Baba Indaba

We survived!!

More than that, we survived despite some last minute disasters... which include the fact that this week I will be revamping the patterns, because we discovered a few serious design flaws! Nothing like a few hundred demos to show you the weaknesses in a product.

But we had a great show, and handed out roughly 340 brochures!! Most of those were to couples, or couples plus grandparents. Of those, I figure we spoke to about 300 couples and gave them a demo, answered questions, etc. So... I think we can safely say that we have been officially launched! If even 10% of those turn into real customers, then I will be very happy.

I have to say that I could not have done this without the incredible support of my darling husband, who came along and took turns at handling customers, and my wonderful parents and in-laws, who babysat Nellie for us all weekend. I also need to thank all the staff and children at Nellie's nursery for their hard work in creating my backdrop... (Nellie's footprints are the leaves on the tree.)
We even had our first sale (despite me trying to discourage it because of the design flaws - which I didn't want to mention at the time). This bodes very well for the future.

Thanks to those who sent sms/ text messages of encouragement and to those who came along to the show to support us. Great to see you there!

I was surprised to discover that two other Old Girls from my matric year were also at the show - in the same area as I was, so we spent a lot of time catching up and nattering. One of the things we were chatting about was opening a baby boutique together, because we're all offering different products, but have no actual shop.... which is the question everyone was asking us (Where are you based? Where can we come to see the products? Where can we buy this stuff?) and we had to keep saying: only online. So that's another exciting step to be thinking about in the near future.

But for now I am shattered, exhausted, done in. My voice is returning, but my throat is still very swollen and sore. Lots of rest today, if I can get my mind to stop whirling with ideas for new products and solutions to existing problems!