Internet Marketing & Home-Based Business

Posts Tagged ‘Business’

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to work at home, or at least generate some extra income on the side? I thought so, too, and so I searched for ways that I could do that. My first idea was to sell goods on eBay. Unfortunately, that’s just too expensive for someone with no budget. After doing some research, I decided to start my own online store.

The problem I had with eBay was that I had to pay every time I listed a product. It didn’t matter if it sold or not – I still had to pay the listing fees. It wasn’t long before I started to feel those fees adding up. I asked myself if there was a way to have products for sale online without having to pay money to offer those products.

This gave birth to the idea of my own online store. It wasn’t long before I had one up and running. I was surprised by how easy it was to get going, but I was disappointed in the sales. So I dug deeper, and did more research. Before long, I was making money. I had my own home-based business that generated cashflow with only a little bit of work each week.

It’s not exactly easy, but it’s not really hard, either. Running your own online store can be a great way to earn a little bit of extra money on the side, and then – if you want – grow that side income into a full-time revenue stream.

Running an online store is how I got started in doing business online. Actually, it’s how I got started in business all together. I wasn’t happy with my career, so I started to look for a way out. I wanted to stay at home with my newborn daughter, and still earn enough money to support my family.

If you are looking for a home-based business, but you really don’t know what to do, or where to start, try running an online store. It’s fun, it’s interesting, and the rewards can pay for a new toy, a vacation, or for the future growth of your business.

Here are some tips to help you get started.

1) Create a store using open source software. Your online store doesn’t have to break the bank just to get it online. There are free software solutions out there that rival those costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

2) Sell products that you like. While there are valid arguments for selling certain products based on their own inherent “sellability,” I recommend starting out with items you personally like. That way you will be interested in what you are selling. This will make it more fun, and could make you more successful, too.

3) Learn everything you can about running and marketing an online store. There is a lot of information out there, and you have to sift through it all to find tools and techniques that will work for you.

4) Don’t give up! You might go for a whole year without having a single sale. I went six months before anyone would give me money for what I was offering. I made some mistakes early on, but I learned from them, and learned how to do the right thing. If I can learn how to sell stuff, you can too.

Starting a home-based business is a great experience. I highly recommend it. If you are having trouble deciding what to do, try starting your own online store. It only takes a little bit of work to get it going, and the rewards can far outweigh the investment of time and effort.

To get a jump-start on learning how to create and run your own online store, check out Online Store HQ.

This is going to be largely theoretical, but bear with me. This should make sense to you by the end. You get paid at your job, right? Are you losing money by being there, getting paid?

Maybe.

How can you lose money while you are getting paid? Simple: If you could be making more outside your job, then you are potentially losing the difference between what you could be making and what you are making. If your earning potential is more than what you are currently earning, wouldn’t your time be better spent elsewhere?

Let’s run some numbers to put this into perspective. We’ll say that you are the following fictitious employee in this example situation:

• Job: 3D Computer Animator
• Status: Employee of mid-sized company
• Pay Rate: $20 per hour
• Time on the job: 8 hours + 1 hour lunch + 45 minute round-trip commute

$20 per hour for 8 hours is $160 per day. But your day isn’t just 8 hours long. Once you add in your lunch — which is part of the work day — and your commute, your day ends up being 9.75 hours long. When you look at the total time of your work day, you are really making $16.41 per hour, instead of $20. If your commute was an hour each way, your hourly rate would be even less. Remember, your commute and lunch break are really part of your work day because they are part of your daily money-wheel routine.

So, if you are making $16.41 per hour, how are you losing money? Well, literally speaking, you aren’t losing money, but you are losing potential earnings. I’ll explain.

Say that you hear about a guy who does the same thing you do, but he gets paid $100 per hour. When you find out about this, you want to know all the details. Since you’re only making (let’s round up) $17 per hour, you find the possibility of making $100 an hour very interesting. Upon further research, you find out that this individual works as a freelance computer animator, and he’s so busy that he turns away work.

Even more interested now, you dig a little deeper and find out that there is a whole market for independent computer animators. Furthermore, they make anywhere from $30 – $150 an hour, and sometimes more (I have no idea if this is accurate…remember, this is just an example). Even at the low end, freelance computer animators make more than you do. And this is where the concept of earning potential fits in.

After doing some research, you determine that your current skill level warrants a rate of $55 per hour. This puts you somewhere in the mid-range as far as rates go. If you were to go freelance, your starting hourly rate would be $55. Right now you are making $17 an hour, so this jump in pay — even when taking taxes into consideration — is big.

You then decide to test the market to see if jumping to freelancing full-time is a viable option. You create an online portfolio, business cards, and join a couple of freelance job sites. After a bit of work, you manage to land and complete a few small jobs. You have some extra cash in your pocket, and you’re feeling pretty good about it. After seeing the volume of work out there you’re capable of completing, and at your current rates, you determine that it’s a viable option.

The following week, while sitting at your desk, a thought strikes you: “I’m losing money right now.” Technically speaking, you aren’t losing money, because you’re making $17 per hour. What you are losing is the potential earnings of $55 per hour. This nets you a total loss potential of $38 per hour. That’s a lot of money that you are potentially losing.

You’ve already proven to yourself that you can make more money per hour by working freelance. Theoretically, every hour you spend at your “job” loses you $38. Could you use that time more wisely? Is keeping your current employment the best thing you can do for your own financial security?

Based on these example numbers, I feel safe saying the answer is no. Ultimately, it’s up to you. You’ll have to decide if your earning potential is enough of a change to push you to take action. I encourage you to take a long look at your situation to see if you could be better off by yourself. If you could be earning more, what would the smart move be?

My own experience is this: Working freelance got me more money per hour than working for someone else.

Do you have growth plans for your business for the coming year? I’ve got plans for mine — I have plans for steady (and substantial) growth for this coming year. What are you going to do to grow your business?

I’ve got a couple of things cooking that I am going to work on and launch in the spring. Why this spring? Why not at the beginning of the year? It’s simple, really. Spring is when all new projects should start. I say that because it just matches well with the season.

Spring is when life starts showing its face again out there in what I like to call “nature.” You are familiar with “nature,” aren’t you? You do get out and enjoy the trees, grass, and a breeze rustling your hair? When spring starts, life starts to show up all around you. And with that life comes positive energy. Life is all around you and everything is new. It’s the perfect time to launch a new project.

I’ve got a couple of things I’m working on right now — getting them ready for a spring launch. If you don’t have any plans to launch anything this spring, I encourage you to think of some. Find a nice quiet spot and just start thinking. Before long, ideas will start to flow so fast that you’ll need to start filtering them. Pick out one or two good ones, get them ready, and launch them in the spring.

Focus on growth in 2009 for your business. Everyone is saying the economy is down and we’re in rough times. Try to think of it in another (more positive) way. Gas prices are down so low that most of us have an additional $25 – $50 each week to spend. From this perspective, the economy is looking up!

Find some new growth-oriented projects, plan them, and launch them in the spring.

In this episode, I talk about the importance of keeping your focus on any business venture — new or ongoing. I also give a real-world example, from my own life, which communicates why it’s important to keep your focus.

Oh, and tips are included in this one. Five tips to help you keep your focus.

Download the episode here: Cube Escape #11

 

 Cube Escape #11: Keep Your Focus [13:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (360)