June 2011
Teething Bling, Babykicks and CJ's join IBB
1,000 Facebook Fan Celebration
Avalee's Birthday Celebration sale
July 2011
Milkies Milk Savers and Party In My Pants now available.
AND, introducing
Chewbeads - so fashionable, so functional!
There you have it folks! I still cannot believe it only has been a year! In some ways it feels like just yesterday I published the first web page. And in other ways it feels like I've been doing this my entire life. I take both as a good sign.
Like a Peak Into a Typical Day in IBB-land (aka The Life of a WAHM)?
9:30ish breakfast (all times are -ish these days)
Avalee sings along to Yo Gabba Gabba (she's obsessed with their CD; thank goodness she doesn't know it is a TV-show!) while I skim all emails that have come in since I went to bed 6-8 hours earlier. Essential emails are answered or acted upon immediately. This could mean anything from 'I'm delivering my baby tomorrow, three weeks early, can you send the rental now?' to 'Monkey-print diapers now stocked' (which translates to - act fast, or another retailer will snag them while you are doing dishes).
10:30-12:30 Play
Dishes, read books, dance around like crazy ladies. At some point during this time she breaks away and colors, paints or covers the dog with stickers. When this happens I return to my email, answering any inquires that just take a few minutes or are easily stopped and started through the day.
12:30 lunch
Repeat of breakfast scene. Typically she'll color in her highchair while I attempt some of the longer emails. Most of these messages end up saved to my drafts folder for later.
1:30-4:00 errands and/or more play
This time used to be spent packing orders. However, now that the store is out-of-the-house typically the early afternoon is spent attempting to do day-to-day house stuff, or plotting new freebies and marketing ideas (while simultaneously reading
Moo, Baa, La La La - I have mad skills and the majority of Sandra Boynton's collection memorized - anyone want to hear an impromptu
Barnyard Dance?)
4pm time for the workday to begin
My husband arrives home from work, and I rush to the Showroom. The next two hours or so are quite hands-on - orders are pulled, double-checked, packaged, weighed and labeled. Newly-arrived inventory is inspected then put away. Mark and Avalee arrive at the store around 6 to grab the orders and swing them by the late-drop-off post office (it just opened a couple of months ago - I'm already deeply in love with them!). Packages make the 7pm truck.
6:30 arrive at the coffee shop and begin my 'office work'
With somewhere between 40-50 new emails received during the day, it is now time to establish the evening's game-plan - which emails are essential, which emails are important, and which emails are ones to mull-over for later? Or, did a new brand, colorway or item arrive in the mail that afternoon? The evening is then split between emails and updating the website and inventory counts.
10pm my office kicks me out
Fully caffeinated, I arrive home and set-up shop on the couch. I then resume emails, and any last website updates required for the evening. If email is caught up, I then research potential brands to grow the store and plan inventory and replenishment orders for the following weeks.
1am
Check email one last time, say 'sweet dreams' to my laptop, and head to bed.
And Repeat!
