Hello everyone!! How is everyone? I’m hanging in there. Hanging. Everything is one step forward, two steps back. I had a conversation with one of the entrepreneurs that I met through this blog and that I admire very much, Jamie Lentzer at Jamie’s Painting & Design. I had stopped in at her blog and read that she had just not been up for blogging lately. I wrote “me too! me too!”.
She connected with me and we gabbed about how really, sometimes it’s just all too much and something has to fall by the wayside.
I’ve been all over the place like a yo-yo so why would I have anything to write? Um, gee Amber, because that is why you started this blog. See, somewhere I got caught up in the trap I said I wouldn’t - stopped sharing the aches and pains lest it should make my business look less successful. But that’s ridiculous. I know from every job I’ve had that mistakes happen everywhere on a daily basis. It’s the mistakes we learn from, and it’s my learning experiences that I wanted to share in the first place.
So, I thought I’d like to share a couple of BIG mistakes I’ve made (there are a lot, but in the interest of keeping myself upbeat this morning, I’m not going to share them all at once).
So many of the mistakes made over the last couple of years are wrapped in that second bullet point. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said “what if we try this…” without following up and researching the change in direction, but just jumping in instead. I attribute a lot of that to impatience on my part, I want to see results a lot sooner than is realistic for a mom running a business at the same time she is raising two kids.
June 4th, 2009
We’re getting more help. Hip hip hoorah. We’re growing good and good help is on the way. We’re bringing on more sales reps and more seamstresses. A virtual assistant has to be next b/c I’m going to pull out my hair with the admin stuff. But, I’m most excited about the new sales representatives. We brought on a sales rep in the Fall of last year and that was a complete disaster. I keep hearing from other business owners, almost everytime I mention wanting sales reps, “(ha) good luck finding someone good”. Good is such a subjective word - should be “someone who delivers”. In the form of sales. Lots of sales.
But, having gone through working with (if you could call it that) a sales rep, I feel like I’m in a much better position to support the next rep we bring on. Here’s a huge noticeable difference w/ the new rep compared to the old rep - the new rep sought us out because she loves our products. The old rep sought us out because we were somewhat new and they were looking to build their sales rep business. They thought, rightly (unfortunately), that we would be willing to take a risk because we were pretty new too.
Here’s the biggest mistake I made, which actually ended up having them cost us money instead of make us money - gave them exclusivity to a territory. DUH!! Don’t do that - I won’t say never, because if someone was established, reputable, and had a zillion accounts that they just couldn’t wait to show your stuff to, then maybe I’d consider exclusivity. After they first turned in x number of sales. But otherwise, proceed with caution. Or put time limits on it, you can have exclusivity for 90 days provided you meet (enter quota here).
I like to stay on the positive side of things, so I think the best way for me to get the shakes out of the old (and bad) sales rep experience, is for me to share with you what I learned about supporting a sales rep:
Have good sales materials, marketing collateral, and lots of it
You need to have materials for your representatives to use as sales tools. A look book would be great, but at the very least, line sheets, account setup forms, and postcard mailers. Make sure that you use consistent branding so that your sales rep, and potential vendors, will feel they are working with a professional company.
Setup a weekly meeting and address questions
I did not set up enough phone conversations with the old sales rep. This time around, we will have a weekly phone meeting - at the very least. The reps should feel that they have a direct line to getting their questions answered and should feel comfortable calling to ask questions.
Provide great customer service to your reps and their clients
Always beat expectations for your representatives - happy reps will be passionate about representing your company, so I think it’s important to treat them well. I simply didn’t pay enough attention to our last representative.
Also, if you are a representative, you have to keep in mind that we don’t know what you don’t know. You have to speak up and ask questions about our products, our shipping policies, special offers, company philosophy, etc. Ask for the support so that we know where and when you need it. It’s a win win!
May 4th, 2009
One of my intentions when I started this blog was to share “where it all began”. I could never find stories of how people had made the leap from idea to real products on the shelves. Everywhere I would read “she started in her garage and then blew up into a mega —”, you get the idea, I’m sure you’ve read the stories too. I’ve received a few emails lately of people asking not so much why, but so much HOW, it all began for me.
It began for me with headbands on ebay. From my dining room table. I’d have my newborn daughter sleeping safely next to me while I sewed and starting researching business basics like mad. I quickly moved on to selling outfits on ebay and quickly learned that I couldn’t sustain anything if the production was up to me. So I quit ebay and sales and went seriously into product development and learning about manufacturing.
Once I had a good product, I started to hit up the industry trade shows and local boutiques. It’s been a building process from there. A slow one for me. We receive a lot of press and once our products are in boutiques, they can’t get enough. But I honestly started this business because my kids were my priority and so, especially during the development phase, there were times that I put things on hold for long periods of time. Such as when I was pregnant with my second.
If there is anything I’ve learned since launching, it is that growing a business is exactly that - a growth process. We are picking up momentum on a daily basis, and the reality that we ARE making it is starting to sink it. Every day I learn something new, everyday our processes get more efficient, every day we improve on our customer service.
This year, I’m looking to branching into a separate work space. Right now, the business occupies two full rooms of our house. Both of our kids will be school age next year, so it won’t be necessary for us to operate out of the home. Yesterday I discovered a retail space for lease in the heart of one of the cutest shopping districts in town. I can’t stop SEEING our stuff in that window. Maybe our first retail store is in the cards, it just seems so perfect.
April 25th, 2009
I really thought that I would be up at the LA Textile Show today. However, my daughter’s playdate fell through yesterday and today was the only day to re-schedule. This is something the kids have been looking forward to all week, and the kids are absolutely my priority. And today was the only day I could have made it up to LA for the show. Ah well. When it all fell apart yesterday, I did what all good little entrepreneurs do, started thinking of plan B, what would be crucial to me about missing the show, and what I would do about it.
I wanted to go there to identify some new organic textile suppliers. I have lists of companies from shows past, so sourcing this time will involve a lot of phone calls and header /swatch / referral requests. But it can be done.
Really, the more I thought about missing the show, the more I realized how much I wanted to go for the fun of it. I love visiting the trending section and saying hello to existing suppliers. I love visiting new booths because nothing compares to having the entire collection in front of you to see / touch / ask questions about. It’s a fun part of the job.
But I also realized that I probably would have done what I always do and get running on different tangents and design ideas that aren’t realistic to implement this year anyways. We have taken great care over the last year to hone our product lines down to the best-sellers. The next design that I will put out is already sourced. We’ll keep adding new blanket prints and new designs for our organic collection, but the supplies and vendors for both of those are already sourced. Even the tools and equipment we’ll need to take us to the next level have been identified.
So, it’s not world-ending that I didn’t make it up to the textile show this week. I’ll definitely be itching to make it to the October show and at that time, I’ll really need some new woven organics (I want prints!!). I’ve finally learned the true calming beauty to taking everything one day at a time. It’s the only way to operate with any sanity as a mom, wife, and business owner.
Anybody out there make it to the Textile Show? Did you find some good new vendors? Anything to share about trends?
I was also wondering about the new show at the convention center - is anyone attending that one? I think it’s later this month.
April 16th, 2009
I’ve been working my fingers to the bone. My dialing fingers that is - and it’s paying off! We’ve picked up great new accounts this week and I’ve made a ton of new connections.
We have finally honed our product line down to the four collections that consistently sell great for retailers. Our ponchos, our organic onesie sets, the Name in Brights blankets, and the cover-all bibs. Having existing retailers re-order all previous designs and add all new designs has really given me the assurance that our stuff flies off the shelves. To potential clients, I can say, in all honesty, “these are going to sell really well for you, no matter which style you choose”. I finally believe in (or remember) the reasons why I started this business - because I believed in our creative abilities. I believed we could / would be the best.
If you read between the lines there, you’ll see that I didn’t give much thought to our admin abilities, but I did 100% believe we had what it took to make it big time. I can honestly say I lost sight of that self-confidence somewhere between figuring out what a pattern maker does and showing at our first trade shows. It’s crazy-making.
My confidence is back, I’m feeling good. Business is picking up for our retailers, we’re updating parts of our house, I’ve started yoga, I’m making more time for friends, I’m feeling happy. And it all came down to me deciding that I really want this and yes, I’m really willing to work as hard as I need to so we can sky rocket up up up n’ away.
I was just telling my husband that I feel like I’ve been through a train wreck (last half of ‘08) and somehow, miraculously, came out on the other side of it still smiling, still shinin’…
Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right - Henry Ford
March 20th, 2009
I feel like sharing a break through I’ve had recently. I don’t know why I feel like sharing it here, since for once, it’s one I haven’t really voiced out loud too much. And I think it will sound funny coming from someone who started their business over two years ago - because damn if it doesn’t take a lot of guts and perserverance to not only just go for it, but to keep going, and going, and going, and going…(right, you get it).
Let me back up just a teensy little bit here - this last six months has been a crazy journey. I’ve felt very lost and unsure about whether or not I was doing the right thing. I was looking for answers and motivation anywhere I could sop them up from - books, friends, business seminars, meditation, prayers - you name it. All the while plugging on - all the while feeling in my gut that we couldn’t have come THIS far for nothing. The company was getting featured and having great sales. So, really, business was good for a lot of that time of uncertainty. It wasn’t that.
Why so unsure girly? Because I felt like I was getting wholloped left and write - watching some of our retailers go out of business, the whole doom-and-gloom every single flippin’ day on the news (I’ve pretty much stopped watching - I get it!!), and most especially the CPSIA passing and how / what to do about that, could we even afford to stay in business? It kept me up at night. My jaw was tight from grinding my teeth at night (I’ve since implemented stress-management programs).
Then - la-dee-da, the breakthrough this week. It isn’t about whether I “should be” doing this crazy thing, or whether it’s what I’m “meant to do”. It is about whether or not I WANT to do this thing. Once I realized that, and everything from my heart to my head shouted “YES”, I felt a huge sense of relief. I felt unstoppable, I felt happy. I felt, well, like I knew what I was meant to do. But right now, I’m meant to run my kids over to the gym where my husband is coaching. Will blog again soon - I have to share the cute little skirt I’ve designed my daughter since deciding to play more and let the fabric “speak to me” too!
March 1st, 2009
A dear friend of mine has started blogging again and this morning, THIS showed up in my inbox:
What is play and why do I care?
Here’s a part that really struck a cord with me (direct quote):
I have a choice about the attitude that I bring to my art, and that is what determines whether it is play or not. It also is what determines whether I’m available to the flow of inspiration.
If I let my art be about the result, it isn’t play. When I’m focused on the outcome, I’m out of the moment and not available to the spontaneous flow of inspiration that, for me, is a big part of play.
Those two paragraphs hit me like a ton of bricks - I’ve been WAY to focused on the result. I’ve been ignoring my own natural creative process. I blame a lot of it learning!
When I was first discovering that I had a talent for this whole baby clothing design thing, I literally let the fabric speak to me. I would get my hands on it and jumble it around on the table into interesting shapes, until a picture of the perfect little design would emerge in my mind. Then I decided I had a talent for this, a passion for this, I loved it. So I set about learning the process of fashion design and that’s where I chinked my creative process a bit.
The need for technical illustrations and pattern makers has made me sketch first. I don’t think that this is the most natural for me. The lack of fabric availability and minimums hasn’t helped either. I used to just grab any fabric that spoke to me off the shelves, now I have to purchase from suppliers and wait until trade shows - or until samples come in the mail- to see the fabrics.
The post at Reinvention Revolution made me remember how much I love to sit and get lost in creative fun, get my hands on the fabric, let it speak to me, dance for me. I need to get back to that. Doing it my way.
Take a moment to read the whole post at ReinventionRevolution.com, you won’t be sorry. Gorgeous collage and inspiring thoughts…
February 18th, 2009
I feel like I’ve been taken to the cleaners by a used car mechanic, only it was a pattern grader. The fit for the original sample size is great, it’s as the pattern gets bigger that it has problems. Mainly in the sleeve length. Everything else seems to be graded ok, but by the time the pattern gets up to a size 6x, the sleeves are almost 5 inches short.
This guy has since gone out of business, and thank goodness I only tried him out with one pattern. But it’s still a waste of money and time. It might have been a waste of money and time anyways because of course I want to change the pattern. Just call me never satisfied.
So why didn’t I notice the grading issue sooner? Mainly because we only produced two small sizes for the first production run. At that point, the original size was a good fit and the sleeve issue on the one size up was, I guess, imperceptible. Now I want to produce another run w/ the larger sizes too and just happened to make a sample in my daughter’s size. It was as if the sleeves had shrunk, and I was shocked. I’m happy we didn’t have them made, especially considering I pretty much just assumed the grading was right on.
This really drove home for me how important it is to double-check everything and also how important it is to gain enough knowledge to know what you are double-checking. If anyone knows any tricks for verifying that a pattern has been graded correctly, can you share??
February 4th, 2009
Oh crazy first month of 2009, I love you! This month was incredibly stressful scurrying to figure out CPSIA compliance, taking in some of our biggest orders to-date, and going on the roller coaster of having a best-selling product sell out (this is a fabric availability issue).
Ah, the CPSC has issued a one year stay on testing regulations for certain products. This was the news as of yesterday. Here is a link to the press release. Anyhow, what this does is let us go ahead with the testing we are doing and go ahead and keep selling the blankets. I think it’s important to note that you still have to comply - you can’t sell products with lead over the limits, but it seems you can decide how you’re going to do your due diligence and test your products, or accept certifications from suppliers (such as Michael Miller recently declaring all of their fabrics are CPSIA compliant).
We have new organic onesie designs and they are selling like mad. There was finally a noticable pick-up in January. We’ve seen so many boutiques go out of business in the last year, that it seems (cautiously optimistic) that those that have managed to stay in business are finally picking up some of the customer’s from the boutiques that are no longer around. For example, one boutique in the center of town just placed their biggest b*Fab order yet - they have watched no less than six competing boutiques go out of business in the last eight months (most of those were our customers too). At some point, even if all those businesses had less customers, one out of seven boutiques should now have more customers. This pendulum has to start swinging this way at some point, right? It seems to be for us.
We had a cute little poncho featured in the January issue of Pregnancy & Newborn magazine and that sucker
sold out almost immediately. Between the boutiques that managed to place wholesale orders and the online sales, it wasn’t even in stock for two weeks. The reason I’m bringing this up is because I ran into the good old fabric is now out-of-stock issue again. This time, we wanted to do another production run - it’s selling like mad, it will sell well through the Spring - but the fabric is no longer available. So, instead of being able to keep it available on the site, we are scurrying to replace the print fabric. The bright side is that now I know more about our potential and that informs me for ordering increased yardage and supplies for the next go round.
I can honestly say we’ve never worked as hard as we did in January. This could well be the year of the 16 hour days, but we’re up for it, because the business is growing up to it. I don’t let myself watch much news anymore either, it is seriously too depressing. I get it. I’m proceeding with more caution than I ever have before, I’ve learned a lot of lessons from the economy hitting the skids. But I have to focus on the positive and how I’m going to keep us going through this. It’s nice to be bringing in a great flow of business again - that definitely helps to see the bright side of things.
Here’s to the launch of a great February. And for me, a happy weekend when we’re actually doing some painting around the house.
January 31st, 2009
This post is in response to all the emails I get from buyers wondering where they can find unique products, and vice versa, from manufacturers wondering how to find buyers. So I wanted to share with all of you a great resource, no matter which side of the coin you’re on - the boutiqueup.com newsletters.
Lisa, from CreativeWritingStudios.com, has put together an bi-weekly email, similar to HARO, but aimed specifically at connecting buyers with manufacturers. There are two separate emails that go out - one where manufacturers list their product offerings and another where buyers who are openly buying list their product requests and contact information.
This is an invaluable resource for all of you who are looking to target your pitches at buyers who are actively seeking new lines. If you’ve been involved with any of the sales aspect for your company, then you know how hard it is to get the buyer’s attention, and even harder to find buyers who are looking for exactly what you’re offering. BoutiqueUp! is a free service (yes, I really said that and yes, it’s really true!), so make sure you sign up to receive the updates (sign up is at the bottom of the page).
Boutique UP! has a lot of additional services that you will want to look into - including a wholesale directory and wholesale catalog, and unique product reviews (she’ll create an amazing one-pager for you to send to retailers).
You should also contact Lisa if you are in need of writing services - she has incredible rates and I am familiar with her work, which is outstanding. She can write you web copy, your marketing materials, your press releases, etc. And like I said, the rates are reasonable for start-ups. Visit her at creativewritingstudios.com.
Keep on moving on!!!
January 24th, 2009
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