How parenthood prepared me to operate an auto transport business

Highs and lows of being a working mom…

When my husband and I were married and decided to have kids we made each other a promise. Even though we both were working and I had my eyes on a lofty career, we committed our time after work and extra money to our family.

When our daughter was born, we both were so excited. Being a new mom was exciting, exhausting and rewarding. I must admit there were many things I learned daily. The lessons included how to take care of myself while caring for a newborn and my husband, too. 

When it came time for me to return to work, searching for trustworthy daycare was high on my priority list. Researching and interviewing prospects took time and intense thought. To hand my precious daughter over to a stranger was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.

A few years later, our son arrived. My goal at that time in my banking career had now taken a turn, courtesy of the bank. After maternity leave came to an end and it was once again time to return to work I had to make yet another decision.

The industry was shifting and the bank was centralizing departments, including the loan department where I was assistant supervisor. They offered me a job with fewer hours, less pay and no responsibility. With careful thought, calculations and discussion with hubby, it appeared I would be paying the bank to work for them (after child care expenses).

Beginning to think like a business-owner

Therefore, it was a smart decision to take my ten year pin, the $200 retirement fund I had accumulated and stay at home with my babies. This was about the same time I started learning about network marketing and working from home.

If anyone has ever told you that working from home is a snap, a cinch, not work ignore him or her. Family and friends rarely know what they are talking about when it comes to working from home.

Working from home has been the best, the hardest, the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Now you are probably wondering what I mean by that last statement, right?

It  was a test to say the least in finding balance between spending quality time with our kids and being able to pull everything else together. This included getting the housework done; working my business and getting the rest, we needed, too.

Because I was at home, everyone in the family volunteered me to do everything. It did not take long to figure out that if I were going to make a go at working from home there had to be boundaries set. There had to be specific time to work, play, volunteer and rest. Working for you is no different than working at a job. Sure, we could be somewhat flexible, but if you do not work, you do not eat ~ plain and simple. 

It took awhile, but eventually the kids, my husband and extended family learned that when I was in the office I was unavailable to them. The sky had better be falling if they were going to bother me or pull my attention from my customers.

Parenthood provided the foundation for operating a business at home

What we learned early on was to focus ~ focus on the kids while they were awake, work together after they went to bed doing the housework and get to bed at a set time every night

Through our years of raising kids, working from home and living our lives one thing we've learned for sure is this. To succeed at anything at all in life you must do three things.

  • Have a crystal clear vision for what you want to accomplish
  • Put together a plan on how you are going to do it
  • Focus on working that plan until you get the desired result 

As the kids grew up and went off to live their own lives our learning about life and our business continued. From bringing grandma to live with us in her time of need, to figuring out how to cope with her death and our daughter's engagement at the same time, we just forged forward the best we knew how.

Success in business as in life is a journey; it is not a destination. That is the key to our success and we pass that along to you to use on your journey to success, too.

Join us won't you? We need your help to spread the word about these lessons. If you have learned anything at all from our story, send a tweet to your Twitter friends, drop a short post to your FaceBook friends. You can bet they will enjoy and learn right beside you;)

Here to Serve,

Carla J Gardiner

Carla J Gardiner is an ex-banker turned entrepreneur who built an auto transport brokerage and dispatch center from the ground up. With half a days training and little else Carla learned the business inside and out the hard way…by doing it. Her passion and purpose lies with the people she works with daily; the client, dispatcher, broker and truck driver. Her frustration within the industry has birthed a new division of her company; one to properly train, encourage and mentor other professionals in auto transport. 
 
What did you think?
 
Let us know your thoughts on today's article.
 
Post your comments below.
 
remember, sharing is caring…

 

Are we connected on Twitter? | Come write on my FaceBook Page Wall.