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The Trouble With Optimism

Optimism is a wonderful quality for a home – based professional to have. It can help you to stay motivated and to have faith in yourself that you are doing the right thing, and that any setbacks that you encounter are temporary. However, sometimes optimism can get you into tough situations rather than out of them. Since I tend to be a little overly optimistic from time to time, I thought that it may be useful to remind myself and any other overly optimistic folks out there of the times when being optimistic can be a little problematic. One potential … Continue reading →

Reality Bites – Make Sure You Understand Your Tax Obligations

There is an old saying that goes “There are only two things that are certain in life, and those are death and taxes.” I wonder if there is actually such a thing as death by taxes. Last night, I was working on my tax return and nearly had a heart attack. It seems as though I have misunderstood a very important principle regarding income taxes and self employment tax. They are not the same thing, you know. While I do know a lot about owning and operating a home – based business, I will be the first to admit that … Continue reading →

How Big Should My Business Be?

One of the bigger challenges of being a home – based professional is deciding how large or small your business should be. On one hand, you want it to be big so that you generate a lot of income. On the other hand, it must be small enough for you to comfortably manage all of the work, especially if you are doing it as a solo venture. Fortunately, it can be fairly easy to know with some degree of certainty when your capacity has been reached. Whether you have one home – based business or more than one, your calendar … Continue reading →

My Mother-in-Law

The other day Dale wrote an article entitled “Are You the Exception to the Rule?”. It was about relationships with mother-in-laws, in particular ones that are very amicable. As I commented on Dale’s blog, I have a bit of an unconventional relationship with my mother-in-law. Wayne’s Mom As many of you regular readers know, Wayne and I have been together for over 20 years. (This past May, we celebrated 22 years together. And in a little over a week, we’ll celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary.) I knew Wayne’s dad very well. I met him right at the beginning of our … Continue reading →

Maintaining a Positive Outlook and Attitude

At the risk of sounding somewhat “Polly-Anna” about things (okay, maybe a lot Polly-Anna), sometimes the difference between frustration and joy in a home business is just the ability to maintain a positive and optimistic outlook about things. Staying focused on what you want to happen, as well as the pleasures, joys, and successes can get you through those bumpy times when things are really rough. So, we all know that keeping a positive outlook is a good thing, but HOW can it be done when times are really rocky? How do we know that the universe isn’t sending us … Continue reading →

Relief Society Presidents: Barbara B. Smith

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As the first Relief Society president born in the twentieth century, Barbara Bradshaw Smith found her ten year term filled with unrest as the proposed Equal Rights Amendment was discussed and finally defeated. Her time as President was marked by her determination to stand for women’s rights, albeit not in the same manner viewed by the world. Born on January 26, 1922 in Salt Lake City, Utah, Barbara’s attending physician was her maternal grandmother, a woman whose example highly influenced her granddaughter. She was the third of six children born to Dorothy Mills and Dan Delos Bradshaw, parents who taught … Continue reading →