Hey! Have your heard? There are RECESSION PROOF Home Businesses!

Check out these home biz entreprenuers who are making it during the worst thing since the big depression. It is truley awe inspiring!
 Recession Proof Home Biz

How to Become an Ebook Affiliate

Maybe you’re an avid reader. Maybe you’re a book enthusiast. Maybe you just see a way to make some money.

Whatever your reasons your looking for the answer to how to become an ebook affiliate. There are a few ways to become an ebook affiliate.

The fastest, easiest and cheapest way is to promote another persons ebook. Find an ebook that you love. Find one that speaks to you, one that you would recommend to your friends and buy your family members for Christmas. If you love it, it is easier to write real believable ad copy on it. It doesn’t seem much like selling when you believe in the product and its help. If you have found an ebook that you enjoy then someone is trying to sell it. Almost every market place on the net offers a affiliate program and ebooks are no exception.

Fill out the application form and place the html linking code on your website. Learn to promote your ebook affiliate links so that the commission you draw is higher. Each ebook affiliate program will pay a percentage of each sale, a per click fee or both to its affiliates.

You can also write your own ebook and promote it. Write on a subject that you know well. Have someone check it for typos and misspellings. There are lots of software packages that will guide you through the processes of writing an ebook. There is also the option of becoming an ebook affiliate for a bookseller or warehouse. The process is much the same as for a single ebook but may differ slightly in certain areas. Read all requirements carefully. Not following the rules completely may result in a delay or complete denial of payment.

It is not difficult to become an ebook affiliate. It takes only time, effort and patience. Before long you’ll have your own virtual bookstore and living your dream.

Congratulations, you’re an ebook affiliate!

Tuition Free College!

I found this article on Mental Floss. Its a wonderful blog with lots of great information.

During difficult economic times, the cost of higher education leaves many students wondering if they can afford to go to college. For those who want to avoid being saddled with huge loans, the U.S. government offers one of the best deals around: Enroll at one of the five service academies tuition-free and receive free room and board. (And you thought the Grand Slam promotion at Denny’s was cool.) But if military service isn’t for you, here are eight other schools that offer tuition-free educations:

1. College of the Ozarks

Several schools share the “Linebacker U” and “Quarterback U” monikers in reference to the NFL talent that their college football programs produce, but the only “Hard Work U” is located in Point Lookout, Missouri. In 1973, a Wall Street Journal reporter bestowed that title on the College of the Ozarks, where students pay no tuition and work at least 15 hours a week at a campus work station. Jobs are taken seriously at the school of 1,400; students are graded on their work performance in addition to their academics.

History: In 1906, Presbyterian missionary James Forsythe helped open the School of the Ozarks to provide a Christian high school education to children in the Ozarks region, which spans parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The school added a two-year junior college 50 years later and completed its transition to a four-year college program in 1965. The school was renamed College of the Ozarks in 1990 and has established itself as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the Midwest.

Notable: College of the Ozarks was No. 4 on the Princeton Review’s list of the top 10 Stone-Cold Sober schools in 2008.

Famous Alum: Actress and model April Scott, who played Daisy Duke in the straight-to-DVD prequel of Dukes of Hazzard – Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning. Scott has also appeared in Entourage, as a briefcase-toting model on Deal or No Deal, and on various magazine covers.

How to Spend the Money Saved on Tuition: Silver Dollar City, an amusement park in nearby Branson, Mo., harkens back to simpler times with its 1880s theme. In addition to thrills, roller coasters at the park offer scenic views of the Ozarks.

2. Deep Springs College

Deep 

Springs is a two-year, all-male liberal arts college located on a cattle ranch and alfalfa farm in the Inyo-White Mountains of California’s High Desert. To get an idea of just how isolated the school is, consider the explanation for its policy forbidding smoking in any of the school’s buildings or near hay bales: “We’re 45 minutes from the nearest emergency services, so a fire could be disastrous.” Every student admitted – 10 to 15 per year – receives free tuition, room, and board, and works at least 20 hours a week on the ranch. The manual labor ranges from washing dishes to milking cows. Most students complete their degrees at prestigious four-year schools after leaving Deep Springs.

History: Deep Springs was founded by Lucien Lucius Nunn, a pioneer in electrical engineering who helped design the Ontario Power Plant at Niagara Falls. While working for the Tellurid 

 Power Company, which provided power to gold mines, Nunn invited young men to work for him in exchange for an education. The work-study program became known as the Telluride Institute in 1905. Nunn was driven out of the company in 1912 by a powerful stockholder who believed Nunn’s unconventional means of attracting workers was detrimental to the business. Nunn decided to start a completely new educational endeavor at Deep Springs, which admitted its first class of 20 in 1917.

Notable: Academics, labor, and self-governance are the three pillars of the Deep Springs experience. Students have a say in what subjects to study, what professors to hire, and even what applicants to admit.

Famous Alum: William T. Vollmann, a novelist and journalist with a propensity for writing about dangerous firsthand experiences, including a trip into Afghanistan with the Mujahideen in 1982. Vollmann has written more than 20 books, including Europe Central, which won the 2005 National Book Award for Fiction.

How to Spend the Money Saved on Tuition: Given that students are generally prohibited from leaving the ranch during the semester, online shopping via the somewhat reliable Internet connection is one of the only viable options.

In an effort to attract the best and brightest students for its inaugural class, the UC Irvine School of Law is offering a free ride to all 60 students admitted this fall. Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional law scholar, told reporters, “Our goal is to be a top-20 law school from the first time we are ranked.” By early February, the number of applicants at California’s first new public law school in 40 years had topped 1,000. The school will rely on grants and donations to cover the estimated $6 million it will cost to put each of the students in the first class through the program.

History: There is some precedent for a professional school offering free tuition to its inaugural class. In 2008, the Central Florida College of Medicine received nearly 3,000 applicants after offering the same deal to each member of its inaugural class.

Notable: Chemerinsky, an adamant defender of the separation of church and state, as well as abortion rights, was hired, fired amid political pressure from conservatives one week later, and then rehired as Irvine’s law school dean in 2007.

Famous Alum: You? It’s not too late to apply.

How to Spend the Money Saved on Tuition: In-N-Out burgers. Lots and lots of In-N-Out burgers.

4. Berea College

Thanks to a large endowment, every student admitted to Berea College in Kentucky receives a full-tuition scholarship valued at more than $90,000. Students are required to work at least 10 hours a week in one of more than 140 departments, and while room, board, and books are not covered, the work-study program enables some of the 1,500 students to lighten their financial load even more. Berea offers degrees in 28 fields.

History: Berea was founded in 1855 by Rev. John Fee – an ironic name for the founder of a tuition-free college if there ever was one – as the first interracial and coed college in the South. Classes at the school were fully integrated until the Kentucky Legislature passed a law in 1904 that prohibited school integration. The law was amended in 1950 to allow integrated education above the high school level and Berea returned to its roots, becoming the first school in Kentucky to re-open its doors to African-Americans.

Notable: Berea’s motto is “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth.”

Famous Alum: Carter G. Woodson, an African-American historian, journalist, and author. After graduating with a Bachelor of Literature degree from Berea, Woodson earned his PhD and taught at Howard University. He pioneered the celebration of “Negro History Week” in 1926, which would serve as the precursor to “Black History Month” as we know it today.

How to Spend the Money Saved on Tuition: Berea is home to the Kentucky Artisan Center, a 25,000-square-foot facility that showcases Kentucky-made arts and crafts in a variety of exhibits.

5. Olin College of Engineering

Olin College is a school of 300 in Neeedham, Mass., where every admitted student receives four years of free tuition valued at $130,000. The school is funded by a $400 million grant from the F.W. Olin Foundation and ranks as one of the top undergraduate engineering programs in the country. There is great emphasis placed on philanthropy at Olin; students are encouraged to develop creative ideas that address societal needs and help make the world a better place.

History: The school is named for Franklin W. Olin, who founded the Olin Corporation and made a fortune selling ammunition. Olin was a great philanthropist, too. Since 1938, the F.W. Olin Foundation has contributed more than $300 million in grants to colleges and universities throughout the country. The same foundation financed the development of Olin College, which was completed in 2002. The school graduated its first class in 2006.

Notable: Indicative of the entrepreneurial spirit of the school, six Olin students are taking a year off to develop educational Internet software – think Google Docs meets Facebook – for local middle school students. The students expect the software, which will include built-in features that allow parents and teachers to interact with and monitor their students’ work, to be operational by mid-April.

Famous Alum: He’s not exactly famous, but Alex Dorsk does have a cleverly titled blog chronicling his time aboard a research vessel with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

How to Spend the Money Saved on Tuition: Honor the legacy of F.W. Olin, who played two years of professional baseball after graduating from Cornell, with a trip to Fenway Park in nearby Boston.

6. Cooper Union

Located in Manhattan, Cooper Union offers degree programs in art, architecture, and engineering, and every admitted student receives four years of free tuition valued at $130,000. According to a recent article in the New York Times, applications for early decision to the school were up 70 percent this year. The admissions rate at Cooper Union is about 8 percent, while the enrollment is a little more than 900. The Cooper Union endowment is valued at nearly $600 million.

History: Peter Cooper, who invented the first locomotive in the United States, believed that education of the highest quality should be “as free as air and water,” so he founded Cooper Union in 1858. Cooper’s greatest legacy may have come 14 years earlier, when he received the first American patent for powdered gelatin. A cough syrup manufacturer bought the patent from Cooper, developed a prepackaged gelatin dessert, and named it Jell-O in 1897.

Notable: The Great Hall on the Cooper Union campus has been the site of several historic speeches. Abraham Lincoln outlined his views on slavery – namely that he didn’t want to see it spread – in a famous address there, while Mark Twain spoke at the school’s inauguration.

Famous Alum: Milton Glaser, who founded New York Magazine and designed the ubiquitous I Love New York logo.

How to Spend the Money Saved on Tuition: Fifth Avenue is a start.

7. Curtis Institute of Music

Like Juillard, the Curtis Institute of Music is considered one of the most prestigious performing arts conservatories in the world. Unlike Juillard, tuition at Curtis is free. Every student admitted to the school of 160 in Philadelphia is provided a full scholarship, and all piano, harpsichord, composition, and conducting majors are lent Steinway grand pianos. As part of their training, students at Curtis host over 100 public concerts each year, and receive one-on-one instruction from the musically accomplished faculty.

History: Mary Louise Curtis Bok founded the Curtis Institute in 1924 as a place for talented young performers to prepare for careers as professional musicians. She named the school in honor of her father, Cyrus Curtis, the founder of Ladies Home Journal and a fellow music lover.

Notable: According to the school’s Web site, 17 percent of the principal chairs in America’s top 25 orchestras and four music directorships in the top 50 are held by Curtis-trained musicians. More than sixty alumni have performed with the Metropolitan Opera.

Famous Alum: Anthony McGill, a member of the Metropolitan Opera and the clarinetist in the quartet that played at Barack Obama’s Inauguration last month. Also: Leonard Bernstein.

How to Spend the Money Saved on Tuition: Buy a membership to the Franklin Institute to supplement your musical education.

8. Alice Lloyd College

All students at Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, Ky., are required to work at least 10 hours per week in exchange for free tuition. Students who need additional financial aid to pay for room and board may work up to 15 hours per week. Jobs at the school of 550 are assigned based on a student’s work experience and personal preference.

History: Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd, a former publisher and editor of The Cambridge Press, moved from Boston to Eastern Kentucky in 1916. With the help of June Buchanan, Lloyd chartered what was then called Caney Junior College in 1923. The school became an accredited four-year college in 1980.

Notable: The call letters for Alice Lloyd College’s non-commercial radio station, which has broadcast inspirational programming around the clock since 1998, are WWJD-FM.

Famous Alum: Carl D. Perkins, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 until his death in 1984. Perkins’s legacy lives on in the form of the Perkins Loan, a need-based Federal student loan.

How to Spend the Money Saved on Tuition: Elk were introduced to Kentucky in 1997 as part of a restoration project and Knott County, which includes Pippa Passes, is now known as the elk capital of the East. Tours are available through several outlets.

Read the entire artical by Scott Allen here:

http://blogs.static.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/22573.html

 

State Grants for Your Home Business

Small businesses often need a little financial help to get started. This can come in the form of loans from banks and financial institutions but you must pay these back at some point. Obtaining a small business grant may be a better solution for a start up company strapped for cash. These can often be found at the state level.

 

Small Business Association

The Small Business Association offers much information on loans for small businesses. They focus on certain aspects of small businesses such as women and minority owned, green energy business and those improving child care. There are also state grants available there for business that are profitable for your particular state like tourism and specific product sales. Check the Small Business Association website given at the bottom of this article for a list of grants that your business may qualify for.

 

U.S. Government

 There are several small business grants offered by the government for each state. Their website has a grant search tool that can help you find the perfect grant to apply for. There are also many other financing options available for small business owners. It is important to make sure that you qualify for each grant you apply for. Even one small mistake in paperwork or documentation can disqualify you for the grant you’ve chosen. Check the government website link at the bottom of this page for information on their financial aid for small businesses.

 

Minority Business Development

 The Minority Business Development Agency helps small businesses owned by minorities. They give links to each states application and small business grant applications and check lists. They offer other information on starting and running a small business such as employee relations, business tools and national news of interest to small minority owned businesses.  This can be a valuable resource for many aspects of owning and running a small business. Check the resources section of this article for the website link.

 

Grants.gov

 Grants.gov is a wonderful tool for small business owners looking for financial aid for their business. There are more than 900 grants from over 26 government agencies focusing on many different groups and qualification points. It also offers a tracking device to help keep track of each grant applied for and the status of each. There is a whole section for applicant resources with articles, checklists and links to help become more educated on the grant process.

 

 

The Foundation Center

The Foundation Center is a subscription service that hooks up small business owners with various grantors. There is a lot of free information here as well. There is an online orientation that walks newbies through the process of grant seeking and all the in’s and out’s of the process in a step by step method. The subscription fee entitles members to the database of over 80,000 grant makers.

One of Those Days

It’s been one of those already and it is barely 9 a.m.

I got up at 5 and got kids off to school. I was so wide awake and full of ideas I thought this would surely be a great day. But…alas…

My first issue was with my cell phone. Seems my charger has quit cooperating and will not charge the phone. This is particularly aggravating since I just bought a new battery for it this week.

I go for my coffee machine determined to get back on the right track but instead of making coffee it sputter and spurts and coughs up a thick brown sludge that may resemble coffee in some alternate universe. But here, not so much.

I decide on herbal tea instead and as I open the backdoor to enjoy it on the porch with a bit of fall air- my beloved dog King has been left outside all night and is highly pissed about it. He runs past me into the house at lightening speed and spills steaming tea all over me, leaves a trail of wet dog and mud all across me and my floor and jumps directly into bed with my four year old son who  rivaled the dog in the bad attitude arena.

Now my tooth hurts and my car wont get out of second gear. Its pouring down rain and the satellite wont come in.

I think Ill go back to bed.

Cute!

I happened across a blog while checking out my fellow blogstresses comments over at the SITSgirls site. Just Add Walter is a young moms blog who is going to nursing school while attending to her family and her own life. Its funny and relevant and I really enjoyed my time there. It distracted me from about 15 minuets of work which I truley appreciate!

She’s having the most awesome contest right now for an adorable monogramed scarf and glove set. Head over and check it out!

You Can do these Work From Home Jobs

I found this article on Yahoo. You can do this and make money by Christmas.

http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/107808/three-real-ways-to-make-money-from-home-in-your-spare-time.html

Why You Should Promote Audio Book Affiliate Programs

Having a wonderful website with a fantastic audio book affiliate link isn’t all you need to make money. If your not promoting your audio book affiliate program your missing out on lots of cash. Your site might be great and get tons of traffic but that’s only half the battle.

Promoting your audio book affiliate program is the main ingredient in your recipe for success. Promoting is how you get your visitors interested in your audio book affiliate program. It brings their attention to the book and draws interest in the book.

Promoting can be done in so many ways. The costs of promoting your audio book affiliate program run the gamut from free to hundreds of dollars a month. It’s a good idea to start out with something free and build up the interest in your product. That way you make money to invest in your audio book affiliate program.

One of the easiest ways to promote an audio book affiliate program is to write an article on it. If your smart, you’ve chosen a book that you enjoy, that you believe in and that compliments your site well. Take your own thoughts, feelings and experiences and use them to write an interesting and informative article on the audio book.

Consider giving away something to encourage your sites visitors to purchase a audio book through your affiliate program. Any kind of free product draws attention to the program and sparks an interest. You can write an ebook on a related subject, give away stickers, pencils or recipe cards.

Utilize the tools that the audio book affiliate gives you. Most audio book affiliate programs make available marketing tools like cool html buttons and banners as well as sales and marketing reports to track your payments.

The key to any promotional project is to understand that there will be problems the first try. Just keep researching, learning and applying your new knowledge to your audio book affiliate program and you are well on your way to a great passive income!

Auto Parts Affililiate Programs- Can you do it?

Your friends are always telling you what an automotive genius you are. You’ve built the most magnificent mechanically inclined web site on the face of the planet. Now what, sit back and wait for the cash to roll in? Not unless you’ve chosen a compatible auto parts affiliate program to compliment your site.

There are several things to mull over when implementing an auto parts affiliate program to your website. First consider the basics. Any affiliate program is a specially set up relationship between you and an auto parts seller. Placing a link from your site to the sellers product or service provides you with a way to make money from your website without having to stock or ship any merchandise. Each time you make a sale you get a certain amount of commission. Some affiliate programs will even pay a token amount for traffic generated from your site.

Using an auto parts affiliate program allows you to generate an income from sales without having to stock or ship any product. The most important requirement is to simply have a site that sports the auto parts affiliate program link.

Choose a auto parts affiliate program that compliments your website. Make sure that it fits in well with your website content. If your site is about a certain brand of automobile then your affiliate program link should cater to that type of auto as well. Using a auto parts affiliate program that is as closely related to your site as possible will provide the highest amount of commission pay out possible.

Make sure you know all the requirements and rules of the auto parts affiliate that you are considering before you apply. Some may ask that you have a predetermined amount of visitors each month or others may need you to have your own domain name. Knowing all the necessary requirements before you begin can save valuable time in the long run.

Be careful not to get greedy when it comes to the amount of auto parts affiliates that you will use on your site. It may seem like a smart move to use many different affiliate programs but that isn’t true. Just one or two specifically targeted auto parts affiliate programs can bring in more commission checks than 20 badly placed ones.

Do the appropriate research you need to choose the best auto parts affiliate program for your site and you’ll be raking in a great passive income in no time!

How to become a Professional Freelance Marketer From Home

How to Become a Professional Marketer From Home

 

If you’ve always found yourself telling others about the great deals you’ve found and if you have a flair for putting things in their best light then becoming a professional marketer is a fabulous career choice. It can easily be done from home with just a few essential home office tools and fits well into most any schedule.

 

Consider these tips to get started in this lucrative career:

 

• Marketing is a role in any organization that applies a group of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering a specified value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders in a way nothing else can.   Professional marketers are those people who work in that line and are aware of the intricacies of the trade.

 

• Taking a professional certified marketers class and passing the complete exam covering all the essential areas of marketing is integral. A Professional Certified Marketer program must meet stringent nationwide professional certification criterion and principles for superiority in marketing. Having this accreditation shows you are a marketer who is dedicated to your profession.

 

• The best marketers persistently improve their skills by keeping up with new ideas as well as highlighting their new accomplishments. Show prospective clients that you are motivated, knowledgeable and committed to quality. Be prepared to explain why you are a valuable asset to any team.
• New marketers start out slow. Taking only one client on at a time may seem like slow going but that is a good thing. In the hectic, fast-moving world of professional marketing, giving one client your all can ensure that you did the very best possible job by not having any other distractions. In the beginning of your career your best bet is to do one job at a time and give it your all. Ask for a review or evaluation when the job is done to evaluate your performance and identify your high and low points.

 

• Network, network, network! Explain to all your business associates and prospective ones that you are in the marketing business. If you can benefit in the long run by offering someone your services free or at a discounted rate – do it! Always try to find a way to work in what you do in any situation. Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn. Who better to tout your accomplishments that you? Just be ready to prove your points with hard fact and evidence that you’re the top in your field.

 

• Some of the classes and exams can get pricey. Spend your time wisely while your saving. Read marketing publications and opt-in to any marketing newsletters you find. Attend conferences, lectures and seminars to keep up to date on what is happening in the field.

 

Any research you put into the field is an investment in your own future. The profession is constantly changing with technology and morphing into new and exciting opportunities. Anyone who thrives on a fast-paced environment and enjoys learning and implementing new ideas will be financially successful in the professional marketing business.

If it Costs Money it’s a SCAM!

I know that is the popular consensus. I know that for the most part it is true.

But just to be fair and just to confuse the newbies just a little bit more, I feel I must elaborate.

Home businesses are not scams. There is a reason they cost money to begin and some of them are WELL worth it.

Home business directories are a scam. If someone wants to charge you money to show you a list of places that hire telecommuters its a load of crap.

Software is not a scam. If you need to purchase some software to work, such as for medical transcription or something similar that is not a scam.

It all depends on what your buying. Just because it says “home business” or “work at home” somewhere next to the Price doesn’t mean its b.s.  know this is beat into your head when your starting out but it isn’t always true.

Take AVON and Mary Kay for instance. AVON costs $10 to start. Mary Kay $120. Why? Why should you pay them to begin selling their products? Look at it this way, do you think Sam Walton made everything he sold at that first WalMart? No. He bought it. When you sign on to be  representative for any company you need to stock your store.

These are not scams or pyramid schemes. It is a realbusiness of your own. Sink or swim. AVON cannot send you free products and hope you are really serious or knowledgable enough to make a successful business of it. You have to invest your own money and your own time.

It is entirely possible to make a living selling products and having home parties. Oh yes it is. But it isn’t handed to you. You have to work at it. And its hard work.

Forgiveness and its place in your home business

When you think of forgiveness and all it entails your home business is not the first place you consider. Forgiveness is most often related to ones personal life and the private things that happen to you.

 But how can forgiveness pertain to your home business?

 It can and does affect your home business both negatively and positively.

 Situations occur in business just as in personal life that are less than favorable. Sometimes you get ripped off, sometimes you get slandered, sometimes you’re lied to or about and sometimes you just run into a con artist that can completely take a devastating situation in your life and use it to their advantage. If you’re religious you know these kind of people pay in the end but in the business world there are other solutions.

 

If you are not able to forgive with skill and move on you waste valuable time that could be spent on your business and yourself. Maria Nemeth, author of “The Energy of Money,” explains that you don’t have to like, agree with or even settle what someone has done to you in order to forgive them. You just have to let it go. Let’s face it. There are people in this world who don’t care what kind of personal tragedies have happened to you, what sort of miseries you’ve endured and even if you’ve done all you can do to make it right with that person they will continue to torment you for their own benefit. There is nothing you can do about that type of person. They get their own comeuppance in the end but there is something you can do for yourself.

 

Forgive them. Give up your story about what happened and why. I’ve struggled with this myself. I had a dear friend who kicked me over and over and over at one of the lowest points in my life. I was used for all I could give and when I needed a helping hand I got a nasty kick in the teeth. I developed more than a professional dislike for her but a deep and seething hatred. I’ve never been treated that way before. I was at a point in my life where people I loved were dieing, my personal life was all but destroyed and my financial future and that of my 6 children was precariously close to destitute. I’ve struggled with forgiveness for my own benefit.  My Priest, Father Glassic, explained it this way; ”Give it away. You’ve done all you can do. You have made it right in your head and your heart. Not everyone is caring and loving the way we would like them to be. They have their own demons to live with. All you can be sure of is how you deal with. Let it go.”

 

How does this affect our businesses? Forgiveness is an indispensable business tool. Not forgiving, and hanging onto wrongs you’ve been dealt keeps you buried in the past, unable to move forward in business or in personal life. You’re in a constant struggle to make people see your point and understand that you were wronged. That takes time away from being a normal productive person.

 

If you catch yourself doing things like this ask why. Do you crave attention? Are you afraid that no one will hear you or be interested in you without this story of how bad you were treated? Is it really helping you or is it hindering you? Think about how others really see you while you are constantly relating this story to anyone who will listen. Does it help your business or is it harmful in the long run?

 

To learn to forgive is to learn to move forward. There are better things on the horizon. To continue with your pitiful tale of wrongdoing is to stagnate and wither, slowing down your business progression.

 

If you don’t feel like you can let go of the hurt and anger just yet try to imagine a day in the future when you can. Imagine what it would be like to not have to have this hanging over your head everyday. Even if you silently enjoy calling attention to this slight once you let it go you’ll realize how much more free you feel when it’s over and how much stronger your business can become.

What You Will Need To Start A Successful Business

Home Business Resource – What You Will Need To Start A Successful Business
Starting a home business is a very important decision, and there are some typical home business resources you will need to have in order for you to succeed. Home business resources are assets, services and systems you will need to make your home business run smoothly; and also other steps you will need to take to make sure that you will succeed with your business.

So, to start a successful home business, what resources and steps do you need to take?

? A clearly laid out business plan. Without a business plan and goals to achieve, then you can not get anywhere. A business plan will map out what you need to succeed and how you will achieve your goals.

? Good research. Whatever your business will need, you will need to be well informed about it. So you will need to do me research so that you become an expert on the niche, product or service. Knowledge about the business is an important home business resource, so you must do the necessary research to be well-informed about the industry or product/service.

? A well set-up office. Your office is another important home business resource. You will need to be productive while working from home. You will therefore need an office that has all you will need to run a smooth business; a computer, printer, internet access, fax, telephone, business cards and a conducive work environment. A suitable desk and appropriate lighting in your office is also an important resource that is often underestimated in its importance. You will sometimes work for many hours in a day, and your work space needs to be comfortable. Allocate some money towards setting up a working environment you will enjoy working from everyday!

? Some money to cover capital outlay and running costs is an important home business resource which you will need. Any business requires some form of investment, and you will need to know how much you have, and how much investments and ongoing marketing your business will need for it to succeed. It is therefore recommended that you start your business while you are still employed, so that you have some income to live on while you are still building your business.

? Support system. This can be a mentor; someone who has succeeded with a similar business, or simply your family and friends. You need to have people close to you who will encourage you and give you any support you need. You can also join a forum of people with the same business like yours. A good support network is a very important home business resource.

? Business leads and clients are a crucial home business resource. Making and creating contacts and networking is very important – you need to start building your potential clients base before you launch your business. Start marketing your business by giving away some products and services. By creating a relationship with your potential customers, you build trust with them, and when you launch your business, it will be easy for them to buy from you.

? Be professional! The way you run your business and relate to your customers is very important. Be prepared to ‘go the extra mile’ with your customers. Care about your customers, and provide all the information they may need.

? Hire any professional help you may need. Treat your business professionally, and if you need the services of a lawyer or accountant, hire/outsource it. It is more productive and effective to get experts to do what you can not do, leaving you time to focus on your business. You will want to do the best for your business; so if there are any home business resources you do not have, outsource them.

If you have the home business resources outlined above, then your business will succeed. Although your home business may only be a small venture, treat it like a real business, and get all the home business resources any business will need in order to be successful.

This artcle was provided by Jeff Casmer, an award winning internet marketing consultant with career sales over $25,000,000. His “Top Ranked” Earn Money at Home Directory(http://www.24hourwealth.com/) gives you all the information you need to start and prosper with your very own Internet Home Based Business.

New writing Gig

Reply to: gigs-983367115@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2009-01-07, 1:11AM CST

Send your stories for the 2009 edition of the book “PETS ACROSS AMERICA”.

Be a part of something taht benefits your local animal rescue, as 30% of all proceeds go to local organizations across America.

Contact us for writer guidelines or send your story and picture .
Paying $10 per published story.

GG Group Dallas

keep on keeping on… WAHM style!

In the spirit of goal achievement and personal growth I posted some of my goals for this blog and my other one on my relationship with the women of death row on Woman Condemned.

I made real progress in attaining my goals this year and although it’s early in the year (OK so the year has barely started- sue me I’m enthusiastic) I’m really optimistic.

I’ll be starting a WAHM consulting business this year (shooting for March and I’m offering service to my blog readers FIRST!) and hopefully attending a blogging seminar later this month.(looking for a few sponsors if anyone is interested in helping me improve this blog!)

I’ve entered a contest at Kristina Seleshanko’s blog to win some consulting service for my book on death row women and I’m wrapping up a long standing project that Ive worked really hard on.

Every goal I am working on is to be able to provide better service to my readers and to my community. I have always had a deep need to help women who are desperate for work, help and a way out of a desperate life. I think this year will mean big change for all of us!

Goal Setting that Works FOR you!

Everybody but everybody blogs about goal setting this time of year. Far be it from me to be anything but a cog in the wheel. At the same time however, work at home folks do everything just a little different than the average Joe (or Josie) Schmoe, don’t we?

Goals are especially important to telecommuters. They help get you from where you are to where you want to be. And if they are organized correctly, they do their job with minimal complications and maximum outcome.

The secret is to set goals so that they work for you instead of against you and for a telecommuter that can be hard.

You have to start at the end. When you sit down this year to make your 2009 goals list think ahead to where you want to be this time next year. Get detailed. Are you working in the same home office or corner of your bedroom? Are you even in the same field of work or do you have a whole new direction itching to blaze a trail into your future?

Once you know where you want to be in a year set a few REACHABLE goals for the next three months. And I do mean REACHABLE. You cant become the editor of Cosmopolitan in a year if your a third grade teacher in Juno Alaska today. Be reasonable.

Set goals that are clearly stated. Having a goal such as “start a home business” is not nearly as clear (and therefore as attainable) as a goal like “start a desk top publishing company by March 31rst.”

A goal like the latter gives you a road map with which to continue your life’s journey.

Goals are not to be written on New Years Eve and tucked in a drawer either. If you have a real intention to succeed your list must be reviewed every day and once every 3 months it needs to be revised and rewritten to include the new things you’ve learned. You can also add new goals for future months and years at this point.

Set a predetermined amount of time that you will spend each and every day on accomplishing your goal. Set it reasonable. If you surpass it great! If not, at least make it. Say 15 minuets a day should be spent on researching an taking action toward your goal.

The whole idea is to make your goals work for you. Don’t make goals that you have to struggle to accomplish. The hard goals can be broken up into smaller reachable goals and its all achievable.  One step at a time.

You can do it. You can work at home. But you have to do the leg work. No one will do it for you.

Check this video on setting goals for a home business:

The Trick to Making Money From Home

You already know the secret, really. Anybody does. I hate to sound like a sappy family movie but- Its been inside you all along.

You can make extra money- and maybe a good living- with something you already have beating around in your head. Something you are good at, a subject you excel at, be it 18th century English Literature or making robots- you can make money showing people how to do it.

Most often the problem here is getting started. First choose your subject and then build your “product” around it and your strengths.

For instance, have you been a cashier for 37 years? We’re you cashier of the month 12 times consecutively? Can you work every cash register ever built? Do you have hints and tips on working more efficiently, staying positive and getting a raise or two? You are a consultant and you didn’t even know it. You can teach new cashiers how to be the best. Store owners will hire you to come in and do so. Private folks will hire you to get better at their job. The sky is the limit. Entrepreneur Magazine says ” Everyone has an untapped reservoir of knowledge. Put yours to work for you as an independent consultant by teaching your skills to others.”

It doesn’t have to be cashier. Anything that you have many, many years of experience in will work. Beekeeping, ball room dance, babysitting, etc. You name it, you’ve got a new career.

Your next step is to determine the way you will present your information or “sell your product”. Will you hold classes or seminars, one on one tutoring, sell books? Maybe all of these above?

Spend some time putting together your approach. While your in line at the store or waiting for a gas pump give it some thought and take down a few notes. Stuff like what you will include in the first meeting with your clients, how you will run the business, consultant fee’s etc.

This is where you find out if you need any special licence or permits. If you are consulting in a field that requires certain certification you will need to have those as well.

There are many books and business kits available for this type of thing. Begin reading and researching as soon as possible. The more you learn before hand the better off you’ll be.

It might not make you a millionaire but it will bring in a few extra dollars to help make ends meet.

New Nominee For the Pink Paperclip!!!

We have a new nominee for the Pink Paperclip award. Check it out!

Congrats!

Billie from A Peaceful Serenity won the Bejeweled Twist game. Congratulations Billie.

Stay tuned later this month for another chance to win this great stress relieving game for moms.

Hey moms! Have you heard the news?

There is a company that WANTS a mom to work for them. As a matter of fact there are quite a few. They want moms becuase their are certain things that only moms know. They have aperspective and a point of view no one else can offer.

They also have kick ass multi-tasking skills and a determination that was heretofor unheard of.

Where are these companies?

Well, just so happens there is a website that connect the skilled and brilliant mothers with said companies.

www.momforce.com is where you can find those positions from companies that are truly seeking a moms expertise .

The Hootchie Factor- Teaching My Daughters Self Respect

My 9 year old daughter got up for school this morning and was busily getting ready in the bathroom. I was throwing in a load of laundry and tho I couldnt see her we conversed loudly through the house.

“We are having an election day party today at recess mom!”

“Really? That sounds like fun!”

“Yeah, Cheyenne and Maddy are wearing their party dresses so Im going to wear mine.”

Party dress?
When she said this I thought of the gorgeous red velvet dress we bought her for a pageant last year. It hangs in her closet only to be worn on special occasions. I don’t usually allow her to wear a $300 dress to school but today is special, right? What the hell.

I went to the coffee pot and poured a cup, still hearing her running commentary from the bathroom and when I heard her behind me I turned around.

Picture one of those scary movies where the unsuspecting innocent bystander turns around to find a monster, serial Killer or similarly hideous site. I had to struggle to recover enough to keep my wrist from going slack and coffee from running out of my cup onto my fuzzy red socks.

Who was this child before me? It certainly wasnt my sweet, Miley Cyrus singing daughter. This girl had on a mini skirt and a shirt that barely covered her midriff. Her high top cherry Bubble Yum sneakers pulled on over red tights.

I was speechless.
“What in the hell have you got on?”

“I found it in a box in my closet. I used to love this skirt.”

“Back when it fit you?”

“It fits!” she said defiantly while tugging on it.

I said nothing. Just pointed in the direction of her room and she knew what that meant.

“Ill miss the bus!”

“Ill drive you.”

She stomped out of the room to return in a pair of jeans and a high school musical tee.

Aw, thats better.
Crises diverted.
Or is it?

She complained that now she will be the odd woman out as they all planned their party outfits carefully.”Everyone in my class wears clothes like this mom!”

How can we teach our daughters self respect and a positive body image without seeming like a raving feminist? I want her to love being a girl and enjoy her femininity while retaining a sense of self respect. How can we do this?

We talked some on the way to school about why I made her change.
“Is only clothes mom, not who I am.”

I explained to her that first impressions are important.
“Its not just clothes, honey. People look at you and make decisions about you in the first few minuets they see you.” There is a place to wear shorts and a place to wear dresses. There is a place to wear bathing suits and business suits.

I asked her; “What do you want people at school to know about you?
She thought about this for a while.

That I care about people. That I’m nice to others and want to help. That I love my family.
That Im a good person.

She opened the door and looked at me. I looked back and she smiled at me.
We saw Cheyenne and Maddy get off the bus SANS hootchie party dresses.

“I think I learned something before I ever got to school didn’t I?”
I winked at her.
“cool.” she said.

Yeah, cool.

Organization for the unorganized

Im awful. I am so unorganized.

I blame this on the fact that I have 6 children and a husband who could be considered a 7th.

I am constantly cleaning up after them and cooking for them and orgainizing after school activiites, clothing, church functions and then on top of it all- Im working 4 different projects right now ( with a 5th looming near its start date… oh geez)

AND- believe it or not- Im not the most computer literate person in the world. I tend to learn a new skill and then stick with it. Even if another, more productive, skill comes along on its heels.

As a little example of this I sit and stare at my tiny home office. It looks like a train hit it.

And it has. 7 individual train wrecks hit it daily looking for markers, crayons, Scotch Tape etc…

“Mom, wheres my mechanical pencil?”

“Honey, have you seen my box cutter?”

“MOM! I have to have 4 sharpies for class today. Sorry I forgot to tell you!”

But- somehow, Im able to get my work done. More or less on time.

I was momentarily vindicated and sufficiently placated by the book “A Perfect Mess,” by Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman, which shows the hidden benefits of being unorganized and cluttered and claims you can be productive this way. Hoorah!I read a great CNN article that told me I was just fine the way I am!

It was then I spent a week searching my office for the source of a foul odor that would waft through every so often and I realized- I need help. When I found the bowl of solid, stinky milk (spoon and Froot Looops protruding through like a playschool kitchen toy) under a pile of MOMS Club applications and bank statements I thought to myself

“Wouldnt it be great if someone could come in and place all my stuff on disk and file it away for me in a very easy to work with style?”

Oh wait. That can totally happen.

Pixily is a WAHMs best friend. Quite literally. You get organized with a quickness and I dont mean just a decluttered desk. I mean a decluttered LIFE! They provide you with pre-paid envelopes with which you send them all your paperwork. The organize, and store it for you. You can easily find it, share it and access it from anywhere. Its a monthly service that can orgainze a wahms life like nobodys business.

Got more paperwork from the kids school? Have three agendas from MOMS Club and the lastest Cub Scout fundraiser waiting for attention? Pixily’s got you covered. Once a month or once a week or once a DAY send it to Pixily.

Save trees and your sanity with this service and I aint whistlin’ dixie here ladies.

Theres a free trial on the site and if you like it I suggest checking back here in the next few weeks for a nice little surprise!

Go clean your desk off. You know it needs it.

Wow. Now this is cool…

I got the same award TWICE in one day. How hard does that rock!

I’m sure you have seen it around the blogosphere; I Love Your Blog Award.

I received it from Billie at A peaceful Serenity and Sherriet at Wahm life.

I met those two through my Work at home Moms group at Cafemom.

They are both working moms who dedicate their time daily to helping others get a foothold in this crazy telecommuting world …just because.

I dig that about a person!

They share my passion for giving other moms a hand up. It is finding like minded women like that, half way across the country, that you can connect and network with to make a difference in someones life that really makes me grateful for the opportunities I have. The women are truly great women disguised as everyday gals taking care of the fam and anyone else that comes along. Superwomen come in all walks of life!

So, thanks to them I have received the award twice in one day.

 

Part of accepting the award is:
*displaying the award
*linking back to the person who gave it to you
*paying it forward & nominating 7 blogs
*adding links to those seven blogs
*leaving comments on their blog telling them you gave them an award
*enjoying the award

And so with no further ado…the 7 blogs I nominate are below. Have fun!

Snowflake Submerged  is a blog by a SAHM and Navy wife, Laurie or Snowflake as she’s come to be known, or Snow if you’ve known her for a minute and are lazy.  You’ll find funny, poignant and observant descriptions of everyday life with two daughters and a husband deployed.

The Chaos Mommy is another SAHM with a husband away. He’s in the Army, she’s on base with three kiddos and I am always amazed at her strength and courage (and Chaos). Go Peg!

My Crazy Life with 4 Kids Here you’ll find a lot of humor and love mixed in with good ol parenting. This gal cracks me up a lot and I love her pictures.

Whats Shakin’ with Jennifer is pieces of her family life and lots of awesome pictures.

Ramblings of a Texas Mom is Vanessa, a real Texas housewife who tells it how it is. You’ll find family life, recipes and honesty. Not necessarily in that order.

Mama Mentor is Cindi. Grandmother, ex business woman turned wahgm and she’s sharin’ strategy like nobodies business. You will find great tips for working at home mixed with homespun mom advice from a gal thats been there.

(Ok, I could only list 6- but I reeeeallly like them so that makes up for it)

Crafty broads… gotta love ‘em

Years ago I found an ad in the back of a Cosmo for a directory of WAH companies for $35. I bought it. I look back on that now and it is a wonder I did not get ripped off. But this was 1992. I was green. It turned out well, however.

It was an actual directory and though some of the entries were outdated some were real. My first attempt at home business was putting together these bead hook earrings. Buy the kit for $10 and when you put the earrings together they buy them back for $30! Whoa! I could so do that with my toddler babying about sweetly at my feet.

I got the kit and figured out two things real fast. 1- it took about 10000 years to put together one set. It was extremely hard, especially for someone who had never done anything like it before. and 2- they don’t buy them back unless they are PERFECT. Perfect meaning not one tiny bead turned a dull side forward. Not one iota of wire showing. etc.

Yeah right.

I sat on the couch one afternoon as No1son played at my feet.

Right, everything according to plan.

He waited until I had everything unpacked and sitting on my little craft table so neatly. Tins of tiny beads and little hooks. Wire snips, little pliers CUTE! I’m a professional!

Then he toddled over an whammed his little fist on the table. Beads and hooks and scraps of my sanity flew all over the room.

Telecommuting Truth of this tale? If your able to do crafts at home and they are good, try selling them yourself to craft stores, online and brick and mortar. Sell at Etsy- the homemade crafty type ebay. It can be done. Do it.

Halloween Marketing and Sweady Balls

There was a great post on my group at Cafemom about Halloween marketing ideas. Handing out stuff to trick-or-treaters etc. and it really got me thinking about what a great time of year this is for marketing.

How many of you use your Mysapce for some kind of marketing? If we asked for a show of hands mine would go up. I use my myspace to get MOMS Club members and host families for exchange students. Having a cool, current, informative myspace page can garner you more business.

Which brings me to my next point. Do you ever listen to talk radio? I do not. Every time I do, especially if its a mom talk radio thing,  I get a vision of the Saturday Night Live skit with Alec Baldwin, Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon where the two women are radio show hosts and he is the owner of a bakery and brings along samples of his trademark do-nut “Sweady Balls.”  They oooh and ahhh over his delicious sweady balls and the delectable sweady ball sack. I roll every time.

And so, when a friend gave me a link to a talk radio program by two sisters I had to pass. She was insistent I check it out and Im glad I did. Once I got over the initial sweady balls giggle I realized the program was about how to “pimp” your social networking profile pages, like myspace all for Halloween. 

I like my page. Its pretty cool but these gals give very distinct directions on doing some really cool stuff and changing your page specifically for Halloween. They give websites to find unique layouts and codes to make it look just like you have in your head.

They talk about blogs and how to tweak and change css codes. Its cool to hear it in laymans terms and be able to do things that were frustrating me before!

So check it out and pimp that Halloween profile!

Happy Halloween

[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Photos*]

Worlds coolest cupcakes…

I stumbled across the most awsome blog the other day just surfing around Twitter. Keeper of the Cheerioes is a fun mommy blog by Miranda, a mommy twice and a wife and Christian.

She has great recipes, give aways and crafts plus throws in some heartwarming tid bits on her kids and family that makes me feel like Im talking with my neighbor.

She has a great give way right now from Sweet Cuppin Cakes Bakery- A woman owned business!

She has tons of unique holiday items and cool bakery merchandise that really makes your stuff stand out at fund raisers and charity events.

How cool is that to own your own bakery and online bakery goods store? I would be so fat.

Time Management For WAHMS

Time Management For Women and WAHMs

Time Management For Women and WAHMs
By Nikki Backshall

What are you all moaning about? It’s easy being a WAHM!!

Well, let’s face it, most people assume that it’s easy and they couldn’t be more wrong….. All you have to do is take care of the children, walk the dog, school pick-ups, shopping, cleaning, washing, cooking and of course there is your business to run! It’s no easy task but there are a few things that you can implement to make life a little easier on yourself!

Procrastination is a WAHMs worst enemy, when there is so much to do – it’s easy to do everything but what it is you’re supposed to be doing. How many times have you checked your email today? Have you got so distracted that an hour has flown by and you’ve achieved zilch? If that’s the case then you are making life much harder on yourself, so the first thing to do to make life easier for yourself and get a planner or a bloomin’ great big diary!

Your family comes first – it has to, or everything else will all go to pot! After all, your family is one of the reasons that you are doing all of this. Schedule your family time in then schedule in the hours that you intend to work. If you are working sporadically throughout the day, then this is probably not helping you to accomplish very much. Once you have scheduled your work hours try to stay focused on them and treat this as your job – because it is!

I used to cram throughout the day and to be honest, you’ll still find me doing it at times but I get so much more done, now that I have made some changes. I work 3-4 nights a week, plus some time on the weekend and that means that as soon as my husband comes home from work I go to my office (bedroom or quiet place, whatever is the most productive for you) and I work from about 7pm until 11pm. This enables me to get my youngest into bed before I settle down. If I had to go out of the door to work then I couldn’t be harangued with pleas of ‘muuuuum, purleease can I have…..or What’s for dinner tonight?’ and I have asked my family to respect this and give me the space I need to work and to respect my job and treat it as such. My husband will normally cook for himself (or us) on those nights if I haven’t already prepared a dish (one that can be easily plonked in the oven – like Cottage Pie).

It might work better for you to work one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon, just stick with something that suits. Obviously life is never straight forward and there will always be a time when you need to re-schedule but that is the beauty of the planner. You DO re-schedule! You cross something out on the planner and you schedule your work back in.

If your business is requiring you to answer a lot of emails, phone calls or add website updates then you could perhaps consider hiring a Virtual Assistant. This comes at a cost but if you weigh it up, your time spent on the crux of your business whilst someone else oversees all of the admin, may prove to be more profitable to you in the long run.

Once you have your planner, make sure that you it in a place where all of your family have access to it. Encourage them to write all important dates into it and to be aware of the times when you are working.

Try breaking your week up into blocks of time ie.
Monday morning – 3hr block, jobs to be accomplished; food shopping, laundry and toddler group. You could be really geeky and colour code it too! Pink for pleasure and leisure, green for scheduled work, orange for chores and errands etc

Just by writing this onto your schedule will make it far more achievable, the power of the written word is undeniable!

Another great tip is to write a shopping list. It’s just the best thing to do to save you time and money. A well written list will have you scooting round the supermarket and heading out with a trolley full of groceries to see you through most of the week. If you schedule your meals (roughly – I don’t want to come across as all ‘Stepford Wifey’ here….) then you will make life so much easier.

We all know the scenario when you go to the fridge and wonder whether you can whip up a family dinner from 2 parsnips, a carrot and some forlorn looking cheese. You then have to make a mad dash for the shops to get dinner in before you have to pick your kids up from some club they are at…..oh but first, you just need to send that email off… after you’ve finished reading about Why Britney has lost favour with the Hollywood scene this month! (you know you do it)

When you’re finally at the shops, you grab the nearest thing and whatever else takes your fancy, only to go through the checkout and be asked for £42.78 when all you have is that nights dinner and a couple of other items!

If you’d written a list at the beginning of the week for all of the dinners you’ve ’scheduled’ to cook, you won’t have that stress and you will save a packet! For example, if you are cooking a cottage pie, you will undoubtedly have some minced beef in stock with some added vegetables. Then of course you’ll add the mashed potato on the top and cook it in the oven. Well, why not double up on the minced beef and freeze half or put in the fridge for another night. It’s so versatile that you can use it as a base for bolognaise (add some tinned tomatoes, garlic, puree, basil and some wine) or a quick chilli (add some chilli, kidney beans, puree) and then you just need to cook some pasta or rice! Most supermarkets have good deals on products like minced beef where you can get two for the price of one! Great meals, cheap prices and no stress!!

At the end of the day, these tips are here to make life easier for you but that doesn’t mean to say it will be easy. It’s a huge task to take on a job when you are already a mum/mom. Being a mum is a full time job in itself so it’s never going to be easy but there are many, many WAHMs who are achieving great things and you are too – just don’t make it tougher than it needs to be!

So let’s break this down;

• Buy a really decent planner, family calendar or diary. Preferably one that has the hours throughout the day.

• Schedule your family time first

• Schedule your working hours

• Ask your family to respect your working hours and to not harass you when you are working in your ‘office’.

• Make the diary accessible to all of your family

• Consider hiring a VA to cover admin tasks if your business is booming and it’s crucial to you taking your business forward.

• Write a shopping list and plan your family meals in advance

• Double up when cooking and freeze half for further meals

• Break your week up into blocks of time and schedule chores and errands in accordingly – with geeky colour codes if you wish!

• Take a Break – you earned it!

For more articles like this one, visit Nikkis website for women at http://www.webmums.ning.com – where you can fill out your own profile and meet like-minded women for social and business networking.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nikki_Backshall
http://EzineArticles.com/?Time-Management-For-Women-and-WAHMs&id=1507763

Five minuets for mom give away!

I love the blog http://www.5minutesformom.com .

They make me feel smart just for being the best mom I can be and they are having a fun Halloween give away. Its all about inspiring the kids to think and enjoy thier Halloween choices on that special night and for a while afterward. They are giving away lots of cool and inspiring costumes. I’d like any of them for my bunch of heros!

My daughter plans to be a police officer so Id love the cop costume in 8.

My son is also a big space nut. Hes planning to go to space camp and he’s only 7! Id love the Jr Astronant in a 7.

Wish me luck in the contest!

WAHM Issues…oh yeah, I’ve got ‘em

I’ve been working from home for many years. To many years in fact to continue to make the same old mistakes that I always find myself making. Because of this sad fact you can count on me to always have a fresh supply of articles on hand about wahm issues. They are always something I have found personally helpful or sightful, cool or enlightening and just want to spread around.

So learn with me as I try to schedule better, keep better records and gain more clients.

ALL while bettering myself in my chosen field.

Ah…the joys of freelancing…

Article on Wahm issues from B5 Media

Diary of a WAHM: Problems With Focus

Super Mom….huh?

Supermom. I hear that term all the time. What is that really? Is it a woman that works out of the house? Is it a gal that works in the home, like we do? Is it a stay at home mommy that devotes all her time to her children and makes three course meals at every sitting, perfectly balanced on the food pyramid?

I read this blog post that really got me thinking. Who decides the definition of Supermom?

I wonder if her husband is automatically a superdad?  Im not sure I like that title.

Like so many other labels we are just taking on one more.

While it may seem harmless enough in may in fact be doing more damage than we realize.

Labels like these may even have more underlying negative connotations than

some of the overtly negative labels women get tagged with.

What do you think?

Give Away!!!

Who doesnt like give-aways?

I’ve got a great one for ya!

I have an ebook on 1001 ways to start a home business on oa budget!

To enter send your name and email address to mommywrites@im-a-wahm.com

Be sure to put “Give away” in the subject line!

To organize or not to organize

 While I was reading this blog post I came to realize how unorganized I am. Im terrible. 

I am a writer with a busy schedule at the moment (knock on wood)
 I place and supervise foreign exchange students and sell Mary Kay. 
I am active in all three of these ventures as well as President of my 
local MOMS Club and going through RCIA classes at St Marks. 
Plus I have six kids and a troublesome little brother. 

 

How do I do it all- you ask? 
Good question. I don’t know. 
One thing I do know is there has got to be a better way. 
I need a filing system (or a secretary)or something. 
I don’t know where to begin but I cant help but feel that Id get way more accomplished than I do now. 

 

Dang… 

Telecommuting Tips- For Real!

I found an article with some great tips for working at home. I also thought that they are helpful when looking for work. Build habits like these now and youll be more successful with any home job.

 

http://www.catalogs.com/info/education/telecommuting-tips.html

The Truth About Work at Home Forums

The truth about truth is that it depends on who is doing the telling.

This is most definitely true when it comes to the work at home world

and the internet in general.

 

This isn’t new news but it happens often because of the seeming anonymity

of the internet and forums in particular.

It occurs in the telecommuting world because

what is true to the first entrepreneurial person

is not necessarily going to be true to the next.

But also because there are liars, scammers and self centered

people in every part of the world.

Even the cyber-world.

 

Im not saying that forums are all bad. I use them a lot to find work and keep up with what’s new in the industry. I have moderated message boards for work at home moms beginning with ClubMom over 7 years ago and some of those early gals that I modded with are still extremely special to me. (And Shannon the most wonderful AVON rep in the world!).I met some wonderful contacts there whom I still work with. I work with BizyMoms a lot and am constantly in awe of the new info they have. I moved onto CafeMom and have board there I mod. There are more I help out at and others still I use regularly. But I DO NOT and CAN NOT use them solely. You can’t either.

 

Why?

Because no WAHM message board on the internet today or ever will tell you the whole truth and most will expose you to down right lies. AND because even if there is a great, wonderful, money-making company out there you will find very little positive information on a forum.

 

Why?

Because you will only come into contact with three different people on a WAHM forum.

 

When you find a WAHM forum its like finding candy when your 8 years old. Not just any candy but a certain, favorite delectable that you only get once in a blue moon. Something so amazingly, fantabulous that you jump right in and start devouring it.

 “Oh this is great! Exactly what Ive been looking for!”

But is it? Who are these people you are getting your information from?

 

First you’ll notice the regulars. These gals (or guys) will be logged on every, single day. There will many posts by them and they always have the last word. They have been scammed more than once in the past and have been skeptical ever since. If they have been scammed they are bitter and upset. They’ve heard of every job opportunity out there and have a horror story to tell you. They love their “authority” and never miss a chance to point out there post count or years of visits to the site.

 

A regular can also be a scammer. Someone with an agenda to push. They can be scamming by trying to get everyone they come in contact with to sign up to do their latest email answering gig or to join their new Well-ness company all the while hating and derogating every other opportunity in the world.

 

They can offer you their own home business or they can offer you a crappy opinion of every other opportunity.

 

Next you’ll differentiate the newbies. These guys usually title their posts something like “HELP-IM DESPERATE!!!” or “My Lights are off- I need $$$ NOW!”

They are in dire straights and hungry for any kind of information that seems new or important to them.

They want to know about an opportunity they are involved with and to be told lots of folks are making money or they want to know about an opportunity that has existed all along and they stumble upon the new forum to find this little jewel.

 

Or they want someone to take advantage of. They want to cry for help and take,take,take every hand out they can get and still scream for more. (Ive seen one of these. Not pretty)

 

But the point it- they want. They can’t help you either.

 

 

 

You’ll figure out the lurkers if you hang around long enough. These folks will be long time members but have low post counts, usually only piping up to promote their own business or ask questions. If they have information they don’t share it and are often found to be the MLM types that do make some money every month but need referrals and downlines. They lurk on the boards until a new set of newbies arrives and judging by the previous posts they will unleash their ad spiel.

 

 The point here being that when it comes down to the bottom line- your still no better off than you were before you found the dream forum. You still just don’t know for sure. No concrete evidence. You have your honest, decent people who want to share and help out but how can you tell them? Im here to tell you personally that not everyone who you meet in a forum is the kind, caring person you think they are. Even if you’ve known them for years.

 

But the truth is- Real People DO Make Money From Home!!! It has been on Good Morning America, featured in magazines like Redbook and O. It happens. Sure, some are like accountants and tutors and medical transcriptionists but others are real moms and dads and aunts and uncles that just do it.

 

So why aren’t many of them on the forums telling us how to make money?

 

Because they are WORKING! Think about it. If you had a lovely little income niche would you spend your days on message boards? Would you be burning up your blog airing your personal problems and dishing it about your relatives and your kids and your crappy husband if you had work? I think not. You’d be making money wouldn’t you?

 

Daily Dose of Optimism

 
After my mammogram today I rushed home to wait for days on the results. 
Should know something by Monday, they say. 
I know Im just over reacting but after the first few tit shots the mammographer (is that what their called?) says 
"Well, its probably just a cyst but I might need to take a few more pictures. Just depends on what I see here."
So while Im sitting in my lovely pink front-tie hospital shirt waiting for the boob ultra sound gal,
here comes my mammographer again. 
Apparently she needed the other two pictures. 
So- here I go. 
It wasnt enough to get the vertical smash pic and the horizontal smash pic 
but my lump also warranted the diagonal super smashorama snapshot. 
Not comforting.

The ultrasound girl did finally arrive but that was even less comforting. 
She had me put my clothing in the adjoining bathroom and I took one look in there 
and almost ran out- pink hospital shirt, boobs peaking out and all. 
It looked like something out of the Saw movies in there 
complete with rust smeared, dripping sink and scary old toilet with a broken handle. 
The floor was ripped up even! 
Then she wasnt even sure what she was looking at. 
She kept saying "where is it?" and "Are you sure its still there?"

oi vay

The Small-Steps Method « Seagrave’s Weblog

 
The Small-Steps Method « Seagrave’s Weblog

I thought this was a pretty rockin' post on how to get writing. Its for screenwriters but I thought it was totally relevant elsewhere.

 

Anywho- here I am blog surfing instead of working on the 18K words due to the editor on Wednesday. 

 

Anyone know of an article on that? 

What does a virtual workplace look like? « No there there

What does a virtual workplace look like? « No there there

I thought this was a really interesting article.

Lumpy is not good

I found a lump in my breast.

I found it Sunday and I have thought about nothing else. I think about it when Im cooking and cleaning and reading and working.

My friends have assured me that it isnt always cancer. A lump can be anything. It hurts. Is that a good sign?

My mother died almost two years ago from cancer and I am still devastated. I thin about how it will effect my kids to lose me at these young ages. I dont want to leave them.

Im scared.

Sex texting- Its not just for teens

Im serious. Women all over the world are doing it and you’ll never guess who they are.

The preachers wife, little Bobbys kindergarten teacher, the PTA president…oh yeah.

Sex texting isnt as lurid as it sounds. Your actually asked NOT to get to funky.

Sex-texting or “Texting”  as the experts call it is just like texting your boyfriend or that hunky mechanic at Pep Boys. Only its not, it’s a total stranger. Ok, let me rephrase that, its a total stranger to you- to him its the gorgeous chickie he’s been texting the last few weeks or months.

Texting companies will have a log-in page that all operators work from on their computer. You log in on your designated time and you will have a user interface page. It will tell you who you are and who you are talking to.

You might be:

Tiffany-23 years old, blonde hair blue eyes 23″ 36″ 23

He might be:

Frank- Butcher Holler KY. 28 yrs old, likes bowling and NASCAR

Your details thoughtfully put together by the staff and his added by the many, many Tiffany’s that he has texted to.

Some services will even have pictures for you to send with your messages. The messages can get a little risque but your told during training to not get to sexy and nothing weird- no bestiality, no necrophilia, no incest, rape etc.

Getting a job with one of these can be difficult. It works in your favor if you have excellent typing skills, customer service (that includes lip service) experience and some experience working at home.

This is in no way an easy job. It sounds like loads of fun but in reality can be just as grueling as a 9-5er. The pay isnt as great as it could be and it is most often delivered monthly.  Most companies require you to schedule your work hours a week or two ahead of time and work a minimum of 25 hours a week. Your also often required to schedule in UK time which isnt always easy.

While sex texting isnt really sex texting but more like serious flirt texting- tarot texting is what it says it is and many of these companies offer both.

Below is a list of resources to check out for further information.  The companies may or not be hiring. It is up to you to find further information.

Interview with ex-sex text worker

Short Message Sex- textual intercourse

C_U_N_T_S- Collaborating, underpaid network of teleho’s

Stream Texting~ Offers non-adult lines.
Email: text.op.help@streamgroup.co.uk
And Put Sex Texting Position in Subject Line

BOX-69 *NO SET SCHEDULE* *10 Hours per Week MIN*
Pay:ranges from 7p to 20p depending on retention
rates are reviewed Quarterly
PAID WEEKLY* VIA PAYPAL (US OPS) and VIA UK BANK ACCOUNTS (UK OPS)
*when you have reached the min amount required per week*

http://www.box-69.com/me/default.asp

Evoke Chat (scheduled) 10 to 16 hours per week
10p to 14p per message, depending on grade
PAYS MONTHLY VIA PAYPAL around the 10th of the Month
Email Jo@evokechat.co.uk

JetText
Info@jetnetting.com

LST (scheduled) 25 hours per week
Pay based on Retention.
PAYS VIA PAYPAL
1st pay Month following hire
Then Converts to WEEKLY pay
Email info@livesextext.com

http://www.livesextext.com

MYTXT
*This company is REFERRAL ONLY*

NOGoats(Scheduled via Rota)
Giz@nogoats.com
6p Weekdays/7p weekends
Pays via NETELLER