I attended a teleseminar today hosted by Lisa Druxman of Stroller Strides. She conducts monthly forums called the Mommy Owned Business Open Forum where she speaks to mom entrepreneurs and answers questions.The topic of this teleseminar was Choosing the Right Business. This was the first forum that I had attended. It was upbeat, friendly and Lisa offered great advice about balancing motherhood and a career. We got a bit off topic from choosing the right business since most attendees on the call already had a business.
The two most important tips I took away from the call are as follows:
1. Be present with your kids. This is an ongoing challenge that I often struggle with. My office at home is off of the kids playroom so it is very easy to sneak over to my desk and check email. Then I find a "fire that needs fighting" so I am tied up in an email conversation longer then I expected.
Currently, I spend Tuesday and Thursday mornings with my three year old. He starts preschool in the fall, and I wanted to be able to spend additional quality time with him over the summer. He is growing up so fast and since we are done having children, I want to take advantage of this opportunity while I still can. I enjoy our quality time together and hate myself when I let work interfere. I have made a promise to myself to respect this time and not get distracted by work. Thanks Lisa for reminding me of this important tip.
2. Only get involved with activities that are important to your children. As mom entrepreneurs, we try to be as involved as we can in our children's lives. Lisa mentioned that you should get involved with the activities that truly matter to your children. She gave the example of becoming a "baseball team mom" for her son. From the way she described the position, it sounded like she did not even directly interface with her son at all. After volunteering for this position, she later discovered her son did not care; it was not important to him that she had become involved in that way. What is important to your kids? Your monthly attendance at PTA meetings or the fact that you were able to attend each of their baseball games or ballet recitals. You can't do everything so get involved with activities that are important to your kids. If you do not know what is important, ask them. They will tell you!
Lisa does not heavily advertise her free monthly forums, but if you are interested in networking with other mom entrepreneurs and receiving advice from an established mom entrepreneur then email Lisa at lisa@strollerstrides.net for details and tell her I sent you. You will not be disappointed.
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