Besides the inception of the dream it may seem like a boring process until now. However, it was never boring at any moment. So many things were happening at once. Though the first legal step to Bot Tots was to form an LLC, so much more was going on. For example I sent my very terrible sketches to my childhood friend and she began to work on them. The first thing she worked on was the logo. This was one of the most exiting things to happen during the beginning stages of Bot Tots. It may seem so trivial, but when I got the logo variants from her it made everything so real!! Ever color combination was perfect and it was so difficult to choose. I new from grad school that our logo was so important. It was not only the image of the company, but represented so much more. It is what secured brand identity and brand loyalty in a very saturated children's clothing market. It had to stand out...it had to seem gender-neutral...it had to appeal to all of our target markets. Eventually we decided on the green/orange combination and I think it was a perfect choice.
While my friend (and now partner) was working on all the fun creative stuff, I was developing a business plan and marketing plan. This was very important for Bot Tots for two reasons. 1: it enabled both my partner and I to be on the same page of Bot Tot's mission, goals and objectives, and 2: I needed investors!! Investors aren't going to invest money in just an idea. I needed to be organized and to prove the potential of the company. The Business Plan and Marketing Plan collectively took about two months. Most of this time was spent researching the market and reaching out to successful business owners for advise on all types of business operations. If you're thinking about starting a business and want to develop a business plan you can get a template from the SBA website. However, I didn't use this template as I already had a couple from grad school. The process of developing both plans was so eye opening. It really gave me an understanding of my own company believe it or not. You can have an idea in your head, but when you begin to put it on paper the idea expands and organizes.
So throughout this blog you will hear about the business process or the creative process all of which were are happening simultaneously. I now am the sole owner of Bot Tots and have three artists working for me. Every day is a busy day for Bot Tots and I'll try to share all that I remember.
On a personal note: I am not one to finish projects easily. I've always said I was a great starter and a poor finisher. I am so proud of Bot Tots because I committed to follow through and to date I've stuck to that commitment. I believe in what the company stands for and the products we offer so being committed isn't that easy. I will tell you that owning your own business isn't for the faint of heart. There are good days and bad days..ups and downs. You'll make through it all as long as you believe in your business and your products. I always thought it was so cheesy when business text books tried to convince sales people that they just wanted to "help people." I would always refer to my experiences at car dealerships and The Buckle (if you've ever shopped there you know what I mean). Sales people are just SO annoying and certainly didn't seem to help me in anyway...but you know....I do believe Bot Tots helps people. I've heard stories about kids who have our t-shirts who literally want to wear them every day. They've even snuck them out of the dirty laundry hamper to wear. We're helping parents, grandparents, teachers, etc. put smiles on children's faces. We're helping our customers teach children important lessons in friendship, humility, kindness, and environmental care. So the text books were right after all.
