Sometimes it’s hard to turn off my ideas. Ok, most of the time I can’t control them and have to take a long walk to purge them out of my system and vet them against reality. But this one idea was too good to let drift out of mind.
I was cleaning out the basement looking for garage sale “candidates” and stumbled across the pink box (above). It was lovingly sent to me by my high school friend Michele after she found out I had just undergone another reconstruction surgery. The box, and note, were too nice to just throw away, even though the assorted toffee flavors had long since been enjoyed. As my fingers slipped through the silky ribbon, an idea bubbled up. These pink boxes ship all over the country and might be a great opportunity to promote the new website. With October rapidly approaching, I emailed my long-time friend Lisa Schalk and pitched a vague concept of the idea and she replied back she was happy to talk to me about it. A flurry of phone calls and emails later, the first promotion of Breast Cancer MyStory in the pink boxes at Toffee to Go for the month of October was born. A card with my websites and mission are inserted into each pink box; it is my hope is that the cards sent out find their way to people who need them. Even sweeter is that Lisa is donating 10% of sales of toffee in the pink boxes to Breast Cancer MyStory to help get me off and running.
A couple days ago I appeared at Toffee to Go and greeted customers to share my story and listen to theirs. Many breast cancer survivors stopped in to see me, some of whom I knew or knew of me and others who heard about the promotion. Regardless, there was a seamless bond. Dozens of conversations later, it was time to go (and stop sampling the toffee flavors much to my regret). What I was reminded of is that acting on an idea is key. Many times we think of good ideas and let them slip through our fingers instead of figuring out how to make them work. Whatever your idea may be, think about how to move it forward today. You never know when something very sweet may come of it!
Britta
P.S. The link to the story about the Toffee to Go promotion that ran on ABC Action News in Tampa is HERE. Thank you to the wonderful reporter, Carson Chambers and to ABC for helping to get the word out. Also, the Toffee to Go promotion is through the month of October, so stop in the store at 3251 W. Bay to Bay in Tampa or click on their logo under our partners to get to their website. Call them at 866.863.3332 to place your order; specify the pink box if you want to be part of the promotion. The hardest part will be deciding which flavor to select: white chocolate with macadamia nut, milk chocolate with almonds or dark chocolate with walnuts. I cannot decide which I like best so say that my favorite flavor is the one that is currently in my mouth.
