Ask for what you want

My children are SO good at this. They always start negotiations with exactly what they want.

Me: Alright, time to make dinner!

Ava: oh! can we have chocolate??

Me: It's time for a tubby and jammies!

Jonah: (leading me by the hand) You come here. I sit lapa you on da couch.

They know what they want. Does that change? If so, when does that change?

When does your position become shades of gray?

There was a point in my belle&beanzer venture adventure where I knew I was just reacting. I was looking to see how I could work with what I got, versus asking for what I want from the start and going from there. I knew I was off. Quite frankly, it pissed me off.

That all shifted about a month ago. In my catch-up post, life is full, I mentioned being
moved forward, creatively. I was referring to time spent working with a friend of mine,
Rebecca Twitchell at Half-Full. I'm going to spend more time on this in a very near future post.
I want to give it the singular attention it deserves, and share the fullness of the changes that have taken place as a result of that work. Very valuable post for entrepreneurs! A huge take-away objective I've gained from this work with her is moving through this obstacle of not taking responsibility for the energy I was bringing to belle&beanzer.

Somewhere along the way in my life, I decided it was safer to come in under the radar.
I don't have any intentions of becoming a rockstar… although, I do looooove to
sing any time, any place! But, I do intend to have a rich, full, abundant business,
and I do intend belle&beanzer to create opportunities to embrace the moment,
and to strengthen the connection between parent and child through smart design.

So, it's a big moment for belle&beanzer right now. I'm meeting with a factory this week that I've been going back and forth with. It's not a perfect scenario, but it's a reeeaaaally good option. They've got an excellent reputation. Their fabrics are top quality. They do beautiful work. They're DOMESTIC!! Frosting on the cake? They recently added solar panels to their factory. Love that! We're discussing all the final details and seeing if it's going to work out. There are other factories I'm going to speak with as well. So, it's not a dead end, even if it's not a now option, it's definitely an option at some point. Ultimately, it's all coming down to now and asking for what I want. Production.

So, I'm going to go ahead and BE responsible for the energy I'm bringing to the factory negotiations,
to my business relationships, to belle&beanzer, and to all my future customers.
I'm going to ask for what I want…

- a strong relationship with a socially & environmentally credible factory

- top quality, eco friendly fabrics (recycled fabric options)

- recycling program

- low minimums

- loads of color options

- within my target price point

Maybe it'll be like with my children, and my answer will be part now and part later…

…nooo, not chocolate for dinner. But, after you eat something nutritious we can have some…

…or maybe I'll get what I want up front…

…okay, love, let's have a cuddle before bath…

I'm not sure what will happen. I'm open to the option that something will present itself that I hadn't thought of, and will work out perfectly. There are many ways to get from A to Z. I'm going to start off coming from a place of exactly what I want, and know I'll get what I need.