The Problem: New homeschooling families are often overwhelmed with just the idea of homeschooling all of their children at the same time. Some will begin homeschooling one child one year and add another the following year. That, in itself, can add the problem of having to plan your schedule around the school’s schedule because at least one family member goes to school. One of the big benefits of homeschooling is to be together as a family and to schedule life around the home and the education of the children. If the family “brings school” home and sets up a school schedule with textbooks for each subject for each child, teaching multiple children in a family would be very tedious and overwhelming.The Solution: Unit studies — This is a method of study that allows most of the curriculum to center on a topic of interest to one or more members of the family.For example, in the state of Washington, the homeschool law delineates eleven required subjects for students K-8: Math, Reading, Writing, Grammar, Spelling, History, Social Studies, Health, Science, Occupational Education, Art/Music. If your state does not specify subjects or classifies them differently just modify your list. Most of these subjects can be covered well by using this method. Exceptions include math, grammar, and early reading skills. In those cases, you would need a curriculum that follows a “scope and sequence” – a list or chart that shows what will be covered and in what order. Since math builds on skills, order and practice are important. I would include these subjects in a unit study so that your children understand that knowledge and skills are not separate, but unified.Steps in Forming a Unit Study:1. Choose a subject. Keep in mind the longer you want to stay on a subject, the broader the topic.2. Use a “Mind Map” or “Web’ to brainstorm the different parts of the unit.3. Based on # 2, decide how long to study this topic. For beginners and younger children, I would begin with a two-week unit study. Later, larger topics / longer studies may be planned. Older students could use this method and follow the scope and sequence of an American History book to “complete” this required high school subject with a series of unit studies.4. Make a list of subjects and plan activities to cover each of the subjects.5. Gather materials – personal library, public library, Internet, local attractions etc.6. Evaluate – during longer studies, you should periodically evaluate what has been learned and what remains to learn. You may decide to shorten or lengthen the unit study.7. End the Study with a Culminating Activity – this could be a notebook, video documentary, display or a play for Dad and other family or friends.Homeschooling parents can use the unit study method to keep everyone learning about the same topic using age-appropriate materials you own or you can get from the library. While there are many products available that have ready-made unit studies, I personally like the flexibility of planning my own unit studies. In my opinion, aside from academic excellence, the greatest benefit of the unit study is building family unity.
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10 Common Online Business Assumptions Made Daily By Solopreneurs
Not every online business strategy works for every business. Unfortunately, many Solopreneurs will continue to force themselves into one standard. Don’t let that be you. Learn some PROVEN tactics to help you avoid these common pitfalls of assumptions and set your brand up for profitable success.With over 4 Billion+ active online businesses, and all of them fighting for attention, the Internet has made it possible for companies of various sizes to compete on a level playing field of sorts. The main issue remains that most of these companies are unsure how to gain the buying attention of potential clients for their products or services. Creating a Power Crew will be essential to your success as a Solopreneur because you will have to trust someone to help you handle day-to-day tasks. Check out these 10 common assumptions made in online business that you should avoid in order to have a successful head start.
Skimming on Investing. There is a large difference between spending smart and just being cheap. The Cheap Comes Out Expensive (“Lo Barato Sale Caro” – Judge Marilyn Milian). Reciprocity goes a very long way and helps you build a secure and trusted network. Everyone wants a deal when spending their hard earn money. Most business people have heard the saying, “you have to spend money to make money.” Actually when you take your brand seriously enough to invest in it, be it time or money, you will ensure that everyone on your Power Crew is properly compensated. This could be financially or through barter systems. Either way, you should be willing to give as much or more than you take from others.
Remaining Blissfully Ignorant. Are you leaving clients under-serviced because you refuse to explore new opportunities and creative possibilities? Put some investigative action behind your motives. Ask your Virtual or In-House Assistant to check out some new avenues. Hire someone to manage these new avenues for you and add them to your Power Crew. They would usually be focused on these tasks for at least 5 hours a week; 1 hour a day. Ignorance is not bliss, especially in business. there are too many opportunities out there for Solopreneurs to get on track and dominate some corner of their market.
Financing Blindly Without Reason. How can you properly guide your brand into financial success or at the very least avoid bankruptcy if you cannot track how much money is flowing throughout your business? If you are shocked at the amount of money you have spent over a one-year span, are constantly hunting down all of your expenses at tax time, and/or are always living in the red then you’re doing everything all wrong. Don’t become accepting of your business being a financial burden on you. You should have a budget in place to help you remain on track. Remember, you started this for FREEDOM not to trade on pair of frustration created shackles for another.
Maintenance Is An Option. I see many clients who believe that paying someone to manage their website is a waste of time, yet these are the same people who’s websites are constantly outdated behind the scenes and left vulnerable. Your carelessness is a hackers dream key to your Information Buffet. So much of these items can and should be automated, but you have to remain vigilant in protecting your online business. If you are collecting customer information, there is no room to be casual about Website Security and Maintenance.
Keeping Up with the Joneses. Doing all you can to follow what the crowd is doing rather than taking stock in what will work for your brand is ultimately a waste of time for you. This is not to say that watching your competition and friendly peers cannot be a learning experience. you simply have to learn to take the learning knowledge and map out your own destiny.
Online Businesses Don’t Need A Budget. As an extension of financing your business blindly, you need to realize that just because you have an online business, you are not exempt from having a budget. many believe that because they don’t have the rent of a brick-and-mortar establishment, they are free to spend wildly. That is not the case. Your “rent” is your hosting provider, your domain name, and your SSL Certificate. Your “utilities” are your financial manager (accountant/apps), email automation services, payroll, and anything else that helps you run your business. You MUST track these and be sure that you are not using up all of your resources without turning some type of profit to pay the rent or mortgage AND put food on your table.
Disconnected from Reality of Running A Business. Remain grounded and connected to the roots of your business so that you are aware of what is happening and are ready to rework any strategies accordingly. Even when people consider themselves “successful” they know there is continuous work involved in maintaining the level of success they enjoy or want to excel to. Taking into account everything we’ve discussed, these pieces all come together to help you face, head-on, the realities of running a business.
Blaming Others for Your Failures. The Blame game is a waste of time. Don’t allow Accountability to become some passive catchphrase in your business. Live up to how you would want clients and another business to treat you. If you or your brand fell short or messed up, take that as an opportunity to improve and get back on track. Ask for feedback. Failure is not a bad thing if you don’t allow it to become a stumbling block or a crutch. Boss up and take responsibility while showing others working with you that they need to do they same. Showing is way better than Telling!
Being Online Is An Automatic Success. No online business is an automatic success and anyone who tells you different is lying to you. I thought that once my website was up and running I would be set. Well, not exactly set, but the bulk of my work would be complete. I was so wrong and didn’t even realize how wrong I was. I had to become a quick study on e-marketing, copywriting, and product creation to really get my business going. Not an expert, but I had to get my rump in gear fast so that I could manage just enough to get things where I wanted them to be. Automation can make things easier for you, but without you putting ACTION behind the KNOWLEDGE you collect, your brand is dead in the water.
Misinformation. Stay as informed as possible. “He said, She said” doesn’t work when you need to share information with your Power Crew and customers. Never allow yourself to miss out on innovative moves occurring within your industry, or in other industries. If an app or software was not compatible of your business in 2011, check back and see if things have changed. If you didn’t think Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram were a good fit for your business and your customers would not be interested in a company blog, rethink these moves. Try things out. You may be surprised at the results and new information that flows in from these various options.
Boss UpOnce you have figured out what causes your business to thrive like a well watered plant, you’ll begin to reap the benefits of a profitable business and brand overall. I think of my business as a well-watered plant because there is energy tied to it. It needs my care in order to survive. My emotions affect my business and I need to maintain them both.Clients want to know that you, as a business owner, care enough to pay attention to small details while maintaining the overall picture of success.The RundownPut your all into your business. After all, most of us are not here for a one-night stand. Instead, we’re in it to win it! So get yourself out there and arm your brand against these 10 common assumptions most Solopreneurs make in online business.To Your Continued Success & Learning!
Top Tips For Cutting Business Telecommunications Costs
In tough economic times, it is important that you work to cut all the costs that you can. If you are in business, one of the costs you can manage are your business telecommunications costs. The purpose of this article is to give you some tips on how you can cut your business telecommunications costs. If you can save money on your landline, mobile and internet bills, then this is money that you can keep in your pocket and keep your business afloat.
Review your business telecommunications plan- Business telecommunications carriers bring out new plans all the time. Some of these telecommunications plans may be more suitable for your own business than the plans that you are on currently. You should regularly review your plans. Shop around for the best business telecommunications deal- You should shop around for the best deal. You should speak to all the different suppliers in your industry and see which supplier offers you the best deal. Be prepared to change carriers for a better business telecommunications deal- Once you have found the best deal on the market, you should do two things. You should go back to your existing telecommunications carrier and tell them that you are thinking of leaving and wait to see what they can do. If they are not prepared to budge, be prepared to move. Go to the carrier that provides you with a better deal. Be prepared to move to save money. Telecommunications is not a sunk cost. There are some things that you can do to save money on all your telecommunications infrastructure- landlines, mobile and internet usage.. If you spend some time and effort reviewing your usage and negotiating with carriers, then you could quite easily find yourself saving thousands of dollars. Do yourself a favour and review get the best telecommunications deal today.