CheapTweet Blog

Hatchling Heather is based in Austin, Texas, and she’s always looking for great local deals… especially those that are kid-friendly. A company called Juice in the City just launched an Austin-based local deal site (and they’re in other cities, too) and she wanted to share these deals with you.

These deals are similar to a Groupon, except that they are selected by local moms, so I know they’re finding deals relevant for moms like me. Another awesome perk about this deal site is that they hire moms to find deals and promote them; I know several stay-at-home moms who write posts for Juice in the City and are making some extra cash. Interested?  Check out the promo for Juice in the City by my friend, Gigi Ross.

Have you tried the Juice?

Not sure what I mean? Well, Juice in the City is now live in Austin! Juice in the City is not your ordinary daily deal site, though; every single one of their deals is personally discovered by a local Austin mom. You can be sure that when Juice offers up a deal, it’s been mom-tested and mom-approved!

Juice offers crazy-good deals on everything from restaurants to summer camps to spas and the deals are focused on locally-owned businesses, so you can feel good that your money is being put right back into YOUR community. Subscribe to the North Austin deals if you’re in that part of town, or South Austin deals if you’re in that neck of the woods. Hurry, so you don’t miss a thing!

It’s March, and that means South by Southwest is almost here!

South by Southwest (SXSW) is a music, film and technology conference and festival held every year in Austin. It’s ten days of interesting panels, fun parties, lots of networking and creativity all over the place. And best of all, CheapTweet will be there! We had a great time last year and are really looking forward to this year.

Both Hayes and I (Jenn) are speaking on panels during the Interactive portion of the conference. Hayes is speaking on a very cool panel titled “The Broke Diaries: Using Blogs And Twitter To Live Cheaply”. Hayes and his fellow panelists will be discussing ways to use social media tools to save money. That panel is at 2:00 on Friday, 3/12 in Hilton Room A/B. Jenn’s speaking on the panel called “Is Technology Weakening Interpersonal Relationships?” (Her answer? No way.) That panel is at 3:30 on Friday, 3/12 in Room 12AB. We’ll post notes about both when we’re done.

We’ll have a bunch of sweet CheapTweet swag to hand out – t-shirts, stickers, and more! If you’re attending SXSWi, let’s meet up. We’d love to talk to you in person.

Also, we’re launching a bunch of cool new features next week. Don’t worry – you don’t have to attend SXSW to use the features. We’ll be talking a lot more about this soon. So stay tuned for the big news.

See you in Austin next week!

CheapTweet is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and it never snows here. Seriously, never. But it’s snowing today, and we think that’s kinda awesome. Here are a few pictures and a quick video. Yay snow!

In this week’s CheapTweet Happy Hour, we talk about deals on home haircut accessories (yes, you heard that right), free medicine and free food, and some more of our favorite Etsy sellers. Links to these deals are posted below the video.

Have a great weekend!

• Haircut umbrella (pictured below)
• Free Excedrin by mail
• Einstein Bros buy one bagel, get one free
• @polishedtwo jewelry
• Etsy Austin Street Team

And if you haven’t seen our previous happy hour videos, you should check them out.

This week we talked to Sarah Reidy, owner of The Austin Parenting Coach.

Sarah is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. After graduating with her Master’s Degree in Social Work, she has worked in a variety of places, including the court system, a domestic violence shelter, and several non-profits doing counseling with children and families. You can find her on The Austin Parenting Coach website, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

What is The Austin Parenting Coach?

It is my private practice, which focuses on in-home parent coaching and consulting in Austin, Texas.

What kinds of services do you specialize in?

I go to the family home to work with the parents in order to help them make the changes in their children’s behavior, rather than have them bring their children to me.  I have found that this is easier on the parents, has longer lasting results, and feels more natural than bringing their child to counseling.  I primarily see babies and children under the age of ten, but also do family therapy with families of teenagers.

Many of the families that I work with are families in transition (divorce, new baby, death in the family, a big move) but I also see many families where the parents are at the point that they don’t know what else to do about their children’s behavior. I have been called “The Austin Supernanny” before, as my services are similar to hers and everyone seems familiar with the show.

Tell us a little bit about your experience. How did The Austin Parenting Coach get started?

Due to the nature of the agencies that I have worked in (domestic and sexual violence non-profits) I was usually unable to work with both parents.  However, many of the children that I work with will continue to see both parents, even if one is abusive, and it began to feel frustrating to not be able to work with both. If the parent’s behavior doesn’t change, it will be difficult for the child’s behavior to change.  I also found that it wasn’t very empowering for a parent to bring their child to me to “fix” and leave them unable to do anything in the future. So I shifted my approach and began to to parent coaching as a part of my therapeutic intervention with parents. My hope is that with private practice, I can work with families to prevent them from experiencing the trauma that my previous clients had. I can also empower the parent to make the changes in their family, not do it for them.

How do you market or promote your business?

I have a Facebook page and I Twitter as well. I also do speaking engagements for parent groups, pediatricians, day cares, and family law attorneys.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced with The Austin Parenting Coach?

The economy! It has easily been my biggest challenge.  Our society is much more reactive, rather than preventative. Although I can and do work with many families who are calling because of an issue, I’ve had many people express interest, then not be able to follow through because of finances.  However, if they don’t take care of the issue now, it can end up causing bigger issues later in the child’s life that may be more costly. But when money is tight, it’s hard to keep that in mind.

What about the biggest successes?

The biggest successes have been seeing the immediate and simple changes in families that made huge differences in the family’s functioning. It is so rewarding to see a parent feel proud about their parenting and their children.

Just keep trying!

This week, we talked to Camille Jackson, sole proprietor of Diamonds and Guns by Action Jackson.

Camille is originally from Houston, Texas, but has lived in Austin for five years and proudly deems herself an Austinite. She graduated from UT Austin in May 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in government and Spanish. And though she doesn’t have a degree in design or any of the arts, she’s had the creative juices flowing since she was very young. She’s had a musical instrument in her hands since she was nine. Since graduating, she devoted most of her free time to developing her jewelry business, Diamonds and Guns by Action Jackson, as well as writing and recording music for guitar, bass, and vocals (she hasn’t had the time to master drums quite yet). You can find Camille on her blog, on Twitter and in her Etsy shop.

How did you get started making jewelry?

Fashion and clothing has been a very integral part of my life since I can remember. Growing up, my mom made a lot of my clothes and always took me fabric shopping with her. I distinctly recall having to touch every single piece of fabric that I walked by, from the rich velvety deep blues to the vibrant pink and green Pucci/art deco mod pieces, and always being in awe of the multitude of colors and patterns that were available.

When I was about ten, I took up jewelry-making at the persuasion of some of my friends who were really into it,and after finding I was into it too, I realized they were on to something. My mom, who’s always been a huge supporter of mine and who’s always encouraged me to flex my creative muscles, bought me a case of really nice beads from our local bead shop around that time. I’m sad to say that my time spent making jewelry and beaded crafts for my friends and family didn’t last for too long after that. However, my love for fashion has persisted through the years and at some point in college, I found myself wishing I could make something as beautiful as the pieces on the pages of my favorite fashion mags. What sprouted from that was creating custom hand-painted canvas shoes and bags for my friends and eventually coming full circle to making jewelry again, which in a weird way has been somewhat bittersweet for me. Diamonds and Guns has been growing ever since.

Tell us a little bit about your jewelry.What sorts of pieces do you specialize in?

I love color. I think it stems from all the trips to the fabric store with my mom when I was young. In addition to that, I have an inexplicable fixation with shiny things. So, the colors incorporated in my work really run the gamut and almost every piece of jewelry that is currently available incorporates Swarovski crystals. I primarily use various plastics (cellulose, laser-cut acrylic, and lucite), polymer clay, and aluminum chains for the sole reason that these materials allow for the broadest range of color usage. My absolute favorite pieces to make are my cameo necklaces; there’s a certain sweetness and nostalgia attached to them that I really adore.  Overall, there is definitely a dichotomy within the jewelry I make, which even the company name is representative of: Diamonds and Guns. Diamonds are the finer elements like cameos, Swarovski crystals, chandelier pendants, etc…, while Guns represents the rock and roll elements of pistols, skulls, and thick-linked chains.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Everything around me! I’m constantly thumbing through magazines, whether it’s the newest issue of Lucky or Austin’s very own Rare Magazine, which I always relish picking up with the start of each new month.  I love really classy vintage and retro relics and keepsakes. So everything from Audrey to vintage damask prints to steam punk aesthetics is always sure to be a worthy obsession for me. One of the most important inspirations for me is definitely music, which has always been a huge part of my life. The name, Diamonds and Guns, is also representative of this (you can tell I really thought the name through) as it is the name of a Transplants song. Whenever I’m making new pieces, I always make sure that I have music playing.  I think everything I’ve gained from constantly having music be a part of my life has bled over to what I’m able to do with my jewelry. I hope to someday buy all my favorite albums on vinyl when I have the money to do so. And who knows? Maybe the improvement in the music quality will translate to better jewelry.

How do you market or promote your work?

Ha ha. This is actually something I’ve only recently come around to realizing I need to do more of and with better techniques. On the whole, I’ve really just been trying to brave up to trying new things. I finally started selling in Austin boutiques and stores (you can find some of my work in Parts and Labour on South Congress Ave). I’ve recently signed up for more shows (to sell at) than I’ve done in the past to try and find my perfect niche, which includes Blues on the Green, Austin Roller Derby Tournaments, and Austin Fashion Week.

Someone suggested to me recently that I work more with putting myself out there for the online public community. So, I breathed a new life into my spiderweb-ridden blog last month and have been pouring in the hours on it since. In addition to my blog, I started up a flickr account so that I can provide archive slideshows of older pieces that I’ve sold for all to see. I have also been working to actively keep up with my Twitter and CheapTweet account. I think one of the keys to a successful business, especially in Austin, is word of mouth. With that in mind, I try to wear my pieces as much as possible and pass on to my friends as well as the members of the awesome Etsy Austin team what I’m up to.

How do you use Twitter to help with your jewelry-making and your business?

I make sure I’m on CheapTweet when I make pieces that are real deals and when I have sales going on in my shop. I also try to connect with my friends to let them know what I’m working on and to encourage to pass it on. Like I said before, word of mouth is completely invaluable, especially when it’s via internet, which is arguably the most relevant medium nowadays.

Do you have any tips or advice for someone just getting started selling her/his own work?

Do I ever!  Take the time to ensure the quality and image of not only your work but also the pictures you take, your business cards, and any online promoting you do (blogging, Twitter, Flickr, shop appearance, etc.).

Ask questions. You would be amazed at the plethora of helpful information and resources that are out there for your use and digestion. Several books are available on how to build up a burgeoning business. People who have owned their own business know so much more than you could imagine, and every kernel of knowledge they possess is helpful because hey, they’ve been through what you’re going through! If you’re unsure about a certain direction to take with your pieces/work, ask people their opinions. I always post the newest jewelry I’m working on on Facebook so that everyone I know can leave feedback.

If you want to sell online, do it through Etsy. So many people have found out about my work through Etsy that would have never been able to if I’d originally just started my own website for my work. I’ve even sold jewelry to people in London thanks to the amazing network Etsy provides. On a similar note, if there is an Etsy team or a crafter’s organization near you, join! So much of what I’ve learned and have done has been in huge part thanks to my amazing Etsy Austin team. They are a big reason why my business has been able to grow and why I’ve had the majority of the opportunities I’ve had thus far.

The CheapTweet team was interviewed on Good Day Austin today (that’s the Austin Fox affiliate’s morning show).  We talked about what CheapTweet is, why cheap is a good thing, and heard from a seller and a shopper.  It was fun (but a bit nerve-wracking to be on live TV, especially so early in the morning)!

CheapTweet was featured in an article in the Austin Business Journal about how local Austin, TX businesses are using Twitter. It’s great to get some coverage like this from the local media. Unfortunately, the online version of the article requires a subscription to the ABJ. Here’s a quick excerpt:

In November, Appozite LLC CEO Hayes Davis launched CheapTweet as one of four products the company sells to e-commerce companies. CheapTweet is designed for 21st century bargain hunters. The program scans Twitter for the best deals, coupons and sales that people are messaging about and then posts them on its home page.

Deals that attract enough votes are listed in the Web site’s Cheapest Tweets section. For e-commerce companies, CheapTweet also tracks responses to tweets.

Like [LiveOak 360 CEO Andy] Meadows, Davis said Twitter’s chief benefit is its immediacy — real-time information. But it also broadens the exposure of any company that wants to do more than simply operate a Web site and invest in search engine optimization, he said.

“[Twitter] has this real-time power that’s really difficult to find anywhere else,” Davis said. “For breaking news, it’s hard to beat that.”

As a bonus, it also talks about how our favorite Austin coffee shop, Sodade, is using Twitter to grow its business.