Maddie Bradshaw is a 13-year-old straight A Student that started her business called M3 Girl Designs, after having trouble finding fun decorations for her middle-school locker. She still finds time to play lacrosse, tennis, and is a member of the swim team. She also runs the company with her 9-year-old sister Margot helps who helps in design and painting of some of the bottle caps, while her mom Diane is CEO and responsible for all the finances of the company.

Maddie is currently working on their latest project known as Snap Caps, which lets girls swap out the bottle caps to suit their outfit and mood. Each necklace sells for $14-15, and you can buy bottle caps separately (perfect for decorating the inside of lockers, too).

Snap Caps can be worn on necklaces, in hairpins, or as bracelets.

Snap Caps was featured at the Teen Choice Awards and now bring in $1.6 million in revenue.

Hello Maddie, Thanks for taking time to do this interview, i know you must be busy with homework, how are you doing?

I am great! I was rehearsing a lot last week for a school play, it turned out really well.

What inspired you to start? How did the business start?

I wanted to create something fun, magnetic, and easy to use for my locker. My uncle had an old-fashioned coke machine, and I started taking all the bottle caps and making drawings inside them and putting magnets on the back. My friends asked me to make them for their lockers as well. We traded them back and forth so much I knew I was onto something. That was when I decided to make “wearable art” and I created my first necklace.

How is it going so far?

We are very lucky; SNAP CAPS ® has been very successful. I have received many emails from other teens all over the world that have heard of SNAP CAPS ® and are inspired by the business

How did you finance your business?

I invested $300 of my own money, my mom matched it. To date, our business is 100% debt free

How many employees do you have?

30

What do you enjoy the most about running a business and also your dislikes?

Traveling and learning life lessons that most 13 year old’s can’t experience.

How do you cope with your school work and running a business?

I only draw the original artwork and our team reproduces it and handpaints all of the bottle caps. I still make time to hang out with my friends and do regular things

How do you cope with the pressure?

Pressure? My business doesn’t cause me pressure. I love to draw. I find it very relaxing .

What’s been the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt so far?

The importance of community and giving back.

What are your hobbies?

I love to play sports, and have fun with my friends! I am on the Lacrosse team; I swim, and play tennis. I like to go to movies and listen to music as well

Who is your role model?

Albert Einstein and my parents

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

Hopefully, my freshman year at Princeton.

Why did you name the company M3 girl design? Who picked out the name?

M3 stands for Maddie, my sister Margot and my mom. I picked it out.

What advice do you have for teens your age that have any idea?

Follow your dream; ask your parents for help, and make sure that what you do is fun. Because if it is fun, it is not really work!

Thanks Maddie for your time

Maddie will be appearing on the Nationally syndicated ABC Talk show THE VIEW This Friday (20th), and in San Diego this Saturday (21st) at a special signing at legendary toy store Geppetto.

Find out more about M3 Girl Designs

Brendan graduated from Brown University in 2005 after majoring in filmmaking, he then went on to start Wistia, he then quit his job to work on wistia full time.

He said:

Brendan and I had talked about starting companies throughout college, but most of our concepts were outrageously grandiose and never continued to sound like good ideas the week after they were conceived. I’ve found that if the excitement around an idea continues to remain after a couple weeks, the idea’s probably a good one. In the case of Wistia, online video usage was skyrocketing in 2006.

Hi Chris, can you give us some background information about you and what you do?

I’m a co-founder and the CEO of Wistia.

We started Wistia a little over three years ago when Brendan Schwartz, my co-founder, and I quit our jobs to work on Wistia full time. Brendan and I graduated from Brown University in 2005. I majored in filmmaking, which was unknowingly the first step I took towards starting Wistia.

What Inspired you to start up a company?

Brendan and I had talked about starting companies throughout college, but most of our concepts were outrageously grandiose and never continued to sound like good ideas the week after they were conceived. I’ve found that if the excitement around an idea continues to remain after a couple weeks, the idea’s probably a good one. In the case of Wistia, online video usage was skyrocketing in 2006. We noticed that filmmakers weren’t taking full advantage of web video and that seemed odd to us. We initially set out to build tools for that marketplace.

How has the journey been so far?

It’s been wild. Like many companies, our focus and product have morphed many times. But by the end of the first year, we really started to key in on the product and approach we still use today. We spent the first year and a half working out of our apartment. As the product and revenues matured, we started to build out the team to support and accelerate growth.

Who are your competitors and how do you compete against them?

One of our chief competitors is confusion. There are hundreds of companies that provide web video solutions in some form or another, and from a customer’s perspective, it’s hard to tell them apart. Even analysts consistently have trouble classifying companies in the online video space.

We’re different than almost every video company out there in that we provide a complete application, as opposed to just a video platform or infrastructure. We sell to business users, not IT. We don’t position ourselves against other online video providers; we position ourselves against outdated solutions to business problems that can be better solved with web video.

Before finding us, many of our customers were shipping DVDs to sales prospects or flying employees around the country for training.

Who are your target market?

Wistia is a great fit for companies using video as a part of their sales, marketing, or training. In particular we tend to see the most interest from B2B businesses. We have customers of all shapes and sizes, from companies like Cirque du Soleil and Nestlé Nutrition to technology startups to local mom and pop shops.

How do you market your products or services?

We do SEM, SEO, and some display advertising, in concert with social media strategies on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

What has been your most effective marketing tactic or technique?

The application itself is one of our most powerful marketing tools. We get a surprising number of referrals from our customers.

How did you decide on the location for your business?

We choose Boston because of its vibrant startup community. Also, having gone to school in Rhode Island, we already had the beginnings of a network in place in the Boston area.

How do you build a successful customer base?

Talk to them! We constantly talk to our customers by email, on the phone, on twitter, and through surveys. We are insanely customer-focused. We rely on them to help guide our product development and business strategy. Before we had any customers, we sat down with prospects to understand how our software could help them. When we launched the first version of our product in August of 2007, we had a paying customer from day one.

How did you finance your business? What have been your most effective sources of financing over the years?

Initially, we financed the business ourselves. Since we’d only been working a year since graduating college this meant keeping our costs ridiculously low. We ate ramen and lived in a house with 9 people. Friends would give me office supplies for my birthday because they knew I was too cheap to buy them. As we’ve grown, we’ve taken in angel funding to accelerate the growth of the business. Most of our angels are entrepreneurs themselves. Having a smart, driven group of investors who really understands what it takes to build a startup has been invaluable.

What has been your most satisfying moment in business?

The first time I saw a customer telling someone else about Wistia unprompted. That was an amazing feeling! It feels really good to know that you’ve made something people really like.

In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.

Exhilarating

How do you find people to bring into your organization that truly care about the organization the way you do?

I’ve found that they’ll often find us. Everyone who we work with is passionate about the business, the approach, and the vision. I look for passion and entrepreneurship. If someone has built their own company before, no matter how small, they understand what it takes to build something from nothing.

What three pieces of advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs starting up or planning to start up their business especially at this current economic downturn?

I’d suggest two things:

• Start calling your prospective customers and testing your thesis right now. Whether that means putting together an Adwords campaign just to see if people click, paying to run a survey on another site, or cold-calling potential buyers. You need to test your initial thesis and gauge interest. There is absolutely no substitute for talking to customers and potential customers.

• When you’re ready to start, go all in. If your idea is worth pursuing, you should be willing to quit your job. There’s nothing like having a fire under your ass to actually make money. Having a day job or doing part-time consulting while trying to start a business is like trying to run a marathon with a ball and chain.

When do you feel you will be getting the patents for your technology?

Good question. Do you know someone at the USPTO?

No worries, I’ll give them a call *Laughs*

Thanks Chris for your time, we wish you and your team the best in the future

Chris @Twitter
More about Wistia

A serial entrepreneur, David was born in New York City and was fortunate to have spent his formative years living and attending school in Manhattan. Staring his education at a progressive school in Greenwich Village, where he learned to think differently, and evaluate problems not only to find a solution, but to understand the process behind finding a solution.

He said

It was at this school that I discovered I had a learning “disAbility,” an obstacle many other entrepreneurs face. Trying to figure out the best way for me to learn was a tall order, but I credit my amazing teachers at the time with helping me to make sense of my situation.

The discipline and determination with which I had to face my learning disAbility has helped me get where I am today. In order for me to be successful at learning and in school in general, I had to be optimistic while still facing reality. This meant putting in a lot of hard work and a lot of extra hours to get the results I wanted in school. While I was teaching myself to overcome this challenge, I was also developing a strong work ethic, and a commitment to getting any task completed. Most importantly, however, I emerged from the experience with a deep understanding of how my brain learns best.

As far back as I can remember I was involved in entrepreneurial endeavors and this passion continued through high school, when I founded WebAds 360 and ReturnPath and in college with Grasshopper.

David, it’s great you are able to share your time with us on YHP

Can you kindly give our readers some background information about you and what you do?

I oversee the strategic direction and operations of Grasshopper and serve as the company’s technology visionary. I’m a passionate technologist. I’m a champion of the company’s Core Values and work culture, and strive to create an environment that is professionally and personally rewarding for all employees. I lead multiple departments across Grasshopper including Labs, Engineering, Network Operations, and overall company Operations. A technology start-up veteran, I was co-founder of Return Path, an e-mail performance management company, and founder of WebAds360, an ad-serving technology provider for small and mid-sized businesses. My entrepreneurial spirit has allowed me to serve as a consultant for various companies as well as a mentor to emerging entrepreneurs through my alma mater, Babson College. I’m an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Board Member, and a Member of the Global Advisory Board for Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE). I also judge several young entrepreneur competitions each year. I was born and raised in New York City and I graduated from Babson College with a Bachelor of Science in Business.

Your video on “entrepreneurs can change the world“, I mean it’s an amazing video, how did that come about?

Our core purpose is to empower entrepreneurs to succeed and we wanted to communicate that with our rebranding from GotVMail to Grasshopper. The video came from the desire to say to all of the entrepreneurs out there, “We get you, and we’re here to help make your dream a reality.” Let’s face it, the economy isn’t good right now. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are among the hardest hit, even though they’re the first to innovate and advance the economic climate. Because of what entrepreneurs are facing, we really wanted to inspire entrepreneurs and let them know that turbulence creates opportunities for success, as the video stated. In terms of the video production itself, we believe in small businesses, so we hired a small company to produce it. We wanted to keep it as organic as possible. We also really liked the kinetic type animation and felt this was a perfect fit for a powerful message.

I know you guys changed your name from gotvmail to grasshopper, how have your customers taken the news so far?

The response was very positive to the name change, due in part to the fact that the name change ushered in amazing enhancements to our platform and the provision of really great additional services like voice to text and much more in the very near future. Our customers are entrepreneurs so they understand the value of a real brand–not a product name–and the need to keep things simple, and that’s what the name change provided. Even people that were very loyal to the previous name and loved it have enjoyed the change and what it has brought. So, overall, the response has been pretty positive because with it we’ve brought real and meaningful improvements to our customers. That’s what counts.

What is your company’s and your personal focus?

Everything we do at Grasshopper is about empowering entrepreneurs to succeed and this answers all the difficult questions like, what new products and services we should offer. With Grasshopper Labs, we will release 3-4 new products a year for the entrepreneurial market. My personal focus is championing our core values and culture on a daily basis to ensure our team has the best work environment possible. This will change over time I am sure, and recently I have been spending a lot of time with our new division Grasshopper Labs.

How do you balance work with relaxation?Burnout is a process not an event. It can sneak up on you.

“Balance” is more about integration than creating total separation of your work and personal life, but it’s still a challenge. With so many commitments from work to organizations I support , the time for yourself and family is limited. One thing I’ve learned this year is that you need to spend time with your family, even if it means a decrease in productivity. It’s crucial. Then you need to find activities that serve as a mental and physical release for stress. I find that working out is a great way for me to release stress, and this year I’ve also gotten into road biking, so that has been fun.

Who is the competition and what are they doing?There is no such thing as NO competition .You guys are supposedly against Google voice? How is that going so far?

While there are companies that might offer services that seem similar, no one supports and targets entrepreneurs like we do. That’s just a reality. We are the brand for entrepreneurs and that will only continue to grow as we release products and services that have nothing to do with voice. Google Voice is very consumer-focused, does not support multiple employees, offers no customer support (as opposed to Grasshopper, whose core focus is support for entrepreneurs). Google Voice will have to face real challenges as an ad revenue supported service will not make for a professional experience for callers. I do have to thank Google for bringing attention to an area of the market we have been in for more than 6 years, and suddenly it is a cool industry. Unfortunately for Google, we knew this a long time ago.

In your opinion, what are the basic survival skills you need to run a business?

You have to have passion for what you do, since it’s not easy to be an entrepreneur. There are so many people I meet that tell me how great a market is, an idea is, the opportunity, etc but when I ask if they are passionate about that opportunity they say “no.” People like that will never last when they’re challenged—and those challenges will come. The other big skill is hiring. Sounds odd, but it’s the truth—because you won’t survive without the right people. Everyone always says, “hire people smarter than you” but that is only the first step. You need to hire people that really live your culture and will improve your culture, and yes, they must also be smarter than you.

How important is it for you to be in control of your time whilst running a business?

You need to be good at time management no matter what, but when you are responsible for so many things, figuring out what takes priority becomes really important. If this question is getting at: Can I start a business while I am doing something else, I think the answer is yes. That again is time management and dedication. If you start a business while working full-time, it means you’ll be sacrificing your free time, and maybe even extra time with friends and family. That takes a lot of dedication and passion to pull off. If you have the right relationship with your employer, be clear with them that you are doing this. They may even help you and then set aside structured time with clear goals that must be accomplished. Again, all depends on your employer’s attitude towards this sort of thing.

What has been the most rewarding moment in journey as an entrepreneur?

Creating an amazing company is only worthwile if you can share it with other people, and by that I mean your employees. It has been extremely rewarding for me to see Grasshopper culture grow and really take on a life of its own. Not only do I want to make Grasshopper successful, but I wanted to make it the type of place people would want to come to work to each day. It’s rewarding to see that dream slowly coming to fruition. We have the greatest people working at Grasshopper.

The other rewarding part about my journey is knowing that I’m empowering other entrepreneurs to succeed. I know we’re actually helping other small businesses because I speak with entrepreneurs—our customers—every week. What we do allows others to be more professional and as a consequence, successful–and nothing could be more rewarding. Sometimes when you’re growing your company, you’re so caught up in the day to day life of the organization that it’s only when you break that routine that you see what you’ve built. Most recently, we had our 4th annual bbq and I looked around and saw all of our employees and all of their children running around and having fun. Then it sort of hit me in a monumental way that we all built all of this, our team has made Grasshopper possible. That’s an awesome feeling and a tribute to everyone’s hard work.

What has been your most effective marketing tactic or technique?

Creating amazing experiences for our customers is what makes them talk about a product—and we want them talking about it. In that way, word of mouth is the most effective technique for sure so we do everything we can do to make our customers happy by living our core values and brand promise. Many people say that word of mouth is the cheapest channel, but I would say it can be cost effective, but cheap it is not. Good word of mouth only works if you invest as a company in amazing customer service, applications, and customer experience. So, I think it’d be better to say that word of mouth done properly isn’t cheap, but it certainly is effective.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

Our recent brand change to Grasshopper will be critical in our continued growth. We are now the brand for entrepreneurs and we can focus on building that even more. Beyond that I would say focus is what allows us to grow, we are focused on entrepreneurs, not telecommunications or any specific product or service.

How many employees do you have? Full- or part-time?

We have just under 50 people , full-time, with offices in Boston and Austin, as well as remote employees all over the United States.

What advices would you give to young aspiring entrepreneurs?

First: Don’t be afraid to go out there and do something. Will it be easy? No. Can you do it? Yes. All it takes is absolutely unwavering commitment to your desired end result and a certain degree of tunnel vision. If necessary, find a committed co-founder with complementary skills and make it a team effort. Use the resources you have around you, and don’t be afraid to ask for what you want in a respectful way, whether it’s a meeting with a possible mentor or investment in your idea.

Second: Don’t wait for everything to be perfect. It will never be. You’re never going to have all of the components you need in just the right position for launch. The good news is that if you have a well-research idea, understand your competition, and put together a solid business plan to approach others with, you’ll have done most of the hard work. After that, work on the other things like branding, marketing, and so forth. That will fall into place once you’ve laid the groundwork.

Third:
Go out there and do something, if you have an idea get started, find a co-founder that complements your skills and get something out to the market. Now is the time to create something, the economy provides tons of opportunity and while everyone else is saying no you should be the one saying yes. Buying ads, hiring people, and creating the products and services that the market wants.

Thanks for your time David

Grasshopper Website
More on David

Adam Hildreth setup his first company, Dubit Limited when he was 14. Dubit Limited went onto become one of the biggest teenage websites in the UK and now markets itself as a ‘Youth Marketing Agency’, advising major brands on how to market their products to young people.

Adam now focuses on his latest business “Crisp Thinking”, the leading online child safety technology specialist. They have also developed a comprehensive range of child protection solutions for home internet users, schools, charities, internet service providers, (ISPs), online games and social networking site developers and publishers.

He was reportedly worth £2m in the 2004 UK top 20 richest teens list and the current (2008) Sunday Times Rich List ranks Hildreth as 23rd in the 100 richest young people in the UK based on a valuation of £25m. In a study of British Millionaires of the Future Adam was predicted to be worth £40m by the year 2020. Hildreth was named the CBI’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the end of 2006, which was awarded to him by Duncan Bannatyne and Peter Jones from BBC’s Dragons’ Den programme.

Hello Adam, Thanks for taking the time to be with us on YHP

So Adam before we go on, can you please give us some background information about yourself? What do you do?

I am the founder of Crisp Thinking, which is the leading online child safety technology specialist. We have developed a comprehensive range of child protection solutions for home internet users, schools, charities, internet service providers, (ISPs), online games and social networking site developers and publishers.

What inspired you to start up a business at such a young age?

I didn’t really enjoy school and, as my Dad’s work commitments took us around the country, I went to a few different schools. After leaving quite a tough school in Nottinghamshire where I had to quickly gain some attitude and street-smarts to survive, I earned myself a reputation as a bit of a trouble maker at secondary school and was asked not to return at the end of Year 7!

It was at my next school in Harrogate, North Yorkshire where I had my first taste of business and things really turned round for me. Some friends and I took part in a scheme with Young Enterprise, the business and enterprise charity.

We had the support of a mentor, a fantastic guy named Ian Douthwaite, and set up Dubit Limited. The business, operated through www.dubitlimited.com, was a youth website and marketing consultancy, which also offered a chat room for young people.

Dubit really took off and it not only took over my spare time, but my school time too! There were times when I walked out of classrooms during lessons to take business calls on my mobile! This happened more and more often and eventually the school confiscated my phone! I got round it though, I persuaded a member of staff I had a family emergency and needed to use the school phone – which I did, to make a business call!
It worked out – I became the youngest ever registered managing director at 15 and we built Dubit into a successful youth market consultancy firm, which is still doing very well.

In 5 words, describe yourself?

Sporadic, energetic, competitive, aggressive, inquisitive

You left school to set up your own company at age 16; do you feel not having a degree is a disadvantage in today’s society?

Absolutely not. Not going to university has allowed me to think outside the box rather than being conformed to other people’s thinking about how things should be done. It would have been a bigger disadvantage to me if I had a degree because I would be following set processes. You need to learn to make your own mistakes and how to recover from them rather than being told how others recovered from their mistakes!

Why did you decide to start up a company that specialises in child protection technology?

It was completely a business decision. There was a gap in the market and there needed to be someone operating effectively in this space. I had learnt about the dangers to children than exist online when I was running Dubit and saw that technology, delivered with the right business model, can help protect young people when they are online.

If the internet was not invented, what do you think you would be doing?

I would definitely be in business. I would probably be doing something that involved advanced engineering products, but delivered through a simple business model of selling as many units as possible.

What are your takes on the current financial situation and entrepreneurs that are on the verge of starting up companies?

It is extremely difficult to get angel financing at the moment and any entrepreneur that does will face getting less money or having to give up a greater percentage of their business. Some entrepreneurs will need to rely on friends and family for financing, but every entrepreneur should expect their business to not grow as quickly as they would like. This is not a bad thing, rather than getting a quick big injection of finance, businesses can experience organic growth, which will allow them to make their businesses stronger and more resilient for the long-term.

What would you advice anyone to invest in right now?

I would recommend investing in technology. It impacts on every area of our lives and every area of business. It’s applicable to so many sectors and markets, which always want to improve systems and the speed of operations.

What do you enjoy most about being an entrepreneur?

This could take me a while! Ultimately, because every day is different. I like the challenge of being able to come up with new concepts and bring them to the market quickly and I love being surrounded by energetic people who have new and exciting ideas that can benefit the business.

If you could start all over again, what would you do differently and why?

Everything. Seriously, because everything I am doing today is as good as it can be. Armed with the knowledge I have now I would go back and do it better.

Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?

I admire any business that is production-based and offers a unique and simple product, applicable to multiple markets, and has the simple business model of selling as many units as possible. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? The trick is having an effective product idea!

What sacrifices did you have to make to be a successful entrepreneur?

The only sacrifice I have made is girlfriends and not spending much time with those closest to me. It sounds selfish, but I think that entrepreneurs can be a selfish breed.

What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?

I play football three times a week when I am in the UK and I like to get in a few rounds of golf. I also enjoy skiing mixed with plenty of après ski! Apart from that I like to go out with friends and enjoy good food.

What has been the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt so far?

Think about every decision and action you take rather than just relying on having trust in others’ opinions.

How did you overcome setbacks when they came around?

I’d talk to people I admire in business who would share experiences of their setbacks. I’d then decide for myself a course of action and go with my decision at full pace until I come out the other side.

How did you keep yourself focus, be worth a lot of money must come with the added pressure and tenacity to go off course occasionally?

I am the most unfocused person ever, but I always come back to the things that matter in the end. I think a lot of entrepreneurs are like that, but with a good team around them it brings it all together. That’s why you employ COOs and CTOs. I don’t think an entrepreneur would ever make a good COO at all.

Who has made the most influence in your business so far?

Definitely our customers. No matter who you speak to or how much market research you do it will be wrong! A business is driven by what the customers want and need. Its what turns a start up into a successful business.

Thanks for your time Adam

Find out more information about Crisp Thinking
Adam Hildreth

Michael A. Davis is CEO of Savid Technologies, Inc. a technology and security consulting firm. He has worked with McAfee, Inc., as senior manager of Global Threats. Michael is also a member of the Honeynet Project where he is working to develop data and network control mechanisms for Windows-based honeynets.

He Said:

I was voted one of the Top 25 under 25 in 2008 by BusinessWeek magazine as well as one of 4 Web 2.0 wunderkinds but my day to day life is focused on the marketing and sales portions of the businesses. I also was recently married in Sept 2009 to an amazing woman with 3 great boys so now I try to spend time babysitting and playing video games instead of sales reports and finance meetings.

Hello Michael, Thanks for taking time with us on YHP

Can you give us some brief information about yourself and what you do?

Michael A. Davis, CEO of Savid Technologies, Inc., a technology and security consulting firm in Chicago. Savid specializes in risk assessment (policy development, security life cycle, and managed services), compliance, enterprise networks (virtualization, Active Directory and Network Design) and application development.

I am also owner of Guardian Preservation Services, Inc., a mold removal company that operates in 8 states. Unlike other mold removal companies, Guardian uses an organic and 100% natural enzyme to kill the mold that causes health issues in people all across the US.

I was voted one of the Top 25 under 25 in 2008 by BusinessWeek magazine as well as one of 4 Web 2.0 wunderkinds but my day to day life is focused on the marketing and sales portions of the businesses. I also was recently married in Sept 2009 to an amazing woman with 3 great boys so now I try to spend time babysitting and playing video games instead of sales reports and finance meetings.

When and why did start a business?

I Started Savid in 2004 and started Guardian in 2007. I started Savid mostly out of chance. I was speaking at information security conferences around the US and talking about the various open source applications I had migrated from UNIX operating systems to the windows operating systems. The US government kept asking me if I would provide consulting services to them to help with the various security problems the software I migrated helped solve. Next thing you know, Savid was born and we continued to expand to over 20 people over the next few years and provide consulting to both the government and private corporations around the US.

Guardian started up out of a Google search. I was talking with my grandfather about mold in properties and decided to learn how you get rid of mold. I found a website that talked about this enzyme that could digest mold. After meeting with the CEO of the enzyme company, Guardian was born and we started hiring certified mold removal specialist to train on using our enzyme.

What are some of the benefits of being an entrepreneur, especially in today’s economy?

A recession is the best time to start a business in my opinion because you are forced to be innovative and focus on value at a low cost. When the economy is booming, too many people get money they shouldn’t and too many people get more money than they need which can lead to bad decisions.

I think the best benefit of being an entrepreneur is having the ability to fail. In large corporations, your ideas don’t always get approved or even considered. I have always asked others for the opportunity to fail and then relay upon myself and my co-workers to beat their expectations and succeed.

I also like being able to help other people reach their goals. Being an entrepreneur allows me to give back to my employees via education and knowledge as well as to our customers through innovative solutions.

Who are the competitors and how well are they doing by comparison?

Savid’s customers are split into two different groups, small business (less than 250 employees) and large business (4,000+ employees) so we have competition from small mom and pop shops to large consulting firms such as Accenture, and KPMG. I prefer not to look at the competition and focus on growing my own business but I can tell you that we have won deals from our major competitors on at least 3 occasions this year.

Guardian’s competitors are small businesses that do not have the same focus as we do so we normally beat them. It helps that our technology enables us to be about 50% of the cost our competitors charge for one room while we remove mold from the entire house. As we continue to grow though, our competition will change from small local businesses to larger environmental firms because our customer is changing from the residential customer to the larger commercial businesses.

What’s your market like for your product/service?

The IT market is doing well even in a bad economy. IT is a very important part of so many businesses that they must maintain their IT operations no matter what economy. What has changed is that large purchases are not happening as easily and we must prove our value in every sale using ROI or Total Cost of Ownership. No one buys blindly.

My mold business is doing very well in this economy mostly because of the green movement. As houses are more energy efficient, that do not allow air flow through the homes as easily which enables mold to grow quickly when moisture such as a roof leak or foundation leak occurs. Also, unlike asbestos which was a man made problem and the market is greatly reduced from 15 years ago, mold is natural and is always occurring, we cannot get rid of it globally.

What is the business model?

Savid’s business model is 70% consulting services and 30% product sales. We are a standard consulting firm where our knowledge is our product. We bill out our employees at different rates based on what the client requires.

Guardian’s business model is 100% services based right now. All of our certified mold remediators are licensed contractors that have master service agreements with us for their geographic region. The customer base is primarily consumers that are home owners (80%) and business owners (20%). As we start to sell our enzyme based product to consumers we expect product sales to increase and be about 20% of our revenue.

What is the financial situation of the company?

Both companies are profitable and have had up years in 2009 YTD even with a global recession. Savid’s revenues are up 18% YTD and Guardian is up 122% due to the aggressive rains we have been having in the Midwest and east cost within the US. Also, our new office in Miami has helped grow our business in Florida.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

Focusing on delivering what the customer tells me they want versus what I think they want. Too early in my career I thought I knew all the answers when in actuality I really needed to start asking the right questions of my potential customers.

Once I did that, I kept my focus on marketing and sales because without marketing you do not have leads for sales to close and if sales does not close deals you won’t be in business.

The best management decision I ever made was to build marketing and sales processes for my organizations and ensure they get followed properly.

How do you market your products or services?

The two businesses are different in terms of their marketing. Savid is primarily relationship based where we forms tight relationships with clients and work with them over a period of years to strength their information security posture.

Guardian is mostly business to consumer so we spend a majority of our time working with partners (HVAC technicians, realtors, plumbers, etc) and online organic and PPC marketing. 80% of our revenue comes from partners.

What three pieces of advice would you offer entrepreneurs starting out today?

I am a fan of planning when it comes to starting out. I don’t think you need a 48 page business plan but you need to write something down and focus on understanding what you do, who you do it for, how much it costs to do it, and what you can charge. Not understanding the fundamentals of business is a plan for failure.

I also think that entrepreneurs need to understand their strengths. If you are not good at sales, find someone who is but don’t hire them because YOU think they are good at sales. Work with other great sales people and ask or even pay them to help you interview. We use a hiring method named Topgrading that has produced our best producing people in my businesses.

Also, once you know what you are good at. Document it and do it over and over again. You need to document it so as the business grows you can delegation all or portions of your daily tasks so you can focus on what is important to the business and now what is important right now in the business.

How long do you plan to keep operating this business? Do you have an “exit” strategy for getting out of the company?

I am still young so I still want to grow both businesses. I don’t have an exit strategy at the moment but everything is an option. I focus on profit goals instead of focusing on wanting to sell the business. If my focus pays off, I won’t have a problem selling.

What is your opinion on the relevance of getting a degree in today’s society?

I think it entirely depends on what field you want to go into. Gone are the days where a person can invent a life changing product such as the medical needle in his barn. Many industries require years of learning just to be able to compete effectively. I have been lucky in that the technology field I am in does not require a large amount of upfront education because the entire field changes every 6months in terms of attacks and threats.

Do you believe business has any obligation to make the world a better place?

I am not sure it has an obligation to make it better as it does to not make it worse. No business should be dumping their toxic chemicals or by products in unsafe ways but should a business go out and try to make the world greener? I am not so sure.

Where do you see yourself and your business in the next 5 years?

I have focused 2009 on creating a management team that can help build the businesses. We have hired directors for Savid as well as an Operations Manager at Guardian that manage the day to day operations of the business. This allows me to stay focused on leading the business. A great quote that I try to live by is “Leadership is action, not a position” and through that I try and ensure the organizations lead by remaining innovative and having a focus on the future.

Within five years, both organizations will grow especially geographically. We are primarily focused in the Midwest but our services, in both businesses, are suitable for customers all over the US so I plan to build out the business nationwide starting first in the South East and then moving toward the North East.

Thanks for your time Michael, This is Amazing!, I am glad you are able to share this information with us.

More on Savid Technology : Website
Michael Davis’s Blog : Blog
Guardian Preservation Services Inc

Shama Kabani is an online marketing expert. She is the founder of The Marketing Zen Group, a full service online marketing firm that serves clients around the world. Shama teaches clients how to leverage the internet to establish themselves as industry experts, acquire more clients, create valuable services, and ultimately increase profit through her one- on- one consulting work, and through her company’s several online marketing services.

She holds a Masters degree in Organizational Communication from the University of Texas at Austin, and prides herself in being a constant learner. Her website, http://www.MarketingZen.com, has turned into a high-traffic destination for people looking for advice on how to market their businesses successfully. Her clients have garnered national media attention, and companies often look to Shama to guide them when it comes to the vast world of social media marketing. She has been named one of the 10 Most Influential and Powerful Women in Social Media.

Shama, you started your first business at 9 and now you’re managing your own marketing company, i guess you’ve come a long way?

= ) It’s a journey, that’s for sure!

Briefly give us some background information about yourself and what you do?

Well, I run The Marketing Zen Group – which is a full service web marketing firm in Dallas. I, personally, specialize in social media marketing.

So what inspired you to finally start your marketing company?

I was studying social networking in graduate school – and I loved the practical implications of it! It made sense to transfer that to the “real world.”

So how did you finance your company?

Completely bootstrapped it! : ) It was an amazing experience – and continues to be. As a small business, you are always looking at the numbers.

Can you give some brief description what your company does and what you do in it?

Sure! The Marketing Zen Group is a full service web marketing firm – which pretty much means we help clients market online. In fact, we take over online marketing for a lot of companies. My job is to strategize the best plan for our clients, and then help our team carry it out efficiently.

What tips would you give anyone starting up their business and looking to market and put their company out there?

A few things:

1) Learn to be an editor! You will never get it perfect. Start somewhere.

2) Learn from others! If someone has done it –learn from them.

3) There are no short cuts. It takes hard work and late nights. Be prepared for that!

I mean running a company with virtual employees, how do you communicate efficiently? How can small businesses maximize the potential of virtual employees?

Get a project management system and manage expectations from the start! That is very key.

How many employees do you have? Full- or part-time?

7 full time, 2 part time.

What is an average workday like for you?

Start at 9 am. Check email – usually takes an hour! Attend meetings. Answer press calls. Attend conference calls. Pretty much goes until midnight. And that’s when I am not travelling!

What plans do you have now to expand your business further?

Hiring more great folks. The team is SO key! And, we are going to continue to make sure we are increasing value for our clients.

How much power do you feel the internet has in promoting a company/product/service?

Only as much power as the product/service allows it. Meaning no amount of marketing will help a product that’s not good. That being said, billions of dollars are generated in revenue thanks to the web.

How do you build a successful customer base?

Begin by picking good customers and clients. People who appreciate you and your work! Then, build from there.

What are your favourite marketing tools?

Facebook, Twitter, VIDEO!

What is one thing that people wouldn’t believe you do?

Act goofy with my team. : ) I have an awful sense of humour, but I practice it on a regular basis on my team. They humour me. : )

How important have good employees been to your success?

KEY! The team you build is everything.

What have been some of your failures, and what have you learned from them?

As a growing business, you learn lessons every day. The goal is to take what you can from them, but don’t take business failure as personal failure.

What book has inspired you the most?

TOO many to list! = ) I am a big Seth Godin fan.

What has been your most satisfying moment in business?

Getting honoured by Businesses Week as a Top 25 under 25 business. That was an amazing feeling. That article ended up on the home page of Yahoo and WOW. That was the best moment. = )

In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur?

GO! = )

Thanks for your time.

My pleasure.

Connect with shama on Facebook
Connect with shama on Twitter
Find more on The Marketing Zen Group
Her Personal Site

Born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, At 20 years old, after graduating from the University of Miami with degrees in Journalism and Anthropology and headed to Europe for a three-month backpacking and photography trip. Upon her return, she was approached to host a show, inevitably leading her back to Los Angeles to pursue a career in television hosting, acting, and writing.

Southern has appeared as a red carpet host for (2008 Grammys, 2007 Golden Globes, 2006 Young Hollywood Awards), and as the face for Cosmopolitan Magazine’s website.

Although she was first introduced to the public in 2004 when she made American Idol season three’s Top 50, she also became the face for Cosmopolitan.com, and starred in series and specials for CBS.com, MySpace, and MSN. On her own time, Taryn continued writing and producing videos, including a spoof of THE GOLDEN GLOBES for TVGuide.com, NOT MY SOCK with Jamie Kennedy for T-Mobile, and more.

Shortly thereafter, she was featured in Maxim Magazine as one of the top internet celebrities of the year, and won Spike TV’s 2008 Guy’s Choice Award for her Hott4Hill video.

In the film world, she played a supporting role in Senior Skip Day opposite Jackson Rathbone. She also was one of the leads alongside Jessica Lee Rose and Mikaela Hoover, in Warner Brother’s first ever web series, Sorority Forever. The series debuted on September 8th, 2008 on theWB.com.

In November 2008, Southern and her producing partner, Jessica Rose, launched Webutantes, a new media studio.

Also in 2008, Southern wrote/produced her first comedic musical web series, Private High Musical, which was released across various viral platforms. The project was produced in association with 60Frames’ Red Band. In 2009, Taryn sold “Private High Musical” to MTV and teamed up “Family Guy” executive producer David Zuckerman to write the half-hour comedy script.

How are you doing?

I’m great, thanks! Just had my morning latte.

Can you let our readers know what you do?

I still don’t quite know exactly. By definition, I’m an actress, writer, producer, and TV host – but most days I just feel like I’m playing a giant game of Hollywood chess.

Describe/outline your typical day?

Sometimes I wish I had a “typical” day! Every day is different. Some days I’m filming, which means crazy call times and long hours on a set. Other days are spent auditioning (which in LA, means hours in a car), pitching TV or web series concepts for financing or distribution, writing, reading scripts, and lots of general meetings with studio execs, actors, writers, and producers.

You’re one of the co-hosts for the official American Music Awards pre-show that pretty cool right? I hope I’m getting some backstage tickets *Laughs*

Haha, I’ll let you know if I get any extra tickets! Yes, I’m extremely excited about co-hosting this year’s AMA awards. I co-hosted the red carpet of the Golden Globe Awards for Dick Clark Productions back in 2007, so I was so excited that they asked me back to be a part of their official AMA pre-show. The best part about this year’s show is that it’s completely interactive. So no matter where you are in the world, you can watch the pre-show live from my Facebook page – www.facebook.com/tarynsouthern , as well as tweet me questions you want me to ask your favorite celebs (Direct questions to @tarynsouthern -). Being able to connect fans to celebrities on the red carpet, LIVE, isn’t something I’ve ever been able to do before!

I mean you’ve worked with a lot of celebrities, you’re kind of considered a celebrity yourself, How does it feel? How has the journey been so far?

Ha, well, I definitely don’t consider myself a celebrity. I’m not exactly sure at what point someone is considered a “celebrity” – perhaps when they can’t leave the house without being pestered by paparazzi? That’s definitely not me.

Regardless, my journey in entertainment over the past few years has been an absolute adventure. I feel blessed to have been able to do so many different kinds of things. One day I’m in Washington DC talking to Chris Matthews about politics on MSNBC, the next day I’m playing dress up in a ridiculous comedy film, the next day I’m travelling to Europe to host a travel show. I never know what’s around the corner…every day is a surprise.

What is the name of the most interesting place you’ve been to and why?

I think Istanbul tops my list. Not only is it one of the most beautiful cities I’ve been to, but it lies on the border between Asia and Europe, so the culture draws from so many different influences. The town of Iquitos, Peru comes in at a close #2. One of the most incredible months of my life was when I was working on my senior thesis along the Amazon River. I stayed with locals in the rainforest and learned about all kinds of indigenous plants and rituals. It was fascinating.

I was actually watching Senior Skip Day and was thinking “Do you actually swear that much?” How was the experience being in the movie?

Senior Skip Day was actually my first movie – and so much fun! And no, I definitely don’t swear like Isha does. She really liked the F word.

My favorite part about Senior Skip Day was the cast. We were all such goofballs together. Now Jackson Rathbone’s in Twilight and Kayla Ewell is on the CW’s hit series Vampire Diaries. I love seeing my friends succeed. I’m like a proud mother.

O yeah, I will definitely be watching the new twilight movie; I’m a huge of vampire diaries.

What’s your biggest distraction?

My biggest distraction is not having a schedule. Since I don’t work for anyone, I only answer to myself, which requires a lot of focus and optimism. The hardest part of my job is that you just have to work really hard and then wait for that “pivotal moment.” Sometimes it’s a phone call that you got the part, other times, it’s the anti-climatic close of a six-month long negotiation. Every few months I have to take a step back from the minute details and appreciate the creative freedom I have.

What have been some of your failures, and what have you learned from them?

As long as you put forth effort, and do your work with passion and love, then I believe there is no such thing as failure. Everything is a learning experience. I’m a highly critical person, so I’m always critiquing myself. The growing never stops, the ideas never stop; it’s all cyclical.

If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?

The older you get, the tougher it can be to find work in Hollywood, especially as an actor. I used to wish that I had started pursuing my career at a younger age, to have the “head start” that so many others had. Now, I’m so glad I didn’t! Without my experiences studying anthropology in college, I wouldn’t have the other passions I do now – for music, travel, cooking, culture. It’s never too late to do what you love. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

What has been your most satisfying moment so far?

Hearing from someone that I brightened their day, made them laugh, or inspired them to do something outside of their comfort zone – those letters and emails make it all worth it.

What is the most crucial decision you’ve made so far regarding your career?

When I decided to ignore the critics. My first year in LA, I found a lot of work as a TV host and even produced my own TV show. I was immediately placed in the “host/producer box,” but I wanted so badly to act and write. So instead of listening to all the people who told me that I should just focus on hosting, I started writing, producing, and acting in my own online material, which led to several roles in films and selling my first scripted TV show. There’s always going to be people telling you that you can’t do something…so you just have to go do it. Prove yourself. Now I am fortunate to have a team of people who support me in all areas – writing, producing, acting, hosting. Three years ago I would have never imagined that I’d have that.

On those impossible days, what motivates you to keep going?

Coffee? Ha. Sometimes it’s as simple as that. Seriously though, most days, it’s an idea I have that inspires me to wake up every morning. A little voice inside that says you have to tell this story.

Describe yourself in 5 words?

Intuitive, joyful, sensitive, driven, practical

What do you in your non-work times?

I love the arts – writing music, painting, photography – and long hikes in the Los Angeles hills. I also try to take about 4 weeks off every year to travel. Last year I took an extended holiday vacation and went to New York, Dubai, Jordan, Istanbul, and Mexico. It was such an odd trip but amazingly refreshing. I really want to see Africa and Cambodia next.

What music artists do you like at the moment?

I’m inspired by so many different types of music. The Jackson 5, Lady Gaga, Kings of Leon, Michael Buble, and the Rock of Ages Broadway soundtrack are on my current work out playlist.

What is your favourite film at the moment?

My favorite film this year was the Pixar animated Up (I couldn’t stop talking about it!), but whenever I need a little inspiration, I turn on The Wizard of Oz or Amelie.

What are you currently working on now?

A bunch of different projects (as usual!) I’ve got the American Music Awards coming up this month, but I’m also consulting for a web site launch in November and writing two web series that I plan to produce next year. I just finished acting in a movie in September, so hopefully I’ll see a cut of that soon. And in December, I’m producing my first feature – it’s a passion-project thriller that I co-wrote with a friend.

Wow, That’s great Taryn.

Where do you see in yourself and your career in the next 5 years?

I have very specific goals – I want to make a movie musical. Publish a book. Run my own new media content studio for up and coming talent to test out ideas. Learn aerial acrobatics. I’m not really sure what all this adds up to. I’m not looking to win any awards – as long as I’m having fun, that’s all that matters.

If you were conducting this interview, what question would you be dying for someone to ask you?

That’s a trick question! Haha. I’m a pretty open book, so if anyone has any questions for me, they can just send me a twitter message – www.twitter.com/tarynsouthern – or post a message on one of my blog forums at www.taryntogo.com.

Thanks for your time Taryn, we wish the best in the future.

Connect with Taryn on twitter – www.twitter.com/tarynsouthern
Find out more updates on her website – www.taryntogo.com
IMDB
More on Taryn
Wikipedia