The One Month Whirlwind

What a whirlwind it has been, but Women Work Smart, Inc. is up and running at half speed putting me closer to my goal of having a better balance between paycheck and family. While I am still building the business alongside my full-time job, all of the pieces are beginning to fall into place. Spending a minimum of one hour per day has really enabled me to take one step at a time and lay the foundation of Women Work Smart. It’s been like building a pyramid. You cannot go to the next level without the level below being complete. And still, there are details that need restructuring down on some of the lower levels, but nothing remaining that will hinder furhter build out. Since I have decided to stop talking and start doing, I have completed the following tasks – tasks that may help some of you who are looking to leave your office cubicle (or as I refer to it, your cell block) behind to start your own thing. I will try to re-cap what was done in the order it was done, so it can be utilized as a checklist for others looking to do the same.

• Created a business name, idea, purpose and target-market segment
  
• Received some free advice from a lawyer about registering a business name and logo


• Searched (and so did my lawyer friend) to see if the business name was already trademarked.


• Bought a domain name/url complete with web hosting services


• Drafted copy for the website


• Created a website and logo design


• Uploaded my website


• Registered the business name and logo for trademark with lawyer assistance


• Set up a PO Box in my town of business


• Discussed with my accountant the best way to set up my business, i.e., d/b/a, LLC, S Corp, etc.


• Took the advice of my accountant and met with a lawyer who helped me set up my corporation on both a state and federal level


• Applied for and received a small start up loan --- you can do this through the Small Business Association (http://www.sba.gov/) or you can use your own line of credit. My credit is strong, so I chose the second option as I received a good rate and a quick turn-around for receiving the cash


• Received my business ID Number and loan allotment and set up a free business checking account at Washington Mutual – making note with then that I will be using Quick Books Deluxe


• Purchased Quick Books Deluxe as recommended by my accountant - the Deluxe edition allows you to not only mind your accounting, but also offers tools for invoicing and check writing. But in order to use the check writing feature, you must notify your bank that you plan to do so.


• Applied for an in-home business license through the city council office.


• Acquired a separate phone line. I found the best solution to be a basic cell phone plan. Limited minutes, no texting, no email. Once the business ramps up, the phone plan can be extended to include whatever is needed to conduct business from a mobile device.


• Created business cards. This step had to wait until all of my contact information was in place, i.e., business phone, address, url, trademark, etc.
  

All of this was done in one-month’s time. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. The day will come that I can support myself by my own mompreneurial means leaving me more time for family and me. It’s a great feeling and way to get you through the daily office grind to know that something is brewing – something healthy, something all yours and something you want to share and implement with and for others like you to help them achieve what they want.

The next step toward my goal of working full-time from as my own home business owner is to build up my bank account or nest egg so that it contains enough cash for me to survive through an entire six-week billing cycle. Once that goal is achieved, I can cut all ties to my current full-time job and fly solo. This crucial step I hope to achieve by (no later than) August of 2009 – the month that my daughter starts kindergarten through the public school system. This will be the same month that I cease paying 12K per year for daycare, and the month that she returns home from school after only a half-day (around 2PM) rather than 5PM.

August 2009 will be when the real test comes into play… Will I sink or swim? It’s a risk, but it’s one that I am willing and ready to take.

Old Friends and Spontaneity

Yesterday was a fabulous day. Old friends and spontaneity, the perfect elixir.

It was a beautiful day, and with my 4-year old in tow, I set out to meet some delicious old friends. You know the kind ... the free-flowing conversations so meaty and deep you can truly sink your heart, mind and teeth into them. And unlike our usual planned 'girl' get togethers, this one was completely spontaneous. I love spontaneity, and man do I miss the ability to act on it. Marriage, kids, responsibility, all the elements of adulthood that sometimes make spur of the moment engagements hard, if not impossible. Our get togethers are usually planned, and making the arrangments can be painstaking... Five to eight email exchanges among us just to verify which dates on the calendar are free for all of us. By the time the strand of emails come to a close, the date is usually so far off in the distance its months away. The process alone is the antithesis of spontaneity. But not this encounter. This time was perfect ... just meant to be, I guess.

And man was I tired, but I wasn't going to let lack of sleep stop me from spur of the moment fun. The night before, my 4-year old decided that wake up time was 4 AM, and that I needed to be her playmate. Ah, restful sleep, another quality of life luxury out the window with parenting. Tired as we were, we managed to trudge on through the next day, and I'm so glad we did because this tired mom needed some down and out girl time.

I think we all can agree that one thing universally female is the need to meet up with other women. Not just any women, but THE women who have helped shape us into the people we are today. THE women with whom you share your secrets, desires, and the you name it [insert answer here]. Nothing interferes with the need - there are no boundaries that cannot be overcome. If one of THE women in your life moves out of your zipcode, the connection stays strong, even if face to face encounters are few and far between. It just doesn't matter. Once that connecton is made, the bond lasts forever, and so does the need to converse with THAT woman.

So this past Sunday I got to spend some time with some of THE women in my life. Women I met in the Peace Corps, halfway across the globe. Now, ten plus years later, we live within 60 miles of one another, and for years we didn't even know it! None of us born where we live today, yet something brought each of us here... I guess it was just meant to be.