November is all about simplifying. Creating a complicated existence is so 2006 for me. I’ve adopted a new rule that I think every entrepreneur mom may want to consider adopting.

If you pick up one thing, drop another.

Our hands & lives can only hold so much. The quickest way to overload is trying to “do it all.”  Whatever business model you’re in is one you’ve created and if it doesn’t work, deconstruct and begin again.

I can hear you saying, “Easier said than done, Bunmi.” But what isn’t?

If you’re running a part-time or full-time venture, make a list of the tasks you do every week and decide which ones you’re willing to outsource.

Cooking dinner every night was something I thought I wanted to let go so we tried a meal service. Not only did I realize that I still needed to cook as my 3 year-old wouldn’t touch the fancy stuff my husband and I liked, I figured out that I actually love cooking and developed a Sunday meal prep system that makes dinner fun.

Cleaning on the other hand I have very little emotional attachment to. I found a great cleaning service in my city and supported another entrepreneur mom (the one that owns it) by using their services. They even fold laundry!

Tomorrow will be my first day with a personal assistant I’m looking forward to have help getting out Thank You cards that are far overdue, taking home management to a new level of systematization and just bringing more peace to my everyday life.

I’m a mom of two children, one of whom is on my person much of the day, who doesn’t want to do it all. Just the parts I choose.

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As I type in the dark of my bedroom, my two little girls sleep. Maya-Azriel is 3.4. Tali-Yves is 2 months. We’ve been in Montreal, by way of Orange County (and Orange County by way of the Bay Area), CA for about four months now and have been enjoying this adventure. New language, new culture, but somehow, the same people.

My kids are a Jewish, Nigerian, Russian and Native American blend of backgrounds and traditions. They have a rich kaleidoscope of culture and ancestors who will call to them throughout their lives. The phrase “my people” won’t mean the same thing it mean to their grandparents. My children are citizen’s of the world.

Technology and travel have made it possible for people’s of the world to bump up against each other and experience one another’s lives like never before in history. We can no longer pretend as if our loyalty lies with the country from which our passports are issued. We belong to each other and our children will feel and live that.

My husband and I have decided to raise our children with the consciousness that when they look into another person’s eyes, no matter their skin color, political affiliation, or country of origin, that they belong to each other. The illusion of separation is fading, the seductiveness of drama derived from the tired argument “We’re better..!” is waning and it makes me want to dance.

Our children don’t have to travel the world to know that all people are essentially the same but they will. I remember the first time this truth planted itself in my heart. It was 5:30 PM and I’d decided to take my eldest to our neighborhood park. There were about 5 other moms there with their children and all of us happened to be different ethnicities. As I listened and watched us all interact with our children, dealing with the same issues (“If you throw sand one more time…”), all hoping that our little one’s would be exhausted enough to not reject dinner and be asleep by 7, I realized that they were all me and I was them. Our grandparents all originated from different parts of the world, but here we were, gathered together.

Our children are blessed to be world citizens and I know that they’ll rise to the challenge of pledging allegiance to one another, to be indivisible, and to be committed to liberty and justice for all.

Thanks to a fab children’s clothing line, founded by creative entrepreneur women for inspiring this post!

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One of the things I love about the Internet is how transparent it makes brands. Like I said in my last post: if you’re awesome, your awesomeness shows, if you aren’t, well…

No one expects a company to be perfect. When an issue arises, consumers usually judge a company based on it’s track record and how forthcoming they are about the problem.

The Sigg debacle this year is a great example of this.

Unfortunately, consumers, especially mom consumers have a new company to add to the “Never Gonna Trust Them” list.

October 26-November 1st was Nestle free week but I’m going to make it a Nestle-free life. I’d heard snippets and rumors about some of the company’s dealings in developing nations but recently learned the whole, dirty truth.

As a member of the marketing community I understand and support any company who wants to bring their great products to as many moms as possible. What is disturbing about Nestle’s strategy is that its strategy has long included the aggressive marketing of infant formula in nations where being formula dependent will not only bankrupt a family but often leads to sick and dead infants.

I’m not anti-formula by any stretch of the imagination even though my eldest was exclusively breastfed and I plan to do the same with the 8 week-old currently sleeping next to me. I was actually more amused and annoyed that I was sent home from the hospital with a cheap plastic diaper bag full of formula samples. It was a bit shocking to me that a hospital would push formula on a woman who has just had a baby knowing full well that establishing one’s milk supply and learning a proper latch is crucial in those first few weeks.  Maybe I was just naive but I wasn’t up in arms because as an American woman I have access to unlimited information.

What I find outrageous is that Nestle would and is intentionally sabotaging breastfeeding by spreading anti-breastmilk propaganda in communities and hospitals where access to alternate information is sparse.  Despite protests from organizations such as Baby Milk Action, Nestle continues to disregard international marketing standards. Mothers in developing nations have been so indoctrinated by the systematic release of lies from the Nestle corporation that countless infants suffer and die from starvation because of the belief that formula is superior to breastmilk.  These families often dilute the formula because they can’t afford and don’t have access to safe drinking water. Nestle knows this and continues to work hard to increase their bottom line.

The issue is complex and simple at the same time. In areas of the world where breastmilk means the difference between life and death, we need to hold companies like Nestle to a higher standard while supporting organizations working hard to spread positive messages.

You’re asking me: “Bunmi, what can I do?”

Oh hi! It’s easy:

- If you blog, post about this topic

-Join the Milk Action Facebook Fan Page

-Please for the love of real chocolate don’t buy Nestle products during the boycott weeks. This one has passed so why not just boycott them forever? I know this means no Kit Kat bars as Nestle owns a million brands but really, there are better sweet treats. And if you’re too busy to check, skip the packaged processed crapola and buy local whole foods and grains. It’s healthier anyway!

-Learn more by visiting blogs like this one: http://boycottnestle.blogspot.com/

-Think before you buy. Yes, I know it’s hard. Most of us shop with at least one tired, hungry kid who is hanging out of a baby wrap or shopping cart, maybe even screaming and making us look bad and it’s so easy to just grab and buy. The companies who deserve our money and support are those who make the world a better place.

We don’t live on a street, or in a suburb, or in a city. We all live in the giant world community and the actions of one affect the whole. After I became a mother ever mother in a way became my sister and every child, my child. These kids suffering due to misinformation and corporate greed are all of our responsibility for both practical and moral reasons.

And because it’s always more productive to be *for* something than against, why can’t moms who need it make their own baby formula? Seriously? We’re not talking petrol here, it’s baby formula. There are no unicorn shavings in it, it’s not magical. There are moms out there who can’t produce milk- it’s  real issue. Rare, but a real issue all the same. Instead of depending on a shady corporation, why not just get all Laura Ingalls Wilder? Formula companies have put out a lot of fear around the idea of doing this but if I needed formula I’d do it in a second. She did.

We may be a bit sleep deprived as mothers but we’re certainly not unconscious. Why not be a stand for change and truth?

- Bunmi Zalob

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You can’t turn around without bumping into someone who has a strong opinion about how businesses should use social media these days. It’s impossible.

It’s almost 4 AM here and I just emailed a business owner mom I know asking, “Why don’t you have a business Twitter account?!” I was appalled and disturbed that she hadn’t registered her business name. After all, it was available and Twitter is, in my kind of humble opinion, one of the best, free ways to drive traffic to one’s website.

Social media is like a magnifying glass; if a company is awesome, it’ll showcase that awesomeness and reap positive results. On the other hand, whatever major blunders an organization experiences, or flaws they have within their model will also be amplified by the online social scene.

For the last two years I’ve social networked for large family brands and high profile media personalities & authors. For my writers and celebrities, social networking is going to probably increase in importance over the years. In the case of my large family brands, I think social media is going to have to be worked into a specific offline marketing solution: that is why I created the One Crazy Mother Newsletter List.

There are many moms who don’t spend a significant amount of time online. They’re in playgroups. These moms have the same buying power as online mom and haven’t been desensitized to social marketing in the same way blog readers have.

Marketing is an ever evolving industry that has come a long way since the traditional agency model that focused on print advertising as a tangible strategy (can you imagine??). Paying attention to online and offline trends makes all the difference.

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