Your Own Home Based Business

10 Great Videos on Affiliate Marketing

2009-06-22T20:39:00.001+01:00

Affiliate marketing is one of the best online money makers for home based businesses. You can use knowledge you already possess to promote other peoples' products and gain a commission. Start up costs are low, and you can concentrate on marketing without the additional tasks of producing and dispatching products, tracking payments and so on.

Of course, there's a lot to learn and understand to make you an effective affiliate marketer.

Below I've pulled together ten great videos on affiliate marketing from people who know the business. They will get you started and give you a real insight. When you've done watching them, read further about affiliate programs.

What is affiliate marketing?
A quick introduction by Joel Comm

How affiliate marketing works
Excellent overview from Rosalind Gardner

Finding niche markets
Tools you can use to find niches

Niche markets and Clickbank
Using the popular affiliate programs on Click bank - Jason Siebold

Using Commission Junction
How to sign up with another favourite affiliate site.

Choosing the right affiliate product
There's more to it than how much they pay.

Pre-selling your affiliate products
With the right approach, you can increase sales.

Sugarrae aka Rae Hoffman
Affiliate marketing insights from this well-know marketer

Affiliate marketing in a recession
Excellent thoughts and advice from Rosalind Gardner.

Sponsored link - Site Build It!
They've helped many people to success - are they right for you?

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Eight ways to make money writing online

2009-06-17T20:20:00.001+01:00

If you enjoy writing and can turn out readable prose there are several ways of making money writing online. Here are some ideas.

Blogging - Write your own blog. It's free at blogger.com and wordpress.com. Many people believe it is better to host a blog on your own website rather than have it hosted on these sites. Get the wordpress software free at wordpress.org. Make money from your blog with affiliate products - either hosting affiliate ads or better still, text links from your posts - or pay per click such as adsense. You could also link to your other money-making sites such as your Amazon shop.

Blogging - Paid per post. Get paid for each post you write. Sign up with Pay Per Post. They advertise companies who pay you to write posts about their products. The amount you get depends on the company, the product and how well-read you blog is. You can use your own blog or have one hosted by Pay Per Post.

Articles - Promote your own product. Write lots of articles and post them online at article directories like ezine-articles. Articles are most often used just to generate links to your site. But if the link points to your product page you can make money directly, just make your article informative and not 'spammy'. You are unlikely to get a huge number of click-throughs, but it may be worth it if your product is high value. Most directories will not accept affiliate links.

Articles - Write articles for other websites. If you can show real expertise in a subject, email webmasters of suitable sites or online newsletters and offer to write articles for money. You may have to do some for free at first, unless you are well known in the field.

Articles - Go freelance. Sign up on sites such as elance and guru and post your CV/resume. People wanting articles and other writing work done tender for work on these sites and you can bid to do them. Know your own worth and don't continually accept low paid stuff. Once you've done some work, look for repeat work from the same client.

Squidoo and Hubpages - Write your own pages. Create pages (called lenses on Squidoo and hubpages on ... well, you guessed it!) on subjects of your own choice and post them free to the site. Make money with affiliate links, Adsense, Amazon shop and so on. Hubpages rotate your Adsense and theirs so that you both make something. Squidoo put some Adsense on your lens as well as yours, they take a bit of the revenue and give the rest to charity. A nice touch is that you set how much you get and how much the charities get. These sites have a great social feel and there is lots of help and advice.

Cafepress - Write and publish your book. Write your best seller, How To guide or whatever and upload it. Cafepress handles the printing, binding and dispatch. You decide on the design, size, how many and all that. Costs vary according to what you want to do. This is the only method in this list of making money writing online where you have to pay out in order to earn.

eBooks - Write and sell. eBooks, particularly of the How To type, are very popular because they are relatively cheap and can be downloaded instantly. Write your eBook and convert it to .pdf. Then upload and sell it from your website, online store such as Payloadz, or through affiliates on Clickbank (you'll need your own micro-site for this).

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5 Causes of business idea failure

2009-06-11T09:25:00.002+01:00

It is a sad fact that many home based businesses fail to get off the ground. Even more fail to prosper as well as they should. Sometimes it's the business idea or business model that is at fault. Here are just some of the reasons why people come up with ideas that are not so hot.

1. Not identifying the customers. Whether you start an online or offline business, you should identify exactly where your customers will come from. Don't try to sell to everyone, at least at first. Instead, try to identify a section of the population that you will serve. Maybe it is people in a particular area, or who work or do certain things at a particular time. Maybe your customers come from a certain age or status group, or hold particular opinions. Will your product appeal to people with specialist interests? Start thinking broadly and focus in. You may identify more than one group. Do you need a different approach for each?

2. Not identifying a unique selling point (USP). What is it that you will do that makes you stand out from the rest? This doesn't have to be a totally novel idea or new product. It just has to provide to a group of customers a solution that isn't provided by anyone else, or at least by few enough people that there is room for you. It could be offering an online solution to businesses that don't usually operate online. It could be a simpler, more direct or quicker way to deliver your products. Maybe different opening hours or a unique location.

3. Avoiding competition. If there is competition, there must be a demand! You need to focus on your customers and on your USP, but you won't be able to avoid competition completely or for long. Even if you start with no competition, if your idea is any good you will get competition. Being afraid of competition can lead you to operate in an obscure niche where there just isn't enough trade to make your idea a success. You can't avoid competition, but you can stand out from them and be a success.

4. Thinking more about solutions than needs. Businesses become successful because customers have a need for what they supply. If people don't need what you provide, they won't buy, even if your idea is fantastic. Of course, there are different values to 'need'. People need food to survive, their need for a great dining experience is about pleasure, social interaction, status. So needs are identified by the customer and will change over time. How many people 'needed' a MP3 player ten years ago?

5. Being inflexible. When you've just come up with a world-beating idea, it can come as a bit of a blow to find that no-one else thinks it's so hot after all. It calls for a bit of fine judgement as to whether you stick to your guns in the face of mounting scepticism, or modify or, in the extreme, scrap your plans. Getting your market research right will help you to decide. Market research doesn't have to be elaborate - at it's simplest, it's just about talking to people. But the more evidence you can gather, the more you will be able to determine whether your idea needs to stay, alter, or be shelved.

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10 Reasons to start your own home based business

2009-06-05T22:35:00.000+01:00

There are many reasons for starting your own home based business. Each would-be starter and each business owner will have their own set. Here are just a few.

1. Be your own boss

This is a big draw for most small business people. Taking on the responsibility, setting the standards and the pace, making decisions, they are all part of the attraction. Of course, you will sink or swim according to how good you are as your own boss! Make plans, have a schedule, be good at time management. Try to share some of the load by running ideas past friends, family and advisors. You can’t shift the responsibility, but it can give you assurance. If you are successful you did it yourself, if it doesn’t work out, well, that was you too.

2. The variety

With the new skills you will acquire and the thousand and one tasks that need to be completed, being the owner of your own home based business is one of the most varied positions around. Tackling and overcoming many challenges is one of the rewards of small business. But getting hooked on the variety can be a problem. Make sure that you spend the majority of time on your core business, doing those things that you are good at. Outsource the things you are not good at or that prevent you concentrating on why you went into business in the first place.

3. It’s not so difficult

Starting and running your own home based business is hard work. You will need to learn new skills. It will take dedication and persistence if you are to succeed. But it’s not difficult. All the knowledge and skills you need are within the grasp of the average person. What you do need is the right information and the right advice.

4. Following your interests

Many people start their own business in areas that fascinate them. It makes sense to do this, because the knowledge and the enthusiasm will see you through when things get intense. It’s not vital, of course, to do what you know – look at Richard Branson when he started Virgin Airways – but it is vital to get the right information and advice. Take on a partner, employee or advisor to plug any gaps in your knowledge. This should be part of your business plan.

5. Using your creativity

A great part of having your own business is having ideas, working them through and seeing them deliver rewards. Of course, some businesses provide greater scope for creativity than others. Only you can judge where your real talent lies. Play to your strengths

6. Making money!

It usually takes some time for a start up business to become profitable. In the early months, or sometimes years, money can be short whist the business becomes established. For some, the object is not to make more money but to maintain a standard of living whist getting more satisfaction from what they do. However, your own business may well pay you better than your former income. And, if you hit the right business model, with hard work and a bit of luck, you could see a very substantial return.

7. New experiences, new career

Your own home based business can see you launching out on a new career. Perhaps at first you will work part time at your business whilst still employed. You may start a business similar to your employment, or you may branch out in new directions, perhaps converting a hobby or an interest into a money-making enterprise.

8. No commuting

One of the great advantages of working from home is losing the dreaded commute into work. You gain back the time, save the money and perhaps save the need for a second car, at least for a while. It pays, though, to set aside a work area from the rest of your home, so that you can get organised and feel ‘at work’ even if it is only the spare bedroom.

9. Hours to suit yourself

Along with no commuting can come the ability to work the hours that suit you. This will depend to a large extent on the sort of business you run. Internet businesses in particular allow flexibility in working hours, since the business will run on automatic whilst you are offline. Businesses that need direct interaction with customers in real time – taking and filling orders and answering enquiries, are obviously less flexible.

10. Satisfaction

There is a huge satisfaction to be had from conceiving, starting and making a success of your own business. Building something of your own and providing an income from solely your own efforts is a great source of pride.

Whatever your reasons for starting your own home based business, good luck!

Marketing psychology - ten quick tips

2009-05-30T22:39:00.003+01:00

Marketing psychology is, of course, a huge subject, but whatever the size of your business it pays to give some attention to how your customers think and act. Here are ten quick tips. I advise you not to use them as a checklist,or try to implement them all. Instead, use them to gradually hone your marketing messages.

Customers’ are emotional beings. People will want a product if it appeals to an emotional need: to look good, feel good, to be admired, to feel they are in control or up to date, and so on. Marketing psychology has to appeal to people’s emotions. What emotion would your product satisfy?
Customers justify their decisions with facts. People usually realize that buying on emotion alone is not sensible, so they will search for facts that confirm their choice to buy is a good one. Does your marketing show the benefits that the product will bring to the customer?
Customers love themselves. People see the world according to how it affects them. Marketing psychology should satisfy people’s need to feel good about themselves and the decisions they make. Do your describe your product in a way that enhances their view of themselves?
Customers want value, not cheap. Value is the difference between what customers think the product is worth and its price. Psychologically, a product’s worth is altered by its benefits, its availability or scarcity, and the emotional need for it. The price is seen in terms of what others are or have asked. Provided the perceived worth is high, a higher price will be accepted. Does your marketing demonstrate that your product worth what you are asking?
Customers are people. People’s psychology responds to a degree of personal approach, because they perceive a relationship with you. They are reassured if other people, especially people like them, approve of your product or your company. Does your marketing introduce a personal touch in the written copy, with photographs or with testimonials, etc?
Customers enjoy buying. Buying, we have said, fulfils psychological needs. People feel good if they can happily contemplate the benefits of what they have bought. They feel satisfied if they got good value for money and were treated well. Does your marketing help your customers to meet their needs, or do you just sell to them?
Customers are cautious. People avoid risk and seek reassurance. They want to deal with reputable people, offering good value products, in a safe environment. Does your marketing portray an image of you, your products and your methods that gives your customers confidence?
Customers want convenience. People want their purchase to be easy. They will look further if they feel your offer is too good to pass up and is unlikely to be bettered - or even offered – elsewhere, and if you make the buying process easy. Do you convince your customers that yours is a great deal, and that they can buy now, quickly, simply and with confidence?
Customers like to try out stuff. It is natural to want to make sure something will do the job you say it will. If you are selling online, you may have to be creative in how you allow customers to experience something of what it would be like to own the product. Can you fulfill people’s psychological need to try out products or see them in action?
Customers make up their own minds. People want to feel that they are in charge of a situation, making their own decisions and not being forced. At the same time, they want information to base their decisions on. Do you help people make decisions, or badger them with facts?

Effective Marketing Strategies

2009-05-30T20:03:00.000+01:00

Whatever the size of your business, you need an effective marketing strategy. It doesn’ t have to be elaborate, but without it your marketing will be untargeted and less effective. There are two main aims.

To make sure that your products meet the needs of your customers.
To build relationship with your customers that is effective and profitable.

To do this you have to identify what needs that your products satisfy and then how you can best tell your customers about them.

Here are some questions to ponder.

Your customers will fall into groups with different needs. Do you know what groups and what needs? Do you know which are, or could be, most profitable? Perhaps some simple market research is necessary.
Is there a good match between your products and what your customers are looking for? If not, will you alter or expand your product range or your customer base, or both? Do your prices and customer service meet what customers expect? Note: not all customers want low prices and extensive customer service.
Of the whole range of online and offline marketing strategies, which provide the ability to show off your products well, and reach your customers? (The Marketing Mix)
Do you know how your customers find you now? Have you asked them? Do you run website analytics?
How will you test the performance of your marketing so that you can make adjustments? Perhaps a trial or a review or a survey?

Learn how to write effective marketing strategies.

Keep the cost down with Bootstrap Marketing techniques.

10 Best Home Based Business Ideas

2009-05-23T21:12:00.006+01:00

It's a frequent question: what are the 10 best home based business ideas? Of course there is no real answer, but here are ten home based business ideas for online start ups. They pass some basic tests to make them accessible to most people. They are simple and inexpensive to set up, can be started part-time if necessary, and with much of the work done at times to suit yourself.

None of these need extensive business knowledge to at first, but the more you know about starting and running a small business the better. You'll find information elsewhere in these pages and links to more outside help to get you started in your own home based business. None of these are get rich quick schemes or home working scams. Usual note: all businesses need dedicated hard work to succeed.

10 Best Home Based Business Ideas - no, but well worth considering, and in no particular order.

Art and photographic design sales - open your own free online store, where you can sell your art designs or images on various media. Two good sites are CafePress and Zazzle.
Craftwork or handmade goods business - sell your craftwork or handmade goods through your own free store on a website dedicated just this kind of enterprise. Find out more at Etsy.
Writing - there are many outlets for people with writing skills. If you want to publish your own work try Lulu. If you prefer to look for freelance work and post your CV online, look at Guru or elance.
Freelance services - many people choose to use their existing professional or personal skills as freelancers. Once again, Guru and elance are good starting points for finding work and advertising your skills
Sell ebooks - selling ebooks and other virtual goods is attractive because you can sell an item again and again. You can write your own or buy them with 'master resale' rights to sell again. Or you can acquire ready built stores with a stock of ebooks from, for example, Website Deals orInstant Pay Sites.
Affiliate marketing - affiliate marketing is where you advertise other people's goods and services in return for a percentage of the sales receipts. There is a whole range of marketing methods you can employ. Learn more about affiliate programs.
Use your pastimes - people use the internet to find information on their pastimes and interests. They are also interested in buying products to go with those interests. Find out about starting a business based on your pastimes.
Start an online service - such as a dating agency, auto sales and so on. Website Deals have a range of off the peg sites for sale.
Online stores for offline goods - ebay is probably the best know - they have stores on their site as well as the auctions. Note: for the UK you need ebay.co.uk. For other countries, follow one of these links and find your own country at the foot of the page. An alternative to ebay is creating a store on your own website with inexpensive online store software to get a fully functioning ecommerce store.
Write a blog or Squidoo lens - write a regular blog on a any subject for free at Blogger or WordPress. Squidoo 'lenses' are web pages you write and publish for free. Again, they can be on any subject, and you can write as many as you like. You can make money on blogs and Squidoo by affiliate programs or Adsense.

Online Store Software

2009-05-08T09:47:00.000+01:00

Online stores are a popular choice for home based businesses. They're inexpensive and quite simple to set up. Online store software gives your your own store on your own website. You have complete freedom to sell your own goods or services, and to create your own style and 'feel'.

The packages usually offer excellent features that help you to run all aspects of your online store business. There are the customer facing features, such as a product catalogue and shopping basket; secure payment facilities; and support for background activities, such as stock control.

I wouldn't look at a package that did not allow me a free, no obligation trial period, or at very least a fully interactive demo store. Make full use of these free trials so that you are sure its right for you. Remember that a longer trail period is not necessarily a sign of a better product. Try out a few, and don't be afraid to walk away, there is plenty of choice, here are just a few for you to try:
Open a Store - 7 day free trial
Volution - 14 day free trial, 30 day money back guarantee
EKM Powershop - Free demo, 30 day money back guarantee
More - visit muntjack.com for more advice and links to online store software

If you fancy an even easier, but a bit more limited, route to running your own online store, find out about free hosted online stores.

Your Own Free Online Store

2009-05-03T10:20:00.008+01:00

Online stores are much cheaper to set up and run than their bricks and mortar cousins, and they're very easy to set up. Depending on your own goods or services, you may avoid that most expensive of business costs for any store: stock. Online stores are rightly a popular choice for home based businesses.

When people think of online stores they usually think of eBay first. Nothing wrong with that and you may want to learn more about eBay trading or go straight to eBay stores to set up an online store: eBay USA eBay UK (for other countries link one of these links an go to the bottom of the landing page to find your country).

But there are other sites offering hosting for your own online store, and unlike eBay they're free. Sites vary in the type of online store they offer and the range of goods you can sell, so find one that suits you. Like eBay, these sites have a community feel to them, plus loads of free advice on how to set up and make the most of your own online store. After all, their success depends on the successs of everybody's online store.

When you open an online store there are a number of basic things you will want it to do:

Display your goods or services, and their prices
Provide a customers shopping basket
Collect payment
Demonstrate that your customers money is secure
Receive and fill orders
Let customers contact you
Manage sales and accounts

You'll find that most sites offer upgrades that will give you more features. You'll have to pay for them, but they're inexpensive, and may well be worth the small investment if they suit your business needs.

Here are a few examples of the sort of online stores you can set up and have hosted for free.

Amazon - select and sell a range of Amazon products on commission
Etsy - sell your own craft goods
Cafepress - use your own artwork on a range of products
More: check Muntjack.com for more information and links to more free online stores.

Not right for you? Want your own independant online store? You can set up and host an online store on your own website with any of the powerful and reasonably priced software packages that are now available. They are simple to set up and use. Many products offer a free trail period or free interactive demo. More information and links to online store software.

Online Business? 7 Things Your Best Friend Should Ask You

2009-03-01T15:23:00.010Z

Want to start your own home based business online? Then just like any other business, you'll need to be completely focused. Unfocused businesses do not succeed. One way of testing if you're focused is to have (or imagine) a conversation with your best friend. The object is to convince them that your business will fly.

Great! What will your business do? Simple question, but one owners don't always find easy to answer. Have you identified a real need, and how your business will provide a solution? Who are your customers and are they willing to spend good money on what you will offer? What makes your business different from the thousands of others on the web? When you explain your business to family and friends, do they 'get it'? Do you understand the section of the internet market that you will be operating in, and are you confident that you can offer something different or better? Check out your customers and competitors online before you dive in. Visit forums and blogs to see what's current. Find your niche and go for it.

Oh yes, and what will you sell? People planning to run their own home based business online know that attracting customers is key. So they often start with plans for their website or other selling outlet, and focus on their customer niche. Deciding what they will actually sell comes way down the list of things to think about. This is a particular hazard if you plan to sell other peoples products as an affiliate. Make sure your products are a key part of your plan. It would be deeply frustrating to succeed in attracting customers, only to find that they can't find what they want from what you have on offer. Keep your range of products well focused on the customers you have identified.

Where will you sell your stuff? Most online businesses sell through their own website, and a website is essential if you sell your own products. You can have a 'shop front' site with a range of goods and services on offer, or a site dedicated to one product only. Your site or sites can also be a mechanism for attracting customers, by offering free information for example. You can link sites to refer customers onwards, so one site does not necessarily have to do all the tasks. If you are planning advertising products as an affiliate then the selling is done by the product owner from their site and your task is to refer customers to them as soon as possible. Some strategies in affiliate marketing do not require you to have a website.

So you'll just work online will you? If you are selling physical items or your personal services, you'll almost certainly need an offline part to your business too.That might just mean having a telephone line where people can reach you. It could mean space for making, storing and dispatching goods. Maybe you'll need somewhere where customers can meet you face to face. If any of these describe your business then you are probably better thinking of your business as an offline operation with an online marketing strategy. That way you have a better chance of putting your efforts into the right parts of the business.

Do you really know all that techie stuff? With the software available these days you don't have to be a techie to do anything online. But just because you could do something yourself, doesn't mean you should. You have two budgets for your home based business - time and money. You should spend most of your time on the things you do best and that most benefit your business. Spend some of your money budget on paying others to do things they can do better or quicker than you. No one in the offline world hesitates long before employing an accountant, a lawyer or a plumber when they are needed. You should employ web designers, marketers and others in the same way. There's lots of help out there; use it wisely.

Have you got everything you need? When writing your business plan, think about the hardware, the software and the people you'll need to run your business. Keep asking yourself "So what?" questions. For example, you need a website, so what? So you need a domain name, a hosting service, a way of designing your site, writing content, illustrating products, taking payment, tracking sales, and so on (and on!). Also ask the supplementary questions. I'm going to design my site myself using a software package, so what? So I'll need to buy, or rent the software, or get one included in a package. Plus I'll need time to learn how to use it, and check my results, and so on. Work out the time and money you'll need to invest, budget for that and add a contingency amount.

Are you really well organised? No? Then get organised. Now! Your own home based business will take a lot of your time and mental energy. You need a highly efficient system of recording what you have done, what needs doing, when, how, and much more. And that's before you start tracking customers' orders and payments, managing your cashflow, and calculating your tax. Highly efficient doesn't mean complicated, but if your organising must be as simple as possible, it should also be complete. You will loose hours of scarce time, and money, if you don't get yourself organised from the start.

So, are you ready to go? You bet!

The Marketing Mix

2009-02-21T22:05:00.012Z

'The Marketing Mix' is a concept that was developed by a number of marketers in the 1950s and 60s, and it is mentioned in most marketing textbooks. It became associated with the '4 Ps': Price, Place, Promotion and Product. Later, marketers added up to three more Ps: People, Process and Physical Evidence. Well that's all fine and dandy, but it's not my aim to get you a degree in marketing. What can the idea of the marketing mix do to help you with your own home based business? It's about blending the Ps together to produce a plan that sells your product at a profit. Lets take them one at a time.

Price. Pricing products is usually one of the difficult decisions for any new business. Many make the mistake of thinking they have to be cheaper to compete. In fact there are few businesses that compete on price alone. It's more about the customer believing they have bought at a good price in the circumstances. If service is prompt, quality high and their need for the product great, they will accept a higher price as being reasonable.

Place - where, and how, you sell your product. Will you be selling direct to your customers, or through agents or affiliates, or a mixture of these? Will you have to hold stock? Will different routes get you a different market? Will some take longer than others? What are the costs of each? Try to be flexible in your thoughts about the routes to your customers. But do make sure you understand the probable outcomes of each.

Product. Remember that old salesman's saying 'sell the benefits, not the features'? If you think about your product that way you may come realise that while you thought you were selling, say, a new software application, the main thing you sold was time-saving! You may also have sold peace of mind, in the form of a money-back guarantee or online help. These factors alter the way the customer sees the value and desirability of the product.

Promotion. You customers may meet you products in more ways than your direct sales pitch. Through mentions on your website, your blog or someone else's, through your competitors even! Each time they meet the product it affects their vies of it. Make sure that all the meetings you are responsible for are good ones. Another old salesman's saying: AIDA. Grab their Attention; hold their Interest; get them to Desire the product; have them take Action towards buying it. The AIDA process may take a few seconds if you are selling beer in a heatwave, or weeks and months if it's a car.

Physical Evidence. Customers want to see evidence of your business and your product. If that product is a service or computer software they won't actually be able to see the product itself. They are them more reliant on other evidence: pictures, websites, letters, business cards, logos, premises, a telephone number - in short, anything about you and your product that will assure them of genuineness and value.

Process. The process your customer goes through in meeting, purchasing and using your product. Our job is to make that process as smooth, simple and satisfying as possible. Your product may be great and just what the customers want, but if they have to endure poor service to get it, they may not think it worth their while, or their money.

People. The last and most important ingredient in the marketing mix. People buy from people. In this internet age customers may never see or hear you or your staff. But they will tune in to any human traces in websites and emails. Pictures of people, use of customers' names, friendly wording and much more, will help. Of course, if your customers do meet you, you have the opportunity to ensure they are treated well.

Use the Marketing Mix to focus on each part of your marketing. You will find areas that need improvement, and attention to improvements will increase sales and profits.

Seven Basic Facts of Marketing

2009-02-15T14:25:00.014Z

You must make marketing the centre of your own home based business. It's a fact of business life that without marketing your business is dead in the water. You must have have a marketing budget, no matter if it is small at present, and you must have a strategy. Here are seven basic facts about marketing to get you started.

1. Nobody is listening to you. You are the only one who is really interested in your business and your products. Your potential customers are mostly focused on anything but your marketing message. Your task is to reach out and motivate people who couldn't care less whether you make a sale or not. Is that a bit harsh? Yes, but it is also true. At least it is true most of the time. If you are a plumber and your potential customer has a water leak at 2 in the morning, they may be more interested in you getting the sale than you are! But sadly for the marketer these situations are rare.

2. Your's is just one message of many. Every day we are all bombarded with thousands of marketing messages. How many of them do we really see, hear or read? How many marketing messages do you remember at the end of each day? And if you can remember the message, can you remember what product it was promoting? Not only do you have to make yourself heard against all the background noise, you have to be clear enough to be understood and you have to be smart enough that the customer remembers exactly what you want them to.

3. Marketing isn't just important; it's vital. No customers equals no business. No matter how good your products or how efficient your service, if you don't put them in front of the customer and get a sale, your business is going nowhere. That means you have to put the right amount of your time budget and your money budget into your marketing programme. Usually, if you have less of one you'll have to put in more of the other.

4. Give a lot, get a lot. People these days are always on the lookout for bargains. Bargains used to be reserved for special occasions, but now people are wanting sweeteners all the time. Give away as much as you can: products, advice, incentives, goodies. It's particularly easy if you are marketing online and can include software packages which cost you very little but can have great non-monetary, or even monetary, value to your customers. But always bear in mind that you are giving to help you make a sale. Don't treat it as an end in itself.

5. The market is always changing. Ever wonder why ads on television change after a few months? It's not just that people get tired of them, it's also that the world moves on, products are updated, new options for marketing arise and old ones fade. A few years ago no-one had heard of Twitter and a few years further back again no-one had heard of FaceBook (hard to believe now, eh!) but now social marketing online is powerful marketing tool.

6. They don't have to buy from you. I'm sure you've noticed that business is competitive, very competitive. It's not just your direct competitors, it's everything else that your customers could spend their time and money on. So you have to be better than good, you have to be innovative, and slick in your marketing. What you are doing now may be good enough now, but it soon won't be enough. Look for new angles, new messages, even new products if you have to.

7. You can't miss a single opportunity. Everything you do in your business is marketing. Every time your customer interacts with you, you must interact with them to build a relationship. They way you treat them, the things they see and hear, all will either encourage them to do business with you or send them heading for your nearest competitor. Whether it's your emails, website, receipts, everything, make sure you look right and act right. But don't take this as an instruction to try to sell to them at every turn.

Trusted Business Information

2009-02-14T22:04:00.006Z

Not everyone who wants to give you advice about your own home based business is qualified to give you that advice. Others are just out to make money from you. There are trustworthy sources of information out there - but which are they? A good place to start is with web pages from government, business charities or other independent organisations. This post lists a wide range, but not all of them. Much of the advice is useful wherever you are based, but since the pages are from the UK, things like tax and business law will apply in the UK only.

[Update. Two important links for my American readers: The Better Business Bureau and Counselors to America's Small Business]

General Business Support and Start Up

Business Link for advice online . It is a free business advice and support service backed by the government and the business community. Great for start ups and those in the early years of their business. Find your local branch. Use them, they're invaluable. Start with their no nonsense guide to starting a business.

National Federation of Enterprise Agencies. Impartial and independent advice on starting and developing your business. This is the link for England - click it and find your region. Equivalent organisations for other UK countries are: Business Support Wales and Business Enterprise Scotland

Business Gateway for Lowland Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise are similar.

Forum for Private Business is an organisation you can join, or you can just take advantage of the loads of free advice online.

British Chambers of Commerce offer advice, business news and the chance to network with other businesses.

The Confederation of British Industries (CBI). Often know as the 'bosses' organisation, they offer these enterprise pages for SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises).

The Trade Association Forum represents many trade associations and offers business news and networking. Particularly helpful if it represents your trade.

EEF is and employers federation with more advice and networking.

Scams

Consumer Direct has government advice on work from home scams.

Finance

British Banking Association with advice on business banking.

Business Link again. Information on grants and support.

Accountants

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants can help you find an accountant.

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales gives general advice on accounting and using accountants

Computers, Internet and Communications

Get Safe Online is a government backed organisation giving advice on communications security.

Telecom Advice is an independent organisation giving advice on all forms of electronic communications.

Employment and Training

These Direct Government pages tell you about workers' pay and conditions rights.

The Citizens' Advice service offers training courses on employment law.

Business Law

These government Office of Fair Trading pages tell small businesses about business law.

Health, Safety and Environment

Health and Safety Executive's business pages will tell you about health and safety standards and practice.

Environment Agency - government pages about business and the environment.

Taxes

HM Revenue and Customs pages for 'how to' guides to tax, and download forms for various taxes.

Tax Aid - a charity giving advice on tax issues.

Writing an Effective Business Plan

2009-02-08T12:10:00.008Z

Many owners of home based businesses make the mistake of not writing a business plan. This is particularly true of business people who are in business part time and so already have an income, and those whose business is online. The result is that the business has no focus or targets and there is no financial planning. You should write a business plan to ensure that your own home based business has an improved chance of success.

A business plan is really a way getting your ideas together and it doesn't have to be in any particular format. If you are writing a plan that will be shared by an outsider, your bank for instance or a small business advisor, they will probably have forms that will help you. You can also get free advice online - see, for instance, advice from Barclays Bank . But even if you are writing your own home based business plan for yourself only, remember that you are writing for the most important person!

There are three main parts to a simple business plan for those starting out.

The family budget plan
The business strategy plan
The business finance plan

If this all sounds a bit too formal and technical, please do not give up at this stage. A big company needs a big formal plan, a small company needs a small informal plan.

The family budget plan

Does your family have enough money to survive on until the business takes off? Will your business affect your family income or expenditure? For example, will your income be less because of the time you spend on the business? Will household costs increase, perhaps because you are spending more time at home or because telephone or car costs will increase? Will you be investing some of your other income or savings in your business? You should ensure that your family is provided for over the first year, since most new businesses make little money during that period.

At the bottom of the page you will find a list* of the things you should include. Make sure you add any expenditure that you have that is not on the list. Include contingencies like paying for car repairs and so on. Compare that with your family income (without your business!) and if your income is more that your costs, everything is fine. Don't rely on your business to make up any shortfall. OK, family provided for? Now you can concentrate on your business.

The business strategy plan

The title of this section is a bit grand, but it really means what you are going to do, how are you are going to do it, and what makes you believe in its success. Work through the items below, quickly at first, but don't miss any out. Then go back over your initial thoughts to see what you should concentrate on.

Personal and business aims. Consider why you are starting your own home based business. Is it for extra income, as a challenge, to be your own boss? What would success look like to you as a person? Your business aims will be different. What will you provide to your customers, how will you do it, what image will you have, what market share?

Key people. You, of course! But will success also depend on input from others, such as partners , advisers, investors or technical services? What skills or resources will you and they provide.

The market. If you are planning an online business, you will certainly be looking at niche markets, and many offline businesses will do the same. Who are your customers, where are they, do they have spending power and if so, how much? How big is the market (roughly)? How big a share can you get?

Competitors. Who are they, where do they operate, can you compete directly or partially? What do they do, where and how? Don't be put off by the fact that there are competitors, it confirms there is market. But you have to be able to compete.

Strengths and weaknesses. Yours and the competition! Be realistic. What do they do well? What could you do better? Can you correct your weaknesses, bring in other key people to deal with them, or plan your business so that your weaknesses don't matter? Use a SWOT analysis - look at your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. Take the opportunities, make plans to avoid or address the threats.

Products and Services. What are you going to provide for customers? Are you selling products direct, or on behalf of other businesses? What are your competitors offering, how will your products fit in or differ? How are customers needs serviced by your competitors? What could you copy, what could you do better or different? What will you charge? NB - few businesses succeed by competing on price alone, so base you strategy on better products or better service to your customers.

Your Unique Selling Point. What is it that will make your business stand out from the competition and make you different enough to attract enough customers to succeed? It doesn't have to be a grand thing. Will your products be better, advertising more focused, service well above the norm?

Marketing plan. How will people hear about you? Why will they choose you instead of your competitors. When will you launch products and advertisements? What will be your proposition to your customers? Have you got a marketing budget? If not, get one, no matter if it is modest at first.

The business finance plan

Again, it's a bit of a grand title for deciding where you will get your money from, how you will earn money, and how you make sure your outgoings aren't more than your income at any stage. There are two bits to this: start up costs, and cashflow.

Start up costs. Every business has some start up costs, they may be minor or they could be substantial. How are you going to pay for them? Can you put in enough money that does not need repaying, or will you have to borrow, from your savings or elsewhere, and pay it back in time? If you are borrowing from a bank, they will want to see in some detail what you have planned or already got.

Cashflow. Every business has to spend money in order to make money. If, for example, you are buying products to sell them later this spending will be a significant part of your expenditure. If you are offering advice and expertise it will be less. But managing cashflow is a must for everyone. Many businesses underestimate the time it will take for money to come in and how quickly the money will flow out. If it takes, say, three months before you see any customers' money and a full year before the income is anything like substantial, will your own business have enough money to pay its bills each month? In the second list below** are suggestions of what should go into a cashflow forecast. Add in anything that is particular to your own business. Use a spreadsheet if you can, with the list of item down the side, the months across the top, and the figures for each item in the right monthly column. Does your money dip into the red at any stage? What are you going to do about it?

But - a Warning

Business plans are important - but they are not the business! Give your plans enough attention to ensure that your own home based business has a strategy and is financially viable. But don't let it take over your business life so that you spend more time planning than on making money!

*List 1 - Family Budget Expenditure
Housing - mortgage/rent
Taxes Utilities - water/gas/electric/oil Insurance - personal/property/health/motor/etc
Savings plans
Loans and credit
Food and household items
Clothing
Telephone/internet
Hire charges
Entertainment - holidays/meals/drinks/music/etc
Subscriptions - newspapers/societies/sports/etc
Motor - taxes/insurance/fuel/other running costs/repair and servicing
Gifts
Children's costs - school/daycare
Contingencies

**List 2 - Business finance

Outgoings-

Purchases and payments to creditors
Advertising
Salaries and remuneration
Property - rents/utilities/etc
Insurances
Equipment Internet/telephone/postage/etc
Travel and motoring
Professional fees and contractors
Carriage and packaging
Miscellaneous expenses
Finance charges - bank/loans/etc
Depreciation

Receipts-

Sales
Own investment
Grants and loans

Can I Start a Home Based Business Online with No Money?

2009-02-07T13:32:00.017Z

The answer is Yes - and No! You can do it, but I wouldn't advise you to. Let me draw you an offline comparison. You want to start a window cleaning round with no money. You borrow a ladder and find an old bucket and a rag in the garage, and you're off in business. But very quickly you find that the ladder isn't long enough, the bucket leaks and the rag does't clean the windows like a leather would. You spend hours walking your round because you don't want to buy fuel for your car, and nobody takes you on because you don't look like you can do the job. What is more, you are spending so much time knocking on doors looking for business that you don't have time to clean many windows anyway. See what I'm getting at?

Would you have been better off investing a little money on the right equipment, budgeting for fuel and having a few nice leaflets printed and delivered? Of course you would. And it's the same with an online business or any home based business. Notice that I use the word 'invest', not 'spend'. Business is about investing money to make more - hopefully much more. It's about calculating, or estimating, how investing money in different ways will affect your business. And ultimately, it's about figuring what return you will get on the money and time you invest.

The temptation with your own home based business, but particularly online, is to always try to do things for nothing. I'm not against free stuff, some of it is great and I'll talk more about it below, but if you never invest money, your business will look cheap, it will be inefficient and it will grow much more slowly. Those things directly affect the main areas of your business: your reputation and image; your return on time and money invested; your business growth, which is particularly vital in the early stages of your business.

That established, what should you be investing in your own home based business? The actual amount will vary of course depending on what you are trying to achieve. A part-time home based business will have more modest ambitions, at least initially, than a group of experienced businessmen launching what they believe is a world-beating idea; and the budgets will reflect that. I would suggest you need a few hundred pounds (or dollars or your equivalent) as a minimum. You may not need it all on day one, and you should distinguish between start-up and working capital costs. And you must have a business plan, something that online business people in particular tend to miss out. Elsewhere on this blog you will find information on business plans.

So what can you get online for free?

By that I mean stuff that is worth having.

Free introductory periods. Many software products come with a month or so free introductory period, after which you have to pay to continue using them. The products include web builders, auto-responders, bulk emailers and so on. Most offer the full software facilities during this period. It's also a good method of trying before you buy.

Free introductory versions. For many software packages and web services you can sign up for free, with an option to upgrade to a paid package. These always have fewer facilities than the paid options. They may be good enough for you long-term in some cases, but for many you will quickly become frustrated at the reduced capabilities.

Search Engine Optimisation. Still the best way of getting yourself noticed online. You can do it all for free if you have the skills, and there is a lot of advice out there, not least from Google themselves - just have a look on google.com for 'business solutions'.

Writing. Write your own articles, blogs, web pages, whatever, and not only will you be saving money but also creating the unique content that the web loves and searchers are looking for.

Advertising. Some free advertising is not worth bothering with in my opinion. I would include free entries in ad directories, unless you have a business aimed at a local community that might actually go looking for you. Others are potentially useful, like InstantBuzz (find them under Links on this page). The two main questions to ask yourself are: will these ads reach my prospective customers, and, would I pay for this advertising if I had to? If the answer to both is yes, it's probably worth trying.

Social networking. Provided you follow the rules and the spirit of each site, networks like twitter, del.icio.us, flickr, youtube and so on can be a great way of spreading the news about your business.

Free web pages. You can write your own blog on blogger.com, your own 'lens' on squidoo.com or the equivalent on several other sites. These can be alternatives to having your own site, but are probably better seen as gateways (portals) to your main selling areas.

Free hosting. Some sites offer free hosting for your website, especially if you buy your domain name through them. Look out for the facilities you get, as they may quickly be outgrown by your site, or just not be good enough to begin with.

Free email contact lists. These should be double opt-in lists. The free versions often have restrictions on how often you can download. http://freeffas.com for example, allows you to download just once a month in the free version. These lists may not have members relevant to your own business.

What should you pay for?

Customer interface. By this I mean anything that your customers come into contact with: your site, blog, emails and so on. Unless you are confident that you have or can acquire the skills, get some to do it for you. Online work is usually inexpensive. See elance.com and guru.com

Advertising. You should have an marketing budget and paid advertising can be well worth while. Adwords is the product from Google ( google.com business solutions again). You can also find companies with full advertising campaigns to suit most budgets.

Things you are not good at. We all have different capabilities. Play to your strengths and spend most of your time on things you are good at and which contribute most to your business. Pay someone to do the rest.

Things that take a long time. Balance your time budget with your money budget. If the choice is between investing a small amount of money and investing a huge amount of effort, choose the cash option.

Invest wisely, both your time and your money, and you'll see a good return.

Is a Home Based Business Right for Me?

2009-02-05T22:00:00.002Z

Well, before I try to answer that question, let me ask you another - are you the right person to be running your own home based business? Now don't get me wrong, business people come in all sorts, so it's not about fitting a profile. It's about finding the right motivation and characteristics in yourself. So let's try out a few things. Can you answer 'yes' to most of these questions.

Are you:

Full of mental energy that you want to use up?
Self-motivated?
Prepared to put in an effort?
Prepared to stick at it?
Organised (or able to get yourself organised)?

OK so far? What about some of the things you don't have to be to run an online business. Well, you don't have to be a computer geek or a business genius. You don't have to be rich or ruthless or with out principles. And you definitely should not want to get rich quick or make money fast because you're broke. If you need money fast, a business of any kind is not for you.

So, if you are right for a home based business, is it right for you? There are many kinds of home based business of course. My interest is in online marketing and below I'll explain why I think online marketing is an ideal business to run from home. But whatever business you are contemplating running from home, there are a few things you must have. They are so obvious that they are easily forgotten. They are: Time, Space, Money (at least a bit of it).

All businesses are time-consuming. Realistically, you need at least two hours a day to run the smallest of businesses. More is great, though if you're running a spare time business you may not want it taking over your life. For an online business you don't have to work every day, just put in the time as and when you can. You need space to work and think. That's physical space and mental space, away from the many other things in your life. And you need at least a bit of money. Online businesses are cheap to set up and run. You can do it for nothing at all, but it's almost impossible to achieve full success, and it will certainly take you far longer. This will be a topic for a future post from me, so come back soon!

The last bit today is to give you a quick feel for why I think you should seriously look at online marketing for your own home based business. A few bullet points will do:

It's not necessary to have your own products.
But you can find products if you want them.
Your business can have a physical reality or exist just online.
You can have multiple income streams.
You can work where and when it's best for you.
The business will look after itself while you're offline.

And - the basics are easily learned. If you want to start learning right now have a look at my beginners' classroom. It's a free service, there is no 'sign in' or obligation, and you can go back to it again and again. Beginners' Classroom