That’s what running a start up is all about, right?? I just have been talking to fellow entrepreneur friends who are going through the same kinds of issues I am…close to a big deal that can save the day and close to being out of business. How do we live like this??? Most people have some amount of respect for entrepreneurs but it takes living through this to really understand what it means to be able think on your feet, turn on a dime, and pray to the various gods of luck, commerce, and charity.

All that said, I would like to share that I am excited about where we are and scared to death at the same time. Getting up and going has been the typical roller coaster ride you would suspect of a start up.  We’re constantly working to move this boat forward sometimes with an oar and sometimes with the boost of a powerful engine.  We’re excited about our test market line and that it’s beginning to see some traction in the marketplace.  Meanwhile, we’ll keep working on adding new styles to the line. We plan to have the fun, trendy additions ready for the Christmas selling season in October.

We’re going ahead and getting ready for our style consultants to start selling as well. We’re working on getting to the point where we can implement the help of some wonderful business partners who will help us put the whole infrastructure in place.  In the meantime, we’re making sure that the ladies who become our leaders will be rewarded for the importance they will have to our fledgling company.

I have to give a shout out to my Director of Distribution Development, Laura Hamblin, who is one of the most dedicated and creative women I know. She has been a rock for me to lean on over these past few weeks as all the craziness has unfolded and I can’t even begin to descirbe what she has meant to me!!!

Finally, make sure you check out the online store with its phenomenal pictures and the new lower introductory pricing. If you live close to Ypsilanti, feel free to stop by the storefront in Depot Town to visit, see the clothing and take something home.

Well, thanks for joining me as I walk, live, breathe, and sleep on the razor’s edge.

Just got back from a great time with my family “Up North” in Michigan. It’s always a mixed event coming home. I’m glad to be back but it was so nice to enjoy all the wonders northern Michigan has to offer. My parents, my aunt, my sister and brother-in-law and nephews have made the treck out (or back) to Northern Michigan from the west side of the country about every other year since we’ve lived here. We’ve made Crystal Mountain our base camp and explored from there.

This year after being scolded numerous times for not ever having visited the Mackinac (pronounced Mack-in-aw) area, Juan, I and the kids headed over there for a day and immediately fell in love. We definitely plan to go back and explore some more. Mackinac Island was everything we’d ever heard and the Upper Peninsula has a lot of great attractions we want to go back and check out.

Well, it’s back to work which is exciting because of what we expect to see happen here at RealKidz over the next month or so. I’ll do a separate post on that.

Time to look at the mail and get some work done and then I’ll be back!!

Keep It Real!

Merrill

Hi there and welcome to my very first blog post! I am excited to share with you what I’m working on and I’m really looking forward to your feedback.

Who am I and why am I here?? I’m a mom who has experienced the frustration of trying to find clothing for my daughter who is mildly overweight and has been since about 1st grade. I can’t believe there aren’t more people out there making cool clothing for plus-size kids when there are so many plus-size kids out there. Estimates right now put that number at 1/3 of kids ages 5 to 12.

Why is it that because my daughter is fighting against the genes that I have given her (I have struggled with my weight for most of my life), that she has to struggle to find clothes that fit her and, even more, look good on her? The popular styles the past few years have definitely not been kind to anyone with even a modicum of body fat. Low rise jeans and tight tops don’t look good even on people of average body weight much less those who have anything resembling rolls.

I decided that someone needed to step up to the plate and provide curvy girls with fashionable clothing that they’re going to be excited to wear. So here I am, launching the RealKidz clothing line. But I wanted to do more than just provide clothing for these forgotten children!! I wanted to build a community where parents can come to share their joys, frustrations, and good finds. This blog is just the beginning! To that end, I really want to know what the most important aspects this community would be for you. I’m going to have experts in nutrition, child psychology, childhood obesity, food coaches and more to provide reasoned and knowledgeable information. I plan to launch a forum where we can share joys, frustrations and good finds with the goal of supporting our children and each other.

I want this to be a place where kids and parents can find a balance between feeling good about themselves and realizing we all need to strive to be healthy. At RealKidz we will celebrate all children because ALL kids have the right to be, just that, kids!! They all have the right to laugh and play and be innocent for as long as possible in this amazing world. We’re starting our clothing line for girls first because we can’t afford to do the whole enchilada yet, BUT we plan to expand into boys plus-sizes and, as soon as possible, we’ll expand into all size ranges for these boys and girls.

I’m looking forward to getting to know you and I hope you’ll stick around and contribute to the launch of something that will be life changing for a lot of families!!

Keep it real!!
~Merrill