Female Founders
Are you involved in any female entrepreneur organizations? No. We are
in a small community and have not found
any that we feel is a fit.
PERSONAL
What does your typical day look like?
Deano: As founders, Renee and I are involved in all aspects of the business. For
me, a typical day would entail answering
emails from franchisees and vendors wanting to partner with us, as well as meetings
with our operations team. I also oversee
all of the art and copyrights, so I confer
with my team about who we should send
infringement letters to, and which infringements warrant a look from our trademark/
copyright attorney. I review and approve
all art submissions from our franchise artists. I also usually meet with our manager
of development to see what areas we will
be licensing in the near future. Maloney:
Interacting and organizing projects with
our home office staff, along with meetings,
brainstorming creative ideas, and looking
at ideas that come from our franchisees.
I am also in charge of the money side of
the business, so I look at numbers and
trends, along with budgets and forecasting for future growth.
How do you maintain a work/life
balance? Deano: Work/life balance can
definitely be challenging. I love my job so
I find myself staying late brainstorming
with Renee and our development manager.
To balance a hectic work schedule, I try to
travel for fun as often as I can, and attempt
to shut off “work mode” on weekends. I
read a lot for pleasure, too. Maintaining
a balance between work and home life
helps when you have a very understanding
17-year-old son like I do. He is used to
my schedule and understands I am working hard to secure our future. Maloney:
Work/life balance is a constant dilemma
for me, and it takes planning and a lot
of communication to keep things stable.
My goal is to be the best boss, wife, and
mother that I can be. A very wise person
once told me that you can be all of those—
just not all in the same day! I try to make
plans and then communicate them to the
people around me. I look at schedules and
make sure I plan a late night at work on a
48
“Make sure
you love your
concept,
believe in the
partnerships
you make with
your franchisees,
live the vision of
the company,
and continue
to innovate and
collaborate.”
night that my daughter is having dinner
with her grandmother. When I am out
of the office doing family things, I do my
best to totally disconnect from technology and work, and dedicate that time to
my family. The hardest thing for me is
to remember to take time for myself. My
best friend has to remind me to put the
oxygen mask on myself first, or I am of
no use to anyone else.
Wha