All the top home based businesses use the technology of the internet. We live in the digital age of emails, downloads, streaming data and mobile technology. If your home based business ideas do not include having an online presence, then you’re missing out on a worldwide market who can buy from you at any time of the day or night.Any legitimate home based business will need some investment to get it started and an online home business is no different. The good news is that the start up costs for a home based online business are considerably less than a traditional offline venture.Five Tools For Your Home Based Business.1. Domain Name.A domain name is the name of your website. It’s where your customers can find you online with an easy to use word, or sets of words. Your first option should always be to opt for a.com name when looking for domain name ideas for your home business as it is the universally accepted business domain extension.2. Website Hosting.Once you have your domain name, you’ll need somewhere to “rent” space for your website so that it can be live on the internet. Some domain registrars usually also provide hosting but do check the rates first. Once you have your domain and hosting sorted, you are well on your way to making your home based business ideas into a reality.3. Website.The WordPress website system is the most widely used website building platform on the internet. It has the functionality to help your home business earn online revenue as well providing a complete content management system. WordPress websites are reportedly used by such organisations as the New York Times, Ford, NASA, Pepsi and eBay. If it is good enough for them, then it will surely be good enough for your work from home based business ideas.4. Autoresponder.One of the best online business tools you can have is an autoresponder. Your autoresponder is the ‘salesman’ who works for you 24/7 – every day of the year. Autoresponder services are used to provide your leads with follow up information about your products and services via email. Remember that statistically, a prospect needs to see or hear your marketing message at least seven times before they take any action and buy from you.5. Continuous Education.It can be a frustrating process getting your home based business ideas from concept to reality. When you get stuck on a problem, you can lose focus and direction and that’s when they are most likely to give up. For example, getting a domain name and website hosting organised can seem a little complicated if you’ve never done it before. With ongoing business education, you can learn as you earn and draw on the experience of others for a fast-track to success.
Deaf Parenting – An Individual Education Plan (IEP) To Effectively Meet Educational Needs
It is important for parents of deaf and other special needs children to understand what an Individual Education Plan is and how to ensure your child’s education needs are being met in his or her IEP.
In this article, I will discuss:
What is an IEP
Give tips for having an effective IEP that meets your child’s educational needs
An IEP is a document that details the special needs services for special needs students. The IEP includes any modifications that are required in the classroom and any additional special programs or services. In the USA an IEP is mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004). The IEP will address your child’s educational needs, and contain specific, measurable short term and annual goals for each of those needs.
This written statement is developed by your child’s teachers, and is reviewed and agreed to by your child’s special needs education funding organization and you, the parents. The IEP describes the goals the team sets for your child during the school year, as well as any special support needed to help your child achieve his or her educational goals.
In our case with our deaf son, Larry, we lived in Marlboro, MA and Larry attended school at The Learning Center for Deaf Children in Framingham, MA. The town of Marlboro funded the cost of his education. So we dealt with the special needs education supervisor in Marlboro and Larry’s teachers in Framingham.
The IEP meeting is usually attended by the child’s classroom teacher, the child’s department supervisor, the funding special needs education supervisor and the parents.
The IEP document can be very daunting lots of pages with a lot of official sounding documentation.
Here are tips based on our experience on ensuring your child has an effective IEP that meets his or her educational needs:
Tip#1: You as parents need to be proactive and take an active role in developing the goals for your child’s IEP. You need to have regular interactions with your child’s teachers and school supervisors to understand what your child is being taught, how your child is progressing and what your child will be taught next. This will help you in 2 ways: firstly you will be able to understand what is being stated in your child’s IEP and you can make sure which educational needs will receive the most attention. Secondly your child’s teacher will realize that you are interested in your child’s education and they will make extra efforts on behalf of your child. I firmly believe that it is always good to set high expectations for the people working with your child.
Tip#2: Usually your child’s special needs education funding organization will have meetings a few times a year to discuss their plans etc. Attend as many of these meetings as possible and develop a relationship with the supervisor for your child’s special needs education. This relationship will allow you to discuss and make requests suited to your child’s educational requirements.
Tip#3: We requested a copy of Larry’s IEP 2 days before the IEP meeting so my wife and I could review the IEP. Your child’s teacher is usually very busy developing IEPs so you need to give the teacher early notice that you need the IEP for review. Having a relationship with your child’s teacher and the funding special education supervisor will really help here because you will already know what level of education your child is at and what is the next level of education and services to be addressed in the IEP.
Tip#4: You need to remember that you as parents can bring with you to the IEP meeting others involved with your child that you feel are important for the IEP team to hear, such as, your child’s psychologist or tutor. I would recommend keeping surprises for the IEP team to a minimum and again your working relationship with your child’s education team should help you resolve issues and have agreements on your child’s educational needs before the IEP meeting.
Tip#5: Parents should remember that IEPs can be updated any time during the year. For Larry, he was very good at mathematics and we had the IEP amended during the school year to provide Mathematics tutoring during the summer for the next level of Mathematics. Since we had a good relationship with our town’s special needs education supervisor, this was easily done and Larry had his Mathematics teacher as a tutor during the summer.
Tip#6: Here are a couple of things I wished we would have done differently. In middle school Larry was struggling with Reading and English. He had a literature class where the reading material was Shakespeare. We knew he was struggling with Reading and English and this class was frustrating him a lot. We should have had a discussion with this teacher and the Middle School supervisor and find a solution that met Larry’s needs and have his IEP amended. In addition, we should have requested a tutor for Reading and English where the tutoring was done in American Sign Language
3 Temptations That Will Ruin Your Chances for a Successful Home Based Business
Home business opportunity seekers must avoid three common temptations in order to be successful. These three deadly temptations are:
1. Fast Cash
2. Easy Cash
3. Lotsa Cash
The first temptation, “Fast Cast”, is all too easy to fall prey to. Almost everyone who wants to start a home based business wants to earn money as quickly as possible.
Sometimes it’s a matter of desperation. If you’re out of work and can’t find another job, you may really need to earn some money quickly. But, that desire or need for fast cash can lead you down many destructive paths.
You might even spend your grocery money on a “sure-fire get-rich-quick system” that promises you will be making $10,000 per month in 30 days or less. That just doesn’t happen. Sad, but true.
Don’t throw your money away. Buying the latest get-rich-quick offer is worse than buying a lottery ticket because the offer will cost 50, 100, or 1,000 times the cost of a lottery ticket, and the odds aren’t any better.
It takes time to build a successful business. Count on it taking from 3 months to a year or longer. Really. Count on it.
Don’t give in to the “Fast Cash” temptation.
The second temptation, “Easy Cash”, isn’t much better than the first. Yes, starting a home based business you love is a lot easier than a J.O.B. The perfect home based business is one you are so passionate about you consider it “easy”.
But, whoever tells you that you can buy a business-in-a-box and push a button or two to make your fortune without any work, is lying to you.
You know in your heart that it takes some real work to plan, start, and build a business.
Sure, after the first few months, you can ease up a bit. But, you will have to work hard (though you will really enjoy this work), during the early stages of creating your new home based business.
Don’t give in to the “Easy Cash” temptation.
The third temptation, “Lotsa Cash”, is the crowning blow to home business opportunity seekers that give in to these temptations. Why should you be satisfied with an extra $500 or $1,000 per month. This guy on the internet is promising you that you will be a millionaire in no time flat. Who cares whether or not you will really be helping people. The guy says you can earn a $587,993 dollars in just six months just like him.
You know that isn’t the way it works. If you don’t make your first dollar online, you will never make $100,000 or $1,000,000.
First, you have to make the initial $1, then $100, then $1,000, and then $10,000. Step-by-step. And, the only way to make the first $1.00 and anything after that, is to offer something of real value that helps people solve a desperate problem, meet a need, or satisfy a deep desire.
Greed leads to ruin. Instead, over deliver. Provide incredible value for the money you receive, and you’ll be richer than you can possibly believe.
Don’t fall prey to the temptation of “Lotsa Cash”.
So, there you have it. Three deadly temptations that can ruin your chances for a successful home based business. Avoid them at all costs. And, I hope you succeed beyond your wildest dreams.