Member Contributions
Seriously, I want to hear from you. You’ll be doing me a favor, yes. I am going to use this information for my upcoming book. The publishers apparently need to see proof that this is a trend, and parents really are becoming self-employed as an alternative to daycare and long hours away from home.
So, help me out, and you’ll be helping the movement.
WHAT IS MILK MONEY?
It’s the revenue that you bring in from your home based businesses. Its the funds that help you give to your family, and lead lives of freedom. Milk Money does not make you rich, we all know that, but its filled with value. It’s filled with the freedom to be your own boss and to be able to make your own choices in support of your kids. Leave me your comments. I’ll go first.
Direct Sales, Member Contributions
It’s fascinating, the phenomenon of trends.
Who sets them, and how do they come about? Are they really just a result of our current social progression?
We can chew over what came first, the product or the current. Or we can create our own trend based on what our current society is in need of…or um, ahem…what we are in need of! Imagine the power we have to create a global movement simply by working together and using our commonality as parents to drive our ambitions.
You already know that I am on a mission to bring 1 million parents home…but I am also on a mission to support the ones who are already at home. In the past, I’ve given specific steps that will help you see yourself and value that you were intended to bring your community. But lets go a step further by implementing a simple method that could begin a sweeping new trend immediately.
Stay-at-home parents make up the largest group of consumers in America today – so by catering to their needs, you have a greater chance of success. Our most valuable asset in our modern society as parent entrepreneurs is each other. Why? Because we sell to one another. We are not only networking to grow our businesses, we are each other’s target demographic!
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions, Resource Articles
If you’re looking to make money on the internet, chances are you’ve run across a few scams already. Which methods of making money online are actually real and which ones are scams? Let’s take a look.
Real: Be an Online Writer
There is a nearly endless demand for people who can write easy to read, compelling, and informative articles for website owners.
If you want to try your hand at being an online writer, the first step is to get a little bit of experience. Perhaps try writing 10 articles for free first. Once you have a few samples, then you can easily find work on various marketing forums or companies that hire freelance writers, like Demand Studios.
Scam: Make Money Posting Links on Google
This is one of the most popular scams around today. It generally comes in the form of a story or news report of how a stay at home mom is making $6,000 a month from home posting links on Google. The reality is, Google AdWords is quite a difficult skill to master. There is no easy way to make money “posting links online.”
Real: Be an Online Virtual Assistant
Business people and travelers all over the world need virtual assistants. The trick here is to find a real reputable company to work with. Avoid companies that ask you to pay an upfront fee to “apply.” Avoid companies that try to make it sound like you’re going to get rich being a virtual assistant. Find companies with a great track record of providing real service and develop relationships with those companies.
Real: Freelance Sites
Sites like eLance, Guru.com and Craigslist Gigs are great ways to make a bit of extra money. If you have skills in design, programming, audio/video editing you’ll quickly be able to find some extra cash. Even if you don’t, there are many ways to make money: Modeling, voice overs, transcription, you name it.
Scam: Fill Out Surveys Online
The sales pitch here is that businesses need people to take surveys for their opinions. While this is true, very few are legit. Qualtrics is a credible platform, but there aren’t many others. Most “make money doing surveys” sites you see will try to get you to pay for a guide or pay to apply. Avoid it like the plague.
Figuring Out What’s Real and What’s Not
In general, if the opportunity looks like you’re providing real value for other human beings and getting paid fair value for it, chances are it’s real. Ask questions. If you can’t talk to an actual person, you are probably going to get scammed.
If it sounds too easy, sounds like you’re going to get very rich overnight, or sounds like it requires zero work, then it’s probably a scam. If you want to make real money online, then be prepared to put in a little bit of work. Rest assured however – You can make money online. Many people do.
Community, Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
Most moms are very familiar with all of the Halloween safety tips, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to review them for yourself and of course, review them with your children.
You may be surprised to find out that tainted candy is NOT the number one safety concern at Halloween…experts at a children’s hospital say the biggest hazzard is traffic, not tainted candy.
Doctors at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, advise parents to accompany their children while trick-or-treating and remind them to walk carefully, stay on sidewalks and cross streets at crosswalks or well-lighted intersections. Parents should take along a flashlight but try to get home before dark.
Other safety tips include those for costumes, trick or treating and candy. Here are some for your and children to review:
Costume Safety:
- Hem costumes so you don’t trip and fall
- Use only hypoallergenic or non-toxic make-up
- Try to wear make-up instead of a mask as it allows for greater visibility
- Keep costumes and wigs away from candles
- Swords, knives and other props should be make of flexible plastic so they are not hazardous
Candy Safety:
- Never eat candy until it has been home to be inspected by a parent
- Only eat homemade treats if you know and trust the person that made them
- Throw out candy or treats that are homemade, unwrapped or if they appear to have been tampered with (pinholes in wrappers, torn wrappers, etc.)
- For small children, remove any choking hazards such as gum, peanuts, hard candies or small toys
Trick or Treating Safety:
- Children should be well supervised and with an adult while trick or treating
- Add some reflective tape to costumes and/or candy bags for good visibility
- Carry a flashlight
- Only go to well-lit houses
- Follow traffic signals
- Drive extra cautiously
- Avoid short cuts…stick to the sidewalks and stay out of alleys
- Stay in familiar neighborhoods
- Watch for cars backing up out of driveways or turning
Trick or Treating Safety Especially for older kids:
- Never accept rides from strangers
- Be polite: always say ‘thank you’
- Don’t trample flower beds…stay off lawns…stick to sidewalks and walkways
- Don’t approach unfamiliar pets/animals
- Stay out of backyards
- Respect other people and thier property
- Report suspicious activity to the police
- Never go into a stranger’s house
- Make sure your parents always know where you are and who you are with
- If you are driving…make sure you have enough gas…don’t run out on a dark street
- If your parents give you a curfew…follow it…it builds trust
- It is NEVER cool to vandalize
- It is NEVER cool to hurt an animal
For homeowners:
- Be sure the dogs are restrained
- Be sure obstacles are removed from walkways
- Be sure your home is well-lit
And for everyone…please do not drink and drive. Here in Colorado the police will be out in force this weekend watching for drunk drivers. I would be it’s a common occurrence nationwide. Get a designated driver or a cab…it is not worth it EVER to drink and drive.
Be safe and have a very Happy Halloween!
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions, Resource Articles
All of us (mommy) bloggers want our blogs to be successful. Many want to secure advertisers to make their blogs something they can use to not only share their knowledge with others, but to also help support their families by making an income.
In order to do that, blogs need to be successful.
How is that done, you ask? It’s not overly complicated.
The first thing a blog requires is your commitment. You must post frequently. Search engine spiders look at your blog when it starts. They’ll go back in 24 hours and look again for new content. If it’s not there, it will be 48 hours until the next sweep. Nothing new again? The time doubles. Pretty soon, your blog won’t be indexed because the search spiders aren’t looking for new content anymore.
If your blog is in this situation, hate to break it to you… you have to start over with a new blog. Trying to resurrect an old blog is near impossible.
However, you CAN re-use the content from you old blog and get your new one up and running with consistent posting. In fact, when Our Milk Money decided to relaunch and upgrade the business directory, this is exactly what we did. (Worked like a charm!)
The next thing you really want to think about is your keywords. Long tail keywords, or keyword strings, are now used for indexing. Do a search on the keywords you are using to tag your blog posts. Ideally, you want the search to yield less than 100,000 results. Keywords should be nouns, as that is typically what is used to run a search. They should definitely not be ‘flowery’ words. Simplicity works best.
Use keywords people will use to conduct a search so you can be found. When in doubt, think about the words you enter into a search engine. When writing, you can certainly put the words into your own voice, but make sure it is direct and to the point with words every age can understand. You may be tempted to show off your vast vocabulary… and while your mom would be proud, it won’t help you get found. Write specifically. For example, when describing a building, don’t say the beautiful building, say the 1920s victorian style building.
In addition to being specific and using keyword strings, be sure to use your name and the name of your business and company as tags. Make sure to hyperlink tag words that are in the body of your post.
Another important thing to remember when blogging is that once you hit the ‘publish’ button, it is out there in cyberspace for ever! It cannot be taken back.
Set up your blogs to automatically update to your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Be sure to add your blogs to different blog directories, such as:
- Top of Blogs
- Blogtoplist
- Blogarama
- TotalBlogDirectory
- TopBlogArea
- SpillbeanDirectory
- Bloghub
Family, Judith Cassis, Member Contributions
If there’s one thing I love it’s a nice, expensive suit. Since presently my budget is targeted for things like trade shows and computer repair, let’s just say I’m a little dated in the fashion department. Okay, a lot dated…
I remember the days when my professional attire vacillated between a bathrobe or sweats and at times a bath towel. Oh yeah, there’s a story here, and I’ll bet when you hear it, more than one work-from-home parent will relate.
From a birds-eye view, the daily shenanigans of a work-from-home household are literally a three ring circus, sans popcorn. We learn to balance responsibilities and juggle chores with one hand, while caring for our children with the other. The day can be flowing along nicely when all of a sudden, the phone rings. Yikes – a client! Quickly, dry your hands, turn off the stereo/TV, close the door (if possible) to the playroom (if you have one), clear your throat, smile and answer the phone. Whew!
I did this for many years –yes, often in my sweats or bathrobe, and none of my clients was ever the wiser. So, what about the towel? You guessed it – fresh out of the shower and the phone rings. No one ever knew.
Judith Cassis,C.Ht. is a Personal Development Consultant with 26 years experience. Known as “The Bounce-Back Coach”, she works with people who are “bouncing back” from failure, loss or tragedy. Judith was the co-owner of a small newspaper, Tidbits of Santa Clarita Valley, www.tidbitsscv.com a family business she and her late husband, Lee Cadena ran with their sons. Through a monthly teleseries, Mama Come Home, Judith supports mothers in staying home or returning home to raise their children.
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