Career and Pursuits - Experts and Resources

How To Share Your Divorce News

Posted to by Maureen Wild on Sat, 01/14/2012 - 8:28am

Five years ago, one of my best friends got divorced. Her husband met another woman and left her and their two small boys. Heartbroken and alone, she and her kids moved in with my family while she tried to get her bearings. Oh, did I mention the jerk who left her was my brother?

Until then, I had never seen divorce up close and personal. Most of the people I knew were in seemingly healthy marriages. When my sister-in-law moved in, I honestly imagined that home-cooked meals, some pretty new clothes, a bedroom makeover in feminine florals and oodles of babysitting would get her right back up on her feet. After all, “she’d be better off without him after what he did to her.” She was smart, young and pretty. Why was she moping around? “Shake it off.” I thought. “Get over it and move on.”

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Building A Successful and Sustainable Business

tapping into your strongest energy source

Posted to by Heather Dominick on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 9:05am

I know that every woman I speak to who wants to be in business for herself, can be. But I would say 99% believe that they can't. And as long as that's the case, everything about building your business will be hard.

Believe me, I know. I can remember when I would wait for opportunities to come to me. I would stand by the idea that "whatever is supposed to happen will happen" and then one day it occurred to me that all I was really doing was hiding. What was behind that hiding was, "Who do I think I am to be amazing and fabulous AND wealthy?" I wasn't coded for success. I was coded for approval.

Since I've been coaching other entrepreneurs on building their own successful, sustainable businesses I've seen this same syndrome dozens if not hundreds of times. Sometimes it's a question of, "Will I really be able to handle the success?" or "If I am so abundant and successful then I'm taking away from others." Of course, neither of these is true.

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One Foot In Front Of The Other

Good things come with persistence and dedication

Posted to by First Wives World on Thu, 08/18/2011 - 8:03am

I few years ago, I worked with a client who had no money, health insurance, full-time employment, or left foot. He'd been in a wheelchair for two years because a prosthetic foot wasn't in his budget, and with his recent run of luck, wasn't in his future either.

Right now you're probably wondering what this has to do with women, divorce, or anything even remotely related. Keep reading.

The foot was amputated to save his life after a severe and uncontrollable infection spread through it. Over the next two years he tried without success to get a good job, but as luck had it, he just couldn't get the chance he yearned for. We talked several times, and even though he claimed to be optimistic, I knew he probably wasn't.

On a few occasions he'd say things like: "If I could just get a prosthetic foot, I be able to stand, feel better about myself, and project the image I want others to see. I'm certain that it [a new foot] would change my luck, but I've tried everything. Nobody is going to give it to me, and I can't get a job that will give me any chance of getting what I need for myself".

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Working From Home...It's Work!

Posted to by Naomi Dunne on Fri, 04/22/2011 - 7:38am

Remember when your mother told you that nothing good is ever easy? I hate to be the one to tell you this, but she was right.

I read a lot of blogs. Many of them are written by my competition and many by my potential clients. I read about people with craft businesses and web design businesses and freelance writing businesses and accounting businesses, and everything in between. If you can imagine it, someone's turned it into a business. I work with a pretty broad spectrum of humanity. One of the things I read and hear most often is the hugely pervasive myth that making money from home is easy.

This myth has always been prevalent. The internet did not create this idea, but it's certainly expanded it. Avon, Amway, Mary Kay, stuffing envelopes — the list started long before there was a computer in every home. Some of these businesses are legitimate and some of them are far from it, but one thing you can say for all of them is they ain't easy.

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Defining Your Financial Needs Post-Divorce To Better Target Your Next Career Choice

Posted to by Maryann Kelly on Tue, 02/08/2011 - 10:47am

As a financial planner, the most important figure I ask clients to estimate before they meet with me is the cost per month of comfortably supporting the family. Almost always, I have to increase that figure by 30 percent to arrive at the real number. This is particularly critical if you are in the middle of a divorce and suporting your family.

I live in West Los Angeles where the cost of living has grown very high for families — particularly the cost of housing and education. Private elementary school alone now costs $25,000 to $30,000 per child per year here. 

Stop now and list your monthly expenses. If you add up that list, then increase the total by 30 percent, you'll most likely arrive at the amount you will need to sustain yourself and cover emergencies, holidays and a short vacation. How does that look? If the number is a lot more than you're taking in, accept the situation as challenge. And, most importantly, find ways to increase your income.

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Choosing Your Post-Divorce Pursuits Wisely

Your time is money, spend it wisely

Posted to by Maryann Kelly on Fri, 12/03/2010 - 9:22am

My pastor said something recently that really impressed me. He said tell me who your friends are, how you spend your time and what you read and I will tell you who you are.

His point — time can be used to enrich and enhance your life or to tear down and destroy your life.

Did you ever notice how you feel after having a long conversation with a friend who is constantly stuck in problems? She might go from one bad relationship to another, or have health problems or marriage problems. It's draining. You get off the phone and if you're honest with yourself, you regret the time you spent going round and round on the same problems.

Last week, I really hit bottom with this issue. On Friday nights my children are with their dad so I have the whole night to myself and how I spend that time can really offer a new source of energy, passion and abundance to my life, or drain me and deplete my life.

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Fifty Percent Of Women-Owned Businesses Generate Less Than $10,000 Annually

What women can do to beat the statistics

Posted to by Ann Tardy on Tue, 11/30/2010 - 12:40pm

The organizer of a networking group for female entrepreneurs spouts a lot of statistics about how women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men, and that nationwide, women own more than 10.6 million businesses.

While on the surface her statistics appear to reflect a progression of women's economic power in this country, the reality is not so bright — most women in her group are attempting to turn non-profitable hobbies into businesses on their own dime and their own time, and most end up shelving the business in search of a regular paycheck. Essentially, leaving many women entrepreneurs stuck in a pink ghetto.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, almost 50% of all women-owned businesses generate less than $10,000 in revenue (not even profit) annually. This is not nearly enough money for a business to sustain itself, let alone the owner.

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