Monday, April 30, 2007

Not a finalist

Well, at 3:00 on Friday I received an e-mail from QVC that I did not advance to the final round of their contest with Oprah. I was so incredibly sad. My weekend was not a whole lot of fun. Then I picked myself up and thought about all the people that I know that are "success stories". Did their success happen overnight? Did they win a contest and that's what put them on the map? I don't think so. Why should it be so easy for me? It's back to the drawing board. I'm moving forward. I really have no choice but to keep on keeping on. QVC and Oprah aren't the end all be all. I have bigger places to go. Just watch! (Although it would have been cool to be on Oprah, huh)

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Waiting to Hear From QVC

So I sent QVC an e-mail today. Just a random e-mail to the Product Search Department. I told them that I was at the Oprah/QVC event on March 23rd, and that I really wanted...no I needed to know if they had at least contacted the 10 finalists. I got an e-mail back that notification would be sent out on or after April 27th. This is killing me. I truly feel like I am going to make it to the next round. It's weird; I have dreams; I envision meeting Oprah. I see signs all around me. Is that weird? I'm just looking forward to Friday. Advancing to the next round or not, I need to move forward!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

OnTray colors

The other day I toured Olan Plastics where OnTray will be manufactured. I picked up some samples of the colors I liked. I'm going to offer OnTray is four different colors. Blue, pink, green, and yellow translucent. They're fun, young, and just what I had in mind. I am so excited to get my first order in.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Olan Plastics

Today I'm scheduled to go visit the factory where Ontray will be manufactured. They, Olan and Laser reproductions, thought it would be good for me to take a tour, and see how a product is made. Too bad I won't actually be able to see my tool. It's on a boat on it's way here from China! It won't be to Columbus until 4/23. Oh well, at least I'll get to see the place, and get to see some color swatches. I'm thinking about making OnTray come in four different colors. Blue, pink, red, and green.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Pushing through pain

Yesterday I read an article in Business First here in Columbus (www.columbus.bizjournals.com). The article was titled "Entrepreneurs who push through pain find their rewards at finish line". I swear it was written for me(well and I guess every other Entrepreneur here in Columbus :) ) . The other day I wrote about wanting to give up on this project of mine. I'm tired and feel beat up emotionally and financially. Then things come into my life that make me want to keep going. Keep pushing. Steve Anderson, who wrote the article, says, "My experience has been the effort you put in is far less than what you get out. And here's the secret:The greatest rewards lie just beyond where most people quit trying". Isn't that something? For now, that's enough to keep me pushing through this pain.

Friday, April 13, 2007

42 Kids

The name of my company is 42 Kids. People started commenting on the fact that I always referred to my brood as, "Me and my 42 Kids". When it came time to come up with a name for my company, 42 Kids was the only one I felt was just right. I registered the domain name www.42kids.com, and that will be linked to OnTray's web-site. For down the road when I come up with other ideas:)

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Trying to stay positive

It might be the weather or, it might be the fact that all of my children are sick. Whatever it is, I am in a funk! I feel like this little side project of mine, OnTray, is taking FOREVER to get off and running. I feel like the bills keep coming in for this project, and I'm paying them, but I'm not making any money! This is a scary process, this whole entrepreneur thing. These days make it tough for me to want to keep going. I almost feel like I'm so far in to the project that I have no choice but to keep going on. May 30, 2007 is my launch date for www.ontray2go.com. That feel like a lifetime away.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Making connections

Recently, I attended the Baby Bonanza here in Columbus. I mainly wanted to see how other vendors set up their booths at trade shows. I learned a lot. I also made a great contact in the woman entrepreneur world. Her web-site is www.contemporarybaby.com. She has beautiful baby products like bibs, blankets, and burp clothes. Just really sweet things. I'm a sucker for anything chenille! Anyway, I'm realizing that making connections can help you tremendously in a new venture. She is willing to help me with marketing. With her having already launched a successful business, I am looking forward to hearing what she has to say.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Making My Blog Work Better

Well, I've spent most of my free time today trying to figure out more about Blogging. I still don't feel like I really know what I'm doing. I set up profiles with companies that hopefully will drive more traffic to my blog, which in turn will help drive traffic to my web-site when it goes live. That address again is www.ontray2go.com.

Laura

technorati

Technorati Profile

Saturday, April 07, 2007

May 30, 2007

Well, May 30, 2007 is the big day! That's the day we are taking www.ontray2go.com live! I am so excited, nervous, happy, scared, relieved, oh the list goes on and on. I just hope this works. I need to take the next 45 days and really think about how I'm going to promote my product. My budget has been primarily spent on getting this idea off the ground. I don't have much money left for traditional advertising. I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Laura

Monday, April 02, 2007

Getting close to going live!

Well, it's almost here. I am just about ready to go live with my web-site. I am so excited for this to happen!

I keep imagining someone at the store, frustrated like I was many months ago. Then they go home and Google, "shopping cart container", or "container that attaches to a shopping cart" (that's what I Googled!), and they'll actually find something that can help them. Something they can buy! Oh my gosh, how awesome. I am so excited. This is going to sound silly, but I am actually going to help people. What a great feeling.

Laura