I was quite happy a couple of weeks ago to connect with Karri Flata - right here in my own backyard! We both live in a small city here in Southern Alberta (Lethbridge for those who know the area) and it is not necessarily a bustling metropolis of internet savvy folks. The city is quite the opposite in fact, as not many people here are familiar with online or virtual based businesses (I still don’t think even my parents really have a clue what I do even after all these years).

So to find a fellow VA here was a real treat… and of course we were both quite excited to escape our homes for an evening and meet for a cup of coffee at our neighborhood Starbucks. Which we did last night, we shut the place down! (You know you are a parent when instead of shutting down the bar at 3am you shut down the Starbucks at 10am, LOL)

It was really great to connect with Karri, not just to enjoy some rare face-to-face time but also to learn about her business and what she is creating. That is probably one of my favorite things in life - meeting other online adventurers and learning what they do. Karri is a copywriter/editor extraordinaire, which is a skill I have the utmost respect for. I’ve worked online for many years now, and it is very difficult to find someone who ‘gets’ what it is to write online and does it well (not a strength of mine that is for sure!). Needless to say, check out Karri’s site if you are looking for some help with your copy.

Makes me want to get out a bit more… before kids I did a fair bit of business travel and had a blast. I’m looking forward to the day when I can actually attend some biz conferences, network with folks, meet clients, etc. Once the girls are a bit older of course, until then i’m quite content to stay at home and go for coffee every once in a while.

Now that i’m back in the flow of work since having my daughter Alexandra in February, I find myself doing a bit of ‘trial and error’ when it comes to working with the wee ones around.

For example, when I have client calls… is it OK to have 2 little girls in the background, both of whom may cause a ruckus at anytime? A 2 year old fit or a 2 month old crying - take your pick, haha.

I find that most of my regular clients/colleagues are pretty understanding about this… especially those who already have kids.

As a funny aside - I was talking to the owner of a new children’s hair cutting salon that just opened up here in town the other day. While on the phone booking an appointment I could hear her little ones in the background. She said to me “you can always tell those who have kids vs. those who don’t. If someone has kids they will just talk LOUDER when they hear my kids in the background. Those who don’t have kids ask ‘do you need to go?’ and im like why? oh the kids, just talk louder!”

So very true, hehe.

Having worked online for 5+ years now, I find that most people are totally fine with having kids around. Many times the people i’m talking to are in the same boat, and have their little ones around too.

However what about those more ‘professional’ calls. For example, I have a new coaching client that i’m working with… we’ve done a few calls now and during each call i’ve had my little baby right here on my lap. So far she’s been super quiet, and is usually either sleeping or breastfeeding (little does my client know!) so it hasn’t caused any issues. But one of these days I know she just won’t cooperate and it will cause a disruption in our calls. He does know that she’s around btw. And my 2 year old is either sleeping (love those afternoon naps!) or at her friends house.

I can of course ask my mom to come over to babysit for a bit… alas she can’t feed the baby if need be so certain parts of me may be required regardless of her being there.

I’m also working with another client now helping manage some of his client’s projects…. part of which requires the odd phone call here and there. Again, do I tell each of these clients that there are kids around? Doesn’t that come across as unprofessional? Hmmm…

Curious what you other mommy VAs do - do you do client calls with your kids around? And if so, do you always tell people that the kids are around, or just cross your fingers that they’ll behave? Do you tell some but not others?

Having just had our second baby on February 12th, i’ve REALLY been enjoying some time off from work. I made a point of taking 6 weeks off so I could enjoy (survive?) having another wee one in the house along with my now 2 year old daughter Samantha.

Well, my 6 weeks is up as of April 1st… and part of me wonders, do I really want to work at all? I’m toying with the idea of quitting it all together and just hanging out with the kids. LOL, just kidding Cindy… an early April Fool’s day joke.

I know I want to ‘get back to work’ as I really do love what I do, and to be quite honest if I had to spend 24/7 focused on my girls I would probably go a little batty. The ole brain needs something other than Elmo and perpetual breastfeeding to keep it going.

Part of what is really cool right now is that I have some ’space’ in my working calendar. Having finished up with one client earlier this year and also potentially letting go of another project that i’ve been working on for years leaves me with alot of ‘hmmmm’ potential right now. Which I really love… I’ve been in this ‘what’s next?’ space a few times in life and it always opens up some cool new doors. I know some people would be a bit freaked out by this as I really don’t have a clue where the money will come from, but I do know that it will come from somewhere as there is loads of work out there.

What I want (need?) to do different this time is be really conscious of what I say yes too. As I no longer have the freedom to dive wholeheartedly into projects without considering how it will affect my time and energy… family comes first and I want to be sure to find that balance between work and life. Don’t we all? The never-ending challenge of any working parent.

PLUS this time around I need to carve out some space for writing my book… this one is a toughie for me as it requires me to setup a creative environment for myself. I’m really good at finding the time/energy to ‘get stuff done’ on the working side, but the quiet/creative space is going to be a challenge for me I know that already.

Needless to say, I don’t have the answers here. I’m just ready to plug back into the game next week and see where it takes me.