Organization Is key To Success

Dear Coach,
I’m trying to start a business and I can’t afford a babysitter so I have my small children at home with me when I’m trying to work. We live in a small house so my dining room table has become my office and having the family to cooperate by not spilling milk on my stuff is getting harder and harder to do. I feel like giving up until my kids are older but it’s something I really want to do and if it works, I could really use the money. Should I give up?
Thanks,
Single Mom with a Dream

Dear Single Mom,
Never give up!   And there are two schools of thought on that. One, keep at it or two, shelve it till a later date and keep building contacts and ideas in the meantime.  If you choose the former and are going to keep at it, here are a few
ideas…find someone to trade play-dates with. It may seem crazy at first to bring more kids into your life, but what it does is allow you to schedule your "office/business" time. Nobody is out any money and the other mom gets a break as well. When your kids are at their play-date, use that time to work.

As far as the dining room table goes, well…it is their table, too. Not knowing what your business is, it’s hard to actually give you tips on space…but here’s an idea. If it is a big table, put a piece of tape on one end so it clearly defines a separate space. (Remember, your computer is what you really have to have permanent space for if it’s not a laptop) As
far as daily paper-work (desk stuff) goes, consider getting a jigsaw puzzle keeper. They hold papers pretty well so it can be turned into a makeshift desktop. When your workday is finished you can slide it under the bed. The good news is that entrepreneurs like yourself are generally able to go around obstacles in their business life so just apply some of that to your personal life and I suspect you’ll do fine.
Good Luck!
Coach

"Life ABC's" is written by Life Coach Talyne Corlyn-Belka
You can reach her at coach@lifecoachalaska.com