Years ago, I heard Woman Business Owner of the Year Mimi Kirsch speak at Seattle Women Business Owners. She owns Paradigm Communications (they produce the in-flight magazines Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air) and she was addressing working mothers. I remember her message very well. If stay-at-home mothers like being at home, their children are happy. … Continue reading More Self Employment and Motherhood- how to have happy kids →

This is just not working. As my final client for the day was writing me a check, I sent a quick instant message to my husband asking him if he could pick up our son from school today, even though it was my day to do it. He couldn’t. So I pulled it together, picked … Continue reading Self-Employment and Motherhood- What is not working? →

The time has come to lease outside office space. I’ve seen clients out of a home office for nearly a decade. I set it up that way on purpose. When we were looking for a house, we chose a certain layout so I could see clients in a home office. On the whole, I’ve enjoyed … Continue reading Home Office vs. Outside Office →

Having a personal business metaphor is extremely helpful. For example, I have always loved space travel. I read science fiction (yes, I’m a Trekkie!) and I follow what NASA is doing. So for me, when big things are happening in my business, when I am struggling, or when I am starting something new, space metaphors … Continue reading Business Metaphors for difficult times (I had a bad day!) →

I feel like I am sitting on top of a rocket. The Women’s Earning Institute is growing quickly and I feel it is poised to do many great things. I am excited, and I am nervous. I am almost too busy, struggling to keep up with the opportunities that arise and to make the most … Continue reading I’m sitting on a rocket →

In the middle of my busy schedule, I dropped everything to help birth a baby. My friend Mary went into labor on Thursday, so I rushed over to her house to be with her and her husband. The three of us had been “training” for this time for many months. We called ourselves “Team Mary”. … Continue reading Business Support (It takes a village to raise a business!) →

Mondays are my day to work “on” my business, as opposed to “in” my business. As such, I don’t see clients on Mondays. But it is one of my busiest days! After working on my to-do list for the week, I worked with a teleconference company on the access codes for my upcoming tele-classes, exchanged … Continue reading Multi-Tasking Mania and the “to-do” list →

 In preparing a goal-setting mini-seminar for the business support groups I run for self-employed women, I ran across this from the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) (My own business group facilitator Mary Allen handed this to us at one of our Vistage meetings.) Probability of Completing a Goal: Hear an idea—10% Consciously decide … Continue reading Setting any goals for the New Year? →

Today I don’t like being self-employed. I think I am feeling rejected. I do a lot of speaking, which I love. So I decided to call up two places where I would like to speak this year. One venue I had spoken for before. Another was a large women’s networking organization that I admire a … Continue reading Today I don’t like being self-employed →

We tend to spend most of our time with people who are like us. We are comfortable with people who make about the same amount of money, and if we spend time with people who make significantly more or less, it feels strange and uncomfortable. But consider this: many of us need to spend more … Continue reading Spend Time with the Upper Third →