So Happy New Year!

Sorry I’ve been so quite on the blog here … I am sooo happy to have a New Year and a fresh start! I can honestly say that 2011 was not my most favorite year. I lost 6 friends and family members … and only one of the deaths was actually expected.  *sigh*

For this year … I, along with about 70% of the rest of the universe, have made the decision to get healthy and lose some unwanted weight. I am using products from a company named Isagenix and I couldn’t be happier with the results so far. I’ve lost at least 11 lbs. since New Year’s Day (I don’t weigh in again for another few days) and the difference in the way my clothes fit and in my energy levels are nothing short of amazing. So what are the products? They are based on nutritional cleansing and replenishing your body with very healthy nutrients (something that was very foreign to my body LOL).

I was so excited about my results that I’ve been sharing the news with friends and family members and many have decided to join me. It has been so easy to share with others … that I’ve decided to make a business of sharing the products with others. It turns out there’s very good money to be made! In fact, if all of my appointments stick for this week I will make well over $1,000! Pretty cool huh?

I am going to be working this as a professional business and I’m willing to help others do this as a business too … so if you or someone you know is open to hearing about a new income stream please contact me k?

Here’s a video about some women kicking ass with the company (I plan on joining them! And, yes, there are plenty of men tearing it up too LOL I just really like this video). *huGs* Suzanne

http://suzannefranco.isagenix.com/us/en/isavideos_enterprisingwomen.dhtml

Let me know if this is something you or someone you know might be interested in hearing more about ok?

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1. Wanna Make Some Holiday CASH? (Video) So … you wanna make some quick cash? I can...

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So … you wanna make some quick cash? I can show you how ok?

Just watch this video and let me know if I can answer any questions for you … I’m seriously looking for 3 people to personally work with on this … please contact me if you’re interested or would like to hear more! *SmiLes* Suzanne

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<—— A quick reminder to Retweet if you enjoy the post … Thanks!

So I took some time off from the blog during the holidays (still had to run my other businesses) and when I was ready to return … tragedy struck. My 12 year-old son, Nathan, crashed his dirt bike doing about 30 mph and broke his collar bone and both of his wrists (poor little guy). I already love working from home but when this happened it reconfirmed just how lucky I am to be able to truly be there for my family and to not have a boss to deal with.

If you are working a job and would like to work from home why don’t you make 2010 the year? What I’d suggest you do is to figure out exactly how much you need to make to replace your job. List out all of the expenses of working at your job (clothing, lunches, gas, etc.) and subtract that from your take home pay and see what you need to come up with. That way you’ll have a true picture of what that will take for you.

You can start out by supplementing your income and see what it will take to replace the job all together.

I took the plunge by purchasing an existing business (on eBay LOL) and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve had several people ask me what I’d charge to help them set up an online business from scratch and it’s got me thinking about doing some site flipping – which is where you set up an online business and then sell it (usually auction style) so stay tuned for any news related to that. If you’d be interested please leave a comment below and/or shoot me an email telling me what type of business you’d be interested in and let me know your budget … we’ll see what I can come up with OK?

Hope everyone is well and I’m glad to be back to work here on the blog. *SmiLes* Suzanne

*** If you click on one of the images you can scroll through them easier

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As Ken was filing out some paperwork this morning he asked me the date and as I checked my cell phone and saw October 23^rd … I had a “moment.” Today’s the 4 year anniversary of our house fire … which was of course full of mixed emotions. Sad for what we went through … and thankful for all we have today … and for the decisions I made due to the fire.

It was this point in my life that I decided to figure out how to work from home … on my own schedule … and completely for myself. My kids were a mess and they needed their mom … when they needed her … not when I could work them in around my customers! They were going to after school daycare and we’d had some issues with that too.

At the time I was an independent contractor for a company (http://www.auction123.com) where I helped car dealerships put their used car inventory up for auction on eBay Motors. So even though I did work from home I had scheduled appointments to meet and sales calls to go on and it wasn’t as flexible as I’d hoped.

As with most people who go through a tragedy I can honestly say that a lot of good came from our fire. We are much closer as a family and I believe it changed my parenting – hopefully for the better. LOL.  And it was the true inspiration for me to find a way to work from home and for myself.

I decided to look for an online business. After I got some insurance money (our house and our belongings were deemed a total loss) I looked long and hard for an online business to purchase. I spent hours online looking for a “fit” and one day … Bingo! I found Freelance Daily (http://www.freelancedaily.net) for sale on eBay … and I bought it. It had a net profit of about $15,000 a year and I paid $5,000 for it. I also sunk about $3,000 – $4,000 into some programming and other expenses so I’d say it had a pretty good ROI. It was a great starting point for me in the online business world. It doesn’t meet all of the criteria I look for in a business now but it is the reason I worked so hard at learning keyword research, SEO (search engine optimization), and online marketing.

Once I got the hang of that site I got to plan out my WAHM (work at home mom) site (http://www.wahm-2-wahm.com) and that was really fun. I paid a designer to design it and a programmer to build the site. Unfortunately, the database software I chose for this site was completely over my head! So, once again, I had to open my wallet and pay for some help from a programmer. This site … about $2,000 – $3,000. *sigh*

Quite honestly for the past 4 years I’ve spent full time (and then some) hours online working at these businesses (and the other businesses I’ve started) and learning all I can about keyword research, SEO (search engine optimization) and online marketing … usually putting in anywhere between 10-14 hour days . I often joke that I’m certain by now I have the equivalent of a Master’s degree in online studies. LOL.

I truly love what I “do for a living” and if it weren’t for our fire I’m not sure I would’ve ended up this lucky!

I get a lot of email from readers who want to have an online business and they want to know how to make money NOW from it. I will tell you the same thing I tell them … there are no real short cuts to making a living online. It’s a lot of work but if you enjoy it … it’s worth the hard work to learn how to do so.

I also understand that not everyone has the money to go out and purchase an existing business. Now that I know what I know … I’m certain that both of the businesses I mentioned (and all of the other ventures I’ve started since) can be done on a very small budget so don’t let this discourage you.  

We have friends coming over and I’ll have some fun “celebrating” our 4 year anniversary – and all of the good that has come from the fire tragedy. LOL. I hope you all have a great weekend! *SmiLes* Suzanne

Do you have an online business? If so, how did you get started? If not, do you have a business idea you want to get going? Either way … do you need any help? Let us know!

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Lunch in Playa del Carmen (remember - don't drink the water! LOL)

I know some of you will think I’m crazy … but I wrote you a letter while I was on the plane ride to Cancun, Mexico for my honeymoon and I’d like to share it with you now. I made a huge decision the week before we left for our trip and I was just so excited about my future I just had to write down my thoughts.

As Ken and I sat in those big comfy seats in First Class (Ken surprised me and upgraded us LOL) … I realized just how lucky we are to have accomplished all we’ve done online. But it also made me think long and hard about the dozens and dozens of emails I get each month asking me (begging me) for help from those who don’t know where to start … from those who have been ripped off over and over again … and usually from my readers who have yet to make a dime online.

I can help!

So read my thoughts … and stay tuned because this week I’ll be announcing some very exciting news!

Click on the image below and it will take you to page with the entire letter (if it’s really little when you get there click on the image on that page and it should get big enough to read LOL)

P.S. It was about a 2 hour flight and Ken was happily reading a new dirt bike magazine … so for those who think I was missing out on my vacation time … it’s all good!

So … how is your business going right now? Have you been able to get started online? If not, what’s stopping you? What specifically can I help you with? Let us hear from you below! *SmiLes* Suzanne

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Austin and I have started our niche site “showdown” and we’ve decided to let our readers watch over our shoulders as we set up our sites and as we market and promote them … and eventually sell our products.

We’ve decided that due to the work involved in sharing this process and due to the fact that we’ll be sharing our niches and keyword choices and such … we will be putting the lessons on password protected pages on our blogs.

“Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest.” ~ Mark Twain

To be honest … after sharing this idea with some people online … they couldn’t believe we would give these “lessons” away for free! They’ve encouraged me to make it into an eBook and sell it.

Sure … we could … but we’re not going to! All we ask is that you opt in to our mailing lists and follow along with what we’re doing … fair enough?

Click below to read about the “competition” and to get signed up for the free lessons! 

Free Niche Site Lessons!  

Thanks for all of your encouragement so far … I hope you take us up on our offer and please let us know if you have any questions (we’re here to help). *SmiLes* Suzanne

P.S. Do you build niche sites? Have you ever done a site specifically for information products? Are you going to sign up for our free lessons … and/or cheer us on? Let us hear from you!

P.S.S. Please let me know if everything goes smoothly when you get signed up for the lessons … I’m still mastering Aweber!

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Last night I asked my husband if he wanted to get up in the morning and go to Starbucks with me for their “free pastry” day. I mentioned how we could bring our laptops and get through our morning round of answering email while we were there. I mentioned I would also enjoy getting to work away from home for a change of pace. He said that sounded good.

This morning we got up to his business phone ringing (as usual) and he went straight into his “work” mode of scrambling from customer to customer … as I went on to “doll up” and get ready to leave the house. Hmmm … no mention of our trip to Starbucks. I went on to print out the free pastry coupon and he got dressed and closed his computer. “Yes, this is going to be fun” I thought to myself. Then he looked over and said, “Baby, why are you packing up your computer?” Uhhhhh … “I thought we were going to work while we were there?” Him, “I don’t have time for that now. I have to get right back and pack boxes … but we can go get you your free pastry.”

OK … we’ll pass on the marital “discussion” that went along with this scenario but I will say this. I am so happy that I have the type of business that I have. One that doesn’t require me to be at any one place at any given time … and it’s by DESIGN … not by accident BTW!

Yes, Ken does make more money than I do but he started his business many years ago and the money wasn’t always there for the hard work he put in. That hard work for little pay is an investment you will have to put in for most any business model. But the part I want to take a look at is the workload and flexibility once you are established.

Trading Time For Money
The busier and more successful Ken becomes financially … the more hours he puts in and the more of a burden it is to him (us I guess LOL). He has a seasonal business (water sports industry) so summers are complete madness for our family. In fact, he’s so busy that he rarely has time to enjoy his passion, wakeboarding, which was the very reason he started his business. I call this scenario “trading time for money” and I want NO part of it. LOL

I, by design, look for business models that once I’ve put in the initial “grunt work” in the beginning and the business takes off … the less I have to work and the more money I make. That means I want businesses where I never have to pack or ship anything (that requires me to be somewhere – no thanks!) and where I’m not “expected” to be available certain times on certain days.

So for me I look for businesses that have some or all of the following: 

• I can work from anywhere in the world
• I can work at it any time of day … any day of the week
• I don’t have to pack or ship anything (no tangible products)
• I refer business/sales and someone else does the packing and shipping
• It has a residual income stream (sell once and continue getting paid)

Blogging
Blogging meets most of these criteria as long as I keep the list in mind. I can make money through affiliate links, through pay per click, through click per action offers, through direct sales of ads (so long as I automate that – or else I have to be available to customers), and through site reviews (again … as long as I spell out when I’m available to do those). Through this blog I have had a lot of people offer to pay me to help them with their online businesses … and although that’s a tempting business model (to get paid for sharing the years and years of experience and knowledge I’ve worked hard to gain) … it’s still trading time for money right? I will do it on a case by case basis but it’s not a model I want to grow over the years.

Niche Stores/BANS
My niche stores meet the criteria … even more so than the blog format. Send over the affiliate/referral sales via the interent … can be done anytime … from anywhere … nothing to pack or ship … perfect!

Membership Sites
Membership sites work for this model too … as long as they don’t require a lot of time adding content … or at least as long as the content isn’t on a rigid schedule. For instance, if the membership includes new content/lessons every Monday … I would make sure they can be automatically uploaded … as opposed to a live webinar every Monday which would require me to be there at a certain time. See the difference?

Subscription Based Newsletter
One of my online businesses (Freelance Daily) does not completely fit my business model so eventually I will either have to find someone I trust to run the business for me or I will sell it. It is a daily job source newsletter for freelance writers. Writers pay me a monthly or yearly fee to receive the new job leads every day. This requires work 5 nights a week and DOES NOT fit with my ideal business model. I’ve hired someone to do this part of the work for me so I’m covered for now … but I handle all of the administrative duties and sometimes those are time sensitive. There are also some aspects of the business that are not automated correctly so I’m re-examining them now to see how I can streamline. Now … because I’ve built a customer base and a name for myself in that industry … I’d be smart to find other ways to monetize that business … but the new ideas must fit my “list.”

My WAHM Membership/Database Site
I also have my WAHM 2 WAHM business (a way for work at home moms – WAHMs – to look for and promote direct sales businesses) and it’s set up according to my model. It’s fully automated and all I have to do is to promote it. I do want to get an affiliate program set up so that others can go out and promote it for me too … sounds good right?

So … I’m at Starbucks alone *sigh* “working” while my husband is stressed out and packing boxes in the muggy heat (we’ve had over 30 days of triple digit heat this summer – so far) and then he’ll be off to the post office sweating his ass off there too. I TOTALLY appreciate how hard he works for us … I truly DO … but by design I’ll keep looking for ways to make money via my ideal business model (in fact, I’m even an affiliate for his company now LOL). *SmiLes* Suzanne

P.S. My hot chocolate and (free) lemon pound cake were awesome!

Do you have a business model for yourself? Do you agree with how I feel about trading time for money? Have you been able to stick to your own “list”? Do you have any helpful advice for me and for others? Let us hear from you …

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Hey … I Got Married … and I’m Back to Work!

* If you’re reading via RSS subscription come on over to the blog and watch the video that’s included and see the picture slide show from the wedding and our trip.

Hey there … I’ve really missed all of you – and I have some great news … Ken and I got married (June 30^th) in Tulum, Mexico and it was awesome! We took our 5 children with us and some family members were able to meet us down there too. It really was a dream wedding and vacation for us and we couldn’t be happier.

We married and stayed at Dreams Tulum and it was incredible. It’s a 5 Star all-inclusive resort in the Riviera Maya (about 1 ½ hours from Cancun) and the resort, the staff, and the food were simply amazing (OK … yes … so were the margaritas! LOL). You can imagine how the kids felt getting to eat and drink whatever they wanted whenever they wanted … and there were constantly fun activities going on not to mention great pools and the gorgeous beach there.

Other than the wedding itself I’d say the highlight of our trip was hiring guides to take us all snorkeling in some of the local cenotes (spring fed caves) and going to the ruins in Tulum.

On more of a work related note I am so happy to see all of my hard work online pay off. I was able to cut back my “work hours” while planning our wedding (for the past few months) and be gone for the trip itself … all the while maintaining my current online income.

How? I’d say my keyword research skills combined with my SEO efforts are the biggest factors, as well as, the fact that I’ve really managed to diversify my income. That way if one site/revenue stream slipped it didn’t affect my income much at all. I also have a niche store that’s very seasonal and that site has done well over the past few months.

As I’ve always maintained there is no “get rich quick” idea here … just learn the basics and put in the hard work when you go to set up your sites (I believe the foundation is the most important aspect to success). And then follow through by doing what it takes to get your site/s established in the search engines by adding a ton of content and building backlinks.

I’m hoping to do some question and answer type posts over the next few weeks so please submit your questions through the Contact Us page and I’ll answer them in order here on the blog.

It’s great to be back … and I look forward to hearing from you. Let me know you were here, let me know what you want to see on the blog and submit your questions so I can answer them for you. *SmiLes* Suzanne (Franco) Land<———– new name LOL

Here are some pictures from our wedding and our trip … (hint: you can click the + plus sign and this slide show will speed up)

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I get a ton of emails asking me what products I’ve paid for and whether or not they were worth the money I spent. So, I thought I’d start posting about some of the products that I own and I’ll give you my honest opinion about whether or not I’d recommend you spend your money on them or not.

Yes, I’m an affiliate for some of them but if you’ve followed me for any time at all you’ll know I’m not here to take your money or scam you so relax and just read about the products without wondering if I’m trying to rip you off. LOL. I’m not. If you do see something that interests you and you want me to get the credit for your purchase go ahead and use the links here in this post. Thanks … and here we go.

HOST GATOR HOSTING

Host Gator Hosting. I’m going to start with my hosting because I think moving my sites to Host Gator might be the single best thing I did for my businesses since getting started online. I won’t go into detail here about the problems I had with my prior hosting company but you can read more about my move to Host Gator here.

Are they worth the money? Yes! I can say without a doubt that having trouble-free, high quality hosting is well worth the money.

(First month for a penny and then $9.95/month)

BANS – BUILD A NICHE STORE

BANS – Build a Niche Store. I started my eBay affiliate career (EPN) by purchasing the BANS product and I’m personally glad I did. I’m not very techie and I knew very little about websites at that time. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a product for total beginners and I did struggle at first with it. But, the installation manual and user manual are very detailed and helpful and the forum is simply second to none. I’ve learned so much on that forum not only about BANS but about all aspects of internet marketing and promoting.

I still have BANS stores and I will probably be building a few more stores here in the next couple of months. I have also purchased phpBay which is another tool for promoting the eBay affiliate program and some say it’s a more versatile product than BANS but BANS seems to be a bit better for beginners. Here’s my post with more information about BANS.

(One time $97.00 fee and good for an unlimited number of websites)

WEALTHY AFFILIATE UNIVERSITY

Wealthy Affiliate University. Wealthy Affiliate is an online membership site that teaches its members how to start their own online business using Internet Marketing … specifically Affiliate Marketing. I have never seen so much valuable information in one place … and I’m not kidding!

I will say that this information can be used to run and promote any kind of online business or website … even though its teachings are geared towards affiliate marketing. There were times where I read the material and the forum for days on end and I learned so much there. In fact, I believe the amount of time I invested in learning on this site would’ve earned me a degree of some kind LOL. I’m also going to be taking a class on PPC through their site here soon and I’ll let you know how that goes too. If you’re new to the online business world (or even if you’re not) this is definitely my favorite learning resource so go check it out now and let me know what you think (and let me know if you have any questions too).

(Now’s the time to check out WA – They’re offering a one week trial for $1.00! If you choose to continue with your membership it’s only $39.00/month and I promise you it’s well worth it!)

POTPIEGIRL’S ONE WEEK MARKETING ACTION PLAN

PotPieGirl’s One Week Marketing Action Plan. This eBook teaches you how to make money through affiliate marketing using FREE tools and methods … and it’s awesome! I feel like I’ve learned a lot over the past few years and quite honestly I didn’t expect to learn much from this eBook … but I really did.

Not only will you learn a lot but it gives you a step-by-step guide to use so you can start, and more importantly, FINISH a campaign without much trouble. I used it to target one of my fiance’s sites (I’m an affiliate for his site LOL) and I got top Google positions and traffic right away using her instructions. I plan to use it for many other sites/products and I now know it will work like magic. This one’s pretty much a no-brainer due to the low price! I’m certain it will more than pay for itself if you actually do what she instructs you to do.

The eBook also came with some killer bonuses. I don’t know for sure if they’re still available but if for some reason they’re not just shoot me an email and I’ll bet I can get her permission to share them with you. Definitely go check out PotPieGirl’s One Week Marketing Action Plan Right Now!

(Only $47 … I couldn’t believe it! It’s worth more I promise!)

30 MINUTE BACKLINKS

30 Minute Backlinks. I am a HUGE fan of Michelle MacPhearson’s 30 Minute Backlinks! The system she came up with is simply ingenious and there is no denying … it works!

She will show you step-by-step how to build hundreds or even thousands of high PR backlinks to your sites. The first couple of times you do this … I wouldn’t necessarily call it a “30 minute” project LOL … but as you learn the ropes that’s more fair. I will say it’s worth every minute you put into it.

I’ve used this system for several of my sites and so has my fiancé and we’ve both seen some amazing results. I’m almost certain it’s the reason my brand new destination wedding site already has a PR1 (after a month and a half online) and my fiance has several of his retail products that have risen (some quite a bit) in the SERPs after using this system. Check out her sales page and watch her video “commercial” and see what you think.

(It costs $97.00 and if you have a website … it’s definitely worth the moderate price tag!)

SUMMARY

Alright, I don’t want to give you information overload but I do want to give you a brief summary of these.

1. If you are just getting started online I personally would give the PotPieGirl a shot. One of the bonuses is an email journal of back and forth conversation between her and a guy she helps who’s never made any money online and he’s successful within the one week time frame.
2. My next choice for learning and getting started would have to be Wealthy Affiliate and with it being priced at a dollar right now … you can’t go wrong! I will warn you … there is NO WAY you could possibly get through all they have to offer in a week but it’s a great way to see if you’d benefit from their site on a monthly basis.
3. If you already have some experience and you’re looking for a way to diversify your income I’d recommend BANS as a way to make money with the eBay affiliate program (EPN). It makes it very simple to get some niche stores set up. You will be most successful with these if you understand keyword research and SEO.
4. If you already have a site (or several) you should definitely give the 30 Minute Backlinks a shot. What would a rise in the SERPs and a higher PR mean for your sites? For me it was well worth it!
5. I just can’t say enough about HostGator hosting so they will always have my endorsement.

If you have any questions about any of these products please let me know either in the comments section or by using the Contact Us page.

Have you used any of these products? If so, do you feel they were worth the cost you paid for them? Let us hear from you below so we can all learn from each other. *SmiLes* Suzanne

Trying out Number 1 Way to Make Money Online too …

and Niche Profit Classroom …

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Holidays Stressing You Out? This Will Make You Laugh … I Promise!

OK … I’m home with kids (our five and we have a friend over) and it’s freezing outside. For those who work from home with kids you know how hard it is to concentrate on work and be there for your kids at the same time … so this is as close as I can get to getting both done. The Holidays can be so stressful that I thought it would be nice if I gave all of you a little break and hopefully a good laugh! Watch us bust a move …

The image below will link to a video that is hosted on the Office Max website and then the video should play automatically after you click (with music so it’s a warning to be ready).

If you didn’t already know I’m crazy … now you will! Hopefully my boys won’t hate me for this … well, not for too long anyway. LOL

Once on the site click "Try Another Dance" and see the country one too!

Need a good laugh? Did you give it a try yourself? If so, share the link here in the comments. Do you have any other fun ideas to break the holiday tension? Please share them with us! *SmiLes* Suzanne

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