Working from home is a great way to stay home with your kids while still supplementing the family’s income. On the flipside, it can be challenging to be mother and employee at the same time. Your stress level will rise quickly when you have deadlines to keep or phone calls to make while your little ones are acting out. Implement a few of the ideas below to prevent Work at Home Mom Burnout.

1. Don’t work more than you have to. Money isn’t everything. You family needs a happy and sane mom.

2. Create a schedule or to-do list both for work and your personal life. Just realize that you won’t always get everything done and don’t worry if you don’t. There’s always tomorrow.

3. Designate an errand day. Spend one day a week running around town getting everything done for the week. This is when you will grocery shop, drop things off at the drycleaner, go to the post office and anything else you need to do.

4. Enjoy your kids. Take some time to play with them every day. Have a picnic lunch in the yard, take them on a little field trip or just play catch for a while. You’re a work at home mom because you want to spend time with your kids. Work and house chores can wait while you play.

5. Go out on a date with your spouse. Make date night a regular occurrence and connect with your lover.

6. Have lunch with a girlfriend. We need some adult conversation every now and then. Make time to stay in touch with your friends.

7. Call a friend. If you are having a bad day, call a good friend and just talk for a little while. You’ll be relaxed and rejuvenated when you get back.

8. Get some exercise. Go for a walk, join a gym, or try a Pilate’s class. Exercise will not only keep you in shape, it’s also a great de-stressor.

9. Play some upbeat music and dance around the living room. Who cares if your kids and the neighbors think you’ve lost it? You are having fun and are releasing all that build up physical energy.

10. If you own a business, stick to one until it more or less runs itself. Don’t burn yourself out by trying to run several businesses at the same time.

Start implementing a few of these ideas today and watch your stress level go down. You will prevent work at home mom burnout and get to enjoy life more. Your family will appreciate spending time with a fun and relaxed mom. That’s what it’s all about - spending quality time with your family

Nell Taliercio is the owner
and founder of http://www.TelecommutingMoms.com - which is a leading resource website with
work at home jobs and everything a telecommuting mom would need. Come visit
us today!

Are you keeping up with everything for your CPA regarding your work at home business?

Do not expect your tax preparer to get you every deduction coming to you if you aren’t keeping up with it all! There are many ways you can deduct items you may not be aware of. If you work from home, and it is your own business, you may need to look at what you are keeping up with for your CPA when tax time comes.

You can deduct a portion of the space you use to conduct your business, including the cost of internet service, the cost of your computer, your telephone bill, electricity, and any items such as lamps or filing cabinets that you must have in order to conduct your at home business. Stop right now and make a list of everything in your immediate space. Chances are you can deduct a portion of the cost of these items, including the cost of operating them.

It’s better to be safe than sorry

So you take a little extra time to document the lunch date with your Mom (did you talk about your business?), the wedding you attended last week (how many miles did you put on your car? Did anyone ask you what you have been doing? Did you mention the work at home business?)

In fact, make up some business cards (tax-deductible) and be sure to give them out everywhere you go. That “event” is a tax-deductible expense if you do.

While on vacation

1. Drop a business card in the jar at the restaurant (then your meal might be tax deductible!)

2. Stop by a few places known to allow posting of business cards such as Laundromats, Grocery stores, etc and stick a business card on the bulletin board (there’s your travel expense!)

3.Be sure to make a couple of calls to your downline or potential customers while you are out.that keeps your cell phone on the tax preparer’s list

Do you employ your kids?

Did you know that wages you pay your kids over age 7 could really help you at tax time? You do not have to pay social security tax on them if they are under 18. This is a huge benefit often overlooked! Even if you just pay them minimum wage to help you clean up your files every Saturday!

Do you do any at-home entertaining?

Yes, it is deductible! Be sure your guests know what you do. That is all! You may be able to deduct the entire expense.

Bottom line: when in doubt, save that receipt and be sure to keep it organized. Your CPA will thank you, and will likely get you a bigger break at tax time!

Karen Kay is employed full time at Grantham Poole CPA’s in Jackson, MS. She works at home part time with her husband, Michael, for Nutronix, Inc., a Wellness Marketing Network. For more information, email at kk_weeks@yahoo.com. Website: http://www.automaticbuilder.com/kkweeks

Early this year, Google released their new policy. They were unhappy with several different urls all linking to the same site showing up in their sponsored advertising search results and said that they would only be showing one single url . The highest bidder with the best clickthrough rate in the results would not only get pole position but the only listing.

Why did Google implement this policy?

To stop duplication of ads leading to the same merchant when affiliates bid on the same keyword. This is to ensure a diversity of ads in the results and more probably although not stated by Google, to stop the pay per click ads losing their effectiveness. As each ad would now go through to a different url, one user would be more inclined to click through on more of the results listed. As a result, Google will also be removing the url which used to have to be included in each ad.

How does this affect the work from home affiliate? As there is now only one spot per url, then you will be bidding with all the other affiliates or even the merchant and you will need to have the most effective clickthrough campaign to get a listing. Now more than ever the importance of landing pages will come into play. By creating redirection pages that have a different url to the affiliate link you can still bid on the same keywords and have a unique url. Now, if you can get the SEO of the page right and find other affiliates selling a competitor’s product who will exchange links, or better yet still pay for a link on your landing page, then you could get your foot firmly planted in the door. The reason for this, is that many sites that before had a high SERPS for the affiliate links are now being pushed “off the radar”.

At NZPCS we have been experimenting with this over the last few months and the results are incredible.

We expect a tapering off effect as more affiliates recognize the importance of creating landing pages.

A whole new service industry will arise as a direct result of this and we are already seeing products being marketed that claim to achieve the goal of sub-diverting the effects of Google’s new policy. In one experiment we conducted for a very competitive set of keywords, we achieved a result of one out of 125,000,000 results returned and also had our landing page show up in the same results; giving us twice the hits.

It’s early days yet, but we believe this has opened a whole new opportunity to gain ground with, or in fact overtake, sites that had the advantage of years of linking campaigns. Probably the most important thing we discovered is the seeming ability to gain better results than pages that have correct html and alt tags. We deliberately avoided using alt tags, made a few html errors and faired better in the results than competitors’ fault-free, flawless pages. We also wrote several keyword loaded articles and increased our SERPS in a few days, by playing around with Blogs and Google’s Beta sitemaps.

How does this help the home business affiliate? Our opinion is that there is now a level playing field and those that start developing the techniques of using landing pages and keyword loaded articles will have a huge advantage over those that decide to battle it out for the most effective combination of bidding and ad clickthrough ratios. With the removal of the compulsory showing of the url, visitors also won’t be able to differentiate affiliate links from Merchant links, till they arrive at the url. This also makes for some very easy page layout for publishers with Adsense accounts, as it has become even simpler to make Google ads appear as in site links.

Justin Boyce is program Director of NZPCS Directory to dollars work from home business. The program teaches how to effectively market online using mediums including safelists, forums, articles and blogging. He has developed several traffic arbitrages techniques which have been instrumental in his sites attaining top spots in highly competitive keyword categories. He also has some controversial views on SEO techniques but you can’t argue with his top ten SERPS on the three major search engines some in as high as 125 million results returned and his 200 to 300 thousand unique site visitors monthly.

It is a big step from being employed to working for yourself, so plan as far ahead as possible and think about the effects on all areas of your life to prepare yourself, before you leave your job.

With corporate cutbacks, many face being laid off through redundancy. This can be the trigger for starting a home based business. If you are made redundant try to negotiate as many extra benefits as you can from your employer: for example pay in lieu of notice, use of company equipment such as mobile phone or computer. Also see if there is any training your employer could pay for, to help you in your business, such as internet skills.

If you have no other income, you will need some savings to carry you through your business start-up period: work out basic living expenses for six months and try to put at least that sum aside. Don’t forget that you will need to provide for benefits you may have received from employment, such as health insurance, pension contributions or a use of a company vehicle. Of course, if you have a spouse or partner who is employed and is willing to provide these necessities during your start up phase, you are buying yourself extra startup time.

You can work from home by starting a business from scratch or joining a legitimate work at home business opportunity, affiliate program or franchise. Working at home means you can do something you enjoy, “sack” your boss, and avoid a lot of the daily stress faced by employees. The home based business industry is expanding rapidly and research suggests that revenue from home businesses will increase by up to 17% a year for the next five years. Home based business can mean a consultancy, franchise, affiliate program, network marketing, party plan, internet sales, and many more.

Of course you will want a comfortable and quiet work area, ideally away from the rest of your household. This is important not only to reduce noise, but also to create the psychology of being “at work” and not “at home” when you need to concentrate. While some lucky people do manage to start their home business from the kitchen table, you’ll find the separation will help you run your business much more efficiently. Don’t forget to allow space for storage and meeting visitors, if your business involves this.

When you are working from home to help your business succeed, sometimes long and unusual hours, it is easy to ignore both your physical and mental health. The usual advice applies - proper diet and exercise, and even if you don’t have a family at home, don’t work all the time. Entrepreneurs often report that the one aspect they miss in home working is the contact with colleagues, so be sure to maintain a social life, possibly through a business networking or support group. Try to surround yourself with positive, supportive people, and be sure to explain your business idea fully to your family. They will be a critical part of your support system. Those who love you the most aren’t usually trying to stand in your way - it’s just that starting a home business may be something unknown to them, and like everyone, they tend to be fearful of something they don’t understand.

Benefits of a home business

Working from home is a different way of life from 9-5 employment and offers benefits - monetary or lifestyle - that can far outweigh those found as an employee. Whether you work at home already, are thinking about it, or your life circumstances now make working from home necessary or possible, be sure to think these benefits through as you choose your employment options.

Financial benefits are not always the prime motivator. Many people are willing to take a reduction in income to enjoy the lifestyle benefits of working from home. There is a huge sense of freedom in being able to plan your own timetable. You can make appointments, do your shopping, and run other errands without trying to fit everything into a lunch hour or on the way home from work when everyone else is doing the same thing. You can take advantage of a glorious day to go on a long walk with your dog, or stop to watch sport for an hour in the afternoon. You may need to start earlier or finish later to compensate - but the point is that you have this freedom when working for yourself.

Another big benefit of working at home is a reduction in stress. Of course, any business will bring its own pressures, but there are certain stressful situations that can be avoided by working at home. and the less stressed you are, the more energy and enthusiasm you have, energy that can be spent on your family or business! The daily commute can literally be a few feet to an office or other work area. You can avoid the stress, time and wear and tear involved in the traditional daily commute, and literally add two hours to your working day.

Choosing the right business for you

Many people facing the threat of being laid off do not have a clear, transferable set of skills that they can use in their own business. For example, an engineer can see a number of uses for the skills used in their former job. For the rest of us a little more imagination may be needed. The key to success is to keep an open mind and do not dismiss an opportunity because it is different form things you have done before. Look around at the opportunities available for online and offline businesses, surf the net, visit sites that offer advice. Also remember that you could be involved in more than one business.

There is a wide range of business opportunities to consider, including Affiliate programs, Internet based businesses, retail sales, network marketing or MLM, and party planning. Many are highly reputable companies with successful track records. It’s important to find out as much as possible about the company and to contact those already involved so you understand any risks you may be taking, how long before you can reasonably expect to make serious money, and what amount of work is required to make that money.

Be practical in your expectations of a home based business: enormous income in a very short time is unrealistic, and a legitimate home business will not promise this. However, many offer a steady residual income stream that can increase gradually. It takes a certain amount of time to build any successful business. By starting and maintaining a legitimate home-based business, you can achieve your dream of being your own boss.

Adrienne Davis runs Brilliant4Biz.com, and has produced a Free Directory of Home Business Opportunities filled with Money-Making Tips.

She also produces Kevin the Collie Dog Training Tips, a Must for any Pet Owner.

About three years ago, I received the first email from Nigerian scammers. They have different methods to introduce themselves. Some of them claim that they work on some Nigerian banks and need someone from another country to help them to transfer a huge amount of money. They say that the previous owner of the money has lost his/her life in a car accident or airplane crash and they couldn’t find any other member of family to give the money to him/her and.

Click here to reads some samples of the letters and stories they send to their potential victims:
http://www.work-at-home-topics.com/scams

What to do if you receive a Nigerian scam letter?
1- Do not respond to it.
2- Notify your own nation’s national law enforcement agency and your own nation’s foreign office.
3- File a complaint with the Nigerian embassy or high commission in your nation.
4- If the contact from the scammers was via email, write their email provider at their “abuse” address (abuse@yahoo.com, abuse@onebox.com etc.) And include the scam message with its headers; complain about the scam message; and ask that the account be shut down.

Why they focus on people who look for business opportunities or have internet business opportunity websites?
They know that people who look for business opportunities or have internet business opportunity websites are eager to make money. On the other hand, they know that making money is not easy and these people always look for a better way to make more money, faster and easier. So they will respond to scam letters more than the others.

Please prevent scammers!
If you promote a business on internet, you can easily help to prevent scammers to cheat more people. One of the best ways is placing a separate page on your website with a visible link on the home page to inform your website visitors about these criminals and scammers. Try to educate your websites visitors who can be the future victims of scammers. People should know about them and the ways they use to cheat and if so, they can never be fooled by them.

If you promote a MLM or affiliate program, you’d better to inform your referrals about scammers. Most of your referrals are new to internet and online business opportunities and so they can easily be cheated by scammers. This is your responsibility to educate them about scammers because you have referred them to the new world of internet with all its good and bad things.

Always keep yourself updated about the new ways that scammers use, their websites and everything related to them. Try to join work at home business opportunities forums like http://www.work-at-home-topics.com/forums and let others know about your experiences and also know about others experiences. Also try to take a look at article directories like http://www.work-at-home-topics.com/articles every now and then and learn about new scamming methods. Only if you know about them, you can easy distinguish and avoid them and also help the others to avoid them too.

Work At Home Topics Team is a group of working at home people who try to make working at home and finding reliable work at home jobs easier: http://www.work-at-home-topics.com
This article can be distributed but not sold as long as no single word is modified or deleted. Work At Home Topics Team owns this article and in every publication of this article, this copyright notice must exist at the bottom:
© Copyright 2005 Work At Home Topics Team. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.