HomeBizNotes.com

E-cards and postcards…do you use them?  A discussion evolved about this at a blog I read regularly.

I used to open e-cards and enjoyed receiving them. Then spammers and hackers began using them for their own reasons, even to infect our computers with viruses. So there is only one person whose e-cards I’ll open.   (Some say they don’t even open cards from people they know from concern someone may have “borrowed” their friend’s e-mail.)

 However, people still like to receive cards and notes in the  postal mail. So I spend the postage to send these to customers and special people in my life. I regularly send postcard updates about my business and products to customers and find the results are worthwhile.

What’s your take on e-cards?  Do you trust them?

Or have you begun using postal notes to touch bases with customers, friends and family?

(c)Mary Emma Allen

HomeBizNews.com 

Health care has been a popular topic during the presidential primary campaigns this year and on the minds of the voters.  Where do the candidates stand on the various issues, we wonder. 

To keep you informed about the inside info on the health care industry, you now have Health Care Insiders at b5media. Written by Jennifer Hinkel and Becky Ramsey, this blog will have the latest news on what’s going on in this arena as we encounter personal and family health situations. How nice to have a place where we can find more information.

Check out Health Care Insiders and see if it has answers that will aid you in making decisions. Let Jennifer and Becky know what information will be helpful for you.

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

A BIG Thank You to all our work from home mom guest posters this month. It was Mother’s Day all month at Home Biz Notes in celebration of moms all around the world.

Debbie Yost of 3 Weddings kicked off our work at home mom month with a wonderful series on running an in home daycare business.

• Read Part 1: It’s Not Just Babysitting – Intro To Running An In Home Daycare Business
• Read Part 2: In Home Daycare Business Series – You’re The Boss Of The Parents Too
• Read Part 3: In Home Daycare Business Series – Appearances Do Matter
• Read Part 4: In Home Daycare Business Series – Find Your Own Niche

Laura Spencer of Work From Home Momma shared a checklist for anyone thinking about starting up their own business. It’s also interesting as a reflection for experienced business owners.

• Four Questions To Help You Find Your Dream Business

Genesis Davies of the At Home Mom Blog wrote

• Work At Home Moms Aren’t Supermoms

Jan Ferrante, the Queen of Kaos

• WAHM – What Do We Think We’re Doing It For?

And coming up next month it’s Family Month at Home Biz Notes (Father’s Day, Mothers, Families and Kids – also home businesses with a family or kids focus). Do you know a home business we could feature?

Upcoming June Guest Posts
We have some great guest posts lined up for June already including

JoLynn Braley of The Fit Shack with

• The Word Selfish Has A Bad Rap In A Mom’s World
• 7 Tips To Help Home Based Moms Stay Fit and Sane

Cindy Posey from Go Workout Mom

• Healthy Living Is A Business Priority

And a Top Biz Productivy Tip from AnnaLaura Brown at Internet Work Marketing

• When A Backflip Is A Good Thing

The Work From Home Handbook – Cover Image Via Amazon

HomeBizNotes.com

 We didn’t think of our farm necessarily as a home business.  It simply was the farm where we all pitched in, Father, Mother, we four children and Dan, the hired man.  However, looking back, it definitely was a business and our home.  We worked together, played together, laughed together and cried together.

My husband also grew up on a farm in a different state.  His mom always said she didn’t know how she would have raised eight boys if it hadn’t been for the farm to keep them busy.

The family farm taught us to work hard and to work until the job was finished.  We couldn’t shirk the work because it was our income, the food on the table, and the roof over our heads. 

A friend once remarked that it was difficult to teach youngsters work ethics in todays world.  If they didn’t take the garbage out, empty the waste baskets, or mow the lawn, the work would be there the next day.  It would be an inconvenience, but it didn’t have the same implication as not milking the cows nor planting and harvesting the crops.  The family livelihood didn’t depend on it.

In addition to teaching work ethics, the farm was a place where memories were made…cooling off in the brook after haying, getting the Christmas tree from the woods, watching baby chicks and ducklings hatch,  canning fruits and vegetables (in the days before home freezers), listening to The Lone Ranger on the radio (no TV in that era), enjoying meals around the large kitchen table, hauling water from the brook when the pipes froze, getting up in the shivering cold when the fire burned low in winter…all these and more made up the family business.

One friend worked in her family’s general store, another helped his dad in his garage, still others helped on farms, worked in construction as children learned to do tasks that prepared them for becoming entrepreneurs in future years.  They may not have stayed in the family businesses, but they  received a foundation for life…and a legacy to pass along to future generations…who sometimes get tired of Gram and Gramps saying, “When I was your age……..”

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen 

HomeBizNotes.com

By Jan Ferrante

Work at Home Moms walk a fine line.

Without great, concentrated effort, the boundaries between work and home responsbilities and more importantly… priorities… can become fuzzy. The fallout comes down ironically upon the things that we wished to protect – our time with our children and family.

How many times have you rushed dinner, or ordered out?

How many times have your kids come home to find the back of your head staring intently at your computer screen, with a do not disturb sign as plain to see as if it had been cut and paste there yourself.

How many times have you told your child that you will play, get snacks, attend to him or her after your “important work” is finished?

I’m not trying to lay a guilt trip here, I’ve done them all.

Sometimes it will be necessary, and it is a good thing for your kids to learn that you have needs and that your time and energy has boundaries.

But is it a habit? Is it the norm?

That’s when you may want to look for some answers. A few small changes can make all of the difference.

You CAN work at home without becoming a piece of furniture that the kids hang their coats on when they come in!

Jan Ferrante is a WAHM who has makes the daily choice between living with KAOS or the freedom of using systems, routines and habits to manage it all . Organization, time management and productivity have become the key to less stress, a happier family and a growing business.

You can do it too. Visit Jan at http://www.queenofkaos.com

© Bio photo courtesy of Jan Ferrante.
© Guest Post Button Image courtesy of Yvonne Russell at Grow Your Writing Business.com

Would you like us to feature your business at Home Biz Notes?
We’re planning our Home Biz Notes editorial calendar for June and beyond.

Our Home Biz Notes June theme is Family (Father’s Day (US), Mothers, Families and Kids – also home businesses with a family or kids focus).

Contact Us If
You can recommend resources that fit in with our Family theme

• a home business others would like to read about (including your own)
• relevant home business owner spotlights
• relevant blogs that deserve highlighting
• excellent blog posts on these topics
• books you have read related to the topic
• interesting products

Would like to contribute

• a top home biz tip
• a home biz myth (For our Home Biz Myth Busted Series)

• Have a suggestion for what you’d like to read about
• Have a question. If we don’t know the answer, I’m sure we know someone who does.
• Anything else? We’d love to hear your ideas.

We are also open to considering guest posts. Send us your idea, tell us a bit about yourself and we’ll take it from there.

Contact details are in the right sidebar.

HomeBizNotes.com

Last Friday, our so-called “Fun Friday” at the Business Channel, we took a look at the various ways the higher price of fuel oil and gasoline/petrol is affecting our lives and businesses.  You may find it interesting to check out the posts at the different blogs. How

Many Miles to the Gallon is That?

How Much is Gas Hitting You at the Pump?

Have Your Driving Habits Changed?

Gas Prices Are Still Rising and It’s Time for Commuters to Revolt

Typical Short Team Corporate Thinking Enhances Gas Pain

Rising Gas Prices in Australia Affect Business Owners: Where Will It Stop?

Increasing Fuel Costs… Ban or Boom to Life & Business in the US?

Want to be Free From Gas Price Worries?

Are You Willing to Commute?

HomeBizNotes.com 

Are there any home business owners who are quilters or involved in a quilting related business?

I’m sponsoring a drawing over at my Quilting and Patchwork blog for a quilting booklet, Bonnie Leman’s How to Make a Quilt – 25 Easy Lessons for Beginners.

Click on the title above for guidelines for the drawing.

Also, if you are a quilter, you might like to let us know in the comments below.

Share with us your projects or about your quilting business. Quilting and fabric art can be very relaxing in times of stress. Sharing or networking with others also encourages us in our projects.  Any mention of your quilting business brings you in contact with others of similar interest.  (A PR tip!)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

HomeBizNotes.com  

My love of children’s and young adult books, as well as writing stories for young people, has flowed over to One Book Two Book, a blog for book lovers and readers at here at b5media. As a children’s author, I find writing this blog with Karen Weideman very fulfilling. 

This also is a way to find another niche for my love of writing for children and encouraging them to read and write.  It’s also a way to become better known in the field of children’s writing and entertaining.

Authors need continually to be aware of ways to expand their talents, to reach more people with their writing, to teach young writers and spread the love of reading.  In the process, their books will become better known, too.

Many writers don’t realize that writing is a business, often operated mainly from home.  They need to become aware of ways to spread the word about what they do and find the niches where they’ll be most effective and do the most good. 

When they can thoroughly enjoy what they’re doing, that’s an added bonus!

Stop by One Book Two Book and let me know what you’d like to find there.

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

HomeBizNotes.com
It’s Work At Home Mom month at Home Biz Notes in celebration of Mother’s Day all month long. Here’s another guest post from one of our work at home mom readers.

By Genesis Davies
“You´re so amazing, I don´t know how you do it all!” That´s something that work at home moms hear a lot. The truth is, no matter how well a mom multi-tasks , it´s never enough! Deadlines loom, children need attention . . . it can be quite overwhelming.

That doesn´t mean that being a work at home mom is not rewarding. It is very much so, but it can take some time to realize that you have to really prioritize. A toddler needing attention is high priority, dishes in the sink . . . not so much. Being a good mom doesn´t mean you have to be perfect and being a good businesswoman doesn´t mean you have to be working 24-7.

Most work at home moms are constantly striving to reach the perfect balance between work and family life. And most work at home moms will chuckle to themselves when someone comments on how amazing they are, knowing that the commenter has no idea of the chaos that is a day in the life of a work at home mom.

Genesis Davies is a work at home mom of two toddlers who longs to be a supermom. You can read more about working from home on her blog, At Home Mom. http://www.athomemomblog.com

© Bio photo courtesy of Genesis Davies.
© Guest Post Button Image courtesy of Yvonne Russell at Grow Your Writing Business.com