The Beehive Product Launch Show

Vanessa Ellingson is a former professional basketball player, turned Chiropractor turned entrepreneur.  She is also the CEO and Co-Founder of the company Möbi Games Inc.   Mobi is afast paced tile game that helps others learn and apply basic math skills.  I wanted to learn more about Vanessa's overall approach to creating her brand.

Her Philosophy

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”  ~Mark Twain

You can either manage hiccups with a smile on your face or you can let them frustrate you.  Since I know this is where I want to be, it's easier to get through the ups and downs.

Her Advice to Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

• Fear is just forward thinking.  So, if you can just be in the day to day, there's really nothing to fear.  You just have to give a little bit more each day knowing that it will be fine.
• Find your support system.
• Have a good idea.  Don't launch a terrible idea. 

Links

playmobi.com

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Anna Marie Stauss supports and organizes a woman's co-op in Calcutta, India.  Anna Marie is a true socialpreneur which means that she she designed her business to help the world, both environmentally and financially.

I wanted to talk to Anna Marie to find out more about how she was able to bring to launch her product idea based on having a positive positively impact in the lives of women in another country.  Our conversation was enlightening, inspiring and thought provoking.  The work that she and her team is doing to empower women through business goes beyond extraordinary.

Here's a personal note to The Beehive from Anna Marie...

In gratitude I introduce myself to all of you, I'm Anna Marie Stauss, CEO of Sinko Corp. We are a very small women owned business working with a women's Co-op that we support, and organize in the slum areas of Calcutta, India. We now work with 3 locations and 432 women but are expanding to 4 more areas and hope to provide over 630 women a dignified way to earn a living from home by January 2017.

Our products are all handcrafted out of organic cotton and jute for the home. We have a 3 prong mission: to provide flexible/low tech work for women in desperate need to earn; to provide a durable, reusable, biodegradable and organic alternatives to plastic housewares; and to reduce landfill that grows daily as we replace our household products.

Her Philosophy

• If I don't quit, I won't fail.

Her Advice to Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

•  Think it through.  When it's hard, if it's something you're not in love with, you'll walk away and then you'll fail.  If you really believe in it, then you'll stick with it.

Links

• Toockies.com

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Ianthe Mauro has high standards in both and quality.  She created Objects With Purpose candles to deliver a non-toxic sophisticated and conscientious experience to others.   We discussed her approach to candle-making in great detail.

Her Philosophy

• Share light and keep things clean and light.  Remove mental blocks by figuring out how to make things work on a practical level.

Her Advice to Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

• Talk about your ideas to everyone you come in contact with.  Start to get feedback.  Make it real by talking about it first.
• Come up with your word(s) - what is your bigger reason, the reason that you're doing what you're doing?
• Allow yourself to take risks.  Once you figure out what you want to do and you talk about it, try things even before you're an expert.  Take action.

Links

• http://objectswithpurpose.com/

Tippy Tippens is the Founder and Chief Eternal Optimist at Goods that Matter.  She is also a social entrepreneur, designer, gandhiwarmer, and she's passionate about building sustainable growth.  Tippy does this by making the objects that we live with work for us instead of against us and ultimately wishing to contribute to greater happiness.

I wanted to learn more about Tippy's approach as a social entrepreneur.  During our conversation, we talked about how to create products that have a positive impact on society.

Her Philosophy

• Design for good.  Make sure that the work is doing good, is beneficial to the environment and beneficial for the customers.

Her Advice to Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

•  Just Start.
• Never give up.
• Ask for advice but know when to accept it.
• Trust your intuition when making decisions.

Links

• http://ourgoodsmatter.com
• https://teuxdeux.com/

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Dr. Wei-Shin Lai, MD, is a family doctor turned entrepreneur.  She has helped 600,000 people live happier, healthier, well-rested lives. When she was in private practice and struggled with her own sleep issues, Wei-Shin and her husband invented SleepPhones®, the world's first headphones designed for sleeping.  I was interested in talking to Wei-Shin due to her technical background in medicine.

During our conversation, she highlighted the idea that our life experiences can often inspire new solutions for old problems.  We also talked creating success through team work.

Her Philosophy

• Respect everybody.

Her Advice to Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

•  Know yourself.  Understand yourself and what motivates you or sucks your energy away.  know what you're capable of, your strengths and weaknesses. 
• Ask for help if there is something that you don't know about.
• Know when to fire yourself.  Focus on the things that you know you're good at.  Hire others to take care of the rest. 

Links

• http://www.sleepphones.com/
• http://www.runphones.com/

Nancie Weston is the inventor, founder and chief designer at GRAYL Inc., the maker of advanced yet stylish water filters and purifiers that allow you drink water from any source, anywhere in the world. She founded GRAYL due to her concerns about water quality and the impact of plastic from bottled water bottles on our land and oceans. Nancie had worked in sales and marketing for over 25 years and then she found her true passion product design.

I wanted to talk to Nancy to better understand how she came up with such an innovative idea and also to find out how she was able to get her product manufactured.

Her Philosophy

• Never taking "NO" for an answer.

Her Advice to Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

•  Never take "no" for an answer.  If you believe in your product, your passion and your vision, just keep going until you get   someone who will listen.
• Don't be afraid of your weaknesses.  Instead, hire people who can help.  Use a subcontractor, friend, relative, volunteers, etc.
• Before launching your product or starting on the design process, get retailers on board.  Ask them: 1) What does it take to get into your store?; 2) What do you need?; 3) Would this be a product of interest?; 4) Theoretically, if you were going to order, how many would you order?
• Use the retailer information (above) in your negotiations with manufacturers
• Be very sure of the people you are hiring.  Don't just hire the first person who comes into your office.  Wait until you get the right person.
• Believe in yourself.  Understand what you like and what your vision is.

Links

• http://www.thegrayl.com/

Lisa Fetterman is the founder and CEO of Nomiku, the first home sous vide immersion circulator machine on the market. Lisa has been featured in Wired, MAKE, and Forbes, and was named on both Forbes and Zagat Survey’s 30 Under 30 lists for her pioneering work in the food space. Lisa has worked at some of the top restaurants in the country including Babbo and Jean-Georges in New York and Saison in San Francisco. She lives in San Francisco where she and her husband-cofounder have brought manufacturing back to the states with their new Wifi-Nomiku device.

I wanted to learn more about Lisa's experience in designing and launching a new device for the at home chef.

Dori Ross has used her vast experience in marketing to elevate the status of maple which is a true luxury food.  She has teamed up with artisan sugar makers in Vermont's Mad River Valley to create Tonewood, a line of maple based products.  The sugar makers supply single-source syrup, some of which Dori sells. The rest gets delivered to a group of local Vermont artisan candy-makers, who transform the liquid staple into solid and truly unique goodies in the Tonewood line – a maple cube, maple cream and maple flakes.

Dori has a very interesting approach to product development and branding and this helps her to differentiate her products in the marketplace.

Her Philosophy

• Keep things really focused and rework things all the time to drill down.  Keep it simple.

Her Advice to Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

• not be afraid of taking risks. Everyone just has to realize that they're not alone. It's scary for anyone that takes this job if they feel fearful. That's OK because it is a scary thing to do.
• jump off that cliff and and do it because you'll regret not doing it you won't regret failure because at least you took a risk.

Links

• http://www.tonewoodmaple.com/

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Candice N. Mackel is a graduate of Morgan State University, a full time entrepreneur, owner of Candice Nicole Public Relations (CNPR) and Creator of Women Who Hustle, which is a women's organization that recently celebrated one year. She started CNPR 9 years ago and has worked with some of the top talent in music and film including Spike Lee, TI, Meek Mill, Big Boi, Tika Sumptner, Marsha Ambrosius + many more.  Candice is also the VP of Marketing for the Alliance of Women in Media (DC Chapter) and the Author of "The PR Puzzle".

Starting a business takes more than desire.  There must also be a willingness to act.  It's impressive that Candice started her PR firm right out of college and I wanted to better understand how she was able to find the courage to start a business at such a young age.

Her Philosophy

• Always remain a student.  Always have an open mind to new things.  Never ever think that you know too much.

Her Advice to Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

• Have thick skin.  If someone tells you "no", you have to keep on pressing on.
• Know that being an entrepreneur doesn't happen over night.  It takes time to build you brand.  Never give up on yourself.
• Always remain a student in your industry.
• Realize that you will always have to answer to someone, whether it's your boss or your customers/clients.
• Condition yourself to be able to multi-task at the beginning.

Links

• http://www.candicenicolepr.com/
• http://www.womenwhohustle.org/

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Seema Alexander is a business strategy coach who empowers purpose-driven women to make the transition from corporate life to entrepreneurship.  She does this by helping her clients to maximize their credibility, productivity and profitability in business. 

Her business philosophy: 

• Do what you love and do it often.

Her advice to aspiring female entrepreneurs:

• Don't start a business just to make more money.  Focus on purpose first.
• Have a strategic plan or blueprint in place for your business.  Consider the products/services align to your market and how you will get your message out there.
• Invest in yourself and hire someone in a strategic capacity to help you.
• Build a community by creating authentic relationships with other entrepreneurs.
• Be mindful of what it will really take to create a business.

Links

• http://www.seemaalexander.com/
• http://www.thetransitionlab.com/