Today’s post may be considered off-topic maybe – or a bit of a rant perhaps.  And, as always, I am just going to start writing and see where the post even goes…..

Yesterday, I was looking through a few of my RSS feeds to see if there was anything new I should read about.  I stumbled onto a blog post about Kate Gosselin doing Dancing with the Stars, which basically asked readers what their thoughts were on moms who had ambition and how they were seen by others.

The post isn’t what got to me – (even though Kate Gosselin is not one of my favorite people, I don’t really feel it is any of my business how she conducts her life).  What got to me was where the comments started heading.

I was a stay at home mom for a couple of years before I started working from home.  And, my mom was a stay at home mom my whole life.  So, when I read comments that are truly ignorant and completely out of line towards stay at home moms, I tend to get a bit worked up about it.

Here is the original post:

Is Mom Ambition a Bad Thing?

It was a good post, which opened up to some great discussion.  But, when it got to the comment that:

Most ambitious moms has more to offer a child. Someone that cooks,cleans, watches soaps, and shops all day has few skill to transfer to their young. Also, moms that have to ask their hubby for spending money show that they are not adults or responsible. If mommy does not have goals, daughter won’t either.

Wow!  Just….wow.  Comments like that just really get to me!

I can’t believe that in today’s society, women are attacking each other for their personal decisions – but as if that isn’t enough, they are still spewing forth such completely ignorant garbage!

First of all, that is NOT what stay at home moms are doing!  Sure, maybe there are some, but to put every single stay at home mom into that category is just insane!

Most stay at home moms that I know, are doing pretty much what your daycare worker is doing day in and day out – only difference is, that daycare worker is seen as contributing to society because she has a J-O-B which she gets paid for every day!

Guess what?   When your kids are home all day, there are meals to make, and a house to keep organized.  When kids are in school or daycare all day, your house doesn’t get near the mess that it does when they are home.  And, because most of these stay at home moms have sacrficed a good career – (I gave up a career as a nurse) – the family finances are usually very tight.  So, there days also consist of trying to make do with what they can afford.

We don’t lack ambition – in fact, I think any woman who chooses to give up a career and stay home with her children is very ambitious!  No one can even imagine what is involved in being a stay at home mom, but it seems like there are sure a lot of people who feel they are experts – because they go out and contribute to society by working, they feel that they are “above” the ones who are simply staying at home.

And then to say that moms who aren’t working can’t transfer any skills to their children?!  I can’t even begin to write about how far from the truth that statement is!

I learned more from my mom than anyone else I know – and I am hopefully passing on that knowledge to my kids.  I would far rather be passing the skills of how to be a good person, how to care for people you love – and skills like that compared to maybe teaching them the skills of say, internet marketing or building an effective website!

I get really upset by these kind of comments, and I can’t even begin to put them all into a post like this, because I know that everyone has such opposing views.

Personally, I can’t understand how anyone can judge or make any kind of statements on how someone else chooses to live – be it going to work outside the home, staying at home with the kids – or even working from home.

In the end, we are all moms.  We are doing the best we can.  If you don’t agree with how I am doing it, that is fine.  You are welcome to raise your children your own way, but that does not give you the right to say why you think your way is better than mine.

And, I would never choose to do that to another mom.

What are your thoughts on these kinds of comments?  Do people seriously still believe that stay at home moms are not being good role models for their children?  Why do moms always feel that they need to attack other moms for how they are doing things?  There will never be a right or wrong – all we can do, is do our best.

**Photo Credit:  Yoshi Aka

There is usually a bit of shock that you – especially when you are a MOM (gasp!) – would be involved in such a shady business venture.

Well, to put the record straight for anyone who thinks that is all internet marketers do, I am going to give a bit of a run-down of some of the other possible ventures we are involved in.  And, for any of you who are wanting to learn a bit more about Internet Marketing, and start working from home – you can pick up some ideas of possible avenues you could try for earning your own income.

While I am not the official source for the Internet Marketing term – to me, it involves marketing a product, idea, or business on the internet.  There are tons of ways of doing that – and they don’t involve spam or anything else that is remotely illegal.  It is simply another means of advertising and marketing your product to get it in front of your target customers.

The internet has opened huge doors of opportunity to everyone – and has helped to level the playing field a bit for the average person who has an idea for a product, or who has a small business – to get it seen by more people than they could have before.

Here are just some ways that you can be involved in Internet Marketing:

1.     Affiliate Marketing: Simply put, affiliate marketing is when you promote and market someone else’s product in return for profit when an action is taken.  Usually, it is when a customer purchases a product – you will get a certain percentage of the sale price.  Affiliate marketing has been widely used by even the top businesses, and became a pretty mainstream way of doing business when Amazon became so well known for their affiliate program.  It is a very good way to make some extra money, or to take it to the next level and make it your sole income.  There are many people who are making very good money doing this full time – but it isn’t something you can just jump into and expect to make money.  You need to learn how to market that product, which involves a series of steps, such as keyword research, SEO for your website (if you choose to go that route), or learning how to do Pay Per Click advertising, link building, article marketing and a whole lot more.

2.    Article Marketing: I mentioned this in with affiliate marketing, and it does tend to go together.  But, you can use article marketing for your own product or business as well.  It involves writing many keyword optimized articles, submitting them to sites on the internet – which will bring traffic to your website.  This takes time, and patience, but is a very effective means to build up traffic to your site.

3.    Product Creation: While most people shy away from the thought of creating their own product, it is said by many people that this is the best way to establish a solid income online.   Again though, it involves a lot more than just going out and putting something together that you think people would want to learn about.  You need to make sure there is a market for a product, which involves at a minimum, keyword research and market research – and you need to make sure that you are putting out a product that can genuinely help people, or give them the knowledge that they are searching for.

4.   Offering Services: I made my start in internet marketing by writing articles and editing for other marketers.  I learned a lot during this time – and still do some work for a few of my original clients who have been with me for so long.  This is a great way to get started, or even to use as a full time income – but although you want to start out offering lower prices so people can see your work, you want to make sure you start charging enough to make it worthwhile to you, or trust me – you can end up burning out pretty fast!

5.    Blogging: There are a lot of people out there who are blogging and who make their entire income from that.  What a great way to make money – by writing about something you love!  But, there is a lot more to it than that – and I am not really the expert in that field.  Blogging takes commitment, and it isn’t something you can just expect to make money from overnight.

6.   E-commerce: Whether you are selling your own products from your brick and mortar business, or using a dropshipper to send goods to your customers, selling products online reaches a huge audience and has become something that is open to just about anyone who wants to sell online.

The truth is, there are a lot more ways that you can be involved in internet marketing – running your own membership site, selling on ebay, flipping websites – the list goes on and on, but the basic premise behind everything you do is learning to market so that your product, or the product you are promoting, is being seen by the customers who are searching for it.

And, that can end up being more work than most people realize.

I am not just playing on the computer every day, reading emails and chatting on Facebook – I have spent countless hours learning new strategies and trends, working on the tedious tasks like building links to my websites, submitting articles to directories and a whole lot more.

So – if you think Internet Marketing is something you would like to get into – find some people you can trust to learn from, and be prepared to put the work in.  But, it will pay off – and eventually you will end up like the rest of us, who learn to love everything we are doing.  It almost becomes an obsession – which can be hard for other people to understand.

Especially when they think that all we are doing is sending spam emails out to everyone on the planet!

PS:  Here are some great resources for you to follow and learn from:

•    Warrior Forum: This is, in my opinion, one of the best learning resources for internet marketing by far.  Pay the extra money and join the War Room – trust me, it is worth every penny, and the best part of it is the subforum of posts by Allan Says (the forum owner).  Avoid the WSO forum, unless you absolutely know what you are needing.  Some of the names to follow and learn from (that you can trust), are Steven Waganheim, Kevin Riley, Bev Clement, Michael Oksa, JayXtreme, Tiffany Dow and others who you will learn to trust.

•    If you are interested in learning more about Blogging, you can go to http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/.  This is just a really good site to follow, with very good advice.It is written by a successful internet marketer, Yaro Starak – who has great hair by the way, and is not at all hard on the eyes;-)

So – what is it that is holding us back?

Not having confidence in our knowledge, our service, our products or whatever else we need to have confidence in when we are in our own business.

Let me give you my own examples:

I have come to realize that I have been working online for over 5 years now.  I have spent that entire time learning new things, trying new things (some which worked, some which didn’t), and all this time, I have been building up a tremendous amount of knowledge about internet marketing, building an online presence…..

I have spent countless hours learning how to do effective keyword research, finding niche markets, learning everything I could about Wordpress…so much that it would have taken me at least a couple of years in full time training to learn what I know now.

Yet I still was putting myself in the “newbie” category.  I didn’t feel that I had anything I could offer anyone to teach them.

Until I started helping offline businesses around here.  I realized that the knowledge that I have spent so much time learning, trying – failing and succeeding – is useful to others, and I do have alot of information I can share to help people.

That was a huge shock for me!

I have never considered myself an “expert” in anything really, (and I still don’t believe I am anywhere near that status), but the truth is I enjoy learning about internet marketing so much, that I am constantly following with new trends and trying new strategies, which does give me knowledge that is specialized.

Do you do this to yourself?

Do you undervalue what you have to offer?  Doesn’t matter if it is a product you are creating, a service you are providing, or maybe you have a hard time believing in the path you have chosen?

We all go through that – and that is something I have learned.  I hear women talking about how they don’t believe that they can charge more for a product they created because it might not really be good enough.

Or, they doubt if they should take that course, or apply for that job, or in the case for many of us getting into internet marketing – they don’t have confidence that they have what it takes to really be able to work from home, and make a decent living.

You need to stop limiting your thinking like that.  Seriously – do it right from the start.

The truth is, we all have strengths – and if we don’t value what we can offer, or what we can do – then how can we expect others to take us seriously?

“Seldom does an individual exceed his own expectations.”  ~Unknown

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Again, I ended up neglecting my blog – and it seemed that the longer I was away, the harder it was to bet back to it.  It is kind of one of those situations that you start feeling so bad for not doing something for so long, that it just seems easier to bury your head and ignore it.  Sad, I know – and there really isn’t any excuse.  I could offer some – like mentioning how busy I have been (which I have), but that isn’t really a very good reason.

Over the past few months, I have finally figured out how to try focusing my efforts – and to realize that I needed to follow in doing what I truly enjoy – not just what I “thought” was the easiest and best way for me to make money and grow a business I could be proud of.

After signing up with the direct sales company I had chosen as a consultant, I tried to do what was required to start seeing some income from it.  But, since I live in a very small, rural area- it wasn’t as simple as I thought it would be.  People just don’t have the money right now to be spending a lot on photo books and other products that they can get for less money through other sites.

And, that is a hard sell – when you are trying to explain why it is that “your” product is superior, and why it is worth it for them to spend more money for a product they can get cheaper if they shop around.  After talking with other consultants who were feeling much the same way, I realized that I was feeling guilty when people were actually purchasing from me, because I just didn’t believe in my heart that it was the best deal.

I guess that is why I am not cut out for direct sales – that, and the fact that I hate doing parties!  I know when I go to those parties, I always feel obligated to buy something, and I just didn’t want to be making people feel that same way.

So, I have let my consultant status go – I didn’t bother renewing it when it came up in February.

I still really believe the digital scrapbooking, and creating memory books and wonderful keepsakes, is a lot of fun, and is so much easier for many people than traditional scrapbooking.

And, I still believed that I wanted to be able to help others create their own books.  So, I bought a license to software that is very easy to use, which I can offer through my own site.

It may not be as “robust”, or have the bells and whistles and extra embellishments I could offer when I was a consultant with the other company, but it makes products that are just as good, and with a lot more to choose from!
It is far easier for people to use, and the products are SO much more affordable!  (You can see it at www.yourstorybooklife.com).

I have lots more to report, and so many more ideas for things I need to write about.  I am following my heart, and not trying anymore to do the things I have heard I “need to do” to make money – or to grow my business.

And, that has led me into two areas which I can keep doing, and that I know I will enjoy every day.  That is taking my love for online marketing, and putting it with my enjoyment of crafts – and I get to put them both towards growing a business I enjoy doing.

I never realized how much I love internet marketing until I kind of started to move away from it over the past year.  While I don’t make the “millions” that others promise and say they are making – I am doing well enough to know that I actually have learned a great deal over the past 5 years I have been doing this.

Now, I help other small businesses to market themselves online, and I have helped to show some offline businesses in my area how they can benefit from the internet.  I love what I am doing, and I have decided that these are the areas I am going to focus on now.

So, when you come to read my blog – you will learn everything I can share with you about internet marketing – whether you are wanting to make money through affiliate marketing, creating your own products, freelancing, or other ways – or if you have a business (like selling crafts or anything else you can dream up), and you want to learn to market it online.

That is what I know – and what I am going to share with you.  I can point you in the direction to other information that I don’t specialize in – such as finding jobs online, mystery shopping etc. etc…..- if that is what you are most interested in learning.

And I hope you taken the message away from this post I was hoping to convey:  while sometimes you might find that you are “all over the place”, and that you feel like you keep trying things believing that this is “the one” – it can easy to start feeling that you are a failure, and that you just can’t seem to figure it out like everyone else has.  It might be easy to give up – but if you believe in something, and you can find that one thing you enjoy – trust me…it isn’t always going to be the first “great idea” you have…..then you will get there.  And, don’t ever feel bad about the mistakes you have made along the way – that is how you learn, and someday, that information you learned while making those mistakes, will come back and surprise you with how much it can actually help you!

Remember…

“Miracles have been accomplished by people who have kept trying when all hope seems lost.”

And…..

“Success lies in the journey – not the destination.”

I hope you will keep following along, and I promise, I have alot to share with you!

Some days I really wonder where the glamor and thrill is of working from home!

Don’t get me wrong – I love my kids and am thankful every day that I get to be here with them!  But, some days…….

All I have to distinguish my “office” from their “play area” is one small plastic carpet cover for my chair.  It doesn’t give me much space, and I feel like Les Nessman from WKRP (you would need to be over 30 to understand who I mean!).

Yet – for some reason, my kids will spend the whole day standing beside my chair – one on each side – talking, coloring, writing, playing….unless I remind them about my “office” rules.

Oh – how I long for a real door sometimes!

Having the chance to really make use of the skills and knowledge I have learned over the past 3 years was so exciting for me!  And, to see results so quickly, makes me feel pretty good too.

The site I was working on wanted me to help them with everything – because they were targeting an international market.  It is actually a very competitive market, and it will require more work still.

But, I have their site already getting steady traffic every day, and the stats show that the people coming to the site are exactly the ones they were wanting.  They have already had a couple signups for their mailing list (which I wasn’t even ready for!  I still had to finish setting the emails up to go out!).

So – I am pleased with how that is going.

Meanwhile, as if I didn’t have enough going on, I finally bit the bullet and signed up as a consultant with Heritage Makers.  I had finished a book about my Grandpa, which I received a couple of weeks ago.  When I saw the book, and how it made me feel to hold it and actually be able to read it – I knew I had to be a part of this.

I already have a bunch of people who want to create their own books after seeing what I did.  The fact that they are hardbound books, and not just scrapbooks, is amazing.  And, they are so much simpler to do!

I just don’t have the time or the space to do traditional scrapbooking – as much as I tried.  This is so much better for me.  I can do it all online and don’t need to get anything out and set up.  I can create whatever I want, and if it turns out really good, other people can order their own copy. (I have 3 people who want one of my books I did!)

So – I will mention from time to time how things are going with that.  I don’t imagine I will do many parties, as I don’t know what I would be like with that.  But, I imagine I will be able to talk to people and show them what is involved, and let the product sell itself.

If you want to see what Heritage Makers is about, you can go to www.YourStorybookLife.com to see my site.

I am very excited for 2009!

I have been busy getting things set up to do some online marketing to offline businesses in my local area who need help getting a website up and running, as well as helping them with some SEO and other marketing.  I got my first client just before Christmas, and have been busy getting their site finished up and everything set up for them.

They wanted to add a blog and a forum to their site, and they want me to do some optimizing and link building for them too – which is great!  Strangely, I enjoy doing all of this kind of marketing, even if I am outsourcing some of the more tedious tasks.

I never realized just how much the offling business world really doesn’t understand about internet marketing and how to use the internet to help bring them customers that are paying.  And, to use the internet for marketing and advertising – the possibilities are astounding, but for some reason, the offline world seems to think that the internet won’t really help them.

So, I will be busy doing this over the next few months and will see how it goes.  I am offering my experience with writing to do articles and submit for clients, as well as write copy on their sites and set up free reports to give away if they want.

This is just another way that you can think outside the box to find a way to make money from home.  If you have a skill, then offer to help people who don’t have the same kind of skill as you do.  Keep your mind open, and you may be surprised what can happen!

Happy New Year to you all – and I wish you nothing but the best for 2009!!

Marie

For the past couple of months, another WAHM and I have worked very hard at setting up a great community site to help other moms and parents who want to work from home.  We have added a ton of resources to help, we have offered our own help inside the forum – and we have basically set things up so that we have a platform to help everyone get to the point they are aiming for.

But – as I have noticed over my time online, it seems that unless you are promising an exact method – or one of those hyped up “systems” that “guarantee you will be making thousands of dollars a month by simply typing in numbers on your computer…..” – that people aren’t interested.

The ones who are, however, are the ones you know are serious about getting ahead.  They are serious about putting in the necessary work to succeed at whatever they are setting out to do.  Because, you know what?  There are no sure-fire, make money RIGHT NOW methods online, no matter what you may be hearing otherwise.

Last spring, I put together a huge guide of information for anyone who is interested in working at home – it is full of links, resources, tips to help you find work – everything that you would need if you are just getting started and are looking for a direction to follow.  Everything is put into one guide – in one very easy to follow and access format – to basically hold your hand and help you search for something that you might be interested in.

However – again, it seems that people aren’t as interested in this kind of information as they are in the kind that they eventually end up saying they have been “scammed” over.  And, sadly, it happens time and time again!  People would rather pay for the information that shows how you can process rebates from home for ridiculous amounts of money…..and this really frustrates me!

Those kind of jobs are just now real – in fact, most of the time they are flat out scams!

But, people keep paying good money for this kind of stuff!

Maybe I was way off base when I went to the trouble of putting it all together – the stuff to avoid, the best resources to find work, actual links to companies hiring workers – because I can’t guarantee anyone will make anything with the information I provide.  It requires them to actually go out and apply for jobs, and look for work through the resources and links I give in the guide – and unfortunately, too many people think that there must be an easier way!

Anyway – Sandi and I opened up our forum and membership site to people to come in and check it out – completely free – and we had some who came on board.  But – there was not the numbers we were hoping for.  Now, while I realize that a lot of people don’t want to get involved in any kind of social community until there is more activity – and more members are signed up – but how else will a community ever be built?

We are trying to create a place that people can feel free to ask any questions they want – without being jumped on with advertisements for business opportunities, or be made to feel that their question was “dumb”.

And, we also want to make a place that people CAN promote their business opportunities, and maybe use it to network in a more relaxed atmosphere – in a section just for that kind of activity.

For those who have come over and taken a chance – and seen what we have put together – we want to say thank you!  We know that things have been slow getting started, but we hope that we can create a community together that fits everyone’s needs.

And, to those of you who have bought my guide – and thanked me for the information you learned from it – I also want to say thank you.  I hope that you can find what you are looking for, and that you will make use of what you have learned!

We are now changing our direction – and we are going to offer our membership as a bonus that is included in the price of the guide.

So – you are now getting the chance to get the basic starter information in the guide (which is full of links and ideas), and then you can sign up for the lifetime membership at the forum – where you will get access to more resources and help from other work at home moms.  This is a HUGE offer, and I guarantee you will not find anything else like it online.

I am still in the process of putting the finishing touches on everything – so if you end up buying the guide before I have updated some of the info with how to access the membership site – just let me know.

There is help out there – and there are real, LEGITIMATE and honest ways to make money from home – but you need to stop looking for the easy answers.  Take the time to learn the basics and really put an effort into finding satisfying work that you can be proud of.  Would you really feel satisfied and proud to tell people you make money stuffing envelopes for a living?  (Even if that WAS a legitimate method of making money at home!)

Again – I am sorry if you are one who is offended by what I have said.  I just get very frustrated with people who keep complaining and crying that they have been scammed, and that there isn’t any way to make legitimate money online working at home……..There are ways, but you need to be willing to put a bit of work into finding them.

There is no such thing as “Get Rich Quick” - and you need to stop waiting for that miracle method that will have you making money without doing anything.  It isn’t out there – and once you realize that – you need to pull up your bootstraps and start looking for the REAL work.  And, when someone offers to give you help, take it!

If you are interested in seeing what is included in the guide – it is at www.FromHomeMomsWorkSource.com I am going to be redoing the salespage to include the membership part of it (which you can see now at www.WAHMSAlliance.com).

I hope we can help at least some of you achieve your work at home dreams!

It has been a lot of work – but it is worth it.  I never thought I would say that.  I was only really working on it in the beginning because it is a requirement for getting financing.

But, after spending weeks on the plan, I have realized just how vital a solid plan really is to setting up a business that will have a chance to survive.  You need to really think about everything – your marketing plan, your financial plan, how you can compete with other similar businesses – there is so much that you need to work out.

I have really learned a lot about myself, and a lot about what I will need to build my business in this process.  I have had to try imagining any problems I might run into, and how I plan to overcome them.  I have had to think about how I want to advertise and market – and who my target market even is!

Through all of this, I have already been having to overcome little obstacles along the way – finding suppliers, working out pricing, deciding on the best possible business model – and one monumental hurdle I have been facing is where to get the software that I need to create the business I am envisioning.

I have just kept pushing forward – and every little setback I try to just step over top of and find another way.  I have been in touch with numerous people, who have given me all sorts of prices and quotes.  I have even been told by one person (who had not even seen my business plan at all – I just gave him software specs and asked for a quote!) that my business idea was not well thought out!

My point is:  If you are wanting to start and grow a successful home busines – or any business for that matter – you need to have a plan.  And, you really need to put everything you can into putting that plan together.  You will realize little details that you otherwise would have missed.  And, your business will suffer in the long run if you haven’t planned for what you need to do.

Find someone who can advise you and guide you through creating the plan for your business.  I have been fortunate to have the help of a woman from our local Women’s Enterprise Center who has helped me tremendously – offering feedback and suggestions to help me get my business plan created.  And, she has even helped to push me a bit over some of the little bumps in the road as I came across them.

Build your plan, then use that plan as your guide to building your business into something that you can be proud of!  Don’t cut corners in the beginning, or you will struggle down the road.

So many people fall into the trap of believing that they need to have some kind of experience, or that they will need to learn a whole ton of technical things to become a virtual assistant. This really does not have to be the case at all!

Becoming a virtual assistant is the perfect choice for moms who want to start working from home. They are able to stay at home with the kids, and a lot of the time, the people hiring them will provide them with much of the training they will need.

You see, everyone you work for will have different tasks that they would like done, and most will even have their own way of doing things. The biggest factor you need to remember if you are working as a VA is to find out exactly what the person doing the hiring is expecting from you. Usually they will give complete instructions and outline for what they require.

And, don’t just think it is big corporations who are hiring VA’s! I have been working as a marketer online for a couple of years now, and I know firsthand that most internet marketers require VA’s to help them complete some of their smaller tasks – freeing up their time to focus on marketing the product or service.

Some of these tasks include simply submitting websites or articles to directories, social bookmarking and forum or blog posting. Of course, if you are willing to learn or already know some of the more technical things they might require, like search engine optimization, graphic design or website maintenance – you will find even more work available!

This stuff is really quite simple to learn.

I am in the process of setting up a membership site with another WAHM, which will give all of this extra kind of information to help you learn some of the things you need to make money online. Virtual assistant tasks will be covered as well. Make sure you have signed up for the newsletter so you are able to hear when everything is ready (and don’t worry – the price is going to be reasonable -*free*- to get started!)

And, don’t forget to get your copy of the work at home mom guide which covers all about setting up a virtual assistant business from home – www.FromHomeMomsWorkSource.com

Becoming a virtual assistant is one of the simplest ways you could possibly try making money at home – and you have the option of building it up into a real home business as well!