For years, I thought I was a horrible entrepreneur and an even worse mother.

I knew how to make money, but it always seemed to come at a cost. I either made money, or I spent time with my family, but rarely did I get to do both.

There was a lot of talk about work-life "balance". Trying to get all your competing demands to even out - like the scales of justice or something.

I've mentioned before that work-life balance is a myth - at least in that form. But something still tugs at that emotional string that tells us we can have it all, doesn't it?

It did for me. (more…)

Building a Noble Empire isn't always easy.

For most of my years as an entrepreneur, I've also been a parent. Handling multiple responsibilities at one time has pretty much been the norm for me from day one. At one point, I was working 40+ hours per week in my day job, attending college full time, and raising my pre-schooler (he's now a teenager). There was very little time for sleep. I remember the morning I was supposed to be up early for a special presentation with all the big wigs at work. That's when my son decided he wanted to re-paint the bathroom - at 3 o'clock in the morning.

I'm still not sure what exactly woke me from my sleep, but I heard a noise in the bathroom, went to check it out, and there was paint pooling on the floor. There was blue paint everywhere. He looked like a smurf. (more…)

I've had a fairly open calendar today, as I'm prepping for a trip that will take me out of town for five days. The day was pretty calm, but this evening is bustling.

It's almost a whirlwind of activities: reviewing the schoolwork that needs to be done, trusting my husband to feed and care for the kids, and all the last minute "mommy stuff" that has to happen before I can confidently get in the car and make the 12 hour drive to Minnesota.

But what I really want to do is... (more…)