Spotlight On: Amy Luwis

Name of Business: RescueGirl
Type of Business: Inspirational yoga gifts for women!
Web Site: http://www.rescuegirl.com/
Email: AmyLuwis@Gmail.com

Tell us more about your business.

RescueGirl is in the market to inspirit and applaud women. Our lofty and unwavering goal is to create gifts of substance with uncommon humor and high standards.

We are compassion over profit; adding something positive to the world. Recycled & Sustainable. Useful & positive products. Not made in China.

Why did you decide to start this type of business?

The serious part: debunk society's self-destructive image of a woman's beauty and the perfect body. The fun part: Help women feel fabulous about themselves just as they are and embrace their individual beauty. I found yoga to be very miraculous in the self-acceptance category, so I decided my first RescueGirl tool to help women achieve this internal fire of fabulousness would be Yoga to the Rescue!

What makes your business unique?

The way I communicate and illustrate my ideas. And the fact that I'm probably the only illustrator that puts frogs, dogs, and birds on the heads, derrieres, and toes of my illustrated women doing yoga poses!

Can you share with us the challenges that you have encountered related to starting a business?

Finding quality vendors who produce quality products who also care about the environment. QuickBooks is a great program, but keeping books isn't glamorous or fun. Finding balance with all the details and tasks. BUT being an entrepreneur is the most rewarding path and connecting with women and enriching their lives is the best gift in the world—a woman wrote to me and told me I was helping her get through her divorce! That's pretty darn cool.

How did you overcome these challenges?

Perseverence, patience, frequent attitude adjustments, and gratitude for every situation—the good ones AND the really nasty ones, too.

What has been your biggest success thus far?

Being approached by big publishers who wanted to purchase the book rights to Yoga to the Rescue. Selling the book rights to Barnes & Noble subsidiary, Sterling Publishing, and then watching Yoga to the Rescue become a bestseller! Being able to dedicate the book to my parents and my then boyfriend (now husband), guitarist Bryan Aspey, was pretty awesome, too!

What is your favorite free business resource? Google

Can you share with us something that very few people know as it relates to your business?

Behind every amazing woman, is another amazing woman! I'd be selling corn by the side of the road (not that there is anything wrong with that) if I didn't have my amazing marketing director, Meg Huggins, by my side. I call her Sherlock Holmes all the time because she finds things and solves things like no one I know.

What words of advice would you provide to others who are considering starting a business?

I cannot emphasize this enough, start your business as if you already run a million dollar company and lay a very solid foundation. Don't skimp on your business or you will get skimpy results. Hire a bookkeeper, if you don't plan to tackle QuickBooks like a professional. Be dilligent about follow-up. Follow your bliss and nurture an attitude of gratitude and you will be blessed!

Do you have any special offers for those reading this interview?

If you order something from our website, RescueGirl.com, shoot us a quick email and let us know and we'll send you a free gift . By the way, our gifts are great, not the cereal box type!

Would you like to be considered for an upcoming "Spotlight On" post? If you have a web site and a business Up & Running story, please email Jennifer Moore at Jennifer@Pink-Heels.com. You can be located anywhere in the world as we are creating a global network of fabulous women!