Yesterday on the news I heard that the city in which I live, St. Louis, is number 49 on a list of the 50 worst states to find a job. This news was alarming and eye-opening. Thinking outside of the box when it comes to finding ways to work are going to be a necessity for a lot of us, moms and dads alike. If you can find a way to work from home that suits you and your family, you'll be even more ahead of the game. I know that my choice to work from home initially was influenced by the increasing costs of quality day care, ever-increasing gas prices, as well as my son's special needs.
I assure you that I am 100% dedicated to helping the followers of this blog find ways to earn money from home. With that being said, that there are those of you out there who would prefer to work from home for a legitimate company with a set schedule. Because of that, and because those jobs are so hard to find because of the never-ending scams, I will be making the Work From Home Job Blast, an ongoing part of this blog. In each "blast" will be a 100% legitimate work from home job that has been posted by a legitimate company. By becoming a follower of this blog, you will be ahead of the game by being notified quickly of these work from home opportunities. You can concentrate on taking care of your family, while I do all of the screening for you! What a deal, huh?
I will also be setting up an account on Twitter shortly where you can choose to receive tweets of the "blasts" as well.
Here's the first of many Job Blasts:
Customer Service Temporary Work From Home Opportunity with 1-800-flowers.com.
Must be a resident and live in the following states Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Illinois ,Montana, New Hampshire New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon, and Virginia
Must type 35 wpm & prior call center experience is strongly preferred.
Having expressed concerns last month regarding the potential effects of inflation on the Real Estate Market, I read the recent inflation figures with interest.
Consumer prices rose 1.6 % in the 12 months to February, higher than Economists forecasts and fuelling thoughts of an interest rate rises.
The 12-month core rate of inflation - which factors out some of the most volatile components - came in at 2.1 %, (February forecast was 1.7%).
The 2% threshold is important, as that is the Bank of Canada's stated target for the core rate - far above levels in Q1 that the Bank of Canada expected just two months ago.
Contributing Factor - Travel services soared to 17.9% as hotel rates soared due to the Olympics during the month -accounting for most of the increase in the core CPI . Experts therefore predict that the core rate will remain below the central bank's 2% target once the impact of that is negated.
Following on from this, we have now seen some of the major banks increasing their longer term rates, and we must see how this affects market confidence.
Central Okanagan Statistics for March 2010
Type
Total
Single Family
Strata
Lot
Manuf
Mar 10
355
193
119
24
19
Feb 10
310
143
91
21
22
Mar 09
238
138
81
5
14
As you can see there has been a positive increase in the number of sales during March 2010, which reflects the seasonality of sales in the Okanagan area.
What is most interesting is that of the 193 Single Family home sales 152 were sales under $550,000, which continues to point towards ‘end user’ purchases rather than investors.
Of the 119 Strata unit sales 113 were under $500,000.
The other point to note this month, was the total number of listings taken during March was 1362, making a total of 4977 properties listed in the Central Okanagan. This is a significant increase on the number of new listing last month at 1097.
This has the effect of keeping us far from a balanced market at the moment, and I expect to see a further increase in the number of listings during April.
My recommendations on the Real Estate Market
Buyers - If you are planning to buy this year, and you will be looking to finance with a fixed rate mortgage, ensure that you get pre approved, by your financial institution, in the next little while, as the writing is now on the wall for interest rates to continue to rise.
Also, be mindful if you are looking to buy new property. Whilst it has not become policy yet, check on the implications of the new Harmonised Sales Tax on your potential purchase. You may find it better to act sooner rather than later.
Sellers - Sales numbers are increasing steadily, but price is everything. Ensure that you are keeping a sharp eye on the competition in your neighbourhood, in terms of new listings and sales.
There are more buyers around, and there is definitely increased activity in the numbers of people looking on the real estate web sites, but they seem to be monitoring prices rather than using it as a means to find a property to buy at the moment.
We keep seeing reports of the market in BC as being good. Prices in Vancouver are still doing well, but the market here in the Okanagan remains quite tentative.
And finally ... If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to give me a call or send me an e.mail.
I have to admit that I had never heard of Stella & Dot before Christi Clapper introduced me to the company. In my opinion, this work from home opportunity shows a great deal of promise. The video presentation for the company is quite impressive and I have no doubt that this would be a great work from home opportunity for any woman, even if selling is not your thing. Stella & Dot's jewelry is as unique as it is beautiful. If you decided to sell Stella & Dot jewelry, I could see that simply wearing some of their pieces would be enough to bring the interested customers right to you. I do have to remind you that I get no monetary compensation for any of my opinions about the work from home opportunities that I review. I'm telling you this because, honestly, this opportunity is exciting and one of the better ones I have run across. The video presentation and jewelry pieces really impressed me.
Here's What I Like About The Program:
The jewelry is unique and beautiful
Only $199 to start
Fun and excitement are a natural part of this opportunity
Would work even for women with little to no selling skills
Start up includes samples of your choice up to $350 retail
Start up includes 50% off of additional samples (must be purchased at the same time as your $350 in samples)
Lots of selling tools included
Convenient 24/7 online video training
E-Marketing tools included for social and internet marketing
No inventory required
Personal website available for $99/year (not required)
Plenty of tools provided to extend your potential clients beyond your own family and friends
Here's What I'm Not Crazy About:
Normally I would say that I'm not crazy about the $99/year personal website fee. Although I honestly believe that you could do very well with this business without the website. Having a website to sell your items is always a plus though. People can look at your products and buy at their own convenience. It is a fee, though, and I'm not crazy about extra fees when it comes to work from home opportunities. You make the call.
I'm not 100% crazy about selling in a home setting. I'm just not a sales person and I'm sure there are a lot of other women out there in the same boat. I have to say, though, that I have a feeling that if you just gathered up the courage to do it once, you'd get over that trepidation rather quickly. I can see that the "trunk shows", as they call them, would be more like a money-making party than a high pressure sales pitch. Heck, I don't even wear jewelry and I would consider buying these items!
Products:
Necklaces
Charms
Bracelets
Earrings
Rings
Minimum Investment To Get Started: $199
What's Included?
$350 Shopping Spree gift certificate for retail purchases of samples
50% off of additional sample purchases to be completed at the time of the $350 shopping spree only (one time use, must be done within 7 days of your start up)
Invitation postcards
Stella & Dot Look Book Catalogs
Order Forms
Hostess Planners
Stella & Dot Trunk Show Display Signs
Visa/Mastercard Tent
Mini-Look Books
Opportunity Brochures
Stylist Guides
Ring Sizer
24/7 Online video training
Support from home office
E-marketing tools
Compensation/commission structure:
Up to 30% commission on jewelry that you sell
Opportunity to earn free jewelry and business supply credits as you sell
4% of the sales of people in your downline (downline is unlimited) with a potential for increasing the commssion as your rank gets higher
I was introduced to Stella & Dot by Christi Clapper. She told me that she started with Stella & Dot back in October of 2009 and her business has exploded from there. She told me that Stella & Dot allowed her to quit her full time job and now she's selling Stella & Dot jewelry full time. If you'd like to contact her for more information, you can visit her website at www.stelladot.com/christishay, email her at christi84@aol.com or call her at 330-936-4575.
