post trade show notes

the show went well. great actually i would say! the world embraced the acoustic line we presented and even put orders in right there, which is rare for a new line no one has seen. they usually look at it and "think about it" maybe to fax an order in, but usually never to be seen again.

we had this great booth! went to salvation army in manhattan about 6 oclock at night to find a couch. and we found a perfect old, dingy yellow couch. seriously, it was perfect! it was a hit! we made the booth look like grandma's house! doilies on the arms of the couch, old pictures over the sofa, rotary phone on table.

and the best part was, some great great press publications came to say hi and check in on us and potentially write an article. wgsn, cookie, today show. . .

and we got some great new accounts. including . . .an amazing high end "department" store. which i will tell you about more officially when the order is faxed in.

but then again, on the last day i had a minor breakdown. we were talking with a similiar line of baby clothing, poshbaby out of portland. the ladies have a similiar business situation as us. or they use to. one of the woman was a financial advisor and so kind to tell us her advice on where to take the business, how to save money, how to prep to pay ourselves.

all week we all talked with visitors about getting sales reps, distribution, production, size ranges, adding sizes, adding styles, getting orders out on time, not being able to be reached. the trade show is one big conference and a great way to talk to people in your boat, or who have upgraded to the "bigger boat"

our friends at post have been where we are and her biggest advice was pay off credit cards, because they are probably costing us thousands of dollars that we dont need to be paying.

we kind of made a six month plan, we kind of figured out what to do to get into good shape, we discussed all ways of business and how to improve, where to cut corners. we told her how much we were selling, how we were doing and she said we were way ahead of the curve and doing great. she said in six months we won't even remember what it was like to be at the bottom of the ditches. thats when i lost it.

little tears flowing out, not in sadness really, not in fear, not in defeat, but more in totally overwhelming frustration. small business is overwhelming, exhausting, daunting. thinking about the numbers, the debt, the inventory we had to keep selling, the how and when and what of it all. if you think of the big picture of everything you are doing and trying to do you will explode. so i exploded. a bit.

and then i remembered this is what i signed up for, this is what i love, this is the puzzle i like to figure out and this is the potential reward that i am working for. these woes are temporary and they are all in preparation for great rewards and payoffs in the future. i have to remember that. and remember what a great trade show we had this season.