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Have you ever wondered why some of the home- based businesses don’t last? Well, I guess those who invested on them didn’t put emphasis on the following factors.
- 1. Specific place for your business
- 2. Make your family part of your business
- 3. Identify Business Basics
- 4. Consider Budget Concerns
- 5. Product Knowledge
- 6. Be Aware of the Competition
- 7. Understanding Customer Service
- 8. Finance and Administrative Management
- 9. Innovation
- 10. Self and Business Assessment
Take time to read and you’ll know their importance and its worth your time.
| 1. Choose a specific place for your business |
| Find a space that is specifically intended for your business. It doesn’t have to be big so long as it can store all the things you need for your business like a small cabinet to place all your documents and files to be organized enough not to misplace some, and in other cases a product storage (depending on your items to be sold) and other stuffs concerning your business. You can make your stockroom an area for your business, a small portion in your bedroom where you can put in a small cabinet. You can likewise utilize a vacant space in your garage or basement. Just make sure that everything that involves your business is in a safe area not to create conflict or problems in the future. |
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| 2. Make your family a part of your business |
Engage the members in your family in your business. Let them feel that they are also part of it. Ask for help in transferring an old filing cabinet to your chosen space for business. Let kids learn to be silent when you are over the phone (such as talking to some clients/customers, suppliers etc.) so that you’ll be able to grasp well what is being shared with you on the other line. More importantly, bear in mind that your family can give you immediate information as regards your business. Seek for their (the old ones) opinions and advices like if your products would be saleable, competitive and others. You can also ask them questions regarding finance and administrative issues. Let them be involved. Share your business with your family as if you’re sharing your whole life with them. |
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| 3. Identify business basics |
| These are some of the “first things first” tasks. You should have a complete list of the requirements for your business’ registration, some office supplies like envelopes, bond papers etc for filing of your documents. You need also to open a bank account specifically intended for your biz. You may need to buy some items like mixing bowl, plastic containers etc (in case you will be selling food). Nowadays I believe a computer is a necessity already, not a luxury. This will be of big help to you. More so, if you’re into online kind of business, this will definitely be needed. Adding one phone aside from your house phone is a must. This will give you purely business concentration on both incoming and outgoing calls, instead of using your home phone for business calls. |
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| 4. Consider budget concerns |
| Having this in your mind will surely help you out in maximizing your budget. Whether you are working on a minimum budget or you have a big amount of money to invest in your business, you must list down important things needed for your business. If you don’t have large amount of money to spend, buy first the items which are on top priority in your list. If you already have something that can be utilized for your business then don’t buy a new one anymore. This will lessen your expenses and the money can be an additional investment on the product/s you are going to sell. |
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| This is very vital. You may have prepared everything for your business and you may even have a big amount of money to invest with, but if you don’t know what you’re selling then don’t expect higher sales output. How can you convince a client to buy your product/s if you don’t know your product/s well? You need to be equipped with all the information concerning your product/s to answer all your customers’ queries. By doing this, chances are you will be able to convince them to buy your product/s. |
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| 6. Be aware of the competition |
Don’t just sit on the couch and read a magazine while waiting for a call for an order. If you’re selling a home baked cake, then you have to be competitive with your price (if the cost of an 8 diameter cake costs $12, yours can be $10) price is just one of the prime considerations of the buying public. But having a much affordable price for your product is not just what you have to think of. Quality is also important. You need not lower down the price of your product just so you can persuade someone to buy it. Remember, having low priced products to sell may not mean having good quality products. Set an affordable (not too low nor not to high) for your products’ pricing. In this way, you’ll surely satisfy your customers’ desire to have a “worth spending” purchase. |
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| 7. Understanding customer service |
| This is actually a broad topic to discuss. Allow me to give you some of the most important points. Upon receiving a call from a client, you should be always courteous enough with your conversations with him/her. Using proper words and phrases is the key to have a smooth sailing communication. This will avoid misunderstandings. Always have ready answers with the questions being asked from you especially with regards to your products, payment and shipment concerns, etc. Reminder: be a listener too. This means that you also need to analyze what is being said on the other line before you give answers. Similarly, product knowledge is imperative in this case. Granting request for a discount may be done too. But of course, you should know the extent. Value your customers even if they don’t buy from you. You’ll never know, they may just be testing your patience. |
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| 8. Finance and administrative management |
| You should have a very systematic style of financial and administrative concerns. Otherwise, your operations will be greatly affected. Proper recording of sales, expenses, bank concerns, inventory and other pertinent papers/documents is essential. Wise money/budget management is of high importance as well. |
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| Don’t settle for the kinds/style/model of the products you are currently selling. Whether they are home-made or from a supplier, you should always think of something “new” to offer. If you are making/producing a certain item from home which is for sale, always discover new ingredients (in the case of food) to be incorporated in your product to enhance its competitiveness. For those goods that come from suppliers, always have the freedom to ask for the new versions, models, styles etc of the merchandise you are selling. This will undoubtedly give your clients excitement. End result? Closed sales transaction. |
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| 10. Self and business assessment |
This may be the last but certainly not the least on this list. Assessing yourself will give you a clear picture if you’re still doing the right thing for your business. Are you still motivated and enthusiastic to run it? If not, then go think of the reasons why you put up that biz? It’s mainly to earn money right? Why do we need money? To live? Your business may not solely the source of your “bread and butter”. You may be employed and at the same time have a “side-line” which is your “home biz”, but this I tell you, both will give you money. So why not make the most out of it. Business review on the other hand, will give you a scenario if you are still on the right track. Are you having higher sales output? Are there products that are not saleable? What about your finance and administrative concerns/records? What about your bank account? Are there unsatisfied customers? How’s the inventory? This can be done simultaneously with your self evaluation.
Taking all of this into account will make your business go a long way. That means bigger profit.
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