What about start up costs in a home business

by Chris Stirling

Copyright 2006 Chris Stirling



So many online businesses advertise “free to join” or “No Obligation” but we all know that no business can survive if nothing is sold. So there have to be costs associated with starting a home business. So when you decide to start an online business the question that you need to ask is can I afford the start up costs? Before we look at the costs of starting an online business first we need to take a look at the difference between offline, or brick and mortar business and an online business.



Both businesses will require start up costs – no business can start for free. A brick and mortar business will require lease payments, salary payments of employees, insurance, heating and the list goes on and on. Someone starting one of these businesses can easily go deeply into debt to raise the funds to start their business, they will work 12-16 hours per day seven days per week hoping to build a (non residual) income of between $50,000 and $75,000 per year after five to seven years.



In an online business it is possible to create a large six or even seven figure RESIDUAL income after only 2-4 years working 5-15 hours per week, and with start-up costs below $3,000. Because people have so little invested in the startup, many of them treat it as a hobby instead of a business. They don't put comparable efforts into their home business as they would a J.O.B., and expect the outcome to produce greater results anyway. (Usually because of the hype they believed from the person who enrolled them)



Look for an online business that does not require a huge investment to get started, but realize that a REAL business DOES have overhead and start-up costs associated with it. Beware of opportunities that claim there are not expenses involved in starting and growing your business. "Join for free!" One of the great advantages about network marketing is that the start up costs range only between $500 and $2,500. This is much less than most other businesses with start up costs of $10,000 and much more.



I have very little empathy for people when they tell me they just don't have the money to get started. It is a matter of priorities. What I hear when they tell me that is that they just don't want it bad enough to make the necessary sacrifices to do whatever it takes to make a change in their lives. Having been in a situation where I had little money and fear of losing my only source of income, I can share some advice with you. When you get tired of never getting ahead of your bills and want to put that problem behind you, you need to do something to change that. Ask yourself three simple questions.



1 - Where do I want to be in 2-5 years?

2 - What is my plan to reach my goals

3 - What have I done today to change my life to be able to reach my goals.



When I was introduced to this industry the company I was working for was going through its 4th downsizing in 3 years, I was on the chopping block, my wife was very sick and not able to work or earn any money, and we had a huge dept over our heads. I was spending more time at work trying to prove my usefulness to the company and to stay ahead of the bills instead of helping my wife get better. We were very close to losing everything, our home, our life savings, my job. Without a source of extra income, I made a decision that I did not like being in this situation and realized my situation would not change unless I made it change.



I saw this industry as a way to solve my financial problems, instead of using my financial situation as an excuse as to why I could not make a change. I found $20 a day in my spending that I could sacrifice to get started. It cost $600 to start my first home business, and without any source of income, I did not have $600. But I was not going to let $600 stand between me and financial independence. I found a way to come up with that $600, just like people find the money to have their car repaired when it breaks down, or purchase a new refrigerator when it stops working, or have the furnace repaired when it fails. It is all a matter of priorities. Not wanting yourself or your family to freeze to death is a pretty good incentive for most people to find the money to have their furnace repaired when it breaks down in the middle of the coldest part of winter.



After finding the $600 and starting my home business, I put all my extra time into learning what was required to succeed. Failure was not an option. I learned that the way to be financially independent was to help many other people solve their financial problems and become financially independent. I have helped many other people be able to quit their job and come home to raise their kids, pay off their bills, get out of debt, buy a new home or automobile, support their church or charity, have more time with the family. I enjoy nothing more than to help people with financial problems to turn their lives around and put those debt problems behind them.



As the quote says, "You must stop chopping wood long enough to sharpen the axe." When you decide to stop and develop a plan to resolve you financial problems you will see that the excuse of not having the money is to start an online business is just that, an excuse and not a reason. If you are serious about putting your financial problems behind you, and you are coachable, you can become successful in any online business of your choice. You will be able to resolve your financial problems and you will never again have to say, "Right now I don't even have the money to pay attention". That will depend if you really want to be rid of you financial problems, or if you just like having something to complain about.



Chris Stirling is the owner of Top-Work-From-Home-Directory.com His website is geared for people who are interested in finding an online work at home opportunity. If you would like to learn more visit his website at: http://www.top-work-from-home-directory.com




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The Realities and Challenges Of Working At Home

by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz


While many tout the wonders and independence of working from home, whether you've got a regular job that allows you to telecommute or you own your own home-based business, they often don't talk about the challenges that face the home-based worker.

Not that I'm going to trade the benefits in for a "real job," mind you…

Some of the challenges that face any work-at-home person, whether they have been working from home for years or are just starting out, are tough. For me, personally, they rank in this order: self-discipline, loneliness, family over-time, distractions, organization, and respect.

Self-Discipline



Self-discipline is by far the hardest thing to master when working from home, whether you're working at your business or not. While it's easy to envision yourself succeeding and "getting things done," it's much harder when the real rote and tackle of work is in front of you. Even if you absolutely love your chosen profession, there are at least some aspects of it that are tedious to you. These are your biggest stumbling blocks.

For me, mastering self-discipline was the roughest part of working from home. Other challenges on this list are easy compared to this one, since most of them are just the "excuse" you need to avoid discipline and getting things done.

Loneliness (aka "Cabin Fever")



For some, this is no big deal. These are people we'd normally define as "home bodies." I'm not one of those. I'm an extremely social person. Luckily, email and (some) phone interactions during the day abate this problem to some extent. I've also got other things I do to keep my normally fidgety self from collapsing in self-pity.

I walk the dog, I see a couple of friends for coffee at least once a week, I participate in political activities in my area, and I spend time with my family doing things… In short, I have plenty of things I do outside of my work (and office!) to keep me healthy socially.

Family Over-Time



This one's tough and can sometimes coincide with the lone-liness problem. When your family members are home all day, as you are, it can easily lead to friction, a breaking down of "structure," and a lot of other similar problems.

For instance, when my wife is home with a day off or a short day at work, we can sometimes get on one-another's nerves or distract one another from tasks. I have several ways to fix this.

The most preferable for me would be to own a large mansion with rooms defined as "suites" and organized into distance-separated sections defined as "wings." Since I'm not a multi-millionaire (yet), this isn't feasible. So I resort to plan b: a notebook computer and the library… I load the stuff I'll need onto my portable computer, go to the library and spend a few hours working there instead of at home.

Distractions



The above problem is also closely related to this one. There are a million things in your home environment to distract you: especially if the task at hand is particularly unsavory for one reason or another. Computer games, hunger, the dog, the cat, kids, spouses, and various forms of procrastination are all things that can easily be distracting to you.

In my own experience, the dog and computer games are my biggest nemesis in this department. The only way I've found to combat these issues is self-discipline using "rewards" for good behavior. I promise myself that if I finish the task at hand, I'll play that game for an hour or wrestle with the dog for a while as a reward.

Organization



By nature, I'm not a meticulously organized person. However, I do have certain habits which seem to facilitate easy organization: namely I have a calendar and keep email archives. :

I recently purchased a $4 pocket calendar/weekly day minder. On my wall right next to the desk is a marker board on which I write "To Do" lists (coded with special symbols like "*" and "-->" to tell me importance of the item). I also have two marker-board calendars (one for the current month and one for the coming month) on which I keep short notes. These basic tools keep me on track for the most part.

Other parts of organization include your office/business files, your computer's data and backups, invoices and debits, etc., etc. Coming up with **simple** ways to organize these items is key to keeping yourself from feeling "swamped" with details. I emphasize the word "simple" because if your organization is too complex, you'll start "cheating" and it will eventually fall into chaos. KISS is a favorite military term: "Keep It Simple, Stupid."

Respect



Lastly on my list comes respect. Many people assume that since you "work from home," you must be fiddling around with some get rich quick scheme and burdening your spouse, significant other, parents, the government, or someone else with yourself as you while away the hours in a dream world.

These are people who see you during your best hours and don't see the 16+ hour days you're putting in slaving in your office, the struggle to coherently write a web page, email, etc., etc. while functioning on three hours' sleep, or your long battles with the IRS when filling out "self employment" tax forms.

To work from home without going insane or maybe to jail for attacking some nay-sayer, you'll have to grow a thick skin…or make a lot of money you can flaunt in front of them to disprove their foolish notions…either one will work. I personally use the first while working towards having the second. :)

So working from home isn't all gravy. Oh well. Nothing in life is. The true beauty of working from home comes from the independence, freedom, and self-reliance you gain in "going it on your own." It offers opportunity, excitement, mental stimulation, and more. Take pride in your choice!

Aaron is the proprietor of Aaronz WebWorkz, a full service company catering to small businesses online. Aaron publishes a weekly newsletter full of hints, tricks, and other info for the online entrepreneur. http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com

Is An Ebusiness Right For You

by Deanna Mascle

You need to make some money. Perhaps you'd like to change careers. Maybe you'd like a new challenge. Or you've just heard the rumors about the fortunes to be made on the internet.

Any one of these reasons might have led you to the decision to start your own internet business, but before you begin investing your time and money there are some important questions you need to answer to determine if an ebusiness is right for you.

First you should consider your familiarity and ease with the internet. If you don't know about negotiate the web or attempting to do makes you uncomfortable then this alone does not mean you should rethink starting an ebusiness. However it does mean that you need to spend time learning about how the internet works and getting familiar with basic tools such as email, web browsers, message boards, and search engines. If your discomfort was a simple result of ignorance then don't worry about it as you can acquire the knowledge and skills you need. However if you find that you simply don't like it even after you become familiar then that should be a red flag to consider another career path.

Second you should consider your business knowledge and experience and then consider how that works for you or against you in the world of ecommerce. A simple lack of knowledge and experience simply means that you will need to spend time learning or filling in the gaps in your knowledge. The good news is that this information is readily available on the internet. Of course the bad news is that if you leap into business before you are ready it can cost you a lot of time and money. My advice is to read articles and ebooks to acquire a basic foundation then begin spending time in some online forums and ask questions. People are always willing to help. Don't spend any money while building this foundation knowledge. You don't have to so why do it? Latter on as you begin to delve deeper into your niche then you may decide that some information is worth paying for but hopefully by then you'll be a better judge. However you may discover during your studies that ecommerce bores you or confuses you. Again, that should be a red flag to consider another career path.

Third what need will your ebusiness fill? Obviously you have needs but that is not what I'm talking about. Think about your potential audience or customer. Start searching for other products that might compete with yours or other businesses that already exist. Visit forums, subscribe to newsletters, and study web sites that relate to this field. Eventually you will be able to determine if there is a need for your ebusiness, how big a demand exists, and how much competition is already in place. It is important to consider these angles because each fact will help determine how easy it will be to establish your new business, grow that business, and ensure its success. You can make a success in a highly competitive field but it is more work than finding yourself in a smaller, yet unexplored, niche.
Article Source: http://www.articleinterchange.com