Saturday's Spotlight Star - Baby Flamingo

Summer is speeding by and my goodness it has been hot!  We at babybindle hope everyone is well and has found some relief from the ridiculous temperatures.

We are back this week with the Saturday Spotlight Star. If you would like to be featured, please feel free to contact us. We love meeting new people.

Today we want to introduce you to a fellow Huggies MomInspired Winner.

Please allow me to introduce Déa Viola , President of The Baby Flamingo Co. She is one of 13 Moms awarded the 2010 Huggies® MomInspired™ Grant Program and the creator of The Mama Taco Towel TM, a 2011 PTPA Media Award Winning product.

The Baby Flamingo Co. is a 2011 Leading Mom in Business Contest Winner.

The Baby Flamingo Co., Taco Towel looks beautiful inside a baby gift basket. Who wouldn't want to get one of these?

Tell us a little about yourself.

Born and raised in Salvador, Brazil, Déa Viola is a professionally trained singer, dancer and choreographer with a background in musical theater, ballroom dancing, ballet, jazz and modern techniques. She moved to the US from Brazil in 1985 when she was awarded scholarships with The Joffrey Ballet School and The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Dea’s credits include a stand-in tango scene in the Al Pacino movie “Scent of a Woman,” as well as many years performing in NYC. She has performed with the Michael Mao Dance Company, her own Brazilian band Tropicats, The WonderCamp Playhouse, The Luiz Simas Band and on many studio recordings.

Dea’s thirteen years of teaching experience include dance classes for the Wayne Center for the Arts in Ohio, where she taught children from ages 2 – 16. She taught with the ESL-Dance Project in various NYC high schools for 5 years, a program supported by the NYC Board of Education. She is a trained music teacher with both Music Together and Music for Aardvarks Programs, and she has been the guest guitar player for as many as six of the MFA master classes a week since Jan. 2002. Dea is also currently teaching her own music program at various Nursery Schools in her area, called “Music and Fun @ School.”

Dea is a mother of five, Maria Raquel 23, John Lucas 21, Thomas John 9, Giuliana Sofia, 5 and Daniel Thomas 2. She’s been married to Dan since 2000 and they all reside in Essex County. She enjoys playing the guitar and many percussion instruments. She is the female vocalist of a local Classic & Country Rock Band named CRANETOWN. www.thecranetownband.net

 

What is your Biggest Hurdle?

Most of us are trying to run a company while we are still and primarily running our day to day lives, with many children , home chores, family events, children’s events, as well as our marriages.  Having time to run a business from home , for me , anyway has been a balancing act of sorts.

What business lesson have you learned that you will never forget? 

I have learned that even though we are dealing with business, we are still dealing with people and therefore should always pay attention on how we present ourselves and how we handle our customers,  our vendors, and our fans and followers, and basically never underestimate the power of good customer service in general. At the end of the day, everyone is looking for some kind of validation.

What have been your major challenges? Major success?

For now it all seems like one thing, challenge and success. I am learning so much that even when I think I am going through a challenging situation, it turns out to be a huge stepping stone. And so I think that is what success is all about: taking something out of  any situation and learning from it, even if just one thing.

If you could offer one piece of advice to someone thinking of starting up a business, what would it be?

Starting a business is a process  and a journey, with many tasks at hand. So it is important to have a goal but also to be open to try new things. We are naturally trained as moms  to deal with the unexpected, and even if we don’t think you have what it takes, ask, ask and ask some more. There are many support systems out there. Dream and “drive” on!!!!!

My motto: Do one thing everyday. At the end of a week you’ve accomplished 7 things towards your goal, your business, your vision. At the end of 30 days, 30 things and at the end of a year, 365 things, and that is huge. You must do one thing everyday, but you cannot do everything everyday!

    
Balancing Work and Family is a conscious effort. How do you keep a healthy balance?

I make time for a few things almost daily, or least 5 times a week: I run 5 miles and I make the time to dream about what I can and cannot yet achieve. I also pray daily alone and with my husband and separately with each of my children. All of those things keep me centered and in tunes with God. And that is important to me.

Name two things you must carry at all times.
Baby wipes and my cell phone.

Do you have a favorite business tool or resource?
I really love the amount of information from the Internet. I read a lot of articles and I love to research about various aspects of owning a small business.

 

Do you have a motivational quote?

 I have two:
“God’s delays are not God’s denials”
“ To have or to do something special you only have to be believe it is special” (not sure who wrote it) 

 On your most challenging day, what inspires you to keep going?
My faith in God,  which leads me to believe that  the time is always right, that all is already in the order it should be. We must be patient and we must never give up.