Rebecca Becker From Stroll Magazine on Community, Print Media & Local Marketing

Welcome to the Working Moms of San Antonio podcast. We're your hosts, Erika Radis and Marie Lifschultz, a realtor and lender here in San Antonio. But most importantly, we're working moms just like you.

This podcast is all about creating a space where we can come together, share stories, and learn from each other. We love connecting with local moms in business Hearing about their journeys and how they're balancing it all, because let's be honest, it's not always easy, but it's so worth it.

Before we dive in today's episode, we're excited to share some big news with you all.

Our business community and coworking memberships are officially open. Whether you're looking for a supportive community of moms in business or need a beautiful space to work and grow, we've got just what you need here at Working Moms of San Antonio. You can visit the link in our show notes or workingmomsofsanantonio.com/membership for more info.

Now onto today's episode. Grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and let's get started.

Welcome to this week's episode of the Working Moms of San Antonio podcast. Today we are here with our guest Rebecca. Um, with Stroll Magazine. And so I'm going to turn it over to her to just kind of briefly introduce herself and talk about Stroll.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for letting me be a guest on your podcast. I'm so excited. I was telling my daughter this is my very first podcast, and she says, oh wow, Mom, are you sure? Yeah, it's so much fun.

It's so much fun.

Yeah, so I've, I've always wanted to do something like this. I'm really excited. Um, but yeah, I've been with Stroll now for, um, over 11 years. And it has been the most rewarding job for me because I actually own my publication through a franchise at Intu Company. The company is very solid. It's been around for 20 years. And, you know, I had the opportunity when I left the San Antonio Express-News to do something on my own. And I just embraced this wholeheartedly. It was the hardest thing I've ever done other than breastfeeding, I'll have to admit.

Yes.

My daughter laughs at me because I say that all the time. But I would really appreciate that I get to meet the readership, right? And I've been in media for 30 years, I've never had the opportunity to really know the readership, and we just kind of guess from demographics, okay, this is probably what they want, right? But I have had the opportunity to, to meet the readership and get to know what they like. Some of them are my very best friends now over 10 years. You know, that does happen, and that's what makes this works so well is that, you know, we get to, we get to know what they want. We find the right businesses for them. We, we get to, you know, vet the businesses and bring them on board and build a relationship with the businesses and the community that they're going to be a part of through, you know, different touch points, the magazine, digital events that we do. So it just all comes together really well. And the resources that we get from Into Company to support that has been dynamic. So I, I've I've been in major media companies, Belo, Hearst, Freedom. Those are the big ones.

Yeah.

From newspaper. I've worked with Hispanic media, loved being introduced to that after living in El Paso for 35 years before I left and married my husband. Got the opportunity to jump into media from, from the electric utility industry back in El Paso, Texas, my hometown. But yeah, so that's kind of a little bit about my background.

So yeah, it's very rewarding. I mean, when you get to see your product benefit the people. I mean, getting out and seeing them, actually, then obviously becoming your friends over the years.

Absolutely. Yes. It's been, it's been fun. Um, in fact, we, um, have, you know, even partnering with you all, bringing my friends here from the community, from both communities, and they see that we're doing something really positive for working moms. I wish I had this when I was working, right?

Yes.

Yes. When, you know, you see some of the moms bring their kids, that they're able to do that, you know, when they can, right? I know that's just not a habit, but when they can, they can bring them and they don't feel like they have avoid, um, you know, moving on with their business and progressing because of their kids, but it's actually a way to help them, you know, complement what they're doing. So yeah, I really appreciate this, this group and the women that are here are, you know, I worked in Dallas and Dallas can be really competitive and it's cutthroat and, you know, it's, it's really hard to, to jump ahead in Dallas because it's just so, it's so competitive there. I remember wanting to, um, I want to be a broadcaster. When I first got there, Dallas Morning News, I want to be a broadcaster.

Yay!

And I went to one of the very well-known broadcasters and I said, hey, can we go to lunch? Can I just get a, you know, will you be my mentor? And she said, you know, she looked at me and she said, yeah, I have lunch available next year around the fall. I'm like, are you kidding me?

Next year?

Yeah. That's a little harsh.

I'm like, wow, okay, okay, I'll pencil you in, you know, whatever. But, you know, to her, to her, Uh, defense, you know, she just, it's just a competitive market in Dallas. So I, I learned that really quick. It was a great place to live and, and, you know, learn, learn more about media, uh, the broadcasting side, the print side, and yeah, Hispanic media side.

Yeah.

I worked with an amazing woman, um, that, uh, you know, did turnkey events for the Hispanic community. I learned to love Latin music.

Yeah. Love it.

So yeah.

Yeah. Well, I think competition is, is, is great and I think it healthy competition, but here in our group, it's very welcoming and they're very supportive. And that was the kind of community that we wanted to build.

Yeah.

For like, because I think there was a stigma against, you know, being a mom, stay-at-home mom or being a working mom. You're leaving your kids with daycare or whatever. And you can, you can be both. You can be both a great mom and a great business owner.

Yeah. You know, like those things don't have to be mutually exclusive. Yeah. And I don't understand why, or I didn't understand why that was a thing that was like out in the world. It was like, okay, well, especially in real estate.

Yeah.

Um, it, You know, you don't wanna talk of, if you're really successful, you're not talking about how you have kids at home or like how you have to get home or you're not bringing 'em along with you and that kind of stuff. And it was like, why? Like most of my clients have kids, they understand what's going on, you know? And so, um, for me it was really important in this group to make sure that it was welcoming and that it was like more community over competition and that kind of stuff. Because the longer that, I mean, I've been doing real estate 10 years, the longer that I do what I do, the more I realize that the more myself I am in front of the public, the more I attract the right kind of client for me.

Exactly. Right.

And there are totally clients out there that want someone that acts like they don't have kids and it's important for them to look a certain way and drive a certain vehicle and do all of these things. And that's totally fine. Yeah. But it's just not, you're not gonna be my client probably, you know?

Yeah.

And, and that's okay. There is a realtor out there for you. There's a lot of 'em. Yeah.

Oh yeah. Well, there's, I always tell people there's enough business for everybody. So the fact that you brought up that we're, you know, Dallas is a very, I, I lived in near Dallas when I went to school. It is a very competitive market in general, no matter what industry you're in. But I think our community here in San Antonio is very welcoming, and we also have that big Hispanic culture that loves to hug and bring you in and embrace you.

Absolutely. Yeah. So it kind of throws people off, but what I really loved about San Antonio is even meeting advertising partners, you get to meet the owners. In Dallas, that just doesn't happen, you know. So I came here, wait, I'm going to meet with the owner? Are you kidding me?

Yeah.

And if now I'm so used to it, if I don't meet with the owner and I, you know, we have the blessing as as women entrepreneurs to pick and choose who we want to be our clients. And that's a, that's a great place to be. And who we wanna bring on board and who we wanna work with, cuz we have to be able to have a good relationship with them if we're gonna help them in our community. So, yep. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, one of the things that I think really sets Stroll apart, um, there are many wonderful publications here in San Antonio, but what I like about what you guys do is these community events. Mm-hmm. That you hold. Can you share with our audience a little bit more about kind of what that looks like and what you think the benefit is for your partners?

Absolutely. And you know, that's one of the things that has really brought this whole cohesive community relationship together between the business and the residents is because they're always trying to get into these high-end neighborhoods and they never get a chance, especially the smaller business owners are trying to find a way to connect and meet with these businesses. And they know that they have to build that relationship first. These people don't, you know, everyone's trying to get into their pockets one way or the other and they don't really open up to anybody unless they know you, right? Word of mouth. They have to know you. So we knew We knew that if we kind of told their story through the ad, through an introductory or what we call a sponsor spotlight article in the magazine, and then the icing on the cake is have these fun events, mixer events. Like they're not going to these events with their clipboard and setting up a table and having to bring all of their, you know, their, you know, signage for their business. They're just gonna, they're just hanging out with them and getting to know them. And so that's what they like. They like the opportunity that they don't have, they can go straight from work We do it on a slow night that doesn't interfere with their weekend activity. Usually it's a Tuesday or, you know, or Monday or Tuesday for the most part. And it's a couple of hours. We partner with some amazing restaurants that want those people in there too. So they'll usually provide appetizers and things like that if we're doing something like a neighborhood night out. And they, you know, they always tell me, "Wow, I've built some really great, made some really great connections from this event that I can take with me." And now they feel like they have an in, right? It's like being in the box, you know, the, the, um, uh, being in the, in the front row, right? In an event, you feel like you're there among the group that, you know, that's important to you.

Yeah.

So that's what they really like about the events is they get the opportunity to meet them, even if it's briefly, even if it's just a couple of times. They don't go to all of 'em. We have enough that they can pick and choose from. So that's what makes it really valuable.

Well, I think they start to realize they're buying from people.

Yeah.

Like it's not a, it's, yes, it's a business, but it's not a business. It's a person behind the business. That you're buying, or whatever the product is or the service, there's a person behind that. And I think people like to buy from people, right? Not a company.

Yeah, absolutely.

So I think the events that you have introduce the people, obviously, and then the magazine kind of carries it forward and tells their story.

Yeah. And that's why I like— and building partnerships like this with you all, we have the opportunity to help each other as well, right? Because you guys have an amazing network of women, um, that truly are genuinely wanting to help each other. And they're very smart. I've already had meetings with several of them. And just, you know, they've become— a few of them have become my partners already. And they're just very smart women. They're very together. But they're also willing to mentor and help other women. So I commend you for that in your networking group because it's been a value to me. And I know it's a value to a lot of other women. And bringing residents here, they love it. And they, you know, they're always asking me about it. And it's funny how I found you guys because I was— I was visiting with a resident that's next door to you all and I said, "Oh my God, look at that big, beautiful sign. It's women, working women of ESSA. I have got to go check it out." So, and you guys were just so warm and open when you were here. So it was really nice.

Oh, and that big old sign of ours.

Yeah. Signage works, right?

It's a big old sign. I like a big old sign. So, well, that's great. And can you share, because it's not just in the magazine ads, obviously, because I think that would get tired quite quickly. Quickly. But you do also share, I believe, like resident stories and that kind of thing. Can you talk on that a little bit?

Yeah, that's what makes the magazine so valuable, right? Because you can send anything to anybody, but if they're not reading it and they're not reading it consistently, then it doesn't, it loses its value. So our publications keep their value because the stories in there come from the residents who live there about their families or kids or events. Their pets. Sometimes the pet stories are better than the family and the kids' stories because the pet's telling the story from their perspective. This is how I met my mom. This is what I love about my mom and that kid that lives in the room. They're always giving, feeding me even though I'm not supposed to eat this food. So their stories are so genuine. And you know, if they thought the magazine was junk, they wouldn't even take the time to send as many pictures as we get or, you know, telling us about their backgrounds, their career paths, you know, where they like to hang out with their family, vacation pictures. Sometimes we have to narrow those down, right? Because we get a ton of those. But they are, you know, they believe in the product. They read it every month. They love to see who's going to be the next family featured in the magazine. And so for our business partners, they love that because they know their ads are being seen. And, you know, they always ask us, how do you get that content? You know, how do you get that every month? Well, you know, the events are a big part of that. Residents introduce and recommend other residents. And Um, you know, we have connections through the, through different avenues that, that they're sharing with us. So that's been really valuable.

Yeah. I love that. I mean, honestly, if we had something in our neighborhood, like just for the cheese may, right?

Like I wanna know. I was gonna say that.

I wanna know who's living here.

Where did they get that dog from?

Yeah. Who's living here? And like, what do they do? I, I mean, I would just wanna know to wanna know. So I think that's genius.

Well, it's a different way of getting to know your neighbors. Yeah. You know, you get the little cheese may.

Yeah.

But I, I think it's, Genius because it, it gives an opportunity to get to know your neighbors a different way. Right. Right. A little bit more intimacy there versus that maybe you won't, you wouldn't say, you know, in just passing or, you know, hey neighbor, you know?

Yeah. And maybe you'll like recognize them like walking their dog and then you might be like, hey, how are you? So-and-so, whatever. You know, if you're a friendly person.

Yeah.

You'd be, I'm friendly.

You'd be surprised. They'll go to the event, right? It's like Facebook on paper. They go to the event and they meet their ne— their neighbor that they haven't talked to in years that lives across the street. They'll go to an event and meet their neighbor and then they start immediately hanging out with them.

Yeah.

And so that's great when they tell us, and they'll tell us that. And we always know when they get their magazine because they said, oh my God, we look great on the COVID Can we get 10 or 20 extra copies? And we have to order extra. I always get the text. It just makes my day. You know, whenever I'm having a bad day, a resident always visit with a resident, have coffee with the resident. They always make your day. So it's been really awesome.

Well, I think for a little while, a lot of people thought the printing material was out the window. We're not printing nothing no more. That's a waste of time. It really isn't. I mean, I read magazines still. Still, I still, I go through my mail and I look through things and I read the advertisements. I do. And it's important. And I, and people kind of thought only, oh, Facebook or social media is the way to go. No, I wanna hold something tangible still. Mm-hmm.

Sometimes it's a nice break to read physically. Read. In fact, it's a reason that I will not read an ebook. I have such a hard time with an ebook because I want a real book in my hand. Yeah. I need a break from this computer and my phone that we're looking at all day. I need to like, It's almost like a rest of your eyes while you're not resting your eyes.

Yeah, like a detox. Yeah, from social media. But I think for the longest time we were kind of— when you're advertising your business, it was all about social media only. Yeah. But the printed word is still very important. And I mean, I would, I would, if I was in a magazine, have it up in my house. Yeah. And show people and share it with my friends. And yeah, definitely.

It's awesome. It's awesome that, you know, that they can, they can do that and share their stories with each other and just build more community. And that's really what we're at. You know, when we first had our magazines, about just even 5, 10— well, actually 5 years ago, everyone named their own magazine. Franchise owners named their own magazine.

Oh, really?

Yeah.

You had—

mine was Life in Sonoma Ranch, and Chavano was Chavano Living, and everybody had their name. And then we sold this marketing person from Hearst Media, director, and they said, hey, I see all these magazines and how come I've never heard of you? You know, you— I've never heard of you. So there's no national brand. So she came up with Stroll and, you know, everyone fought it at first because they took a lot of time coming up with their name for their magazine, right? And now we absolutely love it because when you see Stroll, people know, oh, okay, that's the Stroll brand. And they really penetrated that brand through the company nationwide.

Yeah.

There's, you know, we have about 600 of these nationwide and 13 here in San Antonio. So now that when they see the Stroll brand, they don't get as confused with any other media. They know right away they're part of a reputable brand., magazine that's, you know, that's, that's prominent and it's done really well and has seen growth through all economic, uh, environments. So it's really good to see that. And I'm, I'm so grateful that she, that we got her.

So, yeah, I mean, that brand continuity for all manner of things is important.

I agree. It is very important.

And so, but sometimes as business owners, we get a little bit in the weeds of like what we like and what we need to do. And you know, all of that stuff. And so it probably just took this person one second to like look from the outside who's not so embedded to be like, hey, what are you guys doing?

I know.

You know, isn't that great? I've had that had this conversation before, like where people have looked at me and been like, what are you doing, Fran? I think like, like, you know, sometimes it takes somebody like from the outside to see something that is so clearly evident, you know?

Yeah. I know it in the long run. It makes, it makes it where the, the show name brand is, is recognized. And then obviously the people who are advertising in the magazine become a trusted brand as well. Absolutely. Because they're with the trusted name. Sure.

You know, they, they become a, a trusted partner versus a solicitor, right?

Yes.

It's, it's more of a, a community partner. And so it's has been really good for our businesses. So we found that, you know, our packages, they work well over time. We've had businesses that, and you know, someone will, I'll talk to, I'll be talking to a business and they'll tell me, well, well, tell me about another business's success. And you really can't do that because industries are different.

Sure.

But the way I do that is I say, you know what, if they're with us for 3 years and they're renewing 2 or 3 times and they've been with, we have advertisers that have been with us since we've launched. Wow. 10 or 13 years. So something's working, right?

Something's working.

'Cause that would be, yeah, people wouldn't keep paying if it wasn't. Client, right?

Right. And so, you know, and it just— it does take time, you know. That's why we have those packages that way. It takes time to build that relationship. But once they get that one client and get that word-of-mouth referral from that one client, not only within that one community they're advertising in, but those other connecting communities of that— that we have, you know, but most of them are family and friends in the other— other communities as well.

Yeah.

Then they start to see that, okay, this— this stuff really works. And us too, when we start to doubt something, we go visit with a with a client, a resident, and they start, oh yeah, or they'll tell us, hey, we just used, you know, um, a certain HVAC company or a plumbing company or a certain physician that was in the magazine, and, you know, we've recommended them to our family and our friends. And so, yeah, that's kind of how this works.

So, well, we kind of walk around like a peacock when we hear someone use someone from our directory. Oh yes, they do. Yeah, right.

Something's working.

Yeah, one, like, one of our our members got selected to be on, um, the news. Yeah, for a, you know, a segment. And we're like, well, we were— congratulations. And she's like, they found me on the directory. We're like, yes! Yeah, it works.

It is. That's nice.

Yeah, when I went to that directory, I saw your directory. I'm like, oh my God, these women are amazing.

And look at all the variety.

Yeah, of, of, you know, of industries that you guys have in that directory. So yeah, no, that's golden. You guys should charge for that.

Yeah, that part is included in our membership.

Funny.

Um, well, what I think is really good about it as well is how hyper-localized it is, right? So like, and I have this conversation, I have a lot of gals in my friendship group that are not from San Antonio. Mm-hmm. Um, they're from California or New York or like different places. And in other cities, every city has its own culture. Every city has its own thing. And in other places, people will drive like miles and miles and miles and miles to go to a restaurant or to go wherever.

Absolutely.

San Antonians are sort of known for staying within their community.

Yeah.

They don't wanna do a far drive. I've lived here almost all of my life. Like, and so I think it's important, um, that, you know, and helpful that this is such like a hyper-localized thing where it's like, hey, something that may be advertised just like us, we advertise in the magazine. Um, the communities are within a reasonable distance from here. And so we've gotten gals that have seen us in Stroll and that have physically come to our events and said like, hey, I found you in Stroll, you know? Yeah. Because it's not that far of a, of a travel for them. And so I think that's probably super helpful for your partners. Not only are they sort of able to get into some of these more affluent type communities, but it's near where they are. And so they do get that traffic, I'm sure.

Yeah. No, it's really exciting to see that. And the nice thing about it is that we list the resident business owners in the magazine, you know, on a separate page. So, and then we have this real cool logo, resident business owners. So if they're wanting to make a connection and they're just, you know, feeling these barriers, then they'll reach out to me and say, hey, I just kind of need a warm introduction. Kind of like you do at a networking, right? You want that warm introduction. So we're happy to do things like that, especially if we're trying to, you know, we've got a good partnership with the, with the business. And, and I love when they, um, when they reach out to me when, you know, they're wanting to try something different or they're wanting to, um, find a way to connect and they're just, you know, if they're not seeing something happen and we just make things happen for them. One way or the other. So, and with, you know, through the magazine and the different touch points that we have. So it's been really awesome to be able to do that for businesses.

Well, you know, we had talked about in the beginning, like, if we were going to give someone a business, someone like us, I prefer to give someone like a working mom.

Sure.

The same thing if I see someone, my neighbor, you know, that has a business, and I'm like, hey, well, I use that service, why am I not using that? I'm gonna use them instead, instead of someone in another—

you don't know—

or a nationwide company. I'd rather use someone local to support my neighborhood. Because in turn they might support my kids' soccer team or my, you know, the school down the street or whatever the case is. You give back to the local community, oh, it's always going to eventually support you in general. Right. So I think that's always a good thing. So the stroll does that for everyone.

Yeah. I really appreciate you guys seeing that because it is a chain reaction, right? In one way or another, it's like givers gain in anything, right? If you, if you just, if you go in there thinking about how can I help this business, even if it's not direct right away, that just, you know, karma is a good thing, right? It comes back to you and you get that, you get that support one way or another. So I'm not always, uh, you know, concerned if I don't get the advertising partnership. Then I know about their business, I'm going to share. If I felt like this is a good business to share, you know, with other people, then I'm going to do that if I really, really want to help the business. Because then they will in turn refer me to somebody else that they feel, uh, would be a good fit for the community. And same thing with this with this network too. I love that about this network.

Well, that's what I kind of say. Like, I, I'm in— I'm a— the, the company I work for is a national brand, right? But I'm, I'm your next-door neighbor who knows a little bit about mortgage. Like, if you have questions, call me. You don't call the 1-800 number.

Yeah.

On your, on your mortgage statement, call me. I'm happy to help you out. Because at one point you might like, you know what, my friend needs a home, call this person.

Yeah.

Eventually that might happen, but if not, at least I've helped somebody.

Sure.

You know, and they're my neighbor, why wouldn't I help them first?

Exactly. And if they feel like they know— they feel like they know you. Everyone wants to— everyone wants to be in the know, right?

They want to—

they want to feel feel like they know you and, oh yeah, I know, I know that person. I know that person.

So yeah.

When you get all the cheese man book.

Exactly. Yeah.

Yeah.

I know all about you.

At least what you put out there in general.

Yeah. And that dog you got.

Yeah. That's true.

I know. I gotta meet that dog. So funny.

Um, well, Rebecca, will you share, because you've got not just one community, but you've got two. What was that like? And like, what was that process like? Did you Did you start with one and you were like, hey, this is great, let's, you know, let's open up another kind of branch of this. And, um, is it overwhelming? And share with our audience because a lot of our audience is, um, women who are new in business or thinking about being in business and that kind of thing. Maybe you can share a little bit about that.

Yeah.

I mean, I think anytime you're an entrepreneur in anything you're doing, you're, you, you're the one that does the most, the most, um, you know, work, the sweat, blood, and tears, right? Yeah. For whatever you're doing. Especially like when I launched my, Sonoma Ranch publication. It meant everything to me. And I just, you know, it means everything to me. I got very fortunate with Chabano, Stroll Chabano Park, because another publisher was, you know, getting ready to retire and he was going to leave. And he, you know, looked around and really wanted someone to— because he was— he really took care of his residents, you know, and he really wanted someone that he felt was going to do the same. So, you know, I felt very fortunate that he reached out to me and asked me if I would purchase it from him. So I purchased Chavano Park. So, you know, and I was lucky because he already had an amazing editor that he said, I don't care what you do, you need to make sure you keep her. And that's what I've done. You know, you keep what's good. You don't try to go in. Yeah, don't try to— yeah, if it's working. And she's been awesome. She has introduced me to, you know, the city, at the city players in Chavano Park, the mayor and the city manager and some of the residents. So it's been easy to adjust. And, you know, even the residents said, I remember my first neighborhood night out in Chavano Park. I was so nervous. I didn't know anybody there that, you know, it's just a different group. I thought, God, how am I going to— how am I going to connect with these? It takes time, right?

It does.

And, you know, it was a resident. Her name is Lori Fanning, and she opened up her home for my first event. And I'm thinking, okay, good. If I have 20, 30 people, I'm good to go. And when I told her, hey, we've got— because I'm trying to be respectful of her home, right? I've got 20. I got to— I go, I have at least 30 people. Is that okay? Oh, she says, oh no, that's just Sunday dinner for me. She started making calls and we ended up having about 75 people at her house.

Nice.

I will never forget that. And they were all so warm and friendly. And so yeah, that was my, she broke the ice for me. So, and you know, her and Dana, I mean, there's a lot of residents that I could name off here from Chavano Park. Mary Young and Dana, the editor, Dana O'Reill. But yeah, so they really welcomed me into their neighborhood as well as the city manager, Bill, and the mayor. Bob Warner. So yeah, I've been really lucky. I've been blessed.

So I love that.

Well, you know, networking, we always said that in the beginning, this is kind of weird, like trying to meet people and be there. So when you have a community that's welcoming and kind of gives you, like you said, that soft welcome in and introducing people, it's so— it's so— it's a blessing. Yeah, at the end of the day, because it is, it is awkward as an adult meeting people and making friends, right? Like, it's easy when you're a kid, but as you become an adult, you kind of get out of habit, especially We always talk about it with COVID We were so isolated for so long, and then getting out and being sociable again was a little awkward. Like, it just— it took a little bit of a try to get better at it. And, and our community is learning. I know people come in all scared. We try to be as welcoming as we can because we know what it feels like.

Absolutely.

So that's awesome that, that they were able to do that for you.

Yeah, I mean, but it's so like— getting out there and doing that kind of stuff is so necessary for business now. I mean Someone said it to me and now I like to repeat it. Now I wish I could know who said it and I don't remember cuz my brain is mush. But, um, someone once said to me, uh, you are just one connection away from the best year you've ever had.

Oh, that's so true.

Absolutely.

And it's true.

Yeah.

It really is true. I can't tell you how many times I've not wanted to go to a networking event because I'm secretly like an introverted extrovert. Like I have to, you know, talk to people, but inside I'm like, uh, but, um, You know, where I've been like, oh man, like dragging my feet. Like, oh, do I really have to go to this thing? I don't wanna go to this thing, blah, blah, blah. Excuse me. And then I can't tell you how many times I have gone to that thing and made some amazing connection.

Right.

And it's helped me tremendously.

Yeah.

Um, and so I just really, really believe that getting out there and talking to people, even though it's awkward and even though maybe it's weird, um, is so important. And that is why, you know, to your point, why we try to make sure that people feel warm and, and comfortable here because. We know it's weird, we know it can feel awkward, but it helps your business. It just does, right?

And you know, the more you do it, the easier it gets.

Yeah.

So if you just have to— it's like working out, right? You go out, you hate getting up at 5 or 6 in the morning or whatever time you go work out, but once you're out there, the feeling that you get afterwards, it's a great feeling, right?

Yeah.

To remember that feeling. And that same thing with our networking events. I feel like that's like, oh, we have to do it, it's, it's so— it's strange. But I— once we do it, I'm like, I had a great time.

Yes.

So many neat people, you know. But It's that, it's that intermediate part from the time like, oh, I have to get up, I have to get my butt there, I have to do this. That's the part that's hard.

And you know what the nice thing about it too is that what I like about this group too, and you know, and I see that with when we have our networking events too, is that there's accountability when you start meeting someone and you start working together. Because when you're not feeling it, um, someone pushes you. And yeah, I see that, I see that here even with these women too, as they get, you know, they they, you know, just help each other out. So I'm one of the— I, I signed up for the book club. I'm so excited. I bought the book. I'm so excited.

I started reading it last night and so far it's already been a little sad, but it's good.

I was so bummed I missed last week's. Yeah, I was sick. I was out of, uh, uh, I didn't— had no voice and horribly sick, but I missed it. It was first time I had missed it in so long and I'm like, oh, and I actually listened. That book made me upset.

Yeah. I mean, that's the nice thing though about the book club, right? It's like something that I, when I Before I had kids, I was an avid reader. I always had a book in my purse, but then, you know, you have kids and you get a job.

Yeah.

And it's like a whole thing. And so I wasn't reading very much, but one of our, uh, board members, a good friend of mine, um, she was a part of a book club. Yeah. And so, and she drug me along to hers and I did a couple of those and then we got to talking and she was like, why don't we do that here?

Yeah.

And I was like, we should do that here.

Right.

Um, and so that night is one of my favorites.

Mm-hmm.

Even if I don't read the book, cuz sometimes to be honest, even though I'm hosting the book club, I don't get to it all the way. But, um, even if I haven't read it, it's just a nice, like, it's something that I do for me.

Yeah.

Which as a mom and as a woman business owner, it's sometimes, you know, those things are far and few between.

Right. Yes.

Right. So I'm excited that you signed up. Me too.

I'm very excited.

And, and more people, if you're listening to this, please come to our book club.

Book club.

It's free.

You don't have to be an avid reader. Yeah. It's a free event that we hold. It's literally just a night out to chat a little bit with moms, have a little bit of snacks. We do talk about the book. Um, but if you haven't read it, that's fine.

Yeah.

You know what I mean? Like we know we, we get it. I get it.

Yeah. But we have some really great conversations and I think that's what's important about having a community where you can sometimes disconnect from work a little bit, have an enjoyable time, and just talk. Just talk.

Yeah.

And the book club gives us a reason to talk.

That's right.

So it's really kind of like the magazine, right? Well, yeah. It gives you, it opens up conversations for you.

Right.

And you know, and think about it, when you have that, when you have that comfort feeling that you've established from something like that, you come to a networking and you just feel a lot, you know, more comfortable in opening up. So all of those little things that you're doing, they create that comfort zone with people that are, that do have a hard time connecting. Connecting. So they, you know, they get them— they come to the fun stuff, and then they— it's easier for them to blend in with the, you know, when it comes down to the business too.

So you can kind of tell within, like, on our brewing business, the last Tuesday of the month that we have, you can tell the people who have a little harder time coming out and talking about their business. Yeah, I feel like I'm one of those sometimes.

Oh, you're awesome. You're a natural coming out.

But you can tell there's a few that as they come, they get better. But again, they just need that soft introduction somehow to get into the group. So Yeah. Like, I feel like your, your publication does that for people. It introduces the business a little bit, you know, and then you get to know them in person.

Right.

Through your community events.

Yeah. No.

Yeah.

So that's, it's been, it's been really, it, it's just a nice, it's a nice compliment to, you know, even though the, the, the publication is the meat and potatoes.

Yeah.

The, the, you know, the events are the cherry on the top.

Yes.

Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

No, that's great.

Mm-hmm.

Well, um, can you share, um, with our listeners, how they can reach out to you if they're interested in advertising in one of your publications?

Absolutely, yes. You can, you can reach me either by email, Rebecca.Becker@strollmag.com, and that's Rebecca, R-E-B-E-C-C-A dot B-E-C-K-E-R at strollmag.com, or you can reach me at 210-600-5448. And yeah, I would love to have coffee and meet, you know, any, uh, not only women entrepreneurs but business owners that are trying connect and they're just having a hard time and would just love to learn about them and see how I can help them out.

Absolutely.

That's great. And we'll put all of that stuff in our show notes as well for this podcast.

Okay.

Um, and I wanna thank you for being on.

Yeah, you guys are fun. You made this easy.

You did a good job.

Yeah. Good job.

This is great. It's just a conversation, right?

Right.

Yeah.

No, for sure. And then I'll also thank our listeners for tuning into this week's episode and we'll catch you guys next time.

See you guys next time.

Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of the Working Moms of San Antonio podcast. We hope you loved today's chat and found a little inspiration to take with you into your week. If you have a podcast topic suggestion or a question you'd love for us to cover, definitely send us an email at hello@workingmomsofsanantonio.com. We'd love to hear from you. And until next time, see you in the community. Community.