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I’ve never actually had a proper logo. Not a real one, so, in an effort to get my business act together I spent an inordinate amount of time making one.
Now I’m not going to tell you that whilst looking for a bird with the word “Delight” in it’s name I came across a “Twitchers Delight” which I thought was a simply wonderful looking bird. But it turned out that that isn’t the name of a bird but rather a term used to describe the sighting of a rare bird (or something to that effect).
I won’t tell you, because that would just make me look like an idiot…and we can’t let that cat out of the bag.
So it’s a twitchers delight wearing a crown. See where I’m going here? My little bird friend is the emperor of delightful birds.
I know I know, my genius is positively radiating from me.
He’s (no name yet, we’re still at getting-to-know-you stage) going to be absolutely every where soon. In fact the little fellow is already on this blog and on the website. Check out the website if you don’t believe me, and while you’re there, buy something. The soaps are fantastic value.
I’m coming up close to Empire of Delight’s one year anniversary. That moment when I thought starting a proper business in my final year of uni was a good idea. Considering it’s been less than a year and now I have a fully featured collection and products in shops I think I’m doing great. I mean, it took Andrew Forrest three years to just get the money for his business, let alone sending the product off to his customers.
Probably not a good comparison.
I think you can click on it to get a better look.
Today I spent the day wondering why everyone was so uncommunicative. No one was returning my calls and emails were being ignored. Some of them were very important (to me) and I spent the day hovering near the computer and clutching my phone hoping they would call me back.
Not a single person did.
Just as I was beginning to feel quite rejected and friendless I remembered it was a public holiday today everywhere except in Western Australia. All the communications had been to the eastern states so it was obvious why no one was talking to me.
They all had much better things to do today.
To make myself feel better I revamped the blog and took some more new product shots.
I’m not entirely happy with them yet and the banner needs redoing to give it that finished look but all in all I like the new blue colour scheme.
Oh and a snazzy new pic of me…really, I look just like that.
There are women doing amazing things in Australia. They remind me to never give up, and that hard work and persistence are the two most important traits to work on and develop.
This is an interview with Kelly Smith I found online at Marie-Claire.
What is more important, talent or drive?
Both. I find them equally important. You can be driven but without talent to know how to apply it, you can find yourself just driving, without purpose or even worse, in the wrong direction.
On a scale of one to ten, how significant a role does luck play when it comes to success?
One. As Thomas Jefferson once said, "I'm a great believer in luck. I find the harder I work, the luckier I am."
Which is more critical, the idea or the execution?
Execution. There are lots of great ideas, but if you don't have the drive, skills and stamina to properly execute the idea, then it will stay an idea and not a successful venture.
Is it better to be passionate or objective?
Passionate. Being objective is a learned skill, passion is innate.
What is most and least important? Please rank your priorities.
Understanding my own limitations. Knowing what I am not good at helps me to recruit the right team.
What is the one trait that has hindered you most in business?
Getting too excited and committing to projects only to find myself stretched too thin.
What is the hardest lesson you've learned and how did you learn it?
Winning at all costs is not winning at all. The best deals struck are those where both parties feel that they are winning. This means that you have to invest the time to understand the motivations of the person that you are doing business with so that you can leave something on the plate for them.
What is the one piece of advice you would offer other women in business?
Don't underestimate yourself. Don't overestimate everyone else.
What are the biggest mistakes you see women making in business?
Trying to balance everything at the same time. You simply cannot be a friend, wife, partner, mother, daughter, sister, employer, entrepreneur, teacher, housekeeper, bill payer, chauffer, dog walker, mentor, cook, personal trainer...all at the same time. Ask for help and accept it when it is offered and prioritise. Some things really can wait until tomorrow.
Women in general don't take time to enjoy their non-work time. Weekends are not about catching up on all the work that you didn't get done through the week. Take time to recharge the batteries and have a little fun, you will be a better businesswoman for it.
MOZI have opened their first retail store in Hawthorn, Melbourne.
They mostly do home wares but also have a small line of bath and body products. In five years MOZI has grown from an idea into a household name with products sold all across Australia as well as the UK and USA.
They seem to have a great team working for them which includes a Sales & Marketing Manager, a Wholesale Sales Manager, a Retail Store Manager, a Graphic Designer, a Bookkeeper, a Warehouse Manager and a Sales Administration resource. Plus they work closely with an IT consultant, a PR company, an Accountant, Lawyers (including an IP lawyer) & a Business Coach.
They are so inspiring and creative. Of course the plan is to one day eclipse them ;)
But for now they are a marker of where Empire of Delight could be in a mere half a decade.
I’ve set aside an entire notebook to be a to-do list for the business. It’s much better than writing on single pieces of paper and losing it before I’m halfway done. The problem is of course is that the list keeps getting longer as I keep adding new tasks to it.
Such as; wouldn’t it be nice to make a bigger better light box and redo all my pictures. Or; lets do a stock take…again. Or even; how can I make awesome shipping labels, because a business is defined by it’s clever and attractive shipping labels.
Sometimes these jobs are easy; like change shipping options on the wholesale shopping cart. Other times it’s like hitting your head against a brick wall because I want specially designed conformation emails for orders but my php knowledge is very poor. And on occasion it’s hard work like tiding up the storeroom after you haven’t done it for a while.
When it comes to starting a business I think the easiest thing is simply making the product. I’ve got the recipes and work process down. I can make all day if I need to it’s the other side that is never finished and never good enough.
There is ALWAYS something to do.
I’m adding a yellow and white gift wrap theme to the website as soon as I have five minutes to myself.
I just love gift wrapping, it makes me feel happy inside and it’s always a thrill to see my little soaps looking so pretty and dressed up for the day. This theme has a very pretty peacock feather added to it.
There are a couple of different sized boxes at my disposal for wrapping. It allows me more freedom when it comes to getting everything to fit in nicely. The smallest box I have is actually too small for my soaps but is perfect for a lip balm. Then the balms and butters themselves come in their own box and can look really pretty when wrapped individually.
So a yellow and white theme, with just a hint of black. What do you think?
I didn’t know whether to blog about this as I’d been back and forth in liking and loathing the idea. So today I just decided to like it and get over myself.
My agent is currently in possession of several media kits I made up which will be mailed or given to some influential Perth journalists and such. In the vain hope they will fall madly in love with Empire of Delight and feature me in a two page spread in their respective newspapers/magazines.
Obviously I’m setting the bar high.
So what are the lucky recipients getting? And just what do you put in a media kit anyway?
Well, I thought I’d blog a little on what I did and perhaps it will inspire you.
Media kits are often just a folder with sheets of paper in them. Obviously the paper has information on it but what about the folder? Perhaps you’re bored with the idea of just sending a folder. Or maybe you’d like to include a sample of your product like I did. I already had some boxes in my possession. They’re the boxes I use for gift wrapping and I chose clear lids for this project.
Pictured above is the box presentation. It just has a simple sticker I use for my product boxes on it. Those stickers are particularly shiny and of great quality so it looks really nice.
Media kits can contain a lot or a little information. Obviously you’ll need at least the basics. I made a little booklet to keep my information in, you can buy the instructions from marcadeartspress who have a shop on Etsy. It’s available in a downloadable pdf. I altered the pattern size so it fitted my box which was relatively easy to do.
The pages can be added in as you need them and easily changed.
So what information do you put in a media kit? First, add a cover page. What’s your company name? Do you have a logo? Add it here.
If you feel like it, put a contents page in next.
Then I added a short introduction page. It sums up quickly what your brand is all about and makes it easy for journalists to quickly summarise who you are.
Add some customer quotes.
Then a more extensive history. I chose first person for my about page, it’ll mean journalists have quotes they can use if they want to (for their two page spread).
Don’t forget the product shots. The best ones you have, make them look as good as possible.
Finally add a CD which has your catalogue and/or high resolution images. I made a little pocket for the CD, I think it looks cute.
And of course, make sure you add a sample for them. Everyone loves a freebie and it gives them a chance to see close up just how fantastic your products are.
And that concludes my super duper media kit tutorial. I hope it helps you.
Which is really exciting.
Do I feel like a bona fide business woman yet? Not while the kids are still on holidays.
Does it make me a bad mum to be happy the Christmas holidays are almost over? Whilst I love their adorable little faces I feel I may have to smother them with a pillow if I hear one more high pitched scream. Little J is getting particularly hard to deal with as she gets more bored over the holidays. This should be no surprise to anyone (she is female after all) but shopping is her favourite activity at the moment.
She recently acquired a Wayne Cooper jacket from Myer for a special event coming up and this is the problem…should an eight year old be allowed to have designer clothes before her mother? And should an eight year old have designer clothes full stop? Did I just create the next Paris Hilton?
I’m proud of her though, the girls got style and takes risks. I’ll take a picture as soon as I can because she’s got that certain something.
In soap making news, I’m still at it and the other day produced the best Modern Antiquity of my life.
The picture isn’t the best but I love the modern sculpture look to it. This block of soap will produce 48 individual soaps.
We’ve also been busy making more bookmarks for Little J’s Etsy store. Unfortunately…or perhaps not, they never make it as they keep selling before we put them on the internet.
She’s enjoying herself immensely making them and also making money. So far she’s made the equivalent of over seven weeks of pocket money doing less than a days work.
The little one is raking it in.
