VACATION tip for SAHMs and others

Going on vacation this week. If I were good about posting regularly I know you would miss me.

Before departing I thought I would pass on two tips about vacation time, one for everyone, one for SAHMS especially.

1. USE YOUR VACATION TIME. Two weeks or six, companies include this as part of your total employment package. They pay you less if they give you more vacation time. Lets say you are paid $200/day. Every vacation day you take, you are PAID this amount to play. Vacation time is an attractive benefit. Technically you're paid for doing nothing but they would have to pay you more if it wasn't available. SO USE IT.

*It is also your social duty. Employers track vacation time usage. If employees are under-utilizing this benefit, an employer will decrease vacation time. This has happened time and again.

2. MOM NOTE: USE YOUR SPOUSE'S VACATION TIME. So for Christmas, mother's day, etc., cards and flowers are nice. Gift cards are OK. But what if daddy didn't have to pay anything and could give you the most amazing gift: time to yourself that is not the weekend. What if daddy gave you one of his vacation days, saying, "OK, honey, this is my slow season. Here is a coupon for a vacation day for YOU. Give me a week's notice and its yours." How cool would that be?

Why am I posting this for moms instead of dads? Because sometimes daddy needs a hint from mommy:)

Try not to miss me too much while I'm out and have a great week!

Case Study: Netflix

Netflix is raising its prices; it will now cost $15.98 for unlimited online streaming of a limited selection AND 1 DVD at a time mail rental. This is a 60% increase over their current price of $9.99.

The increase was inevitable. When they started streaming movies in 2008, nobody realized how big the practice would become. Now its huge and studios realize that they are losing money by charging so little. Contracts with Netflix expire in 2008 and the studios now want their cut. It is estimated that this expense will go from millions to billions.

Netflix has always been a low cost, high profit business. Their convenience rapidly built their customer base. Even my backwoods neighbors get the red envelope at least once a week. My wealthier friends have "that box" that lets you rent them right from home.

Is a $6 price increase really going to affect them? That is the question stock watchers are pondering.

On the one hand, since the announcement, their stock price has increased several dollars. They have loyalty. The majority of consumers will grumble but not take the effort to make a change for a mere $6. That is human behavior.

On the other hand, competitors like Google and Amazon - who have much more money because of their diversified companies - may be eyeballing Netflix. There is room for a giant company to move in on competition in the same business, paying studios more and charging less for a year before bringing prices back up? Walmart does this all the time. Or, Netflix could be purchased by one of them. Their established client base is a valuable asset. And an acquired company's stock increases once the deal is done.

Then again, if they are just priced out of the market, Netflix could die a quick death and stocks could plummet.

Which way will it go? Any ideas from commenters?

RElaunch REview: Change

Change is a big deal to a lot of people. Keep this in mind and be sensitive to the fact that when implementing change you will come across much resistance. If not done right, implementing change will not "take." Here are two steps to making your change stick.

#1 The Low Hanging Fruit. Implement a tiny change within your large change, one so small that anyone can do it. Fear of failure is why many resist. If your employees suddenly need to learn Spanish to stay on as operators, start with a fun children's song. If the office suddenly is required to recycle, have a meeting where you offer free soda and have one of the new bins there to collect cans. Little steps can make a huge difference to greater acceptance when the big changes come.

#2 The Change Agent. Get someone who is popular yet competent to be your cheerleader for the change. Whether at the watercooler or in meetings, you need this person to take your side. Others listen to them; if this sounds like high school, it is. See post for more details on this one.

RElaunch REview: Stock tips

#1: KNOW YOUR COMMODITIES

Everything is made of parts/ingredients. The price of these ingredients, therefore, affects the price of things... affects the price of their stocks.

Example: Latte ingredients are espresso beans, milk and electricity used to produce the lovely froth. This is important if you invest in Starbucks. This year, not only has electricity been higher to buy, but natural disasters have severely affected the coffee bean crop. Prices for 2 of the 3 commodities have been higher; this forces coffee retailers to increase their already high prices and consumers have begun decreasing consumption, substituting Starbucks for a McDonald's latte or a Keuring machine that makes delicious drinks at home. Starbuck's stock will see a decrease if they do not control prices but if they cannot make a profit, they will also lose money and face a stock fall. Be aware of their actions and adjust your portfolio accordingly.

#2 PENNY STOCKS

Stocks you can buy for pocket change. Literally. They are so cheap because they are pretty useless but on occasion they do "hit." If it sounds like Vegas, it is. Only buy if you have money that you will not miss at all.

Example: Pier 1 Imports was failing in 2007, with its stock down to 7 cents a share. The company should have failed but they hired a new CEO who made some good changes. Today the stock is worth $11/share. Doesn't seem like much compared to Apple but had you invested $7 instead of throwing it away on useless crap (what useless stuff did you purchase in 07?) you would have $1054 today. That makes some pretty nice pocket change.

RElaunch Review: Terms

SYNERGY: 2+2=5 or when two forces combine to create even more good things (i.e. strengths, capabilities, profits) NOUN

• Business sentence: Apple's new system that syncs up all of its products, from the iPhone to the Mac, has created a new form of intra-brand synergy.
• Mommy sentence: Some of the strangest synergies can be found in the toddler diet: Mac and cheese with cut hot dogs, for example, only appeal to them but they will eat this for hours! (Quite a feat if you have a picky tot like me.)

CSR: Corporate do-gooding, whether done by donating money or volunteer time. Strategically picked to go with company values, trendy causes and PR angles. NOUN

• Business sentence: Pampers' brand has its own CSR, promoting and funding childhood vaccination in 3rd world countries.
• Mommy sentence: Teaching my son CSR can be as simple as giving money to a homeless man at the subway, or working in a food kitchen with him when he is older.

SUPPLY: What is available for sale. Often affected by outside forces, like weather for produce or availability, in terms of minerals.

• Business sentence: Abercrombie & Fitch has been directly affected by natural disasters in Asia this year; drastically decreased cotton supplies are causing a spike in clothing prices of this already struggling retailer.
• Mommy sentence: My supply of coffee is getting low, causing a spike in my temper.

DEMAND: What people want, either in general, or of a certain product. This can be referred to in terms of wants (what is popular) or needs.

• Business sentence: High gas prices have cut the demand for road trips this summer, affecting tourism in small-market areas of the Midwest.
• Mommy sentence: How do you respond when your three kids are all demanding different things at once?

MARKET: Who wants it. This can either be in general (food or commodities) or specific (teenagers want smartphones.) NOUN, IN THIS USAGE.

• Business sentence: Water is at a premium in Africa where its market is affected by drought like conditions combined with extreme poverty.
• Mommy sentence: In my house, the market for Gap Kids clothing expands, the more used and cheaper the clothing becomes.

RElaunch REviews

Gotta give the people what they want. My favorite commenter asked for a review of our MBA mom lessons thus far and I will comply! July is crazy and my mind is spinning with all the summery vacationy events so a review is probably the best I can do anyways:)

I will post 3 reviews, based on terms, tips and lessons. There are some other great concepts on this blog (yoohoo, book publishers and colleges at which I applied to teach) so review those at your leisure, too!

Stock Tip of the day: Penny Stocks

Penny stocks are just that: stocks that cost mere pennies.

Penny stocks have the benefit of becoming mega-profitable if you have a few bucks to burn right now and can be patient.

Pier 1Imports is an excellent example. In 2007 the company was on the verge of bankruptcy, about to close. Stocks were $0.07 apiece. Yes, kids that's 7 cents a share. Now, at that price and with the company's history, they very well could have sank and closed forever. They were hiring a new CEO and that action can take a company in either direction. From my end, its before having children. I know for a fact I could have purchased $7 worth of stock in Pier 1. Had the company tanked, I would have lost the price of a lunch out or a few coffee drinks. No big.

So, say I purchased 100 shares in Pier 1. Today, 2011, Pier 1's stock is worth almost $11/share. Doesn't sound like much of a stock price.

BUT WAIT! Today's shares are now worth 149 TIMES what they were in 2007. That means that the $7 I invested is now worth... $1043. That would keep me fueled up on coffee drinks all year, er, I mean, take care of a mortgage payment!

Investing in pennies depends on how much you can purchase and how much you can afford to lose, because there is a very real possibility of losing it all.

I do know I could have dropped $70 with a heated discussion from hubby... or I would have spent that on an outfit. But I'm sure Goodwill has that outfit now and hubby would be enjoying that extra vacation with me this year or at least the mortgage payments $10,430 would cover.

If you get really economicky, like some of the TV pundits adivse, you would do things like turn down your sister's bridesmaid request for something like this. I happen to have TWO sisters getting married this summer. Am easily spending $700 combined. I could really anger them by saying no to being a part of their nuptials. BUT, I could invest what I would be spending in penny stocks and split the $104,300 with them in a few years... yeah, maybe penny stocks aren't secure enough to risk a rift in familial relations on a $104,300 emotional bandaid (and truthfully if it panned out, I'm not sure that I would want to part with that) but you catch my drift.

It all depends on what you can afford to lose... there are people making millions off this, but they have the few hundred bucks to (probably) lose. Get a crisp $20 for your birthday? Think pennies...

Profit Maximization of opportunity cost

Third and final part to the opportunity cost series, this also ties in rummage sale econ.

Demand for oranges is 3 times greater than demand for apples. People will buy 3 oranges or an apple. This equation is:

x=1/3 y with y being oranges and x being apples

For you mathletes, this will plot on a graph as a line going southeast.

Profit equation tells us that one apple is worth two oranges. The equation is:

x=2y with the variables being the same as above

At this point, you get your business manager/accounting person to do the math and figure out where profits will be maximized, but not before you ask what the supply equation is. Where the supply and demand equations (or curves) intersect along the profit equation, profit is maximized. You know what you can absolutely earn given your constraints.

DON'T WORRY. Some of you have MBAs, some of you don't. If I had more complex mathematical tools I would post a graph to illustrate this - I know I need one to understand it myself. Just knowing the terms and the concepts is good for now.

If the supply and demand equations intersect on the profit line, you know that is what you can potentially earn. If they hit above the profit line, it tells you that market's demand and supply are both greater than what you can profit (like coffee filters.) Think cheap items that everyone buys. If they hit below the profit line, demand and supply are both lower than what you can profit, meaning nobody really wants your product enough for you to make a profit (like knittted potholders.) Think expensive items nobody buys, or specialty shops that go out of business quick.

Rummage Sale economics

Today I am making my husband go to work late so I can check out this AWESOME rummge sale I saw being prepped. Plus right now Deigo is on the telly so its a good time for a blog post.

Supply, demand and market.

Supply: goods available for purchase. At your rummage sale, these are determined by your used junk, er, treasure. Depending on what you have, that will attract the type of customer... which is your:

Market: who is available and who desires to purchase your stuff. For example, I am in the market for gently used kids outdoor toys. I frequent those sales with outdoor appeal. Someone like me has to tote the ankle biters along so the more things out on the curb the better so I don't have to spend time sifting. The outdoor toys are something I really want... that is:

Demand: what is wanted for purchase. In an economy like this, all the good rummage sales sell out early. I know the demand for said toys is high so hence, I force my husband to wake up early and shovel food into the kids mouths with me so we don't miss that bouncing horse. Other years past, rummage sales were fewer and less frequented. But this economy has many considering the gently used and cheapskate is replaced with the term recessionista.

Market is usually pretty constant, though it can vary with economic and political conditions. But supply and demand can set your price point and you can use this to your advantage.

If there is a glut of curbside outdoor toys either in driving around or on craigslist, and they vary from $20-$60, you can safely offer $25 and if they pass someone else will take it... there are that many that are not selling so someone will meet your price. Supply is in surplus, demand is low and sellers need cash. On the other hand, if people are buying these babies at $50 and they don't stay on the curb pretty long, you probably need to decide if you need it at that price because the supply is limited, demand is high and people pay more.

There are more complicated supply and demand curves/explanations but this sums it up in a nutshell. Also think of it the next time you shop in the produce section. A bell pepper is not native to Wisconsin and can go for as much as $4 a pop in the winter (aka 9 months of the year.) In summer they are down to 99 cents each... and they carry many more to meet that demand. Cinco de Mayo time, people pay the $2 for an avocado but the rest of winter they have to price them at $1.50 or less to even make it worth their while to carry them... to meet their MARKET.

Mommy brain - why I do this blog

Great example of why I need this blog - because my mind gets all dusty and mushy on some concepts... take our last concept, opportunity cost lesson 2. I had said that one apple made 3 times the profit of oranges and that the equation for that would be x = 3x.

WRONG!!!!

An apple is not an orange and if you matheletes are paying attention, you will realize that one of something cannot be equal to three of the same thing (unless its the Trinity:)) SO...

X is for Apple
Y is for Orange

and X = 3Y, which means that one apple profit is the same as 3 orange profits.

In business you often hear the term "apples to apples comparison" to describe SWOT. Comparing like items or enterprises is the best judge of your item or enterprise. You wouldn't compare your newborn and your 4 year old in terms of who talks back the least because then you'd be really down on the older one. Same concept.

Opportunity Cost Part 2

OK, so now that you know that opportunity cost is this for that, you need to know what is the best that you can get for your this.

In mommy words, here it is: you have 3 hours without the kids but no access to a car. How do you spend it? TV is relaxing... housework is work but whittles down that to-do list... a nice bath is relaxing but after 3 hours cold... surfing online can be fun but like TV, the after effects make one feel wasted. Eating that favorite dessert without paws reaching in is also nice. There are so many things... what is the best way for you to spend it? Well, thats going to depend on you and your situation. Its that work-play balance again. So much of a certain play is going to cost you so much work and the accompanying stress that comes from not doing it.

In business terms, you can sell apples or oranges. Apples make twice the profit of oranges (so oranges are X and apples are 2X.) So your profit equation is X+2X=Profit.

Doing all apples will cost you your orange labor and profits... which is fine if there is no market for oranges. But what if oranges sell more units than apples (they are eaten more at a certain blogger's household.) Lets say people buy 3 times as many oranges as apples. Now, X apples = 3X oranges. At that point, it is worth your trouble to also sell oranges, simply because your profits may end up exceeding apple profits as a total. So you want to make the most profit out of both oranges and apples.

These equations are called 'constraints.' One would phrase the question, what is the opportunity cost of selling one additional unit of apples?

OK, so its almost dinner, nothing's started, the baby is about to cry, I am hungry, Sesame Street is on and math is not my strong point... I am going to finish this when I can better focus on it... you can see why companies do not encourage bringing your 4 year old, 1 year old and your newborn to work. I promise you a good sequel to this post! Point is, you want to maximize your profit within the given constraints of your market and your product. Baby's crying. See you later!

Opportunity Cost

This boils down to the question, "What will this cost me in terms of not-money?"

Sounds confusing and it is at first.

In mommy terms, I can feed my tot candy and shut them up for 15 minutes after lunch so I can do the dishes. Candy for short term peace. But candy will also cost me, in terms of cavities and the child's expectations. And behavior issues from the high fructosity. No dessert will take away those expectation but also take away some of my time to do dishes and some of my 'nice mommy' points. Fruit is a good compromise...

Anyways, I digress. There's only so much of any one resource. Take labor. There are only so many laborers in the country. If the US shut down all industry but automaking, there would be no one in the country to make food and prices of that commodity would increase (even more so than they do.) If people only labored in food production, there would be no one to educate our children. A teacher cannot teach and produce food at the same time (or devote their full resources.) Or they can produce food well but only if they give up some of their teaching time. An acre of corn will cost a teacher 3 hours of class time. When discussing opportunity cost, do not get bogged down with details such as multitasking and monetary issues. Look at it as an exchange of goods.

Translated into pure cash perspective, though, its having $10 to spend on anything you want. You could get 3 Starbucks drinks or 4 McDonald's coffee drinks. You could get 2 gallons of gas. You could buy an hour of babysitting. But you cannot buy all of the above with just $10. That resource is limited.

Translated into time, you have an hour without children. You can do laundry and dusting, you can catch up on TV you've been recording, you can read that novel you haven't been able to finish, you can take a hot bath, you can nap... bu you cannot do it all... spring cleaning may cost you a nap. Or a nap will cost you dusting 3 rooms.



Agrarian countries are having trouble with this at present. At one time they mainly grew and sold food. But with populations and high paying jobs moving to cities (think China) there are fewer workers available to produce food. This creates a shortage of food in the country, overall. More educated workers are costing the nation in skilled farmers. This is directly affecting their need to import foodstuffs and export goods and services that other countries need.

I think stay at home moms have a better grasp of opportunity cost than most. Staying at home, you get time with your kids when they're little, something you can never recover. But you lose points, professionally, and you gain gaps in your resume. However, you also have less stress from having to 'do it all' because you discover thats just a myth anyways:) Even moms who work from home, like me, can point to their opportunity costs. I can make a pair of baby booties for $15 or I can take an hour and a half nap or clean my house or surf the 'net. But those activities will cost me the pair of booties and the profit from them. Anyone else have examples of this from their lives?

Term of the Day: Benchmarking

This is business-speak for comparing. Comparing to competitors within the industry. Comparing with similar sized companies. Comparing with similar products.

How are we, in relation to the 'other?'

It seems like something you can communicate easily. And it is if you've done your homework. You will want to know what, exactly, you are comparing. For example, diaper sales in the United States. If you are P&G (Proctor & Gamble,) you may want to know how many diapers you sell in New York City, in comparison to other brands, such as Kimberly Clark. You may compare figures such as profit margin, packs sold, profit per diaper and cost per diaper. You may sell more diapers than Kimberly Clark (i.e. Huggies) but yours cost more to make so your profits will be equal to or less than your main competitor. Benchmarking yourself to your competitor is vital to discovering how to beat them.

Being an avid diaperer, I currently use whatever brand sends me their coupons. My stash is currently Pamper-heavy but that changes with the sales. At any rate, Pampers hold waste longer than the Huggies, although Huggies sell you more diapers for less per diaper. It evens out. At the beginning of the month, I may spring for Pampers Swaddlers for my newborn, simply becuase they seem softer to me. But otherwise, they are pretty equal. If Pampers suddenly created a diaper that held the same but met or beat Huggies price, I would buy more Pampers with or without a coupon. They would do well to analyze something like this.

At that point, Pampers would have set a new benchmark. This is also akin to setting goals. Let's assume my toddler wets his pants 6 times a day (I wish.) First, I track how many times to make sure it really is 6 and not more or less. I do not with to inflict more of my goals on him than are fair. Then after tracking diapers several days, I find that, OK, 6 is pretty accurate. Once this is done, I go online and several sources tell me that if he's meeting all the milestones appropriately, he should be able to go tinkle on the potty at least 4 of those 6 times. Now I will start trying to sit him down and reward him or offer rewards for success. My benchmark is only 4 accidents. I can try to potty train in a day - and I've heard of successful instances - but its far more realistic a goal/benchmark.

Companies may go "all in," attempting to go far above and beyond the current benchmark. Like a casino, there are a few really big wins (think Apple's iPhone) but there are many many more losing machines. Benchmarking in business and in potty training will save you and your kids and your business many many tears.

Term of the day: CSR

This is a term like 'synergy,' that will make you look smart. It is more commonly used in large corporations but more and more smaller businesses are adopting it.

CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility. I thought it a good term to explore in lieu of tomorrow being Earth Day. Tomorrow is another more important day for me but its not very pc to mention so for blogging intents and purposes, tomorrow is Earth Day.

CSR is an umbrella term for the company's charitable giving, either in the form of monetary donations or fundraising efforts (sponsoring a team to walk a 5K for MS, building a hospital wing, cleaning oily birds from the Gulf spill, etc.) There's not too much funny stuff I can contribute here but I'll do my best!

CSR can be a verb or a noun. Verb: We will want to CSR this charity. Noun: This charity is part of our CSR. CSR encompasses any and all efforts to "give back." Think of your household and its charitable giving. Important ones for us are our church, maternity homes, children and multiple sclerosis research. What are yours? Corporations are able to help causes on a larger scale. And almost all of them have CSRs. Some even have whole departments dedicated to this.

Now, corporations still thrive on profit. So why is the CSR important to them? PR, or public relations. You could say they like CSRPR, FYI, BTW. That should get an LOL:) Earth day ties in because environmental causes are a HUGELY popular CSR. Companies are more and more concerned with their carbon footprint so if they are connected with a business that affects the earth (Proctor & Gamble = diapers = landfills) they try to give back (cleaning oil spill affected animals with Dove soap.) If they do not affect it as much, it is still a popular cause that the majority of companies serve.

Why is CSR important to you? Well, the first thing is that good little 'company girls' like what the company likes. Second, or maybe first for many people, is that if you have the luxury, you will want to work for someone who supports good things. There are some causes that are divisive; nuclear research comes to mind. Nuclear power has the potential to do much good but it also has the potential for great destruction, as we have seen in Japan. Any money you make for your corporation is partially funded into their CSR. So your efforts indirectly contribute to the causes your company supports. Scientists who object to embryonic stem cell research often lend their time, money and talents to charities that focus on adult stem cell research only. Every company website today has a link on one of their first web pages, outlining their giving priorities, their CSR. This is important to note, when determining if you will even apply. Your money will make a difference to someone. Make sure it is the difference you want to make.

On a side note, go to Starbucks tomorrow with a mug/travel mug and they will give you free coffee for being environmentally conscious.

Happy Good Friday!

Change for Dummies: Part II - The Change Agent

So we've established in part one that the best way to introduce change is to ask people to do something small. Why? Change is hard. People who have been around forever like to do things like they've been doing them forever. Newbies just learned the ropes and are reluctant to change their routine. And statistically, 80 % of everyone else in between is too comfortable to switch. The low hanging fruit would seem to be easily enough to implement among your staff. But more is needed. This is where the process requires going back to high school. Yuck, I know. Enter the change agent. This is the person who will cheerlead the change for your. If you work at a corporation, managers implementing change will all need to find one. People respect and like this person because of either experience, personality or any other number of reasons. Who are they most likely to listen to? Think high school: was this the student council president? Maybe, if they were elected by the vast majority because they genuinely were nice. Was it the head cheerleader or the quarterback of the football team. Eh. People like them but are usually scared of them or intimidated in awe (haha:)) Some of these people could be jerks/bitches but not always. They did have great hair/clothes which won some points. Probably best to stay away from the AV club nerds though they are usually very very nice. They get a lot done but have bad hair and sometimes BO problems. In work. I'm serious. Partiers are fun but usually offend someone when they are under the influence. People in my class could convince us of much but we also knew they wouldn't follow through because they were too "fun." Whose word has the most "cred" in your school? This might be an easy job. There might be an obvious choice. But be careful. Just because someone is a social leader or your friend does not mean everyone listens to their business savvy. Social cred is equally as important as business cred. Here are some places to look for your change agent or to double check, if you think you are sure of who they are. 1. Secretaries, er administrative assistants. (I say this with a wink because I was one.) These people work with EVERYBODY. They usually know EVERYTHING and most have to possess at least pleasant personalities and competence because they do everything for everyone. Not high on the totem pole, an excellent administrative assistant often commands a lot of respect. 2. Old, er, experienced people. Not all of them. Ones with a proven record of success and hard work. And not crochety ("when I first came here, we worked up hill, both ways.") Experience gets automatic points with co-workers. 3. Map the cliques. Work has cliques, just like high school did. Write them out. If there are any people who aren't easily classified or who fit into more than one, consider them. Some people just get along with everybody because they are nice people but if they are at an office and this happens, it is also because they are respected for their work. And then some people are crabby when your computer breaks and they have to come fix it and they grump about it the whole time and they don't wear deodorant (you know who you are, former IT guy whose name will not be mentioned.) 4. Everyone else. Maybe there's someone in a definite clique who just has the respect. Reminds me of C in high school. C was a woodshop guy, a partier, a C student. Definitely ran with that crowd. But he was also incredibly nice. And not a mean drunk when he partied. And helped the slow kids in the halls. Well, don't you pick a C student, necessarily, but C would have been able to convince most of our class when it came to certain things. He wouldn't have been a bad choice to convince most of us on a change. 5. Managers. Look to this group last because they are usually the ones telling people what to do. But often it is because they got where they are being competent, nice guys. This does not apply if the boss's son is manager. Or if you know people just pay them lip service. Be careful to investigate thoroghly if your choice comes from this category. Even the best manager is no substitute for a good choice from the above categories. Once you have your shortlist down, its time to GOSSSIP. No, not really. Just test the waters. Make a generic comment about one of them to a rando by the water cooler and see the reaction. When you find your perfect change agent, your job is to get them to go out with you. Almost literally. If they're the same sex as you, as them for lunch or coffee (your treat) to discuss an important issue. Ask for an important meeting if they are male. Be blunt. Present it by saying you need their expertise in an important matter. (Oh, BTW do not pick the class gossip because you need to change agent to work covertly) Pose questions like, "How would you implement something like this?" "What do you think this department would do if this change happened?" Let them know why you chose them; ask them what they think of the changes. These people are often "in the know" and no matter what category they fall into, will be flattered you asked for their expertise. Then you ask for their help. Whether its being a cheerleader in the lunchroom or doing actual implementation with you, that is more dependent on the change and the appropriateness to your workplace. Let them know they can put the implementation on their resume (if they are young) or simply how much you value them. Ask if there is anything you can do to make their help more available, perhaps like taking some aspect of their job less appealing off their plate. The returning mom to the work force is the student who went to Spain for the year and came back. They can seem pretentious when they return. Or too eager to jump back in. The implication is that they've been away because they're either more cultured or smarter than you. So you need to sincerely respect whoever you choose. You really do need their help so you want to take their feedback seriously and give them the respect they deserve!

New Baby

Hi strangers! Posting this picture as an "I'm sorry" gesture for not keeping up with Relaunch. The last month has been a whirlwind. Currently trying to do a post but if things go as usual, she will interrupt it and I'll have to cut out. Thanks for your patience!

Mommy lesson for Business: Eating out

For those of us who venture out after baby is mobile, you learn a few things.

Most painful for me has been what not to order. I am addicted to our local Mexican restaurant's chips and salsa. And my kids want what I have, no matter how much candy I try to stuff in their mouths so I can enjoy myself. But chips = choking hazard and salsa = hot hot hazard. Both also elicit tears.

Lesson #1 for business: Order food that will not make a scene. Soups can elicit slurping from you. Hand held food can get messy. Picture yourself eating said food and if you forsee any clumsiness, select that penne pasta dish over the fondue.

Chips and salsa orders are now confined to date nights. Our servers must see us as the couple who's rarely there but when they are spend hours downing the chips and salsa. Today, our family restaurant outings consist of places like Pizza Hut or Noodles and Co. Places that have very kid friendly meals. My child very likely to eat their pasta and they have pastas that I can stomach. I'm not a fan of tailoring my wants to those of my child's; normally, my mantra is "tough, your the kid and I'm the adult." But we do dinner out so rarely that I play along here.

Lesson #2 in business: when you eat out with colleagues, order what they order. This will keep you in their price range (which they will appreciate if they're treating.) If you're the first one to order, see Rule #1.

To save money, when eating as a family, we get water for drinks. But I've wittnesed many a child wailing when mom and dad get their beer and child is left with the flavorless water. There's no fooling them and you can only give your toddler so much beer... well, in most families.

This brings us to drinks and Rule #3 which is basically Rule #2 but more important. If you continually order alcoholic when they're ordering non, you're going to be judged as the party person, no matter if you order 1 or 20. If its the other way around, you'll be viewed as a fuddy duddy. When drinks are ordered, order along the same lines and price range of everyone else. Follow these simple sub-rules if you are asked first (many times, if you're the only woman there, you may be):

In order of importance:
a. Go alcoholic if its after 5 PM; non-alcoholic if before.
b. If non-alcoholic, order a drink from the menu and not just water 'from the tap.'
c. A glass of wine is usually acceptable. Lite beer is second most acceptable. I wouldn't go for a mixed cocktail if you're the first one to order.

These 3 rules should serve you very well. I know I broke quite a few when I was first working because I was so excited to have someone pay for dinner at a fancy place. It may sound like I'm telling you to bow to someone else's judgment. And I am. Impressions of you and your personality are often formed in the off-hours. Even more important, many business decisions take place in such a setting.

Housekeeping item

OK, 2 weeks and 6 days left until my due date with baby #3. Posts may be fewer and farther in between or more scatter brained than usual. Y'all are moms and understand.:)

Mom Tip: Go. To. Target. Today.

Here's a great money saver for the last week of February.

Target is giving away $5 giftcards for every 7 frozen food items spent. Usually frozen food items are less healthy and more expensive. BUT frozen vegetables and frozen juice are the exception. And both are priced a little below or above $1 each.

I bought 28 packages of juice and veggies and my total came to $27.80. (I do have a chest freezer - make sure you have room). At the checkout, they gave me $20 in gift cards but you cannot spend it on that purchase.

No worries for me because I was able to turn the cart around and get milk, lactaid, all my canned good needs, sugar, pasta and a very nice table cloth for $19.63 - so basically, FREE.

Other women: Friend or... bitch?

Sorry for the offensive title, first off.

I know for me, I was the latter when I was working, prior to having children. If they were at a higher level than me, there would be a nagging voice in the back of my head saying, "her brain is mush from kids, what does she know?" If she made a decision I disagreed with, I might fight harder against it because of this attitude. If I agreed with her directive, I would chalk it up to luck. And heaven help her if she got a job I wanted... that was my attitude behind her back and it was so unfair. She was having, I am sure, a hard time adjusting to returning to the workplace. She probably felt the need to overcompensate or overshow her skills to make up for the 'time off.' The woman I was scares me about jumping back into the workplace because I know it is not just me that holds these attitudes.

The moms who have been working the whole time are slightly resentful (funny somedays now I find myself jealous of THEM.) Your decision makes them feel guilty, brining up some of the same attitudes. This isn't every working mother but many, in my own experience.

So, childless or otherwise, there are attitudes about you formed before you even sit at your desk. You cannot ignore the fact that you had children. You are not going to preach to the working mothers, even though your presence and choices will make some feel guilty. How do you make allies with other women when relaunching your career?

I do not have a solid answer as I have yet to relaunch into the business world. Sincerity and genunine interest in others is a start... brush up on Dale Carnegie's "How to Make Friends and Influence Others." This book, written early last century, is a very brief gold nugget on making friends at work. Simple things like smile, genuninely listen, care. You have to want to make the effort because anyone can smell a suck-up a mile away. Look for favors you can do for them as low hanging fruits... going down the hall to get coffee? Ask if anyone else wants any. Writing an important report for corporate? Enlist the assistance of those around you to be a "second pair of eyes" and put their names under yours on said report. Do not become their doormat but look for ways to bust their attitudes. You will not totally erase that but you may turn a bitch into an equal coworker and maybe someday, a friend.