Resource Articles, Uncategorized
Okay, so life didn’t give you lemons, but it gave you something else.
The most common challenge I hear from the parents who are searching for a new avenue that will allow them to earn an income from home is this:
“I don’t know what I can do.”
The amount of times I hear that phrase is staggering.
It’s time that we dive into this common issue. Why is it we feel so inadequate and
unaccomplished? Are we still all searching for our purpose in life? Is it possible you were really branded with no such talent to offer the world?
Start with realizing what kind of lemons you were handed in this lifetime, and where you are under-utilizing yourself. Remember those career assessment tests they made us take in grade school? This is a little bit like that, only it isn’t so broad as to try and fit your square peg into a round hole. Start by making a list of your skills. What have people paid you to do in the past? Do you make a mean lasagna? Know a foreign language? Sew? Play an instrument? These are all gifts just waiting to be recognized by you.
It’s time for you to discover the gift life has given you, but more than that, it’s time for you to share your gift with the world.
The best way to get started is to do what I like to call a “brain dump”.
Get out a piece of paper and start to make a list of all the talents and skills you have to offer. Don’t think, just write. If you find yourself considering each item before you list it, remind yourself that this is not the time to judge the ideas. Just get them down on paper.
Some like to type out their answers on a word doc, but studies have shown that putting a pen to paper opens up different portals in the brain that you may not have accessed otherwise.
This will likely be challenging at first, but don’t give up. You should find that once you start, the momentum will build and ideas will come flooding in. Don’t stop until you can’t think of anything else.
Next, fine tune it.
Look at the list and cross off anything that seems ridiculous. (uh… you probably can’t become a professional sandcastle builder, but kudos to you for writing it down and acknowledging you have this gift!)
Wave a Magic Wand.
By now, ideas should be percolating. You should feel at least a little better about yourself and what makes you… YOU. Go with the flow of this improved mood. While in this space, imagine that your fairy godmother grants you one wish to do anything you want as a career, and with the wave of a magic wand, you will receive it. Don’t judge it, just wish it.
That is your answer.
Follow your passion. So many times we talk ourselves out of it because we lack the resources, or the education, or the time, or the support…. But ANYTHING can be done if you are passionate enough. You got this, Queen.
Resource Articles, Uncategorized
One of the biggest misconceptions that parents who want to quit their job make is in the financial preparations. If it takes at least a year to build a business from home, then logically that would mean you would need to save at least your full annual income to live off of in that year, right? WRONG.
No wonder so many people think it is impossible and remain STUCK in a less than desirable situation.
The good news is that you are NOT STUCK.
The bad news? There are still sacrifices to be made.
Before losing all hope, create a financial spreadsheet. Cut out all of the expenses that go along with working outside of the home, such as daycare expenses, house cleaning, commuting, etc. With your spouse’s income, you should only be in the negative $200-$500 a month. If you are higher than that, go back to the drawing board and see if you can’t cut something else out. Sacrifices will need to be made for a short time.
Once you have gotten your expenses down to no more than -$500, multiply THAT amount by 12 months.
For example: 500 x 12 = $6,000
Now isn’t that a more logical annual goal to save before you quit your job? $6,000 is much more attainable to have saved than $60,000, and should minimize the fear of jumping without that safety net.
Furthermore, this now gives you a new income goal as a first time business owner.
You have enough of a safety net for a year… and that is more than enough time to get your small business up and running. Remember, you don’t have to REPLACE your monthly income. The goal now is to earn $500/ month. Sure, it may take you a few months to get there, but when you do, you won’t have to dip into your safety net anymore… or if you have a down month, your safety net should still be there for you.
Don’t look now, but you are self-employed.
Before you know it, you’ll be thriving as a self-employed career parent. You may even get used to the less expensive way of life. Once business picks up, you’ll need to think about how to scale it up, hire some outsourcing support, or even scale it back for busier times of the year. You got this!
Resource Articles, Uncategorized
Remember what we were like before we became parents?
Barely, but yes.
When my husband and I decided to create a family, for some stupid reason we thought our children would just easily fit into our busy lives like a new puppy. We had no idea the culture shock…the physical, mental and emotional transformation that would come about once our children became the centerpiece in our lives.
No matter how much we had prepared, how many books we read, how much research we did – everything took a detour once baby made 3.
For many of us, the desire to become our own boss didn’t fully transpire until we became parents. Our careers may have suited us just fine before we took on the parenthood project. We didn’t necessarily leave our careers because we didn’t have time for them anymore. All of a sudden we had a new love, something that filled our hearts and gave us more purpose than before. The dilemma came when we realized we still had more to give.
Now more than ever, there should never be a question how necessary it is that we claim our success and stand up for our smart and savvy selves. No one can travel down your path, hold your actions accountable, or celebrate your story as well as you. All this requires is a little creative discipline, and you really can fit it all into one life. This may not have been the path that you started out on, but if your look closely, you’ll see that this one is better….for awhile.
Nothing stays the same.
Don’t mean to freak you out, but your kids will be grown and more self sufficient before you know it. I used to DREAM of a time that they could walk themselves to school and entertain themselves without interrupting my work day. I couldn’t wait to have time to myself to accomplish MORE.
Well, here we are.
We’ve accomplished a lot and now it’s time to venture back into the career (and the salary) we deserve.
If you are already there, and ready to bring all of your entrepreneur skills and experience back into the corporate workforce, you may be facing an uphill battle. Thousands of highly qualified women with prodigious value to offer are being ghosted and denied employment. We get it, and we are here for you. Our nonprofit services were created with you in mind. Visit us at OurMilkMoney.org to learn more.
Resource Articles, Uncategorized
If you are like so many small business owners you may feel too emotionally close to your product to adequately sell it yourself. Selling ice to an eskimo is easy, but selling something you have created on your own may cause a hive break out- and here is why: Objections on your own products will feel more like a personal rejection than ever before… but it doesn’t have to.
Be a Solution Seller
If you want complete and total freedom, learning to sell graciously is the best skill you could ever posses. Solution Selling is about helping someone who knows less than you do come to a decision that they are not able to make on their own. It is also about receiving money, and money is a good thing because it helps you to give back to yourself, your business and your prospective clients.
But not everyone is going to be a candidate for your product.
This is KEY.
Gone are the days that you do an actual sales pitch. No more ALWAYS BE CLOSING. It’s more like… ALWAYS BE PRE-QUALIFYING. In fact, you should be spending MOST of your time asking questions to a lead, and finding out what their needs are, or even if they have any at all. This is the process that will help you determine if you should spend some more time on this candidate, or if your time is better utilized elsewhere.
Practice is all it takes, and the more you do it the more you will discover your natural ability to help others learn what makes you an expert about your products and services.
Family, Resource Articles, Uncategorized
Have you ever experienced something that has truly altered your core beliefs and became the one thing that lead you into your greatest self? There is really no telling which event is going to have the largest impact on who we are or how it affects the way we choose to lead our lives… It’s inevitable that at some point in our existence there will be a life changing event for all of us.
Perhaps it will be a near death experience or even the loss of a loved one. These events force us to confront our current behaviors, re-examine the consequences of our perpetual lifestyles and re-map our life’s purpose, or perhaps its just that these moments are the ones that define us and give us the purpose we’ve been searching for.
Depending on the nature of these moments and how you perceive them, even the most tragic events will later transpire as blessings in disguise and precious life lessons.
How you weather the storms in your life are the keys to being able to recognize the miracles that emerge out of these moments – giving you clues to getting exactly what it is you want.
What does this have to do with getting what you want?
First, it is discussions like these that help us to realize what we are truly capable of and what is required for us to achieve all that we have ever wanted. This is when we discover that we are more willing to trek through the tempest if we knew the reward at the end of it would be abundant and plentiful.
Second, when we know what we DON’T want, we get closer to the things we DO want. Pay attention. Keep a journal of these feelings so that you can map it out later on.
Finally— FLOW. This is the best advice I can give to anyone. The universe is filled with energies flowing, moving forward, growing, expanding and changing. It’s not hard to see. There is more than enough evidence in nature to see that the world has never stopped turning.
Rivers have currents…. THAT is energy flowing. Even if a large boulder falls into the center of the river, the current moves around it to keep flowing.
You can CHOOSE to be a part of this flow, and you will always be taken care of. Drop your oars and let the current take you. Relax, trust, and surrender. It works.
Family, Resource Articles, Uncategorized
We all know how important that first hour is when we wake up in the morning, and how it sets the tone for the rest of our day, but how often are we utilizing that first 60 minutes to our advantage, Here are some sure fire tips to controlling your day before it controls you:
1. Claim your space! Before you ever power up the computer, write on a paper notebook what you would like to accomplish for the day.
2. Power it up with Pages! An effective way to fully wipe the sleep from your eyes and clean out the cobwebs are to pick up a pen and write for 5 continuous minutes whatever comes to your mind. Just spill it out without thinking and simply writing. About anything and nothing. This is what I like to call a brain dump. It gets out all the feels that I don’t need to be having to push forward. If something is bothering you, and festering deep within, these pages will find the culprit and squash it.
3. Voice your Value! Give yourself a pep talk each and every morning to dominate your domain. Keep it simple and easy to remember. “Today I will create magic!”
4. Create a ritual! One that is YOURS and belongs to you. Some people find that having their morning cup of Joe on the porch with a newspaper is a wonderful morning ritual. Others do Yoga. I put on make-up. Yep, don’t laugh. It’s MY time with MYSELF looking in the mirror and being artistic with my face. In fact, I put on make-up every day — even during the pandemic. It helped me stay grounded when the world felt so displaced.
As stay-at-home parents and business owners its very easy to get sidetracked with everyone else’s needs, or the unexpected chaos of the world. But as the CEO of your home and business, you do have SOME control over the direction you want to move in. As women, we are built to grow things. Creation of anything is nourishing and fuels us.
Morning rituals are a perfect way of starting the day holding your ground and keep jurisdiction over anything unexpected that may come your way.
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