Check out this challenge to pledge to eat local. Have your friends sign up and you can win prizes.
As we covered in Issue Three, eating local tastes better and these small steps can make a big difference. Start with your local farmers market.
For more vinyl art and other decorative concepts try...
Download these free Valentine postcards to send to all of your favorite little Valentines. There are four different designs. Two of the designs are from our original sets of downloadable gift cards. We added two more so that you could print out four little designs just like the ones you gave to all of your friends in elementary school (save the tiny envelope).
For printing instructions: Print the first page as many copies as you need on a heavy bright white cardstock. Then replace the stack of printed Valentines in your printer. When you print the design on the back of the postcard (page 2), only print one at a time to make sure the stack is turned in the right direction. Once they are printed, cut the postcards into quarters. Enjoy!
1. Believe in your business.
The main reason we took the leap and started MerriMail was because it was a totally unique concept that we believed in and that we knew we could be successful. We could see ourselves doing MerriMail every single day.
2. Surround yourself with a strong support group.
We have participated in several women run business groups. We found that the women in these groups are more than willing to share advice, ideas and networking opportunities. A few of these include Ladies Who Launch, Industry, Chix in Business and The Little Black Book. We also check in with several of our entrepreneurial friends who are working on their own projects. We share words of encouragement, which can make a huge difference.
3. Write a business plan and use it.
A business plan is a working document that business owners should actually use and refer to often. So many times it’s created and then thrown in a drawer and never used. A business plan should guide your company and enable you to stay focused on your mission. Many times people get stuck trying to write a business plan. To get started, we simply followed sample business plans that we acquired from classes, friends and the internet. We took bits and pieces from each plan and then wrote our business plan to suit our needs. We refer to our business plan frequently and we keep it updated.
4. A little money can go a long way.
Depending on your business, you may not have to have deep pockets or take out a loan to get started. In the beginning, we didn’t know how we were going to fund our business. We were very apprehensive about taking out a loan. We applied for a grant that we didn’t get. We briefly looked into seeking out investors, but we wanted to maintain control of our company. So, we decided to begin by investing small amounts of our personal money into the company only when we needed it. During our first five months, we invested about $1,700 and that help us start the company and launch the first issue of MerriMail. We’re now in our 9th month of business and the company is currently self sustaining. Don’t underestimate the power of that loose change you’ve been saving. It adds up and it could be all the money you need to start your business.
5. Use simple things to keep you organized and focused.
For us, it was and still is a weekly conference call that lasts about one hour. On the call, we review our business plan and any action items that we need to discuss. This call has helped us stay in constant communication, keep our priorities straight and stay focused on the real issues of the business.
6. Sweat equity: Use your talents and friends' talents and find ways to pay for other professional services.
Then barter, trade or pay for professional assistance where needed. This is good old sweat equity. It’s important to divide your labor so that you’re not duplicating efforts and divide it according to your strengths. Here are a few examples of what we did. Caroline is a graphic artist so she created our logo, which saved us time and money. We asked a colleague who is a copyright lawyer to help us with some questions we had regarding trademarking and he did so for free. After we exhausted all of our options, we hired a certified public accountant to help us manage our finances for a very reasonable fee.
7. Leverage public relations to promote company.
This is important because PR or editorial coverage in the form of newspaper stories, magazine articles and television news coverage is free. And, because it comes from a third party, it’s more credible than a paid advertisement, which also can be expensive. Since September, we’ve issued two press releases, and those releases combined with our follow up calls have resulted in two newspaper articles, one product feature in a magazine, five online product features and this television interview. All of this publicity was free. It helped us get MerriMail in front of thousands of people and we can say for certain that it helped us double our subscriber base.
8. Launch sales and marketing by starting with friends and family.
Neither of us are very strong in sales and marketing so we decided to start by reaching out to our friends, family members, acquaintances and professional associates. After compiling a contact list, we signed up for an email marketing service that only cost $5.25, and then we sent them an email. This was our first sales and marketing effort and it provided us the first half of our customer base.
Mark your calendars for the next Rock & Shop Market on Saturday December 2nd! The Rock & Shop Market is a hip, urban market in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina showcasing designer goods from over 35 local & national emerging artists as well as live performances by The Midtown Dickens, The Octobers & DJ Marco!
Want to give MerriMail as a gift, but need something to present? We now have the answer. We put together a set of eight different cards for you to choose from. Select your greeting and print it out. Enjoy!
We are in the process of collecting a comprehensive list of inspiring workshops, conferences and events. Please browse our listing and be sure to add any of your favorites in the comments section.
Looking for something to do tomorrow in Raleigh, NC? Check out The Handmade Market.
The Handmade Market is a showcase of artists, independent designers, and crafters that is produced by The Handmaidens, a North Carolina collective of nine independent designers.
And if you can't make it, you can see the fabulous list of vendors who will be promoting their delightful goods.
We just added a list of workshops hosted by a few of our friends, along with places we have taken classes before. Thanks to Melba for sending in the information for JustBe... Connected, a creative bloggers conference next fall in Cape Cod.
We would love to hear of any of your favorite places to take classes and workshops. Please add them in the comments section and we will be sure to add them to our workshops page, as well.
We were so thrilled when Stephen Asprinio agreed to be our first guest expert. Known for being an expert in pairing ingredients with fine wine, Stephen almost made it into the final round of Bravo's first season of Top Chef. We knew that he would be the perfect person to advise our readers on a range of peppery wines in our first issue of MerriMail. How exciting when he said yes!
Plus with his entrepreneurial spirit, Stephen seemed like a perfect person to feature. Food has been his passion from a very early age. After training in many of the leading restaurants in the country, it is exciting to see that Stephen is launching his own venture - FoodReal. Be sure to visit his web site to learn more about his new restaurant, which is opening in 2007. And for all of you Top Chef fans, Stephen also features his insight from each episode. Enjoy!
