Last week, Wednesday, Alia and I met with the Director of the Coachella Valley Women’s Business Center (CVWBC), Tom Maydew. The CVWBC is a sub group of the Small Business Administration (SBA), and this particular group has the mission of helping women start and maintain successful, small businesses.
Originally, we were scheduled to attend a free class they were having, “The ABC’s of Starting a Business.” But, because we were the only two registered attendees for the class, it was canceled, thus leading to the one on one meeting with the Director. Even though Peace Love and Sunshine Products has been in existence over a year, we now wish to expand this company and ultimately become a major player in the Natural Beauty Industry. This is going to require new knowledge and greater resources, which is why we have decided to hook up with the experts, the SBA.
In preparation for the meeting, we put together the beginnings of a business plan, compiled reports of how much money Peace Love and Sunshine Products made in 2010 and typed up our company’s mission statement.
I went into the meeting confidently. I am committed to pressing onward until Peace Love and Sunshine Products is a booming, successful company, and opening our “Home Base”, a brick and mortar store in the Low Country, this year. Because of this conviction, I knew that no matter what happened at the meeting, it was just a part of the process and would be something that would help us get where we are headed. I had no fear or worry about the meeting. All I knew was that this meeting was a stop on the road to success.
At the meeting I learned that the CVWBC, in a way, chooses which businesses they work with and they do not necessarily take everyone. We were privileged to be sitting down with Tom, who had previously held a position of approving loans backed by the SBA. Unbeknownst to me prior to sitting down with him, this meeting was, in essence a part of their weeding out process.
Because of this, Tom held nothing back. He threw a lot of things at us. He asked questions about things I had never considered and introduced concepts I had never even heard of. The enormity of starting a successful business was expressed and emphasized. With each word that came out of his mouth, the task seemed more and more daunting. Perhaps all of what he said was meant to scare off someone with a lesser commitment, but I was not shaken.
I walked away from the meeting proud, excited and hopeful. Proud because we were invited back. Excited because we had just made a connection with someone who knows exactly what needs to be done to get business loans. And hopeful because we are now tapped into a rich resource where we can gain the knowledge necessary to create a successful brand and get where we are determined to go.
Yay!
I also walked away with a clear picture of what we have to do now: continue. Continue growing Peace Love and Sunshine Products from the ground up. Continue selling our wonderful products. Continue learning. Continue improving. We now have been charged to work with what we have to grow our customer base and make even more people fall in love with our products. We now have been charged to allow Peace Love and Sunshine Products to grow organically, naturally.
This is all in line with the mission of this company. We believe in community, education and simplifying our customers approach to beauty. We believe that we are all complete with just what our creator put in us.
And so is Peace Love and Sunshine Products. We have everything we need already, and now it is time to tap into our existing resources. All you need is Peace Love and Sunshine Products, and we already have that!
Congratulations! It is such a blessing to be able to work for yourself and enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI saw your video on You Tube. You have the RIGHT attitude! That meeting could've easily gone downhill. That is a major lesson in itself for me. Lesson: You cannot react or act off of someone else's actions. You must keep your eye on the prize (have faith), no matter what the circumstances look like. Thank you for sharing, CONGRATULATIONS, and best wishes! Enjoy the journey :-)
ReplyDelete