Enterprising Moms Network Inc

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!

Many first time business owners have a hard time deciding whether or not to go it alone as a sole proprietor, to take on a partner or if they should incorporate.

Below you will find some useful tips to think about when making this important decision.

A Sole Proprietorship is the easiest out of the three to start up. The start up costs are low as a Sole Proprietor, and there are great tax advantages (write offs) to the owner. The only drawback is that there is no name protection as a Sole Proprietor and there is no protection/separation between you and your business (ie if your business is sued or the business loses money, then you are personally liable as well.

A Partnership is when two or more people decide to combine their skills and resources and go in to business together. Both parties involved are responsible for the overall management of a business, and each are personally liable for all debts with the business.

When entering in to a Partnership business, is important to outline the terms and conditions of your partnership in a legal agreement. In the agreement you will need to outline how you want to share the profits.

A Corporation is a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owner(s). With a corporation, you have limited liability. The owner and the company are separate and distinct. The name of the Company is also protected.

When you are seeking to incorporate a company, it is best to consult with a lawyer to review all the circumstance regarding shareholders, reporting and maintaining proper records. Incorporating a company is the most expensive venture to start out of the three options.

Name: Lisa Williams

Business: Optionelle Fashion Consultant

EMN Chapter: Sunshine Coast

Looking back I can see that turning forty was a bigger deal to me than I realized at the time. It was about that time I started to really pay attention to where I was in life and where I was going. It was also the time I realized that I was not where I wanted to be and if I didn’t make some changes I was never going to get there. I chose motherhood rather than the career route in life and although I did graduate from high school I did not carry on academically. I think there are many women out there just like me and for this reason I am happy to share my story of where I am today and how I got here. In my early 40’s I had entrepreneurial hobbies; I ran a small photographic business, I was a bed and breakfast owner/operator, I worked with my husband as a home inspector and I started a website maintenance service, all of these gave me freedom but not enough pay check so I worked for others in jobs that gave me a pay check but they took away my freedom and the pay checks were never big enough to get me closer to my dreams. It was out of frustration of not having both, money and time that put me on the path I walk today.

After a few years of beating myself up for falling short of my dreams I began my journey of identifying my strengths and clarifying my wants and needs. Our 3 grown children, now 17, 21 and 23 years old, still need me to be a mom but not in the way they did as younger children so I was now free to do what I wanted. What I wanted was to earn a comfortable living doing something I loved! I wanted to be one of those women who say “I love what I do” and mean it. My advice for other mom’s in business is – don’t wait until you are over 40 to do what you love and love what you do, start earlier if you can. Your family will thank you for it.

For me it started with being approached by a woman I knew casually, she invited me to consider a career as a fashion consultant; my first response was no thank you I am not interested. Respectfully she gave me an informational package to read in the off chance my interest changed. I did read the material and realized that a fashion consulting business did fit into my newly formed list of criteria better than I thought and the question “why not?” came to mind. I started my new career as a fashion consultant March 2009 and as I gain experience I gain confidence and the realization “I love what I do!” One challenge I have is treating my business as a business and not a paid hobby, working from home with flexible hours requires discipline and practise. Dropping everything when a girlfriend calls “to meet for coffee” has a direct impact on my bottom line and my ability to earn a comfortable living. The most rewarding part of my business is seeing the sparkle in women’s eyes when they discover how beautiful they look with the right clothes for their body type. Watching their confidence grow and seeing their outer beauty matching their inner beauty; their transformation is intoxicating to me.

As part of my business I offer a Wardrobe Makeover Service specifically for women who hate to shop or just don’t know what to shop for. I help women minimize their wardrobe, organize and coordinate their closets with clothes that work well together taking the stress out of daily dressing; filled with the right outfits; helping them look fabulous on every given day. Typically 80% of the clothes in our closets just hang there taking up space because they don’t fit, don’t appeal or just don’t go with anything else in the closet. Why are we still saying “I have nothing to wear?”

I am an Optionelle fashion consultant, working from my home boutique on the Sunshine Coast through home parties, private consultations and educational workshops. I have the freedom to take my services anywhere in the world and I do! I can be reached at: lisa.optionelle@gmail.com. To learn more about Optionelle go to: www.optionelle.com. Who knows? This could be a career for you too; we are always looking to build the Optionelle team with women who love what they do.

"Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know that, so it goes on flying anyway." - Mary Kay Ash, Entrepreneur

Much of the success in business is about setting some goals and just going after them.

Success is not achieved by worrying about how you are going to accomplish or thinking about all the ways you might not succeed or picturing all the potential customers that will say no. Successful people are passionate about what they want to do.

Obstacles only fuel that fire. They have the attitude - "Why shouldn't it be me?" "Why shouldn't I have that?"

So, copy the bumblebee. Just go out and do what you have been putting off. Think of all the ways you are going to succeed and do the stuff you need to do, one thing at a time, to bring that success to you.

- Fiona Walsh, owner of FM Walsh & Associates http://www.fmwalsh.com

If you are like me and have an office at home, then you know how hard it is sometimes to keep things neat and tidy. Let's face it - sometimes those stray toys somehow find their way in to the office space - driving every mom entrepreneur crazy!

Last Sunday, I had to declutter my home-office and was stunned by the amount of paper and clutter I had accumulated in a matter of weeks.

If you are thinking about doing some decluttering in your home-office, here is some great advice from our own EMN member and resident "organizer" Rhonda Shroker of the Clutter Calmer.

Five Tops Tips to Get Your Home-Office Organized

1. My top tip for organizing your home office would be to attack it sooner rather than later as it will only grow larger.

2. Sort into "like" categories:
Keep - anything you are currently using - files, tools, equipment and so on
Does not belong here - have a box to return to all of these items to their home after you are done
Archive files - find proper storage containers and locate else where, be sure to label the outside clearly
Garbage

At this point you will know if you require any new storage containers, remember to give yourself a minim of 20% extra space to grow in to.

3. If you keep more than one category of filing, for example , both for Office and Home, colour code and group them for easy recognition.

4. You will have created a mound of things that you need to address. Prioritize them and if you are unable to do them right away - have a date and time on your calendar to complete them.

5. And finally - Make your new system work with your priorities by creating a weekly or monthly schedule for all of your activities. This will help to keep you organized from this point forward!

Rhonda Shroker, The Clutter Calmer http://www.thecluttercalmer.ca

It's that time of year again - SavvyMom Media has launched their SavvyMom Entrepreneur of the Year Award!

For those Canadian mom entrepreneurs who are not familiar with the contest, let me fill you in on all the exciting details.

SavvyMom Media celebrates great ideas and innovative solutions developed by Canadian moms by holding an annual contest that awards one lucky winner with some amazing prizes!

The winner - Canada's top mom entrepreneur - is voted on by YOU and will win over $15,500 worth of cash and professional services to help take her business to the next level.

The grand prize includes:

• A Cash prize of $5,000 for investment in the business

• A Q & A feature on TodaysParent.ca

• A full year business mentorship with Canadian Sitter Inc. founder Martha Scully

• A workplace productivity assessment and program courtesy of Clear Concept Inc.

• A consultation and 90 day action plan courtesy of Limelite PR

• A Search Engine Optimization assessment courtesy of Eighty8 Online

Wow -what an amazing opportunity for one lucky mom entrepreneur!

Plus its a great "feel good" award for all moms who are nominated because it allows mom entrepreneurs to be recognized for all their hard work and perserverence.

Enterprising Moms Network is a proud Sponsor of this National Award that celebrates being a mom entrepreneur.

So if you know of an amazing mom entrepreneur - nominate them today by visiting www.momentrepreneuraward.ca.

And pass it on! Who knows? Maybe the next Mom Entrepreneur of the Year could be YOU!

Here’s an excerpt from Entrepreneur Magazine that talks about women’s business organizations that I found interesting:

Women's business organizations have been instrumental in shaping the nature of contemporary networking organizations.

With the proliferation of women business owners in the 1970s and '80s and the difficulties they had in joining the "old-boys' networks" in place, many women formed structured, well-organized groups that met to network and provide professional support.

These groups were created not as service clubs but as bona fide networking organizations. Many made no pretenses; the members were there to
network, and everything else was secondary.

Women's business organizations are very diverse. The one thing they have in common is that they tend to be concerned with education and professional development as well as networking. Some are casual contact
networks; some are strong contact networks. Others are industry-specific professional associations, such as Women in Construction. The benefits of membership depend on the type of group you join.

For many women, such groups can be an excellent and nonthreatening way to increase their business.

Despite all that we've covered thus far, some people tell me they simply don't have time to go to business meetings regularly. I understand that objection well. If you feel this way, let me suggest that you stop reading this article, pick up your telephone and start making cold calls instead. Or, if you prefer, open your checkbook and start writing checks for more advertising.

If you're serious about developing word-of-mouth business, there is no quick fix; you must meet people in a planned and structured way.

Ivan Misner is the founder and CEO of Business Network International(BNI), which has more than 2,700 chapters throughout the world. He is also the author of five books, including his New York Times bestseller, Masters of Networking, as well as Entrepreneur Press' forthcoming Masters of Success

I am really excited about our upcoming chapter meetings. I think each one represents a very intregal part of doing business.

This week at our chapter meeting in Richmond on April 30th, we have David Newstead speaking about the Art of Negotiation. I think this topic is one that makes many of us nervous when we know we have to negotiate a price, a service or an agreement with someone. This is a great one to attend if you need to "brush up" or learn how to be a better negotiator.

In White Rock on May 21st, we have Kathie Madden speaking on "Business Ethics". It's something that is important to examine, not only when we are dealing with our customers, but how we deal with other business owners.

On the Northshore on May 28th, we have Heather White speaking on "Time Managment". It's something that as moms, we all struggle with on the family side of things, and business side.

And of course, we have our Third Annual Business Conference happening on June 13th at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, BC. This year's theme is "Get the Word Out!" To view the speaker line-up, CLICK HERE.

We also have an amazing networking evening scheduled from 6 - 8:30pm after the conference at the River Rock Resort, which includes special guests from the media. Tickets are limited this year, and are $35/person for members, and $45/person for non-members. To purchase your ticket, CLICK HERE.

And if you are thinking about becoming a member this year - we've made joining even easier with our Easi-Pay Membership - $20.00 gets you started today!

Come out to a meeting this month and see why EMN is the place to be for all mom enterpreneurs!

We are pleased to announce the Third annual Enterprising Moms Business Conference is happening on Saturday, June 13th at the River Rock Casino in Richmond from 11 - 5pm.

The theme this year is "Get the Word Out!"

We are focusing on the various ways to promote your business and make your mark. You can have the best business in the world, but if no one knows about it - how will you succeed?

The afternoon is free to attend, with a donation made at the door to the Ronald McDonald House.

Each year, EMN features amazing business experts and successful mom entrepreneurs to share their knowledge and wisdom with us. It is an inspirational and educational day for those with a business idea, or those who are taking their business to the next level.

In addition, the conference is also a platform for moms to showcase their businesses - which range from small, part-time business, to successful established businesses, with many in-between.

It's also an opportunity to network with other women business owners, which is why we are holding an evening networking reception from 6 - 8:30. It will be open to everyone who wants to network with other mom-run businesses in the community.

Tickets to attend are on-sale now online at: http://www.enterprisingmomsnetwork.com/business-conference-2009

Speakers for this conference will be announced on April 10th- so check back soon!

If you want to showcase your business, please email info@enterprisingmomsnetwork.com for a registration form.

We look forward to seeing you there!