Made From Scratch: Home Business

Residual Income

2009-04-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

This week I had a new client contact me. I was excited, and went through the normal interview process I would with any new client.
What was the catch?

It was a man!

Now, my company has no problem with hiring men on to our team, but we are known as the Women's Dream Team to the majority of people, and most affiliates of the company create business names that are aimed towards women. When I started my business, I was conscious of the fact that men can be a successful if not vital part of my team - so I came up with a uni-sex business name : Sharper Destiny.

For the first few months, the only contacts I received were women. As it turns out, mostly women are interested in working in Health and Wellness or running a business focusing on those two things. Men are a little fearful thinking that they may sound fruity if they owned a health and wellness business. Wrong! In fact, this one male that I have now brought under my wing is going to have the advantage of the fact that 95% of our company is women; he is going to benefit from the fact that he has a completely fresh market to target. Men are not aware of what we do, and as he introduces them to our business, he will be very successful because he will have no competition!

I have heard the term "viral marketing" used in relation to some work at home business. I have also heard "MLM". My business is not a MLM company, we are actually a consumer driven market, but here is my question.

What is wrong with Multi level marketing? I understand that people believe that the upper teirs of those companies make all of the money but the truth is that there is always room for expansion all the way until the whole world has been touched by a product. If a company is legitimate and offers a product that people enjoy, need or want to buy then there should be no problem for the lower tiered members to build up their customer base as the higher-ups did.

I have a problem with people who call work at home jobs "scams". In fact, I have read reviews of my own business where people slam it as a scam. But in reality, I think that those people are the ones who were secretly wishing that they found a "get rich quick" scheme where they wouldn't have to put in a day's work. Like I have said before, working from home is not easier or less work.

In addition to working from home, I am also a full time distance education student, which means that I take online college classes in Business Management/Entrepreneurship. I know first hand that working at home or doing classes from home means MORE work. But the work is also exponentially more rewarding. So to the people who want to claim that work at home jobs are scams, I say to them: Put in a full work week of effort into a work at home business of your choice for 2 months, and then re-evaluate if you think the deal is a scam. You will find that it's not. You will also find that by putting in work initially, it will start to pay off residually, and although you may struggle for a few months - in the end you will come out on top and be very proud of your accomplishments.

I am there - I am two months down the road. I am never EVER going to close my business down. It is a garunteed residual income and the longer I am with the company, the less work I have to do for that income. Not to mention all of the incredible tax credits I get for being a small business owner.

Try working my business for 4 months. If you love it, keep working. If not, we will give you 100% refund. You have nothing to lose.

Check out my website and if you are still interested after reading a bit about who we are, click "Contact Us Now" to attend a 30 minute presentation about how you too can work from home.

www.SharperDestiny.com
(Men, you can contact us too!)

First Commission Check!

2009-04-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

I got my first commission check in the mail last night right after posting my blog on here!

Now I am going to the bank to cash it and heading out to buy a new pair of shoes! It has been so long since I last was able to purchase something for myself - like my family said when I opened the envelope:

"Well, now you know for SURE it is a legitimate business!"

Yippeee :)

Work From Home!!

www.SharperDestiny.com

Picked Up Second Job

2009-04-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

My apologies to anyone who reads this blog and has been confused at the lack of updates in the past week. I know it will not reflect well on my traffic reports, but I have been extremely busy this past week, and we had Easter on Sunday. So here is an update on the business progress - I am doing well with the business but as bill time approaches I have realized I am not yet at the point where I do not need a second income.

This doesn't mean my business is bad, it just is not to the point of generating a full time income yet. Usually people will start this business with a regular job and they are able to maintain the supplementary income with very little energy output. I actually want to turn my business in to a full time income generator, so I have gone to great lengths as far as (free) marketing is concerned to build up my company name.

I have taken a job working for a local restaurant as a shift manager for the time being. I will work part-time there, be a full time student, and run my business on the side. What is so cool about the business is that I can now float on the 30 hrs of work I initially invested into the business, while still generating income and the ball is now rolling so I will not have a hard time signing on new clients. I have to say that I am proud of what I did up front to create this foundation I can run the business off of. If anyone has an hour of free time each day that they can devote for three weeks, I can promise they will be more than ready to move forward as a business owner.

If you are interested, go to my website and contact me so I can get you started on making a supplemental income to help you keep your house, raise your children right and pay your bills on time! What do you have to lose??

www.SharperDestiny.com

More Free Stuff!

2009-04-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here is what was inside of those two boxes! Free magnets (large and small), a t-shirt, a mouse pad, brochures (made by me!), postcards, invitations, announcement cards, and rack cards. OH and 20 free white envelopes.

Okay I am seriously in love with Vista Print. They are so in touch with what we want as consumers and they are not just using the ploy of free products to get you to the site where they add on costs. Free means free with them.

Have a good night! It is time for Lie To Me with the boyfriend.

<3>www.SharperDestiny.com

Sunny Time

2009-04-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

My lovely backyard office. Puppies included. Sun tan included. FREE STUFF from Vista Print INCLUDED!

It has been a sweet few days :)

2009-04-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

I have a few pictures, just imagine when you wake up and it is sunny outside - taking your computer to the lawn, sun tanning and doing work at the same time.

Start to work from HOME!
Go to my website and click on Contact Us Now for more info!

www.SharperDestiny.com

Driving Traffic To My Blog

2009-04-06T11:35:00.001-07:00

I have been doing lots of research on blog advertisement and marketing technique in the past couple of weeks, and have found that driving traffic to my site is not as simple as it may sound.

To give you an example, here are some details from my stat counter.

After having promoted myself on Bloglines, Entrecard, Blogvertise (which I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT RECOMMEND), yellow pages, WAHM sites, and so many different networking sites - I have seen an overall daily increase of 5-10 Unique Visitors. And my Returning Visitors have increased on a margin of 3-5 people per day.

Considering the amount of time I have invested in these marketing approaches and the minuscule results, I am ready to look in to other ideas. How have you had success advertising your blog, outside of Entrecard?

If you have any marketing ideas (free), or personal success stories about how you have driven larger amounts of traffic to your site - I would appreciate some feed back in my comments.

For anyone who is starting up their own new blog for personal, business or whatever reason - here is a list of best to worst my results from the above listed marketing sites:
1. Entrecard. The only significant amount of traffic increase I have seen on this blog so far is from Entrecard.com - DO IT. You can learn a lot just browsing this site.
2. Work At Home Mom Sites. Get involved in forums. I know your business or niche may not be working from home, so choose something that relates to your topic of interest and get involved there. Personal contact MATTERS.
3. Bloglines, Blogsvertise, and Yellow Pages have proven to be useless (thus far).

I am especially peeved by Blogsvertise for having people sign up thinking they will get a chance to earn money, and then requiring them to post a blurb about B-vertise on their blog before they can get any "tasks". THEN the person has to wait until they get assigned a paid task.

Who has EVER earned a cent from Blogsvertise? Honestly, comment this post if you have and correct me. Because I am convinced this website is falsely advertising opportunities that do not exist.

In my mind this website is fraudulant in their behavior. Using us to promote their company, getting paid from the ads they have on their site and the traffic that is generated by guinea pigs like myself who think we can benefit from joining the site.

Its a crock of shit - if you ask me. (Excuse my french.) And, to get back at them for my giving them a false positive review a while ago, I am posting this bad review to even the score.

Now - To all of you here looking for information about running your own home based business - this blog is a secondary thing to my business. When you read about me struggling to bring in traffic or anything related to this blog - do not associate that with Sharper Destiny.

In fact, the people who work for me as Marketing Executives (unless they found me through this blog) do not even know of this site. This is somewhat of a diary for me, a chronicle of running a business and an experiment on ways to increase my income through different avenues of income.

If you would like to work from home, for yourself, contact me at

www.SharperDestiny.com
(Hitch Your Wagon To A Star)

Trophy Life

2009-04-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Okay, yesterday was one of the best days I have had in a long time! I took the day off of work and homework (I had worked ahead all of Friday), and went hiking with my boyfriend at Wallace Falls. The drive out there was beautiful, and then the hike was even better because the entire way up the trail (we went 4 miles which is none other than a FEAT for me, let me tell you!) we could see and hear the waterfalls crashing below us. It reminded me of the waterfall I climbed in Jamaica with my mom and sis a few years back.

Anyway, I left my phone in the car - fearing that I would fall into a puddle of mud and ruin it. I have been known to be clumsy in the past. That means I don't have any pictures of the trails, but I do have pics of the drive up.

The second picture I am posting is kind of a bitter sweet photograph. I had to turn it black and white and blur some places to detract from the power lines, car and all the effects of human life on the area so that I could point out the beauty that lies behind all of that.

The second part of the day, we spent weeding the front yard. It was actually a lot of fun because we had four of us working and it felt very small town, with neighbors bringing out their kids and puppy's to visit and chat. I think it is so important for neighbors to get to know each other these days, there is strength in numbers and so many people are in need of support.

I feel very lucky to be able to be a college student, and I am thankful to be working from home because I am able to focus on my neighbors and family, and YARD!

In my last job, I felt somewhat detached from reality. I worked for a five star, world class, high end Spa/Fitness Center. I would wake up in my 1 bedroom apartment, three cities away, hop in my car and drive 30 miles in rush hour traffic in to the city, get to work and put a smile on. While I was there just to make enough money to pay for the gas I needed to get back home that evening, I was forced to put a smile on while I served all the trophy wives who were spending twice my monthly income each week just at our spa.

Every day at work was a slap in the face. " This is what they have. This is what you want. Now, clock out and leave the sparkling luxurious resort and return to your black mold and bug infested apartment."

It was like after I completed my shift I needed to be out of society's hair because I did not fit in to what they thought people should be. I couldn't afford to.

It's no wonder that I felt I couldn't relate to anybody after working at that place for over a year. My reality was worn down every single day. What life SHOULD be was presented to me. I could not understand why I was working so hard, with no recognition (my alcoholic and frequently truant co-worker was deemed my superior), and with no hope of EVER having the lifestyle of the clients I was serving.

Finally, my bank account ran dry. I simply could not afford my gas any longer. $250/month is pretty steep considering I could afford about $125. I couldn't move closer to work because I didn't make enough to qualify for an apartment in the city, not even with room mates. I couldn't take a bus - the ride would be 3+ hrs both ways. So, I turned in my resignation.

After looking intensely for a new job, and coming up empty handed, I found the Women's Dream Team.

Now, I own my own business. I am able to share my business with others and give them the hope that has been restored in me. Now, I work from home and I don't have to pay ANYTHING for gas. No getting to work late. No worry of being laid off. No worry of not being recognized for my successes, but also no one to blame for my failures.

It feels really great. Yesterday humbled me to the positive changes that have come into my life recently. Praise the Lord!

If you are looking for a new opportunity and want to give yourself financial stability, contact me for more information. There's no obligation to getting informed, and it will change your life!

http://www.SharperDestiny.com

The Beauty Of A Day Off

2009-04-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

Today it is actually sunny, not by my Seattle standards but ACTUALLY sunny!

To take advantage of that fact, my bf and I are packing up a backpack and headed out to do some hiking in Monroe!

That of course, has to come after we do yard work for his parents.

Yay for a day off!

Work for yourself, from home!

www.SharperDestiny.com

Chaos Takes Over

2009-04-03T11:05:00.001-07:00

School has been taking up much of my time in the past two days which makes me really glad I don't have to leave home in the morning to work for 8 hours straight. The way things go now, my schedule has DEFINITELY gone through an upheaval as far as working hours are concerned.

I need to create a schedule for myself that allows time for all aspects of my life. When I was working outside of home, I was forced into making school work and me-time around that 9 hour shift from 9:00AM-6:30PM. Now, I have to create a significant study schedule to include about 6 hours of study a day, fit in exercise (which I too easily let slide when my schedule feels too chaotic), and also make some time to bring in the $$ to pay my bills.

When I was at work in the past, I would finish what needed to be done and then work on school projects or browse the web. There was SO much down time and I really had to make productivity happen within my office.

Now, I start my classes and then do homework from 9AM-5PM, I am exhausted, but decide I should work. The awesome thing is, I can put in some time from 5PM-6PM, close my computer, go have dinner and then from 7-10PM come back and work - if there is anything to be done.

Today is the day that I have to sort this craziness into a real schedule though so that I have the structure I need. That last paragraph was just how I have managed in the past couple of days, but there is much more that needs to fit into my daily life.

Basically, if I cannot bring in 3-5 new clients in the next week - I will be out applying for Part Time jobs to do on the side. Hopefully this won't be what happens. I have been filling out applications regularly and have not had any call backs (damn old people taking the fast food positions us college students need!) so even if I do go out searching again I am afraid I will not find any work.

I started this blog to chronicle both the good and the bad that happens to me while running a business and you know what, I'm not about to candy coat a thing. If I have to pick up a second job - so be it! The one thing I know for sure is that I will not give up on this business. I KNOW it will work, it is just a matter of time and proper networking.

I wouldn't have started up if I didn't believe in the potential, and the business is so simple that I can walk away from it completely and still see residual profits from the work I have already done.

My schedule today looks like this:
11-11:30AM: Bloggin it :)
11:30AM-12PM: Networking
12:00PM-1:00PM: BLOG CLASS (Don't deny that I need some help with the structure of my posts)
1:00PM-3:00PM: Class
3:00PM - Picking up my kitty from the vet. She got spayed yesterday. Poor little girl.
5:00PM - Going to the park with my boyfriend to go walking on the trails. It's another sunny day (those of you who aren't from Washington, I am going to post a picture of the sky and what it looks like when I say "sunny", you are going to laugh when you see it)!
7:00PM-9:00PM - Work
9:00PM-11:00PM - Finish Anthropology Assignment, Critical Thinking, and Accounting Ch 2 Assignment

It's gonna be another long day.

I just have to say this next thing so that it doesn't effect my home life.

Working at home IS STILL WORK!

If you are out of the house working and then come home to see me on my computer, books open, hand on my forehead studying...I would appreciate it if you'd refrain from sarcastically asking:
"So, How was YOUR day at work? HAHAHA"

Um, actually...it was productive. I actually did do a lot of work, and while you have already left the desk and are on relaxation mode - I am still working.

Take control of your destiny. Stop letting someone else organize your schedule and your day. Do what YOU think is important each day. Work for yourself!

www.SharperDestiny.com

Back In Class

2009-04-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of school... I made it through! It's been a 12 hour day, but now "Lie To Me" is starting and it's time to relax.

Tomorrow I take my kitty to get spayed, poor baby.

Here is what my morning looked like. Replace the Accounting book with a Philosophy book to see my afternoon, and replace that with two Anthropology books to know how my evening has been.

:) I love it!

Have the freedom in your day that you need. For school, family, God, personal enrichment..

Fall in love with your life again. The best IS yet to come!

www.SharperDestiny.com

Yesterday's Jog

2009-03-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after I finished up working, I decided to go out for a run on the Burke Gilman Trail. It's pretty rare to get beautiful weather here in Seattle (it's back to overcast today) so I had to take a picture.

Enjoy :)

Be out of work early enough in the day that you can go out and walk the trails in your neighborhood. Early enough to enjoy the sunset.

Work towards your own financial future!

www.SharperDestiny.com

Financial Freedom

2009-03-30T11:58:00.001-07:00

If you are tired of other people deciding what you should get paid or if you have recently been laid off, then you need to join the Women’s Dream Team and tap into the world of Internet Marketing!

Realize what unlimited income potential means. I will train, help and support you every step of the way.

Visit my website, click on “Hitch your Wagon to a Star”, and I will send you more information about the opportunities we have available on our team.

www.SharperDestiny.com

Blog Promotion Sites

2009-03-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

I have started putting my blog on to lots of different directories trying to get you people to come check me out, it's kind of sad sitting here writing blogs all day (although I do it for my own entertainment mostly) and having nobody here to read!

I am not on EntreCard, Blogsvertise (which I think is a scam in the way they make you promote their business before acceptance and then they never give you any "tasks"), Bloghub, Blog Catalog and SezWho.

So far, EntreCard seems to be the best place to promote, except they have a complicated system where you earn EC's and have to "drop" on people's sites for points. My thoughts on complicated blog promotion sites are:

1. I already run a blog. I don't need any other time commitments, especially just to get traffic.
2. Do not require me to sign up for other sites who promote you so that you can make money off my subscription.

Well, that's all for now. I have lots and lots of work to do today. I am going to try and sign on a new client by nightfall.

Adios!

Google AdSense!

2009-03-29T16:04:00.001-07:00

ONE MORE THING!!

I just earned my first penny from Google AdSense!!

Whooooo hoooo!!
Gotta start somewhere :)

Acheivements and Life Changes

2009-03-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

Every day that I work I keep a very detailed written entry in a notebook so that I can look back and see what happened on which date and also to keep track of the hours I have worked.

Something I have noticed that is helpful, is that when I need to remember where I have placed ads or what websites I have created accounts for, I can look back in the log and read up on each thing.

When I rely heavily on keeping websites bookmarked or just remembering something on my own - I tend to forget a LOT and I fall behind.

My schedule has become pretty demanding and I am started to recognize the need for set business hours. My day consists of a bunch of little tasks and without extreme organization I fear I will lose control.

Another way that I have organized my daily notes is with color coded highlighting. In the past ten days, I have taken fourteen pages full of detailed notes on marketing technique, blog promotion, places to post ads, bills, and so forth.

In my mind this has taken the place of a daily communication log or end of shift checklist I would have had in the corporate world. In my last corporate position, I was required to print off certain reports and keep track of statistics which I signed off on, dropped in a safe at the end of the day, and was finished with. If I did not complete this at the end of the day, Accounting and upper management would be on my A** first thing the next morning.

I never knew what these reports and numbers were being used for, but now that I am running my own business - I cannot keep detailed enough notes. The more information I have about every aspect of my business, the more efficient I can make my practice and therefore the more time I can leverage throughout the day.

So, by highlighting these five categories at the end of each day, I have made it easy to pinpoint a certain topic for review later on.

These categories are:
Blue - Promotional/Advertisement (Any new websites I submit my blog to and any purchases made)
Green - Contacts (Anything pertaining to new contacts or signing on new clients is highlighted in green)
Pink - Training/Webcast/Schedule requirements
Purple - Reminder of Purchase W/ Next Order
Orange - Files/Documents (Any new document I create and save to my computer I take note of and detail in my notes - to keep track of productivity)
Yellow - Business Expenses (One of the perks of being a small business owner is that if I keep detailed records and receipts, many of my operating costs can be written off on my taxes.)

The other day I had a new client sign on, and as a result I created a ton of new documents, which has taken me about 10 hours a day for the past two days. Although I have had a HUGE time investment in the past week trying to get everything set up, I have now been able to streamline my business. I can use these documents going forward and cut down on future time investments. This gives me the ability to focus on school - which is starting on Wednesday.

The last thing I was to talk about today is that in the past, working for a company outside of my home - there were special days when someone was promoted, there was a birthday in the office, we got a great review - days of celebration and recognition of success.

I believe that it is important to be rewarded for success, even in a solo working environment. When I started my business, I laid out a few personal goals. The first one was that I wanted to have a steady foundation to build my business off of by the time school started. I only had two weeks to get it done. In fact, my first post ever on this blog was an introduction to that goal and the point of this blog up until now was to test my ability to succeed in that goal.

I have done it!
I have created a system that allows me to equate every situation into an "If Then Statement"

By doing that I am able to both meet people like myself who want to better their lives and the environment by making smarter choices and working from home; and I am able to weed out the people who are not serious about the business.

As a way to celebrate this success and HUGE milestone in my business development, I am going to treat myself to a girl's night out with my best friends and old room mates. We are gonna catch up and not have a care in the world other than relaxing. Personally, I think being able to close up shop early and spend time out of the "office" is much better than someone bringing in cake/donuts for everyone to eat in their cubicles.

...I'm just sayin!

If you are a woman who is SICK of working outside of the house or you can't even FIND work outside the house, if you want to build a business from home and you want the benefit of having small business tax write offs (you don't even have to quit your current job to run this business) or if you are ready to get rid of the toxins in your house and raise your family healthier, if you are a woman who already works from home or is a stay at home mom, a woman who cleans homes for a living, if you are ANY WOMAN looking for a supplementary income, I can help you!

It is time to get over the fear of this recession, don't allow yourself to get into the position so many people are slipping into. Bring in a second income that you can put in to a rainy day fund.

Did you know that as a general rule, your family should have EIGHT months worth of bills saved up in a rainy day fund?

Maybe it's just me, but I felt that rainy day approaching pretty quickly. In fact, I saw the clouds rolling in right about November of last year. Thank God I found this business opportunity.

I honestly do thank God for this business every day. I don't know what my life would be like right now if I had not found the Women's Dream Team. When I heard their philosophy that God comes first, family comes second, and your business comes third - I knew this was the place for me.

What other company do you know of who has that as thier motto?
Personally, in my last few jobs, the motto was always:
"Customer is always right"

And when my mother was deathly ill with cancer, I remember being told to stop "using her sickness as an excuse to take vacation".

That will never happen to me again. I will never be torn between family and work again because I have morals and priorities and let me tell you that I will never confuse what out of those two come first.

If you have been burnt by the corporate world, been made to feel unimportant or easily replaced, check us out. You have nothing to lose, and you will be surprised at how much good can come from making one small change in your life.

Take control of your destiny at

www.SharperDestiny.com
"Contact Us Now"

VistaPrint.Com

2009-03-27T15:19:00.001-07:00

This package was outside my door this morning, and I couldn't wait to rip into it!

It contained my free hat which I got to make a cartoon of myself on!
www.vistaprint.com

It also contained what you see below:
Car Door Magnet
Stamp
Key Chain
Pen
Sticky Pad
Window Decal
And Business Cards!

I only paid $13 shipping to get ALL of this stuff!

Through the 31st of March they are offering this free promotion. This isn't all that you can get though. I also have a T-shirt on the way, you can get giant postcards (25) for free, brochures, invitations, address labels...

I love this site!

I think I can, I know I can, I DID!

2009-03-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

Busy Day

Lost Ads that were on my blog

Signed on a new client!

No new contacts as of yet - haven't had time with the new sign on..

RECEIVED MY FREE STUFF!

brace yourself for pictures.

Today proved that success if possible

Persistence Pays Off

2009-03-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

I have had one hell of a past day, and I mean that in an awesome way ! Even after my final post yesterday, I continued to work into the night - excited at the progress of the day.

Finally, I decided to give it a rest since I had to work this morning and it was 11PM. I closed down the computer and watched a movie with my DB. No commute.

We turned out the lights, and I slept like a babe.

This morning, I opened up my computer to check on my Home Office Pro.
I could not believe what I saw:

While I slept, I got two new contacts!

I love when that happens - I get my business e-mails sent out first thing in the morning and then I have time to mill around online doing this or that (updating this blog, working on side jobs) while I wait for the response. Since I've sent the messages in the AM - I most likely will hear back by tonight.

My mentor has been in the process of moving to a bigger and better house and has not been available for support in the recent days, so her mentor Theresa has stepped up and helped me out excessively with my questions and concerns.

With my business, I am in love with the fact that I get to work completely on my own, I get to put all of my own best ideas in to play without getting the "okay" from a higher up. But when the time comes that I want or need support or someone to talk to - I have an entire team of wonderful ladies in the same position as myself who have so much knowledge to share.

I am making a conscious effort to keep an eye out for the way my life would be different if I still had to commute in to a job each day - making a set hourly wage and having very little hope for advancement in my position.

Here is my schedule for today, think about whether this would work for you in your office job:

10:00 AM: Wake up
10:05AM: Bed made, DB brings me coffee
10:10 AM: On Computer (10 minutes to get from bed to work! No gas/mileage spent) checking e-mail.
10:30AM: Complete responding to new contacts and e-mails
10:54: Ding - NEW CONTACT!
11:00AM: Completing this blog entry
11:30AM-2:00PM: Get ready, Home Depot, Buy paint for kitchen. I consider this mid day break to be lunch, and do not worry too much about it because the majority of my work load comes in the evening.

2:30PM- 4:00PM: Treadmill, Yoga.
4:30PM-5:30PM - Web presentation with new contacts
5:30PM- 6:00PM: Signing on new clients?!
6:00PM-10:00PM: Work. I like to be on my computer in the evenings so that my clients are home from their days and I am accessible to them.

Alright, well I have got lots to do before my "lunch" is over so - have a great day!

Correction:

2009-03-25T21:51:00.000-07:00

Did I say two new contacts today?

Make that FIVE!

I am on a roll!!

So much for me being done with work at 6PM tonight. But you know what? I was able to do yoga for an hour between clients, and I don't mind working because I am working towards my OWN financial well being. My OWN business!

Whooo hoo!

Overwhelming Productivity!

2009-03-25T17:46:00.001-07:00

Talk about a PRODUCTIVE day!!

I found a new way to market my business today, after much personal trial and error.

Let me give you an idea of how much of a breakthrough it was:

Over the past week I have had 1 new client.

Today, in TWO HOURS I got 2 new clients!!

I have to go ahead and pat myself on the back for the success since I have no boss to do so!

Another great thing that happened today:
My free Business Cards arrived from Vistaprint.com!

It has been a very busy and successful day, but I am starting my last meeting of the night right now so I gotta run.

Want to work from home?

www.sharperdestiny.com

Contact Us Now!

Welcome To My Office

2009-03-23T15:36:00.001-07:00

Well, I have been trying to keep up with posting pictures to my blog - I figure it keeps you guys interested as you go along. You get a little peek into my world.

I'm uploading a pic of my "office" for you to check out.

Look, there's my kitty!

I know you arent supposed to work or do anything but sleep on your bed, but I live in essentially a studio apartment and there is not much room for change or the addition of a desk. I do, though, make a pointed effort to completely make the bed and turn it into a soft "surface" before beginning to work each morning. It goes along with looking and feeling "professional".

Internet Marketing - The Elephant In The Room

2009-03-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

Today is a great day!

I have come to the conclusion that internet marketing is the latest and greatest way to make an income - a substantial income - you just need someone to introduce you to a few websites and a couple tricks of the trade.

I signed up last night to get paid for blogging at www.blogsvertise.com . I was accepted this morning! Yet another channel of income to add to the list. Will I actually be able to survive on income earned from blogging alone? Not that I want to leave my Marketing job but I seriously wish I had known about a lot of these opportunities sooner - I just can't wait to get started!

I got off to a late start because last night involved alcohol and I definately needed a bath this morning. I didn't have to worry though, I get to work on my own time and come to the "office" whenever I want. Even though I know I can't get fired because I am my own boss, I think the kind of person who is able to run a home-business successfully has this passion inside of them that holds them accountable for a certian amount of work each day.

But the work is FUN! I am discovering new ways to be productive, new alleys of income to boost the paycheck coming at me, and I am home with my family and pets. There are so many distinct advantages to being home instead of commuting.

When you work at a real office, most of the time you are committed to one job and are getting paid one salary or one hourly wage. In my home office, the main focus is being a Marketing Executive - but in the down time or in between tasks for that I am able to come on to my blog and update you all on how things are going. I have been able to pick up extra lines of income from Google and now also from www.blogsvertise.com .

Last night, after posting here, sending out the last of my e-mails for the night and laying out a tentative schedule for today, I starting browsing the web for blogs about working from home. I know I am not the only one out there who does this! I found this guy Darren's blog about how he goes through the day as a "professional blogger". It was really informative and I was able to identify some great new tools from reading.

If you wanna check it out:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/10/another-day-in-the-life-of-a-problogger/

Before I head off in to the wonderful world of Marketing - if your interest has been sparked about working from home, check out my website and contact me for info on how to get started. You won't believe how easy it is!

www.SharperDestiny.com

Broke The Rules - Still Need Help

2009-03-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

So - I was looking for different ways to advertise my home-based-business last week and I came accross AdSense. After some confusion about the exact rules, I ended up breaking the rules of my contract with Yahoo! Answers while trying to figure out if I was breaking the rules of AdSense on this blog site.
Does that even make sense?

After posting a question on Yahoo! Answers, asking about the number of ads allowed on a blog, I received a notice that my content was inappropriate and had been removed. I had broken a rule for using Yahoo! Answers as a "promotion" for this blog. That was not my intent, but now I am hoping someone who understands AdSense as a blog tool will come across this entry and give me some feedback.

I have placed the ads underneath each post as well as on the left hand side-bar. I know nothing about coding, but when I created my account with AdSense, I also created a video feed on the bottom of my page.

I have 1 AdSense "gadget" on my page, which is programmed to do an ad between each post and to the side. This is where my problem lies - do those ads equal 1 or 2 promotions, and will having the video content on the lower portion effect my ability to use AdSense for profit?

Important News 3/22: New Client!

The best part of working from home is that although I work on weekends, I can be home hanging out with my family and baking cookies in between e-mails.

I am loving it!

Check out my site if you are interested in working from home!

www.sharperdestiny.com

We are an international online community of women striving for healthy homes, healthy families, a healthy environment, and healthy incomes.

We offer a professional, corporate-like home based opportunity. Depending on your goals and objectives you will earn part-time to full-time income. Our business philosophy revolves around a concept called Consumer Direct Marketing.

You do not sell products and you do not deliver orders. One thing we can assure you is that this is a revolutionary business model that will allow anyone to succeed - from any walk of life, any age, any race or level of experience.

"Contact Us Now" for more info.

My First Package!

2009-03-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

This morning when the dogs leaped off my bed and went running towards the front door - I got pretty excited. I have three packages en route right now - My first order of products, 250 business cards that I ordered from Vista Print last week, and another package full of the free goodies I ordered from Vista Print yesterday.

I was tickled at the fact that I was receiving packages as part of my work. Do you remember all the fun things you saw people doing at school or work when you were in the corporate world? When someone got a special note delivered or got to leave early on a Friday for "family plans", weren't those people always "special" for the day because they had something out of the ordinary going on?

It just dawned on me that I get to be that "special" person every day. When I get a new package, a new contact, a special e-mail from a prospective customer. I have a new sense of motivation knowing that I am the most important part of this business, I am needed for this business to exist - and succeed.

Anyway, I digress.

I ran down the stairs, threw the door open, and my eyes focused on the brown box next to my door. There lay my first business delivery! I brought it upstairs and opened it with excitement..after taking a picture to remember the moment.

There is nothing like a job that requires shopping, let me tell you! Today I got a whole range of things from foundation for my face, soap to a couple different types of protein bars and shakes. The best thing was that I got $20 worth of free items at check out, and I will for the next 4 orders. How sweet is that?

As far as business goes, I took my beginners marketing class yesterday which was awesome - and today I took a NH business class, and then I have Advanced Marketing tonight at 7PM. I decided to lay out a daily time schedule so that I can keep myself productive. Today I also got signed up for some new marketing websites and I am going to get myself registered with web databases so that I can be found through web searches.

I feel that today has been pretty productive, and I have more to do tonight but between now and my next meeting, the only thing on my schedule is to take a bubble bath with my new luxury soaps and relax with my loves.

It's a good day :)

Intro And Week 1

2009-03-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

Introduction:

I started up my home business! I only have two weeks exactly before school starts and I really want to build up a customer base of 8 before April 1 when classes start.

The first week, getting started, has been lots of business plan work. I have been trying to figure out my approach, audience, and personal goals while trying to build confidence in my service. It's like going in to a big company as a secretary but having to know the answers that most companies would refer to a CEO.

There is so much knowledge that I need to have when I speak to clients, so starting out without any product knowledge has been a challenge. Thank God for the fact that I work from home though, because that gives me ample time to sit down and become familiar with each item and to "do my homework " by taking a bath with my brand new products!

One rough spot I have come up against is the fact that my marketing approach is much different that most other representatives who work for my team. While most appeal to stay at home mom's and house wives - I have decided to try and target people like myself who are full time, struggling college students and working women who don't necessarily have 40 hrs/week to devote but want to make some extra cash.

Although marketing is going to pose some obstacles because I don't have children and I am not married, I know there are so many other people like me out there who would benefit from what I have; I so want to share this different, better, reality with them.

Here at this blog, you can follow my persuit of financial freedom through a home based business. You can laugh at my hardships and quietly shrug away my profits if you want to be critical - but my hope is that the genuinely curious people who are looking for an opportunity and people who have been hit hard by our recent economy will be the ones visiting. I want for them to, before they take any risks investing in a home based business of their own, learn from me; someone just like them who is willing to take the leap. If I succeed, all the steps to the financial glory will be laid out before you on this site.

I've invested my money. I am investing my time (no commute doesn't mean no work!). I am risking the loss of my car and the roof over my head if I am not successful with this, so you can bet your behind that I'll be telling the bitter truth here.

Welcome!

March Seventeenth 2009

VistaPrint.com had a great promotion today offering FREE stuff! I got customized advertisements in the form of a car magnet, window decal, a hat with a caricature of myself on it, a pen with my logo, a note pad, sticky pad, rubber stamp with a logo and picture on it, and a key chain! They gave me ALL OF IT for free, just for going to their site. I just had to cover the cost of shipping, so for $42 worth of products I paid $13. I already was happy with this site because when I opened up my business last week they gave me 250 free business cards that I was able to customize however I wanted, and those are in the mail now. Little did I know then, those cards were just the crust on the pie of customer appreciation I'd get from VistaPrint.

Today I made my first connection! A lady named Joy, who I met in my online weight management forum, is out of work on disability and is looking for some income. What a silver lining this could be - having to leave work on disability and subsequently becoming a business owner working for herself. How empowering!

Time for me to get some ads posted and then at 7 I have Beginner Marketing Training with my mentor. I can't wait!

It feels perfect sitting on my bed next to the window, criss-cross apple-sauced, with Bella sleeping to my side and my laptop generating an income for me. Not perfect, surreal. Privileged. Blessed.

Have a great evening all, wish me luck.

www.sharperdestiny.com
"Hitch Your Wagon To A Star"