Home Based Business Mom

Direct sales can be a rewarding, life changing experience for someone looking to own their own business and determine their own financial destiny. You can set your own schedule, be your own boss, set your earning potential as high as you want, earn some fancy jewelry to wear or a fancy car to drive. Not every company is created equally and there are some things you should consider before spending money on something that turns out to be nothing more than a scam.

Let’s discuss a few things you should consider prior to signing your name on the dotted line for any direct sales company.

Try Before You Buy

A person should make certain their money will be well invested on any business venture. If you’ve tried the product you’ll be selling and like it then you’re off to a good start. If not, determine why you are even thinking about selling the company’s products or services. Make sure someone is not trying to coerce you into signing up just so they can make money themselves. Never join just to help a friend or family member out if that’s your only reason for doing so.

Is Your Recruiter Actually Successful?

If your up line is successful and can prove it, the better your chances of your business being profitable increases. Always look more than just one level up too. Even if the person recruiting you isn’t making great money yet, there could be a reason, so don’t be afraid to ask the person who signed them up for information too.

Research the Company Itself

You want to know the company you’ll be working for has been around and can make it the long haul. New companies can be successful, but with direct sales companies constantly opening and closing, you want to be sure you’re with a company that can withstand any hardships that come with being the new kid on the block. Learn as much as you can about the company, the owners and the sales reps before making your decision.

Show Me the Product

There are tons of direct sales companies who claim to sell products, but in all actuality they are only selling an idea to make money owning your own business. Some of these companies do sell a service, but the service itself is not worth selling, is simply a cover to hide the fact they are actually just making money from the down lines, and honestly are just looking to make money from those who don’t know any better.

Not every direct sales opportunity is right for everyone. You have to make sure you are joining the right direct sales opportunity for your needs. It’s also important to make certain you aren’t being swindled by some clever scheme where you’ll never make the money they promise. These are just four of the most important things you’ll need to determine before you actually sign up as a representative for a direct sales company. Learn as much as you can about every part of the business before you commit to anything.

If you’ve ever been in an office supply store, they always offer the latest gadgets and gizmos to help you stay on top of your business whether in an office or at home. Keeping ahead of the rush doesn’t have to involve putting out a lot of money for things electronic gadgets that will only confuse you more until you get used to how to use them. Sometimes, the tried and true methods still work the best.

As a work at home mom, you are saving money on childcare but also building a business that you can be proud of. To that end, you need certain equipment to make it happen. For the sake of scheduling, stop looking at that PDA and go to the calendar aisle. Yes, we said calendars. Oh, and planners are good too.

Have you seen the new calendars lately? They aren’t just those pocket ones your mom carries around or the one that comes in the mail from the insurance company (not that there’s anything wrong with those). Calendars have taken on a functionality that is quite exciting.

Speaking of calendars, two that I’ve found to work well are Mom’s Plan-it Plus 2009 Calendar: With Magnetic Hanger by Avalanche Publishing and Mom’s Family Calendar 2009 by Sandra Boynton. These calendars are fun to look at and come with stickers and pens to record everyone’s schedule. On the latter calendar, there is a space to write in every family member’s name and their activities each month.

Family calendars help you mesh family life and business commitments. Since the kitchen is the central meeting place for a family, the calendar can hang there for everyone to record what they are doing. Or, they can give all their information to you and you can do it. Mom, you can even list your work hours each day on the family calendar so your beloved husband and kids know when you are not to be disturbed.

Now, let’s talk about planners. A planner works better for business and can also be used in conjunction with a desk calendar. In your business planner, each day is broken down by hours. The time slots that you listed on the family calendar can be broken down into specific project commitments in your planner. A planner can go everywhere with you so you are never without your schedule.

Choose a planner carefully. There are many on the market and some have features you don’t need. Franklin Covey offers a line of planners for all sorts of needs. Look for:

•    Removable pages
•    Section for notes or notepad
•    Address book
•    Place for business cards
•    Tabs for easy look-up
•    Vinyl pouch for bills, messages, etc.

Keeping your business schedule straight is not an easy task, but that doesn’t mean it has to be an expensive one. You can still stay on top of your daily work with the ever handy, even if they are considered “old fashioned” by your kids, calendars and planners made for the job.

Coffee & Cookies! YUM!

OK…whomever (Qauker Oats) came up with the idea of Breakfast Cookies must’ve been thinking of me.

These things are yummy.

I love both flavors. The Oatmeal Raisin and the Chocolate Chip Oatmeal.

Now I am not stupid. I KNOW cookies are not a good breakfast. Even cookies with a lot of fiber.

But oh man…..so tasty.

I got to thinking….cookies for breakfast are a good idea. Surely there has to be a recipe that you can make at home to make a more “healthy” breakfast cookie.

So I did a quick little search online.

Did you know that you can make breakfast cookies using bacon, corn flakes and raisins?
I know….gross. But it’s a real recipe.

Banana-Oat Breakfast Cookies sound good.

Have you got a breakfast cookie recipe??

I mean….these Quaker things are only 170 calories and maybe 4 grams of fat. To me…that’s not too bad. They’re pretty big too. Perfect with a cream and sugar laden MUG ‘O COFFEE!

I used to not eat breakfast at all. One of my new year resolutions was to eat “something” for breakfast.

So wow….I’m doing magnificently well, don’t you think?