Today is the last day of school for my kids before they start Christmas Vacation ~ so that means it’s also my last day of work for a few weeks too!  Yay!  I love the Holidays and my favorite part about them is the quality time I get to spend with my 4 children.

This time of year always makes me appreciate what it means to be able to be a work at home mom and to own my own business.  With all of the Holiday events at my children’s  school like Christmas shows, holiday parties, dance recitals, and so on ~ sometimes it makes me wonder how most working women do it all.  But then I realize how blessed I really am because I notice how a lot of the parents aren’t able to be there for all of theses awesome once in a lifetime moments because they are stuck at their job and only get so many sick and holiday days off.

So that is what gave me my inspiration for today’s post (because to be honest with you my brain was already on holiday mode and I was having a little trouble deciding what to write today) I want to share with you the top 2 things I learned and implemented this year that helped me get to this point in my business.  My hope is that these resources will be helpful to you for achieving the success you desire in 2011!

2 Top Tips

#1) Find a good Business Mentor or Coach ~ This year was the first year that I worked with a business coach on a regular basis and let me tell you — it made all of the difference in the world!  Having someone to bounce ideas off of, ask questions to, and continually have as a resource to go to anytime you need it can be life changing when it comes to building a business with internet marketing.  There is so much to learn and so many ways to learn it that the best thing to do is pick one person that you trust and knows what they are talking about and learn from them–not the other 40 gurus that are throwing things at you daily but one reliable knowledgeable mentor.  There is always more to learn at any level of success you have reached and having someone that is at a higher level of success than you giving you guidance can make your journey quicker and more successful.  Everyone has different needs and wants in a mentor depending on where you are in your business so it is important to research and find one that will work well for you.  My Mentor and Business Coach is Bob The Teacher ~ check out what he has to offer to see if you think he will be someone you would want to learn from–I highly recommend him from the bottom of my heart.

#2) Outsource, Outsource, Outsource!!! This one thing that I implemented in my business this year changed me from a stressed out, over worked, making mediocre income entrepreneur to a successful, relaxed, well managed business owner.  There are so many different tasks that need to be done to make a successful internet marketing business thrive that it is ultimately impossible to do it all and do it all well without becoming a crazed unhappy miserable person that your family will not want to be around.  I hate to sound so dramatic but that is what I had become by the end of last year from work overload and just complete exhaustion until…. I realized that I was going about it all wrong.  I needed help and once I got it well things grew by leaps and bounds.  Don’t make the mistake that I did thinking that I didn’t have the extra money to outsource and that I would make more money doing it all myself.  You will be so pleasantly surprised with the results that you will wonder why you waited so long.  Now you do need to be particular with what tasks you outsource because remember the business is still yours and you still need to be at the core of it but there are so many things that are easily outsourced that will give you time and money that you really need to explore the options.  If you are new to Outsourcing then I recommend this course by Nicole Dean Outsource Weekly, this will give you all the knowledge you need to get started with outsourcing and have great success with it.  At this point in my business I don’t know how I would survive without my Virtual Assistant ~ she makes my life so much easier and actually allows me to have time to enjoy my life!

So there you have it my top 2 recommendations for you to explore in the new year!  I hope you have a blessed Holiday!  My family and I are going to take a trip over our holiday vacation down to Florida so I will try to share some pictures with you on Twitter and Facebook when I get a chance!

Merry Christmas and Happy new Year and I will be back to blogging in the new year!

To Your Success!

Kate Wilber

PS Disclaimer:  The link in this blog post is an affiliate link and if you decide to purchase from it I will make a small commission.  Thanks!  Just remember I only recommend products that I use myself and feel would be beneficial to you and your business!