Our Future

Some say, the children are our future; others say, inventors are our future. What if both are our future? Recently, I participated in the Northern Plains Marketplace of Ideas (www.marketplaceofideas.org) - participating as a guest speaker and exhibitor, I met inventors, both young and old! In particular, I met 3 young inventors and asked them to share with me about their idea and invention. All enthusiastically and professionally articulated, with ease, the 'how the idea came to them' as well as the 'why their idea is so needed.' As these bright and very talented young inventors shared their stories, their families rallied in support and encouraged them - the applause when they all received recognition and awards was inspiring.

The Marketplace of Ideas 2010 Event truly was about connecting great ideas and great people. And yes, filled with what I call, "pinch me moments." Pinch me moments
(PM2) are situations when I am amazed and cannot actually believe that "it's" happening to me. We've all at some point in our lives have experienced these - PM. Well, mine happened when the keynote speaker, Stephen Key, stopped by to talk with me about Messy Face. Stephen is a licensing expert and inventor - you'll most likely recognize him from the photograph. His questions were very specific and from our conversation he graciously shared a new strategic direction that I had not even thought of for the MFD invention. Seriously. This was a HUGE PM2! Simply priceless...

The entire Marketplace of Ideas event was well worth the scenic drive to North Dakota. I met people from all over the United States, gained insight to a new strategy from an industry leader, connected with fellow inventors, made some new friends (a shout out to inventors Nikki Lamb from Formula Now and Nancy Tedeschi of Eyeego), had a photo opp with Stephen Key, Deb Hess (MN Inventors Congress), Bob Heitkamp (Inventor of Site Saver and Networking Guru) and Marilyn Kipp (Executive Director for Marketplace of Ideas), learned from fellow young inventors that a passion to make a difference and improve quality of life continues throughout life, and also, sharing of information to help others- means being part of the inventor experience AND being an inventor - for our future!

Transformation of a Trade Show Booth

I've written before about how inventors and small business owners are often very resourceful. We can take nothing and transform something - which usually saves us a lot of money, invested time, and for me, instant satisfaction of hard work paid off!

If you're a small business owner, inventor, or an idea person working with a shoe-string budget, here's an idea: when looking for an item, consider the local reuse center, on-line trade sites, garage sales, and businesses looking to sell pre-owned stuff. I happen to pick up a used tradeshow booth - not knowing the condition...and when I opened the cases (which were in great condition), I found the panels covered in rotted booth fabric, magnets all removed from the panels, and an odor that well, let's just say, I'd rather change a diaper or two!

As my dad taught me, another man's trash is another man's treasure...you just never know. And, wow - a find did I inherit!

For the past few days my garage turned into a booth transformation work area - yeah, this chick took over her garage (guys, you know what this is all about). I have to say, that in the end I gained a lot: my kids were inspired by all of this 'craft work' and recently made a Fall tradeshow booth out of leaves and an empty box; I got the best work out ever and with the help of my trainer, Scott, we added these "tradeshow booth transformation" moves into my exercise routine targeting core, lower body and upper body; I saved MFD quite a bit of $$ from DIY vs. just writing a check all making some new connections and friends at the local DIY stores; and I have a professional booth to last for years! Well, here's the photos - see for yourself and if ya'll need to brainstorm about finding something or talk about your own transformation project - send me email!

Writing a Check or Elbow Grease

What does transforming a trade show booth and exercise have in common? For one thing, to see results, both require a lot of time. Secondly, once the time has been invested, seeing the transformation is rewarding.

The past 3 days I've working on transforming a pre-owned trade show booth. I bought it used off of a community posting. The gal seemed to be really nice and I did not bother to look at the condition until I got it home. Once I opened the cases, I found dry-rot fabric panels, magnetic strips in a bundle, and an odor of vinegar. Well, the former owner came through and refunded a great portion of my money. I needed a booth and they needed to get rid of one!

After calling around for prices to replace the panels - I decided that for those prices I could buy an entire new booth (including frame) - so, that was not an option. Then I looked into buying the hook-loop compatible fabric; the wholesale folks wanted to sell a bolt of 40 yards and the retail people wanted up to $20.00 per yard (with a min. order of $250.00) - again, my thoughts were "a bit more $$$ and I could buy a new booth."

Then I thought, "Chocolate Chip Cookie!" This situation was just like chocolate chip cookies - many ways to make and I'd find the right booth solution for me! I took my son and packed up and headed to the nearest home improvement store. Heck, these people are known to help the do-it-yourself person! And that's me!

I got a lot of ideas, including John suggesting going to the competition for my panel fabric (since their store only carried it online). Now that's customer service! I bought all my other materials with John and skipped out of the store with my son, and my bag of goodies.

Well, I've worked on stripping the fabric off the panels in my garage. It reminded me of removing wallpaper, but the adhesive needed to be scraped off too by hand. Nothing ever just smoothly came off - so, I scraped, and scraped - all while squatting. The next morning my legs were very stiff - I felt like I had the best workout ever and started paying attention to the motions to scrape the adhesive off (yeah, I plan on sharing this with my trainer to max-out my exercise routine).

Same gig on Saturday with the addition of washing off the orange-oil-based adhesive remover - again, doing all of this while squatting...taking photos to document the transformation. In the meantime, my kids played outside and asked me questions about what I was doing, why was I doing this, was I almost done...and even encouraged me with, "Mom, you're doing a great job!"

Sunday came around and I started at 10 a.m. and stopped at 5 p.m.; just in time for a doctoral team conference call. But Sunday's tasks included cutting fabric, taping, and adhering the new fabric to the panels...all the while I was 'dinner' to Minnesota's state 'bird'...the mosquito! My day ended with the 3 front panels competed - just the 6 side panels to go...all in a days work.

Thinking back on the transformation of the booth and exercising; I had a recall moment of a lesson from my dad. He used to tell me that there are people who "write checks" for everything and those who use a little "elbow grease." As I stepped back to look at my accomplishment, I felt like that little girl listening to my dad's advice who put in her own elbow grease and transformed a trade show booth.

Yeah, I could have written out a check and bought a new booth; but doing it myself I gained so much more; I recycled something and saved it from the landfill, I found new exercise moves to add to my routine, and I passed on a life lesson from my dad to my kids...now that's simply cool!

Tack! Grazie! Dakoyu! Ευχαριστώ! Gracias! Dziękuję! Merci!

There are many languages to say “thank you.” No matter how you say "thank you" this inventor/entreprenuer says, "thank you" with deepest gratitude to all my family, friends, colleagues, and friends/family of friends/family for all your votes, support, and messages of encouragement over the past few months with Start-Up Nation SUN) Leading Moms in Business Competiton!


At end of each day, I recorded the tally of votes; I recorded 3 different record-breaking voting days – with the final record-breaking day on August 31st with a daily tally of 75 votes! This in itself is amazing.

As a leader, and person exploring the differences between leader and leadership, I often wonder how I will act as a leader during certain times and what will the results be of my leadership? I find that this situation is a clear example of when I, as a leader, is humbled by the goodness and kind acts of others. It is a clear representation of how it takes a village to accomplish great things. It is also an example of the power and influence of 1 turned many…as well as an example of the 1970’s Fabrege commercial (yeah, I’m dating myself and for those in a younger generation, the commercial’s on YouTube).

Over the next several weeks, the folks at SUN are identifying the Top 200 Companies –as well as special recognition companies. Like the movie Rocky tag-line: “his whole life was a million-to-one shot,” being an inventor/entreprenuer is the same – a million-to-one shot – however, like Rocky, he had a great team to help fulfill his American Dream – and I have mine; thank you, for being part of that team.

With much gratitude,

Debra

Yes, Gloria - I too Will Survive!

Have you ever done something that you knew you had to do, dread doing it, but then felt exhilarated after doing it? And the exhilarated feeling lasted even a week after doing it? Well, I had to do something - a business decision that I dreaded. It was something that I had to do - and it took me YEARS (yes, years) to finally make the break. I won't go into the particulars, but why I'm writing this blog is to provide a testimonial to others facing similar challenges that yes, you too will survive!

I made this business decision on my birthday - this was a deliberate choice as that in my mind, it was a perfect day to, like my friend Julie would say, "Slay the dragon!" Nothing could bring me down - no sly tactic or passive-aggressive b.s. (hey, I warned readers earlier - I'm direct); especially, on my birthday. I even timed my meeting first thing, so I could enjoy the rest of the day with my family.

So, now more than a week later - I know this is the best decision, yet one of the most difficult decisions, I have made with Messy Face.

There are a lot of unknowns and yet, I know I made the right choice. How do I know? Well, first the stress is gone. Secondly, the consultant or people who advise to not sweat the small stuff, well, it's the small stuff that matters - it's the small stuff that gets in the way; it's the small stuff that keeps people and businesses from moving forward, it's the small stuff that gets in the way of reliability, it's the small stuff that defines one's integrity. And it's the small stuff combined over time that makes a person finally decide, "Enough is enough" and slays the dragon!

Tough? Yes. Doable? Yes. Worth the risk? For me, most definitely!

86-Year-Old Entrepreneur Sells 100,000 Knitting Books

86-Year-Old Entrepreneur Sells 100,000 Knitting Books

But Where Do I Go?

People want to know where to go if they have an idea. Or people want to know where to go when they already have an idea but need materials, manufacturing, business resources, funding, networking...you name it, people are asking for help.

What is interesting is the number of people simply perplexed about where to start, where to begin, how to start talking with people about their idea, invention, business concept.

People are simply stuck and are really looking for some kind of direction; where should they go if they have an idea? Well, for starters if it's an idea/invention a great place to begin is with your state's inventors group or inventors network. In Minnesota, Deb Hess is the Director of the MN Inventors Congress (http://www.minnesotainventorscongress.org/). Located in Redwood Falls, MN, the MIC is a national resource. The MIC's Annual Conference is June 11-12 and is a great place to see cool ideas AND to be seen. While I won't be attending (my doc classes are the same weekend and I cringe at the thought of missing this event), product scouts, industry professionals, inventor exhibits, and a youth inventors exhibit are all part of the conference. There are some great industry guest speakers and super networking opportunities...again, I'm cringing that I won't be there.

My first "stop" would be the MIC. Then I'd suggest connecting with a local group or sign up to belong to one of the idea/inventor groups on social networking sites such as LinkedIn. If your state does not have one, how about considering creating one? If that's not an option, then connect with a neighboring state's inventors group.

When looking for resources I suggest taking a look at Thomas.net. Thomas is a great database for vendor suppliers. Another suggestion is to do word searches or phrase searches in on the web and remember to keep a database or piece of paper with search terms! Keeping a record of searched terms will help you by working efficiently, but then you'll also be able to track your progress.

Alright, for those folks out there that have been asking me these questions - thank you for stimulating the idea for today's blog.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Alright, I'm on a roll today - so, a question I've received is about doing business with someone you just don't like. Well, for whatever reason, not all people are going to like one another. That's just a fact and the "reasons" why are details...bottom line, if you don't click then move on and find someone who you do click with.

Why? Well, for starters you're paying them and why give money, especially as a SBO we work very very long hours for our dollars, to pay vendors/business associates/contractors, etc. for a relationship that's painful? What??

My questions to this person was, "if you were dating would you continue to invest time in building this kind and level of relationship? What kind of relationship are you looking for?" They then went on and on sharing stories of good relationships and yes, what they were looking for.

Those questions opened the door to a great discussion about business relationships, personal relationships, and building a business that stands for much more than our products! How cool is that?!?

While, breaking up is hard to do - the rewards mean seeking out people and vendors with compatibility and building a long-term relationship that's enjoyable!

Marketing and Advertising 101v Messy Face®

Advertising and Marketing 101 - Version Messy Face®

Why reinvent the wheel when inspiration is out there right in front of our faces? On any given day, society is inundated with marketing messages through advertisements. Just drive around the freeway and electronic billboards light up like the Vegas strip cheering for our attention and hooking peripheral vision. Then there’s the old fashioned static billboard that comes in a variety of sizes throughout even 2 lane neighborhood streets. Oh, and what about all the junk mail and complimentary magazines? Advertising and marketing pays the bills to print these forms of mass communication.

Okay, so if you’re still reading this blog you’re probably wondering where I’m going with all of this??? At least I hope you are…as a small business owner I could hire a firm to help me with my advertising and marketing needs – generally at a great expense or cost that is so out of reach that the proposal is laughable. This reminds me of a meeting I had at the beginning of MFD where I did consult with an advertising person – their rate was 30K for 10 hours of billable work for a ¼ year project. Hello??? The best part- they were a referral!! Laughable yes. But the only solution?? Well, if you’ve been following my blogs then you already know about my “chocolate chip cookie” mindset.

So, off to that – while these forms of advertising and marketing may seem like junk mail or a driving nuisance, they are FREE ideas of inspiration to spark marketing and advertising innovation for your own company. NOTE: I do not suggest nor am I suggesting plagiarizing OR violating any copyright or trademark owned by another company.

What I am saying is that these billboards, postcards, and magazines provide examples of advertising and marketing to be studied and ask questions like: what’s the overall message, what does the message say to the consumer, can I identify the target audience, what is the benefit of this company’s service/product, what colors are used, what colors are not used, what is the font, are there photos or other images, what is the overall layout like – AND how do these advertisements compare to similar companies within MY industry AND their industry?? What are the differences?

For Messy Face®, I needed to create an ad and I wanted a rockin’ ad…well, I was stuck in my office with writer’s block and decided to go for a drive…that’s when I started noticing all of these billboard ads and I went back to my office, brainstormed ideas, wrote them all down, did some sketching and contacted my graphic designer…to which we created an awesome ad (and I’ve already gotten a fair amount of feedback confirming the fact) – so, go for a drive, save that junk mail, browse through a magazine and hopefully, you’ll find some inspiration!

Young Tom Edison

So, you really want to know what it’s like to be an inventor? I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me, “what’s it like to be an inventor?” as if there’s some glamour to this profession! Watching the 1940 movie, Young Tom Edison, will give anyone a glimpse of what it’s like to be an idea person and inventor. The scene that moves me most is where Tom conducts an experiment at school, creates a lot of smoke in a backroom, all the while the town thinks the school house is on fire only to learn that Tom is back to his ole tricks of experimenting. The part that saddens me is the outcries of criticism from the townspeople, his classmates, and especially the school teacher.

Gee…I can certainly relate to both of these scenes. While I have not created smoke as an inventor, I know what it’s like to continue experimenting because I’m determined to figure out an idea. And while I have not been laughed at by my peers, on a couple occasions I’ve encountered in-my-face sarcasm. Funny about the sarcastic hecklers, they were both men of the same generation. Go figure – my research hat personality is curious to know the real root cause of their unruly behavior, however I prefer to focus on the plethora of Messy Face® supporters and the hundreds of times I’ve heard “that’s a great idea!”

Something else to remember about being an inventor is that we’re people who can see possibilities out of nothing. And in the movie, Tom continues to be self-motivated to develop more inventions regardless of the level of support from society. Well, we all know how Edison’s story ends….every day we experience the convenience of Edison’s inventions…and I wonder what those hecklers of Edison would be saying now?

Like Tom’s mom said, “something tells me that someday they’ll understand him the way we do.” So, next time you meet an inventor – just try to see what they see; it might spark something in you and before you know it, you too might be an idea-inventor!

If it was You, Would You Want to Know?

If it was you, would you want to know?

How many of us have been engaged in a conversation only to notice that the person we are talking with has something stuck in their teeth, lipstick on their teeth, or better yet, the clothes tag on their shirt bounces with every walk? But who would quietly and politely make motion to adjust the tag or suggest to someone that they have lettuce in their teeth?

My question to readers is, “if it was you, would you want to know?” If you answered, “yes” then I suggest the next time this situation surfaces, let it be discreetly known. If you answered, “not” then I suggest you check the restroom mirror frequently….

So, why am I writing about this on my blog…well, today I happen to receive an email from a PR company soliciting their PR services. I get a lot of daily emails and try to read all of them, well except the obvious spam…anyway, when reading this PR firm’s release I noticed the misspelling of a client’s name (the client was part of an overall list to show previous work). Well, I thought to myself, “If it was you, would you want to know?”

Since, if it was me, yes, I’d want to know, I replied to this person sharing the typo information and also posed the question if it was possible to retrieve the sent emails. I did not expect a thank you reply, complimentary services, or anything. I simply shared the feedback because if it was me, I’d hope that someone would tell me – which someone would think with not negative thoughts but share an act of kindness because if happened to them, they’d want to know.

Building Your Right Team

Notice how I wrote building YOUR right team and not building THE right team? The right team implies that a team that works for my company will also work for your company, however this is anything but the case. Using a chocolate chip cookie analogy – there are many chocolate chip cookies available to buy but the one that maybe yummy to you may be yucky to another. Some like a cake-like chocolate chip cookie, while others like a crispy chocolate chip cookie. Personally, I prefer the Italian chocolate chip cookie at Bommarito Bakery – yum!

Back to building the right team…I’m often asked, “How did you build the right team?” I usually reply by sharing through a lot of interviewing of service providers, networking, and making mistakes. Yeah – making mistakes and being okay to acknowledge them and SHARE them so others can learn what I’d do differently and why…

First, building the right team means that each person on the team is an expert in their field. These people know what I need to know, know what I don’t know but need to know, and understand that they are to share their knowledge with me so I understand the “how”, “why”, and the “what”, in their profession. For example, I do not sew the Messy Face® clothing protectors – so some people’s surprise, I’ve never sewn, however, I understand the “how”, “why”, and “what” to construct that bib. As a business owner, I need to know and understand each area of my team’s specialty in order to make sound business decisions. As I once told someone in a business meeting, “Messy Face® is not a game – it’s a business and I’m not looking for sports commentator-like speculative opinions – this does not help me make sound business decisions.”

Answering questions like: “how it (team member’s specialty area) is done”, “why is it done”, “what are the alternatives and/or consequences to do it this way vs. that way” helps me understand what I need to know to strategically operate Messy Face® – across the organization. Again, using the sewing example: How is the bib constructed, why is it constructed this way, what are the other ways it can be constructed, what are the consequences (both favorable and unfavorable) to doing it this way versus that way…these questions are what I asked service providers and how I built my right team.

Secondly, building my right team meant making some mistakes. The mistakes I made were networking mistakes that I wonder why other people are not openly talking about similar experiences. How many times have you attended a networking event and heard from someone you just met, “oh, I’d love to meet with you...we can really help you out.” But the person telling you that you need them hasn’t even taken the time to ask you questions about your business, your needs, your challenges, your goals – they zero in on small business owner and their services…a classic case of them putting THEIR needs ahead of the customer’s needs. Nope, I’ll pass… Or what about going through your network, asking for a referral, and getting a referral but then being totally dumbfounded on the quality of the referred person?

Early on with Messy Face®, I asked for a referral and got the “I went to school with this person; she’s very good in her profession.” Only to find out that this service provider was a generalist in her profession who knew nothing about the juvenile or manufacturing industries. So, thousands of dollars later and not to mention a potential regulatory liability risk – my light bulb clicked on that I was paying for her to become educated in my industry! Hello?!? What?!? Costly mistake, however I learned that when getting a referral the person being referred may be a friend, professional colleague/buddy, and professional collaboration to help increase business between the two parties, or simply someone who has good intentions but is not right for my team.

So, moving forward when I look for a referral within my network (or at networking functions) to build my team, I look for potential (manufacturing experience, familiar with regulatory laws OR the person is trying to build a skill set, offers reduced rate, and is shares their plan of transition) and specialization(expert in their area versus general business).

Remember, even with my shared information, there are many ways to make a chocolate chip cookie and many ways to build a business team - and the right way is YOUR way.

2010 Minnesota Marketplace for Entrepreneurs – Expect the Best!

Messy Face® exhibited at the 2010 MN Marketplace for Entrepreneurs and showcased the adult size clothing protector. I heard about the expo from Deb Hess, Director of the Minnesota Inventors Congress. Needless to say, I was not surprised to see Deb, the MIC booth, and inventor Pam Turner (aka the Needle Lady) of Spiral Eye™ Needles. Both Deb and Pam were guest speakers at the MN Marketplace. Deb is always sharing information and expo opportunities for inventors and idea people. Pam is an inventor-entrepreneur whose success story encourages the everyday inventor, entrepreneur, and small business owner as a testimonial to keep your dream alive!

Keeping the dream alive also means doing things to keep the dream alive…like attending expos. Looking around at the other entrepreneurs, I wondered how many people said they’d exhibit but never came. A couple people I know had personal emergencies, however, I do know of people that said they were interested in displaying their new products but were missing from the expo. I can hear the list of reasons why they did not attend: tired, didn’t want to drive from the Twin Cities to Mankato, not prepared, etc. I too can sympathize with the “being tired” since I had just returned from an international project that was 8 hours ahead of our CST. Believe me, that morning I was super tired, but I told myself that something great was going to happen to me and Messy Face®…and it did!

In hand with my espresso, I drove to Mankato, listened to classical music, and thought about talking to people about the new adult size bib. Although I made copies of a survey to get feedback, I really wanted people to share whatever information they thought about the product. At the booth, people shared all kinds of ideas – more than I asked and a lot that I did not even think to ask.

Highlights of my day included being interviewed by several undergraduate business students. Talk about a group of talented folks! Their genuine interest in understanding Messy Face® showed with their detailed questions. The experience was like having a brainstorming session with a group of business people who understood the vision of Messy Face®; both as a company and product development. Truly amazing and talented group of students that were shy about being undergraduates until learning that I too am a student working on a doctorate.

Another highlight was having a private moment with Deb Hess and Pam Turner. If you have not met either one of these ladies, let me tell you they are both top notch and I greatly appreciate the time they took to talk with me about Messy Face®.

Then I had the pleasure of meeting Ron Lattin and Mark Ritchie. Ron is a professional person who is very easy to talk with; when talking with him I was pretty insistent that we had previously met! Ron shared information about a business resource, the James J. Hill Reference Library, which was new information to me as well as the French restaurant Meritage! And then Mark Ritchie stopped by to talk about Messy Face®.

Overall, the day was very productive and a great networking opportunity. I met a lot of great people, made some of business connections, gained a lot of new information, got market research feedback, and did all of this while experiencing jetlag!

So, the next time you’re feeling like not attending an event, even though you told yourself that you would, pull yourself together, go, and expect the best - it could be one of your best days yet!

Don't Stop Believin'

I told myself at the beginning of 2010 that I'd post every month...I found myself thinking of topics and just general "want to shares" but they never seemed to get posted. Well, yesterday I had a dose of inspiration that ignited my "deal with self" to post on the MFD blog.

For those who read this blog, I can tell you if you're looking for a complaining post filled with dooms-day-like stuff, this is not the place. However, the purpose for the MFD (short for Messy Face Designs) is to share information that people ask through emails, phone calls...some information is around the life of an inventor, some is around the life of a small business owner, but mostly people are looking for unbiased advice to help their situation. So folks, that's what you'll find here; there maybe days when I'm tired, but I am committed to sharing –yes, a business person willing to share real stories! Oh, and for those who have not met me, I'm a direct communicator which is "different" for us Midwest folk with a touch of philosophical thinking! As my friend Sue would say, “this is level 5 thinking.”

Okay, so getting to the inspiration...a while back I had the opportunity to meet The Imagination Movers. My kids really like them and we saw one of their shows. During the end of the show, they played Journey song, Don't Stop Believin, and spoke to the audience about keeping your dreams alive and even shared about how they are living their dream. This made me think a lot about Messy Face. There have been struggles, barriers, and times when I thought about tossing in the towel. All kinds of stuff that I'm happy to share with people so long it helps them from being "surprised" by the unexpected...And then on the radio, I heard Journey's song. Don't stop believin'...hold on to that feeling.

Thinking about MFD from where I was at the beginning to now, plus my experience at the MN Marketplace for Entrepreneurs (more on that soon!), reignited my passion for MFD. While we're transitioning from the children's market to geriatric care and for the disabled, it's an entire new industry with a lot of learning. But like Mover Rich said, "live your dream and everything else will follow."