What a Difference a Year Makes

00:00:00):Welcome to Monday Musings with Kissa,(00:00:03):where I share what the heck happened last week,(00:00:05):what I have planned for this week,(00:00:07):and a story time,(00:00:08):not in that particular order.(00:00:10):This is the audio companion to my Substack newsletter that I send out every Thursday.(00:00:15):So if you’re not already subscribed, there’s a button somewhere here where you can do so.(00:00:19):And content as of this recording is currently free.(00:00:23):All right, y’all.(00:00:24):Let’s dive in and talk about last week.(00:00:27):It was another loaded week, but, you know, I’ve said this a million times.(00:00:32):When is...(00:00:34):That week never loaded.(00:00:35):I feel like even on a break, even on vacation, it’s a loaded week.(00:00:39):Lots of volunteering happened at Micah’s school and I had tons of meetings and(00:00:44):production in between.(00:00:46):We also started a big project here at our house.(00:00:50):We are doing our backyard renovation project and we broke ground last week.(00:00:56):I am so freaking excited for this.(00:00:59):It’s a project that has been a long time coming.(00:01:03):And we finally decided to pull the trigger and start on this project.(00:01:08):So last week, the space was prepped.(00:01:11):We rented a skid steer to level out the dirt and the land(00:01:15):and man, what a difference.(00:01:17):I mean, we are by far not finished yet.(00:01:20):It’s like a long,(00:01:22):long,(00:01:24):grueling process to do a renovation project,(00:01:26):but I can’t tell you how much better it already feels and looks back there.(00:01:33):The kids were playing, and it was just so nice to see.(00:01:36):Even(00:01:37):if it’s just leveled out dirt.(00:01:39):We don’t have any concrete.(00:01:40):We have nothing out there yet, but we’re already all so excited for this project.(00:01:47):Last week’s big focus on the business side was Thursday’s investor holiday party(00:01:54):event,(00:01:54):and I have a story time for you for that later,(00:01:57):so stay tuned.(00:01:58):And then over the weekend, we just had some family time.(00:02:02):We had a birthday party on Saturday morning that we all went to,(00:02:05):We went to what we like to call the candy bag store and let the kids just pick and(00:02:10):choose what candy they wanted to have for the weekend.(00:02:14):And then we had sushi after, which was a nice treat for me.(00:02:18):Then on Sunday was church day as usual.(00:02:22):And then we went to the YMCA to have a family swim.(00:02:25):And that was really fun too.(00:02:28):We played outside all weekend,(00:02:30):like I said,(00:02:31):and it was just such a great way to close out the week.(00:02:34):It definitely healed my heart to be able to spend time with my little family.(00:02:39):This week on the work front,(00:02:43):we have Unique Markets this weekend,(00:02:45):which is one of our favorite events to pop up at.(00:02:49):And then we have another pop-up next week.(00:02:52):at the Parole Lantern Festival in Long Beach.(00:02:55):So we have to do all the prep for those two last pop-ups,(00:02:59):make sure we’re fully stocked,(00:03:01):get our gift sets ready,(00:03:02):create our packing list,(00:03:04):And then finally,(00:03:06):one more goal I have is to follow up on the connections that I made at the investor(00:03:11):party last Thursday.(00:03:13):On the personal life side, we’re going to just do more work on our backyard this week.(00:03:18):The focus is going to be the drainage to make sure that(00:03:23):All of the rainwater and everything flows and doesn’t collect.(00:03:29):And that was a problem that we had in the past.(00:03:31):So we want to make sure that’s taken care of.(00:03:34):And then also decide on what we’re going to do as far as pavers or concrete for the(00:03:40):patio extension portion of the renovation project.(00:03:44):On top of that, I have gifts that I need to wrap and I need to finish purchasing some gifts.(00:03:50):So that’s going to be part of this week’s goals as well because I want to be done(00:03:54):with that and have those gifts under our Christmas tree.(00:03:59):Now for our story time.(00:04:01):Let’s get back into the investor’s holiday party.(00:04:06):I can’t tell you what a full circle moment is.(00:04:10):that holiday party was.(00:04:14):So last year,(00:04:15):I got an invitation on LinkedIn,(00:04:18):despite being inactive on that platform,(00:04:21):pretty much ever since I created my account.(00:04:25):And I got an invitation from a guy named Adam who(00:04:31):to attend this holiday party for his company.(00:04:36):And I said, you know what?(00:04:37):Why not?(00:04:39):So I decided to give it a shot and I attended as a guest with Charlie.(00:04:44):We didn’t know anyone.(00:04:45):We had no idea what to expect.(00:04:47):We had never pitched our product to investors before.(00:04:51):And we just went in because we wanted to just kind of dip our toe in and like(00:04:59):get our feet wet into this side of business.(00:05:03):Well, last year’s party, we had an amazing time.(00:05:07):We made a lot of great connections that we definitely would not have made if we didn’t go.(00:05:13):And we decided to submit an application to be part of their portfolio.(00:05:17):I mean, it costs nothing to apply.(00:05:20):Worst case scenario, we wouldn’t get a call back.(00:05:22):So we did that.(00:05:25):This year, after we submitted our application,(00:05:29):We got accepted.(00:05:31):We received our first investment and have grown so much with their support and(00:05:37):weekly check-in meetings.(00:05:39):We got asked to table at this year’s.(00:05:43):holiday party so that we could sample our products and get directly in front of investors.(00:05:49):And oh my God, we had such an amazing response.(00:05:54):It felt so good and so validating for this little Filipina to just get so much(00:06:02):praise for the food that she is serving these non-Filipino people.(00:06:08):It was just the best feeling ever.(00:06:11):People loved our products and our story,(00:06:14):and it just reinforces what we’ve already known this past year.(00:06:19):We’re freaking ready.(00:06:21):We’re ready to take it to the next level in scale.(00:06:24):We still have a lot of background work to do, and I know that, but we’re on the right track.(00:06:29):So get ready, y’all.(00:06:31):2026,(00:06:31):I just can feel it in my soul that it’s gonna be a big year,(00:06:36):not just for me,(00:06:37):but for you too.(00:06:39):Thank you so much for your time today.(00:06:42):If you enjoyed this audio edition, please share it with a friend.(00:06:46):And for the full Monday Musics experience,(00:06:49):subscribe to my Substack at justkissa.substack.com.(00:06:53):Until next time, remember you are a blessing and I’m so grateful you’re here.(00:06:58):Bye friends Get full access to Kissa - the Notion Mama at justkissa.substack.com/subscribe