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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.
Continue reading "Yes, Virginia. You Can Do What You Love, and Still Eat" »
Good Morning American Mom!! Have we got some news for you! If you have exited the traditional work force, either temporarily or permanently, to enjoy the opportunity to focus on your family while your children are young, you are hurting yourself, your children and society as a whole. So says former visiting Brandeis University Professor Dr. Laura Hirshman. And ABC Good Morning America co-host Diane Sawyer and the producers of last week's "The Mommy Wars" show segments, apparently agree with her.
While the show had the redeeming quality of showing moms and their children in their real home settings, and included interviews of both stay-at-home and working moms, overall the show was unbalanced and poorly assembled on at least three fronts.
Continue reading "Good Morning American Mom!!" »
 (Photo courtesy of ABC News via AP)
I think it's great, don't you? I mean, here's a man who started out as an office boy at a small New York radio station and today, owns a multi-million dollar communications company that spearheads world renowned productions like The Golden Globe Awards, the American Music Awards, the Family Television Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards. And if that were not enough, he licenses rights to several restaurants including one named for The American Bandstand show which was so popular in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
In December 2004, the 76 year old icon suffered a severe stroke. And after months of grueling rehabilitation, he was back two days ago -- just over a year after the stroke -- to host another of the shows he created, Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve. As he opened the evening, he said, "I wouldn't have missed this for the world." What an incredible attitude, slurred speech and all.
Of course it doesn't hurt that he owns the show. And isn't that the point. If he had been employed by someone else, he would certainly have been put out to pasture after his stroke. But Dick Clark created the show. Dick Clark owns the show. Dick Clark is the show. You go Dick! I applaud your gusto, entrepreneurial spirit, enthusiasm and determination.
When you love what you do, as Dick Clark obviously does, wild horses can't keep you away, much less an annoying little stroke. Thank you Dick for showing us that we can be vibrant and useful as long as we choose to be, and that building your own corporate ladder has benefits that last forever and spread around the world and back again!!
 Aesop's fable tells the story of an woman who raised a variety of birds, ducks and geese. Because one of them laid golden eggs, she kept it housed in a yard of its own. Every morning, the woman could hardly wait to get up and get her golden egg for the day. One day, she decided to kill the goose and get all the golden eggs at one time. Imagine her surprise as she held her dead goose and found not a single golden egg inside. In her impatient haste to become rich, the woman had cooked her goose and destroyed a lucrative source of income.
Aesop's fable reminds us that the love of money is a destroyer of good. The woman was so greedy that she eliminated her one means of support in an impatient desire to have it all. Is your goose cooked? Are you microwaving it on "high" so you can get rich quick? Or are you slowly simmering it in the crock pot as your creative juices keep it moist, tender, ripe and flavorful?
Continue reading "Your Goose Is Cooked!" »
I recently enjoyed an email conversation with a mother of two in the western United States who is trying to start a new business. She wrote to ask if I had any kind of "help" to assist with managing business and home. She shared that her husband was not generous with his spare time in terms of being with their children so she could work on her business. To his credit, he suggested that he would engage a nanny a few days a week so she could get some work done. She was hesitant to do so "because I do not want my children to be dependent upon anyone but my husband and me." Her specific question to me: "How are you able to get so many things done?" I thought I'd share my answer with you since that is one of the questions I receive most often. (Get a cup of tea; it's a long one!)
Continue reading "Help Is On The Way!" »
I used to hate my name. My mother named me Donna because she liked the Donna Reed Show. Great. I'm named after the perfect neat and tidy television stay-at-home mom. I think that my mom would have named me something else if she could have glanced into the future to see the current sorry state of my family room turned toddler speedway. Donna Maria always reminded me of a nun and that's not what I wanted people to think of when they met me in high school. Today, I love my name. It rhymes, people remember it and it just kind of sounds pretty. My father wanted to name me Jennifer. Just one of many battles he lost over the years.
According to the Social Security Administration, the most popular baby names for girls today include Emily, Isabella, Olivia and Samantha. For boys, there's Ethan, Christopher and Daniel. Naming a baby is easy. You can always find something you like and there's no rule against choosing a name that someone else already has.
The rules are different and the stakes much higher when it comes to naming a business. Not so long ago, it was pretty easy to pick a business name. You looked at your products and picked a name that essentially announced what you sold. If you sold soap, you might have the word "soap" in your business name. Sonia's Soaps. How easy is that? Today, it's different and if you don't learn how to play the Name Game, no matter how great your products and services are, you will lose in the game of business.
Continue reading "The Name Game" »
 According to recent US Census Bureau statistics, women are starting businesses at twice the speed of the national average. The growth of women-owned businesses, especially those owned by minorities, is skyrocketing. I have been counseling small women-owned businesses all over the country for over 10 years and I am convinced that women with young children own a growing number of these businesses.
On October 13, 2005, my chapter of Mocha Moms proved my point as the brains and power behind fifteen Mocha-owned businesses presented their exciting products, services and business opportunities at the regularly scheduled support group meeting. As their children played in a side area, these industrious moms who are successfully managing both home and business shared the many products and services that other Mochas can use to enhance their daily lives and maybe even start their own businesses.
As host and coordinator of the event, I was especially proud. I have been a member of Mocha Moms since 2001 when my first child was born and this event made me even more determined to find creative ways to help mom-owned businesses gain the knowledge, support and exposure they need to compete effectively in the global marketplace. The Mocha business owners represented a variety of products and services: body care products, vegan cookies, holistic cleansing, travel services, consumer products delivered to your door, tutoring services, digital photography organization and storage, health benefits, weight management services, human hair, work/life balance, nutritional supplements, cloth diapers, manicures in your living room and more!
In the first taping of the first Lifestyle CEO television show in early October, guest Debbie Bilezikian of Monave Mineral Cosmetics in Baltimore, Maryland, was asked to tell viewers her opinion on a sure-fire way to grow a small business. Her answer without hesitation was, "Network." Although Debbie expanded on her answer a bit, she needn't have done so, and she's not the only one who knows the first-hand power of networking. An October 5, 2005, Associated Press article entitled, "The American Dream Begins With Networking," confirms the power of collaborating with your competitors as a business model all its own. If you have ever been fearful of chatting it up with your industry colleagues because of fear or having your ideas stolen or fear of being seen as an opportunitist, or just plain old scared to waste your time, you have been missing out on one of the best business building tools on earth.
Continue reading "Schmooze Or Lose" »
My children (ages 4 and 2) are children. They think like children. They act like children. They speak like children. And like all children, they view every situation through a paradigm of short term, knee jerk reactions. If my daughter snatches a toy from her brother, it's cause to push her into the fireplace, even if he really doesn't want the toy and even if she could be seriously injured. But he's not thinking about that because he wants his toy NOW. He's not thinking about all the good things he gets from his sister, like how she saves him a lollipop every Friday after school, or how she taught him how to spell the word "blue" the other day. To him, it's all about what's in it for him now, and to you-know-where with the long-term consequences. We expect children to behave that way, but you'd think that adults --particularly the ones running huge corporations that put their workers at risk everyday -- would focus on long and short term results. You know, take the good with the bad for the long-term benefit of all? Well, if you thought that way, you'd be wrong.
Continue reading "Taking The Good With The Bad, Or Not?" »
 In her September 27 remarks at the Change To Win founding convention, top executive Anna Burger said this: "American workers do play by the rules. But the rules no longer work. Wages are down, work hours are up. The gap between the rich and the rest of America is staggering and growing. Health care costs are exploding. Pensions are wiped out. Job security is a thing of the past. Part-time employment is on the rise. Giant corporations that salute no flag but their own corporate logo, and worship no [G]od, but the almighty dollar, roam the globe in search of the lowest wages.
"The result is families now face the impossible challenge of getting their children to school in between their two or three jobs. Choosing between bus fare and breakfast, health care or housing, in between taking care of their mother or their father or their children. Sisters and brothers this is not the American Dream. It is an American Nightmare. . . . Unions are the antidote for what ails us."
I agree with Ms. Burger on all but one point. And it is a biggie.
Continue reading "The Cure For What Ails Us" »
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.
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.
Continue reading "Family ~ Future ~ Freedom!" »
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