Then he does it. Actually, he leaves religious groups alone. His message to WAHMs is simple: it’s bad business to market yourself as a WAHM unless your prospective clients are other WAHMs. According to Stratten, the WAHM label may carry with it a negative connotation. At best, it is irrelevant to whether you can do the job for your prospective clients.

I suspect his intention with the post is to raise the ire (and gain the notice) of those who proudly embrace the moniker. And just so I’m not a total cynic, I’ll allow that he may truly want to do some good by warning mothers away from using a term that will diminish their marketing efforts.

Choose your words wisely and with intent. If your prospects value the WAHM title, use it. If they don’t, don’t. On the other hand, I don’t advocate trying to hide it. If you set up your website so that you appear to be a large agency in a high-rise office building, the first scream of “Mommy, I pooped!” while you’re on the phone with a client is going to give you away. And if I was the client, I would immediately feel uncertain about your honesty.

That doesn’t mean, however, that you have to advertise your WAHM status with cute buttons and links to coupon sites. In that, I completely agree with Stratten. A link to your “mommy blog” might be perfectly appropriate; it depends–as does everything else in your promotional materials–on whether it’s relevant to your market.

But take note: When huge companies like Wal-Mart and Frito-Lay enlist the services of moms because they are moms, it doesn’t do to dismiss out-of-hand the possible added value of your WAHM status.

Although he calls it the Freelance National Anthem, I think this speaks to freelancers around the world, nation non-exclusive.

For the record, I work in my pajamas.

Alternate link: Freelancers National Anthem, by Bill Dyszel

Monday – Chili (Leftover from the weekend. It will be even better today.)

Tuesday – Fruit to nuts (Fruit salad with a generous helping of raw nuts, raisins, etc.)

Wednesday – Breakfast for supper (Eggs and pancakes, leftover fruit salad.)

Thursday – The chicken salad from last week. (I didn’t make it last Thursday because we had leftover pork carnitas. Mmm.)

Friday – Pizza

Saturday – Hamburgers w/lettuce and a side veggie (Maybe fried okra instead of fries? Will the family mutiny?)

Sunday – I don’t know and don’t know if I care right now! One blogger who does meal plan Monday calls it “foraging.” We won’t exactly forage, because we sit down to eat meals together, but we’ll come up with something.

There you have it. Could it be any more basic? I make up for the pitiful lack of veggies in some meals by making my family eat fruits and raw veggies for snacks and sneaking a few healthy ingredients into otherwise-lacking meals. And onions are a vegetable, aren’t they?)

Just to be clear, I’m not a newbie to meal-planning. I used to plan meals every week, and I was very specific. (I even used SOFTWARE, for goodness sake.) I consulted the grocery store ads, looked through my stash of coupons, scoured cookbooks and the Internet for recipes. But I wasn’t working from home at the time. I was a full-time homemaker and I considered it my job. Even then, it wasn’t necessarily my forte, and it took a lot of energy to keep doing week after week, year after year. Eventually I just got so exhausted with the entire process that I just quit. But now I think a simple plan is better and easier than no plan at all.

http://tinyurl.com/5syf9k

While I was searching the Whole Foods website yesterday to see if they carried a product I need (still don’t know – will have to call them), I came across their Product Recalls section.

Way back in May (I know – I’m so UP on current affairs) the FDA issued a warning about a “natural” nipple cream for nursing mothers. They discovered that the cream contained harmful ingredients that could potentially cause infants to have respiratory and/or digestive problems. No incidences had been reported, thank God, but still …

Would you have wanted to be the mompreneur who formulated that product? That’s right – it wasn’t a big company like Clorox or Proctor and Gamble who made the dangerous cream. The company has “mom” right in the name and is owned by a woman. (I’m not naming names because a) the product is no longer available, b) this whole thing happened months ago so I don’t feel the need to “get the word out” about it, and c)because, well, there’s more potential controversy in the whole issue than I’m up for at the moment.)

The point is, I know a LOT of us work-at-home moms and mompreneurs are involved in businesses that capitalize the hottest thing going right now: the “green” craze. While I personally believe that some long-term beneficial changes will result from this current interest in organic and eco-friendly movement, I’m also concerned about the potential for misinformation, and for unwary consumers buying up harmful products labelled “natural” or “organic” simply because they put their trust in us to be truthful. And we aretruthful, to the best of our knowledge and ability. But plenty of natural, organic, and eco-friendly substances can be harmful.

That’s why I’m equally concerned about the moms who make their living providing products and advice geared toward living more healthfully or naturally.

Don’t get me wrong. This mishap could have happened to anyone. In fact, that’s my whole point: Are YOU taking EVERY precaution to make sure you know exactly what you are advising or selling? Do you understand the difference between products that are “eco-friendly” and ones that are “safe” and “non-toxic” to humans and animals? There IS a difference, and it’s a big one.

This goes way beyond those emails that get circulated about 101 uses for vinegar. I would hope that most recipients exercise good judgment when those land in their inbox (I know – I’m idealistic), checking out the information before actually implementing any home remedies.

But when they go to the Web to check out that information, will they land on YOUR site? And if they do, will they get accurate information?

If you’ve done your job well as a marketer, your site will be top-notch – free from grammatical mistakes and misspellings, free from technical glitches, appearing in every way a company to be trusted. Your smiling face in the upper right hand corner will assure them that you are a good person with their best interests at heart. And I’m sure that you are. I’m sure of it.

I’m writing this post with the understanding that the majority of mompreneurs have only the best intentions. I think we’re a smart, savvy, caring and responsible bunch of businesspeople. I’m happy to be named among this group. That’s why this concerned me. None of us would want to do anything that would cause harm to come to someone or someone’s children. Let’s be at the top of our game and watchful about anything we suggest or offer for someone’s health or well-being. It’s imperative that we know what we’re talking about.

Again, this incident could have happened to anyone – and has, in fact, happened to large corporations with hundreds of degreed professionals keeping an eye out for trouble. We have, in many cases, only ourselves. It’s going to take more effort and resolve for us to be sure what we’re advocating is the right thing.

Hope this makes some kind of difference, and provides at least some food for thought, whether you’re a consumer of green products and advice or a purveyor of them.

TheWahmMagazine is an entirely digital magazine, “dedicated to validating, empowering, encouraging, educating and supporting work-at-home parents.” (And it’s eco-friendly too.)

That’s a lot for one magazine to live up to, especially when the editor/publisher is a WAHM herself with a toddler at home and a husband campaigning for a state office. But then, who better to do it?

I for one am enthusiastic about TheWahmMagazine. Working from home is a growing trend, but seems to be strangely unaccounted for in mainstream news and media. They focus on the “Mommy Track” and the “On Ramp,” as if staying home is merely a pleasant detour, a scenic overlook on the career path. But that will change. 

In fact, it has already started changing. TV and print magazines are currently in love with “mommy bloggers.” Those are women with blogs about, well, everything — from living changerously to the not-so-empty nest to freedom of speech and campaign controversies. (And they don’t just write, either. BlogHer interviewed Barack Obama for a video post. It’s a whole multi-media world out there. I keep hearing about how newspapers are still trying to grasp “new media.” Hmm. Maybe they should hire some moms to help them out.)

And of course, there are work-at-home dads out there too, bucking the system by making a living between diaper-changes. The lifestyle might not be for everyone: it does take self-discipline, persistence, and an ability to see through walls (both so that you can see what the kids are doing in the next room and so that you don’t begin to believe you’re the last living adult on the planet). But working from home is more and more becoming a valid option for parents across the world.

Work-at-home parents are individualistic souls willingly beating a path where there isn’t one. They would do it with or without support from the mainstream media or corporatations. But a little support is always nice. We have days where we doubt our choices, our odds for success, our place in the professional realm. That’s why I like TheWahmMagazine. As it succeeds in its mission, we find it easier to succeed in ours.