Home Business

Home Business

Anyone with determination and initiative can get started its business for as little as a couple of thousands of dollars. Thus a home business can work and give you job satisfaction.

The Success Lady formulates 10 important steps to start a business with very little capital or no capital at all:

• Think about products and services you can offer according to your skills and knowledge. Can you compete in the market offering your ideas?
• Define what in your offer is different from your competitors and gives you a clear edge. Find out who is going to buy your products and services.
• Calculate your start up costs, identify the sources of funding available. Calculate your break even point It is fundamental to your success, especially when your resources are scarce (capital can come from your savings, borrowings from banks or government grants). See what services or requirements you can outsource to cut down your start up costs.
• Write a Business Plan. Define in the plan your offerings and value proposition, product, market, customers, financial targets, network, supply chain, resources and so on. Do a basic SWOT assessment (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threats). Every Home business should have a well written, clear and concise Business plan prior to launching operations. The plan dramatically improves your chances of success by bringing in a sense of purpose and a deep focus to the whole business. Let your family members and your friends read the plan? Is everything clear? What questions do they ask after they have read it? Don’t forget to include a marketing plan.
• Find a good advice. Many people have done it, been there and know all the networks to gap into and the pitfalls to avoid. May be, someone from your own line of business is preferred, but be open for suggestions from other fields as well.
• Choose your legal form of business organisation and register it. Most registrations can be done online and most home business owners start as a Sole Proprietorship or Partnerships in Canada. As your business grows, you can change to an incorporated company.
• Assess the level of your immediate family’s support. Indeed, members of your family who are living with you will have to make lifestyle adjustments and even sacrifices. Make sure they understand the rigors involved in running a home business. The key is consensus, communication and everybody’s involvement. Don’t forget that any discord at home will affect your performance.
• Find out the programs where you can get training in various aspects of the business you are going to embark upon.
• If possible, set up home office in a separate area, away from the living space. See whether you need any addition storage space. Furnish the space comfortably, equip it with proper equipment.
• Abide by the local laws and regulations. Check out if your paper work, registrations and permissions are in compliance with local regulations. To avoid problems, consult with a tax consultant on the tax implications, find out if you need any extra insurance or professional accreditation from industry regulators. Don’t forget that any violations may invite a fine or other punitive action (and this is not a good way to start).

Well, the last and final advice: Believe in yourself, listen to your inner voice, never give up. Trust the power of your dreams and work to reach out to your destiny. You deserve success as do your loved ones.

Trust the power of your dreams and work to reach out to your destiny. You deserve sucess! Photo: Megan Jorgensen (Elena)