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The
Editor's Desk - From Beneath the Clutter
Feature Article - How do work at home parents get health coverage?
Guest Article - Why Budding NetPreneurs Fail
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Welcome to another issue of my newsletter. In addition to the usual articles today, I've added a new quick tip on saving money. Now, this is not in the newsletter, it's on the Money Matters page. This one is about saving money through buying gift certificate on eBay. Why not take a look?
Don't forget, you can contribute your articles or tips anytime for consideration. Just use the contact form.
It's wonderful being able to work at home, whether for another company or by starting your own business. However, many work at home options do not include insurance coverage, which is a major problem, especially if you have children. Fortunately, there are options, depending on the degree of coverage required.
If you only need coverage for your children, you may want to take a look at state programs. I live in California , where there are two programs, Medi-Cal (free) and Healthy Families, for those who earn too much to be on Medi-Cal. There are certain rules for each, such as the children having not been covered by insurance from an employer for at least three months, or there may be a limit on the number of families enrolled, so there may be a waiting list. But, if you meet all the qualifications, at least you should be able to get your children protected.
Coverage for yourself or your entire family may be more difficult. One solution is to contact a company which will give you free insurance quotes, such as Insurecom.com. Places such as this offer a range of insurance options, but they themselves are not insurance companies themselves. However, they can save you a tremendous amount of research.
On the other hand, you certainly can do your own research. Companies such as Kaiser and Blue Cross offer plans to individuals that may be affordable. This of course depends on your medical history. If you have health problems, or anyone in your family that you are going to cover has health problems, you may have to pay higher premiums or even be denied coverage. Do be sure to compare numbers, because costs may vary tremendously from company to company. Make sure your deductible is as high as you can afford it to be, so that your monthly costs are lower.
Now, if you just can't get insurance any other way, you may have to go with a health care discount card. This is not insurance. It gives you a preset discount on services from participating doctors, discounts on prescriptions, and so forth. This is offered by companies such as Health Care.com.
I will tell you one of my personal favorite things to look for in a plan is access to a free nurse line. If you haven't tried one of these, you will come to love it. A nurse line is a 24-hour phone number you can call to talk to a registered nurse. I love being able to contact a nurse for things as minor as a sinus headache and get good advice on how to cope. These have saved me many unnecessary trips to the doctor.
Individual insurance is far more expensive than what you paid when you were working for a company that provided your insurance, but it is vital that you keep some sort of coverage for the protection of your family. Make sure you do your research, get opinions on any company you are considering. The peace of mind will be worth the cost.
Stephanie Foster is the owner of Home with the Kids, a resource that knows that there's more to staying home with your family than just business. From money saving tips to parenting and marriage tips, to work at home jobs and businesses, you can get information and support here. You can visit the site at http://www.homewiththekids.com.
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NetPreneurs fail all too often because they wrongly assume that marketing on the Net is a no cost business when, in reality it is simply a low cost or targeted cost business.
The most successful NetPreneurs invest either targeted advertising dollars AND/OR targeted "sweat equity" in order to generate a steady flow of traffic to their websites. Without traffic, NO product ever sells.
Many would be NetPreneurs understimate the amount of traffic that is actually required to create and sustain a business though. They will join free "safelists" and blast away often ill conceived or "me too" messages to thousands of names without realizing that, for the most part, participants on the list are all looking to sell - not buy.
If asked, any honest businessperson would admit they want a clientele of affluent, repeat buyers who may one day even become joint venture partners not the "dollar store entrepreneurs" who make no effort to grow as business people. (We all have to start somewhere...some though are unwilling to move beyond humble beginnings and invest in themselves!)
They design (or use cloned) websites and then think that every hit should become an instant "sale".
In reality, thousands of hits may only translate into a few sales (at best). NetPreneurs should be seeking thousands of hits per day... budding netpreneurs who fail though routinely think that they'd have it "made" if they received a thousand hits per month and give up when that paltry number of hits does not produce instant wealth.
Then as hosting bills start to mount and the affiliate commissions don't roll in like a tidal wave, reality sets in!
The key for the budding NetPreneur is to target a niche.
Identifying buyers when they are ready to buy requires an altogether different strategy of allowing prospects with money to spend to FIND YOU.
That involves a long term strategy of daily activities designed to 1) create significant CONTENT that is 2) Search Engine Friendly and Buyer Friendly while 3) "monetizing" the site so that it generates several streams of income from both advertising AND affiliate sales.
Keywords niches analyzed.
Articles written.
Pages posted and optimized.
Blogs blogged.
Press releases submitted.
Message boards visited.
Customers served.
Joint ventures pursued.
Subscriber bases built.
Ads judiciously targeted.
Etc.
Only by constant tweaking and promotion will the budding NetPreneur get the Big Boys (and Girls) at Google, Yahoo!, Inktomi, and to send search engine referrals their way.
Most give up well before succes is achieved. Don't be one of them!
For more on this topic from a netpreneur who generate $436,767 in first year revenues visit:
http://1stHowToWorkAtHome.com/15Reasons
Chuck Huckaby publishes 1stHowToWorkAtHome.com and Work At Home Secrets Ezine. Chuck's site has been called the Budding NetPreneur's "Escape The Rat Race Portal" with so much content, it's like getting a no cost ebook on every page!
New feature here. You may have to fill out a survey or give out personal information for your freebies, so decide if the offer looks worthwhile to you.
If you offer a freebie, let me know! I will consider it for inclusion here and in the freebie section of the website.
Are
you a *serious* internet marketer?
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