Our First Business Trip

Ok. Arlie here. As I promised, here's a brief account of our first business trip in The Big Apple and The Nation's Capital.

I get to NY on a rainy Sunday. The weather is awful but I'm happy. I'm going to spend a few days working with my partner in crime.
I have big hopes for this trip. We'll work very hard, we'll party harder. I have a list of stores managers that we need to meet with and also a list of all the clubs I want to hit before going back to the MIA. Of course...of course...we have to do all that on a very tight budget. We are just starting. Right? Riiiiight!

Anyway. Speaking about budget. We had made reservations for what I thought was going to be a room for two at a very famous hostel in the city. First surprise. I get into the room and I find four other girls there. We are actually going to bunk with other girls during the whole time here? Noooo. I tell Manda: "Ok. I know we made reservations here and wanted to save money but can we sneak out of here and find another place where we could actually have some privacy?" Nope. As it happens, they have our credit card number on file. We're stuck. But that's ok. We're girls scouts. We'll handle it. So we toughen it up, even it we have to shower almost fully clothed not to catch any germs in those ^&(*&^&%& public showers and bathrooms. Ugh...never again.

Soooo! Sunday night, we plan our trip. I told you I had names and addresses for department stores managers we wanted to meet right? Ok. Did I also tell you that those people were so hard to reach the weeks before our trip that we just decided to drop in on them? No? So now you know! So we set the schedule that night.

On Monday, we spend the whoooooole day perfecting our business proposal... It's our baby, it has to be perfect... We want to make an impression....10 hours straight. No pause, no food ( at least for me ...hahaha). When we are finally done at night ( writing, printing a binding), it's time to go partying. I would have told you about it but that is the subject for another blog...

Tuesday, we hit the stores. Let me tell you about how a few of them went.

We walk into the first one, as if we know where we are going and what we are doing ( fake it 'til you make it right?). The office door is locked. Oh oh. How are we going to get in? Manda tells me: "let's just seat here until someone opens the door"(that girl is crazy I'm telling you).
I say: "no, they'll ask us to leave. Let's walk around the clothes a little bit and when someone opens the door we run to it before it closes. "
So ten minutes later someone gets out of the office. I run to the door. I catch it before it closes. Manda follows quietly. It's funny now, but we were not laughing at the moment. We follow the hall, to a secretary (I suppose). To the secretary: " We want to see Mrs. X regarding distributions of our clothes with your company". The secretary : "her office is right there". I look at her. I can't believe it was so easy. So that's how we find ourselves sitting down in front of one of the buyer for that huge department store, shaking in our boots and trying not to show it.
How did the encounter go? ...well...you'll know soon enough. Just know when you see those African designs in the racks that the K girls were there...

For the second store, the buyer was not there but we had made arrangements with one of his associate to drop our proposal at the lobby with the guard but dis we do that? Hell no! We just went up to her office, walking as if we knew were we going. It's funny because we were cruising in the offices of that huge department store, and no one was stopping us. So we found the girl, introduced ourselves. She was too polite to throw us out so we sat down and gave her our pitch. Again, you'll know how it went eventually. LOL.

For one of the other store, we had actually called the lady so many times ( like everyday at the same hour the week before our trip) that she actually called us back to learn about us. See? It can pay to be tenacious.

So the lesson for that part of the trip? Be daring and tenacious. What's the worst that could happen? people saying no? Oh please!

Ok. I'm a bit tired now so I'll let you know later about the DC part of the trip.
Arlie's OUT!