JPD Mom

Just a Small Amount of Local Press

February 26, 2009

So if you recall I posted a few weeks ago about how I had not one, but two separate interviews and two film crews (photographers really) come to my home.  It was nerve wracking for sure, but super exciting. 

Through the whole ordeal I had my poor family had to live with me being super-duper anal about their rooms and "bed-making skills".  Glad it was all worth it - check the magazine out below, it came out yesterday!

Bay Area Parent, March 2009

All press is good press right?  For a small business like mine - yes it is.  When the Economy is what it is - again, the press is good.  Just another plug - I got this Bay Area Parent piece from HARO, if you have not signed up for HARO (Help A Reporter Out) yet, I suggest you do.

It Takes Time

You never know when you are going to find a reporter that falls in love with you and your story.  You also do not know if they are going to hang on to your "information" for another day.  I like to go with the mantra, "To be at the right place at the right time - you have to be in lots of wrong places first."  To be honest I do not spend a ton of time (or money) on press, I just send in a few pitches or answer querries.  If you are able to make it part of your morning routine it is not that bad.

I got this small article from a querry back in Janurary and even though was not about my business, it did show my decorating skills and how passioante I am about creating special spaces for my children.  Now, I know if you read the article it does not do everything for me:

• The article does not list Jamie's Painting & Design with an address, phone number, prices, email, fax, website or directions

• Link to Jamie's Painting & Design website or the JPD Mom Blog

• Gush with compliments about Jamie's Painting & Design and our products

• Show pictures of my products or Me (no really I am okay with not being photographed this time)

It is just a cute piece about my children and their bedrooms and it may create some business, some buzz or something down the line.  It is funny about press, when you start to really track it and ask how someone found you - you will find whether the press actually created anything tangible.  Only time will tell, but I know it can work.  I was in Bay Area Parent three years ago and I still get peole today who come up to me and say they say me in the magazine.  I have gotten direct orders, I have had stores contact me - and the magazine came out three years ago!  Every little bit counts right?

Take a look - The kids sure look proud!  You do know after the photo shoot(s) they both decided that I should re-do their rooms again. 

We interupt this program.....for change!

February 23, 2009.

So....a few weeks ago we mentioned we.......er uh me was making some changes at Jamie's Painting & Design.  Some of our policies were not really working out the way they were supposed to (in case you need a refresher course this is how it is supposed to go):

1. My company sells a products wholesale through a sales channel
2. The sales channel places an order with my company
3. My company makes the order
4. My company ships the order
5. My company bills the sales channel
6. Then we wait 30 days to get paid
7. and wait
8. and wait
9. really, still waiting.....I kid you not, we are still WAITING!

Ch...ch...changes

Which brought me to that post I was discussing, where we decided to change our policies.  In simple terms, "We don't ship it till you pay for it."  Times are tough.  Times are very tough for retail and I can not afford to keep all these business's afloat.

Are there exceptions? Yes - always.  Are we penalizing the entire industry for a few bad apples?  Um....yes we are, we can not afford to stay in business if we do not get paid.  Are we willing to work with a store, a website or catalog that is honest about their finances and open about when we will get paid?  Absolutely - yes we will be open to that.

Fortunately for me most of my sales channels are great to work with, though that is not the case with all of our channels.    I must state that 99.9% of the channels are fabulous and pay their bills.  I have hundreds of channels and I am grateful for all of them and happy they pay for their services.  What I did not state in my earlier post was how I felt about my change in policy.  I was  horrified about it.  I did not want to rock the boat.  I was afraid I would lose sales, lose friends and get hate mail.  Really, I am okay with change - I am not so okay with making demands or refusing to keep up my part of the bargain (and yes I totally get they did not keep up their part of the bargain).

What Happened Next

After my accountant pushed send on the "change email" I held my breath, no really I did.  I was a nervous wreck about it.   We got one email back from a physical store....and it went something like this:

Dear Jamie,

I am disappointed that a few bad accounts has forced you to change your accounting policies.  It is unfortunate that only a few of your other accounts have not paid on time will affect those of us that do pay on time.  Unfortunately at this time we will no longer be able to work with Jamie's Painting & Design, due to our terms do not let us continue with this partnership.  As far as I know we have never gone delinquent with any of our bills.

Um........ya our return email was this:

Dear "Store that only sold $300 of product this year",

We are sorry that this partnership must come to an end, however your store has been delinquent more than once this year.  Also, our records show you owe us ____ amount of money for products Jamie's Painting & Design shipped out over 9o days ago.  Thank you again for your partnership.

The Moral of the Story

And um if I must....before you send out an email propping yourself up, putting us down and assuming (never assume anything it will make an ass out of you and....ya, ya Bad News Bears) that you are innocent.  For the love of God - check your accounting records too!  I have to say I hate losing any account, and I am sad that I lost this one - but come on!  Pay your bills um kay?  Ironic? I say,yep!

Happy Late Valentines to My House!

February 15, 2009.

Ah shucks - my home is on parade.....sort of.  I woke up to this wonderful post yesterday morning on Lookiloos.  I can hardly read the glowing embarrassing article Sheila wrote, I sound like Martha Stewart on crack.   Well maybe not that crazy, but I do wonder what I was thinking when I started my business, right after remodeling our entire home ourselves.

After reading the post I started thinking about all the good things about owning your own business and why I really did love to be my own boss: 

Top Ten Reasons I love being an Entrepreneur

1. Always Something to Talk About- not that we don't all always have something to gibber jabber about, I know we do.  I always can join in on most nonsense talk at a party, my husband's work  event, sitting with the Mom's at school.  As an entrepreneur I can pretty much walk the walk and talk the talk with anyone.  I get what is like to stay at home, I get the business talk, I get the sales stress, the Economy...oy vey!  And sometimes I even blurt out things to shut some idiot up;

Idiot,"So as I was saying I have my own business, I am very successful and I live in Atherton*...do you know where Atherton is?  I own a home there...."

Me, "Ya, I know where it is.  So my tiles were on the Ellen DeGeneres show last year....do you know who E-L-L-E-N is?"

Was I childish? Yes.  Was it funny? Yes.  Did I shut him up? YES! 

*Just in case you do not know where Atherton is, it is one of the most expensive places to live in the United States.  It is just about 15 minutes down the freeway from me,  EVERYONE knows where it is.

2. Never A Dull Moment - If you have been reading this blog, or own your own business, this is a big fat - duh!  I swear the word bored or expression,' I have nothing to do', has probably not passed over my lips since I started Jamie's Painting & Design (or had kids for that matter).  I have a to-do list that never gets thrown out, I just keep adding things, ideas, inspirations....more blog posts!  It is a never ending list of continuing to improve, take down, re-do or change.  I guess the day I sit back and say I am done, I have nothing more to do - will be the day I quit.

3. I Am in Charge, Because I said So - This is a double-edges sword for sure.  The line from History of the World Part II, when Mel Brookssays, "It's good to be king." always pops in my head.  I enjoy most of the perks and the total control that comes from being in charge.  Yes, not everything is funky-dory, but most of the time it is great.  If you don't like being in charge - don't start a company.  I like it, I do.

4. Business School 101 Forever- I will never, never ever know all there is to know about running my own business.  It will always be a learning experience.  If I have figured out one aspect I have to teach myself something else to succeed.  The learning curve is steep and I am lucky to have smart people around me to help me out.  Sometimes though I just have to figure it out.  I have no IT department, no HR department, no I do not.  If there is a problem, I need to fix it....and usually fast.

5. Watch Mommy Work - Whether my children follow in my footsteps,  join the company or not, I know they have learned quite a bit.  They have watched my business grown, seen it stumble and probably learned a few bad words.  The best part is that they saw how I (with the help of my husband and family) started something from nothing and created a thriving business.  Sometimes I need to take a step back and acknowledge what we do is sort of cool....well at least my kids still think it is.  They can see that I can follow my dreams and still be a Mom to them.

6. Freedom Baby! - Even with the long hours, the weekends, the stress and the back breaking work I can take off when I want.  For six long years no one has told me how to dress (yes I wear slippers some days) or when to get to work, or whether or not I can take the day off.  I love the freedom!  Not to say the blackberry does not totally help (it does) but I am able to make my own hours, go out of town, leave work early, volunteer in my children's classroom.....and it is fabulous!

 7. Friends, Partners & Mompreneurs Oh My!- If I had not started my own business I would not be so blessed to call so many different women my friends.  Women I have never met in person, some I have spoken to on the phone, others I email on a regular basis and some we only speak through twitter.  I find some of these women are so supportive and so fabulous that I don't know how I would ever have succeeded without them.  Really a great testament to what  a great community of people you can meet on line.  My virtual support system is by far the biggest shock to me - I never imagined I could meet so many of you that say, "Yep, I get that."

8. Never say, "What Might Have Been."- I never have to utter those words, I took the plunge I tried, I am trying I am doing what I want. Selfish?  No - totally stubborn and an unnerving ability to do what I set out to do.  I refuse to take no for an answer.  I do not like to not try.  No one is putting this 'baby' in the corner - I will do what I set out to do.  I had two small children, no seed money, no partner, no experience - these things did not stop me.  I do not know how I did it (or others either) but I did it.  No matter what happens to JPD in the future, I will know I tried and I did what I set out to do.

9. What if you did....? - This is one of the most exciting things about running a business - the possibility of the unknown.  The question I ask myself, or others might ask with a new idea, a new way of looking at things - just new.  I can not imagine I would have this freedom if I was working for the man, or in an established huge company right now.  I love that I can take my business in a , I can try out a new product line, I can experiment with new things.  It is never boring I tell you.

10. It Makes Me Happy - I feel that running a business is very fulfilling and rewarding.  I get to make beautiful things for people.  I get wonderful thank you's, kudos, praise from customers and friends alike.  It makes me feel good.  I like that people like my work....and ya I am thinking the Sally Field speech in my head right about now, "You like me, you really, really like me!"  At the end of the day, whether I made a dollar or not - I know that someone is thrilled with a product I made.  I love that feeling.

Behind the Scenes of A Photo Shoot

February 7, 2009.

So um pssssttt........I have a little secret to share with you.  Not this Saturday, but the one before....ya, ya 24 robbers came knocking at the door.  I swear, is it just my age or my total juvenile way of looking at the world but that jump rope game pops into my head every time someone starts a story off with that?

 Anyhoo....sorry to get off track - I had an exciting if not stressful Saturday.  First a local children's magazine, Bay Area Parent asked to come by and photograph my children's rooms for an article on creative use of a small space.  I thought they were coming in April -  nope they would be here in like 8 days.

And if that was not enough, I also had the fabulous website Lookiloos come and photograph my home on the same day.  I thought they were just coming to look at one room....nope they got the entire house (except for my bedroom which I forbid them from entering, see photographs above & below).  And hold on to your knickers because it gets even better - my home is going to be featured in the San Jose Mercury News Home Section via the Lookiloos site.  EEEK!

Ya it was a cool day.

Things Are Not What They Seem

So you see some home photographed and you think (like me) my gosh their house is perfect, is there not a junk drawer, an unmatching blanket, kids art on the fridge or a basket for crap....er um stuff I can not throw away?  Well guess what I happen to know these people do have these things, they just hide them, as I did, when the photographers show up.  Shall we look at my poor bedroom that I refused to let anyone in:

First I had to make sure the kid's rooms were in tip-top shape, I had to do a few things (Abby's bedspread was in tatters - so thankful for Pottery Barn) and I had some scuff marks that needed painting  over, some artwork that needed hanging.  Remove some obnoxious dress-up (see exhibit A with the Yankee Doodle Hat Thing) and make sure my daughter did not 45 stuffed animals stacked around the room.

Shudder, even looking at this picture I am sort of embarrassed that this stuff was all in my bedroom when they came.  These items are all in my home, in one room or another and I had to find a place for them when the film crew came.  Hence.....you can see where they were stacked.

The problem with our home is that usually people would be putting these things into the garage, but our garage is the kids play room (that was being photographed also).  So I had to put them in some room, and I chose mine.  And as  I stated ealier - my room was TOTALLY off limits. 

I sent my dogs to my parents home for most of the day.  My husband took my kids to another friend's home for a much needed play date and my husband....gosh who knows what he did - I think he went to my office.

They Finally Arrive

I got to have a great talk with two of the three founders of Lookiloos - they were so much fun and totally personable at that.  We walked around the house I explained what I did and why and pretty much blushed and 'aw shucks' when they complimented my home.  Our home was a probate sale disaster ugly thingie covered in trees, ivy, rodents in the roof, brown shag carpet from 1970's....and we fixed it up.  You would never recognize our house from the way it was seven years ago.  The photo below is how it looked when we bought it....not today!  I still can not believe I saw the diamond n the rough from that.

So, while they are still talking to me and photographing every room in the house, Bay Area Parent arrives with a photographer to interview me and see my kids rooms + the playroom.  I am walking them through the house, showing them my tiles I made, discussing why I chose what was their rooms and how I started my business.  Then they ask where my kids are my kids......ah deer in headlights - "I uh, let me call my husband I don't know where they are".

I had to track them down (curse myself for not dressing them cuter) - they were getting hair cuts.  My Dad left his house, went to the hair salon, got my kids, brought them back for three picture....whew!  I was exhausted - but boy did my house look clean.  That does not even begin to tell you what I did in the week before with the cleaning, the scrubbing, re-arranging, primping and even a little bit of planting in the backyard - in the rain.  I know, I know I have issues, but in my deffense the backyard was going to possibly show up in some photos - and dead plants are not my thing.

I will keep you posted on the press and when (and if) it makes it to print.  I don't ever believe it till I see it and touch it.