The Dividing Wine Between Work At Home And Home Life
by Sandi Krakowski

When I first began working at home 14 years ago, we were already in our fifth year of homeschooling three boys who are now 22, 16, and 14 years old. For some odd reason, I thought it would be just another thing added to my schedule. I was in for a rude awakening.

With dreams of Little House on the Prairie and a ‘cottage industry’ dancing through my head, my bubble was soon popped when I realized that everyone was not abiding by my well-thought-out plan and schedule!

Like a military sergeant, my schedule was calculated, and I gave exact time-frames for every activity. There was no logical reason, or so I thought, that everyone could not just get into the schedule ‘groove.’ Then we’d live our bliss!

Runny noses, headaches, kids who couldn’t focus, and customers who never seemed to be able to find our website pages ruined that quickly. But, I didn’t give up. I still to this day wonder why that is.

Reality set in when I realized that most of my goals meant dividing my family and work time into separate increments where everything had my undivided attention. This just isn’t how life works. Even if you don’t run a business from home, life just tends to flow and blend whether you like it or not. Our only hope was flexibility.

When our days were the most chaotic and I had to reschedule or flex things, it was my belief that I was ruining my children. Holding close to the tight schedule and perfect life (even if it was still in my fantasies) was a hard thing to break.

Now we’re entering our 19^th year of schooling. As I look back over those years, I have come to realize that the best years we’ve had together were when all activities pretty much blended. Some days were and are more chaotic than others, but I’ve learned that if I have a deadline, or my kids have to get somewhere, there is a secret formula that brings peace to the home very quickly. Here it is:

Make what is important to your kids important to you — and they’ll do the same. It’s a principle I learned in business. “Help others to achieve what they desire and you’ll get what you desire.” It works with teenagers as well.

So, when I’m flying out the door to another youth event, it becomes the best time to communicate and plan with my kids. I use car rides as great times to connect, especially since we’re going to their events. If I know that the next two days are going to be crazy for me and my business, I’ll approach my kids with “Hey guys, I need you to team up with me in the next few days and work on your schooling for a few hours alone as I get this deadline done. We’ll do a ‘coffee and donuts’ date on Thursday after I send the last email out to my client — deal?” They usually have no problem.

Because I take the time to talk to them and make their lives important to me, a great result occurs. Same thing happens with my clients in business.

When you love what you do and you bring that passion into your home, the biggest tip I can give is to bring the family to a team mindset. Everyone has something that they value. Let each member share what that is.

Give your family what they want and I guarantee you that what you want will come a lot easier. I learned this from a multi-millionaire who was coaching me a few years back, and it’s saved our home life, my business, and my sanity on more than one occasion.

She also taught me this valuable secret — when all else fails just drink a glass of wine. Now, before you think I’m condoning drinking Merlot with your morning coffee, your lunchtime sandwich, and at the dinner table … I’m not. But, I am saying that sometimes the lines will bleed over into a place that is just beyond reason. Take time to breathe. Don’t try to figure anything out when that happens. Sip a glass of wine and get your priorities in order.

I’ve been working for myself for 14 years and have been able to generate six and seven-figures from my home. Today I earn seven figures, am a business coach, write copy, do business marketing, and coaching for large and small companies wanting to make more money online. It truly is a dream life!

After all these years, I’ve come to find that the chaos usually starts with our choices and our priorities. Make family and work life a team endeavor, and you’ll be seeing more of the life you’ve always dreamed of. Then, pop open a bottle of Petite Syrah, because you’re celebrating!

Sandi has been working from home for 14 years. All of her companies have been built online with her first being a $4 million e-commerce business. After making over $1.8 million dollars in direct sales, she went to AWAI for training on copywriting in 2007. Today Sandi writes copy and does marketing for large and small companies online. She opened her doors in January, 2010, to her first Internet marketing coaching program and a continuity program for more intense online strategies. She reports her students are getting amazing results!

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