Category Archives: Work Advice

The “New” Working Mom

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By: Roshanda Pratt

r8 bloomShe arises at 6 a.m. to get the children ready for school. By 8:30 a.m. she is back home, preparing for a meeting with a potential client and putting in a load of laundry.  This is a brief description of the “new” working mom.  She is known as a “mompreneur.” According to Biz Online, Ellen Parlapiano and Pat Cobe, two leading authorities on women-owned businesses, coined the term back in the late 1990’s.  Entreprenuer.com defines a mompreneur as a female business owner who’s actively balancing the roles of mother and entrepreneur. According to statistics, women make up the fastest-growing segment of small business owners today.  There are many reasons why women venture into the business world.  For some, it is an opportunity to provide a better service or product than is currently available, while others want to be their own boss. For most, it is the opportunity to make more money.

As a mompreneur, my reason for leaving the traditional workforce to work from home is solely to pursue my passion and to create a legacy for my children.  My husband and I want to give our children greater opportunities or a better start in life than we ever had.  What a blessing to pass on not only generational wealth, but a business idea in which our children could further expand.  Isn’t this what Sam Walton, Truett Cathy and Jerome Monroe Smucker did?  For too long, the business world has been left up to the men.  But there is an emergence of women who are not just staying at home, but making it profitable.

However, this “new” working mom requires a considerable amount of discipline, time management and support.  For example, I work up until 30 minutes before the children get home from school. This allows me to transition my thoughts from work mode to being plain old mom. Then comes homework, dinner (which is sometimes prepared by my husband), baths and preparation for school with some goofing off in the midst of it, and then it is back to the work grind until sometimes midnight. Since I have roles both as a business owner and a mom, I must work hard at not only one job, but two. In no way am I minimizing my friends who work outside the home, in particular single mothers. In fact, let’s take a moment right now to applaud our sisters who are working hard both outside and inside the home. We celebrate YOU!

Even though I have many roles, including acting as a referee in the disputes over toys, serving as a taxi driver, reviewing additional problems while returning client phone calls, and finishing up a project or blog post, I would not trade my “work” life.  It has been a juggling act between maintaining a family life and growing my media and marketing business, but the lessons I have learned and the legacy it will create for my children is priceless.  The other day, I asked my oldest daughter, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” She told me a school teacher. I asked her, instead of being a teacher why not own the school?  My daughter may not have understood at the time, but I am putting an image in her that she does not need to work in a job that already exists; she can create one. Is this not what every woman wants; a chance to create her own thing?

What do you think? Is there a difference between mothers who work from home versus those who work outside of the home?

Ro :)

Time After Time

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By: Roshanda Pratt

I would like more time.  There, I said it.  Last month, I talked to you all about my late nights, which resulted in a lack of sleep. I need more time.  No, actually I need to prioritize.  I have gotten better at getting to bed before the start of the next day. However, I need to be a better steward of my time – between dropping kids off, working from home, picking kids up, supervising homework, making dinner, going to bible study, and the list goes on and on and on.  I have recently decided I am going to make my days and my time count! How about you?

I have started by making time for my family.  In our busy-ness, we sometimes forget the people that matter the most.  In our home we always have Friday nights as “Family Fun Night.”  We have three young children: 2, 4, and 6 years old.  As you can imagine, when we first started family night, it sometimes ended in complete disaster: sibling squabbles, crying, and me saying to my husband, “We are not doing that AGAIN!”  But we stuck it out, and I can say my children look forward to it now, so much so we have added another day.

I am a big fan of creating memories with my family.  Children grow up fast!  Have you discovered that?  Some of our favorite family memories have been putting a puzzle together, tag at the park, playing the matching game, and eating out at our favorite restaurant.  I am so serious about family time, I have made a rule that I do not speak to clients on those two days.  Time is a precious and valuable commodity.  Years from now, you won’t want to look back and see that you wasted you precious time, so spend it with those who you love.  Make it a point to prioritize your time.  Time is a gift, so make sure you give it to the right people.

Here are some “Family Friendly” ideas. You can get the complete list at Discover Fun.  Have you tried any of these? Let us know what you do with your family!

  • Attack a household chore as a team – then go out to celebrate!
  • Build a fort with pillows from the couch
  • Have a backyard vacation
  • Make up a funky dance with your children
  • Play miniature golf
  • Have a cooking or baking party
  • Get some old magazines and glue to put together a collage of your dreams
  • Make vacation plans for somewhere outrageous. Then work as a family to cut down on expenses and save money so you can actually go!
  • Set up an “Olympic Games” obstacle course in the backyard
  • Create a family “workout routine”
  • Go camping or fishing – or both
  • Do charity work together

Late Night Ramblings

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By: Roshanda Pratt

Reasonable Resolutioning

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By: Summer Brons

With the end of January on the fast-approaching horizon, we’re at a logical checkpoint to assess our progress on all those resolutions we set just a few short weeks ago. In the face of a promising new year, it’s easy to hold our heads high and jot our lofty ambitions down on paper (or scrawl them across a keyboard), confident that THIS will be the year we refocus and really buckle down on the pursuit of our dreams. “2011? What a joke! 2012 is going to be MY year,” we say to ourselves, a confident grin spreading from ear to ear.

So…reality time: How are things going so far?

Whether your goals are centered around health, work, home, family, or even a simple vow to spend more time doing absolutely nothing at all – it’s easy to fall off the wagon if you’ve set the bar too high for yourself.  We tend to be results-driven creatures with a love for instant gratification, disregarding the concept of a step-by-step process. This explains why many resolutions are discarded (or forgotten completely) before we’ve even it made it through the first quarter.  Folks throw in the towel because all they see on that list they wrote on December 31st are statements like, “lose 40 pounds,” “get a promotion,” “spend more time painting.” These are all great things to strive for, but where’s the plan of action?

The road to weight loss is paved with consistent exercise and a balanced diet. Instead of getting frustrated because the scale isn’t registering the numbers you’d like to see each morning, break the process down into bite-size chunks. You didn’t gain the weight overnight and you’re not going to lose it overnight, either. Figure out what steps you need to take to put yourself on the path to losing those 40 pounds and go from there. At first, your success may be found in getting to the gym four times a week and bringing a healthy lunch with you to work instead of eating fast food each day. Next, you’ll see success by realizing you’ve dropped five pounds. And guess what? Five pounds turns into eight turns into 15 and so on until one day…you’re at your goal weight! But be realistic, because it’s not going to happen by default just because you slapped a shiny “RESOLUTION” label on the idea and you happened to notice it’s nearly the end of January.

The same goes for your other goals. You want a promotion at work? Great! Figure out how to best position yourself to catch the eye of your boss and make them think of your name first when that new management position opens up later this year. Perhaps you can offer to take on additional responsibilities, assist coworkers without having to be asked to do it, show up on time (wait, that counts for something?), or…here’s a thought, ask that boss of yours if he or she has a few minutes to spare, then sit down with them to share your thoughts. A well-spoken “I really enjoy being a part of this company and I’m looking forward to future opportunities here beyond my current scope of work. Is there any advice you can give me that might help me along a path to advancement?” can go a long way in garnering respect and displaying ambition.  Remember, just like the weight loss intentions, just because you’ve decided you want a promotion does not mean you’re going to walk into work the next day with a corner office and a generous raise, so don’t get discouraged and give up hope when April rolls around and you’re still daydreaming about throwing staples at that loud, obnoxious coworker who sits two cubes up.

Finally, just to round out the few examples I mentioned above, Ms. “I’m going to paint more often in 2012″ shouldn’t be prematurely tossing out the oil canvas, either.  Sure, it’s wonderful to take time out of each day to devote to creative efforts, but it doesn’t always happen. Besides life getting in the way, sometimes you just flat don’t feel like it. The creative muse can be a fickle thing, so quit beating yourself up if you don’t hit that goal to write 500 words each day or to practice your crochet technique for an hour each evening. Try something more manageable, like blogging three times a week instead of seven, or taking just two photos per day instead of ten to improve your photography skills. If you’ve included your hobby, passion or artistic endeavor in your new year’s resolutions, don’t forget to be just as realistic about your goals in this department as you are with everything else. Very few things happen overnight, bestselling novels included.

Remember, the key is to keep things MANAGEABLE. Don’t stand in your own way with an “all or nothing” mentality.  Progress is just as successful as seeing a goal ultimately come to fruition, so use those stepping stones along the way as motivation to keep going and as validation that you’re on the right track. You’re the only one who can make things happen for yourself, which, in turn, means that you’re the only one who can prevent things from happening, too.

So go ahead and take inventory of those 2012 resolutions.  If there’s any you’re struggling with so far, take some time to break them down further and create a plan to get from point A to point B…preferably in once piece.

Good luck!

Live Your Dream

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By: Crissie Miller Kirby

In my first Every Woman Blog posting, I talked about taking a leap of faith when I chose to enter the blog contest last summer and I also mentioned introducing you to some of the people I have had the pleasure of being around over the last few years; this post is about someone I admire, respect, and, love.  She took a leap of faith, herself, a few years back and, now, she is living her dream.

Liz Barnes Myers

Liz Barnes Myers grew up in the Batesburg-Leesville community and graduated from Columbia College with a degree in Biology in 2000.  Liz worked in pharmaceutical sales for a while and then followed that with a sales stint with a waste management company.  All the while, her love of photography loomed in the back of her mind.

It’s no small wonder; her photography “gene” runs deep as her beloved grandfather, Pa, Barnes was a wing pilot and photographer during World War II.  She grew up “reading” the stories in the pictures he took during that time; some of her most precious memories of him are conjured while viewing those photos.  Others saw the fire in her; family and friends, alike.  They encouraged her over glasses of wine and during football games.  She purchased her first “nice, good” DSLR camera in the early spring of 2009 and began photographing anything that she possibly could.  Finally, her husband just said “Do it!”, and she quit her “day job” and started her photography business, Zil Photography, LLC.  She took that leap of faith, figured out what she really loved doing and just jumped, and as she said, “never looked back.”

Enter what I like to call the “Krazy Kirby’s” in April of 2010 . . . Of course, I knew Liz.  We were from the same town, went to the same college.  Her grandmother, Ma, Barnes sits a few pews ahead of us at church on Sunday mornings.  In early 2010, I kept seeing on Facebook all of these beautiful photographs that Liz had taken.  Let me stop here and tell you that I, myself, have this obsessive habit of taking an exorbitant amount of pictures.  I’ve taken, literally, thousands of pictures of my children over the last 6 years.  But, how am I supposed to ever get shots of me with my children?  Enter Liz!  I had to have some of the Zil pictures!

Me with my two boys

We held our first session in April of 2010, and, immediately, I was hooked.  Liz has now photographed my family 5 times over the last two years and has captured some precious memories, some she may not even have realized were so important.  She’s captured my youngest son, Smith, right before he turned 2 and we cut off all of his baby curls.  And she captured him just a few weeks after those curls were gone.  She took the very first photographs of me with just my two boys; and she took some very poignant photos of the boys with their father not long after his return from Afghanistan.  She captured the very last family photos ever made of our family, together, before our separation and divorce.  And she’s captured the new, single me.  We’ve ventured to the beach, the State House grounds, Lake Murray, downtown Batesburg, and our own little house during those sessions.  The sessions with the boys are always a little harried, but, they love Mrs. Liz.  Maybe it’s the promises of candy or bubbles that come.  Maybe it’s the fact that she doesn’t mind stretching out on the grass, or climbing a ladder, just to get a shot.  Maybe it’s the fact that much of the time, she just lets them be what they are: little boys.  This is why I love her – she always delivers such precious memories of my boys; little moments just frozen in time; capturing their little personalities in the photographs she takes.

When talking with Liz, she talks about how she loves getting to “tell a story in photographs, and not in words,” but insists that she is still learning each and every day and how “ignorance” really played a part in her taking this leap of faith.  She didn’t know enough to be truly frightened about starting her own photography business.  She just jumped right in and now lives by the following motto: “Live Your Dream.”

As women, we all tend to sometimes “settle” for the more stable job, the one that makes the most “sense;” not always choosing the career that really sets us on fire.  This is why I both admire and respect Liz, and, I guess, honestly, I’m a little jealous!  She is truly doing something that she loves and it shows in her attitude, her demeanor, and her work.  Take a moment, sit back, and really think . . . are you really performing a job that you love; a job that excites you and challenges you?  What is holding you back?  What can you do to help you “Live Your Dream”?

To see more of Liz’s work or to contact her – you can find Zil Photography on Facebook or Twitter or on her website: http://www.zilphotography.com/.

The Balancing Act

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By: Roshanda Pratt

Happy New Year!  I am throwing the word “balance” out of my vocabulary in 2012. Why? It does not exist.  For years, as long as I can remember I have been trying to find a “perfect balance” or “equality” in my life and I have finally discovered it won’t work for me.  Now, I will probably have some people disagree, and this is your right however, let me outline my case.  I am a wife, mother of three young children, a ministry leader, business owner, blogger and the list goes on.  As you can imagine, my days start rather early and end rather late.

For the past year, since our youngest child was born I have been trying to “even” out the scales of my life.  I have had dear friends who are very concerned tell me I need to find “balance.”  Well what does that exactly look like?  The other day I was talking to a dear friend who has three young children, a business and a husband in ministry who seems to have her day programmed like clockwork.  Each time we speak, she would tell me how “balanced” her life is.  Usually, at the end of the conversation, I would ask myself: “What am I missing?”  How does it seem like one end of my life is like a see saw, one end really high and the other stuck in the dirt!?  Recently, I have been thinking about “balance.”   Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word as the following:

“A state of equilibrium, to equal or equalize in weight, weigh, to bring or come to a state or position of balance.”

So it is safe to imply the word balance implies all things equal. But can this really be possible in life? Here is my case study:  As a wife/mother my children rely on me often than they do daddy. It is just natural. I am not sure how it is in your house.  But my children will bypass Daddy who is in the kitchen and ask me for something to drink. Really?  Honestly, this really makes me mad. However, no matter how I try to explain it to those to ask Daddy, I still hear my name being shouted from across the house.  Now that is unfair.  But at the same time, I as the nurturing one, these children somehow associate me with juice.  So where is the balance in that? How about getting up in the middle of the night to nurse, deal with baby puke, etc, etc, etc.  Please understand I am not minimizing my husband’s role, but more often than not the children are yelling my name or crying for me.

I have learned it is not “balance” I am seeking or should be seeking but rather “PRIORITY.” What is important, and pursue that.  This thought has really taking a lot of pressure off me.  So now I think in terms of “priority” and not in terms of “balance.”  Family time, times with God and in prayer, times to create, times with friends and time to be alone in complete stillness are all priorities and for me to try to put it in balance minimizes or reduces the significant of each task.  For example, my time with my family cannot compare to my personal time where I am creating.  And for me to try to make them equal on both ends seems really unequal.  So on the days I really rather be in my bead/craft room making beautiful things for hours, priority says “No!” go spend time with your family.  When I want to spend hours on my laptop priority says “Unplug, spend time with your husband.”

So in 2012, I am starting a revolution of sorts to ban “balance” from my life and rather seek a life of priority that is out of balance.  Will you join me on this new found adventure of Freedom?

Tips for Productivity

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By: Summer Brons

Although I [usually] consider myself a relatively productive individual, blog posts and articles with tips for being even more efficient always seem to be some of my favorites. It’s interesting to see how others balance their busy schedules and find small ways to get ahead. Thus, I thought it might be fun to share a few tactics I try to implement for myself:

Prepare for the day ahead. I find that my weekday mornings go much smoother when I’ve taken a few minutes out of the previous evening to get myself on the right track to start the day.

I can waste more time than anyone I know staring at a closet full of clothes, completely incapable of choosing an outfit. I also excel at getting dressed, hating everything I’m wearing and then changing clothes 12 times before I finally settle on something I’m still not thrilled with. If I force myself to choose an outfit the evening before, I know exactly what I’m slipping into after my shower and can get on with my morning.

The same goes for packing a lunch before heading to bed. Not only am I saving money and gas by taking food to work with me, if I’ve prepped it the night before, I can simply snag it from the fridge and head out the door once I’m ready to leave. This is far more efficient than scurrying around the kitchen trying to put together a reasonable meal before work in between bites of breakfast, making coffee and letting the dog out.

Make a to-do list. I know, I know, people have sworn by to-do lists for years. I’m unfortunately not one of those people. I’ll occasionally scribble out a list with lofty ambitions of accomplishing everything I’ve deemed worthy of committing to chicken scratch, keeping a pen close at hand so I can smugly cross one task off a time … and rarely find this fantasy as my end result. I’ll either abandon the list once I’m busy enough that I don’t have the time nor inclination to refer to it anymore, or I’ll forget about it entirely. But when I do actually write a coherent to-do list and stick to it? The results are pretty amazing.

If you want to be super detailed, organize your to-do list into multiple categories so you have an outline of exactly which tasks are absolute necessities, and others that won’t start any fires if they’re pushed off to tomorrow’s list. You can make a list for your entire day and a separate one for your workday once you get to the office. By day, I work in project management and if I didn’t have a legal pad next to me at all times, I’d be lost.

Decide on your non-negotiables. Work is obviously a non-negotiable for your day. Anything that requires you to be there at a particular time is probably going to be something you can’t exactly reschedule without repercussions, but you can use this concept to your advantage to squeeze extra time out of your day.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when I hear people complaining about how they just “don’t have time” to workout. I completely understand that sometimes the day just slips away and suddenly the plan to run five miles was lost somewhere between happy hour and laundry, but if you treat your workout as an obligation instead of an option, you’ll be surprised where you can find extra time. Waking up one hour earlier (or staying up one hour later, depending on the hours you keep) can offer just enough time to get your heart rate up and burn a few calories.

The same can be said for anything else that you know you really SHOULD be doing, but often don’t. Whether referring to your creative endeavors, a repair project around the house, even just a few quiet minutes alone to read a novel – consider it a must-do instead of a “If I have time, I’ll try to get to it.”

Quit putting everything off.  Procrastinating is fantastically easy to do, which is probably why so many of us do it. But instead of repeating myself, for this tip I’m going to refer you to my last LMC blog post, “Changing With the Leaves.”  In short: stop saying you’ll change your ways “next week” or “starting in December,” and just do it right now. You’ll be surprised how quickly a change can take effect when you decide to act on it rather than just think about it.

I’m certainly not saying that I do all of these things without fail, but they are a few of my favorites to keep in mind when I’m looking for ways to get things done. What are a few of your own techniques for managing your time?