The Ellen DeGeneres Show

We have had some potentially great news this week (I think it's great news). The Ellen Show called BabyLegs and asked for one of the gift baskets BL's sells on their site to be considered for the giveaway on the Mother's Day Show which airs May 6th. What is in these baskets? It is an adorable SaraBear Diaper Basket, 7 pairs of BabyLegs, and a Woobee blanket, bib & burp. What does this mean for Woobee? Well, a few things.

Let's start by saying they want 300 free baskets for their audience (at least half are moms-to-be). So that's 900 pieces of free Woobee product, and did I mention that it would all have to ship sometime next week? Does that stress me out? Hell yes! Why? Because I am a company that manufactures in smaller batches 15 miles from my Seattle home and I do not hold on to a ton of stock. Letting go of this much inventory for free is a little hard to swallow, especially if the show is a success. Why would a successful show be a potential problem? Having "enough" (and there is no way to tell how much "enough" is) inventory left to meet the demand of the viewers and retailers that may see the show and want the product is key and there just isn't enough time to produce more Woobee's before the show airs. I think I have "enough" but who knows? Becoming an overnight success comes at a price. Yes, it means more money but it can also put the company into a position where everything is reactionary - you're putting out fires all the time and not making strategic steps toward responsible growth. Don't get me wrong. I want our basket to be chosen for the show and for Woobee to be an enormous success, I just wish I had more time to prepare so I could make sure inventory and customer service was up to potential flood of attention.

So what am I doing all weekend instead of playing with my kids? Packaging product that may or may not go to the Ellen Show. What happens if our basket doesn't get picked? It just doesn't get picked, but someone at the Ellen Show would have seen my wonderful Woobee's. Also, all my inventory will be packaged and ready to go. All the way around in goodness.