Spotlight on Monica Lee Studios: Monica Lee (www.monicaleestudios.com) is an illustrator and designer who primarily works in the children’s market (illustrating books) and the gift and licensing industries. Monica’s children’s work includes illustrating The Jumping Hat, by Marilyn Katz about a little boy named Harry and his quest to catch a straw hat that jumped away. In addition to children’s work and other graphic design, Monica designs stamps for Inky Antics (www.inkyantics.com). She is also the designer of the Clever Parents logo, which we hope will make her famous worldwide.
We picked Monica’s brain about starting your own business, balancing work and life, exercising your creative muscle…

Clever Parents: What made you want to start your own business?
ML: I have always wanted to work for myself, even in college. When I was just out of high school, I stumbled into a job decorating a large department store. I realized I was self motivated and I liked the creative challenge.

Monica runs her business out of her home which has its plusses and minuses. The best part? “Not having to drive to work on snowy days!” The worst? “Having work spill over into the weekends.”

Which leads to the question of balance: If you never have to commute to get to work, work is always with you. We asked Monica is she had any tips for other Clever Parents about balancing work and family.

Her advice: invest some time in yourself and don’t feel guilty about it, “It really helps that my family takes what I do seriously even though I have a home office. It took me a while to take myself seriously but I keep regular office hours and have developed an after school routine that lets me get work done even when my son is home. If you are planning a new venture and don’t want to take time away from your small children set up even a few work hours in the week or on the weekend when someone else can watch your children. Don’t run errands, don’t feel guilty. It is ok to have time for your new venture, allow yourself to do it, guilt free. In a couple of years, when your children are grown you will be thankful for investing some time in yourself.”

Working out your creative muscle…
Clever Parents: Have you always been creative?
ML: “You would have to ask my mom, but I do think she really encouraged me in this area. I was shy and quiet and I decided in the third grade that I wanted to be the best artist in my class (maybe I was a bit competitive too).”

Clever Parents: For those of us who aren’t artistically-inclined, how can we inspire creativity in kids?
ML: The first thing you can do is to stop believing you aren’t artistically inclined! You BECOME what you believe. Start telling your kids that creativity applies to every area of their lives, cooking, playtime, gift giving, how you celebrate holidays. Creativity is about HOW YOU THINK, and it is a muscle that can be exercised every day. Tell them you want self-portraits for gifts on your birthday; get them to hand make birthday cards. Take them to craft stores, especially scrap booking stores, have them pick out a few embellishments and then create collages with them and old catalogs. Grandparents love anything homemade. We decorate cookies at Christmas; we all sat down one afternoon and created a portrait of our new puppy. Ask them for specific things if they are a bit lost, but if you have lots of supplies, kids will create! Keep your supplies handy and available so set-up and clean up is not a chore.

Clever Parents: How can we inspire creativity in ourselves?
ML: Frequent places that inspire creativity, whether it is online, in bookstore, fabric stores, cooking stores or craft stores. Just hanging around or being exposed to things that your find different or inspiring helps get your mind going. Get used to thinking that creativity is an asset to every area of your life, your work life and your family life. What ever creative pool you dip your toes into, don’t expect perfection. Have a light heart, a good laugh and a good time.

- Monica Lee lives in New England with her biggest supporters, her son Luke, stepson Connor, and husband Tom.

Promom Couture offers a selection of fun, stylish and chic messages on t-shirts, tanks and thermals. Messages include ‘Happy Mom,’ ‘peacelovemom,’ ‘Knock-Out Mom,’ and ‘Carpool Candy.’ Next up, according to CEO and Mom Vicki Stern-Brown, “I see us taking the brand and creating a lifestyle of Promom Couture. A lot of new lines we’re going to roll out in 06.” The company is finalizing plans for different kinds of t-shirts, tank tops and yoga pants, an intimates line and possibly a move into active wear.You can find Promom Couture online or in retail stores. Check out their website for a list of retailers.
Vicki’s Business Tips:

• Be Relentless in Sales
  Their first big account, Olive and Bette’s in New York, bought 100 peacelovemom shirts and instead of selling them, gave them to all of their best mothers as mother’s day gifts. Olive and Bette’s now sells promom couture t’s online at www.oliveandbettes.com. How did she nab space at such a prime retailer? Vicki says she got the account by being a ‘relentless mom.’
• Find Inspiration Everywhere, Everyday
  The most popular shirt, peacelovemom, came to Vicki during a spinning class. Vicki feels that it is the most popular because ‘it goes across the board because it applies to everyone.’Seek Out Advice
• Vicki strongly recommends having a board of advisors with knowledge in your business area. Especially if you do not have a background in the field, as was the case with the Promom Couture. None of the company’s founders had backgrounds in fashion, so they solicited help from veterans. ‘You hear so much about back-biting, but we have encountered nothing but the most gracious women and men.’

- Vicki Stern-Brown

Is motherhood stylish? Would wearing a shirt letting the world know that you are a ‘Happy Mom,’ a ‘Knock-Out Mom,’ or ‘Carpool Candy’ make you feel good? A group of moms in Atlanta is betting on it.‘Parenting, motherhood, fatherhood – it’s in, it’s hip – some days you do feel unbalanced, but it’s about thinking of when you had your child and celebrating parenthood – wearing a ‘Happy Mom’ shirt – it can change your emotion,’ says Vicki Stern-Brown, CEO of Promom Couture and mom of a son, 10, and daughter, 7.

After working more than 5 years as a litigation attorney, Vicki had her first child and went back to work. But the long hours required as a litigation attorney no longer appealed to her so she left law and turned pro. “Promom,” that is.

Applying the energy she formally focused on law, Vicki originally planned on writing a book to celebrate her new found love of parenting. But literary fame faded (for now) and stylish moms everywhere are the better for it. As the writing stalled, the fashion stars aligned and Vicki met Lori Poyner while sitting on the sidelines at their sons’ baseball games.

They saw in each other a kindred spirit: both previously worked in the corporate world (Vicki as a litigation attorney, Lori as a foreign currency advisor) and both left the corporate fast-track for the even faster-paced world of the professional mom.

‘I didn’t set out to start a business, it kind of just evolved that way,’ says Vicki. ‘It was a natural evolution. It’s a passion.’ So with an initial investment of $5,000 each, Vicki and Lori created Promom Couture. The plan was to get a graphic artist, make t-shirts, then make sales. ‘The artist was brilliant,’ says Vicki ‘but we couldn’t afford her so we made her a partner.’ (That made Karen Gold partner number three.) As they started to progress and sales were taking off (think Nordstrom and well-known boutiques), they took a fourth and last partner – Suzanne Simkin – who came in and ‘buttoned it all up.’

‘We all come from very different places,’ says Vicki. But one common thread is the belief that moms are vital, healthy, beautiful, balanced, together women who feel comfortable with the choices in life that they make whatever these may be.

How is Vicki a ‘Balanced Mom?’ ‘I stay up very late at night. I get up early in the morning. I want to have that quality time with my kids. Sometimes the kids say, ‘You’re working on Promom, but we want you to come over here.’ It’s important to listen to that and get that. I make an effort to contain my work to school hours. I drive carpool. I go on field trips.’

When Vicki’s not running a business and raising a family, she loves to run. ‘This whole thing started with us running around Chastain (Park, in Atlanta).’ Also, she and her husband love movies – Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Ferris Beuller’s Day Off are favorites.

Is Promom Couture a fashion trendsetter? Yes. ‘In my mind, motherhood has always been stylish, but we’re taking it, turning it on its side,’ says Vicki. ‘We are fashion forward and setting a trend because it has never been done before.’

Vicki’s favorite designer? Anything she can wear with Promom shirts… throw on her Lucky jeans on a regular day… or don a taffeta skirt for a black tie event (hey, if Sharon Stone can do it, why can’t I?) and she’s off and running.

Buy Promom Couture shirts at your nearest retailer or online at www.promomcouture.com.

1. What made you want to start your own business? I was tired of the corporate world and my fiancé and I knew we wanted to start a family as soon as we were married. I felt strongly about being home with my child for the first five years. I have always believed those are the critical years for developing who they will be as adults. Also financially we didn’t want our lifestyles to drastically change.2. What got you interested in photography? My grandfather, who was a submarine captain and a photographer by hobby, did hand-tinting to black and white portraits when he was in the Navy. I loved the old photographs and always seemed to have the bug. You never caught me without my camera. But the bug really set in when I took a photo safari to Africa. That was it!

3. Tell us about Diane McKinney Photography. I started the business about 3 1/2 years ago. At first I ran the gamut of photography: corporate, family and children, weddings, you name it! However, since the birth of my daughter I’ve chosen to do only weddings. In the first six months of starting my business I bought equipment, built a marketing plan and created a website among other things. I launched my advertising six months later and within three months I had 17 weddings booked. Fortunately for me, I have a sales background from my corporate days. This combined with a good portfolio set me ahead of the pack. I have two photographers that work with me now who are fabulous. One who is branching off to start her own business and two part-time employees who assemble wedding albums.
4. Where are you located? In Raleigh, North Carolina. I work out of my home. That was the point to be home with my daughter. But I am currently looking for some small studio space to do consults and possibly some minor shooting.

5. What is the best part about having your own business? Being home with my daughter!!! And not dealing with corporate politics!

6. What is the hardest part about having your own business? I work ALL the time. I work when Katie naps, I work when my husband comes home and takes over watching Katie and any stolen moments in between… The days of sitting by the TV at night and enjoying a show are pretty much over. But I still wouldn’t have it any other way….

7. What advice do you have for other would-be entrepreneurs? CONTROL YOUR COSTS! There will always be something they can make your job easier, faster or better but if you don’t NEED it, don’t buy it!

8. How do you balance work and family? Any tips for other Clever Parents? I am still working on this one. Katie gets plenty of time as I only work when she is napping in the daytime, but my husband and I don’t get enough US time. My new rule is to quit at 8pm at least three nights a week. We’ll see! So far I have broken my rule twice. : (
9. What are your current hiring needs? I am looking for two more photographers. They don’t need a lot of experience but they most be able to seriously multitask and learn quickly. Weddings are crazy. You have to manage a lot at one time. You basically end up being photographer and wedding coordinator. (Assuming they don’t have one.) And you have to problem-solve on the fly. There are no cookie cutter answers. You must have a great personality and a lot of patience. Weddings can be stressful and you need to make it a fun experience for the bride and family. I am happy to train new possible photographers but I don’t pay for training. If you really want to do it, look at it as a free education. I do let you use my camera so you don’t have to make an investment until we really know if you have what it takes… Also, I recommend some classes that can be very helpful. They aren’t too expensive. Roughly $70-$100 per class. The timing really depends on the person but you will need least 3 months of consistent shooting experience.
10. Interested in joining Diane McKinney Photography? Email diane@dianemckinney.com.

Our Clever Parents spotlight is on Absolute Body Balance owned by Kim Barker. Absolute Body Balance specializes in therapeutic massage in Raleigh, North Carolina.
What made you want to start your own business? I changed careers into massage therapy because I wanted a health related field where I could help people and they would enjoy the benefits of less stress and better living. During the education and licensure process I realized that if I wanted to establish relationships with my clientele and purposefully offer therapeutic massage integrated into their life styles I would have to have my own business as there is not a similar forum available. My clients have and always will be my greatest priority and I can better achieve that goal in my own business.

What got you interested in therapeutic massage? I managed a medical office for years and worked out daily for my own stress relief as a single mother, so when I found information about therapeutic and medical massage I felt this would be the best place for me to help others in their own pursuits of well-being and balanced lives. I found the instruction and classes extremely educational and informative but it was not until the very first time I put my hands a client that I just knew. I could feel that this was the path for me.

Tell us about Absolute Body Balance. I started five years ago this month as soon as I graduated school and obtained my licensure. I currently have four other massage therapists working for me – including my daughter, Leacy, who recently graduated from massage therapy school. As I have assembled this group I have been fortunate to find different approaches and styles so that the clients have much to choose, my own personal certifications include deep tissue, Swedish, sports, trigger point, neuromuscular, Hot Stone therapies, pregnancy, infant and geriatric. I continue to search for continuing education courses so that I may be able to offer therapeutic massage to all who are in need but also to keep very fresh and current in my field. Picking the name was easy: I have always tried to find balance and wanted to offer the absolute balance for my clients physical health.

Where are you located? Absolute Body Balance is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. We moved last spring into the downstairs of an office townhome at 6612-102 Six Forks Rd. You can learn more about us at www.absolutebodybalance.com. To schedule an appointment, call us at (919) 841-9344 or request your appointment online. Mention Clever Parents when you schedule a one hour massage and pay only $55 for your first massage – a $15 discount!

What is the best part about having your own business? The very best thing is that I do not have to compromise. I make sure we can schedule emergencies if necessary, our schedules remain flexible for our clients, customer service is the ultimate available as I even give bottles of water to clients to assist in their post massage care, our professionalism and skills are unequalled since I value that greatly, we offer chair massage and gift certificates for local charities, the office atmosphere is warm, friendly, positive and welcoming, and most importantly everyone working at ABB knows that our clientele is the reason we open the door every day. Unfortunately I do think progress in business tends to have a negative effect on customer service, owning my own business I make sure that isn’t even a remote possibility.

What is the hardest part about having your own business? The most difficult part for me is that it is 24/7 – the other therapists and I do everything from the website, printing products, brochures, gift certificates, decorating the office, etc. It is important how we are represented and I find that we know better what to say to clients so I create and print all of our marketing materials.

What advice do you have for other would-be entrepreneurs? Pick something you are passionate about. I love what I do and it is not like going to work every day for me, if I was doing this for someone else I know the boundaries of being the best for my clients would have me needing relaxation! To have that intimate contact in assisting someone to be and feel better is such an unbelievable reward – I wouldn’t have it any other way!

How do you balance work and family? Any tips for other Clever Parents? My children are now older, one finished school recently and one is graduating from college next May, so the demands on me as a mother have decreased in every way except financially. But I am blessed, they are both grown and well-rounded successful adults so the fact that I put them first and sacrificed a bit of my time and life only proves to me that it was the right thing for me. My job as a parent was to teach them so eventually they would be able to take care of themselves, of course I always held the safety net, but my daughter will attest to the fact that we all survived and she wouldn’t have changed a thing. I would strongly urge mothers and fathers not to forget about taking care of themselves; a little exercise, some me time, a massage, healthy living these all are necessities for maintaining your own well-being. And honestly how can we parent if we aren’t the best possibly we can be?

The morning is a very busy time for me. I get up early to ride my bike so I can be back home in time to shower and get dressed before my twin 19 month-olds wake up. The morning provides some of the few moments I get with my children during the week – and it gives my wife a few precious extra minutes of sleep since she spends all day with them by herself.

But of course once they’re up I am still trying to eat my breakfast, get their milk and all the other things I need to do to get out of the house on time. So while it is special time, it can also be stressful time. Even after my wife wakes up, it is still pretty hectic because when she comes into the playroom, I usually rush off to take my vitamins and brush my teeth. After a minute or so I can usually see the face of my little boy looking up at me – he wants to watch Daddy.

I’m embarrassed to say my initial reaction to this was annoyance. I’m in a rush and am doing everything I can to get out of the house on time to catch my train and his presence impedes that process. You lose time and also lose what little privacy remains when you have two toddlers. If I just did what I had to do, I would find myself constantly trying to avoid tripping over him. If I picked him up and brought him to his mother, he would show up outside the bathroom door a minute later – depending on how long it took him to wriggle out of Mommy’s arms. That’s when it hit me. He’s not trying to be annoying; he’s trying to learn how to be just like Daddy, just like me. Read the rest »