I had a ball at Blogher’07. As an event planner, I understand EXACTLY how much effort went into creating an event that ran so smoothly. The BlogHer leadership team made it look easy, but I can assure you it was not. They secured great discounts on hotels and managed to provide an incredible attendee experience, all while keeping the price of attendance reasonable and providing solid internet access to boot! Oh, and I could do a whole other post about the SWAG!! None of which could have been accomplished without the help of the exhibitors and sponsors.
The welcome reception was sponsored by GM and when I saw that in the advance information I groaned and thoguth “Oh no, there’s gong to be a Malibu on the roof!” Thankfully there was nothing that blatant. No in fact it was quite the opposite, GM’s presence at the reception was very understated and that I appreciated. So, GM thanks for the beautiful views and the great snacks. I enjoyed myself.
Saturday night’s reception at the Chicago Children’s Museum was sponsored by Dove Ultra Cear. I’m not an antiperspirant girl (deoderant works just fine for me thanks), but I am devoted user of Dove Body Wash. All in the family right? The party was great. The location, was really fun, there was a TON of food of all kinds and I think a good time was had by all.
Google was also there as a major sponsor too. Oh, Google, how I love thee, let me count the ways!. I’m convinced that Google is trying to take over the world, but unlike Microsoft, Google is doing it in a kinder and more gentle way. :) Despite my strong positive feelings for Google, I did not attend the Meet the Googlers breakfast on Saturday morning. No, at the time, had a much stronger attachment to my pillow.
Yahoo!, sponsored an Internet cafe, and collaboration space. Since I had my laptop and the Internet access was great, I didn’t get up there, but it looked comfy.
There were numnber of exhibitors there too. I stopped by a few booths, including Scrapblog (now that’s my kind of scrapbooking!), PBS Parents and Edleman. I saw Butterball, Kraft Foods and Del Monte Chillers too. AOL Body was there with their video blogging booth and some great tote bags. They also sponsored several lunch sessions with coaches in a variety of areas.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the BlogHer ‘07 sponsors for their support. I’m not going to run out and buy a Tahoe or a Malibu, but it is nice to know that GM and the others take women bloggers seriously.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Friday, June 8, 2007
Women In Business In New Hampshire
I lived in and around Boston for more than seventeen years. Like most cities Boston is very eclectic. I miss that living in New Hampshire. The other thing I miss about living in Boston, is the resources. Boston is awash in resources for event the smallest of niches.
What I’m finding in New Hampshire is that the resources are there, but not as well publicized and those that do exist are more general in nature.
Tonight, I Googled Women + Business + NH. I was thrilled to see the Woman’s Business Center at the top of the list. I’ve had the pleasure of attending several WBC events and have enjoyed them all. Their staff and members are a wealth of knowledge.
Next came the venerable Business and Professional Women’s Clubs of New Hampshire. BPW chapter’s meet throughout New Hampshire. There’s one near me in Concord, but I have yet to make a meeting. Evening meetings are tough with my husband’s commuting schedule. What about you? Have you attended a BPW meeting? Did you enjoy it? Was it easy to talk to the other women? Please share your experiences.
Next came a new comer to the state, Southern New Hampshire Women’s Business Network. Looks like an interesting group. They are on my to-do list to check out. Are you a member? Have you been to any of their events?
Last is the American Business Women’s Association. They meet monthly in the Manchester area. I’ve been trying to get to one of their meetings since January. Again with the husband’s commute schedule!
The Concord area is has two networking groups for women in business. There is a BPW chapter. In my experience, BPW, tends to be women in corporate america or who work FOR someone else. I’m interested in netwoking with women like me who struck out on their own.
There is also Debby Hoffman’s IPPW, in the Power of Positive Women, which meets in both Concord and Nashua. I’ve attended a few IPPW events and even spoke at one. Always a fun and diverse group of women, and they meet at lunch, a plus for me!
So, where do you go for networking and continuing education?
What I’m finding in New Hampshire is that the resources are there, but not as well publicized and those that do exist are more general in nature.
Tonight, I Googled Women + Business + NH. I was thrilled to see the Woman’s Business Center at the top of the list. I’ve had the pleasure of attending several WBC events and have enjoyed them all. Their staff and members are a wealth of knowledge.
Next came the venerable Business and Professional Women’s Clubs of New Hampshire. BPW chapter’s meet throughout New Hampshire. There’s one near me in Concord, but I have yet to make a meeting. Evening meetings are tough with my husband’s commuting schedule. What about you? Have you attended a BPW meeting? Did you enjoy it? Was it easy to talk to the other women? Please share your experiences.
Next came a new comer to the state, Southern New Hampshire Women’s Business Network. Looks like an interesting group. They are on my to-do list to check out. Are you a member? Have you been to any of their events?
Last is the American Business Women’s Association. They meet monthly in the Manchester area. I’ve been trying to get to one of their meetings since January. Again with the husband’s commute schedule!
The Concord area is has two networking groups for women in business. There is a BPW chapter. In my experience, BPW, tends to be women in corporate america or who work FOR someone else. I’m interested in netwoking with women like me who struck out on their own.
There is also Debby Hoffman’s IPPW, in the Power of Positive Women, which meets in both Concord and Nashua. I’ve attended a few IPPW events and even spoke at one. Always a fun and diverse group of women, and they meet at lunch, a plus for me!
So, where do you go for networking and continuing education?
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Just HOW did I get here?
So, now that I’ve told you a little about who I am, I’ll tell you about how I got here.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Boston College and a Master’s in Educational Media and Technology from BC hockey rival Boston University. I spent 10+ years working for other people in the fields of technical support and educational software design.
I’ve been in business for myself more than ten years and it is all my husband’s fault.
It was the roaring ‘90’s and we were both working as contractors. My contract position with a local university came to an unexpectedly abrupt end due to funding issues (ain’t that always the way in academe?). It was November, and while I had some resumés out, no one was in a rush to hire. I drowned my sorrows by making homemade Christmas gifts and teaching myself HTML. I had heard this thing called the Internet was about to take off.
I’m a co-founder of NOAH, a national non-profit that supports people with albinism and their families. I practiced my new found skills creating a web site for the organization.
One night as I was chirping about how much fun I was having, when my husband pointed out that people would pay me to create web sites for them my web design business, Fearless Media was born.
I picked non-profits and small businesses as my target audience because I liked working with decision makers and feeling like I was making a difference. I was fortunate to be able to build a thriving business. By the time my daughter was born, I was able to cut my hours to half time.
I continued my work with NOAH, but now, I was working as local coordinator for their national conference that was being held in Boston. I was responsible for finding a hotel, local speakers and arranging child care for 150 kids ages birth through 15.
After a while, I couldn’t keep up with whirlwind pace of web technology working only half time. I had a decision to make; go back to work full time, or change careers. My daughter was barely two, and I was fortunate to have the flexibility, to start over from scratch.
By then, I was volunteering as National Conference Chair for NOAH and had lead the planning team for a conference held in California. Event planning seemed to be a natural choice my event planning company Fearless Events was born.
I was talking with Jill Whalen, a colleauge from my web design days when my first event came to be. Jill is an expert in the field of optimizing web sites for the search engines. She has a very successful practice and a weekly newsletter with over 20,000 subscribers where she gives away tons of information for free. I asked her if she’d ever considered offering seminars. I was sure that people would pay to hear her speak. She thought the idea sounded like fun, but too much work to organize and execute. We formed a partnership and the first High Rankings Search Marketing Seminar was held in November of 2002. It started out with just Jill presenting for 1/2 a day and has evolved into a two day seminar featuring a roster of as many as six speakers.
So, that’s where I am today. This year we are planning 3 High Rankings Search Marketing Events, Minneapolis, Denver and London. I am also enjoying my second stint as Event Manager for the Granite State Human Resources Conference.
I love what I do, it is challenging and flexible, a perfect combination for me!
I have a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Boston College and a Master’s in Educational Media and Technology from BC hockey rival Boston University. I spent 10+ years working for other people in the fields of technical support and educational software design.
I’ve been in business for myself more than ten years and it is all my husband’s fault.
It was the roaring ‘90’s and we were both working as contractors. My contract position with a local university came to an unexpectedly abrupt end due to funding issues (ain’t that always the way in academe?). It was November, and while I had some resumés out, no one was in a rush to hire. I drowned my sorrows by making homemade Christmas gifts and teaching myself HTML. I had heard this thing called the Internet was about to take off.
I’m a co-founder of NOAH, a national non-profit that supports people with albinism and their families. I practiced my new found skills creating a web site for the organization.
One night as I was chirping about how much fun I was having, when my husband pointed out that people would pay me to create web sites for them my web design business, Fearless Media was born.
I picked non-profits and small businesses as my target audience because I liked working with decision makers and feeling like I was making a difference. I was fortunate to be able to build a thriving business. By the time my daughter was born, I was able to cut my hours to half time.
I continued my work with NOAH, but now, I was working as local coordinator for their national conference that was being held in Boston. I was responsible for finding a hotel, local speakers and arranging child care for 150 kids ages birth through 15.
After a while, I couldn’t keep up with whirlwind pace of web technology working only half time. I had a decision to make; go back to work full time, or change careers. My daughter was barely two, and I was fortunate to have the flexibility, to start over from scratch.
By then, I was volunteering as National Conference Chair for NOAH and had lead the planning team for a conference held in California. Event planning seemed to be a natural choice my event planning company Fearless Events was born.
I was talking with Jill Whalen, a colleauge from my web design days when my first event came to be. Jill is an expert in the field of optimizing web sites for the search engines. She has a very successful practice and a weekly newsletter with over 20,000 subscribers where she gives away tons of information for free. I asked her if she’d ever considered offering seminars. I was sure that people would pay to hear her speak. She thought the idea sounded like fun, but too much work to organize and execute. We formed a partnership and the first High Rankings Search Marketing Seminar was held in November of 2002. It started out with just Jill presenting for 1/2 a day and has evolved into a two day seminar featuring a roster of as many as six speakers.
So, that’s where I am today. This year we are planning 3 High Rankings Search Marketing Events, Minneapolis, Denver and London. I am also enjoying my second stint as Event Manager for the Granite State Human Resources Conference.
I love what I do, it is challenging and flexible, a perfect combination for me!
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Hello World!
Greetings and welcome to my blog! I started this blog because I love to learn and I love to meet new people.
My long term intention is to post profiles of independent business women. I hope to meet and introduce you to women you might not otherwise have met. Some work for themselves, some work for companies owned by others. Along the way, I’ll share my thoughts about what it means to be an independent business woman. In the meantime, I’ll start with some information about me.
I am an event planner. I create learning environments where adults can strengthen their skills and broaden their personal and professional communities.
I am a full partner in some of the events I produce, that means I work with a subject matter expert to produce a conference or seminar. I also have clients for whom I act as an event manager the work is essentially the same, but I am paid on a contract basis instead of having a financial stake in the event.
Currently, I am working on The High Rankings Search Marketing Seminar and the Granite State Human Resources Conference.
It wasn’t a straight path to get here, but that is for another post.
My long term intention is to post profiles of independent business women. I hope to meet and introduce you to women you might not otherwise have met. Some work for themselves, some work for companies owned by others. Along the way, I’ll share my thoughts about what it means to be an independent business woman. In the meantime, I’ll start with some information about me.
I am an event planner. I create learning environments where adults can strengthen their skills and broaden their personal and professional communities.
I am a full partner in some of the events I produce, that means I work with a subject matter expert to produce a conference or seminar. I also have clients for whom I act as an event manager the work is essentially the same, but I am paid on a contract basis instead of having a financial stake in the event.
Currently, I am working on The High Rankings Search Marketing Seminar and the Granite State Human Resources Conference.
It wasn’t a straight path to get here, but that is for another post.
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