Four Ways To Start A Home Based Business
Since my wife and I started our home catering business, I've
been encouraging (my friends call it nagging) everyone I know to
start a home based business to escape the volatile cycle of
full-time employment.
Even as many of them faced the threat losing their jobs, they
seemed reluctant to take that critical first step. The main
problem isn't really about how to start a home based business.
It's about making that conscious decision to actually take that
first step! It can be difficult especially if you're holding on
to your job for dear life! Breaking free of your comfort zone is
critical, but once you get over that mental hurdle and you've
decided to go ahead and start a home based business, there are
basically four ways to do it.
Freelancing
Freelancing is the easiest way to start a home based business,
when having a steady income is crucial and leaving your job is
not an option. It can be difficult though, if you have to juggle
work, family and freelancing so you've got to stay focused on
what your goal is. It helps if the whole family can get in on
the act and work as a team.
Freelancing is great because you get to play around with your
time and your goals, adjusting them to suit your needs. When
your job is secure, you might want to freelance as a way to
supplement your income. However, if there are signs that you
might lose your job, you can always pick up the pace and move
from freelancing to running your business part-time or
full-time. Freelancing greatly reduces the stress and anxiety a
family goes through in the event of job or income loss. However,
it's also very easy to lose your momentum and passion when you
freelance since you would probably have a loose working
schedule. This is where self-discipline and perseverance comes
in.
Part-time
Running part-time is ideal if you're able to opt for a flexi
working schedule to concentrate more on your home based
business. There are obvious benefits to this because most home
based businesses require you to operate during office hours.
Remember that this sort or working arrangement may mean you will
earn less for a while as you build your home business.
When we first started our home catering business, my wife worked
mornings as a kindergarten teacher while I was employed
full-time. In the evenings, we would both work on our home
catering business. In fact, we're still doing it this way. My
wife still teaches while I now work at home as a Netpreneur in
the mornings. We're adapting our working arrangements to suit
our needs.
Full-time
Many people try to start a full-time business after they've been
laid off or they've had it up to their eyeballs with their job.
In their desperation, they're easy prey for online and home
based business scams. If you ever find yourself in such a
situation, DON'T throw your money into a home based or online
business hoping for immediate returns - chances are you WILL
regret it. The exception to this rule would be if you've been
freelancing or working part-time on that business for some time
and you're ready to take it to the next level.
When you do go into your business full-time, make sure you've
got at least a year (two is better) of backup funds ready. You
should have a cut-off date when you MUST decide that you will
need to go back to full-time employment in the event your home
business doesn't go the way you plan - that's reality.
Online
Starting and online business deserves to be in a category of its
own simple because you can freelance, do it part-time,
three-quarter time, full-time, anywhere, anyway you choose.
However, running an online business is not as easy as many ads
on the internet would like you to believe. It can take
considerable time and effort before you see any substantial
income coming from your online business. Here's a short list of
the types of online businesses you could set up :
Sell your own physical product. This is probably the most
difficult to get off the ground. Unless you already have an
established customer base and your online presence is there to
add value to your business, it could take years to build such an
online business, but having an online store brings you business
from all over the world, something a small physical store can't
possibly do.
Sell your own electronic products. Being an Infopreneur
(Information Entrepreneur) is really easy these days. There are
millions of people promoting their e-books, software and
training programs online. You don't have to be an Internet
genius to sell your stuff online. All you need is to be
knowledgeable in a specific niche and build your products around
that niche. There is BIG money to be made in this!
Sell an online service. People will pay a subscription
fee to be allowed into the subscribers section of your website
to use these services. The types of services you could offer are
limited only by your imagination and technical know-how.
Sell other people's products. This is called affiliate
marketing. It's the most popular because you don't incur
development costs. There are literally millions of products to
choose from, and the beauty of this online business is that you
can sell to anyone, anywhere in the world - there are NO borders!
Selling advertisement space on your website. This has
always been a good money maker. The catch is that you need to
build your website to such a level where it brings in
substantial traffic. This in turn brings in advertisers who are
willing to pay you to display their ads on your website.
Better earlier than later
My personal opinion is that there's no better time to start a
home based business than when your job is secure and you're
financially stable. Think of it as an insurance policy. You're
investing in a backup plan that you may need sooner than you
think. The statistics are alarming. One report suggests eighty
five percent of the global workforce will experience the loss of
their job at least once in their career. What better way to
escape this than to build your own home based business where YOU
are the boss and you will never get fired! Here's to your
financial and family well-being. Cheers!