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How To Start A Profitable Home-Based Online Business
For those that don't only rely on their home-based online
business - they are making the extra money they need, keeping
busy, having fun, and enjoying life as never before. The
important thing is that they are doing something other than
waiting for the government to give them a handout; they are
improving their lot in life, and you can do it, too!
The fields of information products, software tools, consultancy
services have never been more popular. If any of these kinds of
extra income producing ideas appeal to you, then you owe it to
yourself to check them out. But these aren't the only fields of
endeavour you can start and operate from home, with little or no
investment, and learn as you go.
The first thing you must do, however, is some basic market
research. Groups such as Yahoo and Google are great for seeing
where people have an "itch" and where you may be able to
"scratch" it with your online business. It is much better to
find a need then locate a product to match it. That way you
already have an idea that there are customers out there. Trying
to find a market for a product you already have can be very
difficult - better to find (or develop) a product that solves an
existing problem
http://groups.yahoo.com/
http://groups.google.com/
Alternatively, you can try to find an online business or product
that is already successful that you can get access to. Try these
resources for ideas:
http://www.r
obertshawassociates.com/cbmarket/
http://www.dpbuk.co.uk/
http://www.20percenters.com/<
/a>
http://www.internetbased
moms.com/
If, after checking around, you get the idea that these people
would be paying customers, your next effort should be directed
toward the "detailing" of your business plan. The more precise
and detailed your plan - covering all the bases relating to how
you'll do everything that needs to be done - the easier it's
going to be for you to attain success.
Such a plan should show your start-up investment needs, your
advertising plan, your production costs and procedures, your
sales program, and how your time will be allocated.
Too often, enthusiastic and ambitious entrepreneurs jump in on
an extra income project and suddenly find that the costs are
beyond their abilities, and the time requirements more than they
can meet. It pays to lay it all out on paper before you get
involved, and the clearer you can "see" everything before you
start, the better your chances for success.
Now, assuming you've got your market targeted, you know who your
customers are going to be and how you're going to reach them
with your product or service. And you have all your costs as
well as time requirements itemized. The next step is to set your
plan in motion and start making money.
Here is the most important "secret" of all, relating to starting
and building a profitable home-based online business, so read
very carefully.
Regardless of what kind of business you start, you must have the
capital and the available time to sustain your business through
the first six months of operation. Specifically, you must not
count on receiving or spending any money coming in from your
business on yourself or for your bills during those first six
months. All the income from your business during those first six
months should be reinvested in your business in order for it to
grow and reach our planned first year potential.
Now, don't be put off thinking this can cost a fortune. With
low-cost hosting, payment processors, free autoresponders and
some time searching the internet for products to sell that meet
your needs this needn't be expensive.
If you're planning products which are delivered electronically
you have no stock to hold, no shipping costs and no inventory to
manage so the costs can be very low. You can even find dropship
suppliers of physical products so you can carry physical
products on your site and they will hold the stock and ship it
your name. Here are a few:
http://lessworkmoremoney.com
/
http://www.unique-
wholesale-source.com/
http://www.supp
liers.dpbuk.co.uk/index.php
Once you've passed that first six months milestone, you can set
up a small monthly salary for yourself, and begin enjoying the
fruits of your labour. But the first six months of operation for
any business are critical, so do not plan to use any of the
money your online business generates for yourself during that
period.
If you've got your business plan properly organized, and have
implemented the plan, you should at the end of your first year
be able to begin thinking about hiring other people to alleviate
some of your work-load. However, the beauty of online businesses
is that many operate very successfully (and profitably) with
only one or two people keeping it up to date and handling
customer queries.
Remember this: Starting a successful online business is not a
means towards either a job for yourself or a way to keep busy.
It should be regarded as the beginning of an enterprise that
will grow and prosper, with you as the top dog. Eventually,
you'll have other people (or even better - an automated sales,
delivery and autoresponder process) doing all the work for you,
even running the entire operation, while you vacation in the
Bahamas or Hawaii and collect or receive regular income from
your initial efforts.
For more details on market research, business planning,
advertising, selling, order fulfilment, and other aspects of
home-based businesses, check out our Online Business Tools and
Tips resource at:
To your success,
Best Regards
~~ Dawn Robertshaw~~
About the author:
2006 Robertshaw
Associates - Online Business Start Up Tools & Tips.
Robertshaw Associates, is determined to help you in your online
venture - with all the tools and tips to help you success.
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