We've finally decided to add an
entrepreneurial discussion forum to the website. So, if
you have any questions you want answered or topics you
want discussed, post 'em in the forum...just go to www.mousedriver.com
and enter from there. We have no idea if this thing will
take off...but thought it the best way to share information
with others. Let us know what you think.
Lessons
Learned
Finally!! Through a friend of
a friends Mom, we've developed a relationship with a sales
rep who has the contacts and experience needed to bring
MouseDriver to the mass merchandisers. It's wild.we spent
so much time trying to locate a sales rep via trade shows,
industry contacts, online resources, etc. and it turns
out that all we needed to do was grab a couple of beers
and talk "business" with a couple of skiing buddies. Amazing
the contacts that you can find in your own backyard.so
to speak. Unfortunately, finding a good sales rep is only
half the battle. We've now discovered that the mass merchandisers
don't want to have anything to do with a single-product
company. Why?.Paperwork!! The big buyers just don't want
to deal with all of the time, headache, and paperwork
involved with setting up a new vendor in their system,
especially if it's only for one product. So our sales
rep and all of his buying buddies are telling us that
we need to go through distributors.which is good since
that's been our preferred strategy all along. Funny how
things work out sometimes.still, this distribution BS
seems like a never-ending battle.
We pride ourselves on customer
service. We're small enough (and currently have the time)
to focus on making sure that our customers are satisfied.
That means we respond to all emails and phone calls on
an extremely timely basis and do whatever we can to distinguish
our company from the slew of other consumer product manufacturers
out there. So, when we realized a couple of weeks ago
that none of our info@mousedriver.com emails were being
forwarded to our email accounts, we totally freaked. We
had over 75 emails dating back to December 4th, 2000 from
people inquiring about MouseDriver, our company, etc.
Most of the emails were from customers who, for one reason
or another, weren't completely satisfied with the MouseDriver
that they had received as a gift over the Holidays. (And
this whole time we just assumed that we had somehow made
it through the Holiday Season completely unscathed.seriously!)
We ended up responding to all of the emails and offering
free MouseDrivers and promotional mousepads to many of
our customers who had been waiting over 6 weeks for a
response. Still, we were pretty embarrassed and bummed
about the whole thing.especially by the customers that
totally ripped on us for not initially responding (i.e.
some guy basically told us that are product was a sham,
our company was a joke and we didn't have the balls to
respond to his email.it's that whole ego crushing thing
repeating itself).
If you haven't heard by now, we
made the cover of a major business publication (Inc. Magazine).
We're not exactly sure how we pulled this one off, but
we're obviously psyched that the "story" is being pushed
to bookstores, newsstands and over 600,000 subscribers
around the country. So does having your picture appear
on the cover a magazine change anything?.ABSOLUTELY! Other
than the slew of phone calls that we're receiving on a
daily basis, our workday now primarily consists of answering
the 150 emails that we individually download each morning.
Many of the emails are from other entrepreneurs who were
inspired and motivated by the article while others are
simply people sending us their kudos and signing up for
The Insider. We've also received inquiries from other
business publications interested in "the story", potential
customers interested in the product, entrepreneurs wanting
advice, admirers wanting to give us their insights, literary
agents/publishing companies who think book opportunities
might actually exist and high school acquaintances that
we haven't spoken to in over 15 years. It's crazy! Our
guess is that all of this will be a "Flavor of the month"
sort of thing and will die down over the next few weeks.but
hey, if the media wants to keep supporting us, we'll certainly
support them!
With the addition of our sales
reps and the running of the article, this whole venture
has taken on a much different feel. We no longer feel
as if we're just the two guys trying our best to sell
MouseDriver out of the massage parlor, but that we're
two moderately successful entrepreneurs who might have
the opportunity to make some really big things happen
(Note: this may or may not be true, but it's kinda how
we feel at the moment). A lot of doors have been opened
for us over the past month and the business article has
only helped to reinforce the fact that we're a legitimate
company. We're now in a position where we can take the
company in a number of different strategic directions
and we really need to sit down and think about our goals.not
only from a company perspective but also from a personal
perspective. Regardless of what we end up doing, one thing's
for certain: We've got to stay focused and make sure that
we can convert all of this positive press and door-opening
opportunities into MouseDriver sales.otherwise, we're
doing the company, ourselves and most importantly, our
investors a disservice. It's a challenge, but something
that we think we'll be able to handle.let's hope.
What We've
Done
- Added a major golf distributor whose
accounts include department and sporting goods stores.
- Met with a literary agent and four
major book-publishing companies about the possibilities
of turning the Insiders into some sort of book opportunity
(alright, we're a little clueless on this whole process,
so let us know if you have any thoughts).
- Guest lectured at Pepperdine (phenomenal
campus), USC, Wharton and Columbia.
- Met with a number of promising entrepreneurs
including a 15-year NFL Veteran and 8 time pro-bowler
(the cool part about this deal was that we actually
remember watching this guy play).
- Met with an editor for MBA Jungle
Magazine; did an interview with Bloomberg News Radio;
did a photo-shoot with Entrepreneur Magazine (much easier
and less involved than the Inc. shoot with more of a
product focus).
- Added an entrepreneur discussion forum
to our website.we'll see how long this actually lasts.
Priority Goals
- Convert all of this positive PR into
really BIG sales (aka: Cash!)
- Extend our line of credit at Wells
Fargo Bank so that our next inventory investment is
a little less stressful than the last one.
- Determine the strategic direction
of the company. (i.e. Do we introduce more products
or let MouseDriver run its course?).
- Personally respond to all of the emails
currently sitting in our in-boxes.
Mood Meter
"Oh, how I feel like I'm alive
for the very first time. Sit up high I'm strong enough
to take these dreams and make them mine. Can you take
me higher." ("Higher" From Creed's Human Clay Album).
Questions, comments, or criticisms
about the Insider? Email us at info@mousedriverchronicles.com.
