Years ago I was a speaker for a group of entrepreneurs and I found myself saying “I have a toddler” a lot, like I was excusing myself for doing stuff a certain way, or having super-short or super-odd hours.
Then I thought – what the heck am I apologizing for?!
What I do is share my life, share what works for me, share how I’m building a business and raising a family. That’s what I do and I’m sooooo “Sorry, not sorry.” about it!
Not everyone will relate to my life exactly, but what I have to share about living the Laptop Lifestyle is always universal:
- Build a business based on the lifestyle YOU want.
- Have freedom to do what YOU want.
- Spend time with the people YOU want.
- Do the things YOU want to do!
That’s the laptop lifestyle.
For me that is 100% building a business while raising a family and I do it quite well if I do say so myself!
We moms are hard on ourselves.
Of course I’ve thought at times there are things I could do better, it’s mom-nature to do so!
What I know is that I’m basically a Stay at Home Mom and a Work at Home Mom. Over the years the hours of those jobs have changed. Currently it’s summer and we’re on all kinds of odd schedules. This week my daughter has no childcare, next week three days for the next three weeks and then for three weeks after that – maybe summer camps. It’s a challenge, but it’s the lifestyle I chose and I LOVE it!
I do this not by accident and it wasn’t EASY to figure out I assure you. I struggled much in the first year and then a little less in the second year to find enough time to get work done. My daughter is five now, my son seventeen and I feel in a groove, I’ve got a really nice flow going now and I see the snowball starting to build.
There is nothing perfect about my business.
I don’t have a perfect website.
I don’t have perfect grammar.
I don’t have prefect products.
I don’t have perfect ideas.
I don’t have perfect emails.
I don’t make perfect offers.
I don’t have perfect salespages.
You get the idea.
I focused on giving VALUE to my people and I focus on taking ACTION every single day towards my goals. If that means an email goes out with a mistake, an email goes out with a mistake. I sent out an email with the wrong date on it… did I get mortified and thoroughly embarassed… naw! I just sent a correction one! That’s all. No biggie.
In short, I get things done. The focus is on marketing every day. On getting my message to REAL PEOPLE be it via this message right here that will go on my blog post, to my email list, shared on social media and I might even make it into a video. I always spend my first batch of time on the things that will get in front of people, as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. THAT is so important, always, and when you have a family you don’t want to waste any moments you could be using for something else.
I see so many people spending months on things they shouldn’t.
If you need a website, get it up in a DAY and get it out there. Period. End of sentence. There is no reason why you can’t do that. NONE.
If you need an email list, sign up NOW and get a form. You could have new subscribers TODAY. For Sure. Don’t doubt me. It’s true ;).
If you want a social media following, go connect today. Not tomorrow. Not after you study five courses. Today. It is possible. 100%.
Action, fast action. Every single day.
That’s how you build a business and raise a family at the same time. If you think you don’t have time right now you’re probably moving really slow, most faster, do things fast and get things DONE.
Do them at night. Do them when the kids are in school (if you get that kind of time, I don’t). Do them during naps. Get up at 5am. Do them in line at the grocery store (good time for Instagram, a new love of mine). Do them. Do them. Do them.
Go. Go. Go!
Love it! Incorporate it INTO your life. I don’t feel like my business is a hassle or something I have to fit into my life. My business and my life are ONE THING and doing business is a huge source of joy and awesomeness in my life. It’s not something I do just to have the Laptop Lifestyle, it IS my lifestyle. It’s something I’d want to do even if I didn’t get paid. It’s something I used to do before I even know HOW to get paid for it.
So that’s how I do it. Basically I just do it. I find ways to serve my market and I SERVE! I don’t decide I have to sell this or sell that and barrel through, I find out how I can help people, teach people, provide them with the information they need and I do it.
You can do this, too!
p.s. Have you joined the YOU?
- Cross Blog Conversation with Kelly McCausey About Email Marketing: Part Four - October 31, 2022
- Cross Blog Conversation with Kelly McCausey About Email Marketing: Part Two - October 13, 2022
- Getting Paid to Show Up - October 11, 2022
