Announcing the top 10 Joyce's Favourite Things!

Announcing the top 10 Joyce's Favourite Things!

Wow, has this been an exciting few weeks. Since announcing the Joyce's Favourite Things contest, my email has been flooded with lots of great submissions. I want everyone to succeed and grow their business! But because I know that a big part of business involves positioning and competition, I am choosing my favourite 10 products with the following criteria:

Originality of idea.

Some of these product ideas gave me the tickle when I read the description. They were simple but effective. Some just gave be the great Ah-ha and were unique enough that I thought they would make great non-traditional gifts.

Variety in overall selection.

I selected a variety of gifts, not just 4 kinds of food products or 5 crafty ideas.

Purchase Simplicity.

There were a few products submitted that were great but didn't have any website or online ordering system. Yeah I know I didn’t include it as a criteria for submission ... I just didn't see it as a huge problem until after I saw the submissions coming in. So next year, if I choose to do this again, I fully expect that all these early stage businesses will be up and ready to rock and roll.

I am actually hyperventilating I am so nervous about having to select winners among so many great entries. So here goes ... described in no particular order:
Joyce's Favourites Things 2006


Monthly socks

I have given a-gift-a-month presents before, the most recent being different blends of Peet's Coffee for my brother and sister. I loved the twist on this concept in the form of monthly socks ... especially for someone who has a raggedy collection of holey socks. This idea was created in a moment of inspiration between a man (David) who was frustrated by his motley collection of socks and his wife (Elena) who had a brainstorm for a subscription service while receiving her O Magazine. The full story here! And you don't have to get a pair a month if that is too much ... there are smaller quantity options. (I found the sock calculator didn't work on the site, but it may be fixed by the time this goes to press)

Home Study for Home Movies

This is downright cool … home study course developed by Myrtha Chang, a former corporate trainer and instructional designer who took her interest in creating home movies and made a very thorough step-by-step learning program for do-it-yourself videomakers. She talks about restoring and preserving old footage in digital formats, as well as editing the endless hours of rambling footage into a nice package that is fun to watch. There are some entertaining examples on her very detailed sales page (OK, it is really long, but you can't say she doesn't answer every question you might have!). Check out the one with the "How to Hug a Baby, A Guide for Ambitious Dogs."
This would make a great companion to the camcorder you were planning to give to a loved one.

Saylor Sage

I love wearing accessories. No matter what you wear it adds a unique beauty to the total outcome. This small company sells beautiful, elegant accessories for the classy ladies who want to add a little touch to their sense of style. The Founder Saylor Sage explains:

“I have always been intrigued with all things beautiful, old, or ethnic since I was a little girl and always loved digging into my grandmothers’ jewellery boxes and closets. But unlike most designers, I grew up wanting to be a business woman, and didn’t realize my creative potential until after college. In fact, I graduated from college with a major in International Finance and a minor in Japanese. And “no”, I can’t speak Japanese. Luckily, my senior year I took a costuming class to fulfil an art credit and discovered a new passion for design.

In the summer of 2004, with the support my wonderful husband Michael, I opened Saylor Sage. The Saylor Sage name stands for a certain lifestyle blending my Texas upbringing with the eclectic qualities of my New York lifestyle. We have very loyal and enthusiastic customers, and a slowly expanding line of products. It's been a blast."

Out Of Africa

This is a business with a mission. It’s created for the people of South Africa. They make cookies. Each time you take a bite of a Khaya Cookie you help Create Opportunity One Bite at a Time. Their aim is to create Societal Wealth by reducing the "tin-cup" dependency. By helping people earn an income they are no longer reliant upon hand-outs. The bakers of the Khaya Cookie Company come from the townships which surround Cape Town and primarily from the township of Khayelitsha. Today, almost one million people live below poverty level in crowded, one room "homes" in Khayelitsha. These homes are typically made from sheets of corrugated iron or any available timber. One out of every four children suffers from chronic malnutrition and 70% of all women who are heads of households are unemployed.

How to Quilt

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to make our very own quilt? Penny Halgren created this site to inspire and educate those that want learn how to quilt. All of her quilting resources are written in an easy-to-understand language. I am going to buy one of her books myself to create my own quilt too.

Hear and Play Piano

It you want to learn how to play piano the easiest way check out this site. Jermaine teaches you how to play the piano with you ear He said “The secret to playing piano is with your ear”.

He has over 60 music to learn for free. Over 1 million musicians visit his site every year and benefit from his online articles, lessons, and advice. There is nothing Jermaine enjoys more than the testimonials and thank you notes from his students: "It's all about helping people," says Jermaine.


Jewellery Holder

This lady's business gave me the kick. As you know ‘am into accessories and she knews the problems we face handling our jewelleries. Well, Bernadette decided to give us a solution. She designed the Jewel Caddy a product to help us arrange our jewelleries. Isn't it cute.

Flower Delivery

Can you remember a time when you forgot to send a present to a love one. Sometimes we could be pre-occupied with life that we forget those that are important to us. Beyond Blossoms is a flower business owned by Josh Grossman and Gina Maschek they deliver the freshest flowers from around the world, with the best designs, at the lowest prices to love ones around the world

Cruise Holiday




I love this guys he was able to turn a very competitive business to a million dollar baby. Captain Lou owes this travel agent business selling specialty cruise to various industry professionals. You can book any cruise you want at a reasonable price. You also have the choose to book a free cruise too from his AnythingLeft-Handed


Anythingleft-handed started out as a small shop in London selling left handed items but they were not making a lot of money until they put their business on the internet ranking them a 70% increase in sales. This is a great niche and I love how the business publicize themselves by promoting their own dedicated event “Left-Hander Day” on the 13th of August to celebrate the advantage of left handnes

Thank you so much to everyone who submitted their info to this contest! I have been sick for the past week that's why I haven't sent the list as promised for the 15th. I got so many submissions and I had to read them all to make my choice.

Thanks a lot and have a great week everyone and thanks for playing!

=====================================================

Online entrepreneur Joyce Oladipo, "Client Attraction Maven," is creator of the winning Attractive Marketing E-zine’ to Jumpstart Your Business offline and online. To learn to Attract More New Clients, Sell More to Existing Clients, and Bring Back Your Clients More Frequently, Without Pushing So Hard — No Matter What Product or Service You Sell sign up for FREE how-to articles and FREE audio class, at www.ClientAttractionStrategies.com

She’s an inspirational Gift to me

I first heard about this lady through a fellow blogger, Pamela Slim. Her name is Glenda Watson Hyatt. I was intrigued by this lady’s story and her goal of getting her autobiography published by her 40th birthday. She missed that deadline just by a one month. This week, her book, "I'll Do It Myself" was published, and it would make a great Christmas present.

Here is what Pamela Slim says about Glenda and her book:

[It] is Glenda’s life story of living a strong, sassy and courageous life with Cerebral Palsy. She has written it all using only her left thumb. A great gift for parents of children with disabilities, it is also a great, uplifting story for anyone about what you can do to overcome obstacles in your life with some grit, humor, fierce will and determination. I personally want this to become a bestseller and I want to see Glenda on Oprah...

A lack of oxygen at birth left Glenda with little use of her hands, the inability to walk and speech that was difficult for others to understand. But it didn't hold her back from experiencing a full and happy life. In school, Glenda was integrated into a regular classroom; she earned the Canada Cord, the highest award in Girl Guides; and she won the Outstanding Junior Student Award. And this gutsy young red-head even won a gold medal in horseback riding! Glenda is now married and works as a writer, especially on the topic of disabilities.
If you'd like to learn more about Glenda and purchase her book, here is a link to her web site: http://www.booksbyglenda.com/index.htm

=====================================================

Online entrepreneur Joyce Oladipo, "Client Attraction Maven," is creator of the winning ‘Attractive Marketing E-zine’ to Jumpstart Your Business offline and online. To learn to Attract More New Clients, Sell More to Existing Clients, and Bring Back Your Clients More Frequently, Without Pushing So Hard — No Matter What Product or Service You Sell sign up for FREE how-to articles and FREE audio class, at www.ClientAttractionStrategies.com

Ready for some fun? Have your product listed on 'Joyce's Favourite Things 2006'

At this time of the month Oprah always give out her favourite list to the audience. So I thought why can’t we do so in the entrepreneurial world, so I took the bull by the horns and I will be announcing mine.

As my mission is the help small businesses grow their business and get more clients. I thought it would be a nice way to help you break into new markets.

So here goes...

The process:

• From now (December 4) until December 15, send me an email with the subject line "Joyce's Favourite Things Submission" and tell me about your product, why you think it would be a great gift, and how it got you start as an entrepreneur. Send it to Joyce (at) Clientattractionstrategies (dot) com.

• I will work my way through the piles of excellent entries and choose the Top 10 to be included in the post to be published here on December 20.

• Feel free to spread the word to other creative entrepreneurs who want to join in the fun.

Basic guidelines:

• Submissions should be for products that one would actually consider giving to someone else for the holidays. Include a short descriptions of why your product should be on the list as much as a description of what it is.

• Please, no bigger companies disguising themselves as smaller companies. What I want to promote here are examples of people who have crossed the great chasm from corporate drone to kick-ass entrepreneur and have some great products to show for it that would make fun, valuable, interesting and off-beat presents.

• No need to send samples unless it is high-quality chocolate or gourmet. Then I must sample it to ensure it is as good as you say it is. I am not running this contest to subvert my own holiday shopping by getting a bunch of your freebies, although now that I think about it, that is an excellent idea. Ever hear of "re-gifting?" Seriously, don't worry about samples.

I might not be able to make you an overnight millionaires like Oprah ... I may generate enough sales by my recommendations to help you pay for the postage on the gifts you ship to friends and families.
But I guarantee you one thing - it will be fun! Please join in.



=====================================================

Online entrepreneur Joyce Oladipo, "Client Attraction Maven," is creator of the winning ‘Attractive Marketing E-zine’ to Jumpstart Your Business offline and online. To learn to Attract More New Clients, Sell More to Existing Clients, and Bring Back Your Clients More Frequently, Without Pushing So Hard — No Matter What Product or Service You Sell sign up for FREE how-to articles and FREE audio class, at www.ClientAttractionStrategies.com