This morning as I lugged my gym bag, purse, and huge tote with my laptop all to my workout, so I could exercise, shower, and rush to a meeting, I was cursing myself. I am certain that I was a bit over-packed which made me start thinking about what I absolutely needed for my day. As women we often carry big, huge stuffed purses & totes, and as new moms we lug around over-filled diaper bags. This got me thinking – What do we really need in our mompreneur bag-of-tricks?
I took a long hard look into the abyss of my infamous silver tote bag that I drag everything around in, and realized that it was a total mess. Upon noticing this, I made a deal with myself — I could NOT go for my afternoon cup of coffee until I cleaned that sucker out. The goal was to clean out items that I did not need to carry around and determine my “must-haves.” Of course, while I did this, I decided to make a list of mompreneur essentials for my readers.
Here you go – As mompreneurs, this is what you should always have in your bag-of-tricks:
Business Cards
True Story: A few months ago, I was trying on dresses in a department store for an event and I had a wardrobe malfunction. Obviously, I had to purchase a new unmentionable item, so the salesperson brought the manager of the lingerie department to help me find my new item. Not sure if you know this or not, but I have been working long and hard on lingerie-related products, and I had NO biz cards on me this particular day. Of course, I made a lasting impression on the manager, but I would have been much better off to have my card to give her. Moral of the story – you never know when you are going to make a connection, so keep your cards in your bag.
Current Biz Reading, Presentation, or Project
There are many occasions when you are waiting or every now and then, find some down time. Time is precious, and you will be surprised how much you accomplish in the 15 minutes of waiting for something else. I like to keep a file folder with a few current items that I am working on for these times.
Notepad & Pen(s)
You can never be sure of when ideas will come to you for your blog, your business, or even an email that you must send later. I try to write down a quick little reminder to myself, so later I can go back and pick up with my great idea. I have been known to use the voice recording function of my phone (when no one is looking) now and again to do this, but you never know when you will be in a room full of people. This is an example of when you do not want to be making a voice message, so keep your notepad handy.
Stamps & Stationary
I know, more relics of the past like my notepad. The old-fashioned hand written note & snail mail is becoming a thing of the past, but there are times where a hand-written note is still well-received. If you connected with a huge contact or sealed the deal on a big negotiation, appropriate thanks cannot be expressed in an email or a 140 character tweet. Get out your pen, paper, stamps, and jot down a quick thank-you note, and put it right in the mailbox.
Your Contacts
Whether you keep your contacts in your phone, on your computer, in the clouds, or dare I say – address book, make sure that you always have them handy! You never know when you need to take care of business on the fly.
Last but least – Rachel’s Mompreneur Rescue Pack
Breath freshener of choice, tissues, hand sanitizer, hair brush, lip gloss, quick snack (a hungry biz woman cannot be successful) are all essential to have in your bag. Make sure to go into every meeting, putting your best foot and freshest breath forward.
Check in with me at http;//backngroovemom.com to see what is new….Comment below and share if you carry anything else in your bag that is essential?
