Kim's BizBlog

Believe it or not, one of the smartest things I accidently did in my baby focused business was start it before I ever had a baby.  Not only have I had the time to cultivate the business and make great contacts, I've been able to approach the business objectively. 

I assist my client's based on my years of research and observing and talking to many parents.  I've learned that no parent, baby or household is the same.  When you come to the table with only your experience instead of understanding these differences, you can actually end up annoying the client.  Afterall, the one thing that expecting Moms and Dads are not lacking is advice from other people. 

Instead of bringing my experience with babies and having to learn the business side, I brought my experience in business and learned the baby side.

The experience that I brought to my business was my ability to assess and broker between two parties.  For years, I acted as a liaison between network owned and operated television stations and the advertising agencies and clients whose ad buys kept these stations in business.  I do the exact same thing now between expecting parents and vendors.

It took me a couple of years to realize the  accidental genius in my decision.  I relied heavily on Moms to assist my clients.  One day I overheard one of my Moms giving advice that didn't match what I had learned from every other Mom I knew.  Not that she was wrong in her advice, she was just recommending a product that she couldn't live without.  Evidently, she was a rarity.  It was then that I revised the way we approach clients.  I now encourage my employees with children to set their experience aside, learn all other sides of the topic, then bring their experience back in as it applies.

One of the reasons I was so insecure in my abilities when I first started is because of what others were saying to me, "You don't even have kids, how are you going to start a baby planning business?"  I listened to those people and kept playing those tapes. 

I now feel proud of our process and the way we approach our clients.  My goal when I walk into a client's home is to properly assess their lifestyle, then recommend options that would fit best within that lifestyle based on my experience with other clients like them.  I don't know if I could say the same if I had started the business after I had kids.

pic from Izismile

As my business is evolving, I'm finding myself confronted with the same personalities that I found when I first started, doubters.

Starting a business is hard (wah wah), but if you have a clear vision and a clear path to make that vision a reality, don't let anyone stop you.  The worst that can happen is not failure, the worst that can happen is always looking back and thinking, "What if I hadn't listened to the doubters?"  

Several times in the course of my business I have veered from my original vision because I listened to my doubters.  Do you know what happened?  My competitors beat me to the punch.  Turned out my vision was correct, but I insisted on letting the negative hold me back.

See if this sounds familiar.  When I (hypothetically) hover above my business in order to look down and see the whole picture, I don't see my to-do list for the day, month or even year.  I see my to-do list for the life of my business.  I see my business as it will look in 10 years, whether I own it at that point or not.  Then, I work backwards from there...down to the pen sitting on the desk of the assistant answering the phone and how that pen will be paid for.  I truly believe that this is the kind of foresight that it takes to create a successful business.  And, I believe that you either have the ability to see the 'big picture' or you don't.  I'll tell you in a few years which group I fall into!  But, there's only one way to find out.

Often times, it's incredibly difficult to get others to trust in your vision.  But, I'm finding this is crucial.  Anyone who is not working with you in achieving that vision, is working against you.  They're dead weight.  I don't have time to explain everyday why processes are so important or why we're working on things that might not look profitable today.  They don't have to see the vision themselves or understand it, but they do have to trust the person driving that vision.

This goes for family and friends, too, by the way.  If family and friends don't support your vision, I'd suggest not trying to hold them down and give them involuntary Lasik!  Change the subject and move on.  Surround yourself with people who do support your vision.

Why am I sharing this with you?  Because I've recently come to the realization that my biggest obstacles lie in me putting too much faith in my doubters and not enough faith in my vision.  I can understand and forgive my doubters for doubting, but I cannot forgive myself for letting them guide my course.  

All this said, here's my mantra for the week:  Never lose sight of your vision.  Write it out.  Seek advice.  Plot the path to get there.  Put the people in place with the experience to help you get there.  And, move forward like your life depends on it ignoring the nay sayers.

Now, go get it!  

I'm incredibly bad at setting boundaries in my personal life.  But recently, due to some tough decisions I'm making as my business prepares to grow, I'm realizing that these same boundaries must be set in business as well.  Maybe even more so, hence, "it's nothing personal, just business."

Because of this, the coolest thing is starting to happen.  I'm begining to really see myself as separate from my business.  It's a little like having multiple personalities.  I'm not making decisions based on what works for Kim.  I'm making decisions based on what works best for my business and its' employees, which is an extention of Kim.

This may sound like common sense, but believe me, lines can easily be blurred.  For example, my husband and I received great service at brunch today and decided to give a better than normal tip.  We were able to make this decision because it only affects us.  But, if I have an employee who goes above and beyond, it's not as easy just to hand them a "tip."  Any extra revenue in a business is meant to be reinvested into that business in order to grow the business and, in turn, secure the jobs of my employees.  A little extra to a good server means we may not eat out again this week.  A little extra paid to an employee could equal the amount you're short in rent money one month.

This doesn't mean that I can't reward good employees, or use that money for new equipment, research and development or testing products.  It just means that I have to make sure that there is more than enough to keep us moving forward before I do.

I may have understood this conceptually for a long time, but now that my "big picture" is starting to come into focus, the boundaries in my business are also becoming more clear.

In case I haven't said it before starting a business is a lot of hard work.  And, especially the last couple of years when most everyone is working harder for less (I know I've said that before).  

Summer is my favorite time of year! This summer has definitely been tougher than most.  There just isn't enough time in the day.  Usually our summers are filled with impromptu pool parties, dinners with friends and gardening.  This summer, my flower pots sit empty.  The pool has barely been used.  And, I'm lucky if I have time to feed myself (thank goodness for Smart Ones Fiesta Quesadillas!).

What I want to know is, "Is this normal?"  Is it normal to fall off the face of the Earth when you own your own business?  Recently, I heard someone talking about their neighbor.  Their comment was, "We used to be close to our neighbors, but then they started a business."  Well, no $%^#!!!  It was really a third party validation for me.

Now, summer 2010 is almost over and I am sad.  Wah.  Wah.

In my last post, I mentioned people from around the country contacting me because they too, wanted to start a baby planning business.  

Let me share the feelings I had the first time this happened.  It was Spring 2007.  I came back from lunch to find a voice mail from a woman on the West Coast.  She says that she and a friend want to start a baby planning business and want to learn more about Peekaboo.

I nervously call her back.  Nope.  No franchise.  She just wants me to tell her how I operate my business so that they can start their own.  She proceeds to tell me that she and her friend have been trying to figure out how to structure this thing and finally decided to call the only baby planner they could find. 

After a brief conversation of me not telling her exactly what she needed, I hung up the phone to a plethora of feelings.

First, I thought, “This is great!  Other people are recognizing the value in a baby planning business.”   That excited me.

Then a wave of fear hit me because I now had someone nipping at my heels.  How would they structure their business?  What services would they provide?  What if they had thought of something I didn’t and their processes were better than mine?

I learned really quickly that competition is WONDERFUL!!  Nothing keeps you on your toes more.  I’d been rolling along for so long with no one to compete with.  The phone book didn’t even have a category for my business.  Now, the game had changed.  I was no longer playing solitaire.  Someone had decided to sit at the table with me.

Several months later, I did my usual Google search looking for competition.  It’s kind of like being on a desert island and wondering if someone else is on the island with you.  Anyhow, up popped the new baby planning company I’d been waiting for.  My hands trembled as I clicked on the link.

I read through their mission statement.  Huh?  I clicked on the services they offered.  What?  I read their bios.  Son of a *$%#@!!!   Right there in black and white one of the girls called herself, “ the visionary behind this brand new concept.” 

Immediately, I ran to my number one cheerleader, my husband.  “Baby, take a look at this.”  I was calm so not to taint his point of view.

He read the mission statement.  “That’s your mission statement,” he said.

He read through their services.  “These are exactly your services.  Even the surprise nursery,” he said.  “The package names are almost the same as yours and look, this whole paragraph was taken directly from your website.”

Needless to say he lost it when he got to the "visionary's" bio page.  After all, he’s struggled through the start up of this business, too.  He sees the tireless hours of work that goes into it and is also living on less than we’re used to in the hopes of it taking off.

The next morning I met with my attorney.  After comparing their site to mine, he confirmed that I had a case and offered to send a cease and desist; though he advised against this.  He said that all it would do is force them to shut down temporarily until they corrected their website.  To boot, it may serve as a motivation for them to come after me in future.  He suggested that I use this energy to create the best baby planning company in the new field.

Turns out he was right.  I shouldn’t have been worried about someone who had to replicate someone else’s work and call it their own.  They’re now out of business.  Even though, I was upset with the plagerism, I do wish them well.   

Six years later, the field of baby planning is starting to make a name for itself.  We have at least 3 others in the Dallas area now...all able to write their own mission statement!  So to them, I wish the best of success!

Please note the thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog are based on the experiences of the author.  The information contained in this blog is in no way meant to take the place of professional advice.  It is only meant as insight into the world of a small business owner.   As always, thank you for visiting and feel free to share your own experiences or concerns by leaving a comment

It was the summer of 2004 when I began building my baby planning business. I couldn’t find another business like it anywhere. Every day, I would Google “Baby Planning” and “Baby Planner.” Nothing. I talked to baby boutique owners and all my friends with kids...they’d never heard of such a thing.

In the end, I was left no choice but to create a new mode of business transportation. To start, I listed all of the services I planned to offer. I then determined what my relationship with the client would look like. After a lot of time and a lot of re-working, I ended up combining bits and pieces of three different business models: A Contractor, An Event Planner and an Interior Designer/Decorator. From each, I took pricing models, employee structures and standard practices to create a brand new business model, Baby Planning.

It took about two years of trial and error to shake out all of the details and perfect the model. The funny thing is that in the spring of 2007, I received a phone call from a woman in another part of the country. She was calling to say that she and a friend were starting a business. She said that they thought that they had come up with an original idea until they Googled “baby planning” and found me. She went on to say, “I can't believe you’re the only baby planning company we could find.” I thought, ‘Tell me about it sister!’ I reflected back to when I first started researching baby planning and wondered what my business would look like today if I had followed someone else’s lead. I might have found myself further along in my venture. No matter because the lessons I’ve learned along the way are invaluable.

Since then I’ve received calls from a dozen people wanting to know the ins and outs of my business model. This excites me. It tells me that there might just be a market for the concept of baby planning!

Please note the thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog are based on the experiences of the author.  The information contained in this blog is in no way meant to take the place of professional advice.  It is only meant as insight into the world of a small business owner.   As always, thank you for visiting and feel free to share your own experiences or conerns by leaving a comment

Not long ago I got into a little tiff with the owner of a consulting firm about the difficulties of pricing.  I didn't initiate the conflict...just, kind of, fell into it.  In fact, I was trying to set him up with an interesting conversation piece because I assumed he ran into this problem often as he assisted new business owners.  It went a little something like this:

Casual conversation in a group of small business owners ensues...

Consultant Dude: [to the group]”What element did you all find most difficult in starting your own business?"

Kim:  "Without a doubt, pricing..."

Consultant Dude:  "Pricing?!!  That's generally the easiest part of starting a business.  How can you say 'pricing'?"

Now, understand that I didn't throw out the answer thinking anyone would be shocked.  In the dozens of business books and thousands of internet articles that I've read, pricing your products and services is ALWAYS listed as one of the most challenging areas in defining your business.  If I wasn't armed with this knowledge I probably would have crawled under the table and cried at his tone.

Kim:  [surprised] "Yea...when I came to market, no one in the world was doing what I was doing.  I had absolutely no path to follow for pricing...neither did my market."

Consultant Dude: "It doesn't matter.  You set an hourly rate, count the hours it's going to take, bammo...pricing."

Kim: [now irritated] "It's not just about what I think I'm worth, it's about what the market will bear and with a new concept that's hard to figure out."

Consultant Dude:  "And, you've been in business how long?"

Kim: [now done with the conversation] "I was referring more to when I first started, but I still struggle with it to some extent, especially now that competitors are surfacing."

At this point, the consultant dude is looking at me like I'm a monkey in the zoo who's eating his own crap.  That's when someone else chimes in to change the subject.

I don't pretend to be an expert.  I'm just here to share my personal experience in starting a business.  And, pricing, for me, was/is incredibly difficult.

My experience is validated by the fact that I've had a dozen women across the country contact me because they were starting their own baby planning business.  They didn't have to contact me.  I tell them everything they need to know on my website, but do you know why they did?  Why they most likely put their tail between their legs and picked up the phone? One reason and one reason only.  They were trying to figure out how to price it.  It's the one thing I don't list publicly because it took me so long to figure out.  I'm even cautious when someone calling themselves a potential client inquires about pricing.  I assume it's a competitor.

I have to say, those who have called, have real juevos.  To call the creator of a concept, chit-chat for a little bit and then ask to be given the golden goose...it amazes me and, at the same time, I tip my hat a little.  Needless to say, I don't give it up.  Not that I don't wish them success.  I sincerely want every business to succeed.  It's just business.  I didn't work this hard to give it all up for nothing.

New concept or not, I still contend, pricing is one of the hardest things to do in a business.  Take a simple item like a t-shirt.  A store prices it at $24.99 and sells 10 a day.  They mark it down to $19.99 and sell 15 a day.  $14.99 and they sell 20 a day.  Then the store has to decide, "Do we sell less for more?  or, more for less?"  What's going to be most profitable with the least amount of energy expended? Same store marks shirts down to $4.99 and the customer is saying, "Is there something wrong with this shirt? No one wants it?  Why's it so cheap?"  It's a balancing act.

My Dad often reminds me of a story about Arnold Swartzenager.  I assume it's true.  When Swartzenager first came to this country, he and some friends started a brick masonry company.  They were barely getting by charging what they thought was a fair fee.  Finally, they switched tactics.  They changed the name of their company to something fancy and raised their prices by six fold.  Suddenly, they were getting more work and making better money.  Sometimes, it's all about perception. 

There are so many moving factors in pricing.  Ask anyone who's struggling to make it in the current economy. I really don't have anything helpful to share about pricing because I'm still trying to figure it out myself.  All I know to do is give my clients the best possible experience so that they walk away saying, "It was worth it."  

Please note the thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog are based on the experiences of the author.  The information contained in this blog is in no way meant to take the place of professional advice.  It is only meant as insight into the world of a small business owner.   As always, thank you for visiting and feel free to share your own experiences or conerns by leaving a comment

Last week I had lunch with one of my vendors.  We spent the majority of our lunch complaining about the woes of owning a business in the current climate.

This is a trend that I've seen become more prevalent over the last couple of years.  It's as if small business owners have just gone 20 rounds in the ring and are now out walking blurry eyed through the streets.  There's no time to rest.  You know you have to keep moving forward, but it's a matter of having the energy to do so, all without knowing if another punch is coming around the next corner.

Customers are buying less and many are sacrificing quality for a lower cost.  This leaves business owners scrambling to find more customers and/or sell more services to make up for the deficits.  These additions equal more work for less.  And, more work for less equals very grumpy business owners. 

On top of it all, business owners are facing new regulations, fines and higher taxes.  When you start to weigh all of the work against all that's working against you, the question arises, "is this worth it?"

In general, small business in the United States is defined by the SBA as having 500 employees or less.  Small business is responsible for up to 75% of the jobs in the U.S.  

I urge you, fight for small business. If you know or are employed by a small business owner, encourage and support them.  Chances are they have to make some really tough decisions right now and they need that support.  Thank them for all that they're doing to keep the business afloat.

Don't stop there.  No matter the size of the company, all owners & managers right now are being confronted with many similar dilemmas.  Let them know you are aware of these challenges and support them as well.  This is a time of opportunity.  If you have an idea that could potentially bring more revenue to your company...share it!

We need to come together to support the private sector...not demonize it.  

Please note the thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog are based on the experiences of the author.  The information contained in this blog is in no way meant to take the place of professional advice.  It is only meant as insight into the world of a small business owner.   As always, thank you for visiting and feel free to share your own experiences or conerns by leaving a comment