If you have ever thought about starting a home-based business, it must have been daunting to think about the kind of business you could do. The internet revolutionized how people update themselves recently.
While most people seek useful information online, others use it as a source of generating income. This has led to many entrepreneurs to long to start home-based businesses.
Other than earning a decent income, working online has many other benefits. It helps nursing mothers to take care of their kids as they generate income, students pay their tuition fees through working from home, and it also employs the unemployed youth. Below are types of businesses that you might want to start at home.
Start a Web Design Agency
Do you have skills in web design? If yes, you must be failing to use a valuable talent. You can start a web design business by following the steps below.
Calculate the startup budget
Any business whether at home -based or in the office needs some capital. Write down any types of equipment you might need, e.g., a computer, internet connection, a website, content among other basic needs.
You will have to register a domain, pay for hosting, print business cards, and buy a desk and other stationeries. You might need some software, themes, and even a logo. You can use the free trials as you start and get the premium ones later.
Establish your brand
How are going to name your brand? Are you going to use your name or a different name? It is advisable to use your name so that it can create a unique attachment to your clients.
Clients love hiring a freelancer who is flexible, available and affordable. Agencies tend to be quite expensive. Choose a formal name so that your business can be stronger in future.
Create a portfolio
What do you have to show people? Most clients want to see something that you have done before so that they can know your expertise. You need to have a well-designed website so that clients can prove that you can do it. State the services that you are going to offer clearly and put your contacts.
Write down your rates
How much are you going to charge your clients? You can figure out how much you spend on your business monthly regarding power, in terms, rent, phone bill, insurance, taxes and travel expenses. Multiply your total by 12.
Add the result of what you would love to earn per year and divide it by 48 to get what you would like to make per week. Assume that you would love to work 20 hours per week for a start. That is how you can get your starting hourly rate.
Learn how to promote your business
As much as you have the skills and all that it takes, people need to know about your business. How will you convince them to hire you? Make a formal sales cycle. This is a process of getting clients and establishing a relationship with them.
You can do this by identifying your clients, what they do, their pain points, and where they hang out online or offline. You can hang out there and be active in their conversations. Tell them how you can help them in their business and why your services are unique from other companies that offer them.
Create a schedule
You need to structure your day so that you can stay organized. Write down what you can do in your most productive days and when you are less productive. You can group your tasks e.g., reading and replying emails in the morning, making phone calls in the mid-day among other vital tasks. Having a similar routine daily helps you to stay productive and organized.
Set up the tools that you need
You might need some tools, e.g., time tracking software, project management, and task management software. Some of this software is free while others are paid. You might have to revisit your budget to use them.
Start E-commerce or Drop Shipping Business
Drop shipping involves operating without owning a warehouse and storing products or shipping them. It involves transferring customers’ orders and their shipment details to a manufacturer, wholesaler or a retailer who will ship them to the customer. In drop shipping, you store stock in a drop shipper or a business storage warehouse.
E-commerce is a profitable business that you can start out with nothing and watch it grow. To start an e-commerce business, you should choose your niche. You can then research business models before deciding on what to sell online. You can then establish your brand and build an e-commerce website. Do not forget to attract customers to your e-commerce store by marketing it online.
How much do you need to start?
You don’t need a lot of money to start an online business. In most cases, you need the skills, some little capital and equipment. You might spend some little cash on paid adverts. You might consider doing Facebook ads so that people may know more about your business. If you have no capital, you could take business loans from lending companies and start immediately.
Cutting the overhead costs
As much as your business will be operating online, you might be tempted to set up an office. However, it might cost you more while the services you offer are still the same. You might consider reducing the overhead costs by moving from office to home. You can create a small office in your home to avoid paying rent.
Get into Blogging
There are many ways of starting an online business from home without overspending a lot of money. Starting a web design agency and drop shipping are some of the high-end and ambitious businesses ventures you could start but if you would rather lower down your aim, diving in the world of blogging can be both fun and profitable.
Other online businesses that you can start include affiliate marketing, selling online courses, and eBooks among other services.
A great behind the curtains tip comes from Galin Kolev from the Join Fantastic recruitment company, where he and his team have successfully built and implemented a online business model for people to affiliate both as franchisor in a wide range of verticals, such as gardening, property interior, exterior, domestic repairs and etc., but also in for people to join in marketing and lead generation, which is where blogging comes in. The entire business comes down to growing a passionate blog and diversify your income by sending leads directly to companies specializing in the service while you run your other affiliate streams. What makes this idea particular case slightly different is that the company offers further support in terms of technical know-how and support. This means anybody could get directly into blogging from the comfort of their homes without having to worry of dealing with design and maintenance of a website but still earn the earns.
Similar Posts:
- 5 Best Home Business Ideas to Start While Working Full-Time
- How to Make Money with Drop Shipping in 2016
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Drop Shipping
- Choosing the Right Freelance Career for You
- Five Old-school Rules You Can Break When Starting Up A Business
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