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Mary Kathryn Johnson
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Five Tips for Living the Mom Solopreneur Dream

8/22/2013

3 Comments

 
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Ask any new mom who consciously made the choice to stay home and raise her own kids if she is 'living the dream,' and I guarantee her answer will be, "ABSOLUTELY.....except when I'm not."


Once the bills settle in from the change in lifestyle required for a one income household in the 21st century, this dream mom job might shift, and cause her to become a solo-entrepreneur to make ends meet.


I've been living that dream (that has sometimes felt like a nightmare when I've had only three hours sleep) for the past 10 years, and I have some tips for success I outline in my Yahoo! Voices article:


  • Prioritize throughout your day, and use the kids' needs to your advantage.  



  • Let your goals evolve alongside your kids.



  • Organization is key...except when it's not.



  • Read on for a new definition of yourself.....



Are you a solopreneur mom?  If so, or if you want to be, please share your ideas below!

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left


3 Comments

05 Things I'll Do Before Turning 50. If I'm Not Dead, I'm Not Done.

6/17/2013

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PictureRight before chopping off 10 inches!
2013 is the culmination of my 50th year of life.  All my over 50 Pixel Pals are nodding their heads saying, "Been there, Done that."  Of course, they know I'm only half way through this journey, and can understand my taking stock to see what's coming around the bend.

I, like all others before me, am feeling the clock ticking faster, and am responding with trying to do more by this mid-century mark.  So, here is my 05 by 50 list for your reading and laughing pleasure.

  1. Go Skydiving
  2. Appreciate my curves enough so that I can walk on a beach in a bathing suit without sucking in my stomach
  3. Chop off my long hair and donate it  (DONE!)
  4. Finish one of my novels
  5. Pay my monthly mortgage from writing




I'll keep you posted as time goes by.  I have until September 2013 to do these five things!


Here's to the next 50 years!


What did you do, or will you do by the time you turn 50?


Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left





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All that is left! LOVE IT!
2 Comments

Confession of My Addiction

7/27/2012

4 Comments

 
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Yes, I am addicted, and here is my supplier.  He stays late for me to get my fix, because he knows I'm hooked.  He offers me new blends of my drug, and I salivate at the mere mention.

Okay...sorry Dennis, I just had to be dramatic, you know me!  Really, this is the best coffee I have ever tasted, hand roasted weekly by the nicest family.  Dennis and Renee Planje have both been amazingly wonderful and accommodating to my addiction, and I have corrupted several of my own family members to become hooked on their Moka Java Roast - it has very soothing chocolate tones.

Four months ago, I found El Dorado Coffee & Tea Co. through an internet search after being completely underwhelmed by the grocery store coffee selection, and the unpredictable delivery of roasters as close as San Francisco and as far away as Italy.  I personally visit Dennis every other week to get my 2lb. vacuum sealed bag of Moka Java - sometimes I buy two 2lb. bags when my father-in-law visits.  I can run out of milk, bread or cereal, but NEVER coffee beans.  Yes, I get whole beans...I even invested in a built in Miele coffee maker when we remodeled our kitchen three years ago, and this grind-and-brew one cup at a time appliance is still the most used.  The true extent of my addiction is that my kids know how to turn on the coffee maker, and make me a cappuccino.  In true Italian fashion, my youngest has a mocha once a week with half a shot.  He loves coffee!

He's almost 11, okay?!  Geez!  It's not like I'm stunting his growth or anything!  (I'm not, right?!)

El Dorado Coffee & Tea Co. delivers, you know, so I highly suggest you try their coffee.  If you are not as addicted as I am, and you need ground coffee, they can do that.  Just let them know what type of grind - French Press, Drip, etc. - and they will do all the hard work, all you need do is put it in your coffee maker!  Tell them Mary sent you...not that it will get you any special treatment, because they treat everyone like family, but just 'cause it makes me feel good.  ;-)


If you need another reason to shop at El Dorado Coffe & Tea Co. besides the quality products and great people, here you go:  Renee co-founded Project2Love, an organization in partnership with the International Women's Coffee Alliance (IWCA) that helps create a channel for distributing women owned and grown coffee and tea products.  Supporting these small farms allows their women owners to earn a living and feed their families.  So, buy this coffee, and it will taste good and make you feel good at the same time (and I'm not just talking about the high of feeding your addiction, you'll also be feeding families).

Okay, I must confess that my motive in posting this is to spread my addiction far and wide.  Addicts never want to get high alone, right?!  But, seriously, if you like coffee, you will love this coffee...and you will never go back to Starbucks!

Just sayin' ~

UPDATE:  Just so you know, I am not compensated in any way by El Dorado Coffee & Tea, and I buy my coffee from them with my own money. I will expect them to give away their wonderful product when Obama or any other President gives me a break!

Mary Kathryn Johnson
Author ~ Entrepreneur ~ Mom

@SayBumpandTweet
MommyLoves to Chat!
Everything MommyLoves
Say Bump and Take a Left


4 Comments

Mother Theresa was Very Selfish

9/1/2011

2 Comments

 
Heart and Mother Theresa
You may argue that I have it backwards, but I don't think so.

We are all motivated by feelings.  The Sales Person who sells shipping boxes feels just as much of a high when he makes a big sale as the one who sells Ferrari's.  The high of the sale is the motivator.  iTunes and CDBaby would not exist if Musicians simply sat in their spare rooms or studios expressing to themselves their joy of making music, but having no desire to share their compositions.  The Musician puts her work out into the world, because of the feeling she gets when someone likes her music and/or buys it.

Landscape Architects, Accountants, Artists, CEO's and School Teachers are no different.  Whatever the motivation for each person to stay in his chosen career, whether for the pride in the magazine article showcasing the outdoor beauty the Landscape Architect enhanced, or the fulfillment of knowing the School Teacher positively influenced the next generation , the feeling is the motivator.

For many of us, those strong positive feelings dull with time, repetition and added responsibility.  We acquire spouses, children, pets, boats, houses and debt, and the work that gave us powerful motivating feelings actually becomes work.  That fulfillment of teaching children now becomes a desire for the security of full pay and benefits when she turns 60.

Anyone nodding their head? 

So, do we simply deal with the drudgery for the sake of security?  If so, what life will we look back upon when we face death?  What will we regret?

Ten years ago I was in the drudgery.  I had a job I enjoyed, but I was starting to only enjoy each sale for the money it brought home for the house, cars and groceries, and to be honest I was enjoying the status that came with my upper middle class income. 

Then several things happened in September, 2001 that made me "Take a Left" turn on my path in life.  I know what you're thinking, but read on.
  • I got laid off due to a merger
  • I got another higher paying job in the booming dot com industry
  • I got pregnant with my second child
  • I lost my dot com job (surprising in 2001, right?!)
  • I got another great part time job even though I was 7 months pregnant
  • I fell and broke both my legs when I was 8 months pregnant
  • I delivered the baby with casts on both legs up to the knee, and cared for the newborn, toddler, husband and home hopping around using a walker
  • My amazing, wonderful Mother-in-law whom I had known for 30 years then died of Breast Cancer
Yes, my little insignificant difficulties were nothing to the global catastrophe that occurred only six days after I broke my legs on 9/5/01, but my difficulties are forever linked to that catastrophe as I watched with my cast-clad feet propped up on a pillow the horror of 9/11/01 unfold, and my son was also born only days later.

All of my difficulties led to my feeling very confident that if I could survive all this with my sense of humor in tact, I could do ANYTHING!

I started a business, MommyLoves, and grew it to success myself - I feel proud and empowered.

I wrote a book, Say Bump and Take a Left. How I Birthed a Baby and a Business after a Huge Bump in the Road - I feel humbled, accomplished and proud that I Self Published.

I started a Self Publishing company to help all the people who approached me about their own stories, and their desires to show them to the world through Self Publishing, HelpMeSelfPublish - I feel satisfaction and contentment that I am nurturing others to fulfill their dreams.

When you give a gift to someone - not simply a store bought card and candy for Valentine's day - a real gift that surprises and overjoys them, you feel great.  You nailed it!  You gave that one in a million gift that you knew they would love, yet were not expecting.  There is no better feeling.

Today, I helped a friend embark upon the road to a dream she never even knew she had, down a road she is uniquely qualified to navigate.  Fulfilling this dream will give her the flexibility she needs to be home with her children, and the security she desires to be self sufficient.  I didn't do anything specific, I just planted a seed, showed her a way, opened up new possibilities.  The sparkle in her eyes, and the glow of possibilities radiating from her face made me feel damn good that I contributed to that sparkle and glow!

Pretty selfish of me, right?!

I can only imagine how Mother Theresa felt when she saw that glimmer of hope in every person's eyes that she had the pleasure of helping.  Again, the feelings I get from my little insignificant contribution to my friend and the people I help Self Publish are not even comparable to the joy Mother Theresa must have felt when she knew The Society of Missionaries helped thousands of the poorest of the poor in countries around the globe, and those thousands of people would not have that glimmer of hope were it not for Mother Theresa.

Thank God Mother Theresa was so wonderfully selfish.

How selfish are you?
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    Hi, I'm Mary, a woman constantly working toward becoming a Master of herself and all things named Duane, Evan, Riley, Seren, Linus and Katie ~ that's why it's so messy around here.


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