The Beehive Product Launch Show

Mariquel Waingarten has been an entrepreneur since she was 24 years old.  For her first venture she created and managed a boutique hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, her hometown.  Most recently, Mariquel is the co-founder of Hickies a new lacing technology that turns any sneaker into a slip on. She is also the co-founder of Sudacas, a company that brings South American design objects to the rest of the world.

When it comes to new product development, curiosity is key. We must constantly question industry norms in order to create differentiated products and services.   During our interview, Mariquel provided wonderful examples of this and I felt really inspired after listening to her speak about her journey.

Her Philosophy

• Work with other women who have driven personalities and powerful ideas along with capabilities for management.
• Change something that is not done in the best way.  Don't impose unfair things on your customers.  Focus on details that will completely change the experience of your customer.  Place yourself in the shoes of the customer and change little things that are unfair or are not done in the best way.

Her Advice to Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

• Take the leap of faith.  Take a chance and try.  Amuse yourself with what you could become.
• Give yourself the opportunity  of being something different, of being fearless.  Prove to yourself that you can do it.  You deserve that chance.  You deserve to give yourself that opportunity.

Links

• https://www.hickies.com/
• http://www.sudacas.com/

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Emmaly Knecht is the owner and designer of eba totes. Eba totes are eco friendly bags produced in LA and feature two inside compartments and a waterproof lining. Emmaly strives to create a business that promotes a better ethical standard for fashion accessories and empowerment of women in the business world.

I believe that the best new product ideas solve a problem by using a unique and creative approach.  Oftentimes, we know that a problem exists just from our own daily lives.  However, the challenge is in figuring out how to solve the problem using your own unique voice.  Emmaly has embodied this approach in her creation of Eba Totes and I wanted to learn more about her product  development process.

Her Philosophy

• Be honest with your customers.  Realize that people want to know who you are.  They really want to know who they're buying from.  Emmaly's philosophy is based on creating something that's eco friendly and made in the U.S.

Her Advice to Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

• Read.  There are many different tools and things that you can read to learn about business.
• Have a plan but know how to pivot if you needed.  Be humble enough to say, "this is what my future customers would want."
• If you believe in something, make it happen.  Consider other ways approaches.  Read and figure out how others have done it.  Be realistic but continue to pursue your dream.
• If you're starting your business as a side hustle, be well organized.  Make a list if you're feeling overwhelmed.
• Take the time that you need to learn about the industry and how to create your product.

Links

• http://ebatotes.com/

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Cheryl McCants is a bilingual, award-winning, communication and marketing professional with more than 25 years of integrated strategic development and global crisis communication experience.  Throughout her career as both strategist and spokesperson, she has worked in the educational, real estate development, retail, footwear, telecommunications, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, construction, nonprofit and media industries.  She is an articulate and compelling story-teller who is passionate about business, branding and community building.

Our conversation was very enlightening as Cheryl gave great details about the importance of story telling.

Her Philosophy

• Everything will be okay in the end and if it's not okay, it's not the end.

Her Advice to Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

• Once you have your business plan in place, create a strategic communication plan.  This will make it easier to stay focused on your business objectives.
• Leverage your resources.  There are small business development centers across the U.S. that are federally funded and they give free or low cost services.
• Use your network to identify connections that can introduce you to clients. 
• Work with other women and lift each other up so that we can all succeed together.

Links

• http://www.eimpactconsulting.com/

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Kim Ades is the president and founder of Frame of Mind Coaching and JournalEngine™ Software.  Author, speaker, entrepreneur, coach, and mother of five, Kim is recognized as one of North America's foremost experts on performance through thought mastery. By using her unique process of integrating online journaling in her coaching, Kim helps her highly-driven clients to examine and shift their thinking in order to yield extraordinary results.

Her Advice to Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

• Start to challenge your beliefs and trade them up for something more aligned with your actual goal.
• When you’re faced with conflict or stressful situations, ask yourself, “What do I want and is my approach getting me there?”

Links

• http://www.frameofmindcoaching.com/

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�Sarah Kunst is founder and CEO of Proday, the celebrity personal training fitness app. In addition, Kunst an investor and entrepreneur who has worked at Apple, Red Bull, Chanel and Mohr Davidow Ventures. She is also a contributing editor at Marie Claire Magazine. Her philanthropic interests include Venture for America and The US State Department's Tech Women program.

I wanted to talk to Sarah to learn more about the steps she took in creating a mobile app and I was also wondering how she was able to collaborate with celebrity trainers.  Our conversation was very enlightening.  For example, we discussed the importance of building credibility and leveraging connections in order to build a successful brand.

Her Philosophy

• Be unimpeachably good.  Be good in such a way that no one can deny it.

Her Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• Be clear on what your bigger goal is and why you're doing what you're doing.
• Whenever possible how to build your company.  Do this work beforehand.
• Don't quit your job before you start figuring out a business model or how you're going to grow your company.  Spend time learning what you need to know and learning about the market.  Start building out relationships and even closing deals before you quit your job.  Look at your time and determine what you can devote time now to building your company.

Links

• http://proday.co/

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Today's Queen Bee travels the world and spends countless hours in search of beautiful objects that have cultural meaning.  Jessie Ricci is a jewelry designer whose hand crafted collections are both provocative and eclectic. 

As an inventor, it can sometimes be difficult to find your own voice in launching new products.  I'm intrigued by Jessie's creative process.  She finds her inspiration through travel and culture and translates her finds into beautiful pieces that reflect her perspective as an artist. 

Her Philosophies

• Be incredibly passionate about what you're doing.

Her Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• Put your ego aside for the creative process.
• Be relentless
• Do you homework.  Find out everything about your competition and your market.
• Find out what your mission is and really commit to that.  Everything should come from that mission.  Avoid getting lost and spreading yourself out to thin by focusing on your mission.
• Even if others think your idea is ridiculous, realize that no idea is ridiculous.  Even if it seems far-fetched, look at the idea from different angles and find a way to do it.

Links

• http://jessicariccijewelry.com/node/476

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Maggie Sinclair is a serial entrepreneur who has numerous patents.  She is a designer and inventor of Maggies, a powerful magnet and metal ring that is redefining the way that women wear scarves and shawls.

I wanted to talk to Maggie because she has created a wide variety of products and she has a wealth of knowledge about what it takes to be successful as an entrepreneur.

Maggie says, "Faced with the dilemma of how to wear a sarong, I knew that there had to be a better way to secure fabric without tying bulky knots. I decided to experiment with magnets and found that a ball magnet combined with a metal ring provided the perfect solution to replace the safety pin (invented in 1849). In December 2012 I filed for my 8th US Patent which was finally granted in April 2016."

Her Philosophies

• Be incredibly passionate about what you're doing.

Her Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• Plan your growth based on your income.
• If you have a patent, be prepared to defend it.
• Really know and test the product that you plan to sell and check out the demand for it.
• Consider how much overhead will be associated with your product (i.e., inventory space requirements, etc.); High overhead costs affect profitability
• Think about how long you want to be in your business and think of exit strategy.
• Build a good website so that people can find your product.

Links

• www.mymaggies.com

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Amy Olson developed Kuhfs at her dining room table as a way to change the look of her fashion boots.  She couldn't find a product to meet her need.  So, she created the product herself even though she had no experience in sewing or in launching fashion accessories.     I'm finding that many of the women I've talked to so far have started their business based on having a need for which they couldn't find a solution.  It's not only having an unmet need, they have also had the passion, determination and dedication to doing whatever it takes to get their product launched.  They have found success even without having prior experience in a given industry.  Time and time again, I'm noticing that one of the keys to finding success is collaboration.  This means reaching out to find and connect with the people who can help you and they are out there.  The first step is reaching out.  So, as we listen in on my conversation with Amy, let's consider how one can fulfill a product or service need through collaboration with others.     Amy says:  "I didn't even know how to sew when I started this company. I had zero experience launching an accessory brand and had to teach myself every aspect of this business. I am proud of my accomplishments and how far I have taken Kuhfs on my own. The future looks bright for Kuhfs and I can't wait to see how far this can go."

 

Her Philosophies

• The dream is free.  The hustle costs extra.  You can dream all day long but if you don't take any action on it, you're not going to get any where.
• Do one thing every day that scares you.  Take one little step forward.

 

Her advice

• Break your ultimate goals up into little steps and take action on these steps.
• Your thoughts become your reality.  So, choose them wisely.
• Failure is not what should take you down.  It's what you should learn from.  Don't be afraid to fail.

 

Links

• www.kuhfs.com
• http://fashionbrainacademy.com

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Tiffany C. Wright has helped numerous small and medium businesses find funding for a variety of purposes from many sources.  She is the founder and president of The Resourceful CEO where she provides packaged solutions and educational products focused for business strategy and finance.  Tiffany is also the author of The Funding Is Out There! Access the Cash You Need to Impact Your Business.

Our conversation touched upon the importance of tracking business activities in order to ensure value creation. We also talked about how to manage cash flow to strengthen business operations.

Her Philosophies

• Reach for the stars; if you don't reach the stars, you'll at least reach the moon and if you don't reach the moon, then you'll just fall back down to earth.  Reach higher than you think you can.  You'll be amazed at what you can achieve.   Reach for something that makes you nervous.
• Cash is king.

Her advice

• That which is not tracked does not get measured.  Track everything.  CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software and QuickBooks can help with tracking your sales efforts.
• Always be cash flow positive and check this weekly so that you can see where any problems exist.
• To raise money, you have to know why the investor would invest in your business.  You have to be confident about what your business will do. You have to be able to talk about what it will do, why it will do it, how it will do it, when it will do it and what the bank or investor will get out of it.

For more advice, Tiffany can be reached by phone:  404.642.0509 or  866.466.3692

Links

• http://theresourcefulceo.com/
• The Funding Is Out There! Access the Cash You Need to Impact Your Business by Tiffany C. Wright

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Felena Hanson is a long-time entrepreneur and marketing maven.  Her latest venture, Hera Hub, is a spa-inspired shared workspace and community for female entrepreneurs. This as-needed, flexible work and meeting space provides a productive environment for growing businesses.  Hera Hub members have access to a professional space to meet with clients and to connect and collaborate with like-minded business owners, thus giving them the support they need to be prosperous.

I wanted to learn more about Felena's 2020 goal of supporting 20,000 women in the launch and growth of their businesses.

Confidence has been most critical in her journey.  It's really important to believe in yourself.

One of Felena's philosophies is that, "you're only as strong as your community around you.  You're not meant to launch a business alone."

Her advice to aspiring female entrepreneurs

• Think through the details (e.g., accounting, legalities, etc.) and establish a firm foundation for your business.  Consider this a step by step process.
• Believe in yourself and find really strong collaborators .  Find that sense of community and you can't find it, build it yourself.

Links

• www.herahub.com
• http://www.stepstostartup.com/
• Flight Club:  Rebel, Reinventm and Thrive:  How to Launch Your Dream Business

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