by Nicole Dean

With the uncertainty surrounding the economy these days, many women are trying to think of ideas to make money from home — preferably on the internet. You don’t want to fall for a scam but you do want something that is easy to do and still have time for your families. Starting a Santa letter business may be the answer.

What Exactly is a Santa Letter Business?

Every year, children all over the globe write letters to Santa and don’t get a response. Your Santa Letter business could change that. A mom, dad or grandparent pays a fee and the child receives a custom-written letter — written just for them by Santa. You earn money and spread smiles to children at the same time. Not too shabby.

What Type of Equipment and Supplies are Needed?

There aren’t a lot of equipment needs for this business. In fact, you can get started with nothing more than a computer, Christmas stationery, a printer, and a way for parents to contact you. You may want to consider getting a post office box for your business so you won’t have people sending letters to your personal address.

What Type of Person will Succeed with a Santa Letter Business?

You’ll want to be comfortable on the computer, have good reading and typing skills, and have a good command of the English language. Beyond that, just love children.

How Do You Decide What to Charge?

While you’ll definitely want to research to see what the going rate is every year, it’s not unusual for a Santa letter business to charge as much as $10 per letter. Of course, with any business, you’ll want to make yours stand out by offering excellent quality service and a little extra magic.

Figure out how much you’d pay to give your child a personalized letter from Santa and use that figure as a base. Add on costs for your supplies and your time, and, then determine if you’re in the ballpark. (Of course, adding in some extra magic will help you to raise your rates. Include an autographed photo of Santa for a few extra dollars.)

How to Market Your Santa Letter Business

Don’t wait too long to start advertising your new business. In fact, if you haven’t started by the first week of November, you may have waited too late. Sell letters from Santa on auction sites. You can also create order forms that can be given to schools and preschools to send home to parents. Consider creating a website and advertise there, send out postcards to people in your hometown, or put up fliers in local businesses. Set up your computer in a booth at a Christmas craft show and have letters made on the spot for parents and grandparents to take with them.

A Custom Santa letter business is a fun business to start with a minimum of money and equipment. Get step-by-step help, download letter templates and more, by grabbing the JustAddSweat.com Guide to Starting a Custom Santa Letter Business.

People are in a real crunch out there. They’re losing jobs and in order to keep themselves afloat, they need to come up with their own income opportunities.

(By the way, if you’re looking for business ideas, go here.)

With the present state of the economy on the minds of people all around, many would consider this not the ideal time to start any new business endeavor. This is not necessarily true, considering a large number of popular high-end businesses who stepped out into the world during a time of recession.

There are many companies well known to us today whose businesses were started during a recession period. Popular names such as Johnson & Johnson or Burger King come to mind and they are still well know and thriving today. You can find many business opportunities you can adapt to this current economic period.

Start By Thinking About What You Want To Do (And Discover If There is a Market for It)

• If you’re a victim of job cutbacks, but have a marketable skill that you acquired through your education or employment, starting up a service business related to that skill is one of the quickest ways to get started. In addition, a home-based service business is often relatively inexpensive to get started.
• If you’re on a budget, there are plenty of home based business or Internet business options. 
• Of course, if you have the funding or can get the financing (and you’re not in dire need to put food on the table now), you may go the more traditional brick-and-mortar route.

Whatever you do, realize it can take time to build a steady income. Do your research, watch out for business opportunity scams (you know, the ones that are too good to be true or promise thousands of dollars each month, but don’t tell you what they are) and put together your plan.

Here are some business ideas recently added to Business Idea Library:

• Open My Own Boutique - a brick-and-mortar option that could be taken online.
• Open a Bookstore – another brick-and-mortar option that could be taken online (sell printed books or even ebooks and information products)
• Art Gallery – Work with a clientele that has plenty of disposable income.
• Become an Archaeologist – It’s contract work that won’t likely make you rich, but sure is thrilling for those interested in human history.
• Open a Home Store – brick-and-mortar or try online…the choice is yours.

Seller & Creator: Dan Feildman

Summary:

The Internet has made it possible for even hobby photographers to make money with their digital photographs. This special report explains some basic information the digital photographer must know in order to profit online.

Product Details:

“How to Make Money with Digital Photography” is a 20-page special report from TurnYourPhotosIntoCash.com

Format:

Digital report (PDF)

Thoughts on the Product:

“How to Make Money with Digital Photos” is a quick overview of how to sell digital photos online through stock photo sites. The report explains how stock photo sites work and how easily a digital photographer can make a living through them.

There’s enough in this report to get started with making money with digital photos, such as:

- how stock photo sites work and how to make money through them (page 7)

- the creative process of making money with digital photos (page
- which four subjects are always in high demand online (page 11)

- editing tips to take your photos from good to great (page 13)

- how to make more money by selling more photos (page 15)

However, the report only shows the tip of the iceberg. The opportunities for monetizing digital photography online are vast, and this report leaves the reader wanting to know more – and the author has a more extensive course available for purchase.

Where to Learn More: TurnYourPhotosIntoCash.com

(You can also find futher digital photo help at Easy Digital Photo Pro)

The other day, I ran into a friend who was distraught because she had just been laid off. Her husband had recently taken a pay cut and was afraid of losing his job any day. They have mortgage payments to make, 3 children to raise… you know the rest of the story.

Now I knew that this lady had been working as an office assistant in a construction company. Her eyes lit up as I gently suggested that she explore working at home as an virtual assistant. Of course, she had a lot of questions and rightfully so. It’s no joke to venture into a home business after years of employment.

Since this situation is becoming more and more common with the current economic downturn, I thought I’d share the questions my friend asked and some quick answers to them:

What is a virtual assistant?

A virtual assistant or VA is a self-employed, home-based entrepreneur who assists other businesses, often in administrative work. In other words, a VA is an office assistant who never has to step into her client’s office! In addition, most business owners have particular tasks that they will turn over to their virtual assistants, and these can go beyond basic office or business administration.

What skills do I need to become a VA?

The basic skills a VA needs are office and business administration skills. A VA also needs to be highly organized, communicate effectively and pay careful attention to detail. Some clients look for additional technical skills, such as writing, marketing, social media, blog or website maintenance, and multimedia production – even podcasting!

The skill set you’ll need as a VA depends on the type of clients you want to work with. Find out what they NEED and build your skills to respond effectively.

What kinds of work does a VA do?

VAs commonly do office-related stuff, such as:

- responding to emails
- making travel arrangements
- sending out faxes
- researching and compiling information
- business writing
- typing up notes or transcribing audios

In addition, VAs nowadays are often expected to be able to:

- write and publish or schedule blog posts
- work with autoresponders
- rewrite private label rights content
- optimize a website for search engines
- create a slideshow presentation
- update websites
- set up social networking profiles/pages
- create videos and publish them online

Is being a VA a good option for Women?

Oh yes! A lot of work at home moms and women I know are VAs and they make good incomes from the comfort of their home, without having to leave their children in the care of others. Virtual assistance is a home business, which means it’s flexible. You decide how many hours a day you want to work, on which days, what type of work you want to do, and even whom you will work with.

On the other hand, if you have small children, remember that occasionally you will need to be on the phone or webchat with a client, supplier or other associate. In this case you’ll need somebody else looking after your small children so you can have some quiet and be able to focus on the call or chat.
How much money can I make as a VA?

The hourly rate of VAs depends on several factors. These include their skills and experience, whether they specialize in certain services or a particular industry, and any certifications they may have (those who are certified by recognized institutions charge higher fees). VAs’ fees vary widely, ranging anywhere from around $15 to $70 per hour. So you can see, it’s entirely possible for a VA to make a full-time income working at home.

Ok, I’m interested. Where do I begin?

You can try and figure everything out yourself, of course. But better yet, get the guidance of experienced VAs who have successful virtual assistance businesses. Two such VAs are Jen  and Nell ____ who have a combined experience of over 5 years in virtual assistance. They share their success stories and step-by-step tips in the Just Add Sweat Guide To Becoming A Virtual Assistant.

The guide includes:

- an audio course on everything from setting up your VA business, to marketing your services and finding and keeping clients
- a workbook to get you into action
- 5 videos teaching essential Internet skills
- and more.

This is the guide that will get your VA business up and running in no time. Who knows? Becoming a virtual assistant may be the next perfect “job” for you.

A few days ago, we told you about the free guide to making money from digital photography. You’ll definitely want to pick it up if you haven’t already and you’re intersted in earning extra cash with your photography.

To help you a bit further (but do read the report first), here is  a helpful list of stock photo sites that pay.

Because of the Internet, it’s now easier than ever for photographers to make money from their photographs. And you don’t even have to be an experienced professional. Some stock photo sites will accept your photos even if you’re an amateur or hobby photographer.

Below is a list of online stock photo sites where you can sell photos.

1. FreeFoto – http://www.freefoto.com/browse/99-14-0?ffid=99-14-0
2. Fotolia – http://www.fotolia.com/Info/Contributors
3. Shutterpoint – http://www.shutterpoint.com/Sell-Photos.cfm
4. Stockxpert – http://www.stockxpert.com/support/help/1
5. Dreamstime – http://www.dreamstime.com/sell
6. Crestock – http://www.crestock.com/quick-tour/sell-stock-photos.htm
7. 123RF – http://www.123rf.com/login.php?redirect=/myaccount.php
8. Big Stock Photo – http://www.bigstockphoto.com/forphotographer.html
9. ImageVortex – https://www.imagevortex.com/members/register.htm?occupation=photographer
10. iStockPhoto – http://www.istockphoto.com/sell-stock-photos.php
11. FreeDigitalPhotos – https://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/sell-photos-online.php
12. PhotoStockPlus – http://www.photostockplus.com/register.php
13. Shutterstock – http://submit.shutterstock.com/
14. Cut Caster - https://www.cutcaster.com/register
15. Zymmetrical - https://www.zymmetrical.com/account/profile/

This is only a partial list of the most popular stock photo sites that help you sell your photos. Each site has its own submission guidelines and policies about how much your photos will be sold for, and what percentage of each sale you will receive.

You can visit each site on this list, or better yet, sign up for the free report, “How To Make Money With Digital Photography”. It’s got tips on how to get started with selling your photos to stock photo sites, which pictures are hot sellers, and even how to take better pictures. You could be making money with the photos you already have NOW. Click here to get yours.

If you’ve got a love of photography, did you know you could actually make money with your digital photos? You don’t even have to be an expert photographer…you can still do it.

Here’s a free report that shows you how to make money with your digital photos.

When times are tough all over, here’s a refreshing and fun way to earn some extra cash.

I just read a recent hiring trend report from Elance.com hiring trends for February and found that article writing is one of the top 5 skills that businesses are outsourcing to freelancers. It’s really no surprise, especially since Elance caters mostly to online businesses. After all, what is the Internet made of? Images and WORDS…and it’s those words that are crucially important.

And believe me, most Internet marketers don’t have either the skill or the time to write – or both – and that means a lucrative opportunity for people like you with some writing skills.

But outside of article writing, there are other in-demand skills for online ghostwriting, such as copywriting, blogs, press releases, email marketing, white papers and more. This means less competition for you and more opportunities to specialize and actually charge MORE for your services.

If you’ve been thinking of breaking into ghostwriting and doing it quickly, I recommend this guide to ghostwriting. It will show you:

- How to market your services without spending on advertising
- Where to find clients with deep pockets
- Why and how to put up a professional website
- Which industries are virtual gold mines for ghostwriters
- How much to charge to actually make profit
- How to set yourself apart from your competition
- How to develop your portfolio especially when you haven’t had a single client yet

…and more!

To have a successful ghostwriting business, you need the right tools and strategies that successful entrepreneurs use. This guide gives you the stories of two successful ghostwriters who earn a full-time income writing from home. Not only are they inspirational, but they give some great tips too.

The best part is, because this guide is written for Moms, the price is just right. In fact, you’ll easily earn back the cost of this guide with your first writing assignment. I better just stop writing about it and let you check it out yourself. Click here to learn more about the Just Add Sweat Home Business Ideas for Women, Get Paid To Write: Become A Ghostwriter.

With layoffs abound, more people are searching for ways they can earn from home. One way to leverage the skills you already have is to become a virtual assistant – also known as a VA. A VA can offer a wide variety of services from secretarial services and customer support all the way to website development, transcription and more.

If you’ve thought about offering your skills and services to other businesses (and from the comfort of your own home, I might add), here’s a great brainstorming sheet that you can download:

Get Your Virtual Assistant Service Ideas (right click and save to your computer)

This quick checklist includes a whopping 103 ideas that will definitely help you find your own service specialty.

On a gloomy, rainy day, children stuck in the house tend to get bored very easily. We often find ourselves taking a trip out and spending money in order to cure their boredom. Here’s an alternative: have a quick search around the house to find some crafts supplies. The idea is to show them how to make things that won’t end up emptying your wallet. Providing the little one with entertainment isn’t as hard as you think. If you understand the things they’re into, you’re already way ahead. For young children especially, tearing things up into ribbons equals fun times.

Their temperament finds great joy in demolition. When the smashing spree is over, the laughter still ensues, sitting back and looking at what they’ve just done. So for this reason, durability is required.

Here’s a frugal idea that can withstand a little punishment. How about asking them to make a little town or village for their action figures (or dolls)?

Play Town Instructions

Needed:

* Cardboard of any type, size or shape.

* Paint or coloring crayons

* Thick sugar paper

* Scissors

* Glue

Constructing the play town is easy to do. First of all, decide which each of the cardboard boxes are going to be used for. Your daughter will probably want a palace or castle for her dolls. Whereas children with cuddly toys could enjoy making a farm or a zoo for their animals.

Every box can then be carefully painted or decorated to their ideals. If you use giant boxes (or have very small children) you could let them crawl into the boxes along with their toys! The advantage of using these materials is that they can be torn down or ripped and can simply be replaced. Even those expensive playhouses you buy from the shop would never stand up to this kind of abuse.

Further Ideas to Consider

Let the children’s imaginations run free when creating with crafts. At school, art teachers are loved and the lessons enjoyed the most. Remember when they taught us how to make spinning wheels out of construction paper, stick pins and pencils? Or flowers made from tissue paper with a pipe cleaner stem?

At holiday time, creating these craft ideas becomes more easier. You could let the children get messy with flour and water and baking soda to make little holiday ornaments and decorations.

Children love role-playing. With a simple use of construction paper, paint and crayons, and a few balls of cotton wool, they can make their own special costumes, and pretend to be all manner of things, from dinosaurs to cowboys and Indians. Don’t worry, you won’t be stuck all day with these types of projects. Just an hour or two to help them build it, then you can let the fun begin.

How about letting the children eat their masterpieces? No, I didn’t mean the paper! You could encourage the kids to be little chefs and make their own Jell-O eggs, frozen lollipops or cupcakes.

Simply use your imagination and the ideas are limitless. Anything can be made, providing the children with a full day’s activity, without spending a drop of money. Remember back to your own childhood for some good ideas. However, remember to let the children play too!

You must have heard the saying “your body is a temple”. Well, in most circumstances that is very true. You should realize however, that each day we introduce poisonous toxins into the body by handling certain chemicals around the home. Some of the main culprits are cleaning products. A good alternative to traditional supplies is to use eco-friendly products made from natural ingredients.

Did you know you can make your own cleaners yourself? Well, that’s where the idea of most modern cleaning products came from, simple ideas and solutions to household cleaning tasks. Using something acidic will naturally cut through grease and grime without damaging the work-surface. Be it paint, grease, grime or stubborn stains, the rest of this article will show you how to tackle them naturally.

Any ingredient containing abrasive material has the ability to obliterate hardened material and stubborn stains. To do this normally we would simply use a cleaner with harsh chemicals. The trouble is with this, is the fact that chemicals also evaporate into the air and can be inhaled – which can do damage to your lungs or mucous membranes.

It may not be necessary to buy the ingredients to make your own household supplies, as you probably already have them. This is ideal to save money in the current economic climate. The only thing you really need to pay for are some sturdy spray bottles that will last a while. Don’t worry, these will probably end up paying for themselves very fast. This idea may not even be new to you if you think back to how your grandmother may have used similar techniques.

Recipes for DIY Cleaning Supplies

* Mix vinegar with baking soda. Pour this concoction down the plughole to unblock drains.

* Water and ammonia. Use this to clean windows (be careful with ammonia).

* Simple essential oils mixed with water, spray into the air as air freshener.

* Cornstarch with vinegar. Another good use for cleaning windows

* Raw lemon to cut through grease.

* Washing soda with Borax. A good alternative to normal washing powder.

* Hydrogen peroxide. Can be used as a mild bleach or disinfectant.

* Citrus essential oils mixed with water as a disinfectant, wood cleaner or grease remover.

Floor Cleaning

If you don’t want to store too much supplies, small batches can be mixed as and when required. You could even let the children help you with the cleaning as the natural cleaning supplies are very safe. Remember though, it’s still a good idea to keep the room well ventilated.

Creating your own natural household cleaners is an excellent way to rid your house from the bacteria, help to reduce global warming, and best of all have a house smelling clean and fresh! To buy essential oils, simply visit your health shop or buy online. Of course, remember to check the bottle to make sure there are no added ingredients.

You’ll notice how much difference it makes to breathing easier. Use a decent scrubbing brush, have a supply of cloths or rags to hand and you can use these products anywhere in the house. Now you know a way to create your own natural household cleaning products. Why not begin straight away?