Tuned Into Business:

Start-Up Junkies, filmed over a nine-month period, focuses on the recently established Seattle-based company Earth Class Mailâ„¢, a global service that delivers postal mail online, much like an electronic post office box. It airs Thursday nights beginning tonight, January 24, at 10 p.m., ET/PT.

Last October I interviewed Ron Wiener, CEO of Earth Class Mail, and I have no doubt that he is on his way to stardom. This startup has generated so much buzz in the venture capital world that it attracted the largest venture capital fund in the Pacific Northwest and broke the all-time record for raising money from the world’s largest group of “angel” investors.

Tune in to MOJO HD over the next couple of months for a great adventure.

The series is part of a new programming block every Thursday, “MOJO Money Night,” that also features two original MOJO HD series about financial investors and venture capitalists: Wall Street Warriors (9 p.m. ET/PT) and Bobby G: Adventure Capitalist (9:30 p.m. ET/PT).

I loved the segment on The Big Idea featuring the CEO of BigString, Darin Myman. If you’ve ever mistakenly sent an email to someone and wished you could “unsendâ€? it BigString lets you delete accidental e-mails for FREE. Until now I have only seen this feature available when I send an email from my aol.com account to another AOL user. Now it’s available to the masses. And the best part is that it is easy to use… in fact there is no difference from regular email.

Three years ago, the BigString founders set out to build the best Spam fighting email system on the planet. Quite by accident, they invented the world’s first fully erasable email and didn’t even realize it.

Here’s what this revolutionary technology has to offer:
* BigString’s emails look and feel like any other emails that you get, except that the sender has complete control over all of their email functions by clicking on the “Edit Sent Mail� button.
* The unique “Edit Sent Mail� feature allows you to recall, erase, add or delete attachments and self-destruct your emails after they have been sent.
* BigString users have unprecedented control over all of their email, whether they choose to send it through the BigString.com website or an email client such as Outlook.
* You have the advantages of private email and secure email.
* BigString has filed a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office that covers the BigString software, methodology and business processes for recallable and erasable email.

Who knew that writing a cookbook about how to disguise veggies in a meal could be a winning formula? I recently had the pleasure of seeing Missy Chase Lapine, on The Big Idea. Turns out she has such a passion for family and food that she quit her day job. The former publisher of Eating Well magazine says the book is about how she developed a “hiding technique” to get her daughters, both picky eaters to eat what she gave them. Missy was propelled into action after reading an inspiring quote on a card that said, “Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do.â€? As Missy chimed in saying, “The response has been incredibleâ€? Donny enlisted her to talk about the details of her phenomenal success. Here’s are some of the things Missy mentioned: She’s sold 120,000 copies of her book, “The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals,” since April 2007. The book has been on the New York Times Bestseller List. Missy just signed with a licensing firm. Frozen Entries are coming soon. She is filming a TV pilot. Missy received a 6-figure advance for a Sneaky Chef Men’s book to be released next year. All this from putting veggies in food! Her brownie recipe includes blueberries and spinach. No doubt her years spent testing these healthy recipes on her own children have paid off quite well.

Paula’s charisma is undeniably contagious. The butter-loving, finger-licking, joke-cracking mother of down home cooking spent some time with Donny Deutsch on the Big Idea. She had tons of fun, I could tell by how many times she kissed Donny on the cheek when they were dancing. Her most memorable comment to Donny was, “I’d rather die with a potato in my mouth than a piece of lettuce.� Facing the stress of relocating, not seeing eye to eye with her husband, and raising her two sons, Paula started her at-home catering business. With $200 and a dream she was committed to doing whatever it took to make her business succeed. And even though it wasn’t easy, she was willing to work 16 hours a day.

Paula Deen shared a couple of her personal secrets to building a food fortune:
~ You’ve got to be willing to work when all of your friends are playing
~ Be stubborn (even if people tell you that you can’t do it)
~ Take it to the next level – don’t rest on your laurels, make whatever you are doing better. Paula added that she is never completely satisfied, she knows things can be better

Guess what Paula Deen is up to now?
~ A new line of packaged foods will be in Wal-Mart the first week in November 2007
~ Harrah’s Casino is opening a 650 seat “Paula Deen Buffet.�

Paula Deen’s final thoughts to Donny when he asked how she became such a big success:
“Necessity�
“Want�
“I needed to grow as a person.�
“I needed it to grow my children.��
“I like to eat.�

If you want to know the intimate details of her often bumpy road to fame and fortune, check out her new book “Paula Deen: It Ain’t All About the Cookin’.â€? And yes each chapter has incredible recopies like Chocolate-Dippy Doughnuts, and Courage Chili.

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