#1 Edamame is a fantastic source of protein and it makes a wonderful snack. Additionally, if you buy it frozen, it only takes about 5 minutes in the microwave to prepare. This means it’s perfect for busy mompreneurs. If you love to snack and are looking for a tasty, healthy, energy boost, you can’t go wrong with edamame.

#2 Berries. In addition to providing a boost of natural sugar – so much better for you than eating candy and cookies, berries are packed with antioxidants. Antioxidants keep your immune system functioning optimally and prevent free radical damage. And if you want to really have an energy boost, eat your berries with a bit of protein. For example, a few berries with a dish of yogurt or some cheese. The protein slows your body’s absorption of the sugar and carbs in the berries so your energy lasts a good long time.

#3 Nuts and nut butters. Nuts are jam-packed with protein and healthier fats. And nut butters offer the same benefits. If you’re eating a nut butter, for example peanut butter, look for the natural peanut butters without added sugar. It may take a little getting used to if you’re accustomed to sugary peanut butter. However, you’ll adapt quickly because it tastes great – you’ll never go back to the sugary stuff again.

Nuts are an easy snack that in addition to all the protein also offers a good amount of fiber. Nut butters can be eaten with whole grain bread, crackers, or with an all-natural berry spread if you like something a little sweet. Yep, good old-fashioned peanut butter and jelly the healthy way. It’s a great source of long-lasting energy.

Nuts, berries and edamame all contain a bit of the B-complex vitamins which are essential to balancing your blood sugar. They are the key to all-day energy and help your body respond to stress. If you’re a mompreneur, chances are there are some stressful moments in your life.

Now it’s important to note that you’re not limited to these three foods if you’re looking for a bit of energy during your day. Keep in mind that a balance of lean protein and a carb will work wonders. The carbohydrate provides the energy and the protein ensures you don’t burn it all up as soon as you eat it. The protein makes sure your energy lasts.

#1 – Set a schedule. One of the best ways to stay productive when working from home is to separate work from home. By setting work hours you say to the world and to yourself “I’m now working and can only deal with work.” Once your work hours are finished you can then move on to other tasks. This is exactly what you would do if you worked outside the home.

Being strict with yourself and setting a work schedule means that you not only get more done but you keep motivation at an all time high. It’s very demoralizing to fall behind on your work and this can really send any motivation you have into a nose dive. Avoid this trap by working to a set schedule.

#2 – Create a goals board. Creating a visual reminder of why you do what you do is extremely motivating. This can be a simple cork board that you add written goals to. You can also add pictures of your family and other reminders which help you feel what you do is worthwhile. Keep this board in sight so that you see it each time you sit down to work.

By simply having a visual reminder of why we’re doing what we do, we can remain motivated and moving forwards towards our goals.

#3 – Take a break. While this may seem counter-intuitive, it’s important to take a break from your business to recharge your batteries. Stay motivated by planning a special day out or a few hours at a coffee shop or anything that’s special to you. If you have something to look forward to, you are more likely to stay motivated because there’s an end reward in sight.

#4 – Take care of yourself. Feeling run down or tired can often be mistaken for lack of motivation. Take care of yourself by eating a healthy diet and taking a few minutes each day to get fresh air and exercise. It may seem like you don’t have time to exercise or eat right, but think about the time you will actually gain in the long term. Feeling healthy and energized will mean that you can concentrate better, work more productively and feel better all around – all of which leads to increased motivation and productivity.

As a mompreneur you can stay motivated and on task by creating the right balance between work and home life. The tips above will go a long way to helping you get started.

WAHM?

Just what do these letters stand for? WAHM stands for Work At Home Mom. Over the past 20 years, more and more women have come out of the workplace and gone back into the home.

The decision hasn’t been an easy one. It became apparent a long time ago that men were the only ones being allowed to “have their cake and eat it too.” They could pursue a corporate career and still come home in the evenings to the family.

Women with careers had a different path to follow. Besides working longer hours to achieve the same pay and credibility as their male counterparts, they also had to contend with the housework and the kids. After a long day at the office and doing the household chores, the kids sadly got what was left over which was usually a very worn out mother.

That has since changed. WAHMs are proving everyday that women can contribute to the family financial situation and nurture their families. Both online and off, a network of support has been created for any woman who wants to consider an option that will help them meet their needs.

How to get started?

When you talk to your family about the possibility you want to have an idea of the direction you will take. Check out sites like justaddsweat.com, internetbasedmoms.com and wahmtalkradio.com. They offer helpful hints to moms getting started with a work at home enterprise and also a network of opportunities for connecting with other WAHMs.

If your income has been a big part of the monthly family finances, then switching to a work at home enterprise will cause your finances to take a hit. Be sure there is enough financial cushion in your bank account to weather the first six months of your new career. It will take time to establish your business.

Opportunities

First, figure out your interests and skills. WAHMs can find business opportunities to work for someone else doing everything from audio transcription to writing articles to accounting. Be aware that there are scams about and that legitimate companies looking for professionals won’t ask for money upfront from you.

Some WAHMs carve out their own niche and begin an online business. If you are skilled with crafting, you can create a website to promote your crafts and sell products. A blog is also another idea. Blog about your area of expertise and develop a following. Combine that with affiliate or search engine marketing to generate revenue.

Making it work

With new career comes the issue of balance between home and work. Just because you are home doesn’t mean you won’t need help around the house or time away from the kids in order to work. Consider these tips for creating a balance:

• Develop a set schedule for work and play on a weekly basis
• Discuss dividing up household chores between you, your spouse, and older kids
• Do pre-work such as fixing lunches, prepping breakfast, choosing clothing the night before
• Hire a babysitter once or twice a week
• Separate home office space inside the house

There are advantages to being a WAHM. Plan carefully and be patient. Support from your family makes all the difference.

What will you offer to these moms? Well, your product is as close as your memory. Your expertise is the product you can market to moms everywhere. There are situations that you have encountered and overcome as a mom that other mothers are facing too. They could benefit from what you know to make their life a bit easier.

Packaging your Product – EBooks

Put your advice down on paper. You probably have a lot of good advice to offer but it won’t sound like much unless you can get it out of your brain and into a legible format. If you have a talent for writing this will be less of a challenge for you. Take a writing course to bone up on the finer points of writing outlines and organizing your thoughts on paper.

Your format for these organized thoughts is an eBook. Everyone has heard of them but might not know exactly what they are. An eBook is essentially a book in digital form. You can create and publish them yourself. For the work that you put into the project, you are greatly rewarded with pure profit.

The first consideration is the length of your eBook. A typical eBook can have as few as 70 pages or as many as 150. People will pay more for longer eBooks.

EBooks are popular media because they can be downloaded or printed in an instant. As soon as the payment is processed, the customer gains access to the eBook. No storage space other than what is on your computer or flash drive is needed to house the eBooks you buy.

Selling your EBooks

Consider your market – other moms. Let’s say that the subject of your eBook is getting a toddler through the terrible twos and threes. Fill your eBooks with information that moms want to know:

• Tips for bedtime
• Disciplinary tips
• Going out in public
• Dealing with mom stress
• Testimonials
• True life examples

All of these ideas can be used to flesh out your eBook. These same bullet points can be selling points for your eBook. When creating the eBook website page, use snippets from stories in the book, testimonials from others who have read the book and a partial list of chapters in the eBook as advertising on the page.

Condense chapters into enticing articles that you submit to article directories. Don’t give away too much because you want moms to buy your eBooks. Supply a link to your website in the resource box.

As a mom you can join online forums to share your helpful advice with other moms. Use a link to your eBook page in your signature line for easy access. As you develop a following on these forums, other members will visit your site and see your eBooks.

EBooks can be used to share information that you have learned as a mom with other moms. They are easy to create and with a marketing strategy, can bring large profit to your business.

Mystery shopping can be both fun and rewarding. There are, however, a few traits which will help you land the best mystery shopping jobs.

Here are a few:

- Must like to shop. If the thought of going to the mall doesn’t appeal to you, this probably isn’t the right job for you. Mystery shoppers need to be willing to shop and visit new stores and locations.

- Keen eye for detail. When you start a new assignment you’ll know before hand the things to look out for, in other words what the company is paying you to find out, you must remember to notice and observe all of these things during your “shop”.

- Must be accurate and timely in completing your shop and any related paperwork (survey/feedback forms, etc.). You’ll have to show good organization skills and complete your assignments in a timely manner. After finishing a job you’ll have to accurately fill in all the appropriate paperwork and follow the
company’s instructions as to how and when to submit the paper work to them.

- Ability to be objective and honest (you cannot give your personal opinions about a company; you must only report the things that occurred while you were on assignment). You should always be honest and give only accurate feedback to the company you’re working for.

- You need to be reliable (many shopping companies will let shoppers go after one incomplete shop or cancellation). These companies rely on you to perform your assignments in a timely manner.

- Strong communication skills. In most cases you’ll be role playing and strong communication skills are very important. For example, you may be asked to go into a sporting goods store and ask about the different types of a specific piece of exercise equipment and several other questions. You may notice that the sales person seems impatient or abrupt; this shouldn’t stop you from completing your job. You’ll need to display the ability to communicate and not shy away from certain situations in order to do your job well.

Grab your Moms Talk Biz Guide to Become a Mystery Shopper
- Step-by-step instructions, resources and inside information to help you profit from mystery shopping.

There certainly are no limits to how much money you can make on eBay it all comes down to how much you want to get out of it – if you treat it as a hobby then, well you’ll make pocket money. If you treat it like a business and think big – then you’ll be an entrepreneur on your way to success.

If you haven’t yet sold an item on eBay, have no fear it isn’t too difficult to set up your own auction. eBay themselves have a whole section with tips for making the most out of your auctions. As mentioned, start small with a few items and grow from there. One thing to keep in mind is that feedback is extremely important on eBay. You want to make sure you have a positive interaction with all your buyers and that your feedback is spotless. The best way to ensure good feedback is to make sure you describe your items as accurately as possible so there are no misunderstandings (if something has a scratch then say so), contact the buyer right away after an auction, ship the
items promptly taking all the necessary precautions and you’re courteous and provide feedback. It’s not rocket science but merely good customer service skills. Always go beyond what’s expected and people will recognize that.

Once you’re ready to go BIG with eBay you can think about drop shipping (this is where you don’t hold or ship any stock and a third party provider provides and ships the goods for you for a percentage fee). You’ll need to do your homework before you try drop shipping as there are some unfortunate scams out there. You can also think of opening your own eBay store and really expanding. The possibilities with eBay are endless it’s simply up to you whether you treat eBay as a hobby or really commit to building a full-time income
around it.

To learn how to make it BIG with eBay. Click here for more information.