First time #Mompreneur for @bullseyeplans

As soon to be first time mother, Julia Pronin has been learning the challenges of carrying a child while working full time, working on her new marriage, and juggling a large close-knit family. With her husband as her centre of support, and a family that motivates and cheers her on, Julia has used the strength of those around her in order to stay determined and learn to multi-task effectively.

Creating schedules and to-do lists have been among the most effective organizational tools, along with creating an office at home in order to cut down on travel time and be able to make healthy meals at home. Julia Pronin has discovered Twitter as a great outlet to stay connected with other mompreneurs and to learn about the experiences of other successful women, thus creating a virtual environment of colleagues.

In the months to come, Julia will find herself in a predicament that many mompreneurs experience; taking care of a new born while nurturing an established business.

For mompreneurs who started their own businesses either before having kids, or before having a second or third child, the arrival or a new child can be a testing time for a business. Business does not wait for anyone, therefore developing a strategy for continued client care, and seamless industry presence is key. Julia Pronin has made necessary changes to her business plan in order to accommodate for the changes in the business management strategy by hiring industry professionals and training well in advance, allowing her to move away from working in the business, and to concentrate on working on the business, while still maintaing interaction with clients, and providing clients with superior service and value.

A business is always only as stable its foundation, therefore taking into account the challenges of a mompreneur allow a business to be flexible and resilient, by planning the strategy to combat challenges, and creating sustainable growth plans.
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Julia Pronin is the owner of Bulls Eye Business Consulting. For individuals who are new to entrepreneurship, advice is key. Bull’s Eye Business Consulting offers free consultations for individuals who are simply looking for guidance.

Bull’s Eye Business consulting offers consultancy services for the successful funding of businesses, including Government loan and ...Grant applications. At Bull’s Eye, you can also obtain consultancy for developing strong business architecture, as well as obtaining a business plan or a marketing plan.

The team at Bull’s Eye Business consulting is composed of passionate entrepreneurs actively seek business solutions to propel businesses forward and achieve longevity and success.

The consultants at Bull’s Eye Business Consulting are critical as well as conservative, however like the sparkle in the eye of every entrepreneur, they possess the unique spirit of the entrepreneur, which is accompanied by the key to the door that says, “Everything is possible.”

Bull’s Eye Business Consulting will help you identify your goals, and to map out all the possible roads to achieving those goals allowing for smooth, progression growth.

Our clients range from small to medium businesses, as well as entrepreneurs who are in the seed stage of their business.

I am fortunate to have clients operating businesses in the full spectrum of Canadian Industries. Our consultants are experienced in business involved in everything from retail, to research and development, to manufacturing, and beyond.

Bull’s Eye Business Consulting applies a methodology of combining strong research in order to build a solid foundation for the businesses from which to build the architecture of the business, with a study which models the business throughout the first five years in order to achieve a realistic projection. We place a strong emphasis on identifying achievables and deliverables and creating a project plan. In this way, a business plan becomes the blueprint to your business. The financial projections of a business must always be conservative, as seeing a best-case scenario is the driving force for an entrepreneur, however planning for the worst is the insurance policy.

After creating a business plan, our consultants continue working with clients to obtain the finances required to start the business through Government financing programs, or investors when appropriate. When embarking on the daunting task of financing your business, having someone who will speak for your business is key, as an unbiased professional presentation of your business provides for greater chances of success.

Our consultants continue to work with my clients through all the lifecycles of their business, by assessing potential grants that they are eligible for, created an analysis of how their business is doing in comparison to the business plan, and making recommendations of how the business can propel itself forward.

Bull’s Eye Business Consulting welcomes anyone who is interested in embarking on the exciting journey of entrepreneurship, or anyone who is seeking advice for their existing business, to contact our consultants for a free consultation, and to discover their potential.
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Phone	+1 647.866.1680
Email	julia@bullseyeplans.com
Website	http://www.bullseyeplans.com

#Mompreneur Balance with @TNY_Photogrpahy

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”  ~ Albert Einstein

Motherhood is a full time job and we - mompreneurs - are trying to have it all: a beautiful family, a thriving business, and a well-balanced life. There is no perfect  balance between managing   your  small business and your family at home.

What might  work for me, my family and my business might not be achievable for you. Mind you sometimes it is not achievable for me  either. I think we need to think of the word flexibility as mompreneurs.

I felt an enormous amount of guilt spending time on my business . I  felt that I was stealing time from my son who is at home with me. My daughter is in Gr 2 now, so life is a bit easier than having 2 of them at home.

"Just-one-more-phone-call-honey-and-mommy-will-be-right-there."   "Just-one-more-email-honey-and-mommy-will-be-right-there."

Sound familiar? Nothing is more important than  being with my children- that is why I chose to stay home.  Listen to your  children. Remember why you chose to work from home or start your  own business:  because you still wanted to be able to spend time with  your kids. So do it! That email can be sent once they are in bed.

Once a week my son is in daycare and I also get help once a week from my father in law. That is the perfect time to get some work done whether it  is sending out emails, marketing my business , or   talking to a new  client.

I am very lucky to say that my husband is a great support system in my life and my business. I am lucky to know that when I need him to help, he would  take the kids out for the day so I can get that   Saturday morning photo session done, or make dinner for the kids (well take them out for  dinner) when I have an afternoon appointment.

I take time to register with my son in activities during the day and  have play dates. I recently started doing exercise again - it is great for keeping me sane and getting me out the the house, taking a    break from the computer/work. I am able to spend time with my family  and friends. 

It is exhausting sometimes. Most of the time,  it seems a constant go go go...but it is all worth it. I love what I    do. I love my family. I am not sure I found balance....the scale  sometimes tips on the left side sometimes on the right side.  Being    flexible and not afraid to ask for help has saved me on many    occasions. And I must say it is amazing to work with other mompreneurs because they can all relate to what we are trying to balance, harmonize, juggle.

So here is a few tips that I try to live by in my life:

1. Listen to your children
2. Prioritize, plan, have a family calender where you share schedules and appointments with your spouse
3. Get support from family and friends.  Stop trying to be a super mom-have grandparents come visit during the week, ask your husband to take kids to after school activities etc., arrange play dates for your kids.
4. Take time off for yourself and for your family
5. Set a realistic schedule - work around nap times and bed times. Take  mini-breaks if you have to work when the kids are at home with you. Be flexible.
6: Separate Your Office From Your Home . If you have a hard time breaking free from your work responsibilities set aside an area of  your home just for work.
7. Double up on activities. Get a hands-free mike for your cell  phone so you can return calls while driving or walking.

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Tunde Nyarfadi is the owner of TNy Photography. She is an on   location natural light photographer, specializes in maternity,  newborn, family and children's portraits and head shots for small   businesses.
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/TNyPhotography
Twitter: @Tny_Photography
E-mail: tnyphotography@hotmail.com
Website: www.tnyphotography.ca
Tel: 416-659-3272

@karynclimans Difficult to Achieve Momprenuer Balance

Balance: Difficult to Achieve

Recently, I was asked how I’ve managed to achieve balance in my life and do you know what my answer was … Balance? What balance?

It’s almost 9:00 pm and I am finally responding to the numerous business emails that arrived in my inbox today, which I wasn’t able to reply to earlier because I was busy filling customer orders, buying new fabrics and applying for various marketplace events. My husband is working on his 2nd job - a consulting job for an international client. He has a full-time job during the day. I would love to pretend that I have achieved balance in my life but as a business owner (who doesn’t have the luxury of additional staff), work never seems to end. If customers are calling and ordering your product, you can’t brush them aside. When work is “finished”, there’s grocery shopping and cooking to do and, of course, the dogs need to be walked. You would think the work/life balance would be easier to achieve now that both of my sons are away at university but it’s not.

I certainly don’t want to give the impression that it’s all work and no play. I definitely make time for my friends on a regular basis and I’m a member of a fabulous book club that meets once a month. As well, I work out with a personal trainer twice a week in order to keep myself in reasonable shape. My husband and I also make it a priority to schedule a date night at least once a week now that we are empty nesters.

Would you describe the above as a balanced lifestyle? I call it hectic. Of course, there’s always more I’d like to accomplish and squeeze in to my schedule but I find my work rewarding. I genuinely LOVE what I do and I’d choose my situation any day over a 9 to 5 pm job I hated! Besides how many of us have jobs and family lives that are balanced these days? I often hear parents describe their daily schedules as stressful. There’s not much leisure time left after juggling the kids, after school programs, homework, long hours at work, a lengthy commute to and from work, and household related chores.

If any one has any suggestions for finding greater balance in their lives, I’d love to hear from you. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to juggle the many aspects of my life that keep me busy and stimulated.

Karyn Climans is the owner and creator of Tail Wags Helmet Covers, www.tail-wags.com. Established in 2006, Tail Wags is a Toronto-based business which designs and manufactures helmet covers of the finest workmanship and quality, and is devoted to encouraging more kids and adults to wear their safety helmets. Tail Wags helmet covers fit ALL makes and models of bike, skate, ski, snowboard, toboggan, and equestrian helmets. With over 40 adorable designs, there’s bound to be the perfect look for every member of your family and friends.

Tail Wags recently launched a “Mothers Against Naked Riding” campaign designed to encourage children and teens to “bucket their brain”. A central feature of our campaign is “The Naked Rider” video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF-FfYKrgGk&feature=g-all-fbc&context=G2008551FAAAAAAAAMAA

For more information, please visit our facebook site at www.facebook.com/tailwagshelmetcovers.

Balance @ArianeGriffiths wonders if it exists?

Balance – Does it even exist?

Dictionary.com defines balance as a few things, but only two definitions really stuck out to me:
- A state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
- Mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.

How do you achieve balance? Is always a popular question among entrepreneurs and one that usually creates a flurried conversation about different ways to create balance (“Make sure you schedule proper office hours!”, “Don’t answer your phone or check your messages after hours”, “Do your work once the kids are in bed.”)

From my experience, the conversation rarely unveils a NEW way to achieve balance and my belief is because I don’t think there IS a way to achieve Balance.

If you’re attempting to achieve the first definition “Equal Distribution” then MAYBE you can set your hours, turn off your phone and do your work after the kids go to bed, but let’s be honest here, will that happen? No! Ok, maybe for a day if you’re lucky, but then a frustrated client calls and talks way longer than your “scheduled hours” and by the time you’ve put the kids to bed, you can barely tell up from down, let alone make sense of the tasks that are waiting for you.

Now, if you’re attempting to achieve the second definition “Mental Steadiness or Emotional Stability”, the likeliness of you succeeding falls even further down the line because THAT is a hard thing to do for ANYONE (Entrepreneur or not!) There are too many factors playing in this situation.
Please don’t get me wrong, I believe you CAN achieve balance, but in order to do so, you first have to identify a few benchmarks.

Determine your goals
I say this not in terms of numbers/sales/etc. But what goals do you have for your life? When you look back do you want to remember that you spent every evening going back and forth from the dinner table to your email inbox? Probably not.
Write down what you “want” out of this life (and don’t use the word Balance) As per any goal, be specific, “I want to go on every school trip with my kids.” Or “I want to make sure I am here for them if they’re sick and need to be off school.”

Take a step back and look around
Take a look at what you’ve built as an entrepreneur. Is it honestly making you happy? Are you finding joy in the work / life that you have created? If something is nagging at you, bringing you down and you dread doing it, chance are good it’s got to go.

Again, write a list of what is dragging you down and (again) be specific, “I hate answering emails.” Or “I can’t stand cleaning the house on the weekends; I’d rather be tobogganing with the kids.”

Now that you have your list of “wants” and your list of “don’t wants” think of ways to implement and/or banish. For your “don’t wants” ask yourself if it would really break the bank if you got a cleaner in to clean the house once/month? What if you gave the kids an incentive to clean up? I’ve heard of parents hiding money around the house so the kids clean up in order to find said money – now that’s smart!

Think of making a day that you never get any work done (like Monday) the day where you do mundane niggling tasks (like replying to emails) so that you get that hated task out of the way, AND your day is still productive.

My point is to think REALISTICALLY and figure out what YOUR balance is.. Looking at another person’s form of balance is in no way going to come close to helping you achieve yours because it’s not your life, it’s theirs.. so right off the bat, it won’t work for you. Find solutions that work for YOU and YOUR family.
When you finish doing that, only then will you find balance. BUT keep in mind that when you find that balance, it will only be for a day or so.. ;)

Ariane Griffiths is a freelance Web Developer, Designer and Small Business Advocate. You can find out more information about her and her multitude of projects over at www.arianegriffiths.com where she talks about everything to do with web, social media, entrepreneurship and her “other” business as an Epicure Selections Rep.

Vaughan Mompreneurs

My business rocks my world. And I wanted to show you how being apart of our organization will help you grow as an entrepreneur and help your business grow. Vaughan Mompreneurs helps moms who own business find more affordable ways to advertise their company to the community. Without having to pay hundreds of dollars in print media we work together to get acknowledged through trade shows, networking events, community events, referrals and social media.

Being a mom and running more than one business is really tough and I like having support from other mompreneurs to talk to and feed off each others business. Being a licensee of the Ontario Mompreneurs group will give us momprenuers a great deal of exposure once our new membership fee's come into play.

Come join us at www.vaughanmompreneurs.com and see the how our support can help you.

I would like to thank one of my vendors and good friend Dana from Digital Shoebox media services that created this great video. And a big thanks to the sponsors of the showcase, Oh So Sweet, Lisa Sinopoli, Lino Contento, PTPA, PEachy Buy, Tutor Doctor, MumsNChums, Rugcutters, lil Sugar Magazine and Bullseye plans.

I look forward to working with so many amazing women and being able to help them as a friend and as a small business consultant.

Finding a little balance this week

Many mompreneurs will find themselves playing double duty this week with children at home from school, and a partial business week to manage. As a work at home mom, juggling both tasks can be daunting. I have some advice on how to keep both your work and children happy this week!

Create a Prioritized To Do List

• Writing all of your tasks down is the first key to getting organized, as a chaotic house can often cause even the best multi-tasker to be forgetful. Next, the more important part is prioritizing.
• Divide your tasks between high-priority and Moderate tasks. Next, further divide your high-priority tasks into quick tasks and tasks that require your undivided attention.
• Plan to complete all of your high-priority critical tasks in the quietest part of the day, and always place them ahead of all other tasks.

By handling the most important items first, you will be better able to manage less demanding tasks even if you have interruptions or some level of chaos.

Schedule in Time for Interruptions

• Give yourself extra time with every task. If a task would normally take you half an hour, give yourself an hour, allowing time for interruptions. This will keep your stress level down if you do get interrupted, and you’ll gain additional time if you don’t get interrupted.
• Plan scheduled breaks for meals with your children. By planning meal times, you will be able to escape feelings of guilt, and you will get a much needed break in order to return to your work with a fresh mind.

Work While the Kids are Sleeping

• The key to working while your kids are sleeping is choosing either the morning hours, or the later hours in the evening for completing tasks that require your undivided attention. If you are most efficient in the morning, start your day before your children wake up, and remember to plan for taking a break when your children up. Therefore, schedule tasks that are manageable within that time frame. If you are more of a night-owl on the other hand, extend your sleep as late as possible in the morning in order to stay alert towards the evening, and make the most out of your quiet hours.

Put Your Kids to Work

• The holidays can be a great time to teach children about what their mom does for work, and to inspire children to develop their passions. While you work, a great way to get children excited for the new year is to have them outline their goals. If your children are old enough, have them put together a business plan of how they plan to make money from their passions in the new year. This will fuel a child's entrepreneurial spirit, and will allow them to set their own goals outside of school.
• If your children are younger in age, have them engage in projects just the way you do. Have them select projects and create a list of tasks for those projects. Then, set up a work station in your home office, and have your children work on their projects, just as you get your work done.

Depending on your child's age, this may only give you 45 minutes of uninterrupted time, however this may an excellent time to get all of your lower-priority tasks out of the way.