If I don't Do It, It Doesn't Get Done!





When I had my first child and found out he was a boy, I was only momentarily disappointed.  I've told him about this before and he thinks it's funny.  My son and I have a fantastic relationship for which I am very grateful! He is a wonderful son and I love him more than I thought possible to love anyone. 

As a matter of fact I love all of my children! Each individually as they are all very different from each other and need to be loved individually... The same, but different. 

And I love them all more than life itself.  I would do anything for them....and I do!  Just this morning I drove my daughter to school because she missed the bus.  And I didn't even get upset with her.  Which is amazing, because I was 30 minutes late for work.  Happily I work for some pretty terrific people who are as much about family as I am.

Anyway, my reason behind that moment of distress when I had my son is only because I thought it would be best to have a girl first because they are so helpful.  Girls are nurturing, clean, helpful, loving, patient, understanding...hahaha!!!  Boy was I crazy to think that!  As it turns out that my 4 girls following my son are much harder than he ever was.  Who knew?? 

My son is now 20, almost 21, and out on his own.  My daughters are 16, 14, 11, and 8.  They are wonderful and independent girls.  I'm amazed at their talents and how much they are growing up each day.  They all have minds of their own and several know what they want to be when they grow up.  We love going to the movies together, cuddling on the couch, eating popped corn, and so many things the same.  Yet, they are all so different from each other.  I kept trying to have another boy, but 5 children was enough.

My husband has 2 sons and 1 daughter.  It's nice when they are here every other weekend.  I miss having my son in the house.  He was an equalizer for all of the hormones.  I love all 8 children!  It's the best when they are all home.  They were all here over the 4th of July.  It was a riot! 

* * * *

I have always been a little weird about cleaning, so I mistakenly figured my daughters would be like me.  When my mother asked me to clean the kitchen, I did the dishes that were IN the sink AND the ones that were spread all over the house, washed the counters and cabinets, washed the table, swept the floor, and put the dry dishes away.  I even baked cookies and then...get this... I cleaned up after I was done!  I know...what a concept!

My mom and dad both worked and they refereed, or kept score, for every sport there was.  They were gone a lot.  I have 2 big brothers, 2 little brothers, and 3 sisters.  I am the oldes girl.  My brothers and sisters will tell you that I was a very mean big sister.  About an hour before my parents were expected home I would go on a rampage and get the house cleaned up.  I hated the thought of my parents coming home to a messy house. 

I was also usually expected to do the laundry (and keep the house clean.)  I sorted the clothes, stacked them in the baskets while waiting for the next load to wash, folded the clothes, threw away the lint and dryer sheets, and put the clothes away.  I was the oldest girl.  It was expected that I help out.  My two older brothers...well, they were boys so a lot of the house chores fell to my shoulders.  My mom never had to worry that I would take care of things while she was gone.

So, naturally, since I work and my husband is out of state, my girls are often left to their own devices.  I love my girls!  Don't forget that.  They are good girls.  But they are not like me when it comes to cleaning.  They walk over trash on the floor, only do the dishes half way, don't put the milk away, leave their towels on the floor and "girl stuff" all over the bathroom, and generally are almost the opposite of what I thought having girls would be like.

They also fight like girls.  They yell and scream at each other.  They rip each other's papers and throw things at each other.  They say mean and hurtful things to each other.... 

And they also love each other and make up plays and dances together.  They hug on each other and help each other with their hair.  They hold hands when we are walking through the store.  They like to bake, and watch baking shows together. 

Yesterday I came home and several of them were glued to the computer watching a YouTube video on how to make Boston Cream Pie from scratch.  "Let's go get some heavy cream, and chocolate, so we can make ganache mom!  Look at that guy on YouTube, he isn't famous and he can do it.  If HE can so can WE!  It's sooo easy!"  I love it when they all work together and help each other....just wish it would happen more often, that's all.  A mother can dream can't she?

Having girls is very different than having boys.  Having all girls in the house (including our dog, frog, and fish) makes it really hard about 1 week a month.  Today is the peak of that week and so I feel like I'm going a little crazy. 

Before you get the wrong idea about my girls... There are more days than not that I come home and the house is clean.  They do their chores most of the time, fight less and less, and they are trying.  They take care of each other and support each other.  Today is just one of those days.  Tomorrow will be better!

It doesn't help that I haven't seen my husband in almost a month.  He will be home Friday though!!  I'll have him all the way until Sunday!  Soooo excited!

Now, after working all day, making dinner, cleaning up dinner, and getting everyone in bed.... I have to work on my business.  I'll be up for a while.  It's the more quiet now than it has been all day!

All of these adorable figures came from

Gift Express

A fantastic site you should all check out today! 

Click on any of the figures or click here to check out

Gift Express - The Only Place To Shop!

Facebook Header Updated!

Well, I did almost everything I wanted to this weekend.  I updated my personal Facebook header and worked on my social medial calendar.  Here is the new header.

I wanted to do much more with it, but didn't have a lot of time.  I'll probably be changing it again soon.  At least I have a photo of each of the kids on it.  I'd like to have a family picture taken and use that instead.  However, that's kind of hard to do when I haven't even seen my husband for the last 3 weeks.  Don't know how I'm expected to have a family picture taken if he isn't around.  I hate that he works out of state, but I understand that's necessary.

He will be home Friday though!  Yeah!!!  And we will have all of the kids home also.  Maybe Saturday morning I can talk Kevin's mom into coming up and taking a family picture for us.  I'll make that call today. 

I'm still working on the LeapFrogVA header.  I haven't had an inspiration for it yet.  I want it to be cleaner and more clean than the one I did for my family.  Also, I'm still doing research on the food truck idea.  Like I said, it has to be perfect.

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!

Breakthrough! Let's Get This Party Started!

All of my self evaluations have finally paid off!  What did I find out?



I've been trying to decide what I "want to be when I grow up" and where I would like to take my career.  Since I'm self employed now, it is possible that I can do anything I want.  So, one conclusion I've come to is that I simply don't like being the boss. 

The good news, however, is that I'm doing what I like doing!  I'm in the right line of work.  I like real estate, helping people, paperwork, filling, administrative work, and so much more of what I'm actually doing.  I don't, however, like doing it by myself.  It's hard being the boss and not having anyone working with me.

I want to own my own company, be in charge, and have lots of flexibility to do what I want, when I want.  Who doesn't?  But now that I have my own company and I'm in charge... I'm finding it very lonely.  In no particular order here is what I know for sure: 

• I want my company to be more than just me being an assistant to a bunch of real estate agents. 
• I want to teach other assistants.  This includes teaching others to be an excellent real estate assistant and those who already are real estate assistants to become virtual.  This will help them make more money and will save their agents money in the long run. 
• There is more money in training others than in just being a virtual assistant myself.  Which is fine because training sounds like more fun anyway.
• I want to be a writer, or publisher, or both, and make my "Shorts Across America" a reality.
• I struggle with social media.  If I had it my way I would hire someone to do all of that for me.  If it was all I had to do every day I would love it.  I understand it and appreciate the importance of it, but I simply don't have as much time as I would like to dedicate to it. I find that it takes up too much time if I don't stay on task while doing it.  Creating a calendar is VERY important to keep from spending too much time on it.
• I've noticed that there are others who are already doing what I would like to do, but they seem to all have a team helping them.  They have "people" who help with marketing, social media, web design and creation, copywriters, and others that help with various things.  Talented, knowledgeable people to run ideas by and talk to about their business.
• I have a wonderful, amazing, loving, and supportive family, great friends, and the friends that I've made on LinkedIn who help me when I have general questions.  However, no one that can help me with the specific things I need help with.  No one to brainstorm with who is working with me to make my business more successful.  It's tough knowing what needs to be done, trying to find free ways of learning it, then doing it all myself every day.
• I would like to have an office in Salt Lake City and in Ogden that are "Virtual" offices. Here is a link to an article that explains it.  Co-Working Spaces  I think this would be great!  What if it were so successful I could hire an assistant to be at the office fully-time and those renting the office space could use the secretary and pay her salary?  I have a friend in Texas who is doing this and it's working great. It would also be a great place to hold networking events. (I would need an investor to start something like this.)



• I really, really, really NEED a partner.  Someone who is technically capable preferably.  It is simply not possible for me to accomplish this all by myself.  I've been trying and it just won't work.  If I were technically minded and had experience with the technical stuff I would need someone to help with the ideas and administrative work.  So, I need a partner.  Period.

• What I am good at and LIKE: Paperwork, bookkeeping, budgeting, Microsoft Software, especially Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, creating reports, real estate listings (start to finish), follow through, scheduling, planning, research, creating, graphic design, and almost everything administrative.
• I've also realized that I've spent all of my career helping others be successful and not promoting myself. Time to change that! I can still help others be successful, but I need to work on making myself successful also.

Where does all this self discovery leave me?  Well, it leaves me right where I am but smarter, more informed, and more prepared.  Now I can make a plan.  Before I didn't really know what I wanted so I have been frustrated and unfocused.  Now time to get the ball rolling down the right hill. 

• Start Earlier!  I'll be getting up an hour earlier to work on MY business, including Saturdays.  It will be tough, yet necessary.  I already get up at 6:00 to get the kids off to school.  But, this business has to get better so I'll need to do more for my own business before I continue helping others be successful. 
• Create a social media calendar  This will start tomorrow and will be done each Saturday.  I'll plan what will be posted on each site from Facebook to LinkedIn each day Monday - Friday the following week.  I'll get up early and post before work.  I'll do research through the week and send links to my Evernote so on Saturday I'll have some ideas on what to put in for the next week.  A few things I've noticed....1) People on Facebook only comment and Like funny little things.  Anything too serious or business like gets ignored.  The more likes and comments the more exposure.  2) People on LinkedIn like things that are a little funny and entertaining, but teach them something to help them in their business. 3) People on Twitter...Haven't figured them out so I'll probably just Tweet what I put on FB and LI and then retweet my followers links.  I have found that Twitter seems a little impersonal and I have yet to start an actual conversation with anyone on there.  Not sure of its value yet honestly.
• Redo my Facebook headers for LeapFrogVA and my personal site.  This will be the most enjoyable part of my weekend.  I love graphic design!  I have a friend who is a photographer and he has agreed to let me use some of his photography.  Should be fun!

• Look for a partner.  Somone who has experience building and promoting websites.  Someone who is willing to work with me, not for me because I can't pay them yet.  If they had marketing and copywriting experience also that would be amazing!  But, I'm not holding my breath.  I have the ideas but don't know how to implement some of them.  So, someone who wants to grow with me for a portion of the business would be great!  And almost impossible to find I'm afraid.
• Write an ebook for Virtual Assistant wannabe's.  This will help me start an email list.
• Contact other virtual assistants who would be willing to work on a referral basis.  My ebook will refer my email list to other virtual assistants that train in other areas outside of assisting small businesses and assisting real estate agents. 
• Create a training program for real estate assistants.  Then, convert it to work for virtual assistants.  I'll need to do lots of research, interview current assistants and a few agents to make it complete.  I'll need some free stuff, emails, newsletters, video presentations, and schedule some webinars also.
• Redo my website to include the training, once the training is complete of course.
• Create a plan for small businesses and add a section for them on my website.  Through networking at the SBA I'll try to drum up a few new clients.

• Food Trucks!  I'm going to create a small marketing plan for food trucks and go to Salt Lake City and pitch it truck to truck.  I'm going to offer them help creating a Facebook marketing plan for very low cost.  Just a one time thing.  I'll also ask if I can put a jar at their food truck and offer a free lunch drawing for business cards.  This will also increase my email list.  I will only do that on one truck a month so the cost will stay low.
• Kibosh on the real estate referral website.  I don't have enough technical skills to get it working, and no partner to help with it.  I'll have to have a developer to make that work.  Plus I only had about 9 agents reply.  I'll email all of them soon and let them know.
• Purchase Microsoft Outlook so I can manage all of my email addresses in one place.  Also, I need to be able to have a graphic signature and add newsletters and fliers inside the content, which I can't do with my current email providers.
• Start a Mastermind Group for Real Estate Virtual Assistants on LinkedIn.  I've got about 10 REVA's already lined up and I'm hoping it will help with creating my training materials. 

I'd like to have everything done and going by the end of the year.  Sooner would be better, but it will have to be perfect if it's going to work.  I'll probably only get one shot.  If I mess it up my credibility will go down the toilet!!  I may find a few guinea pigs to test it out on.  If you want to be one, just let me know!  

This has been a painful, stressful, and very long process.  I started about a month ago, and have only now realized most of these things.  But, self discovery is a must and I'm glad I stopped the train and decided to do it.

How Do They Do It?

I think my ADD is going to show a little here.... I apologize.

http://bogw.blogspot.com/2012/06/growing-up.html

I am #2 years old and I suppose I still haven't decided what I want to be "when I grow up."  When is that anyway?  When are we "grown up?"  When we are making money doing what we had previously decided what we were "going to be?"   Well, then I know a lot of people who still haven't grown up... and I'm the leader of the pack!

When I was a little girl I wanted to be a Lawyer and a College English Literature Professor.  I wanted to be a Lawyer so I could wear one of those cool looking suits that make your legs look long and sexy, and I could put the bad guys behind bars and help the good guys win.  I wanted to be an English Lit teacher because I wanted to read all day and write novels at night; and I wanted to read what others have written (sort of like spying) and help them become better writers.  (I wish I had gone to college instead of putting my ex-husband through college... which he never completed... of course! Arg!)

http://justcoolnweirdstuff.wordpress.com/

Like every one else in the world, life has thrown me a bunch of curve balls.  Some I have dodged and handled fairly well.  Others have hit me square in the face, right between my eyes.  I'm still reeling at several of the latest balls thrown.  One of which is my getting re-married.  Which I swore I would never do.  But...I did and I love my husband.  He is amazing and he loves me more than any man has ever loved me or ever will love me.  Problem?  He works out of state.  So, the joke is on me!  I'm basically a single mom with 4 girls at home who rely on me for everything.  And I have a husband that I see once, twice if I'm lucky, each month for two to three days. 

For those of you who have been reading my blog regularly you know that I've been working on some projects trying to earn some extra money for the family.  I don't want to be rich, I just want to have money in the bank.  Eventually I'll have to pay for 4 girls to go to college (starting in 2 years!), 4 girls to get married, and retirement.  Those things aren't cheap!  It would be nice if we could retire and I could actually get to know my husband on a daily basis.  That's not asking too much right?

http://www.drsamanthathomas.com/blog/2011/07/multitasking-its-no-easy-job.html

So, today I guess I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and stressed....and unsure of what to do next.

I come across at least 10 articles on the web each day that amaze me.  People all over the world are writing and publishing so much information and I want to learn it all.  And I'm wondering how does someone write an entire blog about one topic and not duplicate what someone else has written?  How do 10 people write an article about the exact same thing and not duplicate each other?  Never in the history of the world has so much information been so readily available.

I came across the site The Future of Ink and I wish I had time to sit and read the entire thing.  I wish I had time every day to read about all of the things that I want to write about.  I wish I had time to redo my short story.  I wish I had time and skill to write what I have in my head.  I wish I could get my mind to focus on one thing long enough to actually write anything worth reading.  I wish I could decide if I want my life to relove around real estate or writing.  I wish I knew if real estate or writing would make me more money and help my family out of these desperate times.  I wish, I wish, I wish!  Where is my magic ball tonight?

Does everyone else in the world really only have 24 hours in a day like I do?  How do other single moms make time to go to work, clean the house, cook dinner, help with homework, settle arguments, take care of a dog, fish, frog and cat, do laundry, and start 2 new businesses?  I know they do!  What am I doing wrong that I can't accomplish as much as other mom's out there?  I need a personal coach.  HELP!  I want so much more out of life than I'm getting.  I know it's up to me to make it happen.  I just don't know where to start.  Does anyone else feel the same way?

As I'm sitting here piano practice is going on, one is yelling that she's starving to death, two are screaming at each other over something..... How do they do it???

http://polyglotindie.wordpress.com/

Publishing

As you all know I'm planning on starting an online publishing company.  Today I came across two sites that may help me with this little venture so I thought I'd share them with you.

Ways to Speed Up the Progress of Your Blog

How to Sell Your Ebooks – 10 Simple Ways to Build a List of Buyers

The real estate website is a work in progress and is coming along, but I'm thinking....why put off the Shorts Across America while playing the waiting game on the real estate site?  I could do both right?  I have plenty of time!  ha!  We will see....  I'll keep you posted. 

For now, I spent the entire weekend with the flu and am still coughing and can't breath very well so I'm off to bed.  Tomorrow I'll start again.

Good night!

Determined Girl Creates Own Success Story!

Once asked to write a full story in six words, legend has it that novelist Ernest Hemingway responded: "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Can you describe your life in 6 words? This great article may help. Pretty good read.

http://www.npr.org

Mom + New Business + Husband ALWAYS out of town = Single Mom Starting New Business

I'm trying to start a business.  Some days it's all I can think about.  I mean, who isn't tired of being poor?  Who wants to be part of the 2% that make it and don't have to live pay check to pay check?  ME!  I do!!  Ooo! Ooo! Pick me!!  Pick me!!  Know what I mean?

Anyway, this weekend I had a lot of work I wanted to get done on my websites.  And amazingly enough I actually got it all done!  Totally Awesome!

It literally took me all weekend and Monday to change both sites over.  But, it was worth the effort and time.  I love the creative part, but the technical part is all still very new to me.

I changed my blog over into something completely different.  It used to be an extention of my website and had basically the same information.  But now, it's doing to be a place where real estate professionals can come and write articles and be a part of my "rolodex."  And prospective clients can come and get their real estate questions  answered, without a sales pitch, and find an agent if they would like to.  Take a look and let me know what you think. 

www.leapfrogva.blogspot.com

www.leapfrogva.com

Today, I'm trying to figure out how to optimize them so they will go to the top of the search lists.  Wow!  I thought I had a lot of work cut out for me when I was building the sites.  Now, I'm in an entirely new learning curve, and it isn NOT very fun!  Let me tell you!

I'm sitting here at the kitchen table, after working all day, cooking dinner, and cleaning up dinner, and the dog is barking her head off, the kids are watching a movie and saying "MOM" every ten seconds and I'm reading this:

"You should know that Google recommend XHTML Semantics. Good sites are well-organized and easy to surf. When you use the semantic markups such as heading tags you are specifically highlighting to the search engine bots, ..... "

From this website: http://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/must-see-seo-guide-for-all-wordpress-bloggers/

Well, I've read that paragraph about 10 times.  None of them without interruption...  And now I've given up for the night!  I have NO idea what they are talking about at all. 

I just hope my sites start making some money someday soon and I can make enough money to be home full-time.  Then I hope to make enough money for my husband to be home full-time too!

Night everyone.  Yawn!!!  Soooo tired!