Jamie's Blog

What Could Have Happened in Business

September 21, 2008.

As I was going through my website and updating my biography for a project and looking at our timeline I started thinking about my failures, or more like things that did not happen.  I know it is good to highlight my accomplishments and if you don't brag about your company, no one will....blah, blah, blah.  Believe me I have read that book, I have torn out that magazine article and I have attended that seminar.  However, being the humble person that I am, I am thinking that maybe I might not need to do that all the time, maybe it would be good to list the opposite.  Like a time line that might list the bad things, or the things that could have been....quick now could everyone synch up that song What Might Have Been.

Jamie's Painting & Design "NOT" Time line*

*These are in no particular order, and most are from quite a few years ago, things that I have tried to block from my memory....some things were when I was hand painting the tiles, at home.

• Made tiles for Extreme Make Over Home Edition, only to have the cameras scan by the products so quick that if you blinked you missed it.  Also, was promised to have company name in credits and on website for donating products - nope, nothing.
• For all the press I have gotten I have sent out tons of product samples to every baby magazine on the planet (most now out of business) and never had them featured.
• Hired sales representative for Pet Line of products, invest time and money in the hire....only to have her quit after weeks of negotiation.
• Interviewed on phone for Morning TV Show segment on Perfectionists, the producer hinted that I may not be pretty enough or anal enough.
• Flew out to New York, my daughter Abby was photographed to be on cover of bedding catalog - the film was ruined, no pictures ever survived.
• A Buyer from Nordstrom's discovered my tiles and wanted them sold in every store in the country.  A day before she was to do a presentation with my tiles to all the buyers at a Sales Meeting, to convince them to pick up my tiles - she got fired day before meeting.
• Had record growth, huge Christmas sales with large company, they did not pay all invoices till July of following year.
• Did Trunk Shows for holiday season for large department store - travel up and down Bay Area to do shows - did not get paid till following year.
• Spent a month sending out press releases, story pitches and emails with reporters, editors and TV producers regarding my blog helping other Mompreneurs and Entrepreneurs - nothing ever came of it.
• Advertisement in Trade Magazine - not one sale, or call.
• Got products in very high end children's boutique (future blog post) only to have store owner refuse items, have to get attorney to force her to pay for samples.
• Got products in another very high end children's boutique - store owner hated products, sent them back and never paid for samples.
• Product placement got cut 3 times from Better Home & Garden Find It Guide
• Had relationship with Editor and planned interview at Pregnancy Magazine - editor left to stay home with children. 
• Make numerous exclusive designs not once but twice for large bedding catalog - they never used them.
• Design 5 exclusive designs for another bedding catalog, buyer left company - never got into catalog.
• Sent out over 50 product samples to Pet Magazines and Celebrities - got only one thank you letter and no press.

Lessons Learned

This is not a list to make me feel bad about my places I am lacking with my company.  This is a list to  show others how many times I have fallen down, but got right back up.  To get one shot in a major magazine, you have to have been trying for years.   You have to be at the right place at the right time to win.  I have had some luck, I have gotten most success from hard work and continued to keep going after door slammed in face (well not literally, but some pretty obnoxious NO's).  After almost six years in business I did not give up after these set-backs.  I kept going.

Another reason for this list is to show others that I am not perfect, my company is not just succeeding at everything and we have failed.  I feel that information is good, and to look at your accomplishments and your failures puts life in perspective.  I am sure I am also missing some set-backs, and I am purposely not listing all of them (I don't want to sound like a total downer), but these are some big ones I still think of from time to time.

Moving Forward

Looking back, these snafu's or "woulda coulda shoulda" all helped with where we are today.   I don't think it is bad to tell people - it can help you feel better about your losses or missed opportunities.  My son  learned a valuable lesson in first grade and he always tells me, "Mistakes are wonderful opportunities to learn" - this is something I try to use in business.  I learned something from every failure - some of them I am not quite sure what I learned....but I will um, figure it out some day.  And if you must know, yes the Nordstrom one still stings....even writing that one down still hurts.

So, anyone else willing to share big mistakes or could have been's?  I know some them (you have told me off the record) but would love to hear them.....it will make you feel better, I swear.

How to Boost Your Sales

September 15, 2008

So, I was all I am not doing a bunch of new products and I don't have time for development, blah, blah, blah!  Then this summer I was under tons of pressure to develop new products for a few projects.  I painted for days, weeks, hours, weekends - it was like I was a crazy woman....a crazy woman covered in paint that is.  After 32 new designs, I think I am done for the year....well for this week anyway.  Two weeks ago we released our products out into the world, now my job is to get people to purchase them....

Paying Attention

My paintings, or master pieces (as I call the little babies) become my customers keepsake.  Not a knick-knack, but possibly a small piece of wall art for the nursery.  I know I have said this before, how I am an accessory....well not me literally, but my products.  Our products are considered an add-on to a purchase, or a gift for a new baby.  Though I like to consider Jamie's Painting & Design the center of the universe, I do not think anyone would ever design an entire nursery around one of our products. 

I think understanding what you make and where you fit into the purchase is key to understanding your market.  It took me awhile to get this - when I started I designed products that I liked, that I wanted or that customers commissioned - art monkey for hire.  I am not an artist for hire - I know that now.  When I figured out exactly where my product fit into the industry I was able to target companies with a pitch.  I found my niche, I found good partners, good sales channels and that is when we started to grow. 

Holiday Sales

Retail companies can do as much as much as 70 to 80% of their business in the last quarter of the year.  I need to focus on sales, and press now.  We are almost at the end of the year and being a company that is retail -we expect to do at least 30% maybe even 40% of our sales in the next three months.  Sales Baby! 

Well by sales I mean sales in my existing accounts, not new sales or new accounts - it is almost too late in the year to consider a new sales channel.  But, growing existing accounts or focusing on promotions, improving partnerships....the details.  The details, the small details are really what is important...

God is in the Details

Before starting this business I did not have a sales background, however my husband did.  He was a  veteran salesman even back in 2002, he had been around the block a few times.  Me, not so much.  His best advice has always been, "How will you know the answer if you don't ask the question?"  This is great advice for any entrepreneur, and I think it sums up most of my sales channels and relationships.  Don't fool yourself, the relationships is just, if not more, important than the product you are selling.

For example, if you are a wholesaler on a popular children's site, yet never get featured in their catalogs, never are on the front door of the website,mentioned in promotions or email blasts - who's fault is it?  Did you hunt down the buyer?  Did you list your accomplishments, talk about sales, discuss new ideas....offer to do an exclusive?  Do you have a advocate at the company you are working with?  I always....well almost always, get one.  Find an advocate at every company you work with.  Start asking the important questions.  If you don't like to do this - suck it up, or get a sales representative, but you NEED to ask the questions.

Be In the Know & Be A Good Partner

I have often mentioned that information is golden, and I am not one to hide my head in the sand.  I like information, whether it is good or bad, I want to know.  If you are a small business owner that sells through other channels you should know what is going on with that company.  I don't mean you need a cheerleader at every company, but your top sales channels, or your top 10-20% of sales - know them well.   

Do you make calls every few months to check in, see how sales are going, or what the direction of the company is going?  Pssst....you should know how sales are going with that company already, and if there is a drop - find out why.  Do you send thank you emails after they post your new products or do you ignore that they got the products up quickly?  Do you acknowledge a big event, or just send an email asking to be paid?  Don't be afraid to ask the big questions, just be prepared, and be polite.  Gushing never hurt any one either....so I heard.

Being a good partner with a company is key, knowing what is going on is key.  I have relationships with almost all of the businesses I work with, I have an advocate in the bigger companies - a champion, a sponsor - someone who will tell me what is going on.  It is easy to ignore the sales channels, to just let the product speak for itself - this is easy.  I know that, I hear you - but easy is not always the way to go.

You Scratch my Back...

First you need to prove yourself to the sales channel, then you can ask the questions.  You need to be a good or even a GREAT partner before you ask for a favor or ask for information.  Are they a fan of your company?  You need to prove that you can handle the favor - if your customer service has not been stellar, work on it and then call the partner.  Do you rush an order just because?  Do you do a few extra things because they made a mistake?  Tell them about how you have ramped up, how you are ready to take on the extra business.  Don't expect any favors if you can not pay them back...

We were working with a company that was a good channel, well actually they were a great channel.  We had a "relationship" already, a good one.  Earlier this year the payments stopped coming.  They were late on paying us.  We discussed it, we called, we emailed we acknowledged their problem and kept tabs on the situation.  Anyway, the company was able to get back on track with payments, they called us immediately, they emailed us, their accountant called me direct.  I asked around and found that that other vendors did not receive any of this information.  They put us on the list of companies to contact.  Even though we are not a million dollar company, we were treated like one and more importantly we were one of the first companies to be paid.

But What are Favors?

Calling in the favors always reminds me of a line from the Godfather, or any other fabulous Gangster  (not Gansta') movie.  And somewhere, somehow you may need to call in a favor.  Again, if you do not have anyone that you are "tight" with at the companies you have partnered with - you can not ask a favor.  Well, you can, but who would you call?  Customer service?  Leave a message with the accountant's assistant's secretary?  Ya - no.

By favors please know I do not mean sabotaging another companies success, or abusing relationship to ask a sales channel to not carry another line.  I have never asked that favor, and that is not a favor that is cruel.  I would not ask that.  Remember my rant, competition is good, blah blah - bring it on.....you know the drill.  By favor I mean:

"So I was just wondering how my widgets were doing against that other companies widgets?"

"What are you looking for in new designs?  We could develop some new designs for you." 

"What do you think is missing in my line?  What would you like to see?"

"I designed a new Halloween shirt that I think would sell really well, it has already sold out at the ABC store in my area.  Would you consider featuring it in your next newsletter?" 

Do you see what I mean?  You may need to grease the wheel before asking, you may need to send a sample product, you MAY need to give them something (a few percentage points off the sale, free shipping, a twofer (two for the price of one).  Now is the time to be creative - with the economy down and the holiday season around the corner, get out there and make it happen.  I would love to hear about other favors that may have helped your company? Or the tough questions you were not afraid to ask.....

 

When an Employee Leaves

September 8, 2008.

When I got back from the ABC Kids Expo, almost four years ago to the day, I realized I needed more help.  My good friend who was working with me was pregnant with baby number four and was due soon.  I had orders piling up, I had products to ship and I still had two children to take care of.  My babysitter at the time literally walked in one day and said her sister was artistic and she needed a job.

It was my first real interview with a prospective employee, though conducted in my garage/studio - it did not feel very glamorous or monumental.  I was excited I was nervous and I was desperate.  Luckily for me Alice was wonderful, well-qualified and had a great sense of humor.  I hired her on the spot!  Even if she was only 18 she was okay working with us two ol' ladies, all of 35 and all.

Working in the Studio

Alice started with inking the tiles, she was able to use a paint pen with ease, even if there was a  certain cleaning component that she did over use once, or twice - she loved that stuff.  We were afraid that we would all die of fumes and had to air the studio and the entire house out one afternoon.....in December and in the rain.  Not a problem we laughed about it often.  Though Alice missed the first Christmas rush and tears, she has been around for every other one, always helping out when times got crazy and/or emotional.

As the months and years marched on Alice got more comfortable at Jamie's Painting & Design.  We would tease her as we sat out in the garage late at night and she would always laugh.  Not sure if she laughed due to I was her boss, or she liked our jokes.  Two stories that come to mind will always bring a smile to my face :

Back in the day we were ladies of leisure we would watch Oprah while we worked.  Oh those were  the days - everyone had to be quiet as we soaked in Ms. O's brilliant repertoire.   During one segment Oprah was discussing her weight and her issues with it.  The year is 2005 and Alice was all of 19 years old, just a pumpkin if you will.  Alice turns to us older wiser gal's and says, "Oprah used to be heavy?"

Second all time favorite story, since we worked so close to her we were able to hear all about her dating, we really did live vicariously through her.  We enjoyed the stories and often reminisced of what it was like to be in college and dating.  At one time Darin was out in the garage....er studio helping ship when he casually asks Alice about one of her past amour's, she blurts out, "Oh Darin, he is sooooo last semester!"

Alice the Accountant

As the business continued to grow it was apparent that we needed some accounting help, and as luck would have it Alice was an accounting major.  She quickly picked up billing and invoicing and took most of the responsibility over from Darin.  She continued to help ink the tiles and then would also bill our channels after she made tiles, and answer the phone al the same time.

As Alice's accounting and book keeping responsibilities grew, her art ones diminished.  We continued to refine our way of producing and manufacturing tiles and were able to eliminate one of her jobs.  Not her book keeping job, but the other messy one with that cleaning stuff....To make up the hours Alice started to do shipping labels for us and boy could she make them.  I would say she could knock out a few hundred in a few hours and I would not be exaggerating.  What took me a day and a half and two diet cokes, Alice whizzed through like a typing wizard.

Alice worked though good times and she worked through bad times, Alice saw me at my best and she saw me at my worst.  She stood by as we changed and evolved and she continued to work.  Alice never came to work in a bad mood (unlike her boss) she always had a bright smile on her face and sunny disposition.  Even if she made a mistake, she was able to move on - she did not let things bother her.....wish I could be so lighthearted.

Go Ask Alice

Late last year we had some changes in our employees and scaled back due to...well we had to.  Just  like clock work Alice was able to jump in with two feet and add more jobs to her list of responsibilities.  She started processing orders, she was ordering supplies, she kitted.  And in a pinch Alice could ribbon a tile and ship it.  A Jack....of, or an Alice of All Trades.  She had so many responsibilities it was evident that she was invaluable to the company.

With the start of 2008, the economy slowed down. Any small business owner would tell you this was not a fruitful time.  We had luckily, or not luckily spent a substantial amount of money at Atlanta the previous year so we sort of prepared for the slow year.  As invaluable as everyone was, we still had to tighten our belts, we had to be realistic and we had to be frugal.  Not the best environment for a starving college student that is putting herself though school.  Though we did prepare for a possible slow year we did not prepare for everything.  Sometimes you get what you deserve, sometimes you don't. 

Moving On Up

Last week Alice gave her two week notice, she had gotten a paid internship in a major accounting  firm and possible employment after college.  She gets paid holidays, she can get benefits - she can get what I can't give her.   I could not be more happy for her and I could not be more sad.  I feel like my daughter is going off to college, a friend is moving away and a little piece of JPD is walking out the door.  The last of the Mohican's, the last of the "girls", the last of my first employees is leaving.  To say I have been emotional for he last 48 hours would be an understatement, I will miss her terribly.

Change happens, change is good and I knew this day would come.  I am not surprised and I am not bitter and she is leaving under the best of circumstances.  I could barely look at her when she told me the news, my heart sank. 

I am so proud of Alice and I am so happy she was able to work with us for so long.  I hope her memories at Jamie's Painting & Design are are fond ones and I hope she keeps in touch.  I wish her the best of luck, and I wish us the best of luck as we dredge on without her.

Am Embarassing Business Guffaw

September 4, 2008.

So this is a big week for me, yes me, me, me, me....uh wait no my kids I mean my kids. They were at  school all day - our first sort of real work/school week.  All day?  ALL DAY!!  I was like a normal Mom, I worked while they were in school, and I worked all day I did not have to stop, pick up and come back to work.  It was all good, um except I did not know what to do all day.  So....first I went on Twitter, next Facebook and then I decided I needed a good laugh so I checked out Mommy Needs a Cocktail, and um I did not laugh.  I was brought back to a major screw-up that I never talked about.  Some big expensive mistake we made, or um okay maybe it was me:

Going to the ABC Kids Expo

The year is 2004 and my son is going to start kindergarten, my daughter is two.  Jamie's Painting & Design is attending our first Trade Show - The ABC Kids Expo.  Yessirreee big time, uh huh we were going to Vegas!  And, as most everyone knows (or not) there is lots of stuff to do before going to a Trade Show, lots and lots of stuff:

• Get the company literaruture ready (as if a buyer needed that)
• Design new business cards
• Make a press packet together (I did not even know what this was before attending)
• Print new catalogs
• Send postcards to buyers
• Set up appointments
• Get booth designed
• Get samples ready for booth
• Ship stuff to Vegas (note to self, ceramic is heavy and expensive to ship)
• Fill out booth forms
• Get professional photographs of products
• Buy plane tickets (don't even get me started - I booked them for wrong dates)
• Book hotel rooms
• Pay for booth (ouch....painful)

Changing Products and New Pictures

Now, let me step back and explain what I had to do all while preparing to attend the ABC Kids Expo.  To play with the big boys and to be able to mass-produce our products this was the year we stopped hand painting, this was the year we started doing inking (another post) and hiring employees.  Being the totally anal, perfectionist person that I am I had to make sure that with the "new" tiles we had a number of new things:

We started purchasing the ribbon wholesale, and saved money.  Ya it took us a few years to figure out that we could buy things in bulk....again, don't get me started.  So, new ribbon a few changes now that we are "big time" (and yes I am doing air quotes).  Also some of the colors may have changed a bit, or shall I say when not hand painted we were NOT able to match colors exactly and stay consistent (psst, check post from last week if you want to hear how I feel about hand painting) with our products.  And, lastly we knew that we needed professional photographs - my snapshots on the brick patio - not so good.

I Change, You All Change

I was a nervous wreck about our "changes" with our products.  We had a good amount of exposure on the web, some catalogs and a large amount of stores.  Mind you it was 2004, I was less than two years in I did NOT want to blow it. 

So, we had all of our products professionally photographed - yes all of them.  It consisted of about 2o Name Tiles, 20 Name Plaques, 6 birth certificates and 3 brand spanking new ornaments - yep, big time.  This is laughable now that we are hitting the 350 mark on products....but still it was big for us at the time.  Our photographer offered to burn cd's for us (again we were not so sophisticated back then) so we could send to all of our channels - it was only about 50 at the time.  He arrived late on a Wednesday with our cd's guaranteed they were good - we (me, okay my husband may have helped) stuffed them in Fed Ex envelopes and mailed them off, 2-day.  Friday came, and we had plans.  We left Friday.  Then, then......THEN Darin and I dropped kids (and dog) at parents and drove to coast for some R & R and work on business. 

Got to hotel.........checked email.

Uh-oh. 

Lots and lots of emails.

Problems with the cd.

No images on cd.

The cd's we sent out were blank, yes I said blank.  I did not check the cd's.........yep, never checked one, just sent.

I sent blank cd's, all over the country.  And, if memory (and bank accounts) serve me right, I paid for expedited shipping......brilliant!

So Whatcha Going to Do?

We freaked out, well I did.  My husband figured our photographer would give us a break....me not so much.  I kept leaving frantic (um cell service not so good near the OCEAN) messages demanding, asking and then begging him to fix the problem.  This was probably the first time I thought I would have a nervous break-down over work.  I had everything riding on this, I wanted it to be perfect...older, wiser me knows it is never perfect.

Luckily we had our brilliant web designer post the images up on a back door for our channels to browse through.  I mean in less than 24 hours they were up and ready to pull down if you had the site information.  Had to then smack self in face about 14 times wondering why we did not think of that sooner.  Our photographer did make do, and he did give us free cd's (I still have a few if anyone wants one) and he did give us a discount.

In the end none of our sites, stores or catalog:

A. Cared we were no longer hand-painting tiles

B. Cared that the cd was blank, I had a good reputation, it was August, they KNEW I would make do.

C. Got my products up before I attended the ABC Kids Expo - ya, so much for the fire drill, I was a month early and a bit too stressed to listen.  It was flippin' September, not December!

D. It did not hurt sales one iota.  Nope, did not change things - no glip, no glup, no blip in our sales, we continued to grow at a steady pace.

So, in the end what I learned was um I might of over re-acted a tad bit (my husband would say more than a tad, but who's blog is this anyways?) and it ended up to not affect us in anyway.  I wish I was able to calm down that "me" of 4 years ago and tell her it would all work out.  Oh, and I would tell her also that that her lipstick was too dark, she was carrying a bit too many pounds and oh and when husband throws you a surprise birthday party do not, and I repeat DO NOT drink the apple-tini's!      Wait, seriously - if I were to do it again, you should enjoy life more and worry less,  Dang - modern me is SOOO much smarter than the old me!