Holly Homer shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Holly, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
My morning looks so different today than just a few years ago! My three boys are now grown {gulp} with the youngest in college at Texas A&M. So my frantic getting-ready three-ring circus act has been replaced with a calm and almost leisurely paced schedule. I usually start with exercise — either training at the gym with a group or walking through our neighborhood with my husband. That is followed with coffee, breakfast while listening to the Bible in a year podcast. My commute to work is through our building’s lobby and up one floor and my frenchie, Panda is my co-worker…if you listen closely you can hear her snoring.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am Holly Homer and over 20 years ago I accidentally started one of the first mom blogs which is now the largest reference site for play, KidsActivities.com. Being in the middle of the evolution of content creation, social media, algorithms and now ai has been an adventure–often not for the faint of heart. One of my biggest obstacles over the years has been tech so my latest project is developing a software, Pagewheel, that uses ai to create digital products, sales pages/funnels and social media posts without fancy skills.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I took the traditional path thinking it was the only way. I went to college and graduate school. I got the corporate job with the boss and two-week vacation schedule. I married someone who did the same thing–went to medical school, internship and then residency and went into private practice. When I had kids, I became a stay at home mom and partially homeschooled the boys. That very traditional path took a very unexpected turn as I built my business online. Today, both my husband and I run our online businesses and have “retired” from our original careers as a Physical Therapist and Radiologist. I would never have thought this to be possible. I love that our kids have seen how it is less about what they think they will be when they grow up and more about what skills they add along the way to take them on an unexpected journey.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
Many years ago, I would be asked occasionally (mostly at the last minute and mostly on holidays…when they were desperate) to be a guest on a local news program. Usually it was on a topic that wasn’t super related to what I was doing, but I figured it was making connections. When I finally got asked to do a segment on the morning show on kids activities in Dallas, I was so excited. I remember setting up outside the studio there in Victory Park waiting for the segment to start. I told everyone I knew to watch. And when it came to be my turn, I froze. Literally froze on live television for what felt like an eternity. Froze. No words. No movement. It was horrifying and I cried the entire way home. It was a feeling I never wanted to endure again so I decided I would practice live video. That was back in the days of Google+ which fed into YouTube and my channel was born. I did video every day and found that about 100 hours in, it was less intimidating and I began to love it. Live video skills have opened up more doors than you can imagine over the last 10 years and it is all because I failed spectacularly on that morning program.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes. Admitting to being a hot mess online has its advantages when people meet me. It is awesome because when people who met me online first meet me in person, they already know who I am. We get to skip the small talk.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
What I love about building Pagewheel is that our customers have really shown us what to build. Because I have the same struggles, I can take their feedback back to our development team and create low-tech interfaces to high tech solutions. Every single customer suggestion, question and complaint is considered because it has helped us get to this point and often I am the one that listens to them. Our customers have given us the greatest gift–not only their money, but their advice. Our customers see this and I am hopeful that they would miss it if I retired tomorrow! <--not a chance!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pagewheel.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Texasholly/
