But it's not working?

I have been a full-time WAHM for 1 1/2 yrs now, 3 yrs total as a WAH/SAHM, 10 yrs on and off in direct sales. The most common thing I hear from WAHMs who can't seem to get their business off the ground is "but it's not working." I have to ask, why is it not working? What have you done? When you say you are working your business, what does that mean?
Write down what you have done. List everything including who you have told. You will end up seeing you aren't doing as much as you thought. It could be poor ad writing. You ad should be exciting, informative, leaves them wanting more. Should have a call to action - Hurry! Limited time! 1 day left! Don't miss out! Your ad should not be over written with big words or too long. Your reader will become bored.

Advertising in the wrong areas (ex. advertising beef jerky on a vean site). You can't very well sell a product if you aren't selling it to people who need it. Know your market.
Nobody knows about your business. You sent out an email to everyone you know about your business but did anyone read it? Follow up. Hold a contest. Invite guests to an open house where you have the chance to talk to your customers one on one.

Your are not showing how excited you are. Have you ever come across a cashier or waitress that was less than pleasant? Did that make you want to return? How about a home party where the consultant was dull and not very exciting. Did you buy anything? If you aren't excited, you can't expect your customer to be excited.

Maybe people are turned off when they ask for one thing and you don't give it to them. Nothing is worse than a consultant or representative who is not willing to work with you but expects you to buy from them. If you can't give what they ask, offer options. Never leave a bad taste with your customer.

Someone asks for a brochure, are you handing them one? Or are you pushing them off for a week because you are out? Are you sending them to a website instead because "you don't have catalogs?" Being out of catalogs or brochures are fine but make sure if you send them to a website, you are not brushing them off. Let them know you gave your last one away and you have more coming. In the meantime you have a website they can look over until the catalog or brochure arrives. Never tell them you don't have any and they have to look at a website. They don't have to look at anything and usually won't when you tell them to.

They are looking for a new company and ask for a sample. Are you willing to give them one? If not, why? Invest in samples if your company offers them. Maybe you can find a better what to spend $25 but that $25 on samples today and turn into $100 in orders later. Never leave a customer empty handed no matter the reason for no samples. Give them something even if just a piece of paper with your info and make sure you get theirs. Follow up with any customer who you give samples to. Be ready and willing to answer questions. Make them remember it was you who gave them samples.

You have told everyone about your business and are sure they know it's you with the new candles. Now telling everyone about your business is the first step but it's far from the final step. People know about it but now they need a reason to buy. Have you given them one? Just telling someone about your business doesn't make them buy. In the same turn today may be no but tomorrow may be yes. Everything takes work. There is no such thing as a WAHM business where you can pay the bills without getting out there and working. Building locally is easier than building online but you have to work your business. It can happen but YOU need to make it happen. So you ask, now what?

As I have said before tell everyone about your business. They don't know if you don't tell. Put your business link into your email signature. Make sure when you add your link, add http:// before your website. Example http://www.yourwebsite.com This makes your link live and clickable. If it's clickable, people are more likely to click on it and see what you offer.
Next, find others who need what you offer. Find message boards related to your market. If your market is woman, find message boards related to mothers, wahms, sahm, career moms, women, etc.

Here is a few to start with. http://www.momsbuyingfrommoms.com (introduce yourself and give my name Olivia as your referral)
http://thecinnamonhollow.com/smf/index.php
http://www.mommiesonline.proboards67.com/index.cgi
http://mysticalessence.proboards59.com/index.cgi

Next look for groups dedicated to to your market. Yahoo! and MSN are filled with these groups.
Join Profile sites such as cafemom.com and joiningmoms.com. While MySpace is great for friends and such, it's lousy for making money. Does that mean don't advertise there? Absolutely not just be realistic about your expectations.

Buy ad space. Look for websites that are related to what you offer. Ad space can be as little as $1 per month to $25 per month. Join banner exchanges. Get your business in rotation. If you don't have banners to promote your business, make one or have one made for you. These are relatively inexpensive.

Join traffic exchanges. Get your name out there. Know the traffic exchange you join as some are filled with nothing more than get rich schemes.
Here are a few that are great to join:
http://www.thecinnamonhollow.biz?r=57978
http://wahm-trade.com?r=58332
http://www.shoppingwithmoms.com/?r=59068
http://www.moms-directory.com?r=58035
http://thewahmtrader.com?r=58019

Write blogs about your products/service, how to use them, tips and tricks, about business, etc.
Hold an online party. These are very simple and a great way to get your name out there. These are generally held with several at once and you reserve 30 minute time slots to present your product/service. These run anywhere from $1- $5 and upwards for special dates such as Christmas. You can also reserve rooms for longer periods to present during an exlusive party.
Here are a couple party rooms to try:http://www.freewebs.com/shopatlivs/partyroom.htmhttp://www.freewebs.com/partyatelenas/partyroom.htm
Have you submitted your website to search engines? While that thought sounds expensive, you can submit your site for free! It just takes a little searching. Here are ones I use regularly.
http://www.google.com/addurl
https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit
http://www.scrubtheweb.com/addurl.html
http://www.exactseek.com/add.html
http://www.domainsdomino.com/ses/
http://www.addme.com/submission.htm

These are only a few ways to get off and running. Just remember you need to get out there and network and show people they need you. If one thing doesn't work, try something else until it does. Your business will only build and thrive based on your hard work and is nobody's repsonsibility but yours. Do your research, seek out new and creative ways to get your name and business out there. Don't hide. The more you hide, the less you are seen. Make yourself known. Nothing is easy but it does get easier.

While I am by no means an expert, I have been through the ups and downs of building a home business and continue to build even now. It never ends no matter what steps you have taken. You need to give your business time every day even if only 30 minutes. You only get what you give. If you only have 10 minutes a week, what return do you expect to get back?
There is no excuse in sucess but failure is full of them. The only things holding you back are what you are not willing to do for your business. Don't give up after the first no. The 11th try may be your yes.

Now get out there and work!