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Balancing Business and Babies: Tips from Young Moms | Starting a PC Business

In summary, Tiffany advises starting off by doing catalog shows, and if you're breastfeeding, pump some milk for the baby. She also advises networking with others in your area, and taking time to work on calls, emails, and packets while the baby is sleeping.
ChefMomma05
4
Hello everyone! I'm planning on starting my PC business sometime this summer after I have my baby in May... first one! I'm just wondering if any other young moms have advice on how to balance working this business with small children (i.e. - newborn/infant!) I'm SO EXCITED about having a business with PC, but I'm worried about leaving my daughter at home with my husband in the evenings so much. I'm not working a regular job for the purpose of staying home to raise our kids... and it's SUPER important to me to limit my time away from home. I'm planning on limiting to one show a week in the evenings with the option of doing shows on Saturdays or brunch shows... but even brunch shows are tough because I'd have to take my baby with me... does anyone do that?

Also, I'm very new to my area (just got married and moved out here last June) and all of my family/friends are in Ohio... too far away for kitchen shows. I know Catalogue shows are options... any other ideas? I'd appreciate any/all advice!! Thanks so much.
 
...I started selling pc in march 2004 and my baby was due in May. Most people thought I was crazy but I guess they didn't understand I could do as much or as little as I wanted to do. I would suggest catalog shows to begin with. My first kitchen show was in July. For the first couple of months, your baby will probably sleep all the time. I do all my work during my 10 month olds naps. She sleeps from about 11-130pm. So I have more than plenty of time to get everything done. As far as taking the baby to shows, I have done this quiet a few times, but only if I knew the host real well. Most families and friends will probably ask you to bring the baby...i know mine did. With your family living so far away, I would advise the catalog shows or if you have a website-do a on-line show. If you have anymore questions you can e-mail at [email protected] and if you are not currently working with another consultant i would love to help you!!!
 
Working with babies!!Hello and welcome to the PC family!!! I am so glad you are starting your business with PC.
I had a show Sat. Nov. 5th at 6:30 pm, it was an $800 show!! I had my son Nov. 6th at 4 pm!! I have always been very active up until I have my children. All my children have come at 37 weeks!! It's weird.
But to your question, I have a four month old who I nurse. If you nurse you might want to consider getting a breast pump to pump some milk for the baby when he stays with daddy. It's the next best thing. I do that and sometimes I have even had to do formula because I didn't have time to pump. I home school my 9 year old son and 8 year old daughter. I also have a 21 month old toddler girl with a head full of curls.
Children are a blessing and they won't hinder your business in any way. In many of my shows with close friends and family, I just bring the baby along. He goes to my cluster meetings also, and everyone gets to see him and hold him.
After my son was born I took a month off to recuperate, I also had gall bladder surgery a week after he was born, because I was on bed rest for a while. I got right back into my work in Jan. 2006!! I had one show for $500 and sold a cookware set!!
My husband is very supportive, I'm sure yours is also, and doesn't mind if I have my time away from home. He encourages me to do my shows, have fun and make some extra money for field trips, curriculum and eating out!! I have all my family and his here in TX..a sister, cousins, and grandparents who could babysit. It's hard when family is far away! I actually prefer to leave my kids with church friends so they can play with their children and hear about God's word! It's always good to start up a network of friends, neighbors, church friends, mom support groups in your area, and anyone who you trust to help with your baby. You might even want to look into Mommy's Day out!! Many places offer that!
Spend time working on calls, emails, host packets, guest folders, etc while baby is sleeping but don't forget to get a few naps in there yourself.
There are many teens who want some extra money and wouldn't mind babysitting pretty cheap compared to daycares, while you do shows and if your husband can't do it. I would prefer to have one show on the weekends and one during the week, but that doesn't always happen for me.
One more thing! This job is special because we can be flexible and put our priorities in order from most important to least important.
Catalog shows are good also, personal websites to place orders, and even a show in your home for friends and family!! Good luck!!!
Debbie Mireles
 
one thing i do is take my family to shows with me. i tell them that i have a family business and that is what PC is based on...family!! i always ask when they book a show if they mind if they come along. none have said no!! my hubby carries things, the kids help set up whle i am prepping things and talking to the host, and during the show my husband and kids will also help demo some of the products! the guests usually get a kick out of seeing the kids use a product. my 4 yr old will use the EAD, my boys will use the chopper or something like that. to me, it shows how flexible the job really is and it shows how cooking with the family can be fun!! now my daughter helps with every meal i cook and is always asking when are we gong to do another show???
 
I started when my daugther was 4 months old. I amost put it off until she was a year old but wanted to start asap instead of waiting for that long!
I also have a 3 year old so PC can work for moms or dads with kids. As long as you have a supportive spouse it should be fine. Or a supportive family helps also. I rely on my mom and grandma to babysit sometimes if the hubby is working (which is usually the case on saturday shows). It was hard at first because the baby refused the bottle and only breastfed but she came around. You could opt to do strictly catalog shows at first with a new born oh hand. That was the advice given to me when I started.

Well good luck and welcome aboard! This site is awesome and TPC rocks!:D
 
I started PC when my twins were 6 weeks old, they were only home from the hospital for 2 weeks (they were 8 weeks early)! My husband has stayed with them every time I have a show. First, have faith in your husband...he can take care of your baby. Secondly, you married him because you loved him, you then decided to have kids together (I assume) so why now will he not be able to take care of your new baby for a couple hours a week? It's good for dad's to do that every now and then. The time you are away gives Dad time to bond and boosts his self-esteem and tells him that he can take care of a baby. Please know that I know how you feel, I actually had to leave my DH with our twins for 3 days so I could take my oldest to NY City (long story). He did great, I came back and the kids were still alive :eek: I don't know if I could have taken care of them by myself when they were that age for 3 days, but he was able to.

You have made a great decision by choosing PC. It gives you the ability to choose when you want to work and when you don't. All along I have used naptime as the time when I work on PC, making calls, putting together host packets or addressing invites. As far as doing shows go, I only do shows on Saturday or Sunday and the occasional Friday night (I just have to enter the show into DH's planner so he doesn't forget). I love this job (see http://www.chefsuccess.com/showthread.php?t=6663 and this thread will also tell you why) and I don't know what I would do without PC. I also use show times to be out and about and talking to adults about adult things.

Good luck and take everything in stride!
 
  • Thread starter
  • #7
DebbieSAChef said:
Hello and welcome to the PC family!!! I am so glad you are starting your business with PC.
I had a show Sat. Nov. 5th at 6:30 pm, it was an $800 show!! I had my son Nov. 6th at 4 pm!! I have always been very active up until I have my children. All my children have come at 37 weeks!! It's weird.
But to your question, I have a four month old who I nurse. If you nurse you might want to consider getting a breast pump to pump some milk for the baby when he stays with daddy. It's the next best thing. I do that and sometimes I have even had to do formula because I didn't have time to pump. I home school my 9 year old son and 8 year old daughter. I also have a 21 month old toddler girl with a head full of curls.
Children are a blessing and they won't hinder your business in any way. In many of my shows with close friends and family, I just bring the baby along. He goes to my cluster meetings also, and everyone gets to see him and hold him.
After my son was born I took a month off to recuperate, I also had gall bladder surgery a week after he was born, because I was on bed rest for a while. I got right back into my work in Jan. 2006!! I had one show for $500 and sold a cookware set!!
My husband is very supportive, I'm sure yours is also, and doesn't mind if I have my time away from home. He encourages me to do my shows, have fun and make some extra money for field trips, curriculum and eating out!! I have all my family and his here in TX..a sister, cousins, and grandparents who could babysit. It's hard when family is far away! I actually prefer to leave my kids with church friends so they can play with their children and hear about God's word! It's always good to start up a network of friends, neighbors, church friends, mom support groups in your area, and anyone who you trust to help with your baby. You might even want to look into Mommy's Day out!! Many places offer that!
Spend time working on calls, emails, host packets, guest folders, etc while baby is sleeping but don't forget to get a few naps in there yourself.
There are many teens who want some extra money and wouldn't mind babysitting pretty cheap compared to daycares, while you do shows and if your husband can't do it. I would prefer to have one show on the weekends and one during the week, but that doesn't always happen for me.
One more thing! This job is special because we can be flexible and put our priorities in order from most important to least important.
Catalog shows are good also, personal websites to place orders, and even a show in your home for friends and family!! Good luck!!!
Debbie Mireles


thanks for the advice! My church family is so supportive, and I know any/all of the ladies there would be willing to help me out whenever I need it. :) God has blessed me with a wonderful husband and his family is here and available to help out too. Definitely a lot of good ideas and possibilties! Thanks again.
 
ChefMomma,
If you only want to do shows, say, one day per week, then maybe try doing megashows. Bring together multiple shows in one place at one time, giving each host their respective guest orders to count towards their host rewards. My director mentioned this when I first began as a way to get like 4 shows done in one day! You can qualify in just a few hours if you could get a few hosts together for one of these megashows! How awesome would that be? You'd only be out of the house for 3 or 4 hours (even if you're nursing, feed the baby right before you leave and right when you get home, and all should be well...unless your baby eats like a bird 24/7!) and you'll still have a good business going.
I'm currently inactive, and this is one of the things I'm definately going to concentrate on when I go active again. I have a 16 month old, and my husband is a pastor alongside his father, and we've just acquired a huge piece of land and a possible 2nd church, so things are getting crazy. Plus we're trying to get pregnant again.. and I'm going to start visiting my dad more (it's been 6 months since his accident and I haven't even been up there!)... So many reasons. Anyway, megashows are really a great idea (my director does at least one each month) and are a treat to not only you as a consultant, but to your hosts as well (they don't have to lift a finger to clean their house for 20-something guests!).. maybe they'll be more inclined to invite more than 10 people... hmm, food for thought.... (anyway, if you want more info about the megashows, i'll be happy to send it your way)
And, like mentioned before, do some kickin' catalog shows (host-coach them like they're normal kitchen shows.. it works--I got 3 $500+ catalog shows doing this --- it's all about the excitement!) to boost your sales and give you a little "oomph" in building your business & expanding your clientele.

All-in-all, as long as you are realistic and don't bite off more than you can chew, you'll do well. This forum is full of encouragement and ideas (and problem-fixes!) so you'll never go without all of that, for sure.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #9
Wow... a mega show. I've never thought about doing something like that! How do you go about doing that? Where do you hold something so big? This sounds like a good idea, but I wouldn't know where to start! And good luck starting up again!
 

What inspired you to start your Pampered Chef business as a young mom?

As a young mom, I wanted to find a way to contribute financially to my family while still being able to spend time with my children. Pampered Chef provided the perfect opportunity for me to work from home and have a flexible schedule.

How do you balance running a business and taking care of your children?

It takes a lot of planning and organization, but I make sure to prioritize my time and delegate tasks whenever possible. I also have a support system in place, whether it's my spouse, family members, or a babysitter, to help me when needed.

What are some tips for managing time effectively as a working mom?

One tip is to create a schedule and stick to it as much as possible. This includes setting aside specific blocks of time for work and for family time. It's also important to prioritize tasks and not be afraid to say no to things that don't align with your goals and priorities.

What challenges have you faced as a young mom in the business world?

One of the biggest challenges I faced was finding a balance between work and family. It can also be difficult to be taken seriously as a young mom in the business world, but I've learned to be confident in my abilities and prove myself through my work.

What advice do you have for other young moms who want to start their own Pampered Chef business?

Don't be afraid to take the leap and start your business. It may seem overwhelming at first, but with determination and hard work, you can succeed. Also, don't be afraid to ask for help and advice from other Pampered Chef consultants. We have a supportive community that is always willing to offer guidance and support.

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