Businesses fail for many different reasons. Here’s what you should be thinking about so that your business is not one that sinks, but one that swims and stays afloat!
If you’re looking at a new business, make up a business plan, include your goals and financial projections. YOU need to know more than anyone where you are headed. Your business
plan doesn’t have to be drawn up by a
professional business planner, you can do it yourself. Write down the hard costs of getting the business started and maintained, including costs of licenses, equipment, inventory etc.
Don’t forget to include how much income you will need to be bringing in, or have saved up until you start to show a profit. Always have a
Plan-B in place. Lack of planning will have your business sinking in no time at all.
Business owners are generally “go-getters”, which means they are usually hard workers. Staying disciplined, even for the hard worker can be difficult at times, especially when there is no boss or supervisor around to crack that whip and make you do your work. Getting lazy and not
being productive with your business is a surefire way to sink it.
Here’s some tips to keep you on track and keep your business afloat.
Daily “to do” lists are constant reminders that keep you on track. They keep you motivated, and it feels good to cross things off as you get things done. You need to have a sense of accomplishment, and this helps
serve that purpose.
Push your business to new heights every day by doing just a little bit more than you need to. This will ensure that it will SWIM.
Break up your day into segments; plan your day properly. Give yourself a proper work time schedule and try to stick with it. Even if you don’t work 9-5 anymore, pretend you do. Having
your own home business often means working more than eight hours a day to turn a profit. Be prepared for that. That way you will SWIM and not SINK.
Give yourself a proper lunch break. This will give you a routine and give you something to look forward to. Reward yourself for keeping up with your work. It will keep you
positive and motivated.
Post inspiring quotes and verses in your home business area.
Don’t allow friends
and family to drop by and take up your time. In the beginning, I had friends that thought because I worked from home that I could sit around and chat with them all day long… It’s amazing that they think this, but they do. Be firm with them. My friends now know that
they had better call before they “pop in for a coffee”, and I do tell them “no” if it’s not convenient. Lazing around watching TV or chatting
with friends is 100% guaranteed to help SINK your business.
Another time taker is the telephone. I screen my calls and let the machine pick up almost all day, unless it is about business. Caller ID was
a super investment! It will help your business to have Caller ID. I promise.
Mentally remind yourself from time to time that one of the reasons your home business can fail is procrastination. The fear of this should help keep your business on the right track.
I think you know what bad employees can do to a business; be careful who represents you/works for you.
If you don’t have time to do your work and work your business, it’s bound to SINK! Don’t let other aspects of life get in the way. Sure the car needs washing, the laundry needs doing, the
house needs cleaning, you need to get other things done, but not during business hours. The key here
is to PRIORITIZE properly and take your business seriously.
Try and get some daily exercise. It refreshes you and clears the mind. It will help you stay positive. Plus, it’s good for you.
Network with other “successful people” who own a similar type of business. If you are having trouble finding these people, try your local Chamber of Commerce, or just contact other business owners. Try to learn from people who have been successful; make
sure they’ve walked the walk before you take their advice.
Taking this advice will hopefully give you some ideas about keeping your business afloat, swimming, and very
successful.
To Your Success!
About the Author
Michele Miller is a home-based business owner and a medical transcriptionist. She is also the author of an E-book about how to become a home-based medical transcriptionist. You can visit her website at: http://www.medical-transcription-at-home.com
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5 comments:
Working at home is a dream for a lot of different people. I've seen people start out pursuing their dreams of work at home with the Internet end up falling flat because they either have an idea, maybe even the technological know how, but they've narrowed their vision to one method of making money: selling products online.
I am a HUGE fan of online businesses, but for those of you who don't know what the next big idea is, read on, I'm going to show you what you can do to broaden your online business vision and make money online instead of set up a product site and hope to make a sale. It is not too difficult for someone to put together a money making site, you just need to adjust the way that you think and the way you see the Internet.
So let's start with this question: What is it that you want when you are online? Put yourself in the shoes of the millions of search engine visitors - ask the question again, what is it that I want when I'm searching online? The answer is this: 1) Information and/or 2) to buy something.
So give people what they want!
It may sound simple, but newbie online marketers have laser focused themselves on product sales and therefore cut themselves off of another means of making money - advertising. There are alot of ways to make money advertising on your site - most people will sell banner space, but you have to have a site that has a certain level of traffic before you are seen as a viable advertising website.
If you want a way to start using your homepage as a means of advertising, you need to sign up for affiliate programs and get yourself a Google Adsense account. If you have a website and you don't post affiliate offers and Google Adsense ads, you are missing out on a lot of potential cash and giving your website visitors what they want. If people knew how much money Google is paying out EVERY MONTH in Adsense revenue or how much affiliates are willing to pay simply for posting a link to their products on your website, online business owners would stop focusing solely on how to sell the latest as seen on TV gadget, and start putting out related affiliate product offers as well.
Take a look at these sites for ideas on layout, affiliate offer presentation, Adsense layout, and know that sites like these ones are making hundreds of dollars a month, simply by broadening the website focus to meet the needs of the website visitor.
http://www.bad-credit-solution.com/
http://www.thesourceforpaidonlinesurveys.com/
This is NOT DIFFICULT! Now that you have the idea, run with it and start giving yourself alternate ways to make an online income.
If you have any questions about this method of marketing on your site, please email me at seoangelgoddess@gmail.com – I'm tired of seeing good people's dreams getting trashed simply because the experience and vision of online marketing was not there. Take advantage of online advertising and start working on your own success today.
Hmm… I'll have to keep this post in mind because I want to run my own business soon. I have a good amount of money saved, but I know I'll have to take out a loan at some point. I can use all the advice I can get. Lately I've been thinking about buying a business instead of starting one from scratch. Any suggestions? Advice? Thanks.
@Jon -- There are a lot of resources online that you can check out if you're strongly considering to buy a business. There's one called BizTrader.com, which is an online global marketplace where you can buy and sell businesses. It has a bunch of different resources, and you can also use it to find a lender, broker, etc.
Then there are always books, magazines, and local small business groups that can provide helpful advice.
Good luck!
Its right that in business we need to know more than anyone where you are headed.Good that I found your blog so informative. Keep posting!
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My mom has been thinking of starting a home business to sell some custom fabric she's acquired. It's been harder than I thought to get everything set up though, I'm really hoping it will take off. As first time home business owners, the advice you posted will be immensely helpful to get her business off the ground. http://www.bgs7s.com/services.html
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