Posts filed under 'Motivation to Keep Moving'
I’ve never worked so hard in my life, but I need to work harder!! Harder baby, harder baby. I can’t believe that I’m years into this now. What I really can’t believe is how much there still is to accomplish, even with the years of work behind us. Doesn’t that sound nice and discouraging? It shouldn’t. You have a whole lifetime of work ahead of you, whether you’re doing your own business or climbing the corporate ladder. I hated working in a corporate environment, it really wore on me. Having a business is stressful and completely up to you. I’ve traded what to me was corporate-misery for heap loads of stress. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I buckle down and work under stress and I’ve finally buckled down and focused on crafting a couple of designs we love (oh wait until you see our little giraffe gift set) and selling them every single freaking day. I spend at least an hour on sales and marketing every day now. At least. And the momentum is building and the sales are rolling in - but it’s still a battle. New orders inevitably mean new supplies are needed, so we have to be prepared for the constant flow of money going out. I’m learning to watch every penny. Basically, I’m gaining a broader understanding of “cash flow”.
Even as times are tighter, we’re bringing on more help and growing our product line. Our organic onesie sets sell like mad in the boutiques, which has helped me hone my sales pitch. Even today, I got an appointment with a local boutique I’d really like to be in - just because I pushed it. They “don’t do personalized” because they need fast baby shower gifts. Oh and btw, if she had thought that our product line was for her, she would have responded to my email. I didn’t skip a beat before saying “our organic onesie sets are great gift sets that sell like mad in that type of environment. They have photo-real graphics, tattoos on the back, and matching hats.” She wanted another email, I told her I’d rather stop in - she’d be happy to see me on Friday. I’m getting more confidence, we’ve been out long enough that I know what really sells, and I really know that if I can get our stuff in her hands, she’ll want it. Like I said, I’m gaining more confidence.
And praying every day too.
June 24th, 2008
Wow, before I jump in, I want to apologize for being so side-tracked from this blog. I have been incredibly busy and my focus has been elsewhere - but I have a lot to share and I promise to pour it out here as much as I can.
I attended a Business Intensive Seminar on Sales last Friday. The seminar was put on by a business coach who had been referred to me by a friend. I’ll admit I was skeptical, and I battled back-n-forth in my head all morning about whether or not to go. I pretty much had myself convinced to stay until I told myself “you are going. The only reason you don’t want to is because it’s outside of your comfort zone. So you are going.”
I am SO happy I went.
I really have a different perspective on sales. There were a lot of concepts that were thrown out as food for thought, as well as concrete ways to set sales goals and figure out both lead and sales conversion ratios. However, the main thing that struck a cord with me was the idea that, during any given sales pitch, you are focused on one of two things:
- Money
- How you’ll make a difference - meaning your service or your product
If you are focused on how you’ll make a difference to the person you are pitching, you will be far more successful in your pitch than if you are focused on money, or closing the deal. The more you are focused on the money, the more you decrease your chances of converting the sale.
Funnily enough, I can use said Business Coache’s pitch to me as a prime example. When he was pitching me, I felt strongly that he cared about making a difference in my business. He had me sold on his group coaching program and made it sound like he’d send me info and it was all easy-going. The next email I received jumped right into needing my payment for the group coaching, and needing immediately or I’d miss the boat (group). Well, that completely threw me off. I almost immediately backed out and said I would look into it for the next round. If he had stuck with the original approach and made it seem like getting my money wasn’t the MOST urgent part of the process, I would have been happy to stay on course. Instead, I decided to attend this one-time seminar at about 1/20th the cost of the group-coaching program.
I think this is important for all of us who don’t have a sales background. It’s hard not to focus on whether the prospect is going to say “yes” or “no” - which is focusing on the money. Focus on how you are helping them and they will feel lucky to be in business with you. You always want it to feel like a win-win, especially in our industry, where you are looking for long-term relationships.
Even if you aren’t the sales rep for your company, this concept should translate to all of the PR and marketing you do for your company as well.
June 2nd, 2008
April was so great for sales that it has raised new manufacturing nightmares - ok, speed bumps; minor speed bumps. Mainly, the contractor needs more contractors. I have been questioning so much about going the specialized route (meaning with the personalized blankets). I love designing clothing, that’s why I started down this path - that is what I’m good at. I’m wondering if I got derailed by the niche offering of personalized items for the better or the worse. I hear negative after negative out of the contractor’s mouth, as I’m pouring more and more business their way. Yet when I ask if they are telling me it’s going to be too hard to grow, they say “no, no, this is a good thing”.
So we’re just pushing on. Is it perseverance or blind faith? I have no idea right now. I’m focusing on sales, sales, sales - especially to wholesale accounts. As I mentioned previously, it’s hard for everyone right now. And we’re all staying positive, trying to stay positive.
I’m reading the Bhagavad Gita right now and one of the main (life) lessons in there is to just put your head down and work. So I’m trying to do this as much as possible during work hours. It’s when I try to focus that I realize how flighty I let myself be with my time - check this email, check the news, blah blah blah.
And on that note, I will be blogging more; we’re growing so much, my time has been consumed. I’m working on getting our sales kit to our sales rep in the southeast - who is ready to hit the road! I’m very excited and nervous about this new development.
PS. You can now email me at info@startupkidsline.com if you have any questions. I’m behind on emails, so I’m hoping this will keep me a little more organized so I can get to all of them. And please, let’s help each other on the forums too!!!
May 20th, 2008
Crazy times right? Crazy times to be starting a business (we’re a year and a half past launch, I wonder when I’ll start referring to it as running a business???) It’s an economy thing and it has been crazy. We were building momentum like mad into January, and then everything just dipped. One of our boutiques that really sells our stuff well estimates traffic was down from 20 - 30 people a day to oh, about three!! THREE!!
But if this last month of business is any indication of things, then I think things are finally taking a turn for the better. We had a heck of a great show at Baby Celebration, online sales are up, and the boutique’s sales are picking up too.
We’ve been careful to keep up the momentum as much as possible, focusing on driving traffic to the site and also on keeping in touch with prospective boutiques and current accounts. It’s true that your current customers are your best customers - it’s much easier to sell to someone that already likes you and trusts you. So I’m trying to get appointments with current accounts to get in and show them the new stuff. And I’m really really trying to focus on being optimistic and putting the hard work behind it.
Time management is always a challenge, but my partner is going to take on some new project management tasks, which will help a lot. Imagine if we actually created project schedules for the mountains we want to climb? Miracles might happen.
I hope that all of you are seeing a pick up in business too!! Anyone out there have big trade shows coming up soon? Dallas? Mom2B?
We’ve got Atlanta in 9 weeks because we’ve picked up a sales rep!!!!! Right now we’re in the contract phase and I’m working on getting the first official salesman’s kit together. I can’t believe how much stuff you always seem to need when RUNNING a business.
May 4th, 2008
“What planet are you on to think you could just up and start a clothing line?”
“Are you nuts??”
These aren’t quotes I hear from other people too often, these are the daily demons that I hear in my head. Sometimes, I can’t believe how utterly insane I must be to think that I could build a clothing company from the ground up, learning as I go, with no prior experience in the industy.
But I put up a daily fight against the demons, fighting them with actions and baby steps. Oh, it’s not that I don’t get plenty of disbelief from others on the outside too, but my own demons are harder to fight and are the ones I HAVE to fight to keep going.
“I could just quit” - that’s another voice that likes to creep in all the time. This one takes advantage of my exhaustion, gets me when I’m tired and weary. This one is easier to fight now than it was in the beginning, because now I have put so much work into this that there is no way in hell it’s for nothing.
On the flip side, I’m big on listening to my inner voice, seeking guidance from my heart and gut, so even though I’m fighting the demons, I try to listen too. The unrest, the unsettle, the dissatisfation comes from somewhere - how can I change that? What will make me more comfortable with the direction I’m going right now? The answer is usually simple (but not always my favorite):
more action.
I still think I’m crazy - don’t get me wrong. But I’m so incredibly thankful to be crazy enough to take these types of risk in my life. And SO incredibly thankful to have found a husband and best friend who is just as crazy as I am about doing life our way and being here to raise our own children.
October 12th, 2007
I’m back from the show and still going. There were so many things about the show that were great and there were so many things that were disappointing. Getting back in the middle of the week and keeping the momentum until the weekend was nuts. My daughter just started kindergarten, so that’s been a whole new schedule to get used to - flexibility is the motto of the business owner isn’t it?And I just LOVED missing most of her first week for business.
I had the wonderful experience of meeting a few of you at the show and over the next couple of weeks I’d like to take time to highlight your companies. I know that a few of you had really great experiences with press, exposure, and new clients.
I just want to say that all of us who exhibited (or attended, bless your hearts and feet) should be extremely proud of ourselves for growing our companies to the point where we’re exhibiting at shows, gaining press, meeting industry newbies and veterans, and really doing it. Congrats to all of you, you had wonderful booths and great product lines. We should appreciate all of these milestones on our way up…
I’ll be back with more useful info in the next few days. Happily, I’m still busy getting new accounts set up and running.
September 18th, 2007
We’ve been featured in Pregnancy Magazine! They selected two Baby Fabulous products for their 2007 Buyer’s Guide. Which, (((extra bonus))) stays on the shelf for three months. SUPER COOL. Click the links below to view the features:
Pregnancy Magazine Personalized Blankets feature
Pregnancy Magazine Graphic Tee feature
This comes at a time when things were feeling stagnant. Funny to say that when we’re cramming to prep for a show this week, but publicity-wize. We got a hard copy of the magazine in the mail yesterday and the pics look so much better in print. It is supposed to hit newstands on September 11.
***random side note on starting your own business: electricity. We lost power yesterday and oh my did that throw a kink into things. I had to decide whether it was more important to ship or have officially printed invoices. Even getting the correct addresses was difficult because when the power went down, it took down our internet. Luckily, I have a battery-powered laptop so I was able to access the customer files and get the addresses. Still, not my favorite to send out packages with hand-written addresses and packing slips. Delivering was the most important.
And for all of you who find it hard to find the good in the challenging, stressful, and difficult times, I’d like to share the good of the power going out. It forced me to stand in line at the post office to get our stuff shipped. Because I stood there they were able to bring to my attention that our PO box fees were due that day, or we’d be locked out and would have to pay extra fees. Not to mention the extra hassle.
The evening turned out wonderful. The electricity was out, so I couldn’t work. An amazing summer storm blew in and my kids got to shower in the summer rain - which was nice because the bathroom was pitch black. They were so incredibly happy splashing around like that, and I felt so relaxed because I didn’t even have the OPTION of working. Relaxing is next to impossible when you’re a business owner, there is always something hanging over your head. Thankfully, God works in mysterious ways.
September 1st, 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
Sometimes it takes a vacation for me to realize how much I need a vacation. We’re just back from a week and a half away, and the world didn’t completely fall apart while we were gone. (I know, I can’t believe it either). Sure, there were a couple of fires, but they were worth every single minute I spent away from the office, which were minutes mostly spent outdoors.
It seems counter-intuitive that taking time off will increase your productivity, but it really does. Operating on a full tank of creative juices and energy is just amazing compared to operating on empty.
So, we’re back to it. I’ll admit I kept up with extremely urgent emails. Even though it was only every few days that I would check in, it did give me piece of mind to know that the world hadn‘t fallen apart. I can’t say that I see any business owner able to completely “check out”, but I got close.
It was actually a good check for the business too. It gave me the opportunity to see how easily we can hand stuff over to people who don’t know much about the business. We have a lot of work to do in this area, and we really should start documenting all of our processes. Add it to the “to do” list.
So, the whole point of this post is to say “take a break”, you’ll absolutely love yourself for it!!!
July 5th, 2007
Whenever I’m having “downtime” and surfing the internet, I read some articles on Entrepreneur.com. I just read this article on success secrets for starting a business. I found it interesting, and I think anyone who is considering starting a business, or who has started a business, would find it interesting; so I’m sharing.
I know that the article isn’t specific to starting a clothing line, but it provides some food for thought. Here are the seven “essential principles” to practice in order to be a successful entrepreneur:
- Clarity
- Competence
- Constraints
- Creativity
- Concentration
- Courage
- Continuous Action
As I read the article, I evaluated myself in each principle area. I’m stronger in some than others, but it made me consider focusing on building my strength in those areas where I’m weak.
I’ve been getting a lot of questions and I’m going to do my best to answer them over the next couple of weeks in these blog posts. I promise. So, if I haven’t responded immediately, I will soon!!!
June 7th, 2007
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