[quote style=”boxed”]Have good ideas every day, write them down and then make them happen![/quote]
Danielle Tate is the founder and president of MissNowMrs.com. As a successful entrepreneur, Danielle is a newlywed expert, on-camera personality, writer, author of a top rated Google newlywed blog and a bridal magazine contributor.
It was a 13-hour struggle to change her name after getting married in 2005 that prompted Danielle to leave her six-figure medical sales career to develop and launchMissNowMrs.com, an online name-change service for brides and newlyweds nationwide. Wanting to save other brides countless hours of hassle, Danielle researched name-changing laws and rules in all 50 states to streamline and implemented her unique three-step, 30-minute online service.
Since 2006, Danielle has served as president of MissNowmrs.com and revolutionized the online name change market. Since 2006, MissNowMrs.com has assisted over 150,000 brides in their transition from Miss to Mrs.
As an entrepreneur constantly looking for opportunities in problem solving, Danielle identified another growing need, helping women get their names back after a divorce. In 2007, Danielle launched GetYourNameBack.com, a name change service for divorcees.
In 2011 Danielle expanded her multi-million dollar company internationally creating the Canadian site, MissNowMrs.com/Canada.
What are you working on right now?
I am currently promoting our national Groupon deal, running a PR campaign, getting ready to launch the MissNowMrs mobile site and preparing for a nationwide rollout of our gift cards via a large bridal retailer.
Where did the idea for MissNowMrs.com come from?
After getting married in 2005, I took a day off of work to change my last name. Myriads of government office lines and unbelievable bureaucracy fueled the frustration that sparked my idea for an online name change service for brides.
How do you make money?
We charge $29.95 for our complete name change package.
What does your typical day look like?
7:15am – Breakfast with the family
8:30am – MissNowMrs brainstorming session and work
12:00pm – Pick up my son from preschool
1:00pm – Pilates
2:15pm –Back to work
4:00pm – Hang out with my son and prepare dinner
7:00pm – Back to work to tie up loose ends from the morning and make my to-do list for the following day
9:00pm – Spend time with my husband
10:30pm – Bed
How do you bring ideas to life?
I work with a fantastic team. We brainstorm ideas and take the best ones from thought to implementation in a very short period of time. Usually this involves me drawing stick figure sketches of any graphics and then sending them to our graphic designer to turn into amazing site design and collateral.
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What’s one trend that really excites you?
I love how Social Media allows customers to talk directly with big companies. What a great way to hear the voice of the customer.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
Selling Cannon copiers directly out of college, was by far my worst job! I learned that grit and sheer determination will get you where you want to be (even if you have to hide from security in the bathroom).
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
I would have tooted the MissNowMrs horn much sooner. I felt like I needed to wait until we had 50,000+ customers before I had the credibility to announce myself to the wedding industry.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Have good ideas every day, write them down and then make them happen!
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I hired friends when we were first starting up, and they weren’t necessarily perfect for the company. During the recession I had to take a hard look at our expenses and make very difficult decisions to keep the company in the black. I eventually had to let those 2 friends go. It was difficult professionally and personally, but turned out to be exactly what the company needed.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Someone needs to create a salon reservation system that allows clients to book appointments online and waitlist for times that are already booked.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and how would you go about it?
I truly believe that no one in the world should be hungry. I don’t know the solution, but Heifer Project is a good start and a company that I support.
Tell us something about you that very few people know?
I was the #1 sales rep for a Fortune 500 medical company.
What are your three favorite online tools or resources and what do you love about them?
Pinterest, I created a newlywed board for the company and then was completely sucked in on a personal level. I love being able to organize my online finds by idea and come back to them when I need them. CisionPoint, there’s no better resource for PR contacts, period. Google Docs allow me to work on major projects no matter what country I’m in and who’s computer I’m using.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
The Martha Rules. This book gives great advice on how to start a business (it certainly helped me). I love her microscope/telescope concept that helps you focus on details but not lose focus on the big picture.
Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?
@cofounderslab for great entrepreneurial content and events ( *At a loss here…not on twitter very much :/)
When was the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?
Yesterday…My graphic designer sent me this video:
Who is your hero, and why?
My husband, Culin Tate. He bootstrapped his first business by re-mortgaging his car and eventually exited for millions. To this day he willing helps any person who has a business idea and asks for his help. He also started CoFoundersLab to help entrepreneurs find business partners with the skill sets that will make their start ups succeed.
How did you handle the anxiety and never ending to-do list of a start up?
I took each day at a time and prioritized the problems that I could solve. I then broke larger problems down until I could clearly define a question to be answered and then reached to my network.
Where is your favorite place to travel?
Turks & Caicos. I LOVE that island and the amazing scuba diving. I make a point to visit quarterly.
Connect:
MissNowMrs on Facebook:
MissNowMrs on Twitter: @MissNowMrscom
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.