Work at Home Based Business

Archive for October, 2009

Micro Planning In Action!

If you are trying to build an Internet business in your spare time while holding down a full time job, the only way to keep up momentum will be to adopt good time-management practices and develop a micro-planning strategy so that you know what you have to do at any given time of the day and can mentally prepare for it.

To make good use of any dead time in your day, look at how much time you’ll have available to work on your business and how energetic – or not – you are likely to be. Then allocate the most suitable task to that slot in your schedule.

With micro-planning, it is neither advisable nor feasible to plan more than 48 hours ahead. That is not to say that you should abandon making weekly and monthly macro-plans. Micro-planning is all about filling in the gaps in your day with appropriate tasks in order to keep your sideline Internet business (or whatever) moving forward in spite of your main commitments. To do that successfully you need to be able to predict with reasonable accuracy how you are likely to feel and how likely your
schedule is to change.

To squeeze full value out of micro-planning, draw up a set of lists of the various kinds of job that can be done in different time frames and on different energy levels. For example, tasks that use up a lot of creative energy should be reserved for those days when you have generous periods of free time and are likely to have sufficient energy to get them done. Personally, I recommend early mornings for those kinds of tasks – things like writing articles, creating sales letters, designing websites and so on. Jobs like that should be placed on the “high energy/plenty of time”  list.

On the other hand, low input jobs that don’t require much time or energy to complete should be placed on a second “low energy/quick and easy” list. Tasks such as social networking, posting comments on forums and blogs, responding to e-mail, surfing traffic exchanges for credits, posting classified ads and so forth are ideally suited for those short, low energy time slots.

The photo of a page from my schedule earlier this month illustrates my micro-planning technique in action. I am a freelance English language teacher and teach various types of classes in various locations around town. Between the gaps in my teaching day I added various tasks that I thought I could realistically get done, and have checked them off as I did them. Okay, I admit I photographed one of my more successful weeks when I was able to maintain high energy and motivation levels for several days in a row.

Things do not always go so well, but even so, micro-planning makes it much more likely that you will do more to maintain momentum for your side-business during a busy week at the office, in the classroom, shop, factory, or coalface.

David Hurley
Increasing Time Management Skills for Achieving Goals

If you have a full-time job but your employer has reduced your hours… if you’ve lost your job completely because of company cutbacks… if you’d just like some extra income to help pay bills…

A home-based business can be the way to support your family or supplement your income through tough times! Perhaps you take pride in the independence you have with your own business. You may like the flexibility of choosing your hours. The reasons people to start a home-based business can be as varied as the type of business itself.

There’s more to launching a home-based business than just hanging up a shingle and getting a website. Before you commit to any new venture, carefully consider four key points about the company and the product you’ll be representing.

1) Demand for product

You’ll want to offer a product that people not only want to buy, but is unique. The more commonly available an item is, the more competition you’ll have. That makes it much more difficult for your business both to stand out and to succeed.

2) Initial investment

While every new business does involve some start-up costs, research how much you will have to invest upfront to carry a company’s product line. The total amount can range from less than $30 to hundreds of dollars, or more! Watch for the “fine print” that might mean you’ll have to buy and keep a large inventory on hand in order to conduct business successfully.

3) Timeline for profits

Some companies delay as long as 30 to 90 days before issuing commissions. Before you begin, you’ll want to know just how long it will be before you receive payment for sales that you’ve made, especially if you’ve had to sink a lot of capital into inventory in order to get started. The shorter the time until you to a return, the quicker you’ll realize profits.

4) Expansion Capability

Study your business potential in terms of both today and the future. What are the possibilities for growth when the economy improves? If your current plans for your business are simply to make a little “extra” on the side, that’s great. However, should things change and you want to expand, will the products you’re looking at give you the flexibility to develop your business into something even bigger?

The IBW Bookseller home-based business gets high marks on all four of these criteria.

First, consider demand for product. As an IBW Bookseller you would sell innovative IBW Books that combine print text with the interactivity of multimedia components. These are not e-books or downloads, but one-of-a-kind print books for children that include online animations, activities and games as an integral part of the storytelling process. For you, that means a product line that has NO competition!

IBW Booksellers make only a minimal $25 initial investment for which they receive a Show Kit consisting of 10 books. No “fine print.” The Show Kit is all you need to get started. You do not have to maintain or store inventory, restock supplies, or even fill orders. The publisher does all that for you, freeing you to focus on conducting business.

How does immediate sound for timeline for profits? IBW Booksellers do not wait to be paid. You collect payment for IBW Books sales you make and take out your commission BEFORE you submit orders to the company.

When it comes to expansion, the possibilities are limited only by the individual IBW Bookseller’s imagination. Not only one-on-one sales, but business through personal websites… bulk sales to school districts and daycare centers… libraries… reading programs… and more!

IBW Booksellers are just one home-based business for you to consider. When studying this, or any business venture, remember to take into account:

- Demand for product
- Initial investment
- Timeline for profits
- Expansion capability

Your business will be much more successful if you do your research first!

Do multimedia IBW Books pique your interest? They’re the future of reading! Find out more and start your own home-based business as an IBW Bookseller by going to our website www.IBW-Booksellers.com

Written by Mary Donev — Director of the IBW Bookseller program, a home-based business selling innovative multimedia IBW Books.

When looking for home business information it can be challenging to figure out where the best places are to find the best and most accurate information. However, there are certain places that are proven resources. Here are five of the best…

1. Online – When searching online for home business information you need to be careful. Just searching anywhere will expose you to the scams and false information as well as the best home business information. The best places to find valid information online is on message boards and forums as well as on social networking sites and via youtube videos. Many of the people who hang out on these sites have worked hard to establish credibility and to share valid and useful home business information. As with all places though you still need to use your common sense.

2. From business networking groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, BNI and more – Most of the people who attend these groups already have a business, but even if you do not you can attend and network with the people there to find out about what home business opportunities are out there. This can be a great resource since many home business owners attend and you can meet them and get information from them in person.

3. From SBA.gov – This is the government’s official website for small business. Many of the resources focus on small businesses as well as home businesses but this is nonetheless a great resource for accurate home business information.

4. From friends and family – Chances are good that you have at least a few people in your friends and family circle who are involved or who have been involved in home businesses in the past. They can be great sources of information as long as you are careful about how you ask. You want to make sure that you get information from a first-hand source and from people who are successful and who actually know what they are talking about.

5. From trade shows – Many of the exhibitors at women’s shows, boutiques, home shows and other similar shows are home business owners and they would be happy to give you some of the best home business information you can find. Furthermore, speaking with them gives you a great way to speak one on one with someone who is doing what you may be considering.

AnnaLaura Brown is a successful online home business owner who enjoys teaching others to learn to use social networking and other methods to build a large online business. Learn more about her and subscribe to get your free internet business newsletter at her online network marketing website.

I’ve been working at home, full-time for about eight months now. It hasn’t been as easy I thought it would be. Its not just the realities of building a passive income business which has its challenges, its the issue of people’s reactions to the fact that I stay home all day and have no children or other  “obvious” reason to be there.   You need to grow a thick skin if you are planning on building your own business – particularly if you are doing it online.

Very, very few people understand how I make money online. Most people think the height of sophistication on the Internet is being able to use Facebook or Twitter. Most of my friends use neither and some haven’t really got a handle on email yet!

Therefore trying to actually make them understand that I make a living developing my websites and being paid by advertisers leave them at best thinking I am a webdesigner for hire, and worst – well I hate to think what dark and illegal things they think I do working form home all day.

Before you can get other people to take your work at home business seriously though – you need to take it seriously yourself. I have never owned my own business before. It took me quite a long time to understand the correct answer to when someone asked me what I did for a living was “I am an entrepreneur, I am starting my own online business”. Its not a hobby or an experiment – and until you stop thinking it of like that you will find it hard to get others to take you seriously. And you do want your work at home business to be taken seriously. First off it will make it a lot easier to control your time. Having worked away from home for most of my life I love the fact that I can take deliveries during the day and be there for the tradsmen. But you don’t want to become the social center of the neighborhood if you are trying to get some work done! Set boundaries with friends so they don’t just drop by when they feel like it and stay for hours.

Also remember to dream big – don’t talk about making some “pin money” or “a little cash on the side” – because oddly if you talk that way that is all that you will make – a little. Its called a self-limiting belief and they are alive and well for many people starting their own work from home business – particularly women.

So take your business seriously. Get yourself some business cards, a decent computer setup, a comfortable chair. If you can’t handle the accounts or the technical stuff- out-source them – buidling a business means that you will need to invest in your busines as well. That’s probably the single biggest way to take it to the next level.

Lis Sowerbutts is the owner of an opinonated self-titled blog which is all about her journey along the road to earning passive income online.

I see it, I hear it, I read it every single day. The top work at home job choice is non-phone jobs.

Through various work at home job forums a lot of people work in customer service because they are readily available and I suppose people really don’t mind all that much or why would they work in that field? What I also know is a lot of people work several work at home jobs to meet their income needs per month. When they aren’t manning the phones, they are working one or more of these non-phone jobs.

1. Data Entry
They are still very hard to find, but if you try freelance sites you can get temporary work for the time being which may lead to something more permanent in the future and if it isn’t permanent it can be recurring.

2. Transcription
Legal or general as medical transcription requires at least one year off-site work before telecommuting. Transcription is the next closest thing to data entry.

3. Mystery Shopping
It’s a fun thing to do and you can make some decent extra cash. It requires you to leave the house, but it’s still better than spending time on the phone.

4. Online Expert Answers
These are expert guides who get paid to answer questions. It’s like using Google search engine, but you have a human responding.

5. Search Engine Evaluators
Google and Leapforce have temporary contract positions. Quality Raters evaluate search engine results.

6. Texting
Texting is mostly adult-oriented. The client texts via phone and you answer back via computer. It’s not for everyone, but you can make pretty decent money.

7. Website Tester
You review websites based on the company’s requirements.

Other non-phone jobs include freelance writing, court research which requires visits to your county’s courthouse and some online teaching or tutoring positions. For some extra money on the side, you can involve yourself in mock juries and paid forum posting.

You can find a full company list of non-phone jobs and visit Sophia McIntyre at Work At Home Business Options for more work at home business ideas.