Chapter Four
It Doesn't Always Take Money to Make Money
Money may be short or even non-existent for you when you first start working from home but there are ways to work around that. If your business is something that is going to need cash to get started, like a daycare, then you will need to use other people's money.
As I said earlier an online business is much simpler to get started but if your skills are in a home business where people are coming to your home then go for it.
There are many places to apply for grants and small business loans. This book is not going to go into how to apply for these, but here is a link that will lead you in the right direction for a Small Business Associate loan.
https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans
Just know that if you are going to apply for any help you need to have at least a five to ten year business plan prepared with information on how you plan to get there. The route of an SBA loan is best taken by people who have already had their business in some form and have some revenue to show for it.
You could let your friends or relative invest in your business and give them a percentage of your business until the loan is paid back. Or, if you credit is good and you are certain you can make a go of your business, then possibly take out a loan. I would not suggest this unless you have been working your business part time for a while and you are already making money, proving you can make more full time.
So what are some other ways to get your business going without much, if any, money? Let's consider getting some publicity for your new business. Publicity is one thing that you need when you start any new business and there are some ways to get free publicity in the beginning. First you need to obtain a press release.
A press release is nothing more than a one page announcement about you and your new business. You will find plenty of press release templates and instructions for free on the Internet by searching for them. I write my own and it is not that hard. I did however pay someone else to distribute the press release for me, but it was under $25.
You can also pay someone to write it and I have found a place where you get a press release for $5. I have not tried this place for press releases, but I have used them for other things.
At this same place you will also find people who will submit your press release to 25 sites for another $5. The name of this place is Fiverr.com Although this avenue is not completely free it sure beats paying $79 like other places charge.
Every business needs a website, even if they are not working online. It's expected today and it's a good way for people and your customers to find out news about your business or specials you are running. Before getting a press release written and released, make sure you have your blog or website up and running so that your press release will link back to your website.
Your website will then of course have contact information and your new clients or customers can contact you that way. Plus your phone number is usually on the press release as well.
For any kind of business where you are going to offer your services and products online there are even more ways to advertise for free. Again, the press releases are good to use, but you can also do blog and forum commenting, and article marketing. I will explain what those things are for those that have not done any marketing online.
Blog Commenting – Most blogs or websites today have a section at the bottom where visitors can leave a comment. To do this effectively you must already have your business website in place. You look for blogs that are related to your business and then you go to those blogs, read them, and leave a comment.
Try to make your comment interesting by answering a previous questions that might have been asked, or add some information that might be helpful to the conversation that has been going on.
The key to success here is that these blogs will let you leave your website address by your name, and people who found what you had to say interesting will sometimes click through to your website. Free traffic!
If you do this regularly it will bring you traffic and potential customers to your website. To find these blogs that are related to your content you can search form them on Google.
Forum Marketing – This is very similar to blog commenting because you get involved in conversations on the forum, make friends, and really have a good time. You learn a lot as well. On a forum you are allowed to have what is known as a “signature”. This means when you fill out your profile for the forum you will be able to list your services as well as a link to your site.
I used to get about 90% of my writing clients by participating in forum discussions, so I know this works! If you choose an online business for your work at home business you must include this!
Things like commenting on blogs and forums, plus writing articles does take some time but it’s well worth it. These three things are just the beginning of marketing your services or products online, but that would be another complete book and part of that homework you need to do.