Success - Luck or Skill?

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

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

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

So how much is luck and how much is skill?

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

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

T-T-That's All Folks

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

Working from Home - not all glamor

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

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

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

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

What Would You Want To Know?

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

Like a Shiny New Toy

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

Oh hooray - this makes my day!

Post Show RoundUp

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

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

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

First Show of the Season - Sorta

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

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

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

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