RyanAir claims to serve the best tea and coffee at 30,000 feet, and having tried a fair few brews at high altitudes, I’m inclined to agree.

However — also RyanAir has now experienced the hard way what that seemingly innocent and deliscious cuppa can do:

last week, a RyanAir plane en route from the UK to Poland was forced to make an emergency landing after a woman had scalded herself badly on a cup of tea, and needed immediate treatment. She then decided to take the train for the onward journey.

It seems not only parents are in need of a hot drink safety solution — RyanAir; we will come to your rescue: a Safetea mug with your logo is on its way.…!

Report by KAufmann Foundation Anatomy of an Entrepreneur

The very definition of an entrepreneur is for many someone who simply goes their own way, and define their own path to success.

And no venture, and no entrepreneur, is precisely like the other. But why do some make it and others, in spite of the best of intentions, do not?

I came across the 2009 report “The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur” by the Kaufmann Foundation, based on a survey of 549 company founders across a variety of industries. The study seeks insights into high-growth founders’ motivations and their socio-economic, educational, and familial backgrounds. Key findings are sum up what successful entrepreneurs seem to have in common, in terms of background, level of education and motivation.

As an entrepreneur in the starting blocks of scaling up my business, I was of course curious to see if I fitted the picture and have what it takes.….

So here goes:

The average and median age of company founders when they started their current companies was 40.

Tick! OK, I was 35. Not too far off the mark.

95.1 percent of respondents themselves had earned bachelor’s degrees, and 47 percent had more advanced degrees.

Tick! With a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree under my belt, I fall in the latter category.

52 percent said they ranked among the top 10 percent in High School.

Yes Sir. I did. Can’t deny I was one of those bookworms with the glasses. Quite surprising finding though, I had the stereotype idea of the free-thinking entrepreneur that went so much against authority when growing up, that his or her talent wasn’t seen in school.

Less than 1 percent came from extremely rich or extremely poor backgrounds.

Tick! I certainly lacked nothing when growing up, and got the chance to travel, study, play and sport. But extremely rich: no. Extremely poor: luckily for me, no. 

15.2% of founders had a sibling that previously started a business.

Tick! My  brother has a rent-a-doctor business, Addoc, that he started a few years’ earlier than I took the plunge. For him, it is a sidejob next to his ‘day job’ as a surgeon, but nevertheless, his ambition and guts certainly inspired me.

69.9 percent of respondents indicated they were married when they launched their first business.

Tick again. Yes, I was married and I can’t stress enough that without the support — and salary, let’s be honest — of my husband Han ten Broeke, I would never have been able to even think about quitting my job to starting develop a product full time. And those times when things seem to not go my way no matter how hard I try, he is the one who inspires me to take that extra step. Again, again and again.

59.7 percent of respondents indicated they had at least one child when they launched their first business, and 43.5 percent had two or more children.

This certainly challenges the stereotype of the entrepreneurial workaholic with no time for a family.

As far as I am concerned: Tick again. Stronger: without my daughter, there would never have been a business idea. Thus — no business.
Having a child also made me long for more flexibility in my professional life. Having a business does not mean working fewer hours, for sure, but I can much more easily combine this workload with family.

The majority of the entrepreneurs in the sample were serial entrepreneurs. The average number of businesses launched by respondents was approximately 2.3.

Nope, here I don’t fit in. With a past as a diplomat, I was about as far from an entrepreneur one could come, I guess, when I started this venture. Let’s hope this is not an indication that I have 2.3 businesses to go before I may count myself successful.….!

74.8 percent indicated desire to build wealth as an important motivation in becoming an entrepreneur.

Oups. Tough one. Hand on my heart, I found it so difficult — in the beginning — to admit that yes.… I WANT TO MAKE MONEY! Why? After 10 years in development aid, it was very hard to wear the hat of someone who thinks in terms of profit. It’s simply a bit of a dirty characteristic in my old circles. Also, MummyMug of course has a higher benefit than being a money maker: I sincerely do it also for the kids that will be saved the pain of scalding burns, if their parents are smart enough to use my invention.  but this said, and certainly since I have investors on board, and since I realize how enormously hard it is to make that profit: yes, I want to make money. And yes, if I do: I will have deserved it!

Only 4.5 percent said the inability to find traditional employment was an important factor in starting a business.

Tick tick. I left my lifetime safe employment at the European Commission for my dream.No lack of employment in the past thus!

Entrepreneurs are usually better educated than their parents.

Nope, I’m not! very proud that my father has even two degrees — in business adminstration and in medicine. My mother is not far behind with an advanced teaching degree.

Entrepreneurship doesn’t always run in the family. More than half (51.9 percent) of respondents were the first in their families to launch a business.

I kind of am. My father is since a few years working as an independent consultant, after he got tired of the realities of employment in the public healthcare in Sweden. But while I grew up, my parents were both working in the public sector and I’m the first one trying entrepreneurship at the scale MummyMug necessarily entails. 

The majority of respondents (75.4 percent) had worked as employees at other companies for more than six years before launching their own companies.

Tick and no tick! Does 10 years’ work experience, albeit in a very different field and for a public institution count.…. ?

Last but not least: Networks count. Professional networks were important to the success of the current businesses for 73 percent of the entrepreneurs in the study. In comparison, 62 percent felt the same way about personal networks.

Certainly agree. Networks are everything. Without them, you don’t get forward and you have nothing to fall back on when need be.

All in all — that’s quite encouraging, actually. At least if I can prove to make something out of this good start in life that I got ;-)
Who lives will see…

And in the meantime, tell me: what is your outlook?

CE-marking: not the most interesting subject for a creative entrepreneurs, who’d rather spend time on design, marketing plans and challenging online conversations.

But for anyone who plans to lawfully introduce a product on the EU market, like we do, CE-marking is of course not an optional subject to tackle.
You simply have to know which norms that your product must comply with, and make sure you take the necessary steps to met the standard — or you could be facing a costly recall and see your dream disappear from the market faster than you can say ‘hepp’! That is a risk no entrepreneur should take.

For MummyMug, we started looking into this quite some time ago, and I must say that the quest for the answer to the magic CE question has been long and winding.
It has taken me through erratic google searches, discussions with various labs, institutions and experts; and even some brave attempts to chew my way through dense source texts of EU legislation.

I’ve had different answers from different experts and been pointed in all sorts of directions, leaving me feel more confused each time — and not one step closer to where I had to be: with a well-structured Technical File ready for inspection should someone ask for it.

In the end, the solution was just around the corner: with fellow entrepreneur Han Zuyderwijk who runs the online business CE-Marking.net from a base in The Hague.

Han  has a really fresh approach to CE-marking that can save everyone in product development a lot of money: the Do It Yourself CE-Certification.

Han is an experienced CE-marking lawyer, who used to work for the Big Established CE-Marking Laboratory. Over the years, he saw how the CE-marking industry created a kind of mystery cloud around the whole CE-marking process, making clients feel that CE-marking is something very complicated — which it is.

But what he really did not like, was that the established laboratories all seem to have agreed on a well-kept trade secret: namely giving clients the impression that there is no way around hiring the expensive The Big Established CE-Marking Laboratory to get the CE-marking organised. And luckily, there certainly is away around that costly process.

Han’s recipe is simple: he starts with stating the simple truth that in almost 90% of the cases, the CE marking regulations allow products to be self-certified for CE marking.

In other words, you can simply do the CE marking yourself. He does not say it is easy, but for a very reasonable fee, he does provides a rich resource base, a professional scan and a practical toolbox with templates and checklists to help you help yourself: to structure your work and process, with everything from understanding the basics of CE marking, mapping the norms applicable, make a plan for conduct and properly document a confirmity assessment and setting up the necessary paperwork for your Technical File, that eventually will result from all this hard work that lies ahead of you.

Because hard work it is: using CE Marking.net is no shortcut. As for so many things that come an entrepreneur’s way, choosing for Do-It-Yourself-CE Marking means simply roll up your sleeves, put in the hours and the effort and get it done.

What makes CE Marking different is that it takes a fresh perspective to something that seems completely impossible at first sight. And perhaps even more beneficial is that CE Marking.net empowers you to know your game, know your product and become even sharper for the next product you hopefully will develop sometime in the future. Not putting it in the hands of an expensive consultant that will bill you every time you call.

And the service helps you save up to 80% of the cost you would have had by using a 3rd party.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is why CE-Marking.net should be standard included in your entreprenurship toolbox.

I just had a lovely email exchange with Louice, who runs 2 volunteer led baby and toddler groups in a Berwick-upon-Tweed in the North of England. 40 families use the group she has started to get together, support each other and have fun.

Precisely what playgroups are all about — see my previous blog posts on coffee morning / playgroup safety, what to serve and other tips.

Due to safety reasons, Louice avoids serving hot drinks to parents in her groups. Smart.

But she inquired about the MummyMug to be able to instead serve hot drinks safely — smarter!!

As they operate on a shoestring budget, we have discussed a cooperation whereby we could consider sponsoring the group with mugs once it reaches the market.

Let’s hope we can make that happen! I can’t wait to hear the stories and see the pics from the happy faces of Mums and Dads finally being able to enjoy their tea again. Thanks again Louise for getting in touch!

I’m very proud: today, the MummyMug is featured in Collezioni 03 Baby, a stylish, glossy Italian magazine and catalogue for baby fashion and parenting essentials.

Absolutely gorgeous photography, fantastic presentation of fashion and accessories for the 2010 Spring and Summer season.

Certainly worth an on-screen flick-through!

In a special section, the MummyMug is presented among other cool products and a fundamental detail for the smart Mums.

‘Home at last! And time to relax with a cup of coffee. MummyMug comes to the rescue, a mug with a special lid, spill proof, to avoid any little accidents. Mum can sip at will, leaving a safety valve to do the rest… because mums also deserves a moment’s peace and calm.…

… or otherwise expressed, sounding even better in Italian:

.. anche le mamme meritano un attimo di serenita tutto per se!

In the last couple of weeks, I have had the privilege of being featured on three online platforms for women — for Mums, for female entrepreneurs and for those who count themselves in both categories.

I was featured with a Mumpreneur Profile on Antonia Chitty’s FamilyFriendlyWorking website.….

.… m y sto ry was presented in a great blog post on MumsLikeYou last Friday (6,000+ users and 40,000 — 60,000 monthly hits).…..

.….and I was presented as the Member of the Week of the booming network driftig.nu for female Swedish entrepreneurs, with 6,000+ members and a real treasure of encouragement and inspiring advice.

Of course great exposure for me and the MummyMug to a revelant audience within networks much bigger than my own. The features generated about 500 visits to this site and many interesting comments and new leads to help me build my business.

I can only say — thank you! And I herewith return the favor. Please visit the sites above. You’ll not regret it.

Of course it did not happen by itself. Yep, I did make the first cold call contact with the women behind these sights and I simply asked for the possiblity of being featured. They were all quick with feedback, generous with their time and with their support in terms of lending me access to their platforms.

This is Online Sisterhood in action. The more I explore the online communities for women, by women, I see example after example of women investing their time and energy in unselfishly helping some other woman to find advice, to connect, to build their business, find online friends or a great buy. And, as study after study on the tremendous online engagement of women, this engagement is creating real and mutual value; for women personally, and for their businesses.

Isn’t it funny that we women, who often in the ‘offline’ world are known for the absolute opposite to the generosity to each other and without willingness to help each other further on the career ladder, are engaging so generously, and at such a massive scale to complete strangers online? Perhaps is easier for us women to show this generosity to each other when we are meeting in the virtual world, free from the inherent competition that occurs when women work or live side by side offline. What do you think?

Whatever the reason: online, it’s a brave new women’s world.

After a few months of blogging and diving into the online Mum community, I am more convinced than ever that the MummyMug should be brought to market together with other online Mums.

Mums who are already in the game for a while; established as bloggers and perhaps have a professional background in marketing.

Mumpreneurs, who obviously would be sharing in the financial success they will hopefully help create, by blogging and promoting the MummyMug to mums.

But who also would listen and crowdsource  ideas for what the MummyMug should evolve into, and feed that information back so I can tune the product and the brand into the real needs of the Mums using it.

Thus something going way beyond classic affiliate marketing. Something really riding the social media wave!

So — are you the MummyMug Mum I am looking for? Then I can’t wait to hear from you ( cecilia@mummymug.com ) . Together we can put the magic into the MummyMug brand!

Hi everyone! I hope you have had a relaxing and good Christmas break and feel refreshed and ready for the new year. I hope 2010 will bring you health, happiness and all other things you wish for yourself and your family.

I’m just back from a trip to Sweden, which combined nice relaxation with the family with useful meetings and contacts for MummyMug. Really looking forward to a new year, which will certainly bring lots of hard work but also a lot of fun, I am sure!

As one of my New Year’s resolutions is to start vlogging, I decided to start right away!

I don’t plan to make this blog a classic product review platform — there are enough good ones out there doing that already.

But I do plan to share inspirational stories of other successful Mumpreneurs and their product or service. First and foremost, I simply feel tremendous respect for what they have accomplished. I know from my own experience that succeeding in product development, branding, establishing an IP portfolio, convincing partners and potential customers of your idea, sourcing manufacturers, going to trade fairs and, last but not least, raising the capital needed is a daunting and 360 degree challenge. So, these Mumpreneurs deserve publicity and that we help spread the word about them. I also simply feel extremely encouraged and inspired, as they are living proof that they can be done! I hope they will inspire you as much.

Today, I would like to put Solvej Biddle in the spotlight. She’s a classic Mumpreneur and has built her business while raising two children, now aged 6 and 4. She is the inventor behind Content&Calm CotCanopy, which already is selling well in the UK market. The CotCanopy is a clever baby sleep solution; consisting of a light-weight canopy  that you can mount over your baby’s travel cot, to create an instant night time feeling. It will allow your child to stick to its routine and sleep well wherever you go. Check out the video where Solvej explains in her own words what the CotCanopy is all about. The awards and press coverage has come rolling in during 2009, the CotCanopy is sold online and also stocked at some major UK retailers. Solvej is now busy with expanding into sister products such as a canopy for the car seat, and will expand into a full product range.

Solvej originally had the idea for it in 2003 when she took her first child, Andrea-Anna, with her on travels and outings as a baby, and found herself struggling to provide a fitting and practical sleeping environment for her child. I’m sure you recognise the situation: you are away at friends for dinner on a summer’s evening and struggle with hanging up blankets for the windows to blackout the light. Or your baby wakes up at home in at 5 a.m on a summer’s morning when the sun comes up, but neither baby nor you has had anywhere near the amount of sleep you need to feel rested. With the CotCanopy, this is no longer a challenge, as the little one can enjoy his or her own personal darkened and familiar environment, even when the lights are on or the room is light.

Obviously, the CotCanopy first and foremost helps to us as parents to protect a little one’s precious routine and I think a regular, good sleep is one of the number one things we as parents all aim to provide for our kids.

But importantly, this product also has benefits for the rest of the family. It avoids putting everyone else in the room in the dark when baby needs a nap, and grants us that flexibility to travel or staying with friends. In all honesty, at least I find that it does kind of took some of the fun out of the holiday to turn out the lights at 19h30 while on holiday, and spend the rest of the evening yourself fumbling around a dark hotel room so that baby can sleep.

Now, that is my kind of product — it meets the needs of both the children and the adults in the family. It is useful, it has been designed to meet real needs. And it has been created and brought to market with passion and perseverance.

That is inspirational! Congratulations and good luck Solvej.

In Sweden, the Christmas season has a very special beginning. Mid-December, we celebrate the feast of Sankta Lucia; a procession and ceremony of light and music. A girl representing Santa Lucia wears a crown of candles and is dressed in white, accompanied by her maidens, each carrying one candle. They sing to the melody of the Neapolitan song Santa Lucia and the ceremony concludes with the singing of Christmas Carols.Lucia was an Italian saint and the performance has all sprung from a mix of ancient and more recent Nordic traditions and cultural influences. Noone seems to have kept track of why we do it — but there is no doubt that we love it! And every city, school, company and church with self-respect will run a Swedish-style beauty contest to select the girl that will have the honor of being the Lucia.

And what could be more fitting than a spiced Christmas coffee to really get into the Lucia mood!

- Mix a a pinch each of cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg and ground cloves with some vanilla syrup in the bottom of your mug.

- Add half a cup of freshly brewed coffee

- Top up with hot milk, gently stir .…. then click this link for your very own Lucia experience, and enjoy the moment.