The Entrepreneur's Guide...

I have always referred to our “bag business” as an “adventure,” my retirement adventure. 

And it has been, with all its ups and downs, a great adventure. I love to learn new things and everything about putting this business together has been a learning experience. When we started I didn’t have the first clue about what to do or, where to go to figure out what to do etc. Out best resource, which Eve stumbled upon by accident, was the book The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing by Kathleen Fasanella. 

It was a godsend. 

It literally walked us through the entire process, from manufacturing to pattern makers to contract sewers. Although primarily focused on the manufacturing of garments, it gave us the language we did not have, to understand and be understood in this field. Thank you many times over Kathleen Fasanella. 

Since we started we have been laying the foundation, finding suppliers, talking to distributors, meeting with manufacturers, this has all been the foundation. Now we are just moments away from placing our first order and once we do, this adventure, this business, for me, becomes real. Kind of exciting, and kind of scary. 

Will it work? Will people buy our bags? What will happen? 

Up to now it kind of felt like a game, let’s learn all we can about putting a bag business together. But once we place the order it’s no longer a game, it’s real. Is this really what I want to do???????

Onward Fabric Shoppers!

Well, I got over last week’s bumps in the road.

The bank now recognizes our DBA and I have found a couple of more possible fabric suppliers. So what did I learn from last week’s difficulties? Sometimes, rather than continuing to hit the bumps in an attempt to get over them, the best thing is to step back, retreat to that place that is comfortable, and immerse yourself into what feels good. The problems remain, but getting away from them for a while allows you to re-energize and rethink the problem. Perhaps gaining a new perspective.

So I’m now back to the business of bags.

This week it’s following up on the fabric suppliers, discussing what we liked and did not like about the sample bags the manufacturers sent, and picking out material. This is the part I like best. My only dilemma here is choosing a few fabric designs out of hundreds. What a dilemma!

One of those weeks

It has been one of those weeks. You know, the kind where you are rolling along, everything is going smooth, and then Bam, you hit a major bump in the road that throws you off course. Nothing seemed to go right. A lot of the information I received at the trade show proved to be inaccurate. I called about a trillion, okay 4 or 5, fabric suppliers, who assured me at the trade show that getting the fabric I wanted would be no problem, has now indicated to me that it is impossible to get the material I want. UGH! Now I’m back to square one, or possibly it’s two, but anyway, I’m back toward the beginning looking for the fabric I need.

Then I go to the bank to do a name change, actually it’s a DBA (doing business as), change. I carry all my legal documents from the state indicating I have filed for the change, but the bank won’t accept them. Evidently the state made some changes in the forms they use and the ones I have (the new forms I think)the bank does not recognize. Ugh! Again! So now I have to go back to the state and request a form indicating they have changed forms and the one I have is accurate.

My daughter finally got the credit card machine we ordered, so she could start selling some of the bags at the studio she teaches at. She tested the machine, using her credit card and what do you know? It took the money from her account, that shows up, but where did the money go? It has not shown up in our account. Could this have something to do with the d…… name change? Of course the credit card machine is in our new name (the one I legally changed with the state) and the one the bank has yet to recognize. Ugh! Again!

Of course none of these problems are insurmountable, just bumps in the road right? I think I will close up my computer, shut off the phone and go back to making fish for a while. It’s bound to be better next week, right?