Rubbingnickels.com loves it when a Mom starts a business at home. We hope our Cottage Industry guests will inspire all of you to get something started and help bringing in the bacon. There are always challenges, but the feeling of contributing towards your family’s financial health is empowering.

This week, we chatted online with Teri Schulist, who started a business at home called School-Pak, Inc. It has been a Woman/Mom-owned business in Milwaukee, WI since 1991. You can visit her website and check out her goodies at www.schoolpak.com. This is a great service and can keep you from spending that dreaded day in August, taking the tour of Target, Walmart, Aaron Brothers and Office Depot to get all the darn supplies your kids need.

Tell us about your business: Schoolpak takes the teachers’ supply lists and packages all the items for moms and dads, saving them multiple trips to stores looking for hard-to-find items.

Why did you start this business? I was shopping for our son’s school supplies and found so many parents having the same frustrations I had. I felt that families could do better things at the end of summer instead of getting stressed out.

What is your background? I was a shift supervisor for patient registration at a major Milwaukee hospital.

What skills did you need to acquire for your new endeavor? Mainly accounting and purchasing. I had no experience with either. I learned how to forecast products, lead times for delivery, how to keep track of it all, pay bills, report taxes, just about everything about running a business without ever having done it before.

Biggest challenges? Finding enough time to get it all done. My husband was in charge of sales and production. It was difficult dealing with manufacturers when we were so small. We were kind of ignored.

What have you learned and advice to others: Go for it. While it’s stressful at some times of the year (paying bills!) the freedom to make decisions and change an industry can’t be measured. My husband and I are 24/7 in the business and in our private lives and having a great time. Since we’re together all day, our evening conversations very seldom have to deal with work. When one of us falls into that, the other just says, “blah, blah, blah, blah”. We then move on to home life.

Thanks, Teri and good luck with your Cottage Industry!

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it, about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

Here is an excerpt from an interview we did with our friend Lori Krolik, who has a Northern California-based business called More Time For You. Rubbingnickels.com is looking for home-based business owners to share their business start-up experiences. Please contact us from our home page if you have a story you’d like to share. We hope you learn from and enjoy her story.

Tell us about your business:

I’m a professional organizer and time management consultant. I provide de-cluttering assistance to individuals and small businesses. I also help clients set up organization systems personalized to their needs including all rooms of the house (office, kitchen, garage, closets, kids’ rooms, etc.), office organization and paper management.

Why did you start this business?

I had a passion for organization and I liked having the ability to help others. I also wanted to do something that would allow me flexibility while raising my kids.

What is your background?

Before starting my own business I was a CPA having worked for a large public accounting firm and also in the real estate industry.

Read the rest of this entry »

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it, about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

Save 15% When You Spend $75 or More.
Use Promo Code 19377.

Everyone has financial goals: A new dress, college tuition, a new computer, car repairs, a kitchen remodel, a vacation, and ultimately, retirement. Some of these goals you hope to achieve in the next six months, some in six years or more. Below is a link to a Financial Goals Worksheet. This worksheet will help you organize and prioritize these goals into short-term, medium-term and long-term goals. It should be reviewed every six to nine months and adjusted as necessary.

Financial Goals Worksheet

Once you have your budget and your financial goals outlined, Rubbing Nickels will help you determine areas to reduce spending and provide ideas for generating income to enable you to achieve your financial goals. For example, if you spend $50 less on food each week, by eating at home and/or packing your own lunch, you will have $2,400 more at year end for that new computer AND car repairs!

Keep visiting rubbingnickels.com and we will help you make those goals a reality. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it, about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

When the daffodils pop up in my neighborhood, I often get spring fever for home improvement projects. This year, like many Americans, I don’t have extra cash to pay for large projects around the house and I’ve sworn off using my credit cards for anything but emergencies. That means it’s time to get creative with some small projects that make a big impact. Here are some ideas for four easy projects that can each be done for under $50. Read the rest of this entry »

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it, about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

Coming Soon.

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it, about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

Considering that women, on average, control 80% of household spending, now is as good a time as any to really get your arms around where your money comes from and where it goes. We may all have a basic idea, but you will be very surprised at how quickly certain items add up to become a significant drain on your assets.

The thought of preparing a budget may appear very daunting. But by breaking the process down into steps and categories, this very important task will prove manageable.

Step 1: Gather financial statements
To get started, you need to first determine if your income and expense information is online somewhere, such as a Quicken spreadsheet. If it is, your task will be much easier. If it is not, like so many of us, you must gather your financial statements. This includes paychecks, bank statements, and bills. The spreadsheet below will help remind you of the many possible statements to collect. Just remember, the more thorough you are now in providing honest and detailed information, the easier it will be to assess where you can “trim the fat” to achieve your financial goals.

Step 2: Complete Budget Worksheet
Below are two different worksheets. The first is an annual budget broken out month by month in an Excel Spreadsheet. The second is an aggregate worksheet in a word document that you can fill out and print. You will be surprised at how simple and eye-opening this step will be.

Annual Budget Worksheet
Budget Worksheet

Step 3: Categorize expenses as fixed or variable
The hardest part is already done (except for possibly changing your spending habits . Now, you must separate your expenses into fixed and variable expenses. Fixed expenses stay relatively the same from month to month (such as a mortgage or car payment). This does not mean that these expenses are off-limits for possible reduction, such as switching cable providers or refinancing a mortgage. However, the variable expenses do change from month to month. Thus, this category provides an excellent opportunity for “cutting back.”

Step 4: Monitor Budget
It would be silly to have gone to all this work preparing your budget to just to file it away. Instead, it will be very important to review your budget on a regular basis to make sure you are staying on track. Try to collect receipts for cash purchases during each month so that you have a more accurate accounting of your actual expenses. Each month, set aside some time to compare the actual expenses versus what you had estimated in your budget. This will show you where you did well and where you may need to improve.

Step 5: Visit rubbingnickels.com for Money-saving and Income-Producing Tips
This is why we are here. To help you make those adjustments to your expenses and help you increase your “bottom-line.” You never know: Your cutting back, might actually help you move forward and attain those financial goals sooner than you thought.

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it, about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.