So in my spare time, when I’m not making tutus or burp rags…I am a freelance graphic designer and teach social media for small business. About a week ago I wrote a blog for a company here in Denver called Barnhart. It’s all about Social Media for small business. Check it out if you’re interested! It was originally posted on the Barnhart Blog. Below is the text

You know who’s a fan of social media for small business? This girl, right here. Having been an entrepreneur my entire working career has taught me to become very budget and trend savvy. It is vital for a small business to take advantage of the resources right at their fingertips!

But, social media for small businesses can be tricky. Which avenues do you pursue? What do you write? What the heck is a hash tag? Who keeps following me? My best advice is: copy the cool kids. It’s awesome to be an early adopter, but the products being used out there are the ones that work. I use Facebook because almost 600 million people use Facebook. I use WordPress for blogging because it’s easy to use. Why would you make life hard for yourself?

It can all sound a little overwhelming, but it isn’t if you learn to harness the power of these tools correctly. For a small business this is essential and the goal should always be to leave a social media footprint with all of your online marketing activities driving consumers to your business website.

After years of using social media for my businesses, I’ve definitely made mistakes and learned a lot about the interaction capabilities of these tools. Below are 12 tips to increase your social media footprint and harness the exponential power of social media.

1. The Interaction Economy is replacing the Experience Economy as an anticipatory approach to creating customer value. Interacting with your customers will have them coming back.

2. Research all of the social media sites out there. Find the ones that work best for your business. If you make children’s clothing, you wouldn’t market to engineers.

3. SEO, Search Engine Optimization (helping those pesky search engine spiders find your site and rank it at the top) is important but needs to be combined with a solid plan for Search Engine Visibility (SEV).

4. Get to know what your competitors are doing in the social media sphere and read what social media pros have to say. They know what they’re talking about.

5. Tagging. Tag in Facebook to mention clients, customers, sites or vendors (use the @ symbol in front of the name you wish to tag). Tag in Twitter to spread the word to the Twitterverse (tag with the @ symbol to mention a specific person/group and # to tag a concept). Tag your blogs to increase search possibilities. Tag (and title well) videos to YouTube and Flickr.

6. Social media in the short term doesn’t work. You have to be in it to win it. Be persistent, consistent and committed.

7. Read about technology. It changes. Often. Like, everyday.

8. Interactions count. Every like, comment, Re Tweet: they all count.

9. Who you are and where you come from matters. People want to know they are dealing with real people, not machines.

10. Use Google Alerts to see who is talking about your business and anything related to your business.

11. Anyone who owns a small business can participate in social media, but not everyone actually does. That is to your advantage.

12. If you have a spare hour or two each day to surf the net, watch TV or stare into space, you have more than ample time to commit to implementing and using social media for your business.

How long have you been using social media for your small business? What have you found works best?

Been a ridiculously long time since I posted here. Apparently, I’m a bad blogger. Eeek! As always, I am going to try to get better about posting on a regular basis with new products, new treats and lovely things I find all over the world of the interweb.

But today, I’m freakishly excited. I’ve been blessed to be a party of the Crave Denver Book (celebrating female entrepreneurs in Denver and the Front Range) and today we are having the book launch! There are so many fabulous women involved in this book. From stylists like my friend Jennifer Spencer of Fresh, to photographers like Eunice Brownlee and of course our fabulous team leader, Mia Voss of Blue Heron Consulting.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy, head on over to www.mickandmack.com. I will have a book section on the left hand side of the shop.

Thank you for all of your continued support! Love you guys

People often contact me about contributing donations to their organizations. Since I have always loved volunteering, feel a compulsion to donate my time and money when I can and believe that what goes around, comes around, it is a no brainer for me to donate mick&mack items! One organization that I have already mentioned is Read to Me Co. Not only are we going to be collaborating with them to raise awareness for their cause, we also donated a gift card to their Colfax Marathon Team. Their team completed the Marathon in 5 hours and 15 minutes and their half marathon team finished in two hours and thirty minutes! In the process they raised over $1200 for their organization. Such an awesome effort! Way to go! Can’t wait to see what the winner purchases with their gift They are also currently in the race to win a Pepsi grant for $50,000. The voting is closing soon and if you could vote for them, they would really appreciate it! Go to www.refresheverything.com/readtomecolorado.

On May 18th, 2010 the Bellevue Children’s Hospital had their Children of Bellevue’s Toast to the Children Fundraising Benefit. We sent a hot pink tutu, punky shirt and a pair of monkey-toes shoes to be auctioned off. Tom Colicchio of Top Chef Fame hosted the event. He is a proud father and has a new little boy named Luka. When his first son Dante was born, eight weeks early and weighing only 2 pounds and 5 ounces, he spent two months in Bellevue Hospital’s neonatal ICU. When it was finally time to take little Dante home he was asked by a social worker if he had a crib, diapers and an air conditioner at home. Fortunately, he did but what if the answer had been no? That is when he learned  that the Children of Bellevue program provides assistance to families of in-patient and out-patient children. Colicchio has been involved with the organization ever since and for the past thirteen years he has helped turn the annual cocktail party fund-raiser into a gala benefit with over 20 NYC restaurants participating! Not only was Tom Colicchio there but Uma Thurman (who volunteers at the hospital’s teen psych unit) and Food & Wine’s editor Dana Cowin.

I am so proud that we were able to give something to this great organization and so flattered that we were asked to! It is definitely something I will do again in the future. To top it off, our gift package was auctioned off for $1000! Can you believe it? I was overwhelmed and so incredibly happy.

So just remember, every little bit counts and sometimes a tutu, t-shirt and a pair of shoes can make a huge difference

When Jocelyn Filley of Filley Photography in Martha’s Vineyard contacted me about using my tutus in a photo shoot she was having at Kiddo’s I immediately said of course! Jocelyn is an extremely talented wedding and portrait photographer (and photojournalist as well) and has appeared in numerous publications. Anyone getting married? Jocelyn travels and I guarantee you will love the results. Check out the photos at www.facebook.com/mickandmack or at www.filleyphotography.com/blog/. Below are a few of my favorites, more to come!

Purple tutu with ribbon

How cute is she?!

Sassy

Oh man! It has been way too long since I last wrote! I have been overwhelmed with work, travel, more work, blanket making and well, more work. I promised myself I would write at least once a week if not more but we see how that went. I promise to try to be better! Running this business and my other two has definitely caught up with me in the last month. Eek! Time to add new products to mick&mack though.

In the past few weeks I have been working on some new products. I am going to be adding a local brand to the site called Clementine Art. This company is based out of Boulder, Colorado and they create art you can feel good about. The art supplies are all natural, certified non-toxic, and environmentally friendly. Even the packaging is made of 80% post consumer recycled and reusable materials! The dyes they use are natural, coming from items you can find in your kitchen instead of items you would have to find at a chemical plant. I mean, I know how my nephews are, they eat everything. I would prefer they eat something safe and stuff that I’ve heard of! I am so excited to be offering them in the store soon. Once they arrive I will post them on the site! Below is a little teaser

Clementine Art products from markers and crayons to clay and glue!

Thanks for being such supportive fans and thanks for your patience! I’m looking forward to getting back into the blogging swing of things and writing more often. Phew!

These past few weeks adjusting to my new life here in Denver have given me a lot of opportunity to grow and explore. I am fortunate enough to have the gift of being able to talk to just about anyone…the guy at Einstein’s (Mike), the lady in line at the tax office (who happened to be the editor of a magazine here in Denver), the wall, you name it, I can probably have a conversation with it. These conversations have let me meet some wonderful people that have done nothing but add joy to my life.

One of these people is Rebecca Erickson, Founder and Executive Director of Read To Me Colorado. Read To Me is a great organization that reaches out to families at the earliest point in their child’s development and encourages and supports them in taking advantage of the critical early months of brain development. According to researchers 85 percent of brain development occurs during the first three years of life! Read To Me offers low-income families the opportunity to begin reading to their child early on because they are implemented in hospitals that serve low-income families. These mothers are given a Read To Me bundle of joy which includes a onesie, a book, a re-usable tote bag and a note on the importance of reading to your newborn.

Now, I am really excited about this organization not just because I think it is wonderful and because I love Rebecca to death, but also because mick&mack is going to be supporting it! In the near future we will be collaborating with Read To Me to work as a fundraising partner in the hopes that Read To Me can become bigger and spread throughout Colorado and hopefully beyond that! If you are interested in donating now, please go to here.

Be on the look out for mick&mack and Read To Me’s future collaboration!

Oh, and go be a fan and spread the word www.facebook.com/ReadToMeCO.

Surfing the web I often find items that I think most moms would find useful. Surfing my friends facebook posts I find even more. So today I am going to mention a few that I thought were really cool and hopefully you will too

First off, safety tats. When I saw these I thought of my brother. When going on vacation my nephews will have their information written on them with a big black marker just in case they wander away. They even have allergy tats so you can write in the allergies your child may suffer from.

Just fill in your phone number or your child's allergies and you are good to go!

Next up is this organic mattress (I feel like I am on the Price is Right). When it’s time to move baby to his or her own bed the Nook Sleep System is awesome! The collection is eco-friendly and includes sheets, pillows, blankets and even sleep sacks. The best part though? The Pebbled crib mattress. This mattress has a latex core which allows air to flow through it for increased breathability while still supporting your little one without metal springs or plastic. There is also a layer of organic wool keeping baby cool and a eucalyptus cover infused with zinc regulates temperature and moisture while keeping bacteria, dust mites and mold away! This mattress doesn’t even require sheets or mattress pads since it functions as both making night time accidents simple to clean up! Check them out at www.nooksleep.com.

Great, colorful, eco-friendly mattresses for baby!

Finally we have  something for mommy My sister constantly complains that she has nothing to wear now that she is three months away from having my soon-to-be fourth nephew, Channing. So I went on the hunt for her and she was right. Target has a few cute items and certain stores have a lot of nice clothing but maybe not for a 25-year-old. She actually liked the Nicole Richie line at Pea in the Pod but feels that it was too “peace and love” for her taste. So I searched and found this site www.bellydancematernity.com. Below are a few of my favorites:

This is the Olian Maternity Aba Dress, who can resist pockets?!

This is the Maternal America Seersucker Dress, perfect for summer and again, who can resist pockets?

That’s all for today. Can’t believe it took me THAT long to update! Oops. But soon there will be some new products that we will actually sell on our site for you to look at. I’m getting excited about them but don’t want to post them until I have photos

Ok, so I have been a bit behind in the posting. In my defense I have managed to get myself very sick! But I wanted to post our newest product (on these super cute models!) and hope you check out the site for some more photos. Anywho, below are some of the new ties. They are easy to put on (just slip them over the neck and the elastic hides under the collar) and easy to wash! For more info go to www.shop.mickandmack.com and check under ties and suspenders

Check back often for more new products!

How cute is he?

Another adorable baby!

Future heartbreaker!

Images provided by Caralee Case Photography. http://caraleephotography.blogspot.com

Go Marching in! I LOVE NOLA! New Orleans just gets better each time I visit. This time was no different. We drove in from Atlanta with only a minor..ahem…detour. We managed to miss the 75-85 split and ended up driving to Macon and realizing that we needed to go west. Oops. Well, at least we got to see some cool back roads and small high ways. One day I would like to drive across the country on those small, winding roads. Anyways, we arrived in New Orleans and I am fortunate enough to have a great friend that lives there, Lindsey. She generously let us stay with her and took us to a great little Italian spot (after driving by the new Real World House, yes the show is still on and yes, they are filming in New Orleans again). The place was called Il Postino, had the most amazing Italian “Grilled Chesses” and yummy little finger foods to snack on before hand like white bean hummus on pan riche and roasted brussel sprouts. There was a guy playing live music for most of the time we were there and at just the right volume, so nice!

The next day we decided to explore New Orleans. I’ve been several times since my brother lives in nearby Lafayette but I had never had beignets at Cafe Du Monde. They were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I will admit, eating these everyday would seriously give you a heart attack but once a year? Go for it. All they serve at Cafe Du Monde are beignets (French Doughnuts), cafe au laits, coffee, soda and water. Pretty awesome.

Walking around the French Quarter is always cool. The people you see, stores you come across, little alleyways to explore, it feels like you are in a movie! Not so strange, I guess, since several movies have been filmed here or are based here (like my nieces new favorite The Princess and the Frog or one of my favorites The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). One of my favorite places to go is the French Market even though it is currently filled with mainly tourist junk I managed to find a candle made by French Quarter Candles that smells lovely We also ventured into a voodoo shop where we were appropriately wigged out and I managed to leave with a Creativity candle. We shall see if it works. The place we went to was VooDoo Authentica. I also finally saw one of the famed street performers that I have managed to miss every time I have been to NOLA. He has seriously long legs and poses on random streets. Check him out below…

Winding our way back to the street car to go back to Lindsey’s before dinner I got a picture that I just love. It isn’t anything special but I love the colors and feel of it. New Orleans is magical.

Of course we ended up going out. First to a wine bar called W.I.N.O. (Wine Institute New Orleans). Wonderful concept with tons of different wines. You got a card with a chip on it and you inserted it into the reader and pressed either 2 ounces, 4 ounces or 6 ounces and you are charged accordingly. It gives you the chance to take sips of an assortment of wines and champagnes. Afterwards we walked down Bourbon Street and went to Pat O’Briens to have at least one Hurricane. We listened to the dueling pianists and had a great time singing our hearts out! Of course, there is no photo proof of this, only proof of the cool “chandelier” at W.I.N.O.

The following day we got our things together, had a yummy thai lunch with Lindsey and drove on to Lafayette to see my nieces. We had a nice home cooked meal of Crayfish Etouffee made by my sister-in-law Ashley and spent the night watching the Olympics and cuddling with Bridget, Kendra and Lillian (my nieces). In the morning we all got ready and headed to see Bridget play soccer. It was her first game of the season!

Lily sitting in her moms lap...she had been a little under the weather.

Kendra and myself

Bridget after her first soccer game of the season!

After cheering Bridget on in her soccer game we went to a place called Prejeans. Live music and delicious food. I had alligator there last year and couldn’t resist trying it again. Just as good as last time. Sadly, our time in Lafayette (and with my nieces) had to come to an end and we drove towards Austin. In Austin, we met up with a friend of mine had some good food and hung out on 6th Street. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to spend too much time there so I will definitely have to head back. What a cool town! Sunday we made the long trek from Austin to Denver and now I am officially getting settled in my new place! I promise it won’t be so long before the next post! AND the next post will include new products!

Where UNC players apparently DON’T play…unfortunately. Today was a day in Atlanta. We went to the Aquarium which I’ve been to before but it really never ceases to amaze me. The Beluga Whales were not there (a few things are being rebuilt apparently) but we did get to see the feeding of the whale sharks, some cute penguins, lots of cool jelly fish and otters. I love otters.

Me at the aquarium

Before all this, however, we shopped in Virginia Highlands. So many adorable stores! The first one I went into was called Green Pomegranate. Everything in the store is handmade and almost everything (except a pair of baby booties) was from Atlanta! The space was adorable and she even had a fish named Watermelon in the store. It is really cool to see someone doing something like that!

A lovely little store called Green Pomegranate in Virginia Highlands, Atlanta.

After leaving Green Pomegranate we headed down the street and ended up in Paper Source. I LOVE PAPER SOURCE. Seriously, there are just too many items in there that I have to have. I mean, it is really a necessity to have it all I ended up getting a book for my nephews that makes fart noises, it was too funny to pass up. I also got finger puppets that look like luchador wrestlers (Mexican wrestling) for a friend of mine in Sweden. Then I bought this lovely item for my new room:

Chalkboard with an oval frame.

I love it! It just sticks to the wall but you can move it around too Awesome awesomeness.

We then continued on into Bella Cucina, where old is new, life is savored and good food is sacred. This company started out as a cafe in Atlanta but once customers kept requesting products it became a specialty food business. Pesto, lavender and rosemary salt and chocolates line the shelves of this beautiful shop. It’s too bad that the smell can’t transfer via the internet because it was heavenly! My step-mom Claire would have loved it so we took some pictures:

A peek inside the Bella Cucina store in Atlanta.

The window display at Bella Cucina in Atlanta.

A view from the back of Bella Cucina in Atlanta.

Once we finally managed to walk away from this store, and believe me it was a hard thing to do, we ended up eating across the street at a little burger place called George’s. We were told that they had the best burgers in Atlanta but we beg to differ. They were good, but not the best burgers we had ever had.

We continued on to a little boutique called Dakota J’s. I purchased a little something there for my sister since she is having a baby soon!

Dakota J's, a funky little boutique in Atlanta.

Finally we got in the car and we were determined to head home buuuuut….we found another really cool store that was just our style. The Young Blood Gallery is a store that showcases local artists, crafters and Do-it-yourselfers. There were prints, clothing, plates, cards, jewelry, wallets, ipod cases, the list goes on! It was inspiring to see a store like this and to see that it is thriving! Way to go handmade

Young Blood Gallery for emerging artists in Atlanta!

Of course we had to end our day eventually so we headed back to my friends Liz and Anna’s apartment, had some homemade lasagna and took it easy before going to watch UNC get crushed by Georgia Tech. Although that part of the day was NOT my favorite, it turned out to be a wonderful day overall. Tomorrow we drive to New Orleans so for now we say thank you to Atlanta and to my wonderful friends Anna and Liz.