homebiznotes.com

January 19th, 2008

You May Be The Expert!

HomeBizNotes.com

  Are You The Expert?

In a previous post, Do You Enlist the Assistance of Experts in Your Home Business?, I talked about inviting outside experts in your business area to provide programs, workshops, entertainment, etc. at your business. In other words, you’re working together for your mutual benefit.

However….you may be the expert…and can offer your expertise to aid other businesses while getting your name (and your business name) out there.

For instance, I’ve been involved in the blogging world for more than three years…here at b5media (Home Biz Notes, Quilting and Patchwork, Alzheimer’s Notes) and with my author and family history blogs elsewhere. I approached the librarian at our local library and asked if she’d like me to give a presentation on blogging.

She was delighted and we’re in the midst of organizing this. The library isn’t specifically a business, but my presentation will be to our mutual benefit because I can bring my books for sale, too. (I write about topics related to my blogs at b5…The Magic of Patchwork, When We Become the Parent to Our Parents, as well as children’s books.)

So…..where does your expertise lie?

• Can you partner with another business, online or off?
• Can you give a workshop or talk for a group/organization?
• Perhaps you can give a demonstration of a craft for another business?
• Join in an event sponsored by a number of businesses?

What have you done with your expertise? Let’s chat!

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

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By Mary Emma Allen -- 1 comment

March 15th, 2007

Pay Attention to the Small Details in Home Business

“Focusing on the little details is where the key to successful business and brands lies,” mentions Ron Elizondo, in his b5media Brand Curve blog post, “Marketing the small things…”

Ron is talking about any business, but this applies to home businesses, too.  He emphasizes “the need to offer superb service in order to create and maintain customer loyalty.”

So to do this, you need to focus on those aspects of production and service that often seen negligible but mean so much.  Ron uses examples of various businesses and the little things they can do that make an impression on the customer.

Take a look at your home business.  Are their things that you can do, things you often don’t even think about, that can make a difference.

*Smile when customers enter your place of business. 

*Smile when you answer the phone.  This makes your voice much more pleasant.

*Answers inquiries as soon as possible whether by e-mail, phone or in person.

*Meet deadlines…or let people know before deadline if there will be a delay in anything you’re producing for them, installing, or providing.  It’s very, very frustrating for customers when a business owner misses a deadline and never lets them know this will happen.

*Let your customers/clients know they’re important

       In this book, Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results, you’re not advised literally to hug your customers, but to make them feel important and deserving of the best service and products you can provide.

What are the “little things” or “small details” you do for your customers?

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By Mary Emma Allen -- 0 comments

March 10th, 2007

Can Home Business Owners Become Too Complacent?

Matt Keegan, of The Article Writer, commented on my previous post about listening to your home business customers and made a very good point.  He mentioned the importance of maintaining “a strong line of communication” with one’s customers through e-mail or phone conversations. 

However, this part of Matt’s comment really makes a point, I think: Working from home is great, but it is easy to slack off on the customer satisfaction part of the equation if you do not remain vigilant.

This made me wonder….are we too inclined, especially if our business is basically an Internet based one, where our customers aren’t in front of us, to take them too casually and fail to communicate?

Matt’s comment is one to take under consideration and see if it applies to us.

Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People is the age-old recommended book that has helped people for decades in communicating with one another.  Do you have a favorite?

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By Mary Emma Allen -- 0 comments

February 27th, 2007

Some Home Businesses May Be Temporary…But Not a Failure

Some home businesses may be temporary…a business that fills a need, for you and your customers, for a particular stage in your life, for a particular time period or event, or related to a particular region where you live at the time.   If this business doesn’t become a lifelong pursuit, that doesn’t mean it’s a failure.

You may find that another opportunity comes into your life, your life encounters changes that make this business no longer feasible, or the market for your product or service disappears. 

*During the Bicentennial Years in the United States (1975-76), many businesses created items and services related to this celebration.  I was doing dressmaking at the time and evolved into quiltmaking as a resurgence came about in this art.  Gradually I no longer took dressmaking and alteration orders.

*For several years my husband was a carpenter/cabinetmaker.  After an accident damaged his shoulder, arm, and knee, he was a long time healing and then not very adept at these skills.  So a business change was necessary.

*My son-in-law also was a self-employed carpenter/contractor.  However, a bout with cancer necessitated a career change.

*A friend had a hair salon in her home.  Then there were changes in her life and she sold the house.  She didn’t start a home business elsewhere.  It seemed more practical to work from a friend’s beauty salon in a mall.  She had been successful in her home and many of her clients followed her to the new location.

*Pat operated a fabric store in one room of her home.  She was successful and developed a good clientele.  However, her husband was transferred.  They had to sell their house and move to another state.  She had sales to get rid of her fabric inventory and closed her shop.

*Sometimes your business appears so successful someone else sets up a competitive one, thus causing you to vary what you’re doing or reconsider.

Some businesses, by their nature, are of a temporary nature and provide a service or product for a specific event or duration.  Others take awhile to develop so a business owner shouldn’t become discouraged because time and persistence will prove them successful.

If you have every intention of making your business a long term one, but circumstances beyond your control prevent this, don’t feel you’ve failed.  Learn from this experience, recall the joys, and go on to your next venture.

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By Mary Emma Allen -- 1 comment

February 26th, 2007

Are You Overwhelmed By All the “To Do’s” in Your Home Business?

Sometimes it seems we have so much to do, with a business, family commitments, perhaps a job if we’re not full time home business that we wonder how we’re going to get it all done.  Working at or from home is what we want to do, but how do we get everything done…and on time?

Rico Mossesgeld, blogger at b5media’s Contract Worker has an interesting post addressing this situation, “Getting Things Done, Even if 30 Projects Are Pending.”  Check Rico’s post if you’d like some suggestions on how to “dig yourself out of the hole” and set your priorities.

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By Mary Emma Allen -- 2 comments

February 12th, 2007

Becoming an Entrepreneur in Your Home Business

Ben Yoskovitz, at Startup Spark, has compiled a check-list you can consider to determine whether you’re an entrepreneur, 10 Ways to Know You’re an Entrepreneur. 

You may have others you’d include.  However, you can use this list as a guide as you develop your home business and continue pursuing your way to success.

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January 3rd, 2007

Home Biz Notes Featured in Fourth Carnival of Entrepreneurs

The Carnival of Entrepreneurs starts off 2007 with its fourth weekly appearance.  You’ll find here a great amount of interesting business information.

Home Biz Notes is featured with a post about Home Business Strategies for the New Year with goal setting questions to analyze your home business and get if off on the right track.

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