We've arrived!!

Any claims or half cocked beliefs that I might posess psychic abilities are now completely unfounded.

If I was psychic I would not have scheduled our flight(s) during a massive snowstorm that closed the Denver airport and stranded tens of thousands of holiday travelers.

I'm very sorry I have not updated since the 18th!!! I've been busy getting the new office and apartment into a working/living space. Hey, It's 70 degrees and sunny so anything is possible. Something more interesting coming soon.

In the meantime, here is how we celebrated Christmas day. The girls were up at 6:00 am so we were done with the traditional festivities by 8:30am then we decided to take in the local climate. Hope all your holidays were fabulous!

Happy New Year!

Puting things off

So during the day I think, "Well, I'll have time to do that tonight after the girls go to bed."
It's a grand thought, and used to be a valid procrastination technique... but I'll tell you what, when I lay down to read with them when it's bed time, it takes every ounce of my being to lift my can off the floor and get back to work. At LEASE 50% of the time I don't...

It's not like it's 11:00 pm people. My kids go to bed at 8:00.

Pitiful.

I think I'm in pretty good shape for the move. I shipped 5 boxes and a guitar today.
You didn't know I played guitar? Oh yes, well no it's my husband's. So I waved goodbye to it at the FedEx place, hoping that the next time I saw it, it wouldn't resemble a set of link-n-logs.

I received my size set of new spring styles from China today. They look so good. I'm lucky to have such a talented group of people making my product. They do such good work!
Here are some cuties modeling the styles.

Holiday Shopping

Buying "inspired gift" can be a challenge. Especially when you HAVE to because it's Christmas.
Yes, I said it, "Christmas". I hope I haven't offended anyone.

On a side note: I always used to say Happy Holidays since not everybody celebrates the same one and last year I remember everybody getting their undies in a bunch over the syntax of how to correctly wish someone general cheery type feelings during a certain time in the colder months of the year. Cripes people! I'm glad that does not seem as big a deal this year.

Anyway, back to inspired gifts... When I was in college I did my shopping all year long because otherwise I could not afford the month of December. So indeed, the gifts I bought were inspired. I'd see something I thought someone would like, I'd buy it and stick a post-it on it and put it in the closet until Dec. People thought I was SO organized to have all my shopping done by October... It wasn't organization as much as financial survival. Which I guess is rather organized.

Shopping then was fun. This year we are relocating RIGHT before Christmas and I'm swamped. If I'd seen this coming, I would have done the college thing and gotten this all out of the way. But alas, here I am in the midst of chaos and virtually no shopping has been done. Partly because I don't want to ship or drag all the gifts to LA... I will have exactly 2 days to shop when we get to LA... the 23rd and the 24th. Crazy!

I almost want to just get everybody a gift card and say, "Go knock yourself out with MY $20" but then I think, I can buy a more cost effective gift and wrap it in a way that makes it LOOK like it's MORE than $20. Then I think, why did I just write that? Now everyone will know my awful little secret. I want to hand make all my gifts and give something with meaning but I'm not sure anyone but my parents would appreciate that.

Well, my kids would dig it. Then they would toss it aside and say, "Sooooo, where's my REAL gift?"

I remember reading about Laura Wilder being thrilled to get a bit of white sugar and a shiny penny in her sock. That was it. A penny and some sugar. The fancy kind. Sugar and a penny, yep. That made her day.

Sure hope I get an iKaraoke for my ipod...

Honey...

if you're reading this... I've got pennies and sugar, so
that ship has pretty much sailed

with Laura in it...

Happy Holidays to you all.

Success!

So here we are at the new storage facility.



It's quite a bit more cost effective but not as climate controlled.

The new shopping cart service we are with and the new fulfillment company just give me the greatest feeling of calm. Both companies are phenomenally helpful and well run.

* sigh of relief *

Now, on to packing for LA where we are opening a second office. We also picked up a new rep in Dallas which is FANTASTIC because we did not have any presence there but the southern states are my best region! So I am thrilled that we have somebody to take care of all our clients down there.

The kids are hanging out with their auntie and cousins this weekend.
I should be eating chocolates in a bathtub reading my favorite magazine, catching up on all the latest Hollywood gossip. HA! Not with all the work I have to do before we leave for the City of Angels on the 21st. Glad the kids got to play in the snow a bit before we leave it behind for the rest of the year.



Yippy!!

And yes, I got a little link-happy in this post. hee hee.

Questions answered

I had a lady ask me some start-up questions. They were good questions and since I answered them so thoroughly, I thought I'd share them with you. :-)


Q: At what stage did you become a company?

A: Right at the beginning. I was thinking up products and working on prototypes and my husband said, "You'd better set up a Limited Liability Company or something to protect yourself." I said, "By God, you're right!" I started the company about 20 days after I decided to pursue making the product. So it was one of the first steps.

Then when I told another family member what I named the product, he said, "Wow, you were able to get the domain?" I didn't know what he was talking about. He said that many companies will not name themselves or their products until they can secure the web domain first. By some stroke of luck, both the product name "Stylease" and the company name "Liloebe" were both available. So I snapped them up!

Q: Was it easy to become a company and get a logo, trade name, etc.?

A: Easy... hmmm. Well, it's just about going through a series of processes, so I wouldn't say it was hard, but I think that is due in part to my personality and how I process information. I did not have any idea how to set up a company, obtain a trademark etc. but my mantra is, "How hard can it be?" then I proceed to figure it out. I hired a small business atty to help me file the LLC. One of my biggest savings is that I designed and executed my logo. I did not use a graphic designer. I'm proficient in Photoshop and illustrator so that was easy. I went on-line and looked up how to trademark a name, paid my $364, waded through lots of boring legal mumbo-jumbo and filed a certain type of mark (based on what I read) since the mark was not yet being used in commerce.

Jenservation: Why would I wait to file a trademark application until AFTER my product and brand were being used in commerce?? If it didn't get approved, or someone else was using the same or similar mark, I would have to re-label all my goods... But apparently many people file for a trademark once their product is in the market... Don't ask me why.

It occurred to me that my idea should be able to be protected. Several attorneys said "Nope, if you change one snap, then there is no longer an infringement issue because it's a different product." That didn't sit well with me so I kept looking until I finally tried a PATENT atty... (duh) Who promptly told me, in my free 10 minute initial meeting, that it was a very patentable idea. HA! Victory is mine!! (for a fee)

I have since found out that patent attys can be shady and take your money for years claiming to argue your case, knowing full well that no patent will ever be granted, so be careful. I found a fabulously talented (and honest) patent atty named Jason Young here in Northern Michigan but I have yet to track down any kind of website to share with you. (Bad Jason, bad brilliant patent atty!) My patent was pending for about 18 months, then it was granted. It is a utility patent not a design patent, so it's coverage is fairly broad (of the idea) but specific enough to cover the innovative parts that would make the functionality of the products virtually impossible to use (from a practicality standpoint) should someone try to copy me. So it was worth the money.

When I filed for my patent, (he was a patent and trademark atty) he asked how I knew to file my trademark app the way I did, because it was exactly the right thing to do, and it is his job to figure that out for people... If I had filed the other kind of mark, (one you file when goods are already in use) it would have been rejected. I just told him that I read the procedure before I filed. He was amazed. So... some might find it difficult, but if you just do the legwork, and remain detail oriented, well you can save yourself a lot of money.

The patent is another story. A good patent writer is like a good grant writer. It can mean the difference between being granted the patent or not. So I would not try to do that myself. It's like defending yourself in court... HIRE A PROFESSIONAL. (Not that I would know anything about that.) heh heh, Hi Mom, Hi Dad.

Q: Who did your first prototype and how did you perfect it before giving it to to different manufacturers?

A: I made my first 8 samples (prototypes) because I needed to know if the concept was actually going to work. Mixing textiles etc. I had to work out the designs to make sure they were easy for the parents to use, not just the look of things. We are still working every season on making the clothing as user-friendly as possible and still pull off the illusion of separates.

I only use one manufacturer. They are truly my partner. I love them and would not have a product or business without their help.

Q: Do you design the clothes yourself?

A: Yes. I had hired a designer friend (to help) who had worked for Gymboree for 14 years and her designs were good but her spec sheets were wrong. That cost me a lot of money and lost production time having to do things over. I use elements of her designs when I'm designing but I have not used her in about 18 months. At the moment I do all the designing and I execute the spec sheets as well so now there are no surprises when the samples arrive. They look exactly like I expect, because I am extremely careful that my specs are correct. And I do my technical drawings to scale. I measure up my little drawing to arrive at my spec. Can you spell ANAL RETENTIVE? But it works I tells ya!

Q: Are you the creative background for the patterns, fabrics, buttons, etc.?

A: I am Stylese's creative force. It is all me which is good because if I pitch an idea to the board (which consists of me and... me) then I unanimously approve it. :-) But it's bad because I don't get to collaborate and collaborating is good when you are trying to please the tastes of many parents... But on the other hand, I'm not at odds with the other creative people on my staff (me). I like me, we get along very well.

Jenservation: If you spend too much time talking to yourself, people look at you funny and stop offering you more coffee.

I source the textiles and trim (snaps, buttons etc) for the line. The sample room at the factory in China makes the patterns based on the spec sheets I send. I e-mail them my fabric choices (scanned swatches), they match them (kind of), I approve the textiles and they make the samples for me to approve. This is actually a painful and complex process through e-mail. I always have a MUCH better time when I go to China and physically do the sourcing myself. It also cuts the process down form 6-8 weeks to about 5 days!

Q: Did you have to pick one outfit and focus on it or did you design a few at first?

A: I designed the first 8 all at the same time and now I do the best I can with the time and money I have. I usually design 2 new boys and 2 new girls outfits a season and add them to the existing line. Because I carry inventory, I push forward the styles from the previous year so the line is growing but not all the styles are new.

I am seeking a business partner (I think) because I am doing this alone and things are taking a hit because I do not have enough hours in the day to design, monitor current production, receive and manage new shipments, process orders, design marketing plans, execute sales strategies, do my invoicing, go after accounts that don't pay, manage my household AND be a good mom to my girls and good wife to my fabulous hubby. Right now sales are taking the back seat (because I don't like them) and that is hard on the cash flow because you must have sales to survive. But if you don't design new product, you have nothing to sell. The thing is, the business partner I want, needs to be someone willing to put in the same kind of time and dedication, for free, for a cut of the company. No one in their right mind would do that, because this is not their baby. So I'm in a bit of a pickle.

But in the meantime... staying busy.

Q: Have you considered licensing your idea?

A: I don't feel like the brand has enough clout to license. But I do not know the first thing about licensing so that is on the board to look into... having trouble finding the time to get to it.


Q: ...or tried to sell to large retailers?

A: Of course! That is a whole world all it's own. Reaching the buyers (when you are an unknown) is difficult. Getting them to give you real estate on their floor is more difficult. Getting them to get behind the product so they will see the sales numbers they want (which will get you the re-order) has been quite frankly, virtually impossible.

The product fulfillment and monitoring chargebacks are jobs all their own. I am focusing on regional department stores with orders in the hundreds of thousands, not millions as a company my size could probably not fill a million unit order. Making the product is no problem but managing the vendor requirements and actually fulfilling the order perfectly in every way to avoid chargebacks requires that certain systems be in place. That kind of volume is something you grow into. So the trick is to somehow stay afloat through the growing stage.

From that angle. It's hard! But fun.

More pictures are coming soon but this beta version of Blogger is having trouble uploading them, dang it!

Overseas Manufacturing

I received one of those form letters that your senator
sends you to update you on all the wonderful things they are fighting for...

Senator Levin was letting me know that he is continuing
his fight for fair trade terms and I felt compelled to answer
his shiny letter with a bit of reality from a small business
owner trying to build a business involving manufacturing.

My reply follows:

Dear Mr. Levin,
Thanks for the update however you are overlooking some major issues as to why American manufacturing cannot compete globally. While the things you mentioned are important, the simple fact that the corrupt health care system in this country makes the overhead too high for the US manufacturer to truly compete. All large companies must offer health care and that is either going to come out of worker's wages or get bumped to the consumer mark-up margin, making the product far more expensive than the competition. Or other cuts will be made by the manufacturer in the quality control or supply quality to offset the expense. That produces a sub-standard product.

A couple other important things I experienced while looking to do my own manufacturing in the US is the fact that there seems to be no such thing as an efficient all-in-one facility in the US. We are not a "factory based" country and that drives up manufacturing costs when you have to outsource every step of the supply chain. The staff you need to hire to baby sit all those suppliers to just to get the simplest item made, adds tremendous cost. Prohibitive costs.

I am in the apparel business which has a much simpler supply chain than the automotive industry and I was driven to an overseas contractor in order to offer a reasonable wholesale to keep the product affordable to the end customer. Fair trade subsidies were not the issue. I struggled for months trying to make my products here, experiencing rude customer service, indifference to my company and lack of desire to produce my product due to the smaller qty requested because I'm a start up. Those experiences versus a warm reception from China wanting to work with me and help grow my company and product (for which they will benefit greatly when my volume increases as I establish distribution channels). That coupled with the fact that I have one contact to deal with in China and she takes care of every aspect of the supply chain to get my product from concept the export. She is not a third party "coordinator." She is employed by the facility that makes the product. Because it is good business. They are efficient, polite, eager for our business, never mind the competitive price. I toured the facility in mainland China and it is not some third world sweatshop full of underpaid child workers. It is a state of the art facility full of happily employed adults. None of which appeared to be sick or dying from lack of adequate health care.

So while fair trade is important, so is the fact that the US is broken on the inside, and virtually impossible to work with (from a small business standpoint) due to what seems to me to be unorganized elitist status.

You most likely have not bothered to read this far, but if you have, you might now have a little insight into why one Michigan small business felt they had no choice but to take their manufacturing needs overseas. Without my relationship with China, I would not have a product, thus not have a growing company. I am not proud to manufacture overseas, it's simply a matter of survival.

Fulfillment

Just when you think you have it all figured out,
something new pops up.

Hey! It's like having kids all over again!

So I toured the new fulfillment facility this morning.
While moving a lot of merchandise right before Christmas
is not a fun thing to think about, I could not be more
thrilled with the prospect of the company I found,
Efulfillment Services.com
Just the level of care the owner took in showing me
around and walking me through the process of how
they do business, was amazing. I can't even post
a testimonial yet and I highly recommend them.
If you go to the testimonial page on their site, I think
it's safe to say I will be satisfied with their service.

Great customer service is so important. That is something
I strive to always offer my customers. Maybe because the
company grew out of a customer based place. I was
just a mom who was looking for a product. I know that
the people who find me (hello people) are like me,
folks looking for a cool new product.
And if you aren't happy,
I'm not happy
so I extend great service to my customers.

Efulfillment Services does the same thing. I appreciate that
and respect their business model.

That's a big thing with me. I am a principal based person.
So it's not always about how cheap you can get something.
It's also about how intact your moral fiber will be
at the end of the day.

I truly believe there can be a balance of cost-effectiveness
and at the same time, doing the right thing, in big business.
Some would call that naive but then,
I can sleep at night I don't have to watch my back.

So that's something.

Jenservation: Don't be afraid to leave your comfort zone
to explore more efficient and cost effective ways to do business.
Even if it inconveniences you enormously at the moment. It is almost
always easier to "stay the course" but you would be foolish to do that
if the situation calls for change.

Holidays

Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving.

I am faced with moving my inventory
which is bad because I want to move it before Christmas
and that won't work for people who want Stylease
for Christmas.

But it's good for the company because it's long
overdue and finally I was pushed to do it by a few
repeated instances that forced me to draw the line.

It's a colossal thing for me to deal with as I leave
for Los Angeles Dec 21... I would rather be here to
oversee the operation but the timing might not work out...

Next post: More stuff. (I know, promises promises)

Starting Up Part Deux

Ok, I got a little distracted there with that last post.
And had to take a moment to celebrate our change in government.
Oops, sorry, this isn't a political forum but suffice it to say...
I'm a happy person these days. (Gross understatement)

Back to our little discussion.
I miss Jenservations and they've only been missing for one post.

You know, I stated in the Starting Up Part 1 post
that I didn't get help from anyone
that I pretty much did it all myself.
While that is essentially true, I need to qualify it.
I contacted professionals to do certain parts of the process for me, like
Kathlees Shannon small business atty.
and Jason Young patent and trademark atty.
And my manufacturing partner in China,
And my family, who are investors,
several bookkeepers who for some reason seem to keep disappearing...
Hmmm, good thing they are not in charge of my deposits!

So by doing it myself, I meant I didn't consult anyone for how to do stuff...
I figured it out step by step.

Save one. One of the most fabulous people I have had the pleasure of meeting.
Phil Green of the SCORE organization. (See sidebar for a link)

I did not have a clue how to go after financing.
And it wasn't something I was particularly fond of... fund raising.
Patooey!
My Ad guy Brooks Richey over at Adhocracy recommended I contact
Score. "Brooks..." I said. "I'm not looking to get lucky just now... I need financing!"
Not THAT kind of score you dim-wit!

As it turns out the Secret Curry-flavored Organization of Rich Elders
was the best call I could have made! Wow! Yum.

Then I contacted Score. Which also worked out well.
I picked my score consultant for his name and location.
How superficial is that?!
Philip Greene, New York City.
Good thing his name wasn't
Herblemer Dingleplotz, Hell Michigan

Aaanywho. Phil has been absolutely essential in countless ways.
He's a mentor
He's a financial wiz
He knew what a business plan was and how to write one!
And he taught me how!
The fringe benefits are that he has very powerful, influential friends
and an amazing network of professionals who are all top in their field.
He's also a great cook
And a fabulous person.
And now a close friend.

G R E A T Organization, Score.
And free. I know. Hard to believe. But true.

I promise you, next post will be more Q and A
about getting started.

Here I am toiling away. It ain't perty, but it's cozy and cost effective.

The reality is...

When you go into business by accident
flying by the seat of your pants
running with an idea that you think is a good one
tapping an entrepreneurial spirit you didn't know you had
inspired by your kids
an idea that would never have occurred to you
had you not embarked on the journey of trying to raise
reasonably well behaved offspring...

Well, the reality is
you become rather busy.
So busy, apparently that two weeks pass
between blog posts.

Well THAT was fast.

I think prioritizing in one of the most challenging
things in starting a business. For me anyway.
Everything has to be done all the time.
Lists help. I was never a list maker but I think they are important. Just by virtue of writing one, it helps organize your thoughts. In my opinion
(which is pointless to point out, since everything here is my opinion, but I digress)
In my opinion, another essential item is the PDA phone that has a reminder function for tasks you give yourself. My Samsung i730 is quite possibly the most important piece of equipment that I own. The little polite dinging thing just went off. I'm sure it is reminding me of some vitally important thing I must do.

The problem with the way I use it, is that I have so many reminders, that I delay them as needed when other things butt their way in that seem more important, or less time consuming... So when the dinging sound goes off about every 10 minutes, I go, "yeah, whatever".

But an important thing to note is that the PDA alone never worked for me because I was not in the habit of carrying just a PDA. But you always have your cell phone with you, so those incessant reminders can taunt you at all hours. It's terrific!

I'd better go check what is so important, that I need to be reminded about it at 11 pm on a Monday night... I'll bet you 20 bucks it's something I postponed, and will postpone again until tomorrow.

Don't forget to vote!

Cheers -

Starting Up ~ Part I

A lot of people contact me because they read about me as a Mompreneur. They have great ideas but don’t know how to get started. Over the next few posts, I’m going to re-print some conversations with these individuals because they are full of some really great info that is presently just sitting in my archived mail box, not doing anyone any good. I will use the interview format of Q and A. So we can call this PART I…

PART I (See how I said I was going to do something, then I actually did it?) Ah yes, Execution! A vital part of a successful business! Granted, it was a little task, and an easy one as it turns out, but I can see you are already gaining confidence in your own project.

But I digress…

PART I
(This really applies to any juvenile soft goods product, not just clothes… Take note of the “Jenservations” which are observations I had or things I am experiencing. They might save you time and money.)

Q: I am thinking about starting a clothing line for kids based on a unique idea and I wanted to get your advice on starting a clothing line since you've already done it.

A: Not having a clue as to how to start in the apparel (aka soft goods) industry, the first thing I did was buy a book called "The Business of Fashion". Because there is ALWAYS someone out there who knows the answer to your question. This is a fabulous resource guide from conception to market. Another incredibly valuable book in getting started is Tamara Monosoff’s "The Mom Inventors Handbook: How to Turn Your Great Idea into the Next Big Thing". Tamara contacted me in order to use my experiences to help her write her book. So Stylease is actually a contributor but I'll tell you, it condenses information for you and will answer pretty much, any question you have about getting started.

I learned as I went along and did not really contact anyone for help.

Jenservation: This can be very expensive due to the learning curve!

There are several questions you should consider in setting up your enterprise.
Mainly, how big of an operation are you interested in and are you launching your own brand?

It would be a good idea to do a business plan. I didn't start that way. I didn’t even know what one was when I started this thing. If I had taken the time to design a plan, I probably would have talked myself out of pursuing launching a brand due to the unbelievably all-encompassing monster that it all is. So for me, it's actually a good thing I didn't do one first, or I would have missed out on this terrific little journey . BUT, a budget and some projections would have been nice. (And an inkling of how difficult it is to secure major distribution channels!)

There is something to be said for enthusiasm and drive but do yourself a favor and HAVE A PLAN. In the same breath, don't bog yourself down with every tiny detail or it will prevent you from moving forward.

Now don’t laugh, but I honestly thought I could walk up to the buyer for Target and say, “Hey look and my neat idea” and she would say, “Wow, I’ll take 10,000 dozen in every size and color.” “And let’s do lunch, and be best friends.”
Well, ok, not that last part but I might as well have thrown it in there, because the first part was just as unlikely and naive.

Jenservation: When lining up financing… However long you think it will take you to do something, triple the time and cost!


Next post: Inspiration and reality

New Links

I know, by the title of this post
you are rivited with fascination...
uh boy.

But seriously, I have added a bunch of links
over in the sidebar for your clicking pleasure,
cause everyone loves to click.
Or be in one.
Or try it with their heels.

So I am in the process of turning 40 today.
So far, fairly painless.
It's better than not being here to turn 40 I suppose.

See, it's how you look at it.
Turning 40 or being, well not to be depressing but
dead.

Being 40 is looking better and better every minute.
Hey, I have all my hair and teeth. Life is good.

Oops, I don't think I can say that anymore... Isn't
that a registered trademark of the Life Is Good guys?

What a great company story that is! I love those brothers.
They inspire me to greatness.
That is what the American dream is all about.
An idea built on an honest, optimistic, delightful idea that
rages to phenominal success.

Kudos to them!

Off to have my cake! Have a great day.

Hall of Fame

Sometimes I'm lucky enough to have customers send
a picture of their munchkins in Stylease.
I love this because I'm so buried up to my eyeballs
in day to day business stuff
and generally functioning in a suspended form of
sanity, I forget that people actually use the products
that we offer. And are proud to show them off on their
pride and joy.

I spend much of my time working on designing new stuff.
Calculating spec sheets to make the new ideas into outfits.
Making notes on samples that are waiing to go into production.
Keeping track of who is abusing their net 30 terms.
And in turn sending out statements to keep the green flowing.

Then when the kids get out of school at 2:50 I switch modes a bit,
knowing my attention will be divided.
Lately I'm trying to improve my bottom line so I find myself
considering macro cost ratios while making mac and cheese
for an after school snack,
wondering if the ad art I have ready will work with the new
layout measurements.



I generally pirate art from my other ads and assemble new ones.
You might notice similarities between this one and the ad I included
in the previous post.
The main difference is that this ad is for the New Baby Expo
in Hawaii, which is a direct-to-consumer show for parents or whoever
else wants to come. The ad in the previous post is geared toward
retail stores, not the end customer, so the focus is a little different.

It's funny to think about how busy I felt after we had our
first daughter. Adjusting to the constant demand for your
attention took time and was exhausting.
Then you have a second baby and wonder what you did with all the
free time you had when you only had one kid.
Then you accidentally start a company and wonder
what you did with all the free time you had
when you only had two kids.

What the heck!? Sometimes I see an older person sitting quietly
on a bench in the sun, reading a book, or a college age kid
shopping and laughing with friends and I think,
I was that kid once and I will be that old lady quietly reading, one day.
In the meantime, this blissful chaos continues.

It's about time

I've been meaning to do this for quite some time.
Set up a space where I can
hear from my customers,
address their issues with our products,
listen to feedback from people about what is working and what isn't,
get direction as to where we can make improvements etc.

I'm Jennifer Hughes,
creator of the Liloebe company
maker of Stylease infant wear.
I was on a perfectly happy life path, when having children
inspired an idea that has manifested into the most remarkable journey.
I am a parent, just like 99% of my customers.
The other 1% of you are rabid gifters and I thank you.

I started this company from an idea I had.
I looked into how to make that idea a tangible product
and thought that would be the hard part.
As it turned out that was the EASY part. Yipe! Cause it was hard!

Sales and distribution are the toughy.
It's easy to have an idea,
challenging to bring it to fruition
frustrating to market
exciting to launch
exhausting to maintain
difficult to execute strategies to build revenue and consistent sales.

This blog is a place for you to get and give advice,
discuss what is working for you
and what isn't, in regards to
our products
parenting
starting a business
being a woman in business
being a man having to deal with a woman in business
the page is blank, fresh, longing for dialogue.

Let's get to the bottom of this stuff!