It’s the middle of July. Am I really suggesting you start a Santa Letter business now?! Yes I am!

I’m not going to suggest you start advertising your Santa letter business now, but it’s a great time to plan and prepare so that you’re ready to launch your business and take orders the minute the holiday selling season starts. The article below will help you get started.

Start a Santa Letter Business for the Holidays

With the uncertainty surrounding the economy these days, many women are trying to think of ideas to make money from home. You don’t want to fall for a scam but you do want something that is easy to do and still have time for your families. Starting a Santa letter business may be the answer you’re looking for.

What Exactly is a Santa Letter Business?

Each year thousands of children write letters to Santa Claus and never get a response, but your Santa letter business can change all that. By owning your own Santa letter business, you can give children something to cherish for years to come. A parent pays for a “letter from Santa” for their child and you write a personalized letter in response.

What Type of Equipment and Supplies are Needed?

There aren’t a lot of equipment needs for this business. In fact, you can get started with nothing more than a computer, Christmas stationery, a printer, and a way for parents to contact you. You may want to consider getting a post office box for your business so you won’t have people sending letters to your personal address.

What Skills and Attributes Will You Need?

A good command of the English language and the ability to type are all the skills you’ll really need. If you love children and can relate to them, you’ll do well in this business.

How Do You Decide What to Charge?

Parents want their children to be happy and to encourage the magic of Christmas as long as they can. It’s not unusual for Santa letter businesses to charge as much as $10 per letter. Of course, you may be able to find them cheaper online, but the quality of the letter leaves much to be desired. Deliver great quality and command a better price.

Think about what you would be willing to spend to have a personalized letter sent to your child from “Santa” and that will give you a good starting point for the price. Factor in your costs – stationary, postage, and printer ink – then add a little to the price of the letter to help pay for those items.

Use Creative Marketing Ideas.

Don’t wait too long to start advertising your new business. In fact, if you haven’t started by the first week of November, you may have waited too late. Sell letters from Santa on auction sites. You can also create order forms that can be given to schools and preschools to send home to parents.

Consider creating a website and advertise there, send out postcards to people in your hometown, or put up fliers in local businesses. Set up your computer in a booth at a Christmas craft show and have letters made on the spot for parents and grandparents to take with them.

To Learn More:

Setting up a Santa letter business is a fun and lucrative business to start with a minimum of money and equipment. Get step-by-step help, download letter templates and more, by grabbing your “Just Add Sweat Guide to Start a Santa Letter Business”

 

 Affiliate link or our product link (Why tell?)

What do you think? You are invited to comment (just click the title link):
Start a Santa Letter Business

If you like this post, please support us and our sponsors by visiting the source:
Linda Stacy's Business Opportunity Connection.

In addition to their commitment to providing natural products for its customers, the company works hard to protect the environment through responsible manufacturing and recycling programs, and they help the community through charitable programs.

Some of the benefits of becoming a Watkins, Inc. Associate are:

• You’ll be joining a proven, well-known company.
• Consumers are more and more interested in natural products.
• Selling consumable products makes it easier to gain repeat customers.
• You can get started for under $50.
• The company offers rewards and bonus programs.

For more information and to contact a consultant who will help you get started, visit the Watkins, Inc. page in the InternetBasedMoms.com direct sales directory.

What do you think? You are invited to comment (just click the title link):
Spotlight on Watkins – More Than 100 Years of Direct Selling

If you like this post, please support us and our sponsors by visiting the source:
Linda Stacy's Business Opportunity Connection.

Summer is here and many people are looking for temporary work, including teachers, high school students, and college students. Depending on where you live, a summer job may be next to impossible to find. An alternative may be to start your own summer business offering a service. Here are some summer business ideas.

There are always the standard summer services including:

• Lawn mowing and landscaping – competitive pricing and professional service are the keys to success.
• Child care – many parents need babysitting or mother’s helper services for school-aged children during summer vacation.
• Car washing – consider going mobile; wash cars at owners’ homes or place of business.
• House sitting – many people go on vacation and having a house sitter adds some security in addition to keeping the plants watered.
• Pet sitting – an added house sitting service.
• Painting – indoors and out.

If you have a particular skill perhaps you can put it to use for the summer:
• Photography service – take pictures at family reunions, beach parties, and other summer parties and events.
• Tutoring – many parents look for help for their kids to catch up or get ahead during the summer.

Here are a few ideas that aren’t as common:
• Yard sale organizer – many homeowners would welcome the help to set up and run a yard sale.
• Window washer – while many people keep the inside of their windows clean, outside window washing is often a job that homeowners put off.
• Specialty cleaning services – think about specific items that could use a special cleaning like home computers and laptops, collectibles, all the framed artwork and photos hanging in the home.
• Specialty organization service – organize pantries and kitchen cabinets or collections of CDs and DVDs or books.
• Mover – many people move during the summer and need help packing and loading the truck. Or offer your services to help students move in and out of the dorms.
• Party helper – offer your services to help set up, serve guests, and clean up for summer parties.

With a little creativity and advertising you may find yourself very busy and well-paid all summer. Sometimes all it takes is finding that first job and word-of-mouth gets you booked for the rest of the summer. And if nothing else, it’s a great time to clean your own home and sell your unused items at your own yard sale or using an online auction site such as eBay.

Are you running a summer business? Leave a comment to let us know what you’re doing and how it’s going.

What do you think? You are invited to comment (just click the title link):
Summer Business Ideas

If you like this post, please support us and our sponsors by visiting the source:
Linda Stacy's Business Opportunity Connection.

Do you realize that most local brick and mortar business owners feel lost and overwhelmed by the idea of marketing themselves on the internet? It’s true.

As a long time internet marketer, I have a good understanding of how the web works. I can create a website that attracts relevant traffic and makes a profit. I realized a few years ago that I could take this knowledge and apply it to serving a local market – offering my services as a website creator and marketer.

There’s no lack of providers out there offering to help the local business owner take their business online, but the sheer volume of options is confusing and the price point is often far outside of the small business budget. So when I opened my doors to provide affordable services from a local source, I found clients who were hungry for what I had to offer.

I used the knowledge I have about building a simple website to set up a Wordpress blog for a local consignment shop. We publish pictures of some of her new products and pipe the RSS Feed into a Facebook fan page. These are just some simple promotion strategies that come as easy as pie to you and me – but to her, it was like magic!

Imagine her delight when a lady walked into her shop with overflowing bags of great product to consign, saying ‘I found you on the internet and decided to bring my things in!’. The cool part? The lady drove almost an HOUR to get to her shop – passing many other similar stores along the way.
My client is now totally sold on the power of the internet to accomplish her marketing goals.

Before she met me, she was scared stiff to even think about doing something online. Most local small business are and that’s why they need YOU!

When you focus on a local business community, you have home field advantage. If you’re good at what you do and deliver real world results, word of mouth travels fast among these business owners who regular network together.

A phone call came in to my office a few weeks ago. So and so had mentioned me to so and so and now another so and so wanted to meet to discuss a project. I setup a time and looked forward to learning about their needs. I admit my jaw dropped a tiny bit when I learned the client was a famous food brand that has its home here in northern Michigan. (Of course I quickly hid my surprise and pretended that I consulted on major brands every day of the week.

When local people ask me what I do, I say that I do web design and consulting. If the conversation progresses, I go on to tell them about how I help businesses develop powerful, interactive websites with simple tools that help them attract more clients and customers.

It all sounds very professional, right? And of course it is – but the reality is that I work from my home, usually in my slippers. I rarely meet clients face to face and I choose my own work hours. I love what I do and thoroughly enjoy seeing how my skills benefit my clients.

If you have even some of the skills that I do: If you understand how search engines work, how to create a website with Wordpress, how to set up a simple mailing list, a Twitter account and a Facebook page; you could be running your own consulting business.

Even if you lack some of these skills, if you delegate well and enjoy serving as a project manager, you can outsource the work that falls outside of your expertise and still provide all of the necessary services to your clients.

The needs exists. Local business owners know they should be taking advantage of the internet. They just need you to show them how to make it happen.

Kelly McCausey shows you step by step how to create, launch and grow a local business consulting business at Become a Blog Consultant.

Article printed from LadyPens: http://www.ladypens.com

Affiliate link (Why tell?)

affiliate ad

What do you think? You are invited to comment (just click the title link):
Local Business Owners Need Your Internet Marketing Skills

If you like this post, please support us and our sponsors by visiting the source:
Linda Stacy's Business Opportunity Connection.

As the school year comes to a close, parents and teens begin looking for ways for the kids to occupy their time off. For many teens a summer job would be ideal, but there are probably very few jobs available. If your teen has the maturity and independence required, a summer business may be the perfect solution to a productive summer.

There are traditional choices such as lawn mowing, car washing, and pet sitting and many other choices for self-starters. Here are some of our previous posts containing business ideas that might work for your teen.

• Teen Business Idea
• Ways Teens Can Make Money Online
• Starting an In-home Pet Sitting Business
• All summer will you be hearing “Mom, I’m bored!” or…”

Some businesses involve a good deal of responsibility, so be sure your teen can handle what they are taking on before allowing him or her to proceed. There may be some risk involved as well, whether risk of physical injury from the tools being used or some “stranger danger” when going to others home to perform work. Be sure your teen understands the risks, knows how to avoid danger, and knows what to do if they are in danger or get injured.

Earning money is just one of the rewards of a summer business. In addition to learning valuable business skills, additional benefits including building self-confidence, gaining more independence, and enjoying a sense of accomplishment.

With a little entrepreneurial spirit, some imagination, and a lot of hard work, the summer can be profitable for a teenager.

Are you a teen (or parent of a teen) with a business or a plan to start one this summer? Please post a comment and tell us about it.

What do you think? You are invited to comment (just click the title link):
Will Your Teens Spend or Earn This Summer?

If you like this post, please support us and our sponsors by visiting the source:
Linda Stacy's Business Opportunity Connection.

Things consultants seem to especially like about selling Cookie Lee Jewelry:

• Customers take home their jewelry the night of the party so consultants receive their proceeds immediately
• The incentive programs, including trips and cars
• The jewelry is very reasonably priced

 


Get more information and contact a consultant to find out how to start your own home business direct selling jewelry by visiting the Cookie Lee Jewelry company page in the InternetBasedMoms.com Direct Sales Directory.

What do you think? You are invited to comment (just click the title link):
Spotlight on Cookie Lee Jewelry – Affordable Fashion Accessories

If you like this post, please support us and our sponsors by visiting the source:
Linda Stacy's Business Opportunity Connection.

There are more ways than ever to connect with family and friends electronically, but Ivette Muller knows that we all still enjoy and appreciate the thoughtfulness of receiving and sending printed greeting cards through the mail. She’s so sure of it, that last year she signed on as an Independent Distributor for SendOutCards.

According to Ivette, “the SendOutCards system has over 13,000 greeting cards for all occasions – cards that are ordered online and personalized and sent for less than the price of store-bought cards. SendOutCards prints and mails the cards. Customization options include the PicturePlus service which allows customers to upload any JPEG file to create a card, the option to add your own handwriting, the ability to include a gift along with the card, and a contact manager that reminds you of birthdays and special occasions.”

When I asked Ivette what attracted her to the SendOutCards business opportunity she replied, “The system is easy to use, the cards are high quality and low cost, and the income opportunity is unlimited. Distributors earn a commission on all sales in their downline regardless of how deep it is (most companies limit commissions to 6 or 7 levels).”

When asked about customer support, Ivette explained that “both she and the company provide exemplary customer service. Customers can call me or the company to get help with using the system, and there are videos online for them to watch to learn how to use any part of the system.”

Distributors who join her team are offered “great resources to learn how to build a business and learn what you need to do to increase income and self-promote. Basically if someone wants to build a business, we are here to help them succeed in any way we can.”

To purchase a card or to contact Ivette to start your own greeting card business, visit her website at http://www.remembergreetingcards.com/ivette

What do you think? You are invited to comment (just click the title link):
Featured Advertiser – Custom Greeting Cards

If you like this post, please support us and our sponsors by visiting the source:
Linda Stacy's Business Opportunity Connection.

(Be advised that I normally advise against thinking of paid surveys as a real business, but teens may be able to make a little pin money by completing surveys. As cautioned in the article, don’t pay for information about surveys; you can join all the survey sites for free. As you begin to research survey sites, you will probably also come across “paid to read emails” or “paid to surf the web” offers. Those types of opportunities typically pay pennies and in my opinion are not worth the time and effort.)

The article below by S McIntyre includes suggestions for several other ways teens can earn online.

7 Job Ideas For Teens To Earn Money Online
by S McIntyre
More teens are turning toward the Internet searching for online jobs to earn extra money from home. Despite the age requirements, teenagers can find real money making opportunities. If your teen is looking for ways to work at home online discuss with them their interests, commitment and goals.

All of these work at home job ideas will require some help or involvement from either parent. Here are seven online job ideas for teens looking to expand their wings and or to explore their entrepreneurial side.

1. Surveys and focus groups are simple, fun and one of the easiest things to do. It doesn’t require any experience, just a teenager’s opinion. The types of surveys vary from topics about video games, movies, fashion, music, and other teen interests. Your teen may be compensated with money, Amazon or retail gift certificates, or points redeemable for cash or products. Signing up is always free; don’t ever pay! Monetary payments are usually paid out to a PayPal account or by cheque.

2. Many teens have their own blogs and they can use it as a way to promote their affiliate programs or get referrals from survey companies they have joined. They can sign up with Clickbank, a marketplace with merchants who offer digital products for people to sell. These commissions are set anywhere from 1% to 75%. LinkShare and Commission Junction are other affiliate marketplaces.

3. If one or both parents have their own home business, you can hire your teenager and delegate some of the monotonous and time consuming tasks. These simple tasks could be typing and printing out address labels, submitting articles to article directories, link checking and so forth. Parents can also help their teenager get the word out to others who may have limited budgets, but need to outsource some work.

4. Some kids like to follow in their parents’ footsteps, so if your teenager is interested in owning their own home business, you as a parent will have to be a co-signer.

5. Teens are very computer literate and savvy. Many are also artistic and creative. Becoming a web designer is a lucrative and rewarding career. Your teenager could be designing websites, creating blog templates, designing Twitter and MySpace backgrounds, buttons, logos etc. for anyone who can’t or don’t know how to do it themselves.

6. Open a lemonade stand; not a traditional one anyway. At Lemonade.com your teen can create an e-commerce online lemonade stand by recommending products that they love like music, sports, clothing, food, movies, video/electronic games and more.

7. If your teenager enjoy making crafts or he builds model airplanes, with the help of a parent they can open up their own online store at Etsy.com.

These are all worthwhile job ideas for teens who are interested in working at home and earning an income online. With a little help and support from you, your teenager can start earning their own spending money and maybe even put some away for college.

Find jobs for teens at WorkAtHomeSpace.com, a free work at home resource focusing on work at home companies, daily telecommute job leads, articles, business resources and other work at home related topics.

Sophia co-owns WorkAtHomeBusinessOptions.com, a comprehensive work at home business resource focusing on helping others who are looking for opportunities and ideas to work from home. You will also find tips and articles on how to balance work, family and play in your daily life.

What do you think? You are invited to comment (just click the title link):
Ways Teens Can Make Money Online

If you like this post, please support us and our sponsors by visiting the source:
Linda Stacy's Business Opportunity Connection.

What is a virtual assistant?

A virtual assistant or VA is a self-employed, home-based entrepreneur who assists other businesses, often in administrative work. In addition, most business owners have particular tasks that they will turn over to their virtual assistants, and these can go beyond basic office or business administration.

What skills are needed to become a VA?

The basic skills a VA needs are office and business administration skills. A VA also needs to be highly organized, communicate effectively and pay careful attention to detail. Some clients look for additional technical skills, such as writing, marketing, social media, blog or website maintenance, and multimedia production – even podcasting!

The skill set you’ll need as a VA depends on the type of clients you want to work with. Find out what they need and build your skills to respond effectively.

What kinds of work does a VA do?

VAs commonly do office-related stuff, such as responding to emails, making travel arrangements, researching and compiling information, business writing and typing up notes or transcribing audios

In addition, VAs nowadays are often expected to write and publish or schedule blog posts, work with autoresponders, rewrite private label rights content, optimize a website for search engines, update websites, and set up social networking profiles/pages.

Is being a VA a good option for Moms?

Oh yes! A lot of work at home Moms I know are VAs and they make good incomes from the comfort of their home, without having to leave their children in the care of others. Virtual assistance is a home business, which means it’s flexible. You decide how many hours a day you want to work, on which days, what type of work you want to do, and even whom you will work with.

On the other hand, if you have small children, remember that occasionally you will need to be on the phone or web chat with a client, supplier or other associate. In this case you’ll need somebody else looking after your small children so you can have some quiet and be able to focus on the call or chat.

How much money does a VA make?

The hourly rate of VAs depends on several factors. These include their skills and experience, whether they specialize in certain services or a particular industry, and any certifications they may have (those who are certified by recognized institutions charge higher fees). VA fees vary widely, ranging anywhere from around $15 to $70 per hour. So you can see, it’s entirely possible for a VA to make a full-time income working at home.

How can someone get started as a VA?

You can try and figure everything out yourself, of course. But better yet, get the guidance of experienced VAs who have successful virtual assistance businesses. Two such VAs are Jen Houck and Nell Taliercio who have a combined experience of over 5 years in virtual assistance. They share their success stories and step-by-step tips in the
Just Add Sweat Guide To Becoming A Virtual Assistant.

The guide includes:

• an audio course on everything from setting up your VA business, to marketing your services and finding and keeping clients
• a workbook to get you into action
• 5 videos teaching essential Internet skills
  …and more.

This is the guide that will get your VA business up and running in no time.

Many small business owners use virtual services to help them with a variety of tasks. Becoming a virtual assistant may be the next perfect “job” for you.

Affiliate link or our product link (Why tell?)

What do you think? You are invited to comment (just click the title link):
Service Business Idea: Virtual Assistant

If you like this post, please support us and our sponsors by visiting the source:
Linda Stacy's Business Opportunity Connection.

The quiz only takes a couple of minutes and it’s anonymous. Click the link to try it out:
Work at Home Readiness Quiz.

It’s just 10 quick questions and you get your results immediately, along with some tips and resources to help you get started. Yes, some of the suggested resources are paid resources, but you don’t have to buy them. For the few minutes it takes for the quiz you’ll get some interesting insight into what might work for you.

Good luck!

Indicates an affiliate link (Why tell?)

What do you think? You are invited to comment (just click the title link):
Is a Home Business Right For You?

If you like this post, please support us and our sponsors by visiting the source:
Linda Stacy's Business Opportunity Connection.