Weekend Entrepreneur:

“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist� is a cliché I’ve recited more times than I care to remember. But I just met Lisa Akers, a real-life rocket scientist. Her Denver-based company, Be Still & Knit, offers classes and clothing for children and the women who love them.

This upclose and personal interview with Lisa Akers reveals what she’s up to… from stumbling blocks (a coach who didn’t work out) to a peek at what’s she’s planning to do next to increase industry awareness. She’s a smart cookie.

When did you start your business and what inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
AKERS: I started my company, Be Still & Knit, in the summer of 2005. I left my corporate job as a rocket scientist (yes, really) in late 2003 to birth my daughter. It was a huge shift for me to go from the world of high science, high dollar and high-risk satellite business to the world of diapers, baby food and midnight feedings. To top it all off, we moved from our home in Connecticut to Denver for my husband’s work (in my 35th week of pregnancy). So here I was, a new mom in a new town, with no friends to speak of.

I desperately needed to do something and meet people or I was going to go nuts! So, I went to moms’ groups, I went to churches and I went to the parks to meet other moms. It worked for a while, but my drive as an engineer really made me want to do more–I wanted to have something that I could call my own.

I was wandering through Target, buying diapers, when a learn-to-knit kit caught my eye. It was not completely out of character, since I had been crocheting since I was 6. I brought it home and learned to knit. It wasn’t the most beautiful of shawls (at least in my eyes), but it garnered me compliments every time I wore it. Before long, I was making shawls and teaching classes to my new friends.

What gives you the edge over your competitors?
AKERS: I think that my concept for teaching classes is unique in two ways. First, I come to my students and work on their schedule. Being a mom and not owning a brick-and-mortar store, I have a lot more flexibility in when and where I do my work. Secondly, I believe in giving people a skill and a philosophy. I want all my students to walk away with confidence in their abilities. Often with lessons in stores or at craft events, the instructor only wants to present the material and get it over with. I go one step beyond the skill and talk about the more emotional, spiritual and relationship aspects of knitting/crocheting. I want to create a community of knitters, not just a collection. With my clothing, I create classic designs out of materials that are easy-care, that are high-quality and long-lasting, and are widely appealing to moms and grandmas. What sets me apart is the fact that my designs are easy to wear and easy to care for. Busy moms don’t need fussy clothes.

Was there a turning point for you when you knew you could succeed with your business idea? If so please describe.
AKERS: It came this past January 2nd. I was celebrating the holidays with my family when my business phone rang. I answered it, and on the other end was a high-end local boutique that wanted to start selling my products. It was the confidence booster and energy behind my new success. I was doing OK before, but that moment I realized that I could do so much more!

Have you noticed certain advantages to being an entrepreneur versus having a day job?
AKERS: Well, it is great to have the personal flexibility of working for myself. I can schedule my days, weeks and months to best suit my own demands as a mom and wife. On the other hand, it’s much harder to keep focused when I’m the only one setting the agenda.

When I had a day job as a rocket scientist, I felt much like a firefighter. Some days were incredibly busy with solving problems, explaining concepts and running tests. Other days were just a waiting game. I find that with my own business, every day is incredibly busy. When I am working for myself, my brain is on overdrive coming up with new products, class ideas and marketing concepts. I have a journal that I always carry with me that I use to write down the ideas I have but don’t have time to do right now. Each six months, I sit down with those ideas and see if I should implement some of them and eliminate some of the things I’m currently doing.

How long did it take before your business became profitable?
AKERS: I was profitable in my second year of business. It took about 18 months to comfortably profit from what I do. My business is pretty seasonal, too. I teach a lot more and sell a lot more product in the winter. I’m trying to shift that around, but there’s something about having wool in your lap in August that isn’t very appealing!

Has it been difficult to get financing for your company?
AKERS: I have self-financed. I used my credit card to get started and, fortunately, I have a very low interest rate.

Did you have a mentor? If so, how was it helpful?
AKERS: Well, I did have a coach, and she really wasn’t that helpful. I loved getting her ideas and putting some of them to work. However, I trusted her ideas and concepts without doing any of my own research and without running it through my own filters. Unfortunately, her ideas led me away from my core business and were a big distraction for my first 18 months. Once I refocused on my business of creating a knitting community, then I was more profitable and more successful.
I’ve found that other moms who are in business are far more valuable as mentors. They have made a lot of the mistakes I made and are willing to share. It’s great to have a community of like-minded business owners to reach out to when you have a question or need some advice.

What resources were most helpful to you when you were starting your business?
AKERS: The most valuable thing for me has been two moms’ networking groups. We meet twice a month and we get to talk about how business is going. We share ideas on marketing, websites, events and getting clients. We critique each other’s new products, and we get new ideas on how to best run a business and raise a family.

What’s next for Be Still & Knit?
AKERS: My plan is to start holding weekend retreats for fiber artists. We’ll have classes on fiber projects, meditation, prayer, exercise, nutrition and community building. I want to bring the peaceful aspect of fiber arts to the knitting community and create a stronger community of knitters.

Let us know what’s next for you and how we can help.

Your cheerleader for success,
Michelle Anton

Dear Nordine,
I hope you can help me with my question. As a busy entrepreneur it is almost impossible to stay on a fitness program. Something always seems to derail my fitness goals. And within a week or two (max) I’m back to my old habits of junk food and not working out. Any tips on how to commit to a regular practice because I always seem to quit before I can see any results.

Frustrated in New York

Dear Nordine,

Here’s my question.  I work out very rigorously 3 times a week and wanted to know if that is enough. I am in good health and my body is in pretty good shape.

Christine

Hi Nordine!
Here’s my question… I am a busy entrepreneur and I would like to know what’s the real story on glasses of water per day? I’ve heard that it is best to drink 8 glasses of water to keep you healthy, but how many more above that to impact weight loss? Is there a formula? Also, is there a maximum limit per day?

Thanks,

Cheryl

http://www.magnificentwomen.org/

“You wake-up in the morning and you realize that your body is still asleep but your mind is running wild. You feel tired, frustrated and the first thing you do is run to the coffee shop, get a large coffee with cream, filled with sugar. At the time you are ordering you are also multitasking, your are answering your cell phone in one hand and checking your Blackberry in the other. As if your brain could handle all that, you are adding some newspaper reading, thus loading your brain with the unsettling news of the day (wars, murder, rape, stock market crumbling, etc…). Now, you are at the office and are answering your e-mail, talking on the phone and screaming at your assistant. Your blood is boiling and your brain is about to explode. You haven’t eaten anything and it’s already 1 PM. You run to the company cafeteria, order a juicy burger with fries and wash it down with a soda. Before you know it, it is now 7 PM and you are crawling to your car. You are going straight to unwind, somebody said wine? Yes, and you say to your friends, spouse or yourself: “I had a great day, I made a fortune today!” What you made is a fortune all right, but a fortune that would soon be spent on medical care, when your body and mind begins crying out loud: “STOP THAT!” It doesn’t have to be that way, you have a choice and that choice is presented to you the very first minute you get up in the morning.â€?

My new friend Nordine sent the above message in an email and boy oh boy can I relate to every word. In fact, just yesterday day my jeans tore right along the back pocket (sigh). So I think that was a sign. LOL.

Anyway, Oprah highlights the famed Miraval Life in Balance spa in the June issue of her magazine and it was featured on her show last Friday, May 25. And it just so happens that Nordine Zouareg is the Professional Fitness Coach at Miraval. What is special is that his new book is coming out next week. So you are not only going to get a sneak peek but he is my guest blogger and you can ask him any fitness or weight loss questions on your mind and he will answer them from today, Friday, May 31 until Thursday, June 7. Just put your questions in the comments below.

In his new book, “Mind Over Body: The Key to Lasting Weight Loss Is All in Your Head,� Nordine outlines his proven method for living life in a way that allows you to not only make a lot of money but also make healthy choices. You will learn the coveted secrets to living life in balance.

To kick our Blog Tour off, here are my 3 questions long with Nordine’s answers about how to actually get my body to follow my mind so that I can start losing weight.

1. Why do I resist changing my eating habits when I know I need to?
Knowing we need to change the habits that are not serving us is one thing and it resides in the level of the conscious mind. Doing the things we need to do is another and it resides in the level of the subconscious mind once it is loaded there by our everyday choices and by repetition. What we resist is always something that we absolutely need to do and can lead to success every time. Make the change, do it long enough for it to become YOU.

2. How is our subconscious mind related to our current results?
Everything we do from the minute we wake up to the minute we go to bed is automatic. We have loaded the information in the subconscious mind by doing it over and over, everything including the bad habits. Change the things you don’t want and replace them by the things YOU DO WANT.

3. What are some creative ways to get more out of the same amount of time I currently spend everyday doing a bunch of stuff?
Write down all the things you do during the day and substitute the things that are not serving your core desire and replace them with things that do. For example, if you eat a big lunch in th office and then sit at your desk being unproductive for the next half hour because you’ve overstressed your body with too much food, try to use that unproductive time more productively by going to the gym (and eat a lighter meal). Think about redistributing your time the way you thing about changing your diet. You don’t change your diet by simply adding healthy foods to the unhealthy ones. Just do it, do it long enough to become YOU. You are BEING fitness rather than DOING fitness.

So now it is your turn to post a comment, question or reply and Nordine will answer. He is our guest blogger until Thursday, June 7th, 2007.

This show was more fun than American Idol or Apprentice. Especially if you are dreaming of inventing something or you simply want to launch a cool business, OR… ditch your JOB (just over broke) and become independently wealthy. Here are some of my findings about the exciting inventors I saw on Oprah recently.

For starters, I want to give a standing ovation to the finalist of Oprah’s Search for the Next Big Idea. In case you missed the show, the 8 finalists were all WOMEN. This diverse group of enthusiastic chicks were hand picked from a pool of 6,000+ people. I could go on and on about the show but I’m going to keep it brief. Mainly because I am very tired today. I stayed up too late last night. I love the wee hours, it’s when I feel energized and very creative. But all the research shows that not getting sufficient sleep each night causes all kinds of problems from weight gain (sigh) to overall poor health. There is a ton of easy to digest research in a fantastic book by a female researcher, T.S. Wiley called “Lights Out: Sugar, Sleep and Survival.� The scariest thing I read was, “Researchers can give mice cancer just by leaving the lights on.� OK, back to the show.

From start to finish, the Next Big Idea show was inspirational. Oprah and QVC—the world’s largest TV shopping network joined forces to select a hot new product to introduce to the world. It is soooo nice to see that the playing ground is being leveled. This show renewed my faith. The message for me was that you can be an average everyday person, have a bright idea and make it to the Oprah Show. And if you are really lucky, and happen to be selected to win, then you get to sell your product on QVC, which by the way reaches 90 MILLION HOMES.

Here is my summary of how the winner was selected:
*Product creativity
*Presentation of idea
*Potential for huge sales

The 3 P’s are easy to remember and I suggest you use them as a template to create your dream business, product or service.

A little background about how the contest was set up…..
Over a 3 month period of time, thousands of inventive men and women traveled to conventions. In hopes of being selected for the Next Big Idea, they went to cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia to showcase their unique product.

The QVC judges were on hand and participants had 10 minutes to convince the judges that they had come up with an idea that could be a huge best seller. But the catch was that only 8 people were going to move on to the final round on the Oprah Show. As you can imagine they had a wide range of ideas from inventive to wacky.

The celebrity judges, were Paula Deen, affectionately referred to as the Food Network’s Queen of Southern cuisine. And, Carson Kressley, the spirited fashionista from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

HERE’S THE LINEUP OF THE 8 FINALIST:
1. Lock ‘N’ Bake Baking Pan
The first finalist, Aneela decided to invent something that would solve her cooking problem. The baking pan is designed for easier removal of food, perfect for casseroles like lasagna. Also, you can bake a cake in her pan—and by removing the sides, you can frost it without placing it on a cake plate!

2. Veggie Peel
Annette invented a peeler that stores scraps in a small chamber, and you can discard it later.

3. Brunch Biscuit
Restaurant owner Sharon transformed four biscuit flavors—spinach lasagna, spicy sausage and pepper, turkey with red-eyed gravy and sweet potato into a finger licking delicacy.

4. Garland Greetings
Maria’s big idea is a nifty hand-decorated wreath with clips hidden beneath bows to help you display holiday cards and photographs.

5. EZ Bouquet
Lori invention is a round plastic ball with a built-in grid that fits the stems of your favorite flowers.

6. Original Shutter Covers
Mimi’s product consists of interchangeable covers and can decorate any shutter between three and six feet long.

7. Color Bug
Gwen says she’s been dreaming about this since she was in art school 10 years ago. She had to create a toy that moved 12 inches and was inspired by watching her dog scoot across the floor.

8. Eye Majic
Myra’s color coordinated makeup stencils makes your eye-makeup look like it’s been applied by a pro.

Before I tell you who ultimately got a chance at striking it rich! I want to share my initial feelings when each person presented their product. WIIFM was all I could think about. Yep, What’s In It For Me? That was the big question I asked myself first and the second question was, “Does the product have mass appeal?�

DRUM ROLL PLEASE! The winner was Aneela’s Lock ‘N’ Bake Baking Pan. She was the first person to present her invention and she was so warm and personable that I honestly was not surprised that the audience voted for her on their little handheld gadgets. Plus, the judges liked her idea, especially Paula Deen.

Recently when I mentioned that I was going to write about this show one of the Next Big Idea contestants replied. Her name is Gwen and she invented the Color Bug. So check back because I am interviewing her and will be sharing her story along with insider tips that you probably wont see or hear anywhere else except here at weekend.entrepreneur.com. I am committed to supporting your goals wishes and dreams.

QUOTE:
The greatest crime in the world is not developing your potential. When you do what you do best, you are helping not only yourself, but the world.

BOOK TO READ:
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss. This is a “must read” especially if you want to work smarter, not harder and have fun making money. Chek out Tim’s blog it is loaded with tons of useable information http://fourhourworkweek.com/blog/

Normally, I am ready for Mother’s Day far in advance. Even if I haven’t bought the gift and card, I usually have several options in mind. But, this year I was engrossed in a project and at the 11th hour… found myself scrambling for a way to show my Mom some appreciation. Had I actually admitted this fact of entrepreneurial life (which includes the frequent lapse of memory) to my Mom she would have quipped, “Too busy for your Mother?�? Luckily, I found a delicious gift on-line from Cheryl & Company. Their heart shaped butter cookies decorated with icing arrived today and boy was she happy.

My mother’s belief in me has always been there and it has played an enormous role in helping me succeed professionally as a TV producer, author and entrepreneur. And, in my personal life.

One of my favorite memories goes back to my early years when I was 5. It was so much fun fishing around in my mother’s jewelry box and wrapping up one of her necklaces or bracelets in a tissue. Next, I would ask her to close her eyes because I had a BIG present for her. She ALWAYS had such a sincere look of amazement on her face and pleasure in her tone of voice when she opened her gift. This gesture of motherly love is one of many times my mother reinforced the power of love, appreciation, creativity and imagination.

Everyone approaches work based on their upbringing, education and dreams. My mother didn’t have an exciting career. We never talked about her aspirations in life or the limitations she encountered as an insurance claims adjuster (sigh).

Observing her daily routine helped me learn by example about the value of having a strong work ethic. There were times when she worked 2 and 3 jobs to give me the things she never had when she was growing up. My life was a delicious mix of private school, summer vacations to places far from the tough streets of Bedsty, in Brooklyn, dance classes, a tutor when needed and anything else she could think of.

Many thanks to my mom for trying to be both mother and father. I know it wasn’t easy and I must admit, I was a handful from time to time. As I reflect on the past, it is easier for me to understand that being divorced, and raising a child isn’t always easy. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t send a BIG hug to my daughter Lala and step-daughters Joey and Kelly for providing a rich parental experience for my learning and personal groowth.

One more point of interest… yesterday I was watching Oprah’s Mother’s Day Show and here are a few comments from her show.

Beyoncé about her mother, Tina:
“She’s so funny and cool. Sometimes I forget that she’s my mother. And just when I forget, she reminds me by example with her wisdom.”

Vanessa Williams—mother of 4 children and appears each week on Ugly Betty wants to pass on this to her children, “Love what you do, and love who you are”

Maria Shriver says, “The letters my kids have written me are the most valuable possessions I own.”

If I had a quarter for every time one of my goals/dreams got derailed when LIFE got in the way I would probably be a millionaire today.

Has life ganged up on you lately? I know the feeling first hand. What I’ve learned is that some people cave in while others know how to turn life’s little downfalls into a money making endeavor.

Check this out. Connie Berg, is the woman I wanted to tell you about. She is proof positive that you can have a bunch of problems and still come out on top. Connie was depressed and hopeless when she accidentally discovered an opportunity on the Internet.

Read on, for my first conversation with Connie—it took place a few years ago. However, she is still going strong. In fact, when I recently followed-up, Connie had started a second company that is thriving and I’ll be filling you in on that as well. It occurred to me that while I was whining, complaining and feeling sorry for myself Connie was creating an Internet empire. And she did it her way!

Michelle: On Mother’s Day, 1997 your house burned down. How on earth did you start a business when you were facing such difficult times?

Connie Berg: The day of the fire my husband was away visiting his 16 year-old son at a drug rehab treatment center. Meanwhile, my daughter was spending the night at her friend’s house and my son and I were home alone. After the fire, it was a very stressful time for us, my son was very clingy and I was seeing a doctor for depression. I started using my computer to search for jokes, to cheer myself up and to help me manage my stress.

I had a program that came with my computer called Front Page Express so I used this to teach myself to make my own web page for my jokes and started sharing them with friends.

It didn’t take long for me to discover that I could shop on-line and there were ads saying, “You can make money on the Internet.â€? KB Kids was the first company that said, “Sign up for our affiliate program” —so I added their link to my web page of jokes.

Here’s how it works, if people bought something on my website I would get a 10% commission. But there were stores that offered ten bucks worth of free stuff for first time buyers so this attracted my friends and relatives to my web site. It was unbelievable—the UPS man was coming to my house everyday delivering free stuff.

Once my friends and relatives started shopping on my web site, it went really fast from a joke page to a shopping website. I was having fun trying to see how much stuff I could get without spending money. So basically I started the business by accident and that was back in October, 1998. I love to shop, it’s a hobby of mine so I just kept adding more and more stores to my web page and every time someone bought a product I got a commission check.

Michelle: How did your site grow in popularity from friends and family to a mega success?

Connie Berg: All my friends and relatives told their friends and relatives and by June 1999 my web site traffic went way up, so I started a mailing list and I began sending everyone the weekly special discounts, and the rest is history.

Michelle: Did you use a large sum of money to start the Flamingo World website?

Connie Berg: It cost next to nothing to start. I used a really cheap computer from Sears, I didn’t have the latest equipment when I got started. I know people think you need really expensive equipment but you really don’t have to.

Michelle: What inspired you to name your business Flamingo World?

Connie Berg: When I was in high school I had a tank top with flamingos on it and they called me Flamingo Girl. So when I started with the jokes I decided to call it Flamingo Girl’s home page and then when I switched to shopping I changed it to Flamingo World www.flamingoworld.com.

Michelle: What was life like before you stumbled across your little goldmine?

Connie Berg: Before I started www.flamingoworld.com, my husband was making less than forty thousand a year. After the fire we were getting food from the food bank to make ends meet. We lost everything and had no money, but once I started making money I paid it all back to the people who helped us.

Michelle: How long have you been a stay-at-home Mom?

Connie Berg: I’ve always been a stay-at-home Mom; the few times I’ve worked, it was to help my husband out at his job. He was a manager at a bakery—and he worked 60-80 hours a week, sometimes he even worked 2 jobs. We were committed to doing whatever it took for me to stay home and raise the kids. All he had to do was work and I handled everything else.

Michelle: How has your life changed with your success?

Connie Berg: My husband works 4 days a week and he’s cut his hours to 32 hours a week. Now that he’s off 3 days a week we’re both stay-at-home parents. I guess I made it up to him for working so hard all those years. He can semi-retire a little earlier. It’s funny because when I first started looking for jokes and shopping deals on the Internet he was getting mad because I was spending so much time on the computer. Then when the checks started pouring in he wasn’t upset because he saw I wasn’t just wasting time on the computer.

Michelle: What advice do you have for people, including stay at home moms and dads who want to make money on the Internet?

Connie Berg: Find something you like to do and research similar businesses on the Internet who are doing the same thing. Even if you like collecting things like matchbox cars you can start your own website. If you find something that really interests you or you have a hobby, there’s a way to make money on the Internet for you. The affiliate programs help you link to companies that can pay you for having them link to your website.

For me, I started having a lot of fun and I got really lucky when I found something I really liked doing and could make money at it too. The checks are sent quarterly from all the links I signed up for. I use companies like www.commissionjunction.com. They have an assortment of categories to select items from for your website. People enjoy websites that give them information too.
Check back for part 2 of Connie Berg’s success story, including tips for starting an online business. Plus, you’ll hear about her latest business venture.

In a recent conversation with a few of my girlfriends we were exploring the correlation between business and American Idol. One of the people we were talking about was 17 year-old Sanjaya Malakar, who is said to be one on the most memorable contestants to appear on the show. And even though he didn’t have sufficient votes to last another week, he was this year’s wild card.

In the business world it takes skills, a good product and likeability to have a shot at success and television shows like Idol have similar standards. Sanjaya won the hearts of many young girls and his popularity gave him the staying power to make it to the final ten. However, his lack of vocal prowess was at the heart of his final bow. I will remember him as the kid with chutzpah, charm and the willingness to take a chance and who didn’t appear to be afraid of the wrath of Simon Cowell. And quite frankly I think this experience will pave the way for Sanjaya to have choices that he probably wouldn’t have had without the massive exposure from A.I.

Watching a person do something they are passionate about makes me think of the things I enjoy doing. If you asked me what gave me joy 10 years ago I would have said work, but today my answer is play! Not to discount work but, I’m not the workaholic I use to be. After all, being a weekend entrepreneur beats being a slave to a job. Finally working smarter not harder was beginning to make sense. I love hanging out with friends and family and laughing is one of the things I always look forward to. Walking on the beach is another favorite pastime because it is relaxing and inspires incredible ideas. My new hobby is line dancing and I’ll tell you more about that in a few weeks. Nowadays I’ve designed my personal life to compliment my professional life. As an entrepreneur I have more time to enjoy life and best of all I can choose the types of projects I spend my time on. Last year, my dear friend Jennifer Basye Sander and I wrote “Weekend Entrepreneur: 101 Great Ways to Earn Extra Cash.� This month I produced a TV commercial. But, for years I produced TV talk shows, documentaries for the A&E Biography series and served as producer for the Dr. Laura radio show for five years.

Being energized about what I am doing is more fun than being excited about achieving a particular goal. The journey gets me pumped up! It is my nature to make things fun and that is one of the reasons people like working with me. I’m always upbeat and bubbly and very very very excited about what’s going on no matter how trivial it may seem at the moment. In my world the glass is ALWAYS half full. I have an annoying habit of making my loved ones laugh when they want to suffer in silence.

Want to know what happened when a depressed woman’s house burned down on Mother’s Day? Check back because in my next blog I’ll tell you how she conquered her worst nightmare and in doing so built a million dollar business.

Bedside Reading:

“Instant Income� by Janet Switzer. If you are currently running a business you’ll love Janet’s tips for making additional income quickly!

Quote:
The conversation is not about the relationship. The conversation IS the relationship.
~ David Whyte