Kudo Banz Shark Tank - Confidence doesn't happen overnight. This is our confidence story. A few days ago our family had a chance to appear on Shark Tank for our company Kudo Banz. This is our Shark Tank Kudo Banz story!

Raising confident kids in this crazy world is tough. A kid who is built up by the positive and who believes in themself has the opportunity to stand up and stand out. They aren't afraid to stand up for what they believe in or dare to be different.

I was never that kid. If we were to rewind the clock we'd meet a super shy girl who didn't have the confidence to say hello to a kid her age, let alone stand up to some sharks in the Shark Tank! I was a shy, artsy girl who hadn't yet found her inner voice. This followed me through high school- I'm pretty sure half the kids in my high school don't even remember I went there!

It wasn't until later in life that I found my confidence. Being a parent instantly does that. Suddenly you are entirely responsible for the well being of a little one. You're a role model and the way you talk to your tiny precious humans becomes their inner voice. You start to realize that the confidence you have in yourself reflects like a mirror and your little ones are always observing. It was about this time when I started to realized how important confidence was and how important it was to build in my kids so they didn’t have to wait until their twenties to feel comfortable being themselves like I did.

This is where the story of Kudo Banz began. When Mickey came to me doubting himself after a particularly hard day, I realized that something had to change. All the old parenting methods like yelling and time-outs left us both unhappy and sent him the wrong message.

I knew something had to change so I read a looooot of books and did a bunch of research. That’s when I turned to the sticker chart method. The problem was, we were always on-the-go, and the sticker chart was always stuck at home. My little guy and I couldn’t remember it!

So instead I invented Kudo Banz, a sticker chart for his wrist! I knew I wanted him to grow up confident and proud of who he was, so I started focusing on the positive instead of the negative. Simple things like leaving the park, trying new foods and cleaning up stopped being such a struggle. His No’s turned into Yes’s and he went from “I can’t” to “I’ll try”. He was excited and proud and the whole family was happier.

Fast forward almost 9 years later and it was confident kids who switched the tables to build ME up. "Mommy" you can do it!" "We'll be right there with you" “you’re one of the smartest people I know you can take on the Sharks!” are just a few of the phrases they used to convince me to enter the tank, take on the sharks and audition for our favorite show, Shark Tank!

Life has an amazing way of turning the tables. It was these little voices that this time built ME up and told me “You can do it”. Being an introvert, it was one of the toughest things I have ever done, but confidence is what got us all to the stage. Confidence in our product and the message that we want to bring to parents around the globe.

Confidence is one thing that is impossible to teach. It’s built up through small moments-- over years of “great job”, “yes, you CAN do it”, “you are awesome” and most importantly, “you matter”.

If you'd like to find out more about our mission to bring positivity to kids, follow us: @KudoBanz #KudoBanz