Ladies Who Launch Profiles

[Carol Aston]

I love reading these profiles Barbara,

there's so much inspiration in them for all of us. Keep 'em coming

Take care,

Carol

[OmnivoreInk]

I love reading these profiles Barbara,

there's so much inspiration in them for all of us. Keep 'em coming

Take care,

Carol

Thanks, Carol!

Glad to see they're being of u se!

B

[OmnivoreInk]

Marion Luna Brem
November 11th, 2008 · No Comments
CEO, Love Chrysler, Inc.
www.marionlunabrem.com

Marion Luna Brem was about to give up. Not only was she raising two sons by herself, she was fighting cervical and breast cancer and had been given only a few years to live. She was completely sapped of strength one day when, slumped on the floor, she was too weak to investigate the distinct scent of something burning in the kitchen. Eventually Marion’s son arrived at her side, sizzling pot of macaroni and cheese in hand, and unknowingly turned Marion’s nadir into a new day: “Don’t worry mom,” he said. “Only the bottom is burned; the top is still good.”

Never was there a more perfect metaphor. Marion was certainly singed, but she still had gumption. She picked herself up and started searching for work, weathering rejection after rejection until a car dealership gave her a shot at sales. Relying on her wits, smarts, work ethic and winning personality she rose quickly through the ranks and, after only five years in the industry, opened her own dealership called Love Chrysler.
Today she owns two dealerships, she’s cancer-free and is one of the featured women in the inspirational movie The GLOW Project. Marion never takes success for granted and still smiles at the memory of that first job offer. “I’ve been thinking about hiring a broad,” the manager said. “You seem like the nervy type.” Bogart couldn’t have said it better.

What we learned from Marion: We all encounter forced change. But adversity is something you can use to get ahead. It’s just a matter of what you choose to do with it.

Dying Is Not An Option

If there’s such a thing in life as a defining moment, I had mine hugging the commode. I was terribly sick from chemotherapy, I had no health insurance, my husband had left and I felt like a drain on my family. But when my son pointed out that the non-burned part of his macaroni and cheese was still perfectly fine, I realized that parts of me were fine too. Dying simply wasn’t going to be in the picture.

My Sometime Is Now

These may sound like strange sources of inspiration but I was dead broke, I had a family to support and I wasn’t sure how many years I had left. So I lived with a sense of urgency. I took nothing for granted and never felt like I had to apologize for my ambitions, which is something women tend to do. We take care of everyone else and wait for our “some day.” My “some day” was right then and there.

Lady, Start Your Engine

Cancer had interrupted my education and I was now a college drop-out. I needed a job and at the suggestion of a friend, I decided to try sales. I knocked on door after door until finally I landed a job selling cars. I worked my way up management ladders by being almost like a mad woman, full throttle, pedal to the metal and head down.

People First, Cars Second

I immersed myself in car stats - fuel capacity, leg room, horse power. But I was boring people. I learned to listen to the customer rather than the other way around. Once I understood their needs I could explain the features that would be the most important to them. I’m actually more of a people buff than a car buff.

On The Job Training

I’m so glad I didn’t know how much I didn’t know. Sometimes ignorance, or as I prefer to say naiveté, is bliss. You can’t wait till you know everything. If I had waited to run my own dealership until I understood everything about the car business I’d still be waiting. After 19 years as CEO I’m still learning.

To Make A Difference, Be Different

At night I would lie awake like an expectant mom and wonder what I would name my dealership. I didn’t want anything trite like “friendly” or ‘heritage” or “bay breezes.” Then I thought of “love.” It’s a noun, a verb, and the most positive word in our vocabulary. It evoked the way I knew I would serve my customers. I’m a woman in a male dominated industry. Rather than apologize for that or ape the behavior of men, I was able to use it to distinguish myself.

Hot Rod Homemaker

I still use my homemaker skills to run my companies. Homemakers have attributes that you wouldn’t normally think of putting on a resume. Talents like space planning, budgeting, time management, emotional compartmentalization, negotiating. Women rely on these skills every day without realizing how valuable they are.

Seize The Day

Rituals are essential. For me, seeing the sun rise is very spiritual. Every day is a new day. It’s fresh, it’s a clean piece of paper. I haven’t made a mistake yet. I’m a gourmet bather. It’s girly but it works for me. In order to nurture others I know I have to nurture myself first every morning.

This Featured Lady was profiled by Susie Lacey, Associate Editor, Ladies Who Launch.

[ideasuniversity]

Marion Luna Brem
November 11th, 2008 · No Comments
CEO, Love Chrysler, Inc.
http://www.marionlunabrem.com

Marion Luna Brem was about to give up. Not only was she raising two sons by herself, she was fighting cervical and breast cancer and had been given only a few years to live. She was completely sapped of strength one day when, slumped on the floor, she was too weak to investigate the distinct scent of something burning in the kitchen. Eventually Marion’s son arrived at her side, sizzling pot of macaroni and cheese in hand, and unknowingly turned Marion’s nadir into a new day: “Don’t worry mom,” he said. “Only the bottom is burned; the top is still good.”

Never was there a more perfect metaphor. Marion was certainly singed, but she still had gumption. She picked herself up and started searching for work, weathering rejection after rejection until a car dealership gave her a shot at sales. Relying on her wits, smarts, work ethic and winning personality she rose quickly through the ranks and, after only five years in the industry, opened her own dealership called Love Chrysler.
Today she owns two dealerships, she’s cancer-free and is one of the featured women in the inspirational movie The GLOW Project. Marion never takes success for granted and still smiles at the memory of that first job offer. “I’ve been thinking about hiring a broad,” the manager said. “You seem like the nervy type.” Bogart couldn’t have said it better.

What we learned from Marion: We all encounter forced change. But adversity is something you can use to get ahead. It’s just a matter of what you choose to do with it.

Dying Is Not An Option

If there’s such a thing in life as a defining moment, I had mine hugging the commode. I was terribly sick from chemotherapy, I had no health insurance, my husband had left and I felt like a drain on my family. But when my son pointed out that the non-burned part of his macaroni and cheese was still perfectly fine, I realized that parts of me were fine too. Dying simply wasn’t going to be in the picture.

My Sometime Is Now

These may sound like strange sources of inspiration but I was dead broke, I had a family to support and I wasn’t sure how many years I had left. So I lived with a sense of urgency. I took nothing for granted and never felt like I had to apologize for my ambitions, which is something women tend to do. We take care of everyone else and wait for our “some day.” My “some day” was right then and there.

Lady, Start Your Engine

Cancer had interrupted my education and I was now a college drop-out. I needed a job and at the suggestion of a friend, I decided to try sales. I knocked on door after door until finally I landed a job selling cars. I worked my way up management ladders by being almost like a mad woman, full throttle, pedal to the metal and head down.

People First, Cars Second

I immersed myself in car stats - fuel capacity, leg room, horse power. But I was boring people. I learned to listen to the customer rather than the other way around. Once I understood their needs I could explain the features that would be the most important to them. I’m actually more of a people buff than a car buff.

On The Job Training

I’m so glad I didn’t know how much I didn’t know. Sometimes ignorance, or as I prefer to say naiveté, is bliss. You can’t wait till you know everything. If I had waited to run my own dealership until I understood everything about the car business I’d still be waiting. After 19 years as CEO I’m still learning.

To Make A Difference, Be Different

At night I would lie awake like an expectant mom and wonder what I would name my dealership. I didn’t want anything trite like “friendly” or ‘heritage” or “bay breezes.” Then I thought of “love.” It’s a noun, a verb, and the most positive word in our vocabulary. It evoked the way I knew I would serve my customers. I’m a woman in a male dominated industry. Rather than apologize for that or ape the behavior of men, I was able to use it to distinguish myself.

Hot Rod Homemaker

I still use my homemaker skills to run my companies. Homemakers have attributes that you wouldn’t normally think of putting on a resume. Talents like space planning, budgeting, time management, emotional compartmentalization, negotiating. Women rely on these skills every day without realizing how valuable they are.

Seize The Day

Rituals are essential. For me, seeing the sun rise is very spiritual. Every day is a new day. It’s fresh, it’s a clean piece of paper. I haven’t made a mistake yet. I’m a gourmet bather. It’s girly but it works for me. In order to nurture others I know I have to nurture myself first every morning.

This Featured Lady was profiled by Susie Lacey, Associate Editor, Ladies Who Launch.

This shows that when there is life there is hope and you should never give up.

[Carol Aston]

What a truly amazing lady!

Thanks for posting this ideasuniverity, it had me hooked from beginning to end and then I had to go and look at the website. The words "Courage is not a gift, courage is a decision" really make you think.

Take care,

Carol

[OmnivoreInk]

Despite the well-known health benefits of almond butter such as vitamin E, fiber, protein, phosphorous, no partially hydrogenated oils and more magnesium than spinach, many people either don’t like almond butter’s taste, don’t like its grainy texture or think it’s a facial scrub. But Jennifer Barney is determined to change all that. It was only a few years ago that, armed with a blender and bags of blanched almonds, Jennifer started whipping up addictively delicious batches of almond butter for her kids. Several burned out appliances later she succeeded in creating the familiar taste, texture and consistency of jelly’s better half, peanut butter. While the kids clamored for more, neighbors knew Jennifer could sell it. She started a business, supplying almond ambrosia to stores across California. After partnering with an investor she recently moved into her own peanut-free manufacturing plant complete with custom-built equipment, making Barney Butter the only almond butter safe for those with peanut allergies.

Barney Butter is already well-known in California, Oregon, Florida, Arizona, Washington and Nevada. By January it will line the shelves of every Fresh Market across the country, heading toward household name fame along with Jif and Skippy. This kind of success is hardly a surprise because as anyone with a peanut butter palate will tell you, Barney Butter is pure almond joy.

What we learned from Jennifer: Be a dreamer, but be realistic. Set time and financial limits. Once you’ve used them up accept that something isn’t working and you need to go in another direction. It may end up being the best decision you’ve ever made.

I can’t believe it’s not peanut butter

When my kids were teething they wanted “real” food. I searched for almond butter but could only find coarsely ground almonds, not anything smooth that they would eat. I thought, “With a little sweetener and salt I can make great-tasting, smooth almond butter!” It wasn’t the entrepreneur in me talking. It was a mom thing. I just wanted to make almond butter that looked and felt like peanut butter for my kids.

The Juiceman Cometh

I broke blender after blender until I finally invested in a heavy duty machine. The one that worked best was The Juiceman I found on eBay. I burned through at least four of those but my kids loved my almond butter! I didn’t tell people what I was doing because really, somebody might have locked me up.

Spread the word - spreadable almonds!

Eventually I started giving my almond butter to friends. It was a hit and everyone encouraged me to start a business. At the time I only had experience in birthing children. That’s it. I had no experience in business, manufacturing or food science. But I did know that starting a business was risky. My husband and I invested a small amount of our savings that we would be ok with never seeing again.

Separation anxiety

I knew my almond butter would separate while sitting on store shelves so I investigated the peanut butter industry’s methods for avoiding that. You would be amazed what you can find online. I found a University of Georgia professor who had written a research paper in 1996 about the application of palm oil to peanut butter for stabilization. I called him. He explained everything I needed to know. I’m sure he had no idea he was talking to a crazy blender-breaking housewife.

The taste of success

By law I had to hire a contract manufacturer to make and pack my product. But to save money I had my friend’s dad design my logo. Then I made labels on sticky paper, cut them out and stuck them on the jars myself. The friendliest mom and pop stores were happy to stock my almond butter because I was local. I did lots of store tasting events to make sure my product sold.

Foot-loose and peanut free

Eventually we out grew our co-packer. We needed a bigger space but couldn’t afford to invest one more cent in the business. I went looking for an investor and through one of my suppliers found not only an investor but a partner. At that point I could afford to expand and I now have my own peanut-free plant and state-of-the-art equipment.

Almond butter and jelly

We’re working on going national. Peanut butter is such a staple, but almond butter is healthier and is perfect for people with peanut allergies. I think that this is something people will love. It’s exactly like peanut butter but made only from almonds.

Curiosity is key

I’m sure at Ladies Who Launch you see this all the time in entrepreneurs but when I was developing my product I didn’t see it as work. I really enjoyed what I was doing and I was driven by curiosity. It became something of an obsession. I was determined to get it right.

This Featured Lady was profiled by Ladies Who Launch Associate Editor Susie Lacey.

[OmnivoreInk]

Founder, Boundless Playgrounds,
www.boundlessplaygrounds.org

Children learn cooperation, fairness, and problem solving skills by playing with as many different pals as possible. Unfortunately however, hundreds of kids with physical, developmental or sensory disabilities can’t join friends or make new ones on traditional playgrounds. These familiar neighborhood fixtures are often designed by rote, excluding children who can’t navigate steps, swings or slides.

Amy Barzach, while struggling to cope with her son Jonathan’s death from spinal muscular atrophy, decided to do something about it. Knowing that had Jonathan lived he would have needed a wheel chair, Amy envisioned a barrier-free paradise where no child’s differences would be magnified by narrowly conceived construction, nor even matter at all. Over the next eighteen months she rallied 1,200 volunteers, raised $500,000.00, and built a playground geared towards all kids, regardless of their individual challenges.

“Jonathan’s Dream” opened in 1996. Elated families, foundations, community leaders and educators all across the country wanted similar playgrounds in their areas, inspiring Amy to establish the non-profit Boundless Playgrounds in 1997. Today there are more than 100 Boundless ™ playgrounds in over twenty states, ensuring that children with and without disabilities can play together seamlessly, each child far richer for having spent time with the others.

Amy recently won the 2008 Martha Stewart Dreamers Into Doers Contest.

What we learned from Amy: Anyone can be an entrepreneur. It has nothing to do with genetics or education or connections. It’s all about desire. Once you give yourself permission to move forward and take action you can accomplish anything.

A mother’s worst nightmare

Before I had kids I was the Vice president of marketing for a real estate and shopping center developer. I had a great corporate career and kept working after my first son was born in 1991. But when my second son was born with spinal muscular atrophy and lived less than a year, that’s when I didn’t know what to do with the rest of my life. My professional skills, my talents, everything I knew I was good at – none of it had been enough to save him.

Finding her purpose

I’m a planner. But the death of my son was so out of my control that I couldn’t make sense of it. I did go back to work but it wasn’t until I remembered once seeing a little girl sitting in a wheel chair at the edge of a playground, unable to join in the fun that I really found my passion and my purpose. I realized that Jonathan would have been that little girl, and in his memory I could build a playground accessible to all children regardless of their differences or physical limitations.

Team work

I identified my vision for “Jonathan’s Dream” as well as my values and my beliefs, then I asked myself who else would want to see my plans take shape. This is called asset mapping; ask yourself, “who else cares?” I formed a committee and we identified a huge orbit of people who did care, who could care and who might care - educators, community leaders, medical professionals, parents, children – this playground had the potential to touch so many people.

101 kids

I can’t design my way out of a box. But I knew my limitations. I contacted playground companies for design advice but I found that the status quo wasn’t going to help me. So I went straight to the kids themselves. I invited 101 kids with and without disabilities to participate in “design parties.” I gave them every art supply I could think of and asked them to design their dream playground. The kids with disabilities were amazed with what I was asking them to do. They had never played on a playground and had never considered the possibility that they could.

Green light!

We had incredible community support and raised $500,000.00. That allowed us to hire a company called Learning Structures that specialized in community build playgrounds. They worked with us down to every last bolt to design exactly what we wanted. They sent engineers to teach our volunteers to build it. The sense of ownership and engagement we all shared were what made the project so beautiful. “Jonathan’s Dream” was completed only eighteen months after my son’s death, and the non-profit Boundless Playgrounds shortly after that.

Mother May I?

There are all kinds of women who, somewhere along the way, got the message that they weren’t good enough, weren’t smart enough or weren’t strong enough to go after their passions. I find that women act as though they’re waiting for someone to give them permission to succeed. Anyone can become an entrepreneur. I’m convinced that when you find your passion and are willing to invest in it, there are ways to move forward and take action if you have finally realized that it’s ok to do so. Watching women give themselves permission to be powerful is one of the greatest thrills in my life.

This Featured Lady was profiled by Susie Lacey, Associate Editor, Ladies Who Launch

[Carol Aston]

Two really inspiring stories here again Barbara,

I was especially touched by the boundlessplaygrounds article, being a mother and grandmother myself the very thought of what it would be like if either of my kids or any of grandkids were unfortunate enough to be born with such disabilities is beyond my comprehension.

I took a good look round the boundlessplaygrounds website and it is truly amazing and made me want to do something to help, unfortunately I don't have the time or the capital. Maybe my daughter can find some time to start fund-raising for a park in the U.K. Hmmm ...

Take care,

Carol .

[David Hurley]

"My Sometime Is Now

"These may sound like strange sources of inspiration but I was dead broke, I had a family to support and I wasn’t sure how many years I had left. So I lived with a sense of urgency. I took nothing for granted and never felt like I had to apologize for my ambitions, which is something women tend to do. We take care of everyone else and wait for our “some day.” My “some day” was right then and there."

===

Thanks for posting these testimonies. I think people should be encouraged to read testimonies every day: they are often very moving and inspire us not to halt at the first defeat, and to put our hand to the plough once more.

I sometimes worry that so many of the successful people whose testimonies I hear have been tested by tribulations far beyond anything I have every been faced with. As Gary Eby says, before you can have a testimony you've got to have a test...

[OmnivoreInk]

Founder, Heather Moore Jewelry
www.heathermoorejewelry.com

Heather Moore was a successful entrepreneur from the start. Her one-of-a-kind gold, silver and glass necklaces, rings, earrings and bracelets were wearable works of art sold at Barneys New York and in catalogues like Sundance and Anthropology. This small business woman was getting big-time recognition in magazines like Lucky, InStyle, Elle, Mademoiselle and Real Simple.
But Heather believed beautiful jewelry should commemorate experiences, both happy and sad, and she was always interested in, and moved by the individual reasons people were buying her creations. So she reinvented her business. Free from a mass-producing mindset, these days she hand-engraves pendants, rings, earrings, cuff links and bracelets with names, initials, phrases, symbols and dates using turn-of-the-century tools. Each keepsake is made for a specific, unique reason making it the perfect way to transform a story into something solid, lasting and special.

Just in time for the holidays, Heather is offering the Ladies Who Launch community 10% off all purchases from Heather Moore Jewelry! Use promo code LWL2008 until December 23, 2008.

What we learned from Heather: Love your product but also love the people who buy it. Provide customers with superior quality not only because you want to be successful, but because you care about their happiness.

Starting out strong

After graduating from the Cleveland Institute of Art I started a jewelry company intending to use my income to open a glass shop. But the jewelry business really took off. I focused on making it casual with a lot of personality, but well-made and high quality. Even back then I knew I wanted to create pieces that people would feel attached to, that would give them strength and confidence. Pieces that would remind customers of when they got them and why.

Story time

I believe that jewelry is the perfect way to commemorate an event, and I was always happy to hear that my customers thought so too. This was why I shifted my focus 2004. It was an organic shift in that after I created some pieces for myself featuring family members’ names I started doing it for my customers. I was offering them a chance to participate in the creative process and tell their stories in a truly unique and meaningful way.

Personal Touch

I love peoples’ stories. I never make the same thing twice because obviously each person’s story is unique. When I get an order for something that is clearly an inside joke I am really curious to know what it’s about. I know that whatever it is, it’s something that is bringing people together, that they’ll always laugh about. The pendants are perfect for poignant sentiments too. I made a pendant for myself with my late sister’s name on it in Braille. I touch it all the time.

What’s in a name

I love what I do. And because everything I make is personalized I know that whether people order for themselves or for someone else, they’re putting a lot of thought into the engraving, and I’m a part of it. I get to aid in the creation of something so meaningful that’s about much more than just the jewelry itself.

Personal effects

Whether customers want initials, names, dates or inspiring words, there’s a story behind their order every time. That’s what makes it all worthwhile – knowing that I’m literally making memories. I know life is short. It should be celebrated.

[OmnivoreInk]

Julia Hartz
December 16th, 2008
Co-Founder & President
Eventbrite.com

As gigs go, Julia Hartz had a good one. While the rest of her twenty-something peers were merely watching MTV, Julia was working for the network in series development, producing wildly popular shows such as Jackass, Real World and Sorority Life. After two years there she took a job at FX. Nip Tuck, The Shield, Rescue Me-Julia was right in the thick of the hottest shows on TV.
But in a dramatic move that would make her fictional characters proud, Julia gave it all up for a man. At least it looked that way on the surface. Actually she always knew working in LA would be short-lived so when her long-distance boyfriend Kevin proposed, she headed to San Francisco. And the TV-like saga continued.

Not knowing whether they could live together, let alone work together, Julia and Kevin nonetheless launched Eventbrite, a do-it-yourself online event management and ticketing service, in 2005. Their relationship and their company thrived. Today Julia and Kevin are married, have a ten month old daughter, and can proudly say that though Eventbrite began as a small start-up, it has transacted millions of tickets to date. Talk about happily ever after.

What we learned from Julia: In the start-up environment you’re wearing many hats. But if you want to grow, you’ve got to delegate. Hire good people and trust them to do their jobs. The most successful entrepreneurs are those who can relinquish well.

Learning the Ropes

Landing an internship at MTV was exciting. But being hired full time was even more so. There I was at 22 working on Jackass. It was amazing. When I moved to FX I was the youngest member and the only woman on a five-person executive team working on shows like Nip Tuck and The Shield. It was like a start-up; we all wore different hats. I learned to speak up and go with my gut. I built a foundation of knowledge and confidence that I still rely on today.

Heading Home

I left FX and headed to northern California to be with my fiancé Kevin. What a cliché. But I always knew FX would be short-lived. Yes I loved the creative process and meeting lots of new people but I never intended to stay in LA. I moved to San Francisco in the fall of 2005 to start Eventbrite with Kevin. We laugh about it now but at the time this was a big risk. We went from a long-distance relationship to living and working together. We had no idea how this dynamic would play out. Obviously it worked. We’re married and have a ten-month old.

Born to Bootstrap

I’m a planner. Plans make me happy. But when we started Eventbrite I had to give that up. I learned to take it one month at a time which was a huge growing experience for me. It was just the two of us in a conference room using saw horses and slabs of wood for desks. Boy were we bootstrapping it. All of our income went back into the business. We were our own bosses so we could do that.

Start-Up Central

We were occupying a small section of a much larger space that our land lord told us we could use. We filled it with other start-ups. At one point there were ten start-ups in there. The energy was amazing. This was where we built our company.

Starting Out Strong

We wanted to build a strong foundation from the very beginning so we focused on providing a great product. We figured either we would end up with the eBay of online ticketing or just a great small family business. Either way we weren’t going to skimp. We weren’t taking salaries and we didn’t use outside funding. We were incredibly capital-efficient. Our only hire was a CTO who lived in France. We focused on our product and growing the business during the day in the United States while he slept, and he built the technology while we slept. You can’t get more efficient than that.

The Customer Challenge

Our biggest challenge was customer acquisition because it wasn’t readily obvious how we would market our product. But because we provided world-class customer service, word of mouth was huge. We didn’t find search engine marketing to be very helpful in the beginning because we were too small for it to be effective. It’s kind of a catch-22. We had to grow first before we could use a tool that was supposed to help us grow.

Balancing Business and Baby

As a mother and a business owner I do get anxious now and then because I care so passionately about both roles. But I work from home sometimes so I can be with my daughter. I love to watch her climb out of her crib and make a break for it. We spend our down-time as a family. And Kevin and I have Wednesday date nights. Sometimes we’re practically sleeping in our salads but this time is sacred.

This Featured Lady was profiled by Ladies Who Launch Associate Editor Susie Lacey.

[Carol Aston]

Great story Barbara,

I checked out Julia's site and it's free to try out and Eventbrite is also free to use, you pay only when charging for tickets:

2.5% of ticket price for paid events
Min. $0.99 per ticket. Max. $9.95 per ticket

Anyone else wanting to check it out can do so below

Eventbrite

Take care,

Carol

[drdony]

Whew, thanks

Interesting

[carol brin]

When I've visit there very first time, it seems interesting to me and I just decide to read the profiles sometimes, But with the time passage it become a big platform for me to get the great stories of inspiring entrepreneurs. Now I read regularly as much as I can.