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Meet Michelle McCullough, new Managing Director for Startup Princess

October 11, 2011

Startup Princess is excited to announce that Michelle McCullough is the new Managing Director for Startup Princess.  Kelly will still be active in our community, run #startupchats (every Wednesday from Noon to 1 Mtn on Twitter) & be part of the direction and strategy for Startup Princess with Michelle.  Michelle will assume a larger role than her current position as Business Development Director, which she has been since 2008.  She’ll continue to manage partnerships, sponsorships, affiliates and events in addition to her new responsibilities.

In addition to Startup Princess, Michelle is the owner of Doodads Promotional Products and is a speaker and business strategist.  Please welcome her to her new role and connect! Enjoy her interview.

Professional Background:  I’ve spent the last 14 years in marketing, advertising and sales working in all aspects of the industry. I’ve worked for advertising agencies, a television station, started a newspaper and worked in sales for a large corporation.  I love balancing traditional and emerging tools to share a message.  I also started Doodads Promotional Products when I was 19.  It’s still a growing, viable company and it’s just one way I fuel my entrepreneurial spirit.  I speak for corporations and organizations about marketing, advertising, sponsorships, and public relations (and love to give a motivational speech here are there).  I love helping entrepreneurs fulfill their business dreams and help them take their businesses to the next level, whatever that is for them.  I’ve been with Startup Princess since 2008 as the Business Development Director managing Startup Princess partnerships, sponsorships, affiliates, and events.

What you wanted to be when you grew up: A lawyer

What you are: Speaker, Strategist, Success Coach, Serial Entrepreneur

Brief Summary of your Start Up:    I’m a speaker, business strategist, personal success coach and a serial entrepreneur.  :) I may have come into Startup Princess when it was 2 years in, but I still consider it as one of “my” companies. :)

Company Website: http://www.startupprincess.com

Personal Website: http://www.speakmichelle.com

What inspired you: When I was in High School and College I was on the debate team.  It was something that I loved and I excelled.  I was always disappointed that there wasn’t a professional debate team like there was professional baseball or hockey.  I told myself I’d be a professional speaker someday.  My favorite thing to do is speak to audiences large or small.  I’ve also LOVED marketing since I took my first marketing class in High School.  Everything that I do today is virtually throwing speaking and advertising in a blender and out comes Startup Princess! :)

How did you fund your businesses? Bootstrapping

Do you have a Fairy Godmother?  Lots of amazing people have mentored me along the way.  But my most recent coach and dear friend Tiffany Peterson has been really instrumental in helping me develop since I met her 1 year ago this week through Startup Princess!

Do you belong to any Business Organization or Networking Groups? Startup Princess, BNI, Chamber of Commerce, The Hub

Current Business Challenge? Growing at a comfortable speed.

What are you doing about it? I’m remembering that raising my family is more important that growing a business.  Though I certainly believe they can co-exist, I’m very careful to ensure that my family doesn’t feel like they are being sacrificed in order to be successful in the business world.  That doesn’t mean that I always do this well, but setting my priorities and shifting them from my family to my businesses (and vice versa) takes a lot of planning, and day-to-day intuition.

Favorite motivational quote: Oh boy.  So many are swimming in my head.  I’ll share this one for now: “That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do.  Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed, but our ability to do has increased.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Family? Married to my best friend, Aaron.  We have two high-energy and highly-adorable toddlers ages 3 and 1.

How do you balance family and business? Like I said above, balancing family and business is an “act”.  I don’t believe life balance exists.  I believe we have to have a system of figuring out our priorities and know when to shift one into the first position and when to shift another back.  I have a system I use called the Life Priority System.  It’s a role based system that focuses on the things I want to be rather than the things I have to do.  It’s why I created the Life Balance Myth Workshop.  I’ve spent years of research and talked to a number of professionals trying to find the secret.  Now that I’ve found what works for me and other women I work with, I’m trying to share it with the world!

Favorite book?  The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield

What do you do to relax? Read a good book (fiction and non-fiction), scrapbook, watch an 80’s movie, spend time with my family and friends.

What do you want to change most about your world? I want people to be kinder and happier.  I want my kids to grow up being nice and treated the same in return.  I truly believe in the philosophy “Givers gain”, and wish more people believed in that as well.  I think the world, especially the business world, would be a lot better off if we all tried to give a little more and take a little less.

What are you most proud of? Running 3 businesses AND raising a family.

What advice would you like to offer other Start Up Princesses?  Grow at your own pace.  Stop comparing yourself to others or thinking that someone else has the “secret” to running a business and having a thriving personal life.  They are all trying to figure it out, too.  As I have coached women entrepreneurs over the last 3 years, I’ve found that more often than not, problems in business are because they are struggling to find balance.  They are often working too much, working too little or spending their time on the wrong activities that should be trashed or delegated.  My advice is to do what’s best for you and your business in your current stage in life regardless of what your competitors or friends are doing.

Favorite Magic Wand (tool/resource)?  The 2 G’s: God and Google (Kim Flynn planted that in my head and now I couldn’t possibly think of any other favorite resource.)  I rely on both daily.

I’m excited for this new chapter with Startup Princess and look forward to many great opportunities ahead.  If we haven’t met already, I hope to meet you at a live event someday!  Until then, let’s connect virtually.  Follow me on twitter @speakmichelle, find me on facebook here and at my personal website http://www.speakmichelle.com

 

Written by Michelle · Filed Under Interviews 

Meet Touchpoint Event Keynote Speaker Heather Madder!!

September 1, 2008

Oddly enough/divinely arranged I met Heather Madder, professional speaker, writer, and former-talkshow host in the bathroom at the Miller Innovation Center in Sandy, Utah in September of last year. It was just after she spoke to my heart at a women’s event. I was drawn to Heather’s energy and spirit at once and wanted to connect with her. It became one of those rare moments Read more

Written by startupprincess · Filed Under Interviews 

  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!