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Did you know… International Networking Week Is February 2 to 6, 2009.
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Twitter Helps You Build Blog Traffic
If you read Biz Tips Blog, then you know I've written about Twitter quite a bit in the past. One thing I want to make sure you know is that you can drive a lot of traffic to your blog with Twitter and get even more online visibilty.
Twitterfeed After you set up your Twitter account, you need to set up a free account on Twitterfeed.com. This application allows you to push out your blog posts to your Twitter followers. (I wrote a bit about Twitterfeed here.)
You simply connect your Twitter account and add the RSS feed for your blog. Then, choose how often you want Twitterfeed to "look" for new content. I have 5 blog feeds connected to my account so whenever I or Patsi posts new content, it gets pushed out to our followers. I'm finding that about 30% of our blog traffic is coming from people who click through from Twitter! And they are more likely to comment, either on the blog post or on twitter.
CAUTION: While it's important to push out your blog posts, it's even more important to engage with your followers on Twitter. If you don't, then you defeat the purpose of the tool to build relationships and eventually people will stop following you if all you do is push content.
Business blogging expert Denise Wakeman is an online marketing advisor and co-founder of The Blog Squad. With nearly two decades of business and online marketing experience, she helps authors, speakers, service professionals, and small business owners set up and optimize great blogs as well as strategically use social media tools to gain visibility, build credibility and make more money selling their books, products and services. Follow Denise on Twitter at http://www.Deniseontwitter.com
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
Thomas Edison
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Thomas Edison
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Web 2.0 - Blogs, Social Networks and Social Bookmarks
Web 2.0 has gotten a lot of people buzzing about joining different social sites to get more exposure for themselves and their business.
What is Web 2.0?
Web 2.0 is a new generation on the worldwide web that includes blogging, social bookmarking, social networking, wikis, podcasting, file sharing etc. It brings people together to interact, to share information and to build communities.
You've heard of these networks like MySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook. You know Blogger, Squidoo and Live Journal. Do Digg, Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon and Technorati ring a bell? How about a network for bloggers like Twitter? So, are you ready to join the masses of Web 2.0?
Many of you are already there blogging, bookmarking, sharing files through YouTube, and building relationships in a variety of networks.
Here's a closer look at blogs, social networks and social bookmarks that are part of the Web 2.0 generation.
Blogs
Blogs were once known as online journals. They are much more than that today. There are hundreds of new blogs created every day and they are becoming a commanding presence online. Some people prefer blogs over websites because they are easier to maintain. Blogs are social and content is ever changing. For the most part blogs and websites go hand in hand; driving traffic both ways.
Social Networks
Social networks have been around for a long time and there is not one social network site that is a one size fits all. People who share similar interests get together to form communities or niches. If you have a business, carefully choose your niche social network as you don't want to waste time networking with others who aren't your target market. It's much easier to network with people who have similar interests as you.
General interest social network sites include the likes of MySpace and Facebook where you can customize your own page to make them fun and interactive.
Twitter is another type of social network and micro-blogging for people who want to keep in touch through simple and short messages also known as "tweets". Keep up-to-date with your family, co-workers and friends around the world and see what they are up to. Follow you, follow me.
Social Bookmarks
Think of when you bookmark or add a website to your Favorites on your own computer; social bookmarking is the same thing except you tag a website and it's stored online where you can share with your friends. You can also use a search tool to search what other people is tagging that are of interest to you and vice versa.
Social news like Digg is different than a social bookmarking site like Del.icio.us as it focuses on blogs with current news, breaking headlines, technology and other topics of interest. These usually engage others in open discussions.
How does Web 2.0 benefit you?
They all drive traffic to you whether you're sharing bookmarks, twittering, or networking. Don't spread yourself too thin. In order to use Web 2.0 to your advantage find the right ones that cater to your needs and target your market for it will bring much greater rewards.
S McIntyre owns www.WorkAtHomeSpace.com a free work at home resource focusing on telecommuting companies, daily job leads, articles, resources and more. You can also visit her blog HealthyPerspectives.blogspot.com featuring health topics, nutrition, recipes & fitness for maintaining a well-balanced lifestyle.
Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Do you offer your business team training?
Business owners are only as successful as their employees or team members. In this article we are going to discuss how to train team members when you are in networking marketing.
When you show your team members the tricks of the trade and how to run their business they will succeed which means you will too. Most network marketing companies offer training to their business owners. When you build a team its very important that you make sure your team knows about the training and that they take it.
There are a couple of ways you can do this training. This article will give you ideas that will help you to decide what will work for you and your members.
* Training calls
You can set up training calls that you can do with your team. Set up calls for new team members to bring their new team members on. You should also set up calls for existing team members so they can learn new ways to build their business or refresh their memories on existing ways. When you set up these calls you can either supply training materials via email or you can have your listeners take notes for themselves.
* In House training
Set up training sessions in your home or at another location. Provide training materials on paper or on CD so they can take it home and review the materials again. Providing CDs will help others do the same in their location so they can provide the same wonderful training to their team.
* Video
Providing your training via video is a great way for your members to feel like they are in the same room as you. If you have graphs and other examples to show, they will be visible in the video as well. You can share your video via YouTube if you have the ability to download it.
* PowerPoint
Creating a slide show via PowerPoint is another option for your training. Creating these slides can be done by you or you can hire a VA to do these for you. You can do new team member trainings and existing member trainings and then you can share these presentations to all your team members.
* Ebook
Creating an ebook is a great way to do training with your team members. Put all of your important information into Word and then you can create the pdf or you can hire a VA to do it for you. This will allow your team members to take the training whenever they have the time and it will also allow them to review the training at any time. You can include the ebook in their training materials and have it on a website for them to access as well.
Success is important to any business owner. When you set up training sessions for your team members, they will help you reach your success goals. Training sessions help raise moral and increase business. When you provide these training sessions everyone will have the ability to grow.
Michael Frost is the CEO of WebHost Goldmine LLC, an online business dedicated to users of all types providing the best branding, customization, hosting, training and overall business/pleasure experience on the web. WHG is the "gateway to the internet" and a "must have" in all households. Michael is also a Certified Success and Wealth Building Coach and has worked with many of the top Fortune 500 Corporations helping their executives achieve their inner prosperity. Check out his website at cashinontoughtimes.com.
Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Home-Based Business vs. Second Job -- The Choice is Yours
Home-Based Business vs. Second Job -- The Choice is Yours
Many families today rely on two incomes to pay their bills not being able to make ends meet month to month. They face several options to secure that extra income they need, one being obtaining a part-time job and the other a home-based business. It’s a decision with advantages and disadvantages to each. I want to provide some suggestions to help you make the right choice.
When deciding between a standard second job and a home-based business, it is important to consider the expenses incurred in both. For those considering a second job, many do not take into account the numerous extra expenses that go along with childcare, clothing, gas, etc. Crown Financial Ministries offers a worksheet online (http://www.crown.org/Tools/mommake.asp ) to help you determine how much you will actually make once these expenses are deducted from your income. By breaking it down and seeing the guideline, you can see just how much extra you really bring home each week.
A home-based business also incurs expenses, but most of your business related expenses will be at least partially tax deductible. The IRS looks favorably on home-based businesses. The more money that you save with legitimate tax deductions, the more finances you’ll have to increase the size of your business. This in turn creates more revenue for the IRS.
A home-based business can also offer flexibility that a second job cannot. You can work from the comfort of your home – often in your pajamas if you choose. You can work the days you want and the hours you need. Your schedule is up to you! For example, Diana Ennen, author Virtual Assistant the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com/, states, “I enjoy the flexibility my home-based business provides. You can easily wake up at 5:30 a.m. to work or work until 2:00 a.m. whatever fits your personality. Many people enjoy it because they can start work after they have put the kids the bed and work a couple hours and earn extra money without having to hire a babysitter. Plus, it's all in the comfort of your own home. No costs on dry-cleaning, travel to work, gas expenses, etc., and you can't beat the one minute commute to the office!”
Allowing your family to be a part of the business is another benefit that not many jobs can compete with and thus another positive benefit to home-based businesses. Depending on the type of home-based business you choose, there may be small jobs that your children can assist with in the daily operations. These include: Helping prepare your mailings, preparing packages if you have a direct mail company, or even answering the phone - depending on their age. Your spouse can also be a part of your business and may be able to help run the business when you are not able to be at home.
Helping others be successful working from home is another great perk of being a part of a home-based business. Most home-based businesses allow you to build a team of people to work along side you. Finding other people that are interested in owning a business and then helping them succeed is satisfying and can be financially rewarding as well.
There are, of course, negative aspects about working from home. The success of your business depends solely on you. You need to be determined, efficient and organized to be successful. You must take the time to work at the business or you will not see the additional income that you desire. It can be very easy to let your business slide when you are tired or feeling discouraged. However, if you are aware of these temptations, you can create a plan to overcome them when they arise.
The benefits of a home-based business can many times override the work and time you must devote. When compared to the expenses occurred by taking a second job it is a great alternative. Because of the tax breaks when operating a home-based business, it is many times a more profitable option. You may not make a million, but it may allow you the freedom and income that you need to make life a little easier. Even with the disadvantages, many who work-at-home
wouldn't have it any other way. I hope this helps you make the right decision for you and your family.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jill Hart is the founder and editor of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com, and the author of the e-book, The Two Week Devotional Journey for Christian Work at Home Moms. The CWAHM.com website is dedicated to providing moms with free resources to aid them in their work at home search. The site also provides current work at home moms with opportunities to promote their businesses while at the same time providing them spiritual encouragement and articles. E-mail Jill at jill@cwahm.com for additional information or stop by her site at www.cwahm.com.
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Many families today rely on two incomes to pay their bills not being able to make ends meet month to month. They face several options to secure that extra income they need, one being obtaining a part-time job and the other a home-based business. It’s a decision with advantages and disadvantages to each. I want to provide some suggestions to help you make the right choice.
When deciding between a standard second job and a home-based business, it is important to consider the expenses incurred in both. For those considering a second job, many do not take into account the numerous extra expenses that go along with childcare, clothing, gas, etc. Crown Financial Ministries offers a worksheet online (http://www.crown.org/Tools/mommake.asp ) to help you determine how much you will actually make once these expenses are deducted from your income. By breaking it down and seeing the guideline, you can see just how much extra you really bring home each week.
A home-based business also incurs expenses, but most of your business related expenses will be at least partially tax deductible. The IRS looks favorably on home-based businesses. The more money that you save with legitimate tax deductions, the more finances you’ll have to increase the size of your business. This in turn creates more revenue for the IRS.
A home-based business can also offer flexibility that a second job cannot. You can work from the comfort of your home – often in your pajamas if you choose. You can work the days you want and the hours you need. Your schedule is up to you! For example, Diana Ennen, author Virtual Assistant the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com/, states, “I enjoy the flexibility my home-based business provides. You can easily wake up at 5:30 a.m. to work or work until 2:00 a.m. whatever fits your personality. Many people enjoy it because they can start work after they have put the kids the bed and work a couple hours and earn extra money without having to hire a babysitter. Plus, it's all in the comfort of your own home. No costs on dry-cleaning, travel to work, gas expenses, etc., and you can't beat the one minute commute to the office!”
Allowing your family to be a part of the business is another benefit that not many jobs can compete with and thus another positive benefit to home-based businesses. Depending on the type of home-based business you choose, there may be small jobs that your children can assist with in the daily operations. These include: Helping prepare your mailings, preparing packages if you have a direct mail company, or even answering the phone - depending on their age. Your spouse can also be a part of your business and may be able to help run the business when you are not able to be at home.
Helping others be successful working from home is another great perk of being a part of a home-based business. Most home-based businesses allow you to build a team of people to work along side you. Finding other people that are interested in owning a business and then helping them succeed is satisfying and can be financially rewarding as well.
There are, of course, negative aspects about working from home. The success of your business depends solely on you. You need to be determined, efficient and organized to be successful. You must take the time to work at the business or you will not see the additional income that you desire. It can be very easy to let your business slide when you are tired or feeling discouraged. However, if you are aware of these temptations, you can create a plan to overcome them when they arise.
The benefits of a home-based business can many times override the work and time you must devote. When compared to the expenses occurred by taking a second job it is a great alternative. Because of the tax breaks when operating a home-based business, it is many times a more profitable option. You may not make a million, but it may allow you the freedom and income that you need to make life a little easier. Even with the disadvantages, many who work-at-home
wouldn't have it any other way. I hope this helps you make the right decision for you and your family.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jill Hart is the founder and editor of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com, and the author of the e-book, The Two Week Devotional Journey for Christian Work at Home Moms. The CWAHM.com website is dedicated to providing moms with free resources to aid them in their work at home search. The site also provides current work at home moms with opportunities to promote their businesses while at the same time providing them spiritual encouragement and articles. E-mail Jill at jill@cwahm.com for additional information or stop by her site at www.cwahm.com.
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Do You Have Passion?
Do you have passion in your job? Do you wake up excited and look forward to your work? So many people are miserable at their job. They hate the work they do but stay because (especially now) jobs are hard to come by. Or they stay because it's all they have ever done.
Believe it or not, I have come across a alot of people that enjoy the work that they do. They love their job. They do wake up excited and look forward to their work.
So if you are looking to ditch your boss, work from your home and help supplement your income, then check out Wahm Job Finder.
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Believe it or not, I have come across a alot of people that enjoy the work that they do. They love their job. They do wake up excited and look forward to their work.
So if you are looking to ditch your boss, work from your home and help supplement your income, then check out Wahm Job Finder.
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Friday, January 16, 2009
How You Can Make Money Blogging
You have created a blog and your blog is dedicated to a niche industry. Have you ever thought that the blog could make money for you? We would look here in this article, ways and means, to make money blogging. Lets first have a look at what are the prerequisites for a blog needed to make money:
4. Affiliate Programs
Your affiliate programs can help you earn a lot of money for selected products and services. Lot of websites offers you to become affiliate members. These affiliate programs can provide a better reach and an in-depth exposure to the products. The commissions for the sales differ according to the quality of the product, sales and marketing strategy involved. You can gather information related to the commissions by looking into the catalogues of Link Share and Commission junctions.
5. Text Links
Text links has emerged out to be the best form of moneymaking source that you can use instead of cluttering or crowding the page with ads. You don't have to make these text links prominent within your website. This link can act as an extra value to your site and will also help to promote the rankings of other sites. In most of the cases you will find these text links placed in the bottom of the web pages. The best part of this strategy is that the publishers send and accept links as the market continues to grow.
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
1. Blog needs to be dedicated to a niche market.
2. Updated regularly.
3. Enough back links (Don't worry for it. Directory submission would be enough to begin with)
4. Good blog host or application (Blogger, Xanga or Typepad recommended), and
5. High quality articles or news items supported with images. Get the above criteria in place and Hooray--You are ready to Make Money Blogging.
Top 5 Ways to Make Money Blogging
Lets now take a look at top 5 ways using which you could make money blogging:
1. Google Adsense
Google Adsense delivers text and image ads to the authorized websites/blogs depending on the content of the website. Small code is required to be pasted at proper locations on a webpage and Google automatically recognizes the page. Google shares the revenue it gets from the advertisers whenever a visitor clicks on these ads.
Google bills advertisers on price per click basis (PPC). Advertisers are required to pay only when any visitor clicks on their ads. They bid against each other for the keywords in order to receive better placement and thus prices for each keyword differ from one another. It is better to choose keywords for your blog which pays high $ per click.
2. Amazon
Amazon Associate program is another important way to make money blogging. The Amazon Associate program gives opportunity to website/blog publishers to promote any product from its inventory by adding a predefined code to their website/blog, which, when clicked by a visitor, takes them to the relevant product page. Once the visitor buys the product, the blog owner will be compensated with a commission.
3. Blogads
You can use Blogads as an effective tool to have a better control over the advertisers in your blogs. You can analyze and compare your profits with any one of your online agencies. Blogads can be simply specified as an advertising service used for the web logs or blogs. From the total money generated by Blogads, it retains 20% of it and the remaining money is paid to you through PayPal or checks.
Alternative Services:
* Crispads, is another useful network focused on the blogs. You can put your advertisements in their blogs using Crispads. You can move through their RSS/ATOM feeds that help in generating revenues.
* Tagword, It is similar to Blogads. It makes you select the ads and their price.
Users can place their text-based ads in the site within minutes and the ads will be displayed instantly on the website.
4. Affiliate Programs
Your affiliate programs can help you earn a lot of money for selected products and services. Lot of websites offers you to become affiliate members. These affiliate programs can provide a better reach and an in-depth exposure to the products. The commissions for the sales differ according to the quality of the product, sales and marketing strategy involved. You can gather information related to the commissions by looking into the catalogues of Link Share and Commission junctions.
5. Text Links
Text links has emerged out to be the best form of moneymaking source that you can use instead of cluttering or crowding the page with ads. You don't have to make these text links prominent within your website. This link can act as an extra value to your site and will also help to promote the rankings of other sites. In most of the cases you will find these text links placed in the bottom of the web pages. The best part of this strategy is that the publishers send and accept links as the market continues to grow.
Article Source: http://www.thewahmshack.com/articledirectory/
About The Author: There are many strategies to making money on the internet, but nothing makes sense unless you have a big list. Email Marketing is the most profitable way to make money on the internet. Discover how to use the internet and turn your computer into a cash gushing machine. Sign-up right now for Matt Bacak's FREE online newsletter to find out how to do exactly that, Go here: www.promotingtips.com
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Power Of A Woman
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
7 Steps to Starting Your Business
'I've finally decided to start my business. Now, WHERE THE HECK DO I START?'
Sound familiar?
This question comes up a lot and I'm always surprised by the "words of wisdom" seasoned entrepreneurs give. Things like "make a website," "get your business license," "buy this software," "read this book," "write a business plan" or "open a business bank account."
This is great advice if (1) time is not of essence and (2) money is no object. Don't get me wrong, those answers are correct. But I find they often miss the point by adding unnecessary burdens like anxiety and expenses to someone who's just starting off. Most people I speak with don't have the luxury of time or money. They want to get their business up and running quickly and start attracting clients so they can start making money to care for their families.
If you fit the latter description, don't despair. I've come up with 7 steps to help you get up and running in no time.
Specify what you do. This is probably THE most important step. You can't start marketing yourself without being absolutely clear on what services you offer. Split your list in two -- services you DO offer and services you DON'T offer. Keep this list handy; you'll find as time goes on, this list will narrow down to what you really love doing and everything else. This first step will help you define your specialty.
Determine who do you it for. You'll often hear people (especially coaches) say you "must" choose a target market, or niche, if you want to succeed in business. It's true that narrowly defining a target market IS important. But when you're starting off, you can't know who you like doing business with until you've had a few contracts. Start the process by listing the types of people or companies you like to work with. Remember, you want to be more specific than saying something general like "stay at home moms," "small business owners," "lawyers" or "baby boomers." This second step will get you closer to identifying your target market.
Decide on your fee. Just because you're starting up a business doesn't mean you have to low-ball your fees. Base your decision on these 3 factors: (1) What is your competition charging? (2) How much are your potential clients willing to pay? and (3) Can you have financial freedom asking for this fee? Your decision may be mostly based on intuition or experience. Remember to ask for what you think you're worth and don't accept anything less.
Get business cards. And I don't mean cards printed on your friend's "really good printer." These days, you can get professionally printed business cards for cheap. Don't worry if you haven't yet chosen a company name; just use your name to start with. Once you've decided on a company name, a logo and have started getting clients, you can order more cards.
Design your 30-second intro. You must be able to answer the "So, what do you do?" question in 30 seconds or less. Remember, your audience is tuned in to the WIIFM channel ("What's in it for me?"). If something in your pitch doesn't pass the "so what?" test, it's best to leave it out (like "Hello, my name is Cristina Favreau and I'm a Certified Coach." Really! Who cares?). Make it compelling. Talk about the benefits of doing business with you. Identify what makes you different from your competition. Get help to brainstorming ideas. Practice it, until it comes naturally to you.
Network. Once you've complete these 5 steps, you need to get out there and start networking. It'll be difficult and scary at first, especially if your pipeline is empty, but the more you do it, the easier it gets and the more your pipeline fills up with contacts. Great places to start are local chambers and business networking groups. You may also want to join a few online groups where the people you identified in step 2 hang out.
Market your business each day. Marketing is telling people what you do over and over again. You have a limited budget, so stick to inexpensive strategies: give a referral, give away a free report, write a newsletter and blog, offer a free introductory session, give a presentation at your local networking venue or anything else you can think of that will get people to start seeing you as an expert in your field, even if you're just starting off.
The trick to these 7 steps is to keep it simple. Just because you have limited cash flow doesn't mean you can't be successful. Your strategies at the beginning should be to get your name out there and to get clients.
Obviously, these 7 steps are not the end-all-be-all of starting a business. There's still more to do. But going through these steps will give you a solid foundation to build on. In a following article, I'll share with you the next steps to take, once you have these ones in place.
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Sound familiar?
This question comes up a lot and I'm always surprised by the "words of wisdom" seasoned entrepreneurs give. Things like "make a website," "get your business license," "buy this software," "read this book," "write a business plan" or "open a business bank account."
This is great advice if (1) time is not of essence and (2) money is no object. Don't get me wrong, those answers are correct. But I find they often miss the point by adding unnecessary burdens like anxiety and expenses to someone who's just starting off. Most people I speak with don't have the luxury of time or money. They want to get their business up and running quickly and start attracting clients so they can start making money to care for their families.
If you fit the latter description, don't despair. I've come up with 7 steps to help you get up and running in no time.
Specify what you do. This is probably THE most important step. You can't start marketing yourself without being absolutely clear on what services you offer. Split your list in two -- services you DO offer and services you DON'T offer. Keep this list handy; you'll find as time goes on, this list will narrow down to what you really love doing and everything else. This first step will help you define your specialty.
Determine who do you it for. You'll often hear people (especially coaches) say you "must" choose a target market, or niche, if you want to succeed in business. It's true that narrowly defining a target market IS important. But when you're starting off, you can't know who you like doing business with until you've had a few contracts. Start the process by listing the types of people or companies you like to work with. Remember, you want to be more specific than saying something general like "stay at home moms," "small business owners," "lawyers" or "baby boomers." This second step will get you closer to identifying your target market.
Decide on your fee. Just because you're starting up a business doesn't mean you have to low-ball your fees. Base your decision on these 3 factors: (1) What is your competition charging? (2) How much are your potential clients willing to pay? and (3) Can you have financial freedom asking for this fee? Your decision may be mostly based on intuition or experience. Remember to ask for what you think you're worth and don't accept anything less.
Get business cards. And I don't mean cards printed on your friend's "really good printer." These days, you can get professionally printed business cards for cheap. Don't worry if you haven't yet chosen a company name; just use your name to start with. Once you've decided on a company name, a logo and have started getting clients, you can order more cards.
Design your 30-second intro. You must be able to answer the "So, what do you do?" question in 30 seconds or less. Remember, your audience is tuned in to the WIIFM channel ("What's in it for me?"). If something in your pitch doesn't pass the "so what?" test, it's best to leave it out (like "Hello, my name is Cristina Favreau and I'm a Certified Coach." Really! Who cares?). Make it compelling. Talk about the benefits of doing business with you. Identify what makes you different from your competition. Get help to brainstorming ideas. Practice it, until it comes naturally to you.
Network. Once you've complete these 5 steps, you need to get out there and start networking. It'll be difficult and scary at first, especially if your pipeline is empty, but the more you do it, the easier it gets and the more your pipeline fills up with contacts. Great places to start are local chambers and business networking groups. You may also want to join a few online groups where the people you identified in step 2 hang out.
Market your business each day. Marketing is telling people what you do over and over again. You have a limited budget, so stick to inexpensive strategies: give a referral, give away a free report, write a newsletter and blog, offer a free introductory session, give a presentation at your local networking venue or anything else you can think of that will get people to start seeing you as an expert in your field, even if you're just starting off.
The trick to these 7 steps is to keep it simple. Just because you have limited cash flow doesn't mean you can't be successful. Your strategies at the beginning should be to get your name out there and to get clients.
Obviously, these 7 steps are not the end-all-be-all of starting a business. There's still more to do. But going through these steps will give you a solid foundation to build on. In a following article, I'll share with you the next steps to take, once you have these ones in place.
Cristina Favreau is Mom to 2 kids under 2 years old. As a Certified Coach and Get Clients Now! Licensed Facilitator, she helps service professionals make marketing & self-promotion easy to understand & implement, starting at your level. Within 3 hours, she’ll help you identify where you’re stuck in the marketing process & come up with an action plan of immediate strategies to gain momentum. Visit www.cristinafavreau.com or blog.cristinafavreau.com
Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
Cindy Ashworth is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom. Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com.
Articles written in this blog by Cindy Ashworth are the sole property of Cindy Ashworth and permission is needed for duplication.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Finding The Time To Work Your Business
When you are working long hours and you have a home based business that you also want to pay attention to and work, it gets very frustrating when you notice that so much time has passed and you have not touched it, worked it or even thought about it.
So this is where the big questions comes into play. How important is it to you? How motivated are you? How badly do you want it?
Is your home business just a hobby, something to do to pass time? Then this won't even apply to you.
I have found that if you designate certain days for certain activities, it seems to work much better. Using Mondays for kids and family time, Tuesdays for their home business, Wednesdays for activities that your children may be involved in, Thursdays for working your business and Fridays for cleaning and errands. (examples).
Some people have the 3-4 hours each night that they can spend working their business. And some do not. They may only have 2-3 hours to spare a couple times a week. And if that is your situation, it can still work. Alot of people have started out working a couple days a week for a few hours, but, over a period of time their business was built and allowed them to come home full time. Of course, more each week will get you home sooner.
So many people have started out in my business with just a few hours each week to work. The key thing to remember is being consistent in what you do. If you can only work on Mondays and Wednesdays, then you need to work those days each week. Stick with the schedule. Allow this to be routine, just like brushing your teethe. This needs to become habit. For every time you call off of work to go out with the girls, you are one day less closer to your goal.....
Cindy Ashworth is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com. Cindy is a single mom, working her way to become a full time work at home mom.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Baby Steps In FREE Online Marketing
Baby Steps In FREE Online Marketing
Ok, so I touched a little on offline marketing last week. Now let's discuss online marketing for your business. This will be just very basic tools that are helpful.
So you are ready and open for business. How will you reach the people that use the internet?
If you need a domain name, site building or hosting, check out GoDaddy.com
I'm going to touch on some tools that I use for my business. That help me to get my business recognized.
First, url submissions. Yes, you can pay to have your url submitted from someone else but I choose to do this myself. And here is a listing of some of the search engines and directories.
As long as you know your url, you can go to the search engines and submit your url on your own. You will look for the (suggest a site or link) usually found at the top or very bottom. Here is a list of some of the search engines.
DMOZ.org
ExactSeek.com
Google.com
Livesearching.net
MSN.com
ScrubTheWeb.com
Search-O-Rama.com
SearchSight.com
SingingFish
VXbox.com
Yahoo.com
Websquash.com
Sahfor.com
Add URL-Free.com
Aeiwi.com
Allfreethings.com
Walhello Internet Search
Free website directory
IceRocket - add your feed here
Mixcat Internet Website Directory
JDGO Search Engine
If you are using a blog to advertise your business, then you will want to use Ping-o-Matic every time you update. This tool lets blog search engines know that your blog has been updated and sends a ping out to the selected search engines.
Advertising. So many people shy away when they hear this. But there are so many Free ways to advertise your business online. One of my favorite is SaleSpider. These are free. All you have to do is create a user name and a password and then create your ad that you want to place and know which category you want to place it in. I love how these work. You are even sent an email on most of them that let you know when your ad is going to expire.
*** Make sure you use a separate email account for this.... You will probably get a little junk email as well*** But I'm sure you know how to hit delete.
If you are a WAHM and would like a free email account, then you can go to WAHMZONE.Com. I love the way these accounts are set up.
Now, let's talk about banner/button/link/text exchanges. Just about every business is willing to exchange with another business. Company A will place a banner or text on company B and then company B will do the same to company A. They swap. It's great exposure and FREE.
The standard size banners used are 468x60, 125x125 and 88x31 which is used for plugging... I will get into that in a minute. View the sizes below.
Banner - 468x60
Button - 125x125
Plugging - 88x31
A banner/button/plug can have anything on it. Words, pic, anything. And if you are in need of having one created, visit MisbeehaveBanners. Banners and buttons will be done by exchanges (swap). So I am in the wahm field. I would swap my banners/buttons with other wahm's business's. And if you go to http://www.mykidsmywhy.com/ you will see a link on the left side called Link Exchange. Follow the instructions and we will swap links or banners.
Now for a plug button. Which is the small one. This is great. Once again,, if you go to http://www.mykidsmywhy.com/ you will see a link on the left side called PlugBoard. And if you need a plugboard, visit here. Just as you would with the banners, you will copy your button url and place it into the button url field and use your website url in the http:// field. Instant advertising that is done FREE.
Community Advertising has great prices on Solo Ads. Now this you will pay for but it's worth it to me. It works like this.
We run ads like they came from you! Including using your business name for the title of our e-mail address with NO credit and NO mention of Community Advertising in your ad! Additionally we don't use e-mail addresses that are tied to our domain names. The focus for your business should be on YOU -- not US!When we run your advertisement we hand select the groups that we run your ad in based on the type of business you're running the ad campaign for. It's targeted advertising that is specific for the type of business that you're running. Our ad groups are tested and targeted to be effective!
List your business. Alot of sites will have a directory listing that will let you ad your business url to their list. So for what I do, I would go to Moms Network. You will see a link at the top called WAHM Directory. Under the directory, I would pick what category fits my business best and submit my business to be listed.
Blogging is another great way to get exposure. And of course, it's free. I use blogger. You can do the same url submissions with a blog that you can do with a website. See the list of directories that I found. What's nice about this is all you have to do is click the link and look for (submit or suggest) and follow the instructions for each one.
Article Submission. Just one more useful tool in getting your business recognized. And yes, it's FREE. I myself have a few articles that I have wrote out at www.wahm-articles.com. So if I can do it, then pretty much anyone can... LOL.. What I have just wrote is an article. You would just look at the type of business you are working, and write about it. Something that can help someone else in your field. Make sure you have a bio at the end that leads to you. Your name, your website and what you do. If your article is accepted, everyone can view it and that is free exposure.
If you have no idea where to go to submit your article, use your search engine. Play with the keywords. For myself, I would type in work at home, article submissions.
Everything I am touching on right now is either FREE or so very inexpensive. And I really tried to lay this out so simple for the newbie.... I hope this helps and if you decide to use any info, remember to include my bio:
Cindy Ashworth is a part time wahm and the owner of http://www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and http://www.mykidsmywhy.com/
Ok, so I touched a little on offline marketing last week. Now let's discuss online marketing for your business. This will be just very basic tools that are helpful.
So you are ready and open for business. How will you reach the people that use the internet?
If you need a domain name, site building or hosting, check out GoDaddy.com
I'm going to touch on some tools that I use for my business. That help me to get my business recognized.
First, url submissions. Yes, you can pay to have your url submitted from someone else but I choose to do this myself. And here is a listing of some of the search engines and directories.
As long as you know your url, you can go to the search engines and submit your url on your own. You will look for the (suggest a site or link) usually found at the top or very bottom. Here is a list of some of the search engines.
DMOZ.org
ExactSeek.com
Google.com
Livesearching.net
MSN.com
ScrubTheWeb.com
Search-O-Rama.com
SearchSight.com
SingingFish
VXbox.com
Yahoo.com
Websquash.com
Sahfor.com
Add URL-Free.com
Aeiwi.com
Allfreethings.com
Walhello Internet Search
Free website directory
IceRocket - add your feed here
Mixcat Internet Website Directory
JDGO Search Engine
If you are using a blog to advertise your business, then you will want to use Ping-o-Matic every time you update. This tool lets blog search engines know that your blog has been updated and sends a ping out to the selected search engines.
Advertising. So many people shy away when they hear this. But there are so many Free ways to advertise your business online. One of my favorite is SaleSpider. These are free. All you have to do is create a user name and a password and then create your ad that you want to place and know which category you want to place it in. I love how these work. You are even sent an email on most of them that let you know when your ad is going to expire.
*** Make sure you use a separate email account for this.... You will probably get a little junk email as well*** But I'm sure you know how to hit delete.
If you are a WAHM and would like a free email account, then you can go to WAHMZONE.Com. I love the way these accounts are set up.
Now, let's talk about banner/button/link/text exchanges. Just about every business is willing to exchange with another business. Company A will place a banner or text on company B and then company B will do the same to company A. They swap. It's great exposure and FREE.
The standard size banners used are 468x60, 125x125 and 88x31 which is used for plugging... I will get into that in a minute. View the sizes below.
Banner - 468x60
Button - 125x125
Plugging - 88x31
A banner/button/plug can have anything on it. Words, pic, anything. And if you are in need of having one created, visit MisbeehaveBanners. Banners and buttons will be done by exchanges (swap). So I am in the wahm field. I would swap my banners/buttons with other wahm's business's. And if you go to http://www.mykidsmywhy.com/ you will see a link on the left side called Link Exchange. Follow the instructions and we will swap links or banners.
Now for a plug button. Which is the small one. This is great. Once again,, if you go to http://www.mykidsmywhy.com/ you will see a link on the left side called PlugBoard. And if you need a plugboard, visit here. Just as you would with the banners, you will copy your button url and place it into the button url field and use your website url in the http:// field. Instant advertising that is done FREE.
Community Advertising has great prices on Solo Ads. Now this you will pay for but it's worth it to me. It works like this.
We run ads like they came from you! Including using your business name for the title of our e-mail address with NO credit and NO mention of Community Advertising in your ad! Additionally we don't use e-mail addresses that are tied to our domain names. The focus for your business should be on YOU -- not US!When we run your advertisement we hand select the groups that we run your ad in based on the type of business you're running the ad campaign for. It's targeted advertising that is specific for the type of business that you're running. Our ad groups are tested and targeted to be effective!
List your business. Alot of sites will have a directory listing that will let you ad your business url to their list. So for what I do, I would go to Moms Network. You will see a link at the top called WAHM Directory. Under the directory, I would pick what category fits my business best and submit my business to be listed.
Blogging is another great way to get exposure. And of course, it's free. I use blogger. You can do the same url submissions with a blog that you can do with a website. See the list of directories that I found. What's nice about this is all you have to do is click the link and look for (submit or suggest) and follow the instructions for each one.
Article Submission. Just one more useful tool in getting your business recognized. And yes, it's FREE. I myself have a few articles that I have wrote out at www.wahm-articles.com. So if I can do it, then pretty much anyone can... LOL.. What I have just wrote is an article. You would just look at the type of business you are working, and write about it. Something that can help someone else in your field. Make sure you have a bio at the end that leads to you. Your name, your website and what you do. If your article is accepted, everyone can view it and that is free exposure.
If you have no idea where to go to submit your article, use your search engine. Play with the keywords. For myself, I would type in work at home, article submissions.
Everything I am touching on right now is either FREE or so very inexpensive. And I really tried to lay this out so simple for the newbie.... I hope this helps and if you decide to use any info, remember to include my bio:
Cindy Ashworth is a part time wahm and the owner of http://www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and http://www.mykidsmywhy.com/
Monday, January 5, 2009
Why Market Your Business?
Marketing! It's everywhere. If you are someone that is working from home in your own business, then you can't help but hear how marketing your business is essential in your business growth.
For someone new in the work at home field, marketing can be a scary term. Especially if you have never heard of it, done it and not even sure what it means.
Understand this. Marketing is needed in EVERY business. Without it, your business will not thrive and will probably fail.
Let's look at it this way. Let's say you had a building that you were renting and you decided that you were going to open up your own clothing store. How will people know you even exist? Sure, a few people may drive or walk past your business. But, what about all the other people that don't go your way? What about those that live in a different city, state or even country? And what about those that use the internet? You are missing and endless amount of people if you are not marketing over the internet.
So where do you begin in marketing your business? First let's start off easy... A little offline marketing. You will need business cards. You can order 250 FREE business cards at www.vistaprint.com/frf?frf=765140022449 here and just pay for the shipping. I love using my business cards everywhere. And I mean everywhere.
Your local mom and pop shops of all business's will usually let you leave your business cards at the front counter. They want to help local business's as well. I have left my cards at restaurants, bowling alleys, in restrooms, on pay phones (not taped down), at atm machines and even in grocery stores.
Another great way to market: Coloring Pages. Yes, these work. You will want to print off some coloring pages and make sure that you have your website at the bottom of the page. You can take these coloring pages to daycares, nurserys, preschools and even some grocery stores have a babysitting center that will watch your kids while the parent does their grocery shopping. Ask any of these places if you can leave some coloring pages there for the kids to color. And everyone knows that kids love to show their parents their artwork. And the parent will see your website on the colored page.
Here's a great tool that I used when we had a limousine company years ago. Go to all the local business in your area and ask if they want to network with other local business's. This is how it works. You will want a diversity of different business's involved. A coffee shop that will offer 1 free large coffee to go. A hair salon that may offer a free hair cut to a new client. Or a card shop that may offer like 20% off their purchase. Do you get the idea? Six to eight business's will be
perfect for this. Make sure to include your business and an offer as well.
Let's say that you have 8 local business's that want to join this. Now don't worry, you don't have to be an artist to do this... LOL. You will have 4 business's listed on the left side of the flyer and 4 on the right side of the flyer. Company name at the top. What they are offering under the company name. And then phone # and address under that. At the bottom you will have the expiration date of the offer.
Get prices from various printing companies and run off about 400 copies. Whatever the cost is, will be split among all 8 companies. Each company is willing to leave 50 fliers at their front counter for customers. This is a great way to get exposure and it really does not cost much.
Holiday marketing is fun. If it's Halloween, this is what you do. Hand out baggies of candy with your business card inside. Simple.
And if it's Easter. Invest in the plastic eggs and place a business card inside along with some candy. Most Easter egg hunts will gladly accept donations of the filled plastic Easter eggs. Just another great way to market.
Next time I will touch on the online marketing. I hope this helps. As always, feel free to use the content above as long as you link it to me and my bio.
Cindy Ashworth is a WAHM on a part time basis. And can be found at www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and at www.mykidsmywhy.com
For someone new in the work at home field, marketing can be a scary term. Especially if you have never heard of it, done it and not even sure what it means.
Understand this. Marketing is needed in EVERY business. Without it, your business will not thrive and will probably fail.
Let's look at it this way. Let's say you had a building that you were renting and you decided that you were going to open up your own clothing store. How will people know you even exist? Sure, a few people may drive or walk past your business. But, what about all the other people that don't go your way? What about those that live in a different city, state or even country? And what about those that use the internet? You are missing and endless amount of people if you are not marketing over the internet.
So where do you begin in marketing your business? First let's start off easy... A little offline marketing. You will need business cards. You can order 250 FREE business cards at www.vistaprint.com/frf?frf=765140022449 here and just pay for the shipping. I love using my business cards everywhere. And I mean everywhere.
Your local mom and pop shops of all business's will usually let you leave your business cards at the front counter. They want to help local business's as well. I have left my cards at restaurants, bowling alleys, in restrooms, on pay phones (not taped down), at atm machines and even in grocery stores.
Another great way to market: Coloring Pages. Yes, these work. You will want to print off some coloring pages and make sure that you have your website at the bottom of the page. You can take these coloring pages to daycares, nurserys, preschools and even some grocery stores have a babysitting center that will watch your kids while the parent does their grocery shopping. Ask any of these places if you can leave some coloring pages there for the kids to color. And everyone knows that kids love to show their parents their artwork. And the parent will see your website on the colored page.
Here's a great tool that I used when we had a limousine company years ago. Go to all the local business in your area and ask if they want to network with other local business's. This is how it works. You will want a diversity of different business's involved. A coffee shop that will offer 1 free large coffee to go. A hair salon that may offer a free hair cut to a new client. Or a card shop that may offer like 20% off their purchase. Do you get the idea? Six to eight business's will be
perfect for this. Make sure to include your business and an offer as well.
Let's say that you have 8 local business's that want to join this. Now don't worry, you don't have to be an artist to do this... LOL. You will have 4 business's listed on the left side of the flyer and 4 on the right side of the flyer. Company name at the top. What they are offering under the company name. And then phone # and address under that. At the bottom you will have the expiration date of the offer.
Get prices from various printing companies and run off about 400 copies. Whatever the cost is, will be split among all 8 companies. Each company is willing to leave 50 fliers at their front counter for customers. This is a great way to get exposure and it really does not cost much.
Holiday marketing is fun. If it's Halloween, this is what you do. Hand out baggies of candy with your business card inside. Simple.
And if it's Easter. Invest in the plastic eggs and place a business card inside along with some candy. Most Easter egg hunts will gladly accept donations of the filled plastic Easter eggs. Just another great way to market.
Next time I will touch on the online marketing. I hope this helps. As always, feel free to use the content above as long as you link it to me and my bio.
Cindy Ashworth is a WAHM on a part time basis. And can be found at www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and at www.mykidsmywhy.com
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Do You Know Why You Want To Work At Home?
When looking to work from home, you must have a very defined reason why you want to work at home. And that reason HAS to be stronger than all of the obstacles that may come your way. That may cloud your judgement and have you second guessing your choice.
This is such a common element with so many people. So many determined individuals, go-getters, really want to work at home. And they have a very strong "Why" they want to work at home. Yet their "Why" is not quit strong enough when "Life" gets in the way.
Parents really use this excuse alot...When their kids are involved in sports. That strong desire they had to work at home, their reason, becomes less important when life gets in the way. And yes, life will get in the way. But it is the "Why" that separates those that achieve among those that dream.
I suggest that before you even look to work at home, make sure you know your "Why". Without your strong, defined reason, you will not succeed.
Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com. Working her way to become a full time wahm and continue raising her family.
This is such a common element with so many people. So many determined individuals, go-getters, really want to work at home. And they have a very strong "Why" they want to work at home. Yet their "Why" is not quit strong enough when "Life" gets in the way.
Parents really use this excuse alot...When their kids are involved in sports. That strong desire they had to work at home, their reason, becomes less important when life gets in the way. And yes, life will get in the way. But it is the "Why" that separates those that achieve among those that dream.
I suggest that before you even look to work at home, make sure you know your "Why". Without your strong, defined reason, you will not succeed.
Cindy is the owner of www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and www.mykidsmywhy.com. Working her way to become a full time wahm and continue raising her family.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
So What Is It About Working From Home?
So what is it about working from home?
Working from home, Entrepreneur, home-based business... You hear alot of hype about working from home. It all sounds glamorous and easy to do. But it's much harder than one thinks.
There's alot to consider :
1) Before I even speak in detail with someone, I ask them "WHY". Why do you want to work from home? This is very important for me to know. If you don't have a defined "why" you want to work at home, odds are you will not succeed in working at home. Your reason to work at home HAS to be stronger than your reason not to. There has to be drive, determination and persistence. Without it, you will not succeed.
2) Determine if you are looking to work from home full time or part time. Not all work at home opportunities are full time. So make sure that the company you are looking into can accommodate your desired hours of work.
3) When looking into companies that you are considering to work for, check the BBB (better business bureau) on each company. But here's the thing. You need to know what state that company is located in. And then you call the BBB in that state. I have heard a few people tell me that they called the BBB in the state that they live in, not the state that the company is located in. And they were given incorrect information. The BBB has the ability to make or break a company.
Key items to check on when contacting the BBB:
A) How long has the company been in business?
B) Has the company previously been under a different name? If yes, I suggest staying away. There's a reason.
C) Has the company filed bankruptcy before?
D) Has the company growth continuously grown positive?
E) Has the company moved around?
F) Has the company had the same phone number and for how long?
*** Understand this... It is impossible for a company to make every person happy. And if a company should have some negative feedback, how can you say that it's the fault of the company? What if someone worked for "company A" but did not have the drive, determination, skills, ability, time... What if life just got in the way and that person gave up on the company. Now this person is going to leave negative feedback on "company A", when it was not the companies fault. ***
4) Depending on the business that you are working, you will want to make sure that you have the main necessities. Computer, printer, fax, (there is a online fax service available), copier, highlighters (great for color coding procedures), business cards, paper, notebooks, daily planner, monthly whiteboard with erasable markers, promotional items, and the list goes on and on.
5) Create a work schedule and stick with it. Designate the time you want to work your business and write it down. Let everyone know that this is when you will be working and treat it as that, (work). Now believe me, I know this can be difficult. Especially if you are a single parent and you have younger children. You may only be able to work 20 minutes here, 15 minutes there..... But it will become routine. And I believe in letting my kids help me out as well as setting time aside just for my kids. This is definitely give and take for everyone involved.
6) Stay focused and motivated. Knows your "WHY".
7) Create a goal chart and hang it above your work area. That way you can see it everyday. I picked up a poster board. I used one half of the board and wrote down the goals that I have and the date that they will be achieved. Then on the right side of the poster board, I have pictures cut out and pasted on the board. If you are a visual person, this is great.... Maybe you have your dream house, washer and dryer, a certain landscaped lawn, a car, a picture of the ocean.... Whatever you desire, find a picture of it and put it up on your board.
8) Utilize all the tools that are available for your business. Don't limit yourself. Dip into everything your company has... Become an asset.
9) If you have to talk on the phone, STAND UP..... Take posture. Don't sit and slouch because that does come through over the phone.
10) Keep yourself in check. This is your company. Would you hire or fire yourself? Would you want to work with someone like yourself ?
Source: Cindy Ashworth @ http://www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and http://www.mykidsmywhy.com/
Working from home, Entrepreneur, home-based business... You hear alot of hype about working from home. It all sounds glamorous and easy to do. But it's much harder than one thinks.
There's alot to consider :
1) Before I even speak in detail with someone, I ask them "WHY". Why do you want to work from home? This is very important for me to know. If you don't have a defined "why" you want to work at home, odds are you will not succeed in working at home. Your reason to work at home HAS to be stronger than your reason not to. There has to be drive, determination and persistence. Without it, you will not succeed.
2) Determine if you are looking to work from home full time or part time. Not all work at home opportunities are full time. So make sure that the company you are looking into can accommodate your desired hours of work.
3) When looking into companies that you are considering to work for, check the BBB (better business bureau) on each company. But here's the thing. You need to know what state that company is located in. And then you call the BBB in that state. I have heard a few people tell me that they called the BBB in the state that they live in, not the state that the company is located in. And they were given incorrect information. The BBB has the ability to make or break a company.
Key items to check on when contacting the BBB:
A) How long has the company been in business?
B) Has the company previously been under a different name? If yes, I suggest staying away. There's a reason.
C) Has the company filed bankruptcy before?
D) Has the company growth continuously grown positive?
E) Has the company moved around?
F) Has the company had the same phone number and for how long?
*** Understand this... It is impossible for a company to make every person happy. And if a company should have some negative feedback, how can you say that it's the fault of the company? What if someone worked for "company A" but did not have the drive, determination, skills, ability, time... What if life just got in the way and that person gave up on the company. Now this person is going to leave negative feedback on "company A", when it was not the companies fault. ***
4) Depending on the business that you are working, you will want to make sure that you have the main necessities. Computer, printer, fax, (there is a online fax service available), copier, highlighters (great for color coding procedures), business cards, paper, notebooks, daily planner, monthly whiteboard with erasable markers, promotional items, and the list goes on and on.
5) Create a work schedule and stick with it. Designate the time you want to work your business and write it down. Let everyone know that this is when you will be working and treat it as that, (work). Now believe me, I know this can be difficult. Especially if you are a single parent and you have younger children. You may only be able to work 20 minutes here, 15 minutes there..... But it will become routine. And I believe in letting my kids help me out as well as setting time aside just for my kids. This is definitely give and take for everyone involved.
6) Stay focused and motivated. Knows your "WHY".
7) Create a goal chart and hang it above your work area. That way you can see it everyday. I picked up a poster board. I used one half of the board and wrote down the goals that I have and the date that they will be achieved. Then on the right side of the poster board, I have pictures cut out and pasted on the board. If you are a visual person, this is great.... Maybe you have your dream house, washer and dryer, a certain landscaped lawn, a car, a picture of the ocean.... Whatever you desire, find a picture of it and put it up on your board.
8) Utilize all the tools that are available for your business. Don't limit yourself. Dip into everything your company has... Become an asset.
9) If you have to talk on the phone, STAND UP..... Take posture. Don't sit and slouch because that does come through over the phone.
10) Keep yourself in check. This is your company. Would you hire or fire yourself? Would you want to work with someone like yourself ?
Source: Cindy Ashworth @ http://www.asinglewahm.blogspot.com and http://www.mykidsmywhy.com/
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