January 21st, 2008
Anne Wayman at The Golden Pencil talks about writers being comfortable talking about money. This is equally important for home business owners who offer services to clients.
As Anne says, especially if you don’t have a business background, it’s quite common to think that money seems to be somehow associated with greed. In fact it’s your earned income, just like employees get a wage. You have expenditure, running costs, charges and profit.
You need to talk about money, so everyone knows what’s what. In fact, you need to be very clear about your terms and what you are offering for the agreed fee.
Anne’s post will give you some good starting points and food for thought for your home business, no matter what service you offer.
Tags:Finances home business Money
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By Yvonne Russell -- 4 comments
January 19th, 2008
Home Biz Notes
As a business owner and ardent traveler, for both business and pleasure, I enjoy reading Doing Biz Abroad. This is a sister site to Home Biz Notes in the b5 media Business Channel.
Written by Chris Erb and Jean Mercedes, Doing Biz Abroad is an informative, entertaining mix of business etiquette, doing business abroad (as the title suggests) and some wry observations.
In an entertaining and interesting article, Jean Mercedes says,
Non-native English speakers all over the world are adapting English and inventing new words and expressions. The estimated number of English speakers in the world (including non-native speakers) has grown from 250 million to 1.3 billion in the last 40 years and the number is growing.
If you are a home business owner wanting to explore the global market, Doing Biz Abroad is a good starting point to understanding international business and other cultures.
Tags:doing biz abroad home business home business global market international business
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By Yvonne Russell -- 0 comments
January 17th, 2008
Is your home and home business safe when you are away? This is an extreme example of what can happen when you are away from your home.
Teen Corey Delaney put out a party invitation on Facebook while his parents were out of state on vacation. 500 people turned up, causing an alcohol fuelled nightmare for residents in the street. Corey’s parents jetted back immediately.
The Herald Sun reports that “… police, the air wing and the dog squad were used to control up to 500 drunk teenagers.”
Corey has been arrested and is being threatened with a $AUS 20 000 bill from angry police who had to attend. Residents said they were frightened, as the party spilled out into the streets and neighboring yards.
What About YOUR Home Business?
As your home is also your place of business and income as a home business owner, what security precautions do yo suggest for others for short term or long term absences? Some documents may not be able to be replaced if they are lost or stolen. How about your laptop files if your laptop is stolen?
Quite apart from this instance, when you leave your home, there is also the (hopefully unlikely) possibility of theft, fire or weather damage. We all hope it won’t happen, and it is unlikely, but we still take out insurance… just in case.
Any thoughts?
Tags:home business home business security
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By Yvonne Russell -- 4 comments
January 15th, 2008
This very clever Animated Music Video made me think about how all the aspects of a business (and life) need to be synched, balanced and in tune.
Fittingly, the video is called The Fantastic Machine. You are the conductor of your business symphony. Enjoy the experience!
Tip of the hat to Lorraine Cohen at Powerfull Living Blog for pointing out the video.
Tags:home+business+success home business
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By Yvonne Russell -- 0 comments
January 10th, 2008
HomeBizNotes.com
I was thrilled when I saw Home Biz Notes and my name listed as one of the Women Bloggers of 2008 at Virtual Women’s Day Celebrations. This included a list of 25 women’s blogs and bloggers for January.
Biz Chicks Rule , another b5media Business Channel blog, also was one of those named. Congratulations Kristen and Bridget!
According to Heidi,
Women are blogging in record numbers these days - so may blogs, so much content and so little time to check them all out. Each month during 2008, I will be highlighting dozens of blogs written by women, on a variety of topics, genres and locations around the globe.
How exciting to be included among them! Apparently Yvonne Russell and I are doing something right to provide meaningful and interesting information for our readers here at Home Biz Notes, as are Kristen King and Bridget Wright at Biz Chicks Rule.
(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen
Tags:Biz+Chicks+Rule home+based+business Home+biz+notes Home+business home+business+success home business
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By Mary Emma Allen -- 0 comments
January 2nd, 2008
HomeBizNotes.com
So often it’s difficult to think about healthy eating and have time to prepare the meals we should when we get caught up in our home business demands.
*We forget to eat well ourselves.
*If there are children in the household, we may get too busy to make sure their diet is always well balanced, although we do most of the time.
*We get too busy finishing projects, filling orders, as well as fulfilling family obligations that we may find it difficult to concentrate on healthy food, shopping, preparation and snacks.
You’ll find a number of blogs at b5 in the
Science & Health Channel
Veggie Chic
Eating Fabulous
And the Lifestyles Channel
*Baking Delights
*Foodie Obsessed
*Noodles and Rice
to give you ideas for healthy and pleasurable eating,
with occasional splurges like…
Chocolate Bytes!
ENJOY
(c)2007 Mary Emma Allen
Tags:health healthy eating home business Lifestyles+Channel Science and Health Channel
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By Mary Emma Allen -- 0 comments
December 29th, 2007
What Happens At Your Home Business When The Water Springs A Leak?
I awoke this morning to find a note from our daughter, who left for work at 5:15 AM. “Mom and Dad, there’s water on the wall behind the freezer.”
My husband Jim discovered a tiny leak in an exposed cold water pipe in the basement above the freezer. A very fine mist was spraying over the wall and dripping down.
“That’s the only line we didn’t replace when we did over the plumbing a few years ago,” he said, “because it runs up to the bathroom and is behind walls.”
So squeezed in between business matters has been plumbing repair which eventually will lead to a bathroom overhaul. Jim turned off the water to that portion of the house until we could get to a “repair” point in the daily schedule so he could analyze fully what needs to be done.
Do you have those days with your business? When the unplanned, unexpected happens and you have to squeeze in solutions to the challenges, along with getting your regular tasks completed?
*Sometimes it means working longer hours to get everything done.
*Sometimes you leave the challenge (if it’s not an emergency) until after your business day is finished.
*Sometimes it means giving up a social engagement.
*Or you learn to juggle and hope everyone affected by delays will understand. Usually they do.
This wasn’t the only disruption in the past week. The day before Christmas, the faucet on the kitchen sink began leaking, dripping down under the sink and onto the floor. Another morning the electricity went off while we were preparing breakfast and other family members were getting ready for work away from home. Fortunately the power company had that back on within an hour. But we decided we’d better check out the generator and make sure it’s in working condition in case winter storms wreck havoc this winter.
Fortunately, I didn’t have the problem a friend experienced yesterday. We were talking on the phone when she exclaimed, “Mary, I’ve got to go. Water is leaking on my products.”
Later she explained that somehow melting ice and snow had leaked under the patio and through the ceiling of her storage room, soaking some of the merchandise she keeps there for her home business. There wasn’t too much damage, but enough that they had to move everything from the small room.
Some challenges you can’t plan for nor avoid. But you can have strategies in place that enable you to keep going with your business in spite of disruptions.
What do you do?
(c)2007 Mary Emma Allen
Tags:home business home business challenges home business emergencies home business owner home business planning
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By Mary Emma Allen -- 2 comments
December 28th, 2007
I’ve been “harping” on participating in contests in several posts here at Home Biz Notes, so I’m joining this GTD contest sponsored by Celine Roque at Pimp Your Work
What are my resolutions for 2008? In order to accomplish more than I did in 2007, I need to:
1. Find a way to stretch myself or “find another self” as my grandson calls it, so I can do more. (Maybe this is the virtual assistant mentioned in the Elance contest.)
2. Be more efficient and organized. Do something each day to be better organized,even if it’s only 20 minutes, as Mike Murdock says in Secrets of the Journey.
3. Keep my goals in front of me each day, instead of making my list then misplacing it. (Is that part of being better organized?!!)
4. Reach for stunning goals that seems impossible, rather than reminding myself to “be realistic.” Look for those “out of the box” opportunities that will enable me to reach these goals.
“We don’t think big enough,” a mentor once told me.
5. Find more joy in my work and life by looking at what I have accomplished each day, not at what I haven’t done.
(c)2007 Mary Emma Allen
Tags:2008 business goals contest home based business home business pimp your work
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By Mary Emma Allen -- 1 comment
December 27th, 2007
We are often so caught up with running our businesses, that we don’t take time to celebrate our successes.
Take a moment to reflect and enjoy your 2007 Home Business successes. They may be small milestones or major landmark successes.
Enjoy! It’s these successes that are not only affirming, but form the building blocks for future refinements, planning and directions.
We’d love you to share your 2007 home business successes with us… no matter how small or large.
Tags:celebrate home business home business home business success
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By Yvonne Russell -- 0 comments
December 26th, 2007
HomeBizNotes.com
In the course of a year, you’ll find some articles/posts that seemed popular or helpful for your readers. They also may be are ones you particularly enjoyed writing.
It’s often difficult to narrow it down to five, but these are some that stood out in 2007:
Best Business Advice - Glide Like A Duck
Wrapping Up With Reader’s Comments
9 Mistakes Business Owners Shouldn’t Make
Will Graduates Start Home Businesses?
My Mother, The Country Grocer…Success Isn’t Always What You Think
(c)2007 Mary Emma Allen
Tags:2007 posts home based business Home Biz Notes Popular Posts home business popular posts
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By Mary Emma Allen -- 4 comments
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