TOILET PAPER PROFILES – Caroyln Goodwin of Whirled Events

TOILET PAPER ENTREPRENEUR PROFILES

Carolyn Goodwin, Founder of Whirled Events

Carolyn Goodwin

Company Name
Whirled Events

Year Started
July 2005

What Do You Do?
Gifts & promotional items for events.

Start Up Cash
$15K

Favorite Food
Chocolate chip cookies, without the chocolate chips.

My Pet Is My:
Rambunctious nephew who likes to poke at my eyes. Ouch!

A Great Night Out Costs
$47.25.  That’s the price of my favorite bottle of wine.   But it is critical to be with someone special.

Fly, Drive, Bike or Walk?
Walk.  I love feeling like I’m this really cool urban girl who’s right in the thick of things.

Biggest Complaint
I complain most about people who complain.  I guess that makes me a hypocrite.

Biggest Entrepreneurial Accomplishment
My biggest entrepreneurial accomplishment was writing that first check for $10,000 to create a website after I quit my job as a banker.  It was the first step where I felt like I couldn’t just back out without any consequence, and the point where I knew that I was changing my life forever.

Biggest Entrepreneurial Mistake
Being afraid of judgment from others.  It kept me from utilizing my personal network and from cold calling because I afraid of what people would think about the company I built.

Life of Passion?
Without a doubt.  My passion is building “real” relationships between people.  I always hated when I would be in these big corporate meetings and people would act all high and mighty, saying things they thought made them sound smart instead of just being themselves and adding a real value.

The Lesson
Spend 80% of your time on revenue generating activities.

Take a look at your list of daily activities, and adjust it so that 80% of your time is spent on things that are driving revenues to your business.  This includes activities like sales calls, meeting with clients, fulfilling orders, and sending out emails to prospects.  The remaining 20% of your time can be spent on administrative duties that keep your business afloat.  If you find you can’t focus 80% of your time generating revenues, evaluate your business model or hire employees so that the overall balance of time throughout your company is spent on generating revenues.

Want More of Caroyln & Whirled Events?
Check out www.whirledevents.com
Email her at Caroyln@whirledevents.com
Or for God's sake, pick up the phone... 713-521-0327

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Category: TPE Profiles
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  • Mike Michalowicz

    Carolyn,

    I have to say that is one of my favorite TP pictures. Who new TP could be so classy! (Or is that “cool urban”)

    - Mike

  • http://www.dorm-room-biz.com Dorm Room Businesses

    Love these profiles! Nice work.

  • http://smallbizbee.com Small Business Entrepreneur

    Thanks for sharing these profiles!

    Matt

  • http://www.NetworkingEffectively.com Scott Bradley

    What a cool business and interesting story.

    I like where you talk about spending 80% of your time on revenue producing activities. So True.

  • http://www.renegadeceos.com Shonika Proctor, Teen Biz Coach

    Super great idea Carolyn and I have another one to add for you:

    Gift of the month… for those who you want to show your affection to all year around. So many people say that beyond holidays that we should give to those we love throughout the year. So how about a gift club where people can subscribe and give a gift every month?

    Right now I ‘cheat’ and usually give out annual subscriptions to MY favorite magazine so that every month my friends think of me when they get it or I give out museum memberships for my artsy fartsy friends here in DC who like to see ‘REAL’ collections and not that stuff in tourist museums, lol. At any rate, I think it would be a hit. I remember a couple of years ago I took a special someone on a surprise ‘themed’ trip. I planned the trip several months in advance so every month I would give him one small gift that had to do with the theme of the trip but he never did guess what it was anyway. The theme was ‘exceptional service’ and the gifts were all over the place from books on service based themes to upscale restaurant gift cards so he could not figure it out. Just a thought.

    Wishing you continued success with your business.

    Shonika
    http://www.teenentrepreneurblog.com

  • http://www.whirledevents.com/ Carolyn

    Thanks to all for the comments, and Shonika I love the idea of a monthly gift. So much of what resonates with clients is consistency in messaging, so we often try to present a brand from several different angles, including events (such as the trip), gifts (the monthly gifts), and marketing collateral.

    Mike – thanks for the post and the kind words on the photo :) I’m heading out of town in search of power & gasoline after Ike did it’s thing here in Houston, but truly appreciate all of your comments!

    Best,
    Carolyn
    http://www.whirledevents.com
    blogwhirled.blogspot.com

  • Mike Michalowicz

    Caroyln,

    Just know that my heart (and I am sure I speak for all TPEs) goes out to the people affected by the hurricane. I hope things get back to normal quickly.

    Please tell me if there is anything I can do, or the TPE community can do to help you get back on your feet quickly.

    - Mike