Day 2 - I jumped...again

I did it.  I started a new business yesterday.

For the last three weeks, I've been in what I can only refer to as an "entrepreneurial frenzy".  I've been this way before.  My brain wakes me up at 3am filled with all kinds of ideas, so seemingly brilliant that I simply must get up and write them down.  I can't stop thinking about the idea all day, molding it in my thoughts like a piece of Play Doh until it takes its perfect shape as a new product or service.

Usually it happens for a day or two, then I start thinking too much about it, playing devil's advocate, researching competition, pricing and business models, and eventually convince myself that it won't work. Many times when it happens, I actually tell others about it.  Sometimes they help me do the research, most times they look at me like I'm completely crazy. Sometimes I think they are right.  Other times I know I'm right.

You might laugh if I told you all the brilliant businesses I have schemed, many ahead of their time, and many which came to fruition by other entrepreneurs. Like the wellness center idea in 1997, before "alternative health" went mainstream. Or the gift card mall kiosk business that my Dad and I researched for my entrepreneurship class project in business school.  Yep - we shared that idea with the owner of one downtown restaurant, and as we were getting it off the ground, he swooped in and did the same thing himself that Christmas. Ah, the lessons we learn as we go...

Then there was the online marketing company, which I researched for another class with a work colleague while I was getting my MBA.  This was back in 1994, before the Internet was mainstream - the company we worked for had just installed email, but you could only use it internally, and it had no website.  Only universities did, and they were for sharing research, not marketing.  (OK, I am REALLY dating myself here.) We looked at new websites like Amazon.com and hosting companies like Log On America and dreamed of a marketing business of our very own, supporting small businesses who wanted to connect with customers over the Internet.

This one was put on the back burner for almost seven years, missing the "first-to-market" advantage that other web developers achieved, but I did eventually start a consulting practice in this field in 2002, called Next Step Web Marketing. I had gotten laid off from my corporate job when I was 5 months pregnant, and decided it was the perfect time to give the "start my own business" thing a try.  It was successful and in 2005, I merged with search engine marketing firm, Precision Web Marketing, grew the company to six figures and six employees, then sold it back to my partner in 2007, to spend more time with my family (the kids were then five and three years old), and get my other new business off the ground.
 The idea for my current business, The Sassy Ladies, was born at a class I was taking at Bryant University in 2006 to learn more about how to sell stuff on eBay.  It was not going to be a new company, just a product - an eBook for women, to help them get through the start-up period of their businesses.  My two co-authors and I were amazed at how easy it was for us to work together, and ever the entrepreneurs ourselves, we designed various services to meet the needs of our market - including coaching services, a retreat weekend, an online subscription, and technology teleclasses.  A new business was born.  Our book, The Sassy Ladies Toolkit for Start-up Businesses, was self-published under the Two Harbors Press label, launched in April 2009, won many accolades and awards, and received great reviews by readers.  We're very proud of this book, and the work that we've done.



For Christmas a few years back, my mother -in-law gave me a copy of Dr. Christianne Northrup's book, Mother Daughter Wisdom.  In the 2nd chapter titled "Life is a Series of Wombs", she describes a "seven-year cycle", or stages of development, which we pass through during our lives:
"...we must go through labor and birth yet again.  Appropriate timing for this process is as crucial to our health and happiness as is the timing of labor during a pregnancy.  Failure to progress and move on when we have reached the end of a developmental stage, or trying to skip a stage and moving on too soon, are associated with health risks - even, in some cases, premature death."

Mine is not a seven year cycle.  Two days before Christmas, at a luncheon, my dear friend, Audrey Kullberg asked me if I had a two year attention span, to which I answered, "Why no, mine is four years!"  It's after four years that I always start getting itchy in my career.  I love the start-up.  Sometimes I wonder if it is a character flaw, but looking back, I know that I have grown personally and professionally because of the decisions I have made to keep on pushing myself.  To keep doing what I'm doing for more than four years feels like I'm settling or lazy, and quite frankly, I get bored.  Doing the same thing day in and out does not make me happy.  And, thanks to Dr. Northrup, I now know that is is bad for my health!  Good excuse, thanks Christine. :)

So, this latest "entrepreneurial frenzy" has gotten me up out of bed before 5am for almost three weeks straight.  It's getting ridiculous how huge the idea is, and how desperately I need a normal sleep cycle!  Yesterday at Jessie's basketball practice, I fell asleep, right there in the gym, on the top row of the bleachers!  Resting my head on her coat, I snoozed for 20 minutes amidst bouncing basketballs, screaming 7 year old girls, and the coaches' whistles.  I NEED SLEEP!  But there I am at 4:30am, staring at the clock again, wide awake, with thoughts of marketing strategies, partnership opportunities,  product packaging, and meetings I have to set up, emails I have to send.

I finally get up, write stuff down, shoot out some emails, and during the day, I share the concept with people I trust, both to sanity check my ideas, get some early feedback.  This time, everyone smiles and says, "Michelle, that's a great idea, and no one is doing it." Well, my husband's reaction wasn't so coordial, but he's got a lot at stake, and is quite invested.  I'll tell you about that conversation someday.  But yesterday, I decided to start writing the business plan.  I researched some inventory costs, some competition, and registered a couple of domain names.  I'm committed now, or I should be...

I am not ready to share the concept with the world quite yet, but the concept is quite fresh.  Something you would expect to see from a Sassy Lady.  It's something I can picture doing for the rest of my life, and luckily, it has enough scalability that I can grow within it every four years for the rest of my life. I can start small, and grow as the funds become available.    Fortunately, I have no readers of this blog yet, so I'm not worried about giving the idea away too soon.  Ha.  But soon enough, I will fill you in.  Stay tuned!