btsmoms.com

Nannies4Hire.com: All the Help, None of the Drama

Janine — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:00:47 +0000

Candi Wingate, President of Nannies4Hire.com explains what makes her business unique, what you can expect to pay, and dishes (a little) on nanny drama.

BTS: What sets you (Nannies4Hire) apart from other online caregiver search services?

We are an exclusive nanny referral service, specializing in helping families find nannies and nannies finding families. Our nannies at Nannies4hire.com expire compared to other sites that keep them on their site forever. Our nannies are on the site for 35 days, keeping the database up to date. We also have a no tolerance program, when a nanny receives a complaint from a family, they are immediately removed from the Nannies4hire.com database.

BTS: Do you pre-screen applicants for Nannies4Hire and Care4Hire? Do you pre-screen the families? If not, what precautions do you prescribe to potential nannies and families to ensure a smooth interview process?

No, we do no pre-screening on the nannies. We do give families the tools to screen the nannies. There is an online investigation service on the site and registered members also have access to sample interview questions, a sample reference form and a sample contract. Nannies can also list references on the site that they can grant families access to. We highly recommend all families and nannies do background checks and take advantage of the resources we provide.

BTS: What is the going hourly rate for a nanny to watch 2 children for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week? I know this may vary across the country so it would interesting to compare NY nanny costs with the Mid-West, and even LA or San Francisco if you have it.

Salary is negotiable directly with the nanny, but could range anywhere from $10-$15/hour on average. It varies depending on duties, experience and geographic location. At Nannies4hire.com; nannies can include in their profile the salary they are looking for but they are also willing to negotiate on salary and duties.

BTS: What would you give as a holiday bonus/gift to your nanny?

Here are several suggestions that families have given nannies as Holiday Bonuses: money, flight tickets, memberships, day spas, or something as simple as lotions.

BTS: Let’s talk drama (we are behind-the-scenes after all)

Do you find there are more disagreements between a caregiver and the woman or man of the house?

Usually the relationship is between the nanny and the woman of the household. Communication is key when employing a nanny. You may want to sit down with your nanny once a week or once every other week to confirm you are both on the same page on what is going on in the household. We highly recommend signing a contract before the nanny starts detailing the duties, salary, responsibilities, etc.

BTS: Is there a nanny black list – families they simply will not work for?

No; we are not aware of a nanny blacklist; where nannies will not work for certain families. Every nanny and family looks for something specific in a position/nanny. We highly recommend families do not just hire a nanny just to hire someone and recommend the same to a nanny.

BTS: Finally, there are people who have very strong feelings about either staying at home to raise their own children and those who prefer working outside the home full-time – how do you respond to them?

Every family has a different goal for their family and every family has a different need. Families need to know what works best for their family and specific needs.

Jill Leech: Mompreneur, Potty Queen

Janine — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:01:33 +0000

It seems every parent has an idea for a great product that would make life with young kids a little easier. But Jill Leech took her ideas and turned them into a business. Potty Tots is a potty training program that Jill developed for her third child. So how do you go from good idea to Mompreneur? Here’s the poop, I mean scoop…

How long does it take to go from ‘ah-ha’ to getting press in the magazines?

For Potty Tots, it took us two years from the idea phase to having a complete product that we could market. From there it has taken us a year to get some coverage in the media (mostly social media and local parent magazines). It is difficult to get into the major parenting magazines as a feature article. We are actively pursuing all avenues of marketing including retailers, children’s catalogs, and trade shows. We have even sent Potty Tots kits to over 50 celebrity parents! (even Hollywood stars have to potty train their children!)

How do you go about finding an illustrator?

I found most of my artists online at www.ifreelance.com. (illustrator, animator, musician, printer etc…) I was so fortunate to be able to find a talented illustrator (Jennifer Ware of Zenware Designs) who captured my vision of the Potty Tots and brought them to life! I am happy with the way everything turned out, especially considering I worked with most of the development and design team online! (very 21st century!)

Did you partner with someone who had experience starting a business or did you just figure it out as you went along?

Most of starting Potty Tots was learning as I went along (and I learned a lot! ) Luckily my husband had the business background and experience with manufacturing and sourcing in China and was able to find a great printer for us and handle the logistics of shipping etc…

Did you ever consider just throwing in the towel?

I never considered throwing in the towel. We launched Potty Tots right in the middle of a recession and I knew it would be tough. But I knew we had a great product and that there is a great need for help with potty training so I kept on believing!

You partnered with your sister. What do you say to the people who warn against going into business with family?

With family, as with any business partner, you have to make sure that you are on the same page when it comes to anything from ideas on how to develop the product to how much money you are willing to spend on production, advertising etc… My advice is to find someone with the same vision, excitement and work ethic and you will be successful.

ChefTony of Visions Restaurant: on sharp knives, social media, and my gazpacho

Janine — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:46:42 +0000

Chef Tony (@ChefTony on Twitter) of Visions Restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland is a social media guru… with a very sharp knife. We had a few moments to chat before last night’s DC Tweep Up and one of the employees was nice enough to hold my Flip camera…for 10 minutes straight. I don’t know his name but hats off to the camera work dude!

Chef Tony was also willing to taste my gazpacho, and show me the proper way to chop an onion. The one-handed egg cracking trick will have to wait until next time.

If you are in the DC area be sure to visit Visions Restaurant, and check out Sisarina for the next Tweet Up date.

Thanks Tony!
Janine

Hallmark cards go to the Edge Of Motherhood, inverview with writer Tina Neidlein

Linda — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:37:22 +0000

yes, my boobs do look awesome, thank you for noticing!

Hallmark’s new line of cards, “Edge of Motherhood”, speak to all of us moms…whether you have young kids or teens, as they say “there is a Hallmark card for it”. This new line is funny, edgy, and we had to know what it takes to put it together! Have you always wanted to know what is behind the masterminds of the greeting card business? Here is one of the master”moms”..

We had the opportunity to ask one of the writers, Tina Neidlein a few behind the scenes questions!

How did Hallmark come up with the idea of this “Edge of Motherhood” line of cards?

Well, we’ve heard again and again from moms that they turn to other moms for encouragement and support. So we thought it’d be a natural fit to give them a humorous way to do that, and just like that, Edge of Motherhood was born! Only, it was far less painful than an actual birth. No drugs, either.

These cards draw from life experiences that we all have as moms. Is there one particular experience or stage of motherhood that has inspired you the most?

Wow, you know, it’s funny you ask that: my son is 6 now, and just when I think it’s getting easy, and I’ve got everything under control, I have one of those days…yet again! So as far as my own experiences, I’m still able to draw from what I’m going through now and from my past. I will say, however, that those early (hard!) months of motherhood stand out for me as the first time I realized that I was going to need supportive friends if I wanted to survive! That stage, and those same friends who helped me laugh through the hard times, aren’t ever far from my mind.

We all have good days and bad days. Do these effect the type of card you create?

Bad days? I NEVER have bad days! Yeahhh, right. I’d say, absolutely, that whatever I’m going through can help inspire what I’m writing. You gotta find something funny to laugh at, even during the worst days. And that translates right into what I’m responsible for every day: finding that thing that’s going to help people laugh their way out of a bad day, lest they crumple into a big ol’ mess of tears. Not like, y’know, I’ve ever done that…this week…

I read that you think of a certain person and try to create a card around them…does that person ever figure it out? “Oh that’s about me isn’t it?”

Fortunately, not too often. I try to mask any specifics so it’s general enough to work for lots of people out there…I don’t want to lose any friends! However, my husband is totally onto me. He’s knows which cards are about him and tends to look at me with this little disappointed squint. Sorry, man, you live with me, you’re fair game!

Do you ever have an idea wake you up at night? What is the strangest place/event/person that made you say “I have to make that into a card”.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, now that I’ve finally got my kid sleeping through the night, nothing’s waking me up ever AGAIN! Honestly, though, this will sound so cliché, but it’s true: the shower is where it’s at. I’m getting ready for work, making the transformation from At Home Tina to At Work Tina, and something inevitably will creep in. Happens all the time. As far as strangest place/event/person…that’s a tough one. I really find more interesting material in those everyday moments that happen to all of us—the horrifying embarrassment of something your kid has said, for example…everybody’s got a story like that. I eavesdrop like crazy. I just gotta know what’s going on in everybody’s life, whether I know them or not. Nosy, huh?

Any plans to work with Dads on a similar Dads’ line of cards?

Good question! Dads certainly go through much of the same stuff we moms do—needing to laugh at some of those “challenging” moments of parenthood. We’ve got quite a few cards in the “Edge” line that work well for dads, too. So we’re definitely including them in the mix. As far as an entire new line? I really can’t tell you, I really only write funny words and drink coffee around here. But it’d be a lot of fun to work on! I know some hilarious dads, that’s for sure…

I see you are a fan of Pop Culture? If you could sum up the work environment at Hallmark into a movie, what would the title be?

Breakfast Club

Home Alone

Young Frankenstein

Rocky

None of the above, but here is a movie that says it all….

Dang, now you’ve got me thinking here…hmm. Well, since “Funny People” is already taken, I’ll go with “13 Going on 35.” We have way too much fun to be grown-ups. (Now, wait—I’ll probably come up with something better the next time I shower…)

Great movie and looks like a great place to work!

Annoucing the Best Legs Winners!

Janine — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:01:19 +0000

Congratulations to our Grand Prize Winner!

Sweet shoes!

@SarahInMI – blurry photo but you can see those legs and, sweet shoes!

And our Runners Up are…

Sweet pose!

@CassieAiden - Nice pose on the stage at the People’s Party!

Sweet knee!

@ShaunaGlenn – y’all know she models in real life?

Congratulations and thank you to all who posed, played and voted!

Please remember to check out Pacific Shaving Company who sponsored this contest and remember that for every bottle of All Natural Shaving Oil sold ($7.00 will last 100 shaves!) they plant a tree!

Janine & Linda

Balance is a Journey – You Never Reach the Top

Linda — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:34:17 +0000

We had the privilege at BlogHer to talk with Stacey Weckstein, author or Create a Balance and Life Coach. Her thoughts on creating a balance in your life, and how she is reaching out to young moms are inspirational…so much so she sent Janine a little OFF BALANCE…you’ll see in the video…

How did she come up with her vision? Stacey shares the how, why and when of her journey…

@JoeSchmitt: On stealing material from his wife and not wearing a hat

Janine — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:22:48 +0000

Recently I had the opportunity to interview “Mr. Twitter Funny Guy”, Joe Schmitt. And, I owe him an apology.

Sorry Joe.
Sorry for calling your ‘Mr. Funny Guy’ one too many times (in terms of interviewers I have lots to learn…or do I?).
Sorry for not taking your advice and heading into a quiet corner.

That said, Joe was a sport and lived up to his reputation for humor. He was also soooo very nice.

We talked about the fact that everyone thinks he is wearing a hat in his avatar picture on Twitter. We discussed where he gets his humorous material (lately he’s been stealing from his wife who is newly on Twitter herself so that’s going to have to stop) and we discussed why he has no reference to his ‘real’ job on his website or Twitter bio.

If you love @JoeSchmitt watch this (and try to ignore the background activity AND his mid-western accent).

We love you Joe!

Janine (@twincident)

Linda (@shortpumppreppy)

Let the Voting Begin! #bestlegs at #blogher09

Linda — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:21:47 +0000

Here are your top 12! You know judges…they can’t just decide on 10, so we came to common ground on this dozen HAWT legs.

Sometimes it was the pose, sometimes it was the SHOES, sometimes the well defined *please let that be me one day* calves, and sometimes it was *ahem* the tube socks.

But these were the 12 that the judges (Ok, Me, Janine, and Stan from Pacific Shaving Company) agreed were the HAWTEST legs at Blogher 09…and voting starts now and runs through August 7…

Vote for your choice by commenting (here or on the whrrl story) for the legs you love the most.

One Grand Prize Winner will receive a Pacific Shaving Company gift package including one (1) 2-oz. bottle of All Natural Shaving Oil (will last up to a year!), one (1) Nick Stick, and a fancy-schmancy winner button to proudly display on their blog.

Two Runners-Up will receive a 1/2 oz. bottle of All Natural Shaving Oil and a not-quite-as-fancy button to display on their blog.

Best Legs for Blogher09 Days 2 & 3 Contestants

Janine — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:36:54 +0000

**UPDATE** We extended voting to start July 31-Aug 7 due to problems we were having with our whrrl stories. But Whrrl.com rawks (and @ecrabb) so we’re back on track!
Tell us who you think has the best legs of Days 2 and 3!

Best Legs for Blogher09 Contestants Day 1

Janine — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:21:44 +0000

We searched high and low (well, mostly low seeing as we had to get down on the ground to photograph everyone’s legs) for the best legs at Blogher09.

We gave people the opportunity to submit their own legs via Twitter or email.
We included men, women, superstars, blog stars, and your average Jane and Joe.
We begged,connived, and then surprisingly had a line of people wanting us to take a photo of their legs for the contest!
We laughed, we celebrated, and….we felt a little dirty to be perfectly honest….but we persevered and I think all the contestants deserve a round of applause for hiking up their skirts and pants legs and putting their calves out there for everyone on Twitter, Whrrl, and this blog to judge.

So, may I present you, the Best Legs contestants via Whrrl!

DAY 1

Contest sponsored by Pacific Shaving Company