durtbagz: kids these days...

okay, so today i'm feeling a little less sassy, but there is still some left in me so don't get your hopes up that this will be a feel-good post. there's another girl who has a company that is supposed to do that. her name's laura something...ashely.

i've been thinking a lot about my customer base and what they need from me since i'm going to be asking a lot from them. as i mentioned earlier, this involves people ages 14-25, although i'm willing to bet that people older than 25 are interested if they are a) lame, b) super lame, c) have a sense of humor, d) the lamest person ever.

i realized that it's been a while since i've fit into this category...well, let me be more specific. i fit into the super lame category (people with combovers are lamer than me), but i am not 14-25 anymore. i remember what i liked in high school...sort of. i liked sports and going to the lake and boys. and school, kind of, but i was a bit nerdy so that doesn't apply to everyone. i liked what my friends liked and sometimes i liked things they didn't like, but i didn't really advertise that a lot. when i really look back on it, i spent a lot of time acting like something was wrong with me, mentally. (there is a story behind this: my girlfriend was in a wheelchair and people automatically thought she was "special" mentally, even though her brain worked better than most. so we felt it was funny to play that role to the extreme while out in public and we got really got at it. surprise, surprise).

after high school, i went to college and basically liked going out. i mean, seriously, what else did we do? then after school, i liked not being responsible. i got into snowboarding and lots of outdoor stuff. that's pretty much how i still am today. except i live in the desert, so i don't get to go snowboarding as much.

so here's my plight: what the heck do my customers like? what are they into? what do they think is funny? and better yet, what do they think is wrong or just crosses the line? what gets them talking to each other about a subject and what gets them pumped up? what shocks them, if anything at this point? (thanks, lindsay...paris...taradise). what do they expect from me?

i've put together a survey and i've given it to a crew that falls into this category, but obviously i'm interested in getting all the feedback i can. i have a list of signs that we're using to choose the first round to be available when we launch. some of you have already helped me in this area, but i have to admit, the list has grown. by about 30. if you want to help me out and give me your top 10 (or 20), let me know and i'll email it to you. also, if you are interested in taking the survey, or have siblings, cousins, nieces/nephews, neighbors who might be interested in helping, i'll take all the feedback i can get. i'll make you a deal: everyone who turns in a completed survey gets a free bag. NOT A FREE BAG FOR READING MY BLOG. a free bag for completing a survey...so totally different.

people this age are finicky. they are interested in what their friends are interested in or being the first one of their friends to be interested in it. my hope is that if i can provide the format or template, that they will take over and run the show, leaving me with the job of keeping things running and coming up with new items or ideas to keep them happy. they will submit the signs with images they want. they will post photos of them and their friends and their bags. they will vote on the signs they like and post comments on why they like or don't like the site...the bags...the signs...their hair...whatever. basically, i believe i will end up working for them. i actually hope i do.

durtbagz: navigating the speed bumps

hi gang. oddly enough, i heard from more than a few of you about my absence last week. i'm still floored that anyone reads this nerdy blog, and it was really cool to be missed, even if just a little bit from, this gigantic tech world.
i spent five days in yellowstone national park in wyoming and a tiny bit in montana. i hiked daily and saw things i still can't believe exist. i'll write about it in my flake-off friday edition, but know that it did a mind and body good to escape to the real world of no cell phone, no TV and no internet.
okay, back to durtbagz. a few things have happened since i last wrote and i'm happy to say that they are all on the positive end of things. i start off this monday a happy entrepreneur and i'm savoring the feeling. the issue of the name durtbagz has been somewhat resolved for now; as resolved as it can be at this point anyway. after the initial discovery, i did more and more research on the 'other' company and have come to the consensus that the chances of them finding out about me and my company are slim initially. that is until i become huge and durtbagz is a household name. at that point, i'll have to prove that we're not competitors. i don't envision people strapping my bags onto their dirt bikes to carry tools and spare parts while they go off jumps. i picture my customers carrying books, beach gear, ipods, us weekly's, babies, over-night gear, and gym clothes in their bags. (missy, can we try it out with ainsley? i'll need a shot for the website...). so, between my partner, my attorney, and myself, we've decided to keep on keepin' on for now. i'm more than happy with this decision.
also, the whole issue of printing small quantities initially and dealing with all of the other issues that spun off of that major one seems to be shrinking. a good friend of mine (the do-gooder who's blog is linked to the right) set me up with a friend of hers who has his own promotions company. not knowing exactly what he could help with, other than to give some advice or connections, we met for lunch to talk things over. i came to lunch armed with some sample bags and my number one issue. he came armed with some serious suggestions that at first seemed too good to be true. he had done some preliminary research for me prior to lunch and found out that most distributors have programs that allow for smaller orders without all of the smaller issues and without charging ridiculous amounts. in fact, this particular distributor would not only print small quantities (i mean, as low as 1 print), they would also be holding the inventory as they are also the distributor and they would ship directly to my customers. the only glitch is when i do a tee shirt promotion, i'd have to have the bags shipped to me first and then add the shirts before sending them to their proud new owners. um, exsqeeze me? could this really be a true story? there was really a company that existed that would do everything i needed? one that solved all of my issues? yes. the answer is yes. are we using them? no. the bags they had were not the ones i wanted to use. but, the light at the end of the tunnel is 1) that via my new promotions partner, we had access to many, many more distributors than i could ever single-handily reach, 2) because of this, we have access to more bags than ever and we're 50% of the way there in finding ones we want to use (we've found the totes, we're trying to discover if the same distributor has messengers we likey), and 3) most distributors have some sort of co-op program like the one i talked about above. basically different versions of the same deal. if, and this is a big 'if', the distributor that has the totes we want can get us the messengers we also like, and we like their program, my biggest speed bump will have been cleared. for the time being. maybe cleared is a strong word. lowered a wee bit, is more like it.
not only do i feel i've gotten my groove back for this company (it wasn't gone, it just needed some fresh air and mountain hikes), i can't emphasize enough the power of talking to your friends and associates about things like this. you never know who will be out there than can help you out and vice versa.
my do-gooder friend, you already know you've got some free bags coming to you. maybe someday we can take a bunch and fill them with goodies for your next trip to africa...or eventually, durtbagz will be so big, we could be oprah and build a school. totally up to you.

durtbagz: it's my call

i woke up this morning and began going through the mail that was sitting on my desk. at this point, the extent of durtbagz mail consists of bills and letters from my attorneys. super fun. as i begin sifting through, i find a notice from my llc lawyer for an invoice of an overdue balance, which i paid in full before the services were even completed. i'll tell you right now, the attorney we got for organizing the llc is an IDIOT. cartman from south park would have been a better choice. first of all, when we first organized it, everything went smoothly. then, i had to change the ownership to include my dad and that's when things took a turn for the worse. it took him over two months to get me the forms i needed to get all parties to sign...after he had my money. i'll admit, that's a mistake i won't do again. when i did finally get them, he wouldn't give them to me until i had paid...which not only had i, but i had received a letter from his office stating exactly this. i scanned it and sent it back to him. finally i got the papers. then about a week later i get a notice for overdue payment. i throw it away. a month later, i get another with interest. i scan that and send it to him. he responds it's taken care of. i just received another one this morning. IDIOT. don't go to Keyt Law Firm in PHX AZ unless you want to feel like your dealing with freaking ringling bros. IDIOT.
next item and main item in the mail that i need to discuss is a letter from my trademark attorney. we have to register the name durtbagz so others don't take it. this process has been going on for months now. i think since late last fall. anyway, the letter i get this morning notifies me that my application for registering this name for use has been rejected due to the name is already being used in conjunction with similar goods. what? wait a second, i'm about 30 days out from launching and if i think i'm reading this right, i have to change the name of my company. no, i must have read it wrong. i read it again. and again. and again. some dude in california has registered the name dirt bagz usa for sports equipment carrying bags. the name and the goods are identical in the eyes of the law. it looks like the next blog entry may be called 'scumbagz'...

so i just got off the phone with my attorney. i thought things were looking up until i researched the dirt bagz usa. our conversation went something along the lines of, if this company is small, then the trademark will more than likely expire next year and durtbagz will have no problem. we can wait it out, we have about 9 months to respond to the rejection and deal with it then. so i felt okay, until i looked up who this nonsense dirt bagz usa was. unfortunately, i am not big into the world of dirt bikes or off-roading. if i was, i probably would have heard of dirt bagz. they are a rather large company that makes cargo bags for bikes and tool kits and accessories for this industry. and they have multiple distributors across the country. and they are written up in all kinds of industry publications. they sponsor events. it is not one man in a room like i was hoping it was. now i am unsure what i will do. my options are: continue on with durtbagz and hope that this other company doesn't find out about me. if they do, they can sue me for trademark infringement. and i cannot plead ignorant because i know who they are, as i have admitted in this blog. what are the odds that a company in that industry discovers my durtbagz? i don't know. what are the risks that i get sued by them? again, i don't know. if i do risk this and i get sued, i'll have to change my name. is it better to just change it now before things get started or in a year or five or ten if i get caught? I DON'T KNOW. but here's the thing: it's my call.
i was beginning to question my judgement and decision making on becoming an entrepreneur. in your head, it sounds great. in reality, it's hard. hard, hard, hard. when you get something like this thrown at you, in the past, i've been able to look over my shoulder and go 'what do you think we should do?' now i look over my shoulder and everyone is gone. sure, there are people around me who's opinions i value, but in the end, it's entirely up to me. it's fitting that today i read something that reminded me why i made this decision to be my own boss (and hopefully get to boss others). i'll keep you posted on the situation.

durtbagz: i found technorati

Technorati Profile

for those of you who read my last post...this is a good thing.

durtbagz: IT nerd wanna-be

seriously. how weird is it to think that being a nerd would actually increase your chances of being popular? in this situation, it's ridiculously true. nerds run the web, which will eventually run the world. so there.
in this whole situation of trying to figure out the logistics of the company, i'm also trying to figure out the marketing of the company. hello? why do you think i'm blogging? i mean, yes, it has turned out to be a bit of a stress reliever, but it's also managed to create some as well. the more 'visible' durtbagz is online, the better my chances of popping up at the top of google when you type in tote bags or hand bags or messenger bags. here's my question: how do i become visible? i mean, blogging is obviously a part of it, but, people have to read the blog in order for it to do it's job. how do i create excitement about my online journal of creating durtbagz? i've emailed my friends (BTW, if you are reading this, email me a one-word message: poop, we'll see how many of you are really my friends. ha!), and that seems to be doing exactly nothing. maybe i'm not very interesting, but neither are IT nerds. there are just a lot of them and it seems like they all know each other. because they all blog and read each other's blogs. do you see the irony?!?!? is there some group out there of late 20/early 30 somethings that are interested in seeing someone flail as they start a biz that could either be huge or a joke? or is everyone in this category too busy keeping up with ms. lohan? (hey, i'm know i'm on perezhilton.com every day). i'll go to rehab, if that will increase my audience, i mean, are you kidding me? would you rather be sweating everyday for the next four months and trying to launch a company or hanging out in malibu, doing yoga, eating health food, and probably getting massages with multiple happy endings for the next 30 days? i vote malibu. can you do 60 day stints?
anyway, i'm not a computer nerd. and as it turns out, this is becoming a big problem.

i'm off to drink a few. any nerds out there willing to help me out, your next cold one is on me.

durtbagz: so simple in theory

the idea behind this company is so simple: find the bags, make the signs, get people to hit the site to participate, and the company is born. theory is turning out to be so much easier than reality.

just trying to figure out the whole printing process is turning into a much bigger project than i anticipated. at first we were looking at buying the bags and getting them printed at the same place. then this seemed like a bad idea because: 1. minimums. most places that do bags and screen print require a number of them to be printed before they will take the order. typically, those minimums are not extremely high for a one time order or an established company, but feel extremely high when you are just beginning and are wondering if you are going to sell a single bag the first month. Second reason it seemed like a bad idea was the fact that we're changing the signs pretty frequently and if i don't sell those first bags within the first month or so, i'll be stuck with lots of product on my hands.
at first it was suggested to me to find a local printer that is willing to hold the images for a month and let me order weekly as my orders come in on the site. i'm still running into minimums, although not as high as with the distributors. and now i'm running into issues on how i'm going to get the bags to the printers and turn-around times so that customers are not waiting a month for their bags.
thankfully, a friend of a friend owns his own promotions company, http://www.k-wpromotions.com/ and we're meeting to try and figure out a way to do this as easy on both my wallet and time as possible. i'm hopeful that after lunch on friday, i'll have some options for solutions to this issue. who knew screen printing bags could be such an issue?

however, as annoying as this is, things could be worse: i could be lindsay lohan or yet lower, a fan of lindsay lohan. i'm 29, i look 29, and have never been to rehab...things are looking good.

if you're interested in learning more about me or reading something a little less serious, a little more goof, click on the link below.


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durtbagz: keeping it real

i've been thinking this weekend about my target audience and how to keep them interested and in turn, involved. kids 14-25 have such a ridiculous sixth sense of when someone is trying to be something other than what they are. they can tell immediately when something is phony or fake. the reason i've been thinking about this has to due with marketing and methods of getting the word out about the company. since the company is strictly online, i've been focusing my efforts on promoting it word-of-mouth. sites like myspace and twitter are definitely a part of my marketing plan, but it's a tricky balancing act to use these sites for marketing and yet still remain legit. i already had a myspace page before i started the company, and slowly, i've been incorporating little aspects of it into my page. same thing with twitter, the few times i've been on it. my thought is that if people know me before and i incorporate their help into different parts of the company, they'll want to help me out by talking to others about the company. the idea is that the business model i have requires the help of my audience, whether they actually by a bag or not. of course, i'd like to make some money, but what will drive this site is creating the community that is necessary for the company to function. that community will happen if they believe in the company and feel it is legit. if they smell an ounce of fraud in the whole thing, it will be like blood in the water for sharks; no one will want to touch it. the question i have in this whole thing i guess is how far is too far? how far can i push this before it crosses the line into annoying? i have to get the word out and i have to do it rather quickly and i have to do it among an audience that aren't people that i normally correspond with everyday. there's a line that can be crossed that will take this from 'cool' to 'enough already' and i don't want to cross it, but i also don't want to stay so far away from it that i miss out on a substantial crowd. i don't want to be afraid of 'the line', just aware of it. honestly, i'd rather error on the side of people being sick of hearing about my company, than no one knowing about it at all. but in the beginning, it's a fine line.

durtbagz: my head is swimming

so i thought that writing about my experience in building a company from the ground up would be a stress reliever. we'll see if i'm right or not.
one bit of advice before i get much further; do not shake the Parmesan cheese without making sure the lid is on tight.
anyway, right now i'm about 45-60 days out from launching the site for my new company. to give you some background: i do not have any experience running a business, i don't have a business degree (mine's elementary education), and i'm not an IT nerd. that was not a slight, you know you guys are nerds and you're re-shaping our world as we know it and you will be the wealthiest people around. i'd like to be a nerd and i'm working on it. this super idea i had is turning me into one in short order. so, here's the deal: about two years ago, i had a conversation with a group of my girlfriends and we decided that we were going to design bags. that idea lasted about an hour with the crew but i decided i liked the idea and kept thinking about it. about 6 months later, i was driving to tucson to see my parents and the idea hit me to incorporate street signs into my bags. the signs were so simple, basic shapes, colors and easily recognizable. so i started playing around with designing the actual bags and placing the signs somewhere on the bags or basing the design of the bag around the sign's shape or what the sign was depicting, (i.e. truck going down a ramp, pedestrian crosswalk...). i started searching all over to find signs from all over the world to use. some of these signs i found were funny, which made me change gears somewhat and realize that the signs 'as-is' are okay, but signs that have been tweaked a bit can be pretty funny and signs that have been totally created out of parts from others could be hilarious. keep in mind this time line puts us about a year out from the first discussion at this point. so i started drawing up signs and ideas for signs and creating them in the same format as real signs (i.e. square shape, black symbols and characters, yellow background) to make them recognizable. when we started trying to make the bags ourselves (at this point, i had recruited one of my friends to help me with the sewing as i am not and never have been a seamstress) and we realized that 1) we are not that good at sewing, 2) the designs of the bags were too hard to recreate accurately, and 3) we were way to slow in production. we could never make enough money to cover the time we had to spend making bags that, in the end, were not very pretty. so we started looking for manufacturers and after multiple hours spent researching and actually meeting with local ones, i determined that we needed to streamline this process in order to make it work. the design of the bags themselves was not nearly as important to me as the signs we were creating to put on the bags. so i ditched the idea of creating the bags and focused on creating the signs. i decided to go with generic tote bags and messenger bags and make the signs the focal point and the whole purpose of carrying the bag. that basically brings you up to speed as far as where this crazy thing came from. so, why's my head spinning?
here are a few of the reasons why i think i'm a bit stressed:
1. i have no experience owning a company
2. i have no IT knowledge; i can email, blog, and do myspace.
3. i am not 14-25, the ages of my target audience. although i was at one point.
all of this about to change. well, all except the age part. although i do not act much differently than i did when i fit into that bracket, i keep getting further and further away from it. so, in the past few months, basically since christmas, i've finally made the decision to make this idea a really real reality. i've decided that this company is going to be strictly online (unless it takes off and i need a flagship store. i'm okay with that) and that i need the participation of my clients in order to survive. at this point, most people go, uh, duh, you need people to buy bags if you want to stay in business. thanks for that tidbit, but i mean real participation, not just financially, but mentally, creatively, and emotionally. i got the idea after reading an article on a company called threadless. if you haven't heard about them or their business model, look them up. they are complete web nerds/junkies that stumbled into a super successful company without ever meaning to. probably the smartest idiots you'll read of. anywho, they started a tee-shirt design competition and decided they'd sell the shirts. what started out as a tiny website with tee shirts being shipped from their apartment has turned into a multi-million dollar enterprise with multiple spin-offs that the two founders also own. interestingly enough, threadless is the only one that is profitable and it is very profitable so what to they care if the others don't work?
anyway, i'm not trying to recreate threadless by any means. i am trying to incorporate the idea that people want to participate and have a say in a company that they like. so, my site and company depends pretty much entirely on the submissions and decisions of my customers. they submit their ideas for signs and vote on other submissions. the winners, chosen each month, are on the bags for the next month. not that complicated. but creating this thing and having it work the way i want to is. hence the stress...i'm hungry.