You know you're a WAHM...

You know you are a WAHM when you are sitting at Starbucks nursing your baby in one arm and emailing and jotting notes with the other.

Hannah Holthus' Reasoner
Natural Birth Advocate
Read her blog here.

Do you have a "You know you're a WAHM..." story to share? Send it to me for consideration. lori at lbpublicrelations dot com.

Why are you working?

As you may remember, I recently partnered up with Making Work at Home Work as a blogger.

By Mary M. Byers

Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who don't know why they are working. Most assume that they are working for money. But when I talk to people about the topic, I hear a lot of different reasons for work. Some work for the mental stimulation. Some to keep their skills up to date. Other work to support their scrapbooking habit or to be able to purchase cosmetics at a discount.

There's a big difference between working to put food on the table vs.working for the "extras" such as summer camp or a vacation. Both are legitimate but it's essential to be honest about your motivation. Knowing what drives you will help you keep your priorities in order. When my children were young, I worked for the extras. However, instead of stopping when I earned enough to help with vacation costs I kept right on going, becoming a workaholic in the process. It didn't serve me or my family. When I recognized my error, I was able to cut back on work in order to create a healthier balance. Now that my children are school-age and I'm working to help cover orthodontia, tuition and retirement, I've increased my hours accordingly.

Understanding why you are working makes it easier to make tough work-related decisions. Will you work on the weekends? Stay up late to get it all done? If you're working to put food on the table, the answer will more likely be yes. But if you're working for the fun of it, you may choose not to compromise family time by late night or weekend work. When you know why you are working, it gets easier to decide what kind of boundaries you'll adhere to.

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Mary Byers is the author of Making Work at Home Work: Successfully Growing a Business and a Family Under One Roof. You can learn more about making work at home work by subscribing to Mary’s free blog at http://www.makingworkathomework.com/. Interested in more articles like this? Join the blog ring here.

Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk

Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk

A client suggested this marketing book, so I figured I'd better read it.
It's been well over a year since I've read any marketing books. Since I work by myself from home, I don't get to learn from other professionals as often as I would if I worked in an office setting. I always appreciate reading good, inspirational marketing books.

Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk was very inspirational!

I've already suggested the book to many of my clients.

He basically explains how to build your brand using the power of social media.

He has emphasized a concept I've tried suggesting to my clients in the past. While I'm the "social media editor" (cool term he used to describe folks like me) for my clients, and my industry articles and perspectives are important and beneficial, they can only go so far. It's even more beneficial for clients to get into their social media accounts and post inside information as well.

Here's how Vaynerchuk explains this point:

"My business already has a Twitter account and a Facebook page, we’re set in the social media department.

This is the equivalent of claiming twenty years ago that just because your business bought a TV spot and a few ads in the newspaper, you didn’t need to pay attention to your advertising department. Social media isn’t about joining in, it’s about being involved."

Share your surgery schedule, share birthday photos of staff members, share what your diet coordinator is eating for lunch, share what your dental staff gives out at Halloween, share the exercise techniques of your cosmetic surgery staff, share your experiences during a hair training class.

A cool point about blogs from the book, "A website is for communicating logistics and facilitating sales; your blog is for communicating the essence of your brand. It allows you to expand your topic in ways that a static website simply can't.

Vaynerchuk gives a step-by-step marketing strategy that is easy to follow and will help readers "Crush It."

From the Amazon link:

Learn: Why social media has evened the playing field, destroying the “gate-keepers” who had previously dictated the distribution of content.

Learn: How to beat unemployment and create wealth-building opportunities by building and maintaining a personal brand.

Learn: Why storytelling is the most important business concept in the current marketplace.

Learn: How you can build an online business around your passion without quitting your day job.

Learn: Why Twitter and Facebook are just tools and not a social media strategy.

Learn: How to take advantage of the half-billion dollars in advertising that are moving to the internet.

Learn: Why transparency and being true to yourself are now winning marketing formulas.

Learn: How to build and maintain an online community around your passion and brand.

Learn: Strategies for turning attention into money.

Learn: Why the legacy element of the internet era is so underrated.