Poll your family & friends

2 down and 98 to go!  Second sale came in last night from a friend to whom I had sent a survey about my product.  I don't know about you, but I hate to directly ask my personal network to buy from me, and especially starting out, I was more interested in their feedback and likes to the Shop than their purchase.  If a purchase, now or later, comes out of the survey response, all the better!

A few days after I posted my first two items to my Shop, I sent out the following email to a targeted group within my network.  I then asked my mom, husband, brother-in-law, and brother to send a similar message on my behalf to their networks.  So far this 'grass roots' campaign has provided my first two sales. 

Hi All,

I am excited to announce that I have launched a paper craft business  named 'Keepin' It Fresh Creations' with the mission to 'Create experiences that light up peoples' faces.'  : )    The first products being offered are love coupon jars currently available in two themes - 'Mommy-To-Be Sanity Saver' - perfect as a baby shower centerpiece or shower gift, and 'Relationships' - perfect for anniversaries, engagements, or Valentine's Day. 

I would so appreciate you checking out my Shop and clicking 'Add Shop to Favorites' and 'Add Items to Favorites;'  the more people who do this will help bring the Shop to the top of the priority list via search engine optimization. 

SHOP Address:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/KIFCreations

Also, I am seeking feedback to improve my Shop and expand the product line.   Specifically, seeking your input in these areas -
1.  Does the product description and product pictures pique your interest? 
2.  Have you seen a similar product?  If so, where?
3.  What do you like about the product?
4.  What would you suggest could improve the product?
5.  Who do you see as the target audience for the Mom-To-Be Jar?  Relationship Jar?
6.  Welcome any other feedback you have.  
 

100 Memory Makers Sold by Valentine's Day

Yup, that's my BHAG.... what's that noise... did I hear a collective groan from all the Marketing majors out there to my Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal reference? Well, with three weeks of Etsy selling under my belt and only one sale, I maintain that selling 99 more Memory Makers in the next 101 days is very big, very hairy, and very audacious!  But, you know what, I AM going to do it, and I am going to do it by trying out every off the wall sales and marketing strategy that will help me achieve this goal, one Memory Maker at a time. 

For the next 101 days, this blog is going to be used to chronicle my marketing successes and failures (hopefully more of the former than the latter).  I promise full candor, documenting the highs and lows of bringing a product to market. 

It is an understatement to say that I am excited about this BHAG... I am so energized, beyond motivated, and so ridiculously driven to market my own product and share the journey with all of you.  

Send me your zany, creative, and cutting edge sales strategies and I'll put them to the test and let you know the result!

Golden Nugget #3: Accomplish a scary act a day

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.    Muhammad Ali

Taking risks and learning from failure apparently are the cornerstones of entrepreneurial success.  This according to the many experts out there whose published success stories I have been gobbling up like a 3 year old let loose in a candy store.  Having acknowledged I have the 'entrepreneurial bug,' I have come to crave my daily dose of entrepreneurial success.  Reading about the vast, varied, and crazy ways in which products and services come to life fuel my passion and drive to create my own successful enterprise.  Now that I've waded far enough into the entrepreneurial waters to know what's possible,  I'm realizing it's one thing to read about others' success and collect golden nuggets along the way, and a totally different beast to actually begin to dabble my big, manicured toe into the entrepreneurial waters with my own ideas - try them out, see what works and what doesn't work. 

This my friends is risk, and as your typical Type A personality, I am failure-averse, I mean I REALLY do not like to fail, so this whole risk-taking business is a very uncomfortable, actually unnatural state for me.  So I have put out a challenge to myself - I can't go to bed at night until I have done something 'scary.'  By SCARY I mean , make that phone call I've been putting off, send out one more email inquiry, register for that entrepreneurial networking group - basically challenge myself to do today what I might have a tendency to put off to tomorrow because it's a little or a lot out of my comfort zone.  Let's see how this all goes!

Golden Nugget #2 - Stop overTHINKING... just LISTEN

Over the last four months I have spent a lot of time THINKING about the perfect focus for my entrepreneurial venture.  This THINKING has been excrutiatingly frustrating for me as I am someone who always seeks the big picture before diving in to make it all happen.  I found myself paralyzed, unable to act without the clarity of the end state/North Star to guide my actions. 

It all came together for me last night while driving home from work in the rain.... Out of frustruation I turned to a new tactic Listen instead of Think.  This concept of 'Listening to my inner voice' would typically  have had me laughing outloud, but damn, it acutally worked

Secrets to finding clarity:

1. Stop dwelling on, 'I don't know,'  YOU DO KNOW - just stop overthinking and LISTEN!!  For me, the suble shift in thinking from 'I don't know the vision for my venture' to 'I KNOW the vision for my venture' was powerful.
2. Determine the root cause of being stuck.  For me, the root cause came down to, 'It is easier to stay unclear and confused about my venture's vision, and keep repeating, 'I don't know,'  than to make the leap into the unknown (aka unplanned) and really go after what I want.'  That was an unacceptable state to be in, so I recognized the leap had to happen SOON!
3. Break the stalemate.  I knew I had to stop waiting for the perfect plan to be put in place and recognize that any answer I could stand behind was the right answer, maybe not the PERFECT answer, but as long as it felt good to me it was the right answer and triggered my action. 
4. Keep clarity alive through action.  My end state is so not even close to clear to me, BUT I've seen a glimmer of clarity of what I'm striving to develop and that speck of clarity has allowed me to take one step, and I'm confident the next step will make itself known.

For all you Fabulous females out there waiting to get 'unstuck,' I challenge you to take the time to stop thinking and just listen, as life speaks to us constantly - it's up to us to figure out what she is trying to say.

Golden Nugget #1 - Know Thy Self

• Are you successful by society standards, but not your own?
• Are you really good at what you do but yearning to break out of your comfort zone and devote your energies to work that really matters, work that you'll be proud to call your legacy?
• Does the thought of creating something unique and totally all your own keep you up at night with excitement?

Yeah, me too!

This blog is dedicated to the many other fabulous females out there, living the good life, but instinctively knowing that their potential has not been fully tapped into, and they will leave no stone unturned until figuring out exactly what path they need to pursue to fully and completely live the lives of their dreams.

I'm talking to you, Ms./Mrs. driven, accomplished, inquisitive, intuitive, adventure seeking, fun-loving, need to keep it fresh and new, FABULOUS YOU!

Have I caught your attention??  Good.  I invite you to join me on what is sure to be an amazing journey to unlocking our full potential to living the lives we've imagined and know we deserve.  I have come to realize that my passion is fueled by living and delivering unique and memorable experiences.  My FABULOSITY entrepreneurial brain child is multi-faceted with the focus on bestowing the secrets of opulent living to other fabulous females.  This blog will document from start to finish my transformation from successful executive to successful entrepreneur and from these experiences create an Entrepreneur's Tool Kit that will enable your fabulousness to surface and shine leading to the creation of a life that plays to your strengths and fulfills you!

In the words of Henry David Thoreau, Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you have imagined.  How could you possibly resist THAT temptation?