Nana update

I try to use the blog as an inspirational tool for the business, but today, I am cheating, so please excuse the big belly pictures! Since my husband and I currently reside in South Florida, we are many, many miles away from all of our family and many friends. As this is the first grandbaby for my mom, now officially "Nana", I'm sure you can understand how excited she's been through this whole prego process! My mom is not only a incredibly supportive mom, but also my best friend, and I am thrilled to share this experience with her. So, mom, here's your promised pic...I am getting rounder by the day!

Our little "RuffleButt" is a mini-acrobat and it is so fun to watch her grow so much at this stage. Although we are super busy with the business right now, Mark and I finally took some time this weekend to go check out some needed baby products. It is such a funny feeling walking through the store with our little registry gun, realizing that we really have NO idea what we are doing as 1st-time parents!! There are so many products out there, I am really depending on my mommy friends to guide me in the right direction.

I also have to take this time to thank all of my super supportive fellow-mommy business owners. Your warm wishes, emails of support, and baby gifts are incredibly appreciated! I am so excited to deck out our little "RuffleButt" in so many of my favorite small-business brands. And you better believe I will be promoting the heck out of your businesses to all of my new mommy friends! I couldn't ask to be a part of a more supportive group of women...you are all fabulous!

Up and down

Any mom, grandma, business owner, or really any person can relate to me here...but sometimes I am just plain worn out! As women, we sometimes have the natural tendency to look at others and wonder how in the world they hold it all together. We compare ourselves, and resurrect that nasty little emotion called guilt. I keep in touch with a few other business owners and one of them yesterday just kept telling me how she was a bit overwhelmed by this whole business thing. I can totally relate to her and told her that I understand, but she will get through this and is definitely not alone!

Well, today, I need that pep-talk of my own. Please don't get me wrong, I totally love what I do and feel enormously blessed to have this opportunity, but today, I am just tired. I have decided that our little angel-to-come is a future gymnast, or karate champ, or something else crazy active!! She has a little pattern of getting a little wild and crazy around 5:00 in the evening and it continues all night long! Last night, after a 12 hour day at the office, I was just so darn exhausted, I slept through most of it, but I can't say that for the night prior.

Okay, I am almost done with my whining, I promise!! So today, I am finalizing those big decisions that I mentioned earlier this week and dealing with more production delays (I am learning that production delays are just a requirement to be in this business!). The delays don't affect any of our customers (yet), since I planned so far in advance - learned my lesson last season, but it is still a big headache and keeps me up at night! I am so glad today is Friday, as it is a welcomed break this week. I have been so excited about the business lately, and I definitely am still on that up, but I just need a little rest to keep me going.

See, you are not alone!! We all have our days. I used to feel extremely guilty about them, but I am starting to accept the fact that I am human and just have days a little less up than others.

Have a great weekend!

Share a Smile Day!

I wasn't sleeping well last night and found myself with a million thoughts...new designs for RuffleButts, conversations that I needed to have with vendors, registering for the baby, and then the thought crossed my mind...what I have I done to share a smile lately? This is always a number one priority for me personally and with this business, but sometimes I find myself so caught up in my daily life, I forget to take a minute for someone else.

So, today my goal is to share a smile. I am also going to call the local Starlight Starbright Organization to plan a day for RuffleButts to volunteer our time.

This is your little reminder to think of something small that you can do today to share a smile with someone in your world. Maybe making a call to schedule your own volunteer project. Or possibly you have a mommy friend in despirate need of a little help. Maybe a phone call to your grandmother/grandfather would totally make their day (oh, I need to add that to my list too!).

I also have to take this moment to thank those of you that take the time to comment here at the RuffleBlog. I know sometimes it can be impersonal when you type in your comment and don't receive a reply, but I want you to know that every one of your little comments, words of encouragement and input, always puts a smile on my face. It is just nice to know that someone out there cares about what I have to say....so, thank you!

No Slippy Hair Clippy

You all know how I am always preaching about how much us entrepreneurs have to stick together in this crazy world? Well, I needed advice, so I turned to the owner of this fabulous company, and she totally came through! It is extremely important to me to support my fellow business owners and give advice whenever I can (not that I am the oh-so-experienced one), but if I have a lesson learned to pass along, I am always more than happy to do so. Unfortunately, I have learned in life that not everyone is on this same page, especially in business. I understand why and respect others business practices, but my philosophy will never change.

So anyway, I needed some advertising advice and decided to call Annie, the Co-Founder and President of No Slippy Hair Clippy, whom I had met at the Boom Boom Room in CA this past January. Annie was so friendly, that when I noticed her company in a publication that we were considering for marketing purposes, I decided it was worth a call. Annie was beyond friendly and supportive, giving me her opinion and feedback from her past experiences. No Slippy Hair Clippy is an adorable company that has done a fabulous job of branding themselves...something I also hope to accomplish! I highly value Annie's opinions and am so grateful to her for sharing.

We have never really done any advertising in the past, but are at a crossroads in our business where I believe it is time to take the plunge...next month marks 1 year in sales!!! We are ready to ramp up, so wish me luck, as I have some major decisions to be made this week!

Thanks Robin!

I must say that it totally made my morning when I checked our google analytics (by the way, if you are a website owner, this program is a must-have) to find a larger than usual amount of traffic coming from iVillage.com. Turns out that this sweet lady who saw our RuffleButts in babytalk Magazine, shared her find with other moms on the message board...

" I saw this ad in a magazine I was reading at the doctor's today, I just thought they were too cute! I'm sure there's places to buy the same thing other than this website, I just haven't found it yet. Just thought I'd share!!!
http://www.rufflebutts.com
~Robin"

I know it sounds silly, but it is always such validation when I receive feedback from others who appreciate my work! Of course, I have faith in what I am doing, but it is so tremendously rewarding and makes it so exciting to keep plugging away, when others agree!

If you are a fan of RuffleButts, I am so grateful when you take the time to share your opinions about our products...on blogs, message boards, and recommendations to tv shows, magazines & websites. You would be amazed what a little posting like this can do for a small business. Back when Kari Way took a few minutes out of her day to recommend RuffleButts to lilsugar.com, we received more website hits in one day than we had ever received before! It really takes a ton of time and even more work to share our creations with the world, and I am so touched, as always, so have the support of so many amazing women out there behind us!

PoshMama

Looking for a hip mom networking site. This is one I have really enjoyed as a social networking site for the business as well as an advertising forum...

Posh Mama Online Magazine and Social Network is a positive and upbeat community made up of women from around the world. You will feel immediately welcomed as it is the sweetest spot on the 'net. Come hang out, network and make some great friends at www.poshmama.com.

Mommy question

Okay, I am calling on our mommies for some design input here...

On the little summer tops with the thin straps, do you prefer that they tie, so they are adjustable, or do the ties make you insane?? We have a new style for Spring 09 and I am debating as to whether or not we make the ties adjustable, or we sew them in place with a bow, so they have that look, but don't come untied.

Thank you in advance for your time and help!!

Now That's Progress!

Ruffle Intern: V

This week has taken me in a million different directions...

I feel as though everything that needed/needs to be done was sort of shoved into this one week. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing but it has certainly been kicking my butt to get on top of everything on my agenda, both work-wise and in a personal sense. 

Coming home from school for an extended period of time usually means playing catch-up on taking care of myself and making sure I'm healthy and doing what I need to be doing. In other words, doctor appointments...lots and lots of doctor appointments. Unfortunately I had to schedule one of them during the work day so between that and Amber being out of town earlier this week, I haven't had much in-office time. 

And yet! I feel like I have learned and progressed a lot this particular week! I took on many tasks including graphic design, web design, and customer service. I really enjoy the creative aspects of this field, and I especially love designing graphics for various projects. This week I worked on creating a couple of banners for different apparel sets for the RuffleButts website. I've never done graphics for a website before and it was interesting to work within a different structure. 

I also handled a lot of customer/retailer phone calls, which was great for me because as you may know (and as I have mentioned a couple times before :P), phone skills are not my strong point. But it was no problem! I tell ya, it is so important to push yourself out of your comfort zone and get acquainted with something new. It's a great feeling to tackle something that previously made me uncomfortable. 

I appreciate everything that comes my way here at RuffleButts and am going to make the most of my last week and a half!

-V

P.S. The "Make Your Mark" shirts finally came in! They look great! I am so anxious to hear what you all think about them :)

Keep your head up

Since starting this business over a year ago, I have had good days, rough days, days when I am walking in the clouds, days when I want to hide in my bed, days when I want to strangle someone, and days when I just can't believe how lucky I am to be pursuing a dream and running my very own business! This job is like any other in many ways, it is not perfect, it requires a TON of work, and it definitely keeps me on my toes. The major difference is that it is very personal. They are my creations that I am sharing with the world, my customers, my sales goals, my successes, and my failures. As much as you say business is business, it is still very personal.

Through this experience I have been so fortunate to "meet" some amazing people on this same roller coaster. Women that have launched their own businesses, pursuing their own dreams. Over the past week, I have spoken with three incredible women, Lina of Mia Belle Baby, Rachel of Comfort Matters Inc., and Maria of MamaOm, all on a very similar path. Yesterday, I spoke with Lina on the phone after receiving an email from her that reminded me so much of myself in the early stages of launching www.RuffleButts.com. Lina is a super talented designer, but also, so importantly, she is a hard-working business person. As she is launching her line, which she has been developing for the past year, she is facing the same obstacles that so many of us face, not only in the beginning, but many days along this journey.

Lina went on a few sales calls last week and although she received orders for her brand new products within the first few sales calls, which says a ton about her line, she heard her first negative reactions. This is always so tough to swallow because any negative feedback makes you second guess your own decisions. This conversation with Lina took me immediately back to my very first trade show, where IF someone actually stopped to talk to me, half of them had their own opinions to contribute..."you should have used a different color button", "this print is awful and won't sell well", "oh, this will be your best seller". Funny things is, they were all wrong!! I took their opinions so seriously the first time around, but as I slowly figured out that they were just that, the opinions of a few, I realized that I should trust my gut. I won't always be right, but so far, so good. I also quickly learned that your products will not be liked by everyone...there is not a single product on this planet that is.

So many of us will have these days where we second guess ourselves...our design choices, fabric selections, advertising options, do we or don't we hire help, do you take on PR on your own or work with a specialist, who do you trust to manufacture your products...this list goes on and on. Sometimes I second guess the way I handle challenging situations. Sometimes I come down hard on myself when our sales slow down for a few weeks. But I guarantee you, no matter how little or how long you have been in this business, or any business for that matter, you are not alone. We are all on this insane roller coaster of a ride with loops, hills, twists and turns. Have faith in yourself, push through to tomorrow, and take time to reward yourself for little victories. To be honest, one of the things that gets me through my really rough weeks is to pull up my old emails from customers praising our products and my business. I am blessed to have the most supportive, considerate, amazing customers in the world and they make what I do worth it.

Keep your head up and your sights set forward, don't compare your business and/or products to others, turn to mentors when you can, and share your knowledge with those behind you.

The End Is Near!

Ruffle Intern: V

I tell ya, this week it really hit me that summer is beginning to wind down.
I sat down with Amber at the beginning of the week to discuss how my internship has gone thus far. We discussed my progress as well as things I still need to work on (Phone skills! It's just not my thing!). My internship will be over come the end of this month and I can't believe how soon that is--the days are creeping past me. There are still so many things I am looking forward to this summer before I head back to New York for school, but then there is also the ever-looming summer projects for my senior thesis that I am working on. Unfortunately, those deadlines are creeping up too.

Over the summer I am suppose to design three major apparel collections. Of those three collections, I will have to choose one next semester and create it for my senior thesis. I am so nervous! This is it...the final push, the final year of college before I'm out. I hope I can create something that I am proud of and that shows off all the hard work and effort I've put into the previous three years.
We shall see...