Last September I got a call from a woman at a magazine. I didn't quite catch which magazine she said she was from and I didn't have time to interject in the conversation. She said, "I'm on your website, I love what I'm seeing and we'd like to write about your Chip Fluffs!" Flattered...I answered with "That's fantastic, thank you very much!"
After a few more questions about flavors, pricing and packaging, we were wrapping up the call when she politely asked "would you be able to overnight samples to me for a photo shoot?" You bet. "Terrific, our photo team will be in contact with you shortly to coordinate delivery and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me at _______@peoplemagazine.com."
HUH??
Here is where my blood pressure spiked.
I hung up the phone and immediately called my husband. And, then my mom. And, then I told my girlfriend. I was looking for one of them to tell me that I was hallucinating. They didn’t. They all flipped out with excitement. I mean, how did we go from this little girl's idea of making marshmallows to a phone call from People magazine??
Later that afternoon, I got another call. The woman was clearly a New Yorker. In two minutes, she gave me specific instructions on how I was to send my samples. It was quick and dirty. I took notes and just said "yep, got it...thank you!"
The next day, we shipped a sampling of our Chip Fluffs to People Magazine in New York City. New York City!
And, then I waited. And, I waited. I wanted to shout it from a rooftop that People Magazine called Madyson's Marshmallows {US!} but I told just a few people. Ok, I probably told 20 people but how was I supposed to keep this to myself?
A month went by so I followed up with an email to my person @peoplemagazine.com. Guess what...she gave me an issue date. An actual issue date! This is really happening!
So, I waited again. The day the issue came out, I called a friend in New York and asked her to see if she could get her hot little fingers on the magazine. She scoured the city and it wasn't out in her neighborhood yet. The next morning, she tried again. She found a store that had just received the delivery of the issue and it was still in the back room. She begged them to get her a copy and they did! She called me with the news. We were NOT in it. WHAT!!??
And, so I waited. And, I waited. Friends and family encouraged me to follow up with People but something inside just told me to have patience and wait. And, that's what I did. There is a greater plan for this small little marshmallow company of ours and if we're meant to be in a national magazine, then it will happen. This was not in my control. Besides, I'm truly thankful that they even noticed our website. That alone speaks volumes to me.
And, then it happened one Thursday in January as I was doing my usual carpool duties. An email came in while I was driving Madyson home from school. I read the email (at a stop light, of course) and the first sentence was "I saw you in People Magazine and wanted to know if you ship to the UK."
My heart practically stopped.
Madyson sat in the back seat, completely unaware of my sudden onset of panic. After a moment, I calmly said, "Madyson, we need to go to a store and buy People Magazine…I think they wrote about our marshmallows!" At age 6, Madyson almost understands the significance of this. After all, she’s seen me scour every issue of People for two months as soon as we get it from our mailbox. Her reply was simple but her facial expression was one I’ll never forget. After a {she's got to be kidding me} pause, and with a very proud grin, she said “really?” And with such joy, I said, “really!”
My little 6 year old sat in the backseat clapping her hands, giggling with excitement and asking me a ton of questions as we drove to the store to pick up the magazine. At that very moment, my girlfriend called and she happened to be flipping through the magazine in the check out line at the grocery store. She screamed "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, you're in here!" I yelled "Madyson, we're in there!" Madyson and I quickly drove to meet my friend outside the grocery store. This particular friend of mine has been by our side since day one of starting this company. She has helped Madyson and I set up every booth at every holiday bazaar. To be able to share this moment with her and Madyson together was...well, priceless.
I called my husband. Then, my mom. Then, my dad. Then I texted everyone I knew and posted the great news on Facebook.
We're we lucky to get that phone call? You bet. It's not all luck though. My husband and I have spent hours upon hours coding our website, marketing and networking, and building our brand. Madyson and I have tested and tested many flavors and ideas of marshmallows. It’s not by luck that you find us on the first page of a Google search for gourmet marshmallows. It’s strategic. We think we have good ideas and we work really hard. It takes endless hours of hard work and dedication to start a company and hopefully, if you’re lucky enough, you’ll get a little national attention.
Now what? Well...here enters the People Magazine effect. We've gone from getting a few orders per week to several orders per day. When we once rented a commercial kitchen on the weekends, we now need a kitchen daily. Our business has tripled. We are working night and day to keep up with the marshmallow demand, while still putting out fresh, new ideas. We are setting up our own commercial kitchen...a {very small} space that we can call our own and we can access 24 hours a day if need be. We have launched a project on Kickstarter.com to raise money from fans, family and friends to outfit our kitchen with sinks, tables, shelves, appliances and other basics that will allow us to manufacture our marshmallows daily.
Our business is changing. Many of you have watched us grow from a seedling and now we're in full bloom. We have a long road ahead of us as we take our marshmallow company to a new level. There will be challenges and celebrations along the way. We're looking forward to every moment and we're glad to be suffering from the People Magazine effect.
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| http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2005580927/madysons-chocolate-dipped-hand-made-marshmallows |
