Monday, February 25, 2019
Kids Party Characters Honored in Times Square
Today at Kids Party Characters we're celebrating an important milestone for owner Cheryl Jacobs. As you may recognize, the above photo is a picture of Times Square in New York City.
Look closely and you'll see Cheryl being honored on that huge billboard right in the center of Times Square, both as the founder and owner of Kids Party Characters and The Elite Flight Club, another business she owns that offers personalized flights for people who want to travel in style on their own schedule.
Which brings up another interesting aspect of Cheryl you might not even know about. Not only is she the owner of The Elite Flight Club, she is also a licensed pilot herself. And in typical Cheryl style, she's taken her passion for flying and turned it into a business so she can be involved in doing something she loves, while serving others at the same time.
You may see a trend here, as that's exactly how Kids Party Characters came to be. As a passionate mom who had raised two kids, Cheryl loved to make children smile and saw a need that wasn't being met very well in the children's entertainment industry.
She combined her love for modeling and the connections that brought her with her love for children and created Kids Party Characters, which she grew to a six-figure business that offers over 250 characters, along with bouncy castles, face painting, balloon twisting, and cotton candy. Cheryl has literally created your one-stop shop for your child's party entertainment.
The Power of P.O.W.E.R.
The organization that created this billboard honoring Cheryl is known as P.O.W.E.R., or Professional Organization of Women of Excellence Recognized. The organization is made up of all types of women from all walks of life and is dedicated to empowering one another to be their best.
P.O.W.E.R. spreads their message through a print and digital magazine, a radio program, and a video program. Their mission is
to provide a powerful network of women who will mentor, inspire and empower each other to be the best they can be. Through our valuable services, and collaborating with like-minded professionals, our members can gain the recognition and exposure to achieve their career goals.It's easy to see how Cheryl fits right into this organization as an experienced business owner who is driven to inspire and lead other moms to be their very best by following their dreams and making business ownership a reality.
How Cheryl Can Help
Maybe a billboard in Times Square seems way beyond what you could hope to achieve, or even want to achieve, and it wasn't that long ago that Cheryl would have felt the same way.
Cheryl wasn't born into this life, but rather started as a struggling single mom fresh off an abusive relationship who was supporting her children through the generosity of the local church's food pantry.
She knew there was something better out there for her and her kids, and has become a living example that all things are possible.
Cheryl is waiting to help you get on the road to becoming a small business owner. Schedule a mentoring session with her today and she'll walk you through what it's like to start a business from scratch.
Cheryl's created a great franchise opportunity with Kids Party Characters that takes much of the learning curve out of starting a business and allows you to leverage all of the tools she used to create a successful business.
In addition, this opportunity gives you step-by-step training from Cheryl on the best practices for starting your new business. Find all the details here, and bring any questions you have to your mentoring call with Cheryl.
You can also learn more about Kids Party Characters by connecting with us on Facebook for daily updates that include our best tips and strategies for working from home.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
How to Celebrate Black History Month With Your Kids
With just one week left in Black History Month, have you done anything to teach your kids about the significance and importance of devoting a whole month to focusing on African-American history?
Don't just assume the school's got it covered. While they're undoubtedly doing something, there's not time to do enough.
And, your kids need to know that you see the subject as worthy of your time and attention as a family.
No worries if you've ignored this event so far. You won't need to spend hours on Google preparing black history lesson plans.
More than teaching facts, the importance of Black History Month is to instill awareness and a certain attitude in your children, and to lead by example.
The History of Black History Month
Perhaps you've heard people joke that when the deciders of such things made Black History Month official, they choose the shortest month of the year to honor our African-American heritage.
The choice was neither random nor an intentional slight. Black History Month grew out of Negro History Week, a tradition started by journalist Carter J. Woodson in 1926, in response to the lack of any teachings on black culture and history in the school classrooms.
Woodson choose the second week of February as Negro History Week, and modern-day Black History Month is an expansion of what he started.
Four Important Talking Points With Your Kids
The subject of black history can be a bit overwhelming. Where does one begin?
Truth is, while expanding from a week-long focus on the topic to a month-long commitment was an improvement, the amount of "need to know" information out there about black history can hardly be done justice in a month.
While your particular focus can follow your interests as well as your children's, here are four starting points for discussion and learning.
1. Black History is American History
The history of black and white people in America is completely intertwined. Slavery in America began in 1619, when 20 African slaves arrived by ship to the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia. Less than a year later, in 1620, the first pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts.
Our budding nation was built into an economic stronghold in part off the backs of the African slaves who were responsible for the tobacco and cotton crop production.
Even in the North, where slavery was not nearly as widespread, many businessmen found wealth in the slave trade and through investments in southern plantations.
As our nation continued to develop, wars were fought by black and white soldiers, new inventions developed by black and white Americans continued to improve our quality of life, and important American values were shaped by black and white activists.
A good starting point with your kids then, is that when we talk about black history, we're really talking about the important stuff that's been left out of what our history books deem "American history."
2. Significant Black Leaders
Depending on their ages, your kids are probably familiar with names like Martin Luther King, Jr,. Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks. But what do they really know about the contributions of these great leaders?
And again, it's important they learn that not only were these great champions of the black cause, but that they were great Americans, regardless of their color.
A visit to the library will reveal books about the most well-known black leaders that tell age-appropriate stories of the contributions they made.
Such stories will be more interesting to your children than just giving them factual information, and will put meaning behind the familiar names.
But it's also important to go beyond the "famous" people, and show your kids that "ordinary" black people they've never heard of were also making an extraordinary impact on the world.
Again, look at your child's interests, but some starting points might be Phillis Wheatley, the first African-American to have a work of poems published, and Zora Neale Hurston, another powerful black author.
This collection of 14 black inventors is also a good example of how blacks have been making crucial contributions alongside their white counterparts throughout history.
3. It's Not Always Pretty
From slavery to Jim Crow laws to the racial injustices that have created the Black Lives Matter movement, there are many parts of black history that are uncomfortable and sad.
In an age appropriate way, this has to be acknowledged. And, teaching our children about the wrongs of the past will help develop them into leaders who know how to do better in the future.
Some of the ugly facts include slaves being treated as property, lynchings, and sexual exploitation of the women by their masters. The Jim Crow laws saw separate but equal facilities that were anything but equal for blacks.
Racism expressed today through employment discrimination, hate crimes, and police shootings shows that in many ways we haven't come near as far as we like to think from the time that blacks couldn't sit at the white lunch counter, at the front of the bus, or in the same school desks as white children.
This is modern day history, and our kids have the power to shape it in the right direction.
4. Embracing Diversity, Overcoming Stereotypes, and Learning from Each Other
While it may not technically be history, one big takeaway from your discussions about Black History Month should be that we still have a long way to go, and if we want to be the best nation we can, it's important to embrace diversity and work to overcome stereotypes that are unfortunately ingrained in us.
No matter how evolved we are, it's impossible for white people to walk in the skin of black people and feel some of the battles they face daily in situations where we take ease and comfort for granted.
Encourage your children to have open discussions, to avoid assumptions, and to acknowledge that we see the world through different eyes in many ways because of our skin color.
How to Celebrate Black History
To bridge some of these gaps that still exist between black and white culture requires that we become more familiar with black culture. And the best way to do this, and to actually celebrate black history, is to get more involved in black culture.
Yes, Black History Month is a good thing, but use it as a time to make a commitment to consistently improving your family's knowledge of black history and culture. Schedule an activity once a month that will put you in the middle of black culture (or any culture other than your own).
This can include eating at an ethnic restaurant, visiting museums, reading books or watching documentaries, attending ethnic festivals, and even arranging your own diversity awareness events to bring people of different backgrounds and colors together.
The more we know, the better we can become.
Hopefully you now have some ideas for how to celebrate black history not only this month, but to integrate it into you family's general view of American history and to become leaders in embracing and championing diversity.
Be sure to stay connected with Kids Party Characters on Facebook for more updates on raising happy and healthy kids, as well as an inside look at the magic we bring to children's parties.
And when it's time for your next party, head to KidsPartyCharacters.com to see our selection of over 200 characters as well as all the best party activities including bouncy castles, face painting, balloon twisting, and cotton candy.
Monday, February 18, 2019
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Coming Soon to a Newsstand Near You
Big news today at Kids Party Characters. Owner Cheryl Jacobs will soon be appearing on the cover of Soul Central Magazine, a publication that interviews and features those that motivate and inspire others across the global community.
You can find Cheryl’s edition of the magazine in print and online in March, and of course we’ll update you with a link as soon as it’s available.
In addition to making the cover of this inspiring magazine, there’s a four page article inside about Cheryl that tells her story of becoming a successful entrepreneur.
The true significance of this honor really hit for Cheryl when she realized that the magazine is featuring the popular and talented actor Jackie Chan on its cover the month before her appearance. While she’s certainly a big dreamer, being in the company of such a star has taken Cheryl beyond even her wildest dreams.
Cheryl’s story is a great example that no matter who you are, if you’re willing to start with what you have and work hard towards what you want, you can live the life of your dreams.
If you had met Cheryl when she was a single mom struggling to recover from an abusive relationship and supporting her kids through the generosity of a local church’s food pantry, you probably would have found it hard to believe that she’d end up a best selling author and successful serial entrepreneur.
Cheryl’s story is one of inspiration, but also highlights the importance of hard work, persistence, and really knowing what you want and throwing aside any limits the rest of the world might put on you to go out and get it.
As a Kids Party Characters supporter you may not know that Cheryl is also a licensed pilot, and that since her success with Kids Party Characters, she’s started another business called Elite Flight Club that specializes in providing private flights to meet her clients’ schedules and individual needs.
You’ll want to read more about that growing business in Cheryl’s Soul Central article.
What Does This Mean for You?
In addition to being excited for Cheryl’s success and the public recognition of it, let’s talk about how what she’s accomplished can actually benefit you.
First, as you may know, Cheryl’s developed a passion for mentoring others, especially moms who want to work from home with their kids.
As her magazine cover and article illustrate, she’s certainly a qualified mentor and someone who’s “been there and done that,” which may make her the perfect mentor for you.
Cheryl’s created a unique opportunity of membership with Kids Party Characters that allows you to start your own Kids Party Characters business using all the tools Cheryl has that allowed her to build a six-figure business.
Membership also includes step-by-step training and support from Cheryl and the team at Kids Party Characters so you can quickly get your business into profit.
Cheryl’s offering free mentoring sessions to anyone who wants to learn more about what it takes to start a business from scratch. Take a look at the Kids Party Characters membership opportunity, and book a call with Cheryl to get started on your dream of working from home while raising your kids.
Even if a business isn’t the right fit for you at this time, after reading Cheryl’s story in Soul Central, you’ll know she’s the kind of person you want to trust your child’s next party to.
At Kids Party Characters, Cheryl goes over the top to make sure your child and her guests are actually entertained during the party and go home with some lasting memories. You’ll find all the details about our 200+ characters, bouncy castles, face painting, balloon twisting, cotton candy and other extras on our website.
As always, thanks for your support and for being a part of the Kids Party Characters community. Be sure to join us on Facebook to keep updated on our growing collection of your kids’ favorite characters, as well as our best strategies for working from home and raising happy and healthy children.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
How to Build a Successful Business Within Your Comfort Zone
How to Build a Successful Business Within Your Comfort Zone
If you’ve been wanting to start your own business but for some reason haven’t gotten it off the ground, you may learn something about yourself today. And hopefully, it’ll give you the push you need to become a business owner.
If we surveyed would-be business owners on why they haven’t taken the plunge into entrepreneurship, even though they have considerable interest in doing so, it’s doubtful that anyone would say “because it’s outside my comfort zone.”
After hundreds of hours of conversations and mentoring with budding entrepreneurs, however, at Kids Party Characters we’ve discovered that one of the big excuses people have for dragging their feet on their dream to work from home in their own business comes down to the fact that it’s out of their comfort zone.
So, even if you think this doesn’t apply to you, read on to discover if the comfort zone factor might actually be that one thing that’s standing between you and your dream of being home with your kids, of having a business of your own, of easing your financial burdens.
What Is Your Comfort Zone?
You may be familiar with what your “comfort zone” is, but let’s talk about it for a minute to make sure we’re all on the same page.
Our comfort zone is where most of us live. We are creatures of habit, we thrive on routine, and we like to feel “comfortable.”
So everything we do, where we do it, and how we do it depends on what feels comfortable to us.
Naturally, different people have different comfort zones. Some people skydive, others won’t even take a one hour plane ride if they’re fastened in their seat belt the entire time.
Some people are leaders who address a large team of people on a daily basis. Others break out in hives at the thought of giving a presentation to a room of two people.
Take a minute and think about where your comfort zone lies. What do you do every day and what about it makes you feel good?
As you’re thinking about that, notice if some things pop into your mind that you’d like to do, but don’t or haven’t, for whatever reason. We’ll come back to that in a minute.
Why Conventional Advice About Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone Doesn’t Work
The picture at the top reflects conventional advice about the effect of living within your comfort zone. If you want to grow as a person, you have to step out of your comfort zone.
Or as others put it, the magic happens outside your comfort zone.
The problem with this advice is what it’s telling you is that if you want to do bigger and better things in life, you’re going to have to live outside your comfort zone.
And really, who wants to do that?
Sure, big scary risks and opportunities can lead to great payoffs sometimes, but I think most of us would agree that there are a lot of “bigger and better” opportunities in life that we’d give up if it meant we got to live a comfortable life.
Even if you're okay with living outside your comfort zone, truth is, it's an impossible existence to maintain.
I like this analogy that I learned from Dan Kennedy, one of my favorite mentors, when he was speaking on a similar topic. If you put a rubber band around your wrist and stretch it out, it's always going to snap back into its original form when you let go.
Your comfort zone is just like that rubber band. You may be willing to stretch it if you think it means good results will follow, but living outside your comfort zone is as practical as walking through life holding an outstretched rubber band.
The good news is, you can expand your comfort zone to include everything you'll need to build a successful business.
Whether it's financial concerns, technical phobias, or a lack of confidence in your expertise, chances are that what's holding you back from starting your business can be resolved by learning to expand your comfort zone. (In fact, this applies to anything that popped into your mind a minute ago that you'd like to do but aren't doing!)
3 Steps to Expanding Your Comfort Zone
Think of your comfort zone (which lies within your brain) as a muscle. If you want to be able to touch your toes, you'll need to work on making the group of muscles known as your hamstrings flexible enough to do so.
If you want to expand your comfort zone, you'll need to work on the flexibility of the parts of your brain that are responsible for whatever limitations exist in your comfort zone.
Both gaining the flexibility to touch your toes and to expand your comfort zone are accomplished the same way.
1. Start Small
The goal of being able to touch your toes is an example of starting small if you've decided you want to become a world class gymnast.
You wouldn't dream of hopping onto the gymnastics mat and falling into the splits on your first day if you couldn't yet touch your toes.
Same goes with your business. If you're intimidated by all the technical aspects of getting your online business up and running, you wouldn't start with trying to master Infusionsoft, which is one of the most complex customer relationship management systems available.
Instead, you'd start with a simpler system that allows anyone who can type to easily send an email to hundreds or thousands of people with a few clicks of the mouse.
2. Practice Consistently
If your first attempt at touching your toes leaves your hands dangling six inches from the floor, you wouldn't wake up tomorrow expecting to lay your palms flat on the floor.
Instead, you'd practice each day, and you'd notice that before too long, your hands were only three inches from the floor.
Expanding your comfort zone requires consistent practice too. If you stretch that rubber band enough times, it will become looser than its original shape.
Even if you start with a simple customer relationship management system, it's still going to take you forever at first to draft an email and send it out to your chosen audience.
But if you'll do it every day, within a week or two, you'll be navigating that simple system with your eyes closed. That big scary technical piece of your business will suddenly be as comfortable to use as Facebook or Instagram is for you now.
3. Hire a Trainer
When it comes to your physical fitness, there’s a reason the personal training business is full of opportunities. For most people, one-on-one instruction and accountability is essential to achieving celebrity-like results.
The fitness of your mind is no different.
If you’ll hire someone to help you stretch your comfort zone, it will become more flexible than you can currently imagine.
Don’t discount this or feel discouraged if hiring someone simply isn’t in your budget right now. You can always partner up with someone else who’s on a mission to stretch their comfort zone and offer each other consistent input and support.
Facebook groups are a great place to find like-minded people, but go to wherever you’re connected with others on social media, put up a post detailing what your mission is, and invite people to join you.
It might end up that one person is a good fit, or you might end up with a mastermind of up to 6 people. Just be careful not to partner with any and everyone. Lots of people talk a good game, few are committed.
And if you’re really serious about getting out of your own way and stepping into your greatness with a new business, check out the amazing opportunity Kids Party Characters owner Cheryl Jacobs has created.
With moms in mind, Cheryl’s considered what busy lives we lead and how steep the learning curve to business ownership can be, and has virtually eliminated those obstacles by offering membership in Kids Party Characters.
Membership includes your own business with an exclusive territory in which to book parties, as well as access to all of the tools Cheryl’s used to make Kids Party Characters a six-figure business.
You’ll also get step-by-step training from Cheryl on how to start your business and get into profit sooner rather than later. If this might be the right opportunity for you, schedule a free, no-pressure chat with Cheryl here to get all your questions answered and get on the road to becoming a successful business owner.
Also, be sure to stay connected with Kids Party Characters on Facebook where you can see how rewarding it is to be a Kids Party Characters business owner, and you can keep up with all our best strategies for working at home while raising happy and healthy kids.
Monday, February 11, 2019
6 Success Strategies for the Introverted Entrepreneur
If the term “introvert” resonates with you as descriptive of your personality, and you find yourself using it as an excuse for not starting a business, or not being where you want to be with your business, today’s strategies will help you turn your thinking around and use your personality to your advantage.
Psychiatrist Carl Jung talked a lot about the differences in introvert and extrovert attitudes. He described the introvert as someone who is more comfortable with their inner thoughts and feelings and sees the world in terms of how it affects him.
In lay terms, we often think of the introvert as the shy, quiet person who prefers being alone, while the extrovert is a “people person” and has all the friends, and therefore the influence, that gives him the advantage in business.
Truth is, there are lots of wildly successful introverts, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet just to name a few extreme examples.
Rather than using the label to limit yourself, consider these six strategies that will allow you to embrace who you are and still be a successful business owner.
1. Choose Your Relationships
You don’t have to turn yourself into the person who goes to as many events as possible, shakes everyone’s hand, and makes all the small talk.
While extroverts see networking as a numbers game where the goal is to add as many names to their contacts as possible, it's okay to be more picky about who you build relationships with.
One good contact is much more valuable than 100 people who know your name but can’t or won’t do anything for you that’s helpful to your business.
Rather than seeing everyone as a potential business contact, focus on the people you meet that you enjoy being around. Develop those relationships on a deeper level. Give these people a reason to remember and recommend you by creating know, like, and trust relationships with them.
Chances are, at least one of your relationships will be with a more extroverted person who can bring the right people to you when you have a need.
2. Partner with Extroverts
You may not want to or be able to find a business partner in the traditional sense, and definitely shouldn’t go out in search of an extrovert partner simply because she’s an extrovert.
But you will find throughout your business journey that it’s always a good idea to stick with your strengths and outsource your weaknesses.
“Partnering” with an extrovert may simply mean outsourcing a project that requires a lot of team meetings and in-person interactions.
It may mean an ongoing partnership with someone, or a one-time agreement with several different partners.
Whatever your needs are, when you feel like something’s going to require too much “peopling,” consider whether it can be outsourced.
3. Write it Down
Most introverts are good writers, whether they realize it or not.
It’s not that you don’t have any genius in your head, it’s just that you’re not comfortable saying it out loud in the presence of others.
While in-person relationships are always the strongest, you can start by writing down what you want to say. In today’s world, email and text messages are much preferred over phone calls in most instances anyway.
So don’t be afraid to be a prolific writer. As you get more comfortable with a person, you’ll find it easier to talk with her.
It can also be helpful to write down what you want to say during a meeting, either by just listing the major points or writing it out as if you were giving a speech. This sort of dress rehearsal will make you feel more confident when it’s your time to talk.
4. Build in Your Me Time
As Jung pointed out, introverts depend on their “me time” to recharge. Fortunately, as a business owner you’re in control of your schedule.
The key is to recognize when and how often you’ll need “me time” and be sure to build it into your schedule.
If you have a business meeting at 3:00, don’t make a commitment to attend a business-related happy hour at 5:30. You’ll end up hating yourself and won’t make any helpful contacts at the happy hour because you simply won’t be feeling it.
Recognize when something’s going to push you to your introverted limits and keep those events to one a day at most. Schedule 15-30 minute breaks between activities that take you uncomfortably out of your introverted shell.
5. Go Where You’re Comfortable
The internet is a beautiful thing, and while thoughts of hiding in your house behind your computer, building a million dollar empire without talking to another soul may be a little unrealistic, having an online business makes it so much easier for introverts than it used to be.
And, what you’ll find is that as your business grows and you get more excited about it and more comfortable in it, your confidence will also grow and you may just find yourself wanting to talk to other people!
Those who study such things have found that between 20% and 50% of people are introverts, which means you’re in good company.
Start by joining Facebook groups or other online forums where you’ll likely find a solid gathering of fellow introverts. Look at Meetup groups near you — there are actually lots of areas that have a Meetup group for introverts.
As we’ve talked about, you don’t want to be restricted to a social circle of only introverts, but it’s a great place to start building your connections and your confidence.
6. Push Yourself a Little
There’s nothing wrong with being an introvert, but resist the urge to use it as an excuse.
Negative labels are never helpful, and they ignore the fact that we can choose who we want to be.
If being an introvert is a negative in a given situation, then change your mindset and shed the label when it holds you back.
Rather than thinking you can never attend networking events because you’re introverted, recognize that not all networking requires you to be the life of the party extrovert.
If a meeting, conference, or networking event would really benefit your business, take the first step and commit to going. And while you’re there, just be yourself, recognizing that you may have to push yourself out of your comfort zone a little to gain the benefits you’re looking for.
Take small steps, and realize that you can hold on to your beloved introverted status and still talk to others and build good relationships. In fact, you probably already have proof in your life that you can do both of these things.
Kids Party Characters is Here to Help
And, as always, remember that Kids Party Characters owner Cheryl Jacobs is here to help you navigate the often rough waters of entrepreneurship.
If you want to learn more about starting a business from scratch, schedule a free chat with Cheryl right here and she’ll give you the benefit of her experience in starting 10 different businesses.
Also take a look at the great opportunity Cheryl’s put together especially for moms who want to stay home with their kids.
Cheryl’s taken her success in the children’s entertainment business and created a membership in Kids Party Characters that allows you to start your own business with all the tools Cheryl used to successfully grow her business. You’ll also get step-by-step training from Cheryl on how to get your business started and into profit quickly.
Want to learn more about Kids Party Characters? Make sure to follow us on Facebook for daily updates about our magical parties and successfully working from home while raising happy and healthy kids.
Friday, February 8, 2019
How to Build a Successful Business Within Your Comfort Zone
If you’ve been wanting to start your own business but for some reason haven’t gotten it off the ground, you may learn something about yourself today. And hopefully, it’ll give you the push you need to become a business owner.
If we surveyed would-be business owners on why they haven’t taken the plunge into entrepreneurship, even though they have considerable interest in doing so, it’s doubtful that anyone would say “because it’s outside my comfort zone.”
After hundreds of hours of conversations and mentoring with budding entrepreneurs, however, at Kids Party Characters we’ve discovered that one of the big excuses people have for dragging their feet on their dream to work from home in their own business comes down to the fact that it’s out of their comfort zone.
So, even if you think this doesn’t apply to you, read on to discover if the comfort zone factor might actually be that one thing that’s standing between you and your dream of being home with your kids, of having a business of your own, of easing your financial burdens.
What Is Your Comfort Zone?
You may be familiar with what your “comfort zone” is, but let’s talk about it for a minute to make sure we’re all on the same page.
Our comfort zone is where most of us live. We are creatures of habit, we thrive on routine, and we like to feel “comfortable.”
So everything we do, where we do it, and how we do it depends on what feels comfortable to us.
Naturally, different people have different comfort zones. Some people skydive, others won’t even take a one hour plane ride if they’re fastened in their seat belt the entire time.
Some people are leaders who address a large team of people on a daily basis. Others break out in hives at the thought of giving a presentation to a room of two people.
Take a minute and think about where your comfort zone lies. What do you do every day and what about it makes you feel good?
As you’re thinking about that, notice if some things pop into your mind that you’d like to do, but don’t or haven’t, for whatever reason. We’ll come back to that in a minute.
Why Conventional Advice About Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone Doesn’t Work
The picture at the top reflects conventional advice about the effect of living within your comfort zone. If you want to grow as a person, you have to step out of your comfort zone.
Or as others put it, the magic happens outside your comfort zone.
The problem with this advice is what it’s telling you is that if you want to do bigger and better things in life, you’re going to have to live outside your comfort zone.
And really, who wants to do that?
Sure, big scary risks and opportunities can lead to great payoffs sometimes, but I think most of us would agree that there are a lot of “bigger and better” opportunities in life that we’d give up if it meant we got to live a comfortable life.
Even if you're okay with living outside your comfort zone, truth is, it's an impossible existence to maintain.
I like this analogy that I learned from Dan Kennedy, one of my favorite mentors, when he was speaking on a similar topic. If you put a rubber band around your wrist and stretch it out, it's always going to snap back into its original form when you let go.
Your comfort zone is just like that rubber band. You may be willing to stretch it if you think it means good results will follow, but living outside your comfort zone is as practical as walking through life holding an outstretched rubber band.
The good news is, you can expand your comfort zone to include everything you'll need to build a successful business.
Whether it's financial concerns, technical phobias, or a lack of confidence in your expertise, chances are that what's holding you back from starting your business can be resolved by learning to expand your comfort zone. (In fact, this applies to anything that popped into your mind a minute ago that you'd like to do but aren't doing!)
3 Steps to Expanding Your Comfort Zone
Think of your comfort zone (which lies within your brain) as a muscle. If you want to be able to touch your toes, you'll need to work on making the group of muscles known as your hamstrings flexible enough to do so.
If you want to expand your comfort zone, you'll need to work on the flexibility of the parts of your brain that are responsible for whatever limitations exist in your comfort zone.
Both gaining the flexibility to touch your toes and to expand your comfort zone are accomplished the same way.
1. Start Small
The goal of being able to touch your toes is an example of starting small if you've decided you want to become a world class gymnast.
You wouldn't dream of hopping onto the gymnastics mat and falling into the splits on your first day if you couldn't yet touch your toes.
Same goes with your business. If you're intimidated by all the technical aspects of getting your online business up and running, you wouldn't start with trying to master Infusionsoft, which is one of the most complex customer relationship management systems available.
Instead, you'd start with a simpler system that allows anyone who can type to easily send an email to hundreds or thousands of people with a few clicks of the mouse.
2. Practice Consistently
If your first attempt at touching your toes leaves your hands dangling six inches from the floor, you wouldn't wake up tomorrow expecting to lay your palms flat on the floor.
Instead, you'd practice each day, and you'd notice that before too long, your hands were only three inches from the floor.
Expanding your comfort zone requires consistent practice too. If you stretch that rubber band enough times, it will become looser than its original shape.
Even if you start with a simple customer relationship management system, it's still going to take you forever at first to draft an email and send it out to your chosen audience.
But if you'll do it every day, within a week or two, you'll be navigating that simple system with your eyes closed. That big scary technical piece of your business will suddenly be as comfortable to use as Facebook or Instagram is for you now.
3. Hire a Trainer
When it comes to your physical fitness, there’s a reason the personal training business is full of opportunities. For most people, one-on-one instruction and accountability is essential to achieving celebrity-like results.
The fitness of your mind is no different.
If you’ll hire someone to help you stretch your comfort zone, it will become more flexible than you can currently imagine.
Don’t discount this or feel discouraged if hiring someone simply isn’t in your budget right now. You can always partner up with someone else who’s on a mission to stretch their comfort zone and offer each other consistent input and support.
Facebook groups are a great place to find like-minded people, but go to wherever you’re connected with others on social media, put up a post detailing what your mission is, and invite people to join you.
It might end up that one person is a good fit, or you might end up with a mastermind of up to 6 people. Just be careful not to partner with any and everyone. Lots of people talk a good game, few are committed.
And if you’re really serious about getting out of your own way and stepping into your greatness with a new business, check out the amazing opportunity Kids Party Characters owner Cheryl Jacobs has created.
With moms in mind, Cheryl’s considered what busy lives we lead and how steep the learning curve to business ownership can be, and has virtually eliminated those obstacles by offering membership in Kids Party Characters.
Membership includes your own business with an exclusive territory in which to book parties, as well as access to all of the tools Cheryl’s used to make Kids Party Characters a six-figure business.
You’ll also get step-by-step training from Cheryl on how to start your business and get into profit sooner rather than later. If this might be the right opportunity for you, schedule a free, no-pressure chat with Cheryl here to get all your questions answered and get on the road to becoming a successful business owner.
Also, be sure to stay connected with Kids Party Characters on Facebook where you can see how rewarding it is to be a Kids Party Characters business owner, and you can keep up with all our best strategies for working at home while raising happy and healthy kids.
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Parents’ Guide to Managing Kids and Cell Phones
One of a child’s most persuasive arguments when it comes to just about anything is “everybody’s going,” “everybody’s doing it,” or “everybody has one.”
While this is usually a gross exaggeration, when it comes to cell phones it seems pretty accurate. By the end of grade school, at least, everybody’s got one.
But as your mom probably used to say to you, if everybody jumped off a bridge would you go too?
The fact that really every child does seem to have a cell phone by the age of 10 is not the deciding factor in whether your child should become a part of the “everyone,” but you may be surprised to learn that it is a worthy consideration, among others.
Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons that should influence your decision making on this important issue.
The Pros
If you want to be a tad bit selfish, consider the fact that it’s bound to be easier for you if your child has a cell phone.
“Call me when you’re ready” is often so much easier than having to set an exact time and place for pickup.
Texting your child at school about a change in plans for the day is easier than having to call the school and getting the school to deliver a message or come to the office and call you.
The luxury of always being able to communicate with your child comes with almost daily advantages for you.
For your child, a phone will allow him to be more independent, to do things he might not be able to do if he didn’t have a way to keep in touch with you. It also teaches him about responsibility and communication in situations where he’s away from home.
There really aren’t any public phones anymore, so without a cell phone it’s difficult for your child to communicate with you when he isn’t with you. He’s usually going to be reliant on borrowing a friend’s phone.
Your child’s teachers will assume he has a phone too. Some teachers allow kids to text in questions, have specific study apps they ask kids to use, and create group chats for extra-curricular sports and special interest activities.
Having a phone can be somewhat of a social “must” too. Kids don’t call each other anymore, but they constantly text and communicate through different messenger and social media apps.
They also play online games after school and on the weekends that the phone-deprived child won’t be able to join in. Without a phone, not only will your child start to feel left out at a certain age, he may actually be left out.
The Cons
There isn’t a long list of cons when it comes to giving your child a cell phone, but the few that exist weigh heavily enough to consider whether they are stronger than the pros.
Even though we’re still just seeing the affects of cell phones on a generation of kids, early studies aren’t favorable when it comes to what technology has done to real life, in-person relationships.
Many kids report they have a lack of deep meaningful relationships and don’t feel like their friends are actually close friends, which makes sense where the majority of our communication not only lacks the in-person connection, but is done through some form of messaging rather than voice.
Another problem is the fact that kids have almost no ability to monitor their own cell phone usage and limit it to a reasonable amount of time. (Even many adults have a hard time with this!)
Disagreements, arguments, and constant nagging can result from your child thinking she needs to be on her phone much more than you know is appropriate.
Having your child grumble because she has to put down her phone, come to dinner, and actually talk to people in person is not a family environment any of us want to create.
Of course, once expectations are set, hopefully your child will be accepting of the limitations. And as busy parents we have to be conscious about making the limitations, as it can be tempting to let our kids over-entertain themselves with the phone so we can do our thing.
Undoubtedly, not only have peer relationships suffered from over-exposure to technology, but family relationships have too.
What’s the Right Age for Cell Phone Ownership?
It probably won’t surprise you to hear that there’s no magical right age to buy your child a cell phone. It used to be something many high schools kids were trusted with, but the age when kids get their first phone seems to be on a rapid decline.
Surveys and parent discussions see kids as young as seven and eight years old having their own smartphones. Common sense dictates that it’s hard to imagine a scenario when a child that young would “need” a phone.
You likely don’t even need to start thinking about this question until your child is at least 10, if she shows interest in a phone that early.
Then start asking yourself questions and taking a look at her level of maturity and sense of responsibility, factors that are far more important to the decision than chronological age.
Some things to consider:
- Does your child do what she says she’s going to do when it comes to communicating with you about where she’s going, when she’ll be home, and who she’s with?
- Does your child lose things or have trouble keeping track of her things? Maybe start with a cheap watch or MP3 player and see how well your child holds on to it.
- Are there reasons your child needs a phone? Does it make communicating easier due to her out of the home activities? Are there any safety reasons? Does her peer group all have phones they use to organize, plan, and socialize on?
- How well do you think your child will adhere to limitations you put on where, when, and how she can use her phone?
You’ll probably just have a feeling — that good old mom’s intuition — about whether your child can handle the risks and responsibilities of having a phone. Trust that feeling.
What Type of Cell Phone is the Right One?
Just because your child has a phone doesn’t mean it needs to be the latest iPhone. If you have reservations, or are starting your child with a phone at a young age, go with a more basic flip phone rather than a smartphone.
If he handles the basic phone responsibly, calls you when he’s suppose to, answers when you call, he can earn a more full-featured phone as he needs it.
Even once you get to the smartphone stage, you can limit what your child can do and access with some of the parental controls we’ll talk about in a moment.
For most kids, having a phone does mean a smartphone, but don’t let that fact pressure you into starting there. Companies like Kurio and Just5 make phones designed for kids, and may be a better starting point for your child.
Protecting Your Child’s Cell Phone Usage
While the fear that your child will lose or damage his $500+ phone is real, the more important fear is that he’ll get into an inappropriate or dangerous situation with his freedom to browse the entire internet and connect with anyone pretending to be anyone in the world.
Most phones come with the ability to have parental controls, and many cell phone service providers offer extra protections for a fee. While it’s certainly worth checking these out, most aren’t as robust as the outside apps you can purchase to keep track of your child’s cell phone activity.
Most parental control packages allow you to monitor usage, track the location of the phone, and control what features your child has access to. Some also allow you to see texts, browsing history, and photos.
In a perfect world, you would have open communication with your child and train her in the correct way to use her phone. You always want to know your child’s login information to all apps she has on her phone, and you may want to start with simply looking at her phone consistently to make sure you don’t see any unacceptable usage.
If you suspect she’s having trouble with being granted unrestricted access to her phone, employing some of the monitoring software is the next step.
Netsanity, WebWatcher, Qustodio, and Net Nanny are some of the most popular parental control apps available. You’ll want to compare features to see what best meets your specific needs.
And if your child is a driver, there are apps like SecuraFone and TrueMotion that let you see how fast your child is driving, and rate and reward your child’s overall driving performance.
Stay Connected to Get Our Best Parenting Strategies
We hope you’ve found some helpful guidelines here to deciding when your child should get his first phone, what kind of phone it should be, and how much access he should have.
One of our goals at Kids Party Characters is to help our fellow moms navigate the ever-increasing complexities of parenthood. Be sure to connect with us on Facebook where we share daily updates on our best parenting strategies as well as tips on successfully working at home while raising your kids.
And when it’s time to party, find us at KidsPartyCharacters.com, where we have a selection of over 200 of your child’s favorite characters, as well as cotton candy, face painting, balloon twisting, and bouncy castles to make your child’s party a dream come true.
Monday, February 4, 2019
5 Rules for Dealing With Difficult Customers
No matter how long you've been in business, that big pit that forms in your stomach when you get a customer complaint never seems to lessen.
And no matter how great your product or service is, customer complaints are going to happen.
Of course, if it's a regular thing, you'd be wise to take the criticism to heart if you want to be in business very long.
But for most small businesses, complaints are few and result from either an honest miscommunication, or an irrational customer.
Solving the Problem Before it Starts
The best way to handle difficult customers is to keep difficult prospects from ever becoming customers.
And the best way to do that is usually through your gut instinct.
Inevitably, a red flag pops up before any money has changed hands. You just get that feeling that this one might be a problem.
Dig a little deeper when that feeling hits you, and save yourself the future hassle by just saying "not" and wishing your prospective customer well.
The other key to avoiding difficult customers is communication. Don't just send over the contract that lays it all out and assume you can rely on that.
Most people don't read long documents very carefully, if at all, instead assuming things will go as they expect them to.
Confirm the important details by phone, and follow up with emails that require a response.
No matter what steps you take, however, inevitably you're going to end up with that customer. And as unfortunate as it is, one bad apple can do some serious damage to your business if you don't handle it right.
Obviously, if the complaint is justified, go over and beyond to make things right with the customer.
But, if it's a case of the customer isn't always right, here are five rules you should be following that will make these unfortunate situations easier to deal with.
1. Have a Social Media Strategy
Disgruntled customers are very empowered these days. As a business owner, you can't just throw their angry letter in the trash, or dismiss their irate phone call and move on.
Social media has given a big stage and a microphone to your customers, and the unhappy ones always sing the loudest.
Wherever you have a presence, they'll jump in and -- depending on how much energy they want to put into it -- they can make your life miserable and become the worst of trolls.
When you get a complaint or negative comment, unless it's profanity filled and something other readers would be offended by, resist that urge to delete it. That can fuel the fire of a dissatisfied customer with too much time on his hands.
Instead, apologize for the problem and invite the person to connect with you privately to straighten it out, whether that be through DM, email, or a phone call.
Monitor your social media and don't engage publicly with unhappy customers. Have a short, polite invitation you use to take the issue privately. This shows the rest of your audience that you are attentive and professional.
And if you eventually have to resort to deleting comments, your audience will see that you've tried and recognize that the fault lies with the angry customer, not you.
2. Know When It's Profitable to Refund
Oftentimes the difficult customer will simply go away if you just issue a refund.
The decision to refund can be difficult, however. You've given the customer something of value and you're losing money if you issue a refund, which is obviously not good for business.
It's often a matter of principal too. Issuing a refund makes it appear that you've done something wrong, and when you know you haven't, this can be a bitter pill to swallow.
It's important to look at the big picture here. It's often more profitable to just issue the refund, even though it's initially taking money from your profits.
Dealing with the difficult customer takes time, time that you could be doing other revenue-generating activities.
And, depending on how difficult the customer is, she could cost you business with others whose opinions are swayed by her recommendations against you.
So swallow your pride and ask yourself if you might not come out ahead in the end by just refunding the customer if it will cause them to leave your universe.
3. It's Okay to Fire the Customer
The one thing most every business wants is more customers, especially when you're a small business owner. This makes the thought of firing an existing customer that you've worked so hard to get a little scary.
But there will be people out there who are more trouble than they are worth. They suck up your time and energy in a way that makes them a liability rather than an asset to your business.
It can be hard to understand where these customers are coming from. If they're so unhappy with you, why don't they take their business elsewhere?
The answer is that it's really themselves or something else they're unhappy about, and they're just taking it out on you by being eternally difficult.
When you identify a customer like this, fire him. Don't make the mistake of thinking you'll ever get to the point where you've finally made him happy, you won't.
Let him go so you can make room for customers who you actually can make happy, and who will be profitable for you.
4. Take the High Road and Move On
As small business owners, we're pretty passionate about our businesses. For many of us, our business is our "baby," our "dream."
The natural tendency is to defend our product or service to the end. This can mean wasting a lot of time and energy arguing with a difficult customer.
If someone feels you have wronged her, you should definitely try to change her mind and accommodate her complaints by making them right.
But, it's also important to realize when you have a customer who is never going to be "made right."
When the communications become a hopeless back and forth and you can see no end in sight, be the one to walk away.
Don't resort to name-calling and unkind personal attacks, even if that's what's being thrown at you. Tell the person you have many satisfied customers, you're sorry she isn't one of them, you wish her well, but you don't think further discussion will benefit anyone.
If she continues to try to engage you, resist the urge to respond and she will move on.
5. Ask for Reviews and Respond to Comments
Because difficult customers tend to be the nosiest, the best way to deal with them can be to have a vocal tribe of happy, loyal customers.
To do this, you're going to have to ask satisfied customers to take a minute to register their good experience with you, because most won't think to do it.
If you're a physical business, ask for Yelp and Google reviews. If you're an online business, ask people to email you a sentence or two you can use in the reviews section of your website, or wherever you showcase such things.
You can also send out a customer survey and offer an incentive for them to respond, such as a coupon or free gift.
Whatever works best for you, just constantly be building a cushion of positive reviews so that when the difficult customer does show up, he'll be seen as an outlier rather than an authoritative voice on how you do business.
Getting Help With Your Business
Modern technology makes it easy for just about anyone to start a business. Growing that business into a long-term success story, however, comes with many bumps along the road.
At Kids Party Characters, owner Cheryl Jacobs has had a hand in starting 10 different businesses and has learned how to navigate those bumps. She now has a passion for helping other entrepreneurs start a business from scratch.
With the special needs of work at home moms in mind, Cheryl's created a unique opportunity with Kids Party Characters that takes much of the learning curve out of starting your own business.
Membership in Kids Party Characters gives you an exclusive territory in which to book parties, along with access to all the tools Cheryl's used to make her business a success, including step-by-step training from Cheryl herself.
If you think this might be the right opportunity for you, schedule a call with Cheryl today to get all your questions answered and learn more about how to get started.
You can learn more about what it means to own your own Kids Party Characters business by joining us on Facebook for daily updates on the magic we bring to children's parties, as well as tips and strategies about being a successful work at home mom.
Friday, February 1, 2019
7 Ways to Make Your Child’s Morning Better
As adults we know how we start the day can set the tone for the entire day. The same holds true for our kids.
Our first goal for the day should be getting everyone out the door with a smile on their face, but we all know that’s easier said than done.
The “morning rush” in your house can be harder to navigate than the biggest messes we encounter on the roads.
Fortunately, with a little thought and some advance planning, there are ways to make mornings run smoothly (at least most days!).
If you find mornings to be chaotic and difficult, it’s time to work to change the expectation in your household, making it a calm and even fun time.
Waking up with more positive expectations is actually the first step to a great start of your day. These seven tips will help shift morning expectations in your family.
1. Know Your Child
The biological clock is a real thing. Some people are morning people, others are night owls, and some don’t show a strong preference.
Spend some time figuring out where your kids fall so that you can best accommodate them in the morning.
Trying to force an energetic and overly happy wakeup on the night owl may just make her more grumpy. She may need a gentle wakeup and 15 minutes of time to just lay in bed before there are any expectations put on her.
The “morning person” child in your family may prefer waking up to loud music and doing 20 jumping jacks with you to start his day.
The point is, as you start to turn your household into a happy place in the morning, take into consideration how each child feels about the morning, and what his certain needs are. The child who struggles to get out of bed isn’t lazy, this just isn’t his easiest time of the day.
2. Early to Bed, Early to Rise
One of the biggest determiners of how your child feels in the morning is whether he got enough sleep. Again, while there are broad guidelines, some kids need more sleep than others.
If it’s hard to get your child out of bed in the morning or if he often seems tired, start experimenting with getting in bed 15 minutes earlier, and maybe another 15 minutes the next week, and see if it doesn’t make the initial wakeup easier.
And when you do wake your child up in the morning, don’t wait until the last possible minute in an effort to give him all the sleep you can.
Figure out how long it takes him to get ready without rushing, build a few extra minutes into the morning and avoid having it feel like a race where you’re waking him up with a “ready, set, go!”
3. Favorite Wake Up Alarm
Depending on your child and her age, having you wake her up in the morning may not be the best choice.
The point is to wake up happy, and especially for younger kids, that often means with a few kind words and a snuggle from mom, or even with mom softly singing a song.
But, as your child gets older, she may prefer waking up on her own, if for no other reason than it makes her feel grown up.
Talk with your child about how she wants to wake up. You can buy her a special alarm clock of her choosing, or set the phone or radio to wake her up to a favorite song, or nature sound if she’s more inclined to a slower wake up.
Making your child feel like she owns her wakeup process and having the first thing she experiences be something that makes her feel good is a crucial starting point.
4. Kickstart Your Child’s Happiness
However he wakes up, make sure your child’s first human contact isn’t with a grumpy, hurried, stressed mom.
Hopefully, you have a morning routine that ensures you start your day off right and allows you to transfer this vibe to your kids.
But even on those inevitable mornings when the universe seems out to get you, putting your frustrations aside and forcing a smile and some cheerful words for your kids will help to make sure they don’t add to your morning misery, and may work to get you out of the funk too.
5. Build in Some Me Time
Oftentimes the biggest stressor in the morning is how rushed everyone feels to get out the door. If you’ll build in some time for your child to do something he enjoys, you’ll get rid of this feeling and help get the day off to a good start.
Whatever you do, avoid technology unless it’s listening to music, but help your child come up with something he can do for 10-15 minutes before he has to go off and face geometry or chemistry.
It may be reading a favorite book, playing an instrument, building with Legos, whatever qualifies as fun for your child and can be easily chunked into a few minutes in the morning.
It doesn’t have to be the same thing every day, but know what it is at least the night before to avoid the stress of wasting the 10-15 minutes that morning on deciding what to do.
6. Get Ready the Night Before
When you’re trying to get the kids in bed at a decent hour, or are just anxious to have them settled in so you can get to your own “me” time, the temptation is great to say, “Oh, we’ll just do that in the morning.”
At the time, it seems like it will only take a minute to do it in the morning, but inevitably you’ll forget or it will take longer than anticipated, or something will go awry.
Avoid leaving anything for the morning. Get clothes laid out, papers signed, and backpacks filled before your child goes to bed. The extra few minutes it might take tonight will be well worth it when the morning runs smoothly.
7. Have a Routine
In all of life, both kids and adults thrive off of routine. Kids especially do better when they know what to expect and know what’s expected of them.
Some kids may benefit from having it written down somewhere that they can see it and check things off as they do it, others may just need you to walk them through it each morning until it becomes habit.
Whatever works best for you is what is best for you, just build a routine into the morning for your child. The routine can start with having everything ready to go the night before.
If you don’t currently have a routine, tell your child you’re going to start one so that mornings will be easier, then work with her in whatever way she needs to adapt to the routine. Let her help shape the routine along the way, to the extent that her way of doing things is reasonable.
When there’s an unexpected break in the routine - those mornings are bound to happen — work with your child to get him back in step with where he should be rather than just letting the train completely derail.
Thanks for reading. Hopefully you’ve found some ideas you can implement to make your bad mornings good or your good mornings even better.
Make sure to join Kids Party Characters on Facebook for daily tips on raising happy and healthy kids, along with our best strategies for work at home moms, and updates on our magical children’s parties.
And when it’s time for your next celebration, head to KidsPartyCharacters.com and check out our selection of over 200 of the most popular characters waiting to show up as your child’s special guest. We also provide all the extras to make the party complete such as face painting, balloon artists, cotton candy, and our new bouncy castles.
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