Firstly, let us begin with some often ignored truism. If you want to have your own home based business, you must be ready to really work at it by continually doing something useful to get going. That “doing” is what a business is all about and that is what makes money. So, you must firmly resolve right from the outset to spend most of your time getting things done for your business.
Next is to write a detailed “business plan” to guide your direction and the strategy you’ve adopted to work your business from home. This serves as your business game plan which you can amend, change or even scrap for something better as the prevailing conditions demand. This is why you must habitually review it and update it periodically to give direction.
Start a business only on the basis of an area/niche in which you already know a lot about. Factor in your own knowledge, strengths and weaknesses before deciding to build a business around what you know. It is easier to succeed if you have good knowledge and solid expertise in the business niche you’ve chosen.
Research and think deeply to choose a business name. This is important and very crucial when starting out because of marketing point of view. Be sure the name is fully representative of your chosen business, simple and easy to remember. Your business name is something you should be proud of and be willing to be identified with. Simple names like Wendy’s Cupcakes and Joe’s Super Loafs are good business names.
You also need a website which will be reflective of the name you have chosen for your business. If the business name is simple and catchy enough, it will make your website’s name simple for online searches and for your potential customers to easily remember. Caution! Long or hard-to-spell names are not the best choices for domain names. You must make sure your website is sufficiently professional because an unprofessional looking website will serve to keep customers away instead of attracting them to your business. Your website should include an opt-in form inviting and giving your website visitors the opportunity to add their names and e-mail addresses to your mailing list. Such mailing list can with time become a very valuable marketing asset for your business.
Design credible but simple accounting models to track your expenses. A separate business checking account will help you to keep track of your expenses. You must make sure all your business-related transactions go through this account. Doing so helps you to easily keep track of your business transactions. Be sure the business expenses you spend on are tax deductible. For that reason, you must always obtain receipts for such expenses even if they have to do with something as mundane as taking a potential client out for lunch. You must keep track of every cent you spend on your business, otherwise it will be very difficult to know if you are turning a profit at the end of every year.
For the period you may be have to deal with other persons physically in the line of your business, be sure to maintain a professional appearance even when you are at home working. Business is business whether done at home or in the office, it should be so treated. The way you turn out for business somehow helps your self-confidence and how other persons see you.
Habitually look online for supplies that are sold at wholesale or discounted pricing. The internet is a wealth of information for this type of deals/purchases. Do your best to purchase most of your business supplies via the internet. You can save up on your budget real good if you seize every available opportunity to purchase your supplies wholesale and at discounted prices. Look out for occasional auctions and Garage sales to procure your business equipment and machinery.
If you have decided to work from home, take this next tip very seriously. Be sure your home business fits perfectly into your family schedule. Avoid as much as possible any home business schedule which is capable of inconveniencing your family members and loved ones. Be flexible enough to always adjust your business schedule to accommodate your family members.
Never spend directly from payments you receive without first depositing the payments in your checking account. You must deposit your payments as soon as you receive them without having to keep them unbanked for any undue length of time. For retail businesses, daily deposits are advisable. Be sure to always use a teller to make deposits so that you can easily verify and reconcile your account as needed.
Be sure the products you sell are well priced to take care of your tangible and intangible expenses with enough left to turn a profit. A rule of thumb is to always try to sell products for at least twice what it cost to produce them. The rate of demand can always induce you to even charge much more on your products.
Always deliberately court your customers. Make them understand why they should always buy from you and nobody else. Your promotional offers, deals and guarantees can always go a long way to help you retain loyal customers.
Lest I forget, do not overlook opening up a dedicated phone line solely for your home based business. If the line is a mobile one, better still. A good percentage of businesses are now being conducted via mobile hand-held devices and you cannot afford to lose out from such huge market.
Because I am an affiliate marketer, I cannot forget to recommend affiliate marketing as a good home business. A good home business worth the while is affiliate marketing because it is largely free to join and easy to work in while earning you good commissions. Do your online research to find out which kind of affiliate programs are best suitable for you, then join and start promoting their products like hell.
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