Julianne Wish, Member Contributions, Member Spotlights
Shannon Wilburn is the President and Co-Founder of Just Between Friends Franchise System, Inc.
Just Between Friends, the Nation’s Leading children’s and Maternity Consignment event was founded in 1997 by two moms, Shannon Wilburn and Daven Tackett in a living room in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In 2003, they formed Just Between Friends Franchise Systems, Inc. and began selling franchises. There are 109 franchises in 21 states. They have received national attention on CNN, Headline News, ABC News, Good Morning America, Inside Edition and CNBC’s The Big Idea. They have also been featured in The Wall Street Journal Online, Inc. Magazine, The Seattle Times, Sacramento Bee, LA Times, Daily Oklahoman and broadcast outlets in dozens of cities across the country including Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Denver and Seattle.
Please tell us about your business and the service that you provide:
JBF serves families in local communities by helping them save 50-90% off of retail on children’s and maternity items. Families can also sell their items and make 65-70%. Each franchise benefits, in part a local non-profit.
What motivated you to start your business?
We both had young children and were on a budget. There was a need and we found a way to fill it. We did not know that it would become a national company. We literally just wanted to save money on our children’s items. Tulsa really embraced the concept. When it was succeeding in Tulsa, others wanted to start it in their communities…and that is how the franchise system was born.
What kind of background or expertise do you have in your field?
I had sales experience, and had grown up on a budget. However, I did not have an ounce of business experience. In fact, my degree is Elementary Education.
What trends do you see in your current industry?
With the current economy, families are having to be creative in trying to find ways to save money. This is just a smart way for them to do just that.
What are the most demanding aspects about your business?
Time commitment.
What are the most rewarding aspects about your business?
We love helping families. I tell people all the time that this is a “feel good business”. You don’t have to “sell” JBF because it sells itself. Everyone understands saving money and making money. It’s a win win win.
What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a business like yours?
Probably that it takes a lot of work. We tell applicants looking to purchase a franchise that we make it look easy, but that it takes time, effort and commitment to be in it for a while before you see some great ROI.
What are you most proud of as a parent-preneur?
The example that I am setting for my kids.
How have you been able to balance your time between work and your family?
Is there such a thing? I don’t understand balance very well. My hubby has to help me see that sometimes. My kids are in high school and are very patient with my time in front of the computer. They also get to help me when I need help with business stuff. We like to vacation as a family so I count that as quality time…
What has been the most effective way for you to promote and market yourself?
I use social media quite a bit. I also do a tiny bit of blogging. I wish that I had the talent to just sit down and write something out quickly, but it takes me forever to put my thoughts together. It is not a talent that I possess.
Finally: What does your “Milk Money” provide for you and your family?
The opportunity to bless others.
From OMM: Find Shannon on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.
![Goals for Your Business]()
Member Contributions
Every successful business owner has a set of goals for their business. For those running a home-based business while also caring for children, a house, pets, and fending off the neighborhood gossip all at the same time, goal setting is vital to just getting through the day.
Whether you realize it or not, chances are you have at least a few goals. After all, supper is usually ready at some point before bedtime, and the kids actually DO get to bed eventually, right? See…you have and accomplish goals!
The goals we set as home-based business owners often are intermixed with the goals of our daily routines. My daily list of goals often looks something like:
· Speak to client
· Get started on marketing piece
· Do 3 loads of laundry
· Write a blog post
· Go grocery shopping
· Finish the proof of the marketing piece
· Sort through outgrown clothes and bag them up to donate
Not your normal list of business goals but it is what I need to do in order to have an income stream and still meet the daily needs of my family.
If you aren’t writing goals, you should begin today. I find that when I have too much on my plate and I’m starting to feel extra stressed, that writing down my list of daily goals often brings a sense of control over it all.
Here is how to get started:
First, start with a goal to accomplish by the end of the year. Whether it is to earn $X in profit, or to take on 3 new clients, or to finish getting all or your marketingmaterials in order, that is your goal for the next 2 months!
Now, look at your list and decide on some small goals within each larger one. What do you need to have finished by December 15? What about December 1? And so on. Meeting each one of these smaller goals will help you meet the big goal on time.
Now, look at the next small goal you wrote down. Let’s say it’s to get your website in place by the end of November. This is going to require even more mini goals to accomplish that task. You will need to start with the basics. If you don’t have a website name and hosting in place yet, then that should be today’s goal.
Plan out all the steps you will take to meet your goal and then put them on a timeline. Your timeline needs to be flexible, because you may have days where you just can’t get to more than one item and other days when you find time to accomplish several.
If you aren’t sure what steps are needed to meet your goal, I suggest you search for it and see if you can find a list that someone else has developed. And then incorporate that list into your daily goals.
Each morning, or each night before you stop work, plan what you are going to accomplish on that day. Remember, stay flexible and just move items to tomorrow if something comes up and you can’t get to it today. Just don’t turn that into too much of a habit or you’ll find that the deadline comes and you haven’t even gotten started!
When the New Year swings around you should set your goal for all of 2012, and then break it down into quarterly and monthly goals. It’s not a bad idea to start thinking about those now while you work on your goals for the end of 2011.
Kim Scott is a work-at-home mom to 5 boys, including 4 teenagers and 1 preschooler. She is the owner of VaVaVoomph, a small business providing graphic and web design, marketing and social media services, and virtual assistance to other small business owners. Kim holds a bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg (KS) State University in Graphic Design and Printing Management. Since she almost always has her hair thrown up in a sloppy ponytail, she has labeled herself “The PonyTailed Professional” and blogs under that banner as well.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
Large, global brands seem to be the most noticeable businesses on Facebook, but that is changing. In fact, it has already changed somewhat. There was a time when you could forget about trying to find your local business’s Facebook page, but more and more small businesses are turning to Facebook to market their products. Maybe you would like to promote your small business via Facebook. Here are some tips that may help.
1. Separate professional from personal
Your clients don’t need to see the latest pictures of your pets, or hear about your latest haircut. Keep your personal information on your personal profile, and establish a separate page for your business. If you like, you can hire someone else to be a sort of proxy for you who can represent your brand. This might be helpful if you already have a significant personal presence on Facebook.
However, you might also use your personal networking to your advantage. When you set up your business page, you can incorporate those friends who share your interests into your target market. Still, your personal profile and business pages should be separate.
2. Your page name
This is important, because you can’t change it later. You will have to shut down your page and build a new one, and that can mess with your client base. So consider key words when you develop your page name, and make it a good one. Put lots of thought into it.
3. Your landing page
This is like the “home page” of a website. It needs to have a compelling image and good information right off the bat so that visitors will be inspired to click the “Like” or “Become a Fan” buttons. You can use something called FBML, which stands for Facebook Markup Language, to create a unique and interesting landing page.
4. Tabs
You can also use FBML to create tabs, which are visible buttons on your page that represent applications, or apps. Twitter, Networked Blogs, Events, and Inbox are just some of the apps you can put on your business page. These really help promote your business as they give visitors and fans a chance to interact and connect with you and your business.
5. The value of personal communication
One of the appealing things about Facebook is the personal interaction it encourages. In a world of automation, customers appreciate a “live human” at the other end of the keyboard, mobile device, or computer screen! The telephone used to provide this, but with more and more businesses resorting to automated customer service, Facebook gives your business an edge. So try to communicate with your fans and followers regularly, and on an individual basis as often as possible. Happy fans then tell their friends.
If your business grows to the point that you can’t handle all the individual contact, consider outsourcing this to someone else who is closely associated with your business.
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.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
When you begin your business ventures on Facebook, you might find some tips helpful. It may help relieve some of the anxiety new users and newcomers to social networking sometimes feel. Here are some suggestions for those who are beginners on Facebook.
1. Understand the medium
It’s important to understand what Facebook is all about. It works by connecting people, either one-on-one (friends) or through groups. So you can tap into this method of social networking for your business. Facebook actually has rules, too, so you’ll want to familiarize yourself with their terms and conditions. Most likely, you aren’t going to break any Facebook rules unless you’re being really offensive, but it’s a good idea to read the rules anyway.
2. Keep your focus
When you begin your business ventures on Facebook, it’s a good idea to keep your focus. Your business has a purpose, and you’ll need a good grasp of what that purpose is. This will help you connect with the right groups and prospective customers.
When you begin filling your page with content – the information that people read when they visit your page – keep it on topic. Prospects will lose interest if your content has no focused purpose.
To help keep your focus and avoid getting “sucked in” to the social aspects of Facebook, it may help to schedule certain times of the day when you do your social networking.
3. Keep it professional
When you set up a Facebook business page, you will need to fill out your personal information. When you fill it out, make sure the information is true and real, but also professional. Personal details are not the first thing that visitors should see when they come across your page. Think of your personal traits from a business standpoint, and describe yourself using professional criteria.
4. People want to see you
Having the neutral blue silhouette is considered a no-no from a business perspective. Your avatar – the little picture that everyone will see beside your comments, posts, and on your page – needs to show an image of your best professional you.
5. Things to avoid
When you first start up on Facebook, you will probably see a lot of frivolous games, gifts, and so forth that are not relevant to your business. It’s a good idea to block these things in your personal settings, and avoid participating in “chain mail” types of communication.
It’s also a good idea to avoid “spamming” others. This is when you send out all kinds of promotional material and information all at once to all sorts of Facebook users, and continue doing it daily. It can turn prospective clients off quickly. They may block you, or remove their status as your friend or fan.
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.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
If you’re thinking of sharing your business via Facebook, creating an effective profile is important. It’s easy to go into Facebook and set up a profile that doesn’t do much to reflect what you’re about. So here are some tips for Facebook beginners.
1. Be careful
It’s wise to exercise care when you set up your business profile. You may or may not already be on Facebook to socialize, but it’s a good idea to keep your business Facebook page separate. It’s also a good idea to limit who reads your status updates so that your personal news does not conflict with your professional news.
You can use Facebook’s privacy settings to control who sees your updates. And remember, privacy settings aren’t perfect; some cross-over is possible, so take care what you post. Some things you don’t need to share!
2. Your name
Most business people suggest using your real, full name in your profile – another good reason to pay attention to privacy settings. But you’re a business, so you want your name out there. Using your real name makes it a lot easier for people to get hold of you.
3. Your avatar
You will need to choose an avatar. Some successful business people suggest using a professional picture of yourself, but it’s entirely possible to get a good photo with your home camera. Let your “look” reflect the mood of your business (you don’t want to be pictured in overalls, for example, if your business is a professional marketer; but overalls would be an excellent look for a gardening business). If you have some photo software on your computer, you can adjust the background and so forth to construct a good avatar.
You can also use your business logo as your avatar. Various sources disagree as to which is the most effective from a business perspective, so ultimately it’s up to you and what you’re comfortable with. Consider your avatar’s look and colors, and see if it makes an effective avatar or not.
4. Think like a client
If you were a prospective client of your business, what would you like to see on a profile? Be thorough and truthful, but keep your prospects in mind. There are some things your clients don’t need to know, and other things they should know – remember, this is a business profile. Include those aspects of yourself that coincide with your business intent.
Something else to consider are online resources such as free printed guides and tutorials.
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.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
There is more to Facebook than friends and contacts! Advertising with Facebook is an up-and-coming way to enhance your business. If you’d like to consider advertising with Facebook, here are some tips on how to make it work for you.
1. Determine your demographic
Known variously as your “target market,” “target audience,” “demographic,” and so forth, determining just who it is you’re selling to is a step that shouldn’t be skipped. Facebook actually offers tools for you to research your demographics’ Facebook presence – find out the groups, events, and individual profiles that are relevant to your business.
2. Build your own business community
Facebook is about making connections. Building communities via Facebook is a good way to conglomerate members of your demographic and find new ones. For example, your clients and fans may join one of your groups and invite their friends to join as well. Keep it interesting and lively by holding discussions, virtual events, providing exciting information, and so forth.
Another note on community building – remember that this is a feature at the heart of Facebook, so direct sales ads tend not to do as well. The majority of Facebook users are on the site because they want to form relationships, not necessarily because they want to buy something.
3. Facebook resources
Facebook offers guidelines and tools for advertising. Check out www.facebook.com/FacebookAds for details on how Facebook recommends you advertise through them. You can develop your ad through a tool offered at www.facebook.com/advertising, too. You can just begin with an image and a brief tagline or description. Your ad will appear on the right side of those Facebook pages you have targeted.
4. Key words
It’s a good idea to learn to integrate key words into your ads. These are words that are gleaned from people’s profile information, and you can use these key words in your ad to customize it to a particular demographic. In fact, what you find in people’s profiles is key to filtering out who is in your target market and who is not.
5. Set a budget
Setting a budget will help prevent you from experimenting with a lot of different ad techniques, thereby wasting money and time. Your advertising campaign should have a definite budget limit, and your goals need to be clearly defined alongside it. In other words, you need to know just what it is you expect for your advertising dollar.
6. Look at the ads of others
Consider doing some research – click on the ads you see on your Facebook page, and see what they are up to. What kind of ads seem effective? Which ones have an approach that appeals to you? Which ads keep appearing over and over, indicating they have something that’s working for them?
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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