Work at Home Moms Articles – WAHM Articles

As many of you know, Denise passed away in the early morning hours of June 27, 2010. She was on vacation celebrating her birthday with her family when she became ill.

Denise’s mom Ruth published her eulogy on her site. Please click on the link below to read about this wonderful woman.

http://ruthwillms.com/eulogy-of-our-daughter-denise-lorraine-willms

Denise was a beautiful and caring woman. She was always full of life and every time you saw her or read a post she made, you could tell she had a smile on her face. She loved to help others and that showed through the volunteering she did on many sites and organizations.

A memorial page was created in Denise’s memory. Please feel free to sign the guestbook and share a story or two about your memories of Denise. The link to her page is below.

http://denisewillms.virtual-memorials.com

If you have any questions or concerns about anything related to WAHM-Articles, please let me know. My email is authors@wahm-articles.com

Blessings today,

Corrie

I was always taught that it was important to be a “nice” girl.

Apparently, I learned that lesson well. As a child, my teachers always praised me for being so nice. My parents bragged to their friends about how easy I was to manage. When I overheard classmates talk about me, it was always the same thing: “Denise is really nice.”

Yes, my being “nice” sure made a lot of other people really happy. But, after a while I began to realize something. It didn’t do a whole lot for me!

Instead of doing what I wanted, I would go along with other people’s ideas… just to be “nice.”  If someone wronged me, I would take the blame because it was the “nice” thing to do. Instead of saying what I really thought about something, I would support someone else’s opinion, because I wanted to be “nice.”

What I have learned is that not only does being nice not do much for me, other people don’t really like “nice” people either. We want people to say what they really want to do. Most of us want to hear what people really think. Maybe we can learn from a differing opinion, or maybe it will reinforce our own.

There is a difference between being “nice” and being “kind.” I do strive to be kind to everyone I meet. But sometimes being kind means you shouldn’t be nice. For example, if a colleague asks for your honest opinion on her website – and you hate it. Being “nice” would mean you would tell her it’s great. But to be kind would be to tell her what you honestly think… constructively, of course.

If you want to be successful in your WAHM business, there is no place for nice. When you begin to be honest and say what you really think, you’ll find that you’ll attract people who like what you have to say. They may not even agree with you, but they’ll appreciate your honesty. And it makes you seem more trustworthy. If you’re someone who is real about who she is, they believe you’ll be real with them too.

Is there an area in your business where you’re being “nice” instead of kind? Maybe you’ve been too lax in letting customers call you at home. You’re holding your tongue, but you’re getting ready to blow. Maybe there’s a trend in your industry that you believe is a really bad idea, but you don’t want to be the one to say so… because you’re a “nice” girl.

Whatever area you catch yourself being “nice” in, stop it right now! Nice girls do finish last. Be kind instead, and everyone will win.

~ Denise

This month’s Applause Award winner is Barb Girson.

Barb Girson’s career began with Tupperware, working her business part time, while teaching full time. She was not very successful at first. She made endless phone calls, experienced disappointments, felt uncomfortable and struggled. Barb did not recruit one person her first year.

If you knew her then you would not have bet a dollar that she would have made it. She made changes, developed successful systems and built her schedule to an average of 7-10 personal parties weekly. She maintained that schedule and top sales consistently for several years. She had become so booked that she shared the overflow of parties with the large team she recruited!

Barb was constantly recognized as a top manager, placing as high as # 2 in the nation out of 10,000 independent managers and 80,000 consultants. Tupperware, then, gave franchise opportunities to those managers who ranked regularly among the Top 50 nationwide, and Barb was one of the youngest ever offered a franchise. Barb Girson led her multi-million dollar Tupperware franchise to the top 10% of franchises in North America by helping managers achieve national recognition in sales, recruiting and promoting managers.

Her husband gave up his job to help. Their Tupperware income supported her family of four solely for 11 yrs. Ready for a new challenge, Barb Girson joined the corporate arena for a decade to lead sales for direct selling party plan organizations. She served as: *Vice President, General Manager for Knowledge Adventure developing market entry plans to launch a new distribution channel for their software. *National Sales Director for The Body Shop At Home leading the US sales force consisting of 500 leaders and 10,000 Consultants with $40+ Mil. Revenue. *Director of Field Sales for Discovery Toys in North America consisting of 500 leaders and 20,000 Consultants. Barb, wanting to be an entrepreneur again, is founder and president of My SalesTactics™, a professional skill development business helping companies and home-based entrepreneurs grow sales. Barb, a highly interactive, creative speaker, coach and author, is sharing successful systems and tactics via workshops, conventions and teleconference training. Barb’s programs receive a 98% satisfaction rating and routinely have repeats. Active participants will build confidence, take consistent action, celebrate victories, effectively deal with disappointments and increase profits.

Contact Barb: 614.855.0446 or visit http://MySalesTactics.com

You can read Barb’s WAHM articles here.

Congratulations Barb! Your story is an inspiration, and I thank you for sharing it with us.

This week, Karri Flatla of the Alpha WAHM Blueprint stopped by to answer some of my questions about becoming an Alpha WAHM… and to explain what a work-at-home mom needs with a blueprint anyway. I think you’ll feel inspired by what Karri had to say, and hopefully you’ll start thinking about how having a blueprint can benefit your own work-at-home life too.

Please do remember to leave a comment at the end of the post. For one thing, I would really like to know what you think about this particular topic.

PLUS you’ll be entered in Karri’s Comment Contest and could be the lucky winner of her popular digital compilation 99 Tips & Aha Moments to Grow Your Online Business (Rocket Science Not Included.)

WAHM-Articles: How can having a “blueprint” help a work-at-home-mom? Is this different than a business plan?

Karri: The Alpha WAHM Blueprint is very different than a business plan, and in the book I recommend getting clear on your personal blueprint BEFORE you write a business plan. That said, if you’ve already written a business plan, or the one you have is outdated, this “blueprinting” process is still critical to your long term success as a business owner.

A business plan lays out the nuts and bolts of running and growing your business. It’s very “left brain” if you will. However, a blueprint forces you to dig deep and understand WHY you want to have a business and WHAT you want it to bring to your life (and the lives of your loved ones).

Without teasing apart the different aspects of your vision and purpose, even the best laid “plans” will fail to provide any real value to you as an entrepreneur who is bound to face difficult decisions along the way. You need a compass, not a to-do list!

So a business plan tells you what to do, and a blueprint tells you why you’re doing it in the first place (and if it’s even the right thing at all!).

WAHM-Articles: You call your book an “empowerment guide for work-at-home-moms.” Why do work-at-home moms need to feel empowered? What do you believe we are lacking?

Karri: We need empowerment more than ever now. Working moms today have very few role models that make any sense for the realities they face here and now. Modern moms who also have paying careers are expected to be and do EVERYTHING for their families. On the one hand, we’re supposed to keep a beautiful, perfectly groomed home, dedicate our full attention to our children no matter what our own needs are, and look fabulous doing it.

On the other hand, we’re educated, we’ve earned our own incomes prior to getting married and having children, and we know what it means to have something (a life) to call our own.

Experts tell us it’s about work-life balance. In Alpha WAHM Blueprint, I passionately disagree with this sentiment. In fact, I ask women to let the notion go completely. Instead, let’s shoot for something more meaningful—like a true integration of work, love, passion, family … all of it. The modern work-at-home mom wants synergy, not separation. She also wants to stop feeling like she has to be perfect and instead can just focus on what brings her the most meaning and joy. If that means the kids don’t get as many home cooked meals or mommy-made crafts, so what?

Kids—and their dads—want mom to be happy. That is all your family really needs. The media and societal norms have construed it to be more complicated than that, but it’s not.

WAHM-Articles: Karri, you managed to write this book while being a mom to two little boys and running a successful web marketing business. How do you keep yourself motivated to grow and develop your business?

Karri: I’m as human as anyone else on this journey. That means some days I feel like packing it all in and just baking some cookies for my kids. But then I remember why I started doing this in the first place (and that I don’t like working in the kitchen much!). I am doing this because I want—with all my heart and soul—a life designed by ME and my family, not “the boss” or some corporation’s idea of work-life balance.

This is why having a personal blueprint is so important. It provides you not only a sense of deep purpose and meaning, but it serves as a reminder when things aren’t looking so hot in your business. When you stay connected to the real you—to the truth you’re striving to live each day—very little can stop you from achieving your work-at-home dreams.

Thank you so much for visiting WAHM-Articles, Karri!

If you want to learn more about getting empowered and creating your own personal blueprint, you may want to check out Karri’s book, Alpha WAHM Blueprint.

Please remember to comment below to enter Karri’s Comment Contest. Do you think having a blueprint would benefit your business? Have something else to add? We’d love to hear from you!

A few weeks ago, I read a book that has slowly been transforming the way I think about my life and business as a WAHM… for the “much” better. The book is the Alpha WAHM Blueprint: An Empowerment Guide for Work at Home Moms by Karri Flatla aka @alphawahm.

I have been making some big changes in my writing/virtual assistant business lately. My kids are another year older, and even though they like knowing I’m home, they don’t actually want to SEE me. So, it’s time to focus more on my business and bring to fruition many of the plans I started out with but never had time to develop.

Exciting!  But also a little bit scary… What I really wanted was for someone to come alongside me and help me figure out exactly what I wanted my business to look like.

What a perfect time to discover the Alpha WAHM Blueprint. This is a guidebook that walks you through all the steps of creating a business you love, that fits with your family and the lifestyle you desire.

What I appreciated most about Alpha WAHM is that Karri isn’t yet another “expert” telling you her secrets for success.  Instead, she vwalks you through the steps of discovering what YOU want and planning how you will achieve it.

To be honest, I initially wasn’t sure this book would appeal to me. For one thing, I’ve been running a business from home for over 10 years and have worked with some wonderful mentors over that time. I find most WAHM-focused products are for those just starting out or are too “fluffy” for my taste.

But since Karri recognizes that YOU are the expert, this book really is appropriate for work at home moms at any stage. And because we’re always changing and growing, this is a book I know I’ll return to again and again and always get something new out of it. It’s definitely something I want to keep nearby and review every few months, just to check that I’m staying true to myself.

Another concern I had before reading the Alpha WAHM Blueprint was that Karri’s kids are a lot younger than mine, and she writes from that perspective. I was skeptical as to what advice she could give to a mom with two teenagers in the house. But I was pleasantly surprised and gently reminded that all moms deal with similar issues, no matter what the ages of our children.

For the sake of full disclosure, I need to tell you that Karri did send me a complimentary copy and those are affiliate links in the post. However, I’m telling you about the book because I really think this is something that every work at home moms needs to read. Too many of us are trying to do things the way other people tell us we should, and missing out on the fulfillment we desire!

Are you ready to rock the WAHM world and become an Alpha WAHM? If you’re a mom who works from home, wishes she could work from home, or has been working from home even longer than I have, I highly recommend the Alpha WAHM Blueprint.  It will help you discover what you really want out of your WAHM life, and how you can achieve it – your way. Here’s the link again.

~ Denise

It’s that time again! Time to announce this month’s WAHM-Articles Applause Award recipient.

This month, I’m thrilled to announce that the recipient of the Applause Award is Tammy Embrich. Tammy has been an author with WAHM-Articles since almost the very beginning – four years ago. She’s also the author of one of our most popular articles of all time, A Sticker Chart Can Help Modify Your Child’s Behavior

What I really appreciate about Tammy is that she often writes articles based on her personal experiences, like in her article My Work at Home Testimony.  Her willingness to share the lessons she’s learned make her articles very relevant and believable to other work at home moms. With so much misleading information out there, it’s refreshing to see someone tell it like it really is.

Article Writing Tip: A lot of authors avoid talking about themselves in their articles, but it’s important to let your readers see that you’re a real person with real experiences to share. It’s one way of gaining more credibility with your readers.

Tammy owns and operates two work at home websites, a work at home forum, a recipe site and three blogs. She offers free work at home job leads for the job seeker, business work at home articles, tips, and more. You can visit Tammy at Work At Home and Real Work At Home Jobs . Tammy also offers more work at home articles at Work At Home Articles

Please join me in congratulating Tammy by leaving a comment below. And then visit Tammy’s websites and blogs to learn more about her and how to make money online.

You can learn more about the Applause Award here.

~ Denise

I know how easy it is to fall for an illegitimate opportunity. The very first home business I tried turned out to be a scam. Thankfully, I didn’t lose very much money, but I did lose some of my pride, and wasted a lot of my time. Once I realized that I had been taken advantage of, I was angry with myself for falling for such an obvious hustle. I should have known better!

Looking back, there were a lot of indications that the business I signed up for was a scam. Now that I know exactly what to look for, I wish I could  go back in time and tell myself to be smarter. But, I learned a lesson I will never forget.

If you’re still looking around for a real home business opportunity, you’ll find lots of articles at WAHM-Articles about what to look for, and what to avoid. So, I won’t go into them those points here.

But I would like to share with you my two tips for not getting scammed. These are the two things that, had I paid attention, could have kept me from losing that $20 (an amount that was a big deal to me back then!) and wasting so much time on a business that ended up going nowhere.

1.    Know yourself. When I first decided I wanted to work from home, I was willing to do almost anything for some easy money (and lots of it) without having to go to the office every day. But if I had been honest with myself, I would have admitted that I truly didn’t want to do just ANYTHING.

I wanted to be a freelance writer from home. That was my dream, even 18 years ago. But it seemed so impossible, I could barely admit it to myself, never mind anyone else. It was easier to believe a phony ad in the newspaper!

Even if you’re open to doing almost anything from home, if you give yourself time to reflect, you might find that you have a hidden dream as well. If you know what kind of work you would like to do, you will have some direction when looking for a business idea. And if you have a sense of direction, you will be less likely to fall victim to someone’s scam.

2.    Trust yourself. Your instincts are usually right. When you read that I “was willing to do almost anything for some easy money (and lots of it),” did your alarm bells go off?

Mine did too, when I saw an ad that promised just that. But I didn’t trust my instincts. If I had, I would have run fast and far. Anyone who works from home successfully will tell you that it takes time and persistence to earn a good income.

Legitimate home business opportunities are out there! And if you can’t find the right one for you,  you may want to consider starting your home business. There are lots of ideas for both on WAHM-Articles.

Here’s to your work at home success!

~ Denise

I’ve written several blog posts and articles about the importance of writing articles, and what a good article requires. Now it’s time to put that article to work, bringing you some new traffic!

Submitting to article directories is one of the first things you should do with your new article. Article directories are basically directories of articles that are available for reprint. If you write articles for work at home moms, you can request an author’s account at WAHM-Articles.com

Publishers come to these websites like ours looking for articles they can publish. Before you submit your article, though, make sure you read the submission guidelines and follow them.

Another place to submit your articles is to website owners and bloggers. If there is a website that is really popular with your target market, and you want a way to get your name on that website, you can contact the owner and see if she would be interested in republishing one of your articles. Some websites invite people to submit their articles, and they’ll have submission guidelines for you to follow.

Newsletter publishers are another group to approach with your articles. They have to put out a publication regularly, and they probably don’t’ want to write all the content themselves. If the newsletter is on a topic that is relevant to your product, go ahead and contact the publish er and see if she would be interested in your articles.

Finally, you can get your articles published offline too. Some magazines and newspapers will accept your articles too.

Those are some of the ways you can begin distributing your articles to get more exposure for your business, and to sell more of your products and services.

Happy article marketing!

~ Denise

I love to read books. To tell you the truth, I’m usually reading several of them at once!

I just finished reviewing a historical fiction novel, Hearts Awakening by Delia Parr,  for my WAHM Books Blog, and I wanted to let you know I’m giving away a free copy

To enter, just pop over to the WAHM Books blog and leave a comment at the end of my review. I’m hoping you’ll tell me who your favorite historical fiction author is. I enjoy good books in this particular genre, and I’m looking for some new authors to read. But even if you don’t have a favorite to mention, please leave a comment anyways, and I’ll enter you in the draw.

I’m making the draw next Thursday, right before I leave on Easter vacation. Happy Easter to you!

~ Denise

This week, I’m thankful that life isn’t always perfect.

Does that sound strange? I know, we THINK we want everything to go right all the time. But if it did, how would we ever grow? It’s when things go wrong that we learn what we’re truly capable of, how strong our faith is, and what our real priorities are.

For our family, something that’s caused many hardships for us is my husband’s chronic illness. It’s meant long months in the hospital, many more without his regular pay check, and even more frightening, sometimes wondering if he’ll ever come home at all. Thankfully, he’s been very healthy the past few years. But I know those times could easily come again. It’s just the nature of his illness, and of life.

I learned very quickly in our marriage that I would have to learn how to deal with the stress of living with someone who is chronically ill. Either that or become a complete basket case!

And what I have discovered is that it is possible to have peace and have real joy, whatever your circumstances.

That was an important lesson for me to learn, because my reactions have helped my children deal with the stresses of seeing their dad be sick too. I’ve receive all kinds of warnings of how a parent’s illness can negatively affect a child. But that hasn’t been the case for us. Instead, because they’ve watched how I handle hardship, and because they’ve dealt successfully with hard times too, my two children have actually become more confident and learned how to persevere through difficult situations. What wonderful qualities to see in a teenager!

People who learn about my family’s circumstances and health issues often say to me, “You must be so strong to survive all that and not fall apart!” It might look that way on the outside. But the truth is, I’m not so strong. When things go wrong in my world, I want to cry, pull the covers over head and not come out again until it’s all over. But, instead, I’ve recognized that life isn’t always perfect. And that my happiness and peace don’t depend on outward circumstances.

What does my peace and happiness depend on? For me, a lot of my inner peace has to do with my faith. The rest of it I think is because I’ve just realized I can’t control everything. And what I can control – like how I react to things – is my responsibility to handle well.

Are you struggling right now because your life isn’t perfect? Join the club! But please remember that your outward circumstances don’t have to determine who you are and how you feel inside.

If you are going through a difficult time right now, something you might find helpful is an e-book that I’m an affiliate for, Getting Out of the Super Mom Trap. I’ve never thought of myself as trying to be Super Mom, but once in a while, especially during times of stress, I do have unrealistic expectations of myself. I have to remind myself to control what I can, and let go of the rest. This book suggests some practical ways to do that.

I’m grateful that my life isn’t always perfect. Because what I’ve learned is that I am more than my circumstances. And so, my friend, are YOU!

~ Denise