Hi everybody, I found this article in one of the forums about a home business written by SohaibT it's a wonderful article There are numerous reasons why people think of or are interested in starting a home based business, it becomes the logical choice for some people after starting a family, especially mom's that need to take care of a new born baby, others need or would enjoy the additional income that a home business would provide, others are just bored from their regular day job and need the change. The 1st important and most logical step is to determine what is it that you want to do? what do you enjoy doing? some people have turned their hobbies into successful home businesses, starting a home business is not an easy process, that's why starting a business about something you enjoy doing sounds logical especially that you'll be putting long hours into it, besides, why would you work for your own self if your not going to enjoy it, your better off working for someone else otherwise. You basically have 2 options when starting a home business, either start a home business based on another business that already exists, or by completely setting up your own products or services, for example, there are thousands of established businesses that allow you to resell their products or services and become an independent distributor for their products in a specific area, examples can be easily found on the internet such as food items, candles, home equipment or crafts, there are also other forms of business such as discounted insurance or credit card rates. Joining an established company gives you a big number of benefits with the support of a large organization behind you, you don't have to worry about marketing material or training, such companies usually provide their resellers with such programs and material. You also don't have to worry about client support, or product development. If you decide to start your home business with your own products or services, and once you've determined what your business will be, you will need to decide a few things: 1- Business Structure: You will need to decide whether its going to be a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation etc. 2- Come up with a business name. 3- Develop your marketing material such as brochures, flyers and business cards. 4- Set your prices, you need to calculate your costs and your profit. 5- Get the word out, a very important step, potential customers cant buy your products or services if they cant find you, effective advertising is vital for your new home business to succeed, no matter how good you are at what you do, if people cant find you, your new born business will never succeed. Make sure to never put all your eggs in one basket with advertising. This can make or break your business.
To start a home business, be prepare to spend a lot of time doing marketing and promotion. Without marketing and promotion, closing a sale could be a real challenge.