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  “I worked for a menial’s hire, Only to learn, dismayed,

 That any wage I had asked of Life, Life would have gladly paid.”

Jessie Rittenhouse (1869-1948)

   How many times have you caught yourself saying, “oh, my customers will never pay that!” or “I can’t raise my rates / prices or I’ll lose accounts!” Life, the universe, and your customers will pay you what you what you internally feel like you deserve. Believe it or not, you have already setup your business to pay you exactly what you really feel you’re worth!

   Remember all of those business to-dos that you know would help your bottom line but you just can’t seem to get to?  It’s called self-sabotage!

   Maybe we can change that.

   What if, by chance, you absolutely had the best services and business in town (or on the internet)?

 Imagine this…

What if all phone calls and emails were answered promptly? People don’t have to wait on customer service.

What if the person who answers the phone for your business always answered sounded like they were having a really great day? (I’ve actually heard business owners complain to employees that they sounded “too happy” when they answered the phone. Unbelievable! )

What if customers felt better after dealing with your company (even if it was only for an oil change!)

The bathrooms at your place were sparkling clean and smelled nice. (”Wow, they even notice the details enough around here, right down to the bathroom!”)

What if all of your marketing materials, brochures, business cards, ads, and signs looked neat, clean, professional, and consistent?

What if your customers never felt as though they were a nuisance to you or anyone that worked for you? (Whichever employee is in your head as doing the opposite of that all of the time should get fired tomorrow! They are really costing you business and $$$. If that person is you, you are officially in the throes of something known as “burnout”. (See the links at the bottom of this article for more info.)

What if there was a candy bowl of peppermints and chocolates available to the waiting customers, for free.

If it’s a one-on-one business, perhaps they send you a wonderful birthday card every year with a great coupon that really makes you feel appreciated and valued as their customer. They know your name and they ask about your kids every time you do business with them. You really “feel” like a regular.

Maybe there is a rewards / loyalty card program. (Buy 6, get 1 free)

In other words, this business that we are imagining really seems to pay attention to their customers and actually like them. Someone has really put some thought and effort into making their customers feel at home. They are treated so well that they don’t want to go somewhere else, even if the prices go up!

Now, let me ask you another question. Why isn’t that business that we are talking about your business?

Just a thought.

Comments? Additional thoughts to add to this list? I’d love to hear them. Add your comments to this article and let it be known!

Additional Links Of Interest:  The Four Stages Of Burnout (outside link)

Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches

   Ok ladies, you might as well print this one out to keep stashed somewhere in case you ever need it. It was a spur of the moment creation that turned out fantastic!

   I made meatballs for the first time and had way too many leftover. The kids weren’t interested in a spaghetti re-run so I came up with this instead. We called them “Captain’s Sandwiches” after perhaps the captains on a ship carrying Sponge Bob. In any case, my 6 and 3 year old kids had clean plates within 5 minutes. “Two thumbs up“, my son said with a big smile. ‘Nuff said!

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes (max)

Ingredients:

Leftover meatballs and some leftover spaghetti sauce, if meatballs are dry

Slices of heavy bread (I used 12 grain bread)

Grated cheddar cheese (you could also use sliced american cheese, if that’s all you have)

Optional Ingredients:

I mixed in a little bit of leftover Rice-A-Roni to finish it up (which was tasty)

Next time, I’d like to try smothering the whole thing in mushrooms, peppers, and onions that have been sauteed. (Then, put the cheese on top of that.) Lots of added veggies would help to up your intake for the day.

Directions:

Turn your oven on the broiler setting, so it’s starts to heat up. Get out your meatballs and cut them down into small bitesize pieces. Place slices of bread onto a cookie sheet. (An adult female will probably eat two of these, so number your slices according to that.) Place meatball pieces on bread. You’ll need to top with a little bit of leftover spaghetti sauce if your meatballs don’t have any left and are a little dry. Layer on veggies or rice, if using. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Place in oven under broiler and watch carefully. Mine were done in less than 5 minutes!

Enjoy!

Ok ladies, it’s time to share a little bit about you and your business.

Here’s the deal:

   IF: you are a mom, who has her own business, I would love to hear more about you and your business!

Please post a comment to this blog entry with:

1. your name (or internet nickname if you prefer)

2. list your state / country

3. how many kids you have and their general ages (i.e. 2 kids, ages 6 mo. and 8 years)

4. the name of your business

5. how long you have had your own business [In business since: (year goes here)]

6. the web address / URL for your business (or how many websites / blogs you have and a link to your main one)

7. what your biggest issue is with either your business or managing your family

8. Tell us if you have a day job, other job, or if this is your sole source of income for yourself (your hubby’s income doesn’t count here).

Play by the rules and get yourself listed. (It doesn’t matter if your business only services people in your own community, around the world, or is just internet based.) Other moms really need to know that their are others out there just like them!

It’s a really sweet deal in the age where it seems like everything costs you something – this will cost you nothing but a little bit of your time. Now, how cool is that? That’s the way it oughta be – moms helping other moms!

Writing for neatness – Kindergarten and above

I have often had people ask me what I did to make my son write so neatly for a kindergartener. It all comes down to this – do you encourage neatness and writing s-l-o-w-l-y when getting your child to complete those pages of tracing (and freehand) letter practice? I noticed early in the school year, that his writing was horrible. It was at that time that I said to myself, “whoa, wait a minute, that really looks like chicken scratch! No way. We really have to do this right, otherwise what’s the point???”

If, when we first teach writing to our children, we do not encourage a child to exactly follow the form that is given on paper, to tell them to write slowly and do their absolute best, then just when are we going to do it? After they have already formed those little neural connections in the brain? Why train the brain to write bad letters when you can do it right the first time?

So here is exactly what I said, word for word. “Hey, wait a minute there. Let me see the paper that you are working on. Now, I want for you to take a look at their letters and then take a good look at yours. Do your letters look exactly like theirs?” He answered no. “Well then, we should re-do those letters that don’t look right. Right now, you are training your brain and your hand to write. And if you don’t practice making it look nice, then that won’t happen. Don’t you want your handwriting to look nice?” He answered yes. “Well then, do this part over (stop here and erase the worst of the letters) and this time, really take your time to make it look nice. You want to do you absolute best. Your handwriting says alot about who you are. Now, go ahead and try it again.”

When your child has finished their paper, have them point out to you what their favorite letters are on the paper. You can even have them circle those letters that they really like. I usually conclude a great handwriting session with, “now that is work you can be proud of!” That work gets posted immediately on the refrigerator, just like art! It should be shown off!

I believe after going through it all, that you have to teach children which of their work is their best. Teach them what to be proud of so they will know the difference!

It seems like all of a mom’s time before this age and stage is spent constantly telling our children that their work is: wonderful! That’s great! You did a good job! We do it for every little thing that they complete or do. I have totally done all of that. But at some point, we have to start telling our children that it is going to take some practice to get really good at something (like basketball, playing piano, riding a bike, swimming, standing on one foot, writing, math, spelling, etc., etc.). If we tell them that everything looks good, how are they to know the difference?

I was brought to all of this thinking by an old book that I read a long time ago. It was a book from the 1860’s that referring to teaching young ladies who were newly married how to sew for their home. The author said,

“I hope that when you were just learning to sew, as you were making clothes for your dolls out of the scraps that your mother gave you, that your mother carefully inspected all of your stiches. She surely would have pulled out any stiches that were incorrect and made you do them over until they were perfect. If she did not, then she has done you a disservice.”

I think that this passage is a huge indicator of the times. We seem to encourage quantity over quality these days. Imagine, if you only had to teach your child the 3 R’s, as they used to be called (’riting, reading, and ‘rithmetic), you would really focus in on every aspect and detail.

So what is a mom to do? Many of us work outside the home. Even if we don’t, we are left to care for all of the cooking, housework, and caring of all of the children by ourselves. Our children are asked to learn so many more subjects than they were 40 years ago. It is impossible to  teach every single subject and skill in great detail.

I would say that a pretty good method is to selectively focus on certain things, subjects, or skills that really seem to demand careful attention in relation to the other things that you are teaching your children. I consider careful handwriting practice to be one of those selective focus items.