Tag Archives: work at home

My Mobile Mini-Van Office

I started my home businesses shortly after my daughter was born. Sometimes I miss the days when I could simply roll my child in her bassinet room to room while I worked. On Saturdays, I rolled her into our storage room so I could prepare Ebay orders. During the rest of the week, she would swing quietly next to me and sleep while I made calls and placed orders on the computer. When she was a few months old, I even brought her (and her portable swing) to a craft fair. Unfortunately, she got more attention than the products did. … Continue reading →

Do You Have a Home Business, or Drop In Childcare Center?

“Hey, can you watch my kids for me?” “You don’t have anything else going on, right?” Have you ever felt like instead of running a home based-business, you run a drop-in childcare center? A few weeks ago, a friend called me to ask if I could watch her children. “Of course, I can”. I replied. (I really didn’t mind a bit…in fact, my kids could use the playmates for a day.) Okay, I take that back, I didn’t mind at first. When we started making arrangements, she said that she needed help for ten hours. I replied, “well, I can … Continue reading →

Are You Ready For a Break?

It is mid January where many of us run to warmer climates, drink cocktails and take a breather for awhile. Have you had a break lately? Even home-based professionals need a breather. The key to a really relaxing and stress-free break is planning ahead. 1). Notify business partners and team members. Start by making an announcement via e-mail and make sure you change your e-mail account to “auto-reply”. That way, even your customers and team members who don’t regularly check messages will understand that you simply aren’t avoiding them. 2). Notify your customers. Do you have customers that you communicate … Continue reading →

Home Business – or Home Based Conglomerate?

I’ve spent the last five years searching for the perfect home business. I am a “frequent-flyer” on just about every internet forum related to work-at-home opportunities. Even when I was working nearly full-time in the direct selling industry, I was still scoping out the “next best thing”. Heaven forbid I miss an opportunity, right? If I’ve learned anything from reading often frantic mothers searching for companies that they can join, franchises that they can purchase or businesses that they can start themselves is that the term “home-business” is often misleading. I think “home-based conglomerate” is a more appropriate term for … Continue reading →

4 Ways to Treat Work at Home “Cabin Fever”

I am suffering from a horrible case of cabin fever as I am writing this. I live in Montana where I am surrounded by lovely log cabins and majestic mountains. It is gorgeous here. However, it is mid-winter and I am surrounded by snow (and lots of it). I am itching for spring to arrive. I am daydreaming about sitting by a campfire and lounging on a hammock. I can’t wait to put burgers on the barbecue and kick back with my feet propped up on a cooler. Ahhhh…I can hardly wait for warmer weather. Many home-based workers suffer a … Continue reading →

Direct Sales – Funny Excuses for Cancelling a Party

If you’ve never been involved in a Party Plan business, you may not be able to relate to the “kiss of death” feeling direct sellers often get when they make their final hostess coaching call only to hear….”errrr…ummmm…”….followed by an excuse for canceling the pre-planned show. Usually the cancellations are legitimate – a child is sick or a family emergency, but the best excuses are often concocted on the spot. Sometimes it’s hard to find humor in a canceled show. We planned ahead, we hired a sitter, we may have even canceled a family event to hold the show. It … Continue reading →

The Job/Employment Blog Week in Review for Jan 13-19

Hello, and welcome to the Week in Review for January 13 – 19. This is our way of catching you up on any blogs you may have missed in the past week! We will be bringing on a new blogger to the Jobs blog on February 1st, Cami Reardon, and we’re really excited for her to bring her unique perspective and ideas to our blog. In the meanwhile, here’s a review of the happenings on the Jobs blog–if you have any feedback or comments, feel free to either leave a comment below or get in touch with me! Thanks for … Continue reading →

4 Ways to Make More Time For Your Family…Without Slowing Down

“Jakey, go find something else to do, I am trying to work”, my three year old barked at her little brother. A few days later, she pointed her finger at my laptop and said, “mommy, go work on your ‘peu-ter’” after I told her that I wasn’t going to get out the play-dough for her. (She was clearly hoping that I would get preoccupied so she could grab it on her own.) While in the back of my mind I knew that I was probably putting in too many hours, it wasn’t until I overheard my “mini-me” bossing everyone in … Continue reading →

Find Your Passion, or Fake it Until You Make It?

“Just find your passion”. If you’ve spent any time looking for home business opportunities, you’ve probably heard this piece of advice more than a few times. While we would all love to be making a great income doing something we are absolutely passionate about, it isn’t always that simple. When I started my work-at-home journey, I was convinced that I would make a tremendous amount of money selling crafts and painting children’s furniture. After all, I enjoyed it, I was passionate about it, and (if you can stand a bit of bragging) I was pretty darn good at it. Ultimately, … Continue reading →

Create a “Phone Box” to Keep Children Entertained

I have been a leader in the direct sales industry for the past five years. Ironically, the most challenging aspect of my home based business wasn’t finding new customers, entering sales orders or figuring out my taxes, it was trying to talk on the phone with two toddlers underfoot. It is hard to sound professional when you are chatting with a potential hostess or new team member when your children are pulling on your pant leg and screaming, “Mommy, Dora is over.” “Mommy…I need juice”. “Mommy, Jakey just spit on me”. “Ummmm…just a second while I lock my little cherubs … Continue reading →