My Homebased Business

 Truck Trail, the road to my house!

I have been working on my Bonanza booths this past week. Updating the listings I have there with new templates and making changes on my return policy, shipping policy and other information. I sold a few things recently on eBay and that was a big help to me as I needed some cash.

I never tire of living in the forest! 

The difference I see from Bonanza and eBay is that on Bonanza, I feel like I am in charge of my own store. On eBay I feel like I am walking on eggshells, and they are in charge of my auctions. I had an eBay store at one time and I liked it fine, but once my sales dried up, I could never get them back again. So I sell a few things there every now and then. It makes me appreciate my own websites so much more!

 Morning sunlight streaming in!

Bonanza though, is a nice change from the other places. I am going to try to buy things I need from other Bonanza sellers. If everyone did that, we would be generating sales for each other. I have had sales from other sellers, but most of my sales have come from Google searches.

 The end of the forest in sight.....

My other booth on Bonanza is where I sell our guitar strings. I will be updating there also. It doesn't hurt to try to get sales on many different sites.  Combined with my guitar strings sales on String Baby and Larry Gene Music, we should do well with them. Lupe Shop is my new site and is up and working. But I am working on the products and trying to specialize it more. It is nice to work from home on the computer, but it is still work. I work more hours than I would if I had a job. I don't mind though, in fact, I love it!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole
All Photographs Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole
 

Bonanza Sales Will Build My Little Red Pony's Box Stall!

Today is the start of the last week of 2010. I plan on making the best of it. Yesterday we had the anticipation of waiting for a blizzard that other areas of the northeast were getting. We got the wind and with the temperature of 10 degrees, I am sure the wind chill factor was in minus digits. But we survived it. I prayed all night that my horses were okay in it. Especially with Tawny standing out in the middle of the paddock by herself. And the other two must have been in the barn. She really needs her own stall. So I am working on raising the money for the wood to make the stall inside the barn. I am sure the other two will be VERY jealous.  But they are the ones keeping her out, which they didn't usually do until the last few months. Of course, it could be the bad ruts in the path that she doesn't want to walk in. Horses are VERY careful of their legs and feet and will do what is best for themselves on their own.

I am increasing my items in katlupe's Booth, which is where I sell used books and other items on Bonanza. Since I started working on it more, I see my traffic has indeed increased. All the proceeds from this booth, with the exception of the ones from the guitar strings, will go to the care of my horses. The wood won't cost much since I can get it from the sawmill. In NY you can't use rough cut wood on your house but you can use it on buildings for livestock. It is so funny about that law because rough cut is bigger and sturdier, not planed. But it is considered not safe enough for a house. What does that tell you about the people who made that law? Making you buy planed wood to make more money for the big lumber manufacturers is what I think. I love rough cut the best and use it when I can.

Anyway, I am going to use all the money I make from Bonanza to go toward building a box stall for Tawny. In the future, my husband will build a third one, but for the most part, Dark Shadow will not want to be separated from Georgie Girl. Even if she would be in the next stall, but she'd get used to it. I think we would only put them in stalls when there is a need for it. I like to give them free choice. When the paddock is wet though, if they were kept inside in their box stalls it would never develop ruts to begin with. So there would be no problem. Georgie kicks Dark Shadow and Tawny out when she gets her night hay in the barn. So regardless of the weather they have to leave. This way, they would be in their own nice, safe, dry box stall.

I have been having lots of fun making handpicked lists on Bonanza. I have made three if you would care to view them. One is called "Homesteading Journey" and is a list of homesteading tools. The next one is called "I Love Cats" and is cat items for sale all over Bonanza. I love that list it so cool! Check it out. The last one is called "Less Than A Dollar" and is all items that cost less than a dollar of course. But the shipping is extra so the total is not less than a dollar. Couldn't find any items that cheap that had no shipping. I will be making more of these lists because I had so much fun putting it together. You also get to see other sellers' items and stores while doing it. Gives me ideas.

Hope you all had a good holiday and are looking forward to the new year. I am. I have lots of plans for the upcoming year and can't wait for it to get started.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2020

Running Your Own Business From Home

Photo Source: Jon Sullivan

I have written on here before about my business of selling used books online at Bonanza. In my post, Selling On Bonanzle, I told you all about it. The last few weeks I have been busy accumulating more books to sell. I love books and more times than not, I look at the book as I am listing it and end up reading it. The other night I read a book all the way through because I could not stand to list it and have someone buy before I finished it. I pick up these books at used book stores, thrift shops, garage sales, freecycle,craigslist, anywhere I can find them.

You may not think it is worth the effort. But every little penny counts in this day and age. Bonanza was originally called Bonanzle and they changed their name recently. It takes some getting used to. After having basically sold mostly on eBay in the past years, this site is a welcome change. For one thing, the other sellers are helpful and are not rude to you if you ask a question. The discussion boards on eBay can get VERY nasty at times! Anyway, I am not writing this to compare the two sites or to convince you to sell on either one. I want to share my ideas to make a living from home.

I have listed many of my own books, deciding it is time to rid myself of too many books among other items. Many times I have held onto something out of sentimental value. They are just things. So onto my quest of living the good..........but, simple life! I am thinking about taking the guitar strings out of the Bonanza booth and opening a booth just for them. It would be easier. The nice thing about Bonanza is that you can do that. Doesn't cost you any more money!

Of course, this is mainly a side line for me. Selling guitar strings on my two main sites is really my business. I have had one of the sites up since 2002 selling my husband's music CD. On that site, Larry Gene Music, I also sell my eBooks, but the guitar strings are the main thing. I tried other things, but this is now my niche. I have another site that is only about guitar strings and that is String Baby. All these little ways to make money, add up to what is called, "many streams of income". I am sure you have heard that mentioned online before. That is the way you can work at home and not have all your eggs in one basket.

My sales have been slow, but I have started getting more. My bill at Bonanza is not killing me like it did at eBay and at Amazon. So I can list my books and let them sit until they sell. I will keep listing as I know, the more you list the more you sell. That is the the golden rule of selling online. So leave me a comment if you work from home. I am interested in home based businesses, and if you have many streams of income too. Many times you may not even know you are doing that. But if you are gaining income from more than one source, that is exactly what you are doing! Time to network together!

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole unless otherwise stated.

Making A Home Based Business Work

Rain clouds passing through my world.

I have been busy working this week on adding items for sale to my Bonanza booth. Did you remember I was selling on Bonanzle? Here is the post I wrote about it, Selling On Bonanzle. Well, they have officially changed their name to Bonanza. Things are happening there and I can feel the excitement! The sales have been slow coming, but they are coming. I just had one last night for a book I had just listed. One thing I learned from selling in my eBay store, was that the more you list, the more sales you get. That is what got me motivated to start listing this week. The sky's the limit.........but you limit yourself if you don't do anything.

katlupe's booth

One of the first things you must do if you want to have a home based business is to set up your business right from the start. That means with all the proper business licenses, state and federal tax filings, business bank account, payment module for your website if you are selling online, business plan, marketing plan, business goals, business calendar and a proper place for your inventory. It can be mind boggling, but is all important to the operation, of even the smallest home based business.

Working from home enables me to spend the time through out the day working on the websites while I am also doing chores around our homestead. Today being a rainy day, means I probably won't be outside, so working in my kitchen a bit this morning. I take a break and sit at the computer, and then get back to whatever job I was doing online. It is nice to be able to work on two things at once. I like to have my evenings free to read aloud to my husband, something we do nightly.

Sometimes you need to take a look at how you can improve your financial state. See if there is some way you can add more income to your home. Selling off things you already own is a good way to get rid of your excess of years of accumulating. Or if you are talented in some area, like sewing, knitting, crocheting, wood work, art work, etc. then you can make your own items to sell. The actual web work is fun after you know what you are doing. You can take online courses for computers and web design, or take them at a local community college. Or as my husband did, teach yourself by buying computer books and work as you learn.

You can often work with your spouse as a partner and that makes it even more fun. I like looking for items to sell as that means we usually take a ride to an antique, book or thrift shops and go out to breakfast. That makes a nice day for us as a couple and also gets us away from home and the computer work for a day. I love listing the items on my sites and try to make them user friendly to my customers. It is work, but is working for yourself, not having someone else telling you what to do. And that makes a big difference! Is there something you are thinking of selling? Is there a homebased business inside of your head? It doesn't cost anything to list on Bonanza until you sell. It doesn't cost anything to open your booth there. And it is so easy to do. The sky is the limit! But don't limit yourself by not doing anything. 

Have a great week-end!

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Self Sufficiency Includes Your Job Or Business

A few miles away from us is this farm with an awesome barn!

I am writing a short post this morning because I am up very early with my husband having coffee and he is viewing videos about making generators, and I am listing more books on my favorite site, Bonanzle. The idea on this site is for everyone that sells there to also buy there. Makes sense to buy from the same people who buy from you. I look through their booths and find their prices to be excellent there depending on what you are searching for. I guess I always like to do things that are not ordinary. So most people sell on eBay or Amazon and I choose a site like Bonazle. Course, I love that name!

Having to make money on the computer is core to my homestead. As I posted yesterday, my physical problems are affecting me very much so this is the ONLY way I can have an income. I am selling books on Bonanzle and guitar strings on my websites. It is not real easy to do this and get sales. You have to keep promoting it and marketing constantly. I love working on the computer or why would I also be writing four blogs and trying to work on two books also! Crazy, I am sure comes to mind.

If you can work from home, order your supplies online and grow a garden and can your own food...........then life can be so much nicer as you are supplying most of your own needs. Most times you have to travel to and from the job, then do what someone else tells you and then run to a store and pick up something for supper. Have you ever walked all over a store trying to decide what to buy for supper? You feel like hitting your head against the meat counter! What can you buy that is quick, because you don't feel spending your whole evening in the kitchen preparing a meal that takes a lot of time. Then cleaning up, after the 15 minutes it took your family to consume it.

Working at home means you can leisurely prepare a nice meal over a whole afternoon. While in between you are back and forth at the computer listing more products, or writing another article, or working on your website. So many things are done at home in the same period you are working on generating your income. No more rush, rush. And if you get sick or hurt a leg or something, you are at home and can nurse yourself back and still be earning your income.

If you work at home what helped you make that choice? Was it from necessity? Or was it something else? What do you find is your favorite reason for staying home to earn your income? I am really interested in your opinion of this subject. I get tired of people who think if you work at home you do not work. Or that you are not earning a living and are always trying to tell you about a job they know about. Usually they are in worse shape financially than I am! I am not rich by no means, but I can pay my bills and buy what I need, and that is all I need or ask the Lord for.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

katlupe's Bonanzle List Of Book Sellers!

Driving through the state forest to my house!

Remember this is Friday and that means New Friend Friday! If you don't know what that means.....then click this box and get in the groove with all the other bloggers in the "know". Make new friends and visit other blogs, and please be sure to leave quality comments not spam or links to inappropriate sites (You KNOW what I mean!). It is for fun and for meeting new friends. So join us:

Bonanzle is a new site where you can list your products for sale. I love it even though my sales haven't really taken off yet. I figure it is summer and give it time. Mostly my products are my used books. I am only selling them because I have a lot of them. I explored Bonanzle's forum, and unlike eBay's discussion boards........the Bonanzle sellers are REALLY nice and helpful. They even............share their information with the other sellers. It was rare on eBay to see that happening.

Since I sell books I thought I would give some other booksellers a plug on this blog of mine. Here are some interesting ones I have found:

1. Jennifer's Series Books - She sells juvenile series books like Nancy Drew, Beveraly Gray, Trixie Belden, The Outdoor Girls and Judy Bolton and many, many more!

2. Pacesetter Eclectica - Her books are for collectors too. She has a big variety of books that you may be searching for. I saw a book or two in her booth that I had read eons ago. Take a peek!

3. Joangranite's Stuffed Closet - I viewed her books just yesterday! She had a variety of books about famous people or written by famous people.

4. Qwack! - She doesn't have a huge inventory of books but I bet if she gets more sales her inventory will increase. Low prices and some good choices. Maybe you'll see something to strike your fancy!

5. Autumn's Emporium - Autumn's selection of books is divided into categories. I set the link to go to the cookbooks but she has nonfiction and fiction available also. Goodness! She also has Needlework Pattern Books available! Be sure to check her out! Her prices are excellent.

6. Candisbooks' Booth - Candi has the book store I love to go to! Her selection is varied and her prices are excellent! Be sure to visit her store if you are book shopping this week-end!

7. Mahane Yehuda Books and Collectibles - A good variety of books with fair prices. Lots of good Jewish literature and topics. Take a peek!

8. Overbooked - She has a big variety of novels. Lots of historical which is what I like to read myself. And futuristic, fantasy and science fiction and many other kinds too. Her prices are really good. Go check her shop out right now!

9. Bookbin Etc. - Bookbin Etc. is a variety of what I term collector's books or books that may be hard to find. Maybe she has something you are looking for!

10. Little Roses - She has some awesome cookbooks! Just the kind my friends on Homesteading Today love! I hope you won't buy them all up before I have a chance to share her link with them. LOL

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Selling On Bonanzle

I have been uncluttering my house lately. A couple of months ago I took some boxes of stuff to my local thrift store. Now I was wishing I could sell some of the things I have as money is getting tight. I feel we are living in a very bad depression and I can use every penny I can make now. So here I am with tons of books and things that I normally would have sold on eBay. But I cannot afford eBay anymore. Once it changed it was never fun again.

So I found this new place called Bonanzle. I had received a newsletter on Saturday from WebProNews that told that it was eBay's competition and that it had just been funded by Venture Captial and was on it's way. So I went to their site to check it out. I tried to register for a new account and it said my user name and email address was already taken. So I tried to login and sure enough.........I was already a member! Plus, I had two packages of guitar strings already listed. I further checked and found I had joined in March of 2009 and came back two days later and never again after that. Wow! Now what was up with that?? Why would I have done that?

Saturday, yesterday and today, I have been listing more guitar strings and used books I have for sale. I think I could do well on this. I did on eBay but after awhile they started protecting buyers and trying to hurt the sellers. I think they never realized that the SELLERS are the reason the buyers came there to begin with. Buyers can do what they want over there and treat the sellers pretty badly and they think the seller has no choice but to take it. Reminds me of the public school systems! LOL

Bonanzle lets you list for free and you only have a fee after the sale and it is the final value fee. I think it is a lot lower than eBay's fees. Not real familar with the fees yet. I just know that I am listing items for sale and have no fees as of yet. Since it is cheaper, I find I can offer my books for less money than if I had higher fees. If you are thinking of selling somewhere you may want to check them out.

Their discussion boards are not full of whiners and complainers like eBay has. I cannot tolerate whiners and complainers! It is one thing I do not like about people as the internet seem to be full of them. Don't whine and complain..........instead change it. Do something about it to make a difference so you don't need to complain or whine.

The way the prices have gone up not only in the grocery stores, but gas, kerosene and just everything in general, makes you have to take control of your situation. For me that means having many streams of income coming in from a variety of sources so I am not dependent on one thing. Then if that fails, I have others that are still going strong. Everyone should do that, including and especially, people dependent on jobs and government checks.

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen G. Lupole