Author Archives: Shannon

Money Monday: The ‘B-word’ that helps you profit

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Oh, the dreaded ‘B’ word! No, not THAT ‘B’ word I’m talking about the BUDGET ‘B’ word. The formula for determining profit is a really simple one and the one that all budgets are based upon. Income – Expenses = Profit.

It isn’t complicated and you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that there are two ways to improve your profit; (1) increase income or (2) decrease expenses. If you can figure out how to both simultaneously, please let me know how.

It would be really nice if we could just crank up the burners and make more money, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately increasing income is much harder than decreasing expenses when it comes to improving your bottom line.

Fortunately, working at home comes with some built in savings right up front. You don’t have to buy that expensive gasoline to get to and from work. You don’t have to keep your working wardrobe up to date.

You can eat a PBJ sandwich for lunch in your own kitchen. And all of these are good money-saving things that just come with the territory when you work at home.

There are, however, some other measures that you can take to help decrease your work at home expenses. Here are some money saving ideas:

  • Idea #1: Don’t buy every piece of software that comes down the pike. Most of us who work at home are software junkies. We LOVE software – all kinds of software (and this includes all those cheap plug-ins for wordpress) – and before we know it we have software on top of software and more software than we need or even can use.
  • Idea #2: Don’t buy bigger programs than you need. Often programs that help us accomplish the necessary tasks are offered in various sizes. You might be planning on having a hundred employees next year but you don’t need software to manage a hundred employees this year. You can always upgrade when the time comes. Today you need to save the bucks and go with only what you need today.
  • Idea #3: Don’t spend unnecessary advertising dollars. So many times new entrepreneurs will start out running PPC and Facebook advertising with absolute abandon. They will choose every single key word and phrase possible and then let the advertisements run 24/7. This is a huge waste of advertising dollars.

    You need to learn to read the statistics that are provided to you by search engines and gear your advertisements to only appear in search results under very controlled circumstances and only during specific hours. It isn’t hard to run up a bill of several thousand dollars in a very short period of time and not make a single sale in the process.

What ideas do you incorporate to make or save more money?

Sock bun: a good use of a sock without a mate

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A week or so ago, I saw a post on Pinterest about how to use a sock to create a bun in your hair.

And since I have not one, but to guinea pigs (one who especially like to look like a ballerina), I thought I would give it a stab. After all, I had been cleaning out my girls clothes from the colder, winter outfits to the warmer, spring-like ones – and had found plenty of socks who had lost a mate.

Here’s what you need:

  • A sock
  • a ponytail holder
  • scissors

And here are the steps:

  1. Cut off the toe of the sock. The thicker the the sock, the larger the bun. Try to use a sock that is similar to your hair color (light sock for light hair, etc.). Starting from the area you cut, roll the sock down, tightly, to form a doughnut shape.
  2. Secure hair into a ponytail. Where you place your ponytail will be where the center of the bun rests.
  3. Take the sock you rolled and pull the hair from the ponytail through the center of the doughnut, and spread the ends of the hair around the doughnut. You will start rolling the doughnut down the hair, starting from the ends of the hair and rolling to the base of the ponytail. As you roll, continue tucking and spreading the hair under and around the doughnut.  Trust me, it may look like it’s not working, but keep at it… it will turn out fine.
  4. Once you have rolled the hair completely, and the bun is resting in place, you can use the end of a comb to tuck any pieces out of place into, and under, the bun. Or you can loosen some strands for a more casual look. Check to make sure there are no places where the sock is visible. If you can see the sock, just spread the hair. There is no need to pin it.

And here was the result:

Are You Missing Passive Income Opportunities Right Under Your Nose?

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When it comes to  passive income opportunities, you’ve already got your plan in place.  You’re a new marketer, so you’re go with the most inexpensive option for your product –  a digital eBook. You plan to pay Clickbank’s one-time publisher’s fee, and place your product there. Clickbank provides your affiliate program management, as well as your payment processor, so you don’t have to manage either. And you’ve covered the last base by learning how to legally, effectively cloak your hoplink.

Let’s run over your checklist…

Domain name
Minisite
Sales Page
Affiliate banner ads and code

You’ve even paid for a professionally designed header and some graphics. And you’ve already started to publicize your new eBook on social networks and forums.

In fact, you’re all set, and ready to go!

Or Are You?

There is one more question you need to ask yourself:

Have I made the most of every opportunity to squeeze more passive income out of my subject?

Until you’ve considered every option, you’re leaving money behind that could be pouring into your bank account!  You could easily upsell at check-out point by offering your eBook as a physical product such as an audio series or a video series.

There’s no good reason to leave unmined sources of income behind at every sale.

Take a look at one of your current products right now. Share some ways in which you can add more to it for additional passive income streams.

Summer is almost here… are you ready?

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Summer is right around the corner and that means summer vacation. Children are home from school. Vacation plans are pending and customers and clients begin to alter their schedules too. It’s often a time of change and uncertainty. You can take steps now to prepare your business for the summer months.

Step #1 Take a Look at Your History

What happened last summer? Did sales go up? Did profits decline? Did you have trouble relying on contractors? Did you have way too much free time on your hands? History often repeats itself. If you can document what occurred last year by looking at the data and your analytics, then you may be able to use that information to plan ahead.

For example, a copywriter may find that their business increases during the spring months and then declines during the middle months of summer. Knowing this information, a copywriter can then plan ahead. They might launch a special offer during the slow months, or use that downtime to create an information product or take a vacation.

Step #2 Schedule Ahead and Automate

If you’re busy during the summer months, then scheduling ahead is extremely important. And there are many things you can do right now so your summer is relaxed and easy. For example, you can write your blog posts now and schedule them for the summer. You can do the same for your email messages. In fact, you can plan a product launch and automate all of the processes so that the product launches automatically several months from now. You don’t have to lift a finger.

Step #3 Get Help

You can also simply schedule downtime. Many sole proprietors simply take a hiatus or time away from their businesses. If you’re a blogger or service provider, this is certainly an option. A better option may be to ask a guest blogger to step in and help while you’re away. You run the risk of losing clients and readers if you’re gone too long.

Virtual assistants, interns and partnerships can all help you take time away during the summer. And if you are swamped during the summer, then additional help can make our bigger workload easier to manage.

Summer will be here before you know it. Taking steps now will help you enjoy the warmer months while still growing and managing your business. It’s smart business and it’ll save you future stress and anxiety.