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5 Home Business Start-Up Mistakes
by Jeff Cohen
When you're starting a home business, it's
all too easy to make mistakes -- after all, you've never done
this before. Fortunately, you can learn from others
people’s errors, by making sure you don't do any of these five things.
Skills You Don't Have Aren't Important
So you have no idea how to keep records and accounts, or you
don't know how to maintain a mailing list. You need to learn
these things - now! Too many home business owners just do the
things that they know how to do, and assume that they can probably
get by without everything else.
You need to realize that when you're running a home business,
you're going to need to do as much as you can for yourself,
especially when you're starting out. This means that you can't
get by if your business skills are lacking. I always say that
everyone who is thinking of starting a business should take
an inexpensive and quick local business course, and I stand
by it -- even if you think you'll be fine, it can't hurt, can
it?
Not Managing Your Time Properly
When you're used to working nine to five, an easy trap to
fall into is not managing your time effectively. Your home
is full of distractions, and there won't be anyone there to
tell you to get on with it. If you're prone to daydreaming
or procrastinating then this can be disastrous -- whole days
can go by with only tiny amounts of work getting done.
You need to be sure that you have a schedule, and you stick
to it. Draw a clear line between work and non-work time, and
don't cross the line in either direction. Apart from that,
the word to remember is 'prioritize': appreciate that you won't
always be able to do everything, but make sure you get at least
the important things done.
Making Clients Think You're a Joke
There are many home businesses where clients might need to
visit your home -- but make sure it's fit for visiting! You
can't lead them into a messy office, or be holding your dog
back from barking at them when you first meet. Remember that
professionalism is important, and it's too easy to end up looking
silly if you don't plan how you're going to make a good impression
when you invite people to your home.
If you can't afford a 'business annex' to your house, then
consider hiring someone to look after your dog or children
for a few hours while you have a business meeting there. It
might also be worth paying a cleaner to give the place a quick
once-over, if you haven't had time to clean up for a while.
Not Specializing
Too many home businesses, when asked who their target market
is, say 'well everyone, silly'. Your target market is never
everyone -- if it is, you will fail. You can't just choose
an industry and advertise your new-found profession to everyone,
in the hope that someone will work out that the fact you're
an electrician means maybe they should ask you about re-wiring
their house.
The key to success is this: think about what you can do, and
then market that to people who will want it. Advertise in places
where these people are. If your business has no target market,
then you have no business, period.
Making Start-Up Costs Too High
Finally, too many people overestimate how much money it's
going to take to start a home business. Do you really all brand-new
equipment? If you're spending thousands of dollars before you've
made any sales at all, you're setting yourself up for a disappointment.
Start your business on a shoestring, work hard, and expand
gradually -- otherwise you're setting yourself up for a big
fall. However much you might think you ought to do things 'properly',
you need to make sure that you're minimizing costs and maximizing
profit every step of the way, otherwise you're failing yourself
as a home business owner. It's when you start to get some bigger
clients and better cash-flow that you can start paying a little
extra to make your business life more comfortable.
# # # # # SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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