Work At Home Business Opportunities Weblog

USA Today’s Steve Strauss makes the point that the question itself is flawed.

Any Home Business can grow if it follows these 5 steps…

1. Think, and plan, big.

2. Double your marketing efforts.

3. Take a sales course.

4. Play to your strengths.

5. Ramp up your technology.

Simple as these sound, there’s even more to be considered. Read more…

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Cutting Edge Media has been around the home business market for years.

As the technology for lead acquisition improves, the company lives up to their name and stays on the cutting edge.

Don’t worry, I’m not getting paid to say these things. They’re just true. Ever since I published my own network marketing journal they’ve been around.

While nobody would confuse the articles in their magazines with objective journalism (they’re paid placements), they do serve their intended purpose… generating the names of individuals interested in a home business program.

If you’re promoting such a program, you’ll be interested in knowing that Cutting Edge now offers leads from TV advertising.

TV generated ads are beyond the skills of most small marketers, especially network marketers.

So this may be of interest to you.

In my opinion they’re branching out to reach the folks who aren’t already on “business opportunity” mailing lists or purchasing magazines in the stores.

Experts in the mailing list industry tell me there are a limited number of new names to mail to monthly.

Using Internet, TV, and radio in addition to the traditional methods will hopefuly keep their organization growing.

They hope to provide higher impact leads for their customers.

Did you know that many archaic laws make working from home “against code” and subject you to fines and other penalties if not criminal convictions?

Paradise Valley AZ is reevaluating it’s stance on home based businesses.

One resident of the town complained to the planning and zoning commission that home based busiensses had caused a significant increase in traffic on her residential street.

It leaves one wondering… in a “Three strikes your in prison for life” state if 3 such violations for “felonious entrepreneurship” could actually cause one to be locked up for life?

That only sounds stupid. We’re talking about politicians who sign laws they don’t even read, remember?

If you’re a home based business person in this little burg, watch out. There may be trouble soon in Paradise! (Sorry, I’m a punaholic!)

Here’s another story about how a taxidermist had to get approval of his town council to work at home.

The other day an acquaintance came buy because he needed to write a business plan.

His new home based dealership would expand into an existing building on his property, but he needed a little over $10,000 to purchase the dealership and get up and running.

StartUpJournal allows you to create a free “Mini-Plan that takes you through all the formal elements of a business plan.

In other words, it puts your entrepreneurial vision into “number cruncher tight fisted lender speak”.
Want to make things simpler?

I had him open the web page of the company he was buying the distributorship from in a second window so he could cut and paste most of the statistical information he needed.

The problem with these plans?

If you can’t write a coherent sentence without them, you won’t be able to present yourself well WITH THEM… but at least the babble will be in logical order.

Still, a valuable free service.

Create a mini business plan free online. Test your assumptions and start documenting your ideas for your new business. The MiniPlan guides you through creating the basics of a business plan including:

*Break-Even Analysis
*Market Analysis
*Executive Summary
*Company Objectives
*Mission Statement

According to Diana Ennen the internet is creating more highly skilled niche workers who might once have been called “secretaries”. Today they’re called “Virtual Assistants.”

By definition, a Virtual Assistant or VA, is a highly skilled professional who provides administrative support and other specialized services to businesses, entrepreneurs, authors, online businesses, executives, sales professionals and others who have more work to do than time to do it. Many VA’s also provide web design and maintenance, publicity and marketing, desktop publishing, word processing, and business start-up consultations. The services are endless depending upon the VA’s knowledge, skills and creativity.

I’ve seen virtual assistants who do specialized work in fields like legal document preparation, real estate documents, and follow up greeting card services.

I might even consider “Mobile Notary” services “Virtual” since they seem heavily dependent on internet advertising.

Are you VA material? Read more…

We normally think of Public Relations as a high powered career… not the province of a work from home mom.

Gina Seamans recently told StartUpJournal’s Mark Hendricks how she made working from home “work”…

1. Teaching the kids to respect the office and work time. When I’m working, they must go to Dad for everything. Before entering the office, they must knock and be invited in. They are never allowed to touch the computer, copier or fax.

2. Keeping office stuff in the office. The boys are often tempted to use my cool office supplies as their art supplies. That’s a big no-no.

3. Controlling the phone. While many children begin answering the phone at 4 or 5, we just recently decided to teach our 8-year-old how. We’ve always discouraged the kids from the phone because we have a home and a business line.

4. Maintaining a schedule. It is difficult to keep working when I can hear the boys having a blast in the backyard. I try to be flexible and break away from the office when I can and keep working when I must.

5. Managing client perceptions. Some clients do not care for a home-office arrangement, but I’m always up front about it, because I know there might be one or two times they will hear a little voice in the background during a phone call.

6. Staying motivated. Many days I’d rather play with the kids all day. Some days I do play hooky, but other days I must remind myself that they are my motivation for work, as well as play.

Read more…