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Jane Angelich is a business coach, focusing on women-owned businesses, an entrepreneur, a writer and a speaker on the topics of lifestyle and family issues. She is the author of What’s a Mother (in-Law) To Do?  5 Essential Steps to Building a Loving Relationship with Your Son’s New Wife, her second book. To learn more about her book, visit her website at, inlawexpert.com.

Hello Jane, to start, please tell us about the latest project you've worked on. 

What's a Mother (in-Law) to Do?: 5 Essential Steps to Building a Loving Relationship with Your Son's New Wife, was released by Simon & Schuster in June and went into its second printing after two weeks, which reinforces the interest in this relationship dilemma.

Here’s how it all began…

When my son got engaged, I was offered the usual "congratulations" followed by "enjoy it now, because you will soon be the 'monster-in-law'." So, I decided to write a book to avoid that title and teamed up with WeddingChannel.com (The Knot) to find out what women who had successfully mastered the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law duo had in common.  Boy, did I learn a lot!

This book actually has huge broad appeal because in-law relationships are so enduringly complex, made only more so by a bad economy. Clearly, the front and center issue is about the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship…but, just as an example, it is also about how to survive those summer vacation trips that involve visits with the in-laws.  Tell me you haven’t heard people say…oh, dear, gotta go see Bill’s parents this summer and they are always so, x, y, or z.

There is the huge issue of the economy and the in-laws moving in or the kids moving back in with the parents because of a lost job, or the mother-in-law helping out financially by taking on some of the childcare needs or, how to deal with very close in-laws if the economy has forced a job change and a move.  For those who are struggling, it can tear a marriage apart as the son feels an allegiance to Mom and the daughter-in-law is feeling unfairly chosen against.

Being able to establish better in-law relationships is critical to weathering this economic storm.  My book targets this new reality and is a valuable tool in the fight to create harmony where it doesn't currently exist. 

Another aspect of the book, and one that Reader’s Digest grabbed onto in their interview with me, is the healthy lifestyle benefits of reading my book.  If you want to stay healthy, it's pretty much a given that you need to keep stress out of your life.  Maintaining great family relationships helps to do just that.  My book's focus is on how successful mother-in-law/daughter-in-law duos make it work and how the man in the middle, the son/husband, gets enormous benefits out of finding balance in this often teeter-totter family dynamic.

Do you also do speaking engagements, or seminars?

For over 25 years, I have been a business coach, focusing on women-owned businesses, an entrepreneur, a writer and a speaker on the topics of lifestyle and family issues. As one of CNBC’s recognized experts on work-life balance issues, I have appeared on numerous national television and radio programs. I am a contributor to the Wall Street Journal column on “Work and Life” and have written for national trade and general audience magazines.

After leaving the corporate world at the age of 39, I went on to found, grow and sell several companies and my entrepreneurial successes won numerous “best of” awards. In conjunction with Working Mother magazine, I created the WorkLife University and spoke to corporate executives throughout the United States promoting balance in the lives of working women.

I have been a keynote speaker and expert panelist at events promoting family issues. I have worked extensively developing and leading conferences on how women can successfully balance both a family and a busy work life.

What kind of other works (books, scripts, poems etc.) have you had published? 

I am the author of Picking the Perfect Nanny, which was published by Simon & Schuster in 1986.  I write about events going on in my life and at that time, my sons were young and I needed help balancing a family with my career.

Is there any aspect to your profession that gets you in touch with your readers directly?

Because I am a speaker and I pitch a lot of media sources for my clients, and myself I get to talk about my book and meet some of my readers.  I am also the In-Law Relationship writer for Examiner.com, so I am in touch with my readers three times a week.

What will your next project be?

I just became a grandmother in May, so the next thing I need to know more about is how to handle this new role to the best of my ability.  I feel What’s a Grandmother to Do? getting ready to come to the surface!

Who inspires you on a personal or business level?

My dad inspires me on a business level and my husband inspires me on a personal one.  Let me explain.  My father is an entrepreneur who “made it work” without a college education.  He has a great work ethic, common sense and the understanding of how to run a company, profitably, while treating his employees like he treats his family.  During his working years, his employee turnover was almost non-existent. 

My husband is the guy that everybody loves to know, especially me.  Growing up as an only child, he learned to develop friendships that he has maintained and because of that, I have had the good fortune of being surrounded by many wonderful people.

What type of work is the most rewarding or satisfying for you?

Problem solving work is the most rewarding and satisfying to me.  That is why I have been a business coach for 28 years.  I work with business owners to help them start, grow or sell a business.

How did you get started as a writer?

In my corporate life, I was the one who rewrote a lot of other peoples’ work because it did not deliver the message in a clear and concise manner.  From there, I began writing articles for trade magazines as a hobby if I had something to share with others.

My need to figure out the “how-to” for something in my own life generally is the starting point for the book in me.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

I write in the morning, from about 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.  I find that I am not a “people-person” until I have had a couple of cups of coffee, so I do not schedule my business appointments until after 10:00 a.m.  I enjoy the peace and quiet of the early morning hours and the phones do not start ringing which will pull me back into the other parts of my life.

My business life generally ends about 6:00 p.m., and if my husband is at the firehouse, I have been known to write into the early hours of the morning…but don’t tell him!

Have you ever had a mentor, or someone who sparked your passion for writing?

I have never had a mentor.  I have been a mentor to other writers for many years. 

Finally, a most important question: what was the last song you sang out loud when you were by yourself?  :)

George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone.”  I can’t help it… it’s my iPhone ringtone.

Thank you Jane! We wish you great success with What's Mother (in-law) to Do and are looking forward to What’s a Grandmother to Do!