It’s July. Our slow time. My hands stop moving and my brain begins to operate on overdrive:
Why is it slow?
We need consistency?
What’s the magic bullet that’s going to make this business boom?
Am I doing all I can?
I have to be more organized.
I’ll try ____ kind of marketing.
All that runs through my head, then, honestly, I take a nap. It’s like my brain has so much going through it that I shift into hibernation mode to preserve it for the busy times, and then no action is taken on any of the stuff that was swirling around.
So I’ve decided that the best way to actually GSD (Get Sh&t Done) is sheer commitment and determination. I need to add structure to my day so that I have a specific amount of time that I am at my desk working on the business, not in the kitchen working on cookies.
Because that’s how it works for me: I get the cookies out, and then I prioritize the rest of my life based on which fire needs to be put out the soonest, or (more honestly) which one is more fun to extinguish.
Clearly for me it’s more fun to take the boys to the store for running shoes than it is to work on payroll. It’s more exciting to look for a new couch than it is to organize my invoicing system…
So, I started this week with goals. One of them being that I will write for 20 minutes a day. So today gets a gold star, because I am writing this right now. Some of the goals are personal, the others are CookieText related.
A cool sidenote here is that my oldest then grabbed a pad and scribbled down some goals for his week.
What’s that they say? A goal without a deadline is just a dream…or something like that.
Big Goals:
Be a good mom.
Grow my business this year.
In that order.
Small Goals:
Be a good mom.
Organize my invoicing system by Friday.
Also in that order.
So I’m over here making use of the summer slowdown by trying to enjoy my boys, improve my systems, and not hibernate. Meanwhile I hope you are over there having a great summer.
It could be an even better summer if you were eating a CookieText.
Okay, that was a cheap shot, but funny. You can’t blame a gal for trying;). Now go GSD.
I had a nice glass and iron candle holder in the center of the kitchen table. There was a pretty blue candle in it that pulled in the colors of the nearby furnishings.
Now there is a basket of socks.
My three teenage sons shower and then dress each morning in their respective rooms. They share socks, however, and those have always been stuffed in a common drawer for them to pull from.
Socks are a pain. I am often standing at the kitchen table, laundry basket on a chair beside me, tackling the sorting and matching of 81 black Nike socks that vary only by either the color of the little swoosh, whether there is a grey ring inside the top hem, or by how much they have faded over time. If you haven’t had a good time in a while, join me. It’s kind of like the game where you have to study the two pictures that are almost identical and circle the minute differences. And just like the kids level-up in video games, my aging eyes enhance the sock challege year by year.
All the matches then go into a collective sock drawer in a nearby room for the boys to pull from. So the barefooted boys get to the kitchen, get their breakfast, and then wander off to the drawer to don their socks.
It occurred to me, as I sorted these socks while standing at the table, the basket of single socks on a chair beside me, that the kitchen table is where the boys are when they need socks. So why the extra trek?
Practicality 102
I moved the candle in it’s glass and metal display, grabbed a wire basket, and filled it with matched socks.
The next morning’s ritual was akin to studying animals in their native habitat. One by one the boys each sat down, did his breakfast thing, the thought of socks washed over him, he lifted his head, saw the basket, grabbed a pair, and put them on.
Never a comment or question from either of them. Simply, “this is what I need, here it is, I’m moving on.”
And so I have a centerpiece of socks.
In the same vein, you get a CookieText® that has napkin and a knife in the box.
At home and at CookieText I try to make it easy.
Our team aims to anticipate the CookieText ‘experience’ from start to finish and make it as simple for the sender to give as it is for the recipient to enjoy.
Let’s say you are the lucky recipient, you open your CookieText®, are touched by the kindness of the message, want to dig in, and in the same second you realize it needs cutting, you see, right there: tucked neatly on the right side of the cookie cake, is the little wooden eco-friendly knife, just exactly what you needed.
So at home I have a centerpiece of socks, and at work we put a knife in each box.
Different but the same.
Because it’s really kind of special when someone anticipates your needs.
Forgive the manner of solicitation, it’s my speculation that the #hamildocPBS has got me wrought with inspiration and I’m inclined to write in rap and rhyme.
I try not to be an imposition I hope you understand this vision that blinds me into asking for your help.
I’m needing your opinion to influence the decision of the unsure patron that’s running through our site.
Friends must earn our trust, but in ecommerce that’s a bust: online we just believe what other shoppers write. Reviews they guide our purchase, often resulting in a surplus… of crap from Amazon we do not need.
So if you are a fan, we request you take a stand, and guide some other shoppers to the light. Take a moment to review any product that you choose that’s on our site.
It’s my speculation, that your shared jubilation will influence perusers on the fence. Help us tip them over, like Rover rolling over, so they can know the joy of sending CookieText.
I know I’m no Miranda, even without your brutal candor, but it’s fun to write in something other than straight prose. I’d appreciate your review, and will email a discount for you, if you write one in the next few days. Not at all a bribe, simply an incentive to transcribe, your happy thoughts of CookieText long gone.
[Simply visit any product on the website you love, scroll down under the photos, click the Review tab and leave a review. We’ll email you a discount coupon for your next order as a thanks for taking the time.]
“Ain’t nothin’ gonna break my stride, nobody gonna slow me down, I got to keep on movin’,” that’s a pretty accurate description about how I feel about Cookie Text right now.
Though if you know that song reference, you’ve just revealed that you are as old as I am.
For those that are unfamiliar with the lyrics, it’s a quirky tune from the ’80’s that starts with the singer dreaming about sailing to China. That part is relevant to our business as well. There were days during the past year that felt like I was on a slow boat to China.
Time for a Change
In October, when the Cookie Text business’s birthday is upon me, I always take time to think and review all that has transpired in the previous year. This time last year I was doing just that and came across a TED talk that brought about a big change in me and my business. It was a piece by spoken word poet, Sarah Kay, called “If I should have a daughter…”
In this talk, Kay speaks of what lessons she would want to share with her daughter were she to have one. Something Kay would want her daughter to know is that she won’t be able to rescue everyone. Knowing that her theoretical child will be like herself, Kay believes that the girl will want to fix things and make everything better for whomever she meets. That’s something I could relate to for sure, the drive to make everything better for everyone.
At one point, Kay explains to her daughter about days when everything goes wrong, like a day “when you step out of the phone booth and try to fly and the very people you wanna save are the ones standing on your cape.” We’ve all been there I think; we are trying to help someone but can’t because they won’t let us or they are getting in the way?
When you step out of the phone booth and try to fly and the very people you wanna save are the ones standing on your cape.
It got me to thinking. Who or what is getting in the way of CookieText soaring? What is holding the company back? What is our major road block? With all the hard work I’ve put in, what is in the way of things really taking off? What needs to change in order to really make this company a success?
The Man in the Mirror
Again and again I pondered, who is standing on my cape? For several days I came up blank. Then it occured to me, the person in closest proximity to my cape was guilty.
The person stepping on my cape was me.
Sure, from an outsiders perspective, I was working hard. I was pulling long hours, juggling work, home, and family and getting it all done. But the harsh truth was I wasn’t doing it very well and was often narrowly escaping disaster.
The reality was I was ignoring the painful truth right in front of my face: I was no longer driving the bus, I was clinging for dear life to the bumper.
I needed to change. I was my big barrier to success.
So in this past year, one day at a time, I’ve made better choices for myself, my company, and my family.
I picked up my running shoes.
I put down the beer.
I eliminated distractions and found sources of inspiration.
I read books and found mentors.
I started running a company instead of getting through the next day. I hired some people and did the gruesome task of parting ways with one. I even approached all the math that is so crucial to running a business that I had dodged for far too long.
I accepted that if Cookie Text was going to fly, I was it’s vehicle, and I needed to bring my very best self to do the job. In the past year I made every effort to do just that. I needed some work, so I took charge of me.
Just as Kay’s fictional daughter can’t save someone that is sabotaging the helper, I can’t run a successful company if I ignore it’s barriers to success. Facing the fact that I was making personal choices that were affecting my business in a negative way…let’s just say that was less than fun.
Change is hard, and the hardest part of change is the beginning. I swear in the beginning of trying to change you enter some horrible time warp where everything slows down, you can’t see any difference, and nothing will accumulate.
Then you blink, it’s suddenly October a year later, and you’ve hit a stride. All that effort, it’s so worth it. After the beginning, time flies.
I’m living a healthier, happier, more balanced life. I’ve got a great team of happy people working together at Cookie Text and things are running smoothly. I love my job, I bring my best self to work each day, and the sales are growing each month.
I’ve hit a groove, Cookie Text’s path is wide open and “ain’t nothing gonna break my stride, Nobody gonna slow me down, I got to keep on movin’…”.
“A year from now, you will wish you started today.” ~Karen Lamb
When we launched CookieText.com in 2011, we sent out discounts and coupons with almost every email. Like most people that start a business or introduce a product, we wanted to sell our stuff. We wanted people to try our stuff. We wanted people to like our stuff.
When you’re just starting out it seems like you have to practically give things away in order for them to catch on. There is a lot of emotion involved in putting yourself and your product out into the world, at the time getting some items out into the world and getting some positive feedback about the product was worth way more to me than any money in the bank.
I was focused on getting customers and building a brand and I gave out a lot of discounts. Potential customers would sometimes call with a question, I’d answer, and then I’d say, “Oh, and use promo-code ____ for a discount.” Which was silly, because I already had the sale…what was I thinking?
I know I like to get a deal, and when I add items to an online shopping cart I google for a coupon code before I check out. I mean, if I can save some money, why wouldn’t I?
The “Groupon Effect”
Time went on and our product and our brand gained traction. Groupon called. It was tempting, with their promise of exploding your business. I shied away.
First of all, you really end up with only 25% of the asking price when you sell on Groupon. Secondly, it seemed like it was a weird slap in the face to the people that were already ordering from CookieText. Here they had been loyal customers and paid asking price, yet suddenly I’d offer our products to newbies at half the cost? That was totally out of line with my thought process, which is it’s a lot easier to keep an existing customer than it is to find a new one. Kind of like when I go to that church that says again and again throughout the service to invite my friends. My friends are cool, but what about me? I came here because I needed something, but you’re more interested in my friends?
Is it a Business or a Non-profit?
I digress. Gradually we sold more cookies and had more customers and guess what…I wasn’t paying myself. I was paying all the bills and our head is above water, but all the hours I spend working are spent working to build the business, to create the brand, to establish a clientele. And I work hard. And a lot.
Ninety percent of the time it’s fun, but sometimes I’d rather be sitting on my couch watching Mad Men. It is a lot of work. In order to sell this idea, to take the concept to the next level, I have to prove it’s profitable. And it’s got to be profitable while it’s paying the person who runs it. Because other than me, I don’t think there are a lot of people that would operate a Cookie Text kitchen for free.
Instead of up with the prices, away went the discounts. And I’m not sorry. I’m not sorry because our prices are ridiculously better than any other company that delivers a gift and our product is superior to any cookie cake you can find. We make everything from scratch, bake it to order, personalize it, beautifully package, and hand deliver it. And I’m far enough into this excursion to realize Cookie Text is not for everyone. Some people just want to grab a mass-produced baked good from the local grocery. Nothing I can do will stop that. Quality ingredients and preparation time cost money. As we’ve traveled down this road we’ve found we aren’t the right company for everyone. Not everyone wants to be our customer.
Customer Loyalty
We are delighted with the customers we have. And though we very seldom offer public discounts any more, we are inclined to see a repeat customer and sneak a coupon into their CookieText.com account or email them with a promo-code to thank them for their business and loyalty. We’ve been known to gift them with a free CookieText treat from time to time as well. So as much as we want new customers, we want ones who appreciate the work that goes into every product we produce. Therefore we make every effort to provide exceptional service to those who already do.
We think a CookieText is worth every penny of it’s asking price and more. So if you google and don’t find a coupon code, it’s because we have done the math, the comparisons, and the legwork. You’re already getting a great deal.
If you want to read more about coupon marketing and loyal customers, I loved this article.
