Back to the Daily Grind

We made it home from Indio around 7pm last night.  Man that drive feels longer and longer every time you make it.  So far this year we've done it at least 4 times that I can count.  I'm so tired after a long day of playing catch up that I can't be certain of anything!

The original plan was to drive up on Friday, stay for the weekend and then meet up with Shorty Rossi on Monday on the way back up to Portland.  But you know what they say about the best laid plans.  Shorty was busy with filming Monday so that was out.  At first it was a little frustrating because we didn't plan on being away from the office the extra time but like most things it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because as you found out Ryan's grandfather learned about the passing of his friend on Monday and he was happy we were there to lend a shoulder to cry on.

Thankfully Shorty's schedule freed up on Tuesday and we left Indio at 8am to meet up with him in Venice Beach at 11.  The drive should only have taken 2 hours and 9 mins but true to LA form we made it in at 11 on the nose.  Also true to LA form we got a parking ticket 30 mins into our stay.  I don't know what it is about that city but every time we visit we get a parking ticket! Definitely not a pleasant surprise at $58!!!! Fortunately I realized we were probably approaching that magic time and Ryan went out and plugged the meter for another hour, his phone read 1 min past the 30 mins we'd originally paid for.  I guess there is nothing we can do about it but $58 is a tank of gas and money is not flowing as well as we would like, heck it's not flowing enough to give us a wage!  But that is a story for another time.


Our visit with Shorty was a lot of fun, we got to sit in the same seats they use on the show and check out all the artwork and gadgets he has in his office. It's so funny how small everything seems in real life compared to on television.  We visited Antique Archaeology, you might know it from that show American Pickers, and it was tiny!  I guess my perception is really off since I also thought that the Eiffel Tour was more impressive in photographs.  Anyway, we had a great conversation with Shorty, took some pictures and bribed his dog Hercules with treats to get some awesome shots.  He literally turned the chamber of the RocLok into a doggy dish, it was pretty cute. 

Since we were down in the general area, distance means nothing on a road trip!, we drove down the 101 to visit our vendor at the Do It Best in Port Hueneme.  Back in March we met the general manager at a home and garden show and they asked to have 10 units to test market.  At the time we didn't have a lot of point of sale marketing to offer but by the time we visited again in April they had successfully sold 3 units.  Unfortunately it seems like their sales force lost interest and after we left the inventory was moved into a corner of the garden section.  Even though the display looked nice enough, it made absolutely no sense.  I mean first of all there was no price at all.  All the RocLok's were laying right side up so it looked like a shelf of fancy rocks without a purpose.  If I was a customer I wouldn't have even bothered looking! Surprisingly despite this they still sold 3 more units. 

Planning ahead Ryan had loaded the in-store display with a monitor that plays the video on the homepage of our website.  Since we hadn't heard anything from the store since April we weren't really sure if we were going to be setting up the new display or loading up the inventory and taking it back to Portland with us.  After getting to the store and talking with the manager we all decided to give it another go and put up the new display but this time I insisted that it be in the hardware section next to the key cutting and locks.  With limited space we needed a table to place the display on and the manager asked an associate to grab one out of the back.  Obviously displeased by the task the employee wandered around for about 20 mins before acting.  At one point he walked over to me and to measure the base of the display and asked what it was for.  I explained that it was for the RocLok, describing what it was and to my surprise he retorted with "Are we even getting any more of those things, they are a bit spendy!" with a very disapproving tone and walked off.  Needless to say I was unhappy after that so I proceeded to follow him around the store until he finally went into the back room and grabbed a table for us to set up.  C'est la vie.  His demeanour seemed to improve by the time we left and I was proud of myself for standing up for myself.  Anyone who knows me can attest that I can be a push over and that confrontation and me are not friends. 

After the busy afternoon came to a close we headed up north, rested in Sacramento for the night and drove all day Wednesday to get home.  It felt great to wake up in our own bed this morning.
  

Saturday, September 24, 2011

You know, it’s hard to update a blog without internet.  Since we had missed 2 days I thought I would be able to spend some time updating you on our adventures these last couple days while out with family on the Oregon Coast, but I was wrong.  Apparently Wi-Fi is not as widely available out here, something about relaxing, blah, blah… Well at least I still have Word so I can write down my thoughts and post when internet becomes available again. 

So yesterday we spent the day running around the house frantically unpacking the remaining boxes from the fire and getting our house ready to host a party of 12.  Ryan’s extended family came into town for the first time in years.  His grandparents flew in from Alaska and his aunt, uncle, 2 cousins and their family all came from Nova Scotia, Canada.   This is the first time I’ve met his two cousins Emily and Katherine and Ryan is seeing them for the first time since they were kids.  Needless to say we wanted our house to be in top notch shape.  After several hours and much muscular pain we accomplished our goal and for the first time in a year we have an organized house to come home to.  In preparation for their arrival, Ryan and I made 6 trays of enchilada’s the night before which turned out to be a blessing with all the house work .  After everyone had enjoyed their meals and retired for the night we were both in too much pain to sleep.  Seems making 100 RocLok’s on top of all the cleaning had finally caught up to our bodies.  All I can say is OUCH!

Thursday was our first day of “relaxing” after shipping off our large shipment to Ireland.  It was also day 3 of the networking group.  We had thought we were scheduled to speak to the group.  After my realization last week that this probably wasn’t the right group for us, I felt bad about “pitching” our product to the group without intending on joining.  But we had put our name on the presentation list and it was our day so because we are good about doing what we’ve committed to, both Ryan and I headed over to the pizza place to make our presentation. 

Armed with our trusty rock we came in prepared to stand in front of the group and talk about our product for 10 mins.  The usual suspects started rolling in. Most introduced themselves to us as if it were the first time we had met.  Ryan is much more of the social butterfly then I am so he did most of the talking which was good with me.  Once the meeting commenced we learned that we were off the hook.  For some reason we had been passed over to talk for the day.  That was ok with me since I wasn’t sold on joining the group and didn’t want to come off as those people who just came in to sell something to us.  After all,­­ the group isn’t for selling to others but to make business relationships.  Awkwardness avoided!   Ryan presented his elevator speech and received a great response. 

Still, despite the positive reception I don’t think that this group of people is the right place for us.  It would be fantastic if Ryan was still a Realtor and I was still doing Graphic Design as 99% of the attendees are in the service provider arena.  But selling a product is a different animal all together.  Ideally we’d find an intimate group of other small business professionals to grab a couple of drinks with once a month because when you are trying to make it in America time is at a premium.  I know that we have very few hours in the day to unwind and often find ourselves “working” when the rest of the world is fast asleep.  Heck, I’m supposed to be relaxing right now but I’m writing my blog post because it’s been neglected too long.   It seems that my best attempts of relaxing are always interrupted by my brain these days.  Inspiration comes when you least expect it, and I’ve found that I have to grab it when it comes my way.