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

I want to apologize for being away for so long, but it’s been a really tough summer here. Turns out that I will now be joining the ranks of divorced work at home moms. This summer I filed for divorce. My ex is a really great guy, we had been married for 14 years and basically grew apart. We tried counseling for about a year and weren’t able to put the pieces together. I am so thankful we are able to remain good friends thru this all.

So now I am on my own. I am excited for this chance to create a life of my own design. Now I have a chance to pursue hobbies, personal interests, and live a truly authentic life. It’s really funny, for the past 10 years I spent so much of my life helping others to create a life they love with their own work at home business. Now it’s time for me to focus that energy on creating a life I love for my kids and myself.

I am doing great. Just learning how to enjoy time being alone. I am a pretty social person. I am trying to stay connected to friends and sticking close to church for support.

I am so thankful for the many friends I have made online. I truly have developed a wonderful sisterhood and network of friends on the internet. Thanks so much to all of you for your love and support. I truly feel loved.

I am so thankful for my online businesses. I am truly blessed to have passive income that has provided for my kids during this difficult time.

Mostly, I want you to know why I have been away. Also, I know there are a lot of divorced and single work at home moms in our Webmomz community. I am gaining a new understanding for your courage, tenacity, and what you do to be there for your kids and put food on the table with your at home businesses.

Are you a single or divorced work at home mom? Have you gone thru a divorce and learned how to support the kids on your own? What have you learned about yourself in the process?

The pain we suffer in life allows us to transform, to grow, and be more than we were before. Let’s share together our experiences and be stronger, bolder, braver women for ourselves and our families.

With much love,

Kristie T

5

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

I rarely dig into politics, but I have a bone to pick.

Have any of you ever had to use a payday cash advance service?  As a work at home mom, we are fortunate enough to write our own paychecks.  But I am curious about all the bad buzz about cash advance services.  I mean have you ever have a financial crisis where you needed money fast and didn’t know where to turn?  Payday lenders allow you to take a payday loan as a cash advance from your next paycheck.  And there is a lot of politics around this issue.

For instance, here is an example of a payday lender.

If you listen to Barack Obama, he is set to close down the payday lending industry. 

Here’s a quote from Barack Obama’s website regarding his payday lending policy.

“Cap Outlandish Interest Rates on Payday Loans and Improve Disclosure: Obama supports extending a 36 percent interest cap to all Americans. Obama will require lenders to provide clear and simplified information about loan fees, payments and penalties, which is why he’ll require lenders to provide this information during the application process. “

He says that payday lenders are a corrupt industry that feeds upon consumers, trapping them.  They get caught in an endless loop of one loan, then the next, and then finally defaulting on their personal loan or owing huge amounts of money for the interest on the loan.

But if you look at the flip side, cash advances provide a desperately needed source of income for people with real cash emergencies.  If your daughter got sick and needed an expensive medicine and writing the check would overdraw your bank account what would you do?  Not everyone has a credit card.  Cash advances provide an easy way for people to borrow the money they need for real emergencies to get them by until their next paycheck.

If you think about what it’s like when you face a real emergency like putting food on the table or making a mortgage payment.  Those are things you need to pay no matter what.  And some people if denied a cash advance may turn to desperate measures like pawn shops, crime, even selling drugs to get the money they need.

If you look at states where the payday cash advance industry has been shut down, it has had a devastating effect. For example take a look at Georgia.  Because the payday lending industry has been shut down, people are bouncing more checks, falling deeper into debt, and bancripty is at a new high. 

The way I see it, in anything there will be people who abuse the system.  People charge their credit cards sky high.  You don’t see them shutting down the credit card industry.

Ok moms - I want your opinion…

What do you think about payday cash advances?  If you had a corporate job and needed money before payday would you find a payday loan helpful?  Or do you agree with Obama that the payday lending industry this is a predatory debt trap. 

2

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

Moms -

Are you looking for a way to make money from home? Have you heard about Send Out Cards and wanted to know more?

Join Kristie T of Webmomz and Send Out Cards leader Amy Kolln for this cool opportunity to hear how real moms are making money with Send Out Cards.

You will learn how …

• one stay at home mom, has grow her Send Out Cards team to over 400 distributors
• one busy mom entrepreneur sold her full time web design business to do Send Out Cards full time and now enjoys more balance as a mom
• why Send Out Cards is the perfect home business for moms
• real success stories from moms making money with Send Out Cards
• strategies for managing a business while caring for small children
• why there is huge potential for moms to join the top ranks in Send Out Cards
• how running a home based business gives your kids valuable life skills and sets a good example for your children
• how running a home business gives you more flexibility to be the kind of mom you want to be

Sign Up to attend this special call Wednesday, May 21st at 1 pm CT

http://www.webmomz.com/real-moms-send-out-cards.htm

7

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

Webmomz is excited to announce Christina Sampson as this year’s business grant winner. Christina is the founder of The Traveling Pot Personal Chef Services.

With her business, The Traveling Pot Personal Chef Services. Christina helps families in the Atlanta, Georgia region by providing delicious, homemade meals cooked right in their kitchen so they can have better nutrition and have save time from meal cooking and preparation.

Special thanks to this year’s business grant sponsors RenegadeHouseCleaner.com and MomsMakingMoney.org for helping to make this gift possible!

Click here to find out more information about this year’s Webmomz business grant winner.

6

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

Sending a letter will cost most starting May 12 with a scheduled postage increase.
Prices will increase in the following increments:
- Greeting Cards and Post Cards: +$0.01
- Newspaper and DVD Inserts: +$0.02
- Canada and Mexico: +$0.03
- Other International: +$0.04
Go to the USPS site for additional details
http://www.usps.com/prices/welcome.htm?from=bannercommunications&page=prices

3

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

Ok, I officially have the coooooolest daughter in the whole world. She entered me in America’s Favorite Mom contest. You have to read the story she wrote about me and the pics she sent in. WOW! That rocks my world. Will you vote for me (and see if your kids will submit YOU for America’s Favorite mom too!). They are giving away like $25,000 in prizes and the top 5 winners get to be on TV. Awesome!

See it here and I’d be grateful if you’d cast a vote too!
http://www.americasfavoritemom.com/mothers-day-2008/mom/Kristie-T-12511

1

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

April 22 is Earth Day - 10 Ways to Go Green with your Home Based Business

1) Turn off lights when you leave a room

2) Shut off computers when you are not using them

3) Print less. Use both rides of the paper. Use chorine free paper. Use recycled paper.

4) Go paperless when possible.

5) Recycle everything you can. You can also recyvle cell phones, pdas, and pagers.

6) Buy recycled and eco-friendly products when possible

7) Save gasoline when possible. Car pool. Take public transportation when possible. Schedule web based or teleconferences instead of in person meetings.

Use nontoxic and organic cleaning products to tidy up your office.

9) Use refillable ink cartridges

10) Use less disposable items for lunch. Use reusable dishes, real silverware, and glasses when possible to cut down on paper plates, plastic cups, and plastic disposable silverware.

Special thanks to Sierra magazine for these great Ecofriendly office tips!

4

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

Does this innocent looking dog look destructive to you? Yes, my sweet puggle Ginger (also nicknamed Destruct-o-girl and the Ging-o-nator) ate 3 keys off my laptop keyboard. Argh!
	While I was still able to type, it looked absolutely awful. — See! I was having coffee with a fellow BNI member who saw my keyboard and told me you can actually order a new keyboard and just install it.
And so I called Dell. Sure enough I was able to get a brand new keyboard for my laptop for like $30. It was super easy to pop out the old one and install the new one. And now I am typing on a brand new keyboard. Anyone else had their dog eat their computer keyboard or other important office equipment?

2

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

I was on a conference call tonight with my good friend Elizabeth Marshall (she is so wise and wonderful - just love her!)

Elizabeth was talking about a book she just read and how that applied to direct selling.

The book is called, “It’s Not About the Coffee: Leadership Principles from a Life at Starbucks” by Howard Behar

Starbucks has truly become a leader in the industry by realizing that they are not in the coffee business at all. It’s not about selling coffee , but about building relationships and working with people.

While there is coffee to be made and lattes to be served, anytime their employees think more about the coffee then the people they are serving, they are pulling away from the mission.

It’s really about….. Making a difference. Building relationships. Making connections.

Here are the key principles the book discusses. Think about how they relate to you in your direct selling business.

1) Wear one hat - know who you are. Clarity and integrity. Where do you want to go. What do you offer. What do you stand for. Find the one hat and be true to it.

2) Know why you are here. Do things because they are right, not because of what others will think. Too often we focus on the tactics and techniques rather then developing relationships with people in business.

3) Importance of thinking independently. How can we help people choose the right way to use their product in a way that will grow their specific business.
Focus on outcomes and the reason’s behind them.

4) Build trust and care like you mean it. People can sense your authenticity. Care about them from the heart first, business second.

5) Listen for the truth. Keep commmunication lines open. Listen in a way that you can uncover real problems and not symptoms

6) Be accountable and practice radical transparency.

7) Think like a person of action and act like a person of thought. Starbucks has had a lot of new drinks. Despite market testing, they found out new drink was good as a sample, but too rich for a full sized drink. Can you listen and take advice to find new innovate ways that better serve the client.

As we face challenges, stick to your principles. As you hit the wall, hold onto what your values are - what you feel is right. That will ground and guide you during the tough times.

9) Importance of leadership and daring to dream. Be bold. Help others be the leaders they were meant to be. Empower others. Lead by example.

I’m definitely going to grab a copy at Amazon. Thanks Liz for the great book recommendation. You rock my dear!

Kristie T

4

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

I’d love to introduce you to someone I really admire and respect…. and that is my friend Jordan Adler. He just turned 50 years old (can you believe it? that’s him in the chair on the beach on the cover — he looks so YOUNG!).

And on Jordan’s birthday he is giving US a gift. Jordan just released a cool book called “Beach Money Creating your Dream Life Through Network Marketing.” In this book, Jordan Adler tells us exactly what he has done to create a million dollar success story in network marketing. And let me tell you, Jordan is awesome at breaking down his system into a blueprint that anyone can follow.

Using the strategies in this book, you’ll learn how to create a cash machine from your direct selling business so you can enjoy the lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of.

Jordan is the real deal. I am 1000% a fan. Using his strategies, I have become one of the top 50 reps nationally for the direct sales company I work with. And I’m going on a Bahama cruise this weekend with Jordan Adler, and my other friends from this awesome organization.

Now here’s the really cool part. Jordan isn’t keeping a single penny of what he is making from the sale of the book. He is donating 100% of the book proceeds to charity. Isn’t that amazing? That’s the kind of guy Jordan is. He is smart, authentic, and a really generous individual — the kind I am proud to call my friend.

Pick up a copy today of Beach Money Creating your Dream Life Through Network Marketing here at www.beachmoney.com/

I hope you’ll enjoy this book as much as I do. I’ll share pictures from my Bahama’s cruise next week on the blog.

Wishing you blessings and outrageous success.

Kristie T

1

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site