Bottoms Up! The blog that celebrates life, business & fabulous undies!

Here on the West Coast, in British Columbia in particular, there are a few brands that loom large in the psyche of entrepreneurs – Robeez, Sugoi, Lush – but, perhaps the biggest of all is Lululemon!

Not long ago the Smart Ass Gals attended a breakfast with Chip Wilson founder of Lululemon. Chip talked about growing his business, his keys to success (he’s a fan of vertical integration) and trend spotting. He mentioned something that really stayed with us. He said he takes notice when he hears about something 3 times in a short period of time – maybe within one or two weeks. If this happens his Spidey senses start to tingle because he knows something is a buzz.

After the breakfast we started to pay attention to Chip’s “3 times” rule. It keeps your mind alert to things happening around you. This is definitely a plus for spotting opportunities and we experienced a “3 times” incident recently.

1st – We met Elena Verlee. She’s a go getter of an entrepreneur with many businesses. She launched and sold a company called Monthly Socks. She talked to us about how she thought our product would be perfect for a similar concept.

2nd – My husband and I were chatting about the upcoming gift giving season and he said, “You know for guys, it needs to be simple. Why doesn’t Smart Ass do an underwear subscription?” I told him about the sock’s company. He felt ours would be even better (no offense Elena) because different that socks, if you give your wife/girl friend lingerie, it’s the gift that keeps giving back each month – always the guy angle!

3rd – Finally, we were recently on CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. The segment was called “My Idea Will Make Millions”. Donny felt Smart Ass was perfect for the gift market. We have created thongs in the past with holiday sayings and we know that given our products are all packaged that Smart Ass makes the perfect stocking stuffer BUT we knew we needed to do more.

So, we’ve created “Monthly Knickers”. A pair of sassy panties delivered to the lucky recipient’s door each month. There is a 12 month and a 6 month option. Both are discounted off the regular price and the shipping is free each month.

We hope men will be thrilled. Now we have to tell them about it. We’ve been thinking about ways to reach men online and it’s tricky. Blogs? Business sites? Sports sites? When downloading music? We need to do this cost effectively too! If you have thoughts on how to reach men online and let them know that we have the perfect Christmas gift, drop us a line at thegals@smartassgals.com or comment below.

Thanks. Remember to pay attention to the “3 times” rule. Who knows what you’ll create.

There was a fair bit of excitement around our office last week. Late last Thursday afternoon, we got a call about a press release we had just sent out. This in itself is worthy of a fair bit of excitement, however, this was one of THOSE calls … a producer from blockbuster hit CNBC show, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch! This is the sort of call entrepreneurs like us dream about. The producers had seen our press release and decided that we looked like the sort of company they wanted to interview for a segment called, “Our Idea will make Millions!” So, when they asked us if we could be in New York the following Monday to meet Donny and tape the show, we naturally said, of course. That was followed by lots of shrieking and high fives.

The next few days felt a bit like a dream. We left for New York on the Saturday prior to the taping, and got the star treatment right from the start, an upgrade to business class. We took this as a good sign of things to come. We spent Sunday in New York doing important things, like shopping at Bloomingdales for the right outfit to wear on TV, and getting our hair done at Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door on 5th Avenue.

On Monday at 8 AM CNBC sent a car to pick us up at our hotel. Upon our arrival at the CNBC studios, we were whisked to the Green Room where we chilled, until we were called in for hair and make up. In minutes (ok, it was more than a mere few), we were TV ready. Wow, a gal could get used to this sort of treatment! So now we just had to wait, and wait until the taping began. While we waited we met some great folks.

There was Chip Davis from Mannheim Steamroller, who has sold more Christmas records than Elvis. What a nice man. He also is a food aficionado and makes all sorts of things like this AMAZING hot chocolate (which he kindly shared with us and that my kids are now crazy for). We also met Susanne Cohen from Smart Mouth, a long-lasting mouthwash. We thought this was a funny coincidence, and that Donny might need to wash his mouth out with Smart Mouth after speaking with the Smart Ass Gals …! We also met Blake Kirkorian founder of the Sling Box. Now here’s a guy who realized his dreams when he figured out a way to watch his favorite sports teams on his own TV from anywhere in the world. Now, he’s enjoying the fruits of his labors too. A super nice guy who deserves his success.

So back to the taping … finally around 1:30 they started calling the interviewees in to the studio. Those of us still waiting our turn watched on the monitor from the Green Room. It was a bit like waiting in the dentist’s office to have a tooth extracted and having the pleasure of watching those who have gone before you. I think it’s safe to say we all had butterflies in our tummies. And then finally it was our turn.

We were taken into the studio and introduced to Donny and then hair and make up appeared to give us a touch up. Hey, we’d been made up HOURS ago. And then the interview began. True to the spirit of the show it was high energy and fun. Donny wanted to know how we began our business, what our Big Idea is and how it will make millions. We told him the story of the “thong flash” that started it all, how we conceived the “world’s first inspirational gusset”, and how we believe women should have underwear that’s comfortable, sassy and sexy and that most of all that underwear should be fun. After all it’s the first thing you put on in the morning. Why not start your day with a smile? To see the interview visit the Donny Deutsch Show or check out Smart Ass Gals.