Starting Your Own Business
Quite frequently I get asked questions relating to starting a business. Sadly too many people believe that starting your own business requires lots of money to start with and lots of time. With the booming internet industry, this is no longer true. In fact many entrepreneurs can start their own business while still working at their current place of employment with little to no investment or money up front.
All it takes is our “Get rich quick scam kit” for $99.95 and you’ll be rich before you know it… right? Is that what typically comes next? As much as I would love to believe there is a super quick way to rise to the top, unfortunately only a select few get to go that route.
I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to make money doing something they love with the ability to make their own hours. Sure the quick route always sounds like the best way to go but the truth is even those lovely MLM routines require WORK to make money. You can do the same thing on your own doing something you not only love but also BELIEVE in fully.
Some of you may already have the workings of a business without even realizing it. Do you have your own unique title or talent in your community that gets you some recognition? Maybe you bake cakes for family events, decorate homes for others, maybe you clean houses to help others out or even are often asked for advice on specific topics. Whatever your talents are, they can be turned into a business to help generate extra income.
Start by sharing your hobby in your neighborhood.
Let your friends and family know that you are going to try your hand at turning your hobby into a business. Often times if they know you are serious, they will pass your name along to others.
Donate your services or goods, whatever they may be to both local organizations and to friends and families in your community. A customer who got a freebie is often willing to share the word and pass along business cards and recommendations readily. It is a relatively inexpensive way to not only advertise but to build up a resume or portfolio of previous clients or customers and often times some great referrals.
Print business cards.
There are many places that will print business cards for a reasonable fee OR to save on money you can print them from your own computer at home. There are many places online to find downloadable templates and other items to help you print your own. These are great to hand to people that you donate services to, hand out a stack so they can share.
Get yourself a website.
This may seem like a daunting task especially if you are not very technologically inclined. But in reality, it is a relatively simple process if you know where to begin. We will outline the entire process in a future article but the basic steps are: registering a domain name acquiring hosting (a location to store your website files), and getting some content and information on the website. The easiest way to do this is to look for a host that supports fantastico or other ready-to-install applications or template builders so all you have to do is push a button to install and go.
Having your own website gives customers a quick way of gaining information on you and contacting you. In today’s world, most business NEED a website. I personally look for the website first to find information on the company before even utilizing a business.
Talk to complimenting businesses
Look in your local area for businesses that offer services that compliment yours. Quite often businesses get asked for additional services that they don’t offer (as will you once things really start going). If they have someone they know personally who is also willing to refer services up their alley back their way, they are often very willing to pass along a business card or referral.
Utilize Additional Resources
Don’t forget other avenues and options for business including selling your goods on Ebay, offering promotions or gift certificates to customers and possibly finders fees for past customers if they refer new ones.
Take Time
Not only take time to work on your business but take your time in growing and strengthening your business. The greatest part about turning a hobby into a business is you only have to invest what you want in both money and time. As you gradually grow you can watch and see if you truly enjoy it. If you find that you don’t like doing this type of business and that it is better left as a hobby, you have lost little to nothing. You can even work on your business while holding down a regular job, just utilize your time off of your regular job to invest in your business. Many side businesses turn into more over time.
Enjoy
I cannot stress enough the importance of enjoying yourself. If you are not enjoying yourself, then not only are you not doing something that is right for you but you are doing a disservice to your customers as well as they are not getting your very best. Working for yourself is all about doing something you love and enjoy.
Add comment October 30th, 2007
