Channels, Channels and more Channels...

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Nikki's Magic Wand Friends! I hope everyone is having a great weekend. St. Patrick's Day has turned out to be quite a green holiday for NMW. On the last post, I told you that we were roaring into March like a lion and we planned to keep roaring. Well, since that post, we have stuck our toes into new waters. You may know that we are selling on www.nikkismagicwand.com, Amazon.com and now at four retail locations. BUT, we just added yet another distribution channel (listen to me sounding all business-y). We are now in partnership with a couple who has purchased a bulk amount of wands under a wholesale agreement, for the purpose of selling on their own. It's a Cha-Ching scenario for all involved. How many investment opportunities offer you a chance to double your money? We are VERY excited to have entered into this partnership and all parties involved are committed to keep it going for a long time. We have all read that we need to have multiple streams of income, well this is the same thing. We are looking for ways to expand our brand, our reach and get the word out far and wide so EVERYONE can join the make-up saving revolution!
Also, we are still looking for a subject matter expert on Search Engine Optimization, Social Media and all things related to making the internet work its hardest for us. I've told ya'll before that there are a MILLION things to learn. It can simultaneously feel exciting and confusing. But as each day passes, we plug away, learn something new and come out just a bit wiser. One BIG thing I have learned is that there are many, many ways to get a Wand in a consumer's hand. I happened to be at a girls' get together yesterday and the host asked me to bring some Wands and I am happy to say that they sold like hotcakes. Might have to add home parties to the list of sales options. NMW is easy to hawk because it's not only nice to look at (thanks Julie and Vince), but it also serves a great purpose so it makes a non-saleswoman like me talk it up with ease and in turn, would be an easy sale for others.

Oh, there's more to tell you. NMW will be featured in Ambition Box's first shipment in April (check out their Facebook page). For a small membership fee, you can get a box of  goodies delivered to you each month. Imagine a treasure chest of beauty booty on your doorstep each month. Cool, right? Hurry up and join and you too can get a Nikki's Magic Wand, among other treats. Let's support these women as they grow their business.

The best friend/business partner is being considered for a reality show so you may get to see her soon and I have submitted my picture for People magazine's Real Beauty campaign. If you are so inclined, please vote for me (Nicole, 41 from Pittsburgh)! :)

Well, I really just wanted to tell you what's been happening. I promise to flashback next time.

As always, thanks for reading.

ROAR!!!!!!!

Hi! Happy March! They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Well, as far as sales go, we have started March like a lion and our plan is to keep roaring throughout the month! We also ended February on a high note. As I mentioned in the last post, we were supplying the souvenirs for a sorority luncheon, so we got 200 Wands in attendees' hands and everyone seemed excited and pleased to have them. Let the money saving begin! It was also a great networking opportunity and the hope is that we will be able to make additional connections from the luncheon.

Next week we have a meeting with a young lady who does Digital Marketing Consulting: Social Media/Online Advertising/Search Engine Optimization/Websites/Strategy/Training/Tactics. We have tapped family and friends and are starting to get to the second layer of friends but we need to start to really touch the "stranger" market.. We need to get out there into the world. Don't get me wrong, we're seeing orders from people we don't know and we're starting to get e-mails from other business owners who have heard of us, so that's great, but we KNOW it's time to reach even further.

One thing we're really after is a celebrity endorsement. Who would you like to see holding Nikki's Magic Wand on a commercial or feature story? Hmmm, there are SO many great options. Nikki's Magic Wand knows no age, race or income limit so any glamour puss could do it. We will keep pushing to make those connections and if you have an "in" with a hot celeb, let us know! :)

Time for a quick flashback...
So, when we last went down memory lane, we were ready to lock down a manufacturer. Vince, the design guy, said he'd go out and get some quotes. This was great news to us because, as usual, we didn't know how we'd proceed with that. He communicated our needs (a plastic stick, with a rubber tip and a cap closure). He sent along the dimensions and some ideas for materials that could be used for the Wands. He sent out very intricate and fancy drawings to potential manufacturers and let the quotes roll in. He received two quotes from the US and two from overseas. My top choice was to have the Wands manufactured in the US. I wanted to go to the factory and cry as I watched the Wands rolling down the conveyor belt. I imagined what that would be like...watching an idea that popped into my brain actually manifested into something that could be held in your hand. So, I was eager to see what the quotes would be like. Now, let me tell you first what made up the quote. Each manufacturer gave us a quote on the mold for the Wand and cap and the per unit price once the Wands were manufactured. Well, my vision of a teary me standing in the factory in say, North Dakota (don't know why I chose N. Dakota :)), was dashed when the quotes came back. I had always heard that China was the place for small plastic production but I still held out hope. Well, the US quotes for the molds were more than 6 times the lowest quote in China. Yes, you read that right, SIX times more. It became clear very quickly that we would be manufacturing overseas. So, after we chose one overseas manufacturer over the other (the more reasonable overseas manufacturer was offering only a one cavity mold, while the one we went with was offering a four cavity mold, meaning four could be created at once, as opposed to one at a time) it was time to really get down to the business of specifications and making this thing pretty. Next time we talk, I'll tell you ALL about tip weights and UV paint.

I am going to sign off now but I do want you to know that we are going to have some fun March promotions and discounts, so stay tuned on the Facebook page and on the www.nikkismagicwand.com site. We WILL eventually put a Wand in EVERY hand!

As always, thanks for reading. You are the cat's pajamas!
Nikki

Spreading the word...

Happy President's Day! There is nothing like having an extra day off from the 9 to 5 to get some things taken care of. It is particularly appreciated when you have a budding business that you can never seem to find enough hours in the day to manage. Thank goodness for the best friend! We are finding that our partnership is rolling along quite well. It is absolutely wonderful to have someone working every day, as hard as you are, with the same exact goal....world domination! :)

I have some updates for you. A BIG one is that we are NOW being sold on Amazon.com!!!! We are very excited about that because, as any frequent online shopper knows, Amazon is a powerhouse and we hope to be able to reach a much larger buying audience! The reviews have been rolling in and I am happy to say that we are "5 Star Chicks." :)

Another BIG update is that we are NOW being sold at Elliven Spa in Bridgeville, PA. Our placement there was facilitated by a newer friend of mine and I am very thankful. Big tight hugs to Darlene P. And an extra special thank you to Ashley T. who is AWESOME and welcomed Nikki's Magic Wands with open arms at her beautiful spa.

The final update I'd like to report is that I spent a large part of today preparing gift bags of Nikki's Magic Wands to be used as souvenirs for an upcoming sorority luncheon. I am VERY excited that there will be a room full of people 150+, who will leave with a Wand and hopefully spread the word far and wide.

The best friend and I have been busy researching bloggers' e-mails and mailing addresses so we can send them Wands, in an effort to get them talking about it. We will continue that grass roots effort as we know it to be effective AND cost effective. We did meet with and subsequently wrestle with the idea of signing on with a PR type online firm but with a price tag of $4500, we decided to keep the PR in house and handled by us right now. Thankfully, there are still many ways to get the word out that we haven't touched yet. We have just passed being "open" for two months and I think we are progressing nicely, if I say so myself. :)

We have had the website analyzed and have reviewed the results, so we are aware of areas for improvement. The goals are 1. Excellent Customer Experience and 2. Search Engine Optimization (when someone searches for a make-up tool that does what ours does, then Nikki's Magic Wand will pop right up.) We will continue to enhance this and get it right where it is supposed to be to run as effectively as possible.

I'm going to keep this fairly short today but as always, I thank you for reading. I genuinely enjoy sharing this journey with you.

Nikki

Designing Women...and Men

2012--When last we met and flashbacked I was telling you that we had our first ever prototype in our eager little hands and had surveyed various people to see what they thought. Thankfully, they all thought it was a great idea and that it worked well. So, it was time to chat again with Vince (the design guy) to discuss what the actual Wand was going to look like. The best friend and I had always been clear about our "brand." We knew we wanted sleek, chic, and high gloss. We wanted the Wand and its packaging to look expensive, without actually being expensive. We communicated this to Vince and Julie and they got it right away. Julie was/is in charge of the packaging and Vince was in charge of the Wand design itself. Wait until I show you his first ever rendition of the Wand. It looks EXACTLY the same as it does right now. He "got" it. So, in addition to knowing how we wanted it to look, he also needed to make sure he had a grasp on what materials would work well. Any of my make-up folks out there know that the entire inspiration for this invention was the inept applicators that come with the products. We needed to think outside of the box when designing this tool to determine how to make it more effective than what was out there. Meaning, clearly we had to make the Wand longer than the current applicator (so it would reach the bottom) but we also had to make the Wand thinner in diameter, so it could maneuver in those small tubes well. If we made it as thick as current applicators then it could not flex as well and would not be able to reach the tops of those tubes. That was very important because we wanted to make sure the consumer would be able to FINALLY clear the illusive bottom of the tube, but also the tops and upper sides, where there was always product left. And left over product = wasted money. So, Vince had all of his ideas and plans and stepped away to work his magic (pun intended). :) When he returned, with his presentation, let me tell you, I could have cried. I mean, this idea popped in my head...Ms. 9 to 5 chick, who could barely draw a stick figure. I, of all people, had thought of something that required some ingenuity and now, after sharing this vision, someone had turned it into something REAL.  It was a feeling I can't describe and quite frankly that feeling has stuck with me--the amazement and downright shock that this came to my life. Want to see a picture of the first Wand design?

Isn't it beautiful?

So, the logo was in place, the brand solidified, the Wand design complete, experts firmly on the payroll and we were beyond ready to move full steam ahead. The best friend and I were in constant talks about next steps and now manufacturers. I'll stop there because the manufacturer piece is a HUGE one and talk about a learning curve! Wow!

Right now we are focusing on Marketing and building the brand. We are spreading the word through social media and through actual word of mouth. We have a meeting set with our business advisors in a few days to discuss the results of the website analysis (want to ensure it's doing all it can and is user friendly) and to continue to craft a marketing strategy. We are busy bees.

As always, thanks for reading...

Learning, learning, always learning...

Going to jump right in with today's little life lesson, epiphany, whatever you'd like to call it. I have mentioned, in past posts, how this process of inventing something and getting it to market was brand new to me and the best friend. I mean we had ZERO clue as to what to do from one moment to the next. My risk averse, super concerned self has always said that it was of utmost importance to try to avoid making HUGE mistakes. I didn't want to lose my money. I didn't want to lose the best friend's money. I didn't want to make a decision that we'd have to pay for, for years to come. Imagine what a mental drain it is to be spinning in circles, desperate not to make any mistakes, when you have NO idea what you're doing. It's like getting behind the wheel for the first time ever, jumping right on a busy highway and stressing and challenging yourself to remember every turn signal, every road rule and not ram into another car. It's crazy stressful. So, a part of my growth through all of this is to cut myself a doggone break if I don't do something JUST right; if I forget something or if I flat out mess something up. I will say though that we have put things in place to mitigate this desperate need not to make mistakes and that's where our business advisors, various attorneys, accountant and insurance agent comes in. They guide us, with their wealth of knowledge, and allow us to be creative, while lifting some of the business stress off of us. So, the new thing that the best friend and I are neck deep in, but also learning about every day is Marketing. She has more knowledge than I because she already owns a business but hers is service related as opposed to product related so this is different. We have advisors on Marketing but it is on us to execute the strategy. So, we're looking for bloggers to get the word out, we're sending Wands to magazines, we're sending Wands to Home Shopping shows. We are executing a ground swell campaign and we've had successes. Word of mouth is SO very powerful and when you couple it with a tool like Facebook, it makes you wonder how anyone ever sold anything before. We have recently been trying to connect with make-up artists because we feel that if we can get Wands in their hands and they use them regularly, they will see just how much make-up they can retrieve and hopefully spread the word for us. As I mentioned the last time, we have managed to get ourselves in two retail establishments and so now we're charged with checking up on sales there.  The best friend and I have put in major cash, time, sweat and tears (mine, she's not much of a crier :)) and we are SO serious about making this a BIG success and BLOWING UP! We need that FIRST BIG break, but we are loving the breaks we've been having along the way. We are running a slow and steady race and we are determined to win. So, I know it seems like there were multiple little messages in here: cut yourself a break, get some advisors in place to lift some of that business stress and always remember that you're going to learn something every day. It's past my bedtime, but I promise to flashback next time. I've still got plenty to tell you about this invention thang. :)

As always, thanks for reading...

One amazing, remarkable, surprising, busy month...

I know it's been a while  since I last posted (my goal is to do a blog entry once a week or so) but I got some kind of cold bug that knocked me down and out. The cough lingers but I'm back in the mix and ready to chat again. There have been SO many things cookin' with Nikki's Magic Wand. We opened the website for pre-orders exactly one month ago today, December 16, 2012 and what a month it's been. Orders have been coming in steadily, sometimes a monsoon and sometimes a drizzle, but consistently. The business consultant asked if we'd been noticing that orders were coming from people we did not know and I am happy to say, yes, we have started to get orders from total strangers. I want to take a moment to thank those folks, who don't know us personally, but are intrigued and willing to try a brand new product. Of course my love continues to go out  to those friends and family who have been buying and buying and buying. You may never know what your support means to me.

We are laser focused on ways to grow sales on www.nikkismagicwand.com, while simultaneously chasing down retail establishments. I have a few dream scenarios, that include exploding online sales, selling out on HSN and/or QVC and of course being picked up by a major retailer, nationally and shoot, globally. There are so many things to consider. The best friend/business partner and I have been in constant talks about wholesale and retail prices; insurance and accountants. There is literally ALWAYS something to do and decide. As I mentioned in my very first post, since I'd never had any previous interest in pursuing entrepreneurship, this is all super new to me. I am learning to adjust and fit my life into it because I quickly realized that there is no fitting it into your life. But I will confirm something that I'd heard but never really believed. The constant movement: worth it. The racing mind: worth it. The non-stop work: worth it. The need to think outside the box: worth it. The bottom line is that, the business/product is your baby, under your charge, to keep safe and help grow. Do I bemoan ALL that I have to do to take care of my actual children (well, ok sometimes:)) but do I LOVE that I get to do it? Absolutely.

Since www.nikkismagicwand.com went live one month ago, we've been featured in two newspapers, had a well attended, flawless launch party, were highly recommended by the Fashion and Beauty Director of a magazine, were placed in our very first retail establishment, reviewed by a heavily followed glamour girl on Youtube, and sent Wand packages all over the country to spread the word and hopefully attract the attention of the powers that be.

As they say, we are on our grind and working hard. We're either collapsing in bed or staying up late, managing Nikki's Magic Wand stuff.

2012-- I want to give you a  flashback, but a quick one, because, yep, you guessed it, I'm exhausted.  Last we spoke, I was carting my crazy looking Wand prototype around, asking folks if they liked it, would they use it, etc. The results were good. They had the same problem I had when I thought of this. They would buy it and they shared what they'd be willing to pay for it. I was fortified that it wasn't a loony idea, although I never once for a moment doubted it. There aren't many things I've been able to say that about but it's true here. I have NEVER wavered about whether this idea was a good one. I have NEVER second guessed its usefulness, NEVER.  And I'm telling you, some days that was the ONLY thing that kept me going, when there was no money and no idea of what to do next. So, back to Vince we went and said, "Ok,  it works. The tip is perfect and it works like a dream. Now, let's talk about what the real one will look like."

Ok, let's stop there for now. Please know that I think you are the cat's pajamas for reading my thoughts...a chick raised in a row home in Philadelphia who decided to try to solve a problem for the masses.

Chat soon!

Closed Mouths Don't Get Fed...

As you found out in the last post, I was flying high just after the Launch. It really was one of the very best nights of my life. Since that time, I have been on a holiday break with the family and had some time to regroup. I basked in the afterglow of the Launch, while being fully aware that it was time to REALLY get to work growing this business. Now I have to share something about myself with you. Sales has always intimidated me. I was never the chick who sold Mary Kay or Avon, Tupperware or candles. Just never did it. Went to the parties, bought the stuff, never sold it. If my kid got two school fundraisers close together, you'd never know about the second one. I'd just write a check. Scared of being a pest. Now think of where I am now. My SOLE purpose in life (well you know, in addition to working my 9 to 5 and rearing children) is to SELL something. That's pretty hilarious. It's like God saying, "Oh you WILL learn to be a salesperson yet!" I've discovered something, however. This is very different from Mary Kay or Avon. MY name is first in the title of the product. This is MY baby, birthed from my brain (sounds all Science-Fiction-ish) :). I am finding that the sales part is coming naturally to me. Well, folks are still pushing me a bit, saying, "Nikki, tell them about the Wand!" I don't enter a room talking about it because who wants to be THAT chick? But let me tell you where I thrive....Facebook! It's like I'm in my sales element there. I write my little posts, take testimonials from my personal page and scoot them over to the Nikki's Magic Wand page...I love it. It's easy and feels natural. Just last night, I wrote a post thanking my friends for being so generous with their time and enthusiasm by spreading the word, my website link (www.nikkismagicwand.com) and pictures. I also mentioned that our business consultants want us to have 250 Facebook "Likes" by the end of January 2013. You should have seen these folks take action. There were 20 new "Likes" in under an hour. I was being tagged in messages to THEIR friends  AND orders started coming in too. My post, expressing thanks and making a request was the "sales" push I needed to make. That's what the title of this post means. I opened my mouth, instead of sitting on the sidelines, hoping with crossed fingers, that someone would ask for a wand and look what happened....I got "fed" additional "Likes" and orders. The "take away" for me and for you is that you MUST step out of your comfort zone to grow. Sales has always felt uncomfortable, but I'm finding that when it's something that means something to me, it's not hard at all. I could stand up in front of people and talk about Nikki's Magic Wand all day and then tell people exactly why they should own one. I'm going to be a salesperson yet!!!!

Preparing for the Launch had taken so much energy that I haven't flashed you back in awhile but there's no time like the present...

Early 2012--When we last chatted about this journey, Julie had designed the logo and we were planning the "look" of the product and brand. Also, the very first prototype came in the mail and worked like a charm. So, what to do next???? Nope, I didn't know either so I sort of just walked around with the thing, marveling at it. But, someone had the bright idea, Vince maybe, and said, "We need to test it. Have people hold it, try it, see if they like it." So, we crafted a survey of sorts--a list of questions to ask people when they saw it. We asked people if they had any trouble getting their make-up out, would they use this, what they'd be willing to pay. Before I could really get going with the testing, guess what happened. My beautiful prototype snapped right in half. Turns out prototype material is FAR different from final materials so it was on the brittle side and snapped. Trust me, this was devastating for many reasons, not the least of which was that this little brittle thing cost $400. Yes, you read that correctly. $400! Thank goodness I was the one to break it because that could have ended a friendship on the spot. I'd like to tell you I'm joking but I'm not sure. :) So, I took my 1/2 of wand, stuck it down into the internal part of an ink pen that holds the ink and had people use that. Thinking back, I know my testers were thinking, "What is this mess this chick is trying to convince me to like and then buy?" But, I kept showing it around, with the caveat that it was not the best looking, but worked great.  I'll stop here now...but I've got plenty more to share.

As always, thanks for reading and remember, if you want something, you'd better speak up!