Introducing Catey Hill, Author of Shoo, Jimmy Choo! The Modern Girl’s Guide to Spending Less & Saving More

Here’s a smart girl, Catey Hill (Money Editor for New York Daily News Online and former Forbes Financial Marketing Manager) who knows what she wants (shoes mostly) but she’s wise enough to set limits and boundaries to keep her finances in check.  Luckily for the rest of us she’s written a book to share her strategies and tips to help other women in their 20’s-30’s take control too.  Catey covers spending, credit cards, student and auto loans, saving, investing, buying a home, and more. She teaches with a I’ve been there/big sister approach and offers exercises and worksheets to help her readers.

I recently met Catey on Twitter and was delighted to learn about her newly released book, with a catchy title “Shoo, Jimmy Choo! The Modern Girl’s Guide to Spending Less & Saving More”. I thought many of our readers would resonate with the subject of Catey’s book, (it’s 0n my Amazon wishlist) and enjoy learning more about why and how she wrote her book.

Congratulations Catey for publishing your book and for her publisher for moving mountains to get it in the stores before Christmas too…way to go! Best wishes with your book launch and all the opportunities ahead.

Enjoy getting to know Startup Princess Catey Hill!

Hometown: Atlanta, GA

Current Residence (City, State): New York, NY

Education:
- B.A. in Psychology, Business Minor from Tulane University
- M.A. in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin

Professional Background:
-Author, Shoo, Jimmy Choo! The Modern Girl’s Guide to Spending Less & Saving More (Sterling Publishing, $14.95)
- 6 years of professional marketing experience, including working as the Financial Marketing Manager for Forbes
- 6 years of professional writing experience, including my current position as the Money Editor for the New York Daily News online

What you wanted to be when you grew up: A veterinarian (but as it turned out, I faint at the sight of blood!)

What you are: Writer (a pretty blood-free profession, so I’m doing OK).

Brief Summary of your Start Up: I’m an author and I’m pleased to share my first book, Shoo, Jimmy Choo! The Modern Girl’s Guide to Spending Less & Saving More.

Company Website: www.ShooJimmyChoo.com

What inspired you? Watching other women go through what I did – spending to much, not saving enough, feeling intimidated by money management and investing – and realizing that there was not a personal finance book that truly spoke to women like me (those of us who know we’ll never give up gorgeous shoes or much-needed beach vacas but still want to get out of debt and save more).

How long have you been in business? 3 years

How did you fund it? Currently, I work as the Money Editor for the New York Daily News to supplement my income as an author (what can I say, I love new shoes, and I can’t afford them on my author salary alone!).

Do you have a Fairy Godmother (or Mentor)? My girlfriends

Do you belong to any Business Organization or Networking Groups? Association of Women in Communication, LinkedIn

Current Business Challenge? I’d like to help even more women manage their money in a savvier way.

What are you doing about it? I’m working with the New York Junior League on a free seminar series, and I hope to partners with other organizations to do something similar.

Favorite motivational quote: Just do it.  (OK, it’s a Nike tagline, not a quote, but I love it! It’s simple, concise and inspirational.)

Family? Jay Robert (partner);  Mouse, the cat (yes, she’s family!); Carey and William Hill, parents; Susie Hill, sister; my girlfriends.

If so, how do you balance family and business? I block out “no-work” zones on my calendar at least twice a week and go have drinks with the girls, see a movie with Jay, have brunch with an old friend, etc.

Favorite book? Anna Karenina

What do you do to relax? Reading, writing and wine (what can I say? A nice glass of Savingnon Blanc after a hard day of work works does the trick!)

What do you want to change most about your world? Time – I need more hours in the day.

What are you most proud of? My book, Shoo, Jimmy Choo! The Modern Girl’s Guide to Spending Less & Saving More, and my relationships with my boyfriend and friends.

What advice would you like to offer other Startup Princesses?
1)    Don’t be intimidated by managing your money!
You can spend less, get out of debt and save smartly.  Ladies, if I – the girl who can’t spend an hour without scouring the eBay for the latest Prada bag and who refuses to wash her hair with anything other than Kerastase – if I can do it, so can you!
2)    Start taking control of your finances today!
The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll have the money you need for your dreams.

Favorite Magic Wand (tool/resource)? Bankrate.com – when in doubt about almost any financial issue, they’ve probably got the answer.

If you could design a tiara, what precious stones would you use? Emeralds and diamonds.  Green is the color of money – and we all know I love money – and diamonds, in addition to being a girl’s best friend, are elegant and classic.

Thank you, Catey!

Mom Entrepreneur Success Strategies

A recent article we ran across at the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur featured suggestions from mom entrepreneurs on how they make it all work – clients, kids and everything in between. There are 107 tips in all, including:

‘Mom entrepreneurs who are busy juggling the priority of a family and the intrigue of growing a business will balance both better with clear boundaries. Read more

What Type of Entrepreneur Are You?

Today I had the pleasure of interviewing serial entrepreneur Brent Bishop, chairman of  one of my favorite companies–the hip and whimsical kid’s brand, Naartjie and also chairman of the web security software company, Content Watch. Previous to these businesses he founded Greenbacks All-a-Dollar (1991), Read more

Sharifah Hardie’s Radio Interview of Startup Princess Founder Kelly King Anderson

Sharifah Hardie interviewed Kelly King Anderson, the Founder of Startup Princess on her Blog Talk radio show Ask Sharifah on June 29th. Enjoy listening to the one hour interview about how Startup Princess was started and what’s next on the horizon. Please note that half way through the show there was a technical difficulty, so there is a pause for a few minutes, but hang on because we resume our conversation.  Sharifah Hardie is a new Fairy Godmother for Startup Princess and we’re excited to have her! Follow Sharifah on Twitter @asksharifah

Twitter for Business

(Originally presented at BYU on March 12, 2009) Listen to the AUDIO here.

What is Twitter?

Microblogging. It’s like a series of Facebook status updates in 140 characters, but better: more interactive, more open. Combines elements of StumbleUpon, Facebook, Email, IM, social/business mixers, and blogging.

Why should I be on Twitter?

It’s the fastest way to share and get information on the web. It takes time at first to build p followers and a good list of followees, but once you’re established, you can do anything on Twitter.

If you want to have any sort of online presence, you should start with Twitter (which can automatically update your Facebook account and your blog, so it’s really not adding too much extra effort).

What can I do with Twitter?

Network. Connect with people across the world (@Kirstyt in AUS) and locally (@sahans in UT). (e.g. Why I’m here instead of @StartupPrincess tonight).

Share stories/pictures/ideas. Send news articles (shorten links using tinyurl.com or tr.im), upload photos (twitpic.com), or take a poll to see if an idea is interesting.

Promote your product/website/brand. Tweet giveaways, events, sales, links to special posts. When people offer to stumble, don’t be shy.

Provide customer service. Set up an RSS feed for your brand name on search.twitter.com (e.g. Chris Brogan).

Build Relationships. Have real people (more than one, if possible) at your company tweet. Be personable and likeable (use humor). Interact, link to other companies.

Find mentors/sponsors. Follow people who are doing what you want to be doing, or who give opportunities to the people who are doing what you want to be doing. (e.g. Leapfrog, @morethanmommy).

Where should I start?

Sign up on Twitter, then explore the different platforms to access Twitter (on the web, on your iGoogle homepage, on your phone, on your desktop). Find an app that works for you. Many people like Tweetdeck and Twhirl. iPhone users like Twitterfon. I use BeTwittered – a gadget on my iGoogle homepage.

Add followers, but do it slowly, trying to keep your followers and followees pretty equal. And tweet – at least once a day, so you don’t look like a bot.

Want to know more? Try these:

How To Twitter (Wall Street Journal) (Note on settings – WSJ is mistaken. You can (now) determine whether you get all @replies or none, or only those that are between people, both of whom you follow).

50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business (Chris Brogan)

Shannon Johnson (Jane @ What About Mom?) is as committed to motherhood as she is to writerhood, which is to say that she should probably be committed. She lives in Utah with her husband Dick and their three daughters.

How Busy Women Can Make Time for Nutrition

Liz Rosenbaum, personal fitness trainer, talks with Kelly King Anderson about what women can do to make sure they are eating well and taking care of themselves nutritionally. This advice is excellent for women in business.

22 Free Things to Manage Your Business & Your Life

Boeing to chop 10,000 jobs. Starbucks closes 300 stores & cuts 6,700 jobs. Caterpillar laying off 2,000 more workers. AOL axing 700 jobs in cost cutting move. U.S. Postal Service considers cutting delivery to 5 days. Circuit City lets 34,000 people go & enters liquidation. Intel fires 6,000 workers. Economy shrinks at fastest clip since 1982. Recession appears to be picking up steam.

We all know that America is going through an economic crisis and most of us have probably been affected by it in some way. Times are indeed tough.

But as mom entrepreneurs, we’re a tenacious bunch who isn’t likely to give up that easily. We’re going to keep building our businesses, even if we have pinch pennies, go at a slower pace and do much of the work ourselves. Read more