Tips For Starting A Home Business
It is the desire of many individuals to start a home business doing something they love while providing a product or service to the rest of the world. While the goals are often ambitious, they're not without financial and personal risks so the more prepared you are the more likely you are to succeed. The following are ten tips for starting a home business which will hopefully prepare you for succeeding in your next adventure.
Tip 1: Stay Employed
It is never wise to put the cart before the horse so maintain your current employment as long as possible before starting a home business. The longer you stay employed, the longer you can maintain consistent income, health insurance and the chance to act when the time is right not when you're forced.
Tip 2: Think Ahead
The most successful individuals and businesses are always three steps ahead of the competition. The more thought you can devote to planning out all aspects of your home business the more likely you are to expect the unexpected and plan contingencies. Preparation is the majority of the initial work and lays a foundation for everything else to run smoothly once you begin operating your business.
Tip 3: Product or Service
A key consideration is whether or not to offer a product or service. This will impart be determined by available financial resources which will be used to purchase inventory, lease a commercial space or hire employees. It is important to be realistic. Even though your business should focus on doing what you love you may need to start off with simpler plans and then expand your operations as financial constraints are eliminated.
Tip 4: Plan To Succeed
Every successful business will have a thoroughly vetted well thought out business plan. Creating a professional business plan not only lays out goals and timelines but analyzes your competition, determines regulatory requirements and anticipates the possible tax burden. A well written business plan will also be required if you seek additional funding from third parties such as venture capital or a bank.
Tip 5: The Financials
While a majority of the financial considerations will be documented in your business plan it will still be necessary to crunch the numbers even further. Projecting cash flows, establishing retirement accounts, expensing health insurance, and all other financial minutia must be laid out even if it's not implemented right away. Most small businesses fail due to insufficient funding so make sure the numbers add up before getting started.
Tip 6: Work Space
If you are starting a service-based home business then you can keep operating overhead to a minimum since you can work out of your home. Product based businesses, if successful, tend to add inventory and employees quickly so anticipating the need for a commercial or retail space should factor into your initial planning and budgeting. If you are cooking it will require a commercial kitchen with additional licenses. There are also some businesses which may restrict operating environments based on fire hazards or what is being produced.
Tip 7: Advertising
It would be great if all new home businesses could be successful from free word-of-mouth advertising by satisfied customers. More likely however, you'll have to do at least limited marketing such as participating in community events or sponsoring an athletic team. At a minimum, you should create business cards and brochures to hand to potential customers. Also consider online forms of advertising like creating social sites and a webpage for your business. You can spend as little or as much as you want on advertising but work within a budget to keep costs under control.
Tip 8: Get A Rep
Especially in a highly interconnected world, a business's reputation will determine whether or not it continues to grow or fails miserably. Word-of-mouth, online reviews and social networking will all play a part in your reputation whether it be good or bad. By focusing on great customer service you can ensure happy customers and free advertising when starting a home business.
Tip 9: Keep It Clean
Part of developing a good reputation includes not bashing competitors or partaking in questionable business tactics. If you can sleep well at night you're probably doing something right and your home business will hopefully operate smoothly and continue to grow. Any sort of negativity will not only alter consumer perception but also infect employee morale and encourage your competition to target your business. Treat others as you would have them treat you and only good things will come.
Tip 10: Stay Professional
Above all else, stay professional in the face of adversity and you will inevitably come out on top. Present your product or service and yourself in a professional manner at all times. Maintain a clean environment in your store and always adhere to appointments by being on time or early. Even if your home business does not succeed, you can still hold your head high and stay that you operated in a professional manner treating your customers and competitors with respect.
