In many countries, an afternoon nap is still the norm. And I just happen to live in one of them! Something that just isn´t considered normal in North America is completely fine here in Guatemala and you know, it really does help with productivity.

The majority of work at home moms just don´t get enough sleep. Lack of sleep can lead to a lot of nasty issues, as I´ve recently discovered in my research, including:

• Weight gain (can I blame this instead of too much chocolate?)
• Higher stress levels
• Lowered productivity
• Memory loss
• Impaired physical and mental function, with effects similar to drunkeness

Of course, moms in general don´t get a lot of sleep, it´s part of the job. But if you work at home, you have the added advantage of being able to crash when your kids do.

If you have more than one child, it´s a great idea to get them on the same schedule so you can crash when they do. And, if your little ones are nap resistant, consider having them take an hour long “rest time” in the afternoon. Of course, older kids will be at school, providing the perfect opportunity for a nap.

Afternoon Nap Tips

•  Keep it short. More than an hour and you´re risking waking up groggy again and not sleeping at night.
• Only nap if you are actually tired. This might not be necessary every day.
• Don´t nap in a chair. Lay down on your bed or you could end up with cricks in odd places.
• Tranquilize your mind. Write down all the things you need to do or worry about before taking a nap so you won´t waste the time thinking.
• Keep it quiet. A fan can be a great help to block out external noise that is so common during the day.
• Drink some water. Rehydrate immediately after a nap for a bit of a boost.
• Have a snack. Add oomph to the power of a nap by eating a handful of nuts or a banana immediately after waking up and you´ll find you have a lot more energy.

There´s no need to feel guilty about having a nap because you´ll be far more productive if you are semi-rested than you are when dragging through the day just trying to keep your eyes open!

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Today we have the chance to talk with Terah Logan, a work at home mom who runs Desert Pet Sitting. She´s a mom who is passionate about her business, something that definitely helps when it comes to success, as you´ll see from her interview! We were brought together thanks to Intuit.

1. What is your business?

Desert Pet Sitting - Reliable and Affordable In-Home Pet Care

2. How did you get started?

I was working a “dead end” job, my bosses were good people, but simply the job wasn’t going anywhere. I was the front desk person at a contractors office and with the housing market, business was very slow. I worked about 45 hours a week and barely made ends meet. My 9 yr old daughter spent early mornings AND after school in childcare, so I was missing her very much. So while all this was going on - in one week literally, three people asked me to care for their animals and homes while they were away, they offered me some cash to do it, and a great idea was born. I saw an opportunity - people needed help to care for their animals - and I ran with it. About a year later and a leap of faith, I quit my job and now am a full-time Pet Sitter in the Palm Springs, CA area. My business is growing and I will soon need to hire help and I am expanding into other Southern California cities.

3. What mistakes did you make when you were starting out? What did you learn from them?

Not staying organized! I had no idea how unorganized I was until I started this business. Forgetting keys, or paperwork cost me time and money in the beginning and it did not take long for me to impliment organizational systems and stick to them. I have learned in my business not making a daily list, or utilizing a calendar program will only cause me to have a hectic stressful day, and probably cause me to lose profits and that really hits home. Ouch!

4. How long have you been working from home? (was this your first business or have you had others where you worked from home?)

I had dabbled in MLM and Internet businesses, but this is the first business that is actually paying the bills without a day job. I have been full-time, self employed for a year now.

5. What are your tricks for balancing work, kids and household chores?

I hire help! Pure and simple. I am a single mom, my family lives quite far away, so help is not always easy to come by. It is not a luxury at all for me to do this - it is worked into my tight budget, but I see it as a way to free me up to focus on the priorities I have right now; which are growing my business and connecting with my daughter. Cleaning or small administrative tasks are not always a ‘priority’, but they certainly need to get done. I have help that comes to my home once or twice a week that assists with cleaning, laundry, as well as stuffing envelopes or running errands to the post office, even dropping flyers off to the doggie parks! She also helps my daughter with projects or homework when she can. It’s money well spent.

6. How many children do you have? How old are they?

One daughter - 9yrs old.

7. When do you usually work?

Due to the nature of my business my schedule is very flexible but generally I take care of pets and homes mornings and evenings and do admin work through out the day. Some weeks I can work 7 days all day long caring for pets, but it never feels like ‘work’.

8. What is the best part of being a mompreneur? And the worst?

The best part is the freedom to manage my schedule as I need to. No more childcare, rarely a schedule conflict that I can’t work out, and the self-esteem of working a dream into reality is awesome! I have always wanted to work for myself but just did not know what to do. I am so glad I recognized a need and ran with it.

The worse part is - and this took me some serious thought because it was a hard question - I probably won’t be able to take a vacation until next summer because I am really working this business right now and I am a one person operation for the most part so I get tired, but considering I live in beautiful Rancho Mirage (very close to Palm Springs, CA), and I love what I do, I think I will manage.

9. What are your plans for the future of your business?

I plan on hiring other pet sitters as sub-contractors and earn income from that source. I plan on franchising to other Southern California cities (already in the works!). I am also starting to distribute a line of holistic dog and cat food and wish to grow that income source as it will create a nice residual income.

10. What advice would you give new work at home moms?

Stay organized and focused. Create daily ‘to do’ lists and utilize a calendar program that gives you reminders. Never rush out the door without double checking you have everything! I know it sounds obvious but it’s two seconds that can save time and money. Get help when you need it and learn to say no because it’s life’s little redundant (yet important) things that will drag you down if you don’t have help. Make sure family and friends understand that just because you are home, does not mean you are not at your job working! They don’t know if you don’t tell them!

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Here´s an interesting website to check out, TradePubs. They offer free subscriptions to all sorts of industry magazines, plus free downloads of white papers and ebooks for just about any type of business you can think of.

Most work at home moms don´t have a lot of extra cash laying around, particularly when they are just starting their business. That doesn´t mean you shouldn´t continue learning, though! With free trade publications, you can sign up for as many magazines as you like that relate to your industry and you´ll be able to continue learning without having to pay a fortune in magazines.

Here are just a handful of the many categories available:

Computers
Education
Finance
Food and Beverage
Human Resources
Internet
Meetings and Travel
Retail
Small and Medium Business

I recommend taking a look to see if there is anything you´d be interested in there. However, be aware that any physical magazines may have a limited area they can be shipped to, I noticed that the majority are available only in Canada and the US.

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Cooking can take up a huge chunk of time and even making sandwiches can ruin your time management, so lunch is a dangerous time for work at home moms. It´s when you get distracted with other things, start thinking about making supper, etc.

Packing a lunch in the morning, even if you´re going to be home all day, can be a great way to make sure that you don´t take too long a break. And, even if you schedule an hour for lunch, you can use that extra time to play with your toddler or just relax.

Packed lunches can be pretty simple. A sandwich with a salad or some of that leftover mac and cheese from last night, a hot dog that you just need to add the fixings to . . . anything really. While you´re at it, pack for any little ones, too.

I personally love the idea of bento and have been collecting some tools for it off ebay. In the morning, I take some time while breakfast is on the stove, to punch out some carrot shapes and create a cute bento for my toddler and mix up some sandwich filling for my husband and I. It´s super easy and while I´m at it, I often toss some fun veggie shapes into a small baggie so my toddler can eat them as a snack a little later.

The truth is that this takes a lot more time than it really has to, but it´s fun to do and my kids love the shapes. And, at noon, I only have to take a few minutes to go eat. No stressful cooking while kids whine or a client waits for a response on an article query, it´s all right there, ready to go.

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Remember eMoms at Home? Well, they´ve grown, expanded and changed their name to Sparkplugging! It was a huge change for the site, which had recently gone from being a single blog written by Wendy to a network of blogs.

Sparkplugging is even bigger and better and I´m happy to share some of my favorite blogs on the network, and there are even more coming in the next few weeks!

Sparkplug CEO is Wendy´s new blog and it covers the business side of working at home. Definitely a good read.

The Home Office Organizer is a great help for any of us who are struggling to get organized at home!

Ask the Coach is an excellent brand new blog with three different business coaches to answer your questions for free.

Believer in Balance is a blog for anyone who is striving to find that fine line between being a workaholic and losing your business to housework.

And, of course, there is Freelance Parent, which is definitely a HUGE benefit to any freelancing work at home mom. I absolutely love this blog and it´s a must-read in my book.

Now, this isn´t a complete list of blogs on Sparkplugging, so I highly suggest taking a trip over there and having a look for yourself. There are even more blogs coming, soon, so bookmark the site and check back frequently.

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