What HAPPENED?! My Kickstarter Campaign FAIL!!

Remember that post I wrote about crying but not quitting?

Remember when I reflected on if things just don’t work out?

And remember how I talked about why I keep doing things I’m afraid of?

You may or may not have heard about my latest deep dive into things that scare me…but I decided to launch a Kickstarter Campaign on May 17 !!

Actually….I decided to launch a Kickstarter Campaign on April 12, but then some things happened. 😬

I was all set to go. Except for one tiny detail.

My campaign had not technically been approved by Kickstarter.

But, I was doing all the things: the increased social media presence, the warm up emails, the countdown posts.

Until about 4 days out, when I started to get worried that Kickstarter hadn’t given me the Go-Ahead yet.

Sure everyone told me that I should absolutely get my campaign approved before I announced any official date.

And I actually thought I was being relatively safe by submitting it more than the 2-3 days they recommended for approval.

However, after the date they said they would respond to me came… and went… I started to feel a little funny.

I tried to just press on, sure that it would all work out. I mean, I’d worked so hard. And I’d even had 3 professionals review it before I submitted.

But when it hit 3 days till the launch date, with no word, I knew what I was dreading would have to happen.

I’d have to tell EVERYONE that I had to postpone my Kickstarter! After years of talking about making my product, and people asking me ‘when are they coming Natalie?’ I had to face everyone and tell them, I messed up.

Omg how embarrassing!

‘See, I just can’t do it. I’m letting everyone down. The momentum is blown and I’ve ruined my one chance! Now everyone knows I’m a loser!’

Yes. All of those thoughts flooded over me, and I felt deeply depressed. For about 2 days.

Then, some new thoughts started entering my brain.

‘Well…this is kind of a dramatic plot-twist… People LOVE plot twists…

I guess this does makes me sort of relatable, and human. Things go wrong, people make mistakes. And honestly I find the whole perfection culture absolutely BORING.

Technically, I’m fully ready to go. So, yeah…its gonna take a little longer (what’s new), but I’ll just postpone for a week, and things will be back on! No sweat!’

And then the other shoe dropped.

What?!! How could this be? Kickstarter was saying NO?!! And just to add some ice cream to my disaster pie, they were offering me ONE CHANCE to fix it before they would close my campaign for good.

Cue all the negative thoughts about my self worth again. But bigger.

But what was I going to do…Quit?

So I got to work on addressing their issues.

I consulted professionals, asked for colleagues to weigh in, adjusted graphics, changed wording, omitted elements, added elements.

Then came the moment to resubmit. TERROR!

Long story short…I DID finally get that approval email! But DANG it was hard won!

Now I’m back to the build up again, and I’m still not sure if I’ve messed up the momentum and screwed myself, but I also believe that things happen in the time they are supposed to.

And I can’t go back in time, so…here we go…again!

It’s kind of the culmination of all of the things I preach. Because I’m not just preaching them, I truly believe everything I say.

I DO think you should do things that scare you.

I DO think you should start before you are ready.

I DO think that you should follow your passions.

I DO think that failure is the best teacher.

And I DO think that if something doesn’t go to plan, you don’t give up. You regroup, reassess, and try again.

Because failing IS a part of winning.

We just need to normalize the idea that success isn’t a straight path, but one filled with twists and turns, stumbles and triumphs, rainbows and clouds.

So whether or not you actually care about reusable grocery bags and sustainable living (I hope you do, or are at least willing to learn more), come check out my project and get inspired by watching someone else face their fears.

Sign up to my email list at mslbags.com and then head over to my KS launch page to get on the list over there so you can watch it all go down.

Or up! Lets hope it goes UP!

(p.s- its pretty fun over on my Instagram page too, so if you are into laughs, come visit me there too 😜)