Purse Evolution- to advertise or to not advertise...that is the question.

(The 13th installment in the Purse Evolution series)

The holiday's over, the company's gone, I've had a nice respite, but it's time to get back to work on my new pattern. But before I can do that, I have a few magazine deadlines looming and I needed to get a few new ads finished this morning before heading to the studio. Here's the ad I'll be sending to "Threads Magazine" for their Oct/Nov 09 issue. It features our new pattern, "The Lollapalooza" which will be available by then.

But along these lines, maybe you didn't know that I design all of my own ads now? To me, one of the best things about running my own business, is the opportunity to take an active role in ALL aspects of the business! (Some might call it being a "control-freak"... I prefer to say that I love the diversity!) Truth be know, I would probably be bored to death if all I did was the pattern designing part of the business. I can't stand that hemmed in feeling of doing the same thing over and over and over again.

People perpetually ask me, what made you think you could do this? Start your own business... learn HTML... code your own website... market & photograph your own patterns... and now, design your own ads, and the truth is, I guess I'm just one of those people that truly believes that I can do anything I put my mind to. I don't mean that in a conceited, Super-Woman kind of way. It's just that my folks raised me to believe that I could do anything I wanted. Excel at anything I tried, if I was willing to work hard & long. For a high-school educated, stay-at-home housewife, my Mom was pretty progressive. She supported me in any hair-brained scheme I dreamed up, and believe me, I was a dreamer. My folks didn't discourage me from doing things just because I was a girl, but instead impressed upon me that even though boys were operating at a distinct advantage in many areas, that the great equalizer was education and hard work. They didn't pave the way and make it easy for me either. Dad said if I wanted it bad enough, I'd be willing to work for it myself, and I did. Even today, my family & closest friends, are my most loyal cheerleaders. For this reason, I avoid negative people with their depressing, doomsday outlook. Ok, so the economy's down. That's just a convenient time to get a foothold in a new area. While other businesses are down-sizing, maintaining the status quo, and "waiting it out", we're actually extending our reach, by increasing our booth size at Market, & our advertising presence both in print and on the Internet. I didn't invent this strategy, in fact, Sam Walton (who knows a thing or two about effective marketing), says that the best time to increase your advertising footprint, is when others are reducing theirs. He maintains that's the time that you get the best bang for your buck. And you know what? The old man is right. Our business has continued to grow, even in the past few challenging months.

I say all this to get around to the point that now is the time to dig in, learn something new, re-invent yourself, encourage your friends & family, and above all, dare to dream BIG! I like to tell everone that I have the best job in the whole wide world, and its thanks to the support of many of you!

Till next time...(Tomorrow it's back to the studio to work on a new sample bag to go with that cool cord handle!)