Client Tell is a guest-post series from clients who have worked with me and want to share their process. The first series is a 5-part story from Alison Turner, Brownie Boss of Signature Bites, a small-batch, handmade and all natural gourmet brownie company. Let us know what you think of her story–and her brownies!
Brownie Brazenness!
By Alison Turner
“I am capable of brazenness,” Dyana encouraged me to tell myself during our second phone consultation. “We need to activate you being brazen,” she explained. “We want to evoke it, because it’s in you!”
Me? Brazen? OK, I can go with that.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, my second call with Dyana was a little delayed – giving me more time to do my homework and collect my thoughts. Since we last spoke, I was 95% done with my website, had received my printed business cards, had put together a direct marketing email list and set up some informational meetings with local, successful female entrepreneurs in the baking business.
Dyana was wonderfully supportive of my progress and excited to hear what my next steps were for the week. On the agenda is getting my website “live”, developing a promotional campaign to publicize the site’s launch and that I’m here and ready to take orders.
From our discussion, it became clear that I need to manage this venture like I managed my corporate jobs. That’s especially challenging when my “cubicle” is my paper-strewn kitchen counter. Further, while attempting to realize this dream, I’m riddled with guilt over not focusing on a “real” full-time job hunt. I was laid off at the end of February. There’s severance money – but it will run out eventually. My brain cannot fully grasp the concept yet that that my brownie business can support my life in the same way that a full-time job working for some multinational organization could.
Dyana can tell that I’m somewhat frantic about having everything set up and ready to go, and that integrity is very important to me. She wants to steer me toward re-framing my business, moving away from seeing it as a pastime towards a fully operational “brownies are being made while you’re at the beach” type operation. The issue of scaling the business is very important, and it’s frustrating to my controlling nature that I don’t have all the answers. A meeting with a successful local entrepreneur (her company’s cakes were featured on Oprah’s favorite things episode a few years ago…) this week will help me on this front I think.
We also talked through some of the logistics I’m dealing with, and I followed up on Dyana’s recommendation to get a separate phone number for the business to put on the website. Another friend suggested using Skype to do this – it’s far more cost-effective than a separate cell phone line. We also brainstormed some email campaign themes, and Dyana’s non-stop enthusiasm had me wake up the next morning with yummy, chocolate thoughts prodding me forward all day.
Give Alison some feedback, add your own story and add your own blockades or blockade-busters below.
Find out more about Alison and order some brownies!
