Moms In Business

2011 Business Trends for Moms

If starting a business is one of your goals this year, check out this article on some hot trends (Social Media, Apps, Green, Franchises) you may want to tap into: Hot Business Trends for Moms | Reuters

Linda Locke
Moms in Business

 

8 Online Business Ideas for Moms

If you are still thinking about starting a business online, here's some great ideas and resources to check out:

8 Ways to Make Money Online - WomansDay.com

Monday Morning Inspiration from Moms in Business

 Some more inspiring women who are building a business doing what they love:

2 Running Moms Have Thriving T-Shirt Business

Former corporate communications executive creates creates My Town Contacts, a new iPhone application that makes users compile a list of important phone numbers in case of emergency.


Facing crossroads, mom parlays displays into booming business


Candy VPM Jackie Hague Gets a Sweetheart Deal


Crafty business on Etsy.com. Selling their art on the Web is no easy task for crafters.


Not a bakery, but sure smells like it

Start Where You Are

 
Many moms think about starting a business, but never get going because they think they don't have the money or resources to launch their own venture. But that's just not true. You can always start where you are with what you have available right now and get into action to make your business a reality.

You don't need a huge business loan, a store or a fancy logo to get started. All you need is a good idea, creativity, passion, and a willingness to bring a lot of sweat equity to the table.  In fact, starting lean and mean is one of the best ways to start a business: examples include: Apple, eBay, and Starbucks http://www.businesspundit.com/fortune-500-rags-to-riches

Here's some first steps to take to get into action right now:

1. Take inventory of the resources and tools you already have on hand.  For ex. computer, laptop, printer, cell phone, digital camera, software, etc.
2. What are your skills? What do you do best or have a passion for? What do your friends praise you for or ask you to do for them constantly? 
3. Who do you know? Are you part of a group or organization that needs certain services that you can provide?
4. Do some market research and test market your idea. Get started and see if you can make $100 offering the service or product you want to sell. Once you've done that you can decide if you want to continue with it or not.
5. Get some help. Do some free research on your business ideas on Google. Talk to other moms and others you know who have started their own business.

Final Success Tip: Never. never, never let the lack of money stop you from creating your own business. Starting a business on a shoestring is a tried and true method for business start ups. Use your creativity, moxie and passion to make your dream happen this year!

Linda Locke

http://momsbiznews.com

Copy Blogging for Local Businesses

If you love to blog and have good writing skills, here's how you can turn that skill into a business.

"As you’re working on goals for 2009, add a little time to approach the neighborhood people with whom you do business. Explain to them that if they already have a Web site (most likely do), you can craft a daily message five days a week for them on a blog, for, say $50/week. Good for them; good for you. If the florist gets just one wedding a month or the vet gets a new client, they’ve come out ahead. For you, it’s a writing gig with little or no competition, one that if you keep up with it can provide a nice additional income. So, start making a list of businesses you know that need your blogging help." Read more at: Small Business Copyblogging

Quick Ideas for Earning Extra Money

If your budget is stretched to the point of breaking, you may be feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and downright anxious. There are solutions out there that you may not have thought of. Many of these ideas can be done from home, so if you have small children, you don’t have to worry about the extra cost of child care.

- Sell what you don’t need: If you have a lot of stuff laying around the house that you don’t use, you can make some extra money by selling it on eBay or Bonanzle. Some items to go through include toys or clothes that the kids have outgrown, kitchen appliances that only get turned on once a year, or books that you’ve already read.

- Direct sales could be an answer: If you like to spend time with friends and can get out of the house once or twice per week (or don’t mind having a bunch of people over at your house), you may want to consider joining a direct sales company. With these type of companies, you pay a fee to join the company as a consultant. The company will send you a starter kit that you can use to start selling their product in exchange for a commission.

- Become a virtual assistant - If you have administrative skills, consider taking on a few hours of work each week as a virtual assistant. If you are just starting out in this field, you can expect to earn around $10 per hour. If you work just 10 hours per week, you can earn an extra $100 per week or $400 per month. Sounds pretty good, huh? These types of jobs can be found through websites such as www.guru.com, as well as on job boards such as www.justonlinejobs.com 

Linda Locke
Moms in Business Blog

Moms in Business Idea #4 - Teach Others What You Know

If you are looking for a home business, it’s a good idea to start with what you already know. Do you have a special skill or lots of knowledge in a specific area? If so, people will be willing to pay you to share that knowledge with them!

You can turn your skill into a business by teaching others what you know. And the best thing is you can teach them either in person or online or both.

Do you know how to do something crafty? If you can knit, crochet, sew or scrapbook, this could be a great business for you. Other ideas include cooking, organizing, and even make-up application!

The options don’t stop there! If you are tech savvy, you can teach people how to install and customize a blog, use an HTML editor, create a database with Access or a spreadsheet in Excel, or even how to organize their email!

You can hold live classes in your local town. If you do not want to have people in your home, you have a variety of options. If you are teaching something crafty, ask a local craft shop if you can hold the class there in exchange for a rental fee or commission on any products your students buy.

Many restaurants have party and meeting rooms that they will rent to you for a nominal fee. Some may even be available for free! Also check with places like your local library to see if they have meeting rooms you can use.

Don’t forget to check with your community college and school district. Most areas have continuing education programs that you can teach through. Not only will you have a space provided, they’ll help you find students!

Another option is to teach these classes online. You can choose to offer the classes live via a web conference room like those available on gotowebinar.com or use a free option like www.dimdim.com.

You can also choose to pre-tape them and sell them as downloads. If you are going to be teaching people how to do something on the computer, instead of using a video camera, try using a screen capture recorder such as Snagit.

You can also use a free application like Jing to create short video screencasts and offer them online to your students.

Or you can offer a teleseminar on the phone and use a conference line service like freeconference.com or talkshoe.com to reach your students.

And if you are really ambitious you could start your own member site and offer advise and classes on an ongoing basis. The possilities are endless.

In these tough times when people are looking to make a change in their careers or to find a hobby to help them relax, teaching others what you know can be a profitable – and very fulfilling home based business.

Next Steps:  If you want to teach in person, contact your local community college or school district and check out the classes that others are offering in your area. Attend a class you find interesting to see how it all works. Then find out how to apply to teach a class yourself. When I've done this in the past, I had to submit a summary of the class and a bio with my experience. I got approved on my first try.

Attend a teleseminar or a webinar to try it out. See if you think you would like to try this method of teaching. One to consider is Barbara Winter's "A Beginners Guide to the Seminar Business" - http://joyfullyjobless.com/teleclasses.html

Some other good resources to check out:

The Rapid eLearning Blog - http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/

American Society for Training and Development - http://www.astd.org/

If you have questions about starting a teaching business, please post a comment!

Happy Teaching!

Linda Locke
http://www.momsbiznews.com
"I touch the future. I teach." ~ Christa McAuliffe

Biz Idea #3 - Virtual Assistant

If you would like to earn money in your home business right away, you will want to look into starting a service based business. A popular, and much needed, service based business idea is becoming a virtual assistant (also known as a VA).

The demand for virtual assistants is increasing two-fold. On one hand, more and more people are starting home based businesses and they need help in the day to day office tasks associated with their business.

Since they are working out of their home and do not have the space to hire a traditional in office administrative assistant, they turn to virtual assistants.

Even brick and mortar businesses are now hiring virtual assistants as the trend of working with freelancers continues to grow. It is more cost effective for a company to hire a virtual assistant on a contract basis, as they will not need to pay for benefits or other perks given to traditional employees.

As a VA, you may be asked to complete a variety of tasks, such as answering email, customer service, transcription, data entry, research, and more. Some virtual assistants decide to specialize in one area, such as marketing, public relations, or bookkeeping.

As with other service based providers, a virtual assistant can find work through online job boards. Check out www.justonlinejobs.com and www.craigslist.com for starters.

Freelance websites such as www.elance.com and www.guru.com are another great source. Online temp agencies, such as http://www.workaholics4hire.com/ are also popping up to help people find jobs in this field.

Don’t be afraid to contact someone you’d like to work with directly and offer your services. You don’t want to spam anyone, of course, but it is okay to write someone you admire and let them know that if they are hiring, you’d love to work with them.

It is very rare to find a 40 hour per week virtual assistant job. You will most likely have to juggle several clients to actually get the amount of hours you would like to work each week.

As technology continues to improve, more and more companies will be offering virtual assistant positions. This is a field that will continue to grown and flourish.

Next Steps:  If you want to get on the fast track to making your virtual assistant business a big success,
you might want to check out some of the excellent training, coaching and networking sites out there. Here's a few to get you started:

http://www.assistu.com/

http://www.thevacoach.com

http://vanetworking.com

Linda Locke
Editor, Moms in Business
http://www.momsbiznews.com

Biz Idea #2 - Crafty Home Business

If you are blessed with crafting talents, you are in luck. Selling crafts, either online or at craft fairs, is a wonderful way to bring in extra cash.

Online Sales

Selling crafts online is much easier than most people think. As long as you have an inventory of completed items that are easy to ship, you can start selling your items online without much difficulty. An easy way to get started is by creating an online craft store through www.Etsy.com.

Etsy is an online craft site that is very easy for sellers to use. Signing up for the site and setting up your store is free. The site charges a small listing fee and a 3.5% fee on each item sold.

While Etsy is an easy way to get started, you should eventually purchase your own domain (website address) and set up your own website or blog.

Craft Fairs

Local craft fairs are another wonderful way to sell your crafts. Many areas have several of these, especially around the holiday season. Here you can set up a booth or table and the shoppers will come to you.

There is usually a fee for space or a table, but these are generally minimal. Check with the local chamber of commerce, churches or civic organizations to find out if there are events scheduled locally at which you can purchase a table.

Other Local Ideas

Another way to sell your items locally is take a cue from the direct sales industry and have a home party! Invite your friends and family over, and encourage them to bring a guest.

On the day of the party, create a nice display of your items. Let your guests touch and feel your items. If you do not have enough supply on hand, simply take orders for your items and deliver the item when it’s completed. Encourage your guests to have their own home party for your items by giving a special discount to your future hostesses.

If you are a crafty person, who enjoys crafting as a hobby, you can turn your favorite pastime into a moneymaking venture. Many people do not have these talents and will be more than happy to pay for your handmade items.

Next Steps: Check out our Moms in Business post for tips on getting started with Etsy:
Etsy Is the Place for Crafty Moms and get some more in-depth information from these helpful books:
Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business and Handmade for Profit!: Hundreds of Secrets to Success in Selling Arts and Crafts

And get some inspiration from one of my favorite crafty sites, Kathy Cano-Murillo's The Crafty Chica. Kathy has taken her crafty talents to the next level, writing books, doing Crafting with the Chica videos for myLifetime.com.

Linda Locke
Editor, Moms in Business
http://www.momsbiznews.com

Biz Idea #1 - Creating Information Products

If you are looking to create residual income through your home business, you may want to look into creating and selling your own information products. This will allow you to do the work once, and then continue to profit from it by selling it over and over again.

An info production can come in the form of an ebook, a special report, an Mp3 recording of yourself reading an ebook, a recording of an interview between yourself and an expert, a recording of a teleseminar or webinar, the transcription of a teleseminar, or any other form of information. These can also be combined together to form a larger packet of info.

One of the main reasons people come to the internet is find information. Instead of sitting around and wading through and endless amount of web pages, trying to find what they are looking for, many people will simply pay for an information product that will teach them what they would like to know.

As mentioned above, there are many types of information products that you can choose to create. Of course, the most cost effective way is to create them yourself, but you can also outsource this part of the project.

If you would like to create an ebook or a special report but do not enjoy writing, consider hiring a ghostwriter or buying private label rights articles (also known as PLR).

Another idea is to record a teleseminar and pay a virtual assistant to transcribe the audio for you. By doing this, you can sell both the audio and written form, which can increase your sales and profits!

You don’t need to be an expert or have any type of specialized knowledge. You can always interview experts and sell the recordings or create special reports out of them by having them transcribed.

You may be surprised to find out that many people make full time incomes by creating and selling information products online! That doesn’t mean it will happen overnight; this type of business will take some type to build. It does mean that you can earn an income with this type of business, as long as you are willing to put in some time and effort.

Breakout Idea: Create the same information product in multiple mediums - ebook, hard copy, mp3 AND video to give customers a choice of format. Thanks to Angie Pedersen of Scrappy Marketing Solutions for sharing this awesome idea!

Next Step:

If you are serious about successfully creating and selling information products on the Internet, there is no better place to get ideas and how tos than Bill Myers Online Product Developers membership site. I've been a subscriber for many years and consider the advice, tips, ideas, resources and networking that Bill Myers offers on his site to be invaluable to the continued success of my business. If you want to produce any kind of information product from ebooks, mp3 recordings, videos, how to DVDs to subscription sites and software, you'll want to check it out.