No Limits Ladies.com

I often hear "It's not the destination, it's the journey." Sure, it is great to enjoy the ride once you're on it but for planning, concentrate on the destination. Anything else is too limiting.

For example:

The hubby and I are taking a cruise out of Barcelona. We want to see another country before Spain. We aren't too fussy about which country (we travel A LOT, we've seen most of Europe). The only limitation is that we have to be in Barcelona on a certain date.

Our first thought was to pop in to visit a dear honorary Uncle (an "Uncle" who is really a close friend of the family) in London. Our lodging would be free. Our food would be close to free (Uncle makes a won ton soup to die for). All we'd have to do is pay for transportation and incidentals.

The hubby kept our options open and continued looking. Turns out, a stay in Paris (LOVE Paris, being an art buff) even with the added cost of hotel and food would be less expensive (we're still seeing Uncle in London after the cruise).

We never would have seen that option if we hadn't continued looking.

That applies to wealth building too. The hubby and I have a combined target net worth we wish to reach. Our vehicle of choice thus far has been the bargain basement purchasing of beat up stocks. Does that mean we'll drive that beast forever? Nope. We continue to look for better and faster ways to get to our goals.

No, not THAT House Of Mouse. I'm not going to talk about Disney. Quite the opposite. If you don't like rodent talk, you might want to come back tomorrow.

Recently we found out we have mice or as the hubby sweetly thought A mouse (coming from the farm, I knew there's no such thing as A mouse, mice like hanging with their buddies).

At first, we were in denial. Our house is not dirty. Being quite empty and usually devoid of life, it is easy to keep clean. The hubby also wanted to know what the mice were eating 'cause he sure wasn't getting fed (I'm thinking they were ordering takeout).

But we weren't in denial for too long. One night, we left a bag of beef jerky open and out. The next morning, half the bag was done. We found it strewn underneath the stove (guess the mice didn't know there was no cooking necessary with beef jerky). Yep, we had ourselves mice and not the regular type either, snacking on breads and crackers. Nope, we have carnivore mice, the deadliest of all the rodents.

We went through the icky process of getting rid of them. We set up the live traps (with jerky 'cause our mice don't like the suggested peanut butter, I'm thinking they have allergies). We checked them every day. We then had to take long road trips out to the country (because they kept coming back, same mice).

The biggest lesson was one I seem destined to repeat over and over again. A dollar of prevention would have prevented a whole lot of grief. If we had spent a hundred dollars or so and covered the house with those sonic pest control devices, we likely wouldn't have had this problem in the first place.

For my last day at my contract gig, I brought in store bought (actually donut store bought) muffins for the team. Each muffin was baked in a paper muffin cup.

Every time I see those paper cups, I think of the Seinfeld muffin top episode ("Its not top of the muffin, to you!"). I suspect Elaine likes muffin tops because with those, she doesn't have to do that irritating and messy peeling off of the paper (I HATE that, if I wasn't so frugal, I'd also discard the bottom).

I know why stores use the paper muffin cups. They cook in mass quantities, don't use non-stick tins, and they make handling easier.

Do you know why YOU use paper muffin cups? I asked my own self that question years ago (I bought them because my Mom bought them). I DO have non-stick muffin tins. The muffins pop out perfectly after baking (easier if you let them cool until the tin is cool to the touch, not too long or the bottoms will be soggy). I'm also only baking a tin or two full so there's not a rush for clean up.

BTW… the trick to a perfect muffin is not to stir the batter too much (perfect for lazy me). It is supposed to be lumpy.

The Annual MasterCard Worldwide "Women In Small Business" survey shows that the number of women majority owned businesses grew at almost double the rate of all businesses (42% vs 23%).

That is great news! We are both starting businesses and retaining ownership.

All, but one, of the challenges to female led small businesses don't surprise me. They are the classics.

- Stretching ourselves across multiple roles and projects (21%),
(aka being an average woman)
- Healthcare costs (12%),
- Balancing family and work (11%),
and
- Lack of time to focus on generating new business (11%).

Which did I find surprising? The last one. Lack of time for sales and marketing.

Not that we have plenty of time for sales and marketing. Not by a long shot. I set aside a couple hours a day for my book promotions and I still don't think that is enough.

But what is surprising and healthy is that we recognize we don't have enough time. Usually, although it is business critical, sales and marketing is low down on an entrepreneur's busy to-do list.

Other interesting insights include that 41% of us use an accountant for financial management (29% use software) and that 18% of female led small businesses don't have a business credit or debit card. Yikes. I couldn't survive without mine.

There are unfortunately a lot of people out there talking a good game. They'll tell you they have your back (if they have to actually tell you that, odds are, they don't) but when change happens, good or bad, they're "unavailable."

When I was laid off, I was given two months notice to work at home (after that I'd be officially laid off and offered a severance). It looked to the world like the company cut me off immediately and I was hurting too much to explain the situation.

A funny thing happened. Some people started not returning phone calls or emails or would dodge lunches/dinners/family bbq's. I was surprised at who these people were (yep family and folks I thought were good friends).

I was also surprised at who the supporters were. The executive assistant I covered up a mistake for years before? She called a friend at another Fortune 500 company. They didn't have an opening… yet, but they expressed an interest in seeing me.

When I landed on my feet (At the end of the two months, another division of the company offered me a position. I turned that down, took the very generous severance, and went to a customer.), suddenly everyone was my friend again.

Now, I don't hold grudges but I DO remember whom I can count on. Those people I'd fly half way around the world to help out. And all it took was a returned email of support.

The interesting thing is that this happens with success also. This past week, when I was doing my shameless promoting, I heard "I'd book you on my blog but my female readers don't read romance" or "I'd buy your book IF I read romance" or "I don't read eBooks. Let me know when it is in print."

Then there is the opposite end of the spectrum. The brother who haunted the website because he wanted to be the very first buyer, the bloggers who offered up space as soon as they heard about the book launch, the friends, family, blog readers who bought the $6 book just to show their support. Heck, the people who emailed their congrats (I saved each one).

You think I'll remember these names? Yep. Until the day I die.

One of my best buddies got a Blackberry a couple weeks ago. She is already addicted. She checks it every five minute (yes, even during dinner out at restaurants). During my summers at home writing (on the computer), I have the same issue with email (sometimes I get lonely with only my imaginary characters for company). And we all know someone with a phone permanently attached to her ear.

Why is this a problem? Because it is a time suck. It eats up valuable minutes in an already time stressed day. It also distracts us from getting real wealth building work done.

What do I do?

Setting Boundaries

I check my email first thing in the morning (y'all know I'm very good at not moderating blog comments 24-7), then at lunch break, and again after my chapter for the day is done. I don't stress about email while on vacation (though I sometimes check it as it is the easiest way to get a hold of me).

But, but, but, my boss/hubby/best friend/petsitter expects me to…

Setting Expectations

I don't answer the phone at home during the day. I've told everyone this. My excuse? I get too many telemarketing calls (true) but the interesting side effect is that I suddenly am in control of the phone. No one expects me to answer so if it rings, I can ignore it and continue writing.

I do the same thing with email. I say that I'll check email at so and so times. The hubby does this with his boss while on vacation. He sets up a checking in schedule.

Bosses understand. They ARE hiring you to get things accomplished. They simply would like to be in contact on a timely basis. It is up to the two of you together to define timely.

Remember that phones, PDA's, computers are tools. You are the master. They answer to YOU.

You might have noticed that last Thursday, I announced my book launch. The issue is that no one could buy it on Thursday. The online bookstore hadn't yet loaded my eBook. A bit embarrassing, especially since I broke one of the first rules of grand openings/launches…

One should announce a grand opening/launch well after the actual start date.

Yeah, this is a rule I never would have messed with for anyone's launch other than my own. Why? There are a number of reasons.

One is that I've never, in my decades of new business development (okay, less than 2 decades, don't make me older than I am), ever known a project to launch on time (I thought my book would be the first but…).

Another is that the first week or two of "new" brings with it problems, hiccups, issues. For a new store or restaurant opening, the staff is new. Every customer request is a "first." Service is slow. They're trying to find their rhythm.

Do you really want to add vast amounts of traffic during this time? Nope. You want the store/restaurant/product launch to be the "best", not the first, when the eager masses experience it.

I was okay. Other than telling my understanding readers on this site (I HAD to tell someone), I hadn't planned any other media/press events (my first is today). I also had free stories on my site readers could entertain themselves with while they waited for the book (always have a backup – another project lesson).