Is It Ever What You Think It's Gonna Be?

I say rarely. I can't say never because I try to make a practice of not saying "Always" and "Never."

Think back for a moment and try to remember a time that what you envisioned at the start of a journey was exactly what you got at the end. I look at my life and for the most part, I've laid some pretty good plans. I've taken action on most of my dreams, but the ones that have been the most satisfying are not even close to what I thought they would be when I started.

A great example is my marriage. I am married to the love of my life and can't imagine that I could be happier. When I was single and really wanting to be in a relationship, Dave was a friend of mine. He was the friend I called when I got stood up (Oh yes I did, more than once!), when a guy had "expectations" after a burger and fries, and when I was dumped in South Korea. In an instant, we were a couple, having a conversation about how the universe had shifted, and within a few months, we were engaged, and three days after that, married. After being friends for six years, I never in a million years thought this man was meant to be my husband. For the record, I fully intended to be happily married. I was not willing to settle, I just never imagined that the man who would make me so happy would be Dave!

I purposely didn't use our ZipperBack Gloves as an example because we've only just begun our journey. But I can say this, I originally set out to license our product. I was adamant that I did not want to go into the glove business. Though I don't have any big success stories in how our empire has evolved and grown, I can say that on so many levels, we have found success and have every reason to believe we will only keep that momentum growing.

Lay a plan, take action, and then go with the flow. Be open to what options and ideas are presented to you and that some of these "not your own" ideas may be really good. Though it may not be what you thought it would be, doesn't mean it won't be great!

No Matter How Well You Plan!

What a weekend! Saturday we were in the snow and Sunday we were testing our sunscreen at the rodeo! My sunscreen didn't hold up, but sitting in the sun, on metal bleachers, it's gonna be a tough job even for SPF45!

I booked Studio KYK Photography to round up a bunch of kids so we could get lots of little happy faces, hands with gloves on them, and maybe even a crying face with "the other" gloves," to create a great booth for our two upcoming trade shows. Two great lessons came out of the day.

The first took us all back to a time we were invited to be somewhere, said we would go, and for some reason or another didn't really want to go when the time came. We did the right thing by calling to say we wouldn't be making it, thinking all along, It's okay if I don't go. I won't be missed. Everyone else will go. Well, next time you feel that way, think about this MM. For the first time in all the events I've ever planned, we had a 100% no-show! Apparently, everyone of the families (we were expecting 20+ children) felt like another family would go.

The second lesson was one we all know but this time, we put it into action immediately. We went ahead and made the best of a sno park all to ourselves, a gorgeous day, two beautiful kids, Mason & Scottie, and a picnic lunch to die for. We took lots of pictures, and though I didn't get the variety of faces and ages, we had a great day.

If you live in the Sacramento area and need a photographer, you've got to talk to Monica at KYK Studios! Monica not only did all the things you expect a professional to do, she went above and beyond in providing props, being open to all ideas, and keeping the energy with the kids light and fun. Her style is more candid, but she has a way of getting her subject to do what she wants while they continue to do whatever it is their doing. Finally, the best part, Monica has a natural eye for photography. Her shots come out with an amazing flair and beauty. Check out her work at http://www.studiokyk.com/

For a great Monday Motivator, visit my Intentional Winning blog www.intentionalwinning.blogspot.com/ for a read you'll want to print out and hang above your desk. I promise, it's really good!

What's In A Logo?

I've researched this over the last year and the articles, forums, How-To's, and What-Fors are many. Everybody seems to have a little different take on what's the second most important factor when it comes to selecting a logo, but all agree on number one. The main point you want to make with you logo is, 'This is who we are" from the moment they lay eyes on that little piece of art. In the professional world, it's your brand. It differentiates you from all other's and hopefully from all other's like you.

Our logo is good, but it's not great. Part of the problem is that our company is so new, and even worse, we're new at running it. Another issue is that there wasn't just one person responsible for the criteria and selection of the logo. I wanted a logo that could go the distance, one that would cover our initial children's product and carry us through to our adult line as well. Dave wanted a logo that really fit our kids product. Finally, the other two people on our team wanted something more corporate, less graffiti looking.

We ended up with a logo that was a variation of the image I loved. Dave made the changes and I felt that I needed to choose my battles, and this was one that wasn't as important to me...so I thought. As it turns out, I care about it more that I thought I would. I have the artwork for the logo that I would have gone with, the one that we modified to make Dave happy. I'm silently intent on finding a way to use the one I love. If you're logo really speaks to who you are as a company, you won't find yourself thinking about the one that got away.

If I were to advise someone in need of a logo, I know you didn't ask, but you're still reading aren't you? I would advise them to operate their business for a while before choosing their logo. In reality, it takes time to get up and running and for people to know who you are. Pick your business name, present something really clean and basic, and get acquainted with your company before you give it an identity. You'll do a better job and come up with something that really indicates, not only to your public, but where it's most important, to you!

When you're ready, a really great logo resource is www.logotournament.com It's a contest format where you post a "prize" for the designer of you the logo you choose. The minimum prize is $250.00. Designers from all around the globe compete for your prize money and the opportunity to be the artist for your logo. We used logotournament.com and found that the more we ranked and gave feedback, the more logos we had to choose from. A great resource for new companies who want high quality design.

Here We Go Again!

So I blogged about holding my ground when my manufacturer sent over our agreement and it was not our final agreed upon draft. I was quite proud of myself for letting them know it needed to be corrected, rewritten, and sent again. As I write this, I find it funny that I would be proud of myself for doing good business. Crazy! Anyway, I got the new draft in the mail on Monday and guess what? It's exactly like the last draft, and the original one they proposed to me in the first place.

Is this intentional or could it really be that they made the same mistake twice? It's certainly possible, but my gut is telling me that I'm being tested. This time, I took some good advice and instead of calling them to bring this same issue to their attention, again, I simply put Post-Its where they need to make changes and mailed it back to them...in their SASE. I expect I'll either get a phone call explaining why they didn't really mean to agree to my terms, or they'll send the corrected agreement. If it's the latter, I'll gladly sign it and send it back. I wonder if they'll send another SASE?

"Oh, I Could Never Do That!"

Have you ever heard someone say those words? Or worse, have you said them yourself? It's not in my nature to say never so I can't recall the last time words like those passed over my lips. I can tell you that since I've entered the world of product development and inventing, I've heard those six words over and over again!

I can look at my own history and see the familiar, "I didn't know what I didn't know, so I didn't know I couldn't." Did you get that? Laughing! It never occurred to me that developing a product and getting it to store shelves was anything other than just another job. It certainly didn't fall into the category of landing a national commercial, or any commercial for that matter. In my mind, now that's hard work!

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not one to shy away from a challenge, so it didn't occur to me that I couldn't do that either. I started by finding classes, a photographer to take my pictures, an agent to represent me, and off I went on audition after audition. Before I knew it, I was doing local commercials (Beck's Shoes and Hewlett Pacakard), regional commercials (Friendly's restaurants for TV and Albertson's radio spots), and industrials (Volkswagon and WalMart). I even did an infomercial for a teeth whitening product. If you happened to be awake a 3 AM and saw the infomercial for RapidWhite Pro that ends with a red-head saying, "RapidWhite Pro makes me feel sexy!" That's me. The national commercial is yet to come, but rest assured, it will air!

You can do anything you want to do. You can find the information to get the ball rolling, you can rally the people who can help you get to the next level, and you too, can see your product on store shelves. As you get to know me, you'll know the saying I'm most known for is, "Whatever you think, you're right." If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, guess what? Exactly! So, what do you think?

Are You Getting Your Education?

There are many subjects you can learn about in college and just as many you have to learn in RLU...Real Life University. I didn't go to college and every bit of what I know I've learned from life experience, and on the job training. I've been so fortunate to have highly successful people willing to mentor and guide me. The rest of what I know, I've sought out on my own.

RLU had me reading as many books on a given subject as I can get my hands on. I sought out any kind of weekend class I could find, and I asked for help. I once ran into a professional in the mortgage field in a hotel hallway. We said hello to each other, made some pleasant small talk and then went our separate ways. As soon as I was back in my room I was kicking myself for not picking his brain and asking a few key questions. In a split second decision to not let this moment pass me by, I picked up the phone, asked the hotel operator to please ring his room. While the phone rang and with my heart racing, he answered. I stuttered, "Hello, Mr. H..." and from there we had a wonderful 15 or 20 minute conversation. He answered my questions, gave me some tips, and even told me to feel free to call anytime. WOW! That was a 20 minute mentoring call that would normally have been hundreds of dollars. Because I called and asked for a few minutes of his time, he said yes.

Read books, connect with professionals, and don't be afraid to ask for help. Even if help is just the opportunity to spend a few minutes in the mind of the professional you want to be! People want to help, and there's no better compliment than to ask for someones professional advice. Everyone is accepted at RLU, and like any institute of higher learning, you will get out of it what you put in! Go! Start! You have nothing to lose!

Holding Your Ground

I got my signed agreement from my manufacturer on Saturday and it wasn't right. The CEO sent the original agreement, not the one with my changes that he agreed to. I read it several times and thought to myself, should I just sign it and let it go? No! I picked up the phone and left a message that this is not the right agreement (contract) and asked that he sign and send the agreement with the changes.

By the end of the day on Monday, no communication. No call, no e-mail. Tuesday morning, still nothing. Tuesday afternoon I sent an e-mail with the amended contract and I highlighted the changes. The CEO replied immediately and apologized for the oversight. He said he would get it corrected and back out to me asap. I'm sure I've not done everything right, but I'm not going to go through anything with a half-hearted attitude. This is my business, my life, my future and all those "My's" are really My Family's. There is nothing more important to me than my family and their well being and security.

This is business and accountability is paramount. Do your part and hold your other part accountable. Everyone wins in the long run! Maybe the short run, too!

PS Happy Tax Day. To all my entreprenuer friends, here's looking forward to the day that we owe more in taxes than we've ever made in a year! Laughing!

What's Your Mantra?

How do you talk to yourself? Your words are incredibly powerful and I bet you're very selective when you talk to your family, friends, and even strangers. My thoughts are that we could be equally or more careful with the words we use when we talk to ourselves. Here's my mantra for today:

I choose to focus on my future, visualizing what will be, looking for the good, going to smile at everyone I cross paths with making my present perfect, living it like I know it is, abundant. I've changed my view of success and know that I have all I need! How about you? How will your day go? Make it great and it will spill into tomorrow, then the next day, and so on....smiling!

Choose your words carefully because all you say, you will think, and all you think will soon be!

What Do You Really Have For Sale?

I've been in sales all my life, literally, I started selling things when I was just 5 years old. I've worked for individuals, companies, and now for myself. Being self employed takes discipline and the ability stay on task. For me, I make a list. If I have to keep in all in my head, my day is spent watching TV, playing on facebook, and talking to friends on the phone. But I digress, let's get back to sales and self-employment. The glove project is primarily a sales job. I had to do my research, and the hands on creating the initial prototype, but the bulk of the journey has been a sales cycle.

You might think you spend your time selling your product, it's features and benefits, and all the wonderful ways it will change the world. My experience has been that what I've really be selling is myself. Yes, it helps when you have to have a good product, but think about "Pet Rocks."

Pet Rocks were a 1970s fad conceived in Los Gatos, CA, by advertising executive Gary Dahl. The first Pet Rocks were ordinary gray stones bought at a builder's supply store and marketed as if they were live pets. The fad lasted about six months, ending with the Christmas season in December 1975. During its short run, the Pet Rock made Dahl a millionaire. I bring up the pet rock because is this product really something needed, useful, and life changing? I think we would all agree, at first blush, the answer is no.

My success has come from my ability to pick up the phone, keep calling when nobody has called me back, maintaining a professional attitude, and doing what I say I will do in every follow-up situation. As long as we are still humans interacting with other humans, the sale will depend on you. Once you have established that you are credible, reliable, and pleasant to work with, you will be able to sell most anything you create, even if all it does is make someone happy, like the Pet Rock did. After all, happiness is clearly needed, useful, and life changing!

It's Not What You Know

Now that you've decided who to trust, you need to focus on who you know. it's the everyday people who can play a major role in your success. Here are a few people it's good to know on a first name basis:

1. An expert or two in your field. I was lucky enough to meet Amilya Antonetti (http://www.amilya.com/) a year ago and she's been a great sense of security to me. Knowing I have Amilya in my phone to call if I need an answer before having a meeting or returning an e-mail. More recently, I've had the pleasure of meeting Mark Reyland (http://www.inventoropinion.blogspot.com/) who is a "Process Guru." What I mean by that, is he knows all the ins and outs of creating, researching, and manufacturing. He has taught me so much about the process of getting a product to market.
2. Your Banker. I am personal friends with the CEO of my credit union. I started out as a vendor, recruiting for him and as we worked together, we became friends. I made the choice to move my personal banking accounts to this credit union and it's been a blessing ever since. When the people who can help you with money know you, and have some say so in a loan approval, it makes life SO much easier. Get to know the people who can say "Yes!" to your financial needs.
3. An Accountant. Having a personal relationship with your accountant is essential to them understanding your business and how to handle your taxes from start-up to your mega million dollar empire. My accountant is actually one of Dave's ex-girlfriends. I know, it may seem strange, but she's known us for so many years, she can guide us through this world of what would be IRS hell. It's also lucky for us she specialized in start up companies.
4. A Lawyer. Yes, knowing someone who is a lawyer is essential. If they practice law in the field of IP, that's even better, but even a lawyer in another field who considers you a friend, can likely find answers for you. Dave was involved in a multi-car accident some years ago, and though it seemed nobody was seriously hurt, one passenger took legal action against all involved. We had no money, and at the time of the accident, Dave had no auto insurance. I called a friend of mine from Rotary who was a real estate attorney. He wrote a letter explaining we had no assets, had since obtained insurance, and pointed out that Dave was on his way to his National Guard weekend drill. That one page letter written by a friend had Dave dropped from the suit, and all it cost us was dinner! Make friends with an attorney, preferably one who specializes in patent law.

There are many more professional people you want to have in your network, but these four are essential. Start building that golden Rolodex and remember, the "who" are people. Get a little personal and become friends. It's so much easier to ask for help when the last time you communicated, it was to just say, "Hello!"

How Do You Know Who To Trust?

The simple answer is, you don't. This is as true in life as it is in bringing a product to market.

You have to trust someone and often, more than one person. You have to work the business of being an inventor and that means letting go of the idea that this great idea is your "baby." The passion and attachment is like the rocket-fire that launches the space shuttle. Certainly necessary for launch, but once it's off the ground, the rockets shut off and the business of piloting a shuttle into space takes over. The business is the education, consulting with experts, getting paperwork signed, experience, and asking tough questions. As a woman, I sometimes have a hard time asking questions I think will lead people to believe I am not trusting them, but maybe I'm not. Maybe that need to question is my intuition, or spidey-senses taking care of me. If part of what you need to do is not your strong point, employ someone whose it is. When you can't trust, you are operating from a standpoint of fear. Do you really want to move through life in fear?

You have to trust people to get you where you want to go. You can't do it all alone, so leave your emotions (and ego) at the door and walk through, to do good business. If you can do that, you can get this one going and get on to launching your next great idea! If I can do it, so can you. Start!

Keep Copies Of Everything!

I finalized my manufacturing agreement last week along with sending in my first official order. I wrote everything up on the official order forms and promptly made copies of all of it before mailing it to my manufacturer.

I learned a very long time ago that record keeping is the single most important function of any relationship, business especially, but friendship, marriage, family, you name it. Keep the paperwork!

I've had a disability check not come for weeks (43 days) only to learn that the copy I made of my doctors report was easily faxed and a check issued within 24 hours. The representative told me that people never have copies of their medical paperwork and usually have to go back to their doctor to have it reissued.

Another good example is keeping and printing an e-mail from my former employer advising me that there is no longer modified duty available for me to do so they have to put me on temporary disability (hence the earlier paragraph). The insurance company hired to settle the the workers compensation claim advised me, in writing, that I was not eligible for a settlement because I quit my job while there was still modified duty available. Ha! I had them caught in a lie, in an effort to bully or harass me. I sent a rebuttal with a copy of the earlier e-mail and they ended up settling for more than was originally discussed.

These examples have nothing to do with my glove business, but they are the most recent incidence of how my keeping records served me. Keep copies of e-mails, letters, agreements, and anything that ties you to them, or them to the other guy. In this day and age of hi-tech communication, a piece of paper could still be worth it's weight in gold. Have you seen the going price for gold lately? My point exactly!

Supporting Inventing Moms

Jennifer Albin is the amazing woman behind Reinventing Mom. This is the home base of the reinventing mom radio show and community. Are you a mom inventor or entrepreneur looking for inspiration? Tune into our radio show (beginning in May) for a weekly dose of inspiration. We’ll also be featuring some inspirational moms here.

This site is a work in progress and will launch on May 6, 2009.

You can join now, set up your page, and invite your entrepreneurial friends!
Go to http://reinventingmom.ning.com/ and sign up today!

Another mom went from dinner decisions to packaging options! Tania was a stay at home mom, when her husband lost his job, she sought out a way to provide for her family in this tough economy. She tells the story, "From panic to passion." In just less than a year, she has a product licensed that will be on store shelves before the end of the year with others in development. Follow her blog at http://taniareynaert.blogspot.com/

Finally, here is a group of three women who are visualizing their life as inventors and taking the steps to get them there. Envizion is a group of 3 female inventors - Patrice, Suzy & Amber, who are on a mission to bring the next hot new product to market. If you have a question about their group or about their experiences inventing, you can post your question as a comment on their blog or email them at thoughtfulcreationsllc@comcast.net. http://envizionpdt.blogspot.com/

Through the wonder and magic of the world wide web, remember when we called it that? Laughing! I have not met any of these women personally, but I believe their intentions are pure, good, and honest. If I can support them in their efforts to succeed and help others do the same, I want to do all I can! You go girls, let's get this economy back on it's feet!

Oh, and for that first order, 751 pair ordered. 501 are pre-sold and the other 250 are for sale via our web site and other! Pretty cool, huh?

Today We Place Our First Official Order!

At some point today, we are suppose to sign off on our final design and place our first order with the manufacturer. For those of you who don't know, I negotiated a kind of hybrid deal. I originally was hunting for a licensing deal. It didn't make sense to me to re-invent the wheel, uh-er, the glove, when in fact, that's exactly what we did. I thought it made more sense to take this gross improvement to someone who already made a kids glove and let them keep doing what they do, only a lot better.

What I ended up with was two manufacturers, one well known, one not so much. Of course I wanted the well known one to sweep me off my feet and we would mosey on down the lane making sweet money together. Turns out, the big name was not so nice. The lessor known company made me an offer I couldn't' refuse.

In a nutshell, they have done all of our prototyping for us. We went through four or five rounds until we got to the product we felt was what we wanted and could compete in the industry. They offered to handle fulfillment for us as well. Additionally, they offered us a line of credit to get our supply of gloves to sell directly from our web site and at any face-to-face event we want to do to promote WarmEase ZipperBack Gloves. WOW! Really? I didn't just jump right in feeling like the best mom negotiator of all time...not so fast. First of all, I've done plenty of negotiating in previous careers, and nobody goes this far out on a limb for someone they don't even know. Secondly, if they really believed in this product why didn't they just license it and do it themselves.

I sat down with the CEO and asked him point blank, "Why are you doing all of this?" His answer was straight forward and he said, "Kathy, you've done all the work. You have so much more to lose in this venture than we ever will. Even if we produce 1000 or 1500 pair of gloves and you drop off the face of the earth, we've lost very little. Based on your track record over the last year, continuing to call and e-mail when we are less than timely, making sales before you even had a product to sell, and basically, doing all the things I know you'll continue to do to make this venture extremely lucrative. Ultimately, nobody can sell these gloves like you can." Well, then, okay. What do you say to that answer? I can tell you what I said. I simply replied, "Thank you. Thank you for believing in our product and me." 'Nuff said!

So today we place that order, 501 pair sold and hopefully another 500 pair in initial inventory. I'll let you know on Friday what the final numbers come out to be!