How to Transition from Home Baker to Small-Business Owner

How many times have you dusted the flour from your hands and thought, “Hey, I could do this for a living!” Maybe with every “You could really sell these!” you hear, or every crumb-freckled smile you see after each cookie gets devoured, you begin to wonder just what it would take to turn your home baking into something profitable, or at least larger in scale.

Fortunately, supporting small businesses and eating local is in vogue, and there’s never been a better time to branch out and become a small-business owner. While there may be more to it than mastering a meringue, turning your dreams into reality just begins with a product and a plan.

What Makes You So Special?

Let’s start with a bit of self-reflection. What is it about your baking that friends and family love? Think about your specialties, and zero in on what makes them great. Can you commodify it? Can you produce it in large batches? If you can find a way to rescale without losing any of that home-baked magic, you’re on the right track.

Create a Business Model

Are you planning to sell to local restaurants or coffee shops? Or maybe you’ll start with a table at the farmers’ market? Plan to expand vertically—still selling your same high-quality baked goods and offering your reliable services—but also think outside the box. When you’re competing against other local baking companies or big-box supermarkets or brands, thinking horizontally may be the best bet. To do this, brainstorm new products and services you can offer. Can you start a cookie delivery service? What about offering seasonal, limited-time-only items like dinner rolls or pies around the holidays? Once you’ve got a clear idea, you can begin planning your company name, logo and look.

Set Goals for Your Business

Now that you have an idea of your own brand and business model, set clear goals. Planning when you hope to reach each mile marker will help you determine the supplies, number of employees, and budget you’ll need to accomplish it all, each step of the way.

Stock Up on Supplies

When it comes to small businesses built on baking, the right equipment is essential. Sure, that standing mixer on your kitchen counter can whip up enough icing to cover cookies for the local bake sale, but is it large enough to fill your customers’ orders? Research the tools you’ll need for the menu you’re planning. Do you have enough sugar? (Tip: Order this, and spices, in bulk.) What about silpats? No item is too small to be factored into your budget, if you’ll really need it.

Be Frank About Finances

Depending on your business goals, it’s possible that you’ll need to find funding at some point. Hopefully your clear planning has led you to a ballpark sum—or better yet, an exact amount—you’ll require to get started, whether it’s to cover the cost of a space, new equipment, branded marketing materials or an extra helping hand. (And don’t forget to pay yourself when factoring in all expenses!

Sometimes landing a bank loan can be difficult for first-time business owners, and if you run into trouble on that front, or you’re not willing or able to put up your home or another asset up for collateral, there are still a number of options available to you. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is a government organization that’s been aiding small business owners and entrepreneurs since 1953, offering loans, grants and advice. In addition to SBA, be sure to research corporate credit card programs, which will often offer incentives and rewards programs for small businesses, and more importantly will help keep your business costs separate from your personal records—you’ll be happy you did this when it comes to tax season.

Speaking of which, should you register your business as an LLC? A C-corp? An S-corp? Each small-business model is different, so it’s advisable to reach out to a lawyer, even if only to consult on this one matter. Doing it early on in the process will save you headache later.

Follow the Codes

Where are you right now? Whatever your answer, it’s most likely that your city, town, village, state or county has a very specific set of health codes and regulations regarding home business and food safety. Sadly, building your home-baking business isn’t as simple as tossing a tray of tirggel in the oven, but it’s these health codes that keep the foods we all consume safe!

Nearly all municipalities require food businesses to operate out of a certified commercial kitchen; because this can vary depending on your location, it’s best to call city hall to determine what you’d need to change in your kitchen to get it certified, or where you can find a rental kitchen to work from. Your local health representatives should also be able to tell you exactly which food handlers’ certification you’ll need to start serving your goods to the masses. From there, if you can’t find local courses for these certificates, many classes and training sessions are available online.

Start Baking!

Now that you’re certified, funded and fully equipped, it’s time to officially start your business. Whether you’re setting up each weekend at the local farmers’ market, retailing in area grocery stores or delivering your goods straight to your customers’ smiling faces, you have a great foundation to get going and dish out those delicious baked goods.

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How to Leverage Your Blog to Attract New Prospects and Grow Your Business

By Ford Saeks

You might have heard the saying, “Content is King.” This idea is now updated, because fresh content is the new king. By posting this fresh content, bloggers are able to add timely and valuable content for their readers, while at the same time increasing traffic to their sites, building relationships, and establishing themselves as the expert in their fields.

What’s all of the hype about BLOGS and why should you care? By creating and effectively leveraging a blog for your business, you will rank higher in search engines, attract more targeted traffic to your site, create and establish repeat traffic, and get more sales of your products and services, and that’s just scratching the surface of the benefits blogs can offer you. As a marketer for your business, your purpose is to communicate the value of your products and services. Blogs allow you to do that in a much more personal and interactive way.

When planning your blog, start by focusing on the benefits to your site visitors. What do you think they’d want to know more about? Ask your customer service, sales people, or receptionist to make a list of the top questions or areas of concern relating to your business. Spend some time researching and reviewing other blogs on your subject or topic area. You’ll quickly find many ways that adding a blog to your marketing plan just makes good business sense. As a marketing tool, it allows you to create a much more personal relationship with your viewer than regular web content. In being able to establish a personal relationship with your prospects, you will walk them through the process of knowing you, liking you, and then trusting you, which will then lead to them buying your products or services.

>> Visit the HBM EXPO! Hundred’s of Home-Based Businesses, Franchises & Opportunities to Choose From!

6 Tips to Help You Effectively Leverage Your Blog

1. Use your blog to increase credibility. Make sure your blog is well written so it entices the curiosity of a visitor. Also ensure each of your postings allows users to ask questions and clarify doubts they might have. Organize your blog so it also allows your customers to easily find the information they are looking for by using the proper keyword tags and categories and a search option.

2. Use your blog as an education-based marketing tool. Blogs serve the role of a teacher, so make sure your blog has valuable information for your visitors so they can learn more about your industry, viewpoints, area of expertise, products, and specific technical information on a variety issues. Furthermore, your blog must be a place where visitors can send feedback and questions to you, which you can then respond to with helpful, relevant information and answers.

3. Use it to boost product sales. Detail all of the benefits and usage of your product or service on your blog. This attracts prospects to your website and keeps customers updated on the latest developments with your company’s products or services.

4. Use it as a tool for internal communication. It is accessible to everyone in your company, so why not make it a central place for company information and updates? Display all of the latest events and the future plans or training for your company. Implementing these and other strategies will help your blog play a key role in helping you communicate to the employees of your company.

5. Blogs also make great Content Management Systems (CMS). In addition to regular blog postings, you can also use blog software to update and manage the content of specific areas of your website.

6. Use your blog to establish powerful word-of-mouth marketing and recommendations. Create postings that invite comments. Viewer comments on your blog create extra content which in turn will help raise your search engine rankings and attract more visitors. Also, everyone trusts the opinions of others more than they trust the marketing copy communicated by the companies selling products. Generate content that entices your prospects and customers to post their thoughts and comments on your products, services and company.

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Two Distinctions

When talking about Blog Marketing it’s important to make a couple of distinctions.  The first is “using a blog to help to market your website.” In this perspective, the blog is mainly used as a traffic generating strategy. Your focus is on adding keyword-rich content in various formats — text, audio and video postings — that solves your readers’ needs or desires and gets ranked by the major search engines.

The second distinction is “marketing your blog.” Many blogs are not standalone websites, but are part of a bigger website and can be used for publicity and public awareness. In this case, you may just want visitors to come and read the content posted on your blog, and then hopefully they click-through to other pages and make a purchase.

There are many reasons for building your business blog — perhaps as a place to highlight product reviews in a more personal way or to write posts which link to the products pages of your site with more product details. You can write about how people use your products or services, like case studies, and write about news and upcoming events — for use internally or externally. Remember that personal recommendations are key factors in buying decisions, so let your blog help facilitate this and in the process give potential customers helpful information to encourage sales! HBM

Ford Saeks is best known for his ability to position people and their products and services for profit through proven Internet marketing, innovative publicity and sales campaigns. He is the “go-to” guy when you want to increase targeted traffic that converts into sales. Learn more about how he can help you find, attract, and keep your customers at www.ProfitRichResults.com.

The post How to Leverage Your Blog to Attract New Prospects and Grow Your Business appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

How Businesses Are Mastering SEO

The SEO sphere is a constantly evolving industry. The multiple algorithm updates have hugely affected the search strategy for almost all the marketers. Consumers are now inclined towards mobile devices, meaning that brands now need to take up a holistic approach to reach the targeted user.

The unification of social, search, and content has brought about radical changes in the customer-centric online marketing sphere. The current online marketing is about how best you can maintain the balance between satisfying the customers and the search algorithms to achieve your business goals.

How Marketing Jobs Are Affected With Industry Changes

The impact on marketing jobs has been tremendous as brands have changed their perspective towards content and how the customers interact with the brand message. Brands now understand the importance of interpersonal skills and the skill sets that could collectively contribute to the overall marketing goals.

Marketers now need to understand to gel their own skills with related specialties like, content, social media, SEO, email, and more. Marketers now need to see the bigger picture in order to understand how the role fits the goal of their campaign.

How SEO Is Affected By These Changes

As the online marketing industry has grown and evolved, so have the methodologies of SEO. SEO marketing services are now utilizing multiple channels in the marketing initiative. However, this has not reduced the importance of SEO. SEO still stands strong and the most bankable component of online marketing.

Brands will need the right set of talent and cooperation in order to incorporate SEO in their wider marketing goals. The brand should have the skills so that they could develop content to meet the needs of the brand’s marketing initiatives, satisfy the needs of the customer, and also rank on search engines.

Businesses’ Understanding Of SEO

There are levels through which businesses have started adopting the SEO methodology. The four stages are as follows:

1. Stage #1: These businesses know the value of search engine optimization, however they are still not advancing towards it. They don’t view it as a priority, they don’t have a set of online marketing goals, the budget is nil and very few resources exist.
2. Stage #2: These kind of businesses are taking slow steps towards SEO. They have a strategy and have begun to look at the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that might be valuable for an organization.
3. Stage #3: These businesses have strong SEO strategies and could see positive and measurable ROI for their efforts. They regularly use KPIs to enhance the initiatives taken in their SEO campaign.
4. Stage #4: These are businesses that utilize the best SEO practices and implement them. They also look for innovative ways and discover path-breaking techniques that will help them enhance their online presence.

As businesses mature along this curve, they are capable of employing highly efficient content production teams that can be the cornerstone of the online and digital marketing efforts.

How Businesses Can Embrace SEO

Organization of departments on the basis of brands’ understanding of the impact of organic search: Brands will look for more mature operations once they understand the role of organic search in the enhancement of their online visibility.

1. Realize which process of maturity are they in: Businesses will need to pay attention to where they stand in the maturity process towards mastering SEO.
2. Report and scale the content: Businesses could measure the content’s effectiveness through various departments to serve the customers in a better way.

The post How Businesses Are Mastering SEO appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

15 Home-Based Business Ideas that Serve Senior Citizens

Silver (and Gold) in Senior Services

By Priscilla Y. Huff

As boomers age, they will represent a huge block of potential customers for innovative entrepreneurs who can supply the right services and products. Here are fifteen senior-related, home-business ideas that may have you finding riches in these boomers’ golden years.

*Please note: Professional associations are primarily networking organizations and usually do not offer start-up information. Include a business-sized, self-addressed, stamped envelope with any written correspondence.

1. MEDICAL CLAIMS ASSISTANCE PROFESSIONAL

Seniors often overpay medical bills; because they do not understand the insurance labyrinth involved in the filing and tracking of insurance claims that accompany accidents and illnesses. Medical claims assistants examine and compare their clients’ medical records with medical bills to ensure their clients are charged correctly. These professionals sometimes work as advocates to overturn decisions denying clients’ claims. Health care providers also hire medical claims assistants to check if they have billed for all the services they provided.

Success Tips: You need a current knowledge of medical terminology, the regulations and procedures of Medicare, and private insurances. Your business will come from the referrals from satisfied clients; marketing your services directly to small medical offices, hospitals, senior centers; and networking with lawyers, bankers, accountants, and other professionals whose clients may need your expertise.

Resources:

*Association of Claims Assistance Professionals (ACAP), email: capinfo@claims.org.

*Understanding Health Insurance: A Guide to Billing and Reimbursement by Jo Ann C. Rowell, Michelle A. Green, 2005.

2. SENIOR CARE CONSULTANT

Senior care consultants are nurses, social workers, gerontologists, and other professionals with the credentials and experience in elder care and aging matters. They provide seniors, their adult children, or caregivers with information and recommendations for long-term health-care and living arrangements that best suit their clients’ needs, finances, and preferences. They help ensure their clients will have an on-going, optimum quality of life.

Success Tips: You should possess the qualifications, the understanding of elders’ needs, and a familiarity with community services and agencies for the aging, including knowing how to negotiate around the often-existing “red tape barriers” to obtain services for your clients. Business will primarily be from referrals from satisfied clients and the personnel of the social service agencies with which you will be working.

Resources:

*Aging Life Care Association, 3275 W. Ina Road, Suite 130, Tucson, AZ 85741-2198.

*Complete Eldercare Planner: Where to Start, Which Questions to Ask, and How to Find Help, rev. ed. by Joy Loverde.

*Long-Term Care: How to Plan and Pay for It by Joseph L. Matthews.

3. NUTRITION CONSULTANT

With age, people often develop medical and physical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, and other serious health concerns that require them to follow specific diets. Nutritional consultants educate their clients about the food and meal-planning regimens they need to follow while coordinating their efforts with the clients’ caregivers and their health care professionals’ recommendations.

Success Tips: Certification and licensing is required in most states for this profession. As a consultant, you can market your expertise by teaching classes, leading seminars at health fairs; writing articles; speaking to area organizations and seeking referrals from visiting nurses associations, hospice programs, and local health and aging departments.

Resources:

*Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

*The American Dietetic Association’s Complete Food & Nutrition Guide by Roberta Larson Duyff.

*U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

4. IN-HOME CARE (NON-MEDICAL) SERVICES

With the existence of in-home (non-medical) services that assist their clients with cleaning, shopping, running errands, and transportation, many retirees are opting to stay and live independently in their homes or apartments. In-home care specialists work with social services, family members or guardians to develop individualized programs to best manage and monitor their clients’ daily needs.

Success Tips: Education, training, and previous work experience with older populations is essential. Survey your community and potential clients to determine what types of non-medical services are most-needed. You can build a list of clients to personally assist on a regular or on an as-needed basis; or you can hire and direct other qualified caregivers. Check for local or state regulations and certifications you may be required to have.

Resources:

*In-Home Care for Senior Citizens: A Bedside Companion by Shirley M. Baker-Davis.

5. DAILY MONEY MANAGERS

Seniors are often overwhelmed by the day-to-day money-managing tasks due to age-related disabilities or illness, or because of the death of a spouse — especially if it was the one who primarily managed a couple’s expenses. Daily money-managers supervise clients’ bill-paying tasks, balance their checkbooks, sort mail, and refer their clients to professionals such as accountants or tax preparers, when needed. Managers will also help their clients keep track of their scheduled appointments and engagements.

Success Tips: You will need money-management skills, and to develop a trustworthy reputation to build up a clientele that you will visit on a regular basis. Market your services to seniors and their adult children, as well as to bankers, financial planners, and others involved in managing the finances of older adults.

Resources:

*American Association of Daily Money Managers, email: info@aadmm.com

*Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

6. SEAMSTRESS-TAILOR**

Due to failing eyesight or loss of manual dexterity, seniors need experienced sewers to help them with a variety of sewing needs. If you are skilled with a needle, you may be hired to do everything from alterations, sewing on buttons or zippers, creating window treatments and upholstering furniture, to sewing wedding dresses or christening gowns for grandchildren. You may also be asked to alter and adapt clothing for your clients’ special medical conditions and surgeries.

**Note that home sewing of some garments is illegal. Check with the U. S. Department of Labor to learn about existing laws, www.dol.gov/.

Success Tips: Start by offering general sewing services to give you time to find the most profitable sewing niche for you. Market your services to the managers and directors of retirement and assisted-living communities to supply their residents’ sewing needs. Hand out business cards for future referrals.

Resources:

*Home Sewing Association.

*Association of Sewing and Design Professionals.

*Business of Sewing: How to Start, Maintain and Achieve Success by Barbara Wright Sykes, 2004.

7. HANDY-PERSON FIX-IT SERVICES

Many seniors or their adult children will gladly pay someone to do simple household jobs like painting and wallpapering, installing shelves and household fixtures, replacing windowpanes, and other simple tasks they do not have the time or no longer the ability to complete. Vocational schools often offer general home-maintenance courses if you need to brush-up your “fix-it” skills for small repairs and installations.

Success Tips: Older adults are wary of whom they allow in their homes. The entrepreneurs in this business who develop confidence and trust with their customers will receive much of their business through word-of-mouth referrals. Most professional handy-persons have more business than they can handle.

Resources:

*Handyman’s Handbook: The Complete Guide to Starting and Running a Successful Business by David Koenigsberg.

*Start & Run a Handyman Business by Sarah White and Kevin Pegg.

8. FINANCIAL PLANNER

As people grow older, they realize the importance of planning a financially sound future. Financial planners assist clients in estate planning, choosing wise investments, constructing budgets, and preparing money-management strategies that will enable their clients to live comfortably in their retirement years.

Success Tips: Most financial consultants/planners are certified (SEE FPA), and obtain client leads from the referrals of acquaintances, satisfied clients and from professionals like accountants, bankers, and lawyers. You can educate and attract potential clients by conducting community seminars and speaking to local organizations.

Resources:

*The Financial Planning Association (FPA).

*Getting Started in Financial Consulting by Edward J. Stone, Tanya Stone, 2004.

*Retire on Less Than You Think by Fred Brock, 2004.

9. HOME BUSINESS CONSULTANT

Many people in their fifties and sixties who do not want to retire to “play” want try their hand at entrepreneurship, but have no idea where to start. If you have the credentials and/or the experience in operating a successful home-based or small business, you might consider assisting others in choosing a home venture that matches their skills and has a profitable potential.

Success Tips: Teaching startup business courses at local schools and colleges and writing business articles will help promote your image as a home-business expert. Clients will need your recommendations for creating business plans, financing options, market research and planning, and office set-up tips. They will also need your referrals to additional agencies and professionals with whom they will need to consult for their businesses’ operations.

Resources:

*U. S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), www.sba.gov/SBDC.

*Best Home Businesses for People 50+ by Paul & Sarah Edwards, 2004.

10. HOME DELIVERY SERVICES

Seniors who cannot drive, and their busy “sandwich” generation children who are stressed for time, are paying for the delivery of everything from milk, food and meals, clothing and dry cleaning, to personal and household purchases. You may find markets for specialized services such as transporting pets to and from veterinarian and grooming appointments. One former business executive quit his job and re-established a successful milk and dairy delivery service for customers in his urban neighborhood.

Success Tips: Research your areas to evaluate what delivery “niches” are needed, and start with a dependable truck, van, or trailer. You can offer general transport services or specialize. A well-written press release announcing your business’s launch as well as inexpensive ads in local classified-only papers are effective methods in reaching potential customers. Leave your business cards at small and discount retailers, senior citizens housing and centers, and post on public bulletin boards.

Resources:

*PaloAlto Business Plan Software: BusinessPlan Pro – with 500 sample business plans, including two delivery-type businesses.

*Legacy Marketing’s Small Business Start-up Guides, including errand business; meal delivery business.

11. EXERCISE CONSULTANT

Many seniors participate in senior games and sports for fun and to reap the health benefits. Some individuals exercise to improve medical conditions or as part of rehabilitative programs to help them maintain their regimens and remain injury-free. Fitness experts work with senior’s physicians and therapists to develop ongoing programs of strength, conditioning, flexibility, and balance to enable their clients to stay physically fit and active for as long as possible.

Success Tips: You should have a background in health and fitness, a certification, or a degree in this field. Of course, your clients need to have their doctors’ permission before starting any exercise program. Many exercise consultants also teach swimming, yoga, walking, dancing, and other lifetime sports and activities at local senior centers, schools, and community organizations.

Resources:

*American Council on Exercise.

*Exercise for Older Adults.

*Strength Training Over 50: Stay Fit and Fabulous by D. Cristine Caivano, 2005.

12. COMPUTER CONSULTING

Numerous mature adults, who were previously resistance to learning computer technology, change their minds when they or their families move away and realize that it is one of the best ways to keep in contact with their children, grandchildren and friends. As a computer consultant, you will be hired to teach basic and advance skills, select computer systems, and make home visits for computer set-ups and trouble-shooting.

Success Tips: Expertise, patience, communication teaching skills, as well as your timely availability must be combined with good customer service for business success. Teaching courses, writing a Q & A column in retirement community newsletters, joining your local business owners’ organization and encouraging word-of-mouth referrals should give you all the business you can handle.

Resources:

*Independent Computer Consultants Association.

*Windows XP for Seniors: For Senior Citizens Who Want to Start Using the Internet by Addo Stuur.

13. ANTIQUES’ APPRAISALS

People need antiques and collectibles appraised for insurance coverage, when they are moving or settling estates, or wish to liquidate some of their prized possessions. They require honest evaluations of their items and recommendations on where to sell their items for the best possible prices.

Success Tips: Become an expert in the antiques you appraise by enrolling in courses, visiting museums and studying public collections. It is especially important to learn how to detect imitations. Know how to communicate well, because you will do much writing and talking to people. Market your services by exhibiting at antique shows, writing columns, giving community talks and encouraging referrals from auctions houses and clients. Join an appraisal association for networking and referral opportunities, and to stay current with trends and markets.

Resources:

*Antique Appraisal Association of America.

*Antique Trader.

*Kovels’ Antiques and Collectibles Price List, 38th ed. by Ralph and Terry Kovel, 2005.

14. LAWN AND GARDEN CARE

With scores of mature adults selling their larger homes and moving to smaller residences and/or retirement communities, they may not have the time or capability to install or revamp garden spaces. Many, however, still wish to pursue their gardening activities, and/or need routine lawn and garden care and continued property maintenance when they traveling. You might also offer to establish specialized gardens like those friendly to pets, or those accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Success Tips: Promote business by leading workshops at garden centers, speaking to garden clubs and to residents of retirement communities. Write columns in seniors’ newsletters, posting temporary business signs at your job sites and encourage referrals from satisfied customers.

Resources:

*American Horticultural Society .

*National Gardening Association.

*How to Start a Home-Based Landscaping Business, 4th ed. by Owen E. Dell, 2005.

*Lawn Care and Gardening: A Down-to-Earth Guide to the Business by Mickey Willis, Kevin Rossi.

*Accessible Gardening: Tips and Techniques for Seniors and the Disabled by Joann Woy.

15. TRANSCRIPTION AND/OR VIDEO SERVICES

As people grow older, some wish to leave a legacy of memories to loved ones or for public record about the experiences and accomplishments of their lives. In this service, you would record, transcribe and write and/or videotape clients’ memoirs as they are told to you.

Success Tips: This can be a fascinating business as you hear individuals’ accounts of events in their past and how they relate to events in the world’s history. Patience, being nonjudgmental would be required of you, personally. Market your services with talks to local historical societies, and senior citizen groups.

Resources:

*Association of Personal Historians, Inc.

*Record and Remember: Tracing Your Roots Through Oral History by Ellen Robinson Epstein, Jane Lewit.

*Touching Tomorrow: How to Interview Your Loved Ones to Capture a Lifetime of Memories on Video or Audio by Mary LoVerde. HBM

Priscilla Y. Huff is the author of 101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women, 3rd ed., and The Self-Employed Woman’s Guide to Launching a Home-Based Business. For home-business-related questions, contact her at pyhuff@hotmail.com.

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Building the Foundations of Your Digital Marketing

Any building or structure is built with the foundation in mind first. We all know that if the foundation of a building is bad, then the structure will ultimately fail. However, if you spend the time to build that solid foundation, you can know that your building will be able to stand long-term. We all know these things about buildings, so why is it that so many businesses forget to build strong foundations for their marketing?

We see so many brands that want to do email marketing or programmatic advertising, but don’t have the essential foundations in place to be successful. Let’s take a brief look at the most important digital foundations you need in place before you can be successful with digital advertising.

Branding

Before you can think about promoting your brand name, you need to have a clear vision on your branding. Branding involves the tone, feel, and message that your brand gives off, whether in nonverbal visual cues, or written text. Once you have your branding in place, you can build a website, social media presence, ad campaign, and other marketing materials to all match and work together to build brand awareness. Then, when you are ready to do your advertising campaign, you have a consistent look to build brand recognition.

Web Site Development

When it comes to marketing a business in the digital age, a website is the first and most important tool. Both current customers and prospective customers expect you to have one, and they demand that it be easy to find and easy to use. Your website is your first impression of what you can provide to solve their problem or need. A successful advertising campaign in the digital sphere will be crafted in such a way as to promote traffic to your website. You have to have your website in the best possible shape before you begin an ad campaign.

Social Media Foundations

Outside of your website, social media is the first place someone will go to check out your brand online. There are so many assumptions and impressions that people make based off of your social profiles alone. In today’s digital culture, it is a necessity to have a healthy social media presence. That doesn’t mean that you have to have 5 million followers, but it does mean that you need to be consistently sharing and providing content, as well as interacting with customers and business partners.

Prior to launching a major ad campaign, you need to make sure that you first of all, have social media presences on the main social media channels you want/need to be on. You don’t have to be on all of them, but a careful look will help you understand what profiles are best for your brand. Then, you need to build a healthy following and put forth content so that your profiles do not look empty. Remember, this is a chance to tell your prospective clients about who you are and what you stand for!

Ranking On Search Engines

SEO and keyword analytics go hand-in-hand with your content marketing strategy and your social media strategy. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) are all about getting your website recognized on the first page of Yahoo!, Bing, or Google search engine results when clients search for relevant keywords or phrases. For instance, if you run a window and door company in Pleasantville, someone should be able to find you right away with a search for “window and door company Pleasantville,” or any other variation on that search. SEO and SEM strategies will help you make this happen.

SEO starts with building a website in a way that makes it easy and intuitive for search engines to know what you are about. Then, by optimizing your pages based on the content you are writing, and other key strategies, you can make it extra clear that that is what you are about to search engines. A healthy web presence starts with building your website in a way that promotes positive search rankings. Building your brand this way builds your reputation online and establishes your brand as a leader in your industry.

Landing Pages and Microsites

Landing sites are often a foundation that many marketers forget to address. Any ad campaign you do will be focused around encouraging your audience to go somewhere. Where you send someone is called a landing page. All too often, we see marketers design amazing email campaigns, but then don’t spend any time on the landing page. They may get thousands of hits on this landing page, but if it’s not designed well, it doesn’t convert to actual leads.

Landing pages are a great way to direct your customers from a targeted email or ad in a way that delivers exactly the information they are expecting. Without landing pages, customers might navigate to your website and get lost after a few clicks. Landing pages are built to deliver the information the customer is looking for in that moment.

Once you have the foundations in place, you can start to think about creating campaigns to drive traffic back to your brand. Don’t make the mistake we’ve seen so many before you make: building on poor marketing foundations. Build your foundations, and THEN light your brand on fire through digital advertising. Not the other way around!

The post Building the Foundations of Your Digital Marketing appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Shop Small and Think Local SEO for Small Business Saturday

Forget the bigger stores and their early door buster and Black Friday deals this Thanksgiving weekend. This is the year of the small business. Welcome to Small Business Saturday, taking place November 28, the first day in the Holiday season devoted specifically to promoting small business retailers and showing everyone just how important shopping locally is.

After you’ve signed up for the free marketing resources on the official Small Business Saturday website, it’s time to start thinking about what your business can be doing to drive more traffic into your store just in time for the holiday season. The answer is simple: Using Local SEO to help bring attention to your business.

Local SEO ranks your website and other web personas (company Facebook page, Twitter account, Yelp page, Google Local page, and so forth) for regionally focused keywords or phrases. With Local SEO your focus is on ranking your website (www.examplebakery.com), your other web personas, or both for keywords and phrases (for example: Los Angeles Bakery). Simple right? But here’s the bigger question: what type of company should be doing Local SEO?

Well, the simple answer to that question is: any company focused on local foot traffic to make sales. So, if you are a restaurant, bakery, hair salon, clothing store, or any other type of local business, you should be focusing on Local SEO. If you aren’t, then you’re missing out on traffic and customers. For example, if someone in Los Angeles searches Google for “Mexican Food Restaurant” and you’re not focusing on Local SEO, your LA-area Mexican restaurant won’t show up in the results. The good news is that getting started is a lot easier than you might think. All you need to do is follow the two steps below!

Step One: Optimize Your website

First, make sure that your website is ranking for the keywords you think best describe your services. Are you a fashion forward clothing boutique? Or an authentic Mexican restaurant? Google the phrases that you want to describe your shop. This will give you an indication of the companies that are already ranking for the keyword in your local area.

Now that you know who is ranking for your chosen keywords, it’s time to expand those keywords. Don’t limit yourself only to “Mexican Restaurant”, go ahead and try to rank for “Best Burrito”. This will help you reach the entire demographic that you need.

Then, make sure you update your website so that it references the following:

• The region you want to rank for (this is typically your local area)

• Your key phrase placed in the text in a way that it makes sense, like “Try the best burrito in San Francisco!”

• Your key phrase placed in the H1 tag on each page.

• Incorporate Schema.org references into your website. Schema is a form of data that search engines can read to associate you with a location.

• Your full physical address so that Google can recognize you as a business in your targeted area

• Clear any and all links to your social media and other web personas. Don’t worry! We’ll explain your next step with your social media next.

Above all else, if you have multiple locations then make sure you repeat the previous steps for each location-specific page. This will allow you to rank each location for the specific keywords necessary.

Step Two: Utilize Your Web Personas

The next step in upping your Local SEO game is making sure that you’re getting the most out of your web personas. Web personas are basically your social media accounts or anything you use to interact with your customers on the Internet. Think sites like Facebook, Yelp, Eat24, Google, etc. These pages are not only gateways to ranking your own site with Local SEO, but in some cases are more important for ranking.

Why?

• Web personas rank higher due to being on an established domain name

• Web personas can often allow customers to leave feedback, which brings new visitors to see what others have to say about you.

• Web personas show your product or services in other places outside of a normal search engine like Google or Bing.

So how can you best utilize your web personas?

• Make sure you claim ALL of your listings, even if it’s just to protect you against potential harm in the future.

• Reserve your social names on every social media site. The last thing your business needs is someone making a fake page that could do damage to your brand.

• Use high quality images! This should go without saying, but better pictures of the items you sell can often mean more interested customers.

• Monitor, embrace, and acknowledge all feedback. Customers that land on personas like Yelp or Google Local make their decisions largely based on the feedback that has been left by your customers. Responding to the feedback, whether it’s glowing or negative, will go a long way to not only letting new visitors see what stellar customer service you provide, but also will allow you to improve your business.

• Post regularly and get your customers to be active on your social media sites. The higher they rate you the better your ranking will be and the more feedback you’ll receive, resulting in driving you more customers.

• Link to your website. Above all else, you need to make sure your social personas link to your website. This will help elevate the rankings of your website.

Ready to get started? By optimizing your Local SEO efforts with the above two steps, your business can make Small Business Saturday not just a great start to your holiday season, but the strongest day of the year. Good luck and happy shopping!

The post Shop Small and Think Local SEO for Small Business Saturday appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Top Five Sneezers: Using Leverage to Increase Online Business Revenue

Image courtesy of Tina Franklin, under the Creative Commons License. No changes made.

Leverage is one of the fastest techniques you can use to grow a website. There are a lot of ways you can use leverage to increase your website revenue.

Recently, one of the 200 websites I helped launched for my company received 100,000 hits and reviews in a 90-minute period, thanks to one pretty and popular actress. We had asked her if she would review our website, and whether the product was something she would buy. We said, “If you like this product, would you do us a favor and tweet about it?” She did, and she also ended up buying the product. And because she had such a strong Twitter following, her endorsements caused thousands of her fans to jump on our website that day. We saw explosive growth and maintained a 2 percent lift after that one mention.

Of course, not every website owner knows an actress they can call up for an endorsement on social media. So how can the non-celebrity-knowing businessperson use this same premise to leverage their site?

One of the challenges we often give our website partners is to go out and befriend what we like to call your “top five sneezers.” In every industry—whether it’s dental care, weather, construction, or floor repair—there are a handful of prominent websites with a large following. They might be blogs or corporate websites, but the reality is that every industry has brands with a following. If you can dial down to the specific people of influence behind those brands (social-savvy C-level execs, evangelists, popular bloggers), you’ve found your “sneezers.” They spew information, and that information goes viral.

So, find out who the big virus-spewing sneezers are in your space, so to speak. Hunt them down, and see if you can get them to recognize you publicly. You can approach a sneezer and ask him to:

• Review a product for you
• Simply mention you on the internet
• Let you guest post for his site

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Your next question might be, why would any sneezer want to give me the time of day? Well, put yourself in his shoes for a moment. What are his needs and wants? Like Stephen Covey explains in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood.” What is the inner psychology of the sneezer? Instead of just attacking him with a plea for promotion, ask the sneezer how you can help him.

No matter what the size of your business, the type of product or service you sell, or the length of time you’ve been in business, you have value to add. One of the most obvious ways you can add value to a sneezer is to become an advocate or ambassador of his brand. So, one approach might be to take the initiative to help the sneezer build his own brand by advocating for him online. If you can help promote the sneezer’s message and physically grow his following, you are doing for him what he already spends a lot of his day doing.

Then, at some point in the future, you can use this established relationship to contact the sneezer and say, “You might now know me, but I’m a big fan. I’ve created a fan club of sorts, and convinced xx people to follow you. I just wanted to reach out and say hello.”

Once you’ve established a connection, then perhaps on the second or third point of contact, you can call in a favor. “Hey, would you mind checking out my website?” Chances are, he’ll be glad to help such an enthusiastic ambassador for his brand.

The post Top Five Sneezers: Using Leverage to Increase Online Business Revenue appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

E-Commerce and Internet Businesses to Start from Your Home Office

                                              By Priscilla Y. Huff

Many service-type businesses are successfully finding new customers through their web sites. Here is a sampling of e-commerce business ideas from which you might choose to start or to inspire you to launch a unique one of your own.

1. Customized Graphic Designs

Graphic designers supply business owners, promotional products companies, organizations, professionals, and/or consumers with designs for signs, web graphics, logos, promotional materials, presentations, film projects, special events, and other design needs. In starting out, solo designers often work on joint projects with other independent professionals while seeking their best niche markets.

Success Tips: Experience, education, and/or training in graphic design will qualify you and help you decide a business specialization. Utilize a well-written business plan and invest in high-quality technology and software. Maximize Internet marketing opportunities to attract customers. Build a strong customer base by providing quality service, products, and specialized customer service.

Suggested Resources:

*Graphic Artists Guild – www.gag.org – ethics; pricing handbook.*Start & Run a Graphic

Design Business by Michael Huggins.

2. Computer Support Online

Computer consultants help business owners and professionals stay productive and save money by keeping their office technology running efficiently; plus assist clients in choosing the best hardware and software for their needs. With online support, clients can get your help 24-7, receive regular tips, and participate in your online classes or webinars.

Success Tips: Market with direct mailings to local businesses, schools, and organizations and through your interactive web site. Send regular e-zines to clients and reward their referrals. Network with other computer consultants for referrals, leads, and to call on if you should need their additional expertise.

Suggested Resources:

*Independent Computer Consultants Association – www.icca.org/ – chapters, membership referrals.

Getting Started as an Independent Computer Consultant by Mitch Paioff.

3. E-Publishing: Blogs, E-Books, and E-Newsletters

Many major magazine and book publishers reject writers’ book proposals, because their potential readership is too small to be profitable. With the Internet, writers can reach niche readers with their own basic web sites and make more money selling electronic books, e-zine subscriptions, or self-publishing (print) books through print-on-demand companies.

Success Tips: Conduct market research before publishing your work to see if a potential readership exists and what they would be willing to pay. If you are successful in your field and a recognized expert, you will already have a good potential market. Writing articles in trade publications, public speaking, and directing workshops help build a paying following.

Suggested Resources:

*The Easy Way to Write and Sell E-Books by Kristina Seleshanko.

*Profitable E-mail Publishing: How To Publish A Profitable Emag by Angela Adair-Hoy.

4. Green-‘Tailing

Despite the recession (or maybe it has helped propel the movement), more people and business owners around the world are “going green,” in their consumption and production of products and services in order to save our world from permanent pollution; and to save money.

Success Tips: Research items or service-related products with which you are familiar and to see what environmentally-friendly items or services you can sell to a particular market. Promote your site with articles, social networking sites, and press releases to announce new products; and/or “green” community causes that you can support using your business’ offerings.

Suggested Resource:

*GreenBiz.com – Green business information; free e-newsletters.

5. Online Auction Specialist

If you have had success in selling through e-Bay or on other online auction sites, offer to sell clients’ collectibles or specialty items on consignment, and include or charge separately for market value appraisals; photos of items; listing and copywriting; and packing and shipping. Use your web site to list the items in which you specialize and your terms. Post photos of successfully-sold items and regular online auction news and selling tips.

Success Tips – Contact estate lawyers and network with non-competing online auction specialists for leads. Reward customers’ referrals with discounts. Stay current with collecting and online auction trends; and use consignment software for organization. Assist nonprofit organizations with fundraising and online charity auctions to promote community good will and publicity.

Suggested Resources:

*Ecommercebytes.com/ – online ecommerce industry news; technology reviews.

*How to Start and Run an eBay Consignment Business by Skip McGrath.

6. Internet Technologist Recruiter

Business owners need the expertise of qualified Internet technologists to keep pace with their competitors, especially in slow economic times. Using online, newspaper, and trade journal ads; college and university job placement offices; job fairs; and networking referrals, recruiter specialists search and screen for skilled workers or independent contractors that best meet their clients’ criteria.

Success Tips: As an executive research recruiter, proving the value of your expertise to your clients with high-quality service and results will earn you commanding fees. Distinguish yourself from competitors with a strong Internet presence and a professional-looking web site that is both a resource for clients and a contact source for job-seeking Internet technologists.

Suggested Resources:

*The Association for Internet Recruiting (AIRs) – www.recruitersnetwork.com/ – free, information resource for human-resource professionals, recruiters, hiring managers.

7. Marketing Specialist, Virtual

In recessions, regular clients need marketing experts’ advice to find new customers or develop additional, spin-off income sources; while owners of new start-ups and independent professionals use their expertise to implement a combination of affordable business-building tactics. You and your staff can use the Internet for ongoing, client consultations to create strategic plans to help them reach their target markets.

Success Tips: Having a web site helps your business appear as large as your competitors’. Use your site to post your clients’ successes and testimonials; and to stay in touch with them through regular e-communications, tips and news. Focus on your customers’ needs and how your expertise will help them overcome their biggest challenges and achieve their goals.

Suggested Resources:

*American Marketing Association – www.marketingpower.com – professional membership.

*Internet Marketing Methods Revealed: The Complete Guide to Becoming an Internet Marketing Expert by Miguel Todaro.

8. Niche Hobby Supplier

With the endless number of hobbies people engage in, there is always a market for new or gently-used, related accessories or equipment. Having a web site to sell these items enables you reach potential buyers who may participate in less well-known hobbies or pursuits.

Success Tips – Many successful sellers started selling hobby supplies based on their own experiences in searching for hard-to-find related products and items and know the “insider” needs of their potential customers. Offering tips and articles on your web site and sending e-mails or e-zines for both beginners and experienced hobbyists will foster repeat business.

Suggested Resources:

*Mastering Niche Marketing: A Definitive Guide to Profiting From Ideas in a Competitive Market by Eric V. Van Der Hope.

*The Ultimate Lead Generation Plan: Discover a Proven, but Little-Known System to Tap into Your Niche Market,… by Matt Bacak, Mike Litman.

9. Stock Photo Sales

Business owners, writers, organizations, tourist bureaus, web designers, and stock photo agencies know that photos help attract web site visitors and potential buyers. Use your web site as an online sampling of your stock photos. Use an FTP site to forward images to customers who have purchased them; and/or use discs to send them high-resolution images.

Success Tips: This is a competitive industry, so make sure your photographic skills and knowledge are at a professional level. Start on a part-time basis to learn about the industry and build your business; to test-market your photos’ salability; and to discover your best customers. Purchase good, used equipment and software until you can afford to upgrade. Market many photos and be persistent.

Suggested Resources:

*Digital Stock Photography: How to Shoot and Sell by Michal Heron.

*Photographer’s Market (Annual). Writer’s Digest Books.

10. Teaching-Tutoring, Online

With today’s Internet technology and software, qualified experts and educators in every profession and industry are making good incomes with online learning—offering courses, live seminars, training sessions, coaching, counseling, tutoring, and other types of virtual instruction.

Success Tips: Based on your qualifications and background, decide what type of instruction you can offer potential learners/customers that stands out from competitors. Post your resume’ of career achievements, and testimonials from successful students on your web site to attract potential learners. Sell downloadable, related e-products for additional, sideline/residual profits.

Suggested Resources:

*How to Make Money Teaching Online With Your Camcorder and PC: 25 Practical and Creative How-To Start-Ups To Teach Online by Anne Hart.

*Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom: The Realities of Online Teaching by Rena M. Palloff and H. Keith Pratt.

11. Transcription Services – Medical and Legal

Physicians and other health care professionals often use independent medical transcribers to listen to their dictated recordings and transcribe them into medical reports and e-documents. Freelance court reporters also frequently subcontract independent scopists to review their audiotapes, notes, and documents, and to produce proofread transcripts. Home-based transcribers regularly use the Internet to receive the dictation and return transcribed reports.

Success Tips: Independent medical and legal transcribers need several years of training, education, and work experience, plus have the profession’s technology to do assigned work. Accuracy, flexibility, and knowledge of the terminology and specific technology are necessary for success. Market to medical and legal firms with direct mailings, and get leads from networking referrals. Hire experts to help you set up your computer, install software, and create your Internet connection and web site capabilities so you can work at home.

Suggested Resources:

*The Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHD) – www.ahdionline.org.

*National Court Reporters Assn. – http://www.ncra.org/– professional membership.

12. Translation Services

As the numbers of new, worldwide Internet users increase daily, so does the need for professional translator services to help business owners, organizations, and professionals expand their markets overseas; and communicate to them in different languages. Professional translators are usually accredited and have degrees in their specializations.

Success Tips: Previous experience will help prepare you for contracted projects. Use your web site to highlight your credentials, experience, expertise, rates, and other relevant information. Join industry associations to stay current with trends, and network with other translators for tips and leads.

Suggested Resources:

*Becoming a Translator by Douglas Robinson.

*American Translators Association – www.atanet.org/ – seminars, accreditation, and publications.

13. Virtual Office Support Services

Virtual assistants, (VAs), are “cyber-partners,” that provide online and telecommunication support to professionals, solo entrepreneurs, authors, and business owners who cannot afford or need a full-time staff. VA’s often focus in certain fields, and their goals are to efficiently execute, time-consuming tasks so their clients can focus on their key business issues.

Success Tips: Decide on the services you wish to provide, research the types of businesses or professionals who could use these, and then market to them using direct mail and emails. Post testimonials of satisfied clients on your web site; plus encourage their referrals. Enroll in VA courses for how-to start-up information and certification

Suggested Resources:

*International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA) – professional standards, certification.

*Virtual Assistant, The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA by Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker.

14. Web Freelance Writing

Internet experts say well-written web site content is important to attract repeat visitors. Business owners, professionals, and organizations use qualified writers to supply information, marketing copy, and timely articles in their blogs and social networks. Additional online writing gigs can include writing columns, ad copy, feature articles, and business profiles.

Success Tips: Successful web writers write concisely and precisely, and they know the audiences for whom they are writing, including the style and terminology. Network in writers’ online forums for leads and referrals. Use your own web site to exhibit your writing samples, provide contact information; and/or to sell sideline writing products and/or online classes.

Suggested Resource:

*www.MediaBistro.com – freelance online job listings.

15. Website Proofreading

Web site proofreaders provide business owners, professionals, authors, organizations, and web designers with a review of their sites’ posted articles, e-mails, and e-newsletters for grammatical and spelling errors and for general content overview. Some proofreaders will also “ghost” write articles or provide advertising copy.

Success Tips: Establish yourself as an expert by having experience in web writing, plus the schooling and credentials to qualify you to edit and proofread web content. Market your services to local business owners’ organizations and to industry associations in which you have worked, and know their terminology.

Suggested Resource:

*Copyediting & Proofreading For Dummies by Suzanne Gilad.

Take time to thoroughly research your potential online business ideas with the suggested resources. You will have a better chance to discover your ideal virtual venture and execute the essential business start-up steps that will ensure your future worldwide, home-based e-commerce success. HBM

Priscilla Y. Huff (www.PYHuff.com) welcomes comments on Twitter.

The post E-Commerce and Internet Businesses to Start from Your Home Office appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

The Three Biggest Business Plan Blunders to Avoid

Right now, thousands of entrepreneurs are filling out online planning models to launch their startups. They will create impressive plans. They will then start up. And they will fail.

Will you be one of them?

Take a wild mushroom hunter’s advice. It’s not enough to know the good mushrooms — or the good planning methods. If you want to survive, you’ve got to know the ways you can be deceived, the ways that can kill you.

That said, here are the most common planning mistakes that can lead you to the startup boneyard.

The Unrealistic Planner

Imagine that you’re sitting with a friend in Washington, DC. You’re both observing a man strolling by. In his fifties with a full head of prematurely white hair, he’s wearing a loose tie and open sport jacket, taking in the scene as he strolls. Your friend says, “If you had to bet, would you say that guy’s a psychiatrist or a lawyer?” What do you answer? More importantly before you read on, what’s your reasoning?

Almost everyone makes their decision based on the man’s appearance and behavior. What they fail to take into account are statistics: lawyers far outnumber psychiatrists. In Washington DC, the ratio is 80 to 1.

So why are statistics so frequently ignored when they are the better predictors?  Because the human brain is biased toward empirical evidence and against statistics.

Here are two statistics to test out your bias.

A Dow Jones study found that early-stage entrepreneurs assessed their chance of success at over 80 percent.

The U.S. Census found that the five-year survival rate of startups launched between 1977 and 2000 was less than 50 percent.

Do you, as a would-be entrepreneur, look at those numbers and shrug?  Statistics, you say, may be a better predictor, but the experience of others doesn’t pertain to me. And failures are depressing. To be an entrepreneur, you’ve got to be optimistic, right?

Wrong. To become an entrepreneur, you need to be optimistic. To succeed as an entrepreneur, your optimism better be warranted. To succeed, you want to be realistic.

How do you become realistic?

First, fully appreciate the consequences of being unrealistic. Look again at those two percentages. Do you see the causal connection? Entrepreneurs who have a bias towards their own success often overestimate their projected revenue, underestimate their projected expenses, overlook problems, and run out of cash.

Second, become aware of your personal bias toward success.  How do you do that? By realizing that not everyone would be as optimistic as you are in assessing the risks and rewards of your startup. Others may be more cautious by nature, more inclined to see obstacles to success and to find reasons not to risk their money. They may be pessimistic where you are optimistic. Who is being realistic? If less than 50% of startups survive 5 years (and statistics are the better predictor), the pessimistic assessment has to be respected.

Third, when you’re planning, take off the entrepreneur’s hat. Give up the wanting to create and the control of the creator. Rather, be the investor, because that’s what you are. Or take on the role of a consultant hired to do a feasibility study for your startup. As such, you are no longer doing step-one-step-two planning for the business you’ve decided to start. Your planning now includes whether to start the business at all. Assume that you have no stake in the outcome, no dog in the fight. You just want to do a clear-eyed assessment of the risks and rewards for the startup. Compile and examine the data with a narrowed eye. Challenge the assumptions underlying the projected revenue numbers and expenses. Find the reasons why a pessimist wouldn’t risk his or her time or money. Then, decide whether to move forward.

The Non-Credible Plan

You’ve selected a strong planning model. You’ve followed the instructions and written your executive summary. You’ve done the research and filled in the sections on size of market, trends and competition. You’ve created an organizational and operations chart. You’ve projected out your quarterly profit-and–loss statements two years with a balance sheet and a cash flow chart. You’ve worked out your marketing plan. Everything important has been addressed. The plan would get an A in a college business course.

You take your plan to two banks. Though your credit rating is 806, the banks aren’t lending to you.

So you find some interested investors and translate your plan into a presentation for them. Though they say they’re impressed, they don’t invest.

What’s wrong? Something is missing from the plan.

That something is believability.

And the usual suspects are your revenue projections. Let’s take a look. Your general market research is thorough, your marketing plan makes sense, and you’ve projected revenue numbers that should make your startup profitable. Now, what assumption are you making? Are you saying that your excellent general research and marketing plan lead to those revenue numbers? I wouldn’t bet money on it. And neither should you. The divide leading to your revenue is too wide to believe any numbers. If you bet on it, you’re betting on a big leap of faith.

The gap between your planning and your projected revenue can be greatly narrowed by specific research into your audience. Such primary market research includes surveys, focus groups, field tests, observations and interviews. Pausing now to do primary market research probably has the same appeal as pausing for major surgery. But if you want to know how much you’ll be selling, go to your audience and find out how much they’ll be buying.

You don’t know how to conduct good research? Hire a market researcher. Too expensive? Then learn how to conduct it yourself. Your research should be objective, thorough and goal-oriented. Flawed research may be worse than none. You will probably come back with data such as 4 percent of the 300 people contacted say they would buy your handbags online. You may come back with letters of intent to contract for your cleaning service. If you’re open to what your audience wants and prefers, your research data may point you to a different product name, or different product marketing, or even a different audience or product.

Suppose your research data supports weak revenue projections. You may have saved yourself a losing startup. Or suppose your research supports strong revenue projections, but your actual revenues after startup fall short of your projected numbers. You now have the confidence to make adjustments while you stay the course. That’s what comes from a plan that’s believable.

The No-Commitment Process

You’ve left a high-paying job to start something you’re passionate about: a not-for-profit summer school for disadvantaged children. You hire the best education-planning consultant and, together, you develop a curriculum with physical activities and measurable learning goals. While the plan is being developed you hire staff and enroll students for the coming summer. You now distribute your plan to your teachers, your administrator and some involved parents. After some contentious discussion and considerable disagreement about the curriculum and teacher accountability, the plan is consigned to a file drawer.

You’re frustrated, but you haven’t become successful by dodging responsibility. After reflection and research, you form a planning committee of your teachers, administrator, parents and yourself, and you hire a facilitator to guide your committee to set objectives, strategies, and individual action plans. The goal of everyone now shifts: it is to construct; rather than to judge. Several contentious meetings later, a plan is agreed upon. A comparison of the two plans reveals no real difference in content. The only difference—in this case, the difference between success and failure—is in how the two plans were created.

The participation of your key people in the planning process is not an easy way to plan, but it is the better way—and sometimes the only way—to achieve your mission. Why is this? Some of the reasons—feeling important and included, understanding and working out differences, team-building—are obvious. Less obvious is a feeling beyond acceptance. It is commitment.

To appreciate commitment, imagine that your planning committee is discussing before-and-after reading comprehension goals. The question is whether a 20% improvement on a standardized test can be achieved.

“I’ll aim for 20%,” the teacher says.

“What about 16%,” you ask?

“Yes, if they are motivated.”

“What about 12%?”

“I know I can do that,” she says.

“That’s it, then.”

That’s her number. And that’s commitment.

And what about your own commitment? Are you thinking that because your startup is a one-person operation, your own participation can be taken for granted? Think again. The quality of your participation in your planning can vary from detached to committed. Are you going through the motions of planning as you follow the instructions of your planning model? Or are you injecting yourself into the planning by, say, looking at those revenue projections and telling yourself: Now’s the time. Change them. Or do them. You’ll know that you’re committed if you’re no longer hoping to achieve your objectives: rather, you’re willing them.

Corporate strategist Merritt Kastens once said of planning, “You have to think, you have to be honest with yourself, you have to make up your mind—and then you have to do something.” Planning sounds simple. Like golf sounds simple. But easy? Not if you’re planning to win.

The post The Three Biggest Business Plan Blunders to Avoid appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

15 Profitable Home-Based Service Businesses

At-Your-Service Ventures That Utilize Your Unique Skills and Interests

By Priscilla Y. Huff

If you are looking to start a low-cost, home-based business in a relatively short time, consider one in a service industry. Consulting, cleaning, delivery, business support, and many other types of services continue to be in demand no matter where you live or what the current economic status.

You can basically start one, with just the essentials of equipment and your skills and knowledge. With product-based businesses, however, you must purchase materials; produce and build inventory; and plan your products’ distribution methods. On the downside of a service-type business, you are the main component in a service-type business, and therefore responsible for the delivery and the quality of service. If you are ill or unable to deliver your service, your business will falter.

Still, service provider businesses make up the largest sector of home-based businesses and continue to do so. Why? Their owners have the flexibility to adapt their businesses faster to fluctuating economic conditions than their larger competitors. Their quality of service is often higher and more personal that also helps these businesses to have a higher percentage of customer loyalty than bigger companies.

If you are ready to explore the possibilities of profiting from your experiences, training, and acquired skills, here are 15 timely, service business ideas you can operate in or from your home-based office.**

**Please note: that industry associations are primarily for networking purpose and do not necessarily provide startup information. Please include a self-addressed, first-class stamped envelope with any snail mail correspondence.

1. Catering – Specialized

Business owners, individuals, hotels, conference managers, event planners, and others who are holding special events all seek caterers to supply their meals. Have a standard price with add-on extras. Only a couple U. S. states permit commercial cooking from home, so be sure to adhere to all licensing and food preparation regulations. Many food entrepreneurs plan from home, but rent commercial kitchen space for the actual food preparation.

Success Tips: Formal chef training and work experience in the industry will hone your skills and establish your expertise. Stand out from competitors by offering specialized menus such as low-carb, low-sugar, vegetarian, ethnic, or other specialized foods to your clientele.

Suggested Resources:
How to Start a Home-Based Catering Business, 5th ed. by Denise Vivaldo
National Association of Catering Executives – www.nace.net/

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2. Computer Cybersecurity Specialist

These computer specialists help clients prevent cybersecurity attacks on their systems by hackers and the infiltration of computer viruses. They also install security software, train employees, collect data for cyber crimes, and perform other related services. They usually hold a degree(s) in computer science, information systems, and-or special security certificate programs.

Success Tips: With the predicted increased demand for this service, it is important to stay current with the latest cyber attack prevention trends and technology skills. Consider expanding your service to include global customers, because international companies are increasing their exchange of data.

Suggested Resource:
Computer Network Security and Cyber Ethics, 2d ed. by Joseph Migga Kizza

3. Customer Service Representative (Independent)

With the recession forcing staff layoffs, many companies seek independent customer service representatives for virtual assistant duties, marketing, and other business support tasks and services for short or long-term projects. A dedicated (and quiet) workspace, a phone ground line, and fast Internet connection are essential for your home operations.

Success Tips: Experience and-or a degree in the related customer-related business tasks you will be performing will give you an edge over your competition. Join a local business owners’ organization for networking, leads, and referrals.

Suggested Resources:
International Virtual Assistants Assn. – www.ivaa.org/
Start Your Own Office and Administrative Support Service: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Success by Courtney Thurman

4. Editorial Services

The expertise of English and journalism degree graduates, freelance writers and copywriters, medical and technical writers, and bi-lingual individuals are in increasing demand. Business owners, self-published authors, professionals, and small publishers all use their editing services for varied commercial and marketing writing projects. Editorial jobs can include fact-checking and proofreading to developmental editing and ghostwriting.

Success Tips: Contact paper and digital editors-publishers who publish topics with which you are knowledgeable. Make contacts by attending industry trade shows; and writing and publishing conferences and workshops. Follow industry-standards for pricing.

Suggested Resources:
Copyediting and Proofreading For Dummies by Suzanne Gilad

5. Home & Business Loan Consultant

With their knowledge of various loan processes, these consultant-brokers find the best loans at competitive rates for their clients from qualified lenders who are often more flexible than traditional banks. Consultants are paid percentage fees based on loans’ sizes and types.

Success Tips: Previous financial institution experience, training, and education in finance and economics are desirable qualifications to have to operate this rewarding but challenging service. Stay knowledgeable with ongoing new banking regulations, and obtain any required licenses. Get new clients with referrals, a web site, and leading community seminars.

Suggested Resources:
The Complete Guide to Becoming a Successful Mortgage Broker: Insider Secrets You Need to Know by Patricia Hughes

6. Management Analyst

These consultants evaluate companies’ management and operational systems. They help their clients stay competitive with recommendations on improving their structure, proficiency, and methods to increase revenues. Management consultants will often specialize in accounting, marketing, economics, computer science, and other areas based on their education and experience.

Success Tips:
Expert analysts often have extensive experience in business management, human resources, computer and information science, financial areas, and other related fields. Business owners contemplating expansion and-or those wishing to economize are ideal potential clients. Offer seminars to local business organizations to promote your services.

Suggested Resources:
Institute of Management Consultants – www.imcusa.org/
What Clients Don’t Tell Management Consultants In Consulting by Y Kwan Loo

7. Medical Billing

Using industry software, owners of this business service provide local medical offices with bookkeeping and accounting tasks. They handle bills and accounts receivable; complete and file claims to government or private insurance companies; and perform other related tasks.

Success Tips: Previous medical office experience is helpful with coding and terminology but not necessary. Research your area to see if a sufficient number of medical offices exist to produce the revenue you need to operate. Then market with direct mail, cold-calls, and existing client referrals.

Suggested Resources:
American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) – www.medicalbillingnetwork.com/
Setting Up Your Medical Billing Business by Merlin B. Coslick

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8. Prototype Builder

Using your engineering design or related work experience and skills, you can construct models of inventors’ or companies’ new products for their patent applications or demonstrations. Many such designers have engineering backgrounds and can build both functional and virtual prototypes for one-of-a-kind products or for short production runs.

Success Tips: Market your service through industry directories; at trade shows; to inventors’ groups; with newspaper ads; and a web site. Many prototype service professionals focus in industries related to their backgrounds. Offer clients a choice of prototyping development and price-packages.

Suggested Resource:
The Independent Inventor’s Handbook: The Best Advice from Idea to Payoff by Louis Foreman, Jill Gilbert Welytok

9. Public Relations Service

Public relation specialists’ goals are to have the media take notice of their clients’ accomplishments and on-going work. With an education and background in advertising, public relations, communications, and journalism, they are good at portraying their clients’ public image to garner worthy recognition and attract the attention of prospective customers.

Success Tips: Join a local PR/media organization and any industry associations related to your PR niche to develop networking contacts and find potential clients. Encourage client referrals; and keep in touch with current clients with a web site, regular e-mails, your own business’ releases, and the use of social networking sites.

Suggested Resources:
Public Relations Society of America – www.prsa.org/
Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity That Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement by Sandra L. Beckwith

10. Software Specialty Designer

Freelance software developers offer their services to small companies and businesses that need these experts to design customized software for their various projects. Most developers have advanced degrees and skills in computer science and engineering.

Success Tips: Stay competitive with on-going training to learn the latest technology advances. Market your services to new clients with a web site and through online freelance-bid sites. Read business publications to get leads to new business startups so you can inquire what their software needs are.

Suggested Resources:
Association of Software Developers – www.asp-software.org/
The Nomadic Developer: Surviving and Thriving in the World of Technology Consulting
by Aaron Erikson

11. Home-Business Technology Systems Installer

Home-based professionals, business owners, and small companies hire techno-savvy experts to set up, install, and train others how to use new electronic and computer systems. Home owners also often need persons to install and demonstrate their new appliances and entertainment systems. Check for licensing regulations and required permits if your services involve electrical work.

Success Tips: Encourage referrals from local electronic products’ stores and satisfied customers. To stay current with the latest technological products, attend electronic trade shows and manufacturers’ seminars, and/or enroll in related courses presenting new technology.

Suggested Resources:
www.ElectronicHouse.com – technology magazine
Understanding and Installing Home Systems: How to Automate Your Home by David Gaddis

12. Temporary Staffing Service

Staffing businesses supply companies with temporary employees to fill in for vacationing staff or to add help in busy seasons or for specific projects. Staffing agencies also supply clients with new workers they wish to test for permanent positions. Many staff services focus in niche industries such as medical, financial, technical, manufacturing, and other fields.

Success Tips: Having good people skills, a background or degree in human resources, marketing, or business management, plus previous staffing experience will contribute to your success. Use related software to manage your agency.

Suggested Resource:
American Staffing Assn. – www.americanstaffing.net/

13. Voice-Over Specialist Services

With affordable and accessible technology, voiceover actors are recording voice tracks from their home studios for radio, television, films, video games, and other entertainment venues. Successful voice actors read well, accept direction, speak clearly, and have some acting talent.

Success Tips: Enhance your odds in finding roles in this competitive entertainment service by enrolling in voiceover courses and hiring a professional voiceover coach and agent. Search for a niche that best fits your talents. Stay current what is going on in this entertainment industry and remain flexible as to the roles for which you may be offered.

Suggested Resource:
Screen Actors Guild – www.sag.org/

14. Web Content Specialist

These freelance writers specialize in writing for clients’ web sites and other online writing projects. Such projects may include articles, e-zines and newsletters, blogging posts, press releases, product descriptions, and e-books. They often partner with graphic designers and other media professionals to achieve their clients’ goals.

Success Tips: Being able to write concisely, plus having a degree in journalism, English (or in another language), plus excellent communication and presentation skills will help you find many writing markets. Write as a generalist or for specific industries and professions with which you are familiar.

Suggested Resources:
The Web Writer’s Guide by Darlene Maciuba-Koppel
Writing for the Web: A Practical Guide by Cynthia L. Jeney

15. Web Hosting-Design

Even though over half of all small businesses have web sites, many wish to change their web hosts or update their sites’ designs. With a purchased or leased server, you can provide the software and storage space, plus the design know-how to get new and existing business owners’ sites online and attract potential customers.

Success Tips: Market your services to new and existing entrepreneurs and professionals through your own web site, articles, social media, presentations, and satisfied clients’ referrals. Many web hosts and designers focus in specific industries. Joining local business owners’ organizations and exhibiting at local business expos are also excellent ways of attracting new clients.

Suggested Resource:
W3Schools – w3schools.com 

Whichever service-oriented venture you decide to launch, remember two proven success elements. First, build customer loyalty with outstanding service, helping to ensure a steady income and positive, word-of-mouth referrals. Second, increase sales with diversification by offering related products and add-on additional services.

These business ideas are just a small sampling of the many type of existing ventures that provide services to people and companies. Once you find one or more that match your qualifications and financial resources, write a business plan to determine if a viable market exists. Then contact those target customers and ask, “How may my business be of service to you?” Their answers may lead to the launch of the successful home-business you always dreamed of having. Why wait? HBM

Priscilla Y. Huff is the author of 101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women, 3rd ed.; and writes regularly at her blog, No Thanks. I’ll Work for Myself. http://nothanksillworkformyself.blogspot.com/

The post 15 Profitable Home-Based Service Businesses appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

15 “After Summer” Home-Based Businesses

Home-Based Start-Up Ideas

By Priscilla Y. Huff

November is an ideal time for you to start a home-based business, as potential customers are also back to actively seeking products and services to save them time and money and to enhance their lives.

Here are several questions you should ask yourself as you consider any business ideas: Do you have the necessary background, expertise, and/or experience to qualify you to operate your chosen venture? Is there a substantial, existing market of potential customers that will make your business profitable? How much time and money do you actually have to invest in a new venture? How will predicted population trends impact your potential venture?
Keeping these questions in mind, here are fifteen examples of home-based businesses you may consider starting this fall (or later on in the year).**

**Please note: Any listed professional associations are primarily membership-networking organizations and usually do not offer start-up information. Please include a business-sized, self-addressed, first class-stamped envelope with any “snail” mail correspondence.

1. Advertising Specialties

Companies of all sizes use giveaway products printed with their names and logos on them to advertise their businesses. You can choose to be a home-based distributor selling advertising specialties, (also known as promotional products), printed items of large suppliers to businesses; or stay local and coordinate custom printed products for area businesses using your own network of graphic designers and product suppliers.

Success Tips: Join an industry association to keep up with trends; and a local business owners’ organization to network with potential customers. Perfect your presentations, and handout samples to potential customers and at trade shows. Focus on customer satisfaction to encourage word-of-mouth referrals.

Suggested Resources:
*Advertising Specialty Institute – www.asicentral.com/ – industry news and information.
*Promotional Products Assn. International – www.ppai.org/ – seminars, publications, education.

2. Auto Maintenance

Depending on your local ordinances and your home-based auto-care facilities, you can have clients drop off their vehicles at your residence; or travel to your clients’ workplaces or homes to perform a variety of auto-care services. These could include cleaning, waxing, and general detailing; oil changes; dropping off and picking up clients’ vehicles for inspections; changing tires; and winter driving preparation.

Success Tips: Advertise in local online and print want-ads publications and with direct mailings to local companies and auto clubs. Work part-time at an auto dealership or parts-supply store to learn on-the-job skills, tips, and what detail-related products produce the best results.

Suggested Resources:
*International Detailing Association – www.the-ida.com – certification; information.
*www.DetailKing.com – links to supplies; business opportunities.

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3. Barbecue-Grill Cleaner

Small restaurants and homeowners welcome professionals who will clean and restore their grills on a regular basis so they can enjoy barbecuing all year. You can also clean and prepare them for storage until the next outdoor cooking season. Offer free demonstrations at home trade shows. Some professionals take training and get licensed to be qualified to repair or replace worn out grill parts.

Success Tips: Research the different types of barbecue grills, both home and commercial, to learn how they operate, and the best ways to clean and restore them. Contact the manufacturers for recommended maintenance guidelines. Offer eco-friendly and nontoxic cleaning services.

Suggested Resources:
*The BBQ Grill Cleaner (business opportunity) – www.thebbqcleaner.com/

4. Business Plan Writer/Packager

Assist new entrepreneurs and existing business owners in drawing-up business plans to evaluate the profit potential of their enterprise ideas or business expansion plans. Instruct clients how to follow step-by-step courses of actions to successfully start or expand their businesses. Know the criteria that lenders use to review plans, as they often require these with business loan applications.

Success Tips: You should have a degree in finance, and experience in market research and writing/evaluating business plans. It helps to have started one or more of your own ventures. Market your services to local business owners’ associations and within industries that you are familiar.

Suggested Resources:
*www.SBA.gov/ – Search site for “Writing a Business Plan”
*www.SCORE.org – Search for “Business Plans”

5. Canvas Covers & Repair

Sew custom-fitted canvas covers and repair canvas covers for boats, outdoor furniture, and awnings that require this heavy-duty material. With the “green” movement growing, many persons prefer buying items made of natural, canvas material. Add income by creating and selling originally-designed canvas tote bags, floor cloths, and cushions.

Success Tips: Obtain experience working for a canvas-repair business or offering to repair items for friends and family members. Set-up a home-work area equipped with a good, used or new commercial sewing machine. Advertise with classified ads, exhibit at home trade shows, and distribute fliers at camping and boating supply stores and marinas.

Suggested Resources:
*Canvas Décor by Bunnie Delorie
*The Complete Canvasworker’s Guide… by Jim Grant

6. Costume Designer

If you are a skilled sewer with a flair for period clothing design, you can create costumes for holidays, celebrations, and productions of local dance and theater groups, schools, and colleges. Travel to do on-site fittings, or if your zoning permits, set-up a room with a separate entrance to receive clients.

Success Tips: Take courses in costume design, and invest in heavy-duty sewing machines and related equipment. To gain experience and recognition, volunteer to make costumes for nonprofit productions. Model your costumes at community fairs, parades and fashion shows.

Suggested Resources:
*The Costume Book by Mary Burke Morris
*The United States Institute for Theater Technology – includes a costume and technology commission

7. Employee Sales Trainer

Assist companies in training new employees in sales techniques and current workers who need to upgrade their sales skills due to changing technologies or having to take on duties of laid off staff. In addition to being a sales expert, know your clients’ industries’ current trends and growth predictions to help their companies to be competitive and increase their profits.

Success Tips: Encourage referrals from satisfied clients. Write articles, books, and blogs, and conduct conference workshops and seminars to market your services. Offer both on-site training and online distance learning programs using virtual courses and live webinars.

Suggested Resources:
*American Management Assn www.amanet.org/
*How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins – www.tomhopkins.com

8. Energy Consultant

Evaluate the energy consumption of consumers’ residences, and the buildings of companies, organizations, government agencies, and institutions. Also assess their structures’ heating-cooling systems, and recommend more efficient and affordable overall energy alternatives and operational methods. Most consultants are qualified and licensed engineers and specialists.

Success Tips: Have a thorough knowledge of the technology and costs to install and operate the energy-saving systems that you are recommending to your clients. Hold presentations to business owner associations. Offer follow-up consultations as part of your services package.

Suggested Resources:
*Association of Energy Conservation Professionals – www.aecpes.org/
*Association of Energy Engineers, – www.aeecenter.org/

9. Graphic Card Designer

Using your graphic arts training and professional design software, create custom-designed greeting and/or holiday cards and invitations. Collaborate with writers and printers to produce unique cards to fit your clients’ specifications.

Success Tips: Send samples to event planners and business associations. Network with other graphic artists to collaborate on certain projects and for referrals and potential leads. Enter design contests for public recognition. Use your web site to highlight a portfolio of your work. Use a blog and social networking media to highlight your latest offerings and news.

Suggested Resources:
*Artist’s and Graphic Designer’s Market (annual)
*Graphic Artists Guild – www.graphicartistsguild.org/

10. Health Care Referral Service

Start a fee-based, referral database of case management social workers, physicians, dentists, pharmacies, hospitals, and mental health agencies that you have interviewed and accepted into your network. Refer clients seeking these specific health care services for themselves or for loved ones. Keep current with the changing health care laws so your referrals will best-suit your clients’ needs, finances, and health services available.

Success Tips: Have the qualifications to assess the quality of the health care services you recommend and the knowledge of clients’ payment options including those services that are free or low-cost. Market your service with talks to community groups, a web site, and recommendations from satisfied clients.

Suggested Resources:
*How to Start a Referral Services Business by Lewis & Renn
*Introduction to Health Care Management by Sharon B. Buchfinder, Nancy H. Shanks

11. Indoor/Outdoor Lighting Designer-Decorator

Design and recommend energy-saving and unique indoor and outdoor lighting devices and fixtures for homeowners, builders, architects, electrical engineers, institutions, landscapers, and owners of office buildings. Often these professionals belong to lighting designer associations; are certified; and are also educated and trained in physics, building codes, and the “green” energy issues pertaining to lighting.

Success Tips: Stay current with the latest lighting trends and technologies and their applications in both indoor and outdoor areas. Educate potential clients as to the value of your services that can both save them money and highlight the interiors and exteriors of their projects.

Suggested Resources:
*International Association of Lighting Designers – www.iald.org/
*Indoor & Outdoor Lighting Solutions, Ortho Books

12. Political Campaign Management

Political campaign managers coordinate all the activities involved in their candidates’ runs for public offices. They usually have credentials and previous experiences working in one or more campaigns as volunteers, volunteer coordinators, media contacts, and fund-raisers. They often have political science. Some specialize in campaign areas like using social media to promote their candidates.

Success Tips: You should have a broad marketing and public relations background, plus a high-energy personality to direct and sustain you through any election campaign. The challenge is to communicate your candidate’s primary views to potential voters and the media and how she/he will better serve her/his constituents over political opponents.

Suggested Resources:
*Campaign Craft: The Strategies, Tactics, and Art of Political Campaign Management by Michael John Burton, Daniel M. Shea
*The Campaign Manager: Running and Winning Local Elections by Catherine Shaw

13. School Assembly Presentations

Share your expertise and experiences with children through your planned educational (and entertaining) presentations. Market your presentations to parent-teacher associations, home-schooling groups, and child care centers that seek quality, age-appropriate programs that will enhance their students’ curriculums.

Success Tips: Offer (contract) packages of one or more assemblies according to the children’s ages-grade levels, including classroom visits. Invest in your own audio-visual technology. Sell CDs, books and e-books with follow-up lesson plans. Look into registering with a school assembly listing site.

Suggested Resources:
*How to Make Money Entertaining in Schools by David Heflick

14. Technical Consulting Service

Offer to assess business owners’ current technical capabilities, and recommend the best new and/or used equipment for their needs. Most consultants specialize in certain industries and types of technology and equipment. This consultancy is among those predicted to be most in demand in future years (www.bls.gov/).

Success Tips: Set-up a professionally-designed web site to highlight your résumé and listing of satisfied clients. Ask clients’ permission to post their endorsements on your site, as well in other marketing materials. Research potential clients in your area of expertise, and mail them brochures. Conduct presentations at business expos, author books, blogs, and e-books, and produce DVDS and CDs.

Suggested Resources:
*Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port

15. Window Painting

Store- and small business owners and institutions hire artists to paint and decorate their windows to advertise sales, for seasonal decorations, and/or to celebrate special upcoming events. Many of these artists start their careers, painting for nonprofit groups for the experience and to perfect their skills.

Success Tips: Experiment to determine the paints and tools best suited for your style of painting and the types of windows you paint. Send direct mail to target customers, following up with personal appointments to show the photo portfolio of your work; and discuss your clients’ advertising goals.

Suggested Resources:
*www.WindowJeannie.com/ – decorative window painting DVD, supplies

After deciding on a home-based business idea, consult with business accountants, lawyers, and insurance agents related to your start-up. They will help you adhere to all tax reporting laws, and ensure you are protected in legal matters and loss coverage. Check also in your telephone directory or online for nearby offices of local, state, and federal agencies that offer free or low-cost business counseling for entrepreneurs. In the United States, search for The Senior Corps of Retired Executives, www.SCORE.org; Small Business Development Centers and/or Women’s Business Development Centers (Search at www.SBA.gov); and Canada Business, www.canadabusiness.ca/eng/.

With financial experts predicting a continued slow economy for the next several years along with rising daily living and fuel costs, starting a home-based business now may not only prove to be a valuable supplemental income for you, it may also be part of the “way back” to a sustainable global economy and a better life for us all. HBM

Priscilla Y. Huff, www.PYHuff.com, is the author of 101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women, 3rd ed.; and writes regularly at her blog, “No Thanks. I’ll Work for Myself.” http://nothanksillworkformyself.blogspot.com/.

The post 15 “After Summer” Home-Based Businesses appeared first on Home Business Magazine.