Big Sky Country – Real Country Living – WAHM Guest Post

Meet My Friend

Real Country Living

Long before I became a blogger, I was a Power Seller on eBay.  Although I no longer have a store, I still continue to sell on the auction site. I was also a Moderator on an eBay forum, where I met many wonderful people. Most of the members of the forum had eBay stores, so we shared a commonality.

If you’ve ever spent any amount of time on forums, you’ll know that sometimes you just “click” and hit it off with certain members.

In the past, I’ve touched on topics about tapping into your interests and hidden talent, and parlaying them into a career where you turn your interests into  a business.  Many readers or their families have become  victims of the current recession, and are actively seeking gainful employment.  Some, like me, are considering either retiring, or trying to determine a move to another career that will spark our interest – whether it  be something entirely different from what we’ve been doing in the past, or entirely new venture.

Perhaps you are off-ramping from corporate life to take time out to raise your children.

I have been inviting bloggers and writers on my Meet My Friend meme to share their ideas and experiences with my readers who are interested in becoming a mompreneur.

If you have a WAHM or Momepreneur topic of interest that you’d like to share and be a Guest Blogger on Moomette’s Magnificents, please contact me (see Contact tab above).

I’d like you to Meet My Friend -  Deena, from Real Country Living,  a work-at-home mom of 5 – although I no longer have an Ebay store, we still keep in contact, and both have become avid bloggers!

What amazed me about Deena is that she spoke so candidly of living out yonder in Montana – Big Sky Country! I like to think that I’m the City Mouse, and Deena is the Country Mouse!

On the forum, we discussed how easily it was for us “city folks” to find inventory, and Deena would speak as to how she would have to drive for miles on end and make a whole day excursion to locate inventory for her store!

I’ve never been farther west than Chicago, and just marvel at the photos that Deena shares of her lifestyle and beautiful part of the country!  You just have to go visit and see for yourself!  Follow Deena on Twitter @RealCountryGal

Thanks Deena for sharing with my readers

Hello and thank you to Cindi for inviting me to do a guest post here on the fabulous Moomette’s Magnificents!

My name is Deena and I am happily married to Wade, my husband and partner of almost 27 years now. We are blessed with five children; three boys and two girls.

After growing up in a number of cities throughout most of my childhood, I met and married my cowboy husband here in the heart of Montana. Wade was raised on the cattle ranch that we now own and operate.

Morphing from city girl into a country gal has been such an interesting and exciting journey. Being a mother and homemaker has been the most important and fulfilling job I could have asked for. I am also the Financial Specialist for the ranch and of these titles come with a ‘room and board’ salary!

Over the years I have searched for ways to contribute financially to our family and the ranch, but living 60 miles from town makes employment outside the home impractical and surely not profitable.

In my effort to earn money I’ve sold hand-crafted knitted and sewn items, taught piano lessons for 16 years and recently opened an eBay store, Mudder’s Little Spudders.  My passion though, is my website, Real Country Living, where we share the reality of our way of life to the world. RCL is very much an infant and has not quite reached its first birthday. There is much to do and more content to add, so this project will keep me very busy and happy for a long time!

I stumbled onto the idea of becoming a webmaster quite by accident and had no idea that l’il old me could pull this off with no training whatsoever. I love to tell about how I built my website, so pop on over if you’d like to hear more. Not only do I get to share my love of country living to anyone who wants to take part, but this website has also become an additional income source for my family. Doing something I adore, from my own home…sometimes in my PJ’s…is a dream come true!

Our eBay store is soon to be a standalone shop which branches from  RCL, so because of the impending transition, Mudder’s isn’t very stocked at the moment. The new e-store is in the works and will specialize in western wear old and new~ natural decorating elements like real Montana pine cones and wheat~along with a plethora of other country goodies.

Our new store name is the Montana Mercantile. Maybe Cindi will post an update when it is functional so you all can visit!

I’d love to hear from you, so use the ‘contact us’ form on Real Country Living to ask me questions or just let me know where you call home and what you’re doing! May my website provide pieces of country living that can be arranged into your own version of bliss!

And again, thank you, Cindi! You are an inspiration to all of us who are working hard to fulfill our dreams!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Capture That Moment in Time Through Photography ~ Before It’s History

This week has been both exciting and tumultuous for my family. I’m coming down from the high of becoming a grandmother for the second time. It’s both exhilarating and exhausting.

In between all the excitement and responsibilities (i.e., being on red-alert for babysitting ‘Lil Moomette whilst her parents were at the hospital), I’ve had to remember to re-charge the battery on my Canon Powershot camera.

My poor cameras take such a beating. This is actually my second Canon. Last October, my first camera went swimming in the pool at a wedding. I was having my photo taken poolside, and one of the ushers tackled my sidekick, and the camera I was holding did a slow-mo into the pool. Luckily, all the photos on the memory card survived, as I removed it quickly, but the camera was toast.

It’s time to replace once again the one I’m now using. Being a Power Seller, you wouldn’t believe some of the motions I have to go through to try to capture just the right angle on some pictures for my listings. This camera took a dive off a step stool so I’ll be placing an order soon for a new one!

I’ll be needing it to capture all those priceless moments of Moomette’s upcoming second birthday!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Contest Giveaway ~ NEW Baby Girl Boutique Hartstrings Prep Sailor Dress !

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

Click the Button to Keep Me On Top!

Since it’s the Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer, I’ve decided to shake it up a little, and hold a Contest Giveway!

I sell quite a bit of Girls and Boys Boutique clothing items in my eBay Store where I’m a Power Seller, and at Moomette’s Magnificents Olde Town Shoppes, where I offer boutique, hand crafted items.

This adorable outfit is from Hartstrings, and is New, With Tags.  Still plenty of time to wear this pretty little ditty through early Fall ~ and it’s great for photo portraits, too!  Perhaps you have someone special’s  Birthday coming up, or want to tuck it away and get a head-start on your Holiday Shopping, or even save it for next summer!

Boutique

HARTSTRINGS

BABY PREP NAUTICAL SAILOR KNIT DRESS

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Maximize eBay Sales Potential ~ Sign Up for Sellers Source Book Auction Templates & Image Hosting Service

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!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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@Moomettes

Tweaking my eBay Store – How a WAHM Needs to Re-Assess an eBiz

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 I was 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.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Blog Challenge – 30 Days with 30 Enterprising Moms ~ eBay Selling Coach

 

Blog Challenge – 30 Days with 30 Enterprising Moms

This is going to be interesting. I consider myself relatively new to blogging, and am participating in my very first blog challenge! For 30 days, I’ll be featuring a Blogging Mom on my site. This Blog Challenge is sponsored by:

Sibylla Nash
StarbabyLA 
http://www.starbabyla.com
Author of book, Baby Modeling & Beyond and Blog StarbabyLA

 eBay Selling Coach

Today I’m visiting the blog, eBay Selling Coach, for real tips and practical information about eBay selling from stay-at-home mom, eBay Power Seller, and entrepreneur Suzanne Wells. You will find all kinds of cool stuff on her blog – ranging from podcasts about eBay selling, where to buy your eBay inventory locally, other eBay resources, links to other legitimate work at home opportunities, eBay how-to videos, and informative guest posts. Suzanne is also the author of The Stay at Home Mom’s Guide to Successful eBay Selling (Amazon) and has years of real-world experiences to share with other sellers about how to make money on eBay. 

One thing you won’t find here is pushy sales copy about “Buy My Proven eBay System” – Suzanne, aka the eBay Coach, just tells it like it is and gives away more information for free than you would pay for on other sites. 

From the moment I saw her informative posts on a WAHM eBay forum I used to belong to, I knew that Suzanne knew her stuff. Through private-messaging, we soon becamse friends and I was so excited when she decided to establish her own forum to help eBay sellers worldwide. What do I like best about this blog? Suzanne speaks to her readers in a conversational tone as if she were your favorite sister. And you know that all the informational tips Suzanne’s giving you are tried and true. Be sure to visit for a breath of fresh air!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Will the Current Economic Downturn Increase my eBay Business?

You might call me a FT “clipper”. Before the advent of the Internet, part of the duties of my predecessor in my FT job were to read the national newspapers, and “clip articles” that would pertain to issues that were industry-related. I’m still a “clipper”, but now I do it on the Internet. A good portion of my FT cubicle job involves research. I read at least 20 national and local newspapers a day for industry-related topics. Of course, my “eyes” also find a lot of other interesting “stuff” to read…great columnists, recipes…business news that would affect my eBay store.

Today I ran across this article in the New York Times ~ Retailing Chains Caught in a Wave of Bankruptcies. The article discusses bankruptcies and the failure of many large retail chain stores. This makes me question how it’s going to affect my eBay business. Although I’d love to see the economy pick up, as it affects my household finances, I wonder if folks will be looking more towards eBay to try to find the perfect bargain. I’m sure not only Baby Boomers or retirees on fixed incomes, but also young families will be affected. Will I see an increase in business? I hope so.

I’m an eBay Power Seller, always on the lookout for a great quality product to offer my customers. Besides the vintage collectibles I’m fond of, I also offer New with Tags, and Excellent Previously Loved items. Sometimes my finds never make it to my Moomette’s Magnificents store ~ my DDs abscond with them as soon as I walk in the door!

I think there’s going to be some tough competition this Spring on eBay, with sellers offering bargain auction starting prices on used items, and buyers trying to save a buck or two to make ends meet. I’ve bought many gently used boutique items for ‘lil Moomette myself on eBay, and with a grandson on the way…I’m looking for clothing for him (no-name picked out yet) too! Does this mean I inadvertently helped contribute to the current economic situation because I buy used? Sounds like a Catch-22 to me ~ which came first ~ the chicken or the egg?

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Moomettesgram’s Musings Blog – Out of the Gate – November 2007

Hi & Welcome to my new Blog!
I’m Cindi – and Grandmom to one granddaughter (aka Moomette) and another on the way in 2008. I named my store after her. You can read more on my About Me page! I’m a Baby Boomer, and looking forward to retirement – not soon enough!
I opened Moomette’s*Magnificents on eBay where I specialize in Upscale New & EUC Womens, Childrens, Mens Clothing, Accessories, eBooks, Mugs, Vintage Collectibles & Hard-to-Find Cosmetics, in advance of that date to get it up and running so that I will be able to Work-At-Home ~ my retirement dream!
I enjoy shopping (both buying & selling) and eBay fulfills both.
As a Boomer, and being somewhat computer savy – the Internet has always facinated me. After a gap of many years, I took advantage of the Internet and took several online courses to finish and completed my B.S. in Business & Sociology in my 40s while working full time with a house & kids. It can be done!
So it’s just a natural for me to open up my eBay store ~ Moomette’s*Magnificents.
I hope through this blog to encourage other Boomers and SAHMs how to go about opening up a store, create support networks and overcome any obstacles you’ll encounter along the way.
And of course….you’ll hear me brag about ‘lil Moomette’s accomplishments along the way!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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@Moomettes