Reinvent Yourself!

If you're like me, you were a career woman at one time and after a series of events found yourself suddenly knee deep in dirty laundry, balancing a baby on one hip, a cell phone in the other, and you've learned to somehow do everything one handed or with your teeth.  Just because your job title has changed to "domestic engineer", doesn't mean that suddenly your skills and experience are worth nothing.

I get asked constantly, how stay at home moms can make money from home.  The problem that I see, though, with most of the women that ask me that question is they don't believe in themselves.  Too often women think that the only skills they have to offer involve typing or customer service.  Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not putting those jobs down.  The problem with many of those jobs is that they don't pay well.  The truth is that many of the women asking me how to make money from home posses all the skills necessary to start and run their own business from home.  The rewards from running your own business from home, both monetary and emotionally are only limited by YOU.  How great is that?  You are the one that decides how hard you want to work or how much money you want to make.  In fact, I find that many women sadly let fear hold them back from taking the leap.  I see it all too often.  These same women that I speak of are so talented and have so much to offer that it's sad that they don't realize their own potential.

You may have wondered where the heck I've been for the past couple of months.  (Or maybe not, I don't know!)  I've been contemplating something that I have now been inspired to write about and I hope that someone out there will benefit from all of the time and effort that I've put into this research.  You may already know that I have been a stay at home "mompreneur", working from home for the past seven years now.  I've been pretty proud of the fact that I've been able to earn money from home doing various things and ended up able to stay home with my children all this time.  When I started out, I wondered just how long I'd be able to stay home.  If there was ever a time that the money ran out, I was certainly going to have to go back to work.  Here I am seven years later, writing this blog to help others find their way.  Is your way my way?  Probably not.  Since I began there are better paths than the ones I took.  There are so many more options out there than when I started.  One thing I know for sure is that if you really want to make money from home, there is a way.  Another thing I've learned is that the best way to make the most money from home is to:

1. Do something you love.
2. Work for yourself.
3. DO SOMETHING YOU LOVE
4. Constantly reinvent yourself.
5. Listen to your heart, not your fears.
6. Take Action

That brings me to my point for this post.  I have been inspired myself to return to college at 39 years of age.  I got married before I ever actually got a degree.  Looking back, it's always been something that has bothered me.  Do I need a degree right now?  Maybe not, but it sure couldn't hurt.  Not only that, but no one in my family ever graduated from college.  I want to set an example for my three boys.  I hope that I'm showing them by example that you're never too old to finish what you started and that you should never give up.  In doing all of this preparation for going back, I have found that it is so much easier to go to school than it ever has been.  More online, night, and weekend courses are being offered than ever before.  More grants, scholarships and loans are being issued.  There is a greater variety of subject matter that's being taught.  What does this mean for you?  It means that more opportunities exist for you right now than ever before.

I picked up a local course catalog for Adult and Community Education classes recently.  I was amazed at the variety of courses being offered and the potential for income from home that was lurking right there in those pages!  Amazing!  One class was a class on Windows XP Movie Maker.  They would teach you how to use old photos, digital photos, and digital movies to create your own movies or slide shows.  They teach you how to do voice overs, music and special effects.  What a great business this would be!  How many people are out there that have all of these things, but don't really know how or have the time to do anything with them?

Another class was for Power Point Memory Albums.  They teach you how to create memory albums for graduations, weddings, birthdays, family reunions, etc.  The cost was only $52.00!  How's that for a cheap start up?  How could you go wrong offering that service for graduations and weddings?  The first couple of jobs alone should more than pay for the tuition of the class.

Of course there were other classes like how to install ceramic tile, home staging, operating an eBay store or business, writing courses, foreign language courses, cake decorating, portrait drawing, sewing, etc.  There was even a class on how to make fused glass windchimes.  I could go on and on. A good percentage of the courses in the course schedule had the potential of being at home money makers.

One of my favorite quotes is:  "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step".  You might find that your first step to your journey to becoming a stay at home mompreneur is to find a class at your local community college and take the leap.  Turn your interests and your hobbies into a sideline money maker or a full blown business.  The point is, it's up to you.  I even saw a course on how to start your own business if your dreams are a little bigger than most.

As always, I wish you all luck and happiness and if there's ever anything that I can do to help my readers, please feel free to contact me.

Work From Home Job Blast: TeleTech@Home

There are more and more work from home companies out there who provide services for larger name companies.  TeleTech@Home is one of those companies.  What sets this company apart from the others is their dedication to treating their employees well.  See, they believe that if they treat their employees well, then in return their employees will treat their customers well.

If you have customer service experience, a high speed internet connection, a corded telephone, and a quiet work area then you probably have what you need to start earning money from home.  TeleTech@Home provides you with training through their TeleTech University.  They also provide you with a corded headset and a WorkBooth CD that connects you to everything you need, including your supervisor. 

TeleTech@Home allows you to track your own performance on a daily basis through their Empower program.  Employees are rewarded through higher pay according to their performance.  TeleTech@Home is also eager to provide jobs to members of the military and their spouses, which I think is outstanding.  It must be difficult to hold a job down when you move every few years to a new location.  A work from home job like TeleTech@Home would allow you to stay with the same company for as long as you wish.

If you are interested in exploring an opportunity with TeleTech@Home, there are 8 steps to complete before you can be hired:

1. Make sure that the position is right for you
2. Complete a fifteen minute application with pre-screening questions
3. Testing of your computer to make sure it will be sufficient for the job 
4. Initial phone screen followed by online assessment tests
5. Online group information session
6. Phone interview (Make sure that there is NO background noise during this time!)
7. Background check & PC Certification
8. Hiring!

If at any time, you do not pass one of the eight steps above, you will be sent an email letting you know.

If you are interested in receiving more work from home job blasts like this one, be sure to follow me on Twitter!

Real Estate Money Making For Stay At Home Moms

This year, I have embarked upon a new venture that I'm quite excited about and I wanted to share what I have learned with you.  For a couple of years now, I have been researching various ways to invest in real estate.  You see, I believe that real estate investing is just about the perfect money maker for stay at home moms.  The problem is that most women simply do not know how to go about this.  For that matter, in this market, there are a lot of experienced real estate investors that don't know how to go about making money in a down market.

Now I don't claim to be any kind of real estate investing guru, but what I have learned has been pretty exciting.  You see, real estate investing does require a time commitment, but it can be worked according to your schedule and the money making potential is unbelievable.

Here's a little bit of the back story so you can see where I'm coming from.

My husband sells cars for a living.  Last year, a man walks into my husbands office and asks if there is any way that he could trade land for a used car.  The man had made the same offer at who knows how many other car lots that same day, only to be turned down.  My husband has some real estate investing experience and recognized that this could potentially be a great deal.  Turns out, the man had 8 acres of land to trade.  My husband had connections with wholesalers of used cars and we ended up buying a used car at a wholesale price and trading the land for the car.  We ended up only paying about $4,000 for the car.  We estimated the land to be worth somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000 in today's down market.  Not a bad rate of return.

Now here's the interesting part that I wanted to share.  This all happened last year and honestly we had no idea what we wanted to do with the land.  We knew that whatever we did, we wanted to absolutely optimize our profits.  Here's the problem, though:  real estate is just not selling very well and banks aren't lending like they used to.  We wondered if we were just going to have to hold onto the land until the market came back.  Could be 3 years, 4 years, 5 years or more, who knows. 

Here's what we decided to do.  We checked with the restrictions in the neighborhood and noticed that we could divide the land into two 4 acre lots.  Then, we decided that we would owner finance the land.  We'd sell each half at the price we would have expected to get in a good market, $30,000.  Then we'd ask for $5,000 down, 10% interest for 30 years without regard to credit history.  Now this would mean that we would receive a monthly payment from the owners of $219.39 basically for 30 years.  Now $219.39 a month is not going to allow me to hire a personal chef or limo driver.  After 30 years time, though, we will have collected a sum of $83,980.40 on half of the ground!

This means that on our $4,000 investment on 8 acres of ground, we would have the potential of receiving $167,960.80.  Now that's what I call optimizing an investment.

There are quite a lot of people out there with land they'd like to sell that's just not selling.  They simply do not know how to sell it in this market so the possibility to cut a sharp deal is there.

Now I have learned that it is possible to invest in real estate without a lot of money in your pocket and you really don't need to sit back and wait for some guy to come offer you the kind of deal that we got. If you are interested in finding out more, I'd recommend reading a book by Dean Graziosi called Profit From Real Estate Right Now! The Proven No Money Down System For Today's Market. I'm not getting any money to promote his book. I've read the book and he explains in detail how to make money from real estate without any money what-so-ever. Again, I want to emphasize that I am not getting any money from anyone if you buy his book. In fact, I would just recommend checking with your local library to see if they have a copy.

I plan on venturing into real estate this year and will be sharing every detail of whatever I do with all of you.  If I fail, you'll know about it.  If I succeed, you'll know about that too.  One thing is for sure, though, we're going to learn something about real estate investing together!

From Idea To Reality: IdealSamples.com

Sheena Repath is working on a dream, a really big dream, and she’s passionate about it. She helps people bring their dreams, ideas and products to life.
She has 10 years of professional experience as designer, entrepreneur, adviser in the fashion/apparel industry. Her expertise ranges from concept creation, design, product development, manufacturing, wholesale, retail and online distribution.
She started Ideal Samples Inc in 2008 to fill a growing need in the marketplace for individuals and businesses that have ideas or concepts that need samples or products produced or help bringing them to market.

With the guidance of seasoned mentors, her own experience and the proverbial school of hard knocks. Sheena’s identified the critical steps necessary to successfully bring an idea or product to life and then to market.

Sheena and her team of experts have worked on hundreds of ideas and products for such leading brands as Indian Motorcycle, American Brands, Asics, MainStreet, The Answer, V and Kids Clothes That Fit just to name a few.

To learn more about Sheena and Ideal Samples visit them at www.IdealSamples.com.

Finding Inspiration: Famous Entrepreneur Quotes

I was feeling particularly inspired today from the progress of this blog and I wanted to share the feeling.  I recognize how difficult it can be to keep your spirits up when you are contemplating starting your own work from home business venture or if you are just looking for a way to make money from home.  Whatever your situation, it's good to take a deep breath and find something to inspire you to continue on.  Whatever you desire out of your life, is possible, believe it.

Here's a few famous entrepreneur quotes to help keep you inspired:

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.Thomas Edison

Have the end in mind and every day make sure you're working towards it. 
Ryan Allis

Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won't so you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't.  A student in Warren G. Tracy's class

Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company 
Booker T. Washington

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.  Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. 
Mark Twain

Fall seven times, stand up eight.  
Japanese Proverb

I have not failed.  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.  
Thomas Alva Edison

Do not wait to strike until the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.  
William B. Sprague

Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.  
Les Brown

You get in life what you have courage to ask for.  Always continue the climb.  
Oprah Winfrey

Time To Open Up A Lemonade Stand? Tips To Monetize Your MySpace, Facebook or Blog

If you have your own blog, Facebook or MySpace page, you already have the framework for creating extra money for yourself from home.  Time that you have spent adding friends and blogging doesn't have to be for nothing.  Affiliate programs can be a great way to add some extra money to your pocket.

One unique and fun affiliate program is www.Lemonade.com.  You can go to lemonade.com and build your own virtual lemonade stand filled with products that you recommnend from stores like Macy's, Gap, PetSmart, Wal-Mart, and the list goes on and on.  Whenever visitors to your blog, Facebook or MySpace buy anything from your recommended list of products in your virtual lemonade stand, you earn money.  You can keep the money or donate it to a charity. 

Another affiliate program you probably have already heard of is Google Adsense.  Now, while Adsense is a very quick and easy way to begin earning money on a blog or website, unless you #1) build several websites and/or blogs or #2) achieve massive amounts of traffic to your website or blog, you're likely not to see big amounts of income from Google.  I, in fact, earned up to $3,500 per month with Google, however my tactic was to build a large number of niche websites that achieved a decent search engine ranking.

Clickbank is an affiliate program that I would highly recommend if monetizing your blog or website is your focus.  Once you sign up as a publisher, you can either display ads or create links for products in your actual content.  Choosing products that will be targeted towards your readers is key in this process.  Whenever someone clicks on an ad link in your content or on a diplayed ad on your blog or website and makes a purchase, you will get paid a commission on that sale.

The most profitable way to earn money from your blog is to sell your own product, e-book, or advertising. 
Obviously you will maintain all of the profits from the sale of your own product or advertising.  Again, you'll need to target the products or e-books toward your readers.

You can sell advertising on your blog on your own, simply by letting your readers know how to contact you for advertising, or you can use scripts like OIO Publishing that will put your advertising space on auto-pilot for you.  This is a good thing if you don't want to have to keep up with payments, ad display times, and stats for your advertisers.  With OIO Publishing, you still get to keep 100% of your advertising sales.  The script is NOT free, though.  It does cost $47 to purchase currently.  For the month of April, only, they are running a special with coupon code BLOOM-MOMS which would give you a $10 discount off of the price.  If you have a Wordpress blog, the installation is as easy as installing a plug-in.

I would like to add that good content for your blog or website is the foundation for gaining readers, traffic and eventually income.  Shortcuts do exist, but if you do not have good content, they will not help you in the long run. 

Successful Work From Home Mom Interview: Scarlet P. From MomsWearYourTees.com

I am delighted to include an interview from Scarlet P. of MomsWearYourTees.com.  She is a very strong example of a stay at home mompreneur who thought outside of the box when it came to creating a work from home business of her own.  Her website promotes other businesses and websites and helps them create incoming traffic, improve search engine ranking, and to gain overall exposure through social media marketing.  Scarlet recognized a need in the online and business realms and created a work from home business that met those needs. 

Carla:  Tell us a little about yourself.

Scarlet:  I am a stay at home mother of two under 6.

Carla:  What is your MomsWearYourTees business all about?
Scarlet:  I do social media marketing for other websites.  It is all about helping businesses get their links out there to increase traffic to their site, create product buzz, and help improve search engine rank.
  
Carla:  What or who was the inspiration for MomsWearYourTees.com?  
Scarlet:  The inspriration was my need to find a way to make an income from home.

Carla:  How long have you been a work from home mom?

Scarlet:  About 5 years.  I started as an independent distributor for Young Living and I still do that but added Moms Wear Your Tees into the mix about 5 months ago.

Carla:  What did you do before you were a work from home mom?

Scarlet:  I was a store manager for companies such as Ann Taylor LOFT and EXPRESS.

Carla:  What influenced your decision to become a stay at home mompreneur?
Scarlet:  I always knew I wanted to stay at home with my children.  I knew that it was right for me and for them.  I love spending that time with them and I feel very fortunate to be able to do so.

Carla:  How long did it take to begin earning money from MomsWearYourTees?

Scarlet:  I did the first month for free.  I just promoted sites to get my name out there and my links out there and then I started charging in January.

Carla:  What has been your biggest obstacle with your business and how did you overcome it?
Scarlet:  My biggest obstacle is time.  I just make sure I don't waste any time and that I stay focused on PRODUCTIVE tasks.

Carla:  Were there any work from home ventures that you started that didn't work out? 
Scarlet:  No.

Carla:  What has been your biggest success or proudest achievement associated with your business?
Scarlet:  I am proud everyday!  I am proud when I get a new client and I am proud when I complete their promos.  I guess climbling rankings also makes me proud!   I do have down days occassionally where I might not have a booking and I feel like I should be doing more!  Then I just remind myself it takes one step at a time!

Carla:  Where and how do you promote your work from home business/website?
Scarlet:  I promote my site every place I can find.  The more links you get out the better!

Carla:  What resources do you recommend for women who want to start their own business or website?

Scarlet:  WAHM Designs does great website hosting and design very affordably.  Then use a search engine to find free directories and use social media to get more links back to your site.

Carla:  Is there anything that you would have done differently if given the chance?

Scarlet:  Yes, I changed hosting on my website and I didn't consider how that would affect my ranks.  Now I have to work my way back up!  

  
Carla:  What role has networking played with your website / business?
Scarlet:  Huge, if not for networking, I would not have traffic!

Carla:  Are you open to networking with other work from home moms or aspiring work from home moms?  If so, how can they contact you?
Scarlet:  I have a entrepreneur linky on my blog they are welcome to use.  I also have a contact for on my website.  http://momswearyourtees.blogspot.com/2010/04/entrepreneur-small-business-wahm.html

Carla:  What words of advice or tips would you give to women who wants to start their own business or website?
Scarlet:  Go for it.  Make it work.  If you really work at it, you can accomplish it.

Carla:  What are your goals for the future of your website / business?
Scarlet:  My goal for my website is to have a client booked every day.  My goal for my blog is to keep increasing my readership. Along the way, I want to enjoy making new friends, and  trying and sharing new products with others.

Thank you so much, Scarlet, for allowing us to grill you a little on your website's success!

Rodan + Fields Product Giveaway

Just got an update from Melissa from the Rodan + Fields work from home business review that I did several weeks back.  She is offering a giveaway of a full size Rodan + Fields skin care product. You'll need to enter by April 30th and here's all you have to do:

• Visit http://merickson.myrandf.com 
• Click on the "customize your routine" link to see what product the dermatologists that created Proactiv recommend for their skin.
• Post a comment on her facebook wall listing the product that was recommended to you from the above link.  Or send Melissa an email with the product name that was recommended to you.

*No purchase is necessary.  All entries must be received by midnight MST on April 30th.  

Work From Home Job Blast: Alpine Access

Alpine Access is a company that started the home-based agent service over ten years ago.  Fortune 500 companies use their services to meet their growing customer service needs.  What does that mean for you?  The ability to work from home for a variety of well-known, reputable companies.

Alpine Access offers full or part time positions with an average pay around $9 per hour.  After 3 months, you are eligible for medical, dental and vision insurance for your family as well as a 401k matching retirement plan.  You must be able to pass a background check as well as a credit check.

Additionally, you must have the following equipment to be considered:

• PC running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 with at least 1 GHz processing speed
• Sound card and speakers
• Current and up-to-date virus software
• Current anti-spyware
• Firewall installed & operating
• 2 Headsets (1 USB for training and 1 Phone Headset for handling customer calls)
• Hardwired, high speed internet connection
• Corded (no cordless) and one that you can dedicate for working purposes 
• Quiet workplace with absolutely NO background noise (They have a zero tolerance policy for this)

Be sure that when you interview for any position with this company that there is absolutely no background noise.  Once you are hired and complete your training, the company will provide you with a list of available opportunities for which you can pick and choose which ones would fit your schedule the best.  Positions are typically 20-40 hours per week.

If you are interested in more information or are ready to apply, visit their website at www.AlpineAccess.com.

Work From Home Job Blast: Hilton Hotels

I, for one, am extremely excited about this one. I used to work for an Embassy Suites hotel which is a Hilton brand. I was able to travel to various other Hilton brand hotels over the years and I can attest to the fact that they are a top-notch company and a great one to work for. They have a new jobs section on their careers page called "Hilton @ Home" where they list opportunities to work for Hilton as a reservation / customer care agent from home. Where Hilton goes, other hotels will eventually follow, trust me. Be on the lookout for other reservations agent opportunities.

For this opportunity, you must live in or near Dallas, TX or Tampa, FL. Prior call center or reservations experience is a plus. You would be making reservations for all of the Hilton brand hotels including:

• Hilton
• Conrad
• Doubletree
• Embassy Suites
• Hampton Inn and Suites
• Hilton Garden Inn
• Homewood Suites by Hilton

To apply or for more information, visit the Hilton website.

Work From Home Job Blast: Just Press The Easy Button!

Staples, Inc, the office supply store. is now hiring for work from home customer service representatives. Stable work history and prior call center experience are preferred. Must have quiet work area and high speed internet connection. Must be available to attend training for 4-6 months at their contact center in Baton Rouge, LA.  If this opening doesn't suit you, keep this company in mind.  Currently they have over 200 call center associates who work exclusively from home.  

Visit their employment page for more details:  Staples, Inc.


Don't forget to follow me on Twitter if you want to get these Work From Home Job Blasts instantly!

Follow Me On Twitter!

I'm so excited about the new Work From Home Job Blasts that will be a part of this blog.  What a great way to hear about legitimate, well known companies that are hiring people to work from home.  By following this blog or by following me on Twitter, you can be notified instantly of any work from home jobs that I post.  Convenient, huh?  Legitimate work from home opportunities do not last.  Get a jump on your competition!

Work From Home Job Blast: 1-800-Flowers.com

Yesterday on the news I heard that the city in which I live, St. Louis, is number 49 on a list of the 50 worst states to find a job.  This news was alarming and eye-opening.  Thinking outside of the box when it comes to finding ways to work are going to be a necessity for a lot of us, moms and dads alike.  If you can find a way to work from home that suits you and your family, you'll be even more ahead of the game.  I know that my choice to work from home initially was influenced by the increasing costs of quality day care, ever-increasing gas prices, as well as my son's special needs. 

I assure you that I am 100% dedicated to helping the followers of this blog find ways to earn money from home.  With that being said, that there are those of you out there who would prefer to work from home for a legitimate company with a set schedule.  Because of that, and because those jobs are so hard to find because of the never-ending scams, I will be making the Work From Home Job Blast, an ongoing part of this blog.  In each "blast" will be a 100% legitimate work from home job that has been posted by a legitimate company.  By becoming a follower of this blog, you will be ahead of the game by being notified quickly of these work from home opportunities. You can concentrate on taking care of your family, while I do all of the screening for you!  What a deal, huh? 

I will also be setting up an account on Twitter shortly where you can choose to receive tweets of the "blasts" as well. 

Here's the first of many Job Blasts:

• Customer Service Temporary Work From Home Opportunity with 1-800-flowers.com. 
• Must be a resident and live in the following states Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Illinois ,Montana, New Hampshire New Mexico,  New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon, and Virginia
• Must type 35 wpm & prior call center experience is strongly preferred.

If interested visit their website:  1-800-Flowers.com Employment Page

Work From Home Opportunity: Stella & Dot

I have to admit that I had never heard of Stella & Dot before Christi Clapper introduced me to the company.  In my opinion, this work from home opportunity shows a great deal of promise.  The video presentation for the company is quite impressive and I have no doubt that this would be a great work from home opportunity for any woman, even if selling is not your thing.  Stella & Dot's jewelry is as unique as it is beautiful.  If you decided to sell Stella & Dot jewelry, I could see that simply wearing some of their pieces would be enough to bring the interested customers right to you.  I do have to remind you that I get no monetary compensation for any of my opinions about the work from home opportunities that I review.  I'm telling you this because, honestly, this opportunity is exciting and one of the better ones I have run across.  The video presentation and jewelry pieces really impressed me.

Here's What I Like About The Program:

• The jewelry is unique and beautiful
• Only $199 to start
• Fun and excitement are a natural part of this opportunity
• Would work even for women with little to no selling skills
• Start up includes samples of your choice up to $350 retail
• Start up includes 50% off of additional samples (must be purchased at the same time as your $350 in samples)
• Lots of selling tools included
• Convenient 24/7 online video training
• E-Marketing tools included for social and internet marketing
• No inventory required
• Personal website available for $99/year (not required)
• Plenty of tools provided to extend your potential clients beyond your own family and friends

Here's What I'm Not Crazy About:

• Normally I would say that I'm not crazy about the $99/year personal website fee.  Although I honestly believe that you could do very well with this business without the website.  Having a website to sell your items is always a plus though.  People can look at your products and buy at their own convenience.  It is a fee, though, and I'm not crazy about extra fees when it comes to work from home opportunities.  You make the call.
• I'm not 100% crazy about selling in a home setting.  I'm just not a sales person and I'm sure there are a lot of other women out there in the same boat.  I have to say, though, that I have a feeling that if you just gathered up the courage to do it once, you'd get over that trepidation rather quickly.  I can see that the "trunk shows", as they call them, would be more like a money-making party than a high pressure sales pitch.  Heck, I don't even wear  jewelry and I would consider buying these items!

Products:

• Necklaces
• Charms
• Bracelets
• Earrings
• Rings

Minimum Investment To Get Started:  $199



What's Included?

• $350 Shopping Spree gift certificate for retail purchases of samples
• 50% off of additional sample purchases to be completed at the time of the $350 shopping spree only (one time use, must be done within 7 days of your start up)
• Invitation postcards
• Stella & Dot Look Book Catalogs
• Order Forms
• Hostess Planners
• Stella & Dot Trunk Show Display Signs
• Visa/Mastercard Tent
• Mini-Look Books
• Opportunity Brochures
• Stylist Guides
• Ring Sizer
• 24/7 Online video training
• Support from home office
• E-marketing tools

Compensation/commission structure:

• Up to 30% commission on jewelry that you sell
• Opportunity to earn free jewelry and business supply credits as you sell
• 4% of the sales of people in your downline (downline is unlimited) with a potential for increasing the commssion as your rank gets higher

I was introduced to Stella & Dot by Christi Clapper.  She told me that she started with Stella & Dot back in October of 2009 and her business has exploded from there.  She told me that Stella & Dot allowed her to quit her full time job and now she's selling Stella & Dot jewelry full time.  If you'd like to contact her for more information, you can visit her website at www.stelladot.com/christishay, email her at christi84@aol.com or call her at 330-936-4575.

So What's This Blog All About And Who Is This "Carla" Person?

Today I realized that I have been focusing so enthusiastically on putting this blog together that I have failed to get a little bit more personal with my blog friends.  I'd like to take a moment today to explain where it is that I'm coming from, who I am, what my vision is for this blog and what will be coming up. 

First of all, let me just say that I consider every single reader of this blog a personal friend of mine.  I do not care whether there are 100 readers or 10,000 readers sometime in the future, I consider each one of you a personal friend of mine and I vow to do my very best to provide a reputable tool that you can use to find legitimate work from home opportunities or even to build your own business from home.  This blog will be one of 100% integrity and I guarantee that.  Scams or opportunities that I feel are not 100% on the "up and up" have no place on this blog.  It is my mission to provide quality information and to provide help to those moms who are out there wanting to find a way to make money from home.

On that note, let me tell you a little bit about myself and how this blog came to be.   I'm thirty-nine, a mother of 3 boys, ages 10, 6 and 16 months.  My oldest son has special needs and I adopted him as a single mom before I married my husband.  Before I became a mom, I had a career working for hotels like Embassy Suites, Radisson, and Holiday Inn.  It was my goal to one day become a general manager of a large hotel.  I was well on my way when suddenly everything changed.  I thought I would be a working mom, as my mom had been.  I was very focused on my career but my son required quite a bit of time and needed physical, occupational and speech therapies.  I decided that my job had to be helping my son and suddenly my career no longer fit into the equation.  I still needed to bring in money but had absolutely no idea about what to do or how to do it.  Like many of you, I searched and searched only to be disheartened by all of the scams.  It became very difficult to distinguish legitimate opportunities from all of the scams.  I began to think that working from home was just going to be impossible.

I decided to take a chance and go it alone.  I began by selling personalized stepping stools and banks on the internet.  I sold the products on eBay and on a Yahoo storefront.  I was surprised at how well I did and was encouraged to keep moving forward.  The money I brought in was enough so that I could cut my work hours back to part time and I could be at home to help my son more and more.

Over the years, I created my own work from home opportunities, getting paid to do market research, buying and reselling items on the internet, writing articles for webmasters, and eventually I taught myself how to build websites and built about 100 websites.  I placed various affiliate ads on the websites and ended up making around $42,000/year just from those websites.  The exciting part was that after my initial learning curve (which was very steep) on building the websites, it only took me about three weeks to build the sites.  I built five websites a day for three weeks straight.  The websites made money on their own whether I worked on them or not 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  It didn't matter whether or not my kids were sick or I had mad laundry to do, I was making money even while I slept.

I still dabble in website creation and in blog writing.  I have slowed down quite a bit for the moment and am focusing on my youngest son.  I knew that this would be a great opportunity to create a blog to help other women find a way to earn money from home.  Whether they want that to be their sole income or if they need to earn extra income to compliment whatever they are earning in their job.  I know that right now there are a lot of people unemployed and there are a lot of people who fear what may be coming in the future.  That's why I'm here.

As you may have already noticed, I am providing tips for women who are looking for work from home opportunities and I'm providing reviews of various work from home opportunities with the essential information that you might need to decide whether or not that opportunity is right for you.  I receive absolutely no monetary compensation of any kind from any of the businesses that I review.  It is highly important to me that my reviews are 100% impartial, honest reviews.  I am so passionate about this blog and in helping other women who are in the place that I was in almost ten years ago.  As the saying goes, I've been there and done that and now I'm here to help you.

One of the ways that I want to help my friends is to invite you to email me.  If there is a topic that you'd like to have covered in the blog or a question that you have, I'd like to hear from you.  I will try to help answer your questions as best that I can and if I find that I am not able to, I will try to find the answer for you or locate someone who can help.  Feel free to email me at any time at MomsHaveDreamsToo@yahoo.com. 

I'm planning to continue working on work from home opportunity reviews as well as more tips for becoming a stay at home mompreneur.  I'll also be covering more of my experiences in making money and how you can do it too.  We'll have some guest blog posts that I'm sure you'll find extremely helpful and I'd love to get some interviews on here from other women who are successful work from home mompreneurs.

Thanks so much for following and/or reading this blog.  If you like what you read, please grab the html code for my button on the right hand side of this blog and post it on your MySpace, Facebook, blog, or website.
I look forward to hearing from you!

Work From Home Opportunity: La Bella Baskets

If you're looking to start your own business, have very little money to start up, and enjoy making people happy, La Bella Baskets might be just what you are looking for.  La Bella Baskets offers gift baskets delivered directly to your gift recipients' doors.  They have gift baskets for just about any occasion, anniversaries, weddings, birthdays, holidays, baby and children's gifts, corporate gifts, get well baskets and the list goes on and on.  As a gift basket consultant, you would never have to carry any inventory.  You would be responsible for concentrating on sales and recruiting (if you wish).  Even though La Bella pays you  a $15.00 referral fee for every referral, they are not a multi-level marketing company or MLM. 

Here's what I like about the program:

• La Bella is not MLM
• No parties necessary, everything can be done online if you wish
• Nice looking, high quality gift baskets
• Potential for repeat customers
• Wide range of potential customers from corporate to individuals
• Nice looking website/storefront
• Very inexpensive to get started
• La Bella offers gift baskets for diabetics (sugar free) and kosher items as well
• 7 day trial is only $1.97
• Pay structure is simple and fair
• 20% commission on new and repeat customers' orders
• La Bella actually makes the baskets and ships them to the gift recipients for you.  This is not a drop shipping company.

Here's what I'm not crazy about:

As I've said other times in other reviews, I'm just not a big fan of monthly fees for websites.  You do have to pay $19.95/month for the website and ongoing training with La Bella.  It's not a totally unreasonable fee, to be fair, but it is still a fee.  On a more positive note, you can cancel anytime that you wish.  There are no contracts at all.

Products:

• Anniversary & Wedding Gifts
• Baby & Children's Gifts
• Birthday Gifts
• Cookie Bouquets
• Diaper Cakes
• Corporate & Employee Gifts
• Flowers
• Get Well & Cheer Up Gifts
• Gifts for Her
• Gifts for Him
• Holiday Gift Baskets

Minimum Investment to Get Started:  $1.97 for a 7 day trial, after that $19.95/month

What's included:

• Your own La Bella website
• Website includes marketing tools like fliers, email templates, banners, button ads, text ads, brochures and more
• Unlimited training & support

Compensation/commission structure:

• 20% commission on sales from new and repeat customers
• $15.00 one-time referral fee on any new recruits (unlimited recruit potential)
• 20% discount on all of your own purchases from the company
• Bi-weekly pay through PayPal or by mailed check

If you are interested in learning more about a work from home opportunity with La Bella Baskets, feel free to contact Gabrielle at her website:  http://www.mylabellabaskets.com/gabrielled.html

Step 3 To Becoming A Mompreneur: Network, Network, Network

Hopefully you've completed steps 1 and 2 and are raring to go with the third step in becoming not only a mompreneur, but a successful mompreneur.  The third step is this:  Network, Network, Network.  Get yourself out there in the internet world and in the real world.  Introduce yourself to as many other work from home moms as you possibly can.  Let them know that you are interested in becoming a work from home mom and ask them about what they do and how they do it.  This is something you'll want to continue doing even after you're bringing in six figures from home.  No matter how good you are, there's somebody out there doing it better.

So you need to join blogs (like this one, hint, hint), websites, forums, chats, or any other place where other moms that work from home frequent.  Be sure to budget your time wisely though.  Spend 30 minutes a day talking to other moms about their businesses.  Even with all of my years of making money online and researching work from home job opportunities, I still learn something new almost every day.  Networking is key to keeping up with what works and what doesn't work.  This is even more true if your marketing plan includes online marketing.  What worked five years ago, isn't as effective in today's world.  Networking will help you keep up with those trends.



If you're looking for a direct selling opportunity or if you are looking for another way of working from home, networking can help you find something that will fit what you are looking for.  Find out what other women are doing.  How are they able to stay home?  How much do they bring in?  What do they do exactly?  How do they like it?  How much time does it take per day...per week?  How long did it take them to build their business?  What was the start up cost? What do they do to get business?  This blog is a great way to find out bare bones information about the numerous direct selling opportunities that are out there.  If you haven't checked out some of the reviews, I encourage you to do so.  I'd like to remind everyone that I do the reviews strictly from an impartial perspective.  I am in no way affiliated with any of the direct sales opportunities and receive no monetary compensation from any of the companies that I review.  If direct selling is an option for you, be sure to follow this blog so you don't miss future reviews.
 
If you are looking to start up your own business from home, networking can give you a feel for what needs are out there that are not being met.  You can then build a business to fit those needs.  Forums or message boards are a great place to do research for work from home business opportunities of any kind.



Networking may make you realize that working from home is not for you.  I still am amazed at the number of women who come to me asking for help in finding work they can do from home.  I constantly get the feeling that they think working from home means sitting by their pool in a lounge chair with a laptop in front of them. I don't think women realize the amount of time and effort that is actually involved in working a business from your home.  Even after eight years of working from home, I still quite often work 7 days a week and sometimes ten or fifteen hours a day.  I work harder at home than I ever did in my 9-5 career.

Homework assignment:

Ahh yes, the homework assignment.  First of all, be sure that you completed the homework assignments from steps 1 and 2 of becoming a mompreneur, then you can find five women who work from home either online or in "real life".  Introduce yourself and let them know of your desire to work from home.  Then ask them these questions:

• What do they do?
• How do they like it?
• How long did it take them to build their business?
• How much time do they spend per week on their business?

Be sure to keep your "contacts" in a place where you can refer to them later.  Take notes if you have to.  You may want to even consider filling out an index card for each contact with their contact information on the front and some notes about the person on the back.  Keep the index cards in an inexpensive recipe box or keep track of everything on your computer in a file.  The main thing is that you start getting yourself out there and start building a contact list.  Happy networking!

Working From Home Writing Articles

As some of you know, I have been a stay at home mom for over 8 years and still counting.  I did many different things to earn money from home over the years, some of which I have already shared on this blog and still others will be revealed in the future.  One of the most profitable things that I did was to build highly search engine optimized websites and became a publisher for Google Adsense.  I have personally built somewhere in the neighborhood of 100+ websites.  The websites were centered around highly profitable keywords which just means that I found out what subjects had a high number of searches on Google per month and payed well by advertisers on Google Adwords.  Let me see if I can simplify that a little bit more.  Owners of websites might want to advertise their sites to get more visitors to their websites.  One of the ways they would advertise is to buy advertisement through Google's Adwords program.  If you look in the upper right hand corner of this blog, you'll probably see two Google Ads.  Those are the ads that I'm speaking of, you've probably seen them a million times on the internet.  Every time someone clicks on those ads, the publisher (the website displaying the ads) gets paid.  Now, the amount per click varies depending on the demand for the advertising space and the number of publishers available to publish the ads.  It might be as little as one cent or maybe even as much as five or ten dollars, or perhaps more.

Now there's a lot more involved in making money from Google Adsense and I'll have to introduce that in many more blog posts.  The main reason that I'm bringing this up is to prove to you that I do have some experience in what I'm about to say.  Even if you don't know a thing about building websites or search engine optimization or keywords or Google Adsense, etc, you can make money by writing articles for the owners of websites who are trying to make money from Google, by selling products, or by other affiliate methods.

I can personally attest to the fact that there is a very high demand for writers of good quality articles or articles that are keyword rich (meaning written around a particular subject with the subject keyword sprinkled throughout the article).  Many webmasters (website owners), want to build sites but simply don't have the time or the desire to use their time to write articles.  They are willing to pay to have those articles written for them so that they can spend their time on other things.



The rate of pay per article will vary depending on the quality of the article, the number of words, and the webmaster himself.  Some, quite honestly are looking for quick, cheap articles, while others want higher quality, more in-depth articles.  On average, you might get paid somewhere between $5 and $25 per 500 word article.  How much you make depends on how fast and well you can write and how aggressive you are in finding webmasters to write for.  There is a high degree of flexibility, although you'll need to meet the webmaster's time requirements.  Start up costs are basically $0 and anyone with a moderate understanding of writing, typing, computers and the english language are more than qualified to do this kind of work.  Don't think that you must be a highly skilled author, that's not the case at all.  Writing articles online for a living does require some degree of self-discipline and I will be quite honest and say that this is not for everyone.  I only say this because writing article after article can become very mundane after a few days.  Honestly that's the most difficult part of writing articles, at least it was for me.  But, if you pace yourself and set daily writing goals, this is very doable for just about anyone.  The opportunity is out there, all you have to do is do something with it.

There are several different places you can go to find webmasters who want to pay to have articles written.  Some of the more reputable places are:

• iFreelance.com
• Elance.com
• Craigslist (not as secure as other methods)
• AssociatedContent.com

Many writers find the content for their articles simply by entering the keyword or phrase into a search engine, like Google, and locating articles on places like EzineArticles.com and rewriting them in their own words.  The more often that you write, the faster, and better you will become and thus, the more you will get paid.  You will need to make sure that your articles are not copied or plagiarized because many webmasters will check them against online content to make sure that you're not pulling a fast one on them.  If you do good work, you will make a good name for yourself and likely will get even more offers from other webmasters.  



Take a look at the videos of real people who have either supplemented or replaced their income by writing articles from home. 

Work From Home Opportunity: Meltology

Here's a very unique work from home opportunity that is creating quite a stir. The company is called Meltology which stands for Mineral, Energy, Luxury and Technology. They have two very unique product lines, self heating spa treatments and a terrific skin care line like no other on the market. The word is that Estee Lauder offered the owner of Meltology millions of dollars to buy the skin care product line before the company launched and the offer was declined. Meltology's super serum has the exact same active enzyme that is found in one of Estee Lauder's $1,300 per ounce products while Meltology delivers even more of that enzyme in a product that sells for only $179.

The spa products are single use, sanitary and very unique. The heating is caused by oxidation of minerals that is activated with tap water, believe it or not. The heat is quick, long lasting and constant and it allows the pores of the skin to open up so that the moisturizers can go deeply into the skin, making fine lines disappear right before your eyes. These products have been talked about on shows like The Dr's and Rachel Ray.

Here's what I like about the program:

• Only $14.98 to start and start up is immediate and can be done online
• No purchasing products, no inventory
• Three ways to earn income: direct sales, website sales, down line (but no requirement to build a downline)
• Flexibility
• Commissions paid directly to a debit card
• No inventory
• Website includes training materials, back office support, customer service support and more.
• Ability to sell to businesses like salons, spas, or chiropractors
• The company is green, packaging and single use products are biodegradable or recyclable and
• are coated with a special enzyme that allows the products to begin to decompose in the landfill in 3 weeks.  Products are backed by a 100% money back guarantee.
• Unique product line

Here's what I'm not crazy about:

• Website for $9.98/month (Website is good but I'm not a fan of a monthly fee)
• Can only do sales in the United States at this time

Products:

• Self-heating single use at-home spa treatments for face, hands, feet and body (hot stone treatment)
• Self-heating waxing kits for body and face
• Skin care line

Minimum Investment to get started: $14.98

What's Included?

• First month of website
• Set up fee for direct deposit onto a debit card

Compensations/Commission Structure:

• 50% commission on direct sales
• 35% commission on website sales
• 7% from downline (No requirement for downline) Downline is 6 deep and infinitely wide
• A distributor with a downline that would like to receive commissions from their downline must purchase $99 worth of products per month, either for their own use or for selling purposes.  This is not a requirement to do direct sales or to be a distributor.

If you're interested in hearing more about the work from home opportunity with Meltology, please contact Angie at www.getmeltologyhere.com. She would love to meet with anyone in the San Diego area too! You can contact her via email at: jelkus@aol.com or by phone at 619-890-8906.

Work From Home Opportunity: Wildtree

Looking for a direct selling company that is young and fresh? I mean literally fresh. Wildtree might be just what you are looking for. Offering all-natural, preservative free, delicious food choices for people who want to eat healthy without compromising taste. The only thing they'll be giving up is their high grocery bill and all that time spent slaving in the kitchen. This company is still in it's infancy and is a great opportunity for any stay at home mom looking to build a serious business or just to bring in a little extra cash each month.

Here's what I like about this program:

Only $99 gets you started and includes $270 worth of products
Offers products that are all-natural and preservative free
People with food sensitivities can enjoy the products
Offers convenience, great tasting foods at a good price
Ongoing support
Flexibility
Opportunity for repeat customers (i.e. consumable product)

Here's what I'm not crazy about:

I won't go so far as to say that I don't like anything particular about the program, however, I question how easy it may be to sell the products unless you do a tasting. I'd love for someone who has experience in selling Wildtree to comment about the ease of selling the products online. I can see, however, that once you would get the potential customers to a tasting, how easily it would be to sell. I just wonder about website/online sales for new customers.

I'm not crazy about the fact that you have to pay $8.95/month for a personal website.  

Products:

All-natural, preservative free foods



Minimum Investment to get started: $99

What's Included?

$270 worth of products:
Assortment of best-selling full-sized products
Assortment of host samples for tastings
Personal website for $8.95/month additional
Ongoing support
Corporate Newsletter
Catalogs
Brochures
Sales Receipts
Miscellaneous Business Materials

Compensations/Commission Structure:

20-40% commission on sales (based on activity level)
Additional commissions for coaching others



If you're interested in finding out more about the Wildtree business opportunity, you can contact Amy at www.amysolomon.mywildtree.com. You may also email her at asolomon55@comcast.net or give her a call at 720-280-5881.

Work From Home Opportunity: Rodan + Fields

If you're looking for a truly "ground floor" direct selling opportunity, Rodan + Fields might be just what you're looking for.  From the creators of the Proactiv products, Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields have created products to reverse skin damage caused by exposure to the sun.  I don't know about you, but my generation spent a lot of time sunbathing and in the tanning bed without any sunscreen at all.  Like me, a lot of people are now experiencing the consequences of that unprotected sun exposure. 

Here's what I like about this program:

• Rodan + Fields has a proven track record with the success of Proactiv products
• Ground floor opportunity
• Products will sell even in hard economic times
• Opportunity for immediate and residual income
• Website with sales tools included
• Ever-expanding customer base

Here's what I'm not crazy about:

A bit pricey to start at $395, however this is a good AND a bad thing depending on how you look at it.  Not everyone in the world will be willing to fork over that kind of cash to start, meaning only those who are ready to take this business seriously will get involved. 

Products:  Skin care developed by well known dermatologists Rodan & Fields.  All products are backed by a satisfaction guarantee.
            

• Reverse regimen
• Anti-Age regimen
• Un-blemish regimen
• Soothe regimen

Minimum Investment to get started:  $395

What's Included?

• Ongoing support
• Website complete with sales tools

Compensation/Commission Structure:

4 ways to earn with Rodan + Fields

• Retail profit
• Sales commissions
• Team Development Commissions
• Performance bonuses

If you're interested in finding out more information about joining the Rodan + Fields team and beginning your own work from home business, you can contact Melissa  either by visiting http://merickson.myrandf.biz  or by emailing her at stebbinsmelissa@yahoo.com.

Work From Home Opportunity Without Selling A Thing

If I had a nickel for every time a mom asked me how they can earn money from home without selling products, I'd be laying on a beach right now, sipping some tropical frozen beverage with lots of those cute little umbrellas in it.  My main mission in creating this blog is to help to answer that question for lots and lots of moms.  I know the desperation of the mom who realizes that her maternity leave is just about to end and she is suddenly faced with the reality of having to hand over her precious baby to someone else to care for.  I know, because I've been there.  I made a decision to stay home and to never look back.  I decided that I would do whatever it took to make that happen and if there was indeed any possible way for me to make money from home, I was going to find it.  The number of scams out there made it a lot more difficult to find those legitimate opportunities.  Out of frustration I began to look inward rather than to others for help making my work from home plan a reality.

You see, I realized that I have skills and experience that are marketable and I bet a lot of you out there are the same way.  I had worked for 15 years in the hospitality industry in sales, accounting, customer service, reservations and management.  In my search for finding work from home opportunities, I ran across a website that lots of aspiring stay at home moms still do not know about.  The website I'm speaking of is Elance.com. 
It's a wonderful tool you can use today to earn money from home with lots and lots of individuals and companies that need help now.  Here's how it works in a nutshell:  A company or an individual needs help with a project or even for a long term position and they sign up and create an account with Elance.  They post whatever jobs or positions that they have available on the site.  Individuals who have certain skill sets sign up with Elance and bid on those jobs and then they can be chosen by the original poster to complete the job that they posted. 

There are jobs out there for typists, appointment makers, virtual assistants, customer service representatives, writers, data entry, accountants, bookkeepers, and the list goes on and on and on.  All you have to do in order to be considered for these jobs is to create a profile and list your skills and experience.  You can then take skills tests to prove your abilities and thus making you even more an even more desirable candidate.  The more jobs that you complete successfully, the more desirable you are as well.

Sometimes companies will even invite you to bid on a project that they post based on your profile, so it's important to build as complete a profile as possible.  To get you started, you should check out this brief tutorial.