When You Work from Home You Need to Get Out Sometimes

I have cabin fever, I need to get out more often. I had a meeting today down in the SE to check out a business for my husband and I was energized. I forgot how much I love being out and about.

When you work from home you tend to spend all your time looking at the same walls day in and day out. Working from home gives you the benefit of no commuting but sometimes it's just nice to drive to different parts of the city.

When you spend as much time as I do reading, studying the marketplace and updating online stores, websites, and blogs you tend to get cabin fever without realizing it.

I hadn't had reason to go to the SE Industrial Park since I was an account manager selling pipe, pumpjacks and freight forwarding services. It was such a nice sunny spring day in Calgary and the traffic was light so it was really refreshing.

When the weather is terrible and cold though, I do appreciate working from the warmth and safety of my home.

Image is Important, Very Important, in Business

It doesn't matter if you are in a Corporate position or working from home, whether you are in direct sales or if an Internet business, image is important. Video is cool right, what a great way to get your message across. You Tube is filled with MLM, direct marketing, Internet marketing etc. videos. Some are polished and professional, but the bulk of them are terrible. Image matters at all times, how you look, what's behind you and the quality of the video or picture matter.

As you can tell, there is no picture of me here. It's not because I don't have a face, I do. I haven't had a professional business photo done recently, the last one being over 5 years old and I don't have rights to it. I could just have a picture taken by my 8 year old with our digital camera and post it here. Most people do just that, but how business like would that be?

If you want to be taken seriously, you have to be presentable. I'm not saying you need to be a knock out, drop dead gorgeous person, but you do need to be presentable. Hair done, make up on (girls only), smile on your face, professional apparel, and it would be best if it you had a professional photographer or videographer, NOT your little web cam.

If you don't have the means (the cashola) to have a professional quality image or video, then find a different method then You Tube until you do.

If you are trying to convince someone that they can make a lot of money doing it your way and you don't fit the image of success and professionalism, you will be passed over. There are a lot of businesses out there, a lot of opportunities and more information and websites then you can comprehend in a lifetime, so you need to stand out. People are visual, they will look and make a decision in less than a minute whether you are worth listening to or not. If you are not polished and your image is less than professional, they will not listen and keep going to the next person selling the same thing.

Are You an Entrepreneur - Take the Test!!

You don't have to be an Entrepreneur to be in business. Lots of businesses are set up for those with managerial skills. Knowing how strong your entrepreneurial characteristics are, is always fun though. My husband took the test and says he was off the Entrepreneurial charts, I took it and was over the line as well. Take the test and see how you score.

Entrepreneurs are individualistic and different, however they do share some
similar traits. You might be an entrepreneur if:

You are passionate for your work and you care deeply whether your succeed or not
You are a doer not a complainer, you take action where others don't
You have a strong work ethic and you work long hours without complaint
You set goals and have a plan to achieve them
You are flexible and can change plans when life throws you a curve ball
You know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses
You ask for help when needed and value the advice of other successful people
You find the resources that can accomplish tasks you are unable to
You are a leader and inspire others towards their goals
You are innovative and can find creative solutions to problems
You are able to control your ego in order to keep your eye on realistic objectives
You have financial discipline and understand how the economy works
You have good communication skills and can present your product, service & ideas to others
You are generally optimistic and have little patience for negative thinking
You are a risk taker but know the differences between taking an educated risk and a gamble
You like to be well informed and like to research your market
You are an independent worker and don't need others to motivate you
You don't like to waste time and are always focused on your goals
You enjoy developing plans and objectives rather than executing them
You are tenacious and don't give up easily

Take the Entrepreneur Test

If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and want to know what the next steps to
your success are contact me and we can discuss what you need to start a
business.

How I Sold My Minivan in 3 Days after my Husband tried all year

My husband would use the old advertising method, the bargain finder paper, and the van never sold, he never even got a call.

My husband is a good mechanic and really meticulus when it comes to details. He is understands mechanical things that I will never understand. His analitical mind and attention to detail make him a wonderful mechanic. He understands how to run things efficiently with processes. His analytical mind sometimes keeps him inside the box and doing what has worked in the past.

Thing is there are other ways to do things, other ways to market yourself and your product. I turned to what I've learned in a very short period, squidoo, kijiji, and facebook. I posted free ads on both kijiji and facebook with links to a squidoo page I created to educated prospects on my product. I received an email in less than an hour, I had a number of emails within 24 hours and one person who came to see the vehicle, that person bought it.

Of course timing has everything to do with it. I had placed the ad at the right time, in the right place for the person who was looking for what I had. What I liked about it is that I could measure the level of interest at each step. I knew how many hits I had on kijiji and facebook, I knew how many of them were interested enough to click and go to squidoo to find out more, I knew how many of those prospects were interested enough to click on a link to look at the 40 pictures of the van on Flickr. I knew how many people were interested enough to email me and I only had 3 phone calls to make.

Kijiji, Facebook, and squidoo made it easy for me to see where the interest was. It is easier for people to check on the internet for what they want then to go and purchase a buy and sell p

While you Work from Home keep your Eye on Your Career

I'm feeling guilty, I spend too much time on my websites and blogs and not enough time cooking and cleaning. Is it wrong to want success?

In her book Am BITCH ous Deborah Condren tells stories of women who made choices to sacrifice career for their families. Sounds noble right? Well in the end a husband left one, a relationship broke up, and a husband died. All the women were left holding the bag with lower income power.

Growing up I always wanted the big career and I was on my way, I gave it all up to stay home with my kids. I did have the chance to get it back again when I was account manager selling pipe and pumpjacks in the oilfield but the fit with the company wasn't good. I had other offers just a few days later but instead of continuing I choose to sacrifice again this time for what my husband wanted.

Many who read this and my other websites are looking for a work at home opportunities. There are many new moms who have given chosen to put their careers on hold. Even though they have, there are many things they can do to add to their resumes for when they go back into the work force again.

Volunteer in positions that give you management and organizational experience. Start a small business to gain valuable business skills. However, if you choose to do either commit to both. The idea is to continue to learn and expand on your skills for your resume.

Deborah Condren advises to consider all possibilities even the bad ones before making a decision. She recommends that you find ways to keep your career and find other ways to have it all. Can you imagine having it all? The flexibility your family needs from you and be able to give everything you can to your career.

If you are looking for a work from home opportunity, the first thing you should do is talk to your HR department, is there a way for you to continue your career and still be home? How can you find the time for both? First you will have to commit to doing the work. For some the demands of home and kids is too big of a distraction. Thing is the office social and political distractions can waste more time then working at home. Put together a proposal to show how you can work from home and still be productive.

Think about the long term and what being out of the work force could mean for your career in the long run. Do what you can to find a way to continue to build your skill base while home, have contingency plans in place.

Summit Automotive is Back in Business and I Get a Reprieve

I'll let you in on a secret.... my husband is coming home soon and will be resurrecting his automotive repair business.

He is still looking for a business to purchase and the next few months will decide if he'll be expanding the automotive repair business or purchasing a different one all together.

My job right now is to find him a business to purchase. However, first I need to phone all his clients to book appointments and find new clients to keep cash flow coming in. The good news for me is that now he can have the flexibility to be here for the kids and I can find a position to jump start my marketing career.

I'm not sure how that will look at the moment. I miss working outside the home and I love working from home. I want to learn more about marketing in the corporate world, I loved being an account manager, but I love doing my own thing too. I've started meeting with a career counsellor to get a better handle on what would be the best direction for me.

Business Coaches are the latest work at home option for women. These women help business owners make decisions and assess all their options, even the most successful business people use a coach. If you are in business and have a chance to utilize the services of a business coach you should.

Buy a Business or Start Up a New Business?

There are so many options for people who want to have their own business, two options are to buy a business or to start from scratch, which is for you? Where you are in life, how much money you have and the type of business will depend a lot on whether you are going to buy a business or start one from scratch.

Either way you will need capital, and I'm not talking about Ottawa, I'm talking the big M, money. To buy a business you will need seed money, an initial investment of your own money that you can put towards a business. Hopefully you buy a business that has a decent cashflow that will enable you to pay your bills and support your family responsibilities.

There are two types of businesses to purchase 1) small business 2)Franchise. Both are a little different, a small business is an idea that has been created from scratch by its owner, this option offers you the flexiblity of doing things your way. A Franchise is a proven business model with brandname recognition. You own the your business but you follow a business model developed by someone else and manage your store. A true entrepreneur will be frustrated with a Franchise as there are too many policies and procedures that he has to follow. A manager type personality will do very well purchasing a Franchise.

If you are a true entrepreneur with a high risk tolerance and an idea that you are passionate about, you will want to start your own business. You will need enough money for start up costs and to live off until your business is able to provide you with a cashflow of its own. Most businesses don't start making money until the 2 year mark, so budget for a very dry income spell. The goal of most start ups is to become successful enough to sell the business or take it public. The payoff isn't so much in the monthly cashflow as it is building something that will have value when you are ready to sell it.

Looking for information on getting into business and where you can get funding? Check out the BDC website for lots of articles, resources and financing opportunities.

Using Contests as a Marketing Tool

I am presently watching a documentary on professional contesters and using contests for product marketing promotion. Some people are obsessed with winning contests and are labelled professional contesters. They rely on the lessons of "The Secret" and stuffing the ballot boxes. They spend hours entering as many contests as they can find in an effort to win as much as they can. I remember at trade shows we would end up with lots of names, some people has stamps with their contact info, others brought labels and their names would be in the box more than once.

As a marketer I used contests as a way to get people's attention and in the mid 90s it worked. Today however, people are tired of being on lists and with identity theft being a real issue many people don't want to enter. So what you end up with is a bunch of names of people who are only interested in winning and not in you or your product.

Pepsi, in the bring home the cup contest, they showed how using the power of amateur video and contests can create excitement and more active participation by the entrant and and less useless name collecting by Pepsi. The entrants had to create a video of to win the prize of a visit from the Stanley Cup. This created increased purchasing with product placement, cheap advertising as entries became ads. The entrants became the bullhorn of Pepsi products as entrants would include others in their excitement.

Tim Horton's roll up the rim is a perfect example of using contests to create higher revenue. Every year Tim's promotes their roll up the rim contest and every coffee that is bought during this time is a chance to win something, even a car. A contest like this can boost sales because for the most part people will buy a coffee instead of requesting an empty cup for free. It gets people in the door and with the smell of fresh doughnuts and fresh brewed coffee wouldn't you spend a twoonie?

The ballot type contest only brings lots of names and few leads. If you want to have a contest to promote your product get creative, a ballot box is the lazy way to have a contest. How can you garner interest in your product or service through a contest that will engage the entrant more than just entering their name and number?

As a Latasia Jewelry Designer I could have a contest where the entrant had to come up with the most unique Latasia Jewelry using more than one piece of jewelry. They would need to submit a photo of their Latasia Jewelry creation and photos would become the property of Carennedy Solutions for use in promotion. I could add the pictures to a squidoo lens as a flickr plexo and have people vote on the best combination to determine the winner.

What could you do to create a contest that would engage the entrant and provide you with the most exposure?

There is NO Easy Money, Working from Home takes Work and Lots of It

If you are looking for work from home options that will make you easy money and you can just sit back and watch it all come in, wake up ... you're dreaming. Working from home is nice but it's no walk in the park either. You still have to work hard, harder than if you had a job outside the home.

It takes hours upon hours to create a good solid base for your at home business. Once you start making money then you will have a lot more demands placed on you by customers and the administration of the business it self.

You will need to start keeping better track of your spending and receipts for tax purposes, bookkeeping in itself is a huge job. You will have all the administrative duties to do, no administrative department to fall back on. You will be the marketing and sales departments, as well as, the receptionist. Not to mention the time management that goes into keeping the family happy, the house tidy and yourself sane.

MLMs promise easy money, but if you are successful enough to have a recruits under you, you now have management responsibilities. You have to keep them motivated, answer questions, ensure they stay in the business and keep recruiting. There is nothing easy about recruiting people into an MLM.

Direct Sales has its recruitment aspects but if you want to only sell a product for extra cash you can. This in itself is work because you need to find customers, provide service and continue to service their product needs.

Internet Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, and ecommerce is a lot of work and the competition is fierce and your following fickle. It takes hours and hours to create the base to build on and adding all the links etc. Then once it starts to grow it becomes a huge beast to maintain all the sites, links, stores, etc. If you think surfing takes a lot of your time, creating an internet presence takes 10xs more time.

Working from home does offer up the flexibility that working outside the home doesn't. But it's not a walk in the park either. You don't sit around drinking lattes all day, you work every second you can to build a business that will increasingly make more demands on your life. I enjoy working from home, I love what I do, but I know it's not for everyone and I miss the office but I don't miss office politics.

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Online Business Startup Guide

This is great way to start a retail business without spending a ton of cash, or if you already have an established business, a website offers you an extremely cost-effective way to reach millions of additional customers, click on picture to purchase.

To Work from Home Ya Gotta have a Positive Attitude

Do you have a positive attitude? Are you always looking on the bright side or see the world as a great place to be? Or do you find fault with everything and make up problems as you go along?

It is hard enough working from home, trying to stay motivated, meet the demands of your children, your family and your house. You need to stay away from those who like to complain just to complain. I mean come on, do you really have time to listen to someone complain who doesn't want a solution? You know the person who complains for complaint sake, just to hear their own voice, don't you ever wonder if anything good happens in their lives?

Turn off the news and start getting RSS feeds instead. Huh RSS feeds? Most blogs, news websites etc have the little orange symbol (shown at the top) that will enable you to get the headlines into your Microsoft feeds or other feed reader. It will provide you with headlines, read the ones that matter to you and your business, ignore the ones that don't. If it bleeds, don't read it.... You have better things to do with your time and your business then to read the negative news.

Watch less TV, skip the reality shows, where's the reality in them anyway? Pick a few of your favorite shows, I admit I love to watch CSI and Without a Trace, not your most uplifting shows. Try to watch a few shows that make you laugh everytime you watch them. Laugh more, smile more, and take your vitamins.

Staying positive when you are on your own in business is difficult because you don't have the rah rah sales meetings or the patcha on the back managers meetings. The only time your spouse is going to give you a high 5 is after you've cashed the 10th big cheque. So to stay positive you will have to find positive places to be. Networking meetings, supportive online forums, and coffee with supportive friends.

Stay on top of the little stuff so the stress won't overwhelm you. Do you have someone who can do your filing? or listen to your voicemail for you? Do you have real support around you, the kind that will lend a helping hand before the cheques arrive? If not, where can you find it?

Other women out there are in the same boat you are, you are not alone. You need to find others who like you work from home and need support, the helping kind. Form your own little positive support network and together create a cooperative to grow your businesses together and offer each other a positive word of encouragement and motivation.

So where do you find them? Sign up for my newsletter for positive support nuggets, email friends and ask them who they know, go to The Work at Home Directory to see if there is anyone in your area. -- While you're there you may think about adding your business to the online directory. Put a notice up at your local coffee shop and create your own little work at home group.

Whatever you do, wherever you find it, be positive. You can only stay self motivated and offer yourself up encouragement if you stay positive.

Do you have some ideas about how to become and stay in a positive frame of mind? Add them here so we can form our own positive attitude in business group.

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life What you think has a profound effect on what you do and how you do it. You can only achieve it when you believe it! If you don’t think you can do it, you never will. Your life experiences determine the way you think. But your thoughts aren’t set in stone. Just like you can learn to ride a bike or play chess, you can also learn to control your thinking and control your life. This book shows you how to change the way you think, and open new doors to unlimited possibilities.

Stand Out With Unique Business Cards

Are you looking for a new business card that is just a little bit, if not a lot different? Something that will stand out?

So you don't really want a business card, you just want something with your business name, your website and contact information, why not get something a different size, something that will stand out on post boards.



Your card could send a message along with your contact information. Create your own message and add your own images. Have contact cards that make a statement, start a conversation or are part of your story.



If you are self employed then your card can be whatever you want it to be. Have a card that shows off your personality or has an image of something you love. Create a contact or business card that starts a conversation and builds on who you are.

Zazzle enables you to create your own business card design from scratch or from a template or from a store in three different sizes. Check out all the different options available.


Another company with unique business cards is Moo. Different sizes and different images will enable you to create a buisness or contact cards that are conversation starters that people will notice.

Latasia Jewelry Sale for the Month of March 2008

Order your catalog or book your party during the month of March and receive 20% off your order. (guests too) Order your catalog or book your party today

If I have it in inventory you will receive 30% off.

Sign up for the newsletter to receive information on marketing, business ideas, direct sales, home based business support, shopping, promotions and so much more. Sales and Specials, not just for Latasia, but for a whole host of direct sales companies.

Ambition A bad word for Women? or a virtue for Women?

I just started reading the book Am-BITCH-ous by Deborah Condren. I bought this book because it's red cover stood out and the name of the book was too interesting to pass up. So what is an Am-Bitch-ous Woman? The author's definition:

A women who:
1. Makes more money
2. Has more power
3. Gets the Recognition she deserves
4. Has the determination to go after her dreams and can do it with integrity.

Does this sound like someone you want to be in work and home? Would you like to learn how to be Am-Bitch-ous? Well, come along with me as I start my adventure to becoming an Am-Bitch-ous women.

Whether you own your own business or work in a corporate environment do you have the courage to speak up to raise your voice and demand your just desserts and not be considered a bitch at the same time? Women make great assistants and employees for one reason, we work hard and don't demand too much. Those that do demand end up getting promoted and feeling they have to constantly prove themselves so they work harder for less money and demand more out of their subordinates.

Women are their own worst enemies. We talk about girl power and women's rights and sisterhood but we then turn around and stab each other in the back. We sit around and gossip and judge other women as being less if they put their career as a priority in life or we judge them if they decide to stay home instead.

Instead of being supportive, encouraging and motivational we cut each other down. Well, it's time we reinvented sisterhood and stand together to celebrated all the wonderful choices we as women get to make. We can have it all, we can have our cake and eat it too, we can be whatever we want to be. There is no right or wrong choice for any women that's the beauty of it. Celebrate it and be as ambitious as you want to be in the role that you choose, then encourage, help, and motivate other women you know who make either similar or different choices.

Whether you have choosen to be in the work force or have choosen to stay home you will need the support and acceptance of your friends and peers. It's time to offer the gifts you have and demand what you want out life instead of gossiping and judging others who have fearlessly gone out, made a decision and demanded the most out of it.