I AM HIGH. My husband got me high. My kids got me high. And then I got high with a stranger. BUT ... it’s all business I swear.
It has been a pretty cold and grey winter. I know my Instagram is filled with every sunny moment, from travels to happy smiling snaps...but behind all that it’s been a day by day battle to build the business and NOT let the weather get to me. The good news, the work is paying off. We ‘made’ our February plan and just yesterday as we welcomed April, we ‘made’ our March plan. THIS IS HUGE. I have to take a moment to let myself be THRILLED with the success. Woo hoo. Party!
My monthly realizations:
- Having a start-up is a mental game for me. Positivity. Forward momentum. They are daily challenges. I have been on some highs, and I’ve had some dark lows. But I KNOW, and you will see in the quotes I post on Instagram - pushing forward is what it’s all about. Building this business is FUN and it takes perseverance. I’m all in, even though sometimes I think I can’t do it.
- My plans are not high enough. I need to spend more on marketing and I need to raise my plans to cover these expenses (which will also result in more sales if the marketing is right). DAM that marketing - it’s so fun but it’s so expensive. Expenses are a bit higher than I budgeted, I TRAVEL more, I’m livin’ while I build this and it costs more than I planned. So - I have to try and spend less (UGH HELL) and raise my sales plans.
- People are helping me, I have never been great at asking for help, but their help is critical to my success. CRITICAL. And that’s why, on April 2nd, I am HIGH. I did not get high alone, here are my conspirators:
The biggest of the big pictures? MY CUSTOMERS get me high. I’m in LOVE with every person who purchases a piece from Jane Winchester. It’s crazy how much I appreciate the support. I know they buy because they love the piece. But they are also helping me create the brand. The shipping list from last week was my dream - we shipped to Washington state, Texas, Kansas, Florida, Pennsylvania and California! That. Is. My. Dream. Shipping. List. My last business, Jane Fox, was built on east-coast prep...and Lilly Pulitzer is also predominantly east coast.. I LOVE the east coast but I want to build a brand that is not all prep and has customers all over the US. I love that women from all over the US who are responding to the brand. I also love that you are buying JW for yourself or a friend. Who needs to wait for a man - buy yourself jewelry. OMGGGGGGG this gets me so high.
At the end of February I said that I will work my ass off though March and make it to ‘spring break’ and let myself relax. Well, that all got screwed! The month of March started slower than February, so I was stressed everyday. And when it came to pack and leave for a spring break trip to the Dominican (with my Mom and two daughters), there was a late March totally ffff-ed snowstorm. Our flight was cancelled, trip cancelled. My mom and I stayed up all night and found a trip to Puerto Rico. Having my #girlgang time gets me SO HIGH. I can’t live without it.
The greatest HIGH? The high you get from strangers. My bff mentioned a friend-of-a-friend Kristin, in Austin, that might know of some great places for a trunk show. AND SHE DID. I sent an email asking for help, and she instantly hooked me up with a woman named Kate Kime who has a really cool interior/apparel/lifestyle store and brand. Katie heard I was a woman starting a new business, and hosted me for a trunk show. She didn't take a percentage of sales, she served rose (YAY) and tea-sandwiches, and she invited all her friends. Honestly, it was the nicest thing a stranger may have ever done for me. She said that she was helped by some people when she started, and she wanted to pay it forward. WOW. Did she ever. Super HIGH.
Austin was an incredible experience - I loved loved loved getting to know the town. I was very lucky to stay with friends in the coolest house (yes trying to control expenses but this was better than the Ritz!). I asked my daughter Tiki and my step-daughter Naomi to come with me to help. They were on Spring Break, thought Austin could be cool, and I need help - it's not a one woman job. If I thought all the other moments in March got me high, I am still on cloud nine because of the time I spent working with my kids. NOW, these are smart, savvy girls - and they ‘worked’ at the launch. But it’s a bigger gig to go to a new town, speak with women they didn't know and truly work. Tiki is 13! Naomi is 18! But we did it as a team. I trained them and talked about expectations. I bought them each fabulous outfits :). They set the bar very high - they were my partners. It is something I am so proud of and an all time business HIGH.
When I left Lilly Pulitzer, I left the greatest team I had ever worked with, and I was really scared of being alone. Working with a friend of a friend, partnering with another female business owner, having old OLD friends (CHRISTINA!) come to support me, selling JW to fabulous women, staying with friends, and then working side-by-side with my family showed me that there are different kinds of teams. ON TOP OF THAT...
Throughout this blog I have used the word "I". But whenever I say "I", I mean we...and that "we" is my husband Doug and me. We are 100% a unit together. Whenever I get sad or scared or discouraged he shows me that we are a team that is unbreakable. So my TEAM is getting me high!
AHHHHH so it’s April 2nd. And I have to stop being high :). I have to get back at it to make April. The plans are a bit higher. I don’t have a trunk show planned (help I need at least 1). I have to get down to business so that I get that business HIGH again. Stay tuned!
xx
