If you’ve been feeling like you’re drowning in all the tasks you have to do for your online product selling business – you are definitely not alone. It’s tough playing all the various roles needed to make a successful business. In fact, it really is downright impossible.

You may have heard people tell you that the solution to your woes is outsourcing – i.e. hiring various contractors to help you with different tasks. But if you aren’t sure where to start, are worried it will be too expensive or just aren’t sure where to find the right people, my friend Alice Seba has put together some great training for you….and it’s not going to cost you a thing.

If you aren’t familiar with Alice, she’s a mom with a busy life and a busy business, but she handles it all by leveraging the resources and skills of others. Not only does it free up her time, but she also earns MORE by not doing all the work herself.

As a matter of fact, she taught me how to outsource — information I’m using to outsource much of my customer service to skilled technicians who provide support to my Shop Kit Plus and hosting customers, and to outsource many project management tasks to my assistant.

Find out how Alice does it and how you can get started, by checking out this training interview:

Outsourcing Training Interview

Again, there’s no charge or email sign up required. Just head on over and stop working so darned hard!

Popularity: 11% [?]

If you are a parent with school-age children and also have a home business, it can be difficult to work while your children are on summer vacation from school. The following are tips on finding ways to work around your children’s summer schedule.

If there are other families in your neighborhood with children of similar age to your children’s age, try organizing a babysitting swap. Get together with the other parents and create a schedule where each family takes turns being the designated sitter. Any of the other parents who need to run errands, work, etc., can drop their children off at the sitter’s house that day.

You may also want to find out if there are local day camps. Unlike overnight camps, these camps allow you to drop your children off in the morning and pick them up in the evening. They are usually filled with various learning activities, art, music, and drama. These activities will keep your children’s minds fresh during the summer, and you will get a few hours to work each day.

Your place of worship may also have some summer activities planned. There may be a “Mom’s Day-Out Program” that allows parents to drop off their children for a few hours three days a week. Volunteers in the congregation may teach the children a craft, read stories to them, or simply play with them.

You may also want to look into hiring a young teenager to come over and play with your children while you work on the computer in your office. Since you are still in the house, you can feel safe knowing you are there in case of an emergency. A young teen who may not have much babysitting experience will also charge less than an older teen.

Another option is to call the local high school or college before school gets out and let them know you are looking for an intern. This can take the form of someone majoring in early childhood education to watch your children or you may want to hire a student interested in business, marketing, etc. They can help you with your business tasks which will free up some of your time. Normally, you do not pay interns. They work in exchange for the experience.

You can also get your children involved with your business. Depending on your children’s age, assign them tasks that they can easily complete. This will help give them an understanding of business and increase their self esteem. It will also enable you to spend time together as a family and still get work done. Working around your kids’ summer vacation can definitely be hard, but you can find ways to do it.

Popularity: 11% [?]

A member of a forum I frequent ask how to go about finding her target market online.

She received some advice from people telling her that the forum in which she posted was a great place. Other posters suggested that she network with her potential customers at other forums and on some specific networking sites.

I think that this advice is generally good — but doesn’t give her the specifics she needs.

In order to find your target market, there are some things you need to know.

1. Who is your target market? And don’t just tell me that they’re moms, or parents or women. You need to be specific. Your target market is plus-size women who wear their babies. Or environmentally conscious parents who want all-natural and organic products for their baby.

2. What products is your market specifically interested in? If you’re trying to sell cloth diapers to parents of tweens, you’re probably not going to get anywhere fast. Find out what products your target market is interested in.

Forums are a great place to go to find your target market and get to know them a little bit. Informational sites and blogs that cater to your target market are other great places to do some preliminary research.

If you’d like help in figuring out where to find your target market, join the Product Seller’s Club. We’re more than happy to help answer your questions and point you in the right direction.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Holidays are a great time to reach out to your customers and encourage them to shop for gifts in your online store, instead of running around in the cold and crowds searching for a product that’s not nearly as nice as yours.

This year, give your customers a reason to buy their gifts from your store — and tell their friends about it.

For just $7, you can download this special report, The Product Seller’s Guide to Holiday Promotion Ideas, and you’ll have 10 ideas to jumpstart your holiday promotions. Pick one idea — or more — and start giving your customers a reason to return to your online store.

Click here to buy your copy!

Popularity: 11% [?]