Good Quotes: Life's Worth

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

The Big 10

We just hit the big 10. LikeWear now has independent sales representatives in 10 states. We’re on a roll. Can total world domination be far behind? I jest – but in all seriousness, our business concept is one that easily translates to an international platform. It’s not something we would even consider until we had our domestic business secured, but its part of our long, long term plan.

For now, we are proud, thrilled and encouraged to keep focused on the work at hand. There’s plenty of it. But it’s starting to really pay off.

The women who have signed with us have had wide ranging skill sets in regard to past experience. Some have sold other merchandise out of their house before or via multi-vendor shows. A few dabbled in some entrepreneurial selling during college or soon after graduation. And many have had no specific sales experience – just a love for shopping for their kids and a desire for the opportunity for career fulfillment and to earn some extra money.

What’s interesting to me, is that there does not seem to be any correlation between past sales experience (of any kind) and current performance. Certainly it has been easier for the women who are already aware of the local selling events in their area as it is less leg work in respect to research and sign ups. But when it comes time for the actual selling (to boutique retail stores or direct to customers), the most important factor seems to be a love for the merchandise – an adoration fashioned (pun intended) by seeing their own kids’ reaction.

As the “mother hen” of this group, I get a thrill each time one of our new reps – with little or no past selling experience – holds their first home show and far exceeds not only their own, but our expectations as well. What do I attribute this to you ask?

LikeWear merchandise is easy to sell. There are no product demonstrations to give, no explanation of benefits needed and no presentations to make. Of course, as a rep you need to be familiar with sizing – but that’s about it. And I know it sounds cliché to say, but the clothes sell themselves.

Why do they sell themselves? Because our clothes feature popular and recognizable products that people know and like. Behold the power of marketing and branding! Of course, we source high quality blank apparel and like to think we’re unique and creative in our use of our licensing partner’s brands, but the fact is - licensed products sell. The recognition of these brands is also what attracts “the moms” to us – for our selling opportunity.

10 states and counting. The popularity of the brands we feature knows no state boundaries… and neither do LikeWear’s clothing and accessories. Look out world!

The Old Switcheroo

My shopping style has changed dramatically in the past 18 months. I used to fill an entire afternoon wandering from store to store – perusing this, trying on that, rationalizing prices and feeling triumphant every time I used a coupon or got a great sale deal. I’d buy piecemeal – a little here, a little there. I obviously don’t have the free time I once did to do that kind of shopping.

Nowadays I vacillate between buying more expensive items because they are “just what I was looking for” and filling an entire shopping cart to the brim at stores like Old Navy (even Target sometimes) where once or twice a season I can shop for everyone in the family (including the dog) in one fell swoop and then later return whatever doesn’t fit or isn’t liked.

I recently had such a back-to-school spree at Old Navy. Fortunately, my kids and husband all liked what I bought. Even the dog gave an approving sniff to the bumble bee costume I had purchased for her (I know, I know, Halloween already you say? But, it’s never too early to snatch up the good canine ones!). The only “misfits” from my binge were 2 pairs of pajama pants for my 9 yr. old son. They simply weren’t as comfy as his LikeWear lounge pants – and I quote. Shameless plug, but totally true. But, I digress… as I was putting away in various closets all the new and approved purchases, I discarded all the plastic hangers that came with the clothes in an empty shopping bag to be thrown away as garbage, and left the 2 pants to be returned in another bag.

It was tough enough finding the time to go shopping in the first place. Now for the really hard part – carving out more time to go back and return the 2 PJ pants. The bag sat in my car for almost 2 weeks – at the ready in case my travels took me back past the store. Finally my Mom mentioned that she was going to Old Navy yesterday afternoon. Of course, she didn’t mind bringing something back for me.

She waited on a very long and slow moving line, walked up to the register and handed the saleswoman my bag and asked her to please apply the credit to her purchase. The saleswoman looked inside the bag and said, “What exactly are you returning?” “2 pajama pants”, my mother explained. “My daughter gave them to me to bring back. They are in the bag you are holding.” “Really?” the sales clerk questioned, “because this bag is just filled with old plastic hangers.”

How can I be so focused and “on” most of the time and so scatterbrained and “off” sometimes too? Must be the stress. I really should try shopping online. Think there is a site that sells brain upgrades?

Busy Body

How can I be so incredibly, nerve-rackingly busy all day long and still feel like there is so much to do?!?! I’ve mentioned a few ways (in prior posts) to be in the moment and appreciate all that gets done as opposed to what has yet to be completed, but that is such a difficult concept to put into practice! I’m really trying – seriously. Every day I try to be kinder to myself and recognize my daily accomplishments. I try to focus on the “cross-outs” of my lists instead of the “new additions”. I’m so forgiving of others but I can be so demanding of myself.

This thinking likely stems from the pressure of running and growing a new and fast-moving business. I’m looking for some additional support people and their hire will help me. But for now it’s primarily up to me to not let things slip through the cracks. I don’t want emails to go unanswered and phone calls to go unreturned. I want inventory to be ordered and replenished in a timely fashion. I want orders to ship out as quickly as possible… back-orders bug me. They’re inevitable, I know. But I like it when things are orderly and clean (despite what my house looks like come the end of the weekend!).

Do I sound like I’m complaining? I don’t mean to. Busyness at this stage of LikeWear’s life cycle equates to business – as in we’re doing well. Given the state of the current economy, that says a lot. Also, I have several friends that are bored out of their minds during the day. They look upon me and all my daytime productivity (and frenzy) with envy. I know my soul thrives on this type of chaos in many ways - but the grass is always greener. I think I might enjoy a little boredom once in a while. You know, for about 5 minutes or so.

Help Wanted

Wow! Has it really been a full week since I’ve added to this blog? The past 7 days have been chaotic and stressful – in fact, I feel as though I’ve been out of breath since I got out of bed last Sunday! LikeWear had several big orders come in, we signed 3 new independent sales reps and my all-around “right hand” assistant was on vacation (how dare she!).

I’m an “if you want it done right you should do it yourself” kind of person. I don’t delegate well. However, that mindset, I know, is a recipe for disaster in an entrepreneurial venture. There is simply too much to do. I can’t do it all. But, I haven’t wanted to take the time to cut back on productivity (even if only for a few days) to train additional people to take on some of the added responsibility. Last week we had several big orders come in - a direct result of our newly acquired independent sales reps - and it quickly became apparent that we need to hire more people. Last week I did everything (actually, truth be told, it got so busy mid-week I had my mother working for us too!). Staying lean and mean is one thing but as I posted in a quote not long ago, “Just because you can do it yourself, doesn’t mean you should do it yourself”. And sometimes, if you are fortunate enough to reach a certain level of growth, it becomes impossible to do it all.

So, one stiff neck and 2 dark-circled eyes later, I am interviewing and resigned to not be short-sighted. I may have to extend (albeit temporarily) my delivery times while I train some new people, but it will only increase our productivity dramatically in the long run. There’s no more denying the inevitable. We need to hire additional people. I will have to learn to delegate more and trust fully in the capability of others. This trust is crucial and necessary for continued growth. And it will be a challenge that I know I will have to overcome.

Home Team Advantage

My kids play town sports. They are, of course, taught the rules and how to play each of the games in which they participate (soccer, lacrosse, basketball, football, etc.) but, regardless of the sport, they learn the art of how to be a part of a team. To me, that is the important part: to know how to be an effective team player. Mastery of that skill is essential on and off the field or court.

With that said, I felt it was long overdue for me to mention the other half of my team - my partner, co-founder and husband, Ken. Most company decisions are run through both of our brains. Even the idea of LikeWear was a joint conceptual effort. I was responsible for the overall business concept while Ken had the vision, business connections and quite frankly the energetic spirit (caffeine responsible for much of it!) to lay the groundwork – or should I say put in the grunt work – for establishing LikeWear as the first and only company to sell licensed apparel via the direct sales channel.

Remarkably, Ken and I have been able to work together and remain happily married (most of the time anyway!) since LikeWear’s creation in 2006. We have a shared view of what this company will look like in the future and we are equally committed to making that dream become a reality.

To that end, each of our daily lives has changed significantly over the past year. We have both had to step outside of our comfort zones. Ken left his job in the video game industry to work on what we at first were calling my “successful hobby”. Working from home has been an adjustment in and of itself – as he has always been involved in some kind of corporate environment. He has traded in an expense account and a company gym for a Costco account and workouts in our basement. I have gradually moved from a non-working stay-at-home Mom to a Mom that works part-part-time to part-time to most-of-the-time to what now feels like all-of-the-time! I have missed out on some of my kids activities due to work conflicts and have been forced to cope with the unfamiliar feeling of not being able to get it all done.

Running a business is more complicated than I expected. But so is being a parent. I think often of my elementary school days when the gym teacher would select captains who would then one-by-one select people to be on their team. As CEO of LikeWear I am essentially the captain of this team. I want to work with the best. A good team player can sense when his/her teammates need assistance and they rise to the challenge. They encourage and remain confident even when defeat seems near. And they never give up. That’s how I describe Ken. And that’s why he will always be my first pick.

Multi-Tasking Secrets: Menus Eliminate Mayhem

Okay, I admit it. I can be a little anal. I’ve had to relax my standards quite a bit though upon embarking on creating a new business and running it out of my house. Last year some of my most stressful moments involved figuring out and and preparing what each of my 3 kids wanted to eat for breakfast. In the morning, every second counts. All it takes is one “bump” on my daughter’s scalp while she’s trying to tie up a smooth, tight ponytail to send the mood of the entire household into a fast, downward spiral (meaning: everyone grab a bag of cookies on our way out the door as there’s no time for breakfast because I’ve spent all my time styling hair). And don’t even get me started on dinnertime in and around hebrew school and everyone’s conflicting sports team practices. There’s nothing worse than first arriving home at 7:30pm with 3 sweaty kids and nothing prepared for dinner. Can you say frozen pizza – again?!?!?!

Like anything else, moderation is the key. I believe being anal in regards to certain aspects of your life can be extremely beneficial. To that end, I have instituted a new policy in my house which coincided with the start of the new school year: Food Menus.

I have a set schedule as to what my kids will be having for breakfast and dinner during the week. We work together to make the choices and once the schedule is complete it is posted in the kitchen for all to see. Now, not only do I know exactly what I need to shop for at the supermarket each week, but I also don’t have to wait until I am graced with my kids’ presence in the kitchen before doing the cross check of what they each want for breakfast vs. what we actually have in the pantry and refrigerator. I can actually get started in the kitchen preparing breakfast while my “3 musketeers” are upstairs getting dressed, brushing their teeth, putting their pajamas in the hamper and making their beds. Okay, so the last 2 items on the list are still a fantasy of mine - but a mom can dream can’t she? Now that the chaos of mealtimes seems to have been quieted, can clean and organized bedrooms be far behind?

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

On this, the eve of back-to-school for my kids, I offer up few words. I’d like to simply share one of my favorite commercials which sums up my feelings tonight. Please click on the link below, laugh and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPIIMbG9R4w