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Auctiva Commerce Store Spotlight

The Charming Home Store

When shoppers enter Sarah Nelson's store, they'll find "charming" products for their homes and gardens. At least that's her shop's official business motto. But Nelson's personal motto is "a little better every day," showing the seller's determination to keep improving her store.

The seller has been online for six years using four Es to guide her business practice: excellent products at excellent prices with excellent service produce excellent repeat business.

"I really do focus on those four Es," Nelson says. "I want customers to expect excellence and walk away satisfied. I want them to say, 'Wow, I love the products, the prices and the service. I'm with them from now on!'—and they tell their friends."

Nelson loves "old fashioned things," and focuses on providing quality products, she says. Some of the hottest items in the store are her 100-percent Egyptian cotton sheets and bedding sets, wrought iron garden trellises, vintage porcelain phones and Meyda Tiffany Lamps. Shoppers can also find kitchen accessories, wall art, window treatments and clocks, among many other items.

She spreads the word about her online shop through a mixture of search engine optimization, social-networking sites and word of mouth. The Charming Home Store is her second online venture using Auctiva Commerce, and while sales have been slow starting out, "Auctiva provides the tools and support for long-term success," Nelson says.

"We tried it out briefly when Auctiva Commerce was first offered," the seller notes. "In that first attempt, I realized I was not yet ready for an online venue outside eBay. Two years later, I felt I finally had the knowledge and experience to venture beyond eBay. I researched various e-commerce solutions available and came to the conclusion that Auctiva Commerce really was the best."

Visit The Charming Home Store. 

Benefits of Using a Loofa

Regular exfoliation is good for you, inside and out. Exfoliation acts as a sandpaper for the skin, removing the rough dead skin cells to expose the fresh, smooth skin below. Not only does this provide the skin with a healthy glow, it also allows proper absorption of moisturizers.

The lymph system is just below the skin and carries the white blood cells that fight infection. Exfoliation stimulates the lymph system, thereby providing support to your immune system.

Using the Loofa:

• In the shower, get the loofa wet. Using a moisturizing body wash, wash your body with the loofa, scrubbing in gentle circles. Rough scrubbing can irritate your skin.
• After you are done washing, rinse off thoroughly.  Be sure to rinse the loofa thoroughly as well.  Hang the loofa to dry in between uses.

Notes:

• Although many synethic sponges are available, a genuine loofa is always the best choice.
• You can use a loofa even when you aren't in the shower.  Soft circles on dry skin can still be beneficial.

Seven Tips for Washing Colorful Bedding

1. Follow Care Label Instructions 

It may seem like a 'no brainer,' but manufacturers provide you with all the basic information needed to prolong the health and life of your bedding.

Click Here for: Decoding Care Label symbols

2. Washing Machine Settings

When unsure of what settings to choose, it is safest to default to Normal/Cold settings.  Unless specifically noted, you don't want to wash your bedding in hot (above 105F) water.

3. Select a Gentle Detergent

There are some quality detergents available specifically formulated to prevent fading. These laundry detergents are safe for all of your laundering needs and are comparably priced to other detergents.

4. Use Vinegar

It may sound odd, but 1 cup of white vinegar in a load of bedding will act both as a natural fabric softener and color fast agent.  The pungent vinegar odor goes away in the wash.

5. Wash Other Deep Colors Separately

While every tip is meant to help preserve your colors, some color wash may take place. Avoiding additional deep colors in the bedding load will help prevent color exchange.  Often, dull colors are created not only from color wash, but also from color exchange.

6. Load the Washer Correctly

It is tempting to cram all you can into one load. However, stuffing the washing machine shortens the life of your washing machine, wears out fabrics more quickly, and does not produce cleanest possible results.  Loosely layer your wash two approximately 2/3 to 3/4 capacity.

7. Slightly-Damp Dry Your Sheets

Over-drying causes color fade. It is particularly tough on bright, deep, and/or dark colors. Sheets should be removed from the dryer when they are still slightly damp. Look over the features on your dryer to see which setting will produce the results you want.  There may be a damp-dry setting or just a timer.  Your washer and dryer are significant investments. Take the time to learn how to use them optimally!

Quick Note on Payday Loans

I think that Payday Loan places get a bad wrap.  Although I do not know it for a fact, I am willing to bet that the banking industry is behind the smear campaign.

If I borrow (get an advance) on $300, I will have to pay the $300 back in a month, plus about $40 in interest.  This is called highway robbery and taking advantage of the poor. 

On the other hand, let's say I have an unexpected bill go through my checking out.  If the bank "advances" me $20.00, they are going to charge me an additional $35.00.  And if I can't pay the negative balance within a few days, I am going to be charged an additional $35.00 "extended overdraft fee."  These fees will continue to pile up until I can bring my account out of the red.  That $20.00 could easily end up costing me $105.00.

So let's do the math.  For an "advance" of $300 for a month, I pay $40. That's a 13% interest rate over the course of a month.

For an "advance" of $20.00, paid back after approximately two weeks, I pay $105.00.  That's  a 525% interest rate. 

• If you had to have money advanced to you, which interest rate would you prefer to pay?
• Which of these scenarios takes advantage of the poor?

I am not recommending regular use of payday loans.  But the reality - emergencies happen.  Next time you hear someone bashing payday loans, ask them what it cost last time they "bounced" a check.

I wrote this poem December 19, 2006:

My Christmas Gift

What I am giving myself for Christmas this year:

A BREAK.

I am not dropping out of life,

but I choose to permanently cut myself some slack.

I am taking hold of reality,

reconciling myself to what is;

To who and what i am

Instead of holding out for an ideal

that I will never achieve.

The back of my needlework will never be as

pretty and neat as the front.

I'll get over it.

I'll keep creating.

I will no longer refrain from doing things
because I cannot do them as well as others.

I won't not write because I'm not C.S. Lewis.

I will write, because I have something to say.

I won't not volunteer to lead things
because I never live up to my own expectations.

I will step forward,
knowing achievement is always better than stagnation.

I'm going to lower my expectations and

increase my aspirations.

I'm going to actively participate in life.

I'm going to welcome guests.

My house is never going to be perfect again.

Like Mom's.

Like Rachel's.

Clean will have to be good enough.

If that's not good enough for someone,

There are plenty of  people more interested in friendship

than perfect housekeeping.

I will offer fellowship amidst the toys.

I am not THOSE.

I am me.

Talented.

Focused.

Brilliantly flawed.

If I can give this gift to myself...

If I can find it within to permanently forgive

the failings of my humanity...

If I can keep hold of this gift

and not exchange it for the insecurities

I know so well...

It will be a Gift begetting many gifts.

For it is the gift that says,

"No more fear."

Work at Home Opportunities

EVALUATING WORK-AT-HOME OPPORTUNITIES
There are many advertised work from home opportunities. However, according to one source, only 1 in 42 advertised work-at-home opportunities is legitimate.

A Couple of Warning Signs

• Money up front – Genuine work-at-home opportunities do not require money up front. It is safe to assume that any “investment” being required only benefits the person offering the “opportunity.”*
• Promises of big money – Legitimate companies are offering you the opportunity to do the work you would normally do in an office at home instead. The benefit to them: They save money. They are not going to pay you huge amounts of money for that.

There are three (3) primary types of work-at-home jobs:

• Call Center/Telemarketing
• Transcription/Editing
• Virtual Assistant

Call Center/Telemarketing

• 1-800-Is-You – Some companies are using “satellite” (your home) offices to handle their incoming customer service calls. They may also have you accept/process orders on their behalf. One well-known company that does this: Jet Blue
• Cold Calling – This is the most common and perhaps most challenging work-at-home job. It may involve fund raising for a nonprofit, getting people to take phone surveys, setting up sales appointments, or selling magazine subscriptions. Payment methods vary: by hour, by phone call, or by sale.
• Collections – If you have a background in collections, this may be a viable option. Generally, payment is based on an hourly wage plus a percentage of funds collected. A committed collections agent can actually make good money.

Transcription and Editing

• Medical Transcription – The reality is that home medical transcription is a fairly small field. Companies that utilize home transcriptionists require several years of in-office medical transcription experience. If you do have a background in medical transcription, medical terminology, and HIPAA compliance, this would be worth investigating.
• Editing – This is another field in which you need previous in-house experience before you will be considered for a job.
• Writing Online Articles/Blogging – While this is a legitimate possibility, please note that it is not full-time pay. For example, one company who hires bloggers pays $2.00 for every 300 unique blog views.

Virtual Assistant

This is probably the fastest growing work-at-home opportunity. Again, it requires prior experience in the field. Multi-tasking will include fielding phone calls, setting appointments, typing, data entry, etc. This allows the business professional to not be tethered to an office. Often, it also means you are making a commitment to be available 24/7.

Additional things to consider when evaluating an opportunity:

• Are they a BBB member? (http://www.bbb.org/)
• Review their BBB report
• Check them out on http://www.RipOffReport.com/
  
• Do an internet search. Are there articles about the company that are written by people other than within the company itself?

A couple of legitimate companies:

• Working Solutions (http://www.WorkingSol.com/)
• Alpine Access (http://www.AlpineAccess.com/)

In Summary: Working at Home is possible. Just be sure you do your homework so that the opportunity you are considering nets you money, instead of ending up costing you.

*This is assuming you are working at home for someone else. Launching your own business always has some type of investment requirement.