Kurt and I are obsessed with "Dragons Den". A Canadian show featuring 5 multi-millionaires (the dragons). They listen to entrepreneurs pitch their business plans or product ideas, and if you can impress them, they will invest in your idea.
Naturally, being the little entrepreneurs that we are, we love watching other budding companies sink or swim. People are so passionate about their product. Some are amazing, and some are plain .. wrong.
We watch and natter the entire time about what we would do if we were on that show. How we would plan, how we could make the dragons adore us.
I logged into facebook last week. I got a little nugget from the Dragons page, they are holding open auditions across Canada. I sat there and stared at it for a minute ..or ten.
Could we really do this? Can I stand there and pitch my business plan in front of these guys? What would I even ask for? What if they rip me to shreds and rain all over my little parade? .... yah I'm totally signing up.
So I did!
We go to the first audition in February. We will pitch in front of the producers, who will probably be so sick of seeing smiling faces and friendly business plans by the time I step up to the plate. IF I can woo them.. then we move on to the next round.
We will pitch in front of the Dragons. People have said that this is a loooooooong day of taping, and you may get bumped to the next day. We will sit in a room staring at our toes until they call us up.
If I don't pass out by this point - I will stand in front of the investors. Do my little song and dance.
If I make for good TV (which you can bet I will) we might make it on air.
Thousands of people apply - only a few will ever be seen. My goal is to make it on air. If we get a deal, even better, but the main focus is to be seen!
I feel a little weird about it. I'm not going to lie. If it works out, I think it's a great move for our company. If it doesn't - no skin off our backs. But, putting myself, and my business out there like that - makes me nervous.
What if they don't take me seriously?
What if I make a weird face and they edit it so I am repeatedly making that weird face through the entire pitch? (flashback -Bridgett Jones going down the fire mans pole)
Kurt tells me I need to practice. I will.
When we were at the Babytime show, a customer saw me struggling. We had run out of stock.
Our booth was packed with people wanting to buy buy buy. That lady came over to me and said "You weren't prepared were you!" I thought about it and said "No, we weren't expecting this" - she replied "ALWAYS prepare for success". It was a short two second conversation, but it never left me.
So - thank you, to whoever you were. You've inspired me to take giant leaps and believe they will work out the way I want them to.
I will practice and prepare. I will bring my A game.
I've got this in the bag!
Documenting the struggles and triumphs of a husband and wife team as they try to grow their home based business.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Meet Bob.
This post is dedicated to the unsung hero of our little company, my father in law - Bob Olson. He is our biggest fan, and we wouldn't be able to do this with out him.
He shows up almost every day to help us fold, tag, package and more. He's built shelving units in the basement so we can store our stock items, built a second folding table. (side note: kind of cool that we need two folding tables now!), painted, hung lights, fixed our dryer over.. and over.. and over again. He goes out for pick ups, daily deliveries and he cheers us on every step of the way. He does it all with out hesitation. He listens to Kurt and I gab, gripe.. argue. Even better - he usually takes my side :)
Aside from the work, he always knows how to lighten the mood. He knows how to make us laugh. Usually though, it's just me laughing - as he spends a lot of time pushing Kurt's buttons for fun.
He knows our clients, our schedules, and always keeps a running list of our current orders in mind. He's right in the thick of it with us.
Last summer, he and my mother-in-law Vivian (hi mom!) went on a long, well deserved vacation. Kurt and I were able to handle ourselves, but boy it was a lot more hectic. We had to work many late, late nights to play catch up. He is a huge part of our day to day business. As over-worked and tired as we think we are, it is nothing compared to how we would feel if he weren't here to help.
We love him dearly - and thought it was only fair that he get a huge blog shout out!
Meet my father in law - our hero - Mr. Robert Olson. The 3rd member of the K Sera Sera team!
He shows up almost every day to help us fold, tag, package and more. He's built shelving units in the basement so we can store our stock items, built a second folding table. (side note: kind of cool that we need two folding tables now!), painted, hung lights, fixed our dryer over.. and over.. and over again. He goes out for pick ups, daily deliveries and he cheers us on every step of the way. He does it all with out hesitation. He listens to Kurt and I gab, gripe.. argue. Even better - he usually takes my side :)
Aside from the work, he always knows how to lighten the mood. He knows how to make us laugh. Usually though, it's just me laughing - as he spends a lot of time pushing Kurt's buttons for fun.
He knows our clients, our schedules, and always keeps a running list of our current orders in mind. He's right in the thick of it with us.
Last summer, he and my mother-in-law Vivian (hi mom!) went on a long, well deserved vacation. Kurt and I were able to handle ourselves, but boy it was a lot more hectic. We had to work many late, late nights to play catch up. He is a huge part of our day to day business. As over-worked and tired as we think we are, it is nothing compared to how we would feel if he weren't here to help.
We love him dearly - and thought it was only fair that he get a huge blog shout out!
Meet my father in law - our hero - Mr. Robert Olson. The 3rd member of the K Sera Sera team!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Goodbye 2010...
Every year, on New Years Eve I sit back and mull over every life event that took place that year. So much can happen in 1 year, this year was no exception.
I went into 2010 with completely different plans than I came out with. Just goes to show, one can never plan :) (You'd think I would have learned this lesson by now? Cough *twins* cough...)
We took some huge risks this year, some out of necessity, some not. Some were just a gamble.
When we decided to take on this project, we had no idea what the outcome would be. We didn't know if we would be able to keep our house, our cars, life as we knew it was hanging by a thread. One wrong move, one slip and everything would change. We both promised each other that we were going to work as hard as we could to keep our heads above water, and work we did.
For months, we would work well into the night. We didn't stop. KSS completely consumed everything we did. Every spare moment was spent drumming up new ideas, talking strategy and of course, money money money. We nickled and dimed everything. We ate a lot of Kraft dinner. I even learned how absolutely wonderful the Dollar Store can be for ... everything.
We were determined to make this happen.
Fast forward only a few short months, we had been picked up by 5 new stores. Word of our line was spreading quickly, and our sales were increasing by the day. Kurt and I felt like we could breathe again. But it didn't stop us. We took any financial wiggle room we had and used it to bring our new ideas to life. We entered (and are now hooked) the trade show circuit. This was huge for us, as we were able to reach tens of thousands of people in a few short days. We pushed and pushed and pushed, and now, on New Years eve 2010 I can happily say that we are more than satisfied with the success we've created this year.
We've come together as a couple. I have been able to see every new step my babies take, because I'm here with them. Our business is thriving and our home.. is ours.
As tough, and emotionally challenging as 2010 was, I can definitely say it was a defining year in my life. I am so proud of all we have accomplished, not only with the business, but as a family.
I can't wait to see what this new year will bring. I am ready.
We wish all of you a very happy & fruitful 2011.
Life is good!
I went into 2010 with completely different plans than I came out with. Just goes to show, one can never plan :) (You'd think I would have learned this lesson by now? Cough *twins* cough...)
We took some huge risks this year, some out of necessity, some not. Some were just a gamble.
When we decided to take on this project, we had no idea what the outcome would be. We didn't know if we would be able to keep our house, our cars, life as we knew it was hanging by a thread. One wrong move, one slip and everything would change. We both promised each other that we were going to work as hard as we could to keep our heads above water, and work we did.
For months, we would work well into the night. We didn't stop. KSS completely consumed everything we did. Every spare moment was spent drumming up new ideas, talking strategy and of course, money money money. We nickled and dimed everything. We ate a lot of Kraft dinner. I even learned how absolutely wonderful the Dollar Store can be for ... everything.
We were determined to make this happen.
Fast forward only a few short months, we had been picked up by 5 new stores. Word of our line was spreading quickly, and our sales were increasing by the day. Kurt and I felt like we could breathe again. But it didn't stop us. We took any financial wiggle room we had and used it to bring our new ideas to life. We entered (and are now hooked) the trade show circuit. This was huge for us, as we were able to reach tens of thousands of people in a few short days. We pushed and pushed and pushed, and now, on New Years eve 2010 I can happily say that we are more than satisfied with the success we've created this year.
We've come together as a couple. I have been able to see every new step my babies take, because I'm here with them. Our business is thriving and our home.. is ours.
As tough, and emotionally challenging as 2010 was, I can definitely say it was a defining year in my life. I am so proud of all we have accomplished, not only with the business, but as a family.
I can't wait to see what this new year will bring. I am ready.
We wish all of you a very happy & fruitful 2011.
Life is good!
Friday, November 19, 2010
We did it!!!
It has been one week since we've finished the Babytime Show, and it's taken me this long to sit down and blog about it. What a week it has been!
We (I.. sorry Kurt.) first thought about doing the Babytime Show years ago, when we attended it as consumers. We were so impressed with the vendors, and the exposure! At that point we were just starting out, and didn't really have a business plan. We were just there, letting the tee's do their own selling. It was a long term goal, something we ended up sitting on for a few years.
This year we really started focusing on growth. Which has been interesting to say the least. Kurt and I as a business duo could not be more miss-matched. But we make it work. He is extremely careful, calculated and responsible. I on the other hand, have my head in the clouds, and I think big. Sometimes way too big. World domination by way of t shirts? That seems do-able to me.
I mentioned doing the show to him, he didn't think it was a good idea He wasn't sure we were ready, with good reason. To date, our most public display was our Facebook page. Which I still have trouble accessing.
It was a huge expense, money we weren't sure we would make back.
I somehow convinced him.. or just kind of went ahead and signed up without telling him. One or the other, I really can't remember.
Much stress, running around and a lot of late nights later, we were ready!
Kurt and I arrived on the Thursday night. We rolled in (all fly in Dad's Caravan) and dragged an entire booths worth of crap across what seemed like the length of a football field. Got to our booth (#119!!) and spent a few hours setting up. Then we went for Sushi. After our bellies were full, I kissed my man goodbye. It was go time.
My childhood friend Monica was kind enough to let me stay at her place, 1 block away from the MTCC, for the weekend. She also stayed up until 1am with me folding and rolling our new line of receiving blankets, thank you Monica!
The next morning my cousin Tori arrived, and she stayed with me the entire day to help run the booth. She was amazing! I stood back half of the day and let her do the talking, she seemed to know my product better than I did! Thank you Tori!
We ended up selling out of one of our tee's, I called home to Kurt and he stayed up late screen printing a second batch of tees. My girlfriend Jenn, who was coming up to manage the booth with me the next day, went over to help Kurt. She brought the entire stock with her the following morning. Awesome friend.
Saturday was by far our best sales day. Jenn and I thought we were all ready, equipped with lattes and outfits. We totally looked the part. Then, came the madness. There was a crowd around our booth, people waiting to come in! Monica stopped by for a visit, noticed that Jenn and I were completely overwhelmed, and threw herself right into action. Thank you Jenn, and again to Monica!! We ended up selling out AGAIN! Kurt had to scrap together whatever stock he could at home, and re-print. His mom and dad came over that night to watch the kids, they also helped fold and box what they could. Thank you mom & dad!
I had a moment that night with my girlfriends, the success of the day was so overwhelming.
I always question what we're doing. I can't help it. As a parent, with a house, and bills, I wouldn't be right in the head if I didn't question this. Sometimes I wonder if we're making the right decision? Should I just get over this and go get a "real" job?
Saturday, was the kick in the head I needed. Or I guess you could call it a boost.. if you prefer. We made so many business connections, chatted with return customers, and new clients who raved about what we were doing. That, combined with a months worth of sales in one day, and our friends and family holding our hands without thought, I felt like I was floating. I will hold on to that forever. We are beyond blessed.
Sunday morning Kurt and I got there early to stock, fold and tidy up from Saturdays chaos. We did really well Sunday too! But by Sunday afternoon we were so burnt out, and our stock was low. We were ready to go home. 6pm rolled around, the show closed, and Kurt and I packed up the van. Well... Kurt did. I just stood there and complained about my feet. Side note: my big toe is still numb. A week later. Thank you Kurt !!
We did it. We frigging did it. I am so proud of us, and so.. so tired.
There have been many high fives this week, as the after effects of the show are still going strong. It's official.. K Sera Sera is on the map.
And to Kurt... I told you so.
We (I.. sorry Kurt.) first thought about doing the Babytime Show years ago, when we attended it as consumers. We were so impressed with the vendors, and the exposure! At that point we were just starting out, and didn't really have a business plan. We were just there, letting the tee's do their own selling. It was a long term goal, something we ended up sitting on for a few years.
This year we really started focusing on growth. Which has been interesting to say the least. Kurt and I as a business duo could not be more miss-matched. But we make it work. He is extremely careful, calculated and responsible. I on the other hand, have my head in the clouds, and I think big. Sometimes way too big. World domination by way of t shirts? That seems do-able to me.
I mentioned doing the show to him, he didn't think it was a good idea He wasn't sure we were ready, with good reason. To date, our most public display was our Facebook page. Which I still have trouble accessing.
It was a huge expense, money we weren't sure we would make back.
I somehow convinced him.. or just kind of went ahead and signed up without telling him. One or the other, I really can't remember.
Much stress, running around and a lot of late nights later, we were ready!
Kurt and I arrived on the Thursday night. We rolled in (all fly in Dad's Caravan) and dragged an entire booths worth of crap across what seemed like the length of a football field. Got to our booth (#119!!) and spent a few hours setting up. Then we went for Sushi. After our bellies were full, I kissed my man goodbye. It was go time.
My childhood friend Monica was kind enough to let me stay at her place, 1 block away from the MTCC, for the weekend. She also stayed up until 1am with me folding and rolling our new line of receiving blankets, thank you Monica!
The next morning my cousin Tori arrived, and she stayed with me the entire day to help run the booth. She was amazing! I stood back half of the day and let her do the talking, she seemed to know my product better than I did! Thank you Tori!
We ended up selling out of one of our tee's, I called home to Kurt and he stayed up late screen printing a second batch of tees. My girlfriend Jenn, who was coming up to manage the booth with me the next day, went over to help Kurt. She brought the entire stock with her the following morning. Awesome friend.
Saturday was by far our best sales day. Jenn and I thought we were all ready, equipped with lattes and outfits. We totally looked the part. Then, came the madness. There was a crowd around our booth, people waiting to come in! Monica stopped by for a visit, noticed that Jenn and I were completely overwhelmed, and threw herself right into action. Thank you Jenn, and again to Monica!! We ended up selling out AGAIN! Kurt had to scrap together whatever stock he could at home, and re-print. His mom and dad came over that night to watch the kids, they also helped fold and box what they could. Thank you mom & dad!
I had a moment that night with my girlfriends, the success of the day was so overwhelming.
I always question what we're doing. I can't help it. As a parent, with a house, and bills, I wouldn't be right in the head if I didn't question this. Sometimes I wonder if we're making the right decision? Should I just get over this and go get a "real" job?
Saturday, was the kick in the head I needed. Or I guess you could call it a boost.. if you prefer. We made so many business connections, chatted with return customers, and new clients who raved about what we were doing. That, combined with a months worth of sales in one day, and our friends and family holding our hands without thought, I felt like I was floating. I will hold on to that forever. We are beyond blessed.
Sunday morning Kurt and I got there early to stock, fold and tidy up from Saturdays chaos. We did really well Sunday too! But by Sunday afternoon we were so burnt out, and our stock was low. We were ready to go home. 6pm rolled around, the show closed, and Kurt and I packed up the van. Well... Kurt did. I just stood there and complained about my feet. Side note: my big toe is still numb. A week later. Thank you Kurt !!
We did it. We frigging did it. I am so proud of us, and so.. so tired.
There have been many high fives this week, as the after effects of the show are still going strong. It's official.. K Sera Sera is on the map.
And to Kurt... I told you so.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
This is why we LOVE what we do!
What a nice surprise. We love customer feedback, and we love working with blogs, but this was unexpected and so sweet. Laura, of Laura Evans Photography wrote this post about us.
I have so much fun chatting with clients, all things baby-related. Pregnancy is a fun, scary, sweet spot in life, that we love being a part of.
Thank you to Laura, and all of our clients for their wonderful feedback.
I have so much fun chatting with clients, all things baby-related. Pregnancy is a fun, scary, sweet spot in life, that we love being a part of.
Thank you to Laura, and all of our clients for their wonderful feedback.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Guess who's birthday it is...
Why it's Kurtis's birthday!
Happy birthday to the love of my life, my partner in crime.
Now get back to work.
xx
S
Happy birthday to the love of my life, my partner in crime.
Now get back to work.
xx
S
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Whatever, it's fine.. pfff, I'm fine.
Hello blogosphere! Yes it's been a few minutes since my last post, I apologize.
You see, apparently, here at KSS, we think we're rock stars. We take on all of these projects, thinking we're so fabulous that they'll just work on them selves. We can handle anything here. Right?
So, so wrong.
Ok let me rephrase that. Yes we can handle anything. Can we do it without heart palpitations, fighting, dizziness, alcohol, crying, hugging, high fiving, jumping, cheering, realizing we missed something and repeating the same cycle?
No. Most of the time no. Kurt and I work so well together when we are doing the day to day KSS activities. Throw something new in there, and we are beside ourselves.
Hence the reason for my lack of blogging. Last month (last minute, of course) we decided we would enter a trade show. Not just any trade show, the Babytime show. This is a major industry event, with every brand name and who's who in the trendy child rearing game. With names like Playtex (two booths down from us..holla), Quinny, Britax, Honda, Dr. Browns, Babies 'R' us .. the list goes on and on... then there's little teeny tiny KSS Maternity. The new kids in town, trying to make a splash amongst tidal waves.
We have spent the last month completely revamping our company. Our website is being rebuilt & will function much better. Our business accounts are fully functional (why yes we take Visa..) and ready to roll. We designed new tags for three of the 4 lines. Held photo shoots to get new product lines up and running. We have moved over to a new book keeping system. No more small beans Excel, we're on Quickbooks now, homie.
Quickbooks. Ha.
Yes our experience today with Quickbooks and Iillustrator, are two perfect examples of classic Kurt and Sarah dysfunction.
I am a creature of habit. So is Kurtis. I have been using excel for a while now, and I'm comfortable entering my items manually. Enter Quickbooks. It throws it's little digitized hand up in my face, and says ".. you're gonna do it my way now." Hours went by. I entered items, re-entered items.. re-re-entered items.. grunted.. banged my head against the keyboard, yelled at my computer, begged my friends for help (thanks by the way!) and eventually I had successfully entered 4 separate items in inventory. Yep, 4.
Gave that up and moved over to our bags. We need retail bags for the show, as we are selling to live humans now and not their computers. Gotta get fancy like that, right?
I wasted two hours sizing, and resizing images to fit into this lame template that didn't load properly on our computer because we DON'T HAVE MICROSOFT WORKS (cough.. Kurt... cough..) just to make stickers. To stick on paper bags. 500 paper bags to be exact. They are made of recycled materials, and are themselves fully recyclable. Just in case you were wondering. Don't even get me started on the bag selection process.
I know, I need to cut us some slack. We are learning as we go. We are by no means seasoned business vets. We take it one step at a time, and hope for the best. Sure, our "one step" always tends to be a giant leap that may be a bit too much for us, but we always manage to bring it together in the end.
Come visit us at the Babytime Show if you get the chance! November 12-14 2010 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, booth 119.
If you buy something, I'll give you one of these 500 jerky bags. Yeah I said it.
You see, apparently, here at KSS, we think we're rock stars. We take on all of these projects, thinking we're so fabulous that they'll just work on them selves. We can handle anything here. Right?
So, so wrong.
Ok let me rephrase that. Yes we can handle anything. Can we do it without heart palpitations, fighting, dizziness, alcohol, crying, hugging, high fiving, jumping, cheering, realizing we missed something and repeating the same cycle?
No. Most of the time no. Kurt and I work so well together when we are doing the day to day KSS activities. Throw something new in there, and we are beside ourselves.
Hence the reason for my lack of blogging. Last month (last minute, of course) we decided we would enter a trade show. Not just any trade show, the Babytime show. This is a major industry event, with every brand name and who's who in the trendy child rearing game. With names like Playtex (two booths down from us..holla), Quinny, Britax, Honda, Dr. Browns, Babies 'R' us .. the list goes on and on... then there's little teeny tiny KSS Maternity. The new kids in town, trying to make a splash amongst tidal waves.
We have spent the last month completely revamping our company. Our website is being rebuilt & will function much better. Our business accounts are fully functional (why yes we take Visa..) and ready to roll. We designed new tags for three of the 4 lines. Held photo shoots to get new product lines up and running. We have moved over to a new book keeping system. No more small beans Excel, we're on Quickbooks now, homie.
Quickbooks. Ha.
Yes our experience today with Quickbooks and Iillustrator, are two perfect examples of classic Kurt and Sarah dysfunction.
I am a creature of habit. So is Kurtis. I have been using excel for a while now, and I'm comfortable entering my items manually. Enter Quickbooks. It throws it's little digitized hand up in my face, and says ".. you're gonna do it my way now." Hours went by. I entered items, re-entered items.. re-re-entered items.. grunted.. banged my head against the keyboard, yelled at my computer, begged my friends for help (thanks by the way!) and eventually I had successfully entered 4 separate items in inventory. Yep, 4.
Gave that up and moved over to our bags. We need retail bags for the show, as we are selling to live humans now and not their computers. Gotta get fancy like that, right?
I wasted two hours sizing, and resizing images to fit into this lame template that didn't load properly on our computer because we DON'T HAVE MICROSOFT WORKS (cough.. Kurt... cough..) just to make stickers. To stick on paper bags. 500 paper bags to be exact. They are made of recycled materials, and are themselves fully recyclable. Just in case you were wondering. Don't even get me started on the bag selection process.
I know, I need to cut us some slack. We are learning as we go. We are by no means seasoned business vets. We take it one step at a time, and hope for the best. Sure, our "one step" always tends to be a giant leap that may be a bit too much for us, but we always manage to bring it together in the end.
Come visit us at the Babytime Show if you get the chance! November 12-14 2010 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, booth 119.
If you buy something, I'll give you one of these 500 jerky bags. Yeah I said it.
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