IntroductionI recently received a call from a client. I use the word client loosely because in actuality she is someone I help as a volunteer counselor through a local Small Business Administration (SBA) office.Kelly (I’ll call her Kelly for this entry) is everything that an entrepreneur should be. She is passionate about her business idea (a restaurant serving Caribbean food), willing to work hard to turn her restaurant into a money making and community supporting endeavor.I met with Kelly to help her write a business plan and to go over the steps in starting a business. She is a single mom with a six month old beautiful girl and a clear vision of where she wants to go.I mention Kelly because I think it is important for all of us to have the same level of passion toward our business dreams. It is why I often counsel clients to identify something that you love to do regardless if you have a long line of people wanting to buy your products/services. We all want to make money and we can…but it is important to feel passionate about what you are doing.There is a changing demographic in the economy with the growth of the home-based business. Home-Based Businesses are a thriving segment of the economy. The Small Business Administration cites that over 53% of ALL firms are Home-Based Businesses and provide 10 percent of the total receipts of the economy….. or about $314 billion in 1992.For those of you are considering a change in career choice or a way of augmenting your income – a home-based business is one solution. For Kelly, her plans involve renting a space to create her restaurant which involves signing a year’s lease. My advice to her was to delay on the lease and to start selling at local farmer’s market to establish her brand, her revenue stream and to gear up for higher volume sales that are typical of a restaurant setting. I would classify Kelly as having a home-based business at this time as she goes through these important growth stages. Adapting this approach allows her to mitigate her risks and to control her growth.I recognize that this is not a typical application of the home-based business model but it represents the freedom and flexibility that the structure can offer. Traditional types of home-based businesses can range from service-oriented child care businesses to product-oriented craft outlets. Other examples include: farming, catering, specialty mail-order, home horticulture, and computer software consulting, woodworking and bed and breakfast establishments. In Maine there are over 39,000 home-based businesses which demonstrate the wonderful growth of this economic sector. I had a client who did wonderful wood working as a means of reliving stress from his government job and another client who does taxidermy out of his house as a hobby/business. Both of these gentlemen had passion about their craft, both had full time jobs but both were able to create viable small home-based businesses that allowed them to augment their income while practicing their art.There is no one reason why people are attracted to home-based business. For Kelly she wants financial freedom, an expression of cultural pride through her Caribbean cooking and the opportunity to fulfill a dream that her daughter will witness and be proud of. Other reasons for considering a home-based business include:• experiencing the personal satisfaction of making your own decisions• expressing your own ideas• financial independence• being your own boss – or as I like to say being in control of your destinyKelly is a single Mom which is a common demographic for those starting a home-based business. With the ecommerce company that I owned my employees tended to be older who wanted the freedom that a non- traditional job afforded them.I tell my clients there is no greater joy than owning your own business. It is the ultimate expression of creativity. At the same time I’ve never worked harder than when I was running my own company. Don’t be afraid to venture forth in pursuing your business ideas but make sure you have the passion to keep you committed to the endeavor.
Considerable Factors Involved in Product Creation & Marketing
The niche you have chosen should allow creation of more than one product or service. With the technological advancements in the hosting industry, from automated control panels and scripts that simplify creation of accounts, to complete turnkey solutions; there is no need to worry about spending time on the real products sold to the customer. The main ones are keyword selection, sales copy principles, graphics, affiliate programs, product creation, online payment processing, auto responders, and search engine optimization.
Once you’ve earned money from this type of information product business, you can invest in the creation of your own products if you want, or start offering more informational products that allow you to sell your knowledge. But the creation and production costs of a similar big ticket in sequence product, although higher, are still pretty low. A key by-product of this process will be the creation of 3-D, Computer Assisted Design art.
The Association for Financial Professionals permits the following activities for repatriating funds: Research and Development activities, advertising and marketing programs, hiring and training new recruits, acquiring patent and other rights to intangible property, improving transportation, funding capital investments with the purpose of job creation and job retention & funding product responsibility or environmental claims.
It prohibits certain activities like: Tax payments, Payment of executive recompense, Payment of dividends, Redemption of stocks, Debt investments and Portfolio investments. Therefore, before repatriating the money, you must consider whether it is worth or not.
Checklist on what artist and product development necessitate includes: Exceptional vocals, musicianship and/or songwriting skills, Continued education and enhancement of musical skills, Quality equipment, Performance ability, Image creation and maintenance, Plan of action, goal setting, excellent promotion materials including photographs, press releases and artwork, Business management skills, Marketing, Publicity and Promotion knowledge, Online and Offline Professional management, Basic knowledge of recording, producing, engineering, and mastering, Basic knowledge of manufacturing, distribution, and sales online, brick and mortar and air-play, Good choices in members, staff and advisors, Physical and mental preparedness, Basic knowledge of finances, accounting Law and legal issues etc.
The goals for doing so are for the product owner to: Communicate the whole, Determine and communicate when releases are needed, Determine what functionality is sufficient for each release & focus on business value derived from the releases. The delivery team on the other hand will see the whole, learn about the steps to realize the vision, learn the business priorities, provide technical input to the roadmap and provide estimates for the projected features. The salesperson must lead the prospect through the various decision criteria needed in order to secure a sale. Whether your idea is the development of a product, launch of a service business, or even the creation of an event or program for a non-profit, creativity is the root of all entrepreneurial efforts starting with the vision itself.
People quickly learn to spend their time on marketing and product creation, rather than repetitive tasks. Apart from empowering companies and individuals, there should be a particular focus on identifying labor intensive businesses that have the potential to make a significant and positive impact on employment creation as well as those businesses that have a product or service offering for export markets with the final objective of booming local economies.
About Online Education
These days it seems like everybody is going back to school. The cool thing about going back to school does not have to mean going to a university or college. You can get educated online. Isn’t the internet wonderful? There are certain things you must research about online education before you join any institution. You must know what kind of education you are aiming for. Are you looking to get your high school GED, become an administrative assistant or learn some internet marketing skills? Then you should weigh the cost of the program against the quality you will receive. It’s also a good idea to think of the future, will you use the education that you get or is it a subject that just looked interesting? What will you do with it? Self motivation is very important when it comes to any kind of course online. You will be the setting your schedule, so be diligent.
There are so many different ways to get an online education. Before you start looking for an institution or program you have to know what you want to learn. If you want to finish your high school degree that is the program you have to look for. Also do your due diligence. That means you have to go online and research the website you have found. Go to a forum or discussion group about it. A good place to find out more is go check out the FAQ (frequently asked questions) section of the site. If it is a more traditional education you are looking for, make sure the institution is accredited. Another indicator of not being a scam is how many students are enrolled. Many students mean it is a legitimate option for an online education.
A good gauge of the legitimacy about online education is the amount of courses they offer. This with the ratio of students to teachers will let you know that real people are attending this university or program. If you are looking to learn how to get an online education about the internet or internet marketing you should still look for the same criteria. You still want a program that has many students and good successful teachers. You also have to balance the cost of what you receive.
The best examples of this would be an online education about internet marketing. You could probably buy an eBook for $19.99 that claims to show you how to make $1000/week. Remember if something sounds too good to be true it’s probably not true! If things were that easy we would all be doing it. That being said you want to make sure you are not paying a ridiculously high price for what you receive.
If you are curious about online education then you should check it out. It is great way to get an education. Avoiding the high price of attending a university and paying for your dorm, your food, your living expenses and your books is something that will help everybody. Just make sure you do your due diligence and research the online education you have decided you are interested in.
I made the choice to learn about internet marketing because I wanted my time to by my own. Do you put things off or not attend functions because you have to work. Well with internet marketing I choose the times I work, if I want to work at 2 in the morning I can. Good luck with which ever route you go. An education is an education and can only be of benefit to you.