WordPress For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
Lisa Sabin-Wilson (Paperback - Nov 12, 2007)
$10.99
All right, so you've decided to jump off the corporate ladder and build your own. Congratulations! You've just joined the growing community of home business owners in the US. Expanding at an estimated rate of 10 % per annum, the home business segment is being chosen by millions of people today. Running a home business offers economic self-sufficiency, unparalleled freedom and the satisfaction of finally being in charge of your own life. All of this without a boss dangling on your head and without the guilt of ignoring your family and the "me-time" you so badly need.
Choosing Mr. Right
Now that you have decided that a home business is the best thing for you, the first question that springs into your head is 'what is the right business for me to go in to?' For every single idea you think will work, there may be ten that won't. Since you will be investing a lot of time, money and energy into this project, it is imperative that you first evaluate the feasibility of the idea.
In a business, you could be selling a product or a service or a combination of the two. To decide what is the best mode for you, a simple guideline here is to clarify in your own mind, two things:1. What do I want to do?2. What I am capable of doing?
Take a stock of your interests and capabilities and then decide on what would you rather be selling. For instance, if you have been in the hospitality industry all your life, it may be a good idea to choose a service-focused business like catering, rather than selling computer peripherals, no matter how profitable that looks. But if you've always been interested more in, say, fashion designing and have had some experience in that field, you have more chances of succeeding with starting a boutique for clothes. So, a good recipe for success would be to marry your interests with your core competences. Team it up with hard work, determination and a wide focus vision to go a long way.
For some new business ideas, take a look at these websites:http://www.ahbbo.com/ideas.html
http://wordpress.org/articles/home-business--choosing-the-right-home-based-business-opportunity.htm
Once you have decided what business you want to put all your monies into, you must evaluate the option by measuring it against some parameters:
- Does it fill a need-gap?
- Does my idea satisfy an existing market need, not fulfilled by any other or many other suppliers?
- Will my idea fulfill an existing need in a much better and cost - effective manner?
- Will my idea 'Create' a new real need for consumers? Along with these, also assess the size of the market. Many a business has failed because the market size was inadequate to keep the business beneficial in the long run.
- What is my level of interest in this idea?Ask yourself if your level of interest in the project will sustain a couple of years down the line. Try to forecast how the idea can grow into something bigger. For instance, if you decide to turn your hobby of landscaping into a serious consulting business, ask yourself where you would want to take it by the end of one year. Do you see yourself doing this for a long time and do you feel there is scope of expanding this business. If you are brimming with ideas here, then yes, you are interested enough in this idea to take it up.
- How well can I manage this business, given my interest and capabilities?
- Do I have the required knowledge on this service or product?
- Do I have significant experience in this field?
- What are my managerial and marketing skills for this business?
- Do I have any additional professional qualification that will help me run this business more efficiently?
- Financial viability of the project
- What is the revenue stream? Where from and how will the money come in?
I. This is one of the most important aspects you should look at when considering a new venture. Unless you see a clear revenue inflow to the business, discard the idea.
- What will be the total cost of putting this project on its feet and how will I fund my start-up?
I. Evaluate the options you have. You could either be financing the project from your own savings or through a bank loan. You have to be very clear on how you will manage your personal finances, if a large chunk of your savings gets engaged in the business for a certain period of time. If you will be opting for a bank loan, remember that it has to be re-paid in a certain time period. Would your business start giving enough returns by then?
- How much time can I dedicate to this project?
- Each business has an approximate "gestation period". That is the amount of time it takes to break even. Some businesses may need upto one year to mature and start giving returns. Do you have the patience to wait and not get disheartened?
- Do I own the space required to run this business?
- Whatever business you start from home, you will need physical space to set up an office, stock your product, need space for documents, other paraphernalia. Do you have that kind of space at home that you can dedicate to your project? If not, then it means you will have to rent space, which is not only an additional cost but also takes your business from the realm of home businesses and into the SME segment.
- What equipment do I own which will be needed to run this business efficiently?
- You will need to furnish your office with a computer, a workstation, fax and phone lines, a modem and an Internet connection. Since the Internet is the backbone of most home businesses, it would be helpful if you were already connected to it. Make a laundry list of all the equipment and gadgetry you possess and see what can be used in your business. It would help you later in bringing down the cost of buying new office equipment. Also see: http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol13/evaluateideas.htm
Most home business owners start out with a positive attitude and the will to kick up some dust with hard work. That is good, but not sufficient to guarantee success. Success depends on carefully choosing a business idea, meticulous planning and some reality checks.
For a first time business owner, the Internet is like a treasure island…it can be a great adventure exploring new ways to make money. Sure, setting up a website can be great fun but if you want your online business to make you money, you’d have to think beyond just selling a product or a service. Whether you have integrated your offline business with an online one or whether you are a pure ‘webpreneur’, the key to boosting profits is in diversification or generating multiple revenue streams.
WHY DO IT
In the new entrepreneurial era where most businesses are aligned to the World Wide Web, a smart wealth building strategy is diversification. With multiple revenue streams you not only avoid putting all your eggs in one basket but also create several sources of income so that when there is a slump in one the other one is still around to keep the cash flow healthy. When you offer a host of related and complimentary products and services to customers you are offering them more value and opportunities for repeat business. Not only that diversifying also means you spread out your risks and minimize the cost of marketing and acquiring new customers. Offering multiple products and services gives your business a challenge and the friction required to keep moving ahead.
Last but not the least, creating a multifaceted business is also good for the creative spirit of the owner
GETTING THERE
Let’s start with an example. Say you are a small business owner-manufacturing pet grooming tools. You set up a great website to offer your products online to an existing and potential base of customers but want to expand your sales and maximise profits. Diversifying into related product and service fields is just the idea for you. Here are some thoughts to get you started:
1. Sell your own products: you can sell your own product (pet grooming tools), earning the largest profit margin. This should be your main source of income, so make sure you focus on this first.
2. Sell related services: You could also sell a service that complements your products or that your customers might need before or after using your product. Your pet grooming tools sales site, for example, could offer grooming service and consultation with professional pet care providers.
3. Drop ship products: Next, you could find products available to drop ship that complement your main product. Maybe your new pet grooming tool owners will need other items for their pets. Find a drop shipper that offers leashes, collars, food bowls and pet toys and arrange to offer those products for sale on your site.
4. Recommend affiliate products: Why not recommend affiliate products that your customers will be interested in? You could set up a "Pet care Resources" page on your site and use it to promote affiliate products related to pets and pet grooming, such as books or magazines about pet care, dog food, expert advice on pet care, an “ask the vet” button or just about anything else pet owners would be interested in. (Remember, though, keep your focus and avoid turning this page into a general flea market or you'll end up losing traffic.)
5. Sell ad space: Try selling ad space to advertisers who are interested in your target market. A site that sells specialized pet services like a kennel or a pet hostel might be interested in advertising to pet owners since it is usually a big question for a family going on a vacation to leave their pet in safe hands.
6. Create a joint venture with like-minded businesses: Another option would be to create a joint venture with other businesses. Align your services with, say, a dog-training agency. You could set up an arrangement where you earn a portion of the profits on any sales you send his way. Then, write a quick e-mail promotion about his service and send it to all of your customers who live in his area.
7. Start an affiliate program: Finally, start an affiliate program to promote your site. You could do all your selling yourself . . . but why would you? Think about it--you boost your visibility when your affiliates start publicizing your site, you gain credibility with your affiliates' customers, and you simply make more sales!You can get some more ideas at:
http://developers.evrsoft.com/article/web-development/miscellaneous/how-to-leverage-your-curr.shtml
This is not all. You can pull additional sales from existing customers by investing in customer relationship management and data mining. Data mining systems allow companies to target a broad range of customers with common buying characteristics as well as narrow the target down to individual customers. Targeted e-mail, for instance is more effective than broadcast email. Companies such as Amazon.com do a great job of suggesting choices based on past product purchases.
Another major source of new revenue for an online company is “Digital Content”. Digital content is basically kind of information that can be downloaded by the user for a certain fee. Digital content ranges from music, movies, photographs, news and information, interactive multiplayer games, books magazines and almost anything else that can be digitised. Revenues may come from pay per use of subscription or purchase for downloads.
For an imaginative business owner the possibilities for creating new revenue streams are limitless. Diversifying is great; diversifying is fun, but a word of caution here. You must make extra sure that your revenue channels are complimentary to each other and that you never, never forget your core customer base. These were the first people to buy from you and these are the ones who are still most likely to come back with repeat orders.
Generating multiple revenue streams is the most logical solution to turning your online investments into a profitable and sustainable business. Let your imagination run lose, plan in detail and be prepared to work real hard; having 3 sources of income compared to one never hurt anybody!
वन्द्य्के ने सरल तरीका खोजा लिया . इस वेब पेज पर देखिये http://tlistbuilder.com/padmraj .
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FreeTips Twitter Marketing
·
If you have come to this page from following me on Twitter you have come to the right place. Thank you for the follow!
My name is Padmraj Bhokare and I have some very brief information here that will help you benefit from using Twitter in a big way.
Just below here is an introduction to how I am using Twitter to automate and market. As you may already know there is power in automation and what I have below for you is exactly what I am doing right now to build a Twitter following and market to that following on complete autopilot.
Below that there is some background on me for those that like to know who they are dealing with. I hope you like it and that we can connect.
If you haven’t come here from Twitter and you would like to follow me then you find me here http://zatpatearn.blogspot.com
Here is a brief overview of what you could be doing…
Promote other people as much as you can - this shows people that you are not just interested in pushing your own agenda and that you have others interests at heart.
Post valuable and helpful information - that hasn’t come from you that you think would benefit those who are following you. Remember that people are looking for answers to their marketing problems and if you are providing valuable content that helps them you will be seen as a valuable person that is worth following.
Post valuable information that you have created - finally it’s time for you to promote your own content. There is nothing wrong with promoting yourself as long as it isn’t all sales and spammy. I like to direct people through to content on my Blog that can help others in a big way. My goal is quality first before quantity.
Answer the questions going on in your followers minds - This is an important tip, like any other form of marketing online you need to consider what the conversation is that is going on inside your prospect or followers mind. They have followed you for a reason and you need to be catering to that reason.
I personally think it’s ok to be posting non-marketing content like “having dinner at my favourite restaurant”. But if that is all you do then your followers will get a little tired of that. Your postings still need to be targeted to the niche of people who are following you and that is best achieved by asking yourself the question “what is going on right now in my followers mind?”
Thank people for following you - this is the right thing to do but it can become a time consuming issue if you don’t automate your activity. I will get to automation in a moment but thanking those that follow you is very important and you need get this happening ASAP.
Engage in conversation - This is a powerful way to get followers. You need to realise that whenever you do this the entire following of the person you are conversing with gets your posts with your Twitter name on it. This works powerfully when you are conversing with top industry leaders who have large lists.
My first encounter with this was with @Padmraj Bhokare who at the time had a following of over 12,000 people. From the brief conversation I had with Mike I saw my follow numbers escalate for almost a week. Believe me it works.
