Unexpected ROI (return on investment)

11.20.08 It all starts with thanks – and when you get way more than you ever imagined all I can say is THANK YOU!

November 14, 15 and 16 was the unveiling, birthing, launching of the ninaclocks website and product line.Those of you who came to efest to wish us well – it’s difficult to explain how a familiar face at the crossroads of the unknown can mean so much.

Those who couldn’t be there and offered their good wishes – ditto!

My book finally arrived on the 14th and after some technical difficulty, the website went up that evening while we were frantically preparing for our first show ever. Although I have done many trade shows, there’s never so much on the line as when it’s your baby, your business!Heaps of gratitude to Sarah and Bridget for helping us at the booth, and to Stephanie, sending us lightning bolts of positive energy from Denver.

One woman came, looked and gushed, “This is the best booth in the whole place!”

We sold some items and spread a message: Now is the time. Most people seemed to understand it better when we said, “There’s no time like the present.” (That’s what I heard growing up.)

We invited people to start a ‘bucket list’ and write down one thing they’ve always wanted to do, see or be.
Entries ranged from ‘heal the world with music’ to ‘jump out of a plane and live.



Travel destinations varied, with Italy being the most popular. Having been there in ’05 and planning to go again in ’09, I resonated with that!
But the best part was the unexpected ROI: Everyone who wrote something was having fun. They got a sticker to wear as a reminder and if they wanted, we took their picture and sent it to them as another reminder.

They left the booth with smiles and for just a few minutes, began to dream again instead of fretting about gas, groceries, and unemployment. We filled six pages over the weekend.
Writing things down is the first step to success. It turns dreams into goals.

Watching the faces of all those smiling people brought me more joy than making a profit. That will come, I expect it. But it’s the unexpected that warms your heart. Every time I think of all the happy visitors that left our booth, I smile.
The money will come and go, as it should, but that memory will be with me forever.