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Balancing Work
and Family
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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. Feature Article: The Toothbrush Made My Nose Bleed!
2. Quick News Byte
3. Biz-Tool Essentials
4. Spotlight: Navigating the Web with Internet Keywords
5. Feedback Forum
6. Guest Column: Get The Right Keywords
7. How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
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FEATURE ARTICLE
The Toothbrush Made My Nose Bleed!
by Brett Krkosska
Hello Work At Home Readers! Realizing that many
of you are still working full-time jobs until your home
business takes off, I thought this little story might
strike a chord with some of you...
It's 6:30 a.m. and all's well. I didn't have to be at work
until 8:30 a.m. Since my wife was leaving for work
early, I was on my own getting the kids off to school.
Time enough for a cup of coffee over the paper and
a shower before waking the kids.
It's 7:00 a.m. As I bent down to wake my five-year-old,
I noticed that his hair seemed particularly unruly. Closer
inspection revealed that yesterday's gum was today's
new hair sculpting sensation.
It's 7:30 a.m.
As I stand over my son experimenting with household
products that double as gum remover, my seven-year-
old screams from the bathroom that the toothbrush
made her nose bleed.
It's 8:00 a.m.
Obviously I was going to be late for work. Since this
would be my 3rd tardy in 6 months...
a nice little reprimand in my file.
Perhaps you've experienced an equally frantic scene in
your own home. Balancing work and family, especially
child care, can be quite difficult at times.
With many large companies having very strict and
unforgiving policies, is it any wonder so many people
are seeking a work at home lifestyle?
Is it really so hard to understand why corporate America
loses millions of dollars each year due to low worker
productivity and high absenteeism?
In a study conducted by the Ford Foundation, it was
found that morale improved and absenteeism dropped
30% when employees were allowed to become work
and family focused. Additionally, customer response
time was reduced and project deadlines were met more
often.
How was this accomplished?
Simply by allowing employees to implement changes
based on their own ideas for a balanced life. In one
instance, more than half the employees in a department
of 240 changed their work hours.
Many of you that subscribe to this newsletter are currently
performing a difficult juggling act...
...trying to maintain gainful employment, develop your
home business into a viable money-maker, while also
meaningfully attending to a family.
Until the day comes when you can quit your job, why not
try to affect some changes in your workplace?
Have the courage to suggest your ideas for improvement.
Most employers are hungry to ideas that improve work
conditions.
Here are some pointers:
1. Talk to influential people in your company and ask for
their suggestions and support for your ideas.
2. Make sure you are clear how your ideas would impact
customers, employees, and the company.
3. It helps if you promote your ideas in very specific terms.
You are more likely to be noticed if it's apparent that you
have thought your ideas through.
4. Stay open and be willing to accept more responsibility
to implement changes.
5. Form a "think tank" and get ideas from the group on
ways to improve working conditions.
6. Keep your immediate supervisor in the loop. Your
supervisor can be your most valuable asset.
7. Talk to people in other companies related to your
field. Do they have "employee friendly" policies? Get
their suggestions on making changes in your company.
In conclusion...
... if you work full or part-time, if you have minor
"toothbrush" emergencies, and if your company
is not "work and family" focused...
... why not WAKE UP your company, and show them
what it's like to "bring your family" to work.
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QUICK NEWS BYTE
According to a study by Zona Research, one third of
online shoppers waiting for web pages to down-load
will "bailout" after only eight seconds. This could cost
web merchants as much as $4.35 billion in lost
e-commerce sales this year.
Try this service to speed up your site:
http://www.netmechanic.com
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SPOTLIGHT
Navigating the Web with Internet Keywords
by Brett Krkosska
Internet Keywords are fast becoming an easy way to
search the Web. AOL has long recognized that people
want a way to access their favorite sites without a lot
of fuss. Now there is an easier way for anyone to
navigate the Web without using long URL's.
RealNames is a company that's making it easier for
anyone to find you on the Internet, even if they can't
remember your URL.
For example, let's say you market "get paid to surf the
web" programs. When people try to find your site using
a major search engine like Altavista, chances are you
will be buried under a long list of responses.
RealNames has created a way to get around this with
the use of Internet Keywords.
It doesn't matter if your URL is a dot com, dot net, or
even if you have a long and hard to remember domain
name. You can become visible ahead of hundreds of
other sites with a RealName.
More than 2 million people currently use RealNames
everyday, and with big companies like Microsoft and
Altavista putting in their support, the advantages of
owning an Internet Keyword can really put you ahead
of the pack.
For $100 here is what you can get:
>>> A RealName that includes your company name and
your selected keywords.
>>> First exposure on the major search engines
Altavista and Infoseek. Look for other search engines
to incorporate RealNames into their system.
>>> People are taken directly to your site when they
type your RealNames keywords into their Internet
Explorer browser.
>>> Your RealName is listed in their publicly accessible
database, which is currently getting over 2 million hits
a day.
So you can see how it works, try it out using my
keywords as a test.
1. Go to: http://www.altavista.com and type in
homebiztools
2. Click the link just above the usual results that says:
"homebiztools - click here for a list of Internet Keywords
related to homebiztools"
3. There you will see the link to my page, but notice that
my chosen RealName is "HomeBizTools Work At Home
Business Headquarters" Why is this phrase important?
4. Go back to Altavista and type in:
home business
( "home business" is a phrase within my RealName )
5. Click the link just above the usual results that says:
"home business - click here for a list of Internet
Keywords related to home business"
6. Presto! There is my RealName with a link directly
to my site.
7. If you have Internet Explorer 5 and you type
home business
into the URL field you will also be taken to that link again.
So you see, people are more likely to find me when they
search using the terms "home business" or "work at home".
This is a very powerful tool for attracting prospects.
Why do I think this service is worth the $100?
> Once you get a RealName, you own it. Just like a
domain name, it becomes a brand that can attract
value in and of itself.
> RealNames plans to invest millions of dollars to
increase awareness in the global community. Expect
to see lots more people using Internet Keywords as
their preferred way to navigate the Web.
> Signing up is easy. RealNames has a very helpful
customer service staff to help you choose the right
name for your business.
For more information and to get your own RealName
go to:
http://www.homebiztools.com/marketing.htm
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FEEDBACK FORUM
This is a new feature that will run in the next issue.
If you have comments that you'd like to share with
our readers, send them to:
mailto:feedback@homebiztools.com
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GUEST COLUMN
Dr. Kevin Nunley is recognized expert in the field of
Internet marketing and has helped many entrepreneurs
build successful and profitable online businesses.
Get the Right Keywords
by Kevin Nunley
I read a lot of articles trashing search engine promotion.
Still, when I look closely at where a client is getting most
of their web site visitors, search engines are one of their
best friends.
Tweaking your site for search engines is still one of the
most effective ways to increase your web site hits.
Search engines send people to your site when the user
types a search word or phrase into the engine. If your
site contains that word or phrase, your site is listed as
one of the choices to visit.
Keywords can be tricky. Sites often discover that people
don't search for them with the keywords they expected.
Instead of searching for "sports equipment" they search
for "football supplies." Rather than typing in "CPA" they
type "bookkeeping help."
Think of all the different ways people describe what you
do. Use the same words and phrases you hear many of
your customers use.
Big companies buy access to a database of keywords
supplied by search engines. You can get similar results
with programs that check the effectiveness of your
search terms.
Check out:
WebPositionGold
http://www.webposition.com/cgi-local/index.pl?DS1=RP&DS2=ECO-55D7
AddWeb http://www.cyberspacehq.com/addweb/
AgentWebRanking http://www.aadsoft.com.
Read Kevin's new book "Marketing After Y2K-Sensible
strategies for staying profitable through thick and thin."
Now on-line at http://drnunley.com/. Reach Kevin at
kevin@drnunley.com
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Would you like to be a guest columnist?
We're always looking for great topics that will keep
our subscribers informed.
To have your article considered for publication in our
Guest Column, just send it to:
mailto:submitarticle@homebiztools.com
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That's all for this issue. Thank you to everyone for your
support and please drop me an email anytime with your
questions, comments, scoldings, or just to say hi!
Brett Krkosska
Founder, Editor, Net-a-Holic,
Family Man, Bug Chaser
mailto:brett@homebiztools.com
HomeBizTools: a division of B-K Publications
http://www.homebiztools.com
All the tools you need to work at home... in one place!
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