Fight Back

Since ***** doesn't want me to fly out to **** this weekend, where I should be right now...I have decided to just go to work and make my own destiny. In fact for the first time I started contacting retailers, and guess what? They are actually writing me back, calling me and are interested. I am stealthily searching out email addresses and phone numbers, yes I actually called a couple CEO's yesterday. All this without paying thousands of dollars a year for a service.

Cap Trappers are a good product. I am confident of it. Retailers that jump on board are for sure going to be the lucky ones!! And thankfully we are fully equipped to handle large orders and deadlines. Thanks to the help of my amazing partner Brent.

If you want to balance home and family successfully, just make sure you don't try to do everything yourself.

Figuring out Facebook

I joined facebook today. I feel so young and hip. I still really know nothing about it. I feel very old and crusty and bewildered. Yes that is me being bewildered at my computer above. I think I just thought you made up a page. But I guess that is My Space. Facebook kind-of seemed boring until the emails kept pouring in all day, with people adding me as friends. That makes me sound really popular, but I'm not don't worry, it was mostly family.

So how do I use this better? If you are on facebook what are the good groups to join? How do I go about doing it? I'm going to be honest. My husband set it up for me. So I really am clueless. I don't even know how to direct you to me. Add me as a friend. Hmmm I think my account is under Savvy May? That's what it says at the top of my page. And don't ask me why my husband chose that picture. He could have at least chosen a flattering one like the one included above.

Hopefully I can relive my high school glory years. ha ha. All sarcasm aside...isn't technology amazing?

We are such a connected world. Who knows maybe I will start "twittering" soon? Then everyone will always know what I had for breakfast and how many bites my kids had to finish before they had their 3 chocolate chips for dessert.

"Hurry up and Wait"

So I learned a new phrase today common in the television industry: "Hurry up and wait." I was supposed to be on a plane to **** right at this very moment. But, here I am sitting at my computer instead writing a blog. As glorious as blogging is, I would much rather be on that plane.

Yesterday I spoke with the producer, and they decided they didn't have things ready enough yet to do the "big shoot." So I am postponed. Yesterday was a totally down day for me. However, I am holding out hope. They are telling me there is no reason for concern. They are constantly on a "hurry up" schedule and then a "wait" schedule.

Well at least I have more time to shed the post-baby weight since television adds 20 lbs I am informed. And btw, it is really good motivation to think you might be in front of so many people.

I am just counting my blessings...because darn it, I am so lucky!

Cap Trappers: A Successful Product in a Down Economy

Cap Trappers are the ultimate product to sell during slow economic times. They allow users the ability to eliminate waste. School budgets are constantly strained and inevitably will get tighter. Supplying each teacher with a set of Cap Trappers for their classroom ensures their markers will be used to the fullest. Teachers can easily organize their marker collection, quickly distribute markers (or dry erase) to students, and effectively take inventory of missing markers at cleanup. This saves time, wasted money and frustration.

Parents looking to squeeze extra pennies from the budget will be more likely to purchase “another” set of markers knowing their kids got full use out of the last set. (There is nothing more irritating than purchasing a product knowing that the previous purchase was wasted). Many of our current Cap Trapper customers have actually gone back to using markers (after giving them up in exchange for crayons, or pencils) once introduced to Cap Trappers.

The design elements of Cap Trappers were developed while studying with my husband for one of his MBA classes. The class focused on one of Toyota’s core elements of success called 5S (Sort, Sustain, Standardize, Straighten, Shine). These ideas resonated in me and I tried to implement some of them within the Cap Trapper. I feel using this product will reduce the time you spend on “non-value-added” work (searching under stoves for caps, panicking that your child has a cap in their mouth, or as a teacher having to sort through 100 markers at the end of each school day looking for caps, etc, etc, etc) while allowing you those few extra minutes each day to focus on things that really matter.

Whatever financial position you find yourself in using the Cap Trapper will help save you time, wasted money, frustration and worry. Thanks for supporting us in our efforts to take Cap Trappers to the masses!

The Business Pitch...The Abe Lincoln Version

Here is my pitch. I call it the Abe Lincoln version. You will see why. I am like a floundering fish when it comes to this type of thing. So please help! Any feedback would be fantastic.

Give me a tantruming two-year-old or really dirty bathroom and I can work magic. But ask me to clearly and concisely pitch my product and I flop around all over the deck.




Who knew a blog could be so revealing?!

Serving up Bessie...Thoughts on Being a Solo Vegetarian and Adaptability

The picture above represents a true feat on my part. I assembled these patties myself. That may not sound grand and glorious but it is a far cry from where I was 10 years ago when I got married. I have adapted to accommodate my sweet, meat-eating husband. I now will touch and prepare meat (while wearing surgical gloves).

My Journey to Vegetarianism Begins...

Nearly twenty years ago, while in my tender elementary school years, I had a truly traumatic experience involving prepared meat. With an after school group I attended a Bilmar Turkey Processing Plant in Michigan (where I lived). I have vivid memories of tiptoeing through blood pools, gasping at bins brimming with turkey feet, and cringing as turkey dogs shot out of who-knows-where in long chains. To compound the lasting horror, for some reason, still unclear to me, I volunteered along with my best friend Rachel (we were the only two of the whole bunch to step forward)to enter the slaughter room.

Sqwauking masses of white feathers hung suspended by their feet from a long conveyor belt. The belt crept slowly towards a large metal chamber. Upon reaching the chamber it was explained to us the turkey's received an electrical jolt to stop their hearts. Once outside the chamber a line worker slit the long slender throat, and the turkey moved to a second chamber. It was here, to my horror, the animals were again shocked, to restart their hearts so they would bleed to death. That sealed the deal for me. From that moment forward I swore I would never eat a piece of turkey again. I informed my mother (who was certain I would grow out of it, this too will pass) who has stood by me faithfully all these years. Always willing to accommodate.


Fully Committing to Vegetarianism

The full commitment to living a meat-free life came in my headstrong, environmentally zealous teenage years. In middle-school I was assigned to debate the issue of factory farming. Upon learning of the hormone and antibiotic injected animals, literally stacked on top of each other, I knew I wouldn't eat meat again.

Adapting

When I got married I tried to avoid all cooking in general, especially meat. Slowly but surely however, I have adapted and learned to cook meat for my family. I don't remember a single moment when I could finally look or touch meat, it just sort of gradually came. When Ellery was little I fed her tofurky and soy milk... only to learn the hormones naturally in soy are as dangerous as the horomones in meat. So now I serve up Bessie.

Serving Up Bessie



Bessie was my Dad's cow. Raised on the Full-Circle Ranch. (3 years ago when my parents moved to Logan they wanted a name for their 9 acre spread. Brent's vote was the Double D Ranch, that didn't fly with my ultra-conservative mother) Bessie wasn't really her name, my mother refused to name the cows, and tried not to look at them peacefully grazing in their pastures. But for all intents and purposes, she was Bessie and she had a wonderful grass-fed life, rumbling around in Cache Valley. Except for the occasional break-outs of she and her two comrades, (cows are amazingly good jumpers, who would have thought) her life was pretty uneventful. Until slaughter day.

But I will happily feed my family Bessie. I know where she lived, how she lived, and what she ate. The same cannot be said of the grocery store meat. With Bessie I at least know my young son will not be developing breasts at a young age. For myself however, I stick with a huge green salad for dinner. No one ever thought of naming broccoli, or shooting it up with steroids, and that is just fine by me.


The Life Lesson

Stick to your guns. I have been mercilessly teased for not eating meat for years. However, it is part of who I am and I stick to it. Sometimes though it is okay to give on things that aren't a part of my value system. So just because I don't like to prepare meat, or eat helpless animals myself, it doesn't compromise anything dear to me to grill a steak for my family. I think that is a true life lesson. Giving where we can and sticking when we should.



Here is a recipe for this fantastic salad you see below you. This is my latest favorite.



Mixed Greens (including fancy lettuce, spinach, and green leaf lettuce (organic of course)
Strawberries
Raspberries
Sometimes I throw in an Apple
Pecans or Walnuts
Parmesan cheese
Broccoli
Balsamic Vinagarette

The Big Five..Can't we Just Keep them Little?

Yesterday was the Big 5 Birthday for Ellery. Her excitement was over-the-top. She woke up the night before at about 2 am and could not go back to sleep she was so giddy. It was contagious. The day included a fabulous party, complete with cookie cutter PB & J sandwiches, a wild bike parade, and the classic, but always disturbingly dangerous, pinata.




Unfortunately, as the day closed it became clear to me we had doubled the load of toys in our house. Ellery was thrilled. Not me. I am not huge on "stuff." So tonight, while she is peacefully sleeping, it is out with the old and in with the new. I am stealthily working my way around the house and filling bags for the good-will. I feel a bit "grinch-ish," but we just don't have room for everything! And most likely, a big fingers crossed, she won't notice.

Cheers to Ellery for her zeal for life. Why wasn't I that excited for my B-day? (most likely because it was one of those "big ones") Aren't kids the greatest? Tonight she looked up at my while we were snuggling and said; "Mommy I love you so much, thanks for giving me the best party in the whole world!" I wish I could just freeze my children so they would never grow up! But if I froze her when she was 2 I would have missed this moment. I guess things just keep getting better!

The Back-to-School Must Have Item: Cap Trappers!

Summer break is just days away for all the children attending the elementary school across the street from our house. They are giddy with the idea of popsicles and pools. In fact, on one of the 3 warm days we have had this entire Spring (do I sound bitter? because I am) my girls ran through the sprinklers with their friends, I think 6x in one day. One time at each of the neighbors houses in our cul-de-sac and 3x at our house. Ellery graduated from preschool. With honors of course (do they do that in preschool? probably).



She is so excited for Kindergarten in the Fall she can hardly stand it. In fact, so am I. But not because my sweet little angel is getting so big. That petrifies me. When we tease her about not going to school next year, her response is "Mom, Dad, forget it. I am going."



So why can't I wait for school to start again? I am excited and determined that Cap Trappers take the back-to-school market by storm. I think Cap Trappers will be the must-have supply for teachers and for students this fall. The teachers currently using Cap Trappers in their classroom love them. They rave about the preserved learning time and efficiency gained by their use. (I will get some pictures up soon of them being used in the classroom.)

For this back-to-school push I have to land a major retail account. Cap Trappers must be totally accessible to the masses. Internet sales are just not effective for this type of product or marketing push.

Education about the product is crucial. I believe moms and teachers will seek out stores that carry Cap Trappers, once they know what and where they are. But for those browsing the store, I believe education on the product is simple. Ideally I envision Cap Trappers in a retail store in their own kiosk. These kiosks would be complete with Cap Trappers loaded with markers for display. A clear visual will immediately educate the customer.

Big dreams in our family. Dreams of Kindergarten. Dreams of taking the back-to-school market by storm. I better get my nose to the grindstone and woo those retailers!

Free and Clear Messaging

Free and Clear

Tonight I went to a great, free class put on by the Small Business Development Center and Utah Valley University. (I highly recommend finding resources like this in your area if you are trying to start something.) It was free (did I already say that?) and invaluable. This class reinforced to me again, my overall ignorance of all things business. But...it also showed me, several normal people bouncing ideas off each other, led by someone who actually knows what they are doing (Susan McClain www.thewritingway.com) can make some great business sense.

The class was on messaging. Sending clear messages to your targeted audience. A theme which has definitely been on my mind lately. (If only I had taken this class one week ago. Oh well, what can you do. Better this week than next week!) In a nutshell here is what I learned. Again, I claim absolutely no expertise...I'm just a regular mom who by day juggles 2 kids in a single stroller with the other trying her hardest to annoy the ones in the stroller while I search the mall for nursing covers. (Also known as "Hooter Hiders" Why are these so hard to find?) Because Emmett and I are attached, and that won't change in ****** next week! Again, here it is, what I learned.

1. Write down everything you can think of related to your product or business
   
2. Make bullet points of everything unique to your product or business
   
3. Write down your target audience
4. Create a 10 word sentence packed with as much power as you can. You really want to grab attention and create interest. Pin point the unique aspects you bulleted.
   
5. Expand with 15 more words
6. Expand with 10 more words

As I reread that, it needs further explanation. I will ask Susan to expand. Maybe she can comment and add her brilliant expertise!

Tomorrow I will get my notes in here. And show you my before and after pitches. It will be interesting to see what the "Expert Board" has to say next week.

The Wild Card

Brent calls Callista our "Wild Card." We definitely never know what we will get with her. But what we can count on is it will come with a whole lot of spunk, style, and smiles! Savvy May is my wild card.



Communicate Clearly...Even your Love Messages

We like to play a silly game with the girls. "I love you...(fill in the blank with the largest number or thing you can think of)" Ellery usually spouts off a number like "one hundred million and sixty." Callista has kept saying "one hundred William Davidson." I couldn't figure out why she kept inserting Emmetts name (Emmett William) Finally it clicked. She was hearing "William" instead of "million" and then she added "Davidson" because in her mind, it fit.

A little reminder to me to send correct and clear messages. That is, if, I want to be understood. It is funny the cute little things you learn from your children in the midst of being a parent.

How to Find Your Big Idea

WARNING!!
Before you read this be sure you understand I have zero expertise. No credentials whatsoever. But just maybe that is why you should read this. Because aren't most of us totally amateurs with no experience, nothing special to attach to our name? And if I have a shot with my little idea, that means you do too!

So here are the steps in the evolution of my Big Idea.

Let me start by saying I can't take all the credit. My husband has been constantly prodding me for 10 years about my idea. "What is your idea Rebecca?" He would say this over and over to me. My response was always the same, "You are the idea person. I am the book person." I never imagined I had an idea in me.

I am living proof, everyone does. We have yet to see how big this idea actually turns out to be...

Step #1

Find something that bugs you. Something that bothers you just about everyday.

...For me it was markers. I was annoyed with the lost caps, the wasted money, the mess. I kept trying to stop buying them, but my students and kids wanted them. The colors are brighter, you can write all over your body, come on, what kid doesn't love that?

Step #2

Make sure it really annoys other people too.

...At thanksgiving, I heard my 60-year-old Father-in-Law complaining that he couldn't find 2 caps from the brand new set of markers he had just bought for the grandkids. It hit me then, this doesn't just bother me. I then started asking everyone I knew if they had the problem. They did.

Step #3

Let the problem sit and fester.

...I definitely don't think about markers every moment of my life. That would not be fulfilling. I also try not to think of my annoyances all the time. What fun would that be? But I did let this problem just sit in the back of my mind. I was aware of it.

I came up with several different ideas first. But decided against them. One was a flip-top marker (since then Crayola came out with one). Flip tops didn't solve my problem because it seemed awkward, the caps could break, and as my husband brought up, I didn't want to compete with marker companies.


Step #4

Be aware of all Possible Solutions

Few ideas are completely new and fresh. While I was thinking about this problem of the course of a couple months, our oldest Ellery needed to be seen at Primary Children's Medical Center in SLC. While we were in the waiting room, sitting on a table was a big thick block of wood. It had 10 holes drilled into it and the caps glued inside. My husband pointed it out to me and said, here is the solution to your problem. But it wasn't. I remember in high school my chemistry teacher had made something similar. I needed something not just to keep my caps together, but I wanted it to be:

• Safe - no sharp edges, nothing heavy, okay to put in mouths
  
• Small - Little enough to fit in my craft box, or in a drawer
• Portable - Easily thrown in my purse, brought to church or in the car
  
• Universal - It needed to fit all cap sizes and require no glue
  

That experience however perked my imagination and later the Cap Trapper was born.

Step #5

Make sure no one else has had your "big idea"and especially be sure no one has patented it!

I did an exhaustive search to make sure no one had thought of my idea. Once I was convinced it was time to move forward. But that is for a different entry!

Whew...and....Oops!

Whew....

What a day! It was quite the adventure from 8 am until 1 pm with the ****crew here. You can imagine trying to keep the kids quiet during interviews, even the big wheels in the front yard were too loud, and the baby happy and well fed. All in all though, the children were angels.



By far the hardest part of the day was my personal interview. I had to answer the producers questions in 1 sentence answers. It was so hard. I had practiced using 2-3 sentences. Cutting back to one was a challenge. I also kept saying words like "so", "well" and "okay." Those all had to be redone.

The "b role" (all those filler quiet filler shots) was much easier. They just filmed all of our day to day things. That, I can handle. Callista of course was a complete ham for the camera. She definitely knows how to work it at 2 1/2. I think we are in for some trouble when she is 15! Ellery took an hour or two to warm up for the cameras and then she was a star.



As far as the girls go, I had meticulously done both of their hair at 7:45, ironed their clothes, and bronzed their little faces. My efforts were completely in vain. I'm afraid to say this will be "reality" TV. By the time it was their turn to be on film, Ellery had fallen and scraped her face and switched into her black patent leather sunday shoes. Calllista's clothes were covered in stains and her nose needed a definite wiping. What can you do?

Oops...

I did have a big oops. Apparently I was not supposed to publicize this yet. Yikes! We tried to stop the **** article from running tomorrow, but to no avail...it was too late. So you will notice I can no longer mention the ****** ***** show or the station name. Please just forget all the names I mentioned for about 2 weeks and then we can repost everything!

To Sum it Up...

I am exhausted. Emotionally, physically. It still all seems too good to be true. I'm just a nobody from nowhere...and totally lucky! I am worried about the editing, you never know. I hope it comes across that my family is number one. They are what matter to me the most.

Tonight Emmett kissed and kissed me cooing all the while. I am richest, happiest woman in the world, right in those moments.

But now, I am going to lay on my couch and do nothing for 4 hours.