Buyer's max out their cards too!

I mentioned in the Broke Diva blog that I penned a children's picture book. Well my friends, that is all part of the MASTER PLAN TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!

The picture book is called "Arizona Paris and the big move." It will be available as an ebook in June. I along with my husband will provide the illustrations. It's about a little 5 year old city-princess (Leo) who has to move to a ranch in rural Arizona (much like me). In fact, the story is inspired by my daughter Leotie. You know the one who cried her eyes out for a Prada bag? Anywho, the plan is to infuse the artwork and Leo's clothing and shoes in line with the fashions I would create for the kids line. Sooooooo in the future when this goes bananas as a hardcover, little girls that read the stories will be able to buy the shoes and outfits that they see in the book - BRILLIANT!

This is a marketing plan to fuse the brand with product possibilities - and get the name out there even before the line is available. I do not mention the brand in the story at all - but I hope to get some press here and there. I will promote the ebook on my viral communities: momcafe, parentsconnect, kidsfashion and I just made friends with a great gal that has a kids fashion mag. I am also a member of the children's book group on linkedin.com.

It's going to be a ride!

Now back to business. I spoke with an industry insider friend of mine who says the economy has not yet picked up on his end of shoes sales. He spoke to me via cell phone at a shoe show in Chi-town. He had made no sales since he had been there. HOWEVER - while on the phone with me I heard a would-be-prospect ask "Do you sell kids?" - hmmmmmm. He took their card for me. Trust that he should be very interested in working with me when this hits the ground! Kids is an industry that just does not fail. So I know I am in the right position.

Plus not to rush things is the best right now. I've been reading about the increase in tariffs and duties from imported shoes. So get ready folks - Payless and Target and Walmart and the rest of the shoes from China will go up in price later this year and next!!! So I don't know where the heck I am going to get these shoes made now. I am still pushing for the US, but if push comes to shove - I will be back in 'Nam where I have the hook up. Or in Brazil and charging folks a bunch of reals...

If you are trying to start a business in fashion right now it is CRAZY! There is money out there but you have to be in the right place. My industry insider also told me that his internet sales went up. Well no duh! Folks are cutting back and the first thing people try to keep low is money spent on gas, so you know going to the mall is out. We save on gas, we save on eating out while we are out and we save on impulse purchases - so the internet is the safest way to keep your budget in check.

With Littles, Leo, Tech & Bird - there will be a shopping cart on the site so people can shop the online boutique. I think that is the best way because if you are out there selling at the shows, the reality scenario is thus:

You rack up on writtien orders/invoices (Woo-hoo! People actually want to buy your stuff).
You get back to the office and start entering the credit lines.
You or your accountant find that more than 69% of your orders are DECLINED due to insufficeint funds!
Yes - buyers max out their cards too.
The reality is that there may not be any money left in the bank to cover your order.
So you thought you were rich? Now you have to send DECLINED stamped notices and try to recover in some magical way - the money you thought you would have in 90 days.
Say so long to that executive desk you wanted to buy.

That is the sad truth of the business and economy today for vendors and suppliers. We entrepreneurs have to be smart with our nose to the ground and sniff out the best option to succeed without giving up the dream.

I hope that the push to drive the economy in a stronger direction continues. I feel the internet and direct-to-customer sales will save us for now. Especially those who are unemployed and looking for work - saving gas and transportation fare buy looking for work online. This is not an unrealistic idea. Things will turn around.

OR - I become a farmer and grow vegetarian delight and throw a carriage buggy on my horses!

Hmmmmm, not a bad idea...

tg

Master Plan

So it is written...

OK - I have completed my editing for the business plan! It is titled: "The Master Plan; Littles, Leo, Tech & Bird." I am extremely happy with how it looks now. I have added visuals and took out so much crap that did not need to be in it. I gave the plan a personality like the table of contents is now the Work Table of Contents - just to give the reader an insight to the company's culture.

I also did not realize how much I was repeating myself (as I may seem to do with this blog...). It is totally a different perspective when it was all printed out on paper than reading it on the monitor screen. I have to thank my mentor for giving me sort of a push - I needed a raw response. Now I am ready to wrap this up.

The next step is to reprint and look over again with my mentor and get those damned numbers in order. But I think the 12 month schedule helped a great deal. So I feel strongly that I can start shopping this plan during the summer while folks are in spending mode in the industry.

One thing is for certain that a business plan takes time and it is a road map for your company, but is is also rewarding when you have written it yourself. No one can lay out the plan better than you. It would have cost me $1500 to get someone else to do this (and that is a friendly ammount to pay - business plans for corporations cost much more from an MBA pro). I wrote about that last year when I was in search of an MBA to do this - I am still thinking about going the MBA route myself. I have already started to turn the wheels...

Someone asked me the other day if I like managing more or designing? I feel comfortable in both skins. I think that is why this is breezy for me. Nevertheless, this was painful to get off with no money to spare for a "professional" business plan writer.If I had the dough, this plan would have been sent out already to lenders.

So the moral of the story is still the same - if you want something done right - do it yourself! This brand will exist in the near future and my message is still; Don't Give Up! We were set back 4 months but still trudging on. AND I have found a great person to do the website for us that should be up in the new year as all should go well.  

Invites to the launch party for all!

tg

Please Reply?

We moved to Arizona. The move set me back about 4 months on the business plan. However I was able to get the very rough draft to my mentor to review...

What I am trying to achieve with this plan is that it is not only our check list of things to do - but it needs to be appealing for a loan. The loan. How much do we REALLY need? And how much are they going to give this group of hopefuls? I am reaching for $250K - but is that enough, I wonder? Littles, Leo Tech & Bird will be the best Children's brand to hit the market since Osh Kosh B'Gosh. We also wanted to - if you remember - produce in the USA. But where are the factories? Well that is another argument that Barack and his team need to meet - the fashion industry has gone to Washington and now has a seat - so we'll see. So how about starting a factory in the future? That's a ton of money at least $500K. So this plan had better be rock solid.

Back to the plan. My mentor gave it a once over and told me it was wordy and long. So now I know what I need to revise. And I respect her advice - so I have to review, review and review. The move to Arizona put me as a full-time stay-at-home-mom because the husband went back to work full-time.So in the mist of re-writing this plan, home schooling my kids, feeding the horses and other wildlife (the kids) and baking sugar cookies in the shapes of dumplings - I still have to revise my development calender for the season we want to launch.

I have created a development calender for 18 months starting from  July, 2010. It included every single aspect of what we need to do to launch this thing. From the date of the website launch to the date we are expected to see our first invoice payment from vendors. Doing this calender helped me a great deal with my financial projection worksheet. I now know when to expect a payment and how long it is going to take to see results for the business. I also see how much money is going to be spent 6 months before we see any return. So it was clear how much money is needed for the loan to start. Month by month I listed the events, travel, sample making, contract payments, credit card spending, fabric purchases, every thing, and how much I expect we should be spending. A sure way to see it all in black and white.

We will start smaller than we initially projected because we don't want to run into a rut. I have experienced working with a small company that did not have a plan or exit strategy, let alone a way to pay for the pile of bills from factories and vendors. So we are not trying to go there. We are doing our best to be as savvy and smart as possible. Collecting my thoughts and putting them down in this way is not as easy as I thought.

I am also antsy. I am anxious and itching to get this off the ground. Who needs money? I thought. I can get this collection made for nothing and get it into the hands of buyers in 6 months! But then what? I have no money for production and I am NOT burning any bridges with the friends I have made int he industry. So back I go to review and revise this plan and make it the best thing ever. 4 months behind, I am already faced with reality of owning a business - that things do not always pan out the way you may want - but it does get there. Finally I have a solid advocate  in my mentor to work on this plan and quickly get it going.

I am giving myself 30 days to get results from myself!

Arizona is great, though. It is very inspiring and has tons of potential for collection ideas and design concepts all around. I am loving the mix of native/western and cactus! The sky's at sunset are awesome and the stars are right outside my door. Our horses are making me think of bridle leathers and belts and stitch work - browns, blues, purples, greens and metal. There is some kind of fashion industry here and I am making myself available if possible with some of the local fashion networks here. I have made some connections already and am hopeful that even though we are not in LA anymore - there is still hope of industry connections.

Now - the oldest son asked to have something "different" for dinner. So we bought a small octopus from the Oriental market in Tucson....

Time waits?

It has been a while since I have been able to actually write content on our developing Children's footwear brand - however we are forging ahead. HAPPY NEW YEAR! It is 2010 and like every other year that comes there is plenty to do. So to catch you up here is what has been happening;

SBA counselor says I have a very good plan (yeah). Which is an accomplishment because it took many long hours to get it together. HOWEVER, the projections and numbers that I put together was not in a format that a lender might understand quickly. Apparently there is a specific way that banks and lenders read money projects. So now I am adding those worksheets and arranging them. They are so simple stupid, I feel it does not enough information, but I was told that those particular formats will be the deciding factor on getting money from the SBA or any venture capitalist and what keeps folks from getting the maximum monies for their company.

Also that I need to rethink the option of being able to actually PAY ourselves. Interestingly enough lenders want to see your full responsibility which means no salary and that you are on the list to do just about everything and that I should not even think about giving a salary to anyone for at least 3 years! And here I was thinking that I could hook some folks up with a salary to help my professional business along. So we will be contracting out our advisors and marketing professionals.

AND that if there is no mention of assets on the projections there may not be funding...so from somewhere out there we were able to get that thankfully to add to our fiscal necessities! These were also very important factors to those of us with the entrepreneurial spirit to understand that funding your business from the outside takes a bit more than a great researched business plan. You need to have the right format for a quick response and a bit of something to hold your bank account accountable for the lenders to give you the funding. I guess they want to know - How bad do you want it? And in our current economy, money is tight and there better be a damn good reason to squeeze that lemon!

I went to Seattle, Washington back in October and found out that one of our inspirational giants was up for sale this year. I will not mention the name, but this brand is what we looked to when we started this idea.
We wanted to rival them in a way and push buttons on legacy and longevity. We had hoped that one day the papers will read that we are the predisesors to this national and all-be-it global brand. Perhaps this is a silver lining for us? Now that this giant was selling it's business - you never know if the new owners will do it justice - will our brand now be that symbol of greatness due to their depreciation? Time will tell, but it does not wait. But the process of our brand did strike an interest in the potential new buyer, so we will have to see.
We are in more of a hurry to get this along to see our potential this year.

I am looking to start the website and back to tackling that. And no I have not gone to take classes like I mentioned, however I am getting more familiar with what I need to do. I imagine the site going up in about 6-9  months and the collection itself to debut for Spring 2011 - hopefully. My husband wants to run a factory on the property we purchased (which is our asset:)) and be the All American Dreamers! I want to hurry and get it done, which means to outsource. The next 6-9 months will be to determine which is the best way in the long run and which will get funded. The article I wrote on getting the shoes done in the USA sparked some interest but took me to the same path I already knew - not happening here, yet:

http://www.shoebizness.com/2009/10/tanita-gray-made-in-the-usa/ 

So it just may be the selling point to stimulate the economy by developing a plan to produce the shoes here in the USA by building one of the very few footwear factories in this country with a global (cross your fingers) distribution. Making good ole' American shoes. Sounds good to me.

 

Now that I know there is also the threat of the economic craziness, I am even rethinking price-points. 

Or at least we are giving some thought to a more affordable option package to the right customer like Target in regards to the brand's distribution. We do not feel that this price-point customer we are targeting will be broke - but we fully understand that a bunch of them are right now and we don't want to loose out on customer loyalty or a chance to increase our sales. So only time will tell (again) what the economic situation will be in 2011. Although this may not be the most upbeat entry - it is a very serious one and hopefully we can all learn something about time. If I do not finish my numbers in time, this may slip by and not be able to take advantage of launching in 2011. If we do not make a decision on the website building - To Build or NOT to Build - we cannot start our pre-campaign of customer support. If I do not stop writing this blog right now - I cannot do what I just said I would do some 63 words ago...

tg

.

OK - the kids are making me hide!

While I am putting together this fantastical audacious and magical business plan - I can't help but to tell you guys the in's and out's of doing this with 4 "free-range" children.
I was on the phone with a good PR friend (mother of 1), of mine and telling her about my new adventure as a "Stay-at-home-Mom, Home-Schoolmaster, Designer, Writer, Wife, Lover, Food burner (really I am NO good with the oven UNLESS it involves Salmon or cakes...), etc., etc.”,.  And I am telling her that it is challenging to do this while I am constantly screaming at one kid, training another, teaching my oldest girl how to "pointe" her toes while dancing, turning up Yo, Gabba, Gabba (that show rocks), breaking up fights, cleaning up after a 1 year old's fascinationwith "let's throw the DVD's around" and the occasional crying over spilled milk - lliterally. She thinks I should film the fiasco. At any given moment you can find me curled up in a ball amid the madness...Well, at least my husband has. And he just steps right over me and shakes his head! - He tries.
I kid you not - every time I sit down at this computer, my lovely little 1 year old, Bird sees an opportunity to start crying...for what? I never know what! I think she see's the computer as an evil force that has taken control of her Mommy! She takes the mouse, she wants to type, she turns the computer off! You, know the little round blue button that is soooo attractive to babies. They should change that glowing wonder-ness. And don't get me started on my youngest son, Tech. He is undergoing the middle-child syndrome when in fact I did not think there was a middle-child in an even set of kids...
And when I get on the phone - watch out! It is like they all have a condition - "Mommy, my head hurts, "- He hit me” , “Mommy, Mommy...Mommy!" It reaches a crescendo, a chorus of loudness at a time when listening and understanding requires absolute, quite-ness! And so - I run! I run anywhere I can. Into the bedroom and lock the doors, hopefully the muffled "Mommy's" cannot be heard. I run out the back door, through the dog area and into the woods! I run out the bedroom sliding doors that lead to the back yard - but the older ones, Littles and Leo - race from the front door to meet me. If they do, I give them the glare - you know, the look of "You better leave me alone!" And they take off running back inside. I take off running and hide with the horses, or however far the phone will range.
My brother-in-law's wife thinks that that is why I cannot keep the baby weight on. I am constantly running after or away from the kids! Trust me the scene is instantly hilarious. The moment little Bird starts the cry I call on my husband and like a switch, she shuts off - it's the Father's secret weapon that Mother's just don't posses. Once I hid in the closet while on the phone with my writing partner and the kids had found a way to attempt to trash the place. And the Husband was furious -

"Why are you in the closet?" He yelled.
"Because I am trying to talk on the phone and it's important!" -
"Who hides in a closet? How can you know what's going on?" 
Well, I replied "-That's the point!"

Now I don't want you to think I have a horde of uncontrollable children - well, let's just say that when I am in the zone - I have control over NOTHING! I cannot manage all things the same when I am zoning like I am on this business plan. I am a whole other person that can't understand where all these kids came from!

When I come to, I realize that they are ALL my children! But no matter what I am working on, no matter how stressful they make me at times (the eye-twitches), they are my wonderful, funny, loving, growing at a rapid-rate, sponges and they take in everything so I have to be careful that they don't see me freak out, I LOVE MY KIDS! They drive us insane, there is never a day to ourselves in our own bed - broken back and all, our kids are our lifeline and we wouldn't change that for the world. And yes, they do make me hide! And at this very moment, Bird is crying out “'mon, Mommy, 'mon, Mommy...” and I can hear my husband in the background yelling “Song Bird! Shut...”

Color Story

Dear Everyone reading this blog,


I went to the SBA office on August 2nd and let me tell you that it took me 2 days to recuperate! But it was a great meeting and I walked away with some viable information about forming business structures in California and the tax benefits that are attached.

Anywho, I have a long list to check off and I am giving myself, with the help of the SBA rep, 4 months to plan this whole thing out. First thing was first - to secure the online entity. As it stands both http://www.thegraycorp.com/ and http://www.mylltb.com/ are parked (with go daddy) and the domain names are clear. We went with "mylltb" because the abbreviation will get folks to our site faster and the word "my" personalizes things and is totally kid friendly. There are other do-dads that must be done and to protect the interest of my company - I am moving this blog within the next coming month so that everything I write is legally secure and relates back to the company. And I want to put in the plug that the very base of this brand is set on technology and the invention of the insole...did I say, invention? Yes, that is what we did. We invented something that is vital to our shoes and that speaks very loud. Having that government ID number on our patent is the best thing we ever did for this journey. It gives the brand a certain level of distinction and integrity. So together with some knock out details, the websites will launch in the turn of the year first as a place to land this blog and then to offer product. This way we create a following and a place where the customer's have a voice and can see the brand evolve. That is the plan.

Meanwhile on the more creative side; Usually when you plan a collection you have an inspiration to follow and it can be a range of colors or fabrication. For me it is never in any order. I developed a color pallet first - however I was totally inspired by the property we live on and the color breakdown of the sky at sunrise and sunset. The sky explodes with color just before it goes down with oranges, blues and greens and when it comes up there are some purple and pink hues as well. It's beautiful. So I put that element into a color story.

I put a few color pallets together with the fall 2010 launch in mind...This is showing you how meticulous we are on fashion branding and how I am a strict believer in concept development. It also shows you all that although a line for children - we take color and style very seriously.

 Tell me what you think about the boards?


 Do you like the direction?


 Can you see yourself wearing shoes with these color pallets?


 

Thanks for reading - I have a plan to expand!

tg

Webmaster!!!

I drew this unicorn for Leotie and created the lineart on Adobe Illustrator. She filled in the colors on the computer...well, I helped.

This company will be in the business of online retail and manufacturing. We are in a new age and there is no turning back...well unless we all find the TRUTH behind our government's capability to supply us with the World Wide Web and the usage of energy... However it is here and no business person can live or operate without it. So I thought about taking a course on website design and development for the lltb site. I think it is a smart move because I can build the site and maintain it while we are in our beginning stages and perhaps hire an intern to help in the process. I joined a group on e-commerce business structure and it is very informative. When I was at Ed Hardy shoes I had the pleasure of working with a webmaster who was very talented and creative. When we developed the website for the Elvis shoes, we worked closely together to get across the correct look along with the marketing department. Well I am well rounded in both fields and I may be able to pull this off.
I reached out to my agents today and awaiting to hear back from them if they are willing to work with me on developing the insole and not the line as we spoke about only 2 weeks ago. It is possible that they may not want to commit to develop a single insole - they make money from a production order, not side gigs. So I may have to moc this insole up myself or try my other angle in Vietnam for help. However I'd like to stay in Brazil. I am hoping my agents will continue to support the mission and at least tell me the price to make the mold. I estimate it to be $1500. I also reach ed out to a good friend of mine who I'd like to be apart of my marketing campaign, to let her know also that I am developing the insole first. I suspect that the year 2010 will reveal the trends in the industry pending the "recession" we are currently in. As it is now the footwear industry is on edge. Even the trade show organizers have lost their minds. 2 of the industries prominent shows are being held at the same time: WSA in Vegas and Ffany in New York. This will take place in February 2010 - the results of the impact on the footwear industry TBA. We are all holding our breaths to see what will happen. I see most folks giving up on the shoe shows completely after this until things get back to "normal." I fear another bout of job loss because of this as a result. Hopefully WSA will change the dates back (WSA organizers  decided to go toe-to-toe with Ffany...).
I am deeply thinking about this and that even though we are in a weird time - as my good friend said to me, I still want to bring everyone great fashion. I am thinking about this because Littles, Leo, Tech & Bird will be apart of that industry and perhaps need to participate in either show in 2011. It may take some good ole fashion marketing and steer clear of these shows until we gain momentum and the cash to rent a 10x10 both space for 3 days of "I hope we break a million!" This is why we need to build an e-commerce site. An online boutique to showcase and sell our shoes direct to the customer. People think that they decide what to wear - when in fact, someone else ( a "buyer") chooses what goes into the store and you are left picking out what someone else thinks you should wear. If you have an e- commerce site - you can let the public decide what to buy straight up - at least that is what we will create.
So I am looking into taking this course - plus I told a dear friend that I would and perhaps help her business as well as part of the class project (tee hee). I think I can design and build a website. I'll give it a try and if it doesn't come out right I'll get help! We'll see, I will keep you posted of course on what I decide to do.

Best!

tg