Introducing Jana Francis, Founder and Owner of Baby Steals

By Crystal | Published July 22, 2010

We are pleased to introduce Jana Francis, founder and owner of Baby Steals, and to announce that Jana will be speaking at this years 4th Annual Touchpoint Conference in South Jordan, Utah on September 24th. This is an awesome event that you won’t want to miss. Jana will be speaking on How to Increase Online Sales. To view the complete agenda and to register for this event, click here. We look forward to hearing from all the speakers!

Hometown: Park City, Utah

Current Residence: Murray, Utah

Education: University of Utah (but oddly I cheer for the blue!)

Professional Background: Marketing, Advertising, Sales, Media/Broadcast Advertising, Internet Marketing & Sales

What you wanted to be when you grew up: A mommy with lots of kids, the perfect homemaker, financially free.

What you are: A mommy of 3 kids, an aspiring-to-be perfect homemaker with lots of room to improve, financially free.

Brief Summary of your Start Up: Steal Network started and operates the leading deal of the day websites in the Baby, Children’s and Scrapbook industries. We connect communities of like-minded women together around things they are most passionate about while celebrating one brand per day. We entertain and bring our fans together daily at 9am with a new ‘steal of the day’ – a rarely discounted high quality brand or product up for sale at 50% off or more for 24 hours or until it’s gone! We deliver their ‘joy’ quickly by same-day shipping on all products, and deliver completely fanatical and mind-boggling customer service. We truly connect with (and have become friends with) our fans. Now “stealing” has become a daily obsession for over 250,000+ women around the US and Canada.

Company Website? www.babysteals.com, www.kidsteals.com, www.scrapbooksteals.com, parent company www.stealnetwork.com (under construction)

What inspired you? The gut-wrenching feeling I had the morning my maternity leave was over, when I pulled out of the driveway to go back to work. I worked for 15 years in the corporate world yet wanted nothing more than to have an ‘at-home’ career.

How long have you been in business? Since April of ’08

How did you fund it? Self-funded through personal savings that I was able to pay back within a few months. Approximately $5k for the initial basics.

Do you have a Fairy Godmother (or Mentor)? Not necessarily, but one of my dearest friends Rachel Coleman (www.signingtime.com) has given me some great advice along the road. And after starting a very successful company of her own based on her own passion, it inspired me that I could do the same.

Do you belong to any Business Organization or Networking Groups? I really wish I did! I love nothing more than to meet new people and network. At this time, 3 kids, 31 employees and 250,000+ customers are more than I can manage!

Current Business Challenge? Finding talented people with very niche skills and expertise that I need, and can afford at the same time. My business is an entirely new model and the job descriptions of my employees are not standard or mirrored anywhere else, which makes recruiting very interesting!

What are you doing about it? Outreach- to people I trust and mirror a similar work ethic and passion for business.

Favorite motivational quote: “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” – Emerson

Family? I have 3 children; Easton (16) Brandon (10) and Jane (4). My husband is a Chiropractor and owns Murray Park Chiropractic.

If so, how do you balance family and business? I wish I was better at this. I am still trying to find my balance. Right now, balance means working late into the night the majority of the time. I have faith that will change over time, but I understand in the meantime, you gotta do what you gotta do! Having worked in the corporate world for 15 years and now being able to work from home about 70% of the time, I truly cherish my ability to do that- even though work and home tend to blur into something new.

Favorite book? Simple Abundance

What do you do to relax? Anything domestic. Gardening, cooking or baking, and music!

What are you most proud of? My children. They are the center of my universe and are 3 really incredible and amazing kids!

What advice would you like to offer other Start Up Princesses? If you are going to partner with someone in your business, make absolutely sure that you enjoy and trust this person and that they mirror your values, ethics, and bring as much to the table and have as much passion for the business that you do. I have been so fortunate to have an amazing business partner and I can’t imagine running my company without him. Because of how great of a team we are, I can see how that relationship alone can make or break the success of a company, especially in the beginning stages.

Favorite Magic Wand (tool/resource)? Google. I am not sure what I’d ever do without their toolbox of free cloud computing.

If you could design a tiara, what precious stones would you use? Aquamarines. It’s my birthstone, and I love pastel blues.

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2 Responses to “Introducing Jana Francis, Founder and Owner of Baby Steals”

  1. Robin Feltner on July 27th, 2010 4:56 am

    I agree. Google is somewhat of a magic wand. Great story! Keep up the great work.

  2. Robin Feltner on July 27th, 2010 4:57 am

    …you also look exactly like Jennifer Aniston :)
    .-= Robin Feltner´s last blog ..Is A Beautiful Woman Bad For A Man’s Health =-.

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