I Want To Be A Web Page Designer...................

I got this email from a young girl who said that she wanted to be a webdesigner. Well she doesn't have her own computer - she uses one at school.

It's not impossible for her to become a webdesigner. First the one thing that she does have is herself! Secondly she does have access to a computer. One of the first things that she should do is become her first customer and design her own webpage. She can get a free webhost from one of the free webhosts that are on the internet. The very next thing to do would be to design her own webpage on a piece of paper FIRST! If she doesn't know what to put on it then she should start with the basics first and that includes a standard, basic form. You can find a sample of a basic webpage form by going to my page. There are also many webpages that have free basic webpage design templates that you can download and use and custom them to your own page's information.

Now there are some basic things that should be put on one's webpage - especially if you are going to use this webpage to generate income! First always include your email address so that people can contact you and include any samples of your work.

After you have uploaded your webpage onto the internet so that everyone can see it then you have to make sure that everyone does see it! What's the best way to do this? TELL EVERYONE THAT YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR WEBSITE! In fact now is the time to make business cards with your webpage address on it. You can get them designed cheaply or quite simply make them yourself. You can design a simple flyer announcing your new web site!

Another way to get people to your website is for you to make your website as optimized as possible for the search engines. Simply stated this means that you want your webpage address to show up when people are searching for webpage designers. How do you do that? Welll its not easy at first but basically you want to put the right content on your webpage. What is the "right" content? Talk about your webpage design skills, talk about your background and talk about what you can offer your customer - that is a good place to start. Optimizing your webpage for the best search engine results will take time and effort. My webpage visitors are 50% from search engines and 50% from direct links.

You can even start a blog and use that as your webpage! Places like Blogger are good places to start your blog because starting your blog there is a relatively easy process. Just take a look at some of the blogs that other people have and you will get a good idea as to how you would like your blog to appear.

Another good thing about having a blog on Blogger is that you can add Google's Adsense Ads. What are those? Those are ads that are placed on your website or blog and its comparable to having ads in a newspaper. The ads are added by placing a code on your website or blog and the ads that are placed there are relevent to the content that you have on your website or blog. How do you get paid? When a visitor clicks on one of the ads that appear on your site you receive money. When you reach $100 that money will either be mailed to you or you can have it transferred to your bank account. Be forewarned though - In order to earn anything those advertising clicks have to be from legitimate visitors to your site! If you click on those ads yourself it will be considered fraud and you won't get paid but more importantly you run the risk of getting your account cancelled!. How much money could you make using Google's Adsense? One man (who runs a repair site) gets upwards of at least $2000 a month! That's a nice piece of change to be getting monthly!

Once your site is up and on the Internet then you will want to get customers. My very first paying job was as a web designer and the customer was a neighbor of mine. Simply put I showed him my website and he was impressed enough to hire me right then and there.

"I'm Looking For A Grant..................."

"I'am looking fro a grant for personal reasons, paying off bills, and starting a business!!!!"

You say you're looking for a grant for "personal reasons" but you don't say what those reasons are. You say the same thing about paying off bills but you don't say what kind of bills. You say the same thing about starting a business but you don't say what type of business..............................................................


I suggest that you go to my page that has basic grant information on it. I have answered questions similar to the one you have asked above and have posted my answers there. These same answers apply to you as well. You can not apply for a "general" grant. It will depend on what you are specifically seeking a grant for. Go to my page at http://members.aol.com/Roseb441702/payinfo.htm and answer those questions for yourself. Only then will you know exactly what type of grant programs you can start looking for.

Billions of Dollars!

Terry Newborn, a researcher for Government Publications in Washington, DC, reported, "There are billions of dollars in grants and loans earmarked for people previously identified as credit risks. Public and private funds are now available for them to buy homes, cars, start a work at home jobs business, consolidate debts,and any worthwhile purpose." In addition, he reported new financial resources have been committed to help the unemployed get job training re-enter the job market or perform work at home jobs.

Fractals?

I just downloaded a program that lets you create and make different varients of fractals. If you don't know what fractals are they are those differents shapes that you can create using mathematical formulas like for instance snowflakes. With this particular program I can start with a snowflake design and then make different varients of it.

Now how does this relate to working at home? Well I'm going to tell you. First of all I remember happening upon a website where custom fractals can be designed for customers so that's one work at home idea for you. But the first thing that struck me about fractals and how they can relate to working at home is that a lot of fractals look like pieces of jewelery. You could design a piece of jewelery but you can also design different varients of that one piece of jewelery. What if you start a business where a customer has a specific kind of jewelery in mind that they want designed? You could specialize your jewelery as one of a kind. Even if you don't know how to actually design the jewelery itself you could design the jewelery using a fractal program and then sell it to the customer or to a jewelery maker.

You could set up a website to show your work and offline you could design flyers that talk about your work and business. There is a market for one of a kind jewelery out there and you could tap into that.

Designing jewelery is just one example of what you can do with a fractal program that you can turn into your own work at home business.

Taking Something You Love And Turning It Into A Business

I just got finished reading an article about someone who took something that they loved to do and turned it into a business.

What is their business? Board Games!

It's kind of ironic because I can be just as much a computer nut as anybody but there's nothing wrong with playing a board game amongst friends. And apparently a Lot of people feel this way too - so many do in fact to keep this business running and profitable.

A man took his love of playing board games and turned it into a business. Now he had a regular job but he enjoyed playing board games with others and so he decided to turn his love into a business. He first started out of his basement selling the board games but when his orders started to grow he started using a warehouse to house his supply. He distributed flyers (one of the ways that I recommend that a person advertise their business), he had good word of mouth advertising and he also takes orders online. He just recently decided to open his business to the public and allow "walk-in" sales. Before that he was getting his orders by phone and online. He doesn't just sell to individuals - he also sells to schools, recreation centers, etc., He not only sells board games but he also sells the pieces to board games (so the customer doesn't have to buy a completely new game just to get the pieces). Oh, and he doesn't sell any computer games - just board games - including chess and checker sets as well.

So the next time that you think that your idea couldn't possibly make it as a successful business, I want you to remember the above story!

A Scholarship For Bloggers?

Yes that's right! There is a scholarship for blogging students!

You have to meet the requirements though and some of them are that you have to (of course) be a student, maintain a certain grade average and give your permission to have your name and blog published.

Other than that your blog has to meet their requirements as well.

There are many scholarship programs that are available to students and this is the newest kind of one but it does just go to show you that there are many funding opportunities for students and if you think that you don't stand a chance of being eligible for them - you're wrong!

Can You Sing?

If you can, you stand just a good a chance as anybody to win a chance to sing in a commercial! Not only that but you will also get a cash prize of over $50,000!

Companies have all different kinds of contests and this one is no exception. The deadline to apply is in March. For this particular contest all you have to do is send in a 30 second music clip of yourself! You can not be a current or past professional preformer and no felony record. You can send in your clip either by email or regular snail mail but you have to make the due date which is in March.

Contests like this happen all the time and you should keep your eyes and ears open!

How Would You Like To Work From Home?

http://jobs.aol.com/article/_a/10-more-jobs-you-can-have-at-home/20050808184809990053

This article has the same opening line that I have in my blog's description and its about jobs/careers that one can do from their own home.

The number of people that are working from home is increasing and you might be surprised to know that a lot of people are working for an employer but they are doing the work from their own home.

Many times I have said that there are legitimate "work at home" opportunities and by legitimate I mean actual employers who run legitimate businesses who hire people to work from their homes. In most cases you will need a computer but they all don't require it.

The link to the article above just proves my point more and that point is that you can work legitimately from home!

FEMA has denied yet another request for aid

In Colorado, farmers have been hard-hit by the snowstorms. There cattle have suffered and they need aid to help sustain their farms and ranches.

However FEMA has denied their requests for aid.

There are some low-cost loan programs that the farmers can apply for but the problem with this is that it is financial assistance that they need and not more debt - because even though it is a loan program the loan has to be paid back. Plus there is the added problem of not knowing whether or not those loan programs are in place or when and if they can apply for them.

It has been my experience that when people are seeking information about government grant programs it is the grant program information that they are seeking and not information about the loan programs - the main reason being that you have to pay back the loan and with grant programs you don't have to pay that money back.

There are still grant programs that exist for farmers even if it doesn't seem that way!

Are Grant Programs "Fading" Away?

~~~~~~~~~~in reply to a message that was posted ~~~~~~~~~~

I don't think that it has "faded away" in the overall sense because there are many sources of grant programs besides the government . It is always difficult after the funding source that you have been using has itself dried up but that just means that that particular source has dried up. There have been new funding programs that have been created during the time that you were using your funding source so there really wasn't a need to seek others when you had the ones that you were using. There are also grant programs that go begging for applications because none were received - so either the funding money is rolled over into the next year's program or the whole program is scrapped!

Providing funding for educational services has always been a top priority for the government and other entities such as foundations and organizations and there will always be grant programs for it!

The Money Is There!

Here is a quote that I would like you to remember everytime you feel that there is no money out there to help finance and support your non-profit organization:

Every year more than $200 billion is given to nonprofits in the US alone.

Grants and Daycare - Let's Try This Again......

Unfortunately there is just no one place that has a grant program for someone that wants to start a daycare. It depends on the TYPE of daycare that you want to start.

There are grant programs for non-profit daycares just as there are grant programs for for-profit daycares and there are some grant programs that may be open to both. The government grant programs website lists grant programs that are open to everyone to apply - that means non-profit, for-profit and even individuals. You may also be eligible for one of the "entrepreneurial" grant programs that are out there if you want to start a business.

It is just not as simple as "I want to start a daycare so where can I get grant money". It will depend on the type of daycare it is that you want to open.

So before you start looking for grant programs answer a few more questions about the type of daycare it is that you want to open.

Inspirational Quote

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.

Confucius, 551-479 B.C., Chinese Thinker and Social Philosopher

Can You Make A Living With Ebay?

The answer, of course, is a resounding YES.

There was a show on CNBC about Ebay and it profiled some of the people that were actually making a living using Ebay to buy and sell.

Now I'm sure that I posted about this already but it is well worth repeating!

One woman sells clothing on Ebay. Actually she buys clothing (sometimes at a discount) and then sells it on Ebay at a higher price. And yes she is making a living at it because it is the only thing that she does! A farm family also uses Ebay in their business which consists of selling movies! And it feels very good to them to be able to keep their farm when so many other farm families are losing theirs!

If you have a computer you can access Ebay and it is free to sign up even if you don't buy or sell anything. They have message boards where you can ask questions and these message boards also contain tutorials and help for those that want to know about how to make their buying and selling on Ebay more successful!

Don't think you have anything to sell? I had some old coins from Germany and I put them on Ebay just to test how I would do and I did sell the coins at a profit to me. It was a small profit but I hope you get my meaning here. Look around your house - is their something that you can put on Ebay to sell? How about a book or some clothing? It's best to start with something small because remember you will have to ship the item to the buyer.

What about getting paid? Well when you place an item to sell you are given space so that you can talk about your item and in that space you can say how you want to take payment. It may surprise you to know that lots of people sell on Ebay and will only take a check or money order as payment (and yes people are paying using that method). You can also use Paypal to receive payments.

People have started businesses just buying and selling on Ebay! People go to flea markets and buy things cheaply and then sell them on Ebay. And that is just the beginning! You can gain a reputation as a good source for certain items and people may start to contact you directly and ask you about items. You can get more creative and seek out these specific items and then sell them to the buyer(s) and from there your reputation will grow even more!

I have also seen people selling their services such as writing (and they sell their own publications as well), graphic designing and just so much more than I can mention!

So if you seriously want to work from home you should definitely check out Ebay!

Inventors and Funding?

I have been asked to write an article about inventors and funding. This will not be a hard article for me to write because there are many funding opportunities for inventors. Right now President Bush is talking about finding alternative methods for oil and this is just one of the paths that is open to inventors. Another avenue is the military. The government is always looking for inventions that will help make the miltary better. This can be anything from designing new kinds of weapons to designing better durable uniforms! The government spends a lot of money on this and they will continue to do so!

The government is not the only source of funding for inventors. Most notably I'm thinking about if you can make a product better then you stand a good chance of receiving funding for it.

However one thing I want to repeat about getting funding - be it for inventors or anyone - and that is there is a process to it. In more cases than not you have to go through the application process. A grant is not guarenteed! You have to apply for it. Now I have been involved with some funding that requires nothing more than submitting a simple proposal but they are not all like this.

There is a lot of untapped potential out there (waiting to be tapped!)

The Need For More Grants For The New Orleans Area

There is a proposal for a number of new grant programs in the areas that were hard hit by Katrina. One such program would bring in over $1 Million Dollars in grant moneies for those small businesses in the area that were affected. While this is good news for those that want to continue to do their business in the area, the proposal has to be approved first. Of course there is much dissappointment at the number of grant programs that were and are still available for those in the area. While there are still a number of loan programs available the people affected by hurricane Katrina don't want to incur more debt because they have so much that they have to pay for now. There are still grant programs available for both individuals and businesses in the affected areas and some of these programs have been started by entities other than the governemt because of the need to bring back the businesses to the area.

Sex & Mrs. X - Movie Review!

I just got finished reading a post from a woman whose husband left her for a younger woman and it reminded me of this movie. In the post the woman said that she had no job skills but she also mentioned that she would be able to do "light" work for donations/money.

"Sex & Mrs. X" is a movie about a woman whose husband left her for a younger woman. So she decides to throw herself into her work - which is reporting. She interviews a woman who provides a service to women to help them find men to marry. On the surface it seems kind of sleazy but once you find out more about it you find out that it really isn't. What I found fascinating was the story behind why the woman got into that kind of business in the first place. She explained that she had been in love with a man and he left her and she wanted to know why and she began to learn and thats how her business started. I won't give away the ending but I will say that it has a happy ending and if you'd like to find out more about the movie here is a link

Sex & Mrs. X

That is really a good example of taking a negative and turning it into a positive - even if it is only a movie.

You may think that its a crazy idea but just look at all the escort services that are around. There is a woman whose career it is to teach women how to find their inner godess! Another woman teaches bellydancing and what about the books that teach things like how to be a better lover, etc., You may think that "hey nobody's asking me to write a book" but how about you write an article? Circulate it. Let it be seen. Put it on a webpage so others can see it. When you garner enough interest in it opportunities will come.

It's Never Too Late To Start (or maintain) Your Career!

A very popular soap opera actress recently died. She kept working well into her senior years. This kind of dispels the myth that you have to be young in Hollywood to have and sustain a successful career.

I also belong to this mailing list that has to do with acting as a career. One of my most favorite actresses is Tyne Daly. She's probably best known for being in "Cagney and Lacy" series a while back. She is always working and she is definitely not in her 20's. Again this dispels the myth of having to be in your 20's to have a successful acting career.

I get a lot of email from people who dream to be actors and singers and I don't see any reason why they can't pursue this. Eddie Murphy said that the best piece of advice that he could give aspirees is to not take any advice!

It's NEVER too late to start your career (or dream job)!

For Inventors Seeking Angel Investors!

I saw yet another message post by an inventor who posted that he was seeking an Angel Investor. I didn't know whether or not I should have replied to this post but when I saw the amount of $25 Million Dollars needed from an angel investor it just struck me as to how that is a LOT of money! I'm sure other inventors seeking angel investors would like to know whether or not the original poster got any kind of response - whether it be good or bad.

I have seen so many people posting looking for investors and they think that it ends with just them posting a request. I'm a firm believer in "never say never" and "nothing's impossible" and there have been instances where an inventor will post a request and receive a response (both good and bad) and it's not impossible to get a respnse this way but it does give me pause for concern. I'm sure that a lot of inventors don't know of any other way of finding (potential) investors other than posting their request on a message board.

One of the best ways to find an angel investor is to find someone who had an angel investor and find out how they did it. There have been instances where an angel investor found the inventor instead of it being the other way around so again - never say never. But there is more that the inventor should be doing than just that. It would be great if you could just invent something and then by some magic you automatically get an investor. But it just doesn't always work out that way.

I Have An Internet Radio Station!

Number one - there is nothing wrong with "tooting your own horn". It's something that I would advise everyone to do!

Number 2 - While I didn't start this radio station with the intention of making money at it I have had a chance to read posts from others that have their own Internet Stations and one of the topics that has come up is how they can make money at it. That's when my "professional" vibe kicked in. Now why would I want to have an Internet Radio station? Well the most important reason is that I used to be a DJ for a lot of years back in the 80's and 90's and to be quite honest I miss it! When I was working as a DJ it wasn't just "DJ" work that I did. I did a lot of production work like making commercials and I was even the producer for a talk show! But besides that I did sales and I even worked on and repaired the equipment. All of this experience has just added to my skills and it brings back memories when someone posts and asks how they can make money with their Internet Radio station. Now there are a lot of seasoned pros that have their own Internet Radio stations and they have offered their tips and examples of how they are making money with their Internet stations. The most often cited way is that they have advertising on their web pages that relate to their Internet Radio stations. Now take note here because I said they have advertising on their webpages and not on their station broadcasts. To make a long story short it isn't allowed if you have a certain kind of station.

But for me this started out as a pleasure kind of thing - something I love to do - and since I'm always talking about taking something that you love to do and turn it into a career then I should go on to say how you can turn it into a successful business.

• Number one - if you haven't done this kind of thing before it may be quite frustrating for you. Most of the people that have their own Internet station has had experience relating to it in one way or another. I should also add that this is not a free service! There is a monthly/yearly fee involved. (By the way my station is on Live365.com).
  

  Basically you first have to decide what kind of format your station will be. Personally mine is a "community" station for my local area with music filling in the gaps. The basic technique is picking out your music and uploading to your space so that it can be added to the playlist. Since the music that I play originates from various forms (ie vinyl, cds, tapes) I simply have to convert it to the right format before I add it to my playlist. The same thing applies to the "spoken" stuff that you want to add. For me I record it and then upload it to my playlist. Now since I have a radio background I can do some creative producing to the stuff that I add to my playlist. This kind of skill can be used to form your own production company where you can do things like produce jingles and professional recordings for others.
  

• Like I mentioned above a lot of the broadcasters rent out advertising space on their webpages - another good source of income.
  

• While it's not "money-making" a lot of the broadcasters also receive free music - BUT you can turn this into a moneymaking thing. I'm not talking about accepting money for playing certain music (I think that's payola and I think that is illegal) I'm talking about building up a reputation as a legitmate radio station where you will come under the radar of those in the business - people who are anxious to get their music played. You can turn that into your advantage by creating a newsletter for your station - accepting advertising and the like!

There are many ways that you can take this and turn it into a money-making career!