Earth Day Giveaway Winner and 15 Exclusive Discounts!

earth day giveawayThe “Earth Shattering” Earth Day Giveaway winner has been chosen…

We’re truly grateful for all who participated.

And logged over 10,000 entries in total. Whoa.

Prizes for Everyone

Before I announce the winner, I want to let you know about some awesome runner-up prizes for all!

I asked the participating mompreneurs to give me a great deal to pass along to everyone. They didn’t disappoint. Here are the discounts. Many of them are available for a very limited time, so grab these deals today!

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Congrats to Our Winner

The winner of our giveaway is… (drumroll please)…  Stacy Lynn!

Congratulations to Stacy on the WIN, and her mega-haul totaling over $600 in eco-friendly products. We hope you enjoy each and every one of them. Thanks again to all of you for participating, for buying green, and for supporting all of these fantastic hard working mompreneurs!

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5 Tips to Becoming a Successful Mom Entrepreneur

The working mom and the stay at home mom used to be a complete opposite (at least in each other’s eyes…). But these days, many working moms are looking for more flexibility in their work, and many stay at home moms are looking to create a home based business for extra income, self fulfillment or both.

As a mom who took that leap of faith and left my corporate job I wanted to share with you my 5 tips to becoming a successful mom entrepreneur (frequently referred to as “mompreneur”), and letting you know that you can, too, become one:

1. Set big goals

This is really two things you need to do. One is set A goal and the other is set it big.

If you don’t have a goal, how do you know where you want to go?

Setting big goals will motivate you, excite you and make you work really hard for it. As part of your business plan, you will be able to break the big goals into smaller actionable steps so you can work wisely to achieve them.

2. Build a support network

Get your ideas out there, ask for friends and family’s opinions (and even financial support!).

Make sure your spouse is joining this ride with you, both mentally and financially.

Look for mentors from day 1. It is very hard to find the right mentor, so always keep looking. You will need someone who have much more experience than you and of course someone that is willing to mentor you (I don’t recommend paying anyone. Great mentors are usually very well off and doing it to pay it forward).

3. Get ready to work hard

That doesn’t necessarily mean work a lot of hours. The juggling act of being a mom and an entrepreneur is not an easy task, and that is one of the difficult aspects of being a mompreneur. But with time, you will learn what is the best way for you to do it (work late at night, early morning, nap time, etc.). Also, if you start this journey, you will feel as if this is another “baby”, it will be growing, it will need attention, some days will be super good, some will be not so much…

4. Make it Happen!

Believe in yourself and be confident, and always take real actions. Many entrepreneurs hope they are the “next big thing”, but the majority of businesses don’t succeed overnight or while doing nothing.

5. Be flexible with your plan and business model

There is no “one size fits all” in business. depending on your personality and the type of business you choose, certain things will show more results than others. In my first year of business I spent over $10,000 in marketing that resulted in very little return, based on other business owners “excellent experience”. On the other hand, I spent only a few thousand dollars on a training program that covered itself with the profit I made implementing it within one month! 

 

If you already visited the “our story” section, you know that motherhood got me to become a mom entrepreneur. I simply couldn’t go back to work full time, and was looking for a more flexible way to contribute to our household income. I did so by introducing the Snug Square Play Mat. 

It took a while until Baby Mushroom got to replace my full time income, but it didn’t have to. If only I was paying closer attention to my cousin’s emails about how to market my play mats online (and NOT to stores), I would’ve signed up to the amazing selling machine training program earlier. I could’ve prevented myself many heartaches and saved a lot of money wasted on unsuccessful marketing efforts. The course is pure gold and made me focus on direct to consumer sales, utilizing Amazon. The training is very action oriented, motivating and easy to follow. Since I joined this course, I came out with a few different version of the play mats, as well as Car kick mat and organizer, and some more products are coming out this summer!

I did all this while staying home with my three kids! I was able to nurse my third until he was a year old, I go to every event at their school, I make them chicken soup when they stay home sick, I do my grocery shopping and other chores on the weekdays, and I now have a higher income than I had at my full time job.  unnamed

Moreover, when you have a business, you are worth more than just your income. You create value in the business itself, in which you can alway sell in the future. We all know the story about how Julie Aigner-Clark founded The Baby Einstein Company and then sold it Disney! 

Well, The Baby Einstein is an extreme case and doesn’t happen often, so you probably shouldn’t run out and quit your job tomorrow or if you are a stay at home mom, you shouldn’t spend all your savings on a business right away. But I just wanted to tell you that I’ve achieved my wish to financial freedom and flexibility that enables me to care for my three little munchkins, and if you set your mind to it, you can do it too!!!

If you are interested to learn more about the amazing.com course that opened the fast track to my business profitability, click here

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Birthdays and Giveaways

As years go by, we find inspiration for things we do, things we love and things we pursue in many people. It only seems logical that they will be people who are closest to us, older and more experiences than us, or leaders and influencers (yes, like Sir Richard Branson…).
But every now and then, there is someone who we least expect to be inspired by. I mean, they are small, cute little creatures that for the most part are so dependent on us, that it seems impossible that they will be our source of inspiration.
When I was introduced to a group of women entrepreneurs, I had the privilege to learn so much from this group. I was witness to their success and had so much admiration to each and every one of them.
Jennifer Closson Aprea was one of the group members. At the time, this super mama was a teacher, an entrepreneur and a mom of two. Her product, the Spray Pal (an amazing cleaning accessory for cloth diapers), was very successful in the cloth diapering community. After following her for a little while I understood why her community of cloth diapering parents were not just customers, but huge supporters! They were all, like myself, inspired by this little blond guy that was staring in the Spray Pal’s blogs and posts.
Ryan (affectionately referred to as mini Spray Pal 2.0) is one the most adorable little boys I’ve ever seen! More than that, he is an unexpected source of inspiration to me, and I believe to all of Spray Pal’s followers. At the time, he was not even two years old, and already overcome so many challenges in life, since he was born 3.5 months prematurely. You can read the full story and Jen’s amazing blog on her website http://www.spray-pal.com.

Thank you Jen for sharing with all of us the amazing journey of your family and your little hero, and congratulations on the success of Spray Pal!

As if Jen is not busy enough, every year, around Ryan’s birthday she shares the celebration with all her followers by organizing huge giveaways! Just to give you an idea of how many companies wanted to participate in the giveaways-she had to do 10 days of giveaways that will lead to his 3rd birthday on March 20th!!
Today, day 6 of the giveaway, we are honored to be part of it.
The prizes are:
A Baby Bello Organic play mat from Baby Mushroom (valued at over $200!)
$50 gift card to Kelly’s Closet
$50 gift card to Sticky Bellies
Rock-a-bums diaper package valued at $50

And as Jen said on her blog “may the odds be ever in your favor!”
Happy 3rd Birthday Ryan!

Yours,
Liat
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How I Met Richard Branson and Didn’t Faint

I met Richard Branson

Richard Branson is one of my business idols.

I’ve always been a fan of the Virgin brand, and after a group of friends and I did a presentation in business school on Virgin and Richard Branson, he became my biggest inspiration.

This past week I got to meet him, shake his hand, and ask him a question.

How It Happened…

amazing selling machineThree months ago my friend encouraged me to invest in a course about selling your products on Amazon called The Amazing Selling Machine – that is responsible for over $142 million in sales on Amazon. Having been successfully selling my baby & toddler play mats on amazon for over a year now, I wasn’t sure it was worth the thousands of dollars I’d need to invest. Besides, with my inventory almost sold out, and my manufacturer tied up with other orders, I just didn’t know if it was the right time.

But, there were promotional videos for the course, so I figured the least I could do was watch those. The content was definitely interesting and informative. Nothing earth-shattering until…

What’s this?

The course includes a live event?

It sounded, for a second, like you said Richard Branson will be there.

You did?

He will?!!!!

Just like that my hesitation evaporated. How can I pass up this opportunity? Sure, there will be thousands of people there… but who cares? Just listening to Sir Richard Branson live seemed like a dream.

Of course the event was still a few months away.

As I started the course, I quickly realized that I was going to get A LOT more for my investment than an opportunity to listen to Sir Richard Branson. The training was pure gold.  I’ve since come out with two more products – an organic play mat and car seat back protectors – and I’ve changed my business model to focusing entirely on selling direct to the customer, as opposed to chasing Brick and Mortar stores.

The Event Day Arrives

With a couple of friends, I boarded my Virgin America flight (how could I not!) with eager anticipation.

The entire event was amazing.

I met with several other women entrepreneurs (we called ourselves “women who kick a$$ on amazon”), a great group of people from my home country of Israel, and so many more successful business people. The speakers and the content were amazing too. The two guys who started this Amazon selling course were so much more amazing in person.

The last day arrived, and Sir Richard Branson was the second person on the schedule. The first speaker was terrific too, but I won’t lie, my focus was not entirely there. I was too excited to see Richard Branson come to the stage.

Then, it was time! Even the founders of the training program were nervous (how could you not be right?)

Everyone was so excited, honored and inspired. The stories we heard from Branson were all amazing, but what inspired me the most was his efforts to fight the world’s drug problems. He encourages world leaders to view drugs as a health problem, not a legal problem, and he spends much of his time proving the effectiveness of this approach.

Nice to Meet You Sir Branson

The interview appeared to be coming to an end when the interviewer announced “we are going to allow two questions.”

Fortunately, I was sitting in an aisle seat not too far from the stage.

Without even thinking, I jumped out of it.

I heard a friend behind me shout, “Go for it Liat!” and immediately hurried toward the stage and the microphone that was dedicated for questions for the event. I saw a gentleman coming from the other side of the stage as well.

As I stood by the microphone in awe of the situation I was in, Sir Richard Branson himself walked toward me.

OMG, he was looking right at me.

OMG, he was telling me to go on to the stage!!

Most of what followed was a blur of nerves and excitement. I know I bubbled something about flying Virgin America and telling him that he’s been an inspiration to me for years. I also knew I wanted to ask him about my dual role as an entrepreneur and a mom. So I asked him, “What recommendations do you have for entrepreneurs, who want to raise their children to be hard-working and without a sense of entitlement from their parents success?”

Okay maybe I had some trouble coming up with those exact words (English is my second language, and, um… RICHARD BRANSON!), and my voice was probably shaky… but I held it together… and miraculously DIDN’T FAINT!

Me and Richard Branson!Then he offered me a seat on the sofa chair he was sitting before. What a gentleman!

When he started speaking, he began saying that companies have to do a better job of enabling parents to be more flexible, to work from home more often, and to trust them to do that. I really appreciated that he said that, especially since I’ve recently started hiring stay-at-home moms to help me with my company. I do believe our country needs to find a better life/work balance – especially for parents who are raising children.

By the time he made that point he kind of forgot what I’d asked him, but frankly it didn’t matter. He was next to me, he was smiling, and it was literally a dream coming true. He did add that he and his wife Joan just gave their children a lot of love.

Love is the secret sauce, isn’t it?

Love your children. Love what you do. Love and appreciate what you have, and know there is always more to look forward to.

To the Amazing Selling Machine team – thank you. You’ve changed my life twice. First, by helping me take my business success to a whole new level, and second, by helping me meet my long time business idol.

To Sir Richard Branson, thank you. It was an honor to meet you and to stand on the same stage as you.

Thank you, I will forever be grateful!

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