Been a while, I lost the login to this blog.
I have done massive amounts of research for a new salve, which will be revealed later this year. I took the main website down, for various reasons. It will be reformatted and active soon.
I am moving in a month, so things will be a bit hectic for a while. Expect to see more of me now that I have access to this blog again!
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Shopping at Co-Op
I was stopped dead in my tracks, blood drained from my face in the store today. There sat a display of lip balms, prominently named with the phrase I had chosen as a slogan for my lip balm. And it was Trademarked.
On the one hand, I am very glad I saw this before I began the 20+ hours to create the t-shirt logo, which I had planned to start tomorrow. On the other, I was very attached to this slogan; it is very good, and an easily remembered catchy phrase. I regretted losing it.
I was upset because the only reason I lost the use of this phrase was because of finances. I could not afford the trademark myself, so I lost some very valuable intellectual property.
I had been seriously considering pursuing venture capital prior to this, now I am certain. I have an outstanding product, vastly superior to anything on the market. The only way the public will know about it is if there is a large sum of capital to mass produce and promote it, and I need to stop dragging my feet about obtaining it. I am losing market space, more every day.
I think that I felt that going for a venture capitalist was giving up, admitting I could not do it myself. Now I realize that it is a sign of success. Hey, guess what? I can't do it all by myself- there's not enough of me, not enough hours in the day. There's nothing wrong with that. Realizing that, and and taking the steps to get that help, are steps towards success.
So I am grateful for the new lip balm, for giving me the burning desire to take the next step. I have been skirting back from this step for a long time; no more.
On the one hand, I am very glad I saw this before I began the 20+ hours to create the t-shirt logo, which I had planned to start tomorrow. On the other, I was very attached to this slogan; it is very good, and an easily remembered catchy phrase. I regretted losing it.
I was upset because the only reason I lost the use of this phrase was because of finances. I could not afford the trademark myself, so I lost some very valuable intellectual property.
I had been seriously considering pursuing venture capital prior to this, now I am certain. I have an outstanding product, vastly superior to anything on the market. The only way the public will know about it is if there is a large sum of capital to mass produce and promote it, and I need to stop dragging my feet about obtaining it. I am losing market space, more every day.
I think that I felt that going for a venture capitalist was giving up, admitting I could not do it myself. Now I realize that it is a sign of success. Hey, guess what? I can't do it all by myself- there's not enough of me, not enough hours in the day. There's nothing wrong with that. Realizing that, and and taking the steps to get that help, are steps towards success.
So I am grateful for the new lip balm, for giving me the burning desire to take the next step. I have been skirting back from this step for a long time; no more.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
It's been a long time coming
Quick overview of recent events
I am preparing a very large and serious project. It fills two handwritten white pages front and back, all the small pieces of this project. It certainly makes it easier to tackle it in small bites, crossing each line off as I go.
I nibble at things all day, work wise. I do 10 minutes of housework, play a game for 10 minutes, 5 minutes of phone calls, 30 minutes of graphics, etc. This has always worked well for me. I thought it was a 'just me' phenomenon, until I read "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living", by Dale Carnegie. An incredible book, belongs on everyone's "must read" list. In one of the chapters, Mr. Carnegie outlines the evidence gathered from monitoring groups of manual laborers, and office workers. The workers who took frequent and lengthy breaks were over 400% MORE PRODUCTIVE than those who did not.
Entrepreneurs, do not forget your resources! There are article databases everywhere, from the government and from well known magazines and newspapers. Social networking has exploded online, and there are groups that will teach you how to do everything from give a speech to mingling, as well as who to contact for your want/need.
- Got married
- Changed colleges
- Health changes and challenges
I am preparing a very large and serious project. It fills two handwritten white pages front and back, all the small pieces of this project. It certainly makes it easier to tackle it in small bites, crossing each line off as I go.
I nibble at things all day, work wise. I do 10 minutes of housework, play a game for 10 minutes, 5 minutes of phone calls, 30 minutes of graphics, etc. This has always worked well for me. I thought it was a 'just me' phenomenon, until I read "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living", by Dale Carnegie. An incredible book, belongs on everyone's "must read" list. In one of the chapters, Mr. Carnegie outlines the evidence gathered from monitoring groups of manual laborers, and office workers. The workers who took frequent and lengthy breaks were over 400% MORE PRODUCTIVE than those who did not.
Entrepreneurs, do not forget your resources! There are article databases everywhere, from the government and from well known magazines and newspapers. Social networking has exploded online, and there are groups that will teach you how to do everything from give a speech to mingling, as well as who to contact for your want/need.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tag
I just recently returned from my daughter's wedding. A lot of work got suspended while getting ready for the trip, taking the trip, recovering from the trip. Eleven hundred miles each way, road trip, with no A/C in the car- and of course, we were traveling to the Mohave Desert. Stressful drive, stressful trip, family drama- all you'd expect from such an event.
I have tons of great pictures of the most beautiful bride ever :)
Back in production today, expect to see great things soon!
I have tons of great pictures of the most beautiful bride ever :)
Back in production today, expect to see great things soon!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Bzzz bzzz
I have simply been too busy to blog. Which is a very good thing.
Should any readers want to Trademark something, the search location for trademarks is here. This is a government website, and the search is free. Filing a trademark costs $325 to file online, $375 through the mail.
I have over 500 lip balms 100% complete and ready to go. I have large batches of burn salve and the psoriasis/eczema salve brewing. I bought a new, bigger, pot and am about to start the wound salve. I have new labels coming for all three of those salves. I have tentatively connected the shopping cart, though I have not tested it yet. (If you wish to make a purchase, please email me at theherbalhippie@gmail.com) I have been updating the business plan, a large project.
Through all this, I have guided my son through his finals, finished my finals and ended with a 3.96 GPA, and generally dealt with daily life as best as I can.
When life gets really, really overwhelming, I make myself do one small thing. Anything, like getting the mail, or checking my email. Sometimes I take the kitchen timer and set it for 30 minutes, and work for those 30 minutes- you'd be amazed how much you can get done in 30 minutes! Try it when you have too many things staring you in the face- set the timer, turn around, and the first thing your eyes land on, work on that until the timer dings.
Should any readers want to Trademark something, the search location for trademarks is here. This is a government website, and the search is free. Filing a trademark costs $325 to file online, $375 through the mail.
I have over 500 lip balms 100% complete and ready to go. I have large batches of burn salve and the psoriasis/eczema salve brewing. I bought a new, bigger, pot and am about to start the wound salve. I have new labels coming for all three of those salves. I have tentatively connected the shopping cart, though I have not tested it yet. (If you wish to make a purchase, please email me at theherbalhippie@gmail.com) I have been updating the business plan, a large project.
Through all this, I have guided my son through his finals, finished my finals and ended with a 3.96 GPA, and generally dealt with daily life as best as I can.
When life gets really, really overwhelming, I make myself do one small thing. Anything, like getting the mail, or checking my email. Sometimes I take the kitchen timer and set it for 30 minutes, and work for those 30 minutes- you'd be amazed how much you can get done in 30 minutes! Try it when you have too many things staring you in the face- set the timer, turn around, and the first thing your eyes land on, work on that until the timer dings.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Saturday's introspective
Once again, I am finding every one thing I need to do requires a dozen other things with it.
To hook up the shopping cart to the site, I downloaded a software program I had been recommended. Then I virus scanned it, extracted it, and read the instructions. Way more than I had time to learn; uninstalled everything. Went to my back up, PayPal. Shopping carts require shipping charges, which necessitated trips to the post office, UPS, and FedEx to compare prices based on weight. I also wanted to go ahead and get the shipping weight for the jars; I didn't have any new jars ready. So I needed to complete a batch of salve to pour off into the new jars, and I was out of a key ingredient. I ran to the store to get key ingredient, and the power fails from the rainstorm just as I walk in the door; the registers were still working, so I bought it. Turned out using the lights would have been handy; I got the wrong thing and had to go back the next day. Then I overheated my wax, ruining the wax and the pot (in trying to save the heating pot, I created a big mess for myself too).
I've learned from life and talking to other people that this is not just me. If there are any aspiring entrepreneurs out there reading this, know that you will experience this, too. You will need some permit at some point that requires information off your elementary records, which you mom doesn't have (after searching through dozens of boxes), so you will have to contact the school, fill out a form for them which needs other forms you don't have handy, and so on. You can only plan for so much, then you have to learn how to roll with it.
I have to say the laptop I bought used on eBay a few months back has been absolutely indispensable. It enables me to work anywhere, on anything- from this blog, to new labels, to the website. You absolutely must have a computer and know how to use it to succeed in business today- and a laptop is way more accessible than a desktop.
My lip balm Slick is now being carried in Glassphemy in Pullman, WA.
To hook up the shopping cart to the site, I downloaded a software program I had been recommended. Then I virus scanned it, extracted it, and read the instructions. Way more than I had time to learn; uninstalled everything. Went to my back up, PayPal. Shopping carts require shipping charges, which necessitated trips to the post office, UPS, and FedEx to compare prices based on weight. I also wanted to go ahead and get the shipping weight for the jars; I didn't have any new jars ready. So I needed to complete a batch of salve to pour off into the new jars, and I was out of a key ingredient. I ran to the store to get key ingredient, and the power fails from the rainstorm just as I walk in the door; the registers were still working, so I bought it. Turned out using the lights would have been handy; I got the wrong thing and had to go back the next day. Then I overheated my wax, ruining the wax and the pot (in trying to save the heating pot, I created a big mess for myself too).
I've learned from life and talking to other people that this is not just me. If there are any aspiring entrepreneurs out there reading this, know that you will experience this, too. You will need some permit at some point that requires information off your elementary records, which you mom doesn't have (after searching through dozens of boxes), so you will have to contact the school, fill out a form for them which needs other forms you don't have handy, and so on. You can only plan for so much, then you have to learn how to roll with it.
I have to say the laptop I bought used on eBay a few months back has been absolutely indispensable. It enables me to work anywhere, on anything- from this blog, to new labels, to the website. You absolutely must have a computer and know how to use it to succeed in business today- and a laptop is way more accessible than a desktop.
My lip balm Slick is now being carried in Glassphemy in Pullman, WA.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Website modifications
I changed the graphics and layout for the entire website. Currently, all that's up is the same page, repeated; this was to allow me to perfect the spacing and layout issues. Next I'll be adding the content and hooking up the shopping cart. I think it looks pretty sweet- check it out for yourself at www.herbalhippie.com.
Well, I have found the place to get my UPC codes (bar codes). Soon as I have about $900 for that, I'll be set there for up to 100 bar codes for 100 unique products, and I can start listing products on Amazon.com, among other places. The annual charge isn't that high; that includes a 'new customer fee' for setting up all the paperwork and whatnot.
This has been a time of 3,000 steps to accomplish any ONE thing. It has been very frustrating.
For example, I ordered more labels; the printer I use is moving, and consequently the payment I gave them when I ordered they lost, and I had to call payment in again. When I saw my bank balance on my ATM receipt, I thought it looked a little low; it was possible they may have double charged me. So I wanted to check online. I recently cleaned my cookies, and therefore wiped out my online access code, so I called customer service for my login info. The rep just kept on asking 'verification' questions, and I began to get uneasy. Then he refused to identify himself further than "John", which made me very concerned. So I rushed to the branch office, and spoke with the manager. A half hour of discussions ensued, and I left relieved and assured that John was not data mining, but rather following procedure for business accounts. All together, I spent over an hour and a half on this.
It wasn't until about a half hour after I was out of the bank that I realized I still didn't have my login, or know if I was double-billed!
Apply this to just about everything I have been doing lately. Even the website work has gone painfully slow, requiring multiple calls to my ISP and GoDaddy.
I just keep on keeping on, but it is not easy. Thank goodness the play is over, and I have more time. I thoroughly enjoyed it and we got rave reviews, but boy it took a lot of my time for two months. Add in that I'm in the worst allergy season of my life, and I'm surprised I'm getting anything done.
Well, I have found the place to get my UPC codes (bar codes). Soon as I have about $900 for that, I'll be set there for up to 100 bar codes for 100 unique products, and I can start listing products on Amazon.com, among other places. The annual charge isn't that high; that includes a 'new customer fee' for setting up all the paperwork and whatnot.
This has been a time of 3,000 steps to accomplish any ONE thing. It has been very frustrating.
For example, I ordered more labels; the printer I use is moving, and consequently the payment I gave them when I ordered they lost, and I had to call payment in again. When I saw my bank balance on my ATM receipt, I thought it looked a little low; it was possible they may have double charged me. So I wanted to check online. I recently cleaned my cookies, and therefore wiped out my online access code, so I called customer service for my login info. The rep just kept on asking 'verification' questions, and I began to get uneasy. Then he refused to identify himself further than "John", which made me very concerned. So I rushed to the branch office, and spoke with the manager. A half hour of discussions ensued, and I left relieved and assured that John was not data mining, but rather following procedure for business accounts. All together, I spent over an hour and a half on this.
It wasn't until about a half hour after I was out of the bank that I realized I still didn't have my login, or know if I was double-billed!
Apply this to just about everything I have been doing lately. Even the website work has gone painfully slow, requiring multiple calls to my ISP and GoDaddy.
I just keep on keeping on, but it is not easy. Thank goodness the play is over, and I have more time. I thoroughly enjoyed it and we got rave reviews, but boy it took a lot of my time for two months. Add in that I'm in the worst allergy season of my life, and I'm surprised I'm getting anything done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)