Here’s a great idea as an add-on to your current home-based business if you like spreading Holiday joy and the mere thought of making a child smile and their eyes light up with a personalized Santa letter then this could be the perfect business for you. And what a fun one at that! A Santa Letter Business can be something that you do only around the Holidays to bring a little extra cash in or it can be a year round business. Whether you decide to do it only around the Holidays or year round it can be profitable if you know what you are doing.

Of course running a business takes hard work too. You’ll need to be prepared for the Holiday season and the orders that will come in. You will need to make sure that you are stocked up on postage, leave yourself enough time to get the letters mailed so that they reach their destination on time. Remember these letters are coming from the North Pole after all

First before you start thinking about taking orders for the letters you need to think about the business aspect of things. You will need to appear as professional as possible and follow some basic business principles like having a business checking account. It’s a good idea to have a website to promote your business too. These are all things you will need to think about.

Maybe the thought of doing this year round has you questioning how that’s possible. After all Santa letters are only going to be in ‘season’ for a few short months. Believe it or not there are many options for this business.

If you are interested in taking your Santa Letter business a step further and turning it into a year round business pick up your copy of
href=”Santa Letter Business”> Mom’s Talk Biz Guide to Starting Your Own Santa Letter Business . It provides tips on how to make it a full-time business. The guide also provides pointers such as the skills to get your business off the ground, tools and materials needed, how to get a North Pole postmark, marketing to your local area as well as some basic business tips such as whether or not you need to register your Santa Letter business and tax deductions and tips.

So, if you’re got a secret Santa lurking inside, this just might be the business for you.

You may remember that last year I went on my first retreat hosted by Rhea Perry in Destin, FL.  I had a fabulous time and am still reaping the benefits of this educational and inspiring gathering of homeschooling families seeking to give their children an alternative to the many pitfalls of “traditional” employment. I found the retreat to be an endless source of ideas and motivation too!

Tuesday, August 31st, Rhea is hosting a webinar that will discuss why your kids don’t need a lemonade stand. Below is the invitation that I got in my email last night. Since it’s Rhea’s event I figured I’d let her explain it to you, so here it is:

If you’ve ever encouraged your children to set up a lemonade stand on the sidewalk out in front of the house… and thought that was entrepreneurial… consider this:

• You may be preparing them for future bondage.
• You may be training them to swap their hours for dollars.
• You may be setting them up in what could be the beginning of a business that runs them ragged, stresses them beyond belief and doesn’t accomplish their goals.

There are secrets to implementing the mind of Christ in business which waaaay too many of us haven’t discovered. So how can you train your children to develop a godly entrepreneurial mindset when you haven’t been trained to have one yourself?Well tomorrow night, Tuesday, August 31st, my team and I will be hosting a webcast to discuss just that.

We’ll be talking about:

• How to Develop a Godly Entrepreneurial Spirit in Your Children

Did you notice I said, “my team and I”?

(Doing your work with a team is just one key.)

This is just part of what we’ll be immersing ourselves in at the only 3-day live event of its kind for parents and teens on Oct. 1-3.

My team and I are hosting the Ultimate Field Trip where parents and teens can learn together 3 important things.

How to:

*Get vision for your life’s calling
*Start and build a home biz
*Invest

If you want more out of life than just a job… even in a turbulent economy… join me tomorrow night on a webcast that could change education in your house forever.

Grab your seat here:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/517159633

Then forward this invitation to everyone you know who is sick of having just a job and who wants to make an impact in life instead of just a living.

Oh, and if you’ve heard that my husband is in the hospital, yes he is. He’s been battling prostate cancer for years. We’d appreciate your prayers for his healing.

Never in a million years did I think that I would have to take over the responsibility for my family with four children still at home. But you never know what the future will hold so you have to do what you have to do to survive.

I’m just thankful that because I have an internet business, I can keep working while my husband is sleeping soundly in a hospital bed beside me. We’re taking him home tomorrow where Hospice will help us take care of him.

You never know how long you have your loved ones with you so don’t let stupid mind games and silly pride ruin your relationships. Live in forgiveness and learn to develop the mind of Christ. Love your family members no matter what. God is for you and wants you to do exceedingly well in whatever you choose to do with your life. So make the most of it and GO FOR IT!

So many books, so little time…

Rhea!
who would love for you to join us at this life-changing event on Oct. 1-3

Learn more about it tomorrow night, Tuesday, Aug. 31 at 9 PM ET! Grab your seat here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/517159633

Technorati Tags: entrepreneur, homeschooling, retreat, Rhea Perry, teens and parents

Did you know that the greeting card industry is a 7.5 billion dollar per year business in the United States alone (it is also estimated that American families purchase an average of 35 greeting cards each year and 80% of these purchases are made by women)? That’s an awful lot of purchasing going on!

That just goes to show that if you have ever wondered if you could have your own business selling greeting cards there’s definitely room for you. It’s a matter of finding a specific target market or niche to sell to and answering a few questions about yourself like:

• Do you enjoy bringing a smile to someone’s face?
• Do you have a personality that draws you to people and you’re able to make connections with them easily?
• Are you a great writer?
• Do you like designing artistic things?

If you answered yes to those questions then having your own greeting card business would be perfect. But maybe you aren’t a great writer or just don’t enjoy it. Or you aren’t such a great artist. That’s ok too. There are still opportunities for you.

The biggest key to having a successful greeting card business is your uniqueness. You have to stand apart from the rest of the designers out there. That will be easier to do if you aren’t trying to be something to everybody. You need to focus in on a specific niche of people that you want to reach with your cards.

This is also where your writing and art work (if you have those skills) comes into play. This will definitely provide you with a leg up over the rest of your competition. There are always going to be people that are looking for more personalized greeting cards than just something ‘generic’ they can pick up at a local store.

So now you might be thinking well ok I don’t have writing skills that I would want to put to use to try to write my own greeting cards. And I’m not an artist but I still love the idea of being able to have my own greeting card business and being a part of the joy people have when it comes to receiving cards. That’s where joining a company like SendOutCards.com would benefit you.

There are many things to learn about having your own greeting card business before taking the plunge. Grab your copy of Greeting Card Business” a Mom’s Talk Biz Guide to Starting Your Own Greeting Card Business. The guide will provide you with all the information you need to get started and even gives you some business tips like time management, how you can save time by hiring contractors and advertising ideas just to name a few!

When you’re trying to reach your goals, the most important element that determines whether you succeed or fail is your self-confidence.

Every worthwhile goal features hurdles and challenges along the way. Self-confidence is the tool that keeps you going in the right direction when the challenges come. Self-assurance helps you climb the mountains and jump the hurdles that stand in the way of the success you deserve.

Use these strategies to build the confidence to go after your dreams and encounter success:

1. Keep a record. Begin to keep a record of your successes, no matter how small. Write them in a notebook or journal. In the beginning, remember your successes of the past and write those down too. Whenever you begin to doubt yourself, look at your notebook and remind yourself of the times you’ve succeeded in the past.

• In another notebook or section, write down your strengths. If you can’t think of any, think about compliments you’ve received from others. As you go through each day, take note of your successes and strengths. Keep a record of your accomplishments that will fuel your success for the rest of your life.

2. Start with small goals. If you have trouble recalling your successes or noticing your strengths, set a few small goals that are fairly easy to attain. The point is to achieve success and to allow that success to fuel you for greater challenges and greater victories in your life.

• When you achieve the small goals you’ve set for yourself, write them down in your notebook. As your confidence grows, your heart will long to shoot for bigger goals and greater challenges. Your record of success will keep you pushing forward when doubts begin to creep in.

3. Act as if you’re successful. A funny thing happens when you pretend you feel a certain emotion… you actually began to feel that emotion!

• Try it right now. Slouch your shoulders, lean forward, and put a frown on as if you’re absolutely exhausted. How do you feel? A little tired?
• Now smile and begin to move your body like you do when you’re excited. Feel the difference? To a large extent, you can control how you feel by the way you move your body. Pretend you’re confident. Talk with confidence and move your body with confidence. The feelings will follow shortly.

4. Visualize your future. Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years? What kind of job do you have? Do you own your own business? What is your ideal scenario regarding relationships? How much money do you make?

• Every day, close your eyes and take a few moments to run a mental movie about the future you’ve always dreamed about. Watch your success play out as if it’s happening in the present and allow yourself to experience all of the senses. What does the scene look like? Smell like? Taste like? Feel like? Sound like?

• Make your mental movie as vivid and detailed as possible for maximum effect. If you do this every day, your mind will begin to move you in the direction of your ideal future. You’ll begin to take actions that support your success and lead you down the path of your dreams.

Your confidence will grow naturally with each success you experience, whether the success is in the real world or in your mind. Instead of constantly reliving the mistakes you’ve made in the past, relive the glorious future you deserve time and time again to grow your confidence and coach yourself toward its attainment.
photo credit: FindYourSearch

Technorati Tags: attitude, posture, self-confidence, success

Regardless of how much you love your business, there will always be times when you have trouble motivating yourself to work. It happens to everyone from time to time. And, during the slow times, you’re able to slack off a bit. However, a too-relaxed attitude begins to cause waves when a deadline is looming and you have a project to finish.

Use these seven tips to help you to meet any deadline:

1. Slow and steady wins the race.

Unless you’re dealing with a last-minute project, it’s likely that you’re given adequate notice about the deadline. Break each project into manageable increments and chip away at the project one manageable step at a time.

When you break a large project down into manageable steps, you increase your chances of successfully meeting your deadline exponentially. In fact, if you work at your project consistently instead of rushing to complete it at the last minute, you’ll likely be able to turn in high quality work well before the deadline.

2. Create measurable goals.

Working towards a deadline without measurable goals is like trying to lose 10 pounds in a month without checking the scale. Create predefined daily goals that allow you to receive feedback on your progress.

Provide further incentives for your efforts by indulging in a small reward (like a cappuccino) each day you meet a goal. The incentive may give you the extra boost of motivation you need to stay on pace to meet your deadline.

3. Overestimate the time line.

Rarely does a project run according to plan. There are always unanticipated obstacles to overcome. If you anticipate that you’ll need three days to complete a project, tell your client that you’ll need four or five days instead.

If you do happen to complete the project before your quoted deadline, your client will likely appreciate that you’ve “gone the extra mile” in order to turn the project in before it was due.

4. Hold yourself accountable.

A strong sense of accountability is 50% of the battle in meeting deadlines. You’ve made a commitment to turn the material in by a certain date; it’s your responsibility to ensure that you turn it in by the agreed upon deadline. When you’re tempted to procrastinate, remind yourself about the consequences of being deemed unreliable.

5. Put yourself in your client’s shoes.

Let’s say you’re getting married and you hire a bakery to create your wedding cake. If the bakery stated that your cake would be at the reception site by 3:00pm, you’d expect to see your cake by the agreed upon time, right? You’re counting on that cake, and its late arrival can ruin your wedding day.

In the same way, you’re providing a service that someone is counting on. Depending on the task, you could cost your company or client thousands of dollars by not meeting your deadline.

6. Let it burn.

If you tend to procrastinate, get the job done by lighting a fire under yourself. Do whatever you must to motivate yourself to get moving and stay moving. And generally, the more you have to lose, the more motivation you’ll find to meet your deadline.

Tell your wife she can spend every dime of your paycheck on a shoe shopping trip if you turn in your work later than the agreed upon deadline. If you lose, you’ll definitely learn a valuable lesson.

7. Offer a discount.

In your contract, include a clause that states that the client will be granted a 10% discount if the material is turned in after the agreed upon deadline. This will give your clients peace of mind, and it’ll motivate you to meet your deadlines so that you’re compensated fairly.

Whether you’re a business owner, contractor, or employee, your livelihood depends on your ability to efficiently meet deadlines. Therefore, learning how to meet any and all deadlines you encounter is a key factor in maintaining a successful career and avoiding unnecessary stress.

photo credit: meganjo

Technorati Tags: accountability, deadlines, discount, goals, guarantee

Ghostwriting Success Smaller

On Friday we discussed how many businesses turn to PLR to help provide content for their blogs. And regardless of where you stand on to PLR or not to PLR, the need for behind the scene writers, also known as ghostwriters, is huge. Content is king and the thought of having to add fresh content on a regular basis to a website, a blog, article directories, etc sends some people running for cover.

That’s where you come in. If you have a love for writing, a knack for words and don’t mind hanging out behind the scenes and letting someone else take credit for you hard work ghostwriting is a perfect avenue for you to take.

Sometimes people have questioned if it’s ethical or right to use material that someone else has written and call it your own. There’s no right or wrong answer, it’s a matter of personal opinion but you might be surprised to find out that a lot of the greatest books by famous people were actually written by ghostwriters!

A ghostwriter can be used to do a project from start to finish with very little input from the person hiring the writer. Or sometimes the person hiring a ghostwriter will have notes or an outline that they just need the writer to put together into an eBook, report, article, etc.

A lot of people complain that it’s hard to find a good ghostwriter or that once they do that writer ends up so busy that they can’t take on more work. That just goes to show that if you have great writing skills and enjoy doing it you can make a nice profit doing it. If you produce high quality work and great customer service skills you will probably find yourself with a few clients that keep you busy on a regular basis.

If you think you have what it takes to be a successful ghostwriter or just want some more information about it pick up your copy of The Ghostwriting Success Teleseminar.

Technorati Tags: Ghostwriting, PLR, VA task, Writing

Private Label Rights (PLR) articles and ghost-written articles are both options when you need web content. Each is unique in its qualities and each has its drawbacks. As my business has grown busier, I’ve been finding it difficult to maintain a personal regular blogging schedule. You know how it is–  the client’s blogs are current while my own suffers from neglect What’s a busy homeschooling mompreneur to do?  Hit Google and start researching what PLR is of course!

So, when you need content  (and are too busy to write your own) which should you choose? Let’s analyze both options to find out which option is right for you.

Ghostwritten Articles
Ghostwritten articles are written just for your use. You own the article and can do whatever you’d like to with it.

Pros:

1.  The article is unique to you and you do not share the content with anyone else.

Cons:

1.  Ghostwritten articles are quite a bit more expensive per article than PLR packages.
2.  You have the responsibility of finding a good writer.
3.  The quality can be questionable.
4.  You need to check your articles to make sure your ghostwriter isn’t stealing content. Unfortunately that does happen.

PLR Articles
PLR articles are pre-written articles that are sold in packages, or as part of a monthly membership.

Pros:

1.  PLR articles are much more affordable than ghostwritten ones.
2.  The content is ready, so you don’t have to wait for a ghostwriter to become available or find a ghostwriter who is available.

Cons:

1.  The content is not unique. You share the articles with the other people who purchased the package or membership.
2.  You can’t submit the PLR articles to article directories.
3.  The quality can be questionable.
4.  You have to find PLR packages in your niche – or hope that the membership you signed up for sends you ones that you can use.

How can you even the odds between the two? Find a quality PLR service that allows you choose your topics. If the articles are well written, and their distribution is limited, it’s almost as good as getting ghostwritten content just for you. That way, you get the best of both worlds – quality content at a great price.

======================================

Article written by:

Nicole Dean is the owner of  www.EasyPLR.com – where you’ll find high-quality PLR articles sold in very limited quantities.  The PLR articles at EasyPLR are professionally written and professionally edited — top quality at an affordable price.

And best of all, Nicole is donating the proceeds of sales made between August 1-18th to three children’s charities:

• http://www.chdinfo.com – Dr. Mani Saves Lives
• http://100xmissions.org – Paul Evans Saves Lives
• http://www.childrensgaucher.org – Type 2 & 3 Gaucher’s Research

All monies will be split between the three organizations, evenly. So why not pick up a PLR package (some as low as $6) and know that you’re helping a child as well as helping your business.

Technorati Tags: article writing, blogging, Ghostwriting, newsletter, PLR

The art of doing business on the Internet has come a long way. Businesses large and small are doing more online, they are demanding more useful, exciting websites. There’s simply a lot more riding on today’s business websites than a collection of text and images. With that comes the increasing need for technically savvy help to manage it all and a smart, forward thinking VA should be sharpening her skills and offering services like these:

• Backup – Far too often have I saved myself (and the clients), from hours of work putting things back as they were. You cannot rely on a web host all the time. To save space, web hosts only store backups for a very short period of time. And because restoration is not always part of their service, a host will usually restore the entire site when you may only need to restore one folder. Besides, some hosts are here today gone tomorrow. Or your client may have got tired of them.

Offering a backup and restoration service to your clients makes so much sense and it is often quite profitable for you since you don’t have to restore sites everyday nor every month for that matter. Backups can be put on autopilot and you can charge a recurring fee.

• Software Update – So many web sites today run on open source software like WordPress, Drupal or Joomla. These are actively developed systems that move forward regularly and sometimes at a quick pace too. Every time you turn around it seems like the software needs to be updated.

Many clients don’t bother to update because they may be afraid of the consequences or just don’t know how. In the end, they either become victims of hackers or find themselves unable to proceed with their latest program because the software is outdated.

• WordPress Hardening – Talking about open source software, WordPress is one of the hottest. There’s a great chance at least one of your clients are using to manage their website. But a popular software also means it is a big fat target for hackers who test it daily. Unfortunately, during setup, many designers and even VA’s do not take the time to secure it. Much of the default settings remain which make it easy for anyone to exploit.

We’re not talking about making a security guarantee to your clients – no software is that iron clad, but there are things that one can do to make WordPress more resistant. Sell that to your clients. This is a great way to earn extra from existing clients and bring in some money when things are slow.

• Operating Procedure Wiki – You might already have heard of it. Create systems. Reproducible steps that anyone in the organization can take and run with. It make sense. Systems make your work faster – even if you already know it like the back of your hand, having checklists on hand can help remind you of steps you may miss regularly. Also, training new help becomes easier.

Many clients know this but are just way too busy. What you can do is not only document the knowledge, but set up a search-able, easy to use archive like a Wiki. In the long run it will help you too since you are likely to have more than one client, you may not remember all the steps you have to complete on a task that is not often repeat.

• Enhanced Help Desk – You could already be the ‘voice’ behind your clients’ help desk right now. That’s great! If you enjoy it and want to win more clients in that area, why not offer an enhanced help desk service? What is that?

Some clients have multiple points of contact that can slow the customer service process down or  cause confusion for customers because it may not be clear where to get help. The best thing is to pull everything together into one help center where people can find answers to frequently asked questions and initiate contact. It takes some planning and a bit of email routing and you can be the one to pull this together for your clients.

Take it a step further.

• Host the help desk software yourself for ‘free‘ as part of the contract with your client. Many clients do not want yet another software for them to maintain. If the software can be part of your agreement, it absolutely makes sense for them. And, they would probably stay longer  because if they break the contract with you, that means they have to source and purchase the software and setup. All of which takes time and money – valuable resources that the client may prefer to save.

What do you think? Is there any service here that you can implement right away? Maybe you want to but do not know how to start. After all, these are somewhat technical and you may not consider yourself technically inclined. There’s good news. Tech stuff is a lot easier than most make it out to be. You just need the right type of help, like what you can expect over at TechBasedTraining.com

Technorati Tags: backup, enhanced help desk, hosting, procedure wiki maintenance, software update, wordpress hardening

Just got wind of this. Lynette Chandler, who leads the team over at BlogEnergizer is promising to write a custom, totally unique blog post for any blog. There will be no payment needed, it doesn’t matter if your blog is old, new, big or small. All you have to do is send her 5 questions – like an interview – about BlogEnergizer, blogs and blogging.

As if that isn’t enough, you can win some cool stuff too if your interview is voted to be in the top three. (That’s where I want to be!)

I think this is a great way to get some fresh, quality content and bring traffic to your blog. So you better take advantage by going to this page.

http://blogenergizer.com/exclusive-interview-project

They will stop taking questions after August 10th, 2010. To participate, visit

http://blogenergizer.com/exclusive-interview-project

Technorati Tags: BlogEnergizer, blogging, contest, custom blog post

One thing that I have found to be very helpful (even though I was a BIG skeptic when this process was brought to my attention) is having a vision board. The premise of a vision board is that humans are visual learners and what we see works through to our subconscious and can motivate us to accomplish our stated goals because it helps us to imagine ourselves in the photos — a bigger office, a big house, cool vacation, eating healthier, etc. It sounds hokey, but it has really helped me with my focus.

You can create physical vision boards that you hang up on the wall of your office full of pictures, plans, etc. BA company named OrangePeel Systems created a beautiful computer based version of this process that I love. I have pictures of my family, vacations I want to take, business goals and health goals. I have different themes setup complete with my favorite music and animations.  It’s really cool!

They have just released a time-limited FREE version of their highly acclaimed vision board software, allowing you to experience firsthand the amazing results that can be achieved through visualization – at absolutely no cost to you!

With many years professional experience designing and developing educational and motivational systems, OrangePeel have now created a complete Visualization Kickstart Pack specifically designed to help you discover your true potential as quickly and easily as possible.

In addition to your complimentary vision board software, the Visualization Kickstart Pack also includes a complete 50-page user guide, which will take you step-by-step through the entire process of creating your own ultimate vision board.

With the Visualization KickStart software you can visualize your goals and dreams in unique and dynamic ways on your computer screen and other digital devices (PDA, iPod, etc), using your own images, affirmations and audio or by simply selecting the elements you need from the (bonus) free online media library.

Download your FREE Visualization Kickstart Pack today and you’ll also receive a personal 7-day email coaching and training program to help you become familiar with the concept and optimal use of your new vision board software. Throughout the free coaching series you will be shown proven ways to effectively apply goal-setting and visualization techniques plus discover just how much your present beliefs may be holding you back (and what to do about it!)

This is incredible value, easily worth hundreds of dollars, and today you can have it all – completely free!
So, if you’re ready for a happier and more successful life, don’t waste another minute. Click on the link below and get started immediately …

Download Your FREE Visualization Kickstart Pack Now

The only thing you have to lose is the life you are no longer happy with or make a happy life even fuller.

Technorati Tags: accomplishment, goals setting, motivation, visualization