Announcements and Opportunities

NafeCafé. Now - social networking with a purpose! We’re proud to announce the launch of NafeCafé, a secure online community for our members. With NafeCafé, you can connect, share information and support each other, create teams and committees inside and outside your regional networks.  Post your profile and stay connected! It’s a great tool for positive networking.

Enter the NafeCafé through nafe.com through the left side navigation panel. To view any members-only benefits, including NafeCafé, you will have to register.  Once in, click on NafeCafé and follow the instructions.

If you were listed in the 2007 NAFE Directory, we’ve already enrolled you in NafeCafé.  Just log in and find your name alphabetically. Create your profile, then explore the possibilities. Be sure to include your network affiliation, if you have one.  We look forward to connecting!

NAFE and CareCircle. A CareCircle program is an innovative online service that uses an easy-to-customize private website to provide emotional and practical support to help a friend or loved one going through cancer treatments, share caregiving for elders, help a friend with a new baby, and many other situations.

CareCircle programs can provide an efficient way to communicate and an easy way to organize offers of help from family and friends (e.g. meal deliveries, rides to doctor, transportation for children to school, etc). You can use a program to help a loved one, or your friends or family members can use a CareCircle program to help you. NAFE members receive a special 50% member discount. For more information, or to sign up for a program, click here.

THE POWER OF SMALL. In today’s world, we’re faced with overwhelming challenges — professionally and personally.  We often feel stuck and don’t even know where to start. But we can all tap into the unbelievable power we have within to “get going” and make a huge difference in our lives and the lives of others. How? By starting SMALL. In THE POWER OF SMALL (the follow-up to their bestselling book, THE POWER OF NICE), co-authors Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval show you how to harness the power of small to improve and transform your life and navigate through uncertain times.

NAFE Discount on Whirlpool Products. Through a special arrangement with Whirlpool, NAFE members can reap big savings on Whirlpool appliances, accessories and other items. You and your family can purchase up to 12 products a year under the VIPLINK program. Sign up for the discount program – just click on the Whirlpool banner at the top of nafe.com.

Want to promote your business? For NAFE members – for a limited time only – an ad in one issue of NAFE News & Notes will cost you just $75.00. (Regular rate is $150.00.) Ad dimensions are 120 x 120 pixels. Contact newsletter editor Paula Damiano to place your ad. Larger display ads and website banners are also available – ask for prices.

Opera singer Cristina Fontanelli performed at New York City’s Columbus Day Parade on October 12th in a televised appearance, celebrating her Italian heritage and her native New Yorker roots.

5 Tips
…For Success from a 6-Figure Work-At-Home Mom
By Ann K. Levine

Ann K. Levine, Esq., is a work-at-home mom, law school admission consultant and owner of Law School Expert. More than 100,000 law school applicants and pre-law students depend upon her advice through her blog. She is the author of the new book, The Law School Admission Game: Play Like An Expert.

My office is 10’ by 10’. My desk is covered with bills, knitting needles, photos waiting for albums, chocolate covered espresso beans, a hello kitty pencil, and magazines I haven’t had a chance to read.

My daughters slip checkers under the door as I work. They knock – persistently - to inquire as to whether they can have string cheese. Occasionally, they do this while I’m on the phone with a client. Yet, I run a million dollar business under these conditions, and I am my sole employee. How do I do it?

I have six secrets to managing everything that comes with being a WAHM (Work at Home Mom). Whether you have a paying job or the full time job of running your household, these tips will help you manage your life in a way that allows you to enjoy what you do.

1. Delegate. Figure out what needs to be done by you and what can be done reasonably well by someone else. I want to be the person who takes my kids to school and sees my kindergartener line up when the bell rings. I do not need spend six hours making cookies for the PTA bake sale just to raise $25 for the school. My time is better spent working so I can earn the $25 and donate it to the school.

2. Use the stopper. Do you feel like time runs out of your day like water down the bath drain? Find the leak and stop it. I used to complain I had no time to get to the gym, but I knew I was spending an hour and a half each day on Facebook and Twitter and probably another thirty minutes browsing for things I couldn’t afford (or just flat out would never buy) online. I cut myself off of these activities for a week, and found I could return and just spend 20 minutes a day on my online activities. Facebook and Twitter is work related for me, so I can justify that investment. With the “extra” time, I actually make it to Pilates class twice a week.

3. Block Your Time. Designate time for priority activities by blocking it out on your calendar. I want one afternoon a week to spend with my girls when I do not have to work. I work only a half-day on Fridays to take my daughters out for frozen yogurt, to the library, or to the park. Friday afternoons are light work days and usually unproductive due to exhaustion. I’m in need of a break and so are my kids. I don’t schedule anything on Friday nights because that’s family time to have a quiet evening at home. Nothing goes on my calendar on Friday after lunch.

4. The Rule of One. I only let my daughters do one extracurricular activity. Not per day – per semester. Twice a year, each child gets to pick whether she wants to do ballet or soccer or art or swimming. Therefore, I’m not running around town with my head cut off on a daily basis. I stick to the same rule myself. I sit on only one non-profit board; I belong to only one book club at a time. I keep errands located downtown on the same day (lunch meeting, nail appointment, store return, tailor) so I am only running errands one time per week rather than taking an hour out of my day every day. That way, I can still be productive for 5-6 hours that day, rather than have any particular day end up a complete waste.

5. Invest in Others. Rather than just say hello to the other moms at drop-off and go about your day, make an effort to get to know one new person each week. Pick the person who always smiles at you, whom you always say hello to but aren’t quite sure what her name is or which child is hers. Really ask her about herself and take ten minutes to learn her story. She might be the person who ends up inspiring you most.

For a complete list of events, see our online Calendar!

Seattle, WA
October 24, 2009
Attend an all-day conference for self-employed women and women in small businesses, featuring three keynote speakers and twelve breakout sessions taught by experts. The event is presented by Money Wise Women Educational Services. Learn more here.

New York, NY
October 27-29, 2009
Working Mother magazine will once again honor the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers. The list – and the annual Working Mother WorkLife Congress– promote best practices and family friendly policies as healthy concepts for business bottom lines. Plan to attend!

New York, NY
December 4, 2009
Join us to honor NAFE’s Women of Excellence at an awards breakfast, hosted by the Women’s Network of The New York Times Company and sponsored by IBM and WellPoint. Click here for further information and a link to the registration page. See you there!


• Go to nafe.com to view our ever-expanding Calendar of Events for opportunities around the country. The new Search function makes the Calendar even more useful and accessible.
• Use the Event Submission Form online to let us know about events in your area. Events submitted for the website will also be considered for the NAFE News & Notes– twice the exposure for one listing!

Check the NAFE Calendar of Events for network meetings, workshops and other happenings around the country.

WORDS TO WORK BY

“You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can decide how you're going to live now.”

-Joan Baez