Thursday, October 28, 2010

I Am Sorry Mum but Tonight, I'm Cleaning Out My Closet


Eminem has seen this coming.

A couple of weeks ago I had my mum rang me and when I answered she screamed “Your closet is broken!”

It seems that the pole that was holding my clothes broke into 2. My closet which has served me for only 2 years collapsed at the insanely amount of clothes I have that seems to pile endlessly on top of one another. I have since cleaned up my closet and replaced the pole but told myself to start a habit of cleaning it every 6 months.

Though I like to think myself as a neat freak or an extremely organized person, I am far from it. When I am pressed for time, I’ll grab the first top I see from the pile and by the same manner grab whatever clothes strewn on my bed and chuck them in my closet. It is an endless cycle.

Now cleaning up your closet can be intimidating and many would dread the idea of spending the afternoon going through your clothes but trust me, it is extremely fun. I find it therapeutic plus I’ve uncovered a few dresses and blouses never worn along the way. I am pretty sure if you ebay some of your clothes it would have come up to a nice dough on the side. Just a thought.

So let’s start cleaning out the closet of the literal kind!

Editing your wardrobe.

Take a look at your closet — is it stuffed full of clothes you don’t wear? Do you have trouble picking out what to wear in the morning? Are there clothes you don’t fit, don’t like, or can’t wear because they are stained or torn? How about your clothes drawers? Overstuffed?

If so, your closet may be in need of editing. Most of us are in this category. And even though I tried to simplify my clothes, I need to go through my closet to see if there’s stuff in there I no longer wear. I pull out a bunch of things and put them in a bag to trash or sometimes donate them to my sister. When my closet is simpler, my mind is more at ease.

To edit your wardrobe, here are some simple steps:

  • Pull out all the clothes from your closet. Put them on your bed. Now go through this pile, one item at a time, deciding what stays and what goes. Follow these rules:
    1. If you haven’t worn an item in months, put it in the donate pile. There’s a reason you don’t wear that item — you’re probably not going to wear it again for a long while, if ever.
    2. If you no longer fit an item, donate it. Yes, you plan to lose 5 kg to fit into that outfit. Well, when you do, go to the thrift shop and get some better-fitting items. Until then, they’re taking up space in your closet.
    3. If an item is stained or torn beyond repair, donate it. If you can repair it, put it in a bag and take it to be sewn tomorrow (or do it yourself). If that bag sits in your house or car for more than a week, you’ll probably never do it, so donate it or toss it. For myself, I often keep stained or torn clothing, if I really love an item, but I only wear it around the house. I save the good clothes for company. :)
    4. If an item is out of style or doesn’t match anything else you own, consider donating it. OK, if you really love it and still wear it, go ahead and keep it. Butterfly bell-bottoms? You’re still cool.
    5. When in doubt, donate.
    6. For seasonal clothes, Where I live, there’s always tropical goodness year round, so this isn’t an issue.

  • If you still have a lot of clothes left, consider the following:
    1. Keep clothes that are of the same color scheme, and toss the rest. This way, everything matches, and you don’t have to worry about what goes with your blouse. Neutral colors like tan and white are great, with some color tossed in. I avoid bright colors, especially those that bleed in the wash. I don’t like to worry about that.
    2. Keep clothes that are simple in design, and can be paired with anything. Jeans are a great example (not the kinds with bells and whistles, the simple kinds). You can put just about any shirt with jeans, and you’re good to go. Shoot for this kind of philosophy. Don’t have pants or a skirt that can only go with one or two other items. Be able to mix and match with ease and without some kind of complicated chart.
    3. Make comfort a priority. Looks are important, but comfort is more important. You want to be at ease in whatever you wear, so keep that in the forefront as you edit your clothing.

  • Hang the clothes back in the closet nicely, in some order. Pairing by color is nice, and has an especially nice effect if you use the same color hangers. If you have fewer clothes, they look much nicer in the closet.
  • Repeat this process with your clothes drawers. Throw out the torn underwear and stained socks. Once you weed out a lot of the stuff, fold them neatly and put them back in your drawers nicely. Again, fewer clothes look much nicer in your drawers. If you have time, organize a sale or ebay or you can even do a swap with your friends. That way you'll get fresh edition of clothes without spending pennies.
  • Edit your wardrobe every 6 months or so. It’s best if you refrain from buying too many more unnecessary clothes, but I know some of you are shopaholics, and even the rest of us accumulate stuff over time. Make this a regular event, and you’ll keep your wardrobe nice and simple.

I still need to edit my wardrobe, though, on a regular basis. I know it’s time when it’s hard to find stuff, and when I look through my closet and find lots of stuff I rarely wear.

Simplify your wardrobe, and your life will be much simpler and stress-free. It’s wonderful. Give it a try!

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Monday, October 25, 2010

4 Ways to Make Money Online - Tried and Tested

[This is the 2nd article of the online business series. Read the first article here.]

Suppose you already decided to be a web worker. (Tongue in Cheek)
Congratulations.
That was easy.

Now comes the hard part.
What next? Where do you begin?

Firstly,
Figure out what you want to do. There are several ways you can make money online. Here I shall share 4 ways, you can do one or do all. Word of advice, it is better to start small, one thing at a time than to attempt all at once. When you get better, you can always progress to bigger things.

Take the time to think about your skills and anything of value that you would like to market in the cyber world. Your skills and expertise are what will determine what you will thread on eventually.

1. Start a blog

Sites like Blogger, Wordpress & Tumblr has made it a breeze to for anyone to start. The challenge is though how to earn from it. You may want to attract advertisers to buy adspace or put up adsense but to do that you must generate enough traffic to your blog. Traffic will come if your blog provides value to readers. Professional bloggers have the distinction of writing on their expertise so think and write about what you are good at. Typically, you must have good writing skills and an acute sense of knowledge. You may diverse to do product reviews or affiliate marketing but even so, blogging about it is still about content, so write well with value for your readers.

Contrary to what others might think, no one would want to read a blog about what you had for breakfast, how your dog died or if you didn’t shower this morning. (Unless you are Angelina Jolie, no one is really interested what you do day to day). Advertisers want to work with a blogger who can make clear judgements between personality and professionalism. You are encouraged to be personal but not TOO personal. If you want to fill the internet with your sob stories, DON’T. Rarely would you make money this way.

2. Sell Stuffs Online

Majority of us will want to start here. I did. I started with my immediate friends in Facebook with no website whatsoever. Or you can even sell at eBay. I just decided I want to approach people with my dresses and took off from there. Though this may be the easiest path to follow, there are several things you need to note.

Do you have a product to sell? Is there a market for it?
I find that products that are easy to sell tend to have tons of competitions. If you like to introduce an innovative product that’s unique with less competition, find out if there is a market for it first. When I was selling my dresses, many asked if I can recommend good backless and strapless bras. That spurred me to source for Brastick as the purchase will complement my dresses very well.


[Note: At the time of this post, I had more enquiries on Brasticks than the order. That is a good thing. Another learning curve.]

You may know or source for wholesalers who’s willing to arrange dropshipping or others who can work with small business owners by reducing the bulk minimum order. Sites like Amazon, Clickbank and Doha offers tons of products you can affiliate with. For a price, World Wide Brands can even connect you with wholesalers or dropshippers world wide.

How much capital is involved?
The best things in life are free. (Well, almost)

In my next article, I will share with you,
  • · How to start an online business with very little or no capital
  • · Determine a market for your products and sourcing for them
  • · Can you trust your wholesaler?
  • · Launching your products
Please subscribe for the next article.

3. Freelance

Register yourself with sites like Elance or Freelance Zone. There are various skills required from accounting to website designing to even mundane tasks like data entry. You may have those specific skills and if you do learn to market those skills and actively source for clients.


Get that first gig.
There are many jobs to choose from but employers tend not to trust someone without any feedback, so you remain pigeonholed until someone decides to take a leap of faith and hire you. A good strategy in this situation is to bid the lowest possible amount and take the financial hit in order to land that first project and some positive feedback from the employer. Employers most often will return to the same freelancer over and over again if they like your work and trust that you can deliver. Believe me, it takes a lot more time and energy to find another freelancer when there is a deadline crunch. Aim to get that one repeated client and have them recommend you to others. As you progress, you can increase your fees accordingly.


Bid a lot and use a great template.
Write one highly persuasive project proposal and save it as a template. Use it to save time and maximize the number of assignments you are bidding on each month. If you find that you are not getting offered any projects after 20 bids, go back and revise your template. Strive to use all of your bids every month, because the more bids you use, the more opportunities you have to get work.

You can turn down projects if you have too much on your plate, but chances are you will use 15-20 bids before you receive one project award in the beginning. As you complete projects and receive great feedback, the ratio will begin to decline and you will be spending fewer bids per awarded project. However, if you receive negative feedback for a project, expect the ratio of bids per awarded project to increase until you can get your feedback rating back in good standing.


Answer quickly and produce even quicker.
When an employer hires you for a project, answer all communication (phone calls, emails, etc.) from the employer as soon as you get them. Strive to complete the project ahead of schedule. The faster you work, the more money you are making for your time. Note: Do not work so quickly that you compromise quality.


Never give out free samples.
If an employer asks for a sample design, artwork, logo, article whatever – especially for a specific idea or campaign, DON’T - There are many scam artists that never intend to hire a freelancer but instead use their project and market it to other people for their own benefit.

4. Online Network Marketing


To the likes of one who has been introduced to network marketing or multi level marketing (MLM), this would be the easiest and perhaps the fastest way to make money online. No longer do you have to do sales call or bring prospects down for a ‘seminar’ in the hope that they will buy or get recruited. Online, you simply send an email and get your prospect to watch a video presentation in that email. Companies like Global Domain International offers this opportunity so people would continue to subscribe to their web hosting and domain provider services. You get paid for as long as your members subscribe to the services you referred them. Duplication just gets automated.


Fact, my decision to start a blog, starting a website and integrating an e-store spurs from having to subscribe to a domain provider referred to me by a friend. It was an added bonus that there was the opportunity to earn by referring their services.

Ask me anything, I will try to assist or guide you along. You may even have a dedicated post written here.


Earn your first dollar online here.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Decent Obsession with Maher Zain

My last star struck episode I had with a celebrity was with an asian boyband ‘4u2C’ which comprises of 7 semi good looking dudes with oversize T-Shirts and CD blings. It was the local perception of what was ‘hip hop’ at the time.

That was 15 years ago. I have outgrown boybands since then.

Up until recently.

My obsession was triggered in the form of a good looking Lebanese who produce religious music.

Maher Zain.

A Swedish singer and music producer of Lebanese origin, Maher Zain exploded into the scene in November 2009 with his debut album Thank You Allah. There was something in his songs that resonates in the heart. His hit song The Chosen One was on repeat mode in my playlists for weeks and every chance I got I will share his videos on my wall.

It wasn’t enough to have him on my repeat tracks. He needs to stage a performance in Singapore. He’s been to Malaysia & Brunei, why not Singapore as the next pit stop?

My humble invitation to Maher Zain. That I would personally host a concert for you here, if no one else would. Insyaallah.

Amin.



Earn your first dollar online here.
Jeny's Closet Opening Soon!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

How I Started Making Money Online - Tips & Tumbles

The ‘Contact Me’ feature that was added recently has been rather useful.

In my recent conversations, I ‘ve been asked the ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions on Jeny’s Closet. How I got started, how much capital was involved, where do I get my supplies, time management so on and so forth.

Ask me anything. If I can’t reply to you personally, I shall attempt to address them in a series of posts under the ‘Entrepreneurship’ category. So subscribe and stay tune as I explore more ‘how tos’.

I know nothing about business. But I have a healthy appetite for continuous learning. In a recent consultation with a Fengshui Master, he has adamantly states “ Fact is ah You and business no good. No harmony”. Well, I haven’t been listening well, have I? In a recent entry to my journal I have described myself as,

“I probably make the most mistakes among my peers and family. I was never afraid of trying and taking chances.”

So try I have and perhaps Fengshui Master has been right about the harmony bit. So why would you listen to me?

I make the mistakes so you don't have to.

Tip #1:
Decide

Decide if an online business is the way to go for you. You may like the idea of running a business at the comfort of your own home (or Hawaii), earning extra cash on the side but the truth is an online business is just like any other ‘brick and mortar’ business out there. Whatever you decide on, an online business requires just as much time, energy, dedication and commitment. You won’t get rich overnight and if anyone else tells you otherwise, they are lying.

I stayed up till 3am every night to reply to my customers on their enquiries and orders. I conference with my supplier every morning. I delivered the dresses to my customers personally every weekend and squeeze time to write a blog.

Tip #2: Act

This could be the most important thing in any endeavour. Start! Start! Start! In the beginning, just get started. Don’t get in the habit of analysing to the point of paralysis. Analysing too much will overwhelm you. How do babies learn how to walk? Crawl, Stand, Tumble, Stand, Teeny Tiny Steps, Tumble, Crawl. Repeat over and over.

Don’t get too caught up in details that don’t matter. Dealing with the paperwork, business cards, and other ancillaries isn’t absolutely necessary.

I started Jeny’s Closet with Facebook. I have a supplier but I have no customers so I started tagging my friends with images of my dresses and asked them to spread the word around. Then I started a group, then a blog to market those dresses and then finally BraStick…it was a series of actions one after another that became bigger than what I had initially planned.

Other paperwork a lot of people get caught up in is registering a corporation or other business entity. That will be important eventually. But you can (in Singapore) start a proprietorship in your own name with very minimal paperwork and cost.

For now, just get in the habit of doing.

Tip #3: Learn

I learn from the best in the industry. The internet has tons of resources and with Twitter, emulating a person you admire is a lot easier than you think. When I first got my Twitter account, the first person I followed was Oprah Winfrey and I soon added people who had achieved success aligned with what I wanted to achieve for myself. I call them my eMentors. I will write about them and the importance of mentoring in another post.
Whatever business you want to start, be it blogging, eBay sales, information product selling, affiliate marketing, or any one of the countless other ways to make money online, there are hords of people who have done it before you.

Sometimes those people will have written about what they did to succeed. In those cases, if their business aligns with what you want to do, don’t be afraid to invest money into their products.

Tip #3: Ask For Help

“Ask and you shall be given”

I am not afraid to ask, I am known to be rather thick skinned. I started with my friends and ask if they like to purchase my dresses. I ask if they can spread the word out on their wall. I ask for their testimonials. I put up on status updates on my wall consistently to tell people I am in business. I believe as long as you don’t hog the ‘news feed’ with your constant stream of overly personal details, people are generally more willing to hear what you have to say instead of clicking the ‘hide’ function. You may be one of the shy ones but I implore you, feel the fear and do it anyway. It will get easier.

You will deal with rejection. Many people won’t respond to your e-mails or tweets.

But you know what? It doesn’t matter.

Starting a business isn’t supposed to be easy.

If you talk to enough people, you will get the help you need. The ultra successful people are more open to help then the ones who are ultra successful only in their heads.

Tip #4: Don’t Quit Your Day Job

Yes, we all have the ultimate dream of quitting our jobs. Live in Bali year after year and not worry about money. Ever again.

Don’t jump the gun.

At the time of this post, I am still working a ‘9 to 5’ job in a real estate investment firm doing marketing.
People who failed furiously because they didn’t have an income to support themselves in the lean business startup phase don’t usually write about it. And because they don’t write about their failures, you never hear about them.

Do share with me your experiences when pursuing an online career yourself. I am no expert but you may be.

Good Luck!



Earn your first dollar online here.
Jeny's Closet Opening Soon!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

An Author's Post - The Idea of Success (The Beginning Chapter)


This is not just another ‘About’ post. What the ‘About’ page lacks in detail, I’m going to address in this post.

Here’s the deal: I’ve been working full time for almost 10 years. I’ve had a lot of failures and a lot of successes in my attempt to climb the corporate ladder.

In my younger days, success would mean a heavy paycheque, fancy cars, fancy clothes, fancy bags and a fancy boyfriend. By a fancy boyfriend I mean, tall, suave, good looking and he too owns a heavy paycheque, fancy cars and…..well you get my drift.

Having gone through losing my entire savings, incurring debt, climbing the corporate ladder from below (again), being cheated on and a bad dirty break up, my idea of success now is – if I can get through the day only to still feel grateful and happy, knowing that tomorrow is another day and I’ve done the best that I could to celebrate the day I have today.

No longer do I set goals of where I want to be in the next 5 years or 10 or 20. I set goals now on very short specific terms. For example, today I want to wake up at 6am and talk to God. Today, I shall attempt not to make Mum upset. Today, I shall finish work by end day and not think about work. Today, I shall not spend more than 10 bucks. Today, I shall remember to appreciate my boyfriend. Today, I shall exercise. I take care of today Today and let tomorrow take care of itself.

While setting goals for the next 5 years may be useful for you to get ahead in life, I find that for most people are disillusioned with what they perceive will make them happy. In my most depressing moments, though I was earning well and my goals was well on track, there were times when I felt I was just an empty vessel or a plane on autopilot. Why stressed out on the next 5 years when you don’t even know if you’ll be here tomorrow?

Don’t get me wrong. I still want to get wealthy or rich. Having surplus income is honestly nice, getting the latest fancy bag do give me delight occasionally but I won’t sell my soul for it. I started Jeny’s Closet precisely because I want to create surplus income but I don’t do that at the expense of time with my family or friends. If I don’t feel like managing the blog for the day, I don’t do it. If I rather read than write a post, I’ll read. It is not the be all end all. Ultimately, freedom of choice is what I am after. Eventually, if it surpasses my expectations to replace a full time income, great. If it doesn’t and turns out a flop, I will still enjoy the journey to get there anyhow.

Take care of today and tomorrow will take care of itself.

J.



Earn your first dollar online here.
Jeny's Closet Opening Soon!

 
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