20 October 2012

Working with your Peers

Breckenridge, Colorado. That's home. We love it here, and aren't planning on going anywhere else, anytime soon. But living in a small community (population hovers right around 3,000 people year round) has its drawbacks. For example, we don't have a genealogy society or club.

Sure, we have a couple history groups.

It's just not the same.

I've managed to identify and acquaint myself with a handful of people in the community that are interested in the various aspects of genealogy, but no one really wants to sit around a cup of coffee hashing out my brick wall problems, and theirs. I miss that. I miss the collaboration, the camaraderie. I miss knowing that I can walk into a group of people with a new find, share it with them, and all of us being jumping for joy that "we" finally did it!

I get a little from my online folks, but it's not quite the same.

small business mompreneur Colorado Summit County women peers
mommyposh.com


So when a friend of a friend stated on Facebook that she wanted to start a Peer Group aimed at supporting stay at home Mom's that also happen to be small business owners - "Mompreneur's" she called us - I was all in. (Oh, and apparently, that term has already made it to Wikipedia, and a magazine, so I guess I'm behind.)

We had our first meeting last week, and even though there were only four of us, I was so happy to be there and be participating in this group of like-minded women, I could have danced my way through the entire 90 minutes.

We got to know each other a little, we talked about goals, what we wanted from the group. We're lucky to have a "life planner" in the group, and she's good at keeping us on task. We talked about our businesses, we talked social media, blogging platforms, and even compared notes on a few business and motivation books.

It's not exactly a genealogy group. They don't appear to be overly excited about what my great great grandmother was doing during the Civil War. But, its obvious they are interested in my success, their success, and our success as a group. I walked away with several new ideas, and a few new goals.

So, maybe they don't spend their extra time in the cemetery. That's ok. 'Cause now, I have a group.

This is my way of saying, get out there. Find a group. Any group. Become involved and start talking. See what happens!

Lastly. One of my monthly goals with this group is to grow my blog audience by ten people. So, spread the word, will 'ya? I'm at 74 as I write this. I need to be at 84 by the time November 8th rolls around. If you like what you're reading, please help me out. I'd appreciate it. If you leave a comment with your blog, I'll be sure to follow you as well. Thanks!


http://momtrepreneur.blog.com/2012/05/28/working-mom-burnout/

3 comments:

  1. This sounds like a wonderful group, Jen. It's so important to have support, and there's nothing like real, live people to get together with. I'm excited for you!

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    1. Thanks, Shelley! One meeting down, and since I've streamlined my goals and developed some new "business" processes for myself. It's helpful and encouraging, knowing they will hold me accountable to a certain degree. Thanks for reading! ~ Jen

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  2. I love the word "mompreneurs." These special people are fans of the elastic (ever-stretchable) day, as I am, working to do many things at once. Although my daughter's grown up, I'm still trying to stretch out days to fit all the work I'd like to do. And certainly I agree with Shelley that group support makes the world go round. A supportive network and a live (or even virtual) audience -- these can make such a difference. It's vital to know that someone is really listening! At this point my goals are to research more, blog more, grow my blog audience, and grow the readership for my family memoir. Jen, your blog is always clear, fresh, and candid, and I always enjoy commenting.

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