Sunday, December 23, 2012

Houston, we have TAKE OFF!

It's been about 26 hours since the Nikki's Magic Wand Official Launch Party and I find myself continuing to float on a cloud of "Oh my goodness I can't believe it went so well, everyone had a great time and we got Nikki's Magic Wand out there!" From the first moment, it felt right. The best friend/business partner, cousin and I went over earlier in the day and set everything up so we wouldn't feel rushed and that worked out very well. The venue, Le Maison Du Paix, was decorated for the holidays so it was gorgeous and festive. This was THE place for us. There were no other options. The guests started coming, were checked in by my favorite 15 year old (my daughter) and led to the VIP section, if they chose that option. From the first guest, I felt the electricity. I felt the excitement from everyone, happy to be celebrating one of the biggest days in my life and I have to tell you, it's a feeling like no other. It's like dozens of people showing up to your hospital room to see the new baby and they're excited and cheering and drinking wine. :)

The best friend/business partner and I had a list of things that we wanted to accomplish:

1. Get wands in most guests' hands.
2. Create a comfortable and fun environment that everyone would enjoy.
3. Make sure the food and wine lasted all night.
4. Create a little excitement with give-aways.
5. Collect money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
6. Get our lovely guests talking and spreading the word about the Wand.
7. Make sure everyone knew how much we appreciated their support and love.

I have to say, we reached EVERY single goal.

Since the party, Facebook has been buzzing with pictures and forwards about the party and the sharing of the www.nikkismagicwand.com link. Never have I been SO excited to see a new notification from Facebook across the top of my android. :)

Want to see a picture of me and the best friend/business partner at the Launch?


We've been talking chatting about it non-stop but now we're ready to keep the momentum going.

Stay tuned...SO much more to come!

Thanks for reading!
Nikki

Monday, December 17, 2012

Checking Out...

Hi!!!! Can you feel the enthusiasm in that "Hi!!!!"?  I've been wanting to do a new post to fill you in on everything and thankfully I finally have a break in the all of the chaos so here I am. There are loads of things going on that I want to share. First off, the launch is in FIVE DAYS! I can't believe it! It's almost here and you know that feeling where you're pretty sure you have about 1000 more things to do before the day comes? Well, I can't shake that feeling even though I keep checking things off of my to-do list. Bottom line though is that I'm excited and eager to see everyone that says they're coming. That is really going to be the highlight of the event; sharing such a big day with old and new friends.

Yesterday, 12/16/12, at noon, www.nikkismagicwand.com went live and the switch was flipped to accept pre-orders of the Wand. That was such a big milestone and honestly, it still feels surreal. I thought of something and now people are putting that something into their online shopping carts and checking out. It's absolutely amazing! I am so thankful to everyone who placed an order and want to send a special hello to Lucy P., who was the very first purchaser of the Wand. One of her dollars will have to make it into a frame.

I got an e-mail this morning from the manufacturer, with shipping information and the Wands should arrive on my doorstep tomorrow. I cannot wait to crack open that box and gaze upon their beauty.

I got a call today from a local paper and they said that they are featuring the Nikki's Magic Wand Launch in their Style section tomorrow and they also said that I could keep in touch with them when I'm planning additional fashion/style related events. That call made me whole day!

I was already pretty addicted to my smart phone and now that phone tells me when someone's placed an order so I'm even MORE in love with that thing.

This is an indescribable time in my life and I really have no more words for how excited I am right now.

Thanks so much for reading,

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

So emotional...

Oh. My. Goodness. 11 days until the BIG Launch! I cannot believe it's already here, yet it feels like it's been a long time coming. I know how I feel on the surface: excited, overwhelmed, nervous, busy as hell. But deep down? Wow, there's just so much that has gone into all of this. Yes, many, many tasks, but even more emotions. The surprise that I, yes, Nicole Lisa Narvaez Manns, could be and was actually creative for once. There were never any signs of creativity before this. Just ask my kids when they asked for help on school projects. So, surprise might have been the first emotion. Then, as one might imagine, this process takes perseverance and dedication because it's very easy to give up. VERY EASY. The mixture of not knowing what in the world to do next. How to come up with the THOUSANDS of dollars that it takes to keep it moving and how to find the time to do everything that needs to be done. Oh yeah, giving up seems like the only option at certain times. BUT, then the dream keeps nagging at you. It keeps calling your name and you say to yourself, "Self :) you wouldn't have had this idea if you weren't supposed to do something with it." I have given myself that speech many times.

So now, here I am, excitedly finalizing the menu, collecting VIP ticket payments, working on the music, meeting with a photographer and videographer, talking with our marketing specialist/webmaster to make sure the website is done and ready to take orders, checking in with the manufacturer to make sure the wands are on track for shipping, meeting with my formal and informal business consultants, preparing to throw the best doggone Launch party you've ever seen!

No flashbacks today. Just want to enjoy this moment....I'm close to sharing my dream with the world and that needs all of my attention right now.

Thanks for reading.