One of Those Mompreneur Days
Today is one of those days where I don’t think I’ll be contending for the Mother of the Year Award. In this video, I share how being a coach and a mompreneur help me be a better mother to my children.
Have you had one of those days? Does your work help complete you and fill you up so you can be a better mom? I’d love your comments below.
Working From Home Ain’t Easy!
I have laughed so hard watching this webisode that honestly and accurately captures one of the truths of being a mompreneur. Many thanks to Stephanie Elie of www.bizziemommy.com who posted this on her blog recently. I’m glad I found it and wanted to share it with my readers, too.
Happy Friday, and enjoy the laughs!
Mommy Madness–Working From Home Ain’t Easy!
Want Your Mom Biz Question Answered?
I can honestly say that I never planned on being a radio show host, but it was only a matter of time that a person who loves to talk as much as I do could avoid it.
Back in March I signed up for an account with BlogTalkRadio and clicked a button that created my own show. A day later, I produced my first episode that was (and still is) available all over the internet. I couldn’t believe how simple it was, and I had no idea how much I’d enjoy doing it.
There is no shortage of “content” for my show–in fact, I tend to create my Audio Blogs around conversations, questions and problems that come up in my coaching sessions with my mompreneur clients. They love hearing their topics addressed on the show.
Do you have a question about your business that you’d like to hear featured on my show? Are you trying to figure out how to market what you sell, or why you can’t close a sale, or why everyone seems to love what you offer but they won’t pay for it? Or are you fed up with being the “only one” who can handle things in your life or your household, and really wish you could get some help? Tired of feeling angry, guilty or tense around the kids during the day since you know you have a week’s worth of work to get done–while being the fulltime caretaker of your children?
I understand all these feelings. I’ve been in most of these situations myself. So have nearly all of the mompreneurs I work with. And sometimes you just need to know that you’re not the only one experiencing these things or feeling this way (which I assure you–you’re not!). If you have a topic you’d like to hear or know more about, either leave a comment here or email me (lara at mombizcoach dot com), and I’ll respond to you immediately. I’ll do my best to feature all questions/comments in an upcoming Audio Blog on the Mom Biz Coach Show.
Want to know if I’ve already covered something of interest to you? You can browse the mom entrepreneur podcast archives here.
WAHMs: Is it time to give up on balance?
I’ve been having some great conversations with mompreneurs and work at home moms on the topic of “balance” lately, and specifically how it relates to the goal of work/life balance.
Seems like we’ve spent the last decade or so trying to achieve this balance thing, but it may be a concept whose time has past. Many think it’s unachievable, or at the very least, that it can be achieved but not sustained. Is balance what we really want? Do we want to spend equal time with work and equal time with family?
I know that certain words are “trigger words” or hot buttons for some people, but I think the idea of balance is basically a good one. I think that the more we’ve been working towards it, though, the more we are learning that there are other ways to define how we want our lives as moms and business owners to look.
When I think of words that capture how I want my life as a mom entrepreneur coach to look, these are some of the words that come to mind:
INTEGRATION
FLEXIBILITY
FULFILLMENT
RHYTHMS
SEASONS
I make my work a fully-integrated part of my life. That doesn’t mean I don’t set boundaries around it, just that I include it as part of who I am and what I love to do. How much and when I work varies from time to time, based on priorities, energy levels, moods, seasons… But my commitment to my work and my family stays the same.
What about you? Is there a phrase or concept you’re striving for that is more descriptive than “work/life balance”? How do you see your roles as mom and business owner? Are they one in the same or separate somehow? Please leave a comment below.
Mompreneurs Need Different Kinds of Support
Get the acknowledgement, support and understanding you need from the right people.
Are you always going to your partner/husband, your sister, your neighbor, or a client trying to share something that’s important to you, only to wind up feeling let down when they don’t say what you wanted them to say? It could be that you’re choosing the wrong person to share with at that moment.
In this Five Minute Coaching MOMent for mom entrepeneurs, I share some insight on how you can avoid feeling let down when you’re up to big things in your business and life!
Who’s on your support team or “board of advisors”? Do you expect different kinds of support from the different people in your life? Please share your comments here. And if you like my “Five Minute Coaching MOMents for Mom Entrepreneurs” and want to see some more, you can subscribe to the mombizcoach channel on YouTube so you will be notified each time I add new ones.
How Moms Really Help Moms
A few hours ago, I completed a survey about my experience of being a mom entrepreneur for a woman who is writing a book on that topic. I was inspired to write this post after I answered one of the 30+ questions. The question went something like this:
“How much time do you spend talking to other mom entrepreneurs?”
And the options ranged from: “I have a great group of mom entrepreneur friends with whom I connect on a regular basis” to “I don’t know anyone else who is a mom entrepreneur.”
I realized just how grateful I am to be one of those women who has a ton of mompreneur friends all around me. Honestly, there are many days that go by when I feel like the world will end if I can’t pick up the phone and speak to one of the fabulous friends who support me. And because they are also moms who, like me, are running their own businesses while being the primary caretakers of their children, I don’t have to explain myself at all. They simply GET me. I can start talking/laughing/crying and they just patiently wait and listen and understand.The support I get from this group of amazing women in my life is a lifeline for me.
Moms really help moms when we support each other. The world is a better place when somebody else understands us and asks (or just figures out) what she can do to help.
I can’t end this post without saying thanks to a dear friend who is, without question, one of the strongest advocates for moms supporting moms in the world: Melissa Lierman, a.k.a. @timeoutmom on twitter, and the genius behind the www.timeoutmom.com website. Wanna see her in action? Follow her on twitter and watch how she works. She is a model twitizen. There aren’t many people you meet who delight in simply helping others. She’s also the mastermind behind #momsrunning on twitter, and she chronicles her Moms Running virtual support group on her blog: http://www.momsrunning.blogspot.com/.
Yep–She’s so great that she deserves a whole blogpost dedicated to her. Actually, she deserves many more.
Thanks, Melissa, for all you do to serve moms!
How to Handle Breakdowns
Every mom entrepreneur I know experiences a breakdown of some sort from time to time. Maybe you lost your cool and spanked your kid. Or you didn’t get hired by that prospect you thought just loved your work. Or perhaps your husband forgot your birthday or said something that really hurt.
When things don’t go the way you want them to, that’s a breakdown. How do you handle them? What do you do to resolve them? Do you have a method to help you get unstuck, to get back on track, or do you avoid the person or the situation that caused the breakdown like the plague?
I have a simple method that helps me get unstuck and back in control after a breakdown. I share it in the five-minute video below.
Is this something you can use? Do you have another method? Please share your comments below.
I’ve gotta get outta here
With my three kids, who are almost 7, 5 and 2.5, I find that I really do need to be reminded that I’ll miss these days of being constantly needed. Quite honestly, there are days that I need to be reminded this about every half hour. Knowing that I’ll miss it doesn’t always make it easy to deal with the present moments that feel like eternity sometimes. It has nothing to do with how much I love my kids and everything to do with the developmental stages they (and I) go through. I can handle the whining, hitting, scratching, fighting, stealing, tattling, asking for snacks every 10 minutes, constant struggle to keep the toys picked up, the complaints about being bored or hating the food I work so hard to serve them, constantly being interrupted from loading the dishwasher or folding the clothes to wipe up another accident on the floor, then the tantrum that ensues when it’s time to try to get clothes onto my 2yo daughter who just wants to be naked all the time…but only if I’ve also done some things to take care of myself. I really can’t handle all that, especially in its 24/7 constancy, when I haven’t had a break from it in weeks, months, years. As I get older and grow in my role of motherhood, I find I’m having to learn how to take care of myself again just as much as I have learned to take care of my children.
Up until Thursday last week, I couldn’t last more than about 30 minutes from the moment I woke up in the morning until the first time I lost my temper with one of the kids. True, the littlest trigger could set me off (and my 2yo is nothing if not a master of stomping on all my triggers first thing in the morning!). Until Thursday, I could barely think about the fact that the kids will be out of school in two weeks, and then we have the long summer before us to be together constantly….All I could think was: “Oh my God.”
These are the thoughts of a woman who felt trapped, exhausted, stressed out, worn down, who couldn’t enjoy her kids.
Thankfully, on Friday morning, I woke up with a smile on my face, knowing that in a few hours, after the morning rush of prepping breakfast, lunch and dinner and getting everyone dressed, fed, clean and out the door to school, I was going to have two full days and one whole night to myself! And better yet, I got to spend it with two of my fabulous girlfriends! I had just about forgotten what it’s like to be able to do whatever I wanted to do, eat when I want, talk, relax, sleep when it suited me, and not have to worry about how everyone was doing. It felt so great to be selfish and self-centered for two whole days. Before this weekend, I hadn’t been away from my kids (and my house, with the laundry and all the responsibilities there, plus my business) since October last year. Living in Canada when our families are back in the States is a big reason for this. It’s just hard to get away without someone to care for the babes when they’re so little.
So I just wanted to share that, although I was long overdue, a weekend away gave me the chance to recharge so I can love my kids when I’m with them. I’m the kind of mom who still needs some selfish time. When I don’t take care of myself, I can’t be the mom I want to be. When I do, I’ve definitely got more of myself to give to my family.
I think I’ll book a couple more of these small getaways this summer!
You’d be a good fit to my coaching group if…
You signed up for both motherhood and being an entrepreneur (What were you thinking? Ha! You’d be in great company here 
.- You thought you’d be able to work less and be with your family more by working for yourself, but have found quite the opposite to be true.
- You have noticed your competition doing strange, interesting, amazing things and are feeling like your own new ideas are about as interesting as reading “Good Night, Moon” for the 23rd time in a row to your toddler.
- You’re ready to throw in the towel and “get a real job” (like the one you left behind a while ago because it no longer meshed with your values and priorities).
- You have so many great ideas but lack the ability or knowledge of how to get them done.
- You work because you are driven by your passion and purpose.
- You are tired of doing your work for free or very little pay.
- You realize you can’t call it a business if you don’t make a profit at some point.
- You aren’t clear on your target market or how to reach them or how to create solutions to their problems.
- Your heart tells you you’re doing the right thing, but your spouse or your family doesn’t understand why you’re working (and in fact, even resents your work).
If even a couple of these statements remind you of words you’ve heard coming out of your mouth lately, chances are you’re ready for a change. You’ve tried everything you know how to do to be successful, or to get the results you want, but nothing seems to work. That’s okay. We have all been there, and done that.
In fact, all the mom entrepreneurs who are members in my coaching groups have “been there, done that.” Most of the statements above come from comments made by my clients at the beginning of my program.
Here’s what they say once we’ve been working together for a while:
“Lara, you really have a way of saying exactly what I need to hear. I wonder sometimes if you’re somehow reading my mind.”
“I did exactly what you told me to do and I’m getting new customers and new orders from twitter several times a week now!”
“I didn’t realize before I joined this group how lonely I was. It’s so great to have a group of women I can trust and bounce my ideas off of. I love how we trade ideas with each other. It’s like we’re each others’ “Board of Advisors.”
“The most valuable thing I got from our coaching call today is that I’m not alone in feeling like I’m the only one who doesn’t understand this stuff, and the inspiration to stay committed to my goals thanks to everyone’s support!”
“Everytime I hear one of the other members share a story about her success, I get so charged up because I realize I can achieve my own version of success, too! You girls are amazing and are motivating the heck out of me!”
I’m a woman, a wife, a mom to three kids under the age of seven, and I’m a coach and an entrepreneur because I need to work in order to be satisfied and happy. It’s who I am. I’m a straight-shooter, an open and honest communicator, and extremely compassionate while still supporting you to do what you’re committed to, even if it’s hard and a little (or a lot) scary. I’ve learned a lot in my four years of coaching and running a business while raising a family. And I’d love to share everything I know about helping you be successful in the work you do while creating a life you love to live.
Care to join us? I have four openings in one of my mom entrepreneur coaching groups right now. We meet the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month for an hour at Noon ET via my free conference line. The cost is $195/person (with a maximum of five participants per group). Plan to make a six month commitment so you’ll get the full value of the coaching experience.
Call me (519-990-4458), email me at lara (at) mombizcoach (dot) com, or tweet me if you’d like to schedule a 20 minute session to brainstorm an idea and see if we’re a good match for each other.
I hope to be talking to you soon!
Two great teleseminars for mompreneurs next week!
Is it just me, or is the crazy busy-ness of summer all ready full upon us?
There is so much going on for mom entrepreneurs right now. What an exciting time for us to be in business, 
and for us to be learning and growing!
I have not one, but TWO very special teleclasses scheduled for next week to tell you about. One is about my new, favorite, hot topic: publicity for mompreneurs. The other is about one of the most important, foundational requirements for a successful life: taking exquisite care of yourself.
On Monday night, June 8th, at 8pm ET, I will host a special episode of my BlogTalkRadio Show with special guest Helen Coronato of weekendpublicist.com. Helen is a publicity guru who has created a fabulous virtual workshop in which entrepreneurs can create their very own press kits in one weekend. If you’ve been wondering about how to get the media attention you deserve without spending several thousand dollars, Helen’s tools, templates, live feedback and coaching will help you do just that. Our show will tell you all about her upcoming virtual workshop (on June 13-14) so you’ll know exactly what to expect. And there’s a special deal for Mom Biz Coach show listeners–you can’t afford to miss this, moms!
*** If you’d like to be eligible for the special discount Helen is offering to our show guests, be sure to swing by www.whatmomentrepreneursneed.com and fill in the email form. ***
And then on Tuesday, June 9th, we welcome LaSara Firefox as our guest speaker in the WoMEN: What Mom Entrepreneurs Need Teleseminar Series. In the sixth installment of this series, LaSara will share with us some “Daily Rituals for Self-Care,” something most of us mom entrepreneurs don’t get enough of. LaSara, mother of two, is a successful author (Sexy Witch a non-fiction/self help book), a life coach and NLP practicioner, and founder the Ecstatic Presence Project and Global Family Awakening: an educational, peace and humanitarian family adventure club. With all she has going on in her own life, LaSara is focused on creating support systems that support your whole self!
I feel so fortunate to be able to surround myself with such wise, supportive and generous women as Helen and LaSara. Please mark your calendars and visit the Mom Biz Coach Show on BlogTalkRadio for call-in and listening options for both shows. You can even set up an email reminder so you don’t forget!
I look forward to hearing you on the call!
If you have questions or comments for either of my guests this week, you can leave them here and I’ll do my best to address each of them.
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