One of the best things about what I do is that I get to meet some really interesting people.  So when an entrepreneur with an apple pie business left me a message on my phone, I was intrigued. (I LOVE apple pie).  But little did I know that the Mary Beth Schwartz who contacted me is better known to her millions of fans as Mary Beth Evans  who plays Kayla on NBC's hit soap "Days of Our Lives."  An actress turned entrepreneur?  Why not.  If a star can become a governor, why not an entrepreneur?  Needless to say, I returned her call (remember, I love apple pie) and we made plans to meet.  That meeting took place today on her huge front porch where we enjoyed the delicious lunch she prepared for me, and it included her amazing apple pie!  Mary Beth is what I like to call an "accidental entrepreneur" because she didn't plan to become a business owner; it was thrust on her by all the people who had tasted her pies.  Everyone said, "why don't you start a business and let lots of people enjoy your pies."  So she started small and began selling and delivering the pies herself to customers in her community.

It's important for entrepreneurs to have a great story to tell so they can take advantage of free publicity.  Well, Mary Beth has a great story!  How many people can get their pie delivered to them by their favorite soap star?  Soon, it became apparent to Mary Beth that her business model (making and delivering the pies) could not scale.  She decided to drop ship the pies in special containers (they're frozen and you cook them in your oven).  This is where her great story paid off.  She caught the attention of the Today Show and QVC, the TV shopping network,  and that's when she started selling in much bigger quantities---3,000 pies in the first 7 minutes on QVC alone.  She considers herself more an artist than a business person, and that's why she called me.  She's still trying to find that perfect business model that will let her expand more quickly and increase her profit margins.  Little did she know when she contacted me that she would become a living case in one of my classes and gain access to a bunch of very bright MBAs who will help her find that business model.  This was definitely a win-win deal!