Cherlyn:  I help moms and mom-owned businesses make effective marketing decisions and build brands, allowing them to have more time in their business for the things they enjoy, and more time with their families! It's really amazing to see when someone who was spending a lot of time on their business or not seeing the kind of success they wanted goes through one of my programs, either coaching or the workshop, and comes out the other side with this amazing freedom and passion and joy. It is as though the marketing systems and branding strategies I teach actually change whole lives, not just businesses. I love every minute of it!

Cherilyn:  I actually got started 7 years ago with my first business, "CPS Networks". It was just me, in my apartment, doing direct sales for a vacation coupon MLM scheme. It failed of course, and I moved on... I started my own internet marketing company, using what I had learned to publish information products. Then I began freelance copywriting and consulting for small businesses, and saw great success with my clients. My daughter was born August 3rd, 2010. Everything changed... I no longer wanted to work with small businesses the way I had before. I had always loved having conversations with clients to help them make marketing decisions, but now I wanted to work with moms. I wanted to show them how to come up with the ideas I had given - on their own. I wanted to coach them to see the type of success they deserve!

Cherilyn:  A few, actually. My first was when I realized that my prior business model of trying to be everything to every small business I ran into wasn't working... Then again when I realized I needed to work with moms. I think I have one every couple of days now as well - when I start to get discouraged by the long hours and roadblocks, only to touch somebody's life, make a difference, and remember why I'm doing this in the first place. Those "aha" moments are the ones that keep me going.

Cherilyn:  Well, like I said above - those moments when you make a difference are a big factor. I also believe in keeping an eye on the bigger picture... That one day, my business will be firmly rooted in the minds of mompreneurs and be "making meaning" every single day, with less effort and more reward. Right now, my effort-to-reward ratio is about 100:1. With persistence, I might be able to get to 1:100 one day.

Cherilyn:  Hmm... Well, typically I'll wake up in the morning with my hubby and Isabella, our 9 month old daughter, around 7. We'll have breakfast and play, then I'll leave them around 8:30 to start work. I'll write blog posts, connect with moms on Twitter, work on content and videos, do guest posting, and answer email all day long from then on. Sometimes I'll take a lunch break, sometimes hubby brings lunch downstairs (he lost his job in September 2010, so he is a SAHD.) Either way, my favorite two people in the world are always just a few steps away. Its great! 

At the end of the day, I'll wind down and have dinner at 6, then spend some quality time with the family until around 8pm. Isabella goes to bed, and I'm back to work until 11pm or so until I can't see straight (I really do love my work, which means I often push myself too hard...) - Then I go to bed and get ready to start all over in the morning.

Often times (at least twice a month) I'll also fit volunteer work into that schedule, along with dinners with extended family weekly, running (usually in the evening or around lunch) 3 days a week, cooking (I love to cook!) and housework. Yeah, I'm a busy lady!

Cherilyn:  In a year, I would love to be in a position where I can talk with an amazing mompreneur at least once a day, and be working on my book... Like every other blogger I know, I believe I have a book in me! In 5 years, I would love to be doing in-person intensive workshops for moms out in beautiful Vancouver, and have a network of other mom coaches around the world who do the same in their local area using my materials.

Cherilyn:  A few things... First, don't give up. Second, really - don't give up. Third, don't find something about your business to be passionate about - find something you're passionate about and make it your business. Even if that passion is reading horror novels or tending a tomato garden, there are ways you can turn it into a business! Believe me!

Cherilyn:  Growing up, my family wasn't exactly wealthy. They were entry-level workers at regular jobs, so I had to "unlearn" a lot of what they had taught me about making money. For example, in business, time in rarely equals money out... You have to spend money (even if it is only a little bit) to make money, or replace money spent with time... Credibility isn't all about school and past jobs, it is about what you've actually done and the results you've created... Other lessons like that. Basically "unlearning" how to be a good employee, so I could learn how to be a good entrepreneur.

Cherilyn:  I don't think there really is such a thing as balance. Balance to me implies 50/50, and if you do that then one or the other is going to get less than your full attention. If we're talking about avoiding guilt issues (for not spending enough time with either business or family), it just comes down to commitment and choice. When you want to or need to work, choose to work and make a commitment to yourself that you'll work for a certain amount of time. When you go to spend time with your family, choose to be with your family and make a commitment to do so. Be fully present to whatever it is that you're doing - work or family. 

It is the struggle to find balance I think that negatively effects how we spend our time with each, since we're always thinking of what we're not doing instead of being fully involved in where we are. Especially with older kids, I've noticed with the moms I work with that if they complain about having to work and talk about not getting enough time with their kids, the children pick up on it. They'll start asking mommy why she has to work all the time, and if she can't just play with them instead. Mom's who are more relaxed about it all, and accept that work is work and family is family and you have to give your whole mental, emotional, and physical self to whatever you're doing, get kids who play independently while mommy is working because they look forward to when mommy is done.

Cherilyn:  My family is amazing, as almost any mom would tell you. My husband and I met in January 2008, married in July 2009 after only being engaged for 3 months, and had our daughter in August 2010 after struggling for months and months to conceive due PCOS (we finally conceived using Clomid.) When our daughter was less than 4 weeks old, my husband lost his job of 7 years. He went on parental leave benefits through insurance to help make ends meet while I worked my freelance business to make the rest. I didn't plan on a maternity leave that short, but having my husband home to take care of our daughter has made it all possible. And moments like this when I get to sit in my office surrounded by the dog and cat, hubby and Isabella... I wouldn't change them for anything!