As women and mom entrepreneurs there are so many things to juggle – work, kids, marriage, self, friendships, spirit and family. Keeping them all going is a challenge and one that requires consciousness and compassion. The truth is over the past few months my focus has been more on my business and my kids than on my marriage, and we’ve all suffered. From conversations with many, I don’t think that I’m alone in this. I want to share a few suggestions that I’m beginning to put in place because I’m committed to making my marriage work, and want to support those of you in a similar place.

 

 Mom Entrepreneurs—How To Find Time For Your Marriage [Metromom Podcast] [5:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As women and mom entrepreneurs, there are so many things to juggle – work, kids, marriage, self, friendships, spirit and family. Keeping them all going is a challenge and one that requires consciousness and compassion.

The truth is over the past few months my focus has been more on my business and my kids than on my marriage, and we’ve all suffered. From conversations with many, I don’t think that I’m alone in this. It’s a BIG problem for busy couples, especially with the financial pressures to make a business work. Raising your kids and being mom entrepreneurs can quickly take a toll on your marriage. You may feel like you HAVE to go to an important meeting with a new client or go to your son’s first baseball game but it’s okay to skip that lunch date with your husband – he’ll understand. But too quickly it becomes routine to put your marriage too far down on your list of priorities.

Here are a few suggestions that I’m beginning to put in place because I’m committed to making my marriage work, and want to support other mom entrepreneurs in a similar place:

Get Him Involved in Your Business

You can’t expect your husband to be involved with your business if he doesn’t know anything about it. This is more than just sharing your basic business plan, talk to him about your vision – and why you’re working so hard to achieve it.

Help him understand that you see your business as a family business where you share the rewards. Talk about the advantages of entrepreneurship. Maybe the benefits of being at home with your kids or even the financial benefits of reduced child-care costs and being able to write-off home business expenses.

Let him know exactly how he can help you. Guys aren’t always super intuitive so instead of nagging him, do your best to let him know what you need to be successful. Maybe it’s not a business task, maybe he can help pick up the kids from soccer practice or help out with certain household chores so that you have some extra work time.

Develop Good Boundaries

When mom entrepreneurs work from home, the temptation is to work all the time. You finally have the kids to bed so you naturally want to get some work done. That’s fine sometimes but boundaries are critical. Schedule a few nights each week when work is truly turned off (this means turning off your Blackberry or iPhone) so you can connect as a couple.

It’s so important to make time to communicate – without interruptions – with your spouse to keep the household flowing smoothly. Don’t just leave this to when you have the time because when do you ever really just have extra time? Schedule the time like you would a business appointment. Texts, e-mails and cell phone calls are fine, but for connection purposes nothing replaces a quality face-to-face conversation.

Schedule in the Romance

You have to figure out as a couple how to make love the top priority. Maybe when you were first married and had free time you could just be spontaneous and wait for the “right moment” but now that you have more responsibilities, it’s not likely to happen without a little planning.

Build a structure you can count on to keep these priorities straight. For example, schedule once-a-week “dates” with each other to talk and rekindle romance. If you can, go on a getaway once or twice a year – even if it’s just a day or two to relax and enjoy each other. Doing this will help you remember why you’re working so hard anyway…to share your success with the ones you love.

Marriage requires commitment and attention and like a plant, it will not continue to grow, without nurturing. People sometimes say, “Marriage is hard work.” I guess it is. But I think everything in life that’s worth having is worth working for. Having a partner that loves you and supports you is worth the effort.

FYI – Sometimes we as mom entrepreneurs all hit bumps in the road when it comes to relationships. If you’re a member of my Get It Done Circle, please feel free to post any questions in our forum to Metromom’s relationship expert, Dr. Patty Ann, if you need some advice.

I’d love to hear how you’re addressing this delicate balance.

I’m just wrapping up the filming of my first pilot of Get it Done, Get it Back with Susie Shina. We are creating the pilot of a reality-based show where we help a mom entrepreneur (aka Metromom) work through a business struggle and a lifestyle struggle.

Within Metromom, I coach women to bring out that brilliance from their business.  Susie works with women to restore their bodies, restyle their lives and reconnect with a passion for ‘the other stuff’.  So we figured that together we bring true balance for working girls!

We see this new show as a cross between Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Nanny-911.  Our vision is to makeover one woman’s most burning struggle in her business and one struggle in her life in one 22-minute show.  We would uncover specific challenges most working moms face and offer very real, doable solutions…taking the featured woman from overwhelmed and dissatisfied to taking that big sigh of relief.

This whole experience has been such a fun example of our getting it done. Susie and I are both complete “newbies” when it comes to putting together a TV show! But we had a great idea, great passion, and are ready to rely on the support and guidance of an amazing producer to take us through this process.

Here are the steps I took that got me here…

· I was told by an intuitive that I must attend the National Publicity Summit last October to get more into the spotlight. I trusted her and plunked down my credit card.

· Through the Summit I met Susie Shina and immediately knew we had a great chemistry. We brainstormed how we could collaborate and the idea of a “reality TV show” hit us.

· Susie and I got together and created 2 quick videos to communicate our idea. You can see them below. One’s our real pitch, the other is the funny outtakes that we just had to include.

· Then we approached a producer we’d both connected with. She loved our idea and agreed to produce our first pilot.

· We reached out to connections, including social networking friends, for help in finding a "Metromom" we could work with in Phoenix.

· We got off our butts, arranged for childcare and booked our flights to shoot the pilot!

For me, the reason this project has been so much fun is because I’ve  thoroughly enjoyed the process and the lack of personal agenda. I’m not attached to any outcome of what occurs – be it internet TV, real TV or no TV. I know goodness will come from this, whatever the result, even if it’s just a great experience connecting with great people. Sometimes you just have to show up fully, have fun, have faith, and follow your instincts about the people you work with.  Where will this all lead? I don’t know but I do know that this is part of a great path. I’ll keep you posted!

Pitch Idea

Outtakes

Gerrianne Clare is committed to supporting people to be more present in their everyday life. Our body is the most amazing vehicle we have to tune into the present moment.  In our spotlight feature she shares what it means to “live in the moment” and why it’s important for us as moms and as entrepreneurs.

To learn more about her work, please visit her site.

 

 @moment_is Shares Tips for Living in the Moment - Metromom In the Spotlight [28:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In a previous blog post I shared some great advice from Erin Blaskie, The VA Coach, about how mom entrepreneurs can delegate tasks to a virtual assistant (VA). During our interview Erin also shared some great tips on delegating effectively that I wanted to pass on to you:

- Make a list of the things you know you want to delegate out. This will help during the interview process because you’ll know what questions to ask.

- Track your time for one week. Track everything – whether you’re answering emails, with a client etc. Track your billable and non-billable time. This will help you see what is sucking up a lot of your time so you can delegate more effectively.

- Communicate your business vision. To make sure you’re clear on your vision you can write it out for yourself. Also write out your expectations for yourself and the people who work for you and share it with your team.

- Consider your virtual assistants as partners, not employees. That’s an important distinction. If you empower your assistants to be a part of your company, you’ll see bigger results.

- Utilize their expertise. Part of why you’re bringing them on board is that they know things that aren’t your expertise. They’re probably much more up-to-date on administrative and technical things so utilize their expertise in those areas.

If you are running at maximum capacity right now and are frustrated that you can’t get it all done, then it’s time to seriously consider hiring a VA. Many mom entrepreneurs hold back, thinking it will cost a lot of money. Or you’re worried about control and think, “No one will do it quite as well as I do it” or, “I don’t want to have to explain that, so I’ll just keep it.”

Start with baby steps. Delegate out one thing at a time and see how it goes. Before you know it you’ll see how it frees up your time and energy and makes you more money. Soon you’ll be thinking, “What else can I delegate out?”

(FYI – If you want to learn more about the different kinds of virtual assistant there are or how to find someone reliable, download my interview with Erin Blaskie.)

Here we are in the middle of summer and there are moments when I’m really enjoying myself and others when I’m really stressed. If you’re like me I swing back and forth between the two. There are moments with my kids where I wish summer would never end and there are those times when school can’t start soon enough!

 

 Summer Sanity Tips for Work at Home Moms [Metromom Podcast] [5:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As a serial entrepreneur, I share in this podcast part 2 of the meaningful lessons I’ve learned since I launched Metromom.com over a year ago. These go beyond learning how to use Twitter or do my own viral video, these are lessons that have a deep impact on who I am and what I want to create for my life as a mom and as an entrepreneur. Here’s the link to the first set of lessons.

 

 Lessons Learned from a Serial Mompreneur - Part 2 [Metromom Podcast] [8:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As a serial entrepreneur, I share in this podcast the most meaningful lessons I’ve learned since I launched Metromom.com over a year ago. These go beyond learning how to use Twitter or do my own viral video, these are lessons that have a deep impact on who I am and what I want to create for my life as a mom and as an entrepreneur.

 

 Lessons Learned from a Serial Entrepreneur – Part 1 [Metromom Podcast] [8:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We watch our children and our husbands do it, but for us as moms it’s so hard to do “nothing”. It’s hard to let go of our to-do list and spend a weekend or even just a few hours really relaxing. You’d like to sit and read a novel, take a bubble bath or play an endless game of Monopoly with your 9-year old.

But… if you’re like me there’s always something you really SHOULD do. You’re already mentally gearing up for next week and thinking of ways to get ahead—maybe it’s catching up on laundry, getting a head start on your next newsletter or responding to last week’s emails.

 

 Mom’s Weekend Dilemma – Time to Relax or Time Get Ahead? [Metromom Podcast] [6:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

At some point in our lives we all get the opportunity to be a leader, whether we’re in a business setting or at home with our kids. As women we get to know ourselves and grow in our relationship to others. That’s why women tend to lead—not by words alone—but through our example and by modeling what we learn. This podcast suggests ways you can enhance your natural leadership ability at work and at home.

 

 Mom Entrepreneurs - How to lead by example and model what you learn [Metromom Podcast] [7:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download