The deed is done, the
PO has been sent.  15,000 units…. I’m not really dwelling on it too much because my mind has been made up and the factory is 3 days away from setting up the machines for the production run.  My OEM is THRILLED and I’m happy to make his so happy.  (Overseas they really don’t like doing anything for under a few thousand units)  As it is, it was a miracle that I found an OEM with a minimum as low as 1000.  That’s almost unheard of in
Asia.  It’s so funny how often in life and in business; the “right” decisions are sometimes the most painful.  Although I do believe with all my heart (okay… maybe I have a LITTLE doubt… but shhhh, don’t tell anyone. After all, I’m SUPPOSED to know what I’m doing!)  But I really do believe I’m making the right decision, so why does it HURT?!  It reminds me of a few boyfriends past.  (Yep, tangent time!)  Some aspects of business are like relationships.  You know what the “right” thing to do is, but that doesn’t make it easy.  Sometimes the best, healthiest thing for you to do hurts the most.  If this were easy, EVERYONE would be doing it right?  

Okay, so your next question is… where am I coming up with the money right??  Fortunately my hubby and I got into the property/rental/real estate market in the early 2000’s so we have some equity built up in a few places.  The fed just cut rates by ¾ of a point which makes money cheap right now.  We are going to do the ol’ Refi-cash-out dance.  I’ve got to believe that I’m doing the right thing, otherwise how could I put all that we have worked for, for so long on the line right?  This is the kind of stuff that separates the men from the boys right? 

On to this new big account.  It’s funny how you go along thinking you have things pretty well organized, then you get a curve ball, (like a big account with systems and fancy terms etc…) and everything you thought you knew goes right out the window.  I applied for vendor status, (which I got) and then was invited to log onto their supplier network (not optional) but invited nonetheless.  It was so confusing and there were terms and jargon I totally didn’t understand and so yesterday I sat there staring at the screen in complete panic.  I kept thinking to myself “Leslie, you are so in way over your head!!” but knowing I couldn’t turn back, I contemplated my options.  I could “fake it” and answer the questions to the best of my ability and risk looking like a big ol’idiot if I got an answer wrong or even worse, loose out on a TON of money because I didn’t understand the question, or I could call my wonderful buyer and ask for her help.  For me the choice was easy.  I’m used to fessing up my newness to the game, so at the risk of her not wanting to do business with me because I was too green, I simply picked up the phone and called and asked for help.  Novel idea huh?  She was FANTASTIC!!!   This gal is so patient and so understanding and she completely walked me through the entire program!!  I’m not naive enough to think that all buyers will be this understanding, but I’m so glad this one is!!  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,  there is a time and a place to “fake it till you make it” and them there is a time and a place for you to be honest and just ask for help.   I’m finding more and more that if you are upfront and tell people “This is my first rodeo, help me” that people really do want to help others and if you are kind and genuine, they really do want you to succeed.  After we were done going through the new fancy program that I am now a part of, I felt such a sense of relieve.  There were questions about EDI and FOB pricing and pallet exchanges and all kinds of stuff that had me frozen at the keyboard and for half of the complicated questions, she said “Oh, don’t worry about that, that doesn’t apply to you”.  I was all freaked out over nothing.  So now that I’m officially in their system…. I wait.  I think the next step is getting the
PO.  Now that that temporary crisis moment has past my mind wants to go back to worrying about money… I’m trying REALLY REALLY hard not to let it.   

It’s going to be 80 degrees, the sun is shining, and it’s a GREAT DAY!!! 

I’m back….I wrote that around 8:00 this morning and just didn’t have a chance to post it.  I ran out of the house, schlepped the kids with me to the drug store, then the grocery store, went to the post office, dropped them off at school, my mind racing with all the things I have to do today, (follow up calls for new accounts, new UPC’s to do (that’s another story), revisions I need to send to my web guy for stuff I want for my website and everything else involved with single handedly running a company),  I race home, walk in the door ready to get to work and realize I have dishes to do, laundry that’s been sitting in the washer, another 2 loads on the floor waiting to be done and groceries to put away.  Sometimes you just feel so overwhelmed you have to laugh.  Well, that’s what I did.  I’m still laughing!! Seriously, it’s all fine just fine, I just wonder if Bill Gates or Donald Trump started this way. 

Leslie Haywood, Founder and President of Charmed Life Products, Inventor of Grill Charms™  www.grillcharms.com

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