Moving posts from Blogger to WordPress

Soooooo confusing!!! Yup, it has been very frustrating for quite a few hours today. In fact, it was a few days already that I am typing like crazy and starring at the screen to see the changes. I made some changes to the website and some was succeed and some were not. Noooooooope, I am not giving it up. I won't give up!

Starting a small business at home never been easy, right?

I was a medical/pharmaceutical representative but never had neither any degree nor certification in any business major. I only married to an International marketing professor who must knows pretty well about marketing in the lecture room or textbooks. Otherwise he must had some kind of business since before he married me. It'd been about 20 years as an expert in the lecture room and business consultant. But never EVER operated any business realistically.

Anyhow when I first got back home with a few of pillow covers in the first trip in 2011. It was a big fight pretty much everyday and anytime when I asked about business. Imagine who came from the real market and the person who only taught in the lecture room discussed about the business. I was a medical/pharmaceutical representative so I only knew how to present product to sell. But did not how to create those materials for myself. Thus, I was pretty terrible in any computer programs. I had no idea how to take the perfect picture to attract the customers. On top of that I did not understand computer, Photshop, or any other program that you might need to get the better picture than the demo you got from the camera originally.

Picture was taken in 2011 by Ms. Joanna Ainscough and also belongs to her.

Imagine I only knew that I needed to iron the pillow cover to get the neat final touch. I knew nothing about computer and I always had someone help me out with anything with it. I got secretary of my team and my boyfriend at the time helped me with the presentations and so on for work. I only knew how to surf for fun only. How spoiled!

Taking picture for product never been easy! If you can't get the best one to show you are about to loose your customers. Customer who shops online can't touch the texture and doesn't know if the color would  be as same as the actual product. That's why you need a lot of magics to make your product as beautiful as you could. Start from stuffing the pillow cover to the insert of your choice either brand new or the one you have owned at home.

Picture credit from Google search engine.

Nooooooooooo.... I am not saying I used this strategy to stuff the insert to my pillow covers for taking picture. My pictures in the store were pretty fluffy and inviting. Yeah? I am using the wording " inviting" because my pillow will calling you to cuddle it in your arm. If next time I need to stuff any of them again I will take picture to show you. Unfortunately I have finished stuffing all of my new collection yesterday.

 Picture was taken in 2013 by Ms. Joanna Ainscough and also belongs to her.

The picture above is one of best sellers since I owned the original Exotique Imports in 2011. But after getting divorce I lost a whole business to my ex-husband .Of course, he has changed the name of the business and got pretty much all of the original pictures. So I needed to take them all again, is it sad? Anyway, let talk about something more fun. Can you tell how much I have learned from the first picture in this blog and the one just above this paragraph?

 Picture was taken in 2011 by Ms. Joanna Ainscough and also belongs to her.

I used the front room which we would call " living room" to be my storage and operating room. It was a big mess because I did not have any other rooms in the house to use. On top of that, it was a little embarrassing when we got inexpecting guests who would come by the front door. There were a lot of pillow covers, inserts, plastic bags, name tags, and some more things that I could not recall nor call in English, haha...

 Picture of Ms. Joanna Ainscough and was taken in 2011.

Definitely I was the girl in the picture who looked like she work her ass off in her own sweat shop, right? I did work that hard to finish anything and start the business. First of all, unpack the suitcases, repack all of the merchandises. 

Now you could picture how I first started my business from " 0 - ZERO", huh? At the beginning of 2011 I spent my saving from the monthly allowance to buy Macbook, Canon DSLR camera, and risked myself to get all of the merchandises by selling another product back to Thailand. I did not have a big saving and I spent them all with a big hope that my dream will come true.

Back of me on the sofa, you will see a box which was designed to be the home lighting studio for the product shooting. Yes, we started from there, from that 18 inches box which we got from the moving store nearby. As easy as it could be but not easy once we needed to edit the picture to cut off the shadow and fix the color. 

Not so sure what should be the product?? Of course, I was there.

As I mentioned previously that I went back from Hong Kong by the end of 2010 and carried the pillow cases with me. But I also had some other things in my hands that time.

I love to craft new things and liked to do that kind of hand crafted product as my bobby. I could do crochet, knitting, and some other stuff that used fabric. So I had a little cutie that we, means girls and ladies, could possibly use it as an accessory to enhance your cardigan, your winter hat, or your purse as the picture I show below.

Selfie style Picture of Ms. Joanna Ainscough.

I think a lot of girls would agree that the little pin could enhance a lot on your solid color cloth or winter hat or could add on the purse to get more attention. I was really happy and had such a good time walking around at the market in Bangkok where we called " Sampeng" http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thailand/bangkok/sights/markets-bazaars/sampeng-lane and " Phahurut " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phahurat I was like a child in the candy store anytime I was there.

Picture credit from Google search engine

Sampeng and Phahurut market are packed of craft supplies that you could imagine off. With those 2 little streets along the whole market and I am sure you would get overwhelm about things around. Plus the crown that must push you through the market.

Picture credit from Google search engine

Anytime I went back to Thailand to get more products from my suppliers I always went to the market to get new ideas for Exotique Imports. It never been bored to be there even it was hot or rain. I am sure if you has that chance to be there as a crafter you must enjoy as same as me. On top of that, you would carry a lot of plastic bags with all the craft supplies like the world is gonna end tomorrow.

January 2011 when my dream of being an entrepreneur came true.

As I mentioned that I am Thai girl and have a background as a registered nurse and this is another thing I have experienced. In fact I have this kind of experience longer than being an RN. I was a medical representative for more than 10 years when I was in Thailand before I got married and came to USA.

I really love working as a medical representative and I am certain I have no regret about that AT ALL. This career gave me so much opportunities in my life, so many kinds of experiences to gain, so many things to learn in many many roles.

All of those happiness and experiences of being a medical representative in Thailand gave me aimed me a big dream to be an entrepreneur of my own business. Here I am, Exotique Imports  http://www.exotiqueimports.com/    which I first started on January 2011 under my name alone for the registeration to Florida, USA.

My first group of products came from Thailand and they were pillow covers in different sizes. I have 18x18 inches and also 16x16 inches when I first imported them to USA.

Picture from the original Exotique Imports, own by Ms. Ainscough.

It was REALLY hard to find what would be perfect products for the business. It took me several years to finalized my first product must be these pillow covers. 

By the end of 2010, me and my ex-husband went to Hong Kong for a few months and of course, we stopped by Bangkok, Thailand. I found my product over Thailand in that trip and only carried almost 20 models back to home with me as the samples.

Picture of Joanna Ainscough in December, 2014 

at The Heritage Hotels Baan Silom, Bangkok Thailand.

Can you see the big happy smile in the picture above? I was beyond happy to found the product the day before the picture was taken. I woke up in the morning and told my ex-husband that I would start the business and bring these pillow covers back to Florida with me. I woke up, got dressed, and made myself to be ready in any second so early that day. Can you see a little corner of MacBook Pro in the background somewhere between my lips and chin? Yup, that was him who would be with computer 24/7 and behaved as a girl anytime when he got dressed. I always was the one who waiting for him finish everything from head to toe. Especially head because it contents so many things and he doesn't has so much hair left even after got 3 times of hair transplantation. So it took like forever for me therefor I usually let him start to get dress first, imagine that

Could you imagine I took picture of myself on that day. I was crazy in taking picture even for myself by myself before the wording " Selfie " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selfie   started to be popular in the online social medias. 

Picture from the original Exotique Imports, own by Ms. Ainscough.

The picture above shows one of my most favorite picture of the first set when I created the website by 2011. It was taken at the backyard of the house I stayed during the marriage in Bradenton. The pillow in this picture is one of the best sellers so far and it has a lot colors to choose. http://www.amazon.com/Charming-Bouquet-18x18-Embroidered-Decorative/dp/B00I4C8KSA/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A29XVRST3QRN2C   The one in the picture I named it to be teal green and I just love green more and more since then. Right now, September of 2014, there are a few more of the sellers who sell this model and this teal green color.