Blogalicious Lesson #3: Standing in the Company of 15 Amazing Mom Bloggers of Color

On any given day my work at home mom life is filled with conversations. I respond to emails from followers and clients. I am reading comments and making calls. As fulfilling as it is to work at home, I often miss the hustle and bustle of the 9 to 5 world, the water cooler conversations, and the great connections you make when you meet someone new. Going to Blogalicious reminded me that making an effort to go to events helps me to both see and be seen by the people within my online business / blogging community.

You know how people say, even with new media, word of mouth marketing will never die. I believe the same statement is true about real world networking. Social networking is great, but nothing can compare to meeting face-to-face. At events you get a chance to be apart of those groups of women you feel like you can’t reach online. You get to meet people you’ve known for years, but never met in real life. You also get to meet people who have been following you online for years and you never knew! That by far, was one of the best aspects of my trip. I felt like one of the popular kids in high school. Women I never knew, knew me. I got lots of hugs, lots of “thank yous” for the information I share online, and so many wonderful stories from amazing women entrepreneurs and mom bloggers you should know.

Below I have 15 Amazing Mom Bloggers of Color to share with you. I decided to list 5 women who I knew before the event and 10 women that I met for the 1st time at Blogalicious.

5 I Love These Gals – Absolutely Fabulous Mom Bloggers:

1. Ronnie Tyler is the cofounder of Black and Married with Kids with her husband, Lamar Tyler. I’ve had the pleasure of working with this dynamic duo in the past, but this was the first time we actually met in person. They are doing amazing things online not only through their blogs, but also through their documentaries on black families and relationships.

2. Sherrelle, aka FunkiDivaGirl is a fellow mom blogger and Disney Magical Mocha Mom. I had the pleasure of reconnecting with Sherelle at Blogalicious and meeting her husband, social media expert James Andrews, who just happened to be one of the conference speakers! He discussed the Relationship between Social Media and Television (youtube video link). It was a great session.

3. Lorraine aka AskWifey is also a fellow Disney Magical Mocha Mom and creator of the BlogRollersClub. Lorraine is truly one of those proactive, community building mom bloggers you need to know. It’s always great to see her at an event.

4. Kimberly Seals Allers is one of my idols. She is an award winning author and creator of MochaManual.com. Kim knows this already, but when I was pregnant I purchased and read her book, “The Mocha Manual to a Fabulous Pregnancy.” When I read the chapter in which she decided while pregnant that she wanted to work for herself, I decided to officially become a work at home mom. She inspired me to move forward in actualizing my dream. She surprised me when she joined my social networks and interviewed me for inclusion in her second book! She’s consistently been helpful to me participating in my online parenting events and also connecting with me when she has resources to share. We officially met for the first time at Blogalicious and I got her autograph! I will cherish it always.

5. Onica (Nikki) the creator of Mommy Factor is my partner in positivity and fellow Disney Magical Mocha Mom. We met at the Disney event and have been friends ever since. Trying not to tear up when I write this, but Onica has been one of the few women I’ve met that so genuinely get me and support what I do. Being the information giver, my world is often filled with people asking me for help (which is great), but its rear to find someone like Onica who graciously takes so much time to help me, connect me to people within her circle, and take part in taking my business goals to the next level. We roomed at Blogalicious and had a blast! We hung out in Brooklyn this summer, took our kids to Coney Island, and had a blast there too! She is so sweet, such an amazing mom, and truly my sister-friend for life.
 

10 First Time Meetings – Absolutely Fabulous Mom Bloggers:

6. Jennifer James I’ve followed for years, but never really met. She is the creator of MommyToo Magazine as well as the very popular Mom Bloggers Club.

7. Leticia aka Tech Savvy Mama is truly a technology pro after my own heart. She is doing some amazing things over at bitmoms.com and I can’t wait to work with her in the future.

8. Boni is a career coach! We both are INROADS alum and we both coach women about their careers, which is very cool!

9. Kim is a fellow mom blogger and creator of imnotthenanny.com. We had a very thought provoking conversation about raising black sons and the unique experiences of not just black mothers but mothers raising biracial children in general.

10. Meeting Jessica, aka That Tech Chick was one of my most memorable moments. She told me that reading my blog (sistasense) has been very motivational and it showed her that she could add more of her own personality and flava to her own blog. Even though I know people read my blog, folks aren’t in the habit of leaving comments about why they read, so meeting many of my readers at Blogalicious, was a great experience.

11. Jeannette is a fellow mom blogger and the creator of TodoBebe! She told me she created this particular website because there was not enough information about toys, books, and other products that were specific to the interests of Hispanic parents. As she spoke I knew we had an instant connection because I created the black parenting blog for similar reasons.

12. Christie cofounded the blog rollers club with Lorraine aka Ask Wifey and she is the host of the BlogTalkRadio Show The ChatterBox Show. As busy moms who often work at home, we had a few funny stories to share about trying to make calls when the kids are trying to get our attention (banging doors and all).

8. Meeting Akilah, aka Execumama, a member of my social network BBWO was also a thrill! Again, I cannot express how personally gratifying it is to hear her say that my work online has helped her. Akilah is a fellow mompreneur doing amazing things online, so being a resource to her (and to you) is truly an honor.

9. Dierdre aka Savvypreneur is an attorney passionate about working with solopreneurs. In addition to sharing this common passion she is also one of the amazing women in my circle. I clearly remember sitting in one of the Blogalicious sessions and Dierdre came to say hello; letting me know she’s been following my journey for years. She even purchased some of my eBooks! How cool is that!

10 – 12. I had to finish this list but not 1 but 3 mom bloggers. The Justices, Fergie, Jonesie and Ny are the mompreneurs behind Blogalicious and MamaLaw. Words cannot express how truly amazing these women are for sharing their vision with us and supporting women bloggers of color in ways that have not been done before.

For all 30 Blogalicious lessons learned, read my series of Blogalicious 2010 Adventures.

Read more at Black Parenting