<![CDATA[LIZZIE BELL, MBA - Blog]]>Sat, 21 Mar 2026 03:18:38 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[​Musings About Large Multinational Companies]]>Sun, 20 Jul 2025 02:40:21 GMThttps://www.lizziebellmba.com/blog/musings-about-large-multinational-companiesI started Off The Beaten Path Food Tours in 2017, as a love letter to neighborhoods of Boston. It's a hybrid of a mission-forward business and an arts organization as it doesn't make much money for us but we are able to channel money into independent consultant guides and restaurants that are funky and interesting small businesses.

COVID was difficult for the business. We had to close down everything, and we slowly worked hard to reopen tours and start new ones. Juggling new parenthood, working largely remotely at night, and working all of the time, we were able to put forth a great effort to grow the business.

Recently, we made a big push to redo the website. It cost a lot, we spent countless hours updating it, and I put in the intellectual capital to learn a new software, Gutenberg, to help it run more efficiently and smoothly on WordPress.

With the girls entering Kindergarten, we have big plans to expand the tours and regain the areas we have lost including private tours, a new Fenway Tour, starting Quincy Food Tours, and re-starting Lowell. 

Imagine my surprise when my guide called me up that she had unexpected guests on her Harvard Square Food Tour. She checked the ticket over and over to understand what was happening. Turns out, even though I've been running these tours since 2017, Secret Food Tours which runs an international company and has no local ties, decided to create their own Harvard Food Tour. They saw our success and wanted to squash us. Looking at their website, I realized they did a rushed job with strange restaurant choices that weren't even shown correctly on their website or photos, fake and probably paid reviews, and NO partnerships with these restaurants they go to - they basically order off the menu without building relationships or content. I verified this with Wusong Road, who unfortunately told me recently they don't want to be on any food tours but much to my surprise are on the Secret Food Tours tour without their knowledge. Wild.

A month later, I notice some confusing items in my feed including TripAdvisor/Viator showing a Harvard Square Donut Adventure that's not my Harvard Square Donut Tour! I spent two years creating the tour, starting it in 2024. I did notice a drop in sales for both of these tours recently. I started googling myself again and noticed Underground Donut Tours, which does donut tours in multiple cities again with no ties to our local economy, tried to copy my tour by offering their Harvard Square Donut Tour.

So, think about it. Does Harvard Square really need two Donut Tours? And two Food Tours? No. Do these companies need to come into the market due to demand? Especially since ours are unequivocally BETTER, more THOUGHTFUL, CHEAPER, a greater VALUE, better and more delicious FOOD, and an overall better experience that improves our local economy all-around. 

The answer is: these big guys saw me, got jealous, and wanted to squash me. What do they have? They do have the larger website with the stronger backlinks that's potentially been open more years than me. They have a larger budget to run search ads to run above my tour search in Google.

And what's the point? Can't they just stay in the Boston market running run-of-the-mill tours in the North End with guides that report to some office in another city or country?

The same year, a shady sleazy subpar guide of mine also stole my concept and is running copy-cat tours himself. He's googling me and trying to run everything out of my playbook. It's frustrating, it's unfair, and he has to live with himself. 

​Sadly, Google isn't "fair". They don't prioritize originality. They don't reward the honest, hard worker. Tell me, dear readers, what would YOU do in this situation? How do we remain competitive in a tough market? How do I boost morale for my disappointed guides? How do I continue to promote these partners if fewer guests are booking? How do I stay up late working hard when so much is now against us? Have you been in a similar situation?
]]><![CDATA[podcast experience]]>Sat, 24 Sep 2022 01:57:52 GMThttps://www.lizziebellmba.com/blog/podcast-experienceNowadays you can participate in a podcast discussion from your couch! I was recently invited to join a podcast interview. I thought I'd try it out for fun, and it really was quite remarkable!

Some musings:
- I didn't know where my host was calling in from before the show - much to my surprise, he was living in Portugal!
- We didn't turn our videos on during the interview, which actually made me much more relaxed. 
- I had to ask for a list of questions to prepare, and I'm very glad that I did because I didn't want to forget some points that I wanted to make because the podcast has to be done quickly.
- I'm not sure how this will impact my food tour business, but it was a lot of fun to be interviewed and to think on my feet! I love talking about food and Boston and our tour company of course :)

Here are links to the podcast if you'd like to check it out!
Part 1: LINK TO PART 1
Part 2: 

What do you think, should we do more podcasts? It certainly was a lot of fun.

Warm regards,
Lizzie
]]><![CDATA[MOM OF TWINS: MY FAVORITE BABY PRODUCTS AGES 6-12 MONTHS]]>Sun, 04 Jul 2021 15:07:19 GMThttps://www.lizziebellmba.com/blog/mom-of-twins-my-favorite-baby-products-ages-6-12-monthsAs a mom of twins, I have tried out a variety of items for our kids are they get older. Here are my favorites for ages 6-12 months! First of all, I highly recommend putting together two of these Skip Hop baby gates to keep the play area safe.

Baby Feeding:
Baby Indoor Toys:
Outdoor play:
Baby Books:
Other
  • When starting the big tub baths with twins, we used these Keter bath seats which were great for transitioning.
  • Highly recommend this Tineco vacuum mop with picking up baby food that's super messy.

I'll keep adding items that I can remember to be helpful. Hopefully this has given you a good idea of some essentials for this age group to watch them grow. If you have any questions for me, let me know!

]]><![CDATA[Products I Like: 2021 Edition (Updated)]]>Mon, 04 Jan 2021 12:39:47 GMThttps://www.lizziebellmba.com/blog/products-i-like-2021-edition-updatedAs a mom of twins, I am blogging about baby products that I appreciate and recommend. I thought I'd use this space for products that I like as well to give them a "shout out" on the interwebs.

Health
Cleaning]]><![CDATA[Mom of Twins: My Favorite Baby Products Ages 0-6 Months]]>Thu, 29 Oct 2020 13:47:54 GMThttps://www.lizziebellmba.com/blog/mom-of-twins-my-favorite-baby-products-ages-0-6-months
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As a new mom of twins, I've had to make a lot of brand decisions. It's been an exciting adventure to research and test out baby products -- after all, I have two very different babies to shop for, so I can test out each item on not one but two babies!

There have been some definite hits in our house and what I consider the best baby products for ages 0-6 months. I'm hopeful that the following items will help others. I purchased these items myself (and many others).
Twin Stroller:
  • It's a big decision, but we are finding that we made the right one with our twin stroller. We enjoy having the babies side-by-side instead of one in front of the other. That way they can see ahead equally. The Bumbleride Indie Twin stroller fits through most standard doorways as well. And for us the best feature is how high the stroller handle can go (46" or so) since some of the competitors' only go to 42" high max. Their rain cover is great for any wind.
  • ​We got the Nuna Pipa carseats, but we would NOT recommend them as they do not fit in our car (Toyota Sienna) safely and also are quite heavy.
Baby Furniture:
  • We LOVE this Newton Baby mattress and sheets - so much relief to know that they're breathable once baby starts to roll.
  • Ofie Mats -- I put three of these together in our living room - they are so easy to clean and soft to play on with babies.
  • For twins, we used and loved the Table For Two which is like a little car seat in their nursery to put them down to rest, for relux after eating, or even to feed them the bottles at the same time; it also comes in a Table for One baby! Definitely worth the investment as it's easy to use and supports baby well!
  • Our #1 favorite toy is this Baby Swing - it lulled them to sleep, and it allowed us to focus more on one baby if the other needed to rest. An absolute must!
  • As baby gets closer to 5-6 months, we love this Sit Me Up floor seat to get them part of the action!
  • These colorful hampers are so useful to toss in baby books and toys!
  • We got the Infant Optics baby monitor which works great and allows you to sleep with it all night by your side. The only challenge is the cameras only work with one monitor but it is portable in case you need it upstairs and downstairs.
  • For our sound machine, we use the Hatch Rest+ Baby Sound Machine - they say that babies like the white noise/TV sound the best with the color red being the most sleep-inducing.​
  • We didn't splurge for a Baby Bjourn, but we did try a couple of bouncers and found that this Lion Around baby bouncer is the most popular in our house - great for kicking, discovery, and for rest bits between rolling around on tbe floor with their Farmstand Activity Mat!
Baby Diapers & Care:
Baby Feeding:
Baby Bath Time & Grooming:
Baby Books:
Baby Toys & Games:
Baby Clothes:
Baby Winter Clothes:
Baby Summer Clothes:
  • I tried a bunch of hats and sunglasses, and the only one that babies both liked is this sun hat!
  • We put this mosquito net over the stroller for our daily walks.
Miscellaneous Good Stuff to Have!
Congratulations, new parents! I'll be updating this list with any new finds that we enjoy and also creating new "best of" lists as the babies get older. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions!
]]><![CDATA[Revisions]]>Sun, 10 Feb 2019 17:44:41 GMThttps://www.lizziebellmba.com/blog/revisionsAdmittedly, it's been a while since I've last posted. 

In that time professionally a lot has changed for me. I have in fact been writing blog posts, but they are happening over at my Food Tour website. We have grown considerably since 2017 when we had 2 guides and 2 tours operating both in Somerville to now having 10 tours in Somerville, Boston, Cambridge, and Lowell with more in development and over 20 guides. 

Our initial logo was developed in 2017 - my idea was to copy the color palette of one of my favorite Somerville murals that we visit on the tour. I loved the idea of exploring our great state of Massachusetts, and eating all around the state. 

​
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That concept still inspires me. But as time wore on, we decided that we really wanted a refresh! We felt that it wasn't like our company had some time-honored logo that couldn't be changed. It was time to start anew and revitalize the brand. 

It was frustrating that our current logo couldn't be simplified well or made into a single-color logo that easily. Also the brand name lacked a certain PUNCH! In addition, we wanted to start creating content beyond Massachusetts, bringing in content not only in our amazing state but also to sell merchandise and discuss our travels.

I was lucky enough that one of my esteemed friends Nancy who worked on the Barbara's logo with me when I was a Brand Manager at Barbara's/Weetabix agreed to collaborate on a new logo. I briefed her on our new objectives, and she suggested a variety of logos -- starting from chicken scratch scribbles and then morphing into real options. I knew I didn't want a fork and knife like most other food tours -- I was looking for something new and different! 
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As a consumer researcher, I love gathering feedback. I emailed and texted these logo options to many people from our guides to our guests to our family and friends to acquaintances. 

That helped me narrow in on some positives and negatives of each. I then worked with Nancy to tweak the colors, the fonts, the design -- making sure our off the beaten path elements were added back in and that everything was clear and legible. 

And voila, our new logo is born!
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'Because we are a small business, I was able to quickly update the website and social media with our new logo. I can't say I don't miss elements of the older logo, but I felt that we need to keep running forward - to constantly strive to make our tours and processes and branding better!

And the logo was developed just in time -- we are working on a new website for the tours since it's been harder and harder to organize the current website which I designed on a less forgiving template. There's currently too much white space on the website, and there's so much more opportunity to brand it as our own without losing the friendliness or authenticity.

​--

Recently I listed to an interesting podcast by Malcolm Gladwell called Revisionist History. My husband and I love the song "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen, and I was interested to learn that he had revised it over 80 times. In the podcast, which I recommend, Gladwell speaks about being a Picasso or a Cezanne: both important painters. Picasso was able to create a brilliant work of art that stood the test of time -- the first time. Cezanne revised his paintings over and over, taking longer to create something brilliant. And to top it all off, the song Hallelujah, Gladwell explains, almost didn't get recognized as one of the best of all time. The early versions of Cohen's song weren't as good - melodically or lyric-wise - and it took a random version being heard by Jeff Buckley while house sitting in NY for it to be sung (and improved) by him, and then the untimely early death of Buckley to make it go viral. 

Our food tour business like most startups I know (at least the bootstrapping ones) is more like a Cezanne. We are constantly tweaking and updating and retraining and improving. We take our feedback seriously and always seek to improve the guest experience. It definitely feels like a labor of love, and we are hopeful that the new website will help us share our passion with new guests and readers.

--

As many of you know, I helped design the "new" Stop & Shop logo of 2007-ish. I was so proud of the "fruit bowls" logo and colorful new refresh of the dated stop light logo. When the recent recession hit, the company reverted its plans back to short term promotions instead of fully updating and renovating the stores to be all about "great food" and the store of the future. Over time, they retracted some of their growth plans and eventually merged with Delhaize. Imagine my surprise when I saw a new Stop & Shop store on Needham Street in Newton that used a simpler version of the old stop sign logo. It turns out they're now going back to a similar version of the old old logo -- and interestingly towards salad bars which honestly I LOVE but am well aware of their ability to be a breeding ground of bacteria. Although I'm not at all involved in their branding or marketing now, it makes me wonder if they were never able to achieve the promise of their 2007 logo and instead decided to settle on what they think is a more modern version of the retro logo. I can imagine they did a lot of consumer research to determine this direction. I'm sure their loyal fans felt nostalgia towards the old logo, and other customers probably felt less loyalty to Stop & Shop and therefore liked the idea of a logo that wasn't too aspirational and didn't (over)promise too much that the brand experience couldn't deliver. Either way, this approach reminds me of the Cezanne approach of tweaking and modifying (albeit costing much $$$ to replace.)

--

I also heard recently that after the sale to Post Cereal, the Barbara's packaging will be updated as well. It also pains me to see some of my hard work be revised as I had redesigned and wrote all copy on the new packaging -- yes there was lots of opportunity to take it in a different direction that at the time I wasn't able to influence; that's hierarchy at play. I just hope that the new Brand Managers are sensitive and loyal to the brands' initial vision of being a pioneer in the natural and organics space and not a mainstream, commercial brand with less soul. We shall see.

Ultimately, brands speak volumes but take a long time and money and feedback to get right. It's not always able to please everyone, believe me - I know (and some guests are HARSH!). And I'm sure our food tours' logo and website will be revised again and again as we grow. It's what keeps life interesting, helps us find ways to communicate better, to deliver better, to share our passion and vision, and get closer to that brilliance we all seek.
]]><![CDATA[Journey Starting A Food Tour]]>Tue, 19 Dec 2017 14:05:09 GMThttps://www.lizziebellmba.com/blog/journey-starting-a-food-tourMy primary job has been independent marketing consulting, but I've learned from the example of my entire family who have been their own bosses the pleasures and excitement of starting one's own company. For my next independent start-up, I wanted to make sure that it was:
a) high-impact,
b) in line with my skills and talents (among them: research, food, and planning),
c) relatively low start-up capital (I had explored massive start-up costs in the past via food manufacturing that was discouraging)
d) somewhat flexible

This past July, I started Off The Beaten Path Food Tours, which is an awesome food tour company that takes guests around offbeat but delicious and historically interesting Boston neighborhoods such as Cambridge and Somerville with a friendly guide. Now you can eat with us around the state, and you don't have to get stuck in perennial Boston favorites like the North or South End. We stop at 3-7 places per tour and give you a lot of fun, interesting historical facts about the neighborhoods and businesses.

Our mission is to share delicious food, support local businesses and entrepreneurs, and highlight the rich cultural history of off-the-beaten path destinations in Massachusetts and beyond! We also offer unique event experiences throughout the year in order to delight and entertain our guests. You can read more about our food tours on our website (and hopefully try one!)

In starting the food tour, I've definitely practiced my marketing skills within a limited budget. Here are some concepts for resource-strapped marketers:

1. The Internet Indexed: With all of the talk of net neutrality, there's definitely a feeling that the internet is "free", but that is anything but the case. Having a small business makes me realize a few things about the "pay for play" aspect of the internet. As much as we think we can search and find anything we want organically, especially niche, it is important as marketers to take a step back and realize that the Internet has become curated and organized over the past decade in ways we may not have paid attention to. Although you may think you're searching freely on Google, they're choosing what content to show you often because of those who paid more for stronger SEO to appear at the top of the search results, often without as much relevance as you'd think. Google decides through their algorithm how much your business would pay for certain keywords, from upwards of $1 a day. Even our personal apps have this clout. On TripAdvisor, for example, our food tour is indexed under Somerville and Cambridge although our competitors are able to enjoy being indexed under Boston. How many times have you googled "Boston food tour" versus "Somerville food tour" in the past 90 days? It puts us at an unfortunate disadvantage right from the start, even before we start garnering reviews. And businesses like Yelp scourge new companies for fees of at least $600 a month to start with no guaranteed impact.

2. Industry Fees: Another area of red tape for start-ups is trying to claw your way towards a level playing field with others. We looked into joining the Greater Boston Convention Center Bureau to get noticed by conferences coming into town and the like, and their fee was over $1200 to join and list an event on their website. That's probably more than we'll make in profit this entire year! We also paid some industry insiders hundreds of dollars to be part of their paid e-mails, and didn't receive a single sign-up from doing so, so the ROI all goes into the bucket of "awareness", I suppose. Did you know that concierges all over town are getting upwards of $20 per Duck Tour ticket they schedule? With those kinds of margins, they have practically a monopoly over the concierge word-of-mouth marketing attention.

3. Instagram Fees: Food bloggers all over town are trying to monetize their feeds. In doing so, there are lots of comment pods, which means many of the people commenting on their posts are friends of theirs who aren't interested in buying your product and often are trying to climb the ranks of followers and engagements themselves. My biggest pet peeve in this channel, which otherwise I do love for many reasons, is that super-unhealthy items like greasy cheese, donuts, and bacon seem to get the most likes and engagement so those are shown more. On one hand it's good to post items that your audience loves, but it also feels extremely disingenuous that some of the bloggers are posting a million photos with dozens of donuts without actually eating them and honestly just tossing them in the trash after showing them near their face. #yuck

All in all, it's been an incredible journey. Check out our Boston Food Tours and Chocolate Tours!]]><![CDATA[Babson's Entrepreneurship Forum]]>Tue, 31 Oct 2017 18:41:58 GMThttps://www.lizziebellmba.com/blog/babsons-entrepreneurship-forumPlease join me at the Babson Entrepreneurship Forum on Friday, November 10th. I will be moderating the "Taste Good, Do Good" panel on food and beverage entrepreneurship with some excellent panelists from 4-5pm. There will also be some incredible speakers such as billionaire Dean Metropolous and Wombi Rose from LovePop. For more information visit: https://lnkd.in/eaexf8X

​]]><![CDATA[​What's in a hobby?]]>Tue, 30 May 2017 14:27:30 GMThttps://www.lizziebellmba.com/blog/whats-in-a-hobbyI must be a product of my generation - at the edge of Millennials - and so I often purchase a book cheaply on Half.com if I know I want to savor it or own it without having to return it to the library soon. There are some books that I can whip through and others I want to come back to time and again. More often than not, I want to feel the book in my hands, turn the pages, and throw it into my bag instead of flip digitally through it. After reading a variety of travel blogs, I stumbled upon (8 years late) Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. 

This book came into my life at precisely the right time. As a planner, her methodology made perfect sense to me, and it was fun to learn what she specified as resolutions in her own life. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately around doing primary research myself from scratch the hard way versus allowing myself to take "shortcuts" and experiencing others' summaries in order to get through more material and advance myself quicker on numerous topics. 

In the book, one of her brilliant reflections is on the positivity of embracing a hobby. Having a hobby is quite at odds with other goals, namely: removing clutter! I myself live in a small urban apartment, and so I constantly re-assess every item in my household and if we really need to hang on to it and why. Since I was a small child, I indulged in hobbies. I even had a short-lived perfume sample and postage stamp collection. Currently I collect postcards and magnets, both off-shoots of my travel obsession and also easily stored. While traveling, it's great to be on the "hunt" for which postcard or magnet I will select, and also I love finding, writing, and mailing postcards for other people. 

Other collections of others that has inspired me includes: finding different blue plates to assemble as part of a china set, a teacup collection, old cookbooks and cooking magazines, antique keys, buttons, and Wellesley college memorabilia. 

This past trip to California, my fiance and I were in a vintage record store out of an old flower shop in Alameda which is in Oakland. My friend and her boyfriend who is an audiophile and previous college DJ encouraged us to make the purchase. Maybe it's my roots in consumer insights, but I love looking out for other people and trying to indulge them in hobbies themselves. As such, Sam and I found ourselves cradling a brand new baby record player and brainstorming a million ways to get it home safely to our pad in Davis Square.

Given Sam's love for music, especially the Grateful Dead, this hobby was especially fitting. We found ourselves the next day in antique stores in Headlsburg, rummaging through hard-to-reach places and comparing the scratches on a pair of James Taylor vinyls. When we got home, we had ordered the necessary pre-amp, speakers, and did our research on which audio shop could best repair a few items on our vintage MCS. Hearing that warm sound of Sugar Magnolia weaving through our air waves at home was a sweet reward to an afternoon of preparation and research. Suddenly those silly record stores around town seemed cool and intriguing, and we spent hours rummaging through Goodwill to find $0.99 albums we were excited to try. 

I finished the book, and I am hoping to embark on another one of Gretchen's challenges: writing a novel in 30 days. I highly recommend that you guys revisit this book as it sets up a good structure in which to evaluate your time, your tone, and your togetherness. What do you think?
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]]><![CDATA[​The Importance of Storytelling]]>Mon, 10 Apr 2017 19:35:36 GMThttps://www.lizziebellmba.com/blog/the-importance-of-storytellingFor the last couple of years, my fiance and I have been ushering for the Calderwood Pavilion and Huntington Theater company of Boston. We have seen numerous shows, and each one has been extraordinarily poignant and rewarding. So far this Winter, a favorite show of mine was Topdog/Underdog, which demonstrated a powerful relationship between two brothers, each with their own talents and shortcomings, jealousies and insecurities. We also saw a comedic opera sung in English based on Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and most recently a high octane, intense drama entitled The Who & The What which explored clashing themes regarding modern Islam.

As the curtain lifts, I find myself mesmerized in anticipation of the stories ahead and eagerly wait for the outline of the characters to be colored in with richness and depth. We start off at the basics, and then little by little more is revealed until I can see into their souls. At intermission, I flip happily through the Playbook seeking more data on their backstories, peruse the actors' bios, and discuss themes with those around me.

Similarly, in my work consulting to growing companies and start-ups, I have come to fully realize the importance of storytelling. For the founder or marketing manager, Instagram posts may start to feel rote. Promotions may seem too "tried and true." And core products may be harder and harder to refresh and perk up. What may feel like ho-hum day to day drivel to a founder could actually still be a unique, behind-the-scenes peek to a customer. Sharing a testimonial from a customer may not be unwanted nor silly but actually a cool way to connect heart-to-heart with another seeking content. Sure, not everyone in the audience may want to be there, but there are some in the house hanging on your every word. So, the next time you're feeling a plateau or lacking motivation to create compelling content or share your brand's journey, I'd encourage you to get out to a theater such as the Calderwood for a play - roll the dice since they're all good - let me show you to your seat, and then sit back, relax, and listen to the story.]]>