Mom Masterminds - Latest Comments

Re: Really Working at Home Again At Last

Work at Home Dad — Fri, 07 May 2010 12:06:55 -0000

Wow goodluck! I am working at home and it is really rewarding.

Re: Really Working at Home Again At Last

Nikki Brown — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 22:21:20 -0000

Yea Kelly! I'm so excited for you. :)

Re: You Don’t Have To Be A Video Star

Cindi Moomettes — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:40:28 -0000

Great inspiration! I was hesitant to do video too (especially as a Baby Boomer, competing with all the sweet young things!) But grandmom took the plunge, and did it on a topic most people would avoid!

Listen up to Kelly - Grab the brass ring and just DO IT! Here's my very first Vlog http://clicky.me/Rl5

Re: Really Working at Home Again At Last

Jennwahm — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:09:41 -0000

Love the new house! Congratulations on getting back to working in your pjs!

Re: Really Working at Home Again At Last

Tishia - No More Plus Size — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:44:18 -0000

I love the new house! It's so big and spacious and even has a very special room - MY room ;-) I can't wait to come crash there for a few days and hang with you and Angel!

Re: Really Working at Home Again At Last

Lynette Chandler — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:43:20 -0000

Kelly I so love the energy that comes out of all your little adventures they are just oozing with positiveness PLEASE teach me the art of staying that way :-) anyhow, wishing you all the best in your new location and yes you can! Oh and uh... when are you going to post pictures?

Re: Really Working at Home Again At Last

Stephanie Watson — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 01:53:45 -0000

This is wonderful news! Congratulations!

Re: You Don’t Have To Be A Video Star

Kimberly Sams — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:45:36 -0000

Very cool video btw - I like the reality feel to it, very right on these days :) And I've always like gritty realism in film, that's my favorite style.

Re: You Don’t Have To Be A Video Star

Kimberly Sams — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:43:27 -0000

I thought you were wearing a hat when I first saw this, LOL, then I realized it was the lampshade in the background, ha, ha, too funny. It reminded me of photography classes in college where they joke about background placement, because you can end up with some pretty funny stuff. It just struck me as funny and I had to point it out :) Sorry but my mom and I suffer from what we call "inapropriate laughter", something strikes us as funny even though it is serious and we just can't help ourselves. It's very immature, I know :) I think this video is a good example of not being too picky and not being afraid to just do it, and having great end results. I do some local acting on the side and I loved film and theatre in college and you think I would do tons of video, but, no...sigh...it would be so much fun too, and would really blend nicely with my art and my "Stage Dragon" brand. Hopefully this will inspire me to do more :) Thanks for the encouragement Kelly!

Re: Are You Shooting For The Wrong Goal?

Shelley DuPont — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 09:57:51 -0000

Oh, my goodness. The story of my life! In fact, I even know what's it's like to head towards the wrong goal in sports. Each comment hit a truth with me. I know I want to teach businesses about blogging. Loving the net and learning about new things can easily disorient me and make me wonder if I'm on the right track. Also, I'm not sure I know how to make a business plan correctly. Team playing is definitely a requirement if we're going to learn how to get past our own foibles. I'm here and ready to take my position!

Re: Are You Shooting For The Wrong Goal?

Shelley DuPont — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 09:56:57 -0000

Re: Three Strategies For Breaking Through A Business Funk

seeking wahm — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:14:41 -0000

thanks for the three strategies. can't wait to try them out.

Re: Three Strategies For Breaking Through A Business Funk

seeking wahm — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:14:00 -0000

thanks for the strategies. can't wait to give them a shot.

Re: Three Strategies For Breaking Through A Business Funk

Now In Pre-Launch — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:20:15 -0000

Hi Kelly,

I loved the third point of Forgiving People. It is the most important thing in today's world and it helps in every aspect of life. And i will be trying the Brain dump point which sounds very interesting. I hope it works as it did for Kimmoy.

Re: Three Strategies For Breaking Through A Business Funk

Kimmoy — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:26:24 -0000

I did Strategy #2 over the weekend and oh my gosh, it was such a relief! It was eye-opening, which was funny because I've heard about this technique a million times but never did it. I have a place to put all my ideas but not tasks, so weird now that I think about it lol. So I decided to write out and organize all the tasks I'd like to outsource. Now I know exactly what to focus my time on and feel energized to push forward.

Re: Let Me Pop Your Business Bubble

Michelle Waters — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:35:10 -0000

This is so true!

I've spoken with dozens of mompreneurs who have an idea for a business, but upon further questioning, they have no idea who's going to buy. I talk to the client and find out she doesn't know who her target market really is and she haven't researched the competition. Often, she has no idea how to do these things.

She also doesn't know how she would scale up her operations in the event that her product or service did become wildly successful. A friend of mine, several years ago, owned a business that became so successful, her who family was spending their days fulfilling orders. She ended up shutting down the business because she didn't know how to outsource.

Even worse, most mompreneurs I see tend to ask for most of their advice from other people who are in the same boat they're in.

BTW, Kelly's survey tool is awesome. I have used it myself.

Re: Setting Priorities For Your Internet Business

Tishia Lee — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:05:13 -0000

I've got my priorities set for not only the week but each day this week. Yeah me :-)

Re: Know When To Renegotiate

Debra Conrad — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:20:08 -0000

When I was a service provider... (faux painting) I always stuck with the price I quoted unless (Big Unless) they changed something or said "While You Are Here". I charged by the job... and I can't tell you how many times I "undercharged".

My hubby is in a service business (computer repair) and we love that phrase... we call it the "buying keyword"... WYAH. LOL. He charges by the hour so we don't have a problem with negotiating.

On the other side of the coin... I will negotiate a better deal with someone - but only if I think I'm being fair. If I think I'm taking advantage - I get a creepy feeling - and can't stand it.

Also... on more note. I have and do often send those that provide services to me an extra bonus if the work exceeded my expectations. And - not some piddly bonus either. Something that will make them say Wow... and really want to keep working for me.

Plus... if the customer service is spot on... I'm willing to pay bigger dollars for services. If you make me feel like the most important client in the world - you bet I will listen to your request for higher fees.

Re: Know When To Renegotiate

Kelly Mccausey — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:29:13 -0000

Ouch Christina!

I guess you could create predetermined negotiation points in a long term project.

IE: "My bid for the first month is this, after 30 days we'll meet to discuss how things are going and I'll let you know if my experience is lining up with my estimation."

Re: Know When To Renegotiate

Alyssa Avant — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:27:27 -0000

Have been here more times than I care to admit. Such truth here.

Re: Know When To Renegotiate

Kelly Mccausey — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:27:20 -0000

I agree Melissa. When you NEED income you tend to do whatever it takes to keep it coming in, even if that means working for a low wage.

Re: Know When To Renegotiate

Christina Lemmey — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:22:13 -0000

Unfortunately I find myself in quandry #3. I underbid on a long term project and was just wondering if it was proper to tell the client I made a pricing mistake. What seemed easy at first (and what *should* be easy) is just taking way longer than I expected. If anything, it's my fault for thinking I could work faster than I am.

I even told the client that I couldn't complete the project as quickly as originally stated and it was OK with me if he wanted to find someone else to do the work. Of course, he said he was fine with the longer time frame (and probably knows he's getting a steal on the price!) and didn't pull the job.

Definite lesson learned but estimating is my biggest problem being a VA.

Re: Know When To Renegotiate

Melissa Ingold — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:51:02 -0000

Great post Kelly!

I don't really have any rules to add. But I do think that a lot of service providers who aren't getting much work, won't risk a renegotiation because they're afraid they will lose the work they have. So they buckle down and do the job in order to keep the money they were paid for the project, rather than having to give a refund or not get paid at all.

Once a service provider has a good client base and is making decent money, then I think they're more willing to say "no" and risk the loss rather than being overworked and underpaid on a project.

I think a service provider's ability to stand their ground and get paid what they're worth evolves as their business grows :-)

Re: What Do You Do With Your Notes From Conferences?

Tishia Lee — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:37:25 -0000

Oh great video Kelly! I didn't have time to even think about looking back through my notes until just recently. It was actually a bit overwhelming to look at my notes because I had so much information wrote down. There was some stuff that I had scribbled out and then some stuff that I tried adding notes to so there were notes all over the side margins, top margins, etc. It was a mess. So I shut my notebook and figured I'd never get any use out of them but after watching your video and hearing your idea of going back through to circle things that still stood out, etc I'm going to do that as well. I know there's lot of valuable information I wrote down and I don't want to just miss those little gold nuggets after all I wrote them down for a reason!

Re: Have You Found Your Breakthrough?

Kelly Mccausey — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:32:21 -0000

Hey John, the free Mom's Talk Network blogging internship involves writing on 'mom blogs' so naturally, the interns are moms :)

Anyone can take the Blog Internship course though - since they work on their 'own blog' :) Have you seen it here? http://www.bloginternship.com