by Charlotte | May 21, 2015 | Uncategorized
As my son turns two, I am noticing that we watch more “shows” together. He has a few go to, he must watch shows that are on our TV a few times a day. While I was sitting watching reading next to him, I realized that not only is there valuable information for him to learn in his shows, I could really apply them to myself and my business too. It also helped me justify letting him watching several shows that day, while I worked, ha! I quickly decided to create this blog series on what we can learn from our children’s cartoons and how to apply them to our business/lives. We are starting out with the first show my son feel in love with… Dinosaur Train If you have not watched this show, here is a quick summary. The show is based about a family of dinosaurs that take adventures on the dinosaur train to learn and meet dinosaurs and creatures in various locations and time zones. The underlining focus is that everyone is different and special (one son in the family is adopted too) and that keep exploring and learning, especially in nature. It is a lovely show that is always teaching my son and me something new. (Well at least in the first time through watching them on Netflix!) What Dinosaur Train has taught me about business: Meet new people Tiny, one of the daughters, has an ultimate challenge to connect and befriend as many other dinosaurs and creatures as she can, whether she is scared or not. Start your own Tiny’s Ultimate Challenge. Get out there are...
by Charlotte | May 7, 2015 | Uncategorized
One of the scariest parts of starting a business is whether or not people, will actually buy what you are selling. You may think you have this amazing idea and so everyone you know, including family and friends, but will anyone else want it? You make amazing cookies, but will people pay for them? You designed an awesome tool to use while in the back country, but will other people like it and use it too? Are there plenty of people out there willing to spend money on your amazing product, skills or knowledge? Before you dump tons of money into your business, you need to find out what you ideal customer wants and if it is what you have to offer. So I guess you want to know how, right? The number one way to see if your product will sell is to talk to people. Talk to 25-100 potential customers about what you plan to offer. Ask them their struggles, needs, thoughts, concerns, and what they want in regards to what you plan to sell. For instance, I am currently conducting a Moms Dream Business Project. I am in the process of interviewing 50 moms to see what their struggles are with starting their businesses while being home with their kids. I have, what I feel is, a great idea for a program that I have been working on, but just like you I need to make sure others are struggling and in need of what I want to offer. Send out a survey and asks people what they want. This is similar to meeting...
by Charlotte | May 7, 2015 | Uncategorized
When it comes to writing I feel like people mostly fall into to distinct groups: those that love writing things down with pen and paper and those that love everything digital. Alright, I will admit it, I love, love, love notebooks. I have dozens that are randomly filled with all my thoughts, to-do lists, great business ideas, and random journaling. I am always wanting to buy more, but my husband keeps asking me to, at least, complete the one I am using or the dozens on our shelves, before I buy more. It is so tough though, I just love the feel and opportunities of a new crisp notebook. Then there is those that have everything neatly organized on their computer, phone, evernote, google calendar or whatever other awesome tool you use. You have a perfected system that keeps track of it all. Unlike me, you are not “writing” everything out twice, like the blog post, business idea or that cool idea I had that I wrote in a notebook, but need on the computer. Many days I wish I was organized digitally. It would save me time and energy, which let’s be real, as moms we are often lacking. However, that is not how I work best and that is ok. If you love notebooks and planners and writing on paper, keep doing it. If you have your laptop, I-pad or phone always at the ready to capture your amazing ideas, that is fantastic. Embrace what works for you and keep doing it. You just need to do something, keep working,...
by Charlotte | May 7, 2015 | Uncategorized
You decided it is time to take a vacation, what do you do next? Do you plan your trip? Do you know where you are going, how you are going to get there and have, at least, a rough idea of what you plan to do while you are there? I’m going to take a wild guess and assume you said yes to most, if not all, of those. So why is it that so many people do not want to create a business plan? I am not saying that you need to write out a 25 page plan, with a crazy amount of detail. If you are like me and most people, you find that to be overwhelming, time consuming and often not worth the effort. (Unless of course you want/need investments, then yes, you need to do it and email me if you need help.) However, everyone needs to write a plan for their business. You need to take the time to get clear on several areas of your business, especially before you put your precious time and money into it. Get clear on the following: What do you do? Who you help? How you help them? Do they actually want what you have to offer? How you are going to make money? Can you make enough money? Where will people find your product/service? How can they buy it? How will they know you exist? How do you plan to evolve and grow your business overtime? You can do this on a napkin, written down in a random notebook, while journaling in the morning, a...
by Charlotte | Apr 23, 2015 | Uncategorized
Hello ladies, moms and everyone else! I’m Charlotte. I am so happy to be here sharing my journey with you. I finally took the leap and am officially sharing my business with the world. I am beyond excited and totally terrified at the same time. This business has been a dream of mine for years, but I kept thinking I needed and wanted to do other things first. After I closed my first business, when my son was 6 months old, I decided that being a stay at home mom was what I really wanted. I mean, I was envious of all those moms with perfectly clean houses, working out in the middle of the day and always taking their kids to the zoo or the beach. Sometimes I still long for that concept of a life, but it is not the ideal one for me. With a lot of introspect and a short project writing a business plan for a friend, I realized I needed and wanted more than being just a stay at home mom. Don’t get me wrong, I want to be home with my son, that is my main reason for starting this business, but I needed an outlet for myself to share my knowledge and passions. Besides that, I am not that good at keeping the house clean, my outings are always Target and somehow I could not find time to workout anyways. So here I am. A new business, a happy son, and a husband that is beyond proud and excited I am doing something for myself. This did not come easily though. I took the time to...
