5 Steps To Start Selling Your Crafts As A Business

Posted on by LaTersa Blakely



I love all things crafty and I get so excited to share my knowledge and expertise to help other moms just like you to start your business. I can imagine that you have tons of ideas and ways that you want to start making money with your crafts. I started my first business back in 2009: The LaTersa Diaper Cakes™ and boy it was a world of adventures, mishaps and all kinds of scams. Yep, the mommy maven lost a ton of money when I began my gift business. I was too thrilled to be in business for myself that I took for granted things I needed to legitimately start my business the right way.

My first year in business, I made -$3,000 in my business and because I was spending out more money than was coming in, I was forced to take a good look at my business structure. At that rate, I wasn’t going to be in business much longer, so I had to do something different. It wasn’t until I hired my first coach (who was in the gift business industry) that I began to turn my company around to the positive bank account. I want to share with you my top five tips for getting started with selling your crafts/gifts.

5 Steps To Start Selling Your Crafts As A Business

    • Get clear on the products that you will sell: I don’t care what you are selling, you have to be able to educate your potential audience on what it is you sell. You need to be able to present your products in a beautiful packaging.
    • Pick your business name: Go to your local revenue or taxes office to secure your business license. Years ago, I paid fifteen dollars for my business license.
    • Purchase your domain: You can grab your domain for as little as $1 at godaddy.com… While you are at it, go ahead and purchase your domain of your name as well. (www.johndoe.com)



  • Get your seller’s permit: You need this in order to sell in public. If you are doing craft shows or any type of function in the public, you will need this. Your seller’s permit is also included when you incorporate your business (LLC, INC, or solopreneur). You will need to speak with an accountant for more details.
  • Open up a free shop first: Site like Etsy.com, handmade site before purchasing your website. It’s much easier to start there, as opposed to dealing with a new website. You can have your domain forwarded to your Etsy shop to make a professional look. You can learn about more handmade sites to sell your crafts here! 

I hope these few tips help you get started on your journey of becoming a gift business owner. Let me know how it goes for you. Leave me a comment below:

QUESTION: What is the name of your gift business?



6 Freelance Professions That You Can Do At To Work From Home

Posted on by LaTersa Blakely



Millions of moms all over the world are working from home today, and more are joining them every year. From the looks of it, this is a trend that will just continue, as technology makes remote working easier and cheaper than traditional work environments. Not all professions are suited for working from home, of course, but many are, especially if you’re willing to work as a freelancer. I became a work at home mom back in 2009 and I must say it was one of the best decisions I made for my family at the time! I hope these ideas help you to figure out what will or will not work for you!

6 Freelance Professions That You Can Do At Work From Home

Writer: Whether you enjoy writing books, blogging or in-depth technical documentation, there are many opportunities online for skilled writers. The competition is fierce, however, as “anyone” with some basic grammar skills can call themselves a writer and in many cases, you’ll be competing with people in poor countries who can charge $3 for a long article. It’s not impossible to break into though so don’t let that discourage you!

Designer: Love designing websites, crafting logos or retouching photographs? You should look into working from home as a designer! Skilled designers are actually quite rare online, and if you’ve got some real talent you can also make some real bucks. The trick is to not even try to compete with freelancers who charge $5 for a logo and instead go for the high-end segment.

Developer: If you have experience with programming you could aim for a career as a developer. Plenty of jobs are available, whether you want to work as a freelancer, start your own firm or just work remotely as an employee. Rates are usually good and competition is definitely less compared to writing and designing, as development/programming is more of a specialized skill.



Consultant: You don’t have to actually do the hard work yourself to successfully work from home. One great option is becoming a consultant and instead of telling others what to do, based on your recommendations. A hot tip is consulting in the SEO or online marketing world, where it’s easy to demonstrate a good “return on investment” (assuming, of course, that the advice you can offer actually has a positive effect).

If you need more ideas for working at home, check out 26 Ideals of work at home job ideas

Virtual assistant: If you’re a “jack of all trades” with strong administrative, communication and organizational skills, consider becoming a virtual assistant. This is a great choice if you enjoy a variety of assignments, and most of the time you’ll have pretty good job security as long as you do a good job. As always you’re competing with low-cost labor from poorer countries, so try to specialize in things they cannot do.

As you’ve seen there is plenty of opportunities to work from home, regardless of your skill set. Pick your favorite today and get started – the sooner the better! I hope you have been blessed by this post. Will you do me a favor and share this with your friends and family?

If you are ready to start your gift business, Let me help you!

QUESTION: What types of jobs do you do at home? Leave me a comment below:

Love & Prosperity,

LaTersa



P.S. Join The Mommy Maven’s Community

5 Ways To Avoid WAHJob Scams

Posted on by LaTersa Blakely



I have seen my fair share of scams throughout my journey as a work at home mom! I was so eager to make money at home that I was trying any and all things. I mean I have some horror stories for you, but just for another day.  I wanted to warn you about some of the things to avoid when starting your journey as a work at home mama. Now, this journey can be great but you just have to take all necessary precautions at any cost! So, grab a glass of wine and come on a journey with me!

Working at home can be a blast! More freedom, more time with your kiddos and all sorts of entertaining. But if you don’t avoid these scams, it can be a night mare!

5 Ways To Avoid WAHJob Scams

  • Asking for your personal information: If any company is asking you for money and your personal banking information. That right there is a red flag. I can’t tell you how many times I fell for this one trick. Some of these people can sound so convincing.
  • Verify the company. One great place I always check is the Better Business Bureau (BBB+). Google them to find out about previous customers and their experiences.
  • Sending you interview via chats: I mean that one right there, really. You can’t schedule a phone interview? Please be aware of this
  • Check their website: If there is no obvious sign of any kind of website or social media profile, I wouldn’t even bother.
  • No contact information: You can’t find a phone number or email (legitimate), there there is another red flag.

If you are interested in learning about the companies that I’ve worked for or my mommy friends, Click here!

I hope this post blesses you in some way! If you know of family and friends who might need this, would you please share this? Have an amazing day and leave me a comment below.

QUESTION: Have you encountered any scams and how did you recover?

Love & Prosperity,

LaTersa



5 Benefits of Writing Your Book

Posted on by LaTersa Blakely



Good morning to all you amazing mommies! I have been publishing my own books since 2012 and I must say you not even think that a southern gal such as myself, who didn’t like to read or write when I was younger. I was the girl who hated to read in high school and do comprehension questions. I have tons of tons of journals all over my house and in my car. I always say I have to be prepared when God drops a million dollar idea in my head. Whether I use it right then or not, I have to jot it down for later.

Writing your book can have amazing benefits and allow you to be known as an expert in your field. Since becoming a self-published author, I have grown as a businesswoman and it just opened up so many opportunities for me. I’m going to share with you why you should write your book and share your story with the world.

5 Benefits of writing your book

  • Be seen as an expert: Publishing your book should be written on a topic that you are familiar with and have life experiences.

 

  • Speaking Opportunities: Once I published my book, it opened up a lot of opportunities for me to share my message with organizations and their audience.

 



  • More Income: You can definitely profit from selling your book. But, know that your book will not sell itself. If you need help with ways to sell your book in bulks way before your book is published, I can help.

 

  • Book Collaboration for other authors: Now, that I’ve published my own books, I can do book collaborations with other authors and aspiring authors to share a common message.

 

  • Help More people: By publishing your book and sharing your story, you can help people globally especially with having access to millions of people on social media

I hope these tips will inspire you to stop sitting on your message and get started today! If you have a message inside of you, but you need clarity, call me!   Or if you are a do it yourself type of gal, you can grab my “Author’s Class” and get started today.

Question: Are you ready to write your book? leave me a comment below:



10 Things That’s Keeping You Broke

Posted on by LaTersa Blakely

If you are struggling with making money whether it be at home or in your business, I can guarantee you that one of these mistakes might need to be eliminated. I hope you understand that you can have it all; success in life and business but you must first put some systems in place in order to make the transition. Being in business for almost eight years, I can tell you about all the mistakes I’ve made in business. But, I wouldn’t be here today, if I had thrown in the towel and quit. I always say, I”m going to fail my way to the top and I want to carry you right along with me.

Watch today’s video:

Love & Prosperity,

LaTersa

P.S. Join The Mommy Maven’s Community!

5 Reasons Why You Should Share Your Story

Posted on by LaTersa Blakely



As long as you are living and breathing, there will be trials and obstacles that we have to face. Let’s just be honest, we are not going to walk this earth and have nothing happen to us. God had all kinds of bad things to happen to him, and all he did was love everybody. I’m almost 40 years old and when I tell you I have had my share of hiccups, that would be an understatement. Being a young gal from the deep south, I was raised in a very small town where everybody knows each other and most of us are related. Well, here is the downfall of that, too many people have their opinion of you and what you should be doing and who you should be doing it with. Can you relate?

As a young girl, I struggled with my esteem and self-worth.  I searched for everything and everybody to make me feel worthy of the good in life. I tried to over-compensate for my lack of self-esteem by being an all American cheerleader, captain of the team, honor roll student, church girl, the nice girl always making others feel good about themselves. Well, how many of you know that whatever you don’t deal with will always keep stalking and chasing you?

When life happened to me, it nearly killed me to the point where all I wanted to do was meet my heavenly father. I was in so much pain and experiencing heartache after heartache, that I needed something or someone to numb the pain. It wasn’t until I got sick and tired of myself and got up and did something about it. Back in 2012, I wrote and published my first book and oh boy was I scared out of my mind. I thought people are really going to be talking now. They are going to think I’m a nut basket. Here’s what I learned from writing my very first book:

5 Reasons Why YOu Should Share Your Story



  • You have to totally heal from your pain: A lot of stuff that I shared in my first book, I wouldn’t have been so detailed and graphics. I realized even after I published it, that I still had some hidden pain. Even though I had healed in most of the areas, it was still some things stuck to me like glue.

 

  • Someone else’s breakthrough is tied to your story: If you keep your testimony to yourself, you are being selfish and keeping that next person from experience peace and joy like you.

 

If you are ready to share your story with the world and need some clarity, call me today!

 

  • Your pain is not about you: I learned that it was not about me even though it pained me to death and it hurt like hell. I still had questions for God like why me.

 

  • You will heal by helping others: God allowed you to live to tell your story of how you overcame your situation. As long as you still have breathed in your lungs, there is always somebody else out there who is or have gone through the same thing you have.

 

  • Profit from your story: You can tell your story better than anybody. So why not write your book and tell of the goodness of the lord and how he blessed you to overcome. Not everybody lives to tell their story. Don’t die with your story on the inside of you. If you are ready to write your story, click on the image below.

QUESTION: Are you ready to share your story with the world? Comment below

P.S. Join The Mommy Maven’s Group



5 Mistakes New Entrepreneurs Make

Posted on by LaTersa Blakely



My journey as an entrepreneur started in 2009. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I wanted to quit and throw in the towel. It had got so bad at one point that I had started doubting what God had placed on the inside of me. I thought I was going to be working a 9-5 job forever and not be able to live my dreams. Thank God for second and third chances right? Along the way, I have made my share of mistakes and believe you me, I’m going to continue to fail my way to the top. One of my favorite quotes that I love to say is: “On your way up the success ladder, reach back and help someone else, so when I make it to the top, I won’t be alone” 

Being a mompreneur has taught me a lot of valuable lessons along the way, but I wouldn’t have all of them without my mistakes/failures. Today, I want to share with you a few of them:

5 Mistakes New Entrepreneurs Make

  • Not Gaining Clarity: See, I had this big old idea that I could sell to any and everybody. All I had on my agenda, early on, was to make money and make lots of it. Well, my little fantasy came crumbling down after my first year in business. I didn’t make crap, but oh honey I was in the -$3,000 on my tax return. I was so selfish as to not hire a coach to help me gain clarity because I had the notion that why would I give my money to a coach when I’m not even making money. One of the main reasons why you might not be making money in your business is because you don’t know who you are speaking to. I always say gain clarity and the money will follow.

 

  • Not picking a niche: At that time, I didn’t know what a niche was and really frankly, I didn’t care. Again, all I wanted to do was make money at home so I could be with my kiddos. Childcare was killing us and I needed a way of escape. After a while, the word niche started chasing me and it became nerve wrecking. I knew I had to do something, otherwise, I was going to be doing the same thing the following year.

 

  • Giving away everything for free: I felt like in order for me to build the know like and trust factor, I had to let them test it before they buy it right? Wrong, it’s a limit to how much you should give away and not give away the whole cow. I was giving away three-tier diaper cakes and it was killing my pockets.

If you need help with gaining clarity and finding your targeted audience, click here!

  • Jack of all trades: You are doing too much. Yes, this week, you’re a jewelry designer, the next week, you are a life coach. This is exactly why gaining clarity is so important when you first start out.  Because if you don’t have clarity, you will think you are talking to everybody when in reality, nobody hears you.

 

  • Looking for Free stuff everywhere: At my earlier days, I was a google and youtube queen! I would stay up late nights and research and research and research until some nights I would end up sleeping in my office at the desk. I was so determined to find my answer, but guess what, it only led me to dead ends. No coach who has invested thousands of dollars, are going to give you a solution to your problem for free. I finally said enough was enough and I hired my first coach for $97 and believe me it was the greatest investment that I made. Not only was she a coach, but she was in the same industry as I was, so that was the icing on the cake.

I hope this article has been a blessing to you and that you are seriously taking a look at gaining clarity on who you are serving. Please share this with your family and friends because sharing is caring!

QUESTION: Are you clear on finding your targeted audience? Leave me a comment



5 Reasons Why Women Stay In Toxic Relationships

Posted on by LaTersa Blakely

It hurts my heart to see women functioning below their worth! I know it can be hard sometimes to leave a relationship when you have so much history with the person. But, at the end of the day, you have to understand that if that relationship is not propelling you forward or bringing out the best in you, you have to make a decision. God wants all of us to have healthy and happy relationships but that won’t happen if you continue to settle.

In order to show love to others, you must first learn how to show love to yourself. This has to be a priority in your life and something that has to be done on a daily basis. Stop running your life on fumes because eventually, your life will become empty. Before you can have a healthy relationship in the future, you have to be willing to let go of the past and allow yourself time to heal from it!

Watch today’s video:

Love & Prosperity,

LaTersa

P.S. Join The Mommy Maven’s Community!

10 Must Have Tools For Busy Mompreneurs

Posted on by LaTersa Blakely



I have been in business for almost eight years now and I have tried tons of tools and various programs. I can also tell you that if you don’t have your systems in place, you are setting yourself up for tragic. Earlier this year, I lost all three of my websites due spam and malware. I must say I had a three day crying spell and I had a fit because I have been blogging since 2009 and I lost over two hundred something of blog posts and valuable content. I can truly say, it made me up my game with the tools that I had been using. See, I was using a free version of anti-virus and with all that is going on in the world today with war and hacking. I was a great target.

What I learned from that experience

It taught me that you can never not have enough anti-virus and systems in place. I learned that even when i’m not working in my business, I have to have certain systems in place. After life happened to me in 2016, I left for an entire year. I wasn’t doing anything but working on myself and taking care of my babies, my mind, body and spirit. But, business as usual was going on and even though I wasn’t using my sites, I should have prepared more for my time being gone. So, I want to make sure you guys are prepared for the unexpected that can happen in business with my top ten tools in business.

 

 

10 Top Tool Must Haves In Moms In Business

    1. Acuity: When those clients start rolling in, you need to have a system in place to schedule appointments and this one is my all time favorite. It’s very easy to use and it’s only $10/month.
    2. Hootesuite: You need to be visible over your social media platforms. Schedule your posts
    3. Siteground: To have your blog running smoothly, you need hosting and this one is my favorite. I fired Hostgator. For as low as $3.95/month
    4. Godaddy: Only purchase domains from them because their hosting sucks
    5. Google analytics: you need to know how your site is showing up on search engines

If you are looking for more tools and apps to make your business run smoother, go get my Web Tools & Apps E-list for ONLY $7!



  1. WordPress.org: You need to own your content and this allows you more control
  2. Mcafee Antivirus: Protect your content from hackers and spam
  3. Mailchimp: Automation and email marketing
  4. Evernote: Being that you are a busy moms already, having a place where you can readily write your notes is a must have and this course is a must especially mompreneurs. Let Samantha know I sent you!
  5. Web Tools & Apps E-list: This list has over 72+ tools and plugins that I have used in my business for years to make my business run smoother

Disclaimer: Please note that some affiliate links are used but rest assured that I only promote products and services that I have used or highly recommend.

P.S. Join The Mommy Maven’s Community!

P.S.S. Grab my easy web tools and apps e-list!



 

3 Ways To Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half

Posted on by LaTersa Blakely

Everybody loves to save and if you can save more money, by all means, do so. By now, you should know that I love couponing and it excites me to budget my hard earned money to the best of my ability. One of the things I love about shopping with coupons is I never pay full price for detergent!  If you are looking for more ways on how to save money with couponing you can check it out here

Love & Prosperity,

LaTersa

P.S. Join The Mommy Maven’s Community!

P.S.S. Learn how to coupon today!