Christmas Greetings from BuddyBoo

BuddyBoo Stationery has officially entered Christmas mode - stationery style!

Think about it. You're opening cards from your friends and family and eventually see the same card you picked out with someone else's photo on it. Avoid that by going with a customized design from BuddyBoo! Let's come up with something totally you and exceptionally dramatic for your holiday greetings.

Below you will find samples I also have posted on my website. This is just the beginning! These are samples - if you like these, great. If not, let's come up with something different. I'm ready!

I'm running a special for the month of October - don't miss out!

If you contact me to begin your Christmas cards this month and we finish them in November, you will receive 15% off your entire order! Remember: we have to finish them in November to get this great deal.

And remember: when you have your Christmas cards made by BuddyBoo you are giving back: a portion of all profits go to autism charities. How amazing is that! By ordering your cards through BuddyBoo, you're giving a gift. Let's get started today.

As always, share the site, pass the blog.

Jean

BuddyBoo Stationery

"A Mom's Perspective" on Raising a Child with Special Needs

I was recently interviewed by NewMom, Inc for their blog for new moms. I thought I'd post a "reblog" (stealing the term slightly from retweet on Twitter) in mine to gain more exposure. Click the title of this blog post for the link to the interview!

The title of the entry is "A Mom's Perspective - Raising a Child with Special Needs." My son "Buddy" is one of the inspirations behind my company. A portion of BuddyBoo Stationery's profits are given to autism charities. It feels good to give back and bring hope to others.


NewMom, Inc is a Minneapolis-based company gaining good ground as a resource for mothers. Watch their blog for more interviews by other mothers on a wide variety of topics. NewMom has a ton of resources and helpful links for all things mommy.

As always, share the site, pass the blog.

Jean
BuddyBoo Stationery

As stated in my answers and what I need to state again is that the answers to the interview questions are my opinion.

Pay It Forward

Hello my BuddyBoo blog followers. Thanks for reading. I am constantly trying to come up with fun topics to post in my blog and just seconds ago while reading an online article, it came to me. It has nothing to do with stationery or invitations or parties. It has to do with others.

Pay it forward. What does that term mean, anyway? Someone asked me that once. I haven't seen the movie that shares the title, but I know what it means to me - it means taking what information and knowledge and love and time I have from within me and giving it to someone else who might need it. For no reason other than to make that next person's life a little brighter. Seems simple, doesn't it?

The article I just read was about a man younger than my parents who has been on a waiting list to receive a liver transplant. He got a call last Saturday morning that a liver was ready for him some 80 or 100 miles away if he could get there through a massive snow storm. He made it to the hospital and got his transplant because 8 different snow plows literally plowed his route through a storm. It sounds like many people were involved in getting this man to his new liver. New life! New hope he's been sitting on for a year.

Hearing about a benevolent act brightens my day. It gives me hope that this world is a good place and I live among great people. It gives me inspiration to do likewise.

Here are some different ways you can be a pay-it-forward person and change the life of another person while at the same time changing yourself:

-go work a food shelf for a half day
-volunteer at a fundraising event
-hold the door open for a person walking in the store behind you
-greet cashiers with eye contact, a smile, and use their name if they have a nametag on
-spend $1.66 on a small coffee for the guy in line behind you at the coffee shop (can you imagine?)

-call your local community elementary school and ask if you can be a guest reader for kindergarteners some day
-pick up that trash you see on your walk
-spend $3.00 on some daffodils and bring them to your neighbor

...just to name a few.

I guarantee your life will change by paying it forward.

As always, share the site, pass the blog.

Jean
BuddyBoo Stationery


Oh - P.S. BuddyBoo donates a portion of its profits to autism charities. That's how I pay it forward. And let me tell you, it feels good.

BuddyBoo is in the News

I am pleased as punch to share with my little corner of the world a story our local cable channel did on BuddyBoo Stationery. Cable Channel 12 came to our house last Friday and wowed the kids with their camera and lights and caught a glimpse of how glamorous my work conditions are.

The link will work for a month and I don't want to lose the incredible story written by reporter Shannon Slatton so I'm copying the text to this blog.

For now, please click here to access the story. This is why BuddyBoo exists.


Maple Grove business pays it forward
For Jean Tate, the path to a second career all started with Christmas cards.

"I've made them for friends and family. It got up to about 90, but then I had to cut back," said Tate.

As the feedback kept coming in, the ideas kept churning."Everybody would write in cards -- this was really cool. You should do this for a living," said Tate.

So what convinced Tate to start up a part-time job?

"Having the strong support of all of my friends and family combined with the strong desire to have more time with my kids."

In April, Tate decided to use her marketing skills to tailor-make stationery for customers. She started up a website and a business out of her Maple Grove home. Tate decided to name her new stationery company BuddyBoo Stationery after her two children, Jordan, 7, whose nickname is 'Buddy,' and Ellie, 3, who she calls 'Boo.'

"I thought I would see how it goes and keep my day job and grow BuddyBoo and someday I'll be able to have BuddyBoo be it and I'll have more flexibility with my kids," said Tate. Tate's goal is to have that happen by the time 3-year-old Ellie is in Kindergarten.

But what makes this home business different from others is she started with one big commitment.

"Even if I make $5 and that's it, then I'm going to donate part of it to autism awareness," said Tate. Three years ago, doctors diagnosed her son Jordan with autism.

"That basically rocks your world, when you go through that whole process and you have somebody say I think there's something wrong with your child," said Tate. "It took me a long time to pull myself off the floor and say this isn't about me, it's about him."

Jordan's autism is high-functioning, which means most people probably wouldn't notice it. Tate says he's a very bright boy with a good vocabulary, but sometimes struggles with language and social skills.

"He'll have a hard time finding the right word. He'll say 'do you like milk in your bucket?"' said Tate. "The brain is in the right category but can't filter through everything. One day you are dealing with this, and the next day it's not an issue. One day you will try this tool in therapy, but the next day it won't work."

Since Jordan's diagnosis, the Tates have become very involved with the Walk Now for Autism. They were one of the top fundraisers for 2008. Tate says more people need to be aware of high functioning autism cases like Jordan's.

"I want people to know there is another side to autism besides kids who can't speak or adults who can't speak," said Tate. "Every kid is different."

So while she hopes her personalized cards will pull on a few heart strings, she knows part of the profits will go to a cause that's close to her own heart.


Shannon Slatton, reporting
sslatton@twelve.tv
Tuesday, January 20, 2009