Memoir For Me: Custom Memory Books

Nora Kerr’s company Memoir For Me began when her father was dying of prostate cancer and was told he only had 6-8 months to live. Nora took that opportunity to sit down with him over the course of several months. She asked him many of the questions she’d always had about him and his life, and worked to sort through and learn the stories behind the many photographs.

She found she truly loved doing this. She started volunteering her time to do it for friends and other family members, as well as members of her community that were nominated by neighbors.

Along the way, Nora realized that not only could she make money doing this, but that it was a perfect way to blend her writing and photography skills with her IT background. Thus, Memoir For Me, a custom life-story memory book company, was founded.

The biggest challenge, she’s found, is convincing people that their ordinary, everyday stories are worth capturing. That everyday people lead remarkable lives in the small things they do, and that these deserve to be captured. But customers are increasingly finding her, and Memoir For Me is growing steadily.

Memoir For Me has been self-funded so far, but is just starting to look for funding, as Nora is realizing the company can’t continue to grow without investments in personnel and systems. It’s a great story — in fact, The Savvy Entrepreneur hopes Nora takes time to document her very own everyday, remarkable story of how her company got started and has grown!

CharCharms: Cool Water Bottle Accessories & More

Charlotte Trecartin founded CharCharms while a student at the University of Illinois in Champaign.

She’s proof that Covid actually had many silver linings. So, she took advantage of some of the many resources that the U of I, an engineering and business powerhouse, offers.

And, when Covid hit, she decided to use the extra time to really research and test her idea of customized water bottle charms.

She bought a 3D printer, found a mentor, and started creating online renderings. She tested the concept at local malls, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

Thus began CharCharms, a thriving online e-commerce business.

Listen to Charlotte tell her inspiring story. She’s completely grounded, open about her challenges, and full of energy and humor! Plus, her products are pretty cool! Take a look at just a few of them!

Plus, her products are really cool! Take a look at just a few of them! CharCharmsCharCharmsCharCharms