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her technology Spreading the good word In the second article in a series for Her Magazine Katherine Armon discovers it's not just about who you know but what you tell them... "WE NEED A UNIQUE deal to launch with," I say, my fingers tapping on the desk. "Top of my wish list would be The Polkadots", I muse aloud. "Who are The Polkadots?" Yvette asks. "New Zealands answer to the Wiggles would be the best way to describe them, all female, well apart from Mr Bop. They write their own material and their philosophy is in keeping with ours, promoting healthy, happy children." I flick up their website. I look at their colourful pages and I am gripped by the idea of a concert just for KidzGrab, and I start to wonder if it would be possible to get these passionate entertainers on board as our first deal. That was a month ago and after a number of meetings with The Polkadots we manage to secure them for a Christmas show 'The Polkadots Christmas Extravaganza'. We look at different venues large and small, but decide that we need to think big and be brave. Rather nervously I book the TelstraClear Stadium in Manukau with the view to sell 6,000 tickets over our opening weekend. With the stadium booked, expenses now skyrocket with staging, lighting and venue costs to find. I know that to pull this off I am going to need some serious sponsorship. Not knowing where to start I approach the stadium itself. At this point I am grateful that I used to deal with sponorship for the children's group at our local church, so this give's me some experience in how to put forward our proposals. I tend to go for the emotional angle in my requests, not for the sympathy vote but because this is who I am and I believe that if people can see the passion, background and hardwork you have devoted to a project then they are more likely to invest in you and your company. TelstraClear Stadium gives us a huge boost and halves our stadium outlay, followed by Multi-media helping us with staging and lighting costs, but with a huge shortfall still to find I have to admit to a certain amount of panic setting in! With help from The Polkadots and my friend and colleague, Jim two huge sponsors are found, GHD and Auckland Transports TravelWise. Suddenly the concert is viable and with the plans ticking away nicely I direct my attention back to the website and our new social media pages. With our Twitter and Facebook pages up and running I gingerly 'sign in' for the first time. The experience of social media sites I have had up till now is a lot like other mums I expect. I really only use it to network with my friends and make inane comments about what I am doing with my day! What I didn't understand about these sites is that businesses can use them to network and put their brand out there. In the beginning I enthusiastically updated both sites daily. I enjoyed the interaction on Facebook but Twitter is somewhat of an enigma. After a while I more or less stopped posting. It wasn't until someone criticised my approach to 'tweeting' publicly, stating, 'If I wanted people to take me seriously then my page needed to look less like a spammy timeline and get more interactive', that I realised it wasn't just a question of letting my Facebook tweet for me, I actually had to communicate to be effective. I was grateful for the criticism and took it on board to my advantage. The only problem I now have with social networking is the inordinate amount of time it takes to upkeep. I could see this becoming a role all of its own! With the launch just weeks away I am relieved with my parents' timely return from the United Kingdom and the added reassurance and help I know their return will bring. I spend an entire day bringing them up to speed and realising that the business has already grown exponentially since their departure. They turn the family room into a bigger office complete with desks, filing cabinets, Apple computers and new staff to help out. I could write a book on how difficult I initially found the change from PC to Mac! The most important issue I have had to deal with this month has been trying to balance my homelife with work. As a homeschooler I am working full time and teaching my children simultaneously. This balance is so important in families and trying to manage it is hard. One friend commented to me that I should just put them into daycare and school, as I couldn't possibly work and teach at the same time but it is possible. It does take a lot of organising (something that is not one of my strongest attributes!) but if you really want something badly enough you make it work. I have nothing against mainstream schools, but just know it isn't for me and my brood. I knew it wouldn't be easy but not many things in life are, and for me it's worth the extra effort required. So with the girls working alongside me we are making it work our way. Next month the dramas of a delayed launch, the launch itself and the joys of The Auckland Parent and Child Trade Show! Katherine Armon www.kidzgrab.com 62 | December/January 2012 | HER MAGAZINE Three Little Wishes Photography, Photographer Deborah Foreman