If you’ve decided to be a work at home mom (WAHM) you have a lot of options to explore. You might decide to telecommute, work for a company from your home. You could be interested in starting your own business. One option that is appealing for a lot of WAHMs is to join a direct sales opportunity. That might be the perfect work at home option for you too.

Here are some reasons why joining direct sales can be a great option for WAHMs.

• A proven business model that works. – When you join a direct sales opportunity, you are in business without having to start your own business. Instead, you are joining a business that is already set up. That means you don’t have to come up with a business idea or wonder how to market yourself. Those things have already been planned and developed for you. As well, you will have access to marketing materials and maybe even a website that are already made up for you.
• Set your own hours. – A lot of WAHMs find direct sales appealing because you can set your own hours and decide who you work with. If you only want to do parties on the weekend, there is nothing stopping you from doing that. Or, if you prefer to work in the evening when you have childcare or your husband is home with the kids, you can do that too. You have a lot of freedom in deciding when you work and how much time you spend on your business.
• Small investment – There is usually a small cost associated with joining a direct sales company. You will need to pay for any samples and perhaps your own marketing collaterals. You might need a business phone, a cell phone, or a fax machine to be accessible to your customers. But compared to what you would spend on starting your own business from scratch, this is actually a very small investment.
• Sell a product you like and believe in. – When you get involved in direct sales, you can choose the company you work with and the products you sell. That means you can sell a product you believe in and are really passionate about. If you like what you sell, you will be a more effective sales person. Products range from cooking, to books, to lingerie, to skin care and much, much more. Whatever you are interested in, you can find a product to suit you.
• Opportunities for career growth and development – Once you join a direct sales company, there are usually opportunities for career growth and development. In some companies you can become a manager by having people under you in your downline. Not only is that good for your business development, you can also earn a percentage of their sales. That means that direct sales can also be very lucrative for those who are successful at it.

Direct sales is a good choice for WAHMs who want to work with an established company, sell a product they love, and have the flexibility of owning their own business. If that sounds like something you would enjoy, direct sales could be the perfect work at home job for you.

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When you run a home-based business it can be rather difficult to juggle all the responsibilities you have all in one place. Work at home moms (WAHM) may have even more difficulties making the time to work.

You live in your home but you are working out of it too, so what happens when those responsibilities begin to co-mingle? It seems there isn’t enough time for everything or everyone in the day and finding a balance can be frustrating at times. When the kids are at school this isn’t as difficult. You know what time they go to school and when they will arrive home. Every business has office hours and your home based business should be no exception. Set the work at home hours to coincide with the children’s schooling. You know just how much time you will have in between to take care of business. During the summer months and various holidays, however, this can be a more challenging task.

Because you are self-employed you can’t just take time off whenever you choose. Time means money and not working means not making any, so the alternative then becomes finding a way to juggle kids with work. The key here is to give them something constructive to do while you are working, something that makes them feel like they are important contributors to the task at hand. This way you will know what they doing at all times while still being able to take care of important business. Working while enjoying the kids events is a great way to mingle your WAH activities. Another is to give your children chores that relate to your business. This way they earn their allowance, learn business skills and help you out as well.

When it comes to computers, kids are usually just as, if not more, technically savvy as the adults. If you are going to let them use a computer, make sure it is one earmarked especially for leisure time. That way you have a computer for business and they have one for fun. Encourage them to use the computer while you are making important phone calls or sending out e-mails.

If you do not own two computers and allow the kids to use yours, give them specific times when this will be possible. Give them a separate log in so they won’t be able to access your important information. Back up everything in your computer. This is crucial even if you don’t have kids, but always remember accidents can happen. This may be especially true if you and the kids are using the same computer.

Manage your work at home time well. Most WAHMs are more likely to be diligent in working with a timetable when kids are around than if you are by themselves. This will make tasks much easier. Also keep in mind it may be necessary to work outside what are considered to be normal working hours and this can mean grabbing an hour or two when you can get it. One effective way to work around this is to try and match your off-hours work schedule with kids’ activities that don’t require your assistance or involvement. For example, you might choose to make calls or write your blog posts while the kids are doing their homework.

For smaller children give them constructive activities to accomplish. If your kids love to draw, stock up on art supplies. Allot them a workspace that is theirs and encourage them to be creative. Giving your little ones special games or activities that are only available when Mom is working will make them feel special and more apt to be cooperative when you are trying to get things done.

Working at home requires planning. When you make some plans and systems that will provide balance between family and work your WAH business is sure to prosper. When you incorporate WAHM time management systems into your business you will increase your income from your business on the long term basis. Learn more work at home tips at: http://www.CreateACashFlowShow.com

Are you constantly on the lookout for help with your direct sales business? Do you secretly long for a good, solid network support system?

Running a direct sales business can become taxing, if you aren’t careful. It is easy to become overwhelmed with a full, busy work schedule. When you add a family to the mix, you suddenly realize that you’re juggling one too many balls at once.

With a little help from the Internet, you can have complete access to a great radio program that will help you find balance, enhance your business smarts, and increase your networking skills.

What is a Podcast?

A Podcast is audio (or video) files that are published online. They are readily available for instant download to a personal computer. You can also playback the files on a mobile device, such as an iPod or any other MP3 player.

Podcasts have become wildly popular over the last couple of years. More and more radio programs are being built and distributed using this method. Because you can have access to the radio shows 24/7 and can download them into your mp3 player to listen to on the go, they are increasingly common among households in America.

How can a Podcast radio program help direct sales WAHMs? – Direct sales businesses include a wide gamut of opportunities for work-at-home-moms. With the pressures of building and maintaining your home and business, you need constant support, ready and at your fingertips at any and every moment of the day.

With a direct sales radio program, you are able to hear interviews with other successful WAHMs. You can also learn ways that other direct sales moms have found to balance home and work, as well as experience a measurable amount of success in their businesses. A direct sales radio program can give you tried-and-true tips from other “real” work-at-home-moms, just like you.

Can a simple radio program really help direct sales work at home moms like you? Absolutely! So tune in and listen to one today!

Kristina Cottrell manages several online websites with resources that help direct sales consultants generate leads and build their teams. Visit http://www.PartyPlanCompanies.com for information on businesses you can join. Visit our Internet Radio Show as well, http://www.directsalesradioshow.com.

In my many years of Party Plan direct selling I have seen it time and time again… women come home from their annual convention fired up, determined that by next year they’ll be able to walk the stage in the top 10, earn the cruise and have enough income to purchase their dream home on the ocean. It is great to come home motivated and excited about your company. Having big dreams is a wonderful thing!

Sometimes, however, it’s just not realistic for the average WAHM who wants a life outside of her business. Because she has just heard some wonderful goal setting advice from the top leaders in our company she sets those wonderful goals, posts them on the fridge with a picture of the dream home circled in red pen and she looks at them every day.

But the reality of it is, many work at home moms have life boundaries that they are unwilling to cross. And those boundaries will make it very difficult to achieve even one of those goals. Because of this, unfortunately, many women who could have a wonderful and fulfilling career in direct sales quit because the goals they’ve set are just plain unrealistic for where they are in life. Instead of enjoying the benefits of a business with the freedom and flexibility to earn some money while still living the rest of life, they assume they’ve failed because the unrealistic goal was just that… unrealistic for now.

That said, if you’re a mom like me who has a full life with other involvements and time commitments that you are unwilling to shelve even temporarily for your direct sales business, you might enjoy an unorthodox approach to goal setting. I like to call it Goal Getting.

With Goal Getting you are looking at your life and determining exactly what you can expect from your Direct Sales business based on your priorities and life commitments. Basically, you’re working backward from the usual goal setting process.

First, let’s lay some groundwork. If you are married, talk with your husband about your schedule. If you were to say to him, “Honey, I’m planning on being out four nights a week for the next 6 months so I might earn a cruise,” what will he say? What about three nights? Two nights? Is one night a week or even one night a month the more realistic schedule for you? You can always come back to him after you’ve written down your schedule (see next step) to add in an extra day or two or more.

Now, here’s where the work comes in. If you don’t already have a master family calendar, it’s time to get one! Get a nice big calendar with room to write in each day of the month. Pull out all the schedules you have, school, church, mom’s groups, bunco nights, etc, and put them all on there for as many months out as you can. Do you have date nights with your hubby regularly (if not, you should… but we’ll save that for another day)? Is there a TV show that you absolutely will not miss for ANYTHING and are not willing to record? Be realistic here ladies…some moms come into a business and say, “Oh, I can sacrifice ‘Survivor’ to do a party” but then the first time a party comes along on that night, and they resent having to give it up. Do yourself a favor and admit it…and schedule around it!

Do not just look at evening activities, but write in the daytime stuff too. Think through a typical week for your family. You want a realistic picture of what is there. So few women do this but it’s a worthy exercise no matter what home business you are in but particularly with Direct Sales where being away from home for a party or workshop is a given.

Now, take that full calendar back to your husband and work together with him to determine how many and which nights would be best for you to be away. Meet with the rest of the family and talk over what this is going to look like so everyone is on the same page.

The groundwork is laid…now let’s GET the goals…

1. Find out from your company what their average party/workshop sales are. This will likely be your average too and even if your totals are higher, use this average for the goal getting process since it will allow for cancellations, reschedules and the like.

2. Based on your commission structure, and basic costs of doing business, determine how much you’ll take home from an average party.

3. Multiply that number by the amount of parties you’ve determined you can do in any given month.

Ok, now what do you think of that number? Not bad, huh? Do you want it to be higher? Talk with your family again and see if there are any changes that can be made, but remember that those changes will mean sacrifices in other areas of your life. That’s fine but just remember that you cannot have it all!

Although many hope for it, most in the home party plan business will not reach the $100,000 annual achievers club and the company incentive trip while still being the president of the PTA, singing in the church choir, being the Girl Scout Troop leader, having a date night with your husband and maintaining a spotless house where husband comes home to every night to a rested wife ready to meet his every need!

However, even with a full life, you CAN make a nice additional income, purchase your own products and gifts for others at a discount and maybe even earn an incentive or two. And who knows, when the kids are older and the scout troop no longer needs you as leader, you can add a party or two to your schedule and earn that cruise.

Annette Yen lives a full and happy life as a homechooling work at home mom. With over 20 years of direct sales experience she loves sharing her love for direct sales with other moms. You can get a free Goal Getting Worksheet and other tools for your direct sales business at her site http://www.directsalestools.com.

If you’re starting a new direct sales business and feeling overwhelmed with web 2.0, you’re not alone. You’re already busy setting up your business and now you’ve got to think about having an online presence too. Where do you start, right? I can relate because I was trying to implement everything at once and felt so burnt out. To be successful, you don’t need to do everything i.e. pay per click, article marketing, video marketing, social media, and so forth. You can always add on. Keep it simple and implement a few things.

Keep your focus on mastering a few things like setting up a blog or web site. It’s better to be an expert on a few topics rather than being a generalist and doing everything with mediocrity.

Here are 5 tips to have an online presence:

Set up a Blog – There’s a ton of online resources on blogging. Whether to choose WordPress or Blogger, why blogs increase more traffic then a static web site, and so much more. You will find more info than I could offer in this short post. However, here are three tips: narrow your topic to a few “niche” ones or on topics that you have a lot of knowledge in. You cannot be an expert and cover everything! Concentrate on writing great content and continue learning copy/ad writing. Plan on adding at least 2-3 posts a week to beef up the content of your blog. Until you have enough content, some blog search engines like BlogCatalog won’t accept your blog submission. Some excellent blogs to check out are: Copyblogger, Problogger.net, and Dailyblogtips. Commenting on other blogs in your niche market is a really good way to build rapport with other bloggers and learn from them too.

Syndicate Everywhere  Content is king and so is syndication! The importance of syndicating your blog will increase your search engine rankings and create more visibility for your blog. If you’re not indexed by search engines i.e. Google, Yahoo, RSS directories, or blog search engines then you’re not being found by your prospects, customers, and potential business partners that are looking to join your business.

Tip: think keywords and search words or phrases whenever you’re writing but don’t fill every single line with keywords either. Balancing strong keywords and writing in a way that’s engaging to your audience. Don’t write just to fill up space.

Social Networks If you do a search for social networks, your head will spin because there are so many. Invest in building genuine relationships on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Facebook to me is more friend-ish and Twitter can get you spammed by a ton of peeps promoting their business opportunities and products. I’m becoming a huge of LinkedIn and the potential of LinkedIn’s groups. Sometimes smaller niche social networks will give you greater visibility in reaching a more targeted audience.

Tip: Don’t get sucked into socializing because it will be counter productive. You can be productive and socialize by keeping it to 30 minutes a day on social networks. With Twitter, focus on Retweeting if you find something valuable and use @reply to engage with your followers and start having conversations. Do NOT spam your followers or constantly promote your products or business opportunity.

Niche Social Networks – Niche social networks can be a great resource to meet people in your niche market. Ning offers thousands of groups and LinkedIn is excellent and has huge potential. There are forums for direct sales and network marketing entrepreneurs. Groups are also a good place to meet people that are selling similar products or share similar interests. For example, WAHM forum has thousands of members that are in direct sales and network marketing. If you’re in the clothing or fashion business, you might check out Stylehive, which has a community, tags, and group for like-minded people. Social bookmarking sites are underutilized and quite effective!

Leverage a Community – Start commenting on other blogs in direct sales. Add their blogs to your Blogroll, link to their posts often, syndicate by Retweeting or share with your Facebook friends. Your direct sales pals will appreciate it if the content is relevant and valuable. Reach out to your team members and uplines that have blogs. Ask them to link your blog to theirs and network with fellow consultants. As long as your goal is to help build each other’s business, the collaboration will enhance your business and you’ll develop new friendships too.

Janette Stoll is a WAHM and proud member of the direct sales, network marketing business. I’m passionate about teaching home business entrepreneurs how to market their direct sales business using internet and attraction marketing techniques to attract quality prospects to their business. For more free tips, visit http://www.marketingdirectsales.com

Work at home moms are highly susceptible to distractions while working. There are the obvious distractions that small children can provide, however when working from home, friends and family can often stop by to say hello. When this happens, it can mean that the day’s work can get further behind.

This does not mean that work at home moms cannot be productive in the work environment. Most work at home opportunities allow you to create your own work hours and create your own dress code. In fact, most moms feel that if it weren’t for the casual dress code, they would have more difficulty performing their work.

The hardest decision that work at homes mom will have to face is which business opportunity is worth the effort of pursuing. There are more than enough opportunities that exist, but it is often difficult for moms to choose the program that suits them best. Most companies that offer home assembly of products can pay well, but unless you can be efficient at assembling, there may be better opportunities out there.

Typically, work at home moms have many contacts that are work at home moms as well. Together they can discuss ways to stay home and make money. This exercise can create many new businesses due to the needs of this group. For example, a website was started by work at home moms for work at home moms. They researched online opportunities and discuss the ones that are not scams.

Additionally, moms are able to help each other out making money. If one mom gets busy, she is able to trade babysitting services with a neighbor. Success stories can be shared and by having work at home moms help other work at home moms, this leads to a higher income level for all.

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You went to a home show not expecting to buy much, but then you fell in love with the products, signed some papers, and WHAM you are now the proud owner of a home business. When you wake up the morning after the party, you may feel like you are waking up with a hang over as you wonder, “what have I done?!?” Especially when you try to muster up the enthusiasm to explain the new business venture that you’ve signed up for to your not so enthusiastic and down right unimpressed husband.

If your husband’s cynicism has you second guessing your decision, rest assured you have made a good choice. You are in the right place at the right time. With the fast paced stressful lifestyles of today, many people turn to the internet for after hours shopping from home. Another side effect of today’s hectic lifestyle is that it leaves women disconnected and longing for girlfriend time. So a home party show fills two modern needs: shopping and girlfriend time. It is a concept that was destined to succeed. Maybe that is why the direct party home sales industry is growing so rapidly. According to the IRS tax records from 2005, an estimated 13.3 million people nationwide and over 47.3 million people worldwide that have decided to enter the home party direct sales industry.

It seems like a new direct sale business opens every day. It used to be that Tupperware was in a league of its own and the Tupperware parties were pretty much the only home party company on the scene. But those days of dominance are gone. Tupperware began breaking off into many different subsidiaries set up to target diverse markets. Other companies ran to get in the game.

Now there are companies that specialize in everything from spa, make-up, home specialty products, children’s books, scrapbooking, stamping and so much more. If you can dream it, there is probably already a direct sale company that already sells it. All of this makes it easier than ever to find a company (or several companies) that sell products you love. Becoming a consultant for the company gives you a great opportunity to get the products at great discounts. Plus when your friends and family love it too, you have a great opportunity for part time income.

So even if the fast talking home party consultant that signed you up started to make you feel like a used car buyer with her smooth talking well rehearsed speech about how rosy things will be for you and how much money you will make with her company, don’t feel like you were duped. The truth is, if you are careful and do your research so you can avoid falling into common pitfalls, you can get a lot for a very low cash investment. This book will give you all kinds of tips and suggestions for managing your time wisely and making the most of your business in a short time. Most important, it will give you the tools you need to advertise yourself and your business with enthusiasm.

You were smart to enter this booming market. Sales are setting new records every year. New people are constantly signing up. There are so many opportunities for you if you know how to take advantage of them. So where do you begin? Get new leads with these theme & booking ideas:

Sneak Preview: If someone is interested in finding out more about your products, invite them over for a one-on-one preview of your products. After you’ve shown her all your products, offer a package deal that is too good to pass up! For instance you may put together a group of 10 bestsellers and offer it at a discount. This is not as much as your new consultant bundle that she would get if she becomes a consultant. You do not want her to feel like all you are interested in doing here is sign her up! You really want to generate interest in your products, so just put together a few things that may add up to about $60 or $70 to thank her and get her hooked on your favorite products.

Nights Too Busy to Party: Do a quick get-together over brunch! Bagels, donuts, a fresh pot of coffee and me! Perfect for a Saturday or Sunday morning. In an hour or two your party will be complete and the rest of the day is yours! Each guest who brings a goodie to share will receive a free gift.

Book To Look: Give everyone an envelope that says book to look on the outside and tell everyone that they can open it at the end of the demonstration if they plan on booking a party. Inside I put either coupons or gift certificates for them to use at their show. Everyone is usually dying to see what they receive so they book a show just to see what they get.

Make your parties fun so others want to book with these game ideas:

Get To Know Each Other Game: This game makes a nice icebreaker, especially if most of the guests do not know each other. It can also provide you some clues about who may be a potential prospect. Pass around a bag of M&Ms. Tell everyone to take as many as they would like. Quickly ask them to count the number of candies in their hand. Each person then takes a turn standing up and telling as many things about themselves and their family as they have M&M.s. Of course no one is allowed to eat their M&Ms until they have had their turn.

Purse Scavenger Hunt or Let’s Make a Deal: Remember that old game show, Let’s Make a Deal? At the end of every show, Monty Hall would give audience members money for a specific unusual item. This is the same idea. Divide guests into teams of two or three, giving them a list of slightly unusual items, including a few “why in the world would you carry that in a purse?” items. Assign points to each item based on the likelihood that someone will have it. (a lipstick carries 10 points, a can opener 90 points). The team with the most points is the winner.

Replace It Game: Give each guest an index card. Ask each guest to write down an appliance, piece of furniture or other thing in their home that they would like to replace. Ask them to list 5 or 6 reasons why they would like to get rid of it. When they have all finished their lists, have them cross out the item to replace and put in the name of their husband (or their significant other). Now have each of them read their cards one person at a time. They have to say, “I want to get rid of _______ (Ron, Tim, Bill), because he is, and then list the five reasons. Example: Couch. 1. Old. 2. Ugly. 3. Too Small. 4. Wrong Color. 5. Stinks. Now have them change couch to their husband’s name and when they read it, it goes like this: I want to get rid of Ron because he is old, ugly he’s to small, he’s the wrong color and he stinks.

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Tired of the traditional eight to five office work? There are plenty of options for you to work from home while enjoying the same or even greater income for you and your family.

More people now prefer to work from home not only because of the decrease in stress and additional expenses that come with daily travel to and from work, but also because of the great opportunities for financial, social and career advancement.

Most work at home moms or WAHMs as they prefer to be called have been successful in maintaining a career while taking care of their families at the same time. Work at home moms are a rare bunch because they can multitask and work from home while maintaining their responsibilities as homemakers.

If you are an eight to five employee who wants to get out of the daily office rut, or a working mom who wants to work from home, then you really can have your cake and eat it too. Working from home is easy thanks to all of the opportunities offered by direct sales.

Direct party plans are one of the most preferred options by work at home moms because it can be started with very little capital. The most common memories you may have is the Tupperware home party plan that your mom used to host in your home for her friends. The good news is that it has come a long from its earlier beginnings as a simple buy and sell career involving plastic kitchenware (even so, Tupperware still thrives as one of the largest direct sales companies today).

Direct sales is one of the best home business ideas because it allows a work at home mom to start with a meager capital and with resources that are already available in her home. If you are a work at home mom who boasts a large social network, then that’s even better.

Of course, a work at home mom can start her direct party planning business from a small list of friends. However, a WAHM who wants to be financially stable later on should expand her horizons, and also her client list.

While direct sales has been criticized for being a bothersome work at home scheme, most people prefer to deal with work at home moms who are into direct sales for a lot of positive reasons. It’s a more personal way of doing business which benefits both the work at home mom and the client.

People in party plan businesses can offer a personalized after sales service. You can never expect a saleslady from the local mall to go to your home and advise you on the proper way of applying that blush. However, a work at home mom who is selling cosmetics can just as easily visit you at home and give you make up and other tips. In fact, this is exactly what a party plan is – direct contact between the client and the representative.

Anyone can get into direct sales of almost any product from cosmetics, food, childrens books, DVDs and everything under the sun that responds to a specific market requirement. Any person who has an eye for what is in demand in the market could work from home and be passionate about it.

A lot of people have found their financial oasis in direct sales. Of course, not everyone who works from home and goes into direct sales becomes rich. However, most work at home moms who have been in their business for a longer period of time are now enjoying the opportunity to spend more time with their families while making a healthy living.

Direct selling has become a multi-million dollar industry and if you are someone who yearns to work from home then direct sales may just be the answer to your prayers!

Sam Wolfe is an expert in the field of direct sales, party plans and direct selling opportunities. Her website at direct sales women provides many direct sales and work at home opportunities for WAHMs. Find out more today at DirectSalesWomen.com.