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.


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