It’s been over two months since our Barbara Corcoran Seal of Approval contest winners received $10,000 each from OnDeck to grow their businesses and their private consultation Barbara Corcoran. It was fun to meet them at OnDeck HQ in New York City.
Our winners gave us an update of their progress in early February, and we’re excited to see what else they’ve achieved since last checking in.
The Gents Place – Dallas, TX
Ben Davis, owner of men’s grooming and lifestyle business, The Gents Place, is in the process of releasing a recruitment video targeted at potential franchisees.
Ben, and his wife Lauren, made the trek to New York in December to discuss their franchise goals with Barbara. Using their $10,000, and tips from Barbara, Ben and Lauren tapped marketing agency 3 Headed Monster to create the video.
Stay tuned for the video in our next update.
The Sugar Path – Geneva, IL
Owners Michelle Adams and Nina Cater are pleased to say that The Sugar Path’s cake jar products are becoming synonymous with the bakery.
Increasing in-house consumer exposure at their storefront was a must before achieving the sisters’ long-term of goal of selling nationally via their website. Heeding Barbara’s advice, the cake jars were given a preferable space at the bakery, and coupled with Valentine’s Day, the cake jars accounted for 10% of The Sugar Path’s February sales.
Michelle and Nina also shared with Barbara ideas around themed gift boxes—featuring their cake jars, and two new boxes: “Bridesmaid” and “Celebrate A Wedding” boxes. Michelle and Nina wanted to take advantage of their role as wedding caterers and bridal show participants, which picks up in the spring.
Back in December, Barbara suggested Michelle and Nina redo their cake jar labels as part of their marketing efforts. The labels are currently in round-two with their graphic designer.
BodyworksBall™ – Brick, NJ
The dynamic BJ Dowlen has left no stone unturned since we last checked in. As we mentioned in February, BodyworksBall was featured in the boutique store Story in NYC for one month. BJ sealed that deal the same day she met with Barbara. Two weeks after the launch, the BodyworksBall sold out, and BJ had to express ship additional inventory to fulfill demand.
BJ also has the media in her sights as she promotes her product. While the BodyworksBall was on display at Story, the editors at Yahoo Health stopped by, and rated it as one of the “11 Tech Products That Make Healthy Living Easier.” BodyworksBall was featured in an entire segment on FABLife TV which helped to bump up her sales and both Success Magazine and Gravity Payments reached out to BJ about featuring her story in their various channels.
BJ was able to get a BodyworksBall in the hands of tennis star Venus Williams and actress Kate Hudson (pictured above). Kate Hudson is the co-founder of Fabletics, an online sportswear retailer, and BJ is keen on making a mark there, too.
Two exciting opportunities are still ahead for BodyworksBall: BJ’s product will soon be at Bed, Bath, and Beyond stores, and you will be able to buy her product on The Home Shopping Network this month.
BJ took one step closer in establishing her #Take2AndRenew program nationwide. BJ sent samples of her product to major hotels, in the hopes of convincing them to establish #Take2AndRenew wellness stations for their guests that feature her product and encourage its use.
Stay tuned for our last update in a month’s time!