Last year, my husband told me that our Christmas was ‘too grown up’ and that we needed to bring some kid elements in. As he was saying this, I think I actually blacked out for a minute and, in the blackness a lit marqui flashing the word ‘tacky’ appeared. Since then, I contemplated his words and chatted with many about it. I don’t think I’m ready to give up my nicely coordinated tree decor and all of the other pretty things that are in my Christmas collection. It wasn’t until the last few days that I realized that maybe a kid christmas doesn’t have to mean tacky.

This Christmas season is turning out to be a lot of fun in our house. Jack is now 2 1/2 and it’s the first Christmas that he’s actually cluing in to what it’s all about. He squeals at the excitement of the lights donning houses and is super intrigued by the presents that are starting to collect under the tree. The other big change this year is that he gets what ‘Santa’ is. He’s mesmerized by him actually. As a parent, its added a whole new element into Christmas that I am absolutely LOVING! Granted, he’s not quite old enough to start using Santa as a vehicle to get Jack to do the things I want for fear that he’ll be put on the ‘naughty’ list but, creating the magic of Santa is a blast!

Today I setup a neat video message from Santa  that Sympatico is providing for the holiday season. I simply inputted his name, age and a few other details and voila – a personal message to Jack from the big guy himself. I loaded it up for Jack to watch as he was eating breakfast. It was so cute to see his eyes peeled to the screen as his picture showed up in Santa’s big book. “That’s Jack, mamma”, he yelled! When it had finished, he insisted “again, again”. How much fun is that!?! (The link to Jack’s message is included below for you to check out and craft one of your own!)

So, in the end, I still have a pretty Christmas but, the season is enhanced for me by being able to sprinkle a little magic into the mix for Jack as well! Don’t get me wrong – I’m no pro at being Santa. Let me know some of the tricks and surprises that you added into your kids Christmas to make it extra special – I welcome the advice!

Link: http://santa.sympatico.ca/watch/c372b5ce6cc8980d6a7c2dfaa45fc3fc

- jenn

Not sure if you’ve heard the news but – the Holiday season is upon us!

We’ve quickly been thrown into the purchasing, wrapping and other preparations that surround us at this time of year.  With each year that passes I always vow that “I’ll be better prepared next year”. A great aspiration but, by the time the next Christmas season rolls around, I’m usually back in the same crunch that I always find myself in.

Not this year! This year, I promised to make a conscious effort to make it a little less stressful and a little more magical without  the post-Christmas financial hangover. We started our shopping earlier than we normally do – allowing us to put thought into what we are buying for everyone  and spread the spending out over several months.

I also enlisted the help of technology.

Too often, we wonder around the mall with a mental list of the people to check-off the and, worse, only a mental tally of the money we’ve spent.

This year, I downloaded an application onto my iPhone called ‘Holiday Shopping List’. It’s just one of the many available in the App Store. This handy little addition has allowed me to build our list, assign individual budgets for each person, categorize folks, make notes as we shop and keep a running tally of what we’ve spent (both individually and in total).It also allows you to mark a person as ‘finished’ – one of my most favorite features!

Now, as we shop, I have a current list in my pocket. No more scribbles on paper for us! I love this application. It’s allowed me to keep a really accurate tally on our status of what’s left to do and what we have left to spend. For once, I’m in control of Christmas Shopping and not the other way around.

Such a little thing has made a big difference! With our shopping in a good place – it’s left us time to actually enjoy the time leading up to the big day. We’ve been watching holiday movies, baking cookies, checking out the Christmas lights – who knew that the pre-Christmas weeks could be so fun!

Happy preparing!

- jenn

Chris’ post about creativity got me thinking about a great little interaction I had this past fall. Although it was short, it stuck with me.

A few weekends ago, we were at one of the wonderful Fall festivals happening in the area. At the end of the ceremonial parade, one of the firefighters came up to Jack and I and gave him a colour book and crayons.  ‘Mamma, I draw!’ Yes, Jack takes any opportunity he can to break out the crayons and scribble! It’s one of his most favorite activities.

As we were thanking the generous fireman, he admired Jack’s innocent excitement and shared a little story…

“I remember exactly the moment in life that I realized that it wasn’t acceptable to draw outside the lines. I was in grade one colouring away like a mad man. The teacher came around and admired the girl sitting next to meet for how well she was colouring. As I looked over, I noticed that there was something distinctly different about our two papers. Hers was neat and tidy and all inside the lines. Mine was a free-for-all a big splash of colour – and certainly not inside the lines. Hmm, I thought, I guess that there are some rules here to be followed…from then on in – I did my best to colour inside the lines.”

This story not only stuck with me but also made me think that maybe the ‘colour inside the lines’ philosophy isn’t always the best route. We need to reach outside of the lines – not only on our colouring sheet but in life in general. Reach for the stars as they say! As a mom, I keep this story in my mind as Jack grows up. I think its important for Jack to understand that sometimes its okay to colour outside the lines – it makes life interesting!

-jenn

I’m not a bookkeeper. I don’t like bookkeeping, I’m not trained as a bookkeeper and, I’m certainly not good at bookkeeping. Believe me – you do not want me in charge of bookkeeping!

So, how does our bookkeeping get done? We hired a bookkeeper!

Too often, entrepreneurs take on all of the functions involved in managing and growing their business – bookkeeping, purchasing, marketing, sales – you name it, there’s a hat in your closet for it!

The problem is – you’ll spend so much time on trying to do the things that you’re not so great at that you’ll have no time to add real value using your real skill set.

My point? Use your core skills to contribute to the business most effectively. Whether it be a bookkeeper, lawyer or marketing firm, find the right partners to help you with the areas that you’ll just end up wasting your very precious time on. After all, your business deserves the best!

- jenn

Social Media has become an important element of my day. The chirp of tweet deck is a common sound throughout out the office. I check in on my facebook throughout the day and always seem to be thinking about my next blog post. They have truly become important tools for our business. They provide us with resources and knowledge, allows us to share a little about kitestring, and introduce us to some really awesome people!

I must admit, at one point, I actually refused to jump on the social media train – preaching that I just didn’t have enough time to dedicate to MySpace or the like. So, what changed? Well, for me, it was having Jack and settling into a year of maternity leave.

Coming from the corporate world, I felt abandoned when, all of a sudden, it was just me and a newborn for upwards of 15 hours a day. What was I going to do? There was no inner office chat, no client calls, no meetings – nothing!

It was at this point that I signed up for my Facebook account. Immediately, I was connected with a whole network of people to share moments with, reconnect with and, ultimately, socialize with – online. Finally, I had an outlet to the world again!

Soon, I was following blogs, connecting with other mompreneurs and finding out about groups in our city that I may never have.

For me, social media provided a window to the outside world for a while. My reasons for using these tools have changed through time and now, I can’t imagine growing my business without them.

What’s your purpose for using social media? Let us know!

Happy Tweeting, Blogging, Digging and Facebooking!

-   jenn

I didn’t do any work this past weekend. Yes, I admit it! I didn’t answer emails, I didn’t work on next year’s marketing plan, I didn’t even think about my schedule for the coming week. I had a totally un-kitestring weekend.

What I did do this weekend included watching morning cartoons with my son, seeing a movie with my husband on Saturday night, playing with my son at the park, and cooking my family a big Sunday dinner.

It’s not that I never do these things but, too often, I only do them half-heartedly (and usually with my iPhone in hand).

I always say that finding balance between my many jobs (entrepreneur, mom and wife) is one of the toughest things I face each day. I love having an office because I need the structure of ‘going to work’ and having focused kitestring time. Sometimes, it’s difficult for me to remember that it’s also okay to have focused family time as well.

Does this ‘balance’ happen every day? Absolutely not! It’s not uncommon for Jack to hang out at the office for an afternoon or for me to be answering an email while cooking dinner. It’s actually part of the reason that I love what I do so much.

So, I woke up thinking this morning, “Does my mini-break this weekend make me a bad entrepreneur?” After I got over my Monday morning guilt, I came to realize that maybe it actually makes me a better entrepreneur. I was ready to hit the week – energized and ready to tackle the tasks at hand.

- jenn

As entrepreneurs, we spend a lot of time building our business plan and perfecting our product or service. Of course, these are both super important but as Dragon’s Den Arlene Dickinson notes, branding is also an essential piece of a successful business.

Have a listen to Arlene’s podcast on the importance of building a solid brand strategy.

http://www.kpmg.ca/en/services/enterprise/dd_podcasts/dd_10_23_2009.mp3

Happy Listening!

-jenn

Here at kitestring, we have the privilege of spending our days working with passionate entrepreneurs to develop and define their brand as they start their business. It’s certainly an energetic, challenging and rewarding process to collaborate on and launch into the marketplace.

What happens after a brand is launched? Good question! That’s when the real work begins.

Too often entrepreneurs spend a tremendous amount of time and energy into the development of their brand, send it into the marketplace and then let it sit there. It’s important to remember that your brand needs you, just like you need it! Spend the time to evaluate it, evolve it and nurture it – believe me, the time you invest into it will be returned ten-fold.

Need a little light hearted read to get you inspired? Here’s an article that I recently read that you might enjoy: http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/branding/article203748.html

Cheers,

-jenn

Sometimes being a mompreneur requires a well thought out plan, a wonderful support system, a bit of magic and a touch of humour.

My week started today with an 8am meeting. Not really a big deal – at least it wouldn’t have been in ‘pre-Jack’ days. How things change when you throw a 2 year old in the mix. Not only was I up at the crack of dawn but I also had to gently wake Jack up super early to ensure that he  was dressed and fed with adequate time to meet the schedule. Thankfully, it was a good morning for Mr. Jack. He decided that, indeed, he should wear a shirt and socks today – unlike the daily battle we had last week!

We did it! We were successfully out the door on time. As we pulled in the driveway of Jack’s daycare, I asked him my daily question, “Jack are you ready to go?” Instead of his typical “Ya Mamma, I ready!” all Jack could say was “Mamma, It Dark Out” as in… “What the heck are we doing here, it’s still night time out!” I couldn’t help but laugh; Jack was right – it was way too early to be starting the day!

Like I said earlier, a well thought out plan, a wonderful support system, a bit of magic…and a touch of humour!

- jenn