Alyssa, when did you first decide to look for a way to work from home?

I first decided to look for a way to work from home after having my first child and needing extra money. That was in 2003. It wasn’t until 2005 that I first found 1 option which was direct sales. It wasn’t as fruitful as I had hoped.

In 2006 I created my first website for my ministry (Beauty by Design Ministries) and in October 2007 after quitting my part time job that March after the birth of my 2nd child I began ghostwriting and my business A Writer for Hire.

I now do several things online including writing, blog management, running my ministry site which includes ebooks, an ezine, and a new training membership site that will launch soon called Faith Leaps: Training to take the leap of faith into speaking, writing and ministry.

How did you sort through your ideas for a work at home business?

I spent a great deal of time online researching and I spent even more time in prayer.

Where did you look for inspiration?

I relied heavily on the online community, especially the WAHM community and my online friends. After being online for a while I also found the amazing community of women at Mom Masterminds who have changed my life.

Is there anything that you’ve tried that you would say didn’t work for you?

Definitely, taking surveys, doing pay per posts, and my time in direct sales definitely did not fit me or work for me.

What do you love about what you are doing to work at home today?

I am able to fulfill God’s call on my life. I am pursuing my passion.

How are you applying Web 2.0 tactics to your business?

Web 2.0 tactics, such as social media, microblogging, and social networking are huge these days and I have jumped in to all of them. I especially love Twitter and use it daily for “social interaction” as well as for networking and marketing. It works well for all three things.

What are your hopes for the future?

I hope to be able to build my ministry and businesses large enough that I am able to create a residual income so that I can focus solely on speaking and writing for ministry. I have hopes of traveling nationally on a regular basis as a speaker.

What advice would you give a new work at home mom?

My advice for a new work at home mom is to not give up. The task of finding your “fit” as a WAHM is daunting, but it is worth it to stick with it.

Laurie, when did you first decide to look for a way to work from home?

January 2000. I was a single parent with a newborn and was on maternity leave. I knew my baby would not know her father and did not want her thinking some day care provider was her mother. I left a 13-year federal government position to stay home with my two children.

How did you sort through your ideas for a work at home business?

I didn’t have much time. I decided two weeks before I was to return to work that I was going to be a WAHM. Years ago I heard Les Brown speak and he said that in order to be successful, you “had to be hungry!” I took almost a six-figure loss in pay by resigning and I was fixin’to be very hungry! One of my many tasks that I often performed for the government was writing letters, memos, directives, policies, SOPs for the executives. So when I had to make a split decision career move as a WAHM, I knew that I could write well. Ghostwriter was a natural fit for me.

Where did you look for inspiration?

The faces of my two beautiful children were all the inspiration I needed.

Is there anything that you’ve tried that you would say didn’t work for you?

After about seven years of successful ghostwriting, I realized I was very burned out and no longer enjoyed writing for clients. I wouldn’t say that it didn’t work but rather that it served a purpose at the time and ran its course.

What do you love about what you are doing to work at home today?

Today I am a national sales director and independent consultant for Scentsy Wickless Candles. I’ve been involved with direct sales for 20 years, mostly for my personal use – more of a hobby. I started with Scentsy in 2006, not with the intention of building a candle business. However when the ghostwriting train ran off the tracks, I had the candle hobby and then took steps to start working it like a business. Today I spend most of my days on the telephone or online mentoring my team members (currently about 200 nationwide). I also like the internet marketing aspect as I continue to grow my business

How are you applying Web 2.0 tactics to your business?

I’m still a baby when it comes to applying Web 2.0 tactics. I currently us blogging, social networking, and advertising on podcasts. I have much to learn in this arena and need to spread my wings and become skilled at some new tactics. Funny thing though, for a writer I don’t much care to read. I’d rather just have someone tell me what to do. So reading tutorials and text on the proper way to apply 2.0 often gets put on the back burner.

What are your hopes for the future?

I hope that I will continue to grow and learn the most effective and up-to-date tactics to continue to grow my Scentsy business. I sincerely hope that I don’t become the old woman who didn’t want to try out the new fangled PC, because she really liked her old IBM Selectric Typewriter. I know that to survive in the competitive marketplace I will need to adapt and discover in order to stay one step ahead of the competition.

What advice would you give a new work at home mom?

To keep on keeping on. I know that sounds like a Hallmark card, but generally when first starting out the customers, the web traffic, the sales, the clients, and etc. don’t come nearly as quickly as hoped. I was very blessed to have been able to leave an extremely stable and well paying position, start a new home business and never miss a mortgage payment. However, my experience is not the norm. I would encourage new WAHMs to not start collecting businesses and sign up for every opportunity that sounds good. Do your research first and then commit to two years; and give it all of your focus and proper attention. If after that time it’s really not working for you, then, and only then, consider something else.

What do we have today? Glad you asked. We have prizes that will help you make money through ecourses, and how to organized your home office. You won’t be able to come up with fresh ideas for that ecourse if you don’t have that office in order.

Thanks to all of the business’ that donated prizes to our hard working moms. I want wish all of our WAHM Bloggers good luck! Oh and if you haven’t voted yet go do it now.

Mini Course Money

Okay so you have a list, but you’re still broke. No problem, Carrie & Marie Ynami has come to the rescue. It’s vital to your business to have a list. Without it you’ll go broke, but at the same time you have to know what to offer your list in order to make money.

Through mini ecourses you’ll be able to gain that income you’ve been looking for. Learn what a mini course is, why website visitors love them, ways you can make money using them, and guidance through the process of putting your own course together.

Marie is such a sweetie and knows how to build some traffic to a site. The Mini Course Money guide includes a 31-page ebook, 37 minute recorded interview, marketing tips, newsletter list report, recommended resources, and checklist.

Marie loves to share her online marketing skills on her blog.

Tips for Home Office eBooklet & Organization Audio

You have a home office don’t you? Most of us moms do, but is it organized? If you answered yes then the lovely Brandi Kojino has some tips for you. Actually she has 101 tips to be exact.

With her ebook and audio you’ll be able to create a productive home office, and be organized for good.

Learn more about Brandi and her tips at the Home Office Organizer Blog.

Tiffany, when did you first decide to look for a way to work from home?

I was forced into it when my newborn son was diagnosed with RSV (a respiratory illness). To be honest, I don’t know that I would have had the guts to try it had I not had this medical emergency, but I am thankful that some good came out of it.

How did you sort through your ideas for a work at home business?

I was surfing eBay looking for Jets memorabilia for my husband (who is stuck in Cowboy country with me in Texas) and I saw a link to a Services area. This took me to Elance, where I began ghostwriting. I had a background in Journalism but it wasn’t the same.

One of my first clients was Jimmy Brown, and he taught me about the difference between college level writing or offline print media and online marketing communication. This began a long career as a ghostwriter for top marketers, but I finally got up the nerve to become a marketer myself once I realized how profitable my talents were for others.

Where did you look for inspiration?

I, like many people, suffer from self doubt and worry that I’ll mess up. Luckily, the Warrior Forum provided a sea of camaraderie for me, where I met so many wonderful men and women who reached out to help me and mentor me. I always try to give back and help others, and to this day, I learn something new in that forum on a regular basis.

Is there anything that you’ve tried that you would say didn’t work for you?

Outsourcing has been iffy. Sometimes I still ghostwrite, so when I’m working on other people’s projects, I’ll maintain my own site’s momentum by using ghostwriters for things like article marketing. I find it very hard to hand over tasks to other people when I feel I could do it better myself.

What do you love about what you are doing to work at home today?

It has to be helping people. I remember the desperation I felt when I held my baby and wondered how we were going to make it because I refused to go back to work. Now, I’m able to help other men and women in a similar situation begin making money online without having to do anything shady or questionable. I get emails all the time saying, “Thank you – here’s where I am now because of what I learned from you.” That feels really good.

How are you applying Web 2.0 tactics to your business?

Web 2.0 is the crux of my business efforts. My first product was Social Networking on Squidoo, and that web 2.0 site remains the best tool in my advertising arsenal. However, with social networks are always cropping up and they’re integrating with one another, like Twitter connects to Squidoo and Ezine Articles Tweets my submissions, and so on. I’m connecting the dots and teaching others how to do the same.

What are your hopes for the future?

I hope that online marketing becomes less of a mystery. I still don’t know anyone offline who understands what it is. They all assume it’s email spamming and I have to try to explain what it truly is. I hope more men and women, more parents, get to enjoy the kind of life I have – raising my children myself, setting my own hours, and working from anywhere in the world that I want to be. I hope more individuals get to determine their own salary rather than having to grovel to a boss who may or may not consider them worthy of a raise.

What advice would you give a new work at home mom?

Carve out time in your day to work, but enjoy the flexibility you have. I take days off to go to the zoo and make up for it by working a few hours in the evening. Keep an Excel spreadsheet for various projects you’re working on – it feels good to delete tasks once they’re finished! And whatever you do, BRAND yourself to the world for your expertise. Don’t be shy! It’s how you sell more and earn the respect you deserve.

I love every opportunity that comes up for us to work together and am so pleased to share some of her history with you today.

Alice, when did you first decide to look for a way to work from home?

In 2002. I was a new mom on maternity leave and was determined to find a way to earn money from home that would keep me from having to return to work outside the home.

How did you sort through your ideas for a work at home business?

My goal was ultimately to find a business that I could truly run from home. Problem is, many businesses that people call a “home business” require you to be out serving clients, selling your stuff, etc.

Still, when I began my search, I couldn’t seem to find this true home business opportunity. I knew I loved teaching and previously ran a tutoring business, so I searched for another opportunity that complimented that interest. It seemed a lot of moms were into direct sales, so I looked at any sort of education-related opportunities in direct sales and found Usborne Books.

I signed up, still hoping to make it an at home business instead of lugging those books around a few times per week. Those books are HEAVY and I had a little baby at home.

So, I went forward to build my own book website and tried to center my business online.

Unfortunately, Usborne Books in Canada wasn’t really conducive to conducting business online, so I decided to leave an pursue my own opportunity when I learned about affiliate marketing and happened upon Dr. Ken Evoy’s Make Your Site Sell ebook. The rest is history.

Where did you look for inspiration?

To begin with, I didn’t really have any.  I knew a few people personally who dabbled in direct sales, but none were doing it for a full time income. My own family is filled with 9 to 5ers. We had a few family friends who ran brick and mortar businesses and my mother in law also had her own travel agency. Although those were people I looked at and admired their success, I think I faced totally different challenges as the mom of a baby who was trying to make this Internet thing work for her.

But that’s when I started to meet other moms online who were also trying to do the same thing as me and although they were all at different levels of success, it was inspiring and wonderful to connect with moms who had the same goals as me.

Is there anything that you’ve tried that you would say didn’t work for you?

LOL. Are you kidding? How much time do you have?

I don’t think there’s anyone who found everything worked for them. If they say it did, they are fooling themselves. Part of being a successful entrepreneur is knowing when to realize something isn’t working, learn from it and move on.

For me, the first thing was direct sales. Direct sales companies have a lot of rules which is good for people who want a pre-structured business, but I wanted freedom and ability to do exactly what I wanted. It definitely didn’t work for me.

Then when I spent late nights surfing the net, desperate for something to promote my website or the latest and greatest money-making opportunity, I got myself sucked into a few useless things…but again, they were all learning experience and as I became a more seasoned online marketer, I knew how to look away from such nonsense.

What do you love about what you are doing to work at home today?

Tons of stuff. I love the creativity it allows. I love the flexible schedule. I love being home with my kids and just being home in general. Heading out to work every day is no fun and I love the fact that I still don’t know how to work my alarm clock radio I bought about 4 years ago. I do know how to use the radio though! J

How are you applying Web 2.0 tactics to your business?

You know, I don’t compartmentalize things into categories like Web 2.0, etc. I think I’ve always had a Web 2.0 approach to my business, but now there are just more tools to do it. I’ve always loved interaction, using information and connections to build my business.

What are your hopes for the future?

I look forward to continuing to help fellow moms and other entrepreneurs live their dreams of working from home, having a flexible lifestyle and taking home a great paycheck.

I also hope to show my kids (7, 5 and 3 months) how they can get involved in Internet marketing, if they’re interested. My 7 year old is an amazing reader and is honing is writing skills. He says he wants to make a website…I think we’ll be able to do that soon.

What advice would you give a new work at home mom?

Make a plan and stay focused. There is so much information out there, so many opportunities and really, you can’t take it all on. You’ve got a family to take care of and this work at home thing is a compliment to that…it shouldn’t take over.

Carrie, when did you first decide to look for a way to work from home?

Ten years ago I stopped working outside the home. This was 5 days before my oldest son was born. I figured I would go back to work part time after his birth, but when that 6 weeks was up, I knew I couldn’t do it. I remember sitting in my apartment holding my beautiful newborn and crying just at the *thought* of it. I knew if I had to eat beans and rice and rice and beans forever in order to afford to stay home, I would.

When he was just a few weeks old I inherited an old computer and signed up with AOL. I started selling cloth diapers and baby clothes and supplies on eBay for a profit. (Ten years ago when eBay was still in its infancy you could do that!)

The entrepreneurial bug was deep in my bones though. My Mom was very successful in Direct Sales. Tupperware, Mary Kay, BeautiControl, Pampered Chef, Home Interiors, you name it – she tried it! She won trips, awards, and we drove a Tupperware van for several years of my childhood.

When I was very young me and my best friend were going to launch The Sock sHop – a mail order company that make custom designed socks. Don’t steal the idea anyone, I may still do it. LOL! It’s always been my dream to own my own business.

How did you sort through your ideas for a work at home business?

Really early on in my work at home journey I found the illustrious Alice Seba and www.InternetBasedMoms.com (now owned by the illustrious Mila Sidman). I’m thankful for that bit of serendipity! I found the site because I had launched a tiny little 3 page point and click jobbie and wanted information on how to monetize it. I knew that people earned money with websites even when they didn’t sell a product – of course the word for that is affiliate marketing but I didn’t know that then.

Anyway, I launched this tiny site because I was doing these offline events for women in direct sales. I needed a place to send the media and the people who were calling my house all day. The site was born and I did something very right – I sent out a press release! It was Alice’s free press release template that got me published in my local newspaper (front page news!). That bit of traffic excited me and I also earned a few affiliate commissions in my sleep – which got the wheels rolling in my head. I also learned another lesson from that early experience: that a website must be *marketed*.

I did kind of bounce around for awhile trying different things that didn’t really work for me – but that’s ok. I think for most of us, it’s a bit of an evolution. We rarely start out doing the thing that we end up doing. But in the meantime we’re learning and earning so it’s alright!

Where did you look for inspiration?

Like I mentioned my Mom was a big inspiration but also my Dad – he has run a profitable business for 35 years now. In terms of mentors, I have people like you Kelly, Alice Seba, and many others at Mom Masterminds whose stories inspired me.

Is there anything that you’ve tried that you would say didn’t work for you?

When eBay stopped being profitable (for me – it certainly works for others!) I dabbled in direct sales for awhile but never had much success in it. I got in debt and worked really hard for very little money. Plus I didn’t like having to go out and do demos and meetings and trainings, dragging a nursing infant with me. I had to look for something else that was totally internet based.

What do you love about what you are doing to work at home today?

It suits my personality perfectly. Affiliate marketing makes the bulk of my income. I was never good at “sales” but I can write and connect with an audience, and affiliate marketing is natural for me. Also I think I’m a good host (on my podcast) because I am good at making others shine. I’m not so comfy with the spotlight but I love to learn and talk to interesting people and ask them questions.

I’ve always wanted to be a writer too. As a kid I dreamed of writing a novel. Now I blog and write every day in my business. Since writing is the number one skill for an internet marketer, it dovetails nicely.

How are you applying Web 2.0 tactics to your business?

I love Twitter. I haven’t done a whole lot with other social media stuff. I am afraid I would get too scattered. I did just create a LinkedIn profile and have seen some good results from that. But Twitter is consistently a top traffic referrer for me – and not just from my own tweets. I see a lot of reciprocity going on with Twitter
that I love.

What are your hopes for the future?

To keep building up the side of my business that provides a lot of passive income. I really enjoy doing my podcast but I can totally see myself selling it eventually as my kids get older. I want to learn Spanish with the children in a few years and have some other important goals that have nothing to do with making money, so my business will have to reflect my lifestyle at that point. I’ll be more anonymous and spend less time online. I’ll have more of a team to help run my business for me.

What advice would you give a new work at home mom?

1- Find good mentors early on. You’ll shorten your learning curve by months (years?) and avoid much frustration and tears.

2- Don’t hold yourself back – I think we are our own worst enemies sometimes. We are afraid to speak out, to be known, to charge (what we’re worth), to ask for anything, to call ourselves an expert. Get over it! You owe it to your kids not to mess around. This is business!

3 – Focus and do one thing until you hit your income goal, and really critically analyze any new project to see if it fits into your focus.

Annette is a great friend of mine and in addition to featuring here on Sparkplugging, I asked her to co-host Work at Home Moms Talk Radio with me this week, so go listen in to our conversation there too!

Annette, when did you first decide to look for a way to work from home?

I started working from home right away when I had my first child. I was an assistant to two pastors at a large church and continued to work for them as a VA (even before that was a common term) after my daughter was born. From there I started looking for other businesses that I could do when they went back to having an in house assistant.

How did you sort through your ideas for a work at home business?

I had done direct sales already in high school and actually got hooked on the direct sales model by going to a home party with a friend and helping her to see the benefit of joining that company for herself. About 6 months later I was ready to join up myself and signed up under her as a representative. I loved it – the parties and the recruiting and as I started to build a team I really started searching for ideas and ways to be a good team leader and duplicate that throughout my organization.

Where did you look for inspiration?

I’m a resource junkie. I have shelves of business books, listened to cassettes (now CD’s) of people in business. When things started to boom on the internet somehow (oh how I wish I could remember) I found myself listening to a live conference call of you, Kelly, interviewing Alice Seba. This was back when Mom Masterminds was still really young and you all were planning to do a cruise. I was completely in awe and knew then that the stuff that you ladies were talking about could apply to my direct sales business too. I didn’t join Mom Masterminds right away (my one regret) because it was so internet marketing focused and I didn’t think that I’d benefit from it then but I continued to stalk you and Alice from that day on! I found Nicole Dean through one of your Ryze networks I think and the rest is history. I continue to look to you ladies for my inspiration and motivation but I also continue to be a resource and learning junkie. I love to learn more.

Is there anything that you’ve tried that you would say didn’t work for you?

Well, yeah. Because of my resource addiction I have a tendency to buy everything that sounds good. I linked up with another company for a while that I thought would compliment my current one pretty well and tried their mode of doing business. It was horrible and unfortunately my excitement about the potential pulled some friends in as well – I feel really bad about that. I still learned from them – some things to do and not to do but their style of doing business was definitely not me!

What do you love about what you are doing to work at home today?

I love being home with my daughters and living and working with them. I love interacting with “old” friends and meeting new friends through the internet. I love the fact that because of the internet I can marry my enjoyment of writing with my direct sales business.

How are you applying Web 2.0 tactics to your business?

I guess I’m still trying to “get” what 2.0 means but I’m enjoying the whole idea of relationship building through the web in many ways – whether it’s quick twitter comments back and forth with a group, joining in a conference room for fun and networking or doing a guest blog post for a fellow work at home mom’s blog. Although I can’t always quantify how each of these things helps my business I do know that overall it’s been a good thing – a really good thing.

What are your hopes for the future?

I think about this a lot and although I do have goals I’m more of a day at a time person when I think of my business. There is so much change out there especially as you look at how to “work” the internet. I hope that I can continue to enjoy what I’m doing, continue to bring some income into the family while still interacting with my girls on a daily basis and continue to meet new and interesting people around the world.

What advice would you give a new work at home mom?

People who know me are probably getting tired of me saying this but I’d advise a new work at home mom to be consistent and persistent. Determine that if you’re going to work from home that you will WORK it regularly (a little or a lot every day, every other day, etc) and then persist through the inevitable roller coaster ride that comes with having a business at home. Especially when you start out it’s so easy to hit that first roadblock and throw up your hands and want to quit but if you can push through it is SO worth it. Don’t give up!

Mel, when did you first decide to look for a way to work from home?

I started looking for a way to work from home in 1999, after getting tired of spending more time at work than at home. However, it wasn’t until 2002 that I actually took the plunge, gave up my job and began working from home.

How did you sort through your ideas for a work at home business?

I looked at quite a few business opportunities as well as basic work-from-home jobs when I first started. Every where I turned, there were people praising this opportunity or that one and the more I read, the more confused I became. So I ended up taking some work-from-home jobs because that seemed like the simplest solution. These jobs were ok but the pay was low, the schedule is crazy and the work flow unpredictable. To earn extra money, I helped family and friends with tasks that I had done in my out-of-the-home jobs like; tax prep, bookkeeping, media relations, etc.

One day, a friend and I were talking and she mentioned that I should start my own Virtual Assistant business since I was doing many of the same tasks that a VA would do. So I started researching what a Virtual Assistant was, what was needed to start and operate that kind of business, and so forth and I found that it was exactly the kind of business I had been looking for. There were very few start-up costs, I could control the workflow and offer services that I felt comfortable doing.

Where did you look for inspiration?

Much of my inspiration came from other women who were successful business owners. It didn’t matter if they were virtual assistants, internet marketers or if they held presentation parties and sold physical products from their living room. I saw these women earning a good living from home, being considered top go-to women in their market and that encouraged me to keep working towards my goals.

Is there anything that you’ve tried that you would say didn’t work for you?

This may seem odd considering some of the clients I have, but I tried my hand at affiliate marketing and found it wasn’t right for me. I do promote a few products that I feel confident in, that I’ve personally used or that I completely trust the person offering it, but other than that, I don’t promote other people’s products.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with affiliate marketing but it just wasn’t right for me. I’m uncomfortable recommending a product that I know nothing about and to be honest, I don’t have the time or inclination to try tons of products just to say “yeah, it’s good, you should buy it”.

Who knows though, I may take another stab at it down the road sometime.

What do you love about what you are doing to work at home today?

There is so much to love about being a VA. I enjoy being able to help business owners create a new products, update their websites, ensure their customers are happy. Helping others has always been a high priority of mine and being a VA allows me to do it from the comfort of my home.

A big bonus for me is not having to put on business attire, commute to work and schedule appointments around a 9-5 job. I love having a job where every day is different. Where one day I might handle customer support all day and the next I’m working on websites or creating products or any number of other tasks.

I love having the opportunity to be home with my children and watch them grow up. My son graduated & recently moved away from home and my daughter will be graduating in just a few short years, so having the extra family time with them has been great and has helped create a solid bond with us.

How are you applying Web 2.0 tactics to your business?

Ok, you got me on this one. I stink at the social networking aspect of Web 2.0.

I do have a myspace, ryze & hub page, but never use them. I don’t twitter, use facebook, squidoo, social bookmarks or any such things. Truthfully, those tactics just don’t appeal to me. I’d much rather spend my time working on website tweaks, writing an article or helping a client or someone who wants to be a VA.

That being said, I do have some things in the works. I’m working on a total site-redesign and will be implementing some audio and video into it. I’m finally going to start a blog after dragging my feet for what seems like forever. Once those are implemented, my next idea is to learn the art of podcasting. At that point, I might take a bigger interest in some of the other aspects of Web 2.0.

What are your hopes for the future?

Overall, I think it’s what most people want, financial security as well as personal growth and empowerment.

I hope that through my new virtual assistant membership program (Virtual Assistants Mavens) that I can encourage and assist others who want to become VA’s; that I can share my knowledge with them so that they might have an easier, more clear and defined path to follow to a becoming successful VA.

I also have a couple goals that are based around my family. I’d like for my husband to have the option to retire within the next 3 years. I don’t think he will want to stay home full-time but I’d like it to be an option. He has worked hard for his family for many years and I’d like to see him relax some. I would also like to train a manager to handle my business for a short-time so that I can take my daughter on an extended vacation for graduation in a couple years.

What advice would you give a new work at home mom?

There is no such thing as “easy money” and if someone tells you there is, they are wrong. It takes a lot of persistence, hard work and dedication to have a successful business. Once you get established, things do get easier but you still have to work at improving and growing your business.

In addition, your actions speak louder than words. It doesn’t matter what you say, if you’re your actions don’t back it up, your business suffers. Your customers are depending on you to do what you say you will do. If you don’t follow through, you lose their trust and their business. And as with anything, bad news spreads faster than good news and soon nobody will want to do business with you.

Tara, when did you first decide to look for a way to work from home?

At the time I found Cherish Bound I had three kids and I was working outside of the home. I wasn’t actively looking for another “job”, but I longed to be able to work for myself. I always wanted to be my own boss, schedule my own hours, but most importantly I wanted to work from home so I could be with my kids. I wanted the flexibility to do business when I wanted to do it.

Cherish Bound kind of found me. A friend of mine who had just signed up as a consultant and had published her first book introduced me to Cherish Bound. The moment I saw her book I connected with the idea and the concept, it just made sense to me. And then when she told me that it was her new business that she was doing from home I didn’t think twice. I signed up that day! I found a product and idea that I loved, it would give me the flexibility to work from home, I could run a legitimate business and provide an income for my family.

Thank goodness I chose this route. Little did I know in the short months to follow we would be transferred across the country, and add 2 more children to our family. Having Cherish Bound as my business from home allowed me the freedom to move, have twins, and keep my business thriving.

How did you sort through your ideas for a work at home business?

Like I said before, I wasn’t actively looking for a home-based business. I never really saw myself in that environment. I never hosted a home party, but I attended few; however, there was a small part of me that was jealous of the consultants. I would hear these consultants brag about their flexibility and how they scheduled their own hours, worked with people they liked, and had fun! I knew what opportunities were out there, but nothing connected with my soul like Cherish Bound did. I liked supporting these women and purchase their products, but as a business, I hadn’t connected yet.

Where did you look for inspiration?

During the years leading up to Cherish Bound, I had a few different jobs that were bring home a nice second income, but they were stressful, required a lot time and took me away from my family. To me they were not bringing me joy. I always wanted to be a part of something that brought me joy, happiness, a sense of peace. I felt like I was struggling to justify everything that was doing. So my inspiration pretty much came from my trials and searching. It was the day I found Cherish Bound and saw my first book that true inspiration set in.

Is there anything that you’ve tried that you would say didn’t work for you?

Talking pre-Cherish Bound, it’s was struggling to balance a full-time job outside of the home while being a mother and wife.

What do you love about what you are doing to work at home today?

First and foremost, I love being a mom! I get to be at home, make breakfast, dinners, change diapers, clean up toys! I get to do all of that and still work. I think of it as a blessing that I “get” to do these things. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Second on my list is the flexibility. I love planning and scheduling my business hours, in-home gatherings, workshops, and other events all around ME! I work a tight ship and stay on a schedule, but I have the freedom and flexibility to change it at any time. I’m the boss!

How are you applying Web 2.0 tactics to your business?

Web 2.0 is such a new and exciting concept for me. While home gatherings and workshops are the core basics of my business, Web 2.0 is another element in growing my business. It’s been about a year now since I’ve really started to grasp the concept. My biggest effort is in blogging on Publish Our Stories. I love to blog about my love for story, family traditions, memory keeping ideas, and Cherish Bound.

I’m excited to see how many visitors come and go and how they understanding the power of story through my blog. I’m active in forums all over the internet. I also have started doing online presentations. I’m a member of various online groups that support and encourage home-based businesses. I also have my own Cafemom group (Point & Shoot + Cut & Paste + Drag & Drop = Shared Memories) that I just started.

I’m an official “Twitterer” on Twitter.com. Thank you Kelly for encouraging me to seek that out. Again, this a great area to network, as well as meet others that are doing what I’m doing. I also love reading others blogs and websites. I like to engage myself in people’s blogs by leaving comments and feedback and I follow blogs that I connect with.

What are your hopes for the future?

I have specific hopes for my business. Everyday I see these hopes becoming a reality and I realize that I’m making my dreams come true. I plan on having a thriving, successful business that brings me financial security and personal empowerment for years to come. I plan to stay at the top of Cherish Bound’s leadership team and help enrich, encourage, and empower women all across the world.

I will bring families to the understanding that there is a power in story and they can celebrate their families through story. I know that by accomplishing my goals through Cherish Bound my family will be able to enjoy the rewards and learn from my example. I’ve always hoped to one day be a household name and be associated with truly amazing people.

What advice would you give a new work at home mom? First, find something you truly love. Find something that you pretty much can’t live without. It’s out there, you just have to find it. Second, decide if you’re in it to save money (hobby) or make money (career). Many moms come into direct sales/work-at-home businesses and are not prepared to work their business. You have to work! Being a mom will always come first. That’s why we’re choosing to do business this way.

But you have to schedule and set aside time to work. Working from home can be truly rewarding and successful if priorities are set in place from day one. Educate yourself in your products and services, and share them with everyone. Make sure you’re with a company that offers you support.

Look for a company that will back you up and lead you in the right direction. You have to be able to rely on your company for support and trust that you’ve been given a legitimate business opportunity. If you’re in direct sales, make sure your uplines are giving you the attention and training you deserve.

Last but not least, Believe in yourself. Believe that you can make your business work. Believe that you will succeed.

Vera, when did you first decide to look for a way to work from home?

I really was in a place of working every single day of my life, I basically got 3 days off per year due to retail  store hours and owning my own business meant being a slave to it. My day often started around 8am, and lasted until 10pm, especially at Christmas these hours were often extended and owning 5 store locations, I had just had enough after 12 years.

How did you sort through your ideas for a work at home business?

I initially came across Alice Seba, and started generating ideas there. I wrote down everything that I was most interested in and decided that scrapbooking would be it for me. I love scrapbooking and everything about it. I love to write and share my stories in my albums so I know my children will have things to look at in the future as they grow up. Scrapbooking seemed like a nice fit for me, so I went for it.

Where did you look for inspiration?

Initially only knowing Alice and her site, I’d often check out internetbasedmoms.com then as time went on I joined Mom Masterminds where I started knowing very little, at this point I think I had only ever created 7 web pages.  I grew to really enjoy learning at Mom Masterminds and realized that this was THE place for me.  Even today, I get inspiration from the many moms inside MM who are not only growing their business, but totally thriving in it.

Is there anything that you’ve tried that you would say didn’t work for you?

I wouldn’t say there was anything that didn’t work, most of it has. I think the main thing I could say what didn’t work was the constant purchasing of ebooks to learn a new technique, and expecting it to work right away. A technique is just a technique, an idea is just an idea.  You need to develop a process of things that will get you to where you want, thankfully I know this and work on this daily.

What do you love about what you are doing to work at home today?

Oh Kelly, this brings me to tears. I spent so many days and nights away from my children, I will never get back that time.  I love the fact that I am here with my children now day in and day out, spending very special moments with them during each day. I can tuck them in at night, I can kiss them when they are hurt, and I can support them in what makes them happy. Now at ages 15, 12, and 6, I am realizing how very fortunate I am today to have this opportunity of working online.

How are you applying Web 2.0 tactics to your business?

I probably don’t focus enough on Web 2.0 things but for now I love spending time on Twitter, I enjoy building relationships on Facebook, I’ve hooked up with lots of people from even elementary school, very cool.  I’ve spent some time creating pages on Squidoo and even had a virtual assistant do some for me.  I recently joined Linked In, but other than that not alot.

What are your hopes for the future?

I hope to build a business that is thriving over and above anything my 5 retail stores ever did so that I can donate and be a part of ministries that I’d like to contribute to.  But mostly, to be happy and live life to the fullest, thankfully this internet business that I have allows me to do all of this.

What advice would you give a new work at home mom?

Stop looking for opportunities to happen, and start creating them for yourself.  Keep looking forward, don’t dwell on finances, think of what you want to create and build for your future.

Also, get plugged into a group that will help you at a much faster pace, I welcome you to join us all at Mom Masterminds, we are truly a family there and I visit there still almost daily.  Don’t get sucked into hype filled messages, the key for me is listening only to a handful of core mentors. Also realize that this is a real business, not a play thing that you’re going to try out for now, you’re putting time and effort into building something very real.