"Do You Have That? You Know You Need It, Right?"

We are in high gear getting ready for out first trade show in September. As we work through the things we obviously know we need, we're finding that we need so many not-so-obvious things, too.

Did you know you need a style sheet or "how to use" for your logo? What that means is, you have to have your retailers agree to only use your logo or brand as you allow. The appearance has to always be consistent and positioned as you want it to appear. That may be in their advertising or signage in their store, but not for their personal use or worse. There's more to this, lots more, but we're not going to go into it here.

How about making sure your manufacturer can produce a large order, a very large order. You may think, of course they can, but do you know? In our case, Dave realized that we need to be sure the skus are issued for not only our five sizes in two new colors, but also three larger sizes, also in the two new colors. That's sixteen new skus created in our manufacturers system before our show in just under six weeks.

There have been so many things that have come up in the last two weeks that I just can't imagine boring you with all of it (not to mention, I can't remember it all off the top of my head!). Suffice it to say, this has been and continues to be an incredible journey. It feels like yesterday that I sat at my kitchen table cutting up a poorly designed children's snow glove. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it a million more times, just start! If you just take those first steps, you'll be amazed at how soon all those steps create your dream journey!

Gloves May Be Here This Week!

I've been in communication with our manufacturer over the last few weeks and our initial shipment of gloves is in! This is the real deal, all five sizes on hang tags! This is what our consumers will see and decide if they want to buy. We are very excited.

It's just one more milestone in this process. I think all the little victories are important, but some stand out a little more than others. This is the one that when you open the box, you feel anxious, excited, and quite possibly, even emotional. Maybe it's just me, but to see your idea in "shelf-ready" form is quite an accomplishment.

I realize there is so much more to the business side of things, but if you don't take time to recognize the small successes in the journey, you aren't really taking it all in. You may find yourself at the destination you were striving for, but will it really be as sweet if you didn't celebrate all the little stops along the way? I think not! I'll take a picture of the gloves when they come, but until then, I'm going to feel the excitement and anticipation each moment!

Entrepreneurial Generosity

Entrepreneurs are some of the most generous people. In the last year I've met many people who are bringing products to market or running their own businesses. The one thing that seems to be true with all of them is that they want to share what they do. They share their knowledge, their expertise, their network of friends and associates, and their products. Part of the desire to share comes from wanting people to know and love what they do. The other factor is the pride they feel in their product and/or service.

I understand this because I find that I want to give away gloves to anyone who helps me that has small children. I don't have very many pair to sell this first season, let alone give away, but I sure want to! I want people to know what Dave and I created and that our product will solve their problem. There is a sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with each mile stone. I know I can't give away as many pair of gloves as I'd like to...yet! But the day will come when I can donate, give back, and share our product with everyone we want! Smiling!

Round Three!

I got the third copy of our agreement with our manufacturer. Before I tell you if it was right, I want to share with you a little something I was advised of. I am not a lawyer, lord knows you can read these pages and know that! The individual who shared this nugget with me is also not a lawyer, but they play one on TV, no just kidding, I couldn't help myself! It doesn't matter if any of us are lawyers or not, this piece of information just made sense.

When I got the second copy of our agreement and it was exactly the same as the first (without the changes), it was my inclination to write the thing myself and send it back to them corrected. I starting spouting off about how I could just do this myself when the words, "No, just hand write the changes on their original and mail it back to them." came quietly across the air waves. The low volume of the voice made me listen as I continued to hear, "...the party that originated the document has more responsibility for it's contents in a court of law than the party who signs/agrees to it." Really? Wow! It makes sense really. When you write something, you know completely what you are putting on the table. There is a much larger margin for error if you are simply reading, interpreting, and hopefully understanding what you are agreeing to.

The woman who is responsible for drawing up the documents for our agreement received my notes and asked me to please make the changes and send it back to them. I did, electronically, and e-mailed the document back to her. She printed it on their company letter head, with the changes, CEO signed it and sent it back to me to "agree to." I did, and mailed it back...at my own expense! They did not provide a third stamped self addressed envelope! Laughing!