The 10 Biggest Entrepreneurial Mistakes

For mompreneur monday I bring you a quick and very to-the-point slide show on the ten biggest (and probably most common) mistakes an entrepreneur can make in business. (I found this on The Big Idea website--one of my fave business sites.) Though I'm sure many of us women business owners make far less mistakes than our male counterparts (wink, wink) it is still worth a read: "The 10 Biggest Entrepreneurial Mistakes" by Mike Michalowicz from Obsidian Launch.

And then, just for fun--because all work and no play make Mom totally nuts!--check out "The Most Beautiful Money in the World." David Standish, author of The Art of Money, shows you his top picks for "some spectacular sights that fit in a wallet." My favorite is a tie between the New Zealand Dollar and Comorian Franc...what's yours?

Cupcakes Take the Cake

The other night my mom and I watched an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I hardly ever watch TV but since Mom was in town it was a good excuse to see what the Food Network had to offer. The episode featured Auntie Em's Kitchen, a bakery famous for their red velvet cupcakes (and a variety of other cupcakes for that matter!). Our mouths watered just watching customers dive into Auntie Em's delectable cupcakes, top heavy with frosting and oh so moist. Yes, even though we weren't watching in HD we could tell those cupcakes were to die for!

Watching this episode of Throwdown reminded me of a blog I came across a while ago called Cupcakes Take the Cake. If you're a cupcake lover (and what I-refuse-to-grow-up grown up isn't?) you'll want to sink your teeth into the posts on this site. The site, which has received a plethora of press, features all things cupcake from recipes to Flickr photos of fab cupcakes to cupcakes in the news. You gotta love the YouTube video of the Zappos staff's cupcake eating contest! Cupcakes Take the Cake also has an extensive list of U.S. and international bakeries. Who knew South Africa and Malaysia had cupcake aficionados?

With thoughts of cupcakes dancing in your head I leave you with the red velvet cupcake recipe from the other night. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Cupcakes
15 1/2 oz all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c vegetable oil
13 oz granulated sugar
1 1/4 c buttermilk
3 eggs
2 T plus 2 tsp red food coloring
1 1/4 tsp vinegar (white or apple cider can both work)
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 c water

Cream cheese frosting
1 1/2 lbs cream cheese, room temperature
1 lb butter, room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar, sifted
1 T vanilla extract

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside. In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined. Add eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well. Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time and mix on low, scraping down sides occasionally, and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix, or the batter will come out tough.

Line a 16-cup cupcake pan with paper liners, scoop the batter into the liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

Whip the butter and cream cheese together until creamed. Gradually add powdered sugar and scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. Use right away or refrigerate up to a week. Frost cooled cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting.

To kick off what will hopefully be a cupcake-filled weekend, I leave you with this haiku from Cupcakes Take the Cake:

sunny day cupcake
is it moist or just humid
spring into summer

Join the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt!

It’s that time again! We are proud to announce our sponsorship of the seventh semi-annual Great Cloth Diaper Hunt™! And once again, our "mama lisa" tee is part of the Ultimate Grand Prize!

How does the GCDH work? It’s simple! Register online on or after April 15, 2008 and then visit the participating sponsor sites and hunt for the Diaper Decisions™ diaper. Find the diaper and earn entries to 65 random prize drawings, including two Grand Prizes and one Ultimate Grand Prize!

For more details about this great event, please visit the Rules and FAQ pages. See you at the hunt!

Broken Chalk--out of the mouths of school kids

If you know anything about LeShan and me, we're all about the humor. It truly is the only way to get through days filled with diaper changes, endless laundry, mountain ranges of toys, peanut butter sandwiches ground into the carpet, and that's all before 9am. Today's wonderful web wednesday is a site sure to make you smile, quite possibly make you laugh out loud, and maybe even help you survive the finger paint on the wall and gum in the hair. (Yes, it can all happen in one day, trust me!)

Broken Chalk is a blog that brings you "tiny nuggets of teacher treasure." But these treasures aren't mathematical theorems or the writings of Kipling. They are the insights of school children, often wrong, sometimes irreverent, but always funny. The author has this to say about the site:

So this site's about school. It's about how, every now and then, amidst the careful handwriting, the painstaking drawing, just every now and then, something a little different pops up. Something with teeth. I've collected a few of them over the year, and it's time to share them with the world.

My latest favorites include "Co-ordinates" and "Advice to those who may be bullied." Though the site isn't updated on a daily basis, it's still fun to browse though past posts and I'm definitely looking forward to future ones! --Emily

don't flop when it comes to flip flops!

Flip flops are essential to any warm weather wardrobe. So for fashion trend tuesday, we are talking about the most comfortable flip flops out there but are still true to the latest trends. Here's a list of my top 3 favorites:

1) BORN brand sandals. They have a cushion sole that makes it feel like you are walking on air. The soft suede leather on the foot bed helps keep the foot cool and prevent slipping in hot weather. The high quality wears and wears, and the leather forms to your foot, to give it that custom fit.

2) BIRKENSTOCK sandals. They contour to your feet and get even better each time you wear them. They are known for their durability and the soft bed of latex and microfiber is also great for warm weather. The high arch is great for those who like the support.

3) ROXY sandals. These are one of my favorites because they go with everything and are super comfy and very lightweight. I love the hardware on these; it dresses them up but can still be worn as casual flip flops.

We'd love to hear what are your favorite flip flops you just can't live without! --LeShan

so you want to be on TV?

It's been a really long week/weekend with family in town for my little sister's graduation (she just got her Masters in Social Work--you go, girl!) so today's mompreneur monday is short and sweet.

StartupPrincess.com, one of my favorite sites for women business owners, just went through a major redesign and the site looks great! Head on over and check it out. You'll find it easier to navigate and still chock full of marketing ideas, life balance issues, opportunities, and interviews. Today I wanted to highlight "How to Get and Prepare for a TV Interview," and article by Lindsay Adams-Robbins, a TV and film producer whose client list includes HGTV, Entertainment Tonight, and National Geographic.

In this article you'll learn how to:

• create buzz so your company gets noticed
• do your homework prior to the show
• prepare for the interview
  
• follow up after the interview
  

This is one of those articles you'll want to bookmark, print out, and refer to often. StartupPrincess.com is full of helpful tools and resources so be sure and add it to your news feed! --Emily

when life gives you lemons, make lemon scones!

Lemons are perfect when you need a little sunshine in your day. Here is a delicious recipe for food for thought friday that I came across, then tweaked a bit to my taste.

Lemon Scones

2 c flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c sugar

1/4 c chilled butter

1/4 c sour cream

8-10 T lemon juice

1-2 tsp lemon zest

Glaze

2 T white sugar

2 T lemon juice

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-22 minutes. In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Slice chilled butter into mixing bowl and mix into flour until it forms coarse pieces. Add about 5-6 tablespoons of lemon juice and the zest. Mix until it forms a ball, separate into two separate balls and slightly flatten to about 1 inch thickness. Cut into quarters and bake. Once you remove scones from oven immediately drizzle the glaze over the top of scones so the outside will stay crispy while the inside is moist.

“Martha Stewart showed up at Manhattan FBI Headquarters to have her finger prints taken and pose for a mug shot. Then Martha explained how to get ink off your fingers using seltzer water and lemon juice.”-Conan O'Brien

Although that most likely didn't happen, it does work, but I'm not speaking from experience. --LeShan

Laughing Starfish Jewelry offers one-of-a-kind nursing necklaces

And yet these necklaces don't look like your typical nursing necklaces. I reviewed Laughing Starfish last week on Boutique Cafe's Daily Dish and I just had to highlight them on today's that's hot! thursday. I've fallen in love with my Laughing Starfish nursing necklace and I haven't nursed my little girl in over 3 months!

For those who don't know what a nursing necklace is or what purpose it serves, it is a necklace “designed to be interesting and fun for little hands while strong enough to be tugged and yanked.” And if it's a really cool nursing necklace it should also be stylish enough to be worn without baby in tow, and Laughing Starfish Jewelry is just that!

My Blue Skies Over Paris necklace entertains my little one without being cheesy. I love this quote from the artist’s site: “It has been my experience … that my children always preferred things that were more adult - as illustrated by the dozens of times I spent hours trying to locate what they did with my car keys while their colorful plastic ones sat ignored in their toy box.” Laughing Starfish’s beautiful necklaces are tuggable works of art (many are limited editions because of the beads) and I haven’t seen one I wouldn’t wear on its own.

I’ve worn my Blue Skies necklace more than other necklaces in my “everyday” collection. The high-quality construction ("tested" by the artist’s own children) means no broken cords or strings or beads flying this way and that. (I can’t say the same for a couple other favorites–casualties of that crazy strength all babies seem to have!)

Each necklace comes gift wrapped and includes the sweetest little starfish charm on the clasp. Besides beautiful nursing necklaces Laughing Starfish Jewelry also has equally beautiful bracelets, earrings and other accessories. A word of advice: make sure you order two lengths of cord for your necklace, a longer one so baby can easily play with the pendant and a shorter one just for you! –Emily

the gratitude campaign

Today's wonderful web wednesday comes from one of those few forwarded emails I actually read. I get a lot of forwarded jokes, videos, and urban legends and often delete them before ever opening them, but this one stood out and I'm glad I took the time to learn more about The Gratitude Campaign. What is The Gratitude Campaign? It is a simple way for you and I to say thank you to the soldiers serving our country:

For the past several years as I've been traveling around the country, I've been approaching soldiers in the airports and thanking them for serving for us. On several occasions I have noticed that it felt a little awkward for both of us. ... But they have always appreciated being thanked, and I have always felt better having expressed my gratitude.

I started to think that it would be nice if civilians had a gesture or sign that they could use to say "thank you" quickly and easily without even having to approach. I did some research and found the sign that we are now using. Is this limited to the military? Not at all. ...

The email I received had a link to a short yet moving video about The Gratitude Campaign and its "thank you" sign. You can view a short or full-length movie about The Gratitude Campaign or read detailed instructions on how to make the sign. I found it interesting that American Sign Language's current sign for "thank you" is actually a modified version of the one you will see in The Gratitude Campaign. I have to say, I like the original version best--a thank-you should always come from the heart. --Emily

It's a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation.
--Roberto Benigni, Newsweek

earth friendly fashion

You love clothes and you love the environment, but unfortunately they don't always go hand in hand. Many of the processes used to create the fabric are killing the environment like pesticides, and dyes. Today's fashion trend tuesday highlights some eco-friendly fashion in celebration of Earth Day. You can love your clothes and love the enviornment at the same time! These products are made from recycled glass, plastic salvaged from a dump site, bamboo, and organic cotton. Who knew we could be so resourceful?! Just click on the images below to find out where and how you can purchase some neat earth loving wear.

With several websites catching on to this earth friendly trend, georgie tees is also playing a part in featuring organic cotton tees and onesies. Go ahead, hug a (bamboo) tree, after all you just might be wearing it. --LeShan

Can you Help a Reporter Out?

One of the Yahoo! groups I belong to recently passed along a site that might be of interest to other mompreneurs and women business owners out there so I'm sharing it on today's mompreneur monday feature.

HelpAReporter.com was originally conceived by Peter Shankman and started on Facebook, but because Facebook caps group emails at 1,200 Shankman started his own list at HelpAReporter.com. Just what kind of list is HelpAReporter.com? Here's a simple description in Shankman's own words about what you're in for when you sign up:

Each day, you'll receive up to three emails, each with anywhere from 2-10 queries per email. ... If you see a query you can answer, go for it! I built this list because a lot of my friends are reporters, and they call me all the time for sources. Rather than go through my contact lists each time, I figured I could push the requests out to people who actually have something to say. ... I never take queries from that other service, I never SPAM, and I'm not going to do anything with your email other than send you these reporter requests when they arrive in my in-box.

HelpAReporter.com is free (if you'd like to make a donation, Shankman asks you donate to a local animal rescue to "keep the good Karma flowing"). The most important thing Shankman asks: by joining the list you agree that if you choose to answer a request, your answer really will help a journalist and won't just be a way to get you or your client noticed.

HelpAReporter.com also has a service for journalists looking for sources. You can check that out here. Take a few minutes to read a bit more about HelpAReporter.com. Heck, it's free! So what have you got to lose? As long as you're honest and don't abuse the service you may just get that lucky break you're looking for. Peter Shankman believes in good Karma...and so do I! --Emily

simply smitten with Smitten Kitchen

Just try and say that title five times fast! Now that you're tongue's tied in a knot, on with today's post! Instead of a recipe for our food for thought friday I wanted to share a food-related site that not only offers great recipes but makes for great reading as well. Smitten Kitchen has won numerous accolades from a profile in the Boston Globe to a mention on Martha Stewart's show, and I can see why.

Smitten Kitchen gives readers tasty recipes, helpful tools and resources (did you know light cream is 18% butter fat?), and seriously engaging copy (check out her search for purple potatoes). Plus the fabulous photos, often step-by-step, help those of us who may need a little hand holding while experimenting with flourless chocolate walnut cookies. (Who says you have to celebrate Passover to enjoy a decadent flourless dessert?)

Recent recipes also include a lemon yogurt anything cake--just try and keep from drooling when you see the finished product! I'm not big into lemon but that's not going to stop me from trying this cake. By the way, I'm a pretty good cook but not a big out-of-the-box thinker when it comes to recipes so I absolutely love the list of substitutions and suggestions she included with this one. Extra details like those are why Smitten Kitchen is beloved by so many readers. The recipes and writings put gourmet cooking within reach of expert macaroni-and-cheese chefs like myself. --Emily

If hunger makes you irritable, better eat and be pleasant. --Sefer Hasidim