Before I took on the leather bag dream, I was sewing fabric bags. I had read on another handbag designer's website that she was being featured in an article that was being written in the Denver Post about local handbag designers. I of course, promptly emailed the reporter (the handbag designer mentioned her name on her site)...and asked if I could be included in the article. She called me! Yea! More free press. The article ran and it featured about 15 handbag designers from the Denver area. I was the last one mentioned (I was on the back page of the business section). I got 200 hits on my website that day (that was alot for me)! It was great. I even got a couple orders from it. Read everything you can...and be ready to take action. You never know where you are going to find that gold nugget of information.

I have discovered that you never know where you might find a valuable piece of information. It might be on a competitor's website or a networking event. Either way, be open to new information in places you least expect. I worked at a local television station, 9News, last year (yes, I've always maintained a "day job" to support my bag business). All the employees were invited to go to a presentation in the station given by a bunch of marketing people hired to do research on what viewers wanted. Most people might think its a waste of time if they didn't care too much about their job (which I didn't), but I've learned over the years that you can find inspiration in the strangest places. I went to the presentation and it was fascinating. They talked about what people responded to on the station's website. They even had research information on the what viewers liked and disliked about the layout of the homepage (whether it was cluttered, what information they wanted to see first, etc)! I'm thinking the station paid some high dollar for that kind of research. I got the information for free which would later come in handy for my own internet business!

Another example of this happened to me the other day. I had a telemarketer call my cell phone. Not knowing who it was, I answered it. Turns out the guy works for Hacker Safe...a company that I guess guards against hackers on your e-commerce site. I don't know...I was half listening to him. But I was very polite because he was nice. I explained to him that I didn't need the service and that I had started a new internet venture for independent fashion designers. He started talking about his wife who owns 3 lingerie boutiques in Las Vegas! She could be a potential retail buyer member for fashionCEO's Showcase Center! So we chatted for a bit and then he sent me an email with his contact info. I now have a contact for a lingerie store which I need for the Showcase Center! If I had been rude, hung up on him, or been closed off to the idea of making a contact, then that probably would not have happened.

Don't burn bridges....don't turn your back on someone you meet at a networking event just because they don't appear to be in the same line of work or of value to you on the surface. That person's sister just might be an accessories buyer at Bergdorf Goodman! You NEVER know. Keep your eyes open,and always embrace a potential, unexpected opportunity. I don't believe in pure luck, I think people who are lucky go looking for, or are open to, new opportunities.

I'll dig up that article in the Denver Post and show it to you in the next couple days. In the meantime, keep your eyes open and watch for that unexpected contact or opportunity!