Yes, You Can Have It All
Topics: advertising, home business, family, elderly, judi lynn lake, humor, entrepreneur
My business has no boundaries creatively or demographically. Thanks to 21st century technology, my virtual team is scattered throughout the United States: I have proofreaders and editors in New York and Texas, IT personnel in California, Philadelphia and South Carolina, camera crews on the west and east coast, public relations associates throughout the country and the list goes on. The irony of my business is that within a team of many, I have only personally met two members but our connection is strong and the professionalism is unsurpassed.
Within the past seven years, I have moved my office to my home so I could be accessible to care for my elderly father and be ‘home’ for my daughter. I certainly have the best of both worlds. Advertising is hectic and my life is hectic but when there is a field trip for my daughter’s school, I am there and when my dad needs to see a doctor, I, too, am there. The beauty of advertising is that a great deal of the work can be done ‘after hours’ and because of the personal choices I have made, there are many nights that I do indeed burn the midnight oil but the rewards are tremendous.
It is not easy juggling work and home and I am convinced that some people are actually better suited to work within the structure of a traditional work environment. Working at home is not for everyone and strong discipline must be applied otherwise work will only be a hobby. Also, for many self-employed, the hours are longer and the responsibilities are many but for those juggling family a sense of humor is a must.
Due to my dad’s failing health, I recently had to hire a home nurse so that I could concentrate on business commitments and meetings minus the interruptions. I knew the time for a nurse was approaching during a phone meeting I had a few months ago. While I was in the process of explaining a project to a client, my dad barged into my office and ranted aloud about what brand of toilet paper he should use. I began waving him off, trying to maintain my professionalism with my client and before I knew it my dad grabbed the phone from me and surveyed the client as to what brand he should use. Of course, I was humiliated, but then again, I make it no secret to my clients what my circumstances are and, to my surprise, the client had recommended Kleenex over Charmin. Well, that broke the ice and since then that client has become one of my top ongoing clients. My dad, however, is not allowed in my office any longer because…well just because.
A few years ago, when I was still in New York I had a meeting with Mattel regarding a package design job for a Barbie campaign. At the time, my daughter was only 18 months old and I kept her home with me while I worked. Midway through the phone meeting, my daughter began to get restless and I knew I had to become instantly creative in order to continue the meeting. While discussing new Barbie products, I immediately put up a caterpillar tent in the middle of my living room and conducted the rest of my meeting crawling within a two feet high tent with my daughter. It was a win-win situation and both my client and daughter were well satisfied. To Mr. DeMille, however, I would insist on not having my camera close-up that day.
Many people think of advertising as a ‘glamorous’ business and while I was on Madison Avenue, it was glamorous. Meetings at Sardi’s or The Russian Tea Room were not uncommon and tickets to top Broadway plays or upscale gifts were just some of the many perks of running an advertising agency in Manhattan. During the summer months, many clients would have elegant lawn parties on their estates in the upscale North Shore of Long Island where the best food and service was available. I have worked with the best and been with the best. These days, however, although the quality of work my agency puts out is the same, I am sad to say the glamour from the Manhattan era has faded. People who drop by my office will often find me in a tee shirt and jeans and when they are lucky I will be wearing my favorite jeans, which are ripped at both knees. Unknowingly to the youth of today, these favorite jeans were not purchased with the rips but rather ‘developed over time’.
My daughter attends a private school and I am her transportation. The school is one-hour commute in the morning and one hour in the afternoon, therefore, during weekdays every minute is accounted for. I must say that in the morning, my daughter and I have the minutes down to a science; we are a good team, especially while I am shoving the food into her little mouth and dressing her at the same time.
Last year, while waiting on the pick-up line for my daughter a teacher approached my car with a huge brown bag. Apparently she noticed my ‘ripped’ jeans and felt led to donate some of her clothes to me. I didn’t know what to say and it took all I had to hold in from laughing out loud. I graciously thanked her for thinking of me and suggested that perhaps her generosity would be better suited for someone in need. She stared in my eyes and assured me that she was sure that ‘I was that someone in need’. It occurred to me that she had no idea what my profession was and assumed that I was a struggling at home mom. Well, as I said, I have the best of both worlds and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world but maybe it has come time to retire my jeans… at least for when I pick my daughter up from school.
Judi Lynn Lake successfully runs her own advertising agency which handles everything from logos, branding, videos and websites while continues to work closely with self-published authors from design to promotion. To learn more visit www.judilake.com
Previous Articles Highlighter:
Safety First For The Handyman (1)
Be especially careful not to damage insulation covering on each one of the individual wires. Using the sharp edge of knife, pare off insulation on each end of wire a distance of about a half inch.
Choosing The Appropriate Birthday Invitation Wording: What Is Enough And What Is Too Much (2)
So unless you have expressed permission from the birthday person, don't bother. 2. Humor in words. Using humor is always effective. If you can convey the fun and enjoyment that guests can expect from the party through words, the better.
Home Based Businesses For Moms (3)
Some of them claim you can make hundreds of dollars, though that is unlikely. The average survey on the Internet will pay somewhere between a dollar and $20. To make a home business out of taking surveys, sign up for dozens of survey companies, completely fill out the profile section on each site and take every survey the companies send you.
Making Your Very Own Hats (4)
of veiling. After you have shaped the veil, pin center of veil to hat. Put the hat on, and gather ends of veil up to sides or back of hat on a slant.
How To Entice Visitors To Your Site (5)
4. Using coupon codes attracts affiliates to your program. Not only do people like to get great deals, they like to be able to give great deals. You allow your affiliate to look good by offering them coupon codes that people can only get through your affiliates.
Make A Fortune With Other People's Products (6)
A dedicated and hardworking affiliate would certainly get more from the program compared to those affiliates who would simply sign up and forget about the program later. Thus, the key is to find and recruit established online marketers or leaders who want to put the time and effort in to accomplish their goals and dreams.
Equestrian Self-discipline: Discover The 5 Secrets Of Enduring Motivation (7)
Divide the goal into small steps and focus on one each day. Remind yourself that if you don't complete the steps that will create the outcome you desire, you will not meet your objective.
How To Have More Fun Investing (8)
There are many ways to have fun trading. Just do what works for you and keeps you interested while following time tested fundamentals. Happy investing. Scott Johns conducts research and analysis of stock market picks and trends.
First Time Home Buyer Mistakes (9)
Some buyers fall in love with a home by becoming emotionally involved in one aspect or another. They do not consider the location, school system, zoning, maintenance requirements, proximity to work and shopping or overall suitability.
Earn Money Online Today (10)
Once she figured out how to market online her business took off. Which brings me to a different point. Many people want to earn money online. But the problem most people have is they have no clue how to market a product online.
Newer Articles Highlighter:
Want To Know More About Alligators (1)
When light is blinked over their eyes, larger alligators have a red glow and smaller alligators have a green glow. This can be a very useful tip for those who are looking for alligators in dark.
Professional Bowling Around The World (2)
The game of bowling has achieved great notoriety in countries like Canada and Germany, and is also enjoyed by the people in Finland and the sparsely populated areas in South America and all other parts of the world.
Obtaining Personal Insurance For Automobiles (3)
Those households that have several cars to insure will stand to save hundreds of dollars over a period of one year. The safety features on each automobile will increase the savings even more on personal automobile insurance for every driver in the home and those with good driving records will see a savings discount for their efforts.
Ad Agencies: Separating The Divas From The Pros (4)
Under the skilled guidance of a graphic designer, a message becomes visual, transcending words alone. Graphic design is a crucial ingredient for the success of any project or business.
Debt: It All Adds Up In The End (5)
Once you know what you are spending your money on, you must then begin to think about ways to cut back or even eliminate some of those purchases. For most consumers, this is the hard.
Conquer Your Learning Disability To Be Successful At Work (6)
The difference lies in the fact that most physical disabilities are visible and therefore obvious to the person as well as their companions. Learning disabilities are subtle and can be quite difficult for bosses and coworkers to pick up.
It's All About The Money, Isn't It (7)
One disturbing change I see today within my industry is the lack of teamwork that was rampant twenty years ago. Today, it is everyone for themselves, which unfortunately, is short-term thinking.
How To Become A Home Health Care Nurse (8)
A practicing nurse must be able to adjust to the unique home setting of each patient. They must have good interpersonal skills to deal with the patient on the one hand and the patient's family or support structure on the other.
Secrets To Being Successful Online (9)
Quite often it takes someone 5 or more visits before they make a purchase so it is vital that you keep bringing your prospect back to your site. 8.
Is It Time All SMEs Thanked Sage Software And The Personal Computer? (10)
While the growth of business software in SMEs has helped to put them on a more level playing field with their bigger rivals, they do not have the same level of integration - running different applications in different parts of the business and manually piecing data together.