Dream BIG, Do BIG: Perfection Shmerfection – Turning a Dream into Reality Means Letting Go of Perfection
The Business: Online PR Media
The BIG Dream: Create a press release distribution site
Turning a background in journalism and PR into an online press release distribution company that allows her to work from home while raising her now 8-year-old triplets. That dream became Online PR Media, an online press release distribution company that allows customers to create multimedia, interactive press releases.
“We saw a need in the market [because] we were having to distribute our client’s press releases on several different networks just to get the features that we wanted,” says Geissinger who launched Online PR Media in 2009 with her business partner Christine O’Kelly.
Online PR Media is an extension of their other company. SEO Content Solutions that helps clients get found online through search engine optimization and content publishing services.
The BIG Doing: Borrowing against future success to enhance platform
Borrowing against future success to enhance their online press release distribution platform was a big step forward. The investment paid the programming costs to add new features their customers were asking for, including an interactive reporting tool.
Geissinger admits borrowing money to invest in your business a nerve-wracking experience, but well worth it to move the business forward. “It’s hard when you know what you want and can envision what it will look like, but you have to rely on (and pay) someone else to make it happen!”
The BIG Success: Reaching a 60,000-user milestone in 2 years
The result is now Online PR Media is quickly closing in on a key milestone: 60,000 users in the 2 short years Online PR Media has been in business, a remarkable accomplishment given the stiff competition in the marketplace.
Geissinger attributes their success to the strength of their editorial staff who are trained in search engine optimization and work with Online PR Media customers to ensure their news announcements are written for search engines and editors.
“Our background in SEO and online marketing in general really sets us apart in the PR field. Many of our competitors have a background in traditional public relations,” says Geissinger who sees the Internet and self-publishing really changing the playing field for press release distribution.
The BIG Lesson: “Let go of perfection and get it out there!”
Let go of perfection because you could spend forever trying to get something ‘ready’ for public consumption. Something Geissinger admits is a personal weakness for her, one shared by many entrepreneurs.
“It’s important to realize that nothing happens overnight,” says Geissinger who often found herself at the mercy of their programming team, waiting for updates or new enhancements.
“Don’t be afraid to put something out there, even if you don’t think it’s perfect yet. Do your best, test it as much as possible, and then let it go! Trust me, the public will let you know if you missed anything.”
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Dream BIG, Do BIG: Proof that Solving Real Problems is the Secret to a Booming Business
Want to know the secret to success? It’s not all the glamour and glitz of coming up with the latest sexy new idea or even the luck of the draw in discovering the latest craze. It’s solving real problems.
Just ask husband and wife entrepreneurs, Peter and Emma Fuerbringer, who proved that by simply listening to what the marketplace wants and delivering exactly that, you can take an ordinary business and turn it into an extraordinary success.
The Business: VonKids
The BIG Dream: Combine childcare with preschool education
The ‘BIG Dream’ didn’t start as a big dream at all. Instead Emma created the very first VonKids program to help out friends who were in dire need of reliable childcare.
Like all good entrepreneurial stories, one thing lead to another and before they knew it VonKids was operating 27 dayhomes in Calgary with additional 4 programs falling under their endorsed program.
The BIG Doing: Investing in curriculum development
Both former teachers themselves, Peter and Emma quickly realized the success of the VonKids program relied on developing an early education curriculum for their dayhome directors to follow.
VonKids enlisted the help of Margaret Smith and Michelle Beardsley, both leaders in the early education field, to create the VonKids curriculum from the ground up. Both were key in influencing their full day preschool approach for their older child programs.
The BIG Success: $1.5 million in revenue and an overflowing waitlist
Success in a ‘vanilla’ industry like childcare isn’t easy when around every corner there’s a new daycare or dayhome opening up. The key is not in the business model itself, but rather the delivery of an innovative program that fits exactly what people want.
VonKids listened to what parents wanted in terms of childcare: quality childcare in a warm home environment with an emphasis on learning and growth. The result was the VonKids program that takes the best of the daycare and early childhood education and combines them.
The BIG Advice: “Don’t try to cheat and take shortcuts”
“The reality of success is it’s messy and painful. You have to be willing to push forward with your idea when it becoming challenging and boring,” says Fuerbringer who admits poopy diapers and runny noses isn’t the sexiest industry. “You have to be willing to do the work. So often people try to take shortcuts.”
“Often people think big success needs to be something entirely new and innovative, but people are far too busy to figure out new stuff. Instead of trying to come up with something new, we took what was already being done and tweaked it.”
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