I Am Statements have more power than you can imagine! The I Am Statement is the motherlode of all affirmations! There is no better way to let the Universe know what you want out of your life. It’s also a great way to tell a story about yourself and it helps remind you of who you are and who you are becoming.

I had no idea how much mine would change my life until I got to my final version. What’s more incredible, are the lives that have been changed since sharing my story and my “I Am” with this YES! Women’s Network community and many others.

 

Our first I Am Statement Video

 

 

What is an I Am Statement?

An I Am Statement is a list of self-affirmations or positive self-talk that should be repeated to yourself regularly.

Women especially talk to themselves regularly. Sometimes, we don’t say the nicest things to ourselves and lean more toward the “I’m not worthy” or “I’m not good enough” or “I can’t do that” type of talk.

Stop it!!

In fact, what we should be saying is that we are worthy and do deserve to have and be the best things life has to offer! In order to live our best life, we must first believe it. That can be hard to do but it is possible!

An I Am Statement can be one line or several pages. There is no limit to what the statement can be. It is a very personal and powerful tool you can use to stay uplifted and keep focused.

Writing an I Am Statement

Grab a piece of paper, journal, or computer, and let’s get started now! All you have to do is start writing and the first two words are, drum roll please… I Am.

To write a really powerful I Am Statement it’s important to remember that it’s time to get real. It’s time to get clear about who you are and who you want to become. It’s time to create your new reality by describing it starting with the words, I Am.

It’s also best to use the words you actually use. The more it sounds like you, the more real the affirmation feels and the easier it is to believe and remember.

As I wrote my own statement I realized that this statement is more than just words on a paper. They help me feel better about myself. It’s sometimes hard to believe and yet deep down, I know that it makes me feel taller and stronger every time I read it or share it with someone.

Finding The Words

If you’re like me, you may need to write down all of that negative stuff that just came into your head down first. This is NOT who you are! It will NOT be a part of your statement! But, you do need to write it down to get it all out and then burn it, delete it, tear it up, shred it, or throw it away. Once you get all of that negative stuff out, you can look deeper to find out what the truth really is.

Once all of that nonsense is out of the way, start by writing down words that you feel describe you now, what you know you are capable of becoming, or what you want to become. Just a list of words. It doesn’t have to make sense or be in any kind of order. Just let the words or statements flow from you onto the paper. This may take a few minutes or you may find that you work on it for a few days. Be generous! Write as many words as you want and they don’t have to be fancy either. You can use a thesaurus later if you want, but for now, just write.

A great way to find out what kinds of words to use is to ask your family and/or friends what words they would use to describe you.

Be prepared! This may surprise you! We often think that other people see all of the horrible things we tell ourselves, but most of the time they actually see the real you that you! The one they love!

Another great thing to do is to think of people who we want to be like. People who you look up to or admire. What kinds of words describe them that you would like to emulate from them? Not that you want to be them, but you may be able to see something in them that you believe you are capable of as well.

The I Am Statement can simply be a list of words that describe you or it can be written in sentences or even in a story format. It’s totally up to you! It’s a work of art that may take time so give it all the time it takes, just don’t stop until it’s done! Then read it often!

Using Your I Am Statement

Just writing an I Am Statement isn’t enough. For it to really work and have the power it has, you’ll need to read it regularly and even share it with some of your closest family and friends. Try it out! Trust yourself and trust what you have written. Tweak it as time goes on and you find even more details to add.

Reading it daily will change your life! I can guarantee it! I read mine out loud to myself, to my family, and my mentoring clients. The more I share it the more power it has to help me be better every day. I still can’t read it without getting emotional!

 

“You’ve got to be mindful of the ideas that you are planting. Unlike the conscious mind, the subjective mind is totally subjective. It accepts whatever it is given. So ANYTHING that you say, write, or feel over and over again will eventually become fixed in the subconscious mind…

I remember as a little kid, when I was late for school, the teacher would have me write a hundred times, “I’m late for school. I’m late for school.” What she didn’t understand was that she was programming me to be late for school!

Repetition is the Mother of All Learning

Each day, you allocate a portion of your time to certain things. You eat every day. You wash your body. You get dressed.

Well, if you want to improve the quality of your life, start allocating a portion of each day to changing your paradigm.”

-Bob Proctor

 

Inspiring Others

You’ll know when it happens… then it changes you… and you’ll never be the same! Plus, you’ll want to share it! If you find that you want to share your statement and inspire others who may need a lift, we want to hear from you! Record yourself saying your I Am Statement and send it to us at hello @ yeswomensnetwork.com (remove the spaces) and we will consider putting it in our next I Am Statement Video so you can inspire women around the world!

Join Our Community

Find our online community on Facebook and request to join today.

In 2017 I found that I had created a “business” that had turned into a “j.o.b.” that I was beginning to really dislike. I was sitting at a computer 15-20 hours a day trying to support my family and achieve a dream that I had lost.

When I started my business in 2011, I thought it would give me more time with my family. I also hoped it would help me find my real purpose in life as an individual. However, in the building of the business and making sure we had food on the table, I found that I had once again lost myself.

My Why

So, I found a mentor to help me find my “why” again and it felt great! During one of our meetings, my mentor asked me if I had an “I Am” Statement. I said that I didn’t and hadn’t ever heard of one before.

He shared his statement with me and my heart lept with excitement!  Could I write one of these for myself? I could feel the power from him as he shared it with me. I could tell that it made him feel powerful and that he really knew who he was deep down inside.

Who Are You?

“Who are you?” he asked.

Then he asked me… what words describe you? How would you go about writing your “I Am” Statement? Who are you?

I froze!

The only words that came into my mind were negative. The things I am NOT! The horrible things I had been told that I was or the even more horrible things I told myself on a regular basis.

I began to cry!

I was nothing.

At least that’s how I was quickly beginning to feel.

Then, he asked if he could tell me some things he saw in me.

What He Saw in Me

As the words flowed out of his mouth so easily I began to cry again. (Yep, I cry a lot! It’s part of who I am and I am okay with that.) How did he know all of these things about me? Were they true? Was that really who I was?

After I got off the call with my mentor, I started to write. I wrote down all of the things that came into my mind… mostly negative things. Then, I took the next few days to add even more to the list. Then… I burned that list!

Incredibly, I found that I wasn’t any of those horrible things that I thought I was! I was more than that! I was more brave and strong than I thought!

Like Magic!

It’s Like Magic!

Over the next 3 years, my “I Am” Statement weight heavily on me. I had several versions and I often read it and tweaked it. Finally, in October of 2021, I wrote a version that immediately made my heart sing! It was like when Garrik Ollivander gave Harry Potter the wand that made him fill with power and magic! I felt the words deep into the bottom of my heart and it filled my soul with light!

Who Are You?

Now, it’s time to find out who you are. Not just who you are now, but who you want to become. What you are capable of. How you CAN achieve your life’s purpose and live your why.

Click here to learn how to write your own I Am Statement.

My I Am Statement

I AM a lighthouse shining light across the stormy waters of life showing women who are seeking truth and light the way to safety. I am kind, loving, giving, inspirational, spiritual, confident, and beautiful. Even as the waves of life smash against me and try to tear me down, I am strong, brave, powerful, and fearless. I am empathic and intuitive. I know where and how to passionately and purposefully serve my purpose. I live every day intentionally to be me and to serve my life’s purpose as wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, and mentor. I am worthy of all of the love and blessings that God gives me each day.

Click here to watch our first I Am Statement video or to submit your I Am Statement for our next video.

Inspiring Others

You’ll know when it happens… then it changes you… and you’ll never be the same! Plus, you’ll want to share it! If you find that you want to share your statement and inspire others who may need a lift, we want to hear from you! Record yourself saying your I Am Statement and send it to us at hello @ yeswomensnetwork.com (remove the spaces) and we will consider putting it in our next I Am Statement Video so you can inspire women around the world!

Join Our Community

Find our online community on Facebook and request to join today.

As I heard my 5 children come in the front door and head up the stairs my heart wrenched in physical and emotional pain.

I fell to my knees and began sobbing uncontrollably.

It was right then that I realized as I heard their joyful laughing voices calling “Mom! We’re Home!” that this day could have been so very different.

I thanked my Heavenly Father that my children would find me alive and happy to see them, not seemingly asleep yet not breathing having left them and this life… by accidental overdose.

That’s the day I decided my life had to change and I had to find the joy within myself.

 

Things didn’t change overnight like in the movies. That was not the day I found joy, happiness, and that everything was going to be perfect. It’s not the day that the dementors left me. It was not the day that all of my problems went away.

Without question, it was the day I realized that my heart had stopped beating.

I will always remember that is WAS the day I decided to start living again. The first thing I had to do was to remember who I was. I had spent so many years being only what everyone else told me I should be or that I thought I had to be to be accepted and loved that I didn’t know who I was anymore.

So, it’s time for you to do a self-check.

When is the last time you felt your heart beating? When is the last time you truly felt joy in your life and knew without hesitation who you are, what your purpose is, and how you are going to achieve your dreams and goals?

Here are three powerful steps for how you can do this:

 

Y – YOU! Take care of you every day.

 

The average woman spends only 17 minutes a day on herself. That’s just crazy! Taking care of ourselves is mandatory to feel alive.  How can we care for those we love if we don’t care for ourselves?

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -Howard Thurman

 

I’d love to hear you share your “I AM” statement below. Who are you really? Deep down in your deepest soul?

 

E – EXCITED! Get excited about your life and what you’re doing every day.

 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to wake up excited every morning? If you aren’t doing what you are passionate about your heart won’t be ablaze and you won’t feel anything.

“Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it.” -Don Herold

 

We must choose to do things that get us excited! Do you want to change the world, have a great relationship, have fewer negative emotions? What about success? Chose what you want to do and be in your life and how you want to live and get excited about it!

 

S – START! Don’t wait. Do it NOW!

 

“One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted… Do it now.” -Paulo Coelho

 

Someone once said, “The time to have the map is before you enter the woods.” Do you have your map ready?

What are you waiting for? Right this very minute, make a clear plan and make it happen!

 

Y.E.S. You need to get Excited and Start now!

 

Looking forward to hearing from you about how you are jump-starting your life with Y.E.S.! Leave a comment below or message me.

 

A few years ago on KUTV I spoke with Brooke and Caitlin about success. Is it achievable? How do you know you have reached it? Is it possible? How do you manage success every day? They were great fun to chat with! Watch the video HERE on KUTV.

Here’s my own story of success…

In July of 2017, I sat at my desk with a successful career as a digital marketer and online speaker/trainer. I had started as an entrepreneur in 2011 as a virtual assistant working with real estate agents. From there my skills and my business had grown into something that I truly enjoyed doing. Digital marketing along with branding, websites, sales funnels, and basically flipping online businesses was as thrilling to me as racing around a race track is for Indy drivers. I had found a bit of success. Yet…

As I sat there at my desk thinking over the last 5 years it hit me! I had basically created a job for myself. I was my boss and my boss didn’t give me any vacation time and if I wasn’t working I wasn’t getting paid. The name of my business was my name and if I wanted to retire… well, let’s just say that wasn’t going to happen.

Was this what success felt like?

This realization made me step back and take a 30,000-foot view of my business and my life. This is something I do in my own business every quarter and something I have all of my clients do as well.

“Success grows with you and you grow with Success!” – Sheila J Davis

It was true that I had worked with and helped thousands of virtual assistants build their businesses through my academy. I found true joy in working with them.

I loved my clients and enjoyed flipping their businesses. Working with them to create a powerful brand, improving or building their websites for increased revenue, showing them how to automate their business, and creating sales funnels that are powerful and effective.

 

Somehow I felt empty.

Something was missing. It wasn’t just about money, it was about the impact and influence I had on the world. On the women specifically that I felt needed my help to achieve their success.

“If your bucket is empty, and there is a hole at the bottom, it’s time for change.” – Sheila J Davis

I knew something had to change, I just had no idea how fast and how amazing the process would be!

 

Time For a Mentor!

Over the next two months, I went on a journey to find where my success was and how to reach it. I worked with a brilliant and amazing mentor, Brooks Gibbs. He can tell you that my journey to find what success was to me was painful and incredible at the same time.

What Brooks helped me realize was that my passion to help and serve single women, military wives, and women who found themselves in a situation of, “Oh Crap! Now what?!” was possible!

Thanks to his guidance, patience, and willingness to help me serve my purpose in life I had discovered what success was to me! It was creating a network where women could find trusted resources, build relationships, network with each other, and even where I could create a non-profit to provide even more.

Truth be told, we have only just started and we have a long way to go. There is so much more! I’m thrilled, however, that my journey lead me to where I am today!

 

I AM STATEMENT

I’ve been thinking that my I Am Statement has changed my life and I want other women to find the same strength I have by creating their own! So, I got a few of my favorite women together and we made a video of all of us reading our statements. I hope you find it inspiring and I hope you create your own or even submit yours for us to showcase on our next I Am Video!

 

“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” – John Rohn

 

Our first I Am Statement Video

 

 

Now that you’re on your way and determined to have a food storage… CONGRATULATIONS!! This is a BIG step and honestly, the rest is much easier. Knowing and understanding that this is important to have a food storage will get you so excited. When you start seeing 1, 2, 3 cans of food turn into several shelves of food… well, you’ll just get more excited.

So, what is the next step? You’ll need to find a smart place to store the food. This can be tricky if you have a small apartment or if you are going to be doing a lot of moving. It’s also tricky if you don’t have a lot of money.

How amazing would it be to build or buy shelving that’s perfect for food storage? But, most of us can’t do that, so we have to come up with smart and clever ways instead. Here are some things to consider and keep in mind:

Consider Temperature

This is very important as food will go bad and be useless or even cause harm if not done right. We don’t know when we will need the food storage so we need to plan on storing it for anywhere from 1 month to 2 years.

Heat, cold, dryness, and humidity could all ruin food.

I’ll admit I’m not an expert on this and since it’s so important, I’ve found this information on Family Survival Planning. Be sure to check out this article for even more on storing your food storage.

“If you live in an area that has four seasons, or very high temperatures and humidity, long term food storage can be difficult. If you live in an area where homes do not have basements, food storage must be kept somewhere in your home at a constant temperature (around 70°F). Cement basements are ideal because they are below ground level (for the most part) and therefore, maintain a pretty constant 50-60°F, which is ideal for long-term food storage. Lacking a basement, just know that the higher the temperatures, the shorter the shelf life of stored foods. But don’t let that stop you from getting prepared.

“If you live in a hot and humid area: For the best food storage conditions, a dehumidifier would be a good investment.

“If you live in a hot and dry area: Air conditioning is the most logical solution, but it takes electricity. Right? That’s ok as long as we have electricity. In the days before electricity, people dug root cellars in order to store their garden produce, jerky, and grains in a cooler environment. Is that a possibility for you?”

Find out more about Long Term Storage and Short Term Storage on their website.

Rotate It

 

Rotating your food will keep it fresh and keep your family comfortable with the food you have stored. Then if you don’t have money for groceries for a few months, you’ll already know how to use the food and you’ll know your family loves it.

The old restaurant rule always applies, FIFO, First In First Out. Knowing and planning to rotate your food will ensure that you’re storing it in a way that makes it easier.

Another great reason to rotate is to inspect your storage for signs of spoilage or signs of pet infestations. If cans are bulging or seeping liquid from the seal, they will need to be thrown away immediately. Those are almost sure signs of botulism poising, which could be life-threatening. For jars you’ll want to check to see if the lid seal is still intact by checking to see if it pops back up when you push down on the top.

When you bring home new food to add to your storage or when you take from your food storage to use it, you’ll be able to keep track of your inventory. It would show you how much your family is using, how long the items are on the shelf before they are used, and ensure you have stored the proper kinds of foods.

Remember that list you made of what you need? Be sure to keep that current during rotation. Every 3 months you’ll be able to adjust your purchases to match your families needs.

I’ve tried doing this each time I’ve gone to the store and it can be difficult. So, doing a family inventory about every 3 months is a good idea. If there is one food that you have never used in those 3 months, consider it. Would it be best to keep adding that particular food? Will your family use it? Is there a certain food you can never catch up on? Maybe you run out of it before you have more to add to it?

Another few tips about rotating:

  • Try new foods slowly to see if your family will use it
  • Be sure there are dates on everything, use a Sharpie (the tiny “use by” dates can fade, or be unreadable under certain conditions)
  • Store like things together similar to how the grocery stores do it, this saves searching time
  • Label your shelves if possible to make access, inventory and restocking easier
  • Put the heaviest items on the bottom shelves to prevent shelving falling over
  • Move items that are about to expire in the everyday cabinets to be used quickly
  • To rotate cans easier, use boxes with one row of cans so it’s easy to add to the back, or use tilted shelving where the front is lower so cans move down, Food Storage Made Easy has a great video and a downloadable plan for building a shelf like this
  • Use recipes in your weekly meal plans that include food from the food storage (If you’re storing dry milk be sure your family would drink it. Try mixing 1/2 regular gallon milk you buy with 1/2 gallon dry milk. This way your family gets used to the taste and it saves you money.)

Create and Find Clever Storage

My first food storage was under beds in the boxes they came in. I cut them in half so they were only one can high and slide them under. Dates written on the top, all I had to do was pull out the box, check the dates, add new cans to the back of the box, and take from the front.

I also built storage shelves with cinder blocks and Plywood.

We found a bunch of cinder blocks at a friends they weren’t using and then had the plywood cut at the hardware store where we bought them. Not great for floor to ceiling shelving, but it worked great for 3-4 shelves high in the garage.

Here is a great list of sites that have some super clever ways of storing food. Many of these can be done on a very small budget.

I’d love to see how you are storing your food storage! Leave a comment with a picture or idea below.

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Building a Food Storage On a Budget – Part 1

When I found myself single in 2010 I was very grateful for the food storage I had been building. I had 5 children and no income for 9 months. If it wasn’t for my food storage we would have gone hungry, not had laundry detergent and many other necessities that we needed.

I didn’t start out my adult life with a food storage but I did learn from watching my parents that it was important. We had always had a food storage growing up. There were many times in my youth where it was our main source of food. So, when I got out on my own I knew it was necessary to start one.

One day I was asked to teach a class about food storage at my church. I knew nothing about starting one or how to have one in a small apartment. There was also no internet at the time to go searching on to help me. I asked and learned from watching a very dear friend of mine who had nailed it. Her food storage was the envy of anyone who saw it and still is.

 

Lastly, another dear friend was an endless resource of knowledge. Kati Kiefer, founder of True Couponing. In 2009 Kati’s husband, James, received a large pay cut and they quickly found themselves in a difficult financial situation. Because of this Kati, with her degree in accounting, quickly figured out creative ways to reduce their monthly grocery bill from $600 to $200. Since then she has helped thousands of people do the same thing.

 

With these amazing women as examples in my life and a bit of research as well, I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge. I’ll share with you some of the best ideas for how to get started and how to do it on a budget. To make it more simple and easier to follow, I’ll break it into 3 different posts.

 

Where and How do I Start?

Starting is a lot easier than you think it will be.  Here’s the three-step plan to getting starting:

 

#1 Decide to Start with Intention

I know. I know. This is pretty obvious, right? Well, did you think to yourself when you saw the title of the post, saw a picture recently, or even while reading this post that you should start one? Did you do anything about it? Did you make a real decision? Did you tell your significant other or have a discussion about it with your family? Or did you just think, “humm… I should probably start a food storage.” Then the thought was quickly pushed to the back of your mind? If you’re like most people, that’s actually what happened.

Here’s how I decided to start and set my intention:

  • Have a family meeting and get my husband and children on board and helping
  • Clear a place for the storage by the end of January
  • Work out what we need in our 72-hour kits and complete them by February 15th
  • Create a list of food storage that our family needs to have for 1 month
  • Spend an extra $5/month to fill my pantry to double its current size
  • Spend an extra $10/month to add to my 3 month supply

These are just a few of the steps that I’m going to take now that I have decided. What about you? What are you going to do to get started?

HINT: It doesn’t have to look pretty! You don’t need a bunch of fancy shelving and containers. My first good storage was stored under my bed, in closets, and we even used it to make tables by stacking.

 

#2 Make an Action Plan

This is the part that so many of us get hung up on. I don’t know about you, but thinking of needing a food storage gives me anxiety! I immediately think of a wall of 5-gallon buckets with whole wheat in them or spending thousands of dollars on shelving and containers. Then I imagine coming in from the cold to try to find something to feed my crying babies and not knowing at all what to do with what I had. Am I alone?

Start with storing water and a water filtering plan. This is a must and shouldn’t be put off. Put this one at the top of your list. I’ll even challenge you to do this one thing before the end of the week.

One thing I learned very early from my friend 26 years ago was that I needed to store what my family would eat. First, go to a site like Provident Living and enter your families information. This will show what is recommended to have and in what amounts. THEN be sure to consider this list as a starting place to create your own real list depending on your own families tastes. She explained to me that if we never ate whole wheat it would be a bad idea to have it in storage.

My recommendation is to start with a 1-month supply and begin rotating this through your regular meals. This is a great first goal to set. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll get this done.

Next work on a 3-month supply, then 6-month, then 9-month, then 12. Before you know it you will have created a great system for storing and using your storage. Then if/when something unexpected happens you will be secure in knowing you have a store of food that your family will use.

 

#3 Track Additional Needs & Add

We need to be sure to store more than just food. What about medicine?  Do you have pets? We all use soap and other cleaning products so we need to be sure to store these as well.

Over the next 10 days or so, be sure to track what items you may need to store outside of food items.

Other things to consider are a generator for electricity, oil, gas, and things that you may need in case of a major disaster.

 

WARNING: If you are like me you will soon find that you have way too much information and quickly lose steam. This happens when we research a topic and sign up for every free list or download. Then we get bombarded with so much information our heads explode. So, I’ve saved you the trouble. Here are a few links to sites that I recommend.

 

MOST IMPORTANTLY do not sign up for every one of them or use every one of them as a resource. Chose ONE or TWO that you enjoy or find valuable. Once you have learned what you can from them chose another one or two to learn from next. Sometimes too much information can be overwhelming.

I’d love to hear from you! What food storage ideas work for you and your family?

Whether you’re saving for a family vacation or you want to buy your first house or you just want to increase your savings, you’re not alone.  It’s more important than ever to have a financial plan in place. For some that may include turning their hobbies into cash. This can be easily done with the right resources and can be a lot of fun; no matter if you’re wanting just a little extra cash or if you want to turn it into a full-time business.

FB LIVE: Turn Hobbies into Cash – Here’s the HOW TO!
KUTV Fresh Living: Top 3 Steps

 

More and more people are becoming entrepreneurs, especially in Utah. Utah is listed in the number one spot on CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has Utah listed #1 for innovation and entrepreneurship and #2 in high-tech performance in 2017.

 

With the economy like it is and with so many people staying home more due to COVID-19, many people are spending less and becoming penny pinchers due to lack of income. We are finding that we aren’t able to have as much fun as we wanted five years ago.

There are a lot of very talented women who could turn their skills and/or hobbies into cash or into a real business. It’s not as hard as you think and there are loads of amazing free resources to help when you’re ready.

 

 

I quit my day job in 2011 when I found the need to be home with my children due to their health.  Now 7 years later I have been providing services for and mentoring and training hundreds of women all around the world on how to start, build and grow their own businesses from home. Many have started virtual assistant businesses, health. life, or fitness coaching businesses, and other businesses as well including small online shops.

 

The Internet is full of amazing people who are ready and willing to help. However,  there are some that just can’t be trusted. More than half of my clients over the last 7 years have told me horror stories of being ripped off by online providers. I myself have been taken advantage of a few times when I didn’t do my research. That’s why I want to help be a resource for women who want to find the right people to work with so I started YES! Women’s Network.

Aren’t sure where to start? Join YES! Women’s Network today for help getting started by meeting women who are already doing what you want to do.

There are a lot of ways you can turn hobbies and skills into cash; and it’s lots easier with trusted resources, free or low-cost training, and inspired connections.  The good news is… you’re in the right place!

Here are some ideas to get you thinking about how you could earn some extra cash:

#1 – Crafts

So many women are blessed with the gift of craftiness. Homemade creations are highly sought after personalized gifts. If you are crafty you could turn this into a surefire way to make money selling your goods. Homemade and vintage items are where many shoppers are turning for original creations. Especially if you are already selling your creations at local festivals and farmers’ markets. How many times I find items that I want to be able to buy more of and when I ask the owner if they are online and they say no. This surprises me! If you are crafty be sure to consider not only offline sales but online sales as well. Before you know it, your homemade creations, whatever they may be, could be the latest Internet craze.

#2 – Shopping

Do you like shopping? I’m not a fan of shopping and I avoid it at all costs, but my daughters love to shop. Becoming a personal shopper could save you money and make you money at the same time. There are so many busy men and women who would prefer to hire out their shopping. If you’re a great shopper you could help your clients with everything from making travel arrangements, finding hotels, buying personalized gifts, or even doing personal shopping like for groceries and household items. Personal shoppers could help their clients find clothing, pick up medicines from the pharmacy, or even just running errands. Personal shoppers could charge anywhere from $15 – $20 an hour or 10 to 15% of the total purchase according to paysale.com.  Just be sure you don’t shop for yourself while you’re shopping for your client or it would defeat the purpose.

#3 – Baking

Baking is a talent that so many busy men and women are envious of. Who doesn’t love a homemade fresh cookie or loaf of bread? Many entrepreneur friends of mine have said that having a personal chef is at the top of their bucket list. If you have this skill you may want to take advantage of it and share your talents with others while making some cash. I see on Facebook several times a week one of my friends selling her cinnamon rolls. She posts that she is going to make x number of pans, how much she wants for them, when they will be ready, and they sell out every week! The majority of people who don’t have time to bake are willing to pay for it, especially if they can pay online and pick it up on their way home. This could turn into catering small events like baby showers, weddings, family reunions, small office parties, or other gatherings. As long as you’re selling baked goods that don’t spoil (like cream pies, etc.) you don’t need a license to sell at most farmers’ markets, although some do require you meet their standards and guidelines to be accepted [source: mt.gov]. If you stick to one or two items and do them well — bread and muffins, for example — invest in a creative logo and packaging, and set up a plate of samples, your products should sell themselves.

#4 Pet Walking & Care

Do you love pets and just can’t get enough? Why not try doing dog walking and pet care? Instead of spending money to get your own why not have the freedom to care for other people’s pets? Most dog walkers charge between $10 and $18 per walk depending o the location and the number of dogs. Overnight dog sitting can be billed for even more according to Christine Rochelle in her article for aol.com.  It’s best to start your business with people who know and trust you. It’s a big responsibility to take care of someone’s pets. Once you have established a small list of clients you could ask them to recommend you to their friends and coworkers.

#5 Organizing and/or Cleaning

“I would pay someone to just come in here clean up and get me organized!” I’ve heard this many times from entrepreneurs who work 10-15-20 hours a day. Many of us spend our days sitting in front of a computer and simply don’t have time to clean out the garage, deep clean our kitchen, or take care of our yards. If this is something you enjoy doing, I can practically guarantee you that you can do this and make some pretty good money. I actually know several organizers personally who are doing pretty well. They are hired to take care of hopelessly unorganized people for a fee. The organizers I know will to and either helps their clients or actually do the work for them. Everything from cleaning out a disorganized closet to shopping and stocking their homes with things like linens, toiletries, and everyday items. Especially around the holidays when they also help with the putting up and taking down of decorations.

#6 Administrative, Writing, Editing, and others

This is how I first got started as a real estate virtual assistant! When I first needed to work from home I wanted to take the skills I had from the Corporate world to start my business. I loved working with real estate agents helping with their paperwork and I knew I could do it from anywhere as long as I had a phone and the internet. From there I grew my skills into being a speaker, digital marketer, coach, mentor, and creating this network. Now, my daughter does editing for many of my clients and I help with building online businesses. If you think about it, anything an administrative assistant does now can be done from anywhere except putting a piece of paper in a folder. An most offices are digital and filing in person isn’t needed. So, if you like writing there are businesses looking for you to help with their blogging. There are businesses looking for help with editing, marketing, data entry, editing websites, research, help with social media, graphic design, and many other administrative skills. There is a virtual assistant academy on YES! Women’s Network that will teach you what you need to know and other resources to get you started as well.

Other hobbies that could turn into cash:

  • Photography
  • Website Design
  • Graphic Design
  • Drawing
  • Music
  • Couponing
  • Blogging
  • Affiliate Marketing (selling other peoples products)
  • Mowing Lawns and Shoveling Driveways
  • Selling from our Garden
  • Canning
  • Garage Sale Flips
  • Tutoring
  • Teaching Classes
  • Decorating Homes
  • Running Errands for the Elderly
  • YouTube – Teach Lessons

Here are a few hobbies turned cash of clients and friends of mine. They are all having a lot of fun. Some are making more money and have turned into a real business than others, but all are making money from home which is super cool!

Lanmom Originals
Ridgetop Virtual Solutions
Pam Bennett
GigiGoes
Tiia Lin
Primary Wellness
The Happy Gal
Everflect
Paula’s Kitchen
Somer Lang
Scrap n’ Things
Love to Bake You Happy
Love You Dear Photography
New Mexico Farm House Designs
Build It Mom
Just One Elle
Romance Enhanced Consulting
1 Sister 2 Sister
Crafty Thrivin LLC
Beyond the Shaker
Hand Picked Daisy

Decide what you like to do and what you want to do then join YES! Women’s Network and let’s find a way you can turn that into cash!  Be sure to join our community and share your ideas with us so we can all pitch in and help you get started today.

We can all use a little more self-confidence these days. Self-confidence can often be in short supply in trying times but there are ways you can get it back. When your self-confidence is lacking, you need to take control of the situation and make yourself-confident again. You can accomplish a lot more with self-confidence than you can without.

Once you know how to create confidence, you become a powerful person. Confidence breeds more confidence which is a direct link to success.

So how can you get your self-confidence back?

Try one or more of these techniques and see how your confidence soars!

Make a to-do list.

Having a to do list ensures that nothing will fall through the cracks and allows you to see what is on your plate. From there, choose 3 to 5 tasks that are the most important to accomplish for the day, prioritize them and then get them done. You will be amazed at how awesome you will feel as you tick the items off the list.  Show yourself that you can be productive and successful.

Each time you make a list or a plan and execute it, you have more confidence in yourself.

It doesn’t matter what it is you accomplish, just the act of accomplishing  is not only motivating but a big self-confidence booster.

Keep your biggest goals to yourself.

Revealing your big goals to others can be enough to make you consider quitting if the feedback you get is not positive. This is de-motivating and will make you question your goals.

Improve your posture.

How you use your body affects how you feel. If you sit and stand tall, you’ll feel more confident, try it;  sit up in your chair and see how much more confident professional you feel. In fact, many salespeople make their calls standing up for this exact reason.

List all your positive qualities and accomplishments.

There are plenty of things you can admire about yourself. Even if you have to call your mom and friends for inspiration, make a list of all your positive qualities. It won’t take long before you feel a little confidence welling up inside of you. Keep the list handy for future reference and keep adding all your accomplishments to it.

Remove those things from your life you’ve been tolerating.

We tolerate too much in our lives. It is important to get rid of everything and everyone that is a confidence and energy sucker.

Do something you’re good at.

What are you good at? Whatever it is, you feel better after doing it. Try to spend time each day doing something that you know you’re great at. Your self-confidence will increase.

Exercise.

Exercise provides more than just health benefits. It boosts your willpower, stamina, and self-belief. Exercise also reduces anxiety. All of these things can’t help but boost your self-confidence, too. It’s important to try to get at least a little exercise each day.

End Result.

It’s probably not possible to feel confident 100% of the time, but you can come a lot closer than you think. Even in challenging circumstances, you are the same.

Self-confidence is always right there, you just have to see it.

These simple actions are an easy way to find the self-confidence you’ve temporarily misplaced.

Share with us what works best to boost your self-confidence! We would love to hear from you!

Have you recently decided to shift gears or make a change in your life? Anything from learning a new language to changing jobs or your career can be both exciting and frightening at the same time. Why?

You can prepare but you can’t always control the pace of your progress.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary transition means “passage from one state, stage, subject or place to another (i.e., change)”. Some of the synonyms for transition include development, alteration and the word shift, which is where I’ll focus for a few minutes.

If you’ve ever found yourself stuck behind someone who’s new to driving a car with a manual transmission (aka stick shift)? It gets obvious pretty quickly when you’re on a hill and they start to drift backwards.

There’s no way to avoid this newbie because you’re on a two-lane road and can’t pull around them. So you sit helplessly — watching and waiting for impact.

Sometimes you may feel, regardless of your efforts, your progress has slowed to a crawl. Let me remind you… even though you’re only inching along (like in rush hour traffic) and it feels like you’re sitting still – you’re NOT.

So STOP being so hard on yourself!

Even when a shift or transition is positive it doesn’t happen without detours.

Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking we have to be “perfect” even when we know that’s unrealistic.

Follow a Process

When you’re trying to learn new skills or brush off old ones (like interviewing for a job in a new arena or starting a business) you need to remind yourself there’s a process, and possibly a learning curve to get from points A to Z.

Every goal requires a process. Occasionally, the sequence doesn’t matter, but usually doing things out of order take much longer and that’s when you are able to execute the steps that way.

Using my car example, I never thought of myself as being well coordinated, but despite that perception I still had to follow a specific sequence of steps.

After starting the car, I had to put it in gear to drive it. I had to depress the clutch, then shift to first gear, depress the clutch, shift to second gear and so on as my speed increased. All the while I had to maintain consistent acceleration with my right foot.

The first few weeks were mentally exhausting – probably the way you’re feeling as you learn a new skill (language or instrument), search for a new job, prepare yourself for a new career or business, etc.

Eventually, you’ll discover your rhythm and won’t have to think about each step. Once you have a plan, you’ll have a better idea what you need, and how to get there.

Just remember, you aren’t the first person learn how to fill in the blank. There’s only one way overcome your hindrances. You have to be willing start over even when you have temporary failures.

People Who Overcame

Thomas Edison was told he was “too stupid to learn anything” as a child and even fired from his first two jobs because he wasn’t his productivity was didn’t meet the standards set by his employers.

Lucille Ball was seemingly a late bloomer as an entertainer but “I Love Lucy” has been in syndication for decades. She also ended up being the first woman to run a TV production company (Desilu Productions).

Walt Disney failed and declared bankruptcy before forming the Walt Disney Company.

Oprah Winfrey is one of the celebrities who uses both her first and last names but is known worldwide by only her first name. Yet, she’s been very open about the multiple episodes of molestation and rape she endured as a child. Still she overcame those traumatic experiences as well as several in her professional life before launching her Oprah show which ran for 25 years. Of course, she started her OWN Network after walking away from her popular Chicago-based show.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States endured many public defeats, as well as private ones. Before he was elected president in 1860, he experienced devastating events such as his sweetheart dying, business failure, a nervous breakdown and political losses.

Read more inspiring stories here:

Despite situations that would have deterred many people, these leaders in their fields persevered. They stayed focused on their goals rather than dwelling on their defeats or being deterred by them.

When they experienced failure they kept going. Use their examples to inspire you. Your goal may not be life-saving but it can be life-changing, which means somebody is waiting for you to step up and tell people what you have and how you can help them improve their lives, their businesses, etc.

In summary:

Shifting gears can be both thrilling and scary at the same time, but transition allows us to find more fulfillment as we enrich the lives of others.

Sometimes we are Our Own Worst Enemy.

It’s important to remind yourself when you set a goal, it doesn’t mean the achieving it will be all smooth sailing. You may stumble and even feel like giving up occasionally.

Although, it may be intimidating the most direct path to attaining our goals can be met by following these steps:

  • Identify your goal.
  • Picture yourself achieving it.
  • Implement your plan.
  • Be patient with yourself during the process.
  • Reach your goal!

Share in the comments the one goal you are working on right now.

Have you encountered obstacles? If so, how have you motivated yourself to keep going rather than allowing them to stop your progress?