Welcome to Tuned Into Business: Entrepreneurs as seen on TV. Today is my first blog posting. The content is designed with YOU in mind. Especially if you have visions of being on TV and sharing your story with the world. As a TV producer and entrepreneur I feel uniquely qualified to delve into this juicy topic.
Nowadays there are lots of shows featuring successful entrepreneurs. Donald Trump made ‘reality TV history’ with “The Apprentice.� The show earned him incredible ratings. His clever product placement and fascinating cast of characters made him and them an overnight success. “You’re FIRED� became the mantra that people associate with the show. The now defunct show ran its course after the 6th season. As they say, “That’s show biz.�
Switching channels for a moment, queen of the billionaire girls club and media darling, Oprah Winfrey teamed up with QVC and the Next Big Idea was born. It featured entrepreneurs who competed with 6,000 others and appeared on her show, May 3, 2007. Along with celebrity judges and the audience a winner was chosen.
Undoubtedly these shows are great examples of what is possible when your dream comes true! It doesn’t matter if you are in search of inspiration, innovation or want to keep up with what’s going on, you’ve come to the right place.
Step 1 - Know what’s going on out there in TV land as it pertains to business and entrepreneurs.
Step 2 – Make being successful a habit. And come back to Tuned Into Business often to check out what’s new in the world of entrepreneurs on TV.
I will be reporting on many of the most exciting entrepreneurs on TV. If you are an entrepreneur or an entrepreneur in training you will get a birds-eye view of unique business ideas and how people have launched their million-dollar empires. How cool would it be to have a place where you could find out about the winning formula for million dollar businesses?
Let me know what shows you are watching and what you like about them. Also, if you have an interesting story please leave a comment below I’d love to know what you’re up to.
With gratitude and appreciation,
Michelle Anton
6 Responses to “Entrepreneurs On TV: Who They Are & Where To Find Them”
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October 17th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Hi Michelle
I loved the Apprentice, High Net Worth on CNBC and reality shows that featured entrepreneurs under the gun like Blowout and Workout on Bravo. I even liked Hell’s Kitchen. Growing a business is an adventure but doing it under the spotlight is even more demanding (and exciting).
Live Your Dreams,
Jill Koenig
Author, Coach and Motivational Speaker
http://www.GoalGuru.com
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:14 am
Hi Michelle,
For me, it’s Donny Deutsch. I discovered this program earlier this year and have since, rarely missed an episode. The stories about everyday people following their dream, doing what they love AND making money doing so, inspires and keeps me moving forward - even on those bad days.
Living the dream,
Veronica
October 22nd, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Hi Michelle:
Just thought I would drop you a line to let you know how much I enjoyed your Oct. 21st blo info. It was interesting and topical and even though I am not in any business so to speak I could relate to all the info.
Keep it coming.
P
October 23rd, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Michelle,
I’m so glad that you’re writing a blog. We need more blogs from female entrepreneurs in the Entertainment Industry, especially some better role models. I definitely liked the inventor reality boom, but I wasn’t a big fan of the Producer reality show that Spielberg did. I can’t remember the name now, though. An added insight for all of you female entrepreneurs trying to make your dreams come true like those on Oprah and the Apprentice, you should check out the contest called “Make Your Dreams Come True with Mirassouâ€?. They will be awarding one aspiring business woman $50,000 plus a team of highly professional consultants to help kick start your business. Visit http://www.mirassou.com/women_in_business/dreams.asp for more info and to enter. I work with them so just wanted to give you the inside scoop! Let’s keep working it, ladies!
November 17th, 2007 at 9:55 am
I’ve never contributed to a blog before, so if this is inappropriate, please let me know. I like your website and many people ask me how I ever got into the baseball business. Based in Cooperstown, NY, home of baseball and mecca of thousands of baseball lovers annually visit the Baseball Hall of Fame, 3 years ago I asked my husband why no one had ever made baseball cookies. The Cooperstown Cookie Company seems to be on its way to somewhere I never expected.
We started with Classic Baseball Shortbread - buttery shortbread cookies in the size & shape of regulation baseballs. Not finding a baseball cookie cutter that actually looked like a baseball (with stitches) I had to invent one. I used a glass to cut a circle from my family shortbread recipe and then with a pastry crimpier, cut 2 inverted “C” shapes. That was it - plain and simple, a real baseball cookie was born. From one cookie flavor/one size, we evolved to a bite size version, the “Bunt”, and then three more flavors: Boys of Summer Lemon, All Star Almond and Mudville Mudball Chocolate Chip. Next came our cookie mix, then Amish made milk & white chocolate baseball caps. Minor League Baseball named our newest product, the Ballpark Bunt Box, “one of the newest and most innovative products in baseball”. MiLB will showcase it at the upcoming Winter Meetings and Baseball Trade Show in Nashville.
I started the business in my kitchen, but I didn’t want to run a bakery business out of my house. So I approached a local bakery which happens to be based at Pathfinder Village, a residential community for children and adults with Down syndrome. The bakery staff & I worked for two years to scale up my family recipe to larger production. The cookies were still being made by hand. Four months into the business, when the Yankees wanted 19,000 cookies for a Mothers’ Day promotion (I turned them down because I knew we couldn’t give it our best) I figured that I was onto something - that baseball lovers might also be cookie lovers - and so I moved things to the next level. Pathfinder Village couldn’t keep up w/more demand, so we moved to DeIorio’s, a family owned bakery not far away in Utica, NY. DeIorio’s is now almost exclusively a pizza dough producer but they, too, were game to work w/ me to develop baseball cookies.
I run the business from the top floor of our barn, overlooking Lake Otsego, just up from the Village of Cooperstown. Until earlier this year, a part time helper & I were also filling all of the orders from our barn. As things started to pick up, I asked Pathfinder Village’s CEO if they might be interested in taking over the cookie packing and distribution. His bakery staff was fine w/ developing, bagging and packaging our cookie mix, but they didn’t have the space or staff to dedicate to order fulfillment. He introduced me to Rick Sebastian, the CEO of Human Technologies Corporation (HTC), in Utica (coincidentallyonly 1/3 of a mile from DeIorio’s). HTC is a not fo profit organization which provides job training and development for individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment. Now HTC packs our cookie tins & fills all orders.
Very early on, I approached a local illustrator, Lonni Sue Johnson, who is also an organic dairy farmer and a pilot, to help develop a look to the company that was unique, and that would celebrate the uncanny relationship between cookies and baseball - two American obsessions. Her artwork speaks a message about our products that words could never convey.
The Yankees came back this spring. They purchased 2,400 cookie favors for their season’s opener dinner and have continued to be good customers. So have a number of other professional baseball teams and players, and other leagues, teams, and just cookie and baseball lovers in general. We’re on a roll.
Thanks for giving me a chance to share my food business story.
November 17th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Pati,
Great story! I’m inspired by your journey. Keep up the good work.
Michelle