business is good!

[Blessed]

Earlier this year if you had asked me how my year was going to be in a business sense I wouldn't have expected much, but things picked up tremendously in May/June and I've been crazy busy ever since. It's starting to slow down now and get to a more reasonable pace - but it isn't dropping off to nothing yet, which is what I saw at this time last year. I'm thankful! Mostly my increase in business has been because of slow but steady referrals.

I hope business is good for all of you too! And, I hope that I can make a daily stop by the SBF part of the routine in my schedule again :) I appreciate the insight and discussion around this place and I've missed it.

[cbscreative]

Great to hear, Jenn. Business is great for me too, and I think we share the same challenge of accomplishing all we need and want to. Maybe soon (hopefully) I'll share more detail here about some changes I'm trying to implement while keeping up with the workload.

[KristineS]

Glad to hear things are going well Jenn. It's good to be busy. It would be nice to see you around here more often though.

[greenoak]

ours is better than last year...so im thankful.... it feels better...and i think im on the right track....so many of our wholesale customers have gone under its hard to make that up...

[Harold Mansfield]

Good to hear that things are going well Jen. Things aren't bad here either. Not that I shoot for less, but I didn't expect to be getting as much work as I am...I thought I'd be hustling freelance work from the job sites at this point in the game and I'm not.
Very thankful for that.

Not as busy as I want to be, but not as organized as I need to be to handle more business, but I'm working on it.

[Blessed]

the not as organized as I need to be issue has bit me this year too - I'm working on it and we're getting there - slowly but surely!

[greenoak]

jenn, what do you think made things improve? its really nice to hear some good news out there!!!

[Blessed]

jenn, what do you think made things improve? its really nice to hear some good news out there!!!

Hi Ann! I think that my networking and my commitment to doing good work, on time, for a reasonable price and being pleasant to work with is simply paying off.

My increase in work came from 2 sources:
1 - established clients who are giving me work they used to have other people do
2 - referrals

I made a conscious decision in March to step back a bit this year and concentrate on potty training, playing at the park, having a garden, reading picture books - simply being a full-time mommy to my 2 little ones. My baby was still very dependent on me for everything and my then 2 year old was having some pretty severe jealousy issues. I work from home so that I can raise them - that means sometimes I have to step back from my business a bit, especially when it comes to working to gain new business. Now they are 3 years old and 15 months old - they still require a lot of attention from me, but they take their naps at the same time, they go to bed at 8:30 and they will play independently or with each other for short stretches of time throughout the day - and I've finally found a sitter I really like that I don't mind leaving them with a day a week in order to give me some uninterrupted work time when necessary.

My work focus this fall and winter will be in developing some new skills. Next March/April I want to do more local networking - there are a few networking groups I've been invited to, but I haven't pursued those leads yet so hopefully in the spring when the weather starts to turn a bit nicer I'll get out and do that then this time next year - at the end of my crazy busy summer work schedule I'll be ready to dive into to building my presence online and working to gain business nationally/internationally. My big goal - to work a consistent 20 hours a week from home with the occasional spikes to full-time hours and the ability to hire a nanny and a maid to come in and help as needed.

[Spider]

Although the part-time business owner/fulltime mother may be frowned on in the larger business world, I applaud you in finding a balance that works for you, Jenn.

[greenoak]

sounds good jenn....and good for you for staying home a while...they get big so fast......and there are lots of hours in a day....
i think the first line of your response says a lot and would set any business apart from the pack...you said "I think that my networking and my commitment to doing good work, on time, for a reasonable price and being pleasant to work with is simply paying off."
. it sounds so easy!

[cbscreative]

Full time mother may be frowned on, but that's a distorted view of priorities. There is no more important or demanding job than being a mother. Everything else is easy by comparison no matter how much education is required for other occupations. Many mothers work outside the home to get away because the job is so challenging.

We're on the opposite end having gone through all that. My son is now 15 and my two daughters are 21 and 23. We made some sacrifices to assure our kids were with a parent, usually my wife. I can assure you, Jenn, it's worth it. No one else can take your place, and the opportunity you have now only comes once.

[Blessed]

Full time mother is definitely my first priority - it would be much easier to leave every morning drop the kids off with someone else and go challenge myself with the ins and outs of graphic design, marketing and public relations, but I'm a bit old fashioned, I think full-time mother is the most important job I have now. The rest is great - it gives us some extra spending money, let's us have a few vacations, let us pay off a few other bills so that now we're debt free except for our house, we're seeing our savings slowly grow and I know it's possible for us to afford the education I want to give our kids. I'll homeschool them, but it isn't cheap - the quality of education will be well worth the effort and expense!

I know this will also be frowned on by some - but I never intend to work full time again, at least not until the children are grown, and by then I'll be over 50 :D

[Spider]

How can being a mother be frowned upon? I said, ".. the part-time business owner/fulltime mother may be frowned on in the larger business world..."

1. I said, PART-TIME BUSINESS OWNER/fulltime mother - a very different entity from "a mother"
2. I said MAY be frowned upon
3. And, I said may be frowned upon IN THE LARGER BUSINESS WORLD

.... some rather major qualifiers that seem to have been ignored, as if I am condemning women for having children.

Plus, the whole phrase was a pre-qualifier for my praise of achieving a life balance many people have difficulty with.

Please read what is written, folks, and try not to misrepresent it.

[greenoak]

i have had several mothers employed over the years and it is usually an added hassle....the kids do come before being at greenoak sometimes.....and they dont want to work weekends...and it seems to fall on the mothers more than the fathers...if they are even there.......and being a mother myself, i cant argue with that, if they say they need off we let them off.......and i know if its a disaster going on with family thats where her head will be afterwards........but i do keep it in mind when hiring.... which i guess is illegal...
...i think jenns idea is the best..
.obviously have the mother part as the number one thing and realize you cant be 2 places at once ....and do the other at her pace....i got to do a version of that too when my kids were small...
but of course we know lots of mothers dont have that option....thus, latchkey kids and nobody at home ...
i knew what you meant spider....
and i wouldnt say i look down at mothers at all... ...but i know hiring a good mother would probably mean some added problems ...that a woman with no kids or a guy wouldnt have...

[cbscreative]

Sorry if you read anything into my comments that weren't there, Spider. I knew what you meant and saw no personal agreement on your part. I was simply acknowledging what you meant and commenting on my own disagreement with corporate attitudes toward mothers. None of that was directed at you in any way.

One other thing I've noticed with many corporate attitudes. They usually give lip service to the importance of family, but in policy and practice, that's all it is. Try actually putting your family first and you'll find out there's no substance to all their rhetoric. In reality, "family first" equals unemployed. Or better yet...self-employed. I love being boss.

Jenn, that's a great decision to home school. We did that too. When my wife first suggested it (my oldest daughter was about 3 at the time), my first reaction was, "You've got to be kidding." I'd never even thought about it. Now I can't imagine any other way. The benefits are too numerous to even mention. I quickly became thankful my wife was crazy enough to consider it.

My oldest two are in college, always on the Dean's list, and even at the top of their class. Many of the other "shining" students are also home schoolers. The college instructors are discovering that home school students are like their dream students (they actually listen, are polite and respectful, want to be there, and do the work). That seems to be quite a trend because colleges have been very active in recruiting home schoolers in recent years.

Hopefully, that will give you some encouragement for what's ahead. The battle isn't always easy, which I'm sure you know, but it really is worth it.

[Blessed]

How can being a mother be frowned upon? I said, ".. the part-time business owner/fulltime mother may be frowned on in the larger business world..."

1. I said, PART-TIME BUSINESS OWNER/fulltime mother - a very different entity from "a mother"
2. I said MAY be frowned upon
3. And, I said may be frowned upon IN THE LARGER BUSINESS WORLD

.... some rather major qualifiers that seem to have been ignored, as if I am condemning women for having children.

Plus, the whole phrase was a pre-qualifier for my praise of achieving a life balance many people have difficulty with.

Please read what is written, folks, and try not to misrepresent it.

Hey Frederick - before I finish reading the rest of these posts I just wanted to say that I never took it as *you* personally *frowning* up the mother part of what I've chosen to do with my life - I took it as a compliment from you with an acknowledgment that not everyone would see it that way. And trust me, I have plenty of critics in my personal life - from family to friends - people who I avoid because all I hear from them is that I should put my kids in daycare and work full-time. So, I appreciate the overwhelming support I've felt in this thread from everyone who has responded to this point. And, I appreciate that support.

Now... off to read the rest of the posts

[Blessed]

Ann - I was a latchkey kid, my parents had no choice when I was 8-9-10 years old, my step-mother had to work too it wasn't any fun for any of us and something I'm trying to avoid for my kids! Thankfully by the time I was 11 or 12 my step-mom was able to stay home and I didn't have to entertain myself for an hour or two every night anymore! I've been in the hiring chair in the past and I know there is no way to avoid the fact that a mother with small kids isn't the best choice when you need someone who can work weekends and be counted on to be there all the time - even if she is the type of worker who would be there all the time the kids throw a wrench in things - they get sick, can't go to daycare, babysitters cancel at the last minute, the list of things that can go wrong is never ending!

Steve - I love hearing homeschooling success stories! My step-mom homeschooled my younger sisters (I'm the oldest by 10 years and I went to a combination of public and private schools) My oldest little sister was Valedictorian of her Junior College class - she double majored, receiving 2 Associates degrees and we were very proud of her! Now she has her Bachelor's and is gainfully employed by a consulting firm. My middle little sister is almost finished with her pre-med Bachelor's and my baby little sister has completed two Associates degrees and is working as a white collar employee for the Federal Gov't - started as a student intern and is now permanent. 3 more homeschooling success stories!

[huggytree]

i wrote a post about how slow it was the first week of July....well a week later it started going nuts and hasnt stopped until this coming week. ive had 90 days of long hours...im up 25% over last years sales and profit is up even more...im finally back to being steady again and im happy for the break.

my recent success was because of
1. i bought a cell phone # from someone going out of business ($30k in sales in 4 months)
2. referrals are going like crazy and im selling every job(office time is cut down to almost 0 because i win every bid)
3. i continued to gain new builders the 1st 1/2 of 2010 and they all are great

homeowner referrals are up 75% this year, while new homes/major additions are down 50%...ive just sold 1 new house last week (35k worth of plumbing) and may have 2 more $15k houses coming before years end...i may be up $75k this year if the trend continues....100% chance i will be up over last year since my gross is 3 months ahead of last year....

the year started out horrible......i am surprised how well it has turned out!...a combination of the economy improving and my business being in a growth phase.

[greenoak]

thats so great huggy!!!! apparantly you are offering something really needfed and wanted.....
ann