At the beginning of December, my husband lost his job, right before the holidays and right as my business was getting off the ground. He felt grief, stress, feelings of shame and embarrassment and fear. I felt great compassion, a desire to support, and strangely calm, believing and trusting we’d be okay.

It had definitely been his salary (and some savings) that have gotten us through the start-up phases of a business that fills my soul and that I know deep in my gut can have a huge impact on so many.

Fast forward to January and my resolve broke. Fear and doubt crept in. The more I felt the fear, the more fearful things showed up. The more I focused on my bills, the more they showed up. My focus turned from my big vision to the piles of bills, fear of spending, worry about providing for my kids and overall huge anxiety. I was sleeping (if you could call it that) 3 hours a night. I wasn’t present with my kids nor was I caring for myself properly or having much fun.

The final straw came a few weeks ago. I’d flown out to Arizona to meet with my mastermind group. I arrived at the car rental counter and learned that my license had expired. “Don’t worry miss, we’ve got a connection to a guy who handles high risk situations.” Within moments I was whisked away in an unmarked car to an off-site lot to pay 4 times the price of my original rate because I was so “high risk”.

When I got into the car, I called a good friend. Once she picked up the phone, I completely lost it. Weeks of fear just poured out.

After pulling myself together, I reached into my bag and pulled out my iPod and had the full audio from The Secret saved. (I don’t even recall putting it there.) Listening to the messages I typically live by (but clearly hadn’t been this month) I was reminded how I’d completely let my thoughts go in the wrong direction.

In that moment, I was reminded that it’s only me that can control my thoughts. In that car ride, I shifted.

I started focusing on what is going right, what I do have (which is so much) and what I am building. Has my husband gotten a job? No. But each day we focus on what we’re grateful for. I take charge of the thoughts I allow into my head and I forge ahead in building my dream and move a bit closer each day.

I’ve been working from home for over ten years and I believe it’s very important that your work environment be conducive to working effectively. The right environment can really empower you to work at your full potential. The wrong environment will slow you down.

One of the benefits of working from home is that you have control over your own environment. No more cubicles! You’re the boss so make sure you make the best of it by following these tips.

•  To start with you need to remove clutter. Clutter drains your energy. If you clear out the clutter you’ll instantly feel more enthusiastic and energetic. Then, create a system to manage clutter on a regular basis or it will be back in a matter of days.

•  Make sure you have all the tools you need to do your job accessible and functioning properly. There’s nothing more frustrating than hassling with an old photo copier or stapler when you’re trying to get your proposal out the door.

•  Create a boundary between your work space and your home. Having a separate entrance to your home office is ideal. If that’s not an option try create your work space in an area as far from your bedroom as possible.

•  Position your desk so that you don’t have your back to the door. I recently had my office reviewed by a Feng Shui expert and this is what she recommended. Now that my desk faces outward, I’m in command central and don’t have my back to others.

•  Surround yourself with colors, images and items that help you feel energetic and successful. Try to design a home office that reflects the energy you want to project.

•  Be mindful of the quality of air and light in your home office since this has a direct impact on your energy level. If possible position yourself by a window with natural light or consider investing in full-spectrum lights. Make sure you have air-purifying plants in your office as well.

•  Consider hiring a Feng Shui expert. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of placement and design used to balance and enhance the energy flow in our living environments. Feng Shui experts can advise you on creating an environment that sparks your creativity and allows money to flow.

Working from home brings numerous benefits and the right environment can help you be more successful. Some effort is involved but by creating harmony and balance in your physical environment you can empower yourself and your business.

Even if you’re naturally optimistic it’s challenging to stay upbeat all the time. Here’s the thing, if you’re an entrepreneur you cannot afford to be negative. If you’re down, if you’re worried or stressed you can’t maintain a positive mindset, which is the key to success in ANY economy.

If you’re a mom all the more reason to keep a positive attitude. Even small children are picking up on the negative news about the economy. They’ll pick up on your mindset even if you’re not aware of it. Make sure you’re modeling through your thoughts and actions a positive attitude.

So, what are you doing to stay positive? I’ll share some tips that work for me:

1.    Choose to only surround yourself with positive people. Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on now and then but if all you hear is whining and complaining consider finding healthier friends.

2.   Manage your intake of outside information – particularly the news. You don’t have to bury your head in the sand but you can’t watch CNN four hours a day and not feel the impact on your attitude.

3.    Give yourself some quiet time to meditate daily. I’ve recently been listening to the Holosync CD’s.

4.    When you feel yourself going into negative fearful thinking, catch yourself, shift gears and do something different to shift your energy. Go for a walk, call a friend or read something positive like my favorite book, The Go-Giver.

5.    Exercise daily. My favorite is yoga as I feel the benefits mentally and physically.

6.    Read a daily intentions statement of what you want to bring into your life. Read my blog post on how to write an intention statement and why it’s such a powerful tool.

Let’s support each other as we stay positive, please share comments on what works for you.

Check out my action oriented ebook with a compilation of tips and action tips around mindset  – The Motivated Mindset.

I just got back from Arizona where I experienced a major breakthrough with my mastermind group with Kendall Summerhawk. I started the session in a challenging place. My husband has been making a career transition and as a family we’ve been feeling some additional financial pressure.

Thankfully I opened up and shared my concerns with the group. Later that evening, I met over a glass of wine with a woman from the group and we talked about what I’ve accomplished with Metromom since our last meeting in May. After listening she shared, “Kim, you’re an incredible implementer. I’ve never met anyone who can make ideas happen as quickly as you do.”

My energy shifted as she said these words because I realized that, although they were true, and I knew it about myself, I hadn’t really let it seep in and accepted it as valuable. I do make ideas happen REALLY quickly and I can’t even tell you how excited I feel to really own that.

This recognition allows me to really dig deeper on what I can offer as a coach to women in my Metromom community. After speaking to this woman, and others in the Mastermind Group, I was also inspired to do more one-on-one VIP private coaching. Stay tuned for the details!

The lesson I’d like to share is the value of opening up and then listening to any positive feedback we receive. Don’t be overly modest and dismiss the praise, instead acknowledge your strengths. Sometimes we walk around with a “story” about ourselves and for whatever reason we chose not to recognize our true talents. Please share a comment on a “hidden” strength or talent you’ve recently owned up to – I’d love to hear your stories.

While I say that I appreciate constructive criticism, and I do, it can still derail me a bit. Last week I had set a chunk of time aside to work on a new project when I received an email from a disgruntled member that required my immediate attention. Essentially she was sharing (in a kind way) that after 3 weeks she was canceling her membership due to too many emails from me (which she’d saved and sent to me for my reference) and that my community wasn’t large enough for her.

Of course I was upset and a bit frazzled for a short time BUT putting on my old “retail hat” I remembered how important it always is to look at everything from the eyes of our customers. I made the commitment to her that I’d do just that and I dug in to see what her experience had been. She was absolutely right–24 emails in 3 weeks–YIKES, that would have made me crazy as well. And, there were repetitive types of messages. Clearly I had a glitch in my system that needed to be fixed.

Needless to say, my other project got pushed to the back burner while I tackled this, and in my Type-A way, I figured out what was wrong, simplified my steps and got my system working more efficiently AND kindly.

As a busy mom, I don’t want unnecessary emails and neither do the women in my community. I feel such appreciation for this woman for having had the courage to open her mouth and share her truth with me. She’s given me the gift of being even more conscious in providing value in a simplified, streamlined way. Thank you!

As a follow-up to my last blog on authenticity, I wanted to add that being authentic may begin with self-awareness but to grow and blossom it requires self-confidence. Why? Because there will be times when being authentic means you have to listen to your inner voice when everyone around you is telling you something completely different. At times like these it’s very tempting to forego authenticity in favor of “proven” strategies and techniques.

Don’t get me wrong, I advocate listening and learning from business and marketing experts and I work hard to apply what I’ve learned. However, there are times when I’m reading a marketing book, or at a class, or speaking with my coach and I’ll hear great advice but it’s not the best advice for me - it doesn’t feel authentic.

When this happens I choose to create a new path for how I do things. I take in a lot of information from various sources (people, information products, books etc.) digest it, and synthesize it in a “Kim” way so that all I do has my personal stamp on it.

Women have an advantage when it comes to being authentic entrepreneurs. We’re usually fairly comfortable relying on our intuition. But when it comes to BUSINESS sometimes we let doubts creep in. My advice – always trust your instincts, even if you’re new to business. If you don’t feel authentic about a business decision, don’t dismiss the feeling. Take the time to make sure you’re truly aligned with you values, beliefs and goals before moving forward.

Please post a comment and share your experiences as you’ve created your own path as a successful entrepreneur.

Being authentic, doing business on your own terms…is a subject that’s very important to me. I believe that the only way to authentically align yourself with your beliefs is to develop self-awareness. I want to share a story with you to illustrate that point.

About a year ago I was working with three wonderful coaches in Tucson. During this coaching process, I got to work with Chester, a 1,400-pound horse. (Keep in mind, I’ve only ridden horses as a kid, so this was a big experience for me).

One of the amazing things about horses is that they’re incredibly intuitive; they’ve actually got 100 feet of “gut”. As the largest prey animal, their safety depends on their “knowing”. They know when you ARE and when you ARE NOT being authentic and aligned with your beliefs.

It was about 90 degrees and I was standing in a corral with Chester. Kendall, my coach, said “Kim, just start talking about your business. Tell us a little bit about it.”

I started speaking, and Chester basically put his butt in my face. “Kim, he’s showing you he’s not interested in what you’re talking about. You’re not capturing his attention.”

We went through about 10 or 15 more minutes in the hot sun and I started speaking about this idea I had percolating in my brain — to train and support communities of entrepreneurial women. What do you think happened?  When I shared my vision aloud Chester turned around! (Take a look at the photo). I couldn’t believe it.

Kendall said, “Kim, you’ve caught his attention. I want you to walk toward him, don’t say anything, but stay in that place of speaking to these women who you have valuable information to share with. Walk toward him.” I followed her lead and when I got close to him, he nuzzled his nose into my neck.

“Kim, I want you to walk around the corral, saying nothing, just staying in that place of alignment.” Chester proceeded to follow me around the corral twice. “Kim, that’s a sign of what happens when you’re aligned with something you’re meant to do.”

Chester knew when I was being authentic (he also knew when I wasn’t). That day I learned a hugely valuable lesson – to be fully aware of my inner feelings so I could align myself with my true passion.

Do you have trouble getting away? I have a work at home mom solution to share with you – make sure you have a great team backing you up. As an example, this week I’m at a Mindset Retreat with Fabienne Fredrickson (and 100 others) in Miami, and then heading off to Tucson to work with my Platinum Coaching Group. As a mother of three and a busy entrepreneur, the only way I can get away is by having a terrific team in place.

It takes a lot of planning ahead to get me out the door with the confidence that everything is being taken care of. I delegate my many responsibilities to my team–including my wonderful husband, babysitters, VAs, friends and neighbors–and trust that they’ll keep everything in motion while I’m away. My husband’s got to jump in even more than normal, my babysitter has to manage after-school carpools, homework and dinners, and I’ve got to call in favors from friends and neighbors.

You might be wondering if it’s worth all the effort. I think so. I know deep in my gut that investing in myself and working on my own personal development is key to taking my business and life where I want them to go.  I truly believe you can’t afford NOT to invest in your personal-growth as an entrepreneur and a mother.

There are different ways you can invest in yourself, perhaps you can join a local networking group or take a weekend seminar. Instead of feeling like you have to do everything yourself, take advantage of this work at home mom solution and delegate. Have your team in place, trust that they’re doing their job and then relax and enjoy your time away. Your whole team and family will benefit when you return refreshed and inspired.

Like most moms I greet the new school year with mixed emotions.  I’m eager to get back into a work and self-care routine now that school’s begun but will miss the baseball games, late night ice cream runs and more relaxed days.

My latest ezine had an article on this transition entitled, “Metromoms–Fall is the Perfect Time to Refocus and Prioritize.”  One of the tips I share is to make a commitment to your office hours and stick to it. At your determined time, shut your office door and turn off your computer so you’re not distracted to check “one more email”. Allow yourself to enjoy the other activities in your life.

As my youngest child goes off to kindergarten, this is my first year where all three of my children get on and off the bus together at the same time. With a real chunk of uninterrupted “mom-time” during the day, I’m making the commitment, after my kids get off the bus, to shut my office door, turn off my computer and leave the work day behind.

I think I’m like most moms in that I greet the new school year with mixed emotions. It can be a little stressful managing the kids and your business during summer, but in the end isn’t it worth it? There’s nothing like summer bonding and summer memories.

One memory that stands out in my mind is bonding with my daughter Tasha. She’s 10 and went off to sleep away camp for the first time this summer, for four weeks. I was thrilled for her to have a new experience, make new friends, and get away from her brothers. For myself, I was eager to have time with my two boys–enjoy evenings of baseball games (without her nagging), Friday night sleepovers, endless games of Boggle and experience a different dynamic of two versus three.

When we went to pick her up from camp we arrived home after 36 hours away from home. I felt the pull of my computer beckoning me with emails to be answered. (How many emails would there be waiting?) Then I stopped and took a good look at my daughter and decided work could wait-she was in desperate need of TLC, and I was in need of giving it to her. I felt this maternal urge to clean off 4-weeks of camp dirt and brush out the knots in her hair that hadn’t been combed since she’d left. We converted the bathroom into a spa as I washed her from head to toe. Armed with delicious smelling soaps and conditioners, and most importantly time alone without the boys, I spent an uninterrupted chunk of time hearing her camp stories while giving her a spa experience (which she’s now requesting daily). My computer and the hundreds of emails would wait until tomorrow.

I’m not sure which of us had more fun! Moments like these stand out in my mind and remind me why I left my corporate career and decided to work from home. So as I breathe a deep sigh of relief that I’m back to my “normal” routine with my three kids back at school, I can’t help feel a little sad that summer is over.