My Condolences.

Billy Mays passed away yesterday. I did not know him, but know some that did. He was only 50 years old, but in his life, he made so many people smile. I don't need to tell you who he was or what he did.

All I want to say is that I'm sorry that his family woke up without him on Sunday morning. I can't imagine what deep sorrow they must be feeling. My heart is heavy.

I'm Camping!

Even us hard working mompreneurs need a break! I'm camping with a big group of friends and will be back on Monday. I'll see you all on Wednesday, June 24th! I hope you are doing something fun, too!

Pint Sized Entrepreneur Natalie Lillie

I'm a firm believer that when you give children the opportunity to succeed, they'll do just that. Natalie Lillie is a perfect example of a young lady who had an unpleasant life experience and wanted to tell her story. At just nine years old, Natalie wrote, Natalie's Lice Aren't Nice!

A few years earlier, Natalie got lice from sharing a hairbrush with a soccer pal. She watched as her three brothers had their heads shaved and then endured several days of natural treatments, and uncomfortable combing to pick the nits out. When it was over, she was afraid her friends would think she was not clean so she wanted to educate everyone about head lice.

I had the pleasure of visiting with Natalie a few weeks ago, and what a joy of a young lady! She is beautiful, inside and out, and has an incredible vocabulary. I've known Natalie's family for nearly 20 years, so I'm not really all that surprised she's a dynamo. Everyone in her family is as kind and ambitious as she is and she has excellent women in her life as role models. With all this young lady has going for her, she has a very bright future ahead of her!

You can buy Natalie's book at Amazon by clicking this link: http://www.amazon.com/Natalies-Lice-Arent-Natalie-Lillie/dp/1434372715

How Do You Pay For It?

How do you pay for your business? It takes money to make money and it certainly takes money to launch a product. We did okay getting the ball rolling, but now we have product ordered and need to pay for two trade shows, a booth, travel expenses, and anything else that crops up.

I know people who have relatives who foot the bill, and others use credit cards. The days of home equity are long gone for most, and banks aren't making business loans nearly as easily as they used to. So what do you do?

I'm pretty creative when it comes to fund raising. When Dave and I were planning our wedding, we got a donation of a weekend vacation and sold raffle tickets. We made over $800 and that was almost enough to pay the caterer. Yes, we got off cheap! Our friends all rallied and provided their professional services either at their cost, or in several cases, as our wedding gift. It was wonderful. When Dave was in Iraq, I got big name musicians to autograph a guitar and then the local morning DJs would auction it off for me. This money paid for shipping of hundreds of boxes of CDs and DVDs to our troops.

Have you ever sought out a creative fund raising solution? I would love to know how you raise money to make your business fly.

I Call It The "RLF"

I missed a day this week. For all best efforts planning, I found myself buried in tasks that on average, all took more than twice the amount of time I had planned. When I look at my list and what's still not done, I have to attribute it to the "RLF," or the Real Life Factor. It's the stuff in your real life, that interrupts the life we really want to be living. You know what I mean, actually calling the friends you truly want to get together with and researching the classes you want to take at the local college this summer.

I followed through yesterday and called a friend who our family loves to hang out with. We haven't seen each other since last September because the RLF has been in the way for both our families. If not school schedules, work schedules, out of town visits with family, or realizing a press kit is much more information than originally thought, it's something else that must take precedence.

I'm giving myself a break and not feeling like I need to publish a post just so Wednesday isn't left bare. Whatever! Laughing. Real life is that some days blogs don't get updated, and that's okay. Now that's the RLF!

Can You Work With Your Spouse?

Some couples work together beautifully and others wind up in divorce court. What about you, could you work with your spouse?

I've worked with my friend Mike and it worked out fine. We had some ups and downs, but we always seemed to be able to work through them. I've also worked with my friend Julie, and that didn't go as smoothly. Fortunately, we've been friends long enough, we could recognize that the work relationship was not working and the friendship was far too valuable to put at risk.

Dave and I have never worked together in a full time capacity. We plan to once the glove business starts to get busy. I think we can do it and here's why. Our relationship is based on friendship. We were friends for more than six years before any romance began to blossom. We got to know each other, the good and the bad, with no prejudice. As we've made our way through almost eight years of marriage, we do a really good job of defining our roles and each others expectations of said role. If we just keep working our business the way we've worked every other aspect of our relationship, we'll be just fine.

What do you think, could you work with your spouse? A good friend? I'm interested to know what you think!

Being A Mom Always Comes First!

Have you ever had one of those days where you get up and think, Gotta lot to do today, let's get this ball rolling only to find out that what you are really going to be doing is taking care of a sick child? If you're a parent, you've been there!

Today I had a great day planned to get stuff done and start prepping for the work I can do over the summer months. Instead, I took Mason to the doctor with suspected strep throat. Lucky for all of us, it's not strep but he's still feeling under the weather, which means, he needs his mom.

At least when you work for yourself you don't have the pressure of someone else who may have the inclination to make your work life hard. Heck, you know what's not getting done, and now you have to make up the lost time somewhere. And you will, but it likely won't be when you can be comforting you little one.

Disclaimer: Mark, you heard me barking at Mason about not wanting to play Ben 10 Alien Force. Clearly, he was feeling better and didn't need my comforting, so I got back to work making him fend for himself! Yes, I love my son, but come on, I have work to do! Laughing!

Build Your Database From Number One

When you start your journey in business, any business, it's imperative that you have a place to manage your contacts.

As you meet people, the first few you meet you may get a business card or have their name written on a piece of paper somewhere. Before you know it, you'll have ten, twelve, twenty, and more. It's so much harder to go back, find all those cards, remember the details, and get that information utilized effectively if you have to do it months down the line. Buy a good contact management software (I use ACT!), and start making those entries with good notes from contact number one.

Building a great contact list is the foundation for running a solid business. It starts as a list of business contacts, builds to be treasured relationships, and will grow to be a golden Rolodex. If you don't have a contact management system, make one or buy one, but make it happen. In my opinion, it's your most critical tool!

Who Do You Know?

You've all heard the saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know." Do you believe that? I do. This is not to say that you should ride any ones coattails, it's just to say that when pivotal people know who you are, you have opportunities that others may not.

Case in point; I met a woman at a networking event who had invented a great baby product. We talked and initially connected because she is also the wife of a National Guard Soldier. As the evening went on, I agreed to take a sample of her product and send it to a friend of mine who has connections with a company that may possibly be interested in licensing her product. She sent it to me, I sent it to him, he took it to them, and viola! A licensing deal is on the table. This deal wouldn't even be a possibility if we didn't tap into our willingness to ask for help.

Who do you know? Who do they know? Ask! You know what you need and the kind of professional people who can help you make your dream a reality. Find out how many degrees of separation there really are between you and them. I bet not as many as you might think!