Thank you everyone!Posted by Xtralicious on March 9th, 2008
Firstly, I need to thank everybody who had plugged for me and this new business venture, sent out emails to their friends and family, did word of mouth marketing for me etc. I am humbly speechless with gratitude and what can I say except THANK YOU again. I feel the lurrrvvveee.
Apologies to my friends who had to endure super late replies on the sms or email front since the start of this week, as I handle the marketing communications, IT, sales, customer service, photography, branding, back end of the business while cramming time to learn more about shop fronts, interfaces, different shop formats etc. It’s very exhilarating yet slightly frightening at the same time.
I deliberately chose a simple blog style format (in the vintage design style to stay true to the merchandise) as I am sure you all know, I am a true IT idiot and things like <aref=whatever></a> already makes me very proud of myself. (LOL!) I did not (still do not actually but now I do!!) know how to use a shop face and although I definitely planned to, I thought a blogging style that I am comfortable with might be ideal for work flow purpose.
So we did a soft launch on Monday 3 March 08 to test out the market, you know, sort of a “beta” stage. I thought I had it all down pat.
- Soft launch.. ask for friends’ suggestions on improvements/ criticisms/ ideas and then tweak the site design as we move along..
- I had many ideas about the shop face design and layout, but I hate waiting and procrastinating, and if I had to wait till the perfect shop front I want is read, it might be a month more before I can start the business going and I cannot wait that long.
- And full of ideas I certainly am. My poor boyfriend aka the Chief Technology Officer of the business had it quite tough on the IT support. And I am quite thankful that he is strong in the area I am weak. At least we complement each other this way.
- The plan was to tweak everything on the site as we move along: the copy, the layout, the format, the design etc. I honestly thought that the transition from beta to full launch ie. customers actively coming in, the stocks starting to move and the final shop face launch will take about two weeks. OK, so I had a slightly pessimistic and conservative take on the business front.. Thankfully, it was not two weeks, thanks to everyone who was so supportive.
- I suddenly have the feeling of being teleported to the supposed “second week” and where are the press releases, marketing articles, blurbs, advertisements that were planned to happen over the honeymoon period of two weeks? COMING UP NOW BOSS!! I am grateful for the “training” I had in my previous job where everything is wanted like, yesterday, and so it should be ready NOW NOW NOW!!! And I can’t even bitch about my boss, because essentially, that is myself. Hahahahaa!!!
- My poor boyfriend had to handle a very stressed me (strangely more so than working at the previous job!) who, in the typical perfectionist manner, needed to do everything properly, quickly and just so; a very frustrated me (who wept tears of frustration and anger at my limitations) and a simultaneously exhilarated and thrilled me when the stocks started clearing at exhilaratingly and thrillingly lightning rate. By the second day, I only had 5% of stock left and I panicked like an ant in the hot pot. But it’s a good thing to panic about I guess.
CAN YOU IMAGINE?? WE RAN OUT OF STOCKS ON THE SECOND DAY!!!
Thank you for all the emails of encouragement, the kind words for my styling sense and direction and most importantly, the action that spoke so much louder than words in the stock situation.
Thank you thank you thank you.
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