I´m always harping on work at home moms to get themselves a site, no matter how small, online. It´s so important to have a web presence in today´s tech-savvy world, a place on line where people can find you and buy your products.

With that being said, there are a few things you need to keep in mind when designing a site. Here is a good article to read on that: 5 Essential Traits of a Home Business Website.

Enjoy your Sunday!

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If you are like me, you probably have to do a lot of research online. It can get very distracting! For example, this morning I came across this site on The Worst Jobs in History, thanks to a blog I read, Work at Home Revolution. It really has nothing to do with anything, it´s just a fun site . . . and StumbleUpon can be a really fun way to waste time as well!

For me, the best way to deal with sites that are interesting, but not useful to my work is to bookmark them. I use Google Bookmarks. You can set up your own folders, so I have a folder marked “to read”. There are also folders for my main blogs and sites as well, so if I am working on an article about progesterone and happen to come across something interesting for my wedding blog, I just save it into that bookmark folder. The next time I need inspiration for a blog post, I have info at hand.

You can also try using Google Notebook, although I find it a bit unwieldy. You just highlight the text on the website and save it right into the notebook. If you come across three or four articles that have information you would like to save, just grab the needed parts. This means you need to read the article though, in order to decide what to clip.

So, how do you maintain your focus when doing work related stuff online? Everyone has different methods and I would love to hear yours, just leave a comment.

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I learned about CafePress ages ago, but never really got it set up. Recently, while researching an upcoming article on setting up your own online store, I re-discovered the site and decided to see if I could make it work.

This is one of the items you will find for sale on my new CafePress store, a cute little onesie. It says “WAHK (work at home kid)”, this design is also available in toddler and child size shirts.

I also have three adult designs available for moms and plan to add more shortly. It was pretty easy to set up once I got going.

So, how does CafePress work? You just have to sign up for an account and choose a name for your store. You will be able to choose between a Basic account or a Premium one. With Basic, the free option, you can only have one of each item in your shop. For example, I can´t have a red WAHK and a blue WAHK onesie in the same store. Premium allows you to have as many items as you like, plus complete customization, but it will cost you $6.95 a month, or $59.95 for a year. I plan to upgrade once I have a few sales under my belt. It is also worth mentioning that you can set up as many stores as you like with a Basic account.

Then you need to upload an image or two and select products to feature the image on. You can use a paint program or Photoshop. I have Photoshop, so I just did up some really quick designs. You can also use photos. Add text or extra details in your graphics program of choice and upload to CafePress.

Once you have your images loaded, just pick the item you want the image on. There are dozens to choose from, from shirts to mugs and calendars, underwear, sweaters and stickers. You can see a preview, choose which colors you want, and set your prices. It is pretty easy to use, although the site could be a bit more user friendly in general.

Do you have a CafePress shop? Share your thoughts and experiences with us in the comments.

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 How often have you dreamed up the perfect business idea . . . only to realize that you don´t have the money to start it? Lack of capital is the main reason people don´t start their own businesses and for moms, this can be even more difficult, since we tend to spend our extra cash on things for our kids, instead of saving it for a business.

Every one wants to earn part-time income or plans to start a home business but managing capital becomes a problem. You have a couple of options when looking for money to start your home business. Banks not only provide complete loan information but also approve loans for small business. The financial advisors of the leading banks do inform their clients about bad credit loans as well as offer complete assistance on auto insurance deals, which can help you out if you will be using your car for business purposes.

You can also look at setting aside part of your monthly income for future investment in a business. Although it may take longer, this method is good because it gives you time to think your business idea through, work on it and then set it out in a business plan. While waiting for the money to accumulate in your bank account, you should be planning out every detail of your business.

Other options for financing your home business include loans from family and friends, selling off unused items (a yard sale or Ebay can be just the thing to earn the money for a new business venture) and finding a business that has a no cost startup, using it to fund your more costly idea.

How did you fund your business?

Do your children ever write letters to Santa? Then you probably know about the various Santa letter businesses that are around. You write them a letter and Santa writes back, for a fee. Why couldn´t you make money doing just that?

The holiday writing business isn´t just restricted to Christmas, you can capitalize on a number of other holidays. Why not become the Easter Bunny for Easter or a ghost for Halloween?

This is a business that is easily set up online. Set up a webpage for your business and write up some sample letters to give people an idea of what to expect. You can personalize one of three or four form letters and send them to expectant children. It would be a good idea to have a form on your site to get some basic information about the child the letter is for so you can personalize it even more. For example, you might want to mention that Liliana was such a good girl this year, helping with her new baby brother, Andre, that she will be getting something extra special.

If you get enough traffic to your website, you can earn quite a bit of money. Not to mention, it´s a lot of fun! Imagine making hundreds of children happy while you earn money? Not a bad job if you ask me.

Alice and Mila, over at Mom´s Talk Network, have put together a series of home-based business ebooks and one of them is all about the Santa letter business. If you are seriously interested in starting this type of business, it would be a good idea to pick up a copy. The book tells you everything you need to know, right down to how you can get that North Pole postmark that makes your letters so authentic.