My husband is a work from home dad and whenever I tell people that he gets to work from home the first response I get is how wonderful it must be. A lot of people I talk with would love to work from home and have a home based business. Some of their ideas of people who work from home include sleeping in until you are ready to get up, going to work in your pajamas, or not having to work for a boss that controls your every move. Some of these things are true for my husband’s work, but the reality of a work from home job and having a home based business sometimes out weighs the luxuries.There are definitely perks to a work from home job and running a home based business, but the challenges should be looked at and understood before taking the plunge.One of the most important qualities of a person who can work from home effectively is SELF-MOTIVATION. A person who can motivate themselves to work on something even if it is not the work that they want to do at the moment will have a huge advantage. Being able to go from one attention grabbing task to another is important. It is very difficult to stay focused when your attention is being pulled from what you need to do to want you or someone else wants you to do.Additionally, running a home based business also requires educating yourself continually on the business you are involved. Watching TV sometimes seems like an easier alternative than learning more about what you need to do for your work from home business. To help with this it is best to have a home based business you are interested in. In other words, don’t get involved with selling candles if you have no interest in them.Another important quality of a person who can work from home effectively is that they are WELL ORGANIZED AND TASK ORIENTED. Knowing what needs to be done and getting it done within a reasonable amount of time are very important for managing a home based business. There are a lot of activities vying for a person’s time (i.e., the laundry needs to be done, the bills need to be paid, the yard needs to be cleaned up, etc.) This is true even if you are working for someone else. However, when you are working for someone else you are a little more conscience of what needs to be done, because you don’t want to lose your job. When you work for yourself you need to establish priorities and keep yourself accountable to do them.Procrastination can be a huge enemy if you want to run a home based business, because there is not a given deadline for everything and if you continually put off the work that needs to be done until it must be done you won’t make a dime. Creating deadlines and having another person hold you accountable may be the extreme you need to go to keep yourself working.Another enemy of running your own business is having too much to do. A person who comes up with idea after idea for their home based business can quickly become overwhelmed by what they want to achieve. The best way to keep you moving in the right direction is to write down your ideas and prioritize them. When a new idea comes write it down to be reviewed later and work to finish the project you are currently on.Having a WORK-LIFE BALANCE is very challenging when running a home based business. When you work outside of the home you can escape from the workplace to the comfort of your home, but when you work from home it is a lot harder to find a place to escape to. Another challenge is knowing when to leave work, especially when you have children at home who want you to play with them or help them with their homework. Having a work-life balance can be difficult because of the amount of work that needs to be done. Even an established home based business person can find themselves inundated by their work. Knowing when to stop and take a brake is very important. One way to accomplish this is to give yourself business hours or create a schedule and stick to it or have one particular area to work in and another to live in.One of the biggest challenges when you work from home is the FINANCIAL OBLIGATION that comes with having your own business. It is difficult to not have a regular stream of income, because most people have bills and debts that need to be paid regularly. Some ways to help meet this challenge are to make more money than you can ever need (not the best reality scenario), reduce or eliminate the amount of debt you have and become very thrifty with your money, or keep a part-time regular stream of income to meet the regular bill need.Anyone who runs a home based business needs to become a good accountant. Not only do have to run a home based business but you have to have a part-time work from home job. Documenting your income and spending must become a habit. If you have a hard time keeping receipts pay for everything with a credit card and pay it off at the end of the month (make sure you have a designated business only card). The best way to document your spending is to use a program like Microsoft Money or Quicken.The last factor for financial obligations, when running a home based business, is taxes. When you work for someone else they have to pay part of your social security and medicare taxes, but when you work from home and for yourself you get to pay both parts. You also have to pay taxes to the federal government quarterly. Learning about taxes, tax write-offs and having an accountant can help you with this factor.By knowing the challenges of running a home based business you can determine if a work at home job is for you. If you do choose to work from home enjoy the perks when you can!
A Guide on Successful Product Creation and Internet Marketing
Product creation in Internet marketing is getting stiffer and stiffer nowadays owing to tough competition between Internet-based businesses. Putting up a new product requires plenty of brainpower and finances along with an ability to take risk. With that, even if you have the product well-set already, you have to position it strategically in the Internet landscape for others to notice. You should get the interest of Web users and turn them to actual customers. Aside from the usual physical products, many different products that thrive well on Internet marketing include E-books, membership sites, and video lectures.
The long and difficult process of product creation begins with ideas. They are easy to get – compared to the effort that comes with analyzing the market for that idea. Before the idea turns to a product, businesses often spend money, even amounting to millions of dollars, to ensure the success of the new product that emerges from an idea. Businesses undertake many types of market research and surveys before releasing their products to the public. Now, you may think that because your business is small, you can’t afford research or you don’t have to do research; you can and you should. The Internet allows you to disseminate materials needed for your market study to many people at once without your having to spend a cent.
It is a common maxim in business: Look at your destination first before mapping out your journey. So what are the goals you intend to accomplish with your product creation ventures? The everyday travails of your business may make you forget the end in sight. On the other hand, prepare to entertain new developments that come to your mind in your product creation. Your conception of a product may have started this way, but a few tweaks here and there along with some market research results and it ends up another way. Take it as the result of a creative process, not as a failure to reach your goal. After all, your product creation activities are intertwined with a long-term goal that you should strive to sustain at your utmost: profit generation. So if your less profitable initial idea evolves to a more profitable product, be thankful!
With your product made up already, start doing some aggressive Internet marketing. A product purchase typically comes after more than five times a customer is exposed to an informative call-to-buy message. Thus it is important to get the contact details, like the e-mail address, of potential customers who are on the brink of a sale. Use the results of your market research to determine the demographics to which you should concentrate your marketing efforts.
With consistent product creation, you can make an inventory of your products that you can market in due time. Just keep making products – the moment you succeed in making and marketing a product, customers are surely wanting more from you, so give it to them. Keep them on your side through constant product creation.
A Home Based Business May Not Be For People With Cabin Fever
There are numerous types of home based businesses in existence, but they are not for everyone. Although some people are able to make a good living by working on their own at home, there are certain requirements with this industry which may not be compatible with the lifestyle of many people who like to be out and about more than being inside.
People who really work from home are usually alone most of the time. They must be the type of person who does not get cabin fever, which describes those who are unable to stay at home inside for long periods of time. They are people who are antsy and have a difficult time sitting still at home. They feel cooped up and need to get outside. This may be especially true if one lives in a small apartment rather than a larger house.
A home based business requires being able and willing to work indoors without anyone else’s company. It may mean long hours of working independently in complete solitude. Persons involved must be disciplined enough to keep working without letting other distractions take them away from the work.
Most home based businesses are flexible enough that people can get out whenever they feel a need or have things to do. That is the beauty of being able to work on your own. You are able to drop what you are doing if the need arises. You can work at your own schedule.
Network marketing (MLM or multi-level marketing) businesses may require getting out of the house. There is a lot of work which is done on the computer and possibly on the phone, but the really successful network marketers are out and talking to people. They attend and host meetings to spread the word about their company. They are looking for opportunities to tell others about their business and try to get them to join with them.
There are things to do outside of the home and places to go which can be a part of the business. However, a person needs to be willing to spend lots of time indoors alone. It takes dedication and belief in oneself. People who need to be surrounded by others may have a hard time with it. Making arrangements and finding opportunities to do work outside the home or office is possible in almost any business.
Even though those who get cabin fever easily may have a difficult time with a home based business, it is true that such a business does require interacting with people. Whether it is through the internet or phone, being willing to be involved with others is usually a necessity. People with cabin fever may find that they have the other qualities that make for success in a home based business.