A WAHumorous World

2007-12-28T06:04:00.001-08:00

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

The best blogging techniques.
How to get traffic to your blog.
How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

The Wonderful WAHumor Giveaway for Autism Research has begun!

2007-10-01T02:00:00.000-07:00

The Wonderful WAHumor Giveaway for Autism Research has begun as of 5 a.m.!

Help support this very worthy cause while grabbing some of the choicest goodies for online business owners around cheap.

There's even a special bonus that's worth it by itself.

This is no huge collection of over-hyped junk you'll download and never even read. Each and every resource is carefully chosen for exceptional value and usefulness. If you own or plan to own an online business of any kind, you can put them all to work immediately.

You'll find some great surprises!!

The Wonderful WAHumor Giveaway for Autism Research

P.S. If you have a regular mailing list of people who could benefit from the giveaway, please pass the link along. Everybody wins!!

Keeping In Touch Really Pays

2007-03-01T13:37:00.000-08:00

I have a friend with a home based business that's been around quite a while.

He delivers newspapers.

"Poor guy", you're thinking, "out in the cold and rain for a few measly bucks..."

Guess again.

When he started this little venture as an independent contractor, he added a little something: a newsletter. It was hardly even that - he grabbed a couple of funny news clips online, copied them onto Word and printed. That's it. He distributed them to all his customers each Wednesday to help get over the mid-week hump with a smile or a chuckle.

By doing just that, he increased his tips by 400% in less than six months. Now he makes more than a few measly bucks and the cold and rain don't seem half so bad.

It does pay to keep in touch!

Too Many Holidays, Too Few Gifts

2007-02-22T04:44:00.000-08:00

The marathon is finally over!

Namely my Christmas/New Years/Wedding Anniversary/Valentine's Day marathon.

I just knew I shouldn't have gotten married in the middle of January during mid-year break at college.

It's the same quandry every year: how to mix up my wife's gifts over four occasions in less than two months. Flowers, chocolates and perfume can't be given so many times, dining out seems redundant when you're buried in holiday food already and jewelry...well, let's just say that my wife didn't exactly react as expected to the perfectly good stainless steel ring I gave to her. Go figure!

While I struggle to choose a suitable gift for all these occasions, my wife stockpiles several until I'm presented with a dozen presents when I had a hard enough time choosing one. No matter what, she keeps doing it and I keep looking cheap, even if I spend $50.00 or more for her gift.
When I do spend a lot on her for one occasion, I'm expected to top that purchase on the next one. Those boxes of chocolates only get so big, y'know.

I'm safe for a while, thank goodness. Now where did I put that gift idea list?

Cool Cupid Coupons

2007-02-02T06:58:00.000-08:00

My wife's hinting about Valentine's stuff. I'm worrying about the cost of Valentine's stuff. I am cheap , after all.

I've bought probably 80% of the family gifts online in the past couple of years. I'm online anyway - when my mind draws a blank or I'm just plain bushed, I'll do some casual online shopping. Even at the last minute, it still beats being in a mall full of equally crazed people scrambling for something to give from the last few pickings. Otherwise, when it's not that busy, I just plain hate shopping. I'm a guy with a guy's philosophy about it: go in, grab it, pay and go.

It never occured to me to use online coupons. Instead, I would go to the site that sold what I wanted to get and pay whatever they asked. Done, but not done cheap. This could not go on.

A while ago, I was thumbing through a Readers' Digest and found an ad for a 10% discount at one of my favorite online stores that was already cheap. But was it cheap enough? This time, I looked up a one of those sites and there was a page chock full of Overstock deals waiting patiently for me. Better yet, these included offers Overstock didn't offer.

Valentine's Day tends to hurt a bit more for me because it not only follows Christmas and Nwe Years' Day, but also our wedding anniversary, Yeah, ouch. Those old corroded pennies on the sidewalk start looking mighty good by then.

What's your fave? Check out these web coupons before Valentine's Day breaks your wallet!

*Sponsored by CouponChief.com

Gimme Some Credit (Cards), Willya?

2006-12-20T06:20:00.000-08:00

Two things happened to me this week. OK, just one thing actually happened to me and the other one was something I heard on the news.

First, I received a concerned notice from a service provider about my business credit card being declined. I replied that I'd look into it. On my credit card's site, the statement showed that the payment was made five days earlier and posted four days after that. I got the concerned notice yesterday.

I think someone needs to communicate better...

I also think this little fire is out and won't become a raging inferno, but who knows? A credit card company once cancelled my account because I attempted a transaction before the month's payment was received. Nothing I said or did was going to change their minds, and I was obviously too slimy and rotten an individual to continue the relationship. Not even a kiss goodbye.

Because of stuff like that, I'm a bit leery of credit cards. I only have one. No, really. I have had as many as three, which is nothing compared to some friends who have those overpacked wallets four inches thick and filled with enough plastic to make a Barbie doll.

Lots of people have the knack for tranferring balances back and forth so it seems like they never pay anything. There's even 0% balance transfers. I don't get it, but they're fanatics about it, like some play the stock market and others gamble. My mother-in-law does it nonstop. When another credit card offer comes with a tempting balance transfer option, she switches...at least until the next one arrives.

That thing I heard on the news is really no news at all. They said that consumer debt is going completely out of sight and keeps right on going. It seems like Christmas is the preferred time in the telecommuncations industry to announce how much in the hole
we all are. Ho ho oh no.

I use mine as a tool for my home business expenses. It seems easy enough, so why can't anyone else do the same? There's lots of credit card advice to be found. Every need and/or want imaginable is bought with a credit card, usually one of several. Have you seen someone whose card is declined who then proceeds to shuffle through a stack of them better than a Las Vegas poker dealer? The truly amazing part is that while they're performing this kind of card trick, they mutter about which are maxed out and which might still have enough of a balance. I hardly know what my balance is on my one and only card.

Most mind-blowing of all about this stuff is using credit cards to pay other credit cards. Stick 'em up, Peter - Here ya go, Paul. No wonder most of us are literally living on the edge. Why not write a check and enter the amount in the checkbook register? Or use cash...even if no one recognizes it anymore.

Well, I have to go apply for another card or I'll have no credit history and be a non-person. Hope they'll take American Express.

P.S. This is a PayPerPost post. For a couple bucks, I tell you what I think and only what I think. If I'm gonna do it anyway, why not?

Membership Has Its...Privileges???

2006-12-18T01:32:00.000-08:00

Membership sites are hot right now. Some are expensive and lousy while others are cheap and excellent. Rarely you find one that's both expensive and excellent, but it's not so easy.

The worst of all are the ones whose owners fade away like the Cheshire Cat after reaching a certain membership level or being distracted by other opportunities, leaving only that big satisfied grin borne of lots of juicy monthly fees.

Not to mention the cost of the software, the setup involved, etc., etc. It then becomes a monster demanding lots of time and attention. Blah.

Lately I've seen a clever alternative to memberships sites: private group forum categories. If you have a well-established forum and are recognized as someone who knows what they're talking about, you can slap this up in a flash and start seeing cash. It's as easy as setting up one more category on your list of topics and creating a private registration for members. The only outside thing you need is a subscription payment processor like Paypal to take those monthly payments.

If your forum is really hopping, you're there anyway. Why not offer private consultations and discussions to your faithful fans?

But don't think that you alone are enough of a draw to make them stick around. Offer some meaty free downloads of whatever you're into. Oh yeah...keep it cheap, cheaper than the cheap membership sites. Push the fact that they'll have direct access to you and your responses to their specific concerns, not prepackaged one-size-fits-all autoresponses that lack that human touch and rarely answer the question anyway.

Why complicate matters?

Better Than Ros?

2006-12-07T06:34:00.001-08:00

I love Rosalind Gardner.

i haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting her in person, but I'm a moderator on the NetProfitsToday forum and we've corresponded by email quite a bit. She's even helped me out with site issues and sales of my ebook.

She's incredibly nice and helpful. Her book, The Super Affiliate Handbook, has been the #1 authoritative resource for affiliate marketing, which can benefit almost anyone in any type of business.

But...

A guy named Jeremy Palmer wrote a book called High Performance Affiliate Marketing that is incredibly detailed and concise. It packs all kinds of juicy goodies into a mere 150 pages.

There's stuff like Action Items and Real Life Examples (from actual real life!) that's the kind of thing I've seen people clamoring for on some, and probably more, membership sites. Do this, plan your next step, do that...plain and simple. You'll know full well what you're doing all the time, which is more than I can say about many "manuals".

If you're new to this stuff, it's well explained upfront and then it takes you through the whole process.

Niches, affiliate programs, keywords - they're all spelled out so you understand and you can go right ahead and do it. There was even stuff I didn't know about! The importance of each step of the process is clearly stated, as well as the most important points to consider.

It's loaded with examples, screen shots and several ways to make it all as clear as possible.

And I have never ever seen such complete descriptions of website creation and the different types of affiliate sites. Not only that, he uses his own sites as practical examples. That's practically unheard of - most "experts" guard them with their lives.

Then there's website planning from A to Z. He covers everything you need to know 100% f.ree of tech-speak. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate that!

If you need to know and do it to market affiliate products, effectively, it's there. Even if you logged online for the very first time today, you can do all this stuff. Period.

Some people have complained (funny how some people always do that) that it didn't tell enough. Let me tell you right now, they are totally whacked, cuckoo and mentally deranged at say the least. I'd say the only thing he doesn't do in this guide is doing it for you. That part's all on you, sorry!

They've even complained about the price, less than $50 until December 14, then back to $97. These same people genuinely believe that one can not only get rich quick, but accomplish this feat without ever investing a dime in their business. Don't bother to wake them up, because they're happy with that dream. The reality is, of course, that you must spend money to make money. This little gem is worth thousands and thousands of bucks with the information it contains. Ask any long-term affiliate marketer.

To be honest, there's a lot more in High Performance Affiliate Marketing than I expected. There's literally nothing left out and no guesswork involved. With it, absolutely anyone can do this stuff, if they really want to do it and put in the work to make it happen.

There's only a handful of resources that I use constantly. I'm skeptical, wary and yes, cheap. If something can't deliver everything I want from it, I send it back in a heartbeat. My time's precious and I hate to have it wasted. High Performance Affiliate Marketing is going on my short list of first-rate, reliable resources. If you have any interest or curiosity about affiliate marketing and what it can do for you or you just want to know exactly what you need to do to really make it work for you, I empathically and unequivically recommend this book.

You can download it as a PDF document, read it online or print it. Save yourself some bucks by grabbing it before December 14!

P.S. Ros' Book, The Super Affiliate Handbook, is still on my short list and I still consider it highly useful and an excellent resource. Knowing her, she'll be rising to the challenge and making her own book better as this one!

'Twas The Day After Thanksgiving

2006-11-27T06:43:00.000-08:00

'Twas the day after Thanksgiving, and all through the house,
Not a creature did much stirring, not even a mouse {because we don't have any
But our little pet rat was snoozing blissfully with a bellyful of turkey)

The leftovers were packed in the fridge way back in there,
We just couldn't bear to look at them, all of us here.

The children were nestled all snug on the couch,
Lost in their Game Boys, especially my little grouch.

Numbly did we stash the dishes, gravy boat and platter
Slower than before because we were fatter.

I reloaded the dishwasher that was so weary and sick
The poor thing had developed a mechanical tick.

Begone turkey and stuffing and yams! Go, squashes, green beans, cranberry sauce and hams!

Why do we each year go through this crap?
Time to resume that long winter's nap.

WAH Meets GMA

2006-11-21T02:15:00.000-08:00

Good Morning America on ABC is featuring a tip-a-day feature about authentic, legit and real ways to make money working at home. Not a single scam in the bunch.

You may be amazed at several of the ways listed, and there's one new feature every weekday.

Go and know:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/TakeControlOfYourLife/story?id=2621388&page=1

So It's Not A Big Mahogany Desk...

2006-11-20T03:07:00.000-08:00

...it's still mine and free!

Yesterday I was reading a friend's blog post about reorganizing and refurnishing her home office. She was looking for the kind of setup that would allow her to find everything she needed on a regular basis, because she was the "out of sight, out of mind" type.

So am I.

While walking the dog, who gets all whimpery after not going outside for a few days, my neighbor calls me over to ask where I would like a computer desk he had. He was going to chuck it if he couldn't find a home for it.

You could've knocked me over with a cotton ball. It was the type of desk I'd been shopping around for, only it didn't have a price tag of a few hundred bucks. It was a corner desk with an easel-pad stand sort of frame that provided shelf space right above the workstation, where even I couldn't miss it. It took up little enough space so that I could still fit a work table beside it and best of all...it fit in the corner by the window. I could finally make cat sounds at the little birds in the bushes outside.

A few hundred to zero in seconds. Sweet.

Decorations In The Office

2006-11-15T01:52:00.000-08:00

My wife loves to decorate for holidays...all holidays. You should see the Groundhog Day stuff.

Right now, there's a paper turkey - you know, the kind that you open up to a ruffly shape - watching over me like a vulture with a thyroid problem.

She's already planning the placement of the Christmas decorations.

I guess I shouldn't complain. Regular away-from-home offices won't let you decorate at all, although some will as long as you include every possible population whether there are any of them around or not.

That turkey doesn't seem so bad in light of that. Besides, he only has a week left to stare at me.

Not MY Day Off

2006-11-14T05:07:00.000-08:00

My youngest son had both Thursday and Friday off last week, and my wife had Monday off.

I suspect my son's days off were really just a thinly veiled device to give school staff a nice long weekend. How many days do kids go to school now anyway - 65??

My wife had actually forgotten about her day off and was preparing to go to work when it suddenly dawned on her. "Hey, I have today off!!"

This created two different scenarios:

1. With my son at home, I felt this nagging guilt at not spending all that time with him, although he never even noticed me there with his GameBoy ablaze. Still, I felt I should stop altogether and go hang out with him and do father-son stuff right away, rather than finish up what I needed to do in just a little time and then interrupt his video game stupor.

2. With my wife at home, it was her wanting to bug me and be entertained. Daytime TV being what it is and housecleaning even less of a thrill, she would often call out, "Honeeeey...how 'bout a cup of tea?" "Honeeeey...wanna go shopping with me?" Honeeeeey..."

You've got your internal pull and your external pull. Slightly exasperating.

I ended up with longer days to get things done, but still time for those distractions after observing my own time limits: 15 minutes, 30 minutes, whatever.

I guess you can do it all, just not all at once.

How NOT To Write A Good Product Review

2006-11-07T02:22:00.000-08:00

It's high time somebody addressed the issue of how not to write a product review. Seeing as I had nothing better to do, here goes.

1. Do Not elaborate about your recommendation.
A short, simple set of statements such as, "I bought it, I love it, Now buy it" will obviously be sufficient to cause your visitor to grab their wallet and whip out that credit card. Examples from personal experience to which your visitor may relate will only inform and educate, resulting in a more solid, informed buying decision less likely to be charged back by a disgruntled customer. Who wants that?

2. Do Not use clear and concise language. It tends to lead to a good understanding of the product and your trustworthiness. Better keep 'em guessing and off-balance so you can grab that sale before they know what happened. True, they may leave in disgust instead or demand a refund once they can think straight again. Still, it all evens out - lots of fish in the sea and all that.

3. Do Not employ personal stories as examples. Why bore them with your firsthand experiences? Who's gonna care what features you found most helpful and what was not so helpful? What's it matter how easy it was for you to use or the time and/or money you saved (or made)by using it? Let them find out for themselves!

4. Do Not show your honesty and trustworthiness by establishing a relationship with the reader. Relationships take time and effort to develop. While this person may be more inclined to purchase from you again, where is that in writing? They give money, you give product...Next!!

5. Do Not hesitate to demand the sale from the very beginning. Keep hitting them up to buy so they give in to the pressure. Gently and politely redirecting their attention to the link is for sissies. Don't waste time with respect...get that sale!!

By faithfully following each of these five steps, I assure you that you'll have no problem with sales. You just won't have any.

R.I.P. Coffeemaker

2006-10-31T05:39:00.000-08:00

An unthinkable tragedy struck our household the other day.

The coffeemaker died.

It seemed so functional, so cooperative. Each morning I would click its little red button after setting it up the night before and minutes later, there was coffee, glorious coffee.

This day I approached it in my usual bleary-eyed state early in the a.m. and gently clicked the red button. I then resumed work, anticipating the arrival of the aromatic energizer.

When I returned twenty minutes later, the red light was still aglow, but not a drop of coffee in the pot. The panic that ensued within me is most often only seen in movies when the greedy bad guy discovers his loot is gone. Maybe worse.

Clicking and reclicking the button didn't help, nor my tearful pleas. The end had come to a faithful friend.

There was a brief ceremony at the local trash facility (I don't think you can say "dump" anymore) where curious onlookers, upon viewing the deceased, bowed their heads and shared our sorrow.

Goodbye, old friend. Off to Walmart!

Do We Need Awards??

2006-10-30T01:57:00.000-08:00

Well, my wife's award banquet has come and gone. We ate the Funky Chicken and applauded in all the appropriate places. We were properly pleased for the other 350-odd recepients of various certificates and stuuf in attendance.

My wife doesn't really do awards. She'd rather do her job and do all she can for her clients. She's gotten them before - me too, actually - and they were no big deal to either of us. What's appreciated is that someone noticed someone doing something well and really working at it.

The $1 certificate and the $10 plaque are nothing, but knowing someone noticed IS something.

That's why I give an award to those who have reached the point of working full-time in their home businesses. It might seem hokey, but the smile alone is worth it.

You have to get your own cold chicken dinner, though.

And The Award Goes To...

2006-10-26T05:12:00.000-07:00

...my wife!

Tomorrow's the day of the award luncheon. The cheap Massachusetts government won't spring for a banquet, which is okay because the food's just as bad.

After many years of service in her field, putting the needs of her clients and not politics first, her reward and recognition will be a plaque. Wow.

It'll be good to see her get something for all her hard work and dedication.

And she sometimes wonders still why I work at home. I make my own rewards - the spendable kind!

Who ARE These Home Business People, Anyway?

2006-10-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

According to a readership survey by Home Business magazine, we're just about everybody.

Young, old, single, married, rich, non-rich, and of different educational and experiential backgrounds.

Here's the basic breakdown:

Our average annual household income is $52,300.
Our median age is 40 years old.
More than half of us are married (53.8 percent). Next comes the never married a.k.a. single (22.5 percent) and the formerly married (20.8 percent).
Most of us have had a little college (83.3 percent), whil;e 30.4 percent graduated from a four-year college or more.
42.3 percent of us have kids under the age of 18 living with us.

Hurray, there's hope for us all!!

Is Your Home Office From Hell?

2006-10-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

Well then, I have just the contest for you.

It's called, appropriately enough, "The Home Office From Hell" contest.

Just post 10 reasons why you NEED to move out of your home office from hell. Heck, you can upload a video of your hell-like office.

You could win a whole year's rent in a real live office or a Dell laptop, You may even win a face-to-face meeting with...The Donald.
If that's what you'd like.

Enter The Home Office From Hell contest!

White Out

2006-10-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

Home party businesses are all the rage, but hazardous nonetheless. This story comes from a pro partyer who'd rather not identify herself!

"I was at a home party and I went through the party okay and then it came time for refreshments & collecting the orders (yay!) anyway, I went over and got some snacks & some red punch the lady had painfully made herself out of ice cream & the whole nine yards.

I was walking back to the table to sit down, and guess what? I tripped and the RED punch (naturally) flew into two ladies who were (naturally) wearing a white dress and a white blouse! I could have died! My face turned as red as their clothes. I paid to have them dry cleaned, and all I could say is I was glad we were in the kitchen and not in the living room because the carpet there was white too!"

Five Minutes

2006-10-20T02:16:00.000-07:00

Sound familiar??

Everyday.

You're hunched at the computer, flicking the keys with the greatest of ease - or, like me, poking each stroke with the speed of a...umm...well, it DID rhyme!

Everyday.

You're mesmerized for hours by the wonders of Internet business - you market, you negotiate, you design, you submit, you research, you chat...a lot...

Everyday.

Enthralled and empowered by your cyber-independence, you plan and scheme, plot and dream.

While life in the REAL world goes on around you...

"Hey Mom, can I have lunch now?? It's three o'clock!!"

"Huh? Whaa...yeah, five minutes, honey...lessee, click here..."

Funny how the daily grind hasn't ground to a halt...

"Dad?? Couldya sign this? It just says that you know about my tryin' to burn down
City Hall and ya assume full financial responsibility...No big deal, couple alarms..."

"Darn HTML code...Hmm? Yeah...five minutes, umm...son??"

Things just keep rolling on...

"Ya GOTTA see this cool fort me and Billy Scuzbucket built, Grandma!!! And we got grenades, napalm, coupla ICBMs...WAAAY cool!!!"

"Whazzat? D'ja want something, sweetie? I'll be right there...just five minutes..."

Life is like that...

"Are you Dilbert Greenbaumgarten? Sir, are you aware that your children are conducting a warehouse sale of stolen merchandise in your garage? You'll have
to come with us, sir."

"Yeah, yeah...garage sale, ahh...be with ya in five minutes...just leave the money
in the coffee can on the folding table, K??"

Everyday.

Just five minutes...

Whoa...super-important e-mail...ahh, look, be with ya in five minutes...seen the kids??

Honey?

Hello?? Coulda sworn we had furniture before...

Gonzo For Game Boy

2006-10-19T05:28:00.000-07:00

My kids can actually walk around the house while intently playing their Game Boys.

Maybe they have "Game Boy sonar" from all those bleeps and pings.

It's amazing to me to see them so wrapped up in personal and portable technology. Much like many adults with their PDAs. My sister-in-law carries her Blackberry everywhere like a newborn. Who would want to be available 24/7? To take an urgent message from someone calling to say "Hi"??

What can't you do with PDAs and cell phones now? They're outfitted with digital cameras, musical ringtones and video. Video?? I'm afraid I may accidentally litter in public and see myself later on the evening news or more likely YouTube.

I get incredulous looks from people when I say I don't have these devices and have no desire for them. It's a little creepy if you ask me. It reminds me of the movie, "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" when they stammer, "Aren't you one of us??"

Besides, I can't decide on a good ringtone.

The One With The Most Stuff...

2006-10-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

...doesn't necessarily win.

Consider someone starting a [tag]home business[/tag]. Hopefully they have some plan, but usually not much. They think they need everything and so they go and buy everything. Hundreds or thousands of bucks later, they proclaim it all a scam and walk away.

Got a familiar ring to it for most of us...

We stuff our disk space or closet space to the bulging point with stuff that looked good or sounded cool or would do everything for us. But did you need it??

Almost nobody is still left in a home business after the first year because they're overwhelmed junk collectors. They've got what they might need, could need and maybe even should need, but darn little they really need.

I'll discuss the basics of online business another time. Here's the big secret formula for getting what you need to start any kind of home business: Examine, Research and Ask.

You could make an acronym of that, but please don't tell me.

Examine: What will you use regularly? What devices, equipment or software are necessary for day-to-day operations? What must you have to handle your business as it is NOW?? Later is great, but you're not there yet.

Research: I call this the four letter word with four extra letters. It tends to be something only a hard-core geekasaurus could love.

But, ya gotta because ya gotta know all you can or else your money's going in the can. Check out the company - customer service, tech support, spare parts availability - everything they can do for you. It sure beats finding out later after your money is spent that their customer service department is located in a country where no one speaks your language.

Next, the products or services - quality, dependability, functions, options - know everything their stuff can do for you too. If you can't find your answer, ask them directly. That'll also show how receptive they are to their customers.

Satisfied with all your research? Good!

Now Ask: Go to the places where real live users and owners of the stuff you're considering gather. It might be a coffee shop, a business association, online forums or goodness knows where else. Ask open ended questions (no yes or no answers possible) in all the places of all the people you can stand. Listen to them...you might be one of them soon.

Looking good is for fashion models and sounding good is for recording artists. Take the time to ensure that your purchase-to-be is good for you.

eBay Is A Real Steal

2006-10-18T02:13:00.000-07:00

eBay, it seems, is fast becoming an electronic fence.

That's fence as in a place for selling stolen goodies, like in the crime shows.

Not too long ago, I saw a report on thye morning news about a woman with a successful eBay business...that she financed with $50,000 that she embezzled from her employer before retiring.

Yesterday I heard another report about a woman caught shoplifting who, it was later discovered, had $11,000 more shoplifted merchandise in her house.

Guess what she was doing with it all!

I'm pretty sure this wasn't what eBay had in mind.

Push Me, Pull You

2006-10-17T06:11:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of the Pushmepullyou? I think it was a character in Alice in Wonderland. I could be wrong, it happened before - twice.

It was like a llama with a head at each end and each end, of course, wanting to go in its own direction. What a perfect analogy for many working at home!

You're smack dab in the middle of two formerly separate lives: your work life and your home life. Once upon a time, most likely, the twain never met. You went to work someplace else and then returned home. Repeat as directed.

When you were at work, you knew the reports and charts and jelly doughnuts required your full attention. There were no dirty dishes that needed washing, no undone errands, no soccer practice.

When you returned home, there were all those things and more, but no reports or charts, although maybe a jelly doughnut or two. In both places, you knew what you had to do and did it.

Now you're living two lives at once. The laundry hamper calls your name while you're busy with paperwork or marketing. Clean the bathroom and your sales projections and budget planning scream for attention. Throw in a kid and there's another distraction.
Throw in more kids and it's enough to make you cry.

So waddaya gonna do??

Get back as much of that separation you once knew as you can. I schedule everything, which I hate with a passion. It had to be done,though, so I could cut down on the occasional hysterical fit. I stick several breaks into my work routine and shift my focus for a little while to something un-work related. Often I put the home life stuff off until the end of the day for a change, if I'm really on a roll.

Oh yeah, super important point: When your scheduled work time ends, walk away and stay away. Replies don't come any sooner if you check your e-mail every half hour. All your hard work does not fall to pieces after quitting time. I know from personal experience.

Concentrate on living just one life...yours!!

Just What ARE Weekends For?

2006-10-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

We have no "Off" switch.

Most people turn off their work life when the weekend comes. We know that weekends are bonus working hours to be spent in worthwhile pursuits like a fatter wallet.

Checking stats, reports and sales confirmations are a favorite weekend activity...a much better use of time than, say, visiting Aunt Fannie or worse yet, one of those irritating family outings that cause you great worry and distress while you're away for what really matters.

Don't the kids realize that the new marketing campaign is of more importance than another trip to the amusement park? Good heavens, they just went three years ago!

Mow the lawn? It just grows back and the next tax filing is coming up in two months. Dinner with friends? Only if they have some worthwhile suggestions for reducing expenses, but they always want to talk about trips abroad, their kids' recitals and stuff life that. Your subtle hints to shift the conversation to something worth taking notes never seem to be heard.

Puzzling, isn't it? Don't these people see how much life they're missing out on?!?

Not The Short Run

2006-10-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

Ever bought some program or product impulsively that promised quick and easy profits? Sure, who hasn't?? Man, did I ever!

You wonder as you watch your money and dignity go bye-bye if anybody ever makes a living working from home or if the whole thing is a scam.

The answers are Yes and Most of it.

There's crafters, virtual assistants, network marketers, affiliate marketers, at-home professionals, home-based tradespeople, independent contractors and lots more that do it for years and even decades.

Not that it's much consolation to you, though.

Maybe this will make you feel better if you screwed up this way recently or long ago.
Nearly everybody screws up at the start.

Your I.Q. is not lower than that of a snail, you do not have "Loser" tattooed on your forehead and you're not more worthless than a politician's promise.

A good hard kick in the head sometimes knocks you out and sometimes clears your thinking.

How Long DOES Making Money Online Take??

2006-10-13T02:22:00.000-07:00

I just read an article on Clicknewz, the blog of Lynn Terry, the honest and helpful Internet marketer about the myth of getting rich quick and the time it really takes to make money online. I'd say it's the same amount of time in any home business.

Do yourself a big, big favor and read it!

So why, after several years, do folks still expect to make it big on the Internet overnight?? Did you finish school overnight? Did you complete your job training overnight? Did you raise your kids overnight to become wildly successful and keep you comfortably snuggled in the lap of luxury for the rest of your days? Yeah, I know...not mine either...

Dream of buying that island, but keep in mind that business means work. You ain't gonna be Bill Gates by next week.

Or Watch Grass Grow...

2006-10-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

There's loads of wild and weird WAH opportunities from sheepwagon building to multi-level casket sales. But the next time someone tells me I should get a "real job", I'll take this one:

The man who gets paid to watch paint dry

Most of us would admit to finding our working day slightly tedious at times.
But spare a thought for Keith Jackson.

The married father-of-one has perhaps the most boring job in the world - watching paint dry.

For more than 30 years, assessing the drying time of industrial paint has been part of Mr. Jackson's working life.

The highlight of his day is simply touching the paint to assess its tackiness.

Although he admits his job is seen as a bit of a joke and can be slightly tedious at times, the 57-year-old has never tired of the task. "People do laugh and find it amusing when I tell them what I do,” Mr. Jackson said yesterday.

"It could be described as the most boring job in the world, but it is a very important one. We supply paint to a variety of industries and for our customers it is very important that they can cover their products with paint that dries quickly.
For example, we make the paint for the floors and walls of stations for the London Underground. They can't afford to shut to passengers for long periods so the painting can only be done between 3am and 5am. Once the paint is on the floor it has to dry hard and fast enough for people to be able to walk on in time for when the station re-opens in the morning."

Mr. Jackson, from Llandegla, North Wales, whose official title is technical manager, has worked for industrial paint manufacturers AquaTec Coatings for the past four years. However, he has been in the paint industry since he left school as a 16-year-old.

Mr Jackson refused to reveal exactly how much he earned, but said watching paint dry paid "fairly well."

"Watching paint dry sounds quite easy, but it can be stressful at times," he added.

Congratulations?!?

2006-10-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

My wife is a state employee. No, no...one of the dedicated, hard working ones. Definitely a rare breed.

She's so good in her field that she was just notified that she was to receive the highest award given to a state employee, presented by the lieutenant governor - Mitt's busy becoming President, I guess - at a fancy luncheon. I know it's fancy because that's the only time the word "luncheon" is ever used. Normally, we simply grab a bite for lunch. Luncheons require preparation and a decent wardrobe.

It all sounds great, huh? Someone working in a job (oops...profession, just in case the wife sees this) actually getting some recognition for their efforts and accomplishments.

As they say on the infomercials, "But wait! That's not all!!"

She gets one free ticket for this shindig. For anyone else who wants to go, she has to shell out $75.00 each for additional tickets.
What the heck?? Isn't she the honoree or guest of honor or whatever???

Throw in a photo opp for a gubernatorial candidate and you end up with a less than inspiring tribute, in my opinion.

Worst yet, this crap is becoming the norm in all kinds of organizations. They're called "intrinsic motivators", another way of saying "Here's a nice little award/plaque/ medal/whatever, but no more money for your efforts." At least working at home in many different capacities will get you money for your efforts.

Then you can go buy all the awards you want.

A Really Hot Plate

2006-10-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a home business opportunity for the nomadic type...or those with access to phony IDs and that sort of stuff.

There is a legitimate real live business opportunity selling a spray product that prevents red light cameras from photographing your license plate.

Supposedly you can't tell the stuff is there just by looking at a sprayed plate. It somehow obscures the image so that it's a blurry (and inadmissible) picture.

They are admittedly nice enough to mention to prospective business owners that the product may be illegal in your particular neck of the woods.

I used my best magnifying glass to read the fine print, but I still couldn't see any offer by the company to pay any legal expenses you might incur

How do you write off attorney fees, court costs and bail as business expenses??

Runnin' On The Wheel

2006-10-10T05:10:00.000-07:00

Somewhere, sometime, you've seen a little furry critter running like crazy on one of those little exercise wheels.

It seems that here in Masachusetts, most folks are doing exactly the same. There was a news report this morning that said the average wage in Massachusetts had risen only 1.2 percent...since 1989.

It's a sure bet that the cost of living has gone up a lot more than that.

Why, you ask, is this WAHumorous?

Because they choose to run on the wheel!

Because sooooo many cling to their jobs for dear life, always knowing that they could lose them through absolutely no fault of their own. Because they worry feverishly about whether that raise will come or even if their pay may be arbitrarily cut.

By careful and thorough research and self-examination, they have the option to start a part-time home business to begin their quest to get off that @$#@$#% wheel.

Working at home isn't for everybody, but everybody should find out for themselves and at least attempt to take back some control of their lives. Wouldn't that be better than having none at all??

Better to walk your own path than run until you drop on the wheel.

Columbus Was An Amateur

2006-10-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

Today is Columbus Day - the day we in the US celebrate the discovery of America by good ol' CC. The parties, the Columbus carols, sharing a cup of Columbus cheer, Columbus presents and all that.

OK, so he didn't really discover America, just the West Indies and yeah, some Viking came first.

The truth of the matter is he discovered something totally new, unlike anything known before. Like your discovery of working at home.

It's not at all like your previous experience, whether you were employed outside the home or not. Some of what you did before is part of what you're doing now, but most of it is not what you expected.

There's a lot of adjustments to be made and unfamiliar things to learn. Even the language can be different.

You have Columbus beat...he just discovered a new land. You discovered a new world and welcome to it!!

Look For The Union Diaper

2006-10-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

There's a referendum ballot coming soon in Massachusetts. One of the three questions is bound to be a juicy can of worms.

We'll be voting on whether licensed home-based child care providers may form a union for collective bargaining purposes. That's right...a union.

Opponents say it would destroy any individual arrangements for children on a case-by-case basis, which is one of the benefits of licensed home-based child care.

I say it looks like the beginning of a beautiful mess.

Before you know it, we'll all be back in a company office again!

Working At Home Or Just ...At Home?

2006-10-07T13:53:00.001-07:00

Do you work at home?

I don't mean "Do you say you work at home?", I mean do you work at home?

Ever been caught at it?

Yeah, an actual eyewitness account admissable as testimony in court. Fit for a newspaper headline or a shot on the evening news: "Alleged WAHomer Found Working At Home...film at eleven."

Working at home is like being a ghost. No one believes in you until they see real proof and not just an old bedsheet on a broom handle.

Do you have a way to prove that you're really doing something? Stats, article reprints or the ever popular paycheck? Anything you can show, although not necessarily explain? I usually get the zombie look whenever I try to explain what I do.

My explanation is now "I'm a writer." "Oh?" they'll say, "Have you been published?"
Well, duh. I can then honestly say, "I've been published internationally" with that hands-in-the-pockets, slightly disaffected writer attitude.

It tends to keep conversations moving along instead of saying "I work at home and I do this and that and got a web site and stuff and..."

Look out! I'm surrounded by zombies.

If you give some real thought to finding a way to show you're working, people around you - at least the ones that should know - will hop off your back and probably even start pushing.
When you find that way to show it so others know it, you'll know it too and that makes doing it all the easier.

Makeover, Please!

2006-10-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

I read an article yesterday announcing the winner of a complete home office makeover.

The startling part was the number of people with dark, cold, cluttered basement "offices" for want of a better word.

I have a horrible feeling about who is the majority of home office (and perhaps even home business) owners and it's not the ones with the gleaming, ultra-organized designer
spaces. It's us poor souls stuck into an unused and wel neglected corner of your humble abode, whether apartment closet or basement nook.

Many are either crammed into a crevice or confined to a cave. Oh boy.

I have to confess, my office is a perfect shambles right now. OK, OK...it's been a near-perfect shambles for a while. My desktop space clutters faster than rabbits multiply, the decor is anything but inspiring and "storage space" is a nice way of saying carbboard boxes and old plastic laundry hampers.

This is good news, though. The clock is ticking to the time when this very room will be renovated with a new floor and a much nicer looking set of walls. Which means, of course, that the whole thing is gonna go and then it'll have to be redone.

I don't have a single intention of sinking every penny I've got in creting a new and improved workspace. My kids whine too much when they don't eat for a few days. Sooooo annoying.

First'll be a desk. A big, roomy desk with drawers and all that kind of stuff. A place to place my computer and all its goodies and all the goodies it may ever have. It's gonna last a while and it'll have to allow for some growth, because that's the direction I prefer. No updates for style, trade-ins for function - I want it to handle whatever I want it to handle. Besides that, I'm cheap.

I'm the kind of cheap that believes in getting good quality stuff upfront that lasts
instead of poorly made junk that needs replacing before it's broken in.

Hmmm...I wonder if there's enough in the change jar for a chair too?

A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.S.

2006-10-06T06:32:00.001-07:00

They're everywhere. You can't get away from them.

They've got us all thinking in shorthand.

We IM each other. We join the PTA. We consult CPAs before paying the IRS. Change that to your country's tax types if necessary.

In my real world professional days, I was a member of the ASTD. When I was a professional resume writer, I joined the NRWA and the PARWCC. These days as a home business owner, I'm invited to join the AHBA, I calculate my ROI, manage my PPC campaigns and CPC.

In my offtime, I might watch an NFL game on CBS, NBC, ABC, CW, ESPN or whoever has it. I'm cautioned about foods and medications by the FDA and even the USDA. I'm typing on my PC (which is PC or not PC??)and some like their PDAs.

I think I need some aspirin PDQ, OK?

So...got acronyms?

Coffee. Got Your Attention??

2006-10-04T05:23:00.000-07:00

I sit here nearly every day (even weekends if I can sneak away)with a cup...MUG of coffee always within easy reach. Yep. Java, joe, etc., etc. With all the posts in all the places I've seen lately about it, I have the distinct feeling I'm not alone.

Coffee could qualify as the official beverage of home business, especially online home business. Waddaya think: "Coffee - The Official Beverage of the International Online Home Business Community". Wouldn't Madison Avenue just love that? I can just see me in a photo opp with Juan Valdez.

Oooooh. Y'know, maybe it'd be better to stick to radio ads. A big bed-headed bearded guy in an old Smiley t-shirt with a snoring pet rat on said bed-head wouldn't sell much coffee.

I love my coffee gadgets too, like my personal coffeemaker. Sharing is not an option. Take my car, my house, my kids (nawww, on second thought, I couldn't be so mean as to give you my kids), but back away from the coffeemaker! Nowadays you can get cups and mugs that do it all for you except drink it. Rumor has it that Blackberry may soon be bought by Starbucks so they can install the things into custom designed mugs.

Not only is it good and slightly addictive, every day there's another news report of one more benefit to drinking coffee. Your hair will be shinier, your love life will go through the roof, your dog will stop having those accidents and your cat will refrain from touching your mahoghany bedposts.

Some people who work at home love it so much that they make coffee their business, like my friend Kat Hand. She started Kat's Koffee And More because she wanted the best coffee experience she could find and share it with others. She went so far as making a deal with a small coffee roasting operation that custom roasts her stuff.
I'll stick to drinking it and leave the Little Red Hen bit to her. ;)

Wow, time to fill up again. Where'd I put that IV??

They Don't Call 'Em Cell Phones For Nothing

2006-10-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

I'm one of the last two people on Earth without a cell phone.

Everybody has to have one to keep in touch and be reachable. For what?

Are they staying accessible to the Lottery Commission call for the big jackpot? Donald Trump for the big job offer? The producers of Survivor for the next slot??

Then there's ringtones. As a home business owner, what's an appropriate ringtone? Classical music? Jazz? Would using the latest Snoop Doggy Dogg ringtone mean lost business? You can really lose a lot of sleep over this.

Isn't e-mail and a telephone (pre-historic cell phone, FYI)with an answering machine enough?? I've been in restrooms where I've heard those things chirping or beeping or boogie-ing down. They're usually answered too. They don't seem like the kind of background noises you could easily ignore, either. Then there's the vibrator-set ones that they don't answer...

Come to think of it, I run into that everywhere. Elevators, sidewalks, Contented smiles.

Whoa...the other person without a cell phone just got one.

How much longer can I last??

Money For Nothing...Really

2006-09-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

You like money, don't you?

Well, duh. Right??

I offer everyone who works at home in any legal way a chance to win $50.00USD by submitting a WAHumorous story - any funny event that happened while working at home, directly or indirectly.

You can get your chance (or chances, if you have more than one story to tell) by submitting here.

Or you could tell me why you wouldn't want to do it!

Does Death of Adsense Become You?

2006-09-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

Do you even care at all?

Maybe you could care less about Adsense, or maybe you're happy with the little cash trickle it brings. Maybe you could care less that Scott Boulch found another way to make the money he stopped making with Adsense.

If you work at home and aren't quite yet independently wealthy, you should care.

The message of the reports isn't really about Adsense, it's about money. Your money. Particularly, the money you should be making as an additional stream of income.

A lot of home business folks don't realize they can set up and develop more than one source of income. It's the old job trap. Having a job is OK, but thinking it's the only way to make a buck is not OK.

A bunch of streams end up together as a river. Little streams will leave you stuck in the mud. Big streams mean a smooth ride.

Honestly, there's nothing new in the Death of Adsense and Life After Adsense. It's just done more efficiently and in a way most can easily manage with a little work.

No matter what your home business, you need to see for yourself and decide if it works for you. Download both, read them and put some flow in your river!

I Feel So Erma Bombeck

2006-09-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

I was starting to fix breakfast for myself this morning after the kids left for school.

For some reason, I glanced up at the kitchen ceiling and the stains thereupon.

Weve been enduring renovations lately and the kitchen and its ceiling are the last on the list. Well no...actually the kitchen and my office are the last on the list. In the past month or so, I've worked in more positions in my cramped, furniture packed office than I ever have experienced for sex. The big difference is I know the work positions are doable.

Anyway, the French toast is frying and those stains are staring right back at me. That's when I suddenly realize the paint and brushes are just a few feet away. Not wanting to take any more time from my online work than absolutely necessary, I grab a can of primer, dab a brush in it and start the Great Kitchen Ceiling Cover Up.

It seemed reasonable enough: I only needed one hand to cook and that left one to paint. Using the stretch-and-splat method while dipping and flipping with the other, I managed to pull off a potentially messy multitasking with only one drop of paint landing on my plate. A strange yet strong sense of accomplishment came over me with that first bite, as well as a faint taste of white latex primer.

Now I can add channeling Erma Bombeck to my list of talents.

Heard The Rumor??

2006-09-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah sure, the Net's full of 'em, but this one's almost believable.

Seems some guy named Ted Murphy is paying people to post ads on blogs and they're popping up all over the place! You write a post with a link in it, bam!! Payday.

But the weirdest thing is...no one knows who he is. Or what.

People's imaginations are running wild, reeeeally wild. Some say he's a Russian mobster (named Murphy?? C'mon!) Some say he's not even a he. Now that's just hitting below the belt, folks.

I know that he's actually a Wisconsin cranberry pirate.

His so-called legit operation is a mere front for a scandalous cranberry-smuggling scheme designed to wipe out the Massachusetts cranberry crop.

What comes to mind when you think of cranberries? Big dairy farms with a bunch of dumb cows? Thousands of otherwise responsible adults in a stadium wearing large cheeses on their heads??

Heck no! You think of Massachusetts, right? Pilgrims, Native Americans, nervous turkeys, stuff like that.

He sends his bands of Midwestern henchmen to secretly steal every tart juicy morsel from unsuspecting Massachusetts cranberry bogs under cover of darkness, stuffing their cleverly camoflauging oversized red coats with their ill gotten booty and saying "Hey dere, ya want some cheese? It's real good, dontchaknow!" to distract inquiring witnesses.

The best part, though, is that he's running it all from Florida. Florida!! That's brilliant...who'd ever figure on Florida? That's the orange growing place, so you'd never...HEY!! Oranges go great with cranberries!!! That fiend.

He's running this so-called business under the name ‘The Consumer Generated Advertising Network’ under the name PayPerPost.com. Many bloggers are making many bucks just for posting blog entries.

Remember to look for that tiny "Made In Massachusetts" label on your cranberries. It's a little tougher to see in cranberry sauce, though.

Ow!! Shot In The Wallet!

2006-05-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

I am soooo sad...I made a sale.

It was a product I researched well, good quality, the whole nine yards.

It retailed for over $100.00.

I had excellent conversion rates in a fairly competitive market.

It was promoted by PPC marketing with all the numbers looking good.

I made...$6.12.

I'm not even going to mention my advertising budget.

The problem, obviously now, was that my research fell just a liiiiittle short. I didn't calculate - heck, I didn't NOTICE - the commission-per-sale percentage, as clearly stated in the "Rosalind Gardner" method.

Moral of the story: When you learn and apply the methods of the best, be sure to learn and apply all of those methods.

Or else...

Loose From The Noose?

2006-03-21T03:55:00.000-08:00

It's award season.

That time of year when there's awards for movies, daytime TV, kids' shows, music...

And of course, the traditional business world gives 'em out all the time for every reason imaginable. They refer to them as "non-money motivators". Can you guess why?

There is one sector, one constantly growing industry, that's sorely lacking in awards of any kind. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever come across any.

That demographic group with the rapidly increasing presence? Home business people working from...well...home.

I'll skip all the stats about dollars earned and incremental growth much to the chagrin of some stats freaks I know ;) and get right to the point.

I am proud to announce the first and certainly the best award of the home business industry - The "Cut The Corporate Noose" Award

The "Cut The Corporate Noose" award is a beautiful certificate suitable for framing and a not-so-beautiful tie (hence the "corporate noose") expertly cut in half by our highly skilled tie cutters. It is awarded to those who have embarked on a full-time home business after struggling through a lot of blood, sweat and tears - and legal pads, hard drives, disks, printers, car maintenance, etc., etc.

If you or someone you know has achieved this milestone and is now officially a full-time, this-IS-my-living WAHperson, please offer a nomination here. In April the first recipients will be announced. Why NOT you?

This is WINTER?!?

2006-02-03T10:57:00.000-08:00

Rain.

It seems like that's all there is, and all there's been.

If it had been snow, I'd be digging my way out through the chimney.

So tell me...why is there any debate at all about global warming???

The one good thing is getting time at my desk 'cuz I darn sure don't want to go anywhere for anything. The bad thing is we're out of cat litter and he's giving me that look...

My Dad's A...I Mean, He's...Ummm...

2006-01-31T04:00:00.000-08:00

Got little kids? Do they KNOW what you do?

My youngest son is eight years old. He's also diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome/high functioning autism (some say they're different, some say they're the same thing, blah blah)with anxiety. He often becomes overwrought and fixates on things that worry him.
Even more than most people.

Until now, I took his confusion over what I do and his various tales at school as boyish imagination. It seems I've been an astronaut, a fireman and a toilet paper collector among others. I wonder though...is there really money in toilet paper?

This month, his class has been reading books from the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary. You might know them, they're about an impish little girl named Ramona, her family and friends. Well, the book he was assigned to read was about her father losing his job and its effect on the family. That all seemed innocent enough until one of his teachers suggested that his recent anxiety might be related to the subject of the book: The Father That Has No Job.

That's when I really realised that I was a Father Who Had No Job too.

Sure, I was aware that I wasn't employed full-time outside the house for a few years now. My son, however, was going by what other kids said about their dads, all those get-up-hop-into-a-suit-and-commute dads, those what-a-lousy-day-at-the-office dads, those this-is-how-I-make-a-living-which-therefore-defines-who-I-am dads.

I didn't fit that mold, so he had to have a cool comeback. "I dunno" definitely wouldn't cut it, so instead he painted the picture of me fighting fires on the moon by dumping lots of toilet paper on them.

I thought that telling him that I was a writer who worked at home would work for him. After all, I'm writing now and I have one book with another getting started. I've got articles posted everywhere but Smilin' Sam's Salami Shack And Article Directory, but I'll have one there too next week.

Ok, so next I'll try explaining the affiliate marketing stuff too. I can show him the checks as they arrive, even though some months still they make ME anxious. I can tell him that I'm a salesman that works on a computer. He knows there's an Internet and one day he'll probably use it to rule the world.

Yeah...I'll give that a shot. If that doesn't help, I may have to get more creative.
I just don't get why he wouldn't feel that a dad who's at home slurping coffee and semi-merrily doing laundry wearing a t-shirt and jeans when he returns from school
isn't better than a dad that drags into the house at suppertime with his shoulders slumped and his tie loosened to navel level, grumbling incoherently.

I think we're both a lot happier this way.

An Unfortunate Success Story

2006-01-30T05:57:00.000-08:00

A guy in Brockton, MA wanted to sell cocaine.

That's not unusual in Brockton, MA.

What is unusual is that he placed an online ad with his phone number offering cocaine for sale.

It worked! Soon he received a call from an interested buyer who arranged to meet with him. To his surprise, the buyer was an undercover cop.

The moral: Crime doesn't pay, but it pays to advertise.

You Want to be WHAT?!?

2005-11-17T10:45:00.000-08:00

My niece announced that she'd like to be a web designer.

She can, I'm sure. She's turning 15 and a straight A student in a private school. (Her father's handy, so the cardboard box works for them)

I had to ask "But what about doctor, lawyer, Native American leader??"

How long do all the web designers really have, after all?

Technology is zooming right along, and soon people will be just pointing and clicking to whip up any site they want.

Look at what SBI! has become.

Or even XSitePro.

I hope she decides on something with more GROWTH potential!

Yeah, Even Us NICE Guys...

2005-09-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

I discovered a pirate today.

Not your "Arrrgh!! Blow me down!!!" kind, but the slimy Internet kind.

Seems someone decided to give away my beautiful baby ebook to all comers for nothing but a click.

Never mind all the hours I spent researching, compiling, promoting, etc.

Too bad for them that their stolen link is now no longer good.

Maybe I'll feel sorry for them later...

Marvelous Mileage Moolah

2005-09-16T06:11:00.000-07:00

If you're an American WAHperson who uses a vehicle for business, you have got to know about this!!

The IRS has just announced that the mileage-
deduction rate for business use of your vehicles,
which was set at 40.5 cents per mile effective
January 1, 2005, jumped to 48.5 cents per mile,
effective September 1st and lasting through
December 31st. The 20% hike is due to the
outrageous increase we’ve seen in gas prices.

The deductible rate for Medical and Moving
expenses was increased to 22 cents a mile (up
from 15 cents for the first eight months of 2005),
but the rate for providing services for Charitable
Organizations (which is set by Congress, not the
IRS) remains at 14 cents a mile.

If you haven’t yet done your 90-consecutive-day
vehicle log, TIME IS RUNNING OUT. Two weeks
from now, less than 90 days will be left in 2005.

That means NOW...go, go!!!

Pow! Crash!! Cash???

2005-09-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes bad things turn out good.

I came upon someone's posting about hitting a deer with her car while returning home from a direct sales party and sustaining pretty good damage to its front end.

Her first reaction was to bemoan the fact that the profits of a good evening's work would end up sunk into the cost of repairs.

Weeelllll, maybe...

The good news here (besides the fact that neither she nor her daughter were hurt)is that the accident is a legitimate home business tax deduction!

Because she was still in the course of business (returning from a business function)when it happened, she can deduct the cost of the repairs because they were inflicted while the car was being used for business.

Which is, of course, both fortunate and waaaaaay cool...

I guess I should go tell her about this.

Let's DO this!

2005-09-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

Hi gang.

A major U.S. city has disappeared.

DISAPPEARED.

New Orleans no longer exists. They're talking about WHERE to rebuild it, not how.

On the morning news, George W. was talking about the National Guard and regular Army deployments and even asking other countries for help.

I nearly threw my cat at him for that one. Fortunately for him, my cat did not share my enthusiasm and beat a hasty retreat.

I said to my wife, "Wife", I said, "If ONE percent of the U.S. population sent a little something, it'd all be covered."

Then it hit me. Was there a way to help them WHILE helping others?

Here's the deal, plain and simple:

Below you'll see a list of my favorite programs and services for which I am an affili@te. No crazy pitches or wild-eyed speeches about how great they are. They just are, or they wouldn't be on this list, believe me.

Look it over, check it out. If something there can benefit you in your opinion, snatch it up.

I promise I will not make a penny.

Every last bit of any commissi0n will be donated to the American Red Cross for the relief effort.
Cross my heart and hope to die.

You win, they win.

I apologize that I'm not making one of those super-spectacular offers full of free g00dies you see everywhere from lots of big-name Internet gu'ru types.

I do, however, believe in helping out in times of trouble for others. I personally can't do very much, like you, but I'll do what I can.

Once again, if you're considering anything on this list anyway, acting now benefits both you and those in more need than you could imagine. I'll do this until Wednesday, September 7.

This newsletter doesn't have a huge list yet (for some completely unknown reason). Still, whatever we accomplish will matter. It all does.

Think of it as your Labor Day gift to your American brothers and sisters. Catch that holiday spirit!!

Third Sphere- top notch web host (fr'ee trial)

Aweber - one very cool autoresponder. You're reading it right now! (fr'ee trial)

Callwave - if you use dialup, you NEED this. (fr'ee trial)

The Newbie Club - The best way to get your best start online.

XSitePro - as a charter member of the HTML And Other WebTech Stuff Haters' Society, I give this a big thumbs up!

Sitesell - the best and longest darn track record on the whole Net...period. Check out all their goodies.

MagazinesQuick - yes, they have Home Business magazine! other stuff, too...

Into affiliate marketing?

The Definative Guide To Google Adwords - I really do keep one eye on this while working on campaigns. I'd be crazy NOT to!! And it's always up-to-date.

The Super Affiliate Handbook - It's...well...super!

Keywords Analyzer - It's just gotten better.

Affiliate Fuel - Feels like I live there sometimes...

WARNING: Pay-per-click m@rketing requires you to spend m0ney and time in the normal course of business. If you're not prepared or able to do so, I ask that you consider this method at a time when you have the resources to pursue it. Got it??

Thanks a lot, gang.

Dan :D>

Just Keep Swimming...

2005-08-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Do a little swimming while you're surfing!

While posting articles yesterday, I spotted a little goodie. It's called 1ChapterFree.com and it's a place where you can set up a chapter of your own book (e or otherwise) so that visitors can read it and even BUY on the spot!!

Not a bad deal at all, and the price is definitely right.

While you're dutifully doing your RGAs, keep an eye out for gems like this - they're everywhere!

How Was April?

2005-08-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

Do you still remember April?

OK, so it was an entire summer ago and then some...

April's worth remembering for one thing: Reader's Digest featured an article about people working at or from home.

No millionaire-wannabees or starry-eyed wackos. Just pretty ordinary people who wanted to make some extra money working at home...so they did.

That was the same month "The WAHumor Way: Reality Check, Please! How To Successfully Start your Own Home Business Without Cracking Up" first became available.

Maybe I should subscribe to Reader's Digest.

Restroom Revenues???

2005-08-18T01:09:00.000-07:00

It seems there's no end to the wackiness you can experience in the work-at-home world.

When I stepped into a restroom at a Dunkin' Donuts (my wife's coffee addiction requiring frequent attention),I spotted some biz card sized pale green pieces of paper casually(?) placed on top of the toilet paper dispenser.

On one side was printed many dollar signs and "1,000 Dollars" in large green (of course!) letters. On the flip side, it read, "Great news! This could be a real $1,000.00 bill for you, two to five times a week. How? Through outr fully automated, internet driven home based business. No gimmicks, please visit www.************.org/Mr.Bruce . Thank you for your time, it's valuable and we won't waste it."

A .org suffix??? Could this be something like the infamous whitehouse.com?

A more sincere and compelling message I have never received in a lavatory before!

What a clever idea...complimentary toilet paper.

You Gotta Hear This!!

2005-08-17T04:32:00.000-07:00

I receive a weekly email message from Mike Litman, a guy with some cool stuff to say. I thought this latest in particular was well worth passing on. What do you think??

Dear Dan,

It's Tuesday, I'm super jazzed up today and I want you to make
the rest of your week AWESOME!

You deserve to have an amazing week. I want you to listen closely
here because this simple idea can help you.

For those of you who don't know my story, let me share
this with you.

At the age of 19 I had my first 'dream' in my life. My dream at
19 years old was to create a platform that could positively influence
hundreds of thousands of people and one day millions.

How was I going to do that? I had no clue.

I left college in 1995, had 6 jobs the next 6 jobs, and was going
nowhere fast.

And then things changed.

Things changed big time.

I want to share one thing that I CHANGED that has helped me
live my dreams and has incredibly changed my life. (and now
tens of thousands of others)

If YOU make this a HABIT, not only will YOU have a GREAT
week, but your whole life will change.

Let's take one thing at a time and focus on you having an
AWESOME rest of the week.

What helped me change my life is I formed a habit of DOING
THE THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE TO DO.

Read this again: SUCCESSFUL people form the HABIT of doing
the things they don't like to do.

The masses ALWAYS take the easy way out of EVERYTHING.

It's so much easier to sit on your couch and waste time and
who wouldn't want to do that, but successful people realize
that road is not taking them to THEIR DREAMS.

Here's what you need to do:

Right now ask yourself:

What is 1 thing that I don't want to do today, but if I did it, it
would move my life and/or business forward? Not 10 things,
ONE THING.

Again:

What is 1 thing that I don't want to do today, but if I did it, it
would move my life and/or business forward?

Write it down.

Do it NOW.

Everything CHANGES QUICKLY in your life when you start
DOING the things you don't like to do.

Today's Tuesday. Let's get GOING!

Don't say "Wow, this is a great point." Say "Wow, I'm going
to TAKE ACTION NOW!"

Let's go. Let's go!

Talk to you soon.

Mike Litman
#1 Best-Selling Author
Millionaire Mentor

P.S. I'm looking for a small, select group of highly motivated
individuals to coach for the next 12 months and guide them to
financial fre.edom. Doug Doebler, just went through this same
program, and make 1.4 million dollars in 9 months. Hit reply
and email back your daytime and evening number and we'll
call you to see if you qualify.

**************************
Connect To Success, Inc.
220 E 23 Street Suite 903
NY, NY 10010
770-339-4183
maggie@mikelitman.com

Hey...Did Your Heart Grow Fonder??

2005-08-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm back.

I'm guilty of about THE most stupid offense possible online today: not blogging.

It's not hard to do, time consuming or expensive.

If you have sense enough to relax and not worry about what to say, it's even painless.

Now that I have sense enough again, I'll be back.

Remember me!!

A truly HOT fox

2005-03-16T08:05:00.000-08:00

This is something juuust important enough to tell as many folks as I reasonably can.

I made the switch to Firefox yesterday and I have NO idea why I didn't do so long ago...it's night and day!!

Not to mention safer...

=====================================

Is Your Web Browser Putting You At Risk?

- By Doug Partridge

© Doug Partridge - All Rights reserved

http://www.secureyourcomputer.net

======================================

It's free, it comes with Windows and it's used by
approximately 94% of the Internet population. It also
poses an unacceptable security risk. What am I talking
about? If you guessed Internet Explorer, you're right on
the money. So, is your web browser putting you at risk?
If you're one of the 94% using Internet Explorer, the
answer is a definite *yes*. By my math, quite a few
people require critical information for protection.

What's the problem with Internet Explorer (known as "IE"
from here out) and how does it put you at risk?

The main problem with IE is the numerous security flaws.
As an example, between April 2001 and June 2004, Microsoft
documented *153 security flaws* in IE. When a security
flaw is discovered Microsoft releases information about the
flaw and the potential impact. *Usually* at this point
Microsoft provides a downloadable security fix to remedy
the problem. Since many people don't know about the flaw
and the fix, frequently people remain vulnerable for long
periods of time.

Just how serious are some of these security flaws? Some
of the critical security flaws allow attackers to basically
gain control of your computer and run whatever malicious
programs they chose. In many cases, a vulnerable computer
can be compromised just by visiting the wrong website.

Here are but a few of the malicious programs I've seen
loaded on computers through security holes in IE:

* Browser Hijackers. These are programs that do nasty
things like change your home page to another page, usually
something pornographic in nature. They can also install
software and links on your desktop, of course *without*
your permission.==

* Spyware. This is extremely devious and malicious
software, and in many cases, it's used by criminals for
online identity theft. Once it's on your computer, Spyware
sits quietly in the background recording information about
you. Do you shop and bank online? This is one threat to
be extremely concerned about.

What can you do to improve security?

Rather than continue to apply what amounts to "band
aid" security fixes to IE, I recommend a more permanent
solution. Stop letting IE put you at risk, and switch to
another web browser.

How exactly will switching web browsers help? Quite
simply, there are so many security exploits on the Internet
targeted specifically to IE that just by using another
browser, you'll happily avoid most of them.

The good news is that there are several alternative web
browsers available free of charge like Netscape, Mozilla,
Opera and Firefox. For more information a great website to
visit is http://BrowseHappy.com. This website is dedicated
to getting people to switch from IE. It's full of "real
life" stories about why people switched, and what browser
they're using now.

So, what's the best browser of the bunch? Well, it's
highly subjective of course, but my vote goes to ...

Firefox, "Rediscover the Web"
A new browser called Firefox has quickly become my web
browser of choice. First off, Firefox was written to be
"lean and mean" and it certainly delivers. It's faster at
loading web pages than IE and even provides features not
found in IE. Something I suspect will quickly become a
favorite feature is called tabbed browsing. Tabbed
browsing allows you to load multiple web pages in the same
window, and quickly switch between the loaded pages. Tired
of pop-ups? Firefox has the best built-in pop-up blocker
I've seen. I have yet to see a pop-up get past it. When
it comes to security, Firefox receives *high marks*.

Firefox definitely has a positive "buzz" going right now,
and it's easy to see why. If you're interested in trying
out Firefox, you can download it for free here:
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

I'll conclude by saying that switching browsers is only
one of several steps necessary to protect yourself from the
many threats on the Internet, but it's certainly a good
place to start. Here's to practicing safe computing.

=====================================
Doug Partridge is co-author of a new eBook, "How to Secure
Your Computer Using Free Tools and Smart Strategies."

"Finally, the step-by-step Internet security guide that
should have come with your Windows computer, but didn't."

Free Details => www.secureyourcomputer.net

======================================

*** Attn Ezine Editors / Site owners ***
Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your
ezine or on your site so long as you leave all links in
place, do not modify the content and include our resource
box as listed above.
If you do use the material please send us a note at
articles@secureyourcomputer.net Thanks.

© 2004 - www.secureyourcomputer.net

Preneurville

2005-03-08T07:06:00.000-08:00

Isn't jargon a wonderful thing?

It's like air - it's everywhere.

Like preneur...

It started with entrepreneur and soon everyone knew what it meant. If you started your own business, you were pretty much pegged an enterpreneur.

I guess that was too simple or maybe the newness wore off.

Then there were intrapreneurs, company employees supposedly allowed to dream and create products and programs they could sell to the company, although usually they'd get a royalty percentage very similar to peanuts. Y'know, I haven't heard much about them lately...

Now all bets are off with this thing.

I once subscribed to a newsletter called Parentpreneur.

You can find Mompreneurs online. Alright, so where's the Dadpreneurs??

For those who prefer to be societal-role-and-sex neutral, you could call yourself an infopreneur...that is, if you sell infoproducts (it's gone from book to resource to infoproduct - the magic of rebranding)

The latest one to catch my eye brings to mind the cowboys of the old West: solopreneurs.

I just can't see John Wayne referring to himself as a solopreneur...

Ooooooh, That Feels GOOOOOOOD...

2005-02-22T08:41:00.000-08:00

It's such a wonderful feeling.

It's really about to happen!

My first book, The WAHumor Way To Work At Home: Reality Check, Please!, is on the way in PDF format.

Many didn't want to wait for the print book to debut (those take loads longer), so I'm giving this to 'em.

If my boys weren't out of school for the week, I could go on and on about it...

Consider yourselves lucky. Later!!

Valentine Heart-less

2005-02-08T10:52:00.000-08:00

It pounds incessantly and shakes the core of your being, just as Poe once wrote...

...The Telltale Heart!

Heart. Valentine Heart.

All this carrying on in the name of romance, love and all that mushy stuff.

I either wasn't born with the romantic gene or it was a very small gene, who was picked on by all the other genes.

While it's a great time in terms of online marketing (all those wonderful Valentine's gifts that everyone NEEDS to buy), it's no big thing to me otherwise. Never really has been.

Hey, whoa!! I'm not the callous, insensitive type always grumbling about it all like a misplaced Grinch. I'm just not one for making a big fuss, that's all.

A typical "romantic" exchange between my wife and I goes something like this:

"Y'here?"

"Yeah"

"Y'here?"

Long, reflective pause...

"What's for supper?"

Don't it just get ya right here? Sniff.

My valentines have been everything from flowers to poems to cartoons to movie tickets (NOT chick flicks!)

The message still comes across.

Besides, those big red candy filled hearts will be 50% off come the 15th...Tastes better that way.

The Gangup

2005-01-31T09:47:00.000-08:00

Man, it was like sharks in a feeding frenzy...

ANOTHER "gotta have it" product was just launched by ANOTHER high-powered guru (who all claim they are NOT gurus and say "Gurus? Yuck phooey!!) just months after this same guru had launched ANOTHER "gotta have it" product.

But in this case, he wanted the sale to last only one day. A Sunday.

I now do not need to check how many newsletters I subscribe to. Their editors ALL contacted me about this "gotta have it" product. At least once.

Only one took the more subtle approach of reporting about her review of the materials for a couple of weeks beforehand in her newsletter.

There was a total of 700 units for sale. I suspect there were as many people promoting it.

Maybe if it wasn't described as a "gotta have it" product ( exactly like all the others), it wouldn't have seemed like such a full frontal invasion.

The combination of short notice and $400 price tag made this "gotta have it" goodie into a "don't got it now to give ya ta get it" deal.

Oh well...wonder what the big promo will be next week??

The South Beach Method of Working At Home

2005-01-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Today it seems like the whole Internet is in a tizzy.

Google just changed the rules for conducting marketing campaigns through their AdWords program.

In a nutshell, what almost everyone was doing doesn't fly anymore.

There's going to be a lot more effort involved.

On an unrelated(?) note, I've been on the South Beach diet for around eight months. It was hard getting started, but I adjusted to it after a while when I was allowed to eat more foods. Believe it or not, living on meat, eggs, cheese and nuts with a couple of veggies gets old pretty quick. Although I did lose some weight, I did it mostly because a blood test showed my cholesterol and all that stuff was way out of whack.

I know - you're fascinated by all this...

Well, I heard recently that the whole low-carb frenzy is on its way out. Americans being Americans, they're getting tired of not doing whatever they want to do. It seems that supermarket people in the know are saying it'll be over in a little over a year. No more big companies churning out low-carb versions of everything but bottled water. Then no special menus in restaurants.

Any low-carb diehards still remaining will be forced to sneak into health food stores for whatever goodies they can find.

So what the heck AM I talking about?!?

Just this - everything changes, whether you want it to or not. At best, you can learn to roll with it or at worst, give it up altogether.

Change also often brings new opportunities.

Don't waste your time and energy fighting change. Instead, look for the ways it can work in your favor.

It's gonna happen anyway.

Too White A Christmas

2004-12-22T05:29:00.000-08:00

I live in a white town.

Everywhere you look. White, white, white...

Damn white Christmas lights.

There's actually a town ordinance against displaying colored Christmas lights. Can you believe it??

So instead, there's trees and houses and lawns ablaze with bright...white.

Looks more like a Clorox commercial.

Better yet, it's for the same reason as no traffic lights (seriously!) and hardly a sidewalk or streetlight to be found.

Ambiance. Or as it's pronounced here - aaaaaaahhhhmmmmBEEyonce.

Lots of people dying from walking in the road or crossing it in the dark...

Keep it happy, people, and carry a flashlight!!

A Wild & Weird WAH Position

2004-12-14T04:29:00.000-08:00

OK, this is actually a franchise (believe it or not), but one most likely run from home. I hope.

Pet waste removal service.

Yep...professional pooper scooper, kitty box cleaner and goodness knows what else.

Got a great promotional slogan for it: "The more crap you take, the more money you make!"

Dream job, eh?

Keep On Truckin'

2004-12-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

Just when you think you got it good, it all goes bad.

Or so it seems...

I've been cranking on AdWords campaigns for the past month and starting to get the hang of it...well,sorta...

Then Google shut me down over less than two dollars.

They tried to deduct my payment from my credit card, which declined it because the balance was short under two dollars.

Where I live, that's the price of a 12 oz. coffee!

Shut down for a cup of coffee.

My electronic funds transfer to my card is gonna take A WEEK - so much for the speed of the Internet.

Would you say, "Geez, what'll I do NOW????"

I didn't.

I had other things going that were just as important in the long run: setting up promotions. some restructuring, etc.

And when my campaign goes live again, I'll be in good shape for 2005.

How about you?

CSI And Life

2004-12-10T18:58:00.000-08:00

I don't have much use for TV.

During the day, I'm parked right here. In the evening, I prefer to DO things rather than stare at the tube. In the late evening, I'm right back here.

There's one show I actually try not to miss...CSI.

The original, of course. The one with Marg "You can swab me anytime and anywhere" Helgenberger.

Then politics pop up when a jerk with a vendetta is promoted...

He tries to dig up dirt on Grissom, the team supervisor and trick his staff into ratting him out.
After the smoke clears, the team is split up, the investigator is demoted for not supporting the whole witchhunt, and Marg is promoted to supervisor not of the day shift as she requested, but the second shift, which effectively keeps her from spending time with her daughter.

Marg, I'm here for you. Call me.

All because of one jealous, envious, weaselly jerk.

The saddest part is that isn't just TV. It's life.

When you work for others, you give them all the power. When you work for yourself, you hold that power.

It might be time to think more about that. Just maybe.

ATTENTION: Trends

2004-12-03T06:21:00.000-08:00

Oh happy day! This little posting is also available as an article for reprint, I think of everything, huh??

ATTENTION: Trends
By Dan Reinhold
www.WAHumor.com

Trends are essentially fads or societal movements that have reached maturity rather than croaking at a young age.

Here's a list of current trends from no less a source than Entrepreneur magazine:

Authenticity This is the trend of unique, frequently local products - microbrews, hot sauces, cheeses, clothes and so on. Environmentally and socially responsible companies operating locally are more and more the way to go. Please pass the authentic Cape Cod cranberry sauce...

Age 35 Question: What do a single GenXer, a thirtysomething dad and a middle-aged parent of a preschooler have in common? Answer: They all act, think and BUY like they're thirty-five. Why? Because they all WANT to be. Young folk now have a more mature, sensible mindset (ex: midriff tops on the way out...sorry, Andre, time to change your wardrobe), those actually in their 30s are feeling in their stride and baby boomers are clinging to youth with an iron grip.

Multitasking and memory loss It seems everybody multitasks now. It seems everybody HAS to. Even magazines are packing in photos and lists for quick reading. However, indulging your attention on something for a maximum of 15 seconds (20 if it's reeaaallllyy interesting) is messing with our memory function along with depression (sad because we're not absorbing more?) and stress (frying to a crisp because we're absorbing more?)

Obesity America is getting bigger, but the country's the same size. With the fatting of Americans comes the coin toss: helping people lose that weight or help them live with it. Think about it...if you've ever read or seen Dr. Seuss' "The Sneetches", you'll understand perfectly.

(FYI: I heard on the news this morning that certain medical testing equipment is much less effective with obese people. For example, abdominal ultrasounds. Hey...I just report the news, I don't think it up.)

One of the saddest facets of this trend is children's plus-size clothing. Lane Bryant showed kids that big is cool, so now we may be upgrading the suspension systems on all the school buses. After all, why exercise when there's elastic waistbands?

The third place Here's one we WAH types may see as "the second place": adult hangouts. Home and work are the "first" and "second"places, but when you work at home, you're down to one. Y'see? Instead of sitting around the malt shop with Archie and Jughead, post-teenagers want a change in atmosphere AND a place that wants them to hang out. You've seen it first with Starbucks and Barnes and Noble. It's going further with WiFi access (free, naturally) in many places, as I discovered at the new Panera Bread location near me. Sit a spell, stay a while, spend a pile...

Snobization Great word, huh? It describes the town where I live to a T, but we won't get into that. The American middle class is becoming snobbish, and they want affordable ways to be snobbish. Such as Todd Oldham's stuff at Target. It sounds like Versace setting up in a corner of KMart, but it's happening. Labels and luxuries without mucho moolah.

Uniqueness This ties in a lot with authenticity and snobization. It centers more on a desire to be the first kid on the block with the latest cool stuff. Because big and mass produced does not equal unique, the little guy with the cool thing of the moment wins. The more unique you can be, the more you're part of the crowd. Go figure...

Life caching Ahhhh, memories. We got 'em and we want to keep them...forever, in 100% retrievable formats. No one's going to settle for sitting in the rocker on the front porch reminiscing about times and events that probably never happened, or at least not THAT good or bad. Scrapbooking is really cutting up these days (sorry), and data transfer shops are popping up that cater to people, not businesses. How about a coffee-table book made from your digital photo collection? Being done. Think memory retention and retrieval, and you just might cash in on caching. Again, sorry.

That, according to Entrepreneur magazine, is the the way the wind is blowing. Get your kite up soon or risk being blown away.

With two boys, a dog, a cat, a wife and a household to keep together to boot, Dan Reinhold is the editor of WAHumor to hang on to his sanity by showing how insane the work-at-home community can be. Work at home? You deserve a laugh! Come visit http://www.wahumor.com/ and join the fun!

If It's Not One Thing, It's 1 Thing

2004-11-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

I've started trying my hand at pay-per-click advertising on Google.

Mostly what I've done so far is watch impressions (the number of times the ad's shown) skyrocket while the clicks (the number of times someone clicks on the ad to check it out) are barely off the ground.

What you want is that you'll make enough from sales or whateverto get more than those clicks cost.

I had a pleasant surprise this morning...my earnings had quadrupled!!

The unpleasant surprise was that the ad expense had grown by a whole lot more than that.

It keeps getting better, though. Sure, you feel beat up at first but once you've got the hang of it, it's cake.

Better be a darn good cake...

I've got (more?) good news coming soon. Stay tuned!!

OK, I've waited long enough to think of something profound...

2004-11-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

OK, I've waited long enough trying to think of something profound to say.

This'll have to do...

The holiday season is as good as upon us, and I'm nowhere near ready. According to the stores, it's been upon us since September.

I am not prepared for the shopping, the visits to family (ESPECIALLY the visits to family), the "gatherings" formerly known as parties, the events, the fundraisers etc., etc. and so on.

If that weren't enough, there's this odd state of limbo between the Red Sox winning the World Series and the anticipated return of the Patriots to the Super Bowl...but no pressure, guys!

Working at home makes it all different too. You're not living in two separate worlds - work and home - because you work AT home. In some ways that's good: no desperately struggling with gift ideas for co-workers you'd rather never see again or how much to spend on the boss for maximum kiss-up value without going broke.

On the other hand, it gets even harder to assert your business identity when people are thinking, "Oh...Dan's at home. Maybe he can... (insert every annoying and time consuming errand you ever ran at this time of year and multiply the nuisance factor by 100)"

Now if they pulled this stuff during the summer, I'd be all for it.

Maybe if I just stay up an extra two hours each night...

Got goals? Time travel!

2004-10-16T03:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a way to really keep you honest.

You set a goal (of any kind) and a time frame in which to achieve it...one month, six months, one year, whatever.

You can tell all the world about it too.

And THEN...

Visit FutureMe.org and experience time travel, Internet style. You compose a message to yourself in the future, set a date and on that date, you will receive the message.

I just got my one year message this morning. My, how things have changed!!

Payoff, where are you?

2004-10-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

I hate waiting for the payoff.

Y'know, the time when your efforts actually result in money?

I have a book to be published - no Gone With The Wind, but a nice useful litle book, I hope - and I'm dying to make a dime from it. So's my publisher, no doubt...

There's another one I'm doing as a joint venture that I expect to launch in November, which, of course, still isn't now.

Thank goodness I do other things as well. It only makes sense...if you spend all your time waiting for the payoff and doing nothing else, you soon discover that artists aren't necessarily the only ones that starve.

I may have narrowed my focus, but I still need to see the big picture.

Make sense??

Walk a mile (or three) in my shoes

2004-10-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

It happened at last.

We all participated in the N.A.A.R. walk.

Man, I was afraid you'd say "What's N.A.A.R.???"

It stands for National Alliance for Autism Research.

Now remember that, so we won't have to do this again...

Y'know. Like SCUBA.

Anyway, it was a good day for it with lots of happy people. We all had fun.

I don't have any pictures to prove that, because the one picture taken with all of us in it was by a guy volunteering for the regional organization. When we were ready for our own group shots, half the group had left!!

Still, we had fun. Raised lots of money too.

WAHumor.com's fundraising page is a year-round page and donations are ALWAYS cheerfully accepted.

If you can't manage a lot, that's OK. It'll all add up.

If you donated before this event, thanks. If you didn't donate before this event, thanks in advance for next year. ;)

Busy, busy

2004-10-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

What's the ONE thing you should be focusing on?

Doing this business thing, I mean.

Are you into a lot of things that get a little attention each from you, or one - at the most, two - that are your primary interest?

Time to wake up and smell, friend!

Whew...we'll talk after you shower...

Only concentration on one or two revenue producing goals can get you where you want to be.

Identify 'em, choose 'em and WORK 'em hard!!

Mine?? Sure, I'll tell you.

2 books - 1 going to press, 1 ebook underway. Another book to start after both are out...
Adsense being placed on all possible locations.
Multi-tier and recurring payment affiliate programs under promotion.
1 PPC campaign, more for learning at this time than profit.

That's it.

I have a half dozen other things I could do, but I won't...yet.

The moral: Get moving first, then reach for the next baton.

Because nobody ever won a race by standing still and thinking about it.

Change IS good!

2004-09-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

I finally broke down and got a mailing list manager.

Then, less than a month later, I finally set it up.

Hey...not everything on the Net is fast...

Man, what a relief to say goodbye to my old service, who shall remain nameless...

I can't count the subscribers I DIDN'T get because they "wanted too much information", according to a couple of people who actually took the time to let me know.

I figured what the heck, it was freee...

I had a free autoresponder service too.

And in both cases, I also had lots and lots of tag-along ads. I hated that.

Not to mention the limits they imposed!

Well, I got wise and got what I really needed...a program that does both!!

Better yet, it has a tracking function too.

Being the cheap and suspicious type I am, I asked a busload of people what they thought of it first. People waay ahead of the curve from where I am.

All of them raved about it. Without exception.

And me?? The least tech-savvy guy you could ever meet?

I just set it up for my newsletter and my autoresponders ALONE. No frantic emails to web designer pals, no wailing and gnashing of teeth, whatever that is.

Check it out, look it over, kick the tires. You can even use it for nothing on a trial basis!

If people who should know say it that good and a keyboard klutz like me says it's that good, it must be that good.

Only one way to know for sure...

Revisionism

2004-09-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

Finally...

I think.

No, I don't mean that I'm finally thinking, I mean I finally sent my latest (and hopefully last) revised draft to my editor!

Wow, what a lot to go through for a little book...

It really isn't a big, impressive book. Just an important one.

If you're considering the move to working at home, that is.

More later!

Happy B-day to meeeeee...

2004-09-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

Another birthday, come and gone.

Geez, every year, year after year...

Who really wants to keep that score once you've reached 21??

They do keep you on your toes, though. If one comes around and you say, "Whoa!!", it just might be time to look at what you're doing.

Are you doing what you like or what others like you to do? Do you enjoy each or just get through it? If you have kids, when's the last time you did what they wanted to do..and liked it??

Clock's ticking. Enjoy life!

Welcome to my mess!

2004-09-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

At long last, a first post...:)

Sorry the place's isn't much to look at yet, but first I'll have to figure out HOW to fix it up.

Or do some very serious begging!

I suppose you'll want to hear The Latest...

One book may be finished and headed for publication in the near future, and another one (yeah, they're like peanuts and Lay's potato chips) is in the development stage. That one is something no one would expect from me...but why be predictable??

Oh yeah...the N.A.A.R. (National Alliance for Autism Research) walk is faaaaast approaching on October 3. How about emptying those pockets and making a big juicy donation right here:

http://www.justgiving.com/pfp/wahumor

You can eat again next month.