I often feel most at piece when I write. Especially if the characters start directing the story. that’s when you know your imagination has truly taken over. If you ask anyone, I have always had an active imagination.

I think what I love best about writing is that there are no restrictions. I can sit down and write whatever I want for as long as I want. If it ends up in a book, great. An article, even better (I get paid for those). If something I write doesnt get used at all, well than it just doesn’t. It will usually morph into something else at some point and end up being used.

Another thing I love is adventure. My son and I started taking adventures together this summer and it was great. We went camping and had his first airplane ride, zoo’s and mountains, lakes and pools. The great thing about kids is that adventures are in everything. We had so much fun this summer that I’m putting together a website specifically on vacationing and adventuring with children. It’s going to be great, even if I’m the only one using it. (which is unlikely.)

Have a great fall everyone!
Kristi

For the past few months I put writing on the back burner and let my business get in the way of what I love to do. Though this worked in the short term, it did nothing to curb the ideas that flow freely whenever I close my eyes. Now that business has slacked and I have more free time I am allowing myself to get back to writing. The great part is that I have also let writing into my business now.

For those that don’t know I am a bookkeeper and administrative assistant who gets to work from home for the clients I choose. (The perks of working for myself) This also means I have to find all my own clients and do all the leg work…but you give and receive and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

With business slow I am taking the time to not only work on the two books I put to the side months earlier, but also crank out some wonderful articles on various business topics. I love writing and researching. It’s a great way to utilize my imagination, share knowledge and keep the ideas from eating me alive.

My goal for September is to build my business and expand my writing. By October I hope to have the majority of one of the books complete and hopefully by Christmas I will have an agent and a publisher for that book. (cross your fingers it can all work out that quickly).

What are your goals and intentions? Do you have a master plan? It doesn’t have to be as large as starting a new business or climbing mount Everest. In fact the small plans and goals are often easier to reach and more immediate in their results.

Whatever your plans I hope you achieve them and surprise yourself with the ease they are completed with.

yes, I know this is a hot topic. And Yes this is a necessary change. For those of you still in the dark on healthcare reform in the US, I highly suggest reading the newspaper once in a while. Healthcare in the US is in crisis. Even those with insurance don’t necessarily have the coverage they need. Can you imagine an individual with cancer with insurance who can’t afford treatment? It happens every day. Either the insurance tries to block paying by stating the disease as a pre-existing condition or drops the individual on a technicality.

So what if you have something simpler, like allergies? If you have major medical, your fine. The allergy testing doesn’t cost that much, meds aren’t that expensive…If you have no insurance these costs are bank breakers…But a few out there have state insurance through the Department of Social and Health Services. While straight DSHS will cover the meds, the tests et all, the health options providers have rules on what medications you can take, what tests can be done, and what hoops you need to jump through for everything to be paid.

This is where my current frustration lies and I am on a health options plan. My insurance is telling my doctors what they can and cannot do, how they can and cannot treat my illnesses. Does the insurance company have a medical degree? No. And yet they dictate the treatment of medical problems. THIS needs to stop. Doctors are trained to treat the problem, not cater to insurance company whims. Doctors understand the limitations of the human body and what medications will or will not have a chance to be effective for any one person. Insurance companies are only looking at what costs less. It’s frustrating, time consuming, and dangerous.

I know everyone has their own opinions on what needs to happen with health care reform, but the one thing I am adamant about is that doctors are allowed to do their jobs to the best of their ability. It’s not about numbers, its about lives.

One great article on the health care crisis is: Healthcare Fit For Animals by Nicholas Kristoff. This NY Times article will give you a look into the problem. I do however suggest further reading on the subject before you draw your own lines.

Thanks for letting me rant!

A conundrum for the ages I guess.The weather here is uncomfortably hot. We escaped to the coast this weekend and avoided the sticky 90 degree temps. This week is supposed to reach the 100 degree mark and I’m looking at any and every way to beat the heat. This weekend…More water. I think we’ll go out to the islands and enjoy the ocean breezes and temps at least 20 degrees below mainland temps. That will be great, though still warm.

Another thing I wonder about is how I can still be in business. I’m not great at marketing, I’m afraid of public speaking and uncomfortable in crowds. But for whatever reason, whenever I consider throwing in the towel, the business picks up. Perhaps I was meant to do what I’m doing, or perhaps I put more effort into networking and communicating when times get tough. Whatever the reason, work has picked up again and I am no longer considering quitting, but rather hoping this up swing continues.

I wish all of you great success. If you are interested in a great article on business operations and opening your business’s personality up check out the Seattle VA blog on Wednesday. http://blog.seattleva.net

Have a great week everyone!
Kristi

Over the last few weeks I have been learning about the connection that personality plays in business. human nature has always mystified me, so it is no stretch of the imagination to intone that this topic grabbed me and kept my interest long enough to learn from it. To start I had no idea how much went into our personality. Do you realize there are 5 traits to a personality? I didn’t, until last week. Anyway, the reasons we do the things we do, trust the people we trust, believe in the businesses we deal with has to do with their personalities. Yes, a business can have a personality.

There is still more I want to learn about the personality connection and so I will continue to seek answers. As my 3 year old would ask “Why?” The more we learn, the more we grow and become better at everything we do.

I hope all of you have found something that inspires you to learn. If you want to know more about the personality connection you are welcome to check out the SeattleVA blog. I put a full description up there and will flesh it out more as the weeks go by. http://blog.seattleva.net.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Kristi

Everyone has short comings. It’s a fact of life. It’s how we deal with and overcome these short falls that makes us who we are and determines how far we will go. I myself have two very distinct short comings. #1 – I have no idea how marketing works. This is a problem since I have to market my business to stay in business. Does this mean I can’t be in business? Of course not. It simply means I am going to have to learn how to market myself and my business in a productive, yet subtle way. (Ideas are welcome!)

My second short coming is procrastination. I overcome this every day through determination and to do lists. I found years ago that if I didn’t write down what had to get done, I would end up doing nothing. So, the to do list has become a must have in both my personal and business life. I still push things to the side, those things at the bottom of the to do list, like writing blog posts and finishing the novel. However items at the top if the list, like client work is always completed.

Overcoming your short falls will take trial and error. No two people are alike and no two methods for overcoming a short fall will for everyone. Figuring out what you want to change and how to effect that change will bring you one step closer to reaching your goals and living the life you dream about.

Best of luck everyone!

My grandmother found this great notation on why we as worker bees are always so tired. I hope you all enjoy it!

No Wonder I’m So Tired!
Author: Unknown

There are 200 million Americans.
85 million are over 65 and 76 million are under 21.
that leaves only 38 million to do the work, but 5 million are in the armed forces.
That leaves 32 million to do the work, but 6 million are on welfare, and that leaves 26 million to do the work, but 15 million work for the government, and that leaves 11 million to do the work. 10 million are in school; that leaves 1 million to do the work, but 750,000 are disabled or sick. That leaves 250,000 to do the work. Last week there were 249,998 people in jail.
And that leaves 2 people to do the work.
And since you don’t do much —No Wonder I’m Tired!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hi Everyone,

It’s been a busy week here. the long holiday weekend was absolutely gorgeous, the sun was out, the flowers are in bloom. As you probably guessed, I didn’t get a lot accomplished work wise last week with everything going on, but I did make a plan of attack and hope to work on it this week and find answers to at least some of my outlined questions.

I am still working on ways to find and apply to contracts with the government. Preferably things I can do from home as I have no desire to go back to a standard office and lose the connection I have with my son. I love having him around and learning from him every day. I also love the flexibility that working at home affords me.

My plan for this week is to get in touch with a marketing contact of mine and review my options, look further into grants for business, writing, and education. Look into online universities and see what it will take to complete my degree. (I haven’t been in school for over 4 years so this could be a long adventure.)

As always I’ll keep you informed as I go along and share what I learn with all of you. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the fabulous weather. It was sunny and 70’s here and I have the sunburn to prove it.

Till later,
Kristi

Hi,

Business is cyclical, we all understand that. The problem occurs when that cycle bottoms out at the same time the market bottoms out. That is where I stand at the moment. My solution is to try other avenues and still work from home.

What other avenues, you ask? Good question…there are several to choose from, though not all of them are easy to find or capture. The first avenue I’m pursuing is standard employment. Yes, even if you work from home you can still work for someone else. The second avenue is government contracting. This isn’t as easy as the government has a ton of red tape for every step of every process. (I’ll keep you up on this as it progresses. I’m really enjoying the learning curve on this step.) My third avenue is an adventure in marketing. I’m not perfect, I’m not an expert, but I do know the basics and the principals behind it so I might as well put everything I know to good use and cross my fingers.

What am I not doing? Panicking. There is not time to panic. There’s not time to wallow in self pity or doubt. These actions will only prolong the agony at this point I don’t have the time nor patience for this. (you shouldn’t either)

I am also putting together query letters for literary agents so I can sell my latest book. I am not afraid to ask for help on this as I know virtually nothing about marketing a book. OK, I do know some of the basics, but not enough to give my work the attention it deserves.

I’ll let you know how the government thing goes as it goes and hopefully I will have great success to report with the query letters. I wish all of you luck with everything you venture to do. Always keep a positive attitude as that will attract positive energy toward you and right now we can all use some positive energy.

Till Monday,
Kristi

Hi everyone,

As you’ve noticed the last few days I have had more time to update you all on…well, everything. That is because a long term business relationship has lately turned south. The turn is my own fault and I appreciate the patience the other party has had, but I’m thinking that at this juncture we need a break from each other. So, I am formulating a plan of action to deal with the situation that will benefit both of us. I just have to find a tactful way to implement that plan.

I am also hoping to win 2 new contracts that have recently come up. It looks like my business is shifting toward my bookkeeping services and that is a shift I like. I have always loved numbers and solving problems. With bookkeeping I get to do both. That doesn’t mean I am going to cease working as a VA, because I love the randomness being a VA provides.

I am also considering going after a few government contracts, but have no idea how. I am listed with the ccr, DUNS, and SBA. I just need to figure out where to go from there. So this week my goal is to figure this riddle out, win the two new contracts, and work on my latest book. I think I will add find an agent to this list as I know so little about marketing a book to publishers and the public and would rather hire the help than go it alone and watch my hard work suffer.

wow, a long do to list. This will definitely be a good week if I complete at least 3 of these tasks successfully. Wish me luck!
Kristi