14 September, 2007

Remembering Times at P2P

{ Warning : This is a Long Post }


Pictures ‘2’ Pages was my 1st business that’s solely operated online. It’s a very different experience from my past business venture on mobilephone wholesaling & retailing; and especially challenging for a “not-so” IT savvy person like me.

Through the process, I did pick up some extra knowledge like HTML coding, photoshop, managing data-based shopping cart, building HTML newsletters, etc etc.

In fact, this E-store of mine is a 100% DIY site, with no professional help at all. It was being built with my brother’s great help.


Thinking back (in Year 2004), I didn’t opt to spend a few thousands bucks on professional web-designing services coz I’m afraid that I might give it up after a short while … but who knows, P2P is coming 3 this year!

It all started with me who believes that dreams do come true. Of coz, I’m well-aware that our dreams don’t just fall into our laps – sweat free – but instead, I believe that we have to have faith in our dreams, work for them and have patience when they sometimes take longer to materialize than we would like them to.

The cool thing is, when everything is said and done – and the dream that was once just a picture in my mind – is actually facing me head on … no doubt it has ALWAYS been worth the price I had to pay for.

Hmmm … you must be wondering what price am I talking about … here’s some examples of what I used to “pay”:-
  • Self-discipline (loads & loads of it) – as working from home, as well as there’s no accountability to anyone … tend to make a person slack and to work at his own pace.

  • Running an “One Man Show” business was really good at giving me lots of stress as I could NEVER leave the business out of my mind … thinking, talking & planning business constantly. There are so many strings attached to owning a business … that most people don’t fully understand, until they actually experience it!

  • Irregular working hours – as I tend to accommodate with offline customers' preferred shopping hours, this would meant working at nights (after regular office hours), weekends and especially public holidays. On top of that, I had to stay up till late nights to place orders & communicate with those US manufacturers (it's all due to our geographical differences).

  • Unwanted gossiping & negative remarks from competitors … well, I shall not do any finger-pointing right here as they’d definitely know who they are.

    On this aspect, I’d normally fall back onto my DH for his moral support & comfort, where he’ll always remind me to “Mind Your Own Business”.

  • Shopping with a business in mind – I’m being reminded by a great friend of mine *A* to get in product lines that my customers would want instead of what I want. Obviously, this deprived my enjoyment of personal scrap-shopping.

  • To catch up with the grueling-yet-exhilarating cycle of new product launches from hundreds of manufacturers in every few months.
Nevertheless, I’ve never regretted on following those urges to do something different, to listen to my heart and accomplished my dream of having a scrapbook haven right at my own home – Life is too short NOT to chase after your dreams.

Oh yes, I ought to give it a mention … I’m also very grateful and would like to thank my family for their past support, kind understanding and assistance rendered.
  • My Mum - who helped me with stocktaking & pricing whenever my shipments came in, and also most importantly, took great care of my kids when I’m totally engrossed in work.

  • Bro *A* - who helped me with my site development as well as making deliveries during my absence.

  • Sis *J* - who helped me with the processing & mailing of orders as well as meeting up “self-collection” customers during my absence.

  • NC - for his moral support and great understanding (can you imagine … I’ve messed up our whole house in order to free up more storage & display space ... and without any complaints from him at all?).

  • R1 & R2 - for not meddling with my stock whenever they came back home. Occasionally, they even helped me with the pricing & displaying of products … but due to their height, my products being displayed on the racks were normally below eye-level … LOL).
  • And not forgetting my Dad, who is not really involved in my business operation. But rather, he did show his concern (quite regularly) by popping questions like : "Why are you always sitting in front of your PC; at the very moment when you opened your eyes and till late nights?" or "Why can't you do it tomorrow since work is never-ending?", etc etc.

    Guess what's my typical reply? ... "No choice, if I'm not doing it, who is gonna do it for me ??"

Oh, I’m so blessed !!

Lastly, a big heartfelt thanks to those valued customers-turned-friends (both locally & overseas) who have been supporting P2P, for cheering us on, and for those sweet & encouraging emails/SMSes received.

** Please do continue to support P2P as I strongly believe that Ms Detha will bring it to a much greater height in the near future. **

Before I end this post, I’d like to invite you to take a peek at what was it like behind the scenes at P2P and to reminisce with me the times of shopping with us.

Cheers!

3 comments:

Jasmin B said...

AAAUUUWWW! Nostalgic memories, Jane! Your baby!! *wipe tears*

Very good write-up...I agree to all. Most importantly strong support from your family...and a really understanding hubby!
*wink*

Chowchow said...

Yes, those were fun times. I remember driving down from KL and frantically overturning your stock! Those were fun times even when you were not around. Glad that you have enjoyed this business so much and grew from it. It was hell of a ride for you!

*Dream Weaver* said...

Hey Jane...

I remember coming over to your place and being awestruck at the amount of stuff you had in your home :)

Thanks for welcoming me to look at your stock in your home. Perhaps we can meet up when I come to Singapore at the end of the year.