Just as you keep focus on your business goals and rise to meet your company's mission statement, keep focus on your personal goals as a parent. Run your family business with integrity and respect of a healthy, thriving corporation. Define your ideals, set plans to action, keep communications open and reward success. Encourage individuality, praise creativity and share wealth. Be positive and proactive. The business of family is one to be celebrated and cherished. It may not be listed as a FORTURNE 500, but it is most important business of all.

A PARENT'S MISSON STATEMENT

The purpose of this Mission Statement is to express my love, support and commitment to you. As your parent, I promise to help you achieve your dreams and goals by providing you with a safe and nurturing environment. I respect your opinion and I encourage your creativity. I will be there to praise your accomplishments and comfort you in your disappointments. I promise to accept you as you are, support your decisions and honor you as a special and unique individual. You have right to a safe and happy childhood and as your parent, I am committed to providing this to you.

TIPS FOR WORKING AT HOME

The luxuries you dreamed of as a work-at-home mom can quickly lead to burdens unless you are organized and scheduled. This schedule consists of a balance between business and family and activities should work in harmony with your child's needs, not against them.

Define your work area and organize it so valuable time can be spent on task at hand.

Determine quiet times, such as early morning or after your child goes to bed. Use this period to complete tasks that need most concentration.

Set a start and finish time for your workday.

Allow a full day off from work each week and stick to this schedule as much as possible.

Start each morning by talking with your child about day's events. Include your child in these plans. By informing him of your activities, he will be comforted in knowledge that there will be time for him.

Remember that you are entitled to breaks, lunch, vacation time and even sick time. You are boss.

When it comes time for your break, stop working, compliment your child for his cooperation, and spend next block of time enjoying moment.

Record an "out to lunch" message and set your phones daily. Even if you are sitting at your desk, do not answer phones. Your clients will become accustom to your schedule.

If you need to run an errand, but are concerned about missing an important call, don't wait around stressing, forward calls to your cell phone.

Consider hiring a babysitter a few hours per week to read or play with your child or do a special craft.

Most of all, remember your priorities as a parent and your commitment to your personal mission statement. When your child needs to talk, be grateful he or she is turning to you. Keep lines of communication open, there will come a time when they need you for more than a glass of milk and a snack. And when that time comes, they might not be able to wait, "just a minute".

Now I can hear you already: “But, I’m late!” Plan ahead, and leave a couple of minutes earlier. Think about it for a minute. If you drive 65 mph for one whole hour, you will only be 5 miles farther down road that if you drove 60 mph for that same hour. Those of you who spend a whole hour commuting are usually not driving 65 miles. You are driving more like 10 miles, crawling along at jogging speeds. This won’t work for that sort of commute. However, if your drive is such that you have option of driving faster than 60 mph, DON’T! Set your cruise control at 60 mph, slow down and save.

The beauty of this system is that you benefit from it even if no one else participates! There is a very real possibility that you could fill up your tank one less time per month. That would save you $20-$50 per month, which is $240-$600 per year. Spend it on Christmas presents. Splurge a little on your vacation. There are lots of ways you could enjoy extra money. And if other people participate, because more and more people would be buying one less tank of gas per month, supply really would go up because demand really would be down, and that would mean lower prices which would benefit everybody (except maybe OPEC, and they don‘t need money.) Try it!

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