The Community for Catholic Moms
Lets share info about income generation while being a stay at home mom.
Good morning all,
I would like to start a discussion about the problem we all seem to face, earning income needed for our households. Something that I am learning in all the reading and podcasts that I listen to, is that we don't want to put all our eggs in one baskets. I am responding to the latest posts by Christina and Karen about the website for books. It is a WOW website, with lots of possibilities. We all might want to consider adding a revenue generation website to our income generation toolbox. I have researched literally for years this tricky subject of earning money at home, and it is laden with scams or things that just do not work. The older I get, the more I realize that we truly have to believe in something to be able
to sell it with integrity intact. For many years I have heard all the loud voices of the internet marketers screaming about multiple steams of income, and have put that in the same file with the scam artists, until recently. I have been reading lots about it from people who are not selling anything to me, and it has begun to make sense. We should build a sound income foundation, with more than one way to generate income, and no, I am not a MLM person at all. If you can promote the books to friends who are interested in the product, and earn commission, that is awesome, if you mention the books in your blog, even better. But possibly, some of the same people who will be at your scrap booking party may have little children and as you talk about the pages you are creating for your kids, you can begin a discussion about these great books that you love for your kids, give an affiliate link and earn commission on both products.If you earn commission on a product that they want, it does not cost them any more money, the company is simply paying you as their sales person, it does not affect the cost to the customer. We are all great at multi-tasking, so why don't we capitalize on that talent and use it to grow our income as well. Perhaps some hand holding here is in order as we become a trusted mastermind group who can begin to solve this puzzle productively together. Of course, the answer will be different for all of us, but how about all of us bringing ideas that we have checked out and are thinking about, asking for others to review and give input and help each other with the process of due diligence. Each one of us knows things that will help someone else, let's share here. Also, there is strength in having trusted partners. Thanks for introducing all of us to the barefoot book website. Let's go and bring others to our group and things could really start happening here. What do you think? Have blessed days one and all. Grace
I would like to start a discussion about the problem we all seem to face, earning income needed for our households. Something that I am learning in all the reading and podcasts that I listen to, is that we don't want to put all our eggs in one baskets. I am responding to the latest posts by Christina and Karen about the website for books. It is a WOW website, with lots of possibilities. We all might want to consider adding a revenue generation website to our income generation toolbox. I have researched literally for years this tricky subject of earning money at home, and it is laden with scams or things that just do not work. The older I get, the more I realize that we truly have to believe in something to be able
to sell it with integrity intact. For many years I have heard all the loud voices of the internet marketers screaming about multiple steams of income, and have put that in the same file with the scam artists, until recently. I have been reading lots about it from people who are not selling anything to me, and it has begun to make sense. We should build a sound income foundation, with more than one way to generate income, and no, I am not a MLM person at all. If you can promote the books to friends who are interested in the product, and earn commission, that is awesome, if you mention the books in your blog, even better. But possibly, some of the same people who will be at your scrap booking party may have little children and as you talk about the pages you are creating for your kids, you can begin a discussion about these great books that you love for your kids, give an affiliate link and earn commission on both products.If you earn commission on a product that they want, it does not cost them any more money, the company is simply paying you as their sales person, it does not affect the cost to the customer. We are all great at multi-tasking, so why don't we capitalize on that talent and use it to grow our income as well. Perhaps some hand holding here is in order as we become a trusted mastermind group who can begin to solve this puzzle productively together. Of course, the answer will be different for all of us, but how about all of us bringing ideas that we have checked out and are thinking about, asking for others to review and give input and help each other with the process of due diligence. Each one of us knows things that will help someone else, let's share here. Also, there is strength in having trusted partners. Thanks for introducing all of us to the barefoot book website. Let's go and bring others to our group and things could really start happening here. What do you think? Have blessed days one and all. Grace
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Christina Weber on -
Would love to get a discussion going! Since this morning I have figured out that MLM (multilevel marketing) could be used to describe Barefoot Books because they do have independent sales representatives and they have recently organized into teams and there is a commission that goes to the person that is the team leader. But I'm not sure that that is so much their focus.
Grace, have you had any experience with MLM or direct sales experiences such as Pampered Chef, Creative Memories, etc.? Are these necessarily a thing to be avoided? To me, it justs seems to be another way companies are using to reach people who would be interested in their products. I guess when I look at it, if I do decide to go with Barefoot Books and I am compensated for a person buying a book through my website link then that is no difference than if I were a Barnes and Noble employee and were being paid for working my hours. The direct marketing would just allow me more freedom in when and where I market as opposed to having to show up to a store everyday.
Are people more leary of a product or company when they find that it is a direct sale entity?
As for multiple streams of income, I'm all for it! I think the plus of wanting to work at home is that we can be really creative in what we can offer and what we can do. I could see myself marketing books and great educational toys but that could easily morph into a gift basket services for local programs. Some of my mom friends cut children's hair from their homes and then have made paid childcare arrangements that suit their schedules from some of those clients.
It just seems that there can be a lot of room for brainstorming and creativity for viable work at home options that don't necessarily involve direct sales. -
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Permalink Reply by Grace Becker on
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Christina, To answer your question about MLM. Yes, once I got roped into selling telephone service that was structured as an MLM. The deal with MLM is that some of them are simply ripoffs in my opinion. Check with consumer advocates and see what they have to say ie Clark Howard. That is not to say that they are all a bad deal, for example I believe Mary Kay is a MLM and I have friends who love their job. You have to be the right type of person to fit the model. To my understanding, part of the process of the MLM is that the really successful people are more in the recruiting & training business, thus the team leaders. For some people, it is a perfect fit and they love it, for others, they are not true believers in the product and they can't sell it and end up with a garage full of product. You just have to decide what is a good fit for you. The companies you mentioned and more are reputable companies to my understanding, but if you want to know what people really think, just google the name and the word complaints or check My 3 cents and you can get a feel for the reputation. Of course, some of the things could be said by competitors, but you get the idea.
You mention selling their products from a website and being paid commission. That is a great way to start, but you have work involved driving traffic to your website. If you decide to go that route, you may start blogging, maybe doing book reviews and recommendations, a link in the blog to your site with a PayPal button. If you are going to do that, you might go a step farther and add other books that your review with a link to purchase. Did you know that many many site offer affiliate commission if you provide an affiliate link and someone uses that link to make a purchase. Some of those links don't produce huge income, but it adds up, and it simply provides a convenient way for your customer to shop, no additional fee for a product they are going to but anyway. When you would collect your commission for selling one of the books from Barefoot, you are exactly right, it is no different because they do not pay more to buy it from you. The difference in relationship marketing in my opinion is that people may buy because they trust you, they appreciate the service and are glad to buy from you instead of another source. The danger comes in, again in my opinion when someone buys something they did not want or need because they feel the pressure or obligation from a relationship they have with you. That ends up hurting that relationship, and that is the type of selling I personally would want to avoid.
In the sales training that I have had, the best type of sales people are those that spend 80% of the time discovering what their customer needs, and if they can fit the need, 15% of the time explaining the benefits of the product to the customer, 5% actually closing the sale. The percentages may vary, but it is close to that.
I love the ideas you suggested about services that you can provide. Hey, we all know something that others don't. Here is a brainstorming idea I just though of. What if we brainstorm ways to make some fast cash, because for some of us, that would be beneficial. If you are a Dave Ramsey person, in the classes I facilitate, we sometimes have this discussion to help people quickly fund their emergency fund.
This is getting really long, so I will add one last thought to this, if you are a young mom, you can consider starting very slowly as your schedule allows. You could be starting to build a sound foundation for a work at home business that you can grow as your family grows, positioning would be a good word to describe that. Have blessed days. -
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Permalink Reply by Christina Weber on
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Thanks, Grace! That was very helpful. I can definitely see how MLM's could have a negative effect on relationships if one felt "used" to make a sale or if there was product exchanged that wasn't needed.
While it does seem like Barefoot Books has an MLM dimension (they have organized into teams and that implies some upline type of thing) I also like that that isn't their only focus. I am looking forward to sharing some of their great books with people who haven't heard of them yet as I have already been doing for years (just didn't realize that I could earn a commission for the referrals) and I love all aspects of storytelling. I would love to set up a storytelling time at some of the local events around town or also come as a storyteller to playgroups and such. I have also started writing reviews and recommendations for our local library and am really looking forward to fundraising for them through Barefoot. With all of these options, it just doesn't "feel" like an MLM to me and I'm not really approaching it that way. I know it is a good fit for me and my goals and can harmoniously sync with my family life but I have no real desire to recruit others unless they also have a passion for great children's book. I also have no grand ideas about the income. I doubt it will be much but it will be enough for what I am wanting. I also appreciate it that Barefoot has no quotas or expectations that you will recruit others.
Thanks so much for your input. It is great to have someone with your experience involved in this forum! -
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Permalink Reply by Karen Cross on -
Christina, I have signed up to be an Ambassador with Barefoot Books (which it totally free!!) and I have also worked MLM's before. The team I have worked with are wonderful people and are not out to just make a buck. While the money is nice, they do believe in the products they are selling. They don't see it as a selling thing, they see it as getting information out there to people who need it/want it. For me Barefoot Books would be a good supplement to whatever I was doing. Grace is right, you will have to do a lot of marketing, and it might be slow to start, but it should snowball if you are doing the right things in your business. It just has to fit your lifestyle.
I myself have come to figure out that MLM's are not for me. I had a Creative Memories party Friday night (and I truly love and believe in their products), and it was a fun time, but I was exhausted. I have older children and they are in school all day. I want a job I can do during the day while they are in school so I can have my evenings and weekends free to focus on them. Party plans don't work that way. Party plans work for moms who have little little ones at home and have a husband that will come home from work and take the kids for them while they leave. I just don't feel comfortable doing that. I have a degree in teaching and I finally decided that I'm going to use it. That's what I'm wired for.
You just have to figure out if it is going to work with your lifestyle and your belief system. Selling is about THEM not you. People will want to buy from you, not because you want them to, but because they want your product. I'm just not a seller. I'm a teacher! :D
I hope you are able to find peace with a decision. Barefoot Books looks like a good company. Let me know if you ever do sign up. I will switch over to your team! I don't have a team right now but from what I understand we can join one any time we want. It looks like there aren't a lot of people doing it yet, so you are getting in on it in the beginning, which can be a really good thing too. They are just starting this MLM-y looking "team" stuff. So it's probably a really good time to get in there. There isn't ANYONE in my area selling the books. But I don't know if I have the energy to get this stuff out there. The discount is wonderful with a FREE membership. You NEVER see anything like that. I've called and it IS free. Amazing!
Anyway, hope you are able to make your decision on what's best for YOU! Many blessings!! -
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Permalink Reply by Anne Matthews on -
See my discussion about making list of our options. I just read another post of yours. Wow. You are going to be a wealth of information. 12 kids! Catering business. Wonderful! So, blessed to have you in this group. I have seven boys and tuition is really starting to get to us. I would love to make some money.
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