In a previous post I mentioned how I’m an infamous list maker. I think it’s safe to assume that most women probably are. I have all kinds of lists ~ for my cubicle job, household lists, my eBay store, online boutique Shoppes site ~ even a Bucket List!

My next top priority is to make an effort to get my Virtual Assistant business off and running, so I can retire from that day job that I keep talking about.

I have yet to order business cards for my VA business, but when I do, I’m going to order from Visa Print. They always have some sort of Special Sale going on. I’ve ordered the Free Business Cards for my Shoppes site there, as well as my eBay store. I like to include a business card when shipping out items from my eBay store, thanking my customers for their purchase, and reminding them to leave Feedback for me if they are pleased with the transaction. In the past, I also had cards made up for the various Affiliate companies that I once was an independent consultant for.

What I like about Vista Print is the fact that I can order cards from either their templates, or upload my own, like I did here.

I can even get note pads, address labels and car magnets with my company’s name! I did opt for the cute little gold-finish business card holders which fit easily in my purse.

I’ve been reading on many blogs that those who attended BlogHer ‘08 were passing out business cards.

Many moms use them as “Mommy Cards” to give out to the moms of their childrens’ friends! What a cute idea!

When my own daughters were younger, I printed ‘babysitting’ business cards for them to hand out to put up on the refrigerator, and even passed out a few myself to co-workers who were in need of a sitter. Now you can have them made up for Free at Vista Print!

Check them out!

VOTE FOR ME ~ KEEP ME ON TOP ~ I’M A TOP MOMMA ~

Click the Button to Keep Me On Top!

“When the walls came tumbling down
When the walls came tumbling down
When the walls came tumbling down
Everybody ran as they screamed at the sound’… Def Leppard

More titillating tidbits on my WAHM Affiliate Marketing experience!

Today I resigned from all but maybe two, of the small WAHM companies I belonged to as an Independent Consultant for Affiliate Marketing.

That’s it, I’m done, I’ve heard, seen and had enough of it.

I got an e-mail today from a company I was a rep for ~ Beautiful Diva.

The email indicated that affiliate links would no longer take a customer directly to your shopping cart, but rather a “landing/splash” page.  The customer would then have the option to search for a representative by entering their zip code, name or other methods.

WTH?  I’m going to put up a banner link to a site ~ have a potential customer click through to it ~ and then have that potential customer enter their zip code to find a different rep?

Who are they going to search for under “name” ~ Moomettesgram?  My full name used to be displayed before they did a U-Turn on their marketing tactics.

I don’t think so.  Down came that banner and ~ exit, stage left.  No more rep for that company.

My advice to anyone who’s thinking of becoming an Affiliate Rep, is this:

Before you sign up with a new WAHM company, check to see where your customer is going to land.  Otherwise - all you’re going to be doing is putting up a banner for the company gratis, and you won’t see any sales.

How many of my readers know what my zip code is?  I speak often of living in New England ~ Connecticut specifically ~ but I don’t think anyone is going to find me through that method.

If you blog and use banners, do all your readers know what state you live in?  Do you use your real name, or a by-line?

Really, young ones, think this one through.  Don’t just blindly do everything these companies ask you to do.  You are going to be taken for a ride if you do.

Another reason I’ve left several companies is that many are signed up with JROX.  One particular company made their reps sign up at least 3 times for a new JROX affiliate ID.  Talk about confusion.  No sales there ~ the website was down ~ the affiliate IDs didn’t work~ excuses, excuses.  I’m outta there.

Nope.  The only companies I’m with now are basically through big-name affiliate sites.  I’ll stick with those for awhile, and see how it goes.

No more small potatoes.

If anyone has any other experiences and you find you’re rolling in dough, speak up, and add yourself as a subscriber if you’d like to hear my continuing saga!

I’ve been so busy lately, I can’t even breath! Between getting ready for the birth of my new grandson; trips up to Vermont for Charming Son-in-Law’s mom’s 50th birthday party ~ plus we have a wedding coming up that I have to find a dress for!

That’s left very little time for me to try to get any eBay listings done for my eBay store. I’m trying to list things for Back-to-School, along with all the vintage collectibles, sewing patterns and other items I picked up on my recent trip to Upstate New York when I visited my brother.

I also offer Hard-To-Find Health, Beauty & Cosmetic items.  If you’re looking for something in particular or a special brand and can’t find it, e-mail me here and I’ll try to locate it for you and add it to my store!

Here’s a great tip to have fantastic, awsome auctions if you are a SAHM mom, new to selling on eBay, or want to learn how to start selling your household items on eBay to earn a little extra money.

Check out Seller’s Source Book. They literally have thousands of terrific templates to help you have a professional looking auction.

A professional looking listing is no longer a “nice to have” it is a “need to have.” Let us help you maximize the potential of your auctions!

You can schedule your listings to launch directly to eBay ~ have matching About Me templates ~ Host your own images without any additional fees ~ and be privy to Product & Services Reviews,  Articles, Hints & Tips and a Seller’s Community Forum.

Want to see how beautiful the templates are?  Click on any of my auctions and see all the different examples!

Check out SSB if you want to maximize your sales! I’m sure that’s part of what helped me to become an eBay Power Seller!

“Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil.

If she doesn’t scare you, no evil thing will…“

Well, well, well. As a follow-up to my post forewarning my young, nubile readers who are eager to enter the cut-throat world of work-at-home mom online ecommerce entrepreneurship, I am again chronicling my experiences.  As a Baby Boomer, I’m a little thicker-skinned than some of you younger moms.  But listen-up to Gram here ~keep up your guard and keep your ears & eyes wide open.

I’ll cut to the chase early.  One of my businesses got skinned alive by Cruella Hosting Services.

Read between the lines here.

For those who want to continue reading, this may get lengthy. But it’s interesting, so take a chance.

Continuing my experiences in the Hell Hall world of a WAHM, I posted here about all the e-mails I got to sign up for early renewals of this, that and every other thing. I canceled my annual subscription to Cruella’s hosting and design service that my business was on since it was scheduled for  ‘auto renewal’ through Paypal. I wanted to make sure this site didn’t charge me again because I was going to use the affiliate links provided through the respective companies, rather than having them all on a mini web site that I had created.

Coincidentally, at the same time, I contacted Cruella Hosting Service to ask for a URL redirect for one of my banners. Days went by, and I heard nothing. Surprise Surprise.

I fired off emails to every address I had from Cruella Hosting Service. This WAHM Dame Houdini has more email aliases than a Moose has Ticks at any given time (per recent news articles, that is about 35K).

I finally got one response today, and I am providing a synopsis of the flimsy excuses here:

…you have a yahoo email and some reason on Julie’s server I am not able to write to people with yahoo. I am not sure why. You need not be immature and treat people with respect if you want to get anywhere in business. I don’t take demands. I must of not got your email request. I removed you from my server you need to find another host. I hold the right to refuse service to anyone who acts in a bad or disruptive matter.

…I am sorry I don’t take demands. Your site is being removed. No one demands me to do something.

Just for your information I didn’t ask for money I offered early renewal for discount rate. You no longer need that…

I told you you were removed from our services. You don’t demand your host and designer to do something imediately. I never got your update email. I have a form everyone fills out for updates. I have a forum for people to get the updated info. You don’t go tell your host to do the work imediately specially when I do free updates. You never paid me to work imediately. Updates are sometimes on tuesdays but mainly 1st and 15th. The form makes sure i get the updates. You will need to find you a new host. You can’t go back to Julie because you left her services. You probably owe her money. (proviso, NOT.) I am not sure. We are on the same server so you left Julie to stay on the same server. Respect is demanded with my services.

sorry for the small amount I charge I offer no refunds.

Judy

Keep in mind that Cruella has the audacity to blame me for being impatient because she didn’t respond to my numerous requests for the redirect. I filed off a grievance to Paypal for services not received, although I don’t believe I’ll see any relief.

Here’s my response:

Your excuse is ridiculous about my using a Yahoo email address.

You have more than 3 email addresses I have been writing to.

There’s this one, there’s xxx
There’s the one that payment was sent to on Paypal, there’s the one that’s listed on Paypal
There’s also xxx
I had written to them all, and never heard back from you. I requested the URL redirect quite some time ago, which more than covered your day of the week that you work to make the requested changes. It’s easy for you to use the excuse that you never got an email. I don’t buy that.

And you have the audacity to blame me because you’re not performing up to snuff, and I am the paying customer. And what does bringing up that other person you referred to have to do with our business transaction? Squat.

Not to worry. I have a WAHM tips blog.

No loss on my part.

Some people are just so shady and slick, and operate their market place mama businesses like flea or tick central dot info hell halls.

If you want the down and dirty of it all, just let me know.

Update: And then for some strange reason, after this post went to press, with no warning, I got kicked out of The Mom Pack tonight. No emails, no nothing, just no access.  Coincidence? Technical hiccup?   Gossip Wag?  Wicked Stepsisters from Mom Pack?

What do you think?

My In Box is overflowing!  Recent emails that I’ve received must be a sign of the times.

I have received so many emails from the various work-at-home mom advertising sites that I’m signed up for.  All of them have been offering best buy specials gimmicks.

“Renew early - sign up for “lifetime placement” and lock in for a one-time rate!

Most of these advertising sites are from mom-owned WAHM businesses.

Yes, I do like to support other mom-owned businesses.  However, I caution you in falling for this common sales pitch tactic.

What I believe is happening, is that these people are in a pinch, and are trying to earn some extra fast cash.

Before you sign up for a renewal, ask yourself some questions:

• **Will your own site be around next year or for a lifetime?  Is it working for you?  Do you think you’ll want to continue with your direct sales or affiliate company/ecommerce site/product?  Is your product flying off the shelf so fast that you need a ‘lifetime’ rate?

• **Will the site you’re going to advertise on be around next year, or for a lifetime?  What is their refund policy should they fold, or should you decide to discontinue your affiliation/shop/product?  If they’re so successful, why are they trying to raise cash now?  That’s what they’re really trying to do.  If they include comments such as “our site is growing by leaps and bounds” ~ they it’s ‘Buyer Beware.”
  

• **Have you checked your statistics to see if this particular advertiser is generating enough traffic for you to renew, especially for a lifetime?

As I keep stressing, read between the lines.  Don’t fall for any sales pitch and part with your hard-earned money that isn’t going to be profitable for you.  It may sound enticing, but I still think it’s a sign of a tough economy.

If you sell on eBay and have an eBay Store, you may or may not be aware that there have been some recent changes to the advertising policy toward About Me pages.

From the current talk about town, on forums and other sites, live links to outside sites are no longer allowed.

For example, I can no longer have a clickable banner pointing to this blog on my eBay About Me page. Nor can I have live links to my Shoppes site, or my direct sales affiliate links, such as Auction Sniper or Sellers Source Book (which, by the way, is a great source for beautiful templates for your auctions!)

So last night I spent quite a bit of time “killing” the live links to my sites, while still keeping the banners up. I had to figure out a way to point my customers to my other sites, and hope that most of them are computer savy enough to know how to find me from the dot com breadcrumbs I’ve left for them! Being a creative WAHM with an ebiz is hard enough already!

My “new” About Me page is here.

If you still have live links on your site, you might want to re-think doing your own About Me page so you’ll be in compliance with eBay’s new policy.

Back in the beginning when I started my blog, I mentioned how I have an eBay Store where I’m a Power Seller. I am a Vintage Antique Collector, but branched out into other areas as a result of the forums I belong to. I’m a Moderator on eBay Coach Free Forum, and have met many knowledgeable eBay Sellers on there. You can’t beat Suzanne Wells, the eBay Coach, for all the free excellent advice she’s always dishing out.

Just because I’m successful on my eBay site doesn’t mean that there still isn’t a need to re-access the market and go with the flow of the financial economy ~ see what works for you, and what doesn’t. Change is inevitable ~ eBay changes their marketing tactics; the economy changes; and so do my family needs, time constraints and interests. The challenge is still on to reinvent myself and find my niche.

In keeping with my original mantra to keep my readers updated on my progress (or lack of it) towards retirement - I started this blog. As you all know, I have expanded and opened Moomette’s Magnificents Olde Towne Shoppes where I sell hand-crafted items and more. I’ve also found that I love blogging, am putting a great deal of effort and time into it, and enjoy the many new friendships it has afforded me.

I recently posted on my Mama Mentor Blog that I took a little R & R junket to Lake Keuka, one of the Finger Lakes in Upstate New York to visit my brother. That junket actually turned into an Antique Shopping Spree.

When I flew up - all I brought was a carry-on. Since 4 boxes of Vintage Collectibles wouldn’t fit under my plane seat ~ my brother ending up shipping them back to me (graciously, at his expense!) (Snicker-Yippee!)

So, I had a massive auction liquidation of certain lines in my eBay Store, and am increasing my line of Vintage items, in both my eBay Store and my boutique Shoppes site.

Stay tuned for other posts on how things are going with my affiliate marketing ~ that’s a whole ‘nother area I’m re-assessing.

One of the goals of this blog is to provide credible information to WAHMs. I consistently see questions crop up frequently on several of the social networking sites and forums that I belong to from members asking where to find affordable, cheap web hosting for their home based businesses.

As a WAHG, I originally started out selling on eBay with a store, where I quickly became a Power Seller. I then decided to open my own boutique online ebiz to sell handcrafted items and vintage collectibles. Finding an affordable web host with tech support, load time and bandwith was very important to me.

I’d like to tell all Moms, Dads, and Grams who are considering opening their own online ecommerce sites about this site discussing  cheap web hosting which provides all the reference points you need to know, as well as information about web hosting specifications and tutorials concerning finding affordable, cheap web hosting.

After perusing the site, I think you’ll find that you’ll have a good background to determine what’s right for your needs. Additionally, you can comparison shop for web host information at Web Hosting Rating. Check it all out.

Moomettesgram’s Musings is proud to offer this special graphic award to Super WAHM-owned Websites!

Celebrating how far Women have come - and how much farther they can go!

Here’s to all the recognition that women have sought to achieve and deserve!

Once you have won please link back to http://moomettesgramsmusings.com

What is a Best WAHM Website?

You must have your own WAHM or WAHG Website, Blog and address.

No Affiliate Websites will be considered.

No Adult Party sites will be considered.

You must have an ecommerce, ebiz website or blog that is 100% Family Oriented.

Your website or blog must be easy to navigate and interesting.

Your website or blog must offer specific products and/or information, or interesting, informative advice specifically targeting women, families, Working Moms (or Dads), WAHM or WAHG, or Baby Boomers, without pop up ads, or Splash Pages.

You must permanently place your Award in a prominent place on either your home page, or Award Page, and be able to link back to http://moomettesgramsmusings.com

Periodic site checks will be done. Any site that doesn’t have the award posted as indicated above will be removed from the Award Winner List.

Please email us at:

moomettesmagnificents06@yahoo.com

CLICK HERE TO VISIT PAST AWARD WINNERS

I recently did a post about the sluggish economy and how it might affect businesses. I’m a Bronze eBay Power Seller, as well as an affiliate independent consultant for several companies, and recently formed a Virtual Assistant Services ebiz.

Whenever I package an item to ship to my eBay customers, I cross-promote my Shoppes site and the companies that I rep for and include my business cards.  In order to qualify to be a Bronze Power Seller, I have to sell a minimum of 100 items per month. That’s quite a few business cards that I hand out ~ and that’s just to my eBay customers alone!

Though various eBay forums and business forums I belong to, I found out about Vista Print. Vista Print is a once-stop source for all your promotional business needs. I get many of my company business cards for FREE! There’s a wide selection of nicely designed templates that you can customize to personalize your cards and make them ‘your own.’ There’s also the opportunity to upload your own logos to design your business cards. Vista Print has a category design for everything – boutiques, mineral makeup, spa, beauty, gardening services, house cleaning services – you name it, they have it!

Additionally, VistaPrint offers a wide array of very affordable printing services including:, checks, rubber stamps, announcements, and car magnets! They even offer window decals. You can customize all of their products to your liking!

Since many are free, I order often, and leave my card in  the establishments I patronize: local hairdresser; restaurants; banks; and also supply the whole family with cards to pass out to anyone they think might be interested in my businesses! Grow your business with Vista Print!

Here’s a FREE eBook to Download to see how Vista Print can help Grow Your Business:

Click on the Photo for Immediate FREE Download.