I feel very lucky to have attended the recent Celebrating Moms Event at Ronald McDonald House Toronto. I’m sheepish – and frankly, lucky – to admit that I didn’t know much about the House before my visit.
If you’ve ever heard us speak about small business or had a chance to read our book, Mom Inc., you’ll know one thing about us: We’re kind of cheap. We didn’t spend a lot of money to start our blanket company Admiral Road, and we’re still pretty frugal. When consulting to small business owners, we always offer this piece of advice: Don’t spend money in the early days unless it solves a problem or grows your business.
I slept well last night. There was cold medication involved. In general, I am a terrible sleeper. Oh sure, I can get to sleep—it’s the staying asleep that’s the problem. But here’s the thing. I don’t actually mind my insomnia all that much. I think that insomnia can be an invaluable asset—especially for a mompreneur like me.
As owners of a personalized blanket company, we’ve seen just about everything where baby names are concerned, and there’s always a lot of talk about the latest and wildest celebrity baby names. Every prospective parent spends A LOT of time thinking about the perfect name for their impending bundle.
When we heard that Lori Joyce and Heather White were coming to town to promote the third season of their successful TV show, we jumped at the chance to meet them. You probably know Lori and Heather as The Cupcake Girls from their award-winning show, but to us they’re BFFs who started their biz in 2002, just like us at Admiral Road.
Not too long ago, we took part in a YMC event at Toronto’s The Motion Room. While we love a good bar-room Tweet-Up, it was a great change of pace to get out for a night of fitness-focussed fun. What’s more, we had the chance to sample the goods of this unique gym.
HD, PVRs and flat screens, oh my! The boob tube sure has changed since the days when I had to get off the couch and turn a dial in order to switch stations.
The main reason I love Dragons’ Den is because Canadian entrepreneurs offer us tangible business lessons week after week. After each episode this season, I have written about a lesson learned–for better or for worse–from an entrepreneur who pitched the Dragons.
You know the saying, “You only have one chance to make a first impression”? When Jeff Phillips walked into the Dragons' Den tonight, I was thinking exacty same thing the Dragons were: What a joke. Phillips was sporting his product, the Beardo, a toque with a detachable beard meant to keep skiers and snowboarders cozy on the slopes. Eyeballs rolled. He looked like Charles Manson.
We’ve long wondered about the economics of participating in daily deal sites, also known as group buying sites. You know—Groupon, WagJag, and the numerous other sites with the almost too-good-to-be-true bargains?
There’s no doubt about it: With millions of viewers each week, Dragons’ Den is a Canadian success story. But one of the best things about the show is that Dragons’ Den has turned so many businesses into Canadian success stories themselves. The so-called “Dragons’ Den effect” refers to the overnight success that some companies have experienced as a result of appearing on the show.
How much ink has been spilled writing about marketing for small business? As small businesses with limited resources, we are constantly trying to find ways to creatively stretch our budgets to reach as many customers as we can. If you’ve had a chance to glance at our book, Mom Inc., you’ll know that we’re huge fans of PR for small businesses because there are a lot of creative things you can do that don’t have to cost a ton of money.
One of the hardest things about working for yourself is staying focused. When you have no boss and no one to provide you with direction, it’s easy to get distracted by projects that pull you away from the core of your business and the activities that generate revenue.
I've been watching Dragons' Den for a long time now, but one thing never ceases to amaze me. I'm talking about the entrepreneur who just won't listen.
On this week's show we met Frank Santiago, founder of Jitterbee, a shakeable pancake mix. Although Santiago got traction with his product early on, recent years have been hard. Santiago has invested $80,000 to get Jitterbee on grocery story shelves, yet last year had only $3,600 in sales.
Danielle and I like to say, “It’s easy to spend money…it’s the keeping it that’s the hard part.” Yes, there are things we need to spend money on in order to operate our businesses. But as entrepreneurs, people are always trying to sell us things in the name of improving our businesses. There are coaches, marketing consultants, PR pros and more.
With more amazing mompreneurs featured on Dragons’ Den, it feels like Christmas around here! It was great to get introduced to Apple Cheeks Diapers on last night’s episode.
Months ago I learned that Canadian mompreneur, Karyn Climans founder of Tail Wags, was going to make a reappearance in the Den. So it was with great anticipation that I watched last night’s Second Chances episode. Entrepreneurs who had unsuccessfully pitched the Dragons in past seasons were given an opportunity to plead their cases again.
Ah, January. Maybe it’s the cold, the eggnog-induced five extra pounds or the impending credit card bill. Anyway you slice it, getting revved up for work in the new year isn’t easy. But here’s the good news: We’ve got five sure-fire ways to start making more money in your business right now. That should get your fire burning!
