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.

Customer Service? Anybody out there?

So from one customer service person to another, do you ever feel that technology has dulled our societies ability to creatively problem solve. Here is why I say this...I ordered a poster today from Staples in California for someone else to pick up for a local event and their on-line service does not offer a payment option for in-store pick up items so I call the store to pay via phone but they couldn't figure out how to make that happen, so I asked for the total so I could send the person picking up the poster a check, and they did not know how to get that information without ringing the poster into the computer, so I asked what the local sales tax is (so I could add it up myself) and they had to find a manager. Hummmm. What happens if the magnet strip on the back of a credit card isn't working...total disaster?

As an owner of a company, and customer of many others, is it too much to ask that young people (I sound 80) know a few basic things like:
1. get a manager when it is appropriate (like when a phone authorization is requested, instead of saying "Um, I don't think we can do that").
2. know how to use math skills without a computer.
3. know what their local sales tax is, especially if you work in retail...hello.
4. know how to take someones phone number down AND call them back when you found an answer to their problem.

Am I asking too much?

Video weight

A fabulous PR girl/journalist named Whitney Keyes asked to interview me about running These Two Girls, LLC. Here is the link to one part of the interview, it is very odd to watch yourself in an interview - kinda fun, kinda not. It seems like I remember myself much younger (and thinner)...

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-biz-bite-with-these-two-girls/3576899453

Here is another part of that interview, just in case you didn't get enough of me the first time...
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-biz-bite-with-these-two-girls-1/1639173008?icid=acvsv1

Quickbooks is Lame!

Okay, I am compelled to vent about wasting my entire Saturday trying to fix my Quickbooks entries to reflect all my shopping carts little fees and random deposits, arggghh. I honestly don't know whether to more irritated at Quickbooks or my shopping cart. My reality with shopping carts...fees, fees, and more fees. If anyone knows a wonderful inexpensive shopping cart I am all ears.

Wondering why I am still doing my own books and trying to get them sorted out? Well, I have had bookkeepers but none that have been consistent. I am working with an account right now who I know personally that specializes in getting financials in order and doing sales projections for the upcoming years. I am so excited to get it all together and really start mapping out the direction of These Two Girls and Woobee Kids. She does however encourage me to not pay her to do bookkeeping since her hourly is quite a bit higher than a person who enters receipts and reconciles statements. So I suck it up as a responsible business owner and do it myself. Quite honestly, I am not very good at the whole Quickbooks thing. I just do not find the program very intuitive and often spend more time doing something over because I did not get it right the first time. I have got to suck it up and find a bookkeeper.

Have a great weekend!

Own Company = Better Snowboarder

You may think it's a bit of a reach to say owning These Two Girls, LLC. has made me a better snowboarder, but I think it has. Why you ask would I make such a random comment? Because a few weeks ago (which was probably more like a few months) I actually went snowboarding for the first time since I started making the amazing All Weather Woobee's (shameless plug). Nicole Donnelly (owner of BabyLegs) invited me up to the BabyLegs cabin (20 minutes away from Stevens Pass ski area) for an overnight "work" snowboard trip. Nicole used to be a pro-snowboarder and knew I loved to ride since I lived on Mt. Hood (and Mt. Baker) for years slinging drinks and snowboarding - doing my damnedest to hold-off adulthood (which is how I met my husband). Well, since hubby and I decided to leave Neverland and caved in to growing up, going back to school and institutionalizing our commitment to each other, there has not been a lot of snow time. And the more children the less time. A new company, less time. Needless to say I hadn't been snowboarding in years and do you think I was little nervous to get back on my board with an ex-pro leading the way, ummmm yes! I was totally worried that I would not be able to keep up with Nicole and that I would be so bloody sore the next day I wouldn't even be able to lift my arms to my laptop(stay with me, here this is where I tie in the owning business thing). Here is what I discovered, since owning These Two Girls my analytical skills, confidence is my decisions, and general focus have sharpened considerably. Multi-tasking at such a heightened level has taught me to block out surrounding activities and quickly assess a situation to chose the next best move. When I was on the hill it was just me, no children, no Woobee, no BabyLegs, just me picking my route down the mountain. It was liberating! I have never appreciated my time on the mountain as much as I did that day. My new ability to truly focus, analyze my situation successfully, and appreciate the moment allowed for an awesome day of cruising through fresh powder, moving through trees (which I never really liked before), and whooping down long fluid runs...pure magic. The cherry on top, since I was so on my game (and on my board) I wasn't sore the next day. So, Nicole and I got some girl time sans kids, got some magical mountain time, and came back to the cabin to get some work done. A perfect 24 hours. The one nasty surprise...lift tickets were $59! Last time I skied I had a season pass so I was shocked. Was it worth it...every stinkin' penny!

ENK Show

Hey folks. I flew home Wednesday night from a 6 day trip to NYC for the ENK trade show. If you have ever worked a trade show you know they are hard work and very little play, but I believe an integral part of creating longevity for your brand. You know what I find most valuable about doing these shows? It's meeting the people you do business with face-to-face. It is amazing to see what happens when you can shake a hand, share a laugh, and answer questions in person. A relationship gets built and from that relationship comes loyalty which in turn brings sales. For example, if you had a limited budget for re-ordering say kick ass blankets (ha) and two of your lines had similar sell-through rates but you could only re-order one. If you had met and really liked the owner/rep for one of those lines chances are you'd re-order from that company. There is a lot of competition out there for customers dollars, you have to be able to differentiate yourself from all the others and a smile and friendly personality is one of the easiest ways.

The show this season was apparently slower than normal (the BabyLegs booth is always busier than most) but Woobee had a great "coming out" to the East Coast buyers. Our booth had three lines in it - BabyLegs, Woobee, and Vintage Onesies. The booth looked great and the lines complemented each other well. Vintage Onesies is owned by Matt and Kim (who have 3 adorable kids 3 years and under) who are salt-of-the-earth kind of people. Their onesies (nice and thick with funny sayings and cool colors) match BabyLegs perfect and they created a wonderful display wall that has given us lots of ideas for future shows.

The East Coast has many differences in buying trends for apparel that I witnessed. I was shocked at the booths that were the busiest. Clothes for little girls that I affectionately referred to as Jersey Shore 80's Pageant wear. Now, no one get mad. I am by no means making gross generalizations that everyone from the Jersey Shore has slutty, shiny, flashy style. It was just amazing that very grown-up, flashy, short, and black clothes with crazy patterns were the most popular in little girl fashion. It made me nervous for my daughters and especially my husband. Hey, but more power to those companies that obviously know what their customers want. East Coast buyers are also very upfront about what they have time for, which is refreshing in many ways - it saves me time and energy to not have to pitch products they are very honestly not interested in. Which is why I think having a great rep on the East Coast is so important - they hold the relationships and know how to introduce their reluctant customers to your products. When selling Woobee I can easily tell if I have an interested buyer buy their reaction to the retail price ($70). Only certain stores carry inventory in that price range.

Alright, I am still in mommies home! mode and I am number one choice to get the girls everything. Gotta run. Have a great weekend!

Inspiration - in all shapes

We are all inspired in our lives by unique things or moments. People ask me all the time how I was inspired to start Woobee Kids (that's easy, I had a baby and needed a kick ass blanket). But what I have really discovered is that Woobee Kids has given me inspiration in unexpected ways.

By starting Woobee I have been inspired to really define my sense of style through exploring the Woobee Kids brand and identifying the soul of my company (for example I love modern style, for home - specifically Danish modernism). I have been inspired to reach out to other mothers through NWEM's and make myself available to answer question about my experiences in business. I am inspired to know (and truly understand) my limitations as a mother that owns a company and works so I can still prioritize my wonderful daughters.

I am also inspired to acknowledge who I am & who I am not. I am a women that can & will grow a successful international company - Woobee world domination! I know that I do not want to be a CEO forever. I know I would like to be more available for my daughters during the pre-teen years and on. I know that I will make a crap load of money to make that happen, and now more than ever that I am capable, smart, and strong.

Well, there's a whole bunch of personal information...I'm feeling a little exposed...hold me.

Here is a site that feeds my love for modern style http://bloesem.blogs.com/bloesem/ . Irene does an wonderful job bringing us fabulous finds from designers all over the world. You can see a Woobee / BabyLegs review on her sister site for children http://bkids.typepad.com/. This woman and her blogs provide me with an amazing amount of inspiration - thank you Irene!