Thursday, June 20, 2013

Bloggers, Vloggers and PR firms...Oh my!

Wow! I don't think I've let this much time pass between posts but I promise you, my life has been absolutely crazy. I thought of you often, wanting to have a moment to sit and share with you and I've finally grabbed a moment. There's plenty to share. Let's jump in...

Since May 20th, Nikki's Magic Wand has had the good fortune to have a VERY competent intern, Sean G. working with us. Sean understands our goals and in this last month, he has been doing a fabulous job! He has been reaching out to Bloggers and Vloggers, calling PR firms and Beauty Schools and getting us connected with companies that do gifting suites at celeb events. Sean has been the extra set of hands we so sorely needed. We even have him hooked up with our pal, logo guru Julie and she is showing him the website ropes.

In the last month, we applied for "Shark Pool" which is a competition for business owners, being put on by the African American Chamber of Commerce. We are happy to announce that we made it to the second round and are a bit closer to securing a cash prize! We are SUPER excited about that!

In the last few days, we have made a connection with the lovely Ms. Taylor, who is putting on Style Week here in Pittsburgh. Nikki's Magic Wand is planning on being a "Chic Sponsor" and super excited about being a participant.

AND, on June 29, I am hosting a1/2-versary Launch Party, where I've invited friends to BYOB and bring a buddy to network and also learn more about what women in our community are doing. I'm excited to have other business owners selling some of their wares so we can all support one another. The event happens in 9 days and I can't wait!

So, those are the updates but I want to take a moment to share some real thoughts and feelings with you. Nikki's Magic Wand has been open for business for six months now and boy has it been a ride thus far. I mean, we're in the White House for Heaven's Sake! I have learned that starting a business is an interesting thing. It really is, a lot of time, relying on the kindness of strangers. Yes, your friends and family come through (and boy have mine been SUPER supportive) but when people you've never met, hear your story, decide to tell another person, who ultimately buys your product, well, it's a feeling like no other. I understand that people buy and sell stuff every day but never before have I been invested in what people bought...only what I could buy. Times are tight and people are holding their money even tighter. That was THE driving force for me on 12/19/2009. I could not let this little lip-gloss best me and only give me 50-75% of what I paid for. No way. So six months later, I remain thankful, in awe that this is actually happening, all while growing this business so that Nikki's Magic Wand is a household name like Kleenex or Maybelline. You wait and see...it's gonna happen!

We'll flashback next time.

As always, I am thankful to you for reading. It means a lot.
Nikki