A Savvy Start:

With a clear, fresh April slate ahead of us, let’s get organized!

If you were to walk into my apartment at the moment, you would see the following: coffee mugs still in the sink, piles of random papers and business cards, and too many magazines, receipts, mountains of clothing and random mismatched shoes that have found hiding places all over. It’s time to clean up and get organized. If we can live in a cleaner environment, then we can work in a cleaner environment–and think in a clutter-free space.

On a cool note, I was actually inspired to blog about this by Tamara Monosoff’s article, “Avoid Organizational Nightmares.” Her advice to get organized emphasized a few key things:

1. Protecting your electronic data. I use a Blackberry and have gotten fouled up on several occasions by not backing up my data. This weekend during my cleanup rampage, I’m going to properly install the Blackberry software on my computer and properly back up the data.

I’ve been in technical crazy land lately, and none of my equipment is working. My computer got a virus and my system was wiped–deleting all of my contacts. So now I have a computer that doesn’t even have Microsoft Office on it; I’ve been using WordPad, which is just unacceptable. So I’m trying to figure out a way to get Office on my computer but avoid the $500 expense. I’ll let you know if I come up with anything clever.

2. Organize your hard copies and your contacts. I already have a simple binder system for my Intern Queen Inc. paperwork, but I’m going to update these binders and make sure all of the corporate information is correct and up to date (I have a feeling it isn’t). As soon as I get my Microsoft Outlook up and running, I can re-enter my contact information. That might take a few decades. I refuse to type contacts in via my Blackverry–my fingers would fall off.

3. Keep one calendar. I am constantly struggling with different ways to organize my schedule. I love cute little planners, big calendar books and even my ancient wall-hanging Disney Princess calendar. But which calendar is the most effective way to keep up with a busy schedule and assure that you don’t double book yourself?

Since my day job and my Intern Queen job are separate, I don’t keep a calendar on any work computers. Since I don’t have Outlook yet on my home laptop, I don’t keep a calendar on that. I try to keep a calendar on my Blackberry, but it annoys me to type things like that into my phone…. I think I might go back to a simple “office supply-style” schedule book. I’m going to get a new one this weekend and see how that works. I’d rather write in my activities until I get my Outlook calendar set up.

So let’s all go have a great weekend and stay very organized. And remember the Awsome in April goals. I’ll report back on Monday and let you know how the Intern Queen does this weekend.

Intern Queen Favorites:

I Love Sushi on Melrose Ave. in L.A. I dined here last night with one of my best friends. We had a great time and enjoyed tasty and inexpensive sushi. I reccomend the Sunkissed roll and, if you are a fan of seaweed, try the Melrose roll. I’m a huge sushi eater and like to go to the same three sushi places over and over again.

Bloomingdale’s swimsuits. Usually Nordstrom is the only department store for me, but I happened to browse the swimsuit selection at Bloomingdale’s this week, and I have to say: very nice. I love these suits. They are a little on the pricey side, but a new swimsuit for summer is a must. My birthday party is a luau theme so I’m planning on scooping one up this week.

April is my favorite month because it’s my birthday month. With every birthday comes a reminder that time is passing by. To prevent the “birthday blues,” I’m going to establish some clear entrepreneurial goals for myself and my company for the month of April, and I encourage readers to do the same. The first week of the month is a fresh start. And by setting goals and sticking to them, we can achieve a sense of accomplishment for our (or my) special month.

Lauren’s Goals to be Awesome in April:

Goal 1: Set at least three Intern Queen-related meetings per week (lunches, breakfasts or coffees) with anyone who can help expand/grow or shed light on my business.

Goal 2: Spend at least four hours each weekend doing work-related activities. Ideally, I will go to any place with wireless internet where I can sit and not be bothered for at least 2-3 consecutive hours. I call these brainstorming sessions where I do everything from reach out to old contacts to updating my client database and thinking about ways to expand the brand and business.

Goal 3: Have a completed MBA-style business plan completed by April 30.

So this is where I am right now with my goals. Once a week I’ll check in to let you all know how I’m doing and if I’m sticking to them. This month is filled with some traveling and social events (and my birthday, of course), but I will stick to these goals.

Adding a New Section to My Blog

Since I’m out and about many days out of the week, I decided to add a section to my blog called Intern Queen Favorites. I’m just going to list two or three things, places or items that I think are great. I know I gave a huge shout to McDonald’s iced coffee yesterday, and people seemed to enjoy that. It will give us entrepreneurs a break for a second to enjoy things other than work.

Intern Queen Favorites:

Canter’s Deli: This has always been one of my favorite Los Angeles spots, and Canter’s has a great chicken noodle soup (I’m a huge chicken noodle soup fan). I had breakfast here this morning, and it was a wonderful way to start the day. Note: I’m probably blogging so early this morning because I’m still giddy from the morning coffee.

Los Angeles Dodgers: The season has officially started and the Dodgers won last night. The game was amazing. Go check one out.

My readers must be overwhelmed by the recent spate of posts. Get excited, kids, the Intern Queen is getting her kicks back a little bit. I must take a minute to ask everyone, have you tried McDonalds’ new iced coffee? It gets me going every morning on the way to work.

I know I mentioned a potential investor for Intern Queen some time ago and I reported that the connection fell through. The investor potentially wanted to provide funding, but the company also wanted me to put up all the money for the lawyer and paperwork. Without any knowledge or background information on the company, I found the risk too high. The investor also wanted a significant amount of ownership in the company. I did speak to a lawyer about this and was advised that if the company/investor wouldn’t supply me with background information, it most likely was not a good idea. Sometimes I don’t understand why I am presented with so many fake opportunities. It’s ridiculous. I hate speaking about things when they don’t happen–it makes me sound like I don’t have my act together. As my old boss would say, “Grrrrrrrrr.”

Another topic I’d like to address with readers is my book deal situation. I’ve shopped my book around town a few times and not had much luck. This is my nonfiction book on how to get an internship. I was offered a book deal from a small, independent book publisher. The problem I have with the contract is that the publisher wants me to hire my own publicist. With a contract that provides no advance, I don’t see that being a smart decision. Does anyone else have thoughts on this ?

I continue to increase my relationships with internship coordinators daily, which is a major plus, and I’m working on getting connected to the fraternity/sorority demographic in town. I think many of them would benefit from my internship services.

Have a wonderful Tuesday and don’t forget to try the McDonald’s iced coffee.

Lauren

Most people hate Mondays. It means the evil work week is about to begin. This is not the case for me nor for most entrepreneurs. For me, Monday is a fresh start. Monday is a day of productivity. The only problem with Mondays is, what do you do when your Mondays are not productive ? What happens when you have nothing to show for your Monday ?

I felt a little bit down on my Monday this morning. I didn’t get up early to work on anything in particular… In fact, the only thing I got up early for was to catch up on Rock of Love episodes. Yes, I’m addicted to that show on VH1. Luckily, though I felt a tinge of the Monday morning blues this morning walking into work, I was able to stop it by going to Starbucks on my lunch break and being super-proactive. I got one of my clients a few interviews for potential summer internships this morning and made a great connection with an HR director. My focus right now is getting my clients interns and internships for the summer, and trying to grow the business in that way.

Was my weekend productive? Well, let’s say it was better than it has been. It was my friend’s birthday on Saturday night, and I spent Sunday in a local bookstore. I saw the movie 21, which I really liked and recommend.

Not much else to report on this Monday…signing off…

I have to take a minute to thank all of my loyal readers who were so understanding of my last blog. I’m usually a stickler for positivity, but sometimes the great unknown can really get the best of you. So I appologize for the negativity but, in some ways, it’s a good reality check for us all.

The good news is that I’m in a much better mindset. I’ve learned to let go a little bit and not take everything in the corporate world so seriously. I was up until 4 a.m. last night getting my clients’ resumes and information out to great companies. I’m currently working with a handful of clients to find them summer internships. This week was one of the most productive I’ve had. I went to a great cafe in the valley this week and spent a good four hours brainstorming and researching information on my company and similar companies.

I just started watching Melrose Place (I have the first season on DVD), so my routine has been to go home and work, and watch those episodes at the same time. Sometimes if I don’t have a distraction on in the background I get too sleepy late at night.

I’m also working on fine-tuning my business plan for potential investors. What I thought would happen with the last investors did happen… they disappeared. Oh! The life of an entrepreneur!

This weekend I’m taking time on Saturday to make sure I get in a good three hours of work. I have a busy social schedule this weekend with a friend’s birthday party and plans to travel to Laguna Beach on Sunday, but I’m not going to let that get in the way of getting work done. Productivity is key, and it makes me feel so much better when I get things done. It’s amazing how much stress was taken off my shoulders when I just sat down and worked for a while.

To be continued (On a more regular basis - I promise).

xo
lauren

Why have I not posted in a while ? It’s simple; I still have a full-time job, a full-time social life, the full-time head of a mid-twentysomething. Is it even possible to be a true “entrepreneur” when you are so wrapped up in everything else that is going on in your life ?

Take this week. for example. I have a new full-time job, I’m hosting my two best friends’ “Joint Bachelorette Party” in New York City this weekend, I have dirty clothes all over my apartment, a charity event on Thursday night and the need to work out at least twice a week. When do I have time to be an entrepreneur ?

I know that I’m complaining. That is ironic because I completely choose to be “The Intern Queen” and I completely choose to be a “young entrepreneur.” The thought of ditching my company is like breaking up with a guy you love. I couldn’t do it. But when I feel myself only putting half an effort in, it is so frustrating. All of my friends are constantly telling me that I need to really “do something” with my company. What they don’t understand is that it is much easier said than done. They constantly volunteer themselves for roles they can play in my company, but they never follow through. It’s hard enough for me to follow through. Every time I get close to a deal or an investor, something falls through the cracks.

I wish this were a post filled with love and joy and bubbles, but this blog is about honesty–and being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. You have really high standards, and you have to attempt to meet those standards.

On a positive note, I’m in this month’s issue of Justine magazine, so check it out on newstands.

Intern Queen Consulting

I’m currently working with a few clients and trying to get them summer internships. The goal is to get the word out about my company.

I thought a smart way to do that would be to speak at colleges and get the students’ attention. I’m also speaking with a Los Angeles organization called HOLA (Heart of Los Angeles) to build a mentor program and help students for free. I went online and built a chart with contact information for all of the schools. I really just googled “California colleges.”

I’ve heard back from one school and I hope to hear back from a few more by the end of the week. I recently did an interview for a big Los Angeles paper and it is holding the story until I get more local speaking gigs. I hope that will add to the attendence at my speaking gigs.

My motivation has actually been very high lately, which is great. I added some exercising into my schedule, and I really think its making a difference: It is giving me an outlet for my stress.

I’m sure you thought I had dropped off the planet and given up all hope of succeeding in my business. And let me tell you, I came close. But I am back and business is brewing. I came back from the holidays with a fresh outlook, a fresh slate of calls to make and a fresh slate of goals for my company.

I’m currently speaking with some investors about working with my company. I will know more about this at the end of the month. Meanwhile, I’m working with clients trying to get them summer internships. As of January 1, summer internship season has started. I’m trying to get the word out about my consulting business and also trying to get out to different schools and be a guest speaker. Rumor has it that I will be featured in the new issue of Justine magazine, so I’m trying to get my new website up and running before then.

I traveled to London over the holidays and just got back from a weekend in Palm Springs. I’ve been getting a lot of work done at night–lots of e-mails going out and lots of business getting done. I’ll be back to blogging regularly as of today, so I will keep you posted about my day-to-day efforts. I got a great response to my last posting about mentors, and I’m glad so many of you have reached out.

I hope all of my readers had a great holiday. Look out: The Intern Queen is back and ready for action.

xx Lauren

As a young entrepreneur, I’m constantly seeking the support of mentors. Theses mentors don’t need to be women and they don’t need to be extremely successful; they just need to take the time to provide feedback and advice. I consider anyone who takes the time to sit down or have a phone conversation about my projects a mentor.

WomenEntrepreneur.com has provided me with such a great group of mentors. The other woman bloggers on this site have been so helpful in providing me with advice and guiding me in many aspects of my business. Nina Kaufman is the expert in all things law-related, and I was lucky enough to meet Rachel Herrscher (Press Pass blog) at the Stevie Awards. I did have an interesting sit-down meeting with Lena Katz (The Creative Capitalist blog) in Los Angeles. Anyone who knows Lena or reads her blog knows how busy she is. The fact that she was willing to sit down with me spoke for itself.

Lena provided me with some great feedback about my site. Her main concern was my packaging. Her point was that I’m packaging myself as a “professional intern,” which doesn’t say much about where those internships have taken me. She said I need to state clearly that I can help students not only obtain internships but also help turn those internships into successful job opportunities.

Lena also gave me a good lecture on presenting myself as “Lauren Berger who has a company called Intern Queen” rather than presenting myself to companies as “The Intern Queen.” She spoke of the importance of professionalism and the need to present myself in a professional rather than student-like manner.

She also referenced the need to “go with what is working for you.” She said that if one idea isn’t working or needs to be tailored for a specific client or company–fix it. Or put it aside and go with another. These ideas and pointers might sound like common sense, but when you are running a business from one set of glasses it can be hard to take them off. It’s great to have a fresh perspective on things.

Since my online networking opportunities have been so beneficial I decided to reach out to the Women Presidents’ Organization. It has a chapter in Los Angeles and, although I’m not in the $2 million range at the moment, I thought there could be some great mentorship opportunities. I also contacted a great amount of business owners whom I read about in a recent issue of Entrepreneur magazine. I reached out about mentorship opportunities and told them I admire what they’ve done. I actually got a decent amount of responses and people willing to meet with me or have phone conversations.

So for all of you aspiring entrepreneurs–get some mentors. They help.

I started my day today with yoga at Liberation Yoga in Los Angeles. I highly recommend this form of exercise and,  actually, this exact location to start your day. You stretch and the instructor speaks to you about balance and control. Doing the different exercises provides an outlet to focus and really concentrate on what you’d like to achieve out of your day.

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. I was in Florida with my family and we had so many friends and relatives around all weekend. It was such a nice break to kick back and spend some time with the family. Of course, I spent the weekend getting grilled about “The Intern Queen” from my family–but that’s what they are for… right ? I was answering questions all weekend, but the main question was “OK, you won an award… where is the money? We want to see more money.” My answer was “The money is coming–it takes time to build things. I have another job. Hang tight.” This answer was, of course, completely unacceptable to my parents. They said that it’s now or never and that I needed to get on it 100 percent more. So here I am… blogging away about how I’m going to put 100 percent more in. I started this morning… and I’m continuing today.

Remember that red toy with the touchpad displaying letters ? Every time you hit a letter, the machine would pronounce the letter. It was called a Speak & Spell. Anyhow, I was hoping that to get new customers and clients I could speak & sell. Today I contacted three colleges in the Los Angeles area about speaking opportunities in the classroom. I need to get to my niche audience, and that is where they reside. Right in the classroom.

I am looking for opportunities to speak in media and communications classes because that is where most of my personal internship experience lies. I can explain to them how internships pay off, provide internship tips, cover letter and resume tips, and more. I think that listening to another individual close to their age might help to motivate students. I’m also extremely interested in speaking at conferences dealing with entrepreneurship, media, technology and business. I think that having a young speaker would bring in a new perspective and a new audience.

In other Intern Queen news, I’m thinking about going “corporate” with my website. Not only changing the look of my site to make it look more like a company and less like “the life of Lauren Berger” but actually using a corporation out of Northern California to control the site.

If you’ve been a loyal reader of my blog, you would remember my past of bouncing around from web guru to web guru via Craigslist or friendly reccomendations. This path has not been a smooth one. I am constantly encountering problems with price changes, hourly changes and schedules that do not come together. How did I come across this company ? My father uses it for his website in Florida. The company is sending me samples of its work and some rates. I spoke with company representatives today and made sure they are familiar with my content management system, Expression Engine. I informed them that in the past it was taking web designers 40 minutes to upload a single photo. I need a more efficient system or someone very familiar with the program.

I’m looking for a redesign and already have an idea of what I’m looking for. As usual I am having the company visit my idol’s site, www.rachaelray.com. The web company is sending me some paperwork and further ideas and information later today. If I could find an efficient web company to support me? To bring my site to life? To constantly update and give people a reason to come back and back again? That would be amazing!

I mentioned in an earlier post that I’ve been approached by an “independent publishing company” to publish and distribute my “how to” book on internships. Since Day One of my quest to build this company, I’ve wanted a book. A book is a chance to pass on my internship knowledge to a mass audience and also a great way to establish more credibility as an “expert.” An independent publishing company would provide distribution, manufacturing, a book tour and more. What would it not provide ? Money. Upfront money. So the question is, do you go with the large publishing company that gives you a large check upfront and then little to no royalities? Or do you go with the indie that gives you no money and a large percentage of the royalties?

As you might notice from my blog headline, I did win the award for Best Young Entreprenuer at the 2007 Stevie Awards. I had a wonderful trip to Vegas on Sunday and Monday and now have a wonderful award to display! The awards ceremony was a great experience for me, and one of the best parts was the opportunity to meet fellow blogger Rachel H. Rachel is so fascinating and has so many wonderful stories to share. I took most of Vegas to play, but she was working it like the “Todays Mama” that she is! She was hopping around from meeting to meeting and was so inspiring to speak with. Her company has grown to be so successful and is expanding all over the place. I actually already got some press for the Stevies–the Los Angeles Daily News did a brief phone interview with me today–so I’m very excited about that.

Winning this award however, does put the pressure on to make this business a successful one! Luckily, my work hours are shortened a tiny bit this month, so I am going to have some extra time in the morning. I’m going to take the evening to create a special work plan that I hope I’ll be a bit more pumped to follow.

I got contacted today by an “independent publisher” about publishing my book. Does anyone know the major difference between a regular publisher and an independent publisher ? Do you think that is something I should seriously look into? I like the idea of having a nonfiction book about internships because it will help add to my credibility as the “Intern Expert.” Thoughts ?

I know that you all must have missed me … and I appologize for not giving you my necessary bloggin last week. … But I’m back, so let’s play catch up! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Let’s talk about the fun weekend stuff before we dive into business. Friday night I had tacos with some friends and over the weekend I saw Dan in Real Life, which was excellent. I hope you all saw Dane Cook and how great he was in this part! It was nice to see him take on a different type of character. I left the theater with a huge smile on my face. Saturday was cleaning day for my messy apartment and then a bunch of friends and I went out on the Hollywood scene that evening. On Sunday I hosted the first University of Central Florida (my college) Los Angeles alumni event. I’m the president of the club, so it was our first event and it was great!

Today.

In efforts to not get down on myself for no movement … it was back to the old breakfast joint (Mani’s bakery in Los Angeles) to get my motivation back. I was supposed to have a breakfast meeting about growth possibilities for the Intern Queen webseries that used to consume my blogging but was canceled at the last minute. Just to catch you all up on what is going on in the Intern Queen’s life … this is what I’ve been working on …

1. I did get a chance to go to Borders on Monday evening and do a little mind workout. I grabbed a bunch of different business and teen magazines and started doing more brainstorming. The majority of my notes consists of different organizations I want to contact, upcoming conferences, press outlets to contact, fellow entrepreneurs to reach out to, people I need to e-mail, and a few nonprofit sites for young people to check out. Once I get through all of these websites, I’ll let you know whether I recommend any of them.

2. I’m trying to read the following publications daily (well, the ones that are daily) starting today. The publications are: WWD, LIMA, HFM and Brandweek.

3. I have a full list of top 500 companies to contact for internship consulting. I tried calling the main line to ask for the internship coordinator contact info but, since they are such large companies, I’m being directed to the websites. This is going to take forever. Ugh. I need a virtual assistant.

4. I’m working on setting up a fashion show for Dec. 4 at a club in Hollywood. I only have seven T-shirts and would like to at least have ten tops in the show. I’m looking through old design sheets to see which shirts I’d like to make.

5. As far as follow-up, I’m not having the best luck in the world. Here is what’s happening:

Book

I got one ambiguous letter from a publishing company that stated it is interested in working with me but didn’t really state in what capacity. So that is a good thing. I have left word for a few people several times and still not heard back. Another company said that I need to wait six weeks for a response …

Press

I have an interview today at 1 p.m. for a new college magazine that some girls from the University of Florida are starting. My interview with Justine magazine is supposed to run in the Feb/March issue. I got a “pass” from a women’s magazine today, but I e-mailed back asking whether I could submit a sample of the article I was pitching. I got a “pass” from a Florida Magazine that wasn’t interested because I don’t live in Florida anymore. I left word for a couple of follow-up pitches.

Web Series

I just read over the five episodes I have completed and I want to look for a venue that is interested in producing them and providing financial backing and location (which shouldn’t be too much money).

In other news, I have a whole folder at work with me today of things I need to get done and look through. I’ve eaten sushi nightly for the past four days, which can’t be good. I have a meeting tonight with a great publicity friend who works for a major clothing line. I’m excited to hear her advice. I’m going to Vegas for the Stevie Awards on Sunday, and still don’t have a dress or cute business suit.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, and let’s all try to not get stuck in the mid-week blues.

This weekend was “blah” in terms of the Intern Queen. In terms of my social life, it was one of the best weekends ever. It was a very close friend’s birthday so I hosted a whole weekend full of fun surprises, nice dinners, spa treatments, etc. We had a blast but there was really no time for work. I tried to do a Barnes and Noble run late last night in The Valley. Did you know that a world exists in which Barnes & Noble has no cafe? What?! Were these people serious? Part of my “Barnes & Noble” experience means grabbing everything I’m interested in at that moment (books, magazines, etc) and taking them to a table in a cafe and taking notes over an iced coffee.

Needless to say, my Barnes & Noble experience was cut short for this reason and I lost my sense of urgency for the weekend.

This morning, I decided to definitely attend the Stevie Awards Final Ceremony in Vegas. It’s coming up in two weeks and this is the first awards show I’m attending on behalf of my company. I’m a little nervous but very excited. And I am suddenly faced with a bevy of questions!

What do I wear?

Is anyone else going to this show?

When people take business trips for these purposes do they try to set meetings as well?

Are there certain people I should be contacting?

In other news, I did get an email back from one of the publishing companies I’m speaking with today saying to hold tight while they get some things together. It actually sounds semi-positive so I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Didn’t do any follow-up calls today, but I’ll get back on the phone call wagon tomorrow. Fun Fun! Need to get focused on internship consulting and the clothing line. Nothing new to report.

Let’s have a BOOM week. (By BOOM, I mean as productive as possible!)

Last week I did such a great job avoiding the “mid week” and this week was the exact opposite. I’ve been so tired and blah this week. It’s so frustrating! This morning I woke up feeling ill and stayed home from work for the morning half of the day. It was nice to get a few extra hours of sleep in but it sucks to not feel well. I’ve just been in one of those moods where you know you have things to do but it’s just so hard to sit down and actually do them. I think part of it has to do with my apartment being a complete clutter and mess. I just look at it every day and think about cleaning up but I never actually do. I started to clean up for a good 45 minutes today and it already made me feel a little better.

I did do more of my follow-up calls on the way into the office. Here’s the scoreboard:

1. Potential clothing retailer - Left word.

2. Potential investor/media company - Left word for the second time.

3. Potential book publisher - Spoke to them but they still haven’t shown the right person my materials. Will follow up with them for next week.

I’m trying to get a date set for the INTERNAL ETHIKS fashion show. I’m thinking of doing a “Sexy Winter” theme. I thought girls wearing UGG boots with my t-shirts and little boy shorts with scarves and hats would be sexy and cute. The guys could wear thermals underneath or pair them with a blazer.  Thoughts?  Opinions?

My readers must be sick of the phrase follow up because honestly, I’m sick of blogging about it. But let’s face it — to be solid entrepreneurs, we must consistently follow-up. I try to recognize the boundaries between being persistent and being annoying. My rule of thumb is to give the person two days to look over materials and then put in a friendly email or phone call reminding the person or company of your existence.

Today on my 40 minute traffic-filled drive to work, I had my list of follow-up phone calls in hand. I actually got through about 10 of them. Most of the companies are in New York so by the time I took my lunch break it was too late to get them on the phone.

My 10 phone calls were to the folllowing:

1. Business Magazine - wrong number - need to get the correct one

2. Florida Magazine - they don’t want to work with me because I no longer live in Florida. The editor said he liked my website so that is always a positive. My website tracker confirmed that he did visit the site. That is a good way to turn a negative into a positive.

3. Student Organization - Left word.

4. Teen Magazine/Website - Left word.

5. Another Teen Magazine - Left word.

6. Publishing Company - Left word.

7. Possible Literary Agent - I spoke with her assistant who tried to nicely tell me that the agent had reviewed my work and was not interested in working with me. I told her I appreciated her time and thanked her. Yes, I know I’ve said that I’m trying to represent myself but sometimes I do try to contact random agents that I feel would do a solid job in representing me.

8. Potential Retailer for Clothing - Left word.

9. Another potential retailer for clothing - Spoke to buyer and I emailed over my materials (website, product sheets). I’m not sending samples just yet. I think you either like what the shirts say or you don’t…

10. Another potential retailer for clothing - Left word.

Tomorrow, I have four more calls to make from my list and then I’ll add on another potential investor and two more publishing companies to follow-up with. Whew!

Website Update
Last night I had an in-depth chat with my web designer. We are trying to restructure the site to make it more like a company (which I know I’ve previously mentioned). We are trying to use a more consistent design and get it updated more frequently. We came up with some nice ideas and the changes should be ready for me to approve next Thursday.

Clothing Line
Still playing phone tag with fashion people about putting together a show for beginning of December. Grrrrr!

If you are wondering whether or not I got up early this morning to send emails? Nope! But I did come in contact with the magic of the DOLLAR STORE last night. I didn’t realize that I could get so much stuff for so cheap. They have food and condiments and all sorts of things that other stores would completely up charge you for. I also had to stop at KINKOS last night (a favorite pastime of mine) and I thumbed through a book called 101 WAYS TO LIVE A CLUTTER-FREE LIFE (yes, in addition to being the Intern Queen, I am also a clutter queen). One of the first chapters said to carry a clipboard because it gives you a sense of authority to get things done. So guess what Lauren bought today?

Clipboard… check.
The road to a clutter-free life… in progress.

Well - maybe my title is a bit of a blogger’s bluff, but I can try to make it fun. If I logged the amount of calls I have made and compared them to the amount of calls that have been returned, that would just be FUN-NY!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Lets do a quick recap of the Intern Queen’s weekend. I would love to say that I was an excellent little entrepreneur, but I think my productive week gave me an excuse to have a not-so-productive weekend. Just so we are all clear, that is not ok. It is not ok that I did not get work done this weekend. That just takes me one step further away from my goals. From now on, I need to actually schedule a meeting with myself over the weekend. When friends ask what I have planned I’m going to verbally respond with, “I have a meeting on so-and-so day for Intern Queen.”

Weekend Recommendations From the Intern Queen
1. Old Town’s Haunted House in Pasadena, California (only about $13 admission and very scary!)

2. Lars and the Real Girl (This movie as absolutely fantastic and the cast was magnificent!)

3. Nordstrom’s is always reccomended by the Intern Queen. Always. Check out their Fall Attire!

As I babble on about my weekend of no business, let’s move into a week of pure business. Unfortunately, I’ve been having trouble getting up the past two mornings to do my “Morning Business” that I enjoy. I have not been staying out until late (if that’s what you were thinking). I’ve just been enjoying my sleep all too much! Luckily, I’ve still managed to get some work done here and there. I did pitch (via e-mail) my company to another big investor and I have more interest in my book proposal. Today I made a list of phone follow-ups that I will do in the morning. This list includes a variety of publishers, press, and potential investors.

Website
I often compare my goals to what Rachael Ray has achieved. She has become the “face” of cooking. All of the divisions of her company help support her as the face of cooking. Rachel recently redesigned her website and I’d like to reorganize mine as well. As I mentioned in previous weeks, I have a talented web coordinator working with me to better organize and design my site. At the moment it’s a bit cluttered and a bit too personal. I need to give it a polish and tuck some features away to give it a more professional feel. I have a conference call scheduled with my webmaster tonight and made a list of notes and changes to discuss with him.

Clothing Line
I did make the call to the flea market where I want to sell my shirts. They told me I needed to call two weeks before I plan on selling. I marked this on my calendar for a few weeks.  I’m aiming for early in December. I’m also trying to work with a fashion show coordinator on planning another event for a club in Hollywood.

Consulting
I’m continuing to build a list of internship coordinators to contact about my consulting services. I have to start somewhere. If I could just show one small company how to save them time and effort by having me arrange their interns - I think the buzz would start. I haven’t heard back from any of the speaking associations I’ve pitched, but I noted two more that I’d like to try and attend/participate in on the Collegebound Magazine website. So now I have my list ready for tomorrow… I’m going to put coffee in the coffee-maker tonight in hopes to wake me up early in the morning.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Wednesday “Hump-day” yesterday. As usual, Wednesday is the day that entrepreneurs lose their motivation and people tend to get lazy for the mid-week. Luckily, this week I was able to survive the evil hump-day and I’m still going strong!

On a quick pop-culture note: I got a chance to check out A Mighty Heart starring Angelina Jolie last night and it was amazing. The editing was great - the pace was quick so the movie didn’t drag.  Angelina proved her acting skills in some really powerful scenes! I really recommend taking mid-week nights off from going out to events or socializing. It helps reboot for the rest of the week and the weekend to come.

So today was another day of constantly trying to follow-up with the different companies I’ve been contacting over the week. I’ve been playing email tag with one entertainment company and I’m still waiting for them to put me in touch with the right person. Luckily, I’ve stayed on top of it - so we haven’t lost the connection. This morning I got an editor on the phone from a big women’s magazine and pitched them a regular feature for their online edition. She told me she would try to find the best person for me to speak with and get back to me. I still haven’t heard back from a number of the business, Florida, and womens/teen press I pitched at the beginning of the week. I will do follow-up phone calls with them tomorrow.

In the world of book publishing I did get to speak with a few publishers from my target list today. If you remember, I made the target list of publishers that were in the “educational” market and published books similar to mine. I also noticed that a couple of the companies even made their way to www.internqueen.com so that’s always a good sign. I did get a few email addresses of certain publishers/editors so I will send them emails later this evening or first thing tomorrow AM.

The only movement on the clothing line today was that I contacted a buyer at a well-known department store about doing an exclusive deal with them. But as I’ve learned in the past, this will be a long game of phone tag until I track down the person I really should be speaking with at the company. I’m also speaking to a Los Angeles night club representative about doing a fashion show for an upcoming event. I still need to contact that Flea Market about choosing a Sunday to feature my shirts. None of the retailers I contacted wrote back but I will wait until tomorrow to follow-up with them.

In the world of investors/potential partner organzations, I did contact two new avenues today. One of them was on my site at one point today, so I will wait and then follow-up shortly.

None of the organizations I contacted about speaking opportunities got back to me but today I made a new list by simply Google-ing the word “Teen Speaking Conferences”.

I think the most used word in today’s blog was “Follow-Up”, haha. But that’s a good thing because sometimes I’m intent on it and then sometimes I slack off. Hopefully this time, I’ll stay on track.

The great news of the day is that while making my phone calls during my lunch break I did do some shopping! I bought a cute clock that reads “Coffee Please” and has a face with a tounge that hangs down and swings back and forth! It was from a great knick-knack shop in the Century City Mall in Los Angeles. Also, I saw a someone in the office carrying a great blue tote bag from TARGET and inside it had file folders! I’m am on the hunt for it and searching Target.com!

Have a wonderful day.

Best,

The Intern Queen

So the good news can finally be announced! I’m a finalist for the Women In Business Stevie Award “Best Entrepreneur of the Year”! This is the first time I’ve ever gotten major recognition for my company and it feels so great. Finally, someone has noticed! So the final awards ceremony is in Las Vegas in November and I’m going to try to go. I do have to spend money to get there which kind of sucks for the “Bank O’ Lauren” but I’ll figure out a way to make it work.

Last night, The Intern Queen, AKA myself, decided to be a little trouble-maker and go out until 2am! Not so smart for a young entrepreneur who likes to wake up pre-work and get some Intern Queen business done. So needless to say I didn’t wake up quite on time this morning. Luckily, I was able to get some work done during my lunch.

Today, I was able to followup on all of my press pitches that I’d yet to hear back from (I haven’t heard back from any- so that’s just wonderful.)  I pitched another round of business publications, Florida publications, and a few more Teen/Women Magazines that I didn’t get to pitch earlier this week because of technology issues. I did all of my pitching via email. I did make a few phonecalls to publications I was unfamiliar with. Usually when I start to go into my pitch over the phone I get interrupted by the editor asking me to send them an email. I like to pitch via email and then follow up with phone calls. For me, the most annoying thing about email pitching is when you don’t have a specific person to pitch to. I call it “Blind Pitching”. My advice is never to waste time e-mailing to addresses like “info@blahblah or webmaster@blahblah”. It usually is so general that it is directed to the attention of no one.

I got around to sending those follow up emails to the coordinators of the interviews that fell into the air. I also emailed a potential investor, a Womens Business Org about speaking opportunities, a potential partner charity association, and I got some contact information for some of the locations where I’d like to sell my shirts.

This morning I did follow-up with the company that is currently reviewing my book proposal. The women who will make the final call is out of town until next week but the conversation I had with the other editor went well and was fairly positive. She said she would be in touch next week.

Today, I emailed about 15 internship coordinators about hiring Intern Queen for their summer internship consulting. I just wanted to get a feel for what the feedback is going to be. If you know anyone looking to get interns - I’d love to work with them. I’m trying to give some huge discount rates to first-time customers.

That’s all I’ve got for today. I’m a bit exhausted because of my excursions last night and might have to call it an early night this evening. Not sure I can take another late night out… although the Christian Louboutin shoe event is hard to turn down! Even the Intern Queen cannot do it all - I learn that more and more every day…but hey, I wake up and try… right?

I might have left you all waiting for another day before I blogged but I couldn’t help it! It’s such a wonderful day outside. It’s actually a COLD day today in California! Imagine that! Well, I’m from Florida so cold to me is probably not THAT cold. But never-the-less, it’s a great change.

Yesterday I found out some great news but I’m not allowed to tell you until tomorrow! Technology made my day a slower one for me. My lovely laptop doesn’t want to connect to the internet. I couldn’t really send many follow-up emails. Tomorrow will be the big follow-up email/send new e-mail day. I’m planning to leave work at a decent hour this evening and try to squeeze in an e-mail session before my dinner. I’ve found that carrying my laptop everywhere I go is a brilliant idea and allows me to make quick stops at Starbucks/Coffee Beans throughout the day and connect to there internet. things are a little bit crazy all over town. This week alone is packed with fun events. And hopefully with the new “lap-top in the car” technique, I won’t let the events slow me down!

Cool Contest Alert: Today I found out about a cool new contest on a website called JUMPUP.INTUIT.COM! They are going to grant a start-up company 50 grand! I will be entering that at somepoint this week. The deadline isn’t until December 15th but why wait for tomorrow when you can do it today?

Random Updates: I had two interviews scheduled for last month that sort of disapeared into thin air (AKA got unorganized and I didn’t follow up on). This is very bad so I’m emailing the contacts to appologize and get them started again. I’m also emailing high resolution pictures for my interviews with JUSTINE magazine and LISTEN magazine. I think I’ll use a headshot and the group photo shot from the homepage.

Check: Today I did remember to add the books I found at Borders on Saturday to my “Competition” section of the book proposal. I tried calling one of the publishing companies earlier but the time difference got me! This is why it’s important to make morning calls. At least if you need to leave messages they are more likely to be returned before the end of the business day.

Dear beloved readers of the Intern Queen’s blog,

You would all be so proud of me this weekend! I kept my word and made time on Saturday and Sunday and made time in my schedule to devote to Intern Queen Inc. Hooray! It’s about time I sat down and focused. On Saturday, I had a lovely afternoon at Borders (a favorite spot of mine) in Hollywood.

Since I currently have an education company reviewing my book proposal and sample materials I wanted to do more work on my book. I went to the education section in the bookstore and literally pulled over a dozen “how-to” books off the shelf that had to do with subjects like COLLEGE, SURVIVING SCHOOL, FINANCIAL AID, etc. I wanted to look at the authors and the publishing companies behind these books so that I could pitch the publishing companies. I’m also going to add the titles and information on these books to the “competition” section of my book proposal. I now have a list of about five or six different publishing companies to contact. And yes, I will get on it asap!

I also took a glance at the new 2008 WRITERS MARKET guide (a wonderful resource book thats updated yearly) and the Press Wheels in my head started to turn. I made a brief list of about 15 publications to contact just to keep my company name in the press. I noted some new business publications, some Florida publications, and Teen/Womens Interest Magazines. This morning I started my Press phonecalls and got some good feedback, some email addresses to forward information, etc.

This weekend I ventured out to the local flea market they have on Fairfax in Los Angeles every Sunday. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before but I definitly should have a stand and sell my T-shirts one Sunday. I spoke to a man that had a similar clothing line and had rented a booth for the weekend. It’s only about 50 dollars to rent an area and sell my shirts. I figure I could get my friends to come and help me out and see how the shirts sell. And since it’s a flea market I would sell them for a reduced price. I don’t have an overabundance of my shirts in stock (since I started by ordering only a sample amount) but I could definitly get out there and try to sell what I could. So I’m looking at the calendar today to pick an upcoming Sunday to do that. I have one specific shirt that reads “I Spill Coffee for a Living” and I’d love to get that in a Coffee Shop. I have a list of six local coffee companies/chains to call about possibly test-selling the shirt in their locations. If anyone has any ideas on placement for this shirt or the correct way to approach these companies - that would be great!

As far as potential investors goes, I’m still waiting to hear from one company. I sent a follow-up email this morning. I came up with two more companies to contact over the weekend and will contact them this week.

I’ve also listed about 20 internship coordinators around the country to contact and see if they would be interested in posting information about their internships on my site and possibly hiring my company to find them interns. This may not be the most organzied approach but I need to get the word out and the ball rolling.

So, needless to say, it was a successful entrepreneurial weekend! I reccomend that everyone see MICHAEL CLAYTON when they get a chance. All the actors give amazing performances and your eyes will stay on the screen for the flick - its great. Other than that, this weekend consisted of watching baseball with friends, getting a haircut, running errands, sushi, a great pair of vintage cowboy boots at the flea market, napping, Kraft Mac N Cheese, and old epsidoes of THE OFFICE. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well. Let’s keep up the mindset!

 Best,

Lauren (The Intern Queen)

PS - Today they announce the finalists for the STEVIE AWARDS… I don’t think I really am one.. but it would be cool… just saying….

Update 

Well, like every entrepreneur, I’ve put myself and my company out there. In this specific case, I have sent out some (top secret) business proposals. I am very interested an excited about the slight possibility that these companies will realize that together we could create a huge opportunity and experience for anyone looking for more information on internships. I should definitly hear from one of the companies next week and the other might be a bit more of a process. I’m communicating my goals and my materials over email with both companies. I think that maybe I should send them some Internal EthiKs T-shirts as well ! I will get that package together this weekend. It would be such an amazing thing to partner with an organization that believes in my ideas like I do. To really be able to have the resources to make my company come to life would be a dream come true.

Also, in the Press world, I had my interview with JUSTINE magazine yesterday. It was a phone interview and I think it went pretty smoothly. I haven’t done too many interviews for Teen Magazines so I tried to stay on track and keep the article about motivating teen girls to get the internships of their dreams. With interviews its important to remember that they are most likely recording you and that speaking clearly and grammatically correct is crucial - as you will most likely be directly quoted. And I’m sure anyone who reads my blogs can tell that I tend to speak in tangents and go on and on about certain subjects! The interview is being considered for a feature in the Dec/Jan issue so I will keep you all posted. I’m looking forward to doing more teen magazine interviews and really reaching the teen demographic and personally explaining to each young one that internships are possible for everyone.

New Random Task

So I decided that I should make folders with my company logo (Intern Queen Inc.) on them so that when I send out my press materials they are presented well and look sharp. I choose black folders and wanted to get my logo printed on them in white. Did you know that just to print on the folders alone is $100.00 ? What ? My friend at Kinkos said it is because they use a special machine. Seriously ? $100.00 for printing on folders ? There must be a cheaper way to do this. I thought about just purchasing the folders myself but are they ok to go out without the company logos ? Even to make logo stickers to place on the folders would be around another $100.00 dollars. These folders would contain press materials and/or business plans to send to potential investors. Does anyone have any advice on this ? Thanks so much!

Goals

This weekend my goal is to actually be a “weekend entrepreneur” and pay attention to my business instead of draining my schedule with plans after plans after plans. Sometimes I find that I don’t want to deal with the possibility of my business failing, so I just crowd my agenda with social plans. That process will get NOTHING done. This weekend I’m going to attempt to take 2 hours on both Saturday and Sunday and just hideout at my local Borders or Barnes and Noble and strictly focus on working. I’ll let you know how it goes!

More Chatting

Sometimes all I need is a good negative comment so get me motivated. Everyone finds motivation from different sources. Today I was speaking with my mother (who I speak with approx. 10 times per day) and she mentioned that her manicurist asked how my T-shirt line was going. My mother responded with, “yeah, she really has done much with it… it just sits there… and the shirts sit in her closet.” GRRRRRRRRR. The statement is frustrating but true. Since my fashion show, which was almost 8 months ago, there really has been no movement with the line. I have a few new designs but haven’t moved forward to have them printed and create more samples. This weekend will be a good time to re-strategize on the clothing line and find some new opportunities to move forward with it.

Also, if any of you are regular A SAVVY START readers, I’d love to hear what you like to read about and what you want to hear more about! Thanks so much! Happy reading and blogging.

There is nothing like a good press bite to get you in the mood to do your work. I was contacted by a teen magazine this week to do a feature for their upcoming Dec/Jan issue. This was exactly what I needed to put me right to work. I’m still waiting to hear back from two potential investors that I had contacted.

Business Shopping. I’m sure all of you entrepreneurs are about as obsessed with office supplies as I! Today I ordered from KINKOS a few black slick looking folders with my INTERN QUEEN logo on them. They will be ready in ten days and will be the perfect home for my almost-ready business plans and press. This way when I’m approaching potential investors/etc. I can have my materials looking their best!

I’m also doing a little bit of “clean up” with my contacts and sending some general emails to friends/work contacts just to say hello and remind them of my company to pick their brains for ideas! Other people’s suggestions are sometimes super motivating and super sharp!

This blog is for all of those entrepreneurs out there who have full-time jobs and try to make their dreams come true on the weekends. Or perhaps you are like me, and try to make your dreams come true before and after work each day and with the occasional personal business call during your lunch hour. How do you manage to work a full-time job and follow your dreams at the same time ? How does your head remain from being cluttered with work gossip ? How do you stay focused on your personal goals outside of the office ? These are the thoughts tainting my brain this week.

This week I’ve kept up my routine of going to a neighborhood cofffee shop a few times before work in the morning. It’s really helped me to get my head in the game and focus on the tasks I want to achieve that day. It also motivates me to make business calls on my way to work. As, many times I can be lazy and sleepy on route to the office and just sit back and listen to music. I’ve contacted a few more companies that might be good potential investors or partners. I don’t want to mention company names but I’m really trying to search for that perfect partner that has the right relationships with college bookstores and the student demographic.

I also decided to enter the STEVIE AWARDS for Women In Business. I’ve never entered any business related contests before and I thought this might be a good experience and a good measure of where I’m at. The finalists are announced October 15th so I’ll keep my fingers crossed!

I’ve been a little slow in the world of selling my book. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I had a book agent but the relationship did not work out. The subject of INTERNING is a hard one because most book agents aren’t completely understanding of the INTERNING concept. They have a hard time understanding the growing trend of internships and the college demographic. I’m currently trying to approach publishing companies without a book agent - and that is not the easiest. I need to find a publisher that really understands how to market a book to the college demo and has the proper relationships with college bookstores. I’ve been given the advice to “self publish” but I don’t feel that I have the proper resources or time for that. Self-publishing would involve a huge undertaking of press and marketing responsibilities and with a full-time job, I don’t see that being a realistic option. I’m trying to target publishing companies that have previously published books on scholarships, internships, and other educational resource handbooks.

This week I’ve gotten a few leads on book publishers to contact (I will not mention the names of specific companies) so I’m sending my material over to them immediately. I’m hoping that publishers view this project as the start of a branding empire rather than just a single book on the subject. I’m sending publishers my book proposal, a 25 page document detailing the contents of each chapter and marketing strategies. I’m also including two or three sample chapters so they get a feel for the tone of the book. I’m going for a sassy yet relatable tone that appeals directly to students.

I find it my duty to appologize for the lack of postings lately. I’m sure it’s hard for readers to stay pumped and motivated when I can’t even get pumped and motivated. I’m learning that having an “entrepreneurial” mindset doesn’t necessarily mean that you are “on” all the time. Motivation is something I’ve been lucky to have plenty of but I definitly go through my dry spells as well where I can’t stay focused. Lucky for me - the wheels in my brain are spinning at full force this week and I’m determined to get some work done before the year’s end.

Currently, it’s all about the investors. I’m in the last stage of my business plan, constantly researching, and taking a moment to stop focusing so much on the press. I find myself doing lots of small press articles here and there but until I have something major to announce in the press, I don’t find it too helpful. I’ve found that the business model I’ve set up for my consulting company is not the most reliable due to my lack of time. I’ve recently stopped working with my project manager simply because the research that was necessary in the beginning stages has been completed. Now, it is just a matter of getting the word out there to students and letting them know that I can help them get summer internships.

I did get the redesigns for my website in. Unfortunately, they were not exactly what I was looking for. They were great but not what I was thinking so my webdesigner and I will try to speak this week to go over changes. The next step for me really looks like getting an investor so I can devote the proper resources and time to this project.

My new strategy for “getting it done” is to wake up before work in the mornings and go to a quiet spot with my lap top. I usually have tons of scrap paper with notes scribbled all over them. I use this time to put my notes together and focus on what needs to be done.

Here’s to a week of lots of posts and getting it done!

 Best,

The Intern Queen

Catchy title huh ? Well, I haven’t blogged in a while so lets get to it! My business plan is almost complete - I keep getting stuck but luckily there are so many books on the art of writing business plans that I’ve been able to get through most of it.

The mock-ups for my website re-design should be available for my review tonight. I don’t want to approach investors until I have my site looking like more of a company. I’ve been doing a few interviews here and there but really need to hit it hard this week.

It has been very refreshing to recieve emails from young entrepreneurs who are now going at full speed with their own ideas because they see me trying hard to reach my goals. I can honestly say that the hardest part is just sticking to everything and not giving up. This year I have learned that you aren’t always going to have that feeling of extreme motivation - even when you are talking about something you’re passionate about. Those days are the most challenging - but if you can get through those days and keep trucking along - then you are in for the long term.

I know I’ve been having trouble staying focused lately. So here is to a week of productivity for all of the entrepreneurs out there! If anyone has any motivation/focus tips they would like to share - I would love to post some of them in my next blog.  

Its time to get the word out about my consulting company. My best chances are most likely with school newspapers. Last night I called and left messages for the specific lifestyle/feature editors at all the Florida papers (since I went to school in Florida) and most of the Los Angeles University papers as well. This weekend I hope to construct a more in-depth list of Univeristy Newspaper conducts worldwide. I’m going to focus on Spring and Summer internship opportunities. I figure the larger database of interns I can build - the more likely companies will sign on-board.  I’m also going to finish putting my business plan and media kits together so on Monday I can start sending materials out to the businesses I’ve already been in contact with.

Lets cross our fingers about the website re-design that’s going on. I’m nervous but I know it will be much more professional this way. I also need to stop stalling and look over my TERMS OF USE and PRIVACY POLICY documents that I’ve been sitting on for a week. GRRRRRRRR! Sometimes I get so frustrated with myself! I need to step on the gas a little bit in the world of THE INTERN QUEEN.

This weekend should be one full of relaxation and hanging out with friends for me! Hopefully I will squeeze in some good “entrepreneurial” time as well. 

Lauren’s Entreprenuerial Tip of The Day: WORKOUT YOUR MIND

- Go to Barnes and Noble or your local bookstore. Grab 3 magazines that interest you and relate to your business in some respect. I usually grab mags like EVERYDAY WITH RACHAEL RAY, THE WRITER, ENTREPRENEUR. Also search the business section and grab a few titles that speak to you. I usually like business books on topics like: organization, getting things done, and financial success. Take a notebook and pen with you and jot down any ideas that come to your head as you flip through the pages. Write down the names of the authors that write interesting articles, any business tips that you want to remember, new information or interesting trends. If you are like me you will have pages full of notes and ideas that relate to your business in no time. Make sure you follow up on them and visit all the websites and contact all the people that you jot down! And there you have it - Exercising the brain and your business! 

I made a big decision in my world today. I decided to re-brand/re-design the website. With the help of a new webdesigner I’m going to re-organize the layout of the site to place the focus on the services and products rather than on my personal information. I will be the face of my brand (Intern Queen) but I dont want the site to come across as a personal website but rather a strong brand with many different branches. The new site will hopefully be up and running in the next 3 weeks. While this is happening I will make sure my Privacy Policy/Terms of Use gets proper placement and I will continue to conduct research for my consulting business and make contacts in the educational field and with potential investors!