Personalized Calling "Cards"

Business cards are no longer just for the "business professionals." You can use business/personalized cards now for a variety of reasons... 

• You can make cards with your personal info on it (address, phone #, children's names, etc...) and stick it in your childs back pocket when you're out and about. That way, if the child gets lost, they can access the card and know how to get ahold of you.
• You can also just use a card w/ your personal info (and/or childrens info)  on it to hand out to other mothers/friends. That way they know which child belongs to you, and how to reach you via phone or email.
• Looking for a job? A big trend now is the "resume card." A resume card is basically a brief summary of your work history, your specialty, and your contact information. It's a great thing to have on hand if you're in the job hunt and are at networking events, or even just socializing with friends.
• You can also use them to promote a specific hobby or talent that you have. Like, if you happen to be great at crafts or cooking, or even babysitting, you could put together a card that allows you to promote that talent!
• If you relocate, you can have business cards made up with your new address...
• You can make an "allergy/medication" card for your child to carry with them in their backpack/backpocket.
• You can make a permanent "gift card" ex/ "A Gift For You... Love, The Smith Family" to use with all of your gifts.
• 
  

Here are a couple of websites to order your own cards at:

• www.vistaprint.com
• www.shopmbmb.com
• http://www.123print.com/
  
• http://www.myresumecard.com/home/default.asp
  

OR you could just go to Kinkos and have some made, or even make them yourself! You can buy the business card paper and print!

Additional Money Making Ideas

1. Sell your stuff:

I'm SURE you have some extra stuff laying around your house that would be of value to someone else. Whether it be old clothes, jewelry, furniture, etc.. You don't realize how much money you could earn just by finding some way to sell it. Here are some good ideas:

Resale shops: Most resale shops will take your clothes and then give you a percentage of those sales, but some will give you cash up front! A little research on your area will tell you. If you live in the Metro Detroit area, try "Regeneration" (http://www.myspace.com/shop_regeneration)

Etsy: (www.etsy.com) If you consider yourself at all crafty or you make something really cool, like jewelry, pottery, etc... you can go to this site and sell it!

Online Selling: I personally love Craigslist as its so easy to post (and free) but there is also Amazon and ebay. Another thing you could do is find items that people are giving away for free or cheap (at garage sales, or even curbside) take them home, fix them up if needed and resell online at a higher rate!

2. Sell your expertise:

Good at something? Go online and promote it! 

Childcare: www.sittercity.com

Elder Care: www.seniorhelpers.com, www.homeinstead.com

Pet Sitting: www.fetchpetcare.com

Technical: www.guru.com, www.elance.com, www.odesk.com

Advice: www.liveperson.com

Writing: www.associatedcontent.com, www.helium.com

3. Direct Sell

Find something you have an interest in and sell it to your friends and their friends!

My mom sells Lia Sophia jewelry and she loves it! Takes very little time per week and great for extra cash, OR if you want to get serious about it, you could make it your own business!

If you have interest in Lia Sophia ( or in Jewelry) feel free to contact my mom at her website:

http://www.liasophia.com/sites/mariannesmith?reload=true

Here are some other good ones I've heard of:

Avon (www.avon.com) or Mark, which is Avons younger crowd (www.meetmark.com)

Pampered Chef (http://www.pamperedchef.com/)

Body Shop @ Home: (http://www2.thebodyshopathome.com/)

Diva Girl Purse Party: (http://divagirlpurseparty.com/)

Simply Fun: (www.simplyfun.com)

If you know of any other good ones, let me know! Hope something on here works for you!

Job Sitch

So, I’m looking for a job right now, and I have been for about 4.5 months…I am the furthest thing from a "job search expert," HOWEVER, I have a LOT of experience in doing this, so here’s a little of what I’ve learned. 

First and foremost, work your networks! Hands down, the best chance of at least getting an interview, is to know someone w/in the company.  Don't be afraid to tap into your friends/family as a resource. You can also network w/ old colleagues, college alum, etc...

Make sure you post your resume on all the main sites (Monster, Career Builder, etc…) but LOOK for the jobs on Indeed or even Craigslist. You definitely need to comb through Craigslist, but if there are actually some pretty decent leads on there and you can bet that if you respond with a great cover letter, directly to the person, the odds are much better than on Monster, etc... Also, Indeed is great because once you type in what you need, it scans ALL the Career sites including many that you may have missed. Also, rather than apply through the career site, go directly to the page and try to find a name/email in hr or even of like a president or VP and email them your resume directly. Odds of you standing out are much higher. One more tip (thanks to one of my hottie girlfriends) is to find a way to set your resume apart from others visually. She attached a professional/looking picture of herself to the top of her cover letter. I’ve done the same, depending on the position, and I’ve actually gotten a pretty good response (again, it really depends on the position you’re applying for… the ones I sent in were for sales in the beauty industry). BUT you could also add a stab of color in tasteful manner, or add a cool font… Anything that will stand out-