It's been awhile since I have posted about child support, dead beat dads and issues like that.
And in the past I have had quit a bit to say on the subject since I am going through a dead beat dad/no child support issue myself.
For a little while he was making payments.... I guess since child support enforcement stepped in and took his drivers license away. The only way to get his license back was to pay a certain amount and keep up with it.
Well, now I have a new issue. Back in August, out of the blue, he had called me to see if he could take our daughter to a family reunion. I have not heard from him in soooo long. Aside from leaving songs playing on my voice mail. And the last call from him was when he was pulled over and the cop was there, while he called me for help.
I could tell that he had been drinking already....Yes, I know for sure. I know him. And he asked to take her to his family reunion. At first I told him that would be ok as long as he brought her right back afterwards. He told me that he would keep her all night and that she would be ok. And that he was not bringing her back that night.
I then did not feel comfortable. I know my daughter. She WILL cry to come home and he is not willing to bring her back. Plus, I could tell he had already started drinking and I really don't think he could take car of her. She would be among strangers..... It has been a couple years since she has seen him. And she does not know anyone else in his family.
I even tried explaining to him that he needs to be consistent in her life.... Not come and go for years at a time. That she does not know him and he needs to have her comfortable with him. He then told me that he would be over in a couple hours to get her. I told him that was fine as long as he promised to bring her back because I KNOW she will want to come back. He said he was not coming back and that he would bring her home the next day. So I did it..... I said NO.....
I am her mother.... I am the one raising her.... I take care of her..... I know her......It is up to me to make the decisions in her best interest. I even called my sons dad and asked for his opinion and we both seemed to agree.... He needs to get to know her. He is a stranger to her. And she would not stay.... She would want to come home.
So the latest news on this is that he did leave a message on my voicemail and told me that I will NOT get another cent and that he will see her when she's 18 years old.
At least he's holding his word. So far, not a cent. He has notified child support that he quit his job and is no longer going to pay.
If only he could realize that he does need to get to know her..... I look at my little girl and my heart aches for her that she does not know her biological dad......And yet on the other hand, I tell myself that he's not the best role model for her either.... But he is her dad and should know him. Why can't he see that he needs to take this in baby steps? Get to know her..... Let her trust in him.
I am very thankful for my sons father...... He has been the consistent male role model that every little girl needs. She calls him daddy, and always has.... Again, I think it's because she sees my son call him daddy when he picks him up, so she thinks the same of him. They took to one another and have become close. I think in her heart she knows that he's not her real dad.... I have talked with her.... But in her heart, he is her daddy. He has been there for her and she does love him.
If only her dad would see that he is really hurting her.....But I guess his point is that "He'll show me".
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
An Oldie, But Goodie.....
MENTAL HOSPITAL PHONE MENU
Hello and thank you for calling The State Mental Hospital. Please select from the following options menu:
If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.
If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.
If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5 and 6.
If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want, stay on the line so we can trace your call.
If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be forwarded to the Mother Ship.
If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell You which number to press.
If you are manic-depressive, hang up. It doesn't matter which number you press, nothing will make you happy anyway.
If you are dyslexic, press 9-6-9-6.
If you are bipolar, please leave a message after the beep or before the beep or after the beep. But Please wait for the beep.
If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.
If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.
If you have low self-esteem, please hang up. Our operators are too busy to talk with you.
If you are menopausal, put the gun down, hang up, turn on the fan, lie down and cry. You won't be crazy forever.
If you are blonde, don't press any buttons. You'll just mess it up.
This coming week is National Mental Health Care week. You can do your part by remembering to contact at least one unstable person to show you care. (Well, my job is done . Your turn!!)
Hello and thank you for calling The State Mental Hospital. Please select from the following options menu:
If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.
If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.
If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5 and 6.
If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want, stay on the line so we can trace your call.
If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be forwarded to the Mother Ship.
If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell You which number to press.
If you are manic-depressive, hang up. It doesn't matter which number you press, nothing will make you happy anyway.
If you are dyslexic, press 9-6-9-6.
If you are bipolar, please leave a message after the beep or before the beep or after the beep. But Please wait for the beep.
If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.
If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.
If you have low self-esteem, please hang up. Our operators are too busy to talk with you.
If you are menopausal, put the gun down, hang up, turn on the fan, lie down and cry. You won't be crazy forever.
If you are blonde, don't press any buttons. You'll just mess it up.
This coming week is National Mental Health Care week. You can do your part by remembering to contact at least one unstable person to show you care. (Well, my job is done . Your turn!!)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Test Drive Your Business
Are you having a hard time making ends meet? Are you always short on paying your bills? You know or hear of people working from home, but unsure of what's legit and what isn't.
What if YOU could interview a company that is looking for homeworkers and see if their work at home program is a match for what you are looking for? No pressures! No unsolicited phone calls!
The decision is left to you if you like the work that we do.
We give individuals a chance to come and take a look at the work at home program that we have to offer and to see if it's a match for what you are looking for.
If you are serious, NOT just curious..... Come and see what we have to offer....We may be exactly what you are looking for.
www.moms4netprofit.com/now
What if YOU could interview a company that is looking for homeworkers and see if their work at home program is a match for what you are looking for? No pressures! No unsolicited phone calls!
The decision is left to you if you like the work that we do.
We give individuals a chance to come and take a look at the work at home program that we have to offer and to see if it's a match for what you are looking for.
If you are serious, NOT just curious..... Come and see what we have to offer....We may be exactly what you are looking for.
www.moms4netprofit.com/now
Sunday, September 21, 2008
John Q
Wow..... Another great movie with Denzel Washington in it. I don't get to watch movies that often.... But I was at a friends house and he has a massive collection of movies and I decided to borrow "John Q".
This movie is a few years old but I have to say, it's up there as one of the best movies I have seen. If you are a parent, it makes you think about just how far would you go for your child? We all say we love our kids but would you be willing to do what he did? And what about the healthcare system that we have? Can your insurance company change your policy without you even knowing it?
My favorite line in the movie is, "I will not bury my son". And he really proves it. To view a clip of the movie, click HERE.
This movie is a few years old but I have to say, it's up there as one of the best movies I have seen. If you are a parent, it makes you think about just how far would you go for your child? We all say we love our kids but would you be willing to do what he did? And what about the healthcare system that we have? Can your insurance company change your policy without you even knowing it?
My favorite line in the movie is, "I will not bury my son". And he really proves it. To view a clip of the movie, click HERE.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Jobless Rates Soar As Foreclosures Break Record
US jobless rate soars as foreclosures break new record
In a stark indication that the crises gripping the US housing market and the financial sector are spreading throughout the economy, unemployment figures for August rose far more sharply than expected, hitting a five-year high.
The official unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent last month, according to a report released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition to the net loss of 84,000 jobs last month, the agency revised its figures for June and July, reporting the destruction of an additional 58,000 jobs, pointing to an entire summer dominated by layoffs and economic slump.
Meanwhile the so-called misery index, which adds the unemployment and inflation rates, hit 11.7 percent, the worst figure recorded since mid-1991, as high gas, food and utility prices continue to gouge workers’ paychecks even as layoffs mount.
Also on Friday, the Mortgage Bankers Association issued a report showing that the new foreclosure rate has risen to its highest point in nearly three decades, as falling home prices and tighter credit is forcing more and more people out of their homes. The total number of homes in foreclosure hit 2.75 percent, triple the rate recorded three years ago. Meanwhile, 6.41 percent of all home mortgages were one or more payments overdue, a record high since these figures were first recorded in 1979.
At the same time, existing home sales fell to a 10-year low in the second quarter, while the median price of a single-family house plummeted by another 7.6 percent, the National Association of Realtors reported.
The increase in unemployment and the rising number of foreclosures are clearly trends that are feeding into one another in a vicious downward spiral. Workers having lost their jobs are finding it impossible to meet monthly mortgage payments, and the collapse of home values has wiped out credit for many, leading to falling consumption and new layoffs.
The loss of jobs was spread throughout the economy, with health care, education and government employment virtually alone in resisting the surge of layoffs. Manufacturing companies cut 61,000 workers from their payrolls; business and professional companies eliminated 53,000 jobs, temporary employment—which generally is a leading indicator of future job trends—fell by 36,000 and the retail trade sector cut 19,900 jobs. Construction employment was down just 8,000, reflecting in part the massive bloodletting that has already taken place—558,000 jobs wiped out since the beginning of 2007.
Massive new layoffs are on the horizon. The Air Transport Association reported Friday that US airlines plan to cut at least 36,000 jobs by the end of the year.
Job cuts will continue throughout the auto industry as new vehicle sales slump. The DMAX engine plant in Dayton, Ohio announced this week that it is laying off another 330 workers, on top of 290 jobs cut in July. The plant makes engines for GM trucks. Daimler Trucks North America, meanwhile, has announced plans to cut one of the two shifts at its Mount Holly, North Carolina Freightliner plant, putting 675 workers on the unemployment lines.
The financial sector is also shedding large numbers of jobs. GMAC Financial Services announced this week it will lay off 5,000 workers, while Wachovia Corp. has indicated that it intends to eliminate the jobs of some 7,000 of its employees.
The official figures released Friday were substantially higher than those predicted by economists, who had projected only a 0.1 percent increase over July’s rate of 5.7 percent, with the loss of 75,000 jobs, rather than a 0.4 jump to 6.1 percent and the loss of 84,000 jobs.
The decisive issue in the unemployment figures is the sustained character of the assault on jobs, with unemployment rising for eight months straight—the most protracted such trend in the last 25 years. The result is that 2.2 million more workers have joined the unemployment lines over the past year, for a total of 9.4 million officially counted as out of work.
These figures drastically underestimate the real crisis confronting working people in the US. An alternative measure provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which includes so-called “discouraged workers”—those who have given up actively looking for work—as well as those forced to eke out a living with part-time jobs because they are unable to get full-time work, rose by a tenth of a percentage point to account for fully 10.7 percent of the US workforce.
The latest report on the growth in unemployment elicited widespread acknowledgment that the US economy is gripped by recession.
“The economy has clearly slipped into a jobs recession because the housing meltdown and credit market turmoil has spread to the broader economy,” Steven Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics, wrote after the new figures were released.
Bank of America economist Peter Kretzmer, in a note to investors, wrote, “The rapid rise in the unemployment rate points to a US recession, as such an increase has never occurred outside of one.” The economist said that household surveys have produced data indicating that 1.75 million jobs have been wiped out since April alone.
William Poole, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, told Bloomberg Television, “It certainly increases the probability that we really are in a recession. It is a weak number, including the [June, July] revisions.”
Friday’s dismal unemployment and foreclosure figures came at the end of the worst week for the world financial markets since the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington seven years ago.
The Dow Jones Industrial average eked out a 32-point advance Friday after falling nearly 350 points, or 3 percent, the day before—the worst losses in two months. The sell-off was attributed to the release of the initial projection of a 5.7 percent unemployment rate, combined with dismal retail sales figures and rampant rumors that a major hedge fund, Atticus Capital, with $14 billion in investments, was on the brink of collapse.
While the Atticus executives insisted that the rumors were false and that the fund had substantial cash reserves, the fears that major hedge funds will go under are well founded. Many of them had invested heavily in the commodity bubble, which has been rapidly deflating with the recent fall in oil and food prices.
Asian stock markets, which fell every day this week, suffered sharp losses Friday, with the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong falling 2.2 percent, Tokyo’s Nikei down 2.75 percent, the Shanghai A-share market dropping 3.3 percent and Australia’s market down 2.1 percent. Similar percentage losses were recorded on all of the major European markets.
Meanwhile, the manager of the world’s largest bond fund warned Friday that the US economy faced a “financial tsunami” unless the government intervenes to buy up assets being dumped by banks and finance houses.
“Unchecked, it can turn a campfire into a forest fire, a mild asset bear market into a destructive financial tsunami,” Bill Gross of California-based Pacific Investment Management Co. wrote in a statement on the company’s web site. “If we are to prevent a continuing asset and debt liquidation of near historic proportions, we will require policies that open up the balance sheet of the US Treasury.” Specifically, he called for the federal government to stem the foreclosure tide by issuing subsidized loans and buying up properties.
Gross’s statement reflects growing fears within financial circles that the worst of the credit crisis is still to come and could produce a catastrophic global collapse.
In the face of the rapidly deepening economic crisis, the White House issued a sanguine statement that simply ignored the job losses and rise in foreclosures, pointing instead to earlier figures showing an increase in the gross domestic product. “The level of growth demonstrates the resilience of the economy in the face of high energy prices, a weak housing market and difficulties in the financial markets,” the White House said.
While this is obviously cold comfort to the millions forced onto the unemployment lines or facing the loss of their homes, the attempt by the candidates of the two major parties to turn the latest figures into political hay offered little more.
Republican candidate John McCain acknowledged that “Americans are hurting and we must act to create jobs.” He vowed to enact a “Jobs for America” program, which appeared to involve little more than job training schemes, tax cuts for business and advocacy of free trade.
Democratic candidate Barack Obama issued a predictable statement accusing his rival McCain of preparing “more of the same” and continuing the Bush administration’s tax cuts for the rich. He pledged instead to institute an exceedingly modest tax cut for “middle-class families” plus a $50 billion fund to aid state budgets.
There is no reason to believe such paltry promises will be realized. Even they were, they would prove entirely inadequate to stem the tide of layoffs or stabilize the crisis-ridden financial system. The Democratic Party is incapable of advancing any serious alternative to the policies of the Bush administration, tied as it is to the interests of Wall Street and corporate America.
By Bill Van Auken,6 September 2008
In a stark indication that the crises gripping the US housing market and the financial sector are spreading throughout the economy, unemployment figures for August rose far more sharply than expected, hitting a five-year high.
The official unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent last month, according to a report released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition to the net loss of 84,000 jobs last month, the agency revised its figures for June and July, reporting the destruction of an additional 58,000 jobs, pointing to an entire summer dominated by layoffs and economic slump.
Meanwhile the so-called misery index, which adds the unemployment and inflation rates, hit 11.7 percent, the worst figure recorded since mid-1991, as high gas, food and utility prices continue to gouge workers’ paychecks even as layoffs mount.
Also on Friday, the Mortgage Bankers Association issued a report showing that the new foreclosure rate has risen to its highest point in nearly three decades, as falling home prices and tighter credit is forcing more and more people out of their homes. The total number of homes in foreclosure hit 2.75 percent, triple the rate recorded three years ago. Meanwhile, 6.41 percent of all home mortgages were one or more payments overdue, a record high since these figures were first recorded in 1979.
At the same time, existing home sales fell to a 10-year low in the second quarter, while the median price of a single-family house plummeted by another 7.6 percent, the National Association of Realtors reported.
The increase in unemployment and the rising number of foreclosures are clearly trends that are feeding into one another in a vicious downward spiral. Workers having lost their jobs are finding it impossible to meet monthly mortgage payments, and the collapse of home values has wiped out credit for many, leading to falling consumption and new layoffs.
The loss of jobs was spread throughout the economy, with health care, education and government employment virtually alone in resisting the surge of layoffs. Manufacturing companies cut 61,000 workers from their payrolls; business and professional companies eliminated 53,000 jobs, temporary employment—which generally is a leading indicator of future job trends—fell by 36,000 and the retail trade sector cut 19,900 jobs. Construction employment was down just 8,000, reflecting in part the massive bloodletting that has already taken place—558,000 jobs wiped out since the beginning of 2007.
Massive new layoffs are on the horizon. The Air Transport Association reported Friday that US airlines plan to cut at least 36,000 jobs by the end of the year.
Job cuts will continue throughout the auto industry as new vehicle sales slump. The DMAX engine plant in Dayton, Ohio announced this week that it is laying off another 330 workers, on top of 290 jobs cut in July. The plant makes engines for GM trucks. Daimler Trucks North America, meanwhile, has announced plans to cut one of the two shifts at its Mount Holly, North Carolina Freightliner plant, putting 675 workers on the unemployment lines.
The financial sector is also shedding large numbers of jobs. GMAC Financial Services announced this week it will lay off 5,000 workers, while Wachovia Corp. has indicated that it intends to eliminate the jobs of some 7,000 of its employees.
The official figures released Friday were substantially higher than those predicted by economists, who had projected only a 0.1 percent increase over July’s rate of 5.7 percent, with the loss of 75,000 jobs, rather than a 0.4 jump to 6.1 percent and the loss of 84,000 jobs.
The decisive issue in the unemployment figures is the sustained character of the assault on jobs, with unemployment rising for eight months straight—the most protracted such trend in the last 25 years. The result is that 2.2 million more workers have joined the unemployment lines over the past year, for a total of 9.4 million officially counted as out of work.
These figures drastically underestimate the real crisis confronting working people in the US. An alternative measure provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which includes so-called “discouraged workers”—those who have given up actively looking for work—as well as those forced to eke out a living with part-time jobs because they are unable to get full-time work, rose by a tenth of a percentage point to account for fully 10.7 percent of the US workforce.
The latest report on the growth in unemployment elicited widespread acknowledgment that the US economy is gripped by recession.
“The economy has clearly slipped into a jobs recession because the housing meltdown and credit market turmoil has spread to the broader economy,” Steven Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics, wrote after the new figures were released.
Bank of America economist Peter Kretzmer, in a note to investors, wrote, “The rapid rise in the unemployment rate points to a US recession, as such an increase has never occurred outside of one.” The economist said that household surveys have produced data indicating that 1.75 million jobs have been wiped out since April alone.
William Poole, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, told Bloomberg Television, “It certainly increases the probability that we really are in a recession. It is a weak number, including the [June, July] revisions.”
Friday’s dismal unemployment and foreclosure figures came at the end of the worst week for the world financial markets since the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington seven years ago.
The Dow Jones Industrial average eked out a 32-point advance Friday after falling nearly 350 points, or 3 percent, the day before—the worst losses in two months. The sell-off was attributed to the release of the initial projection of a 5.7 percent unemployment rate, combined with dismal retail sales figures and rampant rumors that a major hedge fund, Atticus Capital, with $14 billion in investments, was on the brink of collapse.
While the Atticus executives insisted that the rumors were false and that the fund had substantial cash reserves, the fears that major hedge funds will go under are well founded. Many of them had invested heavily in the commodity bubble, which has been rapidly deflating with the recent fall in oil and food prices.
Asian stock markets, which fell every day this week, suffered sharp losses Friday, with the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong falling 2.2 percent, Tokyo’s Nikei down 2.75 percent, the Shanghai A-share market dropping 3.3 percent and Australia’s market down 2.1 percent. Similar percentage losses were recorded on all of the major European markets.
Meanwhile, the manager of the world’s largest bond fund warned Friday that the US economy faced a “financial tsunami” unless the government intervenes to buy up assets being dumped by banks and finance houses.
“Unchecked, it can turn a campfire into a forest fire, a mild asset bear market into a destructive financial tsunami,” Bill Gross of California-based Pacific Investment Management Co. wrote in a statement on the company’s web site. “If we are to prevent a continuing asset and debt liquidation of near historic proportions, we will require policies that open up the balance sheet of the US Treasury.” Specifically, he called for the federal government to stem the foreclosure tide by issuing subsidized loans and buying up properties.
Gross’s statement reflects growing fears within financial circles that the worst of the credit crisis is still to come and could produce a catastrophic global collapse.
In the face of the rapidly deepening economic crisis, the White House issued a sanguine statement that simply ignored the job losses and rise in foreclosures, pointing instead to earlier figures showing an increase in the gross domestic product. “The level of growth demonstrates the resilience of the economy in the face of high energy prices, a weak housing market and difficulties in the financial markets,” the White House said.
While this is obviously cold comfort to the millions forced onto the unemployment lines or facing the loss of their homes, the attempt by the candidates of the two major parties to turn the latest figures into political hay offered little more.
Republican candidate John McCain acknowledged that “Americans are hurting and we must act to create jobs.” He vowed to enact a “Jobs for America” program, which appeared to involve little more than job training schemes, tax cuts for business and advocacy of free trade.
Democratic candidate Barack Obama issued a predictable statement accusing his rival McCain of preparing “more of the same” and continuing the Bush administration’s tax cuts for the rich. He pledged instead to institute an exceedingly modest tax cut for “middle-class families” plus a $50 billion fund to aid state budgets.
There is no reason to believe such paltry promises will be realized. Even they were, they would prove entirely inadequate to stem the tide of layoffs or stabilize the crisis-ridden financial system. The Democratic Party is incapable of advancing any serious alternative to the policies of the Bush administration, tied as it is to the interests of Wall Street and corporate America.
By Bill Van Auken,6 September 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Working With A Team
Are you working with a team? Do you have people that rely on you? Depend on you? Did you introduce your business to your prospects, wrap it up all shiny and cute with a little bow on the top, only to find that you no longer have time to work with your business partners? Or you drop an occasional (hello) email to let them know you still exist?
This is a touchy situation.....I have heard this scenario from countless individuals over and over again.... I have experienced it myself...And I have to say something about this.
First, people look to work at home all the time...For so many different reasons. I deal alot with single moms that just want to find a way to make ends meet. And when you are considering cleaning in the evenings, and then calculate the cost of a babysitter and the gas to get to the job, you realize that for $7.00 an hour, you may walk away with $1.50 afterwards. Is $1.50 an hour worth the time of being away from your kids? (There has to be a better way).
Then you have the stay at home mom who feels guilty that she's not contributing enough to her household... As if taking care of the kids, cooking and cleaning was not enough. So she has alot of guilt and wants to help in a financial way.... Then you have the couple that scrape to get by, and still don't have enough at the end of the month to pay their bills, so they need to find something that seems reasonable.
This is what I say about introducing your business to new prospects!!!
First... Make sure it's a business that YOU are COMMITTED to. Don't FAKE IT.... If you come across as someone that cares in the beginning, and then all of a sudden you stop calling and checking in on your business partners, they WILL see right through it. (no degree needed here). All you have created was a mess... Someone will now drop out of your business, talk bad about you and the business and leave you with poor rating and a bad name.
If you emphasize how you are a team and that they will not be on their own, then you BETTER make sure you stick to that. Don't extend your hand out by offering things that you will not stick with.... These people are DEPENDING on you.....For whatever reason, they found trust in you and considered the possibility that maybe, just maybe, you really could give them light at the end of the tunnel. Hope!
Picture this: You come into a business, you love what you hear.... You won't be on your own... You will have people you can go to that are willing and wanting to help you succeed and will be there for you.... Then, after a few weeks, months, you have questions, need help, and who can you go to? All of s sudden you are on your own. You reach out a few times but there is no reply. No help. Nobody. You start to think to yourself, that no one cares... You are on your own and you were brought in just as their quick fix.... So you leave the business.....And all the bad words that follow about it.
We are dealing with people.... Real dreams, desires and hope...Some are so desperate that they NEED to find a way and want to work at home.... So don't fill them up with a bunch of BS if you are not as committed as your new prospect is.... The desire and need that they have may be much stronger than what you can give. And if that is the case, then you need to ask yourself how deeply you really believe in the business that you are working?
If you are really looking to work at home, and really need the assurance that you will not be on your own, then visit: www.moms4netprofit.com/now . There is enough of me to go around and I strive to make goals and dreams come true everyday.
Article Source: Cindy Ashworth, work at home mom, owner of www.mykidsmywhy.com and www.successfulwahm.blogspot.com
This is a touchy situation.....I have heard this scenario from countless individuals over and over again.... I have experienced it myself...And I have to say something about this.
First, people look to work at home all the time...For so many different reasons. I deal alot with single moms that just want to find a way to make ends meet. And when you are considering cleaning in the evenings, and then calculate the cost of a babysitter and the gas to get to the job, you realize that for $7.00 an hour, you may walk away with $1.50 afterwards. Is $1.50 an hour worth the time of being away from your kids? (There has to be a better way).
Then you have the stay at home mom who feels guilty that she's not contributing enough to her household... As if taking care of the kids, cooking and cleaning was not enough. So she has alot of guilt and wants to help in a financial way.... Then you have the couple that scrape to get by, and still don't have enough at the end of the month to pay their bills, so they need to find something that seems reasonable.
This is what I say about introducing your business to new prospects!!!
First... Make sure it's a business that YOU are COMMITTED to. Don't FAKE IT.... If you come across as someone that cares in the beginning, and then all of a sudden you stop calling and checking in on your business partners, they WILL see right through it. (no degree needed here). All you have created was a mess... Someone will now drop out of your business, talk bad about you and the business and leave you with poor rating and a bad name.
If you emphasize how you are a team and that they will not be on their own, then you BETTER make sure you stick to that. Don't extend your hand out by offering things that you will not stick with.... These people are DEPENDING on you.....For whatever reason, they found trust in you and considered the possibility that maybe, just maybe, you really could give them light at the end of the tunnel. Hope!
Picture this: You come into a business, you love what you hear.... You won't be on your own... You will have people you can go to that are willing and wanting to help you succeed and will be there for you.... Then, after a few weeks, months, you have questions, need help, and who can you go to? All of s sudden you are on your own. You reach out a few times but there is no reply. No help. Nobody. You start to think to yourself, that no one cares... You are on your own and you were brought in just as their quick fix.... So you leave the business.....And all the bad words that follow about it.
We are dealing with people.... Real dreams, desires and hope...Some are so desperate that they NEED to find a way and want to work at home.... So don't fill them up with a bunch of BS if you are not as committed as your new prospect is.... The desire and need that they have may be much stronger than what you can give. And if that is the case, then you need to ask yourself how deeply you really believe in the business that you are working?
If you are really looking to work at home, and really need the assurance that you will not be on your own, then visit: www.moms4netprofit.com/now . There is enough of me to go around and I strive to make goals and dreams come true everyday.
Article Source: Cindy Ashworth, work at home mom, owner of www.mykidsmywhy.com and www.successfulwahm.blogspot.com
Friday, September 12, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
When Working From Home Isn't Working Out
More and more moms are choosing to either work from home or start home based businesses, and while they each have their own reasons for doing so, most have one thing in common: they want to be with their children and spend more time with their families.
A Christian mom may feel an even larger responsibility to be with her children on a daily basis. It’s easier to teach our children about God’s love for them when we are with them all day, every day.
But what can a work-at-home-mom do when working from home isn’t working out?
Perhaps a home business idea didn’t take off and a business mom thinks about returning to her old job to pay off some bills. Maybe a telecommuting job is ending and another one isn’t on the horizon. Sometimes the desire for a larger home, a family vacation, or the loss of the husband’s income can lead a work-at-home mom to wonder if it’s time for her to work outside the home again.
It’s a difficult decision to make, frequently fraught with feelings of failure, sadness, and wondering where you went wrong. A Christian WAHM who prays regularly for her business’s success may even question why God didn’t just make things easier for her.
At least, that was how I felt when faced with this decision two years ago. My husband had been hospitalized for several months, his paycheck had been cut back and our expenses had increased. My revenue from my new home business simply wasn’t enough to make up the shortfall.
At first, returning to work seemed my only option, but after spending many hours in prayer and discussing options with my husband and others whom I trusted, I believed God wanted me to stay home with our children and trust Him to meet our material needs.
Rebekkah Kogelschatz of Smart Moms-Smart Business, LLC, http://www.smartmoms-smartbusiness.com, recently faced this same decision when her husband’s health problems increased his time away from work. For Kogelschatz, though, returning to work was the right answer. It has been a difficult decision, but she says, "You truly have to look at your overall picture, pray, and have faith that God will lead you to the right answer."
For anyone who feels pressured to return to an outside job, it’s important to remember that God hasn’t forgotten about you, your family, or your business. Here are some steps you can take to find God’s purpose for this time.
Pray. Are you thinking of returning to work because of social pressures, or is it truly God’s idea?
Kogelschatz and her husband both "prayed for discernment, trying not to see only the financial aspects of returning to work, which would definitely improve, but also looking at how it would affect our children and our household."
During my own husband’s illness, the growing pile of bills seemed to scream that it was time for me to go back to work. But when I asked God what He thought, I strongly felt that He wanted me to stay home and trust Him, despite how things appeared.
Whatever you decide to do, be sure it’s God’s plan and not your own.
Trust. If you have sincerely sought God’s plan for your business, you can trust that God will protect and provide for you and your family. Though not always pleasant, and not always in the way I wished He would have helped us, God did provide for my family during my husband’s illness.
As a teacher looking for a job in late summer, Kogelschatz expected to find the bottom of the barrel in teaching positions, but she believes God prepared the way for her return. "There was a great resource position available that I applied for and I got it," Kogelschatz says. "It was the perfect position for the other events that are happening in my life… God provided the right position at the right time."
Work. A return to the outside workforce does not necessarily mean the end of your home business. Continue to work on building your business when you can. Kogelschatz works many evenings on developing her websites, posting on her blogs, and chatting on forums. "When I used to work 20-30 hours a week on building the websites, I know have to balance my time with my family time and do as much as I can when I get the opportunity." She plans to return to her home based internet business full time and is using this year to build foundations that will help her earn an at-home income equivalent to her teaching salary. Kogelschatz has some encouraging words for moms who, like her, return to working outside the home for a time:
"If you have to go back to work, plan your time so your family and your home based business do not suffer, but don’t feel like you have to spend all night and the weekends working on your home based business. It may not move at the speed it would if you were home, but it will move ahead." She adds, "I am truly at peace with our decision, even though I still miss being the one with my children each day."
‘For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord, ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’Jeremiah 29:11
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Denise Willms is co-owner of WAHM-Articles.com, publisher of WAHM-Articles Ezine, and a ghostwriter for WAHMs who don’t like to write. She is author of the free eBook, Uncovering the Secrets of WAHM Article Marketing and A 30-Day Prayer Guide for Work-at-Home-Moms, scheduled for release in 2007. For more information, please visit http://www.wahm-articles.com or email info@denisewillms.com .
A Christian mom may feel an even larger responsibility to be with her children on a daily basis. It’s easier to teach our children about God’s love for them when we are with them all day, every day.
But what can a work-at-home-mom do when working from home isn’t working out?
Perhaps a home business idea didn’t take off and a business mom thinks about returning to her old job to pay off some bills. Maybe a telecommuting job is ending and another one isn’t on the horizon. Sometimes the desire for a larger home, a family vacation, or the loss of the husband’s income can lead a work-at-home mom to wonder if it’s time for her to work outside the home again.
It’s a difficult decision to make, frequently fraught with feelings of failure, sadness, and wondering where you went wrong. A Christian WAHM who prays regularly for her business’s success may even question why God didn’t just make things easier for her.
At least, that was how I felt when faced with this decision two years ago. My husband had been hospitalized for several months, his paycheck had been cut back and our expenses had increased. My revenue from my new home business simply wasn’t enough to make up the shortfall.
At first, returning to work seemed my only option, but after spending many hours in prayer and discussing options with my husband and others whom I trusted, I believed God wanted me to stay home with our children and trust Him to meet our material needs.
Rebekkah Kogelschatz of Smart Moms-Smart Business, LLC, http://www.smartmoms-smartbusiness.com, recently faced this same decision when her husband’s health problems increased his time away from work. For Kogelschatz, though, returning to work was the right answer. It has been a difficult decision, but she says, "You truly have to look at your overall picture, pray, and have faith that God will lead you to the right answer."
For anyone who feels pressured to return to an outside job, it’s important to remember that God hasn’t forgotten about you, your family, or your business. Here are some steps you can take to find God’s purpose for this time.
Pray. Are you thinking of returning to work because of social pressures, or is it truly God’s idea?
Kogelschatz and her husband both "prayed for discernment, trying not to see only the financial aspects of returning to work, which would definitely improve, but also looking at how it would affect our children and our household."
During my own husband’s illness, the growing pile of bills seemed to scream that it was time for me to go back to work. But when I asked God what He thought, I strongly felt that He wanted me to stay home and trust Him, despite how things appeared.
Whatever you decide to do, be sure it’s God’s plan and not your own.
Trust. If you have sincerely sought God’s plan for your business, you can trust that God will protect and provide for you and your family. Though not always pleasant, and not always in the way I wished He would have helped us, God did provide for my family during my husband’s illness.
As a teacher looking for a job in late summer, Kogelschatz expected to find the bottom of the barrel in teaching positions, but she believes God prepared the way for her return. "There was a great resource position available that I applied for and I got it," Kogelschatz says. "It was the perfect position for the other events that are happening in my life… God provided the right position at the right time."
Work. A return to the outside workforce does not necessarily mean the end of your home business. Continue to work on building your business when you can. Kogelschatz works many evenings on developing her websites, posting on her blogs, and chatting on forums. "When I used to work 20-30 hours a week on building the websites, I know have to balance my time with my family time and do as much as I can when I get the opportunity." She plans to return to her home based internet business full time and is using this year to build foundations that will help her earn an at-home income equivalent to her teaching salary. Kogelschatz has some encouraging words for moms who, like her, return to working outside the home for a time:
"If you have to go back to work, plan your time so your family and your home based business do not suffer, but don’t feel like you have to spend all night and the weekends working on your home based business. It may not move at the speed it would if you were home, but it will move ahead." She adds, "I am truly at peace with our decision, even though I still miss being the one with my children each day."
‘For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord, ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’Jeremiah 29:11
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Denise Willms is co-owner of WAHM-Articles.com, publisher of WAHM-Articles Ezine, and a ghostwriter for WAHMs who don’t like to write. She is author of the free eBook, Uncovering the Secrets of WAHM Article Marketing and A 30-Day Prayer Guide for Work-at-Home-Moms, scheduled for release in 2007. For more information, please visit http://www.wahm-articles.com or email info@denisewillms.com .
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Baby Step Your Way To A Greener Lifestyle
Many people get discouraged when they start thinking of making changes in their day in order to become more environmentally responsible. We moms are already busy and many of us feel stressed out and tired. The thought of adding something new to the routine is overwhelming. That, coupled with discouraging reports from the media that claim it all doesn't matter, can cause many a mom to just give up. Yet I think most of us have a nagging sense that we're going to be forced to change at some point in the future. We're all concerned about what kind of air, soil and water our kids are going to inherit.
My feelings on the matter are this:
Baby Step it. There are plenty of changes you can implement, one at a time that add up to a big difference over time. And the changes build on themselves. Isn't it true that once we start a new routine, it seems like a big deal at first, but then we hardly notice it? Here are some ideas of things you can do right now to Baby Step your way to a greener life. I'll borrow the Three R's to illustrate
1) Replace
As I mentioned, going green doesn't mean going out and buying all new stuff. While hemp t shirts are all well and good, throwing out your kid's wardrobe isn't exactly eco friendly. Neither is selling your perfectly good car to buy a hybrid. Think in terms of replacing stuff as it wears out with a better alternative. As an example, I had family in town last week an with the hustle and bustle and extra bodies, I managed to lose the charger to my cellphone. Instead of replacing it with another plug in charger, I'm buying a solar charger. As your lightbulbs die out, replace them with CFLs or LEDs. The next time you have to repaint your home, choose No VOC paints. When your favorite cleaning product wears out, keep the bottles and the all purpose dilutable cleaner from the Clorox Green Works line. It's inexpensive and very effective. I use it for everything from kitchen counters and toilets to mopping the floor
2) Remind
Putting reminders on your calender. For example, put "check tire pressure" on your calendar once a month. You'll burn less gas and save money too. What about reminding yourself to make a once a week trip to the recycling center instead of letting your recyclables pile up, tempting you to toss them instead? You can also do a yearly check up of your home: see if any of your toilets or faucets are leaking water, and check the seals on your refrigerator
3) Rethink
Part of going green is giving a little more mindfulness about your day to day decisions, especially about what you bring into your home. For instance, if you're planning a party, do you have to buy disposable plates and napkins? Why not use cloth napkins and real plates instead? They're far more elegant. When your computer wears out, instead of just tossing it, take it to Staples and have them recycle it. Or have a tech savvy teenager sell the parts on eBay. I did this once and made almost as much money on the parts as the computer cost new!
For more ideas and tips to help you become more eco friendly, visit www.NaturalMomsTalkRadio.com/blog - a free weekly internet talk radio show and podcast for natural families.
Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
My feelings on the matter are this:
Baby Step it. There are plenty of changes you can implement, one at a time that add up to a big difference over time. And the changes build on themselves. Isn't it true that once we start a new routine, it seems like a big deal at first, but then we hardly notice it? Here are some ideas of things you can do right now to Baby Step your way to a greener life. I'll borrow the Three R's to illustrate
1) Replace
As I mentioned, going green doesn't mean going out and buying all new stuff. While hemp t shirts are all well and good, throwing out your kid's wardrobe isn't exactly eco friendly. Neither is selling your perfectly good car to buy a hybrid. Think in terms of replacing stuff as it wears out with a better alternative. As an example, I had family in town last week an with the hustle and bustle and extra bodies, I managed to lose the charger to my cellphone. Instead of replacing it with another plug in charger, I'm buying a solar charger. As your lightbulbs die out, replace them with CFLs or LEDs. The next time you have to repaint your home, choose No VOC paints. When your favorite cleaning product wears out, keep the bottles and the all purpose dilutable cleaner from the Clorox Green Works line. It's inexpensive and very effective. I use it for everything from kitchen counters and toilets to mopping the floor
2) Remind
Putting reminders on your calender. For example, put "check tire pressure" on your calendar once a month. You'll burn less gas and save money too. What about reminding yourself to make a once a week trip to the recycling center instead of letting your recyclables pile up, tempting you to toss them instead? You can also do a yearly check up of your home: see if any of your toilets or faucets are leaking water, and check the seals on your refrigerator
3) Rethink
Part of going green is giving a little more mindfulness about your day to day decisions, especially about what you bring into your home. For instance, if you're planning a party, do you have to buy disposable plates and napkins? Why not use cloth napkins and real plates instead? They're far more elegant. When your computer wears out, instead of just tossing it, take it to Staples and have them recycle it. Or have a tech savvy teenager sell the parts on eBay. I did this once and made almost as much money on the parts as the computer cost new!
For more ideas and tips to help you become more eco friendly, visit www.NaturalMomsTalkRadio.com/blog - a free weekly internet talk radio show and podcast for natural families.
Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
Saturday, September 6, 2008
7 Ways To Get Traffic To Your Blog
You’ve put a lot of work into your blog, and you put more in every day. But without a steady stream of traffic, no one’s the wiser. Use these seven tips to get more traffic to your blog.
1) Do your SEO and keyword research homework. Make sure the HTML of your site is search engine friendly. Here’s a basic search engine optimization checklist:
• Do your post titles have appropriate keywords?
• Do your anchor links have keywords in them? Using “here” as a link is a missed opportunity.
• Does your domain name include a primary keyword?
2) Submit your site to the 1st and 2nd tier engines like Google, Yahoo, Dmoz, MSN and Looksmart, and to the blog directories. Here’s a short list of sites that offer free blog listings:
Blog Search - http://www.blog-search.com/blog-submission.html
Technorati - http://www.technorati.com/
Bloglines - http://www.bloglines.com/
Blogdex - http://blogdex.net/
Blogwise - http://www.blogwise.com/
WeBlogALot - http://www.weblogalot.com/
Globe of Blogs - http://www.globeofblogs.com/
BlogHop - http://www.bloghop.com/
Blogarama - http://www.blogarama.com/
3) Ping like you mean it. This is a way for you to raise your hand to the blog trackers when you’ve posted new content. You can do it site by site at places like Technorati, or go to Ping-o-matic and mass-ping your blog to over 20 sites. Make sure your blog is set up to ping the appropriate sites every time you publish a post.
4) Feed your RSS. Make sure your blog has one and that it’s working. An RSS feed is a bit of XML that allows your blog to push content to RSS readers. That way people don’t have to visit your site to get your latest insights – they just open their RSS reader and read the news. If your blog is at blogger.com and your current blog doesn’t have RSS functionality, visit http://www.feedcraft.com) is a large one. If you’re willing to pay for a link to your site, check out Text-Link-Ads (http://www.text-link-ads.com/)
6) Be part of the blogging community. Go to other blog sites you admire. Contribute to their blogs in ways that add real value. Write good, thoughtful comments that are content rich. Give away what you know. Do it a lot – at least 3 posts a week. Over time you’ll become recognized as someone who has something worthwhile to say. As your reputation grows, people will seek out your blog. This is not an overnight process, but by paying your dues and building an audience you are positioning yourself to become a star. By the way, if your site doesn’t have the functionality for visitors at add comments, Haloscan (http://www.haloscan.com/) is a free service that will let them do so. It also allows for “trackbacking”, which is a way to manage pings.
7) Write your blog! Put everything you’ve got into it. Make it great. Post as frequently as you can. The search engines will note frequent postings. A blog that has a new post every day is obviously more active – and important – than a blog that was set up in 2003, has 4 posts, and has been dead since 2004. To really make your blog get noticed you’ll need to post at least 2-3 times a week.
Copyright 2006 Kurma Group : About The Author : This article has been authored by Anik Singal, an extremely successful and young internet entrepreneur and affiliate marketing consultant. Anik has developed his own affiliate marketing system that helped him earn over $10,466 in 60 days – Enroll in his FREE course today... http://www.AffiliateClassroom.com/free-course.html
1) Do your SEO and keyword research homework. Make sure the HTML of your site is search engine friendly. Here’s a basic search engine optimization checklist:
• Do your post titles have appropriate keywords?
• Do your anchor links have keywords in them? Using “here” as a link is a missed opportunity.
• Does your domain name include a primary keyword?
2) Submit your site to the 1st and 2nd tier engines like Google, Yahoo, Dmoz, MSN and Looksmart, and to the blog directories. Here’s a short list of sites that offer free blog listings:
Blog Search - http://www.blog-search.com/blog-submission.html
Technorati - http://www.technorati.com/
Bloglines - http://www.bloglines.com/
Blogdex - http://blogdex.net/
Blogwise - http://www.blogwise.com/
WeBlogALot - http://www.weblogalot.com/
Globe of Blogs - http://www.globeofblogs.com/
BlogHop - http://www.bloghop.com/
Blogarama - http://www.blogarama.com/
3) Ping like you mean it. This is a way for you to raise your hand to the blog trackers when you’ve posted new content. You can do it site by site at places like Technorati, or go to Ping-o-matic and mass-ping your blog to over 20 sites. Make sure your blog is set up to ping the appropriate sites every time you publish a post.
4) Feed your RSS. Make sure your blog has one and that it’s working. An RSS feed is a bit of XML that allows your blog to push content to RSS readers. That way people don’t have to visit your site to get your latest insights – they just open their RSS reader and read the news. If your blog is at blogger.com and your current blog doesn’t have RSS functionality, visit http://www.feedcraft.com) is a large one. If you’re willing to pay for a link to your site, check out Text-Link-Ads (http://www.text-link-ads.com/)
6) Be part of the blogging community. Go to other blog sites you admire. Contribute to their blogs in ways that add real value. Write good, thoughtful comments that are content rich. Give away what you know. Do it a lot – at least 3 posts a week. Over time you’ll become recognized as someone who has something worthwhile to say. As your reputation grows, people will seek out your blog. This is not an overnight process, but by paying your dues and building an audience you are positioning yourself to become a star. By the way, if your site doesn’t have the functionality for visitors at add comments, Haloscan (http://www.haloscan.com/) is a free service that will let them do so. It also allows for “trackbacking”, which is a way to manage pings.
7) Write your blog! Put everything you’ve got into it. Make it great. Post as frequently as you can. The search engines will note frequent postings. A blog that has a new post every day is obviously more active – and important – than a blog that was set up in 2003, has 4 posts, and has been dead since 2004. To really make your blog get noticed you’ll need to post at least 2-3 times a week.
Copyright 2006 Kurma Group : About The Author : This article has been authored by Anik Singal, an extremely successful and young internet entrepreneur and affiliate marketing consultant. Anik has developed his own affiliate marketing system that helped him earn over $10,466 in 60 days – Enroll in his FREE course today... http://www.AffiliateClassroom.com/free-course.html
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