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Karen Burns Working Girl


Name: Karen Burns, Working Girl

Hometown: I’ve lived in too many places to have a hometown!

Current Residence (City, State): Kirkland, WA

Education: BA in poli sci from ASU

Professional Background (brief, please): I’ve had 59 jobs.  Only got fired from one.

What you wanted to be when you grew up: writer

What you are: writer and artist!

Brief Summary of your Start Up: I design personalized notecards.  I’m also writing a book, “Working Girl: 59 Ways to Love Your Job,” which will come out in Spring 2009 from Running Press.

Company Website? www.karenburnsworkinggirl.com

What inspired you?  A class in Seattle on humor writing.

How long have you been in business? 2 years

How did you fund it?  With my own money—it wasn’t much.

Do you have a Fairy Godmother (or Mentor)? I have tons of lovely friends who provide not only support but wonderful advice.

Do you belong to any Business Organization or Networking Groups?  Yeah, I belong to eWomen Network.  I’ve sold thousands of cards through this group.

Current Business Challenge?  Finding enough time to work on my book.

What are you doing about it?  Well, I just broke down and hired a cleaning person!

Favorite motivational quote:  When you row another person across the river, you get there yourself.

Family?  Yup.

If so, how do you balance family and business?  Fortunately, my husband is very understanding and my cat is not too much trouble.

Favorite book?  An old English textbook from college called Sound and Sense.  It has tons of wonderful poems.

What do you do to relax?  Read, walk.  (Not at the same time.)

What do you want to change most about your world?  I would love to be one of those super-organized people whose house and office is always in perfect order and who can always find things right away.

What are you most proud of?  That I am writing (and publishing) an illustrated book, and two years ago I didn’t even know how to draw!

What advice would you like to offer other Start Up Princesses?  Don’t be surprised at some of the twists and turns your project will take you on.  It’s an exciting adventure!

Favorite Magic Wand (tool/resource)?  Well, I couldn’t live without my trusty laptop.

If you could design a tiara, what precious stones would you use?  I like green stones.  We redheads wear a lot of green.  So, I guess, emeralds!

Would you be interested in being a Fairy Godmother to another woman entrepreneur? (I am working on a secure system to do this, any ideas?) Gosh, I don’t know.  Can I wait until after I’ve got the book done?

What business subjects would you feel comfortable mentoring in?   Very few.  I am working on a wing and a prayer here!

Would you be interested in going to lunch with other women entrepreneurs for a “networking tea party”?  Sure.

  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.

First, join as a member of Startup Princess and start building a solid foundation. Membership entitles you to a listing in the Startup Princess Online Directory where we list women owned businesses. You’ll also access exclusive content like articles, videos, and audio straight from your email inbox. Coupled with feature interviews, discounts on events, networking connections, and press opportunities, your Startup Princess membership will give any woman entrepreneur a great start for her business!

Then, take advantage of Touchpoint, our annual business conference for women entrepreneurs. Practical planning meets sky-high inspiration at this high-impact event for women business owners to network and develop their approach to business with wisdom and creative direction from other women entrepreneurs across the country.

Need a little help taking your business to the next step? Wish you had a fairy godmother like Cinderella offering you a helping hand? Now you can! Startup Princess is the home of Fairy Godmother Consulting, volunteer mentors sharing tips and insights to bless the lives of other women entrepreneurs.

Startup Princess can offer many benefits to women in business from future women business owners to successful women entrepreneurs. Please call or fill out our contact form with questions, concerns, or general interest and let us help you by giving you full access to everything Startup Princess has to offer!