Text “172381” to “22333” to Vote (AGAIN)!

New easy way to vote. Just text “172381” to the number “22333”!

You are probably wondering what is that picture? Well it is the new easy way to vote for me for Entrepreneur Magazine’s College Entrepreneur of the Year. Just text “172381” to the number “22333.” Already voted? No problem! You can vote again! For those of you that have not yet voted online, visit my online profile at http://www.entrepreneur.com/e2012college#696 and follow the on-screen instructions. All help is greatly appreciated!!!

Friday was a huge day. As a proud Blue Devil, I reached out to a few of the news sources at Duke. One of them, Duke Today, got back to me within 12 hours and said they would love to do the story! Within hours, I was on a conference call with at least 4 people from the Office of News and Communication who were shooting question after question at me. Oh, and remember that preview picture from last week’s blog? Well tell me if it looks familiar after reading the article here: http://today.duke.edu/2012/08/toiletpaper. Shoutout to author David Jarmul, and Cara Rousseau and Jonathan E. Lee for some great social media promotion.

By the way, have I mentioned that I love Duke? Because the article got 89 likes on Facebook on the Duke University Facebook page and currently has 241 likes on the article itself. Check it out for yourself (and I was on the homepage of Duke Today!):

Do you recognize the picture?

Friday we were featured on another blog: Secret Entourage. This one detailed one of my failures and how I learned from it. They have over 170,000 likes on Facebook – how cool! Check it out at www.secretentourage.com/entrepreneur/first-failures-21-life-lessons/.

Monday was another prep day, as usual. However, it was a little different than normal because both Jordan and myself had to prep our calls for the week as well as prep for College Entrepreneur voting. We researched not only publications to reach out to in Westchester, but also those in Ann Arbor/Detroit and in the Durham/Raleigh/Chapel Hill area. In addition, I made a flyer that we will be posting around the area. Check it out!

Get ready for Rye Brook to be covered!

Tuesday we had a few interviews with local papers and they both wanted photos. This was my very first photo shoot! They just loved the idea that we wanted to take pictures with the toilet paper because it was something unique. I mean, come on, how often do you think reporters get to do interviews and photos about a toilet paper company in a bathroom? I think they enjoyed it just as much as we did! Keep your eyes open for some stories about Star Toilet Paper and the competition!

In the mid-afternoon, Jordan and I also headed over to Crown Trophy, one of our advertisers, to pick out my trophy for Salesperson of the Summer. They have a huge selection to pick from, and with so many amazing options, it was almost hard to pick! But how could we turn down an engraved cup with our logo? Pictures to come!

We also welcomed a new advertiser to the team: Taqueria La Picardia. They have the best tacos in town. They are right down the street from the library and they are in perfect location to advertise with us. Check out their website at www.taquerialapicardia.com and your mouth is sure to water!

At night I was interviewed by a staff member from The Chronicle, the Duke student publication. We had a great conversation and the story should be coming out in the coming weeks. I am so excited to be able to reach out to the Duke community!

Wednesday was full of more calls to both advertisers and publications as well as finalizing the flyer. However, just as I had it finished, the new vote by texting technique was published and I had to redo them all! No worries, though, because I am definitely excited for people to vote in this new way. Once again, simply text “172381” to the number “22333.”

Zach Heller, who writes a great blog, also published a guest post of mine at http://www.zachhellermarketing.com/blog/2012/8/15/marketing-by-standing-out-guest-post.html, where he put an intro with a link to my online profile! How awesome is that? Thanks, Zach. Everyone should go check out the article above and read through the rest!

The same article was also published on Business 2 Community, except I was given credit for this one. Check it out at http://www.business2community.com/marketing/marketing-by-standing-out-0252343# – it is my first published article!

Thursday was more of the same, but now Jordan and I have to discuss our plans for after the summer. Where will he be working? What is my plan for Duke? There is an endless amount to discuss and we are still going! We want to make sure that we are on the same page with what our plans for the short term and long term future are. So much to do and so little time!

And who cares if I am leaving for school in 5 days and we have to finalize everything before? Jordan signed another advertiser yesterday – Steven of Magical Memories Entertainment. He and the company do everything from kids’ birthday parties to Bar/Bat Mitzvahs to weddings. They do some amazing stuff and you should definitely check them out on Facebook and like them for great updates.

Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/startoiletpaper for more updates on the competition and the upcoming stories. Very exciting stuff happening here at Star Toilet Paper! And remember, Don’t Rush, Vote Before You Flush!