Getting Over "Holiday-itis"

I am sure you have all heard of senior-itis- the last semester of a high school for seniors. They often have a difficult time focusing on what they should be doing. I have noticed that this year, I have gotten it too! Except, for me, it is because of the holidays. I have noticed that I am slacking off quite a bit because "I just don't feel like working."

To help get over this I have made myself a list, and now I am sharing it with you :)

Schedule Work Time If you already do this, great! But if not, make sure you are strict with yourself. If you have plans one day, fine, but don't forget to schedule your work around that. If you take a day off, that is fine too. Just make sure that you work another day to make up for it. Also, give yourself breaks like if you were at work! Don't overwork yourself.

Write Everything down in your Planner This is important, so I decided to make it another point. If you think you will forget something, write it in your day planner. Small things can be important too!

Make sure you give yourself time away Do NOT always work! You will resent working eventually if you do this. I understand wanting to make money, and fast, but do it the right way. You decided to work from home for a reason, so remember that!

This is all I can think of at the moment, but if I do find something else that helps I will let you know :) Good luck and enjoy your family during the holidays.

-Megan
megangreco@email.com
http://internetceomoms.com/workathometoday

Using Squidoo

If you own a business, you are probably already familiar with social networking sites and how they work; (Facebook, myspace, and twitter are a few) but have you ever heard of Squidoo?? I like to think I am pretty on top of the social networking scene, but I was surprised to hear of this website.

Let me give you an idea of how it works. For those of you who blog using this website (blogger) you understand that you can have more than one blog under one email address if you want to. Squidoo does the same thing, but their different pages are called Lenses.

A lens is a page that someone creates that can be about anything. Mine is about working from home (big surprise!) You can use it to advertise your business, but no one is interested in reading about the next networking marketing business, they can find that anywhere. Find your niche..

Ugh, "Find your Niche" that is something you are going to hear A LOT. To give you a good example of what I mean by that- my niche is helping others work at home.. through my business or not. Maybe yours is helping people use Twitter for their business. People actively search out these things, when they find yours, your website is exposed to more people than if you made a page completely dedicated to your business. I hope that makes sense :)

Tips for Using Squidoo
1. Think of your niche. What do you want your lens to be about?
2. Think of a good name for your lens.. Preferably one that is easy to remember and is relevant to your niche.
3. Do NOT get too frustrated with Squidoo. I pride myself on being pretty on top of social networking sites, and I had a pretty hard time with it. That being said, use the help that the website gives you, it does actually help.

Good luck!
Megan
megangreco@email.com
http://internetceomoms.com/workathometoday

PS: You can see my squidoo page at http://www.squidoo.com/putfamily1st

How to Separate Work and Home

One very big issue that people encounter when working from home is learning "when to turn it off." It is hard not to work extra long hours because your work is right there in your home with you. How do you separate the two?

The most important thing to do is set work hours. Depending on the type of work you do, those hours might need to be flexible, so keep that in mind. If you decide that you want to work for five hours a day (say, from 10-3) do that! If you need to rework your schedule for that day, so be it.

If you have a separate phone line for work, do NOT answer it; let the answering machine get it! Do not return the phone call until your next business day unless it is an emergency. If you do not have a separate phone line, check the caller id, if you don't recognize the number (or do and know it is someone from work) let it go to voice mail.

Make sure your family understands your work hours. My husband knows better than to bother me when I am working. When I am done, he can have my time. Let your family know that unless there is an emergency, they cannot bother you. (This will be harder with small children of course.)

If at all possible, have a separate office. If you have a home office, you can close the door to that room until the next business day. Out of sight, out of mind :)

These are just a few tips to help you keep work away from family and vice versa. If you need any more help, please feel free to contact me via email at megangreco@email.com.

Megan
megangreco@email.com
http://internetceomoms.com/workathometoday

Choosing a Work at Home Business

With all the scams out there, its hard to know what kind of work at home business would be best. Do you want to do in-home parties? Do you have a certain skill you can market?

Knowing you want to work from home is really your first step. If waking up, (maybe) getting dressed, having a cup of coffee and starting your day sounds perfect to you, then working from home is probably a good option for you. Working from home does take quite a bit of focus and drive though, so if that is a problem for you, you may want to rethink it.

There are so many options out there, so how do you know what is right for you? Do you have a marketable skill? (Like a degree in childhood education??) Is there something you are good at, that doesn't necessarily need a degree? (Like event planning) Both are good options, but both require you to build a business. Building a business is a lot of work and may cost a lot to get started. (But I wont go into that.)

If you are more interested in starting with a business that is already established, a network marketing business might be right for you. They usually cost a one-time start up fee (how much are you looking to spend?) and include any presentation materials and a website.

I have broken down how to choose what kind of network marketing business is right for you. Ask yourself the questions I list below..

*Do you want to do in-home parties?
*How much are you willing to spend?
*Does the product get you excited to tell others? (This is so important! If you think something with sex toys would be fun, ask yourself if you are comfortable talking to everyone you know about it.)
*Are you willing to tell everyone you know about your new business?
*How much work do you want to put in? (Do you want to do "parties" every few weeks? Do you want to work certain hours during the day?)
*Would you rather work outside your home, or inside? (Would you like to go out and present your product, or do all your work online?)
*Does this sound fun?

Those are just some questions you should ask yourself before signing up with anyone. Do your homework! Make sure that whatever you are interested in is legit.

I wish everyone the best of luck on their business ventures. Let me know what YOU do! How long have you been doing it? WHY did you choose what you chose? I want to know!
-Megan

Biggest hurdle to get over?? Myself

Everyone knows the line "you are your harshest critic" but in many cases it's true. I am the only one who can make my business go somewhere. I have been having problems lately (see last post) about "hitting a wall" but am I really doing EVERYTHING possible?

My biggest issue is taking people too seriously. If one person says no, does that mean the next person will? No of course not, but I keep having the dreaded feeling that they will (go away, darnit!) I am the only one who can make this work for me...

As you can see that is my new mantra :) I need to to be aware that I can't expect customers to fall into my lap. Everyone gets that way at one point or another, but it's whether you move forward from that feeling or not that matters. If I keep the idea that my customers will come to me, I am in big trouble!

I have written down my goals. They are fresh in my mind and in my notebook. I know where I want to be and I know how to get there. This is the first step, and I am proud to say I have made it that far. I LOVE working from home. I have set hours, I set up my "office" and go to work. It is the most amazing thing I have ever done for myself and my family. I also look forward to training calls with my team..

Sometimes all you need are clear set goals and a positive attitude. Always evaluate what you are doing (realistically) to help/hurt your business. Are you expecting customers to fall into your lap? Are you networking with EVERYONE you know? It makes a difference... That one person you do not talk to could have been your best customer (or knows someone who could be.)

I hope everyone has a productive day. Email me if you have any questions, concerns etc!

-Megan
megangreco@email.com
http://internetceomoms.com/workathometoday

I feel like I have hit a wall..

So here's another problem with working from home. The internet can only take you so far. I feel like until I get the necessary supplies (in dire need of ink for the printer) there isn't much I can do.

I have hit that point where I am just waiting... Waiting for my business cards, waiting for my domain name, waiting for my printer ink.. Until I get them, there isn't much I can do.

I have called people, emailed people, set up on social networking sites (I'm on twitter, facebook and myspace.)

What to do, what to do...??? I will think of something :) I have peeled myself off of the couch and away from the tv (you have to LOVE laptops!) and have set myself up in a room where there are no distractions. I have no excuse now, so I better get my a$$ to work!
-Megan
http://twitter.com/putfamily1st

Put some work into it!

One hard lesson to learn for me was taught to me by one of the very successful women in the business. She said "Know that it may take a few months to see results..." I thought "oh my goodness! A few months?! Will I be able to stick with it for that long without any results?"

My reaction wasn't uncommon. Unfortunately no get-rich-quick scheme is going to give you great success and all other business opportunities take work. If you decide that you want to do something with network marketing, you need to think of it as starting a store or a restaurant something that requires you to have a location. You wont be able to make your restaurant run without advertising, workers and CUSTOMERS! People ARE looking for what you have to offer, but until you make it known you have it to offer, who will know?

There will always be somebody who wants a new set of kitchen knives, but they aren't going to be looking for you, they are looking for the knives! If you make it known "I sell knives" they might look for you.

I am willing to stick it out and see where my business adventures lead me :) I hope that you my readers will stick it out with me. It's definitely going to be an interesting (and sometimes very bumpy) ride!