Conversations with Karen Horn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Horn.

Hi Karen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I went to college to pursue theatre & Opera Performance at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Once I graduated, I moved to NYC and started performing all over the city, some off-Broadway, Opera, Broadway and some really small productions! I was always creative and loved helping people find their passions. Once I got married, I moved to PA and became a Casting Director to a large theatre there. It was a wonderful experience because I knew what it was like for the actors to be on the other side and how utterly nerve-wracking that can be to audition and then become a performer 10 times a week, it’s so exhausting!! But I really loved it because I was helping to make someone’s dreams come true by casting them and I loved all the actors’ energy and eagerness to learn and become better.

In 2012, my husband got a new job in Cleveland. At the time we just had our son Michael, who was 4 at the time and we moved here. The unfortunate part of moving here is that we did not know a single soul. I had no idea where to send Michael to preschool, where to find friends and what there was to do outside of going to the Library and museums every day! It was lonely at first, but once we found out things to do and enrolled him at The Music Settlement for Preschool, things fell into place and we absolutely love living in NE Ohio! We had another child, Mia and learning more about our city, we just found more and more things to do, places to visit and small businesses to support!!

In 2018, another Mom reached out and wanted to give her blog, Cleveland East Side Moms, to another Mom because she became way too busy with her kids, job and fostering a baby. I immediately jumped at the chance to run and own this blog and social media page to help other Moms not experience what I did. Being a parent is a bit isolating at times and being a Mom/Dad in a new city without any friends/family or resources, is so painful. So I wanted to be that person where parents could contact and ask questions too. I also want to be that place where parents can find other parent friends, that’s why I try to do a monthly playdate or Mom/Dads Night Out!

I am also passionate about helping small businesses succeed in their goals by helping to make people aware of how awesome they are! I offer blog posts, social media advertising and other ways to help businesses sell out events, products, etc. I grew up watching my parents own and operate a small business, and I know first hand the sacrifice and hard work that goes into owning a business and I wanted to create a way to make it a little bit easier for the business owner, by taking marketing off their plates!!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Nothing about my journey has been smooth. I honestly thought I would be performing until I was too old to hit the high notes, but life changes and it changes rapidly. I am so fortunate that I had the opportunity to perform and I’ve met a lot of lifelong friends in the theatre world, and I would never change my course. Owning Cleveland East Side Moms kind of fell into my lap and it’s been a really great ride. I use my creativity on my social media pages and I hope it comes through. It’s never easy to be all things to all people, especially in this day and age where people think they can say anything about you or what you are doing over DM’s or on the post, but overall, it’s very rewarding to give recommendations or advice to someone and for them to tag me a post about how much they loved what they did! That’s why I do this and why I will continue to keep doing it!!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
What sets me apart from others is that I am approachable. I am not a perfect person or parent, I make a ton of mistakes and I own up to them. I also try to keep my social media as real as possible. I don’t have the perfect Insta worthy home to document or take the most Insta worthy photos. I am a busy mom, with multiple jobs and I do the best I can.

Also, I hope that I am a connector. I like to make connections for people, whether that is connecting friends to other friends, nannies to families, businesses to other businesses, etc, etc. I also plan parents’ night outs and play dates monthly for anyone that would like to attend.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Flexibility. Not only do I need to be flexible for my clients and their needs, I also need to be flexible for everyone who reads and follows my blog and social media. Things change at a rapid pace and events get canceled or postponed and I need to make sure everyone knows about it.

Similarly, my clients’ needs change all the time. What works for them once might not work for them again or they might want me to create more content and awareness, or sometimes less. So I have to be able to change course quickly and seamlessly to create the perfect experience for them.

Contact Info:

• Email: info@clevelandeastsidemoms.com
• Website: www.clevelandeastsidemoms.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/clevelandeastsidemoms
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/clevelandeastsidemoms