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.