Entrepreneur Success Stories

A Mom's Work is Never Done

2008-05-07T14:56:00.005-05:00

Here's a nice chart from the Heritage Foundation providing a breakdown of a mother's time -- and the chart does not even include the time spent in running a business for the work at home moms out there!

Kathy Gendel: Success in the Undergarment Business

2008-04-11T21:07:00.004-05:00

Ever watched QVC? One of QVC's best selling products is Breezies Intimates, a line of undergarments created by Kathy Gendel. Breezies Intimates is a wide range of undergarments sold exclusively by QVC.

What sets the Breezies apart is the patented fabric used in panties and bra linings. More than underwear-as-sexy-objects pitch like Victoria Secret, Breezies positions itself as an underwear that addresses women concerns on odor control, staining and feminine issues. And the products have gained a huge customer base, becoming one of QVC's favorite products.

Breezies Intimates, launched more than 10 years ago, started -- and remains -- a family affair. Kathy, who was then a fashion merchandiser, created her line of undergarments with her husband Craig, who was a panty manufacturer. Today, Kathy's two daughters are now involved in the business and have designed their own lines.

Kathy's approach to business is "slow but sure" and never trying to grow too quickly -- a strategy that worked well for this millionaire mom and her family.

PowerHomeBiz Small & Home Business Blog: Mom Entrepreneurs: 10 Rules for Doing Business

2008-04-11T20:52:00.001-05:00

Mom Entrepreneurs: 10 Rules for Doing Business

Very informative rules for doing business from Kim Levine, a successful woman entrepreneur and Wuvit's inventor.

Eureka Moment: Kim Levine, Creator of Wuvit

2008-03-31T19:02:00.004-05:00

Great business ideas are everywhere -- if you're willing to look closely.

Kim Levine, invented Wuvit, which are little bags that comes in various patterns and provides soothing penetrating moist heat. She describes her eureka moment in her book "Mommy Millionaire: How I Turned My Kitchen Table Idea into a Million Dollars and How You Can Too" that led to her product invention as:

"My husband was feeding deer in the backyard of our sprawling tree-lined suburban neighborhood ... I saw a fifty pound bag of corn he had left standing upright next to my sewing machine and a lightbulb went off in my head. I had heard of rice in socks, surely corn would be better: It had a bigger grain that would hold on to heat longer. I put the corn in a hastily sewn pillowcase, heated it up in the microwave for a couple of minutes, then took it out and held it against my chest. I was blown away by the wave of soothing moist heat that enveloped my body."

Kobold Toys: Home-Based Mom Launching a New Online Toy Store

2008-03-16T16:21:00.002-05:00

A former colleague of mine who have left the workforce to be a full time mom to her kids has recently launched a unique specialty toy store. Ana Eiras, together with her partner Carmina Valdizan, are bringing to the Web a different kind of toy store called Kobold Toys.

Kobold Toys brings its customers not only exclusive toys designed in many countries around the world, but also great new services to make their customers’ shopping experience a unique one.

With the toy industry earning $22 billion in sales in 2007 in the United States alone, Ana is hopeful that there is room for Kobold Toys. This toy store has been operating in the last four years as a successful brick and mortar store in Panama with Carmina at the helm. With Ana on board, she will move Kobold Toys on the Web and eventually hope to start brick and mortar shops as well in the United States.

To learn about the strategies and Ana's experiences in launching Kobold Toys Online, read the article Kobold Toys: How a Brick and Mortar Toy Store is Moving to the Web

Banu Ozden, Starting a Business After Cancer Diagnosis

2008-03-10T21:59:00.001-05:00

When people are diagnosed with cancer, some panic and wallow in fear; others pray; while many prepare themselves physically and emotionally for the battle ahead. Some will start doing the things they’ve always wanted to do but never did, like travel to some exotic land.

But not Banu Ozden. When she heard that she had breast cancer, she started a business.

While many will think that starting a business when one has been diagnosed with cancer is not the best time, especially if the cancer has metastasized to the bone, but Banu knew she had to do this venture.

Banu, then 35 years old, was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer in 2001. During her treatment, she became frustrated navigating the medical billing process as she received overcharges and errors in her bills. She couldn’t make sense of the medical codes and statements, which did not accurately reflect what she needed to pay.

A former director of research of computing systems at Bell Labs, she realized that she is not the only one confused and frustrated with the medical billing process. That led to the idea for a business that will help ordinary medical consumers make sense of their bills by automating the billing process and weeding out billing errors.

Computer expert Banu, who has multiple patents under her belt, then started just such a service, Web-based SmartMedicalConsumer http://www.SmartMedicalConsumer.com.

The free online service offers its users automatic error detection, alerting them as to how many potential errors it has detected and where they can be found. It’s free to consumers but she’s planning to generate revenues by selling ads on the site and selling her proprietary software to companies.

Banu is a rare breed of a woman, and we wish her well.

Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

2008-02-29T21:46:00.002-05:00

Financial Post has an interesting article entitled "Understanding the psychology of the successful" which lists the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. According to the article, those who succeed in entrepreneurial activities share the following attributes:

often relatively comfortable with ambiguity, uncertainty and risk
strongly influence events (or self-efficacy)
have high levels of work motivation
characterized by high levels of social competence and social intelligence
has an ability to build relationships and to connect with others on a social and interpersonal level
single-minded and devoted to their unique passions
have a unique ability to see opportunities others fail to recognize
may judge ambiguous business conditions in more positive, enthusiastic, and optimistic terms
takes advantage of resources such as mentoring, counselling and other small business development assistance
has some blend of critical analytical thinking, creativity, and practical implementation of ideas

The question now is, do you have to be born with these characteristics or can you develop them through experiences and education?

Brenda Dronkers: Finding Success with Inflatable Party Spaces

2008-01-30T21:36:00.001-05:00

Sometimes the best business ideas are just around us -- if you know where to look.

Brenda Dronkers, founder of the inflatable party place Pump It Up http://www.pumpitupparty.com/index.htm, got the inspiration for her business in her church's fall festival in 1999. She was then a California mother of three who struggled to make ends meet with no college degree and no money.

In that festival, she saw her kids' excitement as they rushed to the inflatable trampoline. And the idea hit her -- since kids love inflatables and inflatable slides and trampolines are always a hit during parties, why not create a place full of inflatables where parties can be safely held?

Brenda moved fast with her business idea. With a friend giving her some capital, she leased a cheap warehouse and commissioned much-sturdier inflatables. She opened her first Pump It Up in Pleasanton, California that year.

And her business worked! She booked 90 parties in her first month. Last year, revenues of Pump It Up reached $55 million. She has franchised her idea, and now has about 160 franchises in 38 states.

Check out Brenda's successful venture at PumpItUpParty.com

ADDED:
You can read about Brenda's new venture and the lessons she learned from Pump It Up in the article "Brenda Dronkers: Moving from One Successful Business to Another"

Debbie Weiner: Interior Design for Budget Conscious Families

2008-01-27T10:30:00.000-05:00

As a small business, you can't offer everything to everyone. Hence, niche targeting has been an effective a strategy used by many small businesses to succeed. With more limited resources, you can offer better products or service if you concentrate on a smaller (but profitable) market that the giants of your industry has overlooked.

This is the strategy that interior decorator Debbie Weiner of Designing Solutions LLC in Silver Springs, Maryland has successfully used for her business. Instead of competing with other interior designers for high-end designs in the Washington DC area, Debbie's interior design firm specializes in creating real-life family-friendly designs for busy homes. Not the immaculately perfect interior designs fit only for magazines, but designs for budget-conscious families for the way they really live.

With kids, it takes a yeoman's job to make sure that everything is in order -- and Debbie understands this need. Instead of creating fancy designs, she says that her

"elegant decorating style is influenced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in that it is carefully thought out to survive whatever life throws at it, including incontinent pets, food fights between siblings, vomiting babies and extremely sloppy spouses"

Debbie's fresh approach to decorating has earned for her rave reviews from publications such as Washington Post, New York Times, Good Housekeeping, and other publications.

Ashley Qualls: 17-Year Old Success Story

2008-01-02T21:05:00.000-05:00

One of the most interesting success stories of 2007 is Ashley Qualls, only 17 years of age but has already built a million dollar website.

Her site, WhateverLife.com offers free MySpace page layouts giving her main target audience -- young girls -- the ability to change their MySpace pages using Ashley's flowers, hearts, celebrities that they can put into your own MySpace layouts.

With the term "MySpace" layouts one of the most searched term in Google, Ashley stumbled on a market with huge demand. No wonder her site attracts more than 7 million individuals and 60 million page views a month.

Ashley is able to leverage her site's gargantuan traffic into a huge moneymaking machine through online ads, such as Google Adsense and Valueclick's banners. She has dropped out of high school to focus on her growing empire and even bought a house. Not many 17 year olds can boast of these accomplishments!

Her site is not much to look at; in fact it looks cluttered and will not win any web design prizes anytime. But it is a solid proof that even small businesses can thrive on the Internet -- if you are able to speak the language of your target audience and relate to them.

Fast Company has a very interesting article on Ashley that you can read http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/118/girl-power.html

11 Simple Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurship

2007-10-20T13:43:00.000-05:00

According to the new book "Beat the System" by Robert W. MacDonald (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; October 2007) the key to becoming an entrepreneur lies in the implementation of basic concepts and, there are only 11 simple secrets to learn to make it happen.

Here are the secrets to successful entrepreneurship:

Secret 1: Build parallel interests.
Secret 2: Be an architect of the future.
Secret 3: Be decisive, multifaceted, and ethical to a fault.
Secret 4: Know the risk -- measure the reward.
Secret 5: Communication -- be a shower not a teller.
Secret 6: Power to the people.
Secret 7: Become a trust builder.
Secret 8: Sharing wealth increases wealth.
Secret 9: Be constant, consistent, and concise.
Secret 10: Treat important people like important people.
Secret 11: Do simple things -- simply do them.

Read an excerpt of the book "Beat the System"

Success Story: John Scharffenberger

2007-10-08T20:05:00.000-05:00

It is refreshing to read about the ingredients of a person's entrepreneurial success. U.S. News and World Report has a very interesting article, albeit last year, on John Scharffenberger, who founded several businesses including wines and gourmet chocolates. He co-founded Scharffen Berger chocolate with Robert Steinberg, the leading American fine-chocolate brand out there in the market today.

The article chronicles his pursuit of his passions, showing disregard for “conventional wisdom” and willingness to put in hard work and dedication. His story showcases the importance of giving customers the best quality products in attaining business success, and knowing the right routes to get these products to the consumers.

Some of the lessons he shares in the article include:

Creating a good product is only half the battle. Distribution is the hard part
Listen to your gut -- even if it means ignoring conventional wisdom
Expand gradually, ensuring quality and controlling costs along the way.
Luck and timing counts in business success

As Scharffenberger said in an interview in The Early Show,

"Failure was never an option. We've just tried to look at life and make one little aspect of life as good as it could possibly be - and that's chocolate."

You can read the long article here

Winning Strategies to Succeed in the Real Estate Business

2007-04-26T20:18:00.000-05:00

In the book "The Peebles Principles," real estate developer R. Donahue Peebles shares the winning strategies of his highly successful entrepreneurial career. Peebles is the Chairman and CEO of The Peebles Corporation, a real estate development company with portfolio that includes four-star hotels, luxury and commercial properties in Washington DC, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Miami Beach.

Here are some of the principles that he followed in his real estate career that led to his success:

Principle #1: Control the Deal
When going into any major deal, you need absolute control over some key element. If you want to win as an entrepreneur, never negotiate a deal unless you are essential to it.

Principle #2: Make your Money Going In
The best risk to take in any deal is the early risk, when you can in for the least.

Principle #3: Being Lucky Means Being Ready
Opportunities come to everyone, but the winner is the one prepared to take advantage of them when they arrive. Put yourself in the right place at the right time, and you can seize these opportunities.

Principle #4: If the Key Doesn't Work, Change the Lock
Not every deal succeeds. If you have failed with one approach, look at the elements. Don't be afraid to do a reality check on any situation, and be flexible enough to change it.

Principle #5: Be a Bulldog on Details
Never underestimate the importance of dealing with key details yourself, especially final details, and especially when it comes to influencing people whose help or support you need.

Principle #6. Listen to your First Instincts
If your gut tells you that a deal is too risky or that your partners seem untrustworthy, pay attention, step back, and reflect. If you go ahead anyway, do so with extra protection, especially in terms of documentation.

Principle #7. Respond Quickly to Attacks
If someone is attacking you, take them on immediately in order to save you more trouble later on.

Principle #8. Get Inside the Other's Heads
Understanding what the other parties want is your key to successful negotiations. Find out what they want and give it to them

Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

2007-04-22T21:06:00.000-05:00

I have received a copy of the book of Barbara Carey, a successful inventor-entrepreneur who have made millions from products such as hair tools/accessories Hairagami, Motivation Mirror, feminine protection products Dittie, and Friendship Bracelets. She is one of those success stories that we all love to hear -- turning a shoestring startup capital of only $6,000 into over $40 million.

In her book The Carey Formula: Your Ideas are Worth Millions, she gave a list of what she thinks are the characterists of successful entrepreneurs. These are:

Being Observant = always stay aware of what is going on both in the marketplace and the world around you. Barbara even keeps notebooks where she record her thoughts and what she noticed during the day that she calls her Book of Knowledge
Being Emphatic = having an understanding of what people want and need is important to an entrepreneur. Think of products that can make an average person's life easier, or more fun.
Being Knowledgeable = developing an understanding of the marketplace and the competition will go a long way toward success amd save you countless of fruitless labor. Barbara makes it a point to thoroughly scan the retail ailes for products that needs improvement or updating, from prices to packaging.
Being a Visionary = you need to have the desire to create a dream, the perseverance to follow it, and the intelligence to orchestrate it.
Being Passionately Independent = when you are possessed with a passion for creation and a desire for freedom to be your own boss, you are well on your way to becoming an entrepreneur
Being Self Confident = give your ideas your full effort from start to finish
Being Persistent = you need to have the persistence to bring your worthwhile projects to market despite all the challenges and obstacles you will face
Being Realistic = develop your instinct to know when to cut lose or when to stay on course as some challenges are simply too big, too costly and too risky to continue
Being in the Moment = learn from your mistakes and learn from them

Norine Dagliano: Success in the Resume Writing Field

2007-03-05T22:51:00.000-05:00

One of the stories we are working on right now is that of Norine Dagliano, Owner of resume writing and job search company called ekm Inspirations http://www.ekminspirations.com/.

Norine's story is interesting: she did not start her career until later in life. A full-time housewife, she suddenly became a single parent at the age of 33. She decided to look for work, but she was stumped with the whole process of writing a resume, marketing herself to prospective employers and the whole process of looking for work. The first job she got was for a program that provided training and job search assistance to women who were transitioning from welfare to work -- which set the course for her career.

Today, Norine runs her own resume writing and job search business. The secret of her success?
Unlike many of my competitors, I use a very personal and customized approach with each of my clients. I do not ask clients to complete questionnaires to provide me with information for their résumé. Instead, I conduct an initial consultation with each client (by phone or in person) and talk with them anywhere from one to two hours about their career history, the challenges they faced, the problems they solved, and what they believe to be their biggest strengths.

Watch out for our story on Norine!

Nancy Jarecki: Success with an Unconventional Beauty Product

2007-02-23T21:08:00.000-05:00

The best business ideas sometimes come from the most seemingly mundane problems -- and providing the means to address them.

Nancy Jarecki was in a hair salon in Rome when she noticed that some women after having their hair colored would linger at the door, only to leave when given small doggie bags. Asking one of the colorists, she learned that the women were waiting to get a hair coloring kit so their hair "down there" can match their new hair color.

Apparently, women everywhere get so frustrated with mismatched hair colors in their bodies. Blondes want to be true blondes and have their hair down there sport the same shade; and so do redheads and other colors!

Back in New York, Nancy worked with gynecologists and manufacturers to create hair coloring kits specifically for the hair down there. She launched her company BettyBeauty offering her main product line called "Betty" whose tagline is "Color for the Hair Down There." She offers 5 shades now -- black, blonde, auburn, brown and pink (called "Fun"). The pink shade outsells the other shades seven to one (gasp! I suppose a lot of women want to be funky on the inside).

Sounds insane?

Well apparently, not so. Nancy's BettyBeauty company is expected to reach more than $1 million in sales this year, and she's coming up with new products -- all for the hair down there. Who knew that millions can be made from pampering the curlies down there?

Nancy's success comes from providing a great product to address a silent problem of women (and men, too). However, her connections also did help a lot in terms of getting funding for her business to securing publicity (she mingles with A-list celebrities from Tom Hanks to Vogue's editor Anna Wintour, who featured the product in her magazine)

Check out Nancy's BettyBeauty website and learn from her incredible story!

Betsy Fein: Rising from Unemployment to Clutter Buster Queen

2007-02-14T21:21:00.000-05:00

One of the success stories we're working on right now is that of Betsy Fein, founder and President of ClutterBusters http://www.clutterbusters.com . ClutterBusters is a Maryland-based company that was started in 2002 and has since became one of the leading companies in the field of professional organizing.

Betsy started her professional organizing business shortly after being laid off from her job. Instead of trying to get back into the rat race, she decided to explore her options working from home and spending more time with her kids. Given the constant request of her friends for her help organizing their homes, she knew that professional organizing could be her ticket to her entrepreneurial journey.

After making some checks in her area, Betsy knew that there was a market that remains unfilled. With a capital of $5,000, she launched her business getting her first clients through advertising in the newspaper classifieds. Today, her business is expanding and she has launched her personal organizing franchise network.

Read and learn from Betsy's inspirational story .

J.B. Hunt: Maverick in the Trucking Industry

2007-02-10T21:32:00.000-05:00

Do you need college to succeed? J.B. Hunt, founder of the trucking giant J.B. Hunt Transport Services, proved that you don't need college education to succeed in entrepreneurship and even become a billionaire.

Coming from a poor background in Arkansas, Johnnie Bryan Hunt Sr. quit school in 7th grade to work for his uncle's sawmill. He worked as a truck driver for $1.50 a day wages.

But what set him apart was his ability to see opportunities around him. As he drove in his truck across the state, he noticed that farmers simply burned unwanted hulls in the rice fields. He figured correctly that with the right machine, those hulls -- which were given for free if not burned -- could be used as animal bedding for the poultry industry.

And he was right. Starting his business in 1961, the conglomerate Tysons Foods was one of his first clients. A decade later, he changed the name of the business to J.B. Hunt Transport Services. From selling hulls, he has expanded his business into trucking services with Wal-Mart as one of his biggest customers. Throughout his entrepreneurial career, he was a pioneer who saw opportunities no one had before.

J.B. Hunt died in 2004, but left an empire worth about $3.3 billion in revenue employing 28,000 people. Definitely not bad for a guy who finished only 7th grade.

You can read J.B. Hunt's story in World Trade magazine

Sharon Doherty: Success in Exporting

2007-02-07T20:44:00.000-05:00

Sharon Doherty is the president of a small company in Ohio called Vellus Products Inc. http://www.vellus.com/ that creates a line of pet grooming products from shampoos, detanglers to brushing sprays.

She realized that her products have worldwide appeal, and found a tremendous market outside of the United States. It all started in 1993 when a Taiwanese buyer sampled her products in decided to sell them in Taiwan. Since then, she has researched potential market outside of the US, enlisting the help of the U.S. Export Assistance Center.

In the January issue of the magazine World Trade , Doherty shares the lessons she learned on how to succeed in exporting:

Know whom you are dealing with - developing business relationships is critical to exporting. She even gives advice to her foreign distributors, as this helps build long-term relationships.
Do a background check on potential partners - you can be duped out there, and to avoid that you need to research and get as much information about your potential partner. The wrong choice can cost you time and money.
Learn the culture. It is important to learn the cultures of different countries, particularly how they do business and how they look at your type of products.
Enjoy the ride. Have fun through it all.

Entrepreneur Success Stories Blog is Back!

2007-02-07T20:39:00.000-05:00

After a long hiatus, this blog is back. We promise more success stories for everyone.

Success Tips from Makeup Maven Georgette Mosbacher

2006-05-12T21:17:00.000-05:00

Costco Connection magazine has a very interesting article about Georgette Mosbacher, the CEO of the high-end makeup and beauty company Borghese. The article traced Mosbacher's rise to success from a small town in the Midwest to her entrepreneurial successes before landing the top job at Borghese.

The article highlights that Mosbacher found success in the business world by "sticking to her principles." She gave a number of interesting tips for attaining success:

Have tenacity. You can't be afraid of failure because you're going to fall in some potholes. Failure is just a detour sign. Take it as a lesson and move on.
Beware of well-meaning people. People often want to tell you what you can and can't do. You have to listen to your inner voice.
Think on a global level. Entrepreneurs need to think beyond the obvious markets.
Speak up. Know who to ask, when to ask and how to ask.
Be patient with yourself. You don't have to have your entire life mapped out.
Stay motivated. Instead of asking, "Am I doing it right?" ask yourself, "Am I doing it?"

Source: Costco Connection Magazine, May 2006 issue, pages 26-27

Alison Liebeskind: Making a Mark in the Fashion Industry

2006-05-04T20:36:00.000-05:00

Like most successful entrepreneurs, Alison Leibeskind, founder and creative force of fashion upstart Alison Beth Company http://www.alisonbethco.com/ , is an innovator with passion. Even as a young child, Alison displayed strong interest in designing, creating and painting rich silk textiles. In 2004, she fulfilled her dream by launching her own line of knit accessories, producing hand-manufactured hats, shawls, scarves, and handbags using the world’s finest cashmeres, wools, yarns and knits.

Alison combines her vast knowledge of visual arts with her business acumen in knowing where the industry is going and what the market wants. As a result, she is considered a designer-to-watch and regarded as an “influential designer and young entrepreneur within a highly competitive industry” despite being relatively new in the fashion industry. Her knitwear products are described by fashion publications as “unforgettable pieces instantly taking on a life of their own.”

Read full story

Paulette Jarvey: Success in the Catalog Business

2006-05-02T09:17:00.000-05:00

I love catalogs. I love the well crafted ones - the gorgeous pictures, layouts and product backdrops. But I know that creating a catalog is not easy as simply taking a nice picture, but entails a thorough understanding of customers and how they respond to product offerings.

Paulette Jarvey, owner of scrapbooking companies Hot Off the Press and the catalog Paper Wishes, attributes two things to the success of her catalogs: "knowing her customer base very well and providing them with top quality color coordinated products." Her major challenge initially was "managing and learning the ropes" so she eventually partnered with more experienced crafts cataloger Herrschners to handle fulfillment for her as well as the books' creative and buying.

In an interview with the Catalog Success magazine, she points the following reasons for her success:

Spot trends early - Jarvey was the first to bring scrapbooking to retail, and has capitalized on the Web with her Paper Wishes Weekly Webisodes
Share credit - she has a strong team to back her up
Product variety - have new and exciting products all the time

She has the following advice to new catalogers:

Know your customer and serve them well
Grow according to your core competencies, but don't be limited to them
Stop every now and then to look at your business from a strategic perspective

Read full story at Catalog Success magazine (May 2006 issue, page 110)

How to Get Rich on eBay

2006-04-28T20:36:00.000-05:00

Buying from garage sales and selling on eBay is fun, and good getting a few dollars here and there from ebay. Sometimes, you luck out on an item and hit big, but many times it will just be so-so (assuming you can even get the price you paid for it). In terms of fun factor, it is great. But from a business stand-point, it is not. Not sustainable.

If you want to earn serious money from eBay and get rich from ebay, you need to have a well-thought out business model. Selling on ebay is getting tougher -- just look at the number of auctions that closes without a bid. Go to the boards on ebay and you will hear even oldtimers complaining about how stiffer competition plus higher fees make it so much harder to sell on ebay.

One success model of ebay is the couple Jay and Marie Senese (username jayandmarie) of the 1-cent CD fame. They have the highest positive feedback number of all sellers on eBay. Their business model is to buy very low cost CDs in bulk (those that CD stores sell in their discount bins) and offer them on ebay at a starting price of 1 cent Their success is based on the fact that they stumbled on a sustainable business model with products that people really want. The couple sold their business for $5 million -- where else, but on eBay.

Jenny Lefcourt: One of the Most Successful Woman Online Entrepreneur

2006-03-24T21:46:00.000-05:00

We have a new success story posted, this time Jenny Lefcourt. She is one of the founders of the highly successful WeddingChannel.com, and now takes care of the business development needs of a new company Bella Pictures. Jenny is young, smart, wildly successful, and yes lucky. It is always refreshing to read stories of those who have really made it, and how they did it.

Read Jenny's story and be inspired.