Happy September everyone!! I’m super excited to post my blog on the first day on, what I consider to be, one of the best days of the year.

For anyone who actually stuck around for the past few months, instead of basking in the beautiful summer that embraced us, you will know that the kitestring team has been hard at work – “nose to the grindstone” you might say. We’ve actually had a lot of fun working on some amazing projects this summer. Fun as they may be, it was still difficult to ignore the hot temps and cool beaches that were calling our name!

But, as I welcome in September today, I suddenly feel like the very tantalizing summer fever that I had been feeling is finally lifted – hurray!

Today brings a new energy – it’s the day to get ready to settle into the last quarter of the year. Reflect on what’s been, what we’ve checked off of our list and what’s still left to accomplish before the New Year approaches.

So, as the sandal tan fades, I invite you to join in the excitement of the season! The team here at kitestring has been doing just that. We’ve brainstormed, We’ve re-focused, we’re excited, and, believe me, the creative ideas are cookin’! The studio’s a buzz as we work on bringing our latest wacky ideas to life!

Needing a little help coming off of the summer vacation high? No worries, drop by the kitestring studio anytime. We can help you with brainstorming, focusing and re-energizing too (after all, it’s what we love to do).

-jenn

I am a business owner. I am a mom. I am a wife. I am an individual. Balanced? I am not!

We all know that there’s a mountain of information, discussions, blog posts and magazine articles out there in the quest of finding a work/life balance. So, I thought I would throw my two cents into wishing fountain and talk about how I think it’s an impossible quest.

I’ve done my best to put some basic structure into my life to ensure that one day doesn’t blur into another. I go to the office 5 days a week. I spend quality time with my son after work. I do my best to put work aside on the weekend and spend time with my family.

Note, nowhere in the above list do I mention where I maintain our house, have a hobby, hang out with friends (or my husband for that matter) or attend business functions.

Oh, did I mention that my husband is a tradesmen and, typically works 18+ hour days in the summer?

Please, don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining. I quite enjoy the fast paced, craziness that is my life. I chose all of the roles that I find myself juggling each day.  Of course, there are days that I wish I walked into a clean, un-cluttered house. There are days at work that I wish I was at home. There are days at home that I wish I was at work.  Life isn’t perfect. But, let’s face it – if we lived with a perfectly scheduled and balanced day, well, we’d all be pretty bored!

Disagree? Believe you’ve found the secret recipe for balance between your work and life? Let me know! Until then, I’ll continue on – content with the idea that maybe having toys scattered over the living room floor while I work on my laptop and chit-chat with my husband about his day is okay.

-jenn

It’s 2:30 and I just sat down from putting my little dude down for a nap.

As you may have guessed, I’m at home today.  A nasty ear infection has thrown our daily routine into a bit of a whirlwind.

As I was upstairs rocking Jack to sleep, I got to thinking about how wonderful it is that I can stay at home with him and spend the day snuggling him back to health. I have no worries that projects are falling behind or that clients are left stranded. The team at kitestring doesn’t miss a beat when a hiccup is thrown into the team mix. Having this kind of team behind me lets me to ‘be in the moment’ when life happens and I need to wear my mom cape for the day.

I came to realize pretty quickly in my mompreneur career that working from home was not for me. It was too tempting to throw on a load of laundry in between emails and perhaps a batch of muffins if I was lucky. Turns out, I’m much more productive and happy when I have focused time for both work and home.

Having said that, I knew that to accomplish this structured work and home life, I also need a strong support on the childcare team as well.  Having this allows me to ‘be in the moment’ when I’m at the kitestring office. I never worry about Jack or feel guilty that I’m not at home with him.

Figuring out this work / mom formula has taken me some time but in the end, I know it makes me the best mom and business owner that I can be.

Okay, Blog post done! Maybe I still have time to vacuum before Jack wakes up…

-jenn

Jack received a really awesome ‘early’ Christmas present last night. We came home to a special package waiting for him wrapped up in pretty red paper. I made him wait until after dinner to open it (mostly because I knew it would be a great ‘negotiating’ card to ensure he ate his dinner!)

When he ripped away the paper, he found the cutest present ever – The Elf on the Shelf.

I had never heard of this neat idea before. We opened the special box to reveal a storybook and little elf perched on a shelf within the box. As we read the story, it revealed that this was actually a special little tradition to start with our family. Our first job was to give our special elf a name. It took a while but, in the end, ‘Doc’ was the winning selection.

The story revealed how Doc was one of Santa’s special helpers here to check in on Jack throughout the holiday season. He is to report to Santa each night while Jack’s asleep. When Doc returns from the North Pole each day, he finds a new spot in our house to sit and observe the naughty and nice behaviour (I’m really hoping for more nice than naughty . It’s then Jack’s challenge to find ‘Doc’ in his new location each day.

I actually went online this morning to check if they had a site – and what a site I found! A fully animated site that lets you check in on the North Pole, register your elf’s name in the registry and more.

What a great gift and tradition that was started for our family! I would definitely check it out. I wish I would have known about it earlier as I definitely would have been purchasing this set for some of the little guys on our list this year.

Check it out for yourself! http://www.elfontheshelf.com/#/home

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

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

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

It was actually soon after the birth of my son, Jack, when I started down the path of opening my own design firm. I felt that if I was going to make the leap, now was the time. One of the most desirable aspects of being an entrepreneur was the flexibility to have the time my son that I wanted while still maintaining a rewarding career.

I’ve almost been back to work for a year now and, I must admit, it’s taken a lot of trial and error to get this new ‘family machine’ working smoothly. It seems as though I’m on a constant quest for balance between work and family. Throw in a week of work travel for my husband, business functions after work or a sick little boy and everything can quickly turn upside down. Luckily, I have great people behind me that bring support and sanity, when I need it most.

It’s certainly a challenge but, in the end, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

- jenn

Check out the following article on how mompreneurs are making an impact on the business community:

http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/409934