The Lines Are Forming...At Least in our Heads

Father's Day at Nasketucket Bay Vineyard

One of the things that has made this whole adventure so much fun is that Maria and I have developed a running joke. Whenever we're planning a vendor event, family day, brewery event or community gathering, we inevitably start talking about how we're going to handle the crowds.

You know, the massive lines. The endless rental inquiries. The nonstop phone calls. The flood of bookings. The people standing shoulder to shoulder at our tent waiting for their chance to rent a Giant Kerplunk.

Naturally, we discuss who will answer all the calls and how we'll manage the overwhelming demand.

Now, for context, we've been open for about 7 weeks.

So maybe we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. But you've got to dream big, right? And honestly, if there's one thing Maria and I do well, its laugh. Because the reality is that some days our "flood of inquiries" consists of me getting incredibly excited every time the Backyard Bash Co. email notification pops up on my phone.

My heart starts racing...

"This is it!" "A booking!" "A wedding!" "A corporate event!" And then I open it...

It's either:

• Someone trying to sell us custom logo merchandise.

• A marketing company promising to grow our business by 4000%.

• Spam.

• Or somehow, despite not owning the vehicle in question, a reminder that my car's extended warranty is about expire.

But that's okay. In truth, we are actually doing pretty well for a very new business. In just 7 short weeks, we've had several bookings, lots of positive feedback, website traffic, social media growth and conversations with people who genuinely like what we're building.

And that's exciting! What's even more exciting is how much we're learning. As teachers, learning is kind of our thing.

We are constantly adjusting, editing, improving and restructuring. We don't look at something and say "Good enough." We look at it and say: "How can we make this better?" So that's exactly what we're doing with Backyard Bash Co. We're tweaking, adding, changing, learning from our customers and learning from people who know more than we do...especially if they are willing to share that knowledge for free. Because let's be honest...We currently have no monies. Very little monies. Tiny small business startup monies. But we are confident the "having monies" phase is coming eventually.

In the meantime, we will keep learning, growing and keep looking for creative new rentals, experiences and ideas that serve people of all ages. The possibilities are endless and that is one of the best parts!

And now that school is officially out for the summer, I have a little more time to focus on growing this thing. Summer vacation is here. The living is easy. Well...sort of. Because I've been "bashing."

And yes, we've officially decided that "bashing" is a verb that describes what we are doing when we are working. And boy have I been bashing hard. Posting, networking, sharing, talking to people and wearing the hoodie.

So if you are reading this, thank you.

Seriously.

I sometimes wonder if anyone actually reads these blog posts. But I sure enjoy writing them. And if you are following our story, tell your friends about us. Tell your family. Tell your coworkers. Tell that guy who's still trying to sell his cornhole boards on Facebook Marketplace.

Help us keep growing. We are just getting started!

Happy Summer!

With coffee, chaos & big dreams,

Julie & Maria