I’ve mentioned in a couple of my Yarn Alongs, that I was reading Money Making Mom. It releases today! So, I’m going to talk a bit more about the book and about doing things we love, earning income in various ways and figuring out what fits for us and for the specific season of life we find ourselves in.
What’s one of your passions or interests? Have you ever wanted to combine this passion with a business venture?
Do you craft something? Have you ever found yourself thinking, “I’d love to sell the extras and make some cash.”
Do you want to try launching something? Do you need another income? Do you need some encouragement in your venture? Money Making Mom is a terrific book to encourage and cheerlead you along the way. Crystal, from Money Saving Mom, has a heart to inspire and empower women to achieve.
Money Making Mom shares details from Crystal’s journey, as well as many, many stories from other women.
Life is not a one-size fits all t-shirt. It’s not even a one-size fits most t-shirt!
Neither are jobs and businesses. We are each unique. God has gifted us all in various ways and placed desires, passions and callings in our very DNA.
{Affiliate links included in this post. Thanks for your support.}
I love Crystal’s emphasis on the fact that there is only ONE YOU. No one else can make an impact in the same way YOU can. We have similarities. We have things in common. We may work in the same field. {Or in the field across the road from the neighboring farmer. 😉 } {Couldn’t resist. A farm-y field is the first definition to pop up for me, because, you know, farmer husband and all.} ANYWAY………..
There truly is only one you. We all matter. Our contributions matter.
Crystal isn’t the only one that says so. 😉 God says so.
And there are a LOT of ways to work and make an income. Sometimes it’s just doing the work that is available and that you can do. Sometimes it is the thing you love and are fitted for.
My sister loves to sew. She always has. She likes paint. She adores vintage and she likes industrial. She loves design and she can take something that simply looks like junk to me and work with it and re-do it and detail it into something beautiful. She’s made slipcovers for furniture. She’s painted many pieces. Dressers, nightstands, chairs…you name it. She gives them a fresh breath of life. With her design abilities, she’s made sewing patterns and redone patterns.
In the last few years, her passions have combined and launched themselves into a business she didn’t totally see coming. Along with other things, she makes gorgeously, beautiful pillows. {I’m not a bit prejudiced either!}
It is so cool to see how her talents and passions have combined themselves and come forth in delightful handmade items. Her pillows are a combination of her sewing talents, her design with some vintage and paint all rolled into it as well! Another exciting aspect of this business is with its growth, she has sourced out some of the sewing and cutting to a few other women. It’s neat to see her business also provide an answer for work for some other moms as well!
Click over here to see her online shop.
I’ve had various jobs over the years. A lot of them haven’t necessarily been what I was most passionate about, but it was work I could do. I’ve baby-sat and cleaned houses. Before I married my farmer man I worked a day a week during one winter season at an orchard/gift shop called The Apple Barn. One winter I helped grade potatoes on my uncle’s potato farm.
When we were first married, I cleaned houses by myself and then, for a few months cleaned houses with three friends. Before I was married, my Mother cleaned house with me.
In 2006, I started cleaning a doctor’s office one evening a week with a good friend. It provided some cash, some exercise and in this case, lots of good chats and shared feelings with my friend. In 2012, she was a busy enough mama with two little boys that it was time for her to quit this job during this season of her life. My daughter was at a just-right-age to start helping me with the cleaning job. I’ve missed the time with my friend, yet it provided a good job opportunity for my daughter.
Just this year, I became a book-keeper for my sister. With her growing business, she was glad to hand the receipts and records off to someone else to record. I like accounting work, {not as in tax accountant!!!} so it was a great fit for me. Plus, I already play book-keeper for my farmer man. I had a bookkeeping program on my computer and it didn’t take that much to set up an account for my sister’s business.
A little over two years ago I joined Lilla Rose. I loved their flexis and I’d been a customer. I decided to go ahead and become a consultant and I’ve loved it. I share about Lilla Rose through my blog and online. I’ve shared about it with some good friends. A couple of them also fell in love with all the hair accessories like I did! My personality is not a sales person personality. Yet, I’ve loved Lilla Rose simply because I love the hair accessories. And it is a total blast to share Lilla Rose with other ladies who love flexis, too. I like to share things that make me happy, with other women. I don’t like to be pushy, {can’t stand that, actually!!} but when I connect with someone who gets just as excited, it is so much fun!
The last couple of years, I’ve been a vendor at a local craft show. I’ve displayed my Lilla Rose clips. The room is full of tables and vendors. It’s cool to see the variety of people and products. There is everything from my flexis to jewelry to hand-knit items to cleaning products. Baked goods and doll clothes. Homemade soap and Thirty-One bags. Each table represents a small {or perhaps not so small} business. Many of the vendors are women. I’m guessing many of them could wear the title, “Money Making Mom.”
Another company I joined because I love their product is Jewelry in Candles. I’ve long loved a cozy, flickering candle. They are homey and they smell yummy! Some candles will give me a headache, but my JIC candles do not. AND they have the fun bonus of a surprise inside. Each candle has earrings, necklace or a ring in it. You can choose which when you order AND you can choose your ring size.
Oh, and then there’s this other job I have. It’s called FARMWIFE. You can read more about it over here. 🙂 It is an important job and a very, very great, big part of my life!!
There are truly so many ways to earn income whether we’re a kiddo or a mama!
I know of a young girl who has a small cookie baking business. One of my friend’s sons is hired to mow lawns in the summer. In our area, there are kids who are hired in the spring to pull rye out of the wheat fields. {Rye is a horrible annoyance in a lovely wheat field!} We’ve supported local lemonade stands at various times. One of my daughter’s friends is giving her piano lessons.
Having work available is a blessing.
Something else Crystal addresses in Money Making Mom that I loved is this, On page 54 she says, “Success is almost always guaranteed to those who are willing to try, try again. Even if your first or third or fifth idea doesn’t work, you’ll eventually land on something that will be a success.“
And this quote pictured above?!! So true!! I’ve had more than one time when I was scared to death. Having courage most certainly, definitely does not mean you feel brave and invincible.. Courage is taking the next step. Courage can is doing the right thing. Courage can be simply GETTING OUT OF BED, on some days!!! 🙂 And courage is just showing up.
One other takeaway that has to be mentioned!
CHAPTER 8
Chapter 8 is called
Live Generously.
I’ve always loved this about Crystal and her blog and books. She works to invest in others and to give and help and inspire.
We all are given the ability to help, too. Once again, it won’t all look exactly the same. It can’t. If we all gave or helped out in the very same way, there would be a lot of things that wouldn’t get done and needs that would go unfulfilled. Truly, once again, there is only one of each of us to do the things we do and help in the ways we help.
Big or little. Great or small.
It all matters.
If you are at a place where you don’t need a business or a way to make extra income, Money Making Mom is still a good read. Many of the ideas and principles can be applied to many areas in life, not just building a business! Just like the quote on courage that is pictured, and I talked about right before this. So many areas of life require courage!
I really like that about this book!
I read this review of the book and I thought it was a very inspiring and insightful comment. In my own translation, the reviewer said something along these lines, “Money Making Mom showed me that at this point in my life, my plate is full. I don’t have the time for a business-building venture right now.” Another reviewer said something to this effect, “Money Making Mom has given me the courage and incentive to expand the idea I’ve had spinning around in my brain and give it a go!”
I just thought it was cool to see how the same book could impact women exactly as they needed, even in opposite directions!!
Money Making Mom is for sale, TODAY! It releases this very day! Woot! Go here to order it. And while you’re at it, I totally recommend adding Hoodwinked by Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk and Audacious by Beth Moore to your order as well! That should get you close to free shipping on Amazon. 🙂 And if it doesn’t, go ahead and grab Simply Tuesday by Emily P. Freeman or The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner. Or Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist……………….the possibilities abound!!
Another fantastic way to read this book is by requesting it at your local library! I’ve done this with quite a few books. Several that I loved, I then purchased to become part of my personal library.
