by theEmother | Nov 18, 2013 | business ideas & thinking, MEinc, single parent l single mother, start with the end in mind
“It seizes some significant mental real estate and prevents you from being fully present in the moment. You attempt to suppress your thoughts about It with countless less important activities, but It simply won’t leave. You hope to escape being a mental hostage to It when you are spending time with your family or friends, but still It hangs around, diminishing your ability to enjoy these moments, as well.
Its presence, however, can most strongly be felt when you are trying to rest. You want to physically, emotionally, and mentally relax from the break-neck pace of the day, but thoughts of It keep robbing you of these much needed moments of sacred idleness.
“What is this all powerful It,” you ask? Simply put, It is your most Important Thing.” Those tasks, activities, goals, dreams, and plans that are neglected almost daily in the overwhelming world of working on “something else.” You don’t consciously try to avoid It. You really want to work on It, whether it will take five minutes, five months, or five years, but you aren’t for many reasons.”
By Jones Loflin, Todd Musig for ChangeThis.com
by theEmother | Nov 11, 2013 | business ideas & thinking, MEinc, single parent l single mother, so you think you're in business
“Choices count. You can make decisions today that will give you more energy tomorrow. The right choices over time greatly improve your odds of a long and healthy life. […]
No matter how healthy you are today, you can take specific actions to have more energy and live longer. Regardless of your age, you can make better choices in the moment. Small decisions—about how you eat, move, and sleep each day—count more than you think. As I have learned from personal experience, these choices shape your life.”
By Tom Rath for ChangeThis.com
by theEmother | Jun 25, 2013 | business ideas & thinking, inspiring women, MEinc, single parent l single mother, so you think you're in business, women in business case studies
Not just talk about knowing stuff.
Not just learn about knowing stuff.
Who actually Know stuff and stuff that is of use…
Having been through a meeting last week, where I had posed a question that everyone in the room should have also known to ask but didn’t, made it all too clear the need for tapping into the right skill set, not necessarily the cheapest.
The reason they didn’t have the advice offered? Because they had gone to their favourite garden variety advisors, who clearly knew nothing (in depth) about the topic at hand. In fact, they knew enough to be dangerous!
What it means now though is the direction we thought we were going in has changed course. Just as well I had the learned advisor to go talk to. Otherwise we would have ended up going down a what would have eventually been an expensive and inappropriate path, only to discover it was in fact wrong, if not potentially a little naughty.
Just today, I’m in a meeting with a prospective seller and he told us the price he wants for his business. When asked what it was based on, the (typical) answer given was “because my accountant said so” and “3x multiple is the norm, right?” Wrong! Especially in today’s market, there are no norms, hence why talking to a Broker who knows their stuff is equally as important.
But how to find such people?
There are always recommendations, agreed. More importantly for me though is the track record. Not just around the learning but absolutely around the execution, multiple times. Why offer yourself and your hard earned cash to be someone else’s guinea pig. I don’t get it.
Even though waiting for my learned colleague to return from a long overseas jaunt seemed to delay proceedings, I knew it was worth the wait because the guidance offered is worth it’s weight in gold, if not more, meaning we won’t be paying out a guinea pig premium!
What did make me cross was that each of the people sitting around the table had paid good money to go seek advise, only to have the exercise confirmed as a waste of time and money. It’s just plain wrong. I urge you to talk to those that know, Truly Know…
by theEmother | May 30, 2013 | 4 hour work week, business ideas & thinking, entrepreneurial mothers, MEinc, single parent l single mother
Just sometimes, Life seems to take over your diary, well it does mine at least. And that in turn leads to feeling really quite overwhelmed.
That’s because (I guess I’m similar to you) you don’t want to let anyone down. I most certainly don’t.
Should I have said no to a few things, probably. But when youré a solo-preneur, a solo-breadwinner and a solo-parent (a double parent actually!), you are often set to accept all that comes your way (within context) because usually something happens and not all comes together, all at once.
But in my case, at the moment, it has all come together and I am under the pump! Right now, I’m even feeling a little “Mother Hubbard” as Daughter will be living on cupboard leftovers soon if I’m not careful. Yes sure, I can get help but that also takes head space and time to arrange, which I don’t have right now. If only the EA of my dreams rolls up on my doorstep and takes over my diary and half the stuff that emanates from it.
Cinderella wanted a Prince.
Me? If a Prince relieves me of my diary, my to-do list build-up, then bring him on!
by theEmother | May 20, 2013 | entrepreneurial mothers, events, inspiring women, MEinc, single parent l single mother
Fr Bob Maquire at the annual Judith Horsnell memorial lunch
Sunday (yesterday) I had the good fortune to be asked to attend and MC the 3rd Annual “Judith Horsnell Mothers Day” lunch. It all started like this…
… Christmas 2010, Webjet Marketing P/L made a generous donation to the Fr Bob Maguire Foundation. Their PA, Judith Horsnell, prior to that time, had suggested to the staff to do away with Kris Kringle, and instead, donate to a local charity; the Father Bob Maguire Foundation was chosen.
Tragically, Judith passed away suddenly, early in 2011.
A a special bond had been established however and since then, Webjet’s employees talked about the possibility of remembering Judith in a more tangible way, culminating in a ““Mother’s Day Luncheon with a twist”, (the Sunday after Mother’s Day), for 40 disadvantaged mothers from the South Melbourne / Port Melbourne area.As a result, the first function held at the Emerald Hotel in May 2011, was sponsored by Webjet and its employees.
Webjet’s Finance Director (at the time), Mr Richard Noon, said that, “many of his staff felt the need to do something to remember Judith by, for her generosity to others. This is really an event for others and at the same time, to remember Judith. In some way, do something that Judith would have felt special about. We remember our friend, always helping others. We think this would make Judith smile…”
This year, the “Special” Mother’s Day Luncheon was hosted at the same venue, for 50 disadvantaged mothers this time. Again sponsored by Webjet Marketing, in conjunction with the Fr Bob Maquire, St Vincent de Paul Society and Sacred Heart Mission.
A great day was had by all. The food was delicious (and plenty of it!), the company delightful, the flowers gorgeous, the book “Secrets of Inspiring Women Exposed” and the door prizes greatly appreciated and quite frankly, pretty impressive. It was a pleasure and an honour to be involved.
What will 2014’s lunch bring…
by theEmother | Apr 8, 2013 | build a Mother of a Business, Buy a Mother of a Business, entrepreneurial mothers, EXIT execution, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, MEinc, Sell Your Business, SELL your Mother of a Business, single parent l single mother, so you think you're in business, the business model, women in business case studies
After two meetings today and another phone call last Friday, the prospect of the motherhood and business ownership combination is causing some angst.
The main issue seems to be for those women business owners who are currently in business and are either planning to have a family soon or have just had their first.
They want to be able to have the combination work but just can’t seem to see how. The thought of having someone else brought in not look after their business is too much to bear. And, the thought of trying to run it full time as well as being the mother they want to be is just not fathomable.
So… what to do?
Sell it of course. That seems to be the answer. Then reality sets in. Has the business been set up as a asset, to run independently of the owner? Not in any of these 3 cases. So then what?
In the planning stage, this scenario can be sorted. It’s usually time and money that’s the prohibiting factor. When baby is already here, the mother wants the stress removed.
If only I had a chance to talk to them in the very early planning stages, to get all the planets aligned before embarking on the beautiful journey of motherhood.
If you find yourself pondering similar thoughts, please talk to me…
