(OPENPRESS) February 28, 2005 -- Looking for a way to stay home with your children and make money, too? You need to look no further than the Expo sponsored by the National Work At Home Mom Association (NWAHMA). This event will be held on Saturday, May 14, 2005 from 9 AM to 7 PM at the Sioux City Convention Center.

The NWAHMA Expo offers free home business information and work at home resources. The main speaker will be Ms. Barbara Biziou, a highly acclaimed, motivational speaker and life coach. There will be over seventy-five vendors, presenting their direct selling or telecommuting home employment opportunities. The vendors will host seminars and workshops throughout the day. MTACC, one of the largest online Medical Transcription Training Schools, will be offering scholarships to some interested people. Coastal Vacations will be giving away vacations to lucky Expo attendees.

This event promises to be a great way for present and future work at home moms to network together, enlarging the WAHM community. The Expo is one of almost thirty expos sponsored this year by NWAHMA in the USA and Canada. NWAHMA is a non-profit organization that serves as a resource for work at home moms. All proceeds from the Expo will fund the group’s advocacy efforts.

The Sioux City Expo is a local outreach effort by NWAHMA to promote the work at home movement. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there are over twenty million people working at home, representing over 15% of the total US work force. Approximately half of them are women. More information on NWAHMA and the Expos can be found at NWAHMA.com.

Mrs. Jill Hart, the coordinator of the Sioux City NWAHMA Expo, is owner of the Christian Work At Home Mom website, CWAHM.com This website is the official direct selling resource site for the National Work at Home Mom Association. For over five years, CWAHM.com has been a virtual meeting place for Christian moms hoping to connect with other trustworthy Christians. It provides free information to help moms find work-at-home careers and to assist them in marketing their businesses. “Through many different ways, we are dedicated to bringing moms back home to their families!” states Mrs. Hart.

###
Professional Free Press Release News Wire

Task force goes after companies pitching easy-cash promises

February 28, 2005

BY KIMBERLY MORRISON
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

WASHINGTON -- Federal authorities say they are cracking down on home employment get-rich-quick swindles that promise but don't deliver high pay and commissions.

The scam businesses come in many forms. Some offer high pay for stuffing envelopes, designing Web sites or medical billing at home. Others promise that their vending machines or ATMs will make franchisees rich. Some say they'll give investors everything they need and don't. Others require a buy-in fee and costly training for businesses that can't work.

"These so-called opportunities appeal to the entrepreneur in all of us," Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras said last week.

But they also share another similarity: unsubstantiated or deceptive earnings claims.

Bogus moneymaking schemes ripped off $100 million from 950,000 people in 2004, officials said.

The scams are centered mainly in south Florida, "one of the consumer-fraud capitals of the country, if not the world," says Marcos Jimenez, the U.S. attorney in Miami.

The FTC claims 200 arrests and other enforcement actions nationwide against such scammers in 2004. It's now combining with the Justice Department, the Postal Inspection Service and law enforcement agencies from 14 states in a crackdown called "Project Biz Opp Flop."

For the victims, the American dream of a self-owned business turned into a costly nightmare.

Although the FTC has pending actions against 31 corporations and 33 individuals, few of the victims will ever get their money back. The businesses and their operatives often are as quick to disappear as the money collected from victims.

The crackdown focuses on criminal prosecutions, civil enforcement actions by the FTC, state enforcement actions and civil penalty actions by the Justice Department.

Among recent cases that the task force noted:

•Jeffrey Salley and Terri Salley of West Palm Beach, Fla., suckered nine people into investing $25,000 each in espresso coffee-vending machines that never arrived. Last month, Jeffrey Salley drew a sentence of nearly six years. Terri Salley got four years' probation.

• American Entertainment Distributors of Hollywood, Fla., claimed that DVD movie-rental vending machines could yield $60,000 or more a year and promised that it would help buyers place them in moneymaking locations. The FTC alleges the company gave franchisees far less help than promised.

• A Mainesburg, Pa., company known as National Home Assemblers signed up an estimated 30,000 people to make cat refrigerator magnets. First, they needed to pay $38 for registration and a $12 inspection fee. They were promised up to $800 weekly, but their work never met the company's quality standards, task force officials said.

Officials of the Mainesburg and Hollywood companies couldn't be reached for comment.

Contact KIMBERLY MORRISON at kmorrison@krwashington.com.

I am trying to do too much, but I don't really have a choice. I work for a company from home, which I enjoy, plus I have my business, which I also enjoy, plus I get to be home with my kids (which I almost always enjoy). How many working women would jump at a chance to be able to work from home, make a decent salary, have health benefits and not have to pay for child care?

Unfortunately, with my meltdown, I have come to realize that I do need to have a little childcare help. I have learned that it is not necessarily a good thing to feed your kids microwave chicken three nights in a row or go running back to your office the second your husband sets foot in the driveway. It's not good when your son asks, in a very loud voice in a crowded store "Mom, what's that for?" when you are holding a mop. It's not good to have to switch from your daily work time Pepsi to a daily and nightly Red Bull. (You know how they say it gives you wings? It's actually the buzzing sound you hear from all that caffeine flowing through your veins. Trust me. I know.)

I was so stressed out that I was actually trembling. This made me realize that it was time to take action and bring in help. Sure, I will have to pay for it, but at least I will be able to get work done while it is still light and maybe even get to sit on the couch for a few uninterrupted minutes with my husband in the evening every once in a while without feeling like I am doing something wrong.

Surprisingly enough, my husband was all for me having the sitter come over a few days a week. Apparently, he likes the idea of me being able to go to bed at the same time that he does. I don't like the chink it puts in my superhero armor, but it's time to suck it up. A mom who is a few bucks lighter per week is a much better alternative than a mom who is a few fries short of a Happy Meal, if you know what I mean.

So, beginning today, I will have the sitter here watching the kids while I work away. Since I now have an office door I can shut (and lock!), I will have several uninterrupted hours to get some work done. My big challenge will be to ONLY do work during that time frame. I may have to lock myself in the office to resist the temptation of accomplishing "Mommy tasks" without kids hanging off my pockets. Earlier, I caught myself daydreaming about running errands without the kids. Maybe, just maybe, in a few weeks I will loosen my own leash a little and allow myself to take some ME time while the sitter is here.

For now, I will settle for working while my kids are in the other room screaming and playing. Maybe I should throw a few extra bucks to the sitter and let her figure out what's for dinner? At least then I would know they would be eating something other than my meal especial - microwaved Dino chicken.

------------------------- ------------------------- -------------
Alana Morales is a former high school English teacher and owner of The Write Decision,  which offers business copywriting and marketing assistance and specializes in working with small businesses. You may read more of her writing at her personal site alanamorales.com. She is also a sucker for email and can be reached at wah@alanamorales.com.

Your lunchtime thoughts are comprised of brilliant marketing strategies and anxiety over bill payments. You're the CEO, human resources director, janitor, and administrative assistant all wrapped up into one. You open the doors at dawn and lockup when it's time to wrap up for the day.

Welcome to the world of small business ownership. Lovely, isn't it?

Of course, the rewards of small business ownership are quite high.
Your focus determines your reality and your success, you never have to answer to an angry boss, and (for most owners) you get to work in an industry of your choice. There's an obvious trade-off with the long hours, multiple responsibilities, and occasional panic attacks of "how am I going to get this done?"

Not to worry. You're not alone. In fact, almost all small business owners face the same issues you do. And many have survived and lived on to tell the tale (in small business seminars, in fact!), so don't get discouraged. Here are several easy tips to get your business head out of the clouds.

Become an expert at time management: If you went to college, chances are you learned how to balance midterm studying, paper writing, socializing, and plain old partying into a somewhat successful formula. Dust off those time management skills, because they'll get your small business running in an efficient fashion. A great way to do this is to use the tools that come with modern office software. Any sort of email program that features a calendar, such as Outlook, will allow you to track appointments, follow-up emails/phone calls, and important dates. It will also allow you to create daily to-do lists while maintaining an organized list of your contacts. You can also use spreadsheet software, such as Excel, to keep track of the progress of multiple tasks, calculate and crunch numbers, and store tables upon tables of information. Get this software, load it on to your office computer or laptop and use it religiously. It will organize your life and allow you to attend to the important things for your business.

Contracts are good things: Here's a hint – if you're not an expert at something, don't do it yourself. Your budgets are stretched and your time and sanity are running low. How about a hired hand? From virtual administrative assistants to business planners to copywriters, hiring out help on a contract basis can free you from the logistics of running a business and allow you to stay focused on what your business really does. Obviously, hiring a professional costs money, but it also means a separate set of eyes specializing in something that you're not the most adept at. The process could even pay for itself. If the quality of work these contract professionals bring in generate revenue by allowing you to work harder at what you do best.

Seize every opportunity: When you're a small business, you've got to get creative with your marketing. Fortunately, every single moment and action presents itself as a time to sell your business. Writing an email? Then attach your business description to your signature and casually mention your business. Going to the library? Bring some flyers and tack them on the bulletin board. Going to get office supplies? Ask the supply store manager how you can place your business cards on the counter. Every scenario grants you the opportunity to reach another person. And even if its just one person, that someone can tell a friend, who may tell two friends, and so on. Word-of-mouth and grass-roots marketing can be a powerful tool, and it's cheap – so use it!

Keep your chin up: It might be a cliché, but it's true – the best way to have run a successful business is to stay positive. Keeping a positive mindset affects you, the ones you work with, and your customers. No one likes to work when they're down in the dumps. But if you're chipper, motivated, and ready to go, you'll inspire yourself and the ones around you. It may sound trite, but it's the truth.
Maintain a positive attitude and work hard and the results will present themselves!

While running a small business is consuming and exhausting, don't forget that you also need to stay mentally and physically healthy.
These tricks will help you run your business more efficiently, but it doesn't excuse you from running yourself into the ground. Remember to find an outlet for the physical and emotional stress that come with running a small business. You'll feel refreshed and energized and ready to work hard and efficiently – and that means more business and more profits!

For more information on the topics covered in this article, please visit MikeChenWriting.com

------------------------- ------------------------- -------------
About the author: Mike Chen is a San Francisco Bay Area-based freelance writer and consultant with diverse experience in copywriting, technical writing, and journalism. His articles on business, music, and sports have been regularly published for years and he is the author of 6 Methods For Marketing Your Small Business Online. His writing portfolio can be viewed at MikeChenWriting.com. Email info@mikechenwriting.com for questions, comments, or copywriting estimates.

I thought the newsletter would be a good place to advertise a couple of positions I need to fill for a client of mine.

Part-time Customer Support Representative
Requirements: Comfortable making some phone calls, tech savvy and can quickly learn online software and be able to provide support to our customers. We are looking for someone who can start off slowly, maybe just a couple of hours a week but who ultimately wants to grow into the position and add hours.

Google/Overture campaign manager and SEO
Requirements: Experience and understanding with monitoring Google and Overture campaigns. Understanding of Search Engine Optimization

Copywriter
If you have experience in the sales field and also have experience copywriting - I have a client looking for an estimate on getting a page on his website rewritten.

If interested in either position please email lori[at]freelancemom.com with your skills, experience and rate.

For more Freelance Jobs visit FreelanceMom's Gig Page

------------------------- ------------------------
Alexa Toolbar - The Alexa toolbar gives you an idea of the amount of traffic potential link partners have and also lets you submit your website as a related site. Read more about promoting with Alexa.

Sorry for the late update this month! It's been so busy - so I decided to focus on balance for this month's news :)

I was reading a press release just now about a book called Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety. The book looks poignant and addresses some very applicable issues that I know many of us share.

Work at Home Mom's are juggling far more then the average women. We're taking care of our children full time and many of us are working longer hours then the average 'full time' job. We're running our households and trying to give enough nurturance to our spouses and to ourselves. Wow - that's a lot to juggle!

Thanks to our Mothers and Grandmothers, we all grew up understanding that women have unlimited choices and potential to achieve anything that we desire out of life. And yet, as mothers, we have certain choices that can absolutely drive us insane.

Should we pursue a career, or should we stay at home. If we stay at home, what message does that give to our daughters about their own potential?

If we go to work, what value does that place on Motherhood? If we work at home, how do we strike a balance between success in our business, and balance in our home? We aren't superwomen, and then again - we really are!

Ultimately, what makes a good mother is a safe place for a child to turn to, where they always know they are loved. Ultimately, what makes a great wife is a women who despite differences of opinions, trusts and believes in her husband. And to be a good business woman? You simply have to believe in YOURSELF!

Balance in life is crucial, and so is growth. But growth doesn't always have to do with your financial goals. Growth today can be sitting for an hour with your four-year-old and really paying attention to what they have to say. Or growth can be getting a babysitter for an afternoon, and doing something completely creative by yourself!

Here's to not losing sight of our true selves in our quest for perfection and success. And don't forget that success is ultimately measured by the feeling in your heart!

Lori

A third of the U.S. employees regularly work out of a home office but most don't claim a deduction.
February 17, 2005: 2:19 PM EST
By Sarah Max, CNN/Money senior writer

SALEM, Ore. (CNN/Money) – If getting ready for work means rolling out of bed and putting on fuzzy slippers, join the club.

Nearly a third of the U.S. workforce, or about 44 million people, regularly worked at home in 2004, according estimates from In-Stat/MDR.

Yet, come tax time, less than a quarter of these workers are likely to claim home office deductions. According to the Internal Revenue Service, only 2.5 million tax filers claimed the deduction for the 2002 tax year, with the average deduction around $2,500.

Many at-home workers simply don't meet the IRS's strict criteria for claiming the home office deduction.

Others qualify but don't take the deduction because they think doing so is the equivalent of writing "audit me" across the top of their return.

"I'd say it's a pink flag, not a red flag," said Martin Nissenbaum, national director of personal income tax planner for Ernst & Young. "It's not necessarily going to get you audited, but you have to be careful."

Still others are simply confused. "There are a lot of little wrinkles as to how exclusive the use of the office has to be," said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for CCH Associates.

Another wrinkle shows up when it's time to sell the house. If you live in your house for at least two of the five years and your profit is less than $250,000 if you're single or $500,000 if you're married filing there shouldn't be any tax implications for claiming the home office deduction, according to Kathy Burlison, a tax pro with H&R Block.

"But there are exceptions," she said.

Before you worry your pretty little uncombed head about all that, first see if you even qualify for the deduction. (Click here for the IRS's full explanation.)

If you're self-employed, consider your home office your principal place of work and have no other place to conduct your business affairs, you should pass the first litmus test of the home office deduction. Just keep in mind that the gross income generated by your business must be more than your related deductions.

If you're an employee of a company, on the other hand, you can only deduct the home office if it is for "the convenience of your employer," said Nissenbaum.

So if you're among the growing number of employees who are encouraged to work at home to save the company office space, you should be able to claim a deduction for the expenses your company doesn't reimburse.

But if your boss allows you work from home a few days a week because you begged or negotiated for the perk? No dice.

If your home office doubles as a guest room or your dining room table doubles as your home office, you probably won't pass the IRS's rule of exclusive use. Your office doesn't necessarily have to be confined to four walls, but it should be a "separately identifiable" space used only for business purposes.

Assuming you do have an exclusive home office space, the IRS allows you to deduct a portion of your home's expenses, including mortgage or rent, repairs, utilities, insurance and taxes.

You can also claim depreciation on a portion of your home's purchase price, calculated by dividing the purchase price by 39.5 and dividing that amount by the portion of your house used for business.

To figure out what this portion is, you take the square footage of your office space and divide it by your home's total square footage. A 200-square-foot office in a 2,000 square foot house, for example, allows you to deduct 10 percent of your housing expenses.

Can you add your bathroom or your kitchen to the equation? Speaking from experience, those rooms are pretty essential if you're working at home all day.

"It would still have to be used exclusively for business," said Burlison explaining that a separate bathroom for clients or patients might qualify. "As for the kitchen, if might be hard to argue that you use one burner on your stove exclusively for making tea during working hours."

What happens if you sell the house in which you've claimed an office deduction? In August 2004, the IRS released final regulations on the topic.

As long as you live in your house for two out of the last five years and the proceeds of the sale are less than $250,000 for single filers and $500,000 for couples filing jointly, you don't have to pay capital gains taxes on any part of your house.

"The only exception is if your office is a detached structure," said Nissenbaum. In that case, you would have to pay capital gains taxes on that portion of the house, unless you use it for personal reasons at least two out of the last five years.

Also, if you depreciated your home office, you'll need to add up the total amount you depreciated and claim that as ordinary income.

"You're basically paying back a deduction you got to take earlier," said Burlison. "If you're self employed you don't have to pay back self-employment tax."

Are you still with us?

Well, there's another loop – or loophole – in the equation.

The IRS recently put out guidelines for homeowners who don't qualify for the capital gains tax exclusion (because they didn't live in the house at least two years or made too much money on the sale) to defer some of their capital gains taxes by using a 1031 "like-kind" exchange.

Burlison has considered how this will affect owners of investment property but she hasn't even begun to think of how it will affect those taking the home office deduction.

"It does get a little complicated here," she said.

Taxes? Complicated? You've got to be kidding.

Now, get dressed and get back to work.  

Newsweek's February 21 cover story (on newsstands Monday, February 14) examines how today's perfectionist mothers are driving themselves and their kids crazy with the pressure to be the ideal mom. The package includes an adaptation of Judith Warner's new book "Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety" and an essay by Contributing Editor Anna Quindlan. Plus: the U.S.'s nuclear policy; Karl Rove's new job; Carly Fiorina's exit from HP; and a profile of rapper 50 Cent. (PRNewsFoto)[LH]

NEW YORK, NY USA 02/13/2005

Women Across the Country Complain of Exhaustion, Depression and Frustration With Raising Kids in Today's Society, Says Warner; Society, Govt Need to Offer Concrete Family-Friendly Solutions

'If We Create a Never-Ending Spin Cycle of Have-Tos Because We're Trying to Expiate Senseless Guilt About Working or Not Working ... The Message We Send Our Children is Terrible,' Says Quindlen

NEW YORK, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- In the February 21 cover story (on newsstands Monday, February 14) Newsweek examines how today's perfectionist mothers are driving themselves and their kids crazy with the pressure to be the ideal mother, while still being fit, sociable and sexy.  As part of the cover story:  "The Myth of the Perfect Mother," Judith Warner adapts an excerpt from her new book "Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety" and Contributing Editor Anna Quindlen offers an essay on today's mothers: "Moms Shouldn't Be Martyrs." (Photo) 

In her book, Warner writes about the women she interviewed from around the country, about 150 in all.  "Women from Idaho to Oklahoma City to the suburbs of Boston-in middle and upper middle class enclaves where there was time and money to spend-told me of lives spent shuttling back and forth to more and more absurd-seeming, high-pressured, time-demanding, utterly exhausting kids' activities. I heard of whole towns turning out for a spot in the right ballet class; of communities where the competition for the best camps, the best coaches, and the best piano teachers rivaled that for admission to the best private schools and colleges. Women told me of their exhaustion and depression, and of their frustrations with the "uselessness" of their husbands. They said they wished their lives could change. But they had no idea of how to make that happen."

After 18 months in business eStar Network has everyone in the home business arena talking.

(PRWEB) February 8, 2005 -- After just 18 months in business eStar Network is taking the Home Business industry by storm. With over 10,000 representatives all over the United States and Canada many people are talking about eStar driving the next wave of momentum in the Network Marketing arena.

eStar Network offers services that people use every day such as Local Phone and Long Distance service, Internet, Cellular service, Web Hosting and Domain Registration, DSL, Travel, Satellite TV, Home Security, Online Shopping, and much more. By utilizing the concept of Network Marketing and “vendor partnering” eStar is able to be very profitable in very competitive industries. “eStar lets established, brand-name companies deal with supplying all the technology and customer support, we just focus on helping people change their lives,” says Ben Sturtevant, Regional Vice President, and top money earner in eStar Network.

After launching in August of 2003 with a partnership with a small Local Exchange Carrier eStar almost didn’t make it out of the gate. The company they had partnered with decided to file for bankruptcy, as most Telecom companies are doing today, and their partner failed to pay commissions to eStar Network and their Independent Agents. The founders of eStar Network, Troy Carl and William Bergfeld III, decided to take matters into their own hands and paid the representatives out of their own pockets.

Today Mr. Carl and Mr. Bergfeld own 100% of eStar Network and things are growing steadily. Look for great things from this new company, they have a strong vision and they are determined to reach their goals.

###

BY SHARON JAYSON

Housewives aren't what they used to be: The 1950s homebody has taken a turn toward cool. The new housewives are style-conscious women with brains, who may also be quite sexy.

The change has been popularized by movies such as the updated "Stepford Wives" and hit TV shows such as "Desperate Housewives." Martha Stewart also elevated domesticity to an art form and romanticized life at home. Playboy is even planning a housewife spread.

" 'Housewife' has always been such a negative term," says Carla Hilbig, 33, of the Woodlands, Texas, who stays home to care for her two young children. "You hear this 'Desperate Housewives' and all this attention they're getting. I think it's great. It gives us a better image."

Even if the women of Wisteria Lane are more caricature than character, they have sparked greater interest in what it means to be a housewife -- an occupation that many baby boomers devalued during the rise of the feminist movement.

But that seems to be changing. Younger women today, many of whom have boomer moms who tried to balance career and kids, know women can reach the top in the workplace. They'd just as soon spend some time at home.

Some housewives -- faced with the stigma that housewives checked their brains at the door -- used to call themselves "domestic engineers."

Now, the "domesticity part of it" has lost its charm, says Miriam Peskowitz, author of The Truth Behind the Mommy Wars: Who Decides What Makes a Good Mother, to be released in April.

"Most stay-at-home mothers define themselves as mothers who are choosing to be with their kids, and they see housewives as an old-fashioned term, taking care of their husbands and their house," Peskowitz said.

"It has a lot of 1950 connotations and that whole June Cleaver aspect to it," says Lauren Howley, 35, who lives near Chattanooga, Tenn.

She doesn't mind the portrayal of housewives as sexy, but it's not her reality.

"Are we bombshells on the way to preschool? No, not in my town, anyway," she says.

Chicago mom Brenda Frierson, 47, is more likely to wear jeans, shorts, flip-flops and casual tops.

"That's for entertainment purposes," she says of the "Desperate Housewives" dress.

Still, "I have a teenage daughter. If I look too frumpy, she'll put me straight," she says.

Married for 17 years to Cook County Sheriff's deputy Edward Frierson, she didn't initially choose to be a full-time homemaker. She was laid off from her job as a customer service supervisor at a managed-care company last June.

Since then, she has been basking in the extra time she has been able to spend with 13-year-old daughter Taylor. Last summer, they went to the Taste of Chicago a couple of times. They checked out a movie in the park. They did lunch.

Extra time aside, you won't find her working out to keep a Wisteria lane physique, she says. "I need to! I don't know any of my friends who do."

When Stephanie Dillard, 37, heads to aerobics class, daughters Emma, 3, and Ava, 17 months, go right along to participate in separate kiddie workouts.

And she doesn't go all out for the latest outfits. Her uniform? Jeans and a turtleneck.

"You can't chase after toddlers with high heels," she said. "No jewelry. You have to get dressed in less than 15 minutes. That includes showering, doing your makeup and hair, and picking out the outfit."

"If you're a stay-at-home mom, there's no way you can be wearing fashionable clothes. How can you keep them clean?" she says. "There are some moms in Hinsdale who look fabulous. But they also may have nannies. I don't see them with their kids."

The wife of state Sen. Kirk Dillard worked for a lobbying firm before getting pregnant and deciding to stay home. She cooks about four nights a week.

"I wish I could look that glamorous," she says. "I don't even know what's in style half the time. Everything I wear has to be thrown in the washing machine, basically."

But some housewives are Playboy material. This spring, the magazine will present a pictorial of America's "hot housewives." Even porn sites are sending out spam showing housewives as the latest sexual fantasy.

With the focus on sexy wives, is feminism taking a back seat to femininity?

A study by the Simmons College School of Management on the career aspirations of about 4,000 teens found 86 percent of girls plan to take a break for kids and then return to work.

Gannett News Service, with reporting by Cheryl V. Jackson

(PRLEAP.COM) The work from home revolution on the Internet is in full swing. There has never been a better time or opportunity to make money online working at home in front of your computer. The number of money making opportunities is endless.

With today’s technology it is quite possible to run your entire business online from anywhere in the world using your laptop computer. You no longer need to leave your house to make a living for your family. It can be done from the comfort of your own home. No commute required. No travel time with reduced fuel consumption and maintenance on your vehicles. Best of all you are your own boss.

The amount of people using the internet worldwide continues to increase almost monthly. This bodes well for internet business entrepreneurs and anyone wishing to take advantage of the internet work from home business industry. Global Internet Statistics shows over 800 million people worldwide are now using the internet.

In fact everywhere you look on the net almost every single site you go to is making money from some form of advertising or work from home business opportunity.The internet is forever changing the global job scene and the world economy with new internet opportunities arriving on the internet every day even as you read this. We can only hope that this will make the world cleaner and a better place to live with less pollution from automobiles and reduced pollution from factories.

This in turn could create a backlash on the economy but it has yet to be seen. We all know the reasons behind why we are still using oil and gas rather than clean energy. (It would kill the global economy). Internet business could be just as threatening as electric cars and cars running on fuel cells.

We are indeed in a revolution. The last revolution was called the industrial revolution. This one is called the information revolution. Or what I like to think of, the work from home revolution.

For more information on starting your own internet work from home business visit : http://www.kawarthapublishing.com/" title="http://www.kawarthapublishing.com/" target="_blank"http://www.kawarthapublishing...

Read more news from Kawartha Publishing

• Internet Business Opportunity Strong Future International (SFI) Enjoying New Comp Plan.
  

At the forefront of the next business mega-trend, EPI poised for explosive growth.

(PRWEB) February 3, 2005 -- In searching for the #1 home-based business opportunity, one must focus on the three crucial elements that all successful programs share in common: 1) a quality product, 2) a lucrative compensation plan, and 3) a simple and effective system to follow.

After intensive research, only one company stands head and shoulders above the rest, passing each criterion with flying colors. The company is Emerald Passport Inc. EPI, in its third year in operation, is already doing business in over twenty countries and is making EPI distributors fortunes. This comes from EPI brilliantly leveraging from the emerging trend of web education. (See Peter Drucker’s article “Webucation” in Forbes Magazine)-- http://www.epibiz.com/forbes" title="http://www.epibiz.com/forbes" target="_blank"http://www.epibiz.com/forbes

Emerald Passport’s primary product is called Passport to Prosperity and it is a proprietary Web-based product valued at more than $5,000(US), yet sold at a just a fraction of it’s value. It has over one hundred hours of video, audio, and e-learning libraries that focus on personal development and wealth creation. Housed on a million dollar platform, Emerald Passport Inc. continually adds new volumes to the already well-accepted course, at no cost to customers. (For an online overview visit)-- http://emeraldpassport.cc/tzayas" title="http://emeraldpassport.cc/tzayas" target="_blank"http://emeraldpassport.cc/tza...

This opportunity gets even more attractive with EPI’s compensation plan, as this pays distributors $1,000 per transaction. The structure is a classic example of direct sales at it’s best.

What’s the catch? There is none, as this is the top home business of 2005, at minimum. In fact, with Emerald Passport, distributors don’t even have to do the cold calls, presentations, selling or telling typically associated with many home businesses. Marketing is seamless, with the ProfitMasters automated marketing program that does all the presenting, organizing, along with question & answer sessions.

With a cutting-edge product, highly lucrative compensation plan, and a 90% automated turnkey marketing system with worldwide reach, Emerald Passport is an opportunity that deserves consideration by anyone serious about supplementing their income or working full-time from home.

To get in on this opportunity now or for more information, visit http://www.lifestylepassport.org" title="http://www.lifestylepassport.org" target="_blank"http://www.lifestylepassport....

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF

Want to be a work-at-home mother? Consider these tips from Carynia Van Buren, a successful work at home mom and retailer since 1982 who runs babybunz.com:

Thrashing about like teen punk stars, middle-age women — mothers, even — rediscover a passion for life

They're housewives, workaholics, PTA members and . . . rock stars?

Women fighting to shatter the stay-at-home-mom stereotype and rediscover their youthful voice are forming bands, such as Housewives on Prozac in suburban New York, Frump in Dallas and Placenta in Oakland, Calif.

These moms are rocking the house and the cradle, singing about breast-feeding, exhaustion and making kids do their chores.

''I feel like what we do is remind people about their passion and that sense of importance and that sense of vitality,'' says Joy Rose, a 47-year-old mother of four who founded Housewives on Prozac in 1997. ''Life is really short and it's important to live colorfully.''

Mothers have struggled for identity and fulfillment for decades, growing more exasperated with their increasing career and child-rearing demands, says University of Michigan professor Susan Douglas, who co-authored the book The Mommy Myth.

She says those feelings may explain the growing number of mom rock bands. (Rose estimates there are about 50 active mom bands throughout the country, with 20 of them having been formed in the past year.)

''In our cultural common sense, what could be more opposite from the icon of mom than a punk rocker?'' Douglas says.

Suzie Riddle, who has three children, ages 19, 12 and 6, started Frump in 2001 as a gag for her 40th birthday party. A punk rocker in her youth, then a librarian, Riddle hounded other mothers at her church and her daughters' school until she found three women willing to play along.

At first, they performed five songs, including Suzie Is a Headbanger by the Ramones and We're Really Beat, a song Frump guitarist Frances Peterson wrote to the tune of We've Got the Beat by the Go-Go's.

''See the mothers driving down the street, see their makeup melting in the heat, straight from work, the pantyhose are tight, it's take-out tonight,'' the song begins.

Three years later, the band has grown to five, adding new members as others have moved away. Frump practices every Saturday night and performs about once a month at parties, churches and community events such as the Punky Mamas Christmas Bazaar in Dallas.

The band members even encouraged their daughters to get involved, and the girls formed their own band called Spawn and have played at two gigs with their moms.

Frump is still trying to forge an identity, teetering between being a novelty and a serious band, Riddle says. She'd like to add a second weekly practice and focus on cultivating a unique sound.

But any group that bills itself as an all-mom garage band is going to get a few chuckles, she concedes.

''I am really proud of this and I'm proud of the attention that it's gotten us,'' she says. ''It's kind of a silly idea and a lot of people have taken notice.''

At the Punky Mamas bazaar, an audience of mostly middle-age women and their children clapped and tapped their feet to Frump's music, even getting up to dance to Twist and Shout. A few young couples on a Saturday evening date watched from the back of a half-full dance hall.

Julie Hougland came with her 6-year-old daughter, her 55-year-old mother and her 35-year-old sister. She said she was surprised by how much fun they had.

''How many venues are there where I can take my daughter and dance?'' Hougland said.

Rose hopes the movement soon will catch on commercially as more people see mom bands in concert. Housewives on Prozac has recorded two albums and a holiday CD single, which is available on Amazon.com.

Several mom bands will converge on New York City throughout May for the fourth annual Mamapalooza festival. The festival, founded by Rose, will feature at least five days of events, including a free outdoor concert and a poetry and jazz night. And for the first time, Mamapaloozas are planned for Dallas, Detroit, Nashville and San Francisco. The Nashville event is set for May 17-18, but the others haven't yet been scheduled.

''It's kind of been this whirlwind ride of mother rockers spreading the good word that life isn't over after 40, that music and creativity are still alive,'' Rose says.

Getting there

Mamapaloozas are planned for Dallas, Detroit, Nashville and San Francisco. The Nashville date is tentatively May 17-18 at Bluebird Cafe, 4104 Hillsboro Pike. Details: 383-1461. Nashville's contact, Sue Fabisch, is looking for local moms to perform and showcase. For details, go to www.theMOM.net

On the Web

• Housewives on Prozac, www.housewivesonprozac.com

• Frump, www.frump.com

• Mamapalooza, www.mamapalooza.com