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 Entrepreneur Mom - Flex Maven Allison O'Kelly |
| With moms in mind, a part-time workforce franchise was born. |
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As told to: Michele Roberts,
With a posse of moms wanting part-time work, Allison O’Kelly created a flex workforce franchise.
My story: Every time my vibrating cell phone displayed the number of my baby’s day care, my stomach flip-flopped. He’s sick, they’d say. Again. So I’d slink out the door. Again. Barely back from maternity leave, I couldn’t seem to clock in eight straight hours at the office. I didn’t want to be the employee who kept being ...
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Bugaboo's Kari Boiler  |
| Kari Boiler couldn’t have guessed that returning to L.A. to focus on her life as a new mom would lead directly to her big entrepreneurial ... |
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| Raegan-Moya Jones's Swaddle Love |
| Raegan-Moya Jones, the sparkling Australian-born entrepreneur behind the popular aden + anais line of baby products is a passionate evangelist for the ancient practice of ...
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| Lisa Nissanoff's Rub-a-Dub Dough |
| My story: Great ideas often come to people while they’re in the shower. I get mine in the bathtub. I was working toward my MBA ... |
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| Kristin Shute's Helping Hands | |
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When her husband was laid off, this mom seized the moment and took control of her family's destiny by launching a home-care biz.
My story: Kids always think their moms are invincible. Even as an adult, I didn’t realize my own mother was actually mortal until she was diagnosed with cancer in 2001. I was overwhelmed as I discovered just how difficult it is to care for an elderly parent while you manage your own life and family. Suffering through the surgeries, getting her to and from treatments, making sure someone was always there while she recovered—it was all-consuming. And I was one ...
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| Eleni's Cookies | |
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Baking entrepreneur Eleni Gianopulos is the founder and owner of Eleni's New York. Read about her recipe for sweet success.
Eleni Gianopulos likes baking cookies—always has. But she never imagined that her whimsical treats shaped like designer shoes and baby carriages would morph into a multi million-dollar business. The sweet secret to her success: “I didn’t overthink it,” says Eleni, who had worked briefly in the publishing industry after college. “Sometimes people get stopped in the process by too much planning, not enough doing. I wanted my own business, but I didn’t have a long-term plan.”
Get Eleni's fudgy ...
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| Eleni's Recipes | |
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Sweet treats you can make at home
Eleni’s Fudgy Walnut Brownies
1 - 12 ounce bag semi sweet chocolate chips
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter
4 eggs
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose Flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup walnut pieces
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray ...
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| Once Upon a Franchise: Lynn Blum | |
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This mother of three turned a slew of sales-rep samples into three thriving retail franchises.
Green is the new Black: long before it was so fashionable to recycle and reuse, Lynn Blum launched a resale shop for kids’ clothes and toys. now it’s a burgeoning multiple-brand franchise operation.
Lynn Blum, 55, mother of Ben, 29, Brian, 26, and William, 25; founder of Once Upon A Child , Plato’s Closet and Clothes Mentor , with about 500 stores throughout North America.
My story: I began my career back when working moms were snagging ...
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| Jessica DiLullo Herrin | |
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The founder and president of Stella & Dot helps other mothers launch their own businesses
My story: Little did I know, sitting there on the set of The Oprah Winfrey Show , that the very thing I was supposed to be an authority on—following my passion and entrepreneurial pursuits—would make me rethink my life. After the show aired, hundreds of women reached out to me for advice on how to start a business of their own. Most were busy moms looking to do something with flexible hours. I wanted to help (couldn’t let Oprah down ...
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| Mei Xu | |
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How one creative businesswoman made a killing in candles.
Featured entrepreneur mom: Mei Xu, 41, mother of Alex, 8, and Michael, 7; cofounder and owner, with husband, David Wang, 46, of Chesapeake Bay Candle , Rockville, MD. Number of employees: 50.
My story: I’m not exactly what you’d call spontaneous. Passionate, yes, but anything unplanned, ad-libbed or off-the-cuff isn’t for me. I plan. I research. And then I plan some more. So even before I had children, I sketched a detailed blueprint for a career that would offer ...
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| Melissa Bernstein | |
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Smart Toy Makers
Featured entrepreneur mom Melissa Bernstein, 43, mother of Brendan, 15, Ilana, 14, Audrey, 6, Sydelle, 4, Esther, 2, and Nathaniel, 1; founder, along with husband Doug Bernstein, 45, of Melissa & Doug , Wilton, CT, one of the nation’s leading designers and manufacturers of educational toys
Number of employees 300
My story: A few years after college, my boyfriend, Doug, and I told our parents that we were scrapping our Wall Street and advertising careers to design and make ...
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| Fritzi G. Woods | |
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She made the leap from a cushy corporate job to running a privately funded company--and never looked back.
Featured Entreprenuer: 48, mother of five, ages 22, 19, 18, 15 and 11; Chairman and CEO, PrimeSource Foodservice Equipment, Dallas, TX Number of employees: 85 Gross revenue in 2008: $100 million
My story: After nearly two decades climbing ladders in corporate America, I was at the top of my game. I was the executive vice president of sales and marketing and chief financial officer for The Dallas Morning News. I had a comfortable expense account and access to box ...
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| Babz Barnett | |
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Romp n'Roller
Entrepreur Mom: 41, mom of Zachary, 7, and Emma, 5; founder of Romp n' Roll, an all-in-one children's center for the 5-and-under set in Glen Allen, VA. Number of employees: 13. Projected 2008 gross revenue across 11 franchises: approximately $3 million.
Child’s Play
My story: I never intended to head a multimillion-dollar franchise business. I had a much loftier goal: I wanted to be Supermom. My first awe-inspiring deed was to enroll my young son in the best enrichment ...
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| Diana Turk | |
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Hobby Shop
Entrepreneur Mom: Mother of Shayna, 16, Andy, 14, and Talia, 11; founder of PeoplePlatters, a decorative plate design and manufacturing company in Agoura Hills, CA. Number of employees: 3. Projected 2008 gross revenue: $150,000.
My story: As a stay-at-home mom of three with an unused law degree, I was searching for something that my carpooling, lunch-making, school-volunteering days were not offering me: a creative outlet. I found it in my kitchen cabinet, right where I store the cookie ...
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| IKEA Dream Makeover | |
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IKEA creates a sleek workspace even kids and pets love.
The Problems: The open floor plan of this marketing and PR firm inspired teamwork but amplified noise and made it hard to hide stacks of supplies.
The Solutions: Decorative rugs soften sound, while kids and pets get thier own play zone. Sleek furniture and caibinets hide clutter.
When Laurie Storey-Manseau moved her eponymous marketing and public relations agency to a historic brick building in Concord, NH, she was determined to bring along the warmth of her former ...
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| Val Reddemann | |
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How to run a green business
Entrepreneur mom: Val Reddemann, 40, mom to Sy, 9; founder of Greenfeet.com, "The Planet's Homestore." Employees: 7, including her husband. Projected 2008 gross revenue: $3.5 million. Click Here to Go Green My story: The green marketplace has gone mainstream. After Oprah's environment-focused show in honor of Earth Day, we didn't have a single canvas bag or stainless steel water bottle in stock. And neither did our vendors. Now that no one looks at you like you're a tree-hugging nut ...
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| Michelle Kedem | |
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Partnerships are a precarious balance. Tips from a om who made it work.
Entrepreneur mom Michelle
Kedem, 34, mother of Ella, 2; partner, On-Ramps, a New York City-based
recruiting and consulting firm specializing in flexible work
arrangements.
Number of employees: Three full-time partners.
My story: I used to be one of
those over-the-top type-A people. You know, the ones who sleep with
their cell phones next to their pillow and check office email from home
every hour. But a workplace reorganization three years ago, coupled
with the birth of my daughter, left me feeling disillusioned. Tired of
bellyaching ...
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| Super Suppers | |
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Some Assembly Required
Entrepreneur moms Judie
Byrd, 59, and her daughter, Teresa Shurtz, 38, mom of two, ages 12 and
10; respectively, founder and vice president of operations for Super
Suppers, Fort Worth, TX. Growth: 265 franchises in 40 states. Gross annual sales in 2006: $42 million. Our story:
Since 1986, we'd helped many a mom choreograph everything from a
sumptuous Sunday brunch to a posh dinner party out of our family-run
cooking school in Fort Worth. Fancy was fine, said many of our
students, but what they ...
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| Carrie Ferguson Weir | |
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How I found my niche
Carrie Ferguson Weir , 38, mother of Maria, 2; owner Los Pollitos Dicen, a Nashville, TN, start-up that makes Spanish-phrase baby T's. Savings invested: $18,000. Projected 2007 gross income: $70,000. My story: As a newspaper reporter, I've written countless stories about people who took a chance and made it big. Well, I don't know if I'll make it big, but I'm definitely taking a chance. In February 2005, I quit my job at The Tennessean, Nashville's major daily ...
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| Casey Cooper | |
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A Team in Bloom
Casey Cooper, 39 , mother of Madeleine, 7, and Thatcher, 5; founder of Botanicals Inc., a floral and event design firm in Chicago. Number of employees: 15 to 50. My story: Acting was my first passion, so working in floral shops used to be my survival job. I loved the flexible schedule, which allowed me to go on auditions and do theater gigs at night. But this pay-the-rent work ultimately left me dissatisfied: Though the creativity of arranging flowers ...
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| Ask the Expert | |
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Advice you can use from a real Entrepreneur Mom!
Q: I am a single mom interested in starting my own business. My biggest worry is being able to purchase affordable, quality health insurance for me and my two children on my own. Any ideas or tips on where to look? A: Rather than going directly to a health insurance provider, there are a number of brokers available that can help you find the best deal for your family. While there are a lot of choices about the seemingly-thousand ...
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| Julie Lenzer Kirk | |
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All about Julie
A successful entrepreneur and dedicated advocate for small and woman-owned businesses, Julie Lenzer Kirk juggles many different and often competing roles. She is a business owner, author, international speaker, community volunteer, and mom. It has been her ability to balance all of these roles and transfer that capability into a productive work place that has won her and her company national acclaim. Her book, The ParentPreneur Edge: What Parenting Teaches About Building a Successful Business (John Wiley & Sons) ...
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| Trish Karter | |
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Making Holiday Dough
Trish Karter, mother of Eleanna, 17, and Dimitri, 13; CEO , Dancing Deer Baking Company. Number of employees: 65 full-time, 100 temp and seasonal. Projected 2007 sales: $10.7 million. Sweet Smell of Success: Trish Karter's belief in making a difference—using natural ingredients, packaging with recycled paper, supporting homeless causes—is paying off. The business should grow by 40 percent this year. My story: At holiday parties, people will say, "Oh, Trish, I thought I smelled you!" I laugh, because it's ...
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| Susan Handley | |
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Home Party How-To
Susan Handley, mother of Kyle, 10; founder of Beijo, a home-party
business that sells chic, affordable handbags. Number of sales reps:
1,000. Projected 2007 gross sales: $25 million.
My story: I've loved handbags
ever since I was a little girl. I'd sneak into my mother's closet to
play dress-up and stack my arms with every bag I could reach. But I
never thought my passion for purses would provide a paycheck, until
four years ago. That's when my "practical career"—selling advertising
in newspapers ...
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| Barbara K | |
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How to Create Buzz
Barbara
Kavovit, 37, mom of Zachary, 8; founder of Barbara K Enterprises,
television diva, how-to author and clothing designer.
Savings invested:
$50,000.
2006 projected gross revenue: $10 million.
My story: Five years ago, I was watching the Sex and the City
episode where Samantha can't hang new curtains by herself. It made me
think: Why doesn't she have the right tools? And if she did, what would
they look like? Having worked in construction practically my entire
postcollege life, I ...
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| Chef's Club | |
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How to Franchise an Idea
Julie Burleson, 44, mom of two, ages 12 and 8, and Suzy Nettles, 43, mom of three, ages 13, 12, and 7; founders of Young Chefs Academy, based in Waco, TX.
'07 Projections: Franchises, 250 in 30 states.
Gross income: $5 million.
Our story: Business flops are a big part of our success. In the dozen or so years since our oldest children were born, we'd searched for a business idea to help us avoid going back ...
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| Mad Gabs | |
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How I Wrote a Business Plan
Gabrielle Melchionda, mother of Silas, 6, and Jasper, 2; owner of Mad
Gabs in Westbrook, ME. Produces pure, natural body products.
Employees:
5.
Projected 2006 gross income: about $500,000.
Business plan, schmizness plan. I didn't know a thing about one
when I launched Mad Gabs in 1991. I was a junior at the University of
Massachusetts Amherst, making lip balm in my mother's kitchen. I used
my neighbor's beeswax, essential oils and a Pyrex measuring cup. I
figured I'd waitress and also ...
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| Write A Business Plan! | |
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Ask A Pro
The Best-Laid Plans
Templates for writing business plans are easily found online, but most
of them are unduly complicated. Gabrielle Melchionda from Mad Gabs
likes a template she received from the Massachusetts Small Business
Development Center.
(Click here to download.)
To help you fill out yours, we've gathered tips from Guy Kawasaki,
author of The Art of the Start and managing director of Garage
Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm.
Keep it simple. Stick to a clean layout and ...
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