A Mother’s Story

Being a wahm is not always easy, read about this mother’s story.

What I’ve Learned About Working From Home by Tracy Zdelar

I remember being pregnant with my first son and crying alone in the bathroom (I think I might have been scrubbing the tub at the time) about the prospect of having to leave my baby at a daycare so I could work. My husband was working full-time and I had left my full-time job as a rental coordinator liason to find something I could do from home. I had tried Pampered Chef but my nausea made it difficult to work with food. I was working as a substitute teacher for the last months of my pregnancy- that is till I couldn’t work anymore due to becoming high risk. I ended up with preeclampsia and toximia and delivered via c-section a preemie at 34 weeks.

Long story short…I’ve never had to reenter the work-force, except from home. Its been four and a half years and now with two children (both born at 34 weeks gestation due to my preeclampsia) I’m still working from home.

I didn’t find “the goose that laid the golden egg” and in fact am still learning new ways to earn income. I haven’t “arrived” yet…whereever THAT is. But I can say, I keep looking at my options and tweaking the ones that work. Here is my story and what works for me.

Soon after my first son was born I bought a vendor’s license to sell at the flea market. I have a relative who bought and sold antiques and had a lot of stuff that he didn’t want to deal with so hubby, baby and I would pack up and set up at the flea market maybe once a week. As it got closer to the cold weather I turned to providing childcare. I printed up a flier with the specifics of what I was offering and mailed it to some women that I knew personally so that if they knew of anyone that needed childcare they’d know who to call. I think that is how I got my first long-term “client”. I had some occasional jobs watching children too. Throw into the middle of all this the birth of my second son who also came early as with my preclampsia and the inability for me to work.

But last year was a breakthrough year for me, in my opinion. Instead of going to the flea market, I started selling on Ebay. Soon after I got an Ebay store. Then, this year, I was tipped off on the virtues (I call it) of social networking and soon I was realizing there was a whole other world out there… internet marketing. I was blessed to find some quality ethical mentors out there who have surely saved me some major pitfalls and helped me find my way through this new world of marketing. As a result I am learning from and teaching myself how to be an “affiliate marketer”. You can see who I’m learning from at my website Hall of Fame Affiliates. This year I added a dropship business, Hall of Fame Products as well.

Although I don’t make a killing through my Ebay store -Tracy’s Estate Sale or at my dropship business Hall of Fame Products…the money that I do make from Ebay has provided me with the money I’ve needed to get my main website Hall of Fame Affiliates up and running as well as pay my Ebay fees and more. I have a very good host who offers a very very affordable hosting plan and I’ve found a very good button/banner designer to do my header and ad banner.

I’m not currently watching anyone’s children but I will keep that option open. My main focus now is to learn what I can about internet marketing, working my Ebay store, work on article submission and SEO for my sites. If you’d like to see the resources I’ve found check out my category “WAHM Business Resources” on my affiliates site. I hope to help other work from home mom’s out there by providing relevant information at my website.

Bottom line, find what works for you and be careful where you spend your money… especially when you don’t have it to spend! Learn as much as you can on your own and look ahead to paying for coaching or other expertise when you know better where you want to go. It took me some time to nail down the “affiliate” marketing niche and thats a broad niche. I do look forward to paying for some extra help and just recently I’ve been able to see where I might want to go with all this so that time for coaching may soon be here. At some point you just have to start doing something and then see where it goes. A car won’t run until you turn the key and push the gas…and likewise…in life, sometimes the answers don’t show up till you’ve driven a little farther downt that road. Best wishes to all of you who wish to stay home with your kids! There is a way…

Tracy Zdelar
http://www.halloffameaffiliates.com
http://www.halloffameproducts.com

Tracy Zdelar is simply a WAHM with two online stores, two todder boys, two cats and a husband…and is navigating her way through the world wide web of internet marketing.

Article Source: WAHM Articles

 

Start up Business Grants for Women

An article I thought all my reader might be interest in.

Start Up Business Grants For Women by Leon Edward

Today there are many people who have a dream of starting their own businesses, and many of these are women. For a number of these people the cost and expenses involved in beginning a business and getting it up and running has been a huge stumbling block from the very beginning. A business can be extremely profitable and rewarding, but without the necessary resources at the beginning, it can be a very challenging process.

If you are a woman and you are interested in starting an enterprise of your own the good news is that there are some government business grants are available to help you put your plans into action. You can qualify for these grants and be given the money that you need to make your dreams of owning your own business a reality. These funds are available and ready to be claimed and now you can be one of the lucky ones who is awarded one of these pots of gold to use for business related activities.

Business grants do not have to be paid back and you can use the funds from these resources to help you cover the expenses of any type of company that you are beginning. The money can be used for supplies, advertising, equipment, or even to pay your expenses, and those of any employees, at the very beginning of your business venture. The grants can provide you with the financial help needed to cover the extra bills that are being created while your business grows.

The government is one of the best places to look for business grants for women and other minorities. Many people who really want to start a business have not discovered this resource, or they may think that it is very difficult to fill out the applications. The surprising truth is that there are a number of grants available to females who want to become business owners and the application process is very quick and easy. The government wants to encourage small businesses and especially those that are being started by women.

There are a number on online sites that will be great resources for you to use in your efforts to obtain the financing needed for your business ventures. To find the right ones will take you only a little effort and the monetary rewards can be huge. You can even narrow your focus by searching only for those government business grants for women. With one or more of these grants in your pocket, the start up costs for your business can all be handled and you will not owe any money to anyone. These grants are not loans, they are start up revenues that are being available to encourage female entrepreneurs, and there is no money to pay back. If filling out the paperwork seems to be overwhelming to you, have someone else assist you with this task.

Women who are going to be owners of a business will find that some of these business grants are specifically listed for them. An owner is someone who owns 51%, or more, of a business. This means that you can have business partners who are male or female, and still qualify for some of these government business grants. Not only can you use these financial bonuses to begin a business, you can get a government grant to help you obtain the education needed to create a business. Having the government assist you in building a business of your own is one of the best ways possible of becoming your very own boss.

You may be wondering what does it take to qualify for grants, and you will be surprised to find out that billions of dollars in available resources are ready to be claimed by everyday, average people. If you are a US citizen, and a taxpayer, then you are eligible to claim a grant for your business dreams and desires. It does not matter if you have good credit, poor credit or even bad credit. This is money that is available to any female as long as you meet the specific grant criteria. The government is not alone in this endeavor; there are also business grants available that are provided by many private companies and foundations.

Having a way to find a grant is an important first step and can provide you with the one solid way of getting your business up and running quickly. There is some work involved in the grant application process but with a little effort, you can be rewarded by enough money to easily get your entire business idea operational. You can even qualify and win a number of different grants, and unlike loans, these never have to be repaid. The government is eager to help new small businesses get started because it is good for the economy. You can find some good information about government business grants online, but research the site carefully at the beginning.

Grants.gov is one of the places that you can use to begin your search and you will find a lot of good information at this location. You can use the site to search for different grants and find advice and help that will explain the grant application process. There is advanced searching capabilities at this site that will let you search for grants according to keywords, agencies, or categories. An additional bonus is that there is also information on how to check the status of your own application.

You will find help at Foundationcenter.org ; this is another site that assists in a search for government business grants for women. This site lists numerous government and privately funded grants that are available for the asking. It is always best to apply for several business grants, and this will definitely increase your chances of awards. There are even sites that you can find that will send you e-mails whenever new information or grants are being listed.

Leon Edward shares information on government business funding, Federal, State ,Local Grants, where to find start up business grants, sources, how best to fill out applications, grant management step by step tips at http://www.business-idea-grants.com

Article Source: WAHM Articles