When I was teaching, I loved my work hours. I loved going in early (hello, I'm a morning person!), I loved getting home before 5 p.m. I loved having two weeks off at the holidays. And let's be honest, I loved having time off in the summers to recharge. 

But when I had our son, I knew that this schedule wasn't one I wanted while trying to spend time with H. Those early evenings after work were great... but they were often spent grading until my eyeballs fell out. Weekends too. And summers could easily be spent revamping lesson plans, attending professional development, and rearranging the classroom for hours or days. So that schedule wasn't ideal for my image of mom life for me. 

I really didn't intend to work while I was home, but when our son was five months old, I got the itch. I needed something that made me feel productive. I needed something that was just for me. 

I needed something flexible. Something I could do from home. Something that would add a little income but on my terms and my hours. And I wanted something I truly believed in. I'm not a saleswoman, and I didn't want to sell. I wanted to share something I loved with people I love. 

Find a company with a mission you believe in. 
When I set out looking for a company, I knew I wanted one that primarily focused on women. I was looking for a company that related to my passions: people, family, reading, writing, story telling, or working out. And I wanted something that I hadn't seen 100 other people selling. 

If you ever get the chance to hear Jessica Herrin speak, you need to listen. I don't care if she's reading you her grocery list. There's a chance she's throwing in nuggets of wisdom sandwiched between her spinach and her bread. Her mission - to help women design their one-of-a-kind lives - is maybe my favorite ever. KEEP was a no brainer for me. Find the company that's a no brainer for you! 

Make sure it's a product you love. 
I have mad love for all sorts of products. Peanut butter. Shoes. Carbs. Facebook. 

But I wouldn't go broke trying to keep up my supply of those things. The second I saw my company, I knew I kind of NEEDED it all. It took me a week to place my first order because I couldn't trim my list. And the more I learned about it, the bigger my list grew. Financially, it TOTALLY made sense for me to join! If you love the product, you'll never have to sell a day in your life. Choose something you love. 

Think about the initial investment (not just of money, but time and energy too). 
I've never sold a thing in my life. I majored in English. I spent ten years in the classroom. The thought of owning my own business?! That was a scary one. What if I couldn't sell anything? I was invested emotionally, but I was scared to invest a lot of money into something that I didn't even know if I could do. For me, it made sense to go with a company that didn't require a huge start up. On the flip side, I know a lot of people who liked having a larger investment in their company because they felt like it would push them to be more successful. Whether I spent $149 or $10,000, I knew I'd make a push to make it succeed. 

Decide how much you're willing to invest. And then stick to that. Direct sales companies range from a super low start up to thousands and thousands of dollars. Make the right choice for you based on finding a company you love. 

Take into account how much space you'll need for inventory. 
Ya'll. Let me tell you a story. For MONTHS now, I've been trying to find a place in our house to put a desk. We used to have an office. But then we had a baby. And our workout room became a work out room/office. Only, we can't fit two desks in there. Alas, our house is FULL, friends. 

So when I was starting a business, I knew I needed something that didn't take a ton of space. I couldn't devote an entire office to paper products and inventory. And futhermore, I really didn't want to be with a company that I had to hold inventory for! I liked the idea of customers receiving their products directly from the company. I chose a company where the space needed is nothing more than the top of my jewelry case and my inventory is my own personal collection - my inventory! I don't ever have to worry about having inventory for customers because the company does it for me (and super flipping fast, might I add!)! 

Know what resources are available through your home office. 
Knowing nothing about business prior to starting with KEEP, I wanted a company with a ton of support, not only from my mentor and upline, but from my home office too. I wanted a company that had written resources that I could access whenever I needed them (especially because I was up a lot to nurse at night and had time to look!). I knew I needed resources I could look at when I had the time to look - and I loved that they'd be there for me. 

Ultimately, pick a company where you see happiness. 
There are so, so many direct sales companies to pick from. But ultimately, you're going to want to be somewhere that makes you happy. Do your research. Ask other consultants about their experiences. But in the end, pick the place that makes you happiest. Happiness wins - every single time. And if you're happy, your business is going to thrive. 

New year, new plans: My Plum Paper Planner obsession!

So life has been, well, busy. 

Like, super busy. 

And it means that every minute I can be productive, I need to be! I've always been a paper person - paper books, paper record keeping, paper planner. I've been on the hunt for the perfect planner for MONTHS now, and I'm pretty sure I found it! 

The past two years, I've used gorgeous Kate Spade planners, and I love them! They're beautiful, they were monogrammed, and they were a super simple design. But now, as life has become more complicated, it's been crucial to have areas to plan out family time, business obligations, and the normal hub-bub of every day. I went on the hunt for something different for 2017! 

I did a lot of planner research. Like a LOT of planner research. There are so many great planners out there, but I was sold on Plum Paper Planners for a few reasons. 

1. They have a gorgeous layout that can be broken down into M-A-E (morning, afternoon, evening). I love this because it helps me to budget my time throughout the day and not feel super overwhelmed by a daunting list. I can totally handle a few things in each subset of the day! 

2. They offer a lot of really unique and fun add-ons - sections for meal planning, finances, cleaning schedules, direct sales, stickers, and so much more! (More on what I added on in a bit). 

3. There are monthly goal planning sections at the beginning of each month. I'm incredibly goal oriented, and I LOVE that I can sit down at the beginning of each month and decide what's most important to get accomplished that month. I'm using my three sections for the three most important things for me: Family, KEEP, and House. One major goal for each category each month! (January's goals include planning a family getaway in the next few months, soaking in all the amazingness I can at Director's Summit next weekend, and finally tackling the organization of our walk in closet!)

4. There are SO many places to take notes! Like, every section has at least a note page or two, and there are additional note pages at the beginning and end of each month! If ever I'm out and about and genius strikes, I can jot everything down here instead of on something that will most likely get buried in the bottom of my purse. And since everything is tabbed and broken up, it makes it that much easier to find said notes!

So, now for my add on sections. There are truly so many to choose from, but I opted to keep it simple this year. 

Meal Planning add on: This is a constant struggle in our house. I have the best of intentions when I go to the grocery store every week. But inevitably, I walk out with things for breakfast, a ton of sides, and maybe a dinner or two. I sort of dread my brain around 3 p.m., because I know that's the time when I'm going to start thinking about dinner and how little I have in the way of an actual meal. So, I'm REALLY excited about this section. It's not fancy - sections for monthly meal planning and grocery lists, favorite meals, and take out places - but, I'm already seeing a difference (meals are planned through January 14, what what?!). I'm hoping this will help take the stress of what's for dinner away and in turn give me some time back in my daily routine!

Direct Sales add on: This is the one area of my life where I don't mind having the digital help, and I'm SUPER lucky because KEEP offers us an amazing Lounge that organizes our orders, contacts, sales, and reports. So while I don't need the help keeping track of hostesses or parties, I DO want to have a visual for goal keeping, and I LOVE that this add on provides that! Each month, I can sit down to decide my goal number of parties, sales, incentives, and so much more. There's tracking for expenses, mileage, and month to month revenue, and I'm REALLY excited that this will be another component I can use to track my progress! 

And I didn't even get in to all the OTHER customizing that can be done - covers, names, monograms, quotes, graphics, and so, so much more! Seriously, you have to take a look for yourself! 

Question of the day: What do you look for in a planner? Do you have a company that you stick with year after year?