- ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_
-
- EPnews -- from The Entrepreneurial
Parent
a work-family resource for home-based entrepreneurs
@ www.en-parent.com
February 9, 2000
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Do you find EPnews useful?
Please forward to a friend, or recommend it to your favorite
Web site or
e-zine. Thanks for your support!
For easy reading, simply print
out this newsletter.
_______________CONTENTS_______________
- The Funny Things EP Kids Say
& Do!
EP Times -- "Beyond Schedule C"
Oxygen.com Spotlight
Making Money Matters -- www.redheadsfancy.com
What's Happening at EP
--EP of the Month
--January Contest Winner
--January Poll Results
--New Content
We Recommend
MORE Funny Things EP Kids Say & Do!
__________________________
Editorial Note: EPnews is distributed
the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of every
month. The Entrepreneurial Parent web site is updated on an ongoing
basis
throughout each month -- feel free to check in regularly via
the What's New
banner on our homepage. Welcome
all new subscribers!
~____~_~____~_~____~_~____~_~____~_~_____~
A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR
Sell your services to thousands
of businesses from over 120 countries on
eLance.com: It's FREE to register and FREE to use. eLance.com
is a global
marketplace, allowing you to interact with thousands of businesses
seeking
your services. Come sell your services at eLance.com NOW!
<<http://www.elance.com/home?rid=SV4>>
~____~_~____~_~____~_~____~_~____~_~_____~
THE FUNNY THINGS EP KIDS SAY & DO!
=====
Submitted by EPnews Subscriber,
NAEP member AND Winner of the January
EP Gift
Basket Contest (!), Paula Aiello (mailto:[email protected]):
Last week, we received the final
prints of my 18-year old's Senior Portraits,
taken in the traditional tuxedo and looking very dignified. When
I put the
framed portrait on the shelf, my 4-year old son asked, "Is
that Nathan when
he was older?" I laughed, "No, that's Nathan just dressed
up." To which he
replied, "for Halloween?" I guess he wasn't convinced!
=====
Why work at home? So you can hear the funny things your EP Kids
say
throughout the day. Share with the EP Community something your
child said
or did recently that made you smirk, giggle, or LOL. Send your
submission
via e-mail to:[email protected].
And if you need a stockpile of smiles
to get you through your EP day, pick up your own heartwarming
copy of Grace
Housholder's "The Funny Things Kids Say":
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0963871536/theentrepreneuri.
On those stressed-out EP days,
you'll be glad you did!
____________________________________
EP TIMES
-- AN EDITORIAL
"Beyond Schedule C"
© 2000, Lisa
M. Roberts
As the ominous tax season approaches,
many EPs turn toward their books (or in
my case, shoe box), to sum up the previous year's efforts in
dollars and
cents. This annual ritual is not only to keep things clean with
Uncle Sam,
but to evaluate the year's revenue, expenses, and in a word,
"profit" --
which usually all shows up in black and white on a single piece
of paper
called a "Schedule C." For many an EP who toils away
day after day in a home
office to keep their professional career afloat while engaging
in the primary
work of raising very young children, this can be a depressing
task. But over
the years I have found that there are other meanings to the word
"profit"
that are not associated with any monetary value at all.
In my book, "How to Raise
A Family & A Career Under One Roof: A Parent's
Guide to Home Business," I go into detail about the rewards
a home business
brings to one's sense of self, including challenge, diversity,
independence,
professional growth, contact with like-minded professionals and
domestic
freedom. While there's not enough room here to cover the topic
in full, we
can briefly take comfort by referring to the Webster's Unabridged
Dictionary,
in which the FIRST definitions of the word "profit"
are: 1) proficiency,
advancement; improvement; 2) advantage; gain; benefit.
With this perspective in mind,
how have YOU profited by working at home in
1999? Before you answer that question, consider the following:
---> New Client Relationships.
Have you picked up any new clients in the past year? Even if
the initial
projects with a new client are small, if you've made a good impression
by
meeting or exceeding expectations you've "advanced"
your home business a
great deal. It takes time to build a trusting relationship with
a client and
hopefully you're both in it for the long haul.
---> New Contacts.
Have you made a strong connection with any new EP peers online
or in person?
Have you met and conversed with any other new business colleagues
or
professionals in your field? How about members of the press or
other media?
Every new contact can help you advance your home career in terms
of
opportunities, public perception and personal support.
---> New Hard or Soft Skills
Developed.
Have you picked up any new computer skills, sharpened your writing,
or taught
a class for the first time during the past year? Here's where
the term
"proficiency" comes in, another building block for
that high
income-generating home career of your future...
---> New Business Skills Developed.
Did you research, launch or grow your business in the past year?
Every day
you are self-employed you are "improving" your entrepreneurial
understanding,
knowledgebase and competency -- all factors that are working
together to move
you closer and closer to your financial goals.
---> Family Rewards.
Here is where the concept of "advantage," "gain,"
and "benefit" come into
play full swing. For those of us with an innate desire to put
family first
and career a close second, no further explanation here is necessary
-- just
give your loved ones a hug and a smile and thank them for sharing
their days
with you!
In today's society, where the
barometer of success is too often measured by
one's annual salary, the preparation of an EP's "Schedule
C" can be a
sobering affair -- and even a point of contention among family
members. But
if you can keep your mind and heart focused on the broader definition
of
"profit" as you gather together your business receipts,
related utitility
bills, invoices and bank statements, you can retain a sense of
pride in your
year's accomplishments -- regardless of what you pencil in on
the bottom
line.
(If you'd like to share how you
have "profited" outside a financial
assessment from working at home in 1999, please write to us at
mailto:[email protected].
Let's share. And here's to a more "profitable"
2000 for all!!)
=====
Lisa Roberts is the mother of four, Web Producer of The Entrepreneurial
Parent, LLC and the author of "How to Raise A Family &
A Career Under One
Roof: A Parent's Guide to Home Business" (Bookhaven Press,
1997). Copies of
her book are available for purchase at: http://en-parent.com/order.htm
and
through Amazon, at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0943641179/theentrepreneuri
_____________________________________
OXYGEN SPOTLIGHT
Has anyone caught Oxygen's new
commercial on prime time TV lately? What about
their new cable channel which just launched 02/02/2000? Don't
forget to keep
your eye on Oxygen.com -- there's so much more to come! Meantime,
catch
Lisa's column at Oxygen's business & finance site, www.ka-ching.com,
which
runs Friday afternoons and throughout every weekend at:
http://www.ka-ching.com/business
The latest subjects are:
"Connectivity Solutions
for the Home Office"
"Wanted: Helping Hands for a Home Business Owner"
"The Free Agent Workforce: What's It All About?"
"Love in the Afternoon" (coming up this Valentine's
weekend)
Also, any time you'd like to
ask Lisa a question directly, stop by her
message boards at:
http://boards.ka-ching.com/cgi-bin/webx.kc?13@@.ee6b46a
Or stop in for her weekly chat,
Monday nights at 10:00 p.m. EST, at:
http://www.ka-ching.com/community
All EPs are welcome!!
____________________________________________
MAKING MONEY MATTERS
Being available to your kids
and managing a career under one roof sounds to
many like the best of both worlds, but without pulling in some
kind of income
what's all the effort for? OK, one answer is in the above editorial,
but
still...Making Money Matters!
Let's hear how YOU earn your
keep as an EP. (Please keep in mind that this
column is here to spark marketing ideas for the already-established
EP, not a
venue to recruit aspiring EPs into a business opportunity, so
no MLM or
packaged business opportunity submissions please.) To take our
survey,
mailto:[email protected]
with the subject heading "MMM Survey." We look
forward to hearing more about you!
This month Harriet Bitar, Owner
of Redheads' Fancy Cosmetics -- a unique line
of cosmetics specifically designed for redheads and other fair-skinned
women
-- shares her marketing tips with us. Harriet is an EP to one
pre-teen and
one teen, and her contact info is:
Harriet Bitar
Owner
Redheads' Fancy Cosmetics
URL: www.redheadsfancy.com
Email: [email protected]
Ph: (860) 426-7337
Postal Business Address: P O Box 413, Southington, CT 06489
=====
1. In a 2-3 sentence statement, explain what your home business
is about,
including your target market and "mission statement,"
and how your
"brainchild" was born.
Redheads' Fancy offers cosmetics
to redheads, auburns, strawberry blondes,
whether natural or otherwise and those with fair skin, in colors
right for
their unique complexions and coloring. While searching for a
carreer which
would make an income and still allow me to be available to my
children, my
gaze shifted to eleven tubes of lipstick which were promised
to be my color
but had turned out to be good enough only for my daughter's dress-up
box. My
research started with stopping redheads on the street to see
if they fancied
the same, only to find that they did!
2. What are the most popular products and/or services you sell?
How much do
you sell them for (or what's your hourly rate), and how did you
find the
right price/fee schedule for them?
Redheads' Fancy features lipstick
for $7.50, lip liner pencil for $7.50 and
nail polish for $5.50 for redheads and some blondes. I have just
created a
new line of eye makeup: "Fairchild," a collection of
mascara, eyeliner pencil
and brush-on-brow color all for $7.50 each, for all fair people,
in shades
light enough for them. Even though I offer a unique product which
has a
strong demand, I still want to keep it affordable. To price the
items, I
simply looked at the medium to low end prices already out there
in popular
cosmetics products and made sure that my products were comparably
priced.
There are some rules of thumb to follow when pricing: double
the raw goods
price or triple it, and I made sure that I could still do that
while
maintaining the low comparable.
My most popular items are the
"Fairest" shades of mascara and brush-on-brow.
Some of my customers say that finally they don't look like a
raccoon with
too-dark eye make-up.
3. What are *your* favorite products and/or services? Why do
you like to
sell them?
My personal favorite is the "Fairest"
brush-on-brow because I now have
eyebrows. My brows are naturally very fair, barely visible and
this is just
the right shade for them. I love selling all the products because
I've found
a comradery in other redheads that I only wondered about. They
all seem
grateful to me for discovering these colors for them.
4. Tell us a bit about your marketing campaign. When did you
start noticing
your first sales (after which marketing technique), what marketing
efforts
have you noticed yield the greatest results, and how do you make
your first
contact and subsequent sales (via online, phone, fax, mail, face-to-face)?
Because mine is such a different
kind of business, I got coverage from the
press. As the newspapers began featuring Redheads' Fancy in their
columns,
the phones began to ring. The newspapers were by far the biggest
pull but
the coverage was short-lived. I have placed ads in ethnic magazines
and have
set up a display at their festivals to target my market, which
also worked
for a while. I find that one has to take every opportuntiy to
get the word
out and it has been a combination of avenues which is working
for Redheads'
Fancy. The Internet has been great.
5. Any additional comments are
welcome.
Be watching my website for "Fairchild." Since the line
is new, it will take
a little while to get it onto the site. Customers may give me
their snail
mail address for a "Color Selection Guide," my catalog,
which has the lip and
eye make-up colors on it. They may order from that.
_____________________________________
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT EP
1.) New Feature -- "EP of
the Month" (!!)
Karen Murray, "The Coupon
Lady"
http://en-parent.com/Profiles/Murray.htm
Background: One of our NAEP members,
Anne R. Wenzel of Econosystems.com,
recently submitted an idea for our web site & community that
we think is
terrific. She said, why not highlight an "EP of the Month"
so we can all be
inspired by an entrepreneurial parent's success story?
Shortly afterwards we received
an email from Karen Murray, also known in her
local community as "The Coupon Lady," who happened
to tell us a story about
how she approached a local grocery store owner to see if she
could offer one
of her "coupon classes" in his store that would be
free to the community and
to him. This very sharp grocery store owner saw in Karen an innovative
way to
enhance customer service, and gladly signed her on -- in fact,
HIRED her to
teach 6 classes per year and THEN asked her to become his "Consumer
Advocate." For the past year, Karen and her new "partner"
have teamed up to
spread the word about both of their entrepreneurial enterprises
-- they go to
different civic groups, PTO's, church groups, etc. where Karen
will be
introduced as the store owner's "Consumer Advocate"
and he then asks for
suggestions from the groups as to how he could make his store
what they
wanted. (Imagine a grocery store owner that asked for the CUSTOMER'S
input??)
Their local community LOVES the concept. As a final nod to this
duo's sharp
PR intuition, they have agreed that Karen stay connected to the
store as an
independent contractor so that she represents the people, not
the store, and
their community knows it.
Talk about a success story! And
one after the heart of our own deB -- who
recently put together our new "Frugal Resource Center"
in addition to writing
her monthly "What's It Worth?" column on time &
money-saving tips :-).
Sooo...come check out what Karen
Murray, our very first "EP of the Month,"
has to say at:
http://en-parent.com/Profiles/Murray.htm
FYI, as of now on, we plan to
select an EP each month from our new member
forms based on unique and successful business practices (from
names to
PR/advertising to niche markets) and offer them a FREE Profile
Page at the EP
Showcase. So spread the word among your friends and let's build
the EP
Community together -- along with our collection of success stories!
2.) EP Gift Basket Contest
We have another winner! Paula
Aiello of San Ramon, CA was randomly selected
to receive our January EP Gift Basket. Here are some words from
Paula, and
the items she has selected:
"Many thanks to the EP community
and especially to the contributors for my
January gift basket! I'm proud to be a charter member of NAEP,
and I'm
counting on EP to help me keep my balance in 2000 as I juggle
my family life
(4 kids, ages 4 to 18 + my wonderful husband), my law practice
(I'm a
California attorney practicing probate, estate planning, and
elder law), and
my "personal" life (is there such a thing?!) ... Let's
hang in together!"
The gifts I've chosen are:
Busy Woman's Planner: BOOK TOTE/PURSE
(BLUE) ($34.95) -- donated by Susie
Glennan, www.thebusywoman.com,
Ph: 800-848-7715 (orders only) 805-644-3151 (regular line), Email:
[email protected]
Moms Network: MOVIE PASSES ($16)
-- donated by Cyndi Webb,
www.momsnetwork.com,
Email: [email protected]
E-Scent-ials: NATURAL HEALING
BATH BAG ($2.50) -- donated by Jeralynn Burke
and Linda Faust, www.E-Scent-ials.com,
Ph: 847-298-3474, Email:
[email protected]
Organized Times: OFFICE ORGANIZING
101 BOOKLET ($5.50) -- donated by Debbie
Williams of www.organizedtimes.com,
Ph: 281-286-9512, Email:
[email protected]
Babycakes Designs: 8X10 PAINTING
FROM PHOTO ($40) -- donated by Susan
Swingholm, Ph: 713-349-9718, Email: [email protected]
THANKS AGAIN :-). Paula.
=====
Do you want to win our next EP Gift Basket -- filled with $100
worth of
donated prizes from EPs that YOU select? As an EPnews Subscriber,
you're
automatically eligible to enter! Just go to the following URL
and take our
next poll:
"What is your favorite way
to save time or money for your business?
(Household frugal living tips welcome ONLY if they're very original!)"
Aspiring minds want to know!
Go share at:
http://en-parent.com/contest.htm
And see what our Contest Sponsors
are offering this time around at:
http://en-parent.com/contest-sponsors.htm
NOTE: We Need New Contest Sponsors!!
We're moving this contest from
a monthly to a bi-monthly to give our Contest
Sponsors longer exposure on our site. If you'd like to donate
a product or
service and spread some good will among the EP Community AND
a good word
about your business, please contact us at mailto:[email protected].
We'll
be happy to include your full contact info & link to your
site on our Contest
Sponsorship page (even after your prize has been selected, your
info will
remain on the page); and when your prize is selected we'll also
run your full
contact info in EPnews. Come join us!
2.) EP January Poll
We polled over 165 EPs during
our January contest and learned a great deal
about the plans and problems members of our community face. Again,
the
question was:
"What is your No. 1 business
resolution for the new millennium?"
Here were some of the results:
=====
Top 10 Resolutions (in order of popularity):
1. To make more money
2. To be more aggressive w/ sales and marketing
3. To get organized!
4. To (finally) launch a business
5. To work harder/ be more productive/ buckle down
6. To offer better customer service
7. To make better use of the Internet
8. To get a better handle on time management
9. To cut spending
10. To have a better work-family balance
=====
Editor's Pick of Favorite Responses (Please note -- author names
are withheld
because we forgot to ask permission to quote on our form. In
future
polls/contests, we will have an appropriate box to check so you
can get
credit for your quote if you want to!):
The Most Relevant Resolution
to EP Life:
"To walk out the front door
when I want to knock off work, tell myself I'm
going home as I walk around to the back door, enter and sing
out, "I'm home
kids, I'm all yours!"
The Most Passionate Resolution:
"Organize, Organize, Organize!!!"
(3 separate entries came in exactly this
way!)
The Most Specific Resolution:
"To broaden the area in
which I teach my couponing classes from 1 town to 5
towns."
The Most Articulate Resolution:
"Up to now, my business
has been dependent upon my time for its growth and
income. My goal now is to build revenue streams that will generate
income
beyond my time."
The Most Inspiring Resolution:
"To be happy with doing
as much as I can do in one day."
The Most Bizarre Resolution:
"To not wear ankle booties."
=====
Other Favorites:
"To take more risks. I have
to admit that since I started my company, which I
am so proud of even if it is fairly small, I have pretty much
done things the
safe way. The New Millennium has given me courage to give my
whole company a
new look."
"My number 1 business resolution
for the New Millenium is to take time out to
draw up a business plan. I have plenty of business to draw a
salary and be
profitable. I may have to turn down work unless I hire one or
two
telecommuting employees. I need to focus on the most profitable
ventures to
ensure cash flow to be able to pay and provide benefits for my
employees.
I've been able to wing it for the first 9 months, but I don't
think I can get
away with it any more."
"To spend more time working
during the day, instead of at night! zzzzzzzz....
This will make my family very happy (especially my husband),
and I will be a
more productive EP because I can rise early, exercise and be
very "together"
during regular business hours instead of while others are sleeping."
"To simplify and streamline
my time while cutting my stress level due to
having too many balls in the air all the time. I plan to do this
by focusing
my energies on the really important things while cutting out
time-wasting
activities as well as reducing activities that may be worthwhile
but aren't
among my top priorities. I also plan to say "no" more
often."
"To cut expenses while increasing
profits, hiring more qualified people at a
higher hourly rate to avoid the rapid turnover of finally trained
employees,
to put more time and efforts into marketing, trying new ideas,
and not
working so many hours a week because life is so short. (If I
could do even
one of these resolutions for the year I would be happy!)"
"My number One Business
Resolution for the New Millenium would be a little
phrase I like to call "follow through." So many times
a project idea is
brought up in a meeting, and the concept is unlike any we have
ever thought
of. Most often, those kinds of ideas take long to develop with
lots of time
and energy. Anyway, if the company would just invest the love
that a
creative project needs to grow, we would be a most powerful business.
But
sadly, most mouthed ideas fall through the cracks and never mature
to a
successful reality. So as we enter into the new millenium, the
way we follow
through with things needs to change. And it will! For sure!"
=====
New Content:
Tax Season is in full swing.
If you're a telecommuter, can you use the Home
Office Deduction? When you start a new biz, do you have to get
a Federal ID #
or stick with your SSN? Our EP Tax/Finance Expert, Jan Zobel,
has this and
other answers to pertinent tax questions at:
http://en-parent.com/Experts/exp-zobel-QandA.htm
Are you looking to use your administrative
skills in a work-at-home
arrangement? Find out what ideas Nancy Collamer, our EP Part-Time
Career
Expert, has for you at:
http://en-parent.com/Experts/exp-collamer-QandA.htm
Your Business Articles:
7 Golden Rules for Working on
a Shoestring Budget by Kimberly Stansel
http://en-parent.com/Articles/art-stansel.htm
12 Fabulous Resources Every Bootstrappin'
Entrepreneur Should Know About by
Kimberly Stansel
http://en-parent.com/Articles/art-stansels.htm
Seller Beware (an article on
collecting fees due) by Janet Attard
http://en-parent.com/Articles/art-attard.htm
_____________________________________
WE RECOMMEND
We are very pleased to introduce
and recommend our new sponsor of The
Entrepreneurial Parent for the month of February -- eLance.com!
eLance makes
it quick and easy for you to buy and sell services with people
and businesses
from around the world. Thousands of people from over 120 countries
now use
the eLance marketplaces for web and graphic design, software
development,
business services, research, data entry and much more. Buyers
and sellers use
eLance to find each other, to negotiate the deal and even as
a platform for
delivery of the service.
Did you know that EP turns down
advertising dollars every week from
work-at-home "business opportunity" companies? While
we recognize that many
are legitimate, we feel strongly that the best shot EPs have
at a
long-lasting home career begins not by buying into someone else's
business
plan, but by doing the self-assessment needed in any job/career
search.
At eLance.com, you'll find legitimate
companies with specific projects in
mind that may match your specific skillset. Again, take the link
and see for
yourself:
http://www.elance.com/home?rid=SV4
=====
Get your name published and win a free book!
Hello fellow parent,
Elizabeth Pantley here - parent
educator, mom of four and author of Kid
Cooperation, Perfect Parenting and my newest book: Hidden Messages
(available
Sept 2000). I'm in the process of writing my fourth book. This
one's really
fun - or shall I say FUNNY! It's a look at the side of parenting
that
mainstream parenting books don't cover - the goofy, the hilarious,
and the
embarrassingly funny. I NEED YOUR FUNNY STORY! If you want to
share your
moment in my new book I'll publish your name and give you a free
autographed
copy, too. If I use your story in my book, I'll add your name
to it like
this: Mary B., mom to Jessie and Kayla, Tennessee - and I'll
send you a
personally autographed copy. If I don't use your story I'll still
say thank
you with a discount certificate off the price of the book. Please
send your
story to me at: e-mail: [email protected]
or by snail mail at: 5720 - 127
Avenue NE, Kirkland, WA 98033-8741.
PLEASE NOTE: Our own EP Expert,
Grace Housholder, also collects funny kid
stories for her weekly e-mail column and books. She's the one
who inspired
us to do our own "Funny Things EP Kids Say" column.
To receive the delightful
and original weekly "Funny Kids" e-mail column send
a blank message to:
[email protected],
and to contact Grace,
mailto:[email protected].
______________________________________
MORE FUNNY THINGS EP KIDS SAY & DO!
Let's close up this e-zine with
another LOL!
=====
Submitted by EPnews Subscriber Wendy Brown (mailto:[email protected]):
=====
One evening my family and I were
sitting in the living room, and we were just
beginning to watch the video, The Lion King. My two-year old
daughter looked
at my husband and me and said, in complete earnest, "Wait
a minute. Do lions
and tigers and birds really talk?"
(My husband and I were laughing
so hard that we couldn't even answer her for
the first couple of minutes...)
___________________________
CONTACT/SUBSCRIPTION INFO
The Entrepreneurial Parent, LLC
is not engaged in rendering legal or
financial advice. If expert assistance is required, the services
of a
licensed professional should be sought.
This newsletter may be redistributed
freely via the Internet. Re-publishing
of separate articles for your print publication needs approval
first; write
to: [email protected] for permission.
© 2000, The Entrepreneurial
Parent, LLC
Editor: Lisa M. Roberts
EP Webmaster: Deborah Sechrist
POB 320722, Fairfield, CT 06432; http://en-parent.com
Ph:/Fax: (203) 371-6212, Email: [email protected]
Community email addresses:
Subscribe: [email protected]
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List owner: [email protected]
Shortcut URL to this page:
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|