Monthly Archives: January 2016

Jan 29
1

Meet our backers! Josie Littlepage – Cosmopolitan Events

By | CSEP, ISES, kickstarter, mentor POV | No Comments

We spoke to another one of our amazing backers from The Apprentice Program Kickstarter campaign – Josie Littlepage, CSEP – Owner and producer at Cosmopolitan Events.

Josie believes in The Apprentice Program. She’s helping us achieve our mission, while using her time more efficiently and helping her company become more profitable.

We’re on a mission to revolutionize the events industry: We want to STOP horrible internships.

With over two decades experience of planning and producing events, Josie has a passion for creating beautiful and lasting memories. She has also dedicated many years on the board of the International Special Events Society – St. Louis chapter, where she has held several positions including Chapter President.

We discover what she’s learned as Owner of an event planning firm, her best life hack tips and what the biggest reason was she decided to support The Apprentice Program by The Simplifiers!

josie littlepage cosmopolitan events

“I believe in Mary and have seen how her ideas have grown and flourished…” ~ Josie Littlepage, CSEP – Cosmopolitan Events, St. Louis, MO

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Jan 28
2

Meet our backers! Erica Prewett – A Big To Do Event

By | CSEP, ISES, kickstarter, mentor POV | One Comment

Today, we talk to one of our backers from the Kickstarter campaign – Erica Prewett, CSEP – CEO of A Big To Do Event and current 2015-16 chapter president for the International Special Events Society, Atlanta chapter.

By supporting our campaign, Erica is joining us on our mission to revolutionize intern training:

We want to STOP horrible internships, for mentors and interns alike!

She’s been in the business of creating live events since 1999.  Organizations such as IBM, AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity, United Way of Mississippi as well as hundreds of brides and families have experienced stress-free weddings, social and corporate events because of this Checklist Queen.

We find out her best life hacks, insider tips for planning events and she will reveal the biggest reason she decided to back The Apprentice Program by The Simplifiers!

erica prewett A Big to Do Event

“I believe that the more of us support each other, the best ideas will come to fruition.” ~Erica Prewett, CSEP – A Big to Do Event, Atlanta, GA

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Jan 26
2

The importance of being a mentor

By | mentoring, working with interns | No Comments
Mentors come in all shapes and sizes.

To explain the different types of mentors, as well as helping you decide which type YOU want to be, I’m going to use the story of The Lion King.

[For those who haven’t seen it: the story goes that Simba (baby lion cub) is cast out of the pride by his evil uncle (Scar), then gets looked after by a fun-loving meerkat and warthog duo (Timon and Pumbaa) and Simba has an incredible bond with his loving father (Mufasa)].

In life, you might get the fun Timon and Pumbaa double act, a wise Rafiki or you might hit the jackpot and get a Mufasa. Like Simba, we tend to have different mentors at different points of our lives. Some come and go while others might stay around forever.

But we always need one.

 

And we should always mentor others, too. Both mentor and mentee have a lot to gain from each other. If a balance is kept, then things go well and flow naturally – it’s the circle of life! {CUE THE MUSIC!} But if the mentor/mentee relationship is bad, things can go wrong for everyone.

Here are some examples from my own life to show you why your relationship with your own mentors and mentees have a huge impact on your business…

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Jan 26
2

Kickstarter newbie? Here’s 6 easy steps to back us.

By | kickstarter | No Comments

Hello friends!

So, you’ve been follokickstarter-logowing our Kickstarter campaign and you’re ready to back us?

sweet.

But you’re a total Kickstarter newbie and the website is well, a bit intimidating.  No sweat…it was for me at first, as well.

 Here’s the simple 6 step method to become a backer on Kickstarter:

  1. create a login with Kickstarter.  Don’t worry, it’s not scary…just login here and within 2 clicks, you’re in.
  2. search for: APPRENTICE PROGRAM  —> and you will find our campaign in the “technology~web” category
  3. click on “BACK THIS PROJECT” button on top right
  4. choose the reward level that suits you (on the far right, scroll down to see the full list of awesomeness)
  5. enter in your payment details (credit cards, folks…not checks, not carrier pigeons carrying checks)
  6. viola!  you’re a backer.

It’s really that simple.

 

The clock is ticking.

We must raise 10k USD by Thursday, Feb 11, 2016 or we don’t get a penny.

With your help, here’s how we’re doing so far:

APPRENTICE PROGRAM: crowdsourced training for hero interns -- Kicktraq Mini

So, whether you’re:

  • an entrepreneur/friend/family member who believes in Mary and the team
  • or a mentor who loves the concept and wants to use the product to train your own interns
  • or a student who believes in our mission to STOP horrible internships…

…we thank you.  

Seriously.  Without you, none of this would be possible.  As a small business attempting to revolutionize internships GLOBALLY, this is no small feat.  Your financial support helps us kickstart things with a little cash and get it off the ground.

The-Simplifiers-151120-0080 - team photo-THANKYOU

We are the right people for the job.  With the right solution to fix a massive problem. 

Let’s do this….together.