Category: Home-Based Business

Every year, ecommerce sales soar. With brick and mortar stores experiencing more and more closures, now is a better time than ever making your move to the ecommerce world. However, when you’re just starting out, knowing what steps to take can be confusing. There’s plenty of information out there and with so many resources to turn to, navigating the basics can make your efforts even more difficult. There are several myths associated with ecommerce, and understanding how to maneuver them can help you avoid catastrophic decisions. Here’s what you need to know: 

You Don’t Need Startup Capital 

Like any business, there is some logic to the saying, “you need to have money to make money.” Even though online businesses don’t have to cost an arm and a leg, it still goes without saying that you have to have some sort of startup capital to get you going. There is a cost associated with hosting, logo creation, and other marketing efforts purchasing your ecommerce platform of choice, payment processing fees, and more. You need to take all of these overhead costs into account. 

Every Search Engine is the Same

Nowadays, it’s easier than ever to create a website and simply add a search feature with the click of a button. But not all search engines are created equally when it comes to ecommerce. For example, with BigCommerce site search users are able to benefit from an intuitive, smart search solution that gets them comprehensive results they may not have otherwise. For instance, when a user searches for something like “lavender candle,” you want your results to show every lavender candle or similar alternatives—you might even benefit from having pictures appear alongside your results.

If You Build It, They Will Come

One of the biggest myths about ecommerce is that once you build the website, your visitors will come. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. After you’ve built the website, you need to market it, and this takes time and money. You’ll need social media PPC ads and you’ll likely benefit from hiring some influencer marketers. No one knows your website exists until you tell them. Send out an email marketing campaign to your current roster and reach out to your family and friends. 

You Need the Lowest Prices to Compete 

As a new ecommerce business, you may be inclined to set low prices—especially when you’re just starting out. But pricing your products low isn’t always the best strategy to employ. In fact, in some cases, it might even hurt you. Pricing yourself below the competition means you could lose out on business building profit—even when you’re making revenue. It’s important for you to realize that there’s so much more behind the buyer psychology than lower prices. Delivery options, premium products, availability, branding, and return policies all play an important role in the buyer’s decision making process. 

It’s Okay to Use Manufacturer Pictures

To help keep costs down, you might have made your foray into the dropshipping world of ecommerce. Dropshipping is the process of putting products on your website that aren’t your own and having the manufacturer ship that product directly to the consumer when a purchase is made. This way, the ecommerce owner never has to deal with the product themself. 

However, this doesn’t mean that you should always use the product photos that are provided to you. Manufacturer photos are designed to be straight forward rather than branded and professional. Even as a dropshipper, it’s important for you to order some of your own products and take your own updated product photos. 

If you’re not dropshipping, it’s still important for you to rethink the photos that you’re taking and using to reel in your customers. Professional photography should be an important part of your strategy. You can place a local listing to work with budget-friendly photographers in your area.

Many entrepreneurs have opted for the opportunity to take their business home and work from the privacy of their own house. Although it might seem complicated, there are various home office ideas that will help your business thrive. In addition, businesses that are organized and run from a home office have a lot of promise. The success of the business itself relies on the resourcefulness and motivation of its entrepreneur.

Write down a strategic plan to carry out your business ideas.

Throughout this article, we will discuss numerous simple, yet beneficial tips, in order to help your business reach new levels of success.

Help Your Business Thrive: Home Office Edition

The importance of a plan ahead-of-time could not be emphasized more. As an entrepreneur, you might think that business from a home office could save you money. Moreover, you are thinking no inventory space, no additional rental costs for your office space, no employees to pay. Furthermore, this might just be the fastest way to profit. This could be true if tactical strategies are put in place and your plan has a solid structure.

Whether you are just starting your entrepreneurial career at home, or are transferring your already existing business, the plan and organization should be the same. Transferring or moving your existing business might even be tougher as you will have to adjust old habits to new ones. However, it is all achievable and there is an opportunity for both personal and professional levels of success.

Help Your Business Kick Off the Right Way

Let’s review what we have learned so far! First things first: put a plan together. What should this plan consist of?

The following topics and categories should lead your plan and in return help your business to have a great start and maintain that level:

• Product focus (choose ‘the’ product to start with, as with choosing just one at the beginning, you can provide the necessary attention it will need)
• Add variety to your product (mini or side product additions in order to enhance the shoppers’ experience)
• Customer appreciation (organize deals and sales for your returning customers)
• Go digital (personal website for your business and advertising via social media)
• Collaborate with other brands/companies
• Expand your target audience (maybe your product could be modified into multiple versions of itself, therefore becoming more appealing to a wider audience)

Home Business 101

Tactical thinking for business growth is essential.

When starting a business at home, you should firstly have a product in mind. Our advice is to stick with one product to begin with, allowing you to give it the attention it requires. By focusing on one product, it will be simpler to carry out strategies into the development, presentation, and advertising of the same.

It’s the 21st century and the age of technology, therefore it is essential to go digital. As you run your business from your home office, the idea is to reach customers on a global level. What better way to do so than by creating and running a website from home! Your business website will thoroughly explain your product and mission, and customers can make purchases via this platform. In addition, reach a wider audience by expanding your business through social media channels.

Also, make your product stand out by adding shopping variety for your customers. A good way to gain more traction on your website is to have something different and new to offer to customers. Everyone loves a good deal and a sale, therefore try to come up with coupons that will offer value for the customers’ money. In addition, enhance their shopping experience by adding a mini product besides the original. The busier the traffic on your website, the higher your profit in general.

Creative Elaboration

As many businesses run online today, collaborations are very much in. Partnering up with another brand or product could bring their customers over to you. Collaborating with others also enhances your reach, and gives you a fresh, limited edition perspective and view. Thus, stay creative!

Finally, think about your target audience. Perhaps there is room to expand on this. Evaluate your original plan and analyze your product. This could wake up a new idea where you could create multiple versions of the same product to appeal to a larger demographic.

Home Office

Now that we have discussed the necessary home-office-behind-the-monitor tips to help your business thrive, let’s chat about your home-work space. As crucial as it is to know what you are doing on your laptop when starting your business, the space you work in is just as important. A business thrives as much as the atmosphere and its surroundings allow it to. Therefore, your home office design should radiate positive energy, efficiency, and creative vibes.

Create a workspace that you like spending time in.

Having a separate office space within your home is essential. Designate a room in your house where you will conduct your business. It will not only aid in the organization and professionalism of your business but will help you amp up your strengths as an entrepreneur. Once you enter your workspace, you will be able to take yourself out of the home equation and into work mode. When you thrive, your business thrives.

Moreover, ensure that you have everything you need to run your business in your home office. Having the necessary tools around you will help you maintain your daily drive and focus.

Thriving Business from A Home Office

Take the important steps in order to thrive in the long run.

If you are now reading this conclusion of today’s topic, then you already have the necessary tips that you may implement into your daily business. Before we summarize all the important information we discussed today, our last tip is for our veteran entrepreneurs who are moving their business from a work office to their home office. Changing the space you work at and transferring everything you need is already a big task on its own.

Begin with a solid plan, and you are that much closer to helping your business thrive from a home office. Focus your ideas on the technological aspects and create a space where your goals can prosper. Success will follow.

 

Author’s Bio:

Perry Jones has been a freelance writer for a little over a decade now. Throughout the years, he has enjoyed writing about travel, home design, and décor, moving from country to the next, etc. For the past 2 years, he has been a frequent writer for movingmurdy.com. When he is not writing about the latest top cities to visit, or how to decorate your backyard, Perry gives you successful tips about everything and anything on moving.

Are you thinking about starting a business from your own home? In today’s world, it’s becoming more common for people to set up shop from a home office and make a decent living while doing so. However, it’s important to note that working from home is not a piece of cake. It requires determination, dedication, and a little peace and quiet every day. There are a few things that you should consider when setting up your home-based business that will help you to be successful in the long run.

Organization is Key

The first thing you have to realize is that you cannot run a home business if you aren’t organized. From making sure that your home office is set up in a cozy but professional manner to having schedules and deadlines posted so that you know what you’re doing on any given day, organization is critical. One of the best ways to get organized from the get-go is by having a notes app installed on your phone that can sync to all your devices. This way, whether you are cooking dinner or on your way to your daughter’s dance recital, you will be able to glance at your notes for the day and know exactly what’s next on your agenda in an instant.

You Need to Take Security Seriously

Security might not seem like a pressing issue when working from home, but do not fall for that trap. Just as it is crucial to stay organized if you want to make your home based business successful, it is essential to have reliable security in place to protect that business as well. From installing a home security system to making sure that you have excellent virus protection and internet coverage, you must take security seriously if you want your business to succeed.

You Need a Dedicated Work Space

Most people dream of taking breaks whenever they want and to have the ability to work from their couch when they start their home-based business. However, not everyone can be productive in that same way. It is essential to have a dedicated work space where you can spread out. You need a space that will allow you to shut the door on any distractions. Having a home office comes with many other benefits as well, such as helping you become more organized and productive, and being a tax write-off at the end of the year.

While working from home is a great thing and can be very lucrative, it is essential to know that it is no walk in the park. In reality, most freelancers or home business owners end up working more hours than they ever did at their outside jobs. The tips above will help you make your dream come true realistically and naturally if you choose to follow them — the choice of how you create your home office is yours.

Who doesn’t dream of working from home? No matter how much you like your job, working from your kitchen table or couch sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

According to the Freelancing in America: 2017 study commissioned by Upwork, 57.3 million people (36% of the entire U.S. workforce) are already freelancing. Freelance workers are projected to make up more than half of the U.S. workforce by 2027. This prediction makes sense given that hiring a remote workforce provides access to a wider range of talent.

When you’re the talent searching for the right company, use these strategies to avoid getting scammed and find legitimate work from home opportunities:

1. Research strategically

There are so many job listings that aren’t legitimate that you really need to do research before sending in your application. Sometimes it’s not worth your time.

Search for the company name on Google, and follow every lead on the first page. If nothing comes up in the search results – not even on the company’s own website – the opportunity might not be legitimate.

2. Vet the legitimacy of the company

Do a few basic searches online to vet the legitimacy of the company posting the job you want to apply for.

• Search for a Yelp listing. Some businesses don’t have online business listings because they don’t have a physical presence, but it’s worth checking out. If a business has a listing with current reviews, you’ll get a good idea of how the business operates.

• Search for a Google My Business listing. Like Yelp, the presence of a Google business listing isn’t guaranteed, but when a listing exists, it will help you vet the company.

• Check for a verified profile on Inc.com. Inc.com provides profiles for businesses after verifying they’re operational, have a working website, working phone numbers, and appropriate content.
  
  The profile features the name of the company’s leader, yearly revenue, industry, location, year founded, and number of employees. Inc.com verifies companies that exist solely in the remote work space. Trafilea’s profile, for example, is listed in the Advertising & Marketing section, reports 150 employees, and provides a brief company description.
  
  Finding a business on Inc.com doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a great company to work for; it just means the company has been verified to a degree. To cut down on the amount of time you spend responding to job postings, reply to ads you can trace back to a seemingly legitimate business. When you run out of those, start replying to the rest.

3. Calculate your actual pay

Some remote work opportunities pay by the project, not by the hour. A remote gig might pay high per project, but if the work is tedious and takes too long, you might end up earning $5 or $10 per hour.  A solid work from home opportunity won’t pay you peanuts.

The moment you know a job’s pay rate and the work you’ll be expected to perform, calculate your true hourly pay rate. If you’re an independent contractor, you’re not guaranteed minimum wage, so you’ll need to decide if the pay is too low. If you’re considered an employee, be cautious of gigs that don’t offer to make up the difference when your hourly work doesn’t meet minimum wage. If a company doesn’t explicitly state they will make up the difference, they probably won’t.

4. Create your own work from home opportunity

Take your entrepreneurial spirit and run with it. If you want to work from home, but can’t find a job working for someone else, it’s time to consider starting your own business.

Starting a business isn’t the easiest road, but it does give you more freedom around what you do and where you work. Not all entrepreneurs end up running their business from a standard office. Today, 59% of entrepreneurs continue to work from home after getting their business off the ground.

When you create your own work from home opportunity, you’ll be the one hiring freelancers and other remote workers.

Listen to your intuition

Most of us have shown up to an interview, only to be sold on a multi-level marketing program. The world of remote work is similar. You never know what you’re responding to until you get a reply from the company.

Be brave enough to decline an offer that doesn’t feel right. There is no shortage of opportunity, you just need to be diligent about finding a legitimate offer.