It's Hard Out Here!

THIS!!!

This is the first official update of my new career journey.  This was the first week of the Handmade Business Online training with Renae Christine. I was so excited to get started.  The first video was released on March 3 and then we had to wait a couple of days for the next one. The videos are about 19 minutes long each and she has some good stories and information. One thing she talked about in her second video was how she brought all of this traffic to her mom's website. She said she would tell us how she did it in a webinar next week. This is a webinar that we have to sign up for and may not get in because of such high demand.  That's what I need! I need to know how to get traffic! I need to know now! Gimme! UGH! *weeps*

So I will continue with this training, but I have other places to go too. I guess because I don't have any money to spend on education right now, I will do my best to get it from wherever I can.  I did attend a good webinar on SEO for Etsy. I don't have an Etsy shop and probably will never have an Etsy shop, but I have partnered with some handmade businesses before who asked me to review their products. Some didn't have any social media presence at all.  I would like to help market companies like that.  So it was good information to learn.

I'm looking into more courses on Alison Online. Signed up for a couple of interesting classes on Creativelive and thinking about trying out Skillshare.  Skillshare has a deal where the first month is .99 and after that it's about $10 a month.  I could possibly do that. I would like to take better pictures for my blogs and Skillshare has a photography course that looks great.

This week I signed up to write for some publications, hoping to get writing jobs. I read an article called 51 Tips & Tricks for Bloggers. Tip number 20 was to write for Beyond Your Blog. I didn't submit there, but they have listings for other opportunities in dozens of other categories with various other magazines and websites. Check it out here! It would be nice to get some more exposure and earn some money!

Sigh, it's hard out here for a poor stay-at-home mom, but I am determined to do this! Are you trying to change careers?! Are you taking online courses?! What has worked best for you?! Please respond below in the comments section! Thank you!

Which Online Program?!

I've been taking free online courses for the past month.  I've learned a lot, but it's been kind of scattered. I'm like that dog in the movie Up when he sees a squirrel.  Oh there's a class in copywriting, oh a class in getting more traffic to my blog,Facebook marketing class and SEO. Oh boy, SEO is going to be the death of me for sure!

I want to take a structured online program. I've been taking the online program with Alison for social media marketing. I've learned about branding, auto-responders, landing pages and the dreaded SEO.  The courses seem to be a little dated.

I started searching online for another program. I found Marie Forleo. Her website looks perfect, she looks perfect, happy and successful. Her program looks great and exactly what I'm looking for, but it's $2000.00. It's the same thing with Chalene Johnson, you know the Turbo Jam lady.  I just thought she was a workout instructor, I didn't know she had online courses. Her program is called Marketing Impact Academy  (MIA) and it's also $2000.00.

I talked it over with my husband and he wants me to go back to school, but to spend $2000.00 he wants it to be an accredited program.

So I kept searching and I found Renae Christine. She seems to be the anti-Mario Forleo. The first thing I saw of her online was a video of her spoofing Marie.  I like her videos even though they are a little silly, but she seems to know her stuff. The program is free and is starting in March. She has a book called the Home Business Startup Bible and she gives great advice.  Some things concern me though, Renae's niche seems to be helping people build an Etsy business. Now I could still use it to help others build their businesses, but what I'm looking for is learning how to promote businesses through social media marketing. I'm sure that will be an important part of the course.

I am going to give it a try and I will update this blog every week. Let me know what you think!  Have you tried any of these online programs?! Did any of them help you?! Do you know of a great online program?! Please feel free to leave comment below. Thanks!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on the link and buy something, I will get a commission. 

Roar! Awaking a Sleeping Giant...Well a Sleeping Blog.

Here we go! I was just looking over previous posts and I've been saying the same thing for five years.  I need to do something different with my life.  I can't get a job in Social Services. My career is over. 

I've decided to start blogging here again. Why Kelly why?! You have a hard enough time with the other blogs. Because I want to document this journey and it doesn't seem to fit with the other blogs.  But please visit my other blogs The Elements of Review and Beauty, Fitness & Health...Oh My! and buy everything advertised on them. I'm just kidding...no I'm not.

Let me bring you up to speed. Since my last post we have moved to Vancouver, yes Canada. I know I said I didn't want to go, but it happened anyway. My husband has always loved Canada and wanted to raise the kids here. The kids are now 10 and 8. We have been living in Toronto for several months and just bought a house. Phew! Exhausted yet?! I am!

So here we are. I haven't worked in Social Services since 2005. I did volunteer at a great place in Vancouver and thought that would eventually lead to getting a job, but no. I've sent out resumes in Chicago, Vancouver and now Toronto for the past 8 years and I hear nothing but crickets. Oh did you see that tumbleweed roll by?!

I love social media and marketing. Marketing was my original major in college, then I changed it to Psychology. I have a BA in Psychology. After much soul searching I finally realized again maybe this is a sign and I need to try something, anything new. Social media marketing is what I want to do, but how?! Those marketing classes I took in college isn't enough. 

And this is where my journey begins. Will you join me?! Help to keep me accountable and focused.

Trying to be optimistic

For me and others that I know 2010 hasn't been that great of a year. I hope that the new year will bring new opportunities. Goodness knows I'm trying with the blogs and selling make-up. I realized I need to take charge of my destiny. Sitting around and waiting for someone to realize that I'm a great person didn't work last year. Going to make an effort to come out of my shell and get people to notice me. I'm ready to change. I'm ready to evolve. So, at this time next year I hope to be at a place where I'm finally satisfied with my life.

Christmas is almost here!

Well, I'm ready for Christmas. Done with all the Christmas shopping. Hoping that the snow that's going to arrive this weekend doesn't keep us for traveling to grandma's house for the holiday. Excited for the new year to arrive. Hoping that I get some good gifts this year. I would like a netbook most of all. I already got a great Christmas gift. Duran Duran finally released and new album and it's fabulous. My favorite song off the record is The Man Who Stole a Leopard.
Looking forward to a tour next year. No matter where I am I will see them in concert.

Weight Watchers

I have decided to try Weight Watchers again at the beginning of the year because of this http://www.thatsfit.com/2010/12/03/is-the-new-weight-watchers-points-system-better/. Yes, fruits and veggies are free. So, instead of going for a cookie that's worth 2 points and skipping the banana. I will go for the banana. And since I plan on eating fruits and vegetables for breakfast and lunch the points system will be much more easier for me to follow. I'm excited about this. I think I can really do it this time. Finally get the weight off and it will stay off.

I haven't been exercising as much lately. I've been taking a break, but I will be back to it January 3, 2011. I'm ready for the new year. I'm ready to finally get control of my life.

Ready for the new year

So at this time of year I'm tired of the year we are living in now and ready to begin a new. Of course a lot of the things I said I was going to do this year (lose weight and get a full-time job) didn't happen. I always start out with good intentions. To be honest the job thing wasn't my fault. I applied for many jobs and got very few interviews. This is the first time in my career I can't get hired in social services. Something I just don't understand. Now, DH wants me to get my master's degree. He thinks that will make me more marketable. Frankly, I think I will have the same problem and we'll have less money because it's so expensive to go to school. I know what I want to do. I'm scared of failure. I'm scared I won't be a success. I'm just scared about the future. I love blogging, sharing things on the internet through social media. I had lunch with an old friend a couple of days ago. She suggested I try the blogging, social media thing for about 6 months. If it doesn't work out then go back to school.

DH is another story. He wants to move to Canada now because he thinks the US is going in the wrong direction. The GOP don't want to work with Obama. Some of the Democrats don't want to work with Obama. So, nothing will get done and the country will go to hell in a hand basket. This is what my DH is thinking. He thought the same thing after Bush won in 2004. The country is in trouble lets move to England. I don't want to go. I want to stay here and try to make things better in my own way. So, my entire life is up in the air. I just wish for once I could have a stable life. A life where I know what I want to do and where I'm going to live.

The battle of bulge or what I like to call the battle of the century with my weight. I know what I have to do. It's doing it that's the problem. With all the stress in my life eating fruit and vegetables aren't going to cut it. But we are going on a trip next year and I want to look good. So, I'm going to have to do more yoga or something to calm my stress levels down and get more willpower to stick to the diet I know works for me. I had a bit of success with it earlier this year.

2011 what do you have in store for me. I can't wait to find out!