New York, New York

One of the things I HAD to do yesterday afternoon was reorganize myself.  I've had so many different things going on this week, with so much email and soft copies of contracts, proposals, and artwork flying around that I needed to put some structure around the chaos!  I cleaned up and sorted my email, uploaded key documents to my online storage (MobileMe) and updated my contact lists.


I had conversations with three of my wholesalers in New York during the afternoon.  As I was updating all of the contact information in Entourage (the equivalent of Outlook in the Office for Mac suite), I realized that most of my new contacts are in the 212 area code!  I am planning another day trip to NY in October to visit the showrooms for the wholesalers.


Although it took less than 30 seconds, the true highlight was initialing the Letter of Intent at my broker's office yesterday and seeing the Landlord's signature!  The broker said I should expect the first draft of the lease next week.  I alerted my attorney and he is identifying a top notch real estate lawyer for me to work with on the lease review/negotiation.  I'm hoping there won't be too much angst since we've pretty much spelled out the key points in the LOI.


I spent a good part of the morning putting together my information based on my conversation with web designer Mark on Wednesday night.  I sent him the logo, Zoe Girl, and a Word document with excerpts from my business plan.  It contained an overview of the store, the Mission of the store, descriptions of some of the key lines I will carry, and a description of my primary customer.  This will help him understand my style and focus.  He has proposed that he do some Mood Boarding in the development of the site so that I can have the opportunity to choose from a variety of options.


Another task was to bring my accountant up to date on my progress.  He was very pleased when I shared Zoe's potential location with him.  He'll be reviewing my summary and setting time to talk with me in the next few days.


And, Susan, the lovely water lady, has offered to introduce me to a Move Manager who will help to oversee my contractors and bidding process for the buildout.  I have told her that I would be delighted for the introduction.  Despite thoughts to the contrary, I don't have to control everything (ha!)
 

A Sally Field Moment

Yesterday, I will admit to having a Sally Field Moment.  Just about everyone is familiar with her quote (upon winning an Oscar):

I can't deny the fact that you like me!  You like me!

That is how I felt yesterday when I heard from my broker that the Landlord had two minor changes to what we had proposed in the Letter of Intent and I would need to come in and initial the hard copies so that the Landlord could begin drafting the lease!  While nothing is set in stone yet, we are now finally on the way!  As I told my mom last night "I think Zoe is now dating!"

Definitely a fantastic highlight of the day!  I've continued to keep busy on the other aspects of getting ready for the business, including sign offs on the tissue paper and bag designs for RTR, purchasing my printer/copier/scanner/fax, and contacting my accountant to make him aware of where we are in the process.

Last night, I also had a very positive conversation with Mark, the person who will be performing my web design for Zoe.  He suggested that I consider the use of the Web Publishing system Expression Engine, with the thought that it can grow as my requirements for the web presence grow.   This morning, I will be sending him information on my target audience and style and will also be working on a web wireframe to outline the structure of the site.  We're planning to talk again next week to review the information I've sent and our next steps.

From Inchworm to Cheetah

I was not about to let anything usurp the unveiling of Zoe Girl yesterday.  But the roller coaster kicked in yesterday and I went from inchworm to cheetah in about 2 seconds flat!

I love this picture!  

Anyway, this blog isn't about animals.  It is about Zoe.  As you know from yesterday's post, my day started with the receipt of Zoe Girl!  With her in hand plus the lovely logo, I printed off the order form for my shopping bags from RTR Bag (visited in New York in late July) and prepared my fax to place my order.  (Note - as a cost saving measure, I eliminated long distance service on our home phone so I can only fax locally!  So, I knew I would need to take my fax to the UPS Store or FedEx Office to send it off).  Technically, I could scan the order form and email it but since it contains my debit card information, I didn't want to send that via email.

I was preparing to leave for my meeting with Susan at IMC Water Coolers when I received an email from my broker.  He said that the landlord liked the Letter of Intent and would like to see my business plan and financials!  So, I reviewed my plan again and sent it to him!  He called late in the day to say that the business plan was in the hands of the landlord.  He had shared it with the Landlord's broker and he (the LL Broker) was impressed.  That made me feel good.  When I met the LL Broker on Friday during the tour, he impressed me as someone who really knew the commercial real estate business.  I researched him (of course) and found that he has been in the business for years and was responsible for basically starting the commercial side of the brokerage for his firm.  So, I'm hoping his feedback is as meaningful as I am taking it to be!  I am sure the Landlord (an association who owns the office space and Zoe's potential retail space) will have someone analyze my plan and come back with questions.  

After all that excitement, I dashed to Reston to meet with Susan.  We had a lovely late lunch at American Tap Room in Reston Town Center and she reviewed the offerings of her company and the mechanics/technology behind their water coolers.  I'll write a separate blog on the water but it is part of the environment/experience at Zoe.  What really touched me was that Susan brought a detailed list titled "Who can help you?" with all kinds of resources for a new business owner - people she had dealt with and felt comfortable recommending to me.  She also talked about networking and marketing ideas and was very candid about owning a small business.  She could not have been kinder or more gracious.  I look forward to receiving her proposal this afternoon.

I followed up with the supplier of one of my amenity gifts and she confirmed that the order was already in progress!  I love being able check things off my list.  (And yes, my IT friends, the lists still have the little square check boxes next to them.  I do index cards for short term lists and still do the long term lists in my journals.)

And, I have a call with Zoe's potential web designer this evening!  I'm excited to begin this process also!

Is there anything between an inchworm and a cheetah?  

Introducing....Zoe Girl!

It is my pleasure to introduce Zoe Girl to you!

You've been reading about Zoe Girl on and off through the course of the blog.  She is part of the branding for the boutique and will be used in marketing campaigns and collateral.  In my mind, she is the perfect illustration of my "daughter"!  I will be forever indebted to Cori Canady and Lisa Henderling for making her come to life!  Please take the opportunity to look at Lisa's website (linked to her name above) to see her many gorgeous illustrations.  It is an honor to join her long list of clientele.

Tomorrow:  From inchworm to cheetah.  In one day!

The Inchworm

You've probably seen (or seen pictures of an inchworm):

I think they are amazing creatures.  It may take them a while to get to the end result and they may contort themselves a bit along the way, but they keep at it.  Today, I moved forward on Zoe at an "inchworm like" pace.  But it was progress!

My broker asked me to sign and fax the letter of intent that we created on Saturday.  Now, this is further than we've gotten with the others, so I'm taking that as a positive sign!  And, I'm in the process of setting time this week to meet (via phone) with my potential web designer!  (He lives in Greenville, SC).

Much to do this week to keep "inching" along!

LOI - Take 3

Yesterday morning, I met my broker to tour another space in Old Town Alexandria.  This space had previously housed a small museum for the association in the office building behind it.  A new association has bought the office building, is going to use the first two floors and lease out the third floor office to other tenants.  They have no interest in the museum space and wanted to offer it for retail.

I liked the space very much and also felt that the landlord's broker was kind and informative.  He is even on the signage council/committee in Old Town so he was very knowledgable when I asked questions about signage.  He asked me how close I was to being ready to start-up.  I told him that space was my major critical path item and everything else was already well along the way.  My broker and I told him that we would submit a Letter of Intent right away.  He said that would be great and that likely the landlord would want to meet with me and review my business plan.

And, you know, that is actually very positive.  If I do have an opportunity to get in front of the landlord, even if it doesn't work out, I'll know I was the one who blew it.  There won't be any mystery like there has been with the other situations.

The broker sent me the LOI draft on Friday afternoon, and, of course, I had changes.  He sent me back the changed document today and, upon receiving my approval, said he would submit it right away.  I'm taking a deep breath!

I have a couple of "gifts" that I plan to give to purchasing customers at the store.  I spoke with the vendor for one of those gifts yesterday afternoon and am in the process of placing an order.  There is no point in waiting - I just need to keep things moving as best I can!

Fashion Events

In all of the excitement of Wednesday, I forgot to post about two big fashion events coming up - one national and one local!

Many of you may be seeing ads for tonight's Fashion's Night Out to kick off New York City's Fashion Week.  Locally, Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria are hosting big events in conjunction with FNO.  I definitely need to "Save the Date" for next year's event and go to New York.  Would be even better than New Years Eve in Times Square!

Beginning next Friday, September 17th through Sunday, September 19th, Old Town Alexandria's Boutique District is hosting a scavenger hunt!  Myself and neighbor Tina are going to "force" ourselves to visit all 28 members of the Boutique District as part of the hunt.  I'm very much hoping that Zoe will be part of this event next year!

This morning, I am touring the site I looked at on Tuesday morning.  The base rent is higher but the landlord covers everything except electricity and char.  I pulled out my business plan and plugged in the numbers to see how it would all average out and it looks reasonable.  The space had been a small museum that was part of an association in Old Town.  The association has moved to another location and took the museum with them and the landlord does not think they can rent that space to the new association taking the office space.  I was not able to "see" into the space (although I've seen a floor plan in the marketing materials they sent me) to really know how much TI and reconfiguration might be needed.

I also got in touch with my potential web designer to set up a time for additional conversation.  I'm really looking forward to getting that ball rolling!  I also went through my business plan and notes and made a list of all of my inventory vendors, their contact information, and the wholesale information.  The challenge I'm having right now is not knowing when I'll have space so I don't know when I can order inventory.  But I know all of the puzzle pieces will fall together!

Happy Fashion Week!