The Roller Coaster called Entrepreneurship

Where I've Been...

2011-01-15T16:04:00.000-08:00

My apologies to the three people who actually read this blog for not posting anything in - oh - a month now! In a nutshell, I'm here and still alive. It's just that it's tax season for the business so I've been trying to pull everything together with the help of a very competant accountant and get everything filed to the tax authorities on time. And then my bank decided to levy incredible fees if I don't keep a minimum of $5000 in the bank starting Feb 5. Yes, I'm supposed to have $5K of my own money just sitting there but not being used. Because there's just so much other cash available to small businesses these days! So I've also been finding a new bank, opening up those accounts, and now switching over my merchant account and other logistics that are tied directly into my bank account.

I do have some good news to share: Despite a heck of a year my business ended the year with a profit. A true "In the Black" profit. Sales ended up being down about 4% which isn't too shabby considering the state of economy but what really saved me was the cost cutting I did throughout the year.

And now the bad news: Despite having a pretty darn good year I'm struggling for motivation. I don't know if it's simply because I love my part-time job so much or if I still have post-holiday hangover from all the holiday orders, but I'm having trouble getting excited about another year. Don't get me wrong, I'm on board for another year but I'm not sure how long I can keep doing this year in and year out. So I'm going to take some time this year to get everything in order and write up things like an Operations Manual so that all the information about the business isn't simply wrapped up in my head. Not only is it a good idea to have all that written down anyway (and I should have done it years ago) but if (a BIG if!) I decide down the road I want to sell the business I will need those materials so I may as well start working on them now.

In the meantime I'm planning to clean up my office next week in the hopes that a clean and organized office will help me find some of that lost motivation.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2010-12-14T12:45:00.000-08:00

In truth, up in my neck of the woods it's beginning to look a lot like flooding of epic proportions (definitely thinking now may be time to invest in some ark building classes) but it is starting to look like Christmas.

Things have been so busy around here lately, including retail shows the past two weekends (the first one was spectacular and tons of fun, the second one not so much of either) and drop ship orders going out daily, that it's sometimes hard to get into the holiday spirit. Every year I seem to surface right around the 17th of December when things finally slow down a bit only to realize that I'm rapidly bearing down on Christmas. I don't even want to talk about how early Hanukkah was this year - that was patently unfair to everyone and definitely something that needs to be taken under advisory by the Rabbinical Counsel! It was basically "hurry up and eat your Thanksgiving turkey so we can get to Hanukkah!"

But it's slowly dawning on me that Christmas is right around the corner. This year we even got a tree up and lit which is a marked improvement over our lack of any holiday decorations last year. I have some Christmas cookies baking in the oven and this afternoon, if things go according to plan, I'll light the Christmas tree candle (our tree is fake since I hate cutting down real ones so I invested in an incredible fir tree candle from Thymes (thymes.com) to give me that holiday smell) and give thanks to the Internet for allowing me to do all my shopping without setting foot in a single store. Internet shopping is a godsend to enrepreneurs like myself who rely on fourth quarter for 75% of sales revenue!

That'll teach me...

2010-12-08T18:45:00.001-08:00

If you haven't done so already, read the post just below this one first.

Now that you've read that - here is how I saw my day going:
1. putter around a bit
2. think about doing something productive
3. get absorbed in mindless internet surfing
4. take a nap
5. go to yoga - congratulate myself on being productive
6. debate what to have for dinner since hubby is working late - seriously contemplate just eating chocolate chips and marshmellows

Here's what really happened. Not 5 minutes - and I'm not exaggerating - literally minutes after getting that last post written I get a phone call from one of my drop ship retailers. Turns out they've been having problems with their drop ship software and I had 27 orders waiting for me. Some of which that have been sitting there since Nov. 24th! I almost laughed out loud given that I had just gloated over the fact that all orders were out the door. Silly girl!

I just spent the last several hours frantically packaging, invoicing, printing shipping slips, printing mailing labels, packing into shipping boxes, and rushing to UPS where I managed to drop off all 27 orders with 7 minutes to spare before they closed pickup for the evening.

Remind me to never ever again revel in the fact that things are quiet. The Universe is just waiting to smack me upside the head. So today - Universe 1 Entrepreneur 0

...tiptoe...

2010-12-08T12:24:00.001-08:00

...i'm quietly tiptoeing on here to announce in a whisper (lest the internet gods hear me) that as of right now every single order for the year is done AND i'm all caught up from last week's show and have even made more product in advance of this weekend's show. What on earth am I going to do with myself for the rest of the day?

(here's a few ideas...update the last 3 months of quickbooks, clean my office, make sure all bills are paid...do some work on my book (yep - a book - more on that later)...work on the website for said book (more on that later too)...sweep the upstairs...quickbooks (again - it's that important)...)

So yes, there's things that need to get done but nothing that needs to be done today. I'm debating between working on QuickBooks and taking a nap with my dogs. Hmmm...which way to go on that decision?

Silent Night

2010-12-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

I'm officially taking tonight off from work of any kind (well - except perhaps housework). It's been a whirwind week between lots of time at the part-time gig and then a big holiday show this past Saturday and Sunday. But man did I have fun! This was the second time I've done this holiday show and it's probably one of my favorites. Just a really fun vibe and lots and lots of customers to talk to (and a good deal of money made too!). But the turnaround from that back into another full and busy week has me feeling a tad exhausted. There's still plenty to do - especially since I have another holiday show this upcoming Saturday - but I'm taking tonight off. Now I just need to find something stupid on tv to zone out to because I simply don't have it in me to read anything of any substance and, sadly, don't have any easy reading material in the house.

Bad Business Practices 101

2010-11-27T19:56:00.000-08:00

I *just* - as in minutes ago - got my company's new holiday products listed on my company website. Yes, I am a horrible horrible businesswoman. I know I should have gotten it done weeks ago but it just never happened. The main culprit is my computer which still refuses to allow me access to my own website. So I had to pull up my relic of a business school computer. Granted, it takes 10 minutes to boot up but it gives me access to my own site.

I may be asking Santa for a new computer this year. I've been good, right?

In other news, I received a certified letter on Monday which sent me into an absolute tizzy. Certified letters never contain anything good and my head ran through 101 scenarios - none of which were positive - before I went to go pick up the letter on Tuesday as I had been at the part-time gig when they tried to deliver on Monday and they needed my signature. Only to complicate matters a massive (well, massive by Northwest standards) snowstorm had surprised my city and we were basically all in lockdown starting Monday night. So I carefully dug my car out and made it to the post office only to find out that in the chaos of the snowstorm the day before, my certified letter had somehow been misplaced. "Oh don't worry, I'm sure we'll find it before too long," the nice post office people assured me as my heart raced convinced that I was now headed to the clinker for some unknown offense that I wasn't addressing.

Long story short, the letter finally showed up on Friday but not before I lost a tremendous amount of sleep over it and likely cut a year off my lifespan. Turns out I hadn't put my telephone number on a specific piece of administration paperwork and they need said telephone number (and apparently $50 for their troubles) to be able to file it properly.

Needless to say, I feel a tad foolish for my reaction. But on a more positive note, said paperwork is now back in the mail to them (with their $50) and I have all my holiday products listed on my website. Oh - and Thanksgiving went off without too much trouble thanks to the fact that the snow melted enough to allow my better half to make it to the smoked BBQ joint that I had ordered our turkey from. Seriously - outsourcing the turkey makes the whole day much more enjoyable!

Bad Blogger

2010-11-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

A title I've definitely earned as of late - bad blogger! It's not that I don't think of posts - it's just that the technology doesn't currently exist to turn my thoughts into actual posts and time is something I'm having a hard time finding lately. I've been getting in a surprising number of last-minute wholesale orders (well, last minute when you figure Thanksgiving and the true beginning of the holiday season is next week) and of course all of those retailers want me to ship their orders right now!!!!! I debate telling them that if they had thought ahead and either ordered before now or, at the very least, preordered so that I could have had their order ready and waiting to ship, then they could have it right now. Instead they go to the back of the ever-growing line.

Then toss in the part-time gig, a friend in town last weekend, family coming into town next week, and two retail shows in the next two weeks and things are a bit frantic. My mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas the other day and I told her what I could really use is an extra week before Thanksgiving to try and get everything under control. Instead it looks like it's full steam ahead until Dec. 23rd when I'm shutting down the business (and possibly myself as well) until after the new year.

In the meantime, I got a call from a larger company that I dropship items for asking what I had in line for Holidays 2011. My head just about exploded when I heard that. 2011 - I'm still trying to figure out how to make it through 2010 in one piece! That's a phone call I have to return on Monday...do you have any ideas?

When did November show up?

2010-11-06T11:29:00.000-07:00

All of the sudden it's the first weekend in November and yet the house (aka - my office) is still full of orders going out the door while I also try to tackle some other projects I need to get done before half of my family descends on my tiny house for Thanksgiving. My to-do lists are growing longer and yet no matter how much I get done in a day I don't feel like I'm making much headway because for everything I manage to cross off there's at least two more things that get added to the list.

My better half is also in the midst of his usual fourth quarter craziness (he's currently on the first of what will likely be several conference calls this weekend) and this past week I don't think we actually managed to spend any time with one another because each of us were constantly going different directions.

I'm also working on some pretty big projects at my part-time zoo job that I undertook because I saw tremendous room for improvement. Everyone's excited about the ideas, I'm super excited about them, but it's an awful lot of work. It'll be fantastic at the end of the day but for now my days are literally jampacked. A typical day starts with my company work, zoo work for part of the day, then back to my work until bedtime with little time to breath.

It won't last forever - I know that my orders will slow down at some point in the near future (though then I need to get ready for two retail shows I have the first two weekends of December) - and pretty soon we'll be able to enjoy some lazy weekends again. In the meantime though it's a busy few months here.

But you know what, in this economy I can't tell you how grateful I am that both my better half and I are as busy as we are. Not to get too spiritual on anyone here, but I truly feel that we are incredibly blessed right now so while I may be tired I am not for a moment complaining. This economy will hopefully be the toughest that we ever see in our lifetime and so far the little liferaft we've strapped together is riding out the storm pretty well.

Locked Out

2010-11-02T21:21:00.001-07:00

For some reason I'm getting locked out of everything lately. First I was locked out of this blog for several days (which is why you haven't heard a peep in a while) and now I'm also locked out of my own company website. I have no idea why. The website works on everyone else's computer and even works on my better half's computer which is running on the same wireless internet so I literally have no idea what's going on. Anyone have any thoughts?

A Good Call

2010-10-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

Last week was the second of the two big Fall tradeshows and for the first time in four years I didn't go. It was a bit sad as that was the first tradeshow I ever went to with the business and I distinctly remember calling my better half partway through the show saying "I think we have a legititmate business here!" There was just that much interest.

But that was the heyday of the economy and as the economy slid into the doldrums so did that show. Last year it was painful to be there and stand around for three days - from 9am - 6pm - twiddeling my thumbs. The good news is that I wasn't the only one staring down the aisles just hoping a buyer would come along simply to have someone to talk to. It was that bad for everyone!

So I made the decision not to go back. It's bad enough to kill three days with nothing to do and no orders to show for it. It's even worse when it's cost you about $4000 once you figure in booth fees, flights, hotels, etc etc. I was nervous about the decision but just didn't have it in me to go through that again this year.

Turns out I made the right decision. In talking to some folks I know in the industry who went to the show it was even slower this year then last year (something I find hard to believe). My one friend said she had a total of five sales all show. That's not a quick way to make up the $4000+ investment in the show.

I'm sad to see this show become so poor but am glad I didn't go back this year and certainly won't be jumping on the bandwagon next year to head back!

Pulling A Double

2010-10-11T18:41:00.001-07:00

It's been quiet on this blog lately because I'm doing double-duty of both employee and business owner and right now, when things are busy with my business, that leaves me little extra time for blogging or just about much of anything.

Orders continue to go out the door almost daily so things are pretty good right now. And while I wish I knew that a big order was coming in on the scale of last year's big orders, honestly the fact that it likely won't happen has actually taken a huge weight off my shouldars. Even though this means I'll be sitting on some inventory for the next few months and working through it, I am happy that I'm leaving my workspace at the end of the month on my terms yet I have some time to figure out what I'm going to do next workspace-wise. As I think I mentioned before, my workspace had changed significantly over the last few months not the least of which is that the owners are putting it up for sale. While it won't likely sell too quickly in this economy, I feared that one day I could show up and learn that I had 30 days to find new digs. With this build-up in inventory I have time to proactively determine what my next steps will be rather than simply reacting and trying to make do with something.

So it's all good here and I'm loving what Fall can be like when my stress level is ratchted down significantly. I imagine it'll get even better come November when I'm not constantly running between job to workspace to FedEx/UPS for order shipment to home to packing orders...it'll all be good!

Lemonade Anyone?

2010-10-01T13:41:00.001-07:00

Cause we got plenty of lemons around here this week.

Every year for the past few years I've gotten slammed in the fall between orders from my small independent retailers and a few BIG orders from BIG retailers as well. Which means that every fall for the past few years I've run around like a chicken with my head cut off. Earlier this year I decided I was done being so nuts in the Fall and worked feverishly in the first part of the year to build up my inventory so at least I'd have something to fall back on when those orders came rolling in.

Only now it doesn't look like they're going to be rolling in. My little independent guys are ordering but the BIG guys have taken a pass this year (apparently you can get stuff cheaper over in China...who knew!). So now I have all this inventory and no where to send it. As you can see...lemons.

But here's where the lemonade part of it comes in. After sulking for about two hours yesterday about the BIG guys passing on me, I realized that the amount of inventory I have actually sets me up very well for next year. I have plenty of stuff to sell and it all fits with my company's mission of being handcrafted. Which means, I realized, that I don't need to hold onto my workspace lease because I don't need a place to make stuff. This is actually great because it not only frees me up timewise to spend more energy on 'selling' but it also frees up a significant portion of cash to put towards 'selling.' So I'm really excited by the change. Starting in November (I was able to get out of my lease at the end of Oct) I will be operating like most other manufacturers in my industry as I will have 'bought in' (or in my case - made and paid for) my inventory already and will be focused on selling it.

So yes, while it was raining lemons for a little bit yesterday. I'm surprisingly excited about this new tactic and seeing where it will go.

Hangover

2010-09-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were in college and perhaps woke up with a dead squirrel taste in your mouth, feeling like your body had been hit by a mac truck, and trying to figure out why you had been sleeping on the lawn? (no, mom, I never did that - I swear!) That hangover was a breeze compared to this week and sadly I don't even have alcohol to blame for it.

Last week was truly the perfect storm I had anticipated. I got all my event orders late in the day on Monday so literally spent a good chunk of Monday night, all day Tuesday, most of Wednesday night, and all of Thursday getting those 150+ orders packed up, invoiced, UPS'd, and shipped out.

You notice that I wasn't doing anything Wednesday during the day? Well that's because I was manning the desk at my zoo job for our Groupon. I had played a major role in convincing senior management we needed to do a 'Groupon' despite a fair bit of resistence. Since this was the first major project I'd taken before senior management I was terrified that a poor response would be a black mark on my reputation not to mention the fact that I simply wanted it to go well. The two nights before the Groupon - when not packing up orders - I was tossing and turning in my sleep and having nightmares.

Wednesday I was up and online by 5:40am. By the time I went to bed that night we had becoming the second best selling Groupon in our city of all time and by Thursday morning (the Groupon ended at midnight the night before) we had bumped up to the top selling spot. Needless to say, I was ecstatic as was senior management. And then I got back to packing up orders for my business.

Now that it's all over and I'm merely back to packing up tradeshow orders I find myself dropdead exhausted by 8pm and crawling into bed at 9pm every night this week. Oh wait...look at that...it's bed time!

Next Steps

2010-09-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

I'm back from the tradeshow - not quite sure why I'm awake and functioning already given what time my flight got in last night. But I'm home and glad for it. Vegas, I find, is fun for about the first 24 hours and after that I grow weary of being inside all day where the temperature is a constant 68degrees and there are no clocks on the walls (which is actually my biggest pet peeve about Vegas). I did however find the pool (hooray!) and made it to my favorite 'off the strip' Thai restaurant which was even better then I remembered.

The show went OK. Not great - not horrible - just OK. The big event that is currently happening is also going OK. Not great and not near what I had hoped at this point. But it's OK. Not sure if it'll be good enough to get invited back for another event though.

So this is what I find myself pondering this morning. The business is going OK and in this economy I should be happy with that. But the truth is that I'm just so darn tired right now and I need to figure out what my next step is going to be. The truth is that as much lip service as people give to wanting "handmade" or "Made in America" products, at the tradeshows at least, what sells is cheap crap from China. I just can't compete with that nor do I want to. Which makes me wonder if there really is a strong market for my products or whether that market withered and died with the economy. Do I keep searching for that market or do I just shut down all together?

Right now I'm leaning towards keeping the business going but moving it into much more of a part-time or, dare I say it, even hobby catagory. I'm probably halfway there already this year given how little I spent on advertising and tradeshows this year. Or do I just decide to try and sell the thing and get whatever money I can out of it? But who would honestly want to buy a business that's just ok? And, if I'm perfectly honest with myself, selling this business feels like it would be selling off on of my appendages so maybe I'm not ready for that yet.

We'll see, I need a little more time and space from Vegas before I make a decision one way or another.

The Perfect Storm

2010-09-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

I realize there's only been the sound of crickets chirping on this blog lately but there's good reason for that. The perfect storm is brewing. I can see it out on the horizon and I'm desperately trying to batten down the hatches before it hits. Let's see, how best to break this down:

Job #1 (my own company)
1. I leave for Las Vegas on Monday for a tradeshow so I've been manically trying to get everything ready for that, get booth materials shipped out (which I sent via FedEx because it was the cheapest option available), packing, getting the house cleaned up before the pet sitter comes in for the week, etc
2. In advance of the tradeshow I've been trying to touch base with all my BIG and Medium clients over the phone (rather than a nonpersonal email) to let them know that we'll be at the show and encourage them to stop by the booth to say hello in person.
3. In advance of what I'm hoping will be decent orders, I've been frantically trying to build up some inventory so I've been putting in super long days at my workspace and then coming home and doing more work at home.
4. Oh, and did I forget to mention the "event" that's taking place next week (while I'm away at the tradeshow)? Without giving too much away, I was approached by an online retailer - a HUGE online retailer with something like 2.8M customers - about doing an event with them next week where I essentially offer up a range of my products to them at a discount. Once I ran all the numbers I realized that I'd still be making more then my wholesale price so I agreed to do it. So much of the last two weeks has been spent getting inventory ready to go for that, getting packaging ordered in (I'll be dropshipping all orders), and getting all information and photos to the retail company in advance of this event. In theory, if things go well, I'll start drop shipping a week from Monday right after I'm back from the tradeshow. If things go really well it will completely knock me out of inventory for all my wholesale orders. I'm hoping it goes really well but the thought terrifies me at the same time.

But wait, that's just one job...now let's look at Job #2
1. The zoo has been incredibly busy the last few weeks as the summer season is winding down. I've consistently been putting in 25+hrs a week which, I realize, doesn't sound like much, but when you fit in another 20+ hours of workspace time and probably another 4-6hrs nightly of work (and about 10 each weekend day), there's been a lot going on.
2. But here's where things get really fun. A colleague and myself managed to single-handedly (double-handedly?) convince the senior management team to go out on a limb and try a new marketing tactic that could pay off huge or fail miserably. After we convinced them the entire project fell on my shouldars to coordinate. Guess when it's all going down...nope, not next week...a week from Monday (the same day all teh drop shipipng has to begin). But next week, when I'm in Las Vegas, will be all the final prep for this event. I honestly think that a large part of my reputation is riding on this event and while my boss knows I'll be away he still wanted to go forward.

So my stress level is in the red zone right now between the two jobs and anytime I've thought about sitting down to get this all down on paper (screen?) I just didn't even know where to begin. Is it too much to ask that everything just exceed expectations? That my show just go gang-busters and I get great orders and reorders, that my "event" maxes out and goes so well they invite me back to do another one before the holidays (which is where I could really make some serious serious money with them), and that the marketing piece for the zoo just blow everyone away? Do you think my chances are better at winning some huge slots in Vegas?

What I need to do now is get to Vegas, get my booth set up, and then take my new pretty Kindle and go sit by the pool for an hour and just "be." Then I need to buy myself an overpriced Vegas beverage and just prepare myself to ride out the next two weeks

Helping the Economy

2010-09-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

My credit card is on fire this week as I'm buying in massive (well, massive for me) amounts of packaging right now. I seriously put it off as late as possible but the time has come and I'm spending like a champ right now. I shuddar to think what next month's credit card bill will look like. At least I'm getting miles...sigh...

I'm also helping the employment figures as I've hired on a part-time staff person to help out for the next few weeks and, if things go well, the next few months. This person has worked for me before and is an absolute rock star of an employee. I wish I could hire her fulltime but that's just not in the cards right now. Seriously, she's so good that I've given her keys to the workspace and she'll be in there by herself while I'm at the upcoming tradeshow. I'm still dreaming of the day I can afford to have her in there more then me. It's a goal I'm working towards. In the meantime, it's both of us working our little tails off.

The reason why things have gone to warp speed lately, and why all my cash is currently headed towards packing and employement taxes, is that I've been invited to do a sales promo with a very prestigious online company (no, not groupon!). The company takes a portion of what sells but the costs still work out in my favor. The event will take place mid-September and I'm really hoping it goes well so that I can get some much-needed cash flow out of it (to pay for all that packaging and employement taxes) but also so that I can be invited back to to a holiday promotion which is when my stuff typically really shines.

Here's the catch, the online promotion happens to coincide with the last day of my tradeshow. So, if said promotion goes really well - which is what I'm hoping for - it will basically deplete me of my entire inventory stock and I'll be headed into the busiest few months of my year without any inventory. I realize that's a wonderful position to be in if it happens, but it's a little nerve-wracking at the same time. Then top it off with the fact that yesterday I got an email from one of my BIG clients wanting to reopen discussions on their holiday order and "how soon could we get it" may mean that I end my tradeshow in the red with regards to inventory if this BIG client gets me a purchase order between now and then. Again, all good problems to have but it's got my head spinning just a bit.

In the meantime, I need to walk the dogs and get to my own part-time job this afternoon. Yes, things are a tad crazy around here right now. But at least I'm helping the economy!

An Inglorious End to my Farmers Markets

2010-08-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

The farmers markets didn't pan out for me. Thankfully I had only signed up to attend five during the summer (five total markets - not five markets a week) as I quickly learned that while I really enjoy being at the market and talking to people, I simply hate hate hate the whole set up and tear down of the market. The lugging everything to the car and stuffing it full (I have a Subaru wagon and it still barely all fits!), then going across town to the market, pulling everything out of my car, struggling in the heat to get everything set up (no matter what anyone says, those 10x10 tents are not easy to get up by yourself). But that's only the half of it - you have to do it all in reverse at the end of the day.

Then last week I went through the entire process of getting everything out and into my car, shlepped across town, only to find out that they had made a mistake and din't have me on the schedule nor did they have space for me. Sadly, I was more relieved that I didn't have to go through the whole set up then I was angry over the mistake. I think that's when I realized how very much I didn't want to do any more markets. So I traded out with someone else I know who makes similar products and she is going to take my space at the remaining markets I'm supposed to do.

If the markets had been huge money makers for me I probably wouldn't have traded in my time, but they really didn't bring in that much - at least not enough, in my mind, to make it worth all the hassle. And with my big tradeshow of the season looming in the near future and the zoo job, I felt like I had more then enough to keep me busy this Thursday afternoon rather than sitting at the market all afternoon.

Juggling

2010-08-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

I suspect I'm in what may be the craziest piece of juggling I'll encounter between the two jobs (watch me eat my words in a few months when things are really hectic). Right now is the last push at the zoo so it's been really really busy. Not only busy, but it's also thrown my schedule all out of wack so that with the exception of last weekend, I've basically had to work 6-7days a week for the last few weeks. Not necessarily full days, but enough hours that you have to try and juggle the rest of your schedule around it.

Add to that the fact that the tradeshow season is literally right around the corner (when did September decide to show up and why didn't anyone tell me it was so close?) so I'm trying to get everything needed to get all those pieces into place as well as sending out samples to some of my larger customers and those I want to be customers.

And lastly, my better half finds himself traveling for work basically every week which means the pups need to find someone to entertain them when he and I aren't around for long stretches. So we're fully utilizing doggie daycare (though it means someone has to juggle the drop off/pick ups of the pups), a new dog walker/sitter service, and relying on good good friends to stop by and let them out when their little legs are crossed.

Despite all of those though I'm really happy. I've probably got a little too much on my plate right now between work and house projects (but hooray - I managed NOT to paint the windows shut - that's an accomplishment!) and lord knows my workout schedule isn't what I wish it was, but I'm confident it can all be handled and with an end in sight (by labor day the zoo slows down...course then my business really picks up) I'm trying to make the most of these last days of summer.

Dog Days of Summer

2010-08-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

It is absolutely gorgeous, beautiful warm and sunny summer weather here. Don't hate me east coasters for the fact that our summer temps are an enviable 75degrees, blue skies, and no humidity. Granted, summer just showed up a month ago so it was a little late to get here but I'm loving it nonetheless.

And it has me trying to pack a year's worth of outdoor projects into the already full days. The big one right now is doing touch-up paint to the exterior of our house. While it's good for the look of the house, the real reason is that unpainted surfaces get so wet in our rainy season (aka - winter) that it makes them prime suspects for M.O.L.D. That is a word that is enough to put the fear of God into any home owner so I've been feverishly painting.

What does this have to do about work? Well, between my painting project, my part-time job, and then my workspace time and real job, things have been busy around here lately. So on Monday when I received notice that applications were up for a retail Holiday show I knew I had to spend the evening getting the application ready or I would forget about it all together. I went to this retail show last year and did really well so I'm hoping they accept me again this year (it's a juried show which means not everyone gets in). If nothing else, how quickly I turned the application around ought to show them I'm excited about the show!

Speaking of shows, I learned yesterday that my BIG wholesale trade show that is held in September every year will be moving to July starting 2013 so as to "better accomodate holiday orders." What they really mean is that they want to put more emphasis on the larger manufacturers and larger retailers who have to place their holiday orders six months in advance so they can have the products made in China and shipped over in time for the holidays. I won't lie, I'm a bit peeved off at the whole situation because my buyers - even my larger manufacturers - just don't plan that far out. I realize I don't have to worry about this just yet given that it's three years away but I figure this is the motivation I need to wean my business off of tradeshows all together. Not sure if it can be done but since I'm down to only one this year there's really no other place to go other then to cut them altogether.

Busy epiphanies

2010-08-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

Really I've only had one epiphany but it was a good one. More on that in a minute.

Things have been busy busy busy around here lately. My job at the zoo is going full bore and I'm loving every minute of it. A job that I so tentatively took about two months ago I now find myself madly in love with and terrified that I may be let go due to budget constraints (the zoo is a nonprofit and we all know how nonprofits fare in recessions...). I'm hoping hoping hoping that my measly salary is really only seen as a blip on the zoo's accounting spreadsheet so that if they start making cuts I won't be a casualty. So instead my team is working on ways to bring in revenue so that no one's jobs are at risk. Wish me luck - we have a few months left to pull it off...

My company is still humming along despite the lack of attention it's been getting. I actually spent a lot of time involved with that group tradeshow ad and getting that whole thing coordinated and I must admit that all the hairpulling paid off. The ad came out beautifully and is going to look great at the show. Plus it only ends up costing each party about 1/4 of what it would have cost each of us individually so it's win win for everyone. I'm really happy with the way it all worked out.

So now for the epiphany...I spent most of July going back and forth in my head about the viability of keeping my company going given that my workspace is probably no longer going to be an option come the end of the year. I do have the option of turning my backyard shed into a workspace or finding another workspace all together but before I did either I wanted to guage the level of commitment I had to the business. No need to move all the stuff from one space to another just to want to shut it all down a year later. What my month of self-reflection finally revealed is that I do love the business and want to continue with it and that a lot of anxiety I've been having over it has to do with some of the contentious relationships in my current workspace. I'm still waiting to see how the holiday season pans out for me and if I get a couple of the accounts I'm hoping for, but if so I'm more apt to try and get a portion of our shed builtout and use that as my workspace. We'll see though...I'm not committing to anything until I see how the rest of this year goes.

"That'll be $600 thank you very much"

2010-07-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

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.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

2010-07-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

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.

What to do...what to do...

2010-07-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

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).

Score!!!

2010-06-24T12:08:00.001-07:00

I happened to check out the business section today of the NYTimes after getting off my zoo job and read about the fact that Southwest was having a 1day mega sale on flights. Turns out that it's for travel during when I have to get to a tradeshow and, since Southwest flies out of my airport and directly into tradeshow city airport, I was able to get roundtrip tickets for direct flights that leave at exactly the time I want for $180 including all taxes. That makes me happy.

Now if only I could get all the tradeshow booth crap there that cheaply!.

Where Things Stand

2010-06-23T19:01:00.001-07:00

I don't even know what to say other than to take a big deep sigh. It's just been one of those months around here what with my better half traveling basically every weekend and at least once a week, the fact that we've had a number of contractors in for work around the house, my company, and then toss in a new part-time job on top of that and it's really just been hectic around here. I've constantly felt like I haven't known whether I've been coming or going what with trying to coordinate everyone's schedules (the dogs and contractors are not a good mix so I've had the dogs in a daycare a bunch which adds to the convoluted schedules). Sadly, the one thing that typically helps keep my and my better half sane, working out, has fallen by the wayside dramatically and we're both hoping to put in a somewhat respectable showing at our races this weekend. Though we've also tossed around the idea of just bagging the entire weekend and hiding out at home since next week ain't looking any easier.

Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely loving the new part-time gig. It makes me realize how shell-shocked I was coming out of my last HIGHLY dysfunctional company and makes me wonder that if I had worked for a normal company before perhaps I wouldn't have been so gunho to start my own company. Working with normal people and for a boss who doesn't suddenly take off your head for no reason other then the fact she had a fight with her husband that morning actually makes for a pleasant work environment. And when I don't feel like I have to walk around on eggshells all day I actually feel like I'm able to get things accomplished. It's a nice feeling. Though I do find myself holding my breath sometimes just waiting to hear someone yell or someone tell me how stupid I am...yeah, almost makes me miss my old company.

And, ironically, since I've been so busy with the new job and the contractors I've have put l had ittle energy to put into my company and yet I've had a small spike in sales and an even bigger spike in interest from retailers. Don't exactly know where that's coming from but it's making me believe I can actually handle all of this. (another big sigh).

Lastly, and this is the big thing this week, the workspace meeting I mentioned in another post did happen yesterday and we were told that the current workspace owners are looking to sell the place. Now I don't consider myself a financial wizard but the sum they're asking is absolutely ridiculous in my mind. And my better half - who is a financial genius and who basically does business valuations for a living agrees that the price they're asking is outrageous. Oh, but here's the good news - they're eager to see if any of the companies currently in the workspace want to "buy in" along the lines of a co-op system so we can all be part owners in the building. Keep in mind that the building is leased so you're not even really getting the building, just the equipment and the remaining time on the lease. And you're not even really getting that - only a portion ownership of it. Needless to say, I'm weighing my options right now and trying to figure out what my next step will be. Thankfully it doesn't seem like anything is going to happen one way or another before the end of the year so I'm hoping I can get through my busy period in my current space and then figure out where to go from there.

(another big sigh)

Repeat After Me...

2010-06-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

Starting a business takes more time, energy, and money then you originally anticipate to become successful. Hell, starting a business takes more time, energy, and money then you originally anticipate to simply become breakeven.

Listen, I'm just as guilty and points 1 and 3 (time and money) but even though I do get burnt out from time to time I think I had a pretty good idea about how much energy was involved. But to be honest, my thinking about how long it would take and how much money it would not only take but also yield seems to have been much closer to the mark then almost all the entreprenuers in my immediate circle. Just a few examples:

1. A dear friend who is incredibly smart and far more business savvy then me thought that her business would be kicking off $50K in profit that she could take as a salary. This is with next-to-nothing invested in marketing and only two years in business. Needless to say, she's highly demotivated right now realizing that it's going to take far far longer to reach those goals.

2. Someone in my workspace who started up one business and then bought a second business a few months later can't understand why she's so burnt out. She's running both businesses simultaniously and told me today "I thought it'd be so much easier to make money." My guess is that if it were that easy the previous owner likely wouldn't have sold.

3. I heard a rumor today that is decently substantiated that the couple who owns my workspace (I lease time from them) are tired of owning/running the space and they want out. Apparently we're to learn this at the Workspace Meeting next week. That should be interesting! They've done a pretty lousy job of hiding the fact that owning/running the workspace has taken more time and yielded less money then they expected and they're tired of working so hard. I guess an idea is floating around that they want to try and turn it into a co-op situation which just sounds like an utter disaster to me (what happens if, for example the person I highlighted in #2 just gets so tired of her business that she quits which would leave all remaining partners to split her share of expenses in addition to one's own expenses).

So repeat after me folks - starting a small business is going to take far more money, far more time, and far more energy then you expect. Do yourself a favor and when you write out your business plan include a plan for the worst-case scenario. One in which the business loses money and nobody likes what you make/do/offer. If you can stomach that scenario then you might be ready to jump in. But if you think you're going to be making $100K right off the bat (with no venture funding) then I wish you luck. And if you do manage to make $100K right off the bat then please please please drop me an email and let me know how the heck you managed to pull it off!

Winging It

2010-06-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

There are times where I seriously feel like I'm just winging it with this business and wonder how things would be done in a real corporate environment. My latest example is that yesterday I received a new products questionaire from a catalog company that might be interested in carrying a new product. There were stock questions on there that I didn't know how to answer and I had to do things like pull out the measuring tape and start taking down dimensions to give them the information they needed. Certainly not so hard it couldn't be done, but sometimes I realize how a$$-backwards I do things. Corporations I'm sure already know all of that information so they can quickly fill out the questionaire when they get it. Then again, in big corporations there's so much red tape the questionaire - even if quickly answered - probably has to be ok'd by 101 managers and, of course, Legal so perhaps I'm actually getting back to them quicker?

And while I'm here - let's chat for a minute about selling yourself short. One of the questions on the questionaire was regarding minimum quantity amounts. Since this is a new product I wasn't sure what I should tell them so based it off of what fits nicely and securely in my shipping boxes. However the amount was 60 units and I fretted (and continue to fret) that it's too high a number for them since the product is untested in their marketplace. My better half kept telling me to put down 60 and if they didn't like that number they'd come back and tell me so. But I hestitated nonetheless. Then he rightly told me to stop selling myself short. And oh man am I guilty of that. I'm probably my own worst enemy in that regard and consistently undersell myself. This happens especially with new accounts where I want so badly to get the business I may undervalue what I bring to the table. It's something I need to work on. So I did put down 60 units - though my heart clenched slightly when I emailed that number back to them.

Why I took the job...

2010-06-08T06:52:00.000-07:00

I went in for a followup interview on Thursday with the zoo regarding their part-time marketing position and walked out employed. Well, technically I walked out under "security review" but I'm not anticipating any problems with that so I should be starting work with them next week.

Let me first state, that I am not abandoning my company. My company is my priority and I still - perhaps foolishly - believe I can juggle it all. In a nutshell, my decision to take the job came down to three points:

1. I believe in this organization and it's mission. I'm already a volunteer with them and feel strongly about what they're doing and how they're trying to change the world. They do a substantial amount of conservation work around the globe and in my role I will be charged with both helping get more people through the gates so that more revenue can go towards conservation and with trying to help people understand the importance of conservation. Trust me, if this job were simply a marketing position at Big Computer Company or Random Accounting Firm I wouldn't have taken it. It's this organization in particular which holds specific interest for me. Not to mention that my boss seems to be very understanding that this is only a part-time gig and won't be expecting me to check email during the weekend or anything similar. It's the type of job you go in, work hard, and leave after 20 hours with no more thought of it until the following week. Which leaves me with all the other hours in the week to worry about my business.

2. It's validating to get a paycheck. I don't for a second mean the actual dollar amount - but simply to receive a paycheck. Even while I'm building sweat equity in my company and believe it will pay off down the road, there's something validating about getting a paycheck. The one thing I've always struggled with in regards to my company is that I haven't been contributing financially to the "family pot." I want to pull my own weight or - at the very least - pull some of it. That's empowering. So while this may not be a huge paycheck it's something. And on a second note, this is money that can be used to fund my business. Remember that my business is entirely self-funded and while I've substantially closed the gap with regards to getting it to breakeven, there are certain times of the year that the business needs a cash injection to buy materials/packaging/etc that is needed for the busy holiday season. Now I have a well to draw from that isn't the "family pot." This seems even more important this year as I'm literally watching small businesses I know drop like flies around me. There have been three small companies in my workspace alone who have closed up in the last month and in talking with my graphic designer yesterday I learned of two more in the area that are in my industry that didn't make it. Even if people are saying the recession is over, it's still tough out there and I want to position my company to succeed. One way to do that is to make sure that it has enough cash to survive the lean periods.

3. And lastly, I'm excited to get some other employment on my resume. Being self-employed is not always viewed as a positive by potential employers some of whom seem to think that said business is a hobby and not a legitimate business. While I don't plan on ever needing to write another resume, it's good to know that I'll have some more up-to-date 'working for someone else' information on my resume. Guess I've just been a little spooked lately because in addition to seeing so many small businesses fall by the wayside, I've also had a number of friends going through changes (divorce, family death, main breadwinner loses job) that requires them to start looking for jobs to help support their family. While we're not planning on any of those happening, sometimes life simply doesn't have the same plan and I want to know that I'd be able to get myself employed to support my family if something untoward happened.

Bits & Pieces

2010-06-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

The Farmers Market went...good. Not great by any stretch of the imagination and I certainly didn't hit my "monthly fixed costs" goal but the weather was crappy (low 50's, cloudy, and rainy) and it was the Thursday of Memorial Day weekend so lots of folks were already jetting out of town. I'm scheduled to go to the market again in 10 days so I'm hoping for better weather and better sales. Despite the not so great sales, this market did help push me ahead of 2009 sales-to-date so that's always something to be happy about.

The Shop Class book got a too little heavy on the philosophy end of things for my liking. Not all together surprising given that the author is a PhD in philosophy, but as someone who barely managed to stay awake during Philosophy 101 this got a little too theoretical towards the end for my liking. (It's not my fault that I was scheduled for an 8am Philosophy 101 class, right after morning varsity swim practice, and the classroom was really the local movie theatre. Nicy comfy chairs, dim lights, long dronings on about philosophy and I'd already been up for 3 hours. C'mon, I really can't be blamed for all the times I fell asleep!)

I have an appointment to talk with the zoo about the part-time position on Thursday. Someone suggested it's not worth doing this and my company as money isn't everything and I have to add that while I did bring it up, the financial end of this really isn't the thing that interests me about the position. I need to talk with them and get a few things straight in my head and then I'll lay out the reasons as to why I did or did not take the job.

The Plot Thickens...

2010-05-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

While manning the Farmer's Market yesterday my cell phone rang but, since I was chatting with customers, I let it go to voicemail. Turns out it was the zoo calling to see if I was still interested in that position I interviewed for last month. Apparently whoever they hired didn't work out for one reason or another and the position is now open again.

Since the phone call came out of left field I had to buy myself a little time to think and called back last night telling a little white lie that I was out of town for the holiday weekend and would get back to them on Tuesday. I just didn't expect something like this to happen so it wasn't something I even contemplated and I need a little bit to think this all through.

So what would you do? Would you take the part-time position because the money would be nice (although certainly wouldn't make or break the family finances) and it can't hurt to get some non-entrepreneur employment back on the old resume? Or would you figure that trying to balance two jobs - your own company and a 20hr week part-time position along with quality family time (which is the thing that probably brings me the most joy in this world) would just make you crazy? Or would you simply fill to meet the new time challenges and thrive? What would you do?

Found Afternoon & Book Review

2010-05-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

A found afternoon is a rarity in these parts as, being a relatively Type A personality, I typically have things scheduled in pretty tight during the week. The fact that I was scheduled to volunteer at the zoo this afternoon was why I was on the phone at 7:30am with an east coast customer for an hour. Then it turns out the weather has been crappy all day (crappy is giving it far too much credit...summer, oh summer, where art thou?) and I was told I didn't need to come into the zoo. So all of the sudden I found myself with four hours I hadn't accounted for and.not.a.single.thing.planned. What's a girl to do?

I figured I should do what any self-respecting English Lit major would do on a rainy, overcast, generally icky day, and opened up my latest library book for a few hours of reading. While I'm not yet done with it, Shop Class as Soulcraft is worthy of a mid-way-through-it review.

In case you haven't heard of this piece of nonfiction, let me set the background for you. The author, Matthew Crawford, is a PhD in philosophy who worked for a DC think tank before realizing that what truly made him happy in life was fixing motorcycles so he chucked it all and opened up a motorcycle repair shop. You think your family complains you waste your degree? Imagine what Thanksgiving dinners around this guy's house must be like.

But the arguement he makes in this book is that here in America - and much of the Western world - there is an idealized seperation between blue collar and white collar labor. Blue collar are the types of jobs that leave you with grit under your fingernails at the end of the day and white collar are "thinking" jobs. And while this may have been true at one point, Crawford argues that many white collar jobs have become so routinized that there is very little "thinking" left in them. For example, who ever would have dreamed that accounting could be just as easily outsourced to India or China as manufacturing has been? Yet it's true and it's happening because accounting - among other professions - is no longer really about exploring and understanding but more about checking boxes and making sure that all the i's are dotted. Think about it this way, if anyone had really been paying attention would Bernie Maddoff been able to get away with what he did for such a long period of time?

There are few thoughts that Crawford has brought up already that I'd like to touch on. The first is that manual labor has become seen as being an "unthinking" job. Perhaps that's true in the cases of some assembly lines where the entire job is to fit Part A onto Part B, but like Crawford himself, to a certain group of people there is something about being able to create a tangible object with your own hands that makes your very soul sing. Or at least it does that for mine.

For those who don't know, I spent several years working as a pastry chef for a hotel chain and then several years in the marketing department of a software company. The salary in the software company was better, the hours were MUCH better, the benefits were better, and I could wear nice clothes and act like a grownup. And yet if given a choice between the two I'd head back to that pastry chef job well before I'd go back to the cubicle. Being able to, at the end of a very long day with back aching and feet throbbing, to be able to point to something tangible and say "I made that" was more fulfilling than any marketing campaign I ever developed. Part of the problem came from the fact that I wasn't given the latitude in the software job to actually "develop" anything from scratch. I was given a very definite parameter and set of rules as to how said company did their marketing campaigns and one was not to stray from that regardless of the circumstances. It was essentially a glorified Search & Replace function for key words and then out it'd go. As Crawford says on page 143, "Despite the beautiful ties I wore (in his stint in the corporate world), it turned out to be a more proletarian existence then I had known as a manual worker."

To be brutally honest, there are times when I'm embarrassed that I've taken my two bachelor degrees and my MBA and parlayed it into a career path that is premised on manual labor. Yes, I own my own company and there is much in the administrative and marketing side of things that gets my brain humming and I really enjoy, but I don't ever really see myself handing off all the manual labor to underlings. I simply enjoy that work too much (most of the time). This book is helping me remember that working with my hands shouldn't be something I'm ashamed of even while my fancy degrees sit on the wall. I am becoming an expert in an area and literally "create" something every day I'm in my workspace. This is different, yes, from a management consultant (one of the career paths that is glorified in MBA programs) but the truth is that the only thing management consultants are experts at is being generalists and while they may swoop in and suggest changes, they rarely actually enact the changes themselves. This isn't to say they don't deserve credit (my hubby being a former consultant himself) but that they have to live in an abstract world based on management principles that may or may not differ from the reality of said specific business. And while abstract ideas are good, I personally would derive no pleasure if I weren't able to produce something that I can hold in my hands at the end of the day. That doesn't make me any better, but that shouldn't make me any less either.

Modest Summer Goals

2010-05-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't know that summer was on it's way by the weather we're having in the Pacific Northwest lately. However, since the upcoming Memorial Day holiday is the unofficial start of summer (even if I do have to wear a sweatshirt the entire weekend) I figured I might as well make some summer goals.

For me summer is usually really really quiet from a sales standpoint. More importantly, it's also typically the time of year I start dipping into the business savings because sales are quiet. So the goal for me this year is to try and make sure that my monthly sales exceed my monthly costs. Even if it's only by $1 I'll be overjoyed.

Now here are the caveats - there are a few things that happen in the summer which my summer sales simply won't cover. Things like final payment for my tradeshow booths even though the shows won't happen until the Fall, getting new packaging made up in advance of the busy fall season, etc. Things like that are exempt (for now) from this goal. The goal is to simply have my 'normal' monthly costs - like my workspace rent, raw materials cost, etc - all be covered by what I sell each month.

And there are two ways I hope to meet this goal. First is by increasing sales - even if only slightly - via the Farmers Markets (pray for good weather this Thursday - pray for good weather this Thursday!). Secondly is that I want to continue to reign in spending whereever possible because the lower my costs are each month the easier it will be for my monthly sales to cover them.
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So far May is off to a good start with an order going out today that will cover about 60% of May's costs. That just means I need to try and get another 40% at the Farmer's Market this Thursday (pray for good weather, pray for good weather) and then I need to start thinking about how best to tackle June.

Payback

2010-05-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

I know that I'm really tired at the end of shows and want nothing more then to stuff everything into a box and just get on my way. But if I could pause for one second this year after shows and remember that payback is a B$*(&. By payback I mean times like this where I cannot for the life of me find that "thing" I'm looking for that I need to bring with me to the farmers market this Thursday. Which means tomorrow I'm going to have to pull every box out of storage and rummage through it to find this one silly little thing. Grrrr.....

Spinning Wheels

2010-05-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

I'm refering to the wheels in my head. They're spinning today with ideas that are 75% of the way developed but not "quite" there. Today was a big production day in my workspace but the production I was doing was elementary at best. It's the type of production that you'd pay the lowest level line employee to do because it's completely unskilled. Unfortunately the lowest paid employee right now - and also the only employee - is me. So I spent 8+ hours doing very very brainless work.

It's not nearly as bad as it sounds. Sometimes I enjoy the fact that I'm able to get work done but give my brain a break. Sometimes I'd rather be doing this type of work then QuickBooks :). And sometimes, like today, this type of work enables me to tune out and think about other areas of the business.

So this is what got me thinking (amongst other things). Pros and cons of trying to work with an established company to do private label for them. They're not in my industry but there are some similarities between our company's with regards to mission, quality, etc that I could see it making sense. Plus, given who their audience is, I could see this audience being interested in said new product. But....I just don't know. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with private label?

Still Here...

2010-05-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

Just busy lately. It seems like everything collided last week what with numerous doctor's visits (just routine stuff), dog vet visits (not so routine but it's all looking good), and work. Busy busy busy. Truthfully it makes me very glad I didn't get that job at the zoo or I'd have been pulling my hair out by now.

The biggest focus of last week was getting the professional photos picked up and then working on them to get them in the formats I needed to send them over to some catalogues. A couple catalogues the pictures are being looked at and then if they like what they see they'll ask for samples. One of the other catalogues is one that I'm currently working with and they needed the pictures ASAP to start working with as they are already working on their holiday catalogues. So I've been busy trying to get all the right pieces going to the right contacts, keeping everyone happy, and trying to lure a couple catalogue companies further down the road of realizing that my products are something they just simply can't do without.

I'm also trying to get ready for my first Farmers Market next week. I'm working on a list of all the pieces I need and the list is growing expodentially every day. Thankfully I've managed to secure most stuff from friends if I didn't already have it so I'm holding down costs on this which is key because I just don't know how well my stuff is going to do in a venue like this. I could also use some stellar weather because that always helps farmer's market sales so if you could send some my way a week from Thursday from about 1-7pm it would be greatly appreciated.

Cash Flow is King

2010-05-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

There were several things I took away from my entrepreneurship courses at bschool that have rung more true then I could ever have imagined. The #1 being that no matter how great a proforma spreadsheet you make - calculating all your sales, fixed costs, variable costs, etc - in the end for a small business what it really comes down to is cash flow. It doesn't matter that you make $1M annually if you don't have enough money in the bank to pay tomorrow's bills. I've talked about this a few times - specifically in the Fall when I'm more often then not waiting for payment from Peter to be able to pay Paul. It's a stressful stressful game to play.

Which is why I've really enjoyed this series of articles from the NYTimes small business section: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/my-week-in-cash-flow/
You'll want to scroll down to the bottom of the page and start with Monday's entry and read backwards, but it's a great example of the cash flow issues small businesses face. Personally, while reading it I felt a mix of "thank goodness someone else also goes through the same thing" and "thank goodness the numbers I'm faced with aren't nearly as large as his!" Regardless, it's a great small business read if you have the time and I think it hits home more strongly then many of us small business owners would like to admit.

The week here is ending up well. My photoshoot went really well yesterday. The majority of the shoot was strictly for product photos (product centered on white background) but there were a handful of more artsy shots and one in particular that when I saw it I said "that's my ad." Too bad I don't plan on doing a lot of advertising this Fall. This photo is almost good enough to make me want to do more!

Photoshoot on Thursday

2010-05-03T07:44:00.000-07:00

Photoshoot on Thursday...photoshoot on Thursday....photoshoot on Thursday. Tons to do between now and then with the major one being jerry-rig some mocked up labels that I haven't yet paid to be professionally printed so they look professionally printed in the photoshoot. I need things to look perfect!

I've also been checking out this site for photography inspiration: http://foodgawker.com/

My photographer is an incredible professional photographer and I oftentimes just leave it to his creative direction but panning through that site helps give me ideas on different angles or ways of approaching a product that are eye-catching.

Business Book Review

2010-04-30T07:18:00.001-07:00

Let me preface this by saying that I'm someone who always have to have a book that I'm in the process of reading. So when I finished up a fiction book recently on a weekend away and saw this book in their bookcase, I traded out books and figured I'd give it a shot. I remember hearing about The 4 Hour Workweek a few years ago and while I was skeptical, it certainly sounded interesting if you could pull it off. So why not give it a go and see what it has to say.

I've made it to page 34 and just can't continue. I'd rather have no book to read then be forced to finish this one. Perhaps it's the author's tone, perhaps it's his arrogence, or perhaps it's because the book was published in 2007 - likely written in 2006 - and with it now being 2010 I have the benefit of knowing the financial meltdown that was about to occur. In a nutshell - from the 34 pages I've made it through - the author seems to propose a life away from the cubicle, the working 9-5 (more like 8-6!), and the 401Ks IRAs and other retirement savings vehicles. He recommends becoming one of the "new rich," living for today, and enjoying life when you're young.

Like I said, I went into this with a healthy dose of skeptism and in my 34 pages it only grew. Then again, I am someone who believes that hard work pays off or lord knows I wouldn't be doing this entrepreneurship thing. I also believe fervently in living well below your means and keeping a nice healthy cushion of savings and investments both for retirement or simply the curveballs live throws at you along the way. So while the idea of outsoucing my life and traveling the world sounds appealing, I sleep better at night knowing I actually have two dimes to rub together.

The author does bring up an interesting concept though which is perhaps explored further had I continued to read anymore. The idea that we in the US believe that work has to be all-encompassing. That if you aren't working 50+ hr weeks you really aren't working hard and haven't "earned" your money or your lifestyle. This is in contrast to the European view of work in which work is a compliment to your life but certainly not the mainstay...otherwise the French wouldn't take the entire month of August off!

In some ways my own business mimics this somewhat. My busy season - so busy I barely have time to breath and typically lose 5-10lbs because I'm just too busy to stop and eat - is about 4 months long. There's some quasi-busy time as I lead up to those months and do my best to prepare, and then the rest of the year is really pretty quiet. During those quiet months I typically feel guilty for not being busy and for having the time available to enjoy some sunshine and read on the porch. What I'm trying to make myself realize this year is that I shouldn't be guilty about the ebbs and flows in my business. I'm certainly trying to introduce new products that will take some of the seasonality out of the equation, but at it's crux, my product and its price point will always be more geared towards holiday gifting then simply an everyday purchase. I'm trying to keep in mind that the slow periods are a great time to get caught up on the rest of my life and do odd jobs around the house like paint the baseboards or fix the screen door and that I shouldn't necessarily feel bad that I'm not running around like a chicken with its head cut off....cause that'll start again about September!

Back on Track

2010-04-26T18:53:00.000-07:00

I didn't get that part-time zoo job and given that I was upset about it for approximately 90 seconds seems to be pretty good indication of how badly I wanted the job. I honestly think I wanted to "win" the position more then I actually wanted to do the job itself. Oh, and the paycheck, I wanted that part of it too. Even though it was a measly amount, it was a measly amount more then my current paycheck. I did get my zoo volunteer assignment though and starting next week I will be in charge of the petting zoo. Ok, maybe "in charge" is a bit of a stretch - more likely I'll be trying to keep the docile animals from biting small children, explaining to hypervigilant parents that no, your kids cannot get swine flu from the zoo's one pig, and scooping poop. Luckily my dogs have already given me plenty of training in the poop scooping arena so I will undoubtably be in charge of that after just a few short volunteer sessions.

In the meantime, it's getting to be about that time of year to start thinking about holiday product photos because nothing reminds one more of the holidays then tulips blooming. I have my annual photo shoot (for products, not for me) next week so I have to spend some time this week getting everything compiled and organized.

Paying Someone Else

2010-04-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

I'm a very hands-on person with my business. To the extent that it's my hands literally making the products that go out the door. Many would argue that that is not necessarily the best business model but at the end of the day I do love what I'm doing.

As much as I dislike paying other people to do what I believe I can do myself there are two areas I have no qualms paying someone else to oversee. The first is my accountant who I meet with once a year to get my business taxes filed. The rest of the year I keep the books up-to-date. Or let's say I at least get them done before I go in for my accountant meeting every year. But she's the one who knows the intricacy of the tax code, any changes to the tax code, and she makes sure everything gets filed and paid on time. For that I pay her a nice little sum but it's well worth it in my mind.

The other is closely related and that is with the filing of my quarterly employee paperwork. Sadly, once you have employees you have to file quarterly reports with the local gov't even if you get to the point where you don't have any employees. Thanks to the recession, I'm in the 'no employee' zone but still have to file the paperwork even if the paperwork has a big fat zero on it. Truthfully I probably could do the paperwork myself and get it filed but the honest answer is that with everything else on my plate I often forget that the quarterly files are even due until they show up in my mailbox needing my signature and a 44cent stamp. So for the sheer fact of someone else making sure I keep the gov't informed and happy I gladly pay $200/yr. It's worth it to me in terms of peace of mind.

In other news - no word yet from the zoo which I'm taking as not such a great sign since they said I'd hear "early next week" (aka - this week). Figuring since I haven't heard it likely means they've offered the job to someone else and are waiting for that person to confirm before telling everyone else thanks but no thanks. But you know what, if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen and I choose to believe that there's some other great stuff coming down the pipeline.

Friday Highlights

2010-04-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

If you care enough here's how my day went.

1. I had the part-time job interview this morning first thing and think it went well. It's always hard to tell isn't it? I mean I felt it went well but I know I'll also be judged against the other contenders for the job so I have no idea how I did in relation. So for me I did well.

Honestly, I didn't walk out of there thinking "I WANT this job." More of a "I know I could do a great job for them and it's a worthwhile organization." There were some parts about it I liked and some parts I didn't like. So I have to put some thought over the weekend into whether, along with the impact it will have on life outside of part-time job, whether the pros outweigh the cons.

Then again I might not get the offer and then can simply volunteer at the zoo more this summer.

2. I figured out how to work my new sewing machine. Man that's a cool little machine. And I haven't even sewn my fingers together yet (though did come close once). I was just playing around with some test fabric and am already in love with the little machine. I need to pick up some extra stuff and do a couple more test runs before I try it out on the actual expensive fabric. But yeah, so far very happy with it.

3. I talked a friend into starting up the small business she's been dreaming about doing for years. I told her to just jump off the cliff. Cause at some point when everything seems to be pointing towards GO, you just have to take a deep breath and jump otherwise you'll never do it.

How was your Friday?

What Does One Wear to a Zoo Interview?

2010-04-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

The easy answer of course is "monkey suit" - ha ha ha. I crack myself up.

A while back I happened to mention that I applied for a part-time position at my local zoo. I'm already a volunteer there and deeply believe in the mission of the zoo as they are a leader with regards to conservation and being eco-friendly in addition to just being a really cool zoo. I was playing around on Craigslist one day and happened to stumble upon a posting for a part-time marketing assistant position at the zoo so I figured what the hell and went ahead and applied.

Heard nothing, heard nothing, heard nothing...so just this morning I figured that the position did indeed go to either the former CMO of a Fortune 500 or some kid who used daddy's connections to get him/her the job. Oh well, I figured, c'est la vie. And it's not like I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs...I've got a lot going on.

Then this afternoon I got a call from the zoo wanting to know if I'd like to come in for an interview. They even admitted that initially they had been searching for someone right out of college but given the resumes they received they realized that they might be able to get someone like me - someone who has experience and an established work ethic and is looking to "supplement" their life with a part-time job rather than merely using this job as a stepping stone for bigger and better things. Yes, there's a small part of me that feels bad for edging out that 19yr old, but them's the breaks kid.

I now have an interview Friday morning and of course am immediately vexed by whether adding yet another thing to my plate - even it is only 20 hours/week - is going to make our lives crazy. As right or wrong as this sounds, even though my business isn't crazy busy right now, I find that my days are pretty full as it's my "job" to keep house and home running smoothly. While I know it's very anti-feminist for me to say so, I actually derive a lot of pleasure from trying to keep the house in some semblance of order, try my hand at mowing the lawn from time to time, and keep the dogs happy and walked. So will adding a 20/hr week position upset the delicate balance we have going right now?

I realize these are things I can worry about after being offered the position. Step 1 is that I need to do my best to get the offer. And that means running through some mock interviews with my better half as it's been far too long since I've done any real interviewing. I also need to figure out what to wear to the interview. What does one wear to a part-time job interview at the zoo? The black pants suit that used to be my "go to" interview outfit is just a tad too conservative and over the top for this type of position I fear.

How Fast Is Too Fast?

2010-04-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

One of the things I LOVE about running a small business is how nimble that makes me. If I get an idea in my head (like the one that requires the sewing machine which just arrived today - up next, photos of me having managed to sew my fingers together on accident) I lack any sort of patience and want.to.get.started.on.it.RIGHT NOW!!! That's one of the personality traits that didn't make me aptly suited for a large corporate environment.

Now that obviously has it's downside with regards to the fact that it perhaps doesn't allow me ample time to think through all the pros and cons, do all the necessary cost analysis, determine various marketing and distribution opportunities, etc etc. On the flip side though, I'm able to move quickly when I see a need, try to beat other folks to market, and with regards to companies that have to make buying decisions several seasons in advance - get a product to them early enough to be considered.

As an example, today I received a catalogue from a company I'm familiar with but isn't necessarily at the top of my radar for a variety of reasons. In flipping through the catalogue I realized that they're starting to reach out to areas similar then mine - and infact are currently offering a product by a direct competitor. So in the matter of 2 hours I found the name of the individual I need to send samples to, put together a sample, and put together a cover letter. It's heading out via FedEx tonight in the hopes that it arrives in time for consideration for their 2010 Holiday catalogue.

I realize that perhaps I've not been as methodical as I should have - and as I was trained in bschool - but in my mind the upside of being picked up by the catalogue outweighs any downside.

I know not everyone is like this. A good friend of mine runs a company and is much much much more thoughtful about every step she takes with her business. I sometimes am very envious of her patient approach to growing the business step-by-step. But I've also seen her miss very real opportunities simply because she didn't move quickly enough and that is something I couldn't live with. Sometimes I think that if we could combine both my impatience and her methodical approach we might have the perfect businesswoman.

What do you think? For a small business is it better to be the jackrabbit or the tortoise?

World Domination

2010-04-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

Friday brought me one step closer to world domination. Maybe just a very very very small step, but a step closer nontheless. I found out on Friday that I was accepted into one of the city's local farmers markets.

For those not in the Pacific Northwest you may be somewhat confused. As best as I can explain it, farmers markets here have what is essentially a cult-like following by essentially everyone in the Pacific Northwest. I can't explain it any better. Almost everyone I know not only loves going to the farmers market but also really does 95% of their fruit/veggie/pasta/cheese/bread/fish/organic meats/jams/honey/other artisan goods shopping there. The farmers markets to us are not something you simply go to because it's a novelty and it brings you a step closer to a more rural way of living. It is our way of living and I wonder if they may just take away your drivers license if you refused to go. So pervasive is this thinking that many people - myself included - are part of a CSA (cooperative farming) that delivers a basket of fresh fruits and veggies to several select areas in the city throughout the week and then we ALSO visit the farmers market on top of that. Really the only time we go to the regular grocery store during the summer is to pick up staples like flour and sugar.

So now perhaps you can see why I'm so excited about getting into the market. This market had the option of applying to be an exhibitor every week or simply signing up for five markets (1 a month May - Sept). Not knowing how well my type of product might be received in a farmers market environment, I signed up for the later and should find out shortly which five markets I'll be part of.

I'm really excited. Before I sent in my application I had come up with several ideas that should be better suited for the farmers market then my traditional products and I think the price points I'm thinking about should work well for both the farmers market and given the state of the economy. In talking with a friend yesterday she mentioned that she has a 10x10 tent canopy which I need for the market that she's more than happy to let me borrow and may even have a chalkboard I can borrow to use as additional signage. If both of those things pan out then there's only a handful of small items I might need to buy to help supplement the booth but it shouldn't be more than $50.

My little hope out of all of this is that I make a little bit of money, sell some product, introduce more folks to my brand, and have fun. My big hope is that I make enough money to pay for (or at least help pay for) my summer fixed expenses. Summer is typically when I have to start dipping into the business savings in advance of the busy Fall season. If I can make enough at the markets to cover my workspace during those months that will go a long ways towards helping me out cashflow-wise come fall.

Bucolic Dreams

2010-04-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

At first I typed in Bubonic Dreams - that is something very very different!

As for Bucolic Dreams, I'm referring to the influx of new "farmers market" folks who are coming into my workspace this month. I know I sound like the gritty jaded old general saying this, but so many of them really have no idea what they're in for. Let's put it this way. A lot of people dream of one day opening up a cute little bakery where they can serve grandma's famous apple pie. In their heads it's all very pleasant and a real "salt of the earth" change in their life that they feel has to be better then the stress of their current corporate gig. Only the reality of opening a bakery is as follows:
1. You have to get there at the crack of dawn (or earlier) to start baking
2. You have a myriad of health permits you have to obtain and abide by
3. You have to be willing and able to throw around 50lb bags of flour, sugar, etc
4. You have to enjoy being covered in egg yolk at least 70% of your day
5. You have to enjoy peeling 8000 apples a day

That's just the start of it. Not that someone shouldn't open up their apple pie bakery, but I'm astounded sometimes by the difference between the notion in someone's head and the actual reality of the situation. Yet so many people are willing to go in completely unawares.

As the farmers market folks are coming into my shared workspace, many of them have the same notion. In fact I think more than most this year as many have been downsized from the corporate world in the last year and are thinking this is a great opportunity for them to showcase that special talent they have and how hard can that really be? One gal even went ahead and bought a business from another person in my workspace. This gal not only has NO experience in this business but also has 2-3 other side businesses going on simultaniously. As the seller told me earlier in the week "Does she not realize how busy I was with the business?"

Guess I'm just surprised sometimes how often people put down money and start up companies with limited experience behind them. It'd be like me starting up a logging company. But then again, I am a fairly risk adverse entrepreneur so who I am to talk?

Then again, my new product idea does require me to use skills that are outside my area of expertise. Specifically, sewing. I ordered a sewing machine online and it should be here on Monday and I'm antsy to get started and see if this idea will actually pan out. I guess not unlike the people I mentioned above, I have an idea in my head that with the help of this trusty sewing machine I'll be able to whip up this cool little idea in no time flat. Perhaps even run an extension cord outside and make this product on my porch in the summer?

So I guess one could argue that I'm the pot calling the kettle black!

Pulling the Trigger

2010-04-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

I finally did it. After MUCH hemming and hawing I finally put down my deposit for the one tradeshow I'll be going to this year. My first full year in business I went to four tradeshows, then three for the past two years, and now I'm down to one lowly tradeshow. I knew I had to go, I just hate spending the money, especially in an economy like this were you just don't know if buyers are going to show up or not.

In fact, a friend and fellow business owner in my industry went to a tradeshow two weeks ago and said that she basically spent the entire time listening to the crickets chirp. Not a good sign but also not completely unexpected given that the show was in Florida, a state that is apparently still in the depths of this recession (depression?), and the fact that no one from outside states really want to travel that far. The show I just signed up for is in Las Vegas and has been growing over the past few years. Even my friend said that at the Florida show people had nothing but positive things to say about the Las Vegas show.

I've done this show before - in fact I think this is going to be my third year at the show? But in years past I've always hunkered down in one specific area where more of the "luxury" products reside. My friend (same one from the Florida show) already has a booth over there and I thought it'd be fun to get a booth right next to hers so we could keep one another company inbetween talking with buyers. Upon a little more examination though I realized that basically ALL my competitors were buying booths in a section that is known as "all natural" and I feared that I strayed too far from the pack then buyers might think I wasn't all-natural simply because I wasn't in with the rest of the group. Yes, you read that right, I let group-think dictate my buying decision. Truthfully though I think I made the right decision. If the "luxury" section was right next to the "all natural" then I woudln't have been as concerned but they are literally across the convention hall from one another. So I'm taking the plunge and will try switching it up a little bit this year and see what happens in the new booth location.

Now I need to figure out where, if anywhere, I can cut costs with the show. I went back to an inline booth this year versus a corner booth and that will save me about $300. I *think* that my business credit card has enough miles to fly me there and back and my hubby just happens to need to be in Las Vegas for business that same week so I should get to stay with him which means no lodging will be on the business balancesheet. If I didn't have to be back in Seattle the day after the tradeshow I'd seriously consider making the drive to Las Vegas and just hauling all my stuff with me as it'll cost me about $500 to ship everything there and back and that's my next biggest cost associated with the show. But driving isn't an option...perhaps packing lighter should be!

I am still excited about the fact that I'm not going to the Chicago tradeshow that happens to fall a few weeks after the Las Vegas one. In the past I've gone to both but the Chicago one has been on a slow decline the last few years. Last year was horrible and a huge waste of money and I just don't want to do it again. I figure the fact that I still feel as strongly about NOT going to that show, even after all these months, proves I made the right decision in that regard.

Long Day

2010-04-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a long long day in my workspace. Lots got accomplished which is good since I've been away for a few days helping out with some stuff back home. Most importantly however, that Canada order - the one that has been dogging me for literally months at this point - finally got picked up and on its way today. For how small the order really is, all the stress and agony almost doesn't seem worthwhile. But I know in the long run that this one small order can mean lots of bigger orders down the road. In fact, I shudder to think what would have happened to my little company if last year this Canadian company and the sister US company hadn't placed holiday orders. All my little independent stores were running scared and were too worried about the recession to really place any significant orders. But this Canada company and the US sister company really helped me out in a big way revenue-wise. So no complaining from me...in fact perhaps I should send them a fruit basket? Nevermind, it wouldn't make it past customs.

Tomorrow is an exciting day. My dayplanner simply says QuickBooks Q1. That's a lie - it also says "Give the dogs their Sentinal pills" but since that will only take a quick second the majority of the day will be devoted to QuickBooks. (Big sigh)

I am going to go check out a new - well, used - sewing machine that I spotted on Craigslist tomorrow. I need a sewing machine for my fabulous new idea - the one I mentioned before that is akin to hats for squirrels. Hopefully I can pick this sewing machine up for less then $100 and then hopefully I can figure out how to use it.

I sometimes think of what my life would be like if I worked for a real company. I'm assuming "catch up with a quarter's worth of Quickbooks" and "pick up sewing machine" would not be on my list of things to do on any given day. "Give the dogs their Sentinal pills" still would be on my list though.

Since Easter is this Sunday I leave you with my fabulous Easter eggs. If you're friends with me on Facebook then you've already seen them. Yes, I am that proud of them. I'm always too busy at Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas to really go all-out with the decorations so I did Easter up right with six super-snazzy Easter Eggs. (For my Jewish friends - I also made some kick-a$$ macaroons so that I could get all major religions covered. Sadly I didn't take any pictures of those.)

End of the Week

2010-03-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

The week has come to an end with no word from the zoo regarding the part-time position. However, the application deadline isn't until Monday and they did say it could take 3-4 weeks after that to hear back so I'm not exactly sitting on edge expecting to hear anything either way anytime soon. I'm trying not to let myself become too excited about the potential opportunity even though I know I could do an absolute bang-up job for them. But then I remember that about a zillion people are out of work and my resume is probably in the pile along with the former Chief Marketing Officer of a Fortune 500 company and probably some 19-yr old who's dad knows someone who knows someone who once worked for someone who happens to be on the Board of Directors for the zoo. So I am still hopeful but I'm trying to also be realistic about my chances in this economy. We'll see what happens, in the meantime I have some more volunteer training to do with the zoo so I'll keep myself plenty zoo-busy with that.

On a different note - finding the zoo posting via a random internet search on Craigslist now has me addicted to checking out Craigslist's part-time listings. Not for another job, but just to see what sorts of things are listed there. It's absolutely fascinating what you can find on there! Do you want to be a weekend sign waver? Perhaps you want to donate your eggs (I'm apparently too old)? Maybe you'd like to be a telephone appointment setter? I just find it all fascinating. Craigslist is like a great little pod of anthropological research.

With regards to my own business, I did stumble upon a new idea yesterday that actually has me really really excited. Let's see the best way to explain this without giving away too much...
It is a brand extension into a new market but still within my industry. So, for example, if I made handmade sweaters for pet bunnies then this would be handmade hats for pet squirrels. Like that example, this new idea is within the same "industry" and targets a slightly different group with a very similar - but not identical - product.
It's something that can be made by hand so it fits with the brand I've already developed and also fits with what is important to me for the company (handmade, all-natural, etc).
This specific market is relatively heavily saturated but I think that this new product of mine could be differentiated enough - heck, just the fact it's made in the USA is one large differentiator! - that it could do well. Plus I have an idea of talking to some channel relationships I have who don't have a product like this which I find surprising so I think it could be a great offering to their clients and a great way for me to tentatively test out the idea.

I am excited...still need to so some more research and actually make a prototype to see if it'll work. If my cost estimates are right, this is very inexpensive to make - at least initially - and provides some good margins. Still lots of work to be done but I am excited about it.

So I'll send you off to your weekend now with thoughts of squirrel hats and bunny sweaters. Sweet dreams!

And No...

2010-03-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

Since I didn't hear anything today from the market research folks for the market research study taking place later this week I'm assuming that I'm not a viable candidate. Apparently I didn't answer their survey correctly. Oh well, who wanted to go eat free M&M's, gain free consumer data, and make $125 for two hours worth of telling people my opinion anyway?

Sigh...it's probably a good thing anyway since I'm trying to go a week without chocolate (payback for making my husband go a week without meat last week). I think I'm experiencing severe withdrawel symptoms and a bowl of free M&Ms would likely be more then I could handle.

C'mon! C'mon!!!

2010-03-21T19:56:00.001-07:00

Once again I was screwing around on the internet tonight and somehow found out that a local market research company (a legit company, I checked) needs women for a 2hr market research study. So I filled out the survey and it's very apparent that the market research study is about my specific field. Course now I'm doubly hoping I'll get picked. If I can work 2hrs this week for a market research firm and not only get paid for my time but but also get some free consumer industry info out of it - that's fantastic!

A Funny Thing Happened

2010-03-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

A funny thing happened this morning on a stroll through the internet. You know how you start out looking for...let's say, beet juice recipes and next thing you know you find yourself looking at car reviews? That's sort of how I found myself today suddenly trying to frantically find a resume.

Let me back up in the story for a moment though. The background you need to know to enjoy this story to its fullest is that I'm currently going through the volunteer trianing program at my local zoo. It's an impressive zoo to say the least and does a ton with regards to conservation and education so it's absolutely up my alley. And they have a very flexible volunteer program with a lot of different options. My hope in going into all of this was that I'd get to be part of their Family Farm program which is essentially a miniature farm full of miniature goats, sheep, two mini cows, chickens, bunnies...basically all the animals I'd love to have in my own backyard if my husband and the city zoning committee would allow it. Since I don't really stand a chance of changing either my husband's mine or the zoning laws anytime soon, this volunteer opportunity sounded like the perfect way to help out in my spare time and get my animal fix.

While going through their comprehensive training program I learned a lot more about what the zoo does behind the scenes to help out other communities with their conservation efforts and basically came home and told my better half that if the opportunity ever presented itself at the right time I could totally see myself working for the zoo as their mission is totally aligned with what I believe.

Which brings me to today. I was actually about to get on here and write a post about optimism but, as often happens to me and the internet, I got distracted and somehow found out that the zoo is currently looking for a part-time, temporary marketing assistant. I hesitated for just a second as the thought crossed my mind that I am going to take my very expensive MBA degree and apply it to a position that is really meant for someone a year or two out of college? But then the smarter half of me stepped in and I told myself that:

1. elitism doesn't look good on anyone...be glad that you have the opportunity and skill set neccessary for the position
2. this is a way to work at the zoo (in addition to volunteering)
3. this is only a part-time gig which great b/c I don't want anything fulltime since I do still have a business to run
4. that this could lead to bigger/better things down the road if I choose to let it and
5. this this a great way to test-drive the actual business side of this organization to see if I like it should that bigger/better thing actually come along one day

Yes, I had quite a little conversation going in my head. And that's how I ended up frantically trying to find a resume since it's been at least two years since I last wrote one up (thankfully I found that one on my old computer and was able to use it after a few short tweaks). So I applied for the job. I think it's still a long shot that I'll get it cause it's not like there's any shortage of folks looking for jobs these days, and I fear that my 10 years experience in marketing might make them think I'm too overqualified and wouldn't be a good team player. But I tried to explain everything clearly and succinctly in the cover letter and hope it's enough to at least get me called in for an interview. We'll see. In the meantime though the highly immature part of me is thinking how cool it would be to work in a zoo!

Farmers Market

2010-03-17T10:02:00.001-07:00

I mentioned in another post that I was planning on applying to a local farmers market. The application is FINALLY done. Seriously, it was a more comprehensive application then I've ever had to fill out for any other events like wholesale shows. I'm impressed with the level of detail they want but it took a lot longer to get everything pulled together then I initially thought it would.

It's a long shot that they'll even let me in since my products are a bit "different" from the normal farmers market variety, but after spending the last three summers wondering if I should get into a farmers market I figured I should at least give it a try now that I have some products that can be sold by the piece rather than pre-packaged (by the piece works much better for farmers market customers).

The Farmers Market I'm applying to also has an option of only participating in one market a month rather than a weekly commitment. Since I'm not sure if my type of product will do well or not in a Farmers Market, the biggest thing that had kept me from applying to a market in the past was the fact that I didn't want to commit to sitting there week in and week out even if my products weren't selling. It's far easier to think that I'll just have to sit there for 4-5 markets rather than 20. If things are slow I'll just knit.

My first hope is that I get into the market and that if I do that those 4-5 markets would net enough to let me pay for a few months of my workspace rent. Summer is historically really slow from a sales standpoint but busy from a production standpoint so it's when I usually start to run a deficit on the business bank account and have to draw from the business savings. If these markets could help out by throwing a few extra hundred dollars into the checking account every week it would help cover my rent and hopefully give me a little breathing room before I had to dip into savings.

The application is headed off today so I'll let you know how it turns out. In the meantime, my business turns 4 today. It's very easy to remember the day I signed all the gov't papers to make my business a legal entity since I left the lawyers office and couldn't figure out why the nearby bars were so full. Ah yes, St. Patricks. Here's hoping there's some luck of the Irish with you today. And a little luck of the Irish goes with my Farmers Market application.

Learning To Be Still

2010-03-11T07:20:00.001-08:00

This is the time of year that is traditionally pretty quiet. It has been for the past few years and while this year I have more sales going on, it's still pretty quiet especially when compared to third and fourth quarter. This is also the time of year I start to get antsy about how quiet it is and worry that THE END IS NEAR. And when I think the end is nearing I start spending money on marketing ideas - some of which do and some of which don't pan out - in an effort to keep the end at bay.

Since I'm committed to cutting costs another 27% this year (after most of the 'easy' stuff was cut last year) fretful spending to try and drum up business is just no longer an option. Instead I need to just enjoy the quiet time.

Trust me, it's far harder then it looks. When was the last time you faced an open week with few appointments? Don't get me wrong, there's still a lot of little stuff that needs to be done for the business - and even some bigger stuff - but there's now time in the day to sit and read a book for half an hour if I choose. Sounds heavenly, doesn't it? When you're used to being on the go 24x7 though it feels very wrong and very unnerving. I'm like a little hamster going through crack withdrawel (there's a visual for you!). I'm just so used to going at a manic pace that when I try to slow down I find myself twitching and itching to get back to work.

I'm trying to take this as a positive that this is an opportunity to relearn how to be still and be in the moment atleast 50% nonworking of the time by doing things like reading for that half an hour or knitting up yet another hat (keeps my hands busy but my mind quiet). The other 50% of the nonworking time I'm devoting to the giant list of home spring cleaning things that need to be done. Things like touch up paint throughout out the house, make our wills, plant and try not to kill strawberries. I figure the 50-50 breakdown of being still and getting things done might be the mix I need to keep me from going beserk that things are quiet with work.

In other news, I'm applying for a spot at one of the local farmers markets. I'll explain more later as it's a drastic switch from my business strategy up to this point but in the meantime keep your fingers crossed for me, will ya?

Viva la Mexico!

2010-03-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

Lest you think I've abandoned my post here in the Pacific Northwest for the warm beaches of Mexico I figured I should update the blog and let you know that I did infact return. And the people of the Pacific Northwest should thank me because it appears as though I brought the sun back with me - at least through the weekend!

First and foremost, the Canadian order FINALLY got ok'd to come through by customs and I got the order on my last day in Mexico. They need it by the end of the month and it's basically done, except for the price tags they're sending me to put on, and then it will go out the door. Unfortunately the final order was reduced by about 50% given how much time it took to get everything organzied but I hope this means there will be no problems - and bigger orders - later on this year.

While I was away I did get an email from a friend and fellow entrepreneur in my workspace who has decided to "take a hiatus for 6 months." I don't know if this is a temporary or will turn into a permanent hiatus - especially since historically the summer has been her busiest time.

It's sad as she's not the only one I know closing up shop. Another entrepreneur in my space, the only other person who has been there as long as I have, is also shutting up this month. That really only leaves two of us who are "full-timers" and then there will be an influx of the summer market folks who join us for the next few months. The new energy of the exciting summer market people will be good and probably lift my spirits, but I'm really really sad to see the other long-timers go. It's sad to see other entreprenuers decide that it's just too much work and not enough return. Not enough of a paycheck, too much time away from family, too much worry and stress, to be worthwhile.

To make matters worse, it's something I contemplate from time to time. In just a few days I will have had this business for four years and while I've made strides every year and learned a ton, I'm still not in the position I niavely thought I would be when I started out. Sometimes I worry if I'm making a mistake. On the flip side, the good news about the economy being so sucky right now is that it's not like I could shut down the business and go easily get work elsewhere so I might as well keep plugging ahead and keep trying to make this work. And it will work, I do truly believe that, but if it could start working sooner rather then later I would greatly appreciate it.

The Makings of a Good Week

2010-02-23T07:49:00.001-08:00

Canada has apparently decided that I am not a threat to their country or their economy and I can now do business freely with them. I'm waiting for what will hopefully be the final OK and then hoping my BIG company still wants the order that was originally supposed to ship this week. My feeling (hope upon hope) is that if I can get it shipped out next week for them they'll still want it, right?

This week will however end with me taking a quick trip to Mexico. It's a long story but it's essentially a free trip and it's 80-something degrees down there right now so I wasn't about to pass it up.

A week that starts with an OK from Canadian customs and ends with me lying on a beach in Mexico has to be a good week!

Nice & Quiet

2010-02-18T13:07:00.001-08:00

I'm waiting. Waiting to hear what Canadian customs has to say about the info I sent them this morning. Waiting for some phone calls to be returned. Waiting for some emails to be returned.

And I have to say, that for the moment at least, I'm enjoying the silence. All the big stuff that has to be done has been done (or I'm waiting for said phone calls and emails to come back so I can get to work on that big stuff). Sure there's some little stuff I could do but it's not pressing. So instead, I'm working from home which means, given the silence today, I've got the backdoors open to enjoy this little Spring Thaw we have going and am just enjoying being in the sunshine and being with my dogs (who are tanning their bellies in the sunshine alongside me).

I've made a promise to myself that this year I'm not going to let anxiety get the better of me Q1 & Q2. I will do everything in my power to prepare for strong end of year sales but rather than spend time needlessly worrying over how quiet it can get in the first part of the year I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to do things like catch up on my reading, catch up on the list of housechores I've been putting off for the past 6 months, catch up on trying to get back in shape (long way to go there!). Generally, just try to enjoy the silence for a change.

Morning Amusement

2010-02-17T07:20:00.000-08:00

My business credit card bill is due today so I went online to make sure it was paid on time. The system was running really slowly so while it was loading I had time to call the credit card company and find out what my total outstanding balance - not just the balance due - was on the card as I'm trying to keep the card FULLY paid off so that I don't incure interest charges. And since I have the money available thanks to last year's Q4 sales, I might as well make sure everything is always paid off and paid in full.

While on the phone with the credit card company I happened to mention that the system was running really slowly and the woman I was talking to offered to take the payment right over the phone for no charge. This is definitely a 'New Economy' tactic as before I would have been charged $10-$15 for a phone call payment. I guess now if you're willing to make a payment they want to do everything possible to make it easy on you. So I went ahead and paid and was then treated to about 5 minutes of the woman thanking me for my excellent credit history with them, my excellent payment history with them, and how happy they were I'm a customer. Again, this must be a 'New Economy' approach to customer service as it's the first time I've been thanked profusely for being a decent (I wouldn't go so far as to call myself good) credit card customer. Anyway, it made me laugh.

When I last left off with Canadian customs they wanted a floorplan of the facility I work in so I finally managed to get a copy of that from the facility owners and am sending it off to Canada today. I'm hoping that now that the country has a few Olympic gold medals under their belt they'll be a lot happier and easier to deal with.

Perhaps I spoke too soon

2010-02-08T14:45:00.000-08:00

That big Spring order that was going to help push me to record Q1 sales...well, it's in limbo right now. Customs limbo. Despite the fact that I've been filling out the customs forms the same way for the past two years, apparently this time the form landed on the desk of someone who decided they wanted to complicate my life and keep asking for more and more information before they decide whether or not the items will be allowed into Canada.

Keep in mind, I don't make contraband, guns, ammo, medicine, or anything else fun (and probably much higher margin). My product is little, it's relatively boring (to some), and it's made with great care and attention. But for some reason (most likely the Olympics) our good friends the Canadian customs officials are now worried that my product will potentially do great harm to a portion of their population.

Right now it's not looking good. We're not totally out of the game yet but it's not looking good. And if I can't get this cleared up then not only will this current sale not go through (and I will not get paid despite the fact the product has been made at my cost) but it also means I can kiss those holiday orders from this company goodbye too. So if you wouldn't mind telling any Canadian Customs Officials you have as friends to please please please (pretty please) let this go through then I'd be forever in your debt. Heck, I'm just 90min south of Vancouver, they can come meet me and see my products in person down here if they want if that will convince them that I'm not out to harm the world.

On the plus side, if I can't sell these products right now at least I'm 300 units closer to the holiday inventory I need to have on hand.

Other positive news: I finally got an outstanding check from said BIG company today for orders that were delivered 90 days ago. It's been a Tom & Jerry experience trying to get it from them because the first set of invoices I sent were lost (though I didn't know that until after the invoices were already due), then when they finally cut the checks I think they must have been put in some backpackers pack and walked down here by the looks of how crinkled, dirty, and otherwise mishandled the envelopes were. Well, that was one envelope. The other one - with the remaining check - was missing until today. It finally showed up and I honestly believe it got stuck in some piece of postal processing equipment from the looks of the envelope and how much longer it took to get here then the first check. But it doesn't matter, it's here and it's cashable so it's going in the bank tomorrow.

And it's a sunny sunny day in Seattle. So I've got that to be thankful for as well.

Didn't I just put the Christmas decorations away?

2010-02-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

I have, sitting before me right now, two boxes filled with holiday samples. The boxes are packed, letters enclosed, and taped up ready to go to FedEx with the hope that they show up next week at their respective catalogue companies and the buyers there are so in awe of the samples they sign me up right away.

I find it funny that I'm shipping out holiday samples before Valentine's Day has even truly begun to show itself but catalogues work 8-10 months in advance so I need to get in there now and show my wares. I realize sending blind samples is not ideal, but I do have the buyers names and since I'm willing to dropship for them I'm hoping they'll realize that not only are my products one-of-a-kind and something they just have to include in their holiday catalogues, but that since I'm willing to dropship their inventory commitment is zero, zippo, a big fat 0.

Last year I signed up with one company to do dropship for them and didn't really expect it to come to anything. The downside of dropshipping is pretty obvious - I have to carry the product inventory but also have to buy in shipping boxes and packing material for sales that may or may not materialize. Turns out they did materialize (I was seriously shocked) and materialized in a big enough way to make me sit up and take notice. It dawned on me that dropshipping probably works really well for my product as it enables me to control temperature and freshness which is something that I can't control if it's shipped to some catalogue's warehouse. Plus, legally, I only have to have the products registered in my state and not each state I sell it in to like my wholesale business. For a small company those multiple permits can get very very expensive. And lastly, it gives me a birdseye view into what people products people are buying and that helps give me direction on where new products should go.

As such, despite the negatives, I was pleasently surprised by the dropship relationship last year and I'm hoping to build on it this year. The packages I put together this morning did end up looking really really good. Better then I had originally hoped. So now I'm just crossing my fingers and toes that they're well received next week!

Just Say No

2010-02-02T07:50:00.001-08:00

I keep getting emails about the Fall Tradeshows and about how I need to SIGN UP NOW AS SPACE IS GOING QUICKLY (emphasis is theirs, not mine). I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see those emails from one particular tradeshow, the one I've gone to for the past four years, and think 'no thank you.'

After the poor showing two years ago and absolutely abysmal showing last year - I swear I heard crickets chirping during the day - it brings me such joy to think about everything I can do with that $4K+ that usually goes towards that show. I can do more advertising in trade journals that have proven their ROI. I can do some test advertising in consumer magazines to see how it fares. Or I can just keep that $4K in my bank account until I find the perfect thing to dedicate it towards rather than running the bank account totally down in third quarter and then play the "sell stuff - pay bills" game in fourth quarter.

So yes, it makes me so happy to realize that I can cut what is essentially one of my biggest marketing costs and can do so guilt-free.

The Makings of a Good First Quarter

2010-01-29T08:28:00.000-08:00

It's looking like I'm on track to have a record breaking first and second quarter. Granted, that's not hard given that I'm normally quiet as a church mouse those two quarters, but this year in addition to the bigger Valentine's order that shipped the first week of January (and for which I should be getting a check in the next ten days), I also got a decent size order for another componant of my favorite BIG company that is supposed to ship in about three weeks.

I'm ecstatic I got this new order. It's not for a ton of money but the timing is perfect in that what they want can be completed in the time they want and - this is the part I love the most - they want it shipped the week before I'm supposed to leave for a little Mexico vacation. I'm heading down there with my parents who basically flipped houses with someone so it's only costing me ~$300 for the airfare and that's it. $300 for a little sun, sand, and margaritas. Well, ok, maybe more like $350 after the margaritas are accounted for.

Back to business - when talking to this componant of BIG company the buyer mentioned that they've been really happy with the products of mine they've brought on before and want to know what else I have that they might be interested in. This is exactly what I was hoping for and told her that I'll be showcasing some new stuff in the next month or two so she can take a look and see what we have. I'm hoping - hoping - that this means I'll get another 'outside holiday season' sale from them and then perhaps a bigger holiday sale order.

So I raise my glass of morning juice to what will hopefully be a record breaking first and second quarter and may that hopefully just foreshadow good things to come in third and fourth quarter!

Office Space

2010-01-20T09:17:00.000-08:00

There were only 5 things on my To Do list for today. It was deceivingly short though as #1 on that list was "clean & organize office."

About the same time QuickBooks went to hell in a handbasket (basically beginning of Q3) so did my office. The office - which is in our refinished halfbasement - not only holds my desk, printer, and other important "office" stuff, but also 90% of my packaging and my current inventory. Then toss in the washer and dryer and the three bikes that are currently wintering in the basement and it's a mighty crowded space.

Said space was made only worse when things got busy with work. Imagine all of that stuff in one space. Now imagine that a band of crazy monkeys has been allowed to roam free in the space for three to four months. That's a pretty accurate description of what it looked like. Chaos would be a nice word for it. Just to give you an idea, I had a pile of papers that was literally a foot high that needed to be filed. And I was proud of fact that they were actually all in one pile rather then spread throughout the office!

I had earmarked today as the day to get it cleaned and despite the fact the sun was actually out and shining for a few hours today (the first time we've seen the sun in about a month - I only wish I were kidding), I did head into the basement and begin the cleanup, filing, and general reorganization.

It wasn't an easy task by any means but it does feel so good to be done. Everything is filed, all packaging has been reorganized (and I now have a much better idea of what packaging I need to reorder), and all inventory is safetly stashed. You know you're getting old when a clean house/basement/office/etc makes you feel really good. Sad I know...

Year-End Review

2010-01-15T15:34:00.001-08:00

This week has been dedicated to getting my business taxes wrapped up and out the door. I always forget how much time and energy that takes...and I have an accountant do it! It did give me a chance to dig into the numbers a little bit more though and figure out what went right and what went wrong last year. I already had a good idea of where things stood but it was great to see it backed up by some solid figures. In a nutshell, sales increased by 1% and costs were down 27% so we're getting there. Slowly...but getting there.

After a closer look it was evident that sales to boutiques was down about 28% and given that the majority of my marketing budget is dedicated to those sales it really showed me that I need to better reallocate those funds into channels that will net a higher ROI. I have that one BIG customer who has been wonderful and one dropship relationship that panned out far better then I anticipated this year. So my goal is to focus on trying to get another "bigger" (not as big - 13 stores in my state) customer and another dropship relationship.

Since the funds spent on getting boutique business didn't work as I had hoped - though not altogether surprising given the economy - I want to work on cutting expenses by another 27% in 2010. In some instances this will be easy - for example, I'm cutting one of the Fall tradeshows this year and that's a big chunk of my marketing budget, but others are going to be tougher like trying to keep a tighter reign on those random office expenses. Something about OfficeMax just makes me want to spend money!

All in all 1% increase in sales was not what I was hoping for in 2009, but given the state of the economy I also have to realize that simply staying alive in 2009 is a huge coup. My personal opinion is that this is going to be a slow slow slow recovery so I think my key to staying alive in 2010 and beyond is to keep a really tight hold on costs. Cause at the end of the day it's all about cash flow!

Proof Positive

2010-01-11T17:31:00.001-08:00

Today was the proof I needed that QuickBooks is out to get me. Now I know what you're thinking - a computer program does not have the cognative ability to hate/love something and certainly doesn't have the capacity written within its code to plan and execute punishments for people. I'm here to tell you that you're wrong.

QuickBooks obviously reads this blog and knows of my hate/hate relationship with it and how much I despise having to get my books up to order. It knows that I complain about it incessently and it decided enough was enough.

After working like a charm all last week while I got everything updated and ready to go with nary an issue, today it decided to not work at all while I sat impatiently in my accountants office. As minutes - and consequently dollars paid in accountant fees - ticked by, QuickBooks repeatedly refused to open. Not only would it not open, but it wouldn't even let us access the www.intuit.com website which is not a protected website. Nothing...nada...

During this same time I was able to access QuickBooks (but not login) via my Blackberry, via my accountant's iPhone, and my husband was able to access and login via his computer at work when I called him in a panic. But my accountants computer just showed us that infuriating little hourglass. Now that would lead you to believe that it was an internet connection issue but every other website we tried came up within a nanosecond. But QuickBooks gave us nothing...

I'm going to let you know that without access to your books there's not a lot you or your accountant can do with regards to getting your year-end taxes done. Surprisingly accountants aren't so keen on just taking your word that the company made "$XYZ and change."

And just to prove that QuickBooks really had the upperhand the entire time, after I left and drove the 40minutes home I got an email from my accountant to let me know that after I left she had no trouble accessing QuickBooks. ....grrr....

So let me say here in public once and for all that while I do not necessarily enjoy inputting expenses (I actually very much enjoy inputting sales!) I do love the fact that QuickBooks lays everything so neatly out for me at the end of the month/quarter/year and I can so easly determine where my money is going, where it's coming from, and compare current and historical results. Yes QuickBooks, you are not my favorite, but I do really really appreciate all you do for me. So are we good now? We can even be FaceBook friends...

Budgeting

2010-01-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

I budgeted one day to get my QuickBooks in order prior to my tax meeting with the business accountant next week. Keep in mind that I haven't been updating the books since...oh...September...when the business hit it's usual Q3 & Q4 frenzy. I mean I have all the paperwork...in a giant pile on the disaster known as my desk (which has also managed to creep onto our dining room table as well because who really wants to sit in a basement all day working on QuickBooks). So yeah, I budgeted one day. And tomorrow will be Day 3.

The accountant meeting is first thing Monday morning so it's either get everything finished up and reconciled tomorrow or it's going to be a long weekend of accounting fun (gee - reminds me of my first quarter at business school when I'd fly to NYC to visit my now-husband and he'd basically spend all weekend trying to explain accounting 101 to me).

From what I've been able to tell thus far bookable sales last year were up over 2008. Not by much but given the economy I'll take it. I say "bookable" because I'm following a cash accounting method which means I don't actually input the revenue until the check comes in. That means all those BIG holiday orders are technically going to be booked at 2010 revenue (though the BIG 2008 order was booked into this year). Tomorrow is when I get a lot of the expenses in so I'll have a better picture of the lay of the land after that. Too bad I can't just leave it as is right now - all sales and no expenses.

Blogs Blah

2010-01-05T16:54:00.000-08:00

It's been a while - apparently one of my resolutions needs to be to update this blog more often. Sorry about that...I'm running at a real low energy lull right now.

In the meantime, since we're chatting about blogs. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can make my company's blog actually something worth reading. I feel like so many company blogs are "yeah - go us!" cheerleading that they really aren't that interesting. And there's really only so much new product info I can do. Does anyone have any ideas or have examples of company blogs they actually enjoy reading? And if not, then those times you go to a company's blog what are you looking for? Recent news? Proof of life?

The End Of The Year

2009-12-31T07:57:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-22T16:36:00.001-08:00

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?

2009-12-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-15T21:46:00.000-08:00

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?

2009-12-15T21:45:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-12-13T10:01:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-03T16:02:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-28T17:16:00.001-08:00

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?

2009-11-23T17:38:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-20T17:47:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-11T18:37:00.000-08:00

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?

2009-11-06T08:00:00.001-08:00

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

2009-10-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-27T20:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-10-22T00:27:00.000-07:00

(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

2009-10-19T16:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-12T19:43:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-28T23:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-09-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-09T19:44:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-08-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-08-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

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?