Enterprising Moms Network Inc

Anyone who has ever been around a child who is attempting to do something that their parents do not want them to do knows full well just how determined a child can be. Anyone who’s been watching the Olympics over the past week knows full well just how determined an adult athlete can be. Anyone who has seen a person start, grow and succeed with a business all there own knows full well just how determined you need to be in business. Look at any parent, and it’s a study in determination.

Determination is key to success. Whether you are a child, an athlete, a business person or a parent, you need determination. When determination in a child is first showing, it can easily be waved off but in all seriousness, it’s very important to encourage and develop determination with your child.

A journey like developing determination is really just a lot of small steps. Start by taking these steps with your family:

1 – Encourage your child to complete tasks that he or she has started. Help him or her develop the habit of finishing what he or she begins.

2 – Work on determination-building activities with your child. Try putting together a puzzle, building a model airplane or knitting a hat or scarf.

3 – Share stores of determination with your child. Talk about times that you found something difficult, but persevered until you reached your goal.

Success and Determination have one thing in common – they are not always the easiest to achieve. Some may think they are determined, but when you sit down and think about it, are you? What’s your follow-through like? Do you know when to proceed and when to quit? The best way to encourage success and determination is simple – don’t go it alone. There’s a reason why there is more than one person in a relay race, isn’t there?

Set the pace for the "determination-relay-race" in your family, and your family will follow.

Guest post by Jennifer Fong

You know, it’s interesting. Every now and then a brand reaches out and touches me on Twitter in a way that really impresses me. It makes me think, “Wow they’re paying attention, and they care about me as an individual.” That impresses me, makes me remember them the next time I want to do business, and generally leaves a favorable impression of that brand. Oh, and I typically tell a lot of other people about the positive experience too.

I thought today it might be helpful for you to hear about some of the specific ways brands have reached out to me, specifically. It’s interesting to note that all of these interactions have happened on Twitter. It might help you discover some things you could do with your own business, to leave an impression on people looking for what you have to offer.

- I tried out a survey tool, and was pretty happy with it. I tweeted about the fact that I tried it and was impressed. Within a minute or two, their main competitor reached out to me suggesting I try their solution too. Even though I was pretty happy, no one from the first brand acknowledged my tweet, but the 2nd brand was paying attention. Which tool do you think I’ll try next?

- I had been given a sample of a product at a conference, but it was a liquid that exceeded the size I could put into my carry on luggage. I tweeted that I would have loved to have tried it, but had to leave it behind because of the size. The brand (Biltmore Estates) was paying attention, and offered to send me the product via US Mail. I was so impressed, I tweeted about the great service (and the marinade was good too!) I was traveling to Washington DC and sent out a tweet asking if anyone in the area could recommend a hotel. Two different online hotel booking services responded with suggestions. But one also gave me an email address and said they would find me the best deal if I reached out to them. I emailed them my needs and they found me an incredible deal very quickly, right near where I needed to be. They also told me they would keep searching and if they found anything else they would let me know. 2 minutes later I had another email with a better deal. I also had the name of an individual who did the searching. Guess who I booked my hotel with (and who I will use in the future…AWESOME service.) p.s. If you’re looking for a great hotel service, try http://resideo.com.

- I was looking for some advice about electronics and asked about it on Twitter. Consumer Reports reached out to me asking how they could help, and then provided me with a link and a way to get the content for free. I had let my Consumer Reports subscription run out a while back. But now I’m seriously considering renewing it. Because of the great service.

All of these are examples of how an effective monitoring program can pay off in the long run. Yes, it’s one customer at a time. But that customer will become very loyal, and tell her friends. We’re still surprised by good service. And that’s something you can capitalize on.

So how will you use this knowledge to build your business?

Jennifer Fong helps direct sales companies, direct sales professionals, and other home-based business owners leverage the power of social media to grow their businesses. A former direct sales company CEO and serial entrepreneur, Jennifer is passionate about teaching direct sellers how to use social media tools to enhance their businesses. She helps business owners put the principles of social media to work in a profitable way, offering coaching and training to business owners. She offers products and training courses that teach you step-by-step how to apply social media to your home-based business. Visit Jennifer’s website at http://jenfongspeaks.com and subscribe to her newsletter by clicking here.

Have you had that "ONE" bright business idea and let it go because you had no idea what to do with it? Or how about already owning your own business and being scared to take it to the "NEXT LEVEL"?       

Many of us have been there and know what its like. It's scary and exciting all at the same time. The risk of failure, the possibility of it not working - yep, that does exist.

However, what also exits is the possibility of its success and creating the life you always dreamed of.

If entrepreneurship was easy, everyone would be doing it. What separates those who succeed, and those who don't is simple: tenacity.

Have you ever read a bio about someone and thought to yourself "I thought of that!" or "I could have done that".  The only difference between that person and you is that YOU didn't try.

Entrepreneurship has its ups and downs. You will find that every successful business owner will have a story about failure(s) - of when the business really wasn't working very well. But they stuck with it - saw it through, and eventually it succeeded. 

These struggles build character, they define how you will handle business in the future. In essence, they make you a better entrepreneur because you  lived through the hard times - and so did your business.

So if you have always wanted to try your hand at entrepreneurship because you have that ONE great idea - or really want to grow your business and take it to the NEXT LEVEL; make 2010 the year you simply go for it.

Never live your life with regret - you'll never know if it could work, unless you work to make it happen.

Happy 2010!

Last week we asked people to tell us what ONE word summed up Christmas for them.  We had a great response & are very happy to now "show off" our EMN Christmas WordCloud! 

Thank you to everyone who submitted their Christmas Words to us...

Enjoy!

Christmas means so many different things to so many different people. It's a season, it's a feeling, it's a tradition, it's..... 

What is it?

EMN is looking to make a huge Christmas Wordcloud. We are going to be collecting single words from everyone - words that sum up the feeling of Christmas. Nouns, adjectives, colours, scents, foods, places, gifts, people, you name it, BUT it has to be just one word. 

 One. 

 Are you up for the challenge? Tweet your word to @EMN_Canada – retweet it to your Twitter followers & put them to the “EMN one-word-Christmas challenge”. We’ll put the Wordcloud up Friday December 18th.  Be creative and have fun! 

Joy!

The Enterprising Moms Network knows how vital and important utilizing social media for business is.  Recently, we have set up a Facebook Fan Page & Twitter ID for the network as a whole. Some of our chapters are currently using Facebook and Twitter for their indivicual chapters - which is great! - and to have one that is representing the whole network of chapters is a logical step. 

 So, that being said, the Facebook Fan Page & Twitter ID are now set up! Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Enterprising-Moms-Network/192701896723?v=wall 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/EMN_Canada 

With our new EMN Facebook Fan Page, ALL of the EMN chapter directors across Canada will be Admins, so the information that you'll see there will be all-inclusive & help you to keep up to date on Network happenings across the country! We'll also be maintaining our own chapter's Fan Pages, so between the 2 of then, you'll have an enormous amount of networking at your disposal! 

 Also, the main EMN Fan Page will have a feed to our EMN Blog, so blog entries from www.enterprisingmomsnetwork.com will show up in the news/live feed of the Fan Page too. 

 We hope you will all join to become "fans" of the EMN Fan Page, and follow us on Twitter - see you there! 

This week the Enterprising Moms Network found out something very exciting regarding our Charity Blogging at the 2009 Whistler Film Festival. As we mentioned in one of our posts, there was a potential bonus for our charities. Silk Concept Duvets very generously donated a Mulberry Silk Deluxe Duvet that will be awarded to one blogger. The $800 value of this duvet, combined with the VIP gift bag, would bring the total gift value donation to our charity at $1,800.00. 

 We were told this week by Gabrielle Durning of the Uptown Gift Box Company, that the EMN charity (BC Children's Hospital Foundation) would be the recipient of the Silk Concepts Duvet!

Thank you again to everyone who followed our blog, and followed us on Twitter, retweeting our posts and comments!  

(Photo of WFF Bloggers Lounge courtesy of Stimuli Magazine) 

Well, I think that just about wraps it up! It's almost 5 o'clock on the west coast and that means it's the end of the Bloggers Lounge at the 2009 Whistler Film Festival.

 Taking part in an event such as this definitely draws a correlation between the business of being a mompreneur and connecting with community. It also shows moms in business the strength in social media, and how important it is to incorporate elements such as blogging into your business. For the Enterprising Moms Network to be able to take part in the 2009 Whistler Film Festival’s Charity Bloggers Lounge while giving back to the community by way of the $1,000.00 VIP Gift bag donation to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, is absolutely an honor and a privilege. 

 Thank you again to Gabrielle Durning of the Uptown Giftbox Company - for an excellent experience - you are fabulous! It was wonderful to meet all of the bloggers and exhibitors, as well as the attendees of the festival.  

See you in 2010 - that's a wrap!

Yes, this is the Enterprising Moms Network, but we've always empasized that one of the beauties of our network is that you don't have to be a Mom to be part of us. 

 However, I don't think we have an children that are members. 

 That might have to change... 

 As Gabrielle Durning gave us a tour of the VIP Lounge at the 2009 Whistler Film Fest, she showcased each and every one of the products and told us the story about each company. They were all interesting (of course) but by far, the most interesting story was that of Nicole Hein. 

At the age of TWELVE years old, Nicole started her own company - Tu-Bees Foods Inc. Tu-Bees Foods provides consumers with a convenient and unique way to enjoy the great taste of Saskatchewan honey with the use of Tu-Bees squeezable tubes. The soft laminate tubes are compact and portable, providing a clean and easy product to take with them while on the go.

The story is that two years ago, Nicole wanted a horse. And her mom said that somehow, she would need to raise some funds and show responsibility for having a horse. 

 So Nicole went out and started her own company. And two years later, she's very, very successful with it! Since Tu-Bees began, Nicole and Tu-Bees have been featured on CTV News, CBC News and Radio, Local TV stations, as well as in newspapers and magazines. Because of this, Tu-Bees has gone from being sold locally to being available in stores throughout Saskatchewan. Tu-Bees is slowly expanding into neighboring provinces and presently has two distributors that provide worldwide shipping to both consumers and retailers. 

Incredibly inspiring story. Enterprising Kids, it could be the next big thing.... 

Check out more about Nicole and Tu-Bees at their website: www.tu-bees.com