I’m so excited to share with you my Yahoo! Shine You.Reinvented interview!

Yahoo! was at BlogHer talking about reinvention and I had the opportunity to sit down with them and talk about my personal journey:

I must confess, I really don’t like myself on video.  I am highly critical of everything (!) especially my tendency to assume the I-talk-way-too-fast-because-I-am-nervous persona.  Ahh, well.

CONNECT WITH YAHOO:
Twitter: @YahooShine
Yahoo! Shine “You.Reinvented”: http://shine.yahoo.com/event/youreinvented

This week I am starting a new series on advice from working mothers.  I figure, who better to learn from then the women who have gone before us or are working in the trenches with us every day?

Our first featured working mom is: Iron Chef Cat Cora

Cora has authored three cookbooks, serves as the executive chef of Bon Appetit, is owner of a restaurant at Disney World and is in the process of opening up a new eatery in San Francisco. She has four boys and travels approximately 200 days out of the year.  Her mantra?  “Go big or go home!”

She tells Working Mother Magazine…

Advice to other working moms:

“Remember that you’re setting a great example for your kids. It can seem like you never have enough time for your family and friends-and that you always have guilt- but we’re all in it together. And our kids are better off for it. Make sure you take at least 20 minutes to be with your family at dinner. It’s sacred time.”

On guilt:

“My kids don’t always want me to go away, but they understand it. I explain in a kid-friendly way that I’m traveling so we can pay for our house and toys and so they can go to camp. I communicate with them, but I still have guilt. I try to focus on the positive, like the fact that I’m setting an example of being out there, following your dreams, being a good citizen. I know in my heart I’m doing the right thing for our family. And I know that I am where I am today because of the role model my mom was.”

Connect with Cat:
Website:  CatCoraCooks.com
Facebook: Cat Cora
Twitter: @catcora

When it comes to social media marketing and engagement, I am in an interesting situation.  I am fortunate to be straddling the line between blogger and business owner.

As a blogger, I have been blessed by many relationships with businesses looking to spread the word about their product or service to others.  As a social media marketer I am fortunate to be able to see first-hand best practices and WORST practices at work.  Being on the receiving end of many campaigns has given me an interesting perspective, indeed.

I know from experience that some of the readers of this blog are small businesses, corporations and/or public relations representatives.  With that in mind, I thought that I might do a quick posting of some of the business articles that I have written on the topic of social media and engagement.  Enjoy!

Blogger Engagement Events – Some Best Practices:  Interested in putting on an engagement event for bloggers? Here are some best practices to get you started.

A Little Bit About Blogger Relations

Big Secrets To A Successful Blog:  Did someone say “secret?”

Four Ways Social Media Can Help Your Small Business :  Social media is key to helping build your small business. Don’t be intimidated!

Twitter: What Not To Do

So You Want To Plan An Event?:  Event planning 101

Please don’t hesitate reaching out to me if you have some thoughts to add to the discussion or would like some more information. I’m happy to help!

Moms and guilt.  They go together like peanut butter and jelly. Like peas and carrots.  Like gray hair and sleepless nights.

I can’t tell you how much I wrestle with this issue.  As you well know by now, I am not a stay at home mother.  I am a working mother which, to be frank, adds another layer to the guilt cake that I serve up each day.

It is extremely hard not to compare myself to other mothers.  When I see a mother playing with her kids on the playground while I am on my way to a meeting, it is hard not to feel slightly unfit to hold the “mommy” title.  And you can  forget taking time away for myself on top of all of that.  I mean, how dare I? I am already away from them so much as it is, right?  <heavy sigh> Like I said, I wrestle with this issue constantly.  It seems like there is just no way to avoid the trappings of mommy guilt.

I recently read a post by Cara at Land of Bean.  She did a great post (I encourage you to read it!) about being a mom, her need to recharge and guilt.  An excerpt: (more…)

My life has moved so fast since last December, sometimes my head spins.  I left a secure job in the non-profit sector and started a new company with another power mom. I teamed up with a dear friend and blogger to form Momz Share. And, oh yeah, I’ve started training for the New York City Marathon.
Hectic much? Kinda.

People often ask me how I “do it all.” Honestly, I’m not really sure how to answer that question.  I know that for me, what I choose to do doesn’t feel like WORK.  It is, well…FUN.  ”Doing it all” in this case is the same as breathing and SMILING.

I recently had a striking conversation with a childhood pal about her passions. She wanted so badly to step out and make her dream a reality.  She is just not happy at this stage of her life.  Now, I’m not exactly qualified to give business advice, being a novice myself, but I do know a couple of things about blazing your own trail and taking a chance.

“The secret of making something work in your life is first of all,
the deep desire to make it work,
then the faith and belief that it can work,
then to hold that clear definite vision in your consciousness
and see it working out step by step,
without one thought of  doubt or disbelief.”
- Eileen Caddy

If there is something you want so badly that you can taste it, then I believe that you owe it to yourself to take a chance.  Just TRY.  Sure you will be scared.  Terrified, even.

Yeah, risks are scary. No doubt about it.  But think of how you will feel if you DON’T make a move.  If you don’t even make an attempt.  Regret is the worst feeling of all.

I encourage you to write down you innermost goals and start your action plan.  Ignore the insecure girl inside of your head and make your own opportunities. Take a risk. Making your dream a reality is so worth it!

RESOURCES

Career girls will appreciate this book: Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead But Gutsy Girls Do – Kate White

School is out this Friday.  FIVE. SHORT. DAYS.

I am both thrilled and terrified of this fact because, let’s face it, kids need to be entertained and mommy needs to work a little. It is the ultimate battle: Quality childcare I can afford while juggling a client schedule and not neglecting summer fun.  

Summers traditionally are more hectic for me.

I can’t afford camps all summer long, nor do I want to.  I want to play and have fun with the boys while they are still young, but at the same time I have to tackle the work that is expected of me.  What is a mom to do?

It is a juggling act to be sure!

So I’ve tried to be creative with my options for this summer.  I’m thinking that a mixture of babysitter and me working from home as well as a camp or so might do the trick.

I don’t want to bore them to death while I am working from home either. Anyone have any creative ideas? What do you do to entertain the kids while trying to be productive?

Why do I bother to pretend that I am a professional working woman? I mean, really?

Incident number 247 happened yesterday further cementing the fact that I can TRY to position myself as a professional but my children will ALWAYS always find a way to out me.

The setup: (5:30pm) House is quiet.  My husband was home from work sick and sleeping upstairs. The two boys had already eaten and were playing with friends outside.  I am on brief conference call discussing an upcoming project with a rather new business connection.

The following ensues:

WHAM! Doorbell, doorbell, doorbell.  BANG, BANG, BANG!

I whip around to see one son has suddenly appeared inside with a friend and is “rather forcefully” shutting the door thereby leaving another little boy out on the porch who is now obsessively ringing the doorbell and banging on the door.

I wave frantically and menacingly at the kids while the gentleman on the line keeps talking. (The gentleman who, by the way, HAS NO CHILDREN OF HIS OWN.)

Both kids in front of me ignore my menacing I’m-on-the-phone-please-stop-embarrassing-me gestures and proceed to loudly whine thing things like this in unison: “Bobby is being mean to us he won’t LEAVE!   We want to play inside but he won’t go away!  Make him stop! It is not my fault if I don’t want to play with him anymore! Blah, blah, blah…” (And other such nonsense.)

This woman looks all calm and professional. Clearly she does not have children.

Bobby, of course, won’t STOP banging on the FREAKING door.  (Manners, dude?!) So, like an idiot, I open the door (while continuing to chat with the gentleman caller as if nothing were going on) to diffuse the situation and little Bobby forces his way into the house and also ignoring my important-call-phone-gestures starts wailing “Miss Jen I want to come insiiiiiddde! I can come inside if I want! It is a free country!” And then all hell breaks loose in which they all start debating the concept of “free country”  against the counter-argument of “it’s MY house.”  Loud back and forth banter continues between kids and I officially loose the “professional woman” facade.

The chuckling client “let’s me go to deal with the issues and we can talk later.”  Brilliant.

OMG those kids are lucky they are still alive because REALLY!!!??? Did that drama have to unfold RIGHT THEN?  Did they NOT SEE the fact that I was on the phone?  Did I not warn them ahead of time?

Sometimes, I don’t know why I bother.