Closing a Chapter
Adam and I really enjoy telling the story of how we came up with the JoJo, both the name and the product. It’s a fun, lighthearted story filled with hope and naïveté and dreams.
It’s probably one you’ve heard, back when we started our business on Amazon, came up with the idea of a baby lounger that would grow with baby, and then went back and forth on what to call it.
Joey was just a baby, barely sleeping through the night, if he even really was. We were still in newborn fog, and frankly, struggling to make ends work. Joining Rainmakers was a huge financial risk, one that has since paid off tenfold. But at the time, it all went on a credit card with the anticipation that this is going to work.
And we’ve all been there, stressed out, new parents, first mortgage, and getting to know real life.
So after a bottle of wine and probably some giggles and tears and big dreaming, like Adam and I often do together, Adam blurted out “JOJO!” and it stuck.
I am a branding expert. It’s what I did for a living for a decade before we transitioned into where we are now. I should have thought more about this, but didn’t. It didn’t even cross my mind that calling a product the JoJo would have repercussions two years later with a brand that doesn’t even have a product like it.
JoJo morphed into a “brand” by accident. What started as the name of our product turned into so much more, becoming a household name for many. This was never intentional, and it was a happy circumstance that brought us to a point where we thought we should file for a trademark.
You see, all we really wanted was to have a pretty Amazon brand registry page. One where we could really highlight the benefits of the lounger, to show off the features only the JoJo has in the massive world of baby loungers. It’s a little known fact that Amazon does this. Only if your brand is trademarked can you have pretty product pages. Otherwise, you get a simple description, single paragraph, nothing fancy. And of course, me, the designer, wanted a pretty product page.
So we filed for a trademark.
Naive? Maybe. Dumb? Yep.
Come to find out, investing a significant amount of money when deciding to trademark is a good idea. Don’t skimp in this area, friends. Coming from a girl who thought she knew what she was doing, and had lots of experience doing it.
Listen, I can’t tell you all the details about this fiasco, but a quick Google search should tell you what you probably are wanting to know.
There are two types of people, I’m learning.
Those who feel like they are owed something, and those who feel like they owe something.
It’s been fairly easy to identify these types of people when it comes to this world I’m in. Customers who feel they are owed a refund when the lounger doesn’t help their baby sleep better vs customers who purchase a lounger in order to support a small business instead of a big brand. Influencers that ask for a lounger as a gift without an offer, or influencers who ask for a discount code to share with their followers after purchasing a lounger. Businesses that threaten to bankrupt you if you don’t stop using your name, or businesses that politely email and ask if you’d feel comfortable using this word instead of that word.
As you can guess, this applies to any sort of life or business. And there is a lot of grey area, of course. But when you are in the midst of these tribulations, it’s hard to differentiate the emotionally driven from the rational.
I’m an emotional human. And that’s an understatement. It would be really easy for me to send emotionally driven, irrational emails to businesses that I think I’m owed a refund from (in fact, I did this with Trademark Engine just this morning… they respectfully declined). Or threaten other business owners who infringe on what I think belongs to me. Or emotionally post the details of this current legal battle with no respect for the opposing business.
In fact, it’s been an idea we’ve toyed with. To name them, shame them into leaving us alone. But where is the righteousness in that? Where is the respect? There isn’t any. It’s the low blow. The emotionally driven response. And that’s not who we are. But gosh, it’s tempting to be that person.
I often think about when Ross wanted to call immigration on Paulo. Or when Ross throws out the message for Rachel from the guy at the bar and Chandler casually tells him he took the high road.
I wish I could call immigration. Or throw away the message. But, to my utter delight, I cannot do either of these things.
Instead, I’ve had to dig really deep for some inner peace about this. I’ve had to pray harder than any other business prayer I’ve ever had. I have had to ceremoniously lay to bed a chapter of life that I never truly thought would leave us.
Because what really is a name to me? Why am I attached to this? None of what’s happening was by accident. God knew. He knew the night we chose JoJo that this day would come. He gave us the idea for JoJo knowing full well that this was in sight. So I can’t feel angry, but I feel a little bit deceived. Like when Ross hid the message and then Rachel finds out later.
I can see growth in this. I can see the challenge laid out in front of us, the choices of new brand names and standing up for ourselves and stretching our morals, our ethics, our empathy and our kindness. I can see the lesson in this, even if it isn’t the one He meant for us to learn. I’ve learned restraint. I’ve learned what respect looks like in the business world. Learned that what belongs to me, and whether or not it belongs to someone else too, isn’t exclusively mine. I’ve learned that there is enough room for all of us, and that if someone else can’t see that, it isn’t my burden to bear.
There will be big transitions. What do we call the lounger now? Because “lounger” feels so unceremonious. How do we educate our customers and our tribe about this change? Will they adapt? Will they trust us anymore? Will we be portrayed as the bad guy? Even if there really is no bad guy, just a series of innocent misunderstandings and one vengeful opposer?
I’ve learned recently to pray really specific prayers. To ask Him for exactly what I need. So that’s what I’ve been doing.
I pray that this new brand name will air on the clear side of trademark law.
I pray that this new brand name is created in Him, and will resonate with our customers.
I pray that this will not hurt our brand financially.
I pray that this will incur growth for me as a human, and my life as a business owner.
I pray that I can clearly articulate my plans.
I pray that this experience will not haunt me.
I pray that this transition is healthy.
I pray that this new baby will know they were the middle of an emotional roller coaster, and we all came out better because of it. Cece sure did.
I pray that this business will see us a human, and simply, leave us alone.
I pray that my vulnerability will not come back to bite us.
I pray that He protect my heart in the process, keep it whole and fill it with a new love for a new brand.
And with that, we are closing this chapter of JoJo as a brand, but not as a piece of life. JoJo will forever be mine, and the tipping point of my life where hustle turned into true happiness and grit turned into growth and my family became whole.
Goodbye, JoJo. I will miss you dearly, but better things are to come.