Never Give Up?

I just posted on my Foreclosure 101 Blog about a family that managed to save their home from foreclosure by putting up a website and asking for donations! (So far they have received over $10,000 in donations!)

While this is very good news some things in the article stood out to me. The first was that the mother had said that she was determined that foreclosure of her home was NOT going to happen! She had made up her mind and she had made it come true!

The second thing was the mere fact that they had put up a website to ask for donations - which is something that I have talked a lot about in this blog!

Personally I was very dis-heartened when AOL discontinued its webpage hosting for its members (which I am one of!) but there are still hosting sites online where you can put up a website for free! There is also still Blogger.com where you can create a blog for free as well!

I highly applaud this family's effort and I hope it encourages everyone that where there is a will there is a way!

Don't know who or what Twitter is?

Take a look at the side of this blog. On the left side column scroll down until you see the pink-colored box that has my Twitter updates on it! You'll see the things that I have posted over the past several weeks!

This is what Twitter is! It's sort of like a "memo-pad" kind of thingie where you can let people know what you are doing!

Here is a link to my own Twitter page!

It seems Twitter is growing! And they now need to hire more people! So if you think that this is something that may interest you then visit their website (at the link below) to find out more!

Here is an excerpt from their site:

"Though we're small, we offer the things you'll find at a big company—like competitive salaries and full benefits. We even have an HR department (her name is Krissy), if you have questions about your 401k, flex spending, health, dental, vacation, stock options, and all that stuff. Plus, everyone gets a meaningful stake in the company's long-term success."

Twitter Is Hiring!

Blog Consultant?

While I know that the popularity of blogs is growing, what you probably didn't know is that there are people (and companies / businesses) out there that want to hire people to help create blogs for them!

You may have never thought that someone would actually want to pay someone to create a blog for them but some people find that creating and maintaining a blog is a lot more than they can handle!



Take a look at one Blog Consultant's Blog to see an example of a blog consultant.

Comments Received

This is great. I guess this will also create a good opportunity for qualified women that have to work from home.

Regards,
Fred

Do You Make Crafts By Hand?

Then Etsy.com just might be the place for you if you would like to sell your hand-made items.

Etsy itself has been featured on popular shows like The Martha Stewart Show and The Rachel Ray Show and they also have their own blog as well. One of their success stories is about a woman who was able to quit her office job and sell her crafts on Etsy full time!

In order to buy & sell on Etsy, you'll need an account. Joining is free and easy. All you need is a valid email address.

In a way, Etsy is just like Ebay in that you list your item for sale - only in Etsy's case your item must be something that you made yourself. You can not sell something that was made by someone else.

To start selling on Etsy, you’ll first need to register for an Etsy account. To become a seller, you’ll need a credit card for verification purposes.

Fees - It will cost you 20 cents to list an item for four months. When your item sells, you’ll pay a 3.5% transaction fee. Read all about Etsy's fees for more information by clicking this link.

So if you enjoy making things this may just be the place where you can start to sell them! And I should tell you that lots of people are using this website to sell their handmade items!

I would highly recommend that you take a look at this site if you are interested in selling your own hand-made crafts and items!

Etsy.com

Web Game Developer Wanted!

Hive7 is looking to hire a web game developer!

To apply for this position, you can send your resume to jobs@hive7.com

Hive7 creates original web games on Social Networks (Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, etc.).

It’s a hotnew market for games that blend the way people play on social networks with gaming.

Hive7 is a well funded, and profitable!

Their first hit mmo game is called Knighthood which has over 3 million user installs globally, 121,000 people who play every day, 935,000 battles per day, 16,000 people
seized per hour, and brings in enough revenue that we're profitable.

They pay competitive salaries, + great benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K) plus high value stock options.

They have offices in San Francisco and Palo Alto.

Candidates must:

• Be brilliant developers (non-negotiable) addicted to the web
• Have passion to design, build and polish great, simple, fun web applications
• Be driven to succeed & self-motivated.
• Be comfortable working independently and owning a project from start to finish.

Requirements. You must:
• Have a deep knowledge of at least web framework (PHP, ASP.NET/C#, etc.)
• Have a God like knowledge of JavaScript, XHTML, CSS.
• Be a self starter, hands on attitude.
• Have a love for writing huge amounts of high quality code while shipping insanely great apps.

* Compensation: We pay competitive salary + great benefits + high value stock options
* OK to highlight this job opening for persons with disabilities
* Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
* Phone calls about this job are ok.
* Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests

To find out more about this job opportunity, just click here.

Ebay (Again)

I know that I have blogged about Ebay before - saying that it was a good way to be able to make money online buying and selling stuff and allowing you to work from home!

But I thought that I would post about Ebay again after getting a reply to one of my posts from someone saying that they were having problems understanding Ebay.

When I first started using Ebay it was hard for me to understand it too! But long story short I learned my way around! You should also know that Ebay has message forums where you can get answers to questions that you may have about Ebay.

For those of you that don't know what Ebay is - it is probably one of the most popular sites for buying and selling things! There are even some "brick and mortar" businesses that are buying and selling on Ebay! I have even seen our own government selling on Ebay!

People are starting Ebay businesses where they are buying and selling and these Ebay businesses are their sole source of income! There was even a story on TV about people who have started successful ebay careers!

Basically speaking if you have something to sell you can sell it on Ebay. There are some fees and charges associated with you being able to sell your items so you should check them out first!

BUT as I have said before people have been successfully been making money online using Ebay! For example I watched one story of someone who goes to yard sales and the like to find things that they can sell on Ebay!

As you get better and better at it you may be able to build up a reputation where buyers may contact you directly looking for items!

There's even an online radio program about Ebay!

So I mention Ebay once more as one of the great opportunities for one to be able to work from home!

Ebay

One Man's Blog Sells For $15 MILLION Dollars!

If anything I hope this inspires you! I am providing a link to a blog post about 1 man's blog that sold for $15 Million Dollars!

1 Man's Blog Sells For $15 Million Dollars!

You can find more detailed information about this by clicking here!

Basically one man's blog about banking information so interested one company that that company was willing to pay a LOT of money to acquire it!

I hope this gives you a lot of hope and inspiration (and motivation)!

Win A Ford Modeling Contract?

I found this information online and since the Ford Modeling Agency is quite a good and legitmate agency, I thought that I would post this information here:

Win a Ford Modeling Contract

MySpace has teamed up with Ford Models for the Next Fresh Faces contest, and you could be the newest addition to Ford's roster! If you're female and 16 or older, visit myspace.com/fordmodels to enter now. Check out the photo gallery to size up the competition, and subscribe to the video channel for modeling tips and to see what it takes to be a model. Don’t miss the blog for an insider’s look from a Ford agent. Good luck!

There are so few rare and legitimate opportunities out there for aspiring models that when you find a good one it's a good thing to investigate!

"I Am Interested In Becoming A Professional Voice Actor"

..............I am interested in trying to become a professional voice actor, but I don't know how to go about it...............Can anyone here help?

Well it would help to know what area you live in - whether you live near a big town.

Basically speaking you should find the voice talent agencies and send them a tape of your voice. You should also find their contact information and contact them to find out what their procedure is for hiring voice talent. Advertising agencies are also a good source of information. Once your reputation grows you should be able to get more and more work.

Do a little surfing online and find out more about how to to become a professional voice actor. There is bound to be a good bit of information about it online.

"I Want To Work From Home!"

I have been looking to work from home for a long time. I don't have money to put up front and finding something legitimate seems impossible. There are so many scams out there. Right now I just need to make money but I would eventually like to start my own mommy/twin business. Being a mother of twins childcare is outrageous and returning to the work world is going to cost me more than staying at home making nothing. Any ideas?

My email is...........................

Actually from reading your comment I have a few ideas yes!

Well if your first concern is being able to make money now then the best piece of advice that I have posted on my Consultation Page is to find a need and fill it. That simply means that if you can find a pressing need that needs to be filled then you may be able to make money sooner rather than later. What is a pressing need? Since one of your objectives is to stay at home have YOU considered opening up a childcare business? Goodness knows that there are a lot of grant and funding programs out there for child and daycare which I have posted about on both my Grant Basics 101 Blog and my Daycare Grants Related page! And you would be providing a very much needed need!

If this doesn't appeal to you then you might want to try Google's Adsense Program. I have talked about that many times when suggesting legitimate work at home opportunities! With Google's Adsense program you can put ads on your website or blog and you earn money when visitors to your site click on those ads!

Here is a link to a blog post about just how much money people have been making with the Adsense program

courtesty of The Adsense Consultant's Blog!

This also brings up the related idea of you maybe starting a blog and / or a website that talks about your experiences of being a mother of twins. You can think of it as having your own little newsletter and / or magazine and with that in mind you could solicit (and more better having potential advertisers come to YOU for more direct advertising - which pays much better!

You are right in that a lot of work from home "opportunities" are scams but people are looking for the fastest way to make money and this is not the way - simply because you WILL get scammed!

Are there places where you can work for someone else from your home? The answer is yes but you will have to do some searching to find the legitimate ones. But they are out there! I do in fact know of one program (that I have mentioned many times before) where a company hires those who are disabled and/or those that want to work from home and the people work as customer service representatives! I provide this information to those clients of mine who are looking for legitimate work at home opportunities working for a company.

The problem that I see in those that want to work from home is that it seems that they want to be able to make money right away - like yesterday! This is where fulfilling a need comes in! If you can find a need that has to be filled then you have the potential to earn money sooner rather than later. That is why doing work like child/day care, yard work or even running an errand service have been suggested as good starting businesses for someone that wants to work from home. Another popular business-starting idea is starting a dog-walking business - another need that people seem to need!

As I have always said: the fastest way to make money is to find a need and fulfill it. But the BEST way to make money is to start doing something that you love and turn that into a business!

Your Mommy/twin business sounds like a very good idea to me but like with all new businesses it will take you some time to build it up and build its reputation up! You may want to consider looking into grants to help provide you with some start-up money for your business idea.

I realize that this may be something that you may not want to hear but it really does take time before you start to earn money regardless of whether you want to work for someone else or start your own business. Hopefully I have given you some food for thought to help you decide what you want to do.

Broadcasting?

I was reading online about how someone wanted to get into broadcasting and it made me remember my days in radio broadcasting. I was a DJ for about 10 years but since I worked at mostly smaller stations I did a lot of other jobs at the radio stations as well! I was even a receptionist at one time - I really hated that! But it was a stepping stone to my first DJ job.

I believe that radio stations and radio station broadcasting has changed a lot since the time that I was a DJ - although I do think that the more smaller markets still offer some great opportunities for those that want to be in broadcasting.

How did I start my DJ career? Well I went to broadcasting school for about 6 months. Then it took me about 2 years before I got my first radio job! In those 2 years I almost gave up hope but I got that first job because one of my co-students worked there and that's how I got the job there. Like I mentioned above, I started off as being the receptionist.

I kept saying that I wanted to be on the air and it took about a year before I finally did get on the air! There was a DJ that didn't show up and that is when they put me behind the mike! I had been a DJ ever since!

But like I said before, these were smaller radio stations and I did just about everything from producing commercials to repairing some of the equipment!

I mention this because I believe that the radio biz has changed a lot! When I was a DJ we could pick the music that we played as long as it stayed within the realms of the format. I have worked at stations playing everything from gospel/christian music to classic rock 'n roll! Nowadays a lot of the major stations work from a playlist or - more worse - work from a satallite feed from somewhere else! The last radio station that I worked for fired about 90% of its air staff (including me) to broadcast a feed from Califorinia.

I miss those broadcasting days but am reminded that one can be their own broadcaster on the Internet!

If this is something that interests you, it may be more easier to do than you think! I have had an Internet radio station and while it was not free it did cost about $100 a year and if you can "swing" that then you might want to take a look at Live365.com.

You could also start your own podcast which would be like having your own talk show! There are some good (and free) podcast hosting sites online. Just do a search for them and you should find some good links to get you started!

Having a podcast is like having your own talkshow and you could also consider it comparable to having your own audio blog as well.

You never know who may be listening or where that next big (and profitable) opportunity may come from!

Attention All Aspiring Artists!

Sometimes I find links to articles that say so much more than I can put into words myself.

I am sure that you have heard the term "starving artist" before. Well here is a link to an online article about an artist who is definitely NOT starving!

Artist Rakes In $200 Million Dollars!

How Would You Like To Get Paid By Blogger.com?

That's Right! Blogger.com is actually going to pay qualified participants that they need to help participate in a user research study which is being done to help improve Blogger.com because they need and want your feedback!

If you are in the United States or Canada and would possibly consider volunteering (yes you still get paid if you qualify!) for this study you can find out more about it by clicking here.

*Please bear in mind that the link above goes to a legitimate Google website!

How much could you get paid? Well the site says as much as $100 per participant.

Thinking About Grantwriting As A Career?

Thinking About GrantWriting As A Career?

Please be sure to read my blog post about it:

Thinking About GrantWriting As A Career?

Part-time Fashion Designer Wanted!

Silk Threads is a fashion forward designer, manufacturer and
wholesaler of Missy tunics and T-shirts.

We are looking for a part-time designer to help us launch our new
Nikki & Seabstian T0shirt line.

Please contact us with your portfolio for an interview. More details
at our website!



Location: flex
Compensation: TBD
Telecommuting is ok.
This is a part-time job.
This is a contract job.
This is an internship job
Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or
commercial interests.

Comments Received!

satish said...

hi my name is xxxx Mxxxxxx n i have completed my diploma in fashion designing from India and have a work experience 1.5 years. now i am at ct in USA n searching for a job in fashions. can u give me ur contact details so that i can contact u directly my email id is xxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com thank you

You have to realize that this is a blog post I made about another company that is / was seeking fashion designers. It is them and not myself that is doing the hiring. If you would like to contact me to get the details about this company then you can visit my contact page information or my Dream Job Consultant website.

Four Ways to Make Money Online

Four Ways to Make Money Online

Here is an interesting article talking about different ways that one can make money online!

It shouldn't surprise you to find out that one of those ways of making money only has to do with having a blog (or two). If you have a blog (or website) you might want to consider adding Google's Adsense ads. You can find out more about the adsense program by visiting The Adsense Consultant's Blog

Blogged with the Flock Browser

The 2008 Olympics Has Truly Inspiring People Participating!

While I have been watching some of the olympic events, I have also been watching some of the programs that talk about the olympic athletes themselves. So many of them have gone through so much to get to where they are. Some have even had circumstances put upon them where they continued to keep their eye on their olympic goals no matter what!

There are some truly inspiring stories behind these great olympic athletes!

Blog Template Designer?

I saw someone posting asking for someone to help them design a custom made blog - the kind of design they wanted was one that no one else has done before!

Of course my "Dream Job Consultant mode took over and I thought that I would post about this here.

Don't you find it interesting that with all the different websites out there that offer different blog layouts and different blog templates that there would be someone who was still requesting a custom-made blog template? (This just goes to show you that there seems to be a marketplace for almost anything!)

Now designing and creating custom-made templates isn't all that easy - at least to some of us. For those of you that know how to do this it isn't that hard!

So there may be a market for something that you might not think that there is a market for!

3D Graphics Designer?

I think that my career as a 3d graphics designer is way, way in the future but it is still a fun thing to do! Right now this is a hobby for me and you can read more about it on my The 3D Beginner blog.

It may be a hard thing to believe but lots of people have turned their hobbies into successful careers!

I have some information on my Dream Job Consultation site about how one could take a program that they already have installed on their computer and turn that into a career that you can work from home.

The above render I made with a 3d program called Daz Studio. The program was available as a free download and for a free download it is quite a very powerful program!

Could one use this program as a career that they could start from home? The answer is a most definite YES!

If you are already a 3d artist then it really goes without saying that having this program could definitely be useful as an added tool for your career! (And you should know that as a grant researcher I have found that there are quite a number of grant programs for artists!)

But it's not just this program, but there are lots of free programs available for download all over the Internet! You could download and use one of them to start your very own successful career that you can start working from home with!

Even if you have a hobby that isn't related to a free downloadable program, you should know that lots of people have turned their hobbies into a successful and profitable career!

You may not think that any hobby of yours could be turned into a successful career but you would be wrong!

Just remember that there is someone out there who is doing your hobby and they have managed to turn it into a successful career of their own!

Your Income As A Writer?

Just found an absolutely great link to a website that lists what some publishers are paying writers. Although a lot of the money figures are from romance publishers it will give you a good general ideas as to what the average is for those who are writers as far as publishers are concerned.

What Publishers Are Paying

Of course there are other ways that writers can earn an income. It's just that getting a publisher to publish one's manuscript is one of the things that writers dream about!

"Do What You Love And The Money Will Follow?"

Here is a good example of that saying!

Ever heard of Paula Deen? She has (amongst other things) a cooking show on the Food Network!

All in all it comes down to one thing - Paula Deen loves to cook and it shows!

She didn't start out as an overnight sensation - quite the contrary the people at the Food Network felt that she wouldn't be able to draw in a large audience because of the way she looked - boy were they wrong!

Now I know you may be saying sure there are a lot of people that love to cook and they don't have Paula Deen's success and my answer to you would be "Well why don't they have her success?"

Basically speaking Paula Deen got her start when she started making sandwiches. She started off with $200. Her sandwiches became a success and that success allowed her to open a restaurant and then Oprah came a-calling and that was the start of Paula Deen's success!

Besides having a show on the Food Network, Paula Deen has written cook books, has a line of other products and I'm told that the house she lives in is quite big!

So what is it that you LOVE to do?

Can you turn that into a business of your own?

For more information about Paula Deen you can click here.

I Really Do Pity The Poor Graphic Designers - Including Myself As Well!

One of my very first paid work was designing a website for a neighbor of mine. He did pay me and that was the start of my working at home! (I have since moved on to include research on such things as grants and unclaimed money and other things as well.)

But I have seen yet another post from someone who would like to have a logo designed for them and not once did they mention that they would be willing to pay for it. It wasn't until other graphic designers brought up the fact about actually paying for the service did the original poster of the message say that he would be willing to pay $100 for the logo.

I'm sure that there are a lot of graphic designers out there who get this kind of thing where people want them to provide free or a reduced cost service - which is something that is not really fair to ask for in the first place. I mean you expect to get paid for the work you do - right? Why wouldn't the same be true for graphic designers.

I have read many stories from graphic designers about the terrible clients (and wannabe clients) that they have had!

The bottom line is that you should be paid for your services no matter what it is you do!

Another Benefit Of Having Your Own Business?

Tax Deductions!

Now that I can put this tax year behind me as far as my 2007 income taxes are concerned I have to tell you that one of the benefits of having one's own business is that you are able to deduct a lot of things that are considered business expenses!

Since I have earned money from adsense there are a lot of things that I have been able to deduct as far as my blogs and internet services are concerned.

You can also deduct things such as computer supplies, advertising costs and much, much more!

I do have to say that I hate the "self-employment" tax part of filing my income taxes because any income you make over $400 will have a self-employment tax!

I hate paying money! However I do love MAKING money!

Ever Get Fired From A Job That You Loved?

Here is a very inspirational story about a woman news anchor who used to work for CNN who's contract wasn't renewed.

I especially liked this story because it shows that you can't use the excuse of being "too old" to go after your dreams!

Here is a brief synopsis of the story:

Former CNN anchor does the 'Possible' *

In a competitive and youth-obsessed business, most everyone gets The Call sometime. For ex-CNN daytime anchor Daryn Kagan, it came in January 2006. She was brought into an office and told that CNN would not renew her contract when it expired at the end of the year. Kagan was lucky in one sense -- she wasn't escorted out that day by security -- but by the first of September, she was gone. Left with a personal crisis sadly familiar to many, Kagan reinvented herself with a Web site devoted to telling inspirational stories. ...

source
Selfgrowth.com

She has a website and a blog (unfortunately comments can not be added) and she has written a book! She has accomplished a LOT!

She didn't let getting fired hold her down for long!

Here is a link to her website:

About Daryn Kagan

A "Word" About Adsense!

I think that Adsense is a GREAT way to be able to make money online! You put adsense ads on your website and / or blog and when visitors to your site click on the ads YOU earn money!

To find out more about Google's Adsense program you can visit The Adsense Consultant's Blog.

BUT I should also say that you do have to do some work. I mean you may get lucky and start earning money once your site is up but for a lot others work is going to be required. So many people think that by just putting up a site and adding the adsense ads to it that it will immediately start making money and it doesn't happen that way for a lot of people.

I also want to stress that you don't have to have a "cajillion" visitors to your site to start earning money with adsense. I am a firm believer in "content is king" meaning that its the content on your site (and how you "work" that content) will determine your adsense earnings!

Using my own self as an example, I'm not an Adsense Millionaire yet, but I am certainly aiming for that goal! So far I have managed to get an Adsense payment for the last 12 months and even with the minimum amount of $100 that you need to earn to get an adsense payment the next month - even "THAT" $100 (I have been making more than that) comes in handy!

Here is a link to a blog post showing just how much some people have been making with the adsense program.

I think their number will (hopefully) pleasantly surprise you!

Are You A Billionaire In The Making?

I found another very good article that will interest those who are looking to get (filthy) rich! The article talks about the likes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Did you know that Warren Buffet gives most of his money away to charity? And yet and still he is a billionaire.

I will provide a link to the article at the end of this post.

I posted about it because what stood out in the article was that it said that these two men were visionaries and were willing to take risks.

These are 2 important things that you should keep in mind when you are wanting to start your own business.

I say that because while having one's own business is a very rewarding feeling you should also know that its not always going to be 100% perfect. But if you don't mind being as rich as say a Warren Buffet or a Bill Gates then you will strive to continue on until you succeed.

Are You A Billionaire In The Making?

How Is This For Inspiration?

I'm embedding the code for a YouTube video. (I sure hope it works!)

I saw this video posted on someone else's site and its an excerpt from the movie "The Pursuit Of Happiness". Will Smith plays a man who was at a very low time in his life and he decided to change his life for the better! The story is based on a real-life man who did just that!

If I remember the story correctly the man was homeless and he had a little baby son to take care of. He used to bathe his son in public restrooms! One day he saw a man who was driving a very fancy sports car and he asked the man how did he make his money? The man said he was a stockbroker and so then he decided then and there that that was what he was going to do and he went on to pursue and fulfill his dreams!

I'm A Photographer!

Remember when I said that one never knows what kind of hidden talents they might posess? Well I have recently come to find out that I am a photographer! It never really occurred until I was visiting one of my "art" galleries that I have online. (You can find out more about my "art" by going to my The 3D Beginner blog.

I was looking at other people's art galleries and realized that they had included their own photography into their galleries and I thought to myself that 'hey, I have pictures that I have taken too!' and I started adding them to my art galleries as well.

I have taken quite a few pictures of my local area and have added them to my blog. Now some of the pictures look blurry and some of them are not 100% clear but it is still photography. What is also interesting to note is that most of the pictures that I have taken so far have been with my camera phone. (Note to myself - I need a digital camera!).

Now since I have earned an income from my blogs that means that I can deduct the cost of a lot of things (business expenses) as far as my income taxes are concerned. What comes mostly to mind is that I could buy a digital camera and deduct the cost of it on my income taxes.

Now you may ask about how does this relate to working from home and hopefully it would be obvious but just in case it is not...............................

Because I have a website and blog about my local area, I have been getting email from those that have seen them and these pages are started to get a reputation and their popularity is growing. I have gotten email from some of the local businesses and organizations in the area as well. I put up a picture of our local church and got a nice email from a woman who said that she was feeling nostalgic about the area and was searching online and up came the picture that I had posted of the local church. She said looking at that picture brought back a lot of memories......................

You could start your own little newsletter-type thing about your local area as well. It could be a blog or a website (both that you can get for free!) and you could start to put content on it about your local area. Sign up for adsense so that you can have advertising on your site and start to earn an income from the adsense. Once you reach a certain amount in adsense earnings you can declare this as your business and start to be able to deduct business expenses that are related to running it. Invest in a cameraphone and/or digital camera and go around the area and take pictures. Put those pictures on your site. Let your site build up a reputation and as more and more people come to visit your site it will gain an even bigger reputation. You can then solicit the businesses in your area to advertise on your site. You can make good money using adsense but you can make even more money by getting advertisers directly!

I also have a LaMott Radio (Internet) Station and a LaMott podcast (that I'm still working on) as well. The internet radio station has a yearly fee but the podcast hosting is free.

There are just so many possibilities that one can work with when building up a business such as this. But the important thing to remember is that since your income will be had from advertisers that you have to appeal to them in order for them to want to advertise on your site. Then there can be other forms of income coming from it as well. You could even classify yourself as a reporting and report on different events and issure in your area as well.

There are just so many ways that one can go with an idea such as this one!

Give it some real consideration as a possible business for you to start that you can work from home from it.

Aspirations

I recently had a chance to view a little bit of "America's Next Top Model" and I also recently was looking at a blog about an American Idol contestant who was recently voted off the show.

I really do have mixed feelings about these types of shows. On the one hand they provide great experience for those that have aspirations of fulfilling their Dream Jobs. But on the other hand when they are dropped or voted off it seems so cruel. Some of them have said that they have not given up on their dreams and that they were going to continue to pursue their dreams.

Good For Them!

It can be really tough when you have a dream and sometimes it seems like everything becomes an obstacle - but that is when you have to continue - no matter what anyone else says! I heard a quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer that said "Never let your music die inside of you" and he was referring to his own daughter who wanted to leave school and pursue a singing career. Her father gave her his blessings and even took her on the road with him when he was giving lectures. She has her own CD out now and she is continuing her career as a singer.

If you have a dream that is inside of you that is dying to come out then you should pursue it. There are countless examples of people who have pursued their passions and won! It would do you good to read about some of them. Some of them faced obstacles that are ten times those that you yourself may have to face but yet and still they reached their goals!

What Is YOUR Dream Job?

Do You Have A Paypal Account?

I got excited when my brother told me that he signed up for Paypal! I got excited for him because that meant that he now has another way to get income. But he doesn't see it that way. When he told me that he was signing up for paypal my thoughts thought of him getting "big-time" money. How? Well he is very knowledgeable about computers. He doesn't just know about computer programs but he also has a whole lot of experience at fixing them.

He said to me that the reason that he was signing up for paypal was for his ebay transactions and that was the only reason for him.

He explained to me that since he does fix computers his customers / clients would have to be of a "local" nature. Now I do agree that it would be quite cumbersome to have clients hundreds of miles away who want their computer fixed but he is not seeing it like I'm seeing it.

He could set himself up as a consultant and / or expert and answer people's questions about computers and be paid a fee for it - hence having the paypal account. There are so many consultants and experts who are doing exactly this very thing! Again - he doesn't see it that way.

I won't give up on trying to convince him though because this is a very great opportunity for him! He just can't see it yet!

If you have a paypal account you should seriously consider using it to get paid yourself. Almost everyone has an area of expertise and you should let that work for you. If you're having doubts about being able to accomplish this kind of thing then you should take a look at some of the websites that are doing this very same thing!

"Your Sign Here"

Since I am a 3D Beginner, I am a member of Renderosity.com which is a site for graphic artists (and even webdesign artists) of all kinds. I was looking throught their "free stuff" and saw a picture similar to the one above. (I couldn't use their actual photo without permission so that's why I didn't post it here - I made one of my own)

What came to my mind is that advertisers are ALWAYS looking for a place to advertise and why not online. I have read that online advertising is popular and becoming more and more popular!

Offline I remember I was watching a movie yesterday and during one of the scenes - which was a chase scene - I saw this great big Pepsi truck and I just knew that Pepsi paid a lot of money to have a truck with their logo in the movie! I have read about this type of thing in the newspaper - companies paying big bucks to advertise their products in the movies!

Online there have been people who have auctioned off theirself as advertising displays on Ebay! For instance one guy auctioned off his forehead as advertising space and he got over $37,000! for his efforts! The winning bid for advertising on his forehead was over $37,000 and the winning bidder was a company that makes some sort of snoring-related product.

If you're into graphics of any kind you could simply put a graphic such as this on your website as an invitation for advertisers who might want to advertise on your site!

Constructing the above graphic took me all of 5 minutes and that's not even including other kinds of ways that I could have enhanced the above graphic. I could have made the graphic animated, given it different kinds of colors and just so many other different kinds of ways that I could make it look more better.

Of course you would need a website but if you already have one then you could start there. If you don't have a website you can get one free because there are a lot of free webhosting sites that are out there. The reason why they are free?

Because they accept advertising!

I hope you are getting the hint here! That hint being that if other sites can solicit for advertisers - why can't you do the same thing?

"Relocation" Astrology

Now I myself do astrology readings but this is the first time that I have heard the term "relocation" astrology.

A relocation astrologer will help people by composing astrological charts for different locations to find a location that charts good results. I was just reading an article about one such astrologer who has a good client base and they work with online clients.

This is just yet another example of successfully being able to work online and have online clients. The astrologer mentioned that they loved doing this kind of work which is also a good example of taking something that one loves and turning it into a business.

If you think your own "work at home" idea may sound silly or impossible then don't forget this post.

Podcasting!

Well I am just all over the internet today! I'm visiting blogs and reading newsgroup threads...............posting to my AOL Journal.....and so on................

One of the things that I am currently working on is one of my podcasts for my local area.

This podcast of mine is relatively new and I'm still learning it. However I have some things already included on it so far. I have a public service announcement that I produced about my area's local firehouse. There are also a couple of other public service announcements that I got online and added to my podcast as well. I'm also working on adding music to my podcast but here is where you have to be careful! Unlike Live365 where you can add any music, my podcast's host doesn't allow just any type of music to be added - it has to do with copyright issues. But there is a site where you can download certain music and add it to your podcast.

I'm treating this podcast like my own little radio community talk show! It's like having your own talk show and being the host of your very own talk show!

Just think of the things that YOU could do with your very own talk show! Money and income-wise you could get advertsing and sponsorship for your show and since its YOUR show - you have control over what goes into it!

Now you may be thinking that it might just be too hard to produce and have your own podcast but to that I say just think of the possibilities that you could do!

My podcast (so far) consists of me recording to my computer and simply uploading the file to my podcast host site.

If you have had a chance to listen to podcasts on the Internet then you know that there is a whole lot of possibilites there!

So far hosting my podcast is not costing me a thing - except for my Internet access. And since I'm doing my income taxes now and having to report my Adsense income its also making me think of the possibilities of adding my podcast(s) as part of my self-employment business. When I do so there will be a lot of deductions that I will be able to take as part of this business!

So really think about starting your own podcast!

It's Time To Take A Little Bit Of Mystery Out Of The "Business Plan"!

One of the services that I provide for clients are customized / personalized business plans. However you don't really need to have someone create your business plan for you because you can do it yourself!

Basically speaking a business plan is simply a plan for your business. You can find websites that are online that have templates of business plans that you can download for free and adapt to the kind of business that you want to start.

You can even start your businessplan on your own by getting a blank piece of paper. At the top just write down the kind of business that you want to start. Then figure out how much you would have to make monthly in order to make a profit. Also list your expenses - and you don't have to know all of this right away because no business plan has to be absolute - you can change it as you go along.

Once you know what your expenses will be and how much you will have to make to make a profit you can go on from there.

Like I said before a business plan is a plan for your business and you will / can include both your expenses and income on it. Then you can add things like advertising costs and the other expenses that come with owning and operating a business.

There are quite a few businessplan software out there and there are probably some free ones that you can download for free. And again don't forget about the websites that are out there that have free business plan templates that you can download for free and adapt to your own business.

I have a business plan software that I use for my clients and it was "kinda" free because it came with my computer.

So if not having a business plan is holding you back just get on the internet and start searching.

Attention All Aspiring Singers, Songwriters and Artists!

I just read one of the most inspiring blog posts from a singer who is making her way in the world. She has CD's out and she is touring!

Many times I have advised those that want to be singers or actors that they have resources available to them that are right in front of them but they just don't see it!

There have been many aspiring artists who have decided to just pack up and move to Hollywood or New York hoping to have a career right away (and unfortunately a lot of them end up on the streets)

No matter where it is you live you have the makings of starting your own career as an artist. Just look at Myspace.com! MySpace even has it's own recording label! There have been some artists who have gotten recording contracts strictly on the basis of their music on their myspace page.

Computers have become so sophisticated now that one can record their own CD (and sell it!)

One of the things that fascinates me so is that one artist won a grammy for music that he produced entirely on the computer!

So if you think that it is hopeless to have a career in music then you should definitely read this blog article!

Comments Received

"You should post your singing talent at ~.com. (It) has many aspiring singers who are joining the website to show there (their) singing talents. It's like a Facebook for aspiring singers. Also read article on a internet magazine."

Your Career By Horoscope?

I'm going to post a link to an article that talks about career choices for people determined by their horoscope / astrological sign. I was very curious to see what mine said:

Cancer (June 22-July 22)

Your traits: Compassionate, energetic, intuitive and imaginative. Your sensitivity, loyalty and organizational skills make you an excellent *caregiver.

* - I was a caregiver to my mother and I have also worked as a nurse's aide.


Compatible jobs: Tap into your nurturing nature with a job in health care, social work, psychology or teaching. You might also consider a career in law, where your desire to protect and defend others would be put to good use.

Since I do a lot of grant research this really would come under the heading of social work because social workers do help those that are having problems. Like I noted above I have been a caregiver to my mother and I have also worked as a nurse's aide so I have done work in the health field. Psychologically speaking the work that I do with both grants and Dream Job Consulting helps to dispel the myth about what a person is capable of no matter what their circumstances are. You may be eligible for a grant to help you financial or you may be eligible for a grant to help you start your own business - but you will never know until you try. The same thing applies to people who are seeking their dream jobs - if you think that achieving your dream job is impossible then it will be. Chances are no matter what kind of dream job you want there is someone who is already doing it!

Jobs for This Sign:

• Social Service Worker: $45,461
  
  
• Public Defender: $83,442
  
  
• Adult Education Teacher: $43,763

To read this article and possibly find out what career is for you just click here

Dream Job - A Baby Sitter?

Someone recently sent me an email saying that their dream job was to be a babysitter in their own home.

Well there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with that!

As a Dream Job consultant I would have a lot of advice and tips for this person.

• First of all I would advise them to check out their own state's website to find out what the criteria is for people being able to take care of children in their own home. Sure you can provide babysitting services for a certain number of children without being considered illegal
  
  
• Secondly I would advise that this person look into operating as a official and licenced daycare business. Many grant recipients have received money to start their own daycare business. And some have even received grant funding to start their own daycare business in their home! I had one previous client who was looking for grant funding for her already licensed daycare business and I was able to find her over 10 pages worth of information about grant programs that her for-profit daycare business could apply for!
  
  
• There are so many other things that can be associated with operating a babysitting service that could generate additional revenues of income. You could start a babysitting blog or website and have a newsletter as well. Accept advertisers and sponsors who will pay to advertise on your online and offline sites! Join Adsense so that you can put ads on your online sites and start earning money when visitors to your online sites click on the adsense ads that appear on your site.

It's just like those wise old sages have said:

You are only limited by your imagination!

Please Remember To Have Some Fun!

Please do not be all work and no play!

Today is Saturday and I decided to have some fun with my computer! I'm going to enter one of Renderosity's Fractal Art contests. Here is a link to my "Fractal" site. Here is one of my fractal creations!



Even though I have decided to have fun today I still can't help but be in the working from home "mode" when I think about fractals. Everything is related - even my interest in creating fractals.

Here is a link to one of my past blog posts about fractals and how you could start your own business having to do with fractals. I did a quick google search and found that there is a business that creates fractal business cards!

You may not think so but you could start a business in almost ANY area that you could think of.

Want To Work From Home? Have You Thought Of Giving Ebay A Try?

There was a segment on my local news about a woman who runs a MILLION DOLLAR business selling on Ebay. What I found most interesting about her story is that she never thought that it would turn into such a profitable business!

Not only does she sell her own items but she sells other peoples' items as well. Of course she charges a percentage of what the item brings in and as well as she should because she is doing the work!

But this would be a very good idea for someone who wants to be able to work from home.

It doesn't take too much to belong to Ebay so that you can start selling on it. There are a few fees involved and you should find out more about them by going to the Ebay site.

Tips To Help You NOT Get Fired From Your Work At Home Job!

Here is a link to an online article about things that you should avoid when working from home.

Woman Starts Her Own Business

Here is a link to an online story about a woman who started her own toy rental business.

Usually this is a good success story about someone who was able to start their own business - however in this particular case she had some money from her other businesses to start her own business. So this is a lot different from the way I try to advise people who have little or no money to start their own business.

But there is a very interesting lesson to learn here. I, myself took a look at the article and what struck me as so interesting was the "comments" section below the article. It reminded me of the fact that no matter what kind of business you want to start there are going to be "naysayers" and those who are going to criticize you. I'm sure that this woman is laughing herself all the way to the bank!

Here is something for you to think about....

On my Grant Basics 101 Blog I currently have this widget at the bottom that currently says 215-MILLION people are currently on the Internet! If you think about that - that is a lot of people but more importantly that is the number of potential web traffic that YOU could have going to your website or blog.

I mention this because if you don't have one now, you really should have either a website or blog! There are many free webhosts and free blog sites around. I highly recommend that you start a free blog at Blogger.com. What is so great about Blogger.com is that you can create your own blog for free and you can also add adsense to your blog so that you can earn money when visitors to your blog click on the ads. Here is a link to a blog post about just how much money people have been making with Google's Adsense program.

Hopefully it will encourage to start your own website or blog.

Are You Good At Fixing Computers?

Then you might want to take a look at Fixya.com. As the name says it is a website that helps people with their computer problems. (They also provide assistance on other kinds of problems relating to other electronical and consumer equipment like refridgerator and washing machine repairs.) How it can help YOU is that they are offering you money if you become one of their "experts".

In their words:

"As a qualified Premium Assistance Expert, you'll have the opportunity to solve Premium Problems and participate in Premium Live Chats with other FixYa users - and earn cash for your solutions!".

You have to become a registered "expert" by registering with the site but so far it seems that registration is free.

Their payment process seems comparable to that of Adsense where your earnings are calculated over a 30 day period. You earn more by participating in live chats concerning computer (and other kinds of) repair. You can earn from $3 - $12 per "successful" (which means your solution has to be chosen) solution.

You can find out more about this by clicking here.

Are You Praying For A Financial Miracle?

I found this very interesting article about "Are You Praying For A Financial Miracle. I posted it on my Financial Basics blog.

So many people are looking and praying for a financial miracle. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. Basically what this article is saying is that one should use their own talents to help achieve that "financial miracle" that they are looking for as opposed to just not doing nothing.

The article says that we all have gifts and talents of one sort or another and we should use them - spread our talents out to the world! And now with the Internet that is more possible than ever!

Take a good look at the article. Maybe it will help inspire and motivate you.

You Never Know Where More Money-Making Opportunities Will Come From

and I can use myself as an example of this.

As my profession I do a lot of grant research. I have participated in a lot of forums and message boards that have to do with grants, grant programs and just people seeking more information about grants and the grant process in general. This started me starting a blog called Grant Basics 101 - just because there were so many questions being asked about grant programs.

As I stated before I participate in a lot of forums and message boards that relate to people asking questions about grants. One such forum I have been particpating in for a few years now. Out of the blue I decided to visit this forum and there was a message in my inbox from one of the moderators of the forum who wanted to introduce a concept to some of the people that were actively participating and providing valuable and good advice (I'm flattered that they thought that I was doing so).

It is another potential good income source for me.

But I wanted to make the point that I never thought of this forum as a possible income or money-making source. Just goes to show you that you never know where an income or money opportunity will be coming from.

Do You Still Want To Be Able To Work From Home?

When I first started this blog about working from home there were not a lot of legitimate companies that were hiring people to work from home. I only knew of 2 such companies and I recommended them to my clients all the time!

However there is now an increasing number of companies (legitimate companies) that are looking for and hiring people who will work from their own home.

Some of these work at home opportunities consist of:

• you providing customer service for a company that is representing a number of legitimate businesses
  
  
• working as agents in sales, technical support and customer service
  
  
• working as virtual assistants who perform a variety of administrative and other business tasks from your home for clients

Please be aware that if you are seriously considering working from home, you should prepare yourself! You should research a company before you apply for a position to ensure it's legitimate. A little homework can help you avoid the many scams out there.

You also should make sure that you have the right computer equipment. Some of the things that you should consider adding to your home office include having a high-speed Internet connection, mobile phone, printer and other related items.

If you would like a listing of these "Work At Home" companies you can submit a $20 payment via the "Buy Now" button on the side of this blog.

Please specify that you want to pay for the "Working From Home" company list!

What Is Your Wealth Potential?

Here is an interesting little quiz that I found on the Internet. It is a quiz to find out what your wealth potential is.

I took it and here is my result:

Smiles, winks, anything of that nature is what puts extra bucks in your bank account. Take life and its knocks with style and you will see a payoff. You can make more money using your sense of fun than you can with any other skill you develop. Keep in mind that you do need skills; we all need skills. However, you do not have to make a big display about what you can do. Go after situations that will make you look good.

It seems like its saying that my "flirting" is my way to success!

10 Ways To Make Money On The Internet!

I have to give credit to this site for reminding me of what I wanted to blog about today. The blog talks about 10 different ways that you can make money online. I was particularly interested in "sell your expertise".

Have you ever heard of Dr. Wayne Dyer? He gives very inspirational talks and one of the things that I remember him saying is that one should "sell their expertise". Almost everyone is good at something. You may not think that you have any talents but more than likely you do have something that you are an expert at! The story that I like to cite most often is the story about two guys who used to mooch off of people. When they ran out of people to mooch off of they wrote a book about how to mooch off of other people. Now they have their own beachhouse!

Can You Make A Living As A Poet?

This was a reply to someone who was looking for work as a poet.

---

A "company that needs a poet"? Have you tried greeting card companies? You should also think about investing in a copy of "The Writer's Market Handbook" - it lists publishers and what they are looking for in the way of submissions.

Have you considered songwriting? That is related to poetry and artists are always looking for good material.

If you are looking for a way to "commercialize" your poetry you might want to take a look at this blog.

Here is a quick excerpt that I got off the internet:

"Let me give you the upshot of this book in a quick thumbnail. Yes, it is possible to make a living as a poet, no matter what your mother told you. But you must remember two important points if you want to make a living as a poet: first, you will not make a living at writing poetry. Second, you must do something no one has ever done before.

This book is full of examples of people who make a living (or part of a living) as poets, and the ways they do so. And none of them make their living by sitting in their garrets inscribing verse. They all find ways to get out into the community and sell themselves, AS POETS, as a commodity that people are willing to buy. "