Palatine mom's parenting Web site makes top 200 list
When Sue Kirchner started her online retail store offering parenting tools, children's products and unique gifts for mothers, she wanted her brand to help moms focus on the positives of parenting instead of the pressures.
She just didn't know what to call her company, which she started out of her Palatine home in 2006.
"Coming up with a name of the company was very hard for me," Kirchner said. "My last firm was a branding firm, so I put all this pressure on myself to come up with a great name."
But it wasn't the branding process that led Kirchner to choose the name Chocolate Cake Club - it was thinking about what makes moms smile.
"Chocolate cake. That's what does it," Kirchner said. "Chocolate makes women happy, as we all know, but chocolate cake has a family element to it."
Now, Kirchner's business not only has a name she's happy with, it also has the distinction of being among the top 200 companies in the first Leading Moms in Business competition held by Startupnation.com.
"Mom entrepreneurs deserve the spotlight and we want to shine it on them and do what we can to help them achieve their goals," said Rich Sloan, co-founder of Startupnation.com.
Kirchner and several thousand other mom business owners vied for votes and earned their rankings based on popularity. Chocolate Cake Club came in 134th.
"It's nice to get recognition for the fact that it is difficult ... to have a family and work on a business, which in essence becomes your baby," Kirchner said.
Jean Lemke, a Park Ridge mother and co-owner of a business called Kidwinks.com, said she supported Chocolate Cake Club during the contest's voting period in February and March. She also participates in an informal "econ moms" discussion group Kirchner started with six Chicago area mom entrepreneurs.
"Sue is amazing; my hat is off to her," Lemke said. "She's very well organized and I love her products."
Lemke described Kirchner's online store as a place to find unique products such as mom-themed daily planners with sections for work, play and home.
Chocolatecakeclub.com also offers multiple shopping categories with items ranging from kids' alarm clocks to hooded youth beach towels to growth charts decorated with lily pads or firefighting gear.
Kirchner includes a "why we love it" section with every product description and also writes a blog about experiences she calls "chocolate cake moments," times when parents feel relaxed and able to truly enjoy parenting.
She achieves her own chocolate cake moments by scheduling everything - business appointments, public speaking engagements, workout hours and even time to help her children, Cal, 9, and Christy, 7, with their homework.
Still, Kirchner, 41, said she sometimes has difficulty getting out of work mode to rejoin her family. But because her work involves finding and offering products to help busy moms, she does not see her dedication as a bad thing.
"What makes it easy to run this business is I can draw off my real life experience and bring it to other moms," Kirchner said.