Introducing Allison Czarnecki of Petit Elefant and Social Luxe Lounge

By mary | Published September 26, 2009

startup princess event I met clever mom, visionary, fashionista, event planner and professional blogger  Allison Czarnecki of Petit Elefant early January 2009 via email.  When decided to meet up for lunch we realized that we lived in the same neighborhood! How fun is that? Quite a rarity to find a cool blogging chick in your backyard.  I’ve enjoyed reading Allison’s blog this past year and getting to know her better. Here’s a few of my favorite recent posts by Allison: her post after Touchpoint about Heather Bailey and running for Blogteam President, her tribute to her Grandpa, eyeshadow post on Design Mom, and about meeting “Nie Nie” Stephanie Nielson.

When I met Allison she impressed me with her ambition to take things up a notch in 2009 and it’s been a joy to see her  over the past year do just that!  This year has been a whirlwind for Allison– lots of conferences, traveling, blogging events (Mom 2.0, Blogher, and TJMaxx event…to name a few).  She spent 3 weeks on the road with her family this Summer sampling wonderful hotels, excursions, restaurants, and more and sharing them with her readers at Petit Elefant and if that weren’t enough she also was one of the masterminds behind the highly successful Social Luxe Lounge at Blogher where they had over 700 attend and attracted top sponsors such as Swiffer, Kodak, Lego and more.  Allison has boundless energy, vision, determination, and is inspiring to watch.  She is super talented forming partnerships with key individuals and companies to make her wishes come true. -Kelly King Anderson, Startup Princess Founder

Enjoy getting to know Allison!

Hometown: Orem, Utah

Current Residence: Spanish Fork, Utah

Education: Bachelors of Science, Behavioral Science/Psychology

Professional Background: Copy writer, odd essayist here and there. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for the past 10 years.

What you wanted to be when you grew up: a marine biologist, or a photographer for National Geographic. It was sevens.

What you are: a writer, editor, fashionista, mama

Brief Summary of your Startup: I’m the founder and editor of an online family lifestyle magazine, which basically means I get to stay home with my kids while I write. I focus a lot on travel, home and garden, crafts & recipes, and style. It’s so much fun it should be illegal.

Company Website? http://www.petitelefant.com (also check out her blogher mega-event  Social Luxe Lounge)

petit elefant logo

What inspired you? I’ve always wanted to write for a magazine, and this way I get to stay at home and do it in my pajamas. Oh, and I’m the boss.

How long have you been in business? Two years.

How did you fund it? It was free. Started out as just a simple blog, now it’s a business.

Do you have a Fairy Godmother (or Mentor)? Nope.

Do you belong to any Business Organization or Networking Groups? Not technically, no, but I attend a lot of networking events including Startup Princess, and travel to blogging conferences where I meet a lot of other people who are successful at writing professionally.

Current Business Challenge? Having enough time in the day to follow all my ideas to fruition.

What are you doing about it? Sleeping less.

Favorite motivational quote: This too shall pass.

socialluxe lounge logo

Family? Married to the love of my life, two kids, a boy and girl.

If so, how do you balance family and business? I think balance is a farce, I feel like I’m on a flying trapeze at all times.

Favorite book? A separate peace.

What do you do to relax? Take hot baths, go running, listen to great music, get together with girlfriends, read a book, watch a good movie.

What do you want to change most about your world? My world? I’d like to change the perception of stay-at-home moms. If people only knew!

What are you most proud of? Being a parent while managing a successful business; it’s no small task.

What advice would you like to offer other Startup Princesses? Have a very clear mental vision of what you’d like to accomplish with what you’re doing, and hold on tight when things get hard. Oh and get a good lawyer.

Favorite Magic Wand (tool/resource)? Other women in business. Priceless advice.

If you could design a tiara, what precious stones would you use? Sapphires, they’re my birthstone.

Thanks Allison, you’re an inspiring Startup Princess!


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Startup Princess is an international network committed to empowering Women Entrepreneurs by offering resources for women in business to support, mentor, collaborate, learn from, and inspire one another. In 2006, after struggling to raise funding for an initial startup business venture, Kelly King Anderson recognized an important market niche existed for reliable resources educating women desiring to start and grow successful businesses, thus Startup Princess was developed.

Successful women entrepreneurs understand that for every business venture, they are in charge of creating, organizing, developing, managing, and assuming all the risks associated with their enterprise. That can seem quite intimidating but as other women business owners will tell you, it’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it! Success is within your grasp and Startup Princess is here to help.

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