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CRAVE Amsterdam business chat on KISS

March 20, 2011 by Cristina S. | Comments (1)

Being an entrepreneur is a lifestyle and that means the business is there to support your way of living. If you feel your business takes more than it gives you energy, you need to reflect and discuss smarter ways to organise your business. On the 21st of February, about 20 business owners listened, talked and shared smart business strategies.

Stephanie Ward of Firefly Coaching presented us the one hand blue print in business we all should materialise.
Her tips are:

1 KISS the business model
How do you make money? Make sure you have it written down on 1 piece of paper and analyze the revenue streams. Get rid of payment per hour and create a package that brings value to your customer and to you. Make a small, medium and large offering and people most likely take the medium so increase your revenue on the middel package.

2 KISS time
Organise time by your agenda. Define working and networking days of day times. Say no if you do not have a reason to drink coffee. Did you know there is no need to turn a coffee invitation down? Buy time, tell your contact you have to schedule and combine events to increase your efficiency. Know that your new job is trying to find your way so you better create time to receive it! Organise a coffee-day, plan a to do list and above all commit to yourself!

3 KISS Marketing
Don’t get all crazy about digital marketing, choose the marketing means that work for you and start with one single message: what is the No#1 call to action you want people to do when the hear about you, visit your page or listen to your pitch? Keep the message short and attractive, sell on a later date.

4 KISS Staff
Focus your time on the things you are good at and outsource the rest. Have a person to manage your administration, taxes, presentation, communication, marketing or telephone. Create your business to grow an be creative to organize your own time to focus on what it is you are really good at.

5 KISS Life
Enjoy time for you and live a happy life. Without a happy entrepreneur, there’s no happy business!

Jessica Lomabardo shared her Art & Wine experience and how she endend up being a poor business owner, risking her marriage and performing less excellent than her standard. Her insights were a great lesson for all of us and it has taken honesty and guts to share. Jessica and her husband – who is a chef – moved on and embraced their lessons in business succesfully and see their performance in a bright future with Lombardo’s, “een ambachtelijke eetwinkel” the best foodstore in town. Thank you, Jessica for your beautiful story!

In addition to KISS two women shared their stories on new business models. CRAVE member Marijke Krabbenbos of Ideacompany is currently busy attracting ‘Funds from the Crowd’ for her Quolor initiative – a female basics quality t-shirts. The other entrepreness, Lonneke Verbunt presented her Crowd financing journey for her company – a concept store where social and micro brands can sell their products. She is starting up a new fair fashion retail concept, “a store built on stories” called Brand Mission.

We would love to thank all the attendees who listened, shared and connected at the CRAVE Chat and we take pleasure into announcing the second CRAVE Business chat: “Know your strengths” to guide us to focus on the stuff we truly create our business value with.

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Post written by Athalie Stegeman, on behalf of the CRAVE Amsterdam team

CRAVE Reflections edition 2

February 17, 2011 by Cristina S. | Comments (0)

Wauw,  what an insights we gained. It was so rewarding to take time to reflect and learn. Want to know a little about our insights? Read on.

With a group of great business women we shared, recognized and grew. Reflections are about understanding the phases we are in today, the strengths that keep us successful and the work we need to do the overcome both personal and business barriers. Dare to share means realising that it takes guts to share and there is the rewarding part too.

Faye Cosser of Juxta Position tells us all about the importance of time in relation. The strengths of astrological insights, forms a clear sign throughout the chat. It and everything is connected through time; date of birth, star signs, friends with similar signs are easily explained but also the relationship between collegues and the company birthdate. Faye inspired all of us and we got curious about our individual situation and our chances in business.

Marianne founder of Tromper is a serial entrepreneur. She combines her business intuition with great timing to balance the work and life situation. As a result, the way to move forward, how to be successfull in a smart sense, is depending on it. It is just a matter of defining what she needs based on her preferences in life. This is true for Daniella Rubinovitz and Blanca Vergara too, as all pieces are coming together, they find themselves moving into a new phase in life. We all develop every six to seven years and each phase has typical characteristics in quality of life. Cris of Crisspix is rapidly developing from IT professional to CRAVE business connector, visual communicator in photography and on top of that internet entrepreneur with iPhone app 123DressMe. Pieces are falling together and she has a great opportunities ahead of her. Gaid of Ietje Company is an ambitious selfstarter. She has a clear vision in what she wants to achieve. She is considering various options to enhance her business and by reflecting she realized that her strenght is somehow turning against her. Tanja is a designer. Her passion for designs and fabrics mover her away from fashion and straight into what she is best at: designing patterns. Creators like Tanja of Pieces of Art often notice that the focus on passion also brings a need for partnerships as you are more successfull when you focus. Faye indicated great tools that allow any business owner to successfully grow in partnerships.  As different times have different qualities, there is much to gain by using thoughts and intuition. Daniella Rubinovitz, owner of Atelier Molenpad, Teresa of The California Girl and Helen Grevink of De Knipkamer were all very aware of that. It’s our time, we women are the power of time, lets gather and use this power.

The insights of this edition of CRAVE reflections for me is that on a professional level, my ideas are sky-high and there is more room for questions. Asking questions feels like asking a favour, which seems more difficult that giving and yet that’s the part I like the most, so why not offer the pleasure to all of you?

Get more out of reflections. Faye and Daniella are organising a unique joint event on March 24th. Take a look at the programme and reserve a spot.

The next CRAVE reflection is on April 7th 7 – 10 PM. Join us! (more info soon, see pictures form this one here)

Contact me if you want to participate as a professional reflector like Vera of Innearth did in the first and Fay and Daniella did in the second edition.

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Post written by Athalie Stegeman.

We’re supporting the Startup Weekend!

January 28, 2011 by Cristina S. | Comments (2)

Startup Weekend, Listed as the “Name You Need to Know in 2011″ by Forbes, is opening their doors again in Holland to startup enthusiasts to share ideas, form teams, build products, and create startups! As CRAVE entrepreneurs and valuable business people, you are all invited to attend this 54 h event in Eindhoven!

Check our little CRAVE team last year , which won second price.

EN: Melody Biringer’s blog

NL: Isrid van Geuns blog

UPDATE: Special discount code for 30% off ticket prices to all that are CRAVEamsterdam members / followers. Use “CRAVE” when ordering your ticket to get the discount!

Jonge Gezinnen Beurs is Big Business!

November 5, 2010 by Cristina S. | Comments (1)

Yesterday, CRAVE visited the Jonge Gezinnen Beurs 2010 in the trade mart Jaarbeurs in Utrecht. The fair is for pregnant women and mothers of babies and toddlers. It’s big business because a lot of emotions are exchanged for sweet and expansive baby ware.  A few CRAVE Business women are present:

Meetup with Liza from MumsMarket

Liza Hollingsworth of Mumsmarket sells new baby and childrenswear that is donated by fashion brands to create funding for charities. Her webshop gives every mom a good reason to buy because you choose yourself to which charity you want your spending to be donated to. The tradefair sponsors are helping Liza to sell the clothes, but much more can be found online at www.mumsmarket.nl. Are you a producer or retailer with a stack of left overs? Make sure you connect with Liza and gain value for mothers and charities.

Busy times for Mira’s Trotse Moeders & Club van slechte huisvrouwen

Mira Ahles owns the community of proud mothers and she offers a place for dialogues on babycare and motherhood. In addition she sells all kinds of smart and loving baby gadgets. The stand is big and busy and Mira flies like a fairy across the place. Her proudness of motherhood moved into a confession of being a bad housewife. Simply because her heart is with working and caring and not so much with cleaning and washing. The confession turned into a big discussion and an even into a large blogging community of women alike. And that’s what Mira does, connecting women through online media.

Consults for the mind and the mood

There are various pavilions that entertain you with learning and doing. CRAVE visited Susan Gorel, a booth in the spiritual pavilion, that used integrated numerology, astrology and tarot to give personal insights. Let’s say that in summary is that CRAVE Amsterdam is about to become one of a kind. The second consult was a workshop for styling tips for parties and seasonal events like Christmas. We enjoyed the tips on how to decorate a dining table and practiced with styling a napkin. We will reveal one secret, less is more! Find out more info on their website.

CRAVE life connections

Many fairs are a pleasure to visit since it’s all about inspiration and connecting with people alike. CRAVE will visit some more “beurzen”. Let us know where you will be present so we can announce it and we may visit you. CRAVE will be present at the Sustainable lifestyle event Indisha together with A beautiful Story and Lotus Living on November 21st in Amsterdam. Meet up?

The story of the CRAVE Amsterdam Brand Scent

September 11, 2010 by Cristina S. | Comments (0)

At Casa 400 the CRAVE book launch experience will get a 4D dimension. With the sponsoring services of The Perfume Lounge the Casa 400 Hotel will get a unique CRAVE Scent. The CRAVE Amsterdam scent is a unique blend that brings together a touch of Amsterdam, Sophistication, Entrepreneurship and female proud. It is a great sensory symbol for CRAVE Amsterdam and a first for The CRAVE Company.

Most Media companies focus on publishing. At The CRAVE Company we prefer to focus on the connections. The CRAVE Amsterdam book is an important visible aspect of creating connections because of the exposure of female entrepreneurs getting connected to share business experiences and opportunities. The power of scent is one that entrepreneur Athalie Stegeman shared with Tanja Deurloo. The two entrepreneurs joined forces to develop unique custom scented gift cards which soon will be available at Audiotainment. At the booklaunch, Tanja offers CRAVE visitors the power of scent marketing services that she is delivering to business and service companies.  Did you know that the power of scent marketing is the power of emotional branding? Providing a pleasant buying experience is key in attracting new customers. But most of the importance goes to creating a loyal customer basis. The Perfume Lounge knows all about the power of scents and is offering CRAVE the 4D experience as a proof of concept. Are you curious about the CRAVE Amsterdam scent? Come and visit us at the booklaunch!

Startup Weekend Amsterdam

August 27, 2010 by Cristina S. | Comments (0)

So, you have heard of Startup Weekend, but what’s it all about?

Startup Weekend is coming to Amsterdam on 24-26th of September. Mark your calendars because this is no ordinary event. It’s where like-minded entrepreneurs gather for a weekend of company creation. In 54 hours, you take an initial idea from the Friday night pitches through to a mind spinning startup company on the Sunday night.

Sounds intense? It is!

Just don’t think it’s just developers. Its marketing maestros, design gurus, business development wizards, legal geniuses, and the specialist of startups – the jack of all trades coming together as one unit, creating a harmony that can only be envied by the corporate world.

From there? Well, it’s all up to you. Startup Weekend can only help you start your dream. It’s up to you to live it out.

CRAVE decided to partner with Startup Weekend in Amsterdam because we believe in local talents and passionate people that CRAVE inspiring and fresh ideas.

We are giving away one ticket to a lucky winner that helps us spread the word.

• Join them on Facebook and ‘Like’ the Startup Weekend Amsterdam page
  
  
• Follow Startup Weekend  Amsterdam on Twitter and ReTweet: “Enter the @swamsterdam #Giveaway (Ends 1 Sept) and win a ticket to Startup Weekend Amsterdam http://amsterdam.startupweekend.org”

If you don’t win the ticket but really like to participate, head over to the ticket section HERE to find out for yourself what it’s all about!

World Cup Celebration: Indulge in Global Treats

July 8, 2010 by Nicole S. | Comments (0)

For weeks we have been huddled around the television, sometimes at ungodly hours of the morning, to watch beautiful men from around the world kick around a football ball and compete for the coveted World Cup. Whether you have followed the sport for years or just recently discovered what terms like “off-sides” or “stoppage time” mean, it is truly amazing how football can bring entire nations together for a common goal.

There were some amazing teams that have risen to the top of the competition!  Holland made it to the finals and the big game tomorrow will make any other activities stop for 90 minutes. Gather your friends together and indulge in these fun recipes perfect for a summer barbecue or potluck that are inspired by the stand out teams of the 2010 World Cup!

Chimichurri Steak- Uruguay/ Argentina

Chimichurri is a sauce from South America and is served in countries like Uruguay and Argentina over steak and chicken.

Ingredients:

1 cup packed fresh flat leaf parsley
ÂĽ cup packed fresh cilantro
½ cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves peeled
Âľ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
a pinch of salt and pepper
a squeeze of lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Mix all ingredients in a food processor and serve over steak, chicken or fish.

Party Sangria- Spain

Ingredients:

1 bottle of red wine
1 lemon cut into wedges
1 orange cut into wedges
1 lime cut into wedges
1 apple diced
1 cup raspberries or strawberries
1 small can of diced pineapples with juice
2 tbsp of sugar
4 cups ginger ale or lemon lime soda
2 shots gin or triple sec

Preparation:

1. Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice from the lemon, oranges and lime into the wine.
2. Toss in the fruit wedges and add pineapple, apples sugar and gin.
3. Chill overnight.
4. Add ginger ale or soda, berries and ice just before serving.

Potato Salad- Germany

Ingredients:

2 pounds red potatoes
ÂĽ lb bacon cut into small pieces
½ medium onion chopped
1/3 cup cider vinegar
ÂĽ cup water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

1. Place potatoes in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce to simmer, uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain. Let potatoes cool. Peel potatoes and cut into ÂĽ inch pieces.
2. Cook bacon in skillet over medium heat until crisp and set aside.
3. Cook onion in bacon drippings until tender.
4. Combine vinegar, water, sugar, salt and mustard in a large bowl. Toss in potatoes and bacon and mix until well coated.
5. Garnish with parsley and serve warm.

Oliebollen – Netherlands

Ingredients

2 tbsp sugar
2 pkg yeast
4 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 cups scalded milk
½ cup butter softened
10 cups flour
1 ½ tsp salt
3 diced Granny Smith apples
1 cup raisins pinch of cinnamon
canola oil for frying

Preparation:

1. Dissolve 2 tbsp sugar in 1 cup warm water. Sprinkle yeast on top. Let stand while preparing dough.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat eggs, add scalded milk, 1 ½ cups warm water, yeast mixture and butter and beat well. Add flower, 1 cup sugar and salt. Mix well. Add diced apple.
3. Let dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size.
4. In a separate bowl mix 3 cups sugar, and cinnamon to taste.
5. Fill a fryer pot with 3-4 inches of canola oil. Heat to 375 degrees and scoop spoonfuls of down into the oil. Turn to ensure even browning.
6. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture and serve warm.

*written by Alyssa Goldberg for the CRAVE company. Alyssa is a lover of all things to do with food and travel- check out her blog, WorldSavour by clicking here.

It’s World Cup Time!

June 7, 2010 by Jenny P. | Comments (0)

Ladies! The World Cup is on this week, so why not throw a fabulous party to celebrate! Football is the most popular sport in the world and throwing a party will be just another fun reason to sit around the TV with the gals and drool over men in jerseys.

So what are the three key items necessary for throwing a great party? Friends, food, and some fun drinks. With those elements you’re bound to have fun.

First, lets start off with friends. Invite your best gal pals over (probably 8 to 10 ladies) and ask them to previously pick a team to cheer for. Then suggest they wear the colors of their team to the party. It will add a small hint of competition to the group and keep your ladies having fun screaming for their men during the game.

Second, it may be a football party but the snacks don’t have to be the typical game food of chicken wings and burgers. For your ladies, whip up a batch of cupcakes or if in a time crunch grab some from your local grocer and decorate them with the colors of the teams playing. As for the other snacks, everything needs to be decent at room temperature, since once the game starts the attention will be focused more on the TV. Perhaps some bruschetta and caprese salad would be yummy finger food that will leave your guests happy and satisfied. If feeling too crunched for time on the snacky goods, ask your gals to each bring something small and yummy with them when they come. It will help relieve some of the stress and you know then you’ll have plenty of food to go around.

Third, but just as important are those drinks! Decide to make some of your favorite cocktails or bubbly that will keep the girls having fun throughout the game. Perhaps a drink that includes the colors of the teams! Drinks are always fun but no one wants to bust their budget on buying alcohol that not everyone will like, so let your girlfriends know you will be providing some drinks, but suggest they bring more if they have a specific or picky preference.

So no more excuses and procrastinating! You now have all you need for a successful party! All that’s left is letting the gals know and start getting caught up on your knowledge of the teams and the gorgeous men playing. Games start June 11th so get your head in the game and get your party started!

How to Plan Your Perfect Summer Party with LA Glam

May 20, 2010 by Nicole S. | Comments (0)

Planning a party can be loads of fun but let’s be totally honest…planning and attending the same party can be tough. That’s why CRAVE asked Christina Murphy, who runs LA Glam Events with her partner Erin Preuss to give us a few pointers. The good news is that with a little planning and creative magic you can host a party everyone (including you) will love!

With the summer party season about to get into full swing starting on Memorial Day Weekend it’s a perfect time to treat your friends to a love-everything-about-summer party that will set the standard for everyone else. (And no, it doesn’t require boatloads of cash or a swank Hampton’s seaside soirees.)

4 easy ways to make your Memorial Day BBQ better than everyone else’s…

1) Invites: Evites are ok, Paperless Post is so cool (but pricey) and so why stick to the norm. A trip to the 99 Cents store will yield a plethora of fun and funky ideas. It’s much less expensive than you would think to send unusual invites and it’s a great way to make your party stand out from the rest. Mix and match and let your imagination run wild. It’s half the fun.

2) Food: it’s sort of crucial to a good party. Nothing is more delicious and easy than good old fashion burgers on the grill and burgers don’t have to boring. Add an array of interesting self-serve toppings like sautéed mushrooms, arugula, bacon, avocado, etc to create a gourmet burger bar. You can even ask people to write down their custom burger, name it and take pictures for your own Burger Hall of Fame.

3) Cocktails: a trip to your local farmers market will start your inner mixologist juices flowing. Take all the favs (fresh squeezed OJ, grapefruit, lemon and lime) throw in some new twists (muddle berries, pineapple or watermelon) and some smoothie-like purees (cantaloupe, honeydew, banana and mango).Use some basic alcohols and set it all out for people to create their own signature cocktail. People love experimenting and the bonus is for the people who are going adult-beverage free they can make a killer virgin version of the same thing.

4) Décor: for some seriously-talented-crafty types décor is a hallmark of their parties. For me, with limited time, décor needs to be simple and accessible. My favorite budget friendly décor item is cotton quilt fabrics. These fabrics are your new, super crafty best friend. You can make awesome mix and match table overlays (most standard fabrics aren’t wide enough for a full table linen) but they make cute overlays either over whatever linens already have or over plain white sheets hemmed to fit your table. Mix patterns and colors to create a really festive look.

The good news is all these projects are relatively easy and don’t require a bunch of time or money. Just give yourself a week to work on your décor projects in the evening and prep your food and juices the morning of your event and you will be able to party-hardy with all your pals!

Buzz Party with Toma Haines

April 20, 2010 by Cristina S. | Comments (2)

With Toma Clark Haines from Antiques Diva Shopping Tours in the house the Buzz Party was bound to be a success. She entertained the crowd with precious advice on how to use social media and the free resources on the internet for your own business.

The delicious treats provided by Simone and Brigit from Tien52 in their creative mobile kitchen, the stage was set for another wonderful BUZZ Party for the Amsterdam CRAVE guide. The evening was filled with incredible women from across Amsterdam – chatting each other up and discussing what they so CRAVE about being an entrepreneur in this incredible city. Thank you for enchanting the room with your jolly spirits! As with every BUZZ Party, the women of CRAVE were excited to see the fun and familiar faces, as well as so many new faces that turned up!

We would like to extend another huge thank you to Villa Beehive for letting us use their hip place.  A big thank you to Simone and Brigit for the tasty treats – absolutely mouth-watering.  And finally, a big thanks to our Toma Clark Haines for sharing her tips with us!

We’re hard at work planning the next BUZZ Party, so stay tuned for the details!

Yours truly,

Athalie Stegeman, Isrid van Geuns and Cristina Stoian.
Check out more pics:

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