Katja Presnal’s online store Skimbaco.com got an unexpected PR jolt in May, 2008, when Tom Cruise pointed out his daughter Suri’s cute ladybug shoes from the Skimbaco site while giving Oprah a televised house tour. The Cruises had received them from a friend as part of a holiday gift package Katja had assembled. Katja's PR challenge was to let the media world know those shoes came from her store, which she did with a successful word of mouth campaign using social media. Several media outlets contacted Katja, who had been in business just over a year, and fifty websites covered the story.
Katja, a native of Finland now transplanted to the U.S. via her marriage to her helicopter pilot husband, wears several hats, but considers herself, first and foremost, a public relations person. She began her career in PR right out of high school, working in a PR position while she was in college. It was fascinating to speak to Katja and hear about how her multi-faceted life has unfolded. After an eight year career break involving six moves in seven years while her husband was in the military, including deployments in Kosovo and Macedonia, and three kids born in three years in three different countries, her husband’s military service ended and he took a commercial helicopter pilot position. Katja's goal was to "move on" career-wise when her three children were all in school.
When the family finally settled in Durango, Colorado, Katja began the Skimbaco online store and brand. The name Skimbaco comes from the Finnish word "skimba" meaning "skiing" and CO, reflecting her family’s love for skiing in Colorado. The official Skimbaco Lifestyle philosophy is “live life to the fullest.” Relying on her mechanical engineering educational background, Katja is self taught on everything she does on her site from coding to photo-shopping. She does her own product photography and her own product testing. Recently Katja established a home design site called Skimbaco Home where she features a range of design ideas, from do-it-yourself-on-a-low-budget ideas to high end, high priced designer products. One day she might feature design ideas focused around a particular color (see this one on "yellow") and the next she might talk about how to add fabric design elements to convert simple metal shelving into a lovely accent for a children's play area.
What struck me the most, besides Katja's spot-on business acumen, was her willingness to share her knowledge with others, and help other moms promote their businesses without expecting anything in return. Katja has highlighted a series of mom business owners on her blog, featuring their products as giveaways for online viewers. She believes building a reputation as a good person is part of paying her dues to establish herself and payback will come later.
Finally, Katja's Finnish roots influence her professional and personal life; her design choices (Marimekko is a big favorite), what she blogs about, and how she brings up her three young children. She encourages her children to be independent in terms of making their own breakfasts and getting dressed. She doesn't care if they come out with mismatched socks as long as they do it themselves and are proud of their own independent decisions.
Companies are noticing. Katja was
selected as one of the Walmart "Eleven Moms, Hanes Comfort
Crew, and Frito-Lay's Fabulous 15. She also speaks
frequently at social media and blogging conferences and is well
known on Twitter. Part of Katja's appeal to
both companies and viewer audiences alike is her transparency and
her promise to only endorse products she truly loves. As I
was getting ready to post this piece on Shine!, Katja contacted me
with news of three exciting, new corporate
collaborations:
“I am excited to announce
a new partnership with Lifetime TV Network, as the Home channel
editor at the new site LifetimeMoms.com, a site for moms by moms.
I will be sharing my home decorating tips, including
my weekly Army Wives Home Deco, featuring easy decorating ideas
with a spin from one of the Lifetime’s most popular TV shows [Army
Wives]. Here’s the link:
http://www.lifetimemoms.com."
Katja will also be a community leader in the
Collective Bias social media campaign and will lead the
Social Fabric™ community. Finally,
Katja will showcase several women bloggers via SnazL
Stories, an eight week collaboration showcasing SnazL’s
capabilities allowing people to connect
and bring online communities together http://www.snazl.com.
Looking back on our interview, I realized that
Katja's eight-year career break was largely
irrelevant to an entrepreneurial path that led to broader success
in the corporate, public relations, mom blogging, and social media
worlds. She never pointed to her years at home full time with
her children as either a benefit or an impediment to her career
progress. I love her positive attitude, collaborative nature,
and creative approach. Thank you Katja for
sharing your relaunch story with us.
Katja Presnal photo credit: Carol Barnstead http://carolbarnstead.com/
Carol Fishman Cohen Vivian Steir Rabin
Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin are the co-authors of the acclaimed career reentry book Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work, and the co-founders of iRelaunch, a company that produces career reentry programs, events, and content for employers, universities, organizations and individuals. Download our webinar on LinkedInfor Beginners. If you’re on career break in the Tri-State area, register for our Career Relaunch Forum October 29, 2009 at Seton Hall University in South Orange , NJ . Carol and Vivian can be reached at info@iRelaunch.com or follow us on twitter www.twitter.com/iRelaunch.
