Mommy's Home Office

Ok, guys! I’m gonna get a little woo woo in this episode but I want you to stick with me because I know how powerful this is. I’ve been studying and practicing the law of attraction and manifesting for quite some time now and just recently was reminded exactly how much power I have through it. So before I go into the whole story,  I want to give you a quick crash course in the law of attraction. Law of Attraction 101 Basically, it’s the ability to attract into our lives whatever we are focusing on. Meaning that all thoughts turn into things eventually. So if you focus on negative doom and gloom you will remain under that cloud. If you focus on positive thoughts and have goals that you aim to achieve you will find a way to achieve them with massive and inspired action. This is something I wholeheartedly believe in. You are where your attention is! If you are in a negative mindset then negative things tend to happen to you. We all know that one person that is always focusing on the negative stuff that happens either to them or in the world in general.  It’s easy to get wrapped up in those thoughts. They say misery enjoys company and it’s true.  The more you surround yourself with the negative the more negative will come to you. The same is true for thinking positive and practicing gratitude. If we can stay in a mindset that is full of gratitude and hopeful positive thoughts then we get more of those good positive vibes and feelings. The universe/god/the creator whatever you want to call it wants to give us what we want.  So if we are in place that is focusing only on the negative then it will help us get more of that and vise versa. We need to be intentional and clear about what we want and what we focus on.  This way the universe knows exactly what we want and will do everything to help us get it. Do you believe that you can manifest whatever you want? Let me tell you what just happened to me and why I am recording this episode now. My hubby and I went up to Durango a couple of weeks ago.  If you listen regularly you probably knew that but what you didn’t know was why we went.   We actually went up there to look at a couple of properties that we were interested in.  We wanted a vacation home that we could set up as a VRBO. Well, I love love love Colorado and was pretty sure that I wanted a house there.  Until I was there. While we were seeing the houses, I kept getting this heavy feeling. And thinking about all of the work that goes along with owning a house in a state that is a 12-hour drive or 2-hour plane ride and that deals with lots of weather-related issues. I decided that I didn’t really want to own a home there.  I love to visit but don’t want all of the added work and liability that goes along with owning a home. So when I got home, I decided to dig a little deeper into my feelings and I realized that it wasn’t about owning a home in Colorado at all.  It was about missing and wanting to out in nature more. You see, I live in Dallas.  Well, Plano to be exact and it’s basically a concrete-laden big city with not a lot of the beautiful nature that I grew up with in New Braunfels and Austin.   We don’t have a lot of hiking trails, hills, mountains or rivers here and I really miss that outdoor lifestyle that I loved so much. I used to go camping a bunch as a kid and young adult. I have some really awesome memories of being off the grid and want my kids to have those too.   My husband never went camping and grew up in the city with immigrant parents who worked all of the time and never did anything outdoorsy. They were just trying to make it in the US and give their kids a better shot at life.  We can’t fault them for that at all. They were in survival mode for most of my husband's youth. I introduced my outdoor lifestyle to my husband and he fell in love too.  Well, mostly anyway. Let’s just say he’s more of a cabin or lodge guy and not a tent camper.  LOL So, in digging deeper into my why, I realized that it was all about missing my connection with nature and not owning and maintaining a vacation home in Colorado. I did some research decided that I wanted to get a vintage camper and remodel it to fit our family and go on more camping trips.   I’m a pretty handy girl and while this might be a little bit of a stretch for me, I feel totally confident that I can do it. I basically went on a Pinterest binge of everything vintage camper.   Then, I went onto Craigslist and every other site I could think of and started looking at vintage campers. I decided on a budget of $4000 for something that I was pretty sure I would need to gut. Next, I put a couple of pictures together of what I was looking for and sent a text to my friends and family.  I asked them if they knew anyone that had one to sell or to be on the lookout for one that they might run across.  You never know right? Within 2 hours of me sending that text and reaching out to a couple of people from their online ads, I had a camper. Turned out that my neighbor’s stepdad had a vintage 1977 Shasta Starflyte that was just sitting on his property as a storage room.   It was in decent shape and had the super rare extra bunk.   Best of all, he was willing to sell it to me for $800.  That’s waaaaay less than some of the other disaster trailers that I was actually considering. I was sooooo excited. I jumped on it.   There were a couple of issues that came up that could have killed it but possibilities opened up to me when I needed them. First, we are starting a backyard renovation and I couldn’t actually get the camper until March of next year. Second, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to get it into my driveway.  We have an alley driveway and a sliding gate. There is no way that I could be able to get it back there. Third, my Honda Odyssey isn’t able to haul anything. So I asked if I could wait and get the camper in the spring and he said of course.  I could store it there as long as I needed. Woohoo! Then I started looking for a place to store and renovate my camper when I did get it.  Well, I found a small self-storage site like a mile from my house that has spaces for campers and RV for less than $75 a month.  Woohoo again! Now for the hauling.  I’ve been looking for my next car for while and was so torn on what I wanted to get.  Nothing that could fit all 5 of us comfortably really did it for me. Since I now needed to haul up to 4000 lbs, I was able to quickly decide that I wanted a Toyota Sequoia. Now that I clearly know what and why I want it, I’m sure the right one will pop up soon. All of those issues could have been a no go on the trailer but I was able to keep the positivity up and was presented with solutions to each of them. Within 24 hours of me deciding that I wanted a vintage camper so that I could be out in nature more with my family, I had a camper. And not just any camper. A vintage camper with the rare extra bunk and a bathroom plus it was in decent shape so that I don’t need to completely gut it and it was $3200 under my budget! If I can manifest this rare vintage camper for that price, I can manifest anything! So let me recap the steps real quick. Get clear on what you want and why you want it. Do some research to understand all that it entails. Spread the news!  Let everyone know what you want. Stay in tune with what and why you want it. Wait for it to present itself.  It might not always be in the way that you thought. If you are interested in learning more about the law of attraction and manifesting then check out Abraham Hicks, James Wedmore or TheLawOfAttraction.com.   Until next time, have a wonderful rest of your week.   Bye for now! Accountability = Success If you do have big goals and dreams for your online business and you want to set up a solid strategy to get you there don’t forget I have strategy calls and accountability packages.   You can check them out over at MommysHomeOffice.com. Have a great week and I’ll catch you in the next episode. Links mentioned in this episode: Mommy's Home Office Small Business Workshop Online Business Starter Kit Thanks for Listening! Check out the most recent episodes: Local Marketing for Service-Based Businesses Balance is a Dirty Word  4 Steps to Getting Back into a Routine  7 Steps to Get Out of a Funk Check out the most popular episodes: How to Make $10k a Month as a Virtual Assistant  Help! I Need an Idea!  I Already Have a Business BUT It Needs to be Easier!  To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question over on hello@MommysHomeOffice.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help reach more moms and I read each and every one. Subscribe on iTunes.

Mommy and Kid Routines  Y’all, back to school has been a struggle for me this year.   I got sick on the first day of school and of course on a week that my hubby was out of town.  I’m not talking just a little cold. I’m talking hit by a bus, zombie-like sick.  It’s a miracle they got to and from school and fed that week. But we made it through.  The second week, I was better but still not 100% so it was better than survival mode but not great.    I needed to make a change.   I’m an ENTJ personality from the Myers Briggs test.  I’ve taken this test several times over the past 15-20 years and it never changes. I am a problem solver by nature.  I may not always have the emotional sensitivity side but if you want a solution to your problem (or the 8 million that I create inside my head every day) then I’m your gal. So I saw the problem = total chaos, meltdowns, tantrums and listening skills were nonexistent in my kids the past few weeks. I had to solve it and solve it fast.  I couldn’t go on like this. There isn’t enough wine in the world that would make it bearable. I took a minute to reflect on why the hectic chaos was happening. I realized I hadn’t been following our normal school routines.  So, I immediately implemented them and communicated the expectations with the kids and just like that my wine glass didn’t need so much wine to make it through the evenings.   We all thrive with routines and knowing what’s coming up and what’s expected of us.  Our kids are no different. They need it even more. I’m not saying these routines make our life perfect but it’s so much better with them than without. So I want to give you a glimpse into our families routines.  Maybe they’ll help you or inspire to come up with some that fit your family. I took away all devices on Monday – Thursday.   This was tough for the first week (like I seriously almost caved and gave them the damn devices) but it got easier. They can watch TV but no iPads or Gaming until the Friday. This does make my life a little harder but they are finding more ways to play and they don’t seem to miss it anymore. The first one is a good morning routine. Getting the kids into a good morning routine is crucial for your sanity and theirs.   During the school week, my kids do the exact same things every single morning.  So even if they are still half asleep they can usually remember to get them all done on their own. Our school starts at 7:45.  So I set my alarm at 6:12 to give one snooze before I need to be up at 6:20.   I find that if I can have at least 10 minutes to myself before my kids get up, I’m in a much better mood and I’m not feeling so rushed.  Both of those are key to good morning in our house.  If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.   Then I turn on the stair lights and it’s a signal to them that it’s time to get up, if they are already awake and just hanging out in bed.   They get up and get dressed. Actually, in our house, they sleep in their clothes for the next day.  This started a while back when I suggested it and they thought it was cool. So I went with it. Let’s face it, I have 3 boys, they mainly wear gym shorts and a tee shirt anyway.  Well, except the little guy, he wears a uniform but wants to be like his brothers so wears his uniform to bed.  Whatever works, right? This one step has saved me time and a drama.   For some reason, my kids don’t like to get dressed in the morning.  And I don’t wanna deal with it. Next, they brush their teeth.  I let them do this one on their own and am more involved in the night brushing. Then they head downstairs to immediately put their socks and shoes on.   After the shoes are on, they get their lunch (already prepped on Sunday, hopefully), water bottle and backpacks ready to go.   Finally, they eat breakfast.  Usually something simple like greek yogurt with fruit, oatmeal or eggs that I have premade either scrambled or boiled. Let me just put this out there…there is no cooking on weekday mornings in our house.  I have prepared it over the weekend or it’s a cold breakfast. They are responsible for clearing their plates and straightening the chair that they used. Then, if they have time, the can play for a few minutes or if we don’t, it’s straight to the car and drop off starts.   After drop off, I come home and can do my morning routine.  I’ll save that for another episode. Prepping the night before. A good morning routine starts with a little prep the night before. I prep anything that I can the night before and it makes a huge difference. Things like getting their clothes picked out and making sure their shoes are in the right spot, checking the weekly schedule that I post on the fridge to know if there is anything special the next day (like themed days at school or function), getting water bottles washed and getting backpacks ready to go. THEN… I make sure that my kids get to bed at a good time for them.  I know when they haven’t gotten enough sleep because they are melting down too early in the afternoon or they have a really hard time getting up. In our house, sleep is king.   Our bodies need sleep. It’s how our brain functions properly.   It needs downtime to store memories, repair and maintains your body and it’s when you grow.   Kids are growing constantly so they need more sleep than the 7-8 hours that adults need. I’m not going to get on my soapbox here but if your child is having behavioral issues or learning challenges and they are also not getting enough sleep then please try to make sleep and a healthy balanced diet a priority.   If you’re having trouble getting your kids to sleep once they are in bed here are few things that might help. Make sure the room is dark enough.  I just put room darkening curtains in my 4-year olds room and it has been a game changer. Reduce your kid’s sugar intake, all day but especially in the evenings.  This includes juice, there is a ton of natural sugar in juice and to your body, it’s all the same. Make sure they are getting adequate activity and sunlight throughout the day. Now make sure that you have a consistent bedtime routine in place.   Routines and actions trigger your brain.  If you have a consistent bedtime routine that is followed by sleep your brain knows what to do and how to prepare when it’s triggered. We use sound machines and essential oil diffusers in each room, they help trigger your brain for sleep. Here’s what our after school and bedtime routine looks like this…If we don’t have a practice of some sort. Come home Have a little chill time maybe TV Homework Play or help with dinner Dinner Clean up/chores Showers Brush & floss teeth I read a couple of chapters in our book of the week They all go to their rooms I come and tuck in and give some snuggles individually and then it’s lights out.   If we have a practice or activity after school then things get a little shuffled and reading time gets cut short but it still looks very similar to the above routine. This next one is a little controversial but I’m gonna go there anyway. Simplifying schedules. I know this hard in today’s world and seems like the demands on kids are so high.   But I believe we really need to look at our kids’ schedule and make sure that it has some free time built in and enough time to get their homework done and enough sleep in. I see this all the time with other moms in my world.  They have multiple kids and each of those kids participates in multiple afterschool activities.  Like soccer, baseball and martial arts. Each of those sports has a lot of time commitment tied to them. Now don’t get me wrong I love a well-rounded kid and one that tries a lot of things but we also need to look at what their schedule looks like.   Having something scheduled every day after school or multiple things after school is really hard on kids.   I just had to take this to heart.   Normally, my oldest does soccer and tennis in the spring and fall.  But this year we have 3 kids in soccer and they all want to play tennis. This poses a problem.  3 kids, 3 different soccer practices, 3 different locations and 3 different games on Saturdays.   Now throw in 2 tennis lessons for my oldest and 1 for my littles.  This is a problem. If it were just one kid we would be fine but I have to consider the fact that I have to drag them to their brother’s practices. Not to mention that it would be a chauffeuring nightmare because they are at similar times on the same days in different locations. I’m already exhausted just thinking about it. So I decided to see how they did this past week with just soccer before I added in the tennis. Let’s just say that I have made the executive decision to skip tennis this season.  It makes me sad because they all really want to play but we just can’t make the schedules this time. Something’s gotta give, right? So this time it was tennis. Let’s do our kids a favor and give them a little downtime and pack their schedules so tight that we can’t keep up. Implement the weekly family huddle. Every Sunday morning, I gather everyone in the kitchen and make a plan it takes about 15 minutes but it saves our butts throughout the week. We talk about what worked well the past week and what needs improvement.   And we brainstorm ways to make adjustments or improvements.   Does this remind you of SCRUM?  Well, that’s where I got it from.   Then we plan the week ahead and make sure that we know everything on our schedules. We decide what lunches we want to buy and which we want to bring our own. Then the kids decide what they want to take to lunch on the days that they are packing (within limits) so that I know what groceries we need. After the lunches are planned we plan out dinner. There are 5 in our family of us so each of us gets to pick a meal to have during the week. These are easy to throw together meals and usually under 20 minutes.  And are easily modified for the picky eaters in the house. Now I have a starting point for my grocery list. We have our family mission printed out and hanging on the fridge so we go over it and make sure that we all feel good about how each of us is handling our week. This is the time that we can talk about any issues that might be bugging us or things that we want to plan for the future or goals that we want to set. It’s a nice way to end our huddle on a positive and supportive note. These little huddles don’t take a lot of time but the cover so much of chaos that happens throughout the week and gives us a really good starting point for the new week. Lastly, I want to touch on a mommy routine that I try to do every day. It’s acknowledging and making eye contact with kiddos when I first see them at the end of the day.   I try super hard not to be on my phone or in a conversation with another mom when I first see my boys. I simply look at them say hi and excitedly ask them how their day was.  They each light up a little, say hi and it was good then run off to be with their friends.   This is just a little sign of love and respect and it lets them know that I missed them and that they are important to me. Later in the car, I ask silly questions about how their day was and I get some silly answers and some good insight into their day.  Along this same note, I telling each kid in the morning that they are the most kind, loving kid and that they are super smart and can learn anything they try to with a little time and practice.   Then in the evening during snuggle time, I tell them how important they are to me and how much I love them.  I switch it up but I usually mention their unique qualities and how awesome it is to have a kid that is so amazing.   I tell them that they are in control of their thoughts and dream of anything they want to (this is to avoid scary thoughts at night but it’s also true.  Ok, so there you have it.  I’m not a perfect mom and these things don’t happen every single day but they happen most days.  And I can totally tell a difference when I don’t do them. My goal is to raise accountable, responsible, kind, loving humans and to make my mom life a little easier.  I have found through trial and error that this is what works for my family. Do you have special routines that you do that make your weekdays a little less hectic?  I would love to know. Until next time, have a wonderful rest of your week.   Bye for now! Accountability = Success If you do have big goals and dreams for your online business and you want to set up a solid strategy to get you there don’t forget I have strategy calls and accountability packages.   You can check them out over at MommysHomeOffice.com. Have a great week and I’ll catch you in the next episode. Links mentioned in this episode: Mommy’s Home Office Online Business Starter Kit Thanks for Listening! Check out the most recent episodes: How I Plan My Yearly Calendar Based on the School Year 7 of My Favorite Instagram Tools What to Expect: Having a Baby and an Online Biz with Sarah Siems Local Marketing for Service-Based Businesses Balance is a Dirty Word  4 Steps to Getting Back into a Routine  7 Steps to Get Out of a Funk Check out the most popular episodes: How to Make $10k a Month as a Virtual Assistant  Help! I Need an Idea!  I Already Have a Business BUT It Needs to be Easier!  To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question over on hello@MommysHomeOffice.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help reach more moms and I read each and every one. Subscribe on iTunes.

My business planning follows the school year!  A lot of people do their planning at the beginning of the year.   I don’t. I use the school year. Because I’m a mom of school-age children and it just makes more sense for me.   I used to do the yearly thing but then every summer it seemed that my plan got hijacked by the kids, vacations, etc. So I switched to have my work calendar to follow the school year.   Now, I feel more ready for the summer when it comes around and I don’t feel so guilty or like I have to work my ass off to keep up. I enjoy my summers a whole lot more. Here’s how I do it. My business planning process. The 1st week of school, when the kids are out of the house... I sit down for an hour or two and plan. I pull up my Google Calendar, you know...where my life is. And I also print a yearly calendar.  It’s just one of those calendars that have the entire year on one page. Then I grab some highlighters. First, I download my kids' school calendar and I insert all of their holidays and days off into my Google calendar. Plus, I share them with my husband too so he knows when we can take mini trips or long weekends. And then mark them off on my yearly printed calendar with a color that I choose for the kids. Afterward, I mark off any vacations, trips or conferences that I will be away for in another color. Now that I have all of my days off clearly marked and put into my Google calendar, I can start the planning. I am a firm believer in 90-day goals.   I did Todd Herman's 90 Day Year and I’ve been a believer ever since. He teaches that you should go big picture and then work backward to what you can accomplish in the 90-day chunk. 90 days is a reasonable amount of time to really make an impact on your business/life. Then I set goals. I set good, better and best goals.   That means that I set a goal that is like knock it out of the park amazing like I’m crazy for thinking I could accomplish that goal.   That’s my best goal. Then, I scale it back a bit and make a better goal.  Something still amazing but seems more realistic. Finally, I make a good goal that is basically what absolutely has to happen. I don’t attach any personal feeling to these goals.  They are just outcomes of the work that I put in. From this point, I have a good idea of how long it will take me to get to my big goals and I start planning the calendar. I’ll have special focuses for each 90 day period.   Keep in mind that this allows your plans to be more fluid and can pivot or change. For example:  Say I want to set a goal to generate $100,000 in revenue in the next year. Well, what has to happen to make that happen. Currently, I only offer coaching. So if that was all I was going to offer I would need to work backward from the $100k to see how many clients I needed to work with. From there, I would be able to set 90-day goals that help get me to that bigger goal.   Like promotions or launches or webinars or list building funnels. Once I decide what I need to do in that 90-day period, I work backward again and plan in 2-week sprints.   Sprints are usually 2 weeks and I plan each task that needs to happen in that 2 weeks to move me forward.   Once I've done that all of this, I feel great about my new year and know that I'm going to knock it out of the park. This is how I plan out my year and it has helped relieve some of the pressure and guilt that come with business planning and kids.   Accountability = Success If you do have big goals and dreams for your online business and you want to set up a solid strategy to get you there don’t forget I have strategy calls and accountability packages.   You can check them out over at MommysHomeOffice.com. Have a great week and I’ll catch you in the next episode. Links mentioned in this episode: Mommy's Home Office Online Business Starter Kit Thanks for Listening! Check out the most recent episodes: 7 of My Favorite Instagram Tools What to Expect: Having a Baby and an Online Biz with Sarah Siems Local Marketing for Service-Based Businesses Balance is a Dirty Word  4 Steps to Getting Back into a Routine  7 Steps to Get Out of a Funk Check out the most popular episodes: How to Make $10k a Month as a Virtual Assistant  Help! I Need an Idea!  I Already Have a Business BUT It Needs to be Easier!  To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question over on hello@MommysHomeOffice.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help reach more moms and I read each and every one. Subscribe on iTunes.

Over the past year, I have fallen more in love with Instagram than with Facebook. I don’t know what it is but it just feels better. Plus, I’m kind of addicted to Stories.  I usually story 7 days a week with anything and everything that is going in my life.   I know you’re dying to know what I’m having for dinner, the crazy shenanigans of my 3 boys, what I’m up to each day or where we are traveling to. So, I can’t deprive you of that info, I would feel horrible.  

Today, Sarah and I will be digging into how she had a baby while running her online biz.  We'll talk about what to expect and all the juicy bits that go into it.  Check it out! Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss: Sarah's biggest mistake when planning for her baby in her business. How she took the leap from working in a traditional personal training job to starting her own thing. The critical lesson that she learned after having her baby. Hint: It's one of my favorite topics. 

I’m not sure why it didn’t occur to me sooner but I think this could be really helpful for those of you that have a small local service-based business. I don’t know if you know this but marketing is my background.  I’ve done it for years and it was also one of my favorite subjects in college. If there’s one thing I’m good at its marketing and biz development for a local business. It’s one of those things that I’m just naturally good at and it comes so easy to me.

Summer is over!  School starts on Monday for us and I have 10 million things to get done before then. Join me next week, I'll go into how I plan my yearly calendar around the school year.

I get asked all of the time by well-meaning people... How do you balance working as a mom?   I stare back at them with a WTF look on my face and say “um, I don’t.”   There is never a time in my life where I have kept all of the plates spinning for more than a second or maybe two before they all come crashing down. Honestly, perfect balance is impossible. There are times when you the weight shifts more heavy on work and then your parenting or family time has to pay the price.    That’s ok.   It’s normal. Or maybe it’s like me this summer where my work has paid the price because I needed to spend more time with my kids and on traveling. You can never be all things to all people and your attention has to go where it’s needed. Some plates are going to drop. Just think about it. As a mom, society tells us that we are supposed to run every aspect of the house (cooking, cleaning, groceries, laundry, and about a million other things), everything with the kids (childcare, doctor visits, sports, PTA, teachers, homework, playdates, bday parties, gifts, holidays, etc). Oh and keep yourself in shape and look presentable. And if you work you are supposed to do well at your job, take care of every that I just mentioned plus have dinner on the table every night. This is bullshit! The demands are overwhelming and impossible to keep up with.  So stop. There might be times when we feel like superheroes and can actually keep it all up but it is short-lived and unsustainable. Unless you have a full-time housekeeper, private chef, nanny, personal assistant and personal trainer. Balance is a ridiculous notion.  And I want you to stop trying so hard to attain it.   You know, I don’t ever see men getting asked this question about how they balance their work with kids. Kristina Kuzmic did a video about this where she interviewed dads outside of a store and asked them that question.  It was hilarious...check it out here. By the end of the video, she says that “balance” should be a dirty word and then she bleeps it out of the rest of her video. It’s great. I want to talk about this today because school is about to start and all of the PTA, sports, volunteering, school projects, school activities, 18 million commitments are about to start. And then we start comparing ourselves to all of the other moms and can start feeling inadequate or like we suck as a mom. Look, I used to be a Pinteresty person and then I became a mom and wanted to be that Pinteresty mom but that lasted all of 3 years before I totally burnt out.   I realized that those over the top decorated theme parties were a ridiculous waste of my time.   My kids didn’t care that I had spent 4 hours creating Star Wars themed food menu complete with themed names printed out for the food table.   That didn’t include the next 3 hours of making that said food.  You know red, blue and green dipped pretzel sticks that I called lightsabers or cookies that I decorated as Chewy.   Finally, I realized I wasn’t doing for them I was doing it to say look how awesome I can make a party and to feel like I was winning as a mom.  Which was crazy. Maybe this is your thing and this is what lights you then great and more power to you that is awesome!   But for me, it took away time that I already felt short on and I became a stress ball trying to get it all done. Now, I can plan my kids' party in about an hour.   Did your jaw just drop?  Head over to the show notes for the breakdown. Ok, real quick this is what I do now.   Have your kid tell you what theme they want!  Paw Patrol, pirates, princesses, whatever. As they get older this gets easier.  They don’t want crazy themed parties. This last bday for my now 8 yr-old was super simple.  He wanted to take 8 friends to a hibachi dinner. So that’s what we did. Pick a date that works for you and the venue that you are choosing (if needed). Go on Etsy and order the themed invite or just set up an evite (that’s what I do now). Jump on Amazon and order themed paper products, decor, and a favor. If you have an ice cream truck that regularly visits your neighborhood, stop them one day and ask if they can make a special appearance at your party and by everyone an ice cream.  This happened by chance at my 4 yr-olds party and it was the biggest hit. Decide on food.  Go easy like pizza, Chick-fil-a or anything else premade.  Plus if you can already put the order in then that’s a win too.  One more thing off of your plate. And choose your sweet - cake or donuts (our family fave) or cookies or macaroons or ice cream. Simple decor is best. Have fun! Take pics! And enjoy the day.  Don’t stress over the small stuff that only you notice. Or maybe I learned this lesson the time I volunteered to cut 1000 scarecrow feet and hands for my kindergarteners' school hallway.   Yep.  1000. At the time I was working full time in my biz and had 3 year old and a 1-year-old.   What the hell was I thinking? I spent almost 5 ½ hours cutting tan construction paper.  Seriously. WTF. I felt so behind and like I wasted my entire work time cutting paper. Only to find out that there was a waiting list for other moms that were looking for ways that they could help out.   And it wasn’t like I wasn’t involved at his school already. I was the PTA membership chair. I was doing my part.  Lol. At the time, I was the type of person that will be the first one to help. I’d offer to do it all.   Well, not anymore.  It’s been a hard habit to break but it’s been so worth it. Now, I let other people help out too.   Don’t get me wrong if there is a need that they can’t fill I will help but I’m just not the first one to raise my hand. The message I’m trying to get across today is that it’s ok to let some things slide while you focus on other things. There is never going to be a balance. I only get as much done as I do because I have help. I have housekeeping once a week, I have full-time childcare, I use Instacart for my groceries, Amazon Prime for almost everything else and I still feel like things are crazy and I’m not able to keep up. As moms, we just need to embrace the chaos and know that we are amazing moms, spouses, friends and business owners. We need to let go of the idea of being perfect.   We need to ask for and accept help whenever it’s offered.   I just started this and it’s magical.   Whenever anyone asks me if they can help with the kids, take a kid for a playdate or my parents say they can come up and help - I say yes.   I used to feel bad or guilty or like I should go be there with them.   I’m a work in progress but it has been this is life changing.   We need to find the fun.  This time with our kids is short lived. They will be grown up and gone before we know it. I don’t know about you but I want to look back at their childhood and know that I had fun with them, I showed them that it’s ok to have interests and passions outside of our family and that I taught them to be self-sufficient, kind humans. Sometimes we stand in our own way and let the control freak in us take over. It’s ok and necessary to let your husband or in-laws help with the kids and do it in their own way.   As long as they love your kids and are competent humans, the kids will survive.   I have a friend that is terrified to let her husband, the father of the kids, watch them alone for more than a couple of hours for fear that he won’t pay attention and something bad will happen. I’ve told her that this is ridiculous and that she needs to let him father his kids.   Because we train the people around us to behave in the way that do when they are around us.   Now, she has taught him that he doesn’t know what he’s doing as a parent and that she will always take care of everything. So because of this need to be in control she is trapped and can never do anything on her own and he never helps with anything. This same thing applies to teaching your kids to be self-sufficient. Whatever age they are, start letting them do things for themselves. Getting dressed, putting socks and shoes on, bathing or showering, getting breakfast or snacks, helping with chores around the house like laundry, taking the trash out, doing the dishes or tidying up.   These are all great things for them to do even if they don’t do it exactly the way you would do it. This will be hard but so worth it.   Embrace the chaos! Know that you are amazing and loved and that everything is going to be ok. I promise, the more we let go of the idea of balance the more joy and happiness we will find in our lives.  

Every single time I go on vacation or towards the end of summer I get a strong urge to get back on schedule and back into my routine. We just got home from our vacation for my 40th birthday in St. Lucia. It was amazing and Bin and I really connected again. So it was amazing. I have been wheels off this summer and barely working. I planned some of this but have definitely gotten less done than I thought and planned for at the beginning of the summer. By the time our trip was coming to an end, I was craving routine and schedules. So I thought about it for a bit on the plane ride home and decided to get it together and start the next week fresh and with a schedule. Today, I’m going to share the 4 steps I took to get me back on track. 1. Get back on a good sleep schedule. Sleep is super important and really plays the leading role in your life. Everything from weight loss to concentration and especially productivity. So this is where I started. I made a conscious decision to focus on getting at least 7 ½ hours per night hopefully more like 8 ½ but that’s a good place to start. 2. Food and Water One of my biggest time sucks are getting bogged down in meal planning/prepping. So on the plane, I made a list of meals for the week. I just decided to go simple and tried and true. I also had just indulged a lot on this vacay or really all summer so I wanted to focus on eating a rainbow of colors and less carbohydrate & sugar. So I planned a week of good whole lower carb meals that are super simple and easy. Next, I set reminders on my phone one at 11 am and one at 3 pm to remind me to drink water. Water is super important for all bodily functions and especially your brain so if I’m going to kick ass this week, I need plenty of water. Usually, I just get 4-20oz cups, fill them and set them on the table so that I see them every time I walk into the kitchen but that hasn’t been working that great. I’ll end up with 60 oz to drink at the end of the day and then pee all night. So I’ll set a time to get me back in the habit. 3. Unpack and do laundry Confession: I am usually the person that leaves my suitcase on the floor of my bedroom for weeks after my vacay.

I’m 40.  Now what? 3 Things I’m going to do differently. Turning 40 hasn’t been as traumatic as turning 30 was for me.   I feel like I have it a little more together than I did back then. A lot has happened in the last 10 years. I’ve had 3 kids 5 surgeries I broke my 1st bone We live in a bigger house We bought a rental property I drive a minivan I’m not active in the senior living industry anymore I started 2 businesses I have to color my hair regularly to cover gray I lost my 2 fur babies I’ve been to 12 countries I wouldn’t change any of those things because they make me who I am today. However, there are a few things that I do want to change now that I don’t want to take with me for the next 40 years of my life. Negative Self-talk I have decided to quit this habit.  This is a serious problem for me. I recently heard a quote from Brooke Castillo.  She said something like we need to talk to ourselves like we are supporting a friend.  We would never talk to someone we were responsible for helping the way we talk to ourselves. So I’m done.  I’m taking that advice to heart and going to see what it’s like when I don’t berate myself for eating sugar or carbs or dairy or soy or anything that’s not whole real food.  I will do my very best to nourish my body with the very best food but when those indulgences happen I am going to release the stress that usually goes along with it and let it be and actually enjoy it.   Or when I don’t workout or when I don’t get as much done as I wanted or when I don’t make as much money as I wanted or when I lose it with my kids.  All of these times are great times for me to practice positive self-talk and stay away from the negative. We all have them every once in a while and then we feel terribly guilty and then the negative self-talks comes in.  But I know that I can do better. I need to stop trying to multitask so much when I’m around them. I want to have more intentional time with my kids.  I’ve started working on this already and I’ve seen such a difference in my kids and myself. I have fewer scary mommy moments and need less wine. Lol Scary Mommy Moments Let’s be honest, I haven’t been very intentional or putting very much effort into my marriage. I had 3 kids, I was just trying to survive. I feel like we finally have our shit together a little more, everyone is sleeping and we have good routines and we aren’t in survival mode all of the time anymore.  Don’t get me wrong we have our survival moments but mostly it’s manageable. So I want to prioritize the relationship with my husband.  I’m making an effort to work on our marriage. I feel like we’ve been on autopilot just getting through it and I think we can be so much more. I love Bin and I want to spend the next 40 years with him so our relationship needs to be on this list.   I think I will start with more intimate time.  That’s so easy to put off because we’re tired or it feels like too much work.  But it’s important. Also, we need to work on our communication.  We aren’t the best at this and I’m guilty of expecting him to read my mind. So I’m going to change the way I communicate with him and see how that goes. I’ll keep you posted. Prioritize my marriage Well, there you have it.  I feel my 40s are going to be amazing. These next 10 years are going to have some amazing experiences and I can’t wait.   I’m always working on self-improvement and these special birthdays seem like the perfect time to reflect and make changes.  

We all get stuck in a funk sometimes.   We have days when we wake up and just can’t muster the energy or motivation to get anything done. I recently went through this, it’s miserable. I really didn’t want to get out of bed. At first, I thought maybe I was getting sick or fighting something off but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the case. I gave myself a day to rest in case I was fighting something. But when I felt the same way the next day, I knew it was just a funk. A down feeling that I couldn’t shake.   It’s summer, I don’t have a lot of time to get stuff done because of the kids' schedule and vacations. So I have to make the most of my time and this was really annoying me. I made the decision to get out of the funk. Here’s what I did to get out of it. 1.  Drink water I drank a big glass of water.  Most of us are dehydrated and our bodies are something like 70% water so it’s kind of important.  Your brain needs it to function.  2. Listen to a podcast or Abraham hicks to get pumped up This is one of the best ways to get myself out of a down slump.  By listening to James Wedmore, Abraham Hicks, Denise DT, or Tony Robbins you can’t help but get pumped up.  I told you in my last episode (28) that I was a closet woo woo person.

1) Workaholic - I love Mondays Sometimes I love working more than other things like dealing with the kids or hubby or house stuff Let’s be honest, screaming kids, hubby, or laundry or making dinner isn't exactly fun stuff I’m a data junkie & strategy junky so I can get lost in work forever and be happy 2) I have body image issues like crazy I’m have tried every single diet, every single gimmick. In college, I used to be extremely restrictive and used to purge after binges it was an ugly cycle.  I don’t do that anymore and haven’t in 15 years or so. I spend a crapload of hours each week thinking about my weight, what I’m going to eat what I will do for exercise I hide from pictures I have so much negative self-talk about this it’s ridiculous But I’m working at it.  I actually just started a new 6-week course that should help me with all of the mental stuff around my issues 3)  I had a hysterectomy and a tummy tuck I’m on estrogen and testosterone And I still don’t have the body that I want 4)  I can a chronic procrastinator   I’m a productive procrastinator and I turn into a bitch when I need to keep my head down finally get it done.  You know when I’ve known about the deadline forever ...especially to Bin I’m like that because I do some of my best work under pressure but it’s not fair to anyone 5)  I am a closet woo-woo person tapping crystals meditation energy healing law of attraction mindset stuff Well, there it is.  I hope you still like me and you'll still tune in.

Last week we talked about being kind to yourself and adjusting your schedule for more time with the kids and vacation. So today let’s kick ass during the time we are actually working.  Here are my 5 strategies to get more done in less time. Templates - If you find yourself doing anything more than once, create a template.  Stop recreating the wheel every time you need to do any of these: Emails: If you write the same type of email over and over create canned responses that you can copy and paste.  Then all you need to do is tweak and send. Graphics: Creating similar graphics for social media or blog posts, create a template and then just switch out the image or change the color and text. Blog Posts or Show Notes - create a shell so that they look cohesive and you can just pop in the new info but the format is the same Spreadsheets: Any spreadsheet you make more than once Timers - you guys know my love of timers but in case you haven’t heard here it is.  I do amazing under pressure and sometimes all I need is to set a timer and I’m off to the races.  I like doing 25 minutes or 45 minutes but not longer. It’s important to take breaks even if you are in the flow.  Trust me that is easier said than done but it’s important for your brain. I set a time for work stuff like connecting on social, writing posts, responding to emails and everything in between.  Timers work great for household stuff too like laundry, cleaning the kitchen or doing a speed tidy of the whole house. Something about the countdown makes me go so much faster while still getting the good quality out of me.  Sounds crazy but it works...give it a try. Batching.  That’s when you schedule like tasks together.  Like today, for instance, I’m batch recording podcasts episodes.  I write one day and record and edit the next. This helps my brain from context switching and I get tons more done.  However, you do need to keep on top of batching to work or you’ll end up like me. Having everything set up for 6 episodes and then not having any content for the next week.  Yep, I do that a lot and kick myself every time but I’m a work in progress. Remember I teach what I need to hear most. Time Blocking. Similar to batching but maybe you schedule specific timeframes for specific things.  Like 10-12 is for writing. I’m not good at this but when I do it, it’s amazing how much I can get done. I think I resist this because I’m a rebel at heart and don’t like the restriction that I place on myself when I time block. I don’t know I’m crazy. Batching & Time Blocking - I have talked about this before but it’s always good to hear it more than once.   The One Thing - Ok this is a book but I’m going to lay it out here.  When you are pressed for time it is crucial that you pause for a minute and plan your time.  Choose the one thing on your list that you can do that will make all the other items easier or irrelevant. IFTTT (If This Then That) - this can set up automations for digital apps and devices.  It can do things like saving your new Instagram photos to Dropbox or it can sync your Alexa To Dos with your reminders and so much more. Zapier - is the same kind of thing.  I use this for connecting web programs so they can talk to each other.  Like Convertkit or LeadPages and all that kind of fun stuff. Automate - automation and systems are my love language.

This episode is short! Be kind to yourself.  Stop trying to be everything to everyone and just slow down and enjoy the time you have with your kids this summer. I'm on vacation at the beach with my kids so I'm taking my advice and accepting that I can't get it all done right now.   Have a great week!

Top 10 Tools for Work At Home Moms Alright, moms!  Here are my top tools for work at home moms.   They might not be typical tools you’re used to hearing about but these have definitely made my life easier.  I hope they can do the same for you. So let’s get to it.   I’m going to talk about tools for the home first. These are my favorite tools that I use weekly if not daily. 1. Alexa – Amazon Echo Dot or Siri or Google Assistant I use Alexa and talk to her all day.  She tells me the weather, the news, she sets timers for me (and y’all know how much I love timers from episode 4), and I ask her all sorts of random questions. My kids love her too.   They love the bedtime stories skill, the interactive Open the Secret Door Story, they ask her to fart (yes you read that right) and the all the random facts that they ask her. Plus they can play all the Kidz Bop songs they want. My 3-year-old even know how to pair Alexa to bluetooth.   So it’s definitely a good tool for both me and my kiddos. Check out Alexa HERE. The next tool is Amazon Prime. I talked about my love for Amazon Prime in episode 5.  And if you don’t what it is you must be living under a rock or something. I use Amazon for almost everything. It’s just so easy and it saves me time from going to the store. Plus, I use subscribe and save and I don’t even have to think about ordering trash bags, toilet paper, air filters or toothbrush heads they just get delivered to my door.   Check out Amazon Prime HERE. Ok, this next one you might be hearing about everywhere. It’s the InstantPot. I love it. Let’s be real, I don’t always remember to think about dinner in the morning. You know defrosting meat and all that stuff. I don’t have to anymore.  I can throw frozen meat (chicken, beef, etc) into the Instant Pot with some broth and veggies and voila I have dinner. It does a ton of stuff but I don’t really use those awesome functions. I just need to save my butt when it’s 4 pm, I have hungry kiddos starting to whine and all my meat is frozen. This next one is kinda different it’s the Ring Doorbell. I love this doorbell because it allows me to not have to get up when some random person is at my door trying to sell me something.   I can see them on my phone and tell them that I am not able to answer the door and let them go on their merry way. Another great feature is that I know exactly when my packages arrive so they don’t sit outside all day or get stolen. Alright coming in at #5 for tools for Work from Home Moms is the Roomba. You know I hate cleaning but I also hate dirty floors.  I’m always barefoot and it drives me crazy when I feel crumbs and dirt all over the floor.   Enter the Roomba, we call ours Rosie (you know from the Jetson’s). Yes, I have a robot that sweeps my floors. I don’t have any carpet except for the area rugs and with 3 small boys, there is always something gross on the floors.   Rosie was awesome when our dogs were alive.  Dog hair is one of my pet peeves. Seriously, having the floors swept daily by Rosie helps me keep up between my wonderful housekeepers that come every 2 weeks. Ok.  Moving on to business tools. I think you know what my #1 biz tool is but I’m gonna remind you anyway. It’s Asana. I use Asana every single day.  It houses all of my tasks, checklists, and pretty much everything else I need for Mommy’s Home Office and home life. If you feel frazzled and like you can’t get it together go check out my FREE Asana training where I walk you through the behind the scenes of my Asana and how I use it for Mommy’s Home Office. #2 won’t surprise you either…it’s Canva. Canva is a super easy graphic design website and app that make creating graphics super simple. Plus, it’s free.  I use Canva for Work which is the paid version (super low fee) and it’s totally worth it. It has all of the preset dimensions for almost all of the graphics you need to make and it has done for you templates. Now, I haven’t mentioned this next one before, it’s LastPass. Do you hate having to remember a million passwords? Or do you hate giving your password out to others?  Well, lemme introduce you my little friend LastPass.   This tool securely stores and remembers all of your passwords.  It also remembers all of your info too so you don’t need to fill out all of those forms anymore.  Just one click and voila it does it for you. Plus, sharing your password is super easy and you can choose to allow the person to see the password or keep it hidden. Ok, you probably know this by now but I’m a Google geek.   I use all of their stuff…Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Drive & Photos. I store everything here.  I also create 90% of everything in Google Docs or Sheets.  And then I store them in the Google Drive. The Calendar is critical for me.  I use this for everything. My husband and I couldn’t function without it. Or at least there would be a million more fights if we didn’t use this.   Now, I use Google Photos on my phone.  It backs up all of my photos because I’m of the mentality that you can never be too careful with your pics and you should have them at least in 3 places.  LOL Which leads me to the final tool for work at home moms – a Good Camera. You can do so much with smartphones these days that really don’t need a fancy DSLR unless you are a photographer then forget that last part. You need a DSLR.   I use my iPhone 7 Plus for everything and I mean everything.  I have a DSLR and I never use it anymore. All of the photos of the kids are taken with my phone.  I actually took a great course on how to take great pics of your kids with your iPhone. You can check it out here. I use those photos for my social media posts.  You can see them on my Instagram profile. I’ve taken all of those photos myself with my phone. Well, there you have it.  My top 10 tools for work at home moms.  Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments!   Until next time…

The Power of the Mastermind They say it takes a village to raise your kids well, I believe that it takes a village to raise your business too. Today is all about support and having a village for your business. Have you ever heard of a mastermind group? Simply put, it's a group of people that come together to work on their goals and get feedback from the other members. Napoleon Hill, the father of masterminds and author of Think and Grow Rich (one of my favorite books), attributes his success and the success of other high performers to the power of masterminds. Here’s a little backstory on my mastermind experience. I have been in a mastermind group since 2013.  I started my first mastermind not even knowing what that was. I just knew that I needed other like-minded business owners to be around and run things by them. I found out that other small local senior living business owners were craving that same connection. So we started with our group of five and we met for 8 months.  It was great at first but then we had one person that could never make it and another that was focused on such small issues like paying a $10 bill each month that when I left to have my third baby the group kind of fell apart. Then, I went through B-school and met some amazing women entrepreneurs.  Five of us started a mastermind group and met regularly for 2 years over Google Hangouts and then Zoom.  Eventually, that group ended and three of us continued to connect weekly over Voxer. Currently, the three of us are still doing weekly or daily check-ins on Voxer.   So what did we do in those masterminds? There was a format, time limit, and a hot seat rotation.   First, everyone would go around and give a brief win and update from the last meeting.  This was 5 minutes or less per person. Then, the hot seat would start. The person scheduled for the hot seat would bring a specific problem or question or anything that wanted to focus on in their 20-minute slot.  The first 10 minutes would be them telling us what it was and the last 10 minutes would be feedback and ideas and suggestions. Lastly, we go around and tell the group our goal that would be accomplished by the next time we met. So there it is, that’s the format.   This has helped me so much over the last 5 years.  Before I had a group of people to connect with I always felt like I was all alone and on an island.  Like I was this one-man show and I had to figure it all out on my own. I have gotten to bring up some really big issues with my group and walk through different problems, ways of handling things and strategies with them.  They honestly give me their opinions and suggestions and I am able to talk it out and feel confident when I get off the call. These women are not afraid to be honest tell me what they really think.  This is done out of love and wanting to see me succeed. I would have wasted so much time and energy and had a ton of negative self-talk without these women.   I strongly encourage you to find a mastermind for yourself.  There is never a time in your business life when you should be solo.  You should always be in a mastermind group. If you are in one and it isn’t working, that’s ok, find a new one. There are a bunch of people that offer masterminds and are really good at matching people and facilitating the group. It can be a free group or a paid group and you can be in more than one.  There are even masterminds that are topic specific and only last as long as the topic is relevant. And if you can’t find a group that is already put together, you can start your own.  There are plenty of resources online for starting your own mastermind group. And by the way, sometimes paid masterminds are more valuable than free ones because people are invested, actually, show up and put forth their best effort. Anyway,  I hope this inspires you to find a group and get moving on your goals.  Find a village because it takes one. No one makes it on their own, there is always some sort of support in the mix. Who knows, maybe I’ll start facilitating a mastermind or two.  For my moms that just starting a biz and one for my moms that already have one and want to grow.   Lemme know what y’all think?  Would you be interested in that?

Today, Christine and I will be digging into how to make your business legal (#protectyourself), raising three kids under 3 while starting her virtual law firm and what it's like to have a spouse that's an entrepreneur too.  Check it out! Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss: The most important thing business owners need to do get legal. Her tips on having the right contracts in place. What it's like to have three kids under 3 years old while starting a virtual law firm. The ins and outs of Christine and her hubby being entrepreneurs. Links mentioned in this episode: Fincher Stroud Law Free Online Business Starter Kit Thanks for Listening! Check out these recent episodes: Do You Need a Momcation? Why I Think You Should Travel with Your Kids Online Business and the Mommy Juggle with Erin Chase How to Make $10k a Month as a Virtual Assistant To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question over on hello@MommysHomeOffice.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help reach more moms and I read each and every one. Subscribe on iTunes. Special thanks to Christine for joining me this week and to Carson Baker (Nexus Integrated Systems & Services) for being an awesome sound engineer.  Until next time!

Why I think you should travel with your kids. So take whatever romanticized idea of a family vacation and toss it right out.  Traveling with your kids is not for the weak. But it is amazing and opens the world to them and I want you to travel with your kids. Ok so you might have young kids, what’s the point right?  They’ll never remember any of it anyway. Well, we are literally learning from the day we are born, like little sponges. So it’s totally not wasted on littles. We took our kids to Vietnam 2 years ago for my sister-in-law’s wedding.  At that time, they were almost 6, 3 and 20 months. My oldest remembers a lot, my middle guy and little remember probably because of the stories we tell with our pictures. But they talk about it all of the time. Going abroad or even just to different places in the US exposes them to different people, cultures and situations.   It can help open their eyes to the larger world around them.

Happy Mother’s Day to all my mama’s out there.  I hope your day was full of love and family. And today’s topic is right in line with Mother’s day and self-care. I know you’ve heard it before… You need to take care of yourself. Well, how do you do it? For me, it’s daily.  I give myself 5 minutes to meditate, eat good food, move my body and sneak in a little guilty pleasure screen time.   But once or twice a year I like to take a momcation. What is a momcation?  It’s a vacation from being a mom.  Don’t get me wrong, I love being a mom but sometimes I need a break. A momcation can be anything really.   It could be having the kids in school or daycare or at a friends house and staying in bed all day with Netflix.   It could be leaving the kiddos with dad for a few hours on the weekend and getting a massage and going to lunch. It could be girls weekend or anything that gets you back to feeling like you and just a mom stuck on the mom hamster wheel. My momcations usually consists of me going to a hotel for at least one night and getting some sort of pampering done.   The hotel is key because I want to sleep! I want 8-10 blissful uninterrupted hours of sleep.  Just that makes me feel like new person. I’ll go by myself or take a friend but either way, it’s a break.   I started this a few years ago when we were doing a somewhat large renovation in our home and there were always people in and out.  Plus, there were so many decisions to make that I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. So when it was finally done, I used points and booked a hotel downtown for a night and massage for the next day.  It was magical. I had so many ideas and did so much planning for my business it was crazy.   Now, I don’t always take my computer and do work but when I’m feeling like I can’t get anything done in my home office and want to get in a few hours, I’ll definitely take it. I actually think it’s vital in your mommy life and business life to take a break from the routine and put yourself into a different environment for a little while.  That’s when inspiration has a chance to flow. I come back refreshed and de-stressed.  I find that my scary mommy side of me stays at bay for a while and that I can be a calmer better mom. Please give this a try and I want to hear what your experience was and if you love it as much as I do.

Online Business and the Mommy Juggle Today, Erin and I will be digging into how she makes online business work for her family of 6.  Plus, we get to learn about all about her meal planning tools. Check it out! Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss: How Erin accidently became an entrepreneur. Her tips on how moms can separate biz time from family time. Erin's tools that help you feed your family on a budget. Check out these highlights: How her recipe blog turned into a business. [2:07] Writing a cookbook and how she managed her littles.  [3:50] She finally had to get some help.  [4:18] Figuring out the family/biz balance.  [5:44] Erin and the Miracle Morning. [10:20] All of the awesome tools for feeding your family that Erin offers. [12:48] Freeze Easy Meals and how it evolved. [14:47]  Intentional Bites Planner is almost here [17:00] Links mentioned in this episode: 5 Dollar Dinners FreezEasy Meals Online Business Starter Kit Thanks for Listening!  Check out these recent episodes: The 10 Tools I Use to Produce My Podcast How to Make $10k a Month as a Virtual Assistant Top 5 Online Business Tools for Under $30 To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question over on hello@MommysHomeOffice.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help reach more moms and I read each and every one. Subscribe on iTunes. Special thanks to Erin for joining me this week and to Carson Baker for being an awesome sound engineer.  Until next time!

I want to talk about this podcast.  If you are wondering what it takes to produce a podcast and how much equipment and time it takes...well, my friend, you are in luck! I am going to break down my podcast workflow and tell you exactly how I produce this show every week. First, let’s talk about why I chose to podcast.   I could have chosen to blog, video on YouTube or a live show on Facebook or Instagram but I chose to podcast.   Why?  Because I am a podcast junkie myself and love to talk.   I knew that I would need to be consistent with whatever I decided to use as my regular content and I was really turned on by the fact that I could batch record episodes.   Sure, I could batch anything but getting dressed and made up for the video was too daunting and then all of the editing makes me want to cringe. Plus I like to write but I wanted my voice to be heard so I figured I’d give podcasting a shot. So, now I’m addicted.  I have refined my system so that it takes far less time than it did in the beginning and I’m really starting to find my voice. So let’s dive in! Let's talk gear...

Today is about creating content.  We have Sarah Schwab the Content Creation Coach with us today. Sarah is going to talk all about her 3 pillars of content strategy and give some great tips on how to create content. Check out these highlights: How Sarah became an entrepreneur [1:45] Sarah niched down [4:05] Switzerland and her biz [4:20] Content Strategy - 3 Types of content [6:00] Content is different than copy [11:50] Tips for creating content [13:36] Love-hate relationship with creating content [15:47] Content marketing is not a magic pill [16:18] Why I chose to start a podcast [18:30]  Sarah is starting a podcast [21:00] Sarah wrote a book about content creation [13:36] How competitive dance ties into her book[23:35] How Sarah juggles her mommy/work life [24:23] The importance of having a specific workspace [28:50] Sometimes working is a lot easier than parenting [30:23] I went 9 days without my laptop

I know I’ve talked about Amy Porterfield in the past!  I actually talk about her a lot and that’s because she has been instrumental in my business and my life. Saying that she has changed my life might have you rolling your eyes or thinking yeah right whatever.  She’s just a social media influencer. But you would be wrong, my friend. She has basically been one of the best professors in my online marketing education.  Think of it as an Online Biz MBA. So how did I find her... I started listening to her podcast back in 2013 when I was trying to grow my senior living business. She always had hands-on tactile advice.  She really does try to make every episode a mini training. I learned a ton from her and after every episode, I would make an effort to implement what I had learned. And it was working. Fast forward 2 years, when I finally signed up for B-school and I only signed up for it because I wanted Amy’s bonus package. It was so full of behind the scenes gold that I used to get my business systematized and functioning like a well-oiled machine. In the fall of 2015, I went to the bonus 3 day mastermind weekend with Amy.  There were about 150 of us and we got to meet Amy, go through even more awesome trainings and pick her brain. It was ah-mazing, to say the least. During this weekend, I also met 4 other women that have changed my life, you’ve met one of them already, Monica Louie and you’ll meet another one next week Sarah Schwab. But today is all about Amy. So now that I got all of the backstory done let’s get to the heart of it. The 1st thing she taught me was to model those that I admired.  Don’t recreate the wheel! This was crucial at the beginning because I could’ve wasted a ton of time trying to do it solo. Now she wasn’t saying to be a copycat or to be exactly like the person you are modeling. She meant to model after the big picture, put your own spin on it and make it your own.   Think business models or social strategies.  Not copying! Why did this change my life? Well, I decided to model Amy and in doing that it saved me a ton of time, stress and feeling lost.   She had already done it!  Created an amazing online business and that’s where I wanted to go.   So I used her systems, her organization methods and her style of content (teaching with every piece of content).  It gave me a roadmap. And the fact that she is vocal about modeling after businesses you admire gave me the permission to not have to recreate the wheel for my business. This was not a popularly held belief 4 years ago. At that time, it was all about being authentic and creating your own way.  Which can seem insurmountable when you are starting your online journey. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about authenticity but I don’t think you need to take the long way.  Model, make it your own and do it on your own terms! The second way that Amy has changed my life is through what she calls closing loops. Amy attributes a lot of her success to the fact that she doesn’t have a lot of ideas and that she can focus in on one project and see it through. If you are anything like me then you know that struggle is real.  Shiny object syndrome is no joke and as an entrepreneur, we are especially prone to this.   I mean I am guilty of having a new idea every day or sometimes every hour that I immediately want to act on because new is fun! This is one of the hardest parts of being an entrepreneur in opinion.  And I’ve been so guilty of this in the past.   I would start a project and then get bored and start another project and then get bored and the over and over again until all you have is a bunch of partially completed ideas and nothing to show for it. The key to success is closing loops.   Start one project at a time and complete it.  And then you can move to the next thing. This is key to success right here!  Follow through and consistency! In one of her recent podcasts, she said that not closing loops can actually hurt your team too.   So if you are trying to build your empire with a small but might (like she says) team then you wanna make sure that you closing your loops. Now finally the last way she has changed my life is through SCRUM. You’ve heard me talk about Scrum before if you’ve been listening to the podcast.   But for those of you who don’t know what Scrum is, let me break it down. Scrum is a rugby term used by the IT industry.   There is a book called Scrum, The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland but I’ll spare that read or listen.  It’s very long and boring. Trust me, it put me to sleep quite a few times but I finally made it through the entire book so you don’t have to. Anyway, at Amy’s mastermind weekend she taught us how she uses Scrum in her business and it was revolutionary but also so simple. They guys on the show Silicone Valley used Scrum when they were writing one of their apps.  See this YouTube clip here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyVksFviJVE  I love this show, every episode has me rolling. So here it is. Basically, you go big picture to minute detail.   Take a projects end result and create a post-it note for every single little task that goes into project.  It’s called a backlog. Once you’ve created your backlog, then you sort them into categories and start a sprint. A sprint is a short determined amount of time, maybe around 2 weeks.  This is where you see how much gets done and where you get stuck. If you are working with a team this is crucial.  Checking in regularly to adapt and evolve is key. Once you do this for a while you have a much clearer idea of how much time specific tasks take and how long projects will take. This backlog process also works really good in systematizing.   Because you are documenting each minute task for a project...if this is a recurring project you can create a checklist and system around it. Or if it is something that you might want to teach one day then you already have all of the steps documented.  Talk about time saver. I use Scrum almost everyday.  I love sprints and knowing exactly where I am in a project. Alright, so there you have it.  

Today, we are talking to Stacy Brookman, she teaches people how to write their life stories and get over all of the labels that we put on ourselves and that others put on us.   For the full show note experience head over to www.MommysHomeOffice.com/resilient  Links mentioned in this episode: Stacy's Free Webinar - The Four Simple Proven Methods to Writing the Very First Chapter of Your Life Story in Just 7 Days  Asana Training - FREE Thanks for Listening! Special thanks to Stacy for joining me this week and to Carson Baker for being an awesome sound engineer.  Until next time!

Are you like me?   I have big dreams and set big goals.  But actually working on them or taking action usually starts out great but then fizzles out? Starts out amazing. I plan (I looooovvvve planning) and get everything ready.  And that works for about 3 days. This same cycle happens to us in our businesses too.   We set big goals and then get bogged down in the day to day aspects of it.  Our big goals get pushed to the side and they never get accomplished.   For the full show note experience head over to www.MommysHomeOffice.com/transition  Links mentioned in this episode: Beautycounter Asana Training - Free Mommy's Home Office Thanks for Listening! Special thanks to Carson Baker for our amazing sound experience. Until next time!

Corporate moms this one’s for you - whether you are currently a corporate mom or you come from a corporate background.   Today, Fabienne and I will be digging into how to make the transition from corporate to entrepreneur and all the juicy bits that go into it.  Check it out! For the full show note experience head over to www.MommysHomeOffice.com/transition  Links mentioned in this episode: Fabienne’s Free Training - How to Transition from Corporate to Entrepreneur Asana Training - Free Thanks for Listening! Special thanks to Fabienne for joining me this week and to Carson Baker for our amazing sound experience. Until next time!

I get asked a lot about what tools I use to run Mommy’s Home Office so I’m going to be doing a few episodes about those tools. Today we are going to talk about the absolute essentials for running an online business and a lot of them are free or under $30.  So let’s get to it! The first tool I love is… Canva Cost:  Free or $12.95 a month   Why I love Canva: You don’t need to know the dimensions of each different platform it has them. It already has done for you templates that you can take and make your own. It’s FREE or you can use Canva for Work which is worth the $12.95 a month.   Check Out Canva HERE Acuity Scheduling Cost:  Free or $15 a month If you take clients, set up interviews, set meetings or anything else that requires your calendar and scheduling please use a scheduling tool.     No more back and forth! Acuity also lets you take payments through Stripe and PayPal, so you can charge for your appointments, create packages, gift certificates, products, digital products, create payment plans and subscriptions.   If you upgrade to the paid version you can sync your calendar and it blocks of any times that you are unavailable on your personal calendars.    You can set up coupon codes. Plus it integrates with loads of other software so you can set things to automate!  Which you know is probably my most favorite thing in the world :). Check Out Acuity Scheduling HERE Zoom Cost: Free or $14.99 a month Ok so along the same lines as a scheduler…If you take clients or meet with VA or mastermind group or anyone over the internet, then you probably need a way to talk to them. I like Zoom because it has allows groups to video conference.  Like Google Hangouts without the constant crashing.   This is my go-to video conferencing tool and I think you need to check it out. Check Out Zoom HERE Leadpages Cost: $25 a month This has to be the easiest way to build a landing page, ever!   I use Leadpages for all of my sales pages and opt-ins.  It has really everything you need already put into template form so it’s plug and play and you can really make it your own. Plus the templates have all been rated for how they convert so you can choose one that is known to convert.   In the past, I’ve tried to find a less expensive option or tried to build my own but it was such a waste of time. I had to scream at myself to stop trying to recreate the wheel.   Anything that saves me time is a no-brainer. Try Leadpages for FREE HERE  ConvertKit Cost:  $29 a month My #1 email tool and I’ve tried A LOT.  You’ve heard it a million times.  “You need a list.  The money is in the list.”   Maybe you’re like “what the F is a list?”   Well, my friend, they are referring to an email list and all of the subscribers on that list. Those statements have never been truer than right now.  Maybe you’ve experienced the lack of engagement and reach on your Facebook and Instagram posts or you’ve at least heard about it. Your email list is gold. But you have to actually send emails. Don’t just collect them and let them sit.  (I’ve been totally guilty of this and regretted it.) I love ConvertKit for this because it charges me for the actual subscriber, so if the person is on multiple lists I only get charged once. ConvertKit has done an excellent job listening to online business owners and has been made specifically for us. Try ConvertKit FREE HERE Well, guys, these are just a few of my favorite must-haves and for under $30 you can’t beat it.  I use every single one of these tools almost daily in business and I couldn’t imagine trying to do this without them. Until next time! Mentions: Canva Acuity Scheduling Zoom Leadpages ConvertKit  

If you’ve been wondering what you can do to make money from home?   This is the episode for you. Becoming a virtual assistant (VA) is the perfect way to make money and work as many or as few hours as you want.   Kayla talks about the ins and outs of VA work and how she earns $10,000 a month doing VA work. Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss: Kayla was living paycheck to paycheck when she started her blog. How she thought online business was a scam in the beginning. She started earning extra money as a freelance writer and pivoted into a virtual assistant. How she turned her side hustle into a full-time business. The biggest VA jobs and how to get a VA job. I know first hand, so many online business owners need help.  There is no way for them to do it all and if they are doing that it’s hurting their growth.   They need help with social media, writing copy, creating graphics, podcast transcription, filtering all the emails, scheduling posts, invoicing clients and list goes on and on.   Check out these highlights: Kayla found online income reports and it changed her life. [2:43] How she started as a freelancer.  [3:40] She was asked to be a virtual assistant.  [4:15] What skills do you need to be a VA?  [5:40] How to get started and get your 1st client. [7:25] Resources, tools, and requirements to become a VA. [10:50] Asana for VAs. [12:40] Become a $10k VA. [14:12] $50 off promo code for Kayla’s course. [19:14] Links mentioned in this episode: 10kVA Course - Learn how to make a consistent $10,000 per month as a virtual assistant.   Use Promo Code Mommy50 to get $50 off for the Mommy’s Home Office Podcast listeners!

Finding your why is a journey that we all must go on.  Whether it’s your reason for getting healthy, your reason for going back to school, your reason for being/or staying married or your reason for starting and running your own business. Today I’m going to talk about the latter.   Starting and running your own business is no joke.   It takes a lot of time and commitment and lots of fails to get it right. If you don’t have a really strong why, and I mean rock solid, behind it then it’s likely you won’t reach your goals. I finally found my why but it was something I struggled with for a very long time.    

Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss: Monica went from corporate desk job to stay at home mom to blogger to Facebook ads coach. How she pivoted her business from blogger to ads coach. When is your business ready to start running Facebook ads - Monica goes into details and What posts should you run ads to and how you get the best ROI for your money. Don’t be Facebook's low hanging fruit. It’s only good for Facebooks wallet, not yours. If you’ve been scared to run Facebook Ads or maybe you run ads now but you want to get lower CPCs, then listen up because Monica is demystifying Facebook ads for us in today’s episode.  You’re going to want to start running ads after hearing this conversation.   Check out these highlights: How Monica went from the corporate cubicle to stay at home mom. [2:28] Monica and her husband paid off $120,000 in debt.  [5:53] Pivoting your business and how to know it’s right.  [7:07] How Monica got super low cost per conversions with her Facebook ads. [8:05] When should you start running Facebook ads? [10:45] How should you use Facebook ads without wasting a lot of money? [12:13] Why shouldn’t I boost my post? [15:30] Flourish with Facebook Ads [18:30] 5 Questions You Should Ask Before You Spend Any Money on Facebook Ads - Free Guide [20:47] Links mentioned in this episode: Escape from Cubicle Nation - Book Flourish with Facebook Ads - Monica’s course. (use promo code Nichole50 to get $50 off) 5 Questions You Should Ask Before You Spend Any Money on Facebook Ads - Free Guide

Today I’m sitting down with Larken Lech the talent behind Larken Lech Branding and Design. Larken helps entrepreneurs create brands that they love. Ah-mazing! I’m super excited to introduce Larken to you. She’s going to talk about how she got started in online business. Through her story, you'll see that being a mom and going after your dream is totally possible. She also goes into her struggle with the postpartum depression.  And how starting her business helped her overcome it. She’s sharing the about cohesive branding, when you should do before hiring a branding expert and her biggest branding pet peeve. Plus she has an amazing course that she is offering us! Check it out here. Let’s get started! I’ve got a couple of quick announcements today too: I have created a FREE behind the scenes training to help with the overwhelmed and frazzled feelings that we all have as moms juggling a million things every day.   I use a free tool called Asana to manage my tasks and #ALLTHETHINGS that go into my biz life and mommy life.  Check it out here! Links Mentioned: Asana Training Beautycounter Larken’s Course - Don't Be A Sucker -Learn To Build Your Brand Properly Thanks for Listening! To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question over on hello@MommysHomeOffice.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help reach more moms and I read each and every one. Subscribe on iTunes. Special thanks to Larken for joining me this week. Until next time!

Time Management Moms let’s get real for a second.  I’m not the best time manager.  Time management has been a struggle for me. Plus, I’m a serial procrastinator.  Juggling the kids, the house, the husband, and two businesses is not an easy feat. Oh and I forgot the PTA (and a side note on that...no matter what position you sign up for and how little time they say it will take...they are lying...it always takes more time than you think.   Don’t get me wrong PTA is important but chose your position or volunteer level wisely). Ok, enough on that rant.    I'm betting you’ve felt this way before.  Letting stuff pile up until you just can’t take it anymore, seeing a deadline rapidly approaching or just trying to get everything in while your kiddo is napping, before they come from school, or while you have a few minutes of time.   Trust me, I feel you...Time management is something I’ve been trying to master for years. And everyone is a little different when it comes to what works. I have a few tricks up my sleeve for actually getting stuff done.  When I need to put my head down and get it done, I employ a couple of “Nichole hacks” that have been tested and proven to get me going. I wanna share them with you because who knows maybe you’re like me too. The first thing I do is to go into do not disturb mode and set a timer.   I use the Pomodoro Method and it works really good for me in everything really.  So what is the Pomodoro method?   It’s essentially setting a timer (the name comes from the little tomato timer from the 80s

Today I’m sitting down with Micala Quinn the founder of Live Free Mama. Live Free Mama helps moms get started in their freelancing career so that they can experience freedom and flexibility while raising their family. SOOOO Awesome! I’m super excited to introduce Micala to you. She’s going to talk about how she got started in online business. Through her story, you'll see that earning a full-time income from home is possible, even after a few failures. She’s sharing the ideas about what’s possible for moms, how anyone can freelance and her biggest tip to getting clients. She also goes into the 4 things you need to start your freelance business.  This might give you some ideas for starting your business and brand, so listen close.   Plus she has a great brainstorming guide that she is sharing with us! Check it out here. Let’s get started! I’ve got a couple of quick announcements today too: I have created a FREE behind the scenes training to help with the overwhelmed and frazzled feelings that we all have as moms juggling a million things every day.   I use a free tool called Asana to manage my tasks and #ALLTHETHINGS that go into my biz life and mommy life.  Check it out here! Links Mentioned: Asana Training Beautycounter Micala’s Brainstorming Guide Live Free Mama Mastermind Facebook Group Thanks for Listening! To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question over on hello@MommysHomeOffice.com To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help reach more moms and I read each and every one. Subscribe on iTunes. Special thanks to Micala for joining me this week. Until next time!

Ok, so I’m not gonna lie.  This is an area that I struggle with and it wasn’t until I had kids that I finally was able to delegate it.  I always felt bad for the women that had clean other people's houses because growing up my mom was one of those women.  She would do it on the side to make extra money for our family.   It took me a really long time to change my mindset around it.  I finally realized that because of these wonderful families paying my mom for her services that we were able to do and buy the things that we needed. So after years of trying to handle it myself, I finally have my house cleaned every 2 weeks by this amazing sister team.  They are angels to our family.  They give us back so much time.  It takes the 2 of them 4 hours to clean our house so that’s eight hours it would take me by myself and I know how valuable that is.   Plus, I have four boys in the house so keeping bathrooms clean is a disgusting never-ending battle. Pretty much daily, I wipe down everything in the bathrooms with disinfecting wipes for the stuff I can see and I also use scrubbing bubbles gel things so it helps keep the toilets clean.  But at least I know that every 2 weeks Angeles comes in and deep cleans them and gets everything I can’t see [yuck]. I also do a daily quick tidy after everyone is out of the house.  I set a timer for 30 minutes and I speed through tidying up the kitchen, kids rooms (they’re still a little too young to do it themselves) and living area.  I find that when I can complete this that my day is so much more productive because I’m not constantly reminded of everything else I need to do while I’m trying to get work done. I used to and sometimes still do, wait until the last minute to do this and rush around like a crazy person right before my husband gets home.  Not that he expects a pristine clutter free house. But because I have this nagging thought in my head that I’m at home all day, kids are at school and he’s at work all day long (he takes the kids to school at 7:15 and comes home around 7 PM) and he works in a stressful setting.  So for him to come home after his long and probably stressful day to a chaotic house, with dishes and clutter staring at him is the last thing I want. He would totally take it on and help out but I don’t want that for him.   And he’s the one that makes the most money to support our family (even though I’m working).  Now I know logically that this is a silly belief because my self-worth is not tied to the income I bring into our family but it’s there for me, I struggle with it and I have a feeling it’s there for a lot of us. I know my value as a mom, wife, cook and house manager and I am working on it. Maybe you’re just not ready to delegate it? Maybe it’s just getting organized, having a process & checklists and setting a schedule?  Maybe it’s time blocking so you can knock it all out like I do in my 30-minute block? Maybe it’s hiring someone to help?  And it doesn’t cost as much as you think, I want you to price it out before you dismiss this option or maybe you just start small.  You have just the kitchen and bathrooms cleaned every other week. When I finally got over myself and started delegating the housework, grocery shopping through InstaCart and meal planning and prepping with PrepDish is when I stopped feeling like everything was out of control.  That was invaluable.   Now my goal is to find someone that can take over my 30-minute tidy, do the laundry and keep the closets organized. I’m thinking an hour or an hour and a half Monday - Friday.  Maybe even get them to help me prep meals too.  That way I can spend that time focusing on my family, my work, my health and the things that light me up.   We have all of these hats that we were as moms, my goal is to help make those a little easier.  

I’ve talked a lot about biz stuff the last 5 episodes so today I’m going to talk about mommy life.  You know me, I loooove systems and I started incorporating some of my biz strategies into my home life and OMG it has made a big difference.  The frustration, time and overwhelm have definitely gone down.    Because there are so many facets of our mommy life I want to break them down into smaller chunks.  Today’s topic will benefit you whether you have a biz already or not because we are going to talk about my biggest time sucker...Food, grocery shopping, and meal planning.  And since it’s still January most of us are trying really hard to eat healthier and choose healthier options. I don’t know about you but I am the one in charge of getting the family feed and everything that goes with it especially because my hubby travels for work almost every week.   I have this love-hate relationship with this role of mine because I love food and I love grocery shopping but having the time to plan, shop, prep, and cook can make me want to throw up my hands in defeat, order take out and have a glass of wine instead. However, that doesn’t work for me either.  I haven’t told you this but I have an autoimmune thyroid disease and I have to eat mainly Paleo in order to keep my symptoms at bay. Paleo take out is very limited in Plano, TX so I have to cook most of my food.   The only upside to this is that my kids eat lots of veggies and eat mainly home-cooked meals.  So yay for that….But that means that on top of me running a biz, getting kids to school, taking care of everything that the house needs (dishwasher not working, kids put something in the toilet that I can’t get out or the other hundred things that homeownership requires), carting the kiddos to any extracurricular activities, and the mountains of laundry that a family of 5 makes all fall on me. Now I’m not complaining about all of these roles that I have. I’m super grateful for the life that I have and I gladly take these on. But let’s get real...it’s a lot of work and it’s exhausting.   So after years of feeling defeated and spending way too much time thinking about food. I have set up a pretty good system now and I want to share with you. So hopefully you take away some great ideas or if you have an awesome system that works please share it with me. I’m always tweaking and adjusting. The first thing that has saved me, like really saved me is meal plans. I know, you’re probably cringing right now but hear me out.  I give up about 90 minutes (when you 1st start it will take probably take a little longer until you get super efficient at prepping) on Sunday afternoon and have food prepped and ready to go for the whole week.  Now if I have a busy Sunday then I move my prep day to Monday.  We work from home so you get to choose whatever day works best for you plus sometimes it’s just easier when the kids aren’t at home. You can choose to spend time figuring out and planning your own meal plan and that might work for you but that didn’t work for me.  I found myself making lists of easy go tos and spending hours going down the Pinterest rabbit hole and then not even making any of those meals because they ended up being too complicated or time-consuming or I was missing one key ingredient.   So I opted for a meal planning service.  They do all of the picking and choosing for me for about $8 a month so totally worth it. Plus the one I use is made for gluten-free and Paleo peeps like me. It’s called Prep Dish and totally love the recipes.  It’s pretty cool because it gives you step by step instruction for your prep day and then instructions for the day that you make that meal.   For a while, I was just using a Sun Basket (affiliate link) meal delivery service that sent me 2-3 recipes a week with all of the ingredients and instructions to make those meals.  This was great but some of the recipes were a little more challenging to pull off for a weeknight meal.  I needed to pay close attention to the recipe steps and we all know with kids running around that’s kinda hard to do. Plus with my husband traveling so often I would end up wasting some of the food and I hate wasting food. I really love the food Sun Basket sends so now I check out the meals at the beginning of each month and incorporate them into my meal plans too.   So meal planning and prepping, super important, sucks on prep day but totally worth it. So let’s tackle the next big time suck.  Grocery shopping. If you have a service like my favorite InstaCart (affiliate link) and Amazon Prime. Please start using them. If you are running a business or want to run a biz and you live in a place that these amazing tools are available to you then I don’t want to hear your excuses like but I love grocery shopping or I they wouldn’t take the time to choose stuff like I do.   Dude, the hours it saves you are well worth it. You could be using that time to move forward and take action in your biz and life.   I use InstaCart at least twice a week to do almost all of my shopping from my favorite stores.  I can even have wine delivered to me so of course, they’re my favorite.  

If you’re anything like me, when your kids are around it’s super hard to get anything done. Cleaning, organizing, or anything that isn’t about them, especially working or having 10 minutes of quite to say record a podcast… is virtually impossible.   But if you really want to, you can find little pockets of time to work.  And I know personally that there’s nothing to get your butt into gear and get it done, then having a short amount of time ticking away.  That’s why timers work so well. (but that’s a whole other episode that we’ll cover) I don’t know about you but some of my best stuff comes out when I’m under pressure.  Tell me you’ll be at my house in 15 minutes I can speed clean like a pro. :)   So I’ve come up with a list of ten tactics to use when you need to sneak in a little bit of work time.  Some of these you may have heard but I bet there’s a few that you hadn’t thought of yet.

In today’s episode, I want to talk about how to manage your biz and make it work with your life using systems. Systems and processes are one of my favorite things.  Today I’m going to share a few of those with you!   Links Mentioned in the Podcast: Free Asana Training - Kick ass at managing your biz & mommy life! Scheduling with Acuity - Schedule Appointments, Sell Digi Products, Sell Gift Certs or Packages, Sell Subscriptions, Offer Payment Plans Accounting with Quickbooks - Easy online accounting tool Gmail/Email Boomerang - Send emails at a later time and send unopened emails to the top of the inbox Integration & Automation with Zapier - Create automation in your biz and mommy life Integration & Automation with If This Than That - Create automation in your biz and mommy life ConvertKit - Email Service Provider - Collect and send emails & set up funnels. Beautycounter - Cleaner, safer beauty products.

The easiest way to start with little to no money is FB & Instagram. I talked about this a little in Episode 1 and I want to go into detail here. This is just a starting point, you will need a website eventually. But this can take off some of the pressure and overwhelm of having everything figured out from the start. And get you to take action. All you need is a smartphone.  No fancy equipment or backdrops.    Links Mentioned in Podcast Ecamm Live - Add Text, share your screen and add logos to your Facebook Live   Beautycounter - Cleaner, Safer Beauty Products  

Today we are going to talk about coming up with an idea for a work at home biz.   I’m going to cover my top 5 different types of work at home opportunities.  Some of which you may not even know that you can make money doing these things. Links Mentioned in the Podcast: Proofread Anywhere Webinar and Course 10K VA Course - How to become a VA that earns $10k per month Beautycounter - Cleaner, Safer Beauty Products  

This is a safe place for moms to get support in their biz life and mommy life with no judgment.   I’m going to have brutally honest mom conversations. That isn’t just the curated FB and Instagram feed that we all see and we all compare ourselves to.   Don't forget to subscribe to the show!