Name: Donna Memmo
Title: Owner/Operator
Business: Spill the Beans – Organic Coffee and Chat House
Location: Alexandria, VA

Type of Business: (B2B, B2C, B2G): B2C
Industry: Food Service
Product/Service: Coffee/Bagels/Pastries/Lunch/Dinner
Years in Business: 1

Ideal Customers/Best Referrals: Everyone!

Personally speaking

Home life:
My husband (and support system) Mario (above), my daughter, and two little boys and I live in Hollin Hall, a cozy neighborhood in the Mt. Vernon area of Alexandria.  We happened to find a property less than two miles from home, and are fortunate to work with and for her neighbors, friends, even her kids’ teachers and coaches!

Childcare situation:
My children are all school-aged, which was a requirement before we could embark on this adventure. My boys attend Ft. Hunt Elementary, which happens to be literally down the street from Spill the Beans!

Motivation for starting your business(es):
In this era of coffee house play dates, I saw a need for proper accommodations. Toys for the tots to play with enables mom an entire conversation or email written without interruption! I also saw a need for delicious foods without sacrificing quality or wholeness.

Greatest challenge you faced in starting your business?
Time is truly the greatest challenge. I love dealing with the public and pouring lattes for my
patrons, but am constantly trying to strike the balance between that and the management side of my work.

How you overcame it:
Still trying! I have been blessed with a super team, and they are all supportive when I need to “hide” in the office to churn out
a newsletter, plan an event or catch up on email!

Greatest benefit of running your own business:
Being with my kids almost as much as if I did not work….It’s also brought out a bond with my husband that was unexpected. We’ve joked for years that we never, ever agree on anything, but having the exact same goals for this business has finally put us on the same page!

Greatest success you had in the past month (personal or biz) and how you
celebrated it:
Spill the Beans celebrated its One Year Anniversary this past Halloween! We had an all day celebration complete with entertainment … fun!

On your nightstand:
A notepad for when the wheels in my brain will not stop turning late at night. Three or four books which I have been trying to read since opening Spill the Beans … to no avail!

The one tool, resource, or toy you just can’t do without:
Blackberry and Google Calendar. I utilize the google calendar because I can manage all my calendars at once: sports, school events, Spill the Beans events, family appointments, etc.

Last purchase for self:
I honestly do not remember. Guess I should schedule a shopping day!

Favorite way to unwind:
Glass of wine with my husband.

Best thing about being an Enterprising Mom:
The support system! I love women helping women! This is what it’s all about!

Connect and learn more: Web Site |  Blog | Facebook

Contact: Spill the Beans, Organic Coffee & Chat House  |  703-780-3561

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Join us for The Enterprising Moms’ first Holiday Biz-aar on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 hosted by Spill the Beans Organic Coffee and Chat House – owned and operated by fellow Enterprising Mom, Donna Memmo.

The event is two-fold opening with a networking and shopping event for mom-business owners from 6-7 pm followed by a public holiday shopping event from 7-9 pm.

All will enjoy light appetizers and a cash bar while indulging in fun and convenient one-stop shopping, just in time for the holidays!

The purpose of this community-focused Holiday Biz-aar is to:

1. Encourage the patronage of local small businesses
2. Invest in and give a boost to the local economy
3. Provide an opportunity for mom-business owners to build relationships while building businesses.

The Biz-aar will feature local entrepreneurial moms selling many unique and eco-friendly products lines, including:

Patrons will also be able to book sessions with a professional portrait photographer and a wine consultant.

When:
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
6 – 7 pm    The Enterprising Moms Networking and Shopping Hour (Enterprising Moms: Registration Required)
7 – 9 pm    Public Holiday Shopping Event

Where:
Spill the Beans Organic Coffee and Chat House
Fort Hunt Centre, 1900 Elkin Street, Alexandria, VA 22308

Spill the Beans, a locally owned coffee house with a loyal following,  embraces moms and tots and general community, offering free wireless access, some organic and healthy lunch and dinner options, loose leaf teas and beer & wine. Spill is also a frequent host of parties and community events. If you haven’t been, you simply must – and let Donna know when sent you!

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Fairfax County business-owner moms shared a morning full of great ideas for fostering the growth of a community of The Enterprising Moms in the area during our Meet & Greet last week. We did lots of brainstorming and sketched out a path for moving forward that will foster a sense of community and provide opportunities to share, learn and grow. Planning is now underway. If you’d like to stay in the loop as things develop, please get in touch.

And, save the date for our next gathering on Thursday, November 19th. Details and registration at The Enterprising Moms.

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Want to connect with other self-employed, business-owner and entrepreneurial moms in Fairfax County and surrounding areas? Then join us for this newly forming monthly gathering as we lay the groundwork for a future area chapter of The Enterprising Moms.

Business savvy moms from Fairfax, Loudon and Prince William counties and nearby areas are invited to come out and meet moms who are traveling similar paths. Connect and collaborate, share insights and strategies, and participate in the evolution of this growing community of business-owner moms. This ongoing monthly gathering will evolve into a more structured meeting format and setting with featured speakers and presenters (from both within The Enterprising Moms community and beyond) on timely topics of importance to Enterprising Moms.

So, if you’re in the area, plan to join us, and bring a friend or two. And, spread the word!

While the event is free, registration is required. Get details and register.

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During our first session, Terry asked lots of questions about what was working and what wasn’t. We discussed what support systems I currently have in place and how I would like things to work. During the course of our discussion, we uncovered some of my sticking points and what made them sticky for me.

A few of the key points that really shifted my thinking …

• I’m a highly visual person. If a thing is not in my line of vision, it’s likely to fall off my radar. What I learned is that my visual cues (polite term for ‘overflowing step file holders’) are overstimulating and overwhelming; and that there are more visually appealing and less stress-inducing ways of keeping track of active projects. Music to my ears!
• Many of the systems I have in place are well thought can work well for me, once I work out all of the kinks. For instance, I have numerous email accounts to help me keep track of different types of email (bills, personal, shopping, business, admin, networking, etc.). While some people use filters, I chose different accounts. My system for separating email works, but the way I process my email doesn’t. I’m working with Terry to implement a system to process my in-box and keep it empty.
• Most of the projects I’m working on require large chunks of time, something I rarely have. Terry helped me to shift how I think about my projects and my progress on them. By breaking projects up into smaller tasks, scheduling blocks of time for tasks (even as little as 15 minutes) and using a timer to keep me on task, I can make steady progress and achieve a sense of accomplishment while working towards completion.
• I don’t have to start from scratch. Terry explores how I work, what works well, and then works with me to put structures in place that support the way I work. So, it’s not about implementing a canned system, but building a system that works with my work flow.

These may seem like obvious things, and on some level they are. But discussed with a productivity expert in the larger context of prioritizing what’s most important to me and maximizing my time, it’s quite powerful. By making just a few small changes in the way I work over the past few days, I’ve already seen an impact and my motivation is quite high!

Next, we’ll work on my time. Stay tuned…

In the meantime, what’s most effective for you in managing your email, your schedule, your paper? How do you manage it all?

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Last week on The Enterprising Moms web site, we featured a poll that asked ‘What type of childcare arrangement do you have?’ to get a sense of how moms are managing.

According to our unscientific poll based on the responses of visitors to our site, here is what we learned:

More than 60% of respondents use either part-time or full-time care. More than 12% have school-aged children and presumably work during school hours. And more than 27% of moms use an occasional babysitter or handle all of the child care on their own.

Of course there are lots of variables that the poll doesn’t address (number of children, type of business, etc.) because of the inherent limitations of the polling tool, but we still get a glimpse into how others are making it work:

• Part-Time Care: 37.5%
• Full-Time Care: 22.9%
• Kids in School (K-12): 12.5%
• No Child Care – All Me: 12.5%
• Occasional Babysitter – Paid: 10.4%
• Occasional Babysitter – Co-op: 4.2%
• Kids Beyond Childcare Age: 0%

What’s your story? How do you make it work?

::  © The Enterprising Moms ::

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In an effort to get ahead of the game, last year I read and implemented some of David Allen’s principles from Getting Things Done, which has a cult-like following in productivity circles. While I gained valuable tips and tools for getting some things done, because I’m time challenged, like most Enterprising Moms, I haven’t found the best way to integrate some of the more critical pieces of the puzzle.

Enter Terry Monaghan, of Organizing For Your Life. I first heard about Terry when she was recommended on The Enterprising Moms‘ discussion list as a person who helps “working women increase their productivity and therefore their income by managing their time and cutting out the clutter and nonsense that bogs us down each day.” When I read about her, I thought she sounded like someone I need to meet. At the same time, planning was underway for a series of Enterprising Events and we decided to take a fresh approach to the typical business seminar/presentation — we decided provide a before and after portrait as applied in a real-life situation — a makeover.

So, I got in touch with Terry and we’ve arranged to do a makeover on yours truly! I’m absolutely thrilled at the opportunity to work with a productivity guru who’s worked with corporate executives at Fortune 100 companies and solopreneurs, many of them business-owner moms, to help them ‘get more done in less time.’

Our first session is tomorrow. Stay tuned updates as this process gets under way.

::  © The Enterprising Moms  ::

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