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| Ideas, inspiration, and resources for entrepreneurs. My business ventures and adventures, including tales of my sons' entrepreneurial education. All content copyright 2005-2007 by Mary Jo Tate. |
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| Successful entrepreneurs always remember the importance of building a good team instead of being the Lone Ranger, and I couldn't agree more. This lesson was brought home to me . . . again . . . in a very powerful way on Friday when, in what can only be attributed to temporary insanity, I scheduled my 7yo son's birthday party for 1:00-3:00 to make it convenient for the other moms in our homeschool co-op . . . and forgot that my 15yo, 12yo, and almost 11yo sons--who are my right-hand men--would still be in class. Oh well, I thought, surely a single mom of 4 boys can handle 6 boys ages 6-8 for 2 hours on her own. Right. There were no problems greater than a bit of spilled milk (literally) . . . and no one even cried over it. It was more the strain of preventing potential disasters by keeping all 6 boys in the same general area (upstairs OR down, inside OR out) so I could supervise their ongoing re-enactment of every battle known to man. (We have quite a collection of swords, Nerf guns, light sabers, and Civil War-style wooden muskets.) I'm used to delegating most of this kind of thing to my lieutenants . . . who were AWOL in logic and music classes. The moms picked up their kids at 3:00 . . . just as the almost-11yo's friends came for HIS party. (I was being SO efficient with back-to-back parties, doncha think?) The 11yo bunch was much more self-sufficient, and my two older boys were home by then to help with crowd control as needed. I sat down to rest and actually dozed off on the couch for a few minutes despite the full-volume activity all around me. When I regained consciousness . . . and sanity . . . I was reminded of what a tremendous blessing my four boys are. We've been on our own for nearly 6 years now, and they have become extremely responsible, independent young men. They pretty much run our household (well, except for cleaning toilets!) so that I can work from home and continue homeschooling them even as a single mom. It's amazing what our children can do when we raise our expectations for them. And it's reassuring to see their increasing confidence and capability and to think how well those will serve them in the years ahead. I'll be sharing my secrets for raising responsible, independent children . . . and managing your time wisely to grow your business . . . in a 4-week teleseminar starting this Thursday, Sept. 13. You can listen to an audio preview of the course content and register for the class here: How Do You Do It All? But don't delay, because the class starts in 4 days, and registration ends Wednesday. I look forward to talking with you! Blessings, Mary Jo Tate | ||
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