Every day, countless individuals sign on with various home business strategies looking for a way to find personal freedom and financial independence. Some make wise decisions that lead to a lifetime of prosperity. Too many, however, embrace flawed models that create nothing but disappointment.
There are so many home business strategies available, that it is almost impossible to keep track of them. New plans are introduced every day and the business of creating and promoting work at home plans is becoming its own massive industry. That means there are more great options available to those who want to escape the nine to five grind, but it also means there are more scams and dead ends than ever before.
Spotting potential weaknesses of home business strategies allows one to cut their losses in a hurry and to seek out a more lucrative opportunity. Understanding some of the warning signs associated with poor home business strategies can prevent wasted effort and involvement altogether.
Here are three characteristics often associated with the kind of home business plan that leads to more frustration than profit:
First, if you don’t have immediately accessible and truly helpful back-up support, you might be in the middle of a quickly developing disaster. If the opportunity’s support system is simply calling someone in your “upline” who will direct you to spend more and more on motivational products or advertising, that’s just as bad as having no help at all. If the home business opportunity makes you “do it alone,” think twice about participation. If you are already “in,” think hard about getting “out!”
Second, if part of the opportunity’s plan involves pitching a product or service to family and friends, you might want to look at it with a skeptical eye. Often, home businesses that focus on “signing up” others are often among the most problematic home businesses. Not all such plans are dead-ends, but enough of them are to justify careful examination.
Third, if you sense organization problems with any home business plan, you should see it as a red flag. Waiting for commission checks or not receiving information on schedule can be a definite sign that things are not as solid as you need them to be. Make sure to align yourself with a plan that is solidly structured and well backed.
It can be tough to avoid the rotten apples that seem to be multiplying in the work at home barrel, but it is possible to make a wise program decision by exercising an appropriate level of caution. Looking out for problems like the ones mentioned here is a great way of increasing the odds of your own home business success.
Warning Signs of Poor Home Business Strategies
Easy Marketing Strategies When You’re Starting A Business
Starting a business can be a very rewarding venture, but you need to take the right steps to market and promote your business to ensure success for the long run. Your online or home based business will only survive the competition with a cohesive marketing strategy that you can implement effectively month after month. Without the right plan, you can end up wasting money and losing out on some great opportunities to attract customers and make a profit. The beginning and launch stages of your online business are often the most critical to your growth, and you need an effective marketing strategy to make it through the startup challenges. Here are some easy marketing strategies to get your business going with a strong start:
Starting a Business with an Attractive Website
Building an attractive website is important because it will introduce your customers to your products and services. Making sure the website is easy to navigate and browse is essential; you’ll need to develop quality content and use relevant images to encourage your visitors to stay and explore. Remember that the longer your visitors stay on the site, the higher the chances that they’ll be interested in buying something.
Starting a Business with a Free Newsletter
Offering free information in the form of a newsletter, eBooks, or even a set of articles is a great way to attract and retain customers. People are always searching for unique and interesting content, and you can start building a subscriber list that will be invaluable as your home business grows. An online business is the perfect opportunity to create an active subscriber list, and you can use this e-mail newsletter to present and sell your own or affiliate products later on.
Starting a Business with Online Networking
Online networking has taken on a variety of forms with the growth of the internet, and you can develop a strong online presence with a variety of tools available. Take the time to share and distribute articles and content on your site so visitors can learn about your company and brand with ease. Online networking is important for generating traffic and finding out what your customers are interested in. You can start to build a community around your website or industry by launching a blog as well; this can attract traffic to your main site and encourage visitors to ‘stay in touch’ with your site for the long-term.
Starting a Business with Search Engine Optimization Tactics
Search engine optimization has become more important than ever, especially with the growth in sites that are so similar in scope and content. Earning the top rankings of the search engines will help you capture visitors as soon as they enter keywords in a search engine’s search box; this works as completely free advertising for you, and will help you increase the chances of a sale when visitors can find you immediately. Getting onto the first page of the major search engines is an important asset when you’re starting a business online or offline, and can help you generate traffic with very little effort. The best way to do this is to optimize your site with relevant content, appropriate formatting, and make sure the design and overall presentation is search engine friendly.
Marketing is an important element of starting a business, and you can enjoy long-term success with the right approach. Take advantage of the different types of marketing strategies for the easiest way to get your business to the forefront of your industry.
Cold Calling Strategies For Business Newcomers
In running a business most of us at some point have to do some cold calling. Just these two words "cold calling" can strike fear into the heart of even the most determined entrepreneur.
So how can we make cold calling easier? Here are some tips that might help:
1. Who are you going to ask for?
Try and find out the name of the person you want to speak to before you pick up the phone. There is nothing worse than saying "Can I speak to the manager?" Immediately the secretary knows that this might be sales call.
How do you do this? There are many websites and publications that actually tell you the size of the company and who the boss is. Your local chamber of commerce might be able to help with this regard. Attending networking meetings is another way to find out who the decision makers are.
2. Learn more about your target.
Get to know a little bit about the business before you call them. This way when you speak for the first time with somebody new you have some common ground.
3. Talk to your existing customer base
Talk to your customers and any business people you are friends and ask for help. Many will be happy to give you referrals and a few might even make the initial call for you!
4. Make friends with other sales people
Make friends with sales people and share information and contacts. This will work great as long you are not selling identical products and competing with each other! You can make the initial introduction call for your friend and they can do the same for you.
5. Make friends with other business owners
Especially with businesses that have a lot of sales people. This works on the basis "I scratch your back, you scratch mine." You can share referrals and help each other.
6. Practise makes perfect…
The more calls you do the better you will become. Reward yourself with a point every time someone says "no" to you. Once you hit ten points it is time to stop for a break.
7. I do not care how good you are...
Nobody can cold call for a full 8 hours without getting absolutely shattered. It is far better to spend say three hours every day cold calling than to dedicate one day a week to this task. Choose the time of the day you are at your best. Some people are great in the mornings whilst others perform better in the afternoons.
8. Buy a decent headset.
This will enable you to make notes whilst you are the phone, stop your neck getting sore and even allow you to carry on a little longer when you are on a roll. Work like a pro and get professional results.
9. Send a thank you note.
Building relationships with existing customers and people who did give you the time of day is what it is all about.
10. Change anxiety into something positive.
Learn to turn your feelings of dread into something more powerful. Actors can turn stage fright into something positive that makes them perform better on a live stage and so can you.
11. If all else fails…
Then employ someone else to do it for you. If your time is better spent converting people who have already agreed to meet you then pay a telemarketing company to make your cold calls.
If you can start enjoying talking to new people and stop taking "no" as a personal insult then you are on your way. Tell little jokes and one liners and have a laugh at the same time as trying to make that appointment. You are allowed to have fun when you are cold calling!
Growth Strategies For Your Home Based Business
You are the most important part of your home based business. To ensure you have a dynamic business, it is important to know how to motivate and focus yourself. This article will provide strategies to help you plan the way forward.
1.Plan ahead; it is essential you make a business plan. Lack of planning means that you have no clear focus for yourself or your home based business. Know exactly where you want your business to go and what you need to do to get there. Write it down and refer to it often.
2.Stepping stones; thinking of tackling your business plan can be overwhelming. There seems to be a huge amount to do and it would appear that it will be enormously time consuming. Don't panic! Break your plan down into several smaller ones and deal with them one at a time. This will keep you focused and the task in hand will seem more realistic and manageable.
3.Pathway to success; Once your business plan has been broken down into smaller steps, take time to review it and decide on the order you are going to tackle the various tasks. You may want change the order as you begin to work your way through it, but it will give you a starting point.
4.Display; Make your plan for your home based business a visual one. Put it on the wall of your workspace. It is important that it should not be solely a written document. Make it colourful and interesting. Use charts and pictures. That way information will be easy to see and to reference.
5.Review; as you complete each step of your home based business plan, take a little time out to review the progress you have made. It may have implications for the way you handle the next step.
6.Skills; it is important that you are able to identify your strengths and how they impact on your home based business. It is equally important to recognize areas you could improve in. Put in place strategies to counteract this. Go on training courses, work with someone who has skills in these areas or read books on the areas you need to improve on.
7.Daily plan; starting the day with no clear idea of what you need to do can be very demotivating. Each evening, write yourself a detailed to do list for the following day. Read through it first thing each morning and it will focus your mind on the day ahead.
8.Congratulate yourself; take time to celebrate your successes. When you reach a goal or complete one step of your plan for your home based business, take time to treat yourself by doing something you enjoy. It will motivate you to move on to the next stage of your home based business.
It is essential that you routinely plan and review in order to grow your home based business. Using the ideas in this article will ensure that you have a dynamic home based business that is sure to move forward.
Business success strategies – 5 Things I Did Right in 2005
All in all, I'm pretty happy with how 2005 turned out. My business is taking off. I've built a solid foundation to support even more growth (which I forecast for 2006) and I've even managed to take some time off.
I'd like other entrepreneurs and business owners to feel as good about their business as I do about mine, so I thought I'd take a moment to share 5 things I attribute to my successful 2005.
1. Attended seminars. This one is HUGE. Nothing beats getting out of your office and away from your computer and actually meeting people face to face. I've come away from these events with clients, joint venture partners, and more. (And that doesn't even include the great information I absorbed and was able to put to use in both my business and my clients' businesses.) If you only put one of my 5 tips to use, this would be the one to do -- that's how valuable I've discovered attending seminars to be.
2. Hired a coach. Again, this was another tough decision to make, but I'm really glad I did. It's difficult to see your business objectively, so having a neutral observer on your team is extremely valuable. Coaches help you get out of your own way (and believe me, that's a biggie for us entrepreneurs.) They can help you with both your inner game (your habits and mindset) and your outer game (your skills and business structure).
3. Started systemizing my business. Unless you want to be chained to your business night and day, you have got to start systemizing your business. Yes, all businesses should have systems in place, even if you don't have anyone else working for you and you primarily sell services. The best part is when you do have systems in place, your business suddenly starts running a lot more efficiently and effectively (and you can start sleeping better at night and relaxing on vacation).
4. Outsourced. For all you control freaks out there, this one is for you. If you don't start hiring some help, I guarantee you'll never be able to grow your business because you'll be constantly doing tasks you have no business doing. Do yourself a favor and get some help...NOW. I've just hired a project manager/director of client services, plus I have 2 backup writers and 2 virtual assistants. Building a team has been a big stress reliever for me.
5. Focused on my inner game. Shifting my mindset away from "freelancer" to "business owner" was another big piece of the puzzle. As soon as I made that shift, all the other four techniques fell into place because it suddenly made them easier to do.
It's tough to change your inner game on your own -- hiring a coach is probably the fastest way to do this. But there are some good resources out there if you want to begin dabbling in it first. Do a search and see what comes up, I started my journey with free ezines and articles.
Creativity Exercise -- Make 2006 the best year ever
Go back and reread my list. Now get out a piece of paper and start brainstorming ways you can integrate my tips into your business. Which one do you think will bring the quickest results? Which one will be more difficult for you to start doing? Which is the one you SHOULD be doing?
Have fun with this exercise, really play around and see what comes up. Don't censor yourself, just write down the answers that bubble up even if it doesn't seem right. You might discover something important about yourself and your business that might be the key to launching you forward faster than you ever dreamed possible.
4 Strategies You Can Use to Build Momentum for Home Business Right Away
Be honest with yourself. Are you one of those people that believe that you just don’t have the time to get your home business up and running? You’re not alone. Many people I talk to claim they have too much to do and not enough time to do it. They wind up defeating themselves and their business looses momentum and suffers.
Full time jobs, family obligations, maintaining health and too many other distractions are the main reasons for not building momentum for their business. You can wind up feeling that your life is spent catering to every one else’s obligations.
However, I have some good news! You can find and maximize time to build momentum for your home business. All you need is to find time and commit to use that time for your home business only. Try the following strategies to make your home based business flourish.
Document Your Daily Routine
The first thing you will need to do find a quiet place and write down your schedule. Document the start and end time on events like getting ready for work, driving your kids to school, your commute to your day job, gym time and any other weekly commitments you have. Don’t forget to include weekends and family time (this is most important).
After completing this exercise you should have a good visual of what your work week looks like. You should see openings in your week. Make your goal easy: try to find two hours you can commit to spend on your business. You should be able to re-prioritize some time.
Stay with the Schedule You Created and Re-Evaluate
The next thing you need to do is stick with your schedule. This can be tough because you are creating a new habit. Once you get the hang of your new routine, you should always re-evaluate your schedule. You may be able to find more time to spend on your home business.
Sticking with your schedule means you need to discipline yourself to work. This means that you have to find a way after work, after little league games, after dinner and after putting the kids to bed.
Don’t Forget Your Family.
Spending time with my family is always a top priority for me. I have young children so I try to focus on the business when my kids are in bed. I find that using the evening hours is best for me to spend on my home business. It seems to be the most quite part of the day.
If you have to use your family time to spend on your business, make sure you communicate with your family so they have an expectation of what you are doing. However, I would recommend that you set a time limit so you can spend that time you want with your family. This will provide balance for you.
Embrace Distractions
As we all know life also throws us off schedule. Try your best to embrace that fact instead of fighting it. If your child stays up late, focus on helping your child quiet down and go to sleep. Try not to focus on what you could be doing. Don’t worry. The work will still be there when you are ready.
If you have to stay late at your day job, then choose to work late. Usually, you’ll find that it is better just to focus on one thing at a time. You’ll be more efficient and effective. Having a clear and guilt free mind while working on your business is most productive.
To handle new ideas that can distract you while you are working, keep an MP3 Recorder handy so if an idea comes up you can record it or write down the idea in a notebook. You can always prioritize those thoughts at a later time. You will also find that you are using less energy dealing with distractions instead of fighting them.
So there is good news when it comes to finding time to work on your own business. Don’t despair and don’t get frustrated. Just remember that you have total control of your time and you alone can change your habits to build your businesses momentum.