Carmichael
Funeral Homes
Tidings of
Comfort
and Joy
Family owned & operated
2950 King Street
Smyrna, GA 30080
770-435-4467
1130 Whitlock Ave.
Marietta, GA 30064
770-424-4924
www.CarmichaelFuneralHomes.KICKSTART TRAPPERLOCK 2019
com
(6” x 8.375”)
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Dealer Name
Street Address
City, State, ZIP
Phone #
Marietta, GA 30066
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770-428-8837
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The Elf
on the Shelf
“Because we had experienced this magic so
personally and we loved it so much, we knew that
it was just a matter of time,” Pitts said. “We’ve got
to get it into other people’s hands, we had to get
them to experience it the way we did, and
ultimately we would be able to grow it into
something, which we did.”
Soon enough, Pitts knew it was time to move
home. She sold her house in Philadelphia and went
all in with her twin, Bell. The McEachern grads, who
went to Still Elementary and Pine Mountain Middle
School, came up with a plan.
Taking a family tradition and growing it to a
Christmas enterprise that would put thousands of
elves on shelves in homes around the world, inspire
musicals and shows and expand to a full-blown
holiday corporation, isn’t an easy feat. There was help
along the way.
In particular, Pitts noted the local chamber and
the Small Business Development Center at Kennesaw
State University as very helpful for a family
attempting to start their own business.
“There is a lot of business help that is available to
people who would want to start a business or need
some guidance and want to put together a business
plan,” Pitts said. “(The SBDC) also helped us locate
our very first building and our second building that
we moved into. A lot of resources, a lot of
connections available through things that are free to
those who know where to go and find those
resources.”
Drew Tonsmeire, the Area Director of the
SBDC, said he first started working with “The Elf on
a Shelf” in 2006. He saw a family inspired that was
truly all in.
Pitts had used the funds from her home sale to
back the product — a children’s book with a toy elf to
place around the home — and now was living with
her parents, which she did for three years to save
money.
The trial sales started with 200 sales of “The Elf
on the Shelf” at a book signing. Then 500 at a service
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