Tuesday, January 29, 2008

blogging for money tip

I have to say that for anyone who wants to earn money from his or her blog, Steve Pavlina at www.stevepavlina.com wrote a very informative blog on the topic. It is a long blog, but all of the information is useful. Also, it was written in 2006, but still applicable if this is a topic of interest to you. The title of the Article is How To Make Money From Your Blog.

Monday, January 28, 2008

coping with working from home

Working from home is definitely wonderful for most people, but it is not always easy, and everyone is not cut out to work from home.

Working from home will have its distractions. The phone will be ringing. The kids will be playing, screaming, and calling for you. The dishes will need to be done. Supper will need to be cooked. Your spouse will need your help with this or that. You really have to set some ground rules if you are working from home. Set your working hours, and stick to them. Ask your children and spouse not to bother you during these hours, barring an emergency of course. Ask for help with chores. It is like working any other job. You cannot be expected to do everything if you have a family. You need help with the cooking and cleaning. You can still do some of it yourself. Hopefully, working from home will allow you to work fewer hours, but you will still need help on some days. Turn on your answering machine or let the voicemail pickup your personal line if no one is available to take messages for you.

Unfortunately, when some people find out that you are working from home, they assume that you are sitting on the couch, eating bonbons, and watching soap operas all day. They are unaware of your working world. Therefore, they assume it does not exist. They will ask you to do things for them during your workday. Trust me. I definitely know about this one from personal experience. You will be asked to babysit children, pick up children from school, sign for packages, drive people to the doctor, act as the friend's or family's technical support, and SO MANY other things. You just have to learn to say no. This is something that I have struggled with, but I am finally getting the hang of it. I don’t feel like I have to explain my job to people. If they think I am lazing around all day, so be it, but I must politely decline from taking care of their errands. I am not trying to be rude, but if I am going to run a successful business, I must treat it as such.

Finally, make your work environment one that is easy and comfortable to work in everyday. Make sure you have all of your necessary equipment: computer, printer/scanner/copier/fax, second phone line if necessary (I will blog about your other options in another blog in the future), billing software, filing cabinets, and more and more and more! Make sure you have a quiet work area. Make sure you have good lighting. Make sure you are able to heat and cool as necessary. Just make the best possible work environment. Make yourself feel like you did leave the house to go to work.

Does it sound like a lot? Well, it is a lot to consider, but don’t get stressed. Hopefully, it will all be worth it. Get a pen and paper. Now, sit back and make a list of everything you need for your office.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

work from home scams

Working from home can be a wonderful opportunity, but it is not always easy to get started. You have to be very careful, and do your homework. There are so many work-from-home scams out there just waiting for you.

So, how can you avoid these work-at-home scams? Well, just follow a few simple rules.

First of all, do your homework. Don’t ever jump into anything to fast. A lot of these scammers want you to buy into their sales pitch without taking the time to think about it. That is why they want your contact information, your e-mail address at the very least. That is also why if you try to exit the site without signing up, you will get pop-ups trying to sway you back to the site. So, my suggestion to you is not to give out too much contact information or other personal information, and Do Your Homework!

Secondly, most legitimate work-from-home opportunities, do not ask you to send them money. How many real jobs do you apply to that ask you to send them money before you start work? Exactly – NONE! Please do not fall for this. I know sometimes it is hard. Sometimes the sales pitch is hard to resist, but remember, that is what it is – a sales pitch. I do realize that people sometimes charge you for information, and I personally think that is okay. It does take time and effort for someone to share his or her knowledge with you, and they should (in some cases) be compensated for this. Just make sure that you realize what you are getting, and don’t pay too much money for it.

Also, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. I know that you have heard that before, but it is still true. If you have a bad feeling about something, then move on to something else. Most of the time, your hunches are correct. I know that these “opportunities” are sometimes difficult to resist. You may feel desperate. You may be tired of struggling, and this could be your chance. That is how scammers want you to feel, and you will not be helping your situation by sending your money to scammers.

Finally, check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). It is easier for these “fly by night” online scammers to get by the BBB because they can change their business name so quickly and really with very minimal (if any) loss. It does not hurt to check. You may find something useful, so give it a shot. I also found a site for the National Consumer’s League’s Internet Fraud Watch. It gives some good tips for avoiding work-from-home scams. Check it out!

Remember, the right opportunity is out there. Just be smart. Do your research, and you will find it. If you know of any specific work-from-home scams, send me an e-mail. I’d love to hear about it.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

work from home blog introduction

Hi, everyone. Welcome to my blog, and thanks so much for reading.

Let me tell you a little about myself and why I am writing this blog. I have a master's degree in Information Technology. My husband and I work together. We own a business that we run out of our home. I have also branched out and had a couple of Internet businesses myself.

Why am I writing this blog? Well, it is not because I have a lot of free time on my hands. I just feel like that I have a lot of knowledge when it comes to starting and running your own business. Sure there are people who know more, but there are people who know less. I want to use this blog as an outlet to share my knowledge with those who know less. Hopefully, I can learn more from those who know more. I think learning and growing is such an integral part of running a business.

My friends are always asking for my advice about business. They are always curious as to how I have the answers to their questions. Well, I'll tell you what I tell them. Research. If I don't know the answer to something, I will not stop until I have the answer. I advise you to do the same. There is so much information out there. There is so much money to be made out there. So, let's do it together!