Home Business or Work-at-Home Job – Which Is Right for You?

    Many people often want to work from home for a variety of reasons. Maybe you just had a child and want more work-life balance, or perhaps you have an illness that makes it difficult for you to get out of the house. Or maybe you just like being home and want the freedom to work your own way.

    Whatever the reasons you want to work at home, you’ll need to choose whether or not you want a job from home, or you want a business from home. Here are eight questions to help you decide.

    1. Are You Self-Motivated?

    If you want your own business so that you can set your own hours, you will need to be very self-motivated. You’ll need to take time out of your day for marketing, interviewing clients, closing the deal and then doing the work too. You’ll be 100 percent responsible for delivering the work, billing and collecting. You’ll even be responsible for deciding the methods you’ll use to do the work. To do that you’ll need to be a very self-motivated individual.

    2. What Skills Do You Have?

    Take a piece of paper and write down a list of the skills you currently have, based on what you’ve already done in the past. Can any of these translate into a business? Label them appropriately. Do any of these translate into common work-from-home positions such as call center agent or transcriptionist? Some skills cross over into both, but which side of the list gets full faster?

    3. What Sort of Lifestyle Do You Want?

    With a work-at-home job you’ll be required to “show up” for work on time each day that you’re scheduled, and you may have little control over that schedule. What’s more, with work-at-home positions it’s a lot harder than typical jobs to call in sick, whether it’s you or a child who is sick. Often the first 90 days you cannot miss your schedule at all if you want to keep the position. Are you ready for that? Or, would you prefer a more family-oriented type of schedule that can be adjusted more easily and is more deliverables-based than hourly-based?

    4. Do You Already Have a Business Idea?

    If you have already researched a business idea, and feel as if you want to do that instead of working for someone else, can you pull it off? What steps do you need to take to make it a reality? Are you the type of person to be able to organize and take the steps needed to get your business off the ground? Can you find and afford help if you’re not sure what to do to get the business going? Does the thought of all this stress you out?

    5. How Do You Feel about Punching a Clock?

    For some people the idea of clock punching is relaxing, for others it feels like a nightmare. Neither feeling is right or wrong as it takes all types of people to make this world work. If you know up front that you are fine with punching a clock and you’d rather someone else tell you when to be someplace and what to do, then a work-at-home job is best for you. If that feels like prison to you, then a business is probably better if you can do what it takes to get it going.

    6. Do You Have Money to Start a Business?

    Starting any type of business, even an online business, requires an investment not only of time, but also of money. Have you worked out a business plan and do you know how much money you need to get started? Do you have that money available? If not, do you have a way to get it? Perhaps working at a job first, while you save for and work on your business on the side, is the way to go if you don’t have the funds to start.

    7. Do You Need Training and Education?

    Both working at a job and owning a business sometimes require skills that you don’t have yet. But that’s okay. Decide if you want to invest in the training yourself to get your business off the ground, or if you would like to try to find a work-at-home job where they will train you from the ground up even if you have little experience and due to that the pay may be low.

    8. What Is Your Biggest Dream for Your Life?

    When you think of the future, what do you see? Does it sound relaxing to get up in the morning, have some breakfast, and move to your home office where you sign in to work at your job, taking a break when needed by telling your manager that you have to use the restroom, or go eat lunch and so forth, then when you get off work you’re totally and fully off? Plus, each week you collect a certain paycheck? Or, do you like the idea of being able to do what you want when you want (and likely working more hours than you ever thought you could) but without the surety of income each week, knowing you’re forging your own future?

    Whatever you decide, neither is right or wrong. They are both good choices for you. Whether you want a work-at-home job so you can sign off after the day and focus 100 percent on your family, or whether you want a business that will cross boundaries into family time and vice versa but that puts you 100 percent in charge – both are good choices and choices that you are fortunate to have in this age of high speed internet.

    Categories: Home Business Ideas, Run a Home Business Tags: Tags:

    Herb Gardening for Money

    There are so many things that you can make or grow at home that can actually bring you some income. Herb gardening is one of these things, especially when it comes to high quality culinary herbs. They are easy to grow, take up little space, and people are always on the lookout for great herbs.

    What Herbs to Grow

    * Popular in Your Area – To be successful in selling your herbs, you want to make sure that you are offering a product that is in demand in your area. Take a look at your potential competition, grocery stores, and other places where herbs are being sold and pay attention to what herbs are most in demand.

    * What Grows Well – Learning what herbs will grow the best in your area will also be helpful when planning out your herb garden. Do your research before you begin and figure out if you are going to be growing indoors or outdoors, and how to set up your herb garden for maximum production.

    * Forms of Herbs – Another good thing to think about is how you plan on packaging your herbs, and what forms you will sell them in. Some ideas are selling dried herbs, fresh sprigs, and also small potted herb plants.

    How and Where To Sell

    * Proper Licensing – Depending on where you live, you may have to go through a little bit of legal yellow tape to be able to sell your herbs. You will need to set yourself up as a business, acquire proper licensing, and you may even have to get your garden area inspected. These rules will differ from state to state, but it is best to do your research so that you are not skipping any vital steps to avoid getting in any trouble.

    * Farmer’s Markets – Farmer’s markets are an excellent place to set up a small booth and sell your herbs. People that frequent farmer’s markets are usually looking for the freshest local produce that they can find. Also, you will have the added benefit of being right there when they are doing their shopping for meal planning.

    * Flea Markets – Although it might sound a little outside of the box, flea markets are also a great place to sell herbs. First of all, the herbs smell great, so your stand will attract tons of people walking by. Secondly, people often go to flea markets with cash in their pockets, ready to buy.

    * Produce Stands – Whether you set up right next to a produce stand, or set up a partnership for a produce stand to sell your product for you, this could be a great marketing opportunity. Depending on where you live, and the rules in your area, you could even set up a sign and/or stand out in your own yard for people to come to you for great fresh herbs.

    * Local Groceries – If there are any locally owned, smaller grocery stores in your area, approach them about selling your herbs. Show them that you have all of your proper licensing and inspections, and that you are a legitimate grower, and bring some samples for them to see your packaging and the freshness of your product. It is pretty easy to market anything that is fresh and local, especially high quality culinary herbs.

    Herb gardening for money could be a very lucrative business to run out of your own home. There are many places that you can sell them, and they are not difficult to grow and maintain. Start by doing your research and finding out the best places in your area to sell.

    Categories: Home Business Ideas, Run a Home Business Tags: Tags:

    Green App Developer

    In this world of smartphones and computer technology, there is an app for almost everything. People come up with new ideas and develop new applications every single day, for a huge array of different ideas and purposes. Lately, as the environmental movement gains ground with the public as well as with the government, there has been a huge push to come up with great environmentally helpful apps.

    Great Ideas Can Sell

    Whatever your great green idea may be, you can really make a lot of money by developing apps like this. Governments and people everywhere are looking for ideas for how to help people live green, especially if it saves them money as well. Even at just 99 cents or the few dollars that most apps sell for, these tend to be extremely lucrative. Your idea could be your ticket to living comfortably.

    Popular Ideas for Green Apps

    These are ideas that have already been developed. The majority of these ideas have multiple versions as people have come up with ways to expand upon what is already available. The entire idea, after all, is to help other people find ways to be more environmentally friendly, or to help them create less waste or environmental impact.

    * Ride Share – There are many apps in different locations all over the world that help people reduce their carbon footprint by carpooling with other people in the area. You can find a popular app for this in just about every busy city, especially where commuting is often necessary to get to work.

    * Fuel Calculators – Another popular idea that has many versions are apps that help you calculate how much fuel you are using. The premise behind these apps is that you enter how many miles your vehicle has driven, and then update the number of miles when you fill up with gas. This helps you know what kind of fuel economy you are getting.

    * Pollution Police – There are also apps that help you report when you see a person or business pollute. Usually, these are not specifically for people that throw gum wrappers out the window, but more for instances where you might see someone dumping into a water source. Many of these apps actually connect with local authorities so legal action can be taken.

    * Barcode Scans – Have you ever wondered how environmentally friendly a product you purchase is? With these barcode scanners, you can actually find out what sort of environmental impact a company has with their factories and production of goods. These types of apps come in many forms. There are even apps that can tell you if certain foods or companies are vegan-friendly, which can have a big impact on the environment.

    * Remote Power – Have you ever left the house with a sneaking suspicion that you might have left the lights running? One of the most popular types to come about in this green app movement are apps where you can actually turn your lights on and off from your smartphone. This not only helps you monitor your energy use, but can be a great safety feature as well.

    * Driving Apps – There are a plethora of apps available that can help you determine what your fuel economy is, as well as how efficient your actual driving is. For example, some apps will even tell you if you are accelerating too quickly, or if you are driving too fast or too slow, to get the best fuel economy.

    * Plant a Tree – One really neat app idea that is aimed at solving the major environmental issue of deforestation are apps that actually plant trees for every app purchase. These apps often have games or pictures to look at to entice more people to purchase their app so they can plant more trees.

    As you can see, there are already tons of green apps being developed, but there are more ideas out there. Maybe your idea could be the next big thing to help save the environment.

    Categories: Home Business Ideas, Run a Home Business Tags: Tags:

    Getting the Word Out about Your Business

    One of the most important components of your home business’s success is marketing. If you don’t promote your business, no one will ever know about it. You can’t make money if no one knows. You have to get the word out about your business several times over the number that will take you up on your offer in order to make a profit. There are several ways to do that in an inexpensive way.

    * Social Media – Sign up for and participate in social media networks where your audience hangs out. Comment on questions, offer your help freely, and let your profile speak for itself. Don’t try to connect one-on-one with people until you’ve built a relationship with them.

    * Blogging – One of the best ways you can promote your business is through blogging. Blogging keeps your website active. You can blog about many things that will attract your audience due to how search engines send people to information. The keywords in your blog, the title, and the subject matter help.

    * Press Releases – Don’t turn your nose up at the old-fashioned press release, but do it with precision. This means that you follow the rules of press releases, write them in the way they want them written and send them only to the people you know for sure want to read them. Make connections with the right people in the press.

    * PPC – Pay-per-click advertising means you create an advertisement, usually an image and some words, based on the rules of the platform. You then pick the audience you want to view the advertisement, and then you only pay if someone clicks through your advertisement.

    * Sales Pages – There are special ways to make true sales pages and they require some experience or training in copywriting. But, there are also some great services like LeadPages.net or InstaBuilder.com that can help with proven templates and examples.

    * Email Marketing – Another way that is very effective to get the word out about your business is to create a free report or give away something of value to people who are your target audience, in exchange for an email address. Using that email address, you can market to them one-on-one the products and services that you represent.

    * Affiliate Marketing – You can get other people to help you market your products or services by setting up an affiliate program. This is a program where you use software to help keep track of sales made by other people of your product or service. You can use aMember.com or E-junkie.com depending on your budget and needs.

    * Your Website – One of the first thing you should do is create a website with a blog. Your website is your home on the internet and where all content, all marketing, and all promotion should start.

    * Listing Services – Depending upon your business type, you can join listing services to help people learn about your business. Double check the service to ensure it’s really a viable service. Check stats, and cancel anything that isn’t working.

    * Hand Out Business Cards – Don’t forget this tried-and-true way of doing business. Give them to people you meet at in-person events, and if you have products you send through the mail, include one.

    Make no mistake; getting the word out about your business is the most important thing you can do to ensure your success. Without a good advertising and marketing plan, your business has no chance.

    Categories: Run a Home Business Tags: Tags:

    Getting Started Creating Apps

    Today, you don’t have to be a coder, or even a professional app designer, to create your own apps. The barriers to entry into this marketplace have been drastically lowered due to technology. There are now apps to help you create apps that you need to market to your audience. You just need to know where to find the software to help you make your ideas come to fruition.

    * MIT App Inventor for Android – This app inventor runs with Google Labs and enables people who are not coders to invent and create apps. It has awesome tutorials to teach you want you need to know, and anyone can use it. It used to be called Google Apps Inventor but was abandoned and now MIT has taken it over.

    Link – http://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/

    * BuildFIRE – Using this builder you can create your own mobile apps, or even hire a BuildFire app developer if you don’t want to do it at all or you have a more complicated app that you want to build.

    Link – http://www.buildfire.com/

    * Como – Also a mobile app builder, it takes things one step further and offers marketing and selling features too by helping you publish in the Amazon App Store. They also have features that help you market your app on Facebook, plus other business features like payment gateways.

    Link – http://www.como.com/

    * Appsbar.com – Create Android, iOS, Windows Phone and more easily with a choice of themes, buttons and more. It doesn’t offer as many selling features as Como, but it does offer the ability to build and sell your apps as well as distribute them via their marketplace.

    Link – http://www.appsbar.com/

    * Appypie – This is a fully-featured app builder that builds apps for all platforms, and even offers many business features that you need to promote, market, and sell your apps to your audience.

    Link – http://www.appypie.com/

    * WPAppStudio – Make your own WordPress plugins without any PHP coding, and also get support for selling your apps and making a business of it. There is a fee per website but you can also get free domains for each app when using their software in development.

    Link – https://wpas.emdplugins.com/

    * Windows App Studio – If you have an idea for an app, you can use Windows App Studio to help you create your app using their templates, code and more. Once it builds the app for you, you can get the code and even edit it later.

    Link – http://appstudio.windows.com/en-us

    * AppMakr.com – Using drag and drop technology, you can build your mobile app for any platform. They also have tools to help you monetize your apps which make it super easy to make money.

    Link – http://www.appmakr.com/

    As you can see, the lack of coding knowledge will not keep you from creating an app if that’s what you want to do. You can make an app that your audience needs to use on a daily basis that keeps you at the front of their mind. Apps can become a new income stream that adds to your bottom line exponentially.

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    Getting Focused

    One of the most important things you can do for your life and your business is to make sure that you are focused. Multitasking has been proved to be nothing more than wishful thinking. You simply cannot do more than one thing at a time well. If you want to get more done, in less time, here are some ways to stay focused.

    * Use a Calendar – Your calendar is your best friend when it comes to staying focused. Use it to make a list of things you are supposed to do each day and to set deadlines and check-up points, to make sure you’re being effective.

    * Prioritize – If you have a to-do list, it’s important to prioritize what you are doing so that you can do the most important things first. Each person’s priorities will be different. The truth is, if you are a small business owner, your first priority each day should be doing the work that you need to do for yourself as your “first” client.

    * Turn Off Noise – Turn off your phone, your cell, your email, your social media networks, and focus on each thing you’re doing 100 percent. Don’t focus on all the noise around you. It’s really hard to do, but you’ll find that the work you produce is of higher quality and that you‘ll get done faster.

    * Take a Walk – Whether it’s a walk or other types of exercise or movement… before you get down to work on any project, be sure to move. Breathe in deeply, breathe out deeply and clear your mind of all the junk going through it so that you can focus.

    * Time Yourself – Try not to work for more than 90 minutes at a time without a break. Taking frequent breaks where you get away from your work or the project for at least five minutes will do wonders for your ability to focus. Now, don’t use this time as email checking time. Get away from your desk and do something else.

    * Stop Multitasking – It’s gotten crazy that people have started to see multitasking as a virtue. The truth is that it is very inefficient, causes undue stress, and you don’t get things done any faster. Plus, typically what you do when not focused is of lower quality and you can’t get as much done.

    * Check Email Less – Two or three times a day is enough to worry about checking email. This is true even if you are a service provider. Let your clients know the times you check email, and set up an appointment system for clients to schedule phone calls.

    * Give Yourself Plenty of Time – Trying to do everything fast and over-scheduling yourself is a sure-fire way to become unfocused. Instead, give yourself more time than you think it will take so that you have plenty of down time. Being stressed out and rushing through things is a way to make mistakes.

    Learn to give yourself time to do each thing that you need to do by turning off the noise and placing your focus on “first things first.” By narrowing your focus, you’ll enjoy your day more and each moment more – because you’ll shut down the noise that happens all around you and get to business doing what needs to get done.

    Categories: mindset, Run a Home Business Tags: Tags:

    For a Successful Business Have a Clear Plan

    When you go on a trip, typically you get out a map or you use GPS to ensure that you get to where you want to go in a relatively uncomplicated manner. You don’t just strike out without any idea of where you’re going or how you’ll get there.
    The same thing should be done when you start a business. Map out a plan, starting with the end. Where do you see your business when it’s most successful? How can you ensure that you get there in a reasonable amount of time?

    In order to make the plan, ask the following questions:

    * Who Are You? – This question really has two parts; one, who are you personally and two, who is your business? How you want the public (and customers) to view you as a business is important, because it can inform how you proceed with every aspect of your business.

    * What Do You Offer? – It’s true that you offer something that can easily be named, xyz service or xyz product, but what you really need to answer is what solutions are you providing? Is it freedom? Is it time? Is it something else? If you can answer that, you’ll be able to move your business forward faster.

    * Who Is your Customer? – Customer identification is an important part of owning and running a successful business. It doesn’t end once you figure out who your customer is either, because you will need to continue to study them over time. Try creating a customer avatar so that you can look at it and know exactly who you’re doing it for.

    * What Differentiates Your Offering? – Usually, someone else is offering something like yours or close to it. But, there is always something that makes yours stand out from anyone else’s. What is that thing? How can you emphasize the thing that makes yours better, different, or special?

    * How Will You Deliver It? – It’s important to know the means by which you’ll get your product or service to your audience. Without knowing that, it will be difficult to succeed in your business. Work out these plans in advance.

    * How Many Do You Need to Deliver for Success? – One thing many business owners forget to do is figure out how many widgets they need to sell (or hours if you’re in a service business) to break even, and then how many to be successful. When you know this answer, you can break that down to how many a day you need to sell. That then helps inform the rest of your plans.

    * What Is Your Timeline to Profitability and Success? – Once you know all the other information, it will be easier to determine how long it will take for you to be successful. Knowing that info you can start from the date you want to show your first dollar profit, going backwards and entering in the actions you need to take each year, month, week, day and even – if you wish – hour of your day.

    When you answer these questions seriously, you can easily create a workable daily plan of action. Before you know it, you’ll be successful because you have a clear plan.

    Categories: Business plan, Run a Home Business Tags: Tags:

    Five Books to Read about Affiliate Marketing

    Affiliate marketing involves either creating your own product and providing a commission to people (affiliates) to sell it for you, or finding products and selling them as an affiliate for someone else. You can do both at the same time and they are both fabulous ways to add to your income stream.

    Here are five great books you’ll want to read if you are involved in affiliate marketing.

    1. Affiliate Marketing Smart Affiliate Tactics for Creating an Online Business With Passive Income Forever (online marketing, niche marketing, blogging, work from home, passive income) by Brian Graves.

    This book provides a proven strategy for creating an affiliate marketing business. You’ll learn how to find affiliate products to promote, and how to use keywords, make massive sales and more.

     

    2. How to Make Money Online as an Affiliate Marketer Even Without a Website: Basics for Beginners (Marketing Matters Book 40), by Joan Mullally and Evelyn Trimborn

    If you want to find a way to replace your current salary, affiliate marketing is a great way to do it. You can start part time with nothing more than a computer and a few pieces of inexpensive software. Learn about it with this book, and get started tomorrow making a passive income with affiliate marketing.

     

    3. Clickbank Affiliate Marketing: How to Make Money Online as a Clickbank Affiliate Marketer, by BJ Min

    If you want to earn money in a passive way, Clickbank offers a lot of products in every niche that you can promote to your audience. You don’t even need a website to promote the products on Clickbank because the sellers offer landing pages and sales pages. You can run ads on social media and Google using your affiliate links to make sales.

     

    4. Affiliate Manager Boot Camp: Recruiting, Educating, and Retaining Affiliates, by Shawn Collins

    If you have your own products, this book will help teach you how to find affiliates, educate them to make sales for you, and keep them by paying them fairly and quickly. You can truly have a whole army behind you helping you sell the solutions you create for your audience.

     

    5. Affiliate Marketing: How to Make Money and Creating an Income, by A. Anderson

    If you’re interested in creating an affiliate marketing empire, this book should help you get started. You can determine whether this is the right path for you or not, and get good tips on what to do to get started making money as an affiliate marketer.

     

    Affiliate marketing is a great way to start earning income on a part-time and even full-time basis. You just need to know how to get started. These books will help you get started – whether you want to contract with affiliate marketers yourself or whether you want to sell other people’s things as an affiliate.

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    Finding the Right Business for You

    When you make the choice to start a home business, you will need to try to figure out which type of business is right for you. The best way to do that is to be very honest about your resources, temperament and abilities. It can be a difficult choice because so much is at stake, but it’s good to give it some thought and consideration before investing a lot of time and money into a business idea that is wrong for you.

    Create a Dream Board

    What type of life do you want to live? Get some old magazines, or get out the crayons and pencils and draw what you see your future as. If you prefer technology, use PowerPoint to create a dream slide show instead of a dream board. The point is to get down on paper how you want your life to be when your business is successful.

    Determine How Much Money That Life Takes

    How much do you have to make a year to enjoy the lifestyle from your dream board? What type of income will this require? Is it realistic, possible? If it’s realistic, set a deadline for yourself on how long you’ll take to get to that goal. Use that number to help you determine what type of business you will need to start.

    Make a List of the Type of People You Want to Work With

    Who do you want to surround yourself with all day long? Who do you want to work with? Who do you want to work for? If you can narrow down the audience that you can create products for, or services for, then you are on the right path. Are there enough of these people to create a profit? If there are only a couple hundred, how many of them can you attract? Be realistic and understand that you need a large under-served audience for whom to create.

    Make a List of the Products or Services the Audience Needs

    Now that you know who you want to work with and be around, make a list of the type of services or products that this audience might need. Can any of these be the start of your dream board life? If you have a smaller audience, you need to create a higher priced item. For example, if you want to earn $100K a year, how many products do you have to sell to create that income? Mark everything up by 100 percent to take into account the cost of marketing and doing business.

    Write Down Your Resources

    Resources include people you have access to, connections you’ve made in the past, family, friends, your skillset, their skillset, the money in your bank account, and the equipment you already have or that you can get access too. Do you have enough and can you get enough to do what you have determined is right?

    Write a Business Plan

    Finally, take the time to create a business plan. This will give you time to sit with the business idea, in your mind and heart, to ensure it matches your values and ideas. It’s not a waste of time to create a business plan even if you don’t ultimately start that business.
    Remember to be honest with what you’re capable of doing. If you don’t like making cold calls, don’t pick a business that requires it. If you hate to speak in public, don’t pick public speaking as your business idea. The closer you can match the business idea with what you love to do, the more likely you are to be successful.

    Have a look at Business Planning Process course here!

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    Eight Ways to Get Help Inexpensively

    When you first start a business it can be on a very small budget. Perhaps you do not have the funds to outsource and pay as much or almost anything to get the help. Don’t worry, because there are ways to get help inexpensively.

    1. Fiverr.com – This is a website where people offer their services for just five bucks. There are providers who have moved up the ranks who charge more, but those starting out still are only five bucks. Take a look at their ratings and ask around who is the best one for the services you need.

    2. Your Children – Even young children can help you with your business; whether it’s data entry, filing, or cleaning the house to free you up to do other things. Older kids can do a lot of amazing things, so don’t discount hiring your own children.

    3. Your Spouse – It might be a hard sell to get your spouse to help you, but they are usually wonderful sources of work and they can be free, or you can legally hire them as a deduction in your business.

    4. Your Network – If you have joined any networks, whether they are colleagues or not, you can go to them to find people to help you inexpensively. Perhaps you can barter with each other to get things done.

    5. High School Students – You cannot legally use high school students who aren’t family members free, but you can pay them a bit less than you would an expert. Even if they just help you with housework and childcare, that is something that gives you more time to work your business.

    6. College Interns – Local universities and community colleges are great places to find interns to use in your business. This is a highly talented pool of people, especially when it comes to technology. It’s important to know that you do need to pay them something and offer them a lot of education.

    7. Elance.com – You can find inexpensive outsourcers on Elance. The price will vary depending on where the outsourcer lives and also what their expertise is. Make sure you put up a good proposal and set your budget.

    8. oDesk.com – This is another place like Elance which has people to hire that can help you inexpensively. Be careful and don’t take the lowest bid, as the lowest is not always going to be better.

    These eight ways to get help with your business are tried and true methods that work. You can get help without spending tons of money. You also have to remember that anything that you can get someone else to do is worth it if it costs less than you can earn per hour doing your main service or selling your main product.

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