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.