprise migrane on Sunday morning didn't help things along - and I still feel like someone took a baseball bat to my brain.

At every show, regardless of how successful it was or wasn't, I've found there's always one or two things I learn that are just priceless. At this show it was the realization that I think I need to put more energy into getting direct sales versus putting all my eggs (so to speak) in the wholesale basket. Everyone loves my stuff but not everyone buys for their store because it's not a right fit. This piggybacks on the consumer show I went to a few months ago where people just loved the stuff and I had some great sales. So I've decided to dip into the decreasing company pocketbooks and ante up for an ad in one of the larger consumer publications in my niche. It will be their winter edition (they're a quarterly) and I managed to negotiate a decent deal with them that is netting me about an $600 savings. However, it's still money out of pocket so I'm hoping it's going to be recouped.

At the same time, I opened up a site on Etsy. If you haven't heard of it, Etsy is the place where some ubertalented folks essentially sell their homemade wares. I can't say I'm as ubertalented as they are but I figured given the very low cost of entry, I would put some stuff up there and see what happens. So now I'm compulsively checking my new little Etsy store and wondering/worrying over that. Anyone have any tips for Etsy? I'm brandnew to that world...

I have another tradeshow in about a week. Normally the two shows have about three weeks inbetween but this year it's literally get home from one and head out to the other. I'm trying to frame it in a positive light that in just a little over a week all business-related travel for the year will be done. Then it'll be time to focus on the holidays - and hopefully holiday sales - in earnest.

How Early Is Too Early?

My crack PR team (aka - me, myself, and I) have pulled together a list of top blogs that I'd like to send some of my new product info to. It's all holiday products so I'm wondering how far in advance that should be sent. I was originally thinking late October but I've started seeing folks on HARO (www.helpareporter.com) asking for holiday items and am wondering if perhaps I should start now? Any thoughts?

Good News Bad News

The good news is that the new eco-labels I'm waiting on will be here on Friday. It's actually great news as this is a new product I want to showcase at the tradeshow I leave for at 6am on Monday morning.

The bad news is that the popcorn I ordered won't be here until after I leave. I realize that if one of the two wasn't going to be here in time it is much better for the business that it be the popcorn that doesn't make it. But still...it's just so good...

Tradeshow Food

A week from today I will (hopefully) be in Las Vegas getting my booth set up and ready to go for the show that starts a week from tomorrow. Today the better half and I took all my tradeshow stuff down to my workspace and got it set up on the pallet and ready to be picked up tomorrow. If everything goes according to plan, it will be in my booth waiting for me when I get off the plane next week.

So now I need to refocus my tradeshow energy on an equally important piece of tradeshows - FOOD. In the past this hasn't been a major concern because I've typically had another person helping me in the booth which meant one of us could go out in search of food that was relatively healthy and not too expensive for lunch. This year I'm by my lonesome so I'm having to do a little pre-trip planning. The Las Vegas show actually isn't too bad with regards to food. My better half will be in Las Vegas next week as well for business of his own and can always get me food if needed. And in Vegas you can pretty much find anything you're looking for. Granted, it's going to cost you, but if you want a smoothie to start the day off because you just can't choke down any more carbs then you can have your smoothie. It'll cost you $8 but that's the price you have to pay on the fruit hunt.

I'm actually trying to use the Las Vegas tradeshow as a dry run for the Chicago show in early October. But, I hear you saying, Chicago has great restaurants and amazing food! And it does. I spent 2 years there for grad school and know that the city is a veritable foodie paradise. However, while the show is advertised as being in Chicago, it's actually in Rosemont which, if you're not familiar with it, is the "middle earth" area right around the airport. And if you're like me and too damn cheap to rent a car, that leaves you with VERY limited eating options. Toss in the fact I don't eat red meat (in a section of Illinois that still prides themselves on their meat packing heritage) and I'm almost completely S$*t out of luck!

As such, I've made up my shopping list of food I'm going to bring with me to Las Vegas to test out my 'nutrition' plan. Like any endurance event, nutrition is key and tradeshows are no exception. I'm going to bring some pretzel rolls for bread and some sliced turkey and cheese to make sandwiches with every day and bring to the show for lunch. Toss in an apple a day as well. Then I'm also hoping to bring some of my very favorite Gary Poppins popcorn in White Cheddar flavor: http://www.garypoppins.com/. Seriously delicious! And that should take care of the salt fix. And then toss in some Chukar Cherries: http://www.chukar.com/ and I've got the chocolate/sweet fix figured out as well. Since they have cherries in them do you think the Chukars also count as fruit?

I'm hoping this plan will help keep me fed and in good humor during the day. Night dining in Vegas is easy. Chicago (c'mon - it's Rosemont!) will be another story alltogether. Now if I could just figure out a bathroom plan since I'll be manning the booth by myself...

In Honor of Labor

Hello Labor Day weekend! After what has been a less than stellar week - capped off by not one but two bigger companies (one of which I worked with last year) telling me that my stuff is "too nice" for them to carry, I officially welcome in the long weekend a day early. I have all sorts of fun stuff planned like going for a run as soon as I peel myself out of my pjs and maybe even making a reappearance at yoga today (cause lord knows I could use a little deep breathing to find my 'center' right about now). I'll do some packaging of product because it's actually a really fun mindless task I enjoy and can sit down and catch up on Oprah or see what sort of drama Brava has on while doing the packaging. So while a little work is on the table for this weekend (albeit the mindless stuff), I hereby dedicate this weekend to things like bike rides (if the weather holds); visiting the aquarium (if the weather doesn't); 'Bollywood Bash' - an evening that will include Indian food takeout, Slumdog Millionaire from Netflix, and the absolute best bottle of Reisling you've ever had; trying to control the ivy in the yard (ha!); etc. Basically, try to celebrate Labor by not doing any of it.

The one big work-related task this weekend is to get all the tradeshow stuff ready to be picked up on Tuesday. That means we've got to get the pallet ready and get it down to my workspace for pickup. As a reward we'll be treating ourselves to a little outdoor kayaking (if the weather holds) followed by some Mexican food or a little Mexican margaritas (if the weather doesn't) followed by some Mexican food. Either way I see it as a win-win situation.

The Quiet Zone

I have officially entered "The Quiet Zone" - that time when most of the work of getting ready for the Fall is done but right before the true Fall buying season actually begins. So it's quiet...very very quiet. Even quieter now that my computer decided to try it's hand at death by motherboard so it's off getting fixed. This has all left me with a lot of time to think. Nothing good can come from that as right now I'm managing to worry myself into a frenzy that no one is going to be going to the shows, no one is going to be buying at the shows, etc etc etc.

One thing I was thinking about this morning during my run (more of a walk but who's counting) was whether one has a responsibility to earn a certain amount. Let's see if I can make this make sense. And for the record, I'm talking more in the philosophical sense here rather than my exact situation. For example, if an entrepreneur starts up a business that, let's say, after expenses pays him/her $50K is it irresponsible to keep working at said business (assuming no projections for growth) if that person could be making $100K working for someone else? And by irresponsible I mean to the "family unit" - so that said person is making another member of the family carry more of the finacial burden.

Of course there are the intristics that come with being an entrepreneur - things like being able to "work from home" while waiting for the plumber to come fix a leak or having the flexibility to take the dogs to yet another vet appointment. Do those intrinsics help offset the lower income?

I guess my question really lies in the difference between being a lifestyle-oriented entreprenuer and a business-oriented entreprenuer. This is not to say that the lifestyle entreprenuer doesn't work incredibly hard, but comes to a point where they are content that their company will never have an IPO and make them a millionaire because of the flexibility/freedom and other lifestyle perks the business offers them. The business entreprenuer is more focused on making it to the $10M revenue number so they can sell the business and either a) retire to their own private island somewhere or b)start up another company. And if you started out thinking you were one type and then find yourself switching to another is that ok?

Success - Luck or Skill?

Here's tonight's business question for you to mull over. Is business success a matter of luck or skill? If your answer is both then how much of one and how much of the other?

The reason I ask is that all of the sudden we're having some pretty serious interest from some pretty serious industry contenders. While on the one hand I'd argue that it was skill there's also a pretty strong arguement for a heck of a lot of luck involved too. The skill, I believe, comes into play due to the fact that my better half and I spend a lot of time watching trends, trying to forecast where the industry is headed, and then trying to make sure that our brand and product line evolves ahead of the curve. Our plan the entire time has been to create products that are one step ahead of not only the competition but also the industry (within my niche) so that by the time the industry caught up we were seen as experts in that arena. I can't say it's worked in entirety yet, and we've made a bunch of mistakes a long the way, but it does seem like we're catching people's attention.

On the other hand, there's a fair amount of luck involved too. Luck in that the trends we forecast have actually occured despite a massive economic constriction. Luck in that we weren't necessarily expecting the BIG BIG BIG folks to head in the direction we forecast - we figured it would be the small BIG and maybe, just maybe, the medium BIG - but not the BIG BIG BIG! Luck in that the small BIG, the medium BIG, and the BIG BIG BIG guys actually noticed us in the first place and then picked up the phone and called.

So how much is luck and how much is skill?

A funny story for you - or atleast it was for me. The call I got from BIG BIG BIG company came last Monday at 4:45pm when I was working from home...aka, sitting at my computer at the dining room table. I had realized about half an hour earlier that my primary ballot was due the next day and b/c I do truly appreciate the work our solidars have done to maintain our democracy, I felt the least I could do was put some research into deciding who to vote for and make sure I got the ballot in on time. So there I was scanning the internet for information on the candidates when the call came. I was so thrown off balance by the call that I think I actually came off sounding far calmer and cooler then I really was. Not unlike talking to a shock victim. I just never expected to receive a call from them - let along while comparing the platforms of various candidates.

Hmm, I think it was probably funnier if you were there. But you get the gist...

T-T-That's All Folks

Just one of those days. Not to my liking. The beauty of working for myself is that when it was obvious this day just wasn't going as planned I packed it in around 1pm. Back to work tomorrow but it might be a few days before I'm back here. Just need to shake some things loose in my head first.

Working from Home - not all glamor

With regards to my earlier question I'm going to take O's advice and let people choose whether or not they want to be added to my mailing list. In fact I'm going to take it a step further and give them the option of signing up for either the enewsletter or the print newsletter. It pains me to give people this option as I just know that many of them will opt for the print newsletter which costs a gazillion times more to print and send then the enewsletter does. But the sad fact is that many people in my industry just aren't that internet savvy and I'd rather be sending out information that I figure has half a chance of getting read rather than just sending it off to an email address that only gets checked when they have a high-school intern on the payroll to work "those computer-thingys."

Now the question is, what sort of fun, fashionable, and yet lightweight and hard to break item do I have people put the slips of paper into? I'd like something that looks cool but it can't cost a ton and it's got to go on a pallet with the rest of my stuff to two shows. Any ideas?

As for today's title - this is just one of those weeks where working from the home office 3xweek just isn't paying off. Just a lot of house and hearth stuff that seems to be taking precidence. Not to mention a few desperate calls from folks who's babysitters have canceled in advance of doctor's appts. I'm glad I can help out but it's only Wedns and the amount of "work time" that's not being spent on work is starting to loose it's sheen. It doesn't help that I'm sitting here waiting to hear from BIG customer from last year as they said they'd let me know by the end of next week (I'll believe it when I see it) so I'm feeling frantic trying to get everything done that can get done now so that if they do come back with an order I can put all my focus there while still feeling like everything is in control for the upcoming tradeshows.

In control...ha, who am I kidding!...

What Would You Want To Know?

I'm about 5 weeks out from my two big tradeshows. In conversations with other 'manufacturers' (a word I hate b/c I don't manufacture goods in a traditional sense but there isn't really another good word for those of us who handcraft goods) she recommended that at the shows I offer a free drawing for a collection of product as that tactic brought her lots of leads at a show in the spring. I'm thinking about offering up some products that have a retail value of over $200 so there will definitely be some good incentive for people to enter, but I'm wondering what exactly I should have on the slip of paper I ask them to fill out. Other than their name, store name, how many retail locations, and mailing and email address what else would you want to know? I'd like to qualify these leads as much as possible and get as much information as possible while still being a quick thing people could fill out and move on. Should I ask them if they want to be added to our enewsletter or just add them regardless? What other things should I ask so that at the end of the day I can weed out those companies who will never buy from me and those who are legitimately interested in my company/products?

Like a Shiny New Toy

My new catalogues came today. I'm so excited I can barely stand it. Up until now we've been simply using color copies on single or double-sided paper but it was time to make the move to a more mature look. Last year was all about getting the website updated and looking swank (which we did thanks to the help of one very talented web developer) and this year the focus was on getting the company's printed marketing material up to snuff. The new brochures look SOOOO good - I'm so excited! I can't wait to start handing them out to retailers as I really think they are going to help make the impression we want. Really really really happy with the way they turned out.

Oh hooray - this makes my day!

Post Show RoundUp

Well, I didn't manage to make enough to cover the new labels I have to order this week but it definitely was worth it. From a financial standpoint I did meet my goal of covering my costs and exposing lots of people to the brand. Since this wasn't as how specific to my industry - I was sort of a fringe exhibitor at this show - I wasn't totally surprised that it wasn't a slamdunk for me plus I only brought lower pricepoint products so it's hard to make tons of money at that rate.

Some of the other highlights though:
1. Very fun atmosphere - I really enjoyed talking to the end customer for a change rather than just the retailer. And there was a noticable difference. With retailers they are - understandably - at a show to make their buying decisions and get back to work. At a consumer show though people are just wandering through and more than happy to hang out and talk for a bit. That made it a lot of fun. It was also great and informative to hear people's reaction to the products and hear their thoughts. Like a market research study I got paid to watch!
2. I was more relaxed. And I wonder how much of this has to do with the fact that the costs associated with the show were so much lower then what I normally end up paying. I wasn't frantic about trying to make the show pay for itself and more which helped me relax and have more fun (which I also think translates better to the customer). What I need to remember is that technically the wholesale shows I'm going to have already been paid for in that the money has already been spent. So I need to go to the shows, relax, and have fun.
3. There were some really interesting stories at this show. It was a small local show so I got to interact with entreprenuers in a network that I don't typically operate in given the difference in industries. It was just really great to talk to other entreprenuers and hear their stories and get their thoughts/marketing tips etc. This actually gave me the idea of whether any other entreprenuers out there would like to publically share their story. If so let me know as I'd love to do some interviews with you and learn from your experiences as well!
4. This show really was a great opportunity for me to test out my marketing lines, test out the new tradeshow setup (which looked fantastic!), etc. It definitely left me feeling a little more confident for the upcoming shows.
5. And lastly, let me reiterate that it was fun. I'd love to do another local show again. The show I just attended has another one in December that I'll likely apply for. I also had a woman stop by the booth who puts on a few other local one-day shows with one upcoming in October (Halloween themed) and another in December (holiday themed) and I said I'd love to be part of those so I'm hoping to hear more soon as they seem like they'd also be a great opportunity.

Speaking of which, I LOVED that the show was local. Not only from a cost perspective (no flight, no food expense, no hotel rooms) but also from the fact that at the end of the day I could roll home, play with my dogs, kiss my husband, go out to dinner with friends. And then this morning started with a long hike in the woods with the dogs and a swim in the lake with my husband. Oh how different that is from the mornings at the other shows where it's more like walk through the Vegas casino, dodging 20-something bachelor/ette party attendees who are staggering back to their rooms drunk after a wild night, try to find something healthy to eat for breakfast, and wonder how people can stomach cigarettes before 8am. Just a slightly different feel...

First Show of the Season - Sorta

Well we survived the heat but just barely. As I said before, my workspace was unbearably hot (someone registered it over 120- that was as far as their themometer would go) and after a few days of that and a few days of little to no sleep due to the heat in the house I just about cracked. My better half had to force-feed me last night since I hadn't been eating anything and couldn't figure out why I felt so horrible. The good news is the temps dropped substantially overnight and while it will still be warm - for us - it's not going to be the 103 we have had. I don't care where you live, but 103 without air conditioning is just unbearable.

Thankfully the heat has broken as it gives me a chance to get ready for a show I have this weekend. Technically I guess it's the first tradeshow of the season but unlike my others, this is a consumer show where people can actually come in and buy things. Given that it's consumer, and not wholesale, I'm really not sure what to expect out of it. Could be a total bust if it doesn't attract my kind of audience or it could go really well. At the very worst though, it only cost me $185 to have a booth there compared to the 10+x I usually pay for my wholesale shows so I figure it won't take too much to break even. I've tried to price my items in the $5-$10 range including tax mainly to give folks an incentive to buy (it's a touch cheaper then they can find online) and it helps make easy change.

Like I said, at it's worst I figure this is $185 and a weekend down the drain (and truthfully I'd be more upset about the weekend lost) but it does give me a chance to do a quick runthrough of my booth setup for the two big shows coming up and brush off my marketing spiell so I can sound a little more rehearsed and relaxed by the time I go to Vegas in six weeks. And heh, the venue is air conditioned so I can't complain about that!

And since it's always good to have goals, my main goal is to breakeven and get a chance to expose lots of new folks to my product/brand name. My stretch goal though is to make enough money to pay for the new labels I have to pay for next week which is roughly $2K. Keep your fingers crossed for me and I'll let you know how it goes...

This is your brain

This is your brain on 9 hours of incredible 100+degree heat. In case you haven't heard all the whining coming from the northwest quadrent of the US - the Pacific Northwest is going through a record heatwave and we are woefully inept at dealing with it. I've lived on the east coast and midwest and while I know it can get much much hotter (and more sticky humid) in both of those places - both of those have one thing we up here lack, air conditioning!

My workspace is unbearably hot. Take the 95degree outside temp, turn on about 6 ovens, multiple equipment, stuff it full of people, and take away any ventilation and you essentially have my workspace. It felt markedly cooler to step from the workspace out into the 95degree heat.

As soon as my brain forms back into something that doesn't resemble pudding I'll write about the business again. Lots going on right now...just heat-hampered brain.

Sorta Like Christmas

I spent the better part of yesterday unpacking from last year's tradeshows. You can't say I'm not on top of things given that the tradeshows ended in October last year! But in truth, between the broken leg and then coming back from the shows and being so (blessedly) busy with orders, my better half and I just put the boxes into their storage spot and let them be.

With some warm weather predicted and a mini-tradeshow next weekend (more on that later), I figured now was the time to get my stuff out of the storage area and try to clean it up/get it ready for this year's foray into the tradeshow madness. So with the 60's folk rock blasting (can you legitemately blast folk rock music?), I spent all day yesterday unpacking boxes and going "Oh wow - so this is where that was!" Apparently packing up boxes at the end of a tradeshow while under the influence of some substantial pain killers makes for a really interesting packing job and it really was like Christmas with all the goodies I found or had forgotten about.

Last year at one of the tradeshows I noticed that a company had packed all of their materials into giant Rubbermaid containers rather than boxes and then loaded them up onto their pallet. This, I realized, was a brilliant idea as the tupperware is a bit more sturdy then the boxes and most likely has a longer usable life. After two shows the boxes just start to go to pieces with all the opening/closing/packing/unpacking/moving/jostling/banging/etc. So I also hit up my local Storables store (the west coast version of the Container Store) and picked up a couple of those which everything is now neatly packed into.

I'm guessing that this year I'm going to have about 200lbs of materials headed to the shows. That includes the actual display (for the first time I won't be renting furniture at the shows), flooring (which is required so either must buy and bring or rent for an absurd fee), and then all product as well. Every year my display seems to be getting better and better, but it's also causing me to have to cart around more and more stuff. My first year I just shipped two boxes to a friend in Chicago and called it a day. Course then I also paid $600 just to rent furniture at that show so I figure the $900 I'm going to spend to get my stuff to two shows and back again will have me ahead of the game...I hope.

On a totally unrelated note it's going to be wicked hot here this weekend. Yes, I pulled out my old Boston slang for that one. Wicked! It's supposed to be in the upper-90's which is all well and good for you folks in Atlanta and parts south, but the Pacific Northwest literally does not know how to deal with this type of heat. Mainly because none of us have air conditioners and I don't care how many fans you have going it's still just moving hot air around at that point. Under the auspices that I'm worried about the dogs in this heat, I went out and bought an inflatable kiddie pool. It was on sale and I figure the $23 I spent will be well worth the entertainment value of watching the dogs trying to figure out what the heck this new contraption in their backyard is. Plus, at 97+degrees I may very well end up in there with them - with a margarita in one hand and a book in the other.

NYTimes on Twitter

An article from the Small Business section of the NYTimes about the power of Twitter for Mom & Pop's:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/business/smallbusiness/23twitter.html?_r=1&ref=smallbusiness

...and with that I'm off to go update my twitter profile.

(sorry the article is a few days old, I've been out of the loop trying to get the company's snazzy new brochure finalized. It's amazing how many times you can proofread the same sentance and still find mistakes!)

Ground Up

I heard about this book yesterday (via DailyCandy.com) and while there aren't currently any reviews posted on Amazon, it sounds like it could make for an interesting summer read if you have an entrepreneurial bend and need something to add to your beach read collection.

The novel is a fictionalized account, loosely based on the author's life experiences, of one couple opening up a coffee store and the trials and tribulations that occur in the course. I'm a little disappointed it's fiction as a true account would be much more interesting (to me personally at least). There are plenty of entreprenuer becomes millionaire stories out there but few true entreprenuer falls on their face stories and I think there's something to be learned from both sides.

If you're interested check it out here: http://tinyurl.com/m2bqtv

Burning through the reserves

Nothing like spending upwards of $1500 in the course of two hours to feel like you're really burning through the company's cash reserves. Sadly, none of it was frivolous stuff. It was all boring grown-up company stuff that I needed. Mainly parts, pieces, etc to help me create my products. And since I'm trying to do a much better job this year of building up a larger inventory - just in case, for example, I break my leg again a week before the busy season begins in earnest. I'm trying to be better prepared this time around. But to be prepared means I need those parts and pieces so I was a spending fool earlier this week.

All of which then had me up in the middle of the night worrying about our cash position and whether there's enough cash in the business to cover all fixed costs through the end of the year assuming no actual sales between now and then. Nothing like midnight angst to make for a really good night's sleep.

Motivation

Am I the only self-employed person who struggles with motivation? I'm normally a very motivated person and very much of a "to-do" list person. However most days seems to be the same cycle. I start out first thing in the morning going gangbusters against my list - crossing off to-dos like mad. Then by noon I start to slow down a bit and figure I'll check some websites, browse the net, etc. I can typically get remotivated but it's not with the same morning fury but I still manage to get another few things done. Until around 4:30 when I seriously start to lose steam and have to fight to keep myself focused. You notice I'm writing this right around noon...

Finally made it back once and for all last night. After vacation I had to head to my parents house to pick up the dogs and spent a few extra days there before the very very long 14 hour drive home yesterday. But a book on tape made the drive much easier (on me at least - the dogs still hate me I think). Check out "Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight" if you haven't yet read/listed to it.

On a totally seperate note. I learned today that the brochures I'm planning on having made will cost 50% less then I had estimated. Hooray cause I had budgeted double! Unfortunately I also learned that one of the really popular stock packaging options I used last year is no longer available this year so I'm trying to quickly figure out an alternative.

And I'm Back...

Wow - what a vacation. As soon as I get a few pics pulled off the camera I'll post them. All I can say is that if you're looking for a unique European vacation definitely check out Croatia. The country is slowly rebuilding itself from the war in the 90's and tourism is their biggest source of revenue. And it's well worth it. The northern part of the country is a wealth of national parks and UNESCO sites and the southern coast is everything you've ever dreamed of in a Mediterranean vacation spot. We even went to Bosnia for about 36 hours and did some white-water kayaking there. Seriously, white-water kayaking in Bosnia...not something I'd ever thought I'd do!

It was a great great great trip and I'm horribly jetlagged right now. I got up around 4:30am and have been going strong ever since so I'm fully expecting to get smacked upside the head by the time change in another few hours. In the meantime, I've been able to start to catch up on work and even get QuickBooks updated! :)

Since there's not a lot of work stuff to talk about, let me share a karma story with you:

As many of you know, my husband and I are nuts about dogs. One day in Croatia - early in the trip - we were kayaking on this remote river with our group and a little dog starts barking frantically at us and following us on the shore. This dog was no more than 25lbs but was desperate to keep up with us. At one point I got close to the shore and pet the dog for a bit but then continued going. As did the dog. She just kept following us and hubby and I started to wonder if she were perhaps lost in this really desolate part of the country. But not knowing how things work in Croatia we opted to leave well enough alone. Until the pup came to a point where she couldn't follow us on land so jumped in and started to follow the kayaks in the water. She was a good little swimmer but couldn't keep up with the group so hubby and I hung back a bit so make sure she was ok.

She started to get tired and as she headed towards the shore (with hubby and I following along behind) she got caught in a tree branch and started to drown. My better half defetly moved us right along side her and I was able to grab her collar and yank her out of the water into our boat where she clung to me with all her might. I'm not kidding, I tried to get her to sit between my legs so I could continue paddling (there were some small rapids on this river) but she couldn't let me move her and dug her little paws (and claws) into my shouldar - the entire time shaking and shivering so badly it just broke my heart. Once I had her in the boat it was also obvious that she was really skinny and we surmissed that she likely was lost but without a tag there was no way to tell who she belonged to.

Very long story short, we coerced one of our guides to help get the little pup (and she was young, we guessed right about a year) down the river. He tied a rope around her which he attached to his life jacket so that he could pull her out if she fell in during the rapids. The few times the group stopped to walk a bit the little dog ran right along beside us and was super friendly with everyone. She absolutely stole the hearts of everyone in our group and hubby and I were figuring we might have to ditch the rest of our trip to care for the pup and get her home with us. Though I had hope that "the universe" would get something worked out for us.

Right as we reached the last rapid - a really big rapid with a waterfall drop - our guide ran into friends of his who owned a kayak park right across from the waterfall and a nearby house. He talked to them and they gladly took the little pup with promises to feed and care for her. Given how attached he had become to the little one I trusted when he handed her over and hope that she'll have a really great little life by the river.

Now give me just a moment because here comes the Karma part. Hubby and I had nicknamed the dog Petra since it not only sounds eastern european but also means 'stone' and that's where we found her. Wouldn't you know it that when we were checking in for our flight from Frankfurt to the states yesterday the woman checking us in had the nametag with "Petra" on it. We didn't say anything to her but just smiled between us as we thought of our little dog friend. Then the desk agent Petra handed us our tickets and told us that, for no reason, she had upgraded us to Business Class.

Karma! (and let's just say, business class on international flights is something I could get used to!)

I'll post some pics as soon as I get them (need to grab the Petra pics from some of the others on the trip) and will be back on the business side of things before too long.

Pre Vacation Thoughts

The countdown is on. The town car is coming to pick us at in 8 hours and my clothes are currently in a giant heap on the floor. So it's official - vacation time.

More or less everything on the to do list did get done. Except QuickBooks...no surprise I pushed that one off. And I still have to do "Pack for Trip." I was very excited earlier today to figure out how to put an "Out of Office" message on my email inbox so I can look all legit and what not. And I have a good friend looking over the rest of the emails that come in should something need immediate attention.

So since there's not a lot to write about business wise I thought I'd share two very random thoughts with you for sheer entertainment value.

1. Here is my new travel love:

Yes, the Amazon Kindle. Love It! Let's just say that this slim little devil, that weighs maybe 8oz, currently holds 20 books to keep me entertained on what is going to be a very very very long flight tomorrow. Really the flight starts tomorrow and ends on Thursday morning. So I've got lots of reading time penciled in. I borrowed it from my mom and used it for the first time yesterday on my flight back from Wyoming (where my dogs are currently holed up with my parents while I travel - howling with the coyotes from what I've been told) and just got so sucked into the book I started that I didn't even notice that I was reading an electronic thingy-mi-gig and not a book. In fact the flight attendent had to come over and ask me to "turn off your book" which is just not something I ever thought I'd hear anyone say. So excited. As is my better half as this means it'll keep me from bothering him profusely for the entire trip and it means he doesn't have to carry 50lbs of books to keep me company.

Secondly, I was going to bring some knitting with me for the flight but figured that may be more hassle then it's worth. But I did finish that really cute strawberry hat I mentioned before and it is honestly even cuter in person. So I was ecstatic to find out that my friend Lisa is having a baby girl later this year so I can send it to her because it's just too cute. I was also thinking of perhaps knitting a pumpkin one with orange and green to see how that turns out. If I got really crafty I could probably also make it into a jack-o-latern. So I've got some fun projects waiting for me when I get home. And Lisa may end up with years worth of baby hats. Lisa - send me your address via facebook. :)

I'm off folks. Cookies to bake (for dessert) and clothes to pack. See you on the other side.

Ball O Stress

The Zen Calm is officially gone. I have become...

ok - so apparently that's what you get when you put "stressed bunny" into google images. Yes, I am a little stress bunny. Vacation - ironically - always does that to me because I'm somehow convinced that my little business world will fall apart in my abscence. I realize that's not likely...but that doesn't stop me from writing three pages worth of to-do's. I wish I was joking but I'm not. It's three pages long right now.

Maybe if I had one of these I wouldn't be so stressed:

Ironically - you also get this picture when you put those same words into google images.

Things I didn't Know

I just learned today that you can set an alert on Google to let you know when people are talking about a specific thing - in my case I set one up for my company name (and the two ways people always end up spelling it). I'm sure the more technophile folks out there already knew about this but I'm slow on the tech-uptake. Check it out here if you haven't already:
http://google.com/alerts

Helloooooo

Yep, it's been quiet around here but that's because I'm doing my typical try to cram 3+ weeks of work into one week in advance of heading out on vacation next week. One huge downside of that work pattern is that it takes away the "Zen Calm" I've been trying to achieve with regards to work. But a lot has gotten accomplished. My new packaging got far enough done (final touches still need to be put on) that I can send samples to the bigger company who placed a bigger order last year. This time I will try to convince them that not only do they want to order from me - but they want to give me plenty of lead time as well! Photos have been taken of the new Fall products and the ad that is due on Thursday is in the works. So just a flurry of activity as of late.

My usual lament this time of year is that right now a ton of money is going out and not too much coming in. Hopefully that will change. Hopefully. I did take a look at the tradeshow booth assignments for the two big Fall tradeshows and was surprised to see how many booths are still untaken. Though it is only June so there's plenty of time for that to change. On the one hand fewer booths displaying could be a good thing as there's less competition for retailer dollars. But then there's always the worry that retailers won't be showing up as well. At least one of the shows is in Vegas. At the very least I'll be able to drown any sorrows in a drink that comes with a little umbrella while seated at the pool.

It's All Relative

I just read something that made my day. It was a request from a reporter (sent out to a large group - not just me) who was looking for "CEO's from successful businesses." Since this was a lifestyle piece and I'm not apt to talk to the media about my personal life to begin with, I already knew I wouldn't be responding but when I saw the "successful" part I figured that knocked me out of the running as well. And then, a line or two later, "successful" is defined as at least $50K in sales.

I'm not going to say whether my little business would qualify or not based on that that metric, but I will say that it caught me by surprise. Yes, $50K in sales is nothing to snear at. I'm happy for every penny along the way. But when I read "successful" I honestly thought of $1M in sales, maybe $500K at the least, but certainly more than $50K.

It was an interesting awakening because $50K is something my business either can reach or already has (purposefully staying vague, sorry). But I wouldn't have considered $50K successful before reading that. And then I had to ask myself, why not? I know I've talked about this before, but "successful" is a vague description and it seems to be a moving one as well. At first "successful" may be that first sale, then $10K in sales, then $50K in sales, then $100K in sales...you see how it goes. Successful isn't something I necessarily think my business is because I'm seriously working my A$$ off for every dollar. But to an outsider maybe this little business is successful? And perhaps I ought to look at it from the vantagepoint of an outsider from time to time to remind myself how very far we've come.

The Self-Employed & The Recession

Well-written article in the NYTimes Magazine about self-employment and the recession. Though I'll warn you that it's not very uplifting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/magazine/07unemployed-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hpw

Random Summer Thoughts

I happened to read a friend's blog this morning where a recent post talked about doing things for herself this summer and encouraging others to do the same. Truth be told, the blog is really geared toward moms and while I'm not one, I would sometimes argue that my business feels - and acts - like a child. So taking a page from her blog I'll post the question on to you. Is there anything you want to do - take a class, start and finish a project, change a behavior, etc - that you can start and finish during the summer (using Memorial Day to Labor Day as the deadlines). Some examples that were given were taking a class at a local community college or arts cooperative, planning to call 2-3 people you've been meaning to catch up with and haven't in a long time, getting the baseboards in your living room painted (if anyone really wants to do that last one but doesn't have the baseboards I'd be happy to supply you with some that really do need a little TLC).

The key is that it can't be about your "everyday." So if you're a mom it can't be about, for example, getting your kid to swim lessons on time this summer. If you're a business owner it can't be about increasing sales XX% this summer, if you work in cubeland it can't be about finishing that big project the boss is breathing down your neck for, and if you're a triathlete it can't be about finding that sweet spot in your quest for the ultimate aerodynamic bike position. It has to be about you and be something that would take you outside of your norm. A summer resolution so to speak...

I've been thinking about it for a few days and decided this would be a good thing for me to do as well. I am horrible about letting work become all-consuming and definitely think an outside outlet - aside from teaching the broken leg how to run again - is probably a good thing. Besides, in a few short months I will hopefully be busier then I know what to do with getting ready for the holiday buying season so taking a little extra time out right now for "me" will probably be beneficial. To that end, I've come up with two things:

1. Take the dogs to the park every Friday morning the weather allows. And by 'park' I mean the Big Boy Park which requires us to drive 20 minutes to get to but is literally a dog's dream with acres of fields to run around in, tons of new and exciting smells, and even water access to get in a little swimming on a hot day. I took the dogs last week and forgot how much fun it is to watch them run around and be crazy. Best of all, the crazy people who dress their dogs up in tiera's aren't at the park at 9am on a Friday. Those are the type of people who just hate to watch Princess roll in the dirt which means, without a doubt, my dogs are immediately attracted to them as a dog that needs to be tackled and rolled in the dirt. Needless to say this doesn't usually end well. But Friday mornings appear to be a great time to go and let the dogs be...dogs! And I love watching them be dogs.

2. I've decided I'm going to knit a hat. This hat specifically:

I should mention that I just learned how to knit this past winter and by no means am accomplished at it. But that hat is just too cute not to try. Lest anyone start thinking the wrong thing because I'm knitting baby hats all I'll say is think about the circumfrance of babies/infants' heads to that of adults'. For someone with a limited attention span it is probably much better to only tackle baby hats. Besides, lots of friends are having kids so if I can actually get this pattern nailed down (not likely - but I'll try) I will have a go-to girl baby gift. (Course wouldn't you know it, every friend thus far this year is having a boy.) I'll post a picture of whatever it turns out looking like. Even if it just ends up being a bunch of string all jumbled together.

What about you? What summer resolutions could you make this year?

Taco & Money

A brief note this gorgeous Friday afternoon to followup with the story of Senior Taco - the most adorable little Mexican beach dog you ever did meet. Apparently he's going to become Scottish.

Huh? you ask. Well, I finally heard back from the main contact in Mexico who has been trying to figure out Senior Taco's status. Turns out that a week before I was down there a group of vet students from Scotland had visited to spend some time spaying/neutering and generally taking care of the dogs. One vet student in particular absolutely fell in love with Sr Taco (how could you not) and so has been working feverishly to get him sent back to her. For a long while it was looking iffy as to whether it would actually come to pass but apparently he's going to be shipped there in July.

I hope he finds a great home in Scotland. Having a vet student as his 'person' gives me hope that he'll be really well taken care of and very much loved. I do worry how he'll adapt from the heat and sand of Mexico to the cold and rain of Scotland. But if I'm honest with myself our winter rain/cold really isn't that much different from Scotland. I hope he does well. Vio Con Dios!

As for the money part of this post. I wonder if I should be worried that the company 'money tree' currently looks like this:

That's right, it currently has no leaves. What you can't see is that it has a bunch of new shoots starting up. But honestly, it looks damn pathetic right now!

Working With Your Hands

Sorry for the two posts in an hour but I meant to add a link to this NYTimes article last week but then the older dog got sick:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24labor-t.html?_r=1&em

It's a fantastic article about working with ones hands (ie - jobs like plumber, chef, construction) versus working in a 'service' industry (ie - finance, marketing, etc) written by a guy who is a mechanic with a PhD. It's a great look at the how the culture of the US has become service-oriented. Not only is the article very well written, but it definitely spoke to me as someone who has struggled with the love of working with my hands versus the prestige and money that typically comes from more service-oriented jobs.

If you don't have a NYTimes account you may have to sign up for one if you want to read the article.

Weekend Away

For awhile there it looked like our long weekend plans were going to have to be shelved when my older dog got really sick Wednesday night. By Friday she still wasn't doing too well and we were attending to her according to the vet's recommendations but weren't too hopeful we could escape for the weekend since we knew we couldn't realistically throw a sick dog into the boarding facility even though it is an amazing facility and they take incredible care of our dogs. Then our amazing friends who had organized the entire weekend invited us to bring the dogs along so we did - although we were very worried that the dogs would be a nuisance. Though we're nuts about our dogs, we realize that not everyone feels the same way about a) our dogs and/or b) dogs in general and told both dogs on the way up that they had to be on their best behavior otherwise they were going to sleep in the car during the weekend. Apparently they took the threats to heart because they even surprised us with how well behaved they were.

The weekend away was just what we needed. My better half and I can definitely become slaves to our routines so shaking things up for the weekend was a fantastic reminder that we do need to get out of our normal day lives from time to time. We went up to Winthrop in the north Cascades to a house that friends of ours had bid on at an auction. It was our first time in that section of Washington and I was stunned by how beautiful it was. Truly an amazing part of the country made only better by good friends, great food, lots of wine, and lots of outdoor activity. The activity also knocked out the dogs (another explanation for their good behavior) so they'd crash early in the evening but then wake up at 5am ready to go. Worried that their activity would wake up the others, hubby and I would take them out then for a long walk (it's very light that early in the morning in this neck of the woods this time of year) and we got to see all kinds of wildlife. It was also the best time of day to NOT see other kinds of wildlife as we learned - first hand - that the area also has a ton of rattlesnakes. Having done most of my hiking/backpacking in high mountain climates I know all about what to do when face to face with a bear or a mountain lion but know absolutely nothing about snakes other than the cold fear that takes hold of my heart when I hear that infamous rattle.

So now that you have a recap on my weekend, what does this have to do with work? First of all, as mentioned above, it reminded me that we do need to get away on little weekend escapes from time to time. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or expensive - camping is a perfect example - but something to take us out of our day-to-day. I blissfully did not think about work at all during the weekend and I can't tell you how refreshed I feel right now. Secondly though the weekend made me realize that I need to simplify my life. This weekend was all about taking joy in the very simple things in life. Walking, running, swimming, riding, good food, good friends, good wine. That's pretty much what it boiled down to and I can't tell you how happy I was. I love my work but there's a lot of extraneous worrying that I've been doing and subjecting myself to. For example, I'm part of a yahoo group of manufacturers in my industry and there's always some sort of drama going on over there. I need to keep checking the boards for information (such as retailers who are refusing to pay manufacturers so I make sure not to do business with them) but I need to detach myself from it and not let a lot of the other angst that goes on over there bother me. So from now on, skim the subject headings and just read the threads that are truly relevant to where I am in my business.

This weekend also helped me realize that I need to extricate myself from the nonprofit Board I'm on. I hate hate HATE feeling like I'm quitting something but I've been struggling with the fact that I'm not sure it's my highest and best use right now. And I'm not sure I'm necessarily adding a substantial amount of value to the organization given that everything I've worked on for the last six months has basically fallen apart for one reason or another (though not because of lack of trying or work). I'm thinking that it may be better for me to volunteer at that organization or another similar one to, for example, go in and do some of the menial chores they need help with or help organize paperwork, rather than being on the board. Now I just have to figure out the best way to remove myself without pissing anyone off.

Not Quite The Day I Had Planned

I'm one of those 'list' people who write up lists because a)I can't remember a darn thing without it and b)I derive great satisfaction from crossing things off said list. So I had my list all ready to go for today and then it got blown to bits. My eldest dog got violently ill last night so this morning consisted of taking her to the vet where they could inject her with 500cc's of saline to get her hydration back up to par and the afternoon was spent cleaning the floors and taking the lower floor area rugs to get $400 worth of cleaning done to them. Nuff said, right? Thankfully she seems to be doing better.

During this massive afternoon cleaning spree I have had time to think some about my goal to get more direct customers this year rather than simply rely on wholesale sales. I'm slowly starting to build up a little direct customer database, will be adding a newsletter feature to my website soon that should help, and even signed up to possibly participate in a local juried show which may either prove to be successful or a huge waste of time. But at $175 at least it's not a huge waste of money! However, I was wondering at what point it makes sense to have a catalogue printed up? I'm having one made up for the wholesale end of things and am debating whether I should have one made up for the consumer side as well. Don't get me wrong, it wouldn't be mailed out to a random bought database of names, just to those who's names I've collected in my database. While on the one hand I know that a lot can be achieved through email marketing, I also sort of think that a catalogue makes the products/company seem more "real" then simple email marketing. And I have some really great looking photos that just jump off the page. However, if I plan on adding new products in Spring 2010 then won't the catalogue quickly go out of date? And will I actually use a minimum run of 250 catalogues before that point in time?

What do you guys think?

Movies that make you think

The better half and I had a rousing Saturday night (I actually loved every minute of it!) of eating pizza and watching Steep - a ski movie that tries to explore the heart and soul of extreme skiing and the people who made it what it is. I'm a wanna-be ski rat who is only just now coming to the realization that extreme skiing is not in my future. Course right now I'm actually debating whether any skiing outside of xcountry is really in my future since ski boots would top out right where the "BIG" break in my leg occured - that's right, there was more than one break - and the thought of substantial pressure at that spot makes my stomach do flipflops. Besides, at $80+ for a lift ticket it's too expensive to go out and not enjoy yourself.

But I digress. Steep made me think about a few things in relation to my business. At one point in the movie some of the extreme skiers talk about setting goals and achieving them and pushing the boundries in life. And that's what made me think. Sometimes the actual business of running the business takes me away from those two things. What are my goals for the company (and as a subset, for me as an individual building and leading the company), and how are we pushing the boundaries with regards to new products we're developing, customer service, etc. Things to think about.

What Not To Do

The economy is rough, we get it. And not surprisingly companies big and small are pulling out every trick in their marketing books to try and get you to notice them and possibly even place an order. Some of these tactics are good - for example, the little BBQ shack running a coupon in our local newspaper that has brought in tons of new business for them, including me who had been wanting to try the place but never got around to it. Buy one get one free is a great reason to go. Turns out it's likely the best BBQ joint in Seattle so we're now regulars!

Other marketing tactics though are not quite as good. So I present to you a Top 5 list of bad marketing moves (compiled via a rigorous FaceBook survey of my friends):

1. "Please hold"...Your phone rings so you pick it up only to be greeted with "Please Hold for a very important message." As my friend so aptly said "Um, you called me?"

2. Spelling 101...If you want me to purchase something from your business it would likely help if you spelled my company name correctly. I am a little more leniant about this when it comes to personal names since there seem to be 800 spellings these days for the same name, but a company name should be something that's easy to double-check via the internet. Or how about even checking it against the email address you used to send the message to me cause the company name is spelled correctly there!

3. Overly Familiar...This is when someone cold calls you and leaves a (as my friend wrote): "imagine cheesy, overly suave voice (saying) Liiiiisa, this is Hunter So-and-so. Give me a call! No, you can't fool me into thinking I know you with the overly familiar greeting, and yes, I can use reverse lookup."

4. Time Zone Challenged...(this is especially annoying when your work phone is also your cell phone or you have your work phone forward to your cell) You have my contact information and it blatently shows that I'm on the West Coast. So why do you choose me as your first phonecall of the day when you're on EST? Do you think if you call me early enough I'll be so sleep-logged that I'll ante up my credit card and buy whatever you're selling? Along those same lines, don't act miffed if I don't return your call until 11am EST...that's 8am PST which I think is a perfectly reasonable amount of time to return your call.

5. Soft to Hard...Yes, sounds rude and it is. But I'm talking about the soft sell that turns into a hard - persistent in a never stop calling way - sell. Here's an example; you sign up for a webinar to gain useful information. In doing so you have to give them your contact information. Said webinar is decently useful until it turns into a hard sell of the companies products. But really you can't fault them too much since they did sponsor the webinar. It's when they start calling/emailing you incessently after the webinar to try and sell their products that they cross the line.

Do you have any particular favorites? Let me know!

And so as to not start the weekend on a negative note I learned about this brilliant marketing move this morning from Air New Zealand (http://www.boston.com/travel/blog/2009/05/air_new_zealand.html). It almost makes me wish I were single again...almost...(see yesterday's post for why I wouldn't trade in hubby for a trip to New Zealand. Not to mention that since hubby and I went to New Zealand for our honeymoon it would likely be in a really bad taste to take Air New Zealand up on this offer)