If Martha Called Tomorrow, Would You Ready?

My answer? Absolutely not. Have you ever had a certain opportunity come your way and it either didn't happen because you weren't prepared or the outcome wasn't as great as it could have been because you didn't take advantage like you should have? While I sadly have many examples of this, I'm only going to share the most recent and what I like to call, "the straw that broke the camels back".

Many of you know Kristin from The Hunted Interior. She's a super talented interior designer based in Atlanta. I met Kristin a few months back when she asked if I would donate one of my gold foil Hey Y'all prints for a room she was designing with Room Service Atlanta (see the finished room here). I have been amazed by the positive response as a result of Kristin's blog post on the room and the styling she did of the print. My sales saw a serious spike and I am so grateful she asked me to be a part of her project.

Fast forward a few weeks and I decided to email Kristin and see if she would be willing to style a few photos of my other wall prints. She so generously said yes and asked if I could get them to her by a certain date because The Everygirl (yes, THE EVERYGIRL!) was coming to her house for a feature. How awesome? Now my products will be seen by an even larger audience, right? Wrong. I failed to get the package in the mail in time and Kristin didn't receive the prints until after the shoot was over. Major fail on my part and major bummer. Kristin's feature on The Everygirl went live today and if you haven't already, be sure to check it out. Her home is absolutely gorgeous and much to my surprise - I spotted my thank you note pinned to her bulletin board! Thank you, Kristin!

Photos by Dash Photography for  The Every Girl

All of this to say: Set yourself up for success, people. Don't fall into the trap I have so many times before this. We really can be our own worst enemy and the only thing standing in our way. Had I planned and prepared like I should have, my prints could have been shared with thousands (and thousands) in the beautiful photos of Kristin's home.

Starting tomorrow I am going to be making more of an effort to streamline my business and workflow so that when Martha (or The Everygirl) come calling, I'll be ready. If you have any tips or tricks (having stamps on hand, setting canned email responses, etc.) for how you streamline, I'd love to hear!

Labels: In the Studio, My Life, Word to the Wise