Unexpected Annoyances!

At first glance Ellery appears to be enjoying the blissful warm showers of Springtime. Look Closer!

Yes, that is snow! She was freezing her little toes off when I shot this picture! What I want to know is when will this end? I am ready for Spring. Mother Nature doesn't seem to agree. About every 4 days this Spring we have had a snowstorm! Combine never ending snow and brand new baby and you see why I am fighting unbearable "stir-craziness!"

The weather isn't the only unexpected annoyance. I have found that since beginning this company, deadlines have a different meaning in the small business world than I had always thought. Essentially, it is pretty useless to set a deadline. Manufacturers, independent contractors, everyone has there own ideas, and I am definetly not in charge (yet?). It is like saying, from this day forward April 30th there will be no more snow. Yeah right. So what this means is I am desperately trying to stifle my rigid natural tendencies and become more flexible. I think these snowstorms are trying to teach me something on more than one level.

The Organized Mom: Cap Trapper Review

On Monday we had a great review from www.organizedmom.net. Whenever I send my cap trappers away, it's like a little piece of me gets packaged up inside too. So right now I am basically chopped up and scattered all over the country. Here is a bit of what Organized Mom had to say about Cap Trappers...

I have a wonderful beautiful 2 year old daughter… who has a fun white board… who NEVER and I mean NEVER replaces the caps on her dry erase markers. She is so anti-caps that she will take all the caps off of the markers and then line the markers up for whatever reason ... The caps end up in Maddie’s special hiding place which I have yet to find ... The markers become “broken” as we say to Maddie and we end up buying new markers so she can return to her love of drawing.

The good news? We have FINALLY found a solution! It’s called a Cap Trapper TM... Maddie is even enjoying putting the marker back in! She has also been spotted parading her set of three makers all trapped in their cap trappers...

Check out the whole review on the blog www.organizedmom.net. I love this whole network of moms helping moms, women supporting women, it feels so much safer than just throwing myself out to the corporate wolves (which, btw I soon will have to do to keep growing!).

White Board On-site Research

Today I went to visit some offices at the local university where cap trappers are being used. Eventually our professional edition will be sold with methods of adhering. I only want what works for people and what better way to find out then to ask! I went to get feedback and ideas for exactly what we should include in our professional package.


Their favorites were small white hooks on the side of the white board or flip chart. In a pinch, a rubber band was totally effective. For portability they also liked the small white clip. No one was particularly crazy about the suction cup. Do you have any thing you have used and would like to see marketed in the professional edition?


I took pippy (Callista my 2 1/2 year old) and she had quite a blast. In fact I got home to find 40 pictures on my camera, odd, since I only took about 10! Pip is quite the conversationalist and can break the ice in even the most awkward of situations, which is why I love to have her with me. There is nothing as disarming as a darling little girl gallantly carrying on a conversation with a 40 year old business man! She also quickly discovered the "Mr.Smelly Markers" hence, the purple nose! If I could just freeze her forever at this age I would!

SAHM Product in the Board Room?

I had a gratifying experience related to me today. Something to give hope and confidence to SAHM's everywhere. My dad told me a great story today. A coworker was giving a presentation, and had drawn a graph on the white board. He was fumbling with a fist-full of markers and finally turned to my dad in exasperation and said, "Where is your cap trapper? I need it!" My dad grabbed a cap trapper from his office and his colleague loaded his own markers in and breezed through his presentation with ease, cap trapper in hand. Glad to know they are helping out in lots of ways!

Who ever would have thought a lowly SAHM like me would design something useful in the board rooms of America! Power to all the mompreneurs out there!

Slings, BundleMe's and Cap Trappers? or To License or Not?

Two of my very favorite baby products are from www.jjcoleusa.com, my "urban" bundle me and my premaxx sling. I love them. At church Emmett was snuggled up close in my sling and I think half the congregation thought I had on a really big hand bag. I got away with that until the bag start squirming and making high pitched cries! I don't know how any mother of three children handles life without a baby carrier, unless by some genetic miracle she has enough arms to hold a baby, two little girl hands and a cell phone all at once! I love both of my JJCole products.

Today I visited their corporate headquarters and visited with the owner of JJCole, Jeremy for an hour. What a nice guy and a great entrepreneur. I met his father about 3 years ago in an Einsteins Bagel Cafe. I had just finished reading a classic book and one that I recommend to everyone, "How To Win Friends and Influence People." Consequently my social skills were highly tuned and we quickly connected. We found a common link, his son was an entrepreneur and my husband was. We chit-chatted and he noticed my awkwardly hanging blanket over my car seat. He told me he had the perfect product for me and a couple days later I received the stylish gray car seat blanket. (It matched my car seat perfect!) Subsequently my husband and his son (the owner of JJCole) have corresponded and shared entrepreneurial glories and woes!

Today was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting Jeremy. We talked about his business and I introduced him to Cap Trappers. He loved the product. We went on to discuss business strategy. The question of the day, whittled down to License or Not?
As my business moves forward I have to start making some decisions on what I really want. Ultimately I want all marker users to have cap trappers. I feel like the need and the potential is there. They must be accessible, right next to the markers. What is the best way to make this happen, and the most satisfying. If I were to license the idea to a large craft company, there would be immediate distribution. What could take me years to do on my own. But then I lose my little "baby." I have so many extensions and cool appealing designs and variations for children, offices and scrapbookers. What would happen to those? As a mom though, do I have the time and inclination to beat the doors it would require on my own? Things to think about!

The Blogger World

If pbskids.org had a blog, ellery and callista would be the number one posters I'm sure. Of course I have to teach them to type first! I had no idea of the community of bloggers on the web. My friends have some beautiful sites devoted to their families and I love checking up on all of them. However I am just beginning to delve into the networks of mothers and parents and vegetarians etc. I'm excited about the networking potential. I have always loved researching on the internet before I buy everything, but the whole blogging world adds a new and great twist on this. It is an instant forum for discussion. I think we are all more connected. But that does pose an interesting question, because we are all sitting alone at our computers! Hmmm.

Being a Newbie Entrepreneur and Extremely Vulnerable

A Newbie Entrepreneur...

Brent and I will have been married for 10 years in the fall. When I met him, he knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur. It seems like he was born with the tenacity and courage to be an entrepreneur. While in college, he designed a simple product for snowboarders. In 7 years his one product has expanded into the third largest snowboard accessory company in the world (www.demonsnowboarding.com) But me, I never thought I would be an entrepreneur. My personality drew me to areas with little risk. I taught school. (Actually there is some risk involved here, I taught Junior High, and that is definitely risky!) Over the years Brent always was asking me what my big idea was. How was I going to change the world? What bothered me and how was I going to fix it. Year after year I told him, you are the one with the ideas, not me.

However, there have always been lots of things that bothered me. And out of one of those came the idea of cap trappers. I was actually soaking in the tub, a rare occurrence, I had the stomach flu. So during the moaning and miserableness it came to me. With my husbands encouragement I decided to go for it, and make my idea a reality. And I happened to have a personal influx of money just at this time. I was attacked by a dog while running and got a generous insurance settlement. I definitely don't recommend this funding method to anyone! Equipped with my personal money I went forward.

Vulnerability...


What I didn't realize was the vulnerability I would feel as an entrepreneur. Here I have an idea that I am passionate about and I really feel like if others are educated about, they will love too. But each time I pitch the idea, make phone calls etc it is like a little piece of me is exposed, awkwardly available for others to accept reject or ridicule. But I am getting more confident, and actually this whole entrepreneur thing is growing on me and I love it, basically because I love the idea! So I find myself in a great position, I think poised for great things. Who wouldn't feel excited, when you have a kid this cute, with such unbelievable hair, and a product as great as Cap Trappers!

Rebecca

Arrival Time!

It's 3:15 and I can actually sit down to write. The picture above is one reason. Callista is out like a lightbulb and she never takes naps! My baby is sleeping and my 5 year old is at a friends. My mom cleaned my whole house for me this morning before she left for home. It's quiet. Has this ever happened before? About 5 days ago I sent out Cap Trappers to our friends and family around the country. The idea is to get feedback from as many people as possible. How much do they love them, would they buy them, what do their kids and friends think? I think the packages should be arriving today or tomorrow. Arrival time for the Cap Trappers, and I hope soon it is arrival time for our little company, Savvy May Creations.

...Okay so now it is 8:30, the quiet lasted about 15 minutes.

...And remember that whole sleeping through the night blog...that lasted one night :) I guess life is like that. I get glimpses of perfection and then prolonged passages of not-so-perfect!

Startup Princess and Squeezing into my Pre-Pregnancy Jeans

My 4 jogsuits and Startup Princess Wand

Thursday night I attended my first Startup Princess event. It was quite the postpartum outing for me. Let's be honest, it was the first time since Emmett was born that I didn't wear a jog suit. In February my husband found a fabulous jog suit for me, and over the next two weeks I sent him back for 3 more! So now I have 4 I just rotate through during the week. I mean navy blue is definitely a different look than black! But I digress. For my first Startup Princess event (a fantastic network for women entrepreneurs www.startupprincess.com) I thought maybe the beige jog suit wasn't quite professional enough. So with trepidation I pulled on my pre-pregnancy jeans. Proudly,I could button them but(t) it wasn't pretty (and there is definitely a pun intended!).

What this all led to was my first trip to the mall with 3 children to find a shirt to hide the belly fat that is just hanging on! There is no way I would dare to attempt such a feat alone. So I brought my mom and sister Monica. Between the three of us, my girls still seemed to be racing from mirror to mirror in the Nordstrom's dressing room. Of course my 5 year old picked out a slew of rainbow colored shirts that would make Barbie Island Princess proud! Amazingly I came away with a decent shirt. I am embarrassed to admit, but sometimes new clothes just give this girl a boost of confidence to tackle a new situation.

By the time of the event I loaded my mom with pumped milk and nukies (what we call pacifiers in our house) and headed off. At the event I met some sharp women who I hope to develop relationships with. Founder Kelly King Anderson is currently running for Mrs. Utah, and has an impressive resume, and a sparkling desire to help women entrepreneurs. Janet Meiners presented (check out her blog www.newspapergirl.com) on SEO and internet marketing. I was lucky enough she used our Savvy May Creations site as a demo. I learned a huge amount, because I am quite illiterate when it comes to all this stuff. In fact my web designer Rachelle Johnson (www.ispectrummarketing.com, she is awesome) just taught me how to post a blog a little bit ago. So this night was quite enlightening.

I met some women with some great ideas. I love Amy Roskelley's Super Healthy Kids plates (www.superhealthykids.com). They are darling portion control plates for kids. And Sarah Kimmel creator of the Daily Home Planner and blogger of www.organizedmom.net is a bit of a local celebrity. I gave them samples and hope to have Sarah review my product on her blog. Networking is crucial right now for me. I have spent a lot of money, I really need to start making some :) The night was a success, I loved the Startup Princess event and venturing out of my jogsuits, even if it was a tight squeeze into those jeans.

Sleeping Through the Night

I never would have fathomed 7 years ago the power of the four words "sleeping through the night." Last night my two-month-old Emmett actually did it. Now this is unheard of for my children at this age. My girls, well, it seems like they still don't sleep through the night, but that is a whole different story. Here's what "sleeping through the night" means to me today:

• I am finally nearing the conclusion of the "no order, no schedule" infant stage
• The bags under my eyes look a little smaller
  
• Since they are smaller I see better, which means all those little lines in my face, I began to notice after I turned 30 this year, are more obvious
  
• I still didn't get a shower until 1 pm
• I might have the stamina for a long run today
• It seems possible to maybe get a little something done today
• Emmett looks at me with a little smile, like he knows he gave me a gift (keep it coming kid-o!)
  

I think Savvy May is also finally "sleeping through the night." The last 5 months have been an exciting and exhausting adventure. There hasn't seemed to be much order or schedule. Just when I think I have things figured out this little company starts screaming for my attention. But now it seems like the two of us have a little understanding. Things are getting underway and we are moving ahead. Progress seems possible.