I didn't think I would get discouraged from putting my Bloomsies in an auction. Bloomsies was part of a booth at the Northwest Women's Show at the beginning of March. Since being a part of that show, I have had countless emails from people asking me to donate a Bloomsie for their fundraising events. Unfortunately, I can't constantly donate. I wish I could. There are so many great causes out there and I'd love to be a part of helping them out. From a business point of view though, Bloomsies is small and I could lose too much giving it all away for free. Even if it is for a good cause and advertising. By them asking though, it gave me confidence, and so I donated one to a cause close to my heart. Keeping this in mind, I decided to go to the auction and see how the Bloomsie did.
Advertising... a tricky subject. Twitter, Facebook, I donate, I word of mouth, and have recently launched into trade shows. I am finding that I can do all this (its mostly just time and a little money), but it may not be worth it for my company unless I'm reaching my target client. How do I reach my target client? Who is this? What is her profile? How do I find out that I am reaching this person, without breaking the bank?
Recently I went to a seminar on "how to build your brand." The first thing the speaker said was find your client. Target your client. We then designed profiles of our target clients. (Yes, I was trying to answer the questions that I just asked... and yes, I still am!) The profile I created was that of one of my favorite clients already. I called her Margie. She was my model and if I could clone her, I am sure I'd hit the mark with the Bloomsies! I left the seminar feeling rejuvenated and ready to conquer the world of business... full force!
Isn't it funny how one evening can knock the wind out of your sails. One of the set backs of life. This makes me think of the movie You've Got Mail, when Tom Hanks' character says, "Its not personal, its business." Don't we tend to take the things we care about personally, even in business? Isn't that what gives a company passion and drive to grow? I don't know... really. I am just throwing out the question, maybe hoping to get an answer. Maybe not.
I wish that my business was easy. I wish I had invented the little plastic tabs at the end of the shoelace. Brilliant! A need we didn't realize we had, until one day, that tab made sticking the lace through the little hole of the tennis shoe easy. Or, how about the coffee cup cuff? WHAT!?! I think that is awesome! Yes, we need this!
I have a friend who has created a product, that in my mind, is one of those brilliant products. It is a need that people have, but how does she make them understand they have it? Different than my Bloomsies. Bloomsies are a gift. A unique gift that brightens up a day and can be used and used again. Which brings me back to the beginning of this blog.
I donated a Bloomsie for the Center of Battered Women Auction yesterday. I stalked through the silent auction checking out the items, and keeping my eyes on my donation and the bid sheet. Watching the people respond to it, I had mixed emotions. I couldn't tell what they thought. Maybe I was just hoping for too much, and maybe the woman who won the Bloomsie is home with it and thinking, "Look what I got for such a good deal! I love it!" She got it for very little money and didn't have hardly anyone bidding against her. There it is. I wanted it to get more bids. A bid war would have been so great! That would have been such an ego boost!
This blog has become more banter than blogging. With that I think I'm going post it into cyber space and celebrate the fact that I have a business that I love. I will continue to work at it and try not to let this discourage me. I will, today, be working on ideas to develop Bloomsies and hopefully come up with something that will be pure genius and create a need for a gift that fits every time! Oh help me, I have found another hill to climb, when all I want is a window to open.
