Home Business That Works

Everyone needs a boost now and then to stay with it on long-term, high-potential endeavors. Here are 10 thought-joggers for developing your own 'ten commandments' for maintaining a consistent and high-level of motivation as you build your home-based business.

1. Daily read and say aloud your written vision statement for your home business. (Write one if you don't have one!)

2. Daily read and meditate on written affirmations for your business and your life that are guiding you toward fulfillment of your vision. Re-connect with what you went through to choose your home business opportunity. (Again, write these if you do not have them already).

3. Post photos and other reminders nearby of what you will accomplish, what your 'why' is. For example, display a mock-up of the really big check that you will receive as you accomplish your home business goals. Treat it as symbol of the time and financial freedom - and the corresponding lifestyle changes - that you will experience as you persevere.

4. Regularly review a written 'hall of fame' of successes that you've experienced with your home business thus far. These can be tangible business achievements, or lifestyle accomplishments, or even the new personal growth frontiers you braved to achieve your home business successes to date.

5. Actively use a life coach or business peer to provide SEA - support, encouragement, and accountability - for achieving your goals.

6. Regularly read, watch, or listen to success stories of others in your business, or in businesses to which you can relate.

7. Read (or listen) to books that equip you or encourage you in running your business. Start with Jeff Olson's The Slight Edge.

8. Follow this tip from Mark Yarnell. Load your iPod (or burn a CD, etc.) with songs that never fail to rev you up. This 'soundtrack of your life', as Yarnell puts it, can include oldies from your youth, songs with meaning, uptempo heart-starters, whatever gets your motor going.

9. Avoid, or drastically limit, your exposure to negative 'voices' such as broadcast news or consistently-negative people.

10. Take time to observe where you started, to think about the distance you've traveled. What paycheck job did you used to have? What business skills have you learned? What new relationships have you formed?

You've heard the pitch many times, and you get it on how valuable time freedom really is. The home business you choose must deliver the level of financial reward that makes time freedom a reality in your circumstances.

Like any success-minded entrepreneur, then, you are looking for a business that offers modest up-front investment and a speedy return on the investment. And it must be a business that is easy to both operate and grow.

That still leaves a ton of choices, such as:

- product or service?
- manufacture or resell?
- maintain your own inventory, or not?
- partners or payroll?
- network marketing or traditional marketing?
- (and so on)

A key consideration when evaluating your options for these and many other questions is the degree of location freedom that your business will offer. This location freedom can make a huge difference in how much, and in what way, you enjoy the time and financial freedom you achieve.

Here are the two ways that location freedom plays out in the ideal home business:

1. You can choose anywhere to have your address.
2. You can operate your business without having to be at your address.

In most cases, this means that you will have a significant internet-based component to how your business operates, and you will have engaged the participation of partners to help with conducting the business.

For many entrepreneurs, an internet-based network marketing business represents the right combination of these advantages. The unequaled location freedom of this business model goes extremely well with the financial potential and resulting time freedom that a proven network marketing opportunity has given thousands of home business owners.

If your current home business involves some location dependencies that could limit how you enjoy your time freedom, it may be time to make some changes.

"It's too good to be true."

When you're in hot pursuit of an easy home business opportunity, this old adage proves true much too often. Whether the claims for the opportunity are only empty hype. Or the results are real but don't translate into repeatable success that the average person can achieve. Unmet expectations result in wasted time and money, and increased suspicion about home business opportunities in general.

What distinguishes a truly easy home business that can deliver results, from the smoke and mirrors of an empty opportunity?

Here are 4 considerations for evaluating the viability of the next home business opportunity that you consider:

1. The opportunity makes a distinction between "easy" and "effortless". Winning the lottery is effortless success. Growing a business is not effortless. So you are looking for real-world use of the term "easy". On the order of "natural", "fitting your ability", "enjoyable".

2. It is clear what is meant by "business". You can see what is being sold, to whom the marketing is directed, what resources are utilized to operate the business. A ponzi scheme is not a real business and runs only on the inertia of recruiting and upfront investment by the new recruits. Real businesses have real products that sell in real markets and deliver real growth with real profits.

3. There is a transparent description of what is required to begin and succeed. Business opportunities that are all hidden behind "it works, trust us" are worthy of suspicion. A viable business opportunity benefits from disclosing those things up front, rather than insisting that you invest first then learn the details.

4. You are not alone in growing your business. Even home business opportunities that deliver on the first 3 points, stumble in this area. You've heard the stories. Once you pay your participation fees, all you can hear is the wind howling, the crickets chirping, and the voicemail that says "try us again in two weeks". You need partners, mentors, and support who are highly engaged with you, and are invested in your success. Finding that will be a key difference-maker in whether the next easy home business opportunity you pursue is truly "easy" - and successful - in the long run.

Another successful transaction, another delighted customer.

What drove the success of that exchange and converted your promising prospect into a long-term customer and a fan of your at-home business?

Regardless of the type of opportunity that you are pursuing, you and the value you offer as a solution-provider are as critical as your product features or pricing, in winning and keeping new business. Your at-home business is selling you.

Your prospect is pondering questions like these when they look at your home business:
- will he do what he says?
- is she knowledgeable about what I need?
- does he care about the value I receive?
- will she be there for what I need after I buy?

This makes you the most-valuable asset of your at-home business.

There is no question that you must offer quality products or services that your prospect is seeking. But your long-term success - your ability to achieve your ultimate goals for your business - will depend on how well you sell yourself as the right solution provider.

It really is all about you.

It's a date.

You decide to meet good friends for dining out. Whether your choice of restaurant was prompted by past experience, tradition, a good referral, or a discount coupon, you made the selection of where to go, when to be there.

You're in the door now, and glad for some knowledgeable help from the wait staff on what to order to make the experience complete.

That is pre-selling: the prospect drives the movement from having information about you, to deciding to choose you for meeting a need or desire.

For the home-based business entrepreneur, pre-selling is a necessity. Pre-selling gives you maximum leverage for your marketing efforts and expense, by increasing the likelihood that your prospect is learning about your products or services at a time when they are ready to make a purchase.

Pre-selling also offers a more rewarding, relationship-based connection with prospects, compared to the traditional arm-twist idea of compel-them style marketing.

Here are 5 questions to help assess how well your business is leveraging the power of pre-selling in your marketing strategy.

1. Are a high percentage of my prospects aware of their need for my products or services upon my first contact with them?
2. Are a majority of my prospects ready to buy upon first contact?
3. Do I enjoy a 'friendly waiter' experience with most of my prospects?
4. Do I use pre-selling tools and strategies as the cornerstone of my business' marketing efforts?
5. Are an appropriate percentage of my prospects becoming my customers?

The internet has spawned some of the most interesting -- and productive -- pre-selling approaches. Examples run the gamut from marketing front-ends suited to many types of home-based businesses, to complete home-based business communities who share pre-selling activities that benefit all of the community members.

Don't miss out.

One of the first things I could visualize about the benefits of developing a home-based business was the advantages of being located at home. Working in your jammies is the usual thing we joke about. But the everyday-is-casual opportunities are nice perks on top of more tangible benefits such as home office tax deductions, lower capital requirements, and lower operating expense.

The home location is also a key aspect of realizing time freedom for some types of home businesses. Since the scene of your labor is so accessible, it is much easier to work at various hours that allow you to devote attention to other activities that might be difficult to manage with a traditional job situation.

But there are two more dimensions to enjoying a home business opportunity that significantly add to the fulfillment I'm finding with my opportunity.

1. The opportunity to work with family as part of my business. While I am currently the primary mover in this stage of our home business, I enjoy working side-by-side with some of my family who are getting a taste of this opportunity as well.

2. Leaving a significant legacy for my family. In our case, the home business we are developing is fully inheritable. And since it is a residual income business, the ongoing benefit my family would derive from the business we leave to them does not necessarily require that they make a career change to operate the business.

So, I'm thankful every day to have the blessing of a lucrative, sustainable home business opportunity that is not only only located at home. It's truly a family affair

A couple of quotes that jumped out from a recent repeat of the audio version of this book.

"Worry is a prayer for what you do not want."

Speaking of the negative potential behind what your thoughts attract.

The context here is being very proactive and intentional -- even fiercely protective -- about leveraging your thought life in pursuing success in your business. This principle is not just a happy-feeling, stress-management tool. Assaraf makes a powerful case for your thoughts being critically connected to the success cause and effect of any dimension of your life.

"You need to engage others who play at what you do not do well."

Assaraf speaks here about how you assess, and then plan for, the realities of how you are wired, and the implications that has for success as the owner of your business.

Some of this may be obvious for certain functions. You may not be an attorney or an accountant, for example.

But here Assaraf makes an appeal to being true to who you are and what you have a passion for. (Which probably sparked your decision to start your busines in the first place.) And to not smother that with other activity that could be critical for your business to succeed, but that you may struggle to perform well.

Lots of good content throughout the book. The text of Chapter 2 is published on CNBC's The Big Idea Blog, if you'd like a taste.

In the corporate days, it wasn't so hard. I was a salaried professional, didn't punch a time clock, had some flexibility on hours.

I was expected to be in the office every day, somewhat close to the core hours of our department, and when most of the team that I managed was working. And even though being salaried was like pre-paid overtime at times, you basically knew what was expected and when.

Wearing my office duds, arriving in the office atmosphere, surrounded by my office companions and tools, I didn't have any trouble deciding what to do next. Not that it was drudgery, but there was an 'auto pilot' groove you could slip into that kept things well-defined and moving.

After my fork in the road which led to leaving my corporate career and huilding a home-based business, there was no more office commute, no corporate 'uniform', no next-door colleagues or other external guides for my time priorities.

I had a new passion for what I was doing with my business, so spending time on my home business was very easy. Avoiding that first temptation of the time freedom dark side -- acting retired before you are -- was not an issue.

But in hindsight, I didn't come out of the chute knowing how to spend that time to make the most of it. This second pitfall of time freedom -- not putting first things first -- is tougher to see and do something about. The boss who could spot that for me ... was me. It was up to me to be sure that spending time on 'x' was not just an excuse to avoid spending time on 'y'.

Out of the whole list of time freedom traps that home business experts have written about, my chief demons in the early going were:

1. Training: balancing priorities so that you don't skimp on high-impact, must-have training. But neither talk yourself into not-as-critical training activity that steals time and attention from higher priorities.

2. Mananging: again, learning to balance. Managing existing business -- sound day-to-day business operations, excellent service for existing clients, maintaining relationships with suppliers & partners -- is critical. But not to the exclusion of investing in new business development and marketing, for example.

Obvious Business Skills 101 stuff, to be sure. But I have not yet discovered the pill that makes you an instant expert. So, a little diligence every day keeps the dark side away. And the unparalled time freedom potential of my opportunity builds on what I enjoy today.

Here's another perspective on time management in growing your home business.

"It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference."
Tom Brokaw

We do want to make a difference. Gallup's extensive analysis of the top satisfaction concerns of engaged and productive employees indicates that the desire to do something that matters ranks even higher than salary as a reason most employees stay engaged in their jobs.

You started your home business to make a difference, especially in your finances and your time freedom.

You also care about making a difference in the world around you. Top-level success with your business opportunity opens the door for you to make a difference with more charitable contributions, or offering more time, to ministries or charities you work with.

And as with top employees, top home business income earners will also tell you that they thrive on making an impact, usually more than getting incrementally larger paychecks. It is what keeps us engaged in most endeavors.

This win-win is the classic 'double dip' of your time and money investment in your business benefiting both you, and your giving opportunities.

The beauty of this goes a step further with endeavors that leverage the network marketing business model. Here you see a 'triple dip' impact, with benefits for you, the charity you support, and your partners in your downline. All from the same time and money investment you make to grow your network marketing business.

Setting up a ministry or charity with a paid position in your network marketing business is an incredible way to provide considerable ongoing financial support to that organization.

And where this is done with integrity -- and results -- it is also an incredible additional opportunity for you to grow your business. Most charitable organizations would be glad to encourage others to participate in your business, too, where it generates additional funding for the organization without comprising their mission or code of conduct.

The power of this concept is being specifically targeted by an international aid organization, World Health & Humanitarian Foundation, with an appeal that helps you help them to help the needy in tangible, ongoing, life-saving ways.

The potential here is huge. Significant enough, in both business growth and difference-making impact, that WHHF was included in the portfolio of opportunities offered by the new internet marketing community, Occupy The City.

If your current business doesn't offer multi-impact leverage for what you're investing, it might be time to explore alternatives!

It takes "team" to make "steam".

You've chosen a home-based business for its flexibility and freedom potential, and to be independent. Congratulations!

It won't take long with any home business opportunity to discover how critical it is for you to leverage the skills and efforts of others to ensure the level of success you want for your business.

The initial partner choices for your success team are typically in place as you get started, such as your attorney or your accountant. And the business opportunity you chose has key contacts who have a stake in your success: a supplier rep, or a network marketing upline leader, for example.

But who helps you with the day-to-day execution of your business?

If you've seen the light on the power of the network marketing business model, you also have the business builders you've recruited into your team helping the cause. They represent incredibly valuable leverage of your own time and energy that you invest in your business.

In addition to being extra sets of 'hands' for the tasks of building your business, your team members are also valuable because of the stake they have individually in the success of what you are building together. This means they are much more engaged than just any set of hands, such as an employee or contractor.

A recent expansion of this team leverage principle has been implemented by a new marketing community, Occupy The City. Community members in OTC have both traditional network marketing structural ties with other community members, and also mutual-support ties with other members in shared activities that benefit everyone in the community.

So, score your home business on how much you leverage team connections to achieve the results you're after. And make some moves if you're missing an opportunity to engage others in your endeavor. Remember, more team means more 'steam'!

It's an unusual home business opportunity that doesn't include mention of the potential tax benefits of owning your own business. And you've probably seen more than a few opportunities that include specific examples of potential tax savings, such as deducting a portion of your home as an office for conducting or supporting your home-based business.

You don't have to look far in researching the viability of this for your situation before you encounter voices raising caution about getting upside-down on the risks-versus-benefits of using a home-office deduction.

This January, 2008 article by Wall Street Journal cited fears about the record-keeping requirements, and the belief that claiming this deduction increased the likelihood of returns being audited, as major reasons that some taxpayers elected not to use the deduction.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120043915626692441.html

Whether based on fact or not, the fears are apparently making many of us hold back from using the deduction according to a consumer tax advocate cited in the article.

Still, if you claim the home office deduction, you are certainly not alone.

This recent CNN article cites IRS data showing the total annual amount of home office deductions has risen from $3 billion to $9 billion since 1991. And the number of "sole propietorship" business increased by 50% over that same general period. And the recent economic slowdown has caused this trend to accelerate.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/04/07/home.office.taxes/index.html

So, careful homework is vital to making the right decision on using the home office deduction for your business situation. But if you have not used the deduction, you may very well be 'leaving money on the table' that you could use for your other priorities.

You have a hot vehicle for achieving your home business goals. You've seen the vehicle perform for others. How's it working when you're in the driver's seat?

In recent years, "dashboard" as a business performance tool usually referred to measuring what's going on. The gauges.

But don't forget the action tools: the steering wheel, accelerator, brake, gear selector, lighting ... (worn out metaphor approaching!)

Knowing what's going on is critical.

Acting effectively on those conditions makes the difference between success and failure.

Whether or not you opt for specialized software tools for these functions, your home business will only thrive if your dashboard 'gauges' are telling you what is happening with your:
- income
- expense
- customers
- sales
- orders
- marketing

Whether or not you are doing it all to drive your home business vehicle, or you're engaging help for some functions, you, or your chauffeur, better be checking the gauges at the right intervals to get your business to where you want it to go: detecting unexpected problems, monitoring for optimum performance, checking course.

And taking timely action with the driving controls: capital to keep it running, adjusting expense, pouring on more prospects, care for current customers.

It's exciting television to watch someone drive an automobile blindfolded, or steer it with no hands. But it's not the way to keep you enjoying the rewards that brought you into the home business arena.

Take a good look at the gauges and controls on your business opportunity. Assess what's missing, spot what's not used. Leverage them all to ensure that you realize all the success that's coming to you with the home business opportunity you're pursuing.

I'm an engineer by education, and had a 30-year career in information technology, so occasionally a weird appetite for numbers surfaces. But here's a set of numbers that went undetected during those 30 years.

Pay increase over 30 years = roughly seven-fold

Pay rise adjusted for inflation = only two-fold

So, I worked hard for four different companies, nice pay increases and promotions. (Yes, those were the days!) But for basically a doubling of my professional salary in 30 years?

When you layer that with the fact that my career-end fork in the road was one of those outsourcing situations that have been so common in recent years, the value proposition for my 30-year technology career looks pretty weak. Even adding the usual benefits of profit-sharing, etc.

Hats off to those who saw these realities much earlier in their experience. But I'm finally on a different track myself, pursuing a home business opportunity that offers real and rapid leverage of my time and energy. When you can have income doubling in months rather than decades, how hard a decision is that?

Read Robert Kiyosaki's excellent titles on this subject (e.g. Rich Dad/Poor Dad, Cashflow Quadrant, The Perfect Business).

Find a home business opportunity that fits you, and get the numbers working for you for a change.