Make Money Working At Home From Amazon!

Life was good in the 80s!

Yesterday I wrote about my many streams of income. That is what makes life brighter for me now. Our economy is bad and life as I knew it in the 70s & 80s, is a far distance memory. But I am not one to sit still and whine about it. It makes me work on my streams of income and try to make them more productive. I also research and study new projects to add to the ones I already have. When one is producing, add another one or do something else.

I sell many brands of guitar strings!

Waking up every morning to sales in my Amazon ProStore makes me eager to get my computer booted up and check my email. I sell guitar strings on my own websites and business has been slow. Even on eBay, I marked the strings way down, and still no sales. Ever since I put them all on Amazon...........I have been selling out of my inventory! Must be the reason I don't get sales anywhere else, is because all the guitar players are shopping on Amazon. Hey, that is fine with me! I like to shop there myself, so I understand.

eBooks are my favorite money stream!

For me, Amazon is awesome! It offers me many different streams of income. It takes a lot of work and researching whatever it is that you are selling. I always think, "Hey, I am working for myself! Nobody to answer to."  Normally, I wouldn't be putting all my eggs in one basket. But they offer so many ways to make money through their site, that it would be stupid not to take advantage of that. Being an Amazon Associate gives me a small deposit from all of my blogs monthly. Not much so far, but it adds up over time. My biggest money maker has been my eBooks in the Kindle store. I am improving all my eBooks right now, and will be adding more. That is by far, my favorite stream of income, because I love to write!

Copyright © 2013 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2013  Kathleen G. Lupole

Running A Home-Based Business

Working from home, wherever you are, is an option.

If you are trying to run a business from your computer you need to do a few things. You need to have a good quality product to sell. If you are shipping it from your house and have inventory then you need a safe, clean place to keep it. If heat or cold is a factor you need a room that will suit your products.

Packaging supplies cost money!

No matter what product you decide to sell, if you have the inventory at home, you will need to ship your products to the customer. Packaging supplies such as envelopes or boxes, packaging insulation, labels, etc, as well as the ink cartridges for printing out the labels all add up. I know from selling myself, that buyers resent paying those shipping cost. They seem to expect you to ship for free and not include it in the price. I think they are in shock when they realize you really do need to make a profit somehow!

No traffic if you are working from home!

It can be a way to make money without opening a physical store somewhere and all the expenses that would entail. I like this type of business since I love computer work anyway. Plus working on the computer for your own business is very different than working for someone else. I find I work more than 40 hours a week, but I love it.

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole
All Photographs Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole

My Many Streams Of Income

One of my little steps has been increasing my streams of income. This year I have been working very heavily in that area. What streams of income do you ask? I am so glad you asked! Here is my list:

1. Growing as much of my own food as I can. Means that I don't have to spend that money in the stores. So it is part of my income stream.

2. Generating even more power once we get our wind turbine added to our solar system. Means less gas spent for the generator when we do not have enough sun.

3. Utilizing our power system to provide our cooking fuel so we can do away with the propane stove. Another savings that becomes part of our income stream.

4. Now I am running three website stores as well as two Bonanza booths and trying to increase my sales by using Social Media as well as other means.

5. Writing 4 blogs presently. I have added Google Adsense to them and am adding some affiliate ads also.

6. Working on writing a book from my blog, The Enduring Word. Hopefully, that will help provide to my stream of income.

That is about it for now. What about you? Are you still working on your stream of income? If you'd like to share, please comment. Good luck!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole
All Photographs Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole

Too Many Bills Can Be Stressful

Photo Credit: Public Domain Photos

Have you been guilty of juggling bills, credit cards and your paychecks? This is one of the most stressful things that people do. I know, as I am guilty of it also. Trying to make enough to cover all your bills and buy food too, is the one of the hardest things we have to do in our modern way of living. I think it was probably hard in the old days too, but we have too  many added expenses that did not exist then.

These days even the Social Security Administration tries to fool us into thinking the cost of living hasn't gone up in two years! That is so they can get away with not giving the cost of living raise to Social Security recipients. Who do they think they are fooling? We all know there has been a HUGE increase in the cost of living! Just tell the truth and say, "We cannot afford to give you a raise for the second year in a row."

There are ways to save money and shave some cents off your bills. It takes some thorough planning though. You have to make a list and work from that. Bills to pay. Food to buy. Gas to buy. It goes on and on. The only way around that, is to find out how much more money you need each month. Then find a way to add that much income to your present income. It is not easy, and don't let anyone tell you it is.

How many times do you feel overwhelmed by those feelings over your bills? Not enough income to go around? Having a home based business sounds like a great idea in the beginning, but it is also another expense. Especially in the beginning of getting it started. It could take months or years to get any money coming in to your business. And even then, it may not be enough to let you have a paycheck from it.

Here are some ideas of things I have done in the past:

• 1. Sold lots of used items I had here at home on eBay.
• 2. Sold some new items on eBay and on my own website that were drop shipped from a distributor.
• 3. Did some home care for some elderly ladies nearby.
• 4. Sold an ebook that I wrote and created and sold on my website.
• 5. Sold some used books on Amazon.
• 6. Sold some items on Bonanza and am still doing that today.
• 7. List some items on craigslist, though I don't have much success with them, my friend does.

If you have some ideas you would like to share leave them in the comments section. Little things add up. Even if you think it doesn't matter, a dollar here and a dollar there do make a difference. It doesn't sound like it does until you look at the big picture over time.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

More Than Forty Hours A Week

Photo Credit: Sam Mugraby

One of the things you learn when you are running your own home-based business is that you usually work way more than forty hours a week. Working from home, wearing all the hats of your company entail many hours. Yet it is more satisfying because it is your's. Working for someone else is never what we think it will be. I always remember how you just can't wait to get that job! You do everything you can to win it and you talk about it all the time. When you get that job........... what you are going to do with all that money you will be making! Remember that? Two weeks later, when it is time to get up to go to work, it's "I hate this job!" "I'm calling in sick!" And at work what are you doing? Watching the clock all day! I know that program well.

Photo Credit: Sam Mugraby

So I spend hours on my computer. What do I do? I am doing lots of writing! Lots of promoting! Lots of marketing! And lots and lots of social networking! Social networking is like going to the golf course for a round of golf with potential business associates. Just do it sitting at your computer. And these days you are networking with people across the country...............and around the world! It is your call who and how you want to find your customers. So keep plugging along and one day you will find it pays off. But if you give up because you are not making money immediately than maybe you shouldn't even be in business. It takes more backbone than that. Too many people give up too quickly nowadays.

If you are are having problems setting goals, what are your problems? Is it something you need help with? Is it the time to spend on it? Or is it family being against you doing it? List your priorities and then study them! Make a list of how you can achieve them. Now do it!

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole