Working at Home on the Internet » Featured Home Business’

Featured Home Business… Authentic Haven Brand

Joe Hauckes — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 10:51:56 +0000

Annie Haven’s family owned farm in Southern California has been has been supplying composted manure to local farmers and home gardeners since 1924. She has taken the “green” way since she was a little girl on that farm and has taken the business to the internet to help suburban and urban growers with her ‘Moo Poo Tea” line of products.

Here then is a little more about Authentic Haven Brand and Annie Haven’s way to help us all stay a little greener…

Authentic Haven Brand

Southern California- Woman Rancher Annie Haven, turns the by-product of her grass fed livestock into manure tea bags for the container, patio, balcony and home gardener. Now this might appear steeped in novelty, but when it comes to brewing up business, the woman knows what she’s talking about.

“I didn’t just look at my cows and say I’m going to sell manure,” Haven said. I took a product we were selling and packaged it for a whole new niche market.

Just to be real clear: You don’t drink my manure teas. You condition the soil so indoor and outdoor plants and garden will flourish. She makes her teabags larger so you won’t confuse them with the potable kind. But you brew it in a jar just like you would sun tea.

Authentic Haven Brand tea bags have become a hit among ecology-minded home gardeners, with more than 5,000 disciples on Twitter, according to the Orange County Register. They’re also generating constant comment for the packaging, even if Haven says that isn’t what’s driving consumers and retailers.

Manure tea is not a gimmick ,” she said it’s a source of natural nutrients your plants need to build strong root base systems. “It’s the ease of use” that makes them popular among gardeners. And knowing they are purchasing an all natural nutrient product source for their indoor and outdoor gardens.

There is no smell. No hauling of the unedited stuff required. And plants receive a direct blast of nutrients at the roots, according to Haven. Pre-brewed won’t work, she explained, because the nutrients dissipate too quickly. Haven said the goods emerge from grass-eating cattle that are drug- hormone and pesticide free. Haven, won’t reveal her process for distilling the teabag-ready stuff, but assures that it’s by “environmental design.”

Moo Poo Tea

The price starts at $12.95 for three teabags of cow or horse “soil conditioner” and is positively Lipton-like when you realize that you can brew five gallons per bag. That’s a lot of watering, given that most of her customers tend to foliage in a small space.

Since Haven began selling the teabags online, she estimated that her income has increased by better than a third each year. Development of her once-rural surroundings shrank the number of farmers she once supplied. Fewer farmers and growers required her services, however those vary fields once conditioned by Authentic Haven Brand, were developed into housing tracts and Authentic Haven Brand once again found it had a market, she now sells to the very people who occupy the built-up spaces and the world wide web has afforded her the opportunity to expand her market share.

Therein lies Haven’s lesson for small-business owners: Meet a need with the resources you have and the conditions you live in.

“I’ve grown the business as the business has demanded growth,” she said. “Sales built the product, the product built the website.”

So far, the rancher has avoided critical missteps. Said Haven: “I know this baby from the ground up.”

If you would like to have your Home Business Featured on WAHI, check out the Rules for Inclusion, then just use the Contact Form to Submit Your Home Business.

And in case you are wondering, there are no strings attached. No unauthorized advertisements, linking, e-mail, spamming or anything underhanded at all. These are NOT Paid Endorsements. This is purely my attempt to help any Home Business Entrepreneur (including me) in any way I can through cooperative exposure.

Restarting the Featured Home Business Page This Coming Monday!

Joe Hauckes — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 11:29:19 +0000

Long, long ago in the annals of Working at Home on the Internet, we had a fairly successful run of Featured Home Businesses. Frankly it’s been way too long. So, this coming Monday will mark the restart of the Featured Home Business project to help other Home Business owners promote their businesses.

Everyone is invited to participate.

You can be a Full Time Home Business Owner, Part-Time Work at Homer, or a Tele-Commuter. Anyone who Works from Home, on the Internet or in the Field and has access to a Computer can participate.

You can submit an article using the Contact page, for your Work at Home Company, whatever pertinent business information and links to pages you would like to be reviewed for inclusion. If they are accepted, they will be posted as a Featured Home Business and included on the Featured Home Business Page.

Rules for Inclusion:

1. Write and submit an article to me using the Contact Form.

2. The article/business information must be original, not just a link to your site or promotion.

3. You may include any links to your site (excluding affiliate links) and various pages. ie. about, contact, articles, posts.

4. No Spam, Splogs or Spages. Anything that can be considered Spam will not be considered and ignored.

All submissions will be reviewed by me for content and relativity to Working at Home and Home Business. Any Company from a Well Established Business looking to expand to a Start-up wanting Free Exposure will be considered. All Honest business people are Welcome.

But, SPAM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

Use the Contact Form to Submit Your Home Business for Inclusion.

And in case you are wondering, there are no strings attached. No unauthorized advertisements, linking, e-mail, spamming or anything underhanded at all. These are NOT Paid Endorsements. This is purely my attempt to help any Home Business Entrepreneur (including me) in any way I can through cooperative exposure.

Is It Time to Kickstart the Featured Home Business Page? [poll]

Joe Hauckes — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:52:15 +0000

Let’s take a little trip in the Way Back Machine to January 2007.

That’s when we started the Featured Home Business Page on WAHI. There were quite a few small business owners that took advantage of the (limited) exposure to their endeavours to highlight their business and let people know what they were all about.

That was a little over three years ago and although it never really ended, there has not been anyone else added since September 2008. I think it may be time to remedy that, but I’ll leave it up to you.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

You can see the original introduction post here or just take a gander at the Featured Home Business page to get an idea of what it’s all about.

Let me know what you think because I am really thinking about kickstarting this at the beginning of April.

Introducing… Cataluna Designs!

Brooke Long — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:56:27 +0000

Finally! After weeks of being mysterious – the new business is finally launched!

Cataluña Designs by Brooke and Angie!

My friend (Angie) and I are making unique hair pieces and jewelry for little girls. We have a web site up and a store at www.etsy.com. (www.etsy.com/shop/catalunadesigns) The whole thing is very exciting and we are having a great time. We have told all of our friends and relatives and we are headed to our first networking event on Wednesday. I just can’t believe it!

At this time orders are great – but so are referrals and honest feedback.

We have been thinking about different ways to market our site – and so far we are thinking internet. Etsy.com, Ebay, Craig’s List, Amazon, Linked In…what else? Are these good ideas? Should we do them all? Should we start a blog? Personally I am thinking networking is the best way – but we REALLY want some opinions (be nice) about this.

Thanks for your time and help! Wish us luck!

Brooke has been a part of the WAHI family since March 2009 writing articles for the WAHM Wisdom section. She has had her own business since 1997, – Cataluña – web sites redesigned from scratch. She also creates web sites, e-newsletters, blogs, e-commerce sites etc. as well as print collateral including logos.

Featured Home Business… Xira Internet Design

Joe Hauckes — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:41:03 +0000

Debra has been in the Graphic Design business since 1994, starting out in New York and ending up in her new home in Israel. Last year she started Xira, Internet Design for People to be a Work at Home Mom.

So, let me introduce Debra Shapira, Mom and Graphic Designer. Here is her story…

Empowerment isn’t what you thought it was.

Being a product of the 1970’s, my career choice was clear, “Whatever I want to be”. Nothing could stop me but myself. Skin color, religion and gender were no longer issues. (Thank you feminists, Martin Luther King, and others that battled for those equalities.)
Feminists fought hard for the rights of every woman to be equal to a man in the work place, meaning working like a man. In hi-tech, and many other corporate companies, that means a 10 or more hour day, starting as early as 8:00am and finishing as late as 10:00pm. And like most, I was frequently at the office working, when I should have been in bed.

It wasn’t long until I decided the New York City life wasn’t for me. Being a designer, NY technically was ideal for my career. But I wanted a place where work wasn’t the only thing of importance in my life. I wanted a career, but was also getting the urge to settle down. There had to be a place where there was a balance.

At the age of 27 I moved overseas to Israel. Israel’s founding fathers were socialists. They believed in working hard, but not living for work. Quality of life and importance of family was crucial to them, and therefore put family priority into law.

Work days are legally eight hours, and any work over that time should be paid as over time. Women are given 3 month maternity leave and 75% of their salary. When maternity leave ends, women return to work with a seven month shortened work day of seven hours. The first year the returning mother is given double sick days, so she can tend to her baby during that critical time when babies are developing their immunity. If a woman returns to work after giving birth, and within eight months finds continuing her prior position is not working out, she can quit and receive all the benefits of unemployment and compensation.

Upon arrival, I was immensely impressed with the Israeli approach to family in general. Everyone seemed to live close to mom and dad. Brothers, sisters, and parents call each other at least twice a week, if not more. It’s normal to have dinner with your family on the weekends. There was no question, family values preceded work here.

I found employment immediately at a mid-sized hi-tech company designing websites. At this job, and all others I have held in Israel, there were never disagreements about leaving early or missing work for weddings, births, deaths or holiday preparations. People are very supportive, even though these events happen frequently. Despite working 10 hours or more per day, it was clear to me that Israeli companies would be supportive and flexible once I started a family.

The laws are laws, but reality is another story. For one, hi-tech companies avoid paying over time by contracting employees under a “global salary”. No matter how much you work, same pay. Employers don’t hide the fact that you’ll work more hours, not less.

When it comes to babies, a a mother you find you miss work and/or leave early about once a week. This is why many Israelis live down the street from their parents, cheap reliable assistance. But what if you don’t have Grandma around? It isn’t long before your employer starts getting frustrated from the absences. Many mothers fill in hours by working from home and at night, that is if you have a lenient boss and position. I found other mothers have a spouse with a very flexible work schedule. Last option is paying for a nanny when no one else can help, if you have the money.

Unfortunately for me, I did not have any of these options. After three months back at work, I was cursing my new role as a mother because it was ruining my career. I went online to find out why “everyone” seemed to get back to work, except me. It was then that I discovered that 30% of all new mothers stop working, or change their career within the first year. None of those 1970’s feminists had prepared me for that!

It became clear to me that any salary position would have the same kinds of time requirements. The only way to take care of my child and make my boss happy was to be the boss. My husband and I put together a plan, and a target date. Within a year, I was going to freelance from home. I could still put in my 10 hour days, but around my child’s needs.

It was a difficult decision, and a scary one at that. We understood that it would take approximately a full year until I’d make enough money. But being therefore my child was worth having a few less items in our closet.

About four months after I started freelancing, we visited my family in New York. My sister is a very successful business woman working in Manhattan and living in Long Island. She has two kids and a nanny. Her husband has a flexible work schedule, so when she has to stay late he can rearrange his day. She is living the “American Dream” and doing it as a successful working mother.

During our visit she took a day off to be with us and her kids. Her older son, age 2, was going down for his nap and wanted his favorite blanket. My sister looked confused. “Blanket? He has a favorite blanket?” she choked. The nanny yelled from the kitchen, while feeding the baby, “His blanket is in the play room. It’s blue.” My husband and I just looked at each other without saying a word. We thought the same thing. We were very happy with our risky decision.

Almost a year has passed since venturing out as a freelancer, and I have started making the same amount of money as I used too. People keep referring me, and past clients keep coming back. I am giving better service than I was able to provide working as a salary designer. Not only is the middle man gone, but my hours are any time my son doesn’t need me. A request sent at 5:00pm is usually addressed by the time my client opens his email the next morning.

If you ask me what I do today, I will proudly tell you that I am a mother and mention that I also am a freelance designer. Turning into a mother isn’t the end of your career, the opposite. Motherhood initiates self-empowerment and resourcefulness, exactly what one needs to get ahead in any situation. Perhaps that is the lesson our civil rights and feminist activists were pushing for back in the 70’s. “Given the chance, the sky is the limit.”

If you have the need for a really talented Graphic Designer, stop on over and give Debra a shout at Xira Internet Design for People.

And in case you are wondering, there are no strings attached. No unauthorized advertisements, linking, e-mail, spamming or anything underhanded at all. These are NOT Paid Endorsements. This is purely my attempt to help any Home Business Entrepreneur (including me) in any way I can through cooperative exposure.