I’ll admit it - I primarily hang around with other work-at-home moms that I’ve met online.  They understand me.  They share info, know my businesses, and often bail me out when I’m learning something new.  Recently I joined a forum that has nothing to do with working at home, but it does have to do with finances.  I forget that there are still thousands of people out there that have no idea how to make money online.

Living within your means is not a new concept.  There are budget living sites everywhere, and now with the economic distress, you can’t pick up a newspaper or a magazine without tips to save money on something.

But I’m weird.

I think earning money is easier than clipping  a ten-cent coupon. Or driving to another town to get my favorite coffee on sale.  If I evaluate my time…it’s better spent finding ways to earn money than save money. I guarantee I can come up with ten dollars in income faster than I can save $5.00 on my grocery bill.

Next challenge - can I do both?

It’s not like we don’t have enough mommy guilt, just being moms…

Being a wahm means that the kids actually get to see us at work. They know how tied we are to our computers, to our jobs. They know they compete with the computer for attention. Some savvy kids are smart enough to point it out by stating the obvious. For others, it comes out more subtly.  When my oldest was in Kindergarten, they would have a class topic, and each child would draw a picture. They would create a book and send it home for all the families to see. On the back page was a place to comment.

One month, the topic was “My  Mom.”  My daughter drew my back.  A picture of me at the computer.  She wrote, “My mom is a geek. She is always working at the computer.”  Years later she confided that she thought “geek” was my job title.  I fought back the tears.

Fast-forward eight years.  My girls are now in high school, and when asked what they want to be when they grow up, they say they aren’t sure of anything except that they want to work at home.  My youngest told me that she thinks it’s the only solution for her.  When I asked how they felt about me always working, they told me that they didn’t see it as that. They told me that they saw it as always being there for them.

Amazing what a little hindsight can do.

I’ll admit it. I really want to have a site that helps women become work-at-home moms. I want to teach them how to stay home. I want to offer tips and tricks for every age, from newborns up to teens.  I want to hand-hold them every step of the way. I want to teach them about choosing a business, balancing work and home life.  I want them to have a shoulder to lean on. I want them to have someone to whine to.  I want to be their biggest cheerleader.  And I want to make a lot of money doing it…because if it’s your passion, the money will come - right?

I’ve wanted this from Day One of being a work-at-home mom.  I don’t have to tell you that I’m the only one.  There are so many wahm sites. We can’t even begin to count them.  When I first joined Mom Masterminds, I learned the term USP or Unique Selling Point.   What would be my unique selling point if I had a wahm site?  Could I do it better than what already exists?  Certainly I could do it my own way, with my own sparkling personality and years of experience tossed in.  And what exactly would I be selling that would make the kind of money I’m dreaming of?  Hmmm…

I still wonder if I could make it happen. Nothing makes me crazier than seeing a mom complain about not making any money in a forum post and then reading her signature that shouts, “Make Your Dream a Reality!” or my latest gripe “Six Figure Yearly.” I’d like for one mom…just one mom…to prove to me that she’s making Six Figures Yearly with that program. Wahm sites are crawling with hunters, looking for prey. Looking for that desperate mom - hungry to stay home with her babies. It’s ugly out here on the net.

If you have Adsense on your site, you need Adspy Tracker.  Period.

Friends have been chatting up this neat little tool for months and I kept putting in a mental bookmark to check it out.  I’m sick over the months of lost income that I missed by not getting this earlier.

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like to promote something I haven’t bought, tested, and loved.  Adspy Tracker has been on my radar for months now and I just hadn’t gotten around to buying it.  Frustrated with my Adsense swings, I decided to put this one to the test.  What took me so long?  Adspy Tracker is amazing!  It makes me feel like a voyeur on my own sites. If you love statistics, you’ll go crazy over this. If you don’t like stats…hmm…surely you are missing out on understanding your visitors! No more guessing what ad got clicked and where that visitor came from.

Once you know what ads are bringing you success (or lack thereof!) you will simply have a blueprint to copy and repeat!

Do you know what pages are earning you the most money?

Do you know what ads are being clicked on?

Do you know where those visitors came from?

Adspy Tracker is so much easier than setting Adsense Categories!

When you sign up, you get a nice little e-course giving you some solid tips on improving your Adsense income.

Yep, it’s a must-have!

If you peeked in our kitchen this morning, it probably looks pretty normal. Kids scurrying around trying to get out the door with camp gear - lunches, water bottles, sports equipment, etc.  I run through the checklists - do you have your knee pads?  Got your lunch? Are you ready for your presentation?  Would you like to go over it before you leave.  Huh?

I guess we are a bit different.  My girls will be “presenting” their pre-wrap business at camp today.  They are genuinely reaping the benefits of their own sales and marketing. Both girls, fairly shy by nature, will get up in front of a camp full of their peers and show their stuff.  Camp directors and coaches have been incredibly supportive…and probably a bit amazed.  The girls have learned to ask if it would be okay if they took five minutes to share their products - what reasonable adult could resist that?

When they get home from camp, they will be buzzing with the games, the drills, the friends they met. And if today is a success, they will come home with their pockets full of money.  They’ll go over what they sold, calculate their profits, and I’ll remind them that they pay local sales tax on all sold.  I’m not a homeschooling mama, but in business I am.

We’ll talk about how the kids and coaches react.  We’ll talk about how easy sales can be when you have a product people want.   And tomorrow will be just another camp day.

I saw this great line in a You Tube video, and the topic again resonated with me when I read Carrie Lauth’s post “Help a Blogging Momma.”  As a busy work-at-home mom, I rarely have time to get my own stuff done, but the more I reflect on my businesses, the more I realize how important my online relationships have helped me not only achieve my goals, but to go above and beyond my wildest dreams for them.

I’m not much of a list maker, but there are times when I need to use one.  My challenge is this:  support your fellow wahms by making a list of four people.

1. Your favorite guru
2. An online friend
3. A new acquaintance (someone following you on Twitter?)
4. A struggling wahm

Visit her site and really do grab a cup of coffee and stay for a few minutes.  Comment on her blog.  Mention your visit on Twitter.  Offer words of encouragement.  Visit an advertiser.  Check out her affiliate program.  Tell a friend.  By the time you are done with your coffee, you will have made someone’s day.  I’m off to go grab mine now!

Photo by Damian Stevens

Kelly tweeted this morning “Did I really drop MMS on its head yesterday?” I was wondering why my head hurt when I woke up. Women often talk about guilty pleasures, and I have to admit that being part of the MMS crew was just that for me. For one hour I got to drop whatever I was doing and just hang out with a group of amazing women. MMS wasn’t designed as a money maker and although we chatted daily about business life, bringing in sales never seemed to be the primary reason for showing up. Real conversation with some of the greatest ladies I’ve met online kept me coming back day after day. I know I’ll see you all on Twitter and in various forums, but I will miss hearing your voices and being a part of your daily world.

Kelly, thanks for bringing me into your circle. I treasure all of the friendships I have met through your kind and generous spirit. RIP MMS.

WAHMs love to give advice. We really do. Just look at the number of wahm sites around! Lumping together all work-at-home moms into one category may not be the best tactic. Just as women come in all shapes and sizes, so do wahms. Some wahms dabble in business to add some fun money to their lives. If you are a stay-at-home mom, an extra $25 to $50 a week may sound heavenly. If you need to bring home enough money to feed your family and pay the mortgage, you’re going to have an entirely different business mindset.

While many wahms start a business when they begin having kids, not all of us are juggling babies and preschool. When I first started my business, my concerns were centered around the kids. “How do I fit in the hours I need to work and still be a good mom?” was my number one topic. I love networking with other wahms, but lately I’m feeling a bit old and out of place. My girls are teens now. They are in school all day and when they do manage to be home, they certainly don’t need me to entertain them. Recently on Mom’s Morning Show we tackled the topic of entertaining the kids during the summer. Kelly McCausey decided that it was a good week for her to take off - her son is a teen and like me, doesn’t have to worry about setting up a play office to keep him busy!

My businesses are solid, my routines are established. I’m ready to dive into meatier topics. What next? Where do I go from here? How do I make more money working fewer hours? Who can I hire to do the work I don’t want to do or can’t do. Actually, I should probably say won’t do. There are so many things that need to be done that somehow don’t make it to the top of my to-do list.

It’s time for me to step deeper into the business world and explore more mature business topics. Are you a mom with babies and toddlers, or are your kids older or even grown and gone? If you have a wahm-oriented site, you might want to keep us in mind. (Psssst…some of us actually have money to spend.)

Freshman year. Gym Class. My daughter, a real competitive athlete is ecstatic because they’re playing…

Dodgeball

Every athlete’s favorite game in gym.

Teams are formed. She spots the toughest boy in her class.

She hurls the ball at him, knowing she is right on target.

He dodges.

She cringes.

Her life is never the same.

*************************************

I knew nothing of this until I stopped in her room that night to say goodnight. “Mom,” she sobbed, “I hit the special ed kid in gym class. I feel so bad. I don’t know what to do or say. I don’t even know his name.”

She cried herself to sleep, but not before she vowed that she would make it up to this kid she hadn’t even met yet. She promised that she would introduce herself to him and offer to be his partner at the next opportunity.

She did. And she was his partner for every activity for the rest of the year. She made sure her passes went to him. That he’d be the one to score the goal, or make the basket. That she greeted him every day with a smile and a chat. Soon, she’d meet all of his friends. She’d sit with them at lunch, and join in their Red Sox vs. Yankees banter. They invited her to their Buddies meetings once a month after school and she joined the unified basketball and track teams.

The pictures for this WW are from the Special Olympics track meet. As you can see from her face, she loves these kids. She loves reading with Mary while waiting for the next event, and offering piggy-back rides for long walks. She loves creating special handshakes with each of the athletes. She loves knowing their interests and talks with them about what gets them excited. Every week she walks to Melissa’s house, polishes her nails, watches a movie and plays some hoop.

I have spent countless hours on the sidelines watching my kids play. Listening to parents scream and rant at players, coaches, and refs. I went to my first Special Olympics track meet this month and learned exactly what “Special” means. My daughter has a heart of gold. I am blessed to be her mom and blessed to have met these amazing families.