Category: Work at Home

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Ranch Life Work at Home

Fluff

I apologize for not having time to play with you lately, my lovelies.  I am caught in the space between.

The puppies, however, have plenty of time to play.

At 5 weeks, they’ve learned to run, but not gracefully…

providing endless amounts of entertainment.

With only a small amount of property damage.

And when they’re done playing, you know what time it is.

Naptime for them…

And break time for Mama.

And speaking of break time for Mama…. We Vibe.  Seriously, y’all. 

With special thanks to Sandy for giving me one, free, at BlogHer ’10 in NYC!

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Blogging Business Entertainment Work at Home

English is Speak Becoming Hardness

I’m neck deep, so go see The Oatmeal and have a good laugh: Why Working From Home is Both Awesome and Horrible

Yeah, it’s like that.  EXACTLY.  Now excuse me while I get back to work… at home.

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Work at Home

Business as Usual

Here at chez Sweet Life, we run a half dozen businesses out of our home.

We’ve got a Corporation, an LLC, three sole proprietorships and a charitable organization. 

You know how they say you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket?  Well, you could say we’ve taken that idea and run with it.

The problem is, there are so many damn baskets, it’s hard to keep track of them all and keep the eggs from being dropped, broken, or neglected until they become a stinking, rotten mess.

There are times that I feel like I’ve got everything under control, and our little operation is running smoothly.  Other times?  Which is to say, most of the time? 

Not.  So.  Much.  It’s incredibly hard to keep all those baskets of eggs balanced when there are little people in constant need of loving attention.

All that to say, I’m feeling overwhelmed.  Again.  Or maybe Still?  I’m not sure which.

Just when I start to think I’ve got everything in order, something else comes screaming in from elsewhere and I feel like I lose my balance. 

So, how do you all do it?  How do you balance life and work and family and SELF without losing your minds?

Categories
Life in general Work at Home

Loyalty

In this economy, most people are focused on exactly where every one of their pennies is going.

That’s a good way to live, in general, (have I mentioned we’re cheap frugal?) but there are some things that are more important than a dollar.

My husband and I own a small construction business, and I know from experience that cheaper isn’t always better.  I can guarantee you that we’re not always the cheapest bid, but we’ll be the best at everything from setting up appointments to making sure the customer is completely satisfied, to follow up care.

In the long run, isn’t that worth a few extra dollars?

We renew all of our business insurances around the first of the year, and we’ve been with the same insurance agents for the past 12 years.  They are awesome – just all around great at everything.

Not to mention, having all of our insurance needs taken care of under one roof eliminates a ton of stress for me.  We need an insurance certificate?  One email = done, for everything, in a matter of minutes.

I’ve had insurance agents crawling out of the woodwork to try and win my our business for the past couple of months.  Some have been a tiny bit cheaper than my agents, but I refuse to transfer, anyway.

And then I have to defend my decision.  Those other agents don’t understand why I wouldn’t immediately switch carriers if I can save a few dollars.

It comes down to loyalty.  It comes down to business relationships.  It comes down to my belief that the grass is not always greener, even if looks that way from this side of the fence.

Wouldn’t I be pissed to discover astro-turf when I got there?