"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.  The second best time is

NOW
                                                    Chinese Proverb

Empty Nester?  Now What?

Congratulations! Your kids are finally up and out of the house – either off to college or working full-time and supporting themselves. So, what do you do now? It can be tough to fill the void if your life has been primarily focused on your children. Instead of feeling like an empty nester, think of this as a new and exciting chapter in your life!

I remember when my son went off to college. My husband and I celebrated our newfound freedom to travel and do what we wanted, when we wanted. And thankfully the transition from working mother to empty nester was somewhat smooth because I had built my business while my son was still at home. I had found my calling and was following it.

At the same time, I watched some of my friends struggle. They were stay-at-home moms whose primary responsibility was raising their children. They did not want to or did not have to work. They spent their time volunteering for PTA, driving their kids to sports, etc. Their lives revolved around their kids and when their last child was out of the house, they felt a little lost and empty. They didn’t feel needed and didn’t have the confidence to launch themselves back into the career they left when their children were young.

Quote: "My kids know more about the computer then I do."

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that one!  I have had numerous students who were stay at home parents until their kids were ready to leave the nest and that is great; however it didn't leave them a lot of time to prepare for what they would do afterward.  Why?  Mostly because the computer age passed them by and now they feel challenged when trying to acomplish even some basic computer tasks.

Quote: "I am too old to learn this stuff."

I'm still wishing for those nickels!  I sincerely do not believe that just because a person is over 40 or 50 that in general people cannot learn or remember as well as when they were younger.  I think that once you get to be that age you just feel more comfortable taking a few extra morsels of time to assimilatie new information and not just jumping in and cracking that whip like kids sometimes do.  By the time you get to be my age (55) you realize that there is something to be said for an entire lifes experience learning new things.  We have learned not to just jump in guns blazing.  I have found that when you try to do things too fast you often miss important information along the way.  After all, it is our lifes experience that makes us "experienced professional students."

Microsoft Office Boot Camp - I Developed it for You

About ten years ago I grew concerned with how many of my potential students were either looking for a new job/career or just simply trying to get a better one.  So many of them did not have time to take long drawn out weeks of learning Microsoft Office so I decided to create the beginner level Microsoft Office Boot Camp.  3-full days that include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.  This is not a real fast paced course and you do get the basics of each program to give you a good foundation.  All of your courseware is included along with 5 certificates of completion so you can show them off to potential employers.  This is a great kickstart to any career.  Learn more.