Cindy EngstromMarket Mommy:: When and why did you found your business?

Cindy:: I founded SIRCLE Advertising (formerly Is That Odd, Inc.) in April of 2009 because I identified a new way to approach marketing in the era of online living: advertising relations. It weds traditional advertising and public relations by creating a setting for consumers and brands to engage online that is connected to real-life product experiences and brand impressions. The internet is such a powerful tool to engage with people and use data to determine how effective marketing efforts are – I had to make use of it!

The SIRCLE model allows consumers to earn virtual currency and redeem it for product samples, and then follows up with a review request and retail purchase incentive. Currently, SIRCLE is live on IsThatOdd.com, and we’re in talks with several major web properties to put our model on their site next year. Additionally, we are developing a second property of our own for early 2012. We stay busy!

Market Mommy:: How long did it take before you felt successful?

Cindy:: I think life is full of many milestones, and I can fondly remember having a smile on my face because I felt successful.  Whether it was nailing a tough econometrics exam during my MBA program or finding a way to bring a new approach to a business when you are not in a position of power.  I also get a huge kick out being able to bring together a talented team and feel very successful and honored that talented people were willing to join the SIRCLE Advertising team and work hard. With SIRCLE Advertising our/my big moment was the insight we gained from our first experiment with the sample campaigns running on IsThatOdd.com.  We’ve had a few of those moments where the numbers are so good you rub your eyes and look again. Our time-on-site and pages-per-visit are on par with big players like Facebook, and 25% of our users engage with our brand partners – to compare,  banner ads usually deliver around 2%.

Market Mommy:: How do you define success?

Cindy:: Success to me is where you are completely invigorated and inspired by what you do in a way that complements having a fulfilling personal life.  I am also a fan of Oprah’s definition of success: preparation meeting opportunity.  People think success is purely luck based.  It is not, it requires a lot of hard work and no short cuts.

Market Mommy:: How do you balance parenting with running your business?

Cindy:: It is hard!  I often joke about wanting to high five myself some mornings when I’ve exercised, made my cuties breakfast, driven them to two different schools. I cherish those morning drives and the discussions that emerge (or the songs we sing). As I head to the office, I think, “Yes! I did it!”

As far as the actual management of my day, I couldn’t do it without technology. I check in throughout the day, getting a text from our nanny when the kids are home from school, emails from the school about field trips, calls to my husband about evening plans, and emailing my team from my Blackberry and iPhone – yes I carry both, and an iPad – to keep all the plates spinning.

Market Mommy:: When did you break the six-figure threshold?

Cindy:: OH! Sorry, I’m Canadian – that is a very personal question in the Canadian culture – but it’s a good one because that barrier did mean a lot to me when I broke through it.  I had paid my dues at a few hard jobs when my “preparation meets opportunity” karma kicked in. I was leading the marketing team for a tech start up in the dot com boom and I was 29 years old; it was fun to be a part of that history.

Market Mommy:: What business strategies contributed to your success?

Cindy:: I work hard; really, really hard.  I’ve always believed I could outwork the competition because I can sit at my desk for hours on end and I am so driven to make sure I do my part for the team.I have built a successful career in figuring out the intersections where technology makes a person’s life more fun, or just plain better.  I am an observation fanatic; I like to watch and listen to people and be a fly on the wall.  As I’ve matured, I’ve become better at listening to feedback, which is something I am very proud of myself for achieving.  Some of the days I have the most fun are going from meeting to meeting with super smart people and hearing their thoughts on the latest leg of our strategy.My network is also key, I am humbled by the amazing network of business friends that I have!  I really encourage people to get out there and talk to each other.

Market Mommy:: What specific marketing efforts really paid off for you?

Cindy:: It is a lesson that I try to pass along: focus.  Now, that might sound easy at first, but what focus really means is that you must let things go.  It can be painful to alienate anyone or anything outside of the focal point.  One of its best applications is with launching a new product or company, you have to focus on sending the right messages for your situation.  It is tempting to jam in messages about all the great facets of what we are doing, but we can’t because the net effect will be zero share of mind.  A great example is from when I was running a small retail company in the Midwest and we were up against Coach and Gap.  A market positioning disaster for a new store, so  I decided we would focus on selling leather jackets, our highest margin products.  The quality of our product was out of this world and we developed a selling strategy to send people back to the Coach store to do a quality comparison – it worked!  We kicked the snot out of our locally situated competitors. I remembered one day walking down Michigan Avenue in Chicago and seeing people wearing our jackets.  THAT was a moment.

Market Mommy:: What advice do you have for moms who are just starting out on their entrepreneur adventure?

Cindy:: My sister Tracy, who is an amazing Mom to three sons,  said to me once “there is no such thing as a part-time job.”  It takes as much time to get everyone to school, manage the household, and make everyone’s lives function whether you’re working 3 days a week or 5.   That stuck with me and so my first piece of advice is that even if you start part-time, it will feel full-time.

So, be realistic about your professional and personal schedules.  Be fiercely organized. Not one minute of my day is left unscheduled, including fun time, which is super important. Identify your resources: child care, meals, project help, budget and the almighty emergency stash of chocolates.  You will have deliverables when your partner/spouse is on a business trip, you have a flat tire, and one of your children is home sick with a cold so having help at hand to conquer moments of crisis is key. Most importantly, never give up on your dream.  Yes, you’ll be tired and yes at times you’ll think you’re a horrible Mom but your dreams are important. You are an important role model to your children that dreams matter, and are showing them an example of how to enjoy your professional life and your family.  Every once in while you get a comment that brings tears to your eyes, “Mom, you sure do a good job.  I want to be like you when I grow up.” It is pure magic.