Willow Glen Resident
Business
Newsletter brings families quick list of fun activities
By Shannon Barry
Deb Lavoy, founder of 10 Things to Do With Kids, was looking for ways to spend time with her children in between her full-time marketing job working with online companies such as AOL and Netscape.
The Willow Glen parent didn't have time to wade through newspapers or fliers looking for activities, so she turned to a familiar venue-- the Internet--for the answer.
She knew other parents were facing the same quandary, but there was no central location to find information on South Bay activities for families. So 10 Things to Do With Kids was born.
Initially, Lavoy sent an email survey to 10 people assessing the idea. Those people forwarded the survey to others in their address books, and Lavoy received 150 replies filled with positive responses.
She launched the site in September; in less than six months, Lavoy had her subscriber base grow from 150 to 1,000.
She then began researching and putting together a newsletter, while also tinkering with the format. Lavoy contacted Susanne Teichmann, a graphic designer, and Matt Doar, for technical assistance.
Lavoy says 10 Things is not about piling on as many activities as possible, but bringing awareness to otherwise unknown events.
"Everything we do, we do with the idea of making this as useful, convenient and fun for people as possible," Lavoy says. "The information is complete, detailed, reliable, and that's what our value is. It's not about having a whole bunch of everything. It's having the right information at the right time."
From Lake Almaden to the Los Alamedas Trail to free children's concerts to Kids Art Sunday at the San Jose Museum of Art, 10 Things to Do With Kids delivers information in a standard newsletter format, including event times, appropriate ages, cost and location.
It's designed for busy people who don't have time to visit many websites.
"My newsletter is helpful for reminding people what they kind of know about," she says.
"Rather than hanging around the house watching TV or doing other familiar, and often boring, activities, the kids get to get out with their parents and experience something new and stimulating each week," Lavoy's husband, Pete, says. "It's the process of experiencing new adventures that bonds people together, and that is just as true for families."
Doar agrees 10 Things to Do With Kids is helping to create a positive impact.
"The ideas 10 Things provides are creative and different enough that you might not have come up with them by yourselves," Doar says. "Lots of things I didn't know happen here, even though I've lived here for 10 years, and my wife has lived here all her life."
Enoch Choi, an Urgent Care physician and member of the Parents Club of Palo Alto and Menlo Park, says 10 Things provides great activities and is unique as it is concise and timely.
Pete Lavoy and Deb's older sister, Audrey Louison, say without Deb's commitment to her children, 10 Things would never have been conceptualized.
"Becoming a mother changed Deb's life, as it does all parents," Louison says. "What's fitting about this is that she decided to make it work by integrating the two and developing a product that can help other families manage their busy lives."
Leaving the corporate world for self-employment with 10 Things, Lavoy is satisfied that she is able to enjoy her children more, but doesn't take her product or subscribers for granted.
Subscribers get a two-week free trial, and then pay $30 a year.
"When you're doing a business such as mine, you're building relationships with people, and the more you respect and value those relationships, the more successful your business is going to be," she says.
For more information about 10 Things to Do With Kids, visit www.10thingswithkids.com or e-mail deb@10thingswithkids.com.
