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Online Learning in Business – Home Business Training

It is Thirsty for Knowledge Thursday here at The Work at Home Wife, so I wanted to introduce you to an online learning center that offers home business training.

When starting a home or online business, there may be skills that you need to acquire in order to be successful. Maybe you need to brush up on your accounting skills for tracking your income and expenses. You might need to learn Excel or PowerPoint. It could be that you want to start a business in an industry you have never worked in before.

Universal Class has numerous courses available in Home Business and Entrepreneurship. Whether you want to learn Word or are looking to start an Event Planning, Dog Walking, Concierge, or Freelance Writing business, there is something here for all of us.

Their courses run in the $50 – $85 price range, which is a small drop in the bucket for online learning. Most courses take 10 to 20 hours to complete and you are given 6 months to complete any course. You can extend that timeline if needed, though most people can get through them within 30 days. Most require no textbooks, although they do give you a list of additional reading materials you can purchase if you would like.

Universal Class offers self-paced learning, which is always a plus. One big difference is that these are instructor-led courses. You can submit questions or concerns to your instructor. There are also assignments and exams throughout, keeping you on-course and making sure you understand the material.

This is not an accredited school, so you will not earn any college credits. However, that is one of the reasons prices are able to be kept to a minimum. There is no tuition expense involved.

Universal Class is a great investment in for your home business and for yourself. The more educated you are in your industry, the more motivated and confident you become.


Professional Organizer, Renee Weatherford – Guest Post

There are hundreds of industry choices available when deciding to start a home business. As becoming a Virtual Assistant and Affiliate Marketer are the two industries I am versed in, I have decided to invite a couple of my new blog friends to talk about their business and their motivation to start them.

Our first guest blogger is Renee, a Professional Organizer. I do hope some of you are inspired by her story.

I will never forget the day that I decided to work for myself.  It was a rainy, blustery evening and I had been feeling unappreciated at my current job.  The week had been one filled with small “fires” that everyone wanted me to put out, and I was so tired of giving so much of myself.

I popped in the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun” and settled in with my husband.  Assuming it was just another chick flick, he quickly dozed off to sleep, but something inside of me was awakened for the very first time.  There was just something about that woman’s adventure that sparked some crazy match within.  I sat up and took note of how I was feeling and where I wanted to be.  To make a very long story short, within a few months, I had single-handedly found a replacement for my job and ventured into the unknown.

I did not start out to become a Professional Organizer right away.  They always say that successful entrepreneurs try many things before they find their true niche.  In my case, they were right – I actually started out with my own little brick and mortar boutique, which was exciting and invigorating.  I had never sold retail before, or even used a cash-register, so designing a store from the ground up was a dream come true.   I would have to say that running my own business was an amazing experience, but the set-up was my favorite part.  Finding my product & vendors, picking paint and patterns for the layout, and designing a window display were all extremely rewarding.

But there is another element to this process that is its own subject – the organizational side; putting together the Point of Sale, web mastering, developing ecommerce, bookkeeping and fashioning an efficient filing system.    I found this element to be my true passion and along with it came the deep desire to be extremely organized.  The paperwork, the files, the schedules, and time management.  Suddenly I realized that I was truly an expert in making it all work…  a well-oiled machine as I liked to call it.

I eventually transitioned into my current line of work, which is helping others set up their new businesses.  I also organize people’s homes, teach workshops on time management and do virtual organizing via eMail and video.  Reflecting back to all the times friends, family & coworkers had sought my advice on how I managed to keep my work so balanced or my home so organized, I can now look back and clearly see that path which led me to where I am today.  It is my purpose, and anyone who works within their true calling in life can tell you that it is the most wonderful thing they have ever experienced.

Working for myself brings so much confidence.  It brings substance and knowledge into my life that had never before existed.  There are a few drawbacks to working for myself – it takes discipline, and I mean lots of discipline!  Loving what I do tends to make me work over 12 hours a day, so I have to be very careful to structure my schedule.  I have to calendar in every detail of my job so that I am able to close the loop with my client and my bookkeeping, which demands a large portion of my time.  And since I teach life-balance to my clients, I have to really practice what I preach by not neglecting the other aspects in my own life.

If you are at that pivotal crossroads where you are dreaming of becoming your own boss, I challenge you to explore your passions and discover how you can make a living at doing what you love.  By taking that leap of faith, you may just find that your most amazing career has been waiting patiently inside you all along.

Renee Weatherford is the CEO and Professional Organizer for Renew Your Space. She also shares weekly tips on her blog at ReneW.

Free Marketing Ideas

Networking for Your Online Business

One of the best ways to market your online business is through networking. For some people, like me, it can also be the hardest. I have no problem with online networking through forums and social media but have someone ask me face-to-face what I do and I go blank. I am finally getting the knack of it, but it has taken me a long time. I can promote the heck out of everybody else and tell you what they do and how great they are, but I have serious self-esteem issues when it comes to talking about me.

Offline networking can do great things for your business, so it is best to be prepared. Having an elevator speech in your arsenal will make it a lot easier to talk about what you do and how you can benefit others.

An elevator speech is simply a quick intro about yourself and your business in less time than it takes to make a quick trip in an elevator. If you have a website or blog, chances are you have a tagline at the top giving your visitors a little insight into your purpose. This is a great place to start. Now, elaborate on that until you get to about 150-160 words. This keeps it short and to the point.

Play around with a couple versions until you find one that feels comfortable and is easy to remember. Leave out the tech talk and go straight to the guts of what you do. You don’t want to leave them confused. Once you get it down, practice. You remember speech class and talking into the mirror. It is a good time to recall that method. Recite it to your spouse, your kids, your friends, whatever it takes to make it second nature.

If you are having trouble perfecting your elevator speech, visit http://www.15secondpitch.com/new/. They have a free tool that will ask you a few questions about yourself and your business and generate a pitch based on your response.

Offline Marketing

networkingRegardless of your online business, there may be results to be seen from offline marketing. If you have a service-based business, like web design, or a product-based business, like direct sales or an etsy shop, you are going to run into people on a regular basis that could benefit from your business. This is why it is imperative to have on hand some marketing materials at all times.

When I first started my Virtual Assistant business, everyone wanted to know what in the world I was doing at home. I tried to explain in the “virtual” terms I use on a daily basis only to be met with a deer in the headlights look. So, I would hand them a business card and later they would visit my website and it would finally click. If I didn’t have those business cards, and just rambled off my website, chances are they would forget. A business card gives them a little reminder to find out more.

And don’t be stingy. Instead of giving them one business card, give them a couple. When they talk about you in their own conversations, they will be able to pass along your card to another interested party. Give a handful to your spouse, your mom, your best friend. They are proud of what you do. Don’t miss out on their free publicity.

I have been getting my marketing materials from VistaPrint for several years. Even before I was a VA, I used them for business cards for a couple direct sales businesses I was a consultant for. They have high quality products and I have never had any issues. They also have hundreds of designs available that fit any industry. VistaPrint is also very inexpensive. If you are ordering marketing materials one at a time (business cards this time, postcards next time), you are most likely only going to be paying a few dollars for shipping as they always have specials giving you the actual product for free.

Invest a couple of dollars into your business or blog today by getting those business cards ordered from VistaPrint. Then start talking to others about what you do and drop those cards everywhere. You never know where your next client or customer will come from. By giving them a little reminder, you will be sure not to miss them.

Forum Marketing Secret

I am sure a lot of us use forum signatures as a way to market our online business or blog. I wanted to share a little forum marketing secret that you may not be aware of, but may be having a big impact on your online reputation.

Forums can be a great way to showcase yourself as an expert in your niche, make new online alliances and find out the latest tips and tricks of the trade. Forums do on occasion however, have the tendency to get a little heated. Many people see everyone as competition and are quick to belittle a response or start an argument about what method/product/service is best. No matter how hard it is to walk away, it is imperative that we do that. Here is why.

If you are using a forum signature to promote your website or blog and that forum is visible to search engines, if someone Googles your site those posts are likely to show up in their results. If you are being negative, gossiping about others or badmouthing someone else’s advice that is not the online reputation you want to have.

Next time you feel things getting heated, or someone tells everyone you are wrong, walk away. Don’t participate. Let those kind words of advice be the last words you left in that thread. What someone else says negatively about your advice is going to impact their reputation more than it will impact yours. Be the bigger person and find another forum to share on for the day.

Top Internet Affiliate Programs

Last week I received a few comments asking for more information about making money with a blog. Since I am here to please the readers, if you ask you shall receive. There are numerous ways to make money from your blog, this post will cover primarily the top internet affiliate programs.

I am not going to cover AdSense. Many of you are probably already aware of it. I will cover some affiliate and review programs, as these can bring great results when done correctly. High affiliate returns are going to come from including your affiliate link in actual content. You may get a few clicks by including an affiliate banner, but your reader may go searching for another blogger who tells them about the product or service and consequently buy through their affiliate link. Use your blog to close the sale.

Here are a few of the top internet affiliate programs and ways to monetize that I use:

  1. Commission Junction – Think big name online merchants. They have programs for everything from online services, clothing, gifts, etc. Commission will vary by merchant. They pay monthly with a $50 minimum.
  2. ClickBank – ClickBank has thousands of information products, ebooks, etc. Commission will vary by product. You can set your payment threshold as low as $2.50.
  3. Amazon Affiliates – Amazon sells everything these days. Regardless of your niche, you are likely to find products to promote through Amazon Affiliates. Commission starts at 4% and Amazon pays monthly with a $10 threshold for direct deposit.
  4. ShareASale has several merchants available in the Pay-Per-Sale, Pay-Per-Click and Pay-Per-Lead areas. Commissions will vary. They pay once per month with a $50 minimum.
  5. Google Affiliate Network - Google offers affiliate programs for a number of online merchants. Payment threshold is $100.
  6. MySavings Media – Offers affiliate programs related to coupons, freebies, savings and samples. Minimum payment amount is $100.
  7. Logical Media - Another savings-related CPA network. The minimum payment is $100.
  8. Escalate Media – Another budget-conscious CPA network. This one pays by PayPal with only a $25 minimum.
  9. VigLink - No time to hunt down affiliate programs? Can’t get accepted to those you need? No problem. VigLink has affiliation with over 12,500 online merchants. Their program takes care of affiliating your links. You get paid. No minimum payment. Payments are made via PayPal. I love this program!
  10. Look at the products and services you use and that could be a benefit to your readers. Go to their website and see if they have an affiliate program. If you don’t see one, Google “??? affiliate program.”

Sign up for several and start placing a few affiliate links in your content. Don’t go overboard. You don’t want to turn your loyal readers off by all of the sudden turning into a nonstop blogging salesman. Be honest in your reviews and make sure you have a disclosure on your blog. The above list is a great way to start earning a passive income online.

Looking for more ways to monetize or more affiliate networks? Check out my How to Make Money Blogging Guide.

Twitter Tips and Tricks

Twitter can be a very powerful marketing tool for your online business. Twitter makes it so easy for users to spread information virally that learning to use it to its full potential is imperative. I struggled with it for months trying to get the most out it and here are some twitter tips and tricks that hopefully you can use too.

1. HootSuite is my favorite twitter management tool of the moment. If you have multiple twitter accounts and facebook fan pages, HootSuite is the way to go. I used TweetDeck for a long time and was always having problems of some sort. The biggest problem was I wasn’t getting all my @mentions and retweets fed through. I was missing a lot of conversation and thanking opportunities. Also, TweetDeck does not yet have the fan page option. Fan pages are a big part of my marketing and I need to be able to see what is going on over there without having to log into facebook, go through all the clicking, etc. HootSuite will feed your fan pages in addition to your twitter accounts.

2. As mentioned with HootSuite, it is imperative that you pay attention to who is retweeting your posts and who is mentioning you. People are more likely to keep promoting your material if they know you are listening and appreciate them taking the time to spread your material through the online world. If they respond to a post, ask a question, or retweet be sure to thank them or answer their question accordingly. This is a great way to build a new online friendship.

3. If you use Yahoo Messenger, you may have an entirely different group of potential readers/customers over there. Yahoo Messenger now has the option to feed your twitter posts through your Yahoo Messenger status updates. Take advantage of the free pub opportunity.

4. Don’t use twitter to strictly promote your own materials. It is called “social marketing” for a reason. If you come across a good post or product from someone you are following, retweet it. Let people know you are there to be part of a community, not just there for yourself. Online karma, you know I am a huge fan. :)

Twitter is such a great tool and it is free. Yay for free! Take advantage of the opportunity. Use it to promote yourself and others.

Do you have a great twitter tip or trick? Feel free to share!

P.S. While we are talking about social networking, head on over to Lady Bloggers. This is a great new social community for bloggers that I have found. The Ladies have some very unique and informative blogs and you will be seeing a few guest posts coming up from a couple of the new friends I have met. See ya there!

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