I have a goal of reaching 500 RSS subscribers by September 30th. Will you help me make it happen?

I’ve been hosting Work at Home Moms Talk Radio for almost seven years now and have had the opportunity to talk with some awesome women.  I think it’d be great to share some of those interviews with you here on my personal blog so I’ve asked my terrific VA to transcribe a few, starting with the interview I did with Alice Seba on my 300th episode.  If you’d prefer to listen to the interview, you can find it here.

Alice shares a lot about what motivated her to sell several profitable businesses over the years, I know you’ll find our discussion really interesting.

Kelly McCausey: I’m excited to have you on this 300^th episode because of course you encouraged me to start the podcast way back in 2003. I can’t believe that I’ve done this 300 times now.

Alice Seba: Yeah that’s amazing. It seems such a huge number, I can’t believe the time has gone by so much and you’ve worked so hard on it to get to 300. Read more…

Thousands of moms all around the world are putting their children on the bus this month and hoping to make the most of a few precious hours of alone time thinking maybe – just maybe – they’ll be able to make some extra money while the kids are in school.

That’s why we came up with the idea of holding an ‘orientation day’ for new Work at Home Moms over at WAHM Talk Radio.  We held the first Totally Free Tuesday last year and it was a huge hit.  I’m very pleased to be doing it again for a whole new group of moms who are exploring their options.

I chatted with a client of mine last week who revealed that she’d actually first learned about me at last year’s Totally Free Tuesday.  She said she was so impressed by the resources we provided with no strings attached during the event that she knew she could trust me as a business mentor. (What a blessing it was for me to hear that!)

I have a powerful group of speakers again this year!

Sharon McMillan has been diligently exploring resources and building an internet business while working full time and getting her children through their last years of high school and off to college.  She is going to be talking about the challenges of growing a business while still being employed – something that many moms have to deal with.

Susan Scott will be helping us dig down and really think about why we want to have a business.  When we know our ‘why’ we stay motivated through the tough start up days.

Melissa Ingold will be bringing us a meaty segment on using Private Label Rights content smartly.

Melody Thacker is an ultra successful direct seller who will share her strategies for using the internet to grow her team and build her sales.

Lynette Chandler is going to demonstrate how easy it is to install and use Wordpress for a website.

Brandie Kajino has some great organizational technology to share with us to help us run business smoothly.

Wendy Piersall is going to encourage you to pursue your ideal dream and learn how to filter out other people’s ideas and influences that don’t fit your unique aspirations.

I’ll be covering some of my favorite topics throughout the day as well, helping you to choose good domain names and avoid common internet business pitfalls.  Even if you’re not a ‘new WAHM’ you’ll probably still really enjoy participating in the sessions.

And yes , it’s all free!

All you have to do is get registered here.

Want to be a Sponsor?

You can sponsor Totally Free Tuesday and get your business exposed to thousands of moms, if you’re interested shoot an email to support@momstalknetwork.com to request details.

Mojo is bubbling… a couple of days away from the computer has definitely done some good.  I just sat down to catch up on email and looked around my desk – trying to see it all with fresh eyes.

I have some questions for myself:

What if I stopped monitoring Twitter the same old way?

For just a few minutes here I’ve been wondering – should I stop monitoring Twitter at all?  Should I just let replies and DMs alert me by email and leave the live stream unattended?

Radical thinking for me… I’ve been monitoring Twitter pretty much non stop for a couple of years now.

What do you think?

Should I create a more structured Coaching Program?

My one on one coaching is all very client led (they bring questions and projects, I give answers and feedback and we brainstorm) and other than my 42 Day Launch Incubator which guides them through creating a low cost information product by hosting an inexpensive teleseminar – I don’t have a ‘program’ for clients to go through.

What do you think?  What sort of structured coaching program would appeal to you?

What if I mix things up with my Podcast?

I’ve got plans to change up my format at Work at Home Moms Talk Radio and am so excited about it.  It will be more time intensive but the results should be amazing!  The extra time needed to record and edit concerns me a bit… I’m not sure I can keep up a weekly schedule for that.  So what if I changed things up and published shows in a different format now and then?

What do you think?  Would that confuse or annoy listeners?  Or do you think they’ll like some variety?

Would love your feedback and look forward to reading the comments!

The day before yesterday I posted to ask for some advice.

And naturally, my awesome friends stepped up with some great advice and encouragement.

One of the things I love about living a virtually transparent life is that a lot of people know you pretty darned well.  As I read your replies, a few of you hit the nail right on the head for me and I sort of lost it emotionally.   I had to take a break from reading and go have a good cry.

This has been a year of enormous change for me – and while I kept a pretty good stiff upper lip through most of it – it all takes a toll whether I want to admit it or not.

So, I’m taking your advice.

I’m giving myself permission to let go for awhile longer.  I’ll work when I can work and chill when I can’t.  I’m not going to be hard on myself or deliver self directed butt kickings.

I have already acted on a lot of your advice. I’m using my gym – getting exercise even when I would prefer to veg the night away.  I’ve been out for a girl’s night out with friends.  I’m spending time with God and family.

I’m prioritizing my work projects and carefully choosing what to keep on the front burner and what to tuck away into the fridge for now.

I picked one thing to tackle.

After having my cry on Tuesday, I decided to pick one single thing to focus on and that was the organization of my Totally Free Tuesday event coming up on September14th.

It took nearly two whole days – but I lined up speakers and published a schedule on Work at Home Moms Talk Radio.  It felt great to start, work on and finish something.  I felt like I was moving through thick syrup most of the time but it got done. (Kelly with full mojo activated could have probably accomplished that in an afternoon but we’re not running a race here, right?)

Then I picked another thing.

This morning I decided I needed to put together an offer for my customers.  All of this laying about doing nothing is hard on the pocketbook and the landlord does like getting paid rent on time.  Again, it took way longer than it should have but I managed to mail my customer list about two coaching opportunities I have opened up for the fall.

First, I have a month of one on one calls with a digital copy of my Complete Internet Marketing Mom Start Up Guide.

Second, am offering my Faith Based Coaching group again this fall.  It was a great experience over the summer and several participants have asked if they can take it again – which is a great compliment that has blessed me.

I added a time sensitive bonus to the offer:  If you select either of these coaching programs and pay THIS WEEK (before midnight on Friday) I will ship you a hard copy of my Start Up Guide ($25 value) as my special thanks for booking early.

Now, I pick down time.

I know it doesn’t sound like I worked too hard – but I accomplished a lot more this week than I have been lately.  I’m not going to push it.  My son is coming for a visit tomorrow and he’s bringing his girlfriend.  I am planning to relax and enjoy them

Thank you.

I can’t thank you enough for your support and encouragement.  Every comment, tweet, email and phone call has helped me immensely.

I refuse to sink in the sand that threatens to pull me down into a deeper funk.  I will heed your advice and take care of myself.

I promise

I have to just admit it.

I’m in the pits.

My mojo is seriously lacking.

This is usually a super time of year for me.  I love my business in all seasons, but I especially enjoy September. Moms send the kids off to school and realize they have some time on their hands.  They start thinking of ways to fill that time – and perhaps put a few dollars in their pockets while they’re at it.

Hmmm.. just typing that out gets me a bit geeked – so I guess my mojo isn’t as far gone as I feared… that’s good to know.

I’ve had a lot going on in other areas of my life.  The stress saps my energy and makes me want to vegetate – or waste ridiculous amounts of time on stupid Facebook games.

It’s normal.  I know.  I’m trying to go with the flow but after several weeks of brain fog I’m starting to feel some concern.  I don’t like being unproductive for so long.

Have any advice for me?  I needs it!

Thanks to @ppdiva for such a sweet tweet!

Scary to me is the idea that I would be at exactly the same place in six months.

• I’d weigh exactly the same.
• I’d be earning exactly the same.
• I’d be doing the same things every day.
• I’d know all the same people.
• I’d have seen the same places.

I don’t know about you but I love making progress.  I enjoy change. I like new.

That motivates me.

What about you?

This is a guest post by Crissy Herron

The thought of holding your own online class may sound scary and it might cause you to step out of your comfort zone a little, but the benefits are well worth it! Here are a few reasons on why you should set up your own class:

Expand Your Business

Holding your own online class is a great way to expand your business. You can base the topic of the class on what you already do. You will have a built-in audience – your current readers – and have a new product to offer them.

For example, if you are a copywriter, you could teach a class on how to write blog posts that sell. Your current clients may want to take the course, as they probably do a lot of their own blogging. They will still hire you to create their sales pages, but buy offering this extra class, you are expanding your business and creating additional income.

Reach New Customers

You can be the best graphic designer, virtual assistant, or so forth. You can be the absolute best at whatever it is you do, but there will always be some people who will refuse to hire you. These people just prefer to do things by themselves.

By teaching an online class, you can reach this market. These people are much more apt to purchase a learning product that will teach them to do something rather than hire someone.

If you are a graphic designer, you could teach a class on creating simple graphics. If you are a bookkeeper, you could teach a class on how to organize business finances. There are plenty of people who want to learn these skills, and will be more than happy to pay you to teach them!

Earn A Higher Profit

When you work one-on-one with a client, you can only earn your regularly hourly fee. If you charge $20 per hour, that’s what you will earn in a one-on-one situation. But if you teach an online class, you can greatly increase your dollar per hour average.

Let’s say that you decide to teach a one-hour class on how to set up a Facebook fan page. You charge $15 for the class and 10 people sign up, giving you a total of $150. Let’s say that it takes you one hour to create the materials for the class and one hour to deliver the class, giving you an average hourly wage of $75. That is almost four times as much as your regular one-on-one hourly wage!

It Doesn’t Cost A Lot To Get Started

There are many free and low cost tools available to help you teach an online class, from free web rooms, such as DimDim, and free screen recording software, such as CamStudio. There are some items that you may need to purchase, such as a computer microphone if you decide to use a web room, but the costs are minimal.

Residual Income

Teaching online classes can also provide a sort of residual income. Going back to the above example of teaching a class on setting up a Facebook fan page, the materials would only need to be created once. The class can then be taught over and over again using the same materials. You will still have to do some marketing to promote your class and take an hour out of your week to deliver the class, but one hour of work per class isn’t so bad, is it?

Holding your own online class can be a lot of fun, and as you can see from the above examples, it can also be great for your business. With ‘back to school’ season just around the corner, this is a great time to start thinking about creating your own class. Everyone is ready to learn something new in the fall. And you can be just the person to teach them!

Would you like to learn more about holding your own online class? Crissy Herron, the author of this post, will be teaching a four week workshop that will walk you, step by step, through the process of creating your own class. By the time the workshop is over, you will be ready to enroll your own students!

Click Here for more information and to register.

My Hot Seminar Series is rolling onward! We’ve talked about great themes, great plugins, cool things Wordpress can do, Wordpress Security and more.  This week I’ve got Lexi Rodrigo talking about how freelancers can use a blog to build their business.

My guest expert next week is Lynn Terry of Clicknewz.  I’ve been looking forward to engaging Lynn in a Cross Blog Conversation all summer.  Let’s get started!

Hey Lynn,

I’m super pleased to have you as part of my seminar series again this year.  You always “bring it”!

I’ve got a question to get us started:

So many people start blogging on a whim and end up fizzling out after a little while.  According to the archives on your blog, you started blogging in the spring of 2006 and you definitely never fizzled.  I have a feeling that starting a blog was not a decision that you made lightly, right?

Did you have a plan for your blog from the beginning and have you pretty well stuck to it?

Looking forward to your reply,

Kelly

P.S.  I was really looking forward to seeing you at NAMS next month, but sadly, I’m not longer attending.  I hope there’s some other way that we can get together face to face again soon!

Let’s keep an eye on Lynn’s blog for her response – and I’ll be watching for her question for me!