Mommybites Chit-Chat: Conversations with luminaries, entrepreneurs and influencers in the parenting world
Tell us a little about you (your background, your job, what makes you tick or anything else you think our Mommybites moms will find interesting).
I’m the Founder & CEO of Momtrends Media, a million-dollar brand providing busy women with a daily dose of style. I love what I do – making mom life more fun and less stressful. After ten years in this world, I’m still energized to share and create.
Before launching Momtrends, I spent a decade working in fashion – most notably as an executive with Polo Ralph Lauren. I can’t ever imagine going to work for someone else now.
With a bit of success behind me, I decided to share some of my successes and failures in a book! Mom Boss: Balancing Entrepreneurship, Kids & Success. The book has 100% useful tips and advice for building a brand or growing your business. More than 30 mom CEOs contributed to the book. I think every mom has it in her to be a badass business woman.
When I’m not out scoping trends, you can find me in Brooklyn with my two daughters and husband. While we do have a lot of contributors and a staff of ten, I am committed to maintaining my own Instagram account @momtrends and I’m responsible for 90% of our tweets @momtrends. I still love social media!
What or who inspires you?
That’s my goal for aging. I’m also inspired by mom entrepreneurs. I see a big trend that more and more moms are taking the leap from traditional businesses to launch a company. That’s why I wrote Mom Boss: Balancing Entrepreneurship, Kids & Success – to support them and their dreams.
And also Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She loves her job and is active and engaged. I want to be her when I grow up.
What is your best piece of parenting advice?
Go to bed when you are tired. That goes for parents, too. No one makes great decisions when they are worn out.
What’s the worst piece of parenting advice you have heard?
I’m not sure if it’s advice, but the parents who scramble to do stuff that kids forget to do drive me bananas. If my kids don’t do homework, they have to pay the piper at school. I’m not going to do it for them. Same with activities and sports. They’ve got to learn to be organized. I joke that I am giving the girls the gift of “benign neglect” when it comes to micromanaging them. I supply love, a great house, nutritious food and an awesome support system when they need guidance. They need to do the rest.
What’s the most common question you are asked by parents?
It’s not really a question – it’s more of a “you’re so busy!” I’m not sure to take it as a insult or a compliment. I do have full, rich life, but I don’t feel frantic. I have worked long and hard to be present in the given moment.
Oh, and I get a ton of questions about my shoes. ALL THE TIME. I’m a shoe girl and guess I have an eye for them. Good thing I have a style-centric blog!
What are some of your favorite T.V. shows? Books? Foods?
I don’t watch much TV. Too busy building my empire. I do love Odd Mom Out on Bravo though. Jill Karman NAILS what it is like to raise kids in this crazy city. Love her humor.
I am a voracious reader and currently have 3 books I’m working on. I read a book with each daughter and then have a book of my own. Our house is piled with books. I just finished I Let You Go. And wow. It’s riveting.
We cook a lot. Nothing fancy, but really health-focused. We eat a lot of fish, the kids too. In fact, I shared this post about getting kids to eat fish.
For me, life would be barren without tomatoes. They are my all-time favorite food. We grow a HUGE crop every summer and the girls and I love eating them right off the vine.
What parenting books do you most recommend to parents?
I love parenting books. I talk about my two current favorites: The Opposite of Spoiled and The Gift of Failure, here.
What are some of your favorite parenting products?
When the girls were little we loved EVERYTHING from Stokke. The quality cannot be beat. We were also a 100% Huggies family. Those wipes were everything, and I still keep them in the house. Now that they are older, I think books are my favorite parenting products.
If you could be someone else for a day who would it be and why?
I’d love to be Hillary Clinton for a day. I’d force her to warm up. I think we have an incredible opportunity to have a female leader, I wish she’d let her true personality shine through. Geez. I suppose talking politics isn’t very popular, but I really want my girls to see a woman president.
What’s up next for you professionally?
I’m on a national book tour. Which is really fun and also really stressful, since I will be away from my family for stretches. I love meeting other female entrepreneurs – that makes all the travel worthwhile.
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The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog contributor’s. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Writers may have conflicts of interest, and their opinions are their own.
