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Diary of a Small Business Owner, Hold Your Haunches Edition: A Valuable Lesson About Research, & Our Boston Expo Field Trip

Submitted by Sabina Hitchen on   |  0 Comments

Missed the Haunchos last week?  Check them out HERE!

Greetings from the Head Haunchos. This week's blog will be about the importance of research; no matter how obvious a choice may seem!

We wrote last week that we were headed to Boston to introduce the marathon expo attendees to our magic pant. We signed up for this adventure 3 or 4 months ago (re: right when we opened for business). The following were our reasons for signing up: 1. there were to be 80,000 sets of eyeballs at the expo 2. Tucker from the expo explained that we would have a prime booth in the "new products pavilion" 3. We love Boston and have friends there, so why not go.
If you read between the proverbial lines, you will note that this mode of thinking does not exactly reek of heavy research.

We set up shop at the expo in the swanky new products pavilion which actually means stuffed over in the corner in a town close to Egypt. The first 2 days were filled with marathon runners, whom if they ever even made it over to our little corner of paradise, looked at us like we were nuts (they were correct, BTW). We talked with other vendors who explained we had leapt straight into the Super Bowl of marathons and the Tiffanys of expos. We did as always and decided if this was sink or swim, we were going to swim. We stood up straight and proud and pitched our pants.

The reaction was interesting. There were a few delightful women who were running (did I mention you have to qualify for this event?)  who loved our concept and bought the pants and there were numerous men who really dug the pants, especially on our "Brazilian Model" mannequin. Day 3 was when the fun started! The sisters, wives, mothers, friends and daughters of runners were finally in town. The Hold Your Haunches booth started hoppin! Delighted laughter echoed between the walls of the new products pavilion, pants were sold, cards were taken, friends were chased down to come see and our Facebook fan page felt the love.

We learned a valuable lesson, but feel more confident than ever about our incredible product! When the demographic is right, the happy customers are there and we are more than thrilled to help them feel better than ever about themselves. We'll hone our research skills, find another expo soon and let you know how it goes. Remember, expo is short for exposure, and when you are a new business, exposure is the number one thing you need!
 

Diary of a Small Business Owner, nomie baby Edition: Determined to be Present for the Princesses...

Katie Danziger's picture Submitted by Katie Danziger on   |  0 Comments

I am getting ready to take my 5 year old on a trip, just the 2 of us, for 3 days to..... Disney World!  I am determined to pack lightly and only bring carry-on.  I am also determined to be 100% present in the Magic Kingdom, with each princess sighting and on every ride we're brave enough to take.  However, I also know that there are customers out there waiting for their happy-mess, so the computer must come along, but will remain in my room, so that first thing in the morning and last thing before I doze off to "It's a Small World," I can check and process orders to get them out as quickly as possible.  There are many amazing things about running my own company, but the downside is there is no "off" switch, and the buck always stops with me, so while I can disappear for hours at a time, there isn't ever a full day that goes by when I can completely check out or log off.

I am really looking forward to the day when there are other people focusing on all these details, and I really can disappear.  But for now I will have to make do with magical moments off, and checking in occasionally on my computer, and perhaps even the blackberry.
 

Your Tip in Our Monday Morning (Social) Greetings

Katie Hellmuth's picture Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on   |  0 Comments

We would like to welcome everyone to Monday Morning Greetings on our Facebook, Twitter, and this blog. These useful nuggets of wisdom give our readers a tip to help their businesses (or themselves) grow and succeed.  This is a sponsored opportunity, but for our members, it is free and is your chance to show your expertise off in a public and viral space. If you're not yet a member, join now and get started!

In the tip, we link to the following:

  • Link to your Facebook page (schedule a strategy session with Katie if you don't have a business page in Facebook yet).
  • Link to your website or specific article where you cover the tip in detail. This is *not* necessary, but is available to you should you want to link there.
  • Link to your Twitter handle when posted in Twitter.


Our Facebook and Twitter are read by a wide range of people, not just our members. The audience is comprised of business owners, aspiring business owners, the online/print/television press and supporters of our Buy Entrepreneur Movement (ie, people who buy your products or services).

See our Facebook page for a latest example. MyHealthCafe.com submitted the first tip for a new health care tax deduction for small businesses and it read like this:

For those with taxes on the brain, today's tip is from MyHealthCafe.com: If you are self-employed, there is a new change in the tax code which allows you to deduct the cost of your health insurance premiums against your self-employment taxes for 2010. More info here: http://myhealthcafe.com/tax-season-tip-health-insurance-tax-deductions-for-the-self-employe

Got a tip? Need help thinking of one? Email us at info@tinshingle.com with questions and to get started!

We've Got Gift Guides! The Marketplace Gets Categories

Katie Hellmuth's picture Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on   |  0 Comments

Members of Tin Shingle are able to promote their products, websites, service packages, and more into The Marketplace. Now, members can assign their listings to a specific category, like "Mothers Day," "Gifts Under $100," "Music," etc. This allows shoppers and users (for members who market websites and mobile phone apps) to browse our Marketplace in a more organized fashion. It also allows the media to more quickly get what they need when they are looking for a certain kind of product. And finally, it allows us to promote themes of products in our Facebook and Twitter. If you are a member, the directions for assigning your current listings are below. If you're not yet a member, click here for this and loads of other benefits!

To assign Marketplace listings to a gift guide category:
- Log into your account. On the right side of the screen, you'll see a button called "Manage The Marketplace Postings". Click it.

- Under the picture of your listing, you'll see a text link "Edit". Click it. If you haven't added a listing yet, click the "Add a Marketplace Listing" at the top of the page.

- This is where you edit any part of your listing. You'll see a pulldown called "Marketplace Category". Select the appropriate listing.

These listings run for the length of your membership, unless they are dated/seasonal. If you have listings that are dated, like have an old expiration date, now is your chance to update it. As always, email us at info@tinshingle.com with questions.

Category: 
Membership Goodies

Diary of a Small Business Owner, Jackie Nees Virtual Assistant Edition: T-T-T-Team?

Jackie Nees's picture Submitted by Jackie Nees on   |  2 Comments

Team – for many small business owners, this is a very familiar word that brings about feelings of comfort and peace knowing that things are getting done by talented, capable people. For me, it brings about feelings of panic and terror.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think teams are great. In fact, I am a member of several as a VA, and I believe that when the right people join together for a common goal, it can be magical. I’ve always thought it was great for other people but not for me. Until recently, that is.

Since I started my VA business people have often asked me, “do you work with a team or do you do everything yourself?” My answer was always a proud and resounding, “I do everything myself. My clients are very important to me and I’m a control freak so I don’t want to leave their projects in someone else’s hands.” Lately though, I’m starting to wonder if my “control freakishness” (is that a word?) is getting in the way of my business growth. I mean, there are only so many hours in the day and only one me, right? How can I continue to move forward with all of my big plans going solo?

Ironically I have had two clients in the last few weeks ask me if I had planned on working with a team eventually because they would like to see me hand off some of the little stuff to someone else while I oversee everything and help them with the big stuff. First of all, it’s a huge confidence booster to hear comments like that and ideally, yes, that’s exactly what I would love to do. Enter panic and terror.

My excitement builds at the thought of gathering my team of assistants and giving them their project assignments leaving me with more time to do bigger things and take on more clients. But then my heart starts pounding and thoughts begin racing. Thoughts like, “Where will I find these amazing people?”, “How can I find someone inexpensively?”, “What do I hand off and what do I do myself?”, “Am I ready to manage someone other than myself?”, “Can I let go of my control issues where some things are concerned and trust someone else to do it?” It’s enough to make a girl reach for the nearest wine glass.

So, this week is going to be all about giving this team thing some deep thought. I think I’ve come to grips with the fact that I do need help, I just have to figure out the logistics of what that looks like for me. Maybe I should take baby steps and start thinking in terms of one other person instead of the big “T” word looming over my head. Yes, that feels better already. I think I’m ready. Well, almost. Where did I put that wine glass again?

Diary of a Small Business Owner, HYH Edition: Haunchos Lovers, We've got you Covered/Haunchos Haters See You Later

Submitted by Jenny Greer Eri... on   |  0 Comments

*Missed last week's Haunches edition?  Read it HERE!

 

All publicity is good publicity; or so they say. We sure hope so.  We had our first live interview this morning and boy, was it fun! The hosts and producer were warm and inviting and led us down our primrose path with patience and expertise. We are holding our breaths for a local feature story being aired tonight...Honestly, is that really what we sound like on tape?!

We can make fun of ourselves  better than anyone, but reading the radio station’s Facebook page has been a real eye opener. There was one woman in particular who  called our product deceptive. Remember the whiners from SNL? Ahhhh, Good times... Obviously, she is not a future customer. She says she is au naturel, nothing fake or deceptive about her appearance.  Wellllllll, we have to admit that if using makeup, toothpaste, deodorant, self tanner, bras, tights, bathing suit coverups, hair color and contacts make us sneaky and deceptive then we are the 007’s of 40ish mompreneurs!

There is no question in our mind, and frankly the proof is in the pudding, that any product that makes women feel more secure and beautiful, will have more fans than foes!

A struggle we are facing is how to communicate that these pants are 100% multi purpose. They are not cheap, but neither, frankly, is our target market! The price tag is quite reasonable for a pair of well made black pants that LITERALLY can be (and are) worn  during exercise,  a luncheon or out for drinks at night.

We Head Haunchos are heading to Boston Friday to set up shop at the Marathon Expo! We have one Hauncho Husband coming as an assistant and he has already asked us if we would like him to transport pants in the beer cooler he is bringing. Typical. Wish us luck and please come see us if you are in the area! We love meeting new friends.

**Editor's Note:  See the Haunchos 1st TV segment which they've blogged about HERE!
 

Diary of a Small Business Owner, Nomie Baby Edition: It's a Patent!

Katie Danziger's picture Submitted by Katie Danziger on   |  0 Comments

Its seems as if the big theme of my blog (and my business) is patience patience patience.  When I first had the idea for the car seat covers, I thought it was an "ah ha" moment, but after speaking with a few very trusted friends, and hearing their reactions, I truly thought I might have something big.

So, while I was looking into fabrics, pattern makers, etc, I also met with a patent lawyer, and started the ball rolling on what would turn out to be a very long process of trying to get a patent for the car seat covers.  I first had to explain to my mid-50's plus male lawyer what my product was, why it really was necessary, and unique.  Once he understood what the product idea was he agreed to work with me and help me file all the paperwork. 

There were drawings, a lot of legal babble and years of waiting.  In order to receive a patent, the idea, or "intellectual property" must be deemed unique, or at least no other claims for such a product filed. 

After years of waiting, the US Patent office decided, and they issued US Patent number 7,914,075 for the nomie baby car seat covers.  I was thrilled!  Not only did I feel that "ah ha" moment all over again, but I knew that this would open up many more possibilities.  I am looking forward to seeing all the new doors this opens and the roads it takes me down.  Again, this has always been an exciting education.  Let's see what's ahead!

Diary of a Small Business Owner, Jackie Nees Virtual Assistant Edition: A Bird’s Eye View of Business

Jackie Nees's picture Submitted by Jackie Nees on   |  0 Comments

Missed last week's Jackie Nees blog?  Check it out HERE!

If you follow me on Facebook you know that over the past week I’ve been totally obsessed with a family of eagles in Decorah, Iowa. It all started when I clicked on a link for a live Ustream video because three baby eagles were about to hatch. Me, not knowing anything about wildlife thought, ok I’ll watch this for a little while and all three eggs will hatch and I can get on with my day. Not so much. That was April 1st. It is now April 5th. Two of the eaglets have hatched and we’re still waiting for the 3rd. It’s gotten to the point where I now have one computer on “eagle watch” at all times while I work on the other one. I can’t help myself. I am more into what’s going on in a nest two states away and 80 feet off the ground than any of my favorite reality shows (which says a lot coming from a reality tv junkie)!

I quickly learned the difference between the mom and dad and am starting to learn their personalities as well as the personalities of the babies. The more I watched the more I began to relate to these eagles from a business standpoint. Now, before you send for the men in the little white suits to put me in a padded cell let me explain.

Much like my new friends, the Decorah eagles, I too have an egg that needs to be hatched, but mine is not a tiny fluffy bird, mine is a business. The following are lessons I’ve learned from these two massive raptors over the past several days.

1.    The biggest thing I noticed is that they are not merely sitting around waiting for these things to hatch. They are engaged in constant preparation. Sometimes it means one is out hunting and gathering while the other sits on the nest and sometimes, even while it seems they are just keeping the eggs warm, they are rearranging twigs and branches around them, making the nest comfy and cozy for their new family.

2.    They rely on each other as a support system. They take turns sitting on the eggs and keeping the hatched birds warm. They work together to prepare the food for their babies and keep things neat and tidy. They don’t try to do everything themselves.

3.    They keep a close eye on “the competition” and monitor what’s around that might be a threat to their fragile babies. They also look out for things to build a stronger foundation so their nest stays sturdy enough to support them.

4.    They let nothing get in the way of their focus of hatching healthy babies (in this case, 3). They send out regular warning signals that no one dare come near their domain. They also constantly get up to check and make sure everything is going ok and according to plan.

5.    Finally, they are nurturing. These incredibly powerful birds are, loving and gentle when it comes to feeding the two tiny mouths that rely on them for everything. They gently move the last egg around to make sure it’s getting just the right protection and warmth. They know these babies aren’t going thrive on their own. They have to constantly feed and love them to make sure they grow, big and strong.

My “baby” will be emerging very soon from the egg and I’m grateful to these beautiful creatures for reminding me of what I need to do to have a successful hatch!

 

Diary of a Small Business Owner, Hold Your Haunches Edition: You Snewz You Lewz

Submitted by Sabina Hitchen on   |  0 Comments

Missed last week's Hold Your Haunches blog, check it out HERE!

Well, Spring Break is over for the hauncho’s. Our week began with good news! After all of the media trolling we have done, we finally got an answer. The NBC local affiliate, channel 41, called and wanted to do a story on us.  So, here is the story of our first brush with T.V. and it is particularly fitting. Monday was a beautiful day in Bibb County. We were excited to meet the news people on Tuesday for our interview.  Per our normal routines, we were far to busy adjusting to a busy Monday to worry with our TV debut. We were putting that  off until Tuesday. Apropos of our usual attitude: why do today what we can put off till tomorrow.. I mean come on, we had to hit the grocery, shuffle kids to all the activities, animals to the vet, do the mountains of laundry all the usual chores of Monday, but tripled after a week vacation. Around 1:30 a.m. the bottom feel out , humongous storms slamming our area. My power went out and stayed on vacation until Tuesday evening. Remember,  this is the day of our interview that we had done NO prepping for. Now here it is Tuesday and I couldn’t even google things like, what to wear on t.v., how to answer questions, how to not look like an idiot and all the other things I was planning on doing the last  minute to get ready.

So what did we do, well we “wung” it. Coreen and her camera man, Robert were consumate pros and I’m sure they thought we were consumate nut jobs. Coreen, being the pro that she is, would not interview us together.. and we are used to our dog and pony show. Erin is great off the cuff and can actually answer questions intelligently. On the other hand, I start to ramble and say things like “ you don’t have to have a big ass to have a jiggly one”. No doubt that will be edited out.. I can’t seem to behave right on camera (or off for that matter). I am blaming it on my power outage and the fact that b/c of that, I was unable to do my homework.

We did have a wonderful time with the news peeps and in usual fashion, we tried our best to interview them. Coreen anchors the nightly news and is in the station from 2 p.m. to midnight every weekday. That stuff fascinates us and then we go to town pestering her with questions like wanting to know how late she sleeps every day, when does she exercise etc...can we get a morning show ( it is not hard for us to get off topic) I am sure Coreen could not wait to get rid of us. Mundane details of peoples lives seem to fascinate us. Far more than the mundane details of ours seem to fascinate others.

We don’t know when the story will air. Robert and Coreen said it was going to take a lot of editing. Shocker. Our next stop is the local Mix in the Morning show next week. I bet we will have some tail tales to share with you after that.

 p.s. Oprah and Gayle still have not called.
 

Member Spotlight: Tereza Nemessanyi

Katie Hellmuth's picture Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on   |  0 Comments

Tereza Nemessanyi, Founder/CEO of Honestly Now Inc, is a seasoned media and technology entrepreneur, and has worked with, at senior levels, companies including PwC, IBM, Disney, Unilever and Interpublic. She has an MBA from The Wharton School. Ranked among the top female voices in technology today, she was inspired by her mother, an immigrant who restarted her career at age 40, to launch Honestly Now. Get Tereza's insights on her blog, Mashups, Markets and Motherhood. She lives in New York with her husband and two young daughters.

Visit our Business Directory to meet more of our members.

To become one of our members and start promoting your brand with us in creative ways, join today.
 

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SmallBizSpotlight

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