Whipped Vanilla Butter was submitted by a reader in South Africa who wanted to create a product that would resemble the properties of shea butter. When you visit  MakeYourCosmetics.com, it's easy to buy the ingredients you need by clicking on our Selected Supplier links:

Essential Wholesale: pure essential oils, over 200 cosmetic bases, hundreds of carrier/fixed oils such as meadowfoam, cranberry, jojoba and shea butter plus a new Short Run Private Labeling Program!

Bramble Berry, Inc.: over 105 different fragrance and essential oils (including their exclusive "Energy" and "Relaxing"), all soap tested, soap molds and unscented soap bases!

This Week's Question: To help taxpapers calculate the amount of 2003 deductions they can take for use of part of a home as a business, the IRS has produced a publication that included information on appropriate deductions for everything from off the shelf computer software to the value of snacks given to children in an in-home daycare facility to whether use of a home for a business or trade qualifies the user for a tax deduction. To win this week, state the number and name of this valuable publication.

One day, a wise person somewhere coined the phrase, "knowledge is power." I read it recently in an email message I received from someone inviting me to a seminar on some topic that I can't even remember. But just seeing the phrase started me to thinking about whether knowledge really IS power, and if not, what combined with knowledge can be used to create power. If you think knowledge is power, you're only partially correct.

In order for knowledge to be powerful, it must be acted upon in an appropriate fashion. Knowledge in and of itself is of little value if it is not acted upon in a profitable way. From this, I have concluded that Knowledge + Appropriate Action = Power. For example, I may know that I can minimize my chances of getting osteoporosis by doing weight bearing exercises, but that knowledge lends me no power unless I get off my duff and pick up a weight -- but not just any weight. I have to pick up a weight that is appropriate for my size and age. I may know how to make soap but unless I buy some ingredients and actually make some soap, or unless I teach someone else how to make soap, I empower neither myself nor anyone else.

Do you know that you have a plan for a dynamite business? Are you secure in the knowledge that your ideas are solid and do-able? If so, that's great! But if you have this knowledge, and then do nothing with or about it, what good is it? Maybe you haven't even gotten that far. Perhaps all you know is that you want to be in business for yourself, but you don't know where to start. If this describes you, here are 3 things you can do TODAY to translate your Knowledge into the kind of Appropriate Action that gets results.

1. Write Down What You Want To Gain By Being In Business. Include everything you can think of that motivates you. Getting out of debt, freedom, flexibility, fun, independence, paying off an automobile, entrepreneurship, etc. Be as specific as possible. Once you have your list, select the 3 things from the list that motivate you most and write them down on a separate sheet of paper. Write in large print, taking up the top half of the sheet of paper. This will be your Master Paper.

2. On A Clean Sheet Of Paper, Write Down The Things You Like To Do Most. Flying kites, playing games with children, knitting, braiding hair, belly dancing, making soap, giving dating advice, exercising, etc. Again, be specific. So instead of "exercising," write down the precise kinds of exercise you enjoy doing. Instead of "dating advice," write down that you like helping divorced people find mates and good "blended family" matches. Don't leave anything out. Once you have a list, return to the Master Paper and split the bottom half of it into two even columns. On the left column, write down the 7 things you like to do most.

3. On The Right Side Of The Master Paper, Write Down 3 of the 7 Things You Like To Do Most, That Also Seem To Present Commercial Opportunities. For example, if exercise made your Final 7 List, perhaps there are opportunities for you to start a business teaching exercise in your area. To find this out, check with local health spas and community centers to see if they have a need for instructors with your capabilities. Perhaps a certification is required, in which case you would take steps to obtain one if possible. Or perhaps you like braiding hair. Two women in my neighborhood have booming home-based businesses braiding hair, especially in the summertime when busy parents prefer to let their daughters go swimming when their hair is braided to avoid the hassle of having to re-braid it every morning before summer camp starts. Write down the 3 things that seem to present the most promising commercial opportunities given your circumstances and goals..

Following these 3 simple steps have moved you from, "I know I want to start my own business" to "Here are 3 business opportunities to investigate in my area." Armed with these 3 possibilities, you can move in a specific direction, namely investigating whether there is a need in the market for your idea, and whether you have what it takes to fill that need. Once you get to this point, you have performed a valuable calculation, translating knowledge into power for yourself.

Knowledge + Appropriate Action = Power. Put your knowledge into action today, and move yourself that much closer to having the life you've always wanted!

Visit our suite of Web sites serving the handmade toiletries industry:

HandmadeBeauty.com: the leading industry trade organization
MangoButter.com: 450+ suppliers of raw materials and packaging, updated weekly!
MakeYourCosmetics.com: ingredient encyclopedia & original cosmetics recipes
DonnaMaria.com: sound advice for your small business, Create The Life You Love™