virtualmom

The Vendor Client Relationship

My friend Joan Reilly who has a great business called The Life of Reilly Organizers sent this You Tube Clip to me and I thought I would post it here.  I got a kick out of it, hope you will to.  It has to deal with how businesses try to take advantage of the small business owners.

I Fell in Love...(with www.Quirky.com)!

This past Sunday the New York Times(G-d, what would I do without it?) highlighted a start-up called Quirky.com.  I love it.  I was hooked by the company name alone( At one point I inquired about purchasing this domain name).  But the company is so much more than just a great name. 

The article is quite good but really-check out their site.  The basic concept is that anyone can submit a product idea to be voted on, and if your product gets picked by the online audience as the most liked, Quirky makes it.  The larger audience gets to vote on which is the best potential product of the week as well as what the name and tagline should be. Since  Sunday they have announced 2 great new products their audience created that will go into production!  Way to go!

Being a product person-I ADORE this concept!  Truly appreciate it and believe there is much merit to their concept.  Meeting with Ben(the creator) next Monday!  

In Honor of My Mother

I always knew my mom was a special person, but it has become clearer and clearer as I age. The more life I experience, the more I realize just how special she was!
In her honor, I am unveiling a new website called www.virtualmomcoaching.com. I thought that launching it on Mother's Day's would be particularly appropriate.
I have been wanting to give back for sometime now, and I have been thinking about trying to help others who may just need a little motherly coaching. I know that I was lucky to have a mom who coached me to reach my goals and if I could be of help to others, I would feel grateful to do so.

Making a bit of Money Trading Stocks

Speaking of being adaptable, I have been making a bit of money day trading. Trading will not be my primary source of income, but it is working right to bring in a little cash. I do not profess to know anything about trading and I am well aware that what little I have made is more or less 'lucky'. In any case, profit is profit and I'll take it!
Furthermore, I wish I knew more!

Coach vs. Therapist

It was by sheer coincident that within the same week I ended sessions with my therapist and started sessions with a new coach! I did not plan it so --but --I think it is going to be just great.
I started going to my therapist with a specific incident in mind. I felt that I could use some help handling the incident. I didn't seek to introspect and delve into my past. Just wanted an objective listener for a period of time. Once 'the incident' past, I felt I no longer needed to attend weekly sessions, but my therapist gave me a hard time about ending. I had to explain to her that my focus right now is concrete; I want to move forward business-wise! I have been stagnate for too many years-staying at home with the kids. My time is now and I need to focus my energies. I have no desire to be in therapy. She finally consented and saw my point of view.
Enter Tanja, a very cute and energetic coach who works out of In Good Company. Tanja is looking to hone her skills while getting her coach training. She is eager to put her learning to work. She put out an email to the IGC community that she would offer her services at a reduced rate until she gets her certification. AH HA, just what I need! New, eager, excited-not burnt out yet, and inexpensive!
We met this morning. Tanja told me that the difference between therapy and coaching is that therapy takes you from dysfunctional to functional and coaching takes you from functional to optimal! I like that distinction and it is where I am at. I am really in work mode!
It helps to report into someone and be accountable. Tanja will assume that role for me. I have all of these goals I want to meet this year and I hope she can help me reach them! When you work by and for yourself, it is really nice to have an outsider to perform for. Makes you feel like you have a partner.

A Sense of Urgency

By now, you know that I love In Good Company, the shared workspace that I work out of, but I love IGC even more now that they have created a Book Club. I will be part of a group of like minded small business owners who will read business books and discuss them together so that we better our business knowledge. How great is that??? I have been in many book clubs before - all of which we read fictions in, this will be a first for me to read business books with a group! I am excited!
First up is John Kotter's newest book: A Sense of Urgency. Got back from Israel and the book was waiting for me at the library(gosh I love the library), started it last night.
Join along if you want!

Vases in Rachael Ray's FAVES column in April issue magazine

That is correct, I was lucky that the Editors at Rachael Ray's magazine found my vases and decided to feature them in the April edition! If you have the magazine check out page 32 and you will see one of my vases. This is great press. I feel so lucky, even though the placement on the page is not ideal(right at the crease) I am thrilled. The vases were put in the December issue of one of Disney's magazines called Wondertime and i got a ton of orders from the placement. Maybe this mention will do the same.
I was told that the vases might be featured in Time Out New York also, but I have not checked yet. Fingers cross-- I hope they are!

My Secretary in Israel

As I have written before, we will soon be going to Israel. It has been a few years since we have taken a big trip and I'd forgotten how many little details there are. This will be our first time to the Holy Land, so I am really unfamiliar with the lay of the land. Plus we are staying in a rented apartment(more economical) and I will not have access to a hotel concierge. I have made a list of some things that I want to get done, some that I have been unable to do from here. Fortunately I heard of the business called Secretary in Israel which employs Americans who are living in Israel as virtual assistants. I signed up and I now have a secretary. Her name is Chevy and I am excited because I just realized that I have never had a secretary before! Chevy is going to get us tickets to an Israeli soccer game(you know us-soccer crazy family) and find us a nice restaurant near the Wall for a post Bar Mitzvah celebration. She's actually gonna complete my 'to do' list!
About a year ago I read Tim Ferris's book, The 4 hour Work Week, and he talks about a virtual assistant company called Your Man in India, another company like SII.
I'll report back on Chevy--hope she is good!

Thong Undies (as told by Hanky Panky Owners)

Last night I was fortunate enough to be in the audience at In Good Company listening to the owners of Hanky Panky tell their business success story. It was very inspiring listening to them. Hanky Panky is an intimate apparel company that is responsible for bringing the thong to the american market. They have sold millions of their style # 4811(the number which they have trademarked because it is so famous). They have a great story. I love a great success story!
Although the company has been around now over 30 years, everything changed for them on June 18, 2004 when an article about them and their thong was featured on the cover of the Wall Street Journal. The international press was overwhelming! They were inundated with calls and emails from department stores and customers who wanted to buy their thong! Literally overnight, their business changed. (One audience member asked what PR firm got them the interview- and they said that ironically they had just fired their PR firm and had not yet hired a new one-when they got their biggest story ever!) Sales doubled and so did their staffing eventually. The change was something they had always dreamed about but it came suddenly and the transition period was rough they said. But since they were a solid company for some many years beforehand, they weathered the storm and are proud to have been profitable every single year! The two women have been partners and friends the entire time(a true feat!) and work well together because they respect eachother and keep separate responsibilities(one deals with design, the other with the business part of business). In these tough economic times, their uplifting talk was a needed boost for the roomful of young women entrepreneurs in the audience!

Sale of Domain Name

I had a fun thing happened to me today. I sold one of my domain names! Really, a woman emailed me and was interested in it, I wasn't using it so I threw out a number and she accepted. It was pretty easy! I thought the transaction cool! I have heard of companies that purchase domain names for the sole purpose of selling them. That wasn't my intent at all, hmmm, is this a new idea for me?