AND THE WINNER IS:
Commenter #10.

Jennifer on Wed, 30th Sep 2009 2:53 pm

I blogged about the giveaway. http://virtualassistancebyjen.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/making-work-at-home-work/

Congratulations, Jennifer.  I’ll contact you for your mailing info and get this out to you.

To everyone else:  if you want to buy this book, it is available at Amazon.com.

I am more excited about this giveaway that I can express!  This book has literally revolutionized the way I run Berries and Cream Blog Design and has eased the stress and tension inherent in being a WAHM.

In Making Work at Home Work, author Mary Byers shows moms how to develop an entrepreneurial mind-set without sacrificing their families. This book covers important topics such as developing a successful business philosophy, balancing time between work and family, setting realistic goals, and handling the challenges of being both “Mommy” and “CEO” while running a profitable home-based business.

Honestly, when I was given the opportunity to receive this book in order to review it at my personal blog, I didn’t hesitate for even a split second before accepting.  At that time, I was drowning under the responsibilities and demands in my life, and my family was suffering as a result.  My husband was not at all happy with how much time I spent working, my children were literally begging me for attention, and I was short-tempered with everyone because I was so overwhelmed.

When I received my book, I immediately began reading, and what I read left me alternating between laughter and tears.  Mary’s story was mine – we shared the same problems, the same character traits (that often create our problems), and the same philosophy of business (make as much as you can).  As Mary shared the solutions that worked for her, I felt hope for the first time in several months.  If she found a better way, perhaps I could, too.

In the end, three steps were what revolutionized my business and my life.

1. Quit pretending that because I’m a WAHM my work somehow is less important or takes less of my time
2. Sit down with my husband to work out with him the goals and boundaries for my business
3. Instead of trying to make as much as possible make each month, set a specific monthly sales goal (once that goal is met, any additional income is an added blessing, but I can also pass on work if I want)

Mary recently interviewed me regarding the effect her book had on my life.  In the interview, I share more specific details about the changes I made. She has split that interview into three parts, which are being published at the book’s blog this week.  (I’ll link to the posts as they go live. Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)

I was given two copies of the book – one to keep and one to giveaway.  I have decided to give away that second copy here at Berries and Cream Blog Design.  Here are the details:

• This contest will be open for 7 days (September 26, 2009 – October 6, 2009)
• This contest is open to everyone. Yes, I will even ship internationally.  This book is that good.
• You can enter in multiple ways, but please only enter one time per method:
  • Leave a comment on this post – I would be interested to hear why you would like to win this book
  • Write a blog post about this giveaway; please leave the post URL in a comment here so I can verify this step
  • Follow @revkastearns on Twitter; let me know your Twitter username in the comments so I can verify this step
  • Tweet the following message: RT @revkastearns: Juggling a family AND a business? Enter to win Making Work at Home Work by @marybyers. http://cli.gs/ybpsm9
  • Subscribe to our newsletter; let me know in the comments that you have subscribed or that you are already a subscriber

If you don’t win this giveaway and want to buy this book, it is available at Amazon.com.

Today’s giveaway (our last launch party giveaway – can you believe it?) is open to anyone with a US mailing address.

CPA Mom from Did You See That? has a little of everything at her blog: “This blog is where you’ll find reviews of books, products, websites and whatever else catches my eye. Where I’ll discuss ideas sparked by current events.”  She always has something interesting to read.

Did You See That is giving away 2 new children’s books

- Night’s Nice written by Barbara Emberley; illustrated by Ed EmberleyList Price: $12.99 Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers;Library Binding edition (November 1, 2008) Language: English

“Hop into bed,Turn over thrice, And whisper this softly: Night’s nice, night’s nice, night’s nice…Good Night.”

- The Beginner’s Guide to Bears written by Gillian Shields illustrated by Sebastien Braun List Price: $14.99 Reading level: Ages 4-8 Paperback: 32 pages Publisher: L,B Kids (December 1, 2008) Language: English Everyone loves a big bear hug, Soft and cozy, warm and snug.

To be entered in this giveaway, leave a comment at this post no later than 11:59 p.m. EDT, Saturday, March 7, 2009.  The winner will be chosen using random.org.

If you really want to win these great books, you can earn up to six additional entries by completing the following tasks. (Please leave a separate comment for each task.)

1. Sign up for our newsletter. The sign up box is located at the top of our sidebar. If you are already a subscriber, leave a comment letting us know that.
2. Add our Berries and Cream Blog Design button to your site. Grab the code from the bottom of our sidebar.
3. Blog about and link to this giveaway.
4. Blog about our launch party and make sure you include a link to this blog (http://berriesandcreamblogdesign.com).
5. Follow Revka on Twitter: @RS_Designs or click on the little Twitter icon next to my picture in our sidebar.
6. Follow Linda on Twitter: @brazilian_linda or click on the Twitter icon next to her picture in our sidebar.

You can combine steps 3 and 4 into one post, but leave a separate comment for each step you complete.

Visit our Prizes page to see all the prizes that we will be giving away.

I wish you all the best.