Make Your Home Business Succeed
Are you thinking of starting your own home business in the New Year? Now is the perfect time to get things started. Are you looking to stay at home and spend more time with the family? Perhaps you are tired of working to make someone else rich. Being your own boss is a very enticing prospect, but you must take your work seriously to.make your home business succeed.There is a lot of temptation involved with working from home; distractions abound. The most important thing to remember is to devote as much time to your business as you would with a boss breathing down your neck. You are accountable for your time and must still get work done even though you are the one setting the deadlines.The best way to ensure you will get plenty of work accomplished is to create an office area in your home. Devote an entire room to your home business. This will serve as your corporate headquarters. Have the ability to close the door and shut out any potential distractions. Invest in a computer, fax machine and separate phone line for your business. Friends and family must understand that working from home does not mean that you will be more available for phone calls, extended lunches and surprise visits. Set parameters for yourself when it comes to your work space and your time. It is great to indulge yourself once or twice a week in daytime visits or excursions as long as slacking off does not become a daily habit. Set productivity goals for yourself every day and meet them. Procrastination will hurt the bottom line of your home business faster than you can say “self-employed.”Once you have adopted a serious and focused mindset about your quotas, start doing your homework. Know as much as possible about your field. The best way to launch a successful home business is to become an expert. Gather information online about your specialty as well as business management. Managing a business necessitates a working knowledge of taxes, accounting and business law. Otherwise, find people who will oversee these tasks for you. Find other small business owners online or in your area to offer you advice and support. The best way to avoid mistakes is to know about pitfalls before they arrive. Many online communities offer a place to discuss where you are at and where you want to go when it comes to starting your home business.Next, you will need to think about marketing. How are you going to set your home business apart from the crowd? Where will you find new clients? Presentation is everything. It is critical to present your business in a professional manner. Look into getting a logo designed. Research the different advertising opportunities that are available to you. Online ads, magazines, newspapers, billboards, radio and television all fulfill different business needs by reaching different audiences. Word of mouth marketing is great, so get some business cards together to give to people to hand out when they recommend your services. Make a website that lists the goods and services you offer as well as background information about yourself and your company. Make sure your business looks reputable to other people. Make sure they know that you will get the job done on time, and you will do it better than anyone else.There are a lot of details to consider when launching your new home business. With a little prep work and a lot of knowledge, you will make your home business succeed
Home Businesses for the Working Mother
The appeal of network marketing for working moms is clear: You get the benefit of earned income that the work provides, but you also get to be home with your children. There are any number of businesses out there for those who want to work from home, from dog trainer to network marketer. Before choosing the right opportunity for yourself, learn what the experts say.The first question a working mother should ask when considering home businesses is not which business is right. The first question is, “Am I right for a home business?”Cyndi Webb, who founded the Mom’s Network, an online resource for moms who work from home, cautions that running a home business isn’t for everyone. You already know it requires hard work, but there is a unique discipline required to focus on your business when you are home with your kids.Additionally, you must have the gumption to stick with your network marketing in the face of hardship and criticism. (Yes, criticism. Cyndi warns that friends and family may not be supportive of your entrepreneurial adventure.)However, if a network marketing is a fit for you, the good news is there has never been a better time to work from home. The Internet makes any computer a virtual office. Your “store window” is a website, a virtual brick-and-mortar location. And while there are expenses associated with home-based businesses, they are nowhere near the costs of setting up a traditional business.If possible, find a mentor who already is successful working from home. You want to learn from someone with experience doing what you are trying to do. They can help you be prepared for the challenges of running both a business and a home.Be certain your spouse is fully supportive. There are many savings that those running home businesses bring to their families. No travel expense for one. Fewer wardrobe demands. (Although experts advise you to still dress for work to get in the proper mindset.) And there could be substantial savings on childcare, too.In return, your spouse needs to be a partner in the domestic chores. Outline the duties the two of you can share to allow you more time to work on your business. The payoff can well be worth the effort you two expend.Be sure to choose from among home businesses that suit your needs and your abilities. In other words, make sure your home business can provide the income you need from it. At the same time, only consider businesses where the actual work is something for which you have a passion and ability.There are home businesses that you build as an entrepreneur. There are other home businesses in which you are a contractor for another business, essentially an employee at home or a telecommuter. There are also part-time opportunities in home businesses.Only you know what you want out of your home business and how much work you want to put into it. You need to consider all these questions when you are choosing from the many home businesses available to find the perfect one for yourself.
Preparing Your Business For Sale – How to Cash Out
Savvy business owners know that to run a successful company you need to be a great marketer, control your costs and deliver unbelievable customer service. However, when it comes time to sell your business, it’s important to plan a strategy that will leave you and your company in a great position. Creating and implementing an exit strategy for your business can provide you with a lot less stress and peace of mind knowing that when the time comes to sell, you’ll be ready.The sale of your business should be a planned process to yield you the highest possible price for the company; not a knee-jerk sale based on uncontrollable circumstances like health problems, financial issues or an untimely death.Developing a successful exit plan should begin well ahead of your targeted exit date (I recommend at least three years). Here are some things to consider as you get started:Get your personal financial picture in order.
As a future seller, be sure that you have adequate protection with life insurance, disability insurance and even business interruption insurance to protect your company in the event that a disaster occurs.I also suggest meeting with a certified financial planner. Often a seller’s largest asset is their business. If an owner is forced to sell after several months or years of minimal profitability, they won’t be able to sell for the maximum price and may not be able to exit with the cash they had anticipated. A planner may recommend building up cash reserves or acquiring real estate to balance out your portfolio.Understand what buyers are buying.
Most business buyers are first and foremost buying cash flow or net profits. Demonstrate the financial strength of your business by supplying them with (at minimum) 3 years of profit and loss statements, 3 years of federal tax returns, equipment list, inventory list and a copy of the facilities lease.Equally important is the building lease. When a business changes hands, an important element for a new buyer is to be able to secure a long-term lease. Lease negotiation can make or break a transaction so it is best to know the landlords intentions as soon as you make the decision to sell.I also recommend systematizing your business by creating an operating manual for each area of your company. Standard operating procedures provide a buyer with an existing system for success and will allow you to easily transfer information to the new owner.What’s it worth?
Now that you understand what a buyer wants, you need to determine what you as the seller want. Every seller must ask themselves, “How much cash do I want to receive at the closing?” or “What is my premium price?”A key component to achieve the highest price is for the seller to offer to carry a promissory note, making the seller the banker for a certain portion of the purchase price. By offering to carry a note, the seller demonstrates to the buyer that he or she believes in the business and that they will remain financially invested in the success of the company after the sale.When pricing the business for sale, the more reasonably the business is priced, the faster the business will sell. Be sure to enlist a certified business appraiser or an experienced business broker to provide you with an opinion of value. By adding the value back to the financial statement, a buyer will have a better idea of how much income he or she can expect to receive when they take over the company.After receiving a valuation of your company, compare the current value of your business to your proposed exit date and premium price expectations. Is your premium price realistic? Is the time frame realistic to reach the necessary sales levels to achieve that price? In order to reach your goals, all elements must come together.Getting your maximum price.
If you determine that you will not be able to achieve your desired price, you must begin to implement strategies for change as soon as possible. Start with a simple SWOT analysis looking at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your company. Necessary strategies might include creating a marketing plan to increase your sales or a cost containment strategy to reduce your expenses.As a business owner, you deserve the highest possible price for your company. Plan your exit strategy with the same amount of thought and detail that you plan your customer service strategy or craft your marketing plan. After all, all business owners will exit their business whether they plan for it or not, and a good plan can be the difference between the “retirement” of your dreams or just a long vacation.