21 Steps To Home Business Success

Fifty million home-based businesses will be in operation by 1997, according to Link Resource's National Work-at Home Survey. All around the country, people who want more control over their lives are starting home businesses In New Orleans, Rick Hart's home based cajun Cargo ships seafood nation wide. In Palatine, Illinois, Stephaine Heavey works from home designing and selling original patterns for fabric dolls. And in Dallas, Lisa McElya published the Dallas Party & Event Planners Guidebook from the entire first floor of her two-story home. These three people are living the new American dream of owning a business, but avoiding the high overhead and start-up costs of a commercial location. If the idea of working from home is appealing, but you don't know where to begin, here is a step-by-step guide. STEP #1 DECIDE WHAT PART OF THE HOUSE TO USE Select an area away from family activity. The perfect space is a separate room (or perhaps the garage), but any area will do, if it can hold all the business supplies and equipment, and also provide enough work space for desks, tables, or counters. STEP #2 DETERMINE HOW MUCH TIME YOU CAN SPEND ON THE BUSINESS Many people start a home business on a part-time basis while raising children or working outside the home. Others start full-time when family and finances allow. However you begin, figure out how may hours per week you can devote to the business Make a weekly chart of your activities, examine it, and determine where the business fits. Don't assume you have time and find out later you don't. STEP #3 DECIDE ON THE TYPE OF BUSINESS Make a list of things you like to do, your work and volunteer experience, and items you own that can be used in a business. Look over this line-up, and using ideas from it, list possible businesses to start. Eliminate any business that isn't appealing or doesn't fill a need people have. For ideas on different types of businesses, consult the end of this article. Other ideas can be found in the source material listed at the end of this article. STEP #4 CHOOSE A LEGAL FORM The three basic legal forms are sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporation. The most common is the sole proprietorship. As its name implies, a sole proprietorship is owned by one individual. It is the oldest form of business, the easiest to start, and the least complicated to dissolve. Here are some of the advantages of this business form:
1. You own all the profits

2. Your business is easy and cheap to organize. You don't need any government approval, although you may be required to carry a city, state or county license. Your only other obligation is to notify the Internal revenue Service (IRS) for the purposes of sales tax.

3. You're the boss

4. You enjoy certain tax savings. You must pay regular individual taxes on your income, property, and payroll, but these are not levied as special taxes, as with a corporation. You will also have to pay sales tax which you have received from your customers.

Through the magical window...

Have you ever felt on an autumnal day, when the world is mellow under tumbling leaves and crimson skies, that magic is possible? I mean, really possible? Imagine looking out of your window to see your favorite city in the world; imagine your window is a magical window from where you can see any panorama you wish to see, or perhaps even another world, or worlds?

 

Time is suspended in jewels of magical shades; it’s to do with the arrival of autumn, and if I close my eyes right now, I can see myself looking out this magical window I was just talking about...

 

 

And what do I see? I'm in the forest, of course. And since I can be whomever or whatever I want to be in this world of “make-believe”, I am the Lily in the movie “Legend”, and I'm right there, in that lovely cottage deep in the woods.

Have you seen that movie, “Legend”? It really isn't as magical as you might think.  In fact, the only part I love, aside from the enchanted forest and the unicorn, is the part when Lily finds the little cottage in the woods... Someone is baking, and there is a table filled with all sorts of goods and sweets, and there are creamy milk chocolate cakes and gooey caramel pastries and flaky croissants...

Soft light is streaming down the open windows and delicious peace hovers all around the little cottage. Delightful imageries; isn't it! Well, can I share a secret? I can certainly dream, and I can imagine all I want, but really, all I need in 'real life' for my contentment are but a few things... inner peace, self-acceptance and a clean conscience.

 

If your soul meets these few requirements, then you go make yourself the best cup of coffee you can, or tea if you prefer, and sit in the porch facing the garden…

 

 

 

  

...and you’ll have yourself a little bit of bliss.

Actually a whole lot of bliss! Real life bliss!



Have a lovely weekend my friend!





 

PS: We're going to the mountains again tomorrow... joyfully, we don't have to use our old tent any more... yes, we bought a brand new tent trailer just today and I can hardly wait to try it! I'm so excited. Hopefully, it'll be cozy and warm inside.... oh, cross your fingers! Pictures coming up! ;)

House guests

I have been having the best time with my friend and business partner Claire and her family! Claire is on our Shaklee team and she has an amazing story! Her and her family rented out their home for the year, bought an RV and are traveling the US! Their kids are doing online school and loving the United States tour! They are the sweetest boys ever. We are having a blast. We talked and worked all day and are going stay up late to blog and watch chick flicks!!

Here are some photos from the last few days.

Southwest-Style Stuffed Peppers

I am so excited about this guest post because this recipe looks amazing! :)  Today, Krysta, from Steen Health Solutions, is here to share this yummy Mexican treat with you!  She is an amazing Wife, Mother, person and friend!  We met online and and became friends and business partners.  Krysta even stayed at our house four several days this spring when we went to training.  She is super nice and very smart.

Welcome Krysta!

My mouth was watering as a typed up this post – these were SO good!

Follow me on our Facebook community for more tips, recipes and more!

 

My husband LOVES the traditional stuffed peppers, but the rest of the family are not the biggest fans.  We do all, however, LOVE tacos!  These stuffed peppers have a great Mexican flavor that we all thought was great!  We even had some filling left over and used it the next day in soft taco shells – Delish!

Southwest-Style Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4-6

4 bell peppers (halve and remove seeds)

olive oil

1/2 lb ground turkey or beef (cooked)

2 cups of cooked brown rice (white rice would be fine too)

1 cup of corn (fresh or frozen)

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed well)

3/4 cup onion, chopped

1 small (16 oz. or so) jar salsa

1 Tablespoon taco seasoning (I made my own using this recipe, or store-bought is fine)

1-2 cups Shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly coat the halved, seeded bell peppers with olive oil and roast in a glass 9X13 pan or baking sheet for about 25 minutes until slightly softened.  Remove from oven and cool while you assemble your filling.

Combine turkey/beef, rice, corn, onion, salsa and taco seasoning in a bowl.  Spoon filling into the pepper halves and cook for another 15 minutes or until cooked through.  Top with cheese and cook until cheese has melted.

Top with sour cream or avocado if desired.  Enjoy!!

Thanks so much!! :)  I am so excited to try this!  Thanks so much Krysta!!  Please follow her on Facebook for more recipes!

Have a great weekend!

Bonnie :)

September days...

A low mist hung above our morning today... the first fog of the season, and then the sun came up and bathed the earth in sunshine.... hope, and possibilities were born. And how delightful these  September days are...

Spending every leisure hour in the garden... pruning, collecting, cleaning, moving things around, re-planting, painting, painting... and sometimes, enjoying the view too... but just for a very short time. You see, I can't be still for too long. It's odd, I know, but I tend to enjoy things while I work at them... Like when I'm in the garden.

 

 

I go and go. I can’t ever sit still when the list piles up. Are you like that too?  There is always something to do. ALWAYS.  I know... I need to work harder on being able to rest... does that makes sense?  Just stop and rest...  being able to sit and relax it just doesn't come naturally in me.

Collecting organic tomatoes from our veggie beds, and grapes... oh so many grapes from all of our lovely grapevines...  

Red grapes, white grapes, green grapes...

My favorites are the seedless type from the vine covering our back porch...

 

So lovely, to just bring your arms up and be able to grab some sweet juicy goodness at any time of day...

Autumn days are an invitation to fantasy. Enchantment always finds its way to my heart on days like these—sunshine and crisp skies, birds and calmness, a season’s end and a beginning of another.

 

I can feel it in my bones—autumn, during my walks in the early morning. Cool and crisp with sunshine over the easterly horizon. It is as if the skies decided to announce the beginning of colors, and different shaped leaves tumbling down the maple trees. And then there's God everywhere, and goodness and forgiveness...  do you feel it?  Oh I do hope so.

 

So lets do this... let forgiveness bring feelings of understanding, empathy and compassion and let it lessen its grip on our soul and help us focus on positive things...  How about that!  ;)  Good night everyone.  And thanks for stopping by.



Free Family Night

Happy Monday!!! How was your weekend? What did you do? I would love to share an easy and free night we had with you. We are always trying to do fun, family activities and when they are free, they are that much better!

I really wanted to go out for dinner but I didn't feel like being inside with such a beautiful fall evening plus we are trying to cut corners where we can so I decided to bring an easy dinner to the park and have a picnic there.

We quickly cooked up some Trader Joe frozen pizzas and made our own organic popcorn. We grabbed some blankets and water bottles too and went on our way!

We had an amazing time eating and playing outside as a family!! It turned out to be a big hit with the kids too! We played tag and went for a walk after eating.

What is your favorite, free, family event?

Bonnie ;)

Here are some photos from the evening!

Organizing Bins

Today we are getting ready to move. We started to organize our bins so we can start using them to pack. Ekkk! We have a lot to do!

What are you doing?

Bonnie :)

Cleaning Your Wood Floors

Good morning! :)  My friend, The Tipster, just started a brand new website and wanted to post here to share some cleaning tips!!  We all love cleaning tips, right?  She is here today to sharing cleaning tips for cleaning wood floors.

Take is away Tipster!

I love wood floors.

 

  But, at some point you have to clean them. How? Water and wood don’t mix well when it comes to floors. Water can leave marks. You know how a wet glass leaves rings on a piece of wood furniture? Even laminates can bow and buckle.  

 Use water sparingly! 

 Steam cleaning and wet mopping your wood floors may damage them.

 




In a past life, I was in floor covering.  It’s possible to ruin your floor washing it. I’ve seen floor planks that have bowed. It’s unlikely that the flooring manufacturer or insurance company are going to replace a floor damaged by cleaning methods.  

Sweep the floor with a stiff bristle broom.        

Check the care information that came with your floor. The manufacturer or distributor probably recommends a product.   Or, do as I do, and damp mop with a nontoxic cleaner.   If I’m just cleaning a small hall, I’ll clean the floor down on my knees with a cloth, but you probably won’t do that for a large area!

This is an O cedar dust mop, and the wonderful thing about it is that the removable machine washable cover is microfiber. You don’t have to use this brand, it’s for demonstration purposes.


Wet the cover or a cloth with plain water. Wring it out as dry as you can. Put the cover back on the mop. Spray a mild cleaning product on the floor in a ‘manageable’ area at a time.  

 I use Shaklee’s Get Clean Basic H2, diluted to the multi-purpose formula. It’s safe for you and the environment, effective and 
economical. One 16 oz. bottle of concentrate makes 48 gallons of this formula!   Experiment with size of the area you do at a time. 

You don’t want the cleaning product to dry before you damp mop it. Also, periodically rinse the cover or cloth well and wring dry. You don’t want to be just pushing around dirt!     



Job well done!



Thanks so much Tipster for all your cleaning tips! :)  Thanks for sharing and I can't wait to wait to see what else you blog about!

Have a great day!

Bonnie :) 

A garden filled with frogs and tomatoes

Some critters are worth welcoming into your garden. They will do a lot of good work for you. And thus, you'll find quite an army of 'special' little critters around here.  Like Mr. Verde, here. Isn't he adorable!


 

 

Oh yes, I know... they don't do much; at least not the critters in my garden they won't. You see, they won't devour those nasty aphids like some critters in your garden do, and they won't eat grubs or pollinate my crops. Actually, the only thing they know how to do is make me happy... 'cause well, they just do! ;)

 

 

Quackers loves our little pond.  Quackers went swimming one day at the lake; over the hill and far away. Mother duck said "Quack, quack, quack"... but Quackers didn't go back to her... she's been here ever since. Our pond it really is just a little dew pond, but Quackers is a happy ducky here and I'm so glad she decided to come live here...  Quackers and Mr. Verde have become such great friends too ;)

Do you collect 'critters', or have any in your garden? My garden wouldn't be the same without my little 'critter' friends, that's for sure...



Don't tell anyone, but I have some very special feelings for frogs... I love them—I do! Truth is, I had to kiss a lot of frogs when I was a little girl. Oh no I wasn't looking for my Prince, in fact, I was just trying to keep my mom from going cucu loco.



You see, my mom has a bad case of frog phobia; really bad, and living in a country where significant rainfall was the norm didn't help much, as you can imagine... so being the eldest, it was my job to keep the frogs from coming into the house; which was an almost impossible job I tell you. There were so very many frogs; small frogs and big and wrinkly frogs and very ugly amphibians that were more than a little girl could handled.



They would jump on me and croak on my ears, and even talk to me... I was terrified, but of course, I wouldn't say a word... so I had to pretend and become the hero nobody wanted to be. And thus, you know how it goes: If life gives you lemons.... mail them to God and ask for apples? Well, no, that's not how it goes, does it? But you get the idea. So I learnt to love frogs. And about the common myth that says that touching frogs may give one warts? Never in my life have I got a wart, thanks goodness. Oh here's another froggy, given to me by Mr. Peter-Pan some years ago.
 

 

 

Have you been collecting your crop yet? We're finally collecting of crop of tomatoes. 

 

 

We have so many endless tomatoes and still collecting more.... I have to confess I've nothing to do with this lovely crop here as I only take care of the flower garden. The man Peter-Pan in his green pants is the one in charge of the veggies and herb gardens. Ain't that sweet of him! So, that's the balance here.

 

And that's it for now.... I haven't been here a lot lately, but I'd like to let you know that I been busy writing and documenting my life in my "Dear Diary" blog, which you can access by clicking on the link in the top right side of my blog.  I have also been busy updating my book HOLLOW WOODS and adding lots of new stories.  I have a Book I and a Book II now, and I know you're going to love it... I'll let you know as soon as I download it, so you can either download a new copy, if you have already buy it, or take a look and decide.  Thank you for coming by, and you be blessed.