Avoid the Scatter Bomb!

Okay, so I've been doing this for quite some time now, and you would think I should know better. I even read the book "Your First Year in Network Marketing" by Mark and Renee Yarnell. There was a whole chapter dedicated to the scatter bomb! At the time, I made a solemn oath to myself as well as my team, that I would not fall victim to the scatter bomb. Well, I just did it again!

 If you're wondering what the scatter bomb is, it's exactly as it sounds. Here you are, trying to focus on building your home-based business, and along comes a new, better, faster way to make an obscene amount of money today! Just writing that makes me feel like an idiot! But I am putting my pride aside, so that hopefully I can help you avoid this. The scatter bomb can come in the form of a "better opportunity" which is pretty obvious, but it can be as sneaky as a little innocent product that will bring you more "targeted prospects".

 Of course, you are going to want to listen to some training from industry leaders: Dani Johnson, Joe Syverson, Mark Yarnell......but ONLY and if ONLY it is helping with your primary business. No one becomes successful and wealthy by being a jack of all trades and a master on none. In the beginning, I was trying to master way too many things at once, and not mastering anything but becoming frustrated and overwhelmed.

So I took my team leader's advice, and read the books they suggested for my personal development. The books helped bring clarity to my priorities....for awhile. Then one day, I was looking up some tips on blogging, and came across this cute face combined with a great article. BAM! Next thing I know, I am on the phone with him and he is selling me on a book and an affiliate marketing campaign.

Of course, the idea sounded great "If you advertise free videos to marketers to help them with their sales, prospecting, closing etc, you will make a little money on the front end, even if they don't join your business. These prospects are more targeted because they have an interest in the industry". Ok great, where do I sign up?? I couldn't give my credit card info fast enough!

 After a whole day of training for affiliate marketing (which I swore I would never do. Nothing against it, just not my cup of tea), I realized there were at least  7 more steps to this "simple" product training, and tons more "training" after that. A whole day lost, just gone and wasted. I didn't call back anyone from my ad campaigns, didn't post any new ads or blog entries, and wasted valuable time instead posting links for these "free" videos that came with their own autoresponders, and sales letters etc.....GRRRRR.

 Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing "wrong" with affiliate marketing. The problem here is when you work at home, it's easy to get distracted from focusing on your priorities (such as bringing in revenue!). Now it sounded good in theory, after all, the products were supposed to be bringing new prospects for my business. For me, it was overwhelming, exhausting,and counter-productive.

 Moral of the story: FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS  on what is going to bring you one step closer to your goals. If you are having a difficult time figuring out what that next step is, then get with your upline or a coach, and get it on paper. Don't get involved with everything that sounds like it will help, because then you will just be scattered. Find someone who has had success in the areas you want success and follow their advice!

 

Honestly, how hard is it to work from home?

When we think of work at home, we think "How hard can it be?" Or "It will solve all my problems". This can be true, but it's not as easy as you think. Don't get me wrong, what I do is simple and I truly enjoy it 100%, but it's so hard to keep to a schedule, to explain to family and friends that just because I'm home doesn't mean I'm doing nothing, to not get sidetracked by Facebook, Twitter, laundry, what the neighbors are doing..... You must have strong discipline, or develop it. I believe anyone can learn or develop the skills and leadership required to work for themselves, however, many have no desire.

When you are looking for work at home, keep in mind that you want a team of business partners whom are above average leaders and follow a schedule themselves. People tend to do what their leader does, so if you are being trained or working with a leader that is a total mess with no organaization, it is likely you will pick up their bad habits.

It's necessary to make and follow a schedule. Think in terms of what your schedule would be like if you worked for someone else or outside of your home. You would be working, and ONLY working, from a certain time to a certain time, then family time would be outside of those hours, and of course leisure and relaxation needs worked into your schedule, or you would go crazy! The luxury of being your own boss from home is that you can make a schedule that is to your liking, but the downfall is if you are not organized and disciplined, you may need to work hard at setting that schedule.

Despite the learning curve, and the difficulty in being accountable, working from home, especially for yourself is absolutely rewarding and worth it! As long as you are being realistic and seek a good coach/mentor, you can easily become successful.

Get Organized for a Successful Family Vacation with a Vacation Planning File

Get Organized for a Successful Family Vacation with a Vacation Planning File by Jacquie Ross

Summer vacations are some of the happiest memories for families. Family vacations are a great time to sit back, relax and spend some quality time together; away from chores, busy schedules, email and other distractions. However, getting ready for vacation can be exhausting!

One of the best ways to get ready for a vacation is to create a vacation planning file as early as possible. Inside your vacation planning file will be everything you may need to refer to, before, and during your vacation. Typical contents will include, packing lists, itinerary info, accommodation info, maps, important documents and much more.

If you have a family member with health issues, make sure you have pertinent information handy, including a list of all medications and the location of the nearest urgent care center or hospital at your destination.

Keep your vacation planning file in a convenient location, so that it will be quick and easy to add vacation related papers.

You will need:

• A 3-Ring binder: Select a 2” binder with a clear overlay so that you can insert your own decorative custom cover.

• A 3 hole paper punch: Keep one handy, so that you don’t procrastinate adding papers that need be 3 hole punched prior to filing.

• Tabbed dividers: Keep your papers organized by using tabbed dividers with labeled inserts. Or create an organized binder with numbered tabbed dividers, like the one pictured here from Avery.

If you get too busy to do your paper filing and end up with a backlog of travel related papers, create a “To File” folder, just for your vacation file and don’t mix it with any other paperwork. Keep the file nearby to collect your vacation related papers until you have a few minutes to file them away.

Your new and organized vacation file will be the perfect place to file all of those papers that have been sitting in a pile on the kitchen counters, or in a variety of places around the house. You will no longer feel guilty for collecting sightseeing information, local amenities, and things to do during your vacation, because you’ll finally have a proper organizational system that you can use year after year.

For more detailed tips on creating a vacation planning file, plus hundreds of other organization tips and ideas, check out “The Busy Mom’s Guide to a More Organized Life: Time Saving Tips to Help Busy Moms Get More Done!”, available on my website at CastAway the Clutter!

Would you also like to know what some of the top organization products are to help you to get organized and stay organized? Register for Jacquie's free special report "21 Organizing Solutions to Cast Away the Clutter!" and receive her bonus Timely Tips newsletter with organizing tips especially for busy moms and families who feel overscheduled and overwhelmed. Get your free special report now to get started on your journey to getting organized! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6294199

Article Source: WAHM Articles

Top 10 Suggestions for Legit Work at Home and How to Tell if it's Real!

Searching for work at home used to be a fairly simple matter. Most companies who began to offer telecommute positions were well established, and therefore well known. Nowadays, when anyone can post an ad anywhere, it takes a lot of time to weed through all of the garbage, and by that time, you are so skeptical of everything, most people give up or end up desperately involved in some scam or ponzi scheme.

Work at-home employment and business opportunities are now abundant,  and several are just a mouse click away. But then so are the scams!

"Now, with 4,500 to 5,000 work-at-home job ads screened weekly, the Web site finds 57 phonies for every one that's for real", says Christine Durst, CEO of The Rat Race Rebellion.

But yet we still have millions of people trying to beat the rat race, and dreaming of the perfect work at home opportunity. Those people include: parents who want to be home with their children, military spouses who need to be flexible and able to move, the disabled population, people who already work outside of their home and need to supplement their income, the driven Corporate manager or CEO who is just burnt out by all the hours, and those who have supposedly retired but still can't make ends meet. If you think about it, that includes almost every category of the working class!

There's no doubt that to work from home successfully, an individual needs to be self-motivated, disciplined, and independent. Many people picture "easy street" when dreaming of working from home, but that simply isn't true. Yes, it may be more flexible in some cases, however, you have to be disciplined and motivated enough to make yourself work! Many companies do require a "schedule" and complete silence during that scheduled time. Those types of jobs aren't recommended for the parent trying to work while having the kids at home. A home business or deadline oriented work would be more suitable for those parents.

An increasing number of employers are starting to jump on board with allowing their employees to telecommute. It reduces their overhead expenses as well as call-offs, turnover rates,  insurance costs, and access to more qualified employees who may live to far to work in the brick and mortar building. 

Here is a brief list as offered by Yahoo Finance for work at home ideas:

1. Franchise or Home-Based Business Owner

It's a no-brainer: Owning a business can be the road to at-home work. For a considerably small investment/overhead, franchises offer a ready-to go business with brand awareness, a system that is already proven to work, an already established niche or market, and complete training and support. It's the best of both worlds: owning your own business with on the job training. Some of the best home based businesses involve health and/or wellness, relate to the increasingly popular "green" movement,  involve electronics or software, prepaid wireless, or investments. Some examples would be AmeriPlan USA, Herbalife,  Numis, and Solavei

2. Virtual Assistant

This is a field with much potential, because you can offer what you already know how to do, or learn new skills that are in demand from a VA. This is also a flexible option because one can own a Virtual Assistant business or can work for a VA company, and learn of requests for assistants through the company. Homewiththekids.com currently features a dozen such companies. The purpose of a VA is to be hired on a "per job" basis or to consistently do a certain job, such as the accounting or content for a small business who can't justify hiring a full time employee for a certain job. A VA is generally paid per job, or if agreed by both parties, on a continual weekly/biweekly basis for a consistent job. If this is something you would like to pursue, do some research about what VA's are usually hired for and what they average in pay. Then you can begin with small jobs, such as an article or balancing an account. You can always add skills or jobs to your resume.

3. Medical Transcriptionist

This one is tricky, because it does require experience or education in the field. Also, most employers who hire telecommute transcriptionists prefer someone who has had some physical, "on the job" experience before accepting a work at home experience. It's difficult to do this job in person, let alone from your home with a recording, because some Dr's  may have difficult accents, slur their words when rushing or paying attention to other things and some have even been reported to eat, drink, and even talk to other people while dictating. Nonetheless, good transcriptionists are in very high demand. 

4. Translator

Those with fluency in more than one language translate audio files or documents, not just word for word but often with cultural differences in mind. It is difficult to find those who truly know a language and/or culture in local US areas, therefore, it is appealing to offer this telecommute position to those who live in the areas they are translating for.

5. Web Developer/Designer

 This job is also in high demand. Of the more than 15,000 new monthly work-from-home job postings on Odesk.com, Web developers are in the greatest demand, says spokeswoman Elizabeth Gordon. 

6. Call Center Representative

When you order something over the phone, a big office with rows of cubicles may come to mind. But it is more likely that the person who answers your call is sitting in their home office. While some Web sites, such as Alpineaccess.com, actually hire representatives, most use subcontractors. Just be aware that the pay may be by the minute rather than by the hour, so you may not be paid for time you spend waiting by the phone. Also, you will be required to have complete silence in your home, as well as pay up front for the equipment and your own background and urine screen.

7. Tech Support Specialist

Call centers also hire technical support specialists to work remotely. This job does require prior experience in the specific area you are offering support for.

8. Travel Agent

Be careful with this one; Scams abound in the travel industry, especially organizations that charge for information on how to break into the field. But operating a home-based travel agency (also similar to a franchise) can be an excellent home based business. Do keep in mind that in this field, you will often be required to meet with clients, so it may not be 100% "work at home"

9. Teacher

Online classrooms are becoming as popular as the brick and mortar schools, and is now available all the way from kindergarten through Doctorate degrees and everything in between. Obviously, a teaching degree with a specialization in distance learning will be required. Also expect to show that you have some literal classroom experience, and you must be even more disciplined than a live school teacher.

10. Writer/Editor

Lots of different businesses will hire others to write their articles, blog entries, even Facebook page content. If you are an exceptional writer whom can handle a revolving work load, this can be a lucrative career for you.

One thing that you must decide before finding the perfect work at home is if you want to work for yourself or work for someone else. Either way, you can expect to put in some sort of monetary investment, but a business will often provide a residual income that will make your investment more than worth it. You can also look into companies such as AT&T and Verizon for employment, but those well known companies do have start up costs. However, if you look at the fact that you invest into a job no matter what (i.e. gas to drive there, work clothes and shoes, lunches, taxes etc) then the investment is a little easier to swallow. Once you can accept that, it makes it a little easier to objectively look at scam vs legit company. There are a lot of scams out there, so don't easily hand your money over to anyone. Instead, do your due diligence and research the company whether they ask for money or not. Also, does it make sense what you are paying for? If not, then it will be difficult to stand behind what you are doing, so be sure to choose something that makes sense to you! Good luck =)

*Feel free to leave a comment or question if you need help with your search!*

Want to Lower Your Grocery Bill?

When Dani Johnson talked about feeding a family of 6 on $100, it is met with disbelief! Put the disbelief to rest as Dani Johnson takes you shopping aisle by aisle to keep the money in your pocket instead of putting it in the grocery store’s cash register. I implemented just a few of these strategies and already reduced my grocery bill by $200/month! Don’t be fooled by what you see, learn a few tips and fatten your wallet fast! These are shopping secrets your mother never knew about or shared! Just a few of the things to learn: ** difference between luxury and necessities…it might not be what you think ** how grocery stores can rob your wallet ** outfox the sensory overload in the grocery store

Don’t worry if you you missed the Debt Elimination & Financial Independence Teleseminar. Wonder what it is about? Here’s a very short video, giving you a sneak-peak at a fraction of what Dani covered. It was a mind-blowing event and it was only the beginning!

 Click Here Now to watch the short video and get some tips you can use right away!











 If you want to completely eliminate your debt, including your mortgage in less than 5-7 years.....


 

What the Gurus Aren't Telling You