More Than WE Know

Wuvit?? Green Daisy?? Pretty, young, blond, smiling mom??

I have to tell you:

When I first picked up this book Mommy Millionaire: How I Turned My Kitchen Table Idea into a Million Dollars and How You Can, Too! with its flowery pink and green cover, I assumed that it was going to be one of those sugar-coated success stories telling how with a little cock-eyed optimism and bit of a spunk, you too could become an overnight business success, while also raising adorable home-schooled children, building a perfect marriage, cooking gourmet meals and keeping immaculately waxed floors…

…and I almost put it back on the shelf.

But they always say not to judge a book by its cover - and this is no exception.

Instead of a saccharine sweet story about a too-perfect princess, I found a true, edge-of-my-seat, gripping page-turner of a book about a down-to-earth woman, with a great idea, a lot of passion and little business knowledge, struggling to keep her family one step ahead of the bill collector.

Kim Lavine takes her readers every step of the way from her initial sales out of the back of her truck to her first trade show, her quest for exposure on QVC and her roller-coaster ride with venture capitalists. Along the way she learns the ins and outs of product manufacturing, shipping, wholesale and retail merchandising. She encounters many great mentors and almost as many hustlers and opportunists.

Over the three year period that she builds her business from the kitchen table to a multi-million dollar enterprise she also deals with a special-needs son, a terminally ill mother-in-law, and an out-of-work husband, all the while teetering perilously close to bankruptcy and financial ruin.

Kim is unafraid to tell you her doubts and fears. She reveals the dark moments when she considered giving up and declaring bankruptcy. She shares the frustration she and her husband felt as they slowly learned to work together and gradually grew to appreciate the strengths the other brought to the business.

Kim admits the regrettable times early on when she made parenting decisions that favored her business over her children. She shares the vow she eventually made to never again apologize for being a mother in business.

By the end of the book, you are cheering for this hard-working woman and wishing she could be your best friend.

Not only is this book a fascinating read of the inside story of the start-up of a multi-million dollar enterprise, it is also a great reference book. Kim provides pages of practical tips concerning how to deal with lawyers, manufacturers, bankers and investors. She provides forms, websites, and glossaries of business and financial terms.

She shares all of the mistakes she made, money she lost and decisions she regrets, so that you won’t have to - or so that you won’t feel so alone or foolish when you do!

And in case you’re wondering: Kim’s business is called Green Daisy and her multi-million dollar product is a wuvit - a fabric-covered grain-filled spa pack that when heated in the microwave gives off hours of moist heat, or when frozen becomes a no-drip ice pack. Kim even makes a wuvit for children - Sleepy-head Fred and has expanded into totebags and pajamas.

Kim Levine, Mommy Millionaire - Her products are great, and her story is definitely not to be missed!

(p.s.- in case you’re wondering - nope, I’m not affiliated with Green Daisy in any way - just converted from a skeptic into a fan!)

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