My Home Business Is About More Than Making Money

Making money is the main reason that most people start a home-based business. For many of us, it goes way beyond that.

For myself, and many others, it’s also about sharing what we know so that others can get on the right track to success.

I had lots of disappointments and heartaches along the way, but I kept trying and finally saw things start to fall into place. I know now that experiencing one failed attempt after another was largely due to things such as quitting too soon, not being focused, as well as having a mind-set that was counter-productive.

As I’ve said before, this blog is one of the ways I share what I have learned along the way. It makes me feel good when someone is able to get a better perspective on things because of some information that I’ve written about.

Since my home business is full-time, I am able to be involved in various home business activities, one of which is niche marketing. One of my niche marketing sites is all about the different types and styles of area rugs. It can be seen at www.Area-Rug-Tips.com.

I was thrilled when someone told me how useful that site had been for them. Here are the kind and generous comments:

Thank you for the gift of your website!

I am a 5th grade teacher who found it through ‘google’ images. I was looking for photos of Navajo Rugs to show my students who are learning about the Southwestern US and the Navajo’s history there and voila! There was this wealth of education right at my fingertips.

We are also learning about poetry and I am excited to share the “Words of Wisdom” pages with them.

Last but definitely not least; I am printing the mini-poster for my classroom. We will discuss its wonderful message, which says: “The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.”

Sincerely, Ellen Hickmott
aka “Mrs. H.”
Spencerport Schools, NY

Wow! A teacher found things on one of my sites that she wanted to share with her students. I have a hard time describing how good that made me feel.

Want to see what she was talking about?

This link is for the page about Navajo rugs.

This link is for the page with the “Words of Wisdom” and the mini-poster.

Here’s an image from the poster she mentioned…

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Yes, I like to make money, but I also like to share things that other people might find as interesting as I do, such as good quotes and the mini-posters.

Business articles and blog posts are one of the ways for me to give back. It might not be possible to repay all the people who have helped me along the way, so I pass along my experience and insights in hopes that other people can gain benefit from the information about having success with a home-based business.

My Personal Experience With Making Money By Taking Surveys

I recently wrote a post about making money by taking surveys and I wanted to touch on that topic again by sharing my own experiences.

Some people seem to do well with taking surveys for money. I’m sure my personal experience would have been better if I had focused on it more instead of being involved in too many things at that time.

Still, my name was drawn as a cash prizewinner 3 different times for $100.00 each time. I took part in lots of surveys that paid anywhere from $5 to $30 for 10 to 45 minutes of my time.

I also participated in three different focus groups where I was paid $50 for each focus group. That was a lot of fun to share my opinion and hear other people share theirs as about a dozen people spent 2 hours participating in panel discussions.

One of the focus groups was about a new style of packaging for a well-known product. We were shown various designs and colors of packaging and asked to comment on what we liked (or disliked) and why. The product package really was changed to the design and color combination that the group liked the most. Sales probably went up; too bad that little focus group isn’t getting a commission on those increased sales!

I tried to look for surveys that paid cash (instead of prizes) or offered a cash drawing. As I saw it, that was the best way to make it worth my time.

Most of the cash surveys were in the $5 to $10 range, but surveys that offer larger amounts of cash did come along every so often.

The surveys with a cash drawing only paid if you won the random drawing. The odds of winning varied depending on how many people participated.

Taking surveys is an easy thing to do. The hardest thing about it is getting signed up with enough companies (guidebooks have a list of companies) to find the ones that you want to work with.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, it is a good idea to get an email account that you use only for announcements and invitations related to surveys. You will most likely get a lot of email for surveys that are not your time. You will learn which messages to read and which ones to delete right away.

I stopped taking surveys after about nine months because I was involved in too many other things at that time. I made the choice to focus on a couple of home business activities that were a better “fit” for me.

All in all, making money by taking surveys was a pleasant experience. It provided some needed cash and gave me an insight into that particular type of income opportunity.