About Us

 Hello and welcome to my site!

My name is Parthena Black and I am a "Multi-preneur."  My heart and soul are invested in my writing, creating my polymer clay one of a kind sculptures and original polymer clay and wire wrapped jewelry. I just entered the second half of my life and realized that it is time to create a bulletproof plan for creating the solid income that allows me to follow my bliss and enjoy the rest of my life. I'm investing my time into my Jafra business and art design, but I wanted a backup that can kind of take care of itself when I'm not there.  Traffic exchanges helped me accomplish that by providing opportunities I would not have heard about otherwise.

I actually found affiliate marketing a few years ago, when I was an editor at Bellaonline.com.  I've earned around $150 in Amazon.com gift certificates over the years. I love affiliate marketing because it gives me the opporunity to sell a wide variety of amazing merchandise and not have to worry abut the shipping and postage. My intention was to have this site consist of only affiliate programs but I've also found some good business opportunities.  They worked their way into these pages.

 I am realistically focusing on my Jafra business and artistic pursuits.  In the process of networking with other female entrepreneurs, building websites and spending a lot of time on the internet, I've seen thousands of "work at home" opportunities.  Some seem to be ridiculous "get rich quick" schemes. When I began using traffic exchanges and viewed hundreds of sites, I've learned not to shun those tacky ads. A great opportunity might be hiding behind them. I clicked on some that looked interesting and found that many of them market legitimate, useful products with possible income potential. 

My intention for this site is to share those that I have either personally used or feel are worth checking into. I also want to provide a break from the sometimes monotonous procession of advertisements.

If I make a few bucks, great. I'll also be very happy if you find something that changes your life.  If you do, I'd love to hear from you!

Some Personal Background

About seven years ago, I was a state employee working in the area of child protective services.  A work study was done on our agency and the results determined that we were 500 workers short across the state, Oklahoma. The working conditions were less than desirable.  I was fortunate to have a wonderful, supportive supervisor and county director, but they were not directly responsible for making changes. The people handing down the protocol and policy had either never performed the job or had not done it in twenty years. Our caseloads were very close to double of what policy specified.  At any given time I had around 100 children and 30 parents to maintain regular contact with in the twenty or so actual business days each month, resulting in ten to fourteen hour days on salary with no overtime.  An audit was done that determined that we did not need clerical staff and a large number of those positions were eliminated, leaving us to do our own filing and correspondence.  My youngest son was around fourteen at the time and thankfully, his high school sweetheart's parents were available to keep an eye on him after school while I was working. They also became dear friends of mine.

In 2001, my son's girlfriend's father was on his way to do his daily three mile run at the lake and had a sudden heart attack.  He left this world at the age of 57.  We were all devastated, and this was a very loud wakeup call.  You see, in the five years or so prior to this, I had seen a number of people who should have been able to retire and enjoy life die at a young age.  The loudest message was watching my favorite aunt, who had worked hard at "the phone company" since she was a teenager and advanced to the top in the company that we now all know as AT&T brought down by progressive multiple sclerosis within six months of her retirement. She and my uncle had one of the happiest marriages in history and had so many plans.  She was able to achieve her dream of visiting the Holy Land but spent the last six months of her life totally dependent and passed away within three years.

I watched a wonderful, healthy, athletic, beautiful, vibrant young woman with whom I'd gone to college and worked with at Child Welfare suddenly become anorexic and nearly die.  Another worker did die of an eating disorder.  Another died at age 46 from COPD caused by the use of smoking as a stress reliever. Several others ended up being admitted to mental health centers. One worker had a "meltdown" on the job and ripped a heavy steel door right off the hinges. The turnover rate was off the charts. I saw one worker leave after only one week on the job.  If a worker made it through his or her first year, we gave them a party.  I had been there for five years when I lost my dear friend.  I received my little certificate and tiny commemorative pin on the day I resigned.  An important factor in my decision to leave a "secure" job was that I had worked hard to earn my professional degree while also raising three sons single-handedly and was living in a mobile home and driving a Ford Escort, living paycheck to paycheck while I was making more money than I'd ever dreamed, which was only around a thousand dollars over what is deemed to be the poverty level. Within one year of starting that job, I developed high blood pressure, clinical depression and fibromyalgia followed by the inevitable heart attack during the fifth year. When my dear friend died, I also realized that other people were raising my son while I was fighting a losing battle to protect the state's children.

Oklahoma state employee salaries are around fourth from the bottom nationwide while Oklahoma state legislators' salaries are among the highest. Oklahoma judges were recently the only state employees to receive a raise. In addition to these economical issues, I live in a state where "good 'ol boy" politics prevail and success often depends upon who you know. 

I am currently making an absurdly low salary that is not commensurate with my years of experience and a professional Master's Degree in a small company that is still changing.  The older I get, the less I want to deal with office politics and the like. Life is just too short, and I've learned that enjoying it and spending our time with those who are most important to us is something we should all be allowed to do. Your essence, your creativity, your uniqueness should be shared with the world and bring you an income.  Work should not feel like work.  I wish you all the best for your success.