Home Business

Having a home-based business is a kind of double-edged sword. Surely, there are the usual the perks of having financial independence and great flexibility. Having no bosses to please and office politics to contend with is something that many people appreciate. However, establishing a home-based business is challenging and can result in failure without having certain skills and attitudes. Here are some things to keep in mind before jumping into the fray:

1. Establish a business plan.

Business plans are to entrepreneurs as navigational tools are to ship captains. They provide a sense of direction and serves as a roadmap in achieving certain goals and milestones. While it is certainly possible to employ a trial and error approach, this can be costly and more likely to fall flat. Business plans, while they may not guarantee success, can alleviate some of the risks of starting a business or help entrepreneurs prepare for certain inevitable occurrences.

2. Have a realistic mindset.

There’s nothing wrong with aiming high when starting a home-based business. As a matter of fact, ambition is a key component of success. However, having unrealistic expectations can sometimes cause people to make bad decisions. When starting a home-based business, it is usually better to start small and then expand in the future as opposed to spending too much for a start-up that has an unproven chance of success.

3. Failing does not necessarily mean outright failure.

New and experienced business owners are bound to encounter heartaches and disappointments along the way. Learning to treat failures as learning experiences is usually what separates successful people from the rest of the pack.

Thomas Edison, before being renowned as a prolific inventor, had to go through countless failures in his career. Instead of treating his flopped creations as a discouragement, Edison merely retorted that he had simply discovered ‘a thousand things that don’t work’.

4. Learn to balance passion with financial considerations.

New entrepreneurs are often adviced to start a business related to something they are passionate about. There is nothing wrong with considering one’s hobbies when starting a business, but the problem with that approach is that it sometimes blinds people from other businesses that are potentially more profitable and fulfilling. Home-based entrepreneurs must learn to keep an open mind to succeed.

Anyone can start a work from home business, but success can only come to those who have the right mindset and expectations.

The combination of technological advances and strong commerce infrastructres today have created diverse business opportunities that can be operated from home. The Internet, in particular, has made it possible for individuals to start home-based businesses that can reach the global marketplace. One good example is information marketing, which is considered by some as the most profitable online venture today.

Information marketing is the business of selling informational products such as e-books, audiobooks, e-zines/e-newsletters, webinars, online classes, and/or special reports that are sometimes called ‘white papers’. Getting into the information business is fairly cheap and can be started by almost anyone. In this business, it is more important to possess some knowledge of a particular subject than to have big start-up funds. There are countless people today who are willing to pour in their money to obtain certain types of information.

When targeted properly, even simple information can be highly profitable. Not only can informational products be created and re-sold for very little overhead, they can also be a source of residual income. In other words, a product will continue to make money for as long as it is on the market. The key to success is to spot ‘niche markets’, which are tight-knit sub-groups within an umbrella market. For instance, within the college population, there are niches such as athletes, musicians, fashionistas, and math majors.

How to Get Started:

1. Decide which niche to target. It is much easier and profitable to have a small but tight customer base with highly similar needs as opposed to having a wide audience with scattered interests.

2. Purchase some basic equipment. Having a computer and a PDF software is a must. However, some people may also need to buy web cameras or audio recording software to create their products.

3. Create a product. Today’s multimedia tools have made it easier for home-based entrepreneurs to produce their material. The real work lies in creating value for the product and in establishing one’s expertise on a subject. Doing this may require some research and/or interviews with proven experts.

4. Sell the product. This can be done either by creating a website or selling through online megastores like Amazon or Ebay. The latter is ideal for those with limited technical expertise in designing websites.

Information marketing is a great way to make money and is perfect for people who love to share their knowledge to others.

A work at home business can be one of the best decisions of your life!

The internet has provided the world with unlimited abilities to shop internationally, to communicate globally and to explore beyond our forefathers’ wildest dreams. Anybody anywhere can access information in ways inconceivable in the past. The current technology even allows us to explore beyond our earthly plane into space. We truly live in a remarkable age.

On a more personal level, the internet also allows people to create their own working environment, even creating their own employment. Marketing and selling online is at an all-time high as individuals explore opportunities to make money from home on the internet. There are many different ways to successfully generate income online. Here are a few:

• Selling On eBay — eBay has become one of the largest marketplaces on the internet. It has also spread out to the physical marketplace with ancillary services like shipping products and storage facilities. The opportunities and options on eBay are endless. Virtually everything and anything can be found on eBay.

Everything can be sold on eBay including, but not limited to, jewelry, furniture, houses, cars, coins, postage stamps, collectibles of every kind, movies, music and even businesses. While eBay does take some time to research in order to get the best results, after a comprehensive tour of the site and reading everything you can, eBay can easily supplement or replace the income from a regular job. With a credit card or bank account as backup, a person can generate income easily within 24 hours.

• Craigslist — Craigslist is another online community marketplace. It has pages for every state in the union as well as many countries. The biggest difference between eBay and Craigslist is the fees. Craigslist has none and eBay has several different kinds depending on what you’re selling, how long you list it for, how much you’re asking and how much you get for the item. The other difference is distance. Craigslist is designed for local transactions.

• Writing — Website owners and bloggers need text for their sites, blogs and businesses. They don’t always have the time, desire or skills to write their own text. There are some sites that connect authors with clients. A person who likes writing and has even a modicum of writing skills can derive at least a supplementary income by writing. If those skills are substantial, an author can even sell his or her books, poetry or information online.

A work from home business can help you supplement your current income or even replace your income.

If you are looking for information on how to get started with a work from home job, you have either decided to start your own business or your employer has changed your schedule so that you can work from home. Being able to work from home takes a lot of self-discipline and major organization skills to be effective.

You have to have a space in your home that is devoted solely for working. It could be a spare room or another space that has a desk and a computer with Internet access. You will need to be able to work without interruptions. Being able to concentrate is often one of the things people overlook when they are planning to work from home. You would be surprised at how many people really dont know how to make money online. Which is understandable, especially if you have no background of the work from home industry.

Being able to work at home is a rewarding way to make money and deal with family life at the same time. Sometimes it is hard to find the discipline when you first get started with a work from home position. It’s important to set a schedule in order to be able to meet deadlines and get all of your work done. Lacking a routine is the biggest mistake people make when working at home.

Successful people who work from home will have a set time to work even if they never get dressed for the day. You have to be able to set aside time that is devoted for work only. You can still have the freedom to schedule personal time into your day, but a routine is a must whether it is during the day or at night. You might find that you get more work done during the day while your kids are at school, or maybe you are a better worker at night after they have already gone to bed.

If you are wanting to get started working at home with your current job, you will need to present ideas to your current employer that will show that you can be just as productive while working from home. Employers have found that when someone is able to work from home, they are even more productive than they were in the office. This is one of the incredible upsides to having an internet home business.

Not being able to socialize in an office setting is one of the biggest reasons people are more productive while working at home. If you do all or most of your work from a computer, you might be able to work something out with your employer so you can start to work from home. Make sure your employer knows that he will be saving the company the money by allowing you to take your current position to a work at home position and it will free up office space and make additional equipment available for someone else in the company to use.

If you have lost your job, you can find a position that will allow you to work from home on a freelance basis. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection to get started. Once you get the hang of being able to work from home, you may become spoiled and never want to go back to a 9 to 5 job again. The freedom you will have is worth it as long as you stay organized and stick to a regular work schedule.

Tried and True Marketing Techniques

The following sections describe some traditional and low-cost marketing techniques available to home businesses. You probably won’t want to use all of them, but almost any business can benefit from some variation of these types of marketing.

Display Advertising This is advertising that is displayed, usually in a newspaper, magazine, phone book, and so on. (Website ads are discussed in the next section.) If you are a retail organization, display advertising needs to be part of your marketing plan. If you are not a retail business, however, display advertising might just be an expensive exercise in frustration and expense. So, before you hire a graphic artist and start calling for ad kits,

• Do your homework, and do it well. Display advertising really needs to be researched thoroughly if you are going to do it at all. Which venue? Your local newspaper or the national magazine? (There’s a huge difference in price, believe me.) Can you handle the response if the ad works as projected? Will you get inappropriate calls? What is your break-even point? How many clients or how much business will you need in order to make more than the cost of the ad? Can you handle that much work?

• Understand why you want the ad. Display ads might be a prudent move for other reasons than a direct line to potential customers. If it is important that you or your company be well-established (for example, a building contractor), it might be a good idea to invest in display ads. The impression that your company can spend the money for a large display ad, repeatedly, can make a customer choose to do business with you because he knows that you didn’t just arrive in the community yesterday. Also, many of these ads appear in nonprofit venues, such as theater programs and school sports calendars. So, you might be placing the advertisement more as a way to show community support. It’s a great way to build what’s known as “goodwill,” but you might not see a direct return in dollars and cents in the near future.

• For a service business, display ads might backfire. Let’s say that you need a good mechanic. Which would you rather use: Your friend’s recommendation or someone from an ad? That’s right; you’re going to go with your friend’s recommendation if at all possible. So if you’re the mechanic, and you’ve placed a display ad, who is going to call? People who can’t reach their friends in time, are new to the community, or don’t like their friends’ answers. In other words, clients who are more likely to be both desperate and a bit picky (or downright difficult). It’s a great way to reach people new to the community (or perhaps new to having the need you’re addressing, such as folks who just purchased a used car). But you will also have to screen prospective clients more closely, and the percentage of callers who just aren’t a good fit will be higher. (You can mitigate this by choosing your venue carefully – perhaps a display ad in the Welcome Wagon package targets the newcomers you want, while avoiding less desirable customers.)

Job Hopper, Loyal Employee, or Savvy Business Owner?

Many people need to change jobs at least once every two to three years. If they do not, their salary usually stagnates, while the salaries of their job-hopping peers increase substantially. Often, the job market values job hoppers and penalizes loyal employees. Too many people have found themselves, after 10 years or more with one employer, cast adrift. Whether the reason was downsizing, office politics, or something else, it makes little difference. Job hunting then becomes extremely difficult, as a long-term employee frequently appears to be “branded” with his former employer’s name, as if he were company property.

If the former long-term employee is more than 35 years old, prospects are generally even worse, thanks to society’s ingrained ageism.Yet, if that same person launches his or her own business, what was once viewed as “baggage” is now considered wisdom and experience.

Calculating the Costs and Risks of Work At Home Business Self-Employment

Before you give notice, however, it is important to realize that you are taking on a whole new set of risks when you launch your own business. And along with those risks comes a set of costs your employer currently subsidizes or pays outright. Anyone who is considering starting a home business has to stop and weigh these costs and risks in order to understand the challenges he or she is facing.

This risk and cost assessment shouldn’t discourage you from striking out on your own; but it should prepare you for the road ahead. View this information as part of your decision-making tool kit as you consider leaving your current employment and starting your own business.

Setting Up Business, Calendaring, and Contact Management Records

First, you’ll want to keep an electronic copy of your business plan. Remember, as your business grows and changes, you will be updating this regularly. Review this weekly at first, as your business starts, then monthly. After the first one to two months, reviewing your business plan every three to six months is a good idea.

You’ll also want to maintain an electronic calendar. There are many excellent calendaring programs, and they are usually combined with a contact database. (Lotus makes Lotus Organizer, which might come with your IBM PC. ACT! is also a popular calendar/contact management software.) The calendar has several purposes. Primarily, double booking people is a big no-no (but you already knew that).

Equally important, however, is that your calendar will help you budget your time. If you see that you already have several “To-Do’s” on a given day, you should not schedule a lengthy meeting. Get in the habit of putting anything that needs to be done on your calendar. Don’t forget to block out time for personal commitments, such as special family outings, doctor’s appointments, and school functions.

You should also build and maintain a contact database, holding your clients’ names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and so on. Contact databases have several purposes as well. Primarily, the most important phone numbers and addresses are right where you need them – at your fingertips.

Second, you will be able to send out mass mailings directed toward a particular group – that is, rospects who never became clients; clients from this year who should receive a holiday gift; clients who also gave referrals; all contacts who are attorneys (for a mailing aimed directly at attorneys); and so on. Programs with preset fields include ACT! and Entourage. For more freedom and flexibility, try database programs, such as FileMaker Pro or Access.

You can incorporate a phone log in to your contact manager, or, if you prefer, create a spreadsheet.
Your phone log should be updated every time you pick up the phone to make or receive a call, as well as every time you receive a voicemail message.

Note that you will record the date and time of each call, its length in minutes, who you spoke to, the company, the phone number, and the message or (if you actually spoke to a live person) what you talked about. (You might not want to repeat all these details if your contact manager is up-to-date, but be sure that the person’s name and company name is covered regardless.) The numbers next to “minutes” and “hours” are the actual amount of time spent on the phone, to date. Gathering this information will help you gauge how much phone time is required for various projects.

The column heading “VMS” is a place for you to indicate the nature of the phone exchange – was the call incoming or outgoing? Were you talking to someone or leaving a message on her voicemail? This log serves several purposes. Primarily, you will have an automatic memory aid as to when you spoke to someone, what you promised or said, and what you have discussed with whom. Should you be involved in any dispute, this log will also help you document facts related to that dispute.

You also should have an electronic inventory of all of your writing, designs, marketing plans, ideas, or any other creative property. If copyright issues are involved, this work database will also serve as the information source regarding what you have licensed to whom and when. This database will vary, based on the kind of work you do.

Work At Home need list

- Computer with spreadsheet and/or database programs installed (or spreadsheet paper and notebook, if working manually)
- Calendar
- Contact manager or rolodex (however you will keep track of customers)

Important Electronic Records

In most instances, your contact management records, calendar, and business expense and income records will be maintained electronically – usually on your computer. These records are the heart and soul of your business. Years from the time each entry is first recorded, they will continue to provide important information to you about how to make basic business decisions, where and how to grow, and what markets to target. Five years from now, you might see a pattern that shows February is a slow month – always.

That is good to know because you can make plans to accommodate that trend. You might notice which clients have provided a lot of steady income, which have been one-hit wonders, and which have been sporadic yet highly profitable. You might also notice that, in five years, your revenue (income before expenses) has tripled. That’s a great way of telling others how well your business is doing.

In fact, these records provide important information to third parties as well. If you should ever choose to sell your business, these vital records document the value of your venture. Should you ever be audited, the IRS could seek financial records from you – and go back as far as you have owned your business, if they feel it is justified.

On a more positive note, should you decide to seek a loan, it is absolutely necessary to provide the financial history of the business. And, should you choose to sell your business, you will need to maintain the records that provide so much value. In most instances, we talk about these records as if they are all kept separately in separate software files. Can you combine some of these records in prepackaged software? Sure. Just be sure that any piece of software works well for you and provides you with all the information you need and want to run your business. Don’t try to fit your needs in to the software – rather, the software should allow you to customize it to fit your needs. Use software on a 30-day trial basis if you are uncertain whether it is the right tool for you.

Please read our other post on opening online home business preparation that we will post later on today!

Stating How Your Business Will Interact with and Retain Customers

You already know when your prospective customer most wants your services. How will he learn of you at the right time? If he wants to surf, and you offer lessons, will he receive a flyer as he arrives on the boardwalk? Will he hear your ad on the radio as he drives to or lays on the beach?

And how will you respond to customer contact? How will you work with them and follow up on their interest? What information will you provide over the phone? Do you send customers a brochure or price list? You should plan for a clear exchange of information, so your customers know how you will provide the services offered.

Describing Pricing Structure and Rates

I will talk more about pricing in the other sections of this website. But for now, be aware that you should know the going rate for the services you provide. If you are providing services to customers in more than one geographic area, be sure that you know the going rate for each location. Then, in this section of the business plan, you’ll need to list and describe the pricing structure you intend to use for your business and the going rate for similar businesses in your market.

I now hope you have a better understanding of how to create a home business marketing plan that will further help you achieve greater results and better understanding if you ever decide to work from home!

4. You can get wealthy by operating a home business, but you do not have to be wealthy already.

How much startup money you need depends on your acceptable risk level, the other resources you have available to you, and the type of business you start. Later, you will form your draft business plan – and the budget that goes with it. Because home businesses vary widely, so too do the funds required to start one. Most home businesses require the savings of at least two to six months of living expenses. Additional funding sources are available, too, for small-business startups, particularly if you are in a Redevelopment Zone.

Redevelopment Zones and Enterprise Zones are undeveloped or povertystricken areas the government is hoping to improve. The government will provide you with loans or other assistance in exchange for you establishing a business there. Other criteria are also sometimes required, such as hiring local help. Check with your local (city or county) government for more information about these zones in your area.

For possible funding sources beyond your local bank, check with your local Small Business Administration office (or go online at www.sba.gov). Enterprise Zones can be found by contacting your state or local government offices.

5. Results count. Paper gets recycled.

Learning comes in many, many forms. Experience in the real world, trying something new, independent reading and study, travel, volunteering, raising kids, and many other activities all offer opportunities for learning valuable skills. Don’t get me wrong – college degrees are very valuable. But running your own business is a highly pragmatic endeavor. For someone who holds any type of formal academic
diploma, the actual degree is usually not as important as what you have learned to get it.

In some professions, licensing is required, often in a process that includes coursework, experience, and a college degree. But if you are considering being an accountant, for example, you should already be aware of the requirements and possess any licensing you need. If you are in a field in which licensing is key, and you don’t have it, you might want to wait (or consider a line of business in which licensing is not required).

And if you have not had the opportunity to obtain a college degree, don’t sweat it. Did you know that Bill Gates dropped out of college? Dave Thomas, who started the Wendy’s fast food chain, never made it to high school. Some studies have shown that college graduates earn more, but these studies have,
overwhelmingly, focused on people who are employees, not business owners.

Work From Home Business To do list

- Determine whether you’re financially and psychologically ready to start a home business.

- Examine your skills in self-discipline, organization, and perseverance.

- Explore your abilities in customer-relations, creative thinking, and leadership.

- Think about your interest in ongoing professional growth and development.

- Determine where and how you can achieve improvements in your home business-readiness.