Monday, April 26, 2010

Finally, no more backorders!

Okay, so I thought this day was in the horizon weeks ago, but it seems to have been one thing after another, topped off with the volcano that put a halt to flights everywhere. According to the tracking numbers, by very early next week, we should not have ANYTHING on back order!! This is so exciting!

To be honest, this situation with products selling out faster than we could keep up was a big struggle for me personally. I always try to stay on top of our production, as that is my job, and I truly feel horrible when our customers have to wait for weeks to receive something that they have ordered and are anxiously awaiting. I know that feeling as a mom, when I order something online for Aubrey, and then I look forward to it arriving more than I ever did anything I purchased for myself. And, I feel even worse, when are expecting products to arrive one week and then for many reasons (factory delays, and more often than not, shipping delays), have to ship even later than we expected. As a business owner, I have to accept that there are some things I can personally control, and some things I can not. I have also learned from this experience that there are other things that I can do to prevent some things from happening that I can not control. I am learning as I go, even 3 years in, and we are only going to continue to improve. If you are not getting better, you are going no where, right?!

Last week, the FedEx tracking information all showed that the products should be at our office by Monday morning...now Monday morning, only 3 boxes showed up, with the other 24 stuck somewhere at the Memphis hub, according to them. I am getting used to this process by now, but sometimes I just wish things would happen as promised. We are crossing our fingers for more to arrive tomorrow morning, to get more of these back orders en route and on those little diaper-naked booties!

If you are one of our EXTREMELY patient customers, awaiting a back ordered item, please let me take this opportunity to thank you, sincerely, for your patience and understanding as we get in these products. We have been so blessed to watch our business grow and to have more and more adorable little ones enjoying our ruffles. We truly could not do it without you, and your support does not go unnoticed. Here is my promise to you...we are doing everything we can possibly do to get in these back ordered products and get them out to you. And, we are trying to be as proactive as possible to keep items in stock ready to be ordered at your convenience. Thanks, as always, for your business!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Balls in the air

Sometimes I feel like a master juggler, but more often than not, I feel like I have twenty balls floating in the air, about to drop any one of them at any given moment. I am starting to understand that this is the life of an entrepreneur, as well as a mom. Sometimes I wonder how they do it...those wondermoms! They seem to fit it all in, to have it all together. I know, I'm sure none of them feel this way, but at least they pull it off well.

Here's my truth - I am the mom known at pre-school for forgetting to bring the clean blanket back on Monday morning. The one that has to keep a back-up sippy cup in the car, so when I walk out the door without it, I can fake that I have it all together! I'm the mom always running late, crackberry in hand. But, I'm okay with this. Aubrey loves me anyway, and somehow I manage.

Our new rule in the Schaub household is from pick-up time at school to bedtime at home, it is our Aubrey time...no blackberries, no phone calls, we just enjoy our daughter. Then, at 8:30pm, (or 8:53 tonight), I'm back down on the computer, trying to catch up on the things I didn't squeeze in during the day.

My balls may bounce every now and then, but for the most part, I think I just have a beautiful sky of balls in the air...or as Aubrey likes to call them "bubbles"!