boss' blog

It is June
  • Monday, June 22, 2009
  • Anita
It has been six months....
 
It was January 6 when I came up with the name Fetch and Pounce, my new venture.  In the intervening time, after securing my domain, so much has happened.
 
I defined the look of the site, the features and scope of phase one and some features of phase two.  Copy was written (and rewritten).  Products were sourced, tested and selected. Plans were made, the site tested and innumerable lessons learned.  It was a great ride.
 
Then last month, the site went live.  At that point, the game changed.  It was real. Until then, I was 'working' on a project.  In many ways, that was safer.  Nothing was visible, nothing was available for critique and nothing was available for failure......or success.
 
It is true...in order to gain great rewards, you have to be willing to take risks.  I'm ok with everything.  I know all of the statistics and risks i am taking.  That is ok.  I am so very proud of what I have accomplished and built to date. 
 
I am loving this new phase.  I enjoy the promotion and marketing - it feels natural and is alot of fun.
 
Last weekend, we participated in an open house as a vendor.  It was the first public event in which Fetch and Pounce had participated.  I reviewed products, prepared pricing sheets, conned a friend into slave labour manning the booth and took time getting ready.  The morning of the event, I loaded the chick truck with dog toys, cat toys, clipboards, baskets for displays.  There were regular cat toys, catnip cat toys.  There were dog leashes, liver treats and salmon treats.  We had paper shopping bags for purchases and business cards.  Luckily I packed the sunscreen, a sun hat, water and some nuts for snacks.
 
As I was loading the car, I deliberately calmed myself.  I reminded myself of why I went into this adventure.  I wanted to build something of my own.  I wanted to be in control and most of all, I wanted to savour my life.  I wanted to be happy.
 
I wasn't sure what to expect.  Had I selected the right products? Were my prices appropriate? What would the turn out be?  Did I have enough stuff?  Too much? If I let my mind go, it would be overwhelming.  Instead, I decided that I was walking into a learning opportunity.  I would have a chance to get direct feedback on the product selection.  I would be able to speak with actually pet owners and learn what is important to them.  This was a great opportunity.  Regardless of the financial outcome, I had decided it would be a positive event.  I would promote the site, meet customers and build relationships.
 
Looking back, the open house was the six month point -- June 6, 2009.
 
It was a success.  It was fun.  I did get to meet customers and had some great discussions.  We got feedback as to the quality of the products we had selected -- people loved them.  What a day!
 
It was warm and sunny so Boss elected to stay home.  He did however pop in for a brief visit.  He stayed for about 30 minutes.  He came with his Grandmother and her brother and arrived at the same time as his dog cousins Lenny and Sebastian.  His friend Cheico was there as were some of the people he met before at animal control.  He won over the heart of the vendor beside us and popped into say hello to all of the hospital staff.  
 
It has been six months and I can tell you that the promise made to me by a man in Vancouver is true -- my best day in the corporate world never came close to being as wonderful as the past six months working with my dog!
 
Be well, have fun and be happy.


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