Meet Kara Anderson!
Quite the entrepreneur, Kara Anderson founded Maids on the Run as well as several other businesses that have stayed successful for decades. The following is the spotlight interview that was originally posted in January of 2013.
1. Business name, description and what makes it special
I do so many things and that is the mind of a self employed person. I started Maids on the Run after I lost my job to just put food on the table and now we have 14 other cleaners that work with me and do about 100-125 homes a week, I invented The Bag Holder when I was a personal chef to make freezer meals easily with no mess and I wrote Santa’s Secret Elf while dealing with breast cancer. As my 5 year old sat on Santa’s lap all he asked for was to make his Mommy better. The next night I woke and wrote the story of Merryam and how she helps Santa with all those requests asking for things he can’t make.
2. Tell us about how you got your first customer.
Maids on the Run was easy to market. I offered free bathroom cleanings to everyone on my email list and if they loved us get rid of their housekeeper and keep me and if they didn’t just enjoy a clean bathroom. I got 4 new clients the first week in late 2008. The other product based things I do are not so much. People listen to other peoples opinions so trying to get someone to love The Bag Holder and the book and then share it is difficult. I need a group of friends to spread the word for me since that is on a tight budget. I can see how great it is and of course your first reply Yeah Yeah, everyone trying to sell somethings says that…LOL… but it really is 🙂
3. How do you measure success?
By how many people I make happy each week and how many activities I am able to enjoy with my family with out getting calls from the office. I f I don’t get calls that means all is going well and that we planned the week perfectly for staff and clients and fans.
4. Ever felt like throwing in the towel?
NO way! I had cancer at 39 so dying would have been me throwing in the towel. I have been blessed to be here so I better make the most of it and do as much as I can while I can.
5. One thing I wish I would have known…
I would love to have known more about connecting with others to grow and not just rely on myself and my research.
6. Moving forward…
I hope to have build a brand with Merryam and big things to come for families and to franchise Maids on the Run, we are ready just timing and The Bag Holder we still hope it will be a household kitchen item. We all store leftovers and this is time saving and less mess making.
7. The absolute best part of being self-employed is…
My schedule allows me to be available for all the activities my children have and knowing that something I created is making a difference in the lives of many.
8. The absolute best part of being a parent is…
Being the one person that shows my children that if you think you can do it. Never be the one to say I wish I could…. I will and I do.
9. I never imagined…
Getting cancer would give me the confidence to do all that I wanted not just dream about it. I believe God gives us a wake up cal now and then and we better make the most of it. I live life with sense of urgency and this is what I would like to share. Courage, confidence and commitment are the only three things you need to know. Courage to actually take the leap and follow through with the ideas you have, confidence that it will be successful and that you will make it happen, commitment that even on bad days you remember than any day that you are your own boss is better than the best day of being someone else’s employee. They are the Three C’s to Success in my book.
You can find Santa’s Secret Elf, Bag Holder and Maids on the Run on Facebook.
Meet Tania Mulry!
Meet Tania Mulry of DDx Media. Following is the story of her business, how it came to be and what the future holds for her and her business.
1. Business name, description and what makes it special
2. ‘Ah ha’ moment that led to launching this business:
3. Tell us about how you got your first customer.
4. How do you measure success?
5. Ever felt like throwing in the towel?
6. One thing I wish I would have known…
7. Moving forward…
8. The absolute best part of being self-employed is…
9. The absolute best part of being a parent is…
10. I never imagined…
Why Do I Need to Brand My Products?
There are literally millions of products on the market today. What makes yours stand out from the others? If the answer is nothing, you need to brand your products.
Branding is a way of getting your product in the minds of customers all over the world. You could walk up to someone in Europe and they would know what Pepsi was. Or, better yet, ask someone to name a soft drink and they would think of popular brands like Pepsi and Coca-Cola. That is how much we are into those two sodas.
Whatever you are selling, there is someone else selling a variation of that product as well. What hope do you have of gaining a share of the market? Your hope is in branding your product.
To brand your product, you will need to ask yourself a few questions. First, what is the business all about? There must be a reason that drives you to sell your product. If it is to provide good quality socks or soap or radios to the consumer, then let that be the key to your brand strategy.
All products need a logo. Without one, that shirt you are trying to sell is just another shirt. The logo will remind people of your products and also say something about the company’s mission. For instance, a logo for plush toys wouldn’t be a creature with fangs. You may have always wanted to create such a logo but this is not the appropriate product.
Do you have a slogan or tagline? When people talk about Verizon wireless service they hear, “Can you hear me now? Good.” For Visa, they hear, “It’s everywhere you want to be.” Those slogans say something about the service. You can depend on their wireless service to keep you in touch with the world even in remote locations. As for Visa, you can use it anywhere credit cards are accepted.
Determine what sets your product apart for others of its kind and play to that strength. Being unique is difficult in business, but it can be done with a good branding strategy. The uniqueness will get your product noticed through a marketing campaign. It won’t benefit your business if you have a good product and no one knows how good it is or can find it.
Without branding, your products are just one of a hundred or a thousand others on the market. If you can back up the claims about the product, use a brand to get it into households and businesses around the globe.
Branding your product will make it stand out among the competition. Branding is not an exact science but it can boost the sales of other lesser-known products in your inventory when your premier product catches on. In business we are always looking for a way into the inner sanctum of profit, and branding is the beginning.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Meet Stacy McGuigan!
Meet StacyMcGuigan, Party Conciege!
1. Please tell us about your business and the service that you provide:
Special Events Company, provide invitations, theme ideas, centerpieces, favors, just ask and I will find (florists, caterers, DJs, etc…)
2. What motivated you to start your business?
I have been giving people party ideas for years as well as throwing great parties not only for my kids but for my husband and our friends, it was time to get paid for my creativity!!
3. What kind of background or expertise do you have in your field?
I was the PR/Marketing Manager and Special Events manager for The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner.
4. What trends do you see in your current industry?
More home parties.
5. What are the most demanding aspects about your business?
Meeting your client’s budget and giving the WOW factor!!!
6. What are the most rewarding aspects about your business?
Seeing the person who the party is for, thier face when they see the event all pulled together. Seeing people have fun at the events I create and getting their feedback.
7. What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a business like yours?
Be specific with what type of events you want to do and go for it, put yourself out there, be positive and know that it takes a while for people to call you, but once they do, they will keep calling.
8. What are you most proud of as a parent-preneur?
Showing my children that if you have a passion for doing something, take the chance, work hard and you can be very successful and happy at the same time.
9. How have you been able to balance your time between work and your family?
It is very hard but I try to work when the children are in school or when they are in bed. If they can help me with a portion of the event, they do. We are successful together and support each other in our family.
10. What has been the most effective way for you to promote and market yourself?
WORD of mouth and making “friends” with reporters in the local papers. Within one year of being an official business I have had 7 articles written either about me or thanking my company.
Finally: What does your “Milk Money” provide for you and your family?
As a new member, I hope more exposure for my company and potential new clients.
Quick Tips to Help You Produce More Content
If you’re a content producer, sooner or later you’re going to come to the point where you have to ask yourself: “What am I going to write about?” Sooner or later, we all have trouble coming up with ideas. Don’t worry though – If you follow these quick tips, you’ll be on your way to producing great content in no time at all.
Tip #1 – Explain an Expert’s Concept
One great way to produce some killer content is to take some of your favorite quotes and expert ideas and use them as fodder for your content. For example, if you’re running a business blog, you might take an idea like Donald Trump’s “it takes as much effort to think small as it does to think big, so you might as well think big” quote and turn that into a blog post about goals and planning.
Tip #2 – Mistakes to Avoid
Another great way to write articles is to teach people what not to do. What mistakes have you personally made in this niche? What are common mistakes other people make?
You can either list several mistakes in one article, or go in depth on one common mistake that they should pay attention to and spend the whole article on that.
Tip #3 – Share a Personal Experience and a Lesson
Is there a personal story you can tell that will help teach your readers a lesson? If you can tell your story in an entertaining and informative way, that will definitely be a great article.
For example, Zappos’ CEO Tony Hseih often shares the story of how he learned business lessons from playing poker. The lessons he learned later helped him sell his company for $1.2 billion dollars. The story is both entertaining and highly educational.
Tip #4 – Browse Related Websites
If you’re really having trouble coming up with ideas, go take a look around other websites in your industry. As you browse through what other people are putting in their content, a great idea for your site will likely hit you like a thunderbolt. If it doesn’t, then go browse some niche forums. Specifically pay attention to questions people seem to be asking again and again and see if you can answer some of those questions in your content.
Tip #5 – Tell it Differently
If you feel like you’ve really exhausted everything you have to say, then take a concept you’ve already touched on and go deeply into it. Expand on it in depth.
In the spirituality industry, there’s one primary teaching that’s repeated over and over: “Be present.” This one concept is expanded upon again and again, filling up thousands of pages of content. This concept doesn’t get boring because every time it’s told it’s from a different angle, with a different story or a different emphasis. You can do the same with your content. What’s one important concept you can expand on?
These are just some ideas of how to quickly produce more content. Use these tips to help stimulate your mind, then use your creativity to create some knockout content.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
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