Archive for August, 2007
I must say that even though we’re one slim week away from our next trade show, we’re much further than we’ve EVER been with our display at this point. We’re getting the mock display together. Previously, despite many grandiose plans, the furthest we got towards a mock up was chicken scratched plans on paper.
The difference between making a plan on paper and seeing the plan in real life is hUgE. We’ve changed our display ideas I don’t know how many times since we started actually building the display. Nothing compares to standing in front of the shelves or racks and seeing how wrong the paper plan feels.
At least chicken scratches on paper give you a starting point. Our first trade show was pretty much about showing up. The next were about incorporating signs and improving display. We’re finally to the point of trying to convey a mood, we’re working around a theme, which helps a lot for the planning. We’ve got the booth space taped out on the office floor and it’s coming together by the day.
Otherwise, everything is in go-go-go-go-and-then-go-some-more mode. I am very excited about the possibilities of my new line - it’s just about getting the samples in by show time. Oh, please, let it all come together by show time.
As an aside - this heat wave does not help my productivity levels and it’s only supposed to get worse. If my kids would only join me, I’d become a vampire - work by night, sleep by day. But the kids don’t play that way and will not sleep during the day. Ah well, I can live on little sleep for one week.
I hope all of you who are prepping for the show are doing better than I am! I wonder if I’ll ever get to the point where I’m a week away from a show and everything is already done and ready to go. But then, getting to that point could be a sign of a stagnant business…
August 28th, 2007
I think that this question is the theme of the week. I received an email from a new reader yesterday, asking me if it would be worth it to go into the children’s clothing business at all. Today, I read this mom-entrepreneur’s blog post on how the entrepreneurial world is less-than-ideal.
As far as to whether it’s worth it to go into the children’s industry in particular - my main answer is that the decision is personal. Only you know what products you have in mind. You then have to do the research to find out if the market will take on your product. What is your niche? What will set you apart from the competition? How will you market your products and what price-point are you aiming for? Do you see yourself selling great designs at great prices or luxurious products for a higher price point? What sales and distribution channels will you use?
I definitely believe you have to have a niche. You have to have something unique and different enough to make people overlook your “newness” and take a risk on you.
As far as to whether it’s worth it to go into any kind of business for yourself, my answer is a hundred times over “yes”. Personally, I hate working for other people. Don’t get my wrong, I know how to play the game. I know how to hold a job and move up the rungs of the ladder. But I hated that life. I DO work a lot, a lot, a LOT harder now, but I get bigger rewards, and I see my kids about 800% more than I used to when I spent my days in an office building. And it’s humbling too!
I’ve made a zillion mistakes and have wasted a ton of money by starting my own business. But I’ve grown by leaps and bounds, and I’ve learned a zillion things from those zillion mistakes. I enjoy the journey, I enjoy challenging myself, and I’m starting to enjoy pushing myself outside of my comfort level.
All that being said, no business is worth going into if you don’t LOVE it. You have to love it to push yourself through years of hard work and little sleep.
August 20th, 2007
Right now, this is a catch-all post because I need to catch up…on everything (ha ha). Focus and vision, - have a vision, keep the focus. If I work on this long enough, someday I’ll get it.
My sample fabrics have arrived and I’m giddy with excitement. We’re definitely back in the usual “make it happen” mode - being only a month out from the trade show. If I can make this happen, I feel that we should be good for awhile, that we might get a good stable product line with a decent variety. I have to get to some point of sanity, and getting to a stable product line is a big one for me right now.
Oh please, oh please, grant me the late-night strength this is gonna take.
On a side note, one of you wonderful readers out there wrote me about organics suppliers and I don’t think I ever got back to you (apologies), but I have some info if you want to contact me - info@babyfabulous.com.
Speaking of suppliers I just had a longtime customer mention to us that she’s starting to see our most popular blanket fabric everywhere. I hate it, yes I hate it. Bad enough when I notice the same fabrics in boutiques, worse when customers notice. The problem is that we’ve gone with this fabric because it’s a big seller and also because it’s a fabric that the supplier keeps in-stock. Meaning, it’s not as limited edition as every other cool fabric from suppliers with low minimums (more than once our supplier has been sold out of the fabric we need when it’s time to place the production order). Since it’s a blanket that boutiques can have on display without worrying about the print selling out, we’ll stick with it a little while.
That’s the growing pains, if a supplier offers low minimums then it seems like everyone uses their fabrics - and they sell out quickly. Not so fun when you’re trying to break into a style industry. But we just have to make it through the startup phases, right? Which reminds me that a really cool graphic designer approached us this week, offering his services. He’s got some big-wig clients in his portfolio, so that’s flattering. It will be so nice to get to the point of our own print designs.
And to sign-off, I want to let those of you who’ve contacted me with questions recently know that I’ll be combing through my emails so I can answer your questions to the best of my knowledge.
August 4th, 2007