First Day at School

Copyright © Tonya Brisnehan

Today was my little one's first day at school.

It was an experience that I came into not knowing what to expect, and I was looking forward to what might happen.

This really was a landmark day. I think only a parent would really get the full impact of all of the changes that not only occurred with this event, but also what the changes symbolize.

My son is 4 years old and has shown interest in school for about a year now. He has been eager to learn more about the educational basics such as numbers, letters, and is now interested in
spelling.

What I found out when I came to pick him up was not only that he had fun, but that he was considered - by educational standards - exceptionally intelligent. (I knew this before but well, you know I'm his mom. :) )

By the end of his time at the school, he had learned to read several words, and knew what they meant. (Up to this time I knew he had an interest in words and their meanings but I didn't realize he was actually ready to start reading.)

Wow.

OK, now why I mention this - I'm not doing it to brag on my kid. Well, maybe I am a little. :) But my main point is this: Although he is naturally bright, I am a work-at-home mother and my ability to be with him at home has really paid off. He's a stable, happy child and is learning like a thirsty sponge. I know that my ability to spend most of each day with him has been a major contributing factor with his abilities.

This first day of school was actually an emotionally moving experience. The look of dignity on his face almost brought a tear to my eye. His sense of pride from his accomplishments showed in his sparkling eyes and the way he held his head up.

What did I do before I was a mother? I seem to have trouble remembering what life was like - but I do know that it didn't even compare to the pure joy that exists in my life today.

Online Marketing - Watch What You Step In

When one first becomes interested in working online, one of the first things that is usually done is a search on Google for something like - "Working From Home". The number of listings that come up are astounding. (I just tried it and got about 794,000,000 results.)

Wow.

There are a an almost infinite number of opportunities out there. I won't be a pessimist and tell you to watch your back, but I will say, "Tread carefully."

Before signing up for an opportunity, do research on the company, history, credentials, etc. The best way that I know of to do this is with online marketing forums. The members of these forums are internet marketers themselves, and are there to help others who are already in the industry or just getting started. You can post a question and you will get honest answers on whether the opportunity is valid, not or even if no one has heard about it. (If that's the case
by the way, I would skip it.)

In fact, I would do research regarding working from home from one of these forums, rather than starting with something like Google. You can sign up for the forum (free), look around at what others have posted and find the opportunities that appeal to you.

The most informative and helpful online marketing forum is Conquer Your Niche. Here's my link to this site:

http://www.conqueryourniche.com/forum/tonyab

Working online from home is a pleasure. Sometimes getting started is a bit of a nightmare - unless one finds out the facts ahead of time.

Find out for yourself what these money-making opportunities are about, then when you're sure that you want to give it a go, go for it! :)

Another note: As I mention on my first post, a potential "risk" of working online is the number of actual valid opportunities that are available. A number of the marketing techniques involve exposure to other opportunities. You might think, "Wow that one really looks good too - I think I'll sign up for it."

Warning: Do not spread yourself so thin that you don't have enough time to work your business/es.

That's important.

Good luck!



About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom and successful internet marketer.

Mothers - How to Manage Your Time?

I think that anyone who is a work-at-home mother must run into this issue - how do you manage your work time while at home and also taking care of your children?

Do you schedule a strict regimen and then stick to it no matter what? Hmmm. Well, if you're a mother you might have tried this and found out that's it's not quite possible while also handling the various interesting adventures that come up with children. OK, I'll just go ahead and say it - uh uh, it's not going to happen. :)

You know, I don't know that there is an exact answer to this. Sometimes I spend all of the day with my little one, especially when it feels like he needs the attention. There are other days when he's completely enraptured with his own thing, playing with his toys, etc. and I then fit in more work time.

OK, I thought of some good advice - don't expect to have a very strongly structured day (e.g., 10:00 - make phone calls, 11:00 prepare next campaign, etc.). Make a "to-do" list of things to get done in the next day or two, then do them when it's easily done. (My best times are naptime, after bedtime, when he's playing with his toys.)

My child is my priority. I've also got to get food on the table, and am fully responsible for that as a single mom. But I've found out that I can work from home (strictly), be a successful businesswoman and a successful mother with a healthy, happy child. I'm doing it.

PS: Mom's - I also find that if I take my child to the park, go outside for a walk for an hour or two, the whole day seems to go much better for me and my little one.

PS - 2: And don't forget to give yourself a pat on the back now and then. :)


About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom
and successful internet marketer.

Making a Living from Home

A few months ago I made the decision to work strictly from home so that I could spend more time with my child (who is almost 4 years old now). Since that time, I've been studying up on internet marketing and the various ways that one could make a living online.

Here's the main thing that I discovered: The main trap of working online is not the "scams" (I'm sure that they do exist and have come across a few myself), but rather is the number of actual opportunities that present themselves. A person can spread themselves so thin by investing time and money into too many areas, which takes away the ability to be able to promote their programs/products effectively.

Although I am relatively new to the internet marketing industry, I have successfully worked in offline marketing for years, and have learned a few things that apply to any kind of marketing, across the boards. I also have learned some things about internet marketing in the few months that I've been involved. Here's some "from the heart" tips, that always apply:

• Persistence - This may be the most valuable concept in the marketing industry. I believe that no matter what someone is marketing, and how they are marketing it, if one continues the same marketing strategy for a long enough period of time (working on it regularly) more often than not it will pay off. This is what I call the "Golden Rule" of marketing.
• Patience - This closely relates to the info above. I think that this is best illustrated with an example: Sally Marketer begins an internet marketing venture, let's say with pay-per-click ads from her own website. She finds a few places to market her site and puts some ads up. Within a week she only has one response from all of the ads combined. She gives up and changes her strategy, removing her ads from the various places, or changing them to something else. This is lost time and lost revenue. Give the advertisements about 6 weeks to be out there, as they are before changing them. If after 6 weeks there is little to no response - then is the time to make some changes. (My experience has been that in about 4-6 weeks the inquiries and sales really start to pick up.)
• Quantity/volume - The amount of income is directly proportional to the number of people who view your site/ads. Seriously. Although the quality of the website is important, it takes a back seat to the amount of communications to your audience. Combined - you have a goldmine! Here's an illustration: If you're interested in getting ads onto classified ad sites for example, don't get onto 1, 2 or even 5 - get onto 30! Instead of signing up for 1 traffic exchange site, sign up with 20 and work them daily! 10,000 emails to opt-ins are much better than 50. There are services available out there that can post your ads, sites or send email to many different places/people at once - this type of marketing really works. Think BIG on this! Sometimes it takes 50 people seeing your site to even generate 1 click. This may sound a bit grim, but if you know this information you'll have better control over your income and a much better chance at success!
• Focus - Think about all of the income you could make if you could just work all of the opportunities at the same time! Wow, it's tempting and I've been there. How this winds up - your head ends up spinning, you're working almost 24/7 and spinning your wheels. Really, pick you your favorite opportunity (ensuring it is valid first) and work it, work it, work it. Apply persistence, patience and consistency. You'll be amazed at the amount of response you'll get from doing this. Stay on top of it - you'll get there. Once that first thing is off the ground you can invest in "automating" it with various services to advertise, auto-respond, etc. Once it's on "autopilot" THEN move on to the next mouth-watering opportunity!
• Service - This is another "Golden Rule" of marketing. I never market a company or product that disappoints. Make sure that what you're marketing is of high-quality, answer any questions about it that come up. (In MLM, this translates to actively helping your downline.) If you care about those who are on the other end of your services and products, you will truly flourish in the long term, and your business will continue to grow.

For whoever reads this information, I hope that it is helpful. Best of luck to you - I wish you all the success in the world! :) Feel free to post any comments.

About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom
and successful internet marketer.