Hi ,

Why does your home business fail?

Your home business does not have to fail...if you just keep some simple rules in mind, have self discipline and a little common sense. 

Let us look at some of the common pitfalls and self-made pitfalls.

Common pitfalls found in home business

1. lack of money: Chronic shortage of cash is one of the prime reason for home business failure. This simply means that enough money has not been invested. Or diverting the money allocated for the home business to something else.

2. lack of experience and training: One of the highest causes of business wind ups! In a large company there are many people to take care of different functions like sales, procurement, accounting etc...where as in your case you are alone. You need to master all the aspects of home business. Invest time and money to learn, learn and learn more!

3. Inadequate preparation: Many people jump into home business ill-prepared and in most cases this lead to disaster. The normal tendency of an under prepared business is to react to situations!...rather than taking  sound decisions. Prepare your self in advance.

4. Faulty financial management: Another major failure factor! Many home business people are not even aware how much money is due to them! Counter this by keeping a perfect record of all the transactions. Become disciplined enough not to squander money just because you are independent.
 

5. Unforeseen circumstances: Sometimes a business can get just plain unlucky! A flood can destroy your farm! Insure your business. Check out with your insurance agent today itself if you are an entrepreneur.

6. Plain negligence: Some people looses interest in their business altogether. This is especially true if you landed up in a business that you don't enjoy. Or it could be due to lack of nerve and steel when things don't go your way!

7. Fraud and cheating: Go against the law...you could end up in serious trouble. Sometimes, nefarious activities by a business partner or an employee can also lead to winding up of the business. Get your systems and cross-checking mechanisms right to avoid unpleasant situations. It is also a must to insure your expensive equipments. 

8. Wrong selection of partners and employees: If you have selected the wrong guy for a key job...well! head aches are in store. Sometimes it may be necessary to have a business partner either for capital or for expertise. But the selection has to be done with extreme care in order to avoid grave future consequences.

That was just a glimpse of the common pitfalls! But let me tell you the most serious problems are kind of different.  

Here are some of the mistakes that I have done when I tried to become a "home business pro! 

Self-made pitfalls found in home business

1. Computer and Internet addiction: I did not belong the "Computer generation". When I bought my first computer it was like a "lovely-toy" given to a 4-year-old boy! I became addicted to all those games and whiled away my time engrossed in playing. 

I play the game to "take a break" for 5 minutes and finished my breaks...usually after 3 hours!

Similarly, world wide web wander lust! To do "research" I use to go to all those lovely sites simply wandering without aim. 

The pattern every time was same...start out looking for information about "money making opportunities" and finally end up signing all those free offers and subscribing to innumerable news letters...from morning till evening!

Luckily, I came back to my senses when a huge telephone bill (used a dial up those days) at the end of the month did the trick! From then on Internet became my best friend ...because wise use of it began putting decent incomes in my pocket. 

As for the games, I deleted them all...once and forever!

2. Unprofessional use of Telephone: When an important client called for the first time...my 4-year-old boy answered the phone! Later, he told me it looked so cute...but did not gave the business until 6 months later! 

To him it was a business call ...and I did not realize it. My immediate priority changed to getting an independent telephone line only for business. Now there is a strict policy at home-This is a "dedicated business telephone". 

3. Family and Friends: Let me tell you it was tough and it still is! My friends and my family started taking me granted with a simple statement "Oh! now you are working from home and you have all the time in the world". Some of my friends started dropping in when 'they' were bored...just to chatter away! 

It was tough initially making my friends and family realize that...in the home set up I need to work double to succeed! The easiest way to do it is to say NO-though sometimes it is hard.

4. The ups and downs: My friends and family initially thought some worm has got into my head on the decision to leave the security of a well-paid job to start my International website and Internet marketing services. 

They were right! I did not make any money initially. Nobody was not even interested to take a second glance at my services. But slowly...very slowly the business began to pick up. But again even now some months are extremely bad and some months are extremely good. But I think I have understood that business moves in ups, downs and in cycles...still it can be profitable.

5. Joining up for every on line business opportunity: Can you imagine joining up for more than 300 "money making programs" on the Internet in one month! 
I did that blunder. It did not end there! I tried to promote all of them. 

The result was obvious...disaster. 

By the time wisdom dawned up on me to concentrate on a few well researched programs of repute. I had lost lot of money and time in the past. Today I concentrate on just a hand full programs and it is fetching me results. I understood the hard way that,

-"he who chases two rabbits catches neither"-

6. Trying to be an "All-in-All": You are the employer as well as the "employee" in your home business. You need to pay the bills, collect outstanding from the customers, do the sales, answer telephone calls, fix up appointments, keep accounts, finish the actual work for the customer...  

Soon it becomes hectic!...and I found that I can't be everything. One solution for me was to out-source services! That is pay people to do some of these jobs on work-basis and not as employees! I have a freelancer who keeps my accounts. Another one does my payments and collections etc.

Hope these tips helped you to put things in perspective. See you again in 5 days!

We appreciate you! Take care ,

Courteously -- S. Kumar
www.learnhomebusiness.com

P.S: BTW, Here are some gifts for you. Please go here to download them. These gifts are not the same that you downloaded in the last lesson.
 

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