I Can Volunteer Because of My Home Based Business

Having been self employed for the last 7-8 years has allowed me freedoms that I never had while working for someone else. I have been very blessed with the people in my life and the opportunities I’ve had (and still have!) I donate regularly to a couple of "favorite" charities, but the best feeling has been donating my "time".

My home based business provides me even more flexibility. (What’s the saying - now I choose which 12 hours of the day I want to work!) If you’ve read the "About Me" section on this site or my other sites, you might know that I drive for Meals on Wheels every week, and have been doing so for close to 2 years. My route consists of delivering 16 meals, and for the most part my "clients" have been the same people all along. The majority of them are elderly women whose husbands have passed away and they either don’t drive anymore or have no desire to shop and cook for one person.

They are full of stories and memories just waiting to be asked about. Many of their families live out of the area, and I might be the only person they see that day. A route that may take other drivers about an hour to do takes me easily double that, as I spend at 10-15 minutes talking with each of them. I’ve gotten to know a few of them pretty well, and my family teases me about bringing them home for Thanksgiving - which we host for 25+ people already!

I always look forward to Wednesdays, and being able to give back to our community. One of these days I plan to get more involved, but for now it feels good to contribute where and when I can.

I’d love to hear about any volunteer activities you might be involved in - pay it forward!

Until next time, J.

"Take control of your destiny or someone else will"

Recession Proof Your Income

While some keep watching CNN (Constantly Negative News ) others are making a great living working from home and recession proofing their income . The days of working in traditional jobs for numerous years only to be downsized because of outsourcing or economy issues are changing many of the populations’ mindset. We’re not as trusting as our parents generation, mainly because we’ve seen the rug pulled out from people too frequently.

Economist Paul Zane Pilzer says, "We’re in the midst of a boom in home-based businesses, and it shows no sign of slowing ."

Technology makes it easier to work from anywhere now. Combined with the desire for greater financial opportunities, a more balanced lifestyle and creating your own security - you may also want to consider joining the revolution !

Leave a comment about how you are recession proofing your income

Until next time, J.

"Take control of your destiny or someone else will"

“ID Syndrome” - How to Quiet Your Needy Inner Voice

Here’s an interesting article discussing the 3 steps to being more productive at work (by Bob Cox )
Please leave a comment about the steps YOU take to be more productive…

I need to e-mail my sister this video of dogs and cats playing. It is so cute, she will love it.
I need to check my favorite sports team website to see who has been traded and all the recent rumors surrounding our star pitcher.
I need to call Bill to set up our golf game for next week.
I need to add to my blog so my readers will be updated on my latest insights into Obama’s campaign.
I need to go online and pick out a gift for Aunt Sarah’s birthday.
I really need to think about where I’m going for lunch and what I’m going to eat.

Do any of the above sound familiar? Of course they do!

I call this "ID Syndrome " - the disease of Internal Distraction . And unless you learn how to defeat this affliction, you won’t get anywhere at work or in life.

We all have personal thoughts like these while we are working. But there’s a big difference between how high achievers deal with them and how people who never do better than the status quo deal with them. You see, high achievers recognize that these thoughts are WANTS - not NEEDS - that should be dealt with outside of the working day.

Here’s a little example of just how problematic internal distractions can become…

Let’s say you are continue reading »

Marketing 101- Back to the Basics

Regardless of what business you are promoting, brick & mortar, online products, or professional services you still need a marketing strategy that will work. Here are some questions to ask yourself….

Message

• Do you have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)? - Why should people choose to do business with you instead of any of the other choices they may have?

• Do you make an Irresistible Offer each time you have your message in front of them asking for a response?

• Are you using a proven sales formula , and have you organized your message to be clearly understood?

• Is your intended recipient interested in what message you are trying to convey, have you addressed what they care about?

Market

• Have you identified WHO is your ideal customer within a target market , and why you are the ideal provider?

• How much do you know about your target customer and what makes them tick? (Such as hopes, fears, desires…..)

• Is your message perfectly and precisely written to match your target audience or is it a generic message ?

Media

• What is your month to month marketing plan to deliver interesting news and information to selected media (local and/or national) to gain favorable publicity?

• Do you have and follow a marketing calendar that takes advantage of holidays, events, or events specific to your industry?

• Have you developed effective lead capture pages on your website to capture visitor information?

• How many different forms of media do you use? Direct mail, e-mail, webinars, pay per click (PPC), newspaper classifieds, social media sites? Diversify to keep the pipeline full.

(Source: Based on the book The Ultimate Marketing Plan)

Please leave a comment letting me know what marketing methods work best for you

Until next time, J.

"Take control of your destiny or someone else will"