Posts filed under 'Motivation to Keep Moving'
I am so happy it’s Friday - although I remember thinking last weekend that I can no longer remember what life was like when work was not a part of our weekends. Even beyond the baby business, my husband has been coaching volleyball for years, which is always a weekend thing, so it’s been that way for both of us, for years. And we’re perfectly happy - BUT we are planning a vacation this year; not a business trip, a vacation! Ah, my heart skips a beat at the very thought of it.
So, why “yes, I can, yes I am” as a title today? Is that going to help anyone out there start their baby boutique? Launch their clothing line? I hope so. I have spent so much time over the last year working on blocking fear, negativity, and doubt out of my mind (spirit) and replacing it with hope, positivity, and belief. This has not been easy through the recession, but all the more reason it has been necessary.
We are what we believe we are…when I first thought of launching my clothing line I believed I was on top of the world. It has been a crazy roller coaster ride which has knocked my confidence sideways, updside down, and every which way but right:) I say that with a smile -or the joy of hindsight. But throught those difficult times, my confidence was really building itself on a stronger foundation - when I was knocked down, I was learning. I have always managed to tell myself “just keep going”…and if you just keep going, you grow and learn, and you gain confidence in your skills and abilities.
And now, the reprogramming I’m doing is changing the lovely statement I’ve been making -almost with gleeful pride- my whole life: “I’m such a procrastinator”. I don’t know when it hit me, but it finally did - hmm, maybe I should stop believing that. Now, when that thought creeps up, I consciously replace it with “I’m proactive, I’m action-oriented”.
Which brings me to the real secret of “Yes I can, yes I am” - the more you tell yourself who you are, the more actions you will take towards being that person. It isn’t magic, it’s in our nature. The more I tell myself I’m proactive, the more proactive I am. My mind naturally progresses from “I’m proactive” to “so, what can I get a jump on today?”, I even notice a difference in how I tackle my to-do lists, (I actually tackle them! haha). This has been HUGE for me lately as we juggle so much in our lives. See..I am proactive, so of course I am also good at focusing on the task at hand and taking action.
And it’s true! In the last month I’ve created new wholesale docs and four new organics designs, I’m getting the upper hand on some admin stuff, and taking much much much better care of our customers.
So, make sure you are telling yourself you’re launching the most amazing business, you are an incredible sales person, you have the most unique designs in the world - because you do and you are if you believe it is so…
Have a great weekend! Focus and take action…
February 5th, 2010
leaner and meaner and (hopefully) a whole lot greener. I am one happy camper today! Woo hoo, it is the last day of 2009 and I am SO happy to leave this year behind. It was so full of stress and craziness that I don’t even want to reflect on it - I just want to move on! 2010 is already opening with more optimisim and opportunity than 2009 did, so that HAS to be good, right?
This time a year ago, I was incredibly stressed out by the CPSIA (wonder how many sleepness nights they caused coast-to-coast). I shudder to even think about how crazy that was - trying to understand what was going on, what we were responsible for, how much it could end up costing us, and what the heck we were going to do about (when we did finally understand it). Now, it seems there are more options for component testing and reliance on supplier’s certificates (duh!) and an extended stay on required third party testing until February 10, 2011. I’m happy happy happy to have our components tested, I’m happy to comply with a reseasonable law!
We are slimming down the business (so it will reach new heights) - we are cutting the ecommerce portion of the site (at least for the time being), and are likely to cut most of our drop shipping programs too. I feel a huge sigh of relief at the decision to “go wholesale only”…it’s one that has been eating at me for almost a year. So, we have a lot of changes to implement to get that change ironed out, but I feel it is a change in the best interest of our retailers. They now get our undivided attention, which they deserve.
I’m happy to let go of driving traffic to the ecommerce site. I’ve been “sitting” on things for a few months, keeping the business in maintenance mode, but feeling unsure of where I wanted it to go, so I have not really been seeking out new sales channels. It gave me some much needed time to reflect on what type of business i WANT to be running vs. what type of business I AM running. And I approach the future of my business with much more certainty.
I’m easing up on myself this year - I’m making more time for quality-of-life committments, such as playing with the kids more, volunteering at my kids’ school, visiting with good friends, going on dates with my husband, and making sure that I remember to be in the moment as much as possible.
I feel happy and confident that 2010 holds great adventure and much excitement…and I’m eager to get on the roller coaster again.
December 31st, 2009
Or did I just think I was? It’s never enough. It’s never enough. I feel I’m never accomplishing anything. Is that a personality disorder? We just shipped a large order to one of the hottest hippest boutiques in town, and they have been a customer since we launched. They reorder and reorder and reorder, as do most of our retailers. Celebrities have Baby Fabulous products. I’ve met celebrities. We’ve been featured in glossy magazines and sell out in ultra chic boutiques. But it’s never enough.
Good thing too. Or is it? I spend some time telling my daughter to appreciate the moment. I see her always looking ahead, making plans for the next event, or dreading the end of the current one, and I wonder if she takes enough time to enjoy what is happening when it is happening.
Yep, yep- I lecture her because we see in others that which we can’t face in ourselves;-) I don’t know - maybe it’s a survival instinct. I would say it helped my business survive over the last year - what’s coming up? What needs to happen next? How are we going to keep on keeping on? Where can we cut the fat? Kept us alive. Did it stifle us at all?
How much of survival mentality is fear mentality? I’ll never know how much I held myself back from…being afraid we might not make it. That’s the daily balancing act of running a business - walk a tight-rope right down the middle of risk and fear and you’ll probably hang in there. Me however, I’m feeling a little restless. I think I’ll fall towards the side of risk and see if that net down there will catch me. I feel a need to be a little better than I have been - on the creative side of life. There has been a whole lot of focus on organizing and hunkering down and getting it done and making it happen and now we need to focus a little on growth and fun and possibilities and outrageous ideas. Because I mean really, I am so much better than this…
October 6th, 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
Ok, so where have I been? I think that maybe I don’t even know. It’s been a very crazy and very stressful couple of months and so I just hid my head in a hole. Everything was going so great at the beginning of the summer. But it got tough in July? Why? Because it’s too freaking hard to do everything. Because I’m not running this business the right way. Because I wanted to believe that I knew how to do it all and could figure it out and it’s really very very hard to get it right.
On the wholesale orders side, if I can get an appointment and get into a boutique, the line sells, no problem. The problem is the first part - the time it takes to be the sales rep. The time it takes to make all the calls and follow-up emails and get to the appointments. It’s a full-time job, which meant that everything else was getting neglected - admin stuff, DESIGNING, PR - ugh I can’t even think of it all right now.
So, the answer is what the answer was when I first started out - delegate and get help - put people who are better than you are in place to help you. I have this in place for the web stuff and the production / manufacturing part - the actual sewing 
I need to get it into place with the sales stuff. We have picked up an east coast rep, but I’ve been too nutty to even give that the attention it needs. We need a sales rep on the west coast. I’m struggling just to manage all the accounts I did go out and create in the last few months, much less get around to getting new ones - which we definitely need.
So, low-and-behold, I don’t have all the answers and in retrospect, I’ve probably given some mis-guided advice on this blog. Or I’m just experiencing growing pains. I’m sick of hearing from everyone that I’m too hard on myself, so I’m going to tell you that this isn’t what this is about. This is about taking a realistic look at the way we’ve been doing things and taking a pro-active stance to change it for the better, for the survival of the business.
I want to be running a business and designing a successful clothing line, instead of being a nut job which does no good for my mental state, my family, or the state of the business. I want to finally be able to put out my first real collection, and to do that means I need to get a lot of stuff more organized and I need some really good people who are experts in their field to wear some of the hats I’ve been wearing.
Which I know can and will happen, now that I have some direction in my head.
September 5th, 2008
We have been so BUSY lately! Really running-a-business-it’s-hard-to-keep-up-with-orders BUSY. And it’s great. It’s due to a number of factors, the first being a complete change in our discipline and focus. I’ve also gone to a few business intensive seminars that changed my view of myself and our business completely for the better. Lastly, the biggest thing is having some best-selling items that are flying out of the boutiques!!
In January / February, our online traffic had been building, and online orders were up, way up. And then, end of February, beginning of March, there was a definite drop-off. I was the first to blame it on the economy. Then I had to blame it on myself and my total lack of discipline. Which is not to be confused with amount of work I was doing - it was just always reactionary; I wanted to be on-top of it. Now, I’m getting there. If I have free time, I focus on what can be done to stay on top of things. I can honestly say that I devote at least an hour and a half every day to sales and marketing. At least. I now use an index card system - which I’ll save for another post but it’s the most simple amazing system that really works for me.
Once I stopped waiting for the world to come to me, everything changed. And our business is growing by leaps and bounds.
The next big factor in the business pick-up is attending business seminars by a really great coach. The first seminar was on sales and the second seminar was on a general business health check-up (WOAH!!!). Both were real eye-openers for me. I can’t tell you how great it is to get some outside input once in awhile. I don’t do it enough on THAT level; meaning, I listen to our customers but need to remember to listen to and seek out more mentors too.
By far though, a giant factor in our recent success is having some great products, at great price-points, that are poised perfectly for this tighter-economy / bigger baby boom / everybody’s going green movement. The great products, and now their proven performance, have given me greater confidence when I walk into a boutique. Which, of course, makes all the difference in the world.
July 19th, 2008
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
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