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Women in Business Success Stories
Meet Paula Polman of Mossberry Hollow
Meet Paula Polman of Mossberry Hollow with husband Peter and son James!
Paula is a dynamic entrepreneur as well as a happy wife and mom that definitely has it together! Formerly a Whitehorse resident, Paula says she knows a thing or two about launching a herbal products business in the limited marketplace of the Yukon. Since she realized this early, a huge part of the startup phaze for Mossberry Hollow was to get mossberry.com launched.
Building an Online Business
"Online sales are hard to come by", Paula admits, but she stuck with it, and believed in her business enough to learn what she needed to know. Emersing herself in technical how-to books, Paula learned enough about HTML and Javascript to design a very appealing website, complete with a shopping cart and full e-commerce capabilities. she also allows visitors to choose between Canadian and American shopping.
The Mossberry Hollow Product Line
Paula offers clients a wide variety of natural herbal products. She has developed product lines for bath, beauty care, home care, and moms-to-be to name a few. She has also diversified her products by offering clients a choice of gift baskets and specialty jewellery. One visit to mossberry.com and you'll be coming back for more!
Expansion Plans
Paula is busy with the corporate restructuring of Mossberry Hollow, as the business is growing in two directions. Mossberry Hollow is turning into a retail operation focusing on natural products for body and home, while partnering with a new company called Basic Scents and Supplies on the manufacturing, wholesale, and bulk supply end of the business. Plans are already underway to give Mossberry Hollow a brick and mortar face before the end of 2003, and Paula is going even farther with plans for new scent lines, including Basic Scents, Mossberry Hollow, mossBaby, Natural Passions, and Herbal Hugs. Exciting indeed!
Mossberry Is Very Much A Family Affair
As Paula herself describes it:
"The management team includes myself, my husband (soapmaker in training, design and production), my mom (sales, production, and bookkeeping), my stepfather (tradeshow booth design/construction and accountant), and my 3-year-old son, James (executive assistant in training and professional soap sniffer "snif! smells good mommy!").
"All of us are basically unpaid labor working for equity and shares. We are very family oriented, and the business certainly reflects that. I believe that at the end of the day, you can work extremely hard and earn your money, but without family and close friends to share your success with, what would be the point?"
What would be the point indeed! Paula would never (in a million years) trade the happiness she has found from running a home-based business, but she does admit that working from home with a three-year-old is quite the challenge at times.
"Anyone who wants to be at home with kids I think either has to grow into the business with the kids from a young age, or perhaps not start until the kids are in school. I couldn't imagine trying to start a business with toddlers running about. Winter was quite a challenge to get work done being house bound, but now that summer is here, it is a little easier to get things accomplished - sandboxes, wading pools and kids are a winning combination for hours of quality laptop time in the backyard!"
Paula and her husband also have more family plans, as they plan to have more children over the next few years. Paula says that she is uncertain how this will affect her business except that she will be more tired than she ever thought possible. Early mornings, nap times and evenings once James is down are still the best times to get some quality work done, so she is preparing for more of the same.
Like many moms that run a family business, Paula is confident in her abilities and she believes in her dream. Hard work and determination have definitely paid off for this entrepreneur!
From One Woman In Business To Another...Words Of Advice
- "Running a business with small children underfoot is certainly a challenge and not for the faint-of-heart. You'll workharder than you've ever imagined, at hours you never thought reasonable and for days on end.Money is always tight, there's never enough space, and there are frequently toys underfoot and juice on the keyboard!
- "Having said that, it is hands down the most rewarding thing I have ever accomplished. Juggling the day means lots of planning andto-do lists. If there's one thing that helps keep me on track, it is having a todo list hanging overmy desk. That way I can adjust the tasks to the mood of the day and get the most accomplished. Somedays are high maintenance kid days so it's good to have a series of 10-15 minute tasks planned.On low maintenance days, you can work on bigger tasks.
- "With regard to the online aspect of mybusiness, I can only say that it really takes a good year at least to see the results of all your networking,link sharing, search engine work, chat list involvement, e-zine artiles, etc. I'd advise anyone to do all ofthe legwork themselves so that they truly understand the process. After you've gone through the hoops you'llbe in a much better position to pay for services, since you will know exactly what services you do need. Takethis advice from someone who has learned some costly mistakes in the past."
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