by Kimberly Vetrano

When people hear the term “passion” most people will think about something that provokes love, romance and desire.

Webster’s Dictionary defines “passion” as a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.

Having a home business and being your boss is the dream of many men and women around the world. Most people would love to be able to find a way to generate income without having to work for someone else.

Some are lured by empty promises of “get rich quick schemes” which pop up all over the place; online, newspapers, TV, and in email inboxes. Some people are fortunate to find something that helps them earn money but in time they either fail or just lose interest.

So how is it that some people start a home business and end up being happy and successful whereas others either fail or are miserable with what they do?

The answer is passion. Those who are happy and succeed do so because they have a passion for what they do. And that passion extends to every aspect of their business which helps them to succeed.

Many years ago I came to the decision that I wanted to have a home business. I was a stay at home mom and I was interested in generating some extra income for my family. I did some extensive searches on the Internet and in the local paper but I never really found anything that piqued my interest.

Then it came to me, why not sell cosmetics? After all, I was a frequent customer for well known cosmetic company, so why not become one of their representatives?

It made perfect sense. I loved their products and I felt that it was enough to make me a successful salesperson. So without looking back I jumped in with both feet. I purchased all the samples and sales products I could possibly afford. I was ready to tackle the world and become the next greatest salesperson. Three months later I quit.

It took me many years to figure out why it was that something I felt so strongly about failed me so miserably. I was not passionate about being a cosmetic salesperson. It wasn’t what I truly saw myself doing for the rest of my life. I did like the products, but I hated trying to sell face-to-face. I didn’t enjoy what I was doing. I did not wake up each morning looking forward to my day selling cosmetics.

A couple of years passed and I learned about an interesting new home business idea. It was creating personalized candy wrappers for party favors and gifts. This idea interested me. I have always loved being creative. Art was always my best subject in school. And I loved using my computer to do creative things.

Creating personalized candy wrappers really seemed to be something I was cut out to do. So with the same enthusiasm that I had when I was going to be the world’s greatest cosmetic salesperson I dove right in to the business of creating and selling personalized candy wrappers.

That was nearly four years ago and I’m still in the business of creating personalized candy wrappers. So why did I succeed this time around? The answer is plain and simple; I have a passion for what I do.

Being creative is a passion of mine. Using the computer is a passion of mine. Creating something that people truly enjoy is like a passion of mine too. I have succeeded because I have a genuine passion for what I do.

The lesson to learn here is that anyone can start a home business. After all there are literally thousands of companies out there you can be a representative for. Many of which have been around for decades.

There are also some incredibly creative ideas out there waiting to be made into a reality. But in order to succeed and be happy with what you decide to do you should really have a passion for it. An intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction for what you want to do.

First you need to define what you are passionate about. Does working with children make you incredibly happy and fulfilled? Does being creative and doing arts and crafts something that you look forward to each day? Do you feel that you were born to be a writer or an artist?

What ever you feel most passionate about is they type of business you should consider when looking for home business ideas. After all, if you love to write, how are you going to be truly happy each and every day selling bath and body products? Or if you enjoy working with children and children’s products will you wake up each morning loving what you do if you were a shoe salesperson?

Write down all the things you are most passionate about. Then take the time to investigate all of the many available home businesses out there that will help fuel your passion. If you can’t find an established business idea you can create one of your very own.

As long as you are passionate about it you can make it work and you can make your business a success. Your passion will be infectious and your clients and customers will feel your passion too.

When you define your passion don’t be afraid to follow it. You may be pleasantly surprised about the path it leads you down on the road to business success.

Kimberly Vetrano lives in New York with her husband of ten years and their
two children. Kimberly owns FUNtastic Letters & Wraps as well as works for

Bizymoms.com. She is also the founder of SheScribes.com. In her free time she enjoys writing and photography.

Why Take Out? Quick Dinner Tips.

by Allison Coia

You had a long and grueling day at work and now you need to decide what to put on your dinner table. 

Mothers, even if both parents are working, are more likely to be in charge of the dinner dilemma and this can produce an enormous amount of unwanted pressure. 

Your children are looking for your undivided attention and it is up to you to juggle between them, dinner, the dog, and whatever else pops up when arriving home.

For stay-at-home mothers, you may be feeling the same pressure of a day of running errands, shuttling the kids around, and getting dinner on the table at reasonable time.

Planning is your best friend. Yes, it will take some time at the beginning of your week, but the benefits will certainly outweigh any negative feelings that you have about spending a few hours doing this.  Menu planning will help you determine what you will eat during the week so you do not have to wing it each night.

Grocery shopping can be very stressful; go when it is less crowded.  Try getting up very early on a Saturday or Sunday or midweek after 8 pm on any given night. 

You will be amazed how stress free it is to walk through the aisles almost uninterrupted.  Take it from me, who spends four days a week in a grocery store, timing in is invaluable. 

Some items are used throughout the week and prep them in advance.  You can chop onions, zucchini, carrots, peppers & garlic and then store them in zip lock bags for easy storage.  Pealed garlic that you can find in the produce section is a great time saver.

A well-stocked pantry is the foundation for a successful cook. Pick up staple items that are quick and easy to cook. 

I love boil a bag brown rice.  It is good for you and it only takes 15 minutes from start to finish. 

Couscous is another favorite that takes no time at all to prepare.  You can either eat it plain or put a little fun into it by adding vegetable like onions, peppers, zucchini, etc.  

Quinoa is something that I use quite a bit in my business and has become a client favorite.  What is Quinoa you ask?  Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) is an ancient food that is cultivated in South American Andes since at least 3,000 B.C. and has been a staple food of millions of native inhabitants.

The ancient Incas called quinoa the "mother grain" and revered it as sacred.  How can you go wrong with something that is called the “mother grain?” 

Quinoa cooks in 12 minutes and like couscous, you can add your favorite vegetables. 

Other must have staple items:

• Canned tomatoes are a necessity in any kitchen Italian or non-Italian.  A quick sauce is right around the corner by sautéing garlic in olive oil and adding canned tomatoes.  Say goodbye to Ragu!
• Pre-made broth
• Different sizes and shapes of pasta
• Jarred peeled garlic
• Boneless and skinless chicken
• Fish that has been flash frozen.  If you have a Trader Joe’s in your neighborhood, I highly recommend their fish.

How can we make this everyday event a little less stressful?  The first thing I suggest is to put on your favorite music while preparing your meals.  Music tends to relax us and keep our minds from wandering a little too much in our own little heads thinking about all the things we still need to do.  I think you all know what I mean.

As a personal chef, I cook in quantity for my families and double many recipes.  By doubling recipes, you save a ton of your valuable time.  Instead of making four servings of soup, make eight and freeze half of it.  Then you can just pull it out on a day where preparing a meal is out of the question.  

Add a salad and some fresh bread and you are always set to get a great homemade dinner on the table.  You can also do this many other foods like casseroles, lasagna and even your meats if you have a vacuum sealer.

You can save on the amount of time it takes you to clean by purchasing disposable baking pans for messy casserole/pasta type dishes.  These pans can be found in bulk stores for as little as .50 cents each.

Some days, you will still want takeout, however you now have the tools to go ahead and succeed in the kitchen.  Just like other things in life, the more you do it, the more relaxed you will be with cooking.

Great dinners are only a few moments away. Top tips are plan ahead, shop off hours, stock your pantry well, and cook with a relaxed mind.  You can do it just like the Personal Chefs do!

Allison Coia is the Chef/owner of Cook-A-Doodle-Doo Personal Chef service, www.cookadoodledoo.com. As a personal chef, Allison does the menu preparation, grocery shopping, cooking in your kitchen, packaging, labeling, and best of all, cleans your kitchen when done. If you need more information about utilizing a Personal Chef, you can go to www.personalchefsnetwork.com.

by Liz Lourash

Sometimes in life, things don’t go according to plan.

I’m a happily married 36 year old momma, who has worked in the healthcare field for the last 5 years. Most things in my life were planned.

I planned on getting married. I planned on having secure job. I planned our son’s birth. I was laid off from the hospital after 5 years due to financial difficulties within the hospital and that my friends, was not planned! For the first time in my life, I was thrust into the unknown. I didn’t know how I would be able to help support my family and that caused a great deal of concern.

I applied for a variety of positions, but in the meantime had to find something to do with my spare time that would help me feel like I was doing something. I did a lot of research and found that many mommas were successful with work from home companies.

Without a job, I needed to keep myself busy and feel like I was contributing to the household. What I found was that there are so many opportunities out there for women or men who desire to stay home with their children.

I needed something that would not take a lot of investing and didn’t know if that was even a possibility. To my surprise, I found tons of work from home opportunities with little to no start up cost.

I had read all about the earning potential and what was needed to make a successful business, but I now needed to find the right fit for me. I wanted an opportunity that would be interesting and fun as well as financially rewarding. I talked to other work from home moms and asked for information, advice and from there began my company inquiries.

I was given many key elements to being successful in network marketing that I will share with you. You can’t be successful without getting your product out there. You have to be persistent and show people what is available and you have to be diligent in helping others. By helping others succeed, you increase your success.

I have chosen several companies to represent what I am interested in. I am an independent distributor for a company based out of Nashville, Tennessee called My Letter Design. This company has some of the cutest things I’ve seen and a very original strategy - a little bit of everything.

We offer personalized stationary, invitations, address labels, baby gifts, engravables and much more. I am also a representative for two candle companies that offer a large variety of scents and bath products.

White Lily and Enchanted Hollow offer two different types of candles and being someone who enjoys these products, variety and quality is important to me. Three programs for $30.00 … total, for THREE separate businesses, that‘s $10 for each.

Signing up for these programs was easy, inexpensive and I’ve met a host of people willing to do whatever they can to help me in this venture.

The income grows with each month. I have many affiliate links on my site that are easily explored. They are wonderful free opportunities just waiting for you.

My advice to moms who would like to work from home? Don’t give up on that dream! It’s possible ~ just be patient and keep trying! It may take some time to build your business, but it’s like a snowball … it gets bigger with each month.

http://lizl.myletterdesign.com http://www.myspace.com/liz_myletterdesign

Email Liz

Have a story that you’d like to share? Email us at mail@mommyscompany.com

Neat Receipt

www.neatreceipts.com

Yes, tax season is behind us but don’t do your crazy chicken dance just yet. All that means is that another month of looking for invoices, searching your files for old receipts, and crying to your account is coming again. Make next year easier on yourself (and your bookkeeper) and use Neat Receipt. With a touch of a button you can scan receipts and put them in different files on your PC. The U.S. government is recognizing Neat Receipt scans as credible documents! Paper is SO 2006, get with it!

$229.95

Sign Baby Flash Cards 4-pack
www.signbaby.com

During that awkward stage when your toddler knows what he or she wants but can’t communicate it verbally, baby sign is the key to avoiding needless tantrums and frustration (by you and your little one). These flashcards by Sign Babies are the perfect way for both of you to get familiar with the most common signs. On the front is a colorful illustration and on the back of the card is the American Sign Language sign. We love them!

$39.99