"Made In The Valley" - The Valley Girls Grew Up!

"Like, oh my God!"

"No way!"

"Duh!"

Remember the stereotypical "Valley Girl?" Well, guess what?

The Valley Girls Grew Up! And lots of them now have successful businesses here in the famous San Fernando Valley where the name was given.



Last night at a networking event, I met Gail Lara, owner of "Made In The Valley," a retail website that features exceptional women entrepreneurs who have exceptional products. Each women is featured with her story on how and why she began to create her products and has a section on the website. You can shop online and choose from homemade gourmet chocolates, beautiful handcrafted jewelry, bath and body products and much more. They even include local delivery!

"Made In The Valley" also cares about their community by giving 10% of its proceeds back to a local charity. What a great business! Gail is a super sweet and very caring woman who is on a mission to bring back the emphasis on shopping at your local stores to help them grow. Her motto is "Buy Local. Be Local." It's a great time to remember this concept - and of course, to support your hard-working women entrepreneurs!

Gail has plans to extend the "Made In The Valley" brand to other markets soon, too.

I had a great time chatting with Gail about Marketing and Social Media, and listening to her tell me stories of being in the boardroom of corporate America for 25 years when women weren't really "allowed" to have ideas. (FYI - I'm not sure how I would have survived if that was me. Trying to have me keep my mouth shut when I have great ideas is like taking away my oxygen. Kudos to all the women who hung in there and made the guys look good all those years. You're stronger than me!) It was a great night and I love meeting people who are making a difference.

For more info and to check out the products (I hear the lotion bars are amazing!) go to www.MadeInTheValley.net.

Are you living your dream life? Use Social Media to get you there!

I'm looking forward to an amazing event next week. Success Coach, Gina Ratliffe has put together a spectacular 5-day event in Los Angeles (Tues Sept 29-Sat Oct 3rd) for those who are looking to accomplish two things:

1. Determine your true passion(s)

2. Make money doing what you love!!

The event is called "Purpose. Platform. Profits: Manifesting and Monetizing Your Dream Life."

Sounds cool, right? And what a perfect time to be talking about these topics. Forget the recession blues and turn that frown upside down! Why not make the best decision you can make and follow your dreams right now? Just go for it!

Gina's line-up of world-class speakers include:

David Neagle (Millionaire Acceleration Coach)
Marianne Williamson (#1 Best-selling Author "A Return To Love")
Gary Vaynerchuk (Host, WineLibraryTV.com, $50+ million company)
...and so many more.

I've also been given the honor of speaking at this event and will be teaching two workshops - one on blogging, and the other on LinkedIn. Gina wants her audience to learn how to use these new platforms of Social Media to build their fan base and turn their passions into a lucrative business.

There's a few tickets left! Day passes are available, too. Get yours now HERE.

I'll see you there!

Your Approach to Social Media: Pepper or Steak?

Who's your Social Media mentor? I have several mentors myself and Gary Vaynerchuk tops the list. I love his energy, but moreso, it's his very blunt and honest opinions about this new way of Marketing.

In this recent video, he explains his analogy of "Steak" vs. "Pepper" in terms of how companies view Social Media. VERY interesting and I whole-heartedly agree (and that's not because I'm a steak & potatoes kind 'o girl from the Midwest, either, even though that's true).



How do you see your Social Media efforts? Are you a steak person? Or are you just giving this a sprinkle?

DIG IN, people! Get your steak knives out. It's a delicious treat once you taste your first bite of sweet success!!