Work At Home Business Opportunities Thrive In Tight Job Market

While the global job market may be thinning, the growth of work at home business opportunities is continuing to grow. There are many companies that need help in a variety of functions willing to offer employment for those who can telecommute. Working from home can save a business money on employee services, as well as the office space and utilities. Those who are capable to work from home save time and money on commuting as well as working an independent schedule.

Some of the more lucrative opportunities may exist in professional services such as accounting where a specialized education is required. However, with the right experience opportunities also exist for billing and payroll services that can be done at home. Transcription services also offer a lot of opportunities for working from home and with the right training can be turned into a lucrative business, regardless of the local job market.

There are two basic types of work at home business opportunities that may allow a person to start their own business when jobs are tight. They can either work at home or work from home. The difference being that when working at home, everything is done from the home office. Working from home involves getting out and meeting with clients and potential customers. With few job opportunities in a specific field, finding companies that can use your services to their benefit while you work from home can prove beneficial for you and the clients.

When working from home, you do not always have the luxury of only working for one person. Especially if you establish a service business, one company may not be able to provide enough work to keep you busy, and paid well enough to meet your obligations. In many instances, you will need several clients to provide sufficient income and will also have to have certain personal attributes to make it possible. Not everyone is capable of working from home as it takes a high level of discipline to maintain your focus on the job at hand and to be organized to insure every promise you make to your customers is able to be kept.

Those looking for internet-based work at home business opportunities are often lured by the promise of big money for little work and in very few instances people have made obscene amounts of cash working an internet program. With any business there will be work involved and the business will need to adjust to the needs, and the trends, of the customers in order to remain successful.

Keeping track of customer demands and projecting their future demands may require research beyond the company news and if a business is to be successful, becoming knowledgeable of the product or service being offered will require time. As with any business, the more you put into it, the more you get out and home business opportunities are no different.

The Market for Used Business Phone System Equipment

Business phone systems and the companies who sell them exist in a world all their own. The competition is stiff, with several different retailers and wholesalers carrying the same brands. The competition for used and refurbished business phones and business phone systems is even fiercer, as many companies are searching for equipment that can be used to expand their current system. Often, phone and phone system manufacturers engineer their products so that they aren't universal and will not work with a variety of other products.

This can be a poor selling point for buyers of new business phone systems, but if a company already has a system such as this in place and wants to expand, they have little choice but to use the same equipment. This is the reason why there is such a market for used business phone equipment. It is always much cheaper to hunt down a handset that is compatible with your system than it is to replace the entire system every time you need to add a few phone lines.

Additionally, so many businesses are ill prepared for purchasing the right phone system for their particular needs that they often end up replacing the system in a relatively short time. The old equipment can then be sold or refurbished and sold. Often, wholesalers and retailers will give discounts for new systems if they are able to take the system it is replacing as a "trade in". New and even used terminals, KTX add-ons and PBX equipment can be a major expense.

It is often necessary to find out how much it will cost to expand the type of system you have, when possible. In many instances, purchasing a slightly larger system than you what you currently need can save you money as down the road, even used equipment may cost more than what you would have been able to pay for brand new.

Using a Website to Market Your Business

There are many different ways to advertise your business on the Internet. Placing banner ads, orchestrating an email marketing campaign and tactfully mentioning your business on industry related forums and message boards are just a few of the popular options for Internet marketing. Another Internet marketing strategy involves creating and advertising a website to promote your business. You can use your website in a number of ways. Some of these ways include providing more information about your business and the products or services you offer, letting potential customers know how to reach you and even selling your products and services via the website. This article will highlight the advantages of using a website to market your business and will outline some of the ways the website can be useful.

One great advantage to using a website to market your business on the Internet is that you can place descriptions and photos of the products or services your business offers. This is important because many consumers use the Internet when researching products and services. Having an online presence gives your business an advantage over the competition because consumers are much more likely to select your products or services over the products and services offered by your competitors who do not advertise online.

Another advantage to marketing your business on a website is you can use the website to not only market but also sell your products directly. Again this can give you an edge over the direct competition. Consumers who use the Internet to research products and services are often very anxious to make their purchases and they would be more inclined to select a retailer or service providers who offer the opportunity to purchase products or services online over a retailer or service provider who only allows for purchase in a store or via phone.

Still another advantage to using a website to market your business is the ability to reach a large, worldwide audience. The Internet essentially knows no boundaries and advertising on a website means the business owner can reach competitors around the world instead of being limited to their general location. Advertising via other medium such as television, radio and the print media is somewhat limited and may only reach potential customers in a relatively small geographic area.

Another advantage to using a website to market your business is the Internet is available 24 hours a day around the world. This essentially offers you a storefront which is open 24 hours a day. While your competitors may be limited to their regular business hours, your website will enable you to reach your customers at any hour of the day. This is especially important for reaching potential customers in other time zones and for reach customers in your own area who are simply too busy to shop for products or services like the ones you offer during regular business hours. Many potential customers work long hours and appreciate the ability to research and shop online after hours.

One final advantage to using a website to market your business is you can actually generate a profit from your website in other ways than through sales to customers. You can also use your website to generate income by selling advertising space to other business owners who are marketing their own products and services on the Internet. However, care should be taken when advertising on your website. First of all you should not sell advertising space to direct competitors. This is important because this may cause you to lose potential business if potential customers opt to purchase product or services from competitors who advertise on your website. An ideal advertiser is one who offers products and services which do not directly compete with your own products or services but would be of interest to your potential customers. You should also take care not to place too many advertisements on your website. This is important because too many advertisements may detract from your business and may cause you to lose potential customers.

Take A Little Time To Market Your Work At Home Business

"I am new to online marketing and I do not know what to do to get started."

I got a confession to make, Neither did I when I first started marketing online.

And I am willing to bet most if not all successful marketers on line today did not have a clue either when they first started.

But you know what, The only thing that separates a person new to marketing from a expert is time. It does take a little time to read, study, make a plan and then put your plan into action.

Most marketers who are new bounce from one business opportunity to the next Because they are looking for that business that requires no work to get free checks. (Good Luck!) But did you know you can save a lot of time by researching the business you are interested in and then putting your plan into action on how you are going to make it work.

You can make it work by taking the time to read the FAQ about your new business venture, taking time to get in on the conference calls, taking the time to go to the discussion board of your new business and ask questions.

It also takes time to advertise your new business, but it is not as hard as you think. Go to any search engine and type in "free advertising for online business" and you will be amazed at the results. Pay per click advertising is not expensive as you think if you take the time to create a lot of key words and set for pennies a click.

Take a little time to signup for a good autoresponder service and then take a little time to write some good letters to put in it or contact your someone in your business to get some pre-written letters and take the time to edit them with your information.

The point I am trying to make is that it might take a little time to become successful on the internet, but if you have the patience and put in the work it will happen.

Just ask your self which line you want to be in, the line of people who are working a 9-5 for 25 years or more, or the line who spent time of a 5 years or less learning what it takes to become successful working at home.

What you do with your time is up to you, but I know which line I am standing in.

You Want To Market Your Business, But Do You Have The Time?

Well, do you? If not, how do you have time to run a profitable business? By profitable, I am not just talking about money. I also include time to do what you want in profitability. Time is money right?

I am going to give you golden nuggets of time management wisdom that I personally use in my direct response copywriting business. To qualify that these actually work...I utilize all of these methods personally, and I "work" no more than 4 hours a day! Use them in your business today!

1) The foundation is your desk. How clean and organized is your desk? Do you adopt the principle of "use it, file it, or throw it away" with every single item that comes across your desk? You either use information (paper, email, whatever), file information (only if you have TIME STAMPED when you are going to use it), or throw it away completely! Some items are just not important enough to waste valuable time on.

2) Magazines, do you read them? Really, do you? Or, like I used to, do you let them stack up in a pile...hoping to get to them someday. When you finally do, they are outdated...or you manage to read a small part of a magazine, then throw it back on the pile you created. Here is the secret: Use the table of contents! Find those articles you like right away, and rip or cut them out of the magazine! Then, read now, or file the article in a folder for that magazine subject or title. It is much easier to read the articles you are interested in only...and it makes sense.

3) Do you find yourself listening to audio recordings? If so, a real timesaver is to listen to the recording at double speed (2x). In 99% of the cases, you can still understand what is being said, and it doubles your efficiency in getting information. This cuts your listening time in half!

4) How organized is your office? No really, I mean it. Is your office chair in easy reach of filing cabinets, supplies, and other necessary items without having to get up? Getting up and down for a few seconds each time adds up quickly...this technique alone can save you an hour a day! What can you do with an extra 60 minutes? Perhaps take lunch?

5) How do you process "interruptions?" Do you end up checking a blank email box 20 times a day, or check it three times at specific times of the day? Do you schedule phone calls, or do you pick up the phone and answer it every time Aunt Mable calls? How you handle your incoming activities (phone, email, people visiting etc...) can seriously take away from your valuable time! Remember one idea here...NOBODY AND NOTHING controls your time except YOU! It is a conscious decision that you make to take a phone call or send another email...attend a meeting...or any other time suckers.

Please don't take it out on other people when "you don't have enough time." It is YOU that made that decision in the first place.

Hey Contractors, You’d Better Pick The Right Market For Your Business

I hear two complaints CONSTANTLY from contractors.

1. I can’t find enough good work.

2. I can’t find enough good workers.

What most contractors fail to realize is that the two problems are closely related. The first causes the second. And both are a function of the market you operate in.

Finding an adequate supply of good workers can always be solved with money. If you can afford to pay the wages workers want and give them the hours they need, they will flock to your company.

A lack of high margins is what complicates staffing.

The market you sell to greatly affects your ability to make money and your ability to hire good workers.

You need to choose your market wisely, very wisely.

Before permanently committing your destiny to a market (including the one you are currently focused on) you must research the following issues.

1. Can you track down enough prospects?

2. Can you market to the prospects cost effectively?

3. Do clients value anything beyond lowest price?

4. Does the work require expensive equipment?

5. Can you find enough sufficiently skilled people to do the work at the wages you can pay?

6. Is competition weak?

7. Are margins high?

8. Do you have the cash reserves to survive the market’s pay cycle?

The greater your number of "no’s", the more you will struggle. Here are the facts of business life:

Fact #1: You may be the best at what you do but no one is going to pay you for it if they don’t value it.

Fact #2: Heavy competition leads to price competition.

Fact #3: If you can’t market your business cost-effectively, you’ll waste all of your income chasing leads.

Fact #4: If you can’t hire workers, you can’t grow a business.

Business boils down to solving problems of value more efficiently than your competition. Choosing the right market essentially means picking one from which you can generate good leads; for which you afford to hire the right workers; and for which you can afford to buy the right equipment.

Choosing the right market is essential to realizing your financial goals. You cannot overcome a bad market.

Bad markets translate into low profit margins.

Low profit margins mean that you can’t afford to pay above market wages. So you will struggle to find reliable, hard working, skilled workers.

Low profit margins mean that you can’t afford to take a bath on ANY job. So you sit tight on your foreman, which makes him sit tight on his crews.

That drives good workers away.

When you compare your market to your capabilities, you may discover that the current fit isn’t good. Don't fret, you may have several attractive options.

You may find that your current capabilities and services fit a different client than you have traditionally pursued. I see this often. A contractor builds a company perfectly suited for commercial work yet is chasing residential work.

You may find that you need to narrow your focus to a specific size and type of project and become the best, most efficient in that niche. Don’t try to be a "full service" shop for every possible client. That’s recipe for certain failure.

If you find yourself in need of a new market, prepare for a tough transition.

You may need to overhaul your marketing system, your selling approach, and possibly your equipment fleet. You may need to let go of some workers and find new ones. Your job costing data may be rendered completely useless.

Your decision will be governed by many factors, not the least of which is the strength of your relationship with your present clients and your company’s reputation on the street. If your relationships are strong, you should be able to raise your prices sufficiently to recruit and retain skilled workers. If not, you need to throw those relationships overboard and start anew.

If your street reputation is strongly identified for a given market, rebuild your company around that market or shut it down and open up under a new name. Changing your brand image is almost impossible. Either work within it or flush it.

Nine times out of ten, a haphazard approach to market selection seals the contractor's fate: failure. Great advertising campaigns, superior operations management, and a tight money control will not overcome a poorly selected market.

Did you fail to research the eight basic strategic marketing questions? No time like the present to run through them. It's the first step to building a really successful business.

Conducting A Market Analysis On Your Business

The term "market analysis" is often confusing to entrepreneurs, especially for people who focus on a specific niche or market segment.

In fact, many small business owners don't understand the process or complain that conducting a market analysis is too complicated or too expensive and wonder why or if it is necessary.

What is market analysis?

In the most basic terms, a market analysis is an assessment of:

- A particular problem or opportunity in a market.
- The needs of the target market relating to the problem or opportunity.
- Ideas for marketing a particular product or service that fills the needs of the target market.

When should you conduct a market analysis?

- When you are starting a business.
- When you are entering a new market.
- When you are considering a new product or service.

Why should you conduct a market analysis?

- To minimize business risks.
- To understand the problems and opportunities.
- To identify sales opportunities.
- To plan your marketing/sales approach.

The process of conducting a market analysis can be divided into
three parts:

Part 1 - Understanding Market Conditions

This gives you basic information about your entire market -- the size, the competition, the customers.

Part 2 - Identifying Market Opportunities

This gives you more targeted information about potential problems or opportunities in the potential market, and includes information about growth, current and future trends, outside factors and more information about specific competitors.

Part 3 - Developing Market-Driven Strategies

Here is where we get into what market research does for you. It helps you to pinpoint opportunities to grow your business. By understanding the market and knowing what opportunities are available you can create a marketing strategy that leaves your competitors in the dust!

Here are 10 questions that can help you get started:

1. What is the market I want to reach?

- Who are they? (Basic Demographics)
- What is their biggest problem in relation to this market?
- Are their needs being met by the products or services provided in this market?

2. Who is my competition in this market?

- Are they successful in this market?
- Are they marketing a similar product or service?
- What is the market share of the three biggest competitors in this market?

3. Is there room for growth in this market?

4. What is the size of this market?

- Is there room for growth?
- Is the industry growing? Stable? Saturated? Volatile? Declining?

5. How is my product or service different from the competition?

6. How can I reach this market?

- How is my competition currently reaching this market?
- Is it the most effective way?
- What are the alternative ways of reaching this market?

7. What are the business models of my competition in this market?

- Are they effective?
- Is there a way to do it differently or better?

8. What do customers expect from this type of product or service?

- What are the core competencies of this product or service?
- What would make the product "new" "different" or "better" for the customer?

9. How much are customers willing to pay for this product or service?

10. What is our competitive advantage in this market?

Knowing the answers to these questions will not only help you figure out if there is a need for your product or service, it will help you figure out the best ways to reach your customers, price your products or service and ultimately make more sales!

Do I Have To Be A Good Writer to Market My Own Business?

Many of the most effective low-cost marketing strategies require writing. What can a small business owner do if they're not much of a writer? Can they still market their business themselves on a shoestring budget?

Marketing is a form of communication. And you do need to be able to write well to communicate effectively.

So what do you do if you don't write very well? You have two choices. You can hire someone else to write for you. Or you can learn how to write.

My suggestion is that you learn how to write. Writing is a skill that can be learned. And if you are writing about an area that you have expertise in, YOU are the best person to share that information with your prospects and customers.

Take a writing class at your local community college or adult school. Learn the basics of good grammar and then write, write, and write some more. Practice, practice, and practice some more. The more you write, the better you will become.

Register for and read free newsletters, ezines and special reports so you can get a feel for how they are written. There is so much information available via the web; take advantage of it.

Until you perfect your writing skills, always have someone else proofread and edit what you have written. They will catch things that you miss. They will tell you if something is unclear or confusing.

It's even a good idea to keep this up once you get good. Proofreading and editing your own work is difficult. And typos and mistakes don't reflect well on you or your business.

So if necessary, hire someone to do your writing until you learn or improve your skills. But do acquire the skills. Strong writing and communication skills will always benefit you in business and in life, so it will definitely be time well spent.

(C) 2005 Debbie LaChusa

7 No Cost Tips to Market Your Business

Marketing a business can be fun, exciting and creative. It can also be very frustrating and expensive if one doesn’t know what outcome they are looking for or how to evaluate cost effective methods of marketing.

Over the years people have come to know me for my unique ability to develop low cost and no cost strategies to market and promote a business, product or service. Strategies that have realized incredible returns.

Some of my successes have included:

- Before my last book was published I pre-sold over $8,000 in books
- Over 250 people registered for a recent seminar in less than 2 weeks and the cost to promote was under $25
- One company used my strategies for a career expo and made over $180,000 in consulting fees
- One speaker sold over $23,000 in product sales back of the room at a two hour seminar with strategies outlined in my program

I don’t share this to impress anyone, rather to impress upon you when using the right strategies for your market, you can realize some incredible results.

People have also come to know me as someone who is a stickler when it comes to putting systems in place. My marketing successes are a direct result of the systems I have implemented.

With a bit of forethought, planning and desire, you can successfully market your business in a very effective manner. Below are seven proven strategies sure to increase visibility, leads and sales.

1. Business Cards
Business cards are often one of the most underutilized tools in one’s marketing.
Use the front and back of your business card to gain full benefit. Depending on your market you can put some very valuable information on the back such as a sports schedule, emergency numbers, or special dates people want to remember.

Keep some in your wallet, your automobile, on your desk, and some at home. Be sure to carry them with you wherever you go and be willing to hand them out as opportunity presents itself.

Creatively distribute your card. When you eat out you can leave one with the tip.
If you borrow a library book, use one as a book mark. Hand them to clerks in stores who may know other people who could use your product or service.

When someone gives you their business card be sure to enter their information in your database. Send them a short note or email within 48 hours of meeting them to keep your name fresh in their mind.

2. Send a picture
A great way to keep your name fresh in a customer’s mind is to send them a picture of when they purchased a product or service from you.

Put a picture of a buyer’s auto purchase in a beautiful calendar. Likely, the proud owner of the vehicle will display the calendar for the next 365 days.

For specialty gift shops, when a customer makes a substantial purchase, have a picture taken with the shop owner. Frame the picture and send it to the customer.
Chances are very good the picture will be displayed proudly for friends and family to see.

A dentist who specializes in smile makeovers can easily arrange to have a professional makeup artist and photographer capture the patient’s beautiful new smile. No doubt the patient will be more than happy to show others their new look.

3. Associations
Associations particular to your market are a great resource for marketing. There are associations specific to virtually any industry, job type or business. A quick web search will likely show you how much is available.

A major opportunity within many organizations is the chance to network. Additionally, to make presentations. Along with presentations come publications.
Often, when you do a presentation, you will get a mention in the association newsletter, their Ezine and/or on their website.

In many cases, when an organization has a newsletter or Ezine, they welcome the presenter writing a press announcement for them. It saves them time and often assures you have a better chance of the information making it into the publication.

They may also welcome you writing an article for their publication or website.
This lends itself to pre-presentation visibility. Additionally, you will position yourself as an expert and increase credibility.

Most organizations have the following opportunities that can help you to gain visibility and do some very effective marketing:

-Newsletters
-Internet listings
-Links to you website
-Discounted advertising rates
-Networking opportunities
-Business referral services
-Special recognition events
-Education seminars
-Business and membership directories

In many cases you will need to be a member of the association to take advantage of the multiple marketing opportunities. In other cases membership is not necessary.

4. Committee Involvement
Committee involvement is a great way to give back to the association or community while building visibility for you and your business. In some cases, you may even want to get involved in a committee where you have little experience or knowledge. This will give you an opportunity to stretch yourself and meet and network with individuals you may not have otherwise had the chance to meet.

5. Contests and drawings
Contests are a favorite for many businesses such as restaurants or those that have high foot traffic. Contests are a great way to build your database quickly.
You are generating very hot leads when you have a contest with people who have already frequented your place of business. The key though is to do back -end marketing. Far too many businesses hold contests, get lots of names and do nothing with them. In this case, it is a complete waste of time to hold a contest.
You can advertise a contest to gain new foot traffic in your place of business.
Trade show booths are a great place to hold a contest. Pre-show marketing helps to generate traffic at your booth. Invite people to stop by booth # _____ (whatever your booth is) to enter to win. Creative contests can also generate free publicity.

6. Cross-promoting
Join with other companies who have products or services that compliment yours and promote each other. Let’s say you have a massage business. You could partner with a candle company to sell their candles to your massage clients. They can give out coupons for your massage business. Or the candle company can partner with a gift basket company. Cross-promoting is only limited by your imagination.

This can considerably cut down the cost of business promotion and allow each business to use promotion techniques that might be too expensive to implement alone.

7. Bonuses
Secure special offers from various businesses who want to share a similar market as you. When a customer buys a minimum amount they receive a bonus packet with the various offers from the other vendors. This is a win/win all the way around. The other vendors gain visibility, you have something extra to offer you customers and the customers get incredible value for their purchase.

Be aware of who you cross-promote and joint venture with. You want someone who will be equally committed to a campaign.

Business Groups - Market For Maximum Effectiveness

Business groups like the Chamber of Commerce provide many excellent marketing opportunities. The members of these types of business groups are all business owners and many of them will fit into your sweet-spot profile. What better way to get to know the decision makers in these businesses?

Maximize Your Exposure in Business Groups

Don't simply join a business group and remain a passive bystander. To get the most out of your business group experience you need to get involved. Here are some tips:

When you join one of these business groups immediately make yourself known to the Executive Director, the office staff and the officers, as well as the people on the board.

Volunteer for a committee. This is an excellent way to meet and really get to know some of the local small business owners.

Speak at the meetings and events.

Exhibit and take out a little table at the next expo or event held by the business group. These are usually inexpensive and are a low risk proposition.

Send a direct mail to the business group members on the master list introducing them to your company and your services.

Invite the whole business group membership to seminars or events you are holding.

Attend and network at the business group meetings regularly; 8 or 10 a year is a good number.

There are no sure things but the active members of a business group, the board, and the committee chairs tend to be loyal to the inner circle of their fellow business group supporters. It’s almost like a fraternity or sorority.

The Bottom Line on Business Groups

The key to getting the most out of a business group is to be an active member. Keep your name in front of the membership. Remember to do your follow up. You want the business group members to know your name and think of you first when they have a computer issue. If you are patient and persistent your business group membership will pay off.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, Small Business Computer Consulting .com. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

7 Business Growth W.O.W.® Tactics for Increased Market Share

Here are Seven Business Growth W.O.W.® tactics for increased market share that you can deploy now:

1. Rule 1-12-50© - The first portion of every month (hence the number 1), consistently every month (hence the number 12), identify a population index upwards of fifty (hence the number 50) key customers or emerging customers and provide them a value added communication.

2. eSignature Line – Consider adding into your standard email auto signature line any updates on products or services you provide to all recipients of your communication exchanges. This also serves as a powerful standardization for ensuring customers receive advance notices for deadlines, product or service announcements, changes and discontinuations, etc.

3. eAuto Responder - Consider adding into your standard email auto responder (if you don’t engage it routinely, especially engage it when you will be away from email receiving) any updates on products or services you provide to all recipients of your communication exchanges. This is also a great way to promote and advertise to those people that initiate sending email traffic to you first, as now you can instantly bounce back a message to them.

4. Hotel Letters – Realize that in most all hotels there seems to be at least pieces of stationary and envelopes in the desk drawer. Consider a hand written note to three “Vital Fews” about something that is top of mind to you and of value to them.

5. “Advocate” Maintenance – Ensure that you never let an advocate get more than 30 days out from hearing from or seeing you. Plan regular communications and/or “thank you” events to draw from them ways to continue to enhance the service you provide to them.

6. Newsletter – Design a high impact, value rich content based print newsletter for your core customers (the Vital Few) and send routinely to them as a way to enrich their value proposition in their market. Then, soft communicate a product/service from you to them at the end of each newsletter. This vehicle can be distributed to customers as statement-stuffers, attachments with invoices and contracts, attached to proposals and general correspondence from customer service contact professionals and the sales team alike. This can serve as a source for the Rule 1-12-50© campaign.

7. Fax Alerts – Consider a Friday afternoon fax blast to your customers with any products/services that can impact their bottom line, send announcements and press releases, etc. If these contact names are in your data base as clients and or contacts that you have a pre existing relationship with and/or have established a relationship with whereby they want communication offers from you, than a Fax alert or blast is a smart, fast, economical and acceptable contact means. Conversely, if you don’t have this rapport or permission then a fax blast may be seen as spam and be illegal in some non business growth oriented communities!

Deploy these field-tested and proven strategies now and watch your business flourish.