At some point in the last year I'm convinced that all of the tradeshow freight companies got together and decided that they were going to double their prices while simultaniously dropping any sort of concept about customer service.
In my first year of doing trade shows - five years ago now! - I basically either carried all my tradeshow material with me or shipped it in advance to a friend. After that I got smart and started using tradeshow freight companies to get my products and setup to the various shows. It wasn't cheap but it was a worthwhile expense. Until this year...all of the sudden what last year cost me $300 is now looking like it will cost me upwards of $600. I say "looking like" because I seriously cannot get one tradeshow company to call me back without me first contacting them again and again to hassle them for a quote. And these are the people I'm counting on to get my stuff safe and sound to Las Vegas? They sure aren't exhibiting a whole lot of concern for me at this point!
After getting what to me is a series of obscenely high quotes and since I'm only going to one show this year I'm seriously thinking of just shipping the booth material directly to the show site. I did some rough calculations yesterday and I think with the help of my friends at Fedex, some careful packing (my booth theme might be "minimalist" this year), and the good folks at TheHotel business serivces office, I think I can make this entire thing work for less then $300. The one piece I'm worried about is making sure the business office is open late enough for me to pack up the booth and get it back to the business office before I scurry to the airport for my flight the evening the show closes. I'm still trying to work out the final details but if doing it myself can save me $300+ then it's worth the extra work in my mind.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Why did I allow myself to be finagled into being the main contact person for a group ad that a bunch of manufacturers are doing for the big tradeshow this Fall? Perhaps because I stupidly believed that working with other entreprenuers would be easy and painless. Instead, it's like herding cats (my favorite phrase and it so aptly describes the situation).
Long story short, I'm helping to coordinate a group ad that essentially allows 10 of us smaller manufacturers to band together for a large one-page ad that will be make it significantly cheaper for each of us then if we were to do smaller ads on our own. I've been trying to get everyone's logo and booth information so I can get it to the graphic artist and then into the ad and I'm honestly having to pull teeth. The best was yesterday when some guy FINALLY sent me his info (after I essentially threatened that he wouldn't be included) and in the email he asks me to explain the whole process to him and what exactly do I need his logo for? It's a pity the internet does not allow you to slap people upside the head. He has been part of a discussion that has been going on for three weeks now about the ad, how it's all going to work, what the benefits are, etc and he still doesn't know what's going on? Listen, I understand that entreprenuers are busy folks and are typically trying to juggle a ton of things at once. I get it...I'm doing it! But c'mon now. For that level of stupidity I should charge him for his portion of the ad and my own portion of the ad for the time I had to take out of my life to explain - once again - the entire process to him.
Long story short, I'm helping to coordinate a group ad that essentially allows 10 of us smaller manufacturers to band together for a large one-page ad that will be make it significantly cheaper for each of us then if we were to do smaller ads on our own. I've been trying to get everyone's logo and booth information so I can get it to the graphic artist and then into the ad and I'm honestly having to pull teeth. The best was yesterday when some guy FINALLY sent me his info (after I essentially threatened that he wouldn't be included) and in the email he asks me to explain the whole process to him and what exactly do I need his logo for? It's a pity the internet does not allow you to slap people upside the head. He has been part of a discussion that has been going on for three weeks now about the ad, how it's all going to work, what the benefits are, etc and he still doesn't know what's going on? Listen, I understand that entreprenuers are busy folks and are typically trying to juggle a ton of things at once. I get it...I'm doing it! But c'mon now. For that level of stupidity I should charge him for his portion of the ad and my own portion of the ad for the time I had to take out of my life to explain - once again - the entire process to him.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
What to do...what to do...
The answer to the above question is that I'd like to buy my ranch and move to Wyoming. I don't mean that in a fleeting way either - "my" ranch, the one when I saw it for the first time 10 years ago I stated publically would one day be mine, is for sale for a rather reasonable price as far as ranches go. Unfortunately it's still well outside my price range.
My ranch being for sale and some time home in Wyoming last week gave me some space and time to think about how I want to proceed with my business. Truth be told, the whole aspect of my workspace basically closing at the end of the year or, on the outside, the end of next year, throws a wrench into things. Not a wrench that can't be worked around, but a wrench nonetheless. But I'm trying to take a positive view that it forces me into an uncomfortable area and sometimes that's where the best ideas come from.
At the root of it all, I'm exhausted. Unlike other "manufacturers" in my industry, I not only do all the marketing, sales, graphic design, product innovation, and bookkeeping but I also literally handmake every single product that I sell. Other manufacturers buy their products from third parties (at greater upfront costs then I incur so at greater risk to them) but that means they are solely responsible for all the selling, marketing, bookkeeping etc and that's more then enough to keep them busy. Then you throw in this new part-time gig that I have and I'm feeling a bit...well...tired.
The problem is though that I love my part-time gig. I get to dress up in the morning and stay clean (a massive difference from my workspace), I get to help an organization I believe in and I feel valued for the work I'm doing both in an emotional and financial way. Just the fact that I am happy to create an excel spreadsheet while the rest of my team cowers in fear of excel has made me somewhat of a legend already. Seriously, the CEO already knows my name. I never knew a working knowledge of excel could make me so popular (thank you business school for that one and my better half for making me take as many finance and accounting courses as possible).
The other problem is that I'm not ready to give up my business. I still believe in it, I still love it, and I still think it has a place in the market. If I could just figure out a way to do all the administrative side of it and not have to literally do every single piece of production that would be ideal but, at this point, not realistically financially.
The idea I'm toying with is turning our backyard shed into something of a workspace. It can be done and my husband is totally supportive of the idea once we realized that in the long run it is far cheaper to do that then to keep renting space from others - but the idea of turning that shed into a workspace makes me feel even more tired. Not only the sheer amount of work that would have to go into it but also I fear that if in two or three years I'm still this tired will I just want to be done with the business totally in which case I've wasted money on the shed (though it could be marketed as "artists studio" when we go to sell the house which is what others in the neighborhood have done). I wonder though that if the shed were a workspace would I still feel as tired about making the product by hand or, since I'd have the freedom to do the work whenever it best suited me (I'm currently tied into a schedule that doesn't allow for much flexibility) perhaps I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed.
Ideally I'd like one of two things to happen:
1. I win the lottery and can buy my ranch later this summer. Probably not the most strategic plan but it's one way to look at the situation.
2. My company get picked up by two catalogue companies I'm courting and do good business with them. If I could work out a sustainable dropship business with those guys it would eliminate a lot of my expenses and it would be totally feasible to do business from my somewhat converted shed. I'd likely break even a lot earlier every year and possibly even throw off some cash for myself and I wouldn't necessarily have to be "on" year-round. More just around the major holidays and I'd be ok with that. It would mean though that the business, while still legally and in the eyes of the IRS would still be a business, but in my head it might shift into more of a hobby for the next few years and I wouldn't necessarily be actively looking to increase revenue X% every year so much as keep a happy healthy status-quo until I'm ready to invest further time, money, and energy into building it further.
Do you have any thoughts or ideas? Or any thoughts on what the winning lottery numbers will be would also be appreciated. I'd let you keep a horse or two on my ranch free of charge if I won. I'd even let you visit whenever you wanted and I'd whip you up a mean ranch breakfast (after you help out with morning chores though).
My ranch being for sale and some time home in Wyoming last week gave me some space and time to think about how I want to proceed with my business. Truth be told, the whole aspect of my workspace basically closing at the end of the year or, on the outside, the end of next year, throws a wrench into things. Not a wrench that can't be worked around, but a wrench nonetheless. But I'm trying to take a positive view that it forces me into an uncomfortable area and sometimes that's where the best ideas come from.
At the root of it all, I'm exhausted. Unlike other "manufacturers" in my industry, I not only do all the marketing, sales, graphic design, product innovation, and bookkeeping but I also literally handmake every single product that I sell. Other manufacturers buy their products from third parties (at greater upfront costs then I incur so at greater risk to them) but that means they are solely responsible for all the selling, marketing, bookkeeping etc and that's more then enough to keep them busy. Then you throw in this new part-time gig that I have and I'm feeling a bit...well...tired.
The problem is though that I love my part-time gig. I get to dress up in the morning and stay clean (a massive difference from my workspace), I get to help an organization I believe in and I feel valued for the work I'm doing both in an emotional and financial way. Just the fact that I am happy to create an excel spreadsheet while the rest of my team cowers in fear of excel has made me somewhat of a legend already. Seriously, the CEO already knows my name. I never knew a working knowledge of excel could make me so popular (thank you business school for that one and my better half for making me take as many finance and accounting courses as possible).
The other problem is that I'm not ready to give up my business. I still believe in it, I still love it, and I still think it has a place in the market. If I could just figure out a way to do all the administrative side of it and not have to literally do every single piece of production that would be ideal but, at this point, not realistically financially.
The idea I'm toying with is turning our backyard shed into something of a workspace. It can be done and my husband is totally supportive of the idea once we realized that in the long run it is far cheaper to do that then to keep renting space from others - but the idea of turning that shed into a workspace makes me feel even more tired. Not only the sheer amount of work that would have to go into it but also I fear that if in two or three years I'm still this tired will I just want to be done with the business totally in which case I've wasted money on the shed (though it could be marketed as "artists studio" when we go to sell the house which is what others in the neighborhood have done). I wonder though that if the shed were a workspace would I still feel as tired about making the product by hand or, since I'd have the freedom to do the work whenever it best suited me (I'm currently tied into a schedule that doesn't allow for much flexibility) perhaps I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed.
Ideally I'd like one of two things to happen:
1. I win the lottery and can buy my ranch later this summer. Probably not the most strategic plan but it's one way to look at the situation.
2. My company get picked up by two catalogue companies I'm courting and do good business with them. If I could work out a sustainable dropship business with those guys it would eliminate a lot of my expenses and it would be totally feasible to do business from my somewhat converted shed. I'd likely break even a lot earlier every year and possibly even throw off some cash for myself and I wouldn't necessarily have to be "on" year-round. More just around the major holidays and I'd be ok with that. It would mean though that the business, while still legally and in the eyes of the IRS would still be a business, but in my head it might shift into more of a hobby for the next few years and I wouldn't necessarily be actively looking to increase revenue X% every year so much as keep a happy healthy status-quo until I'm ready to invest further time, money, and energy into building it further.
Do you have any thoughts or ideas? Or any thoughts on what the winning lottery numbers will be would also be appreciated. I'd let you keep a horse or two on my ranch free of charge if I won. I'd even let you visit whenever you wanted and I'd whip you up a mean ranch breakfast (after you help out with morning chores though).
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