Kim Shanahan-Book Bouquet Gift Baskets

Kim's Story


1. Tell us the story of your journey. Include details about what inspired you to go into business, was this a life long dream or a newer desire. Share as many details as you are comfortable sharing.

In 1998 I came up for the idea of a "book bouquet" when I wanted to send a gift to a sick friend in the hospital. With my busy two year old son in tow buying, wrapping and sending my gift took longer than I liked. I found myself wishing for a company that would do just that. Since there was none I decided to create it. I named my company Book Bouquet because I wanted giving books to be just as pretty as a bouquet of flowers.

2. Did you go into business before or after you had children? How do/did your children affect your decision to go into business.

My decision to start my own business was affected by two big things.  First my husband is in the army and that means we move more than the average family.  Second I had one child and wanted to leave the stress of working and worrying about him from my life.  Back in 1998 when I first came up with the idea the internet was very new.  I realized I could build a business online that would allow me to move and raise my child without having to change my business every time my life changed.

3. Share your trials and triumphs. We want to hear about your highs and lows. Did you have any low points or worries as well as high points and huge shining moments?

There are a lot of trial and triumphs when you have been in business more than 10 years.  For me the biggest triumph is having three kids who I am able to take to doctor appointments, attend school functions and be their Mom while running a business.  Having worked when I had one child I know that I am truly blessed to have a life that I make work around the things that are important to me, and not a life where I have to work around my "work" schedule.  The low point came three years ago when the economy really started to tank.  I was lucky in that business always found me and I didn't have to really work hard at sales.  Since the shift in the economy my sales have been down and it's been more challenging to do business in this economy.  I find myself learning about social media, facebook and marketing now that I have to work harder for the sale.  (PS, that is not a bad thing, learning is growing!)

4. Do you have any encouraging words to share with mom entrepreneurs that may help to keep their spirits up on a trying day. Not necessarily trade secrets that pertain to business but more directed toward encouraging another mom not to give up and/or to keep following a dream.

If you believe in your soul that you are on the right path then follow that path.  Early on I had a product that I believed to be a great product, but it was not selling.  I was getting ready to remove the product from our line when a new drop shipper of ours came on board and started selling it like crazy.  Now it is our 3rd bestselling product out of 100 different gift baskets that we offer.  I kept that product around because I knew in my heart it was a good product.  Turns out the issue was with the marketing for it not the product itself.  The lesson I learned on this was before you give up on something that you truly believe in look at it from new angles.  It might be it hasn't worked because the approach is wrong, but the idea itself is still right.

Kim's site is 

www.Bookbouquet.com

Julie Cole-Mabel's Labels Inc.

Julie's Story

1.      Tell us the story of your journey. Include details about what inspired you to go into business, was this a life long dream or a newer desire. Share as many details as you are comfortable sharing.

My business partners and I were all working in the traditional workforce and managing our young families. When my eldest son was diagnosed with autism, I quickly realized the law books would have to be shelved and the search for a family-friendly and flexible career began. In addition, there was a product missing from the market. We wanted to create adorable but incredibly durable labels for all the stuff kids lose. Our clever little business plan combined with the needs of our families provided all the inspiration we needed!

2.   Did you go into business before or after you had children? How do/did your children affect your decision to go into business.

The product idea came as a direct result of having children and noticing a product missing from the market. This observation would not have been made if not for being young mothers!

3.      Share your trials and triumphs. We want to hear about your highs and lows. Did you have any low points or worries as well as high points and huge shining moments?

   

There are several reasons we have felt successful. First and foremost, we are doing what

 we love. There are four business partners who together have a fantastic range of

knowledge that we've been able to apply to the business.

 As business owners, we are committed to Mabel's Labels and we have a team of amazing and loyal staff whose contributions are endless. Our products are innovative and fun and we recognize that our customers are at the heart of our business. We have been willing to take risks, and for small businesses that is a hard step to take. Because we took risks, we have reaped many rewards – from incredible press to prestigious business awards. The downside to risk-taking is the worry and stress that goes along with it! We self-funded this business and all left professional careers behind in order to pursue this, which made for some scary moments especially in those early days.

4.   Do you have any encouraging words to share with mom entrepreneurs that may help to keep their spirits up on a trying day. Not necessarily trade secrets that pertain to business but more directed toward encouraging another mom not to give up and/or to keep following a dream.

Women are starting successful businesses and a phenomenal rate. There is no reason why you can’t be one of those women. I have a few bits of advice that might be useful. Firstly, be sure to use your social capital. You know people who can help you so don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Also remember that you have to be the strategic thinker in your business so don’t get so busy working ‘in” the business and forget to work strategically “on” the business. We also remind ourselves that if you don’t love it, don’t do it. This applies to everything – how an ad looks, how a phrase in your brochure sounds, to the actual work you do every day. Know that sometimes you have to put the cart before the horse if you want to grow. That can be very frightening, but if you don’t take risks, your business will not move to the next level. Finally, while you may be the ‘boss’, treat everyone else like they are your boss – your customers, suppliers, employees, etc. If you are not completely accountable to them, you won’t be the boss for long!

Julie's site is www.mabel.ca

Cindie Baines-Dazzle Designz

Cindie's Story

Even as a child, I had a passion to create and loved writing poetry, short stories & drawing.  As I grew into adulthood, I was always looking for something to do usingmy creative side so would spend a lot of time at the craft stores.  As a stay at home Mom,creative time was limited but I would find some spare time here and there and  tried everything from sewing to beading to ceramics and painting.  My kids had their own creative sides and also enjoyed a variety of crafts.  They would pick out their own crafty projects such as modeling clay, painting by numbers and beading kits.  My sister was crafty too and after our kids started school, we did tole painting, made earrings and other things and sold our items at craft fairs.  Of course, we spent a lot more money on supplies than we ever made back but still had fun doing it!  I became interested in ceramics at some point and purchased a small kiln, dabbled in clay, and used cookie cutters to cut out heart shapes and pressed them with lace and various other textures to create hanging banners. The hearts were strung together with ribbons and decorated with a variety of dried flowers.  I began selling them to a local gift shop and found that the time I had to spend drying and baking the clay was overwhelming.  I decided to move on to another passion which was painting.  I learned about faux finishes and loved painting the walls in our house, using a variety of techniques and decorating my kid’s rooms was so much fun!

I soon began painting florals on pottery and furniture and a neighbor who owned a local gift shop would send me pieces to paint on a commission basis.  It was so exciting to get paid for something I loved to do!  I did this for a couple of years and decided to open an online business to try selling my furniture items.  I soon discovered that it was too time consuming but wasn’t going to give up on using my creativity somehow.  That’s when I discovered website design.  I thought “wow”, I can learn how to do that! So, I scoured the internet and found lots of tutorials about building websites and taught myself the basics.  In 2006, Dazzle Designz was born and I got my first sale after only a couple of weeks of

opening!

The business grew quite steadily from there and I have lots of clients that I still do work for from several years ago.  A majority of my clients come to me by “word of mouth” referrals from other clients which is the best and most satisfying way to grow…just knowing that my clients are truly happy and send more business my way is the best kind of compliment I could ever receive!

My creative and entrepreneurial spirit has driven me to try many things before finding my dream business and has taught me to never give up! Cindie's site is http://www.dazzledesignz.com

The Mission

When I started my business www.violetgumdrop.com in 2007, I looked for inspiration from other moms in business. I wanted to find success stories to read but it was surprisingly harder than I expected. I didn't necessarily want to find trade secrets or how to tips, but instead I wanted to hear about trials and triumphs and the day to day ups and downs. I have started mom accomplished in effort to gather stories from wonderful, successful, moms in business and share them with you (and me :) ).If you want to submit your story or know someone who does, please send them our way. Happy reading! :)
xo
Darcee