10 Ways to Grow Your Home Business
May 1, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Home based business owners who fail to plan often fall victim to their own success. Either they burn out trying to juggle everything themselves or they spend so much time and money hiring people to help them that their profits go down the drain.Fortunately, there are some ways to take your home based business to new heights without sacrificing your business’s profitability or losing your peace of mind. Follow these 10 steps to grow your home based business into the personal and professional success it was meant to be:
1. Focus on a single product or service, and then market it, sell it, promote it, do everything you can to increase sales of that one product or service. While it’s tempting to swing for the fences and try to be all things to all people, it’s often less risky and more profitable to pick a product or two that you can execute really well and just try to get on base.
2. Expand your product line to offer complementary products or services. Once you’ve hit on a product or service that customers really like, don’t miss the opportunity to bring out related items to diversify your product line. Not only does that give your customers a wider selection, but it also makes your products more appealing to retailers who typically like to stock a line of products as opposed to a single item.
3. Find ways to increase sales to your existing customers. It’s a lot cheaper than finding new ones. Even if you can’t expand your product line, you can boost revenues by selling more of your existing product or service to the clients you already have. One easy way to do this is through volume discounts. Especially if your products cost little to produce, offering your customers the chance to buy, say, two T-shirts for the price of one lets you ring up additional sales without sacrificing much profit. Another common practice is to reward loyal customers by giving them a punch card that entitles them to a free product or service for every 10 items they buy. This technique is common at hair salons, car washes and arts-and-crafts stores, but home based businesses can use it, too.
4. Hire someone to help you out-an employee, a freelancer, an intern, an independent contractor, even your kids. Not only does this free up cash flow by adjusting your expenses to the level of work you bring in, but it also enables you to cultivate a large network of talented people you probably couldn’t afford to hire full time.
5. Create a Web site to advertise your company or sell products online. Thanks to the Internet, it’s no longer necessary to open a store to reach retail customers. For marketers of specialty products like rare books, collectibles and gourmet foods, a Web-based boutique lets you reach millions of shoppers around the world without paying for rent, utilities or garbage collection.
And while creating Web sites once required a big investment and the skills of an experienced Web designer or programmer, do-it-yourself Web sites are now available for less than $30 a month with no technical knowledge required. Typically, the companies that help you register your domain name (Web address) will provide online templates you can use to build your site, host your Web pages on their server and provide you with multiple e-mail addresses as well. E-commerce capabilities can often be had for an additional charge. You can also set up low-cost Web sites through Web hosting companies and search engines.
6. Join forces with another business to promote your company. Partnering with a company in a related industry is one of the cheapest and easiest forms of marketing that you can employ. If you make spa products, for example, you may be able to convince a local health club to carry them in its store by offering a discount to its members. Likewise, you can send a free, one-day health club pass to anybody who buys your lotions and scrubs.
7. Target other markets. If you sell to teens, start marketing to college students. If you sell to working moms, maybe your product will work for stay-at-home moms with a few modifications. Another strategy is to take a retail-oriented product or service and sell it wholesale. For example, a home based catering business that specializes in cakes, pies and other tasty desserts can contact local bakeries to sell its goods on a wholesale basis. While the price you get from the bakeries will be lower (because the bakeries need to mark it up to their customers to make a profit), you’ll sell more products and generate consistent cash flow that you can bank on.
8. Find new and different ways to market your business through e-mail newsletters or by doing guest-speaking gigs or by teaching a class. Marketing your home based business doesn’t need to involve spending big money on newspaper ads, Yellow Pages listings, or TV or radio spots. Grassroots marketing techniques cost far less and are often much more effective. Most chambers of commerce and community groups are more than happy to provide a forum to a local business owner who’s willing to share his expertise at no charge. Sending out a weekly newsletter is also a great way to get your name out in front of new and potential clients. Thanks to the Internet, you can send out your newsletter via e-mail using online templates and automated delivery systems.
9. Expand to another location. That could mean renting “virtual” office space in a business center or by sharing office space with another growing business. Brad Taylor, a CPA in Springfield, New Jersey, spends most of his time at home preparing tax returns, developing tax-planning strategies and revising his clients’ QuickBooks files. But when he needs to come to New York City for a meeting, he sometimes rents space at a Manhattan business center operated by HQ Global, a national provider of temporary office space.
For a monthly fee or a la cart, business centers like these offer everything from conference rooms and receptionist services to remote-access voicemail, high-speed Internet connectivity and tech support, offering home based business owners as much or as little outside office services as they need. Taylor pays just $10 an hour to use the space and is able to bill the cost to his client. “While I still want to run my business from home, this has allowed me to pursue new opportunities and network with other professionals,” Taylor says.
10. Think about turning your business into a franchise or business opportunity. While most homebased businesses remain small, yours may have the potential to hit the big time through franchising, licensing or wholesale distribution. The key question to ask yourself is if your business can be converted into a business format that somebody else could operate (a franchise) or if you have a standardized product or service that someone could resell multiple times (a business opportunity). While you may think that expanding your business requires raising capital, hiring employees, buying equipment and leasing office or warehouse space, it’s often more profitable-and less risky-to license your product to a big corporation with manufacturing capabilities and an existing sales force to do the work for you.
10 Best Work at Home Business Startups
May 1, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
The internet has become a world of almost unlimited opportunity for those who are looking for ways to make an extra income. With all the problems that have arisen from the economic downturn and increased costs of living, more and more people are opting to “work at home” so that they can supplement the income from their day-jobs. Work-at-home jobs also allow people to make money in such a way that it does not mean that they have to compromise with the time that they spend with their families. This is because most internet based home businesses allow great “flexibility” when it comes to time. In fact; many people today actually prefer full-time work-at-home options to a “nine-five” job.
Listed below are the top-ten most common work-at-home jobs today (In no particular order of course);
Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is probably the most popular of the work-at-home options available today. Freelance writing is also the most “flexible” of the work-at-home options available today. To be a freelance writer all the skills/knowledge you really need is the ability to write well and a good command of the English language. Start up costs for most freelance-writing jobs are practically none – all you need is a fairly good computer and a reliable internet connection.
For more information on writing careers, visit the following sites;
Consulting
If you’re a professional in a specific field, why not consider starting your own consulting-services practice at home? Today, experts from several professional fields have chosen to provide their own consulting services. Such professionals range from medical professionals to legal and business professionals. You’d be surprised at how much people are willing to pay for what is essentially good advice. This is a flexible career choice that can be run entirely from the comfort of your home. Start-up costs would depend on the type of consulting services that you plan to provide. Although your business can be set-up at home, you will need a full-office set-up as well as software and other such materials related to your line of work.
Internet Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is when an individual undertakes the task of promoting a business for either a percentage in sales profits, or a fixed amount for each “lead” that is generated. According to a study published in Wikipedia; total sales generated through affiliate networks in 2006 was ?2.16 billion in the UK alone! Millions of businesses out there are ready to rely on affiliate programs that will help them to effectively market their products.
Today, internet-based affiliate marketing is a hugely popular option for most people who wish to work at home. Provided you do it right, this can be quite a lucrative venture. For more information on affiliate marketing and the best affiliate programs online, try visiting;
Secretarial Services
If you’ve got a good command of the English language and good writing abilities, why not consider starting a secretarial services business? This small business can be started on a very low capital and can be run entirely from your home. All you really need to “start-up” an “online secretarial services” business is a computer, printer, phone, ream of paper and a set of business cards. You don’t even need a high end computer; all you need is one that will be able to carry out basic word-processing tasks. Your printer need not be fancy either; one that will simply allow you to get all your documents and business cards printed will do. This type of “online secretarial services business” is one that offers all the services that are offered by regular secretarial service businesses – except for the fact that all the services are provided online.
Customer Services
Thanks to the advancement of technology, today it’s possible for you to log in to a company’s system from the comfort of your own home. This is what makes it possible for many companies today to hire remote customer service agents.
Graphic Design
Graphic designing plays an important part in the business world – particularly in advertising. Even the representation of a company using logos, colors and text is an aspect of graphic design. The entertainment industry makes use of a graphic designer’s expertise when it comes to creative aspects such as visual storytelling, decoration and scenery. Other areas that find a use for graphic design in the entertainment industry include novels, comic books, magazines, blogs and programs and props that are used on-stage.
A graphic designer has the advantage of having a wide range of businesses or industries to choose from. These industries or businesses include, but are not limited to;
· The Advertising industry
· The Magazine publication industry
· Product packaging industry
· Web designing industry
Thanks to the internet, graphic designers today can offer their services online.
Web Design
If you’ve got knowledge of web design and computer languages such as HTML, CSS and PHP, you can consider working at home as a web designer. This can be a very lucrative venture – if you’re good enough at what at what you do. You may work for a specific company, or you may choose to freelance as a web designer.
Teaching
Today a surprisingly large number of parents are opting to get their children home schooled. This also provides qualified teachers an opportunity to work at home – thanks to the internet. It’s not only home-schooling students that you can teach however. For instance; if you’re qualified to teach English, you may also teach adults who wish to learn English as a second language. You may choose to work independently or register with a company that will get you “in touch” with clients.
Notary Signing Agent
If you’re looking for a work-at-home opportunity, do a little research online and find out if a notary signing business is right for you. Did you know that you can make a significantly good income with a notary signing business? After just a single course of training, a notary signing agent can actually earn up to $50 to $125 per transaction.
A notary public or notary signing agent is an individual who obtains and notarizes legal documents. Thus a notary signing agent has to be knowledgeable in the procedures involved in the presentation and authorization of legal documents. A notary signing agent is also known as a loan signing agent, mortgage loan closer or closing agent. To train as a notary signing agent, all you have to do is go through a notary agent training course available in your region. And if you want to be a notary signing agent you have to be prepared to invest in training yourself to be one. For more information on notary signing agents, try visiting the following sites;
Word Processing
Do you want a small business opportunity that will allow you to make a sizeable income without taking up too much capital, or too much of your time? If you’re a good writer and if you’ve got a good command of the English language, why not consider starting a word processing business?
A word processing business is probably the easiest one to start, what’s more; its low maintenance too! This business is also one that can be run on a very low capital. All you need to start up the business is a good computer, a printer and a reliable internet connection. Your computer and printer need not be “high end” either. A basic computer that can carry out word processing tasks and a “letter quality” printer that can churn out clearly printed documents will do just fine.
The internet and easy payment schemes such as pay-pal have considerably increased the potential for work-at-home jobs. The internet has also become an extremely indispensable entity in most households today. This means that the internet has also become an invaluable marketing tool which most business will want to make use of. This in turn means that the internet holds great potential for those who wish to make an extra income. In fact, some people actually opt to run internet-based home businesses – full time.
