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3 months in

Welcome to fall, peoples!  Thought I’d do a little update and let everyone know what’s been going on.

So, we’re 3 months into actual business of selling our ‘Ship Kits and I have to say I’m very happy with how things are going.  Of course, millions of sales already would be great but I’m pleased with the sales we have and also the variety of questions we’ve been able to answer for families searching for money for higher education.

Earlier this week I got to do my first speaking engagement for high school seniors who are preparing for the world of college and financial aid.  It was great to get to talk face to face with a group that desperately needs to get organized quick so they’re ready for college in just a few months.  I also got to speak with the high school counselors and got some very valuable insight from them.

Other than setting up speaking engagements we applied for Top Tank Topeka which is a take off of Shark Tank.  We should know in the next month or so if we made it through the first round of cuts and actually get to present ‘Ships Ahoy to some investors.  If we get to do that, I’ll definitely be spreading the word far and wide and tell everyone about the process.

That’s really all for now.  Just remember if you know anyone that has a special someone getting ready for college and think they could use a little organizational help in applying for scholarships, please pass our name and info around.  Thanks so much and have a happy scholarship season!

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Newly Updated Scholarship List!

Whew!  College has started in our area and my girl is back in school and getting adjusted to her class load for this semester.  I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t been able to update the site as frequently as I wanted.

A month ago I wanted to update and let everyone know that my list of scholarships has grown.  When I started ‘Ships Ahoy my list of scholarships included just over 1100.  When it grew to over 1200 I wanted to let everyone know.  But, between responding to customers and answering questions about just what ‘Ships Ahoy can provide and coming up with customized products, I just didn’t have time.  So now I want to spring the new number of scholarships that we have on our list to everyone.

Drum roll please……..1634!!

You read that right!  Last night I finished entering information for about 50 scholarships that I had just become aware of and when my tired eyes finished looking at the computer screen there were 1,634 scholarships on my list.

This is why I started this business.  I have now been searching for scholarships for a little over 4 years.  During the first year I wrote down only scholarships that were suitable for my daughter.  About a year into the process I began writing down the name of every scholarship I found so I could help others find the perfect ones for their students.  I am amazed that I am able to find more and more scholarships that I have never heard of each and every day.

This is where I put on my salesman hat.  What you’re receiving when you buy a ‘Ship Kit that contains the list of scholarships is not only an organizational tool and a starting place to apply for scholarships, but TIME.  Time to spend with your student before they head off to higher education, time to spend with the rest of your family, time to relax, time to concentrate on putting energy into all the applications for scholarships.  I have put in the hours looking for scholarships so that you don’t have to. If you purchase the Premium ‘Ship Kit, you’re going to have even more time since I will provide you with not only the list of 1,634 scholarships but also a list of more scholarships that are customized for your student.

Now I take off my salesman hat and put on my practical “SaveMoney-DIY-MomsCanDoAnything” hat.  Can you do all this on your own?  Is this notebook necessary?  The answer to both of these is “Yes”.  Yes, you COULD do it on your own and yes, you do need to take control and have the information organized as you apply for scholarships.  But, anyone can recreate the organizational notebook that I have created and anyone can take the time and look in all the different resources I have to find the same scholarships.  I don’t have magical powers to find scholarships that the average person can’t find.  What I DO have is the experience behind me and the time I’ve already put in, and will continue to put in, to keep finding the scholarships that aren’t advertised on every scholarship website out there. My organizational notebook started as a disorganized mess and I learned what to put in it and how to organize it the best as I went along.  Again, this is where I save you time because you don’t have to waste time reinventing the wheel. I also have the knowledge that my organizational tools work, this process works, and your student can graduate with far less in student loans than the average student today.

Have a great day and hit me with any questions you’ve got about the scholarship process.

Paula

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Logo Designer

Short post here today.  If anyone really loves the look of our logo, Cody was our go-to guy for this.  He’s a student at K-State and he was amazing to work with.  He took my idea and manipulated it just the way I wanted.  Cody was even the one to add the graduation cap to the logo.

What I gave Cody was a rough, very rough, sketch of what I thought I wanted.  Withing 24 hours he had made me 5 or 6 different images that I could select from and switch around.  24 hours after that he had pretty much the exact logo I had been envisioning, it just needed some cleaning up and detailing.  He gave me the logo in many different formats, some of which I didn’t even know I would need.  Overall, he was easy to work with, prompt, and affordable.

Cody doesn’t have a website but if anyone wants to get in touch with him, drop me an e-mail and I’ll get you his contact info.

Paula

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Hello world!

First real blog post on my new ‘Ships Ahoy website.

I doubt that I’ll blog much on here but it will be a good place to plug the people that helped me get this started and pass their info on in case others would like to use their services.

Today’s plug is for the builder of the website!  This is something I knew I couldn’t do on my own and I asked around quite a bit before I chose someone.  And he has done a wonderful job!  George Walker is a student at Kansas State University and he came highly recommended.  I have to say that I’m very happy with how fast he was able to put together the exact website that I needed and his price is very reasonable.  George worked with me via text, e-mail, and in person and this process went way smoother than I thought it would.  He thought of some things I didn’t even know I might use (this blog being one of them!) and once he was finished he came to show me how to edit pages and content on my own.  We’ll see what kind of student I was when I’m done with this post and if I can get it published so everyone can see it.

If you’re in need of a website designer I would definitely recommend George Walker.  I’m putting a link to his website below, he has quite a resume already and he hasn’t even added ‘Ships Ahoy to it yet!

www.georgewwalker.com

Have a great Father’s Day everyone!

Paula

PS — So, I figured out how to edit the blog and post it but I haven’t figured out how to take George’s name off as the writer of this post so it looks like he’s really giving himself a huge recommendation!  Lol, I’m sure as soon as I tag him and he sees it he’ll text me how to change the author of the post to me.