Starting A Home-Based Business - Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid

Published By Martin Aranovitch

A home-based business can provide you with independence and financial freedom if you make smart decisions. Starting your own home based business, however, can be a daunting task.  Here are some of the most common mistakes to watch out for when starting a business from home ...

Starting your own home-based business is a huge trend, thanks to modern technology, new Internet innovations and the current global economic situation. As most of us know, home-based businesses are great because they provide people with the opportunity to make a real living from the comfort of their own home.

A home business can provide you with independence and financial freedom if you make smart decisions and almost anything is possible when it comes to ideas for starting a business from home. All it takes to get started and on the road to success is a plan, and putting that plan into motion.

Starting your own work at home business, however, can be a daunting task.  Below are some of the most common mistakes to watch out for when starting a home-based business that can save you a lot of stress and worry in the short, medium and long term.

Home-Based Business Mistake #1 – Trying To Do Everything

If you’re just starting out with your home-based business, don’t try to take on the big dogs and run yourself ragged trying to be all things to all people.  Decide on a niche and stick with it. Once you’ve experienced a little success in the area you have chosen to focus on, then you can start outsourcing some of your more routine tasks and expanding to other areas.

Home-Based Business Mistake #2 - Spamming

While most of us know that sending spam email is a big no-no, keep in mind that some forms of forum posting can also be considered spam.  Most forums have clear rules about what is and is not acceptable. Some are stricter than others in their rules, but generally no reputable forum will accept blatant advertisements. 

Forum posting and email campaigns can be an effective way to reach your audience. Just make sure that you are promoting quality information to a targeted audience. The short-term benefits of spamming aren’t worth the long-term consequences of losing your credibility (not to mention the possibility of getting fined or being shut down).

Home-Based Business Mistake #3 – Disregarding The Importance Of Credibility

When starting your own home-based business, you probably won’t have a large corporation or a brand name behind you.  You will have to build your credibility from the ground up, and things like credibility, reputation and good will are a lot easier to lose than to gain.

Commit to being someone who stands behind their product or service, treat your customers with respect and the courtesy they deserve, and be completely transparent in all your business dealings. If you do this, you’ll start building credibility very quickly.

For example, I remember when my wife started her own eBay business. By applying the principles discussed above and by vigorously defending her 100% rating online as a credible eBay seller, her business grew very quickly and so did her revenue from product sales.

Home-Based Business Mistake #4 - Sitting Back And Waiting For Results

While it is possible to run a home-based business that will make money automatically, it almost never starts out that way.  All businesses require time and effort to establish. Contrary to what most “get rich quick” opportunities promise you, true passive income doesn’t just magically happen at the click of a button. 

Once you’ve done the right kind business planning, put in a lot of hard work and set up the right systems to help leverage your efforts, you may be able to generate greater amounts of revenue with a minimal amount of work.  However, you must still maintain the business. Ignore any venture completely (no matter how successful) and it will most certainly fail.

Home-Based Business Mistake #5 - Not Researching Your Target Market Well Enough

The biggest question I always recommend people to ask when thinking of starting any type of business, is “Is this opportunity really worth pursuing?” In other words, once you’ve established that your business idea has a good chance of becoming profitable, then you should start asking questions like “does a market exist for your product?” 

Are there too many products already in the market you are planning to set up a home based business  in? Does your typical customer have the kind of money to spend on whatever products you are thinking of bringing to the market? Once you’ve identified and answered these questions, concentrate your efforts. The more specific a target you can identify and the more information you have about them (i.e. demographics and psychographics), the more effective your marketing efforts will be.

Home-Based Business Mistake #6 - Ineffective Marketing

When it comes to promoting products and services, most people make the fundamental mistake of promoting the features of their product, instead of the benefits.  While it’s important to know what the features are, what sells the product are the benefits, not features. 

For example, people searching for drill bits aren’t as interested in the drill bit (feature) as they are interested in the “hole” they are going to get when they go home and use the drill bit to drill into their walls.

People make decisions based on emotion, not logic.  Make sure to address what’s in it for them – how does the product or service relate to them and their lives?

Hot Tip: Something I learned a long time ago that has always helped me tell distinguish what is a feature from what is a benefit, is to put the words “You Get” before whatever it is you are trying to sell or promote. If putting the words “You Get” before something makes sense, then it’s probably a benefit. If not, it’s most like a feature.

For example, let’s say you’re selling an anti-ageing face cream. Look at the difference in how each of the statements below speak to your target audience:

“YOU GET to look younger and more beautiful if you use this cream” is a benefit
“YOU GET a cream in an exquisitely shaped jar that has been especially formulated by the world’s leading cosmeticians using a combination of Elastogen, Carotene B and Goji Berry juice from the highest and most impenetrable mountains of the Himalayas” is a feature.

Home-Based Business Mistake #7 - Not Building Relationships

Treating customers right can lead to repeat business and lots of enthusiastic referrals. People want to feel important and valued.  In the faceless and often cold world of doing business online, building relationships are more important than ever.

Home-Based Business Mistake #8 - Not Treating Your Home Business As A Real Business

If your home-based business hasn’t cost that much to start up in the first place, you may start thinking that you won’t have much to lose if it ends up failing. Also, you may end up underestimating the amount of work that working from home entails. In many ways, owning a home-made business is a lot more work than just going to work in a conventional job.

Home-Based Business Mistake #9 - Not Having A Business Plan

Many businesses, home-based or otherwise, ultimately fail because they don’t have a plan. In order to succeed in business, you must have a business plan with clearly defined goals for next week, next month, or next year.  Having a list and goals will help you stay focused and not get distracted by the small problems and obstacles that come up on a daily basis.

Home-Based Business Mistake #10 – Trying To Learn All There Is To Learn

Things are changing everyday and they’re changing ever more rapidly.  In order to grow with the times and keep your business relevant, you must keep abreast of any changes, both specifically in you market and in the business world in general.  Make use of any innovations or technology which can help make your home-based-business more efficient and productive.

Also and very importantly, don't try and go it alone as a heroic "solopreneur" (cue in Frank Sinatra's "I Did It My Way" here!). Join a business network or a community of like-minded people and allow yourself to share resources and leverage your efforts and the knowledge gained from the experience of others.

I hope you have found this article informative and useful. If you are planning to start a traditional home-based business, I recommend you visit this site for lots of great articles on how to start up a small business: Small Business Startup

If you are planning on starting an online business, then I highly recommend you look at joining an online business-building community like Portal Feeder. This entire site was created to help people understand the benefits of being a Portal Feeder member, but if you just want a summarized review, then go here.

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About:

Martin Aranovitch is a successful SME (small to medium enterprise) business coach, sales trainer and web business entrepreneur. Visit his site www.SocialBusinessWeb.com  to download a FREE report on How To Profit With Your Own Social Networking Site.

Source: http://www.portalfeederpro.com

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