My Top 10 List of "Must Haves" for Moms in Business

A few months ago, I was invited to speak at the local MOMS club meeting. They had several members who owned businesses and they wanted me to talk about tips and techniques for managing the balancing act.

As many mom entrepreneurs might agree, the balancing act can be a tricky one. I do feel however that there are certain strategies and resources you can put in place to make it a bit easier on yourself.

Here is my Top 10 list (in no particular order), which I shared with the group:

1. Passion - don't start a business unless you are passionate about it. It is not worth the hassle and heartache to become an entrepreneur, work at something you do not enjoy and then try to balance family on top of that.
2. Plan - have a plan before starting your business. Otherwise, both time and money will be wasted. As mom entrepreneurs, we don't have a lot of time, and in this economy who has money? If you have time to write a full business plan great. However, this is unrealistic for most. According to Mike Michalowizc, the three-sheet strategy is just as effective. This strategy consists of a prosperity plan (the vision for your business), quarterly plan (the path of your business) and the daily metrics (health measurement of your business). You can learn all about this effective strategy by listening to the The 3 Sheet Strategy To Dramatic Business Growth (Especially in A Down Economy) Podcast.
3. Cash Flow - you have to constantly be aware of what your cash is and is not doing for you. By keeping track of your payables and receivables and reviewing daily, you can make educated and informed decisions about the health of your business. To download a sample template, click here...>
4. Business Consultant - I highly recommend hiring a consultant who is knowledgeable about business growth. I made some critical mistakes in my business and finally realized what I did wrong once I hired a business consultant. Unfortunately, I hired her after the mistakes were made. I was very fortunate that my business did not fold all together. Hiring a consultant is a necessary business expense and one that you will see a huge return on investment (ROI) for. I work with Gail Zona of Next Step Business and recommend her services.
5. Get Connected Socially - it is critical to be connected socially. With the rate of people connecting online increasing exponentially, you are seriously hurting your business if you are not one of them. Networking online is not difficult or scary, but there is a process and a certain etiquette that must be followed in order to build online communities, relationships and ultimately transact business properly. You can learn how to do it the right way by listening to the How To Build Influence and Increase Your Profits Using Social Media Podcast with Scott Bradley of Networking Effectively.
6. Professional Support - in addition to hiring a business consultant, you should also have other professionals on your team. This includes a lawyer, accountant, HR professional and investment advisor. When I submitted my business plan to the bank, this was required information. Ask for referrals from friends and colleagues, and conduct interviews to locate the professionals that believe in your business vision. I also recommend connecting with hundreds of savvy mom entrepreneurs for networking and support through our Online Support Group.
7. Personal Support - as a mom entrepreneur, the personal support is just as important as the professional support. This may include a daycare provider, nanny, housekeeper, friend, family, etc. You cannot do it all yourself, but with help, you can manage. If you do not have friends or family nearby that can help out, then I recommend a service like Care4Hire, which can connect you with qualified help in your area.
8. Keep Up With Trends - The Mom Entrepreneur has been successful in its business growth goals because the industry trends indicate huge opportunity in the mom entrepreneur market especially in the U.S., Canada and U.K. You must always be aware if the need for your products and/or services is growing or declining with your target market(s). Not having this information at your finger tips can be detrimental to the success of your business. Some simple indicators you can tap into include Google Alerts and Google Trends.
9. Stay True to Yourself - remember that your health and well being is just as important as the health and well being of your family and business. If you do not take care of yourself, then how do you expect to grow a happy and successful family and business.
10. Keep the Faith - do not give up on your entrepreneurial pursuits or get discouraged. Growing a business and balancing a family is supposed to be tough. If it was not tough, we would not be challenged and easily become bored. Remember everything happens for a reason. Sometimes you have to search long and hard to find the reason or you may never understand why it happened. Just keep your head up and continue moving forward!

Do you have additional tips or techniques for managing the mom entrepreneur balancing act? Please share!

Free Mother's Day book download - 48 hours only

Beginning May 8th--for 48 hours only--readers of this blog can download a free copy of the new, award winning book, The Mother’s Guide to Self Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life by Renee Trudeau, a nationally recognized career/life balance coach (a $20 value).

Featured extensively in national media and described as “The best book on balance,” by women’s health guru Dr. Joan Borysenko, author of Inner Peace for Busy Women, this book has helped thousands of women and can help you:

• reconnect with who you are and nurture yourself
  
• manage your energy and practice saying “no”
  
• tap into the Transformative Power of Self-Care
  

Wondering... why free?! This uplifting, beautifully illustrated/photographed book was born from Renee’s personal experience of creating/leading women’s self-renewal circles—called Personal Renewal Groups--for five years, after the birth of her son Jonah in 2002. She is passionate about how transformative self-care can be for women and was moved to share this message with women around the world. Want to learn more? You can read her blog, check out her recent newsletter or watch a video about the evolution of the book/groups.

The Mogul Mom offers 22 Free Things to Manage Your Business & Your Life

I subscribe to The Mogul Mom because Heather gives valuable advice. Her most recent post 22 Free Things to Manage Your Business & Your Life I felt had some very valuable information so I wanted to pass it along. Enjoy!

How to avoid spending four hours cooking dinner for the family

I have been following the Weight Watchers Momentum program and learning about healthy cooking. Now that my husband and I are trying to eat better, I am finding that cooking dinner can be an all night chore.

My kids are relatively picky and very rarely will eat the different meals that I cook. On top of that, my oldest son will not eat red meat. The rule in our house is that they have to try new things before they can say they do not like them. It is usually more the texture they do not like as opposed to the food.

This past weekend I went to the grocery store and spent more time than usual. I tried to find healthy snacks and food options for the kids that could easily be prepared.

A popular dinner meal I serve to my kids is called "buffet supper". I make sure I have a few different options for them to chose from for each food group. They like being able to make their own choices of fruits and vegetables, dairy, protein, breads and grains.

You can purchase ham chunks, which just needs to be warmed up. I also keep a lot of chicken around and cook up as needed. Apple boats are also another favorite. My son created this recipe. Apple slices in a sea of peanut butter with a chuck of cheese on a toothpick stuck in each apple slice.

Other favorites include salad, carrots with ranch dressing, fruit salad with vanilla yogurt and granola, cottage cheese, cheese sticks, yogurt, snack packs of chips, crackers and cookies, pears, fresh berries.

I find if you can make the meal fun (i.e. apple boats) then kids will have more of a tendency to enjoy the food. Both my boys also enjoy cooking. By getting them involved in the meal preparation process, they get excited about trying new things.

My oldest son who is now eight, likes to host dinner parties. His favorite meal to cook is Easy Mac 'n Cheese from the Pillsbury Kids Cookbook. We go to the grocery store together and he helps find the ingredients we need to prepare.

He also likes to make the Pizza Snacks, Frosty Choco-Banana Snacks, S'mores Nachos, Create-a-Scene Cookie Puzzle, Frozen Brownie Sundae and Bunny Rabbit Pancakes.

I enjoy spending this quality time with my son. As a busy mom entrepreneur, it is so important to find quality time with the kids. Activities such as cooking and party planning gives us an opportunity to share something we both love to do.

How do you handle meal preparation for your family? Your tips and suggestions are welcome.

I need a new vacuum cleaner

After 13 years of marriage, our vacuum cleaner, which was given as a wedding gift, is on its last wheel. It does not suck things up well and it makes a funny squeaking noise. It is time to put it out of its misery.

I was on Twitter earlier asking followers for advice on what are the best new models/brands for vacuum cleaners. Suggestions included Electrolux Upright, Bissell Lift Off Revolution, Panasonic and Dyson. Any additional suggestions?

Attention vacuum manufacturers, I would like to do a product review for one or more models. If you would be interested in having The Mom Entrepreneur test your vacuum and blog about it please contact us at 603-664-3841 or sponsorship@themomentrepreneur.com.

How to Easily Keep in Touch with Your Network

Have you heard of the company Send Out Cards? I like the concept. A website that allows you to pick and personalize a card, add a gift if you want and then the company takes care of printing and sending. As a mom entrepreneur, I have a large network of people I work with and communicate with through both of my companies. A service like this can be extremely useful for managing your network, keeping in touch and saying thank you. In this economy, I feel we can all do a better job of telling our clients, vendors, people who refer us business and others how much we appreciate them.

Ja (pronounced Jay) Thomas, mother of two daughters and an independent distributor with Send Out Cards is also a member of The Mom Entrepreneur Online Support Group. I recently asked her if she would write an article about how we could use her service to increase and strengthen our relationships with our networks. I am a busy mom like all of you reading my blog, however, we would not be successful entrepreneurs if it were not for our networks.

How to Easily Keep in Touch with Your Network - By Ja Thomas

If you are anything like me, your head is filled with good intentions. Good intentions include sending a thank you note to the customer that made a large purchase, the friend who gave you a referral or a fellow business owner you met with and would like to build a relationship with. Eventually good intentions turn into feelings of guilt when you don't send a note. I have two small children and the thought of dragging them to the card store does not excite me, let alone finding the time to actually write the note and get it mailed.

As a busy work-at-home mom, I understand the importance of building relationships. According to a study conducted by the Technical Assistance Research Project in Washington DC, 68% of customers leave because of 'perceived indifference'. In other words, customers don’t think you care about their business. I know my customers and clients want and need to be appreciated, remembered and thanked, it’s just that up until now, I had not been able to find a simple way to do that until I learned about Send Out Cards.

Send Out Cards is an online greeting card company. The catch is that while they are online, they mail out traditional greeting cards with actual lick and stick stamps. The real cards that show up in your mailbox and make your heart do a little skip because someone remembered.

Send Out Cards makes it easy. I simply log in to my account, browse through the card catalog, write my own personal message that shows up in my handwriting, sign the card with my real signature, pick the recipient and hit send. The company prints it, stuffs it, addresses it, stamps it and mails it the next morning! They will even include a gift or a gift card if I choose.

I’ve come to realize that my new system sets me apart from most every other business my customers are working with. Ask yourself, when was the last time you received a hand-written note from someone you met in a business setting? Honestly, I’m receiving thank yous for my thank you notes. More often than not, the recipient will call or email me to say how much they appreciated the card. That is great relationship building!

I don’t include a business card or a coupon when I send the note. There is not even a mention of my business, just a sincere note of good wishes. It seems to mean more to my customers and not come off as an advertisement. Is it working? Yes! It was working so well that I changed my business path and now work with Send Out Cards. My name is the one that pops into my customers’ minds when they think of Send Out Cards and that was my goal. I want my customers to think of me first, refer me to others, and not even have a passing thought about using another company because we’ve built a relationship. Goal accomplished! Next?

For more information about Send Out Cards and to send a few cards for free, visit Ja at www.soclink.com/18747.

TOP TEN REASONS TO USE SEND OUT CARDS

1. No more running out of stamps.
2. Addresses at my fingertips.
3. Sending cards in my handwriting.
4. Creating my own cards with digital pictures.
5. Mailing a card in less than two minutes.
6. Never forgetting another birthday.
7. Mailing over 200 holiday cards in less than ten minutes.
8. No more dragging the kids to the card shop.
9. Showing my customers how important they are to me.
10. Getting those good intentions in the mail.

Work At Home Success Tips For Finding the Right Balance

Guest Author: Diana Ennen

It's HARD! Most home-based working moms and other entrepreneurs are saying the same thing now, how do I do it all? How can I run a business and balance a family at the same time? I know, I've been working at home since 1985 and although it gets easier, it is still a challenge.

Here are some tips for finding balance. They have helped me considerably through the years and I hope you enjoy them as well.

1. Keep in mind that it's a learning process. No one is perfect. One of the greatest gifts I did learn was to no longer beat myself up so much. So what if I didn't do it all today. So what if my house didn't pass a white glove test today (or ever). I really enjoy my business. I really enjoy my family. I feel as long as I do the best I can do, I'm a winner today.


2. To be able to get it all done and enjoy your family, create boundaries, both work-related and personal. You don't want to have to do it all and once you start saying no, you'll be amazed how truly awesome it feels. When you keep in control, things run better. Plus, I believe both your family and clients appreciate knowing what is expected of them.


3. Have a schedule to follow and stick to it as much as possible. Avoid unnecessary interruptions, including constant e-mail checking. Set a timer for checking emails, message boards, routine tasks. Think of time as money. Avoid time robbers such as friends that IM all day just to chat. This isn't to say you can't have fun and friends, you want that, just keep control and don't let it interrupt your day.


4. Get out of the office and do your work whenever possible. I do a lot of writing as a virtual assistant and publicist. Instead of sitting in the office, I take it the local coffee shop, bookstore, library, outside patio, beach, etc. It feels great to have a change of pace. A good cup of java and I'm good to go. Plus, find out if you can take your kids places and work. I will often go places that my kids can play, while I work.


5. Multitask whenever possible. When I prepare dinner, I will often do a crock-pot meal with the meat designated and also prepare a meal in the oven as well so I'll get two meals out of it. You feel like Day 2 is a day off. Also, I'll prepare my kid's lunches and my own lunch while I prepare dinner. That way I can prepare a healthy lunch and snack the night before for both of us. When I'm not in a rush in the morning, I have more time to devote to putting healthy things together. You'd be amazed how good it feels to stop and eat a pre-made salad or sandwich while working instead of grabbing for something else.


6. Take small vacations to get away. Plan a Friday, Saturday, Sunday vacation. This really helps because we don't feel like we are always working. Also, when you're busy, don't let exercise and going to the gym be the things you give up. You need those for energy.


7. Take weekends and evenings off. It's so easy to get caught up working 24/7. But when you take this time off, you feel so much more energized. And you get to connect more with your children.

Working at home can be a challenge, but it can also be the most rewarding journey ever. I believe that not only I benefit from the experience, but my children as well. They get to see a confident positive mom who loves going to work every day. And that's priceless

About the Author:
Diana Ennen, Author/Publisher/Publicist, President of Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com/ . Stop by for free information and sample chapters from our online bookstore.

Parenting.com is searching for new mom-oriented products

We just received this lead today from Deborah Skolnik who is looking to spotlight new products for Parenting.com, the Web site of Parenting Magazine. She needs information about cool new products of interest to busy moms. It could be anything from mom or baby clothes, to cosmetics, food, toys, gadgets and more. The product must be new (launched no earlier than in the past 2 to 3 months).

Please e-mail your suggestions directly to Deborah at deborah.skolnik@bonniercorp.com. Good luck!