Cheers to a New Year!

Phew! We made it! I am happy to say goodbye to 2018 and ready to welcome 2019.
This past year was certainly a challenging one for me and my family, but we learned so much from the past several months. I feel that we are ready to start the new year stronger than ever! My heart is filled with expectations and lots of hope for a fresh start.

I am a ‘soon-to-be-single’ mom of two amazing girls. I can’t find enough words to express how much I love them and how much they mean to me.
After being a ‘Household CEO’  for 11 years, I found myself in need of discovering my financial freedom. It is still a work in process, but somehow I believe it will work out. I am working on creative ways to support my family, while still enjoying quality time with them.

Although I was feeling insecure and outdated, after much research I decided to start my own virtual business. As I was ‘forced’ to list my skills and abilities, I was surprised to see that I still have a lot to offer to the business world, but I was also shocked to find out how much I still need to learn. In all honesty, that should not come as a surprise at all. Technology moves at the speed of light. What you learned today might already have to be adjusted tomorrow. This is actually one of the aspects that fascinates me so much about virtual business: you are constantly learning, even if you choose a very specific niche to work with.

I also decided to become a Blogger! I am so excited about sharing a little bit of our lives, experiences and ideas with you. I am looking forward to learning from your experiences, making connections and developing friendships.

My Business Plan

You might find it a bit ironic but as the New Year approaches, I decided to go the old fashion and write down (really hand-write down!) my goals.
Running a home-based business while homeschooling 2 children can be challenging, to say the least. In order to minimize distractions and keep my focus, I saw the need of having something physical to remind me of my business related tasks.

I organize my small working space in a way that makes me feel cozy and inspired, while still keeping an eye on my daughters.
I set weekly goals and tasks and check off them as they get completed. Whatever is not done by the end of the week gets re-inserted in the following week’s plan. This simple and old-fashion step has been helping me tremendously to keep focus.
I used to use a phone app but the reminders would just get lost after snoozing them so many times. Then I would only remember the task (if remembering at all) when it was already too late to get it completed.

Working Space and Planning

Setting up a small working area, free of distraction (as much as possible) was my step number one. This is also something that can sound so simple, but if you are a mom like me, you know how challenging this small task can be. I am surrounded by children stuff all the time and everywhere. If I got one cent for each time I hear mom/mommy/mamae (this last noun means ‘mommy’ in Portuguese) I could retire right now and go enjoy life in the Cayman Islands! You moms know what I mean!

My working space is not fancy at all. All I needed was a small corner, a desk, and some nice light. Done. No clutter, no toys, no crayons…This is probably the only clutter-free space in my house!  The computer is running, the headphone is working, the internet connection is reliable. I am in business and all good to go.

Some ideas

Coffee! You know by now that I have two daughters, right?! Well, not only that, I actually need to put this in a different way: I have a preteen daughter and a preschooler!!! They are all over the place (and all over me!) the whole day. Please don’t get me wrong, I do love my girls to pieces! However, trying to write an article, or post or even a little note to the neighbor, with them running around can be a little bit…hum…difficult. So I write at night after my sleeping beauties are already in bed.

I am Brazilian and a natural coffee lover, but now coffee moved up to a whole new role in my life. It became my best friend and companion, as I need to stay up late and still wake up the same regular early hours.
I got this mug as part of a ‘business survival kit’  gift and totally love it. If you are a coffee or tea lover, I highly recommend one of these. It’s called Ember Temperature Control Ceramic Mug. It allows you to control your drink temperature remotely! Isn’t technology super cool?

I also found this amazing planner on Amazon: Moleskine Classic Soft Cover which is already helping me. It’s simple, small and I can take it with me wherever I go. It’s easy to add a task as I find additional things that need to get done.
Some of you might be thinking ‘Why doesn’t she just use a task manager app?’. Although I still use apps a lot, I find the traditional task manager quite more reliable. And let me share my view of why I think is more reliable. I had all my upcoming appointments, meets, and activities stored on an app. Then I lost my phone! Along with my phone, I lost a lot of important information I had only stored there. To this date, I still haven’t recovered everything I lost, and possibly never will, as I don’t even remember them (yes! That’s how much I relied on it for my to-dos). Now, especially when it comes to business, I really don’t want to have that experience again.

My suggestion is, set your goals for the New Year, get one of these planners and write them down, keep track of everything and hold yourself accountable for it.

Accountability

I don’t know about you, but until recently I thought and felt that I had to do it all. Looking and asking for help was a sign of weakness. I had to smile all the time and pretend that everything was OK. Then, one day everything tumbled down. I could no longer pretend, but by then I was alone with nowhere to turn.

I am telling you now that it is OK to ask for help! No matter what you’re going through, you don’t have to be alone!

In the business world, accountability is one of the most important keys for your success. Through trials, you will find a system that works with your personality and needs. Stick with your guts. Use what works for YOU. But whatever you do, keep yourself on track. These are busy times. We are all overwhelmed by things of life, overloaded with information from all sides. It is so easy to get distracted, to lose focus and get lost. It is OK to count on someone who will help by holding you accountable. You don’t have to do it all alone!

Support all around

This year I found support in places and from people I would never imagine. It is amazing how much support you can get when you open up to be helped. No one will know you need help if you portray that everything is under control.

My girls and I go to a non-denominational church and we love it! It has been especially interesting to hear the messages from the past several months. Sometimes when you’re going through some difficult situation, the messages appear to have been written especially for you (me!). Why am I saying this? Well, I remember one Sunday when my pastor said something that really changed my perspective: ‘You don’t have to go through life alone.”

Open your heart to someone you trust and accept help. It will change everything.

I am receiving 2019 with an open heart. I am ready and looking forward to a new beginning and much success.

Cheers 2019!