Is it safe to start a small business?
June 30, 2006
Is it safe to start a small business? This is a question many people ponder, when considering starting their first business.
This week, I spoke to two happily employed people, who asked me why I risked working for myself. After all, it is much easier to be employed - they told me, and totally risk free, especially if you’re employed by a large company.
Is it risk free to be employed. Personally, one of the main reasons that I am self employed is to avoid taking huge risks.
If you’re employed by someone else, you are relying on them, not to screw up, in order to keep your job. If you’re employed by a large company, you’re not risk free either. True - larger companies are less likely to go bankrupt than smaller companies, but large companies make people redundant all the time. Just read the daily newspapers for evidence. And what’s more, you won’t get the tiniest bit of warning.
If you own your own business, you’re reliant on nobody but yourself to keep the cash flowing in. And if you do run into trouble, chances are, you’ll realise it in plenty of time to put things right.
Who do you trust more, yourself, or a load of corporate suits, who you’ve never even met? At best, you’d probably just be a number to them. The fact is, nobody cares about you, more than you do. By starting your own business, you’re reliant only upon yourself.
If you’re considering starting a small business - check out these fantastic small business resources.
Work from home franchise opportunities - Good or Bad?
June 28, 2006
Many people wanting to work from home will first consider some of the available home franchise opportunities. Having had experience working from home, by myself, and also having had a franchise, here’s some questions to ask yourself before considering a franchise.
1) Do I want to invest in a business or buy myself a job? Many home franchise opportunities are jobs in disguise. Do all the existing franchisees work from home? Do they employ others to help them? If they don’t employ others, the chances are that you may be buying yourself a job and not the business.
2) Can I get better training elsewhere, at a lower cost? Although some franchisees offer great training, some of the training involved in the home franchise opportunities out there leaves a lot to be desired. You may be better off getting good business training and setting up on your own.
3) Do I want to set up a home based business because it gives me more freedom? Most people setting up in business do so because they would like more freedom. However, many franchisors will not give you that freedom, and they may have many rules and restrictions. Your franchisor could wind up being the worst boss in the world, and the worst thing is, he doesn’t pay you a wage at the end of each month.
4) Will I need to borrow a lot to get started? High initial borrowings when starting a franchise can leave you with little money left over for you to grow your business. Also, if you’ve borrowed a lot of money, and you’re not enjoying the business, it can make it difficult to leave. I have spoken to many franchisees who say that they would leave tomorrow if they didn’t owe so much cash to the bank.
Would I invest in another franchise? No, I would not, for the reasons above and many more. There are too many great opportunities out there that are more profitable and less restrictive.
If you would like to set up a home based business, first look into the many great training opportunities available. If you’re looking to start a home based internet business, this is the course that I highly recommend, and it’s much cheaper than investing in a franchise.
Should you promote your online business offline?
June 14, 2006
Should you be promoting your online business offline? Yes, you should be promoting your site anywhere you can - articles, press releases, on your business cards etc. But, not all offline promotion should be directing people to your website.
If you have a product, or service which you could carry out offline, by all means, do include your web address in your promotions, but you could also try promoting your product or service offline, with no need to access the internet to place an order.
Of course, there are some things to consider. Suppose you sell a product online which you could sell locally. But, your business is completely automated. Would it be worth your while to tie yourself to a phone, waiting to take orders?
Before you take the plunge, and make the decision to take over the phone orders, remember that most households do have access to the Internet now, and most people find it just as easy to order from a website, as they do over the phone.
Who are the best customers to have?
June 11, 2006
When you’re first starting out in business, it may seem like any customers are better than none, but this is not always the case. Some customers will do anything to get out of paying, and those aren’t the type of customers you want.
The best customers to have are those who pay cash when they purchase, and come back and buy more stuff.
If you have an Internet business, customers who pay through paypal, or credit card are even better. But, how do you get them to come back? The best way to do this is to develop an opt in mailing list with free newsletter.
People may be hesitant to spend huge amounts of cash on an Internet purchase, from a site they’ve only visited once. But, once you’ve built a trusting relationship with them, through a newsletter which gives them great advice, they’re more likely to come back and buy much higher value items, even if their initial purchase was only $10.
So, if you have an Internet business, you must have an opt in list, if you want repeat business from your customers. To set up a successful list you need to have an autoresponder. In my opinion, the best one on the market is aweber.
