Interview with Entrepreneur of Smilegram Paper

Full Name: Carey Grund

Please give us a little bit of a background on yourself and tell us how you became an entrepreneur.

I am a Mother of three determined to make a difference! In late 2010 I created smilegram paper, a fresh new line of children’s stationery! Make someone smile today is a message I knew had to reach every American family so smilegram paper was created with the intention of sending smiles everywhere! With my daughter being the artist behind the crayon, we decided to create smilegram paper. Knowing how important the art of handwriting is; smilegram paper offers the perfect environment to make writing fun with simply cute paper. Eager to solve the problem so many parents work through each day; smilegram paper was born. Turning creative thoughts into words is a goal for us at smilegram paper. We hope it can help children be proud of who they are, what they believe in and motivate them to write. Empower children to embrace the art of hand writing and make writing fun again with smilegram paper. We are eco friendly at smilegram paper. All products are made from partially recycled material. Our paper is a high quality 70lb stock and has a soft matte finish. All of our products are made in the USA.

What is your business called and what do you do?

My business is smilegram paper, we create fun and unique stationery for children.

How did you fund starting your own business?

I funded my business with personal finances.

How many hours do you work in a week?

I usually work 30-40 hours a week as I'm trying to launch with success!

How would you rate your success?

I launched smilegram paper three months ago with many smiles. As I introduce smilegram paper and tell the story about how it came to be what it is today I see interest almost instantly. My intentions were not to create simply cute paper but share with parents across our country that writing is still a very important life skill among adolescents. I am trying to make writing fun for kids and easy for parents as many parents struggle with school writing assignments and thank you notes with their children. My recent elementary school event showed an overwhelming support from parents and a likable interest from the children. I believe my success will come in waves as I try everyday to gain exposure for smilegram paper. It is good to know that at the end of the day I am doing something good for children.

What has been your biggest business challenge as an entrepreneur? How did you or do you overcome it?

My biggest challenge as an entrepreneur is a successful launch, and now what? After all your family and friends send you your initial customers; how do you find new ones early on. I am trying to overcome finding new customers by doing as many events as I can, and building the wholesale platform of my business. I need to take smilegram paper right to the niche market and having it offered in stores is an excellent way to start to build my brand.

What advice would you give to a new entrepreneur? Believe in yourself and all the days you think you CAN'T look in the mirror, smile, and say yes I CAN! The power of a smile is what I live by everyday.

Anything else you would like to share? How I balance a business and my family by creating happiness in my home! Happy kids equals a happy Mom. I try to manage my time effectively choosing one task at a time. When I combine work time and kid time I am not good at either. I have learned to have fun time, play time, elementary school homework time, pre-school craft time and when all that is done it's get down to business time. Sometimes that means really late nights but it's all worth it!

Website URL: www.smilegrampaper.com

Twitter ID: http://twitter.com/smilegram

Facebook Fan Page: Smilegram Paper on Facebook

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