Two Year Auntieversary

Dear Readers, Today is the two year 'auntieversary' of SavvyAuntie.com, the first online community for cool aunts, great aunts, godmothers and all women who love kids. So much has happened in the last two years since that fateful day. In fact, I don't hesitate to say my life has changed dramatically.

I truly found my passion with Savvy Auntie. Being an 'auntrepreneur' was always a dream of mine. Writing a book was also a dream, so when Debbie Stier of HarperCollins reached out to me and invited me to her office for lunch last November, I could hardly believe it. The result of that meeting is: The Savvy Auntie Guide to Life: The Ultimate Source for Cool Aunts, Great Aunts, Godmothers and All Women Who Love Kids. The manuscript is due at William Morrow, the imprint at HarperCollins publishing the book, at the end of this month! Look for it on amazon.com and every where books are sold on March 22nd!

I also never dreamed I'd be on TV as often as I have. Or write a piece in The New York Times or had the unbelievable amount of amazing press for Savvy Auntie. I designated a day for Aunts. I've gotten to meet and/or interview women and men I look up to. I've had photoshoots with acclaimed photographers and hairstylists. I've had the opportunity to work with incredible clients who sponsor this dream of mine. And I've learned so, so much.

I could not be here - in this moment - without you and all the Savvy Auntie members, fans, followers and friends. I am deeply humbled by the support and love you have shown me and Savvy Auntie. This magic carpet ride of mine has taken me places I never imagined I would visit. And we're still going strong.

"If a man knows the harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind." - Seneca.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being the wind on my sails.

XOXO
Auntie Melanie

What If & Why Not?

Dear Readers,

When the idea for Savvy Auntie came to me in the summer of 2007, I gathered a number aunt friends of mine in my living room for cake to share the idea and get their feedback. I wasn't looking to hear whether or not it was a good idea (that much I believed and was committed to). I wanted to get different perspectives to help inspire my next steps in creating this brand.

Now, almost three years later, I'm still friendly with these women and they all one by one have told me they can't believe... "You actually did it! And look where you are now! I'm so happy for you!" Of course, that night, they weren't all that supportive. Some who had started businesses of their own were busy telling me what I hadn't done yet (the idea was days old). Others said that identifying as an aunt wasn't important to them (and hey you can't please everyone). But most drank their tea, ate a homemade cupcake, wished me luck and went home.

What if that was it? What if that night was a lovely night of women getting together to debate an idea and leave it at that?

What if I hadn't kept up the momentum but gotten lost in organizing more informal focus groups or gotten mired in a writing a 100 page business plan?

What if I got lazy? What if I decided the summer weather was much too nice to sit indoors and work on this business? What if I got scared about investing my life savings in this business?

What if I listened to 95% of the men I shared the idea with that early in the game who came back with ego-laden questions meant to stop me, not encourage or help me? (The women didn't do this by the way. The men were focused on the exit strategy. Exit strategy? I hadn't even started yet!)

What if I let the naysayers get to me?

What if I didn't actually do it?

What if?

Well I wouldn't be the woman I am today. I wouldn't be connecting with hundreds of thousands of women and connecting them with their inner-Savvy Auntie. And I wouldn't have met some of the most amazing people I have ever met in my life.

One of the amazing people I met during the course of this journey is Jen Groover. Jen is the creator of the Butler Bag and a branding and innovation expert. She recently published a book entitled: What if & Why Not?

Jen changes the lexicon in her book from "What if you fail?" to "What if I succeed." And "Why not do it when the time is right?" to "Why not do it now; there's no time like the present."

Jen says that with all the tough things it takes to get started on a business, it basically comes down to four vital assets:

Desire
Passion
A Great Idea
Absolute belief in yourself

She's built a number of successful business around this and I couldn't support her thinking more. Her book goes on to help you get over all your fears that make you hold off on your dream including: job security, money, knowledge, branding and marketing, sales, profits and of course, failure.

The other night I went to a party and one of the women who had been at my gathering that summer in my living room said to me: "I see all the amazing things you are doing! I can't believe all this came out of that simple idea you shared with us that summer night. What if you hadn't done it? Could you imagine?!"

What if indeed.

Over the last couple of years I have helped a few friends get their business ideas going. Each one unfortunately stopped. What if they had kept going? I am buying each one of them a copy of Jen's book.

You can buy Jen's book at Amazon.com. Get one for yourself and one for anyone who ever told you their big idea...

What if this is the book that helps you get your business off the ground?

What if...

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

Stew on This...

Dear Readers,

It's been a while since I've written, and I apologize. Seems like my little company has grown some amazing wings and it's been a while since I've had time to consider how I got here. I'm trying to take more time to appreciate my life and all the details that make it beautiful.

A few days ago, an acquaintance sent me an email asking various questions about my business so she might borrow some of my tips to help kick start her own entrepreneurial success.

I revealed as much as I could to help her.

How much did it cost to design your Website? Tens of thousands, I told her. I invested in a company, a dream, not a New York City apartment.

How long did it take you to get Savvy Auntie off the ground? A year, I explained.

How long did it take to see success? Twenty-three minutes, I said. That's how soon after I launched that I received an email from a digital media buying agency.

Maybe I just need more patience with myself, she concluded.

Patience. It's something I've been working on. Until recently, I wouldn't have characterized myself as someone with much of it. Even as a child, I remember wanting what I wanted when I wanted it - NOW! It wasn't because I was a spoiled-brat... or a child without boundaries. I just simply saw a target and wanted to achieve it. I didn't take my parents' no-s for an answer. Nor anyone else's. I just saw what I wanted and went for it. Even if it took a lot wishing on wish chips. (I did get that pink room, by the way.)

But a lack of patience isn't always a good thing. We make decisions too quickly, make purchases without thinking of options, make the first right instead of the third left just because it's the first open path we see.

So I've been practicing patience.... and realizing more and more the difference between being patient (waiting for things to happen to me and my business) and practicing patience (being in control of making smart decisions in the right time... even if it takes longer than I expected.)

Being patient means sitting on couch waiting for success to knock on your door like a pizza being delivered.

Practicing patience means investing time and often money into your business.... like cooking a stew.... watching it simmer and cook... adding a little more flavor here, stirring it a little there...

Yes, it's true, many awesome things have happened since I launched SavvyAuntie.com exactly 1.5 years ago tomorrow. Some of the nation's most reputable and recognizable brands have invested their sponsorship dollars in Savvy Auntie. I've had enormous support from aunts and others who see value in the resources Savvy Auntie provides. I've appeared on TV, on radio, in newspapers, magazines, online, in video... just about anywhere I can think (maybe a billboard one day?) I've been approached by investors, potential corporate partners, even a cable network! And most recently, I signed a book deal with HarperCollins. It's happened relatively quickly, but I have many other goals that are taking much longer than I expected.

So... in the meantime, I take whatever I've earned and throw it right back into the stew... Yes of course I want to eat it now! I'm hungry! And I've been cooking this stew since I thought of the idea for Savvy Auntie in June 2007. But I know that the best stews are slow cooked over an even temperature. They are not too diluted or - um - full of beans.

So right now, I'm not taking vacations. I'm not buying clothes (except for when I need them for TV appearances). I'm not ordering in or going out to eat as much as I used to.

I'm making stew.

Mmmm smells good, doesn't it? I can't wait to invite you over for the feast.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards!

Child Lifestyle Expert and Premier SAVVY AUNTIE, Melanie Notkin Honors the Most Trendsetting, the Most Luxurious, and the Most Notable Toys for the 2009 Holiday Season 

New York, NY – October 29, 2009 – Melanie Notkin, the founder and CEO of the multi-platform lifestyle brand for kid-friendly women who are aunts by relation, aunts by choice, and godmothers, Savvy Auntie®, is sharing her favorite gifts for nephews and nieces available this holiday season by awarding 12 toys with the “Coolest” title, 6 toys with the “Lux” title (costing $100 and over), and 8 toys will receive honorable mentions. Notkin has identified and stepped to the forefront for the underrepresented 50% of American women whom she refers to as PANKs (Professional Aunts No Kids). This underserved demographic has strong, untapped, consumer power. In order to offer these child-loving women a resource to aid in their holiday gift shopping, Notkin has created the Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards. In order to compile a list of the most coveted and exciting gifts for nieces and nephews, the first toy awards designed for Savvy Aunties, Notkin selected her lists based on the most coveted toys of the season that she found to also be the most innovative. “These toys certainly have that “cool” factor that aunts want when her nieces, nephews and children in her life open their gifts this holiday season,” says Notkin. “From modern twists on the classics to toys that entered the market just this year, we’ve identified the ones we think will encourage play, imagination, as well as learning and role-play. 

SAVVY AUNTIE’S TOY AWARDS

Coolest:

Crayola Beginnings: Color Me a Song, ages 2-4, $24.99 (Crayola)

Leapfrog Tag Junior Book Pal Reading System, ages 2-4 $39.99 (Leapfrog)

Matchbox Rocky The Robot Truck, ages 3-6, $59.99 (Mattel)

Playskool Kota and Pals Hatchlings – Triceratops, ages 3-8, $14,99 (Hasbro)

Harumika Super Style Accents, ages 6-14, $9.99 (Bandai)

Disney Princess and The Frog Tiana Doll ages 3-6, $10.99 (Mattel)

Liv Fashion Dolls, ages 3-8, $19.99 (Spin Master)

zhu zhu Pets Hamsters and assorted play sets, ages 4-8, $9.99-$21.99 (Cepia)

Dr. Seuss Super Stretchy ABCs Active Game, ages 3-6, $19.99 (I Can Do That Games)

Printies Pet Design Studio, ages 6-12, $19.99 (Techno Source)

Bakugan New Vestroia 7 in 1 Maxus Dragonoid, ages 5-12, $39.99 (Spin Master)

Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen Roleplay Helmet – Bumblebee, ages 5-9, $39.99 (Hasbro)

Lux:

Fisher-Price Handy Manny's Repair Shop, ages 3-5 $100, (Fisher-Price)

Corolle 17" Lila Interactive Baby Doll, ages 3-8, $100 (Corolle)

Corolle Navy and Pink Baby Doll Carriage Stroller, ages 3-8 (Corolle)

Steiff Selection – Lying Lamb, ages newborn -2, $135.00 (Steiff)

Barbie Pink World 3-Story Dream Townhouse, ages 3-8, $159.99 (Mattel)

LEGO Star Wars: The Clone Wars Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser, ages 9-14, $129.99

Honorable Mentions:

Leapfrog My Puppy Pal Scout, ages 6 months -3, $19.99 (Leapfrog)

Vtech Kidizoom Plus Pre-School 2.0MP Digital Camera, ages 3-9, $59.99 (Vtech)

Barbie Fashion Fever Fashionista Doll, ages 3-8, $11.99 (Mattel)

Moxie Girlz Doll, ages 4-8, $9.99 (MGA Entertainment)

Best Friends Club Dolls, ages 6-10, $39.99 (MGA Entertainment)

LEGO Bionicle Baramus, ages 9-16, $41.00, (LEGO)

Nerf N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35 Blaster with 35 Darts, ages 6-11, $34.99 (Hasbro)

Dell Inspiron Mini 10V, Nickelodeon Edition, ages 8-12, $329.00 (Dell)

Each winning toy will be listed on Savvy Auntie and will link to an online retailer.  Winners will also receive an award winning seal to post on their site, further attracting the PANK demographic with Notkin’s stamp of approval.  “Kids know that the cool aunt, godmother, or best friend always gives the coolest gifts during the holidays.  The Savvy Auntie Toy Awards support all the cool aunts out there,” says Notkin.

Notkin is a regular on FOX News and has appeared on NBC, CBS and Better TV as taste-maker for children’s trends. She’s been published in The New York Times and writes a blog about her experience as the founder of Savvy Auntie. Additionally, she is the Editor in Chief of SavvyAuntie.com and ensures all content is aunt-friendly and newsworthy to child development as well as the Savvy Auntie lifestyle.  SavvyAuntie.com’s integrity earned a Webby Award nomination in 2009 for Best Parenting/Family site.

For additional information, follow Melanie Notkin on Twitter @savvyauntie!  For interviews with Melanie Notkin as well as additional information on the Savvy Auntie Toy Awards and on the Savvy Auntie platform, please contact agcrisci@gmail.com.

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About Savvy Auntie

SavvyAuntie.com, Webby Award nominee, is the first resource and online community for aunts – Aunts by Relation (ABR), Aunts by Choice (ABC) and all fabulous kid-friendly women. The website offers advice and expertise developed just for aunts, along with activities and gift ideas for their nieces and nephews. Moreover, the Savvy Auntie community enables aunts to connect and share the best and most challenging parts of aunt-hood with their Savvy Auntie friends. Dubbed “the first parenting site for non-parents,” and earning praise from the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, More Magazine and others, Savvy Auntie empowers and engages aunts with whatever they need celebrate aunt-hood. The site can be found at www.SavvyAuntie.com

Game On, Auntie!

Dear Readers,

I am so proud to announce the latest Savvy Auntie Sponsor! Webwars, an innovator in layered reality gaming and entertainment, is changing the way users engage with online entertainment by removing the barriers between Web gaming and Web sites.
Their first launch is Weblings - a game designed for women! Naturally, we love working with them! and when we discovered that Cindy Armstrong, their CEO, is a Savvy Auntie, we were thrilled! She's one of us, Aunties! And frankly, that's why she's working with Savvy Auntie. She understands the power and influence of PANKs (Professional Aunts No Kids).

Here's the cool part - they are holding a contest on SavvyAuntie.com. Simply answer one poll question, include your email address so we know how to reach you if you've won, and you're automatically entered to win one of two Toshiba laptops!

If I Tweet about this promotion, I'll use [sp] in the tweet so that you know it is part of a sponsored conversation.

Oh and if you love online games - then please check out Weblings to play. Check it out anyway. We love to support Savvy Aunties.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

My Change Nation Interview

Dear Readers,

I met Ariane de Bonvoisin a year ago, and we quickly become fast friends. She is the Founder and CEO of First30Days.com, a site and brand that enables you to change your life so you are living the best life you can.

I was honored that Ariane interviewed me for her Change Nation series - about launching my business, for free.

Here's a link to the article, which I hope you find helpful. It includes a link to the video interview.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

Why I'm Saying Goodbye Shorty

Dear Readers,

I've been nominated by various Followers on Twitter for the Shorty Awards in the "Brand" category. The Shorty Awards award those voted on by people on Twitter as the best short form communicators in their category. For those who don't know, Twitter is a social media platform that enables people and companies to communicate in 140 characters or less. I cannot say enough about how Twitter has enabled me to develop groundswell support for my company and gauge how my brand is affecting those around the country and the world. (Twitter has also enabled me to connect with my business heroes, advisors, Savvy Auntie Experts and much, much more. But more about that in another post.)

I didn't really pay too much attention to the Shorty Awards but appreciated all the nominations I was getting by my Followers on Twitter in the brand category. But things changed last week when I was notified by the people at the Shorty Awards that I was a finalist in the category and that there would be an awards ceremony in New York City on February 11 and..... and my ego kicked in.

All of a sudden I wanted to "win." Even though I am not sure I should win. After all, I think Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, should win if we're going to be legitimate about who is the best brand communicator on Twitter. But Twitter.com/zappos is not a finalist. Marvel is a finalist and so truly they should win. But they are not currently winning.

Over the last few days since the finalists were notified, Twitter.com/SavvyAuntie has been neck-and-neck with Twitter.com/MarthaVan. Heard of her? I hadn't. Her profile says she's the "Creator of Action Wipes. Gr8 after a ride, hike, climb, camping, Burning Man, Coachella and more. “Your face is not a baby’s butt. Don’t wipe it like one”." And I started to think that "Martha Van" isn't a brand. It's a person. "Action Wipes" are the brand. And so I started to ask people to vote for me because "Savvy Auntie" is a brand. I even sent Direct Messages (private Twitter messages) to Twitter friends asking them to vote for me.

And the whole time I felt like an idiot. After all, the winner, in my honest opinion, should be Zappos.

And then I really felt like an idiot when I received a note from the people at the Shorty Awards that the price for the awards ceremony would be $60 (free for me as a finalist). So if I did win this thing, I would have to then go back to the same people from whom I asked for a "vote" and ask them to shell out $60 to attend.

This has gotten way out of hand.

I am really honored (I am serious here) to have been nominated. When people nominate and the vote for you for the Shorty Awards, they have to say why they are voting. And frankly, I was so touched by so many of the things that people wrote about me and my brand.

And that's more than enough for me.

I am spending way too much energy exercising my ego in the Shorty Awards. Do I really need to win this to be proud of the fact that in six months Savvy Auntie has the recognition and buzz that it does? No. It's silly.

While it's not fair to pull of out the race because it wasn't my decision to be a finalist (it was the voters' democratic decision), I am no longer asking people to vote for me, checking my stats or frankly, caring. Those who have voted for me, I have thanked. If I haven't thanked you yet, it's coming. Because that's the "win" here. The win is having people who care enough to recognize me and my efforts...and a way for me to say thank you. The best shorty award vote came from someone I don't even know: "smarkowski: @shortyawards I vote for @SavvyAuntie in the Shorty Awards Finals for #brand because she asks politely and sends thoughtful thank you notes."

Awards programs like these benefit the companies that initiate the awards programs more than the people who receive the awards. It's a profit making and/or traffic driving endeavor that plays on the egos of small (and large) businesses like mine. It's not a fair awards ranking program. It's a popularity contest and the nominee with the most energy to aggregate votes, wins. Basically, they aren't fair in a number of ways.

The award I really want to win will coming up in a couple of months. It's the Webby Awards. I have no idea if Savvy Auntie is even a finalist yet. But I want that award because it will recognize the team from Syrup that worked so hard and so professionally with me to develop the brand design, website design and strategy, and much more. Plus, it's decided on by experts in the digital media field and not a popularity contest....other than the People's Voice part of the awards program...which is already giving me agita and I haven't even been nominated yet. The primary part of the Webby Awards is about the work that my team did and that is completely legitimate and I honor the opportunity for them to be recognized.

Here's more on the Webby Awards: The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Established in 1996 during the Web's infancy, The Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities.

To be clear, I value the people's votes for Savvy Auntie in these contests more than anything. But I am sick about how it feeds my ego, making me feel like I am part of a high school popularity contest, and so I won't do it anymore. And I won't ask for your votes anymore.

Because that's entirely your decision.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

PS - Follow my brand life on Twitter at www.twitter.com/savvyauntie. Please excuse all the "vote for me" tweets from the other day. :)

Happy Holidays Facebook Friends and Fans!

Happy Holidays to the Savvy Auntie Facebook Friends and Fans!

FOX-y Auntie

Dear Readers,

I appeared on my third segment of the Fox News Strategy Room today. The show is online-only at FoxNews.com/strategyroom daily from 9-6PM EST. I have been on the Lite Lunch nel from noon-1PM. It's kind of like The View, but we're nicer to each other. Really.

What's great about this show is that while I appear as Founder of Savvy Auntie - and often get to tell the viewers what it's all about - it's frankly just a wonderful experience learning how these segments function. We talk about pop-culture stuff - like celebrities we love to hate (I chose the entire cast of The Hills) and famous autographs we cherish (Jaclyn Smith from Charlie's Angels - which spurred a whole Charlie's angel spoof for about 15 seconds of air time). I love the banter and energy in the room. Plus - I'm meeting fantastic people which is one of the best parts.

And the best part of all? Realizing that all this exposure is coming just 5 months after the launch of SavvyAuntie.com. It truly humbles me that so quickly after introducing the Savvy Auntie brand to the world, that I create enough interest in my persona to be asked to repeatedly appear on this show. And on The 10! Show on NBC. And more to come...

The Savvy Auntie brand will grow into books, video and other media extentions. In the meantime, I am having the time of my life. I wonder what took me so long to take life into my own hands?! If I can create this type of success in 5 months... imagine what I can do going forward?!

No worries if you can't imagine it. I've been dreaming about this for years and I see it all coming true. Day by day. Lite Lunch hour by Lite Lunch hour....

If you're thinking about starting your own company...even while you keep your day job and start small...just imagine. Envision. See your dreams come true.

And work really, really hard. Be nice to everyone. And it will all fall into place.

Imagine that.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

PS - That's me, third from the right, this past Monday.

My Toy Wishes

Dear Readers,

About a year ago, I went to my first event as "press." I was very secretive about Savvy Auntie at that point, but I was somehow able to convince the good people at Toy Wishes to invite me to their toy event at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

The Toy Wishes event was great for me. I got to learn about new brands and toys, as well as hear what the classics were up to. I was amazed at the innovation in toys. When I was growing up, it was all My Simon and Light Bright. And my favorite toy was the Easy Bake Oven. And I had a doll named Pebbles. She wasn't from the Flintstones - I guess I just liked the name. She blinked.

I also met a lot of cool people from the toy brands who were nice enough to help me learn about their latest and greatest toy trends. And I met some of the toy inventors, like Jacobe Chrisman from I Can Do That Toys. He's so creative!

So you can imagine my incredible surprise and honor when Toy Wishes' publisher, Gareb Shamus, asked me (ME!) to be their consumer spokesperson this year. And I was right there last Tuesday, October 7th, when Gareb announced the Hot Dozen toys for this Holiday Season. And while I was at the event, I got to to interview some of the brands about their new innovations, and even got to ask a few questions to tween stars Aly and AJ.

If all goes well, I'll be doing a lot of press over the next couple of months, helping Toy Wishes get the word out about their Hot Dozen. In the meantime, you can see them here on SavvyAuntie.com/ToyWishes. They are among the dozens of Savvy Holiday Gift Ideas I have handpicked for Savvy Aunties, uncles, grandparents and even parents!

In just a year, I immersed myself in the toy and gift industry so that I could help Aunties be more Savvy about gift giving. It's no small task. There are so many amazing toys out there. In fact, if you're on Twitter, I am Tweeting a Savvy Holiday Gift Idea of the Day everyday from now until Christmas. I hope that's useful and helpful.

Thomas Jefferson once said: "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."

I am very lucky. But make no mistake - I am working very hard at it - for all the Aunties out there so that they can feel more Savvy about giving the best and most wanted toys to their nieces and nephews this holiday season - and rankly any time she feels like it.

At least, that is my wish.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

Happy New Year! (of sorts)

Dear Readers,

The thing about the Jewish New Year is that it follows the Jewish calendar, which means it doesn't occur on the same day every year, like let's say Christmas (December 25), Valentine's Day (February 14th) and July 4th. But it does generally take place in September. This year, the Jewish New Year, also known in Hebrew as Rosh Hashanah (the head of the year) will begin at sundown on September 29th.

Last year the Jewish New Year began on September 12, 2007. That's one year ago, today.

Earlier that day, we popped at cork over at the Syrup office as we kicked off the start of creating Savvy Auntie. Syrup is the creative agency behind the design of SavvyAuntie.com, the logo and much of the branding.

It was perfect timing. We were celebrating the start of a new year, with the start of the New Year.

And here were are, one year later. Wow.

It's just two months since the launch, and we have paying advertisers, a strong-size membership (over 1300!), traffic galor, major press, more press coming, and wonderful feedback from the Internet and Social Media communities, and of course the Auntie community.

Here's what I am busy doing:

Speaking with agents who are interested in helping me get my children's book published (It's called Auntie and Me and it's delicious!).

Meeting with Venture Capitalists and the meetings are going really well!

Working with brands to represent them on TV and other media!

Getting my Holiday Gifts Guides for Aunties locked up (I say that like I am anywhere near close to finalizing that)

Signing "insertion orders" (Those are contracts from advertisers on the site)

Confirming multiple speaking engagements.

Meeting fanstastic (FANTASTIC) people  who want to help.

Giving back as often as I can.

Oh ya, and managing the Website. 

I can honestly say that I am still overwhelmed. I don't know when this feeling of never doing enough soon enough is going to subside. Of course, I am so undeniably grateful for all my good fortune. I knew a year ago, when that meeting at Syrup took place, that I wanted unbelievable results.

I got them.

The site is listed on a number of sites that look at top design:

www.webcreme.com

www.lookom.com

www.mostinspired.com

www.101BestWebsites.com

Wow.

And to think, last year, on this day, I said to Syrup that I wanted to win a number of "best of" awards for design, user-interface, web strategy.

Looks like we're winning already.

It's been quite a year. Happy New Year to me. And to you. Even if you're not Jewish.

Because new beginnings are possible every day, for everyone.

And today is the start of a whole new year...

My Something Big

Dear Readers,

I'm feeling humbled. I launched SavvyAuntie.com exactly two weeks ago, and I have already been asked by reporters, bloggers and women entrepreneurs, for advice on how I did it.

Advice on how to start a company. From me. It's truly amazing that I have come this far.

People seem to love my 20 Tips for the New Entrepreneur post from a few weeks back, and believe that I inspire other entrepreneurs and small business owners. But they always want more. And so I dug a little deeper within myself and my life to find what may be an answer.

First of all, here's a little secret of how I have managed to turn my life around in just one year. I deeply, profoundly knew that something big was going to happen in my life. Former colleagues told me it would. Friends told me it would. Family always made me feel like I could do anything. Specifically, it was my mom who always made me feel incredibly special. So all of that support propelled me to believe in myself.

My mom passed away close to 20 years ago. We were very close - bosom buddies of sorts. While I did not know her as an adult (I was just 19 when she passed), I can look back on our life together and clearly see how much she believed in me.

I launched SavvyAuntie.com on July 9, 2008, 1:00PM EST. And while I had been looking forward to this date and time for a year, when it was finally arriving, I was petrified. I wasn't scared about the success of the site as much as I was the new turn my life would take. And perhaps scared is the wrong word. I felt alone at a threshold, not knowing what was on the other side.

I think about my mom often. Not every day. It's been two decades and as much as I loved - and love - my mother, I can't possibly think about her every day. But the morning I launched.... boy, did I miss her. I would imagine it's the way you miss your mother on your wedding day. Or on the day you give birth. When your life changes, you not only want your mom there to experience it with you, you want your mom there to hold on to you. Give you advice. Cheer you on. Tell you that you can do it!

At about 12:30PM on that day, I put up a Facebook status that read: "Someone please hold my hand." But there was no one there to hold my hand. Not that you all weren't "there." I know you were. SavvyAuntie was the most Tweeted word that day. Emails were pouring in. Flowers were arriving. There were IMs, txts and phone calls. You were there, dear Readers. You were there.

But my mom wasn't.

I thought of my mom in that same profound way the day my nephew was born. The first time I saw him, his dad was holding him against his chest. My mother's grandson was born. Her legacy continued. Parts of her DNA and her good soul were now present in this little boy.

I don't know if my brother knows this... but I made a vow to love this little boy for my mother as well as myself. I made a vow to give him the love of two women, Auntie and Bibi (as she would have been called). It wasn't fair that he would be cheated out of having her. And it certainly wasn't fair that she would never experience holding him.

On July 9, 2008, 1:00PM EST, I gave birth to my first "baby." I don't mean to compare this website to a real, human, miracle of a baby. But still. For me. I deeply, profoundly, knew that my 'something big' had just happened.

My mom wasn't there. But it was her belief in me and love for me that gave me the courage to start this company in the first place.

No wonder I felt a little tug at my hand.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

SavvyAuntie.com Has Launched!

Dear Readers, 

Have you heard the news? SavvyAuntie.com has launched in Beta, which means while they site is basically looking good, there are some outstanding issue we are resolving in this phase.

The last couple of days since the launch on Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 1PM EST, have been overwhelming. In fact, I don't think I ever really understood what "overwhelmed" meant until that first afternoon and the day that followed.

Within an hour after launch, two of the largest and most prestigious technology and social media blogs posted very positive reviews of the site. Thanks evermore to TechCrunch and Mashable for their unbelievable support of our Beta launch.

Then yesterday, not one, but two articles were published in the Huffington Post about the site. I love the interview that Eric Kuhn of HuffPo did with me. It really enabled me to share my message about Savvy Auntie and what it's all about to his loyal fans. 

And the bloggers I have met on Twitter and other social media platforms came through for me too, proudly sharing the launch as they celebrated it with incredibly supportive posts.

The news of the launch was also covered in various other online news sources (too many to mention here) and I have not seen one negative review yet. (phew!)

Plus, great news is coming in from traditional media as well. Hopefully Savvy Aunties around the nation will hear about the site from their most trusted media sources. (Let's hope!)

And then there are the Aunties themselves, who have written in thanking us for recognizing their value in the family (and dare I say clout). It is incredibly empowering to hear from them.

The Beta Testers are hard at work completing the surveys that help us improve the site for our users. And the technology team is hard at work at the fixes. Thank God for Dave Finkelstein!  Dave worked tirelessly day and night and night and day and holiday weekend and everything in between to get the site up and running on time. Every last minute "emergency" that seemed impossible to fix in the time that remained, Dave found a solution for! And on launch day, at 12:54PM, as we were gearing up to launch at 1:00PM sharp, we found an issue on the homepage of all places! At first, it looked like one that could only be resolved with a complete site update, which we did not have time to do (and was much too risky to do at that point anyway). At 12:56 Dave had the solution. At 12:59  he stopped the fix to launch the site at 1:00PM sharp. At 1:01PM the issue was resolved. That's dedication. That's Dave Finkelstein.  Dear Reader, please clap for Dave. He's my hero.

And now, believe it or not, advertisers are emailing in asking how they can support the site. They recognize the power of the Savvy Auntie as a consumer, and want my help to engage them.

Finally, the second day after launch culminated in a party I had with friends and colleagues in Manhattan (that's a pic of me and my hero Dave from last night). It was overwhelming to see how many people came out in support of me and the launch of Savvy Auntie. Wow. Thank you all!

I must get back to work. There's so much more to do. But I'll be back soon to share more with you as soon as I answer a few hundred more emails....

XOXO,

Auntie Melanie