skip to main |
skip to sidebar
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.
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
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
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.
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
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
Each Thursday, I’m highlighting a work-from-home job or
business.
Job Description:
A sewer sews various articles of clothing or household goods, such as bedspreads
and curtains, for clients. Sewers also alter clothing.
Education: None
necessary.
Skills: The
ability to sew.
Job outlook: U.S.
Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finds that “Employment
of sewers and tailors is expected to experience little or no change, growing 1
percent from 2010 to 2020.” However, “job prospects should be best for highly
skilled workers who have experience.” Check out the BLS
Occupational Outlook Handbook for more details.
Possible employers:
Ask if you can put up signs advertising your work at dry cleaners, especially
if you offer alterations. Contact fabric stores about posting information on
their community bulletin boards. Consider offering classes teaching sewing to
expand your client base.
Get your foot in the
door: Offer a special price to first-time clients in exchange for
testimonials you can put on marketing materials, such as postcards, flyers and
your website.
Testimony: Carolyn
Wayland of Midlothian, Va.,
sews around 25 hours per week making window treatments. “Even though I have a master’s
degree in another field, sewing has been a great ‘fit’ for our family,” she
says. She loves being able to fit her sewing projects into her daily
activities. “I still go to my weekly Bible study, grocery shop, etc,” she says.
Carolyn finds the schedule, money, and the satisfaction of seeing projects
completed as some advantages to working from home.
Until next time,
Sarah
Ever wonder what it would take to be a caterer or chef? Then check out the May issue of At Home News, which profiles Mary Hindle with The Green Bird, which caters local, organic, vegetarian or vegan to-go food.
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
Each Thursday, I’m highlighting a work-from-home job or
business.
Job Description:
A grant writer assists an institution, such as a corporation, foundation,
government department or trust in writing and assembling grant applications.
Education: A bachelor’s
degree is required.
Skills: The
ability to research grant opportunities, write proposals, review applications
and develop a business plan are needed in this field.
Job outlook: No
hard figures are available for this specialized field, but with experience and
contacts in the nonprofit world, grant writers should have a fairly rosy
future.
Possible employers:
Check with local nonprofit organizations and foundations to inquire about
possible grant writing work.
Get your foot in the
door: Stop by civic and city/count business events to network with possible
clients. Make a list of local nonprofits and foundations or trusts that you
could ask about grant writing opportunities.
Testimony: Melissa
of Harrisonburg, Va.,
transitioned her previous job into an at-home work opportunity. She now works
around 20 hours per week writing grants and other communications pieces for a
children’s organization. “I’m generally able to fit work into my schedule
unless I have a pressing deadline,” she says. “It’s a challenge with
self-discipline, because I’m not particularly good at that. Every day I struggle
with time for family and time for work—working from home is one more thing to
fit in at home with all the distractions of the housework, kids and husband,”
she admits. “Right now, this arrangement is working for me and my family, and
I’m happy that I can work from home.”
Until next time,
Sarah
As a small-business owner, it's hard to know what records to keep and how to keep them so you can easily find what you need at tax time. " Why Business Owners Need to Keep Thorough Records" posted in the Fox News Small Business Center gives tips on how proper record-keeping could possibly lower your taxes.
Use accounting software like QuickBooks or Quicken to categorize your expenses and income. Keep track of capital contributions. " Any time you transfer money from a personal account or deposit cash from your pocket into a business bank account, you have increased your equity position in the business," the author writes.
Bank interest and owner loans shouldn't be overlooked when setting up your financial records. Don't mix up credit-card cash advances or consumer loans in with your income and expenses--these should be kept separate to avoid confusion. "Not only might the business owner, who obviously needed a cash infusion to begin with, hurt himself further financially by paying taxes on nontaxable income, but he is losing a valuable interest deduction by not properly tracking the repayment of the loan or cash advance," says the author.
Finally, don't neglect to properly record periodic income as "other income."
If you follow these simple steps, you can have less to worry about next time tax day rolls around--and you might find yourself owing less in taxes, too.
Until next time,
Sarah
Each Thursday, I’m highlighting a work-from-home job or
business.
Job Description:
A communications consult assists companies in a variety of ways, such as with
writing (grant, brochure, columns, pamphlets, articles) and with developing
overall communications strategies.
Education: At
least a bachelor’s degree in communication is required.
Skills: The
ability to work on several different projects at once and with a variety of
companies and businesses.
Job outlook: The
U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finds that
“employment is projected to grow about as fast as average. … Overall employment
of advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers is
expected to increase by 13 percent through 2018. Job growth will be spurred by
competition for a growing number of goods and services, both foreign and
domestic, and the need to make one’s product or service stand out in the crowd.
In addition, as the influence of traditional advertising in newspapers, radio,
and network television wanes, marketing professionals are being asked to
develop new and different ways to advertise and promote products and services
to better reach potential customers.” Check out the BLS Occupational Outlook
Handbook for more details.
Possible employers:
Check with local companies and businesses to inquire about possible
communications work.
Get your foot in the
door: Call former employers to see if there is any work on a project. Ask
around at civic and city or county business events to see about work.
Testimony: “I
work mostly from home, going into the office one or two days a week,” says
Julie of Colorado Springs, Colo. She spends about 24 hours a week on her
communications consulting job. “Working from home allows me to supplement our
income and to continue pursuing my interests.”
Until next time,
Sarah
Talk about vindication: Research now supports that talking to yourself actually can benefit your brain. In " Talking to Yourself Might Boost Brain Power," posted in LiveScience, researchers discovered that people who mutter aloud to themselves boost their perception and thinking.
"The general take-home point is that language is not just a system of communication, but I'm arguing it can augment perception, augment thinking," said researcher Gary Lupyan, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
So go ahead--chat it up!You could spur your brain to work smarter.
Until next time,
Sarah
|
