Despite what many think, starting a business doesn’t have to deplete your life’s savings. Many successful businesses have been launched from home with a little investment and a lot of determination. Several years ago I launched a Homeowner Referral Network (HRN) business with a $5000 loan from my husband’s retirement savings plan. Not only was I was able to repay the loan in less than six months but my business has grown into a cottage industry nationwide grossing more than $2 million in revenue to date.
If you have the desire to start your own business but have limited resources, below are three tips to help you stay on budget:
1. What do you (really) need?
Before you head out to purchase the latest and greatest technology for your home office, assess your needs. Decide what equipment will be essential to your business start-up and then shop around at local retailers for the best price. Basic office equipment generally includes a computer, printer, fax machine, telephone, answering machine, desk and file cabinet. Unless your business is in a computer-related or hi-tech field, chances are that you can do everything you need with your existing equipment, last year’s computer model or refurbished equipment that includes a warranty or service contract.
TIP: Computer and office supply stores often offer credit cards with 0% financing for 6 months to one year which will help buy you more time to launch your business and start generating some revenue.
2. Seek out free resources.
Whether you need advice on how to set up your business’s legal structure, marketing strategies or accounting techniques there are numerous free resources available for entrepreneurs. Before you invest in costly outside advisors to help you launch your business locate and visit a local SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) chapter in your area. SCORE is a nonprofit association run by volunteer business counselors who donate their time and talent to provide free and confidential business advice to entrepreneurs as a community service. (To find a SCORE chapter near you, visit their website at http://www.score.org.)
The U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) also offers the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Program to provide management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. Entrepreneurs can find an SBDC chapter by visiting the Small Business Administration’s website at www.sba.org.
Finally, the Internet is an amazing source of information and support. Search online for websites and other business owners in your field. Join chat groups where others in your industry meet to share ideas and offer support to those just starting out.
TIP: Not all resources are free. You may also need to hire professionals with a specific area of expertise (i.e. lawyer, graphic artist, website developer, etc.) to help you with certain aspects of your business. Decide what tasks you can handle on your own and outsource other tasks to people with training in that field. Colleges and Universities or Retirement Centers can also be great places to find new talent or part-time help for your business.
3. Don’t overspend on advertising.
Many new business owners invest in expensive advertising campaigns that don’t produce results. Paid advertising isn’t always the best promotional tool. As a new business owner with limited start-up capital, seek out promotional opportunities for your business that are less expensive or—better yet—free!
For example:
- Contact the Business Editor of your local newspaper and pitch your business to them for a story or offer to serve as an expert for an upcoming story on a topic related to your industry.
- Donate your product/service as a giveaway at a local charity event.
- If you have a website, seek out other businesses with websites that generate traffic from your potential customers and offer to put a reciprocal link your site.
TIP: Networking is an effective and inexpensive way to generate business. Look for opportunities where you can meet other professionals who can help generate word of mouth referrals for your business. Make a list of trade organizations, merchant associations, Chambers of Commerce and/or networking groups in your target market and ask to attend a meeting to see if the group is a good fit for you and your business.
Debra Cohen is President and founder of Home Remedies® of NY, Inc.–a Homeowner Referral Network (HRN) business that serves homeowners throughout Nassau County, NY. She is also author of The Complete Guide To Owning And Operating A Successful Homeowner Referral Network and has helped more than 400 entrepreneurs launch successful HRN’s of their own. For more information, visit her website at http://www.hrnbiz.com.
Have you been wanting to jump into blogging but feel overwhelmed by all that's involved in getting started? My friend Kelly has a great
opportunity for you to make the leap in style. All the hard work of installation and theme set up will be done for you - you'll even be able to
watch!
You get all this
- A Domain Name ($12.00 Value)
- Three Months of Mom Webs Hosting ($15.00 Value)
- Wordpress Blog Installation ($10.00 Value
- Wordpress Theme Installation ($10.00 Value)
- Custom Header Graphic Creation ($50 Value)
- Promotional Button Graphic Creation ($25 Value)
- Lifetime Wordpress Orientation Access ($19 Value)
- Total Value $141.00!
It's all part of
Blog Week a special event running from March 15th to19th. You won't believe the deal she's put together for you. It includes
you domain, three months of hosting and a blog set up. Check it all outhere:
Moms Talk Blog Week
Having trouble keeping up with your blog? Blogs take time. Writing all that fresh content to inspire and speak to your readers is not easy. Well for some it may be but for others it certainly is not.
If you are a busy mom you know you don’t always have enough time in the day to get your mom duties done let alone post to your blog, right?
If your blog or website is a money maker for you and you’ve been having a hard time coming up with up to date or any content at all it’s time to take a second look at PLR.
PLR are articles and reports that can be used on your website or blog, in newsletters or as content for an ecourse or email list. They are pre-written articles and reports that you can use to update your blogs and websites. Different ones come with different stipulations but you can take these PLR articles and do so many things with them your blog can fresh content daily!
You won’t have to think about what to write on your blog every single day to keep it new and fresh. Take the PLR and add your voice to it. Edit and tweek it to meet your reader’s needs and the vein you want to go in.
For the piece of mind they provide PLR is a very affordable.
So take a deep breath and visit these sites for some great PLR.
Mom Niche PLR
MOM PLR: Specifically catering to MOM blogs with topics such as Frugal Living, Parenting, Health and more.
MOM PLR eBooks: Non-membership site with PLR ebooks. You can break the ebooks down and use the as articles or rewrite the ebook with your own voice and offer it for sale.
Easy PLR: Various topics catering to moms and mom business. Packages are limited so if you find a topic you’re interested in snap it up. I’m still kicking myself for missing a few.
All Private Label Content: Again catering to moms and women. Lots of different topics from recipes to green living. Sign up for a monthly mom smorgasbord or pick and choose depending upon your niche. Also research packs available where you flesh out the facts.
Natural Mom PLR: This is a great one. Natural Parenting, Green Living, Homeschooling and more. Pick a pack based on your natural need.
YummyPLR: For the foodie. This one is for the foodie blog or site. You get a big pack of recipes and food related articles each month.
Even though you may be a stay at home mom and/or woman that doesn’t mean you can’t contribute financially to the income. That is if you want to.
Every day everywhere women are bringing home the bacon doing things they love and have an interest in.
A woman already takes on a lot when it comes to the home. Caring for a home and children is a job that requires many skills. And if so inclined she might as well be using some of her talents for her own benefit. If you are a stay at home mom, then you probably already have the patience, and time management skills that it takes to turn your home interests into a steady income.
First think about what you like to do and read about. What are your interests?
A good way to figure this out is to write them all down on a piece of paper.
Your interests may range from caring for children to reading a good book. Know that whatever they are because chances are they can be turned into cash.
Next you’ll want to look at ways that you can turn those interests into cash.
If you’re a good writer and like to write some ideas are blogging, writing ebooks, free lancing and writing for others or for magazines. If you like to interact with people face to face you can open a home daycare, bake goodies for your local groceries and restaurants, sew crafts or even alterations.
Of course internet type work usually requires significantly less start up costs and can be even done for free.
Be sure to look into requirements and legal issues for whatever you end up deciding to take on.
Everywhere that you look when it comes to staying at home there is an opportunity for a legitimate money making opportunity. Take a hard look around, you are sure to see many more chances to earn money at home.
Working from home doesn’t come without it’s challenges. Learn from 21 moms just like you have been there, done that. Full Time WAHM provides practical mom-to-mom advice on who to balance work & home and how to turn into a work at home success.
People go online for various reasons. They might surf the internet to research a potential purchase, to seek a solution for a problem they’re having or even to be entertained.
If you have a website provides all three of these areas; products to purchase, valid information, and entertainment then you are top shape.
The good news is that the content you provide on your website can provide both the information looked for and the entertainment AND when written well it can inspire one to purchase.
Here are a few key ideas to help you provide value for your customers and prospects:
* How to articles, videos, and audio: People love how to articles. How to solve a problem. How to create something. and if you can provide a video to go with that even better.
* Tips articles, videos, and audio: Tips articles are a little different than how to articles. These are not necessarily how to but maybe some steps a person can look at to do something. For example…
- Tips for making dinner
- Find recipe
- Buy groceries
- Make dinner
- Serve
- How to cook
- “Find your recipe for steamed broccoli. Pull the broccoli out of the crisper in the bottom of your refrigerator. Place the broccoli on your cutting board and slice away the bottom stem of the vegetable. After the tough stem is gone begin to cut off the individual florets which are the flowery heads of the vegetable…” You get the idea.
* Case studies: This will be examples of where your product or a product you are reviewing or promoting provided certain results.
* Workbooks and reports: Nice printables and reports on your niche. Offer them up as freebies such as this free copywriting quiz with custom report. You enter your info on how you draw in your customers and get a free report on how you’re doing.
* Interviews with experts: Find people who are experts in your niche and interview them for your website. Here is an example where I interviewed Christine Steendahl on Menu Planning.
* Product reviews: People love reviews. Collect them from your customers if you can. Follow up on a purchase. You can also seek out people to try your product and review it. Usually this is for their own site but you can always link to it or ask to copy part or use all of it for your site.
Creating a website that sells requires a structured approach and a desire to create the best experience possible for your visitors. Put yourself in your visitor’s shoes. This won’t answer all questions but once you look at what you are providing as if you were looking for it yourself you may be able to see some things that might be missing. Then consider testing it and asking associates, friends and family for their opinion.
K Quinn on January 14, 2010 | Filed Under Marketing | Comments Off
