A Savvy Start:

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!

Vacation is a very uncommon word for most entrepreneurs. However, I defied the odds and took a 4 day vacation to visit the family in Florida last week. Unfortunately, I found that instead of being completely rested and ready to get back to work upon my return to Cali, I was more tired than when I left! Do you ever find yourself needing a vacation from your vacation ? I spent so much time running around and trying to see all my friends and family that I literally did not stop for a second!

So for the past day I’ve been searching high and low for any signs of motivation. Finally today I found it in the form of an email from a student who works for the newspaper at a University. He was requesting an interview about my company. SNAP! That was all I needed to trigger my motivation and get myself back on track.

I’m in the process of reviewing the TERMS OF USE and PRIVACY POLICY that my lawyer wrote up last week. As soon as I’m completed and we are both satisfied with the product I can officially launch my company and try to obtain interest from both students and companies. 

My Project Manager has been looking up contacts at all of the University Newspapers as I plan to pitch them my concept and provide them with press materials next week!

OTHER UPDATES

In case you were wondering what was going on with my other projects. I’m still searching for a book publisher. I’m having such a hard time finding an agent that really understands my project and my audience. However, its not really the correct “protocall” to go right to the publishers without an agent. So for now I’m sort of feeling out both routes.

My webseries is in the editing stage. I have the drafts of the first five episodes of the show and I’m trying to keep revising them. 

I’m in the middle of re-designing the homepage of internqueen.com. I want the site to really focus on the consulting company for now.

My business plan is half-way done. I’m continuing my research on my demographic/market.

The T-shirt line is very slow at the moment. I need to find the resources and time to contact clothing boutiques and major department stores. I also need to expand the line by adding a few new shirts for the new season.

My media kit is complete and ready to go out as soon as my business plan is done. Investors - look out! I’m coming to find you!  

Well I have some great news! My site is slowly coming together. I need to tighten my wording up a bit, but you can now view the outline for my consulting company on www.internqueen.com under SERVICES. I’m in the process of putting a graphic on the homepage to represent the Consulting Division as well. This is a great first step for my company. This evening I’m putting together the media kit for Intern Queen Inc (all of the divisions will be included). This media kit will be sent to any interested investors, media, buyers, consumers, etc. I’m also putting together a business plan that I will hopefully finish by Friday. Look forward to a few postings on ‘how to perfect a business plan’ later this week!

Tonight I will create the following sections of my business plan (hopefully since I’m writing this down - I will follow through!)

1. Strategic Vision Statement

2. Executive Summary

3. Operations Plans/Management Plans

4. Company Overview (including background/bio)

5. Market Research (including industry overview, sales cycle, industry cycle, industry size, necessary permits)

6. Define Target Market

7. Define Competition

8. Attempt to prepare my financial statements for business plan. These will include balance sheets, income statement, and statement of cash flow.

I will let you know how it goes!

With all of my projects there are several steps that need to be taken to achieve the goal desired. Since I’m constantly focusing on one million projects at once I have been seriously trying to focus exclusively on my consulting company. I met with a mentor and collegiate advisor yesterday to go over where I am and where I need to be. I reccomend that if you are lucky enough to have someone you consider a mentor, you meet with them bi-weekly to keep yourself and your goals in check.

Currently, I’ve established a Myspace (www.myspace.com) and a Facebook (www.facebook.com) account for my Intern Queen Consulting. Unfortunately, I got knocked off the Facebook for “spamming” since I was trying to enter all collegiate groups in order to educate them on my company. I’m trying to get in touch with facebook to put my account back up. I currently have two active clients. That’s right - the whopping number 2. You have to start somewhere. I have one potential intern in Florida and another in California.

My project manager is currently working on getting a database of the most common potential intern employers in the Los Angeles area. I got the information from a study done at UCLA so it is really just a matter of looking up the company names, finding their contact information and the right people to speak with. I am finding it difficult to properly communicate with my Project Manager and use her time wisely. I’m thinking about establishing a system where she calls me every morning and we go over the daily goals. I pay her hourly, so it is crucial for me to think about what she is doing and how much time each task with take.

Meanwhile, I’ve hired a new web designer that I’m extremely excited about to design the consulting page for my site. It should be up mid-week. The web designer I use normally focuses on content updating and not so much on the designing aspect. Once this site is in place I will have an actual place to send people.

One of the tougest things for most entrepreneurs (or at least for me) to realize is that things take time. I like to move at a speedy pace and I hate when things move slowly. Finding interested candidates for my internship consulting program is going to take time. No matter what I’d like to think, it’s going to move one intern at a time. I’ve started a group on facebook.com to try to attract students in the California area. I’ve found that approaching students through personal messages does get me some feedback. I’m also looking into partnering with similar organizations that target college demographics.

I’m trying to really focus on this consulting company because this could potentially generate the most money. Unfortunately, it also requires the most work. I’m yet to have my first client but I did recieve a few incoming messages today inquiring about my services. Again, everyone must start somewhere.

I ran into some problems with getting my website designed and up in a speedy fashion. My usual webmaster is really for updating content and not for design work so I’ve had to hire an outside freelancer. I should have a template up on my site by the end of the week! Hooray! My lawyer has requested that he wait until the website is up and in place before he writes the “privacy policy” and “terms of use”.

I currently have my project manager and I working on contacting several companies in the Los Angeles area that are known to be the “most common companies to employee UCLA graduates”. I’m hoping that contacting the companies and contacting their invidual internship coordinators will get my company some new clients on the employer side! I hope to prove to them that I can make their job easier for them by providing them with some great intern candidates!

NOTE: I’m still looking for Private Equity investors! If you know of anyone looking to invest please let me know and I’m always open to hearing my readers ideas! Thanks.  

Well after a mini-hiatus, I’m back to action. The big goal here is to launch my consulting company. However, that is a huge goal and in order to make it happen I need to plan accordingly and move one step at a time. The first step in building my company is to get the word out to students that I can help them get internships. I tried having my Project Manager go out to colleges to spread the word but we really didn’t have much luck. My “Plan B” is to tackle the students via internet. We’ve been setting up accounts all week with Myspace/Facebook etc. to try to find students that are in college to engage in my internship services. I’ve also contacted many career counselors at different colleges to try to get them interested in the project as well.

This week I had the opportunity to sit down with one of the career managers from a college in the area and we spoke about launching a specific program for MBA students. I’ve been in touch with a few MBA students in California this week to try to get a good feel of what they are looking for in an internship. Usually MBA students have paid internships  so they are run a bit differently then undergrad internships.

I have a huge list of the companies that are most likely to employ students so I plan on contacting their internship coordinators to make them aware of my company.

On the actual company front - I’m still working with my lawyer to establish a clear privacy policy and terms of use agreement for the website. I’m working with my webdesigner on tweeking the site to allow for the consulting company to be more of the focus. I’m also preparing press kits with the proper materials to send out to potential investors. I hope for this weekend to be a proactive one - as I haven’t been getting as much work done as I’d like.

After my complaining session yesterday… I’m going to take a deep breath and keep things moving. I had a short conversation (9 minutes) with my lawyer yesterday. My team (that is managing my consulting project) is making the first campus visit tomorrow to a local college to try to get some student interest in my internship placement company. My biggest concern about this is getting the proper consent forms for the interns to fill out before I post any material or pictures of them online. Luckily, I remembered that I already had my lawyer write up a consent form for me when I did my first photo shoot for Internal EthiKs. The models had to sign a consent form saying that I could use their images in whatever context I wanted. I used this same form before a fashion show - having all of the models participating sign the form - I knew their pictures would appear on my site and other places on the internet. I will be able to use this form on campuses when getting interns pictures/video images/and resumes. I need to be extremely careful because many interns are under the age of 18 - in which case, their parents will need to sign off on anything they contribute to my company.

RANDOM PR BONUS - BUS RADIO - An organization that provides radio programming on school buses to approximately 1 million elementary, middle, and highschool students - in over 40 states - will interview THE INTERN QUEEN for a segment in August ! Hooray ! We LOVE this kind of stuff!

I’ve also created a “first draft” media kit - with info on my corporation and companies and all kinds of press on INTERN QUEEN. Hopefully I can figure out exactly what should go in the media kit (which press to include - which press to exclude) and then I’ll have something a little more professional to send companies interested in PR opportunities or INVESTING!!!

Do you ever feel like everything in the world is going wrong with your business ? Welcome to my world!

Yesterday I lost the director and an actor from my web project - yes, that is the 2nd director that has dropped out. My biggest pet peeve is people who don’t communicate properly and in a timely fashion. I sent my director scripts about 3 weeks ago and still have not recieved notes on them. UG. I left him several phone messages and sent him several emails that were not returned. So yesterday I had no choice but to tell him that I was going to consider his non-communicative ways as an indication he is no longer interested in the project. I think the next step for me with the webisodes is to get the scripts to a final product - instead of focusing on attaching more people - it just gets too chaotic. Once I see the final product I can decide what the next step is.

TIP - COMMUNICATION is so important. Make it a priority to return phonecalls within a 24 hour time period unless the call is on the weekend. Even if you don’t want to do business with someone - take the time to return their call - we all have long careers ahead of us and people remember who returns calls and who doesn’t.

CONSULTING BUSINESS - I’ve started contacting and emailing several schools in the Los Angeles area to educate them on the formation of my new Internship Placement Company. Since I’m on a budget I’m trying to utilize my Project Managers time as best I can. She created a large list of schools for me to contact (with their info) and I’m having her devote two hours this week to pure research. I need to be extremely familiar with the “Job Placement” market and be well read on companies similar to mine and any recent articles on the subject. I’m also having her do some campus visits for me (since I’m stuck at a full-time job all day). I have to say that it DOES make me feel very professional to be able to call these schools and attempt to set meetings with myself or “my project manager”. I feel very “TRUMP-like” !!

Along with forming this new company - comes lots of paperwork. I need to officially establish my corporation (which was originally registered and incorporated in Florida) as a foreign corporation so that I may legally do business in California. To do this I simply googled “California Coporations Department” and it sent me to www.corp.ca.gov which is the resource for everything corporation related. In order to establish my business as a foreign corporation I must get a certificate of good standing for the Florida Tax Offices. So now I’m playing phone tag with those offices to get the certificate, etc. The website does have forms that are printable that need to be filled out in order to apply to be a foreign corporation - so while I wait for my tax statement I will fill that out.

Legally speaking - I’m working with my lawyer on creating a consent form that all of my interns will fill out - allowing me to use their materials on the web. It is unclear if this document is necessary - but being such a young business owner/entrepreneur - I’d so much rather be completely covered at this point - especially since interns are usually young adults and sometimes under 18 years of age. I’m also working with my lawyer to create a specific TERMS OF USE and PRIVACY POLICY for the company. I cannot lie - creating an Internship Placement Company does scare me a bit - legally speaking - so it is crucial that these statements on my site clearly state that I am NOT responsible for any “bad interns” or “bad companies” or “bad experiences”. I plan to have one conversation (as brief as possible) with my lawyer today and then hopefully communicate via email (since he is on the expensive side and I’m trying to keep costs down).

TIP - I’ve said this before but let me say again - DO NOT BABBLE and BRAINSTORM with LAWYERS. They will eat your money like you cannot imagine. Prep your calls - keep your correspondence short and to the point - their clock is always ticking - time is money - LOTS of money.

WEBSITE ISSUES AS WELL

And if all of this isn’t a tad bit much - I’m having issues with my fantabulous webmaster as well. When I first developed my website it was with a company in Florida. They convinced me to purchase a content management program called EXPRESSION ENGINE which they swore would make my life and any web-designers life so much easier and more efficient as far as uploading images, documents, updating blogs, etc. When I hired my new webmaster he was aware of this program and said he could figure it out - and he did figure it out. In the contract I have with my webmaster it says that at the end of every month he is to submit a time sheet (I created a time sheet template) where he logs exactly what tasks he is working on and the exact amount of time each task takes. I hired him the end of April and didn’t get my first set of timesheets from him (and yes, I did ask him for them quite some time ago) until last week - so beginning of July. When I saw the amount of the bill I had a heart-attack! Why ? There was no single task that took him under 30 minutes. Usually his job consists of updating the PRESS section of my site. I scan an image and email it to him and then he uploads it and crops it into the photo gallery on the site. I had no idea that every single image I sent him took him 30 minute a piece. If I had known that - or had seen the MAY timesheets when I was supposed to see them - then I would have noticed this problem and told him that we need to find a more time-efficient method of uploading these images. It is a waste of his time and my money to spend so much time doing these minial tasks. I had a conversation with him and told him my concerns. He didn’t really know what to say - he just said that he doesn’t pay attention to the time - he just does the work. I told him I would have liked for him to point out that each upload was taking a considerable amount of time. Afterall, I hired a webmaster so I would be able to update my website at a more rapid pace. I emailed the time sheet he sent me to the old company I used in Florida to get their opinion on why everything was taking him so long. I know that they didn’t take very long to upload items and they had so much more to upload since I worked with them while building out the site. Any thoughts on what I should do ?

So after a week vacation… my newly hired PROJECT MANAGER has been very helpful in doing research on schools in the area to approach RE: Internship Consulting. I have a whole list of phone calls to make tomorrow AM to different schools and supervisors. We are also visiting colleges this week to get some students excited about the new program. I’m working with my web designer on a whole new page for the CONSULTING company on INTERNQUEEN.COM - it should be up by the end of the week.

As far as my webisodes, which you all have been reading about for ages, my director has been unreachable for days - which isn’t good…. I’m playing the waiting game waiting for notes from him… FUN. So hopefully I can figure out if he is still interested in the next day or so and continue moving forward. I’m confident that I’ve found my voice in writing the first five webisodes.

In the book world.. I’m still having trouble getting any traction… I’m also still waiting on a business editorial contact at one of the bigger publishing companies and I have a few calls into different agents..

Lets make this week - one of productivity!  

I had my second meeting with my new PROJECT MANAGER this evening for my internet consulting company. My company will help match interns and employers together. I’m going to make a checklist that will help readers understand how to start a business and also help me remember to do everything.

1. I already spoke with my lawyer last week. I thought of every concern I had about my new company ahead of time (every legal concern that is) and before I spoke with him I condensed the list and prioritized it. It is so important to remember that TIME IS MONEY with lawyers and although I LOVE TO HEAR MYSELF TALK - he doesn’t and I rack up a bunch of bills the more I speak.

My lawyer and I spoke about adding a strict PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE agreement to my page. I will have him draft that up once I have an example of what I’m doing to show him.

2. I had my first meeting today to delegate responsibility and tasks to my new project manager. My biggest fear is that I will not utilize her time well. We decided that her work load for tomorrow will consist of coming up with databases and contact information for the schools in Los Angeles. It is very important that my company establishes a presence at the colleges and universities since that IS the demographic I am trying to reach.

3. I spoke to her about the importance of keeping up on articles, trends and being on the forefront of all CONSULTING news.

4. I need to figure out if I need a new business/occupational liscense to run this company. I’m using the name INTERN QUEEN INC. which is already the name of my corporation so I don’t think I need to do any “name-related” paperwork. Tomorrow AM I need to call the Florida State Incorporation Department (I’m sure that is NOT what they are called) and successfully transfer my corporation to a foreign corporation and get the proper liscenses for my consulting business.

5. I’m also in the process of having my web designer work on the CONSULTING/SERVICES portion of my website. It’s my responsibility to get him the information for the page so he can work on layouts, etc.

6. I need something tangible. A flyer, a new business card, something that explains what the consulting agency will do so we can pass out information. I need to look at the costs of these items…

7. Tomorrow I need to print out a media kit and write up a press release for the company. These materials will help define the company and I want my Project Manager to be as well-versed and have as much material with her as possible when she is pitching this.

IN OTHER NEWS:

I finished 5 scripts for my webseries today and just shot them over to my director and exec producer. I will now await their feedback anxiously.

I’m speaking to another big entertainment company about my site, investing, and the book deal. I will touch base with them next week about this again. (Next week is a crappy work week because of 4th of JULY everyone is out of town so it’s hard to be productive).

I did an interview the other day for LISTEN magazine which comes out in January!

Had about 3 cups of coffee today. Cannot sleep.com 

Well…I predicted it in my earlier post. I was referred to a book agent from one of the publishers that passed on my project. I called the woman and told her that I was previously represented by a book agent but I terminated my agreement with him last October (2006) because I didn’t feel he knew how to communicate my work properly and he didn’t communicate well with me. She told me that in order to look at my material she would need a list of publishers that he pitched. I contacted the old agent and got this material for her. He had contacted most of the “business book contacts” but I was/am confident that he didn’t do properly. I want to sell my book as part of the brand I’m trying to build - I think that is what brings true value to the project. The woman looked over the list of agents that my old agent pitched and wrote me the following:

” I regret there’s nothing I or any other agent can do for you with this
content.  I recommend you wait a year, dramatically repackage it, and try
again. You can send me a query at that time.”

So I wrote her back and told her that the material had dramatically changed (as I have revised the chapters several times since it was last pitched) and asked her if she could just take a look at my website to better grasp the concept I was going for…she wrote the following:

“No, thank you.  Your website is not relevant. Publishers won’t consider that
when they’ve already rejected the content once. You would be well-advised to
do as I have suggested.  I cannot overcome this, nor do I think can any agent. ”

Just an update about the world of the Intern Queen:

Webisodes - These are coming along - I’m having a hard time setting aside time to actually sit down and write - whenever I get to my computer I find myself spouting out random emails and paying attention to loose ends that need to be tied down - it is very hard to focus on just writing - but hopefully I’ll have second drafts of these scripts by the end of the week so the director and other producers don’t have my neck!

Consulting World - Surprisingly, my consulting business is growing very fast. I have my first meeting with my new PROJECT MANAGER on Thursday and we’re basically going to get this thing up and running as fast as possible. There are even talks of the new business going international - I’ll keep you posted on details (I know I’m being a bit secretive about my plans!) You can expect to see something up on my site about this in 3 weeks! And in the meantime - if you know ANYONE looking for an internship - PLEASE send them my way! They can email me at internqueen@aol.com !

Book - Having a hard time getting a few editorial contacts at different publishing houses - again I’m doing this agent-less so it’s a bit difficult. I did speak with one agent today who I’m eagerly awaiting a response from…but to be honest…I dont have the best feeling.

Webzine - The Intern Queen webzine is scheduled to launch around August 1. I finally decided on a great concept for the layout so I’m just finishing up some final touches with my web designers. I posted on Craigslist.com looking for writers interested in all categories - I’m hoping to grab some great experts in the music, sports, beauty, and fashion worlds. I plan to meet with some of the first staff writers next week to discuss content. My goal is to launch the magazine with plenty of material already available so I can be constantly updating the site. I will have to begin my search for advertisers soon as well….OPEN TO POINTERS ON FINDING ADVERTISERS!!!

Clothing Line - I’m anxiously awaiting some new designs for my Internal EthiKs “THINS” line. I’ve also officially started approaching higher-end boutique owners with the current shirts. I’m hoping to get some traction on these. If you know any boutiques interested please have them contact me asap! Also, I will begin looking for the right department store placement as well - most likely we will do an exclusive deal with a department store….more to come on the success of this…this takes a while as it is me, myself, and I trying to make these calls to find out buyer information and send over line sheets…

INVESTOR UPDATES ! THE LINES ARE DRY THUS FAR!! I’VE HAD SOME CONTACT WITH LARGER COMPANIES BUT NO BITES YET  - PLEASE SEND ANY LEADS MY WAY - THE INVESTOR/PARENT COMPANY SEARCH IS ON!!!

SPECIAL NOTE: Women Entrepreneurs ! Go check out the new crop pant “citi” at JCREW  - SO GREAT FOR WORKPLACE!

I had an interview last night with a great girl who will be my project manager for the consulting arm of INTERN QUEEN INC. - hopefully we will revolutionalize the way students get internships! (or at least that is the goal) I got her resume and information through Craigslist.com which worked out quite well.

In the interview we discussed salary, hours, and time. I also discussed what her title would be as I want her to feel like more than my “assistant” so we decided on “Project Manager”. I know - very TRUMP-TASTIC of me - right ?? Well my new hire starts working for me the end of next week. We’ve set a meeting for a week from now to discuss our masterplan to build this consulting arm of INTERN QUEEN INC. I think that this will really help me to focus on a single project - since as I’m sure you can all see - I have ideas pouring out of my brain and it’s hard to focus on just one idea.

THE INTERVIEW

When interviewing any assistant/project manager situation always look for the following

- Passion - I don’t want anyone to work for me unless they are completely passionate about the project

-Creativity - I always ask for their honest opinions and thoughts about the website - I like to know what they will be able to bring to the table. I really appreciate when an interviewee has some criticism for me - it shows they are attentive and pay attention to detail. I always ask them what they would do to fix the problem. You want someone that is a THINKER and a DO-ER.

- Work Schedule - I’ve hired so many people who think they have time to help me out but they really don’t. I want someone with a flexible schedule but also someone that can commit a certain amount of hours per week. I want to be able to sit at my job all day and know that work is getting done and feel confident in that persons ability.

*PAY ATTENTION TO HOW THEY SPEAK - It is so important to hire someone that knows how to communicate well, is friendly and can schmooze a little. In this situation I’m starting a consulting firm so I need someone that is capable to speak to potential clients on the phone and make them feel comfortable. I want someone that is good with “chatter” and “small talk” so that there is a sense of comfort with my company.

-PRIOR EXPERIENCE - I always like someone with a solid yet diverse background of media skills. I like to see public relations, magazines, and other media entity experience. This will save me a LOT of explaining and will ensure an overall understanding of how the business works and the importance of media calls, press pitches, database lists and things like that.

REMEMBER: Whoever you hire is an extension of yourself. The woman I hired will be making phonecall on behalf of myself and my company - which esentially my passion- I need to make sure that she is able and willing to communicate that passion to companies, employers, interns and other professionals. It is important to feel secure that this individual will represent you properly.

There will be no more complaining about time management/stress issues from the INTERN QUEEN! From now on - I will just get it done. I’ve recieved great tips and one of them had to do with outsourcing some work to ensure it gets done.

I posted on Craigslist and on Entertainment Careers about a part-time assistant position. I’m not in a financial situation to hire a fulltime assistant but I think that with a set of extra hands (a few hours per week) I could get many of the outgoing phonecalls and medialists generated properly. I have an interview this evening with the first candidate for the job. The main duties for my new assistant will be to  help me launch the Intern Queen Consulting Division that will help employers and interns to find one another.

Today I’m meeting with the director/editor and producer for my web project. I kept pushing the meetings because I felt so overwhelmed with everything but I’m ready to sit down and look over scipts. I think the key is ONE STEP AT A TIME for all entrepreneurs - especially those trying to manage their business and full-time work.

Any strategies ? Any good entrepreneur advice for time management ??? Feeling a little stressed.com (I say .com for emphasis sometimes)

Hooray ! Check out my feature on www.flip.com - the direct link is http://www.flip.com/people/flipbooks/143211 - this is Conde Nast’s new Teen website.

Working on a little co-promotion/partnership with FLIP.COM - CondeNast’s cool new teen website - should be up late tomorrow ! Hooray!

This week marks the start of my search for investors and parent companies looking to purchase and/or invest in my company. I’ve had a few small companies approach me about purchasing my company so I think it is time that I proactively start looking for companies that I would like to be associated with. Developing a relationship with a larger company could provide me with the financial backing to run my company full time. I know very little about this subject so if anyone has any advice for me I’d love to hear it - in the meantime I’ll keep you posted on what I learn.

INTERN QUEEN updates!!!

PODCAST - My stressful podcast is back on its feet after a week of actors and directors falling out. I had to push the start date a bit (I HATE DOING THAT) but I think it will all work out in the end. I attached a young actor to the project who I think has the potential to be a great character for the webseries AND I got a great director that just graduated USC to attach himself to the project. We are having our first meeting with myself, my co-producer at Saturday Night Magazine, my executive producer, and director the beginning of next week and then hopefully the ball will get rolling. I have four episodes fleshed out.

BOOK - I’m in the process of contacting two major publishers and also communicating with a book agent that got reccomended to me. We will see what happens!

CLOTHING LINE - I’ve hired a new graphic designer for my T-shirt line and I’m really excited to see what cool designs he comes up with. He should have some first draft concepts for me to look over this weekend. This line will be a more modern and thin T. The new line will be more concept-based - rather than slogan-based.

Meanwhile, In efforts to attract boutique/showroom interest for the exisiting line of shirts - I’m having my old designer create a few more slogan-based T’s and I’m working on making the current shirts available in more colors.

WEB: I’m working on creating my online Intern Publication…. its a bit of a job… but I felt like a big step was taken yesterday when my webmaster, Thomas, submitted his first draft for the layout of the site. We have a ways to go but it’s always nice to see something on paper - even if its not totally the something you envisioned! We now have some stomping grounds to work with! HIP HIP HOORAY!