Work At Home Business Options

Archive for the ‘Business Basics’ Category

I know that a lot of my readers are still working outside the home while they make the transition to a work at home job…or they work outside their home for the day job and work in Direct Sales in the evening. Whatever the case may be, I was asked to share some information with all of you about NAPW, which you will find below.

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Professional women seeking to become power players in the workplace need to know about the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW), the most cutting-edge, exclusive, rapidly growing and recognized network of female professionals, executives and entrepreneurs in the United States.

NAPW provides a safe, secure and expanding forum for its members to connect, interact, exchange ideas, educate and empower, as well as resources and services to help them develop and promote their businesses and careers. The organization began as an online networking tool that has evolved into the largest association of professional women with over 300,000 like-minded members from over 200 different industries and over 150 local chapters in 46 states.

Through its online and in-person approach, NAPW offers members the following:

· 360 degree networking platform available to members 24 hours per day, 7 days a week

· A wide-reaching digital platform to connect and build relationships in a secure setting

· In-person forums for women to network with professionals in their same geographic area

· Resources and services to help them develop and promote their businesses and careers

· Tools needed to succeed in business such as career services and education programs, internal message centers, online bulletin boards, scholarships, seminars and webinars

In a greater effort to bring the community together for a common purpose, NAPW will host the 2nd Annual National Networking Conference in New York City on May 18, 2012. Approximately 1,100 professional women from across the country at all career levels will have the rare and extremely unique opportunity to meet and develop relationships that can help advance their careers, as well as listen to inspiring speeches by high-profile guest speakers, such as NAPW National Spokesperson Star Jones.

You can find out additional information about NAPW by visiting their web site.

Today I am posting an article that was sent to me & I was asked to share it with my readers. I know that many of my readers work from home but then again…I have a lot of readers who still work outside the home and are trying to transfer to a “work at home” job. Regardless, I found that the article had some great tips in it that both groups could use! Enjoy!

Wardrobe Savings Tips for Working Moms with Style

If your primary occupation over the last few months (or years) required more bedtimes than deadlines, you’re not alone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 5 million women classified themselves as stay-at-home moms in 2010. Yet, that figure is down from just two years earlier as more mothers return to the workforce.

For any mom taking on new 9 to 5 with duties that go beyond diapers and dinner, your wardrobe will likely need a makeover. However, sprucing up your business style doesn’t have to drain your kids’ college funds nor limit your options.

Here are 8 tips to help you update your wardrobe with fashionable work-wear on a budget.

1. Scope Out Consignment Stores
Back when you were expecting, consignment shops were goldmines for inexpensive maternity wear. Lucky for you, they’re also a great resource for professional attire. Sell some of your gently-used maternity wear and stock up on business basics including blazers, slacks and pencil skirts. For tips on navigating consignment racks, check out this article from Woman’s Day.

2. Shop for Shoes Online
Ultimately, footwear is one of the most important parts of a professional wardrobe. Despite the sheer joy of finding that perfect pair of black-patent pumps, shopping with a toddler is often a trying experience. Avoid the department-store drama and shop online at e-retailers like Endless or Piperlime, who offer free shipping both ways. Alternatively, find free shipping codes for Macy’s and other popular retailers from sites like FreeShipping.org to avoid delivery charges.

3. Think SimplicityYou obviously can’t afford a series of tailor-made suits, but you can afford a few simple pieces you can dress up or down, as the situation requires. Button-up blouses are a must and can be found on the cheap at Target, Old Navy and other discount retailers. And don’t forget cardigans – find a few in your most flattering colors to wear all year long.

4. Avoid Trendy
Keeping up the trends is expensive and you’ll often end up with a closet full of unwearable items from last scene. Go for the classics and use accessories to showcase your inner trendsetter — think freshwater pearls, stud earrings and a tangerine handbag. For more inspiration, consult the 12 Jewelry Trends for 2012 from JCK Magazine.

5. Keep it Clean
Cleanliness is next to godliness, or at least next to a good first impression. No matter the quality or cost of your clothes, it’s vital they remain clean and pressed at all times. You can reduce dry cleaning costs by avoiding such items altogether or using the home-laundry packets readily available at your grocery store.

6. Gauge the Office Culture
You’ll feel really uncomfortable in a formal suit if the business owner is sporting jeans and a graphic tee. Many younger entrepreneurs encourage a more relaxed look, so it pays to gauge the office culture before heading into an interview. If the company website doesn’t yield any insight, talk to the hiring manager about the office dress code when you schedule the interview.

7. When in Doubt, LBD
The last thing you want to deal with during a job interview is insecurity over your appearance. If you’re struggling over what to wear, keep it simple with a little black dress. This versatile piece can be paired with a blazer and smart pumps for corporate cultures, or with a bright cardigan and layered necklace for more casual environments.

8. Swap Your Maternity Clothes
If you have friends or family members who recently announced they’re expecting, it’s time to dust off your maternity clothes and consider a swap. Ask the new mom to be if she has any business attire that she would be willing to exchange for your pregnancy wear.

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Andrea Woroch is a consumer and money-saving expert for Kinoli Inc. As a nationally recognized media source, Andrea has been featured among top news outlets such as Good Morning America, NBC’s Today, MSNBC, New York Times, Kiplinger Personal Finance, CNNMoney and many more. She is available for in-studio, satellite or skype interviews and to write guest posts or articles.

It’s tax time again and, just like last year, Uncle Sam is offering a bit of relief in the form of two extra days for filing. While this news may encourage you to put off tax prep, it’s essential to get your information submitted as soon as possible. After all, the sooner you submit, the quicker you get a refund, or the more time you have to save up if you owe.

Preparation is key to any task and absolutely essential when completing your taxes. Before you commit your weekend to pouring over government vernacular, consider these seven tips to stay on track.

1. Identify Deductions
Before you start number crunching, be sure you know what expenses to write off; you don’t want to miss out on a single tax-deductable expense. The list is quite long, so take the time to read it thoroughly and highlight anything that applies to you. You can find the Top 500 Itemized Deductions on the IRS website.

2. Organize, Organize, Organize
Now that you know what to deduct, it’s time to organize the information. You’ve filed tax-related documents in a single file all year – that’s as organized as you need to be, right? Wrong. If your receipts are a hodgepodge of charitable donations, business lunches and vehicle records, take the time to separate them out. This will save you a lot of headache come input time.

3. Keep Track of W2s
By law, employers must submit W2s to employees by Jan. 31 of each year. If you failed to receive yours or can’t seem to locate it, contact your HR department or supervisor. File it immediately when you receive it.

4. Find Discounts for Software
Preparing taxes at home is much cheaper than working with a professional, but that doesn’t mean you should pay full price. Look for tax coupons from websites like CouponSherpa.com and save on software packages to make your tax prep even more affordable.

5. Save on Professional Help
Taxes are never straightforward, but business owners and people with multiple real estate properties are much less likely to be audited when they work with a tax professional. If you work with a chain agency like H&R Block, be on the lookout for deals and discounts; they run rampant this time of year.

6. Analyze Your Refund
It’s tough to compete with the glee of receiving a hefty tax return, but not owing anything to the IRS is the sweetest gift of all. If your withholdings are too high, you’re missing out on monthly income. If they’re too low, you’re living the high life until an abrupt wake-up call on April 15. Ultimately, you want to break even with Uncle Sam, so use the IRS Withholding Calculator to determine the optimal deduction from your paycheck.

7. Spend Refunds Wisely
It’s tempting to treat yourself when you get a refund, but the biggest treat of all is financial security. Thankfully, 43.8 percent of Americans intend to stash away expected refunds this year, up from 42.1 percent in 2011, according to the National Retail Federation’s Tax Returns Consumer Survey. Paying down debt, donating to a charity, and adding to emergency savings are all wise ways to spend your refund.

Andrea Woroch is a consumer and money-saving expert for Kinoli Inc. As a nationally recognized media source, Andrea has been featured among top news outlets such as Good Morning America, NBC’s Today, MSNBC, New York Times, Kiplinger Personal Finance, CNNMoney and many more. She is available for in-studio, satellite or skype interviews and to write guest posts or articles.

When it comes to running a home based business, you look for as many avenues as possible to market that business to others. One successful marketing tool is to write and publish your own newsletter. This can be published in print and mailed out to customers and clients, or it can be formatted and sent via email.

When it comes to writing the newsletter to promote your home business, you need to write and publish quality content that your readers will want to read. This content should be informative and engaging…along with a call to action sprinkled in.

Including graphics is a good way to go because it will grab the reader’s attention and give them immediate satisfaction of what you are talking about. I recommend publishing it in a normal black text that is easy on the eyes. You don’t want to get too fancy with fonts and colors.

Your newsletter should always contain your business’s contact information in a prominent place. I recommend you place it at the very top and at the very bottom with your important content in the center.

When it comes to the type of content you want to include, here are some great ideas on that.

1. In depth Product or Services Information: Let readers know in great detail about the products you are marketing, how they can use them, how they will benefit from them, how they can fit into their lives along with pricing and purchasing information.

2. Customer Testimonials: A great way to attract new sales is by including customer testimonials in your newsletters. Readers love to know how others are using your products or business services.

3. Company Events: If you participate in or sponsor company events, you will want to include that information if they will be of interest to your readers.

4. Questions and Answers: Ask your readers to submit questions to you and you publish those questions along with your answers.

5. Preview Of The Next Issue: You could include a little preview of what is coming up in your next issue.

When it comes to writing and publishing your newsletter, it is important to publish informative content that others will want to read. You want it to be viewed as a valuable piece of information and not as a spam advertisement that offers no real added value to the reader.

You will want to take your time writing it, formatting it and publishing it so that it comes out looking professional…after all, your goal is to gain readership and to represent your home business in a professional manner.

Written By: Shelly Hill ~ This article can not be reprinted unless Shelly’s official Author’s Bio is attached. Please email/contact Shelly to obtain her bio before reprinting this article. Thanks!

10 Things to Look for in a Web Host by Terri Seymour

A web hosting service allows you to make your website accessible to the world wide web. You generally upload your site files via FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to your host and they go “live” and become a part of the internet. There are free web hosting services for personal sites but if you have a business site, you will want to pay for a better hosting service. There are countless hosting services on the web but there are things you need to look for when shopping for a good host. Below are ten things you might want to check before choosing your host.

1. Support System – One of the most important things to look for in a host is a good customer support system. When you are having problems you don’t want to wait days for answers. Test the support system of the host before you purchase. See how friendly, helpful and fast they are. Do they have an email, support forums, phone number? They might even have a live chat option available.

2. Disk Space – You want to make sure the host offers a good amount of disk space but you want to also make sure they do not offer too much just to charge a higher price. An average business site might use about 50 MBs of space but if you offer images, ebooks or other downloadable files, you will probably need much more than that. You will need to consider what you will be offering on your site to determine how much disk space you will need.

3. Bandwidth – Bandwidth is the amount of data transfers that occur on your site. This would include visitors downloading your web pages to their computer, you uploading files to your site and any other data transfers. Again, if you offer downloadable items on your site you will need more bandwidth than the average site. As your site gains in popularity, you will be using more bandwidth. The average business site will probably not have to worry about bandwidth but it is best to check it out thoroughly including what the penalty will be for going over the allotted bandwidth.

4. Programming Services – Websites can be built just using HTML and CSS but most sites would require additional programming languages and database capabilities such as PHP, CGI, MySQL and SSI. Be sure to check to see if your potential host is compatible with these programming languages and services.

5. FTP Access – FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is an easy way to upload files faster and more efficiently then through your control panel. The easiest way to access your ftp is by using your domain as your FTP. Not all hosts have this easier FTP access.

6. User-Friendly Control Panel – Control panels can be very intimidating and frightening. Your potential host should be able to provide a demo of the control panel they provide. Check to see that it is easy to use, navigate and understand.

7. Site Builder – Web creation tools can be a big help for people building new websites or additional sites. Most hosts will provide these website building tools but always check to be sure.

8. Web Statistics Tools – You will surely want your host to have web analytics because you need to know how many visitors you are getting, when you are getting them, to where they are going, how long they are staying and more to produce a successful, efficient website. These tools are invaluable in helping you to find out how to improve your website so it can grow!

9. Email Accounts and Mailing List Feature – A good web host should offer you numerous email accounts. You might also want to check for a mailing list feature to help you build an email marketing mailing list.

10. Uptime – Another very important service a good host should provide is reliable uptime. One thing you do not need is for your site to be down more than it is up. Most sites will claim 99.9% uptime but do some research and find out if it is actually true.

Web hosting services are a dime a dozen online and sifting through them all to find a good one that provides you with everything you need can be a daunting task. See if you can get someone you know and/or trust to recommend a good host. Do a search for web host reviews and read some real experiences of people who have used the host. Find out everything you can before choosing a host because that can be one of the most important choices you make in building your website!

About the Author:

Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com

Article Source: WAHM Articles