Promoting your business by participating in carnivals…that is, submitting blog posts to round-ups on related topics at other blogs…can prove helpful in getting the word our about your venture and giving you more name recognition.   Business bloggers find this enjoyable as well as beneficial.  
Many of the b5media blogs offer carnivals or opportunities to participate throughout the month.  Some of these invitations are for bloggers of that network only, while others provide opportunities for our readers to submit entries on theme or carnival days.  If you’re a blogger involved in arts and crafts, you’re invited to participate in the Arts and Design November Showcase. (You don’t have to …read more

We generally like to learn about other’s success stories that give us the feeling…
“Ah! If she/he can do that, I can be successful with my business” 
Or…“What a great tip!  I’ll have to try that with my home business.”
Over the existence of Home Biz Notes, I’ve interviewed and mentioned numerous home business.  I’ll round up some of these in case you missed them…or are at a point in your business where some of these tips now will inspire you.
*Mark Allen operates an online business through the utilization of CafePress as his “store.”
*Dorothy Thompson has discovered that the Internet offers her the opportunity to …read more

May and June signify graduation time in the United States, when students are leaving school…whether high school, technical school, or other places of higher learning.  Most are venturing into the “real world” of earning a living.  Or they may have received a degree they hope will take them into a higher earning level.  It’s a time for new beginnings in your life.
Some thought could be given to developing a home business, probably along with your job as an employee for someone else at this stage, unless you’ve already been establishing yourself in a work from home career.  However, in today’s Internet world, …read more

I’ll continue with Part 2 of my interview of Mark Allen, who has developed two online home based businesses using CafePress.  (See Part 1 here.)  Mark’s businesses are Defying Gravity Apparel and The Spanked Monkey.(Dog t-shirt an example from The Spanked Monkey.)
MEA: What are the possibilities for others in an online business operated from home?
MARK: Once again, one of the great things about an online business is that the world is your market.  In the last two weeks alone, in addition to the United States, I have had visits to my stores from 8 additional countries. 
If a person finds the right …read more

As I mentioned in the previous post, Developing a Home Business Utilizing Cafe Press – Introduction,  a number of people are looking for web sites where they can set a business rather than developing a web site on their own.
So I’ve asked Mark Allen a few questions about the development and operation of his two online businesses, Defy Gravity Apparel and The Spanked Monkey.
MEA: Would you describe your businesses and tell us what you do and the general type of products.
MARK:  Defy Gravity Apparel and The Spanked Monkey are primarily online stores selling t-shirts printed with designs that I have come …read more

Many people are utilizing web sites like Cafe Press to set up their home businesses.  They don’t have the expense or time consuming job of creating a web site on their own…and finding all the traffic.
Mark has two businesses at Cafe Press…Aviation T-Shirts and gifts at  Defy Gravity Apparel and Funny T-Shirts and gifts at  The Spanked Monkey.  I became interested in how and why one goes about setting up an online home business at a site like Cafe Press.
I shall be posting an interview with Mark over the next two days.