 |
 |
|
|
|
Main
| October 2005 »
The cover story in the October 3 issue of Business Week Magazine highlights the ridiculous treadmill of the American employee. Sixty-hour work weeks, less than 7 hours of sleep a night, frantically inhaled lunches and little family time. The pay is good they say, but according to the article, people still feel like, "They work like dogs and are wasting time." I believe that we are seeing a new and enlightened mindset where overworked employees are realizing that exchanging a life for a good salary is not all it's cracked up to be. And no one knows that more than moms.
Of course you don't have to be a mother to experience the tension between work and personal life. Fathers feel it, and so do men and women who are not parents. Everyone wants to enjoy life and also earn a living. But consider that studies released by Cornell University sociologists show that mothers may be discriminated against in the workplace. That's right, it seems that moms suffer when competing for jobs against similarly qualified fathers and childless men and women. If that's true, it means that becoming a father can result in a generous bonus and a healthy pay raise to help provide for a growing family, while becoming a mother means you have chosen to surrender all of your professional goals and are no longer deserving of a bonus, a pay raise or a life.
What is a mom to do? Fight the good fight trying to convince others that we deserve both good pay and a good life? With my dollars, my time and until my last breath, I will support anyone who chooses to fight that battle. But I will not be on the front lines because I have chosen a different route. It's the one less traveled, at least for the time being, and it's the one that focuses on changing myself instead of others. Maybe some day, I and others who choose this route can create mom-friendly workplaces so that our children don't encounter what I have heard referred to as "the mommy penalty."
By the way, the Business Week article concludes with the story of Ted Husted who has "reclaimed his life" by splitting his time between freelance consulting and serving as an unpaid contributor to an open-source software project. He attends his children's weekend sporting events, lunches with his wife at least once a week, prunes the maple trees in his front yard and generally enjoys life while he also earns a living. The article doesn't say whether he earns as much as he could working for someone else, but I don't think it matters. He's got a lifestyle now, and it just doesn't get any better than that.
Today's USA Today features an inspiring story of the power of options, and the joy that comes with having created the life you love. Sheryl Crow, popular singer, Grammy Award winner and soon-to-be first time wife at the age of 43, is going to marry one of the darlings of the sports world (Lance Armstrong).
I have no personal knowledge about Sheryl, but I wonder if anyone ever told her that she should "get a job" instead of taking a low paying gig in a smoke-filled bar on the seedy side of town. If they did, she apparently didn't listen, and today, having already lived one dream, she's perched on the verge of living another one. Sheryl's got options and as a result, she can create whatever life she wants. She can marry Lance, have babies (or not) and continue to tour, or she can marry Lance, have babies (or not) and never tour again, or she can scrap Lance and babies and just keep on singing, surviving comfortably on the fruits of her hard work thus far.
While you may never win a Grammy, and you may never be a world famous dancer, playwright, dress designer or software developer, you can create whatever kind of life you want for yourself because the talent you do have is the only one of its kind ever created. Want to create the life you love? Use your talents to create some options for yourself. Give yourself options and you'll also give yourself assets. Give yourself assets and you'll be well on the way to creating the live you love.
Not that there's anything wrong with being rich, mind you. The problem is that when us common folks eking out a living doing either what we love (because we like to) or what we hate (because we have to) are constantly bombarded with it, it gets a little sickening. One of the gag stories of the week is that so many newly bankrupt airlines are paying their attorneys millions of dollars while those who invested in their stock get an empty seat. And I haven't even started on how it affects the employees. You know, those people who foot the bill so the company can get back on its feet just in time to promptly fire them as a cost cutting measure. It's a shame when the nation's largest companies run by what are supposedly the brightest minds in America would rather file for bankruptcy than respond to the marketplace with innovative ideas and concepts. You know -- compete.
Today's USA Today says that Delta Airlines' attorneys bill up to $785 an hour. If they work the way most law firms do, the ultra-highly paid attorneys are delegating most of the work to the merely highly paid attorneys, and then laughing all the way up their own corporate ladder.
Get my drift? While your goal may not be to become a millionaire or get paid $785 an hour, let's face it, if you don't own something, you are at the mercy of a lot of people who you don't know. And don't care to know. Consider building your own corporate ladder, not so you can be the gag story of the week but so that you can build your future on the only solid economic foundation there is -- you and your own abilities.
On September 11, 2001, the moms of this nation experienced a major wake-up call. Since then, we have been forced to finance a now regrettable invasion of a country which apparently had nothing to do with 9/11. We have seen how the greed of multi-millionaire corporate executives (Bernie Ebbers of MCI (formerly WorldCom), and L. Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco to name a few) can cause our pensions and 401K plans to vaporize before our eyes.
Our brothers and sisters on the gulf coast have barely begun to recover from Hurricane Katrina as Hurricane Rita threatens to make landfall there this weekend. With so many matters of world importance decidedly out of our control, on a more personal level now, we are looking inward to regain a sense of life's purpose and meaning. We realize that we have become complacent, not only about world and business events, but also about our own lives. We have delegated control over the details to other people, and with it our ability to have much say at all about our very own destinies. Today, we are taking that control back.
We are rethinking our priorities, seeking more freedom, flexibility and control in our lives. Instead of settling for a job that merely pays the bills, we are looking for ways to make a living without sacrificing our souls. Whether we are writing a book, launching a new cosmetics line, providing personal concierge services or joining a direct sales company, we are laughing all the way from the bank as we trade in the straightjackets of corporate America for the creative fun of being a Lifestyle CEO.
I have spent the last decade with mothers who are left weary and drained as they struggle to juggle the ins and outs of working on someone else's terms. It's not that we don't want to work. We just don't want to work like we're being told we should work. Ever since I left my 9-to-5 job 12 years ago, it has been my goal to help women combine their visions and values to build their own corporate ladders. According to research released in September 2005 by the US Small Business Administration, the rate at which women are launching businesses is more than double the national average. My interaction with women around the country indicates that a significant portion of those businesses are owned by people just like me -- moms with young children.
The Lifestyle CEO Choice is not for everyone. Small business ownership has significant risks and sometimes, it doesn't work out. But even with the risks, I rejoice in my life more today than ever because I enjoy my family while also contributiong to our financial bottom line. Plus I can't beat my 10-second commute. I co-produce a television show with my husband so we are enjoying each other (mostly enjoying each other) while also creating opportunities to teach our children about entrepreneurship, asset management, discipline and self reliance. I have the privilege of working with hundreds of entrepreneurs every day through the Handmade Beauty Network, which I founded in 2000 to serve the needs of "micro-formulators" of handmade beauty products such as soaps, cosmetics, fragrances, candles and aromatherapy products.
If you have made the Lifestyle CEO Choice or would like to, join me at he first Lifestyle CEO confernce on January 28, 2006 in suburban Washington, DC. Meet women who are just like you and get some business building tips and fantastic networking. To register, click here.
Remember when multi-level marketing (MLM) companies were regularly accused of being illegal "pyramid schemes" because their business models were often based on collecting money rather than the legimitate sale of goods or services? (I know I'm dating myself here!) Well those days are gone and today, the MLM concept (also referred to as "direct sales" or "network marketing") is of great interest to Lifestyle CEOs from all walks of life. Whether you want to use the direct sales concept to grow your own business or join an established company, the direct sales concept is gaining considerable groud, especially for moms seeking to generate income without having to establish the infrastructure required to build a company from the ground up.
The Lifestyle section of the September 16, 2005, issue of USA Today contains a full color 2 page spread placed by the Direct Selling Association, a trade association for companies that sell goods and services using the network marketing framework. "Family ~ Future ~ Freedom!" screams one of the headlines. And if what they say is true -- that more than $30 billion in products and services are sold through direct selling each year -- indeed, there's a lot to scream about.
Your family. Your future. Your freedom. Isn't that what life is all about? If you have started a small business and are looking for a way to grow, the direct sales business model may be for you. This is especially true if you do not have the ability (resources, time, etc.) or the inclination to build your own brand from scratch. When you sign up for a direct sales opportunity, your initial investment generally covers all of the sales and marketing tools required to get started. This doesn't mean that you won't have to use those tools in creative ways in order to compete effectively, but it does lower the initial costs of starting your business.
Like anything else, with all of its benefits, there are some downsides, and a significant one is that you don't own the brand so your use of it is severely limited by the people who do. A few years ago, I was invited by a dear friend who sells Juice Plus+ nutritional supplements to work together to create an opportunity for members of the Handmade Beauty Network to learn about the supplements and become customers or even join her direct sales team. We tried to figure out a co-branding method, but each time, we ran into the same problem -- we could not use the company's logo to co-brand any kind of marketing efforts. In the end, it was just too much to think about. Today, I am a happy customer and I refer people to her, but so far, we have not been able to figure out a mutually beneficial "partnering" arrangement.
On the other hand, direct sales can be fun and profitable, especially if you get in on the ground floor where the opportunities to build an extensive sales force are abundant. Friends and moms, Nicole Balaam and Erica Massenburg of Baltimore, Maryland recently launched Home Spa Luxuries, a line of bath and spa products. Nicole, the mother of a 2-year old, ditched her full time job to launch the business with Erica, the mother of two children ages 2 years and 10 months. Says Nicole, "We decided to trade our stiff, technical, corporate lifestyles so we could focus on healthy relationships, family togetherness, and emotional well-being." The Home Spa Luxuries motto is "Empower your Life, Enrich your Body and Envision your Dreams!" and they are confident that in today's economy, they will have no problem attracting the sales associates they need to succeed. If start up opportunities don't appeal to you, you can choose from several companies with rich diverse non-direct sales histories like Southern Living At Home, The Body Shop At Home and Jockey Person To Person.
Where do you stand on the important issues of family, future and freedom? Think about it, and then decide if a network marketing opportunity might be just the ticket to help you to begin to build your own corporate ladder. To learn more about joining a direct sales company, or staring your own, visit the Direct Selling Women's Alliance.
The Lifetyle CEO Blog is sponsored by Yours Truly, Donna Maria Coles Johnson -- the Original Lifestyle CEO. It complements my book, online newsletter, conferences and other products designed to inspire and encourage moms to successfully integrate life and business, without compromising either.
The Lifetyle CEO Blog shares my views on lifestyle, and home and business management from the distinct perspective of a wife, mother and businesswoman. It provides a fun and entertaining way for people to check the daily pulse of the growing group of women who are managing home and business on their own terms. Women are starting businesses today at more than twice the rate of the national average, and a significant number of them are simultaneously mothering young children. Tired of struggling, juggling and working for companies that don't provide the flexibility needed to be good workers and good mothers, these women are finding ways to combine business vision with personal values to build their own corporate ladders. They are using technology, their natural networking and social skills, their desire to create a legacy for their children and build familial wealth as springboards to a better lifestyle. They are making the Lifestyle CEO Choice, and loving every minute of it. If you want to know what they are thinking and doing, you'll find it here.
This Blog is a fantastic complement to other Lifestyle CEO related activities, including the Handmade Beauty Network, the leading trade organization representing manufacturers of candles, soaps, cosmetics, fragrances and aromatherapy products.
We currently allow for the posting of comments on the Lifestyle CEO Blog. Under each item, you'll see the word "Comments." To post a public comment about that news item, ask a question, or just see what other people have said, click on "Comments."
In the future I'll introduce guest bloggers including the Lifestyle CEO "Brain Trust," a group of successful mom business owners who share their expertise and tips for success.
dM
|
|
|
|
 |
