Marcie Carson, Principal and Creative Director, IE Design + Communications
Author of the blog, womoments.com.
Co-Author of a future book working motherhood (http://www.womobook.com/) These girls are right on when describing the "master multitaskers" that are working moms! I'm thinking of submitting my own "mom word" for their WoMo Glossary.
I'm sure most WAHMs work when the kiddos are asleep, but sometimes, when the inspiration hits, we just gotta get to that computer and quickly bust it out. It's not always that easy to do and Marcie shares this funny, "You Know You're A WAHM" story:
"It's usually much easier to write after the wee ones are in bed, but I'm
inspired and the kiddos appear to be entertaining themselves quite well.
So, I'm going to go for itŠ ooop, well, see here we go, hold on a sec.Š (5:10)
Didn't think that would happen so fast, but no worries, they needed help
with a pen cap. (5:12)
So, I was saying, inspired, yes! I went into Pete's this morning whoops, sorry, just a minute. There's screaming. (5:18)
Alright, I'm back. 3-year old was crumpling 7-year old's masterpiece. Boy,
is he pissed.
Anyway, I was getting a coffeeŠ ARGH! What now? (5:35) OK.
Nothing alarming, older one was sitting on younger one's face. It happens
all the time.
Soooo, I forgot where I was. Oh, yes, I'm walking into Starbucks, wait, no. It was Pete¹s. I was running into Pete's and this guyŠ.
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Back, forth, back aaaaaand forth. (6:04)
I'm back. Not a problem. I'm getting a little confused (and winded), but
they're fine.
Back to my story. Something about running late for coffee.
Can you hear that? Is that a soccer ball hitting?Š oh, uhoh, crying.
Sooooo sorry. One second. (6:30)
Yes, that was a tad longer than one second. I had to take the clothes out of the dryer.
So, as I was saying, I'm running with coffee and and there's this guy named PeteŠ oh, crapola, what time is it?
I need to go make dinner."
Thanks Marcie! I can definitely relate to this one!
Do you have a "You Know You're a Work at Home Mom" story? Email it to me for consideration! lori at lbpublicrelations dot com.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Dumbest Excuses for Not Blogging
Reprinted from "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," an ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email the handy cheat sheet "89 Reasons to Send a Press Release."
If you aren't blogging yet, or you've stopped blogging, you can't use these three excuses:
--It takes too much time.
--I don't know what to say.
--Nobody comments at my blog.
Let's address them one by one.
Of course it takes time. But if I had to choose just one social media tool, I'd probably choose a blog. It positions you as an expert in your field far better than noisy sites like Twitter and Facebook can.
You don't know what to say?
Finding content is one of the biggest complaints I hear from Publicity Hounds. But once you know about shortcuts like creating Google Alerts and checking them each day for topics you can write about, you'll have more content than you'll ever need. That's what I do.
Nobody's commenting at your blog?
It could be because your content isn't compelling. Or perhaps you aren't feeding your blog into sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, where thousands more people can share your information with friends, followers and fans. Or maybe you aren't ending your posts with questions like "Am I wrong?" or "What's your take?" or "Share your best tip here and let's see how long a list we can create."
Results of my customer profile survey earlier this year show many Publicity Hounds are hungry for time-saving tips on how to blog. So I asked Patsi Krakoff of The Blog Squad to join me for a teleseminar at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, Jan. 13, called "Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging."
Make 2010 the year you finally commit to a blog and build in efficiencies that will make the job go faster. Read more about what you'll learn and register.
If you aren't blogging yet, or you've stopped blogging, you can't use these three excuses:
--It takes too much time.
--I don't know what to say.
--Nobody comments at my blog.
Let's address them one by one.
Of course it takes time. But if I had to choose just one social media tool, I'd probably choose a blog. It positions you as an expert in your field far better than noisy sites like Twitter and Facebook can.
You don't know what to say?
Finding content is one of the biggest complaints I hear from Publicity Hounds. But once you know about shortcuts like creating Google Alerts and checking them each day for topics you can write about, you'll have more content than you'll ever need. That's what I do.
Nobody's commenting at your blog?
It could be because your content isn't compelling. Or perhaps you aren't feeding your blog into sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, where thousands more people can share your information with friends, followers and fans. Or maybe you aren't ending your posts with questions like "Am I wrong?" or "What's your take?" or "Share your best tip here and let's see how long a list we can create."
Results of my customer profile survey earlier this year show many Publicity Hounds are hungry for time-saving tips on how to blog. So I asked Patsi Krakoff of The Blog Squad to join me for a teleseminar at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, Jan. 13, called "Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging."
Make 2010 the year you finally commit to a blog and build in efficiencies that will make the job go faster. Read more about what you'll learn and register.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Making Work At Home Work: Holiday Strategies
Making Work At Home Work: Holiday Strategies
by Mary Byers
As you may remember, I recently partnered up with Making Work at Home Work as a blogger.
As I look ahead to the approaching holiday season, I thought I’d share a few suggestions for you to consider for your business.
• Give yourself a break. Most employees get time off for Christmas. Sometimes I give myself time off, too. But I'm not always intentional about it. This year, I'm going to actually mark off a couple of days that I'm gifting to myself. I'll turn on my auto reply and get myself out of the office. I know it will feel good and will be rejuvenating for me.
• Make a list of office supply and equipment needs. I know it is difficult to spend money on work when you need to spend money on holiday gifts. But there are two great reasons to make work related purchases this month and next. One, there are great sales. Two, if you've had a successful year in 2009, you can reduce your taxable income by purchasing things you need (and want) for your business.
• Consider developing a one-page plan for next year. I spend one morning each December writing a one-page business plan for myself. I simply identify four or five initiatives that would help my business. I capture them on paper, jot down my action plans, and post it on my wall. This helps keep me focused throughout the year.
• Set a financial goal (unless it will make you a slave to your business). I set financial goals for myself early in my business. But I abandoned them when they became the be-all and end-all for me even though I had two preschool aged children. Instead, I focused on taking the work that came my way. No more, no less. Now, however, I've started setting goals again. And I'm pleased to report that I had my best year ever in 2009! Don't be a slave to a goal. But consider setting one if it will motivate and encourage you or if you have something special you're saving for.
• Take time to be thankful. I am grateful I get to work from home. Sometimes I forget my gratitude when I'm overwhelmed or behind in my work. But I don't want to lose sight of what a privilege it is to run my own business. I plan to keep this in the forefront of my mind as I approach this holiday season.
Mary Byers is the author of Making Work at Home Work: Successfully Growing a Business and a Family Under One Roof. Sign up for her work at home blog at www.makingworkathomework.com.
by Mary Byers
As you may remember, I recently partnered up with Making Work at Home Work as a blogger.
As I look ahead to the approaching holiday season, I thought I’d share a few suggestions for you to consider for your business.
• Give yourself a break. Most employees get time off for Christmas. Sometimes I give myself time off, too. But I'm not always intentional about it. This year, I'm going to actually mark off a couple of days that I'm gifting to myself. I'll turn on my auto reply and get myself out of the office. I know it will feel good and will be rejuvenating for me.
• Make a list of office supply and equipment needs. I know it is difficult to spend money on work when you need to spend money on holiday gifts. But there are two great reasons to make work related purchases this month and next. One, there are great sales. Two, if you've had a successful year in 2009, you can reduce your taxable income by purchasing things you need (and want) for your business.
• Consider developing a one-page plan for next year. I spend one morning each December writing a one-page business plan for myself. I simply identify four or five initiatives that would help my business. I capture them on paper, jot down my action plans, and post it on my wall. This helps keep me focused throughout the year.
• Set a financial goal (unless it will make you a slave to your business). I set financial goals for myself early in my business. But I abandoned them when they became the be-all and end-all for me even though I had two preschool aged children. Instead, I focused on taking the work that came my way. No more, no less. Now, however, I've started setting goals again. And I'm pleased to report that I had my best year ever in 2009! Don't be a slave to a goal. But consider setting one if it will motivate and encourage you or if you have something special you're saving for.
• Take time to be thankful. I am grateful I get to work from home. Sometimes I forget my gratitude when I'm overwhelmed or behind in my work. But I don't want to lose sight of what a privilege it is to run my own business. I plan to keep this in the forefront of my mind as I approach this holiday season.
Mary Byers is the author of Making Work at Home Work: Successfully Growing a Business and a Family Under One Roof. Sign up for her work at home blog at www.makingworkathomework.com.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Paul Gillin's Message to Graduates
Social Media Expert, Paul Gillin, spoke to Dr. Nora Barnes’ social media marketing class at the University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth.
He had some VERY important things to tell them.
Here are some of my favorites:
- Much of what you’ve learned about marketing over the last four years will be irrelevant five years from now.
- You should discard much of what your teachers have been telling you about the media. Traditional media is collapsing and what emerges from the rubble will look very different than the institutions we now know.
- Traditional media was built upon a foundation of inefficiency. The clothing retailer who wanted to reach the .01% of the population who want to buy a wedding gown at any given time has had to pay for the 99.9% who don’t. That’s crazy, but it’s the only way we could get a message across in the past.
- In the old days, the marketer’s job was to media-train a few key executives. In the future, the marketer’s job will be to media-train the entire company.
Here's the full list.
He had some VERY important things to tell them.
Here are some of my favorites:
- Much of what you’ve learned about marketing over the last four years will be irrelevant five years from now.
- You should discard much of what your teachers have been telling you about the media. Traditional media is collapsing and what emerges from the rubble will look very different than the institutions we now know.
- Traditional media was built upon a foundation of inefficiency. The clothing retailer who wanted to reach the .01% of the population who want to buy a wedding gown at any given time has had to pay for the 99.9% who don’t. That’s crazy, but it’s the only way we could get a message across in the past.
- In the old days, the marketer’s job was to media-train a few key executives. In the future, the marketer’s job will be to media-train the entire company.
Here's the full list.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Black Friday is Great for Work at Home Moms!
I got a really good deal at Office Max on a HP All in One printer, fax, scanner. It's wireless!
Many thanks to my tech guy (hubby) who installed it.
Now I just need a black, wooden file cabinet to complete my home office.
Many thanks to my tech guy (hubby) who installed it.
Now I just need a black, wooden file cabinet to complete my home office.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
Once again I'm thankful to God for blessing my business.
For giving me the strength to get up in the early morning hours and to get through 17 hour days.
I'm thankful for the professional mentors in my life.
I'm thankful for the brilliant entrepreneurs/clients that I get to learn from.
I'm thankful for clients who are doing such good in this world and they've been able to use me to reach the community.
I'm thankful for the internet, my new computer and the beautiful home office my husband made for me.
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