10 Strategies for Starting a Business from Home
10 Strategies for starting a business from Home
Those of us seeking to start a business from home all have one thing in common. We want personal freedom and are hopeful that being in business for ourselves will provide this. Starting a business is a life changing experience and starting it on a shoestring budget, and at home, only lends to the experience.
A home based business can absolutely offer you the freedom and flexibility you are looking for but only if you are mindful of the Why, What, Where, When and How of starting a business.
In this article I will share with you my top 10 strategies for starting a business from home. There is far more information available on this subject but I have tested these strategies, among others, and have found these 10 are the fundamentals you will need to get your passion off the ground. For the full FREE training on this, head over to the site!
You will also find a list of resources at the bottom of this article that can help you get the assistance you need to be successful in your new business.
10 Strategies!
1. Discover your passion!
If you are going to start a business, driving a passion is your first step in the right direction. What is the age-old saying… “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life”. This is fundamentally true. If you have a passion that you think can turn into a viable business then you should absolutely consider it!
2. Is there a Market for your passion?
Do some research and see who else might be doing the same thing or something similar. How many companies are doing the same thing or something similar? Pay close attention to what and how they are offering their products or services. You will need these details later in this process. Next, are people buying these products or services?
3. Identify your audience (Ideal Customer)
You have already gotten some of this information by looking at the comments by customers above. Take this a step further and click on the profiles for these customers buying the same or similar products. Pay attention to the details.
- How old are they?
- Where do they live?
- What do they do for work?
- Do they have a family, spouse, kids, etc.?
- What do they do for fun?
- How many friends do they have? (another worm hole of information to follow)
- What is their lifestyle?
- WHAT IS THEIR PAIN?
For the full FREE training on this, head over to the site!
4. Costs
Understanding the “cost” of your product or service idea is very important. You have an idea of what others might be selling similar products for but that doesn’t mean you just place a price on it and go. You need to know the specifics of material, manufacturing, shipping, creating timing, etc. Do some research and find several places where your material can be found or manufacturers that can do the work for you. Then COMPARE. Keep in mind quality is important so don’t lower your standards for a lower cost but consider a starting level of quality and upgrades to your quality as you grow. If you would be offering a service then this section may hold less weight but you still need to consider if there is any cost to your offer.
The Cost of doing business also includes packing material, promotional material, marketing material, your time, etc. Make sure you are looking for all costs involved in your product.
5. Create a business plan
Don’t let this scare you! Building your business plan is more simple than you might think. There are many free resources online, such as Inc.com, that offer downloadable templates and instructions. Remember, that your initial business plan is for your business today! As your business grows you can always go back and build it out in more detail.
6. Funding
Starting a business on a shoestring isn’t as difficult as you might think, especially if you are starting your business from home. By starting at home you have already reduced initial costs for office space, travel, utilities, etc. What you need to concentrate on is getting your product or service in a place where you can test it. You don’t need 10,000 pieces and are ready for sale when you haven’t even started to market your idea yet. You need 3-4. You don’t even need a perfect product or service. You just need something to start with.
7. Set up a HOME OFFICE
Now this section may seem like the fun part but I can not stress enough how important it is to create a USABLE SPACE inside your home and treat it like it is your business.
When we work from home it is so much more important to separate your living and working space so that you don’t get consumed with being home all day and never experiencing the relaxation and comfort that comes at the end of our work day.
8. Legal/Structure
Selecting the right type of business structure can be confusing and I highly recommend you get the advice from an attorney before starting the process. There are many ways to set your company up with an entity with little out of pocket expense, such as using Legalzoom or a similar product but again, do your research on the best possible entity for you, your business and your growth. There are also great ways to have an attorney at your fingertips, to ask these types of questions and help you with many other legal needs you may have in getting your business set up and operating. I love Legalshield! They are a fee based law firm, in your local area, and you get the benefit of having an attorney for a small monthly fee.
9. Marketing
This has been my achilles heel since the very beginning. I am many things, but a marketing expert, I am not! So, I found people who were and let them do the heavy lifting for me.
Before grabbing your resource though, you do need to figure out what type of marketing makes the most sense for your business. If you intend to sell through a business website, web development should be a top priority. If you are offering products on Amazon or Etsy for instance, you may want to consider digital marketing that provides traffic driving ads to direct interested buyers to your sale sites. This is one of the processes that you will need to watch closely and be flexible to change quickly. Watching the analytics to know what marketing efforts are providing you the most sales or appointments is where you want to direct your focus so keeping an eye on where your business traffic is coming from will only help you adjust quickly and make the most out of your marketing strategies. Google analytics is free and can be used to watch your site traffic and provide you great insight into where your customers are coming from. When you know where they are coming from, you know where marketing dollars will be best spent.
For the full FREE training on this, head over to the site!
10. Test your Idea!
Test your product, test your website, test your marketing strategy, test your operational costs, test your funding needs and test your new skills!
Throw it out there, let fear fall away and JUST DO IT! You will never know if it works unless you do it! Be bold, be brave, be flexible and most importantly, remember…
Business Resources
Knowing where you can get help when you need it, is something that will help you profoundly in your business build. I will tell you that there are so many resources out there, and there are, but here is a list of my personal favorites. I have used all of these and have had great success with each of them.
Before we get to the list I must outline one resource in particular that has proven to be worth its weight in gold for my business and it is COMPLETELY FREE!!!
This website is the most comprehensive business tool center I have ever found. Not only do you get great information on just about every topic relating to your business but you have grant money opportunities and extensive training on just about everything including social media marketing, website builds, marketing, finance, etc. In addition to all that they offer you are also involved with a community of small business owners and specialists. You can reach out with questions, concerns, ideas and there is always someone available to help. You just won't find a better resource! If you do, I would love to hear about it! Send me an email with any resources you find so I can update and add them here. You can reach out on my website on the Contact Us page.
KNOW AND GROW YOUR RESOURCES!
Legalshield - Attorneys for a small monthly fee.
Legalzoom - Free legal information a form creation
Hello Alice - Business Training, Consulting and Tools
Wordstream - Marketing Tips and Tricks
Fiverr - Find people to do just about anything for your business
Score.org - Business Training, Consulting and Tools
Inc.com - Business Plan Templates
Template Lab - Project Plan Templates
SBDC - Small Business Development Center (for your state) - This is a free business coaching service offered through the SBA for your local area. Amazing resource! Search for it in your state.
To get this full training for FREE, head over to our Website. We are happy to share!
I wish you the greatest success and would love nothing more than to hear your success stories. Please go to the site and reach out to me on the Contact Us page. We want to celebrate with you!!
Thank you for your continued support of my business. I appreciate you more than words can say!
Michelle