Where’s the Profit?

April 21, 2006

If you’re one of those people who post on Internet forums complaining that you’ve had a website for a month, and haven’t made a dime, you need to read on. Also, if you’ve had a home based business for quite a while, but your monthly sales have not increased, the following advice may help you.

Patience - one month is not much time online at all. In such a short space of time, your unlikely to have many visitors coming to your site - unless you were able to spend quite a bit on marketing right from the start. It takes a while for the search engines to even realise you are there - but keep optimising your site for good keywords, and adding great, relevant content continuously, and you should begin seeing excellent results.

Perseverance - are you working hard on your online business? You have to keep putting the effort in, even in the early days when you’re not making a bean. Remember - many people give up when they’re just a couple of steps away from success. Don’t let this happen to you.

Is it a job or a business? - Are you one of those whose business is making no more per month now than it was a year ago? Are you treating it is a business or a job? Are you treating any money you make as income or reinvesting it in your business? To grow, you need to reinvest a lot of your initial profits in your home based business.

Are you spending your time wisely? Time is money. One home business owner commented recently that you don’t need to read business books, or take courses, as you can find a lot of the information you need browsing forums. You could do this, however, you could spend hours searching, only to come across a heap of false information. Spend your time growing your business, rather than browsing forums, and learn as much as you can from great courses and books. You wouldn’t try to become a dentist without any training would you? So don’t try to start a home based business, without learning the ins and outs.

Still not convinced that business courses are important? This man doesn’t regret taking one.

Let me introduce you to Internet Success Story - Ken Calhoun

Fact #1: Ken has made close to $300,000 this year from his web site… this is by far the most he has ever made in his life.

Fact #2: Ken is a one-person Internet company operating from his oceanfront Hawaii Kai condo.

Fact #3: Ken grossed over $98,000 in sales in 2000… his first full year online.

Fact #4: Almost all of this is profit, as Ken works from home with no significant overhead expenses!Fact #5: Ken revealed the most powerful strategies he is using to generate these huge profits for you to discover in a private interview… click here now to get his full story!

Posted by cathlawson | Filed Under Running a Business | Leave a Comment

Home Biz Ideas - Where There’s Muck There’s Brass

April 19, 2006

Do you know how many offices there are in your town or city? Can you even begin to count them? There’s probably thousands.

Can you imagine how long it would take to clean all those offices? Now, I’m not suggesting you even think about cleaning every single office in your town, but somebody needs to. Few people will work in a dirty office. You wouldn’t, would you? Neither would I, but the fact is, most people working in those offices don’t have time to clean them either.

As you can imagine, the market for an office cleaning business is huge. If you have 30k plus to spare, you could always go out and invest in a cleaning franchise, but you can get all the info you need to start up your own office cleaning business for a fraction of the price. To discover how Click Here!

You probably already have a good idea on how to go about cleaning an office, but the Instant Office Cleaning Kit does much more than that. It will teach you all you need to know to set up your own office cleaning business, from how and where to get customers, to how to price a cleaning job. Quite frankly, I have a few years experience in the cleaning business myself, and I think Sam Rodman has priced this cleaning kit way too low. That’s good news for you thought. If you’re looking to start up your own Office Cleaning Business, and want to learn more Click Here!

Posted by cathlawson | Filed Under Ideas | Leave a Comment

Home Biz Interview with Philena Rush of Rush Office Equipment and Supplies and Moms Win

April 18, 2006

In my latest home business interview, Philena Rush of Rush Office Equipment & Supplies and Moms Win, shares some great advice and experience with us. You can find Philena’s sites at:
http://rushofficesupplies.com
http://moms.chooseyourhorizons.com/

How long have you been in business? Rush Office since Sept 92, MomsWin since July

What were your start up costs? MomsWin $29, Rush Office (small business loan, $40,000)

How do you find customers? Networking, Leads, forums, flyers, on and offline ads

Why did you want to go in business for yourself? I enjoy the freedom and the different stress than regular 9 to 5 jobs

How many hours per week do you work on your business? 30-40 hr in Rush Office and 10hr in MomsWin

Do you have a business plan? I did, but had to change it.. AGAIN..

What have you found toughest about running your own business? Learning how to read ppl properly.

How long before you were able to pay yourself - or, are you able to pay yourself yet? In MomsWin I’m broke even, in Rush Office it’s still slow going.

What business mistake have you made that you won’t make again? not being coachable

Could you ever go back to having a job? No.. it would feel too weird. I would be soooo uncomfortable, after all I’ve done so far.

What advice would you give to others who are just starting out?
93% of home internet business fail. WHY! Well… There’s alot of reasons for that. So here is some friendly advice to help you narrow your search for a home business.1. Money!! This is A MAIN reason home businesses fail. They let the cost of starting the business make the decision for them. This is a big NO.. NO.. If you let how much it cost make the decision instead of who you are as a person, then you will fail. Sorry to be so blunt about it, but it’s true. You have to give yourself a personality check first. Like are you social or anti-social? This is very important to help you make the right decision, not you budget. If the business doesn’t fit you, I don’t care if it only cost a $1 to $100000 to start, it’s not worth it.2. HYPE Most people just say yes to the blinking lights and flash movies for starting a home business. But when it comes down to starting it, they CHICKEN OUT! Why… “hey, it looks good and sounds good, but I was just surfing around”. That’s what usually happens so you have to be prepared for alot of wishy-washy people. Some people can’t handle rejections or people that sign up and don’t do a thing. You REALLY need the right mind set for this.

The Secret - to achieve success, you need to know the Secret3. TIME Boy… this one is classic. Want to start a home business, they told you it will only take 2-5hrs a day, so you figure you do it after work.. right? Or you joined a program that said get paid while you sleep, so you joined thinking NO WORK..right? Sorry to disappoint ya.. but you have to work hard in any business venture. At least the real ones. You have to be careful because most of those get rich overnight scams are basically chains. You pay $20 for a one page website you advertise how to get rich with just $20. Or you sell how-to information that most people can get for free! But if you decide to join one of these programs, check the better business bureau and do research, before you lay your money on the table.4. SUPPORT You wanted to start you own business and everyone, including you mom, is against you. Why do you think this happens? Misery loves company. If you found the right business for you, and you become really dedicated, all of the sudden, everyone will be negative around you. But think of it this way, if your goal is to make $100,000 a year, why are you listening to people that only make $40,000 a year? I know alot of people who quit because they listen to another broke person tell them they will never make it and fail. I personally hate it. But most people don’t even realizing they are doing it, they think its helping you not hurting you.5. WHY!!! The most important reason alot of home businesses fail because they didn’t concentrate on their WHY!! You’re WHY will keep you motivated and focus, when reasons 1,2,3,4 are against you. This is the reason the other 7% of people are successful. Don’t you hear the stories? Haven’t you paid them any attention? They tell you their stories, what happened to them, why they started their businesses.. THEIR SECRET FOR SUCCESS RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE!! If you keep focused on your WHY, nothing or no one will hold you back… PERIOD!

Be a lazy pig and still turn $1 into $85 Click Here!

Posted by cathlawson | Filed Under Inspiration and Motivation | Leave a Comment

Home Biz Interview with Shannon Nelson of Country Bunny Bath and Body

April 16, 2006

In my series of Home Biz Interview, Shannon Nelson of Country Bunny Bath and Body shares her advice and wisdom. Shannon’s websites and blog can be found at: http://www.BigLakeSpa.com (Country Bunny website) and http://gottaspa.blogspot.com (A Girl’s Gotta Spa)

How long have you been in business? 1.5 years

What were your start up costs? $89 for the cost of my kit, plus UPS shipping.

How do you find customers? Online: I use message boards; I am a contest sponsor for various websites; I submit my business information to a variety of home business listings; I pay for ads and sometimes I barter for ads on various forums; I have ablog about skin care and pampering; I have a newsletter sign up page on my blog so that interested parties can get monthly information solely on Country Bunny Bath & Body products. I advertise on blogs and sometimes the blog owner will place an order and then tell her readers about me, I hold online parties by inviting my current long distance customers, their friends and message board users. I submit my products for reviews onblogs/websites/ezines, I have my business info. in my email signature, I post comments on like-minded blogs so that it will then link back to my spa blog, I network with other WAHM’s, and most recently I boughtcommercial space on a podcast. Offline: I organize direct sales expo’s (http://4acure.blogspot.com is themost recent), I get involved in my community as a business owner, I fundraise for charities, I put up flyers about monthly specials, I hold in-home spa parties, if I don’t have any booked. I hold one in my home and make it a Mystery Hostess party, I book spots at various craft and vendor fairs, I leave business cards wherever I can. I joined my local Chamber of Commerce, I network with local businesses whose target market are women to display my catalogs, I look through the phone book and randomly send out product highlight mailer pamphlets. I donate products to schoolfundraisers such as silent auctions, tricky trays and raffles. I always give my products as gifts for birthdays/holidays, etc. I coordinated with my local hospital to send home new mommy packs in the diapers bags of the maternity ward. Most importantly, when anyone asks me what I do–I tell them.

This thirteen year old is making a fortune online - click here to discover how you can do it too.

Why did you want to go in business for yourself? To be home with my children and provide a safety net of finances for when my husband is laid off from work (he is in construction).How many hours per week do you work on your business? It varies, but mainly 25 hours.

Do you have a business plan? Absolutely. No one should go into businesswithout one!

What have you found toughest about running your own business? Many people do not take you seriously once they find out you are in direct sales. However, I have found that if I take myself seriously and treat my business as if it were brick and mortar, then others respect me.

How long before you were able to pay yourself - or, are you able to pay yourself yet? I began to pay myself by month 3.

What business mistake have you made that you won’t make again? Paying for advertising without doing my research first. Now I pay attention to things like traffic, google ranking, alexa ranking, etc.

Could you ever go back to having a job? Never.

What advice would you give to others who are just starting out? Do your research! Don’t base a company solely around their commission. While that is what you most desire–the $ in your pocket, you also have to make sure that it is a good fit for you, the products are desired, it is something you can easily fit into your life, what the company’s policy is on advertising and how they allow you to market the products, if there are sales quotas, if you need to keep an inventory, how much it costs to have your own website and most of all–do you have the passion for what it is you will be selling. If you have no passion, you will not have the drive, ambition or determination to keep it going during its ups and downs.– Shannon NelsonCountry Bunny Bath and Bodyhttp://www.BigLakeSpa.comhttp://gottaspa.blogspot.com

Posted by cathlawson | Filed Under Inspiration and Motivation | 1 Comment