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Millionaire Moms and Their Not So Secret Secrets

Not So Secret Secrets

Do you remember being a kid and your mom telling you that you could be anything you wanted to be? She was always the one to champion your efforts to set up a lemonade stand or to make beaded bracelets that you were going to sell and make a fortune. While you likely never got rich from any of those creative enterprises, you were gaining a wealth of knowledge through Mom’s encouragement to work hard and never give up.

As adults, we learn that life is hard, nothing is handed to us, and from those that make it big, the right attitude and determination will help you succeed. But is it really that easy? Yes. and. No.

Below are the inspirational stories of five Moms who became millionaires. Each took a unique path to get there, but they shared a single purpose – a drive built out of necessity. A mother’s love is fierce. It gives women superhuman strength to overcome obstacles, push through their own fears and to do things they never thought possible in order to care for their children. These accounts, while meant to encourage others to act, demonstrate that anyone can be successful.

Melissa Hinnant

Melissa Hinnant

Source: Austin Fusion Magazine. Grace & Lace: Sure to Knock Your Socks Off.
Photo by: Dalton Campbell

Melissa Hinnant’s created a successful, multi-million dollar frilly boot sock company, Grace & Lace, in October, 2011. Her passion for sewing and knitting was borne out of a desire to pass the time while being prescribed complete bed rest during her pregnancy. Unfortunately, she lost her daughter to miscarriage but used her pain to push forward and start her company. Opening in a friend’s basement, employing friends and fellow parishioners, her first year’s social media-driven sales totaled $800,000.

[bctt tweet=”I say don’t wish, just do it. Just do it. / Melissa Hinnant”]

The simple concept of creating decorative socks that enhance boot tops propelled Melissa Hinnant to dream big. Through the loss of her baby, Haley, Melissa and her husband have been driven to giving back to those in need. They’ve funded orphanages in India to help children without families grow up in a safe and caring environment. To further this mission, Melissa sought investment funding through an appearance on the hit television show “Shark Tank.” Her enthusiastic approach combined with a desire to help even more children convinced multi-millionaire investor, Barbara Corcoran to invest $175,000 (half of which was a line of credit) for 10-percent equity in the company.

Hinnert’s generosity of spirit has paid off. Grace & Lace’s 2013 sales topped off at phenomenal $2.8 million. She’s earned enough to build two orphanages and has plans for three more – all named in honor of her daughter, The Haley House. This is truly a story where adversity brought about a vision for a better life – if not for herself, then for those less fortunate. What a great legacy for her lost child.

You can follow Melissa Hinnant, Grace and Lace on Twitter @graceandlaceco and make sure to visit her business website graceandlace.com

Melissa Kieling

Melissa Kieling

Source: LA Times. How I Made It Melissa Kieling, CEO of insulated bag maker PackIt.
Photo by: www.latimes.com

PackIt lunch bags are the ingenious invention of Melissa Kieling. This single mom of three was frustrated with the lack of a viable solution to keeping her kids’ lunches cold for the entire school day. She researched and patented a unique personal cooler with a 10-hour freezable gel lining in 2009. By the end of her first year, she had sold $150,000, but that was just the beginning of her success.

[bctt tweet=”My idea had to work, because I had no fallback plan. It was a matter of survival. / Melissa Kieling”]

Melissa’s path to financial independence was neither quick nor easy. Recently divorced and with no marketable skills or resources to take care of herself or her three small children, she started investigating ideas for her product due to necessity. Melissa’s car was repossessed, and at one point, she only had $13 in her checking account. Once her concept was born, she pleaded with a dry cleaner to sew her first proto-type together – a much-improved version of the shower curtain, ice packs and safety pins she first made. The first supply of products was funded by friends and family. From there she went to every trade show should could to ultimately raise $2 million in private investment dollars. Getting the word out was done through social media sales and an ingenious infomercial. Sales skyrocketed to over $6 million. With sales projections the following year in the range of $16 million, Melissa’s little PackIt company grew 7000 percent in just three years.

Talk about a mother’s drive to survive! Even when things were at their worst, Melissa used her creative abilities, enlisted the support of friends and family, persevered and won.

You can follow Melissa Kieling on Twitter @packitgirl and make sure to visit her business website www.packit.com

Madra Jones

madra jones

Source: Madra Jones. Official Site.
Photo by: madra.com

As a college dropout, single mom Madra Jones was struggling to find opportunities that would lead to financial success. She attended esthetic school, moved back to her hometown, worked hard in the beauty industry for years and ultimately ended up successfully owning her own salons. While she thought she had finally “made it,” she realized that she had a mountain of debt, more stress than she could handle and never spent any time with her children. When she felt she had no more to give, in walked a client with an idea that would change her life – the Salon Skinny Wrap. Even though she was determined not to extend herself any further, she recognized that a new opportunity in network marketing would improve her life. She took a leap of faith and became a distributor for the product. She had found the “It” product; the one that everyone wanted to buy. She earned a 7-figure income in just her second year and has been empowering other women to follow her lead ever since.

[bctt tweet=”Love, grace, kindness. Try working your business with these in mind. / Madra Jones”]

Madra’s unconventional process might not have been possible had it not been for the generosity of strangers. She had no savings, had significant credit card debt, was barely able to survive on her income, and with poor credit, banks would not lend her the money to start a business. Although discouraged, it didn’t stop her from using creative ingenuity to get what she wanted. That’s when she started to teach others what she had learned. By sharing her story and knowledge, she encouraged other women in similar circumstances to become entrepreneurs. She learned that when they made money, she made money. It was the power of teamwork.

When Madra was finally able to look herself in the mirror and truly be honest with herself, she was able to turn things around. While this mom was reaching for the same financial security for her children that others moms were, she realized that the original path she chose wasn’t working. In fact, it was quite the opposite – she had zero financial security and kept digging herself a bigger hole. It was only when she finally stepped back, trusted in herself, and believed she and her children were worth the effort, that she ultimately found success.

You can follow Madra Jones on Twitter @MadraJones and make sure to visit her business website madra.com

Dani Johnson

dani johnson success

Source: danijohnson.com Official Youtube Channel.
Photo by: danijohnson.com/

Leading a life more suited to a movie script than real life, 21-year-old Dani Johnson went from being homeless and living out of her car in Hawaii to a multi-millionaire entrepreneur within two years. Her saving grace was a weight loss program but the tenacity and courage she used to market herself was the true inspiration. She went on to open 18 weight loss centers, which she sold in 1996. Today she runs five companies and gives back through charity contributions.

[bctt tweet=”Dreams come true EVERYDAY for those who are willing to WORK for them. / Dani Johnson”]

Growing up with drug-addict parents who beat and abused her throughout her childhood led her to follow a similar path. She barely made a living as a cocktail waitress in Hawaii and lived out of her car. With no money and $35,000 in debt, she sought an escape from everything evil in her life. She began using cocaine, dating men just to get a meal and suicidal. The day she decided life was not worth living was the day things finally changed. Whether divine intervention or finally hitting bottom, Dani pulled herself out of the ocean, made the long trek back to her car and passed out. When she opened her eyes, she was looking at an old box of weight loss product sitting in her back seat, as if for the first time. The box was warped and tattered but a payphone call to the manufacturer confirmed no one was marketing the product in Hawaii. Licensing and money were required to sell it, so she decided to get resourceful. A handwritten flyer, a cheap cell phone and a liquor store address were all she needed to start her on her way.

“Never give up” has to be the moral of this story. No matter what has happened in your past, it’s possible to make a fresh start. Don’t expect a straight line to success – there is no such thing. But hard work and the willingness to overcome obstacles will always reap rewards.

You can follow Dani Johnson on Twitter @danijohnsonlive and make sure to visit her website www.danijohnson.com

Joyce Bone

Joyce Bone

Source: businessradiox.com Inside the Winner’s Circle.
Photo by: businessradiox.com

Joyce Bone is a self-made business woman. She’s the CEO of Bone Up On Business, she is a coach and consultant, inspirational speaker, a multi-millionaire and a mom. She gives credit to a strict father’s parenting methods for her independent spirit and ability to focus on a goal. As a stay-at-home-mom, she took her life savings of $10,000 and co-founded an environmental company named EarthCare. It quickly grew into a $125 million dollar company and became a publicly traded success story. Joyce took her expertise “on the road” and has become a nationally recognized expert helping businesses improve performance and profitability.

[bctt tweet=”I have set up my life in such a way that I get to love every moment of it. / Joyce Bone”]

Like every mom before her, Joyce’s career path was rocky. She and her husband decided that their children would never be put in daycare. So when their first child was born with health issues, Joyce quit her job to devote 100% of her time at home. Dropping from a two-income family to one was both challenging and frustrating. Every day she had to make choices about what not to buy due to their limited budget. Sound familiar? Her key means of inspiring female business owners is to help them recognize that becoming a successful entrepreneur doesn’t take a magic formula or a phD; it requires a belief in yourself, a lot of hard work, laser-like focus and the willingness to ask for help.

Joyce has written a book, “Millionaire Moms – The Art of Raising a Business and a Family at the Same Time.” In it she shares stories from 100 millionaire moms to encourage and support other entrepreneurial women. Her message, one that should cross generations, is that business owners must create real change on actionable items in order to improve business performance. The main obstacle to change is fear. And the main fear for this group is how to be a prosperous business owner and an outstanding mom at the same time.

You can follow Joyce Bone on Twitter @JoyceBone and make sure to visit her website www.joycebone.com

An underlying key element to each of these stories is the ability to raise capital. Every idea requires someone to believe in it. At Excel Capital Management, we understand that your path to success is unique. We understand that your business may not fit into the typical criteria established by traditional lenders, which is why we’re here to help. A financing option such as a Merchant Cash Advance is designed to provide funding for expansion or operation improvement with no collateral or credit. The only criteria required are strong sales reports and cash flow statements. 

You’re not alone in your quest for financial independence. Call an Excel Capital representative today or simply fill out this quick form below to see how we can help.