From
Dreaming To Doing Your Own Home Business
By
Jim Donovan
Great!
You've made the decision to start your own home based business.
Now what?
How do you get started?
In all
likelihood, you've chosen a business in which you have skills
and knowledge along with a high level of interest. Depending
upon the type of business, you may or may not be starting
from scratch. For example, in a franchise, business opportunity
or network marketing company, there are systems already in
place, ready for you to use them. What if your not in one
of those businesses? What if you're starting on your own in
a product or service business? Either way, you will want to
incorporate some of the ideas in this article since they will
help you become more focused on your own goals. Once you_ve
taken care of the basics of the business, like registration,
licensing, talking with an accountant and attorney and setting
up a basic office or space in your home where you will run
the business, you_ll need a plan.
While
I'm a big believer in business and marketing plans because
they serve as road maps to show you how to get where you're
going, they are not within the scope of this article. We will,
however, explore the basic concepts behind a good plan. For
more formal business plans, there are many excellent books
and software programs you can use. My goal here is to help
you get up and running quickly. Another advantage to the written
plan is that it acts as a measuring device which you can use
to guide you in your decision making. Let me explain. Recently
my wife, Georgia, and I were discussing some strategic decisions
concerning her online designer consignment business, Style
Management.
The decisions
involved whether or not to add a particular line of merchandise
and whether to expand into retail or industrial space to accommodate
the businesses growth. I suggested we go back and look at
her original mission statement and basic plan for guidance.
Since the mission of the business is providing her customers
high end designer consignment clothing and vintage jewelry,
the lesser quality merchandise we were considering was out.
It did not fit our plan. The space decision was easily made
by, once again, referencing the plan. Since her business is
operated solely on the Internet, selling to a global customer
base, there is no need for retail space. This distinction
alone saved us thousands of dollars by preventing us from
renting a high priced retail store when what we really needed
was simple storage space. Understanding your businesses mission
and having a written plan will make it easier to make day
to day decisions wisely and not get caught up in the excitement
of the moment.
Your mission
Let's
begin. First, write a simple mission statement that reflects
what you business stands for and what it is you do. What is
the purpose of this business?
Next,
sit back for a moment and close you eyes. Project yourself
five years forward. In your mind, see your business. What
does it look like? When it is fully developed, what is it?
Business consultant, Michael Gerber, suggests drawing an organizational
chart showing all the necessary positions. Even though you
are probably the only one working in the business now, you_ll
want to know ahead of time what skill sets you'll need as
you grow. This will force you to look at the separate functions
of your business and enable you to see where you will need
assistance.
Next,
take a notebook or journal and write your short (3-6 months),
medium (1 year) and long term (5-10 years) goals. What are
your income goals? What are your sales goals? How many customers
will you have? Will you open other locations? How much growth
do you want? You may find you'd rather have a moderate business
and more time to spend with your family. If so, write it down.
This is a critical step. If you do not know where you are
going, how will you know when you get there? We each measure
success differently so it's important to know your goals for
your business.
Your marketing
plan
Now, you'll
want to think about your marketing plan. Don't confuse marketing
with advertising. They're distinct and separate areas of your
business. Simply put, marketing is determining who your customers
are and how you will to reach them. Advertising is letting
them know you're here. A basic marketing plan can be simple.
Ask yourself some direct questions like, Who are my customers?
If you answered 'everybody,' think again. The more clearly
you can define your customers, the easier it will be to reach
them. Where are they? What do they do for a living? How old
are they? What is their lifestyle, educational level, habits,
etc? In Georgia's case, they're online, therefore, local advertising
would be a waste of money. On the other hand, if you're a
home improvement contractor, advertising in a national publication
and in many cases, the Internet, would be a waste of ad dollars.
Identifying your market and market area will save you valuable
time and money when we get into advertising and promotion.
How will
you reach your market? Is this a retail business, a mail order
operation, in home sales, direct sales, MLM or a combination
of these? Do you sell a service that is delivered by telephone,
like coaching; in person, like a massage therapist; by E-mail
or a combination of these? What business are you in? This
may sound like an oversimplification but it's amazing how
many people don't understand this simple concept. You're not
selling computers, home services, massage, health, or anything
else. People do not buy these things. People buy BENEFITS.
They buy results. They buy the beauty of a well landscaped
property, the good feelings from a massage, more energy from
vitamins and increased productivity from a computer. Clearly
define the business you are in. What is the end result experienced
by your customer? List as many of the benefits of your product
or service as well as the specific benefits of doing business
with you. What makes you different?
This should
give you enough to do to get you moving forward.
Jim
Donovan is a keynote speaker who has spoken to hundreds of
business groups and is a member of the prestigious National
Speakers Association and is the author of the International
bestseller, Handbook To A Happier Life. His new book, This
Is Your Life, Not A Dress Rehearsal, just released, is already
receiving rave reviews ands is in its third printing. His
articles, book excerpts and a free subscription to his newsletter
are available from http://www.jimdonovan.com.
Jim can be reached at (215) 794-3826 or E-mail to jim@jimdonovan.com
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