Featured Interview: Emily McCormick and CK Wooley, Shabby Apple
February 28, 2008
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
If you’re a fan of Shabby Apple, then you’ll be thrilled to know Shabby Baby is here! I love the classic look of Shabby Apple and couldn’t be more impressed with Shabby Baby. Shabby Baby has the
most adorable dresses. The dresses are sweet and simple and just plain cute. When your shabby baby wears one you’ll surely hear the question “where did you get that dress?” more than once.
Shabby Apple is an on-line dress company offering modest, flattering designer dresses at great prices. They call it “a return to what dresses were always meant to be — a one-piece outfit with no need to add anything…no tank tops, no cardigans, nothing.” The company teaches women how to ac
essorize in different ways to make the same dress appropriate for different occasions. Shabby Apple sales are on-line or by trunk shows. Check their website if interested in attending or hosting a trunk show.
Feel good about purchasing from Shabby Apple. It’s a women owned and operated company. They pride themselves on making women feel empowered. Most of their employees are moms and they accommodate by having alternative work schedules. They have also partnered with Unitus, a leading non-profit organization in the microfinance industry, offering micro-credit loans to women world wide. A portion of all their proceeds goes to Unitus. Shabby Apple donates time and money to help alleviate global poverty for millions of women and their families.
As if these founders of Shabby Apple aren’t amazing enough they have impressive backgrounds as well. CK has a B.A. from Stanford University in Art History and Dance. and a M.S. from Columbia University in Social Work. She danced professionally in London and the Amnesty International Film Festival in San Francisco. She provided therapy to the homeless, rape victims and victims of domestic violence in Harlem and Brooklyn. She was a lab assistant at neuroscience lab in Stanford, California.
Emily has a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Brigham Young University and M.A. in Communication. She has worked in marketing and public relations for several advertising and design agencies. She also has a 2 year old and a 2 month old!
Special Thanks to Shabby Apple for sponsoring Startup Princess Founder, Kelly King Anderson’s pageant for Mrs. Utah in May!
Featured Interview: Barry Moltz, Entrepreneur and Author, Bounce!
February 27, 2008
Typically we feature Fairy Godmother posts on Wednesdays… how about we switch it up and feature wisdom from a Business Wizard this week?
It was my pleasure to interview Barry Moltz, internationally known speaker, author, and entrepreneur this week. His latest book, Bounce: Failure, Resiliency and Confidence to Achieve Your Next Great Success 
was very refreshing to read as we don’t often enjoy reading about business failures, we typically like to read the success stories, but the truth is we go up and down in our careers and Barry calls it “Bounce.” Loved it.
QUESTION: Barry, please provide us with your definition of “Bounce”
Let go of what you were taught was the secret path to succeed in business and in life. Let go of the idea that something to learn comes from failure or tha
t you can always duplicate your success. Let go of the shame of losing and the enlarged ego that comes with a big win.
QUESTION: What 3 specific skills do you feel are helpful for entrepreneurs to develop early on in their careers so they are prepared for any unforeseen “Bounce†in their path? Is it an attitude?
- Resiliency. Realize that life is not a linear line. It is a series of ups and downs. It is change. Regardless of the outcome, success or failure, you can always bounce! Take that next action
- Define your own brand of success, not what everyone else says it is. Set money plus goals. Learn to downsize your dreams and define what makes you happily successful. Set patient interim goals: Forget about getting a foothold- get a toe hold! Set small goals to get surely toward your goal.
- Strive for Minimal Achievement. Focus on one thing at a time. It will provide you incredible power in your business. This is becoming difficult because we are a multitasking culture. Multitasking Read more
Why and How I’m Competing in a Mrs. Pageant in May 2008
February 25, 2008
Surprised? Me too!!!!!!!! I never expected it, but it’s absolutely true. I AM COMPETING May 24th in the Mrs. Utah United States pageant. (See below for how you can show your support or sponsor me, I’d really appreciate it!)WHY in the WORLD would I put myself through that
torture, opportunity?Two weeks ago Fairy Godmother Cherie Burton (Mrs. Utah 2004) called and invited me to consider the competition. At first I just kind of laughed about it and then she kept talking about all the doors that opened for her, all the people she is now connected with, the personal refinement, the motivation to get in shape, etc. I was intrigued– a teeny tiny bit. Then she mentioned the networking again (my weakness)… hmmm… for that reason alone I should do it I thought. But that wasn’t reason enough to get me on stage in a swimsuit (albeit a one piece with a wrap). She said, if you choose to do it… I could mentor you. I was flattered but not convinced. Then after the call was completed I received my WHY. It was a very strong emotional, exciting, and scary moment all at once… shaking me to my core. I just KNEW that I needed to experience the pageant and that much good would come out of it. So, in a nutshell, my underlining decision to compete stems from an inner feeling that it’s right, that God wants me to learn something from this. Now that I’m over the shock I’m excited about the potential growth for Startup Princess too… I look forward to sharing our mission with more women. And, yes, it is fun that our brand goes with the whole idea of winning a crown… I must admit, I really want that crown, an official one.
HOW in the WORLD will I “Make it Happen” in just 3 months?
To know me, you know: I believe in myself, and set my daily intentions so I create my own dreams, I’m a hard worker and I know the right people to help me…and if I don’t know the right people, then I find them. I have the right people in place now.
First of all, I feel that I have God’s blessing and encouragement. I will depend on Him daily for my support and ask Him to guide my efforts.
My husband, Matt bless his soul is completely supportive and is helping me to pay for the expenses of the entry fees, trainer, hair, etc. (but I’m seeking sponsors to help with my wardrobe). He is excited about what this will mean for our family, as we’re all eating better now and there’s a heightened attention to health in general. He’ll be my escort in my evening gown which I think is extra special! My kids are excited too… they’ve been exercising with me and we’ve been looking at hairstyles in magazines, etc. together… they’re great at giving me their opinions!
Fortunately, I know 3 previous winners, all Fairy Godmothers for Startup Princess… Mrs. Utah 2006 Continental Becca Levie, Mrs. Utah 2004, Cherie Burton, Mrs. Utah 2003 Kristen Lamb, all great friends of mine. Cherie is my pageant trainer and will be working with me on my strategy, platform, wardrobe, etc. and I’m sure I’ll be talking to Becca and Kristen a lot as well.
I also have a personal fitness trainer, Liz Rosenbaum, also a great friend and Startup Princess (she sold her company Keeping Memories Alive and Scrapbooks.com last year) is now starting a fitness training company, so I’m officially her first client and I couldn’t be happier. She’s very focused on results and I need that. She also lives 4 minutes away so on warmer days I could actually jog over to her house before our 6am training, if I get really ambitious!
When possible I will select my wardrobe and accessories from Startup Princesses and other women entrepreneurs to support them and model their creativity. I am looking for sponsors as well with my wardrobe. Email me!
What you might not want to know: I have already had 3 colonics (yes, 3) and believe me that’s a great way to clean yourself out before you attempt any diet program. I’ve been off refined sugar since January 5th (just because I hate the way it makes me feel) and now I’ve been off dairy, carbs, and pumping up healthy proteins, adding way more water, veggies, supplements, etc. I feel really great now just with my focus and attention on whole foods and exercising… can’t wait to see the results as things progress.
Also, if you didn’t know I have a performing background, having grown up in Burbank, I had the chance to be in lots of professional media opportunities, film, tv shows, modeling, theatre productions, etc. and my old days are all coming back to me… in the last few years I saw myself more of a director than a performer with my recent Master’s in children’s theatre, but I’m not afraid to “get into character” and shine!
Will I be blogging about the training, etc.? Yes and No. I will share some of my experiences on Mondays but as far as my strategy, platform (you all will love what I have in mind, promise), wardrobe, pageant secrets goes, I have to be very careful when and how I share until I actually compete because I may hurt myself by sharing too much. If you want to read about a human guinea pig experience with a Mrs. Pageant, click here.
What about Startup Princess?Good thing I followed my feelings to get things in order in January with this site… I pre-posted all of our Wednesday Fairy Godmother posts through August (thank you to everyone who submitted them early!) and Jessica Cryer now writes our Thursday features. Startup Princess news on Fridays will also continue, keep sending us your great news. As far as everything else goes, I’ll still put in a few hours here and there on email, events, and other programs, but I’m going to rely on my partner, Leslie Smoot a great deal and she’s very capable and awesome to run things when I have other obligations.
Ways YOU can support me:Wish me luck, pray for me, think of me when you’re eating Ben & Jerry’s :), and please attend and support me if you’re in town!Sponsor me and we’ll give 10% to a rewarding Startup Princess who wins our elevator pitch competition later in 2008
Advertising opportunities:$300 (online rotating ad on Startup Princess for 3 months, plus 81/2 x 11 ad in our pageant program for 2000 guests)
$150 (online rotating ad on Startup Princess for 1 month, plus 1/2 page ad in our pageant program)
$75 (1/4 page ad)
$50 (business card size)$25 your logo will appear on a “I’m a Startup Princess” page of our members in the pageant program (limited to 25)Deadline: March 20th, email me.
Today’s Magic Wand: After you return from the grocery store soak and wash your veggies in the sink full of warm water with a capful of bleach for about 10-15 min to get all of the parasites and germs off, then rise and repeat again, then cut up all your veggies and store in the fridge so when you need to munch, you’re ready. I love to dip mine in hummus! Roasted Red Pepper is my favorite!Stay tuned for next week’s update!
Startup Princess News * February 22, 2008
February 22, 2008
Utah Startup Princesses! Remember to attend our rescheduled February Networking Tea Party next week, Thursday February 28th featuring Cherie Burton “How to Prepare for a Media Event or Interview” 6:30pm, Provo Academy Library, $10.
News of the Kingdom!
Each week we feature members’ success stories and achievements big and small! (Em
ail us or comment here to share your news.)Celebration Time for Startup Princess Amy R of Super Healthy Kids! She picked up her first run of product today. 1000 Super Healthy Kids plates are available and she’s excited to share them. She’s taking wholesale orders now and would love to be considered for blog reviews, podcasts interviews, or opportunities about nutrition. Contact Amy here.
Fairy Godmother Wendy Piersall of eMoms at Home will be speaking on a panel at SXSW with Darren Rowse about online advertising for newbies. Way to go Wendy! I’ve heard Wendy speak a couple of times and she’s so dynamic and intensely interesting.
Startup Princess Celeste Benn of Free Birthday Stuff just returned home from a whirlwind trip to NYC where she met up with many interested high level companies at the Toy Fair (to offer free coupons via Free Birthday Stuff.com), made connections for her upcoming appearances on Regis & Kelly, The View, and she’s feeling the momentum and the enthusiasm building! Congrats!
Fairy Godmother Nancy Cadjan recently hosted Fairy Godmother Heather Ledeboer of Mom 4 Life on her very popular podcast, Babies and Moms: Birth and Beyond, here’s the link of the show. Nice work to both of you!
What’s your great news? Has one of your wishes been granted lately? Have you MADE it Happen?
Featured Interview: Monique, Founder of Lil’ Sugarplum
February 21, 2008
Who doesn’t love hair accessories for baby and big girls?! If you do, be sure to check out the fun, stylish designs Startup Princess Monique, of Lil’ Sugarplum offers.One of the most enjoyable things for us is to watch young companies grow… Monique’s really expanded her product line and focused on PR lately and i
t’s paying off. I was so happy for her when I saw the recent press this week with her hair clip featured at actress Brooke Burke’s baby shower (Brooke’s 1 year old daughter wore one of her pretty flower clips). Crazy as it is… when a celeb baby wears your product people notice, your product gets excellent exposure, and hopefully sales increase (and more $ for Monique’s charity- March of Dimes, she gives 2% of sales to them). Monique also offers wholesale too.What makes Monique stand out from the other accessory companies? Selection, style, easy to navigate website, pleasing, soft colors/well-designed homepage, all of my questions were answered by the top navigation bar, priced-right products, and above all I love that she grows her company as she can fit it around her kids… she says, “I’m a stay at home mom with a fun hair clip business on the side…” When asked what her biggest challenge was, she said, “Being patient because once my little ones start school I’ll have more time to play with the business. I’m in no hurry, I adore my time with my children.”
Enjoy Getting To Know Startup Princess Monique!
Name: Monique
What you wanted to be when you grew up: teacher, veternarian, lawyer
What you are: Proud stay at home mommy and wife with a fun hair clip business on the side.
Company Website? www.LilSugarplum.com
What inspired you? My beautiful children.
How long have you been in business? nearly two years in May
How did you fund it? It only took a little bit of money to get started. My husband makes a great salary so I was able to use some of it. ☺
Do you have a Fairy Godmother (or Mentor)? I’m pretty much self-taught but I have met a handful of very, very supportive business people who have had many wonderful ideas and tips for me. I try to “pay it†forward too.
How to Write a Search Engine Optimized Press Release
February 20, 2008
Today’s post was written by Fairy Godmother Janet Meiners, Internet Marketing Specialist. Janet blogs at Newspapergrl and works at Orange Soda.
I’ve been writing a lot more Search Engine Optimized (SEO) press releases again and so it’s on my mind. I’d like to share the steps of writing
an SEO press release.1. Assemble the facts, news angle, and begin writing.
To me, the best quality press releases involve actual interviewing, on the phone. There is so much more information you get by talking to someone. Sure, you can use email and that works, especially because you can’t misquote and you have a record. However, when you interview the right person, their passion for the subject can shine through and you can capture that essence in your writing. It also makes the story unique. But it takes longer.2. Identify the keyword phrase or related phrase you want to optimize your press release for.
This can be easy if you already know the phrase but most of the time you need to do keyword research to see the competition and demand for a keyword phrase. You may want to go for a niche keyword that you can rank for more quickly. If you choose something like “Internet marketing†then you’re up against at least 100k other web sites who want to rank for that. That’s a long-term investment.3. Incorporate the keyword phrase into the press release.
You need to make the keyword phrase an anchor, use it in the first sentence, title, and body of the press release. Don’t overdo it or it will look like spam. There are times I take an existing press release from a PR firm and add SEO. Otherwise you may want to start out with keyword phrase first rather than adding it later. I like my press releases to read well and the feel of them to come through first and then add keywords.
4. Submit the press release to a press release distribution service.
This sounds easy, but this is almost as much work as writing the press release. Each press release service has different rules according to how much you pay.
Links - Some won’t allow links, most regulate how many links your press release can have. Even the process of creating links is different for each service (and not always intuitive).Optimization in the code (you can’t see this because it’s just for search engines) - You might need a list of 20 related keywords and write a summary with keyword phrases. This is SEO that no one sees but is very important.
Categorizing your press release - You may need to categorize your press release by subject and geographic areas.
Social media optimization - You may be able to add tags or other aspects, like Digg, Delicious, etc.
Attachments - If the service (like PRWeb) allows attachments, images, podcasts, etc, you need to identify and upload those.
Timing- Most of the time you need to submit your release a day or more before you want it to go out. For the media, you want to make sure that’s not on a weekend.When I’ve crafted a great press release for search engines and for people I know that my editorial score will be high so there will be upwards of 50k (conservatively) clicks. Then if company I created it for changes it so it sounds right to them (but messes up the search engine optimization piece). (Sometimes legal, a few VPs, and directors have to buy off. That can seriously affect the success of your release and takes much more time.)
I’ve written press releases for newspapers and the media and we just faxed or emailed them to a list. Not much thought after writing except to target the release to the right people. Writing for search engines is much more technical and takes quite a bit more time.
Feel free to add information that I may have overlooked, or reference your posts about SEO press releases. Within the SEO industry we know a lot and none of this is news to you. However, I wanted to distinguish the difference between regular press releases and SEO optimized press releases.
Here’s a useful template for press releases by PR Web.
How to Achieve Your Childhood Dreams
February 18, 2008
Today’s Magic Wand: Fairy Godmother Cherie Burton, just sent this video clip from Oprah featuring Randy Pausch (Fall 2007) who is dying of pancreatic cancer, he was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and gave an inspiring lecture about life to his students that they asked him to repeat on Oprah. It’s incredibly inspiring and Randy’s message matches our Startup Princess theme Make a Wish, Make it Happen…you’ll love this 11 minute clip. As an update, Randy’s life has been extended and here’s Randy Pausch’s medical blog updates, no doubt his upbeat attitude and courage has given his body much strength over the last several months.After you watch it, please share your thoughts… comments… we’d love to hear how this message has touched you.
Startup Princess News * February 15, 2008
February 15, 2008
We hope your Valentine’s was LOVELY!
Update! Utah members: We RESCHEDULED our event (we had to cancel this week because of the snow storm) with Cherie Burton, Mrs. Utah 2004 “How to Prepare for a Media Event”Thursday February 28th, 6:30pm at the Provo Academy Library, $10.
Here’s an opportunity for PR and charity! Please consider donating a gift certificate for a silent auction at a Gala in Utah benefitting orphaned girls in Uganda for the non-profit organization, Ssejinja
Here is a post with more info. Many thanks to the Startup Princesses whom have already committed to give.Good Luck to new Startup Princesses Loraine Mojica and Misty Lefrandt whom are both entering the BYU Business Plan competitions next week!
Great Ne
ws and Celebrations of the Kingdom!Startup Princess Kristy Glass (Model/Performer) shared her recent news about these fun ads she and her daughter are featured in, including this one for Motts which will be appearing in magazines this Spring. Kristy does an amazing job of sharing her experiences of being a mom/model in NYC in a fun, upbeat, and real way on her blog, one of my fav reads! I predict Kristy will write a book one day of all of her experiences, she’s a great writer.
Fairy Godmother Heather Ledeboer, Founder of Mom 4 Life shared her recent press in Pregnancy magazine where her online store was featured as “the place” to purchase many fun baby products. Heather’s really amazing at getting PR for her biz, she’s always looking for opportunities to submit an article, participate in a contest, get her name our there…way to Make a Wish, Make it Happen!
What’s YOUR great news? Have something to share? Email us and we’ll feature you next week…or share now by commenting!
Featured Interview: Jamie Dadant, Circle of Sentiments
February 14, 2008
The following interview was written by Startup Princess Writer, Jessica Cryer.
I absolutely love these charm necklaces from Circle of Sentiments. They are the cutest reminders of the ones you love the most. Jamie Dadant, founder of Circle of Sentiments, quit her job in the corporate world after giving birth to twin boys. By staying at home Jamie was able to make her wish of owning her own business come true. She started on on-line baby boutique that included hand stamped custom ma
de jewelry among other things. The jewelry became so popular that Jamie decided to focus solely on the jewelry and Circle of Sentiments was born!Circle of Sentiments offers simple chains with sterling silver or copper disc engravable charms. Choose your charms and then have it engraved with your spouse or baby’s name or initial. Or buy Grandma a cute charm bracelet with the initials of all her grandchildren. I love them all, but my favorite is the Birthday necklace also referred to as “Mommy Jewelry.” It’s a sterling silver necklace with two discs; one with your baby’s name and the other for the baby’s birth date. How sweet.
Wouldn’t you love to receive one of these as a gift? The website offers a “drop a hint” link. Provide the name of the product you want and the information on the person whom you’d like to receive your “hint” and Circle of Sentiments will take care of the rest.
Enjoy Meeting Startup Princess, Jamie Dadant!
Name: Jamie Dadant
Hometown: Newark, Ca.
Current Residence: Anaheim, Ca.
Education: BA degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara
Professional Background: Prior to staying at home with my kids, I worked in the Marketing department at the Disneyland Resort.
What you wanted to be when you grew up: Teacher
What you are: Stay at home mom, with a web-based business.
Company Website? http://www.circleofsentiments.com
What inspired you? I’ve always wanted to have my own business. After quitting my corporate job to be a stay at home mom, I started my first business, an online baby boutique. One of the many items sold on my site was a line of hand stamped jewelry that I created. The jewelry became really popular. I’ve since made the decision to switch my focus to only selling jewelry, thus Circle of Sentiments was created.
How did you fund it? My start-up costs were pretty minimal, so I was able to fund it through personal savings. Since then, I’ve taken all profits and put them back into the business in order to continue to grow the business. Read more
Help Uganda Orphans: Donate to a Silent Auction
February 10, 2008
Here’s a great opportunity to share! We’re putting together a couple of gift baskets with a “Mom & Baby” theme to auction off on March 6th in Utah to benefit Uganda Orpha
ns affected by AIDS for the non-profit http://www.ssejinja.org/ We’d love you to participate! (please notify us by Friday February 15).Please comment here or email us if you’d like to donate a gift certificate or product for the silent auction. We’re going to link to everyone who donates something.
If you’re in Utah, we’d love for you to attend the March 6th Gala too…here’s the details.
Many Thanks to Fairy Godmothers and Startup Princesses who’ve already committed to donate:Nancy C
adjan Sign Babies Flash CardsHeather Ledeboer Mom 4 Life $10 gift certificate
Debbie Savage Baby Emi Jewelry, 1 Mom & Baby Cambodian Jingle Bell Gift Set, $75 value
Jamie Bird of MiniMe Baby Gear, Wet Happened BagJamie Dadant of Circle of Sentiments, $40 gift certificate
