www.fiddlebump.com
810-599-8346

Available at Nature’s Vitality Davison
Essence on Main Clarkston
Rebekah’s Pure Living  Lapeer
Kinetic Systems Clarkston
Earth Baby Earth  Rochester

How did you start your business?
Upon the birth of my first child, I began trying to make informed choices on the types of food and personal care products I was using as I wanted to give my children the best. My Granddaddy and Grandma both battle alzheimers, and my husband and mother in law are cancer survivors, each of non Hodgkin lymphoma, these diseases have been linked to many of the ingredients in our food and personal care products. I began researching ingredients in the products I was using and found that most of the products, even the ones that claimed to be “natural” were full of harmful ingredients. In turn, I began making safe alternatives to every day products that are truly safe and natural for my family……and later decided to share my creations with others to provide healthy alternatives to their families as well

What is the hardest thing about running your own business?
The hardest thing for me is juggling my business with my two part time jobs and favorite role as wife and mom. I never seem to have enough time to devote in order to grow in the way that I would like to

How many kids do you have and how old are they?
Two
They are Four and Six

What are some of the creative ways that you juggle being a business owner and mom?
Allowing my children to help me create products whenever possible

What are some things that inspire you?
Helping other people to become informed and to make better choices for the health of their children and themselves in order to help prevent illness and suffering due to exposure of the toxic cocktails in personal care products.
My Granddaddy, My Children, My Aunt

Fun Questions!

What is your favorite Food?
A big spring mix salad with lots of veggies, and most things Mexican

What is your favorite restaurant?
I don’t have one

Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?
The Ocean

What is your favorite activity to do with your kids?
Day trips to the zoo, park…. riding bikes

If you had a free day to do whatever you wanted what would you do?
I would go to the Ocean with my family and enjoy the beauty of God’s Creation and the gifts in my life!!

Store Address, website, phone?

Still Waters Massage Therapy and Bodywork

7550 South Saginaw Suite 7 Grand Blanc
810-516-8685
How long have you been in business?

I have been in the business 8 years but started my own office 6 months ago in February 2010.

How did you decide to start your own business?

I was working out of my basement and getting too many word of mouth referrals to bring into my home. I felt the need to move out of my basement to a much bigger entity and hopefully continually to grow out of my current office.

What is the hardest thing about running your own business?

Finding the balance between work, family and play time for just me.

How many kids do you have and how old are they?

Anna is 7 and Avery is 5.

What are some of the creative ways that you juggle being a business owner and mom?

Getting my kids involved in little activities around the office during down time or or just giving them a little phone call during my busy work day to see how they are doing.

What are some things that inspire you?

Seeing recovery

Fun Questions!

What is your favorite food?

Hummus, naan, and tabbouli.

What is your favorite restaurant?

I like a few different restaurants, but the one that comes to mind is Makluks Red Rooster on Averill and Davison Rd.

Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?

Vacationing is scarce, but when I do it is somewhere that has a beach.

What is your favorite activity to do with your kids?

Playing is my favorite activity with my kids and playing barbies with my daughter.

If you had a free day to do whatever you wanted what would you do?

My free day would be working out, sitting in the hot tub, going to a movie, and choosing something that I would like to eat!  That is the total me day!

I have been rather neglectful of my blog lately.  I have been posting my sessions to facebook mostly so if you would like to go to my Photo Art by Suzi page you can see more of my latest work!

Here are some from the tea party mini sessions!!!!

Store Address, website, phone? I work from my home studio in Rochester Hills, where you can catch me by appointment most days. I sell at trunk shows and vendor shows and on my web site, www.LaterAlligator.etsy.com.

How long have you been in business? About a year and a half.

How did you decide to start your own business? I started making things for my daughter and received nonstop compliments. “You know, if you started selling those, I would buy 20,” one mom said to me about a patchwork twirly skirt she wore to school one day. That got me thinking — and sewing.

What is the hardest thing about running your own business? Having to put business before pleasure a lot of the time. I feel awful having to say “no” to my mom friends who ask me to coffee, playdates, movies or whatever. It’s hard to prioritize, but I’m realizing more and more that it is the key to being a successful businesswoman.

How many kids do you have and how old are they? I have a 7-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter.

What are some of the creative ways that you juggle being a business owner and mom? I make my kids feel like they are a part of my business adventures. Of course, the natural way is for them to wear the clothes (and spread the word about their mom). But I also ask them for “help” with random tasks, whether it be cutting out tags or assembling boxes.

What are some things that inspire you? My son’s imagination inspires me every day. My daughter inspires me with her radiant energy and rosy outlook; she is a “glass half full” girl all the way. And my husband — he is my number one fan and is a constant inspiration with his “try, try again” philosophy. 

Fun Questions!

What is your favorite Food?  Sushi, especially with the girlfriends.

What is your favorite restaurant? Sagebrush, Kruse & Muer, Gus O’Connor’s — really, too many to mention!

Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?  Eight Point Lake.

What is your favorite activity to do with your kids? We love to ski in the winter and boat in the summer; we love the zoo, any park, the library or a good movie with popcorn.

If you had a free day to do whatever you wanted what would you do? Go shopping with my mom!

First up are Shelley Peek and Bonnie Blais, co owners of Elements in downtown Lake Orion.  I remember when I first walked into this store I fell in love with it.  It is full of eye candy and lots of great furniture that I am always dreaming of using as props!  Shelley and Bonnie are always so sweet and the atmosphere in the store is just fun!  So stop by and tell them hello and check out their amazing store!

Bonnie

Store Address, website, phone?

11 S. Broadway, Lake Orion, MI 48362

How long have you been in business? Over 4 years

How did you meet Shelley and how did you 2 get the idea to go into business.

We would pass each other every morning dropping our babies off at daycare and both say we wanted to do something different. I had already written a business plan, so we met and Shelley was on board. We both come from different business backgrounds - mine in creativity and Shell in the financial/business details. It was a great fit.

What is the hardest thing about running your own business? Paying the bills and still having money left to pay ourselves.

How many kids do you have and how old are they? I have a son, Floyd that is 5 and a daughter, Clare that is 3.

What are some of the creative ways that you juggle being a business owner and mom?
Involve our children in store activities and make them feel that is an extension of our families. Also, award ourselves the luxury of having someone work to do special activities with the kids.

What are some things that inspire you? The children, they see things in such a different light, innocence, and they think outside the box because they are too young to be in the box. The outdoors, nature, architecture. We also draw a lot of energy from our customers. They enjoy the store and inspire us to make it even better!

Fun Questions!

What is your favorite Food? We both love sushi. And thai. And seafood. And Italian. And Mexican… kinda in that order:)

What is your favorite restaurant?
That’s tough. Love Big Wave Sushi across the street from the store in Lake Orion.. Best ever. Mitchel’s Seafood too in Rochester and B’ham.

Where is your favorite place to go on vacation? Maui is the most amazing place on earth. Italy a close second. Repeat spot I would go back to again and again is Charleston, SC.

What is your favorite activity to do with your kids? Snowboarding in the winter and skating in the summer. Puzzles too. Favorite time of day is snuggling and reading books before bed.

If you had a free day to do whatever you wanted what would you do? What is a free day?? Probably do nothing. Seriously, absolutely nothing.

Shelley

Store Address, website, phone

Elements -11 South Broadway, Lake Orion MI 48362 248-693-9010
elementsonline.biz
How long have you been in business?

Been in Business 4 years on May 19th.

How did you meet Bonnie and how did you two get the idea to go into business together?
Bonnie and I met at StepnStones child care where we both took our 3 month old children at the time. Bonnie told me several times that she wanted to quit the ad agency and start her own business. She was working on a business plan at the time. We both wanted more flexibility with our small children and knew running our own business together would allow us to do so. We ran into each other at Old Navy one day and I told her if she was serious, I would love to run my own show. We met a couple Saturdays later and decided to go for it. I found a bank to give us an SBA loan and the rest is HISTORY……
What is the hardest thing about running your own business?

I think the hardest thing about runnning your own business is the fact that it is a 24/7 job that you can’t shut off or run away from.
How many kids do you have and how old are they?

I have two fabulous daughters, Madison 5 and Iris 2.

What are some of the creative ways that you juggle being a business owner and mom?
We all want to be wonder woman, but having a wonderful husband and great parents is key to juggling being mom/business owner. I have a super support team on my side! I love having the authority and ability to bring my kids to work if I am in a bind.

What are some things that inspire you?
The desire to make people happy and be successful inspires me on a daily basis. My kids inspire me to be happy and healthy.

Fun Questions!

Favorite Food?
My favorite food is Salmon…mmmmm hungry…

Favorite Restaurant?
My favorite place to get my favorite dish (Salmon) is the Rochester Chop House..

Favorite Vacation spot?
We don’t vacation often or ever, but if we did I want to take the family on a Cruise to Alaska.

What is your favorite activity to do with your kids?
I absolutely love playing at the park or walking on the beach with the girls. Fun stuff..

If you had a free day to do whatever you wanted what would you do?
If I had a free day to do whatever I wanted, I would go to Yoga and then dig in the dirt in my yard and love every moment. Sounds good, I think I will plan to do that very soon!!!