Admiral Road Personalized Blankets 
Ah, January. Maybe it’s the cold, the eggnog-induced five extra pounds or the impending credit card bill. Anyway you slice it, getting revved up for work in the new year isn’t easy. But here’s the good news: We’ve got five sure-fire ways to start making more money in your business right now. That should get your fire burning!
read more at our Mom Ink blog at YummyMummyClub.ca
Walking through Ikea today reminded of the Dragons’ Den. This week’s episode touched on the concept of the loss leader, a strategy Ikea executes to perfection.
I'm disturbed about something. I hadn't given it too much thought until the November issue of Chatelaine magazine landed on my doorstep.
One upside of being a small player in business is flexibility. Before you’ve gone too far down the garden path, and before you’ve invested too much money, you can take advantage of your ability to react to demands in the market.
My favourite Dragons’ Den lesson this week came courtesy of Carolyne Braid, founder of Pole Fit. Although pole dancing may sound titillating, essentially this was a pitch that tapped into the latest trend for getting in shape. Pole Fit offers fitness classes in Winnipeg and brought in $89k in revenue last year. Braid’s ask of $35k for 20% of her company was to finance studio space, as well selling Pole Fit franchises across Canada.
A few years ago we found ourselves invited to admire our most senior employee’s brand new bedroom set. It was lovely. Believe us, we were delighted for her. But at the time, it made us wonder if her grass wasn’t just a little greener than ours. For example, at that point in time, we both happened to be sleeping on box springs - sans fancy bedroom sets. How was it that our employee was having sweet dreams based on her paycheque while we were still juggling the need to grow our business with the cash we were taking out personally?
Read more at our Yummy Mummy Club blog
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Do you love the TV show Dragon's Den on CBC? We do! Each week Amy comments on lessons from Den at our Mom Ink blog at Yummy Mummy Club. Check out this week's recap!
The take-away from this week’s episode of Dragons’ Den reinforces one of our long-held beliefs: There is nothing wrong with starting small.
Read more from our Yummy Mummy Club blog:
Choosing mom entrepreneurship can be exhilarating, invigorating and inspiring. But it can also be stressful – after all, getting a business off the ground can be one expensive leap into the unknown. Regardless of whether you start your business for a few hundred dollars or a few hundred-thousand dollars, we imagine that you’re just like us: you’ll want to stretch your money as far as it can go. And, like every business owner, you’ll need help, advice, referrals and bargains. Before you pull out your credit card, think about what value you can derive from your Rolodex.
We’ve found the old adage to be true: ask and you shall receive. We’ve got three tips on how you can implement this motto in your business starting right now.
Pursue networking opportunities
Be in touch with everyone you can if there is the slightest chance they can help you with your new venture. Who can help you with legal advice? Product development? New client referrals? Even if your network can’t help you out now, keep them in mind for down the road. You never know how your contacts might end up helping.
Seek out mentors
There’s a lot we stand to learn when we’re starting out in business for ourselves. The good news is that many people in business have gone through it before us. You just need to find a way to tap into their expertise. A mentor can be anyone whose opinion you trust, but your best bet is someone who works in a similar sector and is ahead of you on the learning curve. Go out there and ask people you admire for their advice – we’ll bet they’ll be flattered you asked.
Ask for better pricing
Whether you run a product or a service-based business, you can ALWAYS ask for better pricing. You’ll either get it or you won’t, but it doesn't hurt to ask! If at first you don’t succeed, you can always ask again down the road. Over time we’ve had our rates reduced on everything from fabric costs to credit card rates – but we had to ask.
You may be doing it all alone right now, but come out of your shell and ask for help. You simply never know what you’ll find.
If you follow Admiral Road on Facebook you’ll have noticed that this month we are celebrating our 20th Friendiversary. (To be honest, we stole the idea from our trusty office manager Lizz, who had a party for two when she and her bestie celebrated 10 years.) Now that Amy and I have been BFFs for 20 years we think it’s time we raised a glass to our best girlfriendship.
We met in our first year of university – at McGill in Montreal. Amy and I shared a major, a residence and sat on a student council together. Over the course of our first semester we became great friends. And the rest is history…
During the past 20 years we’ve been single, working girls sharing an apartment. We’ve stood up as ‘best woman’ at each other’s weddings. We’ve been there for the birth of each other’s children and for moments of intense grief. In short, we’ve grown up together.
We laugh when people ask us if we’re sisters (occasionally even if we’re twins). Given the 6 inch height difference not to mention being physically dissimilar in nearly every way, it’s a bit odd for people to think we’re related. On the other hand, we’ve been in one long 20 year conversation (no sign of it letting up) – so maybe we’ve come to resemble each other in some less obvious ways.
And, for the past 9 years we’ve been business partners, sharing the highs and lows of mompreneurship. We even recently wrote a book together about our business and other mompreneur ventures. We know that people say not to go into business with your friends – but we can’t imagine having done it any other way. It’s been doing it together that has made it not only sustainable, but also very enjoyable.
So here’s to 20 years, and here’s to 20 more. And here’s wishing you and your BFF all the best on your next friendiversary.
We’ve all heard the expression "it takes a village to raise a child." We think it takes a village to raise your business, too. We can all use help thinking about strategy, sourcing suppliers, contemplating marketing initiatives and more. When we’re stumped at Admiral Road, we routinely turn to other mom entrepreneurs for help, as well as former business school professors and smart self-employed guys that we know, not to mention friends and family members.
While this informal system works for us, there are many entrepreneurs who swear by using a business coach to help them strategize and address business issues. Hiring a business coach means entering into a formal mentoring relationship where you pay an expert for her time and expertise. The question is, is it worth it?
Here’s what a business coach can do for you:
- View your business through a filter of experience and objectivity.
- Ask you questions that will help you see the issues in your business more clearly.
- Help you make tough decisions and develop an action plan.
- An outlet for discussing your business.
- Can be someone to whom you are accountable for getting things done.
That being said, there are a few things they can't do for you. A business coach can’t hold your hand every second. While they can help you figure out what to do, they can’t do it for you. They won’t be responsible if it doesn’t work out. Compare it to hiring a personal trainer. Using their expertise, a personal trainer will create a plan that addresses your particular fitness goals. They will work out with you regularly and they’ll answer questions and provide encouragement. But they're not going to get on the treadmill for you. And they can’t control what you eat or how often you work out. The same goes for a business coach – ultimately the results are up to you.
Another consideration is the cost. Business coaching isn’t cheap. You can sometimes get packages of sessions, or work with an online coach via email or phone, either individually or in a group setting. A one-on-one session can run you $100 to $200 per hour (sometimes more). It’s definitely pricey, especially for a small business, but if it helps you achieve real results quickly, it just may be worth it.
If business coaching sounds like it’s for you, your best bet is to ask around and get a recommendation from a friend or colleague. If that doesn’t turn up anything, you can try the International Coaching Federation or findacoach.com.
Finally, not all business coaches are created equal. Just as you’d want to hire a personal trainer who was in great shape, with years of experience and lots of satisfied clients, you’ll want to be sure that your business coach is the real deal. Ask lots of questions and, if you can, speak to former clients before making the investment.
Do you have any experiences with business coaching? We’d love to hear about them.
We’ve randomly picked a winner for our Green Sheep contest.
Congratulations to lucky #25 – Nadine who commented on our Facebook page. Her nephew, Jonah has won a green sheep blanket.
There could be only one winner, but we think that all the kids we heard about deserve a blanket. We’ll be sending everyone who entered a very special coupon. Check your inbox shortly.
Thanks to everyone for entering.
Congratulations to lucky #25 – Nadine who commented on our Facebook page. Her nephew, Jonah has won a green sheep blanket.
There could be only one winner, but we think that all the kids we heard about deserve a blanket. We’ll be sending everyone who entered a very special coupon. Check your inbox shortly.
Thanks to everyone for entering.
Back by popular demand, the green sheep! (the sheep's white actually, but on a lovely celery-green coloured blanket)
To celebrate, we're giving one away to one of our lucky readers.
To enter, leave a comment below telling us the name of a little one you think deserves this cozy blanket and why.
Want an extra chance to win? Comment on our Facebook page, or tweet this.
So much has been written about mom entrepreneurship over the past few years. It’s a great choice for women – providing the best of both worlds – a blend of work and family. We wonder though, whether some of the less than perfect aspects of mom entrepreneurship have been glossed over in the media. So, from time to time, we’re going to do our best to shine some light on mom entrepreneurship myths.
Myth #1: Mom entrepreneurs get to spend lots of time with their kids.
Well, technically speaking this isn’t necessarily a myth. We do spend lots more time with our kids than we would if we worked for someone else. After all, that’s the whole point, right? We work carpool-to-carpool, and we wouldn’t trade that for the world.
The myth is about the quality of time we spend with our kids. Being a mom entrepreneur means that you always have something to do. So, even while you’ve scheduled “kid time,” it can be awfully hard to tune out the endless business to-do list running in the back of your mind. For example, we’re around with our kids after school – but we’re checking our BlackBerry and taking calls – and that’s on a good day. If there’s a business crisis, then all bets are off with respect to mommyhood. We may be sitting at the table with our kids for an after school snack – but so is our laptop.
And it can be hard for the kids to understand how it is that we’re home, but not available to them in the way they’d like us to be. We are not available to play Candyland again (mixed blessing on that one) and we may be only half listening to the endless discussion about Obi Wan and his cunning use of the Force. On the other hand, we are around to kiss a boo-boo better, to negotiate sibling scraps, and to listen when things didn’t go well at school. At the end of the day, we hope that they remember those things more than they remember the laptop and the phone calls.
We think that mom entrepreneurship is about having the things you want most. Sometimes we’re a little envious of the nine to five moms who can leave work behind, and also of the stay-at-home moms who are truly focused on their kids. For us and our families though, and maybe for you and yours, the balance generally works and we can’t think of an arrangement that would work better.
Read more of Amy and Danielle's business tips on Sweet Mama's "Ask an Expert"
Myth #1: Mom entrepreneurs get to spend lots of time with their kids.
Well, technically speaking this isn’t necessarily a myth. We do spend lots more time with our kids than we would if we worked for someone else. After all, that’s the whole point, right? We work carpool-to-carpool, and we wouldn’t trade that for the world.
The myth is about the quality of time we spend with our kids. Being a mom entrepreneur means that you always have something to do. So, even while you’ve scheduled “kid time,” it can be awfully hard to tune out the endless business to-do list running in the back of your mind. For example, we’re around with our kids after school – but we’re checking our BlackBerry and taking calls – and that’s on a good day. If there’s a business crisis, then all bets are off with respect to mommyhood. We may be sitting at the table with our kids for an after school snack – but so is our laptop.
And it can be hard for the kids to understand how it is that we’re home, but not available to them in the way they’d like us to be. We are not available to play Candyland again (mixed blessing on that one) and we may be only half listening to the endless discussion about Obi Wan and his cunning use of the Force. On the other hand, we are around to kiss a boo-boo better, to negotiate sibling scraps, and to listen when things didn’t go well at school. At the end of the day, we hope that they remember those things more than they remember the laptop and the phone calls.
We think that mom entrepreneurship is about having the things you want most. Sometimes we’re a little envious of the nine to five moms who can leave work behind, and also of the stay-at-home moms who are truly focused on their kids. For us and our families though, and maybe for you and yours, the balance generally works and we can’t think of an arrangement that would work better.
Read more of Amy and Danielle's business tips on Sweet Mama's "Ask an Expert"
We know that moms are starting businesses in droves, but what is it about self-employment that makes entrepreneurship such a compelling choice?
We’ve given this question a lot of thought, and we’ve asked around. Ultimately, the reasons women opt to juggle motherhood and business are as varied as the women themselves. We have, however, observed some general categories of reasons.
- New Boss vs. Old Boss: All moms know that the “real boss” is the child at home. The problem is this new, little boss is making the old boss hard to manage. No workplace boss is going to love that you show up late because you had to change your puked-on suit, miss days of work for ear infections, or nap under your desk Costanza-style from sleep deprivation. The tension between the two “bosses” ultimately drives many women to strike out on their own.
- Fulfilling a Dream: Many women tell us that they started their businesses in order to fulfill a passion, or because they had a great idea, or because they just wanted to work for themselves. In all cases, these women have used mom entrepreneurship as an opportunity to fulfill their dreams.
- Big bucks or Pocket Change: Some moms want to make a zillion dollars and believe entrepreneurship is the best way to do it. Many others are would-be stay-at-home-moms who need (or want) to supplement their family incomes. Any entrepreneurial venture is going to be a lot of work, so getting into it for the money is a pretty solid motivation!
- Identity Crisis: As much as some women want to be home with their kids, many fear that a total immersion means the loss of their own identities. Having a business is an opportunity to remain engaged in the adult working world while still being available to your children. With a foot in both camps, mom entrepreneurship can provide the perfect middle ground.
What we believe is that your motivations only need to work for you. Want to make gobs of cash? Excellent! Want to engage in a business project while the kids are small? Also great. It really doesn’t matter what brings you to mom entrepreneurship. But here’s the caveat – and we can’t stress it enough: Know what your own motivations are. Mom entrepreneurship is too hard to juggle without clearly articulating to yourself why you’re doing it.
Whatever your business, it will involve a lot of work and sacrifice. You will come back to your reasons time and time again – so know why you’re making the leap.
Admiral Road has the best fans in the world. Because they're so great, we'd like to give one lucky fan a free blanket.All you need to do is go to our Facebook Fan Page and comment on this post. Tell us what your favourite Admiral Road baby blanket style is and why you love it.
You can find all of our styles on our website at www.admiralroad.com.
We'll randomly pick a winner this week from one of the commenters.
Good luck!
I’m a big believer in superpowers. I sincerely believe that we all have them. Now, this is not to say that we have useful, helpful superpowers like the kind we see in the comics or movies. No, I think each of us has an everyday life, often totally bizarre and completely unmarketable kind of superpower that just accentuates our individuality. Let me give you a few examples…
Amy’s eldest daughter can spot a rainbow anywhere. That kid has seen more rainbows in seven years than most of us will in a lifetime.
For her part, Amy can fill up a kettle with water to the EXACT DROP for how much will be required for tea, regardless of how many people she is serving.
My husband can swat a fly like no one’s business. I’ll bet flies have legends about him. Then again, maybe not, as so few have lived to tell the tale.
As for me… wait for it… I see hawks. Yes, you read that correctly. I can barely look up in the sky without spotting a hawk. Perhaps I worked with birds of prey in a former life, I don’t know. I do know that my superpower is useless in every conceivable way. Even the obscure superpowers that Amy and my husband have are at least marginally useful to every day life.
Which leads me to think about what kinds of superpowers I wish I had. Sure, I wish everything I touched turned to gold (good one), or that I had supernatural strength. In my business life I’d love to have the power to accurately predict the success of new products or marketing initiatives, or heck, even the power to keep my Inbox manageable – but sadly these skills elude me.
But the superpower I most wish I had is an unending well of patience. I would have the ability to endure hours of bickering children. I would welcome the endless stream of people knocking on my door to sell me a product or solicit a donation. I’d be delighted when the driver in front of me turned on his left turn signal at the very last minute. I’d look forward to diving into QuickBooks each business quarter. Can you imagine?
What’s your superpower? Or which one do you wish you had?
As for me, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can trade HawkGirl for SuperPatientLady.
Amy’s eldest daughter can spot a rainbow anywhere. That kid has seen more rainbows in seven years than most of us will in a lifetime.
For her part, Amy can fill up a kettle with water to the EXACT DROP for how much will be required for tea, regardless of how many people she is serving.
My husband can swat a fly like no one’s business. I’ll bet flies have legends about him. Then again, maybe not, as so few have lived to tell the tale.
As for me… wait for it… I see hawks. Yes, you read that correctly. I can barely look up in the sky without spotting a hawk. Perhaps I worked with birds of prey in a former life, I don’t know. I do know that my superpower is useless in every conceivable way. Even the obscure superpowers that Amy and my husband have are at least marginally useful to every day life.
Which leads me to think about what kinds of superpowers I wish I had. Sure, I wish everything I touched turned to gold (good one), or that I had supernatural strength. In my business life I’d love to have the power to accurately predict the success of new products or marketing initiatives, or heck, even the power to keep my Inbox manageable – but sadly these skills elude me.
But the superpower I most wish I had is an unending well of patience. I would have the ability to endure hours of bickering children. I would welcome the endless stream of people knocking on my door to sell me a product or solicit a donation. I’d be delighted when the driver in front of me turned on his left turn signal at the very last minute. I’d look forward to diving into QuickBooks each business quarter. Can you imagine?
What’s your superpower? Or which one do you wish you had?
As for me, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can trade HawkGirl for SuperPatientLady.
This week Admiral Road is celebrating Team Canada and the Olympics with some great One Day Sales.
We'll be featuring a new Canadian-themed blanket every day, today through Thursday -- at 50% off the regular price! That's enough to make anyone cheer.
Check our website and Facebook page daily for the details on this fabulous sale.
Get one while supplies last -- once they're gone, they're gone.
Stay tuned for another Olympic One Day Sale tomorrow.
I was recently chatting with several older women when I mentioned that part of my job is "social media marketing." Not surprisingly, they didn't know what that meant. They wouldn't be the first ones. A year ago, neither did I.
I've been personally Facebooking, blogging, and social networking for several years. But it wasn't until last fall that we first ventured into the world of social media as a business.
The first step was a Facebook group. At that point there were all sorts of businesses with "profiles," many with group pages, and a few with fan pages. With our group we posted relevant news, links to articles, and photos of little ones. We also had our first ever giveaway where several dozen customers got to take home sample blankets for little ones in their lives absolutely free! Needless to say it was a big hit. We loved being able to do something fun, and good for our customers. Not to mention we found homes for blankets that otherwise might have gone in the trash. However, we still weren't really connecting with people because there was little room for interaction, only promotion.
After the winter holidays last year, we threw our hats into the blogging ring. Our blog, Blanket Statements, was our chance to share our experiences with life, families, and running a blanket business. It also brought us into a whole new world. Blogging allows people all over the world to form communities with people they've never met. Many women use it as a way to get and give advice on families and children, share stories, and connect about personal triumphs and tragedies. At Admiral Road we share stories about funny things the kids say, business experiences, or new name trends.
After a while we saw that the Facebook group was being replaced by the "Fan Page." We were hesitant to make the switch because we already had several hundred group members and the thought of asking them to switch was painful. But we realized that the group was not working for us, or for our customers as we had hoped, and we made the big jump to the page. As it turns out, it was hugely successful. All of a sudden we were hearing from our customers instead of just posting things for them to read about us. And it is so much more convenient as you no longer have to search for the group and remember to check for updates - important updates about sales and coupons go right to fans' newsfeeds.
Finally there was Twitter. I admit, none of us knew how to use it. I cringed when I had to use the verb "tweet" in a business meeting, and we agonized over early posts to make sure we were "doing it right." I was the biggest resistor, mostly because I didn't think we had time to maintain another social media site and still actually run as business. I also couldn't stand the idea of being 24 and having aging U.S. Congressmen understand a new technology better than I did. But Twitter is where the conversation is really at. We discovered interesting people to follow, business contacts to network with, and funny stories that everyday people were sharing.
People knew early on that social media was a revolutionary way to connect with customers on a different level, but it wasn't clear how it was going to work. It wasn't because we didn't know how to use the technology, it was that the technology didn't know how it wanted to be used yet. Facebook wasn't started as a business tool. It was created for elite American college students to presumably network with more elite college students. Blogging has been around for years, but for most of those years it was exclusively a tool for self-expression. These platforms have evolved into what they are today - impossible to ignore pieces of our everyday lives. And with that comes business. But this is a new kind of business where relationships are built, customers get a say, and companies stand behind what they sell. After all, their face is all over it.
So join us in the social media world. Today, October 1, we will be getting the fall season off to a great start with a fabulous giveaway. Follow us on Twitter to find out how you can win.
I've been personally Facebooking, blogging, and social networking for several years. But it wasn't until last fall that we first ventured into the world of social media as a business.
The first step was a Facebook group. At that point there were all sorts of businesses with "profiles," many with group pages, and a few with fan pages. With our group we posted relevant news, links to articles, and photos of little ones. We also had our first ever giveaway where several dozen customers got to take home sample blankets for little ones in their lives absolutely free! Needless to say it was a big hit. We loved being able to do something fun, and good for our customers. Not to mention we found homes for blankets that otherwise might have gone in the trash. However, we still weren't really connecting with people because there was little room for interaction, only promotion.
After the winter holidays last year, we threw our hats into the blogging ring. Our blog, Blanket Statements, was our chance to share our experiences with life, families, and running a blanket business. It also brought us into a whole new world. Blogging allows people all over the world to form communities with people they've never met. Many women use it as a way to get and give advice on families and children, share stories, and connect about personal triumphs and tragedies. At Admiral Road we share stories about funny things the kids say, business experiences, or new name trends.
After a while we saw that the Facebook group was being replaced by the "Fan Page." We were hesitant to make the switch because we already had several hundred group members and the thought of asking them to switch was painful. But we realized that the group was not working for us, or for our customers as we had hoped, and we made the big jump to the page. As it turns out, it was hugely successful. All of a sudden we were hearing from our customers instead of just posting things for them to read about us. And it is so much more convenient as you no longer have to search for the group and remember to check for updates - important updates about sales and coupons go right to fans' newsfeeds.
Finally there was Twitter. I admit, none of us knew how to use it. I cringed when I had to use the verb "tweet" in a business meeting, and we agonized over early posts to make sure we were "doing it right." I was the biggest resistor, mostly because I didn't think we had time to maintain another social media site and still actually run as business. I also couldn't stand the idea of being 24 and having aging U.S. Congressmen understand a new technology better than I did. But Twitter is where the conversation is really at. We discovered interesting people to follow, business contacts to network with, and funny stories that everyday people were sharing.
People knew early on that social media was a revolutionary way to connect with customers on a different level, but it wasn't clear how it was going to work. It wasn't because we didn't know how to use the technology, it was that the technology didn't know how it wanted to be used yet. Facebook wasn't started as a business tool. It was created for elite American college students to presumably network with more elite college students. Blogging has been around for years, but for most of those years it was exclusively a tool for self-expression. These platforms have evolved into what they are today - impossible to ignore pieces of our everyday lives. And with that comes business. But this is a new kind of business where relationships are built, customers get a say, and companies stand behind what they sell. After all, their face is all over it.
So join us in the social media world. Today, October 1, we will be getting the fall season off to a great start with a fabulous giveaway. Follow us on Twitter to find out how you can win.
Admiral Road has been making personalized blankets since 2002.
This week's featured company makes its products in Canada, just like we do at Admiral Road. If you know of other great small businesses, let us know! We’d love to hear about them.
Company Name: Mally Designs
Company Web Site: mallybibs.com
Owners: Ron and Nicole Garza
What they do: Make beautiful bibs out of leather. They’re durable, easy to clean and stain resistant.
Why we love 'em: Because their products are beautifully designed and of the highest quality. And they’re made in Canada! This company has achieved so much in a short time – Mally Bibs are everywhere! Their success is truly inspirational.
What you can get: Their new pocket peeker designs – so cute. You can also keep your eye out for Mally Bibs on sale.
Company Name: Mally Designs
Company Web Site: mallybibs.com
Owners: Ron and Nicole Garza
What they do: Make beautiful bibs out of leather. They’re durable, easy to clean and stain resistant.
Why we love 'em: Because their products are beautifully designed and of the highest quality. And they’re made in Canada! This company has achieved so much in a short time – Mally Bibs are everywhere! Their success is truly inspirational.
What you can get: Their new pocket peeker designs – so cute. You can also keep your eye out for Mally Bibs on sale.
