Water Cooler
We know a lot of women who work from home. What we don't know is the nitty gritty of how they juggle Their businesses around their families. We wondered How CEO-moms prioritize their "to do" lists around their families. Three women CEO's agreed to sit down and let the conversation roll. What follows are highlights fro their "executive water cooler session."
Angella Luyk, CEO of Midnight Janitorial is married and has 2 dogs (no kids), is an active community volunteer, motivational speaker, and shoe connoisseur.
Sue Kastan, CEO of Kastan Consulting is married with 2 children (no dogs), a Disney junkie and parent group secretary.
Lisa Riggi, CEO of LHR Administrative Services is married with 3 children, has a dog (and a guinea pig), and, is a coffee aficionado.
Angella: You are never going to believe what happened last night!
Lisa: Nothing happened… because you didn't have time to take care of it; you were too busy working on your business.
Angella: We ran out of paper towels again and I'm the buyer, for home and our business accounts. I feel like I have to be super mom at home and super business woman. There's just not enough time in the day.
Sue: In my house, it's toilet paper!
Angella: Exactly! I asked him: do you see that empty roll? He looks at me like it's not part of his job description to fill the towels.
Lisa: So, how do you ladies single-handedly run your business and your household?
Sue: It's hard because my husband thinks networking is "girls night out."
Angella: I have to prioritize what needs to be done first. Clean the house or work on my business.
Lisa: I struggle with this. If I'm cleaning the house, I'm thinking about work and if I'm working, I think about cleaning the house.
Sue: My house is filled with post-it notes with all the things I thought about while I was doing something else.
Angella: I'm a "list" person, so for me I make a list of what has to be done. I find great joy when I can cross it off as done.
Lisa: I attempt to have scheduled work hours so my family knows when I'm not available.
Sue: How does that work out for you? Lis a: Training my kids was tough and they are getting better. I need to be consistent. But as a business owner, that is one luxury I don't always have.
Angella: I don't have children but I have dogs that need to go out. Try telling a puppy to hold it, while I'm on the phone negotiating a contract. Who gets put on hold, the client or my family?
Sue: I try to get my family involved with my work and sometimes they feel a part of the solution.
Lisa: I do that with my kids. I pay them in iTunes gift cards.
Angella: When I finish a big project, I let my husband buy me a pair of shoes so he feels like he's contributing.
Lisa: I like rewards too!
Angella: Especially when they're a Jimmy Choo size 10.
Sue: I got really lucky last night…
Lisa: Oooooooo…
Sue: My hubby cooked and did the dishes.
Angella: Was it your birthday?
Sue: No, I actually had a big deadline.
Angella: Can he talk to my husband?
Lisa: I'm lucky that my husband does the laundry. That is a HUGE help.
Sue: I had my daughter set-up my Facebook page. It cost me a $15 iTunes card!
Angella: As business owners, we seem to wear many hats or, in my case, shoes. Ha! Imagine if we got paid for ALL the stuff we did. How rich would we be?
Lisa: I'll take mine in $10's and $20's.
Angella: Seriously, if I could get a little extra help, I could achieve so much more in my business. Maybe I should rent a kid and pay them in iTunes!
Lisa: I'll take the help. If I could get the dog not to bark during a business call, life would be great.
Sue: Exactly!
You can enjoy the rest of the February Issue on our website
Friday, February 19th, 2010 | Rochester Woman Magazine
by Kathy H. PorterWe know a lot of women who work from home. What we don't know is the nitty gritty of how they juggle Their businesses around their families. We wondered How CEO-moms prioritize their "to do" lists around their families. Three women CEO's agreed to sit down and let the conversation roll. What follows are highlights fro their "executive water cooler session."
Angella Luyk, CEO of Midnight Janitorial is married and has 2 dogs (no kids), is an active community volunteer, motivational speaker, and shoe connoisseur.
Sue Kastan, CEO of Kastan Consulting is married with 2 children (no dogs), a Disney junkie and parent group secretary.
Lisa Riggi, CEO of LHR Administrative Services is married with 3 children, has a dog (and a guinea pig), and, is a coffee aficionado.
Angella: You are never going to believe what happened last night!
Lisa: Nothing happened… because you didn't have time to take care of it; you were too busy working on your business.
Angella: We ran out of paper towels again and I'm the buyer, for home and our business accounts. I feel like I have to be super mom at home and super business woman. There's just not enough time in the day.
Sue: In my house, it's toilet paper!
Angella: Exactly! I asked him: do you see that empty roll? He looks at me like it's not part of his job description to fill the towels.
Lisa: So, how do you ladies single-handedly run your business and your household?
Sue: It's hard because my husband thinks networking is "girls night out."
Angella: I have to prioritize what needs to be done first. Clean the house or work on my business.
Lisa: I struggle with this. If I'm cleaning the house, I'm thinking about work and if I'm working, I think about cleaning the house.
Sue: My house is filled with post-it notes with all the things I thought about while I was doing something else.
Angella: I'm a "list" person, so for me I make a list of what has to be done. I find great joy when I can cross it off as done.
Lisa: I attempt to have scheduled work hours so my family knows when I'm not available.
Sue: How does that work out for you? Lis a: Training my kids was tough and they are getting better. I need to be consistent. But as a business owner, that is one luxury I don't always have.
Angella: I don't have children but I have dogs that need to go out. Try telling a puppy to hold it, while I'm on the phone negotiating a contract. Who gets put on hold, the client or my family?
Sue: I try to get my family involved with my work and sometimes they feel a part of the solution.
Lisa: I do that with my kids. I pay them in iTunes gift cards.
Angella: When I finish a big project, I let my husband buy me a pair of shoes so he feels like he's contributing.
Lisa: I like rewards too!
Angella: Especially when they're a Jimmy Choo size 10.
Sue: I got really lucky last night…
Lisa: Oooooooo…
Sue: My hubby cooked and did the dishes.
Angella: Was it your birthday?
Sue: No, I actually had a big deadline.
Angella: Can he talk to my husband?
Lisa: I'm lucky that my husband does the laundry. That is a HUGE help.
Sue: I had my daughter set-up my Facebook page. It cost me a $15 iTunes card!
Angella: As business owners, we seem to wear many hats or, in my case, shoes. Ha! Imagine if we got paid for ALL the stuff we did. How rich would we be?
Lisa: I'll take mine in $10's and $20's.
Angella: Seriously, if I could get a little extra help, I could achieve so much more in my business. Maybe I should rent a kid and pay them in iTunes!
Lisa: I'll take the help. If I could get the dog not to bark during a business call, life would be great.
Sue: Exactly!
You can enjoy the rest of the February Issue on our website
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