It's a Lonely Life!

If you know me personally, don't panic and call my mother. I'm not lonely in my real life, nor in my virtual life. My family, friends, gym and cat keep me happy in the real world. My personal and business social media communities keep me happy in the virtual world.

But I am alone in the every day My Bespoke Chair world. Apart from the people who work with me to build the website, print the fabrics and make the chairs, the buck stops with me.

Being a solopreneur is tough and there are times when I sit back from the screen, look around, realise that I've spent the best part of the day clacking away at the keyboard....and for what? For whom? What's the point? Am I a madwoman for starting this impossible journey - building a business with a product, website and ethos that is so unlike my competitors?

Questions:
a) What do I do next and how do I know it's right?
b) Who can I look to for inspiration?
c) Where can I find guidance?
d) Why am I torturing myself by embarking on this journey?

Answers:
a) I recently completed an online business marketing course, lead by an incredible woman called Marie Forleo. She's been sought out by Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey for being the voice of the modern woman in online business. This 8 week course taught me customer targeting, marketing strategies, website optimisation, copywriting and lots of American "yay-go-girl" kookiness. I gained precise insights and strategies, I gained affirmation that much of what I am doing naturally is correct and most vitally, gave me access to a community of women (+ a few men) who are starting out, just like me. It is a life-long membership to her course and supportive community.

b) On Saturday, I was humbled to be part of the TEDx Sydney audience. TED is a global organisation, spreading ideas worth sharing. If you haven't experiences a TED talk, hop onto their site and pick any; they are free online and totally awe-inspiring. I sat for 12 hours at the Sydney Opera House, listening to clever people talk about the Digital Data Black-Hole, Housing for Health, Drugs to Slow Aging Genes, Marketing to the Masses and Nature as a Designer. Plus a fabulous chap who created an entire Jazz Band with his mouth, voice-box and a mike. Inspiring stuff.

c) On Monday, I went to a Pitching Competition, organised by TiE and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. This event showcased entrepreneurs pitching for Venture Capital and a 1st Prize to attend TiECom in Silicon Valley. A bit like Dragons Den without the cool warehouse studio. I was encouraged to hear people pitch their dreams and disruptive business ideas. I felt less alone. And TiE is a global mentoring organisation, linking entrepreneurs with Business Angels. I attended a 2 hour mentoring introduction last month but now I shall join the organisation. Launching and working unguided is daunting, but now I have some of Sydney's best business brains on my side. The start-up industry is burgeoning in Sydney especially and there are opportunities to be explored.

d) Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, explains perfectly why I am compelled to run My Bespoke Chair and Bespoke Art, to use my talents and follow my ambitions. I don't want to be 80 years old and regret not exploring my life's possibilities. But he explains it better! Watch it here.

So I'm not alone in being alone.  I'm just alone in pushing my own boundaries.


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The Day My Site Crashed (& I confessed to cheating)

The first 4 months of My Bespoke Chair were spent setting up all the social media requirements of a modern, online business. Job done, boxes ticked, virtual world navigated and mapped. Happy days. Love my online community. Everyone rocks!

But no sooner has one obstacle been overcome, the next looms. And it's more terrifying and less appealing then Pinterest boards, Facebook reach and Twitter #@lingo.... Technology: WP plug-ins, API keys, video embedding, HTML codes, autoresponders, downloads and uploads. Not to mention passwords for every breathe I take.

Google is my IT tutor, my know-it-all mentor. I Google everything techy and it inevitable tells me to watch a YouTube tutorial. I watch endless videos of clever, techy people zipping their mouse across the screen, clicking methodically and instructively. Easy. Simple. Just do this step, then do that step. Done.

Last week, I needed a simple WordPress plug-in to be installed. I decided not to use my actual web developer, but to try out a web company who will "tweak" your site. No contracts, you pay by the "tweak". Seemed fool-proof. To cut a long story short, it was a stressful nightmare for 7 days.

Ok - I can do this myself instead. So, I asked Google and YouTube. I tried installing the WordPress opt-in box to the My Bespoke Chair homepage myself. It's a little dialogue box that appears inviting you to sign up for a newsletter. Nice companies offer you a thank you gift. We're nice; we give you $300 off your perfect chair when you sign up for our newsletter. Then fortnightly, we'll email you a pretty newsletter packed with useful interior design tips, special offers and behind-the-scenes news.

I digress...

It went horribly wrong. The site seemed to crash. When I typed in the URL I saw something like this. My reaction frightened the children. I thought I was going to die.

I made a frantic, embarrassed call to my actual web developer, Matt - at 9pm on a Friday night. Miraculously, he answered, listened patiently and non-judgementally to my choked ramblings...then fixed it in a flash. Back to his beer and NCIS on the TV (I made that bit up)

Lessons learnt: It's OK and necessary to be in charge of your own back-end CMS. Adding new text, pages, images, keeping the site's content fresh and tweaking here and there. WordPress is brilliant and easy to use, even on a site as complex as My Bespoke Chair.  But just because everything is "figure-outable" through Google, YouTube and other sites, doesn't mean you should. A wrongly placed < > and you're doomed. Leave the fiddly stuff to your web developer and stick with what you're excellent at.

Until I can employ an IT/web manager in-house, I shall never again cheat on my web designer and developer.  You always get caught....

(go see the finished result here and sign up....I'm very happy now and it's already proving a success with new subscriber sign-ups increasing)

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A Day in My Life

7:00 - Wake up to my alarm ringtone which is Paradise by Coldplay - what a great concert that was!  I check my emails and Facebook on my way downstairs; my office is near the bedroom, so I find it hard to resist. The kids are old enough to get up themselves and, by the time I'm ready, they've been up for half an hour, dressed and breakfasted. And they have fed Lady, our slightly nervous but sweet cat.

7:45 - Packed lunches made, bags packed, we're out the door. First stop school. Then I continue driving against the rush-hour traffic to the gym. I am addicted (I think I'm not exaggerating) to spin classes, and travel a good 20 minutes to my favourite gym in Balgowlah. Yes, there are closer gyms, but this one is clean and modern; plus the instructors are awesome and I know a few people there, so I feel totally at home.

8:30 - I get my favourite bike at the front. Double spin class starts. I curse for the first 15 minutes. It hurts and I'm pushing myself to the limit. But I love it really. I have 1h45 to think, review and plan the day ahead. Physical struggle brings mental clarity.

10:15 - Spin ends and often I drag my sweaty-self to the supermarket downstairs. People actively avoid me in the aisles.

11:00 - Home, shower and put on a laundry load before starting work. Each Sunday night I prepare a To Do List for the coming week. It invariably includes sending press releases to the interior design media, following up on media requests for images and info, completing assignments for the business course I'm following, keeping up-to-date and active on social media marketing, meeting my web development team (which is constant as I slowly offer more functions and fabrics) deliveries and appointments.

I also have Bespoke Art to run, and at any one time I may have a painting or fabric design commission to work on. Or a simple upholstery job.

13:00 - I stop for lunch, which is often a quesadilla or noodle soup. BBC News 24 goes on and I catch up with what's going on in the Big Wide World.

13:30 - Back upstairs to work with a cup of tea. I follow up on chair orders or any requests that have come in recently. I have to be super careful that I don't mix social media marketing for My Bespoke Chair with personal Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and blog reading. It's a fine line between useful work and gratuitous pleasure (though I'm not complaining that a vast part of my work includes fun stuff!)

14:30 - If I have fabrics to source or finished chairs to pick up from my upholsterers, I will dash out now. I take the van which has my logo splashed across the side; it's a very recognisable vehicle and I am often spotted, so I have to drive on my best behaviour! I was once pulled over by the police in a very prominent spot, and felt mortified that my precious business was being tarnished by my "criminal activity" (failing to wait the full 3 seconds at a Stop sign.......)

15:30 - I am queuing in the school car line. Back at home, I feed the kids, chat about their day and get back to work. They are great at doing homework without fuss and we are united in our toil. TV goes on once they are finished.

17:30 - Time to down tools and start cooking supper. So, as I chop and stir, the kids join me in our open-plan kitchen. This is when I fix myself a well-deserved G&T.

18:30 - My fabulous husband arrives home and we eat supper all together. It's a great time of day.

20:00 - Kids in bed, cuddles given, and I gravitate back up to my office. There is always work to do and I find very little time to watch TV. I have Downton Abbey (series 3) waiting for me, but I have yet to start it. Maybe because I know once I start, I'm locked in for the whole 8 hour series!

22:30 - Bed with a good book. I have to read to wind down. On holiday, I can get through 6 books in a week! My husband also runs his own business, so we often stay up late discussing the joys and horrors of being entrepreneurs. I sometimes dream about steady monthly pay-cheques and a predictable life. But ultimately, I love My Bespoke Chair and couldn't image doing anything else.

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8 Things I've Learnt

It's been 4 months since the launch of My Bespoke Chair. Here are a few lessons I've learnt:

• Starting my My Bespoke Chair is not the same as being in business with the Bespoke Art shop. For starters, and quite obviously, online is like being invisible. Customers don't just drive past and stop. The on- and off-line work load and diversity has delighted me, befuddled me, excited me and depressed me.
• My natural enthusiasm and impatience are a troublesome mix. Growth has been slower than I anticipated; when I put in 110%, I expect 110% straight back. But I am learning that success is a series of baby steps. 

"Timing, perseverance and 10 years of trying, will eventually 

make you look like an overnight success." Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter.

• Checking the metrics every day is as pointless as weighing myself every day. Some days are amazing, where site traffic has jumped and business is looking up, but some days are "fat" days, where things slump and my spirit falters. New Golden Rule -  check Google Analytics on Mondays only. That way, I can swiftly ascertain what's been working and what needs improving; 6 days of action, 1 day of contemplation and strategy.
• My love for My Bespoke Chair means that I work 24/7 and I seriously need to find a way to disengage and relax. But it's hard because:  

          a) It doesn't feel like "work". I love what I do.

          b) I like action; it brings clarity. Once I start a project or task, I cannot stop until it's done.

          c) My office is at home so work and family routines blend. If I'm not writing a Press Release I'm doing the laundry. During the school-run, I'm mentally running through the metrics and next strategy.

• It is perfectly possible to be a full-time mum and business owner and cook freshly each day. It takes 20 minutes to whip up a simple pasta sauce or a hearty salad with pork chops. No excuses. In fact, my favourite down-time is when the kids are doing homework in the kitchen and I'm preparing supper. A cheeky G&T helps too! Plus, it is my duty to keep my family healthy. 
• A steep learning curve is actually very addictive. Knowing and doing stuff that I didn't know or do before is exhilarating. 
• The business needs to develop further - more fabric choices, embed a short video on "How It's Made", offer a more sophisticated Gift Certificate range, widen the Gallery {Buy It Now} choices and offer a free Chair Design Service for customers looking for inspiration and advice.

But most of all, I have learnt that my motivation remains steadfast - to share the joy of designing, make it accessible and encourage people to say proudly "I designed this."


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Why

I came across a fascinating TED speech, given by the great Simon Sinek.

Everyone should watch it. At first, it might sound like its aimed at people in business but actually it applies to us all. It has plenty of "a-ha" and "that-makes-perfect-sense" moments.

Everything we do should begin with "Why am I doing this?"

Watch it here....

P.S Why did I start My Bespoke Chair?
Because I want everyone to feel the joy of designing. I want you to say "I designed this".

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Reach Out and Touch Me

In my last post I wrote about the need for trust in building a great online business. But I think I jumped the gun a little on that one...put the cart before the horse. Before you can get people to trust your brand and product, you need people!

The human connection is so essential in social media marketing. Who ever said that technology is killing human interaction must be a dinosaur or had a lobotomy. Think blogs, think Facebook, think facetime, think Twitter, think Pinterest, think Minecraft (yes, I have a 12 year old son who meets his school friends to build villages...) and the list is endless. Today, we interact with more people in more places than ever before.

So when I think about how to acquire more customers, how to grow My Bespoke Chair, and how to build a great company, I must first think about who I am going to reach out to. I have recently vowed to actively make one significant connection per day; one person who I want to either tell about My Bespoke Chair, or one person I want to listen to, one person I can ask for advice, or one person who can put me in touch with more people.

Of course, I will tweet, post, like, comment, email and pin. That's rather like saying "I will breathe and eat today". But just going through the motions is not enough. I must understand that human connection is the new currency. The Industrial Economy brought checks and balances, systems and processes. We are in the midst of a Connection Economy. Emotional connection with our audience/customers is vital.

It brings me to something the grandmother of my best friend at school said. Granny Thomas said "People matter." This was circa 1990, before the internet and social media. I remember Granny Thomas' words often - little did she know how perfect her advice was for this digital world. RIP Granny T.

But it's hard and scary to reach out in a meaningful way sometimes.

To be accountable, this week I've:
a) met with Tessa White from Down That Little Lane. She started her online business a year before me, and she's flying. I needed to hear her story and learn from her, so I emailed her and met her for tea and cake on Monday. Priceless.

b) took part in a live, online webinar with the mighty Seth Godin, Yahoo genius and author on disruptive thinking and contemporary marketing. I am in awe.

c) sorted an editorial deal with a major wedding magazine (the best wedding gift is to design your own chair online. A story to tell for years to come - "I made this")

So if you can, reach out and touch me. We mustn't hide our skills and ideas away. We must be brave. I must be brave. There are 7 billion people out there, ready to hear a story. The human connection is what technology and the future of business is all about.


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Trust me, I'm an artist.

No seriously, you've got to trust me....I'm an artist, mother, wife, daughter, friend and extremely exhausted business founder who is working (and worrying) day and night to grow My Bespoke Chair.

No matter what a business is selling, and everyone sells something, a key component in success is trust. This is especially true when selling in the online market, where physical contact and a sense of "I know where you work" is missing. When tapping out your credit card details or transferring your hard-earned cash for something you can't yet touch or use, that's trust in action.

So how can I tell my potential customers "Trust me and, rest assured, you will receive the gorgeous chair you designed and paid for"? I know I will deliver on the company's promises, but how do you know I will?

Trust, like respect, cannot be forced and much as I'd like to whack up on my Home page "Trust this site and product", I can't. It would send out the wrong message. (actually, has anyone ever tried this and it work out favourably?!)

And so, my time has been focused on PR; getting great magazines, newspapers, online publications, bloggers and social media to endorse My Bespoke Chair, through articles, reviews, posts, tweets, pins, likes and word-of-mouth. Reportedly, it takes up to 8 times for a potential customer to see your product or brand in various places before they decide to buy.

Customer testimonials are probably the most important "Trust Me" advocates, though for a sparkly new business, this is often easier said than done. On average, most start-ups struggle to gain customers in the first few months and the first 6 are always hair-raising. Read a fascinating insight here

So it's a vicious circle. You need customers to gain customers. New businesses need early adopters to buy the product and fly the flag. Brave pioneers of the consumer world - we salute you!

Customer acquisition is an art in itself and warrants a post for another day. But in the meantime, our first batch of orders (fabulous chairs designed by our talented customers!) went out recently. It was nail-biting times; until I received an email last night from one of our customers/loyal Facebook followers and I leapt for joy...

"I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for my chair which arrived last week. It's beautiful and perfectly made. I really love it and it's comfy too!...The colour matches perfectly with my bed linen."
Natalie, WA.

Happy customers...it's a trust thing.


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