Oh, boy. How could I forget about the power of the Internet? I just went online to research who else was doing "jammie hoodies", and apparently no one is because I am now ranked #4 by Google for the phrase. Good thing I reached out to some Facebook friends yesterday and and started the ball rolling on that product line. This is such a social media success story in the making...
Anyone searching for "jammie hoodies" and would like to place an advance order, please comment on this post and leave your email address. (Haha. I'm only half kidding.) Proceeds from this product will go directly into my son's college fund, since he had the idea yesterday. I only have 12 more years to save up. ;-)
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Day 7 - Jammie Hoodies
I love it when my kids display entrepreneurial inklings. Today's snuggletime with Nicholas brought forth this genius idea:
Nick: (pulling on the string of my hoodie sweatshirt) "I wish my jammies had a hood on them."
Me: You can just wear a sweatshirt to bed.
Nick: No! It has to be part of the jammies.
Me: Oh, "hoody jammies", great idea!
Nick: You should tell that to the Jammie Store.
Me: I'll just make them myself. I'll call them the Nicholas Hoody Jammies.
Nick: No, call them Jammie Hoodies. And make them soft.
Me: You got it, buddy!
I SO intend to follow through on this one. ;-) It's such a "fresh" idea. OK, back to snuggle time...
Nick: (pulling on the string of my hoodie sweatshirt) "I wish my jammies had a hood on them."
Me: You can just wear a sweatshirt to bed.
Nick: No! It has to be part of the jammies.
Me: Oh, "hoody jammies", great idea!
Nick: You should tell that to the Jammie Store.
Me: I'll just make them myself. I'll call them the Nicholas Hoody Jammies.
Nick: No, call them Jammie Hoodies. And make them soft.
Me: You got it, buddy!
I SO intend to follow through on this one. ;-) It's such a "fresh" idea. OK, back to snuggle time...
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Day 6 - Sleep? I don't need no stinking sleep.
Yep, 5am and I'm at it again. Tried to fall sleep from 2-4am, but no luck. Last night I fell asleep reading Nick a book at 8pm, so I did get a solid 6 hours of sleep, which is all I seem to need lately. Of course, by 7pm, I'm yawning. But, whatever - I read once that brilliant minds only needed four hours of sleep every night. I'm too tired to remember who they were, but Churchhill and Thatcher come to mind. (I do have some British blood, thanks to my English grandmother. You know her as Nanny Bird from Day 4, but I digress.)
So I just got up and started a calendar for all the activity that's slowly building around this new business. (That helps me get stuff out of my head and then I can go back to sleep. I call it a "brain dump".) I went to find a piece of info in my email and got a little sidetracked. I got an email from Christine Arylo, who has one of my favorite sites. She suggests throwing a "self love party" on the night before Valentine's Day, which I threw for my daughter and some friends last year. We called it "Yeay Me!" in honor of London Tipton from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, because Jessie was 6 at the time, and she loved that show.
Anyway, this year, Christine is throwing a "Self-Luv-apalooza" party, in San Francisco at the Claremont Hotel on 2/14 this year. Can you stand it? Now, Wendy (one of my business partners in The Sassy Ladies) is moving to the Bay area on Monday and I already miss her. Miriam (my other partner) and I were going to try to figure out when to visit her, maybe the spring? This seems like the perfect excuse.
This is what I do while most people are sleeping. Create fabulous businesses and dream vacations. The life I dream of. I should get back to the "brain dump", so maybe I can go back to sleep at 5:30 and catch another hour before the kids wake up...
So I just got up and started a calendar for all the activity that's slowly building around this new business. (That helps me get stuff out of my head and then I can go back to sleep. I call it a "brain dump".) I went to find a piece of info in my email and got a little sidetracked. I got an email from Christine Arylo, who has one of my favorite sites. She suggests throwing a "self love party" on the night before Valentine's Day, which I threw for my daughter and some friends last year. We called it "Yeay Me!" in honor of London Tipton from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, because Jessie was 6 at the time, and she loved that show.
Anyway, this year, Christine is throwing a "Self-Luv-apalooza" party, in San Francisco at the Claremont Hotel on 2/14 this year. Can you stand it? Now, Wendy (one of my business partners in The Sassy Ladies) is moving to the Bay area on Monday and I already miss her. Miriam (my other partner) and I were going to try to figure out when to visit her, maybe the spring? This seems like the perfect excuse.
This is what I do while most people are sleeping. Create fabulous businesses and dream vacations. The life I dream of. I should get back to the "brain dump", so maybe I can go back to sleep at 5:30 and catch another hour before the kids wake up...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Day 5 - Don't Think About It, Just Do It
This has always been my mantra at Rondeau's Kickboxing gym. I started my 2010 fitness program with a private lesson with Christina Rondeau herself. Tomorrow is the Biggest Loser kickoff and weigh-in at RKB. (See www.RKBlive.com for details.) Christina has always motivated me to have a great work out.
I wish I could say I do it without whining. There are times when I honestly believe there is no way in hell I am going to be able to finish the 15 reps, or run the last few minutes on the treadmill, or - this one killed me - squats holding a medicine ball while standing on this balance thingy. Really, Christina? Really?! In my ear, she's saying, "Come on, girl, you can do it." In my head, I'm thinking I can't. That's when I decide to stop - just to take a breather before I complete the exercise.
About halfway through our session today, I got tired of hearing the whining in my head. So I told myself, "Don't think about it, just do it." And the workout miraculously got easier. Not that Christina let off at all, the workout wonder that she is. It was my mindset. I came here to get a good workout in. If I wanted to wimp out, I would have stayed at home. Just do it. The last half mile on the treadmill. Just do it. 45 duck squats. Just do it. Crunches, sprints, heavy bag, weights. Tomorrow is going to hurt!
Later this afternoon, at my attorney, Kas' office the same mantra ran through my head. It was the point of decision - I came here to discuss the new business formation and research the fees involved. I know this business is brilliant, and has potential to make thousands in revenue in the first few months alone. His fees were very reasonable. I don't have a penny in revenue right now, but I heard myself saying, "Let's do it." Don't think about it.
Of course, I have thought of nothing else for three weeks. It's not like I haven't strategized the hell of of this thing. But it was all the doubt I was referring to. What if it doesn't work? What if I can't generate the revenue in time to pay the legal bills? Stop! Don't start doubting. You will make it work. Just do it. And so I did.
I wish I could say I do it without whining. There are times when I honestly believe there is no way in hell I am going to be able to finish the 15 reps, or run the last few minutes on the treadmill, or - this one killed me - squats holding a medicine ball while standing on this balance thingy. Really, Christina? Really?! In my ear, she's saying, "Come on, girl, you can do it." In my head, I'm thinking I can't. That's when I decide to stop - just to take a breather before I complete the exercise.
About halfway through our session today, I got tired of hearing the whining in my head. So I told myself, "Don't think about it, just do it." And the workout miraculously got easier. Not that Christina let off at all, the workout wonder that she is. It was my mindset. I came here to get a good workout in. If I wanted to wimp out, I would have stayed at home. Just do it. The last half mile on the treadmill. Just do it. 45 duck squats. Just do it. Crunches, sprints, heavy bag, weights. Tomorrow is going to hurt!
Later this afternoon, at my attorney, Kas' office the same mantra ran through my head. It was the point of decision - I came here to discuss the new business formation and research the fees involved. I know this business is brilliant, and has potential to make thousands in revenue in the first few months alone. His fees were very reasonable. I don't have a penny in revenue right now, but I heard myself saying, "Let's do it." Don't think about it.
Of course, I have thought of nothing else for three weeks. It's not like I haven't strategized the hell of of this thing. But it was all the doubt I was referring to. What if it doesn't work? What if I can't generate the revenue in time to pay the legal bills? Stop! Don't start doubting. You will make it work. Just do it. And so I did.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Day 4 - Blankies, Birds and Bachelorettes
Blankies and Birds
Out of the mouths of babes.
This morning, Nicholas was trying to claim ownership of my college blanket, the one my Nanny had made me. As I wrapped it around him, I teased, “No way! That’s my blankie. My grandmother made me that. (pause) You probably don’t remember her, do you? She was Grammy's mom.”
“No. Where is she?”
“Well, she died when you were a baby. She’s up in heaven now.” Seeing his worried face, I added, “I like to think she’s an angel, smiling down on us. Of course, she always said she’d return to earth as a bird, so maybe she’s outside our window right now!”
We opened the shade to peek, but it was still dark, and the birdfeeder was empty. No birds.
“Why will she come back as a bird?”
“She always loved birds, and she told Auntie Beth this once when she was very sick at the hospital.”
Nicholas offers this charming thought, “Maybe she’ll slam into the window.”
“Nick! That’s not a very nice thing to say!”
“Well, she might be trying to come in and visit us.” (OMG, I love this kid.)
We’ll have to teach Nanny Bird to knock at the door. Not that I want birds in my house. Because what if one of the cats got it... wait. Enough! How do I get myself into these life and death conversations with a five year old?
Bachelorettes
Yesterday's meeting went well. Very well indeed. I can tell I am going to have oodles of support for the new business. I am speeding towards the point where I must make a decision about whether or not to jump ahead and take concrete action. Yesterday may have been the tipping point, as they say. I have a date - March 17th where I have the opportunity to take part in an event as a vendor and present the products and services to my future client. It is absolutely risk free. And it gives me a concrete date to motivate around, which has always worked for me. "Someday" will always be there, but when I pick a date and commit to it, that's when I make things happen.
And, yes, my new business will serve bachelorettes, among others. I have this grand vision which opens the market up to all people eventually as the business grows, but you've got to pick a niche, and this is a vastly underserved market. The enormity of the wedding industry blows me away. It is one of life's major expenditures. The parties, the clothes, the transportation, the gifts, the decorations. A quick Google search estimates the size of the industry to be between $40 and $70 billion, with 2.5 million weddings a year in the US.
And, I've been doing research for over a week now, talking to experts, going to bridal fairs, reading every bridal magazine I can get my hands on, and no one's doing this. I am in entrepreneurial heaven. A $70 billion market and no one is currently serving a niche which is vastly underserved. Cha-ching! (Can you tell why I am so careful about keeping the idea close at hand? Well, slowly leaking tidbits on the Internet (even though I don't yet have a handful of readers...) is risky. So I'll let you know when I'm ready, and I'm almost there!
End of Day Note -
PHEW! What a day. I created a new Twitter account (twitter.com/myfreshwedding), linked to potential investors, brought on two charter JV partners, and had a great meeting with a future board member at my favorite coffee shop. (Oh, and I finally got the shopping cart links updated on my Sassy Ladies website.) Time to change hats into Mommy mode - make dinner, help with homework, crash on the couch after getting the kids to bed at 8pm, and get ready to do it all again tomorrow! ;0) Life is good.
Out of the mouths of babes.
This morning, Nicholas was trying to claim ownership of my college blanket, the one my Nanny had made me. As I wrapped it around him, I teased, “No way! That’s my blankie. My grandmother made me that. (pause) You probably don’t remember her, do you? She was Grammy's mom.”
“No. Where is she?”
“Well, she died when you were a baby. She’s up in heaven now.” Seeing his worried face, I added, “I like to think she’s an angel, smiling down on us. Of course, she always said she’d return to earth as a bird, so maybe she’s outside our window right now!”
We opened the shade to peek, but it was still dark, and the birdfeeder was empty. No birds.
“Why will she come back as a bird?”
“She always loved birds, and she told Auntie Beth this once when she was very sick at the hospital.”
Nicholas offers this charming thought, “Maybe she’ll slam into the window.”
“Nick! That’s not a very nice thing to say!”
“Well, she might be trying to come in and visit us.” (OMG, I love this kid.)
We’ll have to teach Nanny Bird to knock at the door. Not that I want birds in my house. Because what if one of the cats got it... wait. Enough! How do I get myself into these life and death conversations with a five year old?
Bachelorettes
Yesterday's meeting went well. Very well indeed. I can tell I am going to have oodles of support for the new business. I am speeding towards the point where I must make a decision about whether or not to jump ahead and take concrete action. Yesterday may have been the tipping point, as they say. I have a date - March 17th where I have the opportunity to take part in an event as a vendor and present the products and services to my future client. It is absolutely risk free. And it gives me a concrete date to motivate around, which has always worked for me. "Someday" will always be there, but when I pick a date and commit to it, that's when I make things happen.
And, yes, my new business will serve bachelorettes, among others. I have this grand vision which opens the market up to all people eventually as the business grows, but you've got to pick a niche, and this is a vastly underserved market. The enormity of the wedding industry blows me away. It is one of life's major expenditures. The parties, the clothes, the transportation, the gifts, the decorations. A quick Google search estimates the size of the industry to be between $40 and $70 billion, with 2.5 million weddings a year in the US.
And, I've been doing research for over a week now, talking to experts, going to bridal fairs, reading every bridal magazine I can get my hands on, and no one's doing this. I am in entrepreneurial heaven. A $70 billion market and no one is currently serving a niche which is vastly underserved. Cha-ching! (Can you tell why I am so careful about keeping the idea close at hand? Well, slowly leaking tidbits on the Internet (even though I don't yet have a handful of readers...) is risky. So I'll let you know when I'm ready, and I'm almost there!
End of Day Note -
PHEW! What a day. I created a new Twitter account (twitter.com/myfreshwedding), linked to potential investors, brought on two charter JV partners, and had a great meeting with a future board member at my favorite coffee shop. (Oh, and I finally got the shopping cart links updated on my Sassy Ladies website.) Time to change hats into Mommy mode - make dinner, help with homework, crash on the couch after getting the kids to bed at 8pm, and get ready to do it all again tomorrow! ;0) Life is good.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Day 3 - First Work Day of the Decade & The Christmas Tree Debate
No pressure to do something great, or anything. :)
No, really, today is going to be a great day. The kids are going back to school, Rich is going back to work, and I'm rolling up my sleeves and tackling the growing list of to-dos that have accumulated over winter break. This includes writing checks, returning emails, wrapping up the 2009 Sassy books, and finally finishing the links on the new promo web page for our new Sassy Club social media service. Better start with that last one. Its long overdue.
Progress
I also have a meeting this afternoon that is part of my research for the new business. I'm dying to share the details, but I'm not quite ready. But I'm happy to be moving forward on this part of the planning. I decided to take one of my Sassy Ladies books, and actually use it to write the business plan for this idea! We always wanted it to be a good workbook for that exercise - I'll put it to the test.
Wanted Dead Or Alive
On another note, I made another big decision yesterday, as Rich took the Christmas tree out of the house. That would be our last dead Christmas tree.
For years, I've battled him on the "live versus fake tree" debate. To me, it's just not the same unless you have that "pine tree smell". I've always loved the tradition of going out to buy the tree, braving the cold, finding just the right one, and bringing a little bit of the outdoors inside in the cold month of December. In recent years, I've also loved supporting the local farms, refusing to get a weeks-old tree from Home Depot, where Rich threatens to do every year. A fake one was just out of the question.
This year, after Rich refused to spend $60 to cut a fresh one like last year (which I agree was crazy), we went to my favorite roadside flower and garden shop, The Rose Shack, and got a perfectly nice cut tree. I didn't ask if it was shipped from Canada or cut recently from a local farm, mainly because it was pouring rain at the time, but also because I didn't want to know I have loved the Rose Shack since college days when it was literally a shack that sold roses, not the big garden center it has grown into, and so that was supporting local business enough for me.
But, yesterday, as Jessie waved goodbye to our pretty tree, I felt a wave of sadness. That the life of this little tree had come to an end. That its purpose in its 15-20 year old life was to decorate our house for a month. Well, today, it will join all the other dead pine trees at the transfer station, getting turned into mulch, so it's not quite finished yet, but all the same, it felt wasteful. Jessie's comment snapped my thoughts back to the present moment, "Oh, Mom, look at all the pine needles!"
As we swept up the mess, we discussed possible alternatives:
We could buy a live tree and plant it in the backyard in the spring. But I don't have the best track record with keeping plants alive in the house.
We could just decorate one of the plastic fica trees with lights. Really? No.
We could just decorate an outdoor tree with food for the birds. But then we couldn't put on all the sentimental ornaments I got at my bridal shower, or the ones that the kids have gotten or made each year. No, it has to be an inside tree.
As he pulled out the vaccuum cleaner, Rich made a final pitch for the fake tree, "They make realistic looking ones now, that even come with your pine tree smell." If we went now, we could probably save some money on leftover inventory, one with built-in lights. Maybe we will do that. I mean, we can always get "that smell" from a wreath or centerpiece. The Rose Shack makes beautiful ones. And, this minimizes the fire hazard, and takes one more holiday daily chore of my list - watering.
And today, looking out at the poor little, empty, dead Christmas tree in the bed of Rich's truck, I think my decision is made. I'm going to miss that little tree. I wish I could just pack it in a box and use it again next year.
No, really, today is going to be a great day. The kids are going back to school, Rich is going back to work, and I'm rolling up my sleeves and tackling the growing list of to-dos that have accumulated over winter break. This includes writing checks, returning emails, wrapping up the 2009 Sassy books, and finally finishing the links on the new promo web page for our new Sassy Club social media service. Better start with that last one. Its long overdue.
Progress
I also have a meeting this afternoon that is part of my research for the new business. I'm dying to share the details, but I'm not quite ready. But I'm happy to be moving forward on this part of the planning. I decided to take one of my Sassy Ladies books, and actually use it to write the business plan for this idea! We always wanted it to be a good workbook for that exercise - I'll put it to the test.
Wanted Dead Or Alive
On another note, I made another big decision yesterday, as Rich took the Christmas tree out of the house. That would be our last dead Christmas tree.
For years, I've battled him on the "live versus fake tree" debate. To me, it's just not the same unless you have that "pine tree smell". I've always loved the tradition of going out to buy the tree, braving the cold, finding just the right one, and bringing a little bit of the outdoors inside in the cold month of December. In recent years, I've also loved supporting the local farms, refusing to get a weeks-old tree from Home Depot, where Rich threatens to do every year. A fake one was just out of the question.
This year, after Rich refused to spend $60 to cut a fresh one like last year (which I agree was crazy), we went to my favorite roadside flower and garden shop, The Rose Shack, and got a perfectly nice cut tree. I didn't ask if it was shipped from Canada or cut recently from a local farm, mainly because it was pouring rain at the time, but also because I didn't want to know I have loved the Rose Shack since college days when it was literally a shack that sold roses, not the big garden center it has grown into, and so that was supporting local business enough for me.
But, yesterday, as Jessie waved goodbye to our pretty tree, I felt a wave of sadness. That the life of this little tree had come to an end. That its purpose in its 15-20 year old life was to decorate our house for a month. Well, today, it will join all the other dead pine trees at the transfer station, getting turned into mulch, so it's not quite finished yet, but all the same, it felt wasteful. Jessie's comment snapped my thoughts back to the present moment, "Oh, Mom, look at all the pine needles!"
As we swept up the mess, we discussed possible alternatives:
We could buy a live tree and plant it in the backyard in the spring. But I don't have the best track record with keeping plants alive in the house.
We could just decorate one of the plastic fica trees with lights. Really? No.
We could just decorate an outdoor tree with food for the birds. But then we couldn't put on all the sentimental ornaments I got at my bridal shower, or the ones that the kids have gotten or made each year. No, it has to be an inside tree.
As he pulled out the vaccuum cleaner, Rich made a final pitch for the fake tree, "They make realistic looking ones now, that even come with your pine tree smell." If we went now, we could probably save some money on leftover inventory, one with built-in lights. Maybe we will do that. I mean, we can always get "that smell" from a wreath or centerpiece. The Rose Shack makes beautiful ones. And, this minimizes the fire hazard, and takes one more holiday daily chore of my list - watering.
And today, looking out at the poor little, empty, dead Christmas tree in the bed of Rich's truck, I think my decision is made. I'm going to miss that little tree. I wish I could just pack it in a box and use it again next year.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
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!
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!
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