Some Questions and a Giveaway!

Happy Monday! We are starting off this week with a few new (and hopefully fun) activities! Each week, we will have two questions, one about business and one general question. The questions are posted on our Facebook, Twitter and BigTent accounts, so check them out!

As a special offer for Entwined Community members only, for each comment that you post on BigTent, you will be entered into a random drawing that month for a fun prize! Not a member yet? Read here about our membership benefits - the first 100 businesses are still just $5 to join and the first 100 individuals are only $1. The prize for November will be a $25 gift certificate to use at your choice of Entwined Community member businesses - a great way to start off (or finish up!) some holiday shopping. The fine print - Entwined Community members will receive one entry for each comment they post on BigTent per month. Comments entries are valid on any meaningful comments, not just questions of the week. Meaningful is defined as something that adds value to the conversation - not just posting single word comments that do not help the poster with their question. Winner will be randomly selected from all entries using random number generator software. Members can only win comments giveaway once every 90 days.

General Question: We were watching one of our favorite reality TV shows on Hulu the other day and one of the leads mentioned that he was the father of twin boys - I had no idea! This guy and his friends spend a lot of time in the dark hunting things - who is it? What are some of your favorite TV shows that star adult multiples or parents of multiples?

Business Question of the Week: One of the most difficult decisions I had early on with Entwined Community was coming up with a name. How did you come up with your business name? How long did it take you, what methods did you use to make sure your name was unique and did not infringe on other's trademarks, etc? If you are interested in starting a business and have a question about coming up with a name, share your questions and our community will try to help!

Photo from Flickr Free Use Photo Group: thanks rwhitesi37 for the photo, entitled Colors.

TWINdustry Guest Post Friday: Graphic Design

Each Friday, we highlight an entwined community member who works in the TWINdustry of the Week. This week's post is by Julia Satovsky, twin mom and owner of J4 Design in the San Francisco area.

Many pregnant women face a question of whether to continue working after giving birth or to become a stay-at-home mom. Some also consider working from home, working part-time, or starting their own business. For me working from home or part-time was not an option, and I really didn’t like the idea of going back to work and leaving preemie twins at home with a nanny. Living in San Francisco on one salary is not easy! So my husband suggested that I start my own business. Working for myself was something that I’ve never done before, and never even considered. However, I was open to the idea, and after much thought and contemplation, I quit my job, and went to the City Hall to get a business license.

Coming up with a business name was almost as hard as coming up with names for the twins. It was especially hard because I was not 100% exactly what I was going to be doing. I knew that I was good at arts, crafts, computers, design, and marketing, so I wanted the name to be vague enough to cover any direction in which my business might take off. “J4 Design” was the final choice and it reflects both my skills and my family. There are four people in my family and all of our names start with a letter “J” - the word “design” covers any kind of creative services that might be required - so J4 Design was the winner!

Since the inception of J4 Design, 80% of my work was obtained through “word of mouth” or some kind of personal connection. I designed a business card and put together a website for myself, and started passing out cards to all my friends and other parents that met at playgrounds, playgroups, kids classes, etc. My husband also talks to all of his clients about my business. I have also advertised in local parents groups newsletters and the local parents of multiples club – San Francisco Parents of Multiples.

I started helping people with custom holiday cards, websites, photo correction and photo manipulation, business cards, slideshows, magazine ads, stickers and brochures. I have edited videos, designed wine labels, and even painted clothing, furniture and murals in kids rooms. I try not turn down any project. I’ve been asked many times “Can you do ....?” and 99.9% of the time the answer is “Yes!” Being resourceful and flexible has been a big part of me trying to get more work. My favorite project so far was a present for a friend’s husband’s 50th birthday. She sent me a bunch of photos of him and paired him up with famous people, making it look like he was really there. She printed out those images, framed them, and put them all around her house. He was very surprised and it was unique and really fun for everybody!

I love the flexibility of working for myself, not having to rush off to the office in the morning, not having to fill out vacation request forms, and being able to be with my kids, take them to classes and playgroups, and pick them up after school. There is a downside to almost anything. I am responsible with tracking my own time, invoicing and billing people, and of course doing all of the accounts receivables and accounts payables. Taxes are also a lot more complicated when you run your own business, as you often need to track your phone calls and car mileage for example, to receive appropriate deductions. However, overall there are a lot more positive sides to having your own business and I strongly encourage everybody to consider starting their own business whenever possible. entwined community creates a great way for parents of multiples to have an instant client base with people who are interested in their services. J4 Design is a proud entwined community member business and offers 10% off services for entwined community members!

Julia Satovsky has identical twin girls and owns J4 Design in San Francisco, CA. Contact her at
julia@j4design.com .

TWINdustry Guest Post Friday: Real Estate

Each Friday, we highlight an entwined community member who works in the TWINdustry of the Week. This week's post is by Penny Pelletier, identical twin and real estate agent in Vestal, NY.

My twin Connie and I have been very close since birth. Twins run on both sides of our family - my father had twin uncles and my mother had two sets of twin brothers. Not only do I have a twin sister, but we have a brother and sister who are twins who are 4 years older than us. We are as close as two siblings could be. I can’t imagine what it would be like to not have a twin, as I always had my best friend with me.

Connie and I always seemed to work in the same field. After graduating from high school, I worked as a court clerk and trained my sister to take over after I left to get married. My marriage was our first separation and was quite traumatic for both of us! We both lost weight and our hair fell out - it was awful! We finally adjusted but we certainly had some very high phone bills.

After working in the mortgage and real estate industry, a few years ago I moved back home and convinced my sister to get her real estate license and come work with me. In addition to working great together, we are the only Twin Team in the area and we even have a program on the John Burns Real Estate Show called “Touring with the Twins”. It is such a privilege to work with my sister - it is rare to work with someone you can fully trust to do a good job and be supportive.

Here are a few tips if you are considering working with your twin. First, find something that you both enjoy and excel at. Do you have similar interests or hobbies? Think of how you can pool your strengths to work together as a team. Second, determine who will be responsible for what aspects of the business. If one of you is more outgoing, have that person focus on marketing and community relations. If one of you is more reserved, you may be more comfortable behind the scenes keeping the books straight and dealing with vendors. Finally, market yourself as a twin business! We all know what a unique gift it is to be a twin, reach out to connect with twins in your community who understand this special bond. Using a service like entwined community will help you connect with clients who are looking for business professionals who understand the special twin/multiples bond. We are proud entwined community members, and offer $250 off home inspections for the buyer or $250 credit off commission for sellers.

Penny Pelletier is a Realtor with Realty USA in Vestal, NY. Contact her at
PPelletier@RealtyUSA.com .