Friday, June 22, 2007
Moving The Blog
We will no longer be posting on the this blog. We will however, be adding business topics and focusing on making our 4 Fab Moms blog the best it can be! So, please continue to visit us at 4 Fab Moms!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Tuesday's Efficiency Tip
Join us for the Tuesday Efficiency Tip! Check back each week for easy ways to make your life and business more efficient!
Emailing
If you're anything like me, you can easily spend hours reading, responding or creating emails. Often times email is my only source of communication to the outside world and therefore, I enjoy it! And while emails may be a vital part to my business and social life, the time consumed on them may not be the most cost efficient. If you struggle with emails as much as I do, it may be wise to do the following.
1. Evaluate just how much time you spend doing email related work.
Track yourself for the day, you may be surprised how much time you spend reading emails. After evaluating, ask yourself, "Is this the best use of my time." If it's not, then cut back.
2. Limit your email time. I will often set a time limit (or even a timer) so that I am fully aware of my schedule and limits. Stick to your time frame so that you will have plenty of time for the other important tasks in your daily life!
3. Schedule when you will read, respond, and create emails. I often times find it easier to read and respond to emails than work on all of the pressing and often times, money making projects. In order not to waste time, I often make a rule that I won't even open my email until my priority jobs are finished. If I don't have the distraction, I don't miss it and usually get my work done a lot faster...leaving plenty of time for emails!
Hopefully these tips will help you become more efficient in your life and business. Until next time!
Emailing
If you're anything like me, you can easily spend hours reading, responding or creating emails. Often times email is my only source of communication to the outside world and therefore, I enjoy it! And while emails may be a vital part to my business and social life, the time consumed on them may not be the most cost efficient. If you struggle with emails as much as I do, it may be wise to do the following.
1. Evaluate just how much time you spend doing email related work.
Track yourself for the day, you may be surprised how much time you spend reading emails. After evaluating, ask yourself, "Is this the best use of my time." If it's not, then cut back.
2. Limit your email time. I will often set a time limit (or even a timer) so that I am fully aware of my schedule and limits. Stick to your time frame so that you will have plenty of time for the other important tasks in your daily life!
3. Schedule when you will read, respond, and create emails. I often times find it easier to read and respond to emails than work on all of the pressing and often times, money making projects. In order not to waste time, I often make a rule that I won't even open my email until my priority jobs are finished. If I don't have the distraction, I don't miss it and usually get my work done a lot faster...leaving plenty of time for emails!
Hopefully these tips will help you become more efficient in your life and business. Until next time!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Exciting Times!
Lately I feel like I am going back to school and I am learning a foreign language. The internet isn't new to me, but learning the lingo and how to utilize ALL of the great knowledge is something new! It's very exciting, though, at the same time. I am finally learning something that I am excited to teach others and that will ultimately make us money. I feel so empowered by all of my knowledge.
I am very proud of what the our Smart Moms teams has accomplished. We are on the verge of launching our new site together with a fabulous Health and Wellness eBook and we aren't stopping there. Our minds are swimming with new ideas. All we need is time and energy!!
Why not join us and learn together? We are here to help!! http://www.smartmoms~finishrich.com/. Receive our FREE Work At Home Solutions Report just for visiting!
I am very proud of what the our Smart Moms teams has accomplished. We are on the verge of launching our new site together with a fabulous Health and Wellness eBook and we aren't stopping there. Our minds are swimming with new ideas. All we need is time and energy!!
Why not join us and learn together? We are here to help!! http://www.smartmoms~finishrich.com/. Receive our FREE Work At Home Solutions Report just for visiting!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Only Fools Rush In
I asked my husband to share some of his wisdom about jumping into business with people. Here is what he emailed me. I hope you find it useful.
Partnerships are like marriages. They can be extremely rewarding--both financially and personally. They can also be an extrodinary source of misery--both financially and personally. Also like a marriage, it's generally much easier to jump in than to "jump" out. Time and money spent at the front end, discussing some important things with a legal advisor can make all the difference in making a good relationship better, and preventing train wrecks before they happen. Here are some things to do BEFORE going into business with someone:
1. Get a credit report and a financial statement and possibly even a background check--even if the potential partner is someone you know socially. The more you plan on investing in this joint venture (in time or money), the more important this becomes. Credit reports give a running history of a person's actions with money and monetary promises. Does your prospective partner have a trail of broken financial promises? This is extremely important to know before you're in business with someone. I've had 2 clients just in the past year that lost about a half of a million dollars each because they failed to do this very thing with people they knew socially.
2. Get a lawyer to help you structure the legal agreement between the partners. Just like a marriage counselor would strongly recommend that certain topics be discussed before saying "I do", an experienced lawyer will have lots of wisdom about the kinds of things that should be nailed down in writing before there's a lot more at stake. If you're already in business and haven't gotten the following things resolved in writing, get your partner(s) and yourself to an attorney to get them taken care of a.s.a.p.
3. Get certain aspects of the relationship in writing. Here are just a few things that are too important in a business relationship to leave undiscussed or unwritten, and with the help of attorney:
- What are each of us going to put into the business & when (money, time, certain tasks)?
- When and how is money going to come out of the business? Are there any salaries or is one or some or all of us waiting on profits, which could take days, months, or years?
- Who makes what decisions? Which ones are yours? Mine? Ours?
- How do I get out if I want out? (You can have an agreement that will create a predetermined and mutually fair way for one partner to be bought out.)
The bottom line is getting a prospective partner's financial history and, if that part is acceptable, getting everyone's expectations for money, time, control and exit strategies on the table and in writing. If you do that, you'll keep lots of avoidable problems from killing your business once its underway. Getting a good CPA involved from the beginning who will keep all the partners informed about the state of the business is also very helpful. Partnerships can be a great thing, but only fools rush in.
T. N. Freeman II - Law Offices
Tel:
Fax:
Smart Moms Need Patience!
On days like today, when I feel like (and have been) in front of a computer all day, I have to remember the payment is in the long run. It is not easy to get websites up- proof read- with buttons and links working and in place. It is especially not easy when the computer is acting crazy, the kids are running around, and you have company coming over for dinner the following night. I remind myself, someday, this will not be the case!
The websites will be working on automatic pilot. The kids will still be running around. And I will have someone that helps me clean the house!
Working at home is about patience and time management (I think there is a post here someo where on that- I need to re-read!). And a few days of longer hours will pay off in the end!
The websites will be working on automatic pilot. The kids will still be running around. And I will have someone that helps me clean the house!
Working at home is about patience and time management (I think there is a post here someo where on that- I need to re-read!). And a few days of longer hours will pay off in the end!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Tuesday's Efficiency Tip
Join us as we explore ways to make our lives and business more efficient. Every Tuesday we will share a new tip, so be sure to check back!!
Business Notebook
If you're anything like me, you write names, phone numbers, dates and other important information on little pieces of paper that can be found all over the house! It's great to jot things down, but if you can't find them, well...!
In my former career, real estate, I quickly learned that I had to have my notes, phone numbers and daily "to-do" list in one place. I purchased a medium size spiral notebook and recorded everything in that book. Whether it was jotting down a message (with phone number), making a "note to self" or listing my daily chores, I made sure it was all in one place. The great thing about doing this was that I always had records of names and phones numbers and would often flip through my pages to find a number that I really needed.
I have carried this tradition into my home based business and really benefit from it. I have a small notebook that sits at my desk where I record everything from phone numbers, ID and passwords to my daily "to-do" list. I have found that I no longer have tons of sticky notes or individual pieces of paper floating around. It has really simplified my life and made it more efficient!
I also have a mini notebook in my car. It is really helpful for jotting down phone numbers or even writing down business ideas when they pop into my head. Of course after reading Kim's post about Driving Mistakes, you might want to consider pulling over before writing!!
Make it a point to purchase a notebook and see how convenient and efficient it is to keep everything in one place! Until next time!
Business Notebook
If you're anything like me, you write names, phone numbers, dates and other important information on little pieces of paper that can be found all over the house! It's great to jot things down, but if you can't find them, well...!
In my former career, real estate, I quickly learned that I had to have my notes, phone numbers and daily "to-do" list in one place. I purchased a medium size spiral notebook and recorded everything in that book. Whether it was jotting down a message (with phone number), making a "note to self" or listing my daily chores, I made sure it was all in one place. The great thing about doing this was that I always had records of names and phones numbers and would often flip through my pages to find a number that I really needed.
I have carried this tradition into my home based business and really benefit from it. I have a small notebook that sits at my desk where I record everything from phone numbers, ID and passwords to my daily "to-do" list. I have found that I no longer have tons of sticky notes or individual pieces of paper floating around. It has really simplified my life and made it more efficient!
I also have a mini notebook in my car. It is really helpful for jotting down phone numbers or even writing down business ideas when they pop into my head. Of course after reading Kim's post about Driving Mistakes, you might want to consider pulling over before writing!!
Make it a point to purchase a notebook and see how convenient and efficient it is to keep everything in one place! Until next time!
Monday, June 11, 2007
The Truth is In the Traffic
We are on a few different forums for work at home moms and there are often questions on how to increase sales. They have a great website and great products, but they don't know why no one is buying. The number one reason is probably traffic. If you do not have enough visitors, you cannot get enough people to even look to buy. If you think of it in the offline world, you have to get customers to get buyers. I doubt there is a store that has a 100% conversion rate. People come to browse, just like they do on a website. Not every browser will buy, they may just window shop. If you don't have the traffic, you cannot get the buyers. Window shoppers (hits) are great because the more you have, the more likely you are to get the buyer.
A great blog post I just read on this was from Stanley Tang's Internet Marketing Blog (which I found through a WAH Blog from Smart Mom Lisa). Stanley also offers a free course in traffic marketing. I just got my first email, so I will let you know if it is worth the time!
One thing to consider when you are building an internet business is building your website. You need the SEO, the keywords, the content... if you are unsure about any of those concepts, a great web hosting service is SBI- they walk you through the whole process and make sure you build it right- if you are looking for a great service, this one is tops. The amount of information you receive for your annual fee is well worth it! If you want to see some work at home mom testimonials, check out this section of SBI.
A great blog post I just read on this was from Stanley Tang's Internet Marketing Blog (which I found through a WAH Blog from Smart Mom Lisa). Stanley also offers a free course in traffic marketing. I just got my first email, so I will let you know if it is worth the time!
One thing to consider when you are building an internet business is building your website. You need the SEO, the keywords, the content... if you are unsure about any of those concepts, a great web hosting service is SBI- they walk you through the whole process and make sure you build it right- if you are looking for a great service, this one is tops. The amount of information you receive for your annual fee is well worth it! If you want to see some work at home mom testimonials, check out this section of SBI.
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