Posts Tagged ‘Sandwich Mom’

 

February 23rd, 2012

Internet Entrepreneurship – Mid Life Crisis Was A Blessing In Disguise


Life doesn’t always turn out as you expect, but even when everything went wrong with my career and I experienced what I thought was my mid life crisis and I needed a career change, Pro-U offered me a solution which has turned my life around!

Just over 18 months ago towards the end of 2010, out of the blue I was made redundant from my job as a Marketing and Schools’ Liaison Officer at a Further Education college in the South West of England. I was one of around 100 that we’re made redundant that year, others before me had suffered the same fate in previous years and others have since – due to ongoing budget cuts in the downturn in our global economy.

I’d spent a lot time advising students on the importance of transferable skills and flexibility with careers, and suddenly I found this advice applying directly to me! I’d told them that whilst the majority of our forebears had the luxury of one career throughout their lifetime, this day and age was different and many of us could expect to change careers several times.

In a dismal job market, I realised that it could be extremely difficult for me to find a new job, and besides, I’d had enough of working for a boss from 9-5, ending up putting my work before my family, almost always – can you blame me? So, I took the plunge, and became my own boss. So what I thought was a mid life crisis actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise

Pro-U has been instrumental in transforming my life. Pioneered by the wildly successful Jay Kubassek, Pro-U is a mentoring scheme, providing members with more than 10 hours of live training a week in varying areas of leadership and marketing. Members can access a myriad of tools, coaching sessions, resources, webinars and more, and it’s an ideal online education platform where you can learn at your own pace, meet likeminded individuals and above all, to live your life as you please. Why is that? The opportunities with online marketing are limitless, and Pro-U helps give you the relevant skills, tools and support that you need to be successful.

I met Jay and other top industry leaders at an event in Costa Rica recently, you can take a look here if you like. What an awesome experience that was!

So what do you have to do?

New users are entitled to a free webinar to see what this is all about. Just click here to organise this at a time that suits you, where you can learn from Jay Kubassek himself. He’s helped thousands of people over the years to become successful online, and if you’ve come to a crossroads in your life just as I did, then perhaps this is an opportunity for you to start something new!

Pro-U offer various packages based on the metaphorical ‘mountain’ of online success – Gear Up, Base, Ascent, Summit & Peak – to suit your own needs in terms of levels of mentorship and commitment.

Rest assured, you’ll receive a first class education, unparalled opportunities to learn and mix with the best of the best online and an unrivalled skill-set to help you achieve your true potential online.

Pro U can really allow you to live life as you choose, earning the salary you choose! So if you are in a mid life crisis, why not take a leaf out of my book and turn your situation around? If I can do it, so can you.

January 19th, 2012

Top Tips For Blogging Success For A Work At Home Mum In An Online Marketing Business


If You’re A Work At Home Mum Like I Am – I Hope My Blogging Tips Will Help You

If you’re a work at home mum running an online marketing business, you need to understand the importance of blogging. Anyone can write a blog, but not just anyone can write a blog that will be pulling in the viewers and gaining you those much needed hits and ultimately leading to sales.  It’s a crucial element to running a successful business. So, what can be done? Let me share with you a few hints which will help bring your blogging alive and kickstart your online presence.

If You’re A Work At Home Mum – Be Interesting

Now, for some this might seem to be a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised and like I’m sure you all do, I too read countless blogs and some of them don’t really inspire me.

Sometimes we get caught up in trying to post as many blogs as possible and then we lose that crucial spark. A boring blog post is a wasted blog post, but creating something fresh, new and informative is the perfect opportunity to attract much-needed traffic to your site. Think about what you’d like to read yourself and you can’t go far wrong.

It’s all about reputation, and the only way you can achieve status as an expert in your field is to demonstrate that. Create first-rate content offering solutions, ideas and more and your readers will be hooked and engaged, exactly what you need.

If You’re A Work At Home Mum – Be Regular

I would suggest the ideal situation is to post on the same day (or days) each week, preferably at the same time. If you’re setting yourself into a timetable to write the posts then more than likely your readers will come to expect them and if they know some new exciting content is on its way on a Tuesday at 10 am, then perhaps they’ll head over to your site to check around that time, or they’ll open their RSS Feeds at some point too.

If you’re still a fledgling site then you’ll be wanting to post as much as possible, but don’t flood your readers. There’s a fine line here, you don’t want to be posting endless dreary content but then at the same time if your posts are sporadic and half-hearted then you risk alienating readers too. It’s up to you to establish what’s appropriate, but just strike up a rhythm, and see what works best for you and your viewers. Every other day is a great place to start.

If You’re A Work At Home Mum – Be Savvy

I cannot emphasise enough just how crucial keywords are to your articles and posts. A few minutes of efficient, useful keyword research can plug you into the massive traffic arriving through search engines, and furthermore, it’s not just limited to your new posts.

Think about it, if you’re using appropriate keywords in all your posts, then there’s a real likelihood that a casual browser on Google, Yahoo, Bing or any of the other search engines might just stumble across your article. If they like it, then maybe they’ll hit that crucial subscribe button. After all, what’s the harm in trying? A small amount of effort can reap huge rewards over a long period of time if you get this right.

If You’re A Work At Home Mum – Be Vocal

Nobody wants their blog to just be one in a sea of other blogs, so you need to make yours stand out from the crowd. High quality articles goes some way, but it’s up to you to use your Facebook page, your Twitter account, YouTube and other social media to really get yourself heard. If you can make interesting comments on other peoples’ content too then again it will raise your profile. I’m not talking about you hijacking a post with blatant spam linking to your own page. Be a real person, make some insightful comment and perhaps somebody will have the presence to click on you and have a look around.

Like it or loathe it, online you’re always presenting yourself, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t harness this power to your own advantage as a business.

If You’re A Work At Home Mum – So What Now?

Blogging, as we know, is a perfect way to demonstrate your talents in your field, so persevere with it. If you’re a work at home mum running your own online marketing business then it’s crucial you understand the importance of getting your blogging right and hopefully, these tips will help you on your way. Remember these tips each time you’re writing and you’ll start seeing results in no time. I wish you success.

January 6th, 2012

Why Women Working From Home Need To Consider Using Video Marketing – Part 2


How To Start Video Marketing For Women Working From Home

If you’re thinking of joining the ever-growing ranks of women working from home running an online marketing business and you’ve read my previous article about video marketing and are ready to get started, I’ve got some advice that I hope will help you on your journey.

Through a process of trial, error and frustration, I worked out a fairly streamlined process that I hope, will make your life a whole lot easier.

If you’re feeling daunted by it, don’t be – there’s no need. If right now you’re thinking you won’t be able to stand in front of a camera and talk for two or three minutes, don’t let that put you off. The benefits are huge if you can master the art of video marketing.

The more you practice, the more confident you’ll feel

It’s OK if you don’t feel confident at the outset. That’s how it is for the majority starting out and that’s quite normal. The only way this is going to get easier is to just jump in and get going even if you make mistakes and forget what you need to say.

So assuming that you’ve already done your keyword research around the niche that you want to target, then let’s get started.

Have you chosen a location to shoot your video? Do you have a tidy and light office away from noise or do you prefer an outdoors location? Either are fine but both have to show you in a professional way. You need to make sure you are neat and tidy too. If outdoors, you need to avoid a windy area and free from distractions for your viewers. They need to focus on you and not on the people playing games in the background.

Do you have a video camera and a kind and patient camera operator? You could use a tripod instead but it takes quite a while to set up. Better still and much quicker, do you have a smart phone with a video camera? They’re great and really easy to use and you just download your video onto your computer, edit if necessary and send to YouTube. Alternatively, you can record straight from your laptop and that’s fine too.

My preferred method is to get someone to video me using my iPhone, then I download it onto my Apple Mac. If no editing is needed, I just upload it to YouTube. Job done. Simple.

If you really can’t face the camera, then you can always do a slide-show with recorded voice over. You can use power-point on a PC or keynote on an Apple Mac and these work great too. An example of this can be found here

Punchy, interesting videos attract viewers – make the most of it!

Remember, video marketing is very popular and it’s a great way to get your messages out to your target market. Don’t forget your videos need to be entertaining, informative or educational or a combination of all. They must be attractive to the viewer and provide valuable content.

I aim to shoot around three minutes of video footage in total, preferably less, and if possible, without using any kind of cue prompter. A good method I recommend is to write an article on a topic you’ve researched or learnt for article marketing or for your blog, then read it a few times and do a video about it while it’s still fresh in your mind. This way you won’t need to read off a cue prompter or a sheet of paper and it’ll be much more conversational.

Listening to someone speak naturally even if they make a few mistakes is much more appealing that watching someone who is obviously reading. If you allow yourself to relax, you’ll find your words flow much easier.

Another tactic I use is to have a few large bullet points on paper beside the camera to jog my memory as I go. This keeps the flow natural.

Don’t forget you need to say your keyword in your video and you’ll need to put your keyword in the title too. You will also need to put your keyword and other related keywords into the ‘tags’ section and make sure you include a link to your social media or website in the ‘description’ box along with details of your video. I put the link at the top of the box.

If like me, you want to be successful amongst the army of women working from home, and if you implement some of these strategies, they should get you off to a good start. I wish you good luck. Do let me know how you get on. I’d love to hear from you.

November 26th, 2011

Women Working From Home Online Need To Understand The Importance of a Blog


I’m one of the ever growing army of women working from home online and any of you more avid readers may recall me over the past few months, discussing the importance of video marketing, webinars, keyword research and other topics. And what is the best method to disseminate this information I hear you ask? Well, I’d have to say through the use of a blog. Never underestimate the importance of a blog as they have to deliver valuable information that will help others gain a better understanding of what it is you are writing about.

I think of my blog as the main hub of my activity on the Internet. Facebook and Twitter among others are great for spreading ‘bites’ of information, but my blog is where it all happens, it’s the root of my network.

Before we start…

So what is blogging? Good question. Blogging has been around for a while online, and many people treat it as their diary, although without the same privacy one might expect from a closed book. Blogs allow people to express their opinions, their thoughts, interact with others, but increasingly now – to express their ideas, which is why people such as myself have caught on to the idea.

Entrepreneurs across the world use their blogs to promote their businesses, raise awareness, show commitment to their customers and to boost their potential. A blog is a very powerful tool.

Here’s how a blog can make a difference to you, whoever you are.

Improving your brand

Forgive me for continually bringing this up, but the fact that I do shows just what the Internet can do for you. Any presence online, as long as it is clearly interlinked (think colour schemes, writing styles etc) will build your brand and increase how noticeable you are. In an increasingly ‘busy’ online space the more active you are the better.

A chance to write more

Many of the other services in a marketer’s toolbox are about getting messages across as quickly and succinctly as possible, whether you’re using tweets, videos, short posts or more. Of course, you don’t want to overdo it, but blogs give marketers significantly more leeway to really go into a topic, demonstrating their knowledge and to give readers a comprehensive insight into that niche.

Gain authority

Some of the ‘bigger’ bloggers are revered widely for really knowing their stuff, and this is because they are using their blogs to their full effect. We’ve all come across these incredible blog posts which always seem to hit the mark, and this makes us set new trust in the blogger, even if, as in most cases, we’ve never met them. Competition is difficult here, but the more you post and the more impressive that content is (we need quality and quantity) then the more of this authority you will find yourself earning.

Be accessible to all

The beauty of blogs is that no particular credentials are needed to view them. This is all about spreading to the masses, and you don’t get a lot more open than a blog. Almost anyone, anywhere in the world can read blogs without the need to sign up to a service, and even if they want to comment on a post, then increasingly there are linkages with services such as Facebook where crucially, readers already have accounts so they can get involved with what’s being written without the need for a cumbersome sign-up process.

Interacting with your readers

Nothing makes you feel so good inside as a positive comment below your latest blog post from a new reader. It’s incredibly rewarding to hear people benefiting from your hard work, and it’s so easy to actually strike up a conversation or even a debate with people below a post. This is the beauty of the Internet today and in many respects, it’s focused on the user and the ability to get involved and interact with content, so blogs are a perfect way to tap into this.

Search Engines

For all of us working online, much of our time is spent trying to adhere to SEO guidelines – search engine optimisation. Think about it. The more blog posts you have across a broad range of subjects within your niche, the more likely you are to get higher up those hallowed search results pages, or ‘rankings’ as they are called, and therefore the more hits you might get on your site as a result.

Competition

Even the least competitive among us are still, in the back of our minds, thinking about how they might just get a few more posts or subscribers than the next person. It’s only natural, and blogging encourages this healthy competition. Competition keeps us on our toes and means that we put more effort into producing quality content, which can surely only be a bonus.

Then how do I do it? It’s not as much of a hardship as you might think. Often, deciding what you want to write about can be the hardest part, but once you’ve settled down in the right mindset, have perhaps done a little research or reading around the topic area, this usually gets you going and before you know it, you’ve written a few paragraphs without too much trouble. Don’t worry too much if you think you have what’s commonly known as writer’s block, it happens to us all. You just need to go away for a while, do something different and start again fresh.

In practical terms, try to get into your own pattern of work. If you’re the kind of person who benefits most from setting aside a certain portion of your day to get the creative juices flowing, then go for that, but if you find you prefer to write on the spur of the moment as ideas come to you, then that’s fine too.

There’s no correct method here, and at the end of the day it’s up to you to think about what will work best for your set of circumstances. A quiet or at least reasonably distraction-free environment will probably help you, so I would suggest putting your mobile phone on silent for a while and turning off all your social media too. In my case, the needs of my family often have to take priority, but once they are sorted and happy, I’m ready to go.

I can’t emphasise enough how great blogging is. Finally, just think about how you are when you’re on the Internet. If you’re anything like me, then you read one article or similar, and then you click on the related links on the side. Before you know it, you’ve been sitting there reading for twenty minutes, and that time had just disappeared in a flash.

People are inquisitive by nature, and with blogs this can only work to your advantage. If like me, you’re amongst the ever-growing army of women working from home these days, hook readers and they’ll be sure to come back for more. Even though blogs are longer than your regular Facebook post, they’re still palatable for short reads, and you can’t ask for more than that really.

If you’ve found my blog post interesting, I’d love you to share it with your friends.  Thanks

November 21st, 2011

Women Working From Home Can Run An Online Business And Look After Their Family And Invalid Parents


There must be millions of women working from home worldwide juggling the demands of a family with the responsibilities and pressures of caring for elderly invalid parents who are no longer able to support themselves through illness.

It is likely too that many of these family groups will be living in the same house reducing any chance of a normal family life for the care givers, with little freedom or choice to come and go or take off for the day spontaneously. In many cases that can’t happen.

Throw all this into the mix and there’s no hiding the fact that it must be a struggle as I know from my own experiences. I don’t deny that it’s a challenging situation to be in but it’s one that I would hope others would find as satisfying as I do.

Helping those people you hold especially dear that have supported you throughout your lifetime and who have never knowingly or deliberately let you down. How could you not do everything in your power to help and provide support thus increasing any chances of quality of life to your loved ones when they need and rely on you most?

It’s heartbreaking to see anyone suffer, let alone a close relative progressively deteriorating through disease to the point where they are no longer able to do anything for themselves, rendering them totally reliant on those that care for them.

How particularly unfair also for the person being cared for who has spent their entire life selflessly serving others, raising their family whilst caring for their invalid parents and running the family business all at the same time, to be then struck so cruelly down upon retirement with a terrible disease that they can never recover from. To my mind, this is a cruel twist of fate and applies to my dear, undeserving mother.

I completely understand the struggle that millions face and would like to encourage those people wondering how they can juggle similar responsibilities, that it is possible to set up and run a business from home. It just boils down to a question of commitment, prioritising and juggling family responsibilities to fit everything in. I’m doing it, others before me have done it and future generations will do it. It’s no big deal.

Until a year ago, I was in a traditional 9 – 5 job working for a boss, dependent on someone else for my paycheck. Then along with a hundred other colleagues, I was made redundant. It was a huge shock at the time but it forced me to look for alternatives and that’s when I found the perfect solution on the Internet.

Because of the opportunity I found, I can make money in my own online home based business because it allows me to be my own boss and work when it suits me. And with the many family priorities I have, it’s happened just at the right time.

Since starting what I consider is a top home based business from home, I’ve had to take stock and prioritise. It’s the only way I can begin to fit everything in. I’m lucky as I have carers that come in for a few hours during the week to help with mum’s care and it’s during these times that I take advantage and shut myself in my office to work. I’ve also got into the habit of working in the evenings once my mum and daughter are in bed. Very often it’s at this time of night that I can be most productive.

The great thing about the Internet is that it operates twenty-four hours each day and it never closes and because I’m working with people from all corners of the world in different time zones, it’s ideal. I can be talking to someone in Australia when it’s their night and my day.

The flexibility of operating a business from home is something I appreciate more than anything. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that if I want to drive my daughter to school I can. If I need to take mum to the doctor I can. Being able to do something you’ve never been able to do is a truly liberating and wonderful feeling.

Believe it or not, it was almost impossible to do these things before. Work almost always got in the way or taking the time off was way too difficult. Asking for time off was a huge barrier to me and any time off work had to come out of my annual leave so was always problematical. So having the freedom and flexibility now is the best thing that could have happened to me, because for the first time in my life, there’s no boss other than myself to ask.

Running an online marketing business from home means so much to me and there’s no way I’d ever consider going back to a traditional 9 – 5 job working for someone else.

Naturally, I’ve had to make some sacrifices along the way in order to find enough time to devote to my business and to focus properly, so watching TV was the first on the list to go.

You’d be surprised how much time is wasted in front of the box. You can get so much more work done when you get out of the habit. I’ve also had to develop other habits to become more productive, one of which is getting up early each morning to get the family sorted before the working day starts.

I find that if I start the day with a half an hour of vigorous exercise, this wakes me right up so I’m super-charged throughout the day and this way, more gets done. This is both easy and pleasant as our family pet dog is a Border Collie called Ben so we head off along the canal banks near my home for a good workout. He’s hard to keep up with.

I’ve surprised myself at how much I can get done now that I’m fully focussed, eliminating time-wasting distractions throughout the day. No longer would I dream of shopping during the daytime or taking time out to have coffee with friends. They all know I’m working and I’m training them all to take my business as seriously as I do.

For me, this is how is has to be right now and my work has to fit around my caring and family priorities. So if you’re a mum and a carer like me, you might want to consider joining the growing army of women working from home and set up your own business. It’s ideal for me and could well be the answer you are looking for too.

You can always check out my ‘Work With Lindsey’ section on my Blog or go to www.CopyTheExperts.Com to find out what my business is if you are interested.  If you  have found value in reading my post, maybe you are in a similar situation, then I’d love it if you pass it on to your friends or family.  Thanks so much.

November 5th, 2011

Work At Home Mum Lindsey Introduces Her Mum Andy


Lindsey would like to introduce you to her wonderful mum Andy.  Lindsey considers she was very lucky to have been made redundant from her job as it forced  her to look for an alternative way to earn money to help support her family. She’s joined a community of expert Internet marketers and online business professionals and she’s a work at home mum now.  Had she still been working for a boss in a 9 – 5 traditional type of job, she’d have found it almost impossible to meet the needs of her family and keep a boss happy so she realises that being laid off 18 months ago was a HUGE blessing in disguise.

This video was taken up on http://youtu.be/0qLniP_ZGFo Grand Western Canal near Andy’s home in Devon. It was a sunny November day and it’s a place that Andy loves to go in her wheelchair.

If  you’re someone looking after their own family as well as an invalid parent, relative or friend, and juggling the demands of a traditional full-time job – then chances are you’re in the same boat that Lindsey was in before she was laid off.  At times, Lindsey felt like she was a hampster on a treadmill going faster and faster.  Getting any time off work was a complete nightmare and Lindsey used to worry about how she could keep everyone happy.  So, being laid off was her lucky break in many ways.  Now she’s got her Internet marketing business and is a work from home mum  and she can be there for her mum and family when they need her.

If you think you might be in a similar situation, why not think of starting your own business so you can work at home too?  If Lindsey can do it, so can you. You can always check out her Work With Lindsey page and see for yourself.