Company Wins Top 10 Honors in Leading Moms in Business Competition

Oct. 15, 2010 - PRLog -- Hempstead, TX – For the second time in two years, Texas-based Crazy K Farm Pet and Poultry Products LLC has received the distinction of being one of America’s leading businesses.  From among thousands of contestants, Crazy K Farm has been ranked #8 in StartupNation.com’s 2010 Leading Moms in Business competition.  The competition, sponsored by Infusionsoft, ranked the nation’s Top 200 mom-run businesses.  Results were determined by a combination of popular vote and the special recognition of StartupNation judges for certain outstanding contestants.

“I’m honored to rank 8th in the Leading Moms in Business Contest,” Crazy K Farm owner Tobi Kosanke said.  “My heartfelt thanks goes out to my wonderful, supportive customers – it was their votes that placed me in the top ten.”

Crazy K Farm (http://www.crazykfarm.com) is a 35-acre working farm located just outside of Houston.  It is owned and operated by Tobi Kosanke who is a working mom, inventor and entrepreneur.  A petroleum patch geologist by trade, Kosanke has always worked to improve her pets’ lives by creating useable, necessary products.  Her first invention was the newly-patented Hen Saver hen apron, which is a triple-layer apron designed to protect hens from roosters and birds of prey.  Next came the Avian Haven hut, a unique hut that hangs over an existing perch and allows the bird to sleep in a natural perching position.  The Kitty Holster, her third invention, is an ultra lightweight cat harness.  She is currently working on a fourth invention called the Hen Holster, which is a chicken diaper/harness.  All of her products are marketed and sold through Crazy K Farm.

While many moms have turned hobbies into full-time, at-home businesses, Kosanke left Corporate America and started up her own business out of necessity.  Along with her Top 10 win, Kosanke’s story is highlighted in a special series on women who once climbed corporate ladders before leaving to run their own show (http://www.startupnation.com/series/154/9634/working-mom-...).

“There’s been a sea change among moms as they’ve come to realize that adding entrepreneurship to their lives brings exhilaration and immense gratification, not to mention supplemental—sometimes primary—income to their families in these dicey economic times,” Rich Sloan, co-founder of StartupNation, said.

More than 709,000 votes were cast in support of the 2010 contestants.  The ranking, conducted in collaboration with Ladies Who Launch and The National Association for Moms in Business, highlights some of the dominant trends, motivations and attributes among moms in business.  They include:
•  A great eye for providing attractive discounts, coupons, savings and value, all especially important to consumer moms of the recession era.
•  A likelihood to come up with innovative products and solutions to address the challenging maze of motherhood. It’s an environment that demands resourcefulness.
•  Conscience-driven business, where “doing well” is just fine, but the real rush comes from doing good.
•  The attraction of being your own boss looms large for moms wanting to take control they just can’t find in a day job.
•  Sustainable solutions and responsible business practices are increasingly paramount.
•  Making the most of social media for business benefit is seemingly a birthright for the socially adept moms.

“I have always felt that my business is the epitome of a successful Mom-owned business,” Kosanke said.  “The operation of Crazy K Farm Pet and Poultry Products was originally organized around my child’s requirements, and as she began to outgrow the illness that so deeply affected her physical and emotional wellbeing, so did the business grow and transform, all the while enabling me to fully accommodate my daughter’s needs.  By the time my daughter was well enough to start school this past February, my business had grown from its very humble origins as a manufacturer of pre-paid, made-to-order items sold solely via my personal eBay account, to my products being manufactured by the tens of thousands in Bangladesh and sold in stores across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom,” Kosanke said.

This is the second time Kosanke’s company has been honored by StartupNation.com.  Crazy K Farm received two Top Ten awards in the 2009 Home-Based 100 competition; one in the “Recession Busters” category, the other in the “Highest Vote-Getters” category.  You can view Crazy K Farm’s latest winning profile online at http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business/con....

For more information or to schedule an interview with Kosanke, please call (717) 676-8327, or send an email to getnoticed@thewriteplacepr.com.

About Crazy K Farm
Crazy K Farm®  is located in Hempstead, Texas approximately 45 miles northwest of Houston.  Chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, goats and sheep are raised on the 35-acre working farm.  The majority of the animals are rescues.  Crazy K Farm® manufactures quality pet and poultry products including the patents-pending Hen Saver® hen apron, Avian Haven® hut for caged birds and Kitty Holster® cat harness.  Crazy K Farm, which is a 2009 StartupNation Home-Based 100 Competition double award-winning company, is also a member of the Houston Better Business Bureau.

About StartupNation
StartupNation provides over 175,000 pages of business advice and networking to entrepreneurs and serves millions of entrepreneurs annually.  StartupNation is a free service founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with the intention of providing a one-stop shop for entrepreneurial success, including blogs from small business experts, podcasts, forums, webcasts, eBooks, award winning step-by-step advice, online and offline networking groups and more.

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