Making a business doing what you love to do

I found a website the other day that I could literally spend hours on. What a cool find this is – Pose Prints. The site offers sort of a cartoon picture you can customize and make to look just like yourself or someone else. You can play with a bunch of different skin tones and accessories, then save your drawing and have it printed on stationery, cards or invitations.

The founders are a mother-daughter team, Denise and Jen Harland. Denise was a CPA with lots of business savvy, and Jen has always had a passion for stationery and for drawing. In fact, Jen designed her first character pose for her high school graduation announcements back in 1999. Her friends and family loved the invitations and many asked Jen to make invitations for their special events. This planted the idea for Jen to try to make a business out of her prints and present her invitations to the public. However, Jen forewent her true desire to attend art school in order to be practical, studying mass communications instead at UCLA.

After college, Jen spent four years in Manhattan working in Television advertising sales, but she had always known she enjoyed drawing the most, and wanted to be an entrepreneur. Her mom Denise liked the idea Pose Prints presented, and has found working with her daughter to build the business to be her most enjoyable endeavor so far. So far, Jen says the most difficult challenge starting the business has been getting the word out and finding new, cheap ways to market the company, as the company is self funded. I truly feel once word gets out people are going to go nuts for this product.