Celebrating "Momtrepreneurs" - Paper Nook

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.

Momtrepreneur Tacy:  Owner of Paper Nook

I'm Tacy, owner of Paper Nook. After 10 years in the corporate world as a Graphic Designer, I made a decision to stay at home to raise my children and start my own business. It sounded way easier in theory than it has been in practice, but spending my days with my three year old girl and one year old boy has been rewarding beyond words. I've worn many hats since graduating from Ohio University with a BS in Visual Communications (Info. Graphics/Page Design), such as Graphic Designer and Creative Director with well-known consumer brands. Transitioning from a professional career to a stay at home mom was a challenge! Over time, I discovered a void. I desperately needed a creative outlet at the end of the day or else I'd go crazy. The result? My third baby - Paper Nook.



The inspiration for Paper Nook came from my name. Tacy isn't common. At novelty shops, my name wasn't on the bicycle license plates or personalized cups, so I'm slightly obsessed with putting my kid's names on whatever I can. Paper Nook gives me the unique ability to personalize products for parents and their children—no matter how unique the name.

A typical day for me:


7am: Kids wake up and we eat breakfast

8am: Try to respond to emails while the kids play or are doing activities


12pm: Eat lunch and then my son goes down for a nap and I answer more emails or package up orders I completed from the night before


3pm: Snack time, errands and more playing the rest of the afternoon
6pm: Make dinner and hubby is home to help with the kids


7pm: Bath time and then bed time for the kids

8pm: The real work time begins


12pm: Bedtime!
I really try to only work 3 of 5 weekdays and only on Sundays, so that I can also have quality time with the hubby a couple week nights and weekends.

Being a SAHM is definitely a very hard job. Being a SAHM while also being a work-at-home-mom is even harder. I opened my Etsy store in June 2010, a month after my second child was born, and my business has grown organically via word-of-mouth. In the future, as my kids get older, I hope to spend more of my daytime hours growing my business, but I'm completely satisfied with my work and the time I get to spend with my children.

My advice to anyone who wants to work from home is make sure you have all the support in the world from your spouse. I couldn't do it without my husband. Secondly, find a healthy balance of time for your work, your family and yourself. It's not easy and it's a moving target that requires re-calibration from week to week.

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Check out all of Paper Nook's great products and become a fan today!

http://www.papernook.com/

http://www.papernook.etsy.com/

www.facebook.com/papernook

www.twitter.com/papernook

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TODAY'S PRIZE:  A $20 credit for any PaperNook product(s)!
 
Remember, one lucky winner will win ALL of the Momtrepreneur Week prizes!!! Check out each post for more details on what you can win. One comment per post allowed for multiple entries (posts on September 22nd, 24th, 26th, and 28th).

Please, don't make me search the world for your contact information - be sure to include a Twitter handle or email address so I can reach you if you are the lucky winner.

Giveaway entries accepted through 9/30 at 9:00 PM eastern time. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

Celebrating "Momtrepreneurs" - Mommy Talk Show

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.



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Momtrepreneur Joyce: MommyTalkShow.com

The dream…

When I was working as a TV news reporter, one of my favorite things to do was interview an entrepreneur. They always seemed so passionate about running their business, selling their product or providing a service. Entrepreneurs had no “boss” to answer to and made their own schedules. The minute-to-minute deadlines of TV news were foreign to them. Entrepreneurs moved at their own pace or at least at the pace of their customers.

The reality…

Now that I am an entrepreneur, or momtrepreneur to be exact, I realize I may have idealized them a little too much. Running your own business is hard work. When you’re first starting out, you’re probably working alone. All decisions, good or bad, must be made by you.

The even bigger challenge as a mom running your own business is that you have a little person who is your real boss. Your children and their needs dictate when you can take conference calls, meetings or attend seminars. It’s a never-ending balancing act that I’m not sure any mom ever perfects.

Getting things done…

Thanks to technology, I get an incredible amount of work done while my 18 month old son A.J. is taking a nap or in bed for the night. Thanks to my Macbook Pro, I edit professional videos using iMovie software while I’m in bed watching TV. My tweets and Facebook posts can be scheduled thanks to Hootsuite or Tweetdeck. This way I have a round-the-clock social media presence for me and my clients, when what I’m really doing is playing at the park with my son, running an errand or taking a quick catnap.

When I really need to get things done, I tell my husband ahead of time that he’s “on-duty” and I leave the house so I can work at Starbucks or Panera Bread (where I’m writing this post). A.J. also attends a mother’s day out program once a week so I can rely on that dedicated four hour break. Thanks to a nearby co-work and play space, Bean Work Play Café in Decatur, I can work in a professional environment and A.J. plays nearby. There’s no long-term commitment. Just a membership fee and hourly child care.

Can you do it?

Watch this video to learn a little more about me, my parenting talk show and about an e-book designed to help moms find business ideas that you can win. Most importantly, I suggest a really simple business you can start ASAP. Once you hear it, you’ll think “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Connect with Emmy-award-winning Joyce!

http://mommytalkshow.com/

http://Facebook.com/MommyTalkShow

http://Twitter.com/MommyTalkShow

(And don't forget to enter HER e-book giveaway! After you enter for the Momtrepreneur Gift Pack here first!)
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Today's prize: A $15 Target gift card
so you can stock up on supplies to follow you entrepreneur dreams!

Remember, one lucky winner will win ALL of the Momtrepreneur Week prizes!!! One comment per post allowed for multiple entries (posts on September 22nd, 24th, 26th, and 28th).

Please, don't make me search the world for your contact information - be sure to include a Twitter handle or email address so I can reach you if you are the lucky winner.

Giveaway entries accepted through 9/30 at 9:00 PM eastern time. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

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(Deadline to enter to win Joyce's e-book giveaway (visit her site for more info) is Saturday, October 8th at 9 p.m. EST.)

Celebrating "Momtrepreneurs" - Saucy Spirits (yum!)

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.

Momtrepreneur Tiffany (and son!): Owners of Saucy Spirits

About the author: Tiffany Wong is a mother of six and co-owner of Saucy Spirits, a gourmet wine jelly business operated by her oldest son, Ryan. They are currently raising funds for Ryan to get his commercial license, check out their project HERE.

I helped Ryan start his Saucy Spirits wine jelly business last summer, as a way for him to make some extra spending money. What was supposed to be a one-day-a-week hobby, quickly turned into four markets a week and lots of jelly making hours! We have now been in business for a little over a year and Ryan is getting ready to take his wine jellies to the retail market. As a mom to six children, I do my best to keep some sort of separation between work and family, but more often than not, it just isn’t possible. I don’t have easy access to a sitter, so 90% of the time I have at least three children home, if not all six. To help juggle the business and family tasks, I have found that the easiest option for my family is to just involve everyone, even the little ones. If you work from home and have trouble finding time for your children, think about trying one or more of the following:

Take your children on business errands with you. If it isn’t an important meeting, load everyone up and head out. When we go shopping for wine jelly ingredients and market materials, my younger two girls love to come. They take turns doing things like holding the shopping list, putting things in the cart, organizing items in the cart, handing things to the cashier, etc. Yes, it takes a little longer than if I just went alone, but they really enjoy helping. It’s also quicker and cheaper than taking them to a sitter, and allows us to have more time together.

Let your children be your assistants. When performing various work tasks at home, let your children help you. My daughters love to help Ryan and I get out the materials he needs to make his wine jellies. Even at three and four, they can hand me sheets of labels, help put jars in boxes, and much more.

Involve your children in business decisions. We often discuss important business decisions around the dinner table. Even though the final decision is ultimately made by me and Ryan, I still let everyone know what the issue is at hand. We usually go around the table and let everyone tell us their thoughts. You may be surprised at the wonderful ideas your children have for your business, if you just take the time to ask!

Something that we often forget as parents is that our children just want to be with us. They don’t care if we are managing a house or running a business, they just want our time and attention. If you struggle with penciling in time for your children, take one day next week and try having them help. You might just be surprised by the results!

Find out more about Ryan's unique jellies on their webpage, http://www.saucyspirits.com/, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/saucyspirits.

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Today's prize: $25 gift box
Includes a mini jar of each Saucy Spirits flavor:
Pear Pinot Grigio
Dark Chocolate Cherry Cabernet Sauvignon
Roasted Red Pepper Chardonnay
Tomato Basil Table Red
Peach White Zinfandel


Remember, one lucky winner will win ALL of the Momtrepreneur Week prizes!!! Custom name sign from Ellabee Papier, $15 Target gift card, $20 to Paper Nook, plus the wine jelly sampler from Saucy Spirits! One comment per post allowed for multiple entries (posts on September 22nd, 24th, 26th, and 28th).

Please, don't make me search the world for your contact information - be sure to include a Twitter handle or email address so I can reach you if you are the lucky winner.

Giveaway entries accepted through 9/30 at 9:00 PM eastern time. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

Celebrating "Momtrepreneurs" - Ellabee Papier (and a big giveaway!)

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.


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Momtrepreneur Melissa: Owner of Ellabee Papier

Hello, I'm Melissa with Ellabee Papier and mommy to Ella, an energetic non-stop two year old. Ellabee Papier is my venture back into the world of working. The idea of starting my own business has always interested me. With the encouragement and support of friends and family, I became a mom-entrepreneur and Ellabee Papier came to fruition. I considered an Etsy store, but the start-up seemed daunting. Etsy's market is flooded with invitations and other paper merchandise just like mine and I wasn't sure I would get noticed. I decided to postpone the Etsy store and pursue word of mouth referrals and network with local vendors and so far, it is working. Between Ellabee and freelance print media design I stay quite busy.


Now for the fun part.

How do I manage being a stay-at-home mom turned work-at-home mom?

Most days I wish there were two of me. Ellabee Papier is still very new and I'm trying to figure it all out. I'm sure I jumped in prematurely (no official business plan or website) but I work better under pressure; at least that's what I keep telling myself. I read blogs and see "Super Moms" with multiple kids managing to do more. Not just a little more but lots more. How is that possible? Is it Inspirational? Yes! Am I Jealous? Of course I am! Will I be one of those moms? Fingers crossed.

How do I plan to get there? A comfortable chair and the television are my weaknesses. I am most productive at my desk. I try to limit my time on social media sites and I take advantage of naptime. I also work several evenings a week after Ella goes to bed. Is this working for me? It does most of the time, but occasionally I stress over deadlines. What am I learning along the way? To hopefully be a little less OCD and realize it's okay not to be a perfectionist. The most important lesson so far is not to procrastinate. I enjoy having time with Ella and being a mommy is my first priority. Too soon life will change and she will be off at school. Maybe then, I can be "Super Mom". One thing is certain, being a stay at home mom, work at home mom, or working mom makes no difference, raising a child is the hardest job of all.

You can view more of my work at http://www.facebook.com/EllabeePapier.

I would be happy to help create a memorable birthday party for your superstar!

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Prize #1 in the Momtrepreneur Week prize pack:
A custom name sign!
Designed to compliment your child's bedroom, be it whimsical, beautiful, or just plain fun!

To enter, simply leave a comment on one - or all - of the Momtrepreneur posts this week (I will have a new post every other day through 9/28). If you comment on each post this week, you get four entries! One tweet per day, with a link back to this post, also allowed as bonus. Just be sure to leave an extra comment saying "I tweeted!" with the link.

Please, don't make me search the world for your contact information - be sure to include a Twitter handle or email address so I can reach you if you are the lucky winner. 

Giveaway entries accepted through 9/30 at 9:00 PM eastern time. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.