How to Find A Home Business

I want to highlight some tips to help you wade through the countless offers online and offline on how to make a fortune in no time at all.  Incredible, I know!!! My first instinct when I see those proclamations now  is ‘if it’s that easy everyone will be doing it’.  It’s nice to have an additional income to support your family needs especially in this economic climate.  A word of warning, do not be desperate enough to try anything without carrying out adequate research. 

Extra Income Comes In Handy

I got burnt many years ago by a company that offers toner for printers.  I was looking for an easy to do business to support my regular income.  I got my business cards and everything else organised to start my distributorship for the low-priced toner. The company simply stopped responding after I paid my first instalment. No response to emails (obviously you can’t call them as they don’t have a number!).  I had to cancel my credit card to ensure they stop charging me for service that was never provided. 

To avoid getting burnt like I did, the following tips should help you separate the good from the bad and the outright ugly:

Information Overload

There is so much information out there especially online, it is mind-boggling!  Offers for everything from diet pills to face cream that can make you look ‘40 years younger’.  Most of them also come with a deadline – TODAY ONLY offers!!! You can get lucky and find a business you will enjoy but you aren’t sure if it is a scam.  In order to find the right home business for you, you need to do your own research. 

Once you identify a business you will like to do, find information about them via the search engines. 

Is there any information about the company apart from the one on their website? 

Are there any customer review of their products and services?

Do the people who write the reviews actually exist?

Google is God-sent as you can find almost anything that has a web-entry online. 

Is There a Need for The Products?

Are the products legitimate products or services?

Do they meet a need?  

Do you know people who will buy them?

Is there a sample available to see, feel and touch?

What makes them difference from what is in the market? 

Are they cheaper, better, bigger or simply a lie?

Hello, anyone there!!!

Contact Information

Do they have a website? (Especially those roadside claims to wealth)

Are there valid contact details on the site? 

Is there a person at the end of the phone or an automated response?

 

Guarantee and Returns

Does the company offer any guarantees and what are their return policies?  If you are buying a service returns may not apply, but find out what they are willing to offer if you are not satisfied with the service. 

What Costs Involved? 

What costs are involved in starting up?  Make sure you go through these details with a fine-tooth comb.  Read the information and look out for the catch (if any), do not be too eager and forget to read the small print. 

When you take time to research and read through the information about your choice of business, it will help you make informed decisions. Remember it is also easier to sell things you love so in your search look for products or services you can easily offer to others.   If you are not a coffee drinker like me, I am not sure you will be able to adequately sell the benefits of coffee…except you are an exceptional salesperson. 

There is no quick fix to starting a business online, more likely a quick way to get scammed. 

Carry out due diligence as often as required for every opportunity that come your way. Remember as you get smarter, so do the scammers. I hope you find the right home business for you.

 Wishing you every success…Temi

www.businessfirststeps.co.uk/brainstorming.html

Your Business and the Affordability Factor

Extra! Extra! People are not spending as they should.  So what does that mean for the business owner, less sales? Not necessarily for all of us.  I bet some companies out there are making the recession work for them.  Even though people are not spending as they should, they still have to eat, clothe themselves and do all the basic things to survive. I still have to visit the supermarket weekly whether I like it or not because my household have to eat.

Surfing Above The Recession

So this got me thinking, how businesses can ride the current financial storm?

By providing what people need and not just want they want.

We might not all be able to afford a night out at an expensive restaurant, but a three-course meal at home at the fraction of the price might just do the job.  That is why I love the idea – M&S £10 dinner for two offer.  That means you cut out the babysitter cost too, just wait for the kids to go to bed and lay out a nice meal for you and your partner…fun times!

Can’t do the spa? A lot more people will subscribe to a body scrub that makes you feel like a million pounds at the fraction of the cost.  Gym membership too much for some? An affordable and effective home workout routine might be the way to go. These are the kind of products people will naturally subscribe to – affordable feel good factor, I call it.

Not all businesses have to downgrade their products or services in the recession.  Surely there are still the small percentage of clients that can afford the luxury goods and the usual lifestyle. If that is your niche market, good for you. You should bear in mind that there are probably a lot more businesses clamouring for the attention of the same customer.  So being able to reinvent your products and services should be at the top of your list too.

For the buyers who need to cut back on excesses, think of how your business can meet their needs at a cost they can afford.  Don’t let the recession send your business packing, get creative and develop products and services that can ride the storm.

I will love to hear how you have been able to rise above the recession storm.  Please Get in touch or add your comments.

Business First Steps wishes you every success.

Temi

www.businessfirststeps.co.uk