Summer is nearly here for DC Metro area kids and parents will be looking to fill their days with fun activities. One local resource for such information is Kid Up And Go. I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Jen Spatz-Martin to learn more about her all-encompassing parenting resource web site.

M: What is your business origin story? Or, in other words, how did you come up with the idea for Kid Up And Go? 
 
JEN: Whether you move across town or to an outlying suburb, the reality is that everything changes for you and your family and I found there isn't one parenting resource site that covers all of the DC metro area. When we moved across the bridge from DC to Alexandria, I realized that this need was not fulfilled and found that there weren't any reliable resources to search for new doctors or dentists for my kids, nor did I have an established neighborhood "tribe" to turn to for these questions. Most of my friends were still in DC proper or other states so I had no one to ask for recommendations for the things I needed most.
 
Since the DC area is very transient for a lot of families, I figured I wasn't alone. I held focus groups to see if my hunch was right and it turns out that there wasn't one source that parents, including ones that had lived in the area for years, were turning to, especially in the medical area. I worked with area website designers to build the model that would cover all parenting needs: a site that has searchable databases for kid/family-related items where a user can read reviews from others as well as the option to make it more tailored to the user's profile. I was originally going to release the sections in the site in different phases, but decided to put them out all at once.

M: That's incredible. I love how you set about to provide a solution for a problem that existed not only for you, but for many in our area. So, how is your web site different from other kid-focused activity websites here?

JEN: There are a lot of great activity and event resources in the area and I have them listed under the resource section of the site, but there isn't one that encompasses all of the areas that parents might need assistance with. Kid Up and Go allows users the ability to search large online databases including reviews, calendar of events, plus parenting tips and products to help make parenting a breeze.
 
M: That's great! I know a few sites I visit to see what activities are happening on any given day, but they don't always incorporate reviews or physician recommendations or general parenting advice. I love that you're a one-stop shop! Do you have plans to expand your services in the future?

JEN: Yes, the goal is to expand to different places throughout the US. Starting with the DC metro area was a no-brainer, not just because I've lived in the area for 14 years, but all that the area has to offer from things to do, three teaching hospitals, two hospital systems specifically for treating children and numerous community resources.
 
M: Nationwide expansion... a lofty goal! I'm sure that process will be fun since you'll get to know other metro areas like you know DC. What do you hope your web site provides for DC-area parents?

JEN: My hope is that parents use it as their "go to" resource tool. The site can also be used by grandparents, aunt/uncles and people that have friends visiting with kids.

M: I know you’re celebrating your 1-year anniversary and that’s a huge milestone! What are some things you’ve learned about being a business owner that you wish you knew before your launched your business?

JEN: Thanks! I was very proud to hit the 1-year mark since there are a lot of businesses that don't and hopefully the site will still be around at the 5-year mark. There are lots of things that I learned and am still learning.
 
I've been very lucky in my career to be on both the startup and Venture Capital side. Having some of that insight definitely helped prepare me for my own venture. However, just like having your first kid, you can never be fully prepared. I wrote a post about it for the anniversary and it's definitely worth a read to anyone considering a startup. One of the things that I wish I would have known before I launched is how much hustle it takes to get the social media numbers up as well as trying to stay on top of the ever changing FB algorithms.

M: Congratulations, again, Jen! I'm sure there are many DC-area parents who are grateful to you and the site you've created to help in their parenting adventures. And thank you so much for your willingness to be interviewed for my blog.

If you want to check out all the incredible information Jen's Kid Up And Go web site has to offer, click here.

This quote has me thinking a lot about how easy it is to fall into the trap of competing with those around us… even if it’s not an outright, out loud competition, you might be silently comparing yourself to other humans in similar situations and compiling a huge list of “should’s” which, ultimately, become detrimental to your own growth and happiness.
 
I’m a member in a stellar business support group full of outstanding female entrepreneurs and I often find myself getting swept up in the idea that my business “should be” doing, growing and shining similar to them. When I travel that path of “should’s” & comparisons, I get overwhelmed, go into hibernation mode and get stuck, not knowing how to move forward.
 
It’s incredibly important to remember that every person is unique and has special gifts to share with the world and their own curvy path to shining their light. Some people are natural-born hustlers, go-getters, spotlight-lovers and that’s wonderful. But for those of us who are more introverted, it’s important to know & truly believe that it’s perfectly fine to grow our businesses at a turtle’s pace, to quietly go about our days serving others in the only way we know how.
 
If you find yourself stuck in a comparison mud puddle, remember to stay true to yourself and only move forward with business growth activities that feel authentic to YOU. Feel confident in letting your unique flower bloom & shine in your own way. 

In this day & age, there are a plethora of excellent photographers making a name for themselves with family sessions, newborn session, senior sessions, etc. But never before have I met a photographer mainly focused on capturing a woman's inner power & beauty, showing them through her lens what they often can not see for themselves. I recently sat down with fellow Lake Ridge portrait artist, Mina Habibi, to learn more about her business and what makes her vision unique.

My father passed along his love of photography to me at an early age. He was definitely our family historian, documenting every important event throughout the years. I began taking photography seriously in middle school when I signed up for a class where we got to use classic manual cameras, develop our own film in the dark room and also process our own prints. I absolutely LOVED every minute of my time in that lab and watching the magic appear as my prints developed. Although I pursued other interests in college, including dance and archaeology, and dabbled in many different jobs post-college, my love of photography stood the test of time.

When planning my wedding seven years ago, I knew I wanted to hire a solid photographer who would give me full digital rights to use the photos as I wished post-wedding. Don Mears and his wife, Lindsay, did a stellar job to say the least! While a traditional wedding album was included in the package, I wanted to make digital wedding albums to give our parents as a gift. I did a bit of research and learned of My Publisher and I've been using them for various photo book projects ever since. I cherish my traditional album from Don & Lindsay, (it is absolutely gorgeous!) but it remains safely tucked away in its storage box most of the time, while my digital album is out and about for anyone to flip through any time. And let's get back to the gifts... it's an understatement to say that both sets of parents LOVE their books. It's a stunning documentation of our special day and we all still flip through and cherish the memories of that sunny September day seven years ago. Seeing the joy this gift brought to our families made me want to give more. Photo gifts are unique, personal and truly priceless; they share our memories and tell our stories.

Fast forward to 2012, after I'd been a stay-at-home mom for three years and was looking to return to the workforce. I had so many business ideas during my time at home, but one kept coming back to me. Photo books. And yet, I couldn't see how making photo books could be a profitable business. So I signed up to attend Tory Johnson's Spark & Hustle conference that summer, hoping to get some inspiration for starting my own business. It was there I ran into Coach Jenn Lee, who I'd exchanged e-mails with earlier in the year. I was excited to introduce myself and to thank her for offering business advice to me (that I failed to follow up on!) The first business I told her I was considering was a career as a Virtual Assistant, after all, much of my corporate experience was in executive assistance. But then I mentioned photo books. And her face lit up. And apparently so did mine. She immediately pounced and could see that making photo books was my passion. And ironically enough, she'd been hired by the recently formed Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO) to provide some coaching support. So she asked if I'd ever heard of them. "No," was my simple answer. Within a week, an employee of APPO called me to follow up on the interest I'd shown Coach Jenn. Two weeks later, I joined APPO. Three months after that, I'd completed their certification program and had officially launched Picture This Photo Solutions, LLC. It's been a whirlwind ever since!

Many are confused by my varied background in dance, then archaeology and now photo organizing, but I find a connection between all three. For one, I was never a "cubicle" person, even though I toiled away in one for many, many years. That's the dancer in me. Wanting to be up and moving around. And two, I've always had a deep love for history beginning with day trips to Colonial Williamsburg as a young girl and being absolutely fascinated by the "living" history represented there. It truly was like stepping into the past. So pursuing archaeology made a lot of sense to me. And it's also quite a physical activity when working in the field. But what does photo organizing have to do with any of this? Every person has a story to tell. And those stories are often buried in their boxes of photos. And as mentioned in yesterday's post, there are many treasures to be found at the bottom of those boxes. So photo organizing gives me the opportunity to be up and moving around, helping my clients sort through their photos, while also hearing fascinating stories about their lives and, like icing on the cake, I get to HELP people, which is another lifelong passion of mine. To sum it up, photo organizing takes everything I love and wraps it up into a nice, neat career that fulfills every passion of mine while making a difference in my clients' lives.

Clearly, 2014 has NOT been the "Year of the Blog" for me, but I'm hopeful that this week's FREE blogging challenge from Alex Beadon helps me get back on track with my business blog, so here goes!

Challenge #1: A Simple Introduction

Who am I? 
I'm a certified personal photo organizer who is passionate about helping my clients organize, protect and ENJOY their precious photo memories. A few fun facts about me: I have a Master's degree in anthropology/archaeology and have worked on several historical sites in Virginia, including spending a year at James Madison's Montpelier. I find a strong connection between my archaeological background and my photo organizing career. There are many treasures to be found at the bottom of my clients' photo boxes, including Civil War-era tin-types!

Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging as a form of networking, to put myself out there so that future clients could get to know me, to share my photo organizing expertise and to interact with my blog readers.

Who is your blog for?
My blog is for anyone with a passion for photography, but who struggles to find time to enjoy the photos they take. I share photo organizing tips, fun photo gift ideas and other photo-related topics that can help you on your photo organizing journey. I have a particular fondness for working with baby boomers & retirees and hope that my blog is helpful as they begin to ponder their life's legacy.

What's something I've been working on lately that I'm REALLY proud of?
Recently, I completed two different slideshow projects: one for a returning client and one for a brand-new client. One was a surprise for a 60th birthday party, the other premiered at my client's son's wedding reception. Both clients told me the slideshows were the hit of the parties. I take great pride in creating a product that is so well-received and brings so much joy to so many people.

What’s the ONE MESSAGE that you hope people take away from your blog?
I hope people find that I'm down-to-earth, accessible and full of helpful knowledge with regards to their photo collections.

Those of you who know me personally know there are many reasons I dislike living in the DC Metro area; however, today, I’m focusing on one very important reason I am THANKFUL to be living here; namely, a newly developed networking group called Femworking founded by the beautiful Kelley Sanabria. In just THREE months, she and her BBF, Nicole Dash of Connecting Authentically, organized what was one of THE BEST conferences I’ve ever attended. They brought together 130 female small business owners and bloggers into one room for a jam-packed day full of amazing insights and advice. #femcon13 was a smashing success!

Femworking was founded on the principal of giving and from the awareness that we are better advocates for each other’s businesses than our own. It is a warm and fuzzy group with no judgement, no condescension and no competition. We’re all in this together, so let’s help each other out. One of my favorite quotes of the day came from Katie Morton of The Monarch Company, who said, “If you wore one of those sucker-upper thingies, go in the bathroom on the next break and take it off. We don’t care!” Truer words have never been spoken.

Truthfully, I’ve always had more male than female friends, for many reasons I won’t bore you with now, but Saturday was one of the first days I felt 100% comfortable amongst a room full of women. The amount of awesomeness in that room was unbelievable. As Nicole said, “It was magical.” I got to meet Jill Smokler, AKA Scary Mommy, who was perfectly lovely and not scary at all. I heard an amazing presentation by the entrepreneurial master, Holly Hamann of TapInfluence. Each and every presenter, panelist and attendee was so down-to-earth, easy to approach and easy to talk to. I’ve never experienced anything like it.

For all you bloggers and small business owners in the DC area, consider joining this stellar group of women as you grow your blog and/or small biz. other areas of the country, fingers crossed for Kelley having larger plans to expand nationwide!

I recently learned about Thumbtack and have signed on as a service provider in my area. It is great both for small business owners to find new clientele and for the consumer to be able to receive multiple quotes for a variety of services easily and conveniently.

I highly suggest any small business owner to give it a try and see what new leads it might bring. The sign-up process is free and you don't pay a dime until you provide a quote to a potential client. At that point, the cost is extremely reasonable. Also, clients may contact you directly, in which case, the lead is also free! 

Take a look at my Thumbtack profile (it's a work in progress!) and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me about my experience using it!