Keep Learning

One of the reasons I started this business was that I felt it would put me in a good position to always be learning and challenging myself. Apparently it's working and here's why.

I sent samples to BIG company about a month ago per their request. A year or two ago I would have hoped to have an email from them a day or two later. When I sent off the samples this time around and was asked by friends when they thought I'd hear back I said I was hoping to hear something by the end of the month.

So the end of the month has rolled around and I haven't heard anything. Normally I would be off the wall by now. Instead I opt to send them a quick email followup yesterday. Again, a few years ago I would have expected an email response right away. Now I figure if I don't hear anything in the next 2-3 weeks I'll followup again.

If patience truly is a virtue it's nice to think I may actually be getting a little bit more virtuous.

Keeping Busy Part 1

The first half of the year is always slow for me - that's just the way my business is set up. I typically pay for it in spades the second half of the year. But I knew going into this year that things were going to be quieter then normal with the way the economy was turning - who would have thought that November '08 was going to look like a good economic month in retrospect!

So I tried to steel myself for what I assumed were going to be quiet days and little or no sales. The funny thing is, even though I knew all that going in, I also knew that I was going to get all frazzled over the fact that things were quiet and I find that I'm inching closer and closer to the frazzled point each day. The problem is that when I get to the frazzled point I typically start to make rash decisions that may be good for revenue today but aren't inline with the long term goals of the company or the positioning of the brand. So I've been trying to find constructive ways to keep myself busy which will hopefully also keep me out of trouble.

Thankfully the nonprofit I'm on the Board of, like most nonprofits, is always looking for unique ways to raise money and I brought an idea to them that I had seen executed very well at another nonprofit. They liked the idea so I did some more research and wrote up a formal business proposal - complete with projected financials - and presented it to the Board. If things go well, and this is based on conservative numbers, this project will bring in 3x as much profit as a similar project that it would replace. That's pretty significant. Course we've got to make it work. So I've now been placed in the lead role on this new project and it's a BIG one. It's going to take a lot of time and a lot of legwork to get it pulled off and pulled off correctly.

But you know what, I'm really really excited about it. Not only is it working on a project and for a cause I'm passionate about, but I also see it as a blessing for my business because it's going to keep my mind and hands busy. Whenever I find myself with not enough to do I can be pretty sure there's something I should be doing on this nonprofit project. Also, the first big project push should pretty much lead up until the end of July/August timeframe which is when I typically start getting signficantly more busy with the business. I really do see this as win-win for all involved. Not to mention that I want to prove to the Board that the fact that I "go dark" (a term one of them used to describe my all-encompassing business focus in Q3&Q4) doesn't mean I can't contribute - and in a very big way - to the nonprofit.

My New Office!

Hooray - my new office is finally done! I'm in the process of moving myself into it and likely will be most of the weekend but it's here. The carpeting makes a HUGE difference in the basement. See for yourself:

Before:

Painted but no carpeting (photo taken from the same angle - taken with my blackberry which is why the photo seems so dark):

Now newly carpeted with shelving unit: (photo taken from the same angle but again with my blackberry so I apologize for the darkness of the photo):

I've started putting folders and books away in the shelving and I'm already at a lose for what I'm going to do with all the extra shelving space. I thought I was going to run out but it's looking like I'm going to have extra space left over. I'm just so happy!

I finally made the call today that the red couch which has lived in our basement since we got here - the red couch I've had since before I met my husband - is going to try and find a new home curtesy of Craigslist. As much as I love it, it's just taking up space and not being utilized. And when I only have about 250sqft to work with down there, that's space I need. So the couch will hopefully find a new home, the desk will move into the couch's spot, and then we'll still have room to set up the bikes and the trainers when needed AND give the dogs some running room down there.

Speaking of which, I'm convinced my youngest dog just equates "carpeting" with "crazy time." When we go to visit my parents house in Wyoming we always send them down into the carpeted basement when they start to go a little nuts and the younger pup just does laps in the basement. However, that's the only time she's ever seen carpeting. Now that we have it installed in the basement she literally turns into crazy dog everytime she goes down there. Even last night at 10pm she was down there doing windsprints...this for a dog who, and I'm being serious when I say this, goes upstairs to bed on her own at 8:30pm every night. It's really rather hilarious to watch though it has me wondering how productive my time down there will be with crazy dog erupting in the background.

SEO, Webguru, and Carpeting

Three part post today so I'll try to keep it short.

SEO: I mentioned awhile ago that I'm focusing on SEO (search engine optimization) as part of my social networking marketing plan and have been working on learning more. Today this popped into my email inbox which I thought might be useful to others out there: http://www.hubspot.com/seo-for-lead-generation-kit/?source=email_20090219b

It's a Search Engine Optimization For Leads Kit and it's free! Why, because the guys are HubSpot (the folks who put the kit together) are not only uber-cool but because they are also incredibly smart and know that by starting to build relationships with us small businesses when we're small and not necessarily flush with cash by giving us information we need, we're more likely to turn to them when we do have money. Why? Because we know that they're obviously experts in their field and they've been willing to help us along regardless of where we were size wise. The kit contains 3 hour long webinars along with an SEO guidelines book. I'm halfway through the first video and if you're anything like me - basically ignorant when it comes to SEO - it will likely be really beneficial to check out.

Secondly, if you're in need of a webguru to do things like SEO and build websites for you let me know. My webguru just lost his fulltime contract so is looking to pick up work where he can. I can attest to the fact that he's a really strong web designer and programmer, is very honest, and offers good pricing. Plus he's a great dad to two small kids and I'd love to help him out as much as possible. So let me know if you have a need for your own web guru.

Lastly, the new carpeting is in. And talk about customer service - I had a manager and sales rep from Lowe's come out to check on the installation after it was in. On the one hand I'm pretty impressed with that level of customer service. On the other, it made me more than a little nervous to let two strange men into my house just because they were wearing red lowe's vests. But they were legit and the carpeting makes a HUGE difference. I'll post some pictures tomorrow as I start to reconfigure the space. In the meantime, my dogs are having a blast doing windsprints downstairs on the carpeting. Since the rest of our house if hardwood they're not used to being able to run inside without sliding. It's like a funhouse for dogs!

Looking For Some Cheap PR?

For small companies PR always seems like one of those elusive things that you'd kill to get but you just don't know how to go about it. PR has always been on my radar - I even took a PR class through an adjacent school while working on my MBA. All I can say is that those are hours I will never have back again. I really had high hopes for the class but it was less then inspiring. Though I did manage to faint due to the flu the first day of class so I made quite an impression as 'the freaky business school girl.' Can't say I made too many friends in that class after that.

Then the first full year of my business I paid - get this - $17,000 for a PR firm. Far and away the biggest financial mistake I've made thus far. It still pains me to see that number. Now maybe other PR firms are MUCH MUCH better (you literally couldn't have been much worse) but during the several months I was working with them, I generated more PR on my own simply by talking to various people then they generated for me. Honestly still makes me ill to think of that money wasted.

But that doesn't mean I don't value PR. We were featured on CBS' The Early Show this past holiday season and while it didn't necessarily bring us a ton of sales, it has helped elevate our brand name. How did I get the piece on CBS? Not by anything I did myself. Apparently it came via a blog post that a blogger wrote about us! And while I'm utterly grateful, that's not exactly a PR plan I can count on going forward.

Then today I stumbled upon this site that another small business recommended: http://www.ereleases.com/. From my understanding, it's a free PRwire service that sends your press release out to a national database of reporters along with two targeted submarkets (ie - grocery trade publications or tech market freelancers). Now it's not totally free, it costs $399 to send out a release, but there's no associated membership fee which is typically how other newswire sources work. They're also partnered with PRNewswire which gives it a little more credibility in my mind given that PRNewswire is the major press release newswire service in the US if not the world. And I did a quick scan of the database they say they send stuff to and it's certainly a lot of recognizable press outlets. I haven't used it yet but at $399 I'm definitely interested. I have two main things this year I'm working on for the company that, depending on how things come to pass, it might be useful to put a press release out there and see what happens. I'll definitely keep you updated on what happens if I do use it. Or if you have experience with this or another service let me know.

PS: I had been hoping to post today with pictures of my newly carpeted basement but, true to form for an old house, turns out that when adding carpeting to a house this old it's a multi-day process so that the glue strips and tacking can fully adhere to the cement flooring. As such, I now have a basement full of tacks and no carpeting. Hopefully on Thursday the carpeting will all come together and I can spend some time on Friday getting the basement set up.

Basement to Office - The Facelift Continues

It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint will do for a room. The space just feels cleaner and fresher! I had wanted to use exactly the same color on the basement walls as before but couldn't find an old paintcan with the color (from the previous owners) and nor could I match the color exactly. I came pretty close though - maybe a little lighter then the original color but it's a basement so the lighter the better to try and make the space seem brighter (see, I do watch HGTV from time to time!). As of now the basement is fully painted trim and all. Here are some before and after pics:













Obviously still some work to do and I actually still have to repaint the stairwell which I'm hoping to do today & this weekend as the carpet guys are coming on Tuesday to put down the new carpeting. So we also get to spend some time this weekend moving anything left in the basement upstairs into the main level so that it's totally clear down there. But once the carpeting is done I'll be able to start putting up shelving and getting things organized which will not only turn the basement into an office, but hopefully also turn the guestroom and dining room table back to their intended purposes! I wonder if my mother-in-law is going to miss sleeping in amongst my files when she comes to visit? :)

Since I've posted a bunch of pictures today I thought I'd post one more for Friday entertainment. Here's a picture from when I was trapped on the other side of the mountains for several days in a hotel room with the dogs while waiting for roads to clear up. Doesn't my youngest dog look happy that we're getting to spend quality time together?

I Passed!

I passed the state exam I was required to take. I won't lie, I was a tad nervous though only because my husband promised to make fun of me if I didn't. Though it would have been hard to truly fail. In true "we want to make sure everyone can win" attitude, the city actually allows you to retake the test as many times as possible without additional cost until you do pass. The test is also offered in numerous other languages so that the language barrier won't pose a problem. And it's not like this is the bar exam. They actually explained - for five minutes (no joke) - how to fill in a scantron sheet. So I had every reason to believe my beloved would, rightly so, make fun of me if I failed the exam.

But I did pass and don't have to go back and redo it for another two years. I even got 100%. Thinking about going out to get myself some gold stars to put on the exam. Maybe I should hang it up on the fridge.