Happy Memorial Day

This has been a wonderful time off; lots of sun and fun, good food and time with the family. It was also a time to reflect on the freedom we enjoy each and every day; because of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, so that we can enjoy it. (Thank you all; Gone, but never forgotten).
As this year's Memorial holiday season comes to an end, let us never forget. And let us always support those who are still carrying on, with great sacrifice, the fight for our freedom. (Our soldiers; we salute you, and honor you. Thank you all and God bless you).

Pushy Salespeople!

As an entreprenuer, I know all too well how important it is to make a sale. My businesses are in retail, and in direct selling; so I really understand. But, what I have found over time, and throughout life, is, people are more open to a salesperson when they have the following qualities:

1. Sincerity- When a salesperson is upfront with a potential customer or client, and is sincerely concerned about their well-being, versus making a dollar, customers/clients are open to buying from this type of person
2. A Good Listener- When a potential customer sees that you are a good listener, he or she will be more prone to open up about their needs, and will want to share them with you. This opens up a whole new window of opportunity, for both the salesperson and the customer.
3. Helpfulness: Helping is not the same as directing or commanding. A salesperson who is suggesting every product in the store to you, only has one thing on his mind: more commission in his pocket. Again, the importance of sincerity and listening to your customers/clients, goes hand-in-hand here. No one likes to be bombarded with a lot of sales and gimmicks. It's a major turn-off. By listening to what your potential clients want or need, you will make entirely more sales than you would, by pushing products on them, just for a commission.

These 3 simple steps can make a world of a difference in your business. The greatest reward is the satisfaction you receive in helping others receive what they want and need. The sales and monetary rewards are secondary.

Yes, we all have to make a living, but how about making it more than that! Try it for yourself. The next time you feel pressured to just "make a sale", try these 3 steps. You just might gain a few loyal customers. And they just might tell their friends.

The Weekend's Almost Over

Wow! I still can't believe how fast the year 2012 is going. And now, it's just another weekend in the year of 2012. But, oh how it too, has come and gone so fast. I can't believe it's already time to start a new week.

Well, here's my agenda for the day:

1. Make brunch for the children and start laundry
2. Read and purge emails
3. Read Blogs and Websites to catch up on what's going on in the world & gain some wisdom
4. Update blog posts for the week
5. Weekly Business Bookkeeping and Business Admin Tasks
6. Prepare my children's school assignments for the week
7. Play with my cat, Jada
8. Organize my home office
9. Prepare clothing and business/school items needed for the week
10. Pick my husband up from work
11. Make dinner with the family- talk about what's coming up for the week
12. Start preparing everyone for bed, (Time to wind down with showers/baths, and dress for bed)
13. Watch a favorite show on TV or DVD
14. Play Farmville on Facebook
15. Read a book/Quiet time
16. Then it's lights out

All this in just one day! Well, I'd better get started. I hope everyone has a great week. More updates coming soon, in the Days in the Life of a Mompreneur ;)

Update on my UPS Experience: They've Messed Up Again!

An Update on UPS. On Thursday, Dec. 15th, I went to UPS to ship some items. I only went there because my husband insisted. Big Mistake again. The UPS package intaker asked my husband what was in the box. He told her some clothes and other Avon products. Well, 3 days later, I get an email from Avon saying that my returns had been processed, but with shortages. 1 girls, size 6, denim leggings was missing. I am being billed for it, by Avon, but I KNOW that I packed it in the box. The UPS is notorious for doing things their own way. I believe that the intaker opened the box, took the denim jeans out, and resealed the box. This is why I said in the beginning that I would never use UPS, outside of Avon. I should have never listened to my husband this time, because Avon does give you a choice to use the United States Postal Service, when making returns, if you like.

This just confirms my last post about this company. I have literally reached my boiling point with them. And uggh!. I have another Avon order coming in this week. ( I have no choice but to use them, since that's Avon's choice). Thank goodness, I get UPS alerts, so I can keep these driver's in check. If something is out of the ordinary, I'll get the updates sent to my email. And I have email on my smartphone, so I get it super fast.

I don't need this stress, and I don't have to put up with it. If at all possible, I will keep as much proof as possible, so as to have any of these criminals pay for stealing and lying about delivering packages, when they know they didn't. I may not be able to catch all, but I'll do my part in catching some. Believe that!

UPS Messed Up Again!

Another episode in the "Days in the Life of A Mom-preneur". I want to say that I am usually not one for "bashing", and I hope that you don't misunderstand. But, I felt that I had to post this one.

I run an Avon Business, and, this is our busiest season. I had 14 packages shipped by Avon to UPS. The package was out for delivery at 5:41 am, and usually, my packages are delivered between 12pm and 7pm at night. It was around 2pm, and they hadn't come yet. I thought to myself, "hmm, let me check on the delivery status again". I felt a bit uneasy, strangely. So, I visited the UPS website, through the tracking link from my shipping confirmation email. The status had been update to "The receiver is on a holiday. Delivery will be attempted when the receiver returns. / Package will be delivered next business day."

Say what? I was home all the time, with my front door open. The UPS person never drove up. Yet this status was updated on the website @ 10:19am. I contacted UPS' 800 number, and some rude customer service person decided to evade my questions, and hang up on me.
I had to call back again, and was initially told that I would have to wait until Monday to receive my packages, but then, was told that the person was being called back to UPS, and that my packages were being located. I then had to go in my car to pick up 14 packages, but ended up receiving only 12. UPS claimed that the other 2 couldn't be located, and I have to come back on Saturday.

When I arrived, the UPS driver was told to empty out his truck and that his route was finished for the day. I wasn't given any information on why the driver decided to state that he delivered my packages, when in fact he never did.

I am thankful that there are some good people there, but the overall experiences with this shipping company leads me to abandon their services. I ship through USPS or FEDex. Avon uses UPS, so unless they change their shipping provider, I'm pretty much stuck with UPS, for their sake.

I just feel that this person was either 1) trying to stash my products and claim that he delivered them, or they got lost. or 2) He wanted to cut his route short, because Thanksgiving was the next day, and he didn't want to have to deliver packages late.

Whatever the case, he cost me time and could have cost me money. I hope that he is reprimanded, and learns his lesson. How would he like it if someone did this to him? If he doesn't value a job, then maybe he shouldn't have one. There are plenty of people out there who would love to take his position.

Related articles

• How to get UPS to deliver again (ask.metafilter.com)

Mother's Day Tribute-Alicia Keys' SuperWoman-Happy Mother's Day to All the Mom's Around the World-You are all SuperWomen

To all the Mother's around the world. You are a like a rose; so fragile are its petals, but so strong are its roots. A mother is so delicate, so soft and sweet, but she is also so strong and grounded; she can't be shaken or moved.


A special  message to my Mother on this Mother's day. Dear Mom, I am all grown-up with my own children. I remember you telling me that I need to listen to your teachings, because one day when I have my own children, I would have to teach them the very lessons you taught me; lessons that life is a gift from God. You showed me that when someone gives you a gift, you are to show the utmost gratitude. You taught me, Mother, that we are to live life in thanksgiving to God.

Each day, I watched as you struggled with everyday life, but I also watched as you went through it singing songs of gladness. I watched as you endured days of sorrow and days of brokenness, but you never let that stop you. You gave me inspiration, planted a seed of faith and purpose in my life. You gave of yourself, when there was not much more to give. You gave your everything for your children, when the rest of the world was sneering at the idea; the idea of being a good and godly parent. You sacrificed your own pleasure and desire to take care of me, even on the days of your illness. One day, you will receive your great reward. But I just want to give you your roses, while you can still smell them, Mama. You're not a celebrity. You're not a movie star. But I love you, Mama Sarah, cause you're the best woman in the world. You're my Mama.



To all the Mom's out there, you are all Super and all Special. No matter if you are a work mom, or a stay-at-home mom, you are holding the MOST important job in the world; the position of being a Mother.

Moms, this song is for you.

This Week's Updates

This week's updates from "Days in the Life of a Mom-preneur"

I start my work week on Sundays. Sundays are the days for laundry, catching up on things, finishing off projects, etc. This week was supposed to be the time when I completed a major house remodeling project with the family. Of course, the family was not into it all. They'd rather be relaxing on the "weekend". They don't understand how I want to start my work day on a Sunday. It is strange for them, but since Sunday is the first day of the week, and not Monday, I purposely planned it this way. Boy, did this cause lots of confusion.

Confusion! Speaking of which. Drawing from the introduction, I want to add that there was another similar incident this week. It had to do with my business. I am a sole proprietor, but that does not mean that I run my businesses alone. I do incorporate the help of others; primarily, my family members.

What's wrong with these two scenarios? One thing, whether you are a starting a home project or running your own business, you have to ensure that the people you will be working with, have what they need to assist you. They must be interested in your projects and business tasks. They must be well-equipped with the knowledge and the tools to help you. They must be made to see the benefits in the project/tasks they are completing.


I had to realize that my enthusiasm for these projects/tasks we were working on, wasn't necessarily shared by my family. On that note, I had to do all the things listed above. Whether it's a family member you are working with, a business partner, co-worker, or employee/associate, you need to make sure you do these things. Projects have to be completed. But if we make them "beneficial" to those involved, then projects will have a far more better chance at being completed more efficiently, more rapidly, even more pleasantly. This means great teamwork, and more productivity.

On a happy note, we did complete all our projects, and yesterday, the family enjoyed a day at our local fitness center. We played some basketball after all our projects were complete.

Well, that's this weeks updates. Check back often for "Days in the Life of a Mom-preneur. Thanks for blogging with me. Follow me on Google Friend Connect or Network Blogs. Just click the links on the right-hand side.