When Mom Says No, Ask Dad....

Happy Christmas Eve!!! WHAT A YEAR! This will probably be my last blog post of the year and boy have a learned A LOT!

2014 turned out to be a true test of my resilience and biz partner's as well. We both had HUGE personal events that would derail most and admittedly, we were distracted for part of the year. As a fairly new business owner, I've learned there is NO cruise control. If you don't DO something, NOTHING at all will happen in your business.

I'd mentioned in the past that I was pretty clueless on marketing and even though we floundered and flopped around like a fish out of water at the beginning of the year, near the end, we got our arms around what we need to do and have a solid plan for 2015.

We set out to get on more SHELVES this year, we did secure a few more but nowhere near what we would have liked. THAT will change in 2015.

This year we did the 12 Months of Giving Campaign to honor our WONDERFULLY supportive customers and friends and man oh man, that campaign brought a joy to me that's hard to describe but even more important than that, it showed me people's spirit and love and WOW, that was almost overwhelming.

I had temporarily forgotten a VERY important lesson that I am now chanting in my head and that is the title of this post. Let me explain, We applied to QVC THREE times before they accepted us an when they did WE WON. I know full well that when someone tells you NO, you keep asking, you keep trying, you keep working. I had forgotten that for a little while this year but best believe, I'm back on track!

Speaking of QVC, I have to end this with a quick note about assumptions. I had assumed that the purchase order from QVC was a one time thing related to having won the contest. Biz partner says, "No, I didn't get that notion so ask them when they'd like to place another order since we're now sold out." QVC didn't hesitate and said, "Yes! We want more! Send them to us by 1/6/15." What if we never asked? What if I didn't have someone to say, "No, ask them!"

So remember, as you head into 2015, ASK for what you want. When Mom says No, Ask Dad.
Don't give up. Your LIFE (business at least) depends on it!

As always, thanks for reading. I am thankful for you...
Nikki