As planned, we were able to start the test phase yesterday. To actually hold our GeMa stick in our hands is: "great"
The first poles have been distributed and sent out. Today, 14 participants in their training to become mental trainers got to know "pole walking" for the first time and tested the GeMa poles and the shop with great interest. Thank you for that!
To all the brave souls who, like us, are starting a "heart project" or are thinking about starting one...
What we would like to say to you and ourselves for further motivation, in the form of a quote from Mark Viktor Hansen:
"Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than optimal conditions. So what? Start now. With every step you take, you will become stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more confident and more and more successful."
Where are we TODAY: Logo, shop, poles, stock shop phone - pure joy.
AND... YES there are challenges! Sticks and bags are handmade. Some snap fasteners don't hold up, some sticks would have to fast. ;-) The Shiatsu stick still needs a little time. Good things take time, but it should be ready next week to go into the test phase.
Marion's motto "Everything has to look beautiful and be packaged with love" is not so easy to implement. We decided - or was it Marion ;-)!? - to use writing on the back of the product cards that is BEAUTIFUL!!! but hard to read. 500 pieces. So what - new order. At this point I would like to thank my dear colleague Petra Bleiweis for the information when she received the new card with the stick: "Thank you, how lovely, you are right: "You can never have enough friends - they are just as important as joy!" So just in case YOU are one of the first 1000 people: With barely legible writing and "Friends instead of joy" on the back, be happy. ;-) Smile and even better laugh, because this will reduce your stress hormones and release happiness hormones. Be happy! We ask for your understanding! We will definitely learn from this mistake. You may also find (many) other spelling mistakes, they are a gift, so you can see: We are not robots. The "wrapping up love" thing is also one of those things and will not always work. The packaging box for the 8 sticks, to be honest, no more love fits in there. But the GeMa sticks are an expression of our love and a symbol of what was created out of love for what we DO. We didn't expect the high shipping costs for the Shiatsu stick, so this will be a cheaper solution than sending it by post - there are alternatives. ;-) On the subject of video and YouTube: We made a spontaneous video, a placeholder for the professional video, and were blocked. Note: only for over-18s. What can I say, even if my feet (Marion) are no longer the youngest and are a bit weathered, it's really not so bad that they could endanger young people's development. Gerald immediately defended my legs - now "walking with a stick" is permitted again for all age groups.
The first and "random" test purchase also worked smoothly - the payment options do what they promise. :-) A big thank you to Harald, our Premium Shop Tester! Also for the great feedback, the suggestions, change notes and for the idea of connecting the shop with Spotify . Take a look and listen to the "Stockgehen" playlist. Another suggestion was to keep the texts short and sweet, because many people might give up after a third of the information anyway - far too loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong! ;-)
This is especially difficult for Marion to implement! ;-) When she gets started, "the extensive knowledge, the valuable experiences and thoughts" have to come out. It's not about wanting to please you or to lecture you, that would be presumptuous. Marion, or rather WE, want to move you and perhaps our perspective will make something resonate in you. We want to meet you here in an unvarnished and honest way. We may not (yet) know you personally and yet we risk addressing YOU here using the informal "DU" and foregoing the "gender". The informal "DU" corresponds to the soul level and on the mountain the informal "Du" is also quite natural and!?- doesn't each of us have a mountain to climb? You may like some things here in the blog & shop, others not, that's perfectly fine. If you like, don't stop at either agreement or rejection, but go beyond it. Just take everything with you that feels right for you and that feels good.
The adventure continues...
The plan is NOW to test the sticks with "Yoga -Tanja" and "Igoku -Stefan". Then we will move on to "Bowen - Gertrude" and "Shiatsu - Daniela". The Shiatsu and Balance sticks as well as a few of the small GeMa sticks will visit the Shiatsu school in Carinthia (hopefully soon) and will then be tested there by prospective Shiatsu practitioners.
There are also plans to introduce the GeMa's in the sumus practice for body and soul. Physio & CranioSacral Therapist Sabine Kulterer was and is a process facilitator, mentor and midwife from the very beginning. Pure excitement for Marion. Her feedback as a therapist is particularly important and particularly exciting for us. With Claudia Monay - physiotherapist & osteopath, who also practices in the sumus group practice , it will also be possible to introduce the small sticks for the time being. The Shiatsu & Balance Stick still needs time, but is also suitable for therapists, like the small GeMa sticks. "Excited, joy". Everything comes in its own time...
Next step: feedback phase.
We are exited and looking forward to it...
Gerald & Marion