May 15, 2005.
Today is the 18th anniversary of the day I launched momAgenda at the National Stationery Show at the Javits Center in New York City. That’s right – today is the day momAgenda becomes an adult.
As a mom of four adult children, I’m no stranger to spending 18 years nurturing a child into adulthood. I know well the hard work, dedication, and love it takes to bring something new into the world. In many ways, momAgenda was no different.
I spent nine months preparing to launch the company by researching and interviewing hundreds of moms about what they wanted and needed in a planner. I agonized over every detail. Would the layout have a Sunday start or a Monday start? How many months would it cover? Would we add times of the day? How big should we make the kids’ boxes? Luckily, as was the case with my kids, I had an amazing support system holding my hand throughout the process.
My friends at @graphicimageny were kind enough to loan me a little corner of their enormous booth at the Javits Center, which my sister helped me set up. I worked with the amazing graphic designer @copperbottomdesign who perfected the weekly layout – the same layout we use today. And of course, I had the love and support of my family all along the way.
On May 15, I was shaking with a familiar nervousness. Was I truly ready to do this? Was this need in the market truly there, or was it something I imagined? Could I even be an entrepreneur, with four kids under the age of seven at home? Still, I believed in the product and I believed in myself, so I donned my very best green pants and brought momAgenda into the world.
Three days later, I had sold my entire inventory of 6,000 planners to 120 stores. It was like a dream. The National Stationery Show taught me that momAgenda planners filled a real need in the marketplace.
After the show we ordered more planners from the factory, and then a few months later we ordered AGAIN.
We kept selling out!
I never could have predicted how successful our little launch would turn out to be.
Today, while 18 years have passed since we launched momAgenda, I’m proud to say we’ve built a company that’s held true to the values and the mission we launched it with.
We create beautiful products that help you get organized and bring you a sense of peace amid the overwhelm and chaos of motherhood. I’m so grateful to you for being a customer, for telling your friends, for sharing your stories and pictures.
You keep us going each day. I can’t wait to see what young adulthood brings for momAgenda!
Please drop a comment and let me know when you started using momAgenda, and how it’s helped you in your life.