by The Happy WAHM
When God closes a door, He opens a window.
I was once again reminded of this just today. On a day that’s really bleak, and sad, and full of uncertainty.
I’ve been putting in sporadic hours at work for the past days. Have been out of groove since the daily migraine attacks. But I still try to show up at work, even just to accomplish the inbox items that need the quickest turnaround.
This morning, I was abruptly fully awake when I realized that I still have not booked my client’s lodging for his trip to Tahoe in late September. I submitted a short list of choices for him last week, and three days ago, he told me to make another attempt to connect with his AirBnB host for the last three consecutive years. The place was just across the venue for the Spartan World Championships, so understandably, he wants to stay there again this year.
And because it’s just across the venue for the Spartan World Championships, again, understandably, the place was no longer available when I inquired two weeks ago.
But client still wants me to try to connect, and so I did.
Persistence. Sometimes it pays.
This time, it did not.
So I had this shortlist, and three days ago, we were down to three. And he gave me his first choice if ever I don’t hear back from the previous host.
But since I have been sporadically working, I forgot about it.
And remembered it this morning just between that zone of foggy sleep and complete wakefulness. So I promptly logged in at 6:00 am.
Yep. From the bed to the workstation. This is how we roll. WAHMing rocks!
Problem was, that first choice he had three days ago was no longer available this morning.
There was my door.
I was palpitating in an instant. Because the next best place is $75 more expensive, per day, and I’ll be booking for five days, so I’m practically making a bad deal for my client.
Did I mention that the next place is also about 4 blocks farther from the venue than the one that has been taken?
So I was getting ready to be on the receiving end of an irate email, when it occurred to me that maybe I was not thorough enough in my search for places in the last week.
Yes. Because of the migraine.
So search again, I did. And found another place that’s actually $81 more than the last one that has been taken, or make it $6 more than the one I was going getting ready to book for my client, but…
It’s a big BUT…
It’s closer to the venue, and it’s a short walk to the ski lift. And it has two bedrooms. One has a king size bed. The other has a queen, and a bunk bed.
Perfect!
And the pictures were great. And the reviews were all awesome. And it was an instant booking, so I don’t have to wait for the host to respond before booking.
I sent the link to client, and his reply went like, “Whoa! This is GREAT! Snatch it!”
And so, I did.
And that was my window.
And it calmed the storm raging inside me. The message was clear. There will always be other opportunities for me out there.
Or I can just create another one, like I always do.
See, I’ve been stressing about something in the past two days. Something I started out of love seems to be falling apart. Like watching a door slowly close on me, and everything I desire are inside that door.
It’s bad. Even the husband feels so bad. Because supportive husband that he is, he also invested a lot of time and effort and emotion on this.
But sometimes, we must learn how to let go. And use whatever God-given wisdom we have to know when to walk away.
It pains me to have come this far, only to be stopped mid-stride. But I’m hopeful that this is happening to make way for something better.
And when I say better, it is subjective.
So watch out for some changes.
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave me a message, or post them, at my Facebook Page.
by The Happy WAHM
For the past weeks, I’ve been talking about how we manage our money and how we save for our future. Now, let’s talk about how we spend. Wisely. With ShopBack.
I’ve been doing a lot of online shopping for clients, mostly at Amazon. In fact, I’m now offering it as a specialized service, meaning, I get hired to shop. Clients just send me what they need, and I take care of looking for the best offer on that product.
I also do a lot of online booking for hotels, flights and even car rentals. At first, I was really apprehensive about shopping online. Like I was afraid the orders would not go through yet the card would be charged. Or that the products I ordered would not get shipped. But as I do it more and more, I gained confidence about online shopping.
So confident that I now shop for myself, too. I buy my hooks and yarns online, art materials for the kids, and lots of digital/downloadable books and patterns. I was even telling my husband the other day, since our internet security will be expiring in a month, that we’d be better off buying them online. Easier to renew, and he doesn’t have to remember where he put the CD. 🙂
And then…
I stumbled on ShopBack.
This was back in September. I was at BPI’s website, and I inadvertently clicked on one of the links there, and was brought to a page where they’re offering a sign up bonus for BPI cardholders. My interest was piqued, of course. But I did not sign up just yet. I had to do my due diligence on the legitimacy of the offer, and wanted to make it worth my time signing up. I mean, if I sign up and I find that I can only shop with one merchant, it may not be worth the trouble of remembering yet another username and password. Plus, I have to know that what the merchants offer are actually products that I would buy. I’m all about maximizing opportunities, as a takeaway from my college education in maximizing profits and minimizing costs. I have to maximize my opportunities, with just the minimum of fuss.
So I found that Lazada, Zalora and Ensogo are merchants. Looking good. I have an Ensogo account, and I’ve been hearing good things about Lazada, so I was getting warmer.
My fellow hookers… wait… that did not sound right.
My fellow crocheters buy their sewing machines from Lazada. And a former officemate messaged me asking about how to set up a Paypal account coz he was going to shop online and he needs a Paypal account.
So people are really into online shopping now.
Oh wait, I do set up online carts for a living, so people better be into online shopping!
But back to ShopBack…
Wouldn’t it be great to be given some cash back when we shop? That’s how ShopBack works. You shop with your favorite online merchant using the link from ShopBack, and your purchase will be tracked back to your account, and when the purchase is made, you are eligible for a cash back. So for example, if you buy something from Lazada through Shopback, you can get up to 4% cashback!
But wait, there’s more! 🙂
Refer a friend and you’ll get a PHP100 bonus when your friend signs up.
I’ll give you a hint.
Sign up through my link and you’ll be helping me give my son guitar lessons!
Deal?
But maybe I’m explaining the mechanics poorly.
So please go ahead and check out how it really works.
And if you’re game, sign up using my link.
I’m not kidding. You’ll be helping me give my son some serious guitar lessons if you do. 🙂
Then afterwards, it will be your turn to invite your friends with YOUR link.
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave me a message, or post them, at my Facebook Page.
by The Happy WAHM
It’s been a week!
I debuted with my first batch of yarn mixes last Saturday, and after a week, I’m still reeling and giddy with excitement. I don’t think the excitement will ever die. I think it will forever stay with me, because just as I have been, and continue to be, passionate with the virtual career I started in 2006, my passion for crochet will live in my heart forever.
Every day is a new day. Every day brings a new level of enthusiasm and eagerness to create something, anything, with my yarns. They’re a delight to see, a pleasure to hold and a joy to work with.
Now that we’ve plunged into the business side of my hobby, the passion doubled. Maybe tripled even. And the hubby is with me on this all the way. Even the kids actively participate. They do their own mixes, help me with building up my catalog and cheer me up when I get frustrated.
My VA life can get so stressful at times, and now that we got into mixing specialty yarns for crocheters and string artists, winding up cakes also mean unwinding from being a VA. Creating the mixes takes me to another plane, where I don’t have to think about time zone differences, or phone consultations, or dead links, or planning a trip.
For me, it has become a lot more than just a hobby. It’s even something greater than making money.
Passion. Integrity. Commitment. Heart. The whole nine yards. Those are what Crafted Crafts is about.
So here I am. Unwinding while I write this post. And later, I’ll be up and winding again. Can’t wait to try the new combination that my firstborn gave me yesterday. Watch out for our Aladdin mix on March 30!
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave me a message, or post them, at my Facebook Page.
by The Happy WAHM
And indulge, I will!
I’m just so happy to have met Sheila and Jherae, the ladies who introduced me to Sugar-Free yarns.
And I will forever be grateful to my dear friend, Regina, for introducing me to these lovely artistic women.
When I learned how to crochet, the only yarn I knew was Red Heart. We have a large bin full of Red Heart SuperSaver yarns that my brother brought home from the US. And then there’s the milk cotton variety that I buy from an online seller. But they’re kind of expensive for a WAHM hobbyist from a single income household.
When I met Sheila and Jherae, they introduced me to a whole new world of yarns. From them I learned how to choose the right type of yarn for certain projects, and how to substitute the imported yarns with what’s locally available. From them I learned how to discern what hook size to use for certain yarn weight, or what hook type works best with a particular yarn type.
Sheila and Jherae are fiber artists. Their passion is on creating yarn mixes that any avid crocheter would love to work with. They turn boring to exciting, bland to colorful and blah to wow! They work their magic on every strand. I’ve seen them make a plain white yarn turn into a rainbow. And their finished projects… just wow!
My only complaint is that they do have the temperament of artists, too. 🙂
My first experience with the Sugar-Free mix was not that good. As a beginner in crochet, I just couldn’t get all the threads together most of the time. I was getting frustrated and wanted to forget about using the mixes. Why punish myself when I can always use thicker yarns, right? All I had to do was go to another supplier. I’ve been buying online from a reputable yarn seller, and really happy doing business with her.
But I was drawn to the story behind Sugar-Free. Sheila has a very young diabetic son, and she named her yarn mixes Sugar-Free for him. She said every single cent that she earns from her yarns goes to her son’s medications. So I started buying her mixes as my way of supporting her business.
Actually, I buy from Jherae most of the time, and Jherae gets her raw materials from Sheila, so in a way, I get to support two fellow working moms.
Truth be told, I have yet to finish one project using multi-strand yarns. But there is hope. I’m not giving up. I have to walk my talk and be a good example to my children.
Here, look!
That’s a Sugar-Free yarn, and I’m learning to do the broomstick lace with it.
By the way, the knitting needle that you see is a DIY project of my husband. I’m still waiting for the knitting needle I bought from Amazon, so I’m learning with a homemade needle for now.
And here’s another unfinished project…
There are more of those works-in-progress that I’m hoping to find time to finish. But yeah, finish them, I will.
But I don’t want to stop there.
I also want to mix my own yarns.
Below is my very first mix.
And below is my middlechild’s color mix, which she calls the Powerpuff.
Creating fiber mixes is not easy, I’m finding out. From choosing the right combination of colors to making sure they weigh just right, it’s all hard work. We wind multiple strands together on a manual winder to create a mix. It’s a lot of fun, yes, but can be pretty tiring, too. And if you have allergies, forget about winding. And no, I am not complaining.
I am beyond thrilled about this new venture. Never dreamed I’d be in the creative business!
Who am I kidding? Of course I dreamed of being in a creative business! I even started a desktop publishing business, remember? I’m just more of a realist, so I’ve accepted long ago that my creativity is in raising creative children.
But yeah…I am way beyond thrilled! My hobby is taking me to new heights. And my husband remains to be my staunchest supporter, setting up my workstation beside the laundry area, making me a photobox (which I have yet to try using) and committing to be my driver when we have to go pick up inventory.
Again, here is proof that you can always create income opportunities around your passion and your skills. It’s just a matter of knowing what you are good at, what you are happy doing and what people are willing to pay for.
Do come and visit my Facebook book for this crafty venture, Crafted Crafts, and of course the website.
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave me a message, or post them, at my Facebook Page.
by The Happy WAHM
Branding, logo, About page, re-design… these are the items on my to-do list that I have yet to find time to attend to. But soon, I will.
Truth be told, I’m quite happy with my brand. There is no plan, whatsoever, to change it in the foreseeable future. What has been nagging me for months now is my logo, and my About page, and my desire to re-design this blog so that it will keep up with how I have evolved from The Happy WAHM who found happiness in virtual assistance, to The Happy WAHM who took control of her already full daily schedule to make time for a hobby.
I always tell people who attend my virtual assistance workshops, or people I communicate with thru my Facebook page, that in order for them to succeed in WAHMing, it is important to build a strong cyber presence. And not just thru social media, but thru a fully functional website where they can showcase who they are and what they do. In short, build a digital brand.
I built my first website on my first year of WAHMing. At that time, I was working with an affiliate marketer in London who sent me articles to read so I could understand his requirements. And read, I did. In the process, I understood more than just my client’s requirements. I learned early that for me to be found by clients, for me to build credibility, I had to have my own address on the web. And so my quest for a domain name started.
My first domain name was called myhomeworkspace.com. I wanted my domain name to encompass that little space I have at home, to tell people that I work from home, but alas, it was more descriptive of the space, not my services, not what I do, not me.
So I thought, I’d build a name around my skills as a virtual assistant. I played around combinations of keywords that could still compete on searches, and settled with VASupportPro, which actually means Virtual Administrative Support Professional. Still, I was not happy. It did not sound like a brand I could put to life. It was good as a business name, maybe. So I kept it, but not as a brand. I didn’t know it then, but subconsciously, I was leaning on building a personal brand, rather than a business brand. I was more keen on reaching out to people, especially moms, who would just love to leave the corporate life, but so afraid to take the leap.
Then I stumbled on the Pajama Mama, and she has this other site called WorkAtHomeSuccess.com. Ah, now there’s an idea! I searched some more and found WAHM.com, and I decided, I want to be known as a WAHM. Not a VA. I was thinking, I may not forever be a VA, but I will forever be working from home, so a WAHM I will be.
But yeah, WAHM.com was already taken, so I thought about it some more. Asked myself, what’s my message, really? What do I want to tell people? I am a WAHM, so what? What does WAHMing mean to me? Do I develop a voice for the service or the voice of a person behind the service? Again, I thought of how ambitious I am, that I may not forever be a VA. I knew I could do more, and I wanted the branding to be able to adapt to how I would evolve as a person working from home, or more to the point, a mom working from home. And then I decided, I want to be the voice who would inspire working moms to give it a try. Most moms I know, especially those I left behind when I left my corporate life, would just love to stay at home and take care of their kids, but they were afraid to let go of the income, they were afraid that working from home cannot support a family. So I wanted to be that person who could show them that it can be done, and how. My brand will not be about clients finding me, but about creating a career from home with the family at the center, and being successful at it. I will leave that aspect of clients finding me to marketing. But my branding will show the characteristic, the values, the nuances of the person offering the service.
And then one night, in one of those moments that my husband would fret about me being deprived of the opportunity to pursue my corporate career dreams just because I happen to be a mother, who, by default, should be the one to take care of the children, I voiced out my assurance to my husband. “Dad, I’m happy where I am. I’m happy working at home and staying home with the kids.” And that’s how my brand came to life.
A brand that I am living every single day. A brand that I am so proud of, I don’t even care that people address me as The Happy WAHM, not Marge.
So what’s my point, really?
Is this just to brag about hitting the jackpot on choosing a domain name that became my brand?
Well, you can say that. But I’m hoping that this post will be taken more as a how-to post on how you, too, can work on your branding. More and more people are choosing to stay home to earn. More and more people are going online and putting their services out there. The competition is getting stiffer, and you don’t want to be left behind. You may be skilled and qualified to be a WAHM, but are you being seen? You may have a website now, but do you have a brand? You have may have a brand, but is it really who you are? Is it really your voice? Your message? And, will your brand keep up with the potential change on how you want to be heard?
Ask yourself these questions, and think about the answers.
If branding is something that you have not seriously considered yet, now is the time to do so.
When you finally decide to work on your branding, just make sure that you are delivering your message clearly, that people can emotionally connect with you and encourage them to work with you.
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave me a message, or post them, at my Facebook Page.
by The Happy WAHM
It has been said that knowledge is power. But is it, really?
Not quite.
Knowledge, like our net worth, is only potential power. It is not actual power. It is not realized power.
Only when knowledge is applied does it become powerful.
Everything I know is crap, unless I put them into action.
Like I’m so knowledgeable in affiliate marketing, but until and unless I do something about what I know, like actually doing it, then it has no power. I do not benefit from my knowledge, at all.
Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice. – Anton Chekhov
I’ve been dabbling in affiliate marketing for a few years now, but that’s all I’ve been doing. Dabbling. Not really working on it. Not really focusing on it. I’m not even lifting a finger to do more than mention it in some conversations with friends who ask, “Do you have income streams aside from virtual assistance?” And I simply say, “Yeah, I do affiliate marketing.” And that’s it.
A couple of weeks ago, I’ve started putting my knowledge into good use. Someone approached me about setting up an affiliate marketing program in their e-commerce site. I actually set up their online shopping cart last year, but they want to boost their sales through affiliate marketing. So I set it up, and now I’m thinking, why not offer the service to everyone? And that’s what I’m going to do.
So if you are reading this post, and you have an online shopping cart and want to boost your sales through affiliate marketing, please contact me!
Or, if you have a product or service that you want to offer online, I can set up your shopping cart for you!
Meanwhile, take advantage of this special offer from Audible. They’re giving a free one-month trial and you get to choose two (2) audiobooks that you can download for free. If at any point in the next 30 days you feel that you don’t want to continue to full membership, just go ahead and cancel before the trial ends. The best thing is that you get to keep the two audiobooks that you have already downloaded. Neat, huh?
Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks
. It only takes a few minutes to register. 🙂
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave me a message, or post them, at my Facebook Page.
