Savvy Mompreneurs Connect!

Results v. Resolutions

MaryPat — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:32:22 +0000

I love this article by Patricia Drain, author of “What Will I Be When I Grow Up?”. She identifies the specific steps that she has used to create results instead of disappointments in creating our New Year’s resolutions.

What are your RESULTS that you are going to achieve this year? What steps will you take to accomplish these?

Here is Patricia’s article on her blog

Mom Entrepreneur Resources

MaryPat — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:14:37 +0000

I see Traci Bisson and her The Mom Entrepreneur blog all the time. But today I dropped onto her “resources” page. What a great list of resources!

Grants
Awards
Media
Listings
Conferences

I have bookmarked this page and will be referring to it regularly. Thanks Traci!

http://www.themomentrepreneur.com/resources.html

WEEKLY TIP: How do you manage your time when you are managing your family, your finances and your business?

MaryPat — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:29:26 +0000

My husband and I had this exact conversation last week when a friend of mine told me she was having some problems finding time do manage her business in between naps, dinner, and of course, wife-time.

We came up with 3 solutions for the frustrated business mom:

1.    Find time when you can—which is usually during quick naps or in the middle of the night. Sometimes you are graced with an evening or early morning, but you really have to take your precious time when you can.
2.   Hire it out! Even though you are building your business, there are many tasks you do in your day that you just don’t need to do—like cleaning the bathroom as well as your bookkeeping and filing. In the time that you waste thinking about these things, someone else will happily do them for you.
3.    Get a babysitter. My first husband, 15 years ago, guilted me with “I can’t believe you are going to let someone else raise your kids when you have the opportunity to raise them yourself!” Whew! That knocked the wind out of me—until I kicked him out. Then I realized that my time with my kids was precious—especially when I could do my job (which I love) and THEN spend time with them. It was a win-win for everyone! Even it is just a few hours a day or week, uninterrupted time can mean a lot to building a business.

What works for you? Post your thoughts in the discussion board or on our blog!

Organize Simple Cookie Traditions

MaryPat — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:19:05 +0000

GUEST POST BY DEBBYE CANNON
For many years my children and I have made simple Holiday Gingerbread Cookies.

These are easy for even young children to create because we use small size cookie cutters so the cookies don’t break up easily. It also means you get lots more cookies per batch! The recipe makes large quantities and keep well.

Gingerbread cookies 2008

Gingerbread Mix

Sift/mix together:

8 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup baking powder
1 Tablespoon Salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Cut in with pastry blender or fork:

2 cups vegetable shortening

Mixture will resemble cornmeal. Stores in airtight container in cool, dry place for up to 12 weeks. Makes 13 cups of mix.

Gingerbread Cookies

Mix together
3 Cups Gingerbread Mix
1/3 cup molasses
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup flour

Lightly flour counter or cutting board & rolling pin.

Roll out dough and cut shapes.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet. Remove from sheet right away when they come out of the oven so they don’t stick.

Cookies may be decorated if desired. These freeze well!

Our family uses miniature cookie cutters to cut cookies (to match a the family members) and tie them into a vertical string of plastic wrap, like a bell pull, to give to friends. Bend a paper clip into an “S” shape for the hanger.

My son and I made 2 batches last Sunday and have already delivered to the neighbors. Now I feel so “organized” about holiday preparations!

Gingerbread cookies 2008

What To Do When It’s Thanksgiving And You Aren’t Feeling Grateful

MaryPat — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:42:16 +0000

This is actually a post from my friend, Alexis Martin Neely. The link is at the bottom of this post. Take a minute to read it! She talks about having so many things to be grateful for, but not feeling the gratitude. She is a mompreneur and she is passionate about bringing faith and love into people’s lives.

But like most moms, she forgot to take care of herself this weekend in the midst of travel, fun and lots of food! She offers a great “centering” exercise to get you back on track.

But first, I want to share what I am grateful for in my life right now:

1. My four children–who keep me laughing even on my worst days.

2. Hugs from my family.

3. Being led by something bigger than just me.

4. Giving birth to four incredible girls who will all make a powerful difference in this world.

5. My husband, who loves me so much on the days that I don’t love him, that I just have to love him back.

6. The ability to send my kids to the best schools around so they can have the best education and have choices in life.

7. A great home that keeps us warm, is filled with happiness, and is surrounded by loving neighbors.

8. The best friends I have ever had! And more great people keep coming into my life everyday!

To read Alexis’ article, click here.

Life Lesson #39 from Toby & Ari Galper

MaryPat — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:33:06 +0000

This morning, I received my weekly inspirational message from my good friend, Ari Galper. It hit home for me and I wanted to share it with you. If this touches you like it touched me, I recommend that you check out Ari’s book. It includes weekly inspirations he gleaned through his relationship with his son.

Here’s life lesson #39 from “Toby’s Book”.
– Spend Time Appreciating The Gifts Your Children Give You –

Sometimes as parents, we get distracted by what we want our children to achieve instead of focusing on what makes them special.

Children have so much to teach us through their uniqueness.

Their insights are innocent, honest and pure.

And there can be great pleasure in just savoring the little moments that our children share with us – a smile, a hug, a sense of accomplishment.

It’s so important that we acknowledge these things, because when our children feel acknowledged by us, they feel they can conquer anything.

To your success,

Ari Galper,
Founder Unlock The Game & ChatWise

P.S. If this lesson really resonates with you, please go to Toby’s Blog at http://www.TobyLessonsBook.com and share your comments.

7 Tips on Managing Mompreneur Guilt

MaryPat — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:03:52 +0000

Lisa Druxman, the Mom Entrepreneur expert at Entrepreneur.com, wrote this great article a while back about the Guilty Mompreneur. She offers 7 tips to help us manage our guilt.

Quick read here!

Quick Survey!

MaryPat — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 23:07:09 +0000

As you may know, our Facebook Group has so much momentum, we have decided to keep things rolling by introducing a teleseminar series. But in order to create the BEST opportunity for everyone in the group, I really want to know 2 things so I can create the best program for you!

1. What days/times of the week work best for you to attend a teleseminar? Please include the time zone in your answer.

2. What are the 3 most important topics for YOU regarding business success and/or mom success to help you in your business?

Thanks a bunch!

MaryPat

P.S. You can also email me at moms@queenofmarketing.com.

P.P.S. Some of the topics that our Savvy Moms are suggesting so far include:

Managing Mom-Guilt
Time Management Tips
Business and Marketing Tips
Work/Life Balance

What’s your HOT TOPIC?

Prioritizing ME over everything else!

MaryPat — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:35:48 +0000

Yet another great article from Christine Lewicki, one of my newest friends on Facebook and a great blogger for mompreneurs!

Today, she is talking about the inevitable pitfalls of putting the whole world in front of yourself. She offers some great things to do for mompreneur self-care including yoga and massage.

For me? I curl up in bed right after dinner and take my girls, one at a time, and review their homework and their day. If I have time and energy, I will finish my day reading a book–either another Stephanie Plum novel, a business success book, a relationship book, or the latest teen novel (I try to keep up with what my kids are into).

Read her blog post here:

http://blog.ocoaching.com/2008/10/30/my-body-made-me-stop/

Home Office tips

MaryPat — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:37:47 +0000

So I was not always part of the “home office” club. In fact, I prided myself on keeping an office away from home because it was much easier to keep the line in the sand between being a mom and being at work. But you may remember that last year I had to pull my 5th grader out of the local school. It wasn’t working for her and our small town offered no other options for schooling. So I moved my office home.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a room for my office, so I was officially housed at the kitchen table. My cool desk, file cabinets, credenza and neat, inspirational pictures kicked my car out of the garage and took over 1/2 of that space. So building a home office on a budget with very limited space was a necessity.

I have since moved kids around and the den and library are now combined so that I do have some official office space in the basement, but it was almost a year of continually seeking out the private spot away from the screaming kids, hubby who would surprise me be coming home early and TV that seemed to turn itself on when no one was around.

Here is an article I found for some low-budget tips on creating your own home-office space.

http://mompreneur.today.com/2008/11/03/build-your-home-office-on-a-budget/