It's not that easy!

Who says making money through the internet is easy? Who says? It's not and it sure takes a lot of time, patience and some creativity. While I still believe it can be done, I'm really crawling to get to the point of no return. I'm struggling perhaps due the technicalities of it, or perhaps because of a vague goal?

The truth is, it's the same with anything that we want to do and achieve in this life. You have to have a clear goal and a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time) target. Errr... obviously I lack that (what a shame!). I have to wake up everyday with that specific goal in mind and plans for the day. What I do daily is mostly routine work which sometimes really slow me down to meet my ultimate goal. Though I'm so desperate to meet my goal, my actions are not desperate enough.

OK so what I should now is, just as my online mentor says, I need to promote promote promote. I need to leave my mombiz trail wherever I go on the net. I need to create the mom-lifestyle aura wherever I am in the net. Ohhhhohhh... help! Gimme the zest! I need a boost of energy and motivation, morale, and such! Go go go.. WAHM.

I am a WAHM

I've been wanting to be a Work At Home Mom ever  since I quit my job in 2009. It's been two years and still ... I am still a stay at home mom TRYING to be a Work at Home Mom. I have made some efforts, worked some plans, bought some books, registered myself to online courses.. and the list goes on. Nothing works.. yet.

A month ago, out of boredom as well as a bit of desperation (as my bank account is drying up!) I signed up for a work at home ad. Not that I've never done this before but I'm rather serious this time. I had to do it. I did some deep thinking about the whole thing. I know how it works. They are all the same. It requires some efforts, continuous efforts. Nothing is easy. It's just like working 9-5, you still need to work. That's why it's called work at home. The challenge is a lot more though. You really have to be discipline on time allocation, otherwise you will not make it. Then you have to be online. If you are not a techie, it's not a problem, your mentor should teach you. Yup, you should have a mentor to be successful in this line (a mentor is great to have for whatever line you are in, don't you think?)

Another important success factor is motivation. Staying at home you tend to have low morale.. most of the time. It is always stressful (well at least for me!) to have a routine housework to do and no time for yourself. To actually work at home, plus all the never ending housework to do, is no joke. There are times that you don't feel like "working" as you just want to rest. Motivation comes in a few forms really, motivation from your mentor in any aspects, motivation from yourself as to why you need to work, or even motivation from external factor like "hey, I'm working too!".. well something like that. 

Really, it's a lot of work. But I want to do it.. I have to do it. If many people have been successful doing it, why not me. All I need is some patience, some investment, and lots and lots of time!

For a start, this is only what I've come up with, mombiz. Check it out!

Make 2009 The Year You Make Money Online

Becoming a mom - it’s the most life-changing event we go through. Our children become the center of our lives, and we must make adjustments to in our schedules and priorities make sure they’re cared for. Instead of hiring nannies or using day care services, more and more moms are choosing to start their own online businesses so they can be there for their kids and still contribute to the family income.

This is especially true right now during the tough economic times we’re living in. Even if you’re comfortably existing on one income, you may find yourself on no income soon enough if your husband gets laid off, downsized, rightsized, outsourced or whatever they’re calling it these days. Do you have the recommended 6 months’ living expenses tucked away in savings in preparation for this event?

Statistics show many of us do not. This is all the more reason for mom to look for ways to make money online before the disaster strikes.

Starting an online business has a number of advantages for moms. These include:
* Start-up costs can be kept low. So even if you are not currently working outside the home, starting an online business is usually within reach with small adjustments to the budget. Setting up a website means acquiring a domain name and hosting space - and with tools like Wordpress available at no cost, you can literally be up and running for around $20. You will also want to invest in some education. Learning the basics of how to market your website online are not difficult, but be careful where you get your information.

The Natural Mom Business Guide is one solid source of info. It includes an ebook with detailed information about researching your target market, the various ways to make money with a website, and how to get the traffic you need to earn income. It even has video and audio tutorials as well as printable “cheat sheets” you can keep by your computer to remind you of the essential steps you need to take in your business to build traffic and make more income.

* Doing business online doesn’t require one to keep regular hours. You can work early in the morning before the kids get up, during the baby’s nap, or late at night when everyone is in bed. And with the automation that the Internet has to offer, orders can be processed and virtual products delivered while you are sleeping or taking care of the kids.

* You can get some work done with the kids right by your side. Older children may even be able to help you with simple tasks. Did you know that the IRS allows you to deduct wages (up to a certain amount) paid to a child who is age seven or older to work in your home business from your taxes? I have even trained my oldest son to add articles to my websites. He earns a nice wage for doing so, far more than an allowance, and is providing a valuable service to me.

There are all sorts of online businesses that are great for moms. You could sell your crafts or start a recipe website, or you could start a podcast. You might offer services such as writing, transcription, web design or virtual assistance to customers around the world. Or you could create and sell information products. Even blogging offers impressive money-making potential. The possibilities are many, and there’s sure to be something out there that’s just right for any mom.

Moms make up a large portion of the people who are making money online. This allows them to take a hands-on approach to raising their children while still making money to support the household. They don’t have to count on a sitter to take care of their children’s needs, and they don’t have to make a commute part of their daily routine. It’s no wonder that the number of moms starting online businesses is growing in leaps and bounds.

If you need some assistance choosing a niche, get some coaching from an experienced online marketer. Take the leap - you’ll be glad you did!

Carrie Lauth is an internet marketing mom who loves to help other moms launch profitable websites. She created the Natural MomBusiness Guide for women who want to market to the "natural family" niche. To learn about how she can give you one-on-one coaching, visit her today.

Facing the music

The more I think about it, the surer I get of my decision to stay at home. Even though I'm getting some confusing, scary thoughts about it.

These are the things making me glad of my decision:
1) Office workload and office politics getting worse than usual. Dissatisfaction everywhere. "Injustice" everywhere...
2) Kids wanting more and more of my attention.
3) The lesser time I have for myself!
4) My maid is getting more and more efficient as though the house is hers.. and I become lazier to do anything in the house
5) The frequent time off I need to take from work due to trips to the pedic or trips to schools..

But there are also things that make me go hmmmmmm ..maybe I should reconsider?
1) My indecisiveness and ficklemindedness (if there's such word) over what to do after I "retire"... surely I can't sit pretty and do nothing.. surely I got bored!
2) The lilttle patience I have with the kids..
3) Some friends asking me "are you sure you want to do this?" ... errrr...
4) The financial hiccup that is sure to come.. make do with whatever we have? Sure.. but how about shortage?

Both list can go on. But in my heart.. how scary I got, how not sure I am .. I am very sure that I want to go through it. I'm quite determined to at least try. And I really really hope, it will work out eventually. The biggest hurdle and worry will be the financial part, but hey.. who doesn't have financial problems?? There must be a way to resolve it if you play the cards right.

I pray hard for this to go well. With all the support I could get.. I will face the music.. dancing!

Crushed but up again

I thought I was making a bit of a progress by writing to an Internet-money-making so-called guru yesterday. I was so so wrong. I don't blame him. I blame the Malaysian culture that is not so open, not so giving, not so helpful when it comes to helping their own people. Fine. I asked a question, maybe not so direct. What I got is not much, as much as I got from all the researches I've done on my own. Nothing new.

But when I opened up my email this morning I got a little bit of encouragement again. Thanks to my favorite blogging mom newsletter that I received every other day. Again, it hit me on the nose because this time it really said something like GET UP, and DO IT NOW!!! It really pierced my heart and I felt like I'm racing for time! I'm beginning to enjoy all these... but really.. I need a mentor badly! I cannot just get up and do it. That's just not me. OK.. I will draw my short term goal.. NOW. See if I can come up with something for the next few days or next week...

Another step towards working at home

I subscribed to a number of newsletters on internet-money-making websites to get more info on the how-tos, do's and don'ts and the realities of the internet business. So one of the tips I have today is on procrastination that hit me real hard on my nose!! The tips are talking about how much money I have lost by not the starting the business NOW!! It talked about how much time are wasted. I really felt it. It's just that I'm not procrastinating, I'm just not ready. I don't want to deliver something that is half-cooked.
So in desparation, I have emailed to one of the internet guru (whom I have confidence with!) to seek his opinion. I hope he will revert to me as soon as possible. Step 1.
Step 2. Will get another e-book to build up my website on WordPress. I kinda have decided on the name to reflect my niche. I hope I'm in the right niche. Eh .. wait a minute, there is no right or wrong niche isn't it. Yeah.. I hope so.
Oh dear God.. give me the strength, the patience.

Affiliate programme

This is an overdue entry. I have been quite busy with "work" that I've been putting off this one. Today marks the first day of a new beginning of many of my colleuge as this is their day of transition to a vendor company. I wish them all the best in their new company albeit still doing the same job.

As for me, my day 1 will only start in October. Though 3 months away, I am frantically and desperately searching and researching for my work-at-home project. Again, overwhelmed wth information. Except at this point of time, I'm pretty sure of what I really want to do. But still not ready to execute because I think I'm not quite there yet.

Going over to my topic, what is affiliate programme? Easy-peasy.. it is a marketing tool whereby you promote other people's products and get commission from it if people by the product upon your promotion. There you go. How do you go about doing this? There are thousands of websites out there have affiliate programs. You basically join their affiliate programme and tadaaaa.. you are promoting their product already and if you get lucky, you'll get paid some commission. How much is the commission? Depends, it can range from 10% to as high as 60%. Digital products normally would have a higher commission as compared to physical products.

The easiest example I can give is on affiliate programme selling e-books by Mr.A. If you join Mr.A's affiliate programme you will get a 20% commission for each book sold via your promotion. If one book cost USD100, you easily get USD20 per book. So imagine if you managed to sell e-books a week, you get USD100/week. For a month you get at least USD400, easily! And that converted to RM is about RM1280. Not bad at all eh.. who would want to give you that much .. easily without much effort!!

The best part is still.. having your own products, your own affiliate programme. Compile/ produce and e-book of your own niche, the start your own affiliate programme. If you have 10 affiliate members, selling 5 e-books a week at USD100, you are already selling 50 e-books a week and that's equivalent to USD5K! And you give away 20% commission to them totalling USD1K... the rest is YOURS! Taking the same average sold a week, minus the commission, you will be earning USD16K a month! Voila... Who would give you that kind of money by sitting down in front of the computer and practically doing nothing? And this is what they say of having the money works for you while you are sleeping!!

So I now have 2 choices:
1) Join any affiliate program - I really have to know what's out there in the information highway and only choose the right ones
2) Create my own affiliate program - I have to do more research on my niche and compile it as an e-book or whatever product that I'm selling..

Work at Home Parent

I must write on this one as to reply to Intan's comment. I do agree that maybe it should be Work-at-home-parent as to indicate it is a parent regardless of mom or dad. Then again, you must know, working at home mean you generate money from home and most likely on-line. In on-line business (this is what I discovered from those eye-popping articles!) you have to find your niche and then your market. True enough being a parent is already a market by itself, but in the cyberworld, it is good to separate the parent function to mom and dad to identify your target market. You have to agree that there must be at least a slight difference in being a mom and dad.. well at least in gender if not roles! So I believe Work-at-home-dad as it is being a male.. will attract a different market altogether in his own unique way..
Another thing, in the information highway, for you to get your information fast and accurate, you have to set your keyword right.

Let's see some statistics, if you search on Google, this is what you get..
1) Work at home mom (WAHM) - 4,190,000 results
2) Work at home dad (WAHD) - 4,510,000 results
3) Work at home parent (WAHP) - 23,400,000 results

There you go. There is such thing as WAHP. They even have their own network. So imagine, you must know how to label yourself or your business and how to be visible in the information forest, and most importantly how to get spotted and thus they buy your products.

Phewwh.. having said that.. what say you all? Aku sure kena big time dengan pakar2 dari USM nih.. especially on gender, roles, functions.. and what not!

Some simple steps (not easy ones though) to start working at home ..

I've been reading a lot of articles on working-at-home, so much that it confuses me.. and so much that I felt that my eyeballs can pop out. And that's only the beginning. Information overload! Actually I have got almost everything, I only have to take that one step and get the ball rolling!

I've got:
1) How do I start
2) How do I generate the income
3) How do I get the traffic to my website
4) How do I market my website
5) How do I protect my website from scams and hackers
6) And zillions of other articles which at the end of the day telling you the same thing over and over again...

And this is what I don't have YET...
1) A product (this is the top of the list of "how do I start") .... duhhhh
2) A website (how can I have this when I don't have the product??)
3) Courage to start... !!!!!

Perhaps when I finally have the product, then I wud have the courage huh..

I do have some products in mind but not sure if they are viable on-line. oh yeah I do have some testing products.. but not sure if I would still have the stock once the website is ready.
And some of the great tips I read is, you are ecouraged to have more than one product and more than one website. Wuahhhhahaha.. I'm doomed..

OK let's get serious. There are many ways to work, you must at least have one product/ service of your own and the rest, you can try your luck on affiliate marketing. What's affiliate marketing? I will cover that in my next entry.

Work at Home Mom (WAHM)

Ever since I decided to quit my job, I have done a lot of researches on working from home. I definitely have to do something to earn some money. With the petrol hike and everything else, surely I would need some income other than "supposedly income" from my beloved. I worry so much about the expenses after I have quit my job but my beloved assured me otherwise. But I can't just keep my fingers cross and pray that it would be enough. Planning wise, it should be just enough, no luxuries.. but really you never know what could come up along the way. I fear even to think about it.

So as a step forward, I've been doing a lot of research on WAHM - as it is popularly know on-line. There are thousands of sites covering this topic. I am so overwhelmed by info. And getting confused too. Mostly though, talk about the same ideas, just promoting different products. Yeah, products. That's the number one thing that you must have. And, for the life of me.. I DON'T HAVE ONE!!! I don't even like selling. But I know I need some income, and I know I want to do it on-line. Fortunately, in this cyber age, everything is possible.

These are the things that I can do to generate income on-line:

1) Sell my own product (no i don't have one)

2) Sell other people's products (hmm .. possible)

3) Sell advertising space on your webiste/ blog...

Guess which one would be my choice? Obviously no.3. And possibly no.2 in the near future once I understand what is it all about. I knew about no.3 long time ago and never got around to do. Actually I tried but again, I was overwhelmed by info that I tried once and got confused all over.. (I think I need to fix my brain!!)..


The WAHM concept is not very popular yet in Malaysia. It is coming, but slowly. Overseas, especially in the US, working at home is the trend now. And boy, they make loads of money!! One of the many sites that I visited and rather informative and inspiring is this one here...


There has been many sites and ebooks and what-not available in Malaysia, but mostly these people are young unmarried men. They don't have the MOM responsibility. They can blog their lives away without any nagging over their shoulder. But it's different being a mom and at the same time trying to earn money on the Net. Most WAHM concept in Malaysia (the ones that I've visited) are those with products. I found one nice WAHM site which is listed first on the Google Search and from Malaysia surprisingly and run by a Malay lady .. have a look here .. the only thing is that, this lady was not a mom yet when she developed the site.

For me, as a mom of 4, it'll a great challenge. Challenges in time management for sure, in my skills and surely my patience. I hope God will give me the strength to deal with my patience. And perhaps.. gimme some miracle for my brain becomes "brainier" than ever!! Who knows eh!

So from now onwards, I shall focus on this WAHM concept.. and perhaps will even come up with my own product to sell eventually..