Kick Start Diary: We are now "Mums on the Go"!
18 May 2010
We made it!
www.mumsonthego.com.au
is there, in cyber space. I am still coming to
terms with all that has happened since Linda spoke to you all last month.
For example, six weeks out from launch date, we were designing a website called "Yummy Mummy Guide". Then Trade Mark Australia rejected our application to trade mark the name Yummy Mummy Guide (you can read more about this experience here). So we took the decision to rename the site... without pushing back our launch date. Logistically very tight, but it all happened relatively smoothly; thanks to lots of team work from all involved!
John F Kennedy made famous the saying "The Chinese have the same symbol for crisis as they do for opportunity". It's a pretty amazing thought, isn't it? I always take solace from it during times of hardship. I wanted to use it in a blog so I researched its etymology. It turns out that JFK misled us. The saying is actually incorrect. Crisis and opportunity have their own unique symbols (in all chinese languages!). But hey, why let the truth get in the way of a good story?
But the message still rings true for me. So we chose to look upon this situation not as a last minute crisis, but as an opportunity. An opportunity to choose a name that more accurately captured the aims of the site, an opportunity to back our dreams and ambitions for future business growth (by choosing something that was trade-markable) and an opportunity to engage with our community.
On a whim, we shared our news on our facebook page (www.facebook.com.au/mumsonthego) and asked our members for their name suggestions. We were completely overwhelmed and excited by the barrage of ideas and suggestions. It broke down the distance between us all. It was quite extraordinary - to read the
community's views on all the suggested names and the support and encouragement given to each other. It was a truly joyful experience as this was precisely the type of conversing we dreamed of creating on the actual website.
Although we didn't end up choosing one of the suggestions (although we loved a couple, our advice was that they weren't very trade-markable) I honestly don't think we would have reached our final decision - Mums on the Go - if it wasn't for the creative input of our community. They helped us understand their individual connection to the site, and gave us some direction in choosing something that would resonate.
We are so elated that the site is now live. The feeling of having something real to direct people to is very exciting (www.mumsonthego.com.au if you didn't see it first time!).
But I wasn't expecting to feel the weight of "now the hard work begins". It feels very similar to bringing your baby home from hospital. You are full of excitement, adoration, nurturing love, and a sense of "oh my goodness what do i do now??? Does this come with a fool-proof instruction manual?"
But, like parenting, we will only get there by having a go, learning from our mistakes, supporting each other, and drawing upon the resources available to us.
And what did I learn from the process of changing identities? That if something isn't working, it is never too late to make changes to correct your direction.
Check out the site - we'd love to hear your
feedback (and make changes if we aren't getting something right!)
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