Article By Sarah Shaw | Entreprenette

I have been knee deep in my new 26-week Entreprenette course for the past few weeks and am so inspired by the projects these women are bringing to the world.  And to top this off, I feel like every time I open a magazine or the newspaper these days there’s an article about someone FINALLY taking the steps to launch their “big idea”.  I feel totally surrounded by innovation and creativity.
Do you get as excited as I do when you hear people talking about their ideas?   When I hear ideas, my mind starts to whirl, I start to visualize and get these amazing colorful pictures. I start to see the item in stores, magazines and even on people or in a house.  Sometimes I have to bite my tongue to keep from overwhelming them with my ideas about how they can get started and manufacture it, market it, package it, and get PR……..my mind just starts ticking and I want to teach them everything I know! I have a very photographic mind and when ideas start flowing I can “see” them very quickly  - it has been a very useful tool for me over the years – especially with designing my own line.

Did you know that during the great depression the ideas for the
Twinkie, Monopoly and the Photocopier were born?

What will this recession be remembered for?
What will be created today, tomorrow and the next day?
Will you be one of the innovators mentioned in greatness?
What are you waiting for?
This is the time to launch that idea you’ve been sitting on for years.
Don’t’ let someone else beat you to it.
Did you know:

• Inventors groups have doubled in size.
• Patent filings are going up each day for individuals, while going down for large corporations who are cutting back.
• Licensing companies phones are ringing off the hook.

I read this article in the LA Times about students from The Pratt  Institute in NY who were challenged to create their “big idea” for $1.  How can that be done you wonder? Well I wondered as well and was so impressed by their ingenuity and drive to create interesting products for $1 or less.
You can do it too!
Now is the time to get moving and create that prototype you’ve been dreaming about.
What are you waiting for?
Go ahead – take the $1 challenge.  What can you find, borrow, or get to make this happen?
Start at home – make a prototype with anything on hand.  Use clay, paper, wire, socks, bed sheets, whatever will be easiest for you.  Glue it, staple it, bake it.  Visit the hardware store for more unusual items needed.  Ask friends, a handyman, even your husband, dad, brother, mother, sister, wife or significant other for help if they‘re handy.
OK how does it look?
Let us know – we want to support you.

Popularity: 34% [?]

Posted by Sarah Shaw | Entreprenette | Simply Sarah

I am so excited! I was interviewed on the MS. CEO Radio show earlier this week.
If you want to learn how I launched my first handbag line and got tons of press for myself then tune in to Build it with Buzz.

Popularity: 45% [?]

To purchase a Handy Hold All go to Simply Sarah.
Use coupon code MOMPRENETTE for FREE shipping.

1. Organize your handbags.
The Handy Hold All is the perfect solution to keeping your closet neat and your handbags looking like new!

2. Clean up your hubby’s baseball caps.
Are baseball caps scattered all around your house? Now you can put them all in one area. And the next time he asks where is favorite cap is you will actually know!

3. Coat Closet Boredom?
The next time guests walk in your front door and you offer to take their bag and coat, you will impress them with your super organized and cute coat closet!

4. Hang up your favorite scarves.
Keep your favorite scarves from getting wrinkled or lost by hanging them up on The Handy Hold All.

5. Dorm Room Disasters?
No more! Keeping small dorm rooms organized and cheery is always a challenge. Not any longer! Make sure to send one in your next care package!

6. Tight on Closet Space in the Guest Room?
Hang a Handy Hold All on the back of your guest door and slip some hangers through the loops and Voila! An instant closet!

7. Are Bulky Winter Jackets Taking Up Excess Space in Your Closet?
Solution, hang The Handy Hold All up in your attic, slip some hangers through the loops and add your winter jackets/coats. Now go shopping for some new spring/summer clothes to fill up all your new found closet space!

8. Too Many Necklaces? Too Little Time?
Let The Handy Hold All help you out! Collect all your necklaces around the house and hang them up. Problem Solved! Now get back to what you were doing!

9. Baby Bags and Packs Weighing You Down?
Pick a bright fun Handy Hold All that your baby will enjoy looking at and hang all your baby bags on back of your baby’s room door.

10. Gifts!!  Gifts!! Gifts!!
*Need a last minute hostess gift?
*Know a High School Grad going to College and need the perfect Gift?
*In a bind because it’s your friend’s birthday and she already has everything?
*Still searching for that perfect anytime gift?

The Handy Hold All comes in a box with a over the door hook making it the perfect instant gift!

Popularity: 25% [?]

Article by Sarah Shaw | Entreprenette
Sarah teaches people how to take their “big idea” and turn it into a bankable tangible product.

When I received an email from Martha Stewart about the third annual Dreamers into Doers contest, it really got me thinking about all the things we - me and you - dream about our lives.  Everyone has dreams, hopes and desires; but do we act on them or wait for them to happen to us? I have been a doer my whole life and have realized lately that I sometimes forget about my dreams - which is why this struck me as so poignant.

Do we need to make our dreams become a reality?
Do they happen naturally if they are meant to be?
Meaning – is there a higher self that controls your destiny?

I have been thinking about this now for a few days.
Since I have always been a doer – have an idea and make it happen kind of gal – I just “did” all the time and never really thought about my dreams in the sense of “Oh I’d like to do this now”. I think I usually just decided to make something happen and I’d start on the process. It might have been sort of unconscious. Like when I started my first handbag business - I didn’t really stop to think, “Can I really do this?” I never felt like the “doing part” was a job - It all sort of came naturally to me. I don’t mean the “how to” part – that I had to dig around and figure it out like everyone else. But I mean the passion to make it happen. I guess I never let anything get in my way when I was making a dream come true.  So this makes me wonder – was it meant to be, was this my destiny? Or was it only my hard work that made it happen?

Cut to many, many years later – I am now a teacher/coach/mentor and LOVE it. I never did anything to become one – it happened naturally. I feel like I was drawn to teach what I know. Was this a dream I never knew I had? In fact, it was the farthest thing from my dreams. Funny story actually – I moved to LA after college to work in the movies as a costumer while I was applying to grad school to get a MFA in Costume Design. I wanted to design costumes on Broadway and thought I needed this degree. Ultimately, I got a full scholarship to NYU - but never went. By that time, I was already successfully working on movies in LA and didn’t see the “need” for a MFA since I wasn’t going to go to Broadway after all, and I never wanted to be a teacher! Funny how things come full circle when you least expect it!

That said, being an Entreprenette means that you are a doer of your dreams. Sometimes your dreams just unfold and happen before you, and the work part seems very minimal – like it sort of falls in your lap. Other times you work very hard to make your dream a reality – usually more often than not. Entreprenettes thrive on finding ways to make it happen, but at the same time, we find that if it is meant to be, it happens almost effortlessly. Being an Entreprenette means being committed to your vision and doing whatever it takes to get there. A strong vision puts so much power in your hands mentally, spiritually and physically.  A vision will help you deal with adversity and get you through it. Knowing that you have to eat, drink and breathe your vision to achieve success is the key to being a successful Entreprenette.

Our dreams come in all sizes and shapes, personally and professionally. Dreams are an important part of real life as well as the imagination. When I think back on my life and the dreams that have become a reality I am amazed.

I speak French fluently
I worked on big Hollywood films
I launched a handbag line and it was hugely successful
I patented something
I married a Frenchman
I finally got pregnant – with identical twins, no less
I had an incredible friendship with my father
I am a business coach/teacher/mentor

What are your dreams and how are you becoming a doer today?

Popularity: 12% [?]

Article by Sarah Shaw | Entreprenette
Sarah teaches people how to take their “big idea” and turn it into a bankable tangible product.

As funny as this may sound, it struck me today as I was drying my hair that we are our OWN best advocate.  I know this deep down inside but I often forget, or just don’t think about it. Note to self: Think about this every day all the time! We know our products best and should be talking about them, working them into conversations and GETTING them into the hands of potential users as often as possible.OK back to my hair – I have curly hair but really prefer straight (the grass is always greener right?) and drag out that blow dryer and products galore to get it that way.

So last weekend I held a seminar about the 10 simple steps to starting a product line and I was given a leave-in conditioner sample to try out by a woman there.  I have to say – I  was immediately suspicious when she said, “This is the best  detangler, static controller, frizz stopper you will ever try and on top of that, it has all kinds of vitamins and stuff to make your hair shiny.”  “Yeah right” I thought!  Anyhow, a week later when I realized I forgot to try it – I tried it today…… I am amazed!

IT WORKED!
IT WAS A MIRACLE

She was 100% correct.  I am hooked.  I wrote her the gushiest note ever and she now has a client forever!  She took the time to hand me a sample, follow up with an email and see where it got her?

IT WAS A MIRACLE

She was 100% correct.  I am hooked.  I wrote her the gushiest note ever and she now has a client forever!  She took the time to hand me a sample, follow up with an email and see where it got her?

Talking about your product (or idea if at that stage) will only help spread the word and attract new buyers.  You have the passion and commitment to make this happen more than anyone; more than your sales reps, more than your stores, more then your BFF, your significant other, and more than your mom.   If you want your hair to look as great as mine did (does?) then click here to buy her Vita Plexx.  This is a total shameless plug and she has no idea I am doing this!

Be BOLD, take action steps today to reach out to the people you are most afraid of.
Is it stores? The media?

Here are a few pointers to ATTRACT your next potential customer:

1.    Create a list of “dream stores” - Call them all and find out who the buyer is.                                        A few ways to find these stores are:

• Magazines (online and in person)   example: Luckymag
• Look at competitors websites and “borrow” their list.
• Google Google Google ex:  Boutiques Denver – you will see how many retail stores come up - then call call call.
• Trade lists with a friend in similar industry

2.    Make sure your catalogs are up to date and looking good.
3.    Stay on top of your current stores – call or email, check in from time to time to see how sales are going, make friends with the buyer.
4.    Reach out to the media.  If you don’t want to go sit in a bookstore and find the contacts yourself, you can join seeking designers.com for $20/month and they provide media lists and PR opps FREE with your membership + you get to build a little store on their website for more exposure. Awesome right?
5.    Join helpareporterout for FREE PR opps 3x  a day.
6.    Join some networking groups that cater to products or your demographic.  I like smartyla and savorthesuccess
7.    Twitter, Facebook, Linkden, etc……….
8.    Send email updates with specials from your website
9.    Offer an incentive to get them to sign up on your mailing list.  I offer 25% off on Simply Sarah
10.    TALK about it with as many people as possible all the time.

Popularity: 32% [?]

This interview is with Sally Sampson, cookbook writer, food critic, gardener, loyal friend, unbelievably wonderful mother and a darn good cook!

Q: What is your name? Sally Sampson

Q: Company name and website? sallysampson.com

Q: We launched the website in: August, 2008

Q: What is your business or what do you sell?
I am a cookbook and magazine writer and recipe consultant.

Q: Who or what was the inspiration behind your company?
When I was in my early 20’s I used to get very late night phone calls from a childhood friend who was deeply conflicted about the career and life choices he had made. Newly divorced, he had been a teacher and dreamed of going back to teaching but had succumbed to the external pressure and lure of being a Hollywood talent agent.  In the meantime I dreamed of owning my own business but figured I would do it later, whatever that meant. When he died a few years later, I decided there would never be any waiting for me: that if I wanted to pursue something I would. I opened a little take out shop which I owned for 10 years. My first cookbook was written at the end of those 10 years, when I realized I preferred writing cookbooks to running a business.

Q: How did you get started?
I had a small take out café where I became well known for my soups. I wrote a soup cookbook and found that I loved being at home, cooking and writing, rather than interacting with customers all day.

Q: How long before your business was profitable, or when is it projected to become profitable?
My shop was slightly profitable right away, in the sense that I was able to support myself. Same thing with cookbook writing. However, I live in line with the amount of money I make: when I am earning little, I live carefully and when I am making a lot, I spend and save more. Either way, I don’t sweat it too much.

Q: Do you ever feel like giving up at times? If so, what keeps you going?
I often feel like there are too many cookbooks out there and that I never want to write another one. As soon as I say that, somehow someone comes to me with an idea or I have an idea and then I just write another one. Plus, it’s really fun.

Q: What qualities (i.e., family support, discipline, time management) do you think are necessary for a women entrepreneur? I think they are probably the same for men and women: focus, discipline, independence, resilience, a good idea (s), the support of family and friends.

Q: What is the one thing (book, website, coach, mentor, tool, blog, service, etc) that you value and can say has contributed to your success? Great parents.

Q: What was the worst advice someone gave you?
I am sure I have been given lots of bad advice but I quickly blocked it out!

Q: What are your business or personal goals for the next year?
Have my 100 Calorie Snack Cookbook be really successful. Get my anti-obesity project up and running. Fall in love. Lose 10 pounds. Plant a lilac bush.

Q: What advice would you give to someone just starting out in business or thinking about taking the leap into entrepreneurship? Be really honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses.

Q: is there anything else you wish I had asked? No, you’re brilliant!

Popularity: 13% [?]

As a Momprenette it is hard for me to find “down time”.  I feel like I am always working be it at my mom stuff or my work stuff.  I look forward to the weekends these days as I have decided that I really deserve time off  and have promised myself that I can do whatever I want for at least 3 hours a day while the girls are napping.  And of course, because I am an overachiever,  I try to do as much as possible in my 3 hours.   I live in Los Angeles and the weather is usually gorgeous - as it is today.  My roses are all blooming and I plan to soak up some sunshine and admire them in their full glory, perhaps prune a few and definitely cut some for the house.  I have a girlfriend stopping over for a quick visit after lunch, then I am going to catch up on a few magazines like Real Simple and Martha Stewart, and hopefully doze off for a quick cat cap before the girls wake up.  We have plans to meet some friends and their daughter at the park towards the end of the day for a playdate and early picnic.  I know to a lot of people this sounds like a crazy way to spend my “free time”, and that if you were me you’d probably just take to your bed and relax, maybe catch up on some TV.  Don’t get me wrong - I do that on some weekends too.  I try to do my girlie upkeep during the week when the salons are empty and prefer to spend my weekends at home or at the park with friends and their kids.  We all work so hard at life and business that we need to rest and rejuvenate in the ways that resonate with us personally.  If you sit for a minute and feel what your body needs today  it will come to you.  Maybe you need to take a walk, take a yoga class, cook, read a good book, craft, sew, talk to a friend, cry, create, invent or just sit quietly.  Whatever it is, do it.  Take the time for yourself today - you deserve it.

Popularity: 7% [?]

So I have to admit that I am really just getting started into the whole world of Twitter and Facebook.  I find that it is such a time warp do you?  I sit down in the morning to look at all the emails and updates and before I know it, it’s noon and I’m still in my PJ’s with a cold cup of coffee next to me that my husband keeps asking if he can throw away!  I mean how much time is enough to spend on it all each day?  Every five minutes it seems like someone new is following me on Twitter - and they are mostly men - isn’t that funny?  I feel totally obligated to look at them all and see if I want to follow back - I mean that’s the purpose right?  But I am spending HOURS each day looking at them all to see if they are interesting, might have good ideas, or hope they are going to post articles down the line.  For me, it is all about the business contacts - I have enough friends!  Do you have any tips for a newbie?  I like to think of myself as fairly savvy  and not very technically-challenged but this is throwing me for a loop.  My time is budgeted tight as a drum as I am mom to 14 month-old identical twin girls named Alix and Maddie.  Luckily they still nap 2x a day (I know how lucky I am) so I squeeze in work when they go down, but I still have to budget it all in.  I was humming along until I started all this social media stuff……. What is a busy Momprenette to do?  Any suggestions for me - for all the other Momprenettes out there?

Popularity: 8% [?]

I am excited to launch this new idea.  I want this to be a place where moms can come to find everything that a budding Momprenette needs to know.  You will find tips on how to improve your business, interesting articles I find, interviews with other mogul moms, quick meals, party ideas, giveaways and more.  This is the one-stop-shop for everything mom related.  Please send me your ideas, recipes, blogs, and comments.  I hope I can make this a place you visit often, and that you walk away with something that changes or improves your life.

Popularity: 7% [?]