a bit of business...

I have maintained this blog for a good couple of months now, and haven't really mentioned anything about business or entrepreneurialism, which I kind of can't believe.  I think the marathon has been so consuming that my business discussions have actually taken a back seat.  I wonder if my husband has enjoyed the break? I am usually completely consumed with my business, aquaBling, that my family almost has to make an appointment to see me.  But guess what? I love it.  It has been such an amazing experience taking an idea from my brain and turning it into a product. Then when people love your product...it's awesome. 
One thing that most start-ups have in common is that they are completely strapped for cash.  It requires significant capital to develop a product and bring it to market, and unless you are either independently wealthy (lucky) or well-funded (luckier), you are almost broke and have nothing left for a marketing budget.  Marketing and exposure is vital to the success of your business.  How can anybody buy your fabulous widget if they don't know about it? 
A great way to get exposure for your products for little money is through the use of social media. Yep. Blogs. There is an enormous blog world out there, and all kinds of fabulous people are in the bloggosphere hosting giveaways and doing reviews every day.  I can personally attest to success with blog product reviews.  They have driven a lot of traffic to my site, and I have made sales as a result of blog exposure.  How do you find these blogs? One great way that I have found is by using google alerts.  I simply type in a few keywords, for example at Christmas I used "stocking stuffers" as a keyword, and each day I receive a report with all kinds of websites and bloggers who are discussing stocking stuffers.  Then, a quick email to submit a product, and viola! You've got a potential audience! 
In order to really capitalize on those blog reviews, always allow them to host a giveaway, and offer a coupon code for your store.  That way you have a really great way to know how many of your sales were as a result of the blog exposure.  This is very helpful when looking at future online advertising, or to reaffirm which keywords and blogs work best for your product.
You will give away a lot of product this way.  But, look at your product as a commodity.  It is your money right now, so spend it like it's going out of style! After all, you know where to get more product, and nobody is going to get it cheaper than you!

urban fun in a rural world

Okay, I don't exactly live in Urban America.  I don't have a Whole Foods, where I can go sip trendy wines and sample the latest organic foods.  I live in a small, college town in the middle of the country.  It is sometimes difficult to find things to do in town that don't involve binge drinking Old Mill Light and eating hamburger/cheese product dip.  However, last night the local grocery store, Hy-Vee, had a wine tasting event, where they sampled 6 different wines and paired each with a different appetizer.  Since we NEVER get to do fun things like this, we decided to go.
I am so glad we did! It was a lot of fun, and I was actually able to try out a few wines that I hadn't had before, which is always fun.  Here are a few that I especially loved.  However, I must first give a disclaimer that I am, by no means, a wine expert.  I will not be describing these wines by their nose, flower, or whatever else goes into an educated wine description.  No, this is a completely ignorant lady discussing some wines she drank at the local grocery store last night.  Reader beware....

This particular wine is a Chilean wine called Carmenere.  I had never had a Carmenere before. It is a red, and is very smooth and yummy.  I got a very strong cherry taste, with just a little bit of a spicy bite.  It was fab!  The best part...it's under ten bucks!  I do like my wine, but I am also a bit of a cheapskate. I usually limit myself to buying wines under ten dollars.  I am sure I miss out on a lot of yummy wines, and I am sure that at a later point in my life I will change this, but since I have lots of kids and not lots of money, I stick to the sub ten prices. I could absolutely see pairing this with a nice flank steak or other red meat.  Yummy.

Another red that I really liked was the Red Diamond Merlot.  I do not generally like Merlot all that much, as I think it tastes kind of bitter, so didn't have high hopes for this one. Our wine host last night introduced merlots as a great go-to wine if you are taking a bottle for a party with lots of different palettes.  I don't really agree with this, and think that a Pinot Noir is a better choice for a go to red...but again, see the above disclosure!  At any rate, this particular merlot would be a good one for a party.  The thing that separated this from other merlots for me was that it had a very fruity taste.  I got a lot of plum in the wine, and I really liked it.  To me, the presence of fruit kind of takes the bitter taste away.  Again...see above disclosure. Another great feature...also under ten bucks!

Since we are going into warmer weather (yay), I would be remiss if I didn't also mention a white wine here somewhere. Bogle Chardonnay was my favorite white of the evening.  Although I have had this particular wine before, it has been some time. I used to be a Reisling drinker, but it has started getting too sweet for me.  I don't usually like Chardonnay (so I thought), because it usually has such an oakey taste that is not pleasing to me.  The Bogle, however, is fairly unoakey, and almost has a buttery taste, which I loved.  I will most definitely be drinking some of this this summer. This one runs slightly higher, around $11 for the bottle, but since we went to the tasting we got a discount, so I bought a couple of bottles for my sub ten price.  Yay!


The food we had to eat was yummy, as well, but only one dish truly deserves mention.  The Savory Pecan-Crusted Bleu Cheese Bites were, hands down, the absolute show stopper.  OMG can you say delicious?  I wish I had a picture for you, but I don't.  I plan to make this dish for Easter, and will definitely be getting some pics up.  Let me just say that at the tasting there were about 40 women.  When this dish was served, it was completely quiet.  Yep.  It was that good.  It's not a low fat dish, but really yummy, and a small piece won't hurt you.  Here is the recipe:

2 cups toasted pecans, finely chopped
1 1/2 oz parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
4oz bleu cheese, crumbled
1/2 c sour cream
3 eggs

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Combine pecans, parmesan, sugar, and butter in mixing bowl, and press mixture onto bottom of medium-sized sheet pan. Bake 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together cream cheese, bleu cheese, sour cream, and eggs until smooth; pour over crust. Bake 20-23 minutes or until center is set; remove to cooling racks until room temperature. Refrigerate at least 3 hours.
3. To serve, cut into 48 triangles. Top with thinly sliced fruit, if desired.

Again...yum.  And what a fun night!  My only complaint is that, at the end of the night, the store manager started pitching their cheap cafeteria dinners that they serve every night.  I am sure it is a great deal, but these women all just paid $10 to drink wine and eat goat cheese and prosciutto ham.  I sincerely doubt we are the same target market as your cheap meal customer.  How about maybe plugging the gourmet food and cheese section? I know my business brain works overtime a lot...but that seems kind of obvious.  Pardon the rant. Speaking of business...my friend and I absolutely used our aquaBling...and everyone loved them.  They were a hit!  I opted for the red butterfly. It's a favorite of mine!

I strongly suggested they have another one, maybe with a grilling theme.  Maybe this is an indication of how badly I want this to be a regular occurrence....I was actually sitting at the table planning a menu for the next one.  And, I don't even work there.  Wow.  I had so much fun that I bought 4 bottles of wine to take home.  I am not sure when I will get the opportunity to drink all those, since marathon training has pretty much ruined my cocktailing.  After May 15...look out wine!

a better way to advertise

I do not understand vanity license plates on cars. Why would anyone pay extra money each year just to have some sort of personalized message on their license plate? Plus, it's usually in code, since messages are limited to like 8 characters or something. So, basically, you've just paid money to have a message nobody understands on your car.

I actually have practical knowledge on this subject. When I was in high school my parents owned a tax business. They, in their attempt to constantly advertise their services, decided it would be a good idea to have "superfast" put on the license plate, since the tax service they owned offered a "Superfast refund". Except that they were only able to have "suprfst" on the license plate. Everybody misread the plate to read "superfest" and totally missed the advertisement, so it was a total waste of money for them. Plus, my sister and I (I am a twin...that's a later post) were teen drivers, so we were driving all over town with a license plate that read "suprfst". Maybe it's just me, but doesn't that seem like an open invitation to a police officer to give out tickets? Good thing he probably didn't understand it, either.

I completely understand that business owners want to utilize every form of nontraditional advertising possible to make people aware of their business. Nearly every tangible item of mine is completely decked out in aquaBling regalia, as a means of advertising my product on the cheap. From stickers, to t-shirts, to magnets...it goes on and on. But, I don't have a personalized license plate. I think money is better spent on a car window cling. This way you can advertise for your business, and include your logo and all the letters in your business name, making it easy for the public to understand your message.

Anyway...I am pretty excited, because I am working on new packaging for my single aquaBling, and I think we are close to being done. One thing I have learned about getting into retailers is that your product needs to be easy to place. It's best if you have a stand and already packaged, priced products available at a single price. Retailers don't have the time or energy to spend deciding which stand they want, or which pieces, or how many. Make it easy for them, and they are more likely to buy your stuff.

The decision to change packaging was really bittersweet for me. I sell a product that is designed to reduce waste, and so in my mind, by placing it into packaging that had to be thrown away, I was contributing to landfill waste even further. But, I need packaging...hence my dilemma. The solution: recyclable packaging made from recycled materials. Brilliant.