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The Top 5 First-Year Mistakes
By Fritz Frei
Even once you've got past the starting-up stage,
there are still plenty mistakes to be made to
build a home business, and most of them are going
to be made in your make-or-break year—the first
one. Here are the top five things to avoid.
Are you waiting for Customers to Come to You?
Too many people wait for their customers to
phone, or come to the door, or whatever. They get
one or two home business customers through luck,
but nothing like enough to even begin paying
their costs. These people sit around, looking at
their competitors doing lots business, and wonder
what they're doing wrong.
You can't be like this. You have to go out there
and actively try to find customers. Talk to
people, call them, meet with them—whatever you
do, don't just sit there!
Spending Too Much on Advertising for your Home
Business
So everyone tells you that the only way to get
ahead in home business is to advertise. Well,
that's true, but you need to make sure that you
stick to inexpensive advertising methods when
you're starting out. Spending hundreds of dollars
for an ad in the local newspaper might turn out
to get you very few new customers, and you will
have spent your entire advertising budget on it.
Make your money go further with leaflets, direct
mail or email—these are easily target able
campaign methods with high response rates and low
costs. Remember that it is always better to spend
money on an offer than on an ad, and always
better to spend money on an ad than on a delivery
method.
Being Too Nice?
When you're running your own home business, it
can be tempting to be everyone's friend, giving
discounts at the drop of a hat and making sure
that you don't hassle or inconvenience anyone.
That's all well and good, until you find that
your Good Samaritan act has just halved your
profit margin without lowering the cost to the
customer by very much at all. Sometimes, you need
to realise that you've got to be harsh to make a
profit. Give people discounts to encourage them
to buy or to come back, not because you like them
or feel sorry for them. Don't be afraid to be
ruthless in your pursuit of home business
success. Nice guys don't finish last, but they
are running in a different race—one with much
less prize money. If that doesn't bother you, of
course, then feel free to go for it.
Not Using the Phone for your Home Business?
You'd be surprised just how common phone fears
are—if you're scared of the phone, you're not
alone by any means. Many people are terrified of
making phone calls, and avoid them wherever
possible. I have seen more than one home business
owner reduced to tears on the phone and trying
desperately to hide it from the customer.
You need to try your best to overcome your fears,
as talking to customers on the phone is almost as
good as meeting them for real. Letters and emails
are useless by comparison. The best way to
overcome phone fears varies from person to
person, but it can often be as simple as making
the phone fun, by calling friends and relatives
often for a while and getting used to it.
Alternatively, try working in telemarketing for a
while—if that doesn't make normal phone use look
like a walk in the park by comparison, then
nothing will.
Hiring Professionals for Everything?
It can be tempting to think that, since you're
starting out, you should just find a company or
person to do every little thing you need. People
seem to especially overspend on design services.
You might think it'd be great to have fancy
graphics all over your website, but would it
really increase sales? If I saw it, it would put
me right off. Likewise, a slick brochure often
fails to say anything more than 'I'm going to
charge you a premium to pay for my expensive
brochures'. Don't hire someone unless you can
demonstrate that the service they're going to
provide will increase your profits by more than
the amount you're spending—if you're not sure,
try it yourself first, and you can always upgrade
it later.
The fact's for your Decision!
The fact is building a home-based business isn't
for everyone. Some people like the commute. They
really do enjoy having a boss who tells them what
to do, and they like the routine of working
nine-to-five for an ordinary salary that can
barely pay the mortgage. Personally, I think
they're nuts.
More reasonably, there are people who are
concerned about the risk of starting up their own
business. They're not sure it's worth the
investment of time and money, and they're scared
of the responsibility that comes with running
their own company. They wonder if there is
another way to escape the rat race.
What can you do? Take all information about the
home-work-business and make a business plan which
give you answer on your estimated profits. Don't
pay a dime for any e-book marketing course or
software programs or anything else, until your
have read the groundbreaking document you can
download.
InterHomeBusiness Fritz Frei
About the Author
How to start for a own Internet Business. To receive more information's about all homework and starting-questions - Links and last research NEW's - visit the http://www.interhomebusiness.com or http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-7001
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