Hey there!

So a few days ago, we told you we’d be on tv.. Here we are!!

This post is a digital movie taken from our house of the TV recording.. we are waiting for a copy from the actual producer and will put that up as soon as we get it.

We knew you were as excited to see custom snowboards on tv as we were so we wanted to give you the show now!!!

Hope you like it!!

A&T

We are going to be on TV!!!!

Check us out (or set your PVR’s) on York Region’s own “Day Time York Region” for February 4th, 11am.

We’re going to be talking to Jacqueline and Jeff and we’ll be doing a quick installation on a skateboard…
Make sure you check it out, it’s sure to be riveting!

Check this link for your channel to see if you get it! Don’t worry if you’re out of the area, we’ll make sure that you can watch it somehow.. (maybe we’ll get a digi version for YouTube!!)

If you end up catching it, give us a shout after and let us know how we did!!!

Hope you’re having a great week!!
A

I am so excited to spread the news that we have been featured on York Region Parent as a great idea for a holiday gift!!!
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“We have had a few emails from parents asking for some ideas for their tweens and teens for Christmas presents. You can check out our Holiday Gift Showcase, but we also found a new and local company that creates custom graphic gear for outdoor sports.

You can customize graphics to make you ski or snowboard all your own. It’s an inexpensive way to get a totally custom and fresh look on your gear. (Read more…)

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I also wanted to remind you that we have a super cool sale going on right now for the holiday season…

Buy 1 FreshFace, get one at 25% off!!

A perfect way to get a gift for someone special and one for yourself too!!! So check out our store and see what we’ve got.. We also have gift certificates too!

Talk  to you soon,

A

How cool is this!? FreshPow! has been profiled by  BabeofBusiness.com  as the “Start-up of the Week”!

Thanks so much to Crystal (The Chief Babe) for choosing us as her feature for this week!

Read on Below for the entire interview and then check out BabeofBusiness.com for more goodies….

Some businesses flop months after launching, while others have the distinct honor of hitting the ground running – taking off and never looking back. To the joy of its owners, our featured start-up of the week is happily finding a home in the latter category. Recently featured in BTW Magazine and Snowboard Life, among others, here is what Ariane Griffiths had to say about her one-of-a-kind start-up FreshPow!:

Please tell us about your start-up FreshPow!. What makes it unique? And how does it fit into the marketplace?

FreshPow! started as an idea to help my husband find a new design job. I am a serial entrepreneur and am constantly coming up with ideas. He is a very talented commercial graphic designer with a serious passion for outdoor sports, mainly mountain biking and snowboarding. After a particularly frustrating conversation about how much I wanted my own business and he wanted a new job, we decided to mesh our skills and passions. I came up with the idea to design and produce graphic creations for snowboards and bikes; at that time, we did not know what form that would take, and my husband was hesitant. I immediately did some research, and found out that there was nothing out there like this. So I forged ahead and started creating the layout of the company. The products we sell are unique because there is a custom aspect to them. Allowing the customer to choose what design they have on their sports gear is a new concept altogether; normally the customer can only choose from mass produced designs in retail shops. Our products also allow the customer to change up their sports style as often as they wish.

What demographics are you targeting?

Our primary target is men and women, aged 15 to 35; they take part in outdoor action sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, wakeboarding, mountain biking and other sports. They see their sport not as a hobby, but as a lifestyle and view their purchases in this regard as necessities, not optional. Our target location is primarily North America with a close secondary target being everywhere else. We are able to do this because 99 percent of our business is online.

What has been the most challenging aspect of launching this business?

So far, the most challenging part has been keeping up with what needs to be done; mainly marketing. Because FreshPow! is on a VERY tight budget all of our marketing so far has been through public relations and media pitches. I am not sure if it’s because I have a tendency to “do it all at once”, but working on press releases based on multiple editorial calendars is extremely taxing!

Did you write a business plan? How did you fund the launch of your business? Are you currently seeking investment?

Does a chicken scratched task list count?! I have not yet written a business plan. I started this business less than a month ago and because it was brought to life right before a crucial selling season, there has been no time. Currently I am working off of a scrap piece of paper; tasks get refreshed daily and I seem to be making serious headway. Chaotic organization seems to be my preferred way to work. Funding the business has been an interesting journey. We had a tiny bit of money set aside and that has allowed me to get business cards (so far). A marketing campaign is being planned, with various sell sheets and such. I am lucky to have Web skills so I did my Web site (http://freshpow.ca) myself and with my husband being a graphic designer, well, I didn’t have to hire one. At this point, I am not willing to take on investors. If that day were to come, I believe I would open the company up to family first, but I don’t think it will ever be a situation of someone coming in, offering money and then having a majority control.

Is this your first start-up venture?

Not really, as I said before, I am a serial entrepreneur; a successful one, not yet (notice I said “Yet”). Every time I try to launch a business, something comes up either personally or financially and it just doesn’t seem to fit. FreshPow! already shows signs of being extremely different than all of my other ideas. It’s a completely different industry for me, and I think that is what is making the difference for me personally. Product wise, it’s such a new idea that marketing it so far has been very easy.  I’ve had two press releases and an article published in less than two weeks. It’s great!

What advice can you give others looking to start their own businesses?

My absolute without a doubt mandatory advice would be positivity. You, and everyone else around you, NEED (bold and underscored) to be positive. You need to surround yourself with people who believe in you, your ideas and your success. It is next to impossible to foster the growth of a company if someone around you is weighing it (and you) down with doubts. The rest of any advice I would give is already out there (read your tush off!) but (in my opinion) pales in comparison to that - Be positive; it is the make or break of any business you’ll attempt.

If you had to start all over again, what are some things you would do differently?

Given the fact that it has only been a little less than a month, I’m barely out of the gate. Whatever I have doubts about right now, I still have time to fix. Can I do a follow-up in the next couple of months and let you know then?

I’m going to hold you to it, Ariane! In the meantime, if you’ve been itching to customize your look on the slopes, water and everywhere in between, check out FreshPow! online.

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Isn’t that a great interview? Thanks again Crystal!

BabeofBusiness.com - Check it out!

Hope you have a great day!
A

Happy Monday!

What a busy weekend it was… we went to the Toronto Ski, Snowboard & Travel show down at the Better Living Centre.. what a crowd! There were thousands of people there!

Amazing new products to check out and really great deals to be had! We got a member of the FreshPow! Social Media team a new board package for under $475 (unheard of!).

Of course we spread the word about us; we talked to tons of store owners, magazine reps and resort managers.. and the general public too!

In our 5 hours taking it all in, we were able to absorb some of the latest trends; colors, textures and patterns are definitely in and it seems the crazier the better! A lot of retro designs were around, LOUD color combos and super tactile patterns.. man it’s gonna be a FUN season!!!

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Oh, make sure you check out two cool places on the net..

1. BoardtheWorld.com - They just published an article that we wrote (the one about maximizing your time and money at the hill) so that’s a great reason to visit them.

2. Shayboarder.com (on our Fresh Faves!) Shayboarder has just released a really long list of board reviews, just in time to go forth and purchase! Good reads!

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Keep in touch because very soon we will be releasing some more designs and other interesting things for your eyes to feast on… make it easy for yourself and grab our RSS feed so that you get updates automatically when their posted..

For now,

Keep it FRESH!
A

Have fun, look great and save money with these 3 easy tips!

Ok, so with the cost of just about everything rising at a steady pace, it’s hard to justify dropping any more money.

Usually saving money means cutting costs and paring back essentials (and non-essentials) in order to save a penny. But what happens when “essentials” and “non-essentials” become one in the same? Take outdoor sports for example; diehard snowboarders and skiers do not see a day spent at the hill as a non-essential. It is a downright necessity; to go to the hill, to have the gear and to spend money on getting there (and on lift tickets) for the day, or even the weekend.

All of this adds up to some serious cash dropping by the end of the season. Here are some quick tips to save money and maximize your time spent at the hill.

1. Carpool: With the cost of fuel on a continuous rise, carpooling to the hill not only saves you gas money, but also allows you to help lower environmentally harmful fuel emissions and saves wear and tear on your vehicle. A cool bonus from carpooling is the fact that you get to take part in a mini road-trip!

2. Go on a group vacation: Round up some of your best pals and pitch in on renting a chalet for a weekend (or longer). You will save money on accommodations and everything else having to do with your vacation. Potluck your food;
not only will you have a full stomach (a necessity for energy needed on the hill) but you’ll also have a full wallet too!
Don’t forget to ask for group rates for your co-op vacation; many resorts have discounted rates for lift tickets if your group is over a certain size. Make sure to ask the booking agent when you are researching the cost of booking
the resort.

3. Upgrade your old equipment: If you pass on purchasing brand new equipment, you’ll save a ton of money - allowing you to be at the hill more often! Upgrade your old equipment instead by adding a FreshFaceTM to your board or skis. Don’t forget that FreshFacesTM are manufactured from weather and UV safe vinyl.

If spending time at the hill is your goal and you want to save money, it’s easy to do if you think consciously, and collaboratively with FreshPow!

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I want to know your best tips about saving money or maximizing your time on the hill; better yet, tell me your tricks to accomplish BOTH tasks and we’ll post them up here for all the world to see!

More of the “fame and glory” that only FreshPow! can bring you…;)

Hope you’re having a great night,

A

p.s. The anticipation is building… the first snowfall is just around the corner.. are you ready? Have you submitted your entry into our contest?! Have you ordered your FreshFace yet?! Just asking!

We’ve got Press!

Exciting news on the forefront! We’ve got press! Check out Snowboard-Life.com for our front page and business coverage! We’ve also been featured on ABC-of-Snowboarding in the news section!

Check out these great websites for great information and industry news and keep your eyes on our Media & Press page for more goodies.
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Welcome to our newest Designer!

Richard M. from Las Vegas, NV, USA. Welcome Richard, we look forward to seeing some more great designs such as the first of the pack; Iceberg.
Iceberg - $54.99
Iceberg FreshFace     Send a shiver down the hills
with the Iceberg FreshFace!
Designer: RM

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We’ve had quite a few people sign up for free stickers; Good for them! Freebies ROCK! Sticker signups take place on the upper right hand side of the site; enter your name and email and you’ll get some cool stickers! Awesome!

Hope we see your name there soon!

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We have tons more stuff going on; we’ll be letting you in on the good stuff soon, so do yourself a favor and stay tuned!
Sign up for our RSS feed or our newsletter and you’ll be in the know!

Talk to you soon,
A