small business, Self improvement, working at home, mental health, cooking, hobbies, gardening, wellness, health, fitness, motherhood and raising families

FIRST YOU NEED TO DECIDE WHETHER YOU WANT TO SELL YOUR OWN PRODUCTS,

OR DO YOU WANT TO SELL FOR SOMEONE ELSE, LIKE AVON OR TUPPERWARE?

So with these thoughts in mind you can look at what you would like to do. 

If you are going to work for someone else, you will have most of your marketing taken care of, you will have your pricing sorted for you, and your concentration will be on the selling side.

BUT, it you want to sell your own lines, by working at home, what could you do?  Some suggestions that are always popular are:  childrens clothing, linen, gift ware, adults clothing.

In deciding what to do, look at your target market.  Things have been tight financially, and many people are pulling back, but the items I have mentioned are things that need either replacing, or buying for gifts.  People still get married, children still grow out of clothes.  

Finding the right buying market and knowing their needs will go a long way to your being successful.

If you need advice on marketing any business you do our marketing ebook will help you big time.  It so simply explained, and contains such great ideas, that it can only help you on your way.

BRAVE WORDS AREN'T THEY?

I know there was one stage when I nearly did give up hope that my son would ever lead an OK sort of life again.  He had been in hospital for a year, was having a week out and then had a fit similar to an epileptic fit.  The long and short of it seemed to be his intolerance to the higher dose of medicine.

Any rate, this just knocked me for a sixer, and I thought, "this is it, he is never going to get well".

As it turned out that was actually a turning point.  From that day on he moved forward and has never looked back.  He had his slower moments in recovery, but essentially he just kept getting better.

The funny thing is, a friend of mine's daughter also was admitted the same week (she had not been in hospital for a while at that point), and that was her turning point too.  She is now out talking to carers, school students, and facilitating meetings about mental health. 

In fact, I have acknowledged her in my ebook Managing Mental Illness – Coping Strategies For The Carer because she took a course on 'Hearing Voices' which I talk about in the ebook.  Great stuff.

I would love to hear from any carers about their experiences.  Please comment on this blog.

IF YOU HAVE AN OUTGOING PERSONALITY THIS COULD BE JUST THE ANSWER FOR YOU

To be success with this type of business you need to be outgoing, very organised and in touch with what is happening in the market place.  This is such a great business for the organised person, especially with a small family.  Because you do your own bookings you can operate the hours that suit your family.  A fantastic WORK AT HOME BUSINESS!!

BUT YOU CAN MAKE A MINT with this type of business.  You can run it for yourself, or you can put on some women selling for you.  Stock control and financial control is essential to make this business pay well. 

Because you do not have lease overheads, you can make your prices very competitive in the market place.  Know your target market, try to find a market that has deep pockets, and go for it.

Even though you may sell predominently by party plan, there is nothing to stop you selling over the internet as well.

For marketing tips look at Marketing Must Do’s For Every Small Business

BE CREATIVE  AND HAVE FUN – GET THOSE COMPUTER LITERATE KIDS TO HELP YOU OUT! Scrapbooking has so many facets to create family entertainment 

Learn to make your own lettering on the computer and print it on card then you can cut out the individual letters or shapes incorporating the whole phrase. 

If you are cutting shapes, print the wording on colored paper.  You may even print straight on to your background page. 

Using a computer can be fantastic because there is such a variety of fonts, line styles and colors. It is really quite endless if you are comfortable with doing this.

TODDLERS LOVE HAVING THEIR OWN THINGS – SO HERE ARE SOME IDEAS

Also at this age, they are starting to be quite independent.  So you could look at little back packs with different names on, or designed in some particular way that makes their little backpack unique  for them. 

Little girls like little bags they can hang over their shoulder.  These can be made with a nice long string to loop it over their head so they don't keep dropping it.  Little lacy dresses are popular for the grandma to buy.  Also cute little hats are very popular.

This is an age where the grandparents do a lot of buying, so make sure you appeal to that age group and make some pretty girls things, and cute things for the boys.Working at home can be such fun, especially if you are doing something that you enjoy.  A small homebased business is great when trying to bring up a young family.   If you are not a sewer and want more ideas just check this out. 

CHRISTMAS IS A TIME THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE GET STRESSED.

It is a time when the pressures of work, families, friends, the should's and should not's, all add up to extra pressure.  Plus of course, that bit extra that we tend to drink during the celebration times.

It is a well know fact that mentally ill people react to stress.  At Christmas they feel that there are extra expectations on them and unfortunately this can often bring on an episode. 

In managing as a carer it does help if you acknowledge this fact, even talk it over with your loved one, and try and maintain an equalibrium around them as much as you can. 

It took me quite a few years to live without 'expectations' of my son.  In other words, the things that I wanted to happen, I kept to myself or close family, but I tried not to express these expectations on him, and theyby not add extra pressure to his life.

Also, I found that if I did not have the expectations, then I did not have those roller coaster rides of emotions with having my hope dashed all the time. This was a bit step for me in having a much more smooth running life.  AND so many less arguments and angry moments.

This did not mean that I did not want certain things for him, I did, and still do, but I learnt not to keep pressuring him with MY DESIRES!

I learnt to calmly put my ideas across, but not keep nagging.

Managing Mental Illness – Coping Strategies For The Carer has lots of these tips in it.  It is not ebook about our lives per se, but discussion on methods of coping.

Yes, here I am talking about making your own product at home.  I have covered making baby clothes and just the other day I read about someone making quirky baby quilts and doing really well selling over the internet.

So, on to toddlers!  What could you make and sell to bring in that income from a home based business that would suit the toddler age? 

In some cases this could be much the same as for the baby.  Clothing is great.  By shopping around and getting new fabrics you can make some really different little sets.  There is a lady at our local market who makes little longs, and they are in new seasons fabrics.  Some fabric has a seaside theme with dolphins, and others have a dalmation theme, all different black and white spotted dogs.  They are so popular.

 So when you think about it, there are endless clothing lines you could make for this age. 

Also at this age, they are starting to want their own things.  So you could look at little back packs with different names on, or designed in some particular way that makes their little backpack unique for them.  Little girls like little bags they can hang over their shoulder.  These can be made with a nice long string to loop it over their head so they don't keep dropping it.  This is an age where the grandparents do a lot of buying, so make sure you appeal to that age group and make some pretty girls things, and cute things for the boys.

You could make unique DVD holders to hold all the kids movies. What about money boxes, they are hard to find and are a great gift.  Boys like little wooden carts and colored blocks etc.

By thinking along these alternative lines, you can see that there are many items that you could specialise in.  These could quite easily be made and sold as a family project.  Making wooden items could be just the thing for a hubby who likes making items in his spare time, and his partner could be looking at doing the selling.

Don't forget though, plan well first, BEFORE YOU START! AND BEFORE YOU SPEND MONEY!

You can get more ideas from our ebook A Guide To Working At Home

THIS IS SUCH AN EASY WAY TO MAKE GREAT CANDLES

Setting your wick and pouring your wax into warm jars is such an easy way to make great gifts. 

BUT you can make them even better by decorating your jars.  You can do this before, as long as what you decorate with is not at risk when you heat the jar, or you can decorate it once the wax has gone cold.

Here is something I found on the web that you may enjoy looking at:

<a href="http://www.candlestoyou.co.uk/blog/decorating-your-candle-jars-12.html">Decorating Your Candle Jars</a><p>The Bitter Creek Candles & Soap Making convention was a 3 day event and allowed companies and enthusiasts from around the world to meet up and discuss new ideas. Anyway we were deep in conversation throughout the convention with a chap …</p>

THAT'S RIGHT.  TODAY YOU HAVE THE WHOLE WORLD AS YOUR CUSTOMER BASE!

BUT, you do have to go and find them.

When you have decided what it is that you are going to do as a homebased business, you can go out to the world through the internet and find your buyers.   This sounds great doesn't it, but it is not quite as easy as that.  I have had people say to me, "I will set up a website and sell from that!"  People must realise that setting up a website is like writing something for the press, but keeping it on your computer.

Unless you get your website marketed in the worldwide web, then no one will know you exist.  Marketing a small business needs a marketing strategy, and a markting plan.

Look at this information from the web:

<a href="http://internet-based-marketing-blog.com/2008/10/05/articles-your-affiliate-marketing-sites-should-have/">Articles your affiliate marketing sites should have</a><p>Thus, the boom of Affiliate Marketing. The main reason why affiliate marketing has become so popular lies on the simple fact that all you have to do is apply for an affiliate program, pay for the programs fees (if there are any), …</p>

A very simple way to start promoting your business is to blog it, and use Facebook.  Both mediums will get your website out there, and as you learn more techniques you can expand your exposure.

Truly, the world is there for the picking – get into it and have your share!

Read more of our blogs at

http://blog.ebooksnowonline.com/?cat=67

I have found some information that you may like from on the web, about setting wicks.

I  hope this will help you. 

<a href="http://suburbanmother.wordpress.com/2008/10/03/candle-making/">Candle Making</a><p>You need to press it firmly onto the metal, making sure that all the wick and the hole is fully covered. It needs to be firmly stuck to the mold so that no wax will leak out once the candle is poured. …</p>