Fred Ball, Zions Bank, features Charming Life Designs

Last Friday, Fred Ball of Zions Bank featured us on his "Speaking on Business" radio show. Just in case you didn"t get a chance to hear the radio spot, here's a transcript of the show. We are grateful to Jody, Jacqueline, and Allison at Zions Bank Women's Financial Group. Throughout the years, they have helped us grow our business. They have supported us through our loan applications, including our Small Business Loan which later grew to be our Commercial Business Loan. Their on-going support is greatly appreciated.

Barbara

November 20, 2009
This is Fred Ball, Zions Bank, speaking on business.

Being adaptable is an excellent trait to have in any situation but it's particularly valuable in the current economic climate. This is why I was so impressed after my recent visit with Barbara Kidd about her company, Charming Life Designs.

Barbara tells me the company started in 2003 as Fashionable Fundraising and was designed to do home shows and help nonprofit organizations raise money. She loved the work but found it difficult to make a profit. To increase her profitability, Barbara designed a collectible charm for one of the nonprofit organizations she was working with.

Other nonprofits caught wind of it and started requesting their own charms. Barbara learned more about designing custom charms and began making them in all kinds of forms, from Chinese characters and a whimsical heart to breast cancer awareness charms. The charms were so popular that Barbara completely changed her company's focus, turned it into a for-profit business and re-named it Charming Life Designs in 2005.

Sandy-based Charming Life Designs provides custom charms to boutiques across the United States. In addition, Barbara also secured a contract to sell her charms and handmade jewelry on Overstock.com. She makes necklaces, bracelets and earnings from genuine gemstones, freshwater pearls and 14K gold filled and sterling silver precious metals. Barbara noticed early on that customers gravitated toward less expensive items. Earrings quickly became the top seller. The online jewelry portion of the business started in 2006 but didn't take off until 2007.

One of the special things about her company, Barbara says, is that all pieces are handmade. She employs 15-20 part-time workers, mostly stay-at-home moms, who create the jewelry. She hopes to see Charming Life Designs continue to grow as she finds clients searching for custom-designed products and adapts to each new situation and change in the market.

For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.

Charming Life Designs
9730 S. 700 E., Ste. 104
Sandy, UT 84070
801-553-2524
http://www.charminglifedesign.com

CafeGive and Charming Life Partner to Raise Funds

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Sandra Morris, a Founder and CEO of CafeGive. Based in Portland, Oregon, Sandra and her talented team have launched an impressive website that helps individuals and communities raise money for non-profit agencies (they call them “Causes”). The idea is simple: You sign up as a member shopper of CafeGive , select the Cause of your choice, and then shop at any of the hundreds of on-line stores they partner with. The Cause and the Advocates then earn funds through CafeGive.

I’m happy to announce Charming Life has just joined the ranks of the CafeGive merchant partners, which include the likes of Banana Republic, The Westin Hotels, The Walking Store, Macy’s, PetSmart , etc, etc. The most exciting part about becoming a member of the CafeGive community is that EVERYONE gets to earn money for their favorite Causes. As a merchant partner, Charming Life Designs is committed to giving a percentage of every Charming Life Designs sale initiated from CafeGive to member non-profits. As a consumer, you get to buy the products you need (or want) AND a portion of those sales goes back to your favorite Cause.

CafeGive’s concept is simple, yet brilliant. Not only can you shop via the CafeGive website, you can actually become an advocate for your Cause and send little links (they call them “Widgets”) to all of your friends via email or twitter, or post them on your facebook page. When your friends make a purchase via your Widget, they are also contributing to your Cause.

In these tough economic times, it is refreshing to run across a business that bolsters the fundraising efforts of non-profits simply by connecting people, their products, and their causes. For more information about becoming a member shopper or a member Cause visit CafeGive’s website.