5 Ways to Make $1000 in a Weekend

When I told my husband last summer that I wanted to throw a big weekend yard sale, he took in the news with his usual stoic resolve. He's seen my cockamamy moneymaking schemes before: the eBay store that quickly fizzled, the "resellable" cupcake stands from our wedding that are still moldering in the garage, previous yard sales where I mostly chatted with neighbors before lugging our stuff back inside. Expectations were not high. So this time, I really worked it. I advertised ahead of time on Craigslist and in local papers, put a sign in my yard days ahead, and prepriced everything so people wouldn't have to ask. We made $700 in two days. 

"Done right, yard sales can bring in good money," says Chris Heiska, founder of the website yardsalequeen.com, where I gleaned many of my tips. Another yard-saler, Carrie Grindle, a mom in Oregon, OH, regularly clears $500 a day at her sales. Her strategy: Any time one of her kids outgrows a piece of clothing or tires of a toy, she prices it before tossing it in a box to await the next sale. 

"Everyone needs a side hustle," says Jason White, who started the personal finance blog frugaldad.com as a hobby that now brings in cash from ads. "In this economy, it's risky to depend on one source of income. And for most of us, it's the best way to pay down debt." The secret, White says, "is to cultivate a business around something you're already good at." Learn from these five smart-cookie readers, who found ways to make bank without a lot of extra time.

Tonya Bice, 38, Geneva, IL 
BIGGEST WEEKEND HAUL: $1,831 
When Tonya, a former stock trader turned stay-at-home mom of four, saw a glorious wreath at Pottery Barn eight years ago, she was bummed that it was out of her price range. "I decided if I couldn't buy it, I'd learn how to make it," she says. Now the craft project is her full-fledged business, Twoinspireyou, which she started two years ago when she joined etsy.com, the online marketplace for handmade goods. "I had done craft shows before, but I wasn't great at pitching the products in person," she says. "Etsy really catapulted me to the next level. Thousands of people saw my work, and it spoke for itself." Tonya had her biggest weekend this past spring — making $1,831 — after offering repeat customers free shipping. For newbies looking to cash in, Danielle Maveal, Etsy's manager of seller education, suggests joining one of the site's "sale teams," where like-minded crafters can connect online to get advice from successful designers. "They'll offer tips, such as how to tag your product so it pops up more often when people search on the site. It's all about making it easier for shoppers to find you. Once they do, it's like sparks flying."

Susan Jumonville, 42, Syracuse, UT 
BIGGEST WEEKEND HAUL: $1,400 
When Susan heard from a neighbor that Once Upon a Child, a child-oriented consignment chain, was opening up in her town, she decided it was time to sell all her daughter's outgrown but carefully stored clothing and toys. Over three days, she dropped off five SUV-filling loads. Susan credits her success to the state of her goods. "Take the time to wash and iron old clothes," she suggests. "They should look like things you'd buy yourself." Susan was surprised when the store rejected brand-name items by Ralph Lauren and Laura Ashley, only to accept stuff from Target. But according to longtime consignment-shop owner Kate Holmes, whose site, howtoconsign.com, offers tips for resalers, "Store owners know their customers and what sells." So before you lug bags and bags of stuff to your neighborhood thrift shop, stop in to see what the place usually stocks, and edit your giveaways to meet their needs.
Nanette Torres-De León, 33, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico 
BIGGEST WEEKEND HAUL: $1,300 
Nanette first heard about Pure Romance when a friend invited her to one of the company's Tupperware-style sex-toy parties at the end of 2009. "I immediately knew this was something I wanted to do. As a rep, you have to be confident in yourself and manage people's inhibitions toward sex. When I talk to a customer, I try to figure out what this person needs but is too mortified to admit," says Nanette, who works as an actuarial analyst during the week. Her initial box of supplies arrived in January 2010, and over the course of several parties she hosted the weekend before Valentine's Day, she pocketed $1,300. (Pure Romance spokesperson Genine Fallon says reps usually take home between 30 and 60 percent of their sales.) "It's never just about making a sale," says Nanette, who keeps meticulous notes on her customers, including their birthdays and anniversaries. "I call them up and say, 'Congratulations!' and they always end up asking, 'Got anything new?'" If you're turning red just reading this, visit the Direct Selling Association at directselling411.com for loads of much tamer goods — from cosmetics to kitchenware — that you can sell simply by having a party. 

Crystal Senter Brown, 36, Chicopee, MA 
BIGGEST WEEKEND HAUL: $600 
Crystal, who works for the American Cancer Society during the week, decided to become the marrying kind 10 years ago, when, as a Baptist marrying a Jehovah's Witness, she had trouble finding a justice of the peace, or JP, to perform her own wedding. "It was harder than I expected to find someone who would honor both of our beliefs," she says. So afterward she applied for a JP license, which cost $75 and required six letters of recommendation. States need only so many JPs, but Crystal lucked out because a JP in her town was retiring, and local officials accepted her application to take his spot. To date, she's officiated at nearly 300 weddings, at roughly $150 a pop, including one couple who asked her to climb a mountain with them so they could get hitched at its peak. Brown's best weekend of back-to-back weddings brought in $600. She's also built a relationship with a wedding venue in her town, and now, she says, "I'm booked solid for the next five months."

Christina Auer, 47, Lake Worth, FL 
BIGGEST WEEKEND HAUL: $1,500 
It's the mother of all big-fish stories: In 2008, a friend of Christina's told her about a new and different fantasy sports league, FLW Fantasy Fishing, in which participants guess the winners of 10 weekend fishing tournaments over a season. It's free to enter, and the prizes, paid by sponsors, are big and plentiful: from $100,000 for winning the whole thing down to a $10 Walmart gift card for 50th place. Christina and her husband, leisure-time anglers who often took their then-13-year-old twin boys fishing, decided to try it. "My husband got into studying the players and looking up their stats. He was online for hours," says Christina, a makeup artist by day. "I came in third in a tournament without doing any real research! One guy was competing on his home lake and had come in third the year before. I figured he'd really want to win this time, so I picked him to come in first." The lucky guess netted her $1,500. Christina admits it was a fluke, but adds, "Anybody can do this, so just have fun with it." 

How to manage Your relationships at work Especially with Boss?

Managing a good and understandable working relationship is tactic thing. It is not easy to maintain a healthy and unferstndable working relationship especially with your boss.

Relations and relationships are the biulding blocks of one’s pesonality. It is a common saying that “a man is observe by the relations/ company he keeps”. So the relationships have a importance in our life. How you deal and manage your relationships depict your over all nature and personality.

Building  relation is not a big task but maintaining nd managing well with your relations are the real job.Unfortunately mejority of us find I difficult to manage our relationships in a very good and effetive way.

Relationship with your family and friends are of different type as compare to your working reltionships. Your family and friends consider your problems, obstacles and weak points of your personailty in a different and closer way but your working and professional relations hardly put an ear on these issues specially when it comes to your relationship with your boss.

Mejority of the people find it hard to manage a good working relationship with their bosses. Sometime you act accordingly to your boss and receive appriciation but sometime you say “no” to your boss and don’t act wisely. It is not a good sign specially in terms of job security as your boss is the whole soul of all matters.

If you are the one who is facing the same problems, then read this article on how to manage a good working relationship with our boss.

Ideas on manage your boss:

1. Boss is always right. At work place try to avoid by saying “ No” to your boss. If you face a difficult and unbearable situation regarding this, then you have to act wisely and according to the situation but by giving favor to your boss. This will not only add good points of you in your boss eyes but also build an understandable relationship with your boss.


2. Give extra time and effort to build a good working relationship with your boss. Always try to impress your boss by your good wills and appriciatable work.


3. Display your potentials and skills which are appriciated by your boss and which you think are your real winning points. This will add a positivity and motivation towards your professional work.


4. Always work on your boss’s priorities. Avoid your own priorities and decisions because this might irritate your boss and create negetivity in your boss mind.


5. Find the likes and dislikes of your boss. Find out his ersonal interests, hobbies and likings to impress him and to create closeness.


6. Take your boss on tea or lunch. Discuss your problems, hurdles and issues regarding your office work in a friendly environment. This will create a mutual understanding between you and your boss which is very necessary to work effectively.


7. Give occasional gifts and sentiments to your boss to win his heart and to create closeness in your relationship.


8. It is also very important for you to know the goals and objectives of your organization and specially your’s boss mind in this regard. Your boss need your good work and after all your good work will help in improving your grades, pay scale and promotions.


9. Your boss is not right every time. Don’t say yes to every in’s and odd’s of your boss. Disscuss and negotiate this with your boss in a friendly environment or when he is in a good mood.

Women's Interview Outfit Checklist

Checklist for an appropriate Women’s Interview outfit for Job Interview.
Apparently, when you are sending out your CVs and resumes to various companies, you hardly get enough time to prepare your interview outfit appropriately for your job interview. After receiving the call of invitation for a face-to-face meeting, the importance of your interview along with your interview outfit suddenly sparks into your mind, but before you head out the door, take some time to look around your outfit and study this helpful checklist to make sure that you are absolutely well-prepared for your big appointment.
How to choose outfit for Job Interview?
With the changing fashion trends this is a big frightening question for most of the women, as even intelligence and spontaneity cannot cover-up your ill appearance and inappropriate sense of outfit selection. Although, ‘First impression is the last impression’ doesn’t always applicable in life, however, at least it very well compliment the job interview outfit.
Your graceful outfit appearance and sensible selection of interview outfit can surely turned out to be a great helper for you in acquiring the job. Along with confidence and knowledge, here are the few guidelines to choose appropriate interview outfit to have a successful job interview.
Pick Formal and Classic Outfit:
It is better to dress-up formal and conservative, as the casual pick-up of outfit depicts non-serious attitude for the job. Try to wear classic outfit, in comparison to your usual dressing, however, make sure to choose comfortable attire. Ill-fitted outfit hurt your personality, so always try to wear properly fitted modest outfit to enhance your appearance.
Pick-up good Shoes complimenting outfit:
Always try to pick-up close-toed shoes with moderate heels, polished and neutral complimented with interview outfit. The shoes that make noise with pointed heels or any particular bright color matching shoes with outfit would definitely an unsuitable selection to go for.
Use limited accessories with interview outfit:
Being the woman, your love for accessories is somehow very much predictable. However, it’s very important to realize the difference between party outfit and interview outfit. Never think to wear noisy, oversized and flashy accessories with interview outfit. Too much accessories with interview outfit will look like an over-do for your personality and will cause distraction for the interviewer. Try to limit yourself to a wrist watch, ring, and small earrings. Avoid big chunky necklaces and bright noisy bracelets with interview outfit.
Handbag or Briefcase:
Avoid carrying bright funky bags with your interview outfit. Carry handbags or briefcase of solid and deep colors, according to your outfit, that best suits to compile your things in a fairly structured way.

Tips to manage stress at workplace

To play the role of an efficient working woman, good wife and active mother a woman have to combat stress at work place that results keeping equilibrium in all her tasks.

According to recent studies working women are more naive to stress as hectic schedule, work pressure and social responsibilities lend stress in them infusing disturbance, anxiety and tension altogether. But here come a variety of witty stress management tips to combat stress at workplace that help your mood, relieve workplace stress, simplify social responsibilities and improve parental tasks.

Tips to manage stress at workplace

Here are five essential stress management tips for working women that help to combat stress at workplace.

Know causes of stress first

There are two sorts of stressors for working women: internal stressors & external stressors. Internal stressors are not work problems of working women these are the worries, anxieties, responsibilities and disturbance caused due to personal affiliations.

External stressors are the work pressure, work nature, workplace environment, noise, improper positioning, demanding boss and complaining customers. Know these stressors first and avoid mingling them as it is becomes another big stressor.

Focus your goals

In life everyone has goals. To manage stress at work place, focus your goals that may be becoming rich, a good mother, good wife or good working lady. Once you focus your goals you will be able to combat stress always.

Organize your tasks

Working woman is not just a working woman. She has to fulfill all of her duties at home and at workplace. So, organize your tasks to manage workplace stress. Make an organized schedule for husband, kids and work. Make family time and spend time romancing your spouse as life without spice of romance is as dull and boring as it seems during work.

Say yes to work pressure

Another stress management tips for workplace is to prioritize your family and work than others. Don’t feel as if entangled in work always rather learn to say yes to work pressure as it is just for eight hours. You have another 16 hours to spend leisurely.

Relax and calm

To combat stress at workplace relaxing and staying calm are another stress management tips for working woman. Manage time for body massage, bathing, reading, listening music, watching movies and to travel as it relieves all sort of stresses making you happy and healthier. Also read Five Healthy Ways of Dealing with Stress.

10 Home Based Businesses for Women

Here are some very good home based business ideas that are low economics and very convenient to start:

Home based business ideas #1
Personal trainer: With some knowledge of fitness and health you can start your own Home based business as a personal trainer, visiting clients in their homes.

Home based business ideas #2
Yoga instructor: Just like a personal trainer, you can visit clients at their homes or offices.

Home based business ideas #3
Tutoring: You can start a business tutoring students in their homes, at schools, or at local community centers.

Home based business ideas #4
Business coaching: Share your experience in management with others by becoming a business coach.

Home based business ideas #5
Consulting: Consider beginning your own consulting business in any field that you feel you are good at.

Home based business ideas #6
Medical and legal transcription: You can easily work from home for a variety of different companies.

Home based business ideas #7
Medical claims billing: This industry is one of the most popular work-from-home businesses.

Home based business ideas #8
Accounting: There are many opportunities available for certified public accountants.

Home based business ideas #9
Web design: If you can design quality Web sites, consider turning your skills into a home-based business.

Home based business ideas #10
Senior care services: The rising number of senior citizens gives big opportunity for non-medical home care providers, who help seniors with tasks of daily living.