Jen Butson

She’s been found safe and sound! Thanks to everyone who RT’d

One of my good friends has a cat, Spaz, who went missing Sunday (May 23rd) in the Bells Corners area. She was wearin a blue collar (safety collar, so it may have fallen off) with a small bell on it. She has been microchipped as well. She is about 18 months old, is white with grey/black markings. Here’s a pic:

If you see her, please comment on this blog post, or tweet myself @JenButson or the cat’s owner @berenikakovac

Thanks in advance!

Area: Bells Corners

Age: 18 months

Name: Spaz

Has been microchipped – had a safety collar on (blue) – might have fallen

This is my theory as to why I’m an entrepreneur…and maybe why I’d make a good one? Weigh in in the comments below.

1) Stubborn. I am one of the most stubborn people I know (when it comes to most things). I try not to be, but my theory is that I’m too stubborn to listen to authority when I want to do things my way. Don’t get me wrong, I love having input…but I also want the final decision. So, now I get the final say. If I don’t want to cold call, I’m not going to cold call!

2) Lazy. I like the idea of the 9-5…but I don’t actually like the 9-5. I wanted flexibility in my schedule in case I wanted to sleep in the odd morning. Of course it’s a tradeoff because I end up working all of my “free” time, but that was my lazy tradeoff.

3) Selfish. Growing up, people seemed to have faith that I would “be successful in whatever [I] did.” Well why would I want someone else to be able to capitalize on my success for my entire life? I want to be able to control who gets to benefit from my help…and that makes me incredibly selfish.

4) Impatient. I like money. I don’t like fixed income. I don’t want to climb the corporate ladder…takes too long. I wanted results on my terms, not when somebody else deemed me ready for a promotion. My impatience is a flaw most of the time, but maybe this time it did me some good?

Sometimes I laugh when people call me ambitious and driven for starting my own company…because these four traits stick out in my mind.

Tonight, sort of spontaneously but at the mention from my friend Andrew, I attended the Capital Slam Poetry semi-finals. I haven’t been immersed in an artistic culture in as long as I can remember…business is more about thinking logically and through academia. I didn’t really know what to expect going to this competition, but it sounded like fun so my friend Steph and I went.

I ended up being a judge, as the Slammaster pawned off whiteboards to who was willing…naturally, I was willing. Confessed I had never been to one of these before, but apparently that’s a non-issue. Phew. We saw 26 poems performed by 14 poets (only 12 were competitors). I have never had so many goosebumps in my life.

Being in business I have been taught to say exactly what I’m trying to say without using ‘fluffy’ words or for lack of a better phrase, ‘beating around the bush.’ Then, through all the crafty words and unmistakable imagery, it hit me: this needs to apply to advertising. My favourite ads are the ones that give me goosebumps…clearly this is an overlap from crafty poetry into the world of marketing and advertising. I can’t wait to go to my next slam poetry event because, for an artsy event, I have never been so inspired to do advertising…with the type of imagery and empathetic thought that these poems were slammed with.

So thank you, Capital Slam, for reminding me what creativity is.

I like to think of myself as an optimistic realist, so my apologies if this post seems too much like a fairytale, but there’s been something bugging me as of late. And it’s not the “Olympic fantasy” you might be thinking of…

Remember just a couple short months ago when the nation was united with pride for our Canadian hockey team? So do I, though it seems like a distant memory. It’s no secret that the Sens lost last night. They played with heart but just couldn’t pull it off. So that ends their Stanley Cup dreams for this year.

My roommate is a diehard Toronto fan. Diehard in the fact that she rarely watches hockey (except for the Olympics and the odd regular/playoff season game) but is vehemently against any team. Last week, when I was watching our Sens take on the Penguins, she was in the background and made a comment about how she was happy the Pens were winning because she absolutely hates the Sens. I always knew she hated the Sens…I’m not allowed to put any Sens memorabilia in the apartment…at all…ever. But what I don’t understand is that you can be so against a Canadian team because, and I quote, she “loves Crosby and will marry a Staal brother someday”…which are hardly reasons, but I digress.

Now here is the issue I have with this, because this is the same attitude I have been seeing from everyone connected to the Leafs…if the tables were turned – that is, IF the Leafs were in the playoffs and the Sens were not, I would be cheering for the Leafs. Just like I am cheering for all the Canadian teams (I will still be watching the Habs tomorrow and cheer for the Canucks).

Does this make me a bad Sens fan? The fact that I have compassion for all Canadian teams (even after all the smack talking I may do during the regular season) because I would rather see a Canadian team get the cup than an American one? Does this make me a horrible hockey fan?

If being a Leafs fan means being against every Canadian team, then there’s another good reason for never becoming one…

Don’t get me wrong…I understand the rivalries and that Toronto has beat Ottawa every time it’s actually made it to the playoffs, and the Sens “choke” yadda yadda yadda, but is it horrible that I’d rather see the cup on this side of the border, even if it means giving the Leafs fans more ammo to sling our way in coming seasons? Please, help me clear up this apparent syndrome of Canadian pride I am showing symptoms of…

So I’ve tweeted and blogged and Facebooked a bunch of stuff about this campaign, but I thought it’d be handy to have all the information, condensed, and in one spot. So…here it is…the lowdown. First, an interview…with myself.

What is #CarBeforeCanadaDay?

It is me, trying to get a car before Canada Day…just like it sounds. Canada Day is July 1st, just fyi.

Why can’t you just go and buy one?

Let’s see…I’m a full-time student…and a full-time entrepreneur…so money isn’t really flowing in. Thought I’d use my “entrepreneurial” skills to bootstrap myself a car.

Here’s how people can help:

1. Advertise on my car. You can choose to advertise whatever you want (10″w x 3″h) on either the back window ($20/month min. 1 year) or one of the side windows ($30/month min. 1 year). I’m planning to put up to 10 ads on the back, but the side windows will only have one. So…take your pick. I will also mention you in all materials related to this campaign. I will also write a blog post after the campaign is over about your company/whatever you’re advertising.

2. Small donation. So my birthday comes up in July, and there are also a lot of holidays in between I can make up if you like as rationale for this donation. I figured it would be easiest to tackle this car one piece at a time, so I dissected it, in a matter of speaking. No, I am not building my own car. But I made a list (On page 4) of a bunch of different parts of a car. So, you can donate whatever amount you choose, for whatever part of the car you wish. i.e. you could say “here’s $15 for your oil dipstick.”. I will mention your lovely contribution in any materials related to this campaign. You can send whatever amount by PayPal to jenbutson@live.com. I figured this was a much easier way to tackle such a seemingly large task.

3. Buy promotional products. Most of you probably know I run a company, Jennifer Lee Promotions. If you buy from me, that means I’ll have some income to put towards the car! Woohoo! And it’s something you need anyway.

4. Buy stuff. So I have a Shopify store, and I sort of need to update it, but essentially I’ll be selling a few items on there where all profit will go in the car fund. I’ll post the link when it’s all ready to go. Hint: If you like beer (who doesn’t?), you’ll like what I have

5. IDEAS! Give me some of your bright ideas of how to come up with some cash quick outside of selling a kidney or pimping myself out. Ideas always help too, and they’re free for you

Dear Ford,

I have loved you ever since my dad realized how much GM sucked. Since then, it has only been Fords in our family. From F-150s, to F-250s, to F-350s, to F-550s, and a Taurus Centennial, you have always been there. I learned to drive on the Taurus, and realized I can’t drive standard on the F-550 (Sorry Dad). You probably already know this, since at the age of 12 I convinced a middle-aged couple to buy one of your trucks.

How do I love thee, let me count the ways.

- That I have never found you on a road somewhere, dead (no matter what people say);

- That you got me to prom, then from prom to the afterparty;

- That you are the only big auto manufacturer who had their shit together and didn’t need a bailout;

- That you are the only auto manufacturer who is being innovative now that you’ve mastered the “car” part, to now Sync it up;

- That Alan Mulally is kind of a genius;

- That I have tweeted with many of your associates (they seem to “get” the social media part);

- That it’s hard for me to pick a favourite because the entire lineup is sexy (but I love Escape and Fusion);

- and that the dealership we have grown to love is always there if an issue arises.

If I had one of you now, I would take you for long drives into the sunset…clean you regularly…take you to meet my parents…heck, even introduce you to my clients.

You…would…complete me.

Yours forever,

Jen

_

P.S. You can help, here.

Hello.

As most of you know, I am a full-time student (starving student). You might also know that I am an entrepreneur (starving entrepreneur).

One of my goals for 2010 is to get a car. I’m getting my G (assuming I pass) on May 13th. I have set my goal to have a car before July 1st (I really want it before my birthday on the 20th ).

While I’m going to be saving as much change as I can (not loonies or quarters ’cause I need those for laundry) and working my little tale off to make enough to buy one, I thought it’d be fun (and more motivating for me) if I made it more of a…campaign. You can follow along with the hashtag (#CarBeforeCanadaDay) on Twitter, and I’ll probably also update this blog if anything big happens, like winning the lottery or maybe winning a car on a Tim Horton’s Roll Up The Rim? That’d be sweeeet.

If you have any ideas* for me to get closer to my goal, please let me know! Comment here, or send me an email at JenButson@Live.com.

Check out the link at the bottom of this post to sponsor my tweets – they’re cheap and hell, you can get me to say whatever you want (in 140 characters or less).

- Jen

*prostitution is not an idea

2009 was a fairly eventful year in the life of Jen Butson. In this post I’m going to reminisce over some of these occurrences.

January-March: Don’t really recall much from these months aside from a lot of school work, hating my living situation, and a lot of bad behaviour.

April:
- Competed as a finalist in the ADM2381 Pearson Presentation Competition. I did not win. But the experience was pretty swell. Made me a celebrity for a couple days and something to “put on my resume”.
- Got rejected from the only real job I was interviewed for.
- Decided there was no way I was going back to Peterborough for the summer; contemplated Summer Company program; began figuring out what I was going to do to pay the bills.

May:

- Bridal showers forced me back to Peterborough for two weekends.
- I began working at The Bay (and hating my life)
- Decided to take a couple summer courses, after convincing my parents it was a good idea.

June:

- School
- Work
- Blah

July:

July 11th: My brother got married in the most beautiful, fairy-tale-esque wedding I have ever seen. So happy to have Steph as an official sister-in-law and legal part of the famjam.
- July 19th: realizing I was turning 20 on the following day and that anything I did as an “adult” would no longer be shocking or interesting to others, I decided I had to do something big. Registered my company, Jennifer Lee Promotions.
- July 20th (champagne birthday):  Began with mimosas in the morning, margaritas at lunch, and Tucker’s buffet and more drinks at dinner. While at dinner with my good friend Lisa, got an email on my phone from the Ontario Government: my master business license.

August:

- Began building company; had first client
- Was rid of both part-time retail jobs and decided to go home for last 2.5 weeks of summer after cousin’s wedding
- Cousin got married in an intimate ceremony and partied like rockstars on the 32nd floor of big hotel in downtown TO (can’t remember name of hotel…) – poutine buffet…’nuff said
- August 20th: worst day of the year. Family dog, Rosie, passed away suddenly from cancer. 12 years, 3 months old. We still miss you every day baby girl.
- Back to Ottawa for school/enjoying end of summer

September:

- School
- Business

October:

- Got approached to help start-up #GenYOTT and thus began started meeting tweeps in person
- Best halloween costume ever: Angel Investor. Don’t act like you don’t love it.

November:

- My first trip ever to the USA! Washington, DC for a trip with Managers Without Borders…some fantastic memories with some fantastic people.
- Had a really horrible cough that wouldn’t go away for pretty much all of November. Not even codeine helped.
-  Was on a team with two brilliant HR students (I’m not in HR ftr…still in Marketing…) for Negotiation at Human Resources Symposium 2009 where we competed against other Universities – after 2 hours of preparation and 3 hours of negotiating against the team from Brock University in front of a panel of judges (btw, first time our faculty was able to send a full delegation to this competition…and first time anyone from our school had competed in Negotiations) we signed the collective agreement with 30 seconds remaining on the clock. Later that night, at the gala we found out we won. One of the greatest, proudest moments of 2009 for me. And not only did we get 1st in Negotiation (we beat out John Molson and McGill in the top 3) but we got 2nd in HR Case, 1st in social (our Rambo dance kicked so much ass) and then first OVERALL! Amazing weekend, I’ll never forget it.
-  Our first #GenYOTT night! Huge success, packed venue…met some amazing people in Ottawa who I cannot wait to see again at the next event January 14th!
- Luc returned from his Asian adventure and agreed to work with me on Jennifer Lee Promotions

December:

- Exams.
- Kill me now.
- Short Christmas holidays.
- Back to Ottawa.

So, 2009…you were pretty amazing. BUT, what I have planned for 2010 just might top you

Top 3 Picks:
3. Wine Tote Bag:http://www.debcosolutions.com/en-us/c…

2. Travel Mugs:
http://leedsworld.ca/products/view/?m…

1. Wine Gift Sets:
http://www.debcosolutions.com/en-us/i…

ALSO! Mention this episode and get free shipping on all of these products until Christmas!

If you have a question/topic for next week’s episode, comment it here!

Hey everyone – here’s the first episode that I promised!

If you want to leave a question for me to answer on the next show, you can leave it as a comment to this post!

- Jen