I work, wife and mom. I’m an entrepreneur, a mompreneur and I recently added (and coined the term, proudly) sibpreneur – since my brother and I started a company together in 2011. Once upon a time, I worked my way up in an advertising agency from receptionist to Executive VP, yay me!! 13 years later I ventured out on my own to see what I could make for myself in this big, small world. I live 2 blocks from the border of Old Towne Orange. A border (yes, a distinct border!) which I cross as often as I possibly can. I’ve lived here since 2012, but it only took me a day to fall in love with The Circle (Plaza to some) and all it had to offer. I watched and enjoyed as Old Towne Orange went through a major renaissance. There was a time, before I had a teenager, that I didn’t really shop in Old Towne Orange, because while I find antiques to be unique and beautiful, they just weren’t my personal style and OTO didn’t offer much else. Luckily for me, that’s all changed. Now, I can find almost anything that I’m looking for…great food, great bars, cute boutiques and antiques, gifts galore, ice cream and more (can we get a butcher shop though?)! It’s really evolved and become a place that has something to offer for every generation.
In early 2009, I was pondering the wonderful world of Social Media (which is now, my life) and I was trying to figure out how I could apply social media to something I really loved, to see what could come of it. I thought of 2 things: Food and Old Towne Orange. I do admit, I thought of food first and ventured into my first sibpreneur collaboration launching a social network called ‘youfoody.’ It was a fun experience and I learned a lot about how social networks work. It wasn’t until nearly a year later that I started really thinking about starting this blog and, of course, Facebook for Old Towne Orange. I did a little research to see what others were doing for our great community and was shocked to come up with nada and I mean zilch! The City’s website has just a one-pager about our downtown, there weren’t any other blogs, media channels, nothing specifically for OTO. Unbelievable and a great opportunity for me!
So, here I am and I truly heart Old Towne Orange. I started this adventure on my own time and my own dime and built it to what it is today, what I hope is a great social community that we can all enjoy together. It’s led me down a path that I’m excited to keep following, leaving every door open to whatever opportunity comes my way. I hope you enjoy reading along but most of all, I hope you are inspired to frequent OTO more often and explore all its wonderful restaurants, galleries, shops, AND antique stores!
xoxo…Kelly
P.S. The people behind this community started as a party of one (that’s me!) but the team has grown to a party of EIGHT. That’s right, there are 8 of us making the I Heart beast run like a smooth sailing cruise…well most of the time. These amazing folks make up about half of our company at Get Community. Get Community is my sibpreneur life. At our heart, we’re a digital marketing company that primarily serves new home builders and master-planned community developers in the construction industry.