I am a very proud Fairy Godmother today… perhaps my most proud moment as a business mentor. Today reinforced why I do what I do, and why I’ve chosen, “Empowering Women to Fulfill their Dreams in Business” as my Mrs. Utah competition platform.
Two months ago I taught a standing-room-only class on “How to Write a Business Plan for Beginners and Procrastinators” at BYU and then encouraged them to pitch their business ideas to each other, I wanted them to network, get over fears, and share their ideas. Loraine McCall was the first to raise her hand and she wowed us all by her courage and strong business idea and ability to communicate her vision in less than 2 minutes… I gave Loraine a Startup Princess magic wand that day as a symbol of her “magic” and encouraged her to compete in the Home-based Business Plan competition this term. I knew she would have a great chance because of her original idea, however I knew it would be a challenge for this young mom, busy Spanish Translation major, (born in Puerto Rico, raised in New York), to find time to write a business plan in less than 1 week besides other commitments, etc, but Loraine did it, she entered the competition and was one of the 4 selected to the finals.
Yesterday I met with each of the teams and reviewed their presentations and gave them ideas and feedback. Each of the teams have solid concepts and companies destined for success, however, to be honest none of them were ready for today’s event, so I gave it to them straight–I told each of them what to focus on and rework to “make it happen” and it was very rewarding for me personally to see the results of our mentoring sessions–they each worked very hard to be prepared today. I LOVE LOVE LOVE mentoring, particularly in early stage business when ideas area fresh and execution is uncertain, offering suggestions, discussing marketing plans, and possible partnerships, etc.
Today when I watched the students as an Advisor/Mentor for the competition (not a judge) along with Faculty Advisor, Kim Scoville (a Fairy Godmother too) I couldn’t be more pleased with the confidence, revised powerpoints, and high-level, professional, national-competition quality presentations of each of the teams! WishCraze is going to “own” social shopping on the web for “Tweens” youth ages 8-14 and beyond… check it out, make a wish gift list of your own!, and Realty Solutions has a great lead generation company for agents affiliated with ReMax.
Loraine of Hand in Hand, “Heroes in Training” wowed us with her passion, her ability to share her vision to empower the lives of young children and has developed a product that when patented will be a wonderful gift for children! I nearly cried through all of Loraine’s presentation because of how far she came and I knew in my heart she was the winner… and the judges agreed (even though I really didn’t have a “say” in their decision).
She’ll receive weekly email/phone mentoring for six months from me, as Startup Princess is a sponsor of the competition as well as $5000 from BYU Founders of the Center for Entrepreneurship to get her business off the ground!!
I couldn’t be happier for her and this exciting new venture. Loraine has a 16 month old baby and is a very dedicated wife and mother, this will be a perfect opportunity for her to create additional income for her family while remaining at home. Loraine represents the “Home-based Business Plan” ideal winner perfectly, she has a strong, creative and original business concept which can be developed in a flex-schedule/home life style with promise of strong income for years to come.
Today there was some discussion for making the BYU Home-based Business Plan competition a national one where college students all over can apply, wouldn’t that be incredible!?
I love being a part of the Center for Entrepreneurship at BYU, where my love for business began in 2005 when I was a competitor and semi-finalist at BYU, and then won 2nd place nationally at Wake Forest’s national MBA competition while I was a grad student in Theatre, so I was much like Loraine, foreign to business, without business classes/experience. Perhaps that’s why I cried today…close to home. I know how hard it is to pull off a great presentation while you’re a mom and while you’re so new to the field.
Congrats to Startup Princess, Loraine! She’ll be a local celebrity around BYU’s Marriot School of Business now… she deserves it.
Thank You, Kelly! You helped me understand not only the urgency of my need to prepare, but you also taught me many terms to use in my presentation and how I could feel much more confidant for the competition. Without your help, I know that I would have not won the Home Based Business competition here in BYU. You have helped me solidify my thoughts and for that, I am grateful. You even helped me until moments before I was to present the business how I could improve my communicative skills. Thank you for helping me organize my ideas so I could better present Hand in Hand to the judges and to others. You truly are a fairy godmother.
Loraine McCall
Hand in Hand
I also recently was able to participate in a business plan competition. My husband is finishing his MBA at Westminster College and we entered as a team and ended up winning. The experience was invaluable in developing my business model. But especially important was the networking and the mentors. I appreciate their time and help. It sounds like you are that type of mentor Kelly.
Rebecca Davidson
Savvy May Creations
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Much Respect
Douglas
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