Featured Etsy Blogger of the Month – December 2008

Affectionately known as "Ms. Moo", the shopkeeper of Spotted Cow Soaps is this month's Featured Blogger. During the school year she masquerades as a School Food Service Director. The rest of the time she tells us, she is a fragrance junkie, peddling her skin care products to support her habit.

Spotted Cow Soaps is located in picturesque Vermont nestled amidst the dairy farms. She writes about her mountain views. It sound so idyllic I'm tempted to move down beside her. I'd love to give her shop a visit one day.

For 8 plus years, she has been formulating and selling homemade soaps and wonderfully scented skin care products that leave your skin saying "Wow!".

The yummy looking 'candy' below is one of Spotted Cow's Gingerbread Soaps. She has also created bath fizzies.

Gingerbread Soap

Also just in time for Christmas are the Candy Cane products. These delightful items are only available for a limited time. They look so bright and cheerful that absolutely everyone on your list would be thrilled to receive one of these products.

Candy Cane Soap

Spotted Cow Soaps' blog can be read here. Photos of Gingerbread and Candy Cane Lane soaps are used courtesy of Spotted Cow Soaps. Her blog is lively and entertaining and well worth giving a good read.

Ms. Moo is a very active member of the Etsy Bloggers Team. Always ready with a kind deed or word of encouragement she is tireless in her work on behalf of our team. Her soap and skin care products are unique and imaginative. Don't forget to stop by her Etsy shop. There is still time for some holiday shopping!

Become A Virtual Assistant

If you would like to earn money in your home business right away, you will want to look into starting a service based business. A popular, and much needed, service based business idea is becoming a virtual assistant (also known as a VA).

The demand for virtual assistants is increasing two-fold. On one hand, more and more people are starting home based businesses and they need help in the day to day office tasks associated with their business.
Since they are working out of their home and do not have the space to hire a traditional in office administrative assistant, they turn to virtual assistants.

Even brick and mortar businesses are now hiring virtual assistants as the trend of working with freelancers continues to grow. It is more cost effective for a company to hire a virtual assistant on a contract basis, as they will not need to pay for benefits or other perks given to traditional employees.

As a VA, you may be asked to complete a variety of tasks, such as answering email, customer service, transcription, data entry, research, and more. Some virtual assistants decide to specialize in one area, such as marketing, public relations, or bookkeeping.

As with other service based providers, a virtual assistant can find work through online job boards. Check out www.justonlinejobs.com and www.craigslist.com for starters.

Freelance websites such as www.elance.com and www.guru.com are another great source. Online temp agencies, such as http://www.workaholics4hire.com/ are also popping up to help people find jobs in this field.

Don’t be afraid to contact someone you’d like to work with directly and offer your services. You don’t want to spam anyone, of course, but it is okay to write someone you admire and let them know that if they are hiring, you’d love to work with them.

It is very rare to find a 40 hour per week virtual assistant job. You will most likely have to juggle several clients to actually get the amount of hours you would like to work each week.

As technology continues to improve, more and more companies will be offering virtual assistant positions. This is a field that will continue to grown and flourish.

Planning Holiday Parties For Extra Cash

Holiday parties are one of the best things about this exciting time of year. From the food and drink, to decorations and invitations, planning a holiday party takes a lot of time and effort that many just cannot handle. However, if you enjoy party planning and have a knack for organization and creativity, you can hire yourself out to those who are pressed for time and earn extra money for the holidays by planning parties.

When planning parties for others, the first thing that should be done is to have a consultation with the customer to find out exactly what they want for their holiday party. You will need to discuss with them the approximate number of people attending, any themes or décor ideas, venue choices, entertainment needs and menu options. Be sure to take careful notes and draw up a contract that specifically states the choices made and the services to be provided, to protect you both.

The next step in the party planning process is to secure a venue and vendors for the event. Book the location as early as possible, if one is needed. Talk to several caterers to find one that can provide you with the food and beverage services that are needed for your client. If a band, DJ or other entertainer is needed, speak with a few and book the one that is best suited for the event. Be sure to confirm with each of your vendors a few days before the party to assure that there are no mix-ups or last minute changes to their availability.

Some clients may want you to handle the invitations and RSVPs for their parties, as well. If this is the case, get a complete list of names and addresses from your client. You should mail invitations approximately one month prior to the event or a bit longer if it is a formal holiday party.

On the day of the event, you will be responsible for setting up the venue and assuring that all of the decorations are in place. You will need to supervise the set up of the caterer and entertainment, making sure that everything is ready to go by the time of the party. You may or may not be required to attend the party and supervise the vendors during the event or you might be asked to return to clean up after the party has ended.

If you enjoy planning and hosting parties, chances are you have what it takes to be a party planner. Draw on your talents and use your personal experiences to help you plan holiday parties for your clients that will keep them coming back to you. Planning other’s holiday parties is a wonderful way to earn extra money for your own holiday affairs.

Start A Direct Sales Business Now To Make Extra Holiday Cash

Getting ready for the holidays involves decorating, cleaning, cooking and, of course, purchasing gifts. Nearly all holiday preparations cost money, and for those who just make enough to take care of their monthly bills and responsibilities, this can be a serious struggle. When searching for ways to take care of the holiday bills, starting a direct sales business is a great tactic to earn extra money.

The first step to getting started in direct sales is choosing a company to represent. When most people think about direct sales companies, names like Mary Kay, Avon and Tupperware come to mind. While these companies are well-known and popular choices, there are hundreds of companies offering direct sales programs. Do some research to find one that best suits your interests.

When you join a direct sales company, there will be some fee involved. The company will provide you with a startup kit, product samples, as well as materials such as catalogs and order forms to help you get your business started.

Direct sales companies work by paying their salespeople a commission on all items sold. This is quite different than actually being a company employee, as those who work for retailers are generally paid a salary, as well as a commission. With direct sales, the commission rate is substantially higher, but you will only earn money if you are making sales.

There are various different approaches that can be taken when selling products for a direct sales company. One of the most popular ways to generate sales and cash flow is by setting up home parties.
These parties are usually hosted in the home of a customer. They will handle the invitations, refreshments and party plans and you will come in to demonstrate the products that you are selling and to take orders. Usually the host is offered a discount or free gifts for hosting the party and additional bonuses, depending on the amount that is sold at their event.

Some companies allow their representatives to have a company website. In some cases, these may be free or they may have a low monthly cost. These allow your current customers to reorder product, as well as help you develop an online presence for your business.

Direct sales companies allow people to quickly and easily start a home business.

Deciding On What To Do

Making the decision to start a home based business can be pretty easy. Deciding on what to do is the hard part. We have so many options, that the decision can become overwhelming.

Not long ago, home business options were just about limited to direct sales or home daycare. Thanks to technology, home business possibilities are limitless, and new options are popping up everyday.

When trying to decide on a home business, it is important to think about your personality. You know yourself the best, and you know what you are interested in doing and what you are not interested in. You also have natural strengths and talents in some areas. The best possible situation is to find a home business that combines your natural talents with your interests.

Another important thing to factor in is the potential future of the business you choose. For example, if you currently have small children, your natural inclination may be to become a consultant for a direct sales company that sells toys or you may want to start a blog featuring information for mothers of toddlers.

That could be a great business for you right now, but your children will continue to age. Do you still want to be selling toys when your children are in high school? And do you want to keep blogging about the joys of potty training when your kids are off to college?

You don’t want to put a lot of hard work, time, and energy into a business that you are not going to be happy with in a few years. It is better to choose something that YOU really like and enjoy and want to keep doing for the long haul.

Another mistake to avoid is trying to juggle several businesses. When you have too many balls in the air, something is going to fall. For example, you may think you can handle a direct sales business, a blog, and a service based business. But you also have to remember that you have a life and your family and friends will want to see you on occasion!

Instead of going crazy trying to be a jack of all trades, specialize in one type of business. You’ll have much more success long term.

Starting a home business can be a very exciting time. Enjoy the process of figuring out the right type of business for you. Hopefully, the business you choose will be by your side for a very, very long time.

Starting Your Own Toy Drive This Christmas

People tend to be more generous around the holidays. The easiest way to give this holiday season is to volunteer with a recognized group, such as Toys for Tots, Angel Tree or other local groups such as the fire department or hospital. By volunteering to help with these toy drives, you can help cut down on their workload and help someone in need at the same time.

If there are no local organizations that have a toy drive, you can start a new one. Begin by checking with the local city hall to see if there are any regulations as to how and where you may collect toys. Some towns may allow door-to-door collections; others may require a designated drop off location.

Once the decision has been made, decide if you want to do an all-new toy drive or new to gently used. Both can be successful but it needs to be clear what you are collecting. Either way, it is best to have the gifts that are donated left unwrapped so that the volunteers can screen the gifts and get them sent to a child that matches by age and gender. Be sure to check all toys for broken or missing pieces. It's also a good idea to check them against any recall notices.

Research stores in the area that may donate either toys or cash toward the drive. Some may even allow you to have their location as a drop off point. Don't limit your choices to toy stores. Check with the grocery or hardware stores. Check with the local library. It might surprise you which businesses are more than willing to help. Talk to the various churches in town. Many of them may already do a small-scale toy drive. If you combine resources everyone will be able to give more to those who are less fortunate during the holiday season.

Start getting volunteers to sign up in early November. This way people have time to plan and adjust his or her own holiday celebrations. Start advertising the toy drive by Thanksgiving. Contact the newspaper, radio and TV stations to see if you can get free ad space or airtime as a public service announcement. Set up dates to wrap and distribute the toys. Try to have the distribution as close to Christmas as possible, maybe even Christmas Eve.

Be sure to also thank all those who helped publicly. Again, have the media thank the community and businesses that assisted in the drive. Thank all the volunteers, maybe even with a small token, even if it's just cookies and hot chocolate for them after the work is all done.

Here is a link to the USA Recall Notices:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html

and the Canadian equivalent:
http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/pr-rp/pr-rp_e.php

Blogging As a Home Business

For many people, times are tougher than ever and money is tight. Finding a way to earn extra money, without sacrificing time with family, might seem like an impossible task, but there are several ways to make money, without ever leaving home. One of the easiest ways to earn cash, right from your own home computer, is by blogging.

When most people think of blogging, their thoughts turn to online journals, where users chronicle their lives, but as blogging has evolved, this platform has created moneymaking opportunities for those with just a little bit of know-how. There are several different ways to use a blog to make money, as long as you have a topic that creates interest and draws in readers.

Affiliate Marketing

Earning money through affiliate marketing is one of the most popular was to use a blog to create income. You find products that your readers would be interested in or likely to buy, then become an affiliate of the company, earning a commission on each individual sale that is initiated through your blog. With most of these programs, there is no start up cost involved. The only work that needs to be done on your part is to bring in people who would purchase the products that you are promoting.

Selling Ad Space

Another way to make money through your blog is by selling ad space to companies. If you have created an audience or the potential for an audience, advertisers will pay to be featured on your site.
In some cases, they may approach you, but if they aren’t, don’t let that stop you. There are other ways to find companies to advertise on your blog. You can try a sales approach of your own, going to companies that might be interested and pitching your blog to them.

Contextual Ads

Contextual Ads, such as Google Adsense, allows a blogger to earn money from the content on their site. Signing up for the programs is free. When you do so, you will receive a bit of HTML code to place on your site. This allows the program to “read’ the content on your blog and it will automatically place relevant ads on your blog.

For example, if you have a blog about motorcycles, you will be most likely to have ads displayed for motorcycle parts and accessories. If one of your readers clicks on the ad, you will earn a small commission. It doesn’t matter if the person buys anything – you get paid just for the click. In some cases, you may also be paid by the number of times the ad is seen, whether or not anyone clicked on the ad.

Many people earn full time incomes through their blogs. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it will take a lot of hard work on your part, but blogging can be a viable home business option.

Become A Blog Designer

Did you know that many people are now using blogging platforms, such as Wordpress, to create both blogs and websites? Even large companies such as Ford Motor Company use Wordpress as the base for their website.

There are many reasons that businesses, both large and small are turning to Wordpress. For starters, it is open source, which means that it is free! It is easy to customize and can serve many different purposes. A person may use it to create a simple online journal or it can be modified into an e-commerce store that sells hundreds or thousands of products.

If you are familiar with Wordpress and know how to customize a theme, you should consider becoming a blog designer. Unlike a web designer, you won’t need to know anything too specialized or difficult.

You will need to know how to upload a theme and customize it by changing the colors, and add a customized header. If you are not skilled in graphic design, you could outsource the creation of the header.

As a blog designer, you could choose to work locally. Many of your local business owners may not be very familiar with websites, blogs, and the differences between them. They may not have even heard of Wordpress before.

They may not realize that it is a very affordable option for their website. Traditional website design can cost quite a bit of money. By educating local business owners on the benefits of Wordpress, you may find yourself with a full client load very soon.

Of course, you can also work online and design blogs for people you meet virtually. Most people with an online business are very comfortable working with people they’ve never met face to face.

As a blog designer, you can also add on blog coaching services, where you teach your clients how to navigate their new Wordpress blog. Writing a post may seem like a simple activity to you, but it may be daunting to someone who’s never used Wordpress.

There are other blog platforms you could choose to work with, such as Blogger and Moveable Type. The possibilities of a blog design business are endless!

Crafty Home Business Ideas

If you are blessed with crafting talents, you are in luck. Selling crafts, either online or at craft fairs, is a wonderful way to bring in extra cash.

Online Sales

Selling crafts online is much easier than most people think. As long as you have an inventory of completed items that are easy to ship, you can start selling your items online without much difficulty. An easy way to get started is by creating an online craft store through http://www.etsy.com/. Etsy is an online craft site that is very easy for sellers to use. Signing up for the site and setting up your store is free. The site charges a small listing fee and a 3.5% fee on each item sold.

While Etsy is an easy way to get started, you should eventually purchase your own domain (website address) and set up your own website or blog. A very affordable e-commerce solution is Shop Kit Plus (http://www.shopkitplus.com/).

Craft Fairs

Local craft fairs are another wonderful way to sell your crafts. Many areas have several of these, especially around the holiday season. Here you can set up a booth or table and the shoppers will come to you.

There is usually a fee for space or a table, but these are generally minimal. Check with the local chamber of commerce, churches or civic organizations to find out if there are events scheduled locally at which you can purchase a table.

Other Local Ideas

Another way to sell your items locally is take a cue from the direct sales industry and have a home party! Invite your friends and family over, and encourage them to bring a guest.

On the day of the party, create a nice display of your items. Let your guests touch and feel your items. If you do not have enough supply on hand, simply take orders for your items and deliver the item when it’s completed. Encourage your guests to have their own home party for your items by giving a special discount to your future hostesses.

If you are a crafty person, who enjoys crafting as a hobby, you can turn your favorite pastime into a moneymaking venture. Many people do not have these talents and will be more than happy to pay for your handmade items.

SALE Black Friday to Cyber Monday SALE

H a p p y H o l i d a y s ! !

The EtsyBloggers HOLIDAY S*A*L*E* is going on from Black Friday thru Cyber Monday!!

That's Friday 11/28 thru Monday 12/1!!

http://impawsibletoresist.etsy.com sale items:

Free Shipping on all ACEOs and OSWOAs prints and/or originals.

Free gift tags with every order on any merchandise.

10% off all other merchandise except custom orders, ACEOs, OSWOAs.

See a list of the 50+ shops having a SALE at http://etsybloggers.etsy.com

H a p p y S h o p p i n g ! !




http://impawsibletoresist.etsy.com
http://themagickalewe.etsy.com (patterns & yarn shop)