Posts Tagged ‘home based business’

Thanks to the Internet (and a still faltering economy) more people than ever before are working from home and hundreds of new home businesses spring up around the globe every day. Unfortunately about 80% of them fail within the first few years. Most of the time when a home business fails it is because the person running it just was not cut out for the unique demands and challenges that have to be faced by home business owners.

If you are considering starting a home business do not let the statistics put you off, but make sure that you answer these questions  - the four W’s – to get off to the best possible start.

WHO – Who are you doing this for exactly? Are you truly committed to the idea of running a home business that enriches and empowers you or are you simply doing it because your bank balance is looking a little sad? If you are not sure who you are doing this for, you will have a very difficult time maintaining the motivation to achieve the level of success you desire.

WHAT – Do you have a clear idea of what you hope to achieve by starting a home business? Do you want to be able to quit the 9 to 5 rat race and support yourself with the profits from your home based endeavors? Or are you simply looking for enough extra income to have the ability to buy some of those big ticket items you can’t quite afford right now? Once you figure out what you are hoping to achieve you can set goals accordingly.

WHERE – As in where to start. There are hundreds of different work at home opportunities, some good, some great and unfortunately some are outright scams. Take the time to actually study what is being offered. How much is it going to cost you? Is it a one off, monthly or yearly cost? What is the actual product or service that you are receiving, and is there something else out there that may better serve your needs. Can you come up with some better ideas of your own?

WHEN – Knowing when the right time is to officially launch your new home business is essential too. Before you have that website go live have you double checked it for grammar errors, pages that don’t load or badly worded content? Do you have the proper systems in place to ensure that you can ship products to your customers in a secure and efficient manner ? Do you even have a good payment system in place? Do not open for business until you are quite sure you are fully prepared.

Americans spend a whopping $30 billion a year on their furry canine friends and an increasing amount of that cash is being channeled into the doggie duds business. Sweaters, coats and rain jackets are the obvious big sellers but, there is also a big market for doggie hats, goggles, shirts, booties, scarves and much more.

To start your own doggie clothing company from home requires very little in the way of initial investment – a good sewing machine and some suitable fabrics are the basics – and if you have an eye for fashion and a talent for self-promotion you can go far. The industry itself really knows no bounds so if you can dream it up and a dog can wear, it chances are people out there will buy it. For example one power seller on eBay has sold thousands of dog bikinis over the last few years and at $20 each that adds up to nice chunk of change.

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Although not as dramatic as the title may imply, working at home can in fact have several negative and positive things in store for you.  As with anything that requires an important decision, one should always weigh the options of something like this.  Working from home has its pros and its cons, and in some ways can be a life changing experience.  It all depends on how you apply your goals and abilities to your current situation and how you respond to every obstacle you are faced with.  Life isn’t always easy, but being prepared can help you further than you know.

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Ask most people their reasons for starting a home business and they will tell you that spending more time with family and friends is high on the list. Then flash forward a few months later and you will find many of them still shut away in their home office at 8pm on a Friday night. Afraid to call it a day because they might miss something, or they feel just a few more hours will get them a real jumpstart on tomorrow, when they might be able to consider taking a break.

Starting a successful home business is hard work but, if it takes over your entire life it is hardly the pleasurable adventure you had envisioned. Setting business hours for your home based venture – and sticking to them – is crucial to both your success and your sanity.

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Any home business relies upon customers or clients to fuel their business. Owners spend a great deal of time and effort to attract them but ,as hard as you work an equal amount of effort is needed to retain them. This is imperative for repeat business and a source of future referrals.

And that is where many home businesses fail. There are many reasons why a customer walks away after being initially “hooked” but, here are some of the most common:

Failing to Understand Customer Expectations: Setting and living up to customer expectations is about 90% of the true secret of success. Home business owners often run into problems here by overstating their abilities and underestimating a customer’s reaction to a broken promise.

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