June 17-21 is the 50th annual National Small Business Week. Being a proprietor of two small businesses (Lidia Varesco Design and typebaby), I’m always happy to spread the word about supporting small business.

This week, take this challenge with me:

When shopping for a gift or choosing a service provider, choose a small business. Share your experience with others and encourage them to do the same.

Visit the SBA National Small Business Week website for live broadcasts and other events this week.

 How are you supporting small business this week?

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Heather Lins; her newest product, the Stitch the Stars Calendar; and Heather with her twin kiddos.

When Heather Lins was a kid, she wanted to be an interior designer. In college, she got interested in graphic design because it blended art and writing. However, as a practicing graphic designer, she kept having ideas for designs that were outside the traditional client/designer relationship. So she took her graphic design skills and used them to launch her own line of home textiles.

Heather Lins Home is a product and surface design studio focusing on eco-friendly home textiles and stationery. She licenses designs and also produces her own products.

Fellow Midwesterner Heather and I met at the HOW Design Conference in Chicago in 2011. I attended her workshop on starting a product-based business. Little did I know just how useful her advice would be when I launched my baby & kids apparel line several years later. I was also 7 months pregnant at the time, so I made a mental note to ask her how she balances a business with kids. So, here we are, finally!

 Heather Lins of Heather Lins Home

Tell us a little about your business/job responsibilities.

I am creative director to market analyst to chief box filler. Mainly, I am a doodler who likes to see her sketches become real things.

What are the ages/genders of your children?

We have three and a half year old twins. Avery is our little boy and Marta is our little girl.

Did you start your business before or after having children?

I launched my business August 2008. The kids were born January 2010.

How did your business life change after having children?

My children have acted as my true north. I asked myself: What do I want to show my kids about the world of work? I realized that I wanted to show them that work can be enjoyable, meaningful and lucrative. It’s not something to dread or be stressed out about or cast a shadow over our weekends together. In order to teach this, I’ve had to live it.

I am the happiest and most content I’ve ever been. Overall, I have become more focused, confident and resilient.

When starting my business, I didn’t know how we would balance family and work and I wondered if I had waited too long to have children. Perhaps this is why our 20s can be such as anxious time. (It was for me at least.) I didn’t know if I’d find a life partner, if marriage was for me or if I wanted to have kids. At 40, I’ve made all those decisions and they’ve turned out great. Why did I worry so much?

Blogs describe motherhood as being frazzled and drained. Of course, there are long days. Somehow, I’ve become more laid back and centered. (My husband might not agree with this.) Having kids has brought more fun into my life. I sing more. I use my imagination more. I get outside more. I play with play dough. Kids demand 100% attention, which means I’m in the present more.

Describe a typical workday.

We all wake up between 6 am and 6:45. I usually get the kids going while my husband gets breakfast ready for them. Then it’s reading, playing and getting ourselves ready until their nanny arrives at 7:45. We blast out the door for work. We’re back home at 5:15. Then it’s dinner together. Usually our nanny has prepared the main part of the meal and we throw the rest together. Then it’s a walk to the park or a bike ride, their bath and some books. My husband and I clean up and do a few chores, talk and it’s off to bed by 10 pm.

What is one tip you can share with other Biz Mamas?

Agree with your husband or partner that sleep is a high priority in your lives second only to your children. Sleep is the ultimate mood lifter, marriage smoother, energy booster, wrinkle cream, anti-depressant, weight loss stimulant and (is my mother reading this?) aphrodisiac. In order to get more sleep, Mike and I cut out TV. It’s not recommended for young kids and we realized we’d stay up later than we should to catch a show or finish a movie. It’s been over 3 years and we don’t miss TV. About once a month, we rent a DVD or watch an episode of Modern Family on DVD. As we’ve gotten more free time, we’ve added working out into our weekend routine. Mike even gets a bike ride in before work some weekdays.

Caring for newborns made me realize that we’re all big babies really. Adults don’t function well without sleep, nourishing food and exercise. We want these things for our kids; we have to do the same for ourselves.

Heather’s 2014 Stitch the Stars Calendar will be available in September. Watch her website for details.

Heather Lins Home

Madison, WI
www.heatherlinshome.com
Twitter: @heatherlinshome
Facebook: heatherlinshome

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Carrie Houchins-Witt of Carrie Houchins-Witt Tax & Financial Services provides honest, affordable, and timely tax preparation and financial planning to ordinary families. Carrie is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM Practitioner (CFP^TM) with nearly ten years of professional tax preparation experience and an extensive background in business and finance operations.

Carrie earned her B.S. in theatre and performed professionally as an actor and musician. She always loved numbers, and honed this skill while working in revenue management. She found a way to combine her varied interests when she began preparing tax returns for her actor friends. When she realized what an invaluable service this was, she took an extensive tax preparation education program and opened up shop.

Carrie’s own journey with personal finance has taken her through many common financial milestones. She knows what it is like to struggle financially, to save for a house, and to put away money for her children’s education. She explains taxes and personal finances in a simple, thorough way that anyone can understand [editor's note: I can attest to that!] She wants you to be in control of your own life, and wants to help you reach your goals.

Carrie was born in West Virginia and grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. She currently lives in Coralville, Iowa with her husband, Corey and two young sons, Waylon and Carter Birch.

Carrie and I met in guitar class at the Old Town School of Folk Music. For the last several years, she has been preparing my business and personal tax returns—not to mention, making tax-time more stress-free! I also recently designed Carrie’s logo.

Carrie Houchins-Witt

Tell us a little about your business/job responsibilities.

During tax season, I prepare and file tax returns for individuals and small businesses. During the off-season, I create comprehensive financial plans for individuals. I also do a small amount of bookkeeping, business planning, and payroll.

What are the ages/genders of your children?

2 boys – Waylon is 6 and Carter Birch is 5.

Did you start your business before or after having children?

At the same time!  Years ago, before children, I realized I wanted to be a business owner. I knew I would enjoy the flexibility, and I wanted to benefit from my hard work.  I found out I was pregnant while I was taking my first tax preparation training courses. I sat for the CFP test (intense 2-day exam) while 8 months pregnant with my 2ndchild.

How did your business life change after having children?

My business has grown naturally as my family has grown. I chose to stay home with my children, so I worked from home during naptimes, nighttimes, and weekends. As the boys got older, I got a few extra hours a week to work while they were in preschool. My clients understand this arrangement, and I think they respect the my work/life balance. Starting this fall, both boys will be in elementary school, so I will have 6 solid hours per day to work!

Describe a typical workday.

For the past year, my days have looked like this:

Wake up at 7 am. Get myself and the boys fed and dressed. Drive boys to their schools, and back to my office. Settle in for 2.5 hours of work, then go pick up the little one from preschool. Play and take care of him until we pick up the kindergartener a few hours later. Run errands, take care of the house, and start to make dinner. Husband comes home—eat dinner and get the boys to bed. Then my husband and I will have some down time. Although, during tax season, I spend most evenings working at the kitchen table, and most weekends in my office.

What is one tip you can share with other Biz Mamas?

Try to find the balance that will work for your family, and understand that it will change from day to day, from month to month, and from year to year. One of the main advantages of being a Biz Mama is that you really do control your time and your life—don’t miss out on the important moments for your family.

Carrie Houchins-Witt Tax & Financial Services

Coralville, IA
www.houchinswitt.com
twitter @carriefinancial
Facebook: carriehouchinswitttaxandfinancialservices

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Until I had a baby, I had trouble asking for help—both personally and in my business. Now, I regularly to reach out to my connections when I have a business challenge or need to brainstorm a new idea.

Read more of my thoughts on asking for help on the Creative Freelancer Blog.

• • •

See all of my small business posts on the Creative Freelancer Blog here.

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May is National Small Business Month. I’ve recently participated in trunk shows to promote my baby apparel line typebaby and it’s been a wonderful opportunity to meet and chat with fellow small businesses (including fellow biz mamas!)

In celebration of Small Business Month, I’ve put together 4 easy ways to support a small business this month. Try to do one per week!

4 ways to support a small business this month

1. Shop for gifts at a local boutique or an online marketplace like Etsy.
2. Contact your Chamber of Commerce for referrals to local service providers.
3. Reach out to a fellow small business owner and see how you can collaborate.
4. Buy lunch at an independently-owned restaurant or food truck.

What will do you do to support small business this month?

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Elise Jaffe is the “spokesteeth” and Executive Producer of Big Teeth Productions.  She’s also known as “Little Miss Bossy Pants”.  She has over 14 years of experience in Advertising, TV and New Media Production. Her career began in Children’s Television at Reading Rainbow and Blue’s Clues. She’s been a Producer at JWT, Grey New York and DraftFCB, Edelman as well as VSA Partners, Vitamin Pictures and Foundation Content, for clients big and small. She’s never met a schedule she couldn’t organize, a budget she couldn’t manage, or a song she wouldn’t rock out karaoke-style. She is also a Voice Over talent and member of SAGAFTRA.

Big Teeth Productions is a Creative Production Studio delivering the goods in live action and animation (sometimes all in one). What they bring to the table is a love of visual storytelling and an ability to get the work done in a fun atmosphere. If their clients are happy and they’re happy, then the product will always be better. They aim to be a partner who understands their client’s vision, is willing to take it a step further, and builds lasting and trusting relationships.

Fooditude is a reality based, multi-media program for kids that teaches about life through food. They do this through webisodes, recipes, blogs and more!

Elise and I met a few years ago when Big Teeth filmed me for Local First Chicago’s Why Do You Shop Local campaign. It was my first time being on camera and I immediately felt comfortable working with them—it truly was a fun atmosphere. Elise and I recently reconnected through the Founding Moms Chicago and realized we have toddlers around the same age.

Elise Jaffe of Big Teeth Productions & Fooditude Media

Tell us a little about your business/job responsibilities.

For both companies I run the business side of things. I do the overall bookkeeping, manage client relationships, create estimates, devise and enforce schedules. On many of our jobs I also do the overall coordination from start to finish. For Fooditude I also coordinate and manage all production and work with partners to coordinate live events. Being an owner of both also means doing constant sales- looking for new clients, whether it be leads or networking events!

What are the ages/genders of your children?

My daughter is 1.5 years old.

Did you start your business before or after having children?

I started Big Teeth MANY years before my daughter was born. BUT, I was crazy and started it with my then boyfriend (now husband) after only dating for 9 months. I guess in retrospect its nice I that we started the company together so that we were able to create a work/life balance together.

How did your business life change after having children?

My priorities have changed a lot. I was a bit of a workaholic. I loved work.  While I liked weekends I wasn’t afraid of Monday mornings. I realize now that there are more important things in life and I want to always have time for my child. Owning your own business affords you the luxury of dictating your schedule which frees me to spend more time with my child, but then again, there’s the fear that if you don’t work hard enough you won’t be able to provide for your child.

I’ve noticed the biggest change for me has been not taking my computer home at night and not being on it much over the weekend… granted I have a smart phone but I try and keep the tough work at the office!

Describe a typical workday.

I wake up at 5:30 am to hit the gym.  It keeps me sane and its some time for me.  I am home at 7:15 am and I get ready for work. I’m lucky cause my daughter sleeps until 7:30/7:45 am and can play in her crib for a while without fussing. I take her to daycare at 8:00 am and then either run some errands or go right to my office. Every day at work is different but I’m always there to pick her up around 6:15 pm. After that is home, dinner, playtime, bath and bed. It’s not a long chunk of time but its quality!

What is one tip you can share with other Biz Mamas?

Be realistic and don’t let fear of not having any business eat into the time you plan to have with your family! Don’t miss your child’s first swim class cause a client decides to call you on a Saturday afternoon… set boundaries!

Big Teeth Productions, Inc. | Fooditude Media, LLC

Chicago, IL
http://www.bigteeth.tv
http://www.fooditude.tv
http://www.elisejaffe.com
Twitter @elisejaffe
Facebook: elisejaffe

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My laptop interloper: if only I could teach him how to use Adobe Creative Suite…

Lately I’m hearing about studies showing that “working moms” are healthier and happier than “stay-at-home-moms.” First of all, let’s get real: we are ALL working moms. Being a stay-at-home mom is hard work. I get a glimpse of it when my toddler is home sick, and it’s much more exhausting than a workday.

But I will say that personally, I enjoy being a working mom. I do feel lucky that having my own business allows me to make my own schedule—and gives me the unique opportunity to tap into both worlds. I work 9-5 hours in my office (which sometimes end up being 11-5 or 9-3), but I’m able to leave early for a playdate or stay home when Little One is sick (which has been happening too often now that his immune system is adjusting to daycare…)

I will admit that after having a baby, I had thoughts of staying home. Going to playdates, the park, mommy groups, it all seemed so…FUN. However, I quickly realized that staying home didn’t mean not working—and I would miss my design business that I’ve grown over the last 12+ years.

It’s not easy being a working mom. There are days when Little One is sick and crying for Mama, but I have to call a babysitter and go to my office (hello, Mommy Guilt). But I enjoy the balance, creativity and sense of accomplishment that my workday provides—not to mention the inspiration that my toddler provides for my design business (especially for my line of baby and kids apparel). And one day I hope my son will be proud of his mama’s business. So yes, working does make me a happy and healthy mama.

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Sharon Woodhouse is a publisher, publishing consultant and owner of Everything Goes Media and Lake Claremont Press. She has taken an entrepreneurial approach to just about everything since first becoming self-employed as a teenager almost three decades ago. She has counseled hundreds of authors, publishers, entrepreneurs, and job-changers in various aspects of publishing, book promotion, and business, emphasizing publishing options, strategic planning for new economic realities, inexpensive and creative marketing, social media, win-win partnerships, and developing an entrepreneurial mindset.

Lake Claremont Press, which she started in 1994 when she was 26, has released 60 nonfiction titles on Chicago and Chicago history since its founding in 1994.

She started Everything Goes Media, LLC, in 2011, a year after the birth of her son, to encompass all the non-Chicago, hybrid, tangential, and consulting publishing activities and projects she was becoming increasingly involved with. One of its newest enterprises is 40-Something Mama, a blog/support website and book for first-time moms over 40.

I connected with Sharon several years ago after sending her book publishing company a promo piece (I love designing books). We’ve kept in touch via my e-newsletter—which recently helped us discover we had much in common, including toddler boys and an older “baby:” a business we started well before the birth of our child.

Sharon Woodhouse of Lake Claremont Press and Everything Goes Media, LLC

Tell us a little about your business/job responsibilities.

Book publishing: Shepherding, producing, promoting, and selling books. Consulting: Advising on all aspects of publishing, book production, and using content to further personal and business goals. Entrepreneurial content enterprises: developing enterprising ways to use existing intellectual property I already own and helping others do the same.

What are the ages/genders of your children?

Son, 3 years old.

Did you start your business before or after having children?

Before…16 years before my son was born.

How did your business life change after having children?

After being my “baby” for years, my business was no longer the center of my universe. And it was time! I was ready to switch my focus and maternal instincts from my “teenaged” business to a delightful little human being.

Describe a typical workday.

Two days a week I am a SAHM, three days a week I put in 7-hour days while my son’s in daycare, and I try to squish in the rest of a 40-hour week during naps, evenings, and weekends.

My work involves lots of emails, phone calls, social media, scheming & deals, project management, coaching & cheerleading, juggling past, present, and future enterprises, as well as editorial and technical grunt work and sometimes box-packing.

What is one tip you can share with other Biz Mamas?

Slow down, get enough sleep, maintain perspective, and do whatever else it takes to remain centered, healthy, free of mental/emotional gunk. I never let the stress get out of control anymore–it got to devastating proportions for me when I was younger and that’s not in my realm of possibilities anymore.

If overwhelm ever starts seeping in I work on bringing my experience back to enjoyment, appreciation, humor, creativity, service, love…anything that feels good.

Lake Claremont Press | Everything Goes Media

Chicago, IL and Milwaukee, WI
www.lakeclaremont.com
www.everythinggoesmedia.com
@ChicagoPress | @EvthngGoesMedia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-Claremont-Press/94618365327
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sharonwoodhouse/

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This weekend, I debuted my new line of baby & kids apparel, typebaby at a trunk show at Kooky.

Located at The Shops at Northbridge on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, Kooky is jam-packed with unique clothing, toys and books. But the best part is that they love to support local designers (such as myself!) They are hosting trunk shows for local designers throughout April.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by this weekend to see my line of infant & toddler onesies and new ‘City Kid’ kids tee shirts. And a BIG thank you to Kooky for hosting us!

Missed the trunk show?

Good news: you can still shop the typebaby line at Kooky! Look for our display as you walk into the store. Kooky store hours and directions here.

Get in the know…

Like typebaby on Facebook to hear about new products, get special coupon codes and join in baby & kids chat!

Follow typebaby on twitter and Pinterest.

The post Babies are about to get more stylish: typebaby makes its Chicago debut! appeared first on biz mama: running a business | chasing a baby [Lidia Varesco Design].

My grandmother as a young woman. Four generations under one roof—when grandma was a young 103.

Last Friday, we lost my beloved grandmother, Baki. She lived an amazing life of 104-and-half years.

She was the original Biz Mama. Born in the former Yugoslavia in 1908, she raised three children and worked as a seamstress with her husband who was a tailor. It wasn’t an easy life. She lost both her husband and oldest daughter at a young age, and lived through several wars.

The stress of the Yugoslav wars in the early 90s resulted in my parents bringing Baki to live with us in Chicago. She stayed with us ever since.

She was a wonderful addition to our house. She always had treats in her pockets—both for herself and the family dog (her new best friend). She didn’t speak English, but she never missed an episode of Wheel of Fortune or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

She enjoyed traveling and navigated the airport with the ease of someone half her age. The airport staff was always amazed when they discovered her age. We celebrated her 100th birthday with a trip to Florida.

As is common for her generation, she was always working. She spent her days helping with household duties—and even raked leaves in the yard until she was well into her 90s. She was a very strong woman, with a handshake that could crush your hand.

But what was most strong was her faith. She attended church without fail every morning. When she was no longer able to walk unassisted, she “attended” daily from her chair facing the church across the street. She was a devout and caring woman, praying for her family as well as anyone else who needed her prayers.

She was always smiling—especially when my son and I visited. Her face lit up and she practically jumped out of her chair—even when she wasn’t feeling well—upon seeing her great-grandchild. Having four generations under one roof was an amazing blessing for our family.

Her love, strength and devotion to her family inspires me to be a better person. Baki, we love you and miss you!

The post The original Biz Mama: a tribute to my late grandmother appeared first on biz mama: running a business | chasing a baby [Lidia Varesco Design].