Business Marketing & Finance Resources

Home based business is fast becoming the new way to make money, what with the economic downturn pushing people out of jobs and the rising cost of childcare forcing mums to stay at home. Starting a home business can be a challenge, especially for those who have always worked for someone else.

There are several things you need in order to start a successful home based business, some of which are more about your mindset, others based in the physical world. You may not be able to achieve them all straight away, but if you keep working at them, you’ll find success a lot quicker.

Essential #1 Become a business owner – not an employee

You no longer have a boss looking over your shoulder, telling you what to do next. There is nobody else looking after all the aspects of the business that you may not have been involved in at previous jobs. With a home based business, you are your own boss – which may sound great but in reality be a little frightening. You must motivate yourself, plan and implement strategies for your business, and work every day at building a successful home based business.

Essential #2 Creating goals and plans to achieve them

While you may not need a 50 page business plan to present to investors, a business plan of some sort is essential. You need to clearly state your goals for your home business, and the steps you need to take to achieve them. Make a long term plan (about 5 years) and a short term one – for the next year or so. Break your action plan down into monthly goals, and put a time schedule to them so you can keep track of your progress.

Essential #3 Get the equipment you need

You probably don’t need a fully equipped office with copiers and color printers and fancy office furniture to begin with – and your budget may not be able to supply that anyway. You will need a computer with an internet connection, a phone, a desk or table and chair, and basic stationery. You can get by with the bare minimum until you start making some money to upgrade as you go along.

Essential #4 Get dressed for work

Depending on your business, you may not be dealing with people face to face or going to call on clients every day. Internet marketing businesses are often advertised as the ideal work from home job that you can do in your pyjamas. Don’t do it! You need to have a professional, business-like attitude, which you are unlikely to have if you’re in your pyjamas all day. You don’t have to put a suit on, but you should get dressed in something smart casual, brush your hair and put some make up on. You’ll feel more business-like – sound more business-like on the telephone – and work better.

Essential #5 Keep track of your working hours

Initially, you may be tempted to take some time off to catch up on life – watch the kids play sport, do a bit of spring-cleaning, catch up with some friends – but you need to be disciplined in terms of your working hours in a home business too. If your business is to succeed, you will need to put in at least an 8 hour day – maybe more in the beginning. If you work four of those hours at night when your kids have gone to bed, that’s fine, but make sure that you are giving your business the attention it deserves.

Running a home business has to be taken seriously, or it will not succeed. You need to focus on your goals, put your plans into action, and work at it – every day.

Starting a business after retirement can be very rewarding both financially and personally but making wrong decisions can ruin you financially – and perhaps health and relationship-wise.

How old is too old to start a business? If you are willing and able to do the kind of work you are planning – there is no age limit. Think of Col. Sanders. Wasn’t he 70 or something when he finally sold his first chicken recipe?

Before you jump in – ask yourself these questions: Why do I want to start a business after I retire? Is it for extra income? Stave off boredom? Get out of the house? Or perhaps you want to turn a hobby into a revenue source. Or maybe you don’t care about the money at all, you just want something to do. To contribute.

What kind of business am I thinking about? Have you thought of what kind of business you want to do? Something in mind? Or you just know you want to “do something”? The possibilities are unlimited.

Do I have loan-free money do start a business? Is this money you could afford to lose? It is the last thing you want to do to spend your nest egg on some business venture that might fail. Or perhaps you have no or little money. So you are looking for something productive you can start with a low entry price.

Do I have a business plan? It doesn’t have to be elaborate. Just the basics. A rough draft. Does it make sense? Is there a lot of competition? A business plan is absolutely needed if you seek funding, even if you are self-funded it is a good idea to create one. Just to get a birds eye view.

Am I really an entrepreneur? Does it scare you to launch a business? If you haven’t been in any entrepreneur jobs in your career you need to take a close look at what it means to start a business. The key secret here is passion. If you are passionate about the new venture – the rest will fall into place.

Could another ‘Real Job” fit me better? You might want to consider getting another job, full or part time. In your old line of work, or something entirely new. Thus avoiding all the “non-job” stuff you have to face when self-employed.

I know, many of you are ready to jump into this because you are passionate about your idea. My best advice to you is to calm down. Think about it. Run it by someone impartial.

Then think about it some more. Then DO IT. Let’s put it this way: when you are 60 you might have 4,000 days left in your life. How do you want to live it? Don’t forget – you must enjoy doing whatever you are doing.

Let’s look at a consistent method in 5 steps; we will identify a good business opportunity:

1. Brainstorming

First we make an extensive list of business ideas that we can find, and that can be attractive.

To find these ideas, a technique may be to write an activity we like to make, and then write all the businesses, products or services related thereto. You can do this for various activities that we like.

Or, simply, we can go to various sources such as Internet, libraries, publications, family, friends, etc.

The idea here is to achieve a list of some 200 business ideas that have some appeal for us, no matter at an early moment, we seem far-fetched.

2. Evaluate each idea

Secondly we evaluate each of the ideas for business, so, to every idea, answer the following questions:

* Is there enough demand for that product or service? (Are there enough customers willing to purchase or use?)
* Goods or services to offer cover a need in the market?
* Address a growing market?
* Do not have much competition?
* Is the business is based on an innovative product or service?
* Does the product or service present an added value?
* Does the product or service has or may have a differentiation? (Something that distinguishes it from competition, which is innovative, and it would hardly be imitated by the competition)
* The product could create a higher quality than the competition?
* Could provide better customer service than that offered by competitors?

These questions can be answered with “yes” or “no”, or we can respond openly. The ideas that have a higher percentage of negative responses, the ruling will go, leaving us with ideas that have a higher percentage of positive answers.

At the end we should stay with a group of 10 to 15 business ideas.

3. Deeper analysis

These 10 to 15 business ideas that we have selected, subjected to more rigorous analysis, where indicated the benefits or advantages or disadvantages and problems that could present each idea.

To do so, to every idea, answer questions more complex than previous ones, such as:

* There could be difficulty in producing or marketing the product, or provide the service?
* I have the knowledge necessary to mount such a business? Or, in any case, I have the contacts or the right people that could help me with it?
* I have enough capital to set up such business or enterprise? Or, in any case, I have the ability to access some funding that allows me to do this?
* How can I access or have the necessary resources, as well as financial, to create this business?

After this analysis we will choose the best business idea, which will undergo the feasibility study.

4. Feasibility Study

The idea that we selected in the previous section, was subjected to a feasibility study which involves making a small, informal market research where our goal is to get a first idea of the viability of the business.

In this informal market research, competitive business visit and discuss their strategies and errors, we acquire their products or use their services, customers do small surveys that power, or people who have worked in similar businesses, we will consult professionals, etc.

This research will give us a first idea of the viability of the business idea, if convinced of its viability, we turn to the next step where you will submit the idea to develop a business plan.

But if after doing this research, we are not convinced of the viability of the idea, we take the next most important idea from the list we had developed in the previous section, and submit to this study.

5. Business Plan

And finally, once approved the idea of business in the pre-feasibility study, we will submit this idea to develop a business plan.

In this business plan, through a more formal market research, and a study on the investment of the business, know the profitability and other aspects that help determine the viability of the business, i.e. will tell us whether our initial business idea is a good business opportunity.

Do you know why business planning is the most important factor determining business success?

If you are already familiar with business planning then you will already realize the importance of having a continuous evolving plan for your business.

If not then we will discuss the benefits to you and your business of having such a plan in motion.

1. A good business plan regularly updated will give you a reality check on the performance of your business. Seeing figures in black and white can stir you into taking action by reminding you what you had originally planned.

2. Good planning will take in the concept of continual research into making your business more profitable and more efficient. A continually updated business plan is like focusing on the different programs on a television screen, which are continually changing. So eventually you get a better idea of what is actually happening inside the structure of your business.

3. With a business plan you have to learn and become proficient in the many different aspects of the structure of your business. By the nature of your involvement in your business plan if you ever need expert advice on any part of your business then you will already be familiar with its workings.

4. Many people who run a business do not like focusing on many of the parts that go to make a business plan a success. This is a false way of having the finger on the pulse of your business. By being involved and familiar in the planning of your business you literally have to take part.

5. The contacts and the people you meet while writing and researching your business plan will give you untold opportunities later as contacts to help expand your business. Every contact can be a potential customer.

Although many entrepreneurs go into the ring full of passion and desire to make a difference to your business or your company, the reality is that you are not alone and should interact with half the world to achieve the goals it sets. Among the persons or institutions with which you may have to interact and negotiate are the banks. If you need a credit must go to a bank and tell them because they must borrow money.

They involve the Business Plan; this is a current picture and future of your business. Who should be reflected in the company, it does, who is our competition and what are the possibilities for growth and development in the medium and short term.

It is easy to assemble this document. This requires lifting company data; analyze the micro and macro environments where it is immersed, through economics and politics.

A business plan can be well done that you need to guarantee a bank, though not certain, because what banks are reluctant to lose money just like that, this document is essential.

A business plan full of flaws and errors can be counterproductive if the goal of getting money. By thus avoiding errors like:

1. Repeated Ideas
2.  Using inappropriate language or jargon

3. Inconsistency
4. I heard the expert opinion
5. Overconfidence (ignore or underestimate the competition)

It goes without saying that you should make a realistic business plan, that is true incorporate information from a market study, financial planning, cash flow, sales forecasting, among others.

To estimate the selling price, sales volume and infra-structure compatible with what you want, is critical for the bank, do not leave aside or out. We hope that you do not skip this point to start a business, whether you need credit.