Kristie T’s Home Business Blog Fun, mom-geared work-at-home tips and advice on making money on the net.

One of my favorite things about fall is that once the kids get back to school it’s easy to get back into a schedule.  But without a plan, it’s easy to get busy and not be doing the things that have the most impact on your business.

Today I ran off to IHOP to plan business over some pancakes.  One exciting thing for me is that my web design business (Brandingonthenet.com) has merged with a local Chicago wedding photographer business Imagine Photography (photographybyimagine.com).  Just so happens that not only is it a great business connection because our businesses are so related, but it’s been a LOVE connection too.  Very cool stuff.

So we sat down and looked at our revenue streams and how they tie in and could work together and different things we could do to promote each business and leverage our marketing efforts.

My next step is to put it in writing in a 3 ring binder book we can reference.  One for our big picture vision and how our entities intertwine.  There is another sheet for every project we wanted to tackle with specific to do items.  Then we created a separate sheet for each marketing vehicle and to do items for that.

To implement this, we are implementing a “power hour” where every day we set aside 1 hour to do marketing activities.  When I used to do this in my network marketing business it grew like CRAZY!  So I am excited to do this again and see the results.

And then every week my new beau/business partner Rick and I will meet, discuss progress, choose next steps for the week.  It’s great that we can help each other stay focused and excited.

Do you set regular time aside to PLAN for your business? Head to Starbucks or Panera.  Or if you have tiny kids take them to McDonalds and let them play at the playland while you plan out your business future.

Happy planning! Here’s to focused efforts to get amazing results in your business.  A little planning goes a LONG way!

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One of the big dilemnas  as a business owner is finding a way to thank your best customers over the holidays.

So I have been on a mission to find a great business gift to send to my favorite clients.  This week I found something fun from a local Chicago based company (Popcorn Palace) that rocked my world.  Now popcorn has long time been a favorite treat of mine.  It’s the perfect snack to munch on while cranking away in my work at home office.

I like to know that I am sending out quality stuff.  So I ordered a sample.  When I opened the tin, I dove right in and  WOW!  After a couple bites, it was sooo hard to stop eating.  What I really like is that Popcorn Palace offers some very cool popcorn flavors gourmet varieties like White Chocolate Cinnamon, Dark Chocolate Cherry, and Cookies and Cream.  For the more “wild” at heart, they carry some outrageous candied popcorn flavors like Tangerine, Spiced Apple, and Grape.  (I know my kids would go crazy for those!) And if you wanna kick it up a notch, they offer some fun spiced popcorn varieties including Cheesy Ranch, Jalepeno, and Sour Cream and Chives.

I LOVE sharing the “popcorn love” with clients, vendors, and business associates.  What’s awesome is they will even put your logo on it. But best of all they make and ship your popcorn order fresh for you that day.  Believe me it’s freshness you can TASTE!!! MMMMMMM.

I encourage you to check out the selection of popcorn flavors and packages they offer at Popcorn Tin.  Ok, I am off to put in some of my holiday orders.  Gotta love that online ordering.

What are some of your favorite business gifts you like to give to clients for the holidays?

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