Taking Time for You!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed time with friends and family.  We loved having our two sweet college boys home – they are back at school and the house is empty of food but we loved every minute of it!

So – have you ever dreamed or fantasized about spending an entire day at home in your pajamas?  Lounging in bed, reading a good book, watching your favorite TV shows, taking care of no one but you?  Well, that dream came true for me over the holiday weekend – unfortunately it was accompanied by a horrible case of intestinal flu!  I did spend the day in bed, in my pajamas, watching a “What Not to Wear” Marathon and the food network but unfortunately it was not exactly what I had dreamed about!

Why is it that as woman/mothers it takes something like a case of intestinal flu to get us to slow down and take care of ourselves?  Why do we push aside our dreams, self-nurturing, hobbies and interests for everything and everyone else?

I think homebased moms are even guiltier of this because we never leave the office.  We are surrounded by our office, our work 24-7.  It is so easy to just go in and check that email one more time, make one more call, do one more thing.  The boundary or separation between work and home/personal life can sometimes be non-existent when you are a homebased mom.

For years I have had the following quote in my collection:

“Mixing personal time to do anything with raising a family is like putting oil and vinegar in a salad dressing jar.  You have a hard time keeping them together and it takes a lot of juggling and constant mix-ups to keep them well blended.”  Janene Wesley Boadsgaerd

I think we could add “running a homebased business” to that quote too.  Keeping the two blended and balanced is a lot of work and it is also a choice.

When you first begin a homebased business there are sacrifices that need to be made.  When I first started my direct sales business several of my interests, hobbies had to be put on the back burner for a period of time – but that does not mean FOREVER!

Several weeks ago I attended a Women’s Retreat in Napa, California.  As I sat in the retreat house with these women I was so impressed that this group of women – many of them homebased moms, others worked outside the home as lawyers, real estate agents, therapists, but all of them had made a commitment to themselves.  They had set aside their other priorities and obligations to devote an entire weekend to themselves – and it didn’t take a case of intestinal flu!

So ask yourself – What are you too busy to do – what have you put off doing because you’re too busy? While I spent that time in bed this weekend, life went on around me, everyone survived!  When I returned from my weekend in Napa Valley, the house still stood, the family got fed and all was well and the other amazing thing was that this morning as I am feeling better, I actually enjoyed putting a load of laundry in and picking up a few of the messes that were made.  Having had that break from those jobs helped!

 I have learned that when you make the time and space for what you long to do, everything else shifts to accommodate it

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Blessings of being a homebased mom

This past week I have spent a fair amount of my time scanning pictures – 250 pictures to be exact!   That’s a lot of pictures!  I decided to put together a surprise for my husband for his Christmas gift – a digital storybook of all the “professional” portraits of our family that we have had taken over the last 25 years. (thanks to team member Karen Herrema for the idea!)   I spent hours going through albums and boxes, trying to collect all the photos and then spent hours scanning them into the computer.   Fortunately sweet husband was out of town most of the week on business.

I began with our engagement picture, a few of our wedding pictures,  pictures of our first sweet baby boy clear through to our most recent family portrait taken this summer.   It truly was a trip down memory lane.  As I took this trip, a sense of gratitude came over me.   Not only a gratitude for the wonderful, beautiful, brilliant family I have been blessed with (o.k. – so indulge me a bit here!) but also a sense of gratitude that as a homebased mom I have been able to be there for every twist and turn of their lives.   I have been there to observe, guide, direct, nurture and clean up the messes!

Believe me there were days I wished I wasn’t there but I am grateful that I was, even for the chicken pox, the broken arms, the temper tantrums, the teenage tirades etc.   I am grateful that I was available to be the room mom, plan the class parties, be the Brownie and Cub Scout leader, go on the field trips, run the lunch to school when it was forgotten and able to pick up the sick child from school when they called (although I have been known to ask the school nurse – “how sick are they really??)

I am nearing the tail end of having children at home (4 more years and trying not to count because every time I do I cry!).   The greatest joy and blessing of my life has been being able to be a homebased mom.   Because of my homebased business our life has been blessed, my children have had the blessing of having a mom at home when they needed her (and even when they didn’t need her) and our family has been financially blessed.   My business has provided the extras and the necessities, especially during the past year when my husband found himself unexpectedly unemployed – twice within one year!   There are so many other blessings that have come into my life as a result of my homebased business but those are for another day!

So during this week of Thanksgiving I hope you will take the opportunity to “Count Your Many Blessings”- especially those blessings that come into your life as a result of being a homebased mom.

So I couldn’t resist – I had to share with you two of the pictures I scanned in this week – they are two of my favorite.   A photo of my two sweet college boys when they were 3 and 5 and then a picture we had taken two years ago when they were 19 and 21 – Logan had just returned from his church mission to Argentina and Clark was leaving for his mission to Chile – aren’t they handsome.   I have these two pictures framed in my family room and they bring me such joy!!  In less than 36 hours (and who is counting!) sweet college boys will be home for the Thanksgiving break – yeah!!!

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Regaining Momentum

The last two weeks we have been talking about Momentum – the importance of it and how to maintain it.  This week let’s talk about how to regain momentum.

Several years ago I was attending a Regional Convention with some members of my team in Seattle (3 hours north of Portland)  One of our Northwest “ice storms” was on its way – for those of you who have never had the pleasure of experiencing a Northwest “ice storm” – the entire surface of EVERYTHING becomes encased in a sheet of ice !  We knew the storm was coming so we decided it was time to head for home.

The storm hit as we drove south but we were doing o.k. – making slow but steady progress.  My knuckles were turning white from gripping the seat so tightly but we were making progress!  And then it happened – we were about an hour north of Portland slowly making our way up a hill when the truck in front of us came to a stop.  As a result, we too came to a stop.   We were at a complete stand still.  There we were, a car with four women, one of them very pregnant, in the dark of the night, stranded a mile from the nearest town and a dead cell phone!

So what had happened?  Why couldn’t we get going again?  We had lost MOMENTUM – the force of movement.  Stranded on that ice covered hill we were unable to get going again.  Momentum was the only difference between our car and the ones passing us on the road.

So maybe some of you feel your business is at a complete standstill or going slower than you’d like – how can you create the momentum you need to get going again.  You may feel, just like the four of us in the car, that you do not have the power within yourself to create the momentum you need.

You need an agent for change – for us, the agent for change came out of the middle of the dark night in the form of one of the girl’s husbands who felt inspired to leave Seattle early and return to Portland.  He found us in the pitch dark, stranded along the side of the road!

Many times the momentum or agent for change that you need may come from someone else – an idea learned at a unit meeting, regional convention or upline.  Sometimes solutions to our problems can be as little as one small degree of change.

Water boils at 212 degrees – at 211 degrees it is just hot water.  One degree – an increase of less than one half of one percent can make the difference between a pot of hot water and a boiling cauldron of power!  That one degree is momentum.

After 17 years in the business, I have learned that one of the “Critical Success Factors” of direct sales is scheduling.  That is usually where the breakdown happens – we neglect scheduling new events – like I mentioned last week we wake up to find ourselves with a case of “snowblindness” – no events on the calendar.  We have lost momentum and come to a complete standstill with our business.

Recently, I attended the NW Women’s show here in Portland.  A leader in my team had a booth at the show.  She had a great scheduling idea that I want to share with you today -using this idea she and her team member were able to schedule 44 home events!!  This idea may be the agent for change that you need in your business – the one thing you need to create momentum in your business again!

Deal or No Deal – you may have heard of the TV game show or even watched it.  It is the one with all the girls in matching dresses with briefcases.  Well, in this version of Deal or No Deal  you offer your customers/show attendees the opportunity to take home some fun prizes.  The “deal” is they also have to be willing to schedule a home event with you if the “briefcase” or envelope they select says “schedule a home event”.  Some of the envelopes just say “Pick a prize from the basket” but some say “Pick a prize from the basket and schedule a home event tonight.”  Be sure and make the prizes appealing – discontinued product, limited edition product etc.  I would be sure the cost to you as the consultant is no more than $5 -6.00 maximum.  My team member used product that was worth less than a dollar and had great success! So give it a try – it may be just what you need to regain momentum in your business.

If you have a scheduling tip that has helped you regain momentum in your business or maintain momentum please share!  Just click on comments.  All those who leave comments will be entered into our monthly contest!  (More info on the contest tomorrow!)

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Maintaining Momentum

Last week I shared with you the story of becoming “Stuck in the Mud”.  I compared this to our direct sales business and how we can get “stuck in the mud” and lose momentum.  Getting started again can take a lot of time, effort and energy.  It is easier to keep the momentum going and not get stuck! 

 This week I want to talk about maintaining that momentum.   For many of us the fall selling season is our best and busiest time of the year.  It is important that we take advantage of this time and use the momentum we create during the fall to propel us into the next year. Once something is in motion it is easier to keep it in motion.   I have found that one of the biggest “momentum stoppers” for a direct sales business can be the upcoming holidays.  The months prior to the holidays (Sept. Oct. and November) are great and we can find ourselves so busy that we are not being “forward thinking” we are only “present thinking.  

  We need to take advantage of the busyness of our fall to help us create momentum for our next year.   I have seen it happen over and over- we wake up January 1^st, look at our calendar and are hit with “snow blindness” – a white calendar – we have nothing scheduled!  We find ourselves “stuck in the mud”.  We have lost the momentum and forward motion we created the previous fall – we are starting over again!So how can we prevent “snow blindness” in our business?  You may have heard of the “snowball effect”.   Just like with a snowball, your small, consistent efforts with your business build one on top of each other, creating a bigger and bigger snowball (business).  The bigger that snowball gets the faster it moves and it takes on a life of it’s own as it speeds down the hill!  We can create that same type of “snowball effect” in our business.We need to learn to take advantage of the momentum created during the busy fall season.  We need to use the fall to “Jumpstart January” so we wake up January 1^st with a full calendar and not a glaring white calendar!  So during this busy fall season be sure that you are being “forward thinking”. 

• Set your goals for January now – how many home events do you want to teach in January, what are your sales and recruiting goals for January?  
•  Report into your upline your goals so she can hold you accountable.
•  Set a goal to have those January events scheduled and on the calendar by a certain date this fall so you don’t wake up with “snowblindness” January 1^st.
• Have your January/February calendar available at all your fall home events.  Be sure and advertise your company’s January hostess incentives/promotions.
• Always work for the “sooner” date (before the holidays) but when a potential hostess just doesn’t feel she can do it before the end of the year ALWAYS offer and encourage a January date. 

 So don’t start off the New Year with “snowblindness”.   Use the momentum of your fall business to create the “snowball effect” in your business for the entire upcoming year.  You will continue to pick up speed as you move through the year, creating a bigger and bigger snowball (business!). 

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