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Marketing | February 8, 2008 Building a Brand Starts From Within Posted by Gigi Lee Chang at 10:40 AM A "brand" is difficult to quantify -- perhaps this is why it is classified as an intangible asset, but an asset nonetheless. This is why large multinational billion dollar companies invest heavily in their brand and take copyright and infringements very seriously. At the end of the day, a brand is the "halo" around your product/service and a representation of your vision. When creating your brand, it is important to consider the following six key points: Continue reading "Building a Brand Starts From Within" Raising Capital | December 4, 2007 Raising Capital: Part 3 - Closing the Deal Posted by Gigi Lee Chang at 1:52 PM Ideally, at a certain point in the fund-raising process, you will have a number of interested parties and are able to get them “to the table” at the same time. Having multiple offers or term sheets is what you should be striving for as it will give you more leverage and better chances of creating terms more in your favor. Continue reading "Raising Capital: Part 3 - Closing the Deal" Raising Capital | November 14, 2007 Raising Capital: Part 2 - Finding a Suitor Posted by Gigi Lee Chang at 2:26 PM Once you decide to raise capital, it is important to ready the information investors will be looking for. These "tools" will help you to think about your business better and prepare you to think about the questions investors will want you to answer. Continue reading "Raising Capital: Part 2 - Finding a Suitor" Raising Capital | October 29, 2007 Raising Capital: Part 1 -- Are You Ready? Posted by Gigi Lee Chang at 10:05 AM I agree with my fellow blogger Tony of Zappos.com -- try to self-fund as long as possible. Depending on your vision and goals for your business, raising outside capital may be unavoidable. When I started Plum Organics, my goal was to be the first frozen baby food to market nationally. I knew from my research there were others also trying to enter the frozen baby food space so time to market was critical. In order to achieve being first to market, I knew it would require my raising outside capital. Continue reading "Raising Capital: Part 1 -- Are You Ready?" Business Planning | October 15, 2007 Have Vision -- No Experience Required Posted by Gigi Lee Chang at 1:59 PM One of the phrases I hear most often from friends who have started businesses is "I really had no idea what I was getting into." Equally, it is this "blindspot" that propels us forward. In spite of what we don't know, there is a cornerstone to entrepreneurship that we must all begin with -- vision. Vision doesn't' necessarily have to be a grand statement, but merely what you want the business or company to be. It is also important to picture how your personal and family life will fit within the demands of the business. For example, if you are starting a catering business, is your vision to make a name for yourself with a certain type of clientele? Or do you want a business that allows for flexibility around your family? How you approach building your business will be directed by your vision. People often ask me if I had experience in the food business prior to starting Plum Organics. I did not, but I did have my vision. Having the vision firm provides the foundation from which to pull the other pieces together -- all the pieces you have to find the answers to. Continue reading "Have Vision -- No Experience Required" Marketing, Retail, Sales | October 1, 2007 Making the Most of the Trade Show Experience Posted by Gigi Lee Chang at 10:17 AM Last week, I was in Baltimore at the Natural Products Expo East. Just two years ago, I attended this same show before launching Plum Organics. With only an idea and a vision, I "walked" the show and was terrified I was going to see a frozen baby food company already in market. Fortunately, I did not and we launched Plum Organics six months later at the sister show on the west coast in Anaheim. Trade shows are always a mixed bag: as an exhibitor, you are showcasing your product; as a business operator, there is learning to be had from the numerous workshops and discussion panels; as an entrepreneur, it is an opportunity to talk and share with peers. Trade shows also can be cyclical -- the same show can be great one year and not so good the next. After a slow year, it can be tough to commit to the following year. Despite the variability of such things, and the intensity and often exhausting days, there are many ways to experience trade shows -- and they are well worth it for a variety of reasons. Continue reading "Making the Most of the Trade Show Experience" September 17, 2007 Camp Entrepreneur aka Inc 500 conference Posted by Gigi Lee Chang at 9:07 AM I was fortunate to be invited to join the Inc. 500 conference in Chicago recently. It was great to meet my fellow GEM bloggers and share in a discussion on a variety of topics. One question in particular that got me thinking and resonated through out the conference was "How did you know when you made it?" It was the first time I had been asked that question and when thinking about my answer, a series of moments flashed through my mind -- our first Whole Foods meeting, our first trade show, our first order, seeing Plum Organics on the shelf, achieving national distribution, the list goes on. Each time I think, "when we..." we will have really proven ourselves. Each time we achieve it, there is another goal in its place. Hearing my fellow panelists respond similarly brought into sharp focus what may seem obvious -- entrepreneurship is defined by the journey, not the outcome. Having recently secured a round of financing and being very focused on what the "future" holds, it was good to pause and appreciate the importance of the journey again. As entrepreneurs, we often become preoccupied with the "results" and don’t take enough time to experience the thrill of the ride. After all, we are our own worst critic. Being in the company of entrepreneurs for three days further reinforced the fact that regardless of industry, size and experience, we all essentially face the same challenges and issues. It also highlighted that the most important tools to navigate this journey boils down to two key things: 1) know your numbers and 2) listen to your gut. I recently watched the film, Thank You for Smoking. In the film, the question “What makes America the greatest country?” is posed. The film ultimately concludes passion is what makes America great. Evidence of this passion was clearly abundant in Chicago recently at the Inc. 500 conference. The Inc. 500 conference was both a celebration as much as it was a learning opportunity. Being in a room with so many innovative business thinkers was both humbling and inspiring. August 27, 2007 Taking Time to Develop Your "Business Self" Posted by Gigi Lee Chang at 6:00 AM Since I first started Plum Organics, it has been one long sprint. Finding balance in the day to day is a constant struggle. Staying true to the vision, keeping the course, focusing on the bigger picture -- all while remembering to order envelopes. For an entrepreneur to catch their proverbial breath is a near impossibility. Yet, we all recognize balance and perspective are the very ingredients we need to stay ahead. Recognizing this, I have made a commitment to "develop my business self." For me, this is about taking time to participate in business network organizations. Regular meetings of these groups and the commitment required to be a part of these groups force me to get out of my day to day. The two groups that have been the most valuable to me are Vistage (www.vistage.com) and Ladies Who Launch (www.ladieswholaunch.com) for very different reasons. Vistage (formerly TEC) is a CEO peer network. You are assigned to a set group with a Chair and meet monthly. It is a "safe" and structured environment to discuss our problems and also a reminder that we all fundamentally struggle with the same core business challenges. When I first joined the Ladies Who Launch incubator and heard co-founder Beth Shoenfeldt talk about how women start businesses for different reasons than men and the importance to women of "taking time out," I knew this was a group that made sense for me. Ladies Who Launch is not a "how-to" type organization, but more of a support network for entrepreneurial women. Visiting with other ladies from the group every month or so feels like more of a social occasion. Meeting with these women, hearing about their wonderful ideas, having them support my dreams is a wonderful reminder of why it is important to "take time out." As much as I recognize the importance of having these organizations and outlets in my life, it is difficult to fit them into the schedule. It is easy to move it down the priority list when the "To-Do" list is looming. Each time I feel like cancelling, I remind myself the importance of getting distance in order to have perspective. When choosing organizations to join, consider the following: August 8, 2007 Balancing Business Goals with Values Posted by Gigi Lee Chang at 1:09 PM The inspiration for Plum Organics came from my son, Cato, who is now 3 1/2 years old. The birth of a child is one of very few opportunities in life to see the world anew and make a fresh start. My husband and I were reasonably health minded -- we shopped at Whole Foods and used Seventh Generation laundry soap. When it came time to start our son on solid foods, the importance of optimum quality and nutrition came into sharp focus. The choice to make his food from scratch was both natural and intuitive. We knew it would give him the best start possible -- something all parents desire for their children. In the case of our son, he developed a real joy for eating and mealtime was something we all looked forward to. Our son's love of food led to the idea of starting a frozen baby food company. As the idea turned to 'what if' discussions and those led to 'how would we...' conversations, we realized the need went beyond our friends and New York parents. Traditional baby food options were not keeping pace with the desire of today's consumers' looking for alternatives to conventional options. What we wanted to offer would be relevant in the context of today’s time constrained yet more informed and empowered consumer. The broader backdrop of growing interest and awareness about our food choices and their implications -- spurred by movies such as Fast Food Nation and books like The Omnivore's Dilemma -- gave us confidence that not only was there an unmet need, but a real business opportunity. The alignment of market environment and our personal values made the decision to start our business a simple one. I knew from the beginning that we would stand for quality and choice -- our anchoring values. For the parents, we would represent choices they could feel better about and have confidence in. For the babies, we would help create a foundation for healthy eating that would lead to healthy food choices later in life. I don't fancy myself a "revolutionary," but I am an idealist with a competitive streak. I didn't merely want to sell better baby food, I wanted to challenge established practices and influence the baby food market. To do so meant making our products available to as many families as possible by pursuing the national market from Day One. While the desire to make an impact was the driver for launching nationally, there were also business benefits such as speed to market, scalability, and market reach. It has been 2 1/2 years since my husband and I first started thinking about our company. As Plum Organics' grows, I must define business practices, which are not always easy to align with our values, especially as we get bigger. It is an evolving perspective I imagine all entrepreneurs try to reconcile as we shape the directions and futures of our companies. More Entries » |
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