Tuesday, April 29, 2008

For Every Child There is a Tradeshow

So you're thinking to yourself - gee, I've done one tradeshow. What do I do next? GOOD NEWS!!! Once you've done one, they all come and email YOU! And you get to sort through them all, with the scant amount of knowledge you have about each of them, and try to ascertain which ones you can : reasonably attend, reasonably afford, reasonably meet new links in the supply chain, and possibly, sell to the public.
There are closed to the public trade shows. There are trade and consumer shows together. And then there are straight consumer shows. Add to that the array of one-off boutique nights, benefits, and community center events, and you've got a wide choice of where to set up shop.
Let me warn you before we delve deeper -
Trade Shows cost money.
There's no garuntee of making back the money you've spent.
They are backbreaking, long hours, and gruelling.
You, if you are like me, will get violently ill with some superbug after each one of them.
So here's today's scoop. Look down the vendor list of already subscribed exhibitors, and call them, email them, get the skinny on the show itself.
3 day shows including electrical cost about 1500. More if you need a larger booth.
Multiply that by how many times you do it, and you need to sell a whole lot more widgets and gidgets to make the money back.
So in short, be smart, and be focussed. I can't garuntee you'll choose the right one to start with. The only thing I do suggest is that for your first large show, stay as local as you can to give you the power to follow up easily and quickly with whomever you meet.
For me-
In the upcoming weeks and months, you will find Smicko'z at:
The Temple Sinai Boutique Night, May 1.
The Children's Trunk Show, May 30
The Todays Parent Show Nov 7-9

I think that's as much as I can commit to these days. It does seem to die down over summer, but that's a great chance to get going on retailers for the Christmas season (I know, I know, Christmas in July? Um, yes. Christmas in July, never forget it again. Most retailers know by the end of July what they'll stock towards Christmas this year). See? MORE advice from someone just barely on the ground getting her feet wet.
Don't forget to check the Smicko'z website every so often to see what I'm up to and where I'll be
www.smickoz.com
Cheers!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Took a Break

I went to bed a few days ago, and apparently forgot that I have this blog to write in. Exhaustion mixed with a good flu, a week of misery and the start of Passover later, and I'm just getting into the groove again.
Met with NYC entrepreneurial guru on Sunday, and he had some amazing input. Essentially, being agile, changing your view of where your product belongs, changing the paradigm. It was an especially good talk for me, as I have lately been pondering my ability to serve single outlet retailers beyond a certain geographical range. And I want the product to go national, not just local in Ontario. But there's a large gap, not just a step, between local retailing and national distribution. And that's the wall I'm currently scaling. For anyone who's been following along, I've been trying to weigh the pros and cons of sales reps vs. distributors. And I think the answer is, you use what you can, where you can. If a sales rep has a huge territory with a ton of outlets, then that's who you go with, and you suck it up and do the shipping and tracking.
Still learning over here though, and of course the next question follows, which is, how to predict trends based on one production run. Or even two? Each production has to be of a certain amount, and I don't want to go over what I can reasonably warehouse. But, truthfully, if I were to land a large distribution deal, I wouldn't have the agility to turn around thousands in weeks.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Too much yellow?

Yeah, ever since the redesign, I'm thinking no more yellow. Looking for a nice grass green one to go with the banner (which is also my trade show mock up - sorta like green grass when it's very young in the spring).
On to the current state of mind around here - still in the salesrep/distribution loop. For so many reasons. But here's the big one, and I really do want input this time:
1. Sales reps, while they don't stock your product, still continue a personal relationship with individual stores on your behalf and technically work as Smicko'z while they are representing. because you continue carrying all your own inventory, you retain certain amounts of control over the supply chain (which is also an argument against, I know)
2. Distribution. Clean, simple, cold? Drop ship x number to dist warehouse. Dist represents 10 lines, and presents you equally as one of them. They ship to and from retailers, so there's no personal relationship between you and retail outlets. They also maintain the relationship, so you can't step in anywhere as the manufacturer if you believe it's not represented well somehwere.. You have to sit back because of the agreement signed BUT:
-paperwork nightmare GONE
-spreadsheeds provided
-very tidy in/out box
-less mess to hand to the accountant at year end
-distributor on the line for deadlines - accountability to distribution group, not single retailers

So - if you're me, at a key stepping point, who looks better? What would you do and why?
ina.ornstein@smickoz.com or leave it in the comments section.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Looking From a Distance

Three days post show blitz is over. Now happily settling into the flu that's travelling around SW Ontario and hoping I didn't pass it on to 9month old E. So here's where the show's left me mentally:
Chuffed - happy in some regards.
Up to my neck in others.
While I had a pretty decent show by all standards, it left me wandering down the path of next steps and extensions - to use the distributors and sales reps, or to keep chugging along on my solo mission.
S over at Planetkid.ca and I have emabarked on a new verbal volley back and forth about this one, so I'll let you know how the thinking goes. But in general, here's what I do know:
Distributors by your product directly from you, taking a 10-15% discout of the retail, and they then become the wholesale channel (you drop ship to just one place, they take care of the rest).
OR
There's the sales rep route. They essentially go out and do what you do. They don't purchase your products from you, but rather take a percentage (10 to 15%) of the retail cost of the sale.
Pros, Cons, if you've been there, I want to hear from you.

A further insight was emailed to me this morning over the domain name 'scandal'. It would seem as though there are comanies that go out and purchase all the different coutry codes and unused URL's that you didnt, and when you hit it really big, they come back and attempt to sell them to you. Web guru told me to google Britney Spears, and you'd be amazed how many other people own sites about her with her name on them, without those sites belonging to Britney Spears. See? Live another day, learn another lesson.

But seriously, and I say it again - go get your own idea. It's so much easier to be the one running in front than the one playing catch up all the time.

Monday, April 14, 2008

They Say Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

Well - someone thinks I am doing something right. Because ladies and gentlemen, I have my first copycat. This person went so far as to attempt domain registrations of Smickoz. Didn't even want to come up with a 'close but not quite' name, actually tried to outright steal the name. Although that's less imitation and more outright copying, right?
How do I know? Well, this person (love netfirms, I can see who's visiting, and how many times), started checking all the conotations of smickoz at whois domain reg. And of course what they found was, I own all the pertinent ones. If you'd like to purchase smickoz.uk have at it. But you won't be competing with me. You'll be selling to the British.
So a message to you, dear copycat - as I'm guessing you read my blog too:
Whois notified Netfirms, who sent an automatic email asking if I wanted to purchase the remaining straight smicko'z web urls. PS - I have your number, literally(your IP number). You visited whois 4 times and followed it to my sites. I've also traced you to your ISP . Hopefully, I won't have to get to know you more than that. Want to know more about the word Smicko? I googled it and put it through search engines before I ever registered it. In the entire world, there were barely any hits, and it was mostly found as a slang word in Australia, meaning cool. No one, not one person on planet earth has ever tried, before me, to register the tradename Smicko or Smickoz. But today, someone did. Odd, odd little coincidence.
It's hard to be sneaky and underhanded in the tech age, isn't it?

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Aches and Pains

Today's Parent. Last Day. Final Hours. 3 hours before setdown, the cold begins. Sore throat, runny nose, chills. On top of the exhaustion and utter mind numbness. Best advice after three days of this? You need to have the spare people working in your booth with you. You cannot possibly keep track of all the people who wander in, and even the most copious of note takers will lose something.
Thanks to the dynamic team working with me this weekend, every important conversation was recorded in a handy dandy notebook, with names and return phone numbers, and what the follow up action is. I don't have to trust the wobbly memory - it's all there, and will be there in a few days when the sciatica dies down and the cold misery goes away.
Am I happy I did the show? Absolutely. But now, I miss my kids, I miss my husband, and I'm beyond happy to be home and sharing my cold germs with them. Tomorrow I return to being Mom - and I missed it.
Today I reflected a lot on the best parts of Mom-preneuring. And here's the best one. I started this business with my kids literally in my lap. This was the first real road show where I had to leave them - and I'll be honest, it hurt a little. Ok, it hurt a lot. The best part of Mompreneurship is being a Mom. I fought long and hard (for those who know me IRL) to become a Mom. It was a 6 year journey full of pain and hardship. These kids are my world. I'm still battling the anxiety that arises when I realize that my year of mat leave will be up in a few short months. Leaving E with a sitter for three days was agony. S had been in preschool all year. What will I do without my rugrats next year?

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Today's Parent Show - Day 2

Another exhausting day on my feet. The International Center was jam packed with families and shoppers. And now to add yet more knowledge to the growing store. I'm sure what I'm about to tell you will come as no shock:
Men do not shop for their children (in general)
If you see a man coming down the aisle pushing a stroller, he is at best, a reluctant hanger-on. He's been dragged by his partner. He doesn't want to be there. There's sports on tv. There's other thrilling stuff somewhere else to do. He's watching someone spend the household budget, and he's not happy about it. Now granted, he's not the one home every day, and doesn't really understand what the kids needs are, or what the little maladies that the kids suffer from really get into. Mom is. She knows. She knows what she wants and needs. She knows what's useful and what isn't. And she's not happy about the grumbling input behind her.
So let him pass. Mom will be along shortly (she's in another booth, he got impatient and started moving on in the hopes that she'll follow his path to the door). She's the decision maker where the kids are concerned.
Here's something else you should know about the trade shows. Aside from the retailers/entrepreneurs/distributors/media that are there, there are also a decent number of pyramid scheme groups there. Not to get you to buy product, no, that makes them very little money indeed. The real money is in having you sign up to have a party for them in your home or to have you sign up into the scheme yourself, and go 'under' them in the pyramid. In fact, that's the only way they can make a decent buck. They held back for the first day, but today, started moving through the booths to hard sell gals like me in our booths to join on (because I have so much free time these days, LOL). Some of them have cool products, but I have to tell you, I have a lot of friends who've done this. They always quit after the first six months. It's just impossible to make a living unless you sell out everyone you know for it. And the income it produces DOES NOT (no matter what they tell you) replace a regular salary with benefits.
(ok, rant over, clearly these things make money for someone, but definitely not the average woman who signs on to the starter kit).
Market your own cool ideas. You will be more passionate, more interested, and more involved. You don't need someone else's cache. You will also be infinitely more fulfilled knowing that the entire payoff is for you alone. Starting your own company is far more rewarding than being in someone else's pyramid scheme. (sorry, I know I said rant over, but it's really over now).
NEXT
and honestly this should have come first - I have to talk and gush about Karen from Tail Wags again. She's my next door booth neighbour, and just about the most generous person I've met so far in this game. She is constantly sending people next door to meet me, and filling them up with praise about Smicko'z before they get to me. Because of Karen, I have met sales reps, distributors, media, retailers, and customers. She doesn't have to. Honestly, other than filling in for her on potty breaks, there isn't much I can offer her. But she's one of 'those' people who is just honestly open and loving and generous. I can't gush enough about her. Her products are on fire at the show, her booth is mobbed, and she is a PRO. (Yes, S now has one, and it's the teddy bear one that fits over her bicycle helmet). And she has a unique product that she designed, that's all hers. She runs a successful company, on her own, from her home - it's possible and it's doable. Take the inspiration where you can get it.
One more day before setdown, and I'll be able to reflect on the whole experience from my couch with a good drink in my hand.
So if you're in Toronto, come on down for Sunday - www.babytime.ca
and don't forget to check out Smicko'z Tablewear for Toddlers at www.smickoz.com
Going to soak my feet now~

Friday, April 11, 2008

The Today's Parent Show - Day 1

WOW.
All I have to say is WOW.
Today was brilliant and exhausting and exhilerating. If you are looking for inspiration in the baby toddler world, this is the place to get it. So many small businesses just like mine to draw advice from and swap stories with. Lots of the webmedia and some print media out in full force. Lots and lots of Smicko'z tried on and sold (which of course is v.v.good).
It is so much work to get ready for one of these things, but the real work is keeping the energy up and fresh for each new person, each new walk through, knowing when to keep talking and when to pull it back.
Thanks to Dana and Ilyse, the dynamic sister team who manned the busy booth with me today, I would have been lost without you.
Tomorrow, Dana returns for day two, and joining team Smicko will be my amazing and wonderful friend Barbara who can be called on in a pinch (like a true moment's notice SOS!) and who will be there in her Smicko regalia. Saturday's supposed to be busy, so I'm thrilled to have three manning the booth again.
And if you can believe it, the lovely and devoted Dana will be back on Sunday, along with Husband Dan, who will help round out the threesome from today.
What are my early signs that this is going well?
1. Good sales - managed to cover the cost of the booth in one day, which was my goal for the whole three days.
2. Retailer meetings and cards swapped. I have meetings scheduled for all next week to get OUTSiDE Toronto. This is amazing, as I've not been able to do this from homebase.
3. Webmedia/Printmedia - looks like I will be able to pick up some PR from some groups who cam and got samples and a briefing from our team.
All in all, I think it's the best you could hope for in a trade show where it's your first year and no one's heard of you before, but the buzz is spreading. We actually had people come back to the booth because they saw kids running around the show in them!

If you can't make it to the show, visit the website at www.babytime.ca most of the retailers sell online in one way or another. Also, check the links for all the mom groups and webzine, sleeping doulahs, and massage people (whom I'd like to beg for mid-show services.)
And if you're still wanting a peak at good old' Smicko'z I'm always at www.smickoz.com or you can email me at ina.ornstein@smickoz.com

Oh - to answer my own question from last week - was it worth it? Um, YEEESSSSS
If you are questioning whether or not to do it, trust me, there were PLENTY of small and cool booths with mompreneur businesses that are selling the grooviest little things for kids.
My booth mate is a woman named karen who has an unbelievable little company FEATURED ON CTV NEWS TODAY! called Tail Wags, they are stunning helmet covers for kids. You can find her and her retailers at www.tail-wags.com She can barely keep her stunning creations on the sheleves, and somehow makes it through these days as cool as a cucumber. She's also just a phenomenol person to know.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Last Minute Frenzy

A list of thanks to those wildy derserving it:
1. Husband, for taking the day off work, and helping organize product, transport booth materials, and constructing the booth with me today.
2. Mom. Came over and packaged and packaged while we talked about the scandal that we THINK should be the scoring from the World Figure Skating Championships. She agrees, I am right.
3. Planet Kid!! To the rescue. At the last minute, Sarajane throws me an offer to taking two of their little mannequins called "judy's' to the show so the product can be seen on a tailor made model front and back. Yes, they rock constantly, and they can't keep Smicko'z in stock. www.planetkid.com
4. Jamie over at Hard Boiled Inc over in Kensington Market. You say rush? He says OK. You say I need it yesterday? He says we'll make it work. He says they'll be ready at 11am the day before the show? They are there, bagged, with invoice, waiting for you. But do they look like a rush job???? NO WAY. So Cheers to www.hardboiledinc.com trust me and put them in your favorites, you will need them one day.
5. The helpful people over at the Today's Parent Show, for immediately finding us huge dollies, and helping is get in and get through the techno-gibber for what we actually need to do an how.

So thanks again to the miracle people that made this happen. First show opens their doors at 10 am tomorrow. En masse, introducing Smicko'z and www.smickoz.com to the buying public.
Will update tomorrow night when I get back from the madness!
Smicko Lady

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

It Begins!

Today's Parent Show Move In is in the morning, so hopefully I am all set to go. If I stay quiet for a few days, don't worry, hopefully it's me drowning in a sea of orders!
But I can't leave you without one anecdote from this whole experience. A company that is providing me with something I am using in the show, let's call them companyX, has a funny thing going on. First let me say, they are great in terms of orders and deliverables, and I never want to openly speak badly of anyone by name, but I want us all to get the lesson down, because it's a good one.
DO NOT
UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
DO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING
1.Call me honey.
2.Call me sweetie.
3.Call me baby.
4.Call me darlin'.

And I mean it, don't get so familiar with someone over the phone whom you've never met. I tend to reserve these names for my children. And even then, I don't say it 18 times in a 3 minute conversation. I'd love to return to a time of business where there were some protocols followed, the first one I'd like to return to is not using cutesy nicknames unless you actually know and have a relationship with the person.

Similarly, and I beg you. DO NOT call women who look to be under 70 Ma'am. Don't call me Ma'am. Let's get back to the language of business. Learn people's names and use them. If you must go with Sir, then do so, but I strongly suggest you make better use of Mr and Ms.
And now to bed, so I can further ponder how not to offend the general public!
Smicko Lady
www.smickoz.com
www.babytime.com (that's the show, visit the show site, there may be things you want to know for your own business, and I'll let you know how valuable I think the show was after it's all said and done)

Your emails

Yes I have received them, I promise, and I've read all of them. I will get back to them one by one when I can. Most of the questions are coming from other Mompreneurs who are steps behind in the process and looking for some direction. I will give it, I promise, and if you are in the Toronto area, I may be able to offer you more in terms of sourcing raw materials for your products. I truly do have a list of the 'good people', and to this day I stand by them and vice versa. I can't say this enough - don't just find the cheap people - they will let you down. Find a balance between relationship and price. The relationship will see you through things like last minute orders, rush orders, and priority shipping. The cheap alternatives are generally never able to respond that way, their businesses just don't allow for it. And please trust me on this one, if you have a product that you KNOW is going to appeal to the market, it is darned near impossible to switch horses midstream. The only jump you want to ponder is years down the road, when your quantities switch from 1000 to 100 000. The most frantic emails I receive are from those who went with the lowest price and have been let down by either quality or delivery. If you've already started, and you've paid the money, you are stuck this time. But before Run number 2, do your research. Eat the extra cost, and forget about being profitable in your first run. I can't find a single company that was. So accept delivery when it happens, but don't make this mistake again, ok? This is too costly a mistake. Here's why:
You have a group of samples made and you shop them out to retailers. Wahoo, retailers say yes!!! When can I have them? Now based on your people, you tell them when you expect delivery. They write it down. Delivery day comes and goes. Nothing. A week later, still no delivery. You call frantically, they'll get to it, larger order than you came in and they must attend to it first, order from more established customer came in and they must attend to it first, and so on and so forth. You go into being a month late on delivery. Your retailers barely remember you, and if they do remember you, they will immediately wonder how reliable you will be do to do business with. And if you recall my list of retailer questions, one of the important ones was "How will you service the store?" Meaning, how long will it take you to fulfill a reorder? So you may have found the 'cheaper' option, but it's one that gets you nowhere.
The 'good people' have the same rules for everyone. They adhere to the delivery dates they gave you as best as they can, and they perform their own quality control (though you must too, v. important that you touch, feel, and inspect every single thing you send into stores as a small manufacturer). You need to stand behind the quality of your work, and that includes standing behind the quality of the materials you purchased.
In my case, so far so good, but I micromanage the quality of each Smicko as it's made, and I am also the person who properly folds, ties, packs (inspects packaging), and tags each and every Smicko. How? You find the time. Always always always, stay part of the process.
And I'll answer your individual emails as soon as the show is over!

Ah Yes, That's Why I Started

So last night, Chief Imagination Officer of the company sat herself down to supper. Originally supper was a beautiful broccoli and cheese omelette worthy of a french chef (if I do say so myself) Much whining ensued, a 3yr old attempt at negotiation and bargaining, and finally, the capitulation of a Mother who just wants a child that has more than pasta in her repertoire. Dutifully slapped pots on stove, and created the easy to prepare (but nutrionally void foods I am trying to get her to choose less) pasta. Right before I handed her the tomatoey cheese goodness, she said "Mommy, it's messy, I need my Smicko". Ahh. It's worked. I have branded my own 3 year old. Now she's been wearing Smicko'z for a long time. She wore them at every meal. But for her to go to the Smicko drawer and pull it out herself, that's pretty cool. So as I fight the nerves that pop up as the Today's Parent Show move in is tomorrow, I received just the bump up I needed, from the one that melts my heart the most. Did I mention that I love that she calls it a Smicko? Like it's not just a brand, the product itself is a Smicko - not a bib, and not a smock, but a smicko combination of the two.

Monday, April 7, 2008

The Calm Before the Storm

I'm in the big leadup to the first major trade show. I feel the butterflies like I am stepping on stage at the elementary school play all over again. Words escaping me for now, I'm mostly tending to those nagging little last minute details (um trade show carpet was supposed to be ready today, called carpet place, and the gent sounded BEFUDDLED that I was looking for pickup despite what's on the invoice - no worries, he's got a rush on it and it will be ready precisely one day before showtime) Um, t-shirts for those staffing the booth? Whooopsy, that one fell through also, but thanks to Jamie over at http://www.hardboiledinc.com/ (who in a pinch, can totally hook you up) staff will be smartly adorned in adorable Smicko's logos on crisp white t-shirts.
As my Uncle used to say whenever we were in a restaurant, and you didn't like what they had on the menu "for money, you can have whatever you want". Indeed.
But in the case of Hard Boiled Inc. I'd like to point out that they are not charging me a 'rush' price.
I'd also like to mention the 'factory floor' better known as the husband and the grandmother - who have been packaging Smicko'z with dedication (and zero demands for full coverage insurance thus far) for well over two weeks now. All I have to do is deliver to the show, assemble it all, get to the bank for a float, get the electrical hookup, and RIGHT, knew I forgot one thing - I don't have bags to put them in if someone purchases. Is this a disaster? Quick solutions anyone?

Sunday, April 6, 2008

It's All in the Details

I've lately been perusing the information superhighway, looking for people who post pictures of their trade show setups to see what's catchy and imaginative. A Trade Show setup usually consists of, let's say a 5' 10' or a standard 10' by 10' booth. You get walls draped in white fabric unless you bring your own. And you are responsible for everything else, including getting yourself an electrical outlet. You need a table, carpet, lighting, display items such as racks, bannerstand, and of course product. And that's at a minimum. If you are on a limited budget, and I am, then you have to figure out some clever ways to make the booth attractive and interesting enough for people to step into it, not just stare at it as they walk by.
Needless to say, those who are posting pics of their booths online are generally of the spent a whole lot of time and money group. And they are impressive. I am blown away by the ones done by Sony and Apple at the recent Expo they were both at in San Francisco. Of course, finding the comparables in toddler/baby land is not as plentiful. The best ones I have seen were set up by Gerber baby foods, and by Pampers. Huge brands behind them with rich parent companies.
So, drwon it in colour I say. Now I am particularly blessed as my product itself can be used as booth decor. Lots of big bold retro fabulous patterns to adorn the booth with. And I am bringing secret weapon "Rusty", the personal prized posession of Darcy over at DEW - Rusty is an adorably large floppy doll, that also happens to be the only doll large enough to model Smicko'z on her own. I have pledged Rusty the utmost in comfort and security. Also of great luck, my logos and banner are wildly colourful - I think rather eye catching. Now let's just hope that all of you think so too....

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Now this was unexpected

So I'd like to send a huge shout out to Mod Eco Kids (or www.modecokids.com). I do not know this person or site, but a friend sent an email telling me to check it out. And lo and behold, this woman (who appears to be a fellow crafter/Mompreneur type) has a v. cool blog, dedicated to the latest and neatest local crafted products. And whom should she choose to write about, but yours truly, little 'ol Smickoz. So thanks for supporting me, and thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it. And to answer the question about getting outside the GTA - I'm working on it! I think part of the struggle of getting out of the area where you live is also creating relationships and understanding the the areas out of town that you are approaching. In the meantime, if you can't get to a Toronto retailer, www.planetkid.ca is still the place to get Smicko'z online. But you'd better hurry if you want the last of some patterns - I am now out of stock in Love Bus -brown, and am close to out of stock of Peace Flowers Cocoa. Also close to sold out are Ink Dot, Good Old' Cherry Stripe, and Froggies.
(whoops, better slip in another THANKS! to modeco kids, and please check out her fantastic products, which I believe can be found at www.sweetbeets.com - she makes hand pressed cards that are STUNNING. And I mean this, as I don't give out the compliments this easily. Her cards are selling for about the same price as your standard Hallmark - except hers are beautiful, whimsical, and honestly if I received one, I'd frame the front of it and display it in my home. Not bad for less than $6.00)
(please note, I have never been in contact with this person/company, was just thrilled to be featured in her blog, and happenned to peruse through her own products and fell in LURVE)

Incognito.... Again....

The weekend. A bad time for small time manufacturers. How to make busy? Visit your retailers incognito, and see what's up in your little neck of their store. And then ask yourself some questions, much like I have been today. And then, quickly, come up with some answers. (which I have, preferably answers that look something like solutions)
Why is it that one downtown store, in a location that doesn't scream 'kids' in particular more than any other downtown neighborhood, can't keep your product stocked, and has to reorder in ever growing quantites.. and the retailer in the upscale teeming with young children neighborhood can't seem to move them?
Answers are coming.
1. Downtown store, if you visit it, you will note that they have the product prominently displayed on juvenile mock ups, right at the cash register, with ample product stocked below it. You can see it, feel it, understand how it works - fall in love with it.
2. Uptown store, has product grouped in with a mass of other products - ones that are for a different age grouping altogether. There's no signage. There's no sample on display. Staff are busy, and this particular part of the store is for you to browse, perhaps impulse purchase, etc..
3. Another uptown store, product on a bottom shelf in the back of the store. BUT. Signage at the cash register. Product is moving. Staff discuss product with all who walk in with toddlers, and staff have been educated on the product.
4. West End store, product prominently displayed, staff educated on product, and signage in effect. Product moving.

And so here's my next lesson to me in the retail game. Don't just deliver your product. Stay involved afterwards in the retail process. Help your retailer represent you. So here's my solution. I have these stand alone plexi-glass stands that can easily stand at a cash register. In them, I have placed my recent sweetspot.ca promo. I have taken it, and printed at the top, "As Seen In" . They will be delivered to retailers next week, and all of them show the product on my young and devilishly adorable young models. I am also pondering having some larger placards made to showcase over the top of wherever the products are displayed. I know that in grocery stores, certain brands actually pay the grocery store to be at 'eye level', making them most prominent in your buying psyche. I don't think it works quite that way in the boutique toddler niche, but I am willing to guess that the more backup you provide for your product, the more able you make your retailers to sell it. And the more I get into this, the more I learn, you cannot just walk away and wait for things to happen. You must keep things happenning. I try to pay attention to my own buying habits, what catches my eye, why I buy something. And I am indeed my own target market, but I try to keep the myriad of Moms on the planet in mind when I dream up this stuff. Here's another good quote someone gave me, this one to do with house purchasing: " A person decides to buy a house within the first 90 seconds that they step into it" That's it. 90 seconds. And that's a captive audience! They don't have other houses surrounding them when they do it. So now imagine your gidget or widget, surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of other products, and ask yourself, do I even get 90 seconds? No, more than likely, you get less than 9 seconds, if that. Sometimes just the turn of a head. Which leads me back to retailer support. If a person glances at your product in the aisle, but then sees a promo for it at the cash register, and a salesperson extols the virtues of the product, Voila! You just got your 90 seconds. Now, the sale either happens or it doesn't, but at least this way, the customer actually got to decide if they liked it and needed it or not. Amazing what you learn on your feet, that no one will ever tell you. (except me, I seem to be pretty easy at giving this stuff away, but if you find any of it useful, better for you - we should all be making it easier for each other in this business - and I strongly believe this - the market both wants and NEEDS quality local Mom-imagined ideas that absolutely and positively solve regular problems that come up in the course of raising our kids.

Friday, April 4, 2008

And the first results are in....

Sweetmama has sent their email, and many more visit their webpage. And if you don't believe in the power of the internet, I'm here to tell you to change your mind.
The number of emails and calls has been overwhelming. I will still be dealing with callbacks today. I am truly blessed that sweetmama decided to profile Smicko'z. What will eventually come of all the interest, I can't say yet, but I am hopeful and delighted so far.
I am THRILLED to announce that I have now restocked most of my original retailers. They sold out! It's a wonderful boost to know that the public is responding well to a product. Because honestly, they were buying before they had any backstory on Smicko'z. They just saw them and thought HEY! that'd be a good thing for my messy toddler!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Sweetmama.ca

A huge thank you to Sweetspot.ca (sweetmama) for their feature of Smicko'z today! This is huge for any small business and Mompreneur. If you haven't seen it, check out the link at:
http://sweetspot.ca/content/view/5012/45/

I couldn't be more excited. Now I just have to make sure I am ready for the Today's Parent Show happenning April 11-13 at the International Centre in Toronto. It's really the first big one for me, and I haven't been customer facing in a really long time (as in, when I had a part time job in university). Oh, and if you happen to be there, swing by booth 403 and say hi!

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

PR - Advertising

Once you have your website up, and it's listed anywhere, anywhere at all - you will get the first flood of emails to your business account. You will get excited! So many emails!!! And then you will open them one by one, and you will find, that the vast majority of them are from ad people trying to sell some ad space. Most you'll never have heard of. Some you may have. They will be print journals, online communities and marketplaces. They are excited to share the opportunity with you!
So before you take the next chunk off the line of credit, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Who sees their site/journal/community/magazine?
2. What's their readership (how many views)?
3. What's their tracking/follow up procedure?
4. Can they show results that are measurable as a direct result of advertising with them?
5. Is it cost effective? Is the space overpriced?
6. Is it a one time thing? Will it be in place for months?

If you're like me, you will get frozen over this, and not advertise anywhere that it costs money. I've decided to go the PR route. And the PR is all being done by me. Now at first glance, one may think that this is the wrong route, that I won't be able to penetrate any markets without purchasing ad space. But think about how many products you buy that don't ever advertise in your paper, on tv. But you've 'seen' them somewhere. And that brings me to the brilliant new age of the internet.

There are thousands of sites that sell ad space. If you want to, go for it. There are thousands more of consumer sites that write about products that they've seen/used/tested. They have huge email lists and viewership, and much more so than the ad groups, they actually test and track the results of their work. And to me, those are the people you want to get in with. They write about your product because they've seen it, are impressed with it, and have something truly valuable to write about it. And it's that added extra for me that counts - because you didn't pay for it, someone is directly giving you a vote of confidence that your product is good, aligns with their vision, and furthers their purpose as well as yours.
To that end, I wrote away to all of the sites I wanted to be featured in, and sent support materials. I have heard back from all of them.
For starters, look out tomorrow Thursday April 3 for Smicko'z in Sweetspot.ca! Look me up under sweetmama (the childrens area). Better yet, sign up on their email list, and you'll get their fabulous 'sweet nothings' sent to your email box every day. Very simple, very effective marketing. They send out an email, 200 words or less, with product pictures and links, and they send out just one a day. You can read about something wonderful near you locally or nationally, your choice when you sign up. (no cost).

I don't mean to put down the ad route. But the truth is you need a great deal of money and ability to commit to it. I am aware of a meal program (because of effective advertising) that will deliver healthful meals to your door for every day of the week (It is a diet program, but health focussed). I know of them because they are in my Saturday Globe every Saturday. For the last few months, there they are. Same ad each time. You can ignore it once or twice, but every week for months on end, eventually will stick in your brain. I don't need the service, but I would recognize the company, so in that sense the ads have worked - they have achieved recognition from me. But I hesitate to guess what the ad space has cost them, and the size of the ad, in Canada's National Newspaper. I would guess a lot more than I can pay.

I have spoken to a company that strictly goes for editorials, and keep a PR firm on retainer (at great expense) to get stories written about the company and the product. Looks pretty effective, but they are more than three years into a multi year strategy that is paying off. Either way, it's an interesting game, with many possibilities. Do you have some strategies that have worked for you?
Let me know. Leave it in the comments, or email it to ina.ornstein@smickoz.com

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Back to the Start

Sometimes, in the midst of all the hard work, long hours, and frustrating meetings, you can begin to feel as though you will never see the long term vision come to fruition. I bump into this brick wall every so often. I've been pretty good at pep talking myself to this point - taking inspiration wherever I can find it. Some of you may be aware of the story of Prof. Randy Pausch. He was on Oprah, and I believe his speech can be found on Youtube as well. Dr. Pausch is dying of pancreatic cancer, and he gave his 'last lecture' as a life lesson in how one should live their life - and how he defined what is important.
I love a few things that he said, and they've been going through my head everytime I hit the wall:
1. Brick walls aren't there to stop us - they're there to A)Keep others out and B) Teach us how badly it is we want something.
2. You have to decide now, are you a Tigger, or are you an Eeyore?
3. Have fun.

I don't write this to be the world's ultimate downer, but Dr. Pausch gives this speech knowing he has 3-6 months of health left in him. He has sold his house with his wife and moved to a new house that will be easier for his wife and kids later on, as it's closer to his wife's family. But on the upside, he's taking this opportunity to do everything he didn't do on his life list. He went scuba diving, he went skydiving, and he's creating amazing memories with his kids. I am so inspired by him. And he should know how powerful his message has been.

In terms of brick walls, he discussed them in terms of hearing the word no, being tied up in red tape, being held back by institutional beaurocracy. So he found ways around the walls. And he was quick to point out, that the walls he didn't scale were clearly the ones he didn't want that badly. Good lesson. I can reach back into my past and easily see the walls I turned away from, and the walls I took on. It definitely teaches you what was and what is important to you.