Mums the Business: Robyn Hatley's Blog for Mums Working from Home, Mumpreneurs and Home Business; Inspirational Stories, Business Tips and Resources from Robyn Hatley, the Business Coach for Mumpreneurs

Hot Tip no. 7 - Remember the "Why"...

2008-08-24T21:32:20+01:00

Whether challenging times or good, remember why you are choosing or chose to work from home... Most times it has to do with the F word...

FLEXIBILITY!

Whether your reason was better work-life balance, to spend more time with your family, to develop your own lifestyle business, to have a more flexible career, etc., remember why you chose to work from home in the first place and make sure that your working style is achieving that for you. If not, seek advice or practical support from some of the top tips or potential team members that I’ve mentioned here.

Keep your sense of humour, persevere and be patient with both yourself and your business, keep your business goals in sight – and enjoy the journey, every step of the way. With the right infrastructure and boundaries in place, working from home really can be child’s play! And I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Tip No. 6 Get Out More! No Excuses....

2008-08-16T21:04:36+01:00

Working from home can be lonely and isolating at times…. Make sure that you include in your work schedule for each week, a visit to a client, a coffee with your mentor, or attend a networking event. By getting out more you are working ON your business (compared to working IN your business) and this is also key to your home business success. I am a big fan of networking with other like-minded business women – besides the opportunity to share what my business has to offer, the mutual support, advice and motivation I give & also receive is a weekly “feel good factor” for me. It keeps me motivated. Check out www.theathenanetwork.com (I’m being terribly biased here, but they really ARE the best!)

Hot Tip no. 4 - Embracing Technology. Whaaaat?

2008-03-31T10:00:16+01:00

For a moment there, I really wasn't sure about including this particular top tip! Just when I was ready to post it - about 3 weeks ago (!), Murphy (the one of Murphy's law fame)intervened and I've had a frustrating time with a badly behaved laptop! At 1 stage I hoisted the laptop above my head, opened the window and ......

...... changed my mind. It is a woman's prerogative after all - and probably more so a working mum's!

So after a call to a very patient and knowledgeable gentleman I recently met at a Networking event, who offers home business pc support; I now have my laptop back in my care, working more efficiently than ever, and with all my files safely retrieved and backed up - an ideal place to be as my 2 home based buisnesses are beginning to grow at an enormous pace. So here it is - my top tip from a working mum who has been there, done that and worn the "ripped in frustration" t-shirt!

4. EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY – AS BEST YOU CAN!

No matter how scarey, there’s no denying that technology can boost our home-business success! Part of my journey towards successfully working from home has been the realisation that the initial pain & effort of learning about new technology or a new “toy”, soon far outweighs the benefit it can bring to your business. Find someone you can trust to lead you through the maze of technology and get them on your team! Learn to work smarter – not harder!

Hot Tip number 3 on working from home

2008-02-09T20:34:25+00:00

Being a rugby player's wife, I am acutely aware of the benefits of being part of a team! Whether its in a practice session or a competitive game, a team is highly effective when the workload is shared and everyone knows what they need to do.

It's the same for a mum working from home and running a home-based business - having a highly effective team means that as a working mum we can have it all (at times) - BUT not if we try to do it all, all of the time!

Read on for top tip number 3....

3. HAVE A GREAT SUPPORT TEAM

The only way I can achieve working the occasional evening is having my husband as part of my childcare team! Thankfully though he provides so much more than just this service too! He is also my main cheerleader, chief motivator and PR officer!

I also wouldn’t be a successful mum working from home, if it wasn’t for my business coach & mentor!

Besides emotional support from others when you are working from home, additional team members can also be an essential provider of practical support. For me, the practical support in particular, is often aspects of my business that I can outsource to others, who can do a much better job than I can anyway! My team includes my accountant, my IT guru, and my domestic cleaning company. I also have part-time team members – occasionally I use the services of a Virtual Assistant for project work. Having a support team means I can concentrate on those aspects of my business that I am best at – and enjoy the most!

Hot Tip no.2 on working from home

2008-02-09T20:18:45+00:00

Following on from my recent post on My 7 Top Tips on working from home, here is tip number 2! Enjoy!

2. HAVE A DEFINED WORK SCHEDULE

Depending on the nature of your home-based business and your current family situation, it’s essential to have a work schedule (be it daily, weekly and/or monthly) that matches not only what you’re trying to achieve in your business, but also matches the type of family life you’d like to achieve.

A time schedule helps you define the boundaries between your personal & professional life. Don’t allow these to become blurred, involuntarily. What I mean is, choose the level of flexibility that suits both your business and family life best. For working mums in particular, a certain amount of flexibility is often needed; but a work schedule should essentially work for you – not the other way around!

As an example, with 2 young children myself, for the time being I have chosen to work term time only, 4-5 days a week, generally in school hours. I adjust my schedule so I can make it to those precious Christmas concerts and sports days! I occasionally work in the evenings, running teleseminars for mums, after children have gone to bed…. But this is my choice & I adjust my work schedule accordingly, so that I can also squeeze in some “me time” when the kids aren’t around!

7 Hot Tips on Working from Home

2008-01-23T20:04:50+00:00

I recently was the guest speaker at an Athena Network lunch meeting for local business women in the Ealing area...

Nearly half of this group of inspirational business ladies work from home, so when giving my talk I wasn't at all surprised to see nods of acknowledgement and smiles of agreement, around the table!

I hope that you too, over the next few weeks, enjoy my 7 Top Tips on working from home - and please feel free to add your own!

Read on for tip no.1...

For most woman who choose to work from home, the decision is a very personal one, and often driven by the desire for a better quality of life. After 15 years of a very successful but exhausting corporate career in Human Resources, I chose to work from home. My main reason? To make a life while making a living!

I’ve now been working form home for just over 2 years. It has been a journey of discovery – with both a shift in my own mindset and a shift in the way I work. I also coach and advise mums wanting to work from home… And what I have discovered is that there is not one magic formula that works for all of us…. It is undeniable, that as women who CHOOSE to work from home, we each face our own unique challenges in getting things done, both personally & professionally.

What I would like to share with you over the next few weeks is 7 top tips to successfully working from home, drawn from my own experience and the mums I have had the privilege of coaching through these challenges.

1. HAVE A DEFINED WORKSPACE – PREFERABLY WITH A DOOR!

In whatever job one chooses to do, whether based at home or at work, a defined workspace is a necessity. It is dangerous to believe you can work from home successfully, without a proper & permanent work area! It doesn’t have to be big, but it does have to be YOUR space – which means “Hands off!” to the rest of the family. It means your work stationery is just that – for work (it can be so frustrating trying to take a message from a potential client, only to discover your toddler has commandeered both your pen and notepad to another location in the house!). A separate phone line is also highly recommended.

And why do I suggest a door? It’s not only to keep others out, when you’re working – it’s also to keep you in! A defined workspace will help you make that “shift” (both mentally & physically) every day from family member to career women, as you step through the door into your workspace. If working from your sitting room or desk in a bedroom, it can be quite a temptation to interrupt your work hours with household chores (“I’ll just fold this laundry while I wait for that call back”).

Sir Edmund Hillary and I have climbed the same mountain...

2008-01-12T21:23:36+00:00

Listening to the breakfast news on Wednesday morning, announcing Sir Edmund Hilary's death, I was struck by one of the most poignant quotes he had ever said....

As a mum who decided to leave the corporate world and set up in her own home-based business, I sometimes feel I have climbed & conquered many mountains, and I will continue to do so as my business grows and develops. But perhaps my greatest challenge of all is captured in what Sir Edmund meant when he said....

"It is not the Mountain that we Conquer, but Ourselves..."

Starting up a business takes a tremendous amount of courage. I'd also like to say Self Belief too! But I'm afraid I can't confess to having bucketloads of self belief when I took the proverbial leap into self-employment. Even now, as my business grows and develops, I have scarey moments of temporary self-doubt. But what I've realised is that this is perfectly normal!

In working with my own business coach, and in coaching other mums starting up in business myself, its become apparent that most often the only real obstacle slowing us down - is ourselves! Time & time again I coach mums through this - and it is amazing, inspiring and not-at-all-surprising to see women conquer their greatest self doubts, and to launch and then grow a succesful business, created on their terms. If you look at the success stories on this Blog, you'll see this again & again. Sometimes the journey has not been easy, and sometimes there have been some adjustments in lifestyle.... But the greatest achievement of all is that ALL these mums have succeeded in starting up & growing a business - and not regretting their decision at all!

So for mums thinking of starting your own home-based business and for those already launched and perhaps planning your 2008 strategy for success, please remember, the only mountain you really need to conquer is you. Be courageous in 2008 - I know you can do it!

Back to School? Now back to Business....

2008-01-07T21:50:43+00:00

Like me, I know many of you have little ones that have returned to Nursery or School over the past few days... So I'll keep this short & sweet! Whether you are thinking of starting a business, have just taken the plunge or are a good few months into it, I'm quite sure you'll find this inspiring at the beginning of an exciting 2008!

There's a quote I am going to share with you that you may have heard before, but even if you have, I've read it many times and think it is just as powerful each time.

It's a quote written by Marianne Williamson in her book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles. (It is often incorrectly credited to Nelson Mandela).

The deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
The deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure about you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
-- Marianne Williamson

I find this quote applies to so many of us, certainly to me. I wanted to remind you today to stop playing small. I want to inspire you to think big, and to be big, in words and in actions. Starting up and running a business as a mum is HUGE! Yes, it may be scary at times, but as you will find from ALL the mums featured in this blog, not a single one regrets their decision to be a business mum. Find your inspiration this week - and next week let me help you start your very own action plan.

"How Do You Eat an Elephant?"

2008-01-02T23:06:00+00:00

Answer: One chunk at a time! This was the title of a recent blog, by a really sassy lady and business mumpreneur, Karen Skidmore of "Can Do Can Be" fame. Karen was talking about that overwhelming feeling that us working ladies & working mums often get, when trying to juggle so many balls and spin so many plates, simultaneously! As someone who has started 2 home-based businesses in the last 24 months, It felt awfully familiar to me too....

It's also a common feeling around this time of year, when we often feel so compelled to come up with "New Years Resolutions" for our businesses.

The solution is simple...Stop! Take a deep breathe, get out a blank sheet of paper, and start to brainstorm all the projects / tasks you've had spinning around in your head the last few weeks. Don't bother with the detail and the "hows" & "whys" - that's not important - just yet... Because as soon as you can see all your ideas on paper, soon a pattern will begin to emerge.

Then grab a highlighter pen / wax crayon / lipstick (whichever's closest, while you're in the moment!), and without thinking too much about it, mark the top 3 projects / ideas that really excite you, right now...

Too often, a new years resolution for our business is not really what we're passionate about - it's the chores / admin / boring side of business - and it's often the reason why so many new years resolutions are never truly committed to & result in failure and disappointment. Next, write down the first 5 baby steps you need to take, to get each of these 3 projects / ideas off the ground. A baby step can be as small as making a phone call or doing some research. The important thing is that you have grabbed that elephant by the trunk, decided the direction you need to take, and committed to the first few chunks to get you started... If you start the year off with exciting plans that you can be passionate about, you are more likley to keep momentum and succeed with gusto!

New Year Resolutions for your business CAN be appetising and fulfilling. Go on - take your first bite of home-based business success!

Marion Ryan is my Christmas Blog Angel!

2007-12-14T21:52:09+00:00

What is a busy mumpreneur to do when the end of the year is fast-approaching, and all but one of her 2007 goals has been attained? Call in the experts, of course!

So many of us busy mumpreneurs have found ourselves in this situation. With all good business intentions aside, sometimes we truly do run out of time! It's a catch 22 situation isn't it? We've decided to run a business from home, to allow us the opportunity to spend more time with our families - but that sometimes means fewer hours to work ON our business (let alone IN our business), compared to a regular working gal...

This is where "outsourcing" can truly be a gift to both you and your business! I have desperately wanted to start a Blog for some months now... Being a small business advisor and coach, building relationships with my current and future clients is an essential part of my trade - and a Blog is a perfect way to achieve this. Starting a Blog that compliments my website has been on my 2007 business plan. And yet I never seemed to find more than half an hour to dabble with the range of Blog software out there, trying to find out how to contruct the framework of a blog, let alone then learning how to post on it. I knew I had the skill and motivation to do it, just not the time. Frustration set in....and Christmas was looming!

And then my Christmas Blog angel appeared! Marion has been my coach, but she has also become a business mentor and friend and purely by chance she mentioned how much she enjoyed building blogsites! A (Christmas!) lightbulb moment for me - I asked Marion is she would be prepared to construct a blogsite for me, which I could then take over and use for my business? Marion understands my business goals, dreams, and aspirations. She also understands that as a working mum, I only have so many hours in the week to achieve all my ambitious plans. It was a match made in heaven! With absolute ease and professionalism, Marion constructed this beautiful Blog that you see right in front of you now; she spent 1.5 hours on the phone, training me in all the essentials; and then she handed it over....

Outsourcing a valuable part of your business can really be a smart move for a busy mumpreneur. Of course we have the skill and talent to multitask and learn new things. We just don't always have the time immediately at hand... This is where trusting someone who understands your business to help you move closer to success, can truly be a gift to both you and your business! Happy Christmas....