Living Life with the Doors Wide Open!
My Facebook page blew up the other night. Jessica Gottlieb, a brilliant blogger and new school muckracker, mentioned me and the work that I do for Fresh Brothers:
Wow. I think that goes down as the best compliment ever. Period.
And, I guess that means I’ll be seeing you all at BlogHer 2012. Yehaw!
Thank you, Jessica Gottlieb.
XO
Yesterday, the Manhattan Beach Farmers Market celebrated it’s fifth anniversary in high-style. The Market team hired Suzanne Haring, of The Soozie Show, to entertain the crowd. She built these incredible balloons worn by my poor neglected children. (Said with sarcasam, of course. As any mom in Manhattan Beach knows, hitting the Farmers Market with your kids can cost you an arm and a leg. Bring cash and be prepared to spend it!)
Adding to the festivites was live music (as there is quite often at the market) and the kiddie train was chugging along full of mini passengers. It was a lovely way to celebrate!
There are several new vendors at the market that really round out the shopping experience at the market. (I used to sell pizzas at the market, so I’ve had a chance to get to know many of the wonderful people who sell their products at this venue.)
First, I stopped at Grandma Sally’s Kitchen, makers of homemade jelly. Ah-mazing. I tried the Mango jelly and went nuts. I then proceeded to buy three flavors, including Mango, Strawberry Balsamic and Berry Blast. I love that they add “Blessings” into the ingrediants. I’ll take a few blessings. Can’t hurt.
Next, we stopped at Homegirl Cafe.
They make insane salads – fruit and vegetable – that are shaken in giant plastic containers.
Heaven, right?
And, finally, my favorite thing about the Manhattan Beach Farmers Market – Bolani East & West Gourmet Afgani Food. I did not take pictures because I was too busy stuffing my mouth with samples. They will soon be at our local Costco. Bolani’s are vegan. Stuffed with pumpkin or spinach topped with a yummy garlic mint sauce. It’s the food of the Gods, sent here to Manhattan Beach. I go every Tuesday to get my fix. Can’t wait ’till they are at Costco to get them anytime I want.
Our world will be a better place with more Bolani around town! See you next week at the market!
I am a small business owner. I began blogging for our business to increase our online visibility and to add another dimension to our branding strategy. Our blog allows us to connect with our customers and to educate and engage them about Fresh Brothers. And, it’s fun. It’s just really good fun to write about something you love. And I love what we’ve created in Fresh Brothers!
I created this blog, ManhattanBeachMomma.com, as a creative outlet for myself. It’s a space where I can share my life as an entrepreneur and mom living within the South Bay.
Between the two blogs, I’m learning a lot of about marketing and the power of moms! If you are a mom, you know that you are the bossy-pants in the family. According to GirlPowerMarketing.com, 71% of mothers use the internet to get information, advice or general information about product purchases.
In an article titled “The Mommy Blog Phenomenon“ by Anna Mareveska, Jennifer James, founder of the Mom Bloggers Club says “Mom bloggers are extremely vital to the new media landscape. We use new media like nobody’s business and are some of the most digitally connected people on the Web. We have extended our sphere of influence off of blogs and into social media, where we engage our audiences through Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, radio shows, mobile apps and through our vlogs.”
Amen, sister! Big brands already have embraced this concept. For example, my blog is a part of MomsLA. Through my affiliation with MomsLA, I was invited to go see Victorious in concert. If your kids are under five, you may not know who Victoria Justice is. But, if your kids watch Nickelodeon, then you know that the show Victorious is a HUGE hit! The PR firms representing Unilever’s Don’t Fret the Sweat campaign & WalMart’s Sound Check reached out to MomsLA and invited their bloggers to the Victorious VIP concert. My kids went bonkers when they learned that they would be able to see the Victorious crew live. The concert was a blast for them. They talked about it for days afterwards and created quite a buzz about Victorious within their school. And then there is this:
Proof that they “met” the Victorious crew. Can you say fans for life?
If you are a small business owner, you may be missing out on a huge opportunity to market and advertise your business via bloggers. For example, we recently held a “grand opening” party at our newest location in Beverly Hills. We invited media members and bloggers to join us for some fun pizza making and cupcake decorating. So far, two bloggers wrote about the event. Many tweeted about it and cross-posted it on Facebook. We’ll soon be featured on an internet based tv show, too! For us, it was a fantastic and unique way to reach out, connect & feed some new and old fans of Fresh Brothers.
If you are a small business owner, and would like to connect with powerful bloggers in your area, consider the following:
1.) Start following blogs & writers that might be interested in your product. For example, if you are a jewelry designer, follow mom bloggers in your area.
2.) Consider offering a product or a sample as a give-away. For example, if you own a children’s play center, consider donating a day of free play for a mom blogger to give away.
3.) Host an open house. Invite friends, media members and bloggers. Show them your products, educate them about what you do and treat them to a little nosh and some fun. You’ll create loyal followers who will help you grow your business.
Are you a small business owner that’s worked with a blogger to promote your business? Were you happy with the results? Tell us about it!
On Tuesday, April 12th, we held a giant fundraiser at two Fresh Brothers locations (Westlake & Calabasas) benefiting the Kaplon family.
On March 17th, Brian Kaplon, a young father and husband, was shot and killed by a friend. Brian’s wife, Kristi, is a mom to two and half year-old daughter, Kloe. She is also expecting twins in May. One of the most difficult parts of this story to digest is the fact that the Kaplon’s had no life insurance. Brian had applied for it, but he was killed before the application could be fully processed.
My friend, Jen Levinson, is Kristi’s cousin and is one of her dear friends. (Jen is mom to five kids – four of those are twins!) I learned about what happened to the Kaplan family through Jen. I could not help but be sickened, saddened and concerned about Kristi, Kloe and the babies. As a mother of twins, I could not fathom enduring parenthood to baby twins without a spouse. I had a tough time. I’m not sure who doesn’t when you have two babies at once! Jen approached us about doing a fundraiser for the Kaplon’s and we immediately said yes.
It was a beautiful day. Both stores were insanely busy, but it was well worth the extra effort. Our staff kicked it into high gear and worked their butts off to make sure the day went smoothly.
I didn’t take any pictures, it didn’t seem right. But Kristi and Kloe were both there. People were dining outside on long communal tables. There was a lot of love and laughter surrounding Kristi and Kloe. KCBS and KCAL came out to talk with Kristi. Hopefully the additional media coverage helped channel extra donations for the family.
We raised $2500 for the Kaplon family. We donated 20% back of all sales from both locations that day. I am so thrilled that we were able to do this for this young family who is struggling to stay afloat during this difficult time.
As a business owner, as a mother, as a wife, I’m proud that we were able to bring our community together to help this mom out. Thank you to all who helped us make this happen!
If you would like to make a contribution on behalf of the Kaplon family, please click on this link: https://sites.google.com/site/kristikaplon/home?pli=1
I love to throw parties for my kids. We have six year-old twins, so whenever we have a birthday party, it’s quite a large gathering. And that means that there are a lot of gifts to be opened and a lot of thank you notes to be written.
This year, we held their party at Fresh Brothers, Redondo Beach. (Of course!)
Sadly, I was unable to attend the party because I was in the hospital. (That’s a whole blog post in itself.) My friend, Rose Pierce, an incredible photographer and blogger, kindly documented the party.
I got a hall pass this year on writing thank you notes because I wasn’t at the party. The kids opened their gifts and of course there were no notes kept on who sent what.
I have a confession to make: last year, I was at their party. I helped the kids open their gifts, and still didn’t write thank you notes. I suck.
Yesterday, two social media mavens, Ciaran Blumenfeld and Ana Roco Castro launched a new Iphone & Ipad app called IGiftThanks. This app allows you to create digital thank you notes and share them with the recipient via email, Facebook and Twitter.
Initially, I thought it was a cool idea, but thought that digital thank you notes might seem really impersonal. Or tacky. But the idea of easily sending 50 or so thank you notes easily was really appealing to me. I downloaded the app onto our Ipad. (It’s $1.99, less than the cost of a single greeting card, as the IGiftThanks press release points out.)
To test it out, I used the “Quick Thanks” option. It allows you to choose a themed frame for your note.
I chose the snowflakes and added a picture that my daughter created on the Ipad of a dreidel. This image then goes into an email that can be sent to the recipient along with a quick note of thanks. Hit the send button and it’s off into digital cyberspace. No stamps needed. No worrying about your terrible handwriting.
I really like IGiftThanks. It’s easy to use. It’s very affordable. And best of all, it’s fun.
I will start using IGiftThanks. Will you think less of me for sending a digital thank you note?
