Idea Cafe's Small Business Grant Winner's Reports

We've asked Janie to report monthly on on her accomplishments, lessons learned and challenges. Study her path -- speed bumps and detours included -- to glean tips you can apply in your own business.

Janie's Reports:

Final Report and Parting Tips for Other Small Business Owners
Prior Reports:
May/June
April
March
February
January

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Final Report and Parting Tips

Winning Idea Cafe's Ray Ward Creative Spirit Grant has been exciting for me and a huge boost for my confidence! Since winning Idea Cafe's grant I have applied for and received funding for two additional projects. This award has propelled me into a study of grant writing that I hope will become a secondary income stream for me and help others obtain the funding they need for worthwhile projects.

I leave you with the following thoughts...

BEFORE ... I REPEAT ... BEFORE you begin working a business full time have a business plan!

I would have avoided many mistakes ... most of them costly if I had followed this advice. My excuses were many ... don't know how ... no time ... can't put it on paper yet ... the list goes on. There are so many resources available for new business owners such as The SBA, your local Chamber of Commerce, Universities, and of course, our favorite ... Idea Cafe! So write that plan, work out the bugs on paper before you venture out of a reliable income. Then when you do launch it has a much better chance of success!

Keep yourself intact ... run the business ... don't become the business.

As I worked through the goals section of my business plan I realized that it was very difficult for me to separate personal goals from business goals. I believe this happens when one's hobby, life work and mission converge into one entity. While there are many good things about working in a profession you are passionate about there also needs to be a healthy balance between work and personal life. This can be especially difficult when working from home. I now reserve my Sundays for personal projects such as gardening making clothing for myself and quilts for my grandchildren. I am so much more focused when I take just a bit of time for my own creative pursuits.

Grow through your strengths and get help with the rest

As a small business owner I have learned to market, sell, and write grants ... along with developing and facilitating programs. There are still tasks that I cannot seem to get under control, such as accounting and web maintenance. My solution has always been to plug away feeling discouraged when I am not meeting the level of success I want. My new strategy is to get help with what you don't know how to do and the profits will rise as a result. I have learned that many other small business owners are happy to barter for services leaving both stronger for the partnership.

Thank you for taking this journey with me over the past six months ... good luck to you all and I'll look forward to reading about the next creative grant winner!

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May/June Report

Top Business-related Accomplishments:

1. Business plan is complete and ready to make the rounds to potential funders!
While creating this plan was a bit like giving birth again it was a good way to really sort out the strengths and weaknesses of my business.

2. A friend and business associate has agreed to help me create a promotional DVD to send to schools and organizations as a marketing piece.
We have begun to make plans for the creation of this DVD.

3. The Creative Family Program is fully ready to launch!
This program is possible because of this generous grant from Idea Cafe. I plan to have the opening sessions early fall.

Business lessons learned or problems encountered:

1. Although the business plan is complete I have yet to find a bank who will consider a loan. While it can be discouraging, I have to keep the "fall down seven times, get up eight" attitude, and know that the right financial fit will happen at the right time.

Top business goals for the upcoming month:

1. Prepare new retail products and introduce them on E-Bay while my on-line store is under construction.

2. Continue to meet with schools in the area to book programs for the 2007-2008 school year.

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April Report

Top Business-related Accomplishments:

1. Referrals for New Contracts
I've received several referrals for contracts that I will now follow up on... the awareness of my work is growing... my early educational efforts are now paying off!

2. Promotional DVD Started
A friend and business associate has agreed to help me create a promotional DVD to send to schools and organizations as a marketing piece. He's willing to forgo upfront payment in lieu of commissions on work received.

3. New Web Store in the Works
New web store coming soon! I've found a designer who works within my budget so keep watching... by the June report the store should be up and running!

4. Reeled in Another Grant!
I received a grant from The Moss Foundation to develop a project with at risk teen girls.

5. Invited to Present Again
I've been invited to present again at The Creative Minds Conference in Virginia in November. Read about the conference and my most recent grant at: www.mossfoundation.org

Business lessons learned or problems encountered:

1. Things have really begun to stabilize since last month. The biggest issue I continue to have is finding the time for development and administrative tasks. I have, however, managed to clear my calendar for the last week of May and the first week of June to tackle some of these tasks while also welcoming a new grandchild!

Top business goals for the upcoming month:

1. Present my business plan to the bank for a small business loan. By the end of May all letters of reference will be in and the plan will be ready to present.

2. Secure space and begin scheduling the Creative Family sessions

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March Report

Top business related accomplishments:

This month I had interviews for articles in 2 local papers... no national press yet but in general any free press is good press.

As a result of the Marketplace conference I spent one day this month with Connie Harvey of Efficiency Counts, another Nebraska based small business. She came to my home and helped me set up my accounting on Quick Books then trained me on the methods. I can see how much better my record keeping will be once I have everything entered!

I hired help for the first time this month! I feel that for the first time I may actually be able to get ahead! I've stayed away from hiring anyone for a number of reasons, cost, quality and wanting to remain firmly in control of the production process. I now see what an asset good contract help can be! She loves the flexibility and I love the ability to bid more programs with someone helping with the preparation sewing.

Business lessons learned or problems encountered:

This has been a very trying month... No matter how committed or passionate I am about my work, my family still must come first... and that lesson was relearned this month. I had a very serious family issue move into the forefront of my life this month taking a huge toll on both my physical and emotional energy. Things are leveling off now but I'm still catching up.

I also realized how very dependent I am on my computer and internet provider. Computer problems, viruses, CRASH and server downtime all contributed to slowdowns this month. I'm back on the road again but also playing catch up in the administrative area. All in all this was a trying month but thanks to a strong support system I'm ready for a better month to come!

Top business goals for the upcoming month:

My main goal for the next month is to get back on top of things again. Several deadlines loom and marketing needs to be done to book fall and winter programs. So, I'll be back in full swing soon!
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February Report
February was a whirl wind month with Francie's visit to Nebraska and all the activities along with an additional conference and blizzard!

Top business related accomplishments:

This month the top accomplishment HAS to be the wonderful slate of activities and spending time with Francie! I had a wonderful time presenting a fabric painting workshop for the 2^nd grade in Seward Nebraska. Francie's family was there to enjoy the rambunctious messy activity with us!

Then on to Omaha where a small but energetic crowd gathered for the presentation of my grant award, including painting another art quilt... and if that's not enough on to Kearney for the presentation in front of about 450 small business owners at the Marketplace conference! WHEW! I emerged energized and proud to be associated with Idea Cafe. The next day we were forced to take a much needed rest when a blizzard hit and knocked out our power for about 4 hours.

Receiving this award has given me the confidence to pursue other grant and funding opportunities. As a result I have been awarded $800.00 from the Wahoo, NE Chamber of Commerce to create a piece of fiber art for the Winds of Life project sponsored by The Center for Rural Affairs. This will result in a historic streetscape that depicts the community windmill found in Wahoo, NE in about 1874. I hope that the creation of this historical fiber art landscape will generate more commissions of this type.

Business lessons learned or problems encountered:

Once again I learned... don't rush the process! I hurried to find space and get a schedule set for my family workshops in time for all the activity during Francie's visit. As a result, my marketing was incomplete and I did not get any registrations. Now I will back up and take the time to do this correctly! With mailing list in hand I will send out information via e-mail to a group of interested families. I continue to research the type of marketing that might be most effective.

I also finally came to the realization at the Marketplace conference that I don't have to do everything myself and just may be money ahead to hire someone. So... I've decided to hire someone to build my e-commerce site and hire another person to set up and train me on Quick Books. Once I let go of my stubbornness long enough to ask, found that the costs were much less that I anticipated and I believe will yield high returns. have applied for a grant of offset these costs... you'll hear about those results next month!

Top business goals for the upcoming month:

I did not meet all my goals last month... expected way too much of myself! Between now and April 7, I plan to:

• Get that business plan finished! I have the first draft done and will complete my revisions during the coming week then resubmit it to my business specialist at cfra.org.
• Make samples of all the Creative Family projects and photograph for my web site
• Get three pages added to my site... one to follow this project, one for the windmill project and a page of resources.

There... that should keep me out of trouble this month!

Have a successful month... take time to enjoy the small signs of spring popping up!

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Here's Janie's first report for January, 2007:
"First, I'd like to thank Francie Ward and Idea Cafe for choosing me as the recipient of this grant! It took me several days to come back to earth after Francie's phone call. Although it's just been a short time since receiving the award I already have a few things to report..."-- Janie

Top Business-related Accomplishments for the Past Month:
This month the answers are clear:

1. Website: I finally launched my new web site. I have NO experience in web development, but with a small budget to work with I decided I'd better learn. It has taken me much longer than expected to get even four pages up but now I'm feeling much more comfortable with the process and can see even more progress ahead. To receive updates and eventually newsletters please register for my mailing list at www.janielynntextiles.com

2. Strategic Plan: I held my first three day strategic planning retreat at my home to plan my personal and business goals for 2007. Thanks to Holly Stevens at http://storyteller-and-listener.blog-city.com/

Business Lessons Learned or Problems Encountered:

Top Business Goals for the Next Month

1. The first priority is to finish the plans for Francie's visit to Nebraska! I'm very excited that she will be able to come here and present the check, providing a number of good PR opportunities for myself and Idea Cafe. If you live in Nebraska be sure to watch for details and join us!
   
   
2. My second priority is to finish my business plan by March 1. I am fortunate to have a business specialist from The Center for Rural Affairs www.cfra.org helping me with the details of this project. I will be gathering more information on what makes a good business plan at the Marketplace event in Kearney, NE on Feb 28 during Francie's visit.
   
   
3. Other priorities include adding a page to my web site to follow the progress of this grant project, and getting my e-mail list in order now that I can manage it on my web site. I will also be laying out the details of The Creative Families Program so I can begin to order supplies and create program samples.

Be well... stay warm... and here's to a successful month for everyone! -- Janie

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Read why Idea Cafe chose Janie to receive this grant

Also, check out Janie's Business Profile here at Idea Cafe receive this grant

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To see more grants: government grants, SBA, corporate, more private grants, enter Idea Cafe's Free Grant Center for Small Biz -- a privilege for registered Idea Cafe Regulars only. GO!