For many people the dream of starting their own home based business never quite becomes reality. While reasons for putting it off may vary from laziness to being too busy with work or family, for some the only thing holding them back is not knowing what they want to do. Once you have a clear idea of the exact type of home based business you are going to start, taking the necessary steps to begin will actually become easier than not doing anything.There are as many potential different types of home based businesses as there are people who want to have a home business, probably even more, but they generally fall into one o two categories. The first type of business is something that the business owner has thought of themselves, this is a completely custom unique business, started totally from scratch. While this option does provide more freedom (a trait usually prized by aspiring entrepreneurs) it also comes with much, much more responsibility. If you have already been successful in starting your own business or working closely with a successful start up, then this is probably the best option for you. If you do not have such experience it is still possible to succeed in a built-from-scratch home based business, but it will be harder. A lack of experience is not something that can be glossed over, if you do not have experience yourself in one or more areas do not go into business without the help of experienced professional advisers who can guide you. Quality professional advice is rarely free, and this is the hidden cost of starting a business from scratch, but if you are serious it will be well worth the cost.The other major option for starting a home based business is to buy into an already established business model. Again at first glance this may seem like the more expensive option, but for the level of professional support, not to mention the time, effort, and expense gone into proving the business model, often combine to make it the cheaper home business option. This type of color-by-numbers business model usually comes in one of three basic types.Franchise
When you hear the word franchise you probably envision a major chain restaurant or other large business, but the franchise system is becoming more and more popular as a vehicle for at home start ups. Because the inherent business model has already been proven in a wide variety of markets and conditions, there is much less risk, and expense, than a new business owner would normally have to deal with. While there are many high end franchises requiring high entrance fees, expensive equipment, and extensive training, there are also many simple, quick and relatively cheap franchises available. The trick is to have an idea of what you want out of the business and be willing to seriously look into a few potential candidates to find the one that’s right for you.Direct Marketing
Many full time sales people who work for major companies actually file taxes as being self employed because this model works best for both the company and, if they are good, the salesperson as well. Taking this process one step further and removing the expensive office building, many companies have direct selling programs that allow their sales reps to work out of their home, or car, or wherever. While the cost of this type of business is minimal, be warned this is also the type of business where there are the most scams, rip offs, and get rich quick schemes. This does not mean there are no good businesses to be had in direct selling, but it is well worth getting the advice of at least two or three disinterested parties (preferably professionals) before committing your time and money to something that might have no chance of working. Remember, your goal is to have more freedom, not to have a second job that requires more work and doesn’t pay.Established Business Model
This is something of a blend between the franchise and the custom, built-from-scratch business. Part of the high cost of a franchise goes to account for the years of effort put into opening and running multiple outlets and determining all of the possible contingencies before selling the rights to new owners. With business models or business opportunities you are basically buying a franchise before it has grown big enough to become a franchise. Some of the support will be there and there may even be some training, but to a larger degree you are on your own. The upshot is that you also have greater freedom to wing it and improvise as you see fit. Be sure to take a thorough self examination though, the reason that established franchises do not offer their owners this freedom is to protect them from themselves.Whichever business model sounds the most appealing to you remember to be honest with yourself and begin by taking a serious look at where you are now and how you got here. If you are great with money but not with time, it may well be worth the added expense of getting a bigger franchise that will let you hire employees to handle day to day tasks. If you’re a natural salesperson, but bad with numbers, maybe look into direct selling but hire a good CPA and bookkeeper to reign in your budget. Above all you need to resist the temptation to dive head over heels into the first business opportunity that comes your way. Think of it like this, would you really recommend marrying the first person you ever dated? After the very first date? Sadly, this is the mistake many people make when opening their first home business. Lastly, to anyone who may have made that mistake themselves, it does not have to be a life sentence. There are plenty of other business opportunities that really do work, and with a little looking you can find one that will work for you too.
The Perfect Home Based Business Model
Effective Marketing Strategies in Product Creation
Marketing includes matters such as pricing and packaging of the product and creation of demand by advertising and sales campaigns. There are other options, of course, like product creation, resale rights marketing, joint ventures and the likes, but they are merely secondary to the above.
If you take the freelance route, it is important to ensure that all rights to profit from the final product, or any materials produced in its making, remain yours. Bookkeeping, physical product creation or delivery of goods can be done better with specialized help. Determining the purpose of the product is vital in niche product creation.
Implementation of Methodology – The choice of implementation of Six Sigma methodology depends on whether development is required on existing processes (DMAIC) or on new process/product design creation (DMADV). Determining what you really want to sell, something that you can be relaxed selling is the first step at the creation of a niche product. With the technological advancements in the hosting industry, from automated control panels and scripts that simplify creation of accounts; to complete turnkey solutions, there is no excessive need to worry about spending time on the actual product sold to the customer.
For instance, you should be prepared to either perform yourself or to subcontract the completion of the following tasks:- Product idea research (are there any existing products or patents already existing for this idea)- Product specification document training (what it will do, how it will look, how will it be powered, and how the user will interface with it)- Marketing study (what it will be named, who would buy this, how much would they pay, how will we get customers to purchase the product)- Schematic or electronic circuit design process- Creation of a bill of material or BOM and an approved vendor’s list or AVL for each component in the design, preferably with multiple sources identified, with a BOM and AVL for each assembly level in the product- Printed circuit board layout design process (single sided board, double sided board, or multilayer board; size of the PCB; board material)- Mechanical packaging design with user interfaces (displays, buttons, switches, key. This removes all product creation costs from your budget as a marketer.
No other database of affiliate programs offers such a possibility for profit on either the affiliate side or the product creation site. Your chosen niche should allow for the creation of more than one product or service.
There are several marketing strategies that are necessary in the creation of a successful e-commerce web site – Email marketing (broadcasting) of prospects/customers – Effective use of auto responders (generate automatic email messages) – Online Newsletter – Online Form / Survey to capture your prospect’s email address – Electronic Product Delivery (if you sold a digital product) – Advertisement (Ad) Tracking – Back End Sales – Affiliate program etc.
How To Succeed At Online Product Creation The Easy Way
Product creation could be a frightening subject for a lot of Internet marketers to face. Some folks who get in the game with the intention of making a full time income are completely ignorant as to how an online business operates. One of the most profitable ways to create online cash is by creating a product that others are happy to pay for.
Product creation is legitimate method of generating money through internet marketing but many entrepreneurs get it wrong. They start by imitating their Internet marketing gurus by creating information products on Internet marketing in hopes of getting rich the way their heroes did. The problem is that they usually don’t know what they are doing and enter a highly competitive niche with very little marketing experience or connections.
Here are a few tips for effective product creation that may help you get on the right track:
Start by finding a profitable niche with low to moderate competition. If you conduct some rudimentary market research and keyword research, you’ll find many opportunities in areas that will surprise you. Amazon and eBay are two great places to brainstorm for product ideas.
Developing Your Product does not have to be a difficult project. You can find experts in the right field for your niche and pay them to write the material while an artist designs the packaging and website or blog. You can outsource the entire product creation part of the project after you conduct the research and testing to ensure profitability.
Sales and marketing strategies should be created while developing the product and learning about the market. Some experienced marketers use pay per click to drive traffic to their offer page; some folks outsource the entire marketing campaign to affiliates through ClickBank or other affiliate programs.
Product creation does not need to be hard, particularly when the merchandise is electronic. E-books, videos, audio and multi-media products sell very well. They are distributed immediately to customers electronically. Once you have a good feel for a niche market, try to service your customers with associated products and upgrades. If you want to earn money online through product creation, you must understand supply and demand. The majority of new online marketers fail miserably because they go after highly competitive markets or forget to research their chosen niche properly. You have to create your products according to the needs, wants and desires of the prospective customers.