As part of a corps of green business women/mompreneurs/conscious social enterprise changemakers (at least I like to think of myself that way!), I believe that most of what I am doing, I'm doing for my children.

I have two young ones and my focus from the very beginning of starting my own business was to have the freedom and flexibility to take care of them, yet still be able to pay for living expenses. When I had my first child, I realized that my husband and I had to "get serious" and start taking care of the real business of committed, focused parenting.

I left my 'regular' job in 2004 and have been self-employed since then, launching over 200 projects for clients and creating 7 startup projects for myself. While business has been up and down since then, I still have freedom and flexibility, and I  have time to pay attention to the children.

I think the way my children perceive me has been generally favorable. Their father and I are typically able to come to their school events, we participate in the parent-teachers association and school community council, and we volunteer for coaching positions and other mentoring positions. While we are stressed, I don't feel like we are super-stressed or overly "frazzled". We practice gratitude for our daily blessings. We eat dinner together. We go out on weekends to the park, beach, and to get-togethers with other families. We take care of pets. The kids know that they have their own jobs to do, and that mom and dad have the job of working to support their needs and the other needs of the family.

High on my list of what to teach kids about money is the understanding that money is merely a different form of energy. I encourage them to realize that they sometimes have money, but they always have an ability to be of service, to have something to share, and to have something to offer to others.

As entrepreneurs and business owners, our task is to bring a new product or service to market, to build a lasting company, and to create a thriving marketplace; however, as regular people who are working each day, I believe my main job is to use my talents and skills wisely and to demonstrate to my children the daily routine of being as much of a productive and engaged, contributing/working citizen as I can be in my community, my state, my country, and my world.

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/theritters/511298198/sizes/m/in/photostream/