The count down it on.
School starts in a couple of weeks.
I always feel a little bit conflicted this time of year. Part of me feels super sad that the summer days are coming to an end and that Ally and Ryan are another year older.
However, the other part of me feels like the man in the commercial below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPIIMbG9R4w
Enjoy the last few weeks of summer!!!
~Megan
Okay, I can share my BIG news with you now since it’s official….
We are moving our Edina store to a bigger and better location!!!!
We’re staying at 50th and France shopping district, but moving a few stores east to the old Acorn space which is much bigger.
This was a tough decision to make because the Edina store is like a third child to me…It has a VERY special place in my heart and soul. Mike and I have put a lot of sweat into that store and it is filled with so many wonderful memories (and scary ones too). I’m not going to lie, this move will be a little bittersweet for me.
Our “third child” has grown up and we are confident that we made the right decision to move to a bigger and more updated space! We’ve been working with our architect to bring our store design to the next level. It will be fun to roll out our new ideas to you!
We plan to open in our new space in October. I’ll keep you posted!!!
~Megan
So I recently assigned myself to a new project that I am super excited about!
As you can imagine, one of the biggest challenges for us, as a company, is to find future leaders for our new stores.
We will be adding MANY new stores within the next year. We are extremely excited about all of the great new locations we are looking at….the only problem???? WHO is going to run these stores???? Yikes!
This is where my “summer project” comes in….
With 11 stores, over 150 employees, and over 75,000 customers I KNOW there are many “future Hot Mama leaders” out there. They just don know it…….yet 🙂
So over the coarse of the next month, I will be meeting with all of our store managers to discuss WHO on their store team would want to grow with us and HOW we can develop them into being the leader that we need them to be….To all the Hot Mama employees out there…if you are reading this and think that you might want to explore growth opportunities with us, let’s set up a time to talk. I would LOVE it! Email me at megan@hotmamaonline.com so we can set up a time to meet.
To all the AWESOME Hot Mama customers out there who might want to explore a leadership position in one of our new stores, I challenge you to read up on our company and find out if your values are aligned with our values. If you think you might be a good fit, EMAIL me and we can set up a time to talk.
To all the future Hot Mama leaders out there…I can’t wait to meet with you!!!!
~M
I just found out today that we got a credit for this beautiful Charalotte Tarantola embellished tank in August’s In Style Magazine ….Pick up a copy of In Style Magazine and check us out on page 87!!
Embellished tanks and tees are HOT right now and we have an incredible selection at all of our stores. Here are a few of my personal faves….
Cheers!
~M
Okay, I thought you might get a laugh out of the email I send my two business partners yesterday! I think it paints a very clear picture of what my summer is like ….a constant juggling act as I TRY to balance work and kids at home who need to be driven EVERYWHERE!!!! Yikes!
Subject: You Must Think I’m going NUTS!!!!
Hey Guys,
Okay, I am really embarrassed…I think I’m going CRAZY.
I just realized that today was TUESDAY and not WEDNESDAY! I had appointments scheduled with both of you on Wednesday, not today. You must think I’m nuts! (This email was sent AFTER I called them on Tuesday to tell them I was running late for our meetings)
I ran around like a crazy woman today wondering why the heck I planned so many appointments on my home office day. I was relieved AND embarrassed when I realized that I was seriously confused…my meetings were supposed to be on Wednesday…
Please forgive me…I admit, juggling the kids and work in the summer is stressful for me and make s me a bit CRAZY…
I hope you understand.
~M
Two months ago, my technologically savvy 12- year old daughter bought herself an iPod touch (I don’t even have an iPod touch). She worked hard to save her money and was absolutely elated when she finally had enough money to buy it!
Since the “big purchase”, she’s been proudly carrying it around with her everywhere…..We’ve had lots of conversations with her about how to take care of it and when and where to bring it and not bring it, but I’ve been waiting for the dreaded day when something happened to it…Well, that day was YESTERDAY!!!!
Last night, she noticed that it wasn’t turning on…it was completely dead. Since I was on my way to Target, I agreed to drop her off at the Apple store so someone there could take a look at it. Minutes after dropping her off, she walked out of the Apple store in tears…Her iPod touch had been damaged by water and could not be fixed. She was DEVASTATED.
I resisted the urge to go right into her with “You shouldn’t have put it in a bag with bottled water”……but I held my tongue and just hugged her.
In the car, I could have SO easily gone into the “I told you so” mode. Again, I resisted the STRONG urge. I took a deep breath, put my hand on her back, and let her cry.
When we got home she was still upset, so I told her that if she got into bed I would sit on her bed and scratch her back.
As I was scratching her back, I could hardly stand to watch her sadness. …It broke my heart to know that she had worked so hard to buy it only to end up breaking it two months later. I so badly wanted to fix her problem. I thought about offering to buy her a new one..but I knew that wouldn’t be right. If I rescued her, I would be cheating her out of the valuable life lessons that come out of an experience like this.
After she calmed herself down, we got a chance to talk and I got a chance to gently sneak in a few valuable life lessons…
1. “Things” break. Even though it’s hard…try not to put too much value into “things”.
2. When you feel sad about a loss choose to be grateful. Think about all the things that you have, not what you don’t have.
3. Take care of things that are important to you.
She actually listened to what I had to say. Through breaking her iPod touch, she learned some valuable life lessons.
Oh, if you see her in our stores this summer, you’ll know why….she’ll be working to save up money for her next iPod touch!!!
~M
My step mom emailed me this link tonight and it made me laugh!
You can “pay it forward ” to your friends too!
Have Fun,
~Megan
My in -laws gave me a beautiful, gold charm bracelet when Allison was born (thank you Roger & Gloria:)
The bracelet came with a charm that has Allison’s name and birthdate on it. When Ryan was born they added a charm for him too. I LOVE the bracelet..it’s beautiful….. it’s personal…. but I haven’t added anymore charms to it since Ryan was born.
Since I probably won’t be adding anymore “kid charms” to it (if I do, it will be a HUGE surprise) I’ve been wanting to add more meaningful charms to my collection (Mike are you reading this??? Our anniversary IS coming up). I love the idea of wearing a charm bracelet because it is unique, creative, and it tells a story.
I found this really cool website the other day and I have my eye on a few of the charms. Check it out!
~Megan
I can’t wait to see the Disney movie, Earth (it opens on Wednesday) with my kids to honor and celebrate Earth Day. Watching the the trailer gave me some serious chills…… I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait….
It’s never too early to teach our kids to love and respect our planet. I saw this book and Barnes and Noble last week and thought it would help. It is FULL of great ideas on how to get kids excited about saving the earth!
l
Happy Earth Day
~Megan
A customer came into Hot Mama today and told me she was out to buy a few spring tops because she was feeling down about not going anywhere for spring break 😦
Hmmmm……… her story gave me an idea!
Since I’ve noticed that many of our customers have opted out of going on a spring trip this year, I want to extend a 10% discount to all of you who need a little spring pick -me -up during the week of spring break!
All you need to do is print out this blog and bring it in anytime between March 27th -April 3th.
Here are some favorite spring pieces so far…
Goddis Open Striped Cardy~ $198.00M Rena Floral Banded Tank $38.00
Twill 22 Pookie Pant ~ $162.00
Olian Maxi Dress~ $158.00
Happy Spring Break!!!!
~Megan
Disclaimer: One coupon per customer. Cannot be combined with another promotion or sale. Can’t be used on previous purchases. Offer valid on in-store only purchases.
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