How to Maintain a Professional Image for Your Home Business

How To Maintain A Professional Image For Your Home Business To Make Money Instantly

The idea of working from home seems completely unattainable to many people. You should note that familiarity with effective business methods increases the likelihood of running a successful home business. The guidelines in this article will be a useful starting point for building your home business.

Try a side of comedy with your lunch! Laughing has a lot of benefits, including calming you down, reducing stress, working out the respiratory system and making you feel joyful. Find humorous videos on YouTube, and then prepare to dive into your work again after you have had a good giggle.

You volume of phone calls will increase dramatically when you start your home business. The money you invest in phone lines will pay off with increased sales. When your business is not operating, silence the ringer or turn the phone off.

You can participate in online home business owner forums. This will allow you to interact with others in the same position. People who work at home deal with the same thing and you can compare notes and share concerns.

Use your business plan as a road map leading to your success. Even if you don't have outside investors, you should have a business plan. A business plan forces you to clearly formulate your long and short term goals and helps you to identify the steps to reach them.

Have a support system comprised of your loved ones when starting your own business. When you own your own home business, it can sometimes be difficult and stressful. If your family isn't on board, they will constantly interfere with your efforts to succeed.

Clearly mark products that aren't in stock. It's extremely upsetting for customers when they learn that delivery on their order is going to be delayed for an extended time. Let your customers know beforehand if a product is on back order, that way they can pick out a different product.

If you want to make big money as a home business owner, it is important to occasionally experiment and take chances. Experimenting with new ideas is a way to attract new people to your business, and can eventually lead to greatly increased profits. If you never change your routine or strategies, your business may stagnate rather than growing and improving.

You should keep sufficient records of what you spend each day and what must be spent for your home business. Keeping track of your finances will make it simple to file your taxes, and will help prevent any problems if you were to get audited.

To fully tap into the your home business potential, you want to use the Internet to market it. Make sure the strategies you employ are effective. Marketing your business by writing articles, blogging, participating in discussion forums and sending out e-mails to help to increase the number of people that are aware of your business and this, in turn, will lead to big profits.

Make a rule that during work hours you should not be interrupted by your family or friends unless it is important. Politely inform uninvited or early guests that you must finish your work. Persistent visitors should be made to wait until you are done working.

When selecting a brand name, choose one that means something to both you and the customer. Since your name will represent your products, you need to have a name which is recognizable and easy for customers to remember. You might have an interesting or quirky story that is the reason behind your business name or brand. This gives your products a recognizable direction that will help in building your clients loyalty over time.

When choosing a product to sell from home, find one that addresses one of your needs. People are more likely to purchase products that address a particular need that they have. If you can find a way to address a common problem, your product will succeed.

Being the sole proprietor of a home business includes being the sole financial officer of your business. Giving your spouse your business credit card may not seem like a bad idea, but if they go to buy business supplies and end up buying other items as well, you may lose the right to write off that purchase.

Consider starting a membership with an online forum to get great ideas and advice for your home business. There is good information available on the internet, and a quick search will result in a number of good sites. Blogs can be a great source of information as well.

Before you try selling, you need to understand the price range in the market for the items you want to sell. Look at your competitors' offerings, and try to beat their prices. Never talk negatively about your competition, focus on marketing your good qualities.

Whenever your business makes a profit, set some of it aside so you are able to pay taxes at year-end. Taxes usually run somewhere around 15% to 20% of your income. Setting aside a portion prevents unnecessary scrambling at the end of the year to meet your obligations.

You should keep your contact lists together with your notes on your clients for easy reference during correspondence. Keep all other important contracts that are essential to running your home business in the same location.

Issues That Ail a Business For Sale

Selling a business is no easy business. In fact, more often than we would like, a business for sale gets all the way through escrow... only to fall out right toward the end, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the reasons are legit; others times they are downright silly.

Here we will address the top issues that stop a business from selling:

1. An overpriced business: This should be as obvious as the morning sun, but it is the number one overarching reason businesses do not get sold. The sellers are asking more than the business is worth. A broker should be able to get a fairly accurate idea of what a business is worth based on the gross sales, the expenses, the assets, and the market. But a lot of brokers either fail to tell the seller the bad news, namely that "the business is not worth what you are asking", or they don't really know how to find out and let the seller determine the price, where higher is always assumed better. For whatever the reason, overpricing kills a sale. Buyers either won't offer on something they think is grossly overpriced - or - in reaction to an unrealistic price they compensate by making an offensively low offer.

2. An unmotivated seller: If a seller really doesn't care if the business sells or not, and is just throwing out a hook to see if something bites, chances are the property or business is going to be a tough sale. People find ways to make things happen when they are motivated; conversely, they will look for ways to avoid making things happen if they are not motivated. A seller of a business must WANT to sell a business.

3. Poor books and record keeping: Businesses for sale can look great on the advertisements and attract a lot of interested buyers, but if the books are messy or non-existent a buyer with a brain probably will not want to lay down cash on a measly promise. If a business claims to make money, the books better show it. If they don't, why don't they? It amazes me how some business sellers think buyers should simply believe them. Buyers are no different than sellers, and need to see the numbers to make an intelligent decision.

4. Seller wants all cash: Here is another deal killer - the seller needs all cash. No seller carry, and no loan. The problem here is pretty obvious: not too many people are sitting on tens to hundreds of thousands in cash, and ready to spend it. Usually those people are interested in buying bigger businesses, and using their cash as down payments. When sellers get demanding on terms, especially in these leans times, their business for sale doesn't demand much attention.

5. The owner is primal to the business: A lifestyle business that leans heavily (if not entirely) on the personality or connections or skills of the owner, is going to be a hard sell. This reality may come out in due diligence, when buyers begin to realize all the income is based on the woman selling the company, her skills and talents and attraction factors... and they can't duplicate her.

6. The product or service is obsolete: the seller wants to sell because his market is drying up. Of course. Why not sell your business before you have to close up shop? Well, here again is where sellers need to think like buyers. The Golden Rule applies in business as it does everywhere else. Do unto others... When a buyer investigates the market for the product or service and sees it is going the way of typewriters and video cassettes, he's not going to shell out some big money merely to watch it burn. He'll walk, just as the seller would.

7. The business requires a license: many businesses necessitate licensing, especially in California, where someday you may need a permit just to use the toilet. The trades, the professional services, the selling of certain products, certain services... all require licenses and permits. There actually is a good aspect of licensing, in that they give some uniformity and standards to businesses. But the bad aspect of licensing is that they cost money, and... they can be exclusive. A building license can't just be paid for with money, it must be earned. A liquor license has restrictions on who can take it over; a criminal record can ruin that possibility. So while some licenses represent a dollar amount, such as a franchise fee, others are more specific, and limit who can acquire it, and therefore limit who can acquire the business that makes use of it.

8. Uncooperative landlords: this is one of those reasons that shouldn't be a reason, but it is. Grumpy landlords who don't want to help. The variations are limitless, but suffice it to say that if a landlord won't make some adjustments for a new tenant to take over a lease or start a new one, it can make the deal go south very quickly. And nothing can be done about it.

The reasons most businesses do not sell are not very complicated, and can be remedied. It takes some work, but addressing these issues before they become deal breakers is a worth use of one's time.

Great Tips to Help Your Home Business Succeed To Make Money Instantly

Having A Plan For Your Home Business

Getting your own home-based business up and running is much easier when you have good guidance. This article will give you some practical tips for making your home business profitable.

Deposit your payments as soon as they are received. Don't wait for an accumulation of payments over weeks; deposit your earnings daily if feasible. You are less likely to lose money if you don't let the check sit too long. By depositing your cash with a teller rather than using an ATM machine, you can ensure your money is deposited into the account without additional questions or concerns.

Your website needs a banner page. Not only do these banners add interest to a page, but they also give you an opportunity to trade links with complementary businesses. It is a simple way of improving your search engine ratings and ensuring that others will be able to find your web page and your product more easily.

Take a break during your work day to have a good laugh. A good laugh invigorates your respiratory system, calms your mind and reinvigorate you with feelings of joy and love. Find humorous videos on YouTube, and then prepare to dive into your work again after you have had a good giggle.

Business trips can be a legitimate and welcome diversion. Unlike leisure trips, business vacations are tax-deductible, at least partly. Want to go on a trip? Choose a location, then find and attend a conference or seminar there that is relevant to your business. That way you can still legally deduct the trip with no trouble from the IRS.

Immediate success is not prevalent in even the companies that guarantee their business program. Creating a successful home business requires an investment of time. Stay dedicated and wait for that big payoff that's down the road.

You can deduct certain expenses like meals and entertainment for clients from your earnings when filing your taxes. Such meetings would be considered legitimate business expenses. Make sure that the clients are going to remain clients, because otherwise these outings aren't tax deductible.

Keep proper files for your spending in regards to your business, no matter how small. This will come in very helpful when it comes tax time, or if you face an audit by the IRS.

You should set aside a percentage of all income earned towards your taxes. You should put aside 20% of your income earned in order to have it when it comes time to pay your taxes.

Be brief when writing the objective of your business. Ideally, your statement should tell a bit about your business goals, why you started the business and any other mission related information. Be sure to explain what makes your company unique and its goals in these sentences.

Be sure to do your best to hire competent people by conducting the proper research before hiring employees for your home business. The key is to ensure their suitability for the position for which you are hiring them, or else you may doom yourself to failure.

Begin a meal or other service catering to people who are busy. Many options exist for assisting the people around you.

Sit down and work out a schedule. It is necessary to have a time allocated to actually sit down and work. Sometimes working overtime is necessary, but you want balance your work with your life as much as possible. When you are with your family, keep work out of your mind to try and help reduce your stress levels.

Determine any and all fees for your services up front and stick with them, even when it might be tempting to give people 'deals'. Every business needs to make money in order to succeed, and yours is no exception. This is why the payment terms on the invoices should be clear. They should have a moderate penalty that is above the amount of the invoice, if the total amount that is owed is not paid by the end of the payment terms.

Take care of your home business, but make sure you take care of you as well. Running a home business has the potential to be fulfilling, but if you prioritize work over yourself, your self esteem could surface. Take time to exercise, don't snack too much and shower every morning. Your self-esteem will always be important, no matter where you work. So maintain that high image you have always set for yourself.

Draw up a workable schedule so your business doesn't interfere with your personal life or vice versa. Decide at what point each day you are going to stop taking business calls. Make room for friends, family and for your own personal time.

You must be realistic in regards to your expectations when starting a business at home. Is your product high quality, and will customers continue to be interested in it? Do you have what it takes to run an honest business?

Make sure you keep records of all business expenses as this can help you save money. These expenses include car mileage, gas and internet service. When you're a business owner, you can use many of your business-related expenses as tax deductions. All of these little costs, can really add up to a lot of money. There is no sense in letting the government have money that you are entitled to.

Marketing your services or products online is a great way to get your business known. Write articles, blog, contribute to discussion forums, and send emails to make more people aware of your company. All these strategies will combine to lead to profitability.

Where Social Networking for Business Is Going In The Future

Social networking or social media is heading towards a more business friendly environment. The bigger social media sites were generated with the individual in mind. The features of the current social media networks may not only be ineffective for businesses but also detrimental to developing strong business contacts. These social networks may cause businesses to lose money because they may be too open for businesses to use for everyday business.

A business networking system must be close ended. For a business social network to be effective, it must be like a real Rolodex. When a business meets another business for the first time, they do not want to show off their whole Rolodex on the first meeting. Unfortunately, this is how most of the bigger social networks have built their platform.

Most of the users can see each other in their "friends" and "followers" areas. This can cause some businesses to lose their competitive advantage based on the relationship they have with another one of their business associates. For example, a business may have spent months searching for a wholesale distributor of a certain product. This distributor may be delivering that product at an unbelievable discount that the business can use to generate a great amount of revenue. It would not make sense for a business to reveal who that distributor is to everyone they meet. However, this is exactly what happens in most social networking sites. The full contact, "friends," and "followers" list is revealed to anyone who becomes a friend or follower of a business.

Generally, any update that any person makes on the regular social media networking systems will push down the updates from any other user (this includes other business entities and potential consumers). This fact alone can mean that a business may miss an important piece of information from a vendor or even a client who wants to make a buying decision. Any information by any person can and will be pushed down by any update in the major social media networks and this is a massive problem for businesses. A business needs a clean social network where contacts cannot see each other unless designated by the business and the stream of communication can be controlled to the point where only pertinent information is seen by the business and not mixed with personal information from personal contacts.

A business owner will likely own more than one business. This means that having one social media or social network profile is not an option for most businesses. Every business needs to be treated as a separate business and have its own profile. This allows a business to avoid a phenomenon called "piercing of the corporate veil" where a business is legally associated to each other by not properly maintaining the borders between two or more businesses. This means more assets can be at stake when a company has legal troubles. Having separate accounts for social media can be very useful for this boundary between businesses and avoids future problems that have to do with litigation.

In the future, social networks will be created with business use in mind and personal use as an afterthought. This change will allow businesses to make better use of the social media systems and allow them to have different profiles and keep contacts from seeing each other on the systems. These businesses will be better prepared for developing contacts through the internet and create a global marketplace that is better suited for the needs of business owners everywhere.

Writing an Effective Business Plan For Your Small Business

Plans are Useless; Planning is Indispensable

"Plans are useless; planning is indispensable," according to Dwight D. Eisenhower, then Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during WWII. Now, you may be in total agreement with the first part of that statement, but you are really not convinced of the truth of the second part.

At this point, you may be tempted to skip writing a business plan altogether, viewing it as an unnecessary exercise in jumping-through-the-hoops, suggested by some old business professor who probably never held down a "real" job anyway. Maybe it's okay as an assignment for an MBA class, but it would be just too confining and irrelevant for today's fast-paced business environment. Anyway, you're ready! You've thought about this business venture for a long time and talked it over with friends and everybody agrees it's a great idea. Best to strike while the iron is hot!

Press for Success

Far be it from me to dampen your enthusiasm, but you should give yourself every opportunity for success. That's what the planning part of the process of creating your business plan will do. By the time you have pressed your way through it, you will not merely have some neatly arranged document to keep on file, you will have a working tool that addresses the essential factors that influence your future.

Besides, your friends may be 100% behind you in your new venture, but, in case you are hoping to involve others who have actual money to invest, you may need to be able to make a convincing case. Wouldn't it be nice to have anticipated possible questions and be ready with plausible answers? If you are risking your own money, that is perhaps even a stronger reason to do some indispensable planning.

Easy Writer

If you are one who is intimidated by the blank page, never fear! There are several good software packages that will guide you through the process, such as Business Plan Pro Complete from PaloAltoSoftware. Business Plan Pro Complete walks you through the entire planning process and generates a complete, professional and ready to distribute plan with a proven formula for success. The planning wizard makes it a snap to get started since you simply answer yes or no questions to create your custom business plan framework. Bplans.com offers free business plan samples and how-to articles as well as a wealth of other information. It is definitely worth taking the time to checkout. Microsoft Office Online Templates also has a variety of free templates to use with their products. The wizard indicates the information you need and you fill it in as you go.

You may find that the easiest part is the actual writing of the plan. The real work comes in the data-gathering, which may take you a hundred hours or more, depending on what you already know or have researched. If your new venture is in an area where you've been working, you may already know about your customers, your suppliers, your marketing plan, your organizational structure, your financial and cash flow needs, equipment, inventory, and so on. If you know all of these except for Marketing, say, then this is where you will need to invest some time and effort. You can find a wealth of information by utilizing the traditional data sources such as chambers of commerce, major cities' websites, trade associations, the US Census Bureau, trade journals, magazine and online articles and advertising, etc. Performing keyword searches on Google, or Ask will bring up websites to check out. Following are some places to start:

James J. Hill Reference Library (jjhill.org): One of the nation's premier business libraries to bring you FREE and affordably priced tools and resources you can use to create a better business plan based on relevant and credible data.

U.S. Census Bureau (census.gov): A source for a variety of useful statistics, especially the Economic Census that comes out every 5 years.

American Demographics (adage.com/americandemographics): Just as the title suggests, numerous free reports about consumer demographics in the U.S. nationally and by statistical area.

Internet Public Library - The Census Data and Demographics (ipl.org)/: An especially useful site that has links to information about countries other than the U.S.

Corporate Information (corporateinformation.com): Features information summaries on over 350,000 companies in the U.S. and abroad for competitive analysis.

You can find a variety of companies online to help you with your market research. For example: Sundale Research's (sundaleresearch.com) primary goal is to provide new and mature businesses with objective, accurate industry data and market analysis on a wide range of topics. Their market research is intended to save you time and money while keeping up with industry trends.

But your idea may be so new that you may also need to talk to potential customers, host some focus groups, talk to an ad agency, or maybe even make a prototype and float it past some people. Be prepared to spend the time. Remember, it's not about the Plan but the Planning.

Build It on Paper First

Whether you decide to use business plan writing software or to just follow this guide and create your plan with your word processor, here are the sections of a good plan and the questions that need to be addressed:

Cover Page - Show the name of the company, your name, and the date.

Introduction - What is the name and address of the business? Who are the principals, their titles, and their addresses? What is the nature or purpose of the business? What is your launch date? How much start-up and/or operating capital is needed?

Executive Summary - One to three pages that summarize all the information to follow; come back and write this last.

Industry Analysis - How does your product or service compare with what is currently on the market? What is the trend in the overall industry? What have been the total sales in this industry over the previous 3 to 5 years? What new products or technologies have had the biggest impact on this industry recently? What is the future outlook for these and what trends are emerging? Who are the competitors, where are they located, and how are they doing? What advantage do you offer over them? Who is buying this product or service now? Describe the typical customer for this product or service. Are there emerging markets or market segments? Where does this product or service currently perform best? Possible Data Sources: trade associations; trade journals; attorneys & accountants dealing with the industry; industry salespeople; state business websites; focus groups.

Description - What product(s) or service(s) are you offering specifically? Are any patents, copyrights, or trademarks needed? Have they been acquired/filed? What is the size of your business? Where will it be located? Will this require purchasing or building a facility? Will this require leasing a facility? At what cost? Has a lease been negotiated? What personnel will you need? Where will you find suitable employees? What equipment do you need? Will it be purchased or leased? What are the qualifications of your principals? How do their backgrounds promote the success of this venture? Why do they think this will be a successful venture? Possible Data Sources: local Chamber of Commerce; community colleges & local universities; local employee leasing company; real estate agents; US Patent & Trademark Office; US Copyright Office.

Production Operation - If a product must be manufactured, what is the process? Will the work be done on-site or subcontracted? Who are the subcontractor(s)? If on-site, what space, equipment, machinery, production employees are needed? What suppliers are needed? Who are they? How will quality be assured? What is the anticipated production output? What established credit lines do you have? Possible Data Sources: local Chamber of Commerce; yellow pages; trade associations.

Service Operation - If a service is offered, describe it. Will the work be done by company personnel or subcontracted? Who are the subcontractor(s)? If on-site or in cyberspace, what employee qualifications, equipment, and technologies are needed? How will quality be assured? What performance levels are anticipated per employee? Possible Data Sources: local Chamber of Commerce; yellow pages; trade associations.

Marketing - How is the product or service priced? How will it be distributed? How will it be promoted? Will it be promoted by the venture or an outside agency? What agency? How have you determined what amount to set aside for marketing? How have you determined product or service forecasts? Possible Data Sources: on-line searches; Amazon; local outlets; trade journals; industry attorneys & accountants; salespeople.

Organization

How is the business structured? Who are the principals and the principal shareholders? What authority does each principal have in the venture? What are management's qualifications? What is the job description for each position? What does the organizational chart look like? Possible Data Sources: on-line templates for job descriptions & organizational chart.

Risk Assessment - What weaknesses are inherent in this venture? What vulnerabilities face this type of venture? What impact will these have? What new technologies may affect this venture over the next 1 to 3 years? What contingency plans are in place? What level of liability insurance is required? What does it cost? Who is the carrier? Possible Data Sources: trade associations; trade journals; Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE); industry salespeople; customers; focus groups.

Financial Plan - What is the anticipated income? What are the cash flow projections? What is the anticipated budget over the next 3 years? What is the break even point? When is it anticipated to be met? What funding is needed and where will it come from? What funding is currently available? What collateral is available? What is the net worth of the principals, if applicable? Possible Data Sources: accountant; accounting software; Small Business Administration; Small Business Development Center; SCORE; banks; venture capitalists.

Appendix - Resumes of principals/management; letters of recommendation from current business associates/customers/suppliers; marketing research data; demographic data; leases or contracts in place or as promised; business licenses; price lists from suppliers; trade or industry articles or data; floor plans; information on subcontractors; liability insurance policies.

Impress for Success - Now you have to admit, this is going to make an impressive package! Put it in a binder and you have built something to be proud of - the first of your many business accomplishments. Your potential investors will appreciate the depth of your analysis, but this tool will prove helpful in describing your venture to your employees, customers, and suppliers, as well. After you have been up and running for a few months, you will find that the planning that you have done will sensitize your inner "business compass" and allow you to flexibly adjust to contingencies. And that is indispensable!