Dinner with Guy Kawasaki: Chicks, Guns, & Eating Crow

Written by Carrie Pacini on April 26, 2008 – 10:28 am -

After Guy Kawasaki’s terrific “Art of the Start” presentation at the Houston Technology Center Thursday night, a few of us really lucky ladies got to go have dinner with him and talk shop. Well not exactly “shop” in the literal sense, unless you’re running a gun shop, boot shop, sleazy law firm, etc. Let’s just say it was a perfectly casual conversation and a great end to a memorable night. But first let’s review how the evening started good, and went uphill to amazing from there.

Here’s Carrie’s recipe for an awesome night in 3 easy steps:

Step 1. Get to listen to a totally incredible presentation from startup guru Guy Kawasaki in a small, personal venue. It was funny, intimate, and if you didn’t get something out of it for your business, you were freakin’ asleep. Or dead. Or too busy Twittering.

Step 2. Have OpMom called out by Guy (and w00ts from friends in the audience) when he was going through his Alltop demonstration. Guy announces “Is OpMom here tonight?” My husband practically sprains my arm raising it into the air! This is being streamed live on the web. Things are good.

Step 3. Get immediate props from Guy for your work. While sitting there with Guy at dinner, he shows me an email from his PR firm about a cool blog post they discovered that was about his new “Adoption” section on Alltop.com. If you’re a regular reader here you know that the blog post was written by…me. So he hands me his PDA to read the email as proof. Amazing.

And I was in good company – there were some truly awesome Houston media power-chicks at the table:

Jenny Lawson (www.theBlogess.com)
Laura Mayes (www.Sk-rt.com)
Erica O’Grady (www.peanutbuttermedia.com)
Tracey Wallace (www.truelightresources.com)

So what did the group talk about at dinner?
That’s a total secret, unless of course you go read Jenny’s blog, which I know will recount everything from the adult beverage count to the dirty jokes in perfect, gory detail (I mean, she was taking notes in a little book, what else should we expect?).

And being in Texas, Guy – with his sweet new Lucchese boots – brought out our best Southern-fried conversation. Yep, we talked about guns and eating awesome hillbilly foods like squirrel and crow (I don’t mean the latter in the metaphorical sense). On the sort-of-business front, we talked about frivolous lawsuits, stupid lawyers, bad branding, food/restaurants (because Erica likes my cooking – thanks!), this summer’s BlogHer conference, etc. We also learned that Guy holds business meetings in an ice skating rink because I think he likes hockey more than meetings. All interesting pieces that made up a very cool evening. And I’ll leave the bar tab recap and R-rated content to www.thebloggess.com. Her storytelling ability and great sense of humor is worth the visit.


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Posted in OpMom Good Times | 5 Comments »

SWEET! Parent & Child magazine recommends OpMom.com

Written by Carrie Pacini on April 23, 2008 – 12:05 pm -

I had NO idea of this until Robin, a friend of mine, was at the dentist office thumbing through magazines. She calls me and literally is like:

Robin: Carrie! Holy Crap! Great Job!

Me: (with a croissant in my mouth) – What?

Robin: OpMom

Me: Uhhuh, yes, what are you talking about?

Robin: OpMom is in Parent & Child magazine as one of the top 5 Social networking sites for moms.

Me: WHAT? (on the web searching for this article)

IT’S TRUE!
Turns out, OpMom was ranked as the recommended #3 “Mom-Friendly Social Networks” out there. YAY, it does exist! Check it here. Let me just say that I was already a big fan of this magazine, but now, even more! I really like that the focus of P&C magazine is something my husband and I are really big on, and that’s building that link between home and school.

I feel like OpMom is my third child and I can’t say enough how happy I am that one of my favorite reads thinks it’s pretty cool too. Also, congrats to the other 4 sites listed: BigTent.com, MothersClick.com, MomSpace.com, and 5minutesformom.com.

THANK YOU Jaine Murphy and Parent & Child magazine! : )


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Resources for Mompreneurs

Written by Erica O'Grady on February 9, 2008 – 1:44 pm -

Whether you are a stay-at-home, work-from-home, school-from-home or even work-fulltime mom - chances are you’ve considered becoming a Million Dollar Mompreneur. Mompreneur’s are “women with children who are starting businesses from their homes in order to earn additional income and provide a better quality of life for their families” (Solovic - The Girl’s Guide to Building a Millionaire Business).

There are nearly 82 Million Moms in the United States Alone - just imagine the collective untapped potential of this group? However, for many Moms, the real question is where to start?

Here at OpMom.com we believe in Mompreneurs - and so we came up with this quick and dirty resource guide for wannabe Mompreneurs.

Great Ideas

Chances are you already have a great idea for a product of service. Most Mompreneurs have found the greatest success by drawing from their own lives - and finding answers to their own problems. If you find the product useful - chances are other Moms will too.

We recommend keeping an Idea Journal - and brainstorming at least 50 ideas a week. Sooner or later you’ll stumble on the perfect idea - that’s when you’ll need to…

Execute

Great ideas will only take you so far - success is 99% in the execution. Once you’ve locked onto the idea that you are most passionate about - the one that keeps you up brainstorming late into the night - then it’s time to take that first step.

One of the biggest mistakes that Mompreneurs make is trying to do too much too soon. Don’t allow yourself to become overwhelmed. Instead - focus on small and easily achievable goals. Let’s say that you’ve decided to start an online ezine dedicated to Baking. Your first goal would be setting up the ezine - probably using free blogging software like WordPress.com or Blogger. Next you would concentrate on creating engaging content. And only then would you start marketing your ezine with the hopes of adding say 40 subscribers per month. Depending on your business model you might charge per subscriber or monetize the site with sponsored ads. The point is that you must focus on creating value first - and making a profit second. Take it slow - and concentrate on quality. If “Get Rich Quick” schemes really worked - we’d all be millionaires.

Find Support

You’ve picked a great idea - and you’ve taken that crucial first step - now it’s time to find (or in some cases build) a Support Community. The good news is that there are lots of active communities already out there. Here are some of our favorites:

  • Mom Inventors Inc. - produces products made by and for moms which are then sold through retailers nationwide - each stamped with the “Mom Invented” brand.
  • Count Me In - their mission is to promote economic independence and the growth of women owned businesses. Recently they launched the “Make Mine a Million $ Business Program”. Visit their site to learn more.
  • OpMom.com - From our Mom Circles to our Mommy Talk - chances are you’ll find the advice, support, and motivation you need - 24 hours a day - 7 days a week. Stephanie from OpMom.com recently asked our members: “Do you love what you do? Are you a sahm, wahm, wohm, or what?” - To join this discussion please login to OpMom.com and visit: Mommy Talk by Stephanie

We know that being a SAHM can be a fulltime job in and of itself - but we also know that starting your own business can be a rewarding and exciting experience. We hope to continue this series on Mompreneurs by highlighting some success stories from our readers. If you are a successful or budding Mompreneur - please submit your stories to: info@opmom.com or leave your contact info in the comments below.


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OpMom on BusinessMakers Radio Show

Written by Marla Trevino on December 22, 2007 – 2:22 pm -

OpMom on BusinessMakers Radio ShowWe had so much fun when two of OpMom.com’s co-founders, Carrie and John Pacini, were Featured Guests on the popular BusinessMakers radio program December 22nd. Thanks Blair Garrou and Russ Capper! Also as part of the interview was Erica O’Grady, who is a regular contributor to the BusinessMakers show on social media topics, and who has also recently taken on a role in the OpMom organization. It was a great interview – please take a minute and check it out!

Click here to listen to the show | And here to see more pictures!


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OpMom Presented “Most Promising” Award

Written by Marla Trevino on November 9, 2007 – 2:50 pm -

OpMom AwardWe are so proud to announce we were selected as one of the “Most Promising” startups at the 2007 Rice Alliance IT & Web 2.0 Venture Forum. The Rice Alliance Information Technology Venture Forum is one of the largest technology venture forums in North America.

Emerging technology companies showcase their new ventures in front of an audience of 375+ investors and venture capitalists, industry representatives, business leaders, and entrepreneurs.

Of a large pool of applicant companies, 45 were selected to present their company, with just 5 of those being invited to present a full business plan to the audience. OpMom.com was selected as one of the 5 presenters, and at the close of the event was selected as one of 10 “Most Promising” companies from the day’s event.

I would like to give some love to ideatango.com for including us in their write up after the event! :) See the complete list of the winners on Bizjournals.com.


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