At Home News: Presenting....You!

Public speaking can be a great way to promote your business. The June issue of At Home News covers the basics when it comes to developing presentations.

If you're not a subscriber, you can sign up for the free monthly e-newsletter by clicking on the Newsletter tab. I never sell or give out my subscriber list.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Work-From-Home Job Spotlight: Real Estate Agent

Each Thursday, I’m highlighting a work-from-home job or business.

Job Description:A realtor helps people buy and sell homes. Some specialize in businesses and offices.

Education: In the United States, real estate agents much have a license to practice. A high school diploma or equivalent is also necessary. Plus, you must complete a certain number of hours in real estate courses.

Skills: The ability to interact with a variety of clients to help them buy or sell a home.

Job outlook: U.S.Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finds that “employment of real estate brokers and sales agents is expected to grow 11 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Job opportunities will fluctuate with the economy and are, like many other sales occupations, highly dependent on the personal drive, motivation, and sales ability of the individual real estate broker or sales agent.”

According to the BLS, “a majority—about 57 percent—of real estate brokers and sales agents were self-employed in 2010,” which makes this an ideal job for those wanting to work from home.Check out the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook for more details.

Possible employers:Join your local Chamber of Commerce for networking opportunities. Team up with a local real estate office for leads and office support.

Preparation: Join the National Association of Realtors and get involved in your local or state association to polish your skills.

Get your foot in the door: Get the word out to friends, family and others you know in the community. Sponsor (perhaps with other freelance realtors in your area) various community events, such as races, charity fundraisers, and festivals, to spread the word of your services.

Until next time,

Sarah

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More Email Management Tips

When I open my email on a typical weekday morning, between 30 and 40 new messages blink at me. Just getting through the list can be overwhelming at times. "Why you should ignore email" from CBS MoneyWatch provides some tips on getting through the list without wasting too much time.

Deal with an email only once. Either delete or respond right away. Don't leave it for another day.

Prioritize. Delete what you don't need, respond to what you absolutely have to, and delegate what you can.

Schedule email time. Keep this to no more than once or twice a day. Turn off email in between time.

Avoid using your inbox as a to-do list. This doesn't work and it wastes time. Keep your to-do list separate.

I must admit to being guilty of ignoring some of these rules, but will be trying to implement these tips to more effectively manage my email.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Work-From-Home Job Spotlight: Massage Therapist

Each Thursday, I’m highlighting a work-from-home job or business.

Job Description: Massage therapists use touch to relax, reduce stress, relieve pain and rehabilitate injuries of a client’s body.

Education: Most states require massage therapists to have certification or licenses to practice.

Skills: The ability to use touch to manipulate the soft-tissue muscles of the body.

Job outlook: U.S.Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finds that “Employment of massage therapists is expected to grow by 20 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Continued growth in the demand for massage services will lead to new openings for massage therapists.” Check out the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook for more details.

Possible employers:Check out the your state massage therapy association for leads.

Preparation: Join the American Massage Therapy Association. Take refresher or continuing education courses from a certified school of massage.

Get your foot in the door: Consider having a booth at a fair to offer short massages to passersby. Ask a professional organizer in your area or a nearby area if you could shadow her on a client visit to make sure this is a good fit for you.

Until next time,

Sarah

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Small Business Revenue

Intuit recently released a new report showing the health of small businesses. The report found that small businesses in the technology, scientific and professional fields have revenues that exceed pre-recession levels. Health care and social assistance businesses had a small drop in revenue but only beginning in 2011.

Overall, Intuit found that small businesses are slowly recovering from the recession, which is good news for home-based businesses.

How's your business? Let me know by using the contact form on my website and I'll post the results in an upcoming blog.

Until next time,
Sarah

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Work-From-Home Job Spotlight: Copywriter

Each Thursday, I’m highlighting a work-from-home job or business.

Job Description: Copywriters write advertisements and marketing pieces to promote the sale of a product or service, working with a client to craft ad jingles, slogans and themes.

Education: A bachelor’s degree is necessary, plus applicable work experience.

Skills: The ability to develop promotional pieces that will motivate customers to purchase the product or service.

Job outlook: U.S.Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finds that “employment of writers and authors is projected to grow 6 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. … Strong competition is expected, given that many people are attracted to this occupation.” Check out the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook for more details.

Possible employers:Check out leads on job postings on the websites of the Professional Copywriters Association, the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors and Writers Access. Craig’s List and other job boards could furnish leads as well.

Preparation: Join the Professional Copywriters Associationfor additional training opportunities.

Get your foot in the door: Consider volunteering your services for a local nonprofit group to generate a portfolio plus possible contacts with local businesses.

Testimony: From her St. Louis home, Rebekah Matt writes direct marketing and advertising copy for health sciences publishers that sell professional references to doctors, nurses, veterinarians, dentists, and allied health professionals. She spends five to fifteen or more hours per week, depending on the workload and time of year, as some months have more mailings than others.

“Finding uninterrupted time is a challenge. I’ve trained myself to do quite a bit in tiny increments of time,” she says. But she loves working from home. “I don’t believe I could ever work in an office again—I’m spoiled!”

Until next time,

Sarah

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Content Creation

Finding content to post on your blog, website or social media can be a daunting task for anyone, but especially for small businesses. In "5 Ways to Create Dead On Content," John Jantch gives some pointers.

Questions. Think of things your customers have asked you about your business. Or perhaps brainstorm with some friends about what questions come to mind when talking about your business. Then create content around those questions.

Other blogs. Subscribe to other blogs via RSS feeds and see what's being talked about in the small business or home-based business worlds. You might find interesting topics to cover from a fresh perspective.

Publications. Newspapers, magazines and other publications can have news or feature stories that would make a great jumping off point for a blog or other content.

Bookmark Sites. Sites like Reddit and Delicious let you see what others are bookmarking. That might spur some creative thoughts for your own content.

Intentional reading. Look at books or articles with a purpose in mind. In other words, if you're thinking about dog training, read books related to that topic, such as dog training manuals, and tangential books as well, such as human behavior manuals or how to train people to be leaders.

These five points should help jumpstart your own content planning.

Until next time,

Sarah

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