by Cassie Howard | Feb 23, 2015 | Blogging |
Does this sound like you?… “I’d love to start a blog, but I don’t know what to write about.” “I’d love to write about ____, but people are already doing it, so it’s pointless.” “I have too many ideas for a blog, I don’t know which one to choose!” If any (or all!) of these sound like you, you’re not alone. I’ve spoken to dozens of moms who want to start a blog, but are stuck feeling like they have too many ideas or an idea that just isn’t good enough. Well, guess what - your idea is good enough. Whatever it is, it is good enough. Whatever makes you excited to write about, excited to think about, excited to talk about - is good enough. It may not be the most profitable blog idea (there are ways to determine that), but if you’re not excited to write about it, it will never take off anyway. There are ways to monetize just about every blog topic under the sun, so have no fear. Say what you want to say! If you’re suck on what to write about, here are some blog ideas: 1. Parenting Yes, there are lots of parenting blogs out there, but if you can make yourself different or better than them, you can still be successful in this niche. Consider blogging about parenting your special needs child, or if you’re a parent of multiples (twins, triplets, etc.), you can write from that aspect, or perhaps you adopted all of your kids - a parenting blog from that point of view could be interesting as well. Or...
by Cassie Howard | Feb 9, 2015 | Goals |
Just because January is over, doesn’t mean goal setting is off the table. Setting goals isn’t something that has to happen at the beginning of the year. In fact, I recommend setting multiple goals for yourself and your business throughout the year. I always set big goals at the beginning of the year, but then throughout the year, I create more, smaller goals for myself. This makes goal setting fresh, new and exciting all year long, instead of just for a few weeks at the beginning of the year. For example, one of my goals for this year is to write a book. That’s a pretty big goal. Throughout the year, I plan set more goals for myself, to help me reach that big goal, such as: Write 3 chapters Write 10 chapters Edit the manuscript Have a ghost editor edit the manuscript Finalize manuscript Get artwork done for book cover Send book to publishers (or start down the self-publishing route… I haven’t decided yet!) Setting these smaller goals helps me to break that big goal up a bit, so that it doesn’t seem unattainable and overwhelming. If you’re new to goal setting, or just want some tips on making goal setting work better for you, here are some of the things I’ve learned over the last few years: 1. It’s never too late to set goals. Never, ever! Even if it’s the middle of December. Goals are always helpful in giving us that little push to get things accomplished. When you set goals for yourself, you get excited about them, but if you don’t continually set goals, that...
by Cassie Howard | Feb 2, 2015 | Planning |
Have you ever had one of those weeks where you wonder “where did the time go?” and “what did I actually DO this week?” or some other variation of those questions? I have. Sometimes, when we work from home, it’s easy to get distracted by other tasks that may seem important at the time, but aren’t. For example, just a few weeks ago, I was working on content for a course re-launch, and I had to go upstairs to get my sweater first, because I was cold. When I was up there, I noticed 3 full baskets of laundry that needed to be folded and put away. They’d been there for 3 days already. So, what did I do? I sat down and folded them all, of course! My brain was screaming at me to get this task done, because it was SO important (even though it wasn’t). Without thinking twice, I folded the laundry and put it all away. It took me close to an hour. By that time, I had to leave the house to go pick up my son from school (and once he’s home, I don’t usually do any more computer work) - which means I didn’t get to my course content. All because of some stupid baskets of laundry. As you can see… it happens. I wish I could say that, after 7 years of running my business, that these distractions no longer phased me, but I’d be lying. Sometimes they do. What I’ve learned is that if I don’t have a list of weekly to-dos, these distractions seem to creep up on me...
by Cassie Howard | Jan 26, 2015 | Work At Home Mom |
As someone who’s worked from home for over a decade, I know exactly how crazy it can seem to be able to work from home, in your pajamas, and not have to answer to anyone other than yourself. Not only can you wake up and go to bed whenever you want, but you can also take as many vacations throughout the year that you desire, can take a sick day without needing a doctor’s note, and can watch your favourite TV show on Netflix while you work away. Now – let’s get real. Of course, you CAN do all of those things when you work from home, but should you? Probably not. Though working from home has its perks, you can seriously jeopardize the success of your business if you don’t treat it the right way. In case you’re wondering what it’s REALLY like to work from home, let me tell you… You still need to wake up early Most people are at their brightest first thing in the morning. This is when they get their best work done. So don’t think that just because you work from home, that you can sleep in all morning. You can’t. To get your best work done, you need to be up bright and early, ready to take on the day. Pay attention to your working habits and see when you perform at your best. You may be surprised to find that morning time is the best time for you (and if you work better in the afternoon or evening, consider yourself lucky!). Getting up early is especially important with young kids...
by Cassie Howard | Jan 26, 2015 | Business Niche |
When you’re thinking about a new business, you first need to come up with an idea. An idea that you are super passionate about. Something you can see yourself working on for years and years to come. Something that makes you wake up each morning with excitement. THAT is first and foremost. If you don’t love what you do, you will fail. I promise. Life’s too short to do crappy work that you don’t enjoy. Once you’ve decided on an exciting idea, you need to start thinking about the niche. Which niche are you going to fit into - and more importantly, is it a profitable niche that you really want to pursue? Before I go any further, let me quickly explain what a niche is, exactly. A niche is a a specific type of content/service/product. For example, on my website, MrsJanuary.com, we cover all things frugal living. Therefore, our niche is “frugal living”. If you’re a virtual assistant, your niche would be “real estate virtual assistant” or “blogger virtual assistant” - whatever type of virtual assistant you are. If you sell jewelry, your nice would be “antique jewelry” or “kids jewelry” or “glass jewelry” - whatever type of jewelry you sell. Make sense? But how do you know if your niche is profitable? How do you know if what you offer is actually wanted by others? Good question, and one you should definitely consider. The best way that I’ve found, to determine if a niche is profitable or not, is to check with Google. I use a free tool called Google Keyword Planner. (Note: You need to sign...
