Interview with Mini Cities Founder Ana Abraham About Being a Mom and Entrepreneur
Tell me about your family….
I am married to my husband and business partner Steve (http://SQLSteve.com) for almost eleven years. We were actually business partners in our first company before we made a complete life partnership and got married. Steve is our CTO at my current company, Mini Cities. We are all really lucky to have such a talented CTO. We have two boys Jack, age nine, and Max age six. Both boys are high energy, run around, jump off the couch kids with great big personalities! They are sweet, loving, kind and really, really smart. Oh yeah, did I mention really handsome? As you can probably tell, I am really proud of my family - they keep me on my toes!
Why did I become an entrepreneur?
I don’t think you become an entrepreneur. I think it is who you are. As a small child, I was always trying to make money. I would do anything from babysitting to buying candy at the corner store and selling it at school. I started Mini Cities, my current company, after my second son was born and I realized I needed to work while my boys were busy either sleeping, or playing or eventually at school. I had a great career before they were born and decided to build a company for Moms like me.
How does your company Mini Cities serve Moms?
Mini Cities was created for Moms of great communities that surround major cities (the suburbs). We suburban moms want to have a great place for our kids to grow up and we want our families to feel connected to these great communities where we live. Each Mini Cities site focuses on a specific area.
I started the company here in New Tampa with the http://www.NewTampaDirectory.com. The site is a directory of businesses, events, and coupons specifically in New Tampa, a suburb north of Tampa. Soon moms from other communities were telling me that they needed a site like the http://www.NewTampaDirectory.com.
We became a franchise and now we have franchisees and Mini Cities sites in communities surrounding Tampa Bay and Atlanta. Some of our sites in Tampa Bay include: http://www.PalmHarborDirectory.com, http://www.DunedinDirectory.com, http://www.LutzDirectory.com, http://www.CarrollwoodDirectory.com, http://www.WestchaseDirectory.com and many more and in Atlanta some of our sites include http://www.CantonGeorgiaDirectory.com, http://www.WoodstockGeorgiaDirectory.com, http://www.AboutBuckhead.com, http://www.SandySpringsCommunity.com and many many more! We are now offering franchises nationwide!
Tell me about your franchise offering...
We are really excited about our franchise offering for so many reasons! First we created the franchise for men and women who want to balance work and home life. Mini Cities franchisees can literally work while their children are in school and sleeping. I am also really excited because we have recently changed our franchise offering and are doing something that no other franchise is doing. We are offering a really low initial franchise fee of only $5000 till July 2011 and after that it increases to only $7500. We want to create a win-win with our franchisees and create something that supports them and offers them flexibility while creating a great income for their families. Franchisees have the opportunity to own great business for very low start-up cost, no inventory expense, homebased and professional. We are really excited about our nationwide roll-out and offering our franchise in all the great suburbs in the United States.
Why are you doing a Nationwide roll out now?
Along with the overwhelming response we have had with our franchise and our new low cost franchise offering, we know now is the right time. People are living online more and more and using social networking like Facebook, but feeling more and more disconnected. Mini Cities sites brings real connection to local communities. Along with promoting local businesses, coupons and events, we recently launched our new program – It’s the Big Deal. This program gives our franchisees the opportunity to be a part of the biggest thing going on the internet. It’s the Big Deal is the real local version of Groupon. Mini Cities Big Deals are for people who want great local deals really close to home. With the Mini Cities Big Deal, people won’t get bombarded with coupons and deals that are 50 miles away. We only email 2-3 times per weeks and all the deals are within a quick driving distance.
At the end of the day what makes you say this is all worth it?
At the end of the day it is all about family and community. Mini Cities is all about strengthening communities and creating areas where people feel connected to their local businesses and their neighbors. Our franchisees are called Community Connectors, and they personify that title. Mini Cities franchisees are the hub of their communities – we all share a common belief. We believe in local communities, we believe in local business.