A story of creation

Introduction

Well first off, I have never written a book, I have no idea what will be written in these pages, all I know is that a seed has been planted within me and this is what I feel called to do. Nervous , yes, excited – hell yes (it’s going to be a heck of a ride!) and do you know what, I am very nervous about putting this out to the world, it’s a very bold move and there is no going back once I have started….. Anyway…….

You’re probably wondering what this book is all about, yes?

Conception

Let me take you back to about 5 years ago, I was a mother, feeling the pinch of how to make learning fun for her son, a son who loved video games and had no interest in sit down academic learning! 10 minute increments is fantastic if I could get this! I was feeling the outer pressures as to what a child must be learning and how they should be learning. It didn’t feel right, so one day I prayed. I prayed for guidance, ‘God, how can I make learning fun for my son, so he is engaged and enjoys what he is learning?’

This felt better, all was quiet in my meditation for a while and then ideas started to come through…..fast! They just kept flowing and I loved these ideas, so I grabbed a book and started to write them all down. Throughout the day, more ideas came through, this was amazing, I felt so alive and excited at the thought of bringing these ideas into my reality and out to the world.

I couldn’t wait to share with my husband Joel and the kids. What are you going to call it?, they asked……hmmm, good question. Back to the drawing board for that one.

I went to my head for this and didn’t think to meditate on it. I got several ideas down for the brand name and settled on one. 

‘Ok, I got the name! Fundupulous!’  I hear a laugh, ‘you can’t call it that, that’s crap. What’s that got to do with double sided jigsaws?’ Said my eldest son.

Hmmm, yeah that’s true. ‘Alright, what would you call it then?’ I asked. To be honest, I felt a bit defensive because I really liked the name Fundipulous……until….

‘What about Flipuzzlez?’ 

Deep intake of breath, yes!! Omg, I love it!! Brilliant, that’s it! Flipuzzlez!! That is what I am going to call it! Thanks Kenz, that’s awesome!….. Now what?

Well, I need a logo and a manufacturer to make the puzzles. I have a guy who has made logo’s for Joel and I before, I knew exactly how I wanted the logo and the rough colours, so I explained what I wanted to Steven and waited in excited anticipation to see what he would create. It was perfect!

Ok, fantastic, so I got the logo sorted, now what? How can I get these made? I searched the internet for jigsaw puzzle manufacturers, there were several listings that came up, Alibaba was one. This had thousands of suppliers on the platform, with some beautiful puzzles available.

I reached out to several suppliers, asking for cost and minimum order quantity, as I currently had zero budget for the puzzle, I was just looking at what it would cost me to get a prototype made. I had already drawn a design and got Steven to digitalise it for me. So I had a puzzle design to give the manufacturers to produce. The costs that were coming in were several hundred for the minimum. I felt quite deflated and something in the background just didn’t seem right to me anyway. 

Wooden jigsaw puzzles were the way I wanted to go, these had to be eco-friendly puzzles made from sustainably produced wood and packaging. However, buying them and shipping them from China also didn’t align with the ethics for the business I was creating. So I had to find a supplier from the UK that produced Jigsaw puzzles. Whimsical designs were also something I wanted to incorporate into the design for future plans for the puzzles. I searched the internet for British manufacturers and came up empty. Those who I did find, either didn’t produce wooden puzzles, let alone double sided or didn’t produce whimsical pieces. I decided to hold off getting any produced because I wasn’t willing to have my puzzles produced anywhere other than the UK. 

On and off, I dipped in and out of creating Flipuzzlez, it didn’t seem to go away and the vision for it kept growing and growing. Ideas still kept coming in, and I would write them down. I created the website, the business plan, and socials. I used AI to create the first designs for Flipuzzlez, to my son’s disapproval, however, I feel they are beautiful designs and the very first of the styles of puzzles that will become available as Flipuzzlez grows. 

Insights

One other thing I realised is that holding stock was something that I didn’t want to do either, so I set about searching for a UK jigsaw manufacturer, that aligns with my business values. They must be sustainably made and also available print on demand and drop shipped. 

It had been around 3 years since I had first looked at British manufacturers for my puzzles, but this time, I found one easy! I am pretty sure, I had looked at the company previously but either I didn’t see it or they didn’t provide the wooden sizes I was looking for, so I discounted it.

This one ticked most of the boxes. They don’t provide the wooden sized puzzles I originally wanted, so I decided to start with a traditional recycled board and go from there. 

I also reached out to an artist on Facebook, who creates beautiful paintings, that she channels from spirit, Iva Sampaio is her name. Her creations are absolutely beautiful and I am proud to have a few of her paintings available as one of our jigsaw collections. 

So this is the background of the making of Flipuzzlez. It is live, they are available, but this is not what this book is about. 

What’s all this about?

As Joel and I were driving down the country road, I had another download come through.

To write a book and document building Flipuzzlez into a Billion Dollar brand.

Woah! That is a huge and bold move, hence the name of the book. It is exactly the words I said to Joel once I told him about it. I feel I need to explain the whole dollar thing, as I live in the UK. The dollar just feels right, so I am going with it. 

How am I going to build a Billion dollar brand you may ask?……That’s exactly it, I have absolutely no idea, I am no marketing genius, I have no background in marketing, branding etc. I am going to continue to grow Flipuzzlez exactly how it was conceived.

I will meditate and journal for direction from spirit, I will give Flipuzzlez over to spirit and I will also document my thoughts/feelings I will no doubt go through, in becoming the person I need to be, to create such a business. 

This will be… interesting, to say the least. I feel the resistance coming up as I write these words. This book is not just about the building of a Billion dollar brand, it is also about personal development, the development of spiritual expansion and opening myself for trust and faith in a power greater than myself. 

If this is a journey you would like to join me in, I am grateful to have you with me.

With Gratitude

Hayley