Welcome to the 149th edition of the MLM Woman Newsletter with some more fresh, hand picked articles to help your business survive and thrive in 2009.

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Yours in Success!
Linda Locke, Editor MLMWoman

7 Signs It's Time
To Hire Someone
By Christine Kane

I remember the first time I hired someone to mow my lawn for the summer. I was a tried-and-true D.I.Y. gal. I prided myself on it.

The only problem was that I freakin' couldn't stand mowing the lawn. I'd dread it all week. And even though I was happy once it was done, I started dreading it again the very next day!

At that time, I was studying several financial and business books. I began seeing my songs as my assets. I realized that the simple act of writing a song like "No Such Thing as Girls Like That" could pay me - in the long run - WAY more than the money I saved by mowing my lawn.

In other words, I learned how to value my work in the world. I learned how to act on that value. It was scary for sure. (The voices in my head shrieked at me to just bite the bullet and do my own lawn!) But that one act taught me so much about success and the value of my time.

These days I've taken it to a much bigger level, and I have a small team working for me.

Now that I'm coaching people, I gently teach them these new ways of valuing their time as they expand into more success in their own lives.

Here are 7 signs that it might be time for you to hire some help...

1 - You don't have enough time to do the thing you're best at.

What are you good at? What do you want to be good at? How much time do you actually spend doing that thing? If you're running around getting menial tasks done - and you have no time to pursue your passion, or engage in your high-pay-off, high-delight activities, then ask yourself why.

Even if you let go of one item (like shoveling the snow) you're telling the Universe the value of your time. (And you know what? The Universe always says Yes.)

2 - You resent people who don't struggle.

This is a big one.

If you hold resentment for people who live life with joy and ease, this could be telling you that you are waiting for rescue. That just leads to more struggle.

Only YOU are in charge of whether or not you struggle. Rescue yourself and learn what true empowerment feels like.

3 - You're worried about the economy

Waiting for the economy to get better before you'll hire someone? Why not become a part of the solution and use your money to improve the economy?

While everyone else is pulling back and firing people - you can experience what it's like to be the change you wish to see in the world!

4 - You think that no one can do it as good as you.

If you just shouted "Amen Sister!" - then please step away from your computer. Go to the bathroom mirror. Look into that mirror and say the following aloud:

"I have a bit of a control issue."

The belief that no one can do it better than you serves only to keep you in the role of the Martyr. Unless you are, say, a brain surgeon, then there are many people who can (and will) do it as good as you.

5 - You're not playing to win. You're playing not to lose.

Ask any coach or athlete about this.

When you play to not lose, all you're doing is surviving, relying on yourself and hoping no one notices you.

When you play to win - you take risks, you keep your mental attitude strong, you rely on the team, you look for the goal. Decide that you want to play to win.

6 - You've used this phrase at least once in the past week: "By the time I show someone how to do it, I could just do it myself."

This is a classic phrase of someone who refuses to succeed. It's the mantra of the struggle-addict.

Learning how to delegate is empowering. Not just for you, but for others as well. Besides, when you show them how to do it once, they can keep on doing it so you don't have to!

7 - You dread certain things so much that they don't get done.

It's okay to not enjoy aspects of your work or your life. (Most musicians don't like doing their own newsletter, for instance.) This is the exact thing you can hire someone to do.

What items do you dread? No matter what they are, when you get them off your plate, you'll experience more energy just knowing they're getting done - and you don't have to worry about them anymore!

About the Author
Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her LiveCreative weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FREE subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

The Real Secret to
Living Your Dreams
By Suzanne Falter-Barns

Stop, right here and right now, and ask yourself this critical question about your dream: Do you really believe you can have what you want?

Or do you tend to operate with your feet in two camps -- one that says, 'I'm going out there and pursue my dream' and another that says, 'I'll also hedge my bets by doing something I don't love that much, just in case the dream thing doesn't work out.' This is what Persephone Zill, a coach I've worked with, would call 'indirectness' and I'm here to say that it doesn't work.

I've spent a lot of time in life hedging my bets under the mistaken illusion that this is mature, business-like behavior. The real irony is that seldom have these supposedly businesslike ideas ever produced income or other results that I thought for sure they would.

The urge to hedge your bets often runs contrary to everything your gut instincts scream at you to do. For instance, say you want to be a teacher. Your instinct says 'Quit the job! Go get licensed! Be a teacher kids never forget!' Meanwhile, you hedge your bets by dedicating most of your energy to work that doesn't feed your soul, and taking a course here and there that never really moves you any closer to the dream. You justify your lack of action by insisting you can't afford to quit or alter your job, or deciding you don't want to change your lifestyle and live on a teacher's salary.

And yet ... what do you want?

Do you want the excuses, or do you want the results? Do you want a life that's halfway, but never all the way, to the dream? For a lot of us, the excuses, and the half-baked life are all we think we deserve.

We don't focus on getting what we want because somewhere along the way, we decided we don't deserve that much happiness and fulfillment. I trace my own inclination to think that way back to a pivotal lunch with my mother back in my senior year in high school, when she asked me what I wanted to do with my life. As I was about to answer, 'Be a singer or a writer,' she pointed a finger at me and announced triumphantly, 'Communications! You're going to be GREAT in communications!' Whereupon I promptly burst into tears, and went on to spend 18 years in advertising, 'communicating' and hating myself all the while.

Seeds get planted that should not have been allowed to grow; ideas get listened to that should have been ignored. We cast about looking for anyone else but ourselves to give us direction -- and yet, WE are the only ones who can give us the permission to really, truly, honestly create what we want in life.

We can do what we want, but only if we are brave enough to seize the initiative -- even if it means not listening to Mom and going it alone. The urge not to provide ourselves with what we need in life is a sort of creative anorexia, deprivation that is all about a distorted picture of who we are and what we deserve. The real irony is that seldom do the contingency plans and hedged bets work out. During my entire career in advertising I never made half the salary that my other, more eager co-workers made. The simple fact was that I didn't want to be there, nor should I have been. Consequently, I couldn't produce the results that were expected of me.

(As a footnote to this, however, I will say that Spirit always has a plan -- for now I use what I learned all those years in advertising in my work helping coaches, speakers and consultants brand themselves and build platform. And now that I'm promoting something I actually care about ... I love it.)

Perhaps the road to getting what you want won't be fast, easy or lined with gold, but it will be one hundred percent honest. And that provides riches you can't even begin to count. So get out there, make a transitional plan you can stick to, and begin to do what you want.

I'm here to say that you do, indeed, deserve it.

© 2006 Suzanne Falter-Barns LLC

About the Author
For information on how to find the time, energy, money to live your purpose in life, check out Suzanne’s free ezine, The Joy Letter. Sign up at http://www.howmuchjoy.com/joyletter.html and receive our valuable report, 35 Guaranteed Time Savers. And get a daily blast of joyful tips from the Blast o’ Joy blog at http://selfhelpsalon.typepad.com/blast_o_joy/

Work at Home Moms Create Entrepreneurs
By Audrey Okaneko

Work at home moms do much more than create an income. They also quite often create entrepreneurs in their own children.

When my daughter was just 13 or 14 she came to me and told me she was interested in opening an IRA account. She knew about IRA's in two ways. Being a work at home mom myself, I had an IRA account since I didn't have any other type of retirement benefits. It was a term she was familiar with. In addition, she had a friend whose father was an accountant and so he also knew the term. Today, my daughter is 26 and has had money in this IRA for over ten years now. Imagine when she's 65 how that money will have grown.

Here are some additional ways that work at home moms can teach the art of being an entrepreneur to their children:

1. My children have learned that there are always many options available out there. There is not one right answer for everyone. Some people sell books and other people sell music. My children have learned that just about anything can be turned into a product or service-based business.

2. My children have learned about customer service. Sales are all about relationships and customer service. Because I've been a work at home mom since my kids were born, they've always been exposed to someone striving for excellent customer service.

3. My older daughter has always been active in my business, helping with data entry, newsletters, mailing of catalogs, putting together fundraising packets and more. She's seen all the pieces of running a business from home and has learned which pieces are most important in creating success.

4. Running a business of your own does require high self esteem, personal motivation and the ability to multi-task. Both of my kids have developed all three of these characteristics as a result of learning from me and working with me.

5. Work at home moms must develop a money management system. Being self- employed means no taxes are being held out by the company. It means there is no 401K and there are no benefits such as health insurance. Money management is a must. Both of my kids have a very good understanding of money and how money works.

6. Time management, like money management, is essential to those who work from home. My kids have seen me work at 5:00 a.m. and they've seen me work at 10:00 p.m. depending on the day and what needs to be accomplished. Having the flexibility to work your own schedule is a luxury that not everyone has.

7. Making decisions, whether right or wrong adds to the overall self confidence of an individual. My kids have seen me make a decision that needed to be changed. However it's my decision, not a boss's decision or a company's decision. Both of my kids are able to make decisions in most any situation.

Work at home moms very often find joy in watching their own children use the skills taught to them in childhood to create their own businesses and become a second generation of entrepreneurs

About the Author
Audrey Okaneko has been in direct sales since 1983. She can be reached at
audreyoka@cox.net or you can Become a Tupperware Consultant

5 Pitfalls of Owning
a Home Business
By Carrie Wilkerson

Running a home-based business has its pitfalls. Be aware of them and save yourself some "teething" problems. Here I will mention 5 pitfalls and how to avoid them.

1. Not thinking outside the box (a.k.a. being too rigid)- We're indefatigable creatures of habit, aren't we? We dislike stepping too far away from our comfort zone. We use the same strategies thinking that if they don't work the first time, they will next time. Wrong.

Fact: times change, customers are fickle, and markets evolve. What does that mean to you? Your business is just as dynamic and you must ride the crest of change.

Some home-based entrepreneurs are so fixed in their ways they run their business like static entities. For example, if you start out with yellow page advertising or an e-mail campaign and you're not getting any sales, you should try another method. One advertising format will not work for everyone. Say you're a real estate agent. Why send a mass mailing out of state when your own geographical area is sufficient? Do you have the capability to show homes located out-of-town? Are you willing to travel?

2. Mixing business with pleasure (or, in your case, mixing business and family commitments) - Your kids are adorable but your business deserves TLC (tender loving care) too. Set your priorities before you start your day, brief the family on the hours they can have your undivided attention and establish boundaries.

If your children are old enough to fend for themselves, request they make their own snacks or meals and clean up. (Easy Mac, Uncrustables and other "ready-to-go" meals are staples for my older kids at mid-day.) Do everything possible to eliminate family distractions. There has to be some give and take here...but the family will need to understand that you have work to do.

3. Not Knowing When to Stop - If you're like us, we can't tear away from our computer. Taking a real lunch break or watching a good film are luxuries. Correction: were luxuries. We've smelled the coffee and now realize that even if our work is important...it should not define us. If you love your work, and want to do it forever, step on the brakes and think of your fundamental values as a human being. Most of all, think health and balance. Don't allow your work to consume you to the point of not being able to think about anything else.

4. Zoning considerations - An overdose of enthusiasm can make you oblivious to the "legalities" of a home-based business. Register your business, especially if you've chosen a name other than your own, and request tax assistance if you're unsure what deductions you can claim.

Also, if you live in an apartment or condo, ask the building manager how much business volume is acceptable. For instance, some condo associations may not look too kindly on a steady stream of business visitors or package deliveries. Avoid any penalties by looking into this issue ahead of time.

5. Over self-confidence - Some business owners become ecstatic with the initial customer response that they think they've figured out the right formula for success. Don't rest on your laurels; instead continue to grow your business. If you think that life will be a bowl of cherries from now on, remove those rose-colored glasses because the competition will clobber you if you're not vigilant.

A home-based business, like most commercial endeavors, has up and down cycles. Continue to work hard even when you're on the upswing!

From http://ezinearticles.com/

About the Author
Carrie Wilkerson is the voice of experience. From corporate life to teaching high school to direct sales, she has 'been there and done that' professionally and personally. An 'overnight mom' to 2 toddlers through adoption, her priorities instantly changed and so did her workplace. She's now built several businesses and coached others to do the same while overcoming extreme debt, losing 110lbs and having 2 more children, for a total of 4 children, ages infant through 12! As 'The Barefoot Executive', Carrie and her network of experts have quickly become the definite resource for helping women achieve extra income and career goals while working from home.http://barefootexecutiveonline.com

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