C'ville Entremom

Scenario: Saturday AM, 1st cup of coffee in hand, kids are eating breakfast while asking, “Mommy what are we going to do today?” (In whiny voices of course). Gasp! You are busted.. you ACTUALLY have no plans! You could: go to the pool again?? go for a bike ride?? hike?? OR you could log onto SuzySaid and find out everything that is going on around Charlottesville (and the surrounding areas).

Local writing enthusiast, Amy Eastlack, spends her time researching, networking and spreading the word about all events and resources in the Charlottesville area. SuzySaid is a website for women dedicated to the best of what is going on in and around Charlottesville. The concept is based on the knowledge that as women, we rely on our girlfriends for advice on everything: from what to do with the kids this Summer, to the great deal that we got on that cute little dress, to who’s got the best Thursday night Happy Hour. Suzy is your neighbor, your kid’s teacher, your sister-in-law, your best friend! Suzy is YOU!

When you first log onto SuzySaid, you see a daily dose of Charlottesville: where and when to buy Summer pool passes, how to get involved locally in National Running Day or a feature about the new maxi dress available at Eloise and Scarpa. SuzySaid provides you with a wealth of knowledge including:

Around Town: Things to do and see in Charlottesville.
Mom to Mom: Family and kid-friendly events and happenings in the area.
Restaurants: Places Suzy loves to eat and reviews for area restaurants.
Deals and Coupons: Suzy finds great deals on food, clothing or about anything around town. She also provides local “SuzySaid only” coupons in this section. (You can find one for me there.. Wink! Wink!)
Give: Ways to give back to the community through local nonprofit events and fundraisers.
Not Here But Near: Information on what cool things are happening outside of Charlottesville.

One of the greatest features of Amy’s site is the calendar that highlights all kinds of great events happening around Charlottesville. The events are listed by day and organizations can even add their events directly from the site. How cool is that? I, for one, will no longer be looking back on a great event that I missed! You can also subscribe to Suzy’s Weekly Newsletter that highlights all the great things Suzy is talking about.

So, who is Suzy and where did she come from?? Amy has moved a lot in her lifetime and with each move found that it takes a long time to find all the best resources in a new town. Charlottesville was no exception. She saw a need in the area for an on-line way for moms and women to find out what is going on… something cute, fun and to the point. After moving to Charlottesville, Amy got reacquainted with an elementary school friend (hmmm.. sounds like a Facebook reunion to me) who had started SuzySaid in Fairfield, CT. SuzySaid was such great success in Fairfield that she birthed a Charlottesville edition! SuzySaid also has sisters in other areas: Washington, DC, Denver, CO and Austin, TX to name a few!

How does our girlfriend Amy juggle parenthood and planning all of our social/shopping calendars? Amy has a very supportive and helpful husband and says that his support is key! She also has her own girlfriends, wonderful kids Maggie (8) and Katie (6) and family (although far away) who are always there for her when she needs them. She recently hired someone to clean her house (as hard as it was) after realizing that she can’t do it all! (Feeling you there Amy). Amy says that admitting that you can’t do it all and don’t have to do everything helps keep all of the balls in the air too!

Amy mostly relies on word of mouth to spread the word about the website. That is the premise of Suzy Said after all!! Amy, also, does a lot of marketing through social media. You can always find her posting great tips daily on Twitter (http://twitter.com/SuzySaidCville). C’Ville Entremom is a big fan of Twitter to promote one’s business and often connects with Amy there. On a side note, Amy has linked me to great opportunities for my business via Twitter. Definitely worth checking out if you are not already there.

Visit Suzy Said at http://www.suzysaid.com/charlottesville for more information or with great tips or events!

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 6:07 am and is filed under Local Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.