Hello World.

It is finally time to get this show on the road.

The testing is done: these worm bins work. The final product lineup and their construction details are determined. The WormJugs work very well.

It’s funny how strategic business decisions suddenly appear as a target date is approached.

All previous posts are obsolete of course. This time is for real.

The final hang-up has been determining exactly what I am naming the worm bin product line, an unexpected delay in nailing that down. But I am done letting things like that prevent me from getting started.

So I formed the LLC this week, on the 5th anniversary of our loss of Mary Applehof, the Worm Woman who did so much for vermiculture.

I am counting down the days until June 11, Mary Applehof’s birthday. Starting sometime next week, I will tell the internet I exist, and will be making daily announcements every day after that.

Most days will be a new product announcement. I will be making available a wide variety of minerals for Beermakers, Winemakers, Aquatic Gardeners, Organic Gardeners, and of course Vermicomposters.

As the countdown progresses, I will introduce these “minerals for microbes” until the Worm Bin product is named and stocked for shipment.

The target date for the first Worm Bin’s introduction is May 25th 2010.

But first, wormgineering.com proudly brings you the WormJug!

Plan B: Open for Business, but not as an LLC until January

It is critical that I get this business off on the right foot. I know what needs to be done, but I find that to get everything done to the standard required takes way longer than I expected.

The Southwest Workforce Development Council put on a terrific symposium last week and nearly every presentation I saw told me things that validated my concerns about how I was moving forward with plan A, but also validated the reasons I wanted to go with Plan B.

Plan B: get the brand out there and get some buzz going but don’t worry about making a fortune in the holiday market. Start the business after the first of the year because that’s what the tax and business and finance situations all call for.

Plan B lets me make absolutely sure I’ve got a product that works, no major deficiencies at least. As an LLC, I’m going to be standing behind my product absolutely and a recall situation terrifies me. So for starters, no LLC, no warranty, and no compensation for my time.

The part of Plan B that is way cool is that I’ve got an exciting new product for the Christmas market. I have access to hundreds of one gallon glass jars – free – and I’m going to help finance the start-up with that product. Worm Jugs are born!

Grand Opening is next Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009

Many distractions this week, but I have managed to lock in the designs and prices for all four models, including the table top variations.

I wanted to write some articles this week but that didn’t happen. I’m too locked in right now on my specific product to write about worm bins in general.

With a deadline looming, the final push to the tape is upon me.

But it’s just a starting line, not a finish line, so I am anxious to get to the next phase of this adventure.

OK so I had a very nice break out of town and now it’s shoulder to the grindstone (nose to the wheel?).

Mixed metaphors might be my favorite thing when writing, sorry.

The first Deluxe model has been delivered, but not set up yet. I’ll get it going asap.

This morning: run errands, then build product and take photos for the product pages this afternoon and write this evening.

Very exciting news on the promotional front. Wiggles on Stage!

Man, I have a lot to do this week! I like it.

Oh man, putting together the legal page was a task I dreaded and I was right. There are free resources out there, but you cannot just grab boilerplate text.

It really depends on what exactly you’re doing and plan to do. Thank goodness for the Free Privacy Policy site – www.freeprivacypolicy.com – because it gave me the context to figure out the rest.

I HATE the merchantability and fitness to purpose clauses but I have been assured that they are essential, and that it does not preclude me from taking care of my customers better than those words would indicate, so there it is.

Snapped about 200 photos on Sunday and yesterday was errands AND I got to (re-) meet my Sister’s new beau, no wait, make that her new fiancee! They went to junior high together and re-met up not long ago. He’s brilliant and accomplished, so you just gotta love it.

About another 200 photos to go and I’ll have what I need to do the illustrated assembly instructions. Then there will be the maintenance pix and words, and I still need to file papers to become an LLC, get other licenses and such. And more production work to build up some finished goods inventory and fill the buffers. Start-up is a bear for any business, so I’m having fun with it.

But tomorrow and Thursday are booked on non-business development stuff. Details on Friday, until then, I’ll be off-line. So it’s back to living and breathing this thing all day from Friday thru Monday and hope to launch this whole shebang sometime next week.

It feels weird to write to a future audience, cuz right now no one is watching that I know of. I’ll try to remember to go check the analytics, I’ll have to get used to doing that anyway, to see if I have visitors. But if you’re out there and you want to comment, that would be awesome. My first visitor, start the party!

It was a dark and stormy night.

Oh no, wait, never mind, I need to save that opening line for my first novel.

Actually it is a crisp sunny Autumn day in the hills west of Sherwood Oregon and I am finally (!!) close enough to releasing my new line of vermicomposting products to start blogging.

Welcome to wormgineering.com!

If you’ve ever started a business, you know it’s a lot of work. On top of that, this is also a Manufacturing business and that adds to the deal more than a little bit. This is a one-man effort so far, so I’ve spent a lot of time not just on the product but on the website and all the other “back-end” stuff.

Just days away now until I start selling product. Woo-Hoo! I had hoped to be here a month ago, but I’m a perfectionist and I needed to upgrade the drainage system on the WormMaster. Plus the web site really soaks up the hours.

I’ll be taking photos of the four worm bin models tomorrow and that will allow me to finish up the front page of the website and each of the four product pages.

The FAQ page will be skimpy to start with, as will the forums. But that’s OK because they are both meant to grow with the community of customers and other folks interested in Vermiculture in general that will be coming together here.

So an hour or so in the shop to finalize the products for photography and then I’m off for my one sports-fan indulgence. I went to Oregon State back in the day and love watching the football team. Mighty USC in LA today!! They are vulnerable, and our guys are looking to prove that last year’s glorious victory was no fluke. Like most football games, the lineman are critical.