Todays Mompreneur

I just wanted to leave a note to let my readers know that because I have somehow managed to get a cold on my week off, and my need for rest, I will be taking the rest of this week off from blogging. I originally had no intention of taking the week off from Today’s Mompreneur, but getting sick was pretty unexpected. Hopefully I’ll be back to my old self by Monday.

I hope all of you that are here in the USA will enjoy the holiday. For those of you elsewhere, enjoy the rest of your week and I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!

p.s. Sickation is a mix of Sick and Vacation. I suppose this is the vacation you’d never want to take.

There is a lot of argument on both sides of the topic, but the reality is that you can be just as busy as, if not busier than, you would be in an office, when you work from home.

In an office you don’t have children asking you questions while you try to finish some task, at home you do.

Even if you started working from home to save on daycare, quiet is an essential piece to getting work done. However, you don’t need daycare to get that peace you require.

At a moment when you’re on a deadline or your business simply requires you to finish up a few extra things before the day is over, hiring a regular ‘friend’ to stop by and spend time with your kids can really help. Maybe this hired friend will play a game with your kids, or they’ll try out a new craft. If it’s a nice day, maybe they will keep an eye on your kids while they play outside. Depending on how many kids you have, $20 could easily get you at least 2 hours of someone else playing with them to keep them entertained.

Of course, just about every mom alive has felt that feeling of “mommy guilt” at least once. Don’t let that set in because you have someone that stops in on occasion to keep your children entertained. Instead, once the time is up, get up and go do something with your children. Whether they’re still working on a fun craft, or they are just playing with toys, get in there and join them!

Photo Credit: Ed Yourdon

As a part of my work, I spend a lot of time immersed in news. While most of the news I am reading on a daily basis is in the MLM or Franchise categories, I absolutely love following up on the latest mompreneur success or some new invention that was brought to light by a mom. The article I came across tonight is not online, it’s straight from Scholastic’s Parent & Child magazine.

While I usually only offer a quick scan of the content, stopping only when it’s the most relevant to me, a special article on work at home ideas caught my eye. In a way I was less than pleased with what I read, but only because I knew about the opportunities she had shared.

Continue Reading »

With it being Friday, I thought it would be nice to end the week with another addition to the Day Of Rest series. Today’s day of rest idea:

Learning A New Language

But why should you learn a new language?

• It’ll keep your mind working, while giving you something other than your business to concentrate on.
• It can be fun!
• If you ever need to talk with a customer that doesn’t speak your language, you can put your own knowledge to good use!
• You’ll be forced to walk away from your business and do something for yourself.

If learning a new language sounds more like work than fun to you, maybe you should find some other route to go. However, if you are open to giving it a try - you should!!! For this day of rest, spend an hour or two going over some of the basic words and lessons related to the language of your choice. If you enjoy yourself, turn this learning hour into something you can do a few days a week.

Every mompreneur needs time for herself. Running a business and taking care of the children can put a lot of strain on you. If learning a new language is a hobby you think you’d enjoy, run with it! Sit down with that how-to book or those how-to tapes. Speak along with the taped voice. Butcher the pronunciation of a word if you feel like it. Enjoy yourself, educate yourself, and you’ll find that this time really has been put to good use.

Photo Credit: LivingOS

Too many people believe education ends after school. Who actually uses all that algebra stuff anyway? Well, besides scientists.

However, that is not true. Okay, so you may not find yourself tuning into algebra lessons from your past but math is a huge part of every day life. When you have that knowledge on hand, you’ll be able to withdrawal from your memory bank as needed.

No matter how willing (or unwilling) you might be to learning new things, I would bet you’re learning something new every day. Life is filled with lessons, a small event can teach you a little something new. Much of this education goes unnoticed.

How does this tie into business and mompreneurism?

Continue Reading »

What does Avon, Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, and Tupperware have in common? They are well known and offer a direct sales business opportunity.

Like always, the feelings people have towards opportunities like those will vary from person to person. Some people are hard set against direct sales. These opportunities tend to be lumped in with the Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) category, and, if they earn money off of an individual they have recruited, it generally fits the description pretty well. It is the popularity of those top brands that I named above which helps smooth out the wrinkles in the MLM appearance.

Continue Reading »

For me, nothing is worse than trying to explain what I do. I dread that question, even if I can see it coming from a mile away.

“Angel, what do you do?”

“Well, Random Person, I write for a living but I do a lot of Virtual Assistant-style work and that pays the bills.”

insert the blank stare… “What do you do?”

“I’ve done email-based interviews with business owners, write blog posts, write articles, some random as-needed tasks like comment moderation for a blog…” (insert my mom who mentions I did something related to calendars recently)

“Oh Calendars! That is cool!”

“I gathered dates, I didn’t build a calendar…”

“Oh… I don’t understand that stuff.”

As lovely as that conversation was, it taught me that you can not explain a damn thing to someone who doesn’t think outside the box. Maybe it’s just the community I live in, but the words blog and working from home fly right over the heads of people.

Continue Reading »

More than once I have mentioned the importance of networking. I stand behind that statement, starting with Twitter.

When I became a member of Twitter I wanted to show off my blogs. I never expected for that to grow into more. It didn’t take long for me to start twittering about dinner, about my work life and even my personal life. I became addicted, but that is not necessarily bad.

Did you know that Yahoo Messenger tweets on Twitter? Comcast even cares enough to assist you through their Twitter account! If these bigbox companies find benefit in being present on Twitter, that should tell you one thing:

Twitter must help businesses spread the word.

Continue Reading »

When your own life starts to feel a little bland, that means it is time to shake things up a bit. It could be as simple as rearranging your office, or treating yourself to a special day. So what do you do when your business starts to get that feeling?

Prep it for a makeover!

Put a little spice back into your business website by giving it a makeover. With Thanksgiving just under 2 weeks away, take on a fall theme. Marketing your business around holiday themes can actually help boost sales.

Keep in mind I said spice up, not change out. You don’t need to overhaul your website if you feel like undergoing a little change. Implementing a few small changes might be just what your website needs to regain a little spark. You might be surprised at how a little rearranging of images and links can refresh your look.

Continue Reading »

Many people, young and old, enjoy knitting or crocheting. Although some may be better than others, there is one thing they all have in common: a love for the craft.

Sometimes when you are trying to find a way to work from home, that potential business idea is sitting right under your nose. Your hobby, in many cases, can become your business. It may take time and a decent amount of dedication, but eventually people will start to notice your products.

Thankfully there are avenues open to assist crafty individuals as they enter into the business world. If you want to market your handmade products, your first stop should be Etsy. Even if you don’t intend to sell through the site for very long, Etsy is a great starting point.

Continue Reading »