5 Tips for Balancing the Supermom Act - part 1

Thursday, November 12, 2009
This post is part one in a series of three posts about Balancing the Supermom Act. I know that this is a topic all mom entrepreneurs can relate to.

Lucinda Cross is a speaker, mom and the founder of Corporate Mom Dropouts. She also runs a blog, hosts a radio show and is the author of the book Corporate Mom Dropouts, which was released in August.

TME: What is the concept behind Corporate Mom Dropouts?
Lucinda: The concept is to become a successful mom in business and have the flexibility to create a profitable business that fits your lifestyle as a mother, wife and woman.

TME: How will this book help moms make the transition from the corporate world to running their own business?
Lucinda: It provides real time stories with expert advice from women who have started and are now highly successful. This is not a step by step guide to transitioning but a book of life that will inspire women and moms to step into their greatness with confidence.

This is a FREE event for moms who do everything themselves, won't seek needed assistance, refuse to delegate assignments, are overwhelmed juggling family and business, and who are experiencing "Burn Out" or “Melt Down”.

Yes, I am talking about YOU and ME. To learn more and to register, click here...>

After interviewing over 200 moms, Lucinda has come up with some of the most interesting ways Supermoms can fly and create a life that operates the way they want it to.

5 Tips for Balancing the Supermom Act - By Lucinda Cross

  1. Identify where you want to be: The most important thing is to know what you want and where you want to be. Think about the end result. If you have a clear identified target of desire to succeed, you can walk that path with confidence. But you must know where you want to be and what does that vision look like. (Create a vision board.)
  2. Work your super star pitch: Know that you have 20 seconds to make a wow impression, but first things first. Always mention: who you are, what you do, and what type of industry your in. Add in some personality so that the person your talking to feels your passion. Be able to describe who you are and what you do in the time it takes to ride an elevator.
  3. Develop a clear strategy: Strategy is one of the steps in the planning process and success cycle. The sequence in creating a clear strategy is having a Vision, Mission, and Goals. Take a look at your business model and write down what worked and what did not work. Then list the things you have not tried and combine that list with your "this worked" list. Begin to craft an execution strategy plan and be deliberate in your actions.
  4. Refuse to lower your standards: Many times we lower and drop the value of our personal and professional goals and values in exchange for something or a project that requires more commitment or more sacrifice for less value. Understand your value and refuse to lower your standards if it is not a win-win situation.
  5. Realize your purpose and understand that its not about you: You are in business to service others, this is not about you and how you feel, its about creating that ultimate experience for your clients and prospects. What is your purpose and how is it fulfilling the needs of others? How does your product or service make others feel? What problem is it really solving besides for example (saving them time, creating a brand, marketing their service or etc...)?

Stay tuned for more tips on Balancing the Supermom Act next week and for details on a great giveaway from Lucinda at Corporate Mom Dropouts.

For more information about Lucinda or Corporate Mom Dropouts, visit www.corporatemomdropouts.com/.

Lucinda will also be appearing live on ABC News on Friday, 11/13 at 9:30am EST. To watch, please visit: http://abcnews.go.com/abcnewsnow/.

5 More Thrifty Tips for Taking Care of Your Skin

Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Two weeks ago, we shared five thrifty skin care tips with you from skin care guru Celeste Hilling, CEO of Skin Authority.

By popular demand, Celeste is back this week with five additional thrifty and simple tips for achieving radiant skin. This is especially important for busy moms who very rarely take time for themselves.

The Mom Entrepreneur will be hosting a teleseminar on November 17th with Celeste who will share 5-minute skin care tips for moms who need to take more me-time. She will also discuss how stress causes premature aging and wrinkles - I turn 40 in January and I am not ready for wrinkles! More details will be coming soon.

Thursday, November 5th from 9pm - 10pm EST, Celeste will also be sharing skin care and beauty tips for moms at our Twitter Party. We will also be giving away some amazing prizes all donated by Skin Authority - including a visit to the spa! I hope you will join us.

5 More Thrifty Tips for Taking Care of Your Skin
by Celeste Hilling

As we head into the holiday season, enjoy these simple and cost-effective skin care tips…
  1. Wash Your Face – it sounds simple and it is, cleaning your skin is one of the most important things you can do when you wake up and before you go to bed. Remove make-up and deep cleanse in one step by using cleansers incorporating AHAs, which are antibacterial and remove dead skin cells.
  2. Hands Off – regardless of the urge, keep your hands off your pimples! By pushing and prodding, you are actually pushing bacteria deeper, causing more inflammation and potentially scarring the skin.
  3. Stop Smoking – in addition to its negative, carcinogenic effects on your body and overall health, smoking causes premature aging. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4000 toxins, many of which are absorbed directly into the bloodstream and are taken by the blood into the skin's structure. Smoking also thins the skin, reduces collagen and contributes to an unflattering “apple” body shape in women.
  4. More Sleep, Less Stress – as one of the biggest impairments to skin care is stress, ease into a good night’s sleep by turning off the television, taking a warm bath, dimming the lights and practicing breathing exercises.
  5. Free Skin Care Coaching – in light of the economy, Celeste has developed her own Skin Health Stimulus Package. Everyone has access to a free phone or online consultation with a licensed professional to help them make safer, wiser choices on where to spend their skin care dollar or better utilize the products they already have. Simply dial 1.866.325.SKIN (7546) and say that you want to join the Beauty Workout. It’s really that simple!
About Celeste Hilling
Celeste Hilling is the host of the syndicated Internet radio show “Skin Health TODAY” and the Founder and CEO of Skin Authority, the leading skin care lifestyle company. As a respected speaker on beauty, health and self-esteem, Hilling is a recurring skin care expert for FOX News iMag, Spa Magazine and Les Nouvelles Esthetiques. More details on Hilling and Skin Authority online at http://www.skinauthority.com/.

Congratulations to the winners of tickets to the Beauty Workout Holiday Boot Camp Tour

Monday, November 2, 2009
The following mom entrepreneurs are winners of a ticket to Skin Authority's Beauty Workout Holiday Boot Camp Tour this November.

Congratulations to:
  1. Rebecca Buscemi
  2. Wendy Miller
  3. Lisa Adams
  4. Jenn Mitchell

These ladies will meet with top beauty and lifestyle experts at the Boot Camp who will be working with them to design a beauty plan to go from drab to glam in 30 days.

Skin Authority's licensed and trained professionals will guide them through a personalized Beauty Workout circuit, which will include:

  • Beauty Savvy
  • Vital Nutrition
  • Lifestyle Essentials
  • Home Routine

To claim your ticket, please email me directly at traci@themomentrepreneur.com for all the details.

Congratulations!

Join our Twitter Party - Thursday, Nov. 5th for a chance to win great prizes from Skin Authority!

In celebration of Skin Authority's Beauty Workout Holiday Boot Camp Tour, which started yesterday and runs until November 30, we are hosting a Twitter party with some amazing giveaways.

Join us on Thursday, November 5th from 9:00pm - 10:00pm EST on Twitter. We will be chatting with the CEO of Skin Authority, Celeste Hilling, who is also the host of “Skin Health TODAY”. She will be sharing skin care and beauty tips for mom entrepreneurs as well as talking about their new Holiday Boot Camp.

So pour yourself a glass of wine and connect with other mom entrepreneurs who also struggle to find "me time".

Following is a list of the fantastic prizes donated by Skin Authority that you will have a chance to win:
  • Well Being Retreat Bath Soak - $62

  • Deep Detox Ritual Mask - $45

  • Hand Foot Body Restoration - $59

  • Olive, Fig, Shea Butter Body Cream - $49

  • Warming Glow Body Oil - $59

  • Sunless Tanner - $49

  • Sunscreen Moisturizer SPF 30 - $37.50

  • Go! Gorgeous Kit - $52

  • One Bottle of Wrinkle Reversing Serum - $125.00

  • One certificate for a 60-minute Skin Authority treatment at the spa partner of the winner’s choice – valid for 6 months from issue, tip not included - $150-$200 value depending on the spa.
Twitter party attendees will be asked simple quiz questions and will need to visit Skin Authority's website to find the answer. Tweet the answer and include the hashtag code #TMEcoop.

Winners will be determined by a sequence of random numbers, which will be generated using Random.org. Public recognition will be given to the winners in Twitter who will need to email their name, email address and phone number to traci@themomentrepreneur.com.

To attend the party, simply follow @TMECoopShop or visit tweetchat.com, enter the code #TMEcoop and follow the party's conversation.

And don't forget to get your tickets today for Skin Authority's Beauty Workout Holiday Boot Camp Tour!

What does your fortune say?

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Taped to the front of my computer screen are two fortunes...one from several years ago and one from my Chinese meal last week.

Some mom entrepreneurs write business plans (OK, I have one too), but have you ever let a message found inside a fortune cookie guide your business decisions?

Here are my fortunes:

  • Many years ago - "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go where there is no path ...and leave a trail."
  • Last week - "Your problem just became your stepping stone. Catch the moment." (For any of you who subscribe to our newsletter, you probably know what this is about!)
How do the cookies always know?

Win Tickets to Skin Authority's Beauty Workout Holiday Boot Camp Tour in November!

Sunday, October 25, 2009
From November 1 - 30, Skin Authority, the leading skin care lifestyle company, will host a Beauty Workout Holiday Boot Camp Tour.

Top beauty and lifestyle experts will be working with participants to design a beauty plan to help them go from drab to glam in 30 days.

Their licensed and trained professionals will guide you through a personalized Beauty Workout circuit, which will include:

  • Beauty Savvy
  • Vital Nutrition
  • Lifestyle Essentials
  • Home Routine
The Boot Camp Tour will be held in 12 states across the U.S. , including Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The Mom Entrepreneur and Skin Authority are giving away one Boot Camp Ticket* each (valued at $45 each) to four lucky winners.

Do you want to learn how to go from drab to glam in 30 days? Then this is your chance!

How to enter...
  1. SUBSCRIBE. You MUST be a subscriber of The Mom Entrepreneur blog. Our awesome giveaways are for subscribers only. If you are not yet a subscriber, you can do so via email or in a reader.
  2. VISIT. You must visit www.skinauthority.com/Holiday-Boot-Camp and find the Boot Camp venue/location nearest you.
  3. RETURN. Come back to this blog post and in the comment section below include your name and the venue/location nearest you. If you are uncomfortable leaving the location nearest you in the comment section, you may email your response to traci@themomentrepreneur.com
  4. WAIT. Now you need to wait patiently until 5pm EST on November 2, 2009 to see if you are chosen at random as the winner. Winners will only be announced on The Mom Entrepreneur blog.

GOOD LUCK!

*Note: Contest is only open to U.S. residents over 18 years old. Non-transferable, one Boot Camp registration per person, winner must select the Boot Camp location and time in order for a Skin Authority representative to register them. Winner must supply complete contact details, including phone number to be registered. Tickets valid only for a 2009 Beauty Workout Holiday Boot Camp.

Test your knowledge about some major child dangers

Thursday, October 22, 2009
The November 2009 issue of ShopSmart, from the publisher of Consumer Reports, asks you to test your knowledge about some major dangers.

I got a few of these wrong so I felt it would be very helpful to pass this info along to other moms. This helped to better educate me so I can make some adjustments to ensure the safety of my children. Especially #1 since my older son loves to sit in the front of the car. Does yours?

Take the quiz and share your score in the comment section below.

  1. True or false: It’s OK to let kids ride in the front seat of a car when they’re 12 years old.
  2. True or false: At 60 pounds, your grade-schooler no longer needs a booster car seat.
  3. True or false: Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be poisonous.
  4. True or false: It’s safe to follow the “5-second rule” when picking food or a pacifier up off the floor.

  5. True or false: Kids older than 6 can safely sleep in the top bunk.
  6. True or false: Thick grass under the backyard jungle gym provides enough padding to protect kids if they fall.

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  1. Answer: FALSE - Even with a seat belt, all kids under age 13 should ride in the back seat. Crash statistics showed that children under 13 were up to 35 percent less likely to be killed in a crash if they were riding in the back seat. Front seats equipped with an air bag are especially dangerous.
  2. Answer: FALSE - Children should stay in a booster seat until adult belts fit correctly, usually when they reach 4 feet 9 inches, between the ages of 8 and 12. Height, not weight, is the key.
  3. Answer: TRUE and FALSE - The small drop your child puts on her hand evaporates on contact, but the ethanol content can be dangerous if enough sanitizer is ingested. Keep easy-to-open bottles out of your child’s reach. If she puts hand sanitizer into her mouth, call the Poison Help Hotline at 800-222-1222.
  4. Answer: FALSE - Five seconds is enough time for bacteria to latch onto something you drop on the floor. No matter how fast you are, toss the food or wash the pacifier (at least with water) and dry it thoroughly with a paper towel before giving it back to your child.
  5. Answer: TRUE and FALSE - Every year almost 36,000 children are injured in bunk-bed accidents. Kids under age 9 have the most injuries, but accidents happen at all ages.
  6. Answer: FALSE - Each year about 50,000 children end up in an emergency room because of injuries on home playground equipment. The best way to prevent injuries is to cushion the area with wood mulch or chips, engineered wood fiber, or shredded/recycled rubber mulch under equipment up to 8 feet high and sand or pea gravel under equipment up to 5 feet high. The padding should be at least 9 inches deep and extend 6 feet in all directions from the gym.