Just Wish Update - April, 2014
So ... our business is growing in leaps and bounds. We're
keeping up with the orders, but our lives have become a lot busier in a very
short period of time. That's a good thing.
: )
As Kathryn mentioned earlier, we're now being featured in a
variety of different places all over the web. More and more sites and people
are seeing our shop and we continue to make more sales and outperform in every
statistic. It's crazy!
We've doubled our sales again this month -- and we still
have two weeks to go. In less than three weeks this month, we've notched as
many unique views and favorites as we did for ALL OF LAST YEAR. Think about
that for a moment. Yesterday was our largest single day of sales since
inception and today we might very well top that. The orders keep coming in and
we're so far beyond our most optimistic projections that we're now in uncharted
territory.
It became apparent after a few months that we'd cracked a
secret code into the world of inner geeks, nerdy types and professional folks
that hadn't been exploited much. But now, with so many sales coming in, a few
more things seem clear: (1) that market
is vastly bigger than we imagined and (2) a lot of folks who might not meet that
description also love our creations and are buying our products.
Here's another interesting insight we discussed last night
while trying to keep up with all the orders -- it seems that an unusually high
number of our customers are buying items for someone other than themselves. The
custom phrases people place on the items they give to friends and loved ones
are sometimes funny, always creative, occasionally suggestive, and even
touching and heartwarming. We love their enthusiasm and excitement as we communicate
back and forth while making their custom orders!
Coming up next month, we're going to be featured on the
front page of 9th&elm, a large national and very popular clothing website,
for an entire week. We have stock on hand and have arranged with one of our
suppliers to gather more inventory as needed on a next day basis. We will then
remain on their website indefinitely afterwards as well. Preparing for that
event has led us to push back the launch of our independent website another
month so we can focus on getting product out the door and keep our 48 hour
turnaround promise. We can do this, but we are going to be VERY busy and
consumed with the business for a few weeks while that plays out.
Looking at our current sales trend, considering the increase
in sales with the national promotion next month and exposure that will
generate, then following up with the new website launch ... it's just amazing
how successful Just Wish has become in such a short period of time. Our margins
are ridiculously generous and it reminds us of an episode on Shark Tank where
Kevin O'Leary commented to one of the presenters (who had similar margins) by
saying, "... I don't know whether to congratulate you or call the police!
..."
We just feel so blessed and fortunate. It is true that hard
work, good research, and tenacity pay huge dividends. But it almost seems like
some kind of divine intervention has taken place. It may also be true that some
of our success, I suppose, is dumb luck in that we seem to be positioned in the
market at exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Whatever it is, we
feel humbled and grateful.
Kathryn is now officially a member of the National
Association of Professional Women (NAPW). I am so proud of her! She is really
the driving force behind everything that's happening with our company. It's all
I can do to manage the accounting and marketing end of this juggernaut she's
created. We've also now been recognized as members of the National
Veteran-Owned Business Association (NVOBA) and that will open even more doors
for us. It seems that every day more opportunities present themselves and we
now find ourselves in the position of picking and choosing instead of hoping
and wondering.
We continue to develop new prototypes and will introduce several
new lines in the near future for market testing. This is becoming easier as our
reach expands and we can more quickly make decisions about what will sell and
what won't. On the business side, we have a solid formula for pricing that
maximizes profit and keeps the price reasonable and affordable for our
customers. We believe in the axiom of "Do one thing, and do it well"
... and we will keep that standard going forward. If it 'aint broke, don't fix
it. We have our niche and we are doing well.
: )
And now, back to the delicious grind of making profit and
growing the business. I'm going to give my gorgeous wife a hug and big kiss and
thank my lucky stars for another awesome day that's so good, I just might have
to hire someone to help me enjoy it. Thanks to everyone -- we appreciate your
support and just know that you've all contributed to our amazing success.
