703.875.0554 ~ megan@picturethisps.com
Picture This Photo Solutions, LLC
  • Home
  • About
    • Why Hire A Photo Organizer?
    • Happy Clients Are My Passion!
    • Let's Talk Pricing!
  • Services
    • Year In Hand Family Yearbooks
  • Blog
  • FAQ's
  • Gallery
  • In The Press
    • Let's Talk Live DC!
  • Inspirational Quotes
  • Contact

DC-Area Parenting Resource: An Interview With Jen Spatz-Martin, Founder Of Kid Up And Go

6/7/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
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.
Picture
Jen Spatz-Martin originally hails from PA then lived throughout various parts of the US before deciding to plant roots in DC in 2003. She's lived in three out of the four DC quadrants and now calls Alexandria home. She is mom to three kids, including twins, and left her COO position at the end of 2013 to stay at home with her then two-year-old. When she's not balancing all that life has to offer, she attempts to figure out how to make life easier for parents by creating (or at least trying to create) a one-stop shop parent resource website.  Feel free to contact her at jen@kidupandgo.com.

1 Comment

On Comparing Yourself To Others

5/12/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
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. 
0 Comments

Photographer of Goddesses, Lovers & Bright Souls: An Interview With Mina Habibi

4/27/2017

1 Comment

 
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.
Picture
Meg: Who is your typical client?

Mina: My typical client has evolved over the years. I started by photographing families, babies and kids but always had an interest in women's portraiture. In fact, I remember the first Goddesses that I photographed back in the Fall of 2009! While I still photograph families, couples, high school seniors and some weddings, my work has definitely shifted more towards women. 

My typical clients now are women of all ages and women entrepreneurs who want to reconnect or perhaps even discover the Wild Woman and Goddess within them, who want to feel empowered, who want their clients to "know" them from their images displayed on their website, who want to leave a legacy, who want to show they are more than mommy, wife, worker, who want to reveal the magic that lies within. 

Meg: "Revealing the magic within." So powerful. So how do you work with your clients to design their ideal shoot?

Mina: Often clients come to me and have no idea what they want to do for their shoot. So we start off with some questions. Some of the questions are basic but some of them start to dig deeper. For example, a client might answer I love nature or I love flowers. So then I ask, how does nature make you feel? And then it's the feeling(s) we start delving into. Those answers reveal so much and that's when my vision takes over. I use my intuition to visualize the styling, the location and other ideas. Then we work together to find just the right outfits, location(s), props and mood. 

Meg: That sounds incredible! Sign me up! However, some women are squeamish about being in front of the camera. How do you make your clients feel comfortable being in the spotlight?

Mina: Believe me, I know how awkward it can be to be in front of a camera! I've had a photoshoot done and being comfortable from the minute you walk in the door is so important to how the overall experience is going unfold. 

On the day of the shoot the first thing we do is go over some details to get those out of the way and then go through outfits, accessories and styling. Then it's time for hair and makeup. I work with some amazing artists that are super friendly and engaging. You can't help but be relaxed around them. We'll have some snacks (nobody wants to be starving when they're trying to pose!), coffee, tea or maybe even champagne. :) Depending on the shoot, we sometimes use my home for a studio and my clients get a very nice dose of zen here!

Then when it's time to shoot, I walk my clients through everything. How to stand, where to look, what to do with their hands, what kind of gaze and expression. There's a lot of hand holding at first but I can tell you that by the end, every single time, that awkwardness has simply disappeared and my Goddesses are rocking it on that Wild Woman who has emerged! 

Meg: I love that! And think it would benefit all women to see themselves in that light. What do you want your clients to feel when they see their portraits?

Mina: I want my clients to feel like they've been transformed. That they have unleashed their Wild Woman that was craving to be released. That they embody the Goddess they are. 

I want them to feel powerful, empowered, brave, beautiful, liberated, on fire, bold, amazing, excited, fearless, loved by themselves.

Meg: This is such important work you're doing to empower women to love themselves. Why do you think it's important for all women to see & recognize their inner goddess?

Mina: Our Inner Goddess or Wild Woman is the essence of who we are as women. She is beyond the daily errands, the laundry and dishes, the taking care of others. She is who we want to be, whether that's powerful and bold, or vulnerable and soft. When you say to yourself I wish I was (fill in the blank)... guess what? You already are because She is always there inside of us. And when we see and recognize this we are able to invoke and embody Her all the time. And then we are unstoppable. 
Picture

Are you as ready as me to sign up for a session after reading that interview? If so, Mina has some incredible specials going on during the month of May! Free hair and makeup for the Signature session or take $250 off her Wildest Dreams session. Both specials are available through May 31st.

Picture
Mina has had successful careers in Telecommunications and Graphic Design. But there was a disconnect in what she was doing and who she is. It’s when she started taking more photographs that it clicked – pun intended! She found her purpose in helping women connect with their Inner Goddess, their Wild Woman and helping female entrepreneurs build their businesses with photography that is authentic and true to their brand. Mina also teaches yoga, dabbles in astrology, is a flower junkie, is married to an amazing man, has the two most awesome cats ever, and loves hanging out in her backyard oasis, sipping coffee or cocktails. 

1 Comment

Using Photos To Tell Your Business' Story

4/15/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
I was honored to be interviewed by Kelley Sanabria, founder and owner of Femworking, a fabulous all-female business networking & support group. We discussed some practical tips for organizing and using photos to tell your business' story. We packed a lot of information into our vlog! It's full of tips to build a common sense file structure and to help you easily search and find your images, along with some great advice on using photos to market your business. To access our video, click the image above.

Be sure to watch all the way to the end because Kelley added some 
great bloopers of us filming the interview!

After watching, come on back and tell me what you think!

0 Comments

Believing In Yourself

10/20/2014

23 Comments

 
Picture
Alex Beadon threw out a tough challenge for Day 6 of her #FeelGoodBlogging challenge. We were asked to be vulnerable and share something about ourselves that might push us out of our comfort zones, but would ultimately allow our readers to learn even more about us. So let's dive in!

I was always a hard-working, dedicated student. Pretty much all straight A's from the get-go and by high school, was on a path towards all Honors and AP courses. That is, until my sophomore year. I was placed in the Honors English class and after turning in one of our first writing assignments our teacher announced to us that only a handful of us were "A" students, a few more were "B's" and the majority of us would be "C" & "D" students, according to her [highly subjective] opinion. At least that's my recollection of her speech. And you can imagine, for a girl who always strived for A's, this terrified me. But here's the thing about me, most definitely as a teenager, and even sometimes to this day: that rather than rising to her challenge, and BELIEVING IN MYSELF that I could get an A in her class, I shrunk in fear that I would get my first C or D. This had me in a state of panic, so much so that I arranged a meeting with her, my guidance counselor and my parents. The outcome of which was the decision to drop out of her class and return back to the non-Honors English class. That switch began a snowball effect that eroded my self-confidence, the belief in my intelligence and my academic abilities and by the time I graduated from high school, I was in NO Honors classes. I didn't even want to go to college, but wanted to pursue dance full-time.

Thankfully, my parents wouldn't hear of it and I did head off to James Madison University in August of 1990. It was there that I first encountered the notion that maybe my sophomore year Honors English teacher only had one opinion about my writing skills, not a hard fact. After turning in an essay about "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," my college English professor called me to his office. I was terrified. I thought I was in for a lecture on my poor writing skills. Instead, he said to me, matter-of-factly, "Megan, this is the most well-written Freshman essay I've ever read." Can you guess my reply? "That can't be true. My high school English teacher told me I couldn't write well." I was shocked to say the least. And thankfully, he was very encouraging. But it has literally taken me decades to erase the doubt that ONE teacher planted in my mind and in which I so readily believed. I would give anything to go back to my carefree days as a young girl, when the world was my oyster and I hadn't given anyone else the power to erode my confidence.

Two things have occurred since then that have helped me start believing in my writing abilities again... first, in starting my own business and associated blog, I am regularly amazed at my own posts, how easily the words flow out of me and in a clear and coherent manner, no less. Second, I found out this year that my high school English teacher had passed away and I thought, a la Elsa, "OK. It's time to LET IT GO." I've allowed her opinion to eat away at my confidence for far too long. It's time to release her hold on me and move forward with the knowledge that I can, in fact, not only write, but write well.

We all have negative self-talk that erodes our confidence, instills guilt and makes us generally feel lousy. So today, try a dose of self-love. Try BELIEVING IN YOURSELF. Because the only opinion of you that truly matters in the end, is your own.

23 Comments

#Femcon13 & Me

10/29/2013

11 Comments

 
Picture
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!


11 Comments

    About Me

    I'm an APPO-certified personal photo organizer with a passion for helping people protect and share their family photos.

    Instagram

    RSS Feed

    Don't Miss A Post!

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Archives

    February 2018
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    April 2016
    February 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    9-11
    9-11-01
    Archival
    Archival Storage
    Archiving
    Art
    Autobiography
    Backing Up
    Bloggers
    Blogging
    Blogs
    Business
    Canvas Wall Art
    Canvas Wall Art
    Catastrophe
    Children
    College
    Comparison
    Confidence
    Custom Gift
    Dc
    DC Metro Area
    Digital Asset Preservation
    Digital Assets
    Digital Photo Books
    Digital Photo Organizing
    Digital Slideshows
    Digital Yearbooks
    Downsizing
    Entrepreneurs
    External Hard Drive
    Family Blogs
    Family Yearbooks
    Femworking
    Fotobridge
    Girl Power
    Graduates
    Graduation
    Grief
    Grieving
    Gymnastics
    Holiday Gifts
    Holidays
    Inheritance
    Inner Beauty
    Inspiration
    Leads
    Legacy
    Life Books
    Memories
    Natural Disaster
    Networking
    New Clients
    New Year's Resolution
    Nyc
    Organization
    Parenting
    Parents
    Pentagon
    Photo Books
    Photo Canvas
    Photo Collage
    Photo Gifts
    Photographer
    Photography
    Photo Memories
    Photo Memories
    Photo Mugs
    Photo Organizer
    Photo Organizing
    Photo Prints
    Photo Products
    Photos
    Photo Wallpaper
    Posters
    Preservation
    Privacy
    Reflections
    Scanning
    Scary Mommy
    School
    Security
    Self Confidence
    Self-confidence
    Self Esteem
    Seniors
    September 11th
    Shared Sites
    Slideshow
    Small Business
    Special Offers
    Storage
    Storage Bins
    Storytelling
    Toys
    Traditional Photo Album
    Wall Art
    Washington DC
    Women
    World Trade Center
    Yearbooks
    Yoga Studio

    RSS Feed

© 2019 Picture This Photo Solutions, LLC. All rights reserved.