How to Raise Confident Kids

One of the greatest gifts you can give your children is confidence.

The line between nature and nurture when it comes to raising children is definitely an uncertain one.

There are clearly some things about our kids that are beyond our control.

Some are born athletic, others with two left feet.

Some get straight A’s without studying, some have to work for hours every night to stay at the top of the class.

And some will appear to be naturally confident and certain, while others are naturally more timid and withdrawn.

But never accept your child’s confidence level as a fixed trait. 

A seemingly confident child can do a 180 if he gets singled out for any reason, becomes the victim of a bully, or gets his heart broken by a young love interest.

Fortunately, confidence is one of those things that we as parents have the ability to give our child if we take the time to model it, teach it, and ingrain it in him.

Of course it will be easier to do for some kids than for others, but whatever it takes, arming your children with confidence is one of the best things you can do for them.

First, it will enable your child to navigate the up and downs of school better.

The confident child is rarely who the bully picks on, can handle being different than other kids, and bounces back more easily from romantic breakups.

And second, the confident child becomes the confident adult, who is then happier and more successful in his career, relationships, finances, and personal and spiritual development.

As with most things when it comes to raising children, modeling confidence is one of the best ways to make sure your children pick up the habit. 

And really, that's what confidence is, nothing more than a habit.  

When we get used to being confident in our actions and decisions, we automatically respond to everything with confidence.

In addition to modeling confidence, there are four big life lessons you can actively teach your kids that will help them develop the confidence habit.

1. “Every adversity, every failure, and every heartache, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” ~ Napoleon Hill

Kids aren’t born with a fear of failure, or even a sense that “failure” is a thing at all.

If they were, humans would forever be stuck at that stage where we’re rocking back and forth on our knees and elbows trying to gather the coordination to crawl.

Just think about how many times a baby falls down before developing the ability to walk steadily.

As an adult, have you ever failed that many times and just kept going towards your goal as if it were nothing?

From the beginning of our lives, failure is part of the process of success.

But then we get all realistic and start telling our kids they can’t be, do, and have anything they want.

We teach them that life is hard, they should avoid failure, and lead safe lives as much as possible, even though it will mean reigning in some of their dreams.

What we should be teaching our children is what Napoleon Hill points out, everything bad has something good if not better that comes with it or from it.

Basically, help your child to see the silver lining in every cloud.

Help her see how a failure can bring her closer to success, how a challenge can make her stronger.

When your child is younger, you may have to point out the seed that’s left behind by every adversity, and if you do, she’ll learn to start seeing her own seeds without as much guidance from you.

When she knows good can come from failure, adversity, and heartache, she’ll become more confident in facing all life’s challenges.

2. “The doing is often more important than the outcome.” ~ Arthur Ashe

This lesson appropriately comes from a tennis star, because it’s one that is easiest to teach through sports.

No matter how frustrating your child and/or his team’s performance is in your eyes, maintain the attitude that the effort is more important than the result and convey this to your child.

Some kids are naturally more competitive than others, but whether your child is disappointed in a tough result or couldn’t care less, let him know that you saw how hard he’s worked at this sport and you really enjoy watching him play.

Don’t let him be too hard on himself, and don’t ever criticize his performance.

Even if your child has no interest in sports, adopt this attitude in whatever he does, whether it’s an art project, a school presentation, or an honest attempt to clean his room.

A child who knows all he has to do is his best will be much more confident about doing anything than one who’s worried about whether he’ll obtain a successful or “winning” result.

3. “Haters are important because they show you you’re doing something right.” ~ Nuno Roque

Kids can be so cruel, and this is especially unfortunate since most kids live and die based on what their peers think of them.

Even if your child is part of the “popular kids,” there will undoubtedly be times in her life that she’ll feel rejected and/or will be openly criticized or shunned by other kids.

Teach your kids early that not everyone is going to like them, and that’s okay. 

Naturally, your child won’t like everyone either. Hopefully, with your guidance, she’ll just have learned not to be cruel to the kids she isn’t interested in being friends with.

So what’s the meaning behind Nuno Roque’s words here that can help your child?

If in life you be yourself, stand up for what you believe in, and forge your own path, you’re going to attract the attention of people who either don’t like your views, or who see what you’re doing and wish they were doing it but they’re too afraid to put themselves out there.

When people hate on you, it’s almost always a reflection of some insecurity within the hater herself, and really has nothing to do with you.

When your child faces criticism or rejection from other kids, help her look at those kids and figure out whether those are the kind of people she wants to be friends with or have approval from anyway.

You probably can’t take away all the pain other kids can inflict on your child at times, but you can certainly lessen the blow and help her look at haters in a whole different light, which will give her confidence when she is up against an unkind peer.

4. “You will enrich your life immeasurably if you approach it with a sense of wonder and discovery, and always challenge yourself to try new things.” ~ Nate Berkus

Encouraging your child to try new things is one of the biggest confidence builders you can ever give him.

Explore and feed his interests, and suggest things that may fall outside of what he’s immediately drawn to.

It could be that he’s not interested in your new ideas, or maybe he’s just afraid to try them for fear that he won’t be any good at them.

When you help your child experience new things, he’ll lose the fear that surrounds change and the unknown and will be more confident about and open to exploring his curiosities.

Chances are, there’ll be at least one thing he thought he’d hate that he’ll end up loving and being good at.

Trying new things is the best way to strengthen the confidence habit, and also helps with the first lesson on getting over fear of failure.

If you’ll approach new things with the attitude of “let’s just try it and see what happens,” when it’s no fun or your child isn’t good at it, he’ll just see it as another step in the right direction of discovering what he does enjoy and excel at, rather than as a failure.

Connect with Kids Party Characters

At Kids Party Characters our passion is helping you raise happy and confident kids.

We do our part by offering a party experience that is unmatched by any other company, and designed to leave your child and her guests with a lifetime of memories.

Visit us at KidsPartyCharacters.com to see our selection of over 200 characters, meaning chances are great that whoever your child’s favorite character is, it can be the special guest at her next party.

In addition to putting on a great show for your child and her friends, our characters can bring along face painting, balloon twisting, and cotton candy to make the party complete.

And, in our continuing effort to be your one-stop party provider, Kids Party Characters now offers bounce house rentals for your party too.

Make sure to join us on Facebook for daily updates on the magic we create at children’s parties, as well as our best parenting tips and strategies.

The Motivation Myth and What You Really Need

The motivation industry is big business. 

There are Facebook pages, Instagram accounts, and mindset coaches generating an easy six figures and beyond by doling out a daily dose of motivation designed to give you the kick in the pants you need to meet your goals.

In entrepreneurial circles, it’s often said that a person’s mindset is more crucial to her success than her actual business skills.

So, is it true?

Can filling your head with daily doses of feel-good quotes from successful famous people be the real key to finally getting that business you’ve spent so much time thinking about off the ground?

If only it were so easy.

In the network marketing industry and many other sales companies, there’s a heavy reliance on external motivation to recruit people and convince them they can and should go sell the company’s product.

And if you’ve ever been to one of these live events, or even a group call, you’ve probably left feeling on fire and unstoppable.

Only to be quickly brought back down to Earth when you’re sitting alone in front of your computer wondering where you’ll even find one customer.

The fact is, despite how true all those quotes are, and how good those pep talks make you feel, external motivation will never give you what you need to be successful.

And the reason is that it’s impossible to act consistently in a way that’s inconsistent with how we see ourselves.

You may be able to fake it every now and then, and take a few steps forward after a dose of external motivation gives you some temporary fuel.

But success really does come from within, so powering through another motivational book your coach or mentor recommended will never get you doing the consistent work it takes to meet your goals.

What you really need is internal, or self-motivation. 

Self-motivation is an ongoing process, a never-ending journey, but focusing on it will get you to your destinations, rather then just pushing you a few steps down the path.

Three Keys to Self-Motivation

Self-motivation can be a pretty complex topic, as evidenced by the fact that it’s the single subject of entire books, but there are three big keys that will give you what you need to get the internal motivation you need to start checking off those goals.

1. Know Your Why

It’s essential that you know why you’re working towards your goal. This applies to any goal, but we’ll use your goal of having a successful work from home business.

There are going to be days when you just feel like taking the kids to the park and forgetting about your business.

There are going to be days when you have to deal with an unreasonable customer, or technical difficulty on your website, and you’ll wonder whether this is all really worth it.

Especially on those days of challenge, you need to be able to hang on to your why to pull you through the adversity.

Make sure you write down your why. 

Just take a blank sheet of paper in a notebook that you keep in an easily accessible spot and write down every reason that comes to mind as to why you want to build a successful business.

Make yourself spend at least 15 minutes thinking of reasons and writing them down.

Any reason that’s your reason is a good reason.

Whether it’s just for the peace of mind the financial cushion provides your family, or so you can knock those international trips to swim with the sharks and  meditate on Mount Fuji off your bucket list, when you’ve written down all your whys, you can use them to spark you into action or keep you going when roadblocks appear.

2. Control Your Self-Talk

While other people’s doubts about what you’re doing can be disheartening, the words that are your biggest enemy will be your own.

As kids, we believe we can do anything.

But society and life experiences slowly turn that belief around and by the time we’re adults at least 75% of our self-talk is negative.

And you probably don’t even realize you’re doing it.

So start by paying attention to the thoughts going through your head (mental self-talk is the deadliest of all), and the words coming out of your mouth.

Truth is not a defense to any negative self-talk. 

Even if there is currently some truth to it, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can get some organization going on when you quit saying, “I’m so disorganized.”

And if you keep telling yourself, “I’m bad at technical things, I’ll never have a good website,” it’s going to be very hard for you to ever have a good website.

Speaking of those motivational quotes by famous people, Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t — you’re right.”

And experience shows us that Henry was in fact, right.

The first step to meeting any goal is telling yourself you can do it.

You may not even believe it at first, but your subconscious hears it and she does believe it, so she'll get to work helping you make it happen.

3. Become Your Best Self

This is one of those things that you’ll never check off your to-do list, because it’s a life-long process.

Why?

Because as a human being, you have unlimited potential.

So the fact that you’re never “done” with this one is a good thing.

There will never be a day when you can say, “I’m the best me I can ever be.”

While it’s important to know that as you are reading this, you are enough, it’s also crucial to your success to know at the same time that there’s so much more potential inside you just waiting for you to let it out.

Always have goals surrounding not what you want to have, but who you want to be.

Those goals can involve habits you want to develop, contributions you want to make to the world, examples you want to set for your children and/or other adults.

Once you become engaged in the process of becoming a better you, you’ll find the physical actions you need to take to build a bigger business fall in place much easier and with less resistance.

Need Help?

While ultimately it’s impossible to outsource your motivation, it will always be an inside job, it is crucial that you place yourself in the right environment to fuel your self-motivation.

Especially when it comes to building your business, you’ll meet with a lot of resistance from family and friends who encourage you to “go get a real job” because having your own business is risky and unreliable.

Trying to maintain the self-motivation to work towards your goals day after day when you’re going it alone is like riding a bike uphill.

When you place yourself in an environment that is encouraging and adds a layer of external motivation, it will feel like someone came along in a pickup truck, told you to throw your bike in the back, and offered you a ride up the hill.

When you join the team here at Kids Party Characters, we have our pickup waiting for you.

So whether you’re a new entrepreneur who’s having doubts about taking the plunge, or a struggling business owner who needs support and a proven system, take a look at the opportunity owner Cheryl Jacobs has created for you with membership to KidsPartyCharacters.com.

Membership is designed to give you the advantage of starting out with all the tools in place for growing a successful business, which cuts down on the time and number of failures you have to go through to get it right.

You’ll get an exclusive territory in which to book parties, the right to use our more than 200 costumes, and access to our acting coach and casting director.

You’ll also get mentorship and training from Cheryl herself, as well as the Kids Party Characters team, including a step-by-step course on how to get started.

Go here to schedule a friendly chat with Cheryl today to get all your questions answered and discover whether this is the business opportunity that’s been calling you.

And be sure to join us on Facebook to receive our best tips for growing a six figure business, as well as updates on all the magic Kids Party Characters brings to children’s parties.

KidsPartyCharacters.com 917-568-1396



How and Why to Teach Your Child About Diversity



If you’re the parent of a child who’s old enough to talk, you’ve likely experienced at least one of those embarrassing moments at the store where your child encounters someone different than she is.



Let’s look at some of the best ways to make sure she does appreciate diversity, then we’ll talk about why this is such an important trait to instill in your child.



1. Embrace Teachable Moments

2. Be a Role Model

3. Read Good Books

4. Make a Conscious Effort to Explore Diversity



At KidsPartyCharacters.com we love diversity, which is one reason we have over 200 characters to choose from.



Visit us at KidsPartyCharacters.com to book your child’s next party, and don’t hesitate to advise us of any special accommodations you need to make your child and all of his guests feel welcome and included.



Be sure to connect with us on Facebook to for daily updates on the magic we bring to parties, as well as parenting strategies for raising happy and healthy children.

5 Tools For Taming Your Email Inbox

While social media and text messaging seem to be the primary ways we communicate with everyone today, your email inbox plays a huge role in business communications.

And although social media marketing is the most talked about way to grow your business, the numbers have always shown that when it comes to actually closing the deal with new customers, email is more effective.

So if you’ve been ignoring your email inbox as one of your primary business tools, it’s time to change that.

Email has lost the excitement it first generated when the internet was new and we jumped with anticipation every time AOL chimed in with, “You’ve got mail.”

Now, we know we have mail.

Way too much mail, in fact.

Because everywhere we go and with everything we do, we’re asked to give up our email address.

So if you shopped at Doggie Treats Deluxe one time in your life, you now find yourself getting emails from them for the rest of your life.

On the other hand, your kids' teachers may communicate almost exclusively by email, your favorite clothing store may send out 50% off coupons by email, and most all of your substantial business dealings are going to involve email.

How do you manage it all in a way that keeps you productive and keeps your work at home business from taking over your life?

Because it’s such a huge problem for so many of us, there are an endless number of solutions out there. Today we’re going to cover five that are especially helpful for small business owners.

1. Unroll.me

The best place to start is by getting rid of all of those email subscriptions you have that you aren’t interested in.

Yes, you could go through and hit the tiny little “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of each email, but that wouldn’t be a very productive use of your time.

And fortunately, there’s a much faster way to solve your problem, and it’s called Uroll.me.

At Unroll.me, you’ll see a list of all of your subscription emails. With one click, you instantly subscribe from whatever you don’t want.

You can also combine subscriptions you do want, but don’t need popping up into your inbox all day, into one email called the rollup.

You decide what time to have this digest of your favorite subscriptions delivered to your inbox, and it appears on your command with everything in one place.

Scheduling your email time and productively managing your email just became so much easier.

2. Boomerang for Gmail

Boomerang is a great tool for effectively managing your emails without becoming overwhelmed and losing track of them.

With Boomerang, you can snooze emails for later, which as the app points out, helps you remember to pay upcoming bills, follow-up with clients that don’t reply, and stay on top of any email you won’t need until later.

Once installed, you’ll see a Boomerang button appear at the top of each message, allowing you to snooze the message for a number of hours, days, weeks, or until any specific time you enter.

The email then does you the favor of disappearing from your inbox until the time you’ve summoned it back.

3. Spark

Spark advertises itself as a tool that lets you take control of your inbox by instantly seeing what’s important and cleaning up the rest.

For starters, the app sorts your emails into personal, newsletter, and notification boxes.

The real magic to this app however is the way in which it lets you personalize your email experience.

Spark has a feature that allows you to snooze emails until you’re ready to deal with them, allows you to schedule emails to be sent later, and provides reminders to follow-up on important emails.

You can also set notifications to alert you when an important email comes in.

Spark also has a good number of integrations that will make dealing with emails easier and faster, including Dropbox, iCloud, Evernote, Google Drive, Pocket, and Readability, along with a nice feature that allows you to save information-packed emails as a PDF.

All of this is done from an interface that you can set up in a way that works best with your email workflow.

If you have a team that helps out in your business (and you will, eventually!),  Spark for teams is an invaluable way to easily share and collaborate through email.

4. Shift

Gmail has really captured the market when it comes to email productivity and one of the best tools for out there for dealing with all things Gmail is Shift.

Shift allows you to switch between multiple Gmail accounts as well as Google Calendars and Google Drive accounts with just one click.

The latest version added unified search, which enables you to search for something across all of your accounts with just one search.

The app also supports Boomerang and Grammarly, as well as other non-Google productivity tools, and advertises that it is continuing to add new integrations to make it even more of a one-stop service.

5. SaneBox

And finally, if you’re willing to part with $2 a month (or a little more depending on your needs), you’ll likely find SaneBox to be a worthy option.

SaneBox prioritizes each email for you as it comes in, organizing it into folders like SaneArchive, SaneLater, SaneConnect, SaneNoReplies, and others you can create.

If the email is deemed important, it will stay in your inbox rather than being routed to a folder. 

For the emails that are sent to folders, you’ll receive a digest that allows you to decide which are important and worthy of your attention.

Over time, the SaneBox experience gets better and better, as you train the automation how to deal with different incoming messages.

Another nice feature is SaneBlackHole, which allows you to drag emails into this folder causing the email to be deleted and automatically unsubscribing you from the sender.

SaneReminders allows you to send email reminders to yourself in the future, and SaneAttachments allows you to automatically upload attachments to your cloud storage service.

SaneBox offers a two week free trial and the option to cancel at anytime, although purchasing an annual plan does get you a 30% discount.

Do the Work Now and Save Time Forever

It does take a little effort to find the right system for you and to get used to doing things differently.

But, if you put in the time now, you’ll reap the rewards of increased productivity forever.

Each of the above five options are great places to start and will cut down on your search for the perfect solution from the many options out there.

And as always, if you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, or one who’s looking to add another income stream, Kids Party Characters is here to help.

Owner Cheryl Jacobs started out as a single mom needing to feed her kids, and now has the experience and passion to help other moms looking for necessary or extra income.

Knowing how busy a mom’s life is, Cheryl has cut down the time and effort it takes to start your own business by offering membership to KidsPartyCharacters.com.

With membership, you’ll get an exclusive territory in which to book parties, and access to our 200+ costumes, as well as our acting coach and casting director.

You’ll also get step-by-step training and support from Cheryl on how to start your business the right way.

Schedule a free, no-pressure chat with Cheryl right here and let her help you figure out if this is the right opportunity for your life.

Want to know more about KidsPartyCharacters.com? Connect with us on Facebook for daily updates about the magic we bring to children’s parties as well as the strategies we’ve used to grow a six figure business.

5 Books Your Preteen Should Read

One of the most important habits you can instill in your children from an early age is a love of reading. 

Reading to your kids daily from the time they are very young is a great way to start the habit.

Don’t get discouraged if, as your child gets older and reading becomes required in school, she doesn’t show much interest in it.

For some kids, learning to read is hard and this fact alone can create an early dislike for books.

Even if we model reading for our kids by always being engaged with a book, some will love it and others just won’t take to it.

But, never give up.

As with so many things when it comes to your children, what they like and don’t like can change on a daily basis.

Continue to encourage even reluctant kids to read, and help them explore their interests so you can guide them to books they’ll enjoy.

Whether or not your child is a reader, there are five books that you should add to her collection that will help her navigate the tricky transition from child to teenager.

Kids are often embarrassed to talk to us about all that’s going on in their preteen life, and feel like we won’t understand or be able to help anyway. 

Each of these books can help fill in some of the gaps and get your child on the road to becoming a happy teen.

Exactly when you’ll want to introduce each book to your child will depend on the individual, but generally speaking these books are appropriate for the 9 to 13 years, and beyond.

The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life by Kwame Alexander

This is the perfect book for kids who love sports, as they’ll find words of wisdom from stars like Serena Williams, LeBron James, Carli Lloyd, and Steph Curry.

Designed to show kids how to win at the game of life, in addition to contributions from several famous role models, the author shares uplifting stories about overcoming obstacles and succeeding in life. 

This is a nice book to have on hand when your child is needing a little motivation and encouragement.

365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne’s Precepts by R.J. Palacio 

 If your child hasn’t read the book Wonder, he’s probably at least seen the movie. 

This book is by the same author and is perfect for all kids, even those younger than nine, and is an especially good one to pick up if your child is not the kind to sit down and read 30 pages a night.

Designed to be “A quote for every day of the year about courage, friendship, love, and kindness,” you can use this book to get your reluctant reader to commit to reading a page a day.

You can also use it as a starting point for a daily discussion with your kids, or as a quick point of reference to help encourage your child when he’s facing a particular problem or challenge.

The book is organized so that each month focuses on a different theme, so it’s easy to jump around and find just the right words that address where your child or family is on any given day.

The 6 Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make by Sean Covey

 This book was updated last year to discuss how technology affects most every decision your child makes these days.

While it may be geared towards those closer to the teen years, our children are facing many of these six issues at younger and younger ages, so use your discretion about when to introduce this one.

Here Covey addresses how to deal with the major challenges of gaining self-esteem, dealing with parents, making friends, wise choices about sex, coping with substances, and succeeding at school and planning a career.

Your child will stay engaged with the book because it’s not preachy or in lecture format, but includes quizzes, quotes, and cartoons, as well as stories to illustrate the lessons that will benefit your child preparing to enter the teen years.

Also recommended by this author as your child gets older is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.

The Success Principles for Teens: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield and Kent Healy

 The purpose of this book is to be your child’s “road map whether your goal is to become a better student or athlete, start a business, make millions of dollars, or simply find guidance and direction.”

The book includes 23 success strategies that young people have used throughout history to get what they want out of life.

This is another practical and engaging book that will help your child understand that he can have anything he wants in life if he’s willing to do the work to get it. 

The book provides the tools your child will need, and encourages him to take the actions necessary to reach his goals.

While the title advertises it as a book “for teens,” it’s completely on target for younger readers too.

Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul by the same author is also a good collection of "stories of changes, choices, and growing up."

Good Vibes Coloring Book from Made You Smile Press

 For the child who simply won’t read but needs a little positivity in her life, this book is perfect.

Each coloring page includes an inspirational quote as part of the design, giving your child plenty of time to read and ponder the message.

The book is especially good for kids because the designs are simpler than in most coloring books and intended to be therapeutic, leading to less frustration in perfectionist kids.

Even if your child loves to read, this book is a nice edition to her collection when she wants a break.

Coloring patterns are known for reliving stress and promoting relaxation, so this is also a good alternative for times when your child is too angry or upset to read.

Take a Stress-Free Approach With Your Child 

Don’t get discouraged if your child shows little interest in these type of “self-help” books at first. 

This is traditionally an “adult” subject and may not be what the other kids are reading. 

Although, if you find one you and your child especially like, consider gifting a copy to the mom of one of your child’s close friends. You may have the beginnings of an informal mini-book club.

For many kids, these recommended books are the kind you’ll find your child reading in her room at night behind a closed door either out of curiosity, or when she’s in the midst of a challenge or crisis.

If you found something useful in this article, make sure to join Kids Party Characters on Facebook for daily updates on our best parenting tips and strategies.

You’ll also learn more about the magic we create at children’s parties when you visit us at KidsPartyCharacters.com.

With over 200 costumes to choose from, you’ll find something for kids of all ages, whether it’s time to celebrate a birthday, favorite holiday, back to school, or graduation. 

Three Reasons You Need a Six-Figure Business

There’s a lot of hype surrounding the “six-figure business.” 

According to social media and other marketing messages, the real sign that you’ve “made it” is when your business crosses that $100,000 a year mark in revenue generation.

For some new business owners, or those thinking about starting a business, this can be intimidating, and is a goal that simply doesn’t interest them, or so they think.

This can be especially true for moms, who often have the attitude that all they’re looking for is something fun to do on the side, and a little extra money to treat themselves and/or their kids to a few things beyond the necessities.

As a mom, our priorities aren’t usually having a lot of money.

Sure, we’d take it, but all we really want is enough to be comfortable.

In addition, many of us go into business with motives other than money, and with a mindset that our work at home business could never generate six figures anyway, unless we were willing to work 10 hours a day, which we aren’t.

This view on money as it relates to your small business, usually causes new entrepreneurs to look past advice that comes from those claiming to know all the shortcuts and easiest paths to six figures.

But even if you’re “just” a stay at home mom or brand new entrepreneur, having the attitude that a six-figure business isn’t something you want, need, or even could have, is a mistake.

Today we’re going to talk about three reasons why your goal should be to grow your business to at least the six figure mark.

1. For the Person it Will Make You Become

Business and personal development philosopher Jim Rohn said, “Become a millionaire not for the million dollars, but for what it will make of you to achieve it.”

The same principles apply to breaking the six figure mark.

We could just as easily be talking about why you need a seven-figure business today, but that idea goes so far over most newer entrepreneurs’ heads that those who needed to be reading this would skip right by it as completely not applicable to them.

So first let’s get you to $100,000, and then, when you’re ready, we’ll start talking about $1 million.

Because it’s not the actual dollar amount that even matters here.

It’s about achieving something financially that most people don’t achieve, and don’t believe they can achieve.

So what will it “make of you” to achieve it that is so desirable?

Having the mindset and taking the action necessary to build your business to the six figure mark means equipping yourself with habits and attitudes that will serve you well in every area of your life.

If you have the discipline, persistence, focus, heart, enthusiasm, skill, and dozens of other traits you’ll develop while working towards the six figure mark, you’ll use those same traits to be good, happy, and successful in everything you do.

Whether it’s being a PTO mom, a role model for your kids, navigating personal and professional conflicts, or anything in between, the same values, attitudes, and actions that got your business to six figures will serve you well in getting everything you want and need to accomplish. 

2. For the Contribution it Will Allow You to Make

Having a six-figure business allows you to go beyond supporting your family.

Chances are you’ve seen those Facebook posts or news reports with urgent pleas to donate to GoFundMe causes where families have tragically lost a father, or a child is in dire need of medical treatment that insurance won’t cover.

Or maybe your child’s school group has a chance to travel across country for a unique experience if they could only raise the money.

And it could be as simple as your child’s volleyball team needs a new stash of balls, or you can check the box on the electric bill or school field trip permission form that says, “I’d like to donate to a family in need.”

Whatever it is that makes you think, "I wish I could help," now you can.

And above the money itself and the lifestyle it can create for you, it may surprise you to find out that what makes you happiest is the greater contribution you can make to the world.

3. For the Freedom it Will Give Your Family

The lack of desire to have a six-figure business really comes down to one of two things.

Either you’ve grown up with the belief that money is evil and all rich people are bad and you’re somehow a shallow and materialistic person if you value money.

Or, because of all the other riches you have in your life, money is just truly not a priority for you.

Maybe you live a simple but comfortable life and you’re happiest when your intentions are put towards non-revenue generating activities.

Hopefully if you’re in the “money is evil” camp, you can see by now how money can do good things for you personally and for the wider community.

And even if you’re in the “I’m happy with what I have” camp, take a minute to think about how money could make you even happier by giving you more peace of mind and the chance to have more experiences with your family.

Maybe you have no desire for a million dollar house or a $50,000 car.

But what if you could take your family on more trips?

Whether it’s a beautiful weekend getaway of hiking, camping, and unplugging just a few hours from home, or a two week vacation to Europe or the Bahamas, think of the memories you could make, the things you all could learn, and the experiences you could share.

Yes, you can be happy without any extra, but what if you could do more?

And, what if you simply had the peace of mind of knowing that every decision you made for your family was based on what you felt was right for them, and didn’t have to be limited by financial concerns?

Simply put, even if you don’t want all the shiny things, money gives you a freedom you don’t have without it.

Getting Started With Your Business

Maybe you’re excited and ready to get started towards the six-figure line, or maybe you’re thinking this all sounds great, but I’m not willing to sacrifice my family to slave away towards a six-figure business. 

Either way, Kids Party Characters can help.

Owner Cheryl Jacobs started her entrepreneurial journey as a single mom and understands what it’s like to have children who need your time and attention.

And that’s exactly why she’s created an opportunity with KidsPartyCharacters.com that provides you with the potential to build your own six-figure business in the children’s entertainment industry without sacrificing all you do as a mom.

Cheryl’s created a membership opportunity with KidsPartyCharacters.com that allows you to jumpstart your business by using all the resources she has that have made Kids Party Characters into a six-figure business.

With membership you’ll get an exclusive territory in which to book parties, along with access to our 200+ costumes, as well as our acting coach and casting director.

You’ll also get step-by-step mentoring from Cheryl on how to start your business the right way.

If you think this opportunity might be the right fit for your life, book a friendly chat with Cheryl here and she’ll give you all the details and answer any questions you have.

Also connect with us on Facebook to learn more about the magic we bring to children’s parties, and get all our best business building tips and strategies.

Can Healthy Food Lead to Healthy Behavior for Your Child?

We all know on some level that what our child eats can effect how he acts. 

Excessive silliness or wild behavior is often explained away by telling ourselves they’ve just had too much sugar today.

And if we paid even closer attention to what our children eat, we may notice other foods that effect their behaviors and mood.

As more research is done in this area, experts are finding that many of the factors influencing behavior are effected by the ingredients in our kids’ food.

The American Psychological Association concluded that kids who are healthy eaters cope with stress and regulate their emotions better.

But what exactly does “healthy eating” mean?

Sure, we know things like kale and spinach, chia seeds, sweet potatoes and whole wheat pasta are good for our kids, but as moms, we need a realistic plan.

And for many of us, the struggle to get our kids to eat a plate full of greens is more of a battle than we have the time or energy to take on.

What Your Child Needs

Instead of looking at what foods are best so we can feel inadequate for not being able to get our kids to eat them, let’s look at what vitamins and minerals might influence not only a child’s physical health, but also his cognitive development.

Vitamin D: Helps with brain function and attention span, improves energy and mood, and help regulate sleep. Much of this comes from the sun if your kids are light-skinned, but it’s such an important one that finding it in foods is also a plus.

Vitamin B: Research has shown that kids who tested low for vitamin B also have increased behavioral problems and can struggle with learning.

Magnesium: This is a super important one if you have a particularly hyper or anxious child. Magnesium helps the brain by calming the central nervous system, which can reduce anxiety and improve attention span.

Omega-3 fatty acids: Yet another one that’s been show to have a positive impact on behavior due to the support it gives to a child’s growing brain.

Iron: Iron is especially important to brain development in toddlers, which is why you may find your doctor testing your baby’s iron levels. Sufficient iron levels are known to have a positive effect on your child’s mood, energy, and attention.

While it's good to look for foods high in these vitamins and minerals, don't be bamboozled by the box of Frosted Flakes that proudly proclaims "High in Vitamin D!" on the front of the box. They conveniently leave off the front that there's also 15 grams of sugar in each cup!

If you stick to a whole food diet as much as possible, and prepare meals using fresh ingredients rather than pulling them out of the freezer, you're likely headed in the right direction.

Because it's almost impossible to get all the nutrition from today's food sources and the reality of how fast our lives move, you can also look into a good whole food vitamin to supplement with.

What Your Child Doesn’t Need

There are some ingredients that are just universally known to be bad, so let’s start with those.

Artificial dyes: Specifically, avoid Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, and Red 40. These are all associated with hyperactivity, anxiety, and headaches, and have actually been banned in many countries.

Unfortunately, most processed foods in the United States continue to include them.

Sugar: We all know about this one, but it can be so tough to avoid, since there’s sugar in most everything, even “healthier” options like whole wheat bread.

The best way to avoid sugar is to eat more whole foods, and making the effort to do that is worth it.

A diet hight in processed foods, which always contain sugar, is related to depression, cognitive delays, and sleep disturbances.

Preservatives: Some of the more common preservatives are nitrates, nitrites, and sodium benzoate, but look at the ingredient label for the word “preservative” because they come under many different names.

Again, preservatives can be avoided by eating a diet rich in whole foods.

Preservatives are known to effect mood and behavior, including hyperactivity, and to cause headaches.

There are some foods that you’ll just have to experiment with. If you’re having issues with your child’s behavior that seem more significant than what’s normal for kids, and that appear inconsistently, start a food diary and look at whether allergies to certain foods may be triggering the behaviors in your child.

Dairy: Dairy is one of the most common food allergies that effects behavior in children. The allergy can manifest itself physically through fatigue, congestion and bloating.

Behaviorally, children with ADHD can become hyperactive after consuming dairy. Anxiety, irritability, depression, and an inability to concentrate are also reported behavioral effects of a dairy allergy.

Gluten: The physical symptoms of a gluten allergy are seen in the gut and can include difficulty with bowel movements or loose bowels, and change in weight.

Behavioral reactions include hyperactivity, irritability, and aggressiveness.

Soy and Corn: Both soy and corn are other common allergens to consider if your child’s behaviors seem erratic.

If you notice your child’s behavior triggered by something at times, and completely unaffected by the trigger at other times, consider whether her diet could be the trigger.

Try eliminating the above foods one at a time, and see if you notice differences in behavior.

Obviously, if you have concerns about your child’s behaviors, this list is a good starting point, but you should seek the advice of a medical expert. 

Doctors and other health practitioners often recommend staring with an elimination diet, so going in with this information could save you time and multiple visits.

Be Creative With the Good Stuff

You can sneak healthiness into your child’s food without her even knowing it.

Having a food processor is crucial here. 

Pureeing cauliflower and adding it to mashed potatoes or mac and cheese is easy and healthy, sweet potatoes and various vegetables can be pureed and added to pasta and pizza sauces, and pureed fruit makes a nice addition to pancakes and muffin recipes.

For more ideas and recipes, try Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbook, Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food. 

Finally, a lot of healthy eating habits are simply that, habits.

If you keep fruits, vegetables, and minimally processed food around for snacks, that’s what your child will be used to eating and she won’t even miss all the bad stuff.

To get you started, try some of these 15 Healthy, Kid-Friendly After School Snacks.

That’s not to say you should deny your kids any ice cream, candy, or other “bad stuff.”

For most families, that’s just not realistic, and may lead to your child obsessing over having such foods when she gets older and can make more of her own choices.

But don’t use candy and other sweets as “rewards.”

Sell them to your kids as special treats you indulge in from time to time that are okay because of the healthy daily eating habits you’ve established.

You don't have to be "that parent" who has the undesirable reputation of denying her child a rich cake laden with butter cream frosting at her birthday party.

Although, if you book your child's party with KidsPartyCharacters.com, the show we'll bring will make the cake a mere afterthought.

At Kids Party Characters we have over 200 characters to choose from, almost guaranteeing your child can invite her favorite character to put on a show at her party.

In addition, we have packages that include all the best party activities, such as face painting and balloon twisting.

Learn more about the magic we'll bring to your child's party, and get all our best parenting tips, by joining Kids Party Characters on Facebook for daily updates.

3 Things You Must do Everyday for Your Business by: Kids Party Character...

Okay, it’s only three things, but if you’re a new or struggling business owner, you may be saying, “But I don’t know how to reach out to people, or how to even get a buy button up, or what good, realistic goals look like.”

Remember how we talked earlier about making your business as easy as a puzzle with numbers on the back?

While that may be a bit of an over-simplification, you can take 90% of the stress and stumbling out of your business by having a business mentor.

Your mentor can’t do it all for you, and you have to make some mistakes along the way if you want to grow into your greatness.

But a mentor can be, and often is, the key difference in those who find success in their business and those who throw in the towel.

So you can go out and do these three things on your own, learning by trial and error, or you can save time, money, and your sanity by hooking up with a mentor.

If you’re a stay at home mom or a struggling entrepreneur and having a successful business would be life-changing for you, then Kids Party Characters owner Cheryl Jacobs may be the right mentor for you.

Cheryl began with nothing but two beautiful babies who needed to be fed and has since started 10 businesses, including Kids Party Characters, which she runs from home and has turned into a six figure venture.

Cheryl has opened up a great opportunity for a select number of people to get a license to Kids Party Characters.

With a license, you have the right to book parties in an exclusive territory, access to over 200 of our unique costumes as well as our casting director and acting coach.

And, you receive personal training and mentorship from Cheryl and the team at Kids Party Characters.

Basically, Cheryl’s done everything she can to help you become a successful business owner as quickly as possible.

Think this might be the right opportunity for you, or have more questions? Book a free, no-pressure chat with Cheryl right here, and she’ll help you sort out what’s best for your life.

Want to learn more about the magic we create at KidsPartyCharacters.com? Connect with us on Facebook for daily updates.

Is Now the WRONG Time to Start Your Business?

Many business coaches and other successful entrepreneurs will tell you that starting a business is a lot like birthing a baby.

Tough and painful, but completely worth it in the end.

Another thing businesses and babies have in common is that many people wait until the time is just right to have one, only to eventually realize the timing will never be perfect and you just have to go for it in spite of the current obstacles.

And it’s generally true that if you’re waiting for the stars to line up perfectly in your life before you start your business, it’ll always be a thing of “someday.”

But, there are certain times when you need to change the circumstances in your life before you take the plunge into your new business.

We’ll talk about five such times today.

1. You’re in Financial Distress

But isn’t the time that you need money the best time to start a business that will bring you money?

Yes, a business is a great idea for long-term financial planning and stability.

But if the lights are about to go off or you’re not sure how you’ll pay the mortgage this month, then you need to get on more solid ground before you start your business.

There are two main reasons for this. 

First, you’re going to need a little money to get started.

Not a lot, in fact you can do it with a surprisingly small sum, but it’s almost impossible to do it with a budget of zero.

Yes, if you poke around online you’ll hear the stories about the guy who started $100,000 in debt and without a dime to spend and grew that into a six figure business.

It happens, but it means you work literally 16 hour days and live in your parents' basement while you’re doing it.

If you’re a mom, you’ve got a family, you’re going to need a little capital.

Second, you don’t want to go into business knowing that if you don’t make a sale today you don’t eat.

This type of pressure inevitably leads to bad results.

Your mind needs to be clear enough to make objective, rational decisions based on the long-term success of your business, and free from desperation-induced actions that may hurt the reputation of your business and/or its chances of ever producing a consistent income for you. 

2. You Just Had a Baby

Remember how we said starting your business is like birthing a baby?

Now imagine you just gave birth and next week you’re scheduled to give birth again!

You know what it’s like taking care of a newborn.

There’s the wonderful part of it where you want to be with your little bundle of joy 24/7, then there’s the not so beautiful part of never getting more than two hours of sleep in a row and adjusting to changing hormones and schedules.

All of it is way more than a full time job.

And if you have twins, don’t think that prepares you for baby and business twins. For obvious reasons, baby and business don’t mix like baby and baby do.

That’s not to say you have to wait until the baby starts school to get your business going. Just give yourself a few months until the fog has cleared a little, and you’ve gotten into some kind of a routine.

3. You’re in the Middle of a Big Life Stressor

This is kind of a catch-all that goes along with the first two reasons we talked about.

Starting a business doesn’t require that you work full-time, or anywhere close to it, but it does require that when you are working on your business, your mind be 100% focused on your business.

The decisions you make and the care you take in setting your business up will determine whether you’re still in business a year from now.

And sometimes we have things going on in our lives that require all of our attention for a bit.

So if you’re moving into a new house, in the midst of a tough divorce, or going through some medical scare yourself or with a family member, get to a better place first.

Only you can judge this one, but if you find your mind and your days being consumed with one big event, sort it out before moving forward with your business.

4. You Have No Written Goals

Jim Rohn, a foremost leader in the areas of personal and business development, tells a story about his mentor, Earl Shoaff, which really says it all here.

Mr. Shoaff asked to see Jim’s written goals, and upon learning that he had none, he predicted that he could guess what Jim’s bank balance was nearly to the dollar.

Mr. Shoaff was right, and as you can probably guess, Jim’s bank balance was far less than impressive!

The science behind goal setting is beyond what we’re talking about today, but you can learn more about setting your business goals from our previous article on the topic.

If you’re new to goal setting, or have no experience with it beyond failed new year’s resolutions, you’d do well to find a mentor to help you be successful here.

We’ll talk in a minute about how you can mentor with Kids Party Characters owner Cheryl Jacobs.

5. You’re Ready to Try it and See if it Works

Before the money comes in your business, the mindset has to be there.

There’s a reason Master Yoda’s words, “Do, or do not. There is no try,” have become so popular.

They’re true.

And there is no “see if it works,” it does work. Millions of successful business owners can attest to that.

The question is not whether it works, but whether you will work.

So until you’re committed to having a business rather than trying one, and to doing the work rather than seeing if it works, don’t start your business.

Again, a mentor is the perfect person to help you if you’re struggling with mindset and don’t know how to turn things around.

At KidsPartyCharacters.com, owner Cheryl Jacobs has been there. She’s done the mindset work, the physical work, and ridden the waves of failure that so often precede success.

Part of her entrepreneurial journey now is to give back to other moms and struggling entrepreneurs by taking much of the hard work out of starting your own business.

Cheryl has created a membership in Kids Party Characters that allows you to start your own children’s entertainment business with all the tools she already uses to make her business a success.

Membership in KidsPartyCharacters.com gives you an exclusive area in which to book parties, the right to use our 200+ costumes, and access to our acting coach and casting director.

You also get step-by-step training from Cheryl on how to start your business, as well as ongoing mentoring and support.

If you think the time may be right for your new business, or if you need help making that decision, schedule a free, no-pressure chat with Cheryl right here and she’ll give you all the details and answer any questions you have.

Also be sure to follow Kids Party Characters on Facebook for our best business building strategies as well as updates on the magic we bring to children’s parties.