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- Home Biz: Hearthside Enterprises, consisting of:
- The Coupon
Lady:
I teach classes through local Adult Ed. programs and to social
service agencies on how to save money by using coupons, bargain
shopping, doing inexpensive activities with your kids, etc.
- Consumer
Advocate:
I work as an independent contractor to link the owner of 2 local
grocery stores and his customers so they can both get what they
want...low-priced, fresh groceries in a pleasant setting, and
a successful grocery store business.
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- Top Products/Services:
- Classes on couponing and refunding,
bargain shopping, inexpensive activities to do with your children,
being good to yourself as an at-home mom, cherish your child,
etc.
- Weekly email list available
by subscription, for all the good deals in the grocery and department
stores in my area, and the coupons available to go with them.
- Private classes and coaching
on couponing and refunding.
- Coupon boxes for sale.
- Consumer advocacy for the grocery
store, but also to the general public in their dealings with
shopping isues in most stores.
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- Primary Market:
Mothers and others who
want to save money.
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- Mission Statement: My
mission is to touch the lives of as many mothers and families
as possible, and teach them how to save money and appreciate
their time together more.
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- Client Endorsement:
I have had a few women
write or call me to tell me that thanks to my couponing class,
they will not have to go to work part-time, outside the home,
because now they shop more wisely and can save money to stay
home to care for their families. Plus, they think it is a blast
to get items free or for pennies by using coupons!! And I do
too!
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- Home Career
Defining Moment: My greatest home career related achievement
is described below:
Last December (1998) I approached the owner of a local grocery
store and asked him if I could teach one coupon class in his
store that would be free to the community and to him. All I asked
in return was help with publicity. He did better than that --
he hired me to teach 6 classes per year (free to the public)
and after the first set asked me to be his Consumer Advocate
for his new store that is opening on Feb 6th. I jumped at the
chance and spent last Fall hooking him up with many different
civic groups, PTO's, church groups, etc. where he and I would
go to meetings, he would introduce himself to them, tell his
background, tell about the store, and ask for suggestions from
the groups as to how he could make his store what they wanted.
(I am using my background and contacts from my previous work
as a social worker to do this) Our local community ate this up
-- imagine a grocery store owner that asked for their
input? Unheard of in these parts!!! I was able to go to the meetings
with him, and didn't have to speak, just be introduced as his
Consumer Advocate. Now the new store is opening soon, and I will
also teach the coupon classes there, and in February I will be
in the store every day for a few hours (I can make my own schedule)
talking with the customers and making sure they are happy. He
wants me to stay connected to the store as an independent contractor
(which I prefer as well) so that I represent the people, not
the store, and they know that.
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- The coupon classes have been
the most popular of all the classes I teach (I teach a whole
shopping system, and save a lot of money usuing coupons and refunding...$5,400
in 1998) and in trying to get publicity for the store, I have
actually been getting a lot for myself as 'The Coupon Lady."
I have been interviewed in a local paper, had one radio interview
with another scheduled for April, and have been on cable TV twice...all
in the last 8 months! I am having a ball! I love what I am doing,
and the man I work with is great and very understanding about
my wanting to be available for our kids as much as possible.
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- Two of my favorite things in
life are helping people and saving money, and with the two types
of inter-related work that I do, I get to help people and teach
them to save money...and I couldn't be happier!
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- Home Career
Advice: Do your work
well and with passion!!!
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