Regardless of how much you like your career and working or how much you want to stay home, most women struggle with their decision. After you do make the decision to work – despite your confidence level – you face every mom’s guilt that stems from the conversations in your own head and from what others say around you.

Do you have a BIG idea – one that will transform your career, your company’s business model, streamline processes, save significant time and money, land you a brand new role or help you branch off and build your own successful enterprise?  Have you put a plan of action in place or are you stalling, plagued by doubt, continuing to play small?

I love our Best Solutions Issue and want to wrap it up with five solutions for the most common problems I hear from working moms around the country.

When returning to work - after a few years at home - some employers (unfortunately) cringe at the thought of hiring someone who has been out of the workforce.  If you apply for a job and hear "well, you have been out of the game for awhile", you might cringe yourself.  

Ouch.

How do you handle this?

First, take a few steps back.  Before applying, get ready.  You want to be able to effectively and efficiently address this question.

Preparation and Goal Setting

Last month I celebrated my birthday with my usual long run, during which I expected to pass by some farm animals.  I always manage to either live or work in a town within running distance of farm animals, horses, cows, bison, perhaps some quail.  Luckily, my school is near a large body of water, which to us water sign babies is always a renewing sight. During the second mile, as I closed in upon the banks of the Salmon River, five deer crossed my path, unmolested by truck or tractor.

As a professional, when I got pregnant I realized for the first time that this playing field we call life isn't equal after all. It was a nasty lesson to learn - especially when all I wanted to do was be psyched about being a new mom. Instead I found myself having to combat the perception that I would be less committed to my career and my clients and in fact lots of folks wondered if I'd throw in the towel altogether and stay home after the baby was born. Weird, huh?

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  So is being powerful (or powerless).  When it comes to building your business or your corporate career, you can be a powerful business woman regardless of your position by your actions.  Here are 9 ways how: 

What could you do with two to two-and-a-half hours each day?

Probably, a lot.  That’s how much time the average person loses to interruptions and distractions.  If you get distracted easily, things like unplanned telephone calls, responding to the ding of emails, answering text messages, drop-by-visitors, hallway interactions, emergencies and crises can quickly derail your entire plan for the day.

On my thirty-seventh birthday, I celebrate with my usual long run, during which I will undoubtedly pass by some farm animals.  I always manage to either live or work in a town within running distance of farm animals, horses, cows, bison, perhaps some quail.  Luckily, my school is near a large body of water, which to us water sign babies is always a renewing sight. During the second mile, as I close in upon the banks of the Salmon River, five deer cross my path, unmolested by truck or tractor.

I recently caught up with a few friends who expressed some dissatisfaction with the current state of their life without a clear sense of why they felt it.  I asked them questions about how they viewed their current professional role, the state of their personal life, what they did for fun, and what gave them a sense of purpose.  I always want to provide helpful advice.  Well if I am perfectly honest, what I really want to do is fix it for them.  But I have come to understand that isn’t often possible or even wanted.