As Bill Cosby said, "Kids say the darndest things."

Along with the Talented Two (a fun name I collectively use to refer to my kids now and then), I was running errands yesterday. As we drove past the local shopping mall, my 4-year old daughter said, "Hey look! It's mommy's office!" It took me a second or two to realize that she was pointing at the coffee shop on the corner. I asked her to tell me more about mommy's office, and she explained how whenever we go there, "Mommy's working on her computer".

Her statement reminded me of how different today's working world is than the one my parents were raised in. There was a time when everyone was chained to a particular work space. Whether it was a manufacturing or service related industry, you had to be in a particular location to do it. Those days are gone, especially if you are a Lifestyle CEO.

On Saturday mornings, my husband takes the kids for 3 or 4 hours so I can head to my "office" and get some work done while chomping on my favorite bagel and sipping a hot drink. How great is that? He and the kids enjoy some uninterrupted bonding time at the gym or outside feeding the ducks and I get to be outside my office immersing myself in the work I love, knowing that my kids are not only safe, but also having fun with daddy.

Today's guest on the Lifestyle CEO Internet Radio Show also works her home-based business outside her home at times. Lisa Druxman, founder of the nationwide Stroller Strides franchise, teaches weekly fitness classes for moms in her San Diego neighborhood. Of course since her classes include both moms and babies, she gets to take her kids with her, but she's still growing her home-based business from a remote location. It's fun to have fun and work your business at the same time.

On today's show, Lisa shared the top 3 things she recommends for success in business:

1. Get an attorney early on so you don't have to spend money down the road cleaning up messes that could have been prevented;
2. Ask questions and network with people who have accomplished what you'd like to accomplish so you can take advantage of their experience and avoid repeting their mistakes; and
3. Use free and low cost advice to grow your business, such as Score and other start-up business recources.

You can enjoy my interview with Lisa, and all my Lifestyle CEO Shows here.

Along with Lisa's great tips, I recommend that you take full advantage of the freedom that today's technology offers you as a business owner. If you're feeling cooped up and limited by your home office, it's time to pack up your laptop and head out the door to one of the locations in your area that provides free drink refills, the local paper and a Wi-Fi connection. If you'd rather be outdoors, you can go to the local park on a sunny afternoon. If you don't have a laptop, grab some paper work that can be done remotely and have at it. Sometimes I get far more work done than when I'm home, plus I meet other women who use the coffee shop's free Wi-Fi connection to grow their businesses. I love having this type of flexibility in my life. Working from home can be terribly isolating and it's great to get out on a Saturday morning and create the life I love from a different location.

Posted by Donna Maria at 02:01 PM | Permalink

When I was a child, my parents insisted that I display good manners, particularly toward my elders and people who reached out to help me. Of course this "attitude of gratitude" became quite automatic over the years and I find myself saying "thank you" regularly without giving much thought to it. Today, I am drilling the same message into my kids. I take a singsong approach that goes something like this:

Mommy: If you need help what do you do?
Kids: You ask for help!!
Mommy: And if someone helps you, what do you do?
Kids: You say thank you!

We have a lot repetitive "lessons" in my household because I want to make some things automatic in their lives. I don't ever want them to flounder around in need of assistance, and not have the courage to ask for help. And I always want them to express appreciation when someone does help them.

This morning, the January 2006 Lifestyle CEO To Know Denise McMillan of Plush Creations in Colleyville, Texas contacted me. Denise is featured in the current issue of Southern Living Magazine, one of the premier magazines for women. After the feature came out, Denise wrote the editor to thank him for including her company. A short time later, the editor called her to thank her for the thank you note. The two chatted, and the conversation resulted in the editor scheduling a personal meeting with Denise to do a more in-depth story on her and her business, also to include her husband who owns a restaurant in town.

I have read that Southern Living has a rate base of 2.45 million, making it the largest regional magazine in the country. This means that Denise has a lot to be thankful for. She tells me that as soon as the magazine began circulating, she noticed her site statistics start to climb. Of course Denise quickly moved to start filling the new orders, but first she took a moment to email the editor and thank him for including her. That simple act of gratitude not only resulted in a pleasant conversation, but it also opened new doors for Denise, the editor and Denise's husband. Denise may be featured in a more expansive article. Her husband's restaurant may be included. The editor found a new angle for a story that will interest his readers. Denise's hometown of Colleyville will benefit if the feature comes to fruition. And Denise's son will see how his parents' hard work, dedication to craft and good manners results in greater and more exciting opportunities.

Yes, it's still good manners to say "thank you," and we should all do it regardless of whether or not we get anything tangible in return. But as Lifestyle CEOs, it's nice to know that expressing gratitude can also open new and exciting doors, and help us create the life we love as businesswomen, mothers and home managers!

Posted by Donna Maria at 08:40 AM | Permalink

My dear late friend and mentor Nancy Brown Manville always told me that if you do what you love, and do it well, the income would follow. When I first went into business for myself in 1993, I really wanted to believe that. Nan was my biggest cheerleader and a very wise woman who unselfishly shared the benefits of her experiences -- good and bad -- with me. When she told me that I would eventually be able to actually support myself doing what I loved, she also told me that in order to do so, I was going to have to be willing to work harder than I had at any job I ever had. When she told me that, I was flat broke and could not see that there was much financial light at the end of the tunnel no matter how hard I worked. I thanked Nan for her encouragement and good wishes, but it took many years before I actually began to see that what she was saying is indeed true.

But it is true, Virginia. You can do what you love and still eat. There is a Scripture that I believe addresses this. Galatians 6:9 says "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." What this says to me is that if we use our business to make a valuable contribution to society, we will reap the benefits if we are willing to work hard and not give up. If you are a mom and a business owner, you will be tired. You will lose sleep. You will be working while other people are playing in the family room or enjoying restful slumber. You will invest your time and your money for a while without ever seeing a return. You will give up some personal time. You will have to ask people to help you with your children. All of these things conspire to make us weary and disheartened, like what we are doing is too hard and will never pay off. But if you choose to remain hopeful and continue to diligently do what you feel called to do, you will reap the benefits.

I have experienced this personally many times over in my life. In 2001, when my first child was a few months old, my husband and I had about $60 in liquid funds in the bank. We did not have the money to cover the mortgage and we did not have a Christmas tree that year. My husband was working as hard as he could to provide for us, yet as a self-employed news videographer, he was not working a full 40-hour work week and gigs were hard to come by after 9/11. At that time, I earned about $500 a month from a part-time legal job and my business was generating revenue, but no profit.

My husband and I had a very difficult heart to heart one morning and my husband told me he thought I needed to go back to work and he was going to try to get a full-time job. I could not believe my ears. My dreams of being a mother were coming true and I was excited to be nursing my first child, just 2 months old at the time. But the business ownership goals were a part of the dream too, and it looked like it was all slipping through my fingers. But in that moment, something inside of we welled up and reminded me that I had a purpose. I had unique gifts and talents that I could put to good use being available to my family while also generating income so we could build the kind of wealth we needed to enjoy life and send our children to college someday. After wiping my tears, I took my daughter into my home office, made sure she was comfortable and resolved to jump start my business and take it up a notch, and I was willing to lose sleep and bring home fast food for a week in order to do that. The next week, we had enough money to pay the mortgage and my husband was well on his way to finding regular gigs with a national news organization.

There is an old saying that good things come to those who wait. I disagree. Not only must we wait, and understand the benefits of delayed gratification. We must also do something in the meantime, and we must be wise about the things we do. If you have started a business and you feel like you are beginning to lose hope that it will ever become profitable, here are a few things you can do today to kick things into high gear.

1. Put yourself on a schedule. If the laundry is not on a schedule, it will eventually get done because everyone needs clean underwear. But if you do not promote your business this week, your business will not be promoted at all. If you do not schedule your business around your family, it will never percolate to the top of your list of things to do. List all the things you feel have to be done to get you to your goals and then schedule them into your week. Schedule the most important ones, and the ones that can generate cash the fastest first. Eliminate anything that is not absolutely necessary.

2. List your goals. Do not be tempted to say things like, make a sale every day, or make money. Be more specific than that. Challenge yourself. Your goals should be how you plan to make sales, not simply that you plan to make them. For example, if you make and sell clothing, say more than that you want to sell at least 5 garments each week. Instead, say you will tell at least 50 people about your business each week, and follow up on the ones who turn out to be the most promising prospects, so you can sell at least 5 garments each week. If you need to take steps to set your business up more professionally, make it a goal to educate yourself about the various corporate structures available to you and then pick the one that works best for you. (This article can help you get started.) Maybe even make it a goal to hire an accountant to help you keep more of the money you make.

3. Cut the fat! Cut all the excess out of your budget and put every available penny either toward growing your business or saving for your future.

Try starting with these small steps of scheduling business time, identifying goals and cutting the fat and you will be on your way to reaping the benefits!

Posted by Donna Maria at 09:46 AM | Permalink

Today's New York Times contains an interesting article about women, especially mothers, in the work force. Apparently, women are not joining the work force in the numbers they were a decade ago. Statistics show that mothers' participation in the work place has slipped since 2000, after rising for 5 straight decades. For example, from 1995 to 2003, the time mothers spent working outside the home dropped by nearly 4 hours a week. Additionally, while from the 1950's to the early 1990's, women's participation in the work force overall (either working or activiely seeking employment) rose from 40% to about 75%, since 2000, the numbers have declined.

Gee, I wonder why . . ..

Could it be because traditional work places do not keep pace with our need to both earn money and take care of our families? Do you think it could have something to do with the fact that we can't do it all on someone else's terms? In an economy where the inflation rate is outpacing income levels from traditional employment, it is imperative that we break the mold of stay at home mom vs. work outside the home mom, and create our own paradigms consistent with our options and lifestyle choices.

We have several options in this regard. Network marketing companies are always welcoming new consultants. Launching an online business has become increasingly easy to do and the information about how to make it successful is easy to find if you take the time to digest and apply it. We can provide and charge reasonable rates for services based on skills acquired when we were in the work force. We can develop and manufacture products designed for mothers. We can write and promote books about our life experiences as mothers.

Today, we have more options than ever. It is critical that we wrap our hands around these options and explore them. Americans need to reduce debt. We need to save more money. We need to begin to generate longstanding intergenerational familial wealth. We need to understand the power of owning something of our own that generates revenue for ourselves. I'm talking about economic empowerment, ladies!

Let's agree to look beyond the boxes that society tries to put us in. We do not have to be a working mom. We do not have to be a stay at home mom. We can be mothers who own businesses, regardles of the label that accompanies our endeavors.

Posted by Donna Maria at 02:08 PM | Permalink