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!

Confidence in Yourself and Your Business

I had a training call last night that I thought was probably going to be some chit chat that really didn't matter, but instead we talked about the importance of confidence. (In yourself and your business)

Some good points:
-Always be aware of yourself and how you come off to others.
-Look at yourself realistically! Is there something that you need to change?
-Improve yourself in areas that need it!
-Take advice from others (especially people who have accomplished what you want to)

Ask yourself what you want from your business. Do you truly think you will get there? If not, why? If you know what you want you have a good idea of what it will take to get there. If you sit back and say "well it wasn't going to happen for me anyway" then you are making excuses and have already failed.

Sit down and write out what your goals are (if you haven't already.) Hang it on the fridge, on your desk, whatever, as long as you can see it. This is so important! You will have a reminder every time you open the fridge of what you want and how you can get there. Ask your spouse to help. If anything, ask him/her to be supportive. If they constantly ask you why you are "wasting your time" with your business, you will start to wonder too.

Be productive every day that you decide you want to work. If it is only for an hour today, that's fine, but use that hour wisely. At the end of your work day, ask yourself if you would hire or fire yourself based on the work you did that day. (PS: Please don't fire yourself literally, but look at what you need to change, and change it!) I was very guilty of saying "well, I don't have to work hard today because I worked hard yesterday." That's great, but today is a whole different day.

I hope you all have a productive day and remember to look at yourself and figure out WHY you have what you have (success, or not so successful :P)

-Megan
megangreco@email.com

How to Market yourself!

Working for yourself is hard work, you need to really put yourself out there. For most of us that is not easy (me included.) I started to reach out looking for ideas on marketing. Many of you know that some marketing is good, some is a waste of time/money and some ideas are just plain bad.

So! That being said, I have made a list for you :)

1. Make customers feel special- This is so important! It may not seem like a big deal, but no one wants to feel like "just another person on a chain email." Make it personal, even if you just alter a few things from your perfect, saved on the computer email :)

2. Make your business card memorable- Another important one. MOST people throw away or lose business cards a few hours after they were given to them. IF you have the budget for it, do something your customers can use! Pens, notepads etc.

3. Make an email list and send out "snail mail"- Send out monthly (bi-monthly, weekly etc.) email newsletters to the people who have given you their email. To those who have given you their address, send out newsletters in the mail. EVERYONE loves to get mail (as long as its not bills, lol)

4. Go to trade shows and conferences- If you have a small business conference in the area (or your company has them) you should go if you can! It's not too much money to print up some fliers, postcards etc. to hand out, AND if anything, you can just learn more about the business and other good marketing strategies.

5. Combine business with pleasure- EVERYONE loves free stuff! If you have some people who aren't 100% sold on your business, take them to lunch, do a presentation and talk to them one on one. (This can be more expensive, but it can also be a GREAT way to get that important client.)

6. DONT let your customers slip away!- If you had an interested customer that fell through the cracks, email or call them! Find out what is going on with them and MAKE them a customer! And, if just reaching out doesn't work, offer them a discount. Everyone loves to get a discount!

7. (The most important one!) Always be thinking of how you can get your business out there- Whether or not you are in sales you will have to sell! Always, always be thinking about how you can work your business!

First problem with a work at home business..

So lately I have been trying to get the word out about my new business. The biggest problem that I'm facing is getting over my fear of criticism from my family. I don't want them to assume I am wasting my money and time. I am not always confident that they are wrong, but I figure that with hard work I CAN prove them wrong.

I have been emailing friends and acquaintances, but I dont want to sound pushy. Anyone have any ideas? I know that its the only way that I will get the word out, so I guess I will just suck it up :)

So, that brings me to my first problem with running your own business.. Getting the word out! Dont be afraid to put yourself out there... Guess I should follow my own advice :) I'm going to tell EVERYONE.. maybe by then it wont be so weird to tell my family. Who knows, they DO say family tends to be the best contacts!

Megan
http://internetceomoms.com/workathometoday

A little about me and my family..

My husband is in the Army, so we aren't around our friends or family. (We are across the country in fact..) Making friends isn't always easy, because when you do, they leave, but if there is one thing harder than making friends, its finding a job! Jobs are far and few between in a military town, and as soon as you are gone there are 5 others to take your place. I haven't had a "job" in over a year.

My husband and I found out I was pregnant in July, (with a girl due in March) so my not working wasn't really a problem.. until I started going stir crazy in the house that is. I started looking into working from home, mostly for something to do while my husband was at work. (You can only clean the house so many times, and that got old really fast because I HATE to clean.)

I started looking around, but not very hard because I didn't think I could find the right thing for me. I knew I wanted to stay away from a home party type business. I have done that before, its fun, but its very hard work... and as I mentioned before, I dont know a lot of people around here. When I found Internet CEO Moms, I didnt take it very seriously because I thought it sounded too good to be true. No parties, no inventory??? How could this be? I fell in love with the company and here I am.

This blog will be a place for me to share my victories, vent my frustrations etc. about working from home. No one said this would be easy, but I am willing to give it my all and see where this takes me. It may not always be fun, but for those of you looking to work at home, you can get a normal person's view on it. (Mostly normal anyway :P) I hope you enjoy reading as I know I will enjoy writing :)

Megan