Comfy Cozy review by snickersncream:)

Loads of thanks to Melissa - and her daughter! for a great review of Comfy Cozy Glow in the Dark pillowcases! Just in time for ideas for fun gifts for the holidays, Melissa gives Comfy Cozy a big "yes" to buy! We've teamed up with Melissa's blog and are you can enter to win a pillowcase by visiting her blog!

http://tinyurl.com/27va8vw

We're looking forward to a great holiday season, but you should place orders early to ensure delivery!!

Work Smarter - Closing the Sale.

My sister, Caryn Gresham, forwarded a e-newsletter to me yesterday. It included the following article on closing the sale. Something that even after years of being in business, we tend to forget the basics of "being in business".

For more info on the newsletter, check out the link below the article. Happy Selling!

Work Smarter...

By learning the 4 D’s of closing the sale. Whether you’re a salon owner, general contractor, herbalist or attorney, as entrepreneurs, we are all in sales. This may be new (and scary) territory for those who have spent years in a chosen profession, mastering that particular skill. But now as a business owner, not only do you have to be a wiz at accounting or an expert dog groomer, you also need to know how to market and sell yourself as well. Fortunately, mastering the sales process isn’t really that hard once you break it down into these four simple stages from Inc.com. Discovery. The first thing you need to do is to make sure the potential client is likely to benefit from your product or services. That means you really need to know who your target audience is and what it is they want. Diagnosis. Then you need to be able to help the client see the problems (or pain points) inherent in their current situation. People are pleasure-seeking creatures. If they recognize a situation is uncomfortable, it’s natural for them to want to fix it or make it better. Design. Once someone is interested in making an improvement, your job is to show them how your product or service is designed to help. Get the potential client to envision how much better off they’ll be once they’ve dealt with this issue (with your help, of course!). Delivery. By now, the potential client is on the verge of committing, and the last action you need to “seal the deal” is to show her exactly how what you have to offer will be THE answer. There are many ways to do demonstrate your abilities, such as a formal presentation, before and after photos or a free trial. Be creative, and be confident!

"Would you like to learn how to combine the passion, strengths and experience you already possess to create the successful business of your dreams? Would you like to move away from “dollars-for-hours” work in order to cultivate more wealth, more time and more happiness? If so, grab your FR.EE copy of the Richer. Smarter. Happier. Success Starter Kit at http://www.richersmarterhappier.com.”

National Garden Month!

April is National Garden Month! I love gardening. To me, it truly keeps me sane, calms when I'm stressed and I can never get enough of it. I'm not a great gardener - pretty good, but not and expert by any stretch. I learned my gardening skills from my mother:) It all started when I was younger, but trust me, it wasn't my choice to spend all that time pulling weeds. It was punishment for fighting with my brother or her solution to my saying "I'm bored" one too many times!

But from that, I'm happy to say that I learned a lot. I learned that weeds always come back, so unless I wanted to keep pulling them, my brother and I tried to fight less and we better not ever say we had nothing to do in the summer. My mother taught me that gardening should be a joy, not a chore - and not to take yourself too seriously. She taught me that a garden was more than flowers, it was an ever changing work in progress. If you planted something here and it came up over there, you could either accept it or move it, but don't expect it to stay there forever...maybe it was smarter than you and would grow better where it was!

My favorite advice was her theory on planting. When we moved into our home, I had a clean slate, a huge empty yard to plant in. Where would I put this, where would I plant that? Mom stood in front of my home and said, just put them in and let them grow. I can hear her say "just dig a hole and put it in the dirt". Easy enough. Then there is always the "dig it up and throw it over there" method. Trust me, it works!

It's just getting warm enough here in the northeast for my gardens to start coming alive. This year, that will take on a whole new meaning for me, as my mom passed away in March. She was my gardening inspiration. Most of the perennials in my gardens came all the way from her gardens in WV. The biggest emotional hurdle for me will be when my wysteria blooms. It was started from a seed from the wysteria at my parents home! It bloomed in 3 years when "statistically" wysteria takes at least 7 years to bloom.

We always talked about what was blooming, her plants always before mine. We'd share pictures of flowers and of course, our wysteria's. I'll miss those conversations dearly.

I guess it's fitting that April is Gardening Month - my mother's birthday is April 8th. The beginning of a month that takes us from the cold of winter to the beauty of spring.

Gardening is a 12 months a year hobby though! I created a set of calendars to help both novice and experienced gardeners stay on top of their gardening. Click here to see my entire "gardening" collection.

So, take some time to plant something; vegies, flowers, trees. Teach your kids the joy of gardening - and make them pull weeds every now and then, it builds character! Click here for Gardening with Kids tips.

If you just can't wait til your flowers bloom or want a garden of flowers all year long, order the Comfy Cozy "Magic Garden" glow in the dark Pillowcase. Order one for your mom or granma...trust me, she'll love it!

Happy National Garden Month!

Click on this link (http://www.quamada.com/months.html) to check out the complete list of "months".

JPMA and the CPSIA

The following story comes from Earnshaw's (Trade Pub for the Children's Industry). What I want most folks to understand is that this issue is not over. Some seem to see the delay as meaning that changes have been made. Far from the truth. I call it a "stay of execution". We have to make sure that the bill is modified and that someone, anyone can understand it (can you say "stimulus bill"!). I digress. The news has done some coverage, but the piece on Fox News focused on what this bill means to Toy stores NOT the manufacturers. It didn't address the small businesses, wahms and artists that are making one of a kind products. We'll keep on this - there are a lot of blogs posting, so stay tuned. JPMA Requests CPSIA Clarification from CPSC

(2/16/2009)

The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), a body representing 95 percent of the prenatal to preschool products industry, issued a statement last week requesting that the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) clarify its new testing and certification requirements under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) to ensure inherently safe products that do not expose children to established health risks are not indiscriminately removed from store shelves. "JPMA is fully prepared to help our members comply with implementation requirements that are practical and justifiable," said Michael Dwyer, executive director of JPMA. "But the federal requirements must be implemented in an effective and efficient manner or risk chaos in the marketplace and the loss of many safe products." On Feb. 10, the CPSIA's first deadline regarding manufacturers' adherence to new lead and phthalate levels went into effect. However, many companies have expressed confusion over the requirements and distress that mandated testing will further inhibit their business in what is already a difficult economic time. While the CPSC granted a stay postponing the testing and certification deadline, the JPMA asked for more information regarding compliance. "JPMA has joined with representatives of a broad range of industries to argue that the arbitrary enforcement date put in the CPSIA should be changed because the very information needed for industry to comply with the Act's requirements will not be available until after the deadline," the statement reads. "CPSC's interpretation of the CPSIA also requires that products already in inventory be compliant with the new standard for lead or they cannot be sold. Billions of dollars worth of inventory that may meet CPSIA requirements might have to be removed from shelves and placed in warehouses until the CPSC clarifies how the testing shall be conducted; only then can the tests be completed and the product back into commerce." JPMA is urging interim action as soon as possible so that industry has time to gear up to meet any new requirements imposed to demonstrate compliance.

CPSIA - One year stay

I never would have thought of myself as an "activist"! The term conjures up images of crowds of people picketing and carrying signs, screaming across the street and other misc. activities. I guess you could say "that was then, this is now". The word now means paying attention, being informed and making your opinions known to those that can do something about it...in a way that is productive and constructive.

It seems that all of "us" small business owners, artists, crafters and WAHM's across the USA came together - albeit thru several groups - and stood up for our rights and effectively got Washington to pay attention to what we were saying. Good for us!

On January 30th, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted to issue a one-year stay of enforcement for certain testing and certification requirements for manufacturers and importers of regulated products. Now, that doesn't mean we're free and clear, but it does mean that we don't have to throw out our inventory and/or shut our doors.

We must continue to be diligent on this issue and stay on top of changes. For now though, I can focus on my glow in the dark pillowcases, creating new designs and forging ahead w/ growing my business. We'll keep posting new developments.

Click here to read the CPSC news release.

CPSIA BLOG IN!

We've come a long way baby!  The good news for those of us in the snowy northeast, is that technology has taken the "sit-in" to literally mean sitting in your house letting our computers be our voice on issues.  Today has been designated as CPSIA Blog-in Day.  With so many small manufacturers and artists' livelihoods (and passions) being potentially squashed with this new law, it is impressive how we have come together and are keeping a bright light shining on this issue.  

At comfycozy.com, I've updated my FAQ's page to include a pdf that customers can download to learn more than they probably ever wanted to know about screen printing ink!  I called my supplier and after explaining to the woman that answered WHY I was calling, she put me on hold, with a puzzling "let me ask".  The owner of the company was great, he agreed to letting me post the pdf on his products.  This information should put an end to MY having to test my products again.   But, alas, until the powers that be make changes to this law, I'm still on pins and needles, on wether or not I have to find the money to test my products.  

Wouldn't it be a grand if Washington showed us a little love this Valentine's Day and settled this issue immediately!  I'll send them all one of our glow in the dark pillowcases so they can get a good nights sleep!

If you are a consumer, manufacturer or artist, please share this blog, contact your congressman and senators and be part of the new "sit-in"!

You might want to read an article in Forbes by Paul Rubin, former chief economist at the CPSC, in which he explains why the CPSIA would flunk any imaginable cost-benefit test.

Comfy Cozy owner interviewed for CPSIA article

A few days ago, Caryn Gresham, my sister and PR guru, got a lead from a journalist looking for WAHMs that own small businesses that will be effected by the CPSIA. I said "yes" and she contacted me earlier today. The article can be seen on upscalebaby.com. Susan Maphis is writing a series of posts on the impact of the CPSIA. You can also sign up for her CPSIA Alerts Newsletter. I plan on forwarding the post to my legislators and news media. With the Innaugaration of Barack Obama taking place tomorrow, there will be room in the media for this topic.

New Day, New Life, New You - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I'm looking forward to 2009. Looking forward to a New Day, the opportunity to create a New Life and the chance of self renewal. This pillowcase design says it all. I tossed in as many positive affirmations, feel good mantras and motivational phrases that I could. The pillowcase is meant to start the day off on a good foot and go out and "be" the best you. The glow in the dark pillowcase design help end the day feeling positive about yourself. A lot can happen in a day. I open my eyes every morning in a good mood, it's tough sometimes to maintain that - especially when my 2 boys are arguing over cereal at 7 am. Sometimes, all that we are supposed to be thankful and appreciate for, ends up being the downfall of our cheery outlook on life!

Every day is a NEW day I tell myself. But, there are still days that I'd rather stay in bed and pull the covers over my head! I'm not all sunshine and roses here LOL

So, join me in the New Day, New Life, New You revolution! Is it too pushy to say "click here" and order your pillowcase? No, you say - cool, click here to order. There are lots of other glow in the dark pillowcase designs at Comfy Cozy that you can choose from, for yourself, your kids or friends that just might need a boost to get out of bed in the morning.

If your a WAHM or WAHM "wanna be", have a great New Year! Get out there and make this a great year! Keep checking in with us here at the superwahmz blog. We'd love to hear from you and help you make your dreams come true!

Merry Christmas!

To all the superwahmz out there, have a great Christmas. May your choice to work from home be the greatest gift you've given yourself! I know it is mine. Even though my business doesn't thrive as I would like it to, Comfy Cozy is doing just fine. Lots of children and grown ups are enjoying some magic with my pillowcases - all over the country. That makes me proud. But the choice to be a wahm, means that I can be home w/ my husband every minute that he is here and take my kids to the bus stop and pick them up at school. I haven't missed very many moments in their lives and am thankful for that gift. The gift of not having to rush home for my sons viola concert or not having to worry about what the boss says when I have a sick little boy are beautiful things. I could do without the gift of hearing every argument and listening to every fight my 2 boys have though LOL!

Merry Christmas! We'll be welcoming the birth of Jesus with warm hearts and lots of love. May you enjoy a peaceful few days and stay away from your computer - at least on Christmas Day!!

Cyber Monday! 50% OFF or BOGO!

Well, here it is, holiday shopping is upon us and in full force.  For alot of WAHMS, cyber Monday is a big day.  I'm hoping that my customers respond to the email I sent out and take advantage of the 50% OFF SALE at comfycozy.com.  There are quite a few glow in the dark pillowcase designs on sale, as well as cozy cover ups & pajama shirts for teens.  We have an entire collection of inspirational travel pillows for 50% OFF too.   If that isn't enough to help you mark off a few of the gifts you need to buy, everything else on our site is "BOGO" (that's Buy One Get One 1/2 Off!).

Just enter the code MCBOGO in the Comments box of the on-line order form.

Don't forget, Comfy Cozy will make every pillowcase more special by adding Personalization.

Make this a Christmas that will be lighting up the night all year long with a magical Glow in the Dark pillowcase.

Oh, and remember, Comfy Cozy products aren't just for kids!  Everyone can use a little inspiration or just a little fun in their lives.  Check out our "Eat Chocolate, Drink Wine, Sleep Naked" collection - perfect for wine and chocolate lovers.  Have some dog and cat owners on your list?  They'll love either the PUPPY LOVE or CAT NAP pillowcases!

Happy Cyber Monday and Happy Holidays!!

Sarah Palin - WAHM or not?

So, I've been thinking of whether or not I should write a post about something "political". I decided this wasn't so much political as it was professional. Regardless of what you think about Sarah Palin's politics, you have to admit that she's a successful woman, wife and mother. All I could think of last week when she was on tv, was "how does she get thru a day - how does she do it?".

I wasn't so much caught up in the immediate attention of her being a WOMAN that was selected to possibly be the Vice President of the United States, but the fact that she was a MOTHER who could possibly be the Vice President of the United States! Not a mom of grown children, but a mom of 5 kids spread over 18 years and one is a BABY! My respect for her as a politician and professional woman is one thing, but here she is taking on this HUGE opportunity with kids in tow:)

Sarah Palin may have lots of help. Something tells me she isn't doing the laundry at midnight, but we do know she's nursing a baby at 2 am! She probably doesn't dust either, but something tells me, she would if she had another hour in the day. As a Governor, doesn't she "work at home"? Is her office in the Governors residence? I'm sure there is one there. She probably has times when one of her kids will come into her office and not even care that she's the governor, to them she's just "mom" and they want something to eat or $5 LOL. OK, she probably has a secretary that just might ask them to wait - I'm sure they don't have to make an appt.

I write about her because I've been having an exceptionally rough patch as a wahm. I wrote about the guilt /regret thing and it's just not "in me" to whine and pout for more than a few minutes. This summer seemed to be a combination of "life is wonderful, enjoy every minute" and "life is hard, how do I get thru the next minute".

When I saw Sarah Palin on stage, I started getting excited about my life and the possibilities that lie ahead. She obviously has worked hard to get to where she's at, threw a few punches along the way and certainly took some...she most definitely will be taking on alot of folks that would rather not see her succeed past being Governor of Alaska.

I've put things on hold with Comfy Cozy because of how it might effect my kids and husband. I've also used that as an excuse to not take chances. Sarah Palin is an example for us to take those chances. She may not be perfect - who is?

So, my point is that Sarah Palin was and still is a wahm. She was a small business owner and we all know that means you work at home even if you have an office somewhere. The next time someone doesn't see me as a "working woman" or comments that I don't have a "real job", I'm going to let it roll right off my shoulders...we could have a WAHM in the White House.

I'm wondering what you think?

Guilt part deux

I was going to comment to Lynn's post, but figured it would be a lengthy one and my thoughts would keep rambling on. I thought I'd write a new post.

I've been having guilt/regret moments lately. I hate it. Everything Lynn said is true for wahms, really everyone, but when you throw in owning your business, it's more than guilt for either a) not spending more time w/ your husband and kids or b) cleaning your house or volunteering for something. There is always c) doing ANYTHING that has to do w/ your business.

Right now I "should" be a) hanging out w/ my hubby before he goes to work
b) cleaning up the kitchen and the dining room
c) processing an order, updating my web site, straightening my desk

Instead, I'm posting a blog! I've always had guilt frustrations about home/work. Lately I'm having regret sneak it's ugly head in. I love my company, love designing pillowcases, enjoy the satisfaction of creating, guiding, running a business. I have the American Dream:) The dreaded "but" comes in when all that guilt seems to back me into a corner. When the being a wahm is too much. Yes, it's all self imposed. My husband thinks I'm doing a great job and doesn't care if there is dust on the furniture. My boys think it's nice that I'm home. I on the other hand, have moments when it's just too much and all I want to do is dig in my garden, bake cookies and read for a month!

The regret that I had never taken this leap of faith and challenged myself to be a business owner, then have kids and try to "do it all". I've never felt this before...at least not this way. I couldn't imagine having continued my job as a sales manager after I got married, let alone after having kids. I LOVE my life and the decisions that have brought me here. Is it horrible to have those moments when I want to get off this merry go round?? Oh, I know I would last a couple days LOL Then my husband would lock me in my office and not let me out til I processed orders, updated my web site and straightened out my desk!! I'd go crazy NOT being a wahm!

Life is tough, I've said I'm trying to get rid of the negatives and focus on all that is good in the world and my own life. Outside influences are really what makes that difficult...but that's a whole different post on politics and society! For now, I'll work out this guilt/regret thing. The good news is that should only take a few days...school starts on Tuesday and both our boys will be gone "all day". I'll have hours and hours of uninterrupted WORK - woohoo!! Look for a post somewhere in the next 2 weeks about how much I miss them and love being with them all summer:)

Now, I'm off to the kitchen, bake some cookies and spend the afternoon w/ family...the business will still be here and Tuesday I'll have to put my roller skates back on to catch up!

When does the merry go round stop?

I feel like it's been going around and around forever...and I HATE merry go rounds! I can't even watch my kids playing on one at a the park and the "real" ones w/ the horses I can't even THINK about them without getting a little queezy (how do you spell that anyway?).

Apparently, for a WAHM, it never stops! Jill mentioned yesterday learning new tricks. As a WAHM, we learn new tricks every day - we HAVE to. When you're a one woman business, there isn't any delegating. For some things I pay folks that know what they are doing. Other times, if the budget is tight, you have to "figure it out". That isn't necessarily a bad thing. On Monday I found out I needed an ad banner by Tuesday at 10am - YIKES! I don't have one, don't know how to make one, don't have the money to pay someone to do it right now.

So, after asking for help and waiting for replies, I said to myself "wait a minute - I have an idea!" Instead of re-inventing the wheel, I've learned to use what I have. Sometimes you don't have to make something totally new, you have the pieces, you just have to put them together differently. It worked like a charm.

I had spent lots of money on the photography and packaging for my Comfy Cozy pillowcases.
James Applebaum at Electric Bluefish Productions created the inserts using images from a photo shoot with Jeff Blumberg at PictureTHIS! Photography. So, my "lightbulb moment" came just when I thought I'd have to cancel the ad - use the insert! A few text modifications for the ad and help from James in formatting it and "ta-da" - banner ad for MomFinds.com was ready to go.

Sometimes we have to take a deep breath and for me, that can be hard sometimes. I'm always 3 steps ahead of myself and am learning the trick of stepping BACK to look at a situation before I jump in. Usually, things work themselves out and I can avoid adding any stress and anxiety to my life:)

My merry go round is still spinning. Another day, another ride! Hopefully with this ad, it will mean another dollar or two!! Today I'm hoping I don't have to learn any new tricks. I'll leave that up to our beagle puppy LOL

WAHM Works!

I've decided on a new title for Wednesdays - "WAHM Works!". Seems appropriate for me since it's a day when I'm REALLY working with very few interruptions. Not that I don't "work" everyday, but those of you with kids kwim!

Today I am bogged down by web site problems - ugh! Well, it's a good and bad thing. My site was moved over the weekend to a new server and that always causes my email to get whacked out and for some reason the site gets goofed up in the move. It's a behind the scenes thing that I know nothing about and leave up to my web designer/hosters, Sherri & Kathie over at MerchantMoms.com. They do a great job, but glitches happen in the computer world and now we just have to get them straightened back out again. The good part is that in the end, it will be better for comfycozy.com and the sale of my personalized pillowcases!

I'm going to bounce back to Lynn's dessert post now. I love dessert! A week ago I signed up for Martha Stewarts "cookie of the day" email! OMG! YUM is all there is to it. OK, so I haven't made any of them yet, but today I go shopping for ingredients for what appears to be just the yummiest cookies. We're talking easy to make, not some ridiculous fancy shmancy dessert.
I also did it to keep me focused on what is important - my kids and husband who love cookies.
Sometimes with all the "to do" lists in the summer, for some reason baking gets lost in the shuffle. Partly because it's hot and who wants the oven on. But it is a good excuse to turn the AC on!

Going back to "work" now. It's time to look at my list. Which I'm not making public because it's not been formalized yet! A few weeks ago I mentioned my Keepsake Calendars but never got back around to focusing on promoting them. A little more background on them...I created them out of desperation when my oldest son turned 13 months old. I NEVER filled out his baby book - who has time? But I was loyal to his Winnie the Pooh sticker calendar. So, I started printing out blank calendar pages to write in all the "stuff" he was doing.
The "Toddler Year Photo/Sticker Keepsake Calendar" was born! Since you can't find a "start at any month" calendar for anything other than "Baby's First Year", I knew other moms MUST be looking for the something like this and decided to add it to the Comfy Cozy line of products.

To make them more personal, instead of just putting some cute design on each monthly page, there is a "picture frame" so you can put a REAL TIME photo of your child PLUS there are lists of "favorites" for each month: Instead of creating a calendar for next year at a print shop using old pictures, our calendars let you capture the changes and adventures of your child as they happen. How great is that! Now we have a whole line that goes from Baby's First year up to 16 years old. As kids enter preschool, they can help pick out the pictures and practice their writing by filling in the "favorites" sections. There are also stickers (what kid doesn't like stickers??) with age-appropriate activities and holidays to add to the calendars.

I love looking back and seeing the "little things" that our boys did, because after all, it's the little things in life that count most.

Well, better get to making that list and then getting this WAHM to WORK!

Remember, it's still Christmas in July at comfycozy.com. 20% off all orders in July!!