Blog Nosh Magazine

Month One: Just Write, Dammit.

Blog Nosh Magazine has been live for exactly one month today.  One month!  Look at all that we've accomplished in one month.  All the blogs we've introduced to new readers, all the new genres we've explored.  It has been a spectacularly satisfying launch and I have no one to thank but you.

Thank you to our readers.
Thank you to our bloggers.
Thank you to our editors.

The way Blog Nosh Magazine works is that our channel editors scour the blogs in their genre and choose the most moving or entertaining or enlightening posts in the archives of those blogs.  The hardest part is learning to click beyond the front page of a blog.  That is, perhaps, the hardest part of reading blogs for all of us.  Taking the great leap into the archives.

Then again, as a blogger, one of the hardest things is to convince our readers that we are more than our front page.  That perhaps those posts we wrote in the first week of our blog's existence are just as valuable as the posts we write today.  More interestingly, perhaps those old posts are also the most true.  You never know.

We change as writers with every post we publish.  It is, at the very least, interesting to shed light on our archives from time to time.  Whether we do it through the "favorite posts" sections of our sidebars, the self-backlinks within the context of our posts, or by allowing publications such as Blog Nosh Magazine to focus the spotlight for you.

Thank you to the 44 bloggers that have allowed us to shine the spotlight on their work in this, our first month of Blog Nosh Magazine.

Although we only published her yesterday, allow me to share with you the story behind the process of spotlighting just one of those 44 bloggers... 

Pinch Me!

Originally published on emilie inc. photography.

I could hardly sleep last night because I was so excited for today! I popped out of bed early for one final cleaning of the studio and a few last minute additions to the walls before the art walk. At 10a, the balloons and signs went up outside my door, and I started distributing stickers on each visitor's map- those who received a sticker from each studio was entered to win a raffle.

I would say, in the 6 hour span of the walk, I easily had 100 visitors. I was very humbled by the kind people, many of whom gasped when they rounded the corner at the top of the stairs and peeked in the studio (a few asked if they could move in!). Everyone offered their congratulations and "welcome to the neighborhood," as well as tips for great brunch spots and neighborhood organizations to join. Mothers with not-yet-engaged daughters tucked my business cards into their purses with a wink. People marveled at the artwork, the beautiful light in the space, and the yummy cupcakes (yes, the mini version of my birthday party treats- I'm hooked!). It was a long day, but boy, what a great way to introduce emilie inc. to the East End and kick off the official wedding season.

Once the tour wrapped up, J and I headed to dinner at Flatbread with the emilie inc. associates and their families. What a treat to spend an evening with Geneve, Steve & Sage, and Wyndee, Pete, Olivia & Chloe. Really looking forward to working with you!

Here are a few pictures of today's set-up with the studio's finished look! Some of you may recognize photos of yourself on my walls!

"Whatever" Is Not a Salary and Won't Pay the Bills

Originally published on Julie Pippert: Using My Words.

It was a pretty innocuous mother's club meeting, and we were talking about babysitters. I don't even recall why it came up, the talk about babysitters. Conversation unrolls so organically in these meetings, these times we get together, without children, and get to just talk.

But sitters came up in conversation and the turn of that conversation surprised me. Greatly. Apparently around here it's bad manners to quote an hourly rate for one's babysitting services.

"You know what gets me?" a mom said, "You know what sitters I prefer? Who I pay the most to? The ones who say 'oh just pay me whatever.'" She went on to explain that (and this is my paraphrase not her exact statement) to her, it came across as very forward, rude even, when these sitters said they charged X dollars per hour.

My mind rolled that concept around for a minute: it's cheeky and rude to state upfront how much you charge if you're a babysitter.

I looked around the room, seeking the people who ducked their heads to avoid disagreeing or the people shaking a no with their heads, and waited for someone to say, "Well for heaven's sake, it's a business. Of course they need to---and should!---tell you in advance how much they charge! How else will they learn to value their own worth and services? How else will they learn to deal with people and money? How else will you be able to figure out how much to budget and how much cash to have on hand for the time?"

But not one person did. Not one ducked head. Not one shaking head. Not one verbal alternate perspective.

Mamapreneurs, you ARE your brand.

Originally published on Mamapreneurs, Inc.

-I have insomnia and I’m tired.
-I work 7 days a week but Mondays and Fridays are my FT kid days during the summer.
-E-mail is the best way to communicate for me; if you leave me a voice mail, you honestly might not get a call back. If you leave me an e-mail, you will definitely get a response.

I tell you all this not because you are my friends, my family, my colleagues or my clients (although you may be one or all of these things): I tell you this because being transparent about who I am as the owner of three companies and as mama to two kids is essential to the success of my businesses and peace in my personal life.

Being a mamapreneur means that my businesses don’t just rely on the products or the services, they rely on the entire brand package—and that includes me as the owner. As mamapreneurs, like it or not, we ARE the brand.