You Do Have Time.

Working moms and stay-at-home moms frequently ask me how on earth I have time to run several businesses at once. The answer is simple: I stay organized. Who has time to stay organized and enhance productivity while watching the kids *and* trying to communicate with customers and vendors and clients? You do.

“Business” sounds daunting and tiring and to some, impossible. But with a few keys steps to organizing and enhance productivity, you will be happy to know that getting down to business only requires a few simple activities.

1. Create a list. (Notice that I am writing this in list form). If you are a Mom, you are probably already a queen of list-making. There are a variety of programs on the computer to help, from “Stickies” to Outlook to iCal to Gmail. I tend to prefer the old-fashioned paper lists. But, what’s a list without checking it twice? If you are like me, create that extra sticky that you put on your bathroom mirror that reminds you to read all the other lists you created.

2. Check it out. “It” is your business idea. You can check it out in a myriad of ways–talking to friends, asking strangers, or checking books out and reading up on your business area that will enhance productivity. There are local groups to join, both in your hometown and in online forums. We Mommies are professionals when it comes to checking on what to buy, get and give to our kids. We read up on the healthiest foods or the best clothing or the top brands, and in doing so, thoroughly research what our little clients will really take to. That skill translates exquisitely to product or service-based research. If you are hesitant about diving in and starting up your business, or you have started it up but are in a rut (why aren’t people buying my product?) then reconnect with this research aspect and check it out.

3. Join the web. I don’t mean for you to pay a fee or join a specific club (although you can do those things too). No matter how web-savvy you think you are, there is more to learn. And even after Googling for 24 hours a day, there will not be enough time to explore all of the avenues in which you can advertise, promote, market and learn about ways to grow your business and enhance productivity. I have spent the last 14 years becoming an expert on web research and promotional marketing and with each month that goes by, there are a thousand new ways to promote out there.

4. Find your domain name. You need a unique URL, and this step should not be an afterthought for the creation of your business. Once you have found your domain name, buy it! You can check out sites like GoDaddy.com or Register.com to see if one is available. Buying a domain name does two things for you. Practically speaking, it gives you a home base for your new business for under $10 and you can have a functional website and personal email addresses ready to go. But, more importantly, it makes the running of your business a reality for you. A few clicks around Google to research your industry won’t inspire you in the same way that the actual purchase of your company’s online home will.

5. Stay the course. Once you start talking to stores, clients, customers, and others who may be interested in what you are selling, be persistent. Do not take “no” for an answer the first time. Or the second time. It took Charlie Chaplin four years until one of his films, The Kid, was a great success. It took Howard Schultz, the man who started Starbucks, several years to convince friends and investors that his idea of chain coffee stores was a good one. And, once you have set your business in motion and go back to those friends who helped you taste-test your business idea, and those same folks raise their brows or tell you that it was silly to really go for it, pay them no mind. No one will ever be more excited about your business idea than you.

Oh yeah, when do you have time to do this? When the kids are napping, and when they’ve gone to sleep. When they’re at school, and when they’re at daycare. The brilliant part about becoming a work-at-home Mom (WAHM) is that you do not have to follow the rigorous, anti-productive schedule of a 9-to-5 job. Ever since my firstborn arrived, I enhance productivity than ever–but it’s in bits and pieces with constant interruption. That kid-interruption has become a very welcome break to what would otherwise be a long, monotonous day.

You know you can do it. And now you know that you have the time.