I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Jamie Parganos, founder of WonderMommy.com and MommyHacks.com. If you haven't checked them out yet, you really need to! WonderMommy is an amazing blog that is just a wealth of support and information for parents and MommyHacks is has all the best ideas around (They are even coming out with a subscription box- and well, those are just my weakness!).
Holly:
I love that your brand is aimed to help mothers! What was the driving factor that inspired you to create your websites Wondermommy.com and mommyhacks.com?
Jamie:
Thanks for asking, Holly! And thank you for sharing your book with the Wonder Mommy community. We love partnering up with other mothers who are making great work, and it was so fun to be able to giveaway free copies of Cookies for Dinner to our Facebook fans. To answer your question, Mommy Hacks came about naturally. Whenever I was out and about, at restaurants, the park, etcetera, I would have other moms make comments to me like "how did you come up with that" or "how are you so prepared?" Since becoming a mom I've always found ways to be strategic and smart about planning outings with my kids. I naturally started to develop my own hacks and they attracted attention. So I decided to start sharing these time-saving, activity enhancing tips with other moms through Mommy Hacks, a monthly subscription box service. And Wonder Mommy is a platform I created to elevate a diversity of parenting opinions. I've witnessed so many online parenting communities and forums where one way is considered the "right" way, and mothers are shamed if they don't subscribe. I want to advocate for a variety of voices, and create a place where moms can feel empowered to find the approach that suits them best. Wonder Mommy is for sharing stories, information, and support within a community of mothers who care about doing a great job raising their kids.
Holly:
Subscription boxes are such a hot product right now and I think yours is a very unique version. What sets your subscription box apart for others?
Jamie:
My box has actionable solutions for everyday parenting challenges. Mommy Hacks has been carefully curated to include products that will streamline and enhance parenting activities. It's so easy to feel like a failure as a mom. It's a full-time job in and of itself, and on top of that a lot of moms work a second full-time job. It's nearly impossible, and yet so many women are doing a beautiful job—and deserve a little help, in my opinion! So I wanted to create a service that will make every mom's job just a little bit easier. There is a box with sleep time hacks, restaurant hacks, lunch on the go hacks, etc. The products inside are ones that I value and use with my own children, ages two and 6 months old. When a mom opens the box, she immediately has a sort of tool kit available to open up and help her both engage with her child and save a little bit of time.
Holly:
If you had to choose from all your mommy hacks which would you say has been the most useful over the years?
Jamie:
Here's a good one: I use the Keurig coffee pod storage carousel to store playdough cups. It's a great way to stay organized, plus you can twirl it to view and select colors in an easy, fun way. And hey, do the colors get stored in the correct, color-coordinated cups? Not so much at my house, but at least they are in their containers and off the floor with this hack!
Holly:
Jamie:
Here's a good one: I use the Keurig coffee pod storage carousel to store playdough cups. It's a great way to stay organized, plus you can twirl it to view and select colors in an easy, fun way. And hey, do the colors get stored in the correct, color-coordinated cups? Not so much at my house, but at least they are in their containers and off the floor with this hack!
Holly:
What has the most challenging part of motherhood been for you?
Jamie:
Lately, I must say... It's the universal mom struggle: getting enough sleep. I've faced a few difficult health challenges over the past several years. I wrote about my struggle with diastisis recti on the Wonder Mommy blog, for instance. But above all—sweet, coveted, evasive sleep. Every day feels like a bit of a dance for me to get done what I need to get done and I just plain haven't been getting enough sleep. And it wears on me, naturally. This is when I really lean into my support network, both online and in person. This is when I know I need to ask for help, and I do!
Holly:
I love talking to women who have create their own brands but I am always especially interested in talking to other mothers who have created a brand while being knee-deep in the trenches of motherhood. One thing that I have learned through the years is that there is so much knowledge to be gained from talking to other women and hearing their stories of victories and losses in building businesses. What is one valuable piece of advice you can pass along to another Mom who may be thinking of starting her own brand? Was there anyone who helped you along the way to give you advice?
Jamie:
Gosh, I couldn't agree more. I learn so much and am emboldened by other women's stories. I can honestly say at this point, having been devoting so much time to the Wonder Mommy community, that our blog has been the biggest source of learning for me lately. We have a guest writers series and love to publish posts submitted to us by moms in our community (if you'd like to write for us submit your story on our site's contact page!). I just read a piece by guest writer Jamie Arigo on integrating sustainability into how she parents and am moved by her commitment. Other moms who hold fiercely to their values and visions for a better world give me the inspiration and strength I need to keep going, even when I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel or don't quite know how things will pan out. The thing about starting your own business is that there are no guarantees. All I can do is continue taking the next right actions toward growth. I try to lead with my message, and when I get exhausted or hit a wall I remember why I started in the first place: to empower and support other mothers, and to create the type of community that I myself can be a part of and grow in.
Jamie:
Lately, I must say... It's the universal mom struggle: getting enough sleep. I've faced a few difficult health challenges over the past several years. I wrote about my struggle with diastisis recti on the Wonder Mommy blog, for instance. But above all—sweet, coveted, evasive sleep. Every day feels like a bit of a dance for me to get done what I need to get done and I just plain haven't been getting enough sleep. And it wears on me, naturally. This is when I really lean into my support network, both online and in person. This is when I know I need to ask for help, and I do!
Holly:
I love talking to women who have create their own brands but I am always especially interested in talking to other mothers who have created a brand while being knee-deep in the trenches of motherhood. One thing that I have learned through the years is that there is so much knowledge to be gained from talking to other women and hearing their stories of victories and losses in building businesses. What is one valuable piece of advice you can pass along to another Mom who may be thinking of starting her own brand? Was there anyone who helped you along the way to give you advice?
Jamie:
Gosh, I couldn't agree more. I learn so much and am emboldened by other women's stories. I can honestly say at this point, having been devoting so much time to the Wonder Mommy community, that our blog has been the biggest source of learning for me lately. We have a guest writers series and love to publish posts submitted to us by moms in our community (if you'd like to write for us submit your story on our site's contact page!). I just read a piece by guest writer Jamie Arigo on integrating sustainability into how she parents and am moved by her commitment. Other moms who hold fiercely to their values and visions for a better world give me the inspiration and strength I need to keep going, even when I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel or don't quite know how things will pan out. The thing about starting your own business is that there are no guarantees. All I can do is continue taking the next right actions toward growth. I try to lead with my message, and when I get exhausted or hit a wall I remember why I started in the first place: to empower and support other mothers, and to create the type of community that I myself can be a part of and grow in.
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