My First Pitch, Big Dreams, and the Future of Moon & Milk

On September 19th, I was notified that out of 270 small business owners, I had been selected to participate in a pitch competition to win a $20k grant for Moon & Milk. I, along with 9 other contestants, was chosen to create a 3-minute pitch and had to convince the judges why my business idea deserved to win the grant. To be completely honest, I had a very good feeling about this pitch competition, and even before I was notified about my selection, I had a vivid vision of myself on stage that I couldn’t get off my head. On September 26th, I went on stage and pitched my little business, Moon & Milk for the very first time and…

Before I tell you if I won, one important thing you need to know is that  I’ve been a one-woman show for about 6 years now. As a designer and entrepreneur, I wear many hats and I’ve been wearing too many for too long and I’m exhausted. I’ve been trying to figure out how to scale Moon & Milk and still keep its indisputable quality. I take a lot of pride in what I do and the thought of losing my reputation had me tossing and turning in my sleep because I also don’t want to spend my entire life sitting on a desk making earrings. So, the obvious next step is to outsource production. 

Now, you might be asking why am I outsourcing now? And believe me, I struggled with this question for the past two years but the truth is that I just didn’t feel ready. I didn’t think it was the right timing. It was also fear. The fear of outsourcing production and completely failing. The fear of making hundreds of pairs and getting stuck with the inventory and possibly realizing that Moon & Milk sucks. So many things can go wrong and losing Moon & Milk after pouring so much time, sweat, and tears was unthinkable.  All these bad scenarios played in my head but those doubts came due to a lack of preparation and I knew I had to finally put on the hat that I had not worn: the business person hat. 

Applying for grants has been such an eye-opening experience and made me look into what I’ve built in the last 6 years. I realized that I’ve created a lot of value with very few resources and it gave me hope. I recently read Mastery, by Robert Greene and he says that it takes about 10,000 hours to reach mastery. I have reached mastery as a beading artist, I can do it with my eyes closed, and I can do it in my sleep, it is second nature to me. But now it’s time to master the art of business. 

I am a strong believer that you can achieve all your wildest dreams if you work hard. There are no shortcuts to the road to success, and it’s a long road so you better make it fun! On September 26th, I pitched for the first time Moon & Milk and although I didn’t win, I took with me an unforgettable learning experience. An experience of being surrounded by other dreamers and realizing that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t sleep the night before! To see other people as brave as you is exhilarating and rejuvenating. This experience woke the competitive business person in me which was exactly what I needed because staying motivated is one of the challenges of any journey. 

To all my dreamers out there, keep going, take breaks but don’t give up. And don’t forget to have fun in this wild rollercoaster we call life.

Love Always,

Alejandra G.