Adrian's Story: Adrian Miller Sales Training

Adrian learned some critical lessons from her mother; some that she didn't fully absorb until it was time to start her own business. With all the "mompreneur" action that's been happening on this blog lately, I thought it might be nice to post a story today from the flip-side of the coin!

To the small business moms who read this blog: have you thought about what kinds of lessons your kids are learning by watching you run a small business?

"My mom wasn’t exactly a business woman. Sure, she worked as a bookkeeper for a number of years. Yet, I’m not certain that she ever considered it a career. And, I can’t say that I thought of her as a role model when I carved out the beginnings of my company.

Still, as I reflect upon her now, I realize there are several characteristics she embodied that I see in myself. And, these very same characteristics are those that I include in much of my consulting and training. Here’s what I learned from Mom:

Sweat the Small Stuff

My mom was always a stickler for details, and she was sometimes a real pain in the butt as she nagged to get things done correctly. Now, I preach to folks that sometimes the dollars are in the details. Whether it’s how you follow up, or your attention to returning calls and emails, these seemingly small things can make all the difference.

Work Hard

Energy was my mom’s middle name. Up early, she multi-tasked her way through each and every day, tending to the myriad of details that tend to fall into a working woman’s universe. And although she didn’t view her 'job' as a career, she was dedicated to completing everything that had to get done, even if it meant working harder or staying later. While I never consciously thought about my mom’s energy and diligence, it sure as heck rubbed off on me, evidenced each day by the amazing amount of things that I somehow get done.

First Impressions Count

My mom was hyper-vigilant about how she looked. Her makeup was always applied correctly and never a hair was out of place. I used to consider these superficial concerns.

Yes, she was on me constantly about grooming, and, for a while, I rebelled and pushed back by concertedly not embracing her values. However, once I started my public speaking and training career, spending my days in front of an audience that was focused on me for hours at a time, I realized just how critical my appearance actually was.

Don’t get me wrong, I was never a total slob. But that first impression when you stand in front of a room is a hard one to dispel if you don’t nail it from the beginning. And lately, when I get dressed for a speaking engagement, I think back to my mother paying such very strict attention to every aspect of her clothes and makeup.

Mom is elderly now, and she’s not as able to demonstrate these qualities herself. However, when I go to visit her, she’s still on me about my appearance, and she’ll always ask about what I’m doing and how it’s going. And, I take it as a compliment that she even tells me to slow down a bit.

So, thanks Mom for all that you have taught me through the years. I never told you when I was younger, and I thought it was time to tell you now."

Connect with Adrian at adrianmiller.com, adriansnetwork.com, adrianmiller.wordpress.com, and adriansnetwork.wordpress.com. Also be sure to check out her book, 'The Blatant Truth: 50 Ways to Sales Success' at theblatanttruth.com.

Katie's Story: Kt Steppers, LLC

When she wrote to me about her company, Katie O'Neill stressed the fact that Kt Steppers is a Mom-owned business. She told me she loves being referred to as a "Mompreneur", and after reading her story, I can really appreciate why. Recently we've featured some mom-owned businesses on this blog, and I am loving all these inspiring stories from women who do it all, and then some!

"The summer before my junior year in college, my life, vision, and future plans all came to a halt. Headaches, vision problems, and lactation were just a few symptoms I encountered before I learned that I had a brain tumor. I don’t know many people who can say this, but I had brain surgery when I was 22 years old to remove a benign (thank goodness) tumor on my pituitary gland. It was so large that surgical removal was crucial; otherwise it would've continued to more severely affect my vision and pituitary functions.

You could say being a 'MOMpreneur' means more to me than words can explain. Because of the tumor's location and size, the possibility of not having children could have been very real. So, as you can imagine, I am very proud of my mom-owned, children-inspired online gift boutique. I wanted a kid-friendly business since that is whom I spend my days, hours and minutes with, and can’t imagine it any other way now. I am a mom of two boys, ages 5 and 3. They have become my support and inspiration for Kt Steppers.

My dream business became a reality in 2008, after the birth of my second son. Kt Steppers, LLC was formed. I was always creative and loved to draw, and after we received a step stool for my son as a gift, I realized and told my husband, 'I can make these.'

The first 'stepper' was conceived when my sister-in-law was looking for something unique and personal to give her best friend’s son. I offered up a Kt Stepper as an idea. It was a hit! Doing further research and talking with other moms, I found there was a great need for that 'special something' to give as a gift for a birth, birthday, or to add a personal touch to a baby registry item. Our 'Steppers' have become a special, custom and truly personal way to say, 'you’re one of a kind!'

One of my favorite testimonies to date is from a mom who’s daughter has Down Syndrome, which causes low muscle tone: 'The stepper helps her coordinate gross motor skills and balance. She uses it to get onto the couch since she is still too short to get up. She is doing really well, and uses it to step up and down without using her hands, which is huge progress for her.' So not only are our steppers a great gift and a practical item for toddlers, but they are helping in other areas of development I never even considered previously. Stories like this make me very proud.

My business has blossomed and grown locally over the past year in NY/NJ, but we are also being recognized all over the country. During the holidays, Kt Steppers made their debut on National TV; Giuliana Rancic’s Gift Guide segment on E! News featured Kt Steppers, and we couldn’t have been more honored.

Celebrities have also become fans of Kt Steppers, and many have sent thank you notes after showing their child their very own custom steppers. Custom Kt Steppers were made for celebrities such as Alison Sweeney, Tori Spelling, Rhea Wahlberg, Jenna Elfman, Denise Richards, Jennie Garth, Jason and Naomi Priestley, and more. (Click here to see celebrity 'kudos'.)

My vision for Kt Steppers is to be the preferred online boutique when buying that unique gift for someone special, but we are also are pursuing retail outlets such as local boutiques and specialty gift stores. We want people to be able to find them both online and close to home."

Find out more about Kt Steppers on their website, ktsteppers.com, or on Twitter (@ktsteppers) and Facebook.

Sheena's Story: Lizzie Lou Shoes

First off, congrats to Lisa, the winner of the free GoCharmz offered as part of our last story! Many thanks to Michelle for participating in our first giveaway.

Today's story comes to us from Sheena, a mom, inventor, designer and entrepreneur based in San Antonio, Texas. Lizzie Lou Shoes have international flair, close family ties, and one-of-a-kind handmade craftsmanship built into each pair. Sheena's experience with her business brought a few financial challenges along the way, but of course not without lessons learned. Thanks for sharing your story with us, Sheena - it's important to recognize the role that risk plays in the development of a start-up.

"The Lizzie Lou Shoes concept was born in July of 2008. After a year of development, the shoes hit the market. I had a fantastic, sought-after product: comfortable, lightweight, hand-stitched flip flops - but I wasn't as prepared to run a business as I should have been. I took quite a few things for granted and have listed some of them here in the hopes of helping other entrepreneurs avoid the same mistakes I made.

Only after many months of planning and execution did I become familiar with how risk would take a part in my new business - how much money, time and total investment I was willing to risk for it. I realized that I had failed to take a number of financial variables into account during the planning process. I hadn't fully appreciated how high my start-up costs would be, or how those expenses would increase over time. We had some huge shipping delays which caused us to lose important sales, and the shipments ended up costing double the quoted price due to a customs intensive exam. This was very stressful and overwhelming for a start up company.

I also hadn't foreseen just how much trial and error would be involved and how many mistakes were inherent to the start-up process. Mistakes mean additional expenses (something else I had not planned for). Finally, I knew going into this venture that, as a full-time mother of three, time was as valuable a commodity as cash. There wasn't an excess of either one just lying around, so I had to move more slowly and cautiously than I would have liked.

It is so important to understand the risk before you start a business, so research and prepare. Estimating how much time and money you'll need to put into your business, then assuming it will take TWICE that, should help you during the start-up process and hopefully help you get through the tough spots. Don't be afraid to scale back some on your initial plans. The most important thing is to understand how much you are willing to risk."

Make sure to visit the Lizzie Lou Shoes website, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogspot to learn more about Sheena's company and get your hands (or feet, rather) on a pair of her unique flip flops!

Michelle's Story: GoCharmz (and Our Very First Giveaway!)

Michelle, of San Ramon, CA, always knew she would be an entrepreneur, selling drawings and Sno-Cones in her neighborhood as a kid. Now she's got two kids of her own, and her product is still focused on the younger crowd in her community. GoCharmz will launch this season and she's already got plenty of buzz behind her product, using a Facebook Page and the kids in her neighborhood as an inventive way to test the market. And what's more,

Michelle is giving away two sets of GoCharmz to one lucky Small Biz Stories reader!

(That's ten GoCharmz in total, which you can use to decorate almost anything!)

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post.
Extra entries are allowed if you:
- Tweet or retweet about this giveaway, including a link (Use the retweet button on the upper right, or copy/paste into a new tweet: http://bit.ly/9CLDth)
- Post about this giveaway on Facebook, including a link
- Post a link to this giveaway on your own blog page
- "Like" GoCharmz and Small Biz Stories on Facebook
- Follow @smallbizstories and @gocharmz on Twitter

If you do any of the above, please post an additional, separate comment to let me know. The giveaway will be open to entries for ten days; a winner will be randomly selected on Monday, May 24, 2010. Thanks, Michelle!

"I guess you could say I've been a persistent serial entrepreneur for as far back as I can remember. Growing up, I used to draw random pictures and go door-to-door selling them, or make Sno-Cones with my Snoopy Sno-Cone Maker and ask the neighbors to pony-up some money for shaved colored ice. It’s funny to think about it now, but many of us back in the day tested our own neighborhoods as a market for kid-driven ideas. I knew that when I grew up I was going to run my own company. Fast forward a couple of years (okay several, several years later) and here I am launching my fourth business idea with even bigger aspirations that the first three combined. Mind you I have done all this (like so many of us) in a moonlighting fashion, keeping my 9-5 job in the background. And since none of the previous three businesses ever took off with great momentum, I was fortunate and darn right lucky I kept my day job - but this project with GoCharmz feels very different. For once, I feel like a kid again, during my days as a 10 year old pushing Sno-Cones. And the ironic thing is that my test market back then is the same today: the kids and parents in my community.

It's been 14 months since I came up with the idea for what eventually became GoCharmz. I had the 'ah-ha moment' while riding to school on my son's scooter, which was slathered with stickers. At the time, I had been laid-off from a popular internet company (one of my day jobs) so I was keen to everything around me, looking for the next idea. All the kids passing by with their scooters couldn't help but look at the scooter decorated with stickers. I thought to myself, 'Scooters are fairly boring and generic - there must be a way to create a product that allows kids to decorate and personalize them.' That was pretty much all it took. Since then, the scope has grown into 'activity toys': not only scooters, but bicycles as well. The main theme of personalizing and decorating them has stayed the same.

It's a simple concept, but even as I write this 14 months later I still don't have a finished product to bring to market. We are close... very close. It may be weeks away, but just to get to this point, it’s taken a mind-numbing amount of money, patience and persistence. I have several contract people working for me to help bring this product to market. Often times, people really 'trip out' (for lack of a better word) when they learn that I am dealing with people on other continents, trusting them with my design and prototyping. Furthermore, all the overseas communications have taken place through instant message and e-mail. That alone is a crazy feat. Who would have thought creating something which seemed so simple in my imagination would take this long to come to fruition? Then again, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it, and I wouldn't be able to appreciate the milestones we've achieved so far.

Since I was laid off from my job, everything I've done to create GoCharmz has had to be fiscally responsible. I sourced out my own manufacturer overseas, filed for a patent and went through countless revisions on my design(s) with quality and budget in mind. I am a mother of two who is also back to work full-time with a day job, so it’s comforting to know I have income to help bolster the project. As the spring months heat up outside, I can feel the heat turning up on GoCharmz. Early on, we created a fan page on Facebook to test-market our designs. This has helped us out immensely. We invested a small budget daily to run ads on Facebook, which has helped increase the fan base prior to our official launch. It's worked out fairly well, and if you have a product that can be targeted to users on Facebook, I would recommend looking into it. Still, the rubber (as they say) has not hit the road. I have more questions than answers on how this will eventually take off, and by the end of June I should have a full-blown website where our customers can search over 100 charm designs that fit onto bicycles, scooters and helmets. That's when phase 2 will begin: marketing and selling what I have created. I have to keep reminding myself that bringing something to market is one thing, but making the market aware of it and encouraging people to spend money on your product is entirely different.

GoCharmz feels so different from the other start-ups I have created. Maybe it's because it involves more people in my family than ever before. Maybe it's because I am gaining fans daily on Facebook and feeling a sense of reinforcement. Maybe it's because I see reactions from kids in the neighborhood who enjoy the prototypes we've been showcasing. At the end of the day, I know that it is all those things. Each positive interaction with the outside world builds my energy and excitement for the next day. I feel like a kid again, and that feeling of joy and unbridled creativity is addictive. I highly recommend it.

I look forward to the 2nd phase of my business plan. I know I have something great, and now it comes down to the choices I make in executing my go-to-market strategy. That's a whole other topic entirely. Thanks for giving this a read, and I hope at a minimum I inspired other moms and early-phased entrepreneurs to pursue their ideas. If nothing else, create that product that once was in your mind, so you can hold it and proclaim, 'I did this!' Be a kid again. No holds barred."

Leslie's Story: KneadALaugh

Today's story comes from Leslie Kahn, of KneadALaugh in Chicago, IL.

Stress is a tough part of day-to-day life, especially at work. Leslie knows all about the damaging effects it can have on employees, so she founded her company, KneadALaugh, with the goal of alleviating stress in office environments. Through massage therapy, humor therapy, and other stress-reducing techniques, KneadALaugh provides a one-of-a-kind service in corporate environments. Just think about it - when was the last time you had a good laugh at work? Didn't you feel great afterwards? Now think about what it would be like to get a professional massage at work - now that's service.

"I guess you could say I have led an unconventional working life. I've lived on a (mostly) self-sufficient organic farming community in West Wales gardening, farming, making pottery, and keeping animals, I've trained on the job as a gemologist for a wholesale diamond company, and most recently I became a licensed massage therapist in Chicago, having attended massage therapy school at age 40.

It has always been a struggle for me to make what most Americans would consider a 'good living', and it's very difficult to be a massage therapist when you are doing all the work yourself. The job is extremely demanding, both physically and emotionally; I recognized that fact very early on in my massage career. My intention has always been to 'run the empire from my penthouse' by owning a company that provides corporate massages, and hiring/managing other therapists rather than doing all the hands-on work. Don't get me wrong - I love giving massages and helping people relax, reduce stress, and become free of pain, but at age 55, after a spinal cord surgery, a broken ankle and an auto-immune disease called sarcoidosis of the lungs, I need to take it easy.

That is why I created my company, KneadALaugh, three years ago. We Americans are under a huge amount of stress to perform at work, and that stress leads to many different conditions ranging from back and neck pain to heart attacks and strokes. Workplace stress leads to ill employees, decreased productivity, absenteeism, increased health care costs and an overall demoralized staff.

While I have been promoting on-site massage therapy all these years, often I would encounter the decision maker at a company who would say to me, 'I just don't like the idea of massage' - and then I would have nothing else to offer. So I decided to try and find other services that would appeal to a larger audience while employing my husband, an actor, at the same time. The 'Laugh' in KneadALaugh refers to a service I created called 'Humor Therapy' - this is where my husband Martin comes in. He's one of those wacky Brits who entertains and informs in a sort of stream-of-consciousness babble. It's very funny and great for stress relief.

I also met a kickboxing instructor and thought that offering kickboxing, TaeKwonDo and personal training at the workplace was a brilliant idea. I'm striving to offer TaiChi and meditation as well, for those who prefer relaxation to aerobics as a way to get rid of stress.

Everybody loves the name of the company, 'KneadALaugh'. Unfortunately, in the current economy, it is a challenge to convince penny-pinching CEO's (who, in some cases, are not even supplying their employees with tissues) that paying for stress relief services actually makes good business sense. I am sure their opinions will turn around with the economic climate."

To learn more about Leslie's company, visit the website at KneadALaugh.com. You'll also find them on Twitter @KneadALaugh and Facebook.com/KneadALaugh.

Jack's Story: TeenBusinessForum.com

Perseverance is an important part of being an entrepreneur. Jack never lost sight of his business goals, and refused to allow discouraging moments to slow him down. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the challenges of being a small business owner, follow Jack's example and don't let temporary setbacks get you down. Thanks for sharing your story, Jack!

"My story doesn't pertain to my business in particular, but has to do with the life of an entrepreneur: the ups and downs, the great ideas and bad execution, the persistence needed to keep going. In addition to my day job, I have been working on side projects for two years now. Throughout those two years, I knew I needed a business coach: a mentor who would sit with me and tell me the ugly truth. I got advice from a friend who is a business executive, but he was too busy to be sorting through the weeds of my business. So for two years, I researched and implemented ideas and talked to a number of people, doing everything I could to keep my entrepreneurial spirit going.

I finally incorporated back in April for a generic IT consulting company. I did my first pro-bono work, free of charge in order to get my name, branding and quality of work out there. Then I saw an opportunity with the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) non-profit to receive coaching from veteran entrepreneurs (you know the type - guys who've hustled money for the last 30+ years, people you'd recognize from Inc., ex-CEO's, CFO's who have sold companies for fifty times the value of your house). It was the inaugural class of the NVTC FastTrac TechVenture entrepreneurship program. I wanted in, badly. So badly, in fact, that I applied twice; one application for my IT consulting company, and a second application for an idea I had for software that would benefit the architecture and interior design industry. But I didn't get in. The feedback I got was that the selection committee liked my entrepreneurial spirit, but did not like the fact that I submitted two applications. It made me look unfocused. Their advice was that I should take the coming months to develop my ideas further, and then apply again when the coaching program was about to restart.

That's when I landed on my most recent project, TeenBusinessForum.com, an online community where teen entrepreneurs connect to discuss business and share stories. I looked at it and thought, 'this has potential'. So I acquired the site, then talked to various people to see if there were any synergies. I found a retired business exec who was willing to contribute to the site as an expert, and another person who was a teen entrepreneur coach. I continued to brainstorm on how to grow the forum and make it unique. Soon after, I was notified that the entrepreneurship program was going to start again. So I applied. This time, I only submitted one application, and it was for TeenBusinessForum.com. I also submitted a partial business and marketing plan. A week later, I got the email; I got in.

Why do I tell you this story? Because entrepreneurs need to be persistent. I knew from the start that I needed a coach, and I sought after it with determination. When I got rejected the first time (and believe me, you will hear 'no' plenty of times), it just meant that I needed to work on myself and my business more. I never in the last two years ever said entrepreneurship was not for me. Frankly, the alternative wasn't much better. I'd rather take the harder approach, knowing that it's as much a journey in personal growth as it is in business. And it has been. In two years, I have become a better public speaker, networker, and leader. Don't we all want to be that? Who knows what the next five, ten, thirty years will bring; life is more interesting that way."

Make sure to check out Jack's website at TeenBusinessForum.com, and connect with him at his blog, OffTheBeaconPath.com.

Health and happiness,
Abbey

Leslie's Story: Grill Charms™

Everything is a process, right? Leslie knows all about that. She's a mom from Charleston, SC, who never predicted that she would become a small business owner. Thanks for sharing your story, Leslie; all this talk about grilling is making me hungry!

"I can honestly say that I never saw myself as the entrepreneurial type. I knew that someday I wanted to have a family and be a stay-at-home mom, like my mother before me. It is so odd how life takes twists and turns that you never could have predicted in a million years. That is what makes life so interesting, and makes me excited to greet the day. You just never know what the next 24 hours will bring. For me, my life changed for forever during a dinner party I hosted in my Charleston, SC home in April of 2006. At our house, grilling is a year-round sport. My husband made some chicken for our guests, and was courteous enough to make a mild version of the chicken for me because I don't like spicy food. By the time dinner was cooked, plated and served, he had forgotten which chicken was which and gave me what he thought was the mild sauce. I’m sure you can guess what happened… this very spicy 'light bulb moment' changed the trajectory of my life forever.

I couldn’t get the thought of 'wine charms for food' out of my head during dinner. After we cleaned the kitchen, I started sketching prototypes for my product 'Grill Charms™' that very evening, and I have never looked back since. I think that a lot of people make the mistake of thinking about the 'big picture' too early, and end up throwing in the towel while pursuing their ideas of bringing a product to market. You need to have some sort of big picture idea, but if you think too much, it becomes overwhelming. This is where many people just give up because the scope of the idea of 'bringing an idea to market' is just too much so they just don’t do anything. As with everything in life, bringing a product to market is nothing more then a process. It is a series of steps that get you from point A to point B. Once you break it down into small baby steps, it’s not so scary. You simply put one foot in front of the other and the path will appear. But be ready… the path that appears isn’t always the one you intended to take!"

To learn more about Leslie's Grill Charms™, visit GrillCharms.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @grillcharmer, and become a fan on Facebook.

Health and happiness,
Abbey