Seed for Success | Empowering Women Entreprenuers

Wednesday, May 28…

I’m sitting in the Cincinnati airport on my way to Chicago and thought I better do some work while I have down time. Originally this was going to be a vacation but I figured out a way to also pull work into it. Thank goodness for computers and cell phones or I would be so far behind when I return. Months ago I was searching for a graphic illustrator’s portfolio online and found a guy in Chicago that is perfect! His name is Shawn Finley and I am going to meet with him on Friday to discuss upcoming projects. His work is EXACTLY what I want to use for my products. Check him out at shawnfinley.com. Portfolios.com is a great website if you are looking for illustrators. When I started talking to him and other illustrators in February 2008, they quoted me then on some projects and I was amazed at how expensive freelance graphic illustrators are. One clue is they aren’t cheap if they have an agent. However, it is so important to find the right illustrators for our products and this is one area that I don’t believe in compromising because it is what “grabs” the customer at the first glance and makes them return. It is so important to make the best first impression. I can’t wait to meet him finally and hear what he has to tell me about illustrating.

Monday, June 2…

I am now home in front of my computer emailing China and reviewing samples I have received so far. My meeting with Shawn was such a great learning experience. I have good and bad news. First the bad-he is not going to be able to do any work for me for quite some time and maybe never. He has landed 2 great jobs with BIG corporations, Burger King and Ferrari. I definitely can’t compete with them. I am sad but ecstatic that he has these jobs. His work is so good that I am glad he is going to get national and international recognition. Now the good news-he gave me some great advice about self publishing in the US and places to go to find other illustrators. He told me to look at a great website called lulu.com for designing, publishing and printing at a low price. He also encouraged me to NOT compromise on the kind of illustrations I want. Thank goodness Amy and I usually agree on the type of illustrations we want. Even though Shawn is not available, Amy’s brother, Kevin in Texas, is helping us with our first product called Vocab U Grab, a farm themed activity book for children with a developmental age of 2-5 years. I just wish I could afford to hire a graphic illustrator so we didn’t have to pay per job and he/she was local. This is one thing I am going to discuss with my business advisor, Jeannette Peten of BigAustin.

Overall it’s been a great week! I have finally made some head way with the Chinese manufacturers. The advice Rosemary Coates gave me has helped immensely. The funny thing is I have started writing like they talk-.very short sentences, no articles and no contractions. I am planning a trip to China sometime this summer or early Fall to meet and develop business relationships with some manufacturers to learn what they can do for me and they can learn what I want. Rosemary suggested that I read the book China Now by Lam and Graham before I go. It just arrived and I’m sure I am going to learn so much about conducting business in China.

I had the pleasure to talk to David Vinjamuri, President of ThirdWay Brand Trainers. Within one hour, I learned that I need to decide how I am going to brand my company. David shared that I need to brand by CORE which is the specific type of customer or CONTEXT, in Head2Toe’s case that means the developmental issue like speech, language or physical disability. He also encouraged me to create a shareable story for my customers. This should be 4 sentences or less because customers need to know exactly what you are about so that can pass it on. It’s the “elevator pitch.” What great information!! The funny thing is that I was so afraid that I would be “branded” as a company that makes products for children ages 0-3 or products only speech therapists use but that is EXACTLY what David is telling me to decide. It is essential to be an expert for one thing and be known for that so that you are credible and customers will be attracted to it and they will keep coming back as the business grows. Even if I develop products for older kids and for different markets, the customers will buy because I have already established Head2Toe as a company that is different from anyone else. Wow!! Thanks, David for your advice.

In previous blogs I wrote that I have changed jobs and tomorrow I will be back to work as a speech therapist. I am so excited because I start earning a paycheck again but I am most excited about working with special needs children and their parents. God has been so good to me through this whole process. He has provided every step and even the last two weeks has allowed me to spend time working with manufacturers and my advisors. When people ask me why I am so calm and not stressed about working full time as a speech therapist and building my company, I just reply, “It is obvious that I am not in charge and I am not going to stand in His way.” Some days I do ask, how I am going to do both jobs but it’s one step at a time, stay organized, and work on one area of the company every day. We’ll see how well I do. Now is the time to learn these steps before my company gets bigger and busier.

Let me leave you with one bit of advice I learned a few weeks while I watched a special on business tycoon, Warren Buffett. His grandson said his grandfather told him, “Surround yourself with people smarter than you because you will begin to create the same characteristics.” So true! You can’t be good in everything so make sure you have people around you that are experts so you can learn from them. That is exactly what has happened to me. Amy and I have the best business advisors to help us grow Head2Toe Publications and every day we are so thankful for this opportunity.

Next time we’ll tell you about how our products are coming along.

Karla

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Posted by kduncan