I am officially halfway through my anal cancer treatments. Radiation and chemo five times a week for six weeks. 

If you are looking for responsible travel options in California, I definitely recommend camping. Whether you camp in a tent, an RV, a trailer, or a cabin – you and your family can be outdoors, social distancing, hopefully staying away from crowds - and making lots of great summer memories that will last a lifetime.

Juneteeth is an important holiday and there are a few action items brands can do to show support on social media. Right now brands are looking to speak up, and I applaud that—but I also want to help friends realize that it is more than just a black square on social media. You must back up your voice, your claim to solidarity, with action.

It’s very problematic to POC/gay friends/trans/etc for white cis-gendered people to say this. I know because I have heard marginalized groups talk about this many times before the past week. ⁣And right now, they are literally asking us to see them and hear them. ⁣

Covid and shelter in place orders here in California have closed many small businesses in the food and wine industry. Now that things are opening back up, here are some actionable tips for sharing on social media.

Sisters, Claire + Bronwyn from Mighty Market planned on opening their zero waste, clean beauty, and bulk refill brick and mortar shop in Downtown Martinez East Bay) - little did they know, a worldwide pandemic would shut down retailers across the world. Quickly they adapted to creating an eCommerce website to sell products, and used social media to connect with customers.

The iconic St. Helena winery is known for being Napa Valley's oldest wine estate, their grand estate, and some BIG bold Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. When the “experience” of being at the winery was not allowed during the SIP (Shelter in Place) order for California, the Charles Krug team figured out how to bring that experience online with virtual wine tastings and Facebook Lives.

Ozzy and his partner have taken their pie/ice cream shop and cupcake shop and brought them online - partnering with local Sonoma County brands for promotions, doing dessert delivery, and always staying true to their Sonoma County roots.

The brick & mortar hair and skin salon has continued to focus on the connections that they have with their customers, and that can be seen as soon as you walk into the salon through smiling faces and repeat customers. When the SIP order went into place for Sonoma County, they had to shut down their salon and turn to online delivery orders, as well as a new Facebook group

In the latest in my video interview series, Pivotal - a Focus on Digital Marketing, I talked to Hannah, the Assistant Manager, Marketing & eCommerce at Bottle Barn. The Santa Rosa brick & mortar wine, beer, and spirits retailer started their eCommerce website just a few years earlier, but the COVID-19 Pandemic made it a greater focus for the 30-Year-Old business. 

The series is called Pivotal - a Focus on Digital Marketing - because everyone I've talked to both for this series, and through social media, or over the phone, they have realized that what worked in the past, AKA February 2020, wasn't going to work anymore, even after their businesses are granted permission to open back up.

California Governor, Gavin Newsom shared some of his plans to open California back up after the COVID-19 pandemic slows (still no official date until we see trends in hospitalization numbers flattening). The plan will be lifting SIP in stages. California Small businesses that rely on customers may need to rethink this business plan for life after the SIP orders are lifted - and get creative.