Ally is back from her trip to Phoenix where she gave her first two public speaking seminars and had the pleasure of meeting the wonderful ladies of BizEmoms and The Innovative Mama. Read about her experience here!

With my husband and my 2 year old son all packed up we drove through the scourching desert to my home town of Phoenix, Arizona last Tuesday morning. I’d been invited by 2 different groups BizEmoms and the Innovative Mama to speak at both of their membership meetings. The officers of BizEmoms had offered to take me out for dinner the evening that I arrived and all I could think was, I hope I don’t disappoint them.

I was both nervous and excited for this trip because it was a chance for me to meet many of the virtual friends that I’ve made online since the Our Milk Money organization began, to reach out to many of the current members, and to inspire new ones to join our mission. While my husband drove the car to our destination, I sat in the passenger seat with a notebook trying to outline my first public seminar. After several hours of scribbling, crossing things out, tearing out pages and starting over AGAIN, my husband looked at me and said, “You know what to say. Just speak from your heart. You don’t need to write anything down.”

Well, I am back from the Arizona heat, and thrilled to give a very positive report of the events that took place.  I arrived on Tuesday evening, June 10th after a long hot drive through the desert with my husband and son in the car, dropped them off at the friend’s house where we were staying for the week and headed off to PF Changs in Scottsdale where the ladies of BizEmoms where waiting to treat me to dinner.

We all arrived at the same time. Whatever nervous energy I had dissipated as soon as I met my virtual friends, in person. It was a relief to know for sure that they were not figaments of my imagination, but beautiful women, and true souls that will never be reproduced on the internet. The dinner included myself, Laura Wintemute, the BizEmoms President,  Tamara Hight, BizEmoms Secretary and Membership Coordinator, and Angie Ramsey, the BizEmoms Treasurer. It didn’t take long before we were all laughing, drinking good wine and toasting to powerful women everywhere. It was the perfect evening for new friends with a nice blend of a little business talk, deep girl chats and a whole lot of inspiring one another. I knew right away that this was just the beginning of a terrific partnership.

On Wednesday night, I was invited to give a motivational seminar to the members of BizEmoms in Gilbert Arizona. The officers had graciously opened up their meeting to anyone else that I’d wanted to invite, and it gave me the opportunity to meet many other OMM members that I’d previously met only in cyberspace. One of my favorite moments of the evening was being able to finally meet Shara Lawrence-Weiss, owner of Mommy Perks and Personal Child Stories. When Shara first heard about what OMM was trying to accomplish, she contacted me directly by email, and then jumped right in to help us in anyway that she could. She didn’t know me at all, but she had no problem offering advice and referring a large number of people to us. It didn’t take long for Shara and I to develop a solid online friendship and I grew to value her as a knowledgeable entrepreneur and genuine confidant. It was a treat to finally meet her face to face.  I also had the pleasure of meeting several other members, such as Lisa Lange, owner of Reading About Me, who has also been wonderful asset to OMM from the very beginning, Kathy Farley with Gold Canyon Candles, Breeta Garland with Shaklee, Kimberly Emminger, owner of Gopher Girl Virtual Assistance, Kelly St. Clair with Suzanne by Suzanne Somers, and so many more!! I was spoiled with big hugs, gifts (yummy and beautiful treats made by Nancy Barter from The Word of Mouth Cookie Company), an hour of pampering by Angie Ramsie at the Chicago Avenue Hair Studio, a couple of BizEmom T-shirts for Kelli and I, and wine from Tamara Hight with the Traveling Vineyard. These ladies sure know how to welcome an out of town guest!! I was overwhelmed with gratitude for their hospitality. My husband, Chris Loprete of the Daddy’s Den, was there to video my first public speaking appearance and we will be posting clips from the evening in the near future.

Later that week, I was given a warm welcome to attend another membership meeting hosted by Nicole Kline, founder of The Innovative Mama and Strawberry Monday Clothing Resale. The meeting was held at her house, and once again I was able to meet more loyal parents and members of OMM, such as Barbie Berry, Owner of Kreative Kids Fun Mail. While this gathering was much smaller in size, with approximately 10 guests, I was glad for the intimate setting. It allowed me to step down from my soap box and speak freely on a personal level. I was pleased to see the level of interest in the concept of OMM and I was glad to have the opportunity to hear from each of them on their personal journeys as self-employed parents, and the needs that they have for their families. It was a very earnest, practical and productive evening for me.
What started out as an opportunity for me to dive into public speaking, motivate self-employed parents,  and publicize the concept of OMM, became an educational experience for me. As the co-founder of Our Milk Money and a leader in what seems to be developing into a movement, I felt enormously encouraged by both of these groups who fortuitously share similar missions. They all welcomed me with open arms and with the utmost sincerity to join them in their ambitions, while supporting me in mine. It was a remarkable journey.  The overall experience left me with a strange, yet comforting feeling that with support like this across the country, we are all going to be okay.