Don't Quit

Running and screaming children is a norm for every parents. As WAHM, this will get tougher. You will be in the middle of trying to get the little one dress up for school when the customer called up. You need to meet deadlines in a messy house. I am sure these sounds familiar. The big questions is "How are you doing to keep yourself sane in the crazy environment?" Well, you don't have to. You are already crazy but you are not alone.

There is no guideline on how to be a better WAHM because you are already the best. I can feel that sometimes you tend to break down not knowing what to do. Hang in there ok? I am quoting a little poem that teaches us not to give up no matter what our circumstances is.

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit...
Success is failure turned inside out.
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems to far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit.
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!

Author Unknown

p/s: Do share your story about the time you are almost give up with us.

Twitter: A Viral Marketing Tool

Twitter tweety, it the the tool for you? Well, whether you like it or not, the question posed by Twitter " What are you doing?" has become almost popular as AOL's  “You’ve got mail.” So what is twitter and how can you use it to make people hear you?

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

Many people use this for fun to meet new people, some use Twitter to get traffic to their blogs or websites and some use Twitter to gain more knowledge from well known experts in a certain field. Here are some Twitter tips that I implement that brings me new followers and customers every day.

1. Post Some Interesting Things that you can offer to your follower - people are interested in how you can help them or what they can learn from you.

2. Target your market by searching for your niche area - find and follow people of interest where you can grow your  niche market.
3. Join Professional Social Networking Sites - find the Twitter groups and write a about your services. People that are interested will follow you.
4. Post a question with a poll - of course your poll will be on your website or blog but announce on Twitter that you have a poll.
5. Ask for help or direction in an area where you need clarification - people love to share their experience and knowledge to help others.
6. Don't just post tweets, get involved with conversations - it may seem awkward at times but join in and respond to tweets. The more involved you are, the more friends that you will establish.
7. Sign up for TweetLater for automation 
8. Post your Twitter link in your social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook (has an application that automatically shows all of your Twitter updates) etc.
9. Search for a big name/successful person in your niche market - go to their followers list and start following them. Most of these people can be potential customers that are looking for more information.
10. Fun fun fun With Twitter

Lastly follow me in Twitter http://twitter.com/prowahm to get more tips about building your home business.

Technorati Tags: Twitter,Social Networking

How To Get More Sales With Less Effort

As a business owner, sales results is one of the most important parameter to determine a business's success. Thus you need to have a positive mindset. Negative statements like "That won't work", " We can't achieve that" shut down the creative part of the brain. This is seen as a way out of the fear of selling.

You need to be a risk taker with courage to overcome the fear for success. To get massive results, always "Think outside the square". Be creative and ask yourself positive questions:

1) What is the target you would like to achieve?

2) What could you do if you want to double up the business revenue?

3) What are the strategies (don't worry about being outrages)?

4) What are the obstacles that you need to overcome?

5) How can you determine if the idea would work?

6) Is there any assistance you need to achieve the goal?

Understanding your customer need is crucial as well. You need to know what your customer are looking for and what you can do to fulfill customer's need are essentials. Do a customer satisfaction survey to understand what they thought about your competitor, pricing and product relevancy.

Always remember that your limitations are based on your current thinking. Use your creativity to grow your business and always remember that no idea is a bad idea.

Technorati Tags: Marketing,Creative

It's in the Network

Source: Entrepreneur.com

You probably found out as soon as you had children that a secret society of moms exists, eager to share insider tips on motherhood. Thankfully, that network is just as present when it comes to mompreneurs helping other moms start businesses. From sharing marketing ideas and advice, to seeking other stay-at-home moms to work in your business, to sharing war stories about balancing work life and home life, women are supporting women all over.

The network is vast--and there's something for everyone. "One of the things that makes mom entrepreneurs different [from other entrepreneurs] is that they're already there--they understand what it's like to be a mom who's trying to start a business," says Shannon Cherry, founder of Mommy-Inc.com, a mom business blog. "You have your children and your other baby--your business. They understand that and how hard it can be to balance."

Finding the right network for you may take some time. There are mom business groups, direct-sales networks, stay-at-home mom (SAHM) or work-at-home mom (WAHM) groups, and even ones that share social or religious values as part of their businesses. The point, says Cherry, is to find the specific networks that fit your particular needs. Also consider groups where you are one of the only members in your industry, so you can seek not only mentoring and advice, but also referrals and customers.

After finding a network of supporters online, Heather Ledeboer, 28, founded Mom4Life.com, an online retailer for baby products. This Redlands, California, mother of two started her e-tailing business in 2003 after she went searching online for specialty mom-centric products and found there wasn't a whole lot to choose from. She decided to create a one-stop shop for items such as baby slings and nursing accessories. Not only did she find a community of mom customers, but her late-night forays onto the internet (after the kids were asleep) also brought her to a network of mom entrepreneurs who were often online at the same time. "It created an open arena for us to instant message, call or e-mail each other," says Ledeboer, who sought advice about finding employees, building a website and advertising. "[It was] basically a brainstorming session anytime it was needed."

Some of the networks Ledeboer looks to for mompreneur support are www.hotmomsclub.com, www.momstown.com and www.startupprincess.com. You may want to check out these other sites as well: www.clubmomcom, www.mompreneursonline.com, www.momtrepreneurs.com and Wild Women Entrepreneurs.

Ledeboer, who has built her company to annual sales of more than $600,000, notes that one of the best things about mompreneur support networks is the feeling that you're not alone. "Find people who can support and encourage you and be your cheerleaders, so that when you're feeling discouraged you can go to them," she says. "Find a resource of other moms in business that you can network and share ideas with. It's amazing how, once you get started, you start inspiring others, too."

Technorati Tags: Mompreneur,Networking

How Hard Times Can Drive Innovation

The Wall Street Journal:

Sure, the economy's bad. But it's a good time to innovate, according to Clayton M. Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor who focuses on innovation.

Prof. Christensen, tell us a little bit about what you think the effects of the financial crisis and economic downturn will be on the environment for innovation.

I think it will have an unmitigated positive effect on innovation.

That's counterintuitive.

Well, it will force innovators to not waste nearly so much money.

One of the banes of successful innovation is that companies may be so committed to innovation that they will give the innovators a lot of money to spend. And, statistically, 93% of all innovations that ultimately become successful started off in the wrong direction; the probability that you'll get it right the first time out of the gate is very low.

So, if you give people a lot of money, it gives them the privilege of pursuing the wrong strategy for a very long time. In an environment where you've got to push innovations out the door fast and keep the cost of innovation low, the probability that you'll be successful is actually much higher.

In other words, what you're saying is that prosperity tends to insulate innovators from market realities and allow them to pursue their vision -- a vision which is probably wrong, statistically speaking.

That's a perfect summary of how I think the world works. The breakthrough innovations come when the tension is greatest and the resources are most limited. That's when people are actually a lot more open to rethinking the fundamental way they do business.

How long will it take for that to take effect? Do you think we will see the fruits from the current lean period, say, five years from now, or three years from now?

Five years from now, we'll see some home runs have emerged. But I bet even two years from now, you'll see a difference.

I'm sure many people will be glad to hear that in this environment. There must be, though, cases where concerns about the market cause companies to abandon their plans for new products or really retrench. Or do you see that happening less these days as companies realize the importance of keeping up with changing markets?

In the next two years, I think the answer will hinge quite a bit on the role that hedge funds play in driving stock prices. By now, 95% of all trades on the stock exchange are executed by hedge funds, mutual funds or pension funds that you could not call shareholders. They're share owners, but they don't even hold the shares long enough, on average, to vote the proxy. And long-term shareholders are always better for innovation than the short-term people are.

So we might see innovation more from private companies?

Absolutely right. And there's another business model toward which more and more companies need to move. It's a business model you see with Li & Fung in Hong Kong, Tata Sons in India, and Cox Enterprises in Atlanta. In this model, the holding company is privately held, and then certain of the subsidiary companies that have the right characteristics take their shares public on the market.

What that allows those companies to do is, when they have a disruptive innovation that they need to launch, they can just do it under the private umbrella of the holding company, and not have it reduce the near-term performance of the publicly held subsidiaries.

Technorati Tags: Innovation,Economy

Unleashed Your Writing Skills

Have you ever wonder how you can maximized your blog content? If you are writing a business material, what is the strategy to ensure a winning proposal? Think about these two questions and see what you come up with.

In both situation, you need to put your fingers to the keyboard and get your creativity flowing in. Without it, you will be stuck with a blank screen. Just imagine how much time you can save or the amount of money you can earn if you are able to write without hitting the brick wall.

When I just started,  I am never a writer. I don't have any idea of words that you will help you sell, tools that will get you on top of the search engine. Today, I am earning decently from my online business. Much of writing is thinking and much of thinking plus practical makes you a success.

If you have fear in writing, below are tips on getting started:

1) Find a suitable place to squeeze your brain. Some people prefer noise while others prefer Mozart. Whatever it is, make it a place to your ease.

2) Are you clear of what you want to write or sell? Do this before thinking about monetizing your product. Talk to friends or family and map our your idea. Put it into a draft.

3) Write as if you are speaking to a friend. Don't worry too much about including big words. Focus more on selling words and phrases.

4) Always revise your draft and get a friend to comment about it. Be open towards constructive feedback.

5) Don't be too hard on yourself. Always remember that writing is an enjoying process to pen down your thoughts and the first step towards your success.

To help you up further, you can go through basic copywriting course. Copywriting course is not just for a copywriter but rather it is a tool that cover all aspect of your business from offline to online marketing. Take a peek here and Happy Writing.

Technorati Tags: Copywriting,Blog,Business opportunity

WAHM Network

Welcome back to ProWAHM. After being down with series of sickness, I am fully up and running with new features in ProWAHM. If you can see, new year always brings new beginning. In previous blogs, I have posted series of information about starting up, telecommuter and entrepreneurship.

In 2009, with the current economy situation, I am sure more stay-at-home-mom will want to monetize their home earning. I DO! For that to provide further help and support to WAHM, I have make a weekly schedule for my posting so that you can keep track of it easily.

Monday: Telecommuter guide and job update

Wednesday: WAHM Support and Network

Friday: WAHM - Features

You must be wondering how I come out with this list. As I mentioned before, WAHM is more than just a mompreneur  or telecommuter. WAHM covers from work to home life and it is always challenging to find a balance point between the two of them. Thus ProWAHM will provide all the support that you need either as telecommuter or entrepreneur.

During my path as WAHM, people connection is very crucial. Here, I would like to connect all WAHM and provide marketing as well as business support to as many WAHM as possible.

Do subscribe to my RSS and let's get connected for your success!

Technorati Tags: ProWAHM,Monetize,Marketing

Merry Christmas

For most people Christmas means holiday but for WAHM, you will be either sweating yourself in the kitchen for Christmas dinner or doing a last minute cleaning in the house.

No matter what, do remember to take a little break before you tear body apart.

Celebrate your holidays to the fullest because there will be a long way to go for you next year. Remember that nothing can replace the valuable time you spend with your family and you deserve a break on this meaningful day.

Merry Christmas and hope you have a great holiday ahead.

Technorati Tags: Holiday,WAHM

2009: New Year Resolution

Another 2 more weeks to a brand New Year. Are you excited? Or you are thinking how little you have done in 2008?

You are not alone. New year is always a great time to take stock of our results during the year. Reflecting our past and taking lessons of our experience is a powerful way to make sure we don't make the same mistakes.

Always remember that every challenge you have is a learning curve. You are not a failure when you don't achieve the results. Famous quote from Thomas Edison, "I didn't fail a thousand times. I learned a thousand ways that didn't work"

As a WAHM, I will always categorized my goals in two. The first one will be related to work and the second, of course will be related to work. What are WAHM for right?

For work related:

1) Start it from where you left. Review your old goals and ask yourself these few questions:
Did I managed to achieve it? 
If yes, is there anything that I want to add this year to push myself further?
If not, what do I need to do differently to achieve it?
Or is this goal something that I still want to pursue?

2) Move on writing for next year with these criteria
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Result Oriented, Time-framed. This is to make sure that your goal is inspiring enough to push you forward.

Home related issue is one of the most difficult to tackle. Why? It is not as easy as 1-2-3. You will be flooded with questions such as:
How do I get the family involved?
How do I keep the house organized?
How can I balance work, home and family?
And much more!

Sit together with your family member to discuss the goals openly and set a practical goals where each of the family member is able to contribute. Always remember family bonding is crucial to keep your sanity.

Good luck!

PS: Please share about your experience setting New Year resolution as WAHM.

Technorati Tags: WAHM,Goals,Family,Work,Resolutions,New Year

.

Welcome to ProWAHM

If you are reading this, you may be thinking that it must be a mother thing. WAHM is not about mother only. There is also work at home dad, WAHD or in general terms work at home parent, WAHP.

ProWAHM is aimed at those interested to transition from full time corporate employee to WAHM. You can find repository of useful articles for WAHM, collection of free ebooks and how-to instructional articles for both mompreneur and telecommuter.

So what is WAHM = Work At Home Mom? In Wikipedia, work at home parent is defined as an entrepreneur who works from home and integrates parenting into his or her business activities.

In my opinion, this may be misconceptions because WAHP/WAHM/WAHD (depending on your preference) actually covers a whole host of different situations. WAHM (which I will be using here) is taken to mean a Mother who is earning some kind of income while working most of the time at or from home. Not all WAHM’s run their own businesses. Some could be telecommuting or e-working for employer either part time or full time at home.

Many Mothers start to work at home in order to care for their children while still creating income. You may think that it can be easy to work from home but to be frank telecommuting is very different from what you may have imagined it to be. It is a lot of hard work and long hours. There will be thousands of questions that will pop up in your head regarding work from home from how to start, how to manage the time, etc.

This is what ProWAHM is all about. Get more information on WAHM and add me into your RSS so that you will be getting first hand information regarding WAHM. And for all WAHM, do feel free to add your comment or share with us your experience.

Technorati Tags: WAHM,mompreneur,telecommute,Wikipedia,RSS,ebooks