Subject: Advice on Starting a Home Based Business
Hello again Fellow Entrepreneur,
I’m excited that you have been able to take time each week to let us into your life. Please feel free to write in and share any of your tips and ideas on how we can make this newsletter more informative and meaningful. We really would love to hear from you!
I’ve been quite busy this week with running my own Home Business (HB)!
I’m always on the Internet looking for informative articles and new training materials! I found one here for you this week that I think you’ll really like.
When you get advice, especially when you first start a HB, it can be easy to get confused or at least overwhelmed. I know my wife and I did at the start. Chances are you are just like me and you don’t know anyone else that has started a HB of their own, so where do you go for help when you need it?
First, I go online. The Internet is a great resource for people like us who have a HB and are just starting out. You can find articles and newsletters with all kinds of information and advice, kind of like what I’m provideing you right now. There are also many message boards, forums, social network sites and some really great blogs (such as our www.SpidersMarketingWeb.info BLOG) where you can read, ask questions and get real world advice from other HB owners. I also get some great stuff from Mike Filsame and Dan Kennedy.
Next, you can also go to your local public library. Talk to the librarian and referance guides. Libraries contain all sorts of HB books and financial resources. Your librarian should be more than happy to help you do a little research. I spent a couple of days in our local small town library when I first got started and was amazed at the tools I had access to.
The only really hard part was sorting through the hype and finding books and articles from people that have really done it and become successful. It’s amazin how there are lots of books by teachers and professors who have never had a HB of their own but love doling out advise on how they think it should work.
It’s important that you be somewhat careful who you get your advice from!
There are people that can read a book and follow it’s instructions and then succeed… but if you are like the majority of us, you are going to need to see it in action, practice the process and then, and only then will you be able to do it on your own.
You are going to need to find a mentor. I’ve had 3 so far. They are usually volunteers who have had great business success and will be glad to help you start up new businesses. They often have years of experience and can be really helpful. A mentor is the 100% method of learning how to do it right. Reading is great, learining from someone that is already doing it is 1000 times easier and better.
The Small Business Administration or SBA provides a multitude of material on starting your own business. Visit http://www.sba.gov
One note on the SBA… they do not generally recognize the internet or any Biz run from home as a real business. Therefore their info and advice is taylored towards the old brick and morter biz model and old print type ad processes… although that is changing fast! The do have some very good tax advice and resources though.
Depending on where you live, you might also be able to find local government agencies that will give you free or inexpensive help and advice. Check your local listings for a small business center in your area. Look for a local mastermind group to join. This is another one of those ways to jump years ahead by using the skills and abilities of multiple others all at once.
Your bank should have been the first place you went if you were thinking of starting a store front business. Although since you are here, I’m guessing that wasn’t the case. While they’re no replacement for accountants, most banks will have a business advisor on staff to help you open a business checking account and setting up your “Doing Business As (DBA) forms. They can be especially helpful with the technical and financial elements of starting your business and any licenses you may need from your state.
Business Lawyers know all about starting a new business too. It can be well worth paying for an hour of a lawyer’s time and just asking them every question you can think of (write them down in advance) in the time you have. Look around you may even be able to get a free consultation.
Accountants also know all about business (some more than others) and can be a less expensive alternative to lawyers. If you really want your business to be profitable you should take the advice your accountant gives you and, if you don’t have one, you should get one as soon as you are making a profit… if not sooner.
Once you prove that your HB plan works, look for investors to raise capital. There are people who back businesses for a living. If you think your HB would be attractive to investors then you can try going to an investor with your idea. Just be sure you have a fully completed business plan in hand. If they like it, they will often have a quick process get you your cash and to get your company up and running as soon as possible.
Don’t for get to visit your local universities as well when you are looking for advice and help. They are full of business students. They spend all their time learning about business from books and stories, and many of them would just love to help get a real one off the ground. Business students can be a great source of free help and advice. Again, just be careful as most biz courses are full of old and outdated information, but that is beginning to change quickly with the success of the internet as a primary commerce source.
One last thing, remember whatever industry you’re thinking of entering, there is probably some kind of trade association, society or union that goes with it. You should join as soon as you can, and take advantage of all the resources that they offer. This includes access to people all ready in the field getting started in their industry.
There is an endless supply of help and advice out there. Just don’t be afraid to ask!
And, of course… we should be at the top of your list if you have questions… we are here to help all we can.
BIG NOTE! Don’t let the process bog down and keep you from taking action. Too much research and no action is the path to more failures than those that tried and failed.
Next week we’ll take a look at: Who’s the BOSS
Here’s to your success,
Wes Waddell
www.SpidersMarketingWeb.com