Current Vibe - First Date
Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night! -Truman (I guess my blog vibe is starting with a quote from a 90's movie 🤷♀️)
Lessons and labels... Well, ooof, lessons are a big one, there are so many! But the first lesson I learned was, say it with me, labelllssss... I know super sexy blog-talk, but the overall tl;dr or bluf (whatever shorthand you want to insert here) is that being an entrepreneur means failing fast, learning, and moving on.
Labels were something I struggled with because design does not come easily to me. I watched a lot of videos, asked my partner countless questions, and stared at a computer screen for far too long. I finally found what I *thought* I was looking for. A professional company, where I would make my template, and they would professionally print and send me nice pretty labels. Spoiler alert, I was wrong.
I ordered weeks in advance but the labels came only a few days before my launch party, flag one. When I saw the delivery alert I was thrilled, finally, I get to put the labels on the candles and get a first glimpse of the final product. Right when I opened the package, I noticed the labels were matte and not gloss, flag two. Now this was not major, and maybe if it were just these two flags, I could plan better and be ok, but oohhh nooo. Flag three, the font was super small and the color was very faint, much smaller than the example I saw online. Now I'm starting to panic, thinking, ok ok, maybe I can get a rush order and just use these for the launch, and get better ones to ship out for the orders. IF ONLY, then the final whammy came... Flag four, the QR code labels were blurry, I repeat BLURRY! What in the actual H-E-DOUBLE-HOCKEY-STICKS?! Having a QR code to a playlist is part of my whole vibe! I cannot change my business because the label company messed up. Now I'm in full stress mode!
I'm about three days from the launch party and I'm label-less, and I've totally lost trust in outsourcing critical parts of the business. With no time to spare, I jumped into Bob the Builder fix-it mode. After researching, reading the fine print, and scouring hundreds of reviews, I found my solution and ordered a fancy printer that would allow me to print labels myself. Luckily I live in NYC, and ordered from a local supplier that offered next-day delivery, phew! I then called all the local office supply stores to see who had in stock the labels I needed (still not gloss, but matte would have to work). On the day of the printer's arrival, I got to the office supply store right when they opened and got the goods. After a quick set-up, I was now back to square one, design. This part took hours, but I'm sooo glad I had the ability to print one, see how it was and make changes then print again.
All in all, the printer saved my business and launch (s/o Canon 😂).
Truly though, I thought outsourcing would maybe be a bit more expensive, but I thought to get something professional, I had to use a "professional". But I learned, I'm a professional, and with a bit more time, I learned a lot, became more efficient in my whole label printing (shipping labels, packing labels, candle labels), and cut my costs (if I used the label company my candles would have cost over $40, yikeess).
Since my label fiasco, I've brought a lot more in-house (or should I say in apartment) and decided not to outsource. Maybe one day I will be fancy (and rich, lol) to hire people I trust to help with labels, photography, social media, etc, but for the foreseeable future, my mantra is - You Better Work Bi*ch!
Wellll allrighttyy then (really feeling the Jim Carrey vibes today), that's all for now. Ta-Ta!
