Inside the Idea

So, here I am, 30, happily married mother of 2 wonderful boys, an online marketing professional and a musician. I'd like to use just one of those to describe myself, but it just wouldn't be complete. I am who I am, and at 30, I definitely know what that means.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Pivoting Live Events to Virtual

It was inevitable.

Zoom meetings for LatinaMeetup.

I wasn’t a fan since I’ve been spending countless hours on Zoom meetings that could easily have been handled by a simple email.

But I get it, people are craving that human interaction.

So I knew that I had to go virtual.

LatinaMeetup is a community of Latina professionals who support each other.

The mission statement is:

LatinaMeetup’s mission is to CELEBRATE, ELEVATE and CONNECT Latina professionals in order to build and consolidate Latina wealth and influence.

A GIANT part of this initiative is our in-person events where hundreds of ladies experience amazing networking opportunities that we work so hard to create.

Of course, during this current pandemic situation, the events element has been heavily impacted.

Like most event planners, we’ve had to cancel the rest of the year.

This year we were only able to pull off one event in Washington, D.C. in the beginning of March, right before everything went crazy.

The other events in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City and Miami have all been postponed until further notice.

Like any thriving community, ours needs to be fueled by constant interaction and opportunities to connect.

Having in-person events without any real guidance was not even an option.

But I didn’t want to lose the momentum that I have spent the last two years building up.

And I also had sponsors to think about.

There were several challenges I needed to address:

  • How could I ensure that their brands would receive the attention and eyeballs they deserved?
  • How would we handle product placements and opportunities for our attendees to sample products?
  • How could we support our sponsors while still keeping our events fun, fast-moving and engaging?
  • How would I handle choosing winners for our giveaways?
  • What would be an alternative to supplying goody bags?
  • How do we make sure the events are fast-paced, exciting and fun for everyone in a world where they can just log off?

Virtual events were certainly a part of the answer, but I needed to ensure the LatinaMeetup vibe was coming through.

Our events are not the most posh on purpose.

I don’t want people walking around, wanting to be seen.

There are a zillion events that serve that purpose.

This event is about a community and connecting.

So I decided to just take the plunge and hold our first event.

We had about 60 people sign up and 35 actually show up.

LatinaMeetup Zoom

Here’s the truth. The planning was terrible.

And that was my fault as the host.

I didn’t set a time limit and we all just took turns introducing ourselves.

As you may have guessed, some ladies were taaaallllkkkerrrs.

That doesn’t bother me, but it doesn’t server everyone in the community.

I even had an attendee leave and tell me we needed time limits on her way out.

But we still managed to have a nice time in spite of that.

But I wanted more.

I wanted attendees to have such a good time that they couldn’t wait until the next one.

And I failed at that during this first virtual event.

So I took my bruised ego and went about researching games we could play and a format that would deliver on my goals.

I also recruited one of our attendees who has a very endearing and sparkly personality to help co-host.

Meet Wendy of YourHelpfulFoodie

I charged her with the arduous task of also keeping time on the ladies for the next event.

So, event #2 was scheduled and I went about inviting and promoting.

I kept it under 50 in case I needed to alter and pivot things.

I figured that would be easier with that number of attendees versus a larger group.

Yours truly announcing one of our prizes from Sponsor: Yaasss Reina.

Here were the results:

  • We could integrate sponsorships by being even more creative with custom backgrounds, more social media love and giveaways.
  • We kept it moving quickly with engagement from everyone by adding a game in our intros and keeping a timer with 2 minutes per person.
  • We awarded prizes for both silliness and people sharing about the event. The silliness prizes were voted on by all attendees.

Bingo! The feedback was exactly what I was hoping for.

Some LinkedIn Love from Emily Jimenez

And this!

Facebook Kudos from Nelly Cuenca

Also, this! Actual connections being made, which is EVERYTHING!

Now it’s time to connect with our Sponsors and grow grow grow!

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5 Favorite COVID-19 Memes

Listen, this is our “new reality”.

That term actually makes me cringe now.

Seriously, how many times do you hear it on any given day?

Every phone call or zoom meeting I attend now starts with some reference to this “new normal”.

Bleh.

It reminds me of when when a hurricane is on its way and all of the news stations keep repeating the term, “hunker down”.

Anywho, here we are, and this really IS the way things are.

I mean, we’re three months into it!

And no one really knows when things will go back to the way they were, if they ever will.

Will we shake hands again at business meetings?

Or will we come up with some new, awkward way of greeting people?

Anything but the fist pump though.

That’s just weird after a certain age.

I know I’ve shaken thousands of hands in my lifetime between meetings and tradeshows.

Is that over?

Alright, enough about shaking hands.

Let’s move onto the good stuff.

No matter what, one thing I know for sure is that there is humor to be gleaned from all of this newly normal madness.

See what I did there?

I thought I’d share some of my favorite COVID-19 memes.

Meme #1: Two Types of People

Two types of people during quarantine

I’m finding that I fluctuate between both types. Some days I am all about that self betterment. Others I wonder how I was able to eat that much food in so little time.

Meme #2: Hide The Snacks

How to hide the snacks

If you have ever had the wonderful experience of parenting and housing a teen boy, you will easily get this one. Yes, I do hide snacks. It’s survival of the fittest here, and if I don’t hide them, I don’t eat them.

Meme #3 COVID Ven Diagram

How many times of late have you had this weird feeling that you are living through some crazy dystopian work of fiction? I get hit with that uneasiness at least a couple of times daily.

Meme #4: Never Set It To 2020

Back To The Future 2020 Meme

Come on. How often have you thought, “If only I could go back in time?” I definitely would NEVER choose to come back to this hot mess. I’d prefer to just skip over it, please and thank you.

Meme #5: Corona Wolves

That sounds about right. I’ve had to work much harder to stay on top of what day it is. Even though I work nonstop, it just doesn’t seem the same.

There you have it folks.

These are my top 5 COVID-19 memes right now.

There are a lot more where those came from.

So be sure you come back next week to see the new share-worthy memes I stumble across on the interwebs.

Until next time.

And for Pete’s sake, stay safe during this “new normal”!

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Saturday, May 02, 2020

COVID-19 Kudos List #2

Another week in quarantine and I have officially lost count of which week it is.

Yes, it HAS been challenging to stay home and socialize only via Zoom and Facetime, but I am still taking this situation very seriously.

I know there is a huge debate going on right now about re-opening the economy.

Let’s escape all the debates and talk about what people are doing that is good!

With that, I give you another edition of my COVID-19 Kudos List!

Publix Supermarkets Buy From Farmers, Dairies And Donate To Food Banks

Photo by Rob Maxwell

Being from Florida, I have always been a fan of Publix. They are a bit pricier, but the money goes towards important things like employing people with special needs. So I tried to shop there as often as possible.

With an estimated 17 million people experiencing food insecurity, Publix has stepped up to help by buying fresh produce and milk from Florida farmers and southeastern dairies and donating to Feeding America-member food banks.

“As a food retailer, we have the unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the needs of families and farmers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Todd Jones, chief executive officer.

Kudos to them for using their buying power to alleviate TWO major groups being caused by this pandemic, the farmers and the consumers.

A Denver Community Holds A Parade to Celebrate the Adoption of a Girl by Her Foster Parents

Way to go to this entire community for making such a special moment into a celebration! Go ahead, watch and smile!

Congrats to Poppy and family!

D.C. Chemistry Teacher Jonte Lee Makes Home School Chemistry Cool

Teachers have been tasked with transforming an entire half of a school year into online learning. That, in itself, is a huge undertaking for which they should be commended.

Then you have those who really take things to another level.

Kudos to you Jonte Lee for making chemistry fun from your home kitchen!

Virginia Beach labor and delivery nurses sew special masks to help hearing-impaired first-time father

I saw this on WAVY news this week and obviously teared up.

Nurses are, by nature, deeply caring people. So this was no surprise. But it still got me.

There you go.

I hope these stories reminded you to focus on the positives and celebrate the good, because there is always good and bad.

It’s up to us which ones we focus on.

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