Starting As The Demo Girl

Some writers,
even new writers,
have personal assistants.
These assistants
promote on social media,
contact book bloggers,
handle the email.

The issue is…
for some things,
direct contact
from the writer (business owner)
gets bigger results.

And when you’re in start up mode,
the dollars saved
are precious.

Most business builders
start out
doing everything.

Jessica Iclisoy,
Founder of
California Baby,
shares

“For the first eight years,
I was a demo girl
— you know the girl
who stands
at the end of the aisle
and says,
‘Could you try my product?'”

Prepare to do everything
when you first start your business.

2 comments

  1. I really appreciate what she says about never having taken outside investment and growing slowly.

    “Building her own highly automated manufacturing facility and growing herbs is not a quick solution. But Iclisoy has always taken her time building the business. She’s also never taken on outside investment. She owns the entire company, even now, 22 years later.

    “‘I didn’t want to be working on somebody else’s timetable. I wanted to have complete control of the process and sometimes, by taking money from others, you lose control.'”

    Some businesses try to grow too quickly and grow out of what made them unique and desirable.

  2. Yes, we see that in the Romance Novel Business too.
    Many writers are outsourcing their writing and doing that before they really have a grip on what makes their stories unique.
    Their brands are becoming generic.

    James Patterson outsources his writing but he knows why folks read his core books and he ensures those characteristics remain in his outsourced products.

Comments are closed.