We are so happy to have Shara Lawrence-Weiss, owner of Mommy Perks, as the first featured Blogger for our “Favorite Blogger Series.”  What we love about Mommy Perks is the creativity that Shara has brought to this ever-growing network.  Mommy Perks is not simply a Blog, although the Mommy Perks VIP Blog is certainly a huge part of the mix, but rather Mommy Perks is a extensive community of out-of-the-box thinkers sharing ideas, stories, services and more.  Shara was kind enough to sit down and answer some questions for us, which we hope you enjoy.

What first inspired you to join the world of Blogging?

I joined by default. When I purchased Mommy Perks the VIP Blog (with a very different look) was already set up as a part of the site. At that time the blog was strictly focused on reviews, with a few giveaways. The rest of the site was about shopping and getting the PERKS.

When did you take over Mommy Perks? How did you know this was the right fit for you?

I took over Mommy Perks, as sole owner, in early 2009.  To be honest I didn’t know if the fit was right. I had bought into the business as part owner and soon after a number of things happened that severed the ties between my partner (the founder) and myself. So much money had already been invested into the business. That motivated me to keep going and to push through the storms! The idea of walking away at that point was un-acceptable (although there were days when I wanted to). We decided to re-vamp the entire website, as well as the blog, and start from scratch. I’m so glad that we did and that we didn’t give up!

What is your one most favorite thing about owning and writing for Mommy Perks?

By nature I’m a creative thinker. Owning Mommy Perks allows me to have complete control over how things look, feel and present to others. I quickly realized that the members of Mommy Perks wanted more information. So…we put up Kids Perks (www.kidsperks.com) and Early Childhood News & Resources (www.earlychildhoodnews.net). Both of those sites get crazy good re-posts and re-tweets because they are info packed and FREE to use.

How do you come up with ideas for new stories? Do you enjoy collaborating with others?

I love collaborating with others but to be honest, I don’t *have* to. Thinking up ideas for articles is easy for me. I might see a post online or a newspaper article or even a comment on another blog. I’ll think, “Oh. That’s a post!” I love crafts and nature and outdoor activities so I can pretty easily write about any of those topics. I was also a nanny for 16+ years for kids ages birth-13. That alone continues to spark ideas, even years later. I have a background in early childhood, preschool work, elementary ed classroom time, education courses, special needs and freelance. So again, that background continues to be a springboard for creative ideas and posts.

Back to collaborating with others – yes, I love that. I was told by one Education Professor that listening to the thoughts and input of others is KEY to success. If we can’t be open to hearing what others have to say, we’ll create a business (or blog or product or whatever) that is spank-tastic (smile) to us…but no one else. What good will that do? The input of others (at least being open to hearing it and reflecting on it) is critical.

If you could see into a crystal ball, where would you imagine Mommy Perks would take you in the next 4 years?

Wow. We have so much on the site now from parenting articles, pregnancy in-womb videos, small business tips and articles, charity info, Facebook and twitter, networking and marketing, pr and advertising, shopping (perks) and giveaways/reviews and more. I would like to think that in 4 years Mommy Perks will be considered one of the larger parenting/small business websites on the Internet. Our stats have soared over the last year and the growth is pretty evident to everyone who’s been standing by, watching and waiting. With more effort put into SEO, marketing, pr and networking, I’d like to see our family of sites take residence in the “Oh, yeah – I know that site well!” parent and small business handbooks : )

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Head on over to www.mommyperks.com to have a look around and learn more.  The Mommy Perks VIP Blog can be found at www.mommyperks.com/vip.  Be sure to leave Shara a nice comment after you browse the pages of Mommy Perks!