A Woman With A Business

This is the last post in the Time Management Series!  You can find post 1 here, post 2 here, post 3 here, and post 4 here!  Today we will be wrapping up this series talking about grace, understanding, and perfection. Time is a tricky thing ... We all have the same 24 hours in a day, and none of us really know how many days we are going to get!  I came up with the idea for this group, blog, project about 6 months ago and I am just now getting around to making it happen.  You know why?  Because life, life happens, and we don't always get to choose what things happen, when they happen, and the extent of them. Despite my best intentions, there have been plenty of years that I planted a garden and things didn't get harvested.  I've learned to appreciate the beauty of okra flowers, how large squash and zucchini can grow over night, and that feeding wildlife is much easier than I have ever anticipated.  This picture is from June 29, 2010 and the realities of how much

This is Part 4 of the Time Management Series!  You can find part 1 , part 2 , part 3 here .  You know what they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  However, this is a dangerous game when you are a mompreneur!  I'll be explaining that below! Squeaky wheels come in all shapes and sizes ... when talking about time management these are those little things that pop up unexpectedly, or walk into your office constantly, or all the things that feel like they are important but are just not getting you where you need to go!  They are also activities that you plan on spending 30 minutes on, but 3 hours later you are still working on them.  They can also include social commitments every weekend, if that is the time that you had planned on working on your side gig.  Now, if you have a squeaky wheel on your car, you might need to have that checked out! Notifications ... some people are better at ignoring these than I am.  The constant dinging, ringing, cha-chinging on my phone is a HUGE

This is Part 3 of the Time Management series you can find part 1 here , and part 2 here .  Mapping out blocks of time to dedicate to your business is very important, knowing what to do in those blocks of time is even more important.  Today we will be talking about both prioritizing your time and your activities! So, you are ready ... you've found blocks of time during your day, now what do you do with that time? The first thing you need to do, is evaluate when your magic hours are.  This is the time of day that you are your best.  Your brain is clear, you're at your highest motivation, and you are ready to go.  For me, those hours are first thing in the morning, however, I know others whose peak hours are late at night.  This is the time of day that you need to do the items that require the most of your brain and energy.  Since I know these hours happen for me in the morning, I adjust my schedule throughout the year to maximize this time.  It is one reason why even in the

This is Part 2 in my Time Management Series ... If you missed Part 1 you can find it here .  Today, we are talking about designating time for your business.  If you are asking me, Time?  What is extra time?  I got you ... I feel you! If you are a full-time business owner, you may already have large chunks of time dedicated to your business.  If this is you, I'll be addressing prioritizing more in part 3.  If you are running a business part-time or trying to find time to start your new gig, this post is for you! Let's examine how much time you have versus how much time your business needs.  Every business is different as far as how much time it needs, and again, I will again be referencing my gardening hobby, as I fit it into the nooks and crannies of my day.  Throughout the year, there are tasks that I must do to have a successful and well-kept garden, and most businesses are the same.  Dedicating a portion of each day and week to working on my garden is essential, or I wil

There are a few things that I get asked over and over as a woman entrepreneur, and one of those is ... How do you do it all?  How do you manage your time? and comments like, You must be really organized. There is a part of me that finds these questions and comments odd ... and another part of me that thinks, Ha, you really don't know me at all ... and on good days, I pat myself on the back and think that I have this whole time management thing figured out.  There are also days I look at the pitiful number of things that have been crossed off my to do list and wonder what on earth has happened to those hours.  As I write this post, I also remember, we are all given the same number of hours in each day, sometimes we have a choice on how to use those hours, and on other days it seems like no matter how hard we try, the deck is stacked against us. We now live in a world of Amazon ... where you can click, click, buy and have things delivered to your door in two days, sometimes even

Hello There!  Welcome to A Woman With A Business!  I hope you will find a comfortable spot and join us for some fabulous conversations!  Navigating the business world as an entrepreneur can be scary, exhausting, and hugely rewarding!  You probably have fears, questions, doubts, and a ton of energy to move forward in your venture!  Or, maybe you have found us after years of slogging along, doing the hard work, celebrating your successes!  You are all welcome here! We are here to talk about business!  Although, as most experienced entrepreneurs know, you don't get to forget about your personal life when you are in business!  So, we hope you enjoy this blog, learn, laugh, celebrate, commiserate, and cheer each other on! We are always on the look out for contributors, collaborators, and interviewees, so feel free to get in touch with me at awomanwithabusiness@gmail.com. A little about me!  I am April, and I live with my kids and husband on almost 7 acres of land in central North