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Okay, now you have successfully started your home business. But there is
danger lurking ahead that can eat your home business without mercy!
There are 5 mistakes that you can commit. And these are like slow
self-poisoning. Take care not to make these mistakes to your home business. The
most important of them are given below.
The Top 5 First-Year Mistakes.
Even once you've got past the starting-up stage, there are still plenty mistakes
to be made, and most of them are going to be made in your make-or-break year --
the first one. Here are the top five things to avoid.
Waiting for Customers to Come to You.
Has it ever happened? You are sitting in your comfortable home office and
customer walks in to buy your home business products! If it has happened to you,
then you just got lucky.
Too many people wait for their customers to phone, or come to the door, or
whatever. They get one or two customers through luck, but nothing like enough to
even begin paying their costs. These people sit around, looking at their
competitors doing lots of business, and wonder what they're doing wrong.
Do you want to run your home business like this?
The brutal truth is customers are not going to walk in. You have to seek them
out and sell your home business products. If you do not do this, your home
business is going to suffer.
You have to go out there and actively try to find customers. Talk to people,
call them, meet with them -- whatever you do, don't just sit there!
Spending Too Much on Advertising.
So everyone tells you that the only way to get ahead in business is to
advertise. Well, that's true, but you need to make sure that you stick to
inexpensive advertising methods when you're starting out. Spending hundreds of
dollars for an ad in the local newspaper might turn out to get you very few new
customers, and you will have spent your entire advertising budget on it.
Initially do not even think of anything more than 4 line classifieds in your
local newspaper for your home business. That too in small spurts. Then review
the results of each small spurts and then ONLY decide to continue with your
classified ads for your home business.
Make your money go further with leaflets, direct mail or email -- these are
easily targeted campaign methods with high response rates and low costs.
Remember that it is always better to spend money on an offer than on an ad, and
always better to spend money on an ad than on a delivery method.
Being Too Nice.
When you're running your own business, it can be tempting to be everyone's
friend, giving discounts at the drop of a hat and making sure that you don't
hassle or inconvenience anyone. That's all well and good, until you find that
your Good Samaritan act has just halved your profit margin without lowering the
cost to the customer by very much at all.
Know that you are in business to make money. Your discounts and special offers
should not be based on emotions or your personal likes. Realize that your first
commitment is towards maximizing profits for your home business!
Sometimes, you need to realize that you've got to be harsh to make a profit.
Give people discounts to encourage them to buy or to come back, not because you
like them or feel sorry for them. Don't be afraid to be ruthless in your pursuit
of home business success. Nice guys don't finish last, but they are running in a
different race -- one with much less prize money. If that doesn't bother you, of
course, then feel free to go for it.
Just think of this. If your home business begins a downward slide and how many
of these people who have availed your special offer come for your aid! You and
your home business will suffer alone!
Not Using the Phone.
You'd be surprised just how common phone fears are -- if you're scared of the
phone, you're not alone by any means. Many people are terrified of making phone
calls, and avoid them wherever possible. I have seen more than one home business
owner reduced to tears on the phone and trying desperately to hide it from the
customer.
You need to try your best to overcome your fears, as talking to customers on the
phone is almost as good as meeting them for real. Letters and emails are useless
by comparison. The best way to overcome phone fears varies from person to
person, but it can often be as simple as making the phone fun, by calling
friends and relatives often for a while and getting used to it. Alternatively,
try working in telemarketing for a while -- if that doesn't make normal phone
use look like a walk in the park by comparison, then nothing will.
Hiring Professionals for Everything.
It can be tempting to think that, since you're starting out, you should just
find a company or person to do every little thing you need. People seem to
especially overspend on design services.
You might think it'd be great to have fancy graphics all over your website, but
would it really increase sales? If I saw it, it would put me right off.
Likewise, a slick brochure often fails to say anything more than -I'm going to
charge you a premium to pay for my expensive brochures-. Don't hire someone
unless you can demonstrate that the service they're going to provide will
increase your profits by more than the amount you're spending -- if you're not
sure, try it yourself first, and you can always upgrade it later.
We sincerely hope that you will not commit these 5 top-mistakes that a newbie
into home business usually commits.
A lot more articles on home business can be found around this site. Browse at
will!
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