Jean's Blog
WHO: Karen Robinovitz
WHAT: Purple Lab Cosmetics
WHEN: 2007
WHERE: New York, NY
HOW: It all started with a cocktail party. “I ate so much that after twenty minutes, I felt full and uncomfortable, like my pants were suddenly one size too small. I told my husband I had to go home and he was a little disappointed…I jokingly said, “Well, if my lip gloss would plump my lips and not my hips, I wouldn’t be in this mess.” And with that, the idea for Purple Lab Cosmetics was born. “The light bulb in my head blinded me,” says Robinovitz. “What if there was a lip-gloss with plumper and appetite suppressant?” she thought.
After that fateful cocktail party, Robnovitz picked up the phone and called a friend who worked at a major makeup brand to see if she could make the product. “My husband grabbed my phone and said, “YOU make this product. This is the start of your brand!”
Two weeks later, Robinovitz trademarked “Huge Lips Skinny Hips,” a lip gloss that plumps your lips and curbs your appetite, seting the wheels in motion for developing her brand. “I had no idea what I was doing but after asking around, I found a lab, who recommended a manufacturer for components. I joined a beauty organization so I could create a network of insiders who could guide me,” says Robinovitz.
To get the product off the ground, Robinovitz and her husband invested their life savings into the new brand. “In the beginning, the investment didn’t seem large. What started as $5,000 turned into $50,000. And it hurt when I crossed the threshold of $250,000.” At one point, Robinovitz even considered selling her engagement ring. Thankfully, today, Purple Lab is funded by outside sources—and Robinovitz still has her engagement ring. “We now have investors and partners, which was vital and really the only way for us to take Purple Lab to the levels we envision,” says Robinovitz.
When Robinovitz started her brand she was working as More…
My husband has a couple of credit cards that have high limits but no balances. We are considering added my name to those accounts in an effort to improve my debt ratio and credit score. Is this a good idea?
- Traci, Alaska
Whether or not adding your name to your husband’s accounts will improve your credit score depends on a couple of factors. “If the account is new, or young then your score could go down,” says Credit.com’s John Ulzheimer. He adds that if the accounts become overly utilized, it could ding your score as well. However, if your husband’s accounts are well established and you don’t foresee over-utilization being an issue, by all means, add yourself as an authorized user. Here’s why doing so can give your credit score a boost:
It can lower your utilization ratio. When you sign on to your husband’s accounts, it will affect something know as your aggregate revolving utilization ratio, which in turn affects your credit score. Revolving utilization is the amount of your revolving credit limits that you’re currently using. Revolving accounts are those where your monthly payment is based More…
Savings was the hot topic on today’s Money 911 segment. How should I start saving for retirement? How can I save on health care? This morning we answered these questions and more. Watch the video below for the answers.
Did you know that the average American household spends a whopping $2,200 on electricity each year? Using a power monitor can slash your bill by nearly 20%. Watch the video below to see how much I was able to save on my electricity bill by using one.
A recent survey from my friends at Franklin Covey found that 61 percent of people say they always spend too much during the holidays. That’s a problem, particularly when the excess is floated by credit cards.
So how do you keep from kicking off the new year in a load of debt? To start, you need to know what, exactly, your budget is. I’ve developed a handy calculator that can help you do the math, so go ahead and run your numbers now.
You’ll see that I’m suggesting you spend no more than 1.5% of your take-home pay on the holidays. Why? Because in my experience, that’s an amount most people can pay off by February — if not sooner. You’ll see in the calculator’s results that putting the holidays on a credit card and then going the minimum payment route to erase them can have you paying for this holiday season through 2013 (or beyond)!
Once you have your magic figure, make a list of the people you typically purchase gifts for, and how much you can spend on each person, using your overall budget as a guide. (Be sure the amount you settle on for each gift is inclusive of shipping charges, taxes, and other incidentals.) Not only will organizing your thoughts into a list keep you from forgetting anyone, it’ll also help fight off distractions, like the cashmere sweater your mom would love but, sadly, you can’t afford. And remember that if you seem short on cash, you can always turn to inexpensive or even free gifts – offer to baby-sit for your best friend’s kids — joint gifts for couples or families or (a personal favorite) Secret Santas.
One final, favorite tip: If you’re like me, you might have a few gift cards you’ve accumulated over the last few birthdays or holidays. There’s nothing wrong with using those for your holiday shopping – it’s essentially free money to add to your budget, and no one will be the wiser.
WHO: Alex Andon
WHAT: Jellyfish Art, a company that designs decorative, custom made and desktop jellyfish aquariums
WHEN: 2008
WHERE: San Francisco, CA
HOW: They often say that in order to be successful in business, you have to start out doing the dirty work. Just ask twenty-five-year-old Alex Andon, founder of Jellyfish Art. “Before starting Jellyfish Art I was working as a lab technician at a biotech company…my job was to process monkey, rat and human stool samples, which was a nauseating task,” says Andon. A marine biology student in college, Andon always had an interest in captive jellyfish breeding and knew how much of an attraction jellyfish were at public aquariums. “Jellyfish have been hugely popular since scientists discovered how to display them in captivity about ten years ago,” says Andon. More…
I think of the scene in You’ve Got Mail. Meg Ryan gets to the front of the cash-only line at a store New Yorker’s recognize as Zabar’s on the Upper West Side when she discovers she doesn’t have enough cash, only plastic. “I don’t have any money,” she is forced to admit. “Only this.” The cashier (a pre-Grey’s Anatomy Sara Ramirez) doesn’t want to bend the rules and swipe her card. Tom Hanks, whom Meg is trying desperately to avoid, turns on the charm and Ramirez relents. But we’re meant to think she’s mortified. The same sort of mortified you feel when your credit card is declined in a restaurant or a chic boutique.
Well, for the record, I like this movie. It’s one of those — like the American President or Serendipity — I watch every time it’s on TV. But the embarrassment factor? I don’t think so. More…
In a past segment on the Today show you mentioned a couple of sites for individuals wanting to work from home. I want to look for work from home opportunities on the web but don’t want to be scammed. What are the sites?
-Toree, Iowa
Working from home definitely has its perks. “You don’t waste time commuting. You can be home for your family when you need to. You can usually set your own schedule. You don’t have to pay for a work wardrobe,” are just a few of them, says Allison O’Kelly, CEO of MomCorps.com. While working from home can make things easier, searching for a position is anything but simple.
To sidestep work from home scams, start your search with sites that feature only vetted work from home opportunities. Two of my favorites are Women for Hire and Mom Corps. Although both are geared towards women, the sites provide free listings of legitimate work from home jobs for both sexes. Another place to check for work from home jobs is directly with companies. For example, JetBlue has agents that work from home.
Once you think you’ve found a real work from home opportunity, do a little poking around. Start by asking More…
Resolving credit report issues, dealing with unpaid bills, getting a car loan…on this morning’s Money 911, it seemed like we touched on it all. Miss the segment? Check out the video below.
WHO: Sister duo Talia Bahr Goldfarb and Danielle Bahr Eason
WHAT: Myself Belts; a line of belts for children and adults featuring a one-handed patented belt closure which allows the wearer to open and close their belt easily with only one hand
WHEN: 2003
WHERE: St. Louis, Missouri
HOW: When Goldfarb’s son ditched his diapers, the idea for Myself Belts was born. “We discovered a void in the marketplace when my son was 3 and became potty trained. Without the bulk of his diaper, his pants didn’t fit him correctly anymore and when we searched for a belt, we discovered that there were not any belts on the market that young children could actually use independently,” says Goldfarb.
From there, Goldfarb and Eason took their idea and ran with it. “We did a patent search and discovered that our idea was actually an invention. We patented the Myself Belts’ belt closure and then began the steps of actually manufacturing our line of belts,” says Goldfarb. Using their own personal savings, the sisters took a risk, put five figures into launching the business and ordered 10,000 belts before receiving any orders from stores. Thankfully, trusting their instincts paid off. “By the time our belts arrived, we already had 100 stores that had placed orders from a marketing mailing that we had sent out while the belts were in production. We were pretty relieved that our instinct was correct!” says Goldfarb. Today, Myself Belts are sold in retail stores across the country and on a variety of websites including Target.com. More…
