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EPnews -- from The Entrepreneurial Parent
a work-family resource for home-based entrepreneurs
@ http://www.en-parent.com
June 28, 2000
Lisa Roberts, Editor:
[email protected]
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_______________CONTENTS_______________
Take our EPnews Survey -- Win
a Free Ad!
The Funny Things EP Kids Say & Do
What's It Worth? -- "Refocus"
EP Expert Q&As -- When your boss wants you back...time to
telecommute?
What's Happening at EP
_________________________________________
Editorial Correction: Last issue's
"Funny Things EP Kids Say" was NOT
submitted by Jeanine Garcia, but by:
Lisa Smith
WhiteSmith Marketing Group, Inc.
(a market planning, research and advertising co.)
Phone: (217) 759-8600
Fax: (217) 759-8208)
(So sorry Lisa -- it was one
of our favorites!!)
__________________________________
EPNEWS READER SURVEY
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LAST CALL for our Reader Survey!
Let us know how you'd like EPnews to develop
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Q: Please rate the following
columns according to your preference, with "1"
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___ The Funny Things EP Kids
Say & Do!
___ EP of the Month
___ EP Times
___ What's It Worth?
___ Making Money Matters
___ What's Happening at EP
___ EP Expert Q&As
___ We Recommend
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A FREE AD IN EPNEWS or a free copy of "How to
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mailto:[email protected]
___________________________________
THE FUNNY THINGS EP KIDS SAY & DO!
=====
Submitted by EPnews Subscriber, [email protected]:
The other day I was driving around
town with my two sons. Joshua, my 4 year
old, all of a sudden piped up and said that he would like to
meet God and
"bring him a present." When I asked Josh what he'd
take as a present, he
quickly answered "a Pokemon movie." He explained, "I
betcha God's never
watched Pokemon before."
A few moments later Josh said,
"On second thought I don't think that would be
a good idea, because I don't think God has a TV...."
=====
Need a stockpile of smiles to get you through your EP day? Visit
Grace
Housholder's "The Funny Things Project" at:
http://www.funnykids.com
On those stressed-out EP days,
you'll be glad you did!
__________________________________
WHAT'S IT WORTH?
"Refocus"
by deB Sechrist
Just a few weeks ago, my older
son graduated from high school. A few weeks
before that, I registered my youngest for Kindergarden. At the
time, Lisa
called these activities "bookend milestones," which
certainly does describe
the impact both occasions have had on my life and my priorities.
Indeed, this
is to be a banner year of changes for me, as we are preparing
to share a home
with my husband's mother (who turned 75 last week); adding her
rooms on to
one house, selling another, helping her sell her current home.
My son will be
off to the Navy in November, his siblings will start a new school
in August.
Being a die-hard do-it-yourselfer,
of course I'm right in the thick of things
-- painting and landscaping and refinishing cabinetry and laying
tile. I'm
actually enjoying myself, and saving money in the process. ;-)
But it's
getting increasingly demanding, with the kids out of school and
begging to
spend lazy afternoons at the pool while I try to manage projects
at both
houses. And because of these bookend milestones, I'm tempted
to do just that:
take time off to enjoy some of the precious moments we have left
in this year
of transition.
Meanwhile, I find myself arriving
at the computer later and later each night,
with less and less energy and time to work on the EP projects,
not to mention
other Internet projects that have lain dormant for months. And
EP is growing,
by leaps and bounds. Projects and resources and articles and
opportunities
are blossoming all around the EP community, and it's an exciting,
busy world.
But pressing family concerns have made it impossible for me to
participate to
the same degree as I have in the past: in fact I need to scale
back and
refocus on my family, to help them make these life transitions
as smoothly as
possible.
Once the EP site revamp is complete,
I'll be taking a leave of absence from
my current duties, including the What's It Worth? column in EPnews.
It is our
hope that some kindred souls out there are willing to step up
and write an
article (or two!) in the What's It Worth theme: saving time and/or
money and
strategies for a simpler life. Our surveys indicate that EPnews
subscribers
find the feature useful, and we know you'd like to see some fresh
ideas and
experienced viewpoints on all matters frugal. If you'd like to
contribute,
send your comments to <mailto:[email protected]>
Thanks for letting me share my
ideas and experiences! I've enjoyed writing
the column and hope to return someday. Until then, when it comes
to matters
of time or money in your challenging EP life, keep asking yourself
that
crucial question only you can answer: What's it Worth?
=====
deB Sechrist is the mother of three, Webmanager of The Entrepreneurial
Parent, LLC and owner of deBweB, a web design business. Find
out more about
deB at http://www.en-parent.com/webdsn.htm.
_____________________________________
EP EXPERT Q&As
Have a question? Our EP Expert
Panel is available to all EPnews Subscribers.
Visit them at <http://en-parent.com/experts.com>.
If your question isn't
already answered on our site, then send it in to: [email protected].
They'll be glad to help you out if they can!
Q. Dear Pat,
I am a 31 year old mother of
3 school aged boys. I am looking to supplement
my husband's income. My previous employer would like me to return
to work in
data entry, even if it's just part time. They tell me I'm the
only one that
can do the job, they've gone through 3 girls in the past 8 months
since I
left work to be with my kids. I would like to avoid an office
position -- I
enjoy my 'home base' and would like to work from my home if possible.
What
can I say to convince my old boss that I can do the job while
working from
home? How can I get him to see my viewpoint?
Sincerely,
Mrs. D. Kirby
A. Dear Mrs Kirby,
When the employer seeks you out,
you are in a favorable negotiating position.
Use this to your fair advantage. Clearly think through the arrangement
that
you want (days, hours, location), outline it on paper in the
form of a
proposal, and describe how the job tasks will get done under
these conditions.
For some help in walking you
through this step, send an e-mail to
[email protected]
for a free preparation exercise. Use the business term
"telecommuting" instead of "work from home"
when you write out your proposal.
You may want to consider at least one day of the week in the
office; most
telecommuters are present two to three days a week.
Be sure to point out that telecommuting
is a growing business trend used by
many progressive businesses which often results in double-digit
increases in
productivity. Point out other employer advantages; you want to
present the
case with your boss's agenda in mind, not yours. See the "Good
for Business"
section at http://telecommuting.about.com for lots of great data
to include
in your proposal.
For some proposal strategy tips
from those who got the boss's approval to
telecommute, I invite you to visit my website at http://workoptions.com/telecom.htm.
As a desirable, sought-after employee, be confident about asking
for what you want. Keep a firm position about which aspects of
the arrangement are of most importance to you and be ready to
give or compromise in areas that are not as critical to your
job arrangement satisfaction.
Best wishes,
Pat Katepoo
=====
Pat Katepoo, our Work-Family Transitions Expert, is President
of Work
Options, Inc. (www.workoptions.com)
and the developer of Flex Success: A
Proposal Blueprint. You can learn more about Pat at her EP Bio
page:
http://en-parent.com/Experts/exp-katepoo.htm
_____________________________________
MEMBER TO MEMBER Q&A
Have a question or comment you'd
like to share with fellow EP members?
Write to: [email protected]
OR post your ideas at:
http://www.en-parent.com/EP_Community_Forum/EP_Community_Forum.html
Thanks for sharing!
_____________________________________
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT EP
Well this may be the last column
of "What's Happening at EP" -- our reader
survey responses so far have consistently indicated that this
space, along
with "We Recommend," is the least valued and read.
(Feel otherwise? Let us
know!) Since we do want this ezine to stay as fresh and useful
as possible,
it may be time for a different approach. That's why we created
a NEW mailing
list available to all EPs -- for news, updates and promotional
opportunities
for the EP Community. It'll be an "Announcements Only"
list to be used ONLY
when there's something "new" to report -- like a producer
or reporter looking
for an EP to profile, a terrific new feature or tool created
for
en-parent.com, exciting news about the "EP Community,"
or a unique free agent
gig.
To sum up, EPnews will continue
to be a content-focused ezine of information
and inspiration, distributed on a regular schedule, while EP_Announcements
will be a quick list of updates & media tidbits, distributed
on an as-needed
basis. So do you want to stay "in the loop"? Then send
any message to
"[email protected]"
and we'll keep you informed on
"What's Happening at EP"!
Meantime, all EPnews Subscribers
WILL get the announcement next week about
our site redesign -- scheduled to launch the first few days of
July (yes,
we're that close!!). En-parent.com will have a whole new look
-- with lots of
new, useful & exciting features -- and we want to invite
all of you to enjoy
it.
Finally, I would just like to
say that I am bursting with pride, gratitude
and respect for my very favorite "EP" in all the world
-- deB Sechrist -- who
continues to be my source of inspiration for everything that
has to do with
"The Entrepreneurial Parent." Her leave of absence
was a difficult decision
to make, but putting "family first" sometimes means
a "refocus" AWAY from the
"Entrepreneurial" piece of "Entrepreneurial Parenthood."
deB is a pioneering
woman I will never stop learning from...and to me she will always
be the
"Wisest Woman of the Web."
_____________________________
CONTACT/SUBSCRIPTION INFO
The Entrepreneurial Parent, LLC
is not engaged in rendering legal or
financial advice. If expert assistance is required, the services
of a
licensed professional should be sought.
This newsletter may be redistributed
freely via the Internet. Re-publishing
of separate articles for your print publication needs approval
first; write
to: [email protected]
for permission.
© 2000, The Entrepreneurial
Parent, LLC
Editor: Lisa M. Roberts
EP Webmaster: Deborah Sechrist
POB 320722, Fairfield, CT 06432; http://en-parent.com
Ph/Fax: (203) 371-6212, Email: [email protected]
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