eBay – Hobby or Business?
eBay is a great way to get bring in extra money. You can start slowly by selling a few items you have been meaning to get rid off and grow until eventually you’re buying and selling items in bulk through your own eBay store. The level of growth is really up to you.
There certainly are no limits to how much money you can make on eBay it all comes down to how much you want to get out of it – if you treat it as a hobby then, well you’ll make pocket money. If you treat it like a business and think big – then you’ll be an entrepreneur on your way to success.
If you haven’t yet sold an item on eBay, have no fear it isn’t too difficult to set up your own auction. eBay themselves has a whole section with tips for making the most out of your auctions. As mentioned, start small with a few items and grow from there.
One thing to keep in mind is that feedback is extremely important on eBay. You want to make sure you have a positive interaction with all your buyers and that your feedback is spotless. The best way to ensure good feedback is to make sure you describe your items as accurately as possible so there are no misunderstandings (if something has a scratch then say so), contact the buyer right away after an auction, ship the items promptly taking all the necessary precautions and be courteous in providing prompt feedback. It’s not rocket science but merely good customer service skills. Always go beyond what’s expected and people will recognize that, and remember you.
Once you’re ready to go BIG with eBay you can think about drop shipping (this is where you don’t hold or ship any stock and a third party provider provides and ships the goods for you for a percentage fee). You’ll need to do your homework before you try drop shipping as there are some unfortunate scams out there. You can also think of opening your own eBay store and really expanding.
The possibilities with eBay are endless it’s simply up to you whether you treat eBay as a hobby or really commit to building a full-time income around it. To learn how to make it BIG with eBay, visit http://www.MomsTalkBiz.com/make-money-ebay.html
Free Guide to Earning with Affiliate Programs
Free Download: Beginner’s Guide To Earning With Affiliate Program
We hear all the time about making money with affiliate programs and you probably have joined a ton of programs and have little to show for them. Is everyone lying to you? Sadly, some people do but Nicole Dean doesn’t. She doesn’t say you’ll be a gazillionaire in 30 days nor will you be able to completely wipe out your debt and be a sun-bathing, pina colada sipping model by the end of the year.
Nicole has written a quick reading report that clearly outlines the 5 simple steps you can bringing in the extra $50 or $200 and possibly more using affiliate programs. No inventory for you to carry, no parties, no customer support. Just blogging and wisely recommending.
You can pick up a copy of the report here.
Outside My Comfort Zone
As a WAHM, I have a circle of WAHM friends that I have met online. We share in our successes, offer advice when we get stuck and we’re there for each other whenever any of us have a bad day. We understand and support each other as we each live life as a work at home mom.
However, to grow as a person and a business professional, I’m thinking I’m going to have to step outside of my WAHM comfort zone here pretty soon. You may be asking “You own an online greeting card business, why on Earth would you want to do that?” Well, there are a couple of reasons.
I have been a WAHM now for 4 years, and so far I’ve been able to conduct all of my business online. But now that I’m looking at both kids being in school for the first time this Fall, I’m looking at ways to take advantage of the business in my own ‘backyard’! That’s right – I’m branching out offline.
I’ve already checked the local paper for the times and locations for meetings of business networking groups, and plan to call our local Chamber of Commerce to find out when they hold their meetings. (Hopefully this won’t conflict with my youngest’s school schedule – don’t know if he is in morning or afternoon Kindergarten yet.)
Let’s say I go to the next meeting and there are 30 people there; statistics show that the average person knows 250 people…. Well, if each of those 30 people in this networking group knows 250 people, who knows how many of them may need my greeting card service?
By showing up regularly for meetings and events, eventually I will get to know the other members. The conversation will eventually lead to the subject of what each of I do for a living. When they, or someone they know, are in need of my services, I will be the first person they think of to ask for help.
Besides, it might be nice to get dressed up and get out of the house!
