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Tips for starting your own homebased
business
There are numerous reasons why people choose to start a home-based
business. Some of those reasons include:
1. Dissatisfied with their present employment situation.
2. Out of work due to being laid off or downsizing by their employer.
3. A need to be home more with young children, an infirm family
member, or aging parents.
4. A yearning to be their own boss.
Whatever your particular reason for exploring a home-based business,
there are a few common steps you need to take in order to launch your
business.
First off, you need to come to grips with reality...be realistic in
your expectations. Far too many folks read advertisements that are
hype and imply quick money, and lots of it, from a home-based business
start-up. It will certainly take a year, and in some cases it may take
up to three years, before you begin to truly make a significant profit
from your business.
I have helped a large number of people start up their own home-based
businesses using the Internet. Over time, I have come to recognize two
of the most important factors for identifying people that should NOT
start a home based business. If a prospective entrepreneur says
something like...
"I'm broke and need to make some money, fast!"
or,
"I want to start a home-based business, but I don't want to spend
anything on it until after I start earning some money."
...it is certain that they have not addressed reality and, with that
mindset, they will most certainly fail.
It takes a lot of time to successfully market and promote a new
business. If you are planning a home-based business in order to spend
a lot of time with young children or care for the elderly, a full-time
business (and income) may not be a realistic objective.
Second, spend some time researching your business idea. Make sure
there is truly enough of a market for your product or service. It's
easy to fall into the trap of having a hobby or passion for something
that you like to do and just assuming that you can turn it into an
economically viable business.
Third, learn as much as you can about small business. There is a
wealth of information available on this topic and the US Small
Business Administration is probably as good a place to start as any.
Just go to http://www.sba.gov/ and navigate to the sections dealing
with home based businesses.
Fourth, write a business plan. It is your roadmap to reaching your
objectives. There are numerous articles on the Internet and in
libraries that can assist you in developing your business plan as well
as addressing the many other issues involved with starting and
operating a business from home. As a starting point, here are a couple
of Small Business Administration website locations that should prove
useful:
http://www.sba.gov/starting/indexbusplans.html
http://www.sba.gov/library/pubs.html
And last, but not least, seek the advice of a tax professional. Your
first reaction may be that you can't afford such expenses right now;
but, in reality, you can't afford not to seek such advice from the
very beginning of your home business start-up. They can advise you
about ways you may be able to reduce the amount of taxable business
income at the end of the year. Paying for an hour or two of
consultation with a tax professional at the beginning will probably
save you much more than that amount later on down the road.
I never cease to be amazed at the number of people that seem to think
that some magic is somehow created when you put the words "home based"
in front of the word "business". It's still business...it just happens
to be based in the home.
Copyright © 2005 Kirk Bannerman
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