Chapter Two
How Do I Choose The Best Online Home Business For Me?
That my friend could be the million-dollar question! You may very well be the next millionaire that started a business at home. It happens all the time, you just don't hear about all of them.
The business you choose should probably be in your area of expertise, as this is a very important factor that will contribute to the success or failure of the endeavor.
Having the necessary skills or knowledge to pursue this particular home business option is what gives you the edge in the market place to stand out and be noticed.
This does not mean you can't select an area that you aren't an expert in, it means you will have a lot more of a learning curve if you choose a business like that. But if that is where you passion is, then go for it!
Another point to consider is whether or not the item, idea, or service sold is something that would be needed regularly and consistently. Having a home business that does not require repeat sales is actually putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on the business owner. This dictates the sales patterns towards seasonal or perpetual.
A consumable products is always better because you will have repeat business from the same customers. When I say consumable it's not always something like toothpaste. You might be a writer that writes books about your niche and sells them on Amazon. The person who buys your first book will likely buy all the rest as well!
Considering the general economics of the business environment and the effect it would have on the home business is very important. Most home businesses depend on a certain amount of consistency and if this consistency factor varies too much and too frequently, then the end income base will not be a bankable feature.
So don't pick a business that only works great for holidays. You want a business that people need all year long.
You have probably heard of Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies. Debbie Fields was a homemaker with absolutely no business experience when she decided she wanted a cookie business.
Everyone had raved about her cookies from friends to her family, so she wanted to make a business out of it. The idea may have started at home, but she simply took her business to a retail shop. This means you need to consider, when thinking of your business, how big do you want it to grow, and do you want to ever leave your home to run it.
These decisions play a big part in how you run your business. Debbie Fields opened her first cookie store in 1977 and now has almost 400 locations in the US and over 80 International locations. On top of that a huge part of her business is now done online. Her cookies can be ordered and shipped with a few clicks of your computer mouse.
What I want you to realize about this story is not how she ended up working out of a shop first, but the fact that everyone said making a business from a chocolate chip cookie was silly.
Debbie didn't have the opportunity to work online in the early days but today all kinds of food is ordered online! Even Debbie's husband told her not to do it, but more importantly he backed her anyway because she believed in herself. So, don't count something out just because it's been done before or sounds silly.
Step One
If you already know what you want to do for your home business you can skip this step in the book; however you might find it useful to help you think of other products or services you can merge with the idea you already have.
First, make a list of all the things you love to do, or have a passion about. Don't worry if they don't sound like business ideas at this point, just write them down. Second, make a list of all the things you know you are good at, and things people have even complimented you on.
Are you a sharp dresser and could teach people how to spruce up their wardrobe? Or maybe your poetry is so funny it would make great humorous greeting cards. Think back even to your childhood days if you need to.
What did you achieve in school, or get awards for? And lastly, make a list of the things you think you would like to do, but are afraid you don't know enough about. This does take you about 30 minutes or so of your time but I guarantee you it is quite eye-opening.
Nothing on this list may end up being what you use for a home business, but nine times out of ten it will, or it will give you an idea you have never thought of before.
Here is part of my “love to do” and “things I'm good at” list. I'm mixing them together to save space.
Motivate people
Sell things eBay
Fish
Play Poker
Build a Website
Cook
Read
Write
Teach people
Those are just some of the things I first put on my two lists, but I noticed a common theme. Some of the things I loved to do and was good at were things I did on the computer. So I built a website that teaches people how to save money and live on one income for my first website.
I have built several websites since that one. One of the things I love to do is build up a website and then sell it. Cha-Ching!
Let's look at my list again. I am utilizing four things from my list. They are to build a website, motivate people, teach people, and write. So, items on your list may intermingle, and again, they may not.
But the problem for me, after some time went by, was some of those things by themselves didn't excite me and weren't enough. After a couple of years it just wasn't challenging enough and so I sold it. Sometimes we get to where we really should have been going all along by taking baby steps.
There is something good that comes out of everything you do, so don't worry too much about making the wrong decision. Remember the learning curve we talked about earlier. Those learning days will serve you well later on.
The thing I love about creating websites and blogging is the creative flow it takes to fill these websites up with content. Content that will draw my readers in and make them want to visit my site again.
Step Two
Once you make your list of what you are good at and things you would like to do you should have at least 20 items on each one of them. Now see if any of them can be used together, or if anything on your list gets you feeling a little bit excited. If there is nothing on your list that does excite you, don't worry because we have some other ways of coming up with a viable business as well.
When you find some things you are interested in, start looking at them in a different way. For example, can you sell it, make it, bake it, teach it, or grow it? You see how this goes. Take each thing on your list that you are interested in and start thinking how it could be a home business.
Then go even further and think, can I sell it online, sell it at flea markets, leave it in consignment shops, teach it to people in classes at my home, or do a service of some kind for people.
Step Three
Brainstorming with others is the best way to get the creative juices flowing. Take a family member or best friend and ask them to help you with the exercise above. Your friends and family will come up with some ideas that will completely amaze you.
As you are making your lists and writing down what you could or could not do with certain products or services you will see a plan unfolding right before your very eyes. How exciting this is so don't leave the planning and brainstorming out of your business.
Don't forget to put hobbies on your list. Many a millionaire has been made by teaching or sharing their hobbies!
Step Four
Up to this point we have not mentioned start-up money. I'll be honest with you, some home business ideas do take money, and even the ones that don't take a lot of start-up capital will require you to either start part-time while still earning a living elsewhere, or having enough savings in the bank for at least one year to help you out.
Not all businesses take a year to get off the ground. My ghostwriting business made me over $1500 my third month in business. There is a lot to be said for supply and demand.
Here is something to remember while doing your research. I quit my freelance writing business for two reasons. It limited me. I could only write so many hours per day and so the amount of money I could make was limited.
Any time you trade time for dollars you will have this problem. Also the clients had different deadlines and so my time really wasn't my own all the time. That's why I suggest an online business that has more of a passive income model. Like affiliate marketing, making video courses, books, etc. Anything you can sell online and not have to ship is pretty passive income.
Businesses that don't require a lot of start-up capital are selling products online or offering a service online. The reason a business online is so much easier to start is that you can do a lot of your advertising for free, it just takes up your time.
I have several friends who make a great living online. Two of my friends are associates for Amazon. They build blogs and write reviews about Amazon products that people are searching for online. Then they drive traffic to their websites by marketing them.
When someone clicks from their website to Amazon, and purchases a product, they get a nice commission for sending business to Amazon. Another of my friends is an associate for eBay. She does the same thing but her website pages link to eBay where she gets a good commission for the sales she brings them.
All this cost those people is about $12 per year for the website name, about $10 a month for hosting that website, and lots of hard work and their time. In all fairness I will tell you they have more than one website. You see the key to making money online is to find something that works and repeat, repeat, repeat!
Here is something to think about when you select a business as well. Again, I'll use myself as an example. I used to write new content every month for a variety of clients in order to make a living, which means each month I had to do it all over again, if I want to make money.
But, now that I write books for the Kindle program and blog, I make money a another way. I write the information once but sell it over and over again each month without having to work on it again. This is called passive income.
Passive income is why many entrepreneurs get so excited about multi-level marketing. Personally I have done those types of businesses and don't care for them, but many people have made hundreds of thousands of dollars that way.
The concept is to build a network of people and you get residuals off their sales as well as your own. My problem with that is I hate depending on what others are doing for my living. I work hard and expect everyone else to as well, but that is not always the case.
I am not down on this type of marketing; it's just not for me. This type of business may be something you should consider because it's extremely flexible for the stay at home mom or dad. You might be shocked to know that there are women making over $300,000 per year with Avon!
Again, most of it is passive income. The managers can sell to their friends, recruit others to sell and reap the benefits. That being said, the managers do spend time motivating people and taking care of their organization. But they don't have to depend on their sales to make a good monthly income.
Sounds like a pretty good plan if you want a large company like Avon, Mary Kay, or Amway behind you for support and training.
Step Five
Once you have figured out what excites you, and have a plan of action on how you are going to implement it, the fun begins. Here is where you make another list and answer these questions.
How much money do I need to get started?
Can I work this part time to test it out?
Am I starting part time on going all out?
Am I going to market my product or service online, or will people physically come to my home?
Do I have a place to set up a home office?
Do I have all the equipment I need to start this business?
Do I need any kind of permit or license?
Do I have all the skills needed or do I need to take online courses or read more books on the subject?
Have I sat down and made my goals and a simple business plan for the first year?
Can I run this business alone, or do I need to hire someone right away?
Can I be a self-starter and work this business like someone was paying me thousands of dollars?
You may even think of other questions that need to be answered, but the idea is to further help you with your plan and also to let you know what things you need more education on. This doesn't mean you can't go ahead and get started, but you need to know these things on the list can all be done or settled very quickly.
After doing all five steps you should know exactly what you want to do and what you need to do to get it going and make it through your first year. Without proper planning you are more likely to fail, so be sure and take the time to have the answers to all these questions before starting on your new business.