Carol Rice, Co-Founder of Cherish Bound Will Teach Bootstrapping and Relationship-based Growth at Touchpoint

This year’s Startup Princess Touchpoint event will feature Carol Rice, co-Founder of Cherish Bound in a workshop about bootstrapping and leveraging your assets. To Carol, bootstrapping means not just being careful about your spending, but continually building “win-win” relationships and partnerships that will help you move things forward. One of the critical ways to build business relationships which can lead to trading services is by having a compelling story that others will identify with. And it’s not enough for them to like your business, they have to want to do business with you collaborate with you. Carol will show attendees at Touchpoint how to create a business “story” plus teach how they should approach a potential partner about their business and propose a partnership that will help them both increase sales and exposure.

Carol launched her now-national company with less than $500k and has bootstrapped her way for the past 5 years successfully because she has been successful in are enrolled in her concept of keeping stories alive and want to support her efforts. Carol has been a Fairy Godmother for us since Fall 2006.

Here’s more about Carol:

In the summer of 2003 Co-Founder and President, Carol Rice started Cherish Bound with Bruce Jensen. Realizing the importance and impact of story telling, Carol wanted to make a easy way for everyone to tell their stories. Carol has been in the scrapbooking industry professionally for a long time and a few years ago considered how scrapbooking and journaling can be too time consuming for some, so she considered an alternative and has made it into a very successful startup company.

Cherish Bound is a party-plan company that allows people to make and publish their own stories using their own photographs. Organizing a book with the help of a consultant can take less than one hour. The idea behind Cherish Bound appeals to a broad audience, because we all have a story to tell. Many stories are too important to be lost from generation to generation! Cherish Bound offers in home parties where friends and family can gather and share their stories and get started on their own book. The consultant helps each person organize her story. Interested hosts can receive up to 50% off books and free publishing. Clients choose from a variety of different size books available including different layouts and designs. This is a great way to market the products because people can get help writing their stories in the comfort of their own home surrounded by friends and family. Other companies offer book publishing services on-line, but Cherish Bound is unique because it does allow for help with the organization of your book in a small group setting with your friends and family. Great idea! This is perfect for those that are interested, but too timid to use a computer. Cherish Bound has great appeal and is unique in it’s marketing strategy. Who doesn’t want to preserve their stories for future generations and have something to celebrate now.

Enjoy Meeting Startup Princess Carol Rice!

Hometown: Sandy, Utah

Current Residence (City, State):  Alpine, Utah

Education: Associates, Communications

Professional Background (brief, please): Founding leader for successful Scrapbook Company.  Built million-dollar sales team with a home-based business.  Worked in marketing for several scrapbook companies before starting my own business, Cherish Bound.

What you wanted to be when you grew up: President of the United States  or my dads secretary

What you are: President, Co-Founder Cherish Bound, Inc. and Mom!

Brief Summary of your Start Up:  We specialize in helping people through the process of writing and self-publishing their personal stories.  Whether they want to record memories of their wedding day or life history, we help every step of the way.

Company Website? www.cherishbound.com

What inspired you? My mother, my business partner continues to inspire me to greatness and our consultants keep me working hard on their behalf.

How long have you been in business? Almost three years

How did you fund it? Self-funded, small amount of initial round from family/friends.  Seeking funding currently for growth

Do you have a Fairy Godmother (or Mentor)? Quite a few, probably not appropriate to list by name here however.

Do you belong to any Business Organization or Networking Groups? Startup Princess!

Current Business Challenge? Funding growth to stay ahead of enthusiasm for our product and message.
What are you doing about it?  Talking to everyone I know.

Favorite motivational quote: It changes frequently, but currently Im loving, Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds. (Albert Einstein)  I also love the ever-popular quote from Marianne Williamson, Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?  Actually, who are we not to be?  Your playing small doesnt serve the world.  We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.  And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

Family? Yes, husband and five children

If so, how do you balance family and business? Carefully.  Ive learned balance is an illusion, like perfection, we attain measures of it as we constantly pursue it but cant beat ourselves up when we feel we fall short of it.  Success is in continuously striving for it.

Favorite book? Business:  Good to Great and Animal Farm

What do you do to relax? Run, read, lay in the sun or go to a storytelling festival.

What do you want to change most about your world? Daily involvement of others in my business.

What are you most proud of? That “can’t” and “give up” are not part of my vocabulary.

What advice would you like to offer other Startup Princesses? It takes more money and more time than your best guess will indicate.  Plan for that and dont give up too soon.

Favorite Magic Wand (tool/resource)? Oh, I wish I had one.

If you could design a tiara, what precious stones would you use? Diamonds are a girls best friend but a big, beautiful Ruby would need a place of honor in it.

Don’t Miss Touchpoint and Carol Rice’s presentation on bootstrapping!

This interview was written by Startup Princess writer Jessica Cryer.

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