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I know it’s hard for us moms to consistently find me-time. Sure, we can occasionally make time for ourselves and take a little break, but let’s be honest, very few moms do this on a weekly basis. Right? Something more achievable, though, is to periodically squeeze in a mini-break. Let me share how I’ve been able to add me-time and hopefully inspire you to take a break for yourself!

Early on in the year I scheduled a recurring weekly block on my calendar for just me. I don’t always get to take my weekly break, but I’ve managed to do so every now and again. My weekly break is used for whatever I choose – anything from a long shower to properly wash and condition my hair to taking time to watch a recorded show. The great thing is that your breaks don’t have to be long or complicated. If you can even find 20 minutes, it can be a great thing! Here are some ideas for how you can enjoy a quick break from your routine, plus my own me-time kit I put together.

5 Ideas for a Quick Me-Time Break

1. Pamper yourself with a mini-facial using a homemade face scrub or a store-bought mask.
2. Enjoy a little treat, like the new KIT KAT Minis available at Walmart starting this weekend. I’m a huge fan of chocolate, so the samples I received from Hershey’s were definitely included in my me-time kit.
3. Listen to your favorite songs – you can create a break time playlist or make a CD for an on-the-go quick break in the car.
4. Read a magazine or part of a book. You can keep the most current issue of your favorite magazine or a book you’re currently reading in the car or in a special corner of your home for easy access when you take your break.
5. Enjoy a relaxing drink of tea, coffee, or your favorite beverage.

In building my own me-time kit, I headed to Walmart and treated myself to some tea and a new facial mask to go along with the KIT KAT Minis sent to me. Walmart also has books, magazines, CDs, and many other items you can add to your own me-time kit – just think of some of your favorite activities you can quickly enjoy to quiet your mind a little from the everyday hustle and bustle.

What would you add to your personal me-time kit?

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I received samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™

I’ve previously shared with you the benefits of menu planning, plus shared a sample menu plan and more recently, a full weekly dinner menu plan. Menu planning has definitely been beneficial in our household and allows me to stay on top of meals for dinner each day, even while working. I no longer have to wonder what is for dinner or scramble at the last-minute to put something together. It also avoids me asking the husband to bring home take-out meals for dinner because I’m not inspired by the choices in our fridge or pantry. All-around menu planning is useful.

This past weekend, I sat down for about half an hour, planned out two weeks of meals for dinner and wrote up a two-week grocery list. I created a 14-day dinner menu plan, mostly based on foods already in the freezer, fridge, and pantry. At the same time, I made our grocery list, filling in anything I was missing to make our two-week menu plan complete. It felt extremely good to have a full dinner menu plan for the next two weeks and a grocery list that would get us through those two weeks.

Later that same day, I went to the grocery store and did our shopping for two weeks. Plus, my husband seasoned and vacuum sealed the meats I had just purchased and most of the produce. In one afternoon, we had completed a menu plan, grocery shopping, and prepped foods for the next two weeks! How’s that for working smart and making our lives easier?

Want to see what we’ll be eating these next two weeks? I really hope that in sharing this sample two-week menu plan, you’ll get meal ideas for dinner in your own home. You may notice that I try to take shortcuts when I can, split meals into two by having leftover nights, and that nothing on my dinner menu plan is extraordinarily hard to cook – in fact, I use easy recipes as much as I can. The idea is not to be a fancy restaurant, but to save time, money, and provide my family meals for dinner.

14 Days of Dinner Ideas: Sample Two-Week Dinner Menu Plan

Week 1

1. Sunday: Home-made sub sandwiches with French bread and chips or popcorn on the side
2. Monday: Carne Guisada (Puerto Rican beef stew) served over white rice
3. Tuesday: Turkey sausage & vegetables served over pasta
4. Wednesday: Leftovers
5. Thursday: Hamburgers and home-made fried potatoes
6. Friday: Breakfast for dinner
7. Saturday: Picadillo served over white rice (Here’s a nice picadillo recipe, though I don’t add raisins to mine.)

Week 2

1. Sunday: Turkey Spaghetti
2. Monday: Chicken & Vegetable Soup
3. Tuesday: Leftovers
4. Wednesday: Boneless pork ribs, home-made mashed potatoes, and steamed vegetables
5. Thursday: Turkey sausage with peppers, served over white rice
6. Friday: Chicken & Vegetable Noodles (I’m going to substitute the beef for chicken from the recipe.)
7. Saturday: Leftovers

What’s your family having for dinner this week?

Last week, when I heard Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer was going to put a ban on telecommuting, I didn’t get why it caused such an uproar. I kind of admire Mayer for making that call. I’m a working mother. I have a special needs child. And I do not work from home.

I work for one of the largest media companies in the world, a place ranked as one of the best places to work for women , specifically working mothers. And I suppose that is true – but, only for some mothers.

Shared Motherhood, Different Lifestyles

My boss and I were pregnant at the same time. We are about the same age. We have the same hour-long commute – except in opposite directions. When my boss entered her sixth month of pregnancy, she started working from home two days a week. I worked almost to the end.

In my eighth month of pregnancy, there was a transit strike. During those few days, I came into the office with my husband (a FedEx employee) who drove into work with his coworkers. I was in the office by 6 in the morning and didn’t leave until after six in the evening – when my husband got out of work. I did this for several days – with no overtime, not even a thank you for making the effort to come in. At this point, my boss was working remotely five days a week.

I returned to work from maternity leave in early May, my boss did too – except she worked remotely for another month before returning to the office. I left my baby with a neighbor, while she had a nanny coming to her house. When my boss returned to work, she explained that she would be working remotely two days a week. She was breastfeeding and needed the time to bond with her child.

Two years later, my boss stopped breastfeeding, but continued to work remotely. Her son was enrolled in classes during the week and she wanted to be as involved as possible. “These are the most important years – I want to be there for him as much as I can,” she said.

I would have liked that option too. But, I came into the office 5 days a week – if I worked through my lunch, I was allowed to leave at 4:30 instead of 5:30.

No Flexible Options for Most

When my son was diagnosed with autism, I went into my boss’ office – crying, overwhelmed and uncertain of what to do. My son’s therapy required 15 – 20 hours per week of home-based therapy. I remember asking if I could work from home temporarily – at least one day a week so that I could be involved and he could get the maximum amount of therapy. My boss explained that working from home could not be an option for me – “Your job requires you to be in the office,” she said. The best she could do was reduce my work hours, which would impact my salary and vacation time. It was an option I couldn’t afford.

I was lucky I had my mother who was willing to help, that my husband worked less hours (making less money) and that I found a therapist willing to work later hours in the day, so I can at least catch the last thirty minutes of her therapy sessions.

Our sons are now seven years old, and my boss still works from home two (sometimes three) days a week. On her work-from-home days, she gets to take her son to school and pick him up. She schedules medical appointments, signs her son up for after-school activities, volunteers at her son’s school as a helping parent, and chaperones class trips and runs errands.

On her “work-from-home” days, she takes care of all the things that require me to take vacation time.

Having a child with special needs requires many appointments; many of my vacation days are spent sitting in waiting rooms. If the tables were reversed – if my boss’ son had special needs – she’d never take a vacation day for an appointment. She’d never have to choose between working and being there for her child; she’d get to be involved in everything.

Earlier this year, my son’s school bus company was on strike. My son’s school is more than twenty miles away from our home and with limited options, I was forced to choose between going to work and sending my son to school. Within two weeks, I took four vacation days, struggling to get my son to and from school.

With no idea how long the strike would last, I asked my boss about options. I knew better than to ask for a work from home option but in such an extreme case, it would have been a great option to have. Once again, there was nothing my boss could do except offer me time off without pay. And then we discussed her schedule for the following week – she was switching her work from home days because it was her son’s birthday and she was going to his school to celebrate. (Insensitive much?)

Working From Home a Privilege, for Some

Working from home is a privilege, a luxury offered to a woman like my boss – a working mother with a six-figure salary who has a nanny, a housekeeper and a husband with a six-figure salary. And my boss has me – an administrative assistant – who faxes and photocopies her son’s insurance forms, prints out her holiday card labels and other personal things that have absolutely nothing to do with the company. She doesn’t have time for these things, she says.

My boss isn’t the only working mother in our office who has the privilege to work from home and be there for her children. Other high level executives have that option, while their assistants come into the office five days a week, leaving their children with babysitters, daycare centers, and after-school programs. To say this blatant inequality in the office causes resentment and animosity among working mothers is an understatement. The message sent to the lower income working mothers? Some women’s children matter and others don’t.

I know this isn’t the reasoning behind Marissa Mayer’s decision to have all employees return to the office. But this ‘uproar about working mothers’ speaks only to a certain demographic of women. Unless companies are willing to provide all employees with the option to work from home and/or flexible work arrangements, then it shouldn’t be offered at all.

Photo: Victor1558/Flickr

News of Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer, eliminating workplace flexibility and forcing all employees to work in the office (even those that were already telecommuting) hit the Internet this past weekend with much backlash. Many people felt her decision negatively affects working parents and destroys chances of moving forward with modern workplace policies. In a time when families are often choosing between work and family and struggling to manage various aspects of life, I have to agree that the decision of Yahoo and their CEO was a bad one.

Granted, it is not Yahoo’s or Mayer’s responsibility to show the way for the entire workforce, but as with much in this world, big companies take the example of other big companies. You can be sure this decision to not allow employees to work from home, will become a case study of sorts that other CEOs and company managers will use to justify their own telecommute decisions. That’s the thing about leadership – even when you don’t mean to be a leader, by being in a leadership position (which CEO of a large technology company most certainly is), you are automatically looked to for leadership.

Marissa Mayer has had an opportunity to be a leader for women, especially, and has failed twice to seize those opportunities. Instead, the example she’s set both times have in many ways set women back when it comes to the struggles we face in the workforce. But, let’s be clear that it’s not just women affected by her decisions. These days, men are also wanting better work flexibility and the opportunity to be more present for their families. 

Perhaps Mayer isn’t trying to be antiquated in her methods, but just trying to get a company back on track by bringing all employees together under one building. Maybe. But, as I told a friend in another online forum, Marissa Mayer could have (easily) individually assessed each employee’s status, work standards, and productivity level, and made the proper adjustments where necessary. If that meant some employees would no longer be able to telecommute, then as a CEO, she has a responsibility to retract that perk (for those individuals) in the best interest of the company. However, I’m sure there are some employees that are being more productive by telecommuting and having the flexibility, that will now suffer greatly (both at work and at home) in adhering to the new no telecommuting policy. Instead of creating a blanket policy that will affect all employees, Marissa Mayer could have taken a more staggered approach. 

I don’t expect that one woman, or even one company, will fix the workforce issues women and parents face. But, I do believe that a person who leads should consider the message sent in making such bold decisions. And the message sent by Mayer and Yahoo is loud and clear – we are not flexible.

What are your thoughts on Yahoo and Marissa Mayer’s decision to not allow their employees to work from home? Do you feel it sets working parents back? Or is this just good business for Yahoo?

Photo: Victor1558/Flickr

I’ve started menu planning again and love how it’s working out. To be honest, I have no idea why I ever stopped! It’s been great to know what dinner is going to be each night, and has helped with grocery shopping, pre-planning, and even precooking since I can see what the whole week (in regards to dinner) looks like at a glance.

On Saturday, I sat down and wrote up a menu plan for the week, planning around foods we already had in the fridge and pantry. That way, I didn’t have to shop for many items; we just had to supplement a couple of ingredients (mainly fresh produce). On Sunday, my husband went to the grocery store with my list, which I also put together at the same time I created our week’s meal plan. So, essentially, in one sitting, I had a menu plan for the entire week, and a grocery shopping list!

Let me share with you what we’re eating for dinner this week. Hopefully, this motivates you to create your own menu plan for next week (or even the rest of this week). You will notice that I’m using some shortcuts and utilizing the slow cooker as much as I can. The combination of a menu plan, meal shortcuts, and a slow cooker, has truly made a difference in my kitchen and allowed me to serve my family home-cooked meals despite working full-time. (My office may be at home, but I still work full-time hours.)

Sample Dinner Menu Plan

• Sunday: Chicken Stir-Fry with Brown Rice
• Monday: Lasagna and Side Salad (I precooked the ground beef on Saturday when I made burgers. I simply divided the ground beef I had in half, cooked half to use for the lasagna, and used the other half to make the burgers that same night. So, on Monday, all I had to do was reheat the meat, assemble the lasagna, and bake it.)
• Tuesday: Turkey Sausage and Vegetable Soup (A variation of this Chicken and Vegetable Soup recipe, cooked in a slow cooker.)
• Wednesday: Leftovers
• Thursday: Boneless Pork Ribs and Sweet Potatoes (I cook both in a slow cooker together. I may add some steamed frozen vegetables too.)
• Friday: Steak Burritos
• Saturday: Turkey Chili (Slow Cooker again!)

It really does help me to menu plan and makes dinner run smoother during the week. I love knowing ahead of time what I’m making and taking that stress of ‘What’s for dinner?‘ away. Give it a try – sit down for 10 minutes this weekend and plan next week’s menu. Or better yet, sit down tonight and plan out the next couple of nights just to test it out!

More on Menu Planning

• Why Meal Planning Provides Peace of Mind
• Planning Your Family’s Dinner Menu

What about you? What’s for dinner this week?

With 2013 being the year of change, streamlining, and lessening the chaos, I have been throwing out, donating, and reducing items in our household little by little. Nothing major – simple, yet effective decluttering is how I’ve been going about it. For example, as I’m washing and folding laundry, if I notice that some items no longer fit the kids (or myself), I take that chance to put them in a donation bag. Or perhaps if I see some toys that the kids don’t seem to be playing with much, I go ahead and toss them to make room in the toy bin. It feels good to take little steps for lessening the overall clutter in the house.

A problem area that has been sitting untouched for months, though, is my downstairs work desk. I have an informal home office space in the living room for my laptop, where I mostly do my work each day. Having this desk downstairs allows me to work with baby boy at home without restricting him to the upstairs office. This work area also allows for baby girl to do any online homework on my laptop, or some days, she plays games while I cook – all with me in the room and able to supervise. It’s worked out quite well, except for the clutter that has accumulated!

Because the desk is easily accessible, it means lots of times paperwork, flyers, mail, and other miscellaneous items are tossed onto my desk. I’m partly to blame for this too – not just the kids and my husband! We’ve all contributed to the clutter and my work space has become a mix of important papers, in-progress notes, extra electronics, and the kids’ artwork. So, I had to do something to change that.

Through a declutter challenge offered up by Walmart, I took the opportunity to focus on reorganizing, decluttering, and re-purposing my home office area. I decided to make it functional for both my work and for the kids. If I give them the space and designate areas for them to have their papers, then perhaps it will lessen the clutter and mess.

I found a new desk organizer and wall-hanging file sorter on Walmart.com that I thought would help. I chose this desk organizer because it has drawers I thought would be useful for smaller papers, plus it has a space to hold notebooks in a standing position, which will help avoid a large stack. Though this desk organizer has less shelves than the one I previously had, I thought that would actually be a good thing since it means there’s less room for dumping mail, loose papers, and such.

The wall file sorter I purchased will be used to better organize those in-progress notes, mail, and to-do items. I also designated one of the pockets for the kids, so they have a reserve of printables and activity sheets they can easily access. I labeled each pocket on the wall file holder to help my daughter know which pocket was for her use, and help me see at a quick glance where everything is stored.

My desk is now clear of clutter, is better organized, and will hopefully remain that way with the organizational system I’ve set up. I’m hoping it really works for the entire family and provides me a cleaner space to be productive in 2013! Check out the before and after – much better, don’t you think?

What area in your house could use some decluttering and reorganization?

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™

Three weeks of travel can certainly throw you for a loop. One one hand, I was able to attend two conferences and attend a brand event, so business-wise, they were good trips. On the other hand, I’m internally off-balance after traveling three weeks in a row.

Good and bad. There were plenty of good things about these trips and I don’t regret for a second going on any of them. But, as is true with much in life, with the good comes the bad.

The Good

• I was very lucky to have been able to take my family along for both conferences. Though I was mostly attending the conferences, I did get to see them in the mornings and nights. This helped ease the “miss you” moments for both the kids and myself.
• I was able to meet new people, have great conversations, and learn from all three trips.
• I had time to reflect on several things and take advantage of some quiet time to be able to just think.
• I was able to learn more about this brand and find ways we can possibly work together in the future.
• I came home from the most recent trip feeling more calm and full of ideas, rather than feeling just tired. I’m still tired, but the feeling was lessened.

The Bad

• My routine was thrown off and is still off.
• I’m still catching up on work.
• My family missed me, and I missed them.
• My daughter, in particular, was affected by the most recent trip and shed some tears in class because she missed me.
• My head is spinning a bit from being in many places within such a short time, but in a good kind of way.

None of this is extreme or unmanageable. My girl’s classroom situation really affected me the day I received notice from her teacher. But, after talking with her about it and thinking it through, I realized that at least she was able to express her thoughts. I explained to her that it’s absolutely normal to feel that way and that I too missed her. She also realizes these trips are part of my work and describes them as such. I feel it’s good for her to see this side of me in addition to the other roles she sees me play at home.

There are months where I go without any travel, so in the end, all things even out. How do you balance out the good and the bad of business travel?

Photo: Highways Agency/Flickr

Our last Avon representative interview in our Avon home business series was held earlier this month. I spoke with Maria Sutej, a Regional Vice President in Sales at Avon Products, Inc. Maria has been with Avon since 1983, when she began as a District Sales Manager. Twenty-nine years is a long time, but Maria said she “…started this for fun, but had no idea it could be SO much fun!”

Maria shared that there are two ways Avon representatives can make money: 1) by building a home business based only on Avon sales and 2) by taking advantage of the leadership opportunity. She says the latter is where the true business opportunity lies, in not only selling to customers, but also recruiting new representatives. For maximum earning potential, Maria suggests representatives do both.

Maria also shared a couple of stories of Avon representatives she’s come in contact with over the years. She told us about Linda Jones, who was laid off from a corporate job about six years ago and started selling Avon due to the loss of income. Linda now sells $78,000 of product per year and earns about half of that. Another story Maria shared was that of  Donna Reed Mitchell, who is originally from Jamaica and started her Avon career in New York. Donna’s daughter was diagnosed with an illness requiring her to home-school. Donna is a Sr. Executive Unit Leader earning a six-figure income and says she wouldn’t be able to home-school if it weren’t for her Avon business.

Maria’s advice for new representatives is to start approaching not only people you know, but also people you don’t know at various places you go. She said if you want to build a big business, you need to establish yourself. Her suggestion is that representatives list places they frequent and think of who they can approach. A key reminder is to not be afraid of approaching strangers; as Maria said, most people’s response is “I haven’t seen an Avon brochure in years!”

I asked Maria how Avon representatives can take advantage of social media to market their Avon businesses. She responded that Facebook is a great way to spread word and that she sees a lot of representatives using it to launch their business. Maria also mentioned that the internal Avon site has Internet marketing tools to help representatives, including videos, e-cards, and other content.

It’s clear that success through an Avon home business can be different for everyone. In interviewing the various Avon representatives over the past few months, we’ve seen a variety of levels of earning potential and business models. I think the great thing in all that is that Avon provides flexibility and allows each representative to create the home business that’s right for them.

Have you ever explored Avon as a home business opportunity?

Disclosure: I am being compensated for my work with Avon.

Yesterday was one of those days I wish I could repeat – everything flowed, things got done, balance was had. It’s amazing how one day going smoothly can lift your spirits and motivate you to make it happen again.

Because I had such a great day, I feel like I need to record it. Sometimes you have to sit back and remind yourself of all that went good – little or big. Though this is simple in the grand scheme of things, having a day where work, family, and personal time were in-line is definitely something to celebrate.

We are often striving to create work-life balance, and I talk about it quite often, so I absolutely want to share with you the specifics of how my day went. I hope that by doing so, you will see a glimpse of your own day or find some ideas for small changes you can make in your routine. With that, I share my perfectly balanced day and what I hope will become a regular daily routine for achieving work-life balance in my life.

Personal Daily Routine for Work-Life Balance

6 am: Woke up with hugs from baby boy and baby girl. After a bit of snuggling, dragged myself out of bed and began the morning routine of getting dressed and making sure baby girl got ready for school.

7:30 am: Breakfast time for both kids before heading out the door.

8-8:30 am: Dropped baby girl off at school.

8:30-9 am: Baby boy fell asleep on the ride back home, so waited in driveway for him to take a short nap while reading emails and checking in on Twitter and Facebook on my phone. I also found photo to use in blog post.

9:15-9:45 am: Took out some frozen already-cooked turkey to thaw for dinner. Then, while baby boy sat in his high chair with a snack, did my morning workout to Just Dance 3.

9:45-10:30 am: Ate breakfast, hung out with baby boy, and worked on blog post draft.

10:30-10:45 am: Phone call with client.

10:45-11:30 am: Finished and published blog post. Proceeded to work on marketing it via Facebook, Twitter, and StumbleUpon. Also, posted updates to various social media platforms and groups.

11:30 am – 12 pm: Played with baby boy and continued miscellaneous work on email and social media monitoring.

12 noon: Lunch for baby boy and myself.

12:30-2:30 pm: Continued work in-between playing with baby boy. When he played quietly on the floor, I’d check email or read articles, blog posts, etc. We went back and forth during this time quite a bit.

2:30-3 pm: Picked up baby girl from school

3-4:30 pm: Baby boy fell asleep on the ride home, so baby girl and I took this opportunity to have a tea party and afternoon snack. While she set up the tea party and changed into a princess outfit, I began cooking a turkey soup for dinner. I had enough time to shred the turkey, add all other ingredients and set the pot to simmer, plus sit down with baby girl for a princess tea party and snack before baby boy woke up.

4:30-5 pm: After a quick snack for baby boy, he and his big sister played together and watched TV alone. I ran upstairs to back up some files on our main computer and freshen myself up for the evening.

5-6 pm: Hung out with the kids, fed baby boy dinner, and picked up clutter in the living room. Baby boy got a little fussy during this time too.

6-7:30 pm: After my husband came home, we sat down for dinner, along with baby girl. Afterwards, the kids hung out with daddy and I cleaned up the kitchen.

7:30-8 pm: Bath/shower time for all.

8-8:40 pm: The husband read baby girl her bedtime story and tucked her in while I helped baby boy relax and fall asleep. Some nights baby boy falls asleep quickly, but with the afternoon nap he had, it took a while for him to calm down.

8:45-11 pm: With the kids in bed, the husband and I were finally able to hang out, talk about our days, and watch a little TV before heading to bed ourselves.

The reason this day worked out so great for me is that I felt accomplished. I was able to work on various areas of my life – not just work or just family. I was productive, got work done, spent time with the family, and even took time for myself.

Of course, not every day will work out so great. I know there will be days where baby boy won’t take two naps or will need more attention due to fussiness. There will be days when I’ll need to run errands and I won’t be able to get as much work done. That’s fine. We have to be flexible, right? The important thing is to remember days like these where all did go well and try to replicate them by following a routine as much as possible.

Why don’t you take some time to write out your daily schedule and reflect on what works and what you can improve? Where can you make some changes to your routine to ease the fluidity of the day?

Other articles you may like:

• Sample Daily Routine for Work at Home Mom
• 7 Ways to Find ‘Me Time’

Photos by Vicente Villamón, Andreanna Moya, Robin, and Erica Firment

Our partnership with Avon continues with a second profile of an Avon representative. I had the chance to speak last month with Yesenia Ward who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and has been with Avon since October 2007.  She moved to Vegas from California and as a stay at home mom (SAHM), she was seeking something that would allow her to have more adult interaction. Soon after, she found an Avon brochure in her driveway; she considered the find to be a sign, so she called to inquire about selling.

Yesenia was already familiar with Avon, since growing up, her mom often had Avon books around the house and was an Avon customer. Her whole family is involved in her business; her two sons especially, ages six and seven, help bag and deliver products. Yesenia mentioned that some customers even request to have their products delivered by her sons!

With Avon, you can make the business your own and work as much or as little as you want. Yesenia takes advantage of this and runs her business mostly part-time, but full-time during her boys’ school breaks. She estimates she puts in about five hours a day while her boys are in school.

The  majority of Yesenia’s business comes from one-on-one face-to-face meetings. She carries business cards and also has a website through the Avon site. Lots of people contact her through the website for both purchasing as well as for more information on becoming an Avon representative. Yesenia also uses Facebook to advertise her Avon link and keep family informed.

Since the majority of her business comes from personal interactions, it’s no wonder that word of mouth is the top way Yesenia finds new representatives. She explained to me that her mom works at a casino and shares information on Yesenia’s business to customers. Yesenia’s husband is in the army, so another way word spreads is through the wives of his coworkers.

I asked Yesenia what keeps her motivated to continue her Avon business, to which she responded that she loves she can work on her own time without a boss. She shares her story with new representatives and lets them know how easy it is for their schedule. She says, “Avon sells itself with not a lot of effort.” Yesenia  has about fifteen representatives under her and periodically meets with them one-on-one. She would like to host in-home parties, but hasn’t been able to yet.

It took Yesenia a while to make money selling Avon. At first, she started selling only to friends and family. After three months of selling Avon, she became a unit leader, which is when she started seeing more income come in. Any income Yesenia earns always goes towards her kids’ schools, their supplies, etc.

Yesenia’s story is different from our last featured Avon representative, Sylvia Tamayo, but that is the beauty of being an Avon representative and selling Avon products. You can make your Avon business be whatever you want it to be. In fact, I’d say that’s the top benefit of any home-based business and being your own boss! Don’t you think?

Disclosure: I am being compensated for my work with Avon.