Here I thought I was such a good blogger and that I really do my best to share what I can…until I registered with blogHer and my blog was denied because it’s been way too long since I’ve updated the blog. They sent me a date, it’s been over a month. Yikes. Not such a good blogger.
In order to be considered for acceptance, they expect consistent updates. I wonder if that will be enough to kick me into gear. Everytime I think that somebody watching over my shoulder will make me behave better at work, it doesn’t. Maybe this time will be different.
We’ve had lots of topsy-turviness lately and I’ve had writer’s block. Which does no good for site SEO. I also have an issue with focus - no problem focusing on something, but when I do, everything else gets neglected. It’s a constant question on the mompreneursonline.com message boards - how do you balance raising kids w/ running a business? Yes, somebody, tell me how, oh how.
So what about the rest of you? Have you started your business blogs yet? You know it’s HUGE for Search Engine Optimization. It’s something you can start even before your line is fully launched. It’s something you should start. I have a blog for our company that is separate from this blog, which is for sharing my behind-the-scenes experiences. I need to remember “content is king” and keep on creating…
Lately, I have no problem helping others with topics for their blogs, but I’ve had complete writer’s block when it comes to my blogs / website content / press realeases - anything. Maybe it was burnout. We finally took our annual vacation and I think it was actually refreshing and inspiring. I have new ideas for the potential of the business blog, new ideas for reaching our target audience, and new design ideas. I’m just overwhelmed by the idea of implementing it all. But this blog post is a good start.
**I’m about to save this post and it strikes me just how perfect the words “blog denial” seem to be in the title of this post. I’ve totally been in blog denial.***
August 23rd, 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 know SO many people who will be exhibiting at the ABC show this year. It’s coming up fast, can you believe it? We’re not going. I feel such a huge amount of relief at this fact, but don’t let that discourage you, I’m just really happy to be off the trade show stress circuit, it’s personal. But I want to pass my number one tip on to those of you who are going. I hope that this sinks in and you start making your calls now - make appointments, make appointments, make appointments.
I did not do this last year. This would have made this difference between an I-can’t-believe-I-made-it-through show and an AWESOME show. You have to look at this like cold calling, especially if you’re a first time exhibitor and you’re counting on this show to launch your product. You will be blown away by the number of vendors that they let exhibit there. The buyers will be absolutely exhausted and glossy-eyed by the time they hit the “first time exhibitors” area.
If you have appointments, you’ll keep your booth busy which will naturally peak the interest of passers by - increasing the flow of traffic at your booth. If you’ve made the calls, you’ll recognize company names on badges, and even if you didn’t snag an appointment on the phone, you have an opener “oh, I spoke with you briefly about the benefits…”
Perspective
Last year, there were 32+ rows of vendors on the bottom floor and I think about 20 on the top floor. 50+ rows of at least 20 vendors a row - how do you stand out? I’ve heard raves about doing the new product showcase, so I would jump on that opportunity if it’s still available. And of course, I’ve written a lot about the importance of an amazing display.
If this is your first trade show, here are some quick tips: don’t pitch buyers in the aisle, don’t jump out in front of them (you’ll get a feel for when a step out is different than hoarding all of their attention down the aisle). Only visit other vendors when there are no buyers present, and if you are visiting (there will be plenty of time for meeting your neighbors), step away when a buyer stops to view their products.
You can make the show a fantastic show, but you have to MAKE IT HAPPEN. Don’t rely on the show to bring everyone to you, get your name out there before the show. Work the phones, get as many appointments as you can. You’ll start a great amount of momentum now, and with two months behind it, you’ll blow yourself away at the show.
And HAVE FUN.
July 1st, 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
I have to admit that it is sometimes hard for me to remember all the things I didn’t know when I first started down this designing path. Fabric, fabric, fabric. Everything about fabric intimidated me. Not because I hadn’t worked with plenty of it in my life, but because I didn’t really know anything about it - types, care of, properties, etc.
I felt really lucky to happen upon the Fabric Swatch Kit that is available at fashiondex.com. It comes as a workbook that you put together. The fabrics are divided by type in the 3-ring binder, and you start with a pile of tiny fabric swatches. As you put the kit together, you can touch and feel and really LEARN about the different types of fabrics that are available, what the common uses are, and all kinds of useful information!
I still use the kit as a reference tool and to keep additional swatches that I’ve found through my designing journeys.
The knowledge that this kit gives you, especially if you are completely new to the field, is invaluable. You will have a lot more confidence in your line and your fabric buying excursions if you take the time to learn about fabric.
June 21st, 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
I thought that I would post this e-commerce job opportunity in case any of you might be interested in working on an e-commerce site (uploading images, writing / editing product descriptions, graphics work) before plunging into running your own online boutique. 5 Minutes for Mom is offering a great work-from-home opportunity for the right woman with the right skills and willingness to commit to some decent work hours each week ($$$).
In brief, from 5MinutesforMom.com job description:
If html, css, ftp and other techy stuff doesn’t scare you and you are a skilled writer, with solid grammar skills and the ability to quickly write creative product descriptions, you just might become our new team member. If you also know Photoshop and happen to be a whiz at isolating images (removing backgrounds), you’re getting closer.
We are work-at-home moms and we want to offer this position to another work-at-home mom. Our site is all about promoting moms and so we are excited to be able to share the opportunity to work at home.
Click on the following link to read more about this WAHM job opportunity:
http://www.5minutesformom.com/3502/ecommerce-job/
Good luck!!
May 21st, 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
I just learned about twitter today. Do you twitter? It’s basically a social networking site where you can provide up-to-the-minute updates of what you’re doing. As a business it’s one of those sites that could become important , making it a good idea to reserve your business name as your username. Kind of like domains, it’s all up-for-grabs, so get it while it’s free.
We signed up in about five minutes, to reserve our biz name as our username. You can do the same by following this link to twitter.com.
If you’re launching an online boutique, you’ll learn quickly that SEO is very important. It’s also an ongoing process. One of my friends at mompreneursonline.com posted a link to this great SEO cheat-sheet:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-web-developers-seo-cheat-sheet
From personal experience, I’ve come to believe that two things are crucial in building your online boutique:
- Constant updating - whether it’s via blogging, new images, or constant little improvements to spacing, layout, content, colors, backgrounds, fonts, etc. - it’s important to always work on improving your site. We have an ongoing spreadsheet (which we actually need to revisit and update) that works to track all the changes we want to make to the site. We use google spreadsheets so that I can add to it from anywhere and web design can update it from anywhere.
- Perseverance and hard work - it takes time to build traffic, to get a good number of impressions, to build a valuable pr campaign, and on and on. It won’t happen over night, but it will happen if you I keep at it! ! ( I’m definitely writing this as more of a reminder to myself than anything!!)
Click here to view our latest (and only) twitter update!
April 30th, 2008
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