What Happens in Vegas is Donated to Charity

My company is going to be incorporated in Nevada. California has way too many fees, allows the business information as public information…and just plain screws-you-over. So Nevada, here I come!

Domain name and hosting has been purchased. I just need to add a SSL certificate to the site.

I noticed that I have been spreading myself too thin in terms of things I would like to get done with my life. I figured this when I had to come home from work early yesterday and dropped from exhaustion. So I am developing a way to work smarter, not necessarily harder.

I have also been looking into donating proceeds of the profits I make to a very specific cause.

As a result of my busyness, my social calendar is taking a beating. I have already told some of my closest friends that I will be unavailable…pretty much indefinitely. I don’t have the time to come home and get ready only to leave again and drive out of my area to blow money on food, drinks, and the like...when I can be putting that money into my own business. By the time I get home from working 7 days a week for everyone else, I am too tired to get anything done for myself. That ends now.

Samples start next week! And they are in MY size! One networking event is coming up in early October to possibly net investors. I don’t wish to share details because I don’t want to jinx it. Juvenile, but true.

…but I get to make a pretty dress to wear to the event!

Miles of Paperwork

I am in the process of finishing samples for head of operations, as well as the patterns. Meanwhile, she is getting pages of my business plan out of the way. I’ve been in contact with manufacturers in China for pricing information to see if I can start ordering from them instead of starting in Los Angeles for manufacturing then moving it off-shore.

I sent-off the second round of proofs for editing. The icon is being perfected with each passing day. I have all paperwork set aside like: Business Tax Certificate, Seller’s Permit Application, and of course, a Fictitious Business Name Statement. However, I need to secure my trademark first (next Wednesday) before I can fill-out the others then go to the bank and open a business checking account. I am aiming for this all to be complete by Friday.

Speaking of Friday, before I enjoy a beautiful day out (for the first time in as long as I can remember), I will be in downtown checking out certain fabric stores and hopefully leaving with swatches of great, great stuff.

The progress continues as LA Textile Show nears at the end of the month!

Found: Webmaster

I have found my webmaster! Not only is he cool and gifted, but he’s also going to teach me how to maintain my own website!

I am in the middle of bartering. My head of operations who is writing my business plan is developing a product in which I am making the proto-type while she is writing my business plan. This is how building a business happens when you are starting with little cash.

I am about to edit the second round of proofs from my graphics artist and send those back to her for further revision. I think in one more round of editing, I will have my icon/logo.

I plan on developing the website over the next 2 months so I can market globally as well as cross-market with other companies. Gotta love the internet!

The brain-gears keep turnin…

Getting Close to an Icon

My business meeting this past Wednesday was incredible! My head of operations/business development gave me a rough draft of my executive summary that I’ve proofed and we started drafting the budget for my test launch that is set for this December. How exciting!

I received a load of graphic paperwork from my graphics artist. Getting much closer to the icon in mind to immortalize the brand, so to speak.

My tagline is secure. My webmaster is not.

For the next 2 months, I get to become extremely anti-social and save every last nickel possible. After calculating the costs, it’s very possible for me to test launch without a small business loan.

-Test Launch scheduled for December 2009. Brainstorming cool ways to market the launch.

-Full launch in February 2010…in time for Valentine’s Day!

Now it’s time to check-off important details such as SSL certificates and an ecommerce webpage that includes a badass template.

Wish me luck!

Phase One: The Realization

I learned the value of hard work from my parents. They both own, or have owned (one is retired now) a business and worked hard to keep everything running as smooth as possible. At a young age, I enjoyed the thought of being one’s own boss. As a result, the idea of building my own business was inevitable.

Moving to Los Angeles after high school was an eye opener. Finishing college in SoCal, working major-related jobs and internships, I became comfortable with my craft: Fashion Design. The idea of producing my own collection was causing my fingers to itch for my pencil and sketchpad.

Last summer the design concept hit me that would set in motion the silhouettes I would sketch. After working for other designers for a while, I discovered that some knew how to run a business when others didn’t have the faintest clue. I also found that I was becoming confident in my design idea…enough to want to share it with other women in the world that have the fitting problems that I do. I could make this work if I choose to try my absolute best.

I have been refining my design idea since it hit me last summer while walking the Venice Beach Boardwalk. My business plan is being written as you read this. I’m also a short time away from beginning my trademark paperwork. Next? An ecommerce website and all details entailed.
As soon as trademark and copyrights are secure, I can’t wait to share more! I’ll also be getting into my design process, my target customer, a launch date, and of course I’ll include what’s driving me up-the-wall!

To be continued…