Friday, September 29th, 2006
I spoke with a women today who is interested in taking some classes and learning more about Photoshop and Digital Photography. Much to her surprise, we are the place where she can get hands-on experience with it all! As I explained that we are holding classes in St. Paul until the store opens, then will be moving to that location with additional services and such, she was really excited and asked to be added to my mailing list.
This is the kind of interaction that is vital to the success of Ekcetera at this point and I feel so fortunate to be able to be the person that spoke with this woman. Yes, I still am a company of one and most inquiries will come to me for a while, but it won’t be long until I have multiple employees and my interaction with the end client will be less and less. I hope that my passion for this business can be conveyed through my conversation with people and it is very important for me to be at the customer level interacting with clients. I cherish these moments now because I am the one person interacting with clients, but as the business grows, this will become harder and harder.
I proclaim, in writing, that as my business grows and I become busier and busier that I will take the time to stop and take some customer phone calls and be on the sales floor of my store interacting with customers explaining to them what we can offer and helping them with their creative pursuits.
This is one way that I can make sure that my mission in building Ekcetera remains apparent and it will also help instill a culture among the employees of the company that the only true way this concept can be successful is with the creation of a community of creative people who are interested in helping each other and sharing ideas.
This company is not your typical retail store. I don’t need people to exist strictly for the purpose of stocking shelves and my customers don’t come into the store to buy something and then leave. This is a community I’m building. It’s a place to come to get inspiration. It’s a place where the people working there are able to throw ideas out and in turn, take ideas from customers and work together to make the store better, and to make the customer’s project better.
I must come back an read this when I start to face the challanges of transitioning from a one-man business to being the CEO/President of a growing company with may facets.
Wednesday, September 27th, 2006
This is where my inexperience shows. When I’m big and famous, I’ll have my best friend, Awna write a biography of my entrepreneurship trials and I’ll comment to those wanting to start their own business…”It NEVER HURTS to be 10 steps ahead of where you think you need to be.” I’ve purchased a house before, purchased a car, entered into a lease agreement, and done many other things that seem to be the closest in terms of working with a ton of papers and signatures to what I’m doing with Ekcetera, but apparently this is the point in which I don’t have enough experience to realize how much work is indeed involved in opening a store. This is NO typical mortgage, lease, or loan. I thought I’d have to jump through the typical hoops and lose my mind while doing it, but after that’s over…I’d be ready to roll. NOT TRUE.
Case 1: What happens when I do in fact have the loan papers signed, and the money in my not-yet-existing business bank account? Then, I have to be ready to spend some of it. When I first looked into the lease I’m currently sitting on for the store location, it said that I had to have the store open within 60 days before I started paying rent. I was thinking, “no problem, I’ll probably be quicker than that.” Well, I haven’t signed the lease yet, but as soon as I do, I haven’t done much beyond that. It’s time to step up and move beyond these steps. Otherwise, I’ll be lucky if I have one paint chip by day 60.
Case 2: I got a phone call today from a lady who sells flooring. I had requested some samples. She’s interested in sitting down with me and talking about what I need, etc. This took me by surprise…! I’m not ready to actually choose flooring yet? I haven’t even received my loan payout, let alone signed a lease! But, after I thought about it for a while, I decided that I better set up that appointment because if things happen like they usually do, I’ll have the other items closed and out the door in no time and I’ll be sitting on a huge hunk of concrete, some bare walls, and flooring that is backordered. (knock on wood)
Case 3: The loan underwriter would like to see proof of insurance on my business. What? Insurance? You mean I have to insure the business BEFORE it actually exists? I think there might be a misunderstanding there that this store is a NEW division for Ekcetera and nothing exists as of now. But, again, it got me thinking that if this lease-signing experience will be anything like the last, they’ll want to see proof of insurance THE DAY I sign the lease. I find it odd that you can take out insurance on something that you don’t even occupy yet, but I guess what company wouldn’t take your money if you were willing to give it to them? So, I better start shopping around and find a policy so I can be ready to present it when I sign on the dotted line. WOW
So, my list of things to keep me 10 steps ahead includes:
- Designing the store layout
- Research furniture and equipment
- Choose paint colors
- Research contractors for electricity and such
- Find an internet/phone provider
- Assign my eager husband to design furniture we will build together. (He’s a mechanical engineer so he’s itching to use his CAD software and make me some unbelievably technical diagram of the shelf I need on the wall. THAT’S WHY I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!)
I definitely have an idea of all these things in my head, but just haven’t been challanged to put them down on paper yet. So, if I can have these items completed by the time I sign off on the loan and lease, I should be on track. Crazy, huh? Let’s call this lesson 1000 because it’s significant enough to get a number and the first 999 I’ve already encountered would require lots of hard thinking in order to recall in a moment’s notice.
Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
This week is all about that nasty little game everyone calls catch-up. My husband and I spent the weekend in Fargo taking part in my brother’s wedding. It was a fabulous time! I’ve really been looking forward to this wedding for a long time and now I have a new sister-in-law and niece to bond with. Nevertheless, it created a mound of work for me to get behind on and I’ve been swimming in catch-up sauce ever since.
Of course, Entrepreneur’s Law states that when things need to get busy, they will get as busy as they possibly can and when I am the most prepared to be busy, it will be dead. Well let’s hope that I can make it through this busy spell without drowning.
On a side note, I was just reading my friend Awna’s Blog. Dang! That girl is funny! I think I’m being all witty and then I go and read her’s and my posts look like entries from the Encyclopedia of how to NOT be funny. Maybe that’s why she’s a writer and I’m not. I hope to get her involved in my store. It could definitely use a comedy corner. Cheers to Awna!
Monday, September 18th, 2006
Well, I just got off the phone with the bank and my loan has been approved for my store expansion! You all thought that I had enough pocket money to do this, right? Ha ha. I’m taking a huge risk, but hopefully it will be rewarding! I’m already working with a real estate agent and think I have a location secured, so I just have to check back and make sure things are ok on that end. WOW! I can’t believe it! I’m going to be a store owner. I’m SO excited for this and can’t wait to open my doors for business!
Thursday, September 14th, 2006
Last week I posted that I was going to make an announcement at the craft fair last weekend. Well, I did and I have to admit that although I said all the details would be pounded out by then, they aren’t. That’s ok though. They’re progressing and there’s a chance that everything could fall through, but I don’t think they will. (knock on wood) So, drum roll please…..
Coming in 2007, Ekcetera Productions will be opening a retail creative store featuring creative workshops, a creative computer lab, DIY photo studio, home decor projects and ideas, and so many more creative products and services! I am SO excited to embark on this venture and have received much enthusiasm from everyone that I have spoke with about this project. I am working on obtaining about 2800 sq ft of space to house this creative DIY studio. What a dream space it will be for me and hopefully others who share my passion!
This has been in the works for a while - taking care of all the preliminary details to see if such a store would be a possible undertaking for my husband and I. Thankfully I have received nothing but support from family and friends. They have been amazing at supporting my dreams. The entire process, to be honest, feels a little unorganized and hap-hazard at the moment, but I’ve read and studyed enough about successful entrepreneurs to know that businesses that start out like this and succeed are often founded by a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants gal (or guy) like me.
Who knows if this will be a success? I sure don’t. MBA school (affectionately called “B” school [standing for “business”] in the industry) teaches me that I must have ample research and financial calculations before taking on a project of this proportion. However, entrepreneurship school teaches me that I don’t have the money or resources to make such caculated decisions, so often times my gut is what counts. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve certainly done my homework - I’ve tested my idea and run so many financial projections your head would spin. However, I’m taking a gamble that I have an equal amout of both knowledge and gut to make this work. Maybe some day I can look back at this blog and say, “Wow, I was so young and stuipd, but at least I followed my gut!”
Monday, September 11th, 2006
Yesterday was the Inver Grove Heights Days Craft Fair. After spending three days in the freezing cold at a garage sale, I was a little worried about how this outdoor event would go. Although, I tried to remain optimistic because the weather had warmed up the previous afternoon.
I woke Sunday morning to rain drizzles and a grumpy, cloudy sky. I was hoping it would clear up, but I put on my long underwear and two layers underneath my down vest anyway. The craft fair did NOT go well for many reasons: First, the weather was undoubetedly the biggest thing keeping people home yesterday. It rained and was cold. We probably saw 50 people all day. Secondly, this was the first Craft Fair Inver Grove Heights had during its IGH Days Festival. The man in charge of the whole festival came around and chatted with us. He mentioned that there was no one person dedicated to the craft fair and this explained why it got less attention than it deserved. Finally, while my target audience includes craft lovers, it is still not the best venue to showcase my products and work. My husband consoled me by saying that not a single person he saw at the fair looked like my target client. I have to agree.
Overall, it was very disappointing and naturally made me question my ideas and skills, but in my usual fashion, I slept on it and woke up with my head up and spinning with new ideas and energy to seek out new clients in other ways. I don’t know if it was worth the $35 entry fee (actually $17, I split it with my aunt, Joyce who also had a display), the $40 I spent on making the banner and who knows how much spent printing materials to distribute. I guess I can chalk it up to experience. Good thing I’ll be able to use the banner again. I have another craft fair in Novemeber. I think this one will be much better advertised - it’s a 3rd annual fair with lots of success in previous years, and takes place in a school with lots of soccer moms - one of my target markets.
Thursday, September 7th, 2006
I’m out of the office for a couple of days tending to some personal business (a garage sale, if you must ask!….nosey aren’t we?!) The last two weeks in the office have been particularly normal. I’ve been working on my usual projects, getting them done on time and communicating mainly via email. There are times when I’d really appreciate a phone call from someone because I’ve been listening to myself hum along to my music all day (I can’t sing along because the walls in my office are made of glass and the people who walk by would think I was talking to myself).
So, naturally, today when I am totally pre-occupied with non-Ekcetera things, I of course receive two client phone calls. Not that I wasn’t more than happy to converse, but it always comes at a time when I already have a lot going on. (See the other day’s post about the wait…wait..RUN…wait theory) No harm done. I ended up making an unexpected trip into the office in my t-shirt and jeans (good thing I remembered to take those garage sale price tags off my shirt - I was adding up sales).
Needless to say, my day was JAM PACKED. I think I’ll turn in early at 9:15pm and give my worn out feet and sunburned face a rest.
Nighty night.
Wednesday, September 6th, 2006
I was speaking to my unofficial career mentor and uncle yesterday about Ekcetera’s latest and he made a comment something to the effect of…”Welcome to the corporate world…you sit and wait, and wait some more…then hurry up and get it done quick…in order to wait some more.” That couldn’t be more truthful! I’m currently waiting for the phone to ring. Once it does, I’ll scramble scramble to get some documentation together to present, then sit back and wait again until it rings the next time. In the meantime, I guess I’ll try and get something done. Silly me… last night as hubby and I were preparing for a garage sale this weekend, I dug out a box of photo frames and told myself I would print some new, updated photos and hang them in the house. After all, we’ve lived there a year already - it’s about time something gets hung on the walls. This must have been the Kelly that thinks that I’ll actually have time to do that. Silly me…
Tuesday, September 5th, 2006
This Labor Day weekend was anything but relaxing. My husband and I went home to our families in Fargo, ND. My brother is getting married in three weeks and it was my neice-to-be’s birthday, as well as my father-in-law’s. So, the weekend was spent opening presents and eating birthday cake. All of which was definitely an enjoyable time, but nevertheless, not a spare second was had to prepare for the marathon month I have ahead of me. This weekend brings a big event for Ekcetera. The City of Inver Grove Heights has an annual festival and I have registered Ekcetera to take part in a craft fair. This will hopefully introduce the company and its services to many folks - hopefully bringing in new projects and more buzz. I also plan to announce some very exciting news! Unfortunately, the details of the announcement will be in negotiation up until the last minute before the fair, so mum’s the word until then… For now, it’s off to get fitted for my bridesmaid dress and to prepare for the craft fair.