Top 10 Components of your Entrepreneurial Marketing Plan and 21 Key Items to Track for Results! Kristie Tamsevicius www.WebMomz.com The key to any success business venture is havinga solid plan. While many entrepreneurs have abusiness plan, they fail to plan their promotionalefforts. A marketing plan will help you to create a cohesive approachthat best helps you to meet your goals. It should include specificobjectives, strategies for realizing each objective, and benchmarks formeasuring your results. Below are the 10 key items to include in yourmarketing plan and 21 ways to track your promotional results! EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Create a mission statementabout what specific objectives you are trying toachieve with your marketing campaign. Includewhether the scope of the campaign is local, regional,national, or international. "SWOT" ANALYSIS (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,and threats). This will include information aboutdirectly competitive and indirectly competitivebusinesses in your industry. TARGET MARKET: Write a clear definition of your target market, marketsegments, and major market trends and influences. MARKET RESEARCH: This will tell why your product isneeded in the marketplace and what specific ways yourproduct will fill that need. This will include uniqueselling points, competitive advantage, and productbenefits to consumers. MARKETING OBJECTIVES: Your marketing objectives andgoals will include measurable and deadlines by whichyou wish to achieve them. MARKETING TACTICS: Which promotional vehicles you willuse to meet the marketing objectives. DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS: What channels of distribution you will use tobring your product to the marketplace? ACTION PLAN: Here you will includes budgets, costs, and outlinesresources will be required to implement the marketing tactics. This willinclude financial, monetary, personnel, vendors, systems, resources andpartners you need to realize your marketing plan. TEST MARKETING: Make a list of any product research ortest marketing you need you will perform. TRACKING RESULTS: Method of tracking results to determine if yourpromotional efforts are effective. TRACKING YOUR PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNSAnother idea to keep in mind is testing and trackingyour publicity and promotional efforts. Measuring the effectiveness ofvarious ad campaigns will tell you which ads are working, which onesaren't, and will give you an opportunity to adjust your efforts toobtain optimal results. 21 Key items to track in your publicityand promotional efforts: name of campaign date the campaign was launched cost of campaign newsletters, sales letters, magazines, television, radio stations, or web sites where the advertising, stories, or press releases were sent and run where news story was published list of interviews generated sales inquiries generated new sales generated return customers generated new contacts added to your network new business partners created web traffic generated new newsletter subscribers overall revenue increase increased product revenues market share increase improvement in search engine rankings increase in sites linking to yours number of search engines listed in new speaking engagements obtained number of articles published prospects called Additionally, surveys can provide real-time feedback onproduct titles, product offerings, price points, preferred method ofcontact, and other key items. Survey Monkey ( www.surveymonkey.com ) is a free servicethat allows you to create surveys. What better way to findout what your audience needs them to ask them? Article by Kristie Tamsevicius, America's Favorite Small Business Success Story.This article is an excerpt from Chapter 8 of the new book " I LOVE MY LIFE: A Mom's Guide to Working from Home " by Kristie Tamsevicius - (Wyatt MacKenzie Publishing March 2003Available at Amazon.com Join our community of Work at Home parents at www.WebMomz.com . Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>

Dream Job By Sarah Costa Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from San Diego State University in 2000, I found myself with a dilemma. I wanted to be at home with my then 9-month old daughter as my husband and I agreed that staying at home with her would bring the most value to all of our lives; however, I also wanted to find a part time job to validate my degree I had recently completed and worked so hard to earn. Once Taylor turned a year old, I begin searching for a little part-time work from my home computer. Being only 23 at the time, I felt upon completing my graduation from college, that I seek some sort of position where I would be able to contribute to my family#146;s income at least in a small way and still be able to stay at home with our daughter. I stumbled upon a website called www.moneymakingmommy.com . Listed under available jobs was a remote concierge position for VIPdesk.com , Inc. I immediately was interested as I had just spent the previous few years before my daughter was born working as a concierge at a resort on Coronado Island, CA. At first, I admit I was somewhat hesitant about contacting the company as I had read and heard so much about non-legitimate work at home jobs. I decided to take a chance and just send in my resume. I immediately received a call from a manager at VIPdesk whom interviewed me right over the phone. Talk about convenience! He detailed the job position and the required duties. I had a good feeling about this new opportunity as they offered to train me in Los Angeles, pay for all my expenses in getting there as well as during my stay and never once asked for money upfront. Needless to say I was very excited about this new adventure. A few weeks later I was sent to LA for a few days of training. I had somewhat of a dilemma as to what to do with my daughter, as I was a stay-at-home mom with her being my first priority. They offered to give me a separate room and allow my daughter to come as well as my mother to act as my babysitter during the training. WOW!!! I thought that was the nicest gesture and very accommodating. After meeting my co-workers and completing the hands-on computer training at a computer training facility in Los Angeles, I had such a great feeling about this company and this new opportunity given to me. Basically my job tasks would include assisting clients via phone and email. Clients would send in requests for things such as travel information to restaurant reservations to flower orders to tourist information for cities ranging all over the United States via phone or email where I would be on the other end sending them recommendations. I began working a few weeks later and instantly fell in love with my job. Everything we did was over the computer from assisting clients, to checking our schedules, asking for time off, talking with other co-workers via instant messenger and researching requests. At that time, little phone interaction was even needed, as the Internet was an endless sea of information to sift through. Needless to say, I very much enjoy my job and feel blessed to have had the opportunity to work at such a rewarding position. My company truly values the family unit and the need for positions available for people whom believe in the importance of raising a family as well as seeking a career. I have been with the company now for almost 3 years and have experienced a lot of changes. I would have to say my company really values promoting from within and asking advice from all of its employees when change is needed. My company is based in Alexandria, VA so I had the opportunity to begin my shifts on Eastern Standard Time. I work 4 days a week from 5:00am-10:00am PST from my home computer in San Diego, CA. I now have an 8-month old son as well and have been able to adjust perfectly having two kids#146; home with me while completing my job tasks. This past year I was promoted to Senior Concierge. I feel that I make great money, have the flexibility of working part-time from my home computer while staying at home with my kids, as well as provide a necessary service to our clients. In today#146;s fast paced economy, people don#146;t have enough time in the day to hold down a full time job and make that needed restaurant reservation, purchase those flowers for a loved one, plan a family vacation, research prices and information on household service providers as well as a variety of other tasks that bombard a person on a daily basis. Our service provides that much needed relief for the everyday busy person. Working for VIPdesk has provided me with a sense of accomplishment to be able to juggle both a family and a career as well as contribute to my family#146;s income without any added stress. I feel my journey thus far has been exciting, rich in information and very rewarding. A large part of my co-workers chose to work from home without having to juggle a family or children as well but feel the importance of being able to telecommute in today#146;s hectic economy. I wish others would be so fortunate to be given the opportunity to work for such an appreciated company offering a valuable service to all of its clients. For more information about employment opportunities contact us at www.vipdesk.com . Headquarters: VIPdesk.com, Inc., 324 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, Telephone: 703-299-4422, Fax: 703-299-9767. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>

Television's Kurt The Cyberguy Picks MYCOOLCAREER.com , Press Release: This Wednesday, April 16, Kurt The Cyberguy's television news segment will feature MYCOOLCAREER.com , a new career exploration site for teens 20s! In late 2002, the site enlarged its scope, overhauled its look to "awesome", and just finished archiving it's 75+ web radio career shows for streaming 24x7 one week ago. And, it caught the eye of Kurt The Cyberguy. The 90-second segment will highlight high school senior, Erin Loveridge of San Pedro, California, talking about how MYCOOLCAREER.com , has helped her. The segment will air on Tribune Company television stations in Los Angeles (KTLA 5), New York City (WPIX), Chicago (WGN), Denver (KWGN), and Indianapolis in the morning and nightly news. It may also air on other Tribune television stations around the country as well. Jill Sanborne, site creator says, "I'm hoping we're helping lots of teenagers! Erin's concerns are typical of many high school students who want to pursue a career that they will love." Sanborne expands, "Erin needs to choose a college that fits her career dreams, she wants to figure out how to narrow the variety of dreams swirling around in her intelligent head, decide on which dreams to focus, get financial aid, and on and on." Sanborne is often heard on radio shows around the country talking about teens and their desperate search for more and better career information, why television is good, how today's workplace has dramatically changed, but the way we prepare our teens for the workplace hasn't, and how parents need to take on a new role: #1 Career Guidance Leader. This week's web radio interview is with Rebecca Morse, Art Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, California. This career was requested by a teen in New York who can't decide between being an art curator or a graphic designer. Sanborne says, "I get these kinds of questions all the time! MYCOOLCAREER.com , is designed to help these teens get to know themselves better and shows them how to explore their career ideas so that they can make the best decisions possible by the time they graduate from high school, and provides them with tools for a lifetime." MYCOOLCAREER.com ,, popular career exploration website for teens and 20's, features The 3 Steps To Your Cool Career and the info-packed 30-minute career interviews. Sanborne researches teens' needs and provides solutions to the challenges they face in preparing for rewarding careers, is a regular guest on talk shows, and speaks to teens and parent audiences about how teens can prepare for an awesome future. The site is recommended by CareerProNews.com , endorsed by Barbara Sher and the Los Angeles Unified School District Counseling Services K-12. More >>

Work Less and Earn More by Joan Sotkin Mary B. is a talented graphic artist. For years, she worked for a large corporation where her work was appreciated. Yet she yearned to be in business for herself. In September, 1995, she took the plunge and opened an independent graphic arts studio. Unlike many new entrepreneurs, Mary had a large enough bank account to survive for six months with a minimum amount of income. She also had many contacts from the corporate world that she could use to establish her customer base. Mary was in great shape to start her own business. Mary knew she was in a good position for success. She was also very conscientious and wanted to make sure that she did everything possible to make her business work. She put in long hours on the phone, going to networking meetings and planning her marketing. She wrote articles for local publications, volunteered her time when she had something to offer, and even appeared as a guest on a local talk show that had a business focus. When she did work for a client, Mary often worked to exhaustion to get the job done as quickly as possible. Mary began to realize that something was out of balance. Her whole life was wrapped around her business, and, although she had created a positive cash flow, she was no where near her earning potential. After a year in business, she was exhausted and constantly worried about where her next client was coming from. What Mary needed was to learn to let go and allow her life to happen -- rather than pushing to make it happen. She also needed to see her work as something she did during the day and not what defined her as a person. Although it was scary at first, Mary learned to set boundaries. She established specific hours that she would work. During the week, she limited herself to eight or nine work-related hours per day. Weekends were for her, not for the business, unless she chose to take a day off during the week. She set aside days that were specifically for her spiritual growth. During these days, business of any sort was entirely off limits.During the hours designated for work, Mary often took people breaks: having lunch with a friend, meeting with another graphic artist, talking to a far-away friend. She learned to have short breaks within her workday when she would focus on something other than her work. Mary also learned to spend 10 to 15 minutes each morning and 20 to 30 minutes every night, sitting quietly and letting her mind slow down. After a few months, she began doing specific meditation techniques. Because Mary had more time for herself, she started exercising regularly and found her energy levels increased rapidly. The big change for Mary was learning to let go in order for her business to take shape by itself. If she really wanted to go to networking meetings to be with other people she did. But she didn't push as hard to get new clients. Whenever she felt the fear of not earning enough coming up, she learned to take deep breaths and not take any overt action. Mary was amazed at the results of her new approach to life. It didn't take long for enjoyable projects to come her way. New clients started coming as a result of referrals rather than her marketing efforts. Within a few months, she was able to vendor out some of the work that came her way so that she could earn more without putting in extra hours. Mary also noticed that her business was moving in a new direction -- one she could not have foreseen if she kept plugging away and doing everything she thought she had to do before. Mary learned to take care of herself and her life became a reflection of that care. The less she pushed to make her business happen, the easier it was for it to support her. Mary's new-found trust in herself and how life works paid off for her. Mary never stopped paying attention to her business. She also had clear income goals and a picture in her mind of what she wanted her life to look like. What she stopped doing was pushing to create what she wanted in the way she thought she had to do it. She let herself believe that she could have what she wanted and let her life take shape. When we aim for a goal, if we don't take pauses in order for the energy of our life to reshape itself, everything we do comes from a previously known point of view. In order for something new to take form, we have to give it time for the energies to gather -- and shape themselves. What we have to do is not do anything and give our creation room to breathe. It may look like goofing off, but there is a lot going on deep within our creative being. Try taking longer pauses in your life. If you find the concept frightening, ask yourself what you are afraid of. Don't let the actions you take come from fear. Let them come from knowing that the action is the right one to take. That knowing can only come from a silent space that you create by not doing. Joan Sotkin is the creator of ProsperityPlace.com , author of "Build Your Money Muscles:9 Simple Exercises for Creating Wealth Prosperity" and "Prosperity Is an Inside Job" and publisher of Prosperity Tips, a free monthly ezine. Visit ProsperityPlace.com .Copyright copy;2003 by Joan Sotkin. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>

Business on a Shoestring By Kelley Watt I run my own business and what I love about it is that it didn#146;t cost any money to start, I set my own schedule around my family and it pays well. This business allows you to make money by charging whatever fee you feel is appropriate for your time and research. And, it is both fulfilling andfun.. I do textbook reviews and speak to community groups and organizations about the content of the books their children are using. You#146;d be surprised at thenumber of errors and important facts missing. The textbooks I am referring to are the one's provided by your public schools to teach your children. I began this business quite by accident in the winter of 1991. I went to pick up my elementary school aged son and arrived a little early. I noticedin the hallway a stack of books and thought it was a book fair. So I began looking through them and then noticed that they were all math books. Tomake a long story short, the principal of the school approached me and told me that I was not allowed to look at the books (which were positioned outside the school cafeteria in the hallway). I asked why, what were they and he replied "They are books up for adoption by the school district. Mathbooks.#148; He left, and my curiosity got the best of me so I started reading them again. He came over and told me he would call the police if I did not stop looking at the books. Being threatened for arrest for looking at a bookthat my son would be using the following year really got my attention. I knew something was wrong with this picture so to speak. That incident was the beginning of my journey. I started going to the school district and asking to look at textbooks. I was particularly interested in seeing what reading books were being used. The school administrative services office gave me a stack of books to read which were currently being read by first graders (I figured I#146;d start off with first grade and go up from there) and was shockedat what I found. The constant theme was to reward the characters in the stories for disobeying authority, whether it be; parent, grandparent, teacher, etc. After reading the first grade texts (the children would go through 5 books in the course of the year) I was fascinated with what I was discovering and wanted to tell other parents. It didn't take long for me to become known as the local "expert" and was soon being called to speak aroundtown followed by national requests. It's been very rewarding because it alerted me to, if nothing else, the need to remove my children from public education and enroll them in a private school (one that did not receivestate or federal money). I have met people from around the country who have the same passion and interest as I do. Speaking fees range from $25.00 to $250 an hour, plus travel expenses, depending on the size of the crowd and who issponsoring my speaking engagement. Even if you do it as supplemental incomeit really adds up and since very few people in the US are doing textbook reviews you will definitely get speaking engagements. There was a group outof Longview, Texas called "The Gablers" who were the first group to do textbook reviews. You can send off for their reviews for a minimum fee and speak directly from that if that suits you better. For example, go to your school and ask for a geography book then write to the Gablers and see ifthey have done a review on that particular book, if they have, read it and speak out publicly. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>

Writing Your Own Ticket By Leanne Ely There are plenty of women all over the country who would love to say, "I ama stay-at-home mom." Reality on the other hand, and the unpaid stack ofbills that greet the family each and every month, may not always give allwomen this opportunity. But that doesn't mean that's that--there are otherways to walk around that obstacle. Working from home could be the answer you're looking for. Working from homecan mean just about anything--from selling vitamins from a catalogue, ordoing medical transcribing, or doing something a little more unusual like Idid. Let me first say that my story is quite different and not the "norm". Andwhile you may look at what I do as being unattainable, the point is in thestory--not what I do. There is a good lesson to be learned no matter whatyour goals are. All my adult life, I've been into food. I cooked in a restaurant, started myown catering company and taught cooking classes. In the fight to keep mylittle ones healthy, I became a nutritionist. Finally, I wrote a book twoyears ago called Healthy Foods that got picked up by a small publisher. Iworked like a dog to get that book to take off and it finally did. Dr. Lauraeven featured it as a Book of the Week. Still, I wasn't bringing home the bacon as much as I wanted or needed to. SoI started teaching classes at the local junior college and sold my books tomy students in my classes and got paid for teaching, too. I wrote articlesfor various publications and got paid for my efforts. I wormed my way into afood writing job for a newspaper and got my own column. I kept writing, keptgetting paid--a little here, a little there, it all added up and helped. Aday didn't go by where I wasn't looking for other avenues to publish mywork. One of my projects was (and still is) a free ezine called Healthy-Foods: join-healthy-foods@ds.xc.org . People write me regularly telling mehow much they love my recipes and tips. I also write for FlyLady giving FlyLady's ladies recipes and tips in my Foodfor Thought column. One day, Marla Cilley, the FlyLady asked me to give theladies on her list a menu for the week with a bunch of crockpot recipes. Ithought throwing a grocery list in there would make it even better and I wasright. It was a huge hit, but it was also a LOT of work. The ladies clamoredfor more. One day my husband said to me, "Why don't you just CHARGE for it?"That resonated in my brain, and Menu-Mailer wasborn. The lesson here is one of perseverance. When you hang tough doing what it isyou love to do, using your God-given talents and abilities, and believing inyourself, miracles happen. For me, it's been an adventure and I've beenblessed to be able to write my own ticket. But the only reason that is so isbecause I worked very hard and pulled out the paper and the pen and wrote itmyself. You can write your own ticket, too. Make an assessment--figure out what itis YOU want to do, what your natural abilities and gifts are and startbuilding goals from there. Then don't back down! Stay dedicated to yourcause and keep your eye on the prize. It's worth the fight! Leanne Ely is the host of the radio show, Heart of a Woman. She is also theeditor of Menu-Mailer , the answer to that perplexing question, "What's forDinner?" and the author of the upcoming book,Menu-Mailer by the Book (Ballantine, 2003) as well as Healthy Foods(Champion Press, 2001) and The Frantic Family Cookbook (Champion Press,2002). Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>

The Millionaire Pattern How many times will you spend money today? Maybe 4-5? How many times will you save money today? Millionaires view expenditures differently than others do. They treat every dollar as a money seed. They know a dollar a day can grow into a million dollars. And they don#146;t just get a discount. They take the money saved and put into something that will create more income for them in the future. Want to reduce your expenditures? Make a plan for what you will spend for at least the next 90 days. Then, every week and at the beginning of every month, review your actual expenditures against your plan. Make adjustments as needed. On a daily basis, invest an extra minute#151;a Millionaire Minute, in each money transaction. Look at a couple of options. Don#146;t buy the first one, unless you just know in your gut, that#146;s the one. Ask for a discount, even if the store or seller isn#146;t offering one. All they can do is say no. Your exercise today is to note each time you spend money. At the end of the day, write in your journal how much you saved from today#146;s transactions. Then, make a conscious decision, #147;What will I do with those savings?#148; If it#146;s useful to you, do this daily until you have established the Millionaire Pattern. Copyright copy;2002 Millionaire Eagles. All rights reserved.Contact Robert G. Allen at boballen@robertallen.com or visit his website at www.robertallen.com for more information. Permission granted for this article for use on DrLaura.com. More >>

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What If You Could Duplicate Yourself? Debra Cohen www.homeownersreferral.com Imagine yourself as the owner of a thriving home based business. Your phone is ringing off the hook and there is a much greater demand for your product or service than you had anticipated. Soon, there are not enough hours in the day to complete all of the work and your business is taking valuable time away from your family (which was one of the reasons you decided to work from home in the first place!). It is a nice problem to have but what do you do? Many home based business owners are faced with that exact problem. While it's thrilling to see your business succeed, it's sometimes impossible to keep up the pace when you're the only employee. Ultimately, the quality of your service or product may suffer not to mention the toll that a home based business can take on your family life. The solution isn't to work harder; it's to 'duplicate yourself' so that other people can be trained to work like you. Convert your existing business into an easy to follow, step-by-step procedure manual. By systemizing the way that you work and documenting your business procedures, you can then market your business as a turnkey system for others to follow. And, with other satellite businesses like yours in place, you'll be able to refer work to them as opposed to trying to manage it all on your own. Six years ago, I launched a contractor referral business and within six months, had more clients than I could handle. If I continued to try to satisfy the workload, the quality of my service would have suffered, not to mention, my family life. I realized that not only was there a universal demand for my business service but other entrepreneurs were interested in a referral business concept so I decided to document my system so that others could duplicate this type of service in their area. If you think that there is a market for your business concept, the first step is to test the market. For instance, assuming that your business will appeal to other stay-at-home moms, conduct an informal market survey online and/or in local papers or magazines which are well read by other moms. You can run a short ad promoting your business opportunity and gauge the response. If there's an interest be sure to keep the names of those who contact you for future reference (of course!). Once you're confident that there's a demand for your business model it's time to start systemizing your business and documenting each step in detail. Take note of your day-to-day procedures, billing, customer service policy, advertising and promotion, public relations campaign as well as any insurance and licensing issues pertaining to your business. You should even tape record conversations with customers and suppliers so that you can document them in easy to follow dialogues for others to use as a guide. Imagine your reader to be a first time business owner with no previous experience and it's your job to teach them everything about your business from how to set up a home office to how to complete a cash flow statement. After documenting your procedures, select someone who isn't acquainted with your business to read through your manual. Your familiarity with your business may have caused you to overlook aspects of running it that need to be explained more clearly to a layperson. You can hire a business consultant to help you with the process or look into free business resources such as SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) or a local SBDC (Small Business Development Center). That person can also help you determine how to creatively package and set a price for your business product based on earning potential not to mention the quality of your materials. Finally, when your business manual is edited, bound and ready for sale, it's time to start promoting it to your target audience. Begin with the list of names you put together in step one and then expand to other media which are well read by aspiring entrepreneurs looking for a home based business. Duplicating yourself, and ultimately your business, will not only allow you to divest yourself of the work you're unable to handle but it will also help expand the profit center of your business. Best of all, it will enable you to share your home business success with other aspiring entrepreneurs. Debra Cohen is President of Home Remedies of NY, Inc.--a Homeowner Referral Network (HRN) which has served more than 500 residents of Nassau County, New York. Ms. Cohen is also author of a business manual entitled The Complete Guide To Owning And Operating A Successful Homeowner Referral Network , which is sold individually or as part of an HRN Business Package. To date, Ms. Cohen has assisted more than 225 other entrepreneurs launch successful HRN's all over the globe. For more information about starting an HRN in your area, visit the HRN website at www.homeownersreferral.com or contact Ms. Cohen directly at (516) 374-8504. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>

Home Office Management for Parents: 7 Tips for Managing Your Time copyright 2002, Debbie Williams As a home business owner you can budget your finances, create whiz-bang proposals, and effectively maintain a client list. But when it comes to working with unauthorized personnel, those under twenty and less than five feet tall, your mind draws a blank. The thought of your three-year-old picking up the phone and sharing her philosophy of life gives you the shudders, and you're not quite sure how to balance family time with productive work time. Use these 7 tips for managing your time, and effectively limit interruptions from your own residential staff. Set office hours and stick to them. Post this list on your frige or bulletin board where your family can see it, and remind yourself to close up shop at the appointed hour. Being accessible 24/7 is not the road to success if you are spreading yourself so thin that your family barely recognizes you and your phone rings around the clock. Focus on work during office hours, and then transition into parent and spouse mode at the end of your day. Performing a simple ritual such as closing your office door, straightening your desk, or making tomorrow's to do list will help you move from worker to parent in a simple but effective way, even if your commute home is just down the stairs or across the kitchen. Close the door and walk away, or put up a decorative folding screen to block the view of works in progress. If you walk by your home office or desk piled high with reports, it's hard to focus on what your family needs from you. Although many of us can and do multi-task quite well, it's fairly impossible to concentrate on everything equally well -- something you hear and respond to will suffer in the process. Mentally hang a CLOSED sign on your office door, and resist the urge to reopen for "just one more thing". Your family will thank you for it! Establish boundaries: create a "do not touch" pile or "do not enter" zone in your work area. Determine how much input you need from the members of your family when it comes to work, and let them know what you expect from them. If you allow your four-year-old daughter to color at your desk so you can keep her nearby, then don't be surprised when she colors your sales report or presentation handouts. Consider making a niche or small desk for her to use as her own office, complete with office supplies. Be sure to instruct her in the use of your office, such as what is usable and what is not allowed so that there are no future misunderstandings. If you do not want anyone in your work area under any circumstances, then tell your family your wishes up front. Don't wait until there is a disaster to notify them of the rules. One of my clients made her rules crystal clear by hanging a construction paper sign on her door: Stop Sign meant do not come in under any circumstances (work in progress). A yellow Smiley face meant come on in and keep me company- let's work together. Create phone rules such as: no talking allowed, use an inside voice, or whisper when mom or dad is on the phone, screen calls during melt downs or family time, do not allow children or unauthorized persons to answer your business line or only with instruction. Early in my business as a professional organizer, I instructed my husband and my young son to whisper while I was on the phone. Not only does this prevent unwanted background noises during a business call, but it also teaches them to respect your privacy when talking with a client. And since I work from home and often choose to answer my phone near them, I am respecting their need to carry on a conversation. Screening your phone calls during temper tantrums (and we're talking about your kids here, not you!) helps you focus on home matters when they need to be a top priority-- don't worry about the caller; if it's important, he'll call back or leave a message. Use caller i.d. to your advantage-- I have a unit on every phone in my house. Unless you have older children or phone savvy spouses, I recommend that you don't allow anyone else to answer your business line. Even if your family member answers professionally, you may not be ready to speak with a potential client or answer an important question at the moment, and don't need to put them on the spot as a gatekeeper. When you're elbow deep in diaper changes or mediating a fight among siblings, the last thing you need is to switch gears and speak to someone wanting to sponsor your sales conference! Choose wisely. Assemble a quiet Activity Box during special times such as phone calls, writing time, or during times when you need to really focus on your work. If your children are infants are toddlers, stash toys in a milk crate or wicker basket and pull these out before returning phone calls or sitting down to balance your checkbook. Preschoolers love looking at books or creating masterpieces with markers, and these should be used only during special times. Older children might enjoy watching a video or working with modeling clay, and that usually provides you with 15 minutes or so of uninterrupted time (if you're lucky). If all else fails, just tell your little Junior Partner that Daddy needs a few minutes to finish working on a very important project, then set the kitchen timer and place it in view but well out of reach. When the timer rings, the coast is clear and it's time for some family time with Dad. Use Kid Multiplication when all else fails: give them 10 and get back 20. It's amazing how perceptive our sons and daughters can be when it comes to sensing stress. Quite often, children are like barometers, and taking a break when they suggest it is just what the stress doctor ordered. If none of your tricks work, then it's time to just set the work aside, take a short break, and read a story or work a puzzle. Tell a joke, have a snack, or plan a slumber party. Your child will let you know when he's had enough, and before long will be back at building towers and fighting aliens. After a short kid-break, you'll be rested and ready to get back to work for a few more minutes. I've seen this magically happen time and time again, both with the clients I work with and in my own home. I guess it's fair to say that if you just can't beat them, join them. Work WITH not AGAINST your kids' schedule by utilizing naptimes or when they are in school. This is probably the best advice I can give to anyone working from home, especially if you are just launching your home business. Trying to force your family's schedule to fit into your mold creates tension and upheaval. If your children are young, work when they are napping or after they go to sleep at night. As they grow older, you can do a little work when they are having a snack at the table or in their highchair. Then when the kids arrive home from school or your spouse walks in from a busy day at the office, it's time to take a break and become the best mom or dad you can possibly be. In Summary When the kids are awake needing your attention and affection, it's time to evaluate your priorities and determine how much you will be available to cater to their needs and desires. This is something that every parent has to figure out for himself-- there is no magic formula. But I do know that eventually you will figure out the right balance for you and your family. You can choose the easy route, by keeping the lines of communication open and reassessing the rules on a regular basis, or take the bumpy road and work around the clock making your family resent you and your business. But the journey can be rewarding and filled with wonderful adventures- happy motoring to you!Debbie Williams is an author, speaker and organizing strategist who offers toolsand training to help you put your house in order. Learn more at www.organizedtimes.com . Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>