She has baked goodies for some really famous people and sends cookies, cakes, and cupcakes plus a whole lot more all over the country.  Whoopi Goldberg picked Allyson’s gingerbread cookie as her favorite when they had a contest on “The View.”   Allyson even made custom cookies for President Obama’s Inauguration Party.  That’s pretty awesome!   You can read all about that and lots of other cool stuff on her website.

Even though we met a few months ago, I didn’t have a chance to try her goodies.  She surprised me this week when she sent me three different kinds of cookies.    These weren’t your ordinary cookies either.  One box had deluxe chocolate chip cookies and raspberry chocolate cream cookies.   The other box had custom cookies made with my Pencil Bugs logo on them.  They were so colorful and perfect, I almost didn’t want to eat them but I did.  Before I shared them with my mom and dad, I just had to take a picture of them.   They were like little presents that you could give to someone. 

The good thing was, even with the frosting, they weren’t real sweet which we all liked.  The cookie was a sugar cookie but better than anything you could imagine.  Sometimes when you get things in a bakery, they look pretty but they don’t taste that good.  Allyson’s cookies looked perfect AND they tasted perfect too!

If you’re looking for something different for a party or maybe a gift for someone just for fun, Wonderland Bakery is the place to go.   And if you can’t get there, she’ll ship them to you. 

Did I sound like a commercial?   I guess I did but her goodies are worth bragging about.   Check out her website or if you’re close enough to her store, go in person.  You’ll see what I was talking about.

You can follow Allyson on Twitter.

You can do what most people do and submit your proposal to dozens of agents hoping that one will be interested and give you a contract.  That can take weeks, months, or even years.  My mom has been writing children’s stories since I was born.  Although the children’s market is a lot different than books for adults, it’s still really difficult to get published through a traditional publisher.  I know.  I’ve seen her send out dozens of manuscripts to agents and also publishers for her children’s stories.  Even though she has gotten lots of rejection letters as most people do, she still keeps writing and trying.

What if  you are writing a business book for adults?   How do you get published?  How do you find an agent?  There must be an easier way than submitting proposal after proposal and waiting month after month for some kind of response.   Guess what?  There is an easier way.

Attend a Mark Victor Hansen MEGA Book event.  And you’re in luck.  There just happens to be one coming up on June 5-7 in Orlando right in the middle of DisneyWorld at the Swan and Dolphin Resort.  Not only will you be inspired by Mark but you will also hear other speakers with lots of helpful business information.  But the best thing is that there will be agents and other people from the publishing industry that you can meet in person.  

That’s how I found my agent for my business book.  Actually, he found me at the last MEGA Book in LA in February.   I am convinced that face-to-face meetings are much better than just sending something in the mail.  So why not increase your chances?

This MEGA Book event will be extra exciting because it is the official release of Mark Victor Hansen’s upcoming book “The Richest Kids in America.”   Mark interviewed thirteen kids at different stages of their businesses for his book.  I feel very fortunate that he included my story.  So along with several of the other kids in his book, I will be speaking onstage that weekend.

If I’ve convinced you that this is an event you don’t want to miss, please register through my website.   I get credit if you do and the kids from his book are in a contest to see who can refer the most people to MEGA.  It will be loads of fun!  If you’re a biz kid, you get a great deal too.  It’s only $299 for kids 18 & Under.

See you at the party!

How many times does a seventh grader get to judge a high school business competition?  Probably not too often.  On April 17, I was invited to judge and speak at a Junior Achievement business competition in LA.  It was really interesting.  There were about 17 groups from different schools in the LA area.  Each group created a business and had to present their plan.  I judged the table displays for the teams.  I was paired with two adult judges and we didn’t always agree but I made some pretty good points.

The overall winners were:

• JA Company of the Year (Venture Capital League) went to Falcon Royal Tees from CALS Early College High School.
• JA Company of the Year (Board of Directors League) went to Higher Grounds Cafe from Chaminade College Preparatory School.

Through the Inland Empire’s Junior Achievement rep, we were able to also invite Mark Victor Hansen, author of “The Richest Kids in America” to be on the business panel.  He has so much energy, the kids were amazed.

I am looking forward to working with Junior Achievement in the future.

Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul series hosted an amazing event.  He has written a new book called “Richest Kids in Ameria.”   I was lucky enough to have Mark discover me last fall through Internet while he was searching for young entrepreneurs to include in his book.    Mark is an amazing person.  I’ve been at two of his events since we first met.  One of the cool things about him is he believes that rich doesn’t necessarily mean money.

If being onstage with Mark and eight other kids from all over the country wasn’t exciting enough, Art Linkletter was there to help Mark promote the book.  Art Linkletter became famous for many things.  One of them was his TV show,  “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”   

Some of the kids in his book

Each of us kids got to introduce ourselves and tell a little about our business.  Then they brought up Art onstage.  He told many stories of how he started, way back to when he was adopted, the struggles he faced and how he became rich and famous.  Did you know he discovered the hoola-hoop?   As the story goes, he visited Australia and saw kids making hoops from grass and branches and twirling them around their bodies.  He came back and had them made out of plastic but because you cannot patent a hoop, many companies have copied the concept and made lots of money from his discovery.

Art was good friends with Walt Disney, he was one of the main hosts at the opening day ceremonies back in 1955.   He said he’s also been in the White House longer than any president and was friends with many of them.

Art, me & Mark

Obviously, I wasn’t even born when Art had TV shows on, but my mom and dad remember watching them.  It was still an honor to be with someone so famous.  Did you know he’s 96 years young?  He sure didn’t seem that old.

He told story after story.  I think I could have listened to him all day.  He was so interesting.  I was amazed at all the things he’s accomplished in his life.

After lunch, we went back onstage and were asked questions from Mark, Art, and some of the audience.  It was so fun.  I felt like a celebrity . . . well, sort of. 

My new friend from Temecula

The day was long but well worth it.   Dinner was lobster and steak because we were celebrating Mark’s birthday.  They had a DJ and dancing after dinner.    I met a lot of really nice people and ironically, even met some from Temecula where I live.

The day got longer dancing the night away.  I was asked to do the “birthday wishes” for Mark and started everyone off singing “Happy Birthday.”   Wow!  Was I excited and honored and just a little nervous but only for a few seconds.

I’m already looking forward to next month’s Mega Book Event with Mark in LA.  I’ve been working on my own book about my business and the experiences I’ve had.   I know I’ll get to meet a lot of interesting people again and it’s been fun to even see people I’ve met at previous events.

My display table

If you’d like to receive an e-mail when my book is available, subscribe to this blog by simply entering your e-mail address on the blog home page.