Work At Home Business Opportunities Weblog
Entrepreneur: via Dane’s blog
Here’s some inspiration for you “mompreneur’s” out there.
After 15 years as a flight attendant for United Airlines, Denise Bein was offered a five-year leave of absence following 9/11. In that time, Bein raised her children and began to toy with a new kind of handy bag for the kitchen.
In fact, QuickSeals started out of Bein’s own experience as a mother. On a family trip, she was having trouble saving food. “Many of the items were too large to squeeze in Baggies,” recalls Bein, 39. “I realized all I needed was a bag top that could fit on top of most packages, would seal in the freshness and be easy for my children to open and close.”
In late 2006, Bein secured the patent on a unique double-ended plastic bag, which has a pull lock on one side and is sealed with double-sided tape on the other. She officially launched QuickSeals in January 2007, using her family’s savings account. Soon she was looking for manufacturers. “With my homemade QuickSeals in hand, I went to China and met an agent who helped me outsource plastic bag makers,” she says.
Bein admits she’s impressed with the success she’s seen in just over a year. Starting off with a $10,000 patent and $10,000 worth of plastic, QuickSeals made $300,000 in its first year. QuickSeals are now sold in Australia and Greece as well as in the U.S., and can be purchased on the company’s website and in Bed Bath & Beyond stores. Bein is currently looking to design a heavy-duty version of QuickSeals for stores like Home Depot.
Photo by Neese Products, LLC..
Here’s 5 good tips
From Start Up Nation
1. Put your contact information in a prominent location. You want to look like a legitimate business. This is a no-brainer, right? But I’m amazed at how often I have to hunt around on a Web site for a phone number, an e-mail address or a map for directions. Treat your Web site like an electronic version of the business card you give out when you want to make it easy for someone to remember you and get in touch. At the very least, your Web site should include:
- Your phone number
- Your e-mail address
- Your street address
- Your fax number
2. Restrain yourself on graphics. I like nicely designed Web sites as much as the next person, but not when a bunch of graphic elements interferes with my ability to find the information I want. Some Web sites are sort of a sensory assault - so much going on that it’s hard to focus. And all those graphics can contribute to slow-loading pages, which is where we started this whole discussion. Bottom line: If I can’t easily - and quickly - find what I want on your site, chances are I’m going to end up on one of your competitors’ sites.
The whole design issue is a tough one for people who don’t have a lot of Web experience, which is why at Microsoft Office Live (a StartupNation sponsor) we offer hundreds of pre-designed Web page templates our subscribers can choose from. All they have to do is add their content. Those more experienced might want to use a product like FrontPage, but we’re finding that very small businesses, in particular, like the idea of being able to get a Web site up quickly and easily - without advanced technical skills.
3. Keep your site visitor top-of-mind. That should be obvious, but some Web sites get caught up in celebrating the business behind it rather than their visitors, who have a specific purpose in coming to the site. If your visitors want to buy a pair of shoes, make it extremely clear that you’re there to sell them shoes. Don’t make them read about your founder’s philosophy of shoe comfort when what they want is a size chart or a shopping cart.
4. Be sure your content is Web-friendly. Screen after screen of text doesn’t work on the Web, unless you’re some sort of research site. If you’re trying to appeal to the general public, keep your copy brief and to the point. People tend to scan text on the Web, so boldface lead-ins and bulleted lists are excellent ways to present information that catches the eye.
5. Keep it simple. You want to be sure your visitors get the information they’re looking for, but you don’t want to completely overwhelm them. I’ve seen Web sites where the left-hand navigation is as long as my arm. Too many pages with too much information will bewilder and distract visitors. Start out modestly and only add depth when visitors and/or new products and services demand it.
I like to tell people about Microsoft Office Live for Small Business because it lets your Web site evolve as your business evolves. You can get a professional, basic site up quickly and then add as you go. We provide Web site traffic reports, and by analyzing visits to your site, you can see what’s working, what’s not, and make adjustments accordingly.
So that’s my five. I’m done. We all have things to do, places to go and Web sites to build.
Some one sent this to me and attributed it to the humorist Dave Barry… sounded funny enough to be his!
Dave Barry on the Economic Stimulus Package:
Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will
send to taxpayers.
Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.
Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. Only a smidgen.
Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is that you will use the money to
purchase a high-definition TV set, thus
stimulating the economy.
Q. But isn’t that stimulating the economy of
China?
A. Shut up.
Do you say you spend 10 to 30 hours per week on marketing to find new customers?
Are some of your best prospects people who are moving into the area from “out of town”?
Do you want to meet a higher income clientele for your business and think corporate executives might be a good target market?
Would you rather GET PAID to find new customers than PAY to find them through expensive and often fruitless advertisements?
Does $14 to $18 per hour sound like a good return on your marketing time?
If you would, then check your nearest Craigslist site and you might find a job posting like this one…
Professional City Guides and Relocation Specialists
Know your way around the city? Growing company is seeking one-on-one relocation guides of the city and the surrounding areas to assist employees moving to the area to work with major corporations.
Now hiring for part-time, weekends, and contractors. Flex scheduling available.
In this role, you help individuals make informed relocation decisions ranging from neighborhoods to social activities to main attractions by providing a personalized tours and orientations. Additional job responsibilities include internet research, resourceful tour preparation, light administrative duties, scheduling, and conducting personalized city tours.
Successful candidates will be outgoing with excellent communication skills, possess a high school diploma (at least), and have a clean driving record. At least 10 yrs in the area, working knowledge of primary neighborhoods, and computer proficiency are a must (Microsoft Office).
Diverse, small-business environment. Opportunities for growth.
Responses with a cover letter, resume, and hourly pay requirements will receive first attention. Please indicate your interest for part-time, weekends, and contractor opportunities. Options range from 10 – 30 hrs weekly.
This was a real ad found in a major metro site on Craigslist.
Could you be getting paid to find prospects?
You may recall I asked for some help to send books to prisoners.
Well, I’m back in jail again!
This time it’s once weekly at a county jail doing job seeking workshops for a couple of hours and for the most part doing alot of computer familiarization.
Got any business start up books you want to share? (They know how to start the illegitimate ones already!).
Leave a comment if you do and I’ll get back to you with a shipping address by email for this project.
Thanks in advance.
Thriftopia.com ltd. is the pioneer in responsible computer afterlife management. A social enterprise built on the triple bottom line philosophy, Thriftopia.com is committed to improving tomorrow by keeping resources working to benefit all people and the planet, while turning a profit. The company’s market includes consumers and businesses ranging from home-based small enterprises to Fortune 500 companies including STAPLES Business Depot, Casino Rama and The Simcoe County District School Board. Headquartered in Barrie, Ontario, Thriftopia.com offers free computer recycling, computer removal, responsible computer afterlife management planning and guaranteed total data destruction services and has plans to expand its offering through contract services and franchise collection centers.
Their work is threatened by the Ontario government’s latest proposals.
Says Thriftopia, the Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES) is a government supported “puppet” group controlled by Panasonic, Sony, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, HP, HBC, and Dell who want to control the e-waste market in the province. They threaten to put the small company out of business.
Sounds about right unfortunately.
There’s lots of good general information on the website, but here’s the burning question I think you really want to know:
Q: How do I find a telework job with the Federal Government?
A: The USAJOBS website lists all available Federal Government positions. Positions that may be telework eligible are not generally designated differently than other positions, although the job description may give insight as to whether the duties may be portable. Information about whether or not a position may be telework eligible could be discussed during the interview or offer stage of a job search.
That’s Telework.gov
From the Poughkeepsie Journal
In a perfect world, Laurie Helle would be employed in a field that helps people faced with life challenges.
A furnace explosion and severe burns when Helle was just 6 weeks old keeps her in a wheelchair. A double amputee, she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a concentration in social services.
To help Helle and others with disabilities, local organizations partnered to sponsor a job development conference Thursday in New Paltz.
Vocational and Education Services for Individuals with Disabilities, or VESID, and the Mid-Hudson Employment Alliance brought career adviser Christine Durst to Ulster BOCES’ conference center.
Durst, the chief executive and co-founder of Staffcentrix, based in Connecticut, taught participants about virtual, portable and home-based career options.
“One neat thing telework brings to the table is the telephonic interviews - it’s hiring sight unseen,” said Durst, who developed her program originally for on-the-go military spouses.
According to Durst, there are hundreds of home-based career opportunities that are family-friendly, financially rewarding and satisfying. However, one major setback is the frequency of telework-related scams, she said.
“Research shows that only 1 of every 48 work-from-home opportunities on the Internet is legitimate,” she said. “They exist because of desperation.”
This is from the Atlanta Journal and Constitution
Richardson (R-Hiram), sent a memo to state House staffers Friday announcing a trial teleworking schedule over the summer. The House’s 120 secretaries, researchers and other staffers will work one day a week from home to save fuel.
Here’s my suggestion: Since most lawmakers never actually read any legislation they vote for and never think through the consequences of what they create anyway, why not ask all legislators at the federal and state levels to only be in session 4 weeks per year to pass the most crucial laws. They could telecommute the rest of the time and it would be a law that they not be allowed to log on to the system. I think that would solve lots of problems personally.
From The Tennessean
As the average age of farmers hovers near 60, younger people in Tennessee have been signing on to farm apprenticeships, attending organic conferences and even enrolling in a young farmer program through the Tennessee Farm Bureau. While the federal government says 87,000 farms were lost from 1997 to 2002 — not just to bankruptcy but also to aging out — young people are embracing a model of small diverse farms even among the challenges farm life brings.
“People don’t really take young people seriously when they say they want to farm,” Nancy VanWinkle said. “The reality of the situation is we need local food sources and a new generation of farmers. A lot of people want to farm, and it’s a very real desire.”
Read the whole article here at TheTennessean … very good.
Image courtesy The Tennessean
