Funny, the other day I began to say to myself, “I’m growing organically!”…and yesterday I got an order from Green Earth Natural Food, an organic grocery store!!
Two days prior I had a phone message from Stacia, a woman in Opelika, Alabama, a small town outside of Auburn. She said she was interested in purchasing my cards wholesale. I called her back discovering that her business partner had purchased my cards in a store in Rochester MN. She loved the cards and went to my website, picking out a good many that she wanted to order wholesale for their store! The name of their store, TLC, which stands for Transformations Life Center. From the look of their website http://www.transformationslifecenter.org, it appears my cards have found a perfect home. Not surprising, many of my Inspirational cards are on the order as well as my Anytime (Blank) cards.
The following day I had an email from Unity Seattle Church with an order attached. I thought to myself, did I mail them a catalog? I didn’t think so and when I wrote back asking how she found me, I learned that the buyer of the bookstore there was looking at another card line but someone suggested mine. Walla! Another order.
Both of those incidents are what caused me to think that my business is growing organically! I didn’t even have to go looking for these orders, reps didn’t talk to them, I didn’t meet them at a gift show…they found me! So yesterday afternoon I was helping my friend Michaela with her grocery shopping. Because of an injury, she can’t lift much weight at all and it helps to have someone carry the bags up the “Stairway to Heaven” as I call the many steps to her apt. She wanted to go to the Green Earth Natural Food Market on McAllister and Divisadero. As we were walking through the aisles I began to think that this place should carry my cards. The name of the store clearly indicates the products available: healthy, organic, good for the environment…As Michaela was checking out, I noticed a card rack that looked nearly empty. I mentioned to Michaela that they should carry my cards, pointing to the 1/2 empty rack. She said “Oh Yes!”. I had a catalog in my bag and pulled it out, ready to ask the cashier who to talk to when Michaela said she knew the owner and would give it to him. Out of nowhere the owner appears and Michaela introduces me to him. I show him my catalog and ask if he’d like to consider my cards. He asks if I have a rack and I answer yes. He flips through the catalog quickly then asks if I can put together the cards for the rack. Again, “yes”. Ok. He folds up the catalog. That’s that! You would like a 24 pocket rack!? I’m stunned…this was too fast. “Yes, Birthday cards sell the best”, he then tells me. I say I know that, I’ll do primarily Birthday with some Comfort/Get Well cards. “And some Thank-you’s”, he adds. I ask for his business card for the information I need for invoicing. He walks away and we walk out the door laughing and remarking on how easy that was! I thanked Michaela for introducing me. She says it’s good karma as I was helping her!! Thank-you Universe!…Words and Watercolors is clearly “growing organically!”.