For a variety reasons, including economic, social, and technological, starting a home business is more popular than ever with entrepreneurs in the USA. Along with the traditional flexibility and lower costs a home business can offer, the rise of the personal computer and the Internet in particular have made a running a successful small business from home more viable and profitable than ever.
In this article you will find a list of some the top reasons to consider starting a small home based business or franchise opportunity. This includes info about some of the advantages that a home business can offer an entrepreneur such as low overhead, tax deductions, a better lifestyle, and more.
Low Overhead: One of the greatest advantages of starting a home business is you have no expensive monthly rent or lease expense potentially saving you tens of thousands of dollars every year. Also with no commute to deal with everyday, you can also save money on gas and travel expenses. With these reduced expenses, operating a business from home can provide a less expensive and more profitable way to start and run a small business and should ultimately help increase your chances of success.
Enviable Lifestyle: A home business can give you the freedom and flexibility to enjoy your life more fully. This includes being able to spend more time with your loved ones, pursue other interests, and the ability to set your own schedule. Working form home also removes the hassle and anxiety of having to commute to an office or job site everyday.
Take Control: The ability to control your own destiny and eliminate the daily stress and hassles of dealing with a boss or co-workers can be a liberating experience for many fledgling entrepreneurs. Many people who start a home business also invariably report that their productively level has soared because of the flexibility working from home can offer. Not to mention the extra benefit of the elimination of the typical time wasting distractions commonly found at the average workplace.
Mobility: One of the most unique and attractive advantages a home business can offer an individual is the ability to live and work in the geographical area of their choice. As long as your business and services aren’t tied to a specific market that requires you’re personal and physical presence, you can live and work anywhere your heart desires. And if you decide to retire or start a new venture someday, established home based businesses are also fairly easy to sell for the very same reasons.
Tax Advantages: There are a number of legitimate tax deductions available to home based business owners that can potentially save you thousands of dollars a year on your tax bill. This provides the obvious benefit of being able to put more money in your pocket. Note: Always consult with an accountant or financial adviser for more details and advice about the tax advantages of starting a home business.
Personal Satisfaction: Starting and operating a business from home can be not only more profitable income wise, but it can also provide you with a sense of personal accomplishment and
About the Author:
Ray Haiber is a franchise sales consultant and the founder of AZfranchises.com, a franchises for sale resource and directory. You can research and view home based businesses for sale here.
Month: May 2009
Categories
Exploring The Darkest Amazon
Article Contributed by Guy Kingston
The Amazon website is a master class in the dark arts of selling.
However, be warned, like the other Amazon, it is a dangerous place to be: those who go there thinking they are in control, and that they are there to observe and possibly exploit it, end up being trapped by it.
What follows is the confession of an Amazon-addict – but one sufficiently skilled in the dark arts himself to know what is being done to him, and to admire it, even as it is being done.
To begin with, Amazon provides a neat illustration of the difference between Marketing and Selling.
Marketing is everything that Amazon does to get you to visit their website – advertising, banners on other websites, links, direct e-mailing, and so on.
Selling is everything that Amazon does to get you to part with your money once you are there.
Amazon owes much of its success to its ability to lead a customer, who came with only a specific product in mind, on to other purchases. This is, of course, the equivalent of a shop display that tempts someone who came out with a definite shopping list to consider buying items he never imagined.
Having no shop window beyond a home page, Amazon makes the most of it by using affinity marketing.
In the case of a returning customer, this means Amazon try to customise his home page by plastering it with products that have been bought by other customers who have also bought things he has bought in the past.
Where nothing about a customer is known, Amazon try the scatter shot approach and fill the home page with the most popular items in general.
However, on the pages relating to specific products, Amazon zero in on the individual customer again, by references to other items in the form of “those who looked at/bought this item also looked at/bought X, Y, and Z” – with an easy one-click link to each.
Of course, one imagines that in about 99% of cases those links are ignored – but the other 1% is where Amazon makes its money.
This manipulation could be scary, but Amazon counters that by encouraging the customer to feel he is in control. The customer is invited to treat Amazon as a personal space, like a “social networking” site.
He can post a profile, rate and review products on-line, make lists, and join discussion groups. He is even made to feel part of a “community”.
The whole point is to give him the impression of a safe environment – so that he keeps coming back.
However, while it is a necessary first step for the customer to keep coming back to the website, it is not enough: the whole point is not for him to keep looking but to actually buy.
Here is the real genius of the Amazon system: they make it very, very easy to buy.
If buying each item involved filling out a form on-line, Amazon would never have survived. Amazon owes its survival and its success to the unsung Einstein of Selling who invented “One-Click ordering”.
It is so easy that it becomes addictive. It makes no difference to the sale of an item a customer really came to buy in the first place – he would have bought that anyway – but its effect is devastating when combined with affinity marketing: the customer who came to buy X decides he might was well buy Y and Z while he is there – because it takes only two more clicks of a mouse.
If any further encouragement were needed to get the customer to make those extra clicks, Amazon is the master of “artificial scarcity”: stating that only a limited number of items are left in stock can panic a customer into an immediate one-click decision to buy, rather than risk postponing until none are left.
Finally, if all this sounds frighteningly cynical, it must be said in Amazon’s favour that its after-sales service is usually – emphasis on “usually” – very good. However, this too is good salesmanship: Amazon’s strategy is not to sell to a customer once but to sell to him again and again until he becomes an income-producing asset over the years. Amazon is one of the minority of businesses who understand the great truth that keeping a customer is as important as attracting him in the first place, and that the art of selling is not selling once but selling for life.
About the Author:
Guy Kingston produces and presents the Mind Your Own Business podcast, offering free business advice to entrepreneurs and business owners. As well as audio podcasts there are more articles like this, compelling videos and a must-read blog. All at www.myobpod.com or you can network and join in discussions on the MYOB Facebook group.
What do you need to start a successful business?
It’s a question almost all entrepreneurs have pondered. Do you need a business plan before you start, funding to fall back on, or a detailed strategy for how your company will grow? Nearly half of all small businesses fail within the first year of operation- what’s the difference between those that fail and those that succeed?
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Judi Sheppard Missett, founder of Jazzercise. Missett built Jazzercise from a one-woman operation into an international corporation with over 7500 franchises worldwide. Here’s what I learned from our conversation:
You don’t always need start-up capital. “I didn’t even get a business loan,” she told me- something virtually unheard of in many entrepreneurial circles. This should come as wonderful news for anyone trying to start a business on a lean budget or without the resources they think they need.
Evaluate your costs of doing business, and show smart for the resources you need to get started. For example, you can usually find a great website designer for a few thousand dollars if you shop around and compare quotes. Most of what you really need is accessible without a large nest of start-up money.
Provide what the customer finds valuable… Missett taught a jazz dance class in Chicago that eventually lead to the Jazzercise idea. At first, she instructed with an eye to technique and form –just like she had been taught while training to become a professional performer. When students stopped coming to class, she had that “lightbulb” moment- the students cared more about looking like professional dancers than dancing like them. From then on, Missett taught the kind of class her students wanted- fun, no mirrors, great music, and lots of movement.
Too many business owners come up with an idea and try to find a market. Missett proves that the other way around is usually more successful- listen to what customers want, and figure out a way to give it to them. Do research on customer patterns, find a way to track behavior by hiring an online marketing company or tracking marketing campaigns and sales strategically.
…And be willing to adapt and change to customer needs. Jazzercise has managed to grow in spite of the “fad” element most fitness trends seem to capitalize on, precisely because customers still get what they want- Jazzercise programs now incorporate strength moves, contemporary music, and other elements that customers began to want as the program became more popular.
Planning and development aren’t just for startups. If your customer base is growing or changing, you need to grow and change, too. Use email blasts to keep in touch with customers, and build relationships while your business is growing. Keep your offerings exciting and fun, but consistent with the product customers have grown to love.
Listen for opportunity knocking! As the saying goes, you should be ready to answer when opportunities come pounding on your door. When Missett began teaching in San Diego, many of her students were military spouses who moved to far away cities and wanted to continue the program.. Missett’s husband was familiar VHS video, then just a developing technology, so she videotaped routines for faraway teachers. This effort lead to the formation of what is now JM DigitalWorks, a video production company that is a division of Jazzercise.
Don’t wait to be in the right place at the right time- evaluate the resources you already have, and try to create opportunities for yourself . As Judi Sheppard Missett says, “We are all in the right place at the right time, we just need to be aware of it.”
One way to gain recognition for your community and build visibility for your business is by earning business awards. Many are self-nominated and fairly easy to apply for. Here’s a quick guide to a few of the best business awards for 2009:
Businesses that have helped jump start our economy by maintaining growth over the past three years are eligible for the Inc. Magazine 500/5000 award. Winners are invited to attend the nationally recognized Inc. 500/5000 conference, and are featured in future magazine and online stories. This award is a great chance to gain visibility for your company and to represent your community- past winners have included social mission companies, tech startups, and beauty product lines- companies in all industries with over $2m in sales for 2008 are encouraged to apply.
For those still working on breaking the $1m mark, the Make Mine a Million $ Business contest, sponsored by Count Me In, is a great way to gain the support you need to meet this benchmark. The contest operates as a “race” to the $1m sales mark, and most participants see sales increase at least 40% over the duration of the competition. The M3 race is open to women owned businesses in one of 15 categories.
Businesses already on the fast track to earn $1m- those with $500,000 or more in sales for 2008, are eligible to enter the Entrepreneur Magazine Small Business Contest. Similar to the 500/5000 conferenceInc. contest, businesses are featured in a future magazine issue or online story. Entrants are also featured on the contest website- a great way to increase visibility for your business even if you aren’t chosen as a winner.
The Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award is given annually by international accounting and consulting firm Ernst and Young. Award recipients may attend special conferences and are invited into a network of past winners and prestigious entrepreneurs. The award is internationally recognized as a great achievement- check out the website and contest rules for more details.
If you don’t have the time for a lengthy application, or don’t have the sales revenue to qualify for one of the larger contests, consider Business.com’s “What Works for Business” contest. Applicants write a quick essay about a challenge they’ve overcome. Any small business owner that has overhauled their website design implemented a new online marketing strategy knows that the small things can sometimes be the toughest to take on- here’s your chance to let other entrepreneurs learn from your success. Prizes for the top essay are awarded monthly.
Finally, Ideablob.com allows you to test out business ideas for the chance to win a $10,000 award. Award money goes toward the costs of implementing the idea- if you need to purchase inventory, equipment (such as a credit card terminal) or business software to get your business off the ground, here’s a great place to get started. Awards are given monthly, and are determined by votes from members of the site’s online community.
Whether you’re a brand-new business or a seasoned business owner, there’s a contest out there for you. Most of the above have spring deadlines, so get going- apply for the award you deserve. Good luck!
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Why Buy a Master Franchise Opportunity?
As a franchise sales consultant I am often asked what are the advantages of the master franchising business model and buying a master franchise. Master franchising, some times referred to as sub-franchising, is a form of franchising that allows an individual to buy the rights from a franchise company (The Franchiser) to sub-franchise their business concept in a specific territory or large geographical area. In general the individual or master franchisee’s goal is to sell and open a pre-determined amount of franchise units in his or her specific territory. The master franchisee benefits from populating his territory with new franchise locations by receiving a share of the franchise fees and royalty fees generated by each unit opening and operating in their designated territory.
The reason master franchising works is that it creates a “win win” scenario for both franchiser and the master franchisee. By allowing its concept to be sub-franchised and developed by qualified individuals broken down by territories, the franchiser can often grow its system much faster and more efficiently than trying to sell single units itself. The master franchisee in return can also benefit in numerous and significant ways from this arrangement including the following below.
Residual Income: The ability to develop a residual income stream is in my opinion the most attractive benefit and number 1 reason to buy a master franchise. Although all franchise agreements are slightly different, typically the master franchisee and franchise will split the royalty fees (typically 5 to 7%) generated by the units opened in the master franchisees territory. Imagine getting a nice fat royalty check every month based on the gross sales from all the franchise units in your territory you sold. This is a personal income stream that can potentially last a lifetime!
Franchise Fees: With most master franchising agreements when you sell a franchise unit in your territory you typically receive a franchise fee or commission from the franchiser for your efforts. These fees tend to range anywhere between $15,000 to $30,000 and generally most franchise agreements allow you to keep all or most of it!
Low Overhead: Because being a master franchisee at the end of the day is a “sales job”, there is no real need to rent or lease a retail office space. You can in most cases easily start out in a home based office and accrue all the benefits and flexibility that option offers including low overhead, no commute, generous tax deductions, more personal freedom, and a better lifestyle.
Few Employees: Most master franchisees typically start out as a 1 person owner operated business. Once the business reaches a certain critical mass regarding number of units sold or operating, you may in some cases find it advantageous to hire some support staff such as an administrative assistant or sales assistant to keep the business growing and running smoothly. In general however, most master franchisees don’t have a lot of employees and all the headaches and costs associated with having a large staff.
High Success Rate: As with all franchise businesses, master franchises generally enjoy a very high success rate. Keep in mind however that not all master franchising opportunities are alike. It’s important to make sure that you adequately investigate and research any franchise opportunity before moving forward. As part of your due diligence I would ask the franchiser if you could speak with an existing master franchisee in their system to get some feedback on their experiences.
About the Author:
Ray Haiber is a franchise sales consultant and the founder of AZfranchises.com, a franchises for sale directory. You can research and view research master franchises for sale in the USA here including fast food, automotive, senior care, and home based opportunities.