Getting samples ready to hand out…

“Don’t sacrifice growth for personal comfort.”

Very recently, my husband had some big decisions to make and he shared this mantra with me.  It’s been a while coming but, I’ve had to look at business and make some hard decisions.  When I first started my product, I couldn’t wait to get it on store shelves.  For me this was a bigger deal than family and friends telling me that they loved the product.  If stores accepted it, which they did, that meant that they liked it.  If it sold, which it did, that meant customers liked the premise and packaging enough to try it.  If they bought more, which they did, that meant people liked it enough to purchase it again and probably share the news with their friends and family.  After a while, that meant just filling wholesale orders…which is easy…but offers no actual business growth.  I want this product in more than just local boutiques, I want business growth.  To achieve this goal, I have to stretch beyond my comfort level.

Feeling like Diane Keaton’s character in Baby Boom, I’m putting the product out there.  Today is my door to door sample drop off campaign.  The package will include a generous product sample, and an introduction letter that also invites people to check out ShawnsPlate.com.

In the meantime, I just want to wish everyone a fun St. Patrick’s Day!  My plan was to post St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes but they didn’t turn out so St. Patricky. Because Chocolate + Irish Cream = St. Patrick’s Day for me, I needed to find some Irish Cream flavored coffee or creamer.  It was no where to be found!  Have they stopped making it?  I didn’t want to use real Bailey’s because most of the cupcakes were going to school with my daughter.  Anyway, that’s my cupcake with it’s green dot but no Irish Cream.  They’re hazelnut fudge…I’ll post the recipe some other time.