If you do any kind of online marketing and promotion, you know how important it is to have a list. This list should be a group of targeted readers and/or customers that you can connect with. But sites like facebook, twitter, and tumblr (social media in general) have changed the attitude about numbers and list building.
Old school online marketers love their lists just as much as anybody. They wouldn't trade it for anything, but they value something more than just numbers. Real work at home experts and internet marketers know that it isn't about the qantity of your list but the quality. How many you have to offer stuff to isn't as important as the number of people who actually respond to stuff you offer.
An unresponsive list is simply a dead weighted number. It looks great on paper to say I have a list of 5000 people, but if among those 5000 only half are truly a targeted responsive group of prospectives, your number becomes less value.
The numbers game has always been about quantity, but the advent of social media sites has put so much emphasis on the number that few marketers today are going out of their way to find out if they've simply built a list of sitting ducks.
It's become so easy to "add" and "follow," that list builders today are saying "follow me" without considering who they're asking to be followed by. People have become more concerned with their "friend" or "follow" count that they're not paying attention and doing market analysis on how their numbers are actually benefiting them.
It is crucial, from a marketing stand point, to know and understand how the numbers play to your overall business success. You should have a list of highly targeted and responsive prospects that are willing to eat up what you have to offer. True markets know that a small responsive list is more valuable than large unresponsive one.
Building your work at home and internet marketing list should cater around quality, not just quantity. Don't get sucked into the numbers game.
Showing posts with label work at home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work at home. Show all posts
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The unseen work at home business problem
In a classic work situation people are set up in specific positions that allow them to do tasks based on a skill they possess, thus becoming specialists in the task. Most of the working society is used to having very set tasks to accomplish that don’t leak into other realms of specialization. The front desk personnel at an office most likely does not handle reviewing business plans. Now jump online to a work at home business and you see a work situation where people are required to become task generalists at a specializing level.
By this I mean they are required to be able to be jack of all trade and master of all trade. This is practically impossible since most work at home members fall into one of the following categories.
1. Idea architects: These are people who have the ability to come up with ideas at a quick pace. They can enlighten others by taking bland topics and niches and spinning them in an creative fashion to make them more appealing. Work at home business coaches fall into this group.
2. Idea Constructionists: These are the people that actually build the ideas. They create the websites or blogs. They execute ideas with precision.
3. Idea Pushers: You find a lot of these types online. Think you’re average affiliate marketer. These people know how to connect with others that would have an interest in an already standing idea.
The problem however is most people only fall under one category and if you are truly blessed you can convincingly shift your way into another. But usually idea architects don’t execute ideas as well as actual builders and the builders have trouble selling it to the world.
It is because of this reason that people have come to rely on outsourcing.
They focus on the realm they excel at and depend on the talents of others for everything else. Thus bringing back the office work concept, where each person focuses on a specific skill.
The main issue however, is 90 percent of people are forced to wear multiple hats in their first three years of operating a work at home business, because they just don’t have the financial resources to outsource.
It’s difficult enough to master a new task online but learning 3 makes for a steep learning curve. It’s no wonder people give up easily. How can they build websites that can compete with those that employ the talents of others when they are left working with simply themselves?
Here is where skill swapping comes into effect. Instead of paying someone to write articles for you, ask them to trade skills. You may be good at ad analysis, a skill that could be of use to a writer who most likely has a lot of ads out. Trading skills gives you the opportunity to gain other people’s talents and ease the work load without having to pay the high prices of corporate companies.
Most companies know they cannot build a successful business with just their skills, even if they are multi talented, which is why outsourcing has become so important. Instead of paying for outsourced work try trading skills with someone.
By this I mean they are required to be able to be jack of all trade and master of all trade. This is practically impossible since most work at home members fall into one of the following categories.
1. Idea architects: These are people who have the ability to come up with ideas at a quick pace. They can enlighten others by taking bland topics and niches and spinning them in an creative fashion to make them more appealing. Work at home business coaches fall into this group.
2. Idea Constructionists: These are the people that actually build the ideas. They create the websites or blogs. They execute ideas with precision.
3. Idea Pushers: You find a lot of these types online. Think you’re average affiliate marketer. These people know how to connect with others that would have an interest in an already standing idea.
The problem however is most people only fall under one category and if you are truly blessed you can convincingly shift your way into another. But usually idea architects don’t execute ideas as well as actual builders and the builders have trouble selling it to the world.
It is because of this reason that people have come to rely on outsourcing.
They focus on the realm they excel at and depend on the talents of others for everything else. Thus bringing back the office work concept, where each person focuses on a specific skill. The main issue however, is 90 percent of people are forced to wear multiple hats in their first three years of operating a work at home business, because they just don’t have the financial resources to outsource.
It’s difficult enough to master a new task online but learning 3 makes for a steep learning curve. It’s no wonder people give up easily. How can they build websites that can compete with those that employ the talents of others when they are left working with simply themselves?
Here is where skill swapping comes into effect. Instead of paying someone to write articles for you, ask them to trade skills. You may be good at ad analysis, a skill that could be of use to a writer who most likely has a lot of ads out. Trading skills gives you the opportunity to gain other people’s talents and ease the work load without having to pay the high prices of corporate companies.
Most companies know they cannot build a successful business with just their skills, even if they are multi talented, which is why outsourcing has become so important. Instead of paying for outsourced work try trading skills with someone.
Monday, March 22, 2010
My experience with survey sites
Even though I wasn’t convinced that it would work, I continued to do the surveys and update my profile. I enjoyed doing the surveys for pass time sake. Some of the topics were relevant to me, and I wanted to share my opinion. Thus, without really trying I was starting to build an income with these survey sites and began learning some tips to make serious money in a not so serious way. Here are some of the things I learned.
Note: I have never joined a paid survey program; all the groups I belong to are free, so this article focuses on free survey sites.
1. You have to join multiple sites. The first mistake I made is actually a very common one—thinking one or two survey sites was enough. In actuality, you need to be signed up with at least 6 different sites to increase your earnings. Many survey sites are connected or merged with other sites so having an account with several sites ups your chances of qualifying and completing more surveys.
2. The points matter. Most survey sites reward with points. When I first learned this, I rolled my eyes thinking it was a scam. However, I quickly learned the points add up and because the points are redeemable for cash it really adds up to the same thing. When I saw one day that my 1000 points added up to 50 dollars, I was not only surprised but happy. It wasn’t something I was paying attention to, so to receive a check in the mail for that amount made me want to do more surveys.
3. Don’t ignore surveys for draws. Another common mistake is deleting surveys that are for prizes. These don’t give points or cash value, but give you a chance(s) to win a grand prize of some sort. Again, when I first started I thought it was a stupid waste of my precious time. But then I learned two important things:
a) Not many people complete those surveys so your chances of winning are higher (and I actually have won before…an Amazon gift card for 50 dollars)
b) These surveys boost the amount of high paying surveys you're offered. Contest surveys are a way for these sites to weed people out.
If you complete a few you are then offered “better” survey opportunities such as, big point surveys, being invited to join focus groups which can pay 40-100 dollars and being able to test products.
In the years I have been doing surveys I’ve tested chips, pop, cheese, and makeup products all before they hit the shelves and was paid to do it. I’ve sat in on several focus groups; none were more than a couple hours.
4. Reply fast. When you get an invite don’t put it off like I used to. Surveys are becoming more popular as more people are learning they can make money with them, so quotas fill up faster than they used to. Try to complete the survey within the day it was sent.
5. Complete your profile. The more complete your profile, the more chances you’re given.
Now before you get too excited, understand that doing surveys will in no way give you a full time income, not unless it’s all you do, and you belong to over 50 survey groups. Most will find it a good way to add to your income. You can make money to buy those “want” items on your list, or even earn a part time income. If you enjoy giving your opinion or being the first to try things then taking surveys is good idea.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
4 easy ways to get motivated for your work at home business
Working from home feels great in the beginning. The excitement is there and the hope of finally being able to conquer your financial future makes you feel motivated. However, somewhere down the line things go astray. Your eagerness to get up and work starts fading and those sparks are barley a twinkle. But you can get back to the stage where you wanted a work at home business by considering the following.
1. Get organized. Clutter, whether it is directly in your office or on your computer, i.e. emails, exhausts the mind. You just can’t do your best work in an area that doesn’t promote productivity. Organize your paper files, make use of programs that help you organize your emails and online files and toss out/delete any old documents that are no longer adding to your business.
2. Unsubscribe. Work at home business owners have a tendency to subscribe to every ezine. Some of these offer real value to you business, but others simply clutter your inbox. Take some time to look through you’re your emails to see who’s helping your business and subscribe from those that are simply taking space.
3. Blog. I don’t mean a business blog, but a personal blog or diary that allows you to take down all the good things your work at home business does for you and visa versa. Often times we’re so busy working we forget to acknowledge our success. Having a platform that allows you to write and recall your mile stones will encourage you and remind you of why you put in the many hours.
4. Take a day off. One study showed that home business owners work more hours than their office counter parts. This makes sense, especially when you consider all the things that go into building a successful business. However, all work and no play is a recipe for boredom and resentment. Set aside an actual day off for yourself. Do something simply for yourself. Relax and clear your head. You’ll come back to your business a little more refreshed and in control.
Working from home doesn’t have to be a battle. Your work at home business should give a sense of satisfaction, but if it isn’t try the tips above to get re-motivated and become more productive.
1. Get organized. Clutter, whether it is directly in your office or on your computer, i.e. emails, exhausts the mind. You just can’t do your best work in an area that doesn’t promote productivity. Organize your paper files, make use of programs that help you organize your emails and online files and toss out/delete any old documents that are no longer adding to your business.
2. Unsubscribe. Work at home business owners have a tendency to subscribe to every ezine. Some of these offer real value to you business, but others simply clutter your inbox. Take some time to look through you’re your emails to see who’s helping your business and subscribe from those that are simply taking space.
3. Blog. I don’t mean a business blog, but a personal blog or diary that allows you to take down all the good things your work at home business does for you and visa versa. Often times we’re so busy working we forget to acknowledge our success. Having a platform that allows you to write and recall your mile stones will encourage you and remind you of why you put in the many hours.
4. Take a day off. One study showed that home business owners work more hours than their office counter parts. This makes sense, especially when you consider all the things that go into building a successful business. However, all work and no play is a recipe for boredom and resentment. Set aside an actual day off for yourself. Do something simply for yourself. Relax and clear your head. You’ll come back to your business a little more refreshed and in control.
Working from home doesn’t have to be a battle. Your work at home business should give a sense of satisfaction, but if it isn’t try the tips above to get re-motivated and become more productive.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Does your business give you pleasure
When you wake up in the morning are you excited to start the new day? Do you find a sense of excitement and joy with your work at home business? Or is it the opposite—do you feel tired of it, or even afraid of it?
They always say don’t mix business and pleasure, but in my opinion those dichotomies have to fuse together when you work from home.
Majority of people fall out of love with their work from home opportunity after 7 months. Many break up from the business long before then.
For some, expectations are too high and dedication is too low. But even those that work meticulously at their work at home business are not “in love” with it. It gives them an income, freedom but not a strong sense of pleasure.
When you first start to work from home, there is a thrill that electrifies you to. This is because it’s new, fresh and exciting. You’re hoping this opportunity will be the one. You’re excited about doing something interesting within your own home. You like the idea of the business and perhaps the business itself. But after a couple months you start to notice those brilliant sparks fade. You’re efforts aren’t panning out and you‘re losing your sense of motivation.
A few more months later and you’re browsing for another opportunity, starting a new blog, or looking in your local paper to go back to working outside the home. It’s over.
How do people so quickly go from “This is awesome,” to “You’re annoying and boring me?”
One of the reasons is people don’t take the time to choose a business that will in fact give them pleasure. They go for any niche, get excited about the hype on the sales page, and hope for the best.
They don’t carefully consider is this something I want to do, be known for, gives me satisfaction.
Apparently, only 20 percent of work at homers are satisfied with their business. The rest are still searching for “the one.”
But becoming part of the 20 percent isn’t a difficult task. It involves asking yourself one question.
“Would I do this if no one was willing to pay me?”
If you are willing to dedicate and commit to something when you’re not getting any rewards, you’re most likely going to do it if there is an incentive. People who do well, love what they do. They take pride in their work and they have a passion for it. This means they already know a little something about it and are always eager to learn more.
They also give themselves time to succeed. If you’re breaking up with your business after a few months you’ll never get to know what it’s capable of. The average business takes 3 years before it is a true success. Give yourself a good amount of time to really make things work out with your business.
So, is your work at home business giving you pleasure or a headache?
They always say don’t mix business and pleasure, but in my opinion those dichotomies have to fuse together when you work from home.
Majority of people fall out of love with their work from home opportunity after 7 months. Many break up from the business long before then.
For some, expectations are too high and dedication is too low. But even those that work meticulously at their work at home business are not “in love” with it. It gives them an income, freedom but not a strong sense of pleasure.
When you first start to work from home, there is a thrill that electrifies you to. This is because it’s new, fresh and exciting. You’re hoping this opportunity will be the one. You’re excited about doing something interesting within your own home. You like the idea of the business and perhaps the business itself. But after a couple months you start to notice those brilliant sparks fade. You’re efforts aren’t panning out and you‘re losing your sense of motivation.
A few more months later and you’re browsing for another opportunity, starting a new blog, or looking in your local paper to go back to working outside the home. It’s over.
How do people so quickly go from “This is awesome,” to “You’re annoying and boring me?”
One of the reasons is people don’t take the time to choose a business that will in fact give them pleasure. They go for any niche, get excited about the hype on the sales page, and hope for the best.
They don’t carefully consider is this something I want to do, be known for, gives me satisfaction.
Apparently, only 20 percent of work at homers are satisfied with their business. The rest are still searching for “the one.”
But becoming part of the 20 percent isn’t a difficult task. It involves asking yourself one question.
“Would I do this if no one was willing to pay me?”
If you are willing to dedicate and commit to something when you’re not getting any rewards, you’re most likely going to do it if there is an incentive. People who do well, love what they do. They take pride in their work and they have a passion for it. This means they already know a little something about it and are always eager to learn more.
They also give themselves time to succeed. If you’re breaking up with your business after a few months you’ll never get to know what it’s capable of. The average business takes 3 years before it is a true success. Give yourself a good amount of time to really make things work out with your business.
So, is your work at home business giving you pleasure or a headache?
Saturday, January 2, 2010
How to set an effective work at home resolution
The New Year has been rung and most likely you’re thinking of all the things you want to accomplish this year. Even if you never set New Year’s resolutions, I encourage you to set one for your work at home business, because a new year’s resolution is simply a goal you want to achieve in order to make your life, or in this case your business, more satisfying and successful.
I believe the main reason people fail to obtain their goals is because they don’t know how to properly set them. Thus, I’ve given a step by step guide on how to set an effective work at home resolution.
Identify a problem
In order to make a change, you need to know what needs changing. Usually, you can take a look at your business and realize some of the problem areas. However, sometimes you’re too close and may need someone else like a business coach or even an unbiased friend to look at things and point out areas of improvement.
This year, find one thing about your work at home business you feel making a change could improve. Understand however, you don’t need to change things just because. Your work at home resolution may be to keep things running as they are. If you already have success then the goal is to maintain it.
When identifying what you need to change, include a realistic time line.
For example, if you want to increase traffic give yourself a date in which you will measure the growth. So your goal would then be. I want to increase my traffic to {website name} by 18% by March 14. Check back on that date to see how you are doing.
Here are some common changes home business owners want to make.
a) Improve navigation of website
b) Dedicate more efforts to a traffic building method
c) Increase level of knowledge in niche industry
d) Boost self esteem and self confidence
Be sure you only choose one thing to change. Giving yourself more than one thing to focus one can set yourself up for failure. It’s better to just have one thing you can focus and dedicate time to.
State your why
After you have identified something specific about your work at home business you want to change, write why you want to make that change. Your why is your motivator as well as your benefit. When you give a real purpose to your New Year resolution you increase your chances of success. You now have a personal reason for achieving it.
Examples,
I want to rewrite my sales page by next month, so I can attract more work at home mom since they are my true target market.
I want to continue writing 3 articles each day, so I can maintain my increasing traffic level and subsequently my profit margin.
I want to redesign my website by April, so I can create easier navigation that will encourage users to remain on the site longer.
Create your steps
It’s not enough to know what you want and why, but also how. Your how are the specific steps you plan taking to achieve your goals. They should be personalized and clearly defined. Here are tips for creating your ‘how’.
a) Locate one of your talents and apply it to your goal. We all can do something well and even if you don’t realize it, your talent can be applied to any goal. If you are good at analyzing and you want to increase your profit level. Then you can use your skill to carefully track ad results. Your natural ability to analyze will help you see what is and isn’t working.
b)Always make your steps realistic. Don’t give yourself too much to do. If you’re too hard on yourself you’ll give up too soon. Create steps that work with your lifestyle and personality. This way you can maintain it until you reach your goal.
c) Make use of resources. Getting advice and information on achieving your work at home resolution will help you avoid mistakes and get you to your goal faster. To do this, find someone who has achieved the same goal you are working towards now. If you want to boost traffic, then talk to someone who has done this in the past little while. Also, read recent books and web content on the topic. You don’t have to take all the advice but even being made aware of one or two things can greatly improve your chances of success.
At this point you should have a specific goal with steps you can follow but how do you stay with?
Most of us do great in the beginning. We’re enthusiastic and focused. However as time goes on we see ourselves getting bored, tired, and lazy. To be sure you stick to your goal even when you feel yourself slipping consider the following
a) Forget instant gratification. No goal worth achieving will be obtained quickly. It may take a couple weeks, months, or even until the end of the year before you see real results. Be patient and understand this is something you want in order to be more satisfied.
b)Share your goal. Once you have started the steps towards the goal, share it with someone. When we vocalize our goals we reconfirm its importance to us. This works especially well if you tell someone that will hold you to it.
c) Refer back to your why. When you get less motivated, reread your goal especially your why. This can often help to recharge you.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Your work at home success for next year
One a scale from 1 – 10 (10 being the best) how satisfied were you with the way you handled your business operations this year. As we head into a new year, it’s a good idea to see what you managed to attain the prior year.
This helps us realize what skills we are heading into the New Year with and what areas we’re still struggling with. Perhaps you nailed the art of social marketing, but still struggle with copy writing. Or maybe while you managed to get your hands on some great tools you never really put any of them to use ie, buying an ebook and not reading it through to master the techniques.
For some, last year was their year. They either got the ball rolling or managed to maintain a satisfying profit level. For others, it was a stressful time; some may have seen their traffic and sales decrease or they had to close up shop completely.
Whatever happened in that time period, you’re entering another year and you have another chance to make your work at home business successful. If you started out by learning what you’re good at, what niches you want to cut a pie in, and how to properly operate your business, good for you. Next year will most likely be an awesome one. If you struggled, give yourself a pat on the back anyway; you’re still alive to try again.
For me 2009 was not bad. There were some personal setbacks (and those always leak into one’s work life no matter how much you try to block it) but I laid some strong foundations that I can build on in 2010. I’m proud of myself and you should be too, regardless of how your year went.
It’s not easy working from home. If you have done it, you know. The competition is fierce, the constant need to be on top of your game is tiring, and the multiple roles you have to play each day can get confusing. So, simply trying is sometimes enough to merit a reward. But you’re not average and trying isn’t enough. You want to succeed, and if you keep focused, next year will let you do that.
Even if you never make New Year’s resolutions, make one, just one.
Perhaps you want to learn how to article market better, or increase your list of contacts. Maybe you want to get organized and clear up clutter that is slowing down your business, or you want to increase your income by 12%. Whatever it is, pick one thing you need to do in order to be successful next year and seriously focus on it.
Now find one skill you know you have, and make sure you apply it next year. I find so many are so busy looking at what they do wrong they forget to examine what they do right. All of us have a natural talent.
If you come up with ideas easily, put that towards building content for your site or for marketing. If you communicate briefly and effectively, create videos that will send traffic. If you’re good with your hands, start making things to sell. You may need help, but as long as you tap into a least one natural talent you’re more likely to do well in the upcoming year. Because the focus is now on what can you do well, and how you can apply it to something you struggle with.
It’s going to be a great year for a lot of us, I can feel it. We just have to remember what we gained last year and let go of what we lost.
All the best
Adelaide
Monday, December 7, 2009
Work at home: Creating out of season sales
Yesterday, I bought myself a digital camera for Christmas. I don’t usually buy myself a present during the holidays because to be honest, everyone else comes first and then I may manage to scrounge up enough couch change for boxing week, when things are a little cheaper. This year, I was a little kinder to myself and wiser too. Instead of waiting, I started shopping during summer. If I saw something a friend might like I just picked it up; this helped me save a bit for myself to buy myself a nice expensive gift.
It’s great if you’re a site that sells general items, things that people can use all year long. It makes it great for people like me who like to shop earlier, but what if you are a seasonal shop? How do you promote yourself once your season has passed?
Here are three examples and possible ideas
1. Swimsuit website: Suppose you sell swimsuits and other fun-in-the-sun merchandise. You’re loved when April comes around but no one wants to hop on summer site when they have snow falling out their window right?
Wrong. If you own a website that focuses on summer goods, you can still sell a bundle when the weather gets cool, because holiday travelers need your wear. You can spin your promotion to target people who are going to warmer climates for the holidays. Surely, they can’t be caught in last year’s bathing suit. You can also offer great deals and even run contests.
Another target is people who shop out of season. Someone like myself, waits till the season is over to buy, because things are usually cheaper. By targeting your ads to hit us cheapos you can continue to make profits throughout the year.
2. Winter gear: During the winter months, you can drive traffic like crazy, but what happens when the snow melts?
You keep driving traffic. People may not want to think about winter when they are laying in their hammock, but it will return.
By publishing an ezine, to remind people of how to get ready for winter you can keep your traffic from ceasing all together. So let’s say you wrote an ebook on snowboarding tips, you can publish another about how to care for the equipment during summer, best places to store it during out of season months, as well as selling merchandise at great deals.
3. Holiday website: When everybody has Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even Easter on the brain, you’re their go-to site. But just because the holiday ends doesn’t mean your sales have to.
Find the root meaning of the holiday, so for Christmas it’s family. Don’t people celebrate families various times of the year? There are birthdays, anniversaries, and appreciation parties people throw and need stuff for.
If you’re going to pick a seasonal niche, create a strong list by publishing an ezine. This way you have people to send out offers to even when you are not in the lime light. Also, try looking for as many complimenting products and services as possible. So a summer site can include travel affiliate programs, weight loss programs ect. And a holiday site can pair up with event planning and stress reduction sites.
It’s great if you’re a site that sells general items, things that people can use all year long. It makes it great for people like me who like to shop earlier, but what if you are a seasonal shop? How do you promote yourself once your season has passed?
Here are three examples and possible ideas
1. Swimsuit website: Suppose you sell swimsuits and other fun-in-the-sun merchandise. You’re loved when April comes around but no one wants to hop on summer site when they have snow falling out their window right?
Wrong. If you own a website that focuses on summer goods, you can still sell a bundle when the weather gets cool, because holiday travelers need your wear. You can spin your promotion to target people who are going to warmer climates for the holidays. Surely, they can’t be caught in last year’s bathing suit. You can also offer great deals and even run contests.
Another target is people who shop out of season. Someone like myself, waits till the season is over to buy, because things are usually cheaper. By targeting your ads to hit us cheapos you can continue to make profits throughout the year.
2. Winter gear: During the winter months, you can drive traffic like crazy, but what happens when the snow melts?
You keep driving traffic. People may not want to think about winter when they are laying in their hammock, but it will return.
By publishing an ezine, to remind people of how to get ready for winter you can keep your traffic from ceasing all together. So let’s say you wrote an ebook on snowboarding tips, you can publish another about how to care for the equipment during summer, best places to store it during out of season months, as well as selling merchandise at great deals.
3. Holiday website: When everybody has Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even Easter on the brain, you’re their go-to site. But just because the holiday ends doesn’t mean your sales have to.
Find the root meaning of the holiday, so for Christmas it’s family. Don’t people celebrate families various times of the year? There are birthdays, anniversaries, and appreciation parties people throw and need stuff for.
If you’re going to pick a seasonal niche, create a strong list by publishing an ezine. This way you have people to send out offers to even when you are not in the lime light. Also, try looking for as many complimenting products and services as possible. So a summer site can include travel affiliate programs, weight loss programs ect. And a holiday site can pair up with event planning and stress reduction sites.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Can working from home make you fat
There’s no denying that sitting on your butt all day can sabotage anyone’s health regime. But are people who work from home more susceptible to weight gain?
Working from home can have negative and positive effects on your weight.
On a negative note:
1. Too many hours in front of the computer. The average work at home business owner spends about 6 hours in front of the computer working. Those who juggle several clients or deal with admin responsibilities can work for over 12 hours. This doesn’t give you a lot of time to exercise.
However, not all that time is spent working. Net surfing takes up a lot of hours from a person’s day. We easily become absorbed in watching videos, participating on forums and chat sites, and reading blogs or browsing profiles on social network sites. All this contributes to a lack of exercise.
2. Tend to work late. A number of those who work at home have day jobs. They work on building their businesses in the evening, sometimes late in the evening. Not too many people want to come home from an eight hour job, work 3 more hours on a web business and find time to exercise.
3. Food is within easy reach. It’s not a long walk to the kitchen to grab a snack or to make a meal. This can lead to eating more throughout the day. If we all ate well, eating several snacks may not be a big deal but honestly speaking, do you reach for an apple every time you have a snack attack. Even supposed healthy snacks are loaded with sugars. Because food is easily within reach, and many people have poor snack habits, it’s easy for work at homers to put on a little more weight.
4. It is easier to obey all your cravings. Ever been sitting in front of your computer and you see a picture of a great looking dessert? Before you know it, you’re in your car driving to the nearest bakery. It is so much easier to give into cravings. You cannot leave whenever you like at an office job for a coffee run. Many jobs do not let you eat on the job. But without the need for permission, you are more likely to give into the demands of your taste buds.
5. Juggling too many things. Stress causes us to overeat, and eat poorly, and there are many things that can stress you out when you work from home. The biggest problem is being your own boss means wearing a lot of hats, especially if you are on a budget. If you are not organized, you can be susceptible to bad eating habits.
But it’s not all bad there are also positives to working from home
The positive side:
1. Easier to make healthy meals. You’re home. You can make hot, delicious, healthy meals. When you work out of the home you may not have time to make great lunches or even time to eat so you grab whatever is convenient. More times than none it’s something fattening. But making your lunch at home means you can consider ingredients and portions carefully.
2. More convenient to fit exercise into your schedule. If you work at home full time, there really is not an excuse to not exercise. You can step away from your desk when it’s best for you and go for a walk, run swim ect. There are even workouts you can do at your desk. It’s just about finding activities you like to do and fitting them into your schedule.
3. Less lunch dates. Let’s be honest, friends and clients can make you fat. The daily latte runs, the lunch meetings where the only thing being served are too many carbs with a side of oil, and my favorite, when all the coworkers gather at their favorite greasy and fatty joint. Maybe it isn’t that bad, but being around others makes you eat more. You may miss out on the office gossip but your waistline won’t suffer as much.
4. Positive attitude. People who own work at home businesses tend to have a holistic view about life. They treat themselves the way the treat their business. That is they want to make sure they perform just as well. This means taking care of themselves by eating and sleeping well, finding ways to reduce stress and maintaining a positive outlook. I know we all sound like a bunch of happy sappy go getters ;P
Working from home can be either positive or negative on your weight. You choose how you want to be affected.
Adelaide Kwaning
Lose Weight, Quit Smoking, Drop Addictions and Other Bad Habits
Working from home can have negative and positive effects on your weight.
On a negative note:
1. Too many hours in front of the computer. The average work at home business owner spends about 6 hours in front of the computer working. Those who juggle several clients or deal with admin responsibilities can work for over 12 hours. This doesn’t give you a lot of time to exercise.
However, not all that time is spent working. Net surfing takes up a lot of hours from a person’s day. We easily become absorbed in watching videos, participating on forums and chat sites, and reading blogs or browsing profiles on social network sites. All this contributes to a lack of exercise.
2. Tend to work late. A number of those who work at home have day jobs. They work on building their businesses in the evening, sometimes late in the evening. Not too many people want to come home from an eight hour job, work 3 more hours on a web business and find time to exercise.
3. Food is within easy reach. It’s not a long walk to the kitchen to grab a snack or to make a meal. This can lead to eating more throughout the day. If we all ate well, eating several snacks may not be a big deal but honestly speaking, do you reach for an apple every time you have a snack attack. Even supposed healthy snacks are loaded with sugars. Because food is easily within reach, and many people have poor snack habits, it’s easy for work at homers to put on a little more weight.
4. It is easier to obey all your cravings. Ever been sitting in front of your computer and you see a picture of a great looking dessert? Before you know it, you’re in your car driving to the nearest bakery. It is so much easier to give into cravings. You cannot leave whenever you like at an office job for a coffee run. Many jobs do not let you eat on the job. But without the need for permission, you are more likely to give into the demands of your taste buds.
5. Juggling too many things. Stress causes us to overeat, and eat poorly, and there are many things that can stress you out when you work from home. The biggest problem is being your own boss means wearing a lot of hats, especially if you are on a budget. If you are not organized, you can be susceptible to bad eating habits.
But it’s not all bad there are also positives to working from home
The positive side:
1. Easier to make healthy meals. You’re home. You can make hot, delicious, healthy meals. When you work out of the home you may not have time to make great lunches or even time to eat so you grab whatever is convenient. More times than none it’s something fattening. But making your lunch at home means you can consider ingredients and portions carefully.
2. More convenient to fit exercise into your schedule. If you work at home full time, there really is not an excuse to not exercise. You can step away from your desk when it’s best for you and go for a walk, run swim ect. There are even workouts you can do at your desk. It’s just about finding activities you like to do and fitting them into your schedule.
3. Less lunch dates. Let’s be honest, friends and clients can make you fat. The daily latte runs, the lunch meetings where the only thing being served are too many carbs with a side of oil, and my favorite, when all the coworkers gather at their favorite greasy and fatty joint. Maybe it isn’t that bad, but being around others makes you eat more. You may miss out on the office gossip but your waistline won’t suffer as much.
4. Positive attitude. People who own work at home businesses tend to have a holistic view about life. They treat themselves the way the treat their business. That is they want to make sure they perform just as well. This means taking care of themselves by eating and sleeping well, finding ways to reduce stress and maintaining a positive outlook. I know we all sound like a bunch of happy sappy go getters ;P
Working from home can be either positive or negative on your weight. You choose how you want to be affected.
Adelaide Kwaning
Lose Weight, Quit Smoking, Drop Addictions and Other Bad Habits
Friday, November 7, 2008
Emotional benefits of choosing a small focused niche
Virtually every work at home guru, always advices their followers to choose their niche wisely. The common advice is it should be something you enjoy, has profit potential, low to moderate competition and isn’t too large.
Now all this sounds like general common sense from a business standpoint but until you make the unfortunate boo boo of choosing the wrong niche, and then start over in a better one, you can’t appreciate this good advice.
Choosing the right niche puts you the right mental and emotional state. If you choose a niche that is broad and has little interest to you, you will fail. You will be stressed, and as feelings of failure continue to develop, you can seep into depression and give up on your work at home goal entirely. However, if you follow the advice of the gurus and do your research to find a small niche to focus a website around, you increase your success rate by more than half.
Part of the reason why you are more successful is because you are less stressed.
1.You are working within a niche that you already have a strong interest in. This helps you to create content and your marketing campaigns easier. This already gives you an edge over your competition
2.Your mind is focused on one thing; this makes it easier to get tasks done. If you run a site with multiple themes and topics it can be hard to decide what to do next. But when you have one site that offers advice on one thing it makes so much easier to sit down and focus.
3.You know your visitors needs. The number one problem with flea market sites (sites that host too many topics) is they don’t know what their visitors want. They may not even know what types of visitors they’re attracting. Without having the knowledge of your visitor’s wants and needs it is very difficult to prove to them that you are what their are looking for.
This translates to a loss of sales.
But knowing your visitors and what they expect from you is bliss. You know how to design your site, what type of content to provide, in what type of voice. You know what products to offer and in what price range. It’s just great.
There is less guessing when you choose a suitable niche, less stress, and less of an emotional strain. Take the time to do the research; your nerves will thank you.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Pushing through a hard work day
Ever have one of those when you wish you didn’t turn on the computer cause it only reminds you that you have to work. We all have. Working from home doesn’t mean you’re always going to gun ho to work. Without a doubt, you’re going to have an off day. So what do you do when one of those days creeps up on you? Take the day off!
What some people forget is we are not bound by the same 9-5 clock as our offline counter parts. It’s ok if once in awhile you take a day for yourself. In fact it’s encouraged.
A recent study showed that the number one mistake made by new work at home enthusiasts wasn’t working too little it was working too much. Many surveyed admitted to feeling burnt out and overworked. Why? You’re your own boss. There is no one forcing you to be at the office. Most of us don’t have to answer to anyone in particular. If you need time off you can take it, no questions asked.
You can see a movie in the afternoon, sleep in till noon, or punch in at 2am; there is no set time frame.
Why do so many of us work instead of play? One reason lies in dispelling the stereotypes that internet marketers and other web business owners are lazy. It still isn’t considered a real job, thus in order to prove to others that we do in fact have to work for a living we tend to push ourselves over the edge.
Another problem is we have to rely on ourselves first to get things done. Being your own boss means more responsibility. You are now doing the job of at least 10. However, this can easily be solved. There are numerous ways to automate certain aspects of your business, such as setting up an autoresponder for your email campaigns, setting up an automated payment system, and of course outsourcing tasks.
There are dozens of ways to make your work at home business run more efficiently.
Sometimes the best way to push through a hard day is to push it aside. Take the day off and give yourself a chance to do something fun and relax. Don’t worry, your business will still be there when you get back.
What some people forget is we are not bound by the same 9-5 clock as our offline counter parts. It’s ok if once in awhile you take a day for yourself. In fact it’s encouraged.
A recent study showed that the number one mistake made by new work at home enthusiasts wasn’t working too little it was working too much. Many surveyed admitted to feeling burnt out and overworked. Why? You’re your own boss. There is no one forcing you to be at the office. Most of us don’t have to answer to anyone in particular. If you need time off you can take it, no questions asked.
You can see a movie in the afternoon, sleep in till noon, or punch in at 2am; there is no set time frame.
Why do so many of us work instead of play? One reason lies in dispelling the stereotypes that internet marketers and other web business owners are lazy. It still isn’t considered a real job, thus in order to prove to others that we do in fact have to work for a living we tend to push ourselves over the edge.
Another problem is we have to rely on ourselves first to get things done. Being your own boss means more responsibility. You are now doing the job of at least 10. However, this can easily be solved. There are numerous ways to automate certain aspects of your business, such as setting up an autoresponder for your email campaigns, setting up an automated payment system, and of course outsourcing tasks.
There are dozens of ways to make your work at home business run more efficiently.
Sometimes the best way to push through a hard day is to push it aside. Take the day off and give yourself a chance to do something fun and relax. Don’t worry, your business will still be there when you get back.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Great work at home website no visitors
Is there a worse feeling than working hard for nothing? I can’t think of one when it comes to working from home. Perhaps you can relate.
You build your website. You’ve spent hours coming up with a great web design; you created a great sales letter, and your content deserves a gold star, but months later you’re not making any more than before your web launch. Why?
If your website is so good shouldn’t it just be eaten up? This would most likely happen if people knew about it.
I was so naive in the beginning. I thought people would be leaping to my website. As if by some form of magic people would just figure out that a new website is up. There’s no such radar. You have to promote your site. And this is where people fail.
It’s one thing to create a website, it is another to try and convince people they should visit it opposed to your competition.
Believe it or not, most people don’t know what makes them stand apart from the crowd. Creating a unique selling point is one of the difficult things to do for work at home business owners.
You like your business, you think it could be helpful but you aren’t quite sure what makes it special.
Why do people struggle with this? Because 9 times out of 10 people define themselves with their business. Asking them what is special about their business is equivalent to asking them is special about themselves personally. Most people can’t or don’t want to answer this question because most people don’t stop to consider it.
If you can’t think of yourself as something to brag about, it makes it hard to brag about something you’ve done. That includes the blood and sweat that went into putting up your work at home website.
It goes back to that insensible modesty I was discussing earlier. Sure you want people to visit your website but you don’t want to spend hours attracting people.
They figure people will realize how “awesome” it is once they visit. But you have to get them to visit first.
So how do you get over that “I’m not special feeling?”
1. Realize that even if you are operating a business within a competitive niche, no two businesses are alike. You have something unique to offer. You write your articles with your unique voice and your customers are getting a different experience when they visit your site. So just by being you, your business is already individual.
2. Just because you may have personal self esteem issues doesn’t mean your business should suffer. Look at your business objectively. From a customer’s perspective what does your work at home business have to offer? What’s in it for the customer? Try not to bring yourself into it. Just consider your business on its own. Imagine you didn’t own it, would you use the service or buy the product. Having visited other similar websites what makes it stand out from others.
3. Understand that this is DO OR DIE! You don’t really have a choice, you have to get visitors to your website, and thus you need to invest the time into creating marketing campaigns that highlight the benefits of your website.
For shy, modest people coming up with a unique selling point can be difficult. It can be hard to distinguish yourself in a crowd, especially when you personally feel lack luster. But in order to get people to visit that great site you built you have to understand that your business is worthy of the attention.
Get Quality Visitors TODAY!!
http://couchchange.blogspot.com/2008/10/are-you-dangerously-modest-about-your.html
Adelaide Kwaning
You build your website. You’ve spent hours coming up with a great web design; you created a great sales letter, and your content deserves a gold star, but months later you’re not making any more than before your web launch. Why?
If your website is so good shouldn’t it just be eaten up? This would most likely happen if people knew about it.
I was so naive in the beginning. I thought people would be leaping to my website. As if by some form of magic people would just figure out that a new website is up. There’s no such radar. You have to promote your site. And this is where people fail.
It’s one thing to create a website, it is another to try and convince people they should visit it opposed to your competition.
Believe it or not, most people don’t know what makes them stand apart from the crowd. Creating a unique selling point is one of the difficult things to do for work at home business owners.
You like your business, you think it could be helpful but you aren’t quite sure what makes it special.
Why do people struggle with this? Because 9 times out of 10 people define themselves with their business. Asking them what is special about their business is equivalent to asking them is special about themselves personally. Most people can’t or don’t want to answer this question because most people don’t stop to consider it.
If you can’t think of yourself as something to brag about, it makes it hard to brag about something you’ve done. That includes the blood and sweat that went into putting up your work at home website.
It goes back to that insensible modesty I was discussing earlier. Sure you want people to visit your website but you don’t want to spend hours attracting people.
They figure people will realize how “awesome” it is once they visit. But you have to get them to visit first.
So how do you get over that “I’m not special feeling?”
1. Realize that even if you are operating a business within a competitive niche, no two businesses are alike. You have something unique to offer. You write your articles with your unique voice and your customers are getting a different experience when they visit your site. So just by being you, your business is already individual.
2. Just because you may have personal self esteem issues doesn’t mean your business should suffer. Look at your business objectively. From a customer’s perspective what does your work at home business have to offer? What’s in it for the customer? Try not to bring yourself into it. Just consider your business on its own. Imagine you didn’t own it, would you use the service or buy the product. Having visited other similar websites what makes it stand out from others.
3. Understand that this is DO OR DIE! You don’t really have a choice, you have to get visitors to your website, and thus you need to invest the time into creating marketing campaigns that highlight the benefits of your website.
For shy, modest people coming up with a unique selling point can be difficult. It can be hard to distinguish yourself in a crowd, especially when you personally feel lack luster. But in order to get people to visit that great site you built you have to understand that your business is worthy of the attention.
Get Quality Visitors TODAY!!
http://couchchange.blogspot.com/2008/10/are-you-dangerously-modest-about-your.html
Adelaide Kwaning
Friday, October 17, 2008
Best work at home day
My ideal day is—everyday. Everyday I wake up knowing I’m going to have an awesome day. I’m a cheery person as is, so it doesn’t take a lot to make me smile. It does take a bit to impress me though, but that’s another story.
But I’ll admit even chipper me can have moments in my ideal day that aren’t ideal. Days when my work at home business just isn’t going the way I want it to, days when I can’t seem to communicate effectively, moments when it seems like I’m fighting with my business rather than just working. I don’t mean days when the printer is jammed, or all my emails can’t be received, but days when emotionally I feel like asking myself, “why am I working so hard?”
When you work from home you learn really quickly to put others first-- your customers, your clients-- sometimes I’m left asking myself what’s in it for me. What am I getting out of it?
It doesn’t take long to remember, I put up with the jammed printer, the ridiculous deadlines, even the minor butt kissing for my long term happiness. I need to do this. It’s not really a choice for me. I have very few other options. But it’s also a personal challenge.
Each day something less than perfect happens, I have to collect my patience, dive into the problem solver within me and see if I can turn things around. I also learn that sometimes you have to let go, that even in a work at home business you can’t control everything. Sometimes you have to throw in the towel.
Working from home teaches you things about yourself that you would otherwise not have a chance to learn. Sure you’re working, you’re busting your butt for a so called better life but you are also developing yourself personally. You’re cultivating your imagination. It takes of lot of that to get through a day sometimes. You are learning to reach out to people in a genuine manner. Fake doesn’t sell well online. And at the end of the day, even if you haven’t reached your sales goal, you can still pat yourself on the back.
Every day is a good day, or at least I know if I can just get through this one the best day is coming right up.
Adelaide Kwaning
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)