Posts Tagged ‘The Sandwich Generation’

 

March 14th, 2012

5 Advantages Of Home Business Opportunities For Mothers And Professional Women


Home Business Opportunities For Mothers And Professional Women

How Am I Supposed To Fit It All In?

If you’re a mother, have a job and are partially responsible for the finances in your home, chances are you’ll be pulled in a variety of directions. Women are capable of juggling many demands, but whatever you’re juggling, it only takes adding one extra ball to throw everything out of whack.

You might be able to handle the job, the children, and the bills most of the time, but what happens when you add to that an ill family member you need to care for, a plummeting economy that forces you out of your job, or a sick child that desperately needs you (typically on the same day a project is due at work)? Get one too many balls in the air and they’ll all come crashing down around you.

Home business opportunities for mothers and professional women offer some wonderful advantages that allow you to keep your professional skills honed while better accommodating the demands of your family.

  • Flexibility: There is no denying how empowering a flexible schedule can be to a mother. Business opportunities for mothers and professional women that allow you to work from home, set your own schedules, and work around the other demands in your life not only allow you to become more productive but also ease pressure you might feel trying to cram everything into a scheduled work shift.
  • Eased guilt: Tired of feeling guilty about saying no to your children when they want you to spend extra time with them? Do you dread the tears you know will well up in your childs eyes when you can’t be there for something important? Home business opportunities for mothers and professional women create the possibility of a guilt-free work zone. You can start saying yes to your kids more often.
  • Better work-life balance: Stay at home mums are sometimes frustrated at not being able to maintain their professional skills. Professional working women are sometimes frustrated at being away from home so much. Home business opportunities for mothers and professional women offer the best of both worlds, allowing you to create a work-life balance that really works.
  • Cost savings: How much money do you spend on your professional wardrobe? Your commute? That morning latte? Daycare? Those costs can all be diminished or erased completely when you work from home.
  • Job contentment: Often, we take jobs because we have to in order to help make ends meet. There is such a wide variety of home business opportunities for mothers and professional women, however, that you can find something that pays the bills and fulfills you.

    I was one of those professional women juggling several balls in the air as a mum and at times, it was crazy and I’d be running around like a headless chicken trying to be in several places at the same time keeping everyone happy – with my boss at the top of list of priorities. It was just nuts – that’s the best way I can describe it.

    Home Business Opportunities For Mothers And Professional Women

    It's Great To Have It All

    Fortunately, I was made redundant late in 2010 from a corporate job which forced me to take stock and re-evaluate my life. This led me to finding a community of expert internet marketers and online business professionals and mentors who got me up and running in my own online business from home and it’s completely changed my life. Gone is all that ridiculous juggling and putting my boss before my family.

    Pro U is probably the worlds number one online education platform and entrepreneurial mentoring program and offers members live training in online marketing, business, mindset and leadership skills with all the tools, resources, coaching and support needed for entrepreneurial success.
    You can learn at your own pace, meet likeminded individuals and above all, live your life as you please while you run your own business from home. To me, this is the most brilliant home business opportunity for mothers and professional women.

    Want to know more? If you do, you can always check out this free webinar? Just click here to organise a time that suits you.

    If my post was helpful, I’d love you to share it with your friends.

  • 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 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.