The world wide web is full of offers to start home based businesses. They will tell you that a home based business is the vehicle to generating a passive source of income and can lead to early retirement. Furthermore, it is easy to start and run, and doesn’t require much financial commitment.While there are spectacular successes for some people, on the whole, the results will be disappointing for most. More often than not, many people will quit after a few months with mediocre results, while some might tough it out for a year or two, but still with rather poor results.When I started looking into the home based business phenomenon a few years back, I firmly believed that anyone with the drive to work hard and smart, can start and run a home based business, and make it a success.But now, with the benefit of hindsight, I do not think so. The demands of a home based business are many and varied, and I think not everybody can measure up. I have listed below some traits and reasons which you should NOT have if you want are considering a home based business. If you are guilty of even one of the traits or reasons, you might want to rethink your decision to start a home business.If You Are Looking For A JobYou are going to quit your job at the end of the present month. You have budgeted about 3 months worth of expenses, and is planning to work very hard at a home business so that you can make it a success by the fourth month. You reason that even if your potential earnings fall short of the claims by the fourth month, it should still be more than enough for you to get by.If You Are Not Open To Learning New SkillsYou are not open to nor are interested in learning any new skills. You are going to depend on everything you already know to run your business and have no intention of and do not see the necessity of learning anything new even if it is called for or if your business requires it.If You Don’t Have The Entrepreneurial SpiritYou know that you are not an entrepreneur. Even the thought of striking out on your own scares you. What you intend to do is to find a home based business that comes with step by step instructions. You fully intend to follow the instructions exactly and make the business a success.If You Are In Desperate Need of MoneyYour daughter’s college tuition has to be paid in the next 6 months. Furthermore, your landlord is looking for you for a little chat about the overdue rent and you are quite sure that the bank manager will be calling you soon for an update about the overdue loan payment. So, right now, you need an opportunity or a home based business that can earn you at least a few hundred dollars a month almost immediately.If You Don’t Want To Work HardYou are entranced by the ads on the net about home based business that can make you a lot of money but needs very little work and skill on your part. You don’t want to work hard and are actually looking to make money fast.ConclusionIf you see yourself in just one of the paragraphs above, you need to take it seriously. A home based business is not a walk in the park and if you start one with a handicap, your chances of failure will increase exponentially. Do take a step back and take an objective look at your strengths and weaknesses, and then decide if a home based business is for you.
Start Home Based Business – 4 Important Steps To Getting Your Business Started
If you want to start a home based business, you have to stop looking for the “secret” and gather the right information to getting yourself up and running. Once you’ve gathered the right information, the trick to success is to actually take action in order to move towards your goals. Since nobody will achieve success with a home based business unless they have some real solid advice, let’s take a look at four important things you need in order to get started and moving towards building a successful home based business.
#1 – Get a web domain
These days everything is done online, so there really is no way to run a business without having a website. Simply purchase a domain name and hosting, all of which can be purchased easily by one web-hosting provider.
#2 – Get an autoresponder
An autoresponder is a service that allows you to gather names and emails of those interested in your business, then send them automated emails on a regular basis. This is a service that is absolutely necessary if you hope to achieve real success, as no matter what your online business may be, everybody benefits from having an autoresponder service. These are very affordable and when compared to old-school mailing campaigns, is extremely cheap.
#3 – Understand your target audience
In order to really make a name for yourself, you have to understand your target audience and understand what they want. If you are too general, you will have trouble, but if you find a targeted niche then you will have a much easier time making sales and achieving success.
#4 – Create products for all price levels
It’s a part of business that some people will pay a lot for your products and some will not. Some cannot afford it and some simply do not want to spend their money, so it is wise for you to create products that range from just a few dollars all the way up to several hundreds/thousands.
A Simple Product Creation and Product Launching Formula
If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.
The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.
The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.
What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.
You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.
The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.
I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.
I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.
Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.
You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.
It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.