Many businesses have begun outsourcing rather than hiring employees when the owner has more work than he/she can keep up with. Oursourcing doesn’t mean sending your work abroad. You may find home workers in your neighborhood, if these are hands-on items you’re producing. If your business concerns online work, then you might use sub contractors from around the world.
 As my home business of producing appliquéd vests for children became larger than I could handle myself, I had to make some choices:
 *Develop a larger operation
*Buy more efficient equipment
*Hire employees
*Outsource (home workers)
*Stay small and refuse orders
*Discontinue or sell this business
 I did decide …read more

Yesterday’s post about aiming high got me thinking about how to stay motivated. Some days it’s difficult to get up and get going – even when your office is just around the corner (literally!) from your bedroom and the kitchen.
I know how it feels. Working at home has its own rewards – and drawbacks. The rewards are that you can work in your jammies and not have to talk to anyone. The drawback is that you are working in your jammies and not talking to anyone. For you – and me – I offer you a list …read more

Here at Home Biz Notes, January is  special month.  HBN is the featured blog for b5media, so I’m celebrating with 31 Days of Tips, Tricks, and Treats.  One of the treats is the initiation of a Book of the Month feature. Each month I will focus on one book that can help you in your home business.
Getting Things Done. January’s Book of the Month is Getting Things Done by David Allen.  Written in 2001, this book was at the top of the NYTimes bestseller list for many weeks, and it has become the “bible” of personal productivity.  Allen’s title …read more

The great baseball player Satchel Paige once said, “Don’t look back.  Something might be gaining on you.”
It’s a new year and new possibilities.  Don’t torture yourself with regrets about what happened last year.

OK, so you missed an opportunity to get your home business on a local TV show.  Forget about it.
And a valuable customer stopped ordering from you.  Forget about it.

Famous quote from the movie Donnie Brasco: “forget about it.”  I firmly believe that there are three phrases that should be eliminated from our language:  “should have,” “would have,” and “could have.”  As in
“I could have done that, but I …read more

My daughter-in-law sends out a list every year, letting the family know what she and her husband and children want.  My husband usually ignores it, but I think it’s good to have an idea of what someone wants.  If you want to use your gifts to increase your home business success, I can give you some books to put on your list.  Or, if you receive a gift card this holiday season, here are some business success books I’d recommend. (And a couple of fun books at the end…just for you!)
The E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What …read more

Thursday Thirteen: My daughter-in-law presents us with a list of gifts each year – for herself, her husband, and the grandchildren.  While this is helpful, my husband rebels.  He specifically gets them things that are NOT on the list.  If you like holiday gift lists, here is one for you to present to family and friends.
I decided to look on Etsy.com to see what handmade products might be appropriate for the home business owner.  Since I wrote about Etsy on Small Business Boomers a while back, I have spent way too much time on this site.  I love the idea …read more

homebiznotes.com
AlzheimersNotes.com
Home business owners encounter Alzheimer’s in their lives, too.  Perhaps it’s a family member, friend, or acquaintance.  So you may want to be aware that today, September 21, has been designated at World Alzheimer’s Day, when activities focus on world awareness of Alzheimer’s disease.  Various events, such as walkathons, workshops, get-togethers have as their goal…creating more awareness of this disease and the people who have been stricken with it. 
Ultimately this awareness should result in more research and recognition that with an increasing number of people reaching the “Alzheimer’s age,” we will see more need for care of those stricken and support for …read more

HomeBizNotes.com

With the beginning of September and the youngsters back in school, we become very busy in our home businesses.  However, there are times we need to take a break and do something completely different. 
So why not browse as the Arts Bloggers share their weekly inspiration?
They all also are home business owners, either as bloggers or craftspeople blogging about their work and creations.  We often acquire inspiration and ideas from other home business owners as we share ideas together.
Crocheted baby sweater and cap
Caron Yarns commissioned Noreen to design an adorable baby sweater and cap. Here’s the patttern for it.  Congratulations, …read more

HomeBizNotes.com
Succeeding at your business and in life isn’t just “hit and miss.” It requires strategy. James Burns, Esq., in The 3 Secret Pillars of Wealth, gives us insight into “How To Crack Your Wealth Code Using the Tools of Self-made Billionaires” during his tour of the blogosphere to introduce his book.
Begin thinking like a corporation ( and in a way a home business is a small corporation), Burns advises. He also mentions the mind set of the “new face of the economy” with people switching jobs frequently. That might apply, too, for home …read more

HomeBizNotes.com
 Many home business owners contribute to worthy causes and develop projects to raise funds.  Katelyn at Stamping Mad is initiating Giving Back – A Call for Alzheimer’s Related Art, at her blog.  You can become involved by contributing your art for a zine to raise runds for Alzheimer’s research.
I was thinking to do something a bit different [from last year]. I want to create a zine (a type of magazine) called “A Portrait of Alzheimer’s” and am looking for people to make art that fits this theme to include in the zine. Since you can just take a good, high …read more