Defining Success in a Home Based Business

Success is one of those words that is tossed around the home based business arena quite often. Those of us who start home based businesses generally are able to illustrate clearly the reason we did so. Earning money to contribute to the household income, being able to stay at home with the kids and for some simply as a hobby to fill their time.

Regardless of why you start a home business, defining your success can only be done by you. You see, you know better than anyone what you need out of your home based business. This is not something that should be dictated to you by your sponsor or upline.

Keeping your focus on your own success should always be your priority over helping your sponsor or upline achieve their success. They will benefit from your success only if you achieve the level of success as defined by them.

This simple revelation took me the better part of two years to discover and this journey was not a profitable one for me. I was losing money every month in my business with the majority of my business expenditures going into affiliate programs and purchasing leads from those in the business above me. It’s important to note that a business that consistently loses money is one that will eventually dry up and close its doors while a business in profit rarely closes its doors.

I have often talked about the steps I took to rebuild my home based business into one that was profitable, but the most important step I took was deciding to define my own success.

For me it was as simple as getting my business into profit. This didn’t just mean breaking even, I needed to see cash after the monthly expenses were paid for. This realization propelled me into a new way of looking at my home based business and started a domino effect that has resulted in the realization that I could have a profitable business.

Think about the reasons you started your business, or the reasons you are thinking about starting a business. List them and use that list to help you define what success is for you. For some it could be as simple as generating a hundred dollars a month to help pay for a household bill. For others it could be the ability to become financially independent or the avenue for quitting your day job.

I know that once you’ve made the list you won’t see helping my sponsor or upline achieve their success on your list, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is your business not theirs.

The role of a sponsor is sometimes lost in the hype of a company. A good sponsor will do what they can to help you define your success and provide you with tools and resources necessary to achieve that success regardless of how it benefits them.

Your ability to define your own success also relates closely to taking responsibility for your home based business. While it is great to have a sponsor or upline willing to provide the tools and resources to help you achieve your success, ultimately it’s up to you as the business owner to use the tools and resources provided. Furthermore if those tools or resources aren’t working for you, it’s up to you to find the ones that do work in your situation.

Expecting anyone other than yourself to build your business is irresponsible and frankly not a solid business plan. Defining your own success is just one of the puzzle pieces that will help you to build your home based business successfully and earn you the income you desire.

Addicted to Domain Names?

There I’ve said it, I admit it and now I’m doing something about it!

Over the course of my online business adventure, I’ve managed to acquire quite a large number of domain names. You know the different dot.com’s that you use to promote different aspects of what ever you are doing online.

Well I sat down and started evaluating the different domains I had and man did I feel a bit foolish. I had so many that it was costing me a small fortune to renew them through out the year.

I don’t discount that at the time I purchased most of them, I had a specific need. But once those needs have passed…let it go!

The process of weeding out the ones I no longer want to pay for wasn’t too hard. I first checked each domain to see where it was pointing.

Once I knew that I had to evaluate if I really needed a specific domain for that page. Most of the time I didn’t and could house those pages on my main website.

The next step was checking to see if they had any pagerank or value. Much to my surprise several of them did. Those went on my keeper list and I knew I would find another use for them.

I also learned that when you have a domain name with longevity it becomes more valuable. So I had to consider those poorly thought out domain names I had purchased early on in my Internet adventure.

Honestly, most of those were chosen at a time when I didn’t have a clue about how to build a website let alone what keywords were. I’ve learned so much since that time that I let go of many of those cutesy domain names opting to keep the ones that were newer but keyword rich.

I ended up dumping probably 8 domain names and will now keep a watchful eye on the rest of them as they come up for renewal. And I’m putting those with pagerank to use for some of my promotional stuff and information sites.

One thing I also had to learn was that an emotional attachment to a domain name just isn’t a good enough reason to keep it. You know…the first domain I ever bought…I didn’t want to let it go, but the bottom line was I seriously didn’t have a use for it so I bit the bullet and let it go.

And then there are the “deals” you get offered when you are purchasing a domain name…I got a deal on what at the time seemed to be a great idea…instead I’ve come to realize that www.IGotLit.com (for my candle business) actually appears to be the domain of a heavy drinker and it’s mine until 2008!

Take your time when purchasing a domain name. Consider some good keywords to incorporate into the domain name and above all remember to let go of the ones that aren’t working for you anymore.

How to Build a Business on a Budget

Getting a new business started can be exciting and a little scary. This can be compounded if you have limited funds, (and who doesn’t?) to expend towards marketing and advertising. If you want to earn money quickly, retailing is your best option. This is where you make your list and work your warm market.

If you are in a network marking type of business, then you know what your warm market it. You were probably told to make a list of all the friends, family and people you know when you were just getting started in your business. This is your warm market.

Make your warm market list and start to introduce your them to your product line. When they fall in love with your products they will start to share information about you and your business with their warm market and so on, and so on. Using your warm market has the potential to double your amount of “Free Advertising”.

Word of mouth is a great affordable way to advertise any product of service and its free. Make phone calls to your warm market, send them an email and share with them in person.
Depending on what type of product you are marketing, you could suggest your product line for personal use or as a gift giving item. Its possible that your product line could be used in a fund raising effort. You will want to make sure this is ok with your company first. Fund raising is an excellent avenue for retailing your product and generating income. You can quickly get your business into profit without expending a large amount of money.

Visit local shops, car washes, veterinary clinics (anywhere people mill around and wait) and inquire with the owner or manager if they would be interested in carrying your product line on consignment (where you split the profit). You can ask that they pay for the product up front for sale in their store and you’re into instant profit. Some stores will only want to pay you once the product sells which means you have inventory sitting on the shelf before it sells. Long-term income will come with repeat retail customers.

You may want to consider offering a discount for those ordering in multiples. Your buyers may opt for the discount which will round out your required order more quickly and possibly result in more sales overall.

The key to selling a large variety of products when you have limited funds to purchase stock up front is to conduct “Pre-Sales”. With pre-sales you take orders and collect the money at the time the buyer places the order. With this method you collect the cost of purchasing the product and your profit up front. You will have to actively workto sell the required minimum order in a relatively short amount of time so tht your customers don’t have to wait too long. If your customers have to wait longer than 7 to 10 days, they may not order from you again.
If your company offers a product catalog this would be a good investment when your funds are tight. Working a business on a budget is something that anyone can do and everyone should do. Get out there and Share your Passion!

Mindset is Nothing without Action!

Cherrie