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3 Reasons Working Moms Need an MBA

November 24, 2014 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

There are plenty of obstacles that prevent working mothers from starting their MBA, let alone completing it. It’s because of these pre-conceived notions that many women who strive to improve their career options won’t begin to look at their opportunities. How can one complete an advanced degree all while trying to balance work, family, and life obligations?

Although it may sound difficult, obtaining an MBA online, no GMAT required, from an accredited online school like Marylhurst University is easy. It creates options that allow working mothers to focus on what’s most important in life: their families. For those considering taking the plunge, here are the top three reasons working mums should consider obtaining their MBA today.

An MBA Shatters the Glass Ceiling

The executive suite in any corporation can look more like an old country club instead of a progressive, forward-thinking company. Think about it. How many executives at any company are women? Having the initials “MBA” beside a title can break that barrier between being an employee and being a leader, opening up major career growth opportunities. Plus, the MBA process can teach many critical leadership skills such as negotiations and defending marketplace ideas.

Increase Your Career Opportunities

The “Great Recession” put everyone on guard of what would be coming next. And recent studies suggest that while employers are hiring, wages for mid-level professionals aren’t growing. Having an MBA is an investment in one’s self: it is an expression to an employer that a professional has dedicated themselves to constant education about their trade and understanding what success looks like at a high level. Even if the economy turns negative again, mothers with advanced degrees will have greater opportunities through experience and education. This allows continued career growth and more job opportunities.

Focus on What Matters Most: Family

At the end of the day, family matters most. That’s not a bad thing. Instead of struggling to balance both, many MBA graduates find that they have a greater work-life balance than those who may not. It’s true that MBA positions come with increased responsibility, but these positions come with a certain amount of flexibility as well. This allows working mums to be there for their family when they need, instead of being forced to precariously juggle both family and work. Getting an MBA is not just an investment in one’s self, it’s also an investment in family security and stability that will pay dividends in the years to come. Besides, nobody remembers what happened at work, but they will remember the time spent with family.

No matter what reason a working mum has for pursuing an MBA: career stability, promotion opportunities, or spending more time with family, there is no wrong reason to start an advanced degree today. With online accredited programs becoming more available, the MBA is becoming accessible with a minor time commitment, and is critical to future success across priorities.

Image via Flickr by Brett Farmiloe

Build the Best Home Office Space

December 20, 2013 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

Attempting to turn your home office from a boring utilitarian space into a private creative pad? You don’t need to spend a lot of money to make your alcove come alive. Here are a couple of innovative ideas that will make you open for business in a brand new way.

Add Multiple Monitors

Using multiple monitors in your home office can be godsend for multi-tasking. It allows you to have more windows open at the same time, such as a chat/IM, Skype, social media, Word documents and a web browser.

Functional Corner Desks

A desk is the heart and soul of any self-respecting home office. Corner desks generally contain a whole range of compartments, shelves and drawers for all your filing and office wares and are a good space-saving option if you’re limited on this account. Plus having two work spaces which you can switch between easily may well turn out to be a great aid to productivity.

All of the Peripherals

Consider getting spare batteries for your wireless mouse and wireless keyboard. Also it’s wise to invest in a back up device, cloud storage or a server to back up all of your important files. Make sure that you check wireless your set up properly in order to get the best speed out of your router.

Correct Lighting

Consider a multi-use approach to lighting. Various research studies have indicated that either natural light or soft ambient lighting works well for stimulating creativity. Whereas for the close-up, intensive work of architects or drafts-people, a strong spotlight works best, although you can buy daylight bulbs to fit these with.

Beware of Distractions

If you don’t have a physically separate room for your home office, then delineate the space as separate by the use of furnishings. Keep a set timetable for tackling work tasks and don’t be tempted by distracting leisure activities.

At times, it may seem as though you need superhuman levels of concentration working from home. However with the right work space, it’s all feasible.

IT Support for a Small Business

September 12, 2012 by Painter Mommy 1 Comment

Today’s small companies utilize a wide variety of electronic and technological devices to communicate and conduct business, both internally and externally. As with any form of technology, problems can and do occur, necessitating specialists in this type of equipment and processes to step in and assist the small business user.

Information technology, more commonly known as IT, involves the maintenance and repair of various systems, as well as providing any assistance to the users that might be required. IT support specialists focus on making a business more efficient, speeding-up computing processes and technological functions that might otherwise slow and even reduce productivity.

Common Computer Problems for Small Businesses

Most small businesses share common IT problems relating to their system hardware. They typically include outdated equipment in need of upgrading, low-performing hardware and hardware with a history of unreliability. These issues may only require minimal updating and adjustment in order to achieve maximum performance, but attempting to carry out such tasks without experience and training could result in damage to components or to the system as a whole. Employing an IT support company will ensure that upgrades are carried out efficiently and with the minimum disruption.

Other issues that IT support can assist small business owners and employees with include organizing and managing system files and data, virus removal and protection, system monitoring and security, remote access hosting and management and data recovery, either after a system crash or as the result of a cyber-attack.

IT support specialists can also be invaluable as an educational resource for employees. Having a knowledgeable professional at your disposal enables employees to learn the systems and processes they use to carry out their job more effectively and to access accurate help when it is needed. Having technical assistance at hand can also relieve a great deal of workplace stress, allowing employees to be more productive and positive.

Benefits of Outsourcing IT support

The current global economic crisis has raised major cost concerns for small businesses, leading many to cut corners in various areas, including important and vital functions, such as IT support. For many businesses, maintaining in-house IT support has become too expensive. In order to protect computer systems and keep the business running smoothly, outsourcing IT support has become a popular and cost effective alternative.

Outsourcing IT support can be extremely cost-effective for both the support company and for the business utilizing them. IT support companies that outsource to other less-expensive countries have the advantage of being able to employ more specialists for less money, thereby opening more assistance opportunities to the companies using their services.

For the small businesses employing the services of IT support companies, the easy and less-expensive access to support and assistance enables their employees to focus more on the core activity of the business and on increasing overall productivity, while still being able to access the technical knowledge and expertise of specialists. The result is a high level of technical support and access for a much lower cost. Outsourcing IT support also frees up funds within the company that might otherwise be expended providing in-house support.

My Most Popular Blog Post is Getting 12,000 Hits per Month!

August 29, 2010 by Painter Mommy 5 Comments

I was totally shocked when I recently checked out my visitor stats on Google Analytics. I went from getting just a few thousand visits per month to now more than 14,000 visits per month.

I am really not one who blogs “professionally”. I did originally start my blog to go in that direction, but my Graphic Design Business has taken off so much that I just don’t have the time that I used to to devote to writing. Now I blog more for fun and I also blog when I am researching a topic. I love gathering info and bringing it all together in a post so that it may be a benefit to my readers as well. I also only blog about once a week, so I know that my stats and new subscribers will not grow as other bloggers who are blogging more regularly. But that is totally ok with me. I would rather my blog be something fun. I started to dread doing “reviews” and “giveaways” after a while. I did enjoy the products, but, after a while, it became too much to keep up with.

Anyway, I definitely did not expect that my visitor numbers would grow so much. My most visited post is my post on the Tom and Jerry Cartoon. You have to check it out. I think it is actually one of my shortest posts. The whole post has only 214 words.
I just shared how my kids adore the cartoon and recalled how I also enjoyed watching it as a child.

I am always looking for ways to capitalize on my websites and blogs. A few months ago I added a section at the bottom of my most popular post for Tom & Jerry related products from Amazon.com. I make a certain percentage from things that people purchase so that is definitely pretty cool. I also have ads from Google Adsense on my sites and I make a certain amount of money per click (those who click on the ads on my sites). I usually make about $150 per month from that which really helps with the costs of running my sites and blogs.

But I want to try and do more for this one blog post that is getting so many hits. I am wondering if you (my readers) have any additional ideas. I would love to hear from you! Please comment! And enjoy the funny blogging for money cartoons I found!

Being Thankful Everyday, not just on Thanksgiving

November 25, 2009 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

happy-thanksgiving

Being thankful and grateful is something that I try to practice on a daily basis. It is so easy to lose focus especially when life throws those curve balls at us at the most inopportune times. There will always be something that we can complain about. But in spit of life’s ups and downs, it is important to turn our focus from the negative over to the positive. Yes, we have had a rough week, but thank God we still have food to eat. Yes, our car broke down, but thank God we are still healthy.

We have to remember that our children are always watching us. They soak in every little word we say and every attitude that we show. If we are speaking negatively in front of them about the things that we are going through, then they may unconsciously take on that negative spirit. It is hard work sometimes choosing to be positive when that is the last thing you FEEL like doing. But it will have a tremendous impact on our kids. I am not saying that we should hide the difficult things from them and pretend that our lives are all peachy. But we can express our struggles open and honestly without getting angry and without complaining.

So, on this Thanksgiving, even though it has been a tough few weeks – I still have so much to be thankful for. Check out my video blog to see exactly what those things are!