Contrary to popular belief, those who work from home, or to be more specific, have their own Home Based Business, are successful. In 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report that there are 7 million people that are working from home in the US alone. That was five years ago, imagine how many more successful people are there in the US alone now, those who are successfully working from home.There must be something good about having your own Home Based Business for such a large number of people doing it and successfully at that. How do you make yourself one of them though? Being disciplined would be a good start.The honest truth is, having your own Home Based Business doesn’t come without its challenges. The term ‘motivation’ takes on a whole new level of meaning. You are now no more an employee on the monthly payroll. Instead, you are now an employer and employee, all rolled into one. You no longer have a boss who tells you what to do and who has the power to fire you. You also no longer have a subordinate whom you can delegate mundane tasks to.You will now play the role of management in your Home Based Business. You’ll be in control as its now your Home Based Business that you’ll be running and well, everything that happen or doesn’t happen will be your problem. It’s from this control where you’ll get your motivation. Motivation will tell you what work needs to get done and self discipline will make sure you get that work done.In your Home Based Business, all you ‘office equipment’ is right there; your computer, phone and fax. You don’t ever have to leave you home now, because well, your home has also become your office. This is where the tricky part comes in. You have to find the right balance for yourself, as to when do you actually do the office work, that is work on your Home Based Business, and when do you do your household duties. To overcome this tightrope, its best to actually set yourself ‘working hours’.These working hours are entirely up to you. It can be early in the morning or even late into the night, depending on what else you have going on in your life. Whatever you decide, it’s important that you stick with those hours and actually work on your Home Based Business at that time. This discipline is important as it not only sets the momentum going, it also give you and you clients guidelines as to when you are available to talk business.The common sense here is, to be truly successful in your Home Based Business, you musty truly work.On the other hand, when everyone else is physically away in an office and your office is actually your home, family and friends tend to jump to the conclusion that just because you are at home everyday, you have tons of free time in your hands. They will then start thinking that you’re free to help then do stuff that they can only get accomplished during the weekends, etc. Family commitments like children and duties around the house will easily lure you away from your Home Based Business.This is where more discipline comes into play and you have to put your foot down and say ‘NO’ to these distractions. This is where your set working hours will help you decide what you can and cannot do. With a little bit of persistence, your family and friends will start to understand your Home Based Business better. As long as you keep giving in to these distractions, your cash flow will be affected. Hence, discipline plays a vital key in making your Home Internet Business a successful one.
Acquiring Your Own Home Based Business Leads
Home based business leads are of utmost importance when it comes to successfully running and growing your own business, and there are a variety of ways that one can go about in getting these leads, ranging from purchasing the leads themselves to the actual self marketing and acquisition thereof.So many of us dream of the possibility of starting and running our own home based business, and although it may well be somewhat of a challenge, it is far from being impossible or unachievable. The level of desire and commitment that one has to achieve this goal or objective will in all likelihood determine the success or failure of such a venture. Within this process of growing the home business is one of the most important aspects of home based business leads, or otherwise referred to as prospects. These are the individuals or companies that one would normally target in terms of presenting your product or service to and aiming to close a sale with these folks to ensure that you are meeting your sales and revenue targets. Without customers and sales where applicable, a business whether it be home based or not is literally dead in the water.Going about getting the home based business leads for someone operating from home may at first prove to be a little more challenging, largely due to the fact that there is less interaction with others when working from the isolation of one’s home. But this can be changed, and is totally within the home based entrepreneur’s control, as he or she can choose to get out into the market place via networking opportunities and build up from there. Often times the fledgling business may fail because of the lack of such social and professional interaction and therefore the importance thereof is vital. This interaction can take the form of social get-togethers, local business member meetings such as Chambers of Commerce, associations and societies, as well as through local sports clubs. These places are normally teaming with prospects, especially like minded business people and owners that are also looking to expand their businesses.Alternatively the telephone book has often been used as a source for all types of leads, so why not give the local book a try to acquire some of your own home based business leads, it is at the very least a starting point and may lead onto bigger customers and contracts too. By establishing a solid base or foundation within your business, albeit from a cold calling perspective you will place yourself in a position to succeed, whilst growing your confidence during this phase. The most important point here is that you cannot let yourself get down and continue to seek out those valid and qualified leads on a daily basis.Making it a daily habit will make it easier, and you will soon come to realize that it is a numbers game in terms of getting the leads, and then closing the sale. Home based business leads will ensure your ultimate success and you can literally never have enough of these valuable ‘commodities’ in your own business.
A Simple Product Creation and Product Launching Formula
If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.
The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.
The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.
What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.
You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.
The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.
I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.
I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.
Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.
You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.
It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.