Resource Articles, Uncategorized
As parents and entrepreneurs we are dedicated to our family first and our business second. Once we have set aside time that belongs to our business, we often spend a great deal of time demystifying marketing and sales.
No matter how often we hear speakers and advertisers tell us that there is a “secret to success” no such secret actually exists, at least none that can be taught once you hand over your credit card. So I will tell it to you for free. The secret to success is
HUSTLE.
We know that this is true because we see successful people all around us, doing exactly what we are capable of doing ourselves. If you look closely you will see that success leaves a trail that can be followed by anyone. Therefore, there isn’t just one little secret that will turn your business into an overnight success.
If only good intentions were enough to bring us more sales, more income and more
opportunities, we’d all be rolling in it. ACTION is the only way to produce results. No matter what you are facing right now, I urge you to ask yourself, “What action can I take -right now- by me that will set something productive in motion?”
Sometimes it’s just going for a walk, journaling or meditating to get into the right headspace.
Or it could be crafting a new email, Posting something contemplative on social media (don’t get sucked in to scrolling!!) or updating your business plan. Whatever it is… keep moving. Hustle and flow, baby.
Resource Articles, Uncategorized
In this economy, everyone needs to have a job.
And yet, unemployment is on the rise due to COVID and other unexpected circumstances. When crisis hits, women ALWAYS bear the brunt of it.
Given a choice between losing her income or his…many families chose to give up mom’s salary because chances are she is only earning 80 cents to his dollar. Sigh.
Taking care of your kids and your household is worth a million bucks, and if it were up to us, we’d make sure you get paid for all the work you do. Finding gratitude for the little things and loving up your kiddos can definitely help you cope, but having a good attitude can only go so far. You have bills to pay, little people to feed and…well, a life to live.
It takes money to live here.
Coming into this human experience comes at a price… and no matter how unfair it seems, you have to pay to exist. So if finding a job is more difficult than you ever imagined it would be, building a business might be a good option for you.
It takes time to build a business, and nowadays, sticking it out is half the battle. But enough is enough. You are working hard and you deserve to be paid.
Pulling double duty does not entitle anyone to a salary, but creating a smart and strategic business plan will give you a greater chance of prosperity. This blue print will give you the tools to leverage your strategy and bring it to fruition.
Simply pick up a pen and create a map of the journey you would like to go on with your business. The very nature of business is that it is a collective activity. Choose to walk down a well thought out business path and you will find that you will stay much more engaged with your purpose and your mission. Intend yourself to be inspired toward actions that will bring you abundance and you will achieve the freedom that you and your family deserve to have.
Want some more inspiration? Ellen Rohr, a business makeover expert and Our Milk Money extraordinaire has a free ebook download: The Weekend Business Plan which will have you ready to launch your business by Monday.
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If you are overwhelmed or even intimidated by all of the social media choices, the lingo and the technologies out there, you may be in need of a Social Media Diet. If what started off as cheap way to get your message seen and heard has turned into a tiresome and over-stimulating experience, the best thing to do is set up your own ground rules. Don’t get run over by the chaos.
Get in. Post your message. Get Out.
Of course, you do need to have some interaction with your connections, but make sure that you are allotting specific time for the social end of it or it could suck the time right out of you. If you are tired of being asked to “join everything” or being told “try it, see what happens” you may be in need of a strategy that will organize all of these clubs as well as measure results for you and your small business. Like the outdated clothes in your closet, if you have not been back to visit in 6 months to a year, the club goes in the garbage. If you find networking time consuming, try setting aside one day of the week to focus on it, or set a goal to spend 20 minutes an evening increasing your numbers.
There is no question that having an internet presence gives you credibility, but without some dedicated organization, social media can overpower. Stay focused on the diet and you should be fine.
Self -employed Parent Enthusiast Ally Loprete is the Founder of OurMilkMoney.com, a nationwide online business directory of self-employed parents, and the host of This Little Parent Stayed Home, a live weekly radio show, on The Toginet.com Radio Group which can be downloaded on iTunes. Ally is on a mission to bring home 1 million parents through coaching other’s to deal with the sometimes overwhelming prospect of leaving a full time job to start a new business, while running a full time household and raising kids. She is resolute about creating a haven in which parents across the nation will continue to thrive and obtain the support they need in their personal journeys. Self-employed parents, list your business for free at www.ourmilkmoney.com. Private coaching is available at www.thislittleparent.info.
Family, Uncategorized
We were out to dinner so we didn’t get the news at the same time as the rest of the world. It took a phone call from a friend for us to become informed. Suddenly my husband and I were hugging one another happily and cheering.
Our little boys, 5 and 2 came out of their room in their pajamas wanting to know what the jubilation was all about.
Did we just win a million dollars?
Did Daddy’s favorite team win the Superbowl?
Maybe we were going to Disneyland?
It had to be one of those things, or something like it by the way mommy and daddy were whooping it up.
It was none of those things. We’d just heard the news that Osama Bin Laden, the most evil and villainous man of our generation had been brought to death.
DEATH.
It suddenly became apparent that there wasn’t an easy way to explain to innocent children that the death of anyone is a good thing and reason to jump for joy. I began by telling them that a very bad man had been killed, but then found myself frozen at the word “kill”.
The innocent eyes of my 5 year old looked at me as if he didn’t recognize me at all. I worried that he saw me as a fraud, or worse, a killer myself. Was this the same mommy who doesn’t like him playing with guns or violent video games? The same mommy who teaches the value of all living creatures?
I was numbed by my own altercation. I could assure my little boys that there were no monsters hiding in their room, but now I was being forced to tell the truth about the monsters that walked among us, and ones we couldn’t simply “walk away” from when threatened with name calling or even sticks and stones.
It made me question whether any form of celebration was really appropriate when someone’s life has just been taken. Sure, my initial reaction to the news was that of victory. Bin Laden’s death meant that I might begin to feel safer than I’d felt in 10 years, and that my children might also be safer in a post 9/11 world. It meant hundreds of Americans who’d lost their lives on that wretched day could rest in peace. It meant that those who’d lost loved ones might finally begin to have some closure. It meant that our nation’s division might be bridged and maybe we’d all stop pointing fingers and blaming one another for the decade’s setbacks. I hated this man as much as anyone…but I couldn’t dance on his grave, nor did I want my child to think I was anything other than who I’d always been- a person who valued life.
My husband and I had done our very best to teach our sons tolerance of those that are “bad” and those that have not been given the gift of love and acceptance.
We’ve taught our boys to be compassionate about bullies and not provoke them with hatred or rivalry. We taught them how to keep the peace by simply walking away from those who wish to cause pain. How could I justify this hypocrisy when in his point of view, we were reveling in someone else’s demise?
But even worse, how could I even begin to explain why this was a rare exception without introducing him to the horrid and evil acts of this man?
I realized it wasn’t my son who was in need of a lesson. It was me. My 5 year old in this instance was my teacher and he helped me recognize that evil or no evil, the death of any person is not something to celebrate. Loss of life, no matter who’s it is, is precious and sacred. But I also realized that my son deserved more credit than I was giving him. His eyes told me that he wanted to understand, and that he couldn’t be shielded from the pain that lives in this world forever. I could, however, help him to feel safe and loved by me and his father.
After I took my son in my arms he looked up at me and said, “Mommy, I feel sad for the bad man. He probably didn’t have a mommy like you to teach him how to be nice to others.”
He probably didn’t.
Uncategorized
When I think back to before I came home to work and take care of my new son, I remember how “stuck” I felt. I envied other women and men who had their own businesses and I believed that the only reason that I didn’t have one was because I lacked the motivation.
No, actually that wasn’t the only reason. Now that I think about it, I had a whole list of why I couldn’t be my own boss: I didn’t think I could hold myself accountable if I didn’t have a boss, I was sure I’d never get out of my pajamas during the day, I was afraid I might blow off all the work I was supposed to do and I’d eventually run my business into the ground, this little business of mine would end up being a hobby of some sort ike a never ending project of scrapbooking, I didn’t know what the start-up costs were, I didn’t have the money, I didn’t have a unique idea or a business plan, I was sure that I lacked whatever skills I needed, I was certainly not organized, I didn’t know the first thing about becoming a business owner, or about financing, taxes, or even the slightest notion what I could actually DO. I’d also had way too many jobs (more than I care to share, actually) where bosses had convinced me that I was capable of very little. The sad thing is that I really believed them.
Now that I am self-employed, I look back and laugh at how absurd I was thinking that I couldn’t pull this off, and I wonder what took me so long to get here. I know that it was the fear of the unknown, but had I really grasped what it would be like to work for myself, I would have started 10 years earlier, and spared myself all of those confidence crashes, not to mention the most difficult year of my life while my infant son was in daycare.
The really crazy part is that I know how many others still feel stuck the way that I did, and are probably surfing all over the internet right now for the answer. I have no problem admitting that 90 percent of my corporate salary was spent surfing the internet for a way out. I found that to be so ironic when being a stay at home parent pays nothing and is literally one of the most difficult jobs there is.
If you are looking for a quick easy answer, sorry to tell you there isn’t one. I do not have a fool proof business to sell you, I personally don’t have a job to offer you, and I certainly don’t have any specific answers. But I promise you… you can do it, because anyone can. If you have a skill, you can work for yourself. So many people do not realize that they already have what it takes to become self-employed. The simplest question is this: What are you doing for someone else that you could be doing for yourself? Without making a single excuse, just answer the question. Make a list of your skills. Then, trust that you will figure out the rest. You’ll find ways to market, to connect with others, to tap into resources that will give you whatever information you are lacking. Trust that you will find the answers and that there will always be someone to help you.
The internet is an amazing thing and has given us unlimited resources as far as information is concerned. Plus, it connects us to just about everyone on the planet, so when you do decide to venture out on your own, you will have help and support. The possibilities are endless. All you have to do is ask. I had no idea a year ago that the internet community existed to support one another the way that it does. I have been blown away by the generosity of those that I’ve met in my first 2 years as an entrepreneur. I am astounded every day at the passion others have to see ME succeed. Why? Because my success means their success. I GET IT NOW.
So the reason I wanted to write this article is because it wasn’t out there when I was looking for it. I wish that back when I was feeling stuck, someone had invited me to THIS party, just for a moment. I needed to be taken by the hand and introduced to this encouraging world of self-employed parents. Perhaps I wouldn’t have quite realized the compassion and the support that it contained, even if it was staring me directly in the face, but I do know that it was something even greater than what I was searching for, and others need to know that it exists as well. So if this is you, then welcome to the party. You’ll love it here.
Self -employed Parent Enthusiast Ally Loprete is the Founder of OurMilkMoney.com, a nationwide online business directory of self-employed parents, and the host of This Little Parent Stayed Home, a live weekly radio show, on The Toginet.com Radio Group which can be downloaded on iTunes. Ally is on a mission to help other’s deal with the sometimes overwhelming prospect of leaving a full time job to start a new business, while running a full time household and raising kids. She is resolute about creating a haven in which parents across the nation will continue to thrive and obtain the support they need in their personal journeys. Visit more at www.ourmilkmoney.com. Private coaching is available at www.thislittleparent.info
Family, Uncategorized
Nearly a year ago I made a new years resolution that I would be more conscious of and limit my need to apologize for everything. Along with this new initiative, came a new desire to embrace myself without vindication for the things that make me who I am.
In my tiresome “need to be liked by everyone and not to make waves where there needn’t be any,” I admit I had allowed my Jewish heritage to become somewhat invisible through the years. Being Jewish in the current society had just become more trouble than it was worth. I’d married a Catholic man who had always wanted to support my traditions, but even so, celebrating my culture’s customs had become such a chore amidst a Christian holiday society. Being non-religious, I didn’t really see a need to make it a priority. As far as I was concerned there were more important things to fight for, and quite frankly, I didn’t feel like fighting anyway.
So for a while I took the easy way out, jumping into the celebration of Christmas with both feet, dressing the tree, hanging the stockings and telling stories about Santa and his elves. It was so much easier to celebrate without the fear that I would be targeted. I guess you could say I conformed to fit in.
Through the years, I’d think back to Hanukah, spin a driedle or two in remembrance, but the truth is it felt a bit like I was letting a part of myself die a little. It saddened me, but I wasn’t sure of what I could do about it. The area we live in is sparsely Jewish and what little Jewish circles there were, I didn’t run in.
This year, along with swearing off my addiction to apologize, I realized I no longer wanted to deny my Jewish Heritage. Religious persecution in a less diversified suburb might have led me to choose not to worship at all, but this was no longer about religious beliefs. This was not a choice. The same way a Chinese or Italian person cannot deny their ancestry, I cannot deny mine, nor would I teach my children to deny theirs.
This year, Hanukah came earlier than Christmas, a perfect time to celebrate it without the chaos or the competition of Christmas. By gosh, I was going to take advantage! Hanukah is not yet over and already we have had a wonderful time spinning dreidels, making latkas, hiding presents, and telling the story of the Macabes and the miracle of the burning oil. In honor of my reborn heritage, my husband and I brought our boys to the Skirball Center for the Hanukah celebration this year. It was such a wonderful time for all of us!! Full of laughter and celebration.
It felt like home.
We learned such things such as the correct title for what most of us call a Menorah: The Hannukiah. The most wonderful revelation is how many of my non-Jewish friends and neighbors have taken part in helping me celebrate. They have set aside any preconceived notions and have seemed genuinely interested in learning about my heritage and all of its traditions.
What a glorious time all of us have had!
If only I’d realized earlier the importance of pride, I would not have spent all those years being afraid to be my very self, my only self, and all the things that make me exactly who I am. I didn’t choose to have frizzy kinky hair and freckles, I did not choose to be born in a free country and I did not choose to be Jewish. But I am grateful that each of those choices were made for me.
New Years Eve is still a month away, but I already know that my resolution this year will be to embrace my birthright and honor myself in love and festivity!
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