In our house, holidays are often stressful as we try to agree as a family on how to celebrate and honor the person, people or event.

Perhaps this quote from Charles R. Swindoll will inspire you as it has inspired me.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.

It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.

We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.

And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

Happy Fathers Day!

Heres some of my girls with my husband.

Well mine has been pathetic! If you only new how much money I have blown through and wasted over the years….yeesh!

Well, I’m done with that old story.

I have committed to enjoying money, saving money, and always having cold, hard cash in my purse! Yeah!

In fact, here’s a photo of me in front of the Treasury Department in Washington, DC last week–the only “site” I had the chance to enjoy during my business trip for the NAWBO (Nat’l Association of Women Business Owners) National Conference last week.

My new money story is that I treat money like I treat my children. I feed it, I nourish it and I watch it grow into something that can serve me!

What is your money story?

1. General administration
2. Email
3. Website maintenance
4. Phone calls
5. Marketing
6. Social Networking
7. Client work
8. Bookkeeping
9. Running errands

plus much, much more.

Of course this ‘to do’ list is similar to what men ‘do’ in business, however the woman in business is also responsible for the personal side of life. Having children and partners plus take care of the household can consume your day without even going anywhere near their business!

The biggest barrier to their success is they often try to ‘do’ everything themselves, which is impossible. While they are ‘doing’ the day-day basics, there’s no time to work ‘on’ the business. There’s no time to look after their no. 1 asset… themselves.

That’s why getting help is essential. If you’re a woman in business, you need to look at letting go and asking for help. ‘Superwoman’ is a myth.

I recall one lady who had three pre-school children who was spending every possible minute working on her business. Well she really wasn’t working ‘on’ it, she was working ‘in it’. Mary did everything including packaging orders, bookkeeping, delivery of orders and all the paperwork. She wanted to make more money but she was very reluctant to let go of anything.

She also had the mentality that she couldn’t ’spend’ money on the business, until she made some first. If Mary outsourced the menial tasks, she would have easily freed up her time and tripled her current income, and been much more happier. The business was a heavy noose around her neck. She was a perfectionist and felt that if she didn’t play the part of Superwoman, she would have failed.

Freeing up your time is crucial, however what do you do with that free time? You see most women in business (and also a lot of men) are unsure of what to do next and that’s why they keep themselves busy buried in paperwork and general daily busyness.

Identifying what type of help you need is also vital. I recently came across a woman who was struggling to keep her holistic health centre viable. She thought by investing in a special machine for an additional $25,000 which can diagnose various ailments she’d make more money. A new machine wasn’t the solution.

The truth was she had no idea how to run her business. She needed a business coach. And it wasn’t all about marketing that she needed. Her self-esteem and personal image needed to be addressed for her to be seen as credible.

Lisa thought it would be a ‘good idea’ to start a small retail store. That way she and her friend could be in business together. So thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of blood, sweat and tears later she was left with:

a. Her friendship destroyed.
b. A nervous breakdown
c. Her marriage broken up
d. $75,000 of additional debt
e. No chance of having the baby she so desperately wanted

The pretty brochures, advertising costs and flashy website didn’t bring in the business. And unfortunately a lot of women in business ‘fluff’ around and spend time and money in the wrong areas.

So if you want to stop struggling, find out what successful women in business do. Every successful business woman I know continuously gets help through coaching, attending seminars, reading, finding mentors etc. They are on a constant personal and professional development journey.

They also outsource their weaknesses and use their strengths. There is always help available and depending on your needs you can access the help you need very inexpensively. If the assistance you require can be done without being in your office or premises, there are many very affordable options.

So what can you do to change your situation? If you want to achieve different results in your business, you need to do something else.

************************

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I have. And I was especially impressed with Alexis Neely’s blog post today that shared her story about this as well.

See, the truth of the matter is that I’ve found it is much, much, much easier to work than to be really present with my kids.  So, yes, my work over the past years has been a matter of necessity, but I’ve also done it because escaping into my work was so much easier than being really present with my kids.  And then the more I worked, the less I knew how to be with them.

This is a great quick read about how to deal with your kids when you feel like you can’t! And don’t miss this comments (I posted one). Elizabeth Potts Weinstein also commented and talked about a great book called “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman. He also has a version about teenagers and a version about children which I have but have not yet read. I HAVE read the first one and it is a MUST-READ for anyone interested in having relationships.

The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate

Let me know what you think!

What do the moms do who actually have to juggle kids, school, dance or practices, after school activities, homework and more…and also go to and work at their J.O.B. all day???

Oh my goodness. As a new S.M.I.T. (Step Mom in Training), I’m finding out first hand how cool it is to have the freedom of owning and running my own business! It’s the best thing since sliced bread!

I always knew how lucky I was when I would talk to my friends who ‘worked somewhere’ at their J.O.B. and they told me all the insider drama, politics, etc. that went on and how they can hardly get their work done. They’re miserable, work long hours and all for someone else.

Not to mention those of them who are moms also had to do daycare where most of the money they brought in helped pay for that but the worst part being they had to be away from their kids during the most important times of their lives.

I didn’t realize all this until I finally now live with my honey Scott and his two daughters, Brittani who’s 14 and just started high school and Madelyn who’s 10 and in 5th grade (not to mention has slight Autism to boot!). I get the privelege of driving them to school or picking them up on occasion and I’m always thanking the Universe for allowing me the opportunity to do that and giving me the skills and talents that I provide to others so in return I can live a prosperous, freedom-based life full of love.

Let’s just thank our lucky stars that life can be this grand! ;0)

I’d love to invite you to listen in on my FREE 5-Part Teleseries on Love and Money…How to Finally Have it All. On this series I’ll share all kinds of practical ways to build your business but also to transform your personal life and finally achieve the balanced, freedom-based AND money-making business that you desire. Register now at http://www.LoveandMoneyTeleseries.com and I’ll see you there!

Bio:
Katrina is the founder and CEO of K. Sawa Marketing International and the creator of The JumpStart Your Marketing™ System and the Love and Money Business Summit happening this Nov, 2009 in San Francisco. Katrina is a regular Business Expert on News10 in Sacramento, California and she speaks to groups of all sizes on how to start, build, grow and market your business. She is also one of the happiest people you will ever know living in Roseville, CA with her honey Scott and his two daughters, Kat calls herself a S.M.I.T. (Step Mom in Training). You can download her Free Entrepreneur’s Success Kit at http://www.JumpStartYourMarketing.com. You can also get access to her FREE Love & Money Teleseries happening right now (recordings too) at http://www.LoveandMoneyTeleseries.com. © Copyright 2009

Connect with Kat online too:
Twitter - @KatrinaSawa
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Fan Page – http://www.facebook.com/JumpstartYourMarketingFans
YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/katmarketingexpert