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5 essential tips for working your direct sales business with your children

I recently popped the innocent question on Facebook: “Looking for article topics. Any ideas?” I got some great ideas, and the topic people wanted to read about more than any other was this. I know that probably 99% of my readers are also mothers (like me) and find that running a business while raising their children is a daily struggle. During my live events, I ask for a show of hands how many of them started their direct sales business because of their children (to be home with them, have more flexibility, etc.). Almost every hand in the room goes up. So I ask anyone who feels that their direct selling business is now taking away from their children or taking away their parenting time to raise their hands. Once again, all hands in the room generally raise. The very reason you started your business may become what you sacrifice when your business begins to take over your life.

So, I’ve put together 5 tips that can make it easier (at least on some days) to find your balance between work and kids. Some of these tips may only work if your kids are old enough to reason with them (okay, I know sometimes I wonder whether or not my teens fall into that category, but you get my drift).

  1. Decide when you’re going to work, let your kids know, and then FOLLOW YOUR COMMITMENT TO THEM. Children generally do much better if they know what to expect. Set office hours and let your kids know when you are working. Then (if you’re really brave), give them permission to tell you to stop working if you’re in your office when you’re not supposed to be.
  2. Make sure your kids understand the importance of what you’re doing (and make sure you’re doing important things while you’re “working”). I am a single mom and my kids have understood for over 7 years the importance of what I do (for example, if I can’t do my job, we don’t have a house to live in, food to eat, or new skater shoes that are ridiculously expensive). They understand and generally respect my time. Now if you’re sitting on Facebook playing agricultural city or talking on the phone about what happened in america’s got talent last night, you may be wondering how important your job really is. So make sure you’re in integrity with them (and yourself) and if you say you’re working, make sure you’re working.
  3. If your children are young, find something for them to do while you work (besides watching TV or playing video games).. Any great ideas that worked well for me? He had a box full of cool toys that they could only play with when he was on the phone. I got the box out when I started making phone calls and they were done playing with those toys when I finished my phone calls. It got to the point where they expected me to be on the phone on business because it meant they could play with play dough or have a water balloon fight.
  4. Involve your children. I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but I recommend you take it to the next level. One of my clients years ago had his kids pick out big items they really wanted (something like an Easy Bake oven or a new bike) and offered them as incentive prizes. They posted photos of their chosen treasures along with their incentive trip photo and tracked their progress with huge mason jars. Each time they behaved in a way that supported their business (such as being quiet while on the phone or not crying when they left for a party) they received $1.00 toward their prize. If they went out of their way and actively helped her (like putting labels on catalogs or stamps on envelopes), they got $2.00. The money went into the jar and they were able to visually track their progress towards that coveted item.
  5. Use a timer. This tip also worked great for one of my clients. He would tell his kids that he needed to use the phone or computer and that he was going to work for 20 minutes, and he would set a timer for 20 minutes. He told them that once the timer went off, as long as they were quiet and let her work during her time, he promised that he would spend 20 minutes with them, playing or reading or going for a bike ride, whatever they wanted. You could easily put in several hours of uninterrupted, stress-free work every day, 20 minutes at a time. (You may need to adjust this time up or down, depending on the age of your children.)

Even though these are great ideas, just know that there will be days when nothing will work and you will have Calgon moment after Calgon moment and you may even (gasp!) end up yelling at your kids. The best advice I can give you when that happens is to chalk it up to the fact that you’re only human, forgive yourself, apologize to your kids (ALWAYS apologize to your kids!), and move on with your life.

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