AS WE ENTER ANOTHER YEAR

Phew - the Lucas loves cars third birthday has just been and gone.  Now that the party is over I am metaphorically sitting on the couch among the streamers and wrapping paper and looking back.

Our third birthday - Lucas loves cars has been online for three years!  Before that, there was 6 months of dreaming about Lucas loves cars followed by 6 months of sourcing the right products and growing the business even before the site was born.  I have been living, breathing, working and playing with cars for four years.  (Lucas has been playing with cars for 6 years. I'm never going to catch up to him.)

When I look back there was always a clear idea of what we wanted Lucas loves cars to be.  Around the time the little red car was 'born' we listed the qualities we wanted this brand to stand for.

We are QUALITY, FUN, HONEST, LEARNING and NEW CLASSIC.

That is on my wall and is my constant reference.  From the products we buy, to the blogs I write.  The business is built on those beliefs in every step of the process. We are as committed to them today as we were when we started.

Some people say their business is their baby. I don't; although I do understand the idea. It's time consuming and you are completely responsible for it. And just as it is with kids, sometimes you can't believe how quickly they grow.  Where does the time go?  

Sometimes it feels like I have been doing this for a long time. All those things I didn't know when we started that I have now mastered and built on.

At other times I still feel like the business is like a 3 yr old, learning to walk and talk, and getting our balance to navigate this big wide world.  Sometimes we make mistakes, sometimes we have huge periods of growth and understanding.  Sometimes we just need a nap after a big day.

Back on the metaphorical couch; in the calm after the crazy, with the party food sitting heavy in my stomach I have been wondering why I do what I do?  I could be working a 'regular job' and not work weekends.  I could be a SAHM with no job, and sew or bake or spend my time on PINTEREST just pinning ideas about all the things that I could do. (that is so what I would do if I was a SAHM!)

Then I remember that I started this business because I'm part of a club.  My son is mad about cars and I LOVE to meet other mums who live with a little one (boy or girl) who is mad about cars too.  Or crazy about trains, or construction trucks or rubbish trucks.  I know what it's like to step over cars on the floor every day, to find cars in the pantry, the bathroom and in the bed.

I want to find the most gorgeous toys and products and make them available to you, because I know that feeling of frustration because the stores just don't stock this stuff. They might have one or two, but they just never seemed to have the thing I was looking for. 

I have watched the heartbreak on Lucas' face when a cheap toy stops working or breaks into pieces just minutes after it has come out of the packaging. I want to provide you a quality alternative, to save you from those moments.

Then I send the things to you with the same love and care that I would send a present to my own family.  We don't just throw all the products in a box and hope for the best. We don't just head to the post office whenever we feel like it. We receive your order and from start to finish it is treated with respect.  That's because this business is me - ok, this business IS my baby - and I want you to love Lucas loves cars as much as I do.  

So, my little three year old business is a baby no longer.  There will be more growing, more learning and probably a few more mistakes. (learning experiences!)  Who knows what else might be in store for us as we all grow up.

Thanks you for being part of the journey. for helping us as we learn and grow.  

Please feel free to leave a comment below: We would love to hear your experiences of being in this club of car lovers.  Or even tell us what you would do if you were a SAHM!

- Helle.