JPD Mom

Most Stressful Time of the Year

December 18, 2008 ---ah, oops I mean December 27, 2008...........Nope December 28, 2008. 

That's it, I am done, I am finished.  It's Over Johnny!  Pack it up, move it out.....we are out of here!  I have officially been replaced as Matriarch of the house by the Wii.....yes it is true.  My family live, breath and drink the Wii.  Even my two dogs, who got dog beds have given up on me.....they are sleeping contently in the room with the Wii as the rest of my family entertains themselves for hours on end with that damn toy.  Curse you Wii!

Yet, on a side note I was able to clean out the house, donate toys and clothes and finish a blog post.  May not be everyone's best day - but for me, heaven!  I also slept in to some unforsaken hour today that I will not ever repeat, so shoot me if I seem overly optimistic!

Okay, no I am not quitting, or closing up shop but I am done (we are done for the year) with shipping out our products for Christmas - got everything done yesterday, last Wednesday.  We rallied at the end, who knew one could work 12 hours a day for 6 straight days and not go crazy? 

The Efficiency Queen Fails

I think I have made it very clear how we strive to be efficient here at JPD.  It is what helps us stay lean and mean - and make all of our promises to our customers and sales channels.  Running a small business that is not efficient is like running in circles, with scissors.  I as the business owner need to wear many hats, some years I wear more than others.  I know it is just a must, but I was not so great at a few things:

Made 5 errors on 5 different Birth Certificates 

I was (in my defense) multi-tasking and my kids were acting very um....kid-like.  I was for sure not focusing and I screwed up.  The good news is they were caught before going out the door so we fixed them quickly.  It became a joke in the work room as the ribbons were put on the tiles, I would hear, "Um Jam, I found another mistake!"  Oh how I would cringe as they piled up!

Shipping Labels are not my thing 

I never get them right, well no most times or sometimes I do get them correct, but I make many mistakes.  I mean okay I get them right, but I forgot how labor intensive it was to make them, and even though we shipped everything out I did not get the correct tracking number to a few channels.  I am an anal super organized person, with a great memory for products............however I do make mistakes.  

My office is a mess  

It is messy, it needs to be cleaned....and I do not have the energy to do it.  Oh well - such happens when you ship out 2 weeks of work in 2 days.  I figure I will clean when I am dead (just like Martha Stewart, I will sleep when I am dead).  I am talking the whole office is covered in crumbs, and I have not been there since um.....oh gosh I don't know when.  Tuesday?  I need to do a deep cleaning, organize and possibly get some decorating advice from the divine Ms. Kennedy - if you have not seen her work area do drop by.  Just try not get to green with envy before you take a peek - gosh knows I did!

The Good Side of the Coin

We kept open longer this year - what I mean is we took orders from our customers and channels up until December 15th.   Now, to get across the country (we are based in California) we had to ship everything out by the latest on December 17th............drum roll please....we did it!  My employees, my husband, we got it all out. 

The crazy part is after working all Monday night to get products done by Tuesday, we kept taking orders yesterday - that would be Wednesday.  We got orders yesterday morning, made the tiles, ribboned them, got a label and shipped them out to arrive by Christmas.  It was a crazy day with laughing and sighing  (I mean singing, we had the Christmas carols blasting through out the office, much to the chagrin of my Dad and our Shipping Clerk - who uttered last Thursday morning, "Oh Thank GOD only one week left of Christmas Carols!") but we did it.  So thrilled to have gone above and beyond what I had promised my sales partners.  I am already thinking about shortening my turn around times once again.....after seeing what we did at Christmas time.  Take that hand-painting!

Money in the Bank

It is no secret that the Economy is struggling.  Our sales are off to say the least - I wish I could spin it more positively and say something about re-adjusting our expectations....but somehow the word sucks sounds better.  When we look at our numbers - Christmas ended up good - we did good.  When I compare them to last years numbers, a horse of a different color if you need a description.

Yet, I want to stay positive, realize that we could be worse.  We could have gotten no orders this season.  I am very thankful we continued to get orders.  As I stated much earlier this year, I feel that as long as you continue to sell items to your customers, they won't forget you.  Whatever we are doing we need to stay in front of our customers and make sure they remember us.  Because, even I know this will turn around, the Economy will improve....not sure when, but it will fix it self some day!

Ask & You Shall Receive

I have learned to ask questions of my sales channels, this has been hard but I do it.  I ask if they want exclusive designs, promotional sales partnerships, if they like my products, how they are selling, what I can do to improve.  

The one question I asked that has been pivotal in one new product is - what am I missing in my line.  Don't be afraid of asking this, you may be able to improve your products, add something new to the mix OR not.  Also, you may not like the answer - so be prepared for what they tell you - do you know, if you don't ask you won't ever know.

Looking to the Future

As crazy as it sounds I am actually excited about two new products for 2009 (and no they are not coffee cups for tots, though some mornings my six year old could use a cup of java).  I can not believe I am expanding - but I am.  I feel the need to bring one more product into the mix, and I also feel the need to do it fast.  

I am super excited by it also - really, I could not be more excited.  It is a bit scary to think of a new product, or a new concept - but it is what keeps me sane.  I can not sit here any longer and scream the sky is falling....cause it is, I get that.  Nothing keeps me more positive than developing something new, painting new designs - working to develop a great product.   

Who knows what the future will have in store for me, or Jamie's Painting & Design - I can not guess.  I can only forge ahead, keep my head up, wait and see.  I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season with your businesses and especially your families.  I wish I had posted this a few weeks ago, however life got in the way of my blog.  Just like it always does!

Maybe in 2009 I can get this blog back to the front burner of life and post daily.......um well if sales stay slow might be possible.  Well - I can wish anyways - to POST daily, NOT the Economy thing!  

Looking For a New Partner

December 10, 2008.

Change takes time, change is usually in the air before the actual "event" occurs.  I am always shocked when people say you can 'change on a dime' - I don't get what that means.  I am more of the 'change is coming - get ready and deal with it!'  

I have always been open and honest about what running my business is like.  I don't sugar coat it, I don't wrap it up in fluffy happy affirmations and spew it out all over the Internet.  I would like to think I pull back the band aid and expose the under belly of what running a wholesale and manufacturing business is like.  Which brings me to the quandary I am in at this moment:

Need Sales

For the most part in the last six years I have succeeded by hard work, determination, and the ability to get new products/themes to market quickly.  Though, no one does it alone - I have done the best I can with what I know and have been willing to learn.  Only a handful of sales reps have helped in my quest to get Jamie's Painting & Design in every child's bedroom and nursery in the United States (did I forget to mention I want to rule the world too?).    News flash - I don't know it all, and I never will.  I'm at a crossroads with growing my business - Do I stay status quo?, or do I look to blow this out and look towards significant growth?

When I started Jamie's Painting & Design I was had an opportunity to get into Nordstrom and I jumped at the chance.  As fate would have it, my products did not end up in their stores.  A good friend was baffled at my wish to actually get into a big store, kept asking, "Why do you want to grow?  Why not stay small and keep it in your home?"  My response was, and it still is, "If I am going to do this, I want to grow it and I want to be big."

What Is Missing for JPD?

I have decided that I want to go big and I need help in doing so - I am actually saying it out loud, here on my blog : I am looking for a business partner to help take Jamie's Painting & Design to that next level.  This is something I never thought I would do - I used to want to be in charge of everything, run it all, read used to.  My reason is because my area of expertise does not include Sales & Marketing.  I always think I should do what I do well and let others do what they do well.  I am okay at sales, I am not great - I need someone who is great.  I am not good at on line marketing - I need someone who is great (hmmmm, I see a trend here).

My husband claims this is very similar to what Six Apart did when Barak came in as acting CEO to help grow the business.  The company Founders still remain the Founders and a large part of the strategy moving forward, but Barak was the key they needed to expand and make TypePad a global brand.  Though I have no plans to go overseas at this time (never say never, that would be cool though!), I do need to look ahead and grow my business and brand.  

Sales Experience

This is a mixed bag for me because any Entrepreneur that starts their own business has this talent.  You have to be able to "sell yourself", otherwise how would you survive?  I have watched other businesses succeed and fail and I always go back and look at their qualifications and history.  Most successful ones seem to have a sales background, or at least the discipline to call daily on sales.  For me to do this, it takes me away from the designing, the developing - it is hard to do both well.  Sales is not my strength or my passion, and that can make a significant impact on my success.

Internet Marketing & SEO    

Where do I begin?  If I understood these things I guess  I would not be looking for a partner.  There are millions of searches each day for terms related to my products, yet, unless people know my brand, they will not know who I am.  I want to be a brand that everyone talks about, and when they are shopping somewhere, they are looking for my products.  From the exploration phase to the consideration phase to the purchase phase - I want to be top of mind. 

I believe the Internet is the only form of marketing that is both "lean-forward" (something my husband keeps telling me) and measurable (off line, and display are suspect to nothing).  My potential customers are opening browsers all over the country and telling the world that they are looking for a gift of some sort (they are trying to talk to me), I want to have conversations with those people through my content, messaging, and brand.........wow, that was a mouthful.  Kind of lost myself there for a minute.....see I told you it was not what I am good at.

Change Here We Come!

I am actually pretty excited about the future of Jamie's Painting  & Design.  I am optimistic that this will be a good move for us.  This has been in the works for quite sometime, not something I woke up and decided to do yesterday....see how I wrapped that whole 'change' thing up?  I think asking for help, or admitting I have a problem is the first step.....wait that sounds like a 12 step program - I think I made some sense though.  Anyhoo, change is a comin' and I am ready - I leave you with a favorite quote of mine:

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result"

Have Some Press Won't You?

December 4, 2008

In one of my last posts, the one about the Economy took quite a bit of time to write.  I did not want to come off negative, yet I wanted people to be realistic.  I know it's not vogue to sometimes tell it like it is is - but I think that is a trait an Entrepreneur needs to have.  I was honestly surprised not have seen more negative, if not combative responses or comments to my post.  I did get a nice comment from someone that asked about PR though, and that I can help with;

"One of my weaknesses is PR; I've never done it and have no clue how to go about getting press coverage for our products. Can you share some advice on this subject as well..."

                                                                                                                CarolMatisak of The Monogramed Divas

 Good at Getting Some Press

Getting press is a trial and error for the most part. The process is just as much about the end result as how you got there.  Sometimes it is who you know, sometimes it is just being the right place at the right time - and other times it can change your business (that would be when Oprah has you on her show and you sell 10,000 widgets in 10 minutes - ya that can change things).  Though I am not an expert I have had some amazing press and some incredible luck (not Oprah luck, but luck).  You can go to my website if you want to see the press we got - or if you are as tired of it as I am, please read on:

Who Am and What Do I do?

You need a good elevator pitch abut your product or what it is you do.  A quick one, that is one or two sentences.  Sarah Jane, of Sarah Jane Studios has a great one on her site.  Own that pitch, be able to announce it to a group of strangers, type it into an email when asked what you do - memorize that baby!  You can always elaborate and or condense but you have to own it.  Nothing is more frustrating then getting a 3 paragraph description from an Entrepreneur explaining what she does, why she does it and how she does it.  No one cares that your daughter ruined your prototype and that your fubbly wubbly husband wuvs you to death, no one - sorry.  The people that really don't care - journalists.

Journalists are very busy people and expect you to get to the point quickly.  Face it, if you are pitching them you are one of maybe a dozen or 3 dozen people.  Get to the point quickly, and if you have memorized the pitch then you can do it quickly.  Even if you do not get the piece, or get interviewed do know they will be more than likely to talk to you again than to old Ms. Crafty McCraftperson who's email was 4 pages long description of how she dries her flowers using the sun and her mother's special recipe.

But What is Your Story?

Second you will need a story about how you started your business or why you started or how you came up with this great idea.  Put this story on your website!  If your story is lame (I saw it on line and decided I could do that too) you may want to re-think your business model.  Also, throw some "human interest" into it.  For years anything written about a Mompreneur, Mommypreneur,WAHM (work at home mom) got instant attention.  You almost did not even have to try very hard to get a reporter to listen to you.  Now, I would say that story is kind of.....dead.  Don't shoot the messenger  - but the story has been played out.  Find an angle and own it - do your research, see what other stories resonate with you.  I am not saying lie, but make your story worth reading , write (or speak) well.

Second, you need to be able to adjust and massage your story depending on who you are speaking with.  An editor from Woman's Day and a journalist from Entrepreneur Magazine - different spin.  One wants the feel good warm and fuzzy 'I am a Mommy and I work" story, the other - facts, numbers, statistics.  Carrie Weir, a friend and another entrepreneur who was once a journalist claims your story is just as important as your product. 

Love the Limelight

One more important piece to this press puzzle - you need to love the attention.  And that is not like, I mean LOVE the attention - really, really.  You have to be a good spokesperson, have a good photo you can email in a heartbeat and like to smile while you talk about your baby...er business.  If you do not like talking about yourself or your company - press is not for you.  It has to be something you enjoy doing.  Also do not be too hard on yourself - know that you will fail, not everyone will write about you.  However, you just never know what may happen - if you talk to everyone you know something may happen to you and your business.  If you never talk about it, you won't make any good connections.

Be Realistic about the Outcome

Press and publicity is not the end all to the success of your business.  It can help, it gets your name ou there but it does not equal sales.  Trust me I know this from experience and from other women that have had a lot more press than me.   People magazine featuring your product does not guarantee sales, Ellen holding up your ornaments on National TV does not guarantee sales either.  Sometimes all press does is over-inflate the head and ego of the person, so be careful.  Once you are out there - you are out there, and your life is public.  Just make sure you are okay with that.  There are no alias's for running your own business.