work from home – Nicole Munoz Consulting

How Do You Manage To Get Work Done with Kids at Home?

Many online business owners work from home. And just as many may have kids at home with them during the summer break. It doesn’t matter whether they are young children or teens, working at home with kids can be challenging. Not only do you have to find time to work your business you have to keep the kids entertained as well.

Here are 10 tricks for working at home with kids

1. Be flexible

Get up early and work before the kids wake up, or stay up a little later at night to finish projects and jump online throughout the day when you need to. Send emails while kids are napping. Don’t worry so much about how many hours you are working, and instead focus on getting your work done whenever you can.

2. Get the kids involved

Hire them to do some of the housework while you work. If they are old enough, hire them to do some of the cooking or taking care of younger siblings. Older kids can even be hired to do small tasks in your business, like packaging orders or uploading photos to your website.

3. Schedule playdates with other moms who have kids the same age

You can alternate between your homes so that one parent isn’t watching the kids more often than the other.

4. Take advantage of technology

Use your smartphone or tablet when you’re out. Check your email or make notes while you’re at the park or take conference calls on the way to an outing.

5. Outsource more of your work

Giving work to a virtual assistant can free up time to let you spend time with your kids doing fun things this summer.

6. Go on fieldtrips

Take the kids with you when you need to pick up supplies or pick up a gift for a client. Along the way, stop at places your kids might enjoy, like a new ice cream shop.

7. Go to the library

Or even a local bookstore. Check out new books or DVDs the kids can watch and read while you work. Or get some work done while older kids browse the library for their own books or DVDs.

8. Send the kids to day camps

There are many non-profits that offer reasonably-priced camps your kids want to attend. Everything from sports to music to adventures is available in almost every city.

9. Schedule work ahead of time

By doing so, you will know when something has to get done, and can make arrangements for the kids to be entertained elsewhere (either outside the home or with their own activities).

10. Don’t schedule any big projects to be due during the summer

Work more on maintenance and keeping things updated.

If you have kids at home during the summer, finding ways to work with them underfoot can be a challenge. Make it a priority to spend time with them doing fun activities while fitting your work into their schedule.

Tips and things to consider

Even if your business sees downtime and you are staying in town, there are some things you can do to get your business ready for the latter part of the year.

Spend time looking for ways to add passive income. Create that program or eBook you don’t have time to work on during peak times of the year. Check out affiliate programs that fit your audience.
Back up your files. Consider an online backup program like Carbonite or Mozy. These can be used in addition to external backup systems. Summertime means many areas are prone to summer storms and power loss. Print out copies of important business information like client contact information and passwords.
Jump into a training program for something you’ve wanted or needed to learn. Or attend networking events that can help you grow your business.
Plan marketing for the rest of the year. Do market research to see what your customers think about your business or services.
Update your website if it needs a makeover. Improve navigation structures, remove or update old content, update the design and more.
Look for ways to incorporate summer type themes or information into your email newsletter and your website. For example, send out newsletters that focus on summer specials, mixed with summer recipes or tips for pet care during the heat. Just make sure it relates to your niche.

Even if business slows down during this time of year, you can still make progress on growing your business. Take the time to make plans for growth, update your website and network with others.

Do You Have What It Takes to be an Online Entrepreneur?

by Nicole Munoz

start-online-business

Having an online business has many advantages. You don’t need transportation to get to work, nor do you need special business clothing. You simply need to know how to do the services you want to provide, and have a desire to do it. To run an online business you need the same type of skills and personality characteristics that you would need to run an offline business:

Self-Motivated — No one is going to tell you what to do, so you need to be able to get things done without anyone breathing down your neck.

Persistent — Be willing to work long hours without an immediate paycheck.

Consistent — Never give up and keep on keeping on.

Focused — Able to be attentive to your business during business hours without being easily distracted.

Visionary — Able to see the big picture.

Optimistic — Be hopeful for the future even if today is hard.

Risk Tolerant — You can see that the reward outweighs the risk but also be willing to lose it all if you have to.

Resilient — Bounce back when something goes wrong, learning from mistakes and seeing the positive in the negative.

Communicator — Being a good communicator whether by email or by voice is an important part of working online. You will often not get to communicate in person therefore you’ll lose body language which is actually most of our understanding of each other.

Leader — You need to be a leader in terms of having a take charge mentality, but part of leadership is also the ability to delegate when needed.

Ethical — If you’re not honest and above board, it’ll be hard for you to be a long term service provider to anyone so always be above requirements when it comes to being ethical. Remember, legal isn’t always right.

Active Listener — When listening to someone it’s on you to understand what they are saying and ask the right questions to increase understanding.

Problem Solver — Able to figure things out on your own for the most part, or know who to ask.

Creative — While you don’t have to be an artist, sometimes you have to be technically creative to find solutions to doing a job completely online that you may not have considered.

Opportunistic — Able to see a great opportunity when it comes before you, make fast decisions and move forward.

Planner & Organizer — Having the ability to coordinate yourself and other people will come in handy as an online service provider.

Knowledgeable — You must be an expert in your niche to be effective with your service business.

In addition, to have an online business you need computer and technical skills. You need to know how to work your computer and the various software that need to be used to complete your tasks. If necessary, you’ll also need to be able to help your clients learn their computer and technology too. If you don’t know how to check your email, upload and download files, and get around on the Internet you’ll need to learn those basics before having an online service business.

Top 10 Online Marketplaces for Selling Your Services

by Nicole Munoz

Selling your services on the internet is one of the best ways to make a consistent income online. Unlike starting a new web business, the income is virtually guaranteed. It’s also consistent, provided you continue to put the work in.

The trick is making sure you have enough clients. Finding clients is one of the biggest hurdles people face when they’re selling their services online.

Different kinds of services work better in different places. Here, we’ll talk about the top places to market your services. Do note that specific industries, such as freelance writing, voiceovers or graphic designers often have their own industry-specific marketplaces. We won’t be covering those here; instead we’ll be covering marketplaces that work for everyone.

These are the 10 top marketplaces you can go to sell your services.

Marketplace #1: oDesk

https://www.odesk.com

oDesk is another freelancer marketplace that works a lot like eLance. The interface looks quite different, but the underlying mechanics are very similar.

The escrow system on oDesk works a little differently than eLance. On oDesk, the system favors the freelancer more than the contractor. If the freelancer doesn’t deliver on their work, there’s no way for the contractor to get their initial deposit back.

As far as raw traffic goes, oDesk actually has more then eLance, according to public web traffic data.

Marketplace #2: eLance

https://www.elance.com

eLance is one of the largest freelancer marketplaces on the internet. They’re one of the oldest and most reputable.

The way it works is pretty simple. People who’re looking for freelancers post up a job description. You look at jobs that you may be interested in and place a proposal. If you get picked, the money goes into an escrow account until you deliver the work.

eLance uses an escrow system to protect both sides of the transaction. Their system makes it easy for clients to hire you for repeat work.

Marketplace #3: Freelancer.com

http://freelancer.com

Freelancer.com is a marketplace that heavily emphasizes technical projects, like web programming, web design, IT, software, mobile and administration.

Most jobs on Freelancer.com are for about $200. The best way to create a consistent flow of income is to find your own stable base of clients who hire you for repeat projects.

Marketplace #4: Guru.com

Guru.com has a very intuitive interface and is very easy to use all around. Their rating system is top notch, secure and easy to understand.

What freelancers tend to appreciate about Guru.com is its SafePay system. This system more or less guarantees that freelancers will get paid quickly once the job is done.

Marketplace #5: Fiverr

http://fiverr.com

Fiverr is a marketplace where everything is sold for $5. Any service you can think of, from building backlinks to drawing cartoons for people to generating eBook covers can all be sold on Fiverr.

Fiverr is a fantastic place to go if you’re just getting into online freelancing and want to see some quick cash. It’s not the best place to go for a large income, as $5 is truly a low price point.

Marketplace #6: Warrior Forum

http://warriorforum.com

The Warrior Forum sports a large and very active marketplace. The marketplace is very specific to internet marketing related services.

You can sell services related to writing, graphic design, website administration or marketing. Other services, like voiceovers, personal assistants, data entry and so on tend not to do as well.

If your services fall into one of the categories that the Warrior Forum caters to, you can general quite a lot of business by using the Warrior Forum’s system.

Marketplace #7: Digital Point

http://marketplace.digitalpoint.com

Digital Point’s forums work quite a lot like the Warrior Forum. Services related to marketing are posted in thread format for employers to see. Each kind of service is broken down by subsection.

In general, prices on Digital Point are lower than the Warrior Forum. If you’re positioning yourself as low priced and high volume, you’ll be able to get work from Digital Point. It’s much harder to position yourself as high priced on this market.

Marketplace #8: Zaarly

http://www.zaarly.com

Zaarly is a marketplace that works by matching people who have skills up with people who need to hire people – All locally.

If you’re a cameraman, interior designer, personal chef or any other kind of freelancer that depends on local markets, Zaarly can be a fantastic place to sell your services.

Note that Zaarly is not a good place to sell non-local services like content writing or programming.

Marketplace #9: Craigslist

http://craigslist.com

Craigslist services is another great place to sell local services. From massage to guitar lessons, from graphic design to lawn mowing, Craigslist is a fantastic place hang up your shingle.

Again, Craigslist tends to focus on local services. Even if you’re offering a service like graphic design, prospective clients will still often want to meet with you face to face.

Be sure to also look in the Gigs section to see if others are looking to hire someone of your skill set.

Marketplace #10: People Per Hour

http://www.peopleperhour.com

Although this is a British website, as a native English speaker you will be able to find jobs ranging from copywriting to programming. If you have graphic designing skills, be sure to check this website for new online work opportunities.

These are ten of the top online marketplaces for selling your services. We’ve covered a number of market-like websites, as well as local online marketplaces, forums and some less conventional marketplaces as well.