Work at Home Moms Articles – WAHM Articles

The work at home opportunities are boundless on the net today. So many legitimate ways to make money from home. The reasons why people choose a home office environment varies from person to person. Of course those reasons depend on the person’s responsibilities, lifestyles, and home-life situations. It depends on personality as well.

I love my short (16 step, yes I counted them) commute to my work at home office each morning. It took me awhile to get where I am today in the work at home industry; and all the while making a nice income to supplement my dear husband’s salary.

There are good reasons why I specifically chose to work at home.

This article will be quite personal and will be unveiling a few things about myself to my business associates. It may convey a few things about my personality that may surprise some of you, and for some, it may not.

Below will reveal why I don’t like working outside the home.

Bullying…Been There – Yes, I’ve been bullied. I know that I’m NOT the only one in this world that has been made fun of, picked on, and been humiliated among school mates. Alas, it sure felt like I was the only one (at the time). Consequently from this point on (during grade school), and thus throughout my whole life; I have been painfully shy and also never seemed to possess a good sense of self esteem. This followed me into highschool and my adult life, and as a result; depression has settled in. I can’t say for sure if being bullied was the sole reason for my depression. It also runs in my family, so it could be a combination of both.

Unfortunately, I’ve also discovered that bullying can happen online. I ask myself what does a person gain from being a bully? I guess a bullier gets a false sense of well-being and satisfaction by belittling others. I’m assuming it makes them feel good as a person inside?? If you ask me, it’s a very warped sense of well-being to treat others in this way. If bullying makes someone feel good inside, then there is something terribly wrong with (their self esteem).

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I love summer; it’s my favorite season. On many days summer is just good ol’ fun, but there are some precautions you should take when it comes to your home and family.

Home Saving Tips
- One way to keep your home cool is to keep the blinds drawn and windows closed.

- Avoid using your oven during hot summer days because this will make your air conditioning work harder. Opt to use your crock pot, grill, barbeque or toaster oven.

- Hang your laundry outdoors to dry. If you must use your dryer, run it at night.

- When you’re planning your landscape, look for tall shrubs to shade your home in the hot summer months. Use a sun umbrella to shade your home.

Home Security
People tend to be a bit careless in the summer when it comes to home security. Don’t leave windows slightly opened when you’re away from home. Even if your window is high up (unless it’s a tiny window), don’t think that won’t cause a problem because if someone really want to get into your home, they will find a way. It’s like leaving a ladder and crow bar in your unlocked garden shed.

Family Safety Tips
During the summer, sunscreen is a must for everyone, but getting your daily dose of vitamin D is just as important. Before you slather on your sunscreen, spend about 10-15 minutes in the sun to get your vitamin D.

Hats and sunglasses are important accessories to have even on cloudy days as UV rays can penetrate the clouds. Make sure they are good sunglasses that will protect your eyes.

First Aid Kit
Being outdoors can pose to be hazardous at any given time. Whether it’s a bee sting, pesky mosquito/insect bite or falling off your bike, make sure you have a first aid kit handy. In your kit, you may have an epi-pen if you or someone in your family has severe allergic reactions, an assortment of Band-Aids, gauze, polysporin, antiseptic wipes, tweezers etc. Don’t forget to replace what you have used.

Water
Being near the water to cool off is a given in the summer. Parental supervision is a must for kids who are at the beach, lake or outdoor pool. Inner tubes, water noodles or water wings are not a substitute for parental supervision. These float-like devices provides a false sense of security and they shouldn’t be relied upon. Teach or remind your kids about water safety.

Food
Hot summer days mean a lot of consumption of ice-cream, juices, lemonade etc. Be wary of how much sweets your kids are eating. Be sure to keep fresh fruits accessible within reach. Instead of eating sugary, store bought popsicles, make your own. Also, cut up and freeze your fresh fruits, make fruit smoothies, or yogurt popsicles. Most kids need to be reminded to drink fluids to stay hydrated and plain, filtered water is best!

I hope you have a fantastic summer with your family. Play and stay safe!

Sophia McIntyre is an Internet Marketer, Article Marketer, Ghostwriter, and founder of WorkAtHomeSpace.com, a free resource focusing on work at home companies and jobs, home businesses, ghostwriting services and other work at home related topics.

Fears are something that can scare you aware from doing something you’ve always dreamed of doing. You can set out to achieve a goal and then something may happen and your dream can go down the drain within minutes.

When this happens you have two options to consider. One is to let the dream go away and the other is to overcome the fear and set out again to achieve your goal. I found a quote that fits perfectly with the second option.

“Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it” ~Bill Cosby

In my opinion Bill Cosby really had something when he said that quote. Why let fear get the best of you. Does fear ever hurt? I’m sure if you thought about it long enough you could figure how a way that fear could hurt, but more than likely your answer will be no.

Fear is a feeling and nothing more than that so it’s likely after you think about what you’re going through and you decide what actions you can take to overcome it you’ll be able to achieve your goals.

One way is to find a friend or family member to help you with your fears. You’ll need to find someone you can trust and one that will be honest and willing to help you with your problem. You need to be able to trust this person and you’ll need to know that they’re there for you and to help you face your fears so you can achieve your goals.

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Regardless of what products you sell, the home party business is a year-round enterprise. Consultants that rely on their sales revenue for regular income do not want to see the flow of money stop because sales are seasonal. There are just as many good reasons to host an event in the summer as there are in the winter. When you know the ways to keep your home party business going all year long, you will start to realize the benefits of ongoing income.

- Shatter the Misconception

As a consultant, you come into contact with a lot of people that carry the misconception that your business only operates on a seasonal basis. Business success is often based on perception, and you can change that perception by letting people know that you work all year long.

When you talk to people about scheduling events, remind them that you run a year-round business. Find ways of scheduling events during months that many people think you are not operating. Include small phrases such as “offering year-round service” on all of your literature; that helps to corect the misconception that your business is seasonal.

- Keep Good Data

Momentum is a big part of maintaining a year-round business. Keep comprehensive sales data at all of your events that indicate what your best selling items are and how many of those items you commonly sell. When you find yourself ready to schedule an event at a time that is not traditionally busy, use these hot-selling products in your advertising to gain interest in the event. Attendees who see strong attendance at events scheduled during off-peak months will start to lose the part-time notion of your business.

- Keep Your Marketing Habits

As soon as you stop marketing your business, consumers will begin to think that you are done for the year. When the traditional slow months start to come up in the calendar, you should maintain your marketing efforts. Stay in front of people by hosting as many events as possible and continue to get marketing materials out to prospective customers.

One of your strongest sources of income and new clients is your referral network. Keep working your referral network on a full-time basis all year round. Do not let people tell you that an event will not work because of the time of year. You need to stay focused and keep your business in front of people to keep it going.

Being a year round home party plan consultant means never letting up on your marketing efforts and having an open calendar all year long. When people realize that you work the entire year, you will start to see your business prosper.

Deb Bixler is a home party plan business coach who teaches systems that create success in any party plan business. Incorporating her direct sales business tips into your business you will create a consistent income year round. Learn more about home party plan success systems that work for all companies here.

Look around you…what do you see around your work at home office? What is around your desk? Is there a window in your office? Is your office tidy and organized? What inspires you?

The following are some inspirational ideas you may or may not have thought of…

My work at home office is where I spend approximately forty five or more hours every week. That is a lot of hours to be confined to just one room. So…what inspires me that I am surrounded with in my home office?

Well, I have a lot of photos of my son that sit on top of my desk. Those are a real inspiration to me. Throughout my day, I take little breaks and look up at them. A flood of memories go through my mind…good ones. These are good thoughts and they help keep me motivated.

I also have a framed poem sitting on my desk. It is titled; “To Those I love.” This framed jewel was given to me by my Sister. It was from my Mother, whom has passed on. My Mother always gave me a lot of support with my online business. And all I have to do is look up at that frame and read it, and it gives me all the inspiration I need to get me through my day.

A couple of scented candles also sit on my desk. I light these regularly. My favorite scents…Cherry Plums and Lavender.

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It’s okay to take a sick day even when you work from home was one of my work at home tips I offered on Twitter. As a small business owner who works at home, this question is often asked as to what you do when you’re sick.

My answer is depending on how sick I am and I do take sick days which I have taken recently. Some people may think, well, that’s easier said than done. For me, I’m like, how so?

Can you answer these two questions?

1. Is your business more important than your health?
2. How well is your business doing if you’re working on limited capacity?

Granted, some people may be able to work at full capacity when they’re ill, but I have to wonder what kind of quality a person is producing in their work.

It’s great if you have a Virtual Assistant (VA) or business partner to hold down the fort for you when you’re sick, but if you’re a one woman show like me here are two tips to keep your business running smoothly when you aren’t.

1. Set up an auto-responder for your email accounts. It could be a generic out of office/away from the desk and I’ll reply to you as soon as possible type message. You could easily have this already set up in your email settings and all you have to do is enable it.

There are two reasons this is a good idea.

I don’t know about you, but I get a “sick” brain. I’m also impatient and I can be very forward. I can be irritable. It’s hard to interpret tone in email communication and the last thing I want to do is sound condescending, snarky or rude to new clients, current clients or customers.

Secondly, you could be making bad business decisions. Correspondences are best left when you can fully wrap your brain around the subject.

2. You can still market your business on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook by automating your tweets. There are different third party apps you can use to schedule your tweets, but the common ones are TweetDeck and Hootsuite. It’s important to remember to answer your direct messages and replies when you’re feeling better.

Your business should be able to run on its own steam for a while. It’s important to take the time to recover from your illness because your business is as good as the person running it.

Sophia McIntyre is an Internet Marketer, Article Marketer, Ghostwriter and founder of WorkAtHomeSpace.com, a free resource focusing on work at home companies and jobs, home businesses and other money making opportunities.

It’s so easy to get side-tracked when we fail to sit down and write out a specific to-do list. We end up wasting hours away during our business work hours. And consider this…if you were to get paid for all those lost hours, you might be a millionaire!

There seems to be two main extremities among business managers…

Those that suffer in utter chaos (you know, constantly looking for that lost file on the computer, a forgotten password, or notes scribbled on some little piece of paper somewhere — “It was right there yesterday! Really it was!”

On the other side of the coin, there are those that seem to fly through their day. They accomplish so much (it makes your head swirl), and stunningly enough…they even manage to have spare time to get a manicure and read their favorite book. They thrive abundantly in an organized, stress-free manner. Best of all, they don’t have to rush and burn the midnight hours away trying to get caught up.

The choice between the two options is really up to us. We all have the same 24 hours every day to get things done, and how we manage to use those 24 hours each day makes a real difference in our business and our home life. As you work from home, it’s more important than ever to organize your business tasks or you may find yourself working endless hours (and addicted to coffee).

Here’s 3 Easy Tips to Help You Manage Your To-Do List:

1. Make a master list. Create a master list of everything you need to accomplish for the entire week. Next, begin to break down your list into a daily “to-do” schedule. When you plan early the tasks that need to be done, you allow yourself more time to accomplish them without being bogged down or overwhelmed.

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The winter months can be hard on your home and your home office. Clutter tends to build and piles become more the norm than the exception. If winter has wrecked havoc on your home office, be thankful that Spring will soon be making an appearance. Try the five tips for spring cleaning your home office below to get your space back on the road to clutter-free existence.

1. Plan
The first thing to do is come up with a plan of attack. This may seem like a waste of time, but by creating a timeline for getting things done, you eliminate the odds of feeling overwhelmed. Using either a simple piece of blank paper or a spreadsheet, designate five days for working through the clutter and cleaning your office from top to bottom. Divide the office space into four zones and work through one zone each day, with the last day being used for overall dusting, polishing, and freshening up.

2. Purge Piles
Purging the piles of paper and clutter around your office is a big step toward getting organized. Keep a trashcan handy and sort through piles. Throw away or shred the things you do not need and immediately file the things that you do. You will find that you can quickly get through this part if you stay focused.

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Spring is here! However, depending on where you live it may not look very much like spring outdoors. In our Canadian prairies spring comes late. Winnipeg still has lots of snow and here in Calgary it is still too cold to plant gardens outdoors. We are fortunate there are many ways to enjoy gardening indoors.

In this experiment we will learn what plants need to grow and be healthy.

You will need a collection of new plants and seeds, several small containers appropriate to be used as plant pots, and some soil, some sand, and some clay. You will also need some water and just a little bit of plant food.

Have fun planting some seed in soil, some in sand, and some in clay in the containers. Do the same with the plants. Give some seeds and some plants water while giving other seed and plants none or just a little. Put some containers in plenty of sunshine but others in little or none. Give some plant food and others not. If you are brave, damage one plant by mishandling it. I can never do this because plants are so special to me. Make a note of which seeds and plants you have watered and those you have not. Do the same with the containers you have put in the sun and those you have not and mark the plant you have been a little rough with.

Each day observe the containers and watch the seeds sprout and the plants grow. Compare the growth of the plants in different mediums and areas. What happened to the plant you damaged?

Did you discover:

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As we all know customers are the core of any business in one way or the other. Without our customers, we would be nothing. So, it would be a wise decision to make sure all of our customers are properly taken care of and satisfied when they do business with us.

Listed below are ten ways we can begin to secure our customers happiness and satisfaction.

1. Always be attentive towards the customer. Be sure to listen to them when they tell you what they want or of any problems they are having with your products and/or services. Never dismiss their opinions or questions.

2. Reward regular customers and new potential customers. I like to treat my regular customers but be sure not to neglect potential and new customers. They deserve special treatment as well. Offer special discounts, free gifts, points towards more free gifts, coupons, money-saving bundles or packages, etc. The more options you provide, the more sales you will probably get.

3. Respect your customers! I cannot stress this one enough. Treat your customers, one and all, like they were your family. Give them all the respect and care they need from you and then some.

4. Earn their trust and respect! If you promise something, deliver! If you say you will give them a special deal, deliver. Always be true to your word and do not make false claims or promises. People are not stupid and they will see through deceptive marketing practices.

5. The customer is always right. Unfortunately this is not true. The customer is sometimes wrong and in that case, you should handle it properly. Be calm, polite, supportive and helpful. Explain the problem and let the customer know what you will do to rectify the situation. Your calm demeanor can sometimes calm the customer. Never lose control of your emotions.

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