Named Top 100 Best Blogs for Women in Business

On Monday morning, I woke up to a wonderful email from Rose King from Accounting Degree naming Work At Home Business Options as the Top 100 Best Blogs for Women in Business.

It’s an honour for our blog to be mentioned and included on a prestigious list of other wonderful business blogs.

Please take some time to check it out Top 100 Best Blogs for Women in Business as I’m sure you will find a lot of interesting blogs with great resources.

Thank you Rose!

~Sophia & Shelly

5 Ineffective Tactics on Work At Home Forums

There are still many people who join work at home forums and have no idea when it comes to forum etiquette. It’s so important to read the forum rules before doing anything as that will tell you what’s expected from you.

Here are five tactics to avoid when you’re participating on a work at home forum.

1. Don’t pretend and don’t post you have found a cool site when the site is yours.
“I found this really cool site with tons of great information. I couldn’t believe how well-thought out this website is. It’s truly amazing and you should check it out. http://www.iownthissite.com”. Credibility and trust is what you want to earn, not lose. There is a place for links and they belong in your signature.

2. Posting for the sake of posting.
Experienced members can tell if you’re just a spammer. Show your intelligence, not your ignorance.

3. Copying snippets of other people’s articles.
It’s obvious to people when you post a snippet of someone’s article because it’s not “conversational”. It reads as an introduction to an article. What would be more impressive is if you interpreted in your own words. What would be super impressive is if you brought something to the table from what you actually know and practice.

4. Know your audience.
If you sell cuban cigars, you don’t join a health and wellness forum. That doesn’t make sense and if you do, once again you will be frowned upon. Know who’s your target market and then cater to their wants and needs.

5. Say what you mean and do what you say.
If you say you’re looking forward to networking, then make the effort of visiting the forum at least once a week. I’m sure you have lots to share and people want to know what you know.

Keep it real and be yourself. Honesty really goes far and it’s expected. There are a lot of great and smart business people on work at home forums that may help bring you and your business to another level.

~Sophia

Homemade Waffles For Family Breakfasts

When it comes to breakfast, I love to make homemade food items for my family such as waffles, pancakes, french toast, eggs, omelets, etc. I am not a huge fan of store bought breakfast items as I feel that you can make your breakfast up during the weekends and then freeze it for use during the week when you have less time to spend in the kitchen.

Here is the recipe I like to use when I make homemade waffles.

2 egg whites, whip stiff and fold in
2 egg yolks
3/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter or butter flavored shortening, melted

Beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside. Add milk and vanilla to the well beaten egg yolks. Sift in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Stir in the melted butter (after the butter is cooled) very slowly. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour sufficient batter on the grill to come within one inch of the edge. Cook each waffle for approximately 5 minutes.

Once done, you can let them cool for 15 minutes. Then wrap them in plastic wrap or foil and freeze in a zipper closure bag. They will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Shelly

Advertising: Know Your Target Market

One question many beginners ask is what is the best advertising methods. There are many to choose from and not one method is better or more effective than the other.

The key point is who are you catering to? In other words, who is your target market? It’s not about trying out every possible advertising method although there are the most common ones that are effective for the majority of people.

Let’s take for example way, way back when I started online I went the “get paid to” route. It was get paid to read emails. I had joined several get paid to sites and most if not all have a referral program. In order to get referrals, I used other paid to sites and traffic exchanges to find my referrals and it worked beautifully for me. When I tried using traffic exchanges for another online endeavour, it didn’t work very well. Honestly, it was awful. Why? Because I wasn’t hitting my bullseye aka my target market.

So when people say this particular type of advertising doesn’t work at all for me, the question you have to ask yourself is, “Are you marketing to the right people?” because there’s no point in trying to sell dog biscuits to cat owners.

Start out with a few different free advertisng methods first so you can see which one is working for you. Stick to an advertising budget as it can easily put you in the negative without any rewards.

Be consistent and patient because it takes time to really gauge what is working and what is not.

~Sophia

Don’t Jump Before You’re Ready To Leap

Before you jump into any business it’s wise to do your research, but even doing your full due diligence there’s no guarantee it will be successful.

When you work outside the home, the norm is a three month probationary period. This time is not only for the employer, but for the employee to determine if the job is the right fit.

Your new business shouldn’t be any different. Too many people give up too easily. Three months is just barely scratching the surface and yet some people think one month is enough time to determine if they are succeeding or not. Until you have exhausted every avenue, sought help or really feel the business you’ve chosen is not right for you, then you can throw in the towel.

Be sure you’re not bailing out because of fear…it’s too much work, there’s too much learning, I can’t do it etc. Success is built on consistency, faith and perseverance.

~Sophia

Health Benefits Of Adding Fish To Your Weekly Diet

There are many health benefits of consuming fish on a weekly basis because of their omega-3 fatty acids content.

Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. They help prevent the formation of clots by making them less sticky. It decreases the risk of embolic and thrombolic strokes. Other benefits of omega-3 fatty acids guards against hypertension, breast cancer, depression and lowers the risk of heart disease and reduce inflammation in arthritis.

Wild salmon, herring, tuna, mackerel, trout, sardines, hoki and halibut contain the most omega-3 fatty acids.

Here’s a simple and healthy salmon dish that is packed with flavour. It’s wonderful on a bed of salad.

Salmon over Greens
Try it with any green leafy vegetable like a spring mix. Add cubed cucumbers to the greens and any regular or flavoured balsamic vinegar dressing. Set aside.

Take a salmon filet (remove skin) and cut into chunks, add a bit of extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Sear the salmon chunks, add salt and pepper and about 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Toss well. If your frying pan is oven proof put it into a 400 degrees F oven, otherwise transfer it into a corning ware and bake for 5-7 minutes or when done depending on your oven. Serve over the salad.

My family also enjoys lingcod with a fruit salsa. Lingcod is not high in essential fatty acids, but it’s high in vitamin B12 and selenium.

Fruit Salsa
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup strawberries cut up
1 bunch cilantro chopped
1 red onion diced
Salt & pepper
2 oz lime juice
Touch of honey
1 tsp roasted cumin

Mix all ingredients

It is recommended to eat two servings of fish per week. If you’re not a big fish eater other foods such as walnuts, flaxseed and canola oil all contain omega-3 fatty acids or you can take fish oil supplements.

~Sophia

Home Sewing Box Essentials

When it comes to putting together a home sewing box or kit, it is important to be prepared for all of those home mending jobs.

You can store your mending items in a large metal tin, a shoe box, rubbermaid or plastic bin or go out and purchase a box that is specifically made for housing sewing supplies.

Here are the items I feel that every home sewing box needs to include.

1. Sewing Thread (Basic Colors) – white, black, brown, red, green, yellow, orange, tan
2. Needles – various lengths and tips
3. Straight Pins – one box of pins (I prefer rust-proof pins)
4. Measuring Tape
5. Scissors – I recommend a high quality pair of fabric scissors
6. Buttons – You will want to stay stocked with various colors and sizes of buttons
7. Safety Pins – I recommend various sizes in both silvertone and goldtone metals
8. Seam Ripper – Every good sewing box needs a great seam ripper tool.
9. Needle Threader – Even if you have great eye sight, a needle threader can save you precious time when you are in a hurry.
10. Iron-on Patches – I keep white, black, denim, navy, tan and brown iron-on patches in my sewing box at all times.
11. Fabric Glue – If you are in a hurry and need a quick fix, you can hem a pair of pants or fix a seam with a few dabs of fabric glue.
12. Thimble – Protect your fingertips and invest in a good thimble.

What kind of items do you like to keep in your sewing box so that you are always prepared for mending emergencies?

Shelly

Keeping Customers Informed Of The Ordering & Shipping Process…

When it comes to shipping products to your customers what is your normal shipping time? When there are delays in shipping a product to a customer/client, do you take the time to notify them of this delay?

To keep your customers happy, you really need to keep them informed of their order status once you have placed the order. Just taking the order and submitting it…is not enough. Here is what you should be doing.

1. Once you have processed the payment and submitted the order, email the customer a copy of the receipt or shipping invoice.

2. Once the product has shipped, email the customer to let them know that their purchase is on its way.

3. Wait 7-10 days and follow up. Send the customer an email or give them a call to make sure their order has arrived and to inquire if everything was perfect with their order. If not, do what you can IMMEDIATELY to rectify any shipping problems that might of occured.

Keeping customers informed of the ordering and shipping process is making for a very happy customer which in turn gets you repeat business and future referrals from that particular customer.

~ Shelly ~

A Business/Personal Blog Is Not A Good Mix

Big Mac and fries go hand-in-hand and so does a cold and cough. When it comes to blogs, generally it’s not recommended to combine a personal and business blog unless it meshes well.

Shelly and I share this business blog and a pet peeve blog. Shelly has a cooking/baking/foodie related product review blog. She also has a crafting blog, a direct sales/product review blog and personal blog and I have a health blog.

What all these blogs have in common is they are standalone blogs that are used for business or for personal. One thing many people make the mistake of is mingling their personal life with a business blog. In my opinon, it doesn’t work because do your family and close friends really want to read about your business or do you think your potential customers want to read about your toddler smearing poop on the wall?

It’s not hard to build a new blog, but it’s hard work to promote it, maintain it and work it and maybe that’s a reason it can be scary for some people, but it shouldn’t be. By not separating a personal blog from a business blog it can be detrimental to your business.

Another reason some people may be hesitant is not having enough material to write about their business. I think there are plenty of things you can talk about your business because there are a lot of blogs out there. You can focus on your products, but that’s not the only thing to focus on. It’s giving them the knowledge, the information and explaining why and how it can change their lives for the better.

Like a lot of things it’s best to just keep your personal life out of your business.

~Sophia

Social Media Profile Images

When it comes to networking online for your home business on various social media sites, it is important to fill out your profile pages correctly and professionally. It is equally important to add an image to your profile page aka an avatar.

If you are doing personal or business networking, I feel its important to add an avatar (picture) of yourself into your profile. I really dislike seeing business buttons or business logos. When I am talking back and forth with someone on a forum or social media site ie. twitter, I really like to see the face of who I am chatting with.

Here is how I look at this issue. If I went to an offline networking business meeting and walked into the meeting, you would see my face…you wouldn’t see my business button/logo. I can see you using a business logo if you are a large company like Kelloggs or General Mills on your twitter sites…however, if you are a small home business owner, it makes no sense to me, to use a company logo as your avatar instead of a head shot of yourself.

How about you? What is your preference?

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