One of the first jobs people often think of when they want to work at home is customer service. There are some great companies that hire people for such positions from home, and it’s work most people can do. But that doesn’t make it easy.

There are many reasons why customer service may not be the right work at home job for you. Then again, it could be perfect. So I thought I would take a look at the realities and fantasies of this job.

Fantasy:
A highly flexible schedule where you can work the hours you select.

Reality:
There’s a degree of truth to the fantasy, but it’s not as flexible as many people would hope. Companies typically want you to either set up a schedule with them for each week, or sign up for hours as they come available. You are expected to work the hours you agree to.

The trouble can come in when there’s a low call volume at the times you agreed to work. Work at home customer service positions generally pay on talk time, not on the hours you agreed to work. But you are still expected to be available. This can be really tough when the calls just aren’t there. Read the rest of this entry »

I read over on eMoms about a new site that helps guest bloggers find blogs for their posts. It’s called Guest Blogger. I like how the concept looks. I signed up this and one other of my blogs to give it a whirl.

The service is very new. I counted 8 blogs in the Business category. But I think it has a lot of potential, especially as the word gets out.

Why would you guest blog or allow a guest to post?

Guest posting is a great way to build a reputation for your blog. You’re being exposed to an entirely new audience.

Having a guest blogger means that you are getting new information for your visitors, a perspective different from your own. A good guest blogger will provide tremendous value to your blog.

If you’re going to write a guest post, make the effort and do a really great job. This will be the first impression most of the readers will have of you, and you want them to subscribe to your blog. Get creative. Don’t just blast out an article sharing information everyone knows. Come up with something that will stand out.

[tags]guest blogging,guest blogger[/tags]

1. Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone
2. Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories. ~John Wilmot
3. There comes a time when a woman needs to stop thinking about her looks and focus her energies on raising her children. This time comes at the moment of conception. A child needs a role model, not a supermodel. ~Astrid Alauda, on the “hot mom” trend
4. Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you. ~Robert Fulghum
5. If you have never been hated by your child you have never been a parent. ~Bette Davis
6. Children are a great comfort in your old age – and they help you reach it faster, too. ~Lionel Kauffman
7. If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders. ~Abigail Van Buren
8. Don’t handicap your children by making their lives easy. ~Robert A. Heinlein
9. Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve. ~Roger Lewin
10. Sing out loud in the car even, or especially, if it embarrasses your children. ~Marilyn Penland
11. If your children spend most of their time in other people’s houses, you’re lucky; if they all congregate at your house, you’re blessed. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, 1966
12. There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it. ~Chinese Proverb
13. When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they’re finished, I climb out. ~Erma Bombeck

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Being a parent can mean finding a balance between getting too much information and not enough. There’s just quite a bit of information out there.

But knowing where to find the right parenting resources is still very useful. Sometimes you really need that advice.

Talk About Parenting is run by Shirlee Smith. In addition to her website, she has a cable TV talk show and runs parent training workshops.

I haven’t been to any of her workshops, but as my daughter’s preschool requires, I have been to parenting classes, so I know that these things can be very much worthwhile, especially if they are on a topic that you aren’t having the success you would like to have.

[tags]wordless wednesday[/tags]