Powerful Questions – Powerful Answers for Work at Home Moms

Work at home moms struggle with failure, just like Kathy Ireland, a mom of three young children and a former supermodel. "After trying and failing at several businesses, my partners and I began Kathy Ireland Worldwide in 1993 with a pair of socks," she says. Today, her company grosses over $1,000,000,000 in retail sales annually.

It took a lot of failure and rejection for Kathy to build her company to that level. "My previous work as a model included a lot of rejection. That prepared me for the continuous rejection that I still face in business today. That early rejection gave me the opportunity to ask powerful questions and get powerful answers."

The first powerful question begins with rejection. "When someone says no, ask why," says Kathy. Their explanation will show you an area to improve, a new way to expand what you’re doing, or assure you that you’re not failing in this situation.

The second powerful question begins with acceptance. "When someone says yes, ask how," Kathy says. When someone wants to hire you or buy your product, find out exactly what they want and how they want it delivered. What size do they want? Do they need the item the next day or by the cheapest shipping? What is it that you, a work at home mom, can provide to make the customer happy? Asking this powerful question gives you powerful answers.

"Too often we fear rejection, so we don’t ask for the information we need," says Kathy. "Often when we do ask, we don’t get answers. We get noise! Please learn to turn down the noise and keep asking until someone engages, listens, and truly answers your questions." Don’t give up after asking just one or two people. There are wonderful, successful, generous people who have the answers you’re looking for.

It’s easiest to ask the wrong people for advice. "Be certain you’re asking someone who can truly give you the response you need. Too often we waste time, complaining or grumbling to someone who can’t give us the real information. We ask the person we feel comfortable with. We’re sharing our fears instead of learning and growing. Please don’t let that happen to you."

When you get those powerful answers, they teach you what you need to know to grow as a person and businesswoman. "I look at failure as education, and in that respect I am very well educated. I’ve been fired, and those firing helped build my strength. If you don’t fall, you’re not trying hard enough."

We often think we’re trying hard enough, because our lives feel so busy. We rush from soccer practice to the post office to mail off our eBay sales and collapse exhausted at the end of the day. Kathy warns, "We don’t get brownie points for effort. Don’t confuse complexity with accomplishment. Complexity is a destroyer. Simple is beautiful. Simple doesn’t mean small. Simple means making it as big as you want it to be without chaos." When we live in chaos, we’ll get burnt out.

"When our first child, Erik, was born, I realized how many little things I took for granted. Suddenly a shower was a luxury. This powerful change in my life made me appreciate and realize how much work moms face every day." She made it her company’s mission to "find solutions for families, especially busy moms."

We work at home moms face so many pressures. When we work together and support each other and maybe even make it our business’s mission to bless other women, like Kathy Ireland did, all of us will be blessed and successful.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Terri Pilcher writes articles and interviews millionaires from home for an upcoming book about the Parable of the Talents. Visit her website www.ChristianMillionaireSecrets.com and sign up for her monthly ezine containing an article, an audioclip from a millionaire interview, a book review, and a quote about success.