Do you have a product you would like to test-market to 2000-5000 Moms this weekend?

I travel across the United States & Canada going to various conferences, festivals, and fairs. I sell products made by moms and I also speak about a variety of business topics such as: how to start a business from home while being a mom with a family, how to grow your existing business, how to design a simple and easy web-site you can maintain by yourself, the ins and outs of search engine optimization for your web-site and blogs, how to use twitter for business and more.

Three of these events a year are specifically Moms Conferences. These are weekend getaways for Moms relax, re-charge, and get re-freshed as a mom. These moms get to hang out with 2000-5000 other moms and take classes on anything from parenting, to marriage, to digital photography, to scrapbooking, to updating your mommmy wardrobe. I have gone to these Moms Conferences for 11 years and love love love going to them. Every mom I bring to one of these conferences wants to know why I didn't make her go sooner.

I rent space at these Moms Conferences and sell products made by over 20 different moms. We sell Products Made by Moms for Moms - anything from jewelry, to handbags, to baby layette items, to cute saying baby onesies, baby planners, baby books, mom planners & calendars, to printed Moms Rock shirts, to rhinestoned Mom shirts, + so much more.

Two years ago I started a program where I allow 4 moms come to each conference to try out and test market their product to these thousands of moms. In one weekend you get to test and try to sell your product to your target market = Moms. This is a fantastic opportunity to find out if you have a product that will sell and connect with the mom market. There is no better focus-group jam-packed into one long weekend.

How this program works - each mother entrepreneur:
- gets two feet of space to market and sell their product at the booth
- must participate in the full set-up and break-down of entire booth
- must participate in the full operations for the entire booth
- we take turns on the cash register and bagging
- must work the entire full two days of the conference
- we rotate breakfast, lunch, and dinner breaks

Conference Dates that still has openings:
#1 = November 6th & 7th, 2009 in Minnesota
#2 = March 12th & 13th, 2010 in Illinois

For some moms this launches their businesses and give them the reassurance and reinforcement that they have a product that connects with their target market of moms. For some moms, like at the most recent conference, it was an end to a struggling business - it was a nice product, packaged correctly, and done right - but didn't connect with her target market of moms. For other moms, they have met retail and online store owners & set up wholesale arrangements. For other moms, their products sold so well we started selling their products on our online store & started bringing them to all of our TimeOutMom events.

E-mail me at: TimeOutMom@gmail.com if you are interested in learning more about your product than you ever imagined in just one weekend !

Twitter for Business - What is a Twitter Profile Review ?

Are you tired of constantly hunting for your next customer? Are you spending a lot of time, money and energy advertising, marketing and attending networking meetings, but not getting enough sales? Wouldn’t it be nice if your customers found you instead? Even better, how would you like it if people you don’t even know were busy promoting and recommending you and your business to others while you're off spending time with your family?

Twitter is the answer to finding more customers. However, there are many people on Twitter and it is just not working for them and they don't get it. They are stuck at 100-1000 followers and can't seem to move forward. I can teach you what Twitter is and how to really make it work for you and your business. You can't just show up and hope it will happen - you need to know how to do it right and do it well.

I want you to work smarter, not harder! All types of businesses - product based, direct selling, or serviced based - would benefit from engaging in using this fantastic and necessary social media tool called Twitter. Whether you own a brick and mortar business, offer professional services, run a non-profit agency, manage a business group (like a chamber of commerce), have a retail store, or sell your products online - Twitter can work for you to Grow Your Business.

Quote from Seth Godin that I think exemplifies what I think Twitter for Business is:
Turn strangers into Friends.
Turn friends into Customers.
And then... do the most important job:
Turn your customers into salespeople
-Seth Godin

What is a Twitter Profile Review?
A Twitter Profile Review is a personal and in depth look at your Twitter Profile. How are you tweeting? How are those tweets presenting to your Twitter Community? Are you only tweeting personal tweets? Are you only tweeting business tweets? How do you integrate both personal and business seamlessly. What is your profile picture and bio telling the world about you? What is the most effective way to use those 160 characters you are given in your profile bio area? What tools can you use to make tweeting for business easier? How do you tweet about your business service or product in an appropriate, authentic, and non-spammer way? How are you building your Twitter community with your Target Market?

Important information you need to know in order to Work Smarter, Not Harder on Twitter:

• What percentage of your tweets should be Sharing Resources like links to web-sites, blogs, and articles?
• What percentage of your tweets should be Engaging and Connecting with our people?
• What percentage of your tweets should be just Chirping about your life?
• When are the busiest times daytime hours on twitter?
• When are the busiest evening hours on twitter?
• How can you tweet during these times & not actually be on twitter live?

Book your personal Twitter Profile Review today and learn how you can improve how you are using Twitter and how to Grow Your Business using Twitter.

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Meet Mother+Entrepreneur Mary Beth and her Beautiful Adoption Dolls

Precious Baby Doll Company is a company with a mission to create a loving home for wonderful baby dolls through "adoption." The Precious Doll Company was a dream of a woman who experienced first-hand the pain of relinquishing a baby for adoption and the joy of becoming a mother to an adopted daughter. It was her vision to establish a company that would realize the story behind every adoption and breathe life into each by creating stories that celebrated the joy of finally bringing the baby home.

It was summer, and a young Mary Beth Wells, gave birth to a beautiful daughter, whom she silently and privately named Kimberly Caryn. It was her struggle to relinquish this baby to parents who could provide a home with love and stability. It remains the most painful decision of her life, to love this child enough to place her with a family who would raise her to be their own.

Years later, Mary Beth found her birth daughter and began to have a relationship with her. Part one of the healing had occurred. Her prayers were answered when she became the mother to Sophia whom she adopted from Guatemala. Sophia became the love of her life. At last, she had two daughters- the circle of adoption to adoption was complete.

It was time to realize another dream- to give birth again, this time to a company that could bring precious dolls into loving homes. She knew, in her heart, that the Precious Baby Doll Company could help tell the stories of babies adopted all over the world, babies that now lived in America with their new families.

The dolls and their stories help any child learn the gift of adoption. Each doll comes with a book that tells the story about their country of birth and the love that brought them to a new world. The books that accompany these dolls tell the story of the journey that brought them home- these are stories of love with arms outstretched in two directions, one giving and one receiving. The stories tell how the children were wanted for such a long time and the supreme happiness in finally bringing these babies home to forever live with their new family.

The Precious Baby Doll Company is dedicated to providing the highest quality standards in clothing, design and story. The dolls are made to be permanent members of the family, with quality and beauty that is durable and precious like its name.

Every adoptive child has two histories and a bright future. It's the history of the native land, the history of the family to which it is now a member and the future that has yet to unfold. The Precious Baby Doll Company celebrates and respects all three through stories, clothing and accessory lines. The books tell the stories of the beginning of their lives, leaving room for the parents to fill in all the details that made their child so uniquely wonderful. The books affirm the pride in having a home in "two lands", with a foundation of knowledge about the country of origin as well as a deep love of America.

A Precious Baby Doll is waiting just for your home!

See all of the Beautiful Baby Dolls your daughter can Adopt !

Twitter to Grow Your Business

"Turn Strangers into Friends.
Turn Friends into Customers.
And then... do the most important job:
Turn your customers into salespeople."
- Seth Godin

I just finished reading Seth Godin's book "Small is the New Big (and 183 riffs, rants, and remarkable business ideas)". It is a great book & one that I will be reading multiple times and putting on my "to buy" list.

I read the quote above and immediately thought of Twitter! You may know a few friends on Twitter, but most of your Twitter community are strangers. You get to know these people and you become friends - you share and bond over common experiences.

Then, they take a look at your link or business items or products you have been tweeting and become your customers because you have established a relationship and they feel they know you and trust you.

Then, once they are a most satisfied customer they then become your salespeople and spokespersons. When I put a new product online and tweet about it - my customers, I mean my salesteam tweets about it to their communities.

Twitter is the most amazing social media vehicle out there right now and THE most powerful for business. It takes time, effort, and energy and doing it right and paying it forward - but it is well worth it !

10 Ways to Come Up with New Ideas! Get Inspired!

Guest Blog Post by Lara Galloway http://www.mombizcoach.com/ - Helping mom entrepreneurs earn more money doing what they love, while taking care of Priority #1: Family. Find Lara and her awesome tweets on @mombizcoach

You know, there are times when my brain is simply too tired or overwhelmed to produce many (if any) new ideas. There is many a day when 4pm rolls around and I realize I haven’t thought of what to make for dinner for my family of five. I open the fridge and freezer and stand there, staring, literally hoping for something to jump out at me so I don’t have to think up what to cook. My brain is so tired I can’t even remember the standard meals I cook, much less come up with anything creative, new and exciting to try.

And then there are times, like now, that my brain is about to explode due to all the creativity coming out of it. I used to scratch down an idea on a piece of paper when it hit me. Then I started keeping them in my business notebook as they came to me more frequently. Now I’m creating whole spreadsheets of ideas to keep track of them, and they just keep coming.

Are you looking for something to write about for your blog, your newsletter, for an article, for a marketing piece, or for a special report, e-book or book?

Could you use some help brainstorming ideas for a new product, program or service you could offer?

Need a strategy for generating engaging topics for your podcasts, teleseminars, or workshops?

I’m happy to share with you a few methods I use for kicking my imagination and creativity into high gear. Hopefully you can find a few that will work for you, and you’ll be well on your way to developing some fresh content for your business this Fall.

Ten Ways to Come Up With New Content:

1. Focus on the part of your business you love.
Just think about the parts that make you happiest. If you love talking, is there a new venue/forum that you haven’t tried yet? How could you teach others something about this thing you love?

2. Pick a partner and do some collaborating.
You’re good at what you do; now go find somebody who complements your strengths and can help you develop your offerings in ways you couldn’t come up with on your own.

3. Check out your email inbox.
Do you notice any frequently asked questions in there? Create a special report, an e-book, or a podcast that answers those questions and make it available to your customers and prospects. They’ll be grateful you did, and it won’t take you much creativity at all to answer these questions.

4. Create an add-on to something you already provide.
Is your e-book/book selling well? Fantastic! Now create a workbook or study book that goes along with it so people can create their own path from the insights/lessons your book taught them. Doing teleseminars? Why not package your audio files with a questionnaire or worksheet and sell that as an information product?

5. How’s your existing product funnel?
Take a good look at it and decide if/where there are any gaps. Do you offer products/services for free, low, medium and high-priced? Does one offering logically lead to the next, higher-priced one? Create items that fill in these gaps.

6. Have someone interview you (live or just recorded).
Have them ask you who your target market is and what their top challenges are. Answer these questions, and let the creative juices flow. Often times being asked questions and having to answer them in real time helps your brain think in ways that sitting at your desk all by yourself just doesn’t.

7. Ask your team to review your web-site & offerings yearly.
Aks your coach, mentor, board of advisors, supporters to review your website and all of your offerings. What would they like to see? Ask them to tell you what’s missing.

8. Keep a notebook handy.
As ideas come to you, write them down. You will not remember them later. If you can’t get to your notebook, consider using the voice memo feature on your cellphone/smartphone, or even call your own answering machine and leave yourself a message with your bright idea. Do it IMMEDIATELY before you lose it! Great ideas seldom re-visit tired mompreneur brains.

9. Spend some time exploring.
Surf the web, search on keywords that are relevant to you and your business, and see what your competitors or colleauges are doing. Can you emulate something you see? Is there a way you can make it your own, with your personality, brand and flavor?

10. Get out of your office.
Go for a walk, a hike, a bikeride, anything outdoors and in Nature. If you’ve been stuck for a while without new ideas, a change of pace and setting might be just what you need. Spend time with friends and family and turn off the “business brain” for a while. A little R&R goes a long way towards giving your mind the flexibility to generate new, different, exciting things that will benefit you, your business, and your clients.

Guest Blog Post by Lara Galloway http://www.mombizcoach.com/ - Helping mom entrepreneurs earn more money doing what they love, while taking care of Priority #1: Family. Find Lara and her awesome tweets on @mombizcoach

"A bend in the road is not the end of the road...."

"A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you failt o make the turn."
~Author Unknown

The phrase "Working Mother" is....

"The phrase 'Working Mother' is redundant!"
~ Jane Sellman

"Friendship is born at the moment..."

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You, too? Thought I was the only one.'"
~ C.S. Lewis

This is so true! I think back to meeting a mom at the library or the playground and sharing the common bond of having children and sharing all that goes along with it.

- "You didn't sleep last night either? Oh, I thought I was the only one!"

- "You work at home too. Do you ever make business phone calls from your bedroom closet?"

- "You hate leaving the house with your toddler plastered to the door screaming "mama" with tears streaming down his face too! What tricks to you do? I ask my husband to lead him to the fridge and let him look in the exciting fridge for a snack."

- "You have mountains of clean laundry too? Where is yours? Each of my kids have a clean laundry basket in their rooms & it always seems full of the clean laundry instead of putting those clean clothes away where they belong! How frustrating!"

- "Nice to see you at McDonald's! Is your husband working late too & you don't feel like cooking?"

It's great to share with other mothers what is going on with your life. You are not alone! Chances are high that whatever is going in your life right another mother is going through that too or has gone through it!

You are NOT alone! Get to know the mother next to you wherever you go!

Are you a Mom on Maternity Leave? Thinking about Starting a Business ?

Guest Post by Tamara Hancock, author of “Confessions of A Stay At Home Mom”. Her website http://www.wahpm.com/ is geared toward work at home professionals who could use a little support in their business and personal selves.


Are you a Mom on Maternity Leave? Post Partum….boredom? Thinking about Starting a Business?

I was twenty-four years old, and on bed rest awaiting the birth of my second child Rebecca. I’d been on bed rest for approximately three weeks, and she wasn’t due for another two months. My first daughter Anastasia was in preschool for most of the day, and due to my bedrest her travel to and from school was pretty much taken care of my friends and family. My husband, well – he was working an internship in Arizona, and was only home on the weekends.
I was bored.

You see, outside in the “real” world, I was an executive. I was a high power, high dollar sales professional who went out into the world and kicked butt, and took names. Sitting at home twiddling my thumbs most DEFINITELY was not for me. I had two months to go, and then another six weeks before I could even consider returning to work. I was beside myself.

Internet businesses were still in their infancy (and those that were established were – lets just say ‘undesirable’), and working from home was a novelty for most. I wanted to find something that would contribute to my family income but mostly would contribute to my need to interact with the outside world. Living in Utah, there were literally hundreds of opportunities to start my own direct sales business – IE Pampered Chef, Avon, MaryKay, Gold Canyon Candles…but being on bed rest (and once my darling little baby arrived), I knew home parties were not going to be for me. I needed something I could do, that would have very flexible hours and didn’t require a lot of start up cash. I also wanted something that I wouldn’t have to learn many new skills for – because we all know that when you are a mother to a new infant – a fully functioning brain is not one of the first things to regain.

I started to take an inventory of all the things I knew. I was an excellent typist, very organized and efficient, personable with people, and superior time management skills. I then began to think about the job that I held within my company. What did I do at the office, that I couldn’t do from home? I picked up the phone and made a business proposition to my employer. Within a few hours, and two signed contracts later – I was now an independent contractor.

While I didn’t realize at the time that I was starting a new business, this is exactly what I did. Plus, becoming an independent contractor opened up the door for me to take on other clients. I became a virtual sales professional. A few months later I had a business license, several clients, a newborn baby – and something that not only passed my time, but made me feel more fulfilled as a mother, and as a person.

Many women look to start a business while they are on their maternity leave. Usually it’s brought on by feelings of regret for leaving their newborn with someone during the day. A business is definitely within reach for anyone who is serious about it. A few things to keep in mind:

1) Remember, you are the mother of an infant, or soon to be infant.

When looking to start a business keep it simple, business start up can be difficult, and you are going to be losing enough sleep as it is – business doesn’t need to be a worry on top of that.

2) Follow your passion.

Don’t take on a business opportunity just because it’s an opportunity. Make sure it’s something you’ll enjoy.

3) Do your research.

Don’t take the first thing that comes along that promises stress free living and freedom. Every business worth taking on is going to take some work and dedication. If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

4) Don’t make a decision to work from home in desperation.

Being home with your children (especially if it’s your first) can be a highly emotional experience. Make sure the decision to start a business is made with a clear head and with support from your family.

5) Finally, don’t apologize.

You work from home, it’s your business, and it’s something that you are doing for you and your family. If you have a client that isn’t particularly happy about you working away from an office – or *gasp* with children at home – then it probably isn’t a client or account worth fighting for. Your family must come first.

Since the birth of my second daughter I have worked from home, and I have never looked back. Just remember that your family comes first, and that you need to take time out for yourself as well. Maternity leave is a time to bond with your family, not to get burned out and exhausted (for reasons other than midnight feedings).

ABOUT OUR GUEST BLOGGER:



Tamara Hancock is the author of “Confessions of A Stay At Home Mom”.

She is a Work At Home Professional Mom with five children under the age of ten.

Her website http://www.wahpm.com/ is geared toward work at home professionals who could use a little support in their business and personal selves.

Follow Tamara on Twitter http://twitter.com/WAHPM

Get Local. Shop Local. Support Local.

Pick 3. Spend 50. Save Your Local Economy.

Driving down small towns and looking at local shops with empty store fronts is such a sad thing. I think of that business owners hopes and dreams gone. How can we make a difference and make a change?

Stacey, from HullaBaloo Maternity and InfantWear, just blogged about a project called the 5/30 project. I have included a link to the project and to her blogpost about it below. Essentially it's saying you have the power to choose where your dollars are spent and to think about this carefully.

You can buy your maternity clothes from Kohl'ls or Target, but I bought my entire maternity collection from a small independent awesome shop in Royal Oak called HullaBaloo Maternity and InfantWear. She carefully hand-selects only the unique - from the teeny-tiniest layette to whimsical tees, funky crib bedding to rugged strollers.

She is also supports local artisans who make wonderful and special gift items. One such artisan is Anna Banana who has special events at HullaBaloo where you can get your baby or children's hand and footprints pressed into clay. Then you can choose your glaze and pick it up in the store 4-6 weeks later. This has been a huge hit for Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Christmas!

What 3 independent businesses would you miss if they disappeared? If half of the employed population spent $50 a month locally that would bring in 42.6 billion dollars in revenue for the local economy.

SOURCES:
http://hullabaloomaternity.blogspot.com/2009/07/support-local-shop-local-530-project.html
http://www.the350project.net/home.html
http://www.the350project.net/media.html

At Work At Home - Design Ideas for your Home Workplace Book

At Work At Home - Design Ideas for Your Home Workplace by Neal Zimmerman

Anyone who has ever thought about making a home office or has a home office and they want to be inspired to freshen it up or maybe move it to another whole area of your house needs this book! "Over 50 million Americans, the place the call work is home. While many home workers and telecommuters sit at a desk and computer, many other work in artist's studios, sewing rooms, aerobics classrooms, even in tree houses."

This is an amazing book! I knew once I started looking through this book the author had to be an architect with his dedication to the details, the information, and the gorgeous color photos. It is a fresh take on home work spaces looks at a wide range of designs to suit some unique employment needs, from a day-care center to a dance studio. 300 color photos. 50 drawings.

"Whatever the work and whatever the space, successful workplaces share three basic features: They balance work life and home life, they're well planned and well organized, and they have a personal spirit about them that stimulates their owners to doe their best work."

His chapter titles and headings include: first steps, know your needs, choose your location, create the right environment, shared spaces, niche spaces, dedicated to work, adding on, a place of your own, and going public. I have checked out this book more than once and it has now move to my "I need to Buy" list and that is a very select list for me. I love books and reading books - but to get me to buy a book I need to have checked it out at the library at least 3 times and still want for it more.

This is a gorgeous and stunning book filled with beautiful photographs with every possible idea and scenario for your home office. I am moving soon to a new house and I am soo inspired by this book to design my new home office. I am going to library right now to renew it while I am waiting for my next Barnes and Noble coupon to come in my e-mail so I can buy it!


SOURCE: http://www.atworkathome.com/

Get Inspired & spend an hour at your local bookstore

I love Books, I love Libraries, I love Bookstores !

Spend an hour or two at your local bookstore checking out books and magazines about your speciality or industry. I always have a notepad and pen in my purse. Check out the latest publications on your industry and see if you can get inpsired by something you read there.

Maybe you will see a new angle, product, or opportunity you haven't thought of before. It's also great to get out of the home office and be around the energy of other people and places. Don't just go through the motions and do the same thing over and over. Get out there and get inspired by something new today.

The best businesses are the ones that keep moving forward, learning new things, and adapting to the world and its changing needs.

WAHM - Work at Home Mom? Sometimes you just need to get out of your home office !

WAHM? Work at Home Mom? Sometimes you just need to get out of the home office. Usually, I work late at night when my husband and kids are in bed from 10:00pm to 2:00am 4 nights a week. I coordinate my work and business stuff with home stuff. So, I will work on updating my web-site for 45 minutes and then take a 15 minute break (ha!) to go switch over the laundry or another domestic duty.

Today, I have been at the local Starbucks coffee shop using there wi-fi away from the house from 10:00am to 5:00pm. I started with my favorite Starbucks drink a Mocha Breve and have been flying. There are just too many distractions at home and kids that find me and need me and only me for something! I love my kids and I love my husband, but they can survive without me and mysteriously those things that they only needed me for they either figure out or dad helps them. Amazing!

So, I understand being a work at home mom and it means taking care of the house and the kids and everything else. However, sometimes you need to get out of your home office and interact with adult people and feed yourself, and have a coffee, and even use the bathroom by yourself!

So, look at your calendar in the next 30 days and schedule yourself a workday outside of the home office at your local coffeehouse and see what you can get accomplished without your household needs and distractions!

Essential Tool for your Desk = a Stressball

One of my most essential tools at my desk is a stress ball. I couldn't find one last night and I was trying to get some work done on deadline for a client and apparently I was getting a little crabby.

Somehow when I went for a bathroom break a stressball mysteriously appeared on my keyboard. Hum ? A hint from the troops?

I love having a ball to squeeze while I am thinking and trying to figure things out or squeeze when my son and his 4 friends are playing Rock Band in the next room or the baby toddler is coming into my home office for the 10th time to play with me 'cause no one is playing with him.

Yup - get yourself a stress ball to squeeze in times of need !

Mom Entrepreneur? Work at Home? How to Manage Your Business Time

Do you Work at Home? Are you a WAHM, Mom Entrepreneur, or Mompreneur?

I try and work on my business at least 4 hours a day. I set a timer and work for 45 minutes and then take 15 minutes to do a household related task like throw in a load of laundry, run up and make all the beds, clean one bathroom, wash the kitchen floor.

I have tried to do just business for hours, but the household stuff is screaming at me. I am mom first before I am a mom entrepreneur. I don't believe my family, laundry, and dinner should suffer because I have a business. It's about priorities and family has to come before business.

So, I have found that setting a timer is important - you can get a digital kitchen timer from all the dollar stores - I have two. One is for the 45 minutes of work time and the other I clip onto myself when I am doing my 15 minute household task.

Try it ! Pick a work task like checking all e-mail boxes and doing a few tweets on Twitter for 45 minutes and then do a household task for 15 minutes, then come back and do Blog posts for 45 minutes and then do a household task for 15 minutes, then come back and work on things to grow your business like press releases, posting articles to ezines, working on a proposal for a potential client for 45 minutes, then do a household task for 15 minutes.

See how good you will feel about coordinating your at home business time with your home and its responsibilities - the dishes, laundry, and dirty floors do not magically disappear because you have a business !

Working Mother

"The phrase ' Working Mother ' is redundant."
- Jane Sellman

"The Most Beautiful Things in the World... "

"The most beautiful things int he world cannot be seen or even touched; they must be felt with the heart."
- Helen Keller

"Life is what happens to you... "

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
- John Lennon

WAHM? Mom Enterepreneur? Why do you have business? Your reason will help with your priorities.

WAHM, Work at Home Mom, Mompreneur, Mom Entrepreneur, Mother Entrepreneur?

Why do you have a business & what does your business money go towards?
1. Fun/Hobby
2. Some of Your Own Spending Money
3. Contribute to your Household Bills

I recently spoke to a group of mom business owners and brought up this topic. We were discussing priorities and how much time to spend on our businesses and family balance.

I suggested that we start with the questions "Why do you have a business?" and "Where does that money go?". I block off from 4pm-10pm as strictly "no business, no computers, no phone calls"on school nights. However, recently I have had some client deadlines that were unavoidable during this time and my family was a wreck. So, I was questioning whether I could have put off that client work.

I met with my family and discussed that while it is my goal not work on school night between 4pm-10pm, there will be times that it is unavoidable. The reason is that this money started as my spending fun money and it moved to providing our family with extras like family vacations and weekend trips and paying for birthday and christmas presents.

My husband is a teacher and I am a stay at home and work at home mom and we have 3 kids. Our budget is tight, but can cover the bills. Our budget does not cover extras like dance lessons, swimming lessons, summer swim pass to pools around town, birthday parties, etc. So, now we have come to rely on this money to enhance our lives and this sometimes means that I have to conduct business after school.

I will do better and letting them know in advance if I can when this happens. I also have been trading babysitting with a like minded work at home mom on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We both have active toddlers that are 17 months old and only 1 week apart in age so I can get things done during the daylight hours, instead of late night hours like now (1:53am).

So, knowing the reasons why you are making this money helps decide if you can re-schedule that work or client call and how to make decisions about family balance. If you are dependent on your paycheck then sometimes family will have to come 2nd. I know we always want family to come first and that is a great goal to strive for, however, sometimes reality alters that !

Got Pre-Schoolers? Need to get work done during the day? On a Budget?

WAHM - Work at Home Mom, Mompreneur, Mom Entrepreneur on a Budget but need time during the day to work on your business ?

I am a mom who is at home full-time. I have 3 children, one of which is a very active 16 month old toddler/runner. For months, another work at home mom and I have been talking about trading babysitting. Well, we finally started it 2 weeks ago.

I take my Jonathan to her house on Tuesdays from 10am - 4pm and she brings her Emma to my house on Thursdays from 10am - 4pm. It has been FANTASTIC ! I am all on with toddlerland and chaos and fun for one day. Then I am all off and able to get amazing things accomplished in the 6 hours I am toddler-free.

Guess what? It's an even trade because we are moms on a budget. We feel like total SuperMoms flying around the house getting a million things done from doing laundry, doing dishes, washing floors, making and returning client phone calls without baby's chasing us down to talk in the phone.

Is there a mompreneur, mom entrepreneur, mom in business in your neighborhood that you could set up a toddler swapping trade with ??? Think of six hours of having a wonderful lunch and kicking out a dozen things off your massive To Do List...