Jamie's Blog

It is Your Day...Do What you Love!

This is the official eighth year that I get to partake in the Mother's Day festivities as an active participant.  I had two years with my friend covered with fur, and then there was the one year I was almost a mother....but those don't really count do they? 

Now that it is official, I like to spend the day barking orders at my family, making them pick up after me, feed me, dress me, bathe me, HELP me and proclaiming, "Because I said so!"  Okay, so I don't do that....but wouldn't that be fun?  This year my son is old enough to ask why there is not a kid's day, and I respond,"I remember thinking the same thing pumpkin when I was your age....and the answer is because EVERY DAY IS KIDS DAY!"

Two years ago I actually came down with some sort of bug, that included....well let's just say I was sick.  And then I got to try and eat a very VERY burnt breakfast in bed.  Spent most of the week (including the entire Mother's Day) in bed (in tears) sick as a dog (which made one dog super happy to spend the week with me).

So last year I decided that I would spend the entire weekend (and a 1/2 day on Friday) doing something I loved-gardening.  And, I went balls to the wall, adding flowers, plants, seeding, new bark, moving plants, planting vines uh I went a bit overboard.  I ended up wrenching my back so bad I felt sick to my stomach, again spending most of the week in bed.

This year I have spent the last two days in a germ free gardening free bubble.......for fear that I might not fully enjoy this Mother's Day.  I will speak or touch no one.  I am going to be healthy if it kills me.  I am spending today doing things I love to do or with people I love:

• Going to breakfast (love breakfast)
• Spend day with family (love family)
• Shopping for new stove (love shopping)
• Shopping for slippers (love shopping....did I mention that?)
• Get my car washed (er...love clean stuff)
• Dinner with extended family (we uh, already addressed this, love family)
• Paint (we have covered this before oh I do love to paint). 

I started to think how many people can actually say that they are doing what they love?  On a day-to-day basis, what do you do spend your day doing?  I mean you got the career you wanted but are you DOING what you love to do?  Are you working towards getting to that point at least?  If you went back to school are you studying what you want to study?  If you started your own company are you doing what you love to do?  Or are you spending all your time chasing down problems? 

What are you spending your time doing? 

Have you ever looked around and assessed what you spend your day doing?  If I am going to spend hours away from my family and kids I have decided I better be doing something I love.  Selfish - to some, to me it's the only way to live.  I have scratched, clawed and cried my way to where I am today.  I do NOT want to go back to doing things that I don't enjoy doing. 

This is not to say I do not do one of the following on a weekly basis: clean the toilet, vacuum, wash windows, chase down a lost order, order supplies, empty the garbage, ship a package, write an email, negotiate a contract, clean out the fridge, upgrade the computer, add ink to the printer, re-do a corrupt file...the list goes on and on.  However, this is life and these jobs are few and far between - I used to spend my days doing ONLY these things, day in and day out.  I used to do it all....

It has been a long road, I took baby steps, I made changes, I fought some of them, yet I can honestly say MOST days I am doing what I love....um, I need to stop writing and start painting, before someone asks me to do something else....

So - I ask you dear reader, are you honestly doing what you love? (that was uh, not an open-ended question you can ACTUALLY respond you know....go ahead respond I know who you are!  Please...don't make me beg!) 

Merry....errr...Happy New Year?

IMG_0320
Originally uploaded by mama_lentz.

December 28, 2006

As 2006 is coming to a close I will be addressing my 'New Years' cards today. For the first time ever I did not send out Christmas cards. Well, one year truth be told I sent them out three days prior to Christmas and some lucky souls got them right before the holiday.

I took the advice from a good friend and fellow entrepreneur, Vicki Bodwell, she wrote about how she looked so forward to reading her friends cards, but could not ever get it together to get her own out. Her goal was to send out New Years cards after the crazy holiday season.

Each year, I also look forward to cards from friends and family, near and far. I love to see the photos and catch up on the special events of their lives. We get one card in particular that I can not wait to open and read each year. Our friend always makes her own cards, no not with a paste, glitter and some snowflake doilies.  Her cards are beautiful and creative with different paper and ribbons. They also have a 'point to ponder', an inspiration or a real good "food for thought" quote.  I save the points to ponder each year, and post it somewhere easy to read when I need some, uh, inspiration.

Taking her cue, I thought I would list my points to ponder for others that started a business or are thinking of starting one, or just take that leap of faith and jumping back into the work force, or uh, just hanging out. Here are my JPD Points to Ponder for 2007:

• The most destructive habit.................negativity, it spreads like wild fire
• The greatest sound...........................laughter, it is contagious
• The greatest joy................................giving back to your community, you should give back
• The greatest loss..............................loss of not doing, not taking the leap
• The most satisfying work...................doing what you love, and love what you are doing
• Our greatest natural resource.............our minds, it is a terrible thing for you to waste
• The greatest shot in the arm...............a pat on the back, even from yourself
• The greatest problem to overcome.......fear of not trying, go ahead and try
• The most effective sleeping pill............happiness with self, life and life choices
• The most crippling failure disease........excuses for why now is not the right time
• The most powerful force in life..............support of others, others will then support you
• The most dangerous pariah..................jealousy and gossip, it can eat you alive
• The most incredible computer..............your brain, your brain, your brain (got it?)
• The worst thing to be without...............hope, tomorrow is a new day
• The deadliest weapon.........................you, you can convince yourself out of anything
• The most powerful words....................."I can do this!"
• The greatest asset..............................faith in yourself and your vision
• The most worthless emotion................worry, it is money paid on a a debt you don't have
• The most contagious spirit..................enthusiasm!

Now go on out there and do something!!  Good luck, happy new year and happy resolutions!  I hope you all are able to make your wildest dreams come true in 2007!  To quote the sergeant from Hill Street Blues, "Hey people, let's be careful out there!" 

Be Over Prepared

November 5, 2006.

So, I may have written about this before, but it is such an important aspect of being an Mom and an entrepreneur.  I would like to say that I am ALWAYS prepared....but I am not:

• Last week we ran out of tiles and had make an emergency order
• For three weeks we have been waiting for one color of ribbon that was back ordered
• We had no batteries for our camera to film my daughter's Halloween Parade
• When our Printer could not use the lay out for our new brochure I had to scramble and back track to get another Printer involved
• When presenting quotes for a new component of our websites I forgot to get two second quotes (Accounting demands three quotes)
• Painting flowers in my daughters NEW room take not one but at least five coats of paint due to the dark coloring of the walls....
• Had to have a clock and two pillows for daughters room shipped over night
• Finished my son's costume hours before a big Halloween Party

However, I am getting very prepared, even over-prepared for a first ever event, gulp, I am going to be interviewed for a local TV show.  The film crew is going to film my children's rooms (hence the expedited shipping) and apparently interviewing me about Jamie's Painting & Design.

I am almost prepared (I think) I still have a thousand things to do before the interview but this I have done:

• I have to talked myself while driving about what I think they may ask me <check>
• I had my husband video tape me (oh how painful to watch myself and hear my voice) <check>
• I know the show backwards and forwards (what TIVO is for) <check>
• The rooms are touched up, spiffed, pillows fluffed, vacuumed, adjusted to death <check>
• I have researched the interviewee <check>
• I have asked for advice from other entrepreneurs <check>
• Taken advice from our publicist (bold colors bad, dark colors good) <check>
• And I have started a mantra "s-p-e-a-k  s-l-o-w-ly" <check>

And if all else fails I will tell a knock knock joke my son taught me....no I am kidding.  I feel pretty confident about the interview, my stomach IS doing sumersaults as I write this though.  The last thing a friend said to me when we spoke on the phone last week keeps ringing in my ears, "DO-YOUR-HOMEWORK". <CHECK>

And it Always comes back...

October 31, 2006.

The irony of this post is how I started my day...I read my news in the morning on www.cnn.com every day.  I always quickly scan the articles before logging on to my check email.  Today an article about Oprah giving away $300,000.00 caught my eye so I read it.  Unless you live under a rock you probably heard she gave $1000 to 300 people (oh not to forget Bank of America sponsored it too) insisting they must do something charitable with it, and then document it on there new DVD recorder.  I thought it was a great idea, and am anxious to see the show...then went on with my day.

So....today I got not one but two emails back confirming we were in two articles regarding 'giving back'.  Being the media savvy entrepreneur I always reply to emails from journalists or magazines looking for information for an article, or just sending some company information to an editor.  So, I did not think twice of sending out two separate responses to two separate requests on charitable things we did.

Let me back up a second, and mention we give back to the community, to victims of Hurricane Katrina, terminally ill children, families on EMHE (another blog), church functions, charity events, sponsor sport teams, etc.  I feel as a business owner it is my duty to give back.  I also feel blessed, lucky to have such success and damn it it feels good to help people.

I am happy we did give back, and I am happy to get some free publicity - I actually  hope it inspires others to give back too.  And I do agree with Oprah, who said, "I can honestly say that every gift I've ever given has brought at least as much happiness to me as it has to the person I've given it to," (Amen, Oprah and psst.....call me!)

Tracking Visitors to Your site

October 18, 2006.

So, yesterday we had a big spike on our website, in fact it went up Monday and continued to go up on Tuesday.  Today we are going back down.  We had 12% of visitors to our site from Lafayette, California, and 34% were returning visitors from all over the United States.  In other parts of the world they are viewing our site also, London, Buenos Aires, Singapore and even Dubai!  Last week we had a record Monday with our biggest day ever of views to pages and almost all were new visitors, it was 3 times the average amount of viewers to our site.

So...how do I know this?  And if you have a company website YOU should know this too....

It's called Web Analytics, and there are many companies that do this...it's basically tracking activity and performance on your website.  Analytics measures whatever you want it to measure, effectiveness of a marketing campaign, measures traffic to a website, measures activity of a shopper - it's Big Brother for sure!

We use a free product from google (www.googleanalytics.com), and it gives us a glimpse at what our customer is doing.  Now, don't get me wrong I don't know exactly where they live, I don't know who they are, and I don't know what they are looking at.  And I believe it can be skewed....what if one person in Malaysia (not likely) looks at my site 45 times a day?  I am told it should be cookied and they will look at each user as a different visitor.

So, back to why the spike?  Our angel ornament was featured in Country Living's Holiday Gift Guide, however it hit newsstands back East over two weeks ago.  So, who knows?  We do not have a marketing campaign that we have been wanting to track, or an advertisement in a magazine.  We do PR and that is all we do.

Maybe some day I will be able to see you Jane Smith at 456 Elm Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan, looking at those Snowman ornaments over and over, and over again, tracking you as you explore our website.

Um, did I say loyal?

October 11, 2006.

I do consider myself a loyal business partner, and a loyal friend for that matter.  I have stood loyal by:

• Failing Sales Channels
• Companies that do not pay their bills on time
• Sales Representatives that do not 'represent' very well
• Contract Employees that were not working out
• Small companies that helped me develop my brand

That being said......I feel awful about something that happened today.  I have worked with a company for over three years.  It is a small business owner that has helped me in many ways.  I have gotten advice on computer programs, printers, color adjustments, paints to use, paper quality and weight, price cuts.  We have gotten free training, we have worked well together. 

However, we are now paying rent, we have an accountant, we have bills to pay.  So, for the first time ever I had to get multiple quotes, one from my friend, two others from strangers.  I got thee quotes and my loyal friend's quote was not the lowest.  We discussed it, I was honest and said I had to go with the lowest bid - I said it's business.

So, I gave the job to a new company, discussed the process and moved on.

Today, I got a call from my associate and he wanted to try to get a better price.  I reluctantly let him and assumed he could not match the price we had already established. Well, that's right he got a better price and he was asking us to go with his company.  To be honest, I was tempted to go with what I was familiar with and make my friend happy.  I almsot did, but then I thought about it for a few hours.

I had to go with my word, I gave my WORD to the other company and I had to stick with it.  I am nervous about branching out, I admit it.  I may get a raw deal, this is true.  However I have to stick with my word, even if others don't.

So, that being said I had to ask myself if i was loyal?  And yes, I still believe I am loyal, I will continue to use him and go to him for quotes, however I have to do what is best for my company.  It's not personal, it's business.  I have said THAT a number of times, so then why do I feel so crummy though?

Being Loyal in Business

October 2, 2006.

One of my favorite movies is The Godfather (1972) and the book is an incredible read also.  I have seen it numerous times and even did my final paper on it for a film class in college.  Yet, I did not realize how much I would re-use a quote from the movie after starting my own business:

Michael: Sonny...
Sonny: You're taking this very personal. Tom, this is business and this man is taking it very, very personal.
Michael: It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business.

This is true 99% of the time, even for women business owners this is true.  It is NOT personal, it is business.  Yet one is it personal?  When do you decide to make it personal?  When do you decide that you need to bend the rules?  When do you decide that this time it IS personal? 

Well I decided to make it personal last week.

I started this business in late 2002, yet did not pursue the web until middle of the year 2003.  I can remember doing searches on the web for products like mine and for top children's boutiques.  I would look at them over and over, not quite brave enough to call them or submit my products.

Then one day I got my nerve up and I sent an email to one of the sites I had admired for so many weeks. I sent a nice email, with a few attachments of photos of my products.  The owner actually called me on my 'new' business line I had just put in.  She was very nice, very complimentary and she really showed me what to do with getting my products on line.  She became an advocate and a friend who was also honest about my prices, even telling me I was charging too little, where instead she could have just marked her prices up.

Long story short, almost four years we have worked together, she used to talk to me and confide in me and really help me when no one else would.  I really appreciated her honestly and willingness to help some one she did not even know.  At the time, she was one of our biggest accounts.  Now at over 150 channels and climbing,and some major companies, her company is not one of our biggest - but that does not make her channel any less important to me.

So after working together for about two years she asked me a favor, not a big one, but a favor.  I was very willing to help her out and I agreed.  It was one of those 'what if' scenarios, and I was happy to oblige her, I owed her and I was loyal.

Well, this past week, that favor came a knockin', and I remembered my promise.  I called back my friend, had asked her about our conversation over two years ago.  She was dumbfounded that I a. remembered and b. was willing to keep my promise.  I told her I was loyal, that no amount of money was worth that.

We don't talk as much as we used, back in the day when we weren't as busy we talked weekly.  I do have fond memories of one conversation though, I told her something about me being so new to the business and I was just a small company, a nobody.  She actually raised her voice at me, scolded me and said, "You are NOT a nobody, you are a somebody.  And mark my word, some day you will be very successful, I know this about you.  I know you will be very big some day and you are already a somebody.  Don't ever say that again."

I miss those conversations.....

So how many hats do YOU wear?

May 15, 2006.

Alright, I know you wear tons of hats.  And, a Mom to boot - on any given day you wear the following; caregiver, driver, cook, maid, teacher, disciplinarian, personal shopper, launderer, doctor, bather, and the list goes on and on. 

Last week, one of the artists I work with asked how or more like why I was doing so much at once.  She wanted to know how I was able to function doing so much at the same time.  I thought about it and said, "Because I have to".  and the I mumbled to myself that I was wearing too many hats at work.

So, I made a list of my hats:

• CEO
• Web Designer
• Office Manager
• Receptionist
• Cleaning Person
• Buyer
• Accounts Receivable
• Collections
• Sales Manager
• Art Director for new development
• Copy writer
• Shipping Clerk

Okay, and that was Monday.....I am not writing this to brag, nor to complain.  This is just a fact of being the owner of a small business - and it's growing.  Actually, I think I need to find a better balance and focus on one  (or 4) thing at a time.  Having me jump from one task to another is counter-productive.  And when I get down to it, I am not good at all those jobs.

Find what you are good at, and focus on that (so they say).   All the books I read say that you should hire someone, however they never mention 'how to' if you don't have the funds.  That is when we got creative.

Using friends, family members, high school students, interns - are many of the ways we found when we started the business to fill key positions.  If all else fails my husband will fill in the position on the weekends or evenings.  We have been known to do web design (our first ) on our bed late, late one night.

Our busiest time of the year is Christmas and Friends and family always seem to volunteer each year.  They get a 50% discount on holiday and personalized items for friends and family and get to attend our annual holiday party.  They don't get paid much, but each year they rally around us because the KNOW we need help.  Last year I was a blubbering mess at our party thanking all of the friends that had helped us.

I am about at the end of my rope on my 15 jobs a day, so I think it's time to see what to do to fill some much needed spots.  I need to give up some hats,  because, for me Christmas is right around the corner.

Stay, stay......balanced

March 7, 2006.

You need to have balance in your life to be working mother, especially an entrepreneur.  Balance, I found was one of the hardest things to come by when I was busy juggling motherhood and production. 

Running my business out of my home meant that we lived, breathed, ate JPD all day, every day.  It was always there.  Even when we did not want it to be there, it was there.  'Shut the door to your office or the studio', people would say.  Uh, ya because what then I won't open the door?  For me, I found it impossible to walk away from my work.

By Friday I was spent, exhausted and frazzled.  We started eating out with the kids Friday nights, then we decided to make it 'Family Night'.  My 3 1/2 year old and a 6 1/2 year old LOVE family night, it's a big party to them.  We will rent a movie, or get pizza, or go bowling, or go shopping, out to dinner, have another family over - all things with the kids.

I found, that if I could train myself to do something fun with my family every week, I got that balance I so craved.  A working mother, that worked out of the home put me in two different worlds at all times, and I did not fit in either well.  I was not a stay at home mom, and I was not a full time working mom. 

Now that the business is out of the house, and I do go to work and come home the balance is always there.  I still tend to check email (checking it again right now), voice mail and discuss business with my husband some nights.  Yet, I am not in the studio till midnight, every night working.  This is key when starting your own business, finding your balance between being a mom and being a mompreneur.