Mom Entrepreneur: Judi Willard and Mary Fuller
Business: Say Please Inc.
Website: www.sayplease.com
Say Pleace Inc. produces products that help put positive words and sentiments back into the world. In August , 2008, the we launched our premiere product Lunchbox Love for kids – a collection of 12 credit-card sized cards that come in a cute compact case and feature positive phrases on the front like ” I love spending time with you” or ” Be kind ” and a fun trivia facts on the back ” Did you know – A dragon fly has a life span of 24 hours” or “Did you Know- Just like finger prints each person has a unique tongue print.” The cards can be placed in a lunch box, binder, back pack or on pillow at night.
What inspired you to start your business?
Say Please Inc. was founded in 2007 by two moms who got tired of seeing negative verbiage and sentiments on products being sold to children and adults. They decided to create a company that put more positive words into the world.
How long have you been in business?
2.5 years
What did you do in your past work life?
Co-founders Mary Fuller, a journalist, and Judi Willard, a psychotherapist, were able to combine their talents to come up with thoughtful, kind phrases that quite simply make people feel good.
Describe your ideal workday.
Wake up and send our kids off to school with clean socks . Have an amazing day of sales where orders are pouring in from both our internet site and our retailers. Get in a work out, some yoga and or cardio. Finish up the business tasks for that day and still be able to feed our family a healthy dinner and help with homework! Everyone’s happy:)
What have been some of your major challenges?
Like all working Moms balancing home life with work life , which becomes more complicated when you work from home where you can become distracted by other responsibilities.
On those impossible days, what motivates you to keep going?
A fantastic email from a fan of our product telling us that what we are doing is amazing, a great idea, and desperately needed.
Do you have a motivational quote?
Positive words have the power to change a person’s day, a life and eventually the world!
What is your balancing secret in managing a business and family?
Acceptance. Somedays you just have to surrender to the fact that some days will be better than others. Having a sick child or something come up with school or a carpool may put off your game. Accept it an move on. Also having a sympathetic partner who is also your best friend helps!
If there was one piece of advice you could give to your children about running a successful business, what would it be?
Look at the step not the staircase. In other words, the idea of starting your own business, developing and actually selling a product can be overwhelming. In the beginning, we just promised ourselves that we would do one thing, no matter how big or small, every day to get us closer to our goal. Before we knew it, we had a trademarked product that was selling in over 1100 stores in the United States and Canada.
Do you have a favorite business tool and/or resource?
Our Blackberry’s changed our lives. In an emergency, for example, we could handle a crisis with a printer overseas while picking our up our kids from soccer.
What is next for your business?
New products for 2010 : Thank You – a gratitude journal for kids, Lunchbox Love for Camp, plus all new volumes, with brand new phrases and fun facts, of Lunchbox Love for kids. Plus, apparel and accessories all with with a positive spin
Your two cents sales pitch
New products for 2010 : Thank You – a gratitude journal for kids, Lunchbox Love for Camp, plus all new volumes, with brand new phrases and fun facts, of Lunchbox Love for kids. Plus, apparel and accessories all with with a positive spin
In that moment, the world becomes a better place!
Are you a bizzie mom entrepreneur? Would you like to be featured and show off your product or service. Fill out our mom entrepreneur questionnaire and email 411 at bizziemommy dot com any images you would like to use in your post. Interviews are posted every Tuesday.
Thank you for posting this! I think it’s such a great accessory for the every day lunch! Such a great idea!!